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There is an explosion in the distance and the ground under his feet jerks and trembles, cracks travelling over the transparisteel and sirens wailing in the distance.

Stellan Gios clenches his hands around the metal railing as Starlight Beacon gets closer to the surface of the ocean, metal screeching and screaming and flames blazing, while parts that broke away from the main structure tumble through the sky as if they were meteoroids.

Far, far away, spaceships and shuttles disappear at the horizon, while others come crashing down towards the planet's surface together with the station that was once supposed to symbolise hope. Kind of ironic when you think about it, how it’s all going down now, falling through the sky, burning and breaking apart, so bright like it’s future was supposed to be. 

Somewhere a bit closer, he can sense metal melting and then finally ripping apart, tearing the gigantic space-station into two blazing and tumbling parts.

For a moment, fear flickers in his heart, about what is about to come, stained by regret. Suddenly, he can think of so many things he did horrible wrong in his life, too many, but still… this is none of them. 

It’s a good way to go, a good thing to do. 

Closing his eyes, Stellan takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself, to banish the fear and the panic, together with the regret.

To be one with the force.

He doesn’t want to die.

No one really does. 

But it is necessary right now and he would always do what's best for others. He, just like any other Jedi, devoted his entire existence to protecting the galaxy and its people, even at the cost of his own life.

And so he does. With crashing Starlight Beacon into the ocean, he will save thousands of lifes on Eiram, together with those of the Jedi and others who would have stayed instead of him, sacrificing their life, and-

There is a glimmer in the force, the flash of one -or is it two?- all too familiar light -or lights?- and Stellan opens his eyes again, gasping. 

The air tastes like ash and fire, smoke making it harder to breath, while Sparks rain from the ceiling as the metal under his feet bends and breaks. He turns around, away from the transparisteel that is covered with cracks, away from the ocean that’s coming closer and closer, away from the depths that soon will swallow and kill him and towards the door. 

For a second, he thinks that he might have sensed wrong; that it was all just a trick of his own heart, a last hope, the wish to maybe, just maybe, not be alone in the end. He had read about how people would think of what they loved most in the entire galaxy before dying and so, it was only natural for him to-

There is a shout in the distance, a voice he knows and has known his entire life, followed by more crashing and breaking and another flash of light in the force. Stellan can hear running steps coming closer, growing louder and louder and-

The door hisses open and there, covered in ash and soot, is Elzar Mann. His tunic is burnt at the edges and dirty, ripped apart at one of his sleeves. His hair is messy and there is sweat dripping down his face, his very angry face. 

For a moment, Stellans eyes flicker to the two lightsabers that are secured at Elzars belt; one of them is his, he can see it and feel it. The crystal inside hums in an all too familiar way, apparently happy about sensing his old friend again. 

Then, Elzar leaves the doorway and dashes towards Stellan, revealing Avar Kriss who was hidden behind the other Jedi up until then, her tunics in a even worse condition than Elzars and blood smeared across her brow, the golden diadem she always wears sparkling and gleaming in the bright light of the fire around them. 

For a second, they make eye contact and he's honestly surprised by the coldness and concealed anger he sees in hers, the usual bright blue replaced by something darker. 

Something that causes a shiver to run down his spine.

“ You fucking asshole !”  Elzars voice is loud enough to overtune the explosions and the screaming metal and then, he’s right in front of Stellan, blocking his view on the door. Within a second, there are arms wrapped around him and the other Jedi pulls him into a very strong hug. 

And Stellan Gios wants to say many things.

Some of them include words that he once forbade Vernestra from even ever thinking about.

Others contain truths that have been buried deep in his mind for a long time, thoughts about impossible things and lies he has been telling his whole life.

“You weren't supposed to be here.” He says with a cold and monotone voice, because maybe, just maybe , he can get them to leave again and-

“No, no, no, you don’t get to tell me anything like that!” Elzar answers, arms still wrapped around him and as Stellan looks up, he can see the suppressed emotions flickering in his friends eyes. “You are a idiot and I hate you for this but also-”

“You don’t understand!” Stellan yells and now there is anger in his chest, hot and disgusting and he shoves the other Jedi away, diving into the force and maybe putting a little bit too much power behind it, because his friend stumbles back, a surprised look on his face. “You are not supposed to be here !”

“You don’t get to tell us where we are supposed to be.” His gaze shifts from Elzar to Avar, who still hasn’t moved away from the door, her arms crossed and brows furrowed. 

The Force around him screams again, a warning this time and to be fair: he doesn’t know if it’s because she is only seconds away from killing him or because of the ocean that is rapidly coming closer and will probably also kill him.

He normally would prefer the ocean, but right now, Stellan Gios doesn’t care.

“ I don’t want you here !” The sudden screaming, together with the smoke and fire, make his throat hurt, but he ignores it. “ I never wanted anyone here and I most certainly didn’t want one of you two and -”

He doesn’t even have time to register the pain and hurt in Elzars eyes and the coldness in Avars, because in the next second, flashing light explodes around him like fireworks, together with the ear-piercing screeching of metal that rips apart and shattering of the transparisteel. 

He distantly notices how there are arms closed around him again and then, suddenly, there is water everywhere, breaking into his mouth and filling his lungs and ears, dragging him down down down, down into the depths and darkness of the sea, fractions and fragments of Starlight Beacon sinking around him and water closing it’s grip around his body, throwing him around, pulling him deeper and deeper a…nd….dee…pe…er…..

The light above him becomes dimmer and dimmer and his body goes numb. 

He doesn’t feel the arms that are still wrapped around him.

He doesn’t see the Jedi that holds him, or the one floating and sinking not far away.

He doesn’t hear a thing anymore.

Stellan Gios dies a very tragic death.

Except he doesn’t .

— — —

There is a bird chirping in the distance.

It’s a strange noise. Within the halls of the temple, you could never really hear a bird chirp. 

Maybe he is in the gardens?

No, that doesn’t make sense.

Valo?

Also doesn’t make sense.

Maybe Starlight Beacon?

Impossible, because it fell and pretty much exploded.

So where-

Wait, EXPLODED?

Gasping, Elzar Mann opens his eyes and stumbles to his feet, panic swirling inside of his heart, mixed with confusion. His breathing goes fast as he looks around, hands raised to fight if necessary, sweat dripping down his face and messy hair hanging into his eyes. 

There is a numb pain in his arms and legs, as if he had been swimming for too long or carried something with him, together with an aching in his chest and lungs, as if he hasn't breathed in quite a long time.

Distantly, Elzar notices the place around him, solid stone and strange trees, looking like lightning shooting out of the ground and into the sky. 

Then, his gaze lands on a figure that is sprawled on the ground not far from him, white robes dirty from soot and dust, eyes closed and hair and beard messy. Again, panic seizes him and his mind goes blank as he looks at Stellan Gios’ lifeless form between the rocks that litter the terrain. 

Then, the other Jedi lets out a soft groan and Elzar is immediately at his side. Carefully, he checks his friend for any obvious wounds and when he finds none, it’s as if someone had taken a huge weight off of his shoulders.

“El?” Stellans voice is hoarse and rough and he coughs and then presses a hand against his throat.

“Yeah.” Elzar answers, still relieved. “Yeah, it’s me.”
“What- what happened?” 

That is actually a very good question. 

And none that Elzar himself can answer.

“I don’t know.” He says as Stellan sits up, rubbing his eyes and blinking confused. “I would like to know too.”
“Why aren’t we dead?”
“I don’t know.” And again, it’s the truth. 

For a moment, they just exist next to each other, Stellan sitting on the floor and Elzar crouched next to him.

“Where is Avar?” 

And the coldness comes back, nearly worse than before, as now it’s accompanied by guilt and shame, because how could he forget about Avar?

Immediately, Elzar is back to his feet and scanning the area, trying to maybe make  out another brownish patch within the grey and blue that is surrounding them. For a moment, the panic gets worse as his gaze travels over stone and lightning trees and not Avar and then-

Someone tugs at his sleeve and Elzar turns his gaze away from the weird place and back to Stellan, who is pointing at one of the strange trees. For a moment, he is still confused, but then Elzar gets a glimpse of golden metal, reflecting the lightning light and the panic calms a bit.

“Help me up, please.” He would very much like to just leave Stellan here on the ground, after what he just tried to pull, but on the other hand…there is something terribly, horribly wrong with this place and splitting up, or leaving someone alone in general, is probably not the best idea. 

So, Elzar Mann does something very mature: he decides to push the wish to punch Stellan Gios away into the back of his mind and instead grabs his friend's tunics and pulls him up. The other Jedi groans again and leans heavily onto him, but Elzar just grits his teeth and clenches the fabric of Stellans tabard a bit too much.

Then, after his friend seems to stand at least a bit stable, one arm placed over his shoulder, Elzar makes the first step. 

And then another one and another one. 

Walking like this is rather hard, because Stellan seems to have not a bit of energy left in his whole body and Elzar himself is also tired and exhausted. Plus the rocky and uneven ground is covered with tiny and nearly invisible stones that cause both of them to stumble and trip more than once.

All in all, it takes them way longer than it should have to get to Avar. 

She's still curled up on the ground when they stop next to her, covered in dirt and soot. The blood on her brow is also still there; but it's fainter now, thinner and the wound beneath doesn’t look that bad. 

She doesn’t look like she’s dead. 

As Elzar helps Stellan sit down on the floor next to their friend and when he turns to see if she’s alright, he immediately sees how her golden hair flutters every time she calmly breathes in and out again.

So she’s not dead.

None of them are.

Great.

Gently, Elzar taps her shoulder. 

Avar mumbles something to herself. 

He taps her again, less soft this time and she groans.

“Come one Ave, you need to wake up.” Stellan next to him whispers, coming closer to her, hands reaching out to also tap her and-

Avar Kriss’ eyes shot open and within a second, she hits him square across the face and tries to get up, but ends up stumbling over her cloak and falling onto the stones again. In the meantime, Stellan jerks away from her and against Elzar himself, hands pressing one his nose that suddenly seems to hurt a lot.

“What was that for?!” He asks with a high pitched voice, completely devastated and shocked.
“Don’t fucking scare me like that!” 

“I was trying to make sure that you are alife!”

“By coming that close to my face?!”
“Well sorry that you are so sensitive-”
"Sensitive? Sensitive? Say that again you-”
“ GUYS !” Both of them stop mid argument, Stellans hands still pressed on his face and Avars raised in the air between them. They stare at him, two pairs of different shaded blue eyes burning holes right into Elzars soul and he gulps, raising his own hands to close them around Avars. She flinches a bit, but doesn’t resist him and he smiles at her, even though the only thing he gets back is a very impressive death-stare.

“Let’s not fight, okay? We have other problems.” Slowly, he lowers his and her hands and then turns to Stellan, who still looks very pissed. There is a tiny bit of blood dripping from his nose and Elzar turns to search the little pouches at his belt. For a second, his hand brushes over the silver and black lightsaber hilt that belongs to his friend, before he finally finds the little bag where he keeps bacta-bandaids.

“There you go, Stell.” He says as he hands it to the other Jedi, who grumbles something not understandable and then takes the small healpacks. 

Avar next to him fumbles her fingers anxiously out of the grip of his other hand and Elzar turns to face her and holds one of the bacta-bandaids her way.

“You okay?” She hesitates and then nods, before finally taking the small, blue pad out his hand and pressing it against the cut on her brow.

For a few minutes, they just sit there, Avar and Stellan waiting for their wounds to heal a bit while Elzar carefully inspects their surroundings, always making sure to be aware of potential danger. But there is nothing, except for the softly crackling lightning trees, the rocky ground and the billowing fog around them. 

Finally, his friends both seem to be better and so he turns to them again.

“Did you two calm down now?” 

Neither answers. 

“She didn’t apologise.” Stellan mumbles then and Avar immediately gasps, eyes sparkling with suppressed anger and rage, in a way Elzar hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Are you really fucking serious right now?” She hisses. 

“Yes, I fucking am.” Stellan hisses back and his eyes mirror the emotions in hers. “You punched me across the face!”

“And you completely deserve it!”

Before the other Jedi can answer anything, Elzar decides to act and within a second, he grabs both of them and pulls them towards himself. Avar already opens her mouth to protest, but he doesn’t let her speak. 

Instead, he only tightens his grip on their tunics, not giving either a chance to escape. 

“To recap .” Elzar whispers and his voice is cold and sharp, even though he is smiling. “The Nihil decided to blow up Starlight Beacon. Stellan, you decided it was a great idea to stay behind alone and sacrifice himself. Avar, you decided that it was a shit-idea, I agreed, and we rushed to save you, Stell. Then you said a bunch of very mean things that really hurt, Starlight crashed and boom - water everywhere, followed by darkness and actually we are totally supposed to be dead. But instead we are here. And you two -” And he pulls them even closer, so that both of them are pressed against his sides. “You two decide to start a screaming contest slash argument, because we’ve got nothing better to do.”

