Featured Roleplay: Secret Origins

[Bookwyrm]

"Are you trying to drown yourself?" Allyn asked, unsure as to why Juriel would want to go swimming at a time like this. "Why are you running? Try to remember your past. You were not always a servant of the darkness. Once you were a Jedi, a servant of light. You stood for justice and all that is noble. Why do you cling to this false shell of the Dark Side? It isn't who you truly are. Remember who you were. You were like a brother to me. Come back."

Myrddin approached the Fountain and prodded it experimentally with the Staff.

"Actually, I don't think we'll have to bother with flying back," Myrddin announced. "The real Fountain back on Dittopia is ancient. We didn't make it, we don't even know how it works. But this is just a duplicate. It's crude at best. And I can make it do what I want."

Myrddin struck the stone side of the Fountain with the Staff and it began to perceptibly grow larger. Within a few minutes, it had grown large enough to fit even the largest of the Autobots.

[zlcva]

"Well, I'll be!" Warpath said in surprise as the Fountain magically grew. He walked around the Fountain and looked it over, quite impressed.

"That's pretty slick, ol' timer!"

"Yes, that's great and all," interjected Space Case, "But what about our fighters? I don't think it's very practical to nose-dive those into the Fountain."

"I'll take them back," Solarflare said quietly.

"Ya sure?" Warpath asked.

"Yeah. You all go ahead. I'll meet you back on Dittotopia." With no further ceremony, he quickly transformed and flew off, using a magnetic junction to connect and tow all the Autobot fighters.

It should be noted that Solarflare's reason for volunteering was his desire for solitude. Now that the fighting was finally over, he was more than ready for an extended period of peace and quiet to let himself think, and mourn for those he had lost in the past few days.

[BuBbLyLu]

There was something holding Juriel back while Allyn had his spiel; a last effort in his mind to try to disprove the Jedi's tale. He never gave this a moment’s thought, but now that Allyn was testing his patience again with this nonsense he felt he should give it some consideration, before it was too late.

Could there have been a time when they knew it each other? It seemed impossible, for the furthest memory he could recall was when he was Darth Sammael's apprentice.

His Master. The muscles in the young Acolyte's shoulders quivered instinctively in remembering the tyrant. It had been, what, three years since he freed himself from his master’s bondage? Clenching his fists, Juriel willed the tremors to cease. He was stronger than this, much stronger.

No… No, you aren't. You're just alone.

The dark thought snapped a cord inside Juriel, and suddenly, just when Allyn finished talking, he whirled around, fist drawn back and sailing. Combined with a fierce Force Push the punch to the Jedi's jaw sent Allyn flying back a few yards away.

"What do you know about what I used to be!" Juriel shouted. "You talk about me as if you knew me, but you were never there. Never! If there ever were a time when I needed a stinkin' Jedi meddling in my life it was when you weren't there."

The Acolyte drew in a deep breath, his nostrils flared from pent up aggression. "If what you say is true, then you have not been a brother to me."

Setting his jaw, Juriel turned back to the Fountain and jumped into the pool portal.

[Bookwyrm]

Allyn painfully picked himself up off the ground after Juriel's Force attack on him. He stared at the gently rippling waters of the Fountain and considered the fact that after all he had witnessed during the last few days, a transport device disguised as a decorative water feature didn't seem all that odd.

"I'm sorry, Maggria," Allyn said to the empty air. "I don't know what to say to him. I don't know how to convince him. I think it's up to him now."

Allyn trudged over to the others, vaguely noticing that they seemed to be getting ready to depart for Dittopia. He wondered if he would ever see Juriel again and if there was any way to reach him or if the part of the other man who had once been a friend was utterly gone now.

Ordana waved slightly at Allyn as she and Brutus stood waiting for everyone else to decide to leave. She held Brutus' hand tightly, half-surprised that he wasn't objecting. She had spent the last six years wondering if Brutus had survived the battle in Ditto Town's town square and finally knowing the answer was a huge weight off of her shoulders.

"So are we ready to go?" Myrddin asked as he helped Corvan to stand up.

[Lady Arwen]

"No, I really prefer standing around in the rhaich de Valaraukar. Except this smells worse, I think." Arin rolled her eyes.

