'Darth Sutherland'

“It’s alright, take a deep breath. How about you take the day off?”

“But Vaylin…”

“That’s my problem to worry about. I have just one thing I’m asking of you. Please don’t tell anyone else. We wouldn’t want the base to panic…”

“Y-yessir! Thank you–I think?”

The escape hit him in the nerves. He wanted to find her immediately, but Rionnic would know of this sooner than later. His twin was working on his usual paperwork in the office, seemingly unaware of the breaking news. Before telling it to him, he did confirm the Knight’s word by visiting her cell and retrieving the note she left.

“Red… Vaylin… Vaylin escaped.”

“Mm.” Rionnic acknowledged without glancing at his twin.

“You knew?”

“Surveillance told me.”

His lack of reaction wasn’t what perplexed Riornivo the most, it was his lack of action. He thought Rionnic hated her enough to keep her locked away, as evidenced by his attitude the entire time before this. When asked what he has done about it, nothing. The Jedi couldn’t help but to express his confoundment at Rionnic’s nonchalance towards the situation.

“You go find her, then.”

Deciding to not let the conversation turn into bickering, he exited the office and wasted no time on searching for her. Even though the note stated her intention of returning within a few days, what worried him the most was the possibility of her stumbling upon people and both of their hypothetical reactions towards each other. But he trusted her to not turn to violence, a faith he cultivated not out of naïveté, but something deeper . 

His effort started internally. The surveillance team couldn’t produce a clip as Vaylin destroyed every camera from a distance. Another perplexing matter was how she was able to do that, given the cameras were built with Force-resistant material. Perhaps she was just that powerful, or practical. He thanked his employees before proceeding to check the traffic records. It was quite a busy day for the Alliance fleet operating on both military and humanitarian purposes. He tried to narrow down his guesses by comparing the timing of the initial report and travel logs.

Two instances caught his attention. A military and humanitarian run. 

The military objective was to intercept a rogue Mandalorian faction aboard the Spirit of Vengeance. The humanitarian destination was Dubrillion. His mind weighed the probability of Vaylin being in either place and decided to choose the humanitarian option. While on the way there, he couldn’t help but to inquire with his twin about the passiveness.

“I’m busy. Vizla needs me elsewhere.”

“But I thought you were… I thought you wanted to stop her?”

“Do you want it to be blunt or sharp?”

“Wha-”

“Blunt it is. You take on a leadership role. You said you’re busy, you have allies to attend to. But this other urgent matter concerned your-”

“Alright, I get it.”

This time, it was the younger twin who ended the call abruptly. It produced a smirk from Rionnic. Perhaps this was his plan all along? But to what end, and for what, exactly?

“Aulia!” 

Vaylin exclaimed, hushed yet terrified. She dropped the Knight helmet out of shock, while Aulia remained stiff. The gradual change of the child’s face broke her heart, and both of them started trembling for different reasons. 

“You… you did this. Why? Why did our lives not matter to you? Wh-why… Why did you have to take away my leg? My family?” Aulia condemned with fearless tears. Every word out of the child’s mouth felt like blunt force trauma for Vaylin, who finally understood the concept of remorse.

“I… I’m…”

“No reason? For no reason then? Just because you can? If that’s-”

Aulia was cut off by a teenage boy–probably her relative–scooping her up then bolting away, while screaming at her. “Don’t talk to her! Do you want to die?!”

“Wait!”

But that was clearly pointless. Her mind immediately turned to flight response; the two children definitely alerted the others of her presence once they escaped. She needed to do the same, and the Alliance ship wasn’t a good place to hide, lest she would be recaptured. She wasn’t ready to return to her cell yet. Her legs took her to wherever it ran, as long as she disappeared from view. Perhaps she should steal a shuttle to go off-world?

She took a moment to regain her composure, trying to calm her breathing by leaning against a wall. She knew there were people inside of the building, but she believed that she was moving quietly enough. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but she couldn’t afford to wipe them off by removing her helmet.

Before anyone could see her, she began moving again. Finding a vehicle without too much  presence around it was difficult, but eventually she managed to find one. The shuttle had an Alliance emblem on it, but what mattered the most was the lack of security. As she quietly approached her objective, a hand on her shoulder startled her to the point of stopping her heartbeat. “Ahh!”

Immediately she drew her lightsaber after stepping away from the person who caught her. She cancelled everything once she realized who it was. It was that smile again.

“Are you alright? Do you need hel-”

He wasn’t given a chance to finish speaking when she threw herself at him, squeezing tight. The armor pieces hitting his body were moderately painful, causing him to flinch. His pain however, wasn’t a priority compared to how tight her arms were around his ribcage. His mind jokingly thought that he should learn how to get better at catching surprise hugs.

“Yes! I need help!” Vaylin whimpered. She released her grip on his body–her hands were now doing the gripping on both of his arms. “Please take me away from here!”

“Y-yes, um, let’s go to my shuttle then.”

She was ahead of him, running in fear. It saddened him to see her this way, but a part of him knew that it was a natural consequence and what makes the journey difficult. But he was determined to help her. When he boarded the shuttle, she was already in the co-pilot seat. The shuttle departed Dubrillion without a single word exchanged between the two. Being in his presence was such a comforting feeling, proven when she unequipped her helmet to wipe the exhaustion off her face. 

“So… where to?” He uttered the first words.

The look in her eyes was empty, finally answering while still zoning out. “Where else… back to prison of course.”

He wanted to question her decision but decided against it. But when he was punching the hyperspace coordinates in, she spoke out again. “Actually, can we go somewhere else first? Anywhere but Odessen…”

“Hmm…” He made a gesture of thinking. Perhaps the waterfalls and beautiful vistas of Makeb could be a calming environment for her? The shuttle jumped to hyperspace shortly after; then landing on a mesa called Frinn. Despite not conversing much, both of them were past the point of awkwardness with each other. What actually silenced Vaylin however, was Aulia’s words repeating in her head.

She was startled into reality again when Riornivo got up from his seat, being stopped in his tracks by her reaction. “Want to explore around?” He softly offered; which was met with her empty gaze. Again, he had to wait for a response. Her eyes wandered around, inspecting the scenery outside, then comparing it to the ship’s interior. Better than to be cooped up inside, she thought.

“Right…”

Reluctantly, she stood up and slid her helmet back on. Both of them proceeded with him carrying a large bag of essentials–as if they were staying or vacationing. He pulled the hood of his robes over, tentatively shrouding his identity. Her sight hung around his hand, wanting to hold it while they walked, but she tightened the grasp around herself instead. The shuttle door opened to the bright weather of Makeb, and the first thing she saw was a house with average reconstruction after the damage caused by the groundquake years ago. 

The Jedi entered the house with a greeting to the elderly Zabrak couple living there. Warm conversations and gratitude were heard when he distributed the supplies from his bag to them. Vaylin’s decision to stay outside was challenged when Rio offered her to come inside, which she declined. Minutes later, he bid farewell and brought Vaylin to their actual destination.

