Seth woke up early, despite he'd gone to sleep the last. He'd only gotten fistfuls of rest, but felt no side effects.
He sat up in bed, noticing that Atton, Bao-Dur, and Mandalore were still asleep. Seth grabbed the cloak from his Jedi robes he'd thrown on the floor carelessly the previous night before he went into a restless sleep.
Seth hoped no one else was awake, for he wanted to go to the Jedi enclave and meet the Masters there, and then leave after discussing plans and such on how to stop the Sith and whatever plan they had put in motion.
He walked over to the dormitory door and opened it. It noiselessly, which surprised Seth.
He closed the door behind him as he proceeded out into the main hold to find it empty, save G0-T0. Seth realized he never really interacted with nor gave the droid a chance. But after the statement of it blowing up if disabled, he was afraid to even touch it.
Seth walked a bit faster when he got by the communications room. He went into the cockpit and lowered the loading ramp of the Ebon Hawk.
He picked up his pace again as he neared the garage and short hallway to the ladies' dormitory.
The fresh air of Dantooine met his face, and the smell of prairie and grass met his nostrils. A brief wind swept by him as he walked off the landing pad and into the Khoonda plains.
His walk was steady, and his heart beating a bit faster than he thought it would. Together again since how many years? Seth thought. There were no kinrath present, since the entire team killed them all either while traveling or for training on their own. And sooner than he expected, he heard the crackle of the fire at the salvager's camp.
Tents were set up round the fire, but nobody was outside tending it. The morning air was fresh, and full of dew. It was so clear here, and Seth understood why the Jedi choose this place for an enclave, despite the planet's lack of excitement. And even though the planet was boring, Seth found it comforting in a way he could not describe.
The sun had barely risen as he rounded the corner to the Jedi enclave. He jumped a bit when he saw all the stones in their right places—it was rebuilt! Seth looked down towards the door to the ground level and walked towards it with a strange speed. The door was alive. He opened it, and walked inside, feeling that someone was next to him, but he could not see anyone.
The sight was saddening: weeds and vines had clawed their way through wreckage and over the doorway. Seth brushed them out of the way. There was once grass along the pathway, but now it was just a weed patch. The gigantic tree in the center of it all was full of vines, weeds, and various plants that found life within it. It was dead, of course, with a wad of stick on it, which, Seth guessed, was an old bird's nest washed away by years of rain.
Seth drew his lightsaber and cut away the vines from the various doorways and went down each. He found a long hallway, when a corpse of an old Jedi Knight. The stink of the place with the smell of rotting flesh and overgrown vegetation overwhelmed Seth somewhat. He set out his hand and the body instantly caught flames. Rest, he thought. He did not search the body.
There was another hallway, but it too was collapsed. No other bodies could be found in the ground level of the enclave, so Seth went to a pair of closed doors.
Like the entrance to the level, they were alive somehow. He opened them, and there stood the three Jedi Masters. "I've come," Seth said.
Vrook, Zez-Kai-El, and Kavar just stared. "We were wondering when you'd come," Kavar started. "We have been discussing the situation, and have decided upon it."
"Upon what?" Seth asked. I thought this was the time where we talk about strategies on how to rebuild the Order, not on the situation…whatever that is.
"Why have you come?" Vrook asked in his usual barking tone. "So we can rebuild the Order," Seth said, "and for answers. I need to know why I was exiled. I saw the holovid of my sentencing—and you discussed something. What is it?"
Zez-Kai-El looked pensive. "Ah, we were wondering if you would inquire about this," he said.
"Haven't you wondered why you are a leader?" Vrook asked. "Haven't you even thought about how the ones that follow you are so obedient?" He gave Seth a somewhat angry look. Typical Vrook. "Did you think your charisma or personality had anything to do with it? It is the Force!"
"What Vrook is saying is that you form bonds through the Force with the ones around you, and they will follow you to their deaths if needed," Kavar explained. "This is a dangerous ability, and can cause much destruction, especially if you turn to the dark side."
"I'm not going to the dark side," Seth said defiantly. "I've seen it before," Vrook started. "A Padawan swears on their own life that they will never turn to the dark side, but some have. They have no idea about how strong the lure of the dark side it. It targets your weakness and preys on it. You must be strong enough—"
"Not to have any weaknesses?" Seth interrupted, getting a bit frustrated. "I didn't get myself almost blasted to gather up your three to get another trial. I thought we'd talk about how to rebuild the Order. Now, I've got a few Padawans who—"
"Padawans?" Vrook too his turn to interrupt Seth. "You cannot train, let alone a Jedi." "What Vrook means is that we have decided that it is too dangerous to leave you connected with the Force and having the ones around you follow you until their deaths," Zez-Kai-El said calmly. "You are a wound in the Force because of Malachor V." "You can kill," Kavar said. "You can be death—even the death of the Force."
Seth took a deep breath, trying to ignore what he just heard. Thoughts jumped into his head. A wound? The death of the Force? Then, he realized he would lose the Force. I lived without the Force, so I can again. He knew he couldn't. He'd just adapted to putting out his hand and moving objects, summoning them, using a lightsaber, and using the Force in combat. "So you're going to sever me from the Force?" he asked. Kavar nodded. None spoke. "It will be painless and fast," Zez-Kai-El said.
