Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait for the update; I barely have time to read the fanfics I subscribed to now, much less write, cause mi clases de universidad es a grande pain en la nalga, jaja. BUT to make it up to you guys I wrote a wonderful 12 page addition with lots of action and appropriate amounts of fluff. From now on I'll try to have the next chapter halfway done when I post. And thank you for reading this far, even if you don't review I really appreciate it. I was seriously blown away when I checked my stats page for this and saw the hits had nearly tripled.

Anyway, has anyone ever noticed that in KOTOR, the rakghoul disease is supposed to be uncurable yet the PC can just inject an ordinary antidote pack and be on their merry way? Well, that paradox irks me so here's a drama and Xana/Talon bonding filled chapter to fix that.

Chapter 4

Soundtrack:

Exploring Undercity- To Know that You're Alive by Kutless, Meridian by August Burns Red

Safe at Last – We Are Broken by Paramore

Bonfires lit up the perpetual night like so many fireflies, the residents of the local village congregating around them to eat, cook, or simply talk.

That was the first thing Xana noticed as she stepped off the elevator into the undercity. The next would probably be the two beggars currently shaking her and her companions down for credits. Quaint little welcoming committee you've got here. Sympathy got the best of her, though, and before they even finished pleading their case she dug into her pocket and tossed a twenty credit chip into their awaiting hands.

Xana, Talon, and Carth wandered the south side of the village for a while, simply taking in the drastic contrast of life and existence here. Whole families lived in shelters patched together from rags, vehicle parts, and whatever salvage they could find. A person's entire stash of worldly possessions was barely enough to halfway fill the cracked ceramic jars or battered plasteel containers a few households had. And yet, some people still clustered around, enjoying their meager meals and the company of others. They smiled, they laughed, they loved. It was a sobering lesson in contentment for all three travelers.

As she went to approach the village leader, Xana was hailed by a sagely old man perched outside of his tent. He took one look at her and began railing about destiny, hope, and fulfilled prophecies. Xana just stood there awkwardly, not knowing quite how to respond. Carth whispered, "Be careful, this one might be crazy enough to be dangerous," fingering the holsters of his blaster pistols as he did so. Xana shot him a glare and decided to empathize with the poor man – it couldn't have been easy to be this senile in such a harsh environment and he probably had to put up with many an unkind individual as it was. "Sorry sir, I don't understand. What do you mean by calling me 'the herald of prophecy'?"

"A question. You are bewildered, perplexed…" The rest of his chatter droned into the back of Xana's consciousness as she ranted inwardly. Oh frag it, the guy's talking in riddles now… She looked to the sky in exasperation. WHY? I decide to show compassion for a senile misfit for once and now I have to sit through his monologue for who knows how long? WHY ME! Xana was about to hurriedly excuse herself when the man began lamenting and her conscience rooted her to the spot.

"My apprentice, Malya, has been missing for some weeks and I fear she has joined the ranks of those who sacrificed themselves for our cause. Please, upworlder, will you help an old man? I must know what has become of her, and what she has found." The pleading expression in his eyes and intermingled grief and hope in his tone drove straight into Xana's heart. She couldn't help but agree. He settled back in his tent, appearing content and grateful, and just that reaction in itself warmed Xana from the inside, shielding her from her own doubts and the skepticism practically rolling off of her companions.

The village leader, Gendar, lived only a hut away from his dwelling and was only too happy to give the newcomers information after seeing Xana's understanding attitude towards the elderly man. He also offered the option of shelter, since it was already nearing night and it would be easier for the trio to simply stay the night in the village and set out the next morning. Carth thanked him and Xana came forward, holding out fifty credits to the man as payment. From the looks of things, housing was already scarce and overcrowded without their intrusion.

The man looked at the chips like they were gold bricks and beamed at Xana before cheerily escorting them to a decrepit two room building directly facing the gate. Immediately, Carth and Talon moved to settle down in the low, cramped space. They weren't still for half a minute before Xana shouldered her pack again and declared, "Well, waiting here really sucks. Let's go out and explore the undercity a bit."

"No."

"PLEASE?", she whined.

"No. It's getting close to night."

"Uh, Carth? It's always dark down here."

"Okay fine, I just don't want to go. Look, I'm tired because we just fought our way through several hordes of Black Vulkars. Though I can't for the life of me imagine why they'd come after us so darn persistently." Talon and Xana shared a nervous glance.