“Those were your friends?”

“Yes, I’m just asking for permission to go to the spot nearby. They keep insisting it’s not necessary but it’s better to let them know.”

It didn’t take long to arrive at an abandoned encampment behind a wall of rocks, complete with the waterfall and some juvenile makrins harmlessly crawling around. Vaylin was awed by the beauty of nature, and the fact that it was secluded enough for privacy. Although she has been on this planet before, this hidden paradise was certainly a welcome surprise. She mentally thanked him for providing a healing environment for her heart and mind. 

“My sister recently cleared this area of the Exchange. They’ve been troubling the people here, including Tumbleweed over there.” As Rio waved gently at the oldest and largest makrin not far from them.

“Are we not… intruding?”

“Don’t worry, she’s a friendly one. She gets visitors every now and then.”

The Jedi started cleaning around the tent’s vicinity, setting up the site for their camping session once again. In her mind, a new dream of going to all of the camping trips with him was born, immediately becoming unattainable. To cherish in however long this one would be, she began stripping the armor parts, leaving only the dark outfit underneath. She felt so much lighter, and the child’s words temporarily vanished from her mind.

“Thank you for taking me here. I love the scenery… Is this secluded enough?”

“No one should be here since they haven’t been informed of the Exchange's defeat,” as he looked around, when suddenly Vaylin’s stomach performed a crescendo. The stale bread from earlier wasn’t enough to offset the amount of exertion she did using the Force. “It’s my turn to cook now!” Riornivo gushed, while pointing a finger up. Vaylin however, was more embarrassed than hungry. 

He began rummaging the supply bag, arranging wrapped vegetables on top of the table on the side of the tent. A small container held the meaty ingredients. Before starting, he washed his hands and vegetables on the nearby creek and flashed her a smile on his way back to cooking. She offered to help, which he tried to decline but ended up assigning her the task of lighting the campfire instead. The part that took long was gathering the wood, while the fire sparked instantly with her force lightning. 

Just like old times.

She chose to sit by the small fire, watching the sparks fly. In the figurative sense, she has stopped hoping for the sparks to fly between them, though the feeling was still deep. There was something bigger than the both of them weighing her down. The sight of him cooking on the fire pulled her away from the dark place she was slowly descending to.

“It smells so good.” She complimented quietly.

“I hope it’ll taste just as good, then.” 

Her smile was sheepish yet sad; while waiting for the soup to boil and meat to marinate, he fetched her water. She thanked him, then the next moment was just quiet. He didn’t feel the need to ask her anything because he wanted her to feel at ease. As for her, it was a mystery about why she was so nervous trying to talk to him, but she managed anyway. 

“How… How did you find me?” 

“I was told you escaped. I studied the ship logs and the humanitarian aid one stood out to me. When I arrived, they were recalling every Knight because someone spotted you there. So… yes, you were the only Knight roaming around.” As he lowered his gaze, displaying a reddish tint on his face. 

She wanted to say how glad she was that he was the one who found her but decided against it. Her mind couldn’t come up with topics to break the silence–what she wanted the most was physical touches of solace, but that seemed inappropriate. All she could take at that moment was watching him cook, looking so desirable yet so… unattainable.  

She shook her head. Riornivo was not an object to obtain, and she already played her hand with a heartbreaking result. But his silence was starting to become unnerving. Her body moved away from the fire, walking towards the rushing waterfall. Before she was too far ahead, he exclaimed;

“I’ll let you know when the food’s ready!” 

The sound of waterfalls around her weren’t enough to silence her mind. Her sadistic laughter upon seeing the mangled people in the recording she took of the bombings was echoing in her skull. She wanted to kill the Vaylin who laughed at dead children. Perhaps what the evil twin did to her was more than justified. Her fingers lightly sparked with lightning, contemplating her next action.

“Vaylin?”

That stopped her in her tracks. That gentle yet deep voice calling her name, caught her again from the abyss. 

“Let’s eat.”

Without words, she moved ahead of him, enticed by hunger. There was a plate already served for her, consisting of glazed meat, grains, vegetables, and a small bowl of soup. The flavor of the first bite was immaculate, increasing her devouring speed. The Jedi beamed upon seeing her seemingly liking his food, but advised her to slow down. He then joined her lunch experience. 

“Thank you for this. It’s delicious.”

Again, he smiled and proceeded to try taking her dishes, to which she declined. “I can wash my own dishes.”

He backed away, the smile replaced with a surprised expression. “Sorry, I didn't mean to be overbearing.”

“You weren’t at all. Don’t take it the wrong way, please.” Her tone was sweeter than usual.

“N-no, of course!”

Watching her eagerly creating a distance between them made him think that she wanted to be left alone, resulting in him choosing the other creek to wash his plates. When they met again by the fire, she quickly put away the dishes before heading towards her previous spot, reinforcing the distant demeanor he was sensing from her. If space was what she wanted, he’d respect that by staying around the campsite in case she needed him.

But the hours passed by without her presence. Concern started growing, as he put down the datapad he was writing with. He had to walk a little further away from the camp to find her. 

Her posture indicated distress. She was hugging her knees, burying her face in it. He slowly approached her, sitting next to the woman he loved. When she finally lifted her face up, he noticed tears on her cheeks. 

“Do you want to talk about it…?” He coaxed, whispery and tender.

“I do... but I don’t know how.”

“Take your time. I’m here.”

Those simple words were so comforting to hear, reducing the difficulty of her brain to articulate her heart. 

“I’m left with two choices, Rio. Either to go back to my old life of imprisonment, or live my life running away from everything…” As she sobbed, choking on her own words.

“And… and do I deserve to even… make those decisions? After all I’ve done? I still want a life for myself… which I don’t deserve! Which I took away from all of those people!”

“Vaylin…”

“I hated her. I hated that I used to rejoice seeing them dead. I hated that I failed to overcome my upbringing–to become something other than… than that. I… I’m ashamed. I’m tired…”

He put a hand on her shoulder, tentatively stroking it. She decided to let go of her self-imposed inhibition to seek shelter in his arms. Whether it was vulnerable or weak, she truly needed his touch and warmth. He was hesitant to close his arm around her, but he too, let go of his inhibition. His fingers lovingly ran through her hair, both of them basking in the wordless moment. The crying took what remained of her energy, steadily drifting off to a slumber.

“Get-get me. I’m in… Dantooine. Somewhere, I-I think I’m near a tram station? Hurry.”

The call abruptly ended, leaving Serrus with little information to act on. He refrained from calling back and instead immediately got to work; locking the ship he was living in, supplies for Vaylin, and a shuttle towards Dantooine. His mind couldn’t stop replaying the news broadcast earlier that day, wondering if there were people already hunting Vaylin down, but the concern mostly boiled down to those people dying by Vaylin’s hands instead. He swiped away all of the fog to concentrate as he stepped out of the shuttle to Dantooine’s farmlands.

