Gone Astray

[imported_Kanji]

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He stepped out into the aphotic nightlight, shifting to the right and to the left before slumping his shoulders and sighing. Kanji was lost, lost in the middle of Coruscant and faring not too well on finding his way back. In draconian form, he could've just taken flight and located that way... in a normal setting. Here, though, was too tightly spaced for him to even consider it.

Kanji moved forward again, squeezing past some loose crates into an open expanion of grates and steel.

"Hello?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Hello indeed."

Je'gan Olra'en landed in a crouch on top of a large stack of crates, looking down on Kanji by about a foot. The young Sith acolyte's face twisted into an unmasked sneer.

"Afraid of the dark, Jedi? Afraid of the night?"

[imported_Kanji]

Kanji retreated back two steps, regarding the crouching-one with a calm composure. "No. I am not afraid of the night. I am lost, that is all," he responded, sliding the frame of his spectacles further up upon his nose.

"Could you happen to know where this place is?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

He leapt down, landing face-to-face with the other young man.

"Lost is one way to put it, yesss...but lost to what? Lost to the familiar? Would it not be better for you to try and see what advantages the unfamiliar offers, rather than immediately rejecting it?"

[imported_Kanji]

Kanji's eyes narrowed behind the rimmed glass, "What riddles are you speaking? I see no advantages to unfamiliarity!"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"I'm not speaking of unfamiliarity, Jedi...I'm speaking of the unfamiliar. Certainly you can see the difference."

[imported_Kanji]

Kanji's brows furrowed in agitation, "What unfamiliar do you speak, then? Be it the location," He motioned widely with his right hand at the enviroment, then tapped his temple lightly, "The unfamiliar feelings, unfamiliar presence?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan nodded slightly, once. "All of those, and more. Anything you don't know much of could be incredibly useful. On the flip side, it could also be incredibly dangerous...but your knowledge of it could allow you to avoid it.

"There is power in knowledge, Jedi, you know that. He who seeks shall find, and should. If one doesn't seek...one leaves oneself open-or shut-to all sorts of things.

"What am I saying, you might wonder? Try not to see being lost in the dark as a problem; see it as an opportunity. Don't think of the underlevels as prohibitively hazardous, think of them as a refreshing change in scenery with many new and unique elements. And most of all, please...don't view me as a Sith, view me as a fellow seeker of truth."

[imported_Kanji]

Kanji remained impassive, eye's cautious and alert.

"Seeker of Truth? Truth in what? Making others miserable with veiws of your own opinion upon the world? That injustice isss yeilds more than ssssatsssification of anger or rage, that it will bring richessss and power?"

He turned to walk away, "No, I have sssseen too much of your views even before the Jedissss own. Knowledge isss the key to advancement, yesss, but an advancement in weilding a power that will promptly lead to demisssse? For that, I would care to be ignorant."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"And you do not believe in knowledge tempering power, then? Or are you merely stating that no follower of the Dark Side could be thoughful enough to control and moderate what he uses his abilities for? We're not immune to wisdom, Jedi.

"Ironically enough, though," Je'gan continued, "you do seem to have been taught a few incorrect precepts upon which you found your views of Darksiders in general. Satisfaction of rage? Certainly...on occasion. It's the loss of self-control that I, personally, find unsuitable about that method, and self-control is enough of the Dark Path that unreasoning hatred is not considered the best way to go. Riches? Power? Certainly they would be nice, but neither is what I really want.

"And even more certainly, this; that I have no great wish to create misery or suffering along my path. You seem a trifle too inundated with stereotypes, my friend."

[imported_Kanji]

Kanji's eyes shifted to the dark areas of the surroundings before locking back onto Je'gan. "Perhapsss ssso... I apologissse for my lack of ressspectable view." He turned back to face him, "If you do not sssstrive for dominance, then what motivatessss you?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Making a mark," Je'gan answered without hesitation. "I desire to make some effect on the universe. My family has lived and died unnoticed for milennia...I am the first to be born in that bloodline with the potential to use the Force. It's a grand opportunity...I'm sure you can understand.

"What motivates you, Jedi, if I may be so bold?"

[imported_Kanji]

Kanji's thought's froze, his lips slightly parted.

"It is for Justice," He replied, "In my timesss, I have seen far too many die because of unnatural deaths. It painsss my heart to watch another being, regardless of stature, to die at the hands of another. I fear that the ones I have befriended, comrades and family alike, will be the next in line to the Reaper."

"I have had everything taken from me before, I will not allow it to happen again."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"We are not so very different, then," Je'gan whispered. "Had my family died in a more ignominous way than a domestic accident...yes...there's a very decent chance that I would have turned out just like you.

"Are you happy, Jedi?"

[imported_Kanji]

"Are you?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Give me your answer, and I will give you mine."

[imported_Kanji]

"Very well," Kanji nodded, "There are times when I am happy, yes, and then there are times where I am not."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"And which outweighs the other?"

