By Sapadu

Chapter 6: Act

act /ækt/ Pronunciation Key - [akt

–noun

1. anything done, being done, or to be done; deed; performance

2. the process of doing

3. a formal decision, law, or the like, by a legislature, ruler, court, or other authority; decree or edict; statute; judgment, resolve, or award

4. an instrument or document stating something done or transacted

5. one of the main divisions of a play or opera

8. false show; pretense; feint

–verb (used without object)

10. to do something; exert energy or force; be employed or operative

11. to reach, make, or issue a decision on some matter

12. to operate or function in a particular way; perform specific duties or functions

14. to behave or conduct oneself in a particular fashion

15. to pretend; feign

18. to serve or substitute (usually fol. by for)

–verb (used with object)

19. to represent (a fictitious or historical character) with one's person

20. to feign; counterfeit

21. to behave as

—Verb phrases

25. act up,

a. to fail to function properly; malfunction

b. to behave willfully

c. to become painful or troublesome, esp. after a period of improvement or remission

26. get or have one's act together, Informal. to organize one's time, job, resources, etc., so as to function efficiently

Kendalina left the next day to find the gentleman she'd met on her mission and bring him to the temple, leaving Triclops alone to trudge down the corridor onto a balcony with baskets of laundry. Kendalina had always complained about how laundry was so annoying and smelly and she seemed to hate the chore with a passion. Triclops supposed he understood why she would find it annoying- the repetitive nature of the process was a little tedious- and he wholeheartedly agreed with the smelly part, but he'd smelt nastier stenches in his lifetime.

For some reason, he didn't mind- these menial tasks which Kendalina so thoroughly despised seemed so easy to do. Essentially, he saw no reason why NOT.

Maybe it was his own stubborn pride and iron determination- Triclops would race to get every piece of laundry done, but have it clean and fresh. His record was a half hour to get one load washed, dried, and, if the clothes needed it, ironed. For the whole Temple's laundry, four and a half hours, and that was with Kendalina helping him, last time.

And, if anything she'd told him this far had been true, he had a debt to be repaid.

"Laundry day, is it, already?" Master Yoda came hobbling around the corner. Triclops turned from where he'd just pulled a tiny tunic from the wash basin.

"Yes, Master Yoda." He finally said, because he didn't know what else to say.

"Padawan Orewahime's turn, is it not?" Master Yoda continued, as Triclops hung up the first load on the line to dry- it had taken him twelve minutes and thirty-two seconds to wash. One load down, about forty more to go.

"Yes, Master Yoda." Triclops agreed, dumping in another basket full of dirty clothes. Why in the world Master Yoda was out here, talking like this, was beyond Triclops.

"And yet, washing the clothes, are you."

Oh. That's why.

"Yes, Master Yoda." Triclops replied, and when Yoda kept giving Triclops his look, Triclops continued, "Kendalina is busy today... she always told me that she hated to do laundry... so... I thought I would do some for her."

"Feelings for Padawan Orewahime, you have." Master Yoda mumbled, in a very smug way. Triclops REALLY wished Master Yoda would go away and leave him alone.

"Yes, Master Yoda." Triclops also wished that Master Yoda would stop talking in such simple sentences that all Triclops could reply was 'Yes, Master Yoda'. It was beginning to make Trike feel incredibly stupid.

Thankfully, Master Yoda left after that. Triclops had no idea why- he was pretty certain that Master Yoda knew about everything that went on in the Temple, so there was no reason for him to ASK... Maybe he'd just stopped by so that Triclops would know that Master Yoda knew that... no... that was a pretty ridiculous reason.

Triclops kept washing. Then, he paused.

He'd just pulled out a very small robe- not one for one of the younglings, but as though it was for a child so much smaller. Perhaps... an infant who would become a youngling when they were older...

Triclops' face went very, very red, just imagining how adorable that child must be.

Kendalina was back sooner than anyone had expected. Mehgan was waiting for her on the steps, as she escorted a very elderly gentleman up them, towards the tall statues of the Four Masters, telling him all about how she was someday going to have her statue erected among them and be the Greatest Jedi who ever lived, so on and so forth. Mehgan had to sigh, before Kendalina reached the top step.

