Aria knew the likelihood of them walking right into a trap was EXTREMELY high, and the dogs seemed to confirm this, but as Yerbol spoke of what Illesia might do to the people they had captured, she knew that turning back and leaving them in the hands of the Xiis was not an option. 
“We have to get them out of there.” she agreed as they began to pursue the shapes through the settlement until they reached the gate at the other side. Yerbol stopped again to allow Aria to take the lead, a Tuk’ata flanking them on either side as they moved back into the jungle once more. Even the wilderness was eerily devoid of life forms, there should have been birds, small rodents, packs of vine cats on the prowl and other large creatures besides that, but apart from the insects Aria could see no sign of any of the native fauna. As they rounded the corner and came upon the first of Illesia's gruesome offerings, they discovered why. Of course, nothing would want to come anywhere near the totems, they'd probably moved off to other hunting grounds where they didn't feel as threatened. Aria was stunned into silence by the display, her jaw stiffening as she tried to swallow the sour taste left in her mouth. 
“Did they leave ANY of them alive?” the Champion muttered as they followed the trail of gore to the mouth of the cave where they were set upon by the large group of waiting Xiis. 
Aria nodded her agreement, shooting the dogs a penetrative glare that warned them not to attack. Yerbol was right, though Chwuq was reluctant to comply at first and gnashed her teeth furiously at one of the Xiis that made the mistake of trying to kick her forward after her masters. 

They were herded inside by their captors, Aria regarding Illesia through half-narrowed eyes as the lead Xiis moved around the stone platform and came towards them. 
“Why the younglings?” the Champion hissed through her teeth. “You're going to pay for that!”
Illesia cackled gleefully at their insinuations, her crimson eyes flicking back towards the dark tunnel behind the marble altar. The hairs on the back of Aria's neck stood on end as the footsteps echoed towards them, slow and methodical. They felt the slight shift in the Force as the Five stepped into the chamber, from their appearance three men and two women. The other Xiis who had forced them into the cave abruptly retreated with complacent whimpers, only Illesia remained where she stood. Piercing crimson eyes bored right into her skull as the Five looked the duo over, the front most of the men licking his lips as he spoke to Illesia:
“You were right, my dear...they ARE strong.”
His voice had such a gravity to it, a way of pulling you in and keeping you there, Aria found herself unable to tear her attention from him for a moment, her feet seeming to inch further towards them of their own accord without her meaning them to, until a familiar voice broke into her thoughts and jolted the sense back into her with a sharp reprimand:
[i]DON’T look them in the eye! [/i]
Shaking herself free of whatever influence the Five may have been exerting on them, Aria dropped her gaze to the floor and swallowed the lump that had begun to form in her throat, communicating the same warning to Yerbol through their bond, in case he hadn’t heard Roan’s voice as well.
[i]It’s like they pull you in...and you can’t stop them. Is that what Illesia did to you?[/i] She shuddered a little at the thought. Only these Xiis seemed even MORE influential than Illesia, which was disconcerting.
“Yes,” spoke up one of the women in agreement with her comrade. “They will do nicely. Then our strength will return fully.” As one, the five Xiis began to advance towards them, Aria and Yerbol backing away as they attempted to keep the distance between them. Throwing her glance back towards the exit tunnel, Aria saw the Xiis from before had formed a barricade of sorts...there’d be no going back that way without fighting through them first. The Champion’s grip on her lightsabers tightened till her knuckles went white. No. Running away wasn’t an option.
[i]We’ve got to stop them somehow. [/i] There was no telling the horrors the Five could unleash on other worlds, if they managed to get to the spaceport...Yerbol nodded, as if he had realised the same thing. Squaring her jaw, Aria dropped into an attack stance and prepared to do whatever they had to in order to stop the Five from leaving this chamber. With visceral snarls, the dogs prowled forward as well, just as keen to sink their teeth into their opponents as the Xiis were themselves.
“They don’t leave the chamber.” Aria murmured, the Tuk’ata affirming the instruction with a grunt and a swish of their tails.

