Niango

Jair listened to what Rayanelle had to say, but the main question still reeled in his mind. How did this woman sense peace in her? It was something he couldn’t wrap his mind around because his brushes with darkness only brought pain. How pain could equate to peace, Jair had no notion of. But he didn’t have time to question further, as Mariah was appearing restless. He observed her moving towards the chest in the room and noticed her freeze, rather oddly. After a moment, he checked to see if everything was ok.

“What is it? ... Mariah? Are you ok?”

He looked back over to Rayanelle.

“What’s happening?”

Jair felt the waves of tranquility pulsate through him as well. This was strange. It was certainly not a bad or dangerous feeling, but who or what was causing it? That much didn’t make sense. But within the very recent past it was not the first time the Force manifested in mysterious ways, so there must have been something of importance to this.

“I won’t pretend to know exactly what’s going on here... but if you are sensing the same thing I am, I wouldn’t fight it. The Force seems to be trying to show us... to tell us something.”

Jair reached out to this mysterious peaceful wave through the Force, trying to feel it with his instincts and a quieted mind. The very nature of it helped enable him to do so despite the circumstances.

“There are things the Force tells us that we won’t hear unless we quiet our mind and meditate on them. Don’t try to fight it or manipulate it, for the Light does not work in that manner, and if it is Ashla that speaks to you, such an action will forfeit your meditation to Bogan. And then you might miss the true intent...”

Jair must have sounded like such a typical Jedi to Mariah. He had his doubts whether she would be willing to give whatever this manifestation was a chance, but, he felt it was important enough to try as the more he meditated on it, the more he felt the sense that this was at least just as much for Mariah’s benefit as it was for his.

The soothing waves continued unabated and then, something shifted in the room. This was it! Mariah unlocked it! But before Jair could become too enthused with this welcome surprise, he saw her. He saw Aria. Everything he was focused on before was forgotten. All he could see was her shimmering golden eyes and her warm smile. All he heard was her soothing voice like a crystal. His eyes grew wide in a pure, deep longing. Jair rose up from his seat and approached her, noticing Rayanelle did the exact same thing. He watched as she reached out, but then Arias image began to fade. Almost instinctively he called out to her.

“Aria... Wait!”

But she was gone, and Jair realized it was not her spirit there. Merely seeing her image had stirred him to the point where he didn’t pay attention to the fact that her signature was never present there in the room the entire time. His face fell in dismay.

“It was only a projection...”

Jair knelt down to the floor, with tears of his own. Seeing her again stirred up so many emotions in him, even though it was just a projection. Perhaps he wasn’t ready for that yet. He took a moment to compose himself before standing back up and facing the two women in the room.

“But not for much longer.”

After composing himself, he was renewed with determination again. He was certain the next time he would see her would be for real. And he was absolutely bent on being successful in his mission.

“Soon we will all see her agai-“

Jair stopped himself short. He almost said too much in front of Rayanelle. It wasn’t that his mission was some big secret to her, but, he didn’t want to scare her with the details. He turned his attention now to Mariah. He did not know how she was reacting to all of this. Undoubtedly it had to have been a shock to her.

Jair was even more surprised at Mariah’s response, and ability to unlock even more of the message. He did not suspect that there was any more there. Sure enough Arias form appeared again. Though he knew now that it was only a projection, his heart still skipped a beat and his eyes welled up again. He just... stared, but he very quickly became puzzled. What was she talking about? Where did she stand? He could not resonate with her message. It was an enigma to him.

As the projection faded he witnessed Mariah collapse. Without a word he nodded to Rayanelle and went quickly to retrieve water. His return was swift.

“Here... take this.”

He gave her the goblet of water in haste, and then himself leaned down to make sure she was alright. It was at this moment it began to register to him just how dangerous his mission was going to be. This did not stop him though. He had more questions now than before. And any remote chance of Aria being in Chaos was a chance he was not at peace with.

“... are you sure you want to know all this?”

Jair sighed. By the look on Rayanelles face it was quite obvious that she did, indeed, want to know. It was whether or not she would be able to handle the gravity of his mission that he was concerned about. Or even, if she might try to stop him. Regardless, he decided it was best to be honest. He decided to start from the beginning.

“I sought out Mariah because I was troubled. I could no longer sense Arias presence in the Force. A mutual... friend, guided me to Mariah and I learned... well, what happened to her.”

Jair stopped for a moment, as if giving her time to prepare for what he had to say next. He knew that no normal person would ever encourage what he was about to attempt.

“But that still did not answer my question... see when we pass on into the Netherworld of the Force, though we cannot sense the living aspect, a persons signature in the Force is not ever fully gone. Nobody ever truly ends, you see. I still couldn’t feel her, at all. But I am aligned with the light. With Ashla. I can only sense those who have passed on through Ashla, into tranquility. I couldn’t sense her.”

