Chapter Nine:

Games

"Turn left," I instructed. "No not that far. Turn right a bit—no, not there. For God sakes, Lance! It's the friggin' huge door in front of you! Just go inside it!"

"But there're Dark Jedi behind there…" he whined.

I grabbed the controller out of his hand. "Here! This is how you do it!" I opened the door and faced-off against three Dark Jedi Acolytes, quickly kicking their asses. "There! Now go over to that control panel and make the custom Jedi robes."

He took the controller out of my hand and did as he was told, and then opened the cylinder that held his new robes.

"Woah! So that's how you get Star Forge robes!" he exclaimed, quickly equipping them to his character.

"I can't believe you didn't know where they were…" I muttered. "I mean, this is Knights of the Old Republic, one of the most classic Star Wars games ever to grace the planet, and you don't know how the hell to save Bastila from the Dark Side! C'mon, I play this all the time!"

"Well, you're a nerd at this, and I'm not."

I brought my fist down on his head. "What did you call me?"

He rubbed his head. "Geez, you're violent! You'd think that since you're injured, you'd take it easy!"

"Hell no!" I crossed my arms, fuming. Only two days ago I'd woken up, and Helen said I was making a miraculous recovery. So it was enough to let me out of bed and hang out with Lance in the living room. "Hey, your mom said you played music while I was asleep…"

He stiffened. "Yeah?"

"Well, why?"

He focused on the video game. "I… well, I hoped it would help with the nightmares…"

"Oh."

We sat there in silence for a bit before Lance broke it. "Why'd Cole call you a lighter?"

"My temper!" I answered, a bit too quickly.

"And how d'ya know him?"

I twiddled my thumbs as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. "We were friends back in Empire City."

"So how'd you end up here?"

"What is this; twenty questions?" I snapped.

"I'm curious about you!" Lance said, grinning. Every bit of tension left the air as soon as he did that. "My mom told me that she treated you for bullet wounds before, and your blood loss. I remember what she said about you, when I wasn't allowed in that room, because she was afraid I'd screw everything up." He cleared his throat, mashing several buttons on the controller as he met up with Bastila. "She said that you were the most stubborn person she'd ever treated. She said you wouldn't die, even with all the blood that left your body, and the bullets inside of you."

"Cool," I muttered.

"And I was wondering, where'd you get that sword?"

I froze up. "Uh… Cole gave it to me…" It wasn't a lie, seeing as in Empire City Dana wanted him to have the nodachi, but he was fine with his powers. And now that he had the AMP, I was sure he didn't want it. "It was a present…"

"I wish I could get a weapon for a present!" Lance exclaimed.

"Use Force Lightning," I advised quickly.

He listened. "Thanks."

We watched Bastila get angry at Revan for beating her, and then realizing that she couldn't come back to the Light Side.

"Okay, now what do I do?" Lance asked as the dialogue options came up.

"How high is your persuade skill?" I asked.

"Pretty high."

I pointed to option number one. "Then that one."

"Which one?"

"That one!"

"What does it say? There're two persuade options!"

"I love you!"

He paused, and I just realized how that sounded. Ever seen those shows where a character says something stupid, the world falls apart and the character falls into an abyss? That was how I felt.

"I-It says I love you," I explained. "You have to… uh, pick that option."

Lance picked option one silently.

"You… love me? Heh… I… There was a time when I yearned for and yet dreaded to hear those words. I loved you, too, but I could never… face who you were. Malak knew how I felt. Any part of the light that was within me would be extinguished when I killed you. But what good is love? It cannot save me from the sea of blackness I am drowning in. I have betrayed everything I ever believed in! How can I atone for that?"

I sucked in a breath. "Now, pick option one again."

The familiar beep of the selected option rang through the speakers as Lance listened to me again.

"Yes, I… could join you in your battle against the Dark Lord. That alone would not make up for all I have done, yet… it would be a step in the right direction. But how would you be able to trust me? How do you know I wouldn't betray you when you faced Darth Malak? How do you know the Dark Side wouldn't make me betray you again?"

"Option one again."

Lance nodded, shifting his position slightly on the couch, leaning a tiny bit closer to me. I didn't know whether to back-off or stay, for fear of doing something wrong. But what…?

"You play a dangerous game. Are you certain you wish to take this risk? I could end your life and gain Malak's favour in a single stroke of my lightsaber."

He looked at me, asking silently if option one was right again, and I nodded.

"You are brave… and some would say foolish. But you are also right. The Dark Side has not wholly consumed me. I cannot raise my blade against you. You will go on to defeat Malak, of this I have little doubt. You will have gone from being the Sith Lord himself, to the saviour of out galaxy. And… and you said you loved me. This may not be the best time to say it, but… I love you, too. With all my heart."

Lance picked the only available option, which happened to be one.

"After this? No, nothing could make me feel safer than to be loved by you. You should go. Malak awaits. This isn't over yet… for any of us. I should stay here, though. If we face Malak I am afraid his dark presence will overwhelm me. It would not be wise to expose myself to such temptation."

Lance almost pressed option one. "Woah, there!" I exclaimed. "This time it's option two!"

He smirked and pressed option two.

"Yes, that would be for the best. You don't need me to defeat Malak, anyway. Now I understand that a true Jedi is a match for any Sith. Even the Dark Lord himself. I will stay here in this chamber and use my Battle Meditation to aid the Republic fleet. I am their only hope of destroying the Star Forge and ending the Sith menace. You must go and face Malak, but you have to hurry. Once I turn the battle in the Republic's favour we won't have much time left to escape the Star Forge before it is destroyed. Good luck, my love… and may the Force be with you."

A few awkward seconds later, Lance glanced up at me. "You play this game all the time, huh?"

"Yes, but I'm a female Revan hitting on Carth Onasi. Deal with it."

"Isn't the male Revan cannon?"

I groaned. "Yes, he is, but Carth's funny to talk to. I get to insult him."

"You enjoy insulting people, don't you?"

I grinned. "Do you have to ask?"

Lance poked my arm. "I heard that girls insult people they like."

"Yeah? Then I must just love the Militia and the Ice People, huh?"

"So that's why you keep getting hurt! You just can't leave well enough alone, can ya?"

"It's no fun if I do."

"But you'll have your body intact," Lance pointed out.

I shrugged. "Lance, pay attention. Malak's kicking your ass."

Lance's eyes widened and he quickly returned to the game. "Why'd he have to be so friggin' strong…?"

"If you use your Master Power Attack a few times, then you'll bring down his health a ton," I advised. "Then use the Force a few times. Just make sure he doesn't go for those suspended Jedi, and you'll be fine."

He nodded. "I got it!"

"You better, because I'm not fighting this battle for you!"

"Pfft! I don't need you to fight this battle! I got this!"

"Sure, sure."

I watched Lance play for a few more minutes before he was running around stabbing medpacs into his thigh. I laughed at him whenever Malak got close, because he would shriek and start running again.

Oh man. This is just too funny! Thank God that real battle aren't like this! I thought, laughing as Lance ran out of medpacs.