He was hoping for a follow-up call from Vaylin while he began the search, worrying about what could have happened to warrant the silence. 

Luckily, it didn’t take long to find her after a few taxi stops. The colors of the containers matched those of what he saw in the holocall, and he carefully approached the scared woman. The sight of her reminded him of his late daughter, fortifying his resolve to help Vaylin in any way he could. “My Lady… I’m here.”

Her response was to slowly lift her head to meet Serrus’ eyes, hers being empty. It seemed like she had enough time to bury the anxiety temporarily to focus ahead. Serrus opened the bag he was carrying to hand over a robe for disguise. Soon after drinking the water he offered, they began moving. The journey was quite uneventful except for one incident.

An ambush by leftover pirates. Perhaps their hurried and unnatural movement attracted some unwanted attention. Being unable to use their sabers nor the Force against the pirates pointing their weapons at them was a predicament, but not one above the Zakuulan pair. Serrus moved quickly to close the gap between two pirates in front of him, then bashed their heads together–his larger size certainly was advantageous for the feat. The other two pirates did not manage to land a shot at Serrus as Vaylin kicked the Chagrian’s rifle away, causing him to fall onto his Ugnaught comrade nearby. She swung a few punches on the Chagrian’s head for good measure. The remaining Ugnaught pirate held his hands up as Serrus pointed a stolen pirate’s blaster at him.

Vaylin knocked the lights out of him too.

The pair then left the campsite using stolen pirates speeders, expediting their journey. She felt a pinch of relief once Serrus’ shuttle departed Dantooine, but the quietness caused her mind to replay the moments with that Jedi. Only pain and regret. What was worse was the minutes of bliss, a taste of life together before the mistake she made. Perhaps the dreadful revelation of her survival would have been manageable if Rio was still by her side at that time.

Serrus was concerned but apprehensive in his intention to talk to her. But both of their idleness was disrupted when Chonky greeted Vaylin by nuzzling her leg. She picked the gizka up and hugged him tight.

“My Lady, if I may speak…”

“Hm.”

The response was earned after a few seconds of silence, which further unnerved Serrus. He gulped down his nerves. 

“I think the safest course of action is to stay abroad while I make stops on planets for supplies. I will make sure we stay undetected.”

Was that truly the best for her? To run around, be hunted, and live in fear? To think that she was the one doing the hunting not too long ago. She kept quiet as her mind formed her own decision. One that would change her life and possibly regret later.

As for the mind of the Barsen’thor, it was utter chaos. Doubt started to cloud around his decision and earlier words. His body begged for comfort as his mind was thrown into a cyclone of emotions. His eyes landed on the warm stew, a manifestation of Vaylin’s affection towards him. Once the fog of confusion dispersed, came the regret. He wished to turn back time and perhaps handle the confession better. 

However, this wasn’t the first time for him. 

He had turned down a few hearts baring themselves out to him over the years. According to him, it was a perplexing case: he was just being a standard Jedi, but he came to the conclusion that the galaxy must have been starved of kindness and love to the point of misconstruing small acts of compassion. But pray tell, why did this one hurt? Why did he entertain those pining thoughts and hunger for the moments he would spend with her, just to break her heart?

A heavy sigh followed as he cleaned up the camp, resulting from worrying about her. He couldn’t give further chase due to his condition, and he was already out of the temple for too long. They must have been looking for him, and sure enough, not long into his walk back to the temple, he heard a voice calling from afar. The three guardians retrieved him as Vyria waited at the temple’s entrance, looking harrowed. She gave her brother a tight hug.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” asked Rio gently. 

“Well, a lot! Ugh, let’s sit this down… I need to unpack this without screwing up!” as the siblings sat on the temple bench, and the silver-maned Jedi took a few breaths in and out. “First. YOU. What the hell, bro? Why did you just saunter off like that? You’re… you’re doing that thing again!” 

“W-what thing?”

“You know it! But fine, I’ll spell it out. You’re doing the my-sister-isn’t-really-important-to-me again! You should have told me you’re ALIVE!”

“I’m–I’m sorry-”

“Yeah, you’re always sorry later. I just have to get used to it.”

“I promise to do better. I hate disappointing you…”

Vyria covered her face with her hands, while her knees supported her elbows. An exasperated sigh. “Look, we should be focusing on you. I get the feeling you’re still out of it. There’s a… uh… something else. But not now, Red’s on his way here.”

“What is it? Please tell me?”

“Listen, Spiky. I’m gonna be upfront. I want you to rest because of selfish reasons. If you rest, I can get rested too. Can we do that?”

Riornivo reluctantly agreed, retreating to one of the chambers to recuperate. Not long into his fruitless meditation, Rionnic appeared with the same look on his face as previously seen on Vyria. This must have been something big, and definitely associated with him. Perhaps his Emperor twin might be more open about sharing it?

“How’s your wound?” Rionnic asked half a second after closing the chamber door.

“Uhm… it’s gone.”

Rionnic raised an eyebrow to that. Perhaps his skepticism over his brother’s words was born out of the frequency of near-death experiences Riornivo had. He suddenly tugged open the Jedi’s inner robe, revealing his chest and confirming his brother’s words. “R-Red! I’m fine.”

“What did he do to you?”

“You fought him. You know what his powers are. That’s what he did to me. Completely harmless, I swear.”

His crimson-haired twin seemed satisfied with the explanation, taking a seat with a sigh. “Where is he now?”

“Gone. He won’t be anywhere, he’s back to hibernation. Trust me, we’re not into Dread Master business anymore,” attempted Riornivo in easing up the tense atmosphere. “Red, it’s my turn for questions now… Please tell me what’s going on.”

To which Rionnic deepened his eyebrow-raising expression, while his eyes condescendingly traveled up and down his twin. Unfortunately, he was not immune to his brother’s pleading eyes, being mere seconds away from revealing the information when his pager beeped. His eyes widened upon reading the message, immediately standing up. “What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m your twin, Red. I think we’re past confirming such things,” he said as he knelt down to Rionnic’s eye level, putting on his best pleading face. “The matter seems dire. Let me know so I can help…”

“I’m needed in Zakuul. Stay put–I’ll tell you later.”

“Red!”

But he disappeared behind the chamber door, leaving his twin increasingly baffled. Obviously, the Jedi could just read his sibling’s minds or even control their brain to do whatever he wanted. The only thing barring him from doing that was the fact that he already did so a few months ago. It became a test of integrity and patience for him, made difficult by the possible urgency of the matter. Then, there was the confession earlier…

Rionnic arrived at the ground level of the Palace of the Dragon, welcomed by a royal entourage that he thought was unnecessary. The entourage led him towards the Knights barracks, where he could hear bickering between two familiar voices. 

“You should’ve just stayed home.”

“This is called common sense. I can’t just roam around freely while you’re incarcerated. They will come for me sooner or later.”

“You’re fine with your girls growing up fatherless like we do? Your situation’s already resolved!”