[imported_Kanji]

"It is balanced, though there are times where one or the other tips in favor of itself," Kanji nodded once, "Your turn."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan sketched a shallow bow. "Indeed.

"I find it very hard to distinguish between satisfaction and happiness anymore; haven't really been able to for years. I'm satisfied when I learn something new, when I win a contest, or even just when I succeed at something.

"Beyond that..." His voice trailed off, and he looked down and off to the side, biting his lip for a moment before meeting Kanji's gaze once more.

"Beyond that, I have no friends, just comrades. I have no family, just...comrades. Comrades are all I really need."

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: a cloaked figure moves out into the open, but it's face is still concealed by a large hood ::

[imported_Kanji]

Kanji head dipped, understanding holding shallow behind his eyes. "Then you and I have more in common than we beli--"

He turned on his right, catching the clink-clonk of shoe-clad feet against the durasteel grating, his attention focusing on the newcomer while his speech dwindled down mid-sentance...

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"May we help you, madame?" Je'gan asked politely, instantly seeing the feminine way in which the figure beneath the cloak moved.

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: Sorsha made no attempt to conceal or alter her voice, but remained hooded as she spoke ::

"Your conversation intrigues me ... but what are your thoughts about Light and Dark? Law and Chaos?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan glanced at the young Jedi by his side and nodded slightly, indicating that it was Kanji's turn to speak.

[imported_Kanji]

"That if there are no signs of Law, then Chaos will erupt. But if there is no Chaos, then there is no Law. No Light, Dark. No Dark, No Light," Kanji replied cautiously, "There wouldn't be a need for Order if there wasn't Chaos..."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The young acolyte nodded.

"My feelings exactly. There has to be a balance.

"And your viewpoint, mistress?"

[Sorsha Kasajian]

"The cosmic balance always leans in one direction or another. Every thought, and every action tips the scales. The galaxy is whatever we make it."

[imported_Kanji]

"You speak true," Kanji nodded, "It isss what itssss inhabitants make it, but there are thosssse who make it worssse for otherssss.." The serpentine hiss began to become more dominant in his speech, though he made naught a move to cover it up..

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Indeed there are," Je'gan agreed amiably. "Many by design, some by mistake, many others by goodwill, a few by sheer clumsiness. To categorize all who stand in one's path-in the path of justice, in your case, Jedi-as evil could be both naive...and dangerous, depending on the case.

"Perhaps, my friends, we might continue this conversation in a tapcafé I know of not far from here. I'm no great fan of standing about in the cold when the purpose in question could be accomplished just as easily in comfort. I also feel a great need for a warm drink, and I would consider it an honour to buy a round for you both."

[imported_Kanji]

Kanji nodded. He pivoted slightly on his right foot, centering his gaze on the cloaked-one, a questioning expression across his face. He would need to remove himself from this tight area soon, his mind was becoming encumbered with trying to keep his shift in place..

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: Sorsha stepped forward, pulling back her hood as she looked at Jeg'an. Then she turned suddenly, spitting a large cloud of blood red mist into Kanji's face. Blinded, his eyes burn as the poison effects of the mist does it's work, sending him into a vertigo as the control over his shapeshift slips away ::

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Kasajian...

In an instant, even as the Sith Witch spat her poison, Je'gan had his weapons out; lightsaber in his right hand, dirk in his left and ready to parry. In a blindingly fast fencing maneuver, a fleche, he closed from metres away to blade distance, lashing out in a lunge with tiny, efficient disengages built in, an attack that would keep dancing around any guard until it abandoned its two-inch-wide circles and finished closing with Kasajian's chest. The beauty of the disengage circles was that they didn't sacrifice any forward momentum, so his lunge was the same speed as a straight thrust...and after his lessons with Sothstar and Jodah, that was fast.

[The Vore]

Unfortunately for Je’gan, Sorsha had a guardian angel – or perhaps guardian spider was a better description. One of the Vore hurled a shrieking sphere of energy directly into the young Sith as he moved towards its Mistress and vaulted up into the air towards the acolyte.

[imported_Kanji]

"GrrraH!"

The air around him seemed to shimmer for a breif heartbeat, then his clothes began to ripple up. His tunic split apart and congregated at his shoulderblades, loud retching popping echoed from within his body as bones began to reform and revert to their original state, the vest materialised in a blast of two leathery wings unfurled from the material, resting outspread as the rest continued. The white long-sleeved shirt melted as well, Kanji's arms lifting from his sides to acute angles as so, and melded into the flesh of his neck. His jaw and face extended out, scales rippling down from his hairline, molding from the pulled-taught skin. His arms, legs, and feet lengthed in a series of loud cracks as. His human skin began to ripple as new muscle growth immerged spasmatically, pressing the taught skin even further, almost to the point of rupture. Kanji's neck lengthened as his reptilian tail immerged into substantion with a very-whiplike motion. Fully reverted after his human skin had been replaced with scales, the draconian fell back onto the grated durasteel and frantically rubbed
(Lordsss it hurts!)
at the acid..

