Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

Continued from here (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30533)...

As the ship approached the Jedi Temple, Jubei stirred from his meditations. He had been sat crossed-legged in one of the vast many training rooms that the Order was home to when he had felt it. It was faint, distant, yet it was palpable. Somehow, but some will of the Force, he knew that he was needed. Rising to his feet, his instincts guided him towards the landing area outside the temple. As he jogged out into the open, Jubei saw Akrabbim’s craft descending from above. Within a matter of minutes, the Jedi Master was appearing from within, with his equal in his arms. It was clear now what was required of him.

Time was of the essence – they moved quickly to the nearest medical bay, where medics began to ply Anbira’s lifeless body with salves and patches and healing apparatus of all kinds. Waving away the doctors, Jubei held both palms above Anbira’s body, spread a good width apart. His eyes closed, it appeared as though he was doing nothing at all – much to the vexation of the doctors, who tried once more to intervene, this time stopped by Akrabbim. Outwardly, of course, it did not appear that Jubei was doing anything, yet mentally he was already beginning to try and ease himself into a trance of sorts, a meditation-like state in the Force where he would be able to begin the dangerous healing process that Anbira required.

[AmazonBabe]

:: The GJO had two medical bays; one smaller and one very large. The smaller of the two was reserved for Jedi or the order, and it was there that AB had been working when Anbira had been brought in. It didn't take long for her to enter the room he had been placed in. ::

:: Jubei was already there and working on trying to heal Anbira's wounds. She didn't disturb him and instead walked to the other side of the bed and looked at the chest wound. It was ghastly and ueven, as though something had forced it's way in without grace, but with plenty of purpose. She also noticed the bleeding was not stopping. ::

:: She reached into the satchel she almost always wore at her side and extracted a powder ground from orange leaves on a tree found in the Ithorian jungle. She sprinkled a little bit of the power around the wound. For a few seconds, the power began to aid in clotting the blood, but then it disolved and the blood flowed freely again. She frowned and applied a bit more again, but the same results occured. ::

:: Frusterated, she shut her eyes and focused on the flowing red liquid, looking deeply into it's cellular level. There she discovered what was keeping the blood from clotting, even with aid. She had dealt with it's kind before, and healed it easily, but this one was foreign to her. She opened her eyes and looked at Jubei who was still concentrating deeply. ::

His blood is poisoned...

:: She spoke to no one in particular, somewhat bewildered that the powder she had used so many times before did not work this time. ::

[Ryla Relvinian]

"Poisoned?" I was out of breath from sprinting down the corridor, having been compelled to come by one of the strongest waves of pain that I had ever felt rippling visibly through my quarters and into my mind. It was not the first time I had involuntarily received someone's emotions, but this time, it had been so raw, so powerful, and as forceful as a knife-edge that I knew it must be coming from someone of such immense power that they could unconsciously generate such thoughts.

But there was not enough Bacta in the galaxy to cover and heal what lay before me on the exam table. Anbira Hicchoru. Jedi Master Hicchoru, his body marred by wounds and gouges that seeped their life-giving fluid out through useless bandages in a way that was not natural.

I turned to Rie, a look of shock on my face. "What... What happened here?"

[imported_Akrabbim]

Since Akrabbim's talents are virtually useless in healing, he decides to answer questions. He speaks up, even though Rie was addressed.

He was stabbed by Lady Vader... it appeared to be a poisoned claw. I got him here as fast as I could, but it looks like the poison has had time to spread over his entire body.

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

Jubei was entirely oblivious to the goings on around him. The voices of the Jedi Masters were nothing but murmurs, sonic blurs, which were incoherent to him in his state of concentration. Everything ounce of his being was focused upon Anbira. The man was poisoned, tainted deeper than his wounds showed. The blood that ran freely, draining all color from Anbira’s complexion, had been the point of contamination, but from there the darkness had spread to the Jedi Master’s very spirit and essence. It was consuming, slowly but surely, as a parasite would – his body a source of sustenance that would be devoured entirely, if Jubei could not stop it soon.

