Chapter 4: Revelations
Trying to break free from the wire, Cinder realized how tight her captor tied her, leaving almost no room to move. She could use her Semblance or her maiden powers to melt the wire and attack, but she had his full attention, leaving no room for an opening. Any attempt of escape would have to wait.
"Who are you and what do you want?" she growled.
"That's not how this works." he replied. "I ask, you answer. I don't get the answer I like, then we've got a problem. First off, I heard you're responsible for an attack on a place called Haven Academy. Why'd you do it?" The only response he got was her spitting on his helmet. Grabbing his rifle, Djarin shoved the end of it on her chest, sending an electric shock through Cinder's entire body. After five seconds, he pulled away.
Cinder's aura absorbed most of the electricity, but it still hurt. Panting, she looked back at her captor. "Why did you attack the academy?" he asked again.
Needing a minute to recover, and not wanting to take any chances, she enlightened him. "So, you heard about the attack? Then you should also have heard about the people who defended the school. They're the ones I want."
It turns out Djarin hadn't heard anything about the people who saved Haven, but he didn't need to mention that. "Why?"
"They have something I need." she replied.
Seeing an opportunity, Djarin went to the cockpit of the Razor Crest, leaving Neo to watch Cinder. Only now, Cinder noticed Neo wearing a familiar hat.
"I don't have time for your misplaced blame, girl." Cinder said, putting two and two together. "I didn't kill your boss. If you want revenge, take it up with 'Little Red'." Hearing this made Neo try to hit Cinder with her umbrella, but Cinder was able to lower herself to the floor and kick Neo with both her legs.
The attack sent Neo back to the other end of the ship, hitting a panel that opened a small door. Turning around, Neo came face to face with a small green creature. Looking up at her, the Child let out a small noise. Confused and completely caught off guard, Neo pointed her umbrella at the Child. Only this time, she made a small blade come out at the tip.
Coming down a ladder with a piece of paper in hand, the Mandalorian saw what Neo was doing and Cinder with an equally shocked look on her face.
"No, NO!" he yelled, jumping towards Neo. "It's okay, he's not going to hurt you!"
Pulling out her Scroll, Neo quickly typed something and showed her screen to the Mandalorian. "OKAY?! What IS that thing?"
"If she's asking what that… thing is, I'd also like to know." Cinder said, still sitting on the floor.
Ignoring Cinder, Djarin closed the door again. "I'll explain later. Trust me, he won't hurt you. I'm almost done with Cinder, I just need to show her something."
Making sure the door was closed, Neo nodded in agreement.
"The people you're looking for have something you want?" Djarin asked, walking over to Cinder.
"No, they have something I need." she replied.
"Is this it?" Djarin held out a drawing of the Relic of Knowledge he made (to the best of his ability). Cinder had a surprised look on her face. "I'll take that as a 'yes'. Looks like I'm going to 'Argus'." he said, walking towards another panel to open the Crest's larger door.
Seeing that her captor was leaving her to Neo, Cinder yelled back to him. "You can't take them down alone! I tried. Untie me and I'll help you kill them."
"That's not up to me." The Mandalorian replied. Cinder then turned to Neo. "Listen. We both want that girl dead. So quit wasting your time fighting me, and let's discuss how we kill her together."
Taking a moment to think about this, Neo remembered seeing a news report on the people who saved Haven. Cinder was right, there were too many for her to take on alone. And the fact one of them was a licensed Huntsman didn't help either. So, Neo nodded in agreement.
"Okay then. Let's talk." Cinder said. Neo quickly pointed to her mouth, reminding Cinder that was the one thing she couldn't do. "Right."
Turning back to the Mandalorian, Cinder decided to get his help as well. "Something tells me you don't know everything about the lamp."
"I know enough." he quickly replied.
"Well, I bet I know more than you do. Especially about the people who have it. We could use another hand." Cinder replied, with Neo nodding in agreement.
"Fine." he replied. "But I'm not taking any chances in this forest. We'll get to work tomorrow. For now, I'm getting us out of here." Djarin then made his way to the small door, opening it to find the Child smiling at him. Picking him up, the Mandalorian went up to the cockpit, leaving Neo and Cinder down in the hull of the ship.
"Little help here?" Cinder asked, moving around in her wire. Neo proceeded to untie her, while they both felt the ship come to life. However, it seemed to move higher and higher into the air, rather than going forwards. "Where's he taking us?" Cinder asked her new partner. Neo shrugged her shoulders in response. Deciding to ask for themselves, Cinder and Neo climbed up the ladder to the cockpit.
