Last Chance

[Allyson Locke]

Sopher nearly crashed the small fighter on the Pantha’s surface. He had gotten a name and now he was here to stop the evil that plagued a young woman’s life. Sopher Jakobs ran on his attachment to Evelynn, he knew deep down inside that he couldn’t and he shouldn’t. This attachment drove his emotions out of whack and he was on the verge of a fit of rage. The rage was a flaw in his cloning process, something that happened to most clones when their base was from other force users.

Drawing both his lightsabers, he stood on the steps of Kaine Zambrano’s palace. Both blades ignited a brilliant green, they hissed as the rain droplets sizzled against them. He was here to take back something that was taken from him, he couldn’t lose Evelynn. The young Padawan focused the force on his voice as he shouted towards the doors of the man’s keep.

“GIVE HER BACK! GIVE HER BACK TO ME!”

His heart raced as every fiber of his body pulsed, nothing was going to keep him from saving her. She was everything to him, he couldn’t let this happen any longer. Why did it take this long? Why couldn’t he do this sooner? The questions filled his mind as he waited for the Sith Master to answer him.

“ANSWER ME!!”


@[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

For a time, nothing happened as Sopher raged at the closed gates of the massive palace situated at the end of a large peninsula bordered by a shimmering blue sea. The rain continued to increase in intensity, and the skies darkened as a storm raged somewhere far off in the ocean. Then slowly, one by one, they appeared atop the battlements of the castle. Winged guards began to stand still as stone atop the walls, a vibro-axe firmly grasped in their hands as they stared down at Sopher from above. Then, as the rain and winds reached a screeching crescendo, the large metal portcullis acting as the entrance to the castle began to open. From the opening emerged a figure completely dressed in black robes concealing a set of black armor, his hood drawn back to reveal a scarred face with a mane of raven black hair cascading down past his neck.

The figure approached Sopher and said, "So you have finally arrived... I have foreseen this moment, Jedi." The voice was a horrible baritone rumble that sent shivers down the spine, and his being gave off an incredibly overpowering aura of darkness. He had indeed foreseen this the moment he had gleamed the knowledge of Sopher's relationship with Evelynn during her early imprisonment in his castle, but he was different from the boy he had seen. Gone was the lanky blonde haired child, replaced by a Jedi Knight-aspirant whose body had been molded by what was no doubt rigorous Jedi training. "You have come for the other, but she is no longer yours to claim. Her body, mind, and soul now belongs to me, and she has embraced the true nature of the Force... the Dark Side. If you were wise, you would do the same."

@[member="Sopher Jakobs"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Sopher paused for a moment listening to the Dark master. The man had a presence which was something expected from someone like this. The boy never understood why and how Evelynn came to be with this man, but he would figure out a way to save her or die trying. Remembering his teachings, he knew he shouldn’t be this attached her. These attachments threatened to drive one to the dark side - self fulfillment. He wanted to forget the Order, he wanted to focus on saving the one person that mattered the most to him.

“I don’t care what you’ve claimed to be yours. She’ll never belong to you despite your temptations. I know who she is! You might have gained her body, her soul, and her mind, but the one thing you’ll never obtain Sith is her heart.”

Leather boots creased with his every step as he drew closer to the Dark Master. His eyes glancing towards the winged guards, if he was anything like a true Sith he would hide behind the creatures. Sopher tried to remain calm, but anger surged through him. All he could see was red.

“I’ll kill you and take her back. I will help her find the light again. I will never let her fall so far, she is worth saving.”
The Force surged through his body, speed was his friend in this setting. Taking a step forward, he dashed and when he drew close enough, he swung both of the blades from right to left attempting to slice through Kaine where he stood.

