Younglings

"I wonder how long it's been since someone's been down here..." the gasmask she brought along to recycle the air was struggling to keep out the thick layer of dust they were kicking up. It was flooding the vent.

Desmond shakes his head, "Probably centuries. The temple is thousands of years old and I don't see why anyone would need to come here. One of the vent fans was rusted solid at the last junction."

They were exploring. The day to day life of Jedi initiates was constant study and meditation. It was wearing even for reborn adults. Instead of going off swimming like the children (or younglings as they called them here) they decided to scout the temple.

They've been here their whole lives but they didn't know everything about the building. It made both her and Desmond itch to explore it.

"Hey... I think I see a downward hatch." Desmond points to his right down another vent.

The elevators were locked for this level of the temple. In order to go down they had to go through air locks or get permission from the council to go here.

They weren't going to get permission...

Desmond waves her forward, grime falling from his normally pristine white robes. They both crawl forward the rusted bits of the vent catching onto their homespun trousers and gloves.

It doesn't take them long to get to the downward port.

It was in a open circular areas with railing and elevated metal catwalks. There was a massive beam of light shining down from above the circular opening above.

Crawling out of the last couple of feet of the vent she couldn't help glancing up into the beam of light seeing sun through the the smog covered sky.

"We must be in one of the heat regulating silos." Desmond points out.

In the larger buildings on Coruscant there were towering empty spaces of nothing. The spaces helped the buildings regulate temperatures by allowing airflow.

Heather didn't exactly understand the mathematical side of it but knew it was similar to how African termite mounds work. The angles and natural airflow kept it cool in the heat and warm in the cold.

These spaces were known to save the people powering the buildings a fortune in energy costs, especially over time. Of coarse the Jedi temple would have a few.

But in the here and now she could tell the force was at work. Sunlight would only shine down into this exact spot a few days of a year at only a certain time.... it was not a coincidence that they arrived here today.

"The force is playing with us again." Desmond says after a moment of thought, he sounded a bit frustrated at the fact.

He had an obsession when it came to freewill and he always got annoyed when he noticed the 'force' influencing them without their notice. They both agreed that the Jedi were a cult but it was one of those rare cults that wasn't bad... except perhaps their habit of indoctrinating children. But even then they had the handy excuse that children with superpowers needed to learn how to control themselves, so the Jedi's motivations weren't horrible, at least on the surface.

Raising children to suppress their emotions was borderline abusive even if they had a reason for it.

She however trusted the force... at least to a point. Yes, it manipulated them but it also protected them when asked. It helped that she remembered vaguely what it felt like being a part of it. People strong in the force had many people watching and trying to help them or at least their causes.

"Well let's see what the dead wishes to show us.."

Desmond face scrunches up into a grimace, if it was for her casual comment or the suggestion to follow the force she didn't know. She knew that he found both unpleasant.

He steps forward towards the downward hatch. There was a giant wheel that sealed the entrance. It was rusted. It reminded her of a door in a submarine.

"Do you want me too.." she begins, pointing at the hatch.

He shakes his head and flips a surprising cylinder shaped object out of his long sleeve and into his hand. "You didn't think I came unprepared did you?"

"Who did you steal that from?" She starts in surprise. There was no question that he did steal it. Neither of them were allowed to have a real lightsaber yet.

He grins and lights it. An emerald green blade comes to life as he turns it into the rusted edge of the hatch slowly melting the edges, "Who do you think I stole it from? The asshole of coarse.."

"Master Vos isn't that bad." she didn't have to ask which 'asshole' he was talking about even though many in the order could be considered one.

He rolls his eyes, "He ratted us out to the council, yeah he is."

She chuckles, "He was sent out to find a couple missing children, of coarse he ratted us out, we were seven years old. I would be more worried about him if he didn't turn us in."

"He's still a rat bastard." she would never tell him but seeing him hogtied and thrown over the Jedi Master's shoulder was one of her favorite memories from this life. She would have joined him on the other shoulder if she helped him in trying to fight Master Vos, but she wasn't foolish enough to believe she had a chance.

As a former Assassin, Desmond overestimated himself and thought he could match the man even though he was still a rather short child. He was mistaken even if he gave the Jedi an abnormally difficult fight for his size.

It's been three years since then and Desmond was still annoyed by the whole thing.

The green lightsaber finally makes it around the edges of the circular hatch. She was waiting for the moment and caught it with the force. Levitating it upwards she separates the center away from the lava red edges of the round hole underneath. She drops the hatch to the side, making sure it was far out of the way. They just had to work through how to get past the edges of the hole.

"You want to come back tomorrow? It'll be cool by then."

He gives her a look, "I don't think the force wants us to wait until tomorrow." he said 'force' like it was a contagious disease. "It's not dripping... just drop and catch the steps."

