(Finalizer)
"I'll allow you to take me as your apprentice, Kylo Ren." An exceptionally violent explosion of emotions had occurred from within Tatsumi as soon as he had said those last few words, leaving his mind in a complete state of disarray. Granted, most decisions weren't made after a mass murderer had spent a good portion of their time picking apart your mind, tearing into your deepest concerns and all your fears like a hungry wolf who had just discovered an entire buffet of prey but even so, it was almost as if when he had said those words that he wasn't even in control. As if his mouth was moving while his mind tried to take a well-deserved rest after what felt like an eternity of anguish and torment only to then have the very person it was in control of rudely wake it with a decision so incredibly brash and so very soon after he had said those words, suddenly his tune changed and he asked his new master if he could have some time to himself which he thankfully permitted and with that, he rushed outside the room, his excitement quickly dissipating with every step he took.
Outside as Tatsumi roamed the halls of the massive spacecraft, trying his best to familiarize itself with all possible locations and marveling at the sheer scope of it, most troopers who passed him saw a boy who looked fine if a little disheveled which they mostly chalked up to just the fact that he has had his world completely flipped upside down and was instead thrust into this radically different and larger world and without any time to prepare. Some made their expected fair share of snide remarks about his state but on the flip-side? Others were surprisingly sympathetic about his condition, mostly because it merely reminded them of their first experiences being thrown onto the Finalizer and having a blaster shoved into their mitts. At the very least with that, he felt a little better.
Or at least, he would if the voices in his head had stopped screaming for just a few minutes. While externally, Tatsumi appeared to be mostly okay? Internally, his mind was engaged in full-on warfare with every part of his conscience screaming at the top of their nonexistent lungs about what had just happened and how there were literally HUNDREDS of ways this could've gone which when put in conjunction with how everything was going as of late? If he wasn't being driven mad before, he certainly was feeling the creeping sensations of insanity now and if it wasn't for the fact that he had spotted a restroom finally in his peripheral vision? There was the very real possiblity that troopers would've seen him go from being slightly disheveled to a foaming and raving lunatic. As soon as he entered that room, he headed to the sink and without any warning or protest, voided the contents of his stomach into it. Luckily for him, there was no one around to hear or witness this disgusting display of a teenage boy, gripping one of their cleansing devices in an attempt to steady himself, staining it with his filth. As soon as he had finished, he began to pant heavily. The release, as expected, had left him drained with his knees threatening to give at any moment and send him tumbling to the ground all the while strange sensations coursed through his body. It wasn't pain of any type nor was it confusion. It wasn't even the expected chill up his spine. He didn't know what to make of it but before he could question it, he then felt fear beginning to engulf him as soon as he thought about looking into the mirror, the thought coming with a faint hushed tone that he could barely make out, the only detail he could pick out being that it sounded aged. He remained still for a few more seconds, his mind set on trying to decipher the voice and decide if it was either the calming tone of Yoda or that almost demonic presence that had entered his being during his duel with Kylo Ren and if he even wanted to hear either of them. Unfortunately for him, fate seemed to have other plans for he was so locked in his thoughts, he ended up taking a passing glance at the mirror and found himself nearly jumping out of his skin at the sight of his best friend Akame, glaring at him through that reflective structure.
"How could you?" Akame questioned, her voice sounding conflicted. Dazed, Tatsumi could do nothing but rub his eyes and mumble.
"Akame, wha-"
"We had a deal! You were going to help us bring down the Empire!" She yelled. "You were going to help us usher in a new age of peace!" Memories of his initial meeting with Night Raid came rushing back to him right away. How he had came to agree to their arrangements and would provide his utmost attention in taking down every aspect of this corrupt and miserable hellhole that was somehow called a government, the same one that had left him with the "lovely" sight of his friends' brutally mangled corpses dangling in that barn. He remembered all of that and with every word Akame spat out, he couldn't help but feel at least a tiny bit guilty for how things have gone, how he had chosen this path instead of staying behind. In spite of this, he managed to regain his composure for a few moments. After all, he had voices ringing in his head before, what's a few more going to do?
"Akame take it easy, I know you're in shock but trust me. I'm doing what's best for y-"
"You call joining a mass murderer doing what's best?!" Immediately the boy's eyes darted to his left to see another familiar face emerge, his first glimpse being a set of long pink pigtails.
