#late as hell

Sabine’s boot scuffed against the dirt and leaves piled against the crickety wood to the porch of the old mansion, the rumors around the building were numerous and varying, all the Mandalorian had been able to gather had been some old war General snapping and killing his wife, Skywalker something or another. It was before Sabine’s time, leaving the local kids to fill the gaps in the police reports with all kinds of stories of aliens, ghosts, and small green goblins of all kinds. 

Apparently, it was some kind of tradition to make the new kid on the block offer candy to the spirits that still roamed the halls of the old family home, and Sabine was unfortunate enough to be the newest addition to the small Coruscanti cul-de-sac when Thrawn found out she didn’t have any plans (or friends) that Halloween, he was quick to sink his talons into her calendar. 

Golden eyes flickered back to the group of teenagers by the rusted gate, huffing at the mirth in red eyes Thrawn watched on. “You’re not… scared, are you?” Xiono called, the cardboard of his starship costume creaking as he waved his arms.

“Di’kute…” The young woman grumbled, pointedly ignoring the way Leia and Holdo ganged up on the pilot and the devil to quiet their taunts. Several pairs of feet soon shuffled to join her on the porch, under Leia’s scrutinizing gaze. 

“All together, if you’re going to be a Moof Milker about it, Thrawn,” She scolded as they stomped up the stairs together. 

“Can we get this over with already?” Amilyn called from the back of the group as she worked her way to Leia’s side, purple-painted lips drawn into a pout as she moved to Leia’s side, fingers brushing the cheap felt of the cat tail pinned to black pants. “Some of us have plans tonight,”

“E chu ta,” Sabine huffed, not bothering with the older woman’s reaction to her language as she turned the knob and shouldered the front door open. 

Dust was disturbed from the wooden door creaking against moldy carpet; Sabine had the foresight to tuck her mouth and nose into the dark orange bandana around her neck, smiling to herself at the round of hacking and wheezing coughs from the older kids behind her. 

The floorboards groaned and complained under her feet as she stepped into the entryway, leaving imprints in the shaggy maroon carpet as the gaggle of teenagers pushed onwards. “They say the senator’s spirit still lives in the basement,” Thrawn called in a low whisper as they moved through dilapidated halls, veering out of the way of sagging wallpaper and broken beams the whole way, occasionally reaching with her plastic Nerf revolver to swat away at various webs. 

The basement door sat off the kitchen, bubbling tile warping the floors, where termites ate away at the wooden doorframe, the metal of the dozen padlock brackets just barely holding on to the feeble supports. When Thrawn spoke next, it was from further away, Sabine didn’t have the foresight to notice that the others hadn’t followed them this deep inside, didn’t notice that the moment her hand wrapped around the dirty bronze knob to pull the door open, she was alone. 

The festering lamination of the tiles made it hard to wrench the door open, and there was a gross squish as she finally got it to swing forward on corroded hinges. The smell that floated up to meet her was vile, making her wish she’d followed her gut and snagged her respirator from the garage before she’d left, even if it didn’t go with the costume. 

Something slammed near the front of the house, shaking the whole building; She couldn’t hear anything but the groans of the old house, no shuffling of feet or smacking of lips from Holdo and Organa, not even snickering laughter from Xiono. Fear sparked into her veins in silence. She was no stranger to being alone, or even the prospect of death that hung in the air with the tragedy of the old family legacy. 

Rifling through the cheap leather pouches on her bandolier, Sabine pulled the inexpensive treat from the melty confines of her belt, chucking it down into the abyss with a sigh. 

She wasn’t expecting any kind of spiritual response, the dollar candy bar wouldn’t rewrite the wrongs committed to these people, wouldn’t somehow prevent tragedy worldwide; she was just appeasing some jackass kids so she wouldn’t have to be entirely alone this year, with Tristain going off to some fancy Saxon academy, and her father away for the year for his art. 

Of course, nothing ever seemed to work out the way Sabine thought it would when the foundation of the house rumbled with the predatory sound of a growl rumbling through someone’s chest.

Sabine turned tail immediately, not waiting to stick around when she caught sight of glowing blue illuminated in the basement stairwell, or the quickening thuds of two pairs (?) of feet rushing up the steps. The entire gang was gone, as Sabine made a mad dash for the front door, heartbeat thudding so loud in her ears that she couldn’t make out the exasperation of someone’s voice calling out.