@[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

As the young Sopher drew near, Kaine elegantly extended both hands out towards the blades as they neared his person. Rain had made the dark metal of his gauntlets slick and shiny, glintering like shadowed stars in the gloom of the evening, but they grew bright as they reflected the emerald blade's light. It appeared that the Dark Lord would simply catch the blades in his hands, and indeed he did! The blades came to a sudden stop as they clashed against the pure cortosis metal the gauntlets had been constructed of, and the emerald blades flickered into nonexistence. With his next move the Dark Lord send a telekinetic punch to Sopher's midsection to throw him back away, "Insolent child, I will not be touched by rabble such as you... But I sense the anger growing within you... the fury that wishes to free dear Evelynn from the clutches of a monster. Give into that anger, child. It is the only way to save her..."

@[member="Sopher Jakobs"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Sopher took the blast to his midsection as the blades in his hands fizzled disappearing. He toppled backwards flipping over a few times until he landed on his back. That wasn’t going to stop him, his blades would be out of commision for a little bit because of the Cortosis. He propelled himself upwards as he jumped back to his feet. The man wanted to play with the Force. The boy didn’t smile or grin, he just stared at the Sith. He remembered his training from his Master and Diana Moridena. They built the machine he was and he wouldn’t let mockery of a pathetic Sith break him.

“Anger flows through me, but unlike you I know how to control it. You’re full on your pride like a sloth fills on its own filth. I’ll save her my own way and it won’t be through anger.”

Using a common skill taught to all younglings, Sopher used the art of movement to quickly sprint forward and take the stairs once more he took the steps by two and when he drew close enough he gathered the force in the palm of his hands and pushed it towards the Sith. He needed to buy time till his blades here capable again, those gauntlets were going to be tiresome, but he needed to keep going.

“You scared Sith? Using all your tools, for once fight like a Man.”

@[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine smirked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, and took a wide stance as the Jedi approached. When the wave of Force hit him, he quickly repelled it away from himself by uncrossing his arms and counteracting it with his own Force blast. "You know nothing, Jedi. I could have slain you the moment you came to my door, but if you're so eager to fight, then I will have to humor you for now." Suddenly four Vanr guardsman lunged off from the high ramparts and surrounded Kaine as he suddenly unhooked his cloak, and sent it scattering into the wind. They began to rapidly remove the armor covering the Dark Lord's torso and arms, removing the gauntlets as well. Once they were finished they left Kaine wearing nothing but his armored leggings, and his armored boots. His chest was bare, rippled with scarred muscle and flesh, and his right hand was completely black like scorched earth. His left arm was of a darker coloration, and had a number of growths running up and down it, and it didn't seem to quite belong with the rest of his body.

Kaine's body tensed, and suddenly his left hand shot out to send a low-bearing wave of telekinetic force towards Sopher's legs while he suddenly sprung forth into the air in an arcing lunge towards Sopher. His right arm cocked back as his fingers curled into a fist down towards where Sopher was.

@[member="Sopher Jakobs"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Sopher raised an eyebrow as he watched the man undressed by the creatures that guarded his castle. He rubbed his nose slightly as he waited for the man to finally be ready to fight. Glancing at the now half nude Sith Lord he sighed softly realizing that promiscuity and nudity was probably the reason so many appealed to the darkside. The deformities of Kaine’s hands and arms caught Sopher’s attention, something wasn’t right with him. Was this darkside corruption at its finest?

His thoughts wandered to Evelynn wondering if she would look like this if she continued down the path she was on. His brows creased into a frown as his energy built up. Sopher couldn’t let this happen. Before he could offer Kaine a hand, the Dark Master launched an attack. Sensing the telekinetic attack, the boy moved to the side diving into a tumble. The sudden launch caught him off guard slightly, but he readied his thick frame taking the brunt of the punch with his arms crossed in front of his body protecting him.

There was a hint of mockery in his voice, despite his lessons there was a ting of arrogance,“One day you’ll see Sith that you’re all talk. The hot air was let out of your balloon of an Empire - there’s nothing left of you now. So give her back!” With the close proximity that they were in, Sopher reached forward to grab Kaine’s long flowing mane. In the same notion, he brought his leg up slightly and drove a hard kick from his right into the inside of the Sith Lord’s knee.

