There was that knock again. It turned into a pounding a moment later, just like the ache spreading throughout her entire body. Eliziya tried to ignore it, humming a stupid children's song that popped into her head from nowhere to block out the noise.
"You okay in there?" Nikk called from the other side of her bedroom. Force, why the hell did that man have to be so damned attentive? His room was on the other side of the appartment and he still sensed her distress. Eliziya just wasn't in the mood to get into it with him, certainly not about a dream...vision...whatever the kriff was messing with her head.
"Go away." She called, crawling out of the fresher. On the carpeted floor, she turned onto her back and stared up to a black ceiling. The vision had creeped the shit out of her. She'd seen a whole lot of darkness throughout the years but this shit here was beyond crazy. People dying and screaming, a crazy man laughing while another stood by and whispered ugly things in a way that reminded her of a lover. And Force...that voice...Kyp's voice.
"Stop messing around, Liz." Nikk raised his voice and slammed his palm against the door. "Open the damned door before I kriffing kick it in."
"Are you wearing shoes?" She asked.
"What?" She knew he was frowning, pulling his brows down low which made him look a bit comical. Not a laughing matter at the moment, though. "No. Why?"
"Then go ahead, sweetheart. Kick down the door." Too tired to even care, too spent and numb to attempt any kind of movement, Eliziya listened as Nikk overrode the security code. The door opened quietly and as he stepped over the threshold, the lights came on.
Hissing a dirty curse underneath her breath, she squeezed her eyes shut. "Dumbass. What do you want?"
"Why are you lying on the floor?" Nikk shuffled towards her with bare feet and she knew if she opened her eyes, she'd see a whole lot of half naked Nikk. In the middle of the night, he'd be wearing his sleeping pants. Not that she was going to complain, of course. The man was a looker for sure. "You fall and hit your head or something like that?"
"Yeah. Something like that."
She blinked her eyes open and wiped away a few stray tears. Nikk slid down the wall beside her and his big feet were all up in her face all of a sudden. But she didn't care. She still felt sick, her nerves were a mess and that vision wasn't going to let her go any time soon.
"What's wrong, Liz?" Nikk's deep voice was like a life line, a hook tethered to reality. She held on to it as tightly as she possibly could. "You lost your last meal, didn't you?" He wrinkled his nose. "I can smell it."
"Charming, Nikk. So very, very charming."
"See, here's the thing." He reached out for her hand and she was grateful for the warmth. It chased away the ice left behind by the dream because she didn't want to accept the fact that whatever she'd seen could be real. "I was asleep. I was having this great dream about a beautiful blond chick with curves to die for. And then you and your stupid self woke me up because you screamed. Now...what's wrong?"
Eliziya frowned. "I screamed?"
"Like a banshee, babe. What's wrong?"
She waved his question away. "Nothing."
"And I'm the kriffing Grand Master of the Jedi Order. Stop bullshitting me."
"Are you sure I screamed?" She didn't recall screaming. There had been screams in the dream, yes but...she swallowed and slowly sat up. Leaning against the bed, Eliziya pulled her knees to her chest. She was losing it, all her marbles spread out on the floor for the entire messed up universe to see.
"Kriff, Nikk." She whispered. "I think Kyp's in trouble."
The heart shaped island, small and insignificant atop a vast ocean of the darkest blue. The speeder settled down and Kyp and Jaina jumped out, lightsabers tightly clasped in their hands. The wind whispered between the trees, rustling their branches and making the leaves sing in an even rhythm.
Jaina made out the soft calls of birds in the distance and there was the sound of a creature swimming in the water not too far away. Still, evil was thick in these parts, a putrid stink all around them. It was hard to breathe as the darkness settled onto her chest, trying to find its way into her very being.
Jaina swallowed as she glanced aside. Kyp was holding up alright but there were beads of perspiration on his forehead. He was sweating even though it wasn't warm. On the contrary. The cold bit into her skin, icicles biting her arms with sharp teeth.
"Where to?" Jaina asked.
"Towards the light over there, I'd guess." He gestured to an area where she recognized a fire blazing in a pit. It took them only a few minutes to get there, ducking beneath heavy branches, cutting away vines with thorns as large as a finger, jumping over bushes which black little insects called their home.
When they arrived at the fire it was to find Tavia seated on a stone with her small hands bound behind her back. Her blue eyes were wide, tears trailing down her pudgy red cheeks. "Jaina! Kyp!" As the two Jedi approached, Tavia shook her blond head wildly, curls bouncing around her face. "No, don't! He's here."
Jaina stopped in her tracks. "Who is?"
"Lucan." Tavia whispered, blinking away another set of tears. "And the darkness."
