And now for the better, non-rip-off ending…
Time passed and Jirin and Lien grew ever closer. Each day brought yet another reason for them to love each other more and more. It was truly unbelievable to both of them, but they had never been happier. Their ever-growing relationship never ceased to astound them.
The planet began to shift into a
harsh inter-seasonal period, and soon a brutal winter was upon the lone
inhabitants. Making their home in the
cave system they had found, they struggled to keep each other warm, but the
effort only served to draw them still closer, in several ways. Despite the near life-threatening storms,
the couple still frequently took up exploration trips to wherever they could
reach, always pushing their range farther, and with that, their reliance on
each other.
One especially cold night, Jirin
sat shivering in the cave, waiting for Lien to return from her still-customary
run. She was incredibly determined, at
times to the point of stubbornness, but he found even that endearing. Everything about her made him love her
more. Sensing her drawing nearer, he
sent a few thoughts out to her.
Hurry back. I'll always love you. I'll never leave you. I want nothing more than to be with
you. Growing a bit more mischievous
then, he thought to her I have some ideas we might want to try out tonight…
From the emotional warmth he
felt emanating from her, he knew she at least understood the feelings, if not
the actual words. He smiled, and then
let out a short laugh, unable to contain his joy. His smile broadened as he saw her enter the cave and come
closer. You're so beautiful…he
had no idea how many times he'd thought that, but looking at her never failed
to fill him with awe.
"What was that I sensed from you
just before?" she asked.
"I know it's a bit cold, so I
was thinking of some ways to generate a little more heat…"
* * *
Early on, a few days later, the
two trudged through a particularly nasty snowstorm in the general direction of
where Lien's ship had been. They
huddled close together, determined to complete yet another exploratory
diversion. Suddenly, an incredible wind
picked Jirin off his feet and threw him against the trunk of a tree. Favoring his back, he tried to sit up,
surprised. His surprise increased as a
body dropped almost on top of him from high in the tree.
The body had been wrapped in
black robes, clearly dead. But why
hide a body in a tree? The robes
surrounding it were a perfect match for the ones it wore itself. Though obviously dead for quite some time, a
few features were still apparent. It
had been male, human, probably. He had
extremely pale skin, even in life, was rather thin, and had long, stringy black
hair. His eyes had decayed a bit, so it
was impossible to tell what color they had been.
Wondering who the dead man was,
and why he was on the planet, Jirin's eye was caught by a glimmer of sunlight
reflecting off of a metal object. Digging away a mound of snow, he stopped suddenly, as he saw two things
he never expected to see on the planet-a pair of lightsabers. He looked back toward the body, its robes,
and it suddenly clicked. Sith. The word echoed in his mind. Finally, something even more horrifying
occurred to him.
Two sabers…two Sith…one
dead…one…
He fought back tears as his eyes
were drawn to Lien, begging, pleading that she would deny it. Yet all he saw was a painful resignation and
confirmation.
No…he thought.
No…
No…
"No!" he finally shouted, his
voice full of the pain that had been building in his gut. The cry tore at Lien, but not nearly as much
as the tears that began streaming down his face. She tried to say something, tried to comfort him, but knew it
would be in vain.
"Tell me it isn't true," he
begged.
All she could do was look away.
"Please!"
She couldn't respond.
"Then join me. It's not too late to reject him, to reject
them. You can be a Jedi like me. You can turn to the Light Side."
Finally, her voice struggled
out. "No, I can't. You have no idea what the Jedi have done to
us! You're an exception-you're not like
the rest, but I can't be like them! I
can't join them! Not after what they've
done!"
"Please!"
"I'm sorry. I can't."
Suddenly, at Jirin's command,
Lien's lightsaber shot toward her. Instinctively she caught it. Jirin took up and activate his own blazing weapon. "Use it, Lien!"
"No!"
"Use it!"
"Jirin, please don't do
this! What you've been taught about us
is wrong! You've been blinded by an
oppressive teaching!"
"No! We're right! We have to
be right!" He ran the phrase in his
head like a mantra, giving him strength and confidence.
We have to be right, we have
to be right, we have to be right…
Finally unable to control
himself, he charged her, blade raised. At the last second, she turned aside and thrust out her hand, as if to
ward off the blow. Unexpectedly, a rock
flew up from beneath a mound of snow and struck the Jedi square in the
chest. He stopped mid-stride, and fell
as his heart failed. He hit the snow,
dead.
"No! Jirin!" Lien ran to him, and cradled his head in her arms. "No. Please come back." Suddenly her mind
cleared past what her Master had taught her. Jirin had loved her, loved her, as the Jedi had always taught. And yet all the Sith had ever given her
to use was anger pain and death. And
now she knew the true tragedy of death. "You were right, Jirin. You were
right…"
Then, as if she had uttered some magic phrase, she
felt all of the dark power that had filled her surge outward, to be replaced by
the light of Jirin's strength. And it didn't
stop there. Once she felt the warmth,
the power of the light completely consuming her it overflowed into Jirin's
body. With a start, his eyes shot open.
"Lien…"
"Jirin!" Again, she cried, this time for joy, and he
joined her. "I love you, Jirin."
"I love you, too, Lien. I love you too. I always will…"
End
Thanks
to "HerShadow" for allowing me to work on this idea.