The process, theoretically, was simple. Jubei would draw the poison from the wound, as one would with the bite of an animal – but it was here the danger lay. In removing the taint, Jubei was required to shoulder its burden, albeit only temporarily. There was a lingering danger of his own fall, should he fail to perform the healing correctly – one man who had previously attempted it had saved his fallen comrade, but not without sacrifice – his own heart had stopped. Slowly, but surely, Jubei began to draw the taint buried within Anbira outwards… gently pulling at it… his expression showing the strain of the task.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Within the sleeper, eyes that did not see awakened.

Anbira found himself in the void between life and lifelessness. His connection to the Force itself had delivered him from death, only to bring him...here.

He was not alone. His shadow had followed him here. That scar upon his life that was the corruption of the dark side. Now, this corruption had grown from Sel'arra's poison, threatening to devour his life.

Yet in the distance, he could see a luminous being, unlike any he had seen before. The brilliance of the visitor began to overtake the shroud of his shadow.

[Ryla Relvinian]

"This is not good." I muttered to nobody in particular, wringing my hands in an unconscious gesture of sympathy. From one side, Rie continued to work with her skills, and on the other, I listened through the Force as Jubei fell deeper and deeper into a very unique healing trance. I could not percieve what he was attempting to do until...

It hit me like a stack of bricks. He was drawing the poison from Anbira, like venom from a wound. Without thinking about what I was doing, I turned to face him, seeing the calm visage and the pull beneath it, and added my own strength, however slight, to the Force. There was no guarantee that this would work... But all I could do was help with what I could.

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB's gentle touch had began to slow as her options became limited. The last resort she had was of applying preasure to the gash that was in the middle of Anbira's chest. ::

:: While Jubei worked on extracting the poison, AB focused inward to begin to heal the wound her hands were pressed against. As she focused deeper, she noticed something that brought a chil to her spine. His heart had been ruptured by a sharp object, deliberately jagged to make the healing process difficult. ::

:: AS AB began to knit the torn tissues together a sudden pressure began to weigh itself upon her, causing her to lose focus. She opened her eyes, frowning, and then closed them again to again concentrate on the task. But the harder she pushed to heal, the harder the unseen force pushed back. ::

:: Opening her eyes, she breathed in deep gulps of air. Not only had Anbira's body been poisoned, but it was a poison fueled by pure darkness. He'd been poisoned with the dark side. ::

:: She turned to Ryla and saw that she was aiding Jubei with whatever she could, and knew that drawing out the poison was the first step before the actual healing could commence. But with the dark side as a factor lodged within Anbira's heart, it would begin to consume him. ::

:: She looked at Anbira's face. It was ashen, his cheek bones beginning to show more prominently. She had to stop the darkness within him from spreading too deeply, but she couldn't do it alone. ::

:: She was about to ask Akrabbim for help in lending her support, and thus was distracted, when Anbira's body spasmed mightly, sending a fist up and clocking her on the side of the head. She flailed, smacking into Ryla. ::

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

Slight confusion showed on Jubei’s face as he felt something in the Force. His high level of mental control allowed him to block it out however, to remain focused on what he was doing, despite whatever was going on around him. He took a deep breath, as he felt the Force swirling in a squall around himself and Anbira, their two beings linked through the process. The darkside was deeply seeded within the Jedi Master, but Jubei was teasing it away from him. As Jubei fought to bring it to the surface, his healing abilities became less and less affective, and therefore it was thankful that Ryla had offered her own strength to the task, to keep the cyclic healing process going.

He could feel the shadow now and it could feel him. Somewhere in his mind he could see it, too. It loomed over Anbira, ensnaring him, but its grasp was weakening, as it began to slither away, moving towards a new host like some ungodly ethereal parasite. It was creeping slowly out towards the Jedi Knight, as it felt Jubei’s own strength in the Force. It would come to him in time, however Jubei did not yet know what he would do when it did…

[Ondine]

Originally posted by Anbira Hicchoru
Within the sleeper, eyes that did not see awakened.

Anbira found himself in the void between life and lifelessness. His connection to the Force itself had delivered him from death, only to bring him...here.

He was not alone. His shadow had followed him here. That scar upon his life that was the corruption of the dark side. Now, this corruption had grown from Sel'arra's poison, threatening to devour his life.

Yet in the distance, he could see a luminous being, unlike any he had seen before. The brilliance of the visitor began to overtake the shroud of his shadow.