"Hey, where do you think you're taking-" Cinder stopped talking as she looked out the cockpit window. Rather than seeing the cloudy sky like she expected, Cinder was staring at billions and billions of stars. When Neo joined her, she too was taken by surprise to see the wide expanse that lay before them.
"I'm not taking anymore chances in that forest. I'm keeping the Crest stationary in space while we get some rest."
"SPACE?" Cinder said to him.
Djarin quickly remembered there weren't any starports on Remnant. So, as far as he was concerned, Cinder and Neo were the first people of Remnant to ever be in space.
Quickly typing something on her Scroll, Neo showed the Mandalorian her screen. "You're an alien."
"Yep." he replied. "I'll explain later. For now, get some rest." With that, Cinder and Neo made their way out of the cockpit. Before leaving, Cinder caught a glimpse of the Child in what seemed to be a crib. Seeing her, the Child let out a small cry and quickly turned away from her.
This caused the Mandalorian to turn around at Cinder. "Guess it doesn't like me. Feeling's mutual." she said with a smirk, heading down to the hull. He didn't take his eyes off the Child, however. If there was one thing the Child loved besides wandering off and eating, it was meeting new people. Even when he had that ragtag team of mercenaries on his ship, the Child was curious to meet them. But now, looking at Cinder seemed to have made the Child…scared. This made Djarin concerned, because the only time he ever heard the Child cry like that was when he first handed him over to the Imperials. He then remembered what the Mystic told him before he left Ryloth. "You will meet very powerful people on the world of Remnant. Choose your allies wisely, or your mistake may cost you your life."
"This can't be good." Djarin said to himself.
Explosions. Bodies. Merciless droids. That was all the young boy could see and hear while his parents ran with him for safety. With his father holding him and his mother telling him over and over to keep his eyes on her, he knew the situation was hopeless. But that didn't stop them from running. Seeing a small crawlspace a few feet away from them, they quickly lowered their son into the space. Closing the door as soon as he was inside, he could hear the sound of clanking coming towards them. Eyes filled with tears, all he could do was sit and listen as he heard two more bodies fall to the ground. With light suddenly filling the room, the child looked up to see a Super Battle Droid staring back at him, blaster at the ready. Looking away, he heard the sound of a blaster go off.
Waking up with a start, the Mandalorian felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around quickly with a blaster in hand, he lowered is as soon as he saw Neo holding her arms out to shield herself.
"Sorry." he said. "Is Cinder awake?"
Pulling out her Scroll, he read the blue screen. "We're ready, but you have some explaining to do before we go." Remembering his promise, the Mandalorian got up from his seat, ready to go down to the hull. Seeing the Child was still asleep, he closed the crib and followed Neo down the ladder.
Cinder was pacing back and forth, a million questions in her head. Looking up, she saw Neo and the Mandalorian coming down the ladder. "About time." she said. "It's time we got some answers."
Djarin didn't trust Cinder, not in the slightest. But, he also knew getting her angry wouldn't be a good idea. Especially in a closed space like this. So, he decided to play along. But he would also choose his words carefully.
Sitting down, Djarin told Neo and Cinder parts of his story. Mainly how he met the Child, rescued him from Moff Gideon's Imperial remnant, and how he was charged with reuniting the Child with his own kind.
"Let me get this straight; you're an alien bounty hunter whose current mission is to reunite that...thing with a bunch of alien sorcerers called 'Jedi'? And that thing can move stuff with its mind?" Cinder asked him.
"First off, I'm human too, under this armor. Secondly, his abilities are more than just moving stuff. I've seen that kid do things I thought were impossible. Lastly, yes, that's about it." He replied.
"And what was the name people called you?"
"I'm a Mandalorian." he repeated, slower this time.
Neo then showed her Scroll to the Mandalorian. "I think we would know if there were any alien sorcerers on Remnant. So, why are you here?"
"I learned about the Relic of Knowledge on my travels. If I can find it, I can use it to guide me to the Jedi. It's my best hope." he replied.
Hearing this, Cinder took a moment to think about what to do next. She knew once the Mandalorian had the Relic, the first thing he would do was take it off-world, leaving her and Neo behind. But she couldn't go back to her Queen empty handed. So, a plan immediately came to Cinder's mind.
"Alright. But before I decide to help you, there's more you need to know about the lamp. About Remnant. Take us back to the academy, I need to show you something."