[zlcva]

"Well, I guess we better get a-goin' then," Warpath said to the Autobots after standing around awkwardly watching the goings-on. Not wasting any more time, Warpath boldly stepped into the Fountain and promptly sank beneath the surface. The other Autobots followed, one at a time.

[sweeetlilgurlie]

Emere jumped into the pool at last because his author just realized that the thread had been posted in many times since she last posted.

Astri got out of Space Case and followed suit.

[Bookwyrm]

One Week Later

When Myrddin led the survivors of the Battle of Orran back through the Wood and out of the Fountain into Ditto Town, there still had been no sign of the Dark Lady Enyo. Myrddin tried to take comfort in this fact, but the lack of a body bothered him.

As the days had gone by and the town began to return to normality, Myrddin tried to convince himself everything was fine. He spent several sleepless days trying his best to get everything back to normal for the residents of Ditto Town. Wounds were healed, buildings repaired, giant gapping chasms sealed over. He had one brief moment of panic when he misplaced the Variform, but Brutus tracked it down for him. Myrddin was surprised by just how helpful the former Dark Lord was. It was kind of creepy, actually.

Brutus was beginning to feel uncomfortable amongst these goody-goody types. He could feel the few Jedi with them looking at him, wondering what a former Sith Lord was doing in their presence. He fought the urge to grit his teeth in irritation; he'd helped them fight Enyo. Sure, it had been for utterly selfish reasons, but it was still help. Couldn't they appreciate that?

But if the Jedi made him uncomfortable, Ordana made him feel almost at peace for the first time in a very long time. There had been no need to say anything, they both knew that the other was totally and irrevocably in love. Brutus wasn't entirely certain when it had happened. Maybe it was when each thought the other was dead. Maybe it had been there all along, hiding behind the playful flirtation and mock irritation. Over the next few days, they finally started to talk to each other about the future, what they wanted to do next. Maybe there was a chance for a little happiness in their future.

Allyn spent the week or so after their return from Orran bitterly mourning his inability to sway Caedan back to the light. He supposed that he should feel at least grateful that his old friend was still alive, but he was lost to the darkness. Could such a fate bring anything but pain and misery?

In the darkened woods outside Ditto Town, Enyo hid and bided her time. She was still slowly dying, but had managed to hold off the spell through sheer force of will and large amounts of Force power. Slowly a plan was coming together.

[sweeetlilgurlie]

For her part, Astri did her best to follow Corvus around. She knew that the Sith acolyte didn't seem to like her very much, but Corvus was downright fascinating to Astri.

((Disregard this if Corvus has left Dittotopia or if it doesn't work for you.))

Emere couldn't help having a sick feeling in his stomach. He wanted to be at peace and begin his new life on Dittotopia, but 1) He didn't have a master and wasn't quite sure what to do without one (Was he supposed to try to get himself apprenticed to someone or what?) and 2) He was still uneasy about Enyo. A foreboding about the fact that they hadn't found a body chilled him.

[Rising_Star]

((Yeah, I don't know what to do with Corvus really. If you have an idea, shoot me a PM. I'll be glad of any suggestions. ))

P.S."Brooklyn!"

[zlcva]

Once the Autobots had returned to Dittotopia, they quickly returned to their damaged ship and kept to themselves there. Many of the robots were in favor of repairing the Spark of Primus and returning the Cybertron, but Space Case and the other technicians' examination of the wreckage deduced that that would be impossible. The damage was too extensive, and the technology available on Dittotopia wasn't advanced enough to do them any good. Warpath was probably the most disappointed, having had his fill of what he perceived as the madness of that world and was more than ready to get back to his homeworld. But since that wasn't an option, he knew they had no other choice but to dig in for the long haul, and wait until the time came that they could leave.

And so it was that Ditto Autobot City was founded, and the Autobots went undercover, quietly infiltrating the societies of Dittotopia and becoming forgotten to the people for centuries. It wasn't until the Jedi Knight Zacce Nalum came to Ditto Town in the company of the Autobot Burnrubber that the Dittotopian Autobots would reveal themselves once more and become active in the affairs of their new homeworld.