The man who had been following her was old enough to be Kendalina's grandfather, but Mehgan supposed he'd just been late in having children. His hair was almost completely gone and he had spots all over his head. His eyes were small and watery, almost hidden by the sagging skin of his brow, but he was not a fat man- he merely seemed very solid, short and stocky, and somewhat shapeless, but not fat. From how his clothes were neat, crisp, and lavishly decorated and made, and the fact they'd seen him donating charity money to a medcenter, he was also very well off.

"It's very good to see you again, Jedi Retaw." He said, congenially.

"And I'm glad to see you are still well, Baron Anglar." Mehgan replied, bowing her head a little. Kendalina was beaming, bouncing on her heels with the sheer joy that Triclops might have his father back. The Baron clutched something in his hand- it was a holodisc, which Mehgan took and activated, scrutinizing the words and print. It was a birth certificate, and a very valid one, for a boy born during the Great ReSynchronization, with white hair and green eyes. The name entry, however, made Mehgan raise an eyebrow, as it was blank.

"Before we bring your son to you, however, there is something I should ask- What is his name?" Mehgan said, still staying firmly, but subtly between the Baron and the door. A look entered Anglar's eyes, before he bowed his head.

"...I understand... I know this might sound foolish to you... but it's been so long... and my wife and I had been so indecisive about a name in the first place... and when he was kidnapped, we searched so long and so hard, but after a few years, I came to the conclusion that I would never see him again..." Anglar stopped to swallow, hard, and Mehgan felt a stir of pity, both for the failure of his memory as well as his tale.

"You mean to say you've forgotten what you intended to name your son?" She asked, quietly. Kendalina made no noise, but politely excused herself to find Triclops.

Baron Anglar pulled a cloth from his pocket and started to mop his face with it. Mehgan saw a ring glint on his finger, but no stones were set in it.

"You wear only one ring, Baron- may I politely assume that your wife has..." She didn't finish, but the Baron nodded, the face hidden behind his cloth making a brief, but audible noise of grief.

"It's been so long... I realize how disgraceful it must seem for me to be discomposed like this before the Jedi Temple..." He said, trying to offer a more stoic expression.

Mehgan tilted her head to the side for a moment, face blank.

"No. It's not disgraceful at all." She replied, softly.

"Kendalina... that hurts..." Triclops noted, calmly, as Kendalina tried to pull a comb through his hair. Kendalina put a foot on Triclops' shoulder and yanked, taking out the comb, but leaving broken bits of teeth stuck in Triclops' hair. Triclops didn't make any complaint, but remained on his knees, patiently allowing Kendalina her attempts to 'Make him presentable.'

Kendalina growled in frustration and tossed the comb aside, stepping back to survey her poorly-done work, before she shrugged.

"That'll have to do." She conceded, more to herself than anyone who she might have thought was listening. Triclops didn't comment, not wanting to say anything, "Triclops, be more excited!" Kendalina scolded, pulling out one of her nicer tunics- there was only so far one could make himself look presentable on a diet of Jedi Padawan robes, but Triclops always managed it. Kendalina, for her part, always looked like a little boy who'd grown his hair out and stuffed something semi-round into his shirt, and the fact that she wore boy's clothes only added to the illusion.

"Why?" Triclops asked. He didn't say it in a bratty manner, nor as a demand- his tone was rather blank, as though he hadn't realized that he COULD be excited. Kendalina shot him a dirty look, pulling him to his feet and holding up a shirt, as though to see if it would look good on him- Triclops wondered why, when it looked exactly like the one he was wearing at the present moment.

"Because! You're gonna meet your DAD! You should be happy!" Kendalina said, indignantly. She then proceeded to snap around and rummage through her closet again, coming out with the exact same shirt again and hold it up a second time.

Triclops stared at her for a long moment, before he said something to her turned back.

"Why are YOU not happy, Kendalina?" He asked, quietly. Kendalina dropped something on her foot, swore, then turned around and glared.

"Who says I'm not happy?" She demanded, but Triclops didn't rise to the tone of her voice.

