Once Awake

[jadus]

He had read the signs, seen the inevitable diminution. The fall of Adas had opened the galaxy to the sith, and yet his advisors already tore them apart. Could he rule such a people? Perhaps. But it would break him to try, and he would not permit this. Remaining in the shadows too would be pointless. Instead, he would travel to a most secluded vault, hidden on a planet deep within the Stygian Caldera, the dense and treacherous nebula that protected their world.

He left final gifts to his most faithful, and then sealed himself in, alone. His body joined with the half-living alchemy within. Cold, stinging fumes hissed into his lungs, and every breath came slower. His heart beat twenty times in a minute.

Twelve.
Two.

None.

His mind persisted. It was almost free of his body, almost what it should be, but the cold still touched it as well, slowing his thoughts to the scale of decades. The galaxy seemed to roiled with life and pain and fear, shimmering with ceaseless change. At first, it was overwhelming.

But there were patterns. He could not yet describe their form nor predict their course. They were intriguing. And he had so much time to study them.

He was oblivious to the smaller, briefer things around him. He stared unblinking through twenty-four thousand years. His presence in the Force seemed to almost have melded with the land itself, his presence had so thoroughly tainted it over the centuries. But he remained at its center, deathly still yet somehow living.

No one had found him since his servants had departed, and so undisturbed his meditation could persist for eons more.

The vault was set deep into stable, solid bedrock. The water that had once dug these caverns ran dry millennia ago. Though creatures that could stand the Dark made their home here, they avoided the passage that led to him. He had been aware of them much as he had felt the rest of the galaxy: in aggregate, a rustling of many limbs and lives in the darkness.

In this myriad of years, the sith were of little interest to him. The invaders driven from Korriban still shaped the galaxy, and he watched the darkness they wove into steel. Then suddenly, they were gone. Wars guttered in their absence, arcing from the galaxy's core to the rim. A world that had split in two spread a poisonous Light that pained him to witness, but it cast more shadows in its wake. A wave of minds crawled from the core.

In the next myriad, something far distant caught his attention, beyond the galaxy's edge. The loss of something he had not consciously seen before its end. He dimly saw something in its echo, but the nothingness was swallowed up by the roiling of the worlds around him: the core fractured, a new palace of misery to the east, while to the west, twisting skeins of gravity kept the worlds beyond enmeshed in their own constructs of conflict and life. The piercing Light retreated, pushed outward, and broke itself again. The jagged edges left in its wake sprang up around him, bleeding the Sith until they mirrored the light. He felt no grief, only growing disinterest in their fate. The more he meditated, the more the patterns of the Force itself began to make sense.

In this millennium, a sudden crescendo. A war pushed outward from the worlds around him like a wave, then retreated. All around him, death. And then, so soon as to be almost instant, absence. A hole where a planet had once been, an echoing void. He watched the remains, but there were few stirrings in the darkness to explain it. An event in passing. But it slowed his thoughts with consideration. There was a Dark that left it, singular, splitting, settling, leeching. It was of interest, but there was something he had seen in the nothingness it left behind. He would need more time to think on it.

In these centuries, the growing Dark reached hidden tendrils across the galaxy. The formless Light rose in brittle spires, rotted through, and shattered. The Dark around it fed mindlessly on it, but there was no will to shape it further. He was now so vast and uncaring, but even he could reach out with slow sieving grasp and catch those echoes, draw them out into filaments of pure, glimmering fire. In its shimmer, he saw the forms of great and distant things.

Another world disappeared, and this time he stared directly into its un-light, heard the chord it sang for only the briefest moment. In this flash he saw again, and it was as he had desired.

In these years, the shock of seeing had been too much to sustain. He retreated back into cold, into something forgotten.

And in these lengthening days, he grew to dim awareness: something crawled along his surfaces.

He did not see the smooth black curves of his vault, or hear the voices it stole to whisper with. It had done this before, and each time it brought conflict and ruin to the bare rock above, the caves it nested in, the door it had refused to open.

Comments

[jadus]

Evidently he had found some new question that would be an inconvenience to those that thought themselves important. This was, intentionally and not, a pattern in his life.

He gestured a no. "The sith had changed, but their vestiges ceased to exist when the Jedi came."

But knowing the history of his own people, the toast was especially ironic. "As god-king Adas bade us say before his fall and our fracturing: Joined as one." It had caused him no particular pain to proclaim it as well. That was not the part of Adas' tenets that had stood in his way.

