Private Wings of Possession

[Katherine Holt]

Katherine Holt was missing.

She had made plans with her Master to go over her latest armour designs that morning, but she never showed up. Kahlil, assuming she had overslept, went to her room at the Temple to check on her. Only to find it empty, her bed unkempt, and the writing pad left open on her desk. But the Padawan herself was nowhere to be seen.

For just over a month now, Katherine had been dealing with bouts of sleepwalking. They started off pretty innocuously. A couple times the Padawan found herself sleeping at her desk, despite knowing for certain she had been in her bed. Then it was other parts of the Temple, be it the archives, training rooms, or even the rooftop.

Only for another occasion, where she woke up in the Temple’s medical bay, apparently having taken enough of a fall to deal a mild concussion. It set off the alarms, specifically the ones her Master had setup in case there were any Sithspawn-related emergencies involving her.

But Katherine believed it to be due to a lack of sleep, which she was admittedly guilty of. After Ryloth, she had dived straight into better preparing herself. Whether it was upgrading her armour and weapons, training, or studying more about Mandalorians. The matter was left there, with the Padawan promising her Master she’d try and get some more sleep.

Only for today to happen.

A quick investigation with the Temple Guard revealed that Katherine had been spotted ‘getting some air’ late last night, only to not be seen returning. The charm Kahlil had given to her on Ryloth was still on her. But a quick focus on it made it all too apparent…

Katherine was no longer on Coruscant.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I'll see you soon."

It was the last thing he said to Valery Noble before he focused on the charm. There was so much going on in the galaxy. The Sith and their reclamation of their holy worlds, the Mandalorians and their war, the Senate and it's obvious corruption. So much wrong that could put his own Padawan's in danger. Kahlil wasn't going to hesitate on helping his Padawans. The teleport rune he'd put on the charm was one way, which meant if he didn't have access to a ship, he'd need someone to pick him up.

Hence, Valery. He gave her a smile, kissed her forehead, before focusing on that rune and disappeared in an instant. There was so much wrong with the Galaxy that there wasn't any time to waste, not if he wanted to keep Katherine safe.

Katherine Holt

 

[Katherine Holt]

While the charm on Katherine’s person had remained untouched, making for a concrete anchor to connect with. The pathway Kahlil took was not as wholly solid as it otherwise should’ve been. Somewhere along the way, the connection wavered, fluctuating for several moments before it finally settled again.

At some point along her journey, Katherine had passed through the Netherworld to reach wherever she was presently.

More so, as Kahlil travelled further from Coruscant, it became all too apparent that he was heading for somewhere rich in the Dark Side of the Force. Its malevolent, dark energy swirled and churned like a whirlpool. Strong enough that it forced the Master Jedi to arrive a little off course from the intended destination point.

Upon arrival, the first thing that could be felt was the maelstrom of dark energy in the air. However, beneath it was another level, older, stale, embedded in the very stonework around him. He had arrived within an ancient sith tomb.

Taking in his surroundings, Kahlil would find himself up on a balcony, overlooking a large open room. What it was originally used for was lost to time, now it was being used for some type of ritual. There were five braziers spread across the space. A larger one in the middle, four smaller ones at each corner of the room. All were ignited with blue flames, wispy tendrils arching towards the central brazier, where a larger ‘beam’ of it was directed into an unseen adjacent room.

A small group of hooded cultists were chanting around the braziers, their words of an old Sith tongue. Amongst them were their apparent guards. A pair of armoured female warriors, and a single Kraujas Arana. From the Sithspawn to the cultists, they all bore an all too familiar emblem wrapped in a pair of wings.

That of Darth Carnifex 's Kainates, particularly the Dark Valkyries.

Katherine however, was nowhere in sight.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

It was one thing to cross the stars. Another to cross dimensions. Kahlil practically collapsed as he existed the warp, reaching up to grip at his chest. Pain, weakness. Crossing into the realm of the dead had it's costs. Still, he stood, got his breathing under control and stared about the realm he had wandered into. This wasn't at all what he expected. Though it was perhaps even worse than anything he'd considered.