Daringly, she approaches the molten metal and looks down the hole. She sees bars sticking out in a row going downwards to make up a ladder embedded in the wall. They were ancient looking... probably from when the temple was first built.

"For someone who doesn't like the force you sure are asking me to use quite a bit of it." there was no question how they were going to go down those steps... a force-null wouldn't survive going down them. Using the force was a must.

"Come on sweetheart, where's your sense of adventure." he grins at her and does a back-flip into the hole.

"Tetanus isn't adventurous!" she calls down.

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Desmond didn't like the feel of this place. Wasn't the temple suppose to be a place of peace and quiet contemplation?

Down here it was subtle but something dark, tainted was there... it was old and dead for all those but force users. But he could feel it pushing at him.. at her... there was something evil here. It worming forward ... trying to control them..

Like Heather thought they had to use the force to get down the shaft. The ladder wasn't anywhere near stable, it regularly broke apart in their hands, turning into jagged sand quality rust.

Eventually they had to climb down by the cracks in the walls.. walls that slowly went from durocrete to solid stone. They were inside the mountain the temple was built on.

They both could feel the cold rise up into their bones, causing them to ache like they were ancient instead of barely a decade in age.

He read about this in his history texts, the mountain was sacred in some way... but by the feel of the place he couldn't help but wonder... sacred to who?

It wasn't just evil, he could feel the phantom echoes of pain rippling through the echoing chamber. Someone good suffered and died here... many someones...

"I know why we're here..." Heather whispers in her linting English accent. Behind her mask, Heather's ridiculously beautiful emerald eyes were wide in surprise.

She continues to walk on even as he pauses. "Well... you going to tell me why the great force manipulated us here?" God, he despised the force. Every time he felt it's influence he couldn't help but feel like Minerva and Juno's pawn again, used by some 'higher' being for some 'higher' purpose.

It was only a matter of time before he was lead to his death again.

The bottom of the shaft was cold from it being stone and the darkside that radiated from the vile murders and other atrocities committed there.

"I know how to cleanse dark magic. I think the force is telling me that it'll work for this as well." In spite of her word choice she sounded sure.

That was... actually... he was on board if that's what the force wanted. Nothing good could come from this place... it really did need to be burned or something.

"Alright this is your show. Just warn me if I need to do something.."

She nods and quietly moves forward to what seemed to be a passageway.

Holding his light up he couldn't help but watch the shadows become short and long from every little imperfection carved into the walls. There were many.

Symbols covered the walls from floor to high ceiling. Carved stories of ancient triumphs and defeats littered every corner. They couldn't read the symbols but they recognized one or two among the endless script. It was a long hall of pillars and dust..

"The nexus is ahead..." her voice wavered as if she was struggling to breath. She turns to him, "I need you to concentrate. You need to focus on love, it's light. Don't linger on the pain of losing someone you love but love itself."

"Love? Why?" It was a weird request, something the Jedi above them would scold her for.

"I'm shielding you and I need to concentrate on the runic array. You need to concentrate on true love, it doesn't have to be romantic. It could be love for a mother or father... or a friend of someone you knew or know of. But it has to be true. It'll shield you from the darkside. I can only shield myself ahead.."

He knew what she meant. It was like what Ezio felt for his family. What drove him to kill thousands in vengeance. Maybe that was why the Jedi were so reluctant to love, that much death even in the name of justice was horrifying. Whether she was right about this or not, it couldn't hurt... at least any more then going in there with no protection would hurt.

He decides to concentrate on his Mother and Father.. Shaun, Rebecca, and Lucy, ignoring the ache that their absence brought.

She pats his shoulder, inspecting his effort through the force, "That's it... keep that in the forefront of your mind at all times."

The chill becomes more pronounced the further they go, small noises of little things scurrying though the dark threw moving shadows across their path, echos to reverberate though the stone halls, towards the endlessly high ceiling they couldn't quite see even with their lights.

Finally they reach a set of large stone doors. Even the joints looked to be carved right out of the mountain. They on their own were at least six or seven feet high, never mind the door.

"Why?.." Desmond turns at the sound of a whisper. He meets betrayed eyes staring at him in pain. A spear of horror laces through him as he sees the crimson stain spreading on her front, her blond hair fallen and dull, her blue eyes wide with pain.

Lucy... He killed her... god, he killed her. Why...

Heather was suddenly there blocking his view. "Don't listen. It's not whoever you're seeing. It's the dark trying to drag you down. Concentrate on someone else, someone that you didn't have a complicated relationship with. Another that you love.."

They were under the temple... the darkside was using Lucy too...

He latches onto what Heather was saying...

A uncomplicated relationship with a love one. That was... hard. He abandoned the Assassins... abandoned his mother.. father... doomed them to dealing with the Templars without him, even though he was right. Joining the brotherhood was a choice and he should have had the right to not join it. He was not ready at sixteen. He was right to run away, but in the here and now it made the love he felt for his parents complicated.. he needed to think of another..