He drained his glass and set it aside, the shell of his face sliding back into place.

[tagential]

“You should tell them that, too. But only if you want a fight.” He was still grinning as he finished off his own drink. “They’re going to hate you.”

Which wasn’t his problem. He would try to avoid getting caught in the middle of it, and let them fight it out between themselves. Unless Jadus really planned on just hiding, and somehow pulled that off. Edwon doubted it.

He tilted his head, mind still on Jadus, trying to figure him out. He felt something sliding across the man’s face. “Is that actually part of you? I can’t tell.” He wondered if having eyes would make a difference, though in his experience, people with eyes tended to miss a lot. “You feel... strange. No offense.”

[jadus]

"They will. It is inevitable." Even those that loved him had often hated him too.

"It is all myself, and of my own making." He extended an arm to within the agent's reach, offering contact if it was sought. His skin was dry, perfectly smooth on the harder plate that protected his forearms, the rest shot through with texture. He was warmer now, but the heat was only just beginning to reach his fingertips.

"I remade myself as I saw fit, and I shall continue to change." And now that his creations would not be in tribute to Adas, he could remake others as well.

[tagential]

"And you don't care about being hated?" He had to ask.

He also couldn't pass up that offer. He pulled off a glove and then reached out, fingers trailing gently over the strange arm at first. It didn't feel like skin, but it didn't feel like anything else he could place, either. A little too cold, maybe. He allowed himself to touch higher up his arm, a little more firmly now, just to see if he'd react to the touch at all, curious how sensitive he was.

"I've met cyborgs, but this is different," he said. And maybe the alcohol combined with his exhaustion had been a bad idea after all, because now he grinned a little again. "What's the rest of your body like?"

[jadus]

"Do you?" It was evident from Cipher Nine's behavior that it made many enemies, and that fact did not bother it.

"Another word that tastes of metal." It was easier for him to understand now, as the Miraluka became less guarded towards his presence. "I am flesh, worked into shape and function by the Force." The body was a place for the mind to do its work, and he had built himself into a more pleasing shape.

His hand lightly grasped Cipher Nine's arm, pulling him slowly closer. "You may answer your own question." It was as clear an invitation as any.

[tagential]

He shrugged. "It's their choice if they do or not."

He let Jadus pull him to his feet and then closer, surprise readable on his face even with a blindfold obscuring half his expression. But the gesture had caught him completely off guard. And then a second later his grin was back, and he pulled off his other glove as well, dropping it to the floor.

He stroked a hand straight up Jadus' chest, feeling life and strength, nothing like touching a cyborg, nothing like touching armor, nothing like touching a Sith. It was easier to get a sense of him with his mind now, too, the picture in his head becoming clearer. It was all him. There was nothing that didn't feel alive.

"So you can feel every touch?" His other hand stroked up to his shoulder, though the height difference made it slightly awkward for him. "Can you protect yourself from pain as well?"

[jadus]

"I feel pain when I wish to do so." He accepted the touch, supporting Cipher Nine as the Miraluka's reach extended beyond the point of easy balance. Before that moment, even. As Cipher Nine relaxed, he could observe more subtle parts of its mind and intent. "As I feel all other things."

[tagential]

"So are you a masochist, or is there another reason to feel pain?" He was almost tempted to pinch him just to see, but he didn't want to push too far, and, more importantly, whatever Jadus' self-made skin was, it wasn't easy to pinch. That was definitely a design flaw.

He got up on tiptoe and touched higher, stroking his neck, and then the back of his head. But he was tall, too tall, so he switched to feeling lower. Were those robes, and were they alive? That had to be impractical, and made him wonder what was under them. "How does someone like you like being touched?"

[jadus]

"Sensation is a fundamental aspect of how we shape the Force. To shy away from pain is to deny what could be made from it."

At the unvoiced questions, his robes flexed slightly, then split into wide ribbons of living cloth. "A question that has never been asked. When sith desire intimacy, our minds are joined." Why ask, when you could simply know?

[tagential]

Edwon tilted his head. "So you have masochistic tendencies."

He might be teasing. He might be feeling a little out of his depth here, but that had never stopped him before. The robe changed suddenly, and he jumped, fingers gripping tight for a second. But it wasn't enough to distract him from the implications.

"So you're in my mind." He stated it as a fact, and he sounded slightly annoyed. He couldn't help it, though it wasn't like it was a surprise. That's how Jadus understood him, wasn't it? And Edwon had invited him to do it. It was unnerving, but he'd let it go.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm no Sith." Teasing again. And, in fact - Jadus was asking for it. He twirled a finger around one of the robe-tentacles and then tugged, just to see if he'd feel pain, just because he wanted to know if he'd like it. "I'll just experiment, then."

