Star Wars Horror Thriller OPEN The Insane Asylum of Bedlam

OOC: A combo post with Sinrebirth, and darthbernael as Mer-el, and myself as Sybelle. Thanks guys!

Bedlam nebula

GAH!

Sybelle literally saw stars.

She rolled to her side while holding her aching head, and struggled back to her feet. Ugh. By now she was positive that she’d run head first into a boulder, but no… as her vision cleared she’d seen that it had been a stranger rather than a rock. Maybe it was just her head that was as hard as a rock, but it was damned painful.

"Sybelle?!"

”Aryan?!” Sybelle gasped and ran to him.

She stopped just shy of touching him, the only man she had ever loved, and stared.

There was so much she needed to say, but she was painfully aware of the stranger present, so for now she held back.

”I’ve missed you,” she whispered, searching his eyes. There was a dullness that made her heart ache, not the usual vibrant sparkle. Her eyes shifted to his mouth, and she became genuinely concerned. The slightly crooked grin wasn’t there, in fact this was a very different expression.

Was he not happy to see her?

The sleemo had taken the Force from her, but she and Aryan shared a very deep bond… should she dare to try that? What was the worst they could do, slap her again?

Slowly she attempted to touch Aryan within their bond, covering herself with a nonsense comment.

“There was a thing coming for me, so I ran… into this person,” she said hesitantly and gestured to the stranger. “I -, uh, well… hello.”

Mer-el had fallen backwards, rolling with the movement. As he slowly came to his feet his tail lashed back and forth, whiskers quivering. Whatever he’d run into, and it took a moment as his vertical slit pupils adjusted to the light, had been a body. And the voice that spoke had feminine intonations so he supposed, and now that his eyes had adjusted he could see, was a female.

A low rumble came from his chest before he shook his head, clearing some of the confusion that came from a head impact. ”Oh…more hum…” he muttered.

His head tilted to the side, tail lashing even more as his ears went flat along his skull. His whiskers quivered even more as he recognized scents from before; from the room with the very bright lights. But…he sniffed again, jowls pulling back for a moment, revealing the tips of his curved teeth. ”...more humans…” he finished in the same low tone.

Reaching up, fingerpads rubbing where he’d run into the human woman as his ears swiveled upright again, ”Apologies…hello. I just had a run in with a Sith woman and…something dark…” His jowls drew back slightly more, imitating a human smile as best he could, ”Didn’t mean to literally run into you, after that.”

The lights were back on, and 'Aryan' seemed to catch the drift of Sybelle's thoughts and that self-same sardonic grin appeared. Very Corellian. "Hello," he said, drily, to the nonhuman. "Humans, yes. I don't tend to identify a person by their species to their face, mind you. Does it matter that I'm human?"

He reached over for Sybelle's hand. "She's Chiss, too."

But their bond did not resonate. Was it the lack of the Force? Or something else?

The feline with fingers didn’t sound terribly friendly, and the way he called them “humans” was concerning.

Even more concerning was how much Aryan had changed. She was taken aback over how she felt nothing when he took her hand, it was like a complete stranger was standing across from her. The bond they once shared was non-existent.

Perhaps Lyz and this bogus doctor were telling her the truth and Aryan had moved on… but the changes in him were completely out of character.

Sybelle gave Aryan a small smile and released his hand. “It’s been far too long,” she said cautiously, “I have fond memories of all the sabacc games we used to play with that droid, the one that came back with you and stayed.” She laughed and asked, “what was his name? I seem to have forgotten after all this time.”

Mer-el began to back off from the pair slowly. His senses were screaming at him at this point that something didn’t feel right and the two beings there, the human and the half Chiss were all but otherwise ignoring him with their conversation. Which meant he had the slightest opportunity to leave them to it.

Besides, a different unease began when he heard the last the woman was saying, it felt…it felt like she was probing the man, testing him, making Mer-el wonder if she too felt like something was off. Which kept him from speaking, as he wondered how the man would reply.

