A whiter shade of pale

[Cherice St_Hilare]

Look around wonder why
We can live a life that's never satisfied
Lonely hearts troubled minds
Looking for a way that we can never find
Many roads are ahead of us with choices to be made
But life's just one of the games we play
There is no special way
Make the best of what's given you
Everything will come in time
Why deny yourself
Don't just let life pass you by like winter in July
Future dreams can never last
When you find yourself still living in the past
Keep moving on to higher ground
Looking for the way you thought could not be found

***

"Beautiful," she whispered. "Just beautiful."

Reaching out her right hand, Cherice traced her fingertips gently over the bodylength mirror. Her reflection solemnly stared back with a wistful look of longing.

"So much better than the rest ..."

Withdrawing her hand, she ran her fingers through her silver hair before twirling around. Laughter echoed through the air as she faced the mirror again, a twisted grin playing on her lips.

"This love ... is a strange love. A faded kind of day love, this love," she whispered hoarsely, taking a step back. But wait, her eyes. Those silver flecks in them weren't hers, but who ...?

"No! I won't let her rob me of my beauty, my self dignity, my pride!"

She let out a shrill scream, grabbing the mirror and ripping it off of its hook, slamming it on the ground. Glass shards went everywhere, including in her lavender skin. That thing inside of her feeded off of its host day by day, biding its time, and now it wanted to make its grand appearance ?!

"Never again! Never again!"

The Succubus was beginning to work herself into a frenzy, turning sharply on her heel and stalking out of the bedroom. The bathroom only made it worse. The mirror took up the whole wall behind the sink, and when she turned on the cold water all Cherice could see were the eyes that weren't hers.

"She wants me," she whispered. "But I won't let her take over. Not again, never again."

A year of her life was taken away by being imprisoned because of that thing, and it was a dark secret that only few knew about. Xazor - the Garou wench who practically ruined her life. Ever since the incident at Yog's which happened years ago, Cherice had sworn that she would be the end of Xazor, even if it meant she had to die.

A wave of pain swept over her lithe body as she doubled over, clutching her stomach. Her vision began to blur as she gasped, her ribcage aching with each breath.

"No !" She screamed.

"Make it go away !"

This was supposed to be a nice little retreat to Corellia, on which she had taken her apprentice Jared along with her (who resided in the room next to hers), but the other half wasn't supposed to come out ... Unless it was triggered by something ...

Xazor was near.

[Jared Mriad]

Calm.

Quiet.

Dead.

The corpse lay in the farthest corner of the room, a hilt putruding from her heart as a gateway for the life essence to drip out.. methodically.. drip... drip... drip.

Shards of glass, place into the eyes, reflected the killer in their never dulling grace; A man, golden eyes buring feirce with hidden depth, firey red hair unkept but tame, angered yet satisfied.

That was what Jared was, angered... The world had backed him up into a corner, fighting a war he could not win. Fallon, the acursed dragons name, that was his plague. The demented beast trailed him, chastizing and mocking... Jared would get his revenge... oh yes... yes he would..

"Make it go away !"

Hmm? Had Jared been hearing things, it was uncomon nowadays for the cannibal to hear whispered from afar. A bang, yes... his instructor. Jared stood, damping the blood from his chin with a terrier cloth towel. The corpse proved no more of use, so it was to be disposed of.

His master shouted again. Growling, Jared slid his door open and stepped out into the ruby hallway, overhead lights pericing the darkness into the deepest crevices of life, and made his way to the door next to his own room.

Two quick rapps. Ratt-a-tap-tap.

[Cherice St_Hilare]

Grabbing onto the ledge of the counter, Cherice hoisted herself up and screamed again. Rage built up inside of her as a red mist began to shroud her distorted vision.

"No ..."

She swept the cosmetics onto the floor, bottles breaking and lipstick tubes smearing their red paint on the white walls. Blood, everything looked like blood ! My blood ... No, her blood.

"Damn it all to hell !"