Solarflare kept to himself for most of that time, refusing to integrate into Dittotopian society. The next millennium was, for him, a long and lonely one as he refused to be consoled over the loss of Mek, Orion Prime and all the other comrades that had fallen during the Ditto Revolution. But, as we now know, he finally came out of his slump when he discovered during the Time Rift Crisis that Mek had, in fact, survived his encounter with Gothmotron and was at large somewhere on Dittotopia, now a depraved, possessed and feral monster hunting in the darkness. Solarflare dedicated his life to finding and redeeming his old friend, no matter the cost. Because of their species' longevity, it could be many more millennia before their tale is final resolved.

And what of the unfortunate J'onzz, Nadif Nel? Well, it's presumed he continued his enchanted wanderings through the Wood Between the Worlds until he finally lay down to rest peacefully under some tree, to remain sleeping there undisturbed until the end of time.

[Captn. Peregrin]

Sholi had lived in fear, on the run or in hiding, for what seemed a lifetime. Now, he had finally found peace.

He didn't like it.

The Dittotopians were too nice to steal from - not that they were all saints, but the few really bad ones were punished swiftly. And anyhow, there were too many elves and Force-sensitive people and the like for him to do much of anything unnoticed. Instead, he had to take what they gave him. It was nice at first, but soon enough he started aching for something to do. What was he supposed to do? Go to school and learn the Ditto alphabet? Or eat and sleep and play all day? It wasn't like he was a kid or something.

But beyond all that was a dull ache, a hole in his heart. It wasn't anything he'd seen or done in the past days or weeks - it was worse than that. In fact, he realized it'd been there for a long time, he'd just been too preoccupied to notice it. He couldn't quite remember what it was. He didn't want to remember. He wanted something, anything to happen, so that he could forget the hurt again.

[Bookwyrm]

(Okay, two, maybe three posts and I'll be done. Sorry this is long delayed, would have been sooner, but health issues kinda blew that plan)

"Lord Brutus, when are we going to leave this world?" Corvan asked, approaching Brutus as he and Ordana lurked in a random dark alley.

Brutus shrugged and said," Whenever they get tired of us, I guess."

"If you're in a rush to leave, you could jump in the Fountain any time you want," Ordana commented, bristling in irritation. She wasn't in the mood to deal with Brutus' fanboy.

"I've been watching and listening. The Jedi Knight, Allyn, he is planning on creating a new Order, here on Dittopia. We will not be welcome here for much longer. Sooner or later they'll forget that we helped them defeat Enyo and we'll end up in a prison or worse. It's how Jedi work, they can't stand competing viewpoints."

"And the Sith are champions of intellectual tolerance," Ordana said dryly.

"My lord, is she coming with us?" Corvan asked, barely hiding his disgust.

"I'm more likely to bring her along than I am you. I can pick up another dozen potential apprentices without even trying hard, but I don't think I'll ever find someone I love as much as Ordana," Brutus said. "So quite frankly, if you want to be my apprentice, you'd best start working on making her like you."

"As a matter of fact, we have decided to leave and soon. We've already decided on a planet to travel to and set up a base of sorts. If you're nice to me, I might let Brutus bring you along."

Corvan made a face like he'd bit into something nasty, but managed to adopt a more pleasant tone of voice," So when are we leaving?"

"Actually, I was thinking about tonight. So go pack up your stuff and meet us at the Fountain tonight after dark."

After Corvan scurried off, Ordana turned to Brutus with an uncharacteristically somber look on her face.

"I won't be leaving with you tonight, Erik. I'm afraid you're going to be resurrecting the Sith on your own. I don't want to be apart of it."

Brutus was taken aback enough to actually look shocked.

"But we planned everthing. The eventual triumph over the Jedi, the toppling of the inevitable galactic government. We've got a whole thousand year plan. Why are you changing your mind?"

"Because I love you, but I don't love the Dark Side. I don't even know that I want to be a Jedi. The whole peace and galactic love thing is kinda annoying. I'm Mando'a. I like a good fight, but I don't like what the Sith do.

"Ha! I can see right through you. You just want to play tonsil hockey with that Jedi. You can't fool me.

Ordana glared at Brutus until he looked properly embarrassed.

"I'll love you forever, which is kind of a big deal now thanks to what we did. Maybe I'll even come find you from time to time. But as long as you're committed to being a Sith, we can't be together. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

Ordana pulled her hands away from Brutus and vanished around the corner. She might have been a tough as nails Mando'a warrior, but right now she felt like she was going to dissolve into a big pile of mushy emotionalness.