@[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine's casual frown deepened as he felt the impact of Sopher's boot upon his knee, his body shuddering with the blow and his leg slightly buckling, but he was not deterred. Pull Kaine's hair all you wanted, he had plenty of locks to spare, and it only put him and Sopher closer together. With his right hand, he crossed over to latch onto the hand that was grabbing at his locks, and to hold Sopher in place with a vicious death grip. With his left hand curled into a fist, he unleashed it at Sopher's face/general head area like a viper strike. The knuckles of Kaine's hands were rather bony, molded by years of hand-to-hand combat training and experience in battle. He said nothing as he unleashed his assault, letting his eyes speak for himself instead. They blazed with a burning desire for violence, the emerald flecked with slowly growing specks of sulfuric yellow as the bags under his eyes began to appear.

@[member="Sopher Jakobs"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Sopher did his best to duck his head and raise the hand that was still grabbing onto Kaine's hair. Though the punch still made contact and he grunted at the pain. His mind focused on it doing its best to shut out any feeling of it. He had to continue and he had to finally defeat this monster and regain Evelynn back. Seeing this as his chance, Sopher's free hand opened while his other remained gripping the Sith Master's hair. Giving it a twist, he pulled harder despite the hand holding him there. Blood trickled down the side of his cheek and he used the force to summon his saber quickly to his hand. The end of the blade was quickly shoved against Kaine's stomach and the boy smirked for the first time in months.

Something stopped him though, this was the point where he could end it all, here and now he could kill the Sith and save Evelynn. Save the girl, save the world. He couldn't push the button, instead he drove his head forward and headbutted the Sith Master in the forehead. He used the force to add some umph to the blow and hopefully knock him out. The lightsaber pointed upwards and the blade ignited as he pulled out of the headbutt and attempted to slice the hand that was holding him against the Sith Master.

@[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine had received far worse headbutts, but it still performed it's function. Kaine let go of the boy's arm as the blade ignited and attempted to sever his hand, only to meet nothing but air as Kaine pulled himself away. "Your weapon is useless, boy. Let me free you from it's burden." He reached out with the Force to feel the saber in Sopher's hands, in his mind the layout of the weapon forming instantly, and with a combination of the Force and Mechu-deru he disabled the Jedi's weapon. The blade would flicker away into nothingness as Kaine then directed his attention from the ruined weapon to Sopher yet again. "How far has your training progressed, young Jedi? Let me test you now." By no means was Kaine a master at telekinesis, but he knew sufficiently enough to do damage to others. He reached out with his invisible hand in the Force, and attempted to latch onto Sopher's body, and fling him around like a rag doll.

@[member="Sopher Jakobs"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Sopher couldn't fight the Master's abilities on his lightsaber. He just watched as the blade flickered and disappeared, his thumb quickly flicked the switch on and off trying to bring it back to life. Cursing under his breath, he latched the weapon back to his leg clip. If the Sith could do it to one saber, he'd be able to do it to the other. Sopher decided to keep his second blade attached to his leg, he would use it when the Sith didnt' have the time to mess with it. The Padawan kept the saber as a triumph card and took a few steps towards the Sith. Gritting his teeth, he was disgusted and bothered that this Sith spoke so low of him. Fists balled up and with another strong step he went to punch Kaine in the face.

Something stopped him though, he lost control of his body and soon found himself lifting up from the ground. Panic set in as he did his best to counter the telekinesis with his own and force himself back to the ground. It was futile and soon he was being shaken and flung in different directions. He couldn't find a center and started to become dizzy from the quick and sudden movements. Eyes closing he did his best to keep his balance centered so he didn't get sick and throw up everywhere. He didn't give the Sith the satisfaction of hearing him cry out from the attack, he kept quite and tightened his jaw.