For a moment, both of them are silent.
Stellan is purposefully staring in another direction, brows furrowed and wiping away the bit of blood that is left on his chin. 

Avar on the other hand apparently tries to burn Elzars soul out of his bodys with her gaze, arms crossed and hands clenched to fists, but he only smiles at her.

They make eye contact and stare at each other for at least a minute, until Avar blinks a few times and then turns away her head too, slightly less tense.

“He started it.” She grumbles, but her voice shakes a bit as if she herself isn’t so sure that what she just said is right. 

Stellan snorts, but doesn’t turn to say anything, so Elzar decides to take matters in his own hand and, still smiling, he leans closer towards her. 

“Hm, what was that?”
“...I said he started it.”
“Wrong. Both of you did.” Avar scoffs, but doesn’t argue with him. Instead, she seems to become even less tense. 

It’s a win for him. 

“Great, now that we cleared that.” He says, pushing his own luck maybe a bit too far. “How about you two make peace and continue to argue once we find out what the fuck is going on?”

He thinks that he might have failed, because for a few seconds, neither of his friends move. The aching in his chest returns, but this time it’s not from (apparently) nearly drowning, no; it’s more about what their friendship turned into.
Once, so many years ago, they had been inseparable, always being together.

The three firebrands and no one in the whole galaxy would be able to destroy them, to rip them apart. No one except for themself.
He ponders, for a moment, when exactly everything had gone to hell. Was it already before the Nihil attacked? Maybe when Stellan got his seat on the council? Or when they all became knights? No, that couldn’t be, because he still remembered nights full of laughter, spent in a tiny dinner in CoCoTown, and missions that they executed together. After Vernestra came? That was totally impossible, because the girl only brought them together even more; Elzar would never let a chance pass to tell embarrassing stories about Stellan and Avar had always happily helped. So, when? 

When exactly did they break apart? When did all the arguing and fighting between his two best friends start? 

And what would it need to bring them together again, at least a bit?

“Alright.” Stellan says, pulling Elzar out of his thoughts and back to the lightning trees and the fog. 

“Fine.” Avar mumbles, her arms still crossed, but she doesn’t seem that mad anymore. “So, what do you suggest we do, El.”

They are both staring at him now and Elzar gulps, all his confidence disappearing. But he also knows that neither of them will accept anything the other one says, so he gulps again and then rises, trying to brush some of the dirt off of his tunics. 

“Ahem.” He says and then clears his throat. “I would say that the most logical thing to do is probably to find a safe space to rest for the night. This place…it’s really strange. The Force is weird here and I don’t like it one bit. So the smartest thing we can do is sleep, because I know for certain that all of us are exhausted, and then tomorrow we will find out what’s going on.”

For a moment, they both continue to just look at him, until Avar shrugs with her shoulders. 

“Fine with me.” She says then and with a small grunt and apparently an extreme amount of effort, she rises to, blinking rapidly a few times. 

“Yeah, good idea.” Stellan agrees and then holds out a hand. Elzar immediately pulls him up and the other Jedi stumbles against him again, but he seems to have at least a bit more energy than earlier. “And I agree with you, El. There really is something strange going on with the Force, almost as if she is… non-existent.”

(The Force is not non-existent in this place. There is actually just so much concentration that it’s rather hard to tell for even the wisest amongst the Jedi.)

“I don’t feel any danger right now.” Avar says, her voice trembling with exhaustion that she desperately tries to hide. 

“Yeah, me neither.” Elzar agrees and ponders about maybe offering her to lean onto him too. But then, on the other hand, he himself is also very much tired and… maybe if she asks him, he will say yes. (Even though Elzar Mann knows that Avar Kriss would never willingly ask for help.)

“Alright, so, we cleared this.” Stellan answers and rubs his eyes again. “Now we only have to find out where to go.”

That is a very interesting thing he says there, and to be fair, it’s the only weak point in Elzars amazing plan. What a good time to have a team.

“I don’t know about you guys.” Avar says again and raises her hand to point towards something in the fog behind Elzar. “But that thing seems like a good option for our final destination.”

He turns around to see what she means and really.

There, in the distance, glowing so bright that the green light breaks through the fog around them, is a gigantic tower rising into the sky, surrounded by clouds and smoke. 

They find a small cave at the edge of the lightning tree forest, in a few not that big hills. It’s not a really safe space, but it’s the best they manage to find. Inside, there is nothing but a few bigger and smaller stones and the floor is sandy, but before Elzar can suggest that they go and try to find another place, Stellan already slips out of his grasp and sits down on the floor, breathing a sigh of relief. There is, as far as he can tell, nothing dangerous inside the small space, so Elzar doesn’t say anything.

A gust of wind comes in through the entrance in the wall and Stellan on the floor shivers, wrapping his arms around himself. In the next second, something dark and fuzzy flies past Elzar and hits the other Jedi on the ground straight into the face, but when he turns around, there is no attacker there. Stellan lets out a surprised yelp as the thing hits him and immediately pulls it away and-

It’s a cloak.

A very damaged cloak, burnt at the edges covered in dirt.

Avars Cloak.

Before any of them can say anything, she slides past Elzar and deeper into the small cave, until she reaches the back wall. There, it seems as if she nearly faints, because Avar drops to the ground like a bag of oats and, as soon as she hits the rocky floor, she curls up into a small ball, facing the cold and rough wall. 

For a moment, Stellan just stares at her in disbelief.

“Stop looking at me like that.” Avar hisses and curls up even more. “I want to sleep. Can’t do that if you cry because of the cold the whole night.”

But there is something in her voice, nearly invisible and extremely well hidden, that tells Elzar Mann that she didn’t just give up her cloak in hopes to save her own sleep. Stellan however just mumbles a small “thanks”, before pulling over the slightly-too-short fabric and then moving to the opposite side of where Avar is. 

For a moment, Elzar just stands there, slightly confused and unsure what to do and where to go. 

“Oh for the Forces sake, El, just go to him. You are like a personal heater and Stellan needs it way more than I do.”

And so, still a bit sorry but happy that he won’t have to pick a side, Elzar Mann takes the few steps he needs to get to Stellan Gios and then sits down next to him, before finally completely relaxing and lying down, hugging his still shivering friend, while Avar Kriss on the other side of the cave wraps her arms around herself (because obviously she lied about not being cold).

It does take him a while to fall asleep.

When he is finally able to, Elzar dreams of giant bats, golden glowing eyes, swirling water and a dead Jedi in a pool of crimson blood.

— — —

She can’t sleep.

There are actually many reasons for that.

For once, she’s really fucking cold and already regrets giving up her cloak for Stellan. He doesn’t even deserve it, that bastard, after everything he did. 

Also, the stones on the ground dig into her back and side and it makes sleeping even harder. 

She could also say that Elzars snoring is very distracting, but that honestly would be a lie. 

Maybe it’s her thoughts, racing through her head and chasing each other, about everything that happened and the questions she can’t answer. How they didn’t die when Starlight crashed. How they got here. Though mainly, her mind circles around Stellan Gios and what an impossible annoying idiot he is.

But that is also not the main reason why she can’t sleep.

It’s something else.

Avar Kriss, unlike most other Jedi, had always been able to somehow sense the Force, no matter where she was. Sound was nearly unstoppable, so even when she was somewhere where the Force was mainly blocked, she could at least hear something , tiny and small sounds and melodies. It had helped her, a lot, because the song was always there, somehow, calming her down when she had a panic attack, or, on the other side, being so chaotic and wild that it caused one. 

But he had been there.

And now he wasn’t.  

So, Avar couldn’t sleep, because the one thing that had been constant in her life was gone now too and she really wanted to cry. 

Instead, she sighs annoyed and tries to curl up even more, to maybe get at least a bit of warmth. A second later, a gust of wind swirls through the entrance of the cave and she shivers. She can hear Stellan on the other side of the cave mumbling something, but he’s too far away (and too buried under Elzar) for her to understand any of the words. 

Fuck this . She decides and then sits up, stretching her stiff arms above her head and exhaling deeply as her spine cracks. Least I can do to maybe feel a bit useful is to make sure nothing eats us.

So, Avar Kriss gets up, careful to not wake the other two Jedi on the other side of the small space, and then leaves the cave. The air outside is even colder, but at least it’s fresh and kind of helps her to stay awake. 

She does try to meditate for a bit. 

It’s not very successful. 

There is no song, no connection to the Force. 

She gives up very quickly and, because she’s got nothing better to do anyways, settles for watching the (very, very weird) nightsky, to maybe try and see if she can recognize a familiar star constellation. She doesn’t.

It is a horrible feeling, to sit there on a cold stone, shivering and freezing and being utterly useless. Avar is really tired of feeling like that.

At least she manages to doze off after a few hours, even though it doesn’t last very long.

— — —

When Stellan wakes up, the first thing he notices is how warm he feels. 

He stays like that, for a few minutes at least, before he opens his eyes. He is still pressed against Elzar; the perfect explanation why he isn’t cold. Also, there is a cloak wrapped around him that definitely doesn’t belong to him and for a moment he’s confused where it’s from. 

Then he remembers everything that happened.

Stellan flinches at the memories of the swirling water and the screaming of metal that ripped apart and Elzar next to him sighs in his sleep, brows furrowed.

He freezes. 

For quite a while, they stay like this, until Stellan is sure that he hasn’t woken up his friend. Then, slowly and carefully, he begins to wrap himself out of the hug, pushing Elzars arms away and placing them next to him in a way that doesn’t look too uncomfortable. The other Jedi sighs again, before rolling around in his sleep and facing the other side of the cave. 

Again, Stellan waits a few minutes, before finally sitting up. 

He rubs his eyes and yawns. His back hurts, he notices, probably because of the very rough ground he slept on. But he does feel better now, less exhausted and not half dead anymore.

Trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes, he looks around in the small cave, to make sure that everything is alright and-

And Avar Kriss isn’t there anymore.

He’s on his feet within a second, jumping over the still-sleeping Elzar and stopping where he had last seen her. Then, Stellan turns around to the entrance of the cave. He hesitates, for a moment, looking back to his friend who didn’t even flinch. 

He shouldn’t leave him alone.

But then on the other hand, Avar is also his friend, even though their relationship is rather troubled and broken right now.

So, gritting his teeth, Stellan makes a decision and dashes through the small space and towards the hole in the wall, leaving Elzar behind him.

The cold air outside hits him like a wall and immediately, he’s feeling cold again. The fog is still there, but lighter than the evening before and the stone-hills don’t look that big and threatening anymore. It’s day, which is really good, because he will be able to find Avar way better and-

“What are you doing?” A hoarse voice asks and he flinches and spins around, ready to fight whoever that is.

Avar Kriss looks up to him with very tired eyes, curled up into a ball and sitting on a stone next to the entrance of the cave. 

Stellan stares.

“I was looking for you.” He says then, completely perplexed and dumbfounded. 

“Why though.” 

“Because I woke up and you were gone.” 

“Oh. Sorry.” She sounds as if she really means it and Stellan, still a bit taken by surprise, clears his throat.

“What were you thinking? Going outside alone like this is rather dangerous, we don’t know anything about this place and you could have easily been eaten.”
For a moment, Avar doesn’t answer and he wonders if he should have said something nicer.

“I was making sure that no one attacks us.” She finally answers. “For the same reasons why you think I shouldn’t have.”

It’s the first time he notices how tired and exhausted she actually looks, with dark bags under her eyes and messy hair. A bruise had formed itself on her brow over the night, around the cut there and she seems…sick, almost.

“Don’t stare at me like that.” Avar says, her voice still hoarse and rough. “It’s weird.”
“You don’t look good.” She laughs, even though it’s cold and without any real joy.

“Thanks, you too.” He frowns and crosses his arms. 

“That’s not what I meant.”
“Hmm, sure.”

“Seriously.”
“Alright, alright.” Avar raises her arms in defeat and smiles at him, in a way that anyone else would think is real. But Stellan Gios is not anyone else. He is one of the two people that probably know her the best and he has spent enough time with her to know when she really does smile and when it’s all just a show. 

“Did you even get any sleep last night?” Her smile freezes and then she lowers her hands, resting her head on one of them.

“You really are annoying.”
“No, what I am is worried about this whole situation. We have to work together to fix whatever this is and you will only drag down the team if you’re too exhausted.” He immediately knows that that was definitely the wrong thing to say, because the smile completely disappears. 

Instead, she gets up from her spot on the stone, eyes dark and sparkling with suppressed feelings. 

“Just so you know, I am perfectly able to solve this. If something brings this group down, it’s you and your stupid I’m-the-only-one-who-can-fix-things complex.” Her voice is cold and sharp and Stellan already feels sorry, but he doesn’t move one inch when she gets closer to him, pressing a finger against his chest. “ You are the one who fucked things up in the first place, Master Gios , but you would nerver be able to admit that, would you?” 

They stay like that for what feels like hours, but are only seconds in reality.

Then, Elzars confused voice sounds from inside the cave and Avar turns away from him, arms wrapped around herself. He considers giving her her cloak back, but before Stellan can even open his mouth, she’s already going away from him. Shortly before entering the cave, Avar turns her head a bit his way.

