Chapter XVI
Leaving the tunnels behind, Val ducked behind a pillar and adjusted his helmet's audio receptors.
He heard nothing. No footsteps, no breeze, nothing.
It was too quiet.
With his right hand, Val drew his blaster pistol. With the other, he grabbed a stun grenade from his belt.
He didn't arm the grenade, knowing that the sound of a timer's countdown would buy his quarry a split second to change position. He just threw it. It landed in the middle of the hall.
As it hit the ground, Val aimed his pistol and fired upon the grenade, unleashing a small explosion of fire and dust. As Val retreated behind the pillar, blaster bolts tore into the surrounding area.
Val fired at the now exposed supercommandos. His blast hit one of them in the helmet, disorienting the commando and knocking them to the floor.
His split-second survey complete, Val took cover behind the pillar, assessing his situation. He was up against four Mandos. One of them wielded a rifle, one had a shattergun, the other had...an axe? Val had hit the one with the axe.
"Val," a familiar voice spoke up.
Val froze.
"Hello Míranda," Val responded, still listening to his helmet's audioreceptors, "It's been a while."
"You've been gone for quite some time," Míranda responded. As she spoke, Val continued to listen for any sign of his enemy's strategy.
Footsteps. From what he could tell. They were slowly advancing towards his position, hoping to catch him off guard.
"You've evaded justice for too long, Dar'manda," a second Mandalorian spoke. Val recognized the deep, gravely voice of Míranda's loyal lieutenant, Vorer Auchs, "You have no right to wear that armor."
Two of them were slowly advancing towards Val, probably hoping to catch him at both sides of the pillar. There was a slight whoosh in the air as Vorer twirled his vibroaxe.
"None of this is beskar," Val replied as he retrieved a detonator from his belt, "There's a reason for that."
"Can't we just skip to the part where you surrender and no one else has to die?" Míranda asked.
Val looked to his left and his right as he silently considered his options. He holstered his pistol.
Riko and Jade moved slowly, illuminating the corridor with their sabers and Artoo's light.
It had been several minutes, and yet, nothing. Just more of the tunnel, more vines, more rubble. The only sounds were their footsteps, the hum of the sabers, Artoo's servos, and their breathing.
And that continuous feeling in Jade's mind, the familiarity…
"Do you need another saber?" Riko asked, breaking the silence.
"What?" Jade asked, perplexed.
"Another saber? I keep my backup in Artoo."
"That sounds good," Jade answered, "Why didn't you think of that before?"
"You know me," Riko responded.
Artoo opened a compartment in his torso.
Inside lay Riko's original lightsaber, the cyan one. Familiar echoes of Jade's worst memories began to resurface in her mind, moments when she had carried this blade...
Tau has inflicted much upon you…
Shut up! Jade mentally yelled.
"You okay?" Riko asked, more nervously.
"I'm fine," Jade quickly grabbed the saber, "I'm fine."
She ignited the cyan blade.
You're a Jedi! Riko's horrified voice echoed in her memory.
Jade closed her eyes…
No… Asharr had said with Jade's mouth, I'm not…
"Jade," Riko said, breaking her out of the haze of memories. She was holding her sabers close, as if she was ready to strike against an opponent.
"We should go," Riko declared.
"No," Jade responded, "This is the only way out."
"Jade…"
"Just watch me closely," Jade requested, "Okay?"
Riko nodded, "Okay."
"Deet breet."
They advanced deeper into the tunnels, the light from the plants slowly fading.
I am truly sorry, Asharr whispered in her past, I promise, it will be over soon…
Jade couldn't wait.
She started running.
"Jade!" Riko called after her.
Jade had to know.
Bao briefly glanced down at the corpse, the Jedi that was now dead at his hands. He couldn't turn away, a strange emptiness numbing his heart and halting the processes of his mind...
Focus on your goal, Tau Skywalker's words echoed in his memory, A Jedi must never forget their destination.
Bao would have time to meditate on this later. Right now, Val and the others needed his help.
He quickly examined the lightsaber he had taken from his opponent, noting a leather grip and a metal crossguard built around the emitter. The hilt was small for his hand, but it would do.
Holding the azure-bladed saber outward, Bao advanced into the ruined Temple's supposedly empty entrance hall. He closed his inner eyelids so as to attune his vision to the infrared spectrum and flush out his attackers…
Suddenly, Bao heard a lightsaber ignite, and he quickly turned to block a glowing black blade.