Forcing one of his eyes open through the strain, he mocked the Sith...which wasn't his brightest ideas. "That all you got!? - I beat you....promise you'll - let her go!" @[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine laughed loudly, and mockingly as he held the young Sopher in an upright position suspended several meters off the ground. "You humor me too much, boy. Did you really think you would waltz into the lair of a Sith Lord, and best him like he is some common crook? Oh no, my dearest Sopher." Oh yes, Kaine had learned the young squire's name, and perhaps many other things about the Jedi unknown to others. Whether he did or not, he remained silent about it. "What do you fear, Sopher? Do you fear to lose her, to fail your masters, to die? Let me show you the true meaning of fear, child." The smile on the Sith Lord's face was absolutely horrid, and the darkness that surrounded him even worse. Haze would begin to creep at the edges of Sopher's vision, the shadows of the gloomy evening would lengthy into horrid apparitions of all that the young Jedi feared. Kaine probed the young boy's minds for these fears, but there were many he already guessed and thus formed.

The darkness shifted into innumerable visions of Evelynn's death, all of them different and more horrible than the last. They intertwined with visions of Sopher's master, and his own death at the hands of various individuals such as Kaine, Evelynn, and even his master turned evil. All of them were falsehoods, fabrications conjured up by Kaine's dark magic.

@[member="Sopher Jakobs"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Sopher gritted his teeth as he felt the force creep into his mind. Unlike his base, he didn’t harbor defense against mental attacks. Every image that flashed before him felt real and he found himself screaming soon after. His eyes darted back and forth as he watched the images that weren’t there play out, he saw Evelynn die, his Master die, and then all of them turning against him as undead reanimated corpses or possibly even just turned against him. His skin crawled as the mental images stabbed him with sabers and other weaponry, at the last moment before he couldn’t take anymore, Diana appeared with the Tyrfing. The blade turned onto him and in a graceful blow, the boy passed out from the horrors of his fears. @[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

As Sopher's body crumbled and his mind temporarily shut down from the terror, Kaine dismissed his specters and slowly approached the young lad's unconscious form. He lingered over his inert form, his arms clenched behind his back as a pair of Vanr Honor Guard landed beside him with the clothes he had discarded earlier. Kaine quickly took his clothes and began to slip them back on as the Vanr yanked Sopher up from the ground and slapped stun cuffs on his wrists and ankles. "Take him to the dungeons, strip him of his belongings and prepare to outfit him with a Force Containment collar." The Vanr Guardsman nodded and took off into the sky with the unconscious Sopher in tow, leaving the Sith Lord alone in the field leading to his castle gates as he stared off into the horizon as the sun finally disappeared and plunged the land into darkness before heading back himself. The other Vanr guard that had lined the ramparts had also departed to return to their various duties, and only those that had been assigned the guard the ramparts this night remained.

After a quick go in the refresher, Kaine made his way down into the depths of the dungeons that spanned a literal labyrinth below the castle above. Down here is where Kaine kept various prisoners from all over the galaxy who would languish down in the darkness until they were dragged up either to fight in the arena hgih above, or taken to the apothecarium to become the newest experiments of the Royal Apothecary Guild. Kaine would find Sopher in one of the larger cells, where a series of machines had been set up surrounding the young Jedi. Speaking of Sopher, he would be restrained to a gurney with one of the rare Force Containment Collars fastened to his neck. He would be completely undressed, as there was no need for modesty down in the depths of this hellhole. Already a small staff of cloaked acolytes were crowded around him as the Sith approached, and they quickly moved out of their Lord's way with a silent bow. "Wake him." Was all that Kaine commanded as he gazed upon the unconscious Sopher.

The acolytes administered a dosage of adrenaline straight to Sopher's heart to violently jolt him awake, while the injectors built into the collar would pump their dosages of ixetal cilona right into Sopher's veins. The resulting injections would make for an interesting experience for Sopher when he awoke.

@[member="Sopher Jakobs"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

The adrenaline worked and Sopher blinked awake with intense alertness. Bright lights and different colors flashed in front of his face, the hallucinations from the drug started to work as he peered around confused. His heart raced with a slight paranoia. The machines laid about the room and he tried to sit up and realized he couldn’t. His heart raced faster and his muscles tensed against the straps. He tried to call upon the force, but it felt weak and he yelled with rage as he tried to break the straps.