“And just so you know, I did sleep.” And then, she disappears. 

He doesn’t follow her. 

Instead, he sits down on the stone where she was before and takes out a few of the food-capsules that are stored in one of the pouches on his belt. They taste bland and boring like always, but at least he isn't hungry anymore. 

And while he eats, Stellan Gios desperately tries to forget the things Avar Kriss just told him and push them far, far away into the back of his mind.

It doesn’t really work.

— — —

Elzar thinks it’s a brilliant idea to hold a briefing to talk about their situation again.

Stellan thinks it’s necessary to make a plan.

Avar thinks it’s all pretty much stupid.

She doesn’t like to pretend that there is a chance of someone coming to save them. 

Back on Eiram, when she had watched Starlight entering the planet's atmosphere, she had felt so hopeless, seeing the station burning and breaking apart. No one could survive this. And then Elzar was there, gripping her shoulder and rambling about Stellan and the beacon and how he was going to die and Avar Kriss, despite being so hurt by everything the Councilmember did, made the very stupid decision to go after him. Knight Trennis had called after her, about how she was going to die and to be fair- Avar had agreed. 

No one could survive this .

It’s probably also what the Order was thinking. There had been many casualties during Starlight's fall, that was for sure, but on the other hand she didn’t know how long they'd already been here, so…

There had probably already been a… well not cremation, because there (obviously) were no corpses to burn, and the Order also couldn’t add their lightsabers to the arch but…

Maybe their friends had gathered to remember them. 

Force damn it, Avar didn’t know.

All she knew was that no one would send anyone to look, because the place where they are is really, really not normal and probably impossible to find. 

But sadly, Elzar and Stellan both shared the opinion that they should still try to contact someone, even though all three of their comlinks could have never survived Eiram’s Ocean. And so, Avar had to sit on the ground and wait half an hour, while the other two desperately tried to fix at least one of the small devices, before they finally gave up.

“Are you two ready to do what I proposed now?” She asks very annoyedly, after Elzar threw his commlink against the stonewall behind her. “Or do you want to continue doing whatever this is?”

Stellan just sighs and rubs his eyes again, before nodding and putting the little communicator back on his wrist. 

“I think we have tried what we could. Avar is right, Elzar.” He says then, addressing the other Jedi who is pouting and crossing his arms. “You can’t repair it. We should go.”

“Fine.” The other Jedi says, seemingly pissed and annoyed. “Fine, you’re right.”
“Great!” Avar answers, smiling and this time it’s actually not just one hundred percent a show. “Finally.”

But before she can completely get up and start to leave, Stellan clears his throat and then crosses his arms, just like Elzar. He still wears her coat, she notices, even though he seemingly tried to get at least some of the dirt off. 

“Just one last thing.” He says and his voice is serious and authoritarian, as if he is not speaking to them but rather the Council. “I need my lightsaber back.”

Oh.

Oh .

So, Elzar didn’t give it back to him yet.

She completely understands why, though.

“Why do you need it back so suddenly?” Elzar asks and his voice is just as serious as Stellans is, but there is something else there. Maybe a tiny bit of still buried anger. 

“Because we don’t know what is about to come.” The other Jedi answers, and oh, he doesn’t even understand . 

“Hm.” 

She inspects both of them, Stellans kind of confused look and Elzars cold expression. 

“Hm? What is that supposed to mean?” 

And Avar has to admit, for someone who thinks of themself as good at observing as Stellan does, hes very much being stupid and blind right now. 

“Hm means you didn’t seem to care when you gave it to me, did you?” 

For a moment, it’s still.

Then, Stellans confused expression shifts to understanding, then uneasiness and then something like stunned anger.

“Are you serious? That’s what this is about?”
“Yes. It is.”

The two other Jedi stare at each other and for a moment, Avar considers to say something too, but then on the other hand, it would probably only worsen the whole thing. No, she decides. Elzar has this under control.

“Alright.” Stellan finally says, breaking the eye contact and sighting. “Alright, I get it. It wasn’t that nice of a move.”
“ That nice of a move is a good way to says I fucked up and nearly caused you to feel like I could have been able to save you from dying .” 

“But you did.” Stellan answers, obviously uncomfortable with the whole situation. “You did save me from…dying.”

“Only because Avar decided that you are a stupid bastard and dragged me with her to go and safe you!” Elzar answers, angry now and his calm and cold expression gone. “And then our shuttle was ripped apart and she got slammed into the wall by a fucking railing!”
She very well remembers that part. Is hard to forget when half of her face still hurts like hell and with the dark bruises forming around her eye. Still, she doesn’t like that he’s dragging her into this, but Elzar doesn’t seem to notice.

“You nearly died!” He's yelling now and Stellan looks like a kicked puppy that was left in the rain, shoulders hunched. “And if we hadn’t been there to save you, I would have to live with the fact that I could have saved you but didn’t. And maybe I shouldn’t feel this way, but if any of you two dies because of me, I would not be sure that I don’t hold myself back and kill someone again and-”

He stops mid sentence, frozen and mouth open, a shocked expression on his face.

Stellan is staring at him.

Avar is, too.

Elzar looks as if he would like to disappear into the ground or to die on the spot. His hands are clenched into fists and he is gritting his teeth now, seemingly angry with himself. 

She rises from her place on the stone, brushing a bit of dust off of her tabard, before stepping closer to him, but Stellan is faster.

“Elzar.” He says, voice serious and worried. “Elzar, what-”
“It doesn’t matter.” The other Jedi answers and then something small gets thrown through the air, silver and golden and black. “There is your lightsaber. We should get going.” 

He doesn’t wait for either of them and rushes past Stellan, who has his saber clutched in his hands, and towards the hills and mountains. The tower is still there, even though the green light is not as vibrant as it was in the last night.

For a moment, Avar stands there, frozen in place. 

Then, she rushes after him, closely followed by Stellan. Elzar is nearly running at this point and suddenly she regrets not being able to sleep very much.

“Elzar.” She says as soon as she's within earshot, but he ignores her. Actually, he runs even faster and the terrain isn’t a nice one, so breathing becomes hard very quickly. 

Fuck, she should have slept. 

Stellan next to her doesn’t seem to be as exhausted as she is, and yet he seems to purposely try to keep the same speed she has.

As if it would change anything. 

Elzar has nearly disappeared out of her sight now, jumping and dashing over smaller and bigger stones, leaping from one boulder to the next and she has to-

Somehow she has to stop him, before he completely runs away.

Avar remembers one time when they were padawans, there had been a mission on a small moon somewhere in the Outer Rim, an Investigation into sklave trafficking. To be fair, she had been unconscious the whole time and when she woke up, Elzar told her that the guy who got her and who was also the leader of the trafficker had died. After that, he had run away, just like this. 

She found out later that he, in fact, did not die because Elzar killed him, but more because he didn’t save him. 

Still.

She wouldn’t let her friend run away like that this time.

“ I NEARLY KILLED DEE !” Her shout echoes in the mountains and she has to stop running, because there is by far not enough oxygen in her lunges. “ ELZAR DO YOU HEAR ME ?! I NEARLY CUT OFF HER HEAD !”

He doesn’t answer.

However, he did stop running and is looking back towards her and Stellan, who has stopped only a few feet away.

“ THINGS LIKE THAT HAPPEN, OKAY ?! ACCIDENTS HAPPEN !” Then she has to stop yelling, because she can’t breathe anymore and it’s really annoying. Avar doesn’t know for how long she stands there, bent over and coughing, but after a while, the sound of falling stones comes closer.

“It wasn’t an accident.” Elzars voice is monotone and when she looks up, she can see him trying to look everywhere except for her and Stellan. “I knew what I was doing.”

“I don’t believe that.” She answers, still panting. 

“You don’t know what happened.”

“Then tell me.” 

For a moment, she thinks he will leave again. Then Elzar sighs, gritting his teeth.

“There was a woman on Starlight. A Nihil woman. At the reactor.” She’s pretty sure that she knows where this is going, but Avar doesn’t say anything, she just watches him, carefully. “It was already after the sabotation. I thought… she told me that she wanted to fix it and I… I didn’t believe her. I killed her. If I hadn’t, everything would have turned out fine. Stellan wouldn’t have pulled his stupid self-sacrifice number, no one would have died and we wouldn’t be here.”

“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No.” It’s probably the first time in a very long time that Stellan agreed with something she said, but right now he steps next to her, voice serious but not mad in the slightest. “No, Elzar, she is right. You never know what could have been.”

“I killed her.” 

“Yes. But in that moment, you thought it was the only way to save everyone else. That is…different from wanting to kill someone because you hate them.” Elzar doesn’t look…very convinced, but he’s also a bit less tense and finally looks up to them, his dark eyes filled with regret.

And Avar wonders what she could say to make him feel better at least a bit and…

“I wanted to kill Dee because I was filled with rage and hate for her at that moment. Sure, she is a mass murderer and monster, but when she was in front of me, the only thing I could think about is how much I wanted to see her head fall to the ground and roll away. You killed someone in hopes of saving others. Or did you kill whoever that woman was out of hate?”

Elzar stares at her.

“But you didn’t kill her.” He finally says. “I did. I took a life.”
“The only reason why Lourna Dee is not dead goes by the name Keeve Trennis. She stopped me. Was there someone else in the reactor with you?”

Again, he doesn’t say or do anything for a few seconds, before finally shaking his head. She slowly makes a step towards him and when he doesn’t flinch back, she closes the distance between them and pulls him into a hug. 

“I used the darkside again.” He whispers and suddenly sounds as if he’s nearly crying. “I used it again.”

“But you didn’t fall, El.” Stellan behind her answers and then gets closer too, placing a hand on Elzars should. “You were strong enough to keep yourself from falling. Not many Jedi would have been able to do that.”

Elzar Mann doesn't answer. However, he does wrap one arm around Avar Kriss and the other around Stellan Gios, holding them closer to himself.

— — —

The Son, high in his castle, looks through the stained glass and lets his gaze travel across the mountains and hills in the distance. He can sense the three little Jedi there, all so close and all so ruined.

He already knows what he is going to do to them.

Nothing will stop the Son from leaving Mortis this time. 

He is going to make the one with the brown hair and eyes his own.

The other two, the woman and the man with the beard, he will use for that plan. 

The Son smiles to himself as he watches the Jedi hugging each other and then stepping away, before finally continuing their way towards his fortress. 

Finally, after all this time.

He has waited long enough.

— — —

They make a stop at what could be around lunchtime.

Honestly, Stellan doesn’t even know.

That’s another weird thing about this whole place: there is light, but no sun. Seriously, how can there be no sun? There was no moon at night either, at least Avar said so. But there are other planets in the galaxy that don’t have a moon, like Alderaan for example. But no sun?

It is confusing. 

Normally he would have been able to tell the time at least a bit, depending on where the sun stands, but with none there, he can only guess that it’s Lunch and offer the other two to rest for a bit. They have reached the higher mountains now, and the tower with the green-glowing orb is no longer in view. It scares him a bit, and Stellan doesn’t like the whole situation at all, but Elzar assures him that they won’t get lost.

So, he sits down with them and tries to relax a bit, eating another capsule. 

Avar next to him looks like she’s about to faint, but when he suggests that she should sleep a bit, all he gets as an answer is a death-stare. 

He understands what it means, obviously.

Their hug earlier was just for Elzar.

She doesn’t forgive him .

Fine with him. 

It’s way more comfortable anyways to just sit in silence and eat. He doesn’t want to talk to her and argue again. 

They rest for maybe half an hour, before Avar suggests that they should get moving again if they want to reach the tower before nightfall. Nothing has attacked them yet, but the air is tense, like the calm before the storm.

Stellan doesn’t like that at all either. 

So, he agrees with her and then they get moving again, Elzar at the front, Avar behind him and then Stellan as the last one. (He doesn’t admit it, but he stays there in case Avar really does faint, because you never know.)

The climbing is exhausting and after a while, he can’t even distract himself with the environment; you can stare at stones as long as you want, but they are bound to become boring in some time. The fog isn’t very interesting either. If anything at all, it’s unsettling and annoying.

So, to distract himself and maybe have something to do, he begins to think about this place and where it could be. He had never read about anything like this before. If there were records of a place or planet similar to this one, he hadn’t heard about it and never noticed it during his time as a Padawan, when he would spend days in the archives, reading through everything he could find.
Which only made things worse. 

Because either he had discovered something new (which meant no one would know where to search for them) or the Council had decided that the Information was too dangerous for Padawans and Younglings and put it away somewhere (which meant that no one would know that they are here.)

Then, there is also the problem with the how. 

How did they not die in the crash?
How did they get transported to wherever this is?

How was there nothing else alife here, except for the three of them?

And, most importantly, how would they get away?

Stellan sighs, rubbing his eyes again. So many questions and not one single answer. 

Elzar in front of him stops, turning around and grinning again. 