Ratt-a-tap-tap.

Immediately her head snapped up at the foreign noise, a low growl rumbling deep within her throat. Kill, cut, eat. Kill, cut, eat. Kill, cut, eat. Reaching up with one hand, she grabbed the side of her head while staggering out, using the other to open the door. Kill, cut, eat.

"J-Jared, go away."

The chant in her head began to grow louder as another scream reached its way out of her throat. She could feel her bones beginning to shift as the pigment in her skin began to change to light peach. Lowering her head, Cherice dropped to her knees, placing both hands on the floor. Now her silver hair was beginning to turn blonde, starting at the roots.

"Just go away ..."

Her voice cracked, as if her vocal cords were changing.

[Xazor Elessar]

A cold wind blew outside of the building where Cherice and Jared were staying. As it did so, a figure shrouded in light passed by with but a glance to the place. Her cyan eyes seemed to pass right through the building's walls and when the silver specks upon the oceanic canvas glistened in the light, they seemed to reflect a hidden knowledge. Suddenly her hands went to her temples and the woman winced in apparent pain. Her head was throbbing and she fought back the tears that began to sting at her eyelids. Ooooo, Ch.....Cherice...., she thought to herself before collapsing to her knees. Her heart rate picked up as she looked about. A crowd of strangers gathered around her and some even laughed at her suffering. All the while she couldn't help but wonder where the Succubi was. It had been a very long time since their last meeting and Xazor knew that her counterpart was closeby.

Placing her hands upon the cold ground, the Jedi Knight pushed her weak body up and stood to look at the gathering throng. With a deep growl out of protective instinct of herself, the people slowly began to turn away and go about their business. Sighing, she touched her temples gently and winced once again before walking toward the building, unaware that Cherice was inhabiting a room there. The Garou Jedi walked past the people at the front desk and with a wave of her hand, put a simple mind trick upon them so that they did not see her. Setting her eyes upon a set of keys, she waved her hand and called them to her....but they did not budge. Damnit! Thanks a lot, Alana...now I lack a very handy....p....power, she thought before a wave of pain swept over her mind again. Her abilities in the area of Telekenisis were gone, wiped out all thanks to an injury gained when she was thrown head first into a brickwall by the Vampyre, Alana Stormcloud. Not only was that gone, but so were the memories of many people and events she once knew and loved.

After stumbling about for a few moments, her hand came to rest upon a door when suddenly she stopped and listened. A loud commotion sounded from across the hall. Her ultrasensitive ears focused behind the walls and her heart nearly stopped at all she heard. Across the hall was the room belonging to Cherice. Suddenly the door next to the Succubi's opened and just before the man coming out of it saw her, the Knight picked the lock to the unihabited room and darted inside, shutting it behind her. Leaning against the door and breathing as silently as she could, the Garou listened in again. Her nose picked up the heavy and thick smell of blood immediatly and that confirmed her suspicions of Darksiders close to her, one being Cherice, the owner of half her soul. Still Xazor listened in and gathered that the man was...Jared. Once she had saved his life, though he was ungrateful and underserving, she still did it for him. Infact, she would have given her life to save him that day, but it was unnecessary at that time. Sighing, Xazor placed a hand upon her chest and closed her eyes, falling into the depths of the river of the Force to calm herself. Her head continued to throb as she walked across the room and sat down upon the bed...sitting in the still quietness of the room. Across the hall, Cherice told Jared to go away, but he persisted and stood at her door. The Knight could see the event through her mind's eye, and she could concentrate on nothing else....

[Jared Mriad]

Cherice's commands to leave went unheard.

“What in the nine hells is wrong with you?” He asked, cocking his head to the side inquisitively. Cherice seemed in obvious pain, any layman could figure that much out from her screams and growls, and she was changing. Her hair, skin pigmentation, voice… all slightly familiar to Jared in some way. He could not place exactly where he had seen the visage before, mostly due to the half-completed process Cherice seemed to go through.

