Chapter 2 - Dark Reasonings

Nicola watched from the window as her daughter angrily stormed out to the demolition range. Melidere had changed over the years, and now, thanks to the nice long talk the five of them had had a week ago, she knew why. On top of that, she'd been beating herself up over this whole thing. How could she not have realized what had been happening to her middle daughter?

The door behind her clicked open and her eldest daughter's distinct Force presence entered the room. "Hey Mom-"

She sighed. "Not now Liselle, please not now."

Liselle nodded, her silver eyes showing her understanding. "Alright Mom. I was just checking to see if you were okay." Her tall blonde daughter left silently and closed the door behind her.

Nicola paced for a few minutes before finally sitting down, her head in her hands. She still just couldn't figure out how all this had gone on right under her very nose for almost six years now.

A hand touch on her shoulder startled her and she looked up into her husband's concerned face.

He sat down and pulled her on to his lap, tucking her head just underneath his chin. It was a position that two of them had adopted since they had first officially become a couple and done it unconsciously ever since.

She closed her eyes and leaned back against his chest, even as he started to speak. "Still worried about Meli?"

"Yeah, you could say that. How did all this go on without us noticing, Bror?" she asked quietly.

She felt him shrug. "I don't know Nicola, I really don't. But the twins are 22 now and Koyi and Tynian are 20. We were their age or younger when we got married and you got pregnant. We have to trust them to make their own decisions and hope that they'll make the right choices." He kissed her softly on the cheek.

They sat there silently for a few minutes, both deep in thought. Finally, Nicola said in a quiet tone, "I hope she's okay Bror. She's on the path I had before I became a Jedi. And the worst part is that she already knows how to use the Force. If she's not careful, she'll turn to the Dark Side like Jaina and Keira did for a little bit."

 "All we can do is wait and hope, love. All we can do is wait."

* * * * *

Two weeks later, Meli sat in the Wraith's mess hall, a cup of caf in her hands. She was currently deeply involved in a study of a spot somewhere on the table. It was about 1100 and she had a huge headache due to last night's drinking activities. Seeing how her problem was alcohol caused, maybe drinking caf that wasn't straight caf wasn't such a hot idea.

Five sets of booted feet appeared in front of her. She raised her silver gaze to meet the silver, blue, and green gazes of her siblings and friends.

As Ciny, Inyri, Tynian, Koyi, and Liselle moved chairs back to sit, she winced as the loud noises. "Stop. You're being too loud."

Grinning a bit too cheerfully, her younger sister Koyi sat down across from her. "Well that, sister, is why some of us only drink in moderation." She frowned slightly at the cup Meli held. "And that's not too smart, Meli. Mom says that more alcohol doesn't help a hangover, you know."

Meli shrugged. "I've been listening to Uncle Kell I suppose."

Liselle and Inyri exchanged glances and sighed. "Hey Mel, did you already forget what Mom and Aunt Adra told you about this four weeks ago?"

"Forget it; no. Ignore it; yes."

Tynian frowned at her. "Meli, that's the same as forgetting it."

"Not really Ty."

"Oh?"

"If I forgot it, than I would be unable to recall it. If I ignore it, than I can recall it, I just don't chose to."

"But either way, you're not making use of it."

Meli glared at her younger brother. "Ty, sometimes I wish you weren't so much like Dad."

He shrugged as Koyi said cheerfully, 'Well I think that's a new one. Normally, it's 'Liselle, you're too much like Nicola!' or 'Meli! Stop being so much like your Uncles!' or the most frequent one, the one I know and love, 'Koyi! Sometimes you're so damn straight forward about these things it drives me insane. Can't you just be more serious sometimes?'"

Liselle, Inyri, Ciny, Tynian grinned and laughed and Meli managed a smile and a short laugh. After a few moments however, Meli's laughter was curtained as her headache came back with a double punch.

"No, but seriously," Inyri started. "You need to buckle down, Meli. Aunt Nicola really doesn't need you going Dark around now."

Silver eyes flashing dangerously, Meli turned her head sharply to face Inyri. "She doesn't need me going Dark right now? How do you know my mother's mind? And what makes you think that I'll go Dark? Do you not trust me or something?"

"Meli, stop! You know that's not what she meant," Liselle said.

Meli raised a blonde eyebrow. "Oh? Then care to enlighten me as to what she did mean?"

Koyi's eyes narrowed slightly. "Hey Mel, calm down, alright? No one's accusing you of anything."

Tynian put a hand on his sister's shoulder but she shrugged it off. "Don't touch me, Ty." Liselle glared at her twin and placed a hand of her own on her arm. Meli's eyes narrowed slightly and both Liselle and Tynian went flying backwards, fueled by the power of Meli's mind. Inyri turned to look at Meli, shock evident in both the Force and her expression.

Not bothering to say anything else, Meli turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, leaving open-mouthed siblings and friends behind her.

Ciny took one quick look around, glanced at Inyri, received a nod, and then darted after Meli. Inyri and Koyi hurried over to Liselle and Tynian. Liselle winced as she sat up, rubbing her elbow. Inyri offered her a hand even as Koyi offered one to her twin.