“See?” He says, pointing into the fog in front of them. “I told you we wouldn’t get lost.”
And really, with the next gust of wind, the grey mist clears up a bit, revealing the gigantic tower that is suddenly not so far away anymore. Without wanting it, Stellans hand travels to the saber at his belt, the metal familiar against his hand and he gulps. Suddenly, he has a really bad feeling about this.

“Guys.” He says and his voice is a bit too high, so he clears his throat before continuing. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
“Are you serious?” Avar looks at him with disbelief, seeming even more tired and exhausted than before. “We got this far. I’m not climbing down all of those mountains again.”
“I’m just saying, maybe-”
“No, we all agree that we would do this.” She interrupts him. “We decided, as a group, that this was the smartest thing we even could do. You said it yourself!”
“And now I’m saying something else!” He answers and the anger in his heart returns again, harsher than ever before. “Would you push away your stupid hate against me just for once so that we could actually-”
“My stupid hate against you? I don’t have anything against you and even if I did, none of it would be stupid-”

“Oh, please .” This time it’s him who interrupts her, scoffing. “Do you think I’m blind? I know that you’re mad at me for some reason that I can’t understand and-”
“Didn’t you just say that you’re not blind? Then how would you not know-!
“ Are you two being serious right now ?!” Both of them stop and Stellan turns his head to face Elzar, who is staring at them with complete disbelief. “We are this close to our destination and you are arguing?”

“He is the one who wants to leave again!”

“Because there is something incredible wrong here!”

Elzar opens his mouth again to say something, but before he can even bring out a word, Avar is suddenly in front of Stellan, jabbing her finger against his chest, her eyes dark again and filled with rage.

“Do you know what’s incredibly wrong, Stellan ?” She hisses, looking up to him with pure hatred. “It’s incredibly wrong to vote for your friend to get stripped of her position and title as Marshal of Starlight Beacon after months of telling her that she’s not good enough and doing things wrong.” 

Oh, so that’s what this is about too.

And deep, deep down in his mind, Stellan Gios knows that she is completely right with that. He really does. 

(But he is not thinking right and under the influence of a Sith, so do you blame him?)

“And you know what?” He answers, slapping her hand away and looking down on her with the same hatred and anger. “You completely deserve it.”

(He definitely blames himself.)

And with those words, he rushes past her and Elzar, further towards the black tower with the green light, stepping down so strong that the stone under his feet crumbles.

He doesn’t look back.

If he would have, he might have seen the extreme hurt in Avars eyes.

Maybe he would have turned around to apologise, before everything is too late.

But he doesn’t.

Instead, he grits his teeth and ignores the itching in his chest as he strides towards the fortress, not bothering to check if the other two follow him.

In the next second, he loses consciousness.

At least it feels like he does.

It’s…weird, actually, and he tries to turn around to tell the other two Jedi that something really is wrong this time but his body suddenly doesn’t listen anymore. 

And just like that, someone else has taken control over him and the only thing Stellan Gios can do is watch with terror.

— — —

Elzar tries to put a hand on her shoulder, maybe to give her some comfort, but Avar dodges it, hands clenched into fists and teeth gritted. 

She doesn’t want his pity.

She doesn’t want the aching in her heart.

And she most certainly doesn’t want the tears that are forming in her eyes, burning hot and causing her vision to go blurry.

She wants to punch Stellan Gios. That would help her, maybe. Against the thoughts in her head, her mind repeating his words over and over again, you deserve it, deserve it, deserve -

“Ave? Are you alright?” She turns to face Elzar, but refuses to look him into the eyes, forcing a smile on her face. 

“I’m fine. Sorry for that. We shouldn’t be arguing.”
“No, it’s alright. Listen…Stellan-... he doesn’t mean it.” She scoffs, followed by a cold and dry laughter and again, tears try to force their way out of her eyes.

“He does.” She hisses and the aching in her heart becomes even worse. “You know how Stellan is. He might be a bastard, but he never lied about things like this.” 

Elzar frowns, but doesn’t answer anything and it just shows her that he’s thinking the same. She exhales deeply, trying to calm herself, and then turns away from him.

“We should get going.” Avar says, voice shaking and hands clenched into fists. “Wouldn’t want Stellan to die after we landed into this shithole just to save him, do we?” 

Before Elzar can answer anything, she already rushes away from him, following Stellan. For a moment she considers kicking him in the knee from behind or throwing him off the mountain, but she doubts that Elzar will let her do that. 

So, instead, Avar slows down a bit and lets him go past her, so that he can build some kind of wall between her and Stellan.

It’s better to at least have something there to take away her view on him.

They don’t talk at all, after. 

She feels a bit sorry for Elzar, because not even hours ago they had all hugged and he really seemed happy about that. He had smiled, afterwards, making a joke and laughing, even though he still seemed troubled about the Nihil woman.

“I feel better, now that you two know.” He had admitted, placing one hand on Avars shoulder and the other one on Stellans. “Thank you for being here for me. I’m glad that you two made peace too.”
Well, that clearly did not go well. 

She sighs, while they reach a smaller part of the way and have to walk closely by the wall, small stones crumbling away and falling into the foggy abyss under them. It’s a dangerous path, that is for sure. She should focus on it and not think about things like Stellan Gios and his very idiotc, hurting behaviour. 

On the other hand, she should do many things different in her life.

Sleep, for example. 

Get control over her emotions again.

Stop dreaming about pushing others off of mountains.

To be fair, she would never actually do something like that. Probably.

“We’re close.” Stellan at the front of the group says, his voice monotone and emotionless. There is something…weird about it and for a moment she ponders about maybe asking him if everything is alright. 

You completely deserve it, you completely deserve it, you- Yeah, no, there is no way she’s going to talk to him now. Besides, Elzar doesn’t seem as if he noticed something, so it’s probably fine. 

Everything is fine.

“Can you see how far away the tower is?” Elzar asks and Avar has to flinch back a bit to not run into him, because he apparently stopped. “I think it’s slowly getting dark again and maybe we should rest for tonight-”
“ No !” For a short moment, Stellans voice almost sounds inhuman, like a hissing snake or demon, before he proceeds normally. “No, we have to get there now. It’s not safe otherwise.”
“Alright, alright!” Elzar answers, obviously just as confused as Avar herself is. “Force, why are you suddenly so aggressive?”

“I am not.” 

“Well, that sounded like something else right now though.”
“No idea what you mean.” 

The bantering between the other two continues while they start climbing again, but the feeling that something is awfully wrong just won’t leave Avar alone. Something about the way Stellan and Elzar interact with each other suddenly feels...strange and off.  A cold shiver runs down her spine and she stops for a second, frozen on her spot and turns around. 

There is nothing there.

She could have sworn that someone tapped her on the shoulder. 

Stupid weird planet with stupid weird fog and stupid weird glowing towers.

As soon as she gets away from this place, she’s going to request a vacation. 

Starlight Beacon is gone now anyways. And even if it weren’t, it’s not hers anymore. You completely deserve it, you- 

Alright, that is really getting annoying.

It’s not as if she would care what Stellan Gios thinks of her anyways. 

She’s perfectly fine on her own.

Yep.

But something inside her is screaming at herself, trashing the furnishing of an imaginary room, screaming and crying and wondering, just why he thinks so less of her, why she isn’t good enough and why they took Starlight from her. 

Avar decides to push it all away. Ignoring it is the perfect way of coping.

But now that she thinks about it, she’s suddenly not so sure that the Council will grant her some time off. Instead, she will probably get a trial for abandoning her station. Then, she will lose her title as Jedi Master and be exiled from the temple. 

Well, at least she would manage to do something no one else did in the last… maybe seven hundred years?

That has to be worth something.

Avar gets thrown out of her -admittedly very negative- thoughts by running into Elzar, who has stopped in front of her. 

“Sorry.” She mumbles, stepping back and grinning a bit dumbfounded. “Was lost in thoughts.”
“It’s alright.” He answers, smiling softly. “Look, we’re here.”

And really, right in front of them is the massive black tower. It’s still a bit away, obviously, but there are no more mountains between them. 

The tower itself stands on a giant pedestal, formed like a circle. Red light glows through a few holes in the dark wall and on top of it are a few smaller towers, who also have a green glowing orb above them. 

Then, of course, there is the main thing, so gigantic that she has to lay her head back to just be able to see the top, glowing bright green and throwing its light everywhere. The whole tower looks a bit like some kind of cepter and she can’t even make out one window.

All in all, it doesn’t look very inviting.

“Seems like fun, let’s go!” Avar Kriss says, with a lot of false confidence and silently hoping that this won’t end in a disaster. 

It takes them longer than she expected to even get to the edge of the whole fortress. By the time they reach the bottom of the pedestal, Avar as well as Elzar is panting and coughing, trying to somehow stay alive.

“Do you two really have no stamina?” Stellan asks them, seemingly not even bothered in the slightest, which is confusing given the fact that he was always the one who had the least stamina.

“I’m going to actually punch you.” She answers and gets up from her spot at the wall, but Elzar reacts very fast and pushes her back down again immediately. 

“Alright, we’re here.” He says, trying to ignore the silent eye-contact-fight between the other two Jedi. “Okay. Uhm…I think we will have to climb.”
Avar responds with groaning and burying her head in her hands. She regrets more and more that she wasn't able to sleep very much last night. 

“Do we have to?” She asks and it sounds way whinier than she wanted it to. “We don’t even have the Force. It’s gonna be way harder.”

“Come on, Ave.” Elzar answers, smiling, but she can see through that very easily. “It’s going to be fun.”
“How is that fun?” But she gets up anyway, because Stellan is looking at her with pure annoyance and boredom.

“You could stay here.” He suggests and that is the moment she decides to show him that she’s way better than he is.

“Yeah, as if. Race you to the top.” It might have been not the smartest of all decisions, because unlike her, he seems to be not affected by exhaustion or anything like that.
Normally, it would make her suspicious.

Normally, she would be confused, because Stellan Gios always hated races in places where they didn’t know what was waiting for them.

Normally, he would not immediately jump right into the danger but maybe scout the area first.

Normally, she would ask Elzar to race her somewhere, not him.

But until now, nothing has been normal.

So, Avar Kriss doesn’t stay and wonder why Stellan Gios is grinning and she also doesn’t wait to see what Elzar Mann says. Instead, she dashes towards the dark wall of the fortress, pushing herself off of the ground and then grabbing the dark stone, before pulling herself up, again and again.

Disntanly, she notices Stellan climbing right next to her and Elzar somewhere under them. 

She also notices how freezing cold the stone is and how, the higher they get, the coldness settles more and more into her, grabbing her heart.

She doesn’t notice how Stellans hands stay completely unaffected by the rough stone, while hers are getting all scratched and bruised.

Avar Kriss climbs and climbs, until she finally pulls herself over the edge off the whole wall, dropping to the floor and panting heavily, but grinning as Stellan arrives a few seconds after her.

She won.

Maybe she finally showed him that she is capable of doing things right, that she is good enough. 

But Stellan Gios just looks at her without any emotions at all, before turning away and helping Elzar Mann over the edge of the wall. 

She wants to cry again.

Instead, Avar Kriss gets up to her feet, wiping a bit of sweat off of her brow and wincing when she accidentally touches the cut and bruises there.

Then, resting one hand on the hilt of her lightsaber, she follows after the two men she had once been best friends with, onto the dark courtyard, past the strange looking lanterns and towards the giant staircase with an even bigger door on the end.

She suddenly gets the feeling that something will go really, really wrong.

— — —

The tension between Avar and Stellan is still there as they walk across the black stone floor, but Elzar decides to ignore it. 

They will speak to whoever lives in that tower.

Hopefully they will help them to get away from here.

And then, he will lock the other two into a room and force them to talk.

Or something like that.

Sighing, Elzar decides to push away those thoughts and instead focus on the here and now. The place around them doesn’t really look as if someone is living here, but on the other side, lights are on. So, whoever this belongs to must be home. It is also probably a really wealthy person, given the fact that the entire floor seems to be made out of black marble. 

Also, this is a fucking castle.

There is no way the person living here isn’t wealthy.

Let’s just hope they are generous and ready to help too . He thinks as they reach the stairs and start climbing them, step after step, seemingly infinite. 

When the three of them finally reach the top and stop in front of the door, Elzar is panting again and Avar too seems incredibly exhausted. Stellan however just looks at them with confusion, as if he doesn’t understand the two of them being out of breath. 

“Oh, come on, Stell.” He gasps, throwing the other Jedi an annoyed gaze. “At least act as if you're tired.”

“It’s not my fault that humans like you are such fragile beings.”

…

Okay, so, what the actual fuck?

“Stell-”
“We should get going.” And then he turns around stepping closer to the door, which opens just like that. There is no one there who could have done it and the whole building seems way too old to have automatic doors and suddenly, Elzar Mann is very sure that something is terribly wrong here.

“You know what?” He says, taking a step back, so that he is next to Avar. “I changed my mind. We should leave.”