A Sith tomb. And one currently inhabited. He bristled. This was where she was taken? He stood, reached down for the saber on his hip. The Dark Valkyries. It did make sense, in a way. It's what she was meant to be.

But not if he had anything to say about it.

<Serenity.>

From within his lightsaber the blue foxlike apparition appeared, peeking out carefully.

<Find her for me. I'll handle them.>

The bond he had would at least be enough to guide the familiar. Especially since Kahlil doubted his intrusion went unnoticed. Serenity nodded, leaping from the saber to the ground to start scurrying along out of sight. Kahlil in turn began to trace runes around him. Simple things, but if the Kainites were going to come his way, better to be prepared.

"Be safe, Katherine. I'm coming."

Katherine Holt

 

[Katherine Holt]

Kahlil’s arrival had indeed put the Sith on alert. Though they did not know who, or exactly where. Just that there was suddenly a distinctively non-Dark side Force user within the tomb. The chanting cultists began to quieten, until the Sithspawn took a step forwards, a heavy boot stomping against the floor.

“Do not break the ritual, the Matriarch commands it.” The towering woman looked across the room, staring at every cultist until they resumed their chanting. “You two,” she began, looking over to the two armoured Valkyries. “Head above, find who has dared to intrude and eliminate them.”

The two warriors gave firm nods, before heading out of the large room and no doubt towards the nearest stairs to reach the upper levels. Unlike the Sithspawn, neither Valkyrie had wings to simply fly up there. But at the same time, the very same creature wasn’t using that advantage either. Rather, the Kjaujas remained resolute on the ground floor. Her eyes staring up towards the balconies above.

If their intruder dared to poke his head out, she would see him.

Meanwhile, Serenity’s path through the tomb was uninterrupted. It was clear the Dark Valkyries hadn’t brought much forces to guard the ritual. Which on one hand was a bit suspicious, but on the other, they might just not have expected to encounter anything more than some wildlife.

Either way, Kahlil’s ethereal companion would find itself following the trail of blue flames that flowed out of the ritual chamber. It didn’t linger across too far, reaching a solitary room where Katherine was being held.

She was hanging in the centre of the room, her feet just barely touching the floor. Her arms were being held up by some unseen force. She was seemingly unconscious, her head lolled to one side. The blue flame that had travelled from the ritual chamber, was ‘striking’ Katherine’s chest, then expanding out to cover her entire body.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

<They're doing something to her. Ritual. Blue fire.>

Kahlil paused his preparation as he listened to Serenity, then outright scrapped it as he instead simply jumped. There was no hesitation, no delay. He leapt from the upper level in clear view of the Sithspawn below and her allies, with his eyes narrowed and focused instead on where he could feel Serenity within. Whatever they were doing, they'd been doing it for too long. And the easiest way to break a ritual?

Break the ritualists.

The Force swelled under his control as he fell to the floor. Gravity. And not a minor amount. He didn't hold back, didn't ease up. The Kainite's were met with the absolute power Kahlil had in it's fullest, outright crushing those who couldn't resist it into the ground they stood on in an instant. <Can you wake her?>

Serenity hopped up, easily walking through the air to stand beside Katherine. He reached up to paw at her face, try to wake her up how best he could. They weren't able to do too much without Kahlil, but they could at least give some comfort. Through the Force, no less, the absolute feeling of calm.

<I'll try.>

Katherine Holt

 

[Katherine Holt]

The Sithspawn immediately took flight the moment she caught sight of Kahlil. While their intent was to intercept him, the Jedi was far too quick. The Kjaujas watched as his form zipped past, slamming into the floor with a powerful thud.

Its effects were immediate, and damaging. The floor beneath them cracked from the sheer impact. Not a single cultist remained standing, a few attempted to get back up but the continuous ‘waves’ that followed kept them down. Others had either fallen to the oppressive power on display, or had been crushed by the debris that had come loose from above.