“I… No, this is-”

The siblings finally noticed Rionnic standing nearby with his entourage, arms folded with his classic annoyed expression. The new Emperor dismissed his subordinates. He was quiet, waiting for Vaylin to state her intention, but he was met with only a glare.

“I assume you’ve seen the broadcast. Let’s… talk about that. My sister here wants to surrender herself and that includes me as well. We think it’s time…”

“I’m not investing time in asking for your reasons. There will be no changing your minds, no stupid demands, and no negotiations. Is that clear?”

Arcann’s face changed, displaying a transparent hesitance. Vaylin looked like she was thinking as her eyes were downcast, recalling the words of Serrus deterring her from surrendering. It softened her heart to witness how much the Knight Captain cared for her. She put her hands on his arms, thanking him for all the service and loyalty, but firmly enforced her decision. The affectionate gesture stunned him, as he stuttered his next words; 

“I-I’ll be sure t-to regularly visit you!”

As she returned to present time, she finally spoke the first words to Rionnic. “Just one. You must fulfill this or else.”

To which her successor frowned. 

“Do not ever let your brother see me. Ever. I can effortlessly destroy all you hold dear if you fail this.”

The threat produced a sinister smirk from Rionnic, while Arcann voiced his disapproval over it. The current Emperor secretly agreed with her request as he despised seeing his twin so bewitched by her, wanting to keep Riornivo from any more corruption–no matter how misguided or prejudiced it was of him. He knew that people are capable of change and redemption, but he also knew the devastation that his twin was capable of if he became corrupted.

“Then there will be a condition. Are you ready for a small humiliation? The people need to know that they are now safe from both of you.”

Remnants of Rionnic’s Sith mind enjoyed the power he held over the two while waiting for their answer. Their expected acceptance was made sweeter by their defeated tone. He then ordered the two to wait while the preparations for the broadcast were about to start. The timing of the Knights returning to their barracks could not have been more precise, as he ordered them to put their former rulers in handcuffs, while he proceeded to the throne room.

There was a moment of quiet between the siblings. Vaylin’s mind was scattered, but a particular woman appeared in between her thoughts. “Did your wife know about this?”

“She knows.”

How come? There must have been approval on Aryuni’s end, or was she forced to? Not wanting to jump to conclusions, Vaylin tried prying for more details. Arcann flashed a wistful smile. 

“Why don’t you ask her directly? Give her a call.”

Was that a challenge? Even though they both could easily use the Force to activate the holocom with their hands tied, Vaylin resorted to ordering one of the Knights for that. 

“Heeeeeeeeyyyy Vaylin! How’s it goi–oh…. Oh. ”

Aryuni’s usual sunny disposition immediately changed after noticing the handcuffs. Her mannerism puzzled Vaylin–how could she act so casually knowing Arcann’s future? It felt like she was in another dimension each time she talked to her eccentric sister-in-law.

“Hello, my love. How’s the girls?” Arcann interjected.

“Hey! They’re pestering Serrus now, haha. I feel like I know what our topic is gonna be. Are you asking for Chonky, Vaylin?”

Not the first thing in her mind, but she was slightly remorseful for forgetting Chonky. She was surprised to see Serrus choosing to go to Arcann’s place. Aryuni’s affirmation of the gizka’s improving condition was a sliver of positivity. But onto the actual topic; “How are you fine with this…?”

“What… what do you want me to do about it?” asked Aryuni in a deeper octave, sounding confused yet serious. Again, it took Vaylin off-guard, but before she could retort, Aryuni held up a hand and continued; “Look, I’m very much in love with your brother, yes, but I’m never denying his past. If it catches up to him this soon, then so be it. I’m in love with the person he’s trying to be, his future… but his past affected more than just the two of us. It’s bigger than us, Vaylin. I hope you understand.”

“What about your twins?”

“Woah, I can raise them by myself. I’m not planning on hiding who your brother is from them. I will… nurture them to be resilient against hardships and I–oops, Serrus! Wait!” Aryuni reacted to something that happened off-camera, before continuing with; “Uh, anything else you need to ask? The girls need me, sorry.”

“No. Unless you have?” Vaylin asked pointedly towards Arcann, who took the chance to profess his love towards the mother of his children. It felt slightly sensitive considering her love life recently. She could only roll her eyes to that. When asked about mother, Arcann credited Aryuni for talking Senya out of presenting herself to Vaylin, lest there be further calamity. 

But the time had come. The rest of the Knights gathered from the other rooms to usher their former rulers towards the throne room where Rionnic awaited. With each step, her heart sank. The holocameras were being prepared as Rionnic sat on the throne with a body language of impatience and vexation. 

“Don’t make me wipe away that hidden gloat of yours, Sith.” Vaylin hissed.

“Get over yourself. I have other places to be.” As Rionnic crossed his leg on that uncomfortable chair. “This needs to hurry up. What’s taking so long?!”

The cameraman pleaded for more time; the fear was transparent from his eyes–probably recalling the times where Vaylin ended the lives of his colleagues with a flick of her fingers. What about this new Emperor, was he just as ruthless? 

“A-and now we’re live on air!”

Rionnic couldn’t even put up a presentable face to the camera before starting his speech. As for Vaylin, the realization slowly washed over her as her head somberly tilted downwards. Arcann remained steadfast, as if it was just another Taungsday for him.

“Greetings… Let me get straight to the point. As you can see, next to me are the former Emperor and Empress of Zakuul, Arcann and Vaylin. You can sleep easier now, as they won’t be a threat to the galaxy anymore. Their trial will begin when the preparations are complete. Lastly, let me make one thing clear…”

Rionnic stood up from the Eternal Throne, taking a few steps forward, his boots clanking against the platform.

That made her more nervous. Truthfully, while she wanted to be part of that happy family in the holovid, being surrounded by them in reality would make her the most vulnerable she had ever been. And she hated that. Wanting something she conceptually hated had become a driving force she couldn't fight off.

And it began. Senya made her way out of the shuttle, glancing back at her daughter standing frozen next to the co-pilot chair. She smiled, beckoning the anxious Vaylin. The warm air of Zakuul eased her nerves a little as they rode in the taxi. Still, Vaylin kept her head down to avoid unwanted attention. She was again immobile when Senya hopped off the taxi. A sharp but short breath escaped Vaylin’s mouth, right before she shook her head to keep the shivers at bay.

“Come, Arcann’s eager to introduce you to his new family.”

Her heartbeat started picking up. When the penthouse front door opened, she was welcomed by a poking head from a corner. The lady’s eyes widened upon sighting her, but her equally wide smile sent a little warmth and reassurance. “Hello! Welcome, welcome! My name’s Aryuni. Hey big guy! She’s here!”

Vaylin was taken aback by Aryuni’s energy. She had seen this kind of personality before, but she’d always shut them down quickly as she found them annoying. Seeing the lack of response from the former Empress made Aryuni's face drop. But she smiled again as if the fearful look she just displayed never happened. Senya decided to step in to ease the tension. 