“Ahsoka! Stop! You’re scaring her!” 

Sabine’s hands fumbled with the knob to the front door, twisting and pulling to no avail, she could make out the faint snickering of Thrawn and Xiono on the other side of the wood, and knew they were holding the heavy door shut for whatever prank they were playing; That’s all this was-

Sabine turned to reprimand the older teenagers that decided to play tricks, to kick their asses and show them why you didn’t mess with a Mandalorian; and was stopped dead in her tracks.

Her oppressors, a Twi’lek and a Togruta, were stopped just six feet away. 

From the decaying, rotting, green skin that clung to the remains of a skeleton on the Twi’lek, Sabine was forced to face the fact that maybe these weren’t some special effects majors playing into Thrawn’s games. 

“What the kriff is going on,” She gasped, out of breath and exasperated, unable to get the door open and escape the slow advance of the reanimated corpse and the samurai-coded beast beside her. “Don’t move,” She ordered with a snap, back pressing into the frigid coolness of the door, hands curling into fists as she raised them to defend herself. 

“Hey, hey! It’s okay, we aren’t going to hurt you,” The zombified woman started, holding her hands out in a soothing manner, which may have been the case if it weren’t for the missing and splintered pieces of bone all across her dead hands. 

“I’m,” A mottled elbow into the thin space between rusty armor plates. “We’re your scary godparents,” The Togruta’s growl had finally ceased; her voice was raspy from the continued sound, eyes dulling as they reacquainted with the moonlight pouring in through the dusty paned glass. 

“My fucking what?”

“Told you she wasn’t going to believe you,” The zombie cackled, earning a roll of predatory eyes. 

The Togruta took another step forward; Heart beating faster than her brain, the Mandalorian moved, one foot planting firmly in the squishy carpet as she wound up, sending her fist flying towards the orange woman.

“Mandalorians,” The zombie groaned with a sigh, stepping back just in time for golden eyes to catch the quirk of full lips around bloody fangs, just before the world went black. Her body dropped like a sack of bricks under the Samurai wanna-be’s hand, slotted up under the leather of her vest to press into her pulse points. 

Something wet was sniffing at her arm, fast inhales around flaring nostrils as they moved up her body, too close to her ear.

“Zeb, cut it out, I’m not going to stop her from kicking your ass if she wakes up to you being weird,” 

“What? I’m starving, and you know how good they make food in the West.” A gruff voice whined too close to her ear. 

“She’s Mandalorian, not your weird Wild West barbeque.” The Togruta from earlier chimed in. The sound of a scuffle roused Sabine further from the thick haze of sleep, eyes cracking open to the sight of a hairy, dirty… something being dragged away from her. 

“Aww, come on!” He complained loudly as he was pulled away from his meal, large arms crossing over his chest in a grotesque version of a pout as the orange woman easily manhandled him into another cobweb-ridden couch.

“What the kriff is going on?” Her voice was painfully thick in her mouth, pain spreading noticeably from her jaw. The small gaggle of noise around her came to an immediate halt.

“Lady Tano, I thought you said she would not be awake any time soon,” Someone from behind her chimed in. 

“I also said your read on her was wrong, Huyang,”

Sabine was forcing herself to sit up, blinking away the dizziness that came with the pounding in her head. She’d been knocked out more than enough times to understand by now that she’d been pretty effectively put down. “If someone doesn’t start talking-”

A cold, dead hand settled on her shoulder, freezing her words in her throat as her head turned, reminded instantly of the corpse that had been in her weird, fucked up, apparently not-a-dream memories. “I wouldn’t try that again, kid. Really,”

“Hera, you’re givin’ the kid a heart attack- er… humans still have hearts, right?” The purple…. Thing called from the other couch, rubbing at the thick hair on the back of his neck as he sat up, unsettling orange-green eyes peering almost through Sabine. “You good, kid? Or am I getting dinner tonight?”

“What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck… yeah, and… what the fuck?” Sabine whispered under the attention of three sets of eyes. 

