Another day, another chapter! Here, we're going to see how Embo's doing after his rough night… and it's not pretty. Yeah, sorry for the spoiler, but you have been warned!
Also, a little update on my progress with the rest of this AU; I've already written a lot of chapters for the sequel in the same notebook I'm copying the chapters for this story from, so after I'm done with this story, I'll start posting the sequel!
Let me know if you guys want me to continue expanding this AU! I'm having a lot of fun with it!
You know the drill!
"A best friend is the only one that walks into your life when the world has walked out."
― Shannon L. Alder
"When you really love someone,
You see all their mess and their brokenness and you love them anyway.
In fact, seeing all of that sort of makes you love them more."
― Heather Hepler
When Sugi woke again, it was morning. Embo was still sleeping, still in the same position as he had been when he had finally calmed down enough to fall asleep again last night; curled against her left side in the fetal position, his head on her shoulder, and hands clutching fistfuls of her nightshirt in a death grip.
For a while, she simple watched the Kyuzo sleep, not wanting to move and risk waking him up. It was strangely relieving, seeing him able to sleep so peacefully after such a rough night.
Suddenly, there was a chime at the door, the small sound waking Embo up with a jerk and a whimper of fear! Sugi immediately started rubbing circles into his back with her left hand, reaching over to the bedside table with her right to press the button for the comm at the door.
"Who's there?" she asked, her accent thicker than usual.
:It's Ahsoka, Sugi. May I enter?: Sugi looked over at Embo, whose eyes were wide and fearful.
"Embo, you remember Ahsoka, right?" Seeing him nod a little, she asked, "Is it okay if she comes in?"
After a few seconds of hesitation, he slowly nodded. After giving Embo a reassuring hug, Sugi turned back to the comm.
"You can come in, just… keep your voice down," she sad, and the Padawan was soon walking into the bedroom.
"Is… is he ok?" Ahsoka asked, her voice a soft whisper, as she sat down on Sugi's unoccupied bed, not wanting to distress the Kyuzo further.
"He's… quite shaken," the Iridonian replied, still rubbing circles into Embo's back. "Last night was especially hard for him… I think he's had some kind of relapse."
"The Masters are worried… they tried to get in here to help, but couldn't," Ahsoka said softly, sadly watching the trembling Kyuzo. "Also, they told me that the Chancellor wants to come meet him…"
Suddenly, when the Chancellor had been mentioned, Embo keened in fear, shaking more violently! Sugi hugged him, glaring at the Padawan, who held up her hands as if to say 'I didn't know he'd react like that!'
"Embo's not in any way in a state to meet him!" the Zabrak whispered, still glaring, "Tell the Jedi Council that any and all politicians are to stay far away from him!"
"Would Senator Amidala be included in that?" the Padawan asked quietly, watching Embo. "She does everything she can to help people like Embo."
When Sugi didn't see any increase in Embo's distress, she nodded. "Senator Amidala can come; just make sure she knows who not to mention."
"Okay, I'll go tell the Masters," Ahsoka whispered, getting up. Before leaving, she quietly said, "Embo, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Right before the door closed, she heard a quiet, "It's ok…"
Ahsoka smiled.
A few hours later, Padme Amidala walked through the Jedi Temple, escorted by Jedi Master Plo-Koon.
"So, Master Plo," the Senator began, "what should I expect from this meeting? What's Embo like?"
"It's currently hard to say," the Kel-Dor admitted, brow furrowed in concern. "Usually, I'd say to expect a calm, reserved front on a man with a kind heart only a few can rival… but last night, he had some sort of relapse."
"Relapse?" Padme asked worriedly, "Is he dangerous?"
"Not unless he is frightened badly enough," Master Plo assured. "From how Padawan Tano described his behavior, it sounds like a PTSD relapse."
"PTSD?"
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," the Jedi clarified. "An old… acquaintance… of mine told me about it. And Embo's past certainly qualifies as 'Traumatic'."
"I see…" the Senator said, looking down as they walked. Then, she looked at her escort again. "Ahsoka told me not to mention the Chancellor in any way… why?"
"For reasons currently unknown, Embo reacts fearfully whenever the Chancellor is mentioned. That is why we denied the Chancellor's request to meet him." Then, they arrived at the door, and Plo-Koon pressed the chime button. Seconds later, the door opened. "Go on in; they're in the bedroom."
