TheElvenJedi

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

The group had whirled chaotically back into the base some hours later, Roan breezing past Ailel without so much as a grunt of affirmation which left the Jedi Master more than puzzled until Voldon and Kira came forward to fill them in on what had occurred during their encounter with Bracknell. A few glances were cast in the direction the Sith Lord had disappeared in before attentions were directed back to unloading the supplies that had just come in and trying to decipher the information their scouting party had returned with.

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Aria had remained completely silent throughout the trip back, her eyes screwed tightly shut as she struggled internally to block out the memories that had begun resurfacing the moment Bracknell had summoned the likeness of her mother. She was hardly aware of how much time had passed or indeed where they were until Roan stopped moving and set her down again, Aria opening her eyes to find herself sitting on one of the cots back in her quarters at their base. Sniffing, she swiped the back of a hand over her eyes to clear the fresh flow of tears out of them before looking back up at her father.
“Wh-What was….HOW d-did he d-do that?” Roan didn’t answer straight away, his face stony and unmoving as he seemed to ponder the explanation before he spoke very quietly.
“He was there in the Council chamber when your trials were set. He would have known.” he leaned back against the wall, studying his daughter carefully as he continued. “If he’s in contact with this man who’s guiding the True Sith’s actions and he somehow had access to your memories, he’s perfectly capable of using his power to recall a Force ghost back into our realm for that time.” his eyes narrowed slightly, Roan muttered. “I was under the impression that you had come to terms with it long ago. I’m amazed that you kept this hidden from me, from the entire Council, for four years.”
“You didn’t give me a choice!” Aria choked out, slumping back against the wall, “You told me there weren’t any other options!”
“And there were not.” her father answered in a perfectly level tone. “The trials are a test of your loyalty to the Sith, Aria, it wouldn’t be a valid assessment if you weren’t faced with a choice between someone of importance to you and the instructions of your Masters.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to understand.” she scoffed. “Did you even care about her at all? Was it that easy to just agree to it?”
“Then perhaps I misjudged whether you REALLY were ready to commit yourself to the Dark Council.” Roan grunted, shaking his head. “I recommended that they put you up to the trials because I thought you understood that if you wanted to be one of us your loyalty to the Sith Code had to come above EVERYTHING else. Even those you are most attached to.”
“You weren’t there!” Aria hissed, chin settled on her knees as she rocked forward slightly, then slumped back once again. “You didn’t have to watch the light fade out of her eyes.
Sighing, Roan pulled a hand through his hair in agitation. This was something Aria would have to find her own way through, to find some way to accept what she had done to whatever end goal she chose, even if it wouldn’t be the same conclusion he had made long ago when he had chosen to devote himself to the Dark Council and their teachings. For whatever reason, he was forced to come to terms with the fact that Aria was not comfortable discussing the topic with him and that there might have been another among their group better suited to the job.
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As he shut the door, he was faced with an awkwardly fidgeting Yerbol who peered expectantly over the Sith Lord’s shoulder and mumbled.
“Can I see her now?”
Roan looked between the Jedi Knight and the door once more before he shrugged carefully.
“I highly doubt I could stop you if you were that determined to speak to her, could I, boy?” he grunted. “As much as I hate to acknowledge it, she may be more willing to talk to you than I.” the Sith Lord crossed his arms over his chest and scowled down at Yerbol sternly. “However, I will strongly caution you to reserve any righteous indignation you may feel about her actions for later. She’s very...fragile, right now.” with that said, Roan shuffled a few steps to the side to allow Yerbol access to the door, lingering only long enough to ensure Aria made no vehement protests to Yerbol’s entering the room. When no such sign came, he disappeared back down the hallway to rejoin the rest of the group and give the duo some measure of privacy.

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

It would have been the sacrifice/last stage of her trials for definite, I'm still not 100% sure myself on whether Roan would have ordered it specifically; at the very least he certainly wouldn't have outwardly protested to the assignment being set since his standing with the Dark Council was always more important to him than anything else, including whatever feelings he did happen to have for her mom O.o (it's something I'm still working the kinks out of properly as we go bear with while I hash out the exact details XD)

Oh I bet, I look forward to seeing how that will pan out

Hahaha, I'd like to take credit for it but it was mostly just because I happened to be playing during that 200% XP boost before the new update came out ;) XD gosh I can't imagine it being that slow to level, that must have been mind-numbing XD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Phew, those last few paragraphs were REALLY difficult to word for some reason? O_O Trying to portray Roan's concern for Aria without making him seem too soft and squishy for a Sith Lord was very tricky XD He does still have a heart, however shrivelled and however deeply buried it may be XD

Mwahahahahahaha, enjoy your next few sleepless nights while repressed memories come back to haunt you, Ari! *cackles*

Edit: Woot! Let me know if you can't manage to find me and I can try and look for you xP