“Hey, that’s no language someone your age should be using!” The zombified Twi’lek reprimanded, though her hand did finally raise from her shoulder to rest back in her lap, the remains of bony fingers picking at what was left of the skin on her hands. “I know this is a lot, and we definitely did not go about this the right way-”

The Togruta was too close, now, though she chose to crowd the corpse instead, large, lively, warm hands encasing pale green comfortingly, almost breathing life back into a long-dead body, Sabine had to tear her eyes away, finding the rooting wood leg of the coffee table to press the scuffed up toe of her boot into, watching the give of the dampened material to avoid the intruding feeling of the mushiness beside her.

“What Hera’s trying to do is apologize on my behalf. How’s your face?” Her fingers linked through green, preventing the Twi’lek from picking at her skin further. “I didn’t expect to lay you out like a baby getting drop-kicked by a gundark.”

“ ‘m fine, but some answers would be nice,” Her fingers raised to prod at what was probably already an ugly bruise, skin twinging under the press against abused flesh. Her elbows planted firmly into her knees, her body doubled over as she studied her still swaying surroundings. “What the kriff is that?”

“Oh, that’s just Huyang,” The zombie, Hera, corrected with a dismissive shrug. The… Huyang must have been a droid, at some point in its existence, though now, it resembled a human skeleton in all the worst ways, with its not-so-internal hardware dangling in the design of organs, caged in by durasteel bones that seemed to barely want to stay attached. Glowing yellow eyes watched her with something like disdain.

“Lady Wren,” The droid creaked out in an echoing voice that grated at her eardrums. 

Sabine’s weight shifted uncomfortably on the couch, hands laying flat against her thighs, wiping sweat from her palms as she tried to subtly inch her hand towards the bowie knife her Buir had given her before he’d left for his tour. 

“Sabine,” The Togruta called, the next thing the teenager knew, a large hand was laying on her hand, halting her slow ascent for her weapon.”If you’d like, I can take you back; I know we didn’t handle this one great;”

“An understatement,” Hera grumbled under her breath.

“Every now and then, a child will be picked, and assigned to somebody on the fright side,” Finally, some answers. Sabine allowed her attention to focus entirely on the almost ethereal woman before her, sinking back into the cushions under the warm press of a large hand against her own; Maybe the woman really was breathing life back into people. “We got you a little late, most of the time, they give us kids that believe in monsters-”

“Like that Ezra kid on Lothal,” Zeb grumbled with a throaty chuckle. “Five years later, still screams like it’s day one,”

“You know Ezra?” Sabine butted it, brows knotting as she glanced between them. 

“He was one of our first contracts; We get sent to kids when they need us most.”

Sabine scoffed, pulling her hand from Ahsoka’s to cross over her chest. “Not all the time,”

“You were very difficult to get a track on, on the other side. Mandalore-” Sabine flinched visibly. “Was never the easiest place to connect to.”

“So what, you’re like a fairy godmother or some Bantha shit?”

A smile cracked the woman’s lips. “Scary godmother, yes. I suppose you may have gotten hit a little too hard to remember...”

A ringing yell startled the Mandalorian as it echoed through the building, “Oh! Royalty’s here!” Huyang called, allowing Sabine a reprieve from the overwhelming presence as she turned to shoulder past him for the front door. “Excuse you, I’ve known Lord Baylan longer,” The droid protested as he was bumped with a hip out of the way.

“Yeah, that probably explains a lot,” Ahsoka remarked teasingly as she pulled several locks from the door.

Leaning towards Hera, Sabine watched the droid and Togruta bickering. “Who is she again?”

“Ahsoka Tano, but your world might know her more as Fulcrum,” The woman replied warmly as her hands twisted together in her lap once more, yellowed nails skirting harmlessly off her skin to both ease the desire to pick at her hands, and to avoid pulling away more skin, for Ahsoka’s sake. 

“Yeah, she eats kids, ya’know,” Zeb husked with a twitch of purple lips, sharp canines peeking past his lips. 

“Garazeb Orrelios, you know that isn’t true.”

The Lasat waved his hand dismissively, pushing himself off the couch with a groan. “Is there any food?” He grumbled, rubbing his stomach as it growled. “I’m starving.”