Jair kept his gaze locked to Rayanelles, making each point as clear and concise as he could, and showing that his resolve would not be changed.

“It was only after Mariah... she became enraged with me, and a great darkness shrouded her... within and through that darkness, I heard Arias voice. For the first time, and the only time since, I sensed Arias signature within the Force... calling out from the darkness. Once this... this shroud of darkness lifted, I sensed her presence no more.”

Jairs expression softened, as if to try to soften the blow of revealing his mission. Yet his eyes kept their firm and stout resolve, and showed no signs of backing down.

“I have been to the Netherworld once. I was onboard a ship that exploded. A clone soul transfer was completed by a Gray friend of mine, but that was long ago. And a long story. But I saw the Netherworld. Or at least part of it. They call it Harmony. It is Ashla’s realm. Those there can learn to reconnect with the living. As a specter, of course, but a real presence, still. I did this first.”

He gave her a moment to let this vast information sink in before continuing.

“There is another part of the Netherworld... cloaked in the darkness. Chaos is Bogans realm. I didn’t see it.”

If it were possible, his gaze became more intense, and his voice signaled utmost priority and urgency.

“Rayanelle, the fact that I could only sense Arias presence wreathed within the darkness means one thing. Her soul is trapped in Chaos. She is not at peace... who can be, there? I... I am traveling with Mariah because she believes she can help to get me there. My mission is to put myself into a state of near-death in order to temporarily tap into the Netherworld. I will then travel into Chaos just long enough to pull Aria out of there. No more, no less. I think we can both agree she deserves a better fate... another chance... peace...”

Rayanelle listened carefully, allowing Jair to say all that he needed to say. She did her best to betray no emotion of disapproval or disappointment as he spoke. She wanted to understand everything. However, her worst fears had been confirmed. This plan that the two of them had, it only spelled out disaster. How could they so easily throw their lives away? That’s what she had convinced herself they were doing in this mad plan.

“...the Fates be damned…”

Rayanelle looked down at the woman who lied her arms. The Jedi’s motives were pure, even if the actions he sought were the most insane and stupid thing she had heard in all her years. To purposefully plunge himself into Chaos for Aria -- it made sense. Were Mariah’s motives just as pure, however? She doubted as much. She knew that the Shadows would risk life and limb for their family, but in all the cryptic words that Aria spoke, there was only one thing she could remember now.

“Even if you made it out from the Netherworld once, do you really think you can be so lucky twice?” she said quietly, keeping an ever-gentle tending to the woman who had yet to wake, “Aria knew her fate. She spoke of Chaos like a friend. It was just another thing I never understood about her. I sometimes think she only said those things so I wouldn’t worry about her.”

She sighed, trying to piece anything together of the cryptic words spoken over a year. If there was anything she could do now, it was try to convince this Jedi that he walked a dangerous line and to somehow talk him back from his projected plan. She was unsure how to do that, though. Aria had an enchanting air about her, that those who met her would love her so dearly, like she somehow cast a spell on each person the moment their eyes met.

“If I could delve into Chaos to save her, too, I would,” she admitted, “but there are some things I know she wouldn’t want of those she cared about. Don’t cast your life away for her. She wouldn’t wish anything ill to happen to either of you...”

Naturally, Rayanelle didn’t accept the answer Jair gave her. Then again, no answer would suffice as an explanation to this plan. Jair knew that and even spoke of it. It was then that the woman knew she needed to give up this fight. The fire in her eyes dulled as she turned back to tending to the woman who lied motionless in her arms, continuing to dab fresh water over Mariah’s pale face.

“I’ll accept your explanations, dear…” she whispered, defeated. “I just worry about you... and about Mariah’s intentions. If she’s so willing for someone to delve into Chaos to save Aria, why doesn't she go on her own accord...?”

Rayanelle knew better than to believe that Mariah was only doing this to save her sister. While she didn’t understand the sisters’ bond, she knew of Mariah’s feelings for the Jedi. Aria herself spent the last year of her life struggling to make peace with the Jedi. She may have released all vengeful desires against them and moved forward in life without ill will against them, but there were still secrets disclosed that left Rayanelle more than concerned today.

“If you do go through with this… I hope you do find her… for your sake, more than anything else.”

To make it out alive was an anomaly to the woman as it was. To seek death, and then escape it. Even a near-death experience… If the plan was to make it out alive, though, Rayanelle was convinced that Mariah wouldn’t be of use to aid Jair back into the living. Aria, though… If she was the same woman in Chaos as she was in life, she would surely help him reach the land of the living again.

"'There is no death, there is only the Force.'" That odd phrase stuck out to her more than anything else. She had heard it before, like an eerie reminder of the past. "She would say that often... for someone who knew that they'd be suffering in Chaos for the rest of-"

Abruptly pushing herself out of Rayanelle’s arms, Mariah awoke. While she had faltered from her own weakness, the woman recovered in a vicious crouching stance with her hand on the hilt of her saber. There was a predatory look in her eyes as she tried to make out her surroundings, as though she had forgotten where she was and what had come to transpire. In a moment, that startle in her crimson eyes faded, and she stood to her feet with an effortless movement. Her eyes flickered over to Jair as she retrieved the chest.