Xana relented for about five minutes before pestering him to go again. Finally, with all the pent-up frustration of a parent having to pacify a whiny child, he agreed to head out. They emerged from the dwelling and stopped to buy sketchy looking but still usable medpacs and antidote kits from a creepy looking vendor.

As they climbed the uncannily shadowy and deserted slope leading towards the gate, Xana began to yearn for the civility and warmth of the nearby village. A chill ran down her spine as she spied a young woman just a few years older than herself clinging to the gate and screaming for all she was worth. It appeared as if the guard was trying to reason with her.

Xana took off running at full speed toward the scene, stopping as she caught sight of a man on the other side being chased down by a rakghoul. The guard was pleading, "We have to close the gate – he won't make it in time." The anguish was palpable in the woman's reply as she shouted, "He will make it- RUN HENDAR!" After a few more moments it was clear the woman's pleas were falling on deaf ears, and she spun on her heel desperately, begging Xana, Talon, and Carth to go save her husband.

Without hesitation, Xana commanded, "Open the gate- I'll go rescue him."

The guard looked at Xana with eyes full of admiration – and a hint of skepticism. She met the gaze with disdain. Right- the grown man charged with guarding the fragging gate is going to let the teenage girl go out and fight the rakghoul. Super manly. The gate opened and Xana sprinted through, Carth and Talon barely managing to slip out behind her in the guard's rush to close it. What confronted them made Xana's stomach turn.

It was grayish-white and bipedal, but ran hunched over on all fours, sinewy muscle leading down to claws larger than its' head. Tiny black and red eyes sat atop a jaw twice the size of a human being's, which – to all of their great dismay – was full of razor sharp teeth. Aw man, we are so screwed.

Hendar, now exhausted, collapsed at the very edge of the gate, desperately holding his wife's hands through the metal mesh. Xana saw this and gripped her sword tight in preparation for her attack. Maybe that crash did deal out some brain damage after all, cause I'm pretty sure I've gotta be mental to be doing this right now.

Xana let out a furious war-cry and charged the massive monster head on, getting a good slash in across its' back. When it became distracted from chasing Hendar and turned on her, however, she literally had to will strength into her arms again as she went numb from sheer terror. Giant claws swiped at her and she haphazardly blocked them with her sword. Over and over again the monster struck out, ignoring the plasma bolts hitting its' thick hide with military accuracy.

Both claws were now pressed up against the side of her sword and the monster snapped at her menacingly. Its' head inched closer and closer to her hand and soon it began tearing at the sleeve of her red flight jacket. Finally, a plasma bolt hit it square between the eyes and both combatants slumped to the ground, Xana effectively crushed beneath the rakghoul as it fell.

Carth rushed to haul the thing off of her while Talon took a hold of her arms and dragged her away from the scene a few meters. The two nearly smothered Xana in their attempts to get her coherent and ask if she was alright. Finally Xana moaned and batted off her two overprotective companions, playfully berating them for acting like little old ladies –or worse, that pansy gate guard – over a light skirmish. She slowly dragged herself off the ground and shuffled inside the compound again, humbly accepting the couple's frenzied thanks.

"If there were anything I owned but the clothes on my back, I'd give them to you," said Hendar as he hugged his wife, who replied, "But you've still got me, and that's all I'll ever need." Xana tried to refrain from wincing at the sheer sappiness. But of course, as teenage girls were wont to do, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd one day know that kind of true, deep-running love…gah-that hurts!

A harsh stinging on her forearm brought her out of amorous-teenage-girl mode and her focus settled on a slight rip in the sleeve of her jacket that had gone unnoticed till now. Oh no no no no NO….

Panic overtook her and she all but sprinted back to the guest quarters. Once inside, she drew the curtain separating the sleeping area from the main room and pushed her right sleeve up, frantically inspecting her arm. There it was – clear as day even in the almost pitch black interior – the small, angry red incision that marked her first, and most likely last, rakghoul fight.

That night, Xana sat in the entryway of their lodgings and halfheartedly stirred a pot of instant noodles over a scanty fire, trying to convince herself that she would feel infinitely better as soon as she slammed some food down. Her vision swam yet again and as she swiftly brought a clammy hand to her burning forehead, she tried to pin her symptoms on anything – fatigue, aftereffects of the crash, hunger was the latest excuse – but the still-painful bite mark on her left forearm.