Sabine met his gaze with daggers of her own as he looked at her, her own lips twitching into a victorious smile as he grumpily looked away under the burning gaze of the woman beside her. “Last year, you annihilated the buffet before half of our guests even arrived!” The droid called, glowing yellow eyes narrowing as he rolled up a paper plate to smack the Lasat on the arm.

“Kids,” Ahsoka chided as she stepped through the open archway that divided the living room from the main house. “Best behavior,”  

Behind her stood a towering figure that demanded more attention than any of the variety of beings in the home. White hair with equally pale skin, eyes redder than sin itself, and a jawline that could cut ancestral beskar.

Next to the strange man, a much shorter woman stood, poised in a similar way that demanded her attention. Her hair, brown and blonde and peppered with grey, was pulled into tight, intricate braids across the top of her head. Black ink wove together to create half-moons in her skin, namely, at the base of her head, though Sabine could see the tip of more ink breaching out across her chest, under the blood-red silk wrapped around her frame.

Tucked behind them both stood a blonde teenager, lanky and brooding, hands shoved into the dark leather wrapped around their waist, style taking on a minimal earth tone compared to the two adults closing them in. Choppy blonde hair was adorned with a braid and a green gem woven into the strands where it fell past her collarbone. 

Really, the group looked almost like the most normal ones there, besides the lone human brought into the fold. When the man smiled to the room, Sabine felt unease stir, warm lights reflecting off the tip of sharp, white fangs. 

Her ears rang, too loud to hear the shorter woman as she greeted the others, but again, golden eyes didn’t miss the similar set of fangs in her mouth. “ ‘think I need to go,” She half grumbled to Hera as she shot to her feet, feeling eyes settling on her that made her queasy. “Bathroom?”

“Down the hall, here,” Hera tried to point her in the right direction, though Sabine was only half paying attention as she stumbled across the expanse of the living room and to the hall.

“Going somewhere?” The voice was light, haunted with hunger, hidden in the false intentions of genuine interaction. 

Golden eyes raised to meet sanguine, bristling under the memory of a man draped in black, a man who’d chased her people from their homes and left drained corpses in his wake. “Far away from you,” Sabine hissed, trying to shoulder past the blonde. She could hear the grumble of the adults in the room at the end of the hall, and knew that even their proximity could not save her if this vampire desired; she’d seen the stories, knew what had happened to her uncle Paz, right in front of Mandalore’s ruler. 

“Shin,” A strong voice called from the end of the hall. It was the man from earlier, another bloodsucker. His frame took up the entire hall, yet, he did not seem over-imposing, even offering Sabine a look of almost sympathy. “She is not from this world, you must remember to play nice.” 

Red eyes looked her up and down once, twice, and once again before realization dawned on the teenager’s face. “You’re a human?” They questioned in morbid curiosity, brows pinching together as she stepped back.  They looked to Baylan with uncertainty, though the slow dip of his head seemed to convey his silent confirmation. 

“What the fuck else would I be?” Sabine shot back, heckles still raised even as the vampire regarded her with a morbid curiosity

“A pain in the ass, apparently,” They grumbled, lips twisting sourly at the sharp red gaze of who, Sabine could only assume, was their father, sent her way. 

“Shin, come. Leave Sabine Wren to her devices, Marrok is due to arrive shortly,” His hand extended to the young vampire, who bowed her head in turn and stepped readily to his side. 

Sabine released a slow breath as her path was reopened, only nodding her mild appreciation to the Vampire Lord for the save, before pushing bodily into the creaky door of the bathroom. 

The mirror was dirty and streaky, with green and brown lines seemingly permanent across the glass, distorting the woman in the mirror as she stepped into it. 

Ahsoka really did deal a number on her, the olive skin around her jaw was mottled with purple, blue, and green blossoming across her jaw in a morbid canvas. “Karabast,” She groaned, turning her head this way and that with a frown. That was going to be a hard one to explain… or not, since Thrawn and Xiono practically trapped her in the Skywalker’s home; Hell, maybe she was even going to wake up and find out she just fell down the stairs.

When Sabine swung the door open, she jumped at the sight that met her. A man, towering over her like the Vampire had, with a murky aurora and a helmet covering his entire face from view. Wisps of green smoke filtered from the mask as he seemingly stared listlessly at her. 