"No, yes, mayb-"
"Have you forgotten what this guy did?!" Mine angrily shouted. "The pain he caused you, the display he left at your village. Have you just forgotten that?!" Instinctively, Tatsumi felt his grip on the sink tighten. Even though it had been a little ways since then? Not a single trace of the hurt, tension, hatred and sadness of that event had ever left him. Even with full knowledge of what he said to Kylo Ren, as soon as that was brought up, he felt the temptation to kick down the door, steal a weapon off a trooper and charge towards the psycho with full intentions to end his existence which was now showing through his voice which had dropped into a deeper, much more grave tone.
"What do you think?" He questioned, his voice almost going into a small snarl towards the end. "I mean I wouldn't even be here right now if it wasn't for the fact that happened. Had the First Order never come here? I would've been back there with you, fighting to the very end."
"And yet you could've still done that if you didn't just charge Kylo Ren like a typical meathead."
"Oh, like you wouldn't do the same if faced with your family's killer." Tatsumi snapped back, his voice showing more hints of fury.
"Maybe so but I sure as hell wouldn't have joined him. I wouldn't have just signed my life away like I was a servant to the devil." Tatsumi froze, memories of his heated confrontations with Najenda echoing through his mind with each beat perfectly aligning to both what was going on right now and what Kylo ended up showing him in those twisted visions. A few seconds later when he opened his mouth again, his tone and body language became rather uncharacteristically cold and lifeless.
"I signed myself to no one." Instead of the expected angry reply, Mine just sighed though what Tatsumi didn't expect was that what was said after that didn't match her usual way of speaking one bit.
"What every youth says, that is." Startled by both the sudden change and the recognition of that speech pattern, Tatsumi watched as "Mine's" form and voice began to completely shift. "Their heart, despite everything it may be telling them. Afraid to admit, they are, when they are wrong." In response to seeing his friend shift into the sight of the little green man, Tatsumi knew he should've been feeling a sense of comfort or at least a hint of warmth. After all, from what he could gather during the few times they talked, Yoda seemed to be his closest and only chance he could get to at least trying to make sense of what was going on and unlike the people he was dealing with at the time, he seemed to be far more calm, gentle and understanding compared to the other members of his team and especially the other Jedi. It was that last part however that wouldn't leave his mind. It was partially thanks to that last part that he instead felt as his anger and confusion grew upon seeing the elderly master.
"How could you say that?" Tatsumi questioned. "Even after all that I saw, how could you just stand there and tell me that?"
"Committed by the Jedi, misdeeds were." Yoda said with a sigh. "Admit to them, I do. However, Kylo Ren showed you half the truth or at least, he fed you a half that he knew would drive your next decision."
"Half the truth? What the hell do you mean? I mean you just admitted yourself that what I saw was fact and yet now you're trying to tell me that he lied?!"
"Calm yourself, young one. Say he lied, I did not. However, what I am trying to say is that he merely only showed you that truth from a certain point of view. A truth that was presented out of order. All for the intent of tearing your mind apart it was. If you knew the full story? Changed, your mind would b-"
"Then tell me that story." Tatsumi interjected. "Better yet, do what Ren did and show me what I missed, show me exactly what I've been missing." In response, Yoda remained silent, his grasp on his cane only slightly tightening as he proceeded to lower his head towards the ground, his intent being to signal to Tatsumi the answer. Luckily for him he got it which led to the inevitable question. "Why can't you?"
"Tatsumi, have enough energy to speak to you, I may but not only would your request require the kind of time we don't have?" Right then he let out a sigh as he looked up towards the boy. "Meddle with your mind, I cannot." Taken aback by this, his tone then raised.
"You can't? What do you mean you can't?" He questioned excitedly. "Apparently you can just be an unwanted guest in my head and spout some pseudo-intellectual backwards talk and be a part of the reason for why I'm going batty but the moment someone asks you to actually back up what you're saying after seeing what another user of this mystical energy is capable of? NOW you're gonna pull the whole 'That's beyond my power/against the rules' crap?!"
