Solitaire/Unraveling (Kyashi)

[Apollus Alexei]

A cold wind blasted against his face as he stared out across the cityscape. His breath fogged as he exhaled and stepped closer to the edge. It was long way down and he'd make quite a scene if he fell. He glanced out towards the city's financial district characterized by much taller buildings. His eyes closed, inhale, open, exhale. He had the whole thing planned in his mind. He had since he was very young. In the event that he should ever find life not worth living, this was the way to end it.

"So you're going to jump?" A female voice said from behind him.

He turned his head to see her out of the corner of his eye. "Actually, I was going to use blaster and then fall."

"What's the point of that?"

"I'm afraid of still living after I hit the ground." He bit his chilled lip. "But the drama of a suicide jump is practically unheard of nowadays." He smiled a bit but nervousness easily took over.

"Style, without sacrificing the purpose. Nice." She smiled.

"Why the hell am I even talking to you!?" He shouted in disbelief, throwing his arms in the air. "You're just a figment! A figment of my imagination."

"Not true." She said sadly and sat down on a chair that Apollus had not seen before. Her arms folded over her lap. "I'm a projection of the Force through your mind. Exclusive to you, and for a reason."

"I am positive that the Force is just some myth spread by traders. I've never seen it, I've never-"

"You know very well that it exists. You've used it. I saw you use-"

"No!" He shouted. "That is never to be spoken about again! Not by you. Not by anyone!" His hand fumbled through his jacket pocket in search of the blaster. "I.. am so... sick. of. this." He mumbled between tears and shaking hands. He pressed the barrel to his head. "Does this scare you at all? Once I'm gone, so are you."

"Apollus, listen to yourself. You're crazy." She said barely convincingly.

"Damn right I am!" He shouted again. "I have this blaster against my head and- and-"

"So do it then. Shoot yourself in mid air or whatever it is you're going to do. There's a gentleman coming that would be of more service to me than you are right now." She glanced at her nails and then at him. "Well?"

"What are you on about?" He looked at the only door. "There's no one coming! I've gone here for years and not a soul but mine has entered it since its condemnation. Why lie to me?" In his thoughts he wondered why his mind would create a lie for the same mind to believe. Everything since the accident was so confusing. One day he was newly wed to the love of his life. The next her bloody eyes are bulging from their sockets as the ceiling of an airport came crashing down on her head and hundreds of others.

"Well, come on already. Jump. Shoot yourself!" She said and stood up now.

"I will." He said nervously. "Why are you standing up."

"Because if you don't, I will."

"Will what?" He said panicing." Stay away." You're a figment, a figment and you can't hurt me. He reminded himself but found his jacket being pulled on. Apollus fear his own suicide, but he feared being killed at the hands of another more.

"I'm tired of your indecision. Since the accident you've done nothing. Not committed to revenge nor got over it. Time for you to go and me to move on."

"W-wait a minute!" He screamed as he felt his legtrip over a ledge and his back fall through air, usure of whether it would connect with anything anytime soon or if he would fall forever. The ledge passed his view and with it the woman who had appeared to him just before the accident.

His head connected with a metal rail after less than a second of falling. Then his tail bone collided with a durasteel grating, followed by his feet. He felt a trickle down the nape of his neck and watched as his vision blurred. No sight of the woman. Slowly his consciousness found that he had landed on the escape balcony on the north side of the building. Where did she go? Did she do this intentionally? He rubbed his neck and then strangely became aware that someone else was watching.

[Sudoku]

"Oh bravo."

The voice split the silence before his vision finally cleared. A figure sat on the railing, frowning down on him.

"If you're going to kill yourself, you could at least do it right...eh, I suppose if you had, I wouldn't need to be here, would I?" The figure shook it's head, hidden beneath a dark hooded sweatshirt. Apollus Could catch a few of the boys' features in the light, but tonight Kyashi was playing up the 'mysterious darksider' role.

He slipped down off the rail, kneeling in front of the other man. His face was touched with genuine disappointment - he was no medic, and they wouldn't have the resources if this man was seriously injured. Perhaps the Force had brought him here to end his misery? Maybe. The boy reached out, taking the others' chin in hand, turning his face upwards into the dim light."So, you're the one I'm here for...hmm."

[Apollus Alexei]

Wow. She wasn't lying. Was his first thought. He turned his head slightly without breaking the unfamilar man's touch and looked out the corner of his eye to see if she was still there. Gone.