“Fuck!” She jumped, shoulder smacking painfully into the doorframe as she smacked into it to get around him. “E Chu Ta!” She spouted as adrenaline filled her veins, urging her hurried steps down the hall, contrasting the slow, purposeful steps he took to follow her. 

Back in the living room, Sabine made quick work of getting Ahsoka between the daunting figure and herself, even reaching to fist her fingers in the fabric of the cloak that sat around her shoulders. “Marrok, down boy,” She teased with a soft laugh as his steps slowed to a halt. “You’re scaring her this time,”

“I am not scared,” The Mandalorian disagreed vehemently, brows pinching in annoyance as she peered around the predatory warrior’s shoulder, allowing the Togruta to shield her from the ghastly figure’s gaze. 

Marrok shifted to meet her eyes again, The Mandalorian bared her teeth, shoving her hand into her pocket and whipped out the pocket flashlight that her mother had made her grab before leaving. The light shined into his face, yellow-white peering into a mask… except, there was no face, or eyes, or anything solid to be seen through the small slit. 

“What the fuck?” It was quickly becoming her favorite phrase, at least, in this weird… Monster House. 

“Eh, that’s just Marrok,” The Lasat called as he stuffed a handful of candied meiloorun into his mouth, chewing loudly as he lounged next to Baylan, seemingly undisturbed by the vampire Lord’s disturbed gaze. “He’s a fart,” 

“Why hasn’t she come out yet?” Leia called, worrying at the skin of her lip as she peered towards the door. They’d heard Sabine pounding on it almost an hour ago, when Thrawn was insistent on holding it closed despite the Mandalorian’s best efforts. 

“You don’t think something might have actually been in there…” Holdo started, brows furrowing up at the gloomy porch, kicking the toe of her shoe into the overgrown grass. 

“Trick or treating is almost done, Thrawn, can’t we just leave her here?” Xiono complained, hooking his thumb under the nylon strap keeping his costume up, shifting the weight where it pressed against his shoulders. 

“No,” Thrawn hissed, resting his chin against his knuckles as red eyes flickered across the building. 

“This isn’t funny anymore,” Xiono shook his head, arms crossing over his chest and crinkling the cardboard tubes of one of his turrets in his pout. 

“We’ll go in and get Wren, then.” He decided ultimately, brushing fuzz from the cheap blue horns on his head. “Organa, you lead,” The young Alderaanian glared at him, but still bravely forged on to the front door.

It took time for Sabine to calm down and get into the vibe of the party, but between the different monsters, she found that they were genuinely more fun to hang out with than any of the friends she’d made in the city so far, except for maybe Ketsu, but she moved. 

Shin sidled up to her with a minor look of disgust pulling at her normally impassive features. “My parents are necking again,” She explained, red eyes casting towards the corner; the sight of the towering man practically folded over his wife was almost comical, though Sabine cringed sympathetically.

“Gross,” 

“So what is a human doing at the fright night party this year?” They were turned towards her fully, arms crossed over the grey angular tunic across her chest.

“Really? I have no clue. Went into an abandoned house, got decked in the face,” Sabine nodded her head towards Ahsoka with a sheepish smile, though her demeanor faltered when gloved hands rose to her face. “What are you..?”

Shin stilled, seemingly surprised by the way they were reaching out for Sabine with two fingers. Brows pinching, they forged forward, until the cool leather of her gloves brushed across the bruised skin of her jaw, skin covering the blossom of blood beneath the surface. Sabine watched with bated breath, weight shifting between her feet as the blonde finished her inspection in silence. “Why would you go into an abandoned building?” They questioned, breath just above a whisper, head cocking cutely to the side in a way that didn’t make butterflies flutter in the Mandalorian’s stomach. 

“Just a stupid kriffing dare,” Sabine grumbled, stepping away from the wall she’d made herself at home against to drop down into one of the open couches, tucking her feet up under her as her lips twisted into a scowl. The young vampire perched on the cushion on the opposite end, fingers twisting up the woolen fabric of her kama where it came to rest at their knees. “They wanted to ‘trap’ me in the house to see how scared I’d get,” Her eyes rolled as she sunk back into the couch, arms crossed moodily over chest. 

“Have you considered revenge?” Shin questioned, eyes narrowed dangerously as the tight-knit group of party-goers not so subtly listened into their conversation.