:: Ondine comes closer, seen only by Anbira in this place between realms. White gold light is all around them, and she speaks in a choir of soft voices ::

"Anbira Hicchoru, why are you here?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"I..."

Anbira pauses, unsure of how to answer the spirit's question.

"...do not know that which you ask."

He felt naked. Stripped clean of his burdens, as pure as the day he was born.

"Who are you?"

[Ondine]

"I am Ondine."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"That name...I have not heard and yet, I know it."

Anbira strained to see the spirit's image through the bright rays of golden light that shone around her. He stretched out with his feelings, and queried.

"I am dead? You, the Force, claim me as your own."

It was something that Anbira had prepared his entire life for. For the moment in which he would stand at the precipice, overlooking eternity. What was his virtue, when all was said and done?

[Ondine]

"I am an angel of light and law within the force as it is known by men. Would you pass into the realm beyond and become eternal? Or become reborn as my champion?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"If you are what you say, you must know my heartaches. You must know that I do not wish to be your champion.

Must it be me that you choose?"

Anbira lowered his head. A few seconds later, he returned his gaze to meet the spirit, a tear falling from his eye.

"But if this task must be done, and cannot pass to another, then I will do so with all my might. My servitude to you is greater than myself. If it is your will, mend my broken body, and I will take up your sword again."

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB had recovered from the hit, albiet somewhat shocked, and was already holding down the offending arm and keeping the pressure on the chest wound. ::

:: Her cheek bone was throbbing and she could feel the skin around her eye beginning to swell. She sighed, hoping inwardly that Morgan didn't mind her sporting a black & blue spot around her eye. ::

:: While she stood there, a whisper seemed to pass by or through her, and into or out of Anbira. It was a soft feeling through the Force, but was untouchable or graspable. It slipped through her mind's fingers as quickly as it had come. ::

:: Though she was puzzled by it, she didn't say anyting and instead concentrated at the task at hand, again trying to heal Anbira, and still running into the same block of darkness. She hoped Jubei was having better luck than she was. ::

[Ryla Relvinian]

"He is passing away..." I whispered to myself, barely audible above the ever-present hum of machinery and the gentle feel of the force presence within the room. With my mind so far open, and so much of me given to assist Jubei at his work, I could not help but feel a strange sensation, like the push and pull of the sand upon the water, Anbira's spirit was somehow... torn, between this life and somewhere beyond, a place just out of reach.

"His spirit is strong," I continued, only slightly louder, "But it is beyond our powers now."

[Ondine]

"My Sister has chosen a destroyer to lead the armies of chaos. If the cosmic balance tips too far in her favor, the galaxy will suffer an eternity of darkness."

:: Ondine shows Anbira the image of a possible future. Entire planets burned beyond recognition, and the screams of races fill his ears as their lives are extinguished in genocide ::

"As Vicet has chosen this hellmaid, so I choose you to represent Law."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"I know this woman."

Anbira's brow furrowed.

"Her wickedness is without compare. If this is the task at hand, then I remain your servant still."

[Ondine]

:: The light becomes blinding, and now it filled the room where his physical body lay. The light recedes to a warm glow around Anbira's body as his regeneration is complete. For a brief moment, the others could see Ondine. Then she was gone ::

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"GAAAAAAAAAAASSSSP!!!"

Anbira's lifeless body thrashes once and stiffens on the bed suddenly, saturated with Ondine's healing energy which Jubei and the other healers had brought forth as catalysts. As the wound in his chest drew shut, the visible signs of Anbira's fatigue began to flee from his body. Wrinkles smoothed away from skin that was now flush with a more youthful shade. His aged frame seemed to sturdy as muscles found their previous power. The ashen white of his hair was chased away by a shade as black as topsoil, and the criss-crossing myriad of scars on his body were seemingly burned away by the Force, as if the body before them was born again. There was a sudden blaze of heat in the room, as if the intensity of Ondine's life-affirming act was a blazing fire.

Then as suddenly as it happened, it was gone, fading into the air around them, leaving the healers stunned and tired, and Anbira Hicchoru gasping for his breath, staring up at the ceiling as a newborn might.