He settled on thinking about Shaun and Rebecca.

Yeah, Shaun was a bit of dick but he was honest about it. It made him funny. Rebecca on the other hand was solid as a rock. They had disagreements but they were friends almost right away.

God, he missed them.

"Good job." Heather says with a smile, "Now are you going to help me with the door or not?"

Leaning back to get a better look at the thing, he pointedly thought of Shaun and how he would enjoy the culture and history of the order... He would curse at this door though, it wasn't in any way convenient. It was too tall for the tallest of ladders.. he would have needed scaffolding to look at the carving. That was before even considering how to open it.

"Yeah, we're going to have to do this together. I don't trust it to stay in one piece." he wasn't sure if the long line in the center was a crack or part of the design. The lights they were carrying didn't reach that far very well. "I'll focus on the upper portion and you focus on the lower portion. Do it nice and slow so we don't accidentally break them apart."

They center themselves in the force and reach for the stone as one. Dust falls as the stone slowly moves. Their lights flicker like candles even though they weren't made of flame. Burning cold rushes out of abyss beyond the doorway, like a wave of arctic water washing over them.

"Let's go..." Her voice trembled even as she steps forward into the dark.

Unlike the outward hall tunnel this place was not beautifully carved. Much of it was crude and jagged. There were pillars in here too but they more resembled stalagmites and stalactites... only linked together into unsightly protrusions. The room was round, the stone that made it was black with an almost smokey like red air settled above every surface.

In the very center was an alter with rusted chains hanging from it's side.

"What's the plan." It was clear why this was the center of the darkside nexus. He could practically feel the echos of screams that happened here.

Heather takes off one of her filthy gloves and brings her backpack to the front. Opening it she rummages around until she pulls out a small plastic tubular container that he recognized immediately.

"God, damn force.." He does the same thing that Heather did and gets his bag. Instead of a shaker he pulls out what was left of a five pound bag. They both contained salt. "I couldn't find a regular salt shaker for some reason ... I could only find a refill bag."

It was a couple pounds of salt but he wasn't going to eat those ration packs without it. Some sentient species were heavily allergic to salt so the emergency ration packets were automatically as flavorless as dirt.

Fucking force manipulated him again... with ration packets of all things. Whatever was behind the force was definitely fucking with him for the sake of fucking with him.

"Well I do need it. Nice of the force to help out with that." she sounded amused even though she probably wanted to vomit from the feel of this putrid place.

"Yeah? Well the force can carry the fucking bag next time. I searched for three hours looking for a normal thing of salt," he grumbles as he hands it over to her, "Anyways what do you need the salt for?" he grumbles after a moment.

She points over at the alter and lets out a breath. "I need to create a heptagram around it." His confusion must have been obvious because she quickly explains, "A seven point star. Each point has to represent a different protective rune. The strongest pointed dead North."

"I know seven is a lucky number and occults use stars in their rituals but can you walk me through this?" Asking her questions like this was reminding him of Shaun and Rebecca. He was constantly asking them questions about one thing or another.

Heather steps forward and uses the force to sweep the area around the Alter, "Stars, in these rituals, are meant to represent the body. It's meant to make our Will physical. A Five point star is standard in these rituals but I'm afraid it not enough to counter something this dark. A seven point star however doesn't just represent our limbs and head but also the mind and soul. It's why seven is considered a lucky number." She explains.

"And the center of the star?" It seemed a pretty big area to be discounted.

She had her eyes closed her arm outstretched pointed towards a random wall. After a moment she scuffs the floor, making a mark pointed outwards, a measurement marker, "The middle represents how all of our being intermingles and is connected. By putting the heart of the darkness in the center I'll be able to 'tell' my magic that I want everything purified in it's entirety."

"That's why your including mind and soul into this and not doing a five point star instead." It made sense.

"Yes, it's like the difference between a murder done in the moment of passion and a premeditated murder. The damage done here was very much a calculated product of a malicious mind and soul. The lingering intent needs to be cleansed as well."

"Well, let's get to it."

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Hours later Desmond stared down at Heather's work.

His head was throbbing from the constant strain from resisting the dark. There was only so long he could think of Shawn and Rebecca without repeating thoughts. He slipped a few times and had to be reminded of when and where he was. But finally Heather had a perfectly drawn seven point star on the floor around the alter.

"It's done..." her voice was raspy from speaking constant bits of Latin. "I only need to cast the spell.."

"Well do it. I want to get out of here before they figure out we're gone." he's definitely had enough adventure for the day. The cachemaster was bound to come hunting from them soon. They still had to make their way back into the temple and past the rusted shaft of doom.

She gives him a look.