"Let's take our seats there. Looks like you've already prepared some refreshments, Ary."

"Y-yeah! Please tell me if you need anything else."

She was starting to regret her decision. Her tongue was still frozen even after a few seconds seated with her mother and sister-in-law. She dared herself to sip the tea, hoping it would defrost the stiffness. This would all be easier if Rio was here, but that could mean she was too dependent on him. So much conflicting hidden emotions. Aryuni cleared her throat, stating her query in a calmer, less enthusiastic way.

"My apologies if we got off the wrong foot. I understand that you're here to see the twin girls, yeah?"

To which Vaylin nodded.

“Are they asleep?” Senya asked.

“Nah, they’re keeping Arcann busy. They’re surprisingly docile today, though. Maybe because there’s a special guest visiting!”

The three women headed upstairs, led by Aryuni. As soon as the nursery door opened, Arcann warmly greeted his sister, while holding one of the twins. “Hello, aunt. Come closer, meet baby Avelyn.”

Vaylin has not said a single word, but as they always say, actions speak louder than words. She cautiously approached her brother, eyes trained on the baby. Her body language saddened Arcann; she shouldn’t have to shrink and be so guarded all the time. Baby Avelyn reached out to touch Vaylin with her mittens, feeling an instant connection. The four-months-old baby laughed.

Perhaps the laugh was because she had successfully stolen aunt Vaylin’s heart.

“BURP!” Baby Avelyn proclaimed.

That startled Vaylin, while the other adults laughed. That regret came creeping back, reasoned by how she shouldn’t be this close to her estranged family. But looking at her twin nieces was a much needed medicine for some of her unseen wounds. She then laid Avelyn on her chest, snuggling and closing her eyes to take in the moment. The adults seemed to do the same, appreciating the sight of a peaceful and loving Vaylin.

It didn’t take long for her niece to fall asleep as she swayed lightly, then she carefully placed the baby back to her bassinet. But the older twin, Avery, wanted to be held by her Aunt too. “Yin! Yin!” 

“Ah, she already knew your name.” Arcann remarked, to which his partner countered; 

“Considering how many times that name’s been mentioned, yeah.”

Which elicited awkward laughs from both Arcann and Senya. It finally caught Vaylin’s attention in the form of a singular lifted eyebrow. Both mother and son instantly became alerted to that. Aryuni however, while obviously catching on to the shift of expressions, decided to dismiss the tension with a proposition for the aunt. “Want some cookies? It should be done right about… now.”

A faint alarm in the sound of a screaming Hutt confirmed Aryuni’s prediction. 

“Wh- why did you set that as the alarm?” asked Arcann while snickering rather reluctantly, unable to deny the comedy of the situation.

“Ever since I heard it from that show–I can’t get it out of my head. Now come on, some warm tasty cookies await us!”

Not even Vaylin can deny her amusement towards Aryuni’s antics, much as she tried hiding it. The room was soon emptied except for sleeping Avelyn, who could be monitored by the holocam. Avery was always touching Vaylin’s face, tentatively pinching and squeezing her. Aryuni noticed and immediately cooed over them. “Aww, she seems to really like you!”

The baby’s doe eyes confirmed it. “Yin?”

“Yin.” Vaylin nodded.

Avery laughed, squeezing Vaylin’s cheeks with her mittens. The mother offered to take the baby off of her, but Vaylin declined. “You said she likes me.”

The smell of freshly baked cookies filled the kitchen as Aryuni laid them on the table. Senya served more tea, while Arcann washed the baking pans and utensils. The lack of droid helpers perplexed Vaylin, but she was preoccupied with her niece to voice her mind. While waiting for the cookies to reach room temperature, Aryuni attempted to make some small talk.

“So... how are you doing, Vaylin? Uhh… have your days-” “It hasn't been easy, but nothing I can’t handle. Let’s talk about you, instead. Care to tell me about your origins?” Vaylin spoke in a commanding tone, while her mother and brother were silent.

“I hailed from Telos. The uh, lower slums. Not much happened during my early life. Then I went to the Alliance for a better job.”

“A job of fighting against the Eternal Empire?”

“Sister-” Arcann tried to interject.

“Nah, it’s fine. To be honest, it can be dangerous, ‘specially for an ordinary woman like me. But my Alliance job wasn’t really fighting. It’s just cleaning up and delivering things around. Y’know, menial tasks.”

“Your contributions are significant, Yuni.” Arcann successfully interjected.

“I knooow. Oh, by the way, do you mind if I go get a job again?” asked the new mother, trying to include the husband in the conversation. But the question left him perplexed instead.

“But we have enough to cover everything.”

“What kind of jobs would you be looking for?” asked Vaylin, while Avery laid her head on her collarbone.

“Heh, menial ones. Good paying jobs are great, but I’m just being realistic. I’m still not sure about it, though. Raising twins is hard work, so it won’t be until years ahead, I guess.”

All the other adults nodded, but Vaylin realized something after looking at the clock. Chonky. “I have to go-” as she got up, carefully shifting Avery but it roused the niece anyways. Aryuni quickly collected fussy Avery from her aunt. The grandmother preferred to passively observe rather than interact, keeping her distance but enjoying the short visit nonetheless.

“Aww, don’t be sad. I’m sure Aunt Vaylin will come visit you again soon!” 

“Yin! Yin!”

To which Vaylin turned around and gave a sad wave. Suddenly, it was Aryuni’s turn to realize something. She fobbed her child off to Senya. “Wait!” 

The new mother quickly filled a small plasteel box with cookies and rushed towards Vaylin, insisting on her leaving with it. Arcann joined her in escorting Vaylin away, while Senya trailed close, trying to calm Avery down. Both mother and her baby bid a loud farewell, something Vaylin appreciated inside. The taxi departed with Arcann on the wheels, riding slowly across their homeworld. “Thank you for visiting us, sister.”

Vaylin was quiet. 

“I heard that you haven’t been having it easy. Tell me what I can do to help. You know you can always trust me.”

“Look how that turned out last time.” she jabbed.

“True… I should have been more careful. But now that the matter is out of the way, if you need anything just contact me. Our door is always open for you.”

Again, no response. Arcann took the hint and proceeded to drop her off at their mother’s shuttle. It was previously agreed upon that the shuttle would be free to use should Vaylin needed transport. As she was about to board the shuttle, she turned around to offer some parting words for her favorite brother. 

“You’re already a better father than… him.”

It was a simple yet one of the deepest affirmations Arcann had ever received. He managed to hold the tears behind a thank you, long enough to not be seen by Vaylin wiping them away.

Senya presented her case to the twins, stating that she felt responsible for her part in Valkorion's schemes. It wasn't the strongest of reasoning, but surprisingly Rionnic granted her request. His attention was then diverted by his wife calling out to him, excusing himself. As Riornivo's gaze landed on Theron, both men knew it was going to be the same question as Senya's.

".... She's my mother. It would kill me to know that I didn't try when I had the chance." 