Brutus just kept standing where Ordana left him, not sure what to think or say or do.

-----

Enyo creeped nearer and nearer the town. She could sense her destination and had to fight off the urge to cackle malevolently a few times.

[The Black Glove]

The last of the cultists fell before the saber of Darth Venator, Dark Lord of the Sith. Absorbing the life-force of these beings, coupled with the dark energies of the dying planet of Orran gave him an exhilarating power. He rose from the carnage, an image of ultimate power--he could now see what happened. The fall of Enyo, the establishment of Sith and Jedi orders and a mighty destiny.

Ah! This is what it is to be a god!

Then he saw it--his own downfall, written as clearly as the markings on his holocrons, and he knew that he must act. So he directed his vast energy toward the reconstruction of Orran. Cities and palaces fell and a vast barren landscape arose in its place. All that would remain of old Orran would be this chamber, home to the ancient cult of Melko, now destroyed.

It was here in this vast domed chamber that he, Darth Venator, Dark Lord of the Sith, would sleep for nearly a thousand years, entombed in a sarcophagus until reawakened by two foolish and arrogant young Jedi Knights . . .

[Bookwyrm]

Myrddin was crossing the town square when Enyo struck. He had the Variform with him and it was all that saved him.There were an explosion of sheer Force that tore through the square, crushing and mangling the few Ditto Town residents unlucky enough to be caught. Myrddin shifted the Variform into the Spear just before the wave hit him. It through him into a wall, but the Spear protected him.

Enyo strode into the square, kicking aside the corpses of the people she had just murdered. She was intent only on one thing, the Fountain. She leapt directly from the cobblestones of the Square to the top of the Fountain and struck the stone with a Force-augmented blow.

-----

All of the Force-sensitives in Ditto Town felt Enyo's arrival and antics in the Square. Allyn was meditating in the house he was currently occupying with the other Jedi refugees. Enyo's assault snapped him out of his meditations with almost painful force. He sprang to his feet and called his lightsaber to his hand, running out the door before he could even think of a course of action.

-----

Brutus was sitting in a very depressed heap in the same alley Ordana had left him in when he sensed Enyo. A malicious grin crossed his face and he climbed to his feet.

"Killing that witch is just the thing I need to cheer me up," he chortled.

-----

Enyo gazed around the square as the heroes of the Battle of Orran gathered cautiously at the entrances to the square. If she were not so focused on holding off Aleena's magics, she would have taken the time to gloat over what she was about to do. She did have time for one last declaration of triumph however.

"People of Dittotopia, time to DIE!" Enyo shouted and then activated the device hidden in the top of the Fountain centuries before by the Time Lords.

Myrddin struggled free of the wall he had impacted into just in time to see the flash of light as the device activated. He breathed out a gasp of horror as he realized what Enyo had just done. Long before this current skirmish between good and evil, the Rakata and the Time Lords had fought their own battles. Each had feared the other side capturing their homeworld during the course of the war. And so steps were taken to insure this would never happen. The Rakata homeworld of Orran could self-destruct with only a single spoken world. The Dittotopia self-destruct required slightly more complicated actions, but would result in even more fearful destruction than that which would claim Orran. The death of Dittotopia would rip open a hole in reality itself, swallowing up all that lay within its range. This is what Enyo had activated.

[Bookwyrm]

Enyo balanced on the top of the Fountain, giggling with insane glee as the self-destruct device began to rip reality apart around the Fountain. Seemingly not even the Time Lords' technology could destroy the Fountain as it remained unharmed. Now Enyo finally ceased her battle against Aleena's spell and the magic ravaged through her body, tearing apart her midi-chlorians.

Myrddin sprinted forward as the square began to unravel. A few of the Ditto Towners were already fleeing in panic as he neared the edge of the hole in reality.

"I would have liked to get to know you all better," Myrddin said sadly. "Remember me."

The Time Lord stepped forward into the disrupted reality, the Spear form preventing his destruction. He still screamed in agony from the pain inflicted on him. He somehow managed to creep farther and farther in, getting nearer to the Fountain and Enyo, who had collapsed in a pained heap.