Heather took off her outer layer of robes earlier, along with the mask/filter. Her face was smudged with the dust and grim from the room but even that didn't take away from the deceptively innocent image she made. She had a wild tangle of black hair that screamed bedhead, rounded cheeks and perfect little button nose. She even had fucking dimples. "I don't think you understand. As soon as I do this the entire temple will feel it. It's going to be like a cannon going off in the middle of the night. We're going to have Masters and Knights descending on us as soon as I finish the cleansing."

"Shit.." they've been hiding exactly what they were from the Jedi. The young bodies made it very easy to do. Who would look twice at a pair of innocent five year olds... a pair of innocent seven year olds... ten year olds. He was already worrying about them aging enough that someone would actually pay attention to them but being caught here would completely expose them as something different. "What would happen if we just left? This has been here for hundreds of years... will it really hurt to leave it for a few more?"

She stays quiet for a moment. She was paler then normal, almost sickly in the little light in the room.

"The dark here knows us now. It's already anchored inside us even with us resisting. You actually considering leaving this filth is proof of it." he gives her a look, that wasn't it at all, "It's disguising itself as frustration. It's using your pain." she indicates his head.

He wasn't the expert in this arena. Give him a blade, even one of those 'look at me' light swords and he'll hand a master swordsman his ass but with this... She was the master of this 'force/magic' bullshit.

"Leaving it will just cause it to haunt us when we're next vulnerable. I suspect when we next sleep. If we want to be free of it we need to deal with it now." He lets out a breath.. there was no avoiding this then, "I could probably hold off a bit before I have to activate the circle. You can escape, I'm going to be exposed either way. Or when they come to question us just tell them it was all me. Maybe they'll sense that you're telling the truth and leave you alone."

"Heather" He pauses, "shut up. I'm not leaving you here alone." This place creeped the shit out of him, he couldn't imagine how much more of a nightmare it would be if he was stuck down here by himself. He would never subject a decent person to a place like this.

She looked a bit uncertain but she gives him a lopsided smile, "Alright. Stand back and don't interrupt, no matter what you see. Continue to concentrate on your friends, it is going to really start fighting against us."

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"Hunc locum emunda, mortuum tuum requiem reperi...." The sound reverberates though the room like a gong as the salt trail bursts into white gold Flames. "Hunc locum emunda, mortuum tuum requiem reperi.' she repeats again the flames reaching the roof.

She wasn't repeating anymore but it was echoing over and over... the room was vibrating, the echoing chant becoming quieter but somehow louder at the same time. Reality was vibrating.... it was vibrating apart... bleeding....

The room was glowing....

Heather was glowing... her hands were outstretched, her hair whipping in a hurricane of wind, her eyes glowing that unnatural emerald green.

Wisps of dark clouds were straining to pierce the light around her, a tornado of vicious red and black poison.. surrounding her... but the light was burning it... the light was burning it all... the taint was de-solving in the air right before his eyes.

As the last bit of taint disappears the golden light races towards the cracks in all the surfaces around them in an explosion of light.

The room was left glowing a pure white but he could feel the spell under his feet...

He could FEEL it. It was going so far... all over the planet... everything was becoming..

A whine of pain sounds out in the room. His head whips up and meets Heather glowing green eyes.

She was pale... far paler then he's ever seen her. Her cheeks were no longer round with health but collapsed inwards... her hair was graying right before his eyes... turning white at the temples and spreading...

Her bones were becoming more and more pronounced, they were becoming just sticks under loose skin..

"HEATHER STOP THE SPELL!" it was killing her..

She shakes her head and maintains her stance her arms outstretched. "... Just a little more... It'll be done..."

It was an act of desperation on his part... almost instinctively, he connects to the force, the manipulating higher power that he so hated, and demands a way to save her.

It answers him almost greedily.

Following it's direction he jumps behind her and channels the force he had access to right into her, right behind her heart.
Unlike her, he had the strength to scream as his strength is sucked out of him.... into the spell.

Time almost freezes as the spell encompasses the world... destroying endless lingering bits of the darkside...

The spell stops...

Heather collapses into his arms, instantly unconscious, as he too falls. He only had enough strength to keep his head from hitting the floor.

Unable to hold himself up, he lays down with Heather still in his arms, clutching her to him. She wasn't breathing but he was helpless now, he couldn't move anymore, he couldn't help!!

His strength spent, his eyes close against his will and he knows no more.

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The two didn't see...

Neither saw Desmond's sideburns turn as white as Heather's entire cap of hair.

Neither saw the stone of the mountain bleach from the light side of the force.

Neither saw the dark alter crack in half, a chasm opening up underneath it, a fresh water spring welling up from the nexus, the light side of the force causing the waters to continuously glow.

Neither did they see the chamber Flood with Knights and Masters who felt the force shattering tsunami coming from deep under the temple.

And they certainly didn't see those same Jedi have an undignified and collective panic attack at finding two very dirty younglings on the verge of dying.