She swayed dangerously, nearly tumbling onto the boiling pot. Wow, I really hope nobody saw that. It took nearly all her willpower to keep up her facade of wellbeing so as not to scare Talon, Carth, or the villagers while she figured this mess out.

The minor injury sent off an unusually large wave of pain throughout her arm and she gave up any semblance of denial. Frag it! I'm tired of trying to be strong for everyone else's sake! I just want to know this cut isn't what I think it is and I want to know I'm going to live to see the next morning! Tears stung at her eyes but she willed them away, resolving that if this really were her final few hours, she wouldn't go down bawling like a baby.

One person in the camp did notice her, however. Talon had swiveled around from where he and Carth were seated around a burn barrel, just in time to watch Xana nearly fall over into her dinner, steady herself while gripping her forehead, then clutch her right wrist in apparent misery. Quietly he got up and walked over to where she was seated in the opening of the tent.

"Hey, you ok?"

Xana fought to keep the emotion and finality out of her voice. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"I just saw your little episode there. Look, I'm no medical expert, but I'm pretty sure whatever just happened to you doesn't qualify as okay."

Dang it, I hate damsel in distress situations. Relax, Xana, just play it off and he'll leave. "Naw, it's probably just from when I smacked my head."

Talon stared accusingly at her and his voice went hard. "Xana, that was four days ago. You haven't shown any signs of being affected by the crash at all since then. Something's wrong and it's got nothing to do with your head."

Xana didn't respond, just angled her face away from him and continued to stir the soup. In the process, she caught sight of her own reflection in a piece of metal being used to hold up the awning. She was shockingly pale and her irises were now a deep shade of crimson. There was no way she could hold the tears back now...here was the blasted proof that she really did only have a few hours left to live. As Xana broke down in silent, erratic sobs, she barely registered the weight of Talon's hand resting lightly on her shoulder blade in a friendly, comforting gesture.

"Xana...are you crying? Hey, what's wrong?." He reached out with his other hand to try and grip her other shoulder so she'd look at him, but she shrugged him away. Well, that 'no one will see me cry' junk went down the 'fresher pretty fast.

"Talon. Just leave." He didn't. Instead, he scooted around so he was sitting directly in front of her and tried to stoop down and make eye contact. Things had to be a special kind of awful if Xana cracked. Whatever it was, he just had to know if only for her sake.

"Just tell me. Please?" He whispered the question so gently and silently that for a moment both of them doubted anything was said at all. Xana was slowly breaking on the inside, however. This boy right in front of her seemed to genuinely care about her well-being, at least a little, and seeing as this really was the end of the line- she just didn't want to be alone when she went down.

"Talon, I'm dying." The words were spoken almost carelessly and withsuch matter-of-fact-ness, that Talon refused to believe she was telling the truth at first.

"No... Xana, you're probably just making a big deal out of nothing. Whatever you got, I dunno, maybe it is from the crash after all, or maybe you pushed yourself too hard in the dueling ring, or...or maybe you got sick off of the cantina food-"

"Talon." The soft whimper cut through his pondering like a vibrodagger through butter. "Look into my eyes and tell me I'm not dying."

"Okay Xana, come on, you're being melodramatic about this..."

"Talon. Look. Into. My Fragging. Eyes."

Talon hesitantly brought his gaze up to make eye contact with her and was confronted with irises so red they would've made a laigrek blush. And the pallor on her face...yep, this was terminal, all right. "Wow, you really weren't kidding."

Xana smiled wryly. "And if that's not enough to convince you..." She folded back her sleeve slowly, revealing the bite mark on her inner arm, just below the elbow. It was already a painful-looking shade of dark red and the inflammation was spreading outwards, almost to her wrist by now. Talon gave a small hissing sound, sucking in a deep breath through clenched teeth as a show of sympathy. Xana lowered her eyes and quickly covered her arm before any of the villagers could see.

Talon, just wanting the light, fun Xana back if only for a few moments, tried to get her mind off of her impending doom. "Hey, I think your dinner is ready. Tell you what, why don't you eat first and then I'll help figure something out afterwards. You'll feel a lot better that way."

Xana nodded, not bothering to supply a sarcastic remark about her thinking the very same thing, as she poured the soup into a brown earthenware bowl. As soon as the fragrant steam hit her now-sensitive nose, her stomach roiled and she thrust the bowl into Talon's hands before scrambling for the makeshift bed in the corner.