The Mandalorian scoffed pathetically. “Try going against Thrawn? Alone? Might as well move into massacre mansion alone,” 

“There is…. Another way,” Huyang perked up, looking between his companions with something as close to devilish mirth as a neutral droid face could muster.

“Revenge is groovy,” Baylan remarked, thumbs awkwardly extended as he glanced at the younger compatriots to their grand scheme. 

“This is so embarrassing, I could just live.”  Shin’s face dropped into her hands, groaning at the laugh that bubbled past Sabine's lips, freely into the night as everyone began brainstorming the best revenge. 

“Alright, Thrawn, stop playing around, where is she?” Leia demanded as her flashlight cast shadows across the walls, eyes narrowed in growing frustration as she followed the imprinted footsteps across old carpet. 

“How am I supposed to know?” He hissed back, following the tracks with a contemplative look. “Sabine was not the only one in here,” He declared, following the dirt tracks into the old kitchen, where the basement door was wedged open. 

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Sabine whispered, staring up at Shin as the vampire’s fang pressed into their pale wrist, painting dark blood across the shorter woman’s forehead and chin as she went.

“I find your lack of faith disturbing,” They grumbled lowly, tongue poking past their lips as she worked in the dark, making Sabine out to look as roughed up as possible. “Though it would be easier if you let me take a bite,” incarnadine eyes followed the path of her jugular, hidden beneath layers of skin that made her teeth itch to think about. 

Before Sabine could reply, Shin’s hand was pressing into her mouth, body covering Sabine’s as she was shoved back up against the wall. “Game time,” They husked into her ear, eyes flickering back to signal the advancement of her peers. 

Their hand carded through her hair harshly, though the restraint was tangible as they ‘forced’ Sabine’s head back. “Hey!” She shouted as the gaggle of teens passed, shoving harshly against Shin as she reached for her belt, where her flashlight was tucked into easy reach.

Noticing the struggle, Holdo and Leia were the first to rush to her aid. “Get off of her!” Leia shouted, yanking on the vampire's shoulder to break them apart. Even knowing the plan, the hunger that took over Shin’s face scared even Sabine, frozen for a millisecond as the blonde turned to advance on her four ‘saviors.’

Slipping the flashlight from her belt, Sabine flashed it at the side of Shin’s head, fighting off the smile on her lips from the overdramatic way the other teenager flung themselves back, trying to avoid the light as her arm raised to shield sensitive eyes from overbearing light. 

Their back hit the wall next, shrinking into the cape around their shoulders with fangs bared, their own blood still smeared against their lips to create a horrifying visage. “What are you waiting for?! Run!” She shouted to the group, forcing her own feet to move, shoving into Thrawn and Xiono to kickstart the process. 

Bursting from another hall came the towering figure of Baylan, fury in his eyes as he looked between his crumpled daughter and the frantic teens. Morgan moved swiftly between him and the doorframe to step in their path, the pair all but closing them in as more activity started in the house. 

With lightning speed, Sabine flashed the light to shine against the predatory creatures of the night. Like mother-like daughter, Morgan dramatically fell back into Baylan, knocking him off balance and sending both vampires careening to the floor with a loud thud. “Don’t stop!” She shouted again, thighs burning as they scrambled through the winding halls of a half-deconstructed building, fighting to find the exit. 

Again, a predatory growl seemed to permeate the structure of the home, the rumble from the Togruta’s chest casting across the halls, overpowering the sound of the group's feet as they raced down the back stairwell. Thrawn stopped, eyes searching in a way that was almost frantic as Ahsoka prowled closer. 

Before he knew it, a hand shot through the drywall, green and decaying, bones scraping against the rough material of his jacket, blue-hued blood staining the fabric in a way Sabine knew would eventually blend into the blue devil costume he’d donned that day. 

Sabine threw herself into the green forearm, wincing internally at the crack; Apparently, the zombified Twi’lek wouldn’t be hurt, and reattaching the limb was an easy process, Sabine just had to trust that her impact wouldn’t ruin the recovery, as the woman’s arm gave way under her body weight, snapping with a sickly wet sound before going limp again the door. “You need to keep moving,” She hissed darkly in Thrawn’s ear, shoving him through his paralysis as the growling grew nearer. 