He knew it might appear rude but, with them in close conversation, adding to it with a reply that would steer it from the course the woman had set would be of less value to continued survival at this point. His eyes, however, flicked from the woman to the man and back as he studied them both, trying to memorize these particular inhabitants of this crazy facility.

Aryan didn't reply to Sybelle, but his eyes cut to Mer-el. "And where are you going, my friend?"

"Are we not in this nightmare together?" He took a step and interposed himself between Sybelle and the nonhuman. "I will defend this woman with my life," he pronounced.

Something was very wrong here.

”No,” Sybelle snapped, “we are not in this together.”

The other two towered over her, but her posture straightened and she stood up to both. “I do not need anyone to defend me, thank you,” she said in a tone that was markedly not gracious. “I don’t recognize you,” she said to the man who looked like Aryan, but he didn’t act or sound like him. Once again Sybelle cursed Doctor Black for what he did to her. She felt vulnerable, but she wouldn’t show her weakness.

The bond she had shared with Aryan wasn’t there, even lacking the Force she would feel something, but there was nothing.

“You are NOT Aryan Graul,” she hissed.

She quickly turned to the cat-like being and addressed him, “you seem to take issue with us, but I can assure you that there are things here much worse than humans or Sith. I’ve seen some of them, so go ahead and see for yourself,” she shrugged, “I don’t care.”

Taking another step away from whatever it was that appeared to be the man who stated his concern and care for the Chiss woman, Mer-el sagged a little in relief at the woman’s words. ”I’ve seen them…” he said carefully to her, eyes on the man.

”One tried to attack me and a female Sith Lord. It missed me but went…through her…and she was different when it did.”

He sniffed the air again, ”I have no issue with you…” he said to her before his arm rose, a talon pointed at the man, ”But that…that isn’t right…”

The man sighed. He wasn't Aryan Graul, and he had no need to emphasise it.

But, perhaps he was.

The creature took a step away from them each, and grinned. It no longer even looked like Aryan, it was more a liquid black man-shape.

"But I suppose it comes down to a simple philosophical question."

A grin, all teeth, as its eyes became bulbous and glowed Sith yellow.

"What came first, the spirit or the body?"

Sybelle struggled not to retch, she wouldn’t show this creep any weakness.

“How dare you masquerade as Aryan!” She growled at the thing.

She was tempted to run again, there was no reason to waste her time chatting with whoever this was.

This place was hell, and her attitude was poor… and this guy had pissed her off.

”What came first?” She repeated his question with sarcasm. “That’s not a simple question to answer. Religious scholars for centuries have argued conflicting opinions on it. Why does that matter currently?”

It was exhausting to be angry, and she hated that being tired was making her want to argue.

“If I had to decide, I would first say that a body is nothing but dust without a spirit, so are there piles of bodies lying somewhere for a spirit?” She asked, not giving him an opportunity to answer yet. “Tranducianism, if you believe in that, tells us that the souls of new infants are generated from the parents' souls at the moment of conception. That would mean the body and spirit are created at the same time.”

She dismissed that statement with a wave and continued, “I believe the spirit comes first. They are the souls that have drifted through ancient family lines many times over. You know, I’ve glanced into the eyes of children and seen an old spirit there, in the child’s mannerisms and intellect. The spirit is stronger than the body, it’s next to impossible to kill… it’s always there until it’s reborn in the next generation.” Sybelle held her hands open and said, “the spirit came first.”

Mer-el was not amused by such philosophical questions. To him they had very little bearing. Life was survival, regardless of spirit or body, the stronger spirit or body was the one that survived, passing on its lineage to the next generation.

”Why does it matter so much to you?” he asked whatever it was that was standing there with the woman and him. ”Bodies can be reconstituted from even a few cells, but does that mean it’s the same spirit inhabiting it? A sol can be transferred to another body but events will take it from what it was into something new and in the new body is it truly the same being?” he went on, whiskers twitching in annoyance.