Talon gingerly set the bowl on the ground before rushing over to her. Xana lay on her side, face buried in the mat while she clutched the pillow to her stomach. Unsure of what to do, Talon simply patted her arm comfortingly. He really wished he had paid more attention during basic med training.

When her eyes popped open and her hazy vision settled on him, she looked nothing like the tough, snarky seventeen year old spacer she was, but rather a scared, sick little girl. It unsettled him to no end.

Xana whispered, or rather croaked, "Tal...ugh, I feel awful. I think I'm gonna spew. Frag it, I hate when that happens."

Talon wanted to give his ailing friend a reassuring hug, but he didn't know how wise that decision would be, concerning her apparently being on the verge of 'being ill'. So instead he spoke to her soothingly, trying to keep her mind occupied – a trick his own mother had used back when he got sick as a child. "Hey now, you're going to be just fine. I'm going to stay here and talk to you till you feel better, okay? It's never as bad when you've got something to keep your mind occupied."

She nodded weakly.

"So what do you want to talk about?"

"Tell me about you...where'd you grow up?"

Pain clouded his own features and he tried to keep the lament out of his voice as much as possible. "Telos."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He tried to appear bright and happy for her sake, though he doubted she could see the feeble attempt in the near darkness. "No, it's fine. Do you want to know how I ended up serving with Carth?"

Another weak nod. "Well, I'm kinda his protégé, for a few important reasons. After Telos was bombed, I was wandering the wreckage of my suburb looking for my parents. It just so happens he was doing the same, only searching for his son. I was just a scrawny little kid, barely thirteen, and so when I recognized the big 'decorated war hero Carth Onasi' and stopped to ask if he'd seen my mom and dad...I guess I reminded him too much of his son that he took me in, tried to help me find them. We searched together for so long, only to find out that his kid was unaccounted for and...I was orphaned."

A soft hand slowly protruded from under the pillow and grasped his wrist. He looked into her eyes and she whispered, "don't have to keep talking...if it hurts..."

He shook his head and continued, watching the hand fall and resume its' original grasp on the pillow. "Anyway, after that I guess we just stuck together for a while, so I could figure out where I wanted to go from there. It was a pretty lucky coincidence; he was a parent that wanted his kid back and I was a kid who just lost his parents. I guess he sympathized with me, cause before I knew it I was his personal guest. No refugee camps...it was straight to Coruscant for me. Deluxe quarters and all. We became like each other's surrogate father and son but eventually I got tired of sitting around, struck out on my own, drifted a while, made some mistakes, then came back to join the Republic army. My good buddy Carth put in a good word for me and soon I was serving under his fleet and promoted to Lieutenant-"

Talon was cut off by a series of muffled whimpers emanating from Xana, who had now buried her face into the pillow and began to fidget jerkily. Her hands clenched and unclenched the blanket in a steady motion. Finally, with a strangled cry she kicked away the pillow and blanket, crawling over to where they had piled their equipment.

"Xana, what are you doing? Come on, get back in bed, you really need to rest!"

Panting and struggling heavily from weakness, Xana managed to clip her armor into place over her jumpsuit. As she holstered her vibroblade with shaking hands, she turned to Talon and snapped, "Dude! I can't take this anymore!"

Xana hesitated a moment, breathed a deep sigh, and continued, "When we went to that clinic the first day we were here, the doctor said that the Sith patrols down here had a cure for the rakghoul disease. I'm going out to look for it."

"You can't fight off Sith and rakghouls in your condition! That's practically suicide!"

"What choice do I have, Talon? And who said I have to fight anyway? I can use my stealth field generator and scavenge off of downed patrols. And besides, I'm not going to just sit here and turn into one of those things, right in the middle of the village!"

"You've got a point there. Okay, just let me get Carth and we'll all suit up and head out."

"No! I don't expect you to come, and to be honest I really don't want you to. I mean, what if we were too late and I turned right in front of you? I can't take any chance of killing you two by accident – after all, you're the last hope for the Republic's last hope, and I'm just an upstart scout wannabe."