"Pains me to say it does." Yoda said, his composure unwavering as ever. "But it's true. Tatsumi, already, felt the effects of this kind of ability, you have. Even if I could, grave would be the effects on your psy-"
"In case you haven't noticed? My mental state has ALREADY deteriorating for these past few days thanks to you space wizards thinking my head's a nice place to shack up in." Tatsumi interjected. "In fact, even before that time it has been crumbling to pieces so you can just spare me the pretentious babble about that." Right then and there, Yoda couldn't help but feel shaken by this burst of anger, the thoughts of a young Skywalker right then and there starting to come to mind but right as he was about to pull from his experiences with that as well as his years worth of experience training younglings, Tatsumi took his chance and pushed right on through.
"From the very first day I stepped foot into the Capital my life has been a living hell! I lost my two best friends to someone I thought was just a friendly citizen taking me in after a member of a team I'd join stole my money. I was forced into an assassin group because if I didn't? I would've been killed due to what I saw of them and even then? I was forced to slaughter people and I'm not just talking about faceless drones here. I'm talking living, breathing, THINKING individuals, some of whom were clearly just doing this because they thought they were doing the right thing. I lost even more friends of mine and after that? I lost my family, my ENTIRE village was burned to the ground! You know what it's like to come back to your birthplace only to find it torn asunder with every person you once knew being reduced to nothing but shriveled corpses?! Was there ever a single point in your hundreds of years that you actually saw that?!"
"Tatsumi please." Yoda managed to get out. "Know you're angry, I do. Understand your pain, I d-"
"I don't think you even do." Tatsumi began. "I especially don't think you know what it's like to hear those you once thought to be friends actually conspiring to kill you." Yoda froze with shock, his face soon twisting into a pained expression right as in his head, the sounds of Gree's footsteps coupled with a blaster being cocked played back in his mind. Unfortunately for him, Tatsumi didn't even notice this or if he did? He really didn't seem to care for he then continued. "And it's all because I wouldn't fall in line, I wouldn't obey their every word and be their slave like I did all those other times. Aside from Mine and Akame, they have seen me as nothing more than a puppet, a means to an end and it's only now that I'm smart enough to actually see th-"
"And yet you think joining the First Order will be something different?" Tatsumi turned to Yoda's right only to see no one though his mind recognized that as the voice of Akame. Right then and there, he felt a violent throbbing within his head which caused him to pull away from the sink, his hands then rushing to grasp his dome. "You really think pairing with your family's killer is going to solve anything?"
"I'm not pairing with them. I'm just trying to-"
"Trying to what?" Mine's voice interjected. "Trying to throw away the only other family you've had?"
"That's not... That's not tr-" As Tatsumi backed away from the sink, the throbbing in his head went from being violent to being nearly unbearable in the span of a few seconds which caused his fingers to dig even deeper into his hair as he lost focus with the world becoming nothing more than a blur all around him.
"You admitted we were the only ones to see you as being a person." said Akame. "If you know that? Why would you throw us out?"
"I didn't do such a thing!" Tatsumi said right as he dropped to his knees, his head now feeling as if at any moment some giant creature would spring forth, killing him in the process.
"You really think this is going to help you?" Mine and Akame asked in unison.
"I don't know!" His fingers dug deeper into his scalp, his gloves being the only thing that were keeping his nails from cutting into his flesh. What they couldn't keep out though was the horrific and incredibly unpleasant of metal twisting and contorting, the source of which his current state kept him from even attempting to discover.
"Why would you leave millions to die?", "Why would you do this?". All these questions and far more were spinning through Tatsumi's mind and would continue to come through at shorter and shorter intervals until eventually, it was all playing at the same time which when coupled with the screech of contorting metal was helping to make his mind into an unproductive and blithering mess which he couldn't even begin to make out with any reply he could've given being left unsaid. As the sounds continued to raise in volume, he shut his eyes tight, he felt his muscles twitch, his pores were dripping with sweat, his grip was so tight that if he quickly pulled away, he would end up tearing every bit of his hair out in one go. Internally, he was pleading, begging for the noises to stop and leave him be. After all, he just made the decision and even so, it was one he made unconsciously and to add onto that? He was just a teenager still trying to find his way in life. Back then, he couldn't have POSSIBLY imagined that his current path would lead him to meeting up with a bunch of space fascists, let alone agreeing to work with their leader, the same man who murdered his family and burned his village to the ground. For all he knew? He could've end up a hero and could've made his village wealthy, healthy and proud. In fact, that was his whole reason for even considering the idea of joining up with Night Raid in the first place outside of the fact he was forced to and how corrupted he saw the Empire was but he couldn't and didn't ask for that and he especially didn't ask to be in the custody of someone like Kylo Ren and to have all these voices in his mind, speaking about how either he's the great descendant of some random Jedi warrior or some backwards talk about how fear leads to anger and how that can lead to suffering. He asked for none of this, he wanted none of this.