The former SIS agent didn't need to strengthen his case, but his final point deeply resonated with Riornivo. Flashes of the failure with his own mother appeared, but he shook his head to repel that trauma. All three of the people talking to him moved to help as he took a step back, but he reassured them of his condition. The Jedi reluctantly agreed with the agent's request.

"You need to take care of our son... Do you still believe in me?" as Rionnic grasped Jaesa's hand, having had to refuse her pitch of coming along. It was the same question he uttered at the beginning of their relationship, and she decided to give the same response all those years ago: a melancholic kiss.

When Kira stepped out of the shuttle, she was surprised to see the additions to the rescue group. Scourge voiced his disapproval, but Rionnic reminded him of how powerful Vitiate was. The first Wrath argued about the risks, which led to his successor taking on full responsibility upon all of the personnel accompanying him. It was quite the unexpected stance coming from Rionnic considering that he mostly preferred working solo.

"We're not helpless. You're venturing into the unknown... It'll be safer with numbers." Senya chimed in.

"Right, let's just go. Time's short." As Kira stepped back into the shuttle. 

Minutes after they approached the coordinates, they were intercepted by a fighter unit coming from the ship Satele was in. Kira's shuttle managed to evade the attack while Arcann's shuttle from behind shot at the assailant. He told Kira to sprint towards the ship while he dispatched the enemy.

The two Wraths and two Jedi cautiously disembarked from their shuttle, expecting a welcoming party. They were met with darkness and silence instead. Their steps were light to avoid alerting the occupants, but without lightsabers to light their way, it was difficult.

Until they heard an argument coming from a control room. It was two Hands of the Emperor, being quite uncharacteristic by the way they bickered. 

"This is impossible! We fixed one system and another broke! It's deliberate!"

"That must have been T7's handiwork," Kira whispered to Rionnic. "Let's take them out quietly before th-"

But Scourge had a different idea. He menacingly advanced towards the two servants, attacking them alone. Rionnic could only narrow his eyes at that. When the rest of the group joined Scourge, it became an uneven fight. Riornivo only flinched and cowered during the brutality, earning some side eyes from his twin. But Kira put a comforting hand on the rattled Jedi, understanding how unnerving it was watching the two Wraths mercilessly struck down their enemies. 

T7 emerged from hiding behind some boxes, expressing his relief.

"Ship = off-course // Unknown group = arrived before T7 + Hand"

Which led Kira to question who else was in the ship. Scourge wanted to dispatch them, causing Riornivo to disagree as they could be after the same purpose. "Agreed," as Kira interjected, "Containment should be our priority anyways."

"Engine malfunction = temporary // direct sabotage = necessary" 

"Great, I'll take T7 to make sure the hyperdrive and engines are completely shut down. Shields and weapons too, just in case. You wanna come along?" To which Riornivo took up Kira's offer.

"We must still make sure no one on this ship can leave. We cannot risk the plague spreading." Scourge reminded, to which Rionnic replied, "We should launch the escape pods before anyone can use it… and the unknown group's transport."

Everyone nodded as the objectives were set and thus, the two Jedi and Wraths split up. The two Siths encountered more servants along the way, fighting their former comrades off while releasing the escape pods and progressing towards the hangar control room. Their counterparts weren't met with as much combat until they reached their objective. As much as Riornivo hated violence, he couldn't possibly let Kira face the enemies alone. 

He reluctantly drew his new lightsaber, while utilizing mostly defensive Force abilities. Every chance he could incapacitate the opponent, he took it.

Upon seeing the mystery shuttle being a Zakuulan one, Rionnic was unsurprised but still perplexed. Scourge voiced his disdain about the passenger's loyalty to Valkorion, to which Rionnic added, "Some of them oppose my tenure. I can't be sure of their agenda."

"Then we should give them a chance to explain themselves before striking."

After releasing the shuttle into open space, Kira called them to report on her progress. Rionnic did the same, and Kira gave everyone a coordinate to meet on a hunch that both Jedi sensed Satele's whereabouts. Once the two Wraths made their way to the ship's bridge, they found some lifeless Scions, with traces of lightsaber battles around the room. Rionnic recalled their purpose while he readjusted the ship's course. When they were about to leave the bridge, an unmistakable, ghostly voice lamented the loss of lives, urging an end to it.

"Revan?"

"The ritual inscribed on Tenebrae's flesh–the plague, is taking over its host's minds. He's being remade, I can feel it. We need to intervene." Revan remarked.

"Kira will lead us in meditation. We will join our minds and try to purge the plague from Satele's psyche." 

"Then go, quickly. I'll help you as best as I can."

The two Jedi met Arcann's group, and not long after, they met the two Wraths at the specified coordinates. From a distance, Satele can be seen being dragged around along with her students by the servants, but they were stopped by an unsettling scene. Minazar, a fatally injured Scion used the last of his breaths to laugh once he spotted the rescue group. 

“Heskal’s prophecy… at last, we’re all here…”

But Servant Four emerged with her lightsaber brandished. “You cannot stop this!”

“You’ll never win!” Minazar argued back. “Valkorion’s last vestige will soon be purged from your corruption!”

“You were puppets! Fools! We’re his true followers! Only we know the true shape of his power–of his plans!”

Rionnic rubbed his forehead while sighing defeatedly at the bickering. Arcann attempted to reason with them after Riornivo's effort failed, producing the same result. Weapons were drawn when Servant Four ended Minazar's life. The fight was difficult; the room they were in was small compared to the one Satele was located, but they avoided bringing the fight near her. Even more lives were lost.

Kira and Theron wasted no time to check on Satele's condition while Riornivo did the same for the group, healing their minor injuries. 

"She's still breathing. Some of her students… we gotta hurry."

"Quick! Form a circle." Scourge commanded.

But Theron grabbed Riornivo's arm, with a somber look on his face. "I'll keep guard in case there are stragglers."

"Theron?"

"I'm glad I could help but… I don't think I want to see the inside of her head."

"Couldn't agree more." Rionnic interjected.

The Barsen'thor acknowledged the agent's concern, and advised him to wake any of them up should anything go wrong. Kira began to instruct the Force wielders to focus their minds on Satele, and to control their breathing as they went into deep meditation. Then, to follow her voice as the Force gradually shifted the fabric of reality.

Vaylin woke up in a strange place, unlike anything she had ever seen before. How did she get there? Was this another dream? Just when she thought to sleep earlier today! She was wearing her former Empress robes, complete with the head covering. Looking down, she saw an endless, purplish gray void. But the most perturbing thing was a tall figure approaching her. 

It was her murderer, the evil twin.

Instantly, she activated her lightsaber to defend herself. She had never come face to face with him ever since that day. He marched closer with his lightsaber pointed at her. Gazing upon the face of the man she had come to care for contorted with such hatred made her weaker.

"Everytime you hurt him, I felt it too. Didn't you know?"

A damaging statement hitting her where it mattered. Her fists clenched tighter, with the free one shooting sparks out. Flashes of that day resurfaced; his red lightsaber through her body, but his twin quickly pulled him away from her.