Once the Xiis had pressed forward further, she realised this may have been easier said than done. The duo tried to fight side-by-side and employ some of their usual paired fighting tactics, Yerbol aiming high with long strokes of his double-bladed saber while Aria tried to sweep below and knock them off balance. Though they were unpolished from years spent in stasis pods, the Five were just as physically strong and fast as Illesia and before she knew what had happened, Aria found one of the men had sneakily managed to drive her away from Yerbol and back her into a corner. She tried to fumble for the comlink and alert Cheriss to their predicament, but the Xiis’ arm shot out to grab her wrist in an iron grip before she could hit the button. 
His other hand plucked the comm unit right out of her ear and flung it off into the shadows at the other end of the chamber, his crimson eyes glittering with bloodlust as he leaned in to purr softly:
“Now now, you won’t be needing THAT, my dear.” 
The Champion could smell the metallic tang of blood on his teeth as the Xiis’ face hovered inches from hers, shuddering uncomfortably as his fingertips brushed from her ear down her neck. Aria jerked away sharply before he had a chance to go any further, hissing through her teeth.
“It’s impolite to put your hands on a lady without asking in this part of the galaxy!” 
A well-aimed kick to the stomach staggered him backwards enough for Aria to duck underneath one of his arms only to dart right towards the flailing claws of one of the females. They advanced slowly, taking the occasional swipe at her as they herded her back and forth between them. Eerie, delighted laughter bounced off the walls each time Aria leapt out of the reach of one and into the waiting arms of the other, their crimson eyes watching her with an unnaturally predatory satisfaction. They were toying with her, like a Loth cat played with a womp rat. Each time she tried to move in one direction, one of the pair would block the exit and force her back into the corner, biding their time while she wasted energy ducking and feinting in futile attempts at escape. Spotting her predicament, Chwuq surged across the chamber from her place at Yerbol's side, seized the man's shoulder in her guillotine-like jaws and shook it until the bone crunched under the strain. Letting out a howl of agony, the Xiis spun around and prised his arm free of her jaws, lifting the canine into the air and throwing her clear. The Tuk’ata thumped against the backmost wall of the chamber and didn’t seem to stir when she hit the floor. Aria didn’t have time to check, not till this was over. She could only hope that whatever injuries Chwuq had suffered, she could hold out until they could get to her. 

Wide-eyed with panic, Aria was desperately trying to evade her captors and rejoin Yerbol when the sentinels at the entrance/exit passageway were suddenly propelled into the marble altar, a familiar figure appearing in their place. 
“Tsk Tsk, six against three...that's not a fair fight is it?” Cheriss clucked disapprovingly, another blast of energy from her palm sending one of the Five blundering straight into Taral’s jaws (furious at his mate’s injured state, the hound who was normally the more reserved of the two fell on the Xiis with a vengeance unlike any other). 
“Cheriss! Force, are we glad to see you!” Aria gasped, dodging another swipe of a clawed hand and striking out in retaliation with a lightsaber. The Dathomirian grinned back at her, advancing further into the room whilst firing bolts of energy from her fingertips. 
“A little birdy told me he had a feeling you needed the help.” 
Aria had thought Yerbol had managed to call her on the comlink at first, until she glimpsed another shadowy shape flitting from the passageway into the main chamber, a column of dark energy rippling through the air as it landed between the two Xiis that had been hounding her. 
“TOUCH either one of them again and we'll see just who ends up adding to the body count.” Roan rumbled. With the pair momentarily stunned, Aria went on the offensive and managed to clip the man across the collarbone before he lunged and threw her backwards with such force that she continued to skid backwards a few inches after her feet had hit solid ground again. Blasts of energy came at her from both sides from Illesia and one of the Five, only to bounce off the barrier Roan threw up in front of her as a shield. Knowing that they had the backup they needed fed a new kind of vigor into Aria's tiring limbs, allowing her to spring back into action despite the cramped space. 

With a broken shoulderblade, the male Xiis was much less mobile than previously and made the task of overpowering him seem less impossible than previously. Roan’s appearance seemed to have distracted the two Xiis, the aliens currently more occupied with trying to take swings at the Force apparition, who seemed to take great joy in the perplexed looks on their faces as each of their lunges simply passed straight through him.
“You really aren’t very clever, are you?” the former Sith Lord proclaimed, grin splitting his features. “You can’t kill someone who’s already dead!” taking advantage of their presently stunned state, Aria lunged and managed to run the man through the chest with her lightsaber, stepping back to find his companion had been struck down by a burst of energy from Roan. With two of the Five dispatched, the Champion spun around to rejoin Yerbol and Cheriss who had dispatched the other three between them as well. Taral had left Yerbol’s side to dash across to Chwuq, whimpering and pawing frantically at her side. Illesia, Aria noted, was nowhere to be seen.

“Illesia got away…” she muttered, exchanging a concerned look with her partner and the Elder Qyaari.