The stinging senesation flared up at the base of his head. He squinted and regretted being pushed over that ledge. His mind strained to recollect the events characterizing his failed suicide. He still hadn't answered the mysterious man's question. It was no matter. He had just been pushed over a ledge. A damned ledge. A figment of his imagination had just-

"Wait, you're here for me?" Why had it taking so long for his mind to realize that this person, one he had never met, had just claimed to be there for him. That such a declaration was potentially dangerous and equally mysterious. Delayed mind response, perhaps he was suffering a concussion. That damned figment of a woman pushed him! Sporatic thoughts, yes, he was positive that he had a concussion. He was so wrapped up in his own questions and observations that he had hardly realized that the hooded man said something.

[Sudoku]

"Duh."
He pat the guys' cheek, leaving a slight mark behind as he once again stood.

"Why the frell else would I be here? For the view?"

[Apollus Alexei]

"Huh?" He mumbled. His head hurt. "Yeah, the view is nice." Why were they talking about the view?

"Why? I mean, what do you want me for." He tried to look into the hood to see a face without giving it away that he was staring. No luck.

[Sudoku]

"Because, I need a new lover."

Kyashis' voice remained even-toned, and a slight smile crossed his face. He grabbed the man by the wrist, pulling him to his feet and holding him close to steady him.

"You know, twi'leks and zeltrons are getting too expensive, I figured grabbing some semi-concious person off the street would be my best bet. And if you say no, well, then I can always finish what you started and throw you to your death."

[Apollus Alexei]

Was that the concussion speaking or did he hear what he thought he did? He blinked as he was pulled to his feet, slightly confused as he rose. Apollo wasn't sure he'd ever heard of male twi'lek dancers. Finally his mouth caught up to his mind. "Wait, what?"

[Sudoku]

"You know what I'm talking about."

Kyashi leaned closer, his lips almost touching Apollus'. The stinging sensation returned as Kyashi reached out with the Force, sending the feeling down Apollus' spine. His lips pressed gently against the other mans, before he pulled away, trying hard not to break into laughter.

"Don't play dumb with me."

[Apollus Alexei]

His eyes widened and he pushed on the mysterious man's chest and twisted free. He stumbled but found a moment's safety against the railing. "What the hell, man!" He shouted. "I don't need this!"

The blaster.

He fumbled through his pocket and found it still there. He pulled it out after getting it stuck int he netting of his jacket. And directed the barrel at Kyashi's face. "Now, just you back off a minute. Come any closer and I'll shoot, I swear to you." His breathing rate increased as general concern for his own saftey arose inside. "I want you to leave right now."

[Sudoku]

He couldn't hold it in any longer. It started low, but quickly grew, and soon he was laughing at the barrel of the blaster pointed at his head.

"I guess you really want to end up as duracrete pizza, don't you?"

The sensation slid up his spine, as Kyashi focused on the mans' throat. His breathing, already at a rapid pace, became harder as something pressed down on his chest, his windpipe. Kyashi held his right arm out, his hand mimicing what his skills were doing. Slowly he lifted Apollus up, allowing him to dangle a few inches from the grating at their feet.

"You're so intent on dying, Apollus. You have potential, but I fear it's all going to end up being scraped off the sidewalk like a piece of chewed gum. Just like you're going to be if you keep disobeying."

The grip on his throat tightened, the pressure on his chest growing. Kyashi smirked. "So, you can either come with me, and learn to wield the Force and be a useful member of society, or I can kill you right here and now. It's up to you."

[Apollus Alexei]

Something around his throat tightened like a noose. His chest felt like it was being compressed between rocks. Oh frell, the Force. He thought as he recognized telekinesis in action. "Damn." He muttered between forced breaths.

The man beneath the hood looked much more angry now, as opposed to desperate lover look he had maintained a few seconds. He said, "You're so intent on dying, Apollus. You have potential, but I fear it's all going to end up being scraped off the sidewalk like a piece of chewed gum. Just like you're going to be if you keep disobeying."

"Disobeying!?" He yelled. As best as he could remember, Kyashi hadn't told him to do anything. He struggled to pry at the tightening around his throat.

Kyashi ignored his question and made an offer. "So, you can either come with me, and learn to wield the Force and be a useful member of society, or I can kill you right here and now. It's up to you."

