Post: 4/20
Location: Ice Cavern
Objective: Find appropriate lightsaber crystal
Ally: [member="Mantic Dorn"]
Rafeesh stayed still for a few minutes. He firstly pushed away the darkness that still whispered in his mind. It spoke of the 'truths' that he had been told by the Sith. He knew he was vulnerable, he would be until he had a source of the light to cling to. He had to hold until this was through. He would grow stronger for this test. He wondered why his master would send him down here. Was it a test of his resolve? What if he fell into darkness, what would Mantic do?
Rafeesh did not trust himself. He knew that the power here was one that stood against him and that it would undo him if he was not careful. When he felt himself calmed he took a little longer to spend time bringing himself back to the Force. He had to remember that no matter what happened down here he was a defender of the Light. No darkness could corrupt him if he did not let it.
He stood, feeling at peace with the situation. Even with the evil whisperings he believed he could continue. He began walking allowing the Force to guide him. He did not know where the crystal for him was, but the Force did. He focused it through him. His lightsaber was reactivated as the light glow filled the air with bright light. He found nothing, it was eerily quiet. He had hoped that reaching the cavern would give him more hopes, instead he once more seemed to be going nowhere.
He felt like he was drowning in the dark side here. But, but, he was holding out for now. The Light was giving him strength to continue. "Emotion, yet Peace. Ignorance, yet Knowledge. Passion, yet Serenity. Chaos, yet Harmony. Death, yet the Force. You shall not win this. A duel of fates, yours and perhaps more. I will win and nothing you try will change that."
He felt himself become stronger from the Code. It was a rock in the otherwise uncertain journey. He did not intend on losing this battle. There would be peace for him, perhaps it would be when he died, but never would their be peace for the darkness. His weakness would be hard fought to gain hold of his life again.
Another eternity passed before something changed. He felt the Force move around him. The darkness around him seemed to disappear and there was light. Before him was what appeared to be a large lake. It made no sense, it was perfectly still but obviously not frozen. He walked to the edge and bent down. He lifted an ice stone and threw it out into the lake. It hit the water and bounced once before seeming to sink slowly beneath the surface. It was as if the water was not really water and allowed the stone to sink against its will.
But when Rafeesh tried to step into the water it cut through the water like normal. He stepped back, the tip of his shoe covered in ice. He looked across the light, he saw a point of light that seemed to be calling him. He felt another presence behind him and he turned quickly, raising his saber into a defensive position. At first he saw nothing but then strange forms seemed to move towards him. He was about to strike the nearest one but then he realized they were not looking at him. Slowly, each passed by him and towards the lake. It was not until a dozen or so of the seemingly endless stream of men that he recognized some of the faces that walked by. Some were soldiers that he had fought alongside and others were Jedi that had trained him. All of them had something in common, they were people that he had seen die in battle.
As the ghosts moved to the water each turned and looked directly at him. Some would call out in echoing voice to follow or to lead the battle, while others silently motioned for him to move with them. Confused he began walking towards the edge again. The ghosts moved across the water, walking on it as if it were solid ground. He stepped out, but his foot began to sink. However, he found that it only sank an inch beneath the surface, even thought the lake seemed bottomless. It froze around the sides of his shoes. But it did not bother him as he walked to follow the ghosts into the middle of the lake. However before he got there another voice, more real and one that cut through the ghost's calls, spoke out to him. It came from the other side of the lake, moving quickly across the water. He saw the ghosts turn and begin to move more quickly towards the source of the noise. A yellow saber came to life and cut through the forms of the ghosts. Each being disappeared as the saber slashed through it. Rafeesh saw it a moment later, a man running on the top of the water and blasting his way through the ghosts before stopping in front of him.
This man wore Jedi robes, but they were blue and much more form fitted. There was no hood, instead the face was obviously visible. It was Rafeesh, but so changed. Along his neck were gill like structures and where the spikes had been on his head long tentacles that looked like they belonged on a Nautolan rolled down around his head. Where Rafeesh's black stripes there were blue blotches and his iris were like crystals with a tint of the water that he walked on. The voice, now that Rafeesh could hear it more clearly had the sound of Mon Calamari in it. "Go back quickly! They are illusions that wish to lure you to your death."
Rafeesh hardly had time to respond before he was grabbed by the wrist and ushered back. The other man did not pull him though. "But I know them. They are friends and Jedi."
The creature shook his head, "They were friends and they were Jedi. These are not the people you remember. Come on."
Rafeesh saw a darkness grow in the otherwise clear water, starting from where the ghosts had been before disappearing. Rafeesh turned back to the shore. He saw there other faces, these ones were more dear to his heart. It was the squad that had been given to him during his time in the Republic, beside them stood the only true Sith friend he had had. "What are they doing there?"