Seth felt a heavy feeling inside. He nodded, his eyes tiring suddenly. He got down on his knees and lowered his head. "If the Council believes it is necessary," he said, choking on the words, "then go ahead."
The three Masters nodded one after another. They each set out their hands and Seth was caught in stasis.
"Enough!" said a sudden voice behind Seth. He was unable to turn. "He was brought you knowledge and you turn away. Such ignorance," the voice said. It was Kreia. How the hell did she get here?
"You," Zez-Kai-El said. "I thought you died in the Mandalorian Wars," Kavar said.
"Died?" Kreia asked with a bit of a taunting tone. "No. Became stronger? Yes." There was angry glances cast; Seth could feel them through the air. Voices continued, blurred. Seth was losing the sharpness of his senses. Suddenly, a jolt of orange light illuminated from behind him and the three Masters fell to the ground as if they were all droids being hit with an electrical shock.
Visions of peril swirled in the Handmaiden's mind as she meditated in the cargo hold. She found it relaxing, but knew it was essential for any Jedi to meditate. Door closed. Jedi robes on. She was all set.
The visions wouldn't stop. They were of death, of Seth, of the Force. She could not explain them. Her eyes opened fast. Where is he? She thought, knowing the danger he was in.
The Handmaiden stood up immediately and went for the door, impatient for the few seconds it took for it to open. She bolted out of the door at a quick walk.
Into the main hold, and right to the cockpit to find Atton asleep. "Atton," she said loudly and hurriedly, "where is Seth?" Atton stirred for a few seconds. "Atton," she said again. "What!" Atton asked sharply. "Where is Seth?" the Handmaiden asked again. "I don't know," he said. "Am I his big brother?" "Damn it," she said, hitting Atton on the back. "Ah, what the hell was that for!" Atton said angrily, giving her a black look. "Where the hell is Seth?" The Handmaiden didn't wait for an answer and walked fast out of the cockpit and into the dormitory Kreia was in. She found it empty. Oh no.
She ran back to the cockpit. "Where is Kreia?" "Damn it, how am I supposed to know?" Atton asked. The Handmaiden, in her sudden blind fury, gave him a well-placed kick in the back of his knees. They buckled and he fell the floor. "Just get the hell out," he said, "before I get my lightsaber." The Handmaiden left, knowing she wouldn't get an answer.
The Handmaiden ran through the main hold and off the Ebon Hawk. Where is he? She thought to herself, sensing the worst. Why are you here? Her mind asked her. The Jedi enclave!
The Handmaiden set off at a fast sprint through the Khoonda plain towards the salvager's camp, still dead save the crackling and dancing of the fire. She came to the enclave and stopped to see it rebuilt, and noticed the open door. She sprinted towards it.
Inside, she found Kreia walking from the hallway opposite her. "He is no more. It is finished," Kreia said directly at her. A whirlwind of emotions swept through the Handmaiden as she drew her lightsaber and engaged the hilt. "Come with me," she said.
Kreia proceeded, a half wry smile on her lips. The Handmaiden pointed her lightsaber at Kreia's back and had her walk towards the exit. "You walk in whatever direction, got it?" the Handmaiden said. She knew that the shopkeeper at Khoonda had a ship because he bragged about it once. She knew that he would give it to her.
Seth got up and rubbed his head. It throbbed whenever his heart beat. The enclave was empty except for the bodies of the Masters. Seth got up and ran over to Kavar. He turned him over to see he was dead. Seth could no longer feel the Force in his body, let alone anywhere near it. She's completely wiped the Force away from them, he thought. He turned over Vrook and Zez-Kai-El to see the same things. So much for a great, fulfilling journey, he thought as the ones he sought lie dead before him. They deserve a burial, he thought.
Seth picked up Kavar's body and set it by the tree in the courtyard and did the same to Zez-Kai-El's and Vrook's. He took their lightsabers, knowing that they could be legendary for whatever they did.
He piled a large pile of weeds around and on top of the bodies and put out his hand. A small flame came to life instantly and began to devour up the weeds, and soon, the bodies. Seth watched the only remaining Jedi, save Atris, he knew of be burned. "Help me," he said to the air. Who will help you? Who's here to save your neck? He asked himself. The answer was nobody.
The remaining ashes lay in a center of stink and the charred tree. "Rest now," Seth said aloud to the enclave. "The Sith are finished here." He closed his eyes and slowly turned, too one last glance at the lost Jedi enclave and walked to the door.
Seth couldn't process what he had just heard. A wound in the Force? The encounter explained a lot to him, and many things finally made sense.
The Ebon Hawk eventually came into sight and Seth ran aboard. He ran straight to the main hold and right into the cockpit to find Atton on all-fours. "Where's Kreia?" Seth asked. Atton looked up. "The Handmaiden—" he started. "She was looking for her. They're going to Telos. The Handmaiden's taking Kreia to Atris—thinks she's got a prisoner." He winced a bit.