“Yeah.” She agrees with him and for a moment, his gaze flickers to her hand on the hilt of her lightsaber. “We should.”
“Why though?” Stellan asks and now his voice doesn’t even sound like his own anymore. A shiver runs down Elzars spine, ice cold and panic grabs his heart, squeezing tightly. 

He gulps.

“Stellan. We are leaving.”

“We can’t leave now.” The other Jedi answers, smiling. “I am so close to getting what I want.”

“Yeah something is definitely not right here.” Avar next to him mumbles and then something in the way she stands changes, as if she’s ready to fight. 

“I agree.” 

“One three, we grab him and then we run, okay?” She whispers and again, Elzar agrees and nods, getting ready to grab Stellan and then rush the hell out of here.

But before he can react, something flashes past him, something golden and white and-

Avar Kriss lets out a surprised yelp as Stellan Gios slams his fist into her stomach and then kicks her against the back of her knee, causing her to stumble and finally crash to the black ground, wheezing. Before Elzar can react, a hand grabs his tabard and then he is thrown around, tripping over Avar and through the doorway, before he gets pushed against one half of the door and falls to the floor. 

He blinks hecticly, trying to get the dark spots in front of his eyes to go away. Then, someone -it’s Stellan, how he notices only a second later- grabs him again and pulls him through, until Elzar is completely inside of the building. 

He rolls around from his back to his side and it’s fast enough to be perfectly able to watch Stellan grab Avars neck and hair and pull her up too. She tries to fight him, tears in her eyes, but he just slams her face onto the black marble a few times, until she stops resisting him. 

Then, still smiling, Stellan drags her over the stone, before dropping her next to Elzar. 

“Well.” He says, but it’s not his voice, not really. “That wasn’t that hard, was it?”

Elzar doesn’t answer. Instead, he slowly gets up, watching the other man carefully, before gently pushing some golden strands of hair out of Avar's face to inspect the damage Stellan caused. 

“If you need me,” the other Jedi says, still cheerful and smiling. “I’ll be waiting down that corridor in my throne room. Take as much time as you need.”

Then, he turns around and starts to walk away, in the same second as the doors fall shut with a loud bang . Before he completely disappears into the darkness of the passageway however, he turns around one last time. 

“But don’t take too long.” Stellan says and now it’s definitely not his voice. “I despise waiting even more than I despise you Jedi.”

And then, just like that, he’s gone.

Avar wakes up a few minutes later, after Elzar spends the last of his bacta-bandaids on the wound at the side of her head. 

“I’m going to kill him.” She grumbles as soon as she wakes up and he helps her to sit, hands resting on her shoulders.

“Normally, I would let you. But that wasn’t Stellan.”

She hesitates, as if she would seriously consider that their friend would beat them up and then leave both of them on the floor, but finally, Avar nods.

“Yeah. That wasn’t Stellan.”

Then she doesn’t say anything anymore, staring blankly at the dark marble floor. He waits, for another few minutes, before sighing. 

“We should get going.”
“Hm.”

Again, a minute or two passes, until he taps her shoulder and smiles when she turns to face him. 

“How about I let you beat up whoever did that to him, hm?” She chuckles and then nods, finally, before taking his extended hand and letting him help her to stand up. 

“Alright.” She says and wipes the blood away that has begun to trickle down the side of her head again. “Alright, I think I can do that.”

“Great. I’m going to cheer for you.” He answers and then takes the hilt of his lightsaber off of his belt, holding it ready to ignite and fight any second. “And after you do that, we will get Stellan back and then we leave this stupid place. First round of drinks is on me.”

She smiles and, just like him, grabs her lightsaber. 

“I’m still going to punch him though.” 

“Fine with me.” He answers, grinning, even though the situation isn’t funny at all. “As long as you leave a bit for me to punch too.”

Her gaze wanders over him a few times, sceptic, before she rolls her eyes and nods.

“Alright, I can leave a bit for you. As long as we survive whatever this is.”

And, in an instant, the mood is down again and Elzar sighs, rubbing his eyes and brushing a few messy strands of hair back behind his ear. Avar clears her throat and looks away, brows slightly furrowed.

“I’m sorry.” He sighs and then steps next to her, gently nudging her with his shoulder.

“It’s okay.” Elzar answers and tries to smile. “We’re going to get out of here. With Stellan. And everything will be alright.”

She hesitates for a moment, before finally nodding and mirroring his smile.

“Alright. I trust you.”

And then, together, they turn around to walk through the dark passageway, past sealed and locked doors and weird statues, murals and relics older than time itself, until they stop in front of a big, ornamented door.

“Ready?” Elzar Mann asks, his voice slightly shaking.

“Ready when you are.” Avar Kriss answers, hands clenched around the hilt of her lightsaber.

It’s their last conversation before one of them dies.

— — —

(Stellan Gios watches himself slam Avar Kriss’ face into the stone a few times and he wants to throw up.
But he can’t.

He’s not in control of his body.

Oh Force, she’s going to be mad at him.

He tries to say something, to tell them what’s going on, but, again, he can’t.

All Stellan can do is watch whoever is controlling his body drag Avar into the fortress and let her fall to the ground next to Elzar.

“Well.” The person controlling him says. “That wasn’t that hard, was it?”

Elzar on the floor doesn’t answer. Instead, he gets up and watches Stellan for a moment, before slowly turning Avar over and brushing her hair out of her face to inspect the bloodied wound on the side of her head.

“If you need me.” He hears himself saying. “I’ll be waiting down that corridor in my throne room. Take as much time as you need.”

Then, his body is turned around and he begins to walk away, even though Stellan tries to fight it and stop himself. In the same moment, the giant doors fall shut with a loud bang and his body stops, before turning around one last time.

“But don’t take too long.” A voice, that is one hundred percent not his own, says. “I despise waiting even more than I despise you Jedi.”

And then he goes, leaving his friends behind and striding through the darkness, past doors and things on socles, until he reaches another big door, ornamented with swirls and visualisations of giant bats and gryphons, together with what seems to be a dagger or sceptre. 

Then the doors open and again, his body moves on its own, walking through the big room towards a dark throne. 

And there, with glowing red eyes, sits the one who is the reason behind all of this.

“Hello.” The Son says. “You should thank me for saving your life on that falling Space Station. Even though I’m going to kill you soon.”

And Stellan Gios wants to cry. 

Instead, his body moves towards the throne, climbing up the stairs and stepping next to the man in dark armour, before turning around to face the door.)

— — —

The first thing she notices when the doors open in front of her is the beautiful stained glass at the backside of the room.

The second thing is Stellan, who is standing next to a throne, hands behind his back and dark blue eyes on her.

The third thing is the monster in black armour with the red glowing eyes.

He looks at them as they get closer, in a way that a predator looks at his prey and suddenly, she’s not that sure that she will be able to beat this guy up. 

The man, whoever he may be, waits until she and Elzar reach the lower end of the stairs that lead up to his throne. Then, he leans forward a bit, moving one of his hands away from his face, revealing tattoos which travel down from his eyes to his chin and over his bald head to his neck.

“ Kneel .” He says, his voice cold and full with hate and rage. It’s the same voice Stellan spoke with only a few minutes ago and a shiver runs down her spine.

Aver knows that this man is dangerous.

She doesn’t kneel though.

“Whoever you are, let my friend go and then, maybe, I won't beat the shit out of you.” Her voice is trembling and it causes her to seem less like a worthy opponent and more like a scared child, but she doesn’t care.

The monster on the throne laughs.

“Funny.” He says and tilts his head to the side. “Given the fact that I am a god and could throw you across the room…just like this.”

And then he snips with two of his fingers.

It’s a loud and sharp noise and before she can blink, something slams right into her side and hurls her through the hall, until she crashes against one of the dark stone pillars that stand everywhere. She lets out a choked gasp as her body hits the ground. 

She was able to feel her ribs break and pain swirls inside of her, burning hot and cold at the same time. 

It reminds her of a mission she went on with her Master, only months after becoming his padawan. They had hunted down a guy who was supposingly a minor drug-dealer, but in reality he turned out to actually be the leader of a whole gang that not only smuggled drugs, but also many different kinds of poison and toxins. When she had finally cornered him, proud because he was the first bad guy she would help put behind bars, he had just laughed and then emptied a whole crate full with different toxic chemicals above her head. 

It had felt exactly like this; burning hot pain fighting with a stinging coldness within her chest. 

By the time Master Maota found her, she was already coughing up blood. 

She remembers feeling so helpless and vulnerable like never before. 

She also remembers swearing to herself to never be like that again.

So, gasping and wheezing, Avar Kriss struggles back to her feet, one hand pressed on her side and the other still clenched around the hilt of her lightsaber. She stumbles back, towards the throne, the monster and Elzar, who looks at her with a mix of fear and relief.

It seems as if she had interrupted some kind of conversation, but at this point, she doesn’t really care.

“Well, that was a hard punch for sure. Caught me a bit of guard.” She laughs, even though it hurts a lot and then a hand closes around her wrist, pulling her back.

“Avar.” Elzar says, voice serious and tense. “Stop.”

She freezes and looks at him, gaze travelling over his dirty robes and worried expression and then she nods.

“Alright.” 

“As I was saying.” The monster with the red eyes says, still on his throne. “I am a god. You mere mortals could never harm me.” 

She really wants to say something, but Elzars grip on her wrist tightens. It’s a confusing situation, actually, because normally she would be the one to hold him back.

Then, on the other hand, if they had learned one thing from this whole place, it was that nothing here is normal.

“I never heard of you.” Elzar says and she immediately knows that he’s trying to buy time. “If you are so great, then how come nobody knows you exist.”
“Oh, I blame my father for that.” The monster answers and his voice is suddenly filled with rage and anger. “Stupid, ignorant bastard. He thinks I’m too powerful. He thinks that I’ve fallen to the darkness. He’s right, obviously, but he doesn’t realise how great it feels, how amazing and thrilling. I even offered him that we could rule the galaxy together, but no. He just put up a stupid barrier to keep me here.”

“Sounds like he’s a jerk.”
“Oh, he is, human, he is.”
“Great, now that we have settled that.” Elzar answers and smiles. “How about you give us back our friend and then we leave and never come back?”

The monster doesn’t answer. Instead, he laughs, a disgusting and cold sound, until he rises from his throne. 

“You are funny, mortal.” He says, slowly stepping down the stairs and coming closer, his cape fluttering in an invisible breeze.

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” Elzar says and the grip around her wrist tightens as he pulls her back a bit, away from the god-monster-man, who tilts his head again.

“This human.” He says, pointing at Avar who suddenly feels very, very cold. “She’s dear to you, isn’t she? Just like he is.”
Then he points to Stellan, who is still motionless next to the throne, eyes closed.

Elzar gulps.

“Well, we’re all friends.” He finally says and for a moment, Avars thoughts fly to memory’s that are buried deep in her mind, of hands or lips pressed against her mouth, suppressing the noises she makes, of flushed cheeks, panting and things that friends definitely didn‘t normally do. “Can we go now?”

“I am not done with you.” The monster answers, his disgusting voice pulling her out of her thoughts, and she watches him reaching the bottom of the floor, only a few metres away from her and Elzar. “I can’t just let you go, hm?”
“Then what do you want?” The Jedi next to her asks. “We can help you and then you can let us go.”
“Me? Oh, I want something very very simple.” 

Suddenly, there is a grip around her other wrist and then the invisible force rips her away from Elzar, who lets out a surprised yelp. Avar stumbles, trying to catch her balance, but ends up tripping and falling to the floor again, the hilt of her lightsaber clattering onto the stone and then rolling away. 

She tries to catch her breath and to get up to her feet. 

A second later, a hand closes around her throat, raising her from the floor until there is no solid ground beneath her feet anymore and she gasps, lifting her own hands to try and loosen the one around her neck. 

The son's grip only tightens and for a split second, his eyes look directly into hers, before he spins her around, hand still around her throat, to face Elzar, who's looking at her with a mix of pain and fear.

And Avar Kriss knows, in that exact moment, that she is not going to live.

— — —

Panic squeezes his heart as the son rips Avar away from him and Elzar tries to go after her, to maybe grab her wrist again, but suddenly his feet seem to me glued to the floor.

Avar is struggling to get to her feet again, not far from him, but before she can get up the son is next to her, grabbing her by the throat with one hand and lifting her into the air. Again, Elzar tries to move, to run towards them and throw the monster away from her, but still his feet won’t move.

And so he's forced to watch the Son inspecting her with red glowing eyes, while Avar struggles and fights against his grip, even though the monster seems unbothered. 

Then, after what seems to be hours but in reality are only seconds, the Son scoffs and spins Avar around, her hands still closed on the one on her throat. 

She looks at him and for a moment, they lock eyes. 

Elzar can see his own fear reflect in hers.

This isn’t how things were supposed to go.

“It’s all going to be alright, remember?” He says, even though he doesn’t even believe himself. “Trust me.”

And she nods, but he knows that she doesn‘t believe him. 

For a moment, his gaze travels to Stellan and he silently begs him to just wake up, to help against whatever this monster is.