Quickly remembering where he was and what had just happened, he narrowed his gaze and searched for the Sith. “Where are you coward!? I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"I'm right here, Sopher. Threats will not help you now, boy. You're unarmed, unarmored, and completely at my mercy." Chuckled the insidious Dark Lord as he sauntered out from the gloom and into the well of light surrounding the immobilized Sopher, his predatory eyes glinting in the light. Behind him you could see the small group of acolytes huddled together, watching with a hungering fascination as their Lord approached his newest plaything. "Your remind me of Evelynn, when she was strung up same as you in my old keep on Thule. She didn't possess your tongue though, sadly... Sobbing and stuttering on with no end. In the end she had to be altered, and I dare say you'll come to love the improvements. Ah, but what to do with you?" Kaine said as he turned to a tray containing an assortment of grisly torture weapons, serrated blades and vicious barbed hooks, and other tools. Kaine picked up a blade coated with Devaronian Blood-Poison, which was enhanced in the Apothecarium above, and turned back to Sopher.

"Let's begin, shall we?"

And then Kaine placed the flat end of the blade against Sopher's exposed bicep.

@[member="Sopher Jakobs"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Sopher frowned and looked towards the Sith lord as he grazed the blade against his exposed bicep. He couldn't give in, he needed to conceal his feelings, he couldn't feel them or the Sith would turn them against him. Leaning back the best he could he became comfortable in his settings and closed his eyes. His only thoughts were on saving @[member="Evelynn"]. The hand that was strapped down that was connected to the bicep that was about to get poked and prodded quickly flicked up revealing such a rude gesture and literally told the Sith to well...'Feth off'.

@[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine's hand shot out to roughly grab Sopher's finger, "When Evelynn was my prisoner, I cut off her little finger to make an example to her mother. She wailed even before my blade touched her skin, but you won't scream at such basic displays of brutality will you? You're made of sterner stuff!" With a twist of his wrist he violently bent Sopher's finger at an obscene angle, the sound reverberating off the walls with a sickened crack. "I made Evelynn's body mine, and now I will make your body mine as well... but in a different manner. I shall sculpt you into a masterpiece of pain and suffering." He sat down the Devaronian Blood-Poison infused knife, and picked up a wicked instrument that was a bastard mixture of a scalpel and a meat hook. Over the course of the next few hours Kaine would delicately carve Sopher's chest into a horrible macabre of perverted art, blood would slick the floors and flesh would part before the Butcher's blade.

@[member="Sopher Jakobs"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Sopher controlled his anger this time around, despite his situation and the frustration he felt. Evelynn had felt so much torment and pain...he wasn't there to save her. He had broken his promise. Through the ordeal Sopher never said a word, he didn't cry out or curse the Sith. He endured and thought only of what would come next, possibly death or maybe the Sith would get tired and retire back to his quarters. The boy wanted to cry, he wanted to scream and curse the very force that clung to @[member="Darth Vornskr"], but he was a Jedi - he wouldn't fall to such pathetic forms of emotions. Breathing hurt, he felt the warmth of his own blood spilling from his chest. It would dry in places and then Kaine would move back over them causing the dry blood to crack and flake, it was never ending and Sopher forced himself to stay awake.

The only thought that kept him going was that, he would escape some how and he wouldn't let this ever happen again to @[member="Evelynn"]. The memories of today would be another driving force in his training to wipe the galaxy clean of monsters such as the Sith.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"You are resistant to the demands of physical punishment, good. I like it when my prey gives me a challenge, otherwise killing Jedi would be too damned easy." He set down the current bloody instrument he was using on Sopher's battered body, and lightly placed his right index finger against Sopher's forehead. A dark foreboding sense would wash over Sopher's restrained body, sending a chill up his spine as the invasive presence of the Sith Lord began to worm it's way into his mind. Invisible tendrils of darkness would rummage through Sopher's mind, trying to dig up whatever harmful memories were stored away, even ones that Sopher might have once forgotten about. Anxious memories were dug up also, such as his most intimate moment with Evelynn. It would all turn sour, each real memory warped into a horrible parody of what actually happened. "The last specimen I used this on choked on his own chagrin, I wonder how a Jedi will fare?"

@[member="Sopher Jakobs"]