2008-04-13 - Anakin's Trials: Finale

Dantooine: Large Cave
The torrent of water descending from the waterfall boils over and obscures the rock face for the most part, but momentary lapses in the flow reveal a darkness behind this curtain of water. Closer to the wall, at the base of the waterfall, the darkness seems more evident, and a careful approach over the slippery rocks on the right side of the pool reveals the entrance to a cave. A mere man-wide slit serves as an access and leads deeper into the blackness to a wider cave whose floor rises unevenly away from the muted light of the opening.
The sound of dripping water echoes hollowly inside this vast cave, providing the only music that disturbs the silence here. The smell of damp earth and water permeate the air, but occasionally, there is another sweeter scent that wafts forward carried by a gentle current of air issuing from the gloom. Further progress into the cave reveals subdued light emanating from the darkness to the left. Here the trickling water from the walls has formed an irregular pond in whose murky waters move shimmering ovals of light that wink on and off intermittently as they move restlessly about.
During the day the grotto receives light from a broad shaft of sunlight that shines down through the cave roof and reflects off a bank of jagged Stalactites glistening with crystallized minerals. Dotted throughout the cavern are layered pyramids of stalagmites rising from the floor to meet their counterparts hanging from the roof. Towards the back wall somber darkness descends once more, leaving the true depth of the cavern a mystery.
Players: 
Obvious exits:
[East] towards Cliffs. 
*<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> You establish telepathic contact with Anakin Skywalker and transmit a hateful feeling and a vision: A waterfall, deep in Dantooine's wilderness. It awaits you..
Anakin Skywalker arrives at the base of the cliffs
This place is different...
Anakin walks through the waterfall and into the cave, immediately sensing the form of his enemy. He remains icy calm, even as a hastily-bandaged wound across his side slows his progress through the cave. "Show yourself. You have failed twice to destroy me; will you try a third time?" 
 
It is not just cold and dark, it is /powerful/. The Dark Side is so strong here, it is a sound. It is a smell. It is a taste. It is a feeling. Hate is given physical form!
Damp clothes become ice cold, freezing to clammy skin. But you must go deeper if you are to reach the source. Deeper, deeper. You must find the core.
 
His words go unanswered. Anakin pulls his hood up over his head to fend against the cold, venturing deeper into the darkness of the cave. He closes his eyes, drawing in a deep breath to combat the crushing power of the Dark Side here. 
 
"This is your last chance," a voice hisses in the dark.
"Join me, or die, Skywalker." The voice is not a voice, but the very power of the cave. It presses against you, keeping you from going any further.
 
"You will not destroy me," Anakin says, shaking slightly with the cold as his fingers close around the freezing steel of his lightsaber. "I would sooner die than join you. You will never pervert me. I will never fall to the Dark Side." 
 
"So be it. Jedi."
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> You reach out with the Force to choke Anakin Skywalker -- but you try not to hurt Anakin Skywalker too badly!
Type +ABORT to abort your attack.
*<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker calls upon the Force.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker chokes. Asphyxiating spasms mildly wounds him.
 
It is not the hot flash of a lightsaber but the cold tightening of the air about his throat. Anakin coughs, choking, as he falls to his knees, hands wrapping around his neck as his eyes bulge out. The green orbs close, struggling. 
 
Slowly a hand forms in the shadows, and then the red aura of the figure. His aura fills the cave, a burning red that reveals thousands of years of knowledge, and pain. The room begins to heat up, burning the walls of the cave.
"Young and foolish. Only now will you see the true power of the Dark Side." His fingers close towards one another.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> You resolve to pull your punches. Type +LIMIT to clear damage limits.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> You reach out with the Force to choke Anakin Skywalker -- but you try not to hurt Anakin Skywalker too badly!
Type +ABORT to abort your attack.
*<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker calls upon the Force.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker chokes. Asphyxiating spasms moderately wounds him.
Anakin Skywalker
Anakin's eyes and lungs begin to burn as he struggles to breathe in, choking to form words. "The Light Side ... is ... stronger!" He chokes through short breaths. 
 
The figure smiles beneath its cowl, until Anakin speaks.
"No," it replies. "But now, young Skywalker.. you will die." Its hand clenches a third time, harder than the first two. His teeth grit together while his yellow eyes go wide. The room burns hotter still, flaming upwards around the figure.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> You reach out with the Force to choke Anakin Skywalker!
Type +ABORT to abort your attack.
*<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker calls upon the Force.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker chokes. Asphyxiating spasms seriously wounds him.
 
"If I die ... you are not victorious," Anakin hisses, his hands wrapping about his neck as he falls choking to the ground. "Even in death ... I have victory." 
 