"You are way more than just an upstart scout wannabe, Xana. In case you haven't noticed, you've saved my butt I don't know how many times since we landed, and without all of your skills I doubt we could have even made it this far. At least let us help you-"

"Fine. But only you, not Carth. In case you haven't noticed, the guy doesn't trust anyone and I'm afraid he might overreact if he found out I'm infected. No more arguments. Every moment I'm spending here is another that I could be using to look for that cure, now let's move out."

The two teenagers deftly exited the building and slipped out of the village without anyone noticing. For the first time, Xana finally got a good look at the undercity's depths. Endless miles of grey, barren land faded off into darkness that was only punctuated by the dimly lit bases of Taris' skyscrapers and distant echoing howls. If that wasn't creepy enough, the ground was devoid of any living organism and lightly shrouded in a layer of white mist. Since when did my life begin to heavily resemble a horror flick again?

They wasted no time; Xana immediately started sprinting to the left, immediately regretting having done so because of the aching in her joints. She winced with each step but kept going, hearing Talon's heavy footfalls in tandem behind her.

Suddenly another group of people came into view as they darted around another skyscraper base. There were five of them, and they all carried massive firepower. They looked like salvagers, most likely swoop gang muscle. Talon immediately stepped in front of Xana, hands resting on his blaster pistols. One of the men noticed them and brandished a nasty looking blaster rifle, yelping, "Stay right there – I'm not afraid to use this if I have to!"

Another, obviously the leader, shoved down the other man's rifle and snapped, "Easy kid, we already lost a half dozen men to those rakghouls and I'm not gonna lose any more due to a pointless firefight." A light scuffling sounded from behind some nearby columns and before any of them could even blink, a whole pack of rakghouls sprinted out and attacked.

The pack of salvagers immediately opened fire on the creatures; one man was taken down in a matter of seconds and quickly replaced by Xana, who dove into the heart of the fray. Talon quickly followed, sniping the creatures as fast as they appeared. Xana simply slashed right and left in a frenzy of critical strikes. She figured, hey, she was already infected so why bother blocking? One short yet arduous battle later, the leader proclaimed that the salvage mission was officially not worth the profit anymore.

Xana smirked, "Combat getting a little too intense down here for ya? Freakin' pansies."

The man turned around and growled, "Either you're really brave or really stupid, to try and insult a Mandalorian like that."

"Mandalorian? Oh right, I remember you. You're that merc I saw outside the lower city cantina a couple days back! Canderous Ordo. Kinda weird how we both ended up here at the same time."

"Yeah, whatever. Sorry I can't stick around to chat, but I'm heading to the surface before any more of my men get killed. I suggest you do the same. You fight well, kid, but believe me, you're not gonna last long down here."

Without another word, the group marched on and Xana and Talon resumed their light jog, ever-wary for more threats. They soon came upon a large clearing that contained a few comatose figures – and about a dozen rakghouls. The two teenagers hunkered down against a pillar, out of sight as they formulated an attack plan. Xana pointed to a divider that sectioned off a small portion of the clearing.

"Look at that. If we take down the three rakghouls already there, then channel the rest through the holes in that fence, then they can't overwhelm us with numbers and we can take them one by one."

"Worth a shot."

Creeping over to the entrance of the small area, Talon attached a silencer to his trusty blaster rifle and dispatched the three rakghouls in rapid succession. They rushed to take their new defensive position, each hiding behind a divider as they pulled out the grenades. Talon had a myriad of explosives with him, ranging from plasma to sonic to cryoban, but Xana selected plain frag grenades. As she chucked a handful straight into the pack of rakghouls and waited for the explosion, she shrugged, "Classic yet effective."

Surely enough, a couple targets dropped, but they now had the rest of the agitated pack stampeding directly at them. Xana waited, biting her lip in adrenaline-numbed fear as Talon managed to bring down a few more on their way over. "Here they come!", he screamed.

Obviously Xana had underestimated the brute force of the little buggers. They forced their way past Xana and Talon's defenses much faster than they could be taken out. As a result the two teens found themselves back to back, chucking grenades, parrying, and firing blaster bolts as fast as humanly possible, being forced to take on two or even three at a time. They didn't operate as two separate combatants but as an unstoppable team, working as one against insane odds.

At last the sounds of combat ceased, and they made their way to the center of the clearing. Xana was beginning to tremble with fatigue, and the sight of the lifeless figures lying prone on the ground threatened to bring about another bout of nausea. She slumped against the nearest divider, leaving Talon to search the vicinity for the cure. Being terminally ill was as good an excuse as any, especially considering she probably wouldn't have been able to stand helping even if she was well. Scavenging was a necessity in wartime, true, but she wasn't a soldier. Talon was.