As the two Afyons were pulled back to standing positions, Liselle glanced over at Tynian. "That was one hell of a TK blast."

Tynian nodded and started to tap into the Force to help blunt the pain that had started to blossom in his back. "You're telling me. That's almost worse than Mom's Targeter stuff when she's mad."

Koyi glanced behind herself in the direction which Meli and Ciny had disappeared in. "If you two are alright, I'm going to go after Meli and Ciny. I think that Mel should talk to someone who's not a demolitions expert."

Liselle nodded and watched her younger red-haired sister go after Meli. The three remaining friends sat there in silence, waiting for Koyi to return, Liselle and Tynian using the Force to take away the slight pain from Meli's Force 'attack.' About five minutes later, Koyi returned with Ciny in tow. Sitting down backwards in a chair, her arms cross in front of her on the chair back, Koyi said in a dry tone, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going over to Twin Suns to talk to Aunt Jaina."

* * * * *

Three weeks later, Liselle opened her eyes sleepily and glanced over at the chrono: 0721. She started to curse silently before she remembered that it was her day off. An arm wrapped around her waist tightened, pulling her closer.

'What time is it?" Rane asked her groggily. She rolled over to face him and slapped her boyfriend of four years lightly on the chest.

"Good morning to you too, flyboy." She said jokingly.

He smiled and pulled her even closer to him, kissing her on the lips, his other hand tracing the curves of her body.

She broke away after a minute or two as the need for air came over her. He put on a mock pout and she smiled at him.

"Stop you! You got enough last night. Mornings are fueled by caf and nice, refreshing showers. Speaking of which," she sat up and glanced over at their not-quite-pile of discarded and intermingled clothes. "I probably should get back to base soon, before my mother freaks out."

Rane nodded and sat up himself. "Yeah, probably a good idea."

Liselle pushed herself off the bed, wrapping a sheet around herself for modesty. She bent down and started to sort out her clothes from Rane's. "I'm using your shower if that's okay."

He nodded. "Go ahead. It's not like you'd listen to me anyways."

She grinned as she poked her head back around the door. "Yeah, I suppose you're right about that one." She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Care to join me?"

"I suppose I could be persuaded to. But you've definitely changed your tune from a few minutes ago."

Liselle grinned mischievously at him and drew him towards her with the Force." Just come on you!"

Thirty minutes later, Liselle and Rane had emerged from the refresher, hair wet and feeling more awake than they had before. Liselle frowned slightly as she glanced around the room.

"Rane, where's my shirt?"

The pilot raised an eyebrow and put on an innocent look. "Don't know why you'd be asking me."

She glared at him. "Very funny flyboy. Where is it?"

Rane shrugged, his expression fooling no one.

"Rane, it's 0800, not 2400. Meaning right now, the clothes are suppose to be on, not off."

He laughed and pulled her into a hug, kissing her tenderly on the lips. After a moment, he drew back and gestured behind her. "Your shirt's right there, by the way. Been there the entire time."

Of course, he had just moved it there with the Force.

"Liar." She summoned it to her with the Force. She pulled the blue tank top on and removed the mental cloaking she had put in place the night before. Her emotions at the time really didn't need to be shared with everyone who had the slightest control over the Force.

Have a nice night? Koyi's voice came laughing through the Force. Liselle rolled her eyes as her youngest sister's "question."

Yes, yes in fact I did. Did you and Garik enjoy yourselves? she shot back silently.

Koyi sent a chuckle through the Force. Of course we did, but not in the same way as you did. Garik and I are one of the few couples around here who don't operate on sex twice weekly.

Ha ha. Very funny. If Mom asks, I'll be back in about half an hour. Has Meli gotten back home yet?

She came in around 0200 this morning. She left a little while ago though, something about going to do some sims or something. And I'll tell Mom.

Alright, see you in a few.

Liselle shrugged on her mother's old Wraith Squadron pilot jacket and turned towards Rane. "I'm going to go back to base now."

Rane nodded. "I'll walk with you. Gives me a way to avoid Mom, Dad, Davin, and Keira for an hour or two."

The couple snuck out of the Twin Suns Headquarters and started back towards the Wraith Headquarters. As they passed by Rogue, Liselle relaxed the mental block she had in place for Meli and her twin bond. The moment the barricades were gone, she came to an abrupt halt as a wave of emotion hit her. Pain, hate, anger; they were all there. Quickly, she slammed the block back up but the emotions kept coming. Rane stopped too as the emotion wave hit him too.

Liselle closed her eyes and started fumbling in her pocket for her comlink. She flicked it on but just as quickly thumbed it off. The power was dead.

"Shavit!" she swore loudly.

Rane grabbed her hand. "Come on, Rogue's right here. Maybe someone else felt that too."

Mirax Halcyon and Ari Solo were standing in the lounge, obviously pained expressions on their faces as well.

"Liselle, what the kriff is going on with your twin?" Mirax asked, wincing as another wave hit her.