[jadus]

Finally, realization. "That remains unchanged." Of course he was. He would do so regardless of Cipher Nine's wishes. What reason did he have to deny that to himself?

"You have been made to understand my words. You can also be made to understand more." The tendril and two others beside it wrapped around Cipher Nine's arm, pulling him closer.

[tagential]

Edwon didn't resist, ending up pressed close to Jadus' larger form, turning his head sideways to avoid having it pressed into his chest. Besides his curiosity, there was a spark of annoyance still inside of him now, a rising defiance, but that was still the opposite of a deterrent. He'd have to push further.

He wanted to know how much Jadus knew.

So do you know I'm planning to send that report? He didn't know if he could read his thoughts fully, or to which extent he could pick up on ideas, details, so he'd have to test it. He focused his thoughts briefly but strongly on betrayal. It was a risky move, and could turn Jadus against him, but he had to know for sure.

He dragged his nails slowly up Jadus' hip, leaning into him, no hint of his thoughts in his expression. His pulse was rising. The danger might be what would make him enjoy this.

[jadus]

It was questioning. Resistant. Testing. Behavior that explained its survival, despite its rashness. "I am a curiosity to you. An arrogant relic that might turn on you if displeased. That is close enough to the truth."

Nails against him, making him shift, shoulders rolling back slightly and the tendrils of his robe flexing, curves rolling down their length. "You have contempt for those you call your masters, and that binds you to them. I am merely a piece of this conflict to you."

He pulled away to sit in one of the nearby chairs, his grip on Cipher Nine's arm relaxing, gently urging the Miraluka to join him. It had been curious about their face. Now it would be able to reach it. "And to me, you are a strange, singular creature. A concept I have not experienced for millennia. I encounter you, I observe you, and I move on. And so we both disregard each other."

[tagential]

"You're being surprisingly open. Are you trying to gain my trust?" Still teasing. There was no point in pretending this was anything except a game, testing each other to see who would come out on top, a battle even if neither of them was using violence. And maybe also an interesting diversion. Anyone would want some company after a few millennia in a vault.

Edwon continued to let Jadus guide him, straddling his laps so he could hold himself up, compensating for their difference in heights. He seemed to have liked the nails, so he did it again, dragging them more sharply down his back. Then he leaned in, teeth against Jadus' jaw.

"I'm not disregarding you completely. I'm just not impressed yet."

[jadus]

The nails drew a quiet gasp from him, but the sound didn't seem to come from his mouth. Neither was his voice.

"Perhaps." The tendrils were more in motion now, sliding over Cipher Nine's thighs and waist, his hands moving in unison with them, seeking what contact might inspire the most response in its mind.

The shell slid back to reveal his mouth once again, and his voice shifted in his head. "I will not endeavor to do so. I have no reason to. And you would reject all conscious attempts."

[tagential]

Getting a reaction out of Jadus was satisfying. The longer this went on, the less he seemed like some mighty being to fear, and more like just another alien. He might be powerful, but he had dealt with countless powerful people.

“You’re right. And I’m guessing you don’t feel like you have anything to prove.” He kept tilting his head, trying to adjust to where the sound came from, wanting to ask, but... Later. “You already believe you’re in full control.”

And maybe he was, but that didn’t mean it would last. If he could just figure out how to hide something from him...

“Hold on, let me—“ The touch was nice, intriguing, to the extent that he could feel it. Unfortunately his clothes were made for protection. It might not be full body armor, but most of the sensation didn’t penetrate. He pulled back to quickly remove his jacket, throwing it aside. It was covered in blood anyway, it needed to be laundered.

[jadus]

He was becoming something manageable to the Miraluka. "And you believe you understand what I am, and what I am capable of." It had not experienced the world as he envisioned it, the unspeakable things he had shown those who came to stand within his sermons, the Rakata warriors struck dead by the power of illusions alone. The things he had conjured in thought had so often remained ephemeral, under Adas' command. He had been limited to constructing beasts of war and burden. But now, he could make the greatest of his creations solid and true.

As soon as the jacket was unfastened, the tendrils slipped inside, helping to pull it open and reach closer to Cipher Nine's skin. He leaned down to the Miraluka's neck, lips ghosting over the skin.

Something almost like a tongue slid out between his lips to caress it.