The Son laughs.

„He won‘t help you, Jedi.“ He says, grinning and eyes flickering. „No one will. Not until I don’t get what I want.“

He freezes, even though his feet are already glued to the ground. 

It’s a stupid thing to even think of, but on the other side, he couldn’t lose either of his friends, even if they were currently in their „fighting and hating each other“ phase. He would also do this if it was any other Jedi.

„Elzar, don’t-“ Before Avar can finish her sentence, the son tightens his grip around her throat and she wheezes again, struggling in his grip and obviously trying hard to fight herself free. 

But it‘s useless.

The Sons grip around her neck is too tight, too strong for her to defeat. He is a god, after all, as much as Elzar hates the fact. 

And no mortal can defeat a god.

Avar however doesn’t seem to understand that, or maybe she just decides that she won’t try to help him somehow.

„Don‘t you dare do what he asks.“ She gasps, bright blue eyes focused on him.“Don‘t… you fucking…dare.“

„My, my, maybe I should cut out your tongue, Jedi.“ The Son says, grinning and tilting his head. „You keep interrupting my conversations.“

„Just ignore her.“ Elzar says, maybe a bit too hectic because the Sons eyes sparkle with sudden interest and curiosity.

„I was joking, but now I might actually do it.“ The monster says and Avar flinches, which only results in the god smiling even more. „That would be fun, don‘t you agree little Jedi?“

And Elzar Mann knows that he has to act fast, because he could never watch Avar Kriss getting tortured, under no circumstances and the same goes for Stellan Gios too. He would lose his mind if somebody would force him to watch the people he loves suffer. 

And in the end, he would fall into the darkness again.

„What is it that you want?“ He asks, ignoring Avar's silent pleas to stop and focusing his gaze on the son's glowing red eyes. „Maybe I could help you with it.“

„Oh, not just maybe.“ The Son answers and tilts his head again. „I know for sure that you can. It’s so simple and yet you are the only one who can give it to me.“

„If I do it, you have to let Stellan and Avar go.“

The Son freezes, for a split second, and Elzar thinks he might be actually considering it. But then the monster throws his head back and starts to laugh, booming loud and so full of darkness that he wants to throw up. 

He laughs for quite a while and all Elzar can do is stare.

He doesn’t know what’s going on. 

He doesn’t know what to do.

Finally, after minutes, the Son stops laughing and the burning of his red eyes shifts back to Elzar, staring holes into his soul.

„You don’t seem to understand yet, little Jedi.“ He says, and his voice is cold and dangerous again. „I want you .“

He stares.

Then he blinks.

Then Elzar Mann continues to stare.

In complete disbelief and a bit surprised.

„You want…me?“ He finally manages to gasp. „Why would you-“

„That’s easy though, isn’t it. Your friend here has already figured it out.“ The Son replies and for a second, Elzars gaze travels to Avar, who is staring at him with terror in her eyes. „She is smarter than you are, I see. Oh, well.“

„I…you said yourself that mortals can’t defeat a god so why would you want…me?“

„Oh, that‘s even easier. Didn’t you listen earlier? I can’t leave this place. However…“ And the Son tilts his head again, grinning and red eyes flashing. „If I make you fall, I’ll be able to transfer my soul into your body. And then I will be able to rule the galaxy. Nothing will stop me.“

It’s obvious, now that he knows the plan.

Elzar Mann also knows that he can never let that happen.

Avar does too, given the way she looks at him, eyes filled with a warning.

And he’s pretty sure that Stellan would say the same, if he wasn’t being mind controlled right now.

„I won’t.“ Elzar says and his voice trembles, but he gulps and then straightens himself, trying to look brave and not as scared as he feels.

„What?“ The Son answers, obviously a bit confused.

„I won’t just fall like that.“ His voice trembles even more, but he just pretends that it doesn’t and tries to stare the god down instead. „I won’t, you hear me?“

The Son doesn’t answer anything.

For a Moment, Elzar thinks that he might have won.

And then the Monster begins to grin, disgusting and inhuman.

„Good.“ He snarls, laughing and smiling. „I didn’t expect you to. And it’s way more fun to do it the other way.“

He doesn’t understand what that’s supposed to mean, why the son would say that and what he means with those words. 

Dumbfounded, Elzar Mann stares at the Monster, his gaze focused on the red glowing eyes and the tattoos that cover the face of the god. 

And then, something else catches his eyes, flickering sparks and skin transforming into something different, something sharper, all within the span of a second-

Avar Kriss lets out a surprised and choked whimper as black claws dig into her, ripping the skin on her throat and face open, clawing their way past bones and through flesh as if it’s nothing but paper.
Crimson blood immediately begins to spurt out of the wounds, soaking her tunics and darkening them, dripping over her face and her hands which she desperately tries to press against her cut-open throat, in an attempt to maybe keep the blood from leaving her body as fast as it does. They immediately slip away, already so soaked that she’s not able to really properly press them onto the wound.

All Elzar Mann can do is stare.

His whole body is frozen now and so he’s forced to watch how Avar's struggling grows sloppy and slow, how her hands slip away from the deep gashes on her throat and face again and again, how the light in her eyes begins to get dimmer and fade. Her breathing becomes rough and short and she coughs more and more, blood splattering her lips. 

Strands of her golden hair are already deep red, as well as the top and the sleeves of her tunics and beads of blood drip down the armour on her arms, staining the silver and gold crimson. 

And still, the only thing Elzar does is watch.

Avar has nearly completely stopped trashing now and is almost lifeless when she raises her head one last time to meet his eyes. She’s trembling, he can see that, sweat and blood dripping over her face the same and strands of her hair stick to her clam brow. Her eyes are nearly completely dark when she looks at him and yet they are filled with so many emotions, fear and hate and love and a sob wrecks its way through his body, shaking Elzar Mann and then tears begin to fall down his face until he cries like he never cried before.

Avar Kriss makes a strange noise, a choked sound, more blood splattering her lips and deepening the crimson that is already dripping down her entire face and throat. 

Then, the Son lets go of her body.

Elzar had heard before that some people experience things in slow motion sometimes. He had never wanted it to be something like this.

But since when did Fate care what he wants?

So, Elzar Mann watches awfully slow how Avar Kriss‘ body drops to the floor, lifeless, golden hair fluttering and crimson droplets of blood swirling around her. He watches how she hits the black marble, one hand dropping to her side and the other still around her throat. 

Then, the invisible force that had been holding him down spins him around, away from her and the Son is suddenly standing in front of him, head tilted and eyes sparkling. 

Elzar Mann would very much like to attack that monster here and now, to ignite his saber and plunge it right through the Sons chest, to give in to his anger and hate, and to fall into the darkness to end this man's life.

But he doesn’t.

He promised.

„Hm.“ The Son says, head still tilted. „Interesting.“

„I won’t fall.“ Elzar repeats, more to himself than to the monster in front of him, even though his voice trembles and there are still tears dripping down his face. „I won’t fall.“

„You are certainly stronger than I…anticipated.“ The Son answers and then raises his blood covered gehandelt, that is back to normal by now, to wipe the blood off on Elzars tunics. „I guess I will have to make you kill someone.“

And before he can react, something -no, someone- slams into his back and throws Elzar across the room, past the Son and the Throne and the stained glass breaks and shatters as he hurls through it. 

For a moment, he feels weightless.

Then, the ground comes closer and Elzar curls up into a ball before slamming into the black marble and rolling further, until he’s able to jump to his feet, spinning around, hand already on his saber ready to fight and-

The swirl of blue light and sound of a familiar sword reaches him.

But it's not his own.

Not far away from Elzar himself stands Stellan Gios, eyes open but distant, lightsaber clenched in his hand. 

— — —

(Stellan Gios doesn’t know what’s happening. 

His eyes are closed.

And he can only hear the things he himself says. 

So he stands next to the throne, because he didn’t feel himself move, and waits for something to happen.

He waits quite a while.

Then, finally, he feels himself move again. 

In the next second, his body slams against another one and then there is glass shattering around him. Stellan opens his eyes -or more like the Son does and Stellan just happens to notice it- and has maybe a second to take in the colored glass around him, before he’s dropping to the floor, hitting it and rolling further, jumping to his feet again, the blade of his lightsaber hissing as he ignited it and-

Oh.

Oh, no.

No, this can‘t-

There, across from him, stands Elzar Mann, tears dripping down his face, looking completely broken and devastated.)

— — —

It’s weird, you know?
Dying.

Certainly not how she expected it to be.

The last time Avar was in a situation similar to this one, a plant tried to rip her life out of her, tendrils ripping the skin on her neck and wrists open. 

She had been able to at least try to fight back.

It’s different now.

There is nothing she can do to stop the blood from dripping out of the wounds on her throat and forming a dark pool of crimson around her numb body.

Avar Kriss just lies on the black marble and is perfectly able to feel herself die.

What a sad loser she is.

At least it hurts less than the Drengir did. 

She can’t even feel her body anymore.

It’s all just…numb.

…She wants to sleep.

She can’t though.

She has to stay…awake. Yes. 

It’s important, some..how?

Why ? 

W...hy?

For a split second, her mind wanders to laughing people, two men in brown robes, smiling and bantering and stars above her head, the waves of an ocean crashing against the shore not far away and a song playing in the distance.

She…doesn’t re…remem…ber?

Oh.

But-

Coldness creeps up her legs and through her fingers into her arms, slowly coming closer and closer to her heart, not stoppable.

Oh .

She…

What was her name again?

She doesn’t remember, remember, remember, remember, you completely deserve it and so much hurt hurt hurt hurt hurthurthurthurthurthurt-

A tear falls down her face. The woman that doesn’t know anything anymore trembles one last time, maybe in a sad attempt to get up and fight again. It’s useless. Her body becomes lifeless and limp a second later.

She doesn’t even get a last breath, because her throat is ripped apart and her mouth is filled with blood. 

Blue eyes, once bright and full of joy, now dark and empty, look far away into the distance, unseeing and blank.

Avar Kriss dies a very tragic death.

She really does.

— — —

(Somewhere on the planet Mortis, the Sister wakes from her sleep, gasping and with tears in her eyes, pressing one hand to her chest.

If she had at heart, it would be aching right now.

She gets up, hair perfect as always, glowing in a soft green. 

Her white dress flutters behind her in the wind as she steps out of her chamber, rushing through the passageways of her fathers castle and carefully opening the giant door.

For a moment, she stops. 

Looks back.

Her father is still sleeping there.

In the next second, golden-white feathers glow in the night, green eyes flashing and white dress swirling, before she rises into the air like an angel .

Her brothers cathedrale isn’t far. 

And he will pay for hurting her children.)

— — —

Fighting Stellan is a brutal thing.

It’s also dangerous.

And heartbreaking.

Elzar doesn’t fucking want to do this.

He wants to beat the shit out of the Son, to get Stellan back and Avar to be fine and-

The blue blade of his mind-controlled friend hisses past his face only by inches and he has to jump back, landing on a bench and then leaping towards a smaller platform. 

Of course, the other Jedi, who isn’t very Jedi like right now, doesn’t let him rest but immediately comes after him, slicing through the air and again barely missing. 

“Stellan.” Elzar tries to say, but in the next second he has to dodge a punch and then a kick that was directed towards his knees. He tumbles and nearly trips over a small railing, before jumping down onto the black marble floor again. 

For a moment, he manages to look up and sees the Son floating there, red cape fluttering in the wind, glowing eyes focused on the fight under him. He’s smiling, that disgusting bastard, grinning in a way that his sharp teeth flash in the darkness around them.

Stellans lightsaber nearly hits him in the face and Elzar has to shift his focus back from the Monster and to his friend again. The attacks are coming faster now, left and right, then left again, from above and then from the side. It’s  not a form he recognizes from the temple. Which he should have expected.

This is a sith god who hasn’t left his prison in a very long time.

He’s probably not up to date.

It does make fighting a lot harder, because he can’t see through the forms, can’t discover the weaknesses and use blind spots. 

And, even though he wanted so desperately to not have to do this; the blue blade comes hissing towards his face again, too fast to dodge this time. And so, Elzar Mann ignites his own saber and the weapons flicker when they slam into each other, blue light flaring and the humming of the swords loud.

“Stellan.” He tires again, in the short moment when their blades are locked. “Stellan, please. You have to wake up.”

The other Jedi responds by slamming his fist into Elzars stomach and he wheezes, before grabbing Stellans hand and throwing him around as strong as he can. They stumble over the marble a bit, before he manages to trip his friend and in the next second, they go down together. 

Immediately, there is a fist rushing towards his face, but Elzar manages to dodge it and Stellan punches the ground instead. There is a disgusting noise of bones breaking and the other Jedi freezes for a short moment, whimpering and looking at his ruined hand. 

Then, something in his eyes changes again and he continues to attack, slamming his bleeding hand into Elzars stomach and shoulders and basically every part of him that he can hit somehow. 

But he’s injured.

The Son may have a god's power and body, but Stellan Gios definitely doesn’t.