The four outlying braziers stood no chance. Two had toppled over from the impact, hitting the ground and smashing apart. Whereas the remaining two just simply shattered into pieces. The bowls of blue flame within each one were snuffed out moments later.

However, the central brazier remained standing, the blue flame still ignited within. But the sounds of stone cracking were all too audible in the room.

The Sithspawn stared down at Kahlil and…hesitated. She was, after all, facing not just a powerful Jedi, but someone who specialised in dealing with Sithspawn. Nonetheless, she gripped her spear and lunged down towards the Jedi Master. The two Valkyries had returned, only to stop just beyond the threshold as they saw the very floor shaking beneath Kahlil’s power.

Both looked at one another, seemingly concocting a silent plan before putting it into action. Igniting their red lightsabers, they used the Force to leap through the air and towards the Jedi.

With Serenity, the ethereal being’s action had no effect on Katherine. Not even the slightest bodily twitch at being touched. One could almost mistake her for dead, with how still her body was. She certainly didn’t appear to be breathing, almost as if she was frozen within that moment of time.

That was until Kahlil had made his move. With the destruction of the four braziers, the strength of the beam hitting Katherine weakened. Its vibrancy and form began to shrink as the last remaining brazier tried to keep the ritual from completely breaking. And as it grew weaker, the Padawan’s chest slowly began rise and fall.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

They leapt, and gravity met them.

Kahlil turned his gaze towards them, raised his hand, and immediately made them drop as he had the others. Their deaths were quick, just as the others had been. He held no desire to leave any of them alive, not with what they were doing to Katherine. Not with the image of her unmoving and seemingly dead body in his mind from his connection with Serenity. The only saving grace was the fact she seemed to start to breath.

<She's alive. The ritual is doing something.>

"Not for much longer."

Kahlil turned away from the remaining Sithspawn above, instead looking towards the brazier. If she was going to hesitate, he was going to destroy this.. Ritual. His blue saber disengaged as a blade of pure light replaced it, shimmering in the darkness. The Nether itself reacted, seeming to make the air around him recoil. But he didn't slow, instead lifting the blade up to cut through the basin once and for all.

Katherine Holt

 

[Katherine Holt]

Neither Valkyrie reached anywhere close to Kahlil before they summarily collapsed to the ground, sharing the fate of the cultists that already littered the floor. The Sithspawn pulled back from her intended move and made some distance between herself and the Jedi. She remained airbourne, and kept her eyes affixed to Kahlil.

Much as she had her orders, she also had a desire to remain alive.

It was very selfish and Sith of the creature.

She didn’t even make a move to stop Kahlil as he went for the final brazier. The Sithspawn glanced towards where the beam of flame shimmered out of the room, to where Katherine was being kept. A moment later she flew up higher, settling herself on a perch and opting to see how things unfolded.

There was no resistance as Kahlil’s blade of light sliced through the basin. It was already fragile with the cracking stone. Resulting it practically shattering in response. Both the fire and the Nether seemed to scream out in reaction. The loss of its focal point sent it into a spiral, wrapping around itself, consuming its own embers.

It swirled around and around until it finally dispersed with a fiery pop.

The beam of fire followed suit, fading out of existence, leading out from the main chamber and towards Katherine. Even after it was gone, she remained hanging there for several seconds, before the sound of chains breaking filled the room. With her invisible restraints gone, the winged Padawan’s body collapsed to the floor.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Serenity scooted forward immediately to try and at least soften Katherine's landing on the ground, not that they were particularly capable of that. They were pretty small, after all. But thankfully they didn't have to keep her up for long. Kahlil stepped over, beside the slumbering Padawan to gently lift her up. The ritual he could study later, to make sure nothing lingered that might affect her in the future, but right now?

She needed to come home.

"Can you make the gate?"

"Yes, I'll begin now."

"Good."