”Many generations come and go where one or another is said to be the exact image of one who came before. Does that mean it’s the same spirit, growing in a new shell of a body or is the body reborn with the same spirit that came before?” He began to pace, keeping his distance and keeping his eyes on both beings. “Honestly, whether it’s the soul or the body that came first it’s what is done with it, with either, that truly matters. Not light or dark or chaotic or lawful, just what actions you take and whether they advance the truth of what you are.”

"Destroyed soul, new body. Can we reconstitute the soul?" The shadow grew tighter, more defined.



"Do I have a soul, borne from Darkness? From your Darkness?"

It writhed, but was clearly more shapen than misshapen...

"We must know these things."

”We answered you,” Sybelle snapped. She’d answered sincerely, for some damned reason, and there was no need to expand on that topic.

She had shivered over how the blob seemed to refer to having a part of herself. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m done with this discussion. I’ll take my chances with my room,” she said.

It would be nice to be alone… if that was even possible here.

The new form the whatever it was took disturbed Mer-el on a visceral level. He backed away slightly more, not willing to turn his back on it. ”She’s right…you asked the question, we answered it.”

He thought about asking why this creature was so interested in their darkness or Darkness in general but he wasn’t wanting to spend any more time than necessary around it, remembering the flowing darkness that had flowed into and through the Sith woman only a short while before.

It suddenly jumped, and then vanished into the floor.

No, wait, it became a pool, which slid with menace beneath their feet -

“I should’ve stayed in that miserable room,” Sybelle groaned, mostly to herself. She shivered more from the situation than from being cold. The fact that this thing could impersonate Aryan was truly disturbing, that likely meant it could appear as anyone.

Sybelle slowly sat down on the floor. There was no point in running, and depression was starting to cloud her thoughts again. She was alone and someone had cruelly tried to make her believe she could be with Aryan again.

She would sit here and wait.

The whatever it was moved faster than Mer-El could react, at first. In moments, he found it pooling around his paws, making a burbling growl rumble in his throat. His legs tensed and he sprang into the air, the claws of his hand paws digging into the ceiling. Biceps tensing, he swung his legs up, toe claws also digging into the ceiling. He looked down, seeing the ripples in the liquid from his leap.

He also saw the woman, who had sat down, as though simply giving in to whatever this was. His whiskers trembled as he shook his head. His feline eyes peered at her, “First the Sith woman just lets herself be overwhelmed and now you’re just giving up. I thought this place was for the most dangerous of criminals.”He was guessing where he was, there was only one place he knew of that would be able to hold such a variety of beings.

Spitting at the floor, ”You’re just going to let this…thing beat you with a simple trick?” he asked, sarcasm dripping in his tone. ”Weak…is everyone else weak?”he taunted, scrabbling with all four sets of claws to crawl backwards along the ceiling until he was able to jump back to the floor a couple paces away from the liquid.

It was indeed just a puddle of black ichor. The creature was merely moving, and so it surged from the ground to grab at Sybelle -

Mer-El was free to run.

”I’m not allowing it to beat me,” Sybelle said tersely, “I’m done with the goo’s nonsense.” She stared into the puddle and spat, “how about you take me to your boss?”

Again she cursed not having the Force at her disposal, because this would have been a great time to use it.

Sybelle kept her eyes on the puddle and tried to see past the viscous mass… could she find the Force and use it just a tiny bit, only enough to reach into it’s mind? Or maybe just enough to send a jolt of pain through it’s nervous system?

It was official, this woman was even crazier than the Sith he’d encountered earlier, at least in Mer-El’s mind. His feline senses were screaming that whatever this was it was a predator of the highest order and now she wanted to be taken to it’s…boss??

He was free of it, at least it seemed he was. ”That seems a very…unwise course. But…it’s your decision.” he muttered to her before he turned, tail lashing behind him as he made as rapid progress from the scene as he possibly could. He had to find some other way to get free of this place.

Tag: @Sinrebirth @HanSolo29 @darthbernael

 

IC: 11-4D
Accosted!