He trudged back to her, a datapad and some medpacs in hand. "Nothing.", he remarked wistfully, "but I did find the journal that old coot was looking for, at least."

Xana smiled and hauled herself up. "S'okay. We'll keep looking. There's still the area to the right of the village – I think I saw some Sith patrols off in the distance when we left."

She lurched slightly and Talon steadied her. She was still shaking pretty hard and seemed to be visibly trying not to cry out. Talon was more glad than ever he'd insisted she didn't go alone. "Let's hurry then."

Along the way they happened to run into a wayward Sith patrol, though still very alive. They roughly demanded ID papers from an already visibly exhausted Xana, and it was all Talon could do not to start a firefight as she quickly pacified them and sent them on their way. The captain called back as he retreated, "See if you can't find out what happened to the patrol in the northeast. They haven't checked in in awhile."

As soon as they were out of earshot, Talon whispered, "Why couldn't we have just taken the cure from them?"

"Do you honestly think they would have given it up without a fight? I am not going to let others lose their lives just so I can save my own skin! At least they told us where a downed patrol is."

"Yeah, true. How are you holding up?" They began to walk northeast quickly – running was no longer an option because all Xana could do was shuffle along rapidly at this point.

"I don't think I'm gonna last much longer, to be honest. Everything hurts, I'm really dizzy, and my eyesight's getting darker."

"Just please hang on a little longer, I think I can see another clearing up ahead."

Sure enough, a large niche in between two buildings housed a plethora of moving grey shapes – and the familiar glint of a Sith uniform. However, they were too late to notice the three rakghouls waiting in ambush behind a nearby foundation. They finished them off quickly enough, but now the remaining five in the clearing were alerted to Xana and Talon's presence.

Xana halfheartedly lobbed a frag grenade at them, but it ended up exploding against one of the walls harmlessly. She attempted to lift her vibroblade into a defensive stance, but her arms suddenly seemed as if they were made of lead. A few swipes and one downed rakghoul later, she was completely drained of energy. Her vision began to swim and she barely registered Talon running backwards, firing desperately at the four rakghouls advancing on him.

She made a move to step forward and join the battle, but abruptly her world lilted and she found herself free floating for a few confusing moments before impacting the ground. Meanwhile, Talon had taken cover behind a particularly large piece of rubble and managed to take out two creatures during his retreat. The remaining two stood on either side of him, cornering him and preparing to make a double-charge at him. It was now or never.

The rakghouls sprang. On instinct Talon whipped out his blaster pistols in a dual sniper shot, closing his eyes reflexively as he stiffened his arms and pulled the triggers. Both foes fell unceremoniously to the ground. Talon had barely begun to revel in the aftermath of what was his single most hardcore display of marksmanship, when he noticed Xana's comatose form on the ground nearby. Without a moment's hesitation he sprinted for her, dragging her into the center of the niche as he desperately tried to elicit a response.

He frantically rummaged through the downed Sith patrol's inventory, finally finding what he was looking for – a set of small hypodermic needles filled with florescent green liquid. Rushing to Xana's side, he tried to shake her awake again, clasping her hand around one of the needles.

"Xana, wake up! I've got it right here – the cure! We did it, now inject this thing quick before you turn!"

She only mumbled in reply.

"Come on, please get up! I really don't know how do this sort of thing, Xana! You gotta take the antidote before it's too late!"

Xana propped herself up against the nearest wall, blinking blearily in response. She managed to get the sleeve of her jumpsuit rolled up and tried to pick up the needle again, only to fumble and drop it as she fell unconscious again. Her breathing suddenly got shallower and sharper, turning into what sounded alarmingly like feral growls. Caution and medical inexperience thrown aside, Talon grabbed the needle and injected the antidote roughly, hoping she hadn't been doomed by his hesitation.

"Xana?" No response. Just quick, hitched breaths that only became shorter and shorter.

A minute passed, then another and another. Talon seated himself next to her, gazing with concern at her ghostly pale, limp form. When she began to convulse slightly and it seemed as if her breathing had nearly ceased altogether, his heart plummeted with sorrow. What a way to go, he lamented. Even after all this I still couldn't save her. This amazing person, my comrade and friend, that few hardly ever knew and nobody will even remember. "I'm so sorry.", he whispered as he reached for his right pistol and aimed it at her.

