Private There is only *one* Amalgam

[The Amalgam]

Wearing: Resistance Epidermis

Armed With: Skin Shears (Purple Split-Saber)

Days before being originally taken over by Darth Phyre...

Over a decade prior...

The Amalgam stared into the immensely polluted purple crystal she had copied her essence to. She meditated in front of it, aboard her old X-70B Phantom Class Yacht, The Corrupted Flesh.

The beast was going to see perhaps the only actual friend it had actually made in the modern era, a former, deposed empress now content with making and selling tea.

On the surface, the two couldn't be more polar opposites, but Kay and The Amalgam had bonded over a shared experience on a planet called the Graveyard. Kay was a bestie, the first Amy had ever had. Hell, Kay was the one who had given The Amalgam her nickname.

She looked forward to seeing her. They had so much to share. But she was about to attempt something ambitious. The most ambitious gambit she had ever attempted.

But she needed Kay in on it.

As the Corrupted Flesh waited in orbit over the planet Kay worked in her tea shop on, The Amalgam reached out to Kay-Larr with the Force.

My dear friend. Can you hear me?

 

[Kay-Larr]

Every day went like clockwork.

Wake up. Get dressed. Have tea. Start the baking. Have more tea. Watch the sunrise. Open up her shop. Look after the customers until closing. Restock the shelves when there's breaks. Nibble on some food when she can. Close. Have dinner. Have a bath. Go to sleep.

And repeat.

Day in and day out she stuck to that routine. For some it was dull, however for Kay it was comforting. It was better to know what would happen in any given day than to not. Here there was no trouble. Nobody was after her. To the Galaxy she was dead and that was probably the best thing.

She had customers to look after, so it wasn't as though she was alone. For the 10 hours that she was open, people would come and go through her shop. Some were regulars, and so she knew them by name and what their favourite teas and goodies were. But there was never any delving into their personal lives. She didn't need to get involved in any of their affairs. It wasn't her place.

As Kay just finished closing up, the voice of The Amalgam called out in her head. She knew that voice. She knew it well.

~Amy? I can hear you. Where are you? Is everything alright?~

 

[The Amalgam]

Everything is fine for now, but I will be with you soon. I have an upcoming scheme.

The Amalgam piloted her ship down, landed and then prepared to leave. She passed by her room, plastered with photos of Maple Harte and Laertia Io, the only two people in the Galaxy she felt anything at all for.

She stepped into them, her violent obsession with both of them driving her and the Witches inside her to a frenzy internally. She needed them. Which made what she had to do next the biggest risk she had ever taken.

Soon, she would lure Syd Celsius to Darth Phyre's tomb, and more than likely, the lingering magic of the tomb would likely re-corrupt her.

When that happened, The Amalgam had a terrible plan in place.

Even she could not hope to defeat Darth Phyre in a direct encounter. She knew that.

Meaning the only solution left was to copy herself via Sith Magic. A copy of her mind, specifically. One that could be hidden away.

As for her...she would have to willingly lose to Phyre.

But there would be a catch to Phyre's "victory".

The Amalgam had just finished enchanting her own body in a special way, creating spiritual backdoors. All it would require is Phyre's mind---who she was certain wouldn't hesitate to kill and absorb her--would soak in the power of her enchanted form, slowly, subtly becoming bound to it--

--and defenseless to the Copy of the true Amalgam's mind for when it would inevitably sieze control back of the body, digesting Phyre, and Syd with it.

It was such a risky gambit, and so so so much could go wrong...but if it worked...

The Amalgam would become more powerful than she had ever dreamed.

She could only bear to be in the presence of her photos for so long before she departed, cloaking herself in the Force to make her way to the teashop of Kay-Larr .

The door would swing open by itself, the door would lock and the shutters would be drawn, followed by The Amalgam de-cloaking with a smile. She had brought a package containing some of Kay's favorite foods.

"Old friend." The Amalgam purred. "How have you been?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

A scheme? Well that wasn't entirely surprising. The Amalgam tended to have a plan in mind whenever they were together. And Kay dodn't tend to be privy to all of it.

She finished closing up, awaiting the arrival of her old friend. Thinking back on it, it was funny how they used to be enemies. Amy was her guard, preventing her from escaping what was essentially house arrest when her home world was under Sith occupation. But the adventure that ensued gained them a valuable friendship that they both treasured. It was unique in it's own way. There was something about it that gave them both a level of safety that they had with no one else. They wouldn't betray eachother.

The door soon opened and then was closed and locked soon after. Seconds later Amy's voice rang through the shoppe. Kay set aside her broom and smiled. "Hi Amy. I'm doing well. Staying out of trouble. It's quiet here, so that helps. This planet is one of those....forgotten places." Just like she was. But that wasn't entirely a bad thing. "How have you been doing?"