Retreating, the blade's wielder revealed herself to be a Mandalorian clad in worn brown robes and scarred white-green armor engraved with glyphs. The black blade protruded from a hilt built into her vambrace. She moved into a stance that favored speed, her eyes hidden by her smooth, glowing blue T-visor.
His eyes widening, Bao raised his saber as the Mandalorian charged, striking offensively with a series of jabs and thrusts which the Jedi Knight attempted to counter. The warrior was always on her feet, using her jetpack to increase her agility, striking from multiple angles.
Struggling to parry her blows, Bao called upon the Force and pushed her back. She impacted against the wall and landed on the floor, dazed.
Bao realized that for all her skill, she lacked Force-sensitivity. He wasn't sure whether he should feel relieved or alarmed. As he watched, she slowly began to move to her feet.
Suddenly, Bao felt a spike of alarm. He backflipped as Mandalorian commandos fired mini-rockets at his position. His scales stung from the heat of the resulting detonation.
As Bao landed on his feet, the commandos opened fire with heavy repeating rifles.
"Bao!" Val yelled, drawing his pistol.
"Val!" Bao responded, frantically deflecting the commandos' blasts and strikes from Míranda's lightsaber.
"Skipping stone!" Val yelled.
He armed another stun grenade and threw it.
Bao grabbed the grenade with the Force and aimed it towards the main group of Mandalorians.
The device detonated, throwing two commandos back, knocking them unconscious.
Val stepped out from the pillar and started firing stun bolts, the tracking systems in his visor outlining all of his targets and all of their weaponry, including…
He rolled to the floor, his free hand grabbing a repeating rifle. He quickly moved back into a firing position and unleashed a torrent of blasterfire upon the commandos.
As Val moved back, he felt a sting of heat as a blaster bolt hit his chestplate, the aruetyc armor failing to completely negate the effects.
Gritting his teeth, he fell back towards the pillars to get some cover, blaster bolts and shatter pellets pulverizing the ruins into a cloud of dust.
Bao retreated away from the blasterfire as the Jedi-Mando rained blow after blow, frantically parrying and riposting all of them as she struck with quick, ruthless efficiency, fighting him to a standstill.
Snap-hiss!
A second Shadow materialized from the darkness, sporting an amethyst blade, and wielding it with deadly efficiency.
Bao met both attackers, attempting to parry their blows. This Shadow was more proficient than the first, his blade a whirlwind of purple.
The Jedi-Mando jumped in and delivered a stinging kick to Bao's midsection. Bao almost doubled over in pain, struggling to parry his opponent's blows.
"Bao!" Val cried out.
Extending his hand, Bao pushed his opponents back, both of them landing nimbly on their feet. As the pain began to dull into a throb, Bao slowly retreated back towards Val as the Mandalorians closed on them.
"Halt!" The Jedi-Mando ordered.
There was a momentary reprieve. Both sides faced each other, a Jedi Shadow, a Mandalorian Jedi Acolyte, and four supercommandos against a Jedi Knight and an ex-Mandalorian.
"Surrender," the Jedi-Mando requested, "You don't have to die needlessly."
"Your deaths are acceptable collateral damage," the Shadow contradicted his ally's words, "Our mission remains the same."
Bao moved his body and lightsaber into a guard stance. Val raised his blasters.
Suddenly, a boulder flew through the air and smacked against two of the commandos, knocking them to the ground. Bao looked towards the source of the projectile.
In the temple's entrance stood a tall, hooded figure clad in a worn jacket and a shoulder bag. In his long fingered hands, he brandished a staff coated in vivid, amber coral.
"He's here," the Jedi-Mando whispered. She and the Shadow broke off and charged the ancient wanderer, overwhelming him with a flurry of attacks.
"Hailwater," Bao whispered. Val nodded and unleashed hell with his repeating rifle, staggering the Mandalorians. Bao unleashed a Force push which staggered the commando charging him, briefly clearing a path between himself and Kali'sto.
Deflecting stray blaster bolts and evading small metal projectiles, Bao rushed to the old master's aid, only for the Shadow to rush in aggressively, his purple blade attempting to strike blow after blow as Bao blocked and parried his opponent's wide swings and strikes. He tried adapting to Bao's style, but the Jedi Knight was faster, parrying his opponent's every slash.