"You only deny these things so vehemently when you are upset." Triclops replied, calmly, "When you were upset about Master Yaddle not taking you with her on her mission, three years ago, and Master Yoda asked you about it, you said that you were not upset." Kendalina's head snapped around and Triclops closed his eyes, expecting Kendalina to shout something impolite or deny it loudly.

It never came. Triclops opened his eyes again when he heard a loud sniffle.

Kendalina was staring at him with a strange expression that was a cross between anger and heartbreak, tears streaming down her cheeks and her eyes crinkled into a half-frown, half-mourn, and lower lip caught in her teeth as her nose ran. It was as though she was trying to say 'It's your fault that I'm crying, now.'

"I don't want you to go." Kendalina's voice was no more than a whisper, but Triclops heard it. He tipped his head and stared at her reaction, before hanging his head.

"...I do not want to leave, either..." Triclops' confession came just as quietly, but it seemed to echo in the room. Kendalina's fist clenched tightly around the tunic she'd pulled out and her arms shook.

"...Why...?" She whispered, head hanging, "Why didn't you SAY anything...?" Triclops didn't look up.

"...I do not know..." He replied, softly, expression somehow glazed, as though he wasn't really thinking about the subject, "...It never occurred to me that I might have parents..." Triclops suddenly blurted out, to his horror and Kendalina's confusion, "...I never thought about it... and it never bothered me, nor did I even really want to have parents..." Triclops was proud of himself for keeping his voice steady, "...Because... I was happy here... I had you and Master Retaw and Master Yoda... that was enough of a family for me..."

Kendalina's lips were shivering again, like she was trying to look tough and keep herself from crying again.

Triclops didn't even realize it until he heard a small plop on the floor and looked down to see a single drop shining on the floor between his feet, before he reached up and wiped his face dry.

"...I do not want to leave..." He whispered again. Kendalina was staring at him with a pained expression, as though someone had stuck a sharp knife into her stomach and twisted it. Triclops walked over and put his arms around her shoulders, "I am going to miss you..." His voice was choked, but Kendalina swallowed, hard, and hugged back.

"...I'll come and visit... if you tell me where you're goin' and whenever I can fool the Masters enough to sneak out..." She mumbled, giving her friend a squeeze. Triclops didn't seem to hear her, as his face was buried against her shoulder.

"...I do not know... how I will make it... not seeing you every day..." His voice was muffled, but Kendalina heard it, and it was all she could do to keep from crying again.

"Maybe your dad won't be so bad... He IS a Baron... maybe he'll have to come by the Temple to donate or somethin'... maybe he'll let you come with..." She offered, but not really meaning the hopefulness. Triclops sniffled.

"...Maybe..." His voice cracked.

They stayed like that for a moment, before Kendalina felt a tug in the back of her mind that said the long goodbye had to end.

"C'mon... You get changed..." Kendalina wiped her eyes and threw Triclops a new tunic.

Triclops had been as ready as he was going to get when the door opened, again. Master Retaw was speaking with someone out in the corridor, who sounded very old, but Triclops didn't see his face. Something about the voice seemed familiar.

Kendalina wasn't looking in his direction, but pulled him forward into the center of the room, to greet the man who was his father.

Triclops said nothing, casting his life-long friend and mentor a longing glance before straightening up.

The door opened all the way and Master Retaw entered with a compact, old man who was dressed in a manner Triclops hadn't ever thought was possible. Again, there was a flash of something coming back to him from long, long ago.

"Triclops, meet your father- the Baron Anglar." Master Retaw said, in a very similar cheerful tone that Kendalina had used before he'd called her on her bluff. The man looked from Master Retaw to him, eyes glittering, before a smile spread across his face.

Something... something about that smile made Triclops shudder, but he didn't know why...

"Triclops... Triclops, is what they call you...? That's... that's a good name... come here... my boy..." The man's hands extended, and suddenly, Triclops recognized the face before him. The gesture, the voice, the words he used...

He remembered.

He remembered something he had wanted to forget so badly.