Liselle rubbed the sides of her head. "If I knew, I wouldn't be here." She stretched out a hand and Mirax's comlink came flying towards her. "Hope you don't mind if I borrow this for a minute, Aunt Mirax."

Mirax shook her head as Liselle thumbed it on and flicked through to Koyi's comm frequency. "Koyi, what the sith is going on with Meli?"

"Like I'm suppose to know? We were all hoping that you would know."

"Koyi, be serious here. I've cut myself off from her. Did that a long time ago."

"I know, but it was worth asking."

"Damnit Koyi! Ask Mom or Dad if they can find her. Or actually, neg that, go find Uncle Cloud."

"Lis, he's in the med center with Cerise-"

"Just do it Koyi!"

"Fine. Afyon out."

Liselle hit the off button and turned back to face Rane, Mirax, and Ari. "She's not in Wraith HQ."

Rane closed his eyes for a moment. When he reopened them, there was an apology there. "Lis, right now I think the only way is for you to reopen the twin thing."

Ari nodded in agreement. "He's right; it's the only way I can think of, being a twin myself."

Liselle sighed and then sat down, closing her eyes in concentration. The world around her became largely insignificant as she dove into the Force, searching for the sister she had once been one with. Other minds brushed hers briefly, but she shrugged them away. To her, different people were different color minds in the Force. Sith were red, Imperials were black, fellow pilots and friends were blue, Jedi were white, and close close friends and family were different bright, blazing colors. Meli was normally a blazing bronze, the color of her lightsaber, edged with white. But now, Meli's Force presence was bronze and edged with the red of the Sith.

Her eyes snapped open and she jumped up. "She's by Wraith, the demolitions range I think. Aunt Adra's with her!"

* * * * *

Meli glared at her aunt and holdmother. Arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, Adra started right back.

"You have your way of forgetting things, Aunt Adra, and I have mine. Believe it or not, they're pretty damn similar. You get drunk and so do I. Except I get drunk and a bit romantically inclined. It's not a vongin' crime around here to kiss someone you're not married to, is it?" Meli asked, silver eyes flashing.

"Melidere, if you were my daughter, right now you'd have an ysalamir permanently stuck over your head. But, fortunately, you're not my daughter. You've been raised a Jedi so don't try to tell me you don't know the difference between the Light and Dark Sides of the Force."

The pilot shook her head slightly and laughed. "But there is no difference, there is only how much power, there is only what you feel." She turned around and sent an explosive flying with telekinesis. As she did, Liselle, Rane, Koyi, Nicola, Jaina, Keira, and some of the other Wraiths came sliding in.

Not turning around, Meli continued. "You see, the Jedi code is a bunch of bantha fodder. Whoever said that there is no emotion must've had his head screwed on the wrong way. Are the Jedi some special breed or something and we don't need to feel emotions? We don't need to be mortal? And if there is no passion, where do the hell do all the little Jedi come from? Do they just spring out of holes in the ground or something?"

Liselle, Keira, Nicola, and Jaina exchanged looks and started forward towards Meli even as Adra took a few steps backwards. The previously flung explosive went off with a boom as Meli turned around to face them.

Nicola took another step forward towards her daughter. "Melidere, this isn't the answer, turning to the Dark Side won't help any."

Meli held up a hand, a sphere of Force lightning in her palm. She narrowed her eyes at it and the lightning went out quickly and effortlessly to form a wall between them. "Don't you get it, Mother? There is no light or dark side; there is only the Force. I can either be at 'peace' and use twice the effort to create that wall, or I can fuel it with my anger and save myself time and effort."

Jaina and Keira frowned slightly and then the older Fel waved a hand at the Force wall, causing it to disappear.

"Remember Melidere, if you can summon it, than you can dispel it. You're not the only one to take this path," Jaina said, unconsciously echoing Kyp Durron's words to her from decades ago.

Liselle took another few steps forward and placed a hand on her twin's shoulder. "Come on Mel, just calm down and think about this."

Meli glared at her. "Get off me, sister." She spat out the last word. Liselle hesitated but then kept her hand where it was.

If Liselle had thought that the last time Meli had used telekinesis to throw her backwards had been painful, then her thoughts were quickly reorganized as she was surrounded by a black nimbus and flung quickly and painfully backwards into the wall. A gasp arose from the watchers. Rane and Inyri hurried over to her.

Meli crossed her arms and watched them. Finally, in a low tone, she said, "I told you to get off of me Liselle."

With that, she darted away towards the hanger bay. Mere minutes later, an X-Wing took off and disappeared quickly into the horizon.

Liselle rubbed her back as she sat up. As she used the Force to help ease the pain, she asked rhetorically, "Why is it always me who gets thrown? Why why why why why?"

Koyi offered her sister a hand. As the blonde pilot stood up, Koyi said, "Because you're the one who never listens to her."

A few feet a way, Nicola stood there silently, in shock. Bror wrapped his arms around here and she placed her head on his chest, silent tears soaking in to his tunic. Quietly, so that no one but Bror heard, she said softly, "I wish life was fair and the worst part is that I know that life isn't, I've only been telling people that for the past few decades."