The Shadow broke off, facing Bao down as he angled his saber into a Form IV stance.
Bao sensed no trace of his opponent's emotions in the Force, but his scent betrayed his intentions. The Trandoshan sensed subtle hints in the air, emanating from his body, indicating anticipation…guile. Bao realized that his opponent expected him to keep parrying his blade, rather than outright blocking it.
So Bao stood his ground and held his saber one-handed as the Shadow lunged, only to quickly bat his opponent's weapon aside with the strength of a two-handed blow, staggering the Shadow back. As the Shadow raised his blade to block Bao's subsequent slash, the Trandoshan caught his opponent's blade on his hilt's crossguard, quickly angling the blade and making a decisive strike. The Shadow collapsed to the floor as his hand fell to the ground, along with the severed halves of his saber.
His saber raised defensibly, Bao hesitated, unsure of what to do next.
Suddenly, the Trandoshan heard a stun blast in the air. The Shadow grew stiff, as if in shock, and fell to the floor.
"Stop standing around, Bao!" Val yelled as he continued to trade fire with the one remaining commando.
It was just the Acolyte and one other Mandalorian. Kali'sto was holding his own against the speed and flurry of the Jedi-Mando's black blade.
Suddenly, a new lightsaber - a saberstaff with two green blades - ignited in the darkness, held by a third robed figure. As Bao turned to meet this new foe, they extended their hand, a faint dark energy coursing through their fingers.
Suddenly, the entire chamber was cloaked with an aura of darkness, blinding Bao's sight and dulling his senses. Almost immediately after the darkness appeared, it dissipated.
Bao quickly surveyed their surroundings, noticing not just that Kali'sto's hand was extended – glowing with a faint halo – but that their hunters had vanished. The third Shadow was gone. As were the Jedi-Mando and the other Mandalorians. Bao looked towards the ground, and realized that the fallen Shadow had vanished as well. Only the bodies of two dead Mandalorians remained, the rest had somehow disappeared into the darkness of Nyr'itz.
Bao turned towards Val and Kali'sto.
"They'll be back with reinforcements," he declared, "Get back to the ship."
"Go with him, Jedi," Kali'sto ordered, "I will find my son."
"You might need help in there," Bao responded, "I can…"
"Secure your ship," Kali'sto insisted, "I will handle this."
"Where's your ship?" Val asked, eyeing the old man.
"Waiting for us, far away from this place," Kali'sto explained, "There are more of them out there, hunting me. You need to secure your vessel. I will find Riko, and meet you back at your gunship."
Bao was silent for a moment, considering the ancient master's logic.
He nodded.
"There's a girl his age and an old astromech with him," Bao explained.
"The girl's been through some osik," Val added.
"I will not leave anyone behind," Kali'sto assured them.
The illumination had almost faded, the only glow was from their sabers.
Jade was sprinting now; Riko struggled to catch up, Artoo failing to match their pace. It didn't help that the tunnel was now curving, turning corridors. It was like following a river.
Riko could barely see Jade. He was even having trouble finding her in the Force. It wasn't the place, it felt like she was trying to shut him out.
The tunnel gave way to a vast area, the depths of which Riko couldn't even begin to perceive. He could only tell that it lacked the narrow confines of the tunnels.
"Jade?" Riko asked. His voice echoed around what he realized was a vast chamber.
See yourself…
Jade stopped.
She reignited her lightsabers, but the glow they produced was faint, barely keeping the darkness at bay.
She heard something in the distance, echoing within the large chamber. It sounded like...
The clashing of lightsabers.
Riko slowly moved forward, his saber held upward. He heard something snap.
Beneath his boot was a broken leg bone.
Riko stepped back, shining his saber on the corpse, casting it in an ember glow.
It looked like some kind of beast, a canine...no, a lizard. It was large, probably larger than Riko.
Next to it lay a humanoid skeleton. It looked like a Duros, judging by the large eyeholes and skull shape. It was clad in some kind of armor, whatever clothes it had been wearing had rotted away.
In its hand lay…
A lightsaber hilt. Ancient, with a broken cord poking out.
His hand tightening around his weapon, Riko looked back up. He tried to sense Jade through the…
The Force was powerful here…
Remember Jade, Riko reminded himself, Focus on her…
Jade was…somewhere up ahead. It didn't feel like she was running anymore.