"Not so fast, clanker. We’d like to talk—unless you’d prefer I slice open your central processor and take the data by force."

The medical droid toppled over, clattering to the floor. "Oh my."

It struggled, and opened the comm it had. "This is..." a pause as his photoreceptors recognized Aryan Graul. "C-3PO, medical droid, and I am in the -"

The struggle sent the comlink flying, landing at the feet of Zhorrid, and so the droid simply increased its auditory output to send its voice back up the corridor.

"THE MORGUE!"​

The sound reverberated throughout Bedlam, catching up and passing Zathras as he ran.

But then... the sound didn't get replied to.

Even the comlink was silent.

Nobody replied?

---
Corridors

There wasn't much to tell anything apart in Bedlam.

It was all green-grime covered walls, metal, yes, but not much more to distinguish anything.

Lights crackled absently, clinically illuminating.

But there was a window over there!

Running to it would show...

They were in space.

Aboard an asteroid of some kind?

And nearby, the strange, pink shape of an anomaly.



And beyond that, the Bedlam Pulsar.



---
Sound

"how about you take me to your boss?”

It had replied to her swiftly.

"Of course."

The black surrounded her, and then, Sybelle vanished into the floor with it.

It was not a second later that the sound travelled to where Mer-el had run, and he would have a sense of direction in the maze of faceless corridors.

There were a pair of rooms off to either side of the corridor too, their doors askance, but lights active.

Behind him, the lights began to cut off.

Getting closer.



---
Black, and then

The liquid-creature took Sybelle to the main room.

It was spotless white.

Bright, so very bright.



When her eyes equalized, there was a person there, a young, black haired girl.

Within an eyeblink, she vanished.

There was a comlink laying besides the crystal ball, and it spoke up.

"This is..."

A pause.

"C-3PO, medical droid, and I am in the -"

The words then cut off.

The comlink was still there, at least.

But the room was empty.

On the crystal ball, it showed something.

The six Black Coats.

"So, the Third Darkness cometh," the red haired one sneered. "I will go and deal with Braata and Sistros on Nouane."

"I shall parley with Faya," a sniff from the one of blue hair.

Three others looked to each other; the one with Green eyes, the one with Brown hair, the small boy with Gray hair. "We shall have to deal with the Father, Son and Daughter... so we shall do so."

Dr Black, she would recognise him, he spoke up.



"The Vessels we have here, they need to be prepared more. Duplicating their Body - their shape alone - it isn't sufficient. We need Memory, too. The relationship between Body, Soul and Memory. Once we rhyme that, we Darknesses can enact an End of Time and we won't be bereft of bodies in the Next Life."

A collective nod.

"Yanjon is dealt with, for now, but we should not under-estimate him." He turned to them. "I will go and maintain his Prison. That medical droid," he spat those words, "he can handle the Vessels, and the Lesser Shadows can do the rest."

Another nod.

A snap of his fingers, and they all left, vanishing into the purple-shadow portals.

A moment later, the room showed the small female that Sybelle had just seen - or imagined? - turn back the Crystal Ball, watch what Sybelle had just watched, and left.

How curious.

TAG: @Lady_Belligerent, @darthbernael, @Mitth_Fisto, @HanSolo29, @Mira Grau (singles, to be done by no later than 12th July 2024)

 

IC: Sybelle
Bedlam

While the blackness didn’t bother her, the exact opposite was true of the blinding white light she was so abruptly dropped into.

Sybelle picked up the comlink and held it while she stared into the ball and listened.

She was startled at the names Sistros… Braata. Her heart felt heavy, and she swallowed hard.

They meant something to her, but she couldn’t remember. Had these fake “doctors” done something to them?

Faya? Yes, that name was familiar too.

Six Darknesses, Sybelle was trying to remember as much of what she was hearing as possible. Maybe she could find Aryan in this hellhole, he might understand what had happened to them.

Sybelle had wanted to speak to the girl, but she changed her mind and concealed the comlink in her hand until the girl left the second time.