The man looked towards where Rafeesh was seeing, "They are your real friends. They are leading you to return."
Rafeesh took a step back, but then one of the troopers shook his head, mouthing the word 'No' before turning his back and walking back into the shadows of the place Rafeesh had come from. The other Rafeesh looked from Rafeesh to the shore and asked, "What? Did they tell you something?"
Rafeesh looked to the other being, he felt that the man was familiar but he did not recognize him. "Can you not see them? You saw the other ghosts?"
The creature shook his head, still tugging lightly on Rafeesh's hands. "I cannot. The ones that stay at the shore are the friends. Those that cross are tricks."
Rafeesh took another step, then another. And each time one of the ghosts on the shore mouthed no and turned away. Rafeesh looked back to the far shore, and the lake inbetween, which was growing in darkness. The dark spot was spreading. Rafeesh stopped and shook his hand free. "No. What is wrong?"
The Sith shook her head, giving one last sad look before turning and walking slowly away from the water's edge. Rafeesh took one step as if to follow, but stopped himself. Something was wrong. He extended his hand as if to call out to those still at the edge, but the last few watched the Sith walking. Before completely disappearing, the Togruta turned and closed her eyes, tapping the side of her head. She then pointed two fingers and both eyes and opened and closed them slowly a few times. She then turned and continued walking away.
Rafeesh watched for a moment. He did not understand. "Come on. We have to move. It has almost got us!" The being grabbed his hand and tugged hard. It was then that Rafeesh noticed that hands of the being, there were claws were the nails should have been and the skin of the back of the hands were wrinkled in unnatural ways. Only for a moment did he see this, he blinked and the skin was normal again. He did not move and tried to think through what the Sith Togruta friend had tried to tell him. It took a few moments before he realized what it meant. He closed his eyes and felt through the Force. It was then that he saw that there was nothing near except the dark being that held his hand.
He opened his eyes again and the man had let go and was looking sourly at him. "I guess that ends that." His saber swung around to behead Rafeesh, but the the training saber still in Rafeesh's hands came up almost on its own and deflected the attack. The being then took a step back and jumped, diving face first into the water and disappearing beneath the rippling surface. The man's voice then came from nowhere and yet everywhere, "I tried. You must go back. A fate worse than death awaits you across this lake and if you do not turn back then I will be forced to stop you."
Rafeesh turned back to the far shore and began running towards the shore, but each step he took towards that brighter shore he felt himself sink a bit further. All the time the darkness beneath the water kept stretching closer. The water was around his waist before the darkness reached him. When it touched him it stopped moving and Rafeesh felt the like the ground suddenly rose to the dark spot. He pulled himself onto the dark spot and found that the water barely touched him, but everything beneath his waist was frozen lightly in ice. He took a few steps, trying to get warmth back into the legs. Then from the side the being leaped from the water and slashed at Rafeesh again. Rafeesh raised his hand and pushed back with the Force. He then gripped the man and threw him along the ground. The Sith rolled across the ground before pulling himself to his feet the lightsaber broken. Rafeesh began running towards the Sith, his saber again in a defensive form. The Sith threw lightening once before Rafeesh simply bowled him over.
Rafeesh dropped his training saber and began punching the Sith while he was on the ground. The Sith took each blow before struggling to break free of the grip that Rafeesh's mind was holding him in. The Sith broke free in a pulse of the Force which threw Rafeesh across the lake. He landed on his back on the far shore. He looked to the Sith who was practically in the middle of the lake. For a single moment the Sith looked defeated, before the entire lake seemed to disappear and the Sith stood in the middle of a small cavern the size of which seemed small compared to the room that Rafeesh had believed himself to be in before.
The Sith shook his head saying, "You made your choice. I cannot stop you. I am sorry." He disappeared in an explosion of shadows.
Rafeesh picked himself back up, the ice had disappeared and he was left wondering whether this had all been an illusion. He felt his legs and back complain though. He stretched them out, as he tried to meditate. He wondered what this was. Had he gone insane from this search? Was the dark side affecting him so profoundly? He had to start his meditations from earlier all over again. He hoped his master was alright and not affected by the nexus that was so strong here.
Then that was it the first one appeared a little over two meters tall. As it rushed towards them the soldier's gunned it down in a split of a second. Glowing burn marks covered it's torso from where the shots made impact. Although it remained to stand back up moving slower this time. Its armor changed shape to make it look as if the creature was holding a club. Sanya took a run and jumped over the shields. As her feet touched the floor she would move to walking with the sabers raised. As it raised the club to strike at her something wrapped around her leg so she couldn't take one more step. With the weapon bearing down on her she raised one saber to intercept wile swinging the other behind to go across what ever was around her leg. The saber cut straight through the club for it to then change shape again into a spike. The choice of formations it took made it easy to read the next attack. 