Riko advanced forward, breathing heavily.
Jade, Riko didn't know if he had any other choice, Are you out there? Please?
He heard movement. Something was coming. It didn't feel like Jade.
He raised his blade.
Jade moved towards the sound of sabers. The temple began to grow a little brighter, she started to see bookshelves around her…
She saw two figures dueling. One clad in dark robes and armed with a green lightsaber, the other…
"Mom!" Jade yelled.
Thalia Fel wasn't faring well against Tau's assault, staggering under the speed and weight of his attacks. Despite the fact that he was missing an arm, he still hammered her with strike after strike, pushing her back.
Jade charged forward, hoping to assist her mother. But she was somehow blocked, unable to reach the duo, no matter how fast she ran. The warring duo were always a few meters away, no matter how hard she tried to reach them.
Thalia was backed up against one of the shelves, cornered, desperately holding Tau's blows back.
"Mom!" Jade panicked, horrified, knowing what was about to happen.
Tau broke through Thalia's defense and impaled her on his blade.
As Jade watched with horror, her mother slumped to the floor. She weakly glanced towards her daughter, only to exhume her last breath.
The torrent of grief and rage Jade had felt back at the Temple flooded back into her consciousness as the Tau-spectre turned towards her.
"No!" The barrier separating the vengeful Jade from her murderous father broke.
A flash. Riko turned to his left. He trembled as he held his saber, trying to find comfort in its ember glow.
Silence. The only sounds he heard were his own breathing and the hum of his blade.
Behind him!
Riko turned, only to be knocked to the ground by the force of his opponent's sabers, clattering some of the scattered remains.
He rolled aside, dodging his attacker's blades. He quickly moved to his feet and moved into a guard stance.
His opponent attacked again. They swung their sabers with intensity, Riko could barely hold off their strikes. Both blades were too fast, Riko staggered back, his blade taking hit after hit after hit after hit after hit…
Riko caught them in a bladelock. He moved to ignite his second blade…
Suddenly, Riko felt a spike of alarm as his ember blade flickered, breaking the tenuous bladelock he held. In a split second, Riko dodged his opponent's advancing sabers, feeling the blade painfully caress the skin of his neck. He fell to the ground, his lightsaber falling out of his hand, the blade deactivating, stranding him in the dark.
Jade swung at Tau, using her sabers to overwhelm him with a flurry of strikes. Tau was barely able to hold her off.
She hammered and hammered with fury, forcing him back. Jade swung both blades with hit after hit after hit...
Suddenly, he evaded her sabers and caught her blades, and his guard held, pushing her back…
Jade quickly broke through the bladelock, disjointing Tau and knocking him to the ground.
Jade's lightsaber suddenly vanished, and their environment shifted. Suddenly, the temple had darkened, the bright sky of Atarashi'ie replaced with the gloom of Dromund Kaas. In place of her lightsabers, she was pointing a blaster at a shocked and horrified Tau.
Anger and fury in her heart, she fired.
Tau vanished, leaving Jade alone in the simulacrum.
Riko quickly rolled away, running for a better position, drawing upon the Force to call his lightsaber back.
Bones hit his ankles, knocking him back down as his hilt returned to his grip. He rolled across the floor and returned to his feet. He turned around to face his opponent.
He only saw the bright, blinding beam of Artoo's flashlight.
"Deet-dreet-deet?"
"Did you see someone too?" Riko asked.
"Deet-beet," Artoo affirmed with dread.
They weren't alone here.
Riko flicked the switch on his saber. To his shock, the blade failed to ignite.
"What's wrong with it?" Riko asked himself as he frantically flicked the switch, "It's not working!"
Artoo shined his light on the hilt as Riko examined it.
"Deet-deet-ding!" Artoo cried out in alarm.
His attacker's blade had struck down the emitter matrix, leaving a vertical gash in the button housing, crippling the weapon.
Riko's grip tightened around the hilt as he started hyperventilating.
He looked back up towards the ensuing darkness.
"Jade?" Riko called out again, "Jade!"
Jade turned towards the sound. It was clearly Riko.
She turned back towards her mother's corpse...which was no longer there.
"Riko?" Jade asked.
Riko turned to his left.
"Jade!" Riko responded, "Are you okay?"
"I'm alright," Jade responded, "I'm okay."
"Follow my voice!" Riko suggested.