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Aria nodded breathlessly as Yerbol made a reappearance at her side, flashing a briefly triumphant grin his way though they didn’t have time to celebrate their joined effort at taking down that projection as Bracknell threw Jungze aside and turned his attention fully onto the duo.
Hot. It was getting so hot. Swiping the back of a wrist over her brow to clear the trickle of sweat that had begun to form there before it could drip into her eyes. She made the mistake of glancing in Bracknell’s direction to find the former Sith Lord’s gaze boring into her own and holding her in place. She tried to break the eye contact between them but Bracknell was more powerful and it didn’t seem to matter how much she willed her head to move, to look away, she simply couldn’t get it to move.
“I’m interested to know what he sees in you.” Bracknell mused out loud, his voice dripping with venom. “You’re still weak, too attached to the past and influenced by your own fear!”

Aria flinched as a familiar voice echoed through every recess of her mind, one she hadn’t heard in four years and that she thought she would never hear again.
“Ari, you don’t have to do this…” she twitched visibly, as if trying to dismiss the voice, the flickering projection of the woman standing between herself and Bracknell, hands held out in front of her as she pleaded frantically. It was the heat...the heat playing tricks on her...or, was Bracknell doing this?
Roan stiffened as the illusion appeared, growling as he shouted across the room in an attempt to get Aria’s attention off the manifestation of her memories.
“Aria! It’s NOT real! IT’S NOT REAL!”
Out of the corner of her eye, Aria could see her father’s mouth moving but no words were coming out, her attention entirely focused on the figure and her words. “M-Mom...mom!” Aria stepped forward, reaching towards the illusion and clasping around a wrist that felt so solid and so...real that she was convinced it really WAS her mother standing in front of her, even though rationally she should have been able to dismiss it as a mind trick. Whether it was the heat or some other influence Bracknell had over her mind in that moment Aria couldn’t process that what she was seeing was in fact an illusion of a long buried memory; all she wanted was to talk to her again. To...to stop this from getting out of control before it all-
Suddenly the woman let out a piercing scream and jerked out of Aria’s grip, losing her footing as she cried out:
“Ari please...don’t do this….no, I’m your MOTHER! I’M YOUR MOTHER!”
“No! NO! MOM!” Aria wailed, tears misting her eyes as she frantically grabbed for the imaginary weapon that would have arced towards the woman’s chest as she delivered the killing blow-
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Roan bellowed, drawing back his arm, dark purple energy crackling to life in the center of his palm. The energy formed into a thin spear-like pillar which he flung straight across the room and into the center of the projection, causing it to break up into puffs of smoke with another desperate scream. Bracknell spat a curse as the energy spear connected with the ground inches from his feet, throwing him backwards into the staircase where he landed with a resounding thump and remained still.

Aria was still staring at the place the projection of her mother had been seconds before, her lightsabers clattering unceremoniously to the floor as her shaking hands lost their grip on them.
“Aria!” she didn’t respond when Roan called her name again, the tears trickled down over her cheeks; she tried to form words to respond though all that came out at first was a pitiful whimper as she fought back more tears. Her legs were slowly turning to jelly and before long they couldn’t hold her up any longer and she dropped like a deadweight towards the floor.
“Aria!” Roan had caught her and gathered her up into his arms before Yerbol could so much as take a step in Aria’s direction, shushing her quietly as Aria let out another high-pitched squeal and curled herself up into a tight ball against her father’s chest. “It’s okay, it’s gone.” he whispered. “It’s over.” tearing his gaze from Bracknell’s unconscious form, pushing away the overwhelming urge to dismember the little worm while he had the chance and instead snarling back at the others.
“Let’s get out of here! We’ve got what we came for!”

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Oooohhh that's a VERY good thought about Bracknell being jealous and/or angry about them forming a bond with Kator, totally didn't think of that one myself! =P (I look forward to it! XD)

Ooh nice, I can work with that, totally!

I'm on The Red Eclipse :) I think I have Ari under Aria Saal, so she should be easy enough to find XD Let me know if not and I can always try and search you up once we're on the same server lol

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Aw don't worry about limiting yourself too much, I shall find a way to work it in with the flow somehow XD

I also tried to include a bit about what goes on with their actual bond since its stronger than last time they fought together, would the scenario work in a similar way again in that it would develop slightly more again? O_O (I admit I actually forget to think about it and what effect it would have on them sometimes and I have to go back and try to add it in as an afterthought lol)

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Kind of left ya hanging on the very end there with the ominousness of that last line, but it was getting pretty long, so figured it was best to split it off, sorry about that O.O xD

It shall be either my next one or the one after that (depending on how things pan out) where things start getting REALLY nasty XD
(also, not far off the big 200 so wooooo! *throws confetti*)