"Get away from me!"

"No, you get away from me. Get away from him."

He took the first swing. She successfully blocked it, quickly creating a distance by sidestepping. She pushed him away with the Force, but it only managed to weakly shove him. Either his Force resistance had increased tremendously, or she became weaker instead. He struck again with added weight to his swing, causing her to stagger back after parrying. Not giving her a chance, he swung again multiple times, straining her resolve, causing her defense to get sloppy. It felt like a casual fencing session for him, clearly not using his full might and expertise. While she was fighting for her life. A reminiscence to what she used to love doing to her subordinates.

Her lightning bolts missed, distance created easily closed by his much larger size, her own strikes deftly countered, and even her anger wasn't enough to overcome the circumstance. She couldn't even find a second to focus on the Force prowess she had. 

But suddenly, another lightsaber clashed with his. This time, it was someone his own size, catching him off guard. Having the fight unexpectedly leveled against him, he had to finally use his off-hand lightsaber.

"Thexan?"

Was this another Iokath situation? Was Thexan real? She took a moment to sense her brother's presence through the Force, and it reciprocated. She could feel him. But she was already quite drained to assist her brother, and her head was spinning with questions and a strange but familiar influence trying to take over… 

Kira woke up to a horrifying environment, discouraged by the state of Satele's mind. Next to her was Riornivo, who awakened shortly after her. "I can’t sense the others… I'm not sure if they made it in." 

"Unexpected visitors… Fascinating."

That voice again, unmistakable and dreadful. Both of them walked forward cautiously when Valkorion appeared in a flash of lightning, startling them. “You don’t recognize me?” Riornivo asked.

“No, but you come here for a purpose… Ah, who might you be?”

Before they could do anything, Valkorion summoned dark energies taking the form of monstrosities to welcome them. Kira leapt into the fight while Valkorion vanished. Choice was once again ripped from Rio’s hands as he had to fight off the monstrosities inflicting all kinds of negative emotions with each attack. After the last of them was defeated, Valkorion praised them both, but yet another voice familiar to Kira echoed the sentiment. Vitiate. 

"What the-"

But there was another manifestation, a void-eyed Sith pureblood, donned in an ancient apparel and a body full of markings.

Riornivo thought he was taking pills of lunacy when each of the forms took turns in talking, remarking what memories and knowledge Satele possessed when pressed about the past encounters. Seeing that the monstrosities weren’t giving the two Jedi much trouble, Tenebrae isolated Rio from Kira, leaving him to fight alone. But an equally powerful presence launched a surprise attack on Tenebrae, reducing his form to a dark dust. 

“In this fight you are never alone!” Revan exclaimed.

The relief Riornivo felt was tremendous–he didn’t think he could survive three Emperors by himself. Revan took over most of the fighting as they progressed further into the corrupted memory, restoring it little by little by reliving the fonder ones such as Satele's early recalling of her padawan days. Once Tenebrae’s attention was stolen from the others by what the pair was doing, he reappeared to stop Revan and Riornivo.

Even more unexpected appearances came to assist. It was Meetra Surik and Scourge, seemingly to have closed their own chapter all those years ago. Outnumbered, the void-eyed Sith shifted the scene and scattered his enemies again. It wasn't long after Rio got up that another familiar voice spoke to him. Darth Marr.

"This impression of Tenebrae isn't as powerful as he thinks he is. His lack of memory means that he does not know how to effectively combat us," as Rio approached him, still quite light-headed. "Despite this state of mind, Satele is stronger than that. You can stop him. Avenge me. Avenge us all!"

Another blinding light and a change of environment. Riornivo wondered how Marr was able to do that, but he concluded that the Sith was a close companion to Satele during her exile. Perhaps he was one of the last bastions of Satele's mind against Tenebrae's corruption. He took a moment to regain his composure–all that teleportation and cameos was quite disorientating. Fortunately, he felt right at home walking around the faux Tython, discovering a small holocron by a statue. He then showed it towards a gateway, opening up a passage leading back to the distorted scenery.

He looked around to see if he wasn’t alone anymore. Failing that, he started walking, eventually seeing a corrupted Jedi temple in the distance. But a scene unveiling nearby caught his attention first. His twin was fighting Arcann’s twin and Vaylin. Rionnic was holding his own against the siblings, being so much more powerful it’s unnatural.  “STOP!”

Riornivo’s shouting distracted Rionnic, which Thexan took to full advantage. He stepped back and then jumped for the kill.

But he was frozen mid-air. It wasn’t only him, both Vaylin and Rionnic received the same treatment. When Riornivo finally arrived in the middle of the three, he panted and struggled to normalize his breathing. While the frozen three looked at him with gobsmacked expressions. Comically, the Jedi manually removed their lightsabers, then rearranged them away from each other gently with the Force. He knew full well that he was in for either a verbal or physical smack down after he released them.

“Please, this is what Valkorion wanted you to do. We must work together…”

And so he released them. Thexan seemed to understand and just stood there, Rionnic was baring his teeth at his brother, while Vaylin pulled her lightsaber back. 

“He tried to kill me! He started it first! I was just defending myself from my murderer!” Vaylin shouted.

“Ah, here we go again. You’re going to excuse her behavior in three… two…” Rionnic mocked.

“Stop. Please, just a moment. It’s killing me to see you both like this. We can talk this through. I’m beggi-”

“Oh, no, not this again! This just keeps on getting better!” Vaylin interrupted upon seeing her mother and brother approaching. Meanwhile, Tenebrae was watching from stealth, smiling at the chaos unfolding. 

“Brother… I…” Arcann lamented.

“I know.” 

“Know what? That he’s just as delusional as our parents?”

“Vaylin… please.”

“Please, please,” Vaylin mocked, while Rionnic stepped back, wanting no part of this family reunion. “Please what, mother? To stop reminding you of the truth? Does it hurt? Because it pales to what you’ve done to me.”

“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But you deserve to hear this,” as Senya slowly approached her daughter. “I was wrong… He took you and I said nothing. He caged you and I just stood by. He robbed you of the woman you were destined to be but I… I let it happen. Others blamed you for so much, but the fault is all mine. The pain and suffering wouldn’t have happened if I just fought harder… for you. I could have done more… I should have done more.”

Senya’s weeping seemed to ease its way into Vaylin’s heart. Riornivo had been nodding somberly throughout, adding his own words to it. “I know this isn’t nearly enough to make things right… but I hope hearing this brings you some peace, Vaylin.”

It resulted in a long pause from everyone until Vaylin recouped her composure, sniffing out her father from behind. “Can we focus? There’s someone else here who needs to DIE.”

“Heh, foolish child,” as Valkorion suddenly appeared, once again startling everyone. He held out a hand, attempting to invade Vaylin’s mind. Not this time, she thought. The Force fully cooperated with her by blasting Valkorion with lightning, stopping his attempt and unveiling both Vitiate and Tenebrae nearby. The Zakuulan family advanced towards Tenebrae, cornering him. 