"Okay!" Jade responded.
They were going to be okay, they were going to be alright…
Another saber ignited.
Riko ducked. He rolled back and saw who he was facing now.
Tarrin. He was clutching his side with one arm, the other brandishing his lightsaber.
"Jade?" Riko called again, "Help!"
"I'm coming!" The world hadn't felt this clear in a long time. Jade wasn't even following Riko's voice anymore. She was trusting her instincts. She could see him across the darkness of the room.
He was distressed, afraid…
"Catch!" Jade yelled, throwing him his old weapon.
Catching the saber, Riko redirected Tarrin's blade away and kicked his opponent back. The padawan screeched, swinging wildly, staggering Riko.
Riko yelped as the saber cut into his thigh, leaving a stinging surface wound.
He retreated, but Tarrin lunged, moving inhumanly fast.
Redirect, Riko frantically reminded himself.
He parried each of Tarrin's quick blows, relying on his training and focus. Adapting to Tarrin's wild technique, Riko intercepted each blow as it came, focusing merely on the analytics of the duel…
Tarrin lunged, and Riko called on Val's training again.
He dodged to the side, and let Tarrin fly past him. Riko knocked his opponent in the head with his pommel. He didn't hear Tarrin hit the ground.
"Deet-deet-breet?" Artoo asked.
"I thought I saw Tarrin," Riko responded, "He wasn't here?"
"I didn't see anyone," Jade broke through the darkness, illuminated by her green saber.
"Are you okay?" Riko asked.
"I'm fine," Jade replied, wincing.
"We should get out of here," Riko said dejectedly, "I think there's an exit up ahead."
"There is," Jade explained, "Come on."
"Do you feel it?" Riko asked, "This place…"
"Absolutely," Jade responded.
Riko and Jade ran towards the exit, Artoo trailing them.
"Hurry!" Jade yelled. She saw the darkness thicken, almost appearing to envelop them, even the glow of their lightsabers fading.
They stopped within their tracks when silhouettes materialized within the darkness, faintly illuminated by traces of white light. One was a middle-aged Cerean man. The other was a young crimson-skinned humanoid woman. Both were gaunt, their faces marked by darkened capillaries, their eyes glowing a shade of red.
Harkaq Oqerio and Yani Arquin. Both of them were once Imperial Knights trained to serve and protect Jade's family. And they had both become victims of Asharr's powers, just like Jade. They were writhing in the night's embrace, tormented, isolated, trapped within a web.
Jade felt electricity materialize at her fingertips, energy boiling within in response to her panic…
Any doubt she held about the identity of the being that had led her here was extinguished when a pair of glowing red eyes spawned out of the darkness, set in a mask that was featureless save for a thin crimson line traced down the middle. Jade couldn't deny it any longer.
Welcome to my home, Jade.
Asharr was here.
Kali'sto hurried through the tunnels, his weakened leg screaming as he put too much pressure on it with every other step.
The temple itself seemed to somehow push him back, time almost seemed to slow as he made his way within. It was like swimming through mud; he felt as if the darkness of the temple was trapping him in a thick liquid embrace. This was a dark place, full of memories…
An unnatural, mechanical sound began to fill the chamber, drawing in and releasing air…
Jade… Jade heard her own voice speak back to her, Listen…
No, Jade declared, Not to you…
I know what you need. I can bring that to you…
What do you want? Jade asked.
What you want…
Riko grabbed her hand.
"We have to go through them," Riko whispered, trembling. Curiously, he wasn't staring at the giant red eyes, instead glancing around the room.
"How do you know?" Jade asked.
"I don't," Riko responded.
Lightning flicked around them as the shadows enveloped the three of them.
You want closure…
Jade nodded, grabbing Riko's hand.
"Let's go!"
"Deet-deet-deet-breet!"
Riko ran towards the storm, pulling Jade with him. The eyes of the mask lit up. A pair of harsh green blades ignited in the storm…
Vengeance…!
They passed through it as if it were mist. They were back in the tunnels.
For several minutes, the trio ran through the twisting corridors, placing as much distance as they could between themselves and the chamber. Jade was razor-focused on escape, refusing to turn back.
Eventually, Riko's hand slipped from her grasp. Slowing down, Jade turned back to see Riko doubled over, panting.
"I...need...a minute," Riko wheezed as he sat down.
