jaigvision.

_{Given their unruly and taxing circumstances, Rex willed himself to remain his usual tranquil self. Difficult as it might be, he had faced greater adversity in his time and still managed to come out the bigger man; that alone was the source of his undivided sense of composure.}

_{There was one burning question that lingered in the back of his mind, and that inquisition had only continued to intensify the further they dug into the consecrated temple. ‘ If the temple was abandoned, why was there no sign of a fight? ’ No signs of a struggle had been made obvious, no lightsaber slashes against the concrete walls,  no blaster marks, not even a body for that matter. Something had gone terribly wrong, that was obvious. For as much as he condemned the wary hand of death lurking over his shoulder just as much as anyone else, he was intrigued to find the cause of the sudden abandonment}

_{His attention sidetracked from the General, shunning his words to start with before sudden realisation finally set in. “ You’re right… ” he admitted, his voice drowning out as he continued to speak. He looked back up to Anakin, a narrowly forced smile barely being able to gather across his withered lips. “ We can’t let those Seppys get a hand on that holocron. They would be near enough unstoppable with it at their disposal. Sir, I must ask. How do you even plan on controlling it when we find it? From what we’ve seen, this is more powerful than anything else we’ve witnessed. The power it possesses is seemingly unmatched. It needs to be destroyed  for everyone’s safety, not just our own. “ Rex wanted nothing more to do with the source of evil having experienced its torment firsthand, no one man could control such evil without becoming a threat to themselves and all those around them,}

_{Each breath became more drawn out, more troublesome than usual. “ I have a bad feeling about this, ” he mutters, his veins filled with a thick layer of ice. His knees felt weak trying to buckle underneath the heavy frame of his upper body. They had already been to the end of the world and back, the fact that both of them were still standing was a miracle on its own.}

_{He didn’t need to be a Jedi to know they were so close the holocron. “ Shall I take point? ” he inquired, the very fine hairs down the back of his neck stood up as tensions quickly rose to the highest they had been in quite some time. The visions, the hallucinations, they needed to stop. Rex himself had already nearly fallen victim to the ghostly presence; to allow anyone else to fall victim to the temple, he knew he wouldn’t be able to live it down. He might have been lucky with his General regaining his senses, however, the next ones might not be so fortunate.}

    ❝ YEAH, GOOD IDEA. ❞ Anakin’s expression shifts, a wariness he rarely exhibits bleeding through the inelegant charade of confidence he’s been attempting to commit to. He’s almost killed Rex already, what kind of reaction will the source of their suffering have on his perception of reality? Jedi have lost their minds to the Force before, those who stare with sightless eyes, thoughts consumed by cosmic flames. They lose all grasp on the galaxy around them, _doomed _to fall forever through a dark abyss. ❝ Rex— uh, maybe you should stand back. Just in case. ❞

          If Anakin closes his eyes he can see that same black mirror reflection of the room around him, ever shifting shadows bridged by glorious webs of spun glass. He can sense Rex behind him, the clone’s faint resonance in the Force filling Anakin’s lungs with air. His breaths are Rex’s breaths, his heartbeat is Rex’s heartbeat, && for one quiet moment the Jedi Knight is able to embody the other man fully, his overarching empathy a burning coal in the Fabric of the Force. But Anakin withdraws quickly, returning to himself with a suden rush similar to breaking the surface of a wave.

    ❝ If I do anything Rex— if I attack you. Blast me. ❞ He frames the words as an order, steel binding the severity of his command. He can only hope the pain from a blaster wound will be enough to bring him to his senses, && that his anger won’t be enough to keep him fighting.

           The tips of his right fingers breech the spinning threads of light encircling the holocron. He almost immediately smells burning leather, && withdraws his hand to see singe marks lining the edges of his fingers. So, the force field is definitely going to pose a problem. He’s grateful he used his mechno, though wary of the hot metal now tipping his saber hand.

               Scanning the podium for controls or a generator gives him nothing, the smooth stone altar is as seamless as hangar walls, && likely just a durable too. Anakin observes the panelling beneath his feet && notices how the designs slant towards a something that looks suspiciously like a skylight above them.

              Solar panels?

    ❝ I don’t think there’re any controls for the force field generator. ❞ Someone didn’t want anyone trying to get ahold of this thing. Kriff, this isn’t going to feel good.

        Anakin pushes his mechno through the force field, the scent of burning metal curling pungent across his senses. His hand barely brushes the holocron before sharp heat whites out his vision. Merciless emptiness follows close behind, fever-washed, so bright it leaves sunspots dancing across his gaze. Light bellows through him, a pure, cleansing fire that arranges itself in intricate patterns of complexity that cuts the eye, jewel-bright. The empty space crawls with ghost hieroglyphs, translucent lines of symbols arranging themselves against the neutral backdrop of Anakin’s sightless blinks. Faint neon molecules spread beneath his skin, ordered by an unknowable code. He feels himself raise his left hand && move it experimentally. The whiteness flashes with a faint, fading trail of strobed afterimages Anakin can only deduce is the movement of his limb. It’s as if he’s seeing himself from the atoms up, each minuscule particle buzzing with lethal potential.

              A scream breaks the silence, one he realizes is his own.