Kendalina didn't want to look at Triclops again- she didn't trust herself to not cry again. It wasn't fair- It just wasn't fair! She'd come this far with him, from the moment she'd found him in the back of the cargo transport to the year she spent carefully teaching him how to speak, spell, and figure to the years they'd been sleeping in the same bed, sharing the same clothes, and eating the same food.

Who the hell did THIS old jerk think he was? Even if he WAS Trike's dad, did he know what Trike's favorite food was? Favorite color? Did he know what position Trike slept in, curled up around a pillow or something of the like? Did he know how Trike always fastened his shoes, left foot first instead of right? Had he been there when Trike first learned her name, or when he'd first learned how to hold a stylus, or when he'd...

Kendalina gulped and tried not to listen to Master Retaw introducing the Baron. He was just a stupid old jerk as far as she was concerned, especially as he leaned over, as though expecting a hug.

Kendalina was meanly pleased when Triclops didn't run to him right away, but didn't realize why before she glanced over, then turned and outright stared.

Triclops' face had gone completely white and his green eyes were wide and pupils dilated. His jaw hung open, loosely, and he was shaking from head to toe.

"Trike?" Kendalina asked, cautiously, as Triclops took a shaking step backwards. Kendalina heard the tap of shoes on the floor, telling her the Baron was trying to inch closer, as Triclops wasn't walking towards him.

"Come here, my boy- come to Pappa." The Baron said, again, in a lighter tone than before. Kendalina reached back to touch Triclops, but he moved away even quicker, eyes fixed, unblinking, on the man who claimed to be his father.

"...You..." Triclops' voice came out hoarse and soft, shaking like a leaf on a dead tree. Kendalina frowned, and continued to pursue Triclops until he hit the wall, but his gaze was so intent on the Baron that Kendalina and Master Retaw might have not even existed.

"What's wrong? Are you scared, son?" The Baron offered, kindly, but Kendalina was suddenly getting a sense of something much more sinister beneath the surface.

Triclops' jaw worked for a moment, squeaky, unintelligible noises coming from his throat before, hoarsely, quietly, a word made it's way past Triclops' lips.

"...him..." Triclops' eyes had glazed over, as though someone had replaced them with glass balls instead of real eyes.

"Trike?" Kendalina asked, approaching cautiously, but not touching him.

"Triclops?" Master Retaw's voice came from behind, concerned and suspicious, but not of Triclops, Kendalina could tell.

"... i want that boy..." His voice was different, not high and oddly accented like normal, but as though he was imitating another person's voice, "...i'll pay any price you name... but i want that one..."

"Triclops, what are you saying?" Master Retaw was speaking slowly and Kendalina heard a nervous noise from the Baron.

"Oh... maybe I remind him of somebody... one of the pirates, or..." But he fell silent as Kendalina heard a snap-hiss and a slight gag. She didn't look back, but she knew that Master Retaw had just put her lightsaber to his throat to silence him so they could hear Triclops' rambling off of dialogue that he was apparently remembering.

"...what'd you want him for... he's not even fresh goods... five customers today, already..." Triclops' voice changed again, and Kendalina suddenly realized the first voice he'd been imitating sounded distinctly like the Baron's.

"'Goods?' 'Customers?'" Kendalina heard Master Retaw mutter, suspiciously, and then a further gagging noise, as though she was pressing a little too hard. She didn't understand what it had to do with the situation, but she didn't care- Triclops was shaking and mumbling and clearly not in his right mind and she was NOT going to let anything happen to him.

"...he's ugly, maybe... but these eyes of his are brilliant... i've never seen eyes like this before..." Triclops kept mumbling, face whiter than his hair at this point, "...then you're in luck... he's got an extra here in back... you can see it even if he's on his knees..."

Kendalina felt, suddenly, incredibly sick, and the urge to reach out and touch Triclops and comfort him was met in equal and opposite fervor with the desire to turn around and beat the Baron into a bloody pulp, as it was now becoming evident he was NOT Triclops' father by any means.

Kendalina's head swiveled enough that she could glare in deathly murder at the Baron, who had gone very pale.

"...Th-This must be... something that the pirates did... it must be..." He was stammering, but there was a tick in his eye, a desperate tone in his words that made Kendalina realize he was just trying to cover his own ass and failing at it, miserably.