Katherine Holt

 

[Katherine Holt]

Katherine began to stir as she was picked up, and felt Kahlil’s familiar presence. “Ma…ster?” She said, her voice weak and barely audible. For a moment it seemed like the Padawan had immediately fallen unconscious again, until she suddenly flew into a panic.

She thrashed against her Master’s hold, limbs and wings smacking into him until Katherine ‘freed’ herself and tumbled to the ground. The Padawan scrambled to her feet, getting as far away as she could.

“Can’t...stay.”

Katherine kept stumbling side to side as she moved, sometimes looking like she was going to fall backwards. Almost as though in those brief moments, she was suddenly unfamiliar with the weight of her own wings.

“Too…dangerous.”

The winged Padawan continued her drunken-like march, trying to make distance between herself and Kahlil. But as she was going to turn a corner, Katherine’s body suddenly froze on the spot. She stood up to her full height, taking a moment to crack her stiff neck. As Katherine slowly turned around to face Kahlil, a red ‘aura’ fell over her body like a veil.

“Oh, hello Master.”

It was not Katherine’s voice coming out of her body, at least not quite. The Padawan’s voice was still present, but it was the lesser of the two. The other was distinctly female, but sounded older than Katherine.

A voice familiar to Kahlil? Perhaps, or perhaps not. Either way, his Padawan was no longer in control of her own body.

“Kahlil Noble. You got here early, suspiciously so.”

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"We'll be home soon. The circle just needs to be com- Katherine?" He was pushed away. She climbed her way up to her feet, stepped away. He reached out, frowning a little to stop her. The circle needed to be finished, and they needed to remain within it. Except she stopped and a different voice took over. So that's what all this was. His gaze narrowed. He couldn't purge the spirit, not like he could with others.

The Light would only hurt Katherine.

"I tend to care about my Padawans. I'm sure that seems surprising. I'll have to ask you to leave, now."

Katherine Holt

 

[Katherine Holt]

As she caught Kahlil’s eyes narrowing, ‘Katherine’s’ face twisted into a wicked grin. She knew full well that the Jedi Master couldn’t use his go to method of purging spirits. Not without severely hurting the Padawan in the process, if not outright killing her.

“Oh no no no, the surprising thing here is how quickly you arrived.” She began to pace left and right, but always kept her body angled towards Kahlil, ready to act. “I anticipated you arriving a little bit before the ritual ended. Or maybe just after, but that was wishful thinking.”

“But no, you got here extremely fast…how?” ‘Katherine’ paused in her pacing, looking over at Kahlil with an annoyed expression. Only for it to shift into a thoughtful one for several moments.

And then proceeded to laugh.

“The charm. Oh that’s very clever, Arcanix did say you’d have tricks up your sleeve.” The Padawan raised her hands, giving Kahlil a mocking little clap. “I missed it simply because it slipped Katherine’s mind, she forgot that she still had it on her person.”

‘Katherine’s’ laugh died down into a chuckle, before her expression turned serious.

“Alas, you’ll be returning home empty handed.” She raised a hand out, and one of the fallen Valkyrie’s lightsaber hilts flew into it. “Let’s see how far you’ll go, Shield. To save your Padawan.”

Elsewhere…

Katherine, the real Katherine, had no idea where she was. For a brief moment she remembered waking up, that her Master was holding her. But then she could feel the clutches of the Sith, as the entity crawled towards the surface. The Padawan had picked up on the foul intent, intending to stab Kahlil while he was still holding her.

So Katherine had panicked, trying to make as much distance before the Sith was able to take over. At the very least, she had been successful in stopping her Master getting stabbed.

Now however, she was stuck in some type of prison cell. Surrounded by three walls and a door, with the only window being on the latter. She could see out of it, see what her body was looking at. The moment the red blade ignited, Katherine began to yell and bang against the door.

But there was no one to hear it.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"You're assuming a lot for a dead woman."

Kahlil flicked on his own saber, though without the hum that was normally there. He couldn't use the Light to help Katherine, not easily, but he still had his ways of protecting his Padawan. He lifted the blade, turned to a rather calm expression as he steadied his stance. He wouldn't strike, there was no reason to. He was just the distraction this time around, after all. Katherine wasn't alone inside the cell, after all.