Plus, Elzar Mann now knows that there is still good in his friend, that he can still hope, that maybe, everything will be alright and-

The fist flies towards his face again, but this time he's prepared. He waits until the last possible moment before throwing his body to the side, shifting the weight between them and ruining Stellans balance, before finally kicking himself free. 

He jumps to his feet and leaps away as fast as he can, saber already ignited.

Standing next to a dark tree, panting and wheezing, he waits for his friend to attack again. Maybe, just maybe, if he spends enough time distracting the Son and fighting Stellan, the other Jedi will…somehow defeat the mind-controlling.

Then, Elzars mind travels to black claws and crimson blood, Avar Kriss’ lifeless body and he knows that he still has to do something.
Anything.

He's so lost in thoughts that he almost misses the next attack before it’s already too late, just barely managing to bring his own blade between his shoulder and Stellans saber. 

Again, they lock swords for a second, before pushing each other away, jumping over black stone and railings before blades crash against each other again, in a deadly and dangerous dance. 

It’s different from fighting in a sparring match. And he had participated in many of those, mainly against Stellan and Avar, because all three of them fought in unique and different ways, so that training together never got boring. And yes, sometimes their matches had…escalated, especially during their younger years -he sounded so old thinking that, Elzar Mann wasn’t even thirty yet- when they got carried away a bit too much. Sometimes one of them ended up with a bleeding nose or a few bruises. The worst thing had been a broken pinkie and it had been more of an accident than a part of the real fight.

Fact was, Elzar Mann had fought with Stellan Gios plenty of times, for fun, for training, and sometimes to just let off steam.

But never once in the twenty-nine years of their friendship had it been like this .

Maybe because normally, they wouldn’t fight to the death.

“This is not who you are, Stell!” He yells after they crashed against each other again and both leaped away, panting and sweating as if they were on a desert planet. “Come on, snap out of it.”
“Your efforts are meaningless.” Stellan Gios answers, but again, it’s less his own voice and more the one of the Son. “And stop calling me Stell. I hate it when you call me that.”
“Hate is not something a Jedi feels. Especially not you, out of all people.”
The mind-controlled Stellan scoffs and grins, pushing back a strand of his dark hair behind his ear and wiping a bit of sweat away from his eyes.

“You don’t know me.” He answers, voice cold like steel.

“Uhm, yeah, I do?” Elzar answers and even though they are not battling each other right now, he continues to hold his saber at his side, ready to defend himself again. “I’ve known you for your entire life.”

“Who you know is a liar. A bastard. Do you want to know what he really thinks of you?”
He doesn’t.

Not even in one bit. 

But the Son does not seem to care.

“He loves you, you know?” He says with Stellans voice and Elzar wants to cry. “It’s a foolish thing, love. He also loves that woman of yours. What was her name again? You know, the one that you didn’t save?”

Oh, how he wants to close his hands around the Sons neck and slam the hilt of his saber into these evil red glowing eyes, again and again.

But this isn’t the Son.

It’s Stellan.

At least somewhere.

So, Elzar Mann exhales deeply, banishing all his hate and anger.

“I will not fall for the things you tell me.”
“I only speak in truths.”
“All you do is lie .”

He’s turning to face the Monster himself now, still floating in the air above the courtyard, eyes gleaming in the darkness and hands folded behind his back. 

It’s a mistake, Elzar realises only seconds later, because suddenly Stellan is in front of him again, lightsaber raised and-

This time, he’s not fast enough to completely dodge.

Hot, blazing pain flashes in his arm as he manages to stumble a bit to the side. The attack, directed straight at his heart, hits his left arm instead, burning the robes and the skin under them and it’s one of the worst pains he has ever felt.

Elzar tries to leap away from Stellan, his right hand wrapped around the injury, but in the next second something hits him in the stomach and he gets thrown away, slamming onto the black marble and rolling a bit, before he hits the wall of one of the smaller platforms.

“I see now that you won’t obey.” The Son says, even though it’s Stellans mouth moving. “What a shame. Maybe I will take this one instead.”
And panic grips Elzars heart, squeezing and choking him.

His mind is racing, repeating no, no,no,no,no again and again, because if there is one thing worse than him falling, it’s someone else falling because of him. He gasps, trying to get up, coughing and panting and-

“What do you think will your friend think when I make him kill you?”

It’s a simple question.

Elzar knows the answer.

That's why he pushes himself through the burning pain in his arm and stumbles to his feet, shoulders hunched and wheezing, because he can’t let this happen, not to anyone and especially not to-

Stellan Gios doesn’t even wait until he stands before charging at Elzar, his dark blue eyes distant and cold.

He runs right at him, the saber in his hand ready to strike, blue blade ignited.

Suddenly, everything goes silent.

He doesn’t hear the Son laughing.

He doesn’t hear his own breathing.

He doesn’t hear the muffled sound of his friends boots hitting the black marble floor as he gets closer and closer, before finally leaping into the hair, lightsaber raised above his head-

Elzar Mann would have died a very sad death.

What a luck that he doesn’t.

— — —

(“What do you think will your friend think when I make him kill you?” The Son says with Stellans voice and he wants to scream and cry.

Instead, his hands tighten around the hilt of his saber as Elzar doesn’t answer and then, his body moves on its own again. 

He sees himself, weapon ready to kill, charging at his friend.

He sees himself, expression blank and eyes dark.

He sees himself and he tries to stop it, stop his run to kill, stop all of this madness.

“He loves you, you know?” Fuck this stupid asshole for telling Elzar and fuck his own stupid heart for being such a traitor. 

And yet, Stellan Gios would give nearly anything right now to be able to hug his friend and then go to get Avar and leave this place behind.

He didn’t see the crimson pool of blood in the throne room.

He does see the angel falling out of the sky and slamming into the son, just as Stellans body has leaped into the air, ready to strike and kill and-)

And then, he can finally breathe again. 

He throws himself to the side in the middle of the air, and hurls his saber away, before slamming heads first into the black stone floor. Immediately, he can feel blood begin to drip down his head, but he doesn’t care. 

Instead, he coughs and gasps, because he can breathe again, he can breathe again, he-

The angel crashes into the floor next to him and for a moment, he turns to the side. His gaze travels across glowing golden wings and a white dress, floating green hair and bright eyes, before the woman -it’s a woman, he’s sure of that- leaps into the air again, slamming into the Son and ripping him around. 

Lightning hisses through the air, red and golden and glass and stone around them shatters and breaks as the two opposites fight. 

And all he can do is watch, watch how the two gods throw each other around, ripping parts out of the tower and using the strange lanterns to slam the other away, before lightning strikes again, setting the dead and arid trees on fire and-

A hand grabs his collar and then he’s ripped around and for a moment, he fears that it’s someone attacking him.

But no.

Elzar Mann stares at him, blood and dirt smeared across his face, his eyes filled with fear and hope, one hand wrapped around his arm.

And Stellan Gios nearly begins to cry.

“Are you…are you you again?” His friend asks and the only thing he can do is nod, because he doesn’t trust his own ability to not break down like a child, after everything that just happened and-

The grip around his tunic tightens and then, Elzar pulls him into a hug, wrapping his arms around Stellan, even though he winces in pain.

He stands frozen, for a moment. 

And then, he puts his arms around his friend too.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers, his voice shaking.

“I know.” 

“I didn’t mean to.”
“I know.”
Stellan pulls away, looking down on Elzar, noticing the hand that is still wrapped around his right upper arm. The other Jedi seems to notice and tries to hide the injury, but he’s faster, snatching the arm and pulling him closer, inspecting the burned flesh.

“I did this.” He says and his hands slightly shake. “I did this to you.”
“You didn’t mean to.”

“But if I had fought stronger-... I could see most of what happened, I could feel my body doing all those horrible things and I hurt you and I could have stopped it and-”
“Stellan, Force damn it, stop .” 

He freezes again, ignoring the explosions in the background and the thunder like crashing of the mountains that the gods smash in their fight.

For a short moment, they stay like this, Elzars arm in his hand and both of them not looking the other one into the eyes. And then, Stellan notices the dark blood on his friends left shoulder, shaped almost like a handprint and-

“Did I hurt you there too?”

He knows that he said something bad in an instant.

It’s not that hard to tell.

The way Elzars expression shifts from hope and relief, back to immense pain and dear is drastic and so noticeable that even a blind person could realise it. 

He just doesn’t understand why it’s so bad that he asked.

He was mind-controlled for Force's sake and he already forgot so much, except for the disgusting feeling of something dark poking around in his memories and thoughts and controlling his body. 

And he had burned Elzars arm.

Another injury doesn’t seem too impossible, does it?

Stellan Gios is confused. 

And then he notices something else. 

Something that's even more worrying than the blood on his friend's tunic. 

Something worse than the two gods that are still fighting in the distance.

Because he knows his friends really, really, well, and this…

Something is terrible, horrible wrong.

“Elzar.” Stellan Gios says with a hollow and scared voice. “Elzar, where is Avar?”

For a moment, the two of them stay frozen within the chaos, debris of the tower and shattered glass everywhere, surrounded by burning trees. 

Then, without a word, Elzar Mann dashes past him. 

For a moment Stellan gets a glimpse on his friend's face, even darker and more afraid than before, before he leaps over a fallen pillar and he has to run after him to not lose the other Jedi in all the smoke. 

“Elzar.” He tries, as they get past most of the stained, shattered glass, that had once formed a gigantic picture. “Elzar, wait, please-”
But his friend doesn’t stop, he only runs faster, jumping from stone to stone and carefully making sure to not step on any glass, before reaching a small door in the side of the tower. 

Elzar pushes against it, once, twice, before the metal bends and opens with a screech that suddenly reminds Stellan of Starlight Beacon, of breaking floor and cracking transparisteel and-

He rips himself out of his memories and thoughts and leaps after Elzar, jumping through the little door. It’s dark inside, in the same horrible way the Son’s darkness was inside of him and for a second, Stellan stumbles and stops. 

He hesitates. 

Elzar somewhere in front of him apparently trips, because there is a hissed curse followed by the clattering of something made out of metal and a few mumbled insults, before the familiar humming of a lightsaber fills the small staircase. 

The blue light shines onto the dark stone wall, highlighting pictures and even more dusty relics that probably all have some kind of evil backstory.

Then, Elzar begins to rush towards the stairs and up the steps.

And Stellan makes his decision.

(Also, there is no way he’s going to spend a lot of time alone anymore after that whole stupid thing that just happened.)
“Elzar, talk to me, please.” He yells, running after the other Jedi and leaping up the stairs, even though his legs hurt and the stone against his hands is rough. “I don’t know what’s going on, but if you don’t tell me-”
He has to stop talking, because a big cloud of dust hits him right into the face and he coughs and sneezes, rubbing his eyes while also trying to keep up his pace.

Finally, the steps somewhere in front of him stop, followed by the creaking of a door, even though the blue light of the lightsaber blade stays.

Then, he can see Elzar again, frozen in a doorway, his weapon at his side. 

And maybe, if Stellan Gios’ eyes weren’t full of dust like they are right now, he would have noticed the absolutely horrifying hurt grief on his friend's face.

But he doesn’t.

“You scared me, Elzar.” He says, stopping next to him, still rubbing his face and panting. “I don’t know what has gotten into you, but-”

And then, Stellan Gios stops.

He has finally followed Elzars gaze.

For a moment, he doesn’t feel anything at all.

Then, hundreds of things come crashing down on him at once, racing thoughts and panic gripping his heart, tears dwelling in his eyes and suddenly it’s so head to breathe again and -

There, on the floor, in a pool of crimson blood, is Avar Kriss.

— — —

Golden lights flickering and stars gleaming, the sound of a beautiful melody playing and voices in the distance, soft grass swaying in the wind and leaves on trees rustling.

Peace.

She can finally rest.

— — —

Stellan Gios moves without really thinking, dashing past Elzar Mann and towards the body that is crumbled on the floor. He can hear his own heartbeat in his ears, going fast and hectic and panic grips his heart and squeezes and squeezes.

He won’t accept this.

He won’t believe it.

He won’t let her go like this.

And yet, as Stellan crouches down next to her, ignoring the numb pain in his arms and legs and back, he already knows that it’s too late and that there is nothing that he can do to save her. 

Maybe it’s the pool of blood around her.

Maybe it’s the deep gashes on her throat.

Maybe it’s her lifeless body and the fact that she doesn’t resist when he gently turns her around, hands immediately sticky and red, trembling. 

Avar Kriss’ eyes stare blankly into nothing, dark and empty. Her entire neck is covered in crimson blood, staining her tunics and making her once golden hair seem red.

He takes her hand.

It’s freezing cold in his own.

She had always had cold hands, but not like this. 

Distantly, Stellan is aware of Elzar sitting down on her other side, but he doesn’t look up, because if he does, he’s going to start crying and- 

It’s already too late for that, he notices only a second later, when the first tears begin to drip down his face, making their way through soot and blood and dropping onto the black floor that is already tainted red. 