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB had stepped back involuntarily, shading her eyes, as the light brightened the room to an almost painful intensity. Through slitted eyes, she was able to witness the change, though just barely due to the burning the light brought upon her eyes. ::

:: And then, as suddenly as the light had come, it vanished, leaving the stunned Jedi surrounding the bed, blinking at the man before them. ::

:: She tentatively stepped forward, lightly touching the spot where the gaping wound had been on Anbira's chest, while looking at the youthful face. Her voice was barely above a whisper. ::

Anbira...?

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira's eyes tried to focus on Rie's face, though it was all through a light haze. He could not speak, still struggling to gain his own breath.

His hand traced lightly along his own bare chest, grasping gently at Rie's forearm.

"...where am I?"

He managed to get out through dry lips.

[Loki Ahmrah]

There was a ruckus outside the small ward, the muffled voice of a protocol droid on guard could be heard through the thick, mechanical doors and it was followed by the raised voice of a child.

"Let me pass!" Came the cry and it was preceded by a loud crash.

A whooshing sound disturbed the silence within the medical ward and the doors open, into the room ran a young padawan boy, his cheeks were red and his brow glistening and damp. Not wasting a moment, Loki darted forth and came to stop near the bed about which stood a number of Jedi, all deadly silent. Fear filled the padawan's heart and he pushed past to get to the patient's bedside then he too fell silent upon bearing witness to the same miracle.

"Master?"

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB's eyes roamed over the different, yet familiar looking face, the tell-tale beginnings of moisture gleaming in her eyes. She looked up at the flushed Padawan, Andira's Padawan, before looking back down and softly answering Anbira's question. A small smile began to blossom on her lips. ::

You're in the Jedi medical ward.

:: She'd made a quick cursery examination of his body while she'd answered his question, the Force revealing nothing wrong with him. In fact, it merely confirmed his healthy and very-much alive state wth his Force signature brightly glowing. ::

Though from the looks of it, you don't seem to need to be here anymore.

:: She reached to the side with her free hand, pouring a small glass of water that was on the side-table, and offered it to him. ::

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira took the glass, drinking from it in such a way that it seemed only out of courtesy for Rie's own generosity. Anbira's eyes roved over the top of the glass with a wide, incredulous look to them. His gaze came to rest on Loki, which seemed to calm his racing mind. As an afterthought, he took another drink, finally able to address Rie once more, and the strange expression on her face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

[Loki Ahmrah]

Still silent and staring in awe, mouth agape as he inspected the transformed, nay, practically reincarnated Jedi Master, Loki barely registered Anbira's question. Even then it still took him another moment to summon the focus to speak and he didn't say much.

"Wow!" He tore away from his look of disbelief just for a moment to allow a smile to slip through, his master's scar had gone from his face. The padawan shook his head slowly.

"Just-- just see for yourself."

[imported_Akrabbim]

Akrabbim steps forward.

Perhaps I can answer this more easily. Look.

Reaching out with the Force, Akrabbim creates an image of Anbira as he now appears, his new youth very apparent.

You seem more than well, my friend. Jubei, did you do that?

[Ryla Relvinian]

I glanced back up at Rie for just a moment before focusing back on the strangely youthful visage of the man who lay, blinking as if awaking from a long nap, on the exam table before me. I had watched it happen... I had seen it with my own eyes, even felt it through the Force, the feeling of an intensely powerful healing energy that had not come from any of us in the room... and yet I still could not believe my eyes.

A deeper examination proved to reveal even more oddities: His skin was radiant, almost glowing with its own light energy, and his ripped tunic was ill-fitting on a body that seemed to have grown in stature. His mind was incredibly clear, especially compared to the state it had been in just moments ago.


"Why are you looking at me like that?"

I began to reach for the bloody shred of his shirt, wanting now to examine what I believed was a one-of-a kind experience for the Jedi medical ward. "You've... Changed."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Akrabbim's illusion was like seeing a ghost. Ryla and Loki's words only confirmed that which Anbira was all too eager to believe was just a figment of his imagination. Rising from bed, the Jedi Master took a few tentative steps toward Akrabbim's doppleganger before sinking to his knees.

As the illusion looked down at him, Anbira looked at his own hands, virile and strong as they were before the Dark Side claimed them.

"A most dreadful miracle indeed."

The Jedi's head lowered until his forehead touched the cool floor.