Bypassing the answer, he crouched low before noticing a slight ripple in the force. He knew that he had not caused it, nor could’ve his Master. His eyes darted around before finding a door slightly cracked – recently being shut, but the mechanism failed and the door slid open on it’s own accord – and nothing more. Jared slightly shook his head, tossing the worry out the door and back onto Cherice.

“Well?”

[Cherice St_Hilare]

Letting out another roar of pain, her bones finished shifting and the Succubus collapsed to the floor. Jared's question was only answered by a grunt as the mass at his feet continued to lay still. And then, the figure moved itself up to a sitting position and looked up at Jared ...

[Dark Xazor]

... and he found himself staring into the face of Xazor. She had the same aura, the same Force signature, and of course the same looks, but somehow Jared got the feeling that she wasn't Xazor.

"I'm .. free," she said, stretching out an arm and looking at it, stunned.

A broad grin broke across Xazor's face as she stood up, swirling around sharply on her heel and laughing. She had managed to break free from Cherice once more, maybe this time she would be able to have her revenge.

Ever since Cherice's and the real Xazor's encounter in Yoghurt's, the Succubus had owned half of Xazor's soul - which was her. However, the Succubus found out in time that it was difficult to restrain half a soul, when the other part was still roaming freely. Therefore, because of complicated eating manners, she couldn't fully "digest" the half of soul and it inhibited her body, feeding off of it like a parasite.

"Nindol draeval F'sarn trantz ... Usstan'bal inbalus nindol wussrun'wa whol ji verve, jhal zhah nindol natha ramoth ? ... Nau ... Nau, Dorn naut ori'gato ol tlu. Dorn inbal ussta riknueth ssinssrine doer seke."

Blue eyes, adorned with silver specks, stared at Jared as Xazor cautiously took a step forward.

"Out of my way, Sith."

[Jared Mriad]

‘The hell?’ Jared thought, narrowing his eyes as the Xazor stepped forward. He had ties with her before, on a backwater planet after a legend of a sword Endurance. She had saved his life, still to the day he did not know why. No, he didn’t comprehend why.

But this Xazor was different, something was different about her. And the fact that Cherice was right there a moment before, and now Xazor stood before him. A stray strand of fiery red hair fell into his eye, breaking the confusion with assistance when she spoke.

"Out of my way, Sith."

Jared took a half step back, turned slightly on his left foot before looking at Xazor out of the corner of his eye. In a instant, he clenched his left fist and delivered a stunning punch straight to her chest – a heartbreaker fist – and sending Xazor back to Cherice’s room. Jared gave a toothy smirk and stepped across the threshold into the room before shutting the door with his foot.

“Where’s Cherice?” He asked, waiting for retribution from the Dark Xazor.

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor's eyes darted to the door and she realized that it was cracked open slightly. She heard everything that was going on in the room across from hers. Rising to her feet, the Jedi Knight walked over slowly and shut the door as quietly as she possibly could, then she ventured to the bed once again and sat down, breathing silently. Her heart pounded in her chest and she could hear it in her ears....every little vein pulsating.

"I hope they don't find me....."

She whispered to herself, allowing her eyes to fixate upon the door. A blank stare overcame the Garou's face as she wondered about all the things that could go wrong from this point on...she could only think of the worst, though.....only the worst could happen when her other half overtook Cherice.

[Dark Xazor]

The blow had caught her unexpected and now she found herself sprawled on the floor in the most undignified manner. Growling, Xazor pushed herself up to a sitting position.

"How DARE you!" she shrieked, voice thick with rage.

Standing, she growled and exposed her porcelain white canines, her right hand clenching and unclenching.

"Cherice isn't here right now, incase you haven't noticed."

Jared had closed the door behind him, but that wasn't going to stop her. No, she had to go out and find Xazor, her other half, and finish what had to be done.

Almost greedily she reached out and grabbed his sleeve, pulling it.

"Let me out, far away, go, fly away !"