Standing up, Djarin went back to the cockpit and prepared the Razor Crest to return to Remnant. Opening the crib, he saw the Child's wide eyes staring back at him. "Looks like we're going back to the surface. Only this time, you're coming with me. You ready to stretch your legs out, you little womp rat?" he asked, handing the Child his favorite metal ball. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he looked up to see Neo holding her Scroll out to him. "You know, I have business to take care of once we're done here. I could use someone like you in my ranks, Amanda Lauren."
Slowly turning his head to Neo, he asked her very slowly, "Are you trying to piss me off?"
Looking back at her screen, she immediately saw what he was talking about. Trying to fix her message, the autocorrect on her Scroll kept changing "Mandalorian" to "Amanda Lauren."
"You know what? Just call me 'Mando'." he told her.
Standing on a long stone bridge, Neo, Djarin, and the Child were all staring at a giant slab of stone. Cinder was sitting behind them, spinning a fiery glass knife in her hand.
"So you're telling me this was where the Relic of Knowledge used to be? Behind this stone?" Djarin asked.
"It used to be a golden door, but yes. That's where it was." Cinder replied. "Apparently, the door to the Vault fades away once the Relic is removed."
"Why are you showing me this?"
"Because this is why I attacked the academy." she replied. "You haven't been on this world long, Mando. So, I'll let you in on a secret; each and every kingdom on Remnant is corrupt. These academies are proof of that. They don't train 'Huntsmen' and 'Huntresses', they train murderers. One of my friends was injured by a student at Beacon Academy, while a defenseless girl was torn apart by another student of the same school. And there's a man in the kingdom of Atlas who was audacious enough to seize control of both the kingdom's school and its military. I represent someone very powerful who wants to change all that. All she needs is each relic from each academy. I was charged with bringing the Relic of Knowledge to her, but the so called 'heroes' stopped me. They took the lamp, and now they're trying to get it to the most powerful kingdom on Remnant: Atlas. I need to stop them."
Djarin couldn't believe what he was hearing. If Cinder was telling the truth, then these "Huntsmen" and "Huntresses" were no different from the Imperials. But, she hadn't given him a reason to trust her yet. The same can be said for Neo. The fact that he knew very little about the one Cinder served didn't help either. And had one other question for her. "You said earlier you and Neo both want a girl dead. Why?"
"You mean Ruby Rose? She's the one who did this to me." she said, pulling away her hair to reveal a burn wound and a closed eyelid. "And she killed someone very special to Neo." Looking at Neo, she was staring at the ground with a sad expression on her face. "You're not the only one who wants Ruby dead. But unfortunately, Salem does not feel the same way…"
"So that's her name." Djarin thought to himself.
"I've been… instructed not to kill her…" Cinder said, melting the knife she was holding. "But you… you have no such orders. You can do as you please. Help me find them, and the rest is up to you."
Neo thought about this for a moment, and extended her hand with a smile. Cinder took Neo's hand with her own and shook it, sealing their deal.
"What about you, Mando?" Cinder asked, releasing her grip from Neo's hand.
Djarin pondered on what he had just seen and heard. He wasn't comfortable with the idea that Cinder could be lying about what she said, or the idea that the people of Remnant could be just as corrupt as the Empire. That made them dangerous. What he despised, however, was the fact that Neo and Cinder wanted to kill this "Ruby Rose" just to get even with her. Djarin was indeed a killer, but he never killed for revenge. This is the Way. But, he needed help getting the lamp. So, he decided to partner up with Cinder. For now.
"Alright, fine. But I'm not helping you take down every academy and kingdom on Remnant. I just want the-"
"Lamp." a tiny voice called out. All three of them immediately looked around, but they couldn't see anyone. Feeling something tug at his leg, Djarin looked down to see the Child reaching out across the bridge. "Lamp. That way."
Author's notes: hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I think this may have been my longest one so far. I tried to make it as interesting as possible. If you're confused by the ending, don't worry. Your questions will be answered next chapter.
To barrera2009, thanks for the tips, I'll make sure to do that.
To GhostCXR, thanks for your support. You've had good things to say about all my chapters, I appreciate that.
To GojiraFan455515, thanks a lot! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
One last thing; I'm seeing a surprising amount of favs and follows for the story (thank you all for doing this, by the way), but not a lot of comments. Please, feel free to speak your mind. Good or bad, I want to hear what you all have to say. Anyways, see you next chapter!