Serenity had dove in, and now sat beside her as he, too, looked out the window.

"Calm down, Katherine. Your Master is here to help, but he can't save you unless you calm down."

Katherine Holt

 

[Katherine Holt]

‘Katherine’ grinned at Kahlil’s words, watching as the Jedi ignited his lightsaber and slipped into a calm stance. She had completely missed the fact his blade was lacking the typical hum sound, as she was far too focused on her next move.

The possessed Padawan raised her free hand, using the Force to levitate several chunks of stone that had been dislodged from Kahlil’s earlier gravity attack in the main chamber.

With a flick of her wrist, she sent the rocks hurtling towards her opponent, before leaping forwards herself, blade raised for an overhead strike.

Meanwhile in her mind, Katherine almost jumped out of fright from the sudden voice beside her. But the familiar, comforting presence of Serenity kept her grounded.

“Serenity? What are-how are you here?” The Padawan was thoroughly confused as she looked between the floating entity, and the scene that was playing outside the window.

“How can I be calm? I’m locked in my own mind, while my own karking mother is possessing my body!”

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil moved, barely. The most subtle of movements, complete control as he let the rocks sail past him. His blade came up to knock the others away, but didn't cut through them. The Entropite blade couldn't cut or harm anything. It was why he'd activated it. As his Padawan came down with the borrowed blade he brought his own up to catch it, passively, defensively. Serenity was where they needed to be now, so he could be a little slower.

"I'm more of a manifestation of intent and will than a real body. So.. I can come into these kinds of places. But, you still need to calm yourself. That's how possession works. The more you're upset, the easier she can control you. You need to focus. Keep calm. Drive her out by controlling yourself."

Katherine Holt

 

[Katherine Holt]

“I…I don’t know how to.” Katherine said, her voice quiet as she stared out at ‘herself’ trying to goad her Master into attacking. “She could’ve been lying about what she said, but there was an…uneasy familiarity in her presence during the ritual.” The Padawan had somewhat calmed down, outwardly at least, but now she was just staring down at the floor.

Until a thought shot to the forefront of her mind, and she looked over at Serenity.

“You’re still connected to Master, right? Able to relay information to him?” Katherine paused, waiting for confirmation. “This isn’t a spirit, at least I don’t believe it to be…” She went on to briefly explain that after encountering a fellow student who had experienced possession, Katherine had done what she always did when discovering an unfamiliar subject

She read everything she could on it.

“Survivor accounts mentioned that whenever the spirit spoke to them, it sounded akin to a disembodied voice.” In hindsight now, it made things so much more clearer why the experience had felt so different to what she had read. “But with her, Moirai; my mother. It sounded more akin to speaking to someone on the other end of a commlink.”

Meaning that she was physically somewhere in the galaxy when performing the ritual, and now actively controlling her body.

“But I still don’t know how to try and push her out.”

Back in reality, ‘Katherine’ let out an irritated growl as Kahlil effortlessly blocked every attack she threw at him. And it wasn’t just that that annoyed her, it was how passively he was going about it.

She wanted to push him into attacking, to make a mistake. But the Jedi was practically a durasteel wall against her attempts. So the possessed Padawan fell back to a previous tactic.

“You can imagine my amusement when Carnifex informed me he had encountered Katherine. Tsk tsk, Master Jedi. If she hadn’t had any backup that day, you would’ve thrown away a Padawan just like that.” It had been a pure accidental occurrence, nothing to do with Kahlil, but he was still responsible for her.

“Though she did come away from that with a nasty little bug, didn’t she?” ‘Katherine’ looked down at her arm, where there had once been red Creeping Lignan crystals growing from. “I see she came out the other side of that without any scars, physically anyway.”