Jaina frowned and took a small step forward. From the corner of her eye she saw Kyp turn around, staring at something in the distance. "What do you mean?"
"Lucan does what the darkness tells him to do." Tavia swallowed back a sob, eyes going wide as she looked at Kyp. Utterly still, her voice dropped to a hissed whisper. "Please. Don't." She pleaded. "They're good people. Please." She was openly crying now, sobs growing into loud wails while she shook her head. "Please, don't."
"Tavia, what's –" Jaina began but stopped when she heard Kyp's surprised shout. She spun around and for a second or two stood completely immobile as she watched a tall, thick human man jump from the shadows and grab Kyp around his throat, a curved dagger in the other hand held high.
Nikk cocked an eyebrow and tried not to fidget under Eliziya's dark stare. In their current state of near undress, he wasn't really into talking about his best friend. Or not so best friend anymore, as it was. "You had a dream about Kyp?" He asked slowly.
"No. Maybe. I don't know." Eliziya told him about the nightmares, night after night, always the same dream, always the same whispers and a laugh so dark and evil that it seemed like the dark side had become a person.
"Sounds like a vision to me." Nikk said after a while of pressing silence. Sitting opposite him leaning against her bed, Eliziya looked lovely. Not that he was going to open his big fat mouth and tell her so, of course. He'd made that mistake a while ago and where the kriff had it gotten him? To the land of kriffing confusion and he was damned sure never going back.
"I don't do visions." Eliziya all but spat in his face. Nikk waited a few seconds longer, wondering when her eyes were going to turn red and horns would sprout from her head because she was in major bitch mode all of a sudden.
Nikk groaned and stifled a yawn. It was too early in the morning to be having to deal with this sort of shit. Period. "Yeah, I get it. Miss holier-than-thou. Poor little Lizzy still too afraid to accept her heritage. You know, some people would gladly commit murder to have what you have. And instead of embracing this gift, you kick it with self pity still sticking to your itty bitty feet."
In one fluid graceful move, Eliziya was on her feet. Standing above him, Nikk lifted his head and smiled at her. "Kriff you." She said slowly.
He laughed. This was so typical Eliziya. When things got bumpy she caved in and that was that. No more talking, no more trying to help just a defiant Kriff You and she was done with the topic. Well, suited Nikk just fine. And here he'd meant to help her. What the hell had he been thinking?
"I'm going to go back to my dream now." He said, standing and stretching tired muscles until he heard a few pops running down his spine. "Try not to scream too loudly next time, okay? I am in need of my beauty sleep and I sure as hell don't need you to mess it up."
As he suspected, Eliziya followed him. Her steps were soft on the carpet in her bedroom, quiet slaps on the cold floor in the hall but she didn't enter as he stepped over the threshold to his own room. She stood with arms folded over her chest and she watched as he dropped onto his bed and grabbed a pillow.
"Do you know where he is?" She asked quietly.
Nikk ground his teeth together and flung the pillow across the room with the power of his mind. He sat up, ice blue eyes staring daggers her. "What if I did?" He played it calm but he was pissed. On the one hand she didn't want to be part of the Jedi but on the other hand it suited her just fine to use her friendship with him to get intel on the Jedi whenever she needed it? Well, kriff that.
"Where is he, Nikk?"
He was on his feet in an instant, jabbing a finger into her face. "To hell with you."
"Nikk -"
"Seriously? Despite the look on my face, you're still talking?" He pointed to the door, the way he imagined a father might do when he was bitching at his kids. "Get the hell out of here, Liz."
She reached out and touched his arm. Her fingers were warm, her touch soft and he knew it was his goddamned undoing.
He lost his grip on his lightsaber. The silver black weapon spun through the air in a high arc and landed with a soft thump several feet away. Kyp hadn't seen the attack coming. He'd felt a shift in the Force, a presence snaking through the shadows, an unnatural being. And then the bald man had come flying towards him with a battle cry on his lips.
He was heavy, a freight transport dragging Kyp down. The wind knocked from his lungs, his head hit the ground and he suddenly saw stars in the corner of his eyes. For a long second it felt like he was about to black out. A sweaty hand lay around his throat and squeezed until all Kyp could do was wheeze through gritted teeth. But he got it together, summoned his strength and jerked up his leg. The man grunted as Kyp's knee made one hell of a greeting with his groin. He shoved the bastard off as his grip slackened and then he was on his feet.
Just not quick enough. Whoever this man was, he was damned fast. And he didn't look it, not one bit. Thick around the middle, walking with a slight limp and wearing clothes that rather befitted a scholar, Kyp was reminded never to judge appearances. It was then that he saw the dagger in the man's hand. It was a beautifully crafted weapon, the tip sloped inward with a red jewel attached to the golden hilt, reflecting the fire crackling in the pit. He knew it would hurt like hell if that blade came anywhere near his skin.