"The dead shall not die in want of service, so nor shall the living unjustly. Thus sayeth Ondine, and my Master the Living Force that strengthens me."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

Unlike Anbira, Jubei was anything but rejuvenated. His brow damp with sweat, his chest rising and falling as he took deep, slow breaths; he was exhausted. When questioned by Akrabbim if this ‘miracle’ of sorts had been his doing, he simply shook his head. It was taking strength for the monk to remain standing; therefore, he lowered himself down to sit on one of the seats by the table that Anbira had risen from. He glanced a moment at the changed Jedi before closing his eyes, inwardly trying to calm his breathing and racing heartbeat – a sense of dizziness filling his strained mind. He did managed one word, however.

“… Ondine?”

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira's head raised at his son's query.

"The Living Force, manifested in a voice, in a face."

Raising up to his feet slowly, Anbira struggled to find his thoughts.

"I saw her face, and heard her voice when I should have been sped to the afterlife. Instantly, I knew her to be the spoken truth of the Living Force's will."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

“The Living Force?” he opened his eyes, watching Anbira with clear disbelief. “Such a thing is possible? That it would speak to you… it seems,” Jubei said, through a haggard breath, “that you truly have bee blessed.”

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"It speaks to us all in different ways..."

Anbira looked to Jubei's exhausted form, sitting by his side. In seeing his son's fatigued form, it occurred to Anbira what he had tried to do. How great would his grief be, if he lived and Jubei did not? Anbira wanted to reach out and scold him for being so reckless and selfless, but found such action to be hypocritical. The force speaks to us all in different ways.

"...as it has done with you. You who risk so much to save so little, my son. The force tells us both your action is just and noble, and in the very spirit of a Jedi. But the Living Force does not carry a father's burden, or the grief I would endure to carry on, knowing your life purchased my own."

Anbira smiled at his fatigued son in a bittersweet fashion, running his hand through Jubei's hair.

"I must admonish you, however irrational my reasons may be, nor however just your cause is all the same. Not as a Jedi, but a Father here and now. You honor me, and break my heart for honor's sake."

Anbira shivered, a tear running down his face.

"When you understand this pain, you will fully know a Jedi's sacrifice."

[Loki Ahmrah]

Silenced by the touching scene between father and son, Loki could also hear the pain in his master's voice and made an attempt to bring things back on topic.

"So, the Force has manifested before you and--" Loki paused, somewhat bewildered and still overwhelmed by Anbira's dramatic physical change. "--And it spoke to you."

He smiled. "What did this Ondine say to you: 'It's time for a makeover, old man'?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira managed a smile at Loki's attempt to lighten the situation. For his efforts, Anbira ran a hand through the boy's hair.

"She said my work was not finished, and that I was needed now, more than ever. She then, through all of your efforts, drew the corruption of the Dark Side from my corrupted body, much the same as you worked to draw Lady Vader's venom from me."

He fingered at his chest absently, mind going back to his fateful duel.

"It's not finished."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

In his state of fatigue, Jubei did not fully comprehend the change that Anbira had undergone. Watching him interact with Loki, he seemed a different man. The change was for the better of course – as the Force had empowered the Jedi, delivering him back into life so that he could again act as champion for justice.

“Not finished?” His eyes narrowed, as he was unsure what his father was suggesting. “You intend to track Lady Vader down?”

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"That, and more."

It was no doubt unpleasant for Jubei to hear, but such were the differences in philosophy they held.

"I do not presume to judge, for that is not my duty. The Force is the fulcrum we are all set atop, the universe around us is that which we are weighed against.

We Jedi have the power to grant punishment and absolution alike, but it is she that chooses, not us. A Jedi is the blade in Ondine's hand. Those who perform evil are judged on her terms, and christened or damned at our hands.

This is our most serious charge, and our unavoidable duty, and I will see it carried through to all the wicked..."

Anbira turned his eyes from Jubei at this point.

"...even to my wife and your mother, if it is Ondine's wish. Such is the sacrifice I make."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

The thought that this religious zeal could cloud Anbira’s judgment came to mind briefly for Jubei, but he trusted the Jedi Masters own conviction for his duty enough to know that he would perform it correctly- whether it was in the name of some deity or not. With a simple nod, he spoke. “We are Jedi first and foremost. All other ties come after. Sacrifice is necessary.”