She opened the channel reserved for emergency use, and slowly clicked in a message of distress:

I have been kidnapped and am being held against my will.

Maybe the comm’s signal could be used to track the message, but she had a feeling her act was in vain.

Tag: @Sinrebirth @HanSolo29 @Mitth_Fisto

 

OOC: The contents of this post are GM approved!

IC: Aryan Graul
Bedlam Asylum



As the droid attempted to contact its superiors, Aryan reinforced his grip on the automaton and slammed it again, jostling both of them and sending the comlink skidding across the tiled floor. Even then, the droid did not relent. It continued to struggle, emitting a loud screech from its vocoder as it shouted their location for everyone to hear.

Aryan winced and uttered a curse. "Wrong answer," he growled through clenched teeth. To emphasize his point, he reached around the back of its neck to toggle the power switch, effectively disabling it.

However, deactivating the droid did not yield silence.

A slow, rhythmic tone echoed softly around the chamber, repeating the same cadence at regular intervals. It took Aryan a moment to realize the comlink was the source of the sound. The code could have easily been mistaken for a malfunction or static due to a disruption, but after listening for several seconds, he soon recognized it as a distress signal. He could just make out the first few lines:

I have been kidnapped—​

That’s when the woman retrieved the comlink and began to sing, drowning out the rest of the mysterious message.

"Godsdammit," Aryan grumbled under his breath as he discarded the droid and rose to his feet. "Will you stop singing?! Someone is trying to transmit a distress signal, and I can’t hear a kriffin’ thing over that racket—or if you won’t shutup, at least hand me the comlink!"

He held out his hand and gestured toward the comm.

TAG: @Mira Grau; @Sinrebirth; @Lady_Belligerent (for reference)

 

IC: Mer-el
Corridors of Bedlam

Racing through the corridors, Mer-el heard the last exchange between the woman and the…whatever it was. In his mind she was as insane as the female Sith Lord he'd encountered. But, without the Force he felt that trying to avoid the fate of at least two others he’d seen was the preferable option.

The corridors were a maze but the sound touched upon his feline senses, assisting him in trying to navigate them. What caused his hackles to rise, though, was how he could feel the lights blanking out behind him. Something was trying to drive him a certain way.

He didn’t trust what he saw ahead either, two rooms that were still lit, with their doors open. But, his options were becoming fewer and fewer.

Skidding to a halt near the doors, the claws of his feet creating a rasping sound as they helped him to come to a halt, the Togorian let his breathing settle, tried to focus. The darkness was approaching quickly behind him. Turning and letting the lights of the rooms stay behind him to spread their light towards the oncoming darkness, he sighed.

Any of the times he’d escaped he’d found himself in yet another new situation where it became him or another who was taken by whatever darkness ruled this place. Now it was him alone and he knew that the options were truly less than optimum.

Raising his voice in a growling tone, ”Blue haired idiot…you wanted me to run around like a mouse in a testing maze. I tire of this supposed game of yours. Show yourself and face me as a fellow predator would do.”

He was sure that every hallway was monitored and that his challenge would reach either the one he meant or one of the other supposed doctors. Flexing the claws of his hands and feet, jowls drawn up in a silent snarl, all he could do was now wait and let his senses try to warn him if anyone approached, from the darkness ahead or from behind him.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

A sound.

A sound of sounds of sounds, echoing through the halls of Bedlam.

 

IC: Across the Comlink

The words of Sybelle were interrupted to Aryan, and to, by the same extent, Zhorrid.

The communing between the Pulsar and Zathras was interrupted, too.

So, too was the sensation of being watched pursuing Mer-el.

There was, firstly, a cackle, one some would recognise, one others wouldn't.

Palpatine.

What did he have to do with this place?

But even he was interrupted.

There was a true lamentation to the air.

A young girls voice.

Dear Papa,

It's so, so dark. When are you coming to get me? I'll keep hiding these notes. One day, maybe, I'll be able to send them to you, and you can save me.