“We leave. Now.”

It was too perfectly synchronized. Jair's question fell on deaf ears, as the moment his last word resonated in the air, Mariah tumbled yet again. This time was different, though. At least this time, she remained conscious. The crimson haired woman caught herself with her hands yet crumbled to the ground with such a lack of grace or strength, and with it the small chest went clattering. The light was still within her, seizing her physical body as it had before. While the light gripped her in an attempt to chain it into stillness, her body was not so paralyzed as before. As she tried to bolster up enough strength to get back to her feet, Mariah clenched the ground, her fingertips raking into nothing, the floor firm under her fingernails.

Rayanelle had tried to tend to her again as quickly as she had before, but she just couldn’t make it in time. She knelt down beside the younger woman, though, and attempted to hush her pained struggling while helping her back to her feet.

"Stay back..." Mariah snarled, her tone now more like a wounded predator caught in a trap. However, no matter how useless she may be, she accepted help from no one.

Although Rayanelle listened, pulling away to give the fallen woman her space, she kept close to Mariah’s side. "You need to rest a moment longer. Let us help you."

Mariah refused still as she buried the side of her face into Rayanelle's floor and pushed with all of her might to lift herself up. The weight, though -- it felt as though she held the planet in orbit on her back. Her pulse beat loud in her ears; from all of the training to remain calm even in life and death scenarios, it was a sound she thought she had mastered in silencing. Something was different this time. Something felt utterly wrong.

"We need… to le-..."

The light had wreaked havoc within the Darksider. As it faded away, it left a void to be refilled by the natural auras of the Force which her soul harnessed. The darkness yet again rushed through her, choking her words, and now with such an amplified resurgence, shunning every ounce of the light that lingered within her from her earlier attunement. To do so, that darkness almost matched that of her unbridled anger revealed earlier on Nar Shaddaa, perhaps now even more frightening with the woman crumbled on the ground and not in any way in control of it.

Rayanelle could sense a infernal shift, but perhaps not in the magnitude that the Jedi might have. She felt panicked and weary, as though she was staring at death, and with a sudden reasoning she couldn't make sense out of or explain. Rayanelle glanced up at Jair momentarily, again seeking an answer to the phenomenons of the Force she was so clueless about.

Within in the eye of the storm, however, Aria's words flooded into Jair's mind, speaking them with such crystal clarity in his mind alone. She needed him now to remind Mariah of something, no matter how puzzling and cryptic the words might sound in his head. Like a mantra, echoing over and over and over, urging to be spoken aloud again. Words Aria could not speak for herself, words she couldn't break through to her sister while she was in this state.

Remember Mother's teachings...

Aria’s voice only continued the simple song, those three words. However, as he reached out to her, his words must’ve somehow reached her… Somehow. Still, those three words echoed in his mind, but that sweet song had shifted to something so much more sorrowful. Still begging and pleading, please be my voice. Over and over again. Until he finally spoke them aloud. And with it, there was a sudden, gaping hole of silence in his mind where her little song had once been.

Perhaps what it meant remained a mystery to the other two, but Mariah must’ve taken something from those three words. For a moment, nothing had happened, though. As if the chaos had taken too much of a grasp over her. However, with a few more moments in silence and with a few more slow and steady breaths, she was able to regain control of swirls of darkness that sought to conquer and destroy her. The more that the crimson haired woman regathered her strength over this ethereal force, the less havoc this darkness wreaked.

Before the connection had all but been lost, however, she called out one last time to Jair. ...Thank you...

From there, it was only a matter of time before Mariah regained her bearings and managed to stand back to her feet, on her own. Even if Rayanelle was there and at the ready to lend a helping hand, she wouldn’t need it. She may have stumbled some at first, but her control within the Force flowed evenly throughout her body now, lending her the missing strength she needed.

Rayanelle kept a steady gaze on Mariah. She knew the woman wouldn’t want help even as she stumbled. She had snarled for her to stay back as she fell. She was stubborn. Rayanelle had been warned, but she didn't actually believe it was as bad as Aria had made it seem all those months ago. She knew her sister well... Her gaze moved to Jair however as the happenings started to sink in, her mind now clear of the feeling of death that weighed over her home. “Remember mother’s teachings…?” she asked him, brow furrowed in confusion. “Is that what…? Her voice trailed off, her emerald eyes turning back to Mariah. “How…?”

Without missing a beat to the question, though, Mariah answered, and perhaps not the one Rayanelle had wanted. “We must be leaving…” She turned her attention with narrowed eyes towards the Jedi. “Now.”