"You presume limits to my power. There are none."

Surprisingly, it resulted in Rionnic flinching and hissing while holding his head. His younger brother caught him as his vision returned from distortion. His head immediately felt lighter, and his breathing easier. Riornivo quickly  figured out what was happening. Tenebrae was inside Rionnic's head. 

“You need to get to the center. Go!” Arcann ushered.

Thus, the twin brothers hurried towards the corrupted Jedi temple. While he was still feeling light headed from being mentally freed minutes earlier, Rionnic fought off the remaining monstrosities with a strong sense of protecting his brother. Using the same holocron of memory, Riornivo untangled the temple’s grand door out of those dark roots. 

And in the heart of what used to be the council room was Satele, deep in meditation. 

Tenebrae further taunted the twins by saying that Satele was only moments away from being hollowed out. 

"You’re starting to sound a bit desperate. Who are you trying to convince?" Rionnic taunted right back.

"Mindless child!" 

Tenebrae broke the council room apart to reveal the ruined mindscape once more, reveling in his coming victory. “No.”

The former Grandmaster stood up, full of determination. “Your power is your weakness. It blinds you.”

“Jedi nonsense!”

Satele herself joined in the taunting battle, but more eloquently, countering each of Tenebrae’s barbs by acknowledging them and describing how well she knew his inner workings and egotistical crusade. “I never had to beat you. I only had to let you think you’re invincible… Until now, until every person who knows your weakness firsthand could come to face you.”

Led by Revan, the people Satele mentioned marched forward, ready to end their common enemy. “Until the one person who proved you could be defeated came here to destroy you, once and for all.” as Satele took her place next to the Barsen’thor.

“But I-”

“You hesitate now, this will all be for nothing, Spiky.”

In all the years he had met his twin, that was the first time ever Rionnic called his brother by his nickname. It inflicted mixed emotions for the Jedi: endearment, anxiety, and confusion. The mindscape was quickly overrun with crimson Force as Tenebrae merged his forms into Valkorion, beginning the fight for their lives.

Rionnic and Satele tried to attack the Emperor, but they were repelled by a dark barrier. Before they could hit the ground, they floated harmlessly, caught by Riornivo’s gentle Force powers. The others leapt into the fight, and Valkorion summoned helpers to manage the amount of attacks he was bearing. It was pure chaos.

With combined powers and strength, they managed to vanquish Valkorion’s form, resulting in the emergence of Vitiate. The rest of the fighters weren’t letting up. Riornivo mainly utilized his defensive and healing powers, managing the combatants' physical statuses. This had not gone unnoticed as Rionnic stole a few seconds to remind his twin to launch his offense instead of defending endlessly. Which made the Jedi wish he was never there. 

Vitiate seemed to have something personal against Revan, because he was taking most of the hits. All of the other fighters who tried to assist were overwhelmed by the weight of Vitiate’s trap in the form of strings, like a puppeteer controlling his subjects. Revan’s strength was waning, while Riornivo was struggling to summon enough Force to free himself and the others. Revan decided to spend his remaining grit to free the Barsen’thor. 

“Strike him!”

No more room for hesitation. Drawing his green lightsaber and Force Light on the other hand, Riornivo did not charge at Vitiate, but instead finally used his Architect Wings to jet forward and imbued his strike with the Force Light. Vitiate failed to resist, watching his trap vanish and his form disintegrate. It was time for Tenebrae to take matters into his own hand. He didn’t waste time and impaled Riornivo with a crimson blade made of pure Force energy. There were screams of his name. 

The ancient Sith then tossed him away.

Vaylin and Rionnic rushed towards him. Satele stood guarding her former student from Tenebrae’s overwhelming power, while the rest continued the fight despite being close to fatigue themselves. The Barsen’thor’s wings were covering his wound, dispersing some sort of healing salve thanks to his modifications to Brontes’ invention. But he was veering in and out of consciousness. Vaylin cradled him on her lap, trying to keep him awake. His twin was grasping his hand, noticing dark streams traveling inside his brother’s veins.

“Fight it off. Take my strength. You don’t leave me now, brother.”

And he wouldn’t. He was lifted off the ground by his wings, encased in blinding light combined with lightning currents from each conduit of the wings. When he landed, he was trying to catch his breaths, hand over the healed wound on his chest. Both of his hands then reached out to Rionnic and Vaylin. Holding their hands, he finally spoke for the first time.

“I agree. It’s time for this to end.”

It carved a smile on both of their faces. The Jedi’s face was no longer masked by his own reluctance. He released the hands of his loved ones and started levitating while summoning an immense amount of Force Light. It caught Tenebrae’s attention. Before he could turn around to face Riornivo, beams of energy shot out from the wings, creating holes. The Force Light disembarked from Rio’s hands towards him. Try as he might to resist or destroy it, the Light started enveloping him, causing unimaginable pain.

All three of his forms were cornered. He concentrated the last of his might and knocked everyone down in a crimson wave, slowly overpowering them. Only Riornivo was still standing albeit weakly. Tenebrae focused his power onto him, breaking through his mental defenses. His head felt like it was exploding.

Just like how she resisted her father’s control, Vaylin mustered enough strength and ran a hand on Riornivo’s back, gentle and comforting. It worked like a charm, as he met her eyes and nodded lovingly. 

The fighters slowly stood up with renewed resolve. Satele remarked; “Everything you’ve done…” continued by Senya; “Everyone you’ve betrayed…” and by Kira; “Everyone you’ve manipulated!” then lastly, by Meetra; “Everyone you’ve murdered…” 

“The Force seeks balance. Always!” Revan pointed out.

True enough, his power was his weakness. He was suddenly caught off guard and was blasted by his own power. It turned Valkorion to a statue, followed by Vitiate. Then lastly, Tenebrae, who put up as much fight as he could. The Emperor crumbled to a pool of ashes.

The Force immediately felt just, and the whole galaxy was lifted from a burden thousands of years endured. Rionnic kicked the ashes, as a last mockery towards his former master. 

“Are you alright?” Vaylin’s question to Riornivo.

“Now I’m alright.” said the Jedi while his wings retracted, having fulfilled their purpose.

It was her turn to be oblivious to the hidden meaning behind Rio’s response. She nodded, then her attention was stolen towards Arcann pleading to his brother.

“Please, Thex, just a little bit longer. I don’t want to wake up. Please stay…” as he squeezed his brother, talking in tears.

“You’re behaving like when we were kids. You need to wake up or your wife will kill you.” Thexan teased. He then pulled Senya into the hug.

And Vaylin just kept her head down, shrinking behind Riornivo. With a smile, Rio gently ushered her towards her family, and Senya pulled her in the group hug. They were sobbing and uttering apologies to one another. “We’re together now.”

One by one, the people vanished, bathed in light, either becoming one with the Force or waking up from their slumber. Riornivo breathed a sigh of relief.