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The Vore might have escaped detection until now...the crackling energy it threw, though, was instantly noticeable. In a split second Je'gan turned his fleche into a quick hop-skip-stop; the energy sizzled past his nose.

He turned in the Vore's direction, and saw nothing. A shadow fell across him, and then he was being crushed against the steel floor by a spiderlike leg. The lightsaber rolled from his hand, but that didn't leave him weaponless; with the dirk in his left hand he slashed, and the leg retracted just enough for him to squirm free, grab the lightsaber, and spear it through the Vore's chest. Flailing arms belaboured him; he kept them at bay with the long dirk, not removing the lightsaber blade until the thing was good and dead.

He swivelled on his heel, back to Sorsha...saw Kanji...realized he might have a chance after all...and dove into another fleche for the Dark Mistresses chest.

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: Jeg'an's sabre arm spasms as his fleche is abruptly stopped with a telekinetic grab. His sabre arm is pulled upward, hyper-extending his elbow with a sharp pop ::

"This didn't concern you, until now."

:: Sorsha gestures and Jeg'an's left hand twists backwards painfully, as the dirk becomes alive, tugging eagerly as it seeks to imbed itself in his eye socket ::

[imported_Kanji]

"ENOUGH!"

Kanji stumbled to stand, blind and off-balance. His snout and eye-sockets were painted with the strange substance and he had will his eyes open. Even then, only a blur came through his mind, mingled with the surrounding darkness: Nothing.

Nevertheless.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Instead of resisting, Je'gan let the dirk complete its course towards his face. Sharply he twisted his neck, and the slim, shimmering black blade scored his lower temple.

He shifted his grip on it to a backhand, now extending back past his neck, and as the possessed weapon turned for the back of his head he canted his neck the other way. His arm brushed over the crown of his skull, and opening himself fully to the Force he made the weapon continue its new course in a backhanded slash towards Kasajian's face. His saber hung in midair as he let go of the unfamiliar weapon and, in a brutal act of split-second and utterly contorted coordination, he planted a high-kick to the weapon's hilt, sending it scything towards the Sith Witch's side. His right arm hung, for the moment, useless at his hip.

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: Sorsha leaps upwards as the weapons miss their mark and fall to the ground. She lands directly in front of Jeg'an, and hits him in the chest with a palm heel strike. The blow crackles with energy as electricty surges through him. The force of it takes him off his feet as though he were struck by lightning ::

"Stay down, and live. You can't save him."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Resorting to the physical had been a mistake; he hoped Kasajian knew that.

Or at least, that she soon would.

As the strike hit his chest, Je'gan forcibly ignored the electric crackle that its impact carried with it, and with a complex, elegant but steel-hard movement of his left forearm he entangled the woman's striking arm all the way to the elbow. He recovered from the strike, set his stance, hard and fast from years of practice, and pivoted, literally throwing Kasajian, whipping her past him into a brick wall.

Cradling his injured right arm, he backed away, picking up both lightsaber and dirk as he did so. He spat, mingled blood and dust, and met the Sith Witch's gaze squarely.

"I can't win...but what would be left of my honour should I turn and run?"

With a savage, convulsive jerk he popped his right elbow back into place, letting out a stifled howl that fully expressed the pain he was feeling in his arm, in his chest, on his back, pretty much everywhere. A split second later his face was set in stone once more.

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: Sorsha rose up into a crouch after hitting the wall, more amused than shaken ::

"You fight for honor? That shall be your undoing."

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[Videl]

Jeg'an suddenly finds himself slammed into a nearby wall with more force than he could've though possible. But before he can really register it, he's slammed in the back of the neck by something as well.

"Pitiful creature."

His attacker mutters, an oddly feminine voice coming from the one who had slammed him so hard.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Even as Je'gan was hit, he instinctively began to curl into a fetal position, and even though he had only a split second in which to do it it still stopped him from smashing his head against the wall...and, a hair later, from taking the blow entirely to the neck. A small but significant fraction of the blow was diverted by a shielding forearm.

He slowly picked himself up, nursing a left arm that felt very, very broken, and turned to face the two women.

"Yesss...I fight for my honour. When necessary.

"A pity you had to interfere," he said, nodding to Videl. "I was..." he coughed, hacking up more blood, "...looking forward to this, Kh...Kasajian. Could have become...interesting."

He turned and stumped away, gingerly feeling his left side and discovering it to be a solid mass of bruises. He shook his head, turned a corner, and passed from sight.

[imported_Kanji]

Kanji hadn't watched the fight for he was trapped in a vortex of prismatic colors. The combantants stood out starkly against the colorful array, their bodies melting and mutating into globs of something. Kanji's eyes rolled as he swayed haphazardly... and he collapsed to his side just as Je'gan impacted with the brick and mortar wall.

Kanji's world faded to black. Goonight, folks.

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: Sorsha raises a hand to stop Videl from pursuiing Jeg'an ::

"Let the pig go, we have what we came for."

:: Two more Vore emerge from the alley to collect Kanji ::