Stellan Gios remembers, in this exact moment, how good their friendship once was. How many years, how much time they all spend together, despite being Younglings, Padawans and finally Knights.

So, when did it all go wrong?

He knows now.

You completely deserve it . He had told her. 

It had been a lie, obviously. 

She never deserved any of it, not Lourna Dee, not the Drengir, not losing her position as Marshal and most certainly, not him being the absolute bastard he had been. 

And just like that, sitting on a black stone floor in a gods castle, holding hands with a corpse, he realises his mistakes. 

It’s all too late.

Suddenly, breathing becomes harder.

Very, very hard, and his vision is blurry, an aching in his heart that he never felt before and Stellan gasps, her hand slipping out of his as he presses them against his chest, trying to breathe . 

And he doesn’t understand.

He’s in control of his emotions.

He shouldn’t-

He-

“I’m sorry.” Stellan Gios mumbles. “I’m so sorry.”
For ages he sits there, whispering words to himself. He faintly notices Elzar pulling Avar the corpse closer to himself, holding her in his arms and pressing her head against his chest, crying and crying, lips moving as if he’s talking.

But he doesn’t understand one word his friend is saying, even though he knows what he’s probably saying. After a while, he takes her hand again, still ice-cold, because maybe, just maybe , something changed and-

No.

Every person in the room blames themself for what happened.

The liar does.

The failure does. 

The ghost does. 

And the Daughter does too.

Stellan doesn’t know how long he sits there, but at one point, the darkness around them grows…fainter and then a light, golden and soft, floats towards them.
He has to blink, many times, before his vision goes sharp again and then, all he does is stare with his mouth wide open.

There, gently hovering through the shattered window and setting down on the black marble, is an angel. 

Her hair and dress float behind her, green and white and the golden feathery wings on her back shine like the sun as she comes closer, a glowing light in the darkness around them. She radiates warmth and calm and against his will, Stellan begins to…relax, muscles less tense and then the pain in his arms and legs begins to fade, together with the shadow of darkness that is left in his mind.

“What are you?” Elzar next to him asks with a hoarse voice, still holding on to the dead body of their friend, hands trembling. 

“I am the Daughter.” She answers and it sounds like a million beautiful things, music and wind, ocean waves and the rustling of leaves, laughing and singing. 

“And the Son…”
“We are related, yes.” 

He’s on his feet in less than a second, moving himself between Elzar and Avar the corpse, hands raised and ready to fight, even though he would probably be dead within a minute. 

The Daughter only smiles at him.

“I am sorry for what happened to you, my Children.” She says, stepping closer and then placing one hand on his shoulders -and for a moment, Stellan feels as if he’s bathing in sunlight. “But it was his doing. Not mine.”
“How…how do we know if that’s true?” He manages to choke out after a minute, not able to step away and risk the warmth to fade. 

She sighs.

“I love my Brother.” The Daughter says and something inside of him twists again, cold pain and hate . “I love him very much, actually. But he is lost.”
“That’s one way to put it.” Elzar behind him hisses. “He mind controlled Stellan. He wanted to force me to the dark side. He killed Avar.”

“You have experienced it before, child.” She answers, tilting her head. “Haven’t you? The Darkness. You know how tempting it is.”

For a moment, the other Jedi doesn’t answer, gritting his teeth.

“It ruined me.” He finally says. “It only brought more pain and suffering.”

“But you did not fall.”

“...No. I didn’t.”
“You had help with that, hm? Friends, standing by your side.”

“...Yes.”

“See.” The Daughter says, still smiling, but it’s sadder now, and less gentle. “My brother had no one by his side. I should have saved him, but I didn’t. And he fell into the darkness, unlike you not able to help himself, giving in to the temptations and lies the dark side tells.”

“Then why are you still here?” Stellan finally manages to ask. “Why didn’t you leave?”

She is silent, for a few minutes, her eyes a bit less bright and more distant, as if she sees and hears things he can’t even begin to understand.

“I am…just as powerful as he is, you could say.” She answers, sighing and suddenly really tired. “My father thinks that both of us are a too huge threat for the galaxy's balance.”
“If you are so mighty, then how would we know that you won’t do the same he did.” Elzar asks, voice sharp and full with pain. He is still holding on to the lifeless body, seemingly not noticing or simply not caring for the blood that is smeared over all of his tunics and his hands. 

The Daughter tilts her head again, before taking her hand off of Stellans shoulder. He is cold again in an instant, but his arms and legs don’t hurt anymore and the last rest of the Sons' control is gone. 

She steps past him and he distantly notices how the white of her dress gets dragged through the pools of blood on the floor without one stain, before she kneels down in front of Elzar.

And then, she extends her hand towards him- or more, towards the dead person that he’s holding in his arms and something flickers inside of Stellans heart, a spark of hope.

“Because, unlike my brother,” The Daughter says, placing one hand on the torn throat and the other one right above where the corpse's heart was once beating. “I don’t destroy and kill. I rebuild and heal .”

And in the next seconds, there is wind and pure light swirling around them, pushing the shattered glass away and crashing against the black stone pillars, petals swirling through the air, glowing in the dark. 

Stellan has to throw himself against the storm in order to not get thrown away and he just barely manages to grab Elzars hand before the other Jedi goes flying. Together, they stand against the pressure and biting wind, hands interlocked and his thoughts are racing, because he doesn’t know what’s going on, he doesn’t understand . The grip around his hand tightens as the storm reaches its peak, pure light all around them-

When Stellan Gios opens his eyes, he’s no longer in the dark tower with the blood tainted black stone and shattered glass.

Instead, there is soft grass under his feet and trees are around him, the chirping of birds in the distance and he can even make out the low sound of waves crashing against the shore. 

Then, someone tugs at his hand.

Elzar Mann looks at him with dark brown eyes, no more blood on his hands and face, even though his tunics are still stained and dark red. 

Together, they look around themselves, because this is the second time in two days that they get teleported somewhere they don’t know and-

He sees it first.

His friend only a second later. 

They are on a meadow, at the edge of a small cliff and surrounded by trees.

And there, not far from them, within a field of beautiful purple flowers, is another person. 

For a moment, Stellan Gios heart aches again and he gulps, gripping Elzar Manns hand harder.

It’s nice of the Daughter, he thinks. To prepare a funeral like this. 

And then, coughing and gasping, Avar Kriss wakes up.

— — —

The first thing she notices is the soft grass under her feet.

The second thing is the song, playing somewhere in the back of her mind.

The third are the voices in the distance, laughter and bantering, talking to each other.

The woman who doesn’t remember her name smiles.

Then, she opens her eyes, because she’s able to again.

Her smile grows.

Everything around her is beautiful, from the golden trees and flowers to the grass and the clouds above her head, together with the moon and the sun and so many stars.
She really likes stars.

She also really likes the ocean, not far from her.

The woman who doesn’t remember smiles again.

Then, her eyes widen, because suddenly she has caught a glimpse on the most beautiful thing here yet. There, behind the trees, is a huge building, reaching up into the sky, with towers and thousands of windows. Banners hang from bridges, together with colourful fabric, a familiar symbol on them.

It’s like a sword, surrounded by light and circles and a warm feeling rushes over her.

The woman decides that she likes this place.

“It’s beautiful.” A voice says somewhere next to her and she flinches, before spinning around. There is a person, leaning against a tree, dressed in brownish-goldish robes, arms crossed. The woman can’t see their face, but she is pretty sure that they are smiling.

“It is.” She agrees and then turns around to the building in the distance. “I like it here.”
The other person laughs. It’s a soft and hearty sound, causing the woman to suddenly feel safe and warm.

“You are one of the first Jedi I’ve met that said that they like death.”

“Jedi?”

The person steps away from their tree, arms dropping to their side and tilts their head a bit. 

“Ah, I see.” They say after a few seconds. “You don’t remember yet.”

“Remember what?” The woman asks.

“You will know soon.” The person answers, stepping past her and towards the temple -she’s sure it’s a temple- in the distance. “Come on now, child. Your family is waiting for you.”

The woman hesitates.

She still doesn’t know anything.

Except for the fact that she's apparently dead.

But this…person seems so trustworthy, so familiar, as if they had known each other for a very long time already and the woman is really tired of not knowing who or what she is.

“Alright.” She says, smiling and reaching out to grab the offered hand. “Alright, I would love to-”

Something slams into her back, breaking through her chest and glowing petals and howling wind and she screams, she thinks, doubling over in pain and pressing her hands against her chest hands pressing against her throat and so much hot pain-

She's floating in timeless space.

Dark pure light around her.

Nothing pain numb pain empty so much pain.

Is she even real?

The screams are real.

It’s so cold.

Hot and burning agony, burning her body and-

She wants to be dead.

She is dead.

Is n’t she though??

A flash of trees at the edge of her vision and purple flowers two men holding on to each other and crimson blood, tears and so much laughter, so many happy memories-

She thinks there is someone there.

There is no one there.

But still….

Images, in front of her eyes of soft grass and grey clouds a group of friends, throwing pillows at each other and three people walking down a small path in a garden so many beautiful flowers so many beautiful flowers and a bird chirping in the distance and hands on hers, blurred voices and more laughter and-

She wants to stay.

She wants to go back to it.

The woman who doesn’t remember dies.

Avar Kriss however awakes, gasping and immediately coughing, her throat throbbing in agony and she wraps her hand around it, choking and wheezing, trying to suck air into her lungs as fast as she can, because Force it feels as if she hadn’t been breathing in a very long time. She notices that she's crying when her gaps turn into sobs and hot tears start to stream down her face, burning in the not completely healed wounds on her face and the deep gashes on her throat, but she can finally breathe again and the pain is worth it.

Suddenly, something slams into her and for a moment her thoughts wander to black claws and red glowing eyes, until she blinks hecticly to clear her blurry vision. She doesn’t even need it though, because only a second later, another person -because yes, it is a person- wraps their arms around her.

She can make out muffled voices and shaking hands.

Then one of the people pulls away and even though her vision is blurry again, Avar Kriss is still able to make out Elzar Mann and Stellan Gios and before either of them can say or do anything, she grabs them and pulls them closer again, burying her head in the juncture of Elzars neck while also holding Stellan as close as she can and-

Needless to say, they stay like that for quite a while.

It’s actually a bit embarrassing, to be honest. They look like the main protagonists in some stupid kitsch series, crying and hugging each other on a flower field.

But fuck that, she was dead for like twenty seven minutes (even though it felt like ages) and Stellan was mind controlled for even longer (even though he acts as if it doesn’t bother him) and Elzar was forced to fight him and watch her die (even though he doesn’t admits how close he really was to using the dark side again) and…

They deserve this break from all the shit of the last few years.
Yes, she knows she will have to talk with Stellan at one point and yes, she knows that everything is far from perfect. She knows that there will be trouble with the council and that Lourna Dee is still out there, somewhere.

But Avar Kriss also knows that she loves Elzar Mann and Stellan Gios very much, ignoring all the troubles they currently had with each other. 

For the moment, all she wants is to stay here, like this.

To rest a bit.

They deserve that much.

— — —

They stay there for two weeks.

Stellan wished it could be longer.

But, as the Daughter explains: “A week here is a day in your real world. If you stay here longer, it might be already too late to return to your family without them being suspicious where you were.”

Honestly, he can’t believe that technically, Starlight Beacon only fell three days ago.

For them it had been longer, obviously. 

The main reason why they stayed (at least it was the one they used with the Daughter) was that the wounds that took Avars life still needed healing and even with the power of a goddess, they would stay the dark scars they already were. 

Avar herself said that she didn’t mind them and that her neck was already a scarred mess because of the Drengir, but he didn’t miss how her smile fainted the moment the Daughter turned away from her. 

The other reasons why they stayed were more in numbers. For one, there was Stellans own…well not injury, but the Daughters energy helped him feel a lot better. Then there was also Elzar, who specifically requested if the goddess could help him with his problems with the dark side, and even though she said that he had to do most of the work alone, the two did meditate together. Honestly, it was a sight that Stellan never expected to experience one day in his life.

They also talked.

The Daughter kind of forced them to.

It was a bit like group therapy, to be fair.

But besides that, they also talked in private, sitting under the glowing trees next to a small lake, with a few (magically) baked goods and on a blanket. The three of them had conversations about many things and in the end, they all cried again.
Stellan blamed the awfully good muffins.

Normally he would never cry like he did.

But for the first time in a very long while, he was truly happy. 

Avar apologised to him and he answered by hugging her, followed by his own apologies and, even though she said that it would need time, both of them agreed to try and salvage their friendship.

He really should go on Vacations more.

Then, one evening, the Daughter returned with a space shuttle (and refused to explain from where she got it) and in the next moment they were actually leaving the goddamn planet -shaped like a weird cube, what the hell?- behind.

For a moment, before jumping into Hyperspace, Stellan Gios turned to look at Elzar Mann and Avar Kriss, softly smiling.

On Coruscant, they are welcomed like heroes (even though their friends and the council asks questions none of them wll answer).