"...i'll give you sixty-million... all in coins, if you want them..." Triclops kept mumbling, completely oblivious to what was happening around him. It was as though something in his mind had just snapped, as though from being unused for too long or from rust and decay in the lock that had kept it shut away.

"BOY, STOP THAT THIS INSTANT!" The Baron's control had seemed to snap, but he didn't make any noise past that, as Master Retaw held the blade of her lightsaber closer to his neck.

"...sold..." Triclops said, finally, then sunk to the floor, eyes still wide open, and Kendalina understood.

There was a long, long silence, before she turned to the Baron, eyes burning.

"You aren't his father..." She hissed, reaching behind her for any available weapon she could reach. So help her, she was going to beat this man until his brains ran out of his skull.

"Kendalina, this isn't our place- we'll turn him over to the proper authorities, or the Council. They'll know what to do with him." Master Retaw's voice was cold, something that Kendalina had never heard before, but it matched her sentiment perfectly.

Kendalina saw the Baron's eye twitch but didn't have time to react when he spun and almost hit Master Retaw with his fist.

"THIS BOY IS MINE! I BOUGHT HIM- HE'S MY PROPERTY!" Kendalina heard him shout, but before she could hear his next outburst, there was a slash, and then a scream as an arm hit the floor, completely detached from his body. Kendalina froze, taken aback by this new side of her Master that she'd never seen before.

"I don't care if you even went so far as to adopt him- these two are under my protection and I will not let you so much as touch them." Master Retaw's voice was soft, but deadly, like a razor blade whose metal had tarnished and no longer shone, but was still sharp enough to cut.

There was barely a pause, but Kendalina flung herself sideways, taking Triclops with her, shielding him as there was a small explosion and she couldn't look up to see Master Retaw gracefully flip out of the way and very near attack the Baron, but she did hear a thud and crack, and looked up to see Master Retaw on the other side of the room, leg twisted in a way that could not have possibly been natural, and the Baron storming towards her.

"I'm not going to let two uppity bitches like you keep me from my property!" Kendalina would have fought back, but she was so utterly frozen in complete terror that she couldn't even think. One hand grabbed her hair by it's long braid, hauled her against the wall, and before she could raise her hands to defend herself, the same fist connected with her face. Searing pain split through her head and her ears began to ring. Vision disappeared as the Force seemed to sap out of her like water- maybe she wasn't concentrating enough, or maybe it was because she was too afraid, it had decided to leave and keep her from accidentally slipping to the Dark Side, but Kendalina started to panic, waving her hands around as best she could before something pulled the weight off of her.

'Oh, good- Master Retaw's okay.' Was Kendalina's first thought, before she heard a very different voice speak.

"Who you are and who you THINK you are doesn't matter to me, really. But, frankly, given that I have to live in this body, I'm not going to be very kind to you for trying to intrude on my home." Kendalina's head was still spinning, but she took a deep breath and regained her concentration and calm, enough to bring vision back, but what she saw terrified her even more.

Triclops was standing again, both of his hands around the Baron's fat neck, squeezing, with an expression that seemed only borderline psychotic.

"...Y-you..." Choked the Baron, but Triclops' hands gripped tighter.

"This brings back memories, doesn't it, Bidder 183?" He asked, that smile spreading, dangerously, "The first time any of them saw Number 63696 fight back, speaking, not only intelligently, but eloquently, and somehow possessing some supernatural strength that nobody had ever seen before. And then, when it was over and they'd beaten him to unconsciousness, he didn't remember a thing- not even that he had such vocabulary at his age." Triclops- or whoever it was in Triclops' body right now- was obviously taking delight in this, especially as the Baron went rather blue in the face.

"...St-sto-m... -ercy..." He croaked, but the insane grin on Triclops' face spread as his eyes gleamed with a sinister glint.

"Stop? Mercy? How many little boys have begged that from YOU? How many children have you tortured in ways unknown to the inner most depths of Hell, and when they pleaded for you to stop, that they were in pain, or cried for their mothers and sisters and brothers, what did you say to them?" And when he didn't receive an answer, his grip tightened, just a little bit more, "Tell me what you said to the other boys who were your own, private, fuck-toys before this one."