The little girls voice gave way to static in the ear, across the comms, between here and there.

They had fallen into something more than they would realise.

The medical droid, dimly seeable in the morgue light, held up it's hands and tried to back away.

It was a specialised droid, and whether that would ring any bells was another thing.

A memory struck Aryan.

This droid will be your friend. I want you to be looked after, forever.

It was Uncle Palpatine. Well, that was what Aryan used to call him.

Was this really 11-4D?

Then, a roaring in the mind of Darth Zhorrid.

You were a failure. Perhaps, in Bedlam, you will be more. Find my future, child.

Her father's voice. Darth Jadus.

Then, the Pulsar reached for Zathras.

Bedlam is a trap. But not for you. You are merely bait. Hide. Run. Die. Do not be found.

The Pulsar was... sentient?

Then, the globe in the white room reached for Sybelle.

There was a little girl shown, with black hair, but it seemed a falsetto, placed over red hair, showing through. She was reapplying the black tar.

Besides her stood a Chiss in resplendent white attire.

There is no point dying your hair. Your identity is known here, and you will never leave.

It was the little girl in the Black Coat, from before.

The globe cut.

Me'rel was tripped by his own supressed memories. No, the memories of another.

I was hunger, once, and I left my child for the Void. Now, I find you. Do you accept power, though it will cost you your soul?

There were so many swirling concepts.

How -

The Force.

They could all feel the Force again!

TAG: @darthbernael, @Mitth_Fisto, @Mira Grau, @Lady_Belligerent, @HanSolo29 (singles)

 

IC: Sybelle
Bedlam

The sensation of the globe reaching out to her… was it using the Force?

Her eyes narrowed for a moment, as she half expected that vile Doctor Black to run in and slap her, but the images in the globe drew her attention.

She felt a powerful wave of nausea watching the little girl, who was she?

Sybelle gasped and stepped back from the globe when she heard voices cracking over the comlink. It was Aryan yelling over someone singing, which should seem bizarre except this was an asylum.

Only… was the Force really restored to her?

’Aryan? Are you here?’ Sybelle sought him through the bond they once shared.

Tag: @Sinrebirth @HanSolo29

 

IC: Mer-el
Corridors of Bedlam

Mer-el sank to the floor of the corridor with a chest rumbling growl, one that, as the memories and the mental voice rumbled through him, ended up causing the walls of the corridor nearest him to vibrate as the Force was returned to him. The memories felt like they were his and, at the same time, not his.

As his mind processed the voice and the sensations that filled him once again he came back to his feet. His claws extended from the pads of his hand and foot paws, the lower ones rasping against the floor of the corridor, the upper ones curling close to his palms as his paws curled into almost fists. His fangs became exposed as a rumbling laugh burbled up from his throat.

’My Master was Hunger, I have felt his hunger.’ shot out from his mind towards the voice that had touched him

Another laugh made his fur vibrate, ’Who says any of my soul remains? If you want to attempt to take what remains while filling me with Power you are free to try!’ his mental voice roared out.

The darkness that surrounded the sole space that remained lit, the space that he stood in wasn’t as dark now that his Force ability was returned. It contained wavelengths that his feline senses were but amplified by the Force, turning an already strong predator into a killing machine.

But he knew, deep down, that his challenge was one that he had very little chance to overcome. He’d never defeated or overcome his Master and this felt similar, not similar, to his Master, making this even more of a challenge for him.

One he would, however, relish.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

Bedlam, continued

The planet within a nebula within a space.

It continued to absently turn, shone upon endlessly by the ethereal light of Bedlam.

Bedlam the world, Bedlam the pulsar, Bedlam the Asylum.

The droid looked from Darth Zhorrid to Aryan Graul.

"Please don't hurt me! I am merely a victim of my programming!"

TAG: @HanSolo29, @Mira Grau
---
Hunger

There it was.

Coming through.

Wanting him.

No... it wanted something else, or someone else, and then it had settled on him.