In the few seconds it took for these thoughts to pass through Kyp's mind, the man had advanced again. He ran, leaving deep footprints in the moist soil. The dagger held high above his head, he slashed once, twice, a third time. Kyp jumped aside, ducked, pivoted around and landed a high kick against the man's back.
"You cannot win this, Jedi." The man called out with a laugh, slowly turning to face the Jedi Master. His voice was soft and low, so unlike what Kyp would have expected.
"Lucan, please stop!" Tavia wailed from where she stood gripping Jaina's arm. She'd freed the girl from the binds and knew that involving herself in this fight with Lucan would get her nowhere. Not only would she most likely get in the way but Kyp wouldn't appreciate the help in the slightest.
"Jaina, get Tavia out of here!" He yelled. "Now!"
He sensed her hesitation. She didn't want to leave him, not in his current state. And he couldn't blame her. It was getting harder by the second to keep the darkness away, evil trying to get him to submit, like a child yearning for sweets.
"Go, Jaina!" He called again. "I'll be alright."
Kyp saw his lightsaber laying snuggly atop a mound of dirt. He summoned the Force, reached out for his weapon –
And realized that the Force was gone, as if someone or something had snapped its fingers and made the fabric of the universe disappear. Which was just kriffing impossible.
"The prophesy…you cannot change it." Lucan said. Kyp swallowed a vile curse as he prodded with his senses, a sudden cold fear running along his spine. He saw Jaina running back the way they'd come with Tavia gripping her hand. As Kyp met the girls' blue eyes, he saw more than just fear. He saw absolute terror.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Kyp ground out, focusing back on his opponent.
Lucan came at him again. Kyp blocked the strike with his arm and pushed forward with all the strength he had, trying to avoid that damned blade. Hand tightened into a fist, Kyp punched repeatedly – abdomen, chest, abdomen, face but it didn't seem to bother Lucan one bit.
"Who are you?" Kyp breathed, stunned as he stumbled back. He was pissed off that Lucan had yet to show any sign of weakness and even more pissed off that he couldn't tap into the Force to quickly put an end to this needless fight. They'd gotten the girl. That was all they'd come for. No one else needed to get hurt.
"It is not I you must worry about."
There was laughter in the air around him, a sound so frightening that Kyp felt the hairs on his body stand on end. It grew louder until it was the only thing he could hear. The sound was like a parasite finding its way into his head until all he could hear was a whispered hiss, a deadly serpent in his mind.
A sudden sharp pain brought him to his knees. Palms pressed up against his temples, Kyp screamed to the sky, wishing, hoping, praying for it all to end. His body was on fire, as if his skin was melting off his bones, like salt poured into several open wounds all at once. He'd been through a lot in his life but never had he endured a pain so fierce, so sharp and so unforgiving such as this.
Lucan stood in front of him, the dagger held firmly in his hand. Kyp breathed heavily, biting down hard on his teeth and refusing to accept defeat so easily. This was not the way he was going to die. Not here on this Force forsaken hole of a planet, not alone and certainly not at the hands of this mad man who looked like a preschool teacher. Kyp stood up on shaky legs and dropped his hands to his sides. His vision swam, he felt nauseous and the cold laughter on the wind was still ringing in his ears.
Lucan struck. The curved blade with its ruby red gem found its way deep into Kyp's shoulder, buried to the hilt. Kyp stumbled back with a barely contained cry. He gripped the weapon with one hand and, holding his breath, ripped it free along with a gush of crimson blood that ran down his tunic towards his boots and left little clots in the dirt around his feet.
The laughter on the wind, the sound in his head, subsided.
The dagger slipped from his hand and with his last bit of strength, Kyp charged forward. He punched the son of a bitch in the face, hoping to hear a crack but Lucan merely stood there, smiling.
"Who the kriff are you?" Kyp spat, pressing one hand against the wound in his shoulder where blood seeped between his fingers.
I am you.
Kyp spun around as the whispered words penetrated his defenses, coming at him from everywhere at once. "Who's there?"
The answer was a knock to the head by an invisible force. Kyp flew through the air as if he were a doll, arms and legs flailing until he hit the ground again. This time it was hard to breathe and he was certain that somewhere in his body he'd felt a bone snap.
A shadow upon him now, the unnatural darkness he'd felt the moment he'd set foot on the planet, evil incarnate. It engulfed him until there was no more air to breathe, a cocoon hugging the living hell out of him. Fire on his skin, digging into his pores, boiling his blood; it was unbearable. He screamed until his throat was raw.
And then it was suddenly over.
Everything was over.
Because the shadow, the evil, hiding within the darkness took his place.