Then, Xazor shoved her fingernails into his skin and pulled backwards, leaving deep, red cuts. She slammed her foot into his right shin and then took a step back. Summoning the Force, Jared suddenly found himself starting to suspend in mid-air, his toes inches above the ground.

Walking besides him, she opened the door and took a whiff of the air. That scent .. was it - yes ! Follow your nose. Leaving Jared behind her, Xazor began to follow the scent of her other half when she came to a closed door. On the other side of the room, the "real" Xazor could see the doorknob slowly turn before stopping - and then the door opened.

The next was all a blur, but Xazor saw her other half and lunged at her, trying to rip her apart until their bodies were one moving mass.

[Jared Mriad]

Jared let himself be pulled forward, only a step, before he resisted. D.Xazor then did what Jared had not expected from a lightsider – she attacked instantly – the deep gauges inflicted onto his arm made the Sith draw back in slight shock and the quick foot to his knee sent him sprawling forward. He thought that the floor would smack into hard… but it didn’t. Instead Jared floated with his feet mere inches from the ground. Then Xazor stalked past him with nothing more than a cold stare. Leaving the cannibal a floating piñata in the room.

“HEY! LEMME DOWN!” Jared growled glaring over his shoulder at the wisps of golden hair that darted away from view. Then he felt a rush of vertigo as the force keeping him afloat dispersed, he hit the floor harshly – red flames of hair cascading down into his face when he lifted it up. Rage flashed into his mind, burning the calmness and content which he had before.

Jared darted his eyes about, searching the room. He had left his daggers, sword, and other weapons back in the room – having no time to go back for them if he was going to catch the fake – so he had to improvise. A chair’s leg would make a cheap and crude club or stake, but Jared knew Cherice enough for him to notice her hiding spots. Flipping over to his back and kipping up to his feet, Jared darted to the bed and flipped the mattress up; nothing.

He dropped the mattress down and flipped the pillow over. There! Cherice’s purple beam saber, it would do for the job. Snatching it in his gloved hand, Jared walked across the carpeted flooring and peered out the door. Stepping out into the clear hallway, Jared stalked away from his room and stopped at a slightly ajar door.

He heard roars, or something, from within…

[Cherice St_Hilare]

[bump]

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor was completely shocked as suddenly her other half flew at her and began swinging and slashing. The Jedi Knight grabbed the others wrists and twisted them painfully as she pulled Cherice off of her using the Force to enhance her strength. After shoving the other woman off, Xazor nearly fell as she stumbled to her feet and quickly constructed a mediocre Force wall around her. With panic, the Knight went through the mental process of a Force pull to slam Cherice into the wall -- but it was no use thanks to the death of her Telekenisis powers. 'Damnit!', Xazor thought in her mind as she looked for another way besides her weapons. She had vowed to be more 'diplomatic' about things when she could, but this situation did not leave a great window of opportunity for such things.

"Cherice, you're going to get hurt if you keep this up!"

Xazor told her in a calm, yet raised voice. The Knight closed her eyes for a moment and focused on the inner workings of the other's mind. She found the exact place she was looking for -- the Hippocampus. It was a nifty little place inside the brain that stored memories and other such things. With a sigh of relief, Xazor jumbled it up in there a little by means of the Force and made Cherice or rather, Xazor forget why she was attacking the real Xazor and other things like who she even was. Opening her eyes, the Jedi Knight realized that her Force walls were not doing much for her at the moment and she had better act quickly. Moving as fast as he could, the Knight reached for three throwing knives upon her weapons belt and quickly drew them, then threw them at a rapid pace toward her other half. With a wave of her hand and some quick help through the Force, she was able to manipulate the situation to appear that hundreds of identical knives were now flying right for Cherice. They were moving so fast, though, that she would not be able to tell which were real and fake and the three would surly make their marks and the fake ones were enough to shake her up a great deal. Xazor only hoped that her accuracy was still as it was before her accident.