On Mer-el.

Do you want power, in this place without?

TAG: @darthbernael
---
The Girl

While Sybelle sought out with the Force, and Zathras was spoken to by the Pulsar itself...

The girl continued to talk to herself.

To them.

To Papa.

Dear Papa,

Are you coming yet? I am so lonely. They, they leave me. With food, and water, but it's horrible All horrible. Everything is horrible.

TAG: @Lady_Belligerent, @Mitth_Fisto

OOC: Just keeping the pacing going, my friends.

 

The Bedlam Pulsar twinkled in the distance.

The shadows of the nebula percolated, continuing to wind, and whirl, and wonder.

But not for long.

Matters were moving forward.

A clawed hand reached...

The Pulsar shone, attempted to slow it.

It realised that it could only do so a slight amount.

On Friday 6th December 2024, in our time, the sickle hand would strike.

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto, @Mira Grau, @Lady_Belligerent, @HanSolo29, @darthbernael

 

IC: Sybelle
Bedlam

Aryan didn’t respond to her, no matter how desperate her pleas were. He wasn’t there, Sybelle had been sure he was.

She held her head in both hands and cried out in frustration.

All while the girl was talking. “Who are you, child? Who is your father?” Sybelle asked aloud.

Tag: @Sinrebirth @HanSolo29

 

IC: Aryan Graul
Bedlam Asylum



The woman did not surrender the comlink—not like it mattered at this point. An ominous crackling whine began to emit from the device, signifying some kind of external interference. Before Aryan could identify the source of the static, the channel dissolved into a prolonged series of cackles, as if someone found their situation amusing and could not refrain from laughing at their expense.

Aryan instinctively backpedaled from the offensive sound. He thought he recognized the voice, an echo from the not-so-distant past…

As if to confirm his suspicions, the droid suddenly reanimated of its own accord, pleading and screeching hysterically in its automated tone.

"Please don't hurt me! I am merely a victim of my programming!"

It was only then, in the dim, sterile lighting of the morgue, that realization dawned on Aryan’s expression. The droid was not a typical protocol model; it was a specialized unit with many additional arms, but only two had appendages that resembled hands. The others featured tools for various purposes, including a computer interface and power charge extensions. It had a very distinct appearance that conjured a memory from his childhood; a memory that involved the same authoritative voice behind the incessant cackling—

This droid will be your friend. I want you to be looked after, forever.

It was Uncle Palpatine—

—well, that was what Aryan used to call him before he revealed himself as the embodiment of evil.

But more relevant to the moment, was this really his droid? 11-4D?

Aryan wavered on his feet, his mouth working wordlessly as he studied the droid under a scrutinizing eye. It certainly looked and behaved like Four-Dee, but the circumstances almost seemed too convenient. He quickly reminded himself of where he was. This was a mental institution. Someone had placed him here for nefarious means and would likely go to great lengths to exploit his vulnerability. He would need to tread carefully.

"I’m not inclined to believe anything you say," he finally replied in a low rumble. "Remember, I only just threatened to wipe your memory if you failed to cooperate—"

However, before he could finish his train of thought, a strange sensation enveloped his body, almost like a warm blanket wrapped tightly against his chest. The feeling took his breath away and caused his pulse to quicken. That’s when a new voice pushed into his consciousness, tapping into a nascent part of his mind that he had long forgotten.

'Aryan? Are you here?'

Before he could stop and consider whether this was another ruse—as he had done with Four-Dee—Aryan latched eagerly onto the call, embracing the presence on the other end as he reached out with… the Force?

"Sybelle…?"

'I’m here!'

TAG: @Sinrebirth; @Lady_Belligerent; @Mira Grau

 

IC: The Reaper

Two more screams.

Mer-el was gone from their senses.

With Darth Zhorrid, it was more sudden, as she stood with Aryan Graul.

A shadow seemed to open up behind her, and swallow her whole.

11-4B cried out. "Sub-Master Graul, please, we must leave this area before the Darkness gets you!"