And it was right then where this time? He was going to make damn sure that those voices knew this.
"SHUT! UP!" Tatsumi roared, that word being the only way one really could describe it for what came out of Tatsumi's mouth wasn't his own voice screaming a stream of profanity or letting out a simple cry but rather, it was a feral, unrecognizable and blood-curdling roar. One that was fiercer than a lion and even more unnatural than a Danger Beast's and was so loud that those who were nearby could not only hear it, they also felt it. Troopers outside the room halted their daily patrols, workers halted their routines, everyone who was near that door stopped right as they felt it both in the level of hatred that was presented but also, they felt the raw, untamed energy within him finally being unleashed.
The metal door and part of the wall to the lavatory burst outward, sending metal shards and any surrounding droids and debris flying outward with some of those materials winding up cutting into the uncovered points of some troopers' armor though they knew that compared to their tiny cuts? There were others who suffered through far worse. For some of those that were standing a good distance away, they found themselves flung against the walls, the force of which caused machinery to spark and whine as well as bones to shatter. Some troopers hit the wall so violently that their necks snapped with their now lifeless body falling limp moments afterward but even so, that was hardly even a talking point when considering what happened to the troopers who were unfortunate to be a few feet away from the source of the commotion. The burst of Force energy broke through the walls and collided with the body at not only an incredible force equivalent to being hit head-on by a crashing starfighter but it caught onlookers off-guard by displaying heat at levels that reminded them of rumors of how Vader once genetically engineered a Force-user so strong, their use of Force Repulse could incinerate troopers completely for once the bodies dropped to the ground with the alarms now starting to blare, they rushed to the bodies closest to the carnage and were about to remove the helmets when the smell of charred flesh right then hit their nostrils, signaling to them that underneath that suit was not a body they could recognize. However, there was no time to mourn the loss of their fellow men. There never was time in the First Order for immediately after this, the surviving troopers along with several more swarmed the restroom with blasters and batons powered on and ready to strike the Force-sensitive insurgent.
Only to then lower them at the sight of a brown-haired boy, the one that Kylo Ren said was Tatsumi, on his knees, breathing heavily with tears starting to run down his cheek which didn't even REMOTELY fit what they heard and/or saw a few moments before. Thinking back to what they remembered looking into when it came to those rumors about that clone which they believed was codenamed Starkiller, the troopers who apparently investigated that mess were met with a rage-fueled young male locking onto them with disturbing accuracy and proceeding to rip them limb from limb with the Force. This was the complete opposite of that.
"Should we take care of it?" A trooper finally asked, breaking the silence. In response, one of the officers who had rushed to the scene simply looked down at the boy, perplexed by the question. If this was a normal case of mutiny where someone went on a murder spree or if it was just a case of someone snapping and breaking down under the pressure? They would've issued the order to execute him without a second thought. However, because this was Kylo Ren's boy and apparently his new apprentice, they knew if they dealt with him without getting the proper clearance, even if they'd end up safer? That would most likely result in Ren having their heads but even so, what was stopping this boy from having an outburst this violent again? Thankfully, they didn't have to linger on that question for much longer for a few seconds later, a trooper ran up to him.
"Sir, it's Commander Ren." Without a second thought, he grabbed the communicator and glided his thumb over the button, the familiar hooded hologram soon appeared in front of him.
"Commander Ren." The man began. "What a surprise to see you contacting me."
"I felt a burst of energy from within the ship and the alarms are blaring, you should expect contact after something like that." Ren said sternly. Before the officer could speak, he immediately cut in with another sentence. "You better not have done anything to my apprentice."