Apollus dropped the blaster and tried prying with two hands, he could find anything to pry on.

"Accept his offer." The all too familiar woman said as she decended from the steps leading to the roof. Apollus struggled to look out the corner of his eye. His vision was hazy. "Quit contemplating it, there's nothing to think about. Just say yes."

"Y-yes?" He barely got out.

[Sudoku]

A hard shove sent him back onto the cold grating. Kyashi turned on his heel, starting down the long flight of stairs leading to the street.

"Follow me then."

[Apollus Alexei]

Apparantly Kyashi hadn't noticed that Apollus was questioning the woman next to him, but then again, so far nobody had beed able to see her besides him. Like it mattered, Apollus would have said yes anyway. He wasn't about to have an intimate encounter with the sidewalk.

Apollus rubbed his head after its collision with the metal grating and stood up, watching Kyashi step down the stairs. He exhaled and looked for the woman again. Gone again, big surprise. Apollus turned back to Kyashi and saw that he had reached the landing below. "Best hurry." he said to himself and hurried down the stairs, legs aching from the previous fall from the roof. "So where is it that I am following you too? Because if it's one of your boy on boy make out centers, I'll take my chances with the sidewalk."

[Sudoku]

Ky continued down the stairs, keeping his pace just slightly faster than that of his companion. He rolled his eyes, his words dripping sarcasm.

"Yes, that's exactly where I'm taking you, to a big huge sex orgy That's why I came all the way here, just so I can seduce you and have my way with you."

[Apollus Alexei]

"Oh!" He said in an equally, if not overly, sarcastic tone. "Is that sarcasm?" Apollus turned against the metal railing and began a new set of stairs in silence. His mind was having a hard time wrapping itself around Kyashi. A mysterious figure, a sexual joker, and an angry man threatening him with his life. Many facets of a man displayed very close to each other, yet not unconnected. The man in front of him was a complex character, which always lead to complex situations. Apollus' life was about to get a whole lot weirder.

"So seriously, where are we going." After the first serious question, he realized that he had many more. He was starving and thirsty, tired and beaten, angry and dirty, the list went on and on. Now he found himself following someone he didn't know. Great. "And who, pray tell, the frell are you?" He was shouting now and had stopped moving. This whole thing was ludacris, Apollus had no idea what was going on and he wanted answers. Now.

[Sudoku]

"We are going to Corellia. And you can refer to me as Sudoku."

His tone was matter-of-fact, and he kept his speech short and simple. If Apollus wanted to know more, he would have to wait to find out.

"The rest doesn't matter right now - getting across town does."

[Apollus Alexei]

"Sudoku.." He muttered back to himself as to get the pronunciation right. They emeraged from the alleyway and into the roadway. Getting across town was going to be difficult as Sudoku had indicated. Well, difficult if they went by foot. "We could take a train. It'd only take a few minutes." he suggested.

[Sudoku]

"We could, but it wouldn't be very exciting, now would it?"

Kyashi stopped just short of the street, looking down the road, scanning for any passing speeders.

"And, well, I'd like to see you do something useful for me before I make my final decision on you. Find us a speeder - if it's occupied, I want you to unoccupy it."

[Jorshal Vuntana]

<=== Is a fool.

Logout and then post.

Sorry!

[Apollus Alexei]

Time to re-evaluate this relationship. Sudoku was telling him to do things. Telling him to do things when there was a perfectly suitable alternative that was also legal. Unoccupy a speeder... Sudoku could cram it. Apollus wasn't anyone's servant boy.

"The train is good idea. It's legal. It's probably twice as fast." He protested. "It can be fun if you imagine that it's a TIE pursuing those rebels. Just use your imagination. I'm not stealing a speeder." He turned to the left. "Plus there is a station right there. I think I'm gonna steal my way there." He turned his back to Kyashi and began heading towards the train stop. Hopefully, Kyashi would just give up on him there and leave him be. Maybe then he could forget the past week of turbulance and return to a normal life.

[Sudoku]

Apollus was promptly, and rather rudely, knocked onto his behind with a hard tug of the Force. Sudoku frowned down at him.

"Are you really that stupid? Why do you think I came all this way to get you - so we can have a gay old time on the frelling train surpressing our natural states and acting like lower life-forms?" Again, the heavy weight pressed down on the mans' chest. "You have a connection to the Force, Apollus. It's what brought me here, and it's what's just barely keeping me from killing you. Now, use it, or lose it."