"Set a course for Telos," Seth said immediately. Atton stared. He was now standing. "Do it, damnit!" Seth said angrily. He went over to the galaxy map and punched in the coordinates.
Seth kept his eyes closed, but could not meditate. He was in Kreia's old dormitory. He couldn't divert his mind from the Jedi enclave. He suddenly heard footsteps.
"Something is wrong," their owner said. It was Visas. "I can feel it."
"No doubt you can," Seth said, his eyes still closed.
He felt Visas staring, despite she was blind. "I create bonds through the Force," he said slowly, "and other follow me until they die."
"I am not bonded to you by the Force," Visas said. "I am following you only because you spared my life. I will die for you. My life for yours it no lie." Then there was a silence.
"I am a wound in the Force," Seth said. "I can be the death of the Force. The Jedi Masters at the enclave told me—that's where I went early this morning."
Visas stood in the doorway. "Death of the Force? You have brought many life. You have done tasks and such deeds and given a new hope to those in a shadow. You have been the one to change someone's life. You have brought happiness to so many, and I have witnessed these things. If they see death in you, they are wrong."
"On Korriban," Seth said. He was standing now, and facing Visas. "You said that Master Vash's lightsaber would live on in the hands of a true Jedi. Those words have never left me." There was a silence.
"If I can do anything else for you," Visas said, "please alert me. My life for yours." She turned to go. Seth went back into his meditating position. He didn't hear her footsteps fading. She was still standing there. He stood back up.
"Something still troubles you," he said. "I can sense it." Visas's back was to him. "He awaits you at Telos," was all she said.
"Your master?" Seth asked. Visas turned and nodded. "If you go there, you must face him. It is inevitable," she said. There was another silence.
"There is more unrest inside of you, isn't there?" Seth said.
Visas took a deep breath. "Please stay," she said. There was a slight pause between her words. "With me."
"You know I can't," Seth said, not knowing how to answer.
"He is strong—stronger than anything you have faced. I ask you—I beg you—stay here," she said.
Another silence, another breath. "I need to see," she continued. "I need to see you. I need to see… what causes the Handmaiden's heart race, her tone to change. I need to look upon you and see."
"I need to see you, too," Seth said. "I want to see your face—without your veil. I need to see you for what you are."
"You know what I am," Visas said. "And I know what you are. But seeing things with one's eyes makes one believe further in something."
"And what do you believe in?"
"You," Visas said.
"And I believe in you," Seth said. "We need to see."
He felt slightly awkward the entirety of the conversation, and the feeling grew as he put his hands on Visas's face and slowly slid her veil off her face. Her eyes were a milky-white color and had no pupil. There was just white. Small locks of brown hair framed her face. Her lips were slightly parted as she breathed out.
"I cannot see like you can," Visas said.
She suddenly started to cry. "I do not have your features," she said. "My eyes…"
"I don't care about your eyes," Seth said. "You can't see me physically. You don't know what I even look like. I could resemble a Hutt right down to the last roll of fat and you still wouldn't care." He chuckled dryly. "Hell, I'm jealous of you. You can see someone from their actions and through the Force, and not physically."
There was a silence while Seth had his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her featureless eyes. They fascinated him.
Visas could sense Seth staring at her eyes. Embarrassed, she put her hand over her eyes and tilted her head downwards.
He took his own hand and put it around hers and lifted it off her eyes. "It's okay," he said softly, reassuringly.
Her body seemed to loosen a bit, since it had been rigid with fear. She had a nervous expression on her face. She's lost, Seth realized. She needs someone to help her. And she came to you.
"You're scared, aren't you?" Seth said. "Don't be, 'cause I'm not going anywhere." He involuntarily started to caress her cheek. Just like the holovids, he thought at himself.
"You helped me find the way," Seth said. "I guess we both got something out of this." She nodded. "And…I've been grappling with this the entire time," Seth said. "And I've sorted out that…" He slowed. Damn it why do I have to talk about my feelings, although she really did express hers didn't she? "…that I need you." That was all he could get out. The rest had to remain inside—for now.
He blinked. She was standing next to him, his hands on her face still. He slowly moved his head until their foreheads met. Seth grinned at her, and she gave a small smile back. Seth then gave her a soft kiss on the lips.
He shook his head, grinning, and said, "I won't lie to you." Visas looked like she had never been happier. "Ever since I heard you," she said, "I wanted to be next to you. I knew that if you had suffered such loss, that I would survive also."
Seth took her hand. "You won't…you know…leave me high and dry will you?" Visas shook her head. "I would never do that," she said. "I will never leave. As long as you want me in your presence, I will stay." He looked at her.
"You mean it, don't you?" Visas simply nodded.
And he kissed her again with more meaning than the first. At least I didn't have to express them in words, Seth thought. He didn't really want to go to Telos anymore.
Okay, glad that stuff is over... I've never really been a talented romance writer. XP So, review if you want. The only lame excuse I can muster to try to get anybody to review is that it's motivation so I know I'm not writing for air, but I'll finish the fic anyways whether I get a review or not. So, hope at least someone looks forward to an update.