"With all due respect Commander, If what I'm seeing is real? I think your apprentice has done enough to themselves with how they're currently bawling their eyes out."
"Is he fine?" He coldly asked, his tone clearly telling the officer that if he doesn't give an answer soon, he will have his head.
"Yes he is. I haven't had the troops do anything." After letting out a sigh of relief, Ren continued on.
"Have the troops take him to me," Ren ordered. "I didn't want to begin it so soon but it's clear I need to start training right away." The officer's eyes blinked open with surprise
"Training?"
"Is there something wrong?" Ren asked, his voice curious and also full of frustration.
"Well actually, yes, yes there is something wrong. If he somehow manages to have another outburst like this and in the right place? The raw Force energy could risk critically damaging the ship! He's a liabilit-" Before he could finish, the officer's eyes abruptly bulged and his free hand went to his throat as he began to turn a disconcerting shade of blue, all the while Ren's voice dropped to a much more frightening tone.
"Which is why I'm beginning the training now, the Force energy he's displaying is far more raw and untamed than I could've imagined. Even more so than what was initially expected." Right as he started his next sentence, Ren's voice shifted again, his tone now conveying just how serious this situation was. "So unless you want me to leave you as human debris that's being jettisoned out the airlock? You are going to bring him to me right now. Do I make myself clear officer?" As best as he could, the man nodded his head. Feeling satisfied, Kylo cut the transmission, leaving the man to slump to the floor with his hands then clutching his throat. Thankfully for him, the troopers decided to take matters into their own hands and they carefully picked Tatsumi up off the ground and proceeded to lead him out the open space right as repair crews started rushing in and although they had their own thoughts on how this situation could've gone? It really wasn't worth expressing if it meant you'd end up as being human debris.
(First Order Transport Shuttle)
"How could you be so careless?!" Phasma yelled out angrily all the while pacing back and forth. "I gave you one order and while I should've expected a lesser trooper would fail this. Not only did I never expect FN-2199 that you would be the one to fail me but that you'd resort to something so unsanitary, so inappropriate and juvenile at such a heated time!" In response to all the anger that his captain was giving hm, Nines simply let his head sag as guilt overtook his being. To him, Phasma was absolutely right. He should've known better. He should've had a far better sense of control than he did a few moments earlier, especially since in all the years of his life, there was not a SINGLE moment where his hormones ended up overtaking him and unless it was a case where his squad failed him? There certainly wasn't a case where he failed Phasma to this fashion and left such an unsavory black mark on the Order's reputation and yet here he was now. Being chewed out for just that reason and like a good soldier? He was sitting there, listening carefully and taking it.
Too bad his partner couldn't do the same.
"Well what do you expect Pissma?" Mez began mockingly, her smirk unwavering. "I mean, if you like, expect to take a bunch of babies and raise them in such a sterile, boring-ass environment where they can't tame some of those primal urges? Something like this is bound to happen." Phasma froze and turned towards her.
"First off, I have had quite enough of your childish insults."
"Oh gee, I couldn't tell." Mez said sarcastically.
"Next, I don't think you should have the right to speak about how the Order is operated considering you have had not a SINGLE hint of experience in this group, especially when your idea would do nothing but greatly weaken us." Mez rolled her eyes.
"You know, all you had to say is that you'd give it some thought and then never bother with it. Also don't knock it until you try it. I'd bet if you had a nice thick cock up that snatch of yours? You'd be feeling so less uptight."
"Excuse me?" Phasma asked, her tone showing exasperation and anger. Without warning, Nines just took his hand and slammed it against the front of his helmet.
"You're not helping in the slightest Mez." He muttered under his breath with teeth grit. Unfortunately, she continued.
"In fact I bet the only reason you're upset is that as you were hearing that over the com-line, you felt a small puff of air move past that dusty crevice and were just wishing, dreaming about how that should've been you and are taking out all that repressed rage on us because no one's willing to deal with your bitchiness enough to give you that!" Feeling the rage boiling, Phasma then got in close.
"The reason I'm upset is that I have one of my best soldiers giving into instincts that in no way will help our cause and that instead of taking this like an adult. You're instead acting like a spoiled child who was caught with their hand in a container full of sweets and are making excuses!"