 

[The Amalgam]

"Oh, me, just plotting the most awesome long term scheme I've ever plotted!" she gushed happily at Kay-Larr , bringing out a scroll. "And I have chosen you, dear Kay, as my Brain trust..."

Kay really was the only person The Amalgam could afford to trust.

"I have located the tomb of my Cult's founder, Darth Phyre. And it turns out, she reincarnated as a Jedi. But should she go to this tomb, she would surely be awakened as Phyre...and the Tomb is calling out to her...and that would leave me in an awkward position should she actually succeed...for I would be an underling. I can't have that. But I have a plan..."

She eagerly unfurled the scroll, revealing Sith Runes that hurt the eyes to gaze upon.

"Any straight up encounter with Phyre, I will lose, flat out..." she explained. "I would have my consciousness digested, absorbed, essentially killing the real me, for all intents and purposes. And she would be free to interpret how she would act while disguised as me. Her reincarnation entering that tomb is inevitable. And the same result would occur if I tried to absorb the reincarnation as is. But I can't just destroy what's left of her. Her knowledge is too valuable."

The Amalgam tapped her fingers on a table, laying out the plan.

"The Solution is this... technically, the only path forward is to let her win. But if I magically booby-trapped my own body, the curse she would acquire upon inhabiting me and killing my mind off would follow her into every subsequent body thereafter. And I have a ritual that will copy and back up my mind in a small object of sufficient quality. The curse's purpose, is to create a backdoor into her mind that she won't be able to defend against. A back door I'll be able to kick in any time I get ready, and assimilate her so I am the boss again."

She took a few moments of silence, letting Kay process the plan.

"Of course, there is but a single flaw in my plan...if Phyre detects this scheme in my head as she is absorbing me, she'll kill my trick in its crib and hunt you down for the copy of me. So after we perform the ritual, we'll have to selectively erase our memories of the scheme...but I can't do any of this if you don't agree. Do not agree to it casually." she cautioned her old friend. "For if you agree, you will be playing a high stakes gambit with the grimmest of danger to yourself. Phyre is an extremely depraved being, even by my own standards...one mistake and we both suffer a fate worse than death. I hate to put you in this position, Kay. I really do. But you are the only one I can trust with the Copy."

 

[Kay-Larr]

"Brain trust?...."

Kay wasn't entirely sure of what The Amalgam was going on about until she listened to her further. She slid her hands into the pockets of her apron, studying her friend while she explained her scheme with an almost rabid excitement.

It made sense for Amy to have some kind of back up plan for whatever it was that she was facing. The woman was always working on one elaborate scheme or another and this one was sure to be just as heavily layered as the last ones were.

And it came with danger. That in and of itself came at no surprise to Kay. Afterall danger was a part of Amy's life like bread was to butter and Kay was to tea.

"Are you sure that it would be a good idea for my memories to be erased too? Afterall...what if I accidently got rid of whatever your copy was in without even knowing? What if it accidently got destroyed?" It wasn't as though she had much to lose. Kay wasn't reay living these days so much as she was just existing.

 

[The Amalgam]

"I'll put in subtle compulsions to the memory erasure spell..." The Amalgam explained to Kay-Larr "Whatever object we put my copy into, it should remain near you at all times. or some place only you can find . As for getting Phyre near the object...We put another compulsion in your head. Phyre will eventually visit you in my body, wearing my face, and she'll be looking to kill you. She will look like me. Act like me. But she won't be. She'll try to lure you into a false sense of security, before trying to murder you slowly. All while wearing my face, so you'll die thinking your friend just decided to turn on you just because." Amy explained.

"She may contact you. Try to arrange a meeting under the guise of reminiscing. That is when you are compelled to bring out whatever object hides my mental copy in...and expose her to it. She'll be absorbed by me, and I'll become her, and then you'll remember everything. Its a risky plan though..." she admitted. "Very very damn risky...so many variables."

 

[Kay-Larr]

"So....no matter what, I'll be lured into this false sense of security and have to defend myself because I won't remember any of this?" It was risky. Nothing involving The Amalgam was ever devoid of risk. Even their friendship was risky. Some people didn't see Amy the way that she did. Kay knew that there was some good in her, however the path that she took wasn't paved with the best of intentions.

Kay fiddled with a piece of string in her pocket, thinking of what she could even use for the object of such a scheme. It certainly wasn't a box of tea or something that could be thrown away. "So having her exposed to the object would have her absorbed?" It was a bit of a paradox. If it didn't work, Kay could die. And only if it worked would her life be saved at possibly the very last moment. And the trick was in how to get Phyre to get close to whatever object was being used.

"What if we use a tea cup? I have a special set that I've had since I ruled Commenor. They are handy in some political meetings. Would you like to see them?"