The next stop on their haunted escape room tour was be the dining hall; Sabine wound up running into Leia’s back and stumbling, hand shooting out to catch herself on the table. In front of the only entrance, the ghastly form of Marrok stood to greet them. He was silent, now, but green smoke poured from his mask like a machine at a cheap Imperial Academy dance. 

If he’d scared her before, seeing him in his prime was enough to put genuine fear in her bones. His fingers flexed around nothing as the empty helmet gaped at them, though when he took his first step forward, Sabine shoved between Organa and Holdo, once again shining the flashlight into his face.

This time, instead of finding amusement in her actions, Marrok froze, the leather of his suit bubbling grossly, like the flooring in the kitchen, before he popped like a swollen balloon, green mist escaping into the air, just to be swept back into the dark, leaving only his helmet behind. “Is he dead?” Xiono questioned, weight shifting awkwardly as he tried to hide himself behind Thrawn.

“How about we don’t stick around to find out,” Sabine hissed as the growling grew closer. “There’s the door,” Once again shoving harshly at their backs, Sabine herded the group back into the entryway. If the portrait of the old Senator moved to watch Leia pass by it, the Mandalorian heeded it no mind, heralding everyone to the door. 

“It won’t budge!” Thrawn called, his brows furrowing as he pulled on it. Through the darkness of the glass window, Sabine saw an outline of a skeletal droid, and knew Huyang was offering revenge in the simplest form his morality would allow. 

“Gotal’ad, you’re a dink!” She hissed, shoving past him to tug on the knob. Brass gave easily under her hand, though she swung the door inwards slow enough to give the droid on the other side a chance. 

“Sabine!” Leia called, turning with eyes widened in fear; Ahsoka stood at the end of the entryway, eyes narrowed and fangs bared, muscles taut like a predatory ready to jump on its prey.

“Get out of here!” She shoved the others behind her, stepping forward to meet Ahsoka halfway. 

Before her first connected, she saw a sparkle of mirth in the Togruta’s eyes; It wasn’t a hard hit by any means, but the woman played it off perfectly, crumpling to the ground the moment the Mandalorian’s fist hit her face. 

Sabine turned, kicking out the toe of her boot to swing the door closed one last time. “Are you okay?” She whisper yelled, crouching down beside the woman.

“Hey, you heard Lord Baylan, revenge is groovy,” A toothy smile crossed her face as she forced herself to sit up, the other monsters started slowly making their way into the entry way. 

“Well. That was… Wizard.” Morgan commented as she brushed off her robes, pointedly ignoring the look of utter disgust and horror that crossed the blonde’s face. 

“You better get out there, Lady Wren,” Huyang spoke up, lifting Marrok’s helm from the floor and holding it out until the green mist shot back into the room and swirled inside it, returning the monster to his corporeal form. 

“Will I…” Golden eyes flickered around the room; To Hera, who was straightening her broken arm and flexing her fingers to be sure she was working again, Baylan, who was fussing over the incision Shin had bitten into their arm for the blood, Morgan, still laughing at her joke, Huyang and Marrok, being general terrifying, and Ahsoka, still sat on the floor, rubbing at the blossoming bruise on her cheek.

“Will I ever see you guys again?” She asked finally, scuffing her boot into the carpet and averting her eyes. 

“Of course!” Hera stepped forward, cold hand resting on Sabine’s shoulder. “Ahsoka, do you have the key?”

“I thought you had it?” She teased, reaching into a pouch on her belt to produce a small key. “Fit this into *any* door, and you’ll be home.” Ahsoka handed it up to Sabine, letting the purple-haired woman turn it around in her hands for a moment. “We’ll always be here when you need us, but right now, I believe they need you.” 

Through the door, Sabine could hear Xiono shouting. “Nuh-uh! I am not going home without the Mandalorian,” 

When the door forced open again, Thrawn was met with the sight of Sabine standing over the ‘corpse’ of the venomous Togruta, and nothing more. “Lady Wren, would you do us all a favor and see us back to our dwellings?”

Staring down at Ahsoka, she caught the twitch of the woman’s lips. “Yeah, let’s go,” She turned, folding the key into her pocket as she pulled her flashlight back out. “I’ll keep you safe, Thrawn.”