Kendalina heard herself crying- terror fed tears were streaming down her face and her jaw was shaking as she heard this other Triclops describe the things that not even Triclops had remembered. When she'd been young, she'd learned a great deal about topics that would be considered inappropriate for children, such as reproduction and the various foul swears that could be used for them, as well as some less than reproductive behaviors that took place during mating.

She didn't need to be told, once the terms were put out before her, exactly WHAT kind of slave-trade Triclops had been passed around in, during that gap in his past that he couldn't remember.

"...Trike..." Her own voice sounded hollow, almost broken away from her body, before she heard a third voice- Master Retaw- more firm and self-assured, but still every bit as terrified.

"This is not Triclops..."

There was noise outside the door and it slid open, but instead of any Jedi, men in armor who were apparently bodyguards awaited outside. Kendalina froze, staring and wondering what would happen, but the Baron wheezed something out, that sounded auspiciously like,

"Get them." Before Triclops scowled.

"I think you need to be quiet now." And, calmly and efficiently, snapped the man's neck.

Kendalina almost screamed as the man's head fell back, eyes rolling in his head, but Triclops- the real one who couldn't even hurt a fly- did that very thing before her, hands releasing the neck they'd just broken, and going up to cover his mouth as he backed away, absolutely horror-struck by the terrible thing he'd just done.

The men opened fire into the room.

Kendalina heard a loud shriek- it might have been her or it might have been Triclops, she wasn't sure- but none of the shots hit her or her friend. When she looked up, Master Retaw was balancing, precariously, on one foot and holding her lightsaber in defense position.

Another shot was aimed, but this one was light stun, and couldn't be deflected. Master Retaw fell over, dazed, for a second, before more shots went out, hitting her arms and legs this time. It was only good fortune that they were such poorly aimed shots that nothing vital, or even that serious, was hit.

There was another click, and the bodyguards raised their blasters again, aiming to kill at this point.

Kendalina hadn't realized she'd moved until she found herself on her feet before the crowd of guards who were hellbent on killing the three of them, her Master's lightsaber in hand.

"Any of you bastards try to hurt Master Retaw or Triclops... and I'll kill you." The words came out as a snarl, and Kendalina wasn't entirely sure that she'd meant to say them, but it had been said, none-the-less, and she meant to follow through with it.

The next volley of shots was deflected back, hitting one man clear in the head and sending him to the floor. The guns were kept level, but Kendalina jumped, making a swipe in the air and shattering the barrels of the blasters. The pieces fell, useless to the floor and Kendalina charged, but was stopped as she felt something grab her arm from behind.

There were footsteps coming up the hall and the guards disappeared, but the hand on her arm didn't lift.

Kendalina turned to see Triclops clinging to her arm, head hung as low as he could hold it, shaking from head to toe.

"...Do... not..." He whispered. Kendalina stared at him for a moment, not noticing as Master Retaw pulled herself up enough that she would be able to reach the medkit and treat her less serious injuries.

Triclops' hold on her arm didn't release.

"...Do not... kill anyone else... please..." Kendalina's thumb hit the power button and the blade retracted, but she couldn't stop staring at Triclops, who wouldn't even look up at her, his face being pressed into her sleeve.

"...Trike?" She asked, quietly, as Master Billaba opened the door and stared at the horrifying sight.

Triclops started to silently cry.

"...Please... I do not... want anymore people to die..." His voice came out small and barely audible, as though a private confession for Kendalina's ears, only.

Kendalina awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of someone crying, and she figured out who it was on the first guess. Triclops wasn't asleep at all, but curled up into a ball in the farthest corner of the room, wanting to stay as far away from her as possible, as though afraid of what she would do to him.

Kendalina slid silently off her mattress and crawled her way over to Triclops to keep from startling him. It was freezing to the touch to crawl on and Kendalina suddenly wanted to be back in bed, under the covers, and preferably with Triclops next to her, keeping body heat between them, and she wanted him to be back in bed, too, instead of freezing here on the floor.