"Well if being a child means I'm me and I can have this much fun? I'd much prefer that than being an adult. In fact, I'll make sure me and Nines do this again! Hell, maybe I'll bring a camera and film a little show for you to get off to." Under her helmet, Phasma was as red as a beet. She had dealt with immature troopers before and those who she had to take down for insubordination but with Mez? Never had she dealt with someone this immature, this childish and so unfiltered. It was right then and there that she not only remembered why she pawned her off on Nines in the first place but now for the first time in her life? She was actually feeling a bit remorseful about it considering this was the level of hell she ended up unleashing on him. Of course, she could always reassign her to another trooper but then again? She realized that regardless of what trooper she would've given this gal to, NO ONE would've been able to get their job done with her around. With that in mind, finally her patience had run out, it was clear there was trash that the Order had left in. Filth that had no business in serving under them and needed to be cleaned out. As Mez continued to spout the most profane comments ever, Phasma pushed her cape to the side and Nines watched as her hand was nearing her blaster which caused him to tense. Then without warning and without a second thought, Nines jumped to the first option on his mind, turned to Mez and gave her a brutal backhand, catching both women off-guard.
"OW! WHAT THE FU-" Immediately Nines covered her mouth and while she was continuing to give her muffled rant, the trooper simply continued.
"Captain, to start off I'd just like to say that as someone who values my work and position. Like you, I am ashamed at my actions." Nines began, his voice full of remorse. "It was a moment of weakness, careless and most importantly, it was a moment of pure stupidity that easily could've been avoided. I take full responsibility for it, I'll make no excuses, it's something that should've never happened and if you don't mind me suggesting my punishment?" Realizing what he was about to say could be the death of him and probably will go down in history as one of the dumbest suggestions a trooper has ever made, he took a deep breath and quickly swallowed his pride right as he lowered his hand from Mez's mouth. "I want to have Mez permanently by my side." Phasma just stood and stared at her fellow soldier in silence, not having any idea on what to say and oddly enough? The same went for Mez who upon realizing what he said, just turned towards him with a look that screamed "Wait, what?". Granted considering what happened between them, she liked the idea of staying Nines even with his hardass attitude but she always got the impression that even so that more than likely he'd want to just find that opportunity to throw her out. The silence lasted for what felt like a good minute or two before finally, Phasma uttered a simple "As you wish." before heading off to where the pilots were, leaving the two together. With this in mind, as a little joke, Mez decided to extend her arm towards his chest which earned her an expected reaction.
"Don't even think about it." Nines said.
"Is that a way for a boyfriend to talk?" Mez replied to which Nines rolled his eyes.
"That's a way for a soldier to talk, especially when considering that I might as well have signed my will."
"Aren't we getting a little dramatic? After all, that's like, not the type of attention you were showing me back on the surface."
"You mean me giving into my urges like a hormone-addled fool? The type of action that could've resulted in us being killed."
"Hey, going out after a good fuck isn't so bad." Realizing with that line exactly what he got himself into, the pain he was surely going to endure with there being no way of taking this back, the trooper just buried his face into his hands right as the girl wrapped her arms around him and while he could feel deep inside that a part of him enjoyed it? He still let out a sigh of frustration for this was not only going to be a long ride but also a long, PAINFUL excuse for life.
Author's Addendum:
Dear lord where to begin with this? To start off, I am really, so very incredibly, unbelievably and EXTREMELY sorry for how late this is. I mean how do I even still have a reader-base this point? Well, let me explain a few reasons why this happened. The first is that as an author? I hit burnout after 27. I think I was working too fast and too hard on these things which led to my brain being exhausted as well as pleading and BEGGING for me to take a break. Next off, I just lost interest in this story. I mean I love TFA but there's only so much you can do with just one film out before you feel yourself getting worn down and considering that after that one film a plethora of new info came out? That made me feel self-conscious about my own explanations. Finally? Life has just been hectic and I've been left with no time to do these. However, with TLJ now coming out with my hype thrusters set to overdrive? I now feel the drive to continue this story again. Especially since we only have a few more chapters to go before it all concludes. With that said? Thanks everyone for all the support, I'll see you next chapter and hopefully it won't come out at 6 in the morning.