Jade noticed that her own lungs throbbed, her legs cramped and aching, her clothes damp with sweat.
Exhausted, she leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, letting herself rest, if for a brief moment. As she caught her breath, she glanced at Riko as he did the same.
"All in all," Jade said between panting breaths, "this wasn't a bad first date."
Riko smiled, still struggling for air. For another minute, neither of them spoke.
"Do you–" Riko struggled to finish, "Do you want to talk about…"
"Later," Jade replied, "Now, let's just get out of here."
"Okay," Riko responded, "Okay."
As the two finished catching their breath, Artoo moved ahead of the duo and scanned the tunnel.
"Breet-deet-dee-deet!" Artoo declared, relieved.
"Okay," Riko said, "We shouldn't have too much…" Riko's eyes widened.
"It's Dad!" Riko declared ecstatically, "He's here!"
"How?" Jade asked, shocked.
"I don't know," Riko responded, "Come on!"
As Riko ran ahead, Jade couldn't help but glance back at the chamber.
Kali'sto continued to hurry through the tunnel, even as the monstrous breathing grew louder and louder.
His leg screamed with pain as he moved further and further, step by step...
He stopped, placing his hand on his temple, wincing. He felt like he was drowning…
He saw a dying flame that licked one of the vines on the wall, illuminating…
Rays!
Kali'sto limped towards his lover. Rays lay on his side, motionless. Kali'sto rolled his body over.
Rays was cold, his skin pallid, the red-orange markings on his armor faded. A horrifying gash lay across his chestplate.
There is no escape… the familiar deep baritone echoed through the corridor.
Kali'sto staggered back. This was just another trick of the temple, he wasn't going to give into despair, not now…
The dying flame on the walls ignited into a crescendo, the heat stinging the bark on Kali'sto's face and hands and singeing his jacket.
From the colorful blaze emerged a giant spectre, his armored frame wreathed in flames, dissolving into ash. A red blade ignited from a hilt clutched in his skeletal, mechanical hand.
Though his armor was ravaged by flames, his mask was intact, and unmistakably that of Darth Vader.
Kali'sto staggered back, raising his staff defensively.
The Vader-spectre raised his hand and forcefully threw Kali'sto to the ground. When the old wanderer tried to rise back up, he was pinned to the floor by invisible chains as Vader slowly marched towards his helpless prey.
As Kali'sto watched, Vader's mask was consumed by the flames, the death's glare and breathing filter melting before disintegrating into ash. Once the helmet vanished, the flames around his head gave way to reveal a familiar face, a face which shocked Kali'sto to his core. A young man with neat blonde hair and attentive blue eyes that always suggested an eagerness for knowledge. Yet, he was still wreathed in the conflagration, still dressed in Vader's armor, still wielding his ancestor's crimson blade, the Sith Lord's mechanical breathing still issued from his mouth and nose.
"It's too late, Kali'sto," Tau Skywalker's apparition declared, "You've failed."
Kali'sto couldn't move, he couldn't escape his bonds, he was trapped…
"Dad!" A familiar––if slightly deeper––voice echoed through the flames.
"Riko!" Kali'sto yelled.
"Dad! I'm coming!" Riko yelled back.
Kali'sto felt reinvigorated, as if his ability to fight the Temple's powers had been restored.
Struggling, he slowly lifted his limbs, feeling as if he moved through a net. He grabbed his staff and used his intact leg to push himself off the floor, moving to his feet, facing the burning warrior.
The flaming spectre raised his saber. Kali'sto remained adamant.
With a crescendo of flame, the apparition vanished. The tunnel was dark again. Kali'sto was alone, save for…
"Dad!"
A boy ran down the corridor, sporting a backpack and goggles.
"Riko!" Kali'sto moved to his feet and ran towards his son.
They hugged each other tightly, both exhausted, weary, shaken, and joyful.
Kali'sto lifted his son up, the way he had when Riko was little. Tears of dew ran down the old man's face.
He smiled as he looked at his son. He had grown older, and taller. But the same energy, the same optimism was there, more vivid than ever. His distinctive full smile and green eyes were still there. And he still wore goggles on his head.
"I can't believe you're here," Riko declared.
"I sensed you were in trouble," Kali'sto replied, "I told you I always keep my promises."
"You won't believe the stories I've accumulated…"
Kali'sto laughed, tears streaking down his face. Father and son were reunited, at last.