When Anakin does not die, the figure begins to shiver with rage. Seething, it clamps its hand together harder, eyes a blazing fury of hatred and passion. It does not speak, though it does yell out in anger.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> You reach out with the Force to choke Anakin Skywalker!
Type +ABORT to abort your attack.
*<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker calls upon the Force.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker chokes. Asphyxiating spasms seriously wounds him.
The fight continues on in Anakin's eyes, the will to triumph. His hand waves weakly...
*<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker calls upon the Force.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker hurls a jagged boulder toward Ragnos!
Defense options: +PASS - +DODGE- +QUICKPARRY with lightsaber - +FORCEREPEL
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Ragnos does not move, but Anakin Skywalker's flying debris misses him and falls to the ground.
 
"Fool!" the figure shouts. It knocks the boulder aside, not laughing.
"You will die! You will /perish/, Skywalker! You will not defeat me here!" Its hand clamps again. "Nothing can save you now, except the Dark Side! Your skills have no use here."
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> You reach out with the Force to choke Anakin Skywalker!
Type +ABORT to abort your attack.
*<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker calls upon the Force.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker chokes. Asphyxiating spasms lightly wounds him.
The choking hurts less now, the fight growing within Anakin. He rises to both feet, lightsaber igniting as he takes a shaky step towards Ragnos. "Begone! I will not be turned!" He steps forward, face-to-face with the figure. "You can not defeat me." 
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker ignites his purple lightsaber.
"You /will/ die, Skywalker. You will die, or turn." The eyes go mad.
"I cannot be defeated!" Its hand continues to clench, shaking with anger. The aura around deepens, and the walls begin to blacken from the energy.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> You reach out with the Force to choke Anakin Skywalker!
Type +ABORT to abort your attack.
*<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker calls upon the Force.
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker chokes. Asphyxiating spasms seriously wounds him. Anakin Skywalker collapses, critically injured.
The lightsaber clatters from Anakin's hand as he falls to the ground, hands twitching. "I will ... not ... turn," he groans, sinking into unconsciousness. 
 
The world fades into darkness... but then there is a vision:
A figure in black stands amongst fire, which rages all around him. His dark cloak blows slowly with the wind, tattered and charred. Tears roam down his cheek and chin as he steps forward, alone in the barren wasteland. He looks upward, but there is no sky.. his hood falls back.
Your own face stares at you, gripped in the torrent of war and rage.
Fire consumes your doppelganger, and you are left in a cold, dark cave. Your wounds are gone, as is the fire, and all that is left is the sound of the waterfall behind you.
Anakin rises slowly, burning eyes blinking repeatedly. He turns, eyes wandering the waterfall. He sinks to his knees once again, sucking in a breath of exhaustion. 
 
The waterfall's general splashing pauses, or changes, for a moment as someone crawls up into the cave. It brushes some water off, then pulls back its hood. There stands Obi-Wan, his expression a serious one.
Walking forward, though slowly, he comes before Anakin. "Knee- well, you already are," he notes.
Anakin looks up, eyes hazy. "Obi-Wan?" He calls out, rising shakily and then falling to one knee again. Thoughts rush back into his exhausted mind; his eyebrows knit together. "That... it's over? I succeeded?" 
"Only one thing remains," Obi-Wan replies. He smiles slightly, then resumes his serious expression.
"Be without Fear in the face of your enemies. Be Brave and Upright, and trust in the Force. Speak the Truth, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless, and do no wrong."
"That is your Oath," his hand smacks Anakin across the mouth and nose hard, enough to leave an impression, "and that is so you remember it."
He pulls a blue jewel from his wet robes and hands it to Anakin. "Rise a Jedi Knight, Defender of the Republic."
The slap leaves Anakin surprised, eyes wide as he lifts an eyebrow after a moment. "I will be without Fear in the face of my enemies. I will be brave and upright, and trust in the Force. I will speak the truth, even if it leads to my death. I will safeguard the helpless..." he takes a breath. "I will do no wrong." Perhaps the slap worked.
Anakin takes the blue jewel, holding it firmly in the palm of his hand. His eyes fill with tears of pride and exhaustion, blinked away; he stands, tall and proud, chin lifting as for the first time Anakin Skywalker looks out on the world as a Jedi Knight. Of course, everything is the same; yet there is a small difference. He feels older, wiser, more powerful, more certain of himself.
*<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker has constructed a new lightsaber. His skills are complete ...
 
"Oh," Anakin says, pulling the old lightsaber from his built and holding it out to Obi-Wan. 
*<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker ignites his blue lightsaber.
Obi-Wan smiles and pats Anakin's shoulder.
"You have a great destiny, Anakin, but do not forget what you have learned." He wraps his arm around the slightly taller man, adding, "The Force will be with you, always."
"I have to find Maddy," Anakin says, turning to Obi-Wan. "She's in danger. We have to save her. I will try and track her down ... all I know is she is in the hands of the one I fought on Kashyyyk." 
 
"We will find her. While you were away I spoke with Moff Starn, and she is looking for her now, too, and together we’ll bring Madison home." He begins to walk towards the waterfall. "Now let's get off this planet." He dives into the water.
Category:April 2008 RP Logs