[tagential]

Edwon shrugs. “So we’re both underestimating each other.” And that was exciting, wasn’t it? Maybe they had something to prove after all.

But the tendrils were distracting him now. He leaned back into Jadus, goosebumps rising across his skin from the strange sensation, even though he still had a shirt between himself and their touch. He wanted that shirt off, too, so he used one hand to start undoing buttons.

His other dug nails into the back of Jadus’ neck. He tilted his head back, allowing that strange tongue access. “So do you always walk around naked?”

[jadus]

Hands and tendrils slid under the shirt, roving and grasping at the smaller creature. The tendrils were still cool to the touch, but his hands had warmed now, their heat following in the wake of the more flexible limbs as they explored.

"Why should I not?" His voice had shifted again, no longer coming from his mouth. His lips were pressed against Cipher Nine's skin, gentle, but sharp teeth slid delicately against it. "I am my own creation. I will display my work."

[tagential]

Edwon tilted his head again, trying to hear where Jadus was speaking from now. “It’s almost a shame I can’t see it, then,” he said. But he could sense it, and sense the life in it, he was just struggling to figure out exactly what was going on. Instead of trusting his instincts, he was relying too much on his experience with other species, and it was becoming clear that whatever Jadus had made himself into, he hadn’t allowed himself to be limited by that.

At the sensation of teeth he wet his lips, and pressed himself closer, encouraging. His shirt was being tossed aside now, too, leaving his chest entirely exposed.

“I‘ve never seen a reason to be ashamed of a little nudity. There’s no reason you should hide.”

[jadus]

"Not yet."

He brought his hands up to Cipher Nine's neck and jaw, holding him gently but firmly in place as he began to recite an incantation. Older words, shaped not for speech, but for deeper meaning. They resonated, leaving a hum in the air, a chord building into music. Illusions had power to warp the minds of others, to give them strength, to teach. To pass the idea of sight to a creature without eyes.

[tagential]

Edwon paused as Jadus started chanting, but didn't try to stop him. Maybe he should have. He definitely didn't trust him, but he was still confident that this wasn't about killing him, or even hurting him, and he'd never worried too much about getting hurt. Curiosity won out, and he waited.

And even after something started to appear in his mind, it took him a few moments to figure it out. It was... a shape? There was a sudden confidence in his mind that it was a shape, but that confidence also wasn't his own. There were different aspects to it - colors? Was that really what colors were? - separating the shape into... Something.

Not all of it belonged together.

It was--

He pulled back, but only so he could reach up and touch Jadus' face, one hand on each side of it. That he could make sense of. What was in his mind didn't even seem properly three dimensional.

He frowned, hidden behind the blindfold. This was giving him a headache again.

"No wonder people with eyes never notice anything."

[jadus]

"It will fade." He drew the pain away from Cipher Nine's head with a brief motion of a tendril, taking it into himself and simply releasing it in a single, sharp stab of pain. Now he could continue, tendrils wrapping around Cipher Nine's waist and thighs, flexing and sliding.

"If you wish it away, it will leave you." He would permit that for now. It would be interesting to see what the Miraluka would do.

[tagential]

"It's disorienting." He was still holding onto Jadus' face, like he had to remind himself what shape he actually was. "It doesn't match."

Maybe it would, once he figured it out, and he had a hard time leaving anything alone until he'd figured it out. At least he was being given a choice here. This was Jadus playing a game, testing him, but he wasn't trying to force his will, not yet. He was still in his head, though, which meant that he might eventually try.

On the other hand, it wasn't like he'd never been curious. But it was also distracting him from what they'd been doing, and he felt like he'd be able to learn more about Jadus by focusing his mind on him, and through touch. The image might be of him, but Edwon had nothing to compare it to.

He wasn't wishing it away yet.

"What color are you? Or is that difficult to say? I hear people argue over colors a lot, about whether something is magenta or purple, and for all I know you could be either."

[jadus]

"One day it may." Either in Cipher Nine's mind, or within the universe itself. It was why he continued to alter his form.

"Gray." A dark gray that had matched the king's armor. Against the red stone and skin of Korriban, it was a powerful contrast. "But no shade is pure. It mixes with others." Something red gleamed beneath the shell of his face, and the wandering tendrils shaded to black and deep red. Each bled into the other, pooling in deep ridges and raised curves.

By comparison, the Miraluka was... odd. The color of another world, upon a smooth face. There was not a single ridge upon his skin. Some would have found the look perverse.