A cruel smirk formed across the Padawan’s face. “Did you know she still considers herself abhorrent, a monster? Much as she’s tries to hide it, deep down she is wracked with guilt over the damage and injuries she caused that day.”

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"You should know better by now."

Kahlil spoke softly as he recentered his position. Kept a calm expression on his face. He was listening, but not really to the Sith Lord possessing the body. Instead, he was focused on Serenity. And he already knew what he had to do. Or rather, what Katherine had to do. He let out a sigh as he relayed the information to his Familiar, then slowly lifted his blade to point towards 'Katherine' again in the classic Soresu stance.

"Make it easy on us both and just leave Katherine be."

"Runes. Your runes. Kahlil has a new one for you to learn that should really help. This is your mind, your body. Don't try to control your whole body, just enough so you can make the runes you need."

Serenity hopped up into the air, floating and running around. It's tail traced the rune they'd talked about. Barrier. Shield. Center. Soul. The sequence itself wasn't the easiest, but it wouldn't be the most complex Katherine had made.

"It'll cut you off from them, from anyone trying to get in your body or your mind. Kahlil can hold them back easily, but you should hurry before more might arrive!"

Katherine Holt

 

[Katherine Holt]

Katherine wanted to facepalm.

Runes, of course! Why the Force hadn't it crossed her mind until now. Kahlil had been training her and Shan in their use, albeit not within your own mind. But what more powerful place could one be?

She just needed to regain enough control to tip the balance back into her favour.

The Sith at present had total control physically, but not mentally. Why? Katherine chalked it up to Sith arrogance. Her first order of business was to create an initial mental anchor, enough so to reclaim some measure of control in the real world. Hopefully the Sith possessing her didn’t catch on beforehand.

Katherine watched as Serenity traced the sequence of runes, before she raised her hand and focused on the Force. From her left hand the base array framework formed, she utilised her right to begin tracing the individual components one by one within it. It was a struggle, but Katherine was resolute in her concentration.

“I may not be able to unlock the door, but this is still my mind.” Katherine walked to the centre of the prison cell she was in. The walls around her buckled and wavered as she forced them to expand outwards. Katherine lowered the runic array to the ground, where it expanded out large enough for the Padawan to stand within the middle.

However, only half of the sequence lit up around her. Barrier and Shield were fine, but the moment she tried to activate the remaining two, they refused to budge.

Almost as if Katherine wasn’t the Center or Soul of…herself?

Before she could try and gather her thoughts, to try and reclaim control of her body, the Padawan felt a cold, unnatural chill shoot down her spine. Her body was doing something her mind was greatly unsettled by.

The Possessed Padawan didn’t reply to Kahlil, instead she looked at him with a narrow, suspicious gaze. It was only when he shifted into a Soresu stance, that ‘Katherine’ finally noticed the blade was lacking the usual hum. Confusion flashed across her face for a moment, until she recollected a memory of Katherine’s, of when she first met Serenity.

She stepped back, looking inwards mentally for intent. Her eyes snapped towards Kahlil, and she deactivated the lightsaber. Only for a second after, to turn the hilt around and press the emitter against Katherine’s chest, her finger poised against the activation button.

“Don’t even think about it. It might cause me pain to be forcefully ejected, but it will kill Katherine.” The possessed Padawan stared Kahlil down, daring him to try and do something quicker than she could activate the lightsaber. “I can just find another body.”

As she spoke however, there was an involuntary ‘twitch’ in her other hand, went completely unnoticed by the Sith.

Kahlil Noble​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"You're quite a terrible mother."

Kahlil lowered his blade. Let it extinguish as he stared his possessed Padawan down. It would be tricky to get that saber away before she hit the ignite. The slightest twitch, and he was already well aware that he wasn't fast enough. But he wasn't the one that would stop her anyway. "You're clearly buying time until someone arrives. Will you at least tell me who so we're not just standing around awkwardly? Maybe a little monologue on your dastardly plans? Little gloating?"

He smirked, just a little. Anything to keep her attention on him and not what Katherine was doing from within.

Katherine Holt