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

“No, indeed.” Roan grunted. “Much like your Council I suppose, our own dismissed any speculations on such matters as senseless raving of crackpots who had long since lost their minds because of their obsession with such research.” he supplemented Jungze’s comment with a glance towards the other Darth, though any other discussion on the matter would have to be dismissed as they were confronted with Bracknell standing at the foot of the last staircase.
Aria swallowed as she took in Yerbol’s mutter about the projection, nodding stiffly as her eyes didn’t leave the red-tendrilled alien, drawing her sabers to her hands.
“Don’t underestimate them.” She warned as she caught Voldon’s sneer about the capabilities of the illusions. “The projections are more powerful than they look.” before her father or Jungze could protest again, she added. “Easily on par with your skills, and fully mobile so yes, they ARE dangerous.”
“Hmph.” Roan grunted, spinning his lightsaber into a ready position. “We shall see, then.”

Bracknell’s features cracked into a knowing smile as he regarded the group before him. “The projections will be enough, why waste resources needlessly, after all? This won’t take long.” perhaps he was underestimating their impromptu abilities to work together as a team, or perhaps he was hoping that the only pair who COULD work cohesively would be forced apart by their respective elders and thus leave the whole group vulnerable. “Let’s get this over with, shall we? I have places to be and execution orders to sign.” Bracknell drawled, flinging a burst of energy towards the cluster of Force users as the four projections lunged forward in unison to try and segregate them off as they scattered to avoid his attack.

The staircase was narrow and it made avoiding the energy blast problematic for them, even their best attempts to throw up a barrier to deflect it away wouldn’t be fast enough to absorb all of it and those nearest to the front would take the full brunt of it, knocked off their footing and sent stumbling into those that were behind them. Luckily for those that slipped off the edge of the staircase, the fall to the floor wasn’t far enough to leave any kind of lasting damage beyond winding them slightly. Aria straightened up, throwing a quick glance around to get a sense of where everyone else was before she was face to face with one of the projections. Placing one foot behind the other, she rocked her weight back and met its stare confidently. “Don’t look so smug, we killed you once, we can do it again.” she let out a breath, shutting her eyes as she recalled what Jungze had explained about the bond before: that it had formed in the moment the pair had been so focused on the Force energies around them in order to defeat the threat before them. There must be a way to exploit that energy again, even if they weren’t side by side and had to fight different projections simultaneously. She grasped at the link forged between their minds and spoke to Yerbol briefly.
You ready? We can still do this, just like last time. she wasn’t sure whether their exact same tactics would work so well, but in theory they could keep observations on the projections’ fighting styles and use signals through their bond to adjust their own moves. Aria could hardly see Yerbol, barely catching a glimpse of his red-blue saber somewhere nearer to the middle of the chamber, near Jungze and Bracknell; she would have to rely on their link. Be careful! she squeaked out, jumping backwards as a lightsaber slashed towards her torso, the projection striking with swift, quick blows as it forced Aria into a retreat even further away from Yerbol and the others. She could feel the tendril between them becoming even more tense the further apart they became, hissing out an angry breath from between her teeth Aria twisted to avoid another thrust and ducked through the projection’s arm to lunge back towards the trio. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Roan and Kira trapped in the corner between the staircase and the far wall as two of the projections closed in on them, and Voldon moving with calm determination to come to their aid while Bracknell threw more energy at the Battlemaster in an attempt to halt his progress.

They’re trying to separate us! Try and stay together! Aria shouted out to Yerbol, latching onto the thread between them and refusing to lose her focus on the channels flowing between them. As crazy as it may have sounded, that seemed to relax the tension slightly and return it to relative normality. Comforted that it wasn’t in imminent danger of severing or otherwise causing either of them immediate harm, Aria lunged forward to aim a powerful blow towards the chest of her own attacker, snarling.
“Nice try, but you can’t throw us off that easily!” her blade glanced off the edge of the illusion’s own weapon, forcing her to disengage and move back to find another opening.
“You underestimate our capabilities!” the projection chided with a voluminous cackle. “You know nothing of the things we can do with Bracknell’s help!”
“We’re not afraid of him, and we’re certainly not afraid of you!” Aria snarled back, darting in for another blow. Bracknell wasn’t powerful enough to get the better of all of them, even with eerie Sith apparitions on his side. Or so she thought.
“Not yet, you’re not.” the Sith sneered, tendrils quivering as he laughed maliciously. “But YOU will be!”

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Hooray, my brain had a good idea! XD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Yay, more troopers! XD have a feeling they may very well end up making an appearance at some point, knowing how this thread likes to go haha

Roan's theory may be slightly off in terms of who's actually pulling the strings, but I suppose it could have some merit in that the people on the list may have Sith ancestors in their bloodlines somewhere? perhaps people who agreed with Renso which leads to him seeking them out specifically as they may have already heard some of his teachings from older relatives? Or is that me overthinking things again? XD