He scrambled on his tottering feet, tugging at Graul -

Zathras wasn't alone, but he was, possibly, going mad.

Are you connected? Are you? You? You are. No trap. You must avoid the Darkness. Find a ship. Find a way. To me. I shall show you how to escape.

That was the voice at the center of the Bedlam Pulsar.

Papa, they keep speaking to me, every day, asking, asking, asking. Taking my blood. They showed me the Mother, as they called it.

They said I was special, and Dr Black would make children from Mother. I would have friends again - a family - a Community.

Then the man with red eyes, he came, too, again, and he was horrible. Said that my existence was a Sin.

Papa, is that true?

Is it?

That voice came from the corridors, leading Zathras to a nursery, of all things.

The girl had been... real?

Imprisoned?

There were broken toys, a worn out cot, shattered lights...

A fight?

The walls seemed to be pockmarked with little holes, too, with little items jutting out.

A closer inspection of the toys, the cot, or the walls, would reveal more.

The female voice floated to Sybelle's ears too, floating, floating, floating.

Was it the girl she had seen in the oversized Crystal Ball, in the White Room?

Of course, over the comms, there was also 11-4D's electronic scream, which Sybelle would hear across the line.

The line between her and Aryan cut.

She was alone, again, with the Crystal Ball.

Was it watching her?

Waiting...?

TAG: @Lady_Belligerent, @Mitth_Fisto, @HanSolo29 (singles)

 

IC: Sybelle

After taking a step back from the crystal ball, Sybelle placed her hands over her ears. She wanted the haunting voice to stop, it couldn’t be real from what she had experienced so far in this place. The child’s voice was probably manufactured to torture her, and it would work if she allowed it to.

Staring into the ball she sneered, “you should speak to me directly, in person, instead of behaving like a demented voyeur.”

Backing up a bit more she sighed and sat down on the floor. Losing that com-connection to Aryan was defeating… then she remembered the Force. Could she try their bond again?

Aryan? Can you hear me?

Tag: @HanSolo29 @Sinrebirth

 

IC: Aryan Graul
Bedlam Asylum



Aryan? Can you hear me?

The voice in his head returned. Not the one that haunted these halls; the other one.

The familiar one.

Sybelle.

Had she heard him? Or was this place starting to seep into his mind and pollute his thoughts?

Either way, he did not stop to consider the implications. He merely reacted, reaching out to that bright spot he remembered so well. He wasn’t entirely sure what it was. It brought warmth and comfort; something unworldly they both together from long ago.

Sybelle! I’m here!

However, before he received a response, Four-Dee panicked as he clamped onto his arm to spur him into action. "Sub-Master Graul, please, we must leave this area before the Darkness gets you!"

Aryan grunted, clenching his teeth. "But—SYBELLE!" He cried out this time, his voice echoing around the empty chamber.

Nevertheless, he did not resist; he staggered along behind the gangly droid.

TAG: @Lady_Belligerent; @Sinrebirth

 

IC: The Girl

There was a click.

Suddenly the floor gave way all over the Institute.

Not just the floors where they were - all the floors.

They dropped as one into darkness.

Then hit a slope, then slid down, then were deposited.

In a room, together.

Four-Dee, a droid after all, landed at an ungodly looking angle, his neck bent terribly out of shape.

There was also a little girl in a Black Coat, with black hair, her eyes shining blue.

The ground was... rocky? Not metal, nor like the rest of the Bedlam.

She looked to them, glaring.



"What did you do?"

TAG: @HanSolo29, @Lady_Belligerent, @Mitth_Fisto (before replying please PM me a number between 0 and 10, so I may tell you if you sustained any injuries)

 

Injuries sustained!

1. Zathras - cracked skull; concussion.
2. Aryan - twisted ankle; bruised ribs.
3. Sybelle - broken ‘good’ arm; fracture in ‘good’ hand

Singles may continue.

TAG: @Lady_Belligerent, @HanSolo29, @Mitth_Fisto