[Jorshal Vuntana]

You have got to be fricking kidding me. I can't believe i did this twice in one day.

[Apollus Alexei]

He stared up at Sudoku from the pavement and wasn't surprised that somewhere in this ridiculous adventure he had found himself lying on the pavement. Oh his aching legs, (frelling fire excape). So now Sudoku was telling him he had a Force connection. Whatever.

"Right." He said almost calmly. Getting tossed around was common by now. "Alright. I'm going to use it, 'cause I've got it." He trailed off.

He tried to get up.

"Is that you holding me down or is that the Force?" He asked from the ground. "Cause if it's you could you please let me up?"

[Sudoku]

"It's both."

The pressure increased, causing visible indents to appear on his chest. As he exhaled, the pressure grew. Sudoku continued his speech.

"So, since you obviously have no intention on saving yourself, I'm going to kill you now. I'd rather not waste my time with someone as useless as you are..."

[Apollus Alexei]

"Kill me?" He screamed but it only came out as a raspy cry. He was pinned to the ground. Hoe the frell was he supposed to save himself against someone who apparently controlled the Force when all he could do was complain. His eyes searched for a weapon to defend hismelf with but only met the eyes of frightened and concern civilian either standing nearby or running away. Nobody dared to do anything. Great.

His hand wrapped itself around a corner of cracked duracrete. He pulled and released it from the block it once belonged to, clutching it in his hand. He was going to defend hismelf with a rock, he could barely breath. He was going to black out. He was going to die. His vision got hazy as he frustratedly struggled to get a good aim on Sudoku.

Inhale.

The air wanted to burst from his lungs.

Exhale.

The exhale was so forceful it blurred his vision for a second. A rapid inhale of breath filled his lungs and with the exhale came an angered cry as he threw the rock harder than he ever though possible at Sudoku's head.

"Use the Force, Apollus." The woman of his visions said and smiled sarcastically. Everybody since the death of the Emperor knew that ridiculous phrase. In his dwindling thoughts he wondered if she was an actual illusion induced from the lack of oxygen to his brain or if it was the same as the illusions before.

The rock reached its apex in the distance.

Damn, he missed.

[Sudoku]

The rock skittered back to his hand. The pressure increased.

"Try again, but this time, do it right."

[Apollus Alexei]

His vision became speckled with black as he struggled to breath. He clutched the rock in his hand and squeezed it a little, unsure if he would actually be able to throw it. This whole episode was bloody ridiculous, it seemed that every three seconds Sudoku was jumping down his throat and causing him grief as well as physical pain.

He cocked his hand back and launched the rock. Interestingly enough, the throw has considerably less velocity than before. Something was different. Though the throw was weak, it hit Sudoku in the should and tumbled to the ground.

"Are you..." Inhale. "Frelling happy now?" Exhale. His chest felt like it was going to collapse now.

[Sudoku]

He brushed a few specks of dust from his shoulder, still frowning.

"Not really, but it will have to do. "

One last long, painful squeeze, and the pressure was gone as quickly as it had arrived.

[Apollus Alexei]

He let out a long exhale and laid there for a moment. Ridiculous, absolutlely ridiculous... this whole thing. He barely remembered what it was about. Stealing a speeder. That's what it was. He pushed his soft palms against the rugged duracrete and climbed to his feet. It felt like the squeeze might have cramped a few muscles in his back. Once again, ridiculous. Now to steal a speeder.

There were a few parked along the walkway, plenty driving past. His imagination portrayed him breaking into a parked speeder and getting whapped on the head by an old woman's bag. Best to catch them by surprise, he supposed.

He walked out into the street and spread his legs as if a strong foothold might prevent a non-stopping speeder from throwing him to the next block. He thrust out his hands and squinted as the speeder came to a grinding halt, its horn blaring.

He couldn't believe that had worked. He ran to the driver's door and opened it, the driver scooting almost to the passanger seat. "W-what do you want?"

Apollus couldn't think of the answer to the question, him stealing a speeder seemed so absurd... he was stealing a speeder? He yanked hard on the driver, but the driver didn't seem to give up easily. He began kicking at Apollus' hands. Ouch, his finger!

"Sudoku! A little help, please!" The damn police should be showing up any moment now.