"Thank you, Master Jedi."
While Padme had tried to prepare herself, it obviously hadn't been enough.
The sight of the Kyuzo man curled up next to his Zabrak companion (who was now sitting up on the bed, but still in her sleepwear), his head and shoulders on her lap, and clutching fistfuls of her nightshirt… it was enough to bring tears to the Senator's eyes.
He just looked so broken…
"Senator Amidala," Sugi said respectfully, rubbing circles into Embo's back. The Senator smiled softly, a quiet chuckle escaping her.
"Please, call me Padme."
"Padme, then," Sugi said, then motioned to the other bed with her head, "please, sit down."
"Thank you," Padme said, keeping her voice quiet. As she sat down on the empty bed, she saw how the Kyuzo watched her every move with glowing gold compound eyes that were wide with fear. As if he thought she would do something to him. Trying to reassure him, she kindly said, "Hello, Embo."
Gold eyes blinked, a hint of curiosity mixing with the overwhelming fear. Then, a soft, tentative, deep-ish voice whispered, "h-hi…"
Padme silently cheered in her mind. 'A good start… but let's not do too much at one time… what's a safe subject? Hmmm… well, we're both friends with Ani…'
"I understand you're friends with Anakin; is that true?" she asked, her tone light and curious. Hesitantly, the Kyuzo nodded, and Padme smiled. "I've been friends with him for a long time. He's quite the character, isn't he?"
After a brief silence, Embo whispered, "He's c-crazy…"
Chuckling softly, the Senator said, "well, sometimes that's a good thing." After a brief silence, Padme noticed a wood carving of a sleeping anooba, and said, "that's a beautiful carving."
The Kyuzo followed her gaze to the pale carving, and Padme was surprised to see something spark in those gold eyes, as he whispered, "Marrok…"
"Marrok?" she asked, glad to have found something he was interested in. "Is that it's name?"
Embo shook his head a little. "P-pet… c-comp-panion…"
'Oh, so it's a likeness of his pet!' Padme thought, then asked, "Could I meet him sometime? I am quite fond of animals."
"O-ok…" the Kyuzo whispered, then curled closer to Sugi, who finally spoke.
"You should go now, I think he's had enough for one day." Padme nodded, slowly standing.
"Thank you for your time, both of you. If it's alright… could I come back tomorrow?" the Senator asked, keeping her voice soft. "I have a few small sculptures you might like, Embo, and I'd like to show them to you."
Sugi looked down at Embo, who, though still very fearful, looked interested. So, she nodded. "That would be just fine, Padme, thank you."
"I wish you both well; see you tomorrow." And with this farewell, the Senator left.
"Padme, welcome back," Senator Bail Organa greeted, as Padme came into the small sitting room in the Senate Building. "How did the meeting with the Bounty Hunter go?"
"Rather well, considering the circumstances," she said, sitting down.
"What do you mean?" Organa asked, sitting down next to her. Padme sighed.
"Hearing about his current state of mind was one thing… actually seeing him…" Padme shook her head. "Nothing could have prepared me for it."
"How bad was it?"
"To say the least… heartbreaking. He was curled up in a ball on his bed; his friend, Sugi, was with him, sitting up, with him partially on her lap." Padme was nearly in tears, as she described the scene as best she could. "He wouldn't let go of her nightshirt, watching my every move with an all-consuming fear in his eyes…"
Organa looked worried now, hearing about this. He's read Embo's record… and he was finding it impossible to relate those accounts with Padme's description. And she wasn't done.
"I tried to have a conversation with him, to get to know him, but he was too frightened to say more than one or two words to answer my questions… I could barely hear him, his voice was so quiet… he never tried asking me anything."
"But you're going to try to help him anyway?" Senator Organa asked, seeing the spark of determination in her eyes.
"Yes. When I left, I offered to visit again tomorrow, and bring some sculptures from my apartment. He was actually interested in that; I could see it through the fear in his eyes. Sugi agreed, so I am going back tomorrow." She paused, and looked Organa in the eye. "I'm sure I can get him to trust me enough to know I won't harm him. I just have to take it slow."
Wow… that was pretty… emotional. And yes, I had to look up Senator Organa's first name…
Anyway! In the next installment, we'll have skipped a few weeks! And… Embo must finally face the demon from his past. What will happen next?
R&R!
TO BE CONTINUED...