Out of nowhere, her now-hazel eyes finally fluttered open and immediately fixed themselves on his tear-filled brown ones. Her full lips slowly formed a gentle smile as she realized that she was cured and he, of all people, had saved her life.

"Put that down, sniper-tard. I'm not gonna jump up and attack you anytime soon.", she laughed, playfully swatting away the blaster pistol.

A huge grin broke out on Talon's face and he crushed Xana in a massive bear hug, shouting, "YOU'RE ALIVE! Stars, you scared me so bad!"

She flailed and kicked as hard as her condition would allow, screaming, "Whoa, whoa! Invading my personal space bubble here!"

He drew back quickly and apologized, "Sorry it's just...I thought you were dead!"

"Well, I think we've established that I'm alive now. Can you get those syringes and help me up so we can go back to the village? I think I'm gonna pass out any second and this isn't exactly an ideal place for a nap."

"Sure. How are you feeling?", Talon asked conversationally as he hauled her to her feet and watched her hobble off in the direction of the village.

"All things considered, not so bad..." He took note of the way she was cradling her right arm and dragging her feet.

"No really, how are you feeling?"

She shot him an annoyed look, which was followed quickly by a cocky smile.

"Like I've been trampled by gundarks on glitterstims."

Talon chuckled at the mental image before soberly asking, "You want some help getting back there? I can carry you if you want."

"No thanks...I'm kinda heavy.", she finished lamely.

"It's alright, really, I've had to carry wounded soldiers during combat more than a few times. And no offense, but you don't look that heavy to me."

"Talon. Just please, let me do this one last thing with my dignity intact. I've been such a fragging crybaby tonight, collapsing every five minutes and just being weak in general. My gosh, you nearly got yourself mauled because I had to go and pass out mid-combat-"

"Hold it right there. You've been anything but a crybaby tonight. Most other girls I know would faint at the very sight of one of those things, and any regular sentient being would just give up and die if they were put in your same situation. You fought off whole hordes of creatures that greatly outmatched you in size and strength, all the while being terminally ill! You can just shrug off pain and weakness like it's never there, and go at something with every last spark of energy in your being. I think it's safe to say you are easily the toughest girl I've ever met in my whole life."

Xana looked at him incredulously, another one of her wild, infectious grins coming on. She mumbled, "Thank you. That really means a lot to me."

They continued to amble along in silence, the village gate finally coming into view. As soon as they reached their shelter, Xana made an exhausted, zombie-like beeline towards her bed, dropping her armor and vibroblade on the floor as she went. After she had gratefully snuggled under the covers, eyes drooping heavily in spite of Carth's loud snoring, Talon settled in about a foot away from her sleeping mat.

"Hey Tal?", she asked sleepily.

"Yeah?" He reclined on the floor, propping his head up with his hand.

"You think I can have a crybaby moment now? Just one?"

"I think you've definitely earned it."

"Tonight...was the scariest thing I've ever done in my whole life. I never imagined what a near-death experience would be like, but this was definitely on the more extreme and terrifying end of the spectrum. Heck, I'm still scared half to death and more likely than not I'm gonna be having nightmares about this for a long, long time." She shivered involuntarily and huddled tighter under her blanket.

Talon nodded compassionately, still looking into her bleary eyes. He noticed that spots of crimson still remained in her irises. They'd likely never be the same again.

"I know this is gonna sound really lame and clichéd but...are you gonna be here when I wake up?"

"You can bet on it." He dragged his field pack over, intending to use it as a makeshift pillow.

"Talon, I meant the hut in general, not on the floor next to me."

"Considering the Outcasts could only spare one sleeping mat and you're occupying it right now, that just means I'd have to find another spot on the floor to sleep on. And I already got this one so very nice and warm!", he whined playfully.

Xana rolled her eyes and turned onto her stomach, burying her arms under the pillow. "Whatever. I guess you can stay here. Just make sure nothing wakes me up, okay? Especially not rakghouls."

"Deal.", he replied.

She was already fast asleep.

Hope you liked that ending. I wanted to get a bit of the mystery surrounding Talon's past out of the way, and get his and Xana's friendship rolling, so I figured this scenario would work best for that. Comments? Criticism? Then click that lil blue button down there!

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