The floor seemed enormous to cross- it seemed more like she was trying to swim across an ocean, fighting against a horrible current the whole way as every inch she took towards Triclops made her feel more and more stranded out in the middle of that great, empty floor.

As soon as she reached him, Kendalina carefully extended a hand and touched his elbow, but Triclops pulled away, curling himself up even tighter and trying to press even further into the corner.

"I can not..." Triclops whispered, quietly. Kendalina tried to reach out again, but he somehow pulled out of her reach again, "...I..."

"Triclops..." Kendalina whispered, "It's okay."

"I KILLED someone, again..." Triclops' whisper was anguished and overflowing with grief, "...And I did it on purpose, this time..." Kendalina scooted in closer, and Triclops pulled away, but she didn't care.

"He was going to HURT YOU. And you only started choking him because he was beating ME up... that's not the same thing..."

"I meant to kill him..."

"He was going to kill us..."

"It is my fault..."

"It was self-defense..." Kendalina insisted, but Triclops didn't seem to hear her, his face buried against his knees as he repeated his mantra of 'I meant to kill him, it is my fault...' and nothing would pry him out of it.

Kendalina shivered and wished that she could be back in bed, but stubbornness kept her at Triclops' side, determined not to leave him alone in the corner.

"Kenda..." Triclops finally whispered, "...I am... afraid to be free... now..."

Kendalina almost fell over, startled, exasperated, and worried all at once.

"...I do not want to be free, now..." He whispered, again. Kendalina stared at him, stammering for words, but Triclops kept talking, "...What if... what if I kill someone again?"

Kendalina's mouth snapped shut and she stared at him, speechless.

"...I do not know... if I can control myself any more... I do not know... what will happen... if I can not..."

Kendalina managed to catch Triclops this time, before he could scoot away. She pulled him against her shoulder, holding him tightly as she could. She felt something press against her side, but held tightly and Triclops' effort to push away failed.

"Trike, you aren't a murderer. He was going to die anyway- you just made it quick, which is more mercy than he deserved. If you hadn't snapped his neck, believe me, I would have killed him in the slowest, most painful way I could've thought of, and even then, only if Master Retaw didn't do it before me." Triclops sniffled, loudly, and made a pained noise, as though Kendalina's words were hurting him, "And he would have deserved it, too. He HURT you- he really, seriously, actually destroyed you, in ways that absolutely nobody deserves, not even the people who DO those things..." Kendalina paused, gulping down the lump in her throat before she continued, "...And he did it to OTHER kids, too... younger than us, and was going to take you away, pretending that you were his son..."

Triclops was silent, as Kendalina's words were all very true, but he made a small whimpering noise that conveyed a kind of helplessness which made Kendalina sick.

"And, you know what? I'm GLAD you killed him- Yes, I'm GLAD- because, even if he hadn't died, just been turned over to the authorities, they wouldn't have done anything, because he's rich and the system is corrupt and he would have bought his way out and covered it up, saying it was a misunderstanding, that you were insane and deranged from your years being 'Held by pirates' and he would have taken you away, anyway. Or, if people did find actual, conclusive evidence that nobody can buy themselves out of, they still would have taken you away and put you in protective custody."

Triclops' arms lessened in their attempt to push away, then went around Kendalina's waist as he clung to her again.

"We're still together- you still have me and Master Retaw and Master Yoda... nobody can take you away, now."

Triclops whimpered, shaking, and pressed closer to Kendalina, who just held him tighter.

"...I can not..." Triclops whispered, "...I do not want... to be free like this..."

Kendalina sighed, but Triclops kept talking.

"...I should be locked up... or kept in binders... or killed... but I can not... I do not know... if I will hurt someone again... if... I might hurt you, someday..."

Kendalina clung tighter as Triclops tried to push away, again.

"You won't. I won't let you hurt me." She whispered, and when Triclops stared at her in shock, she smiled, "It would hurt you and Master Retaw if anything happened to me... so I'm not going to let anything happen."

Triclops blinked for a moment, before he leaned against his friend and reluctantly allowed her to drag him back to the mattress.