Author's Note: The following chapter contains manipulation and mental abuse.
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Entering Boba's throne room once again reminded Din of Vissna. He hated the hold she had over him, he couldn't quite describe what it was. She was unfinished business, and that wasn't how he operated. In his work, he always saw resolutions, which was part of the job's draw. You picked a job, finished it, got paid, started a brand new job. It wasn't like a spice smuggler's work, where it's the same continuous thing. His work ended. Hot or cold, it ended, that's what he liked about it.
Upon seeing his good friend, Boba stepped off his throne and greeted him with a firm arm clasp and a half hug. "Good to see you my friend, I wasn't expecting you back so soon."
"You didn't find her," Fennec interrupted.
Din turned to Fennec who was still positioned at the side of Fett's throne. "No, I found her… then… I lost her again. I followed her here. Have you-"
"She's not here," Fennec told him, interrupting him again.
"She has a Razor Crest, have you seen one around?" He asked.
"You're not listening," Fennec said, "I understand you wanted to find her here, but she's not here. She fooled you and you're still playing the fool."
Din felt his throat close and his heart speed up. "How do you know?"
"I know Vissna. Didn't you used to have a Razor Crest?" Fennec smirked. Din nodded. "You didn't think it's a coincidence that she happened to find another one?" Din didn't answer so Fennec continued. "Every single thing Vissna does from the moment she wakes up to who she falls asleep with is a calculated plan. She doesn't do anything by accident, even if it looks convincingly so." Din still didn't answer.
"I'm sorry my friend," Fett replied, "I think there's a game at play and your affection for her is clouding your vision."
"I don't," Din sighed. He had come all this way chasing after her. It was obvious there was a reason for that. "I … have a bounty on her, is all."
"You're not the only one," Boba chuckled.
"What?" Din asked.
"Vissna assisted us in taking down the Pykes. You didn't think that would come without repercussions for her? She has a very large bounty on her head. Perhaps she's giving you the runaround because she thinks you might take it? Or perhaps she cares about you and the kid and wants to keep you safe?" Fett Speculated. "Where is the kid by the way?"
"He's with a friend," Din replied, emotionless.
"If you think you're chasing after her only because of your duty to Bo Katan, you're lying to yourself," Boba smiled, "and believe me, I can understand why. She's… something." Boba smirked and ran his hand across his jaw, remembering his time with Vissna fondly.
Din clenched his jaw, wishing he'd never left Vissna alone with Fett. But he couldn't blame his friend for that. He practically told him to take her when he was trying to convince himself that she meant nothing to him. And here he was trying to prove it again.
"Well, don't think either of those things," Fennec mused. "Tell me exactly what happened and I'll try to help you," she offered.
"I followed her to Coruscant," he started.
"Let me guess, The Outlander Cafe? She just happened to be at the only place she'd ever mentioned to you? The place she assumed you'd go to find her first?" Fennec raised her eyebrows at him.
"Yes…," Din sighed, "Something happened," Din rubbed the back of his head, like it was painful to try and remember anything after walking into The Outlander Cafe. "Then we were on her ship, the Razor Crest, and," Din blushed. He didn't want to say what happened next.
"You fucked her?" Fennec smiled and Boba smirked. Din blushed harder. "Okay, then what?"
"I told her I had to go. Then she was just gone. I went back to find the ship just moments later, it was gone too." Din's head hurt so badly. Not just from trying to remember what happened but from the growing headache he got from whatever game Vissna was dragging him into.
"Then what?" Fennec asked.
"Nothing?" Din said sadly, "That was it. I asked around about the Razor Crest, I was told it was headed for Mos Espa."
"So she's buying time," Fennec pondered.
"Wha-why?" Din questioned.
"I don't know. That's what you need to figure out. Unfortunately for you, she's currently fixated on you. You're part of her plan. So, you tell me, where is she?" Fennec crossed her arms.
"She was okay with me leaving her. How are you sure of her plan?" Din asked.
"You were able to leave because she let you leave. If she wanted you to stay with her, you wouldn't be here. You're not getting it. Nothing that happens with her isn't planned to a T. Everything you two have done from the moment you met her was exactly what she wanted to happen." She explained. "I wasn't sure it was you she was after until she helped us win the war with the Pykes. And now that you're back here, she's all but confirmed it herself."
Din felt sick. He was being used. And he had made a promise to her. Was that part of her game too? "So," Din said gravely, "how do I stop her?"
"You don't," Fennec sighed, "there's no stopping Vissna, she's a plague. If you don't go find her now, she'll find another way to get to you… unless you kill her."
Din was hardly breathing at all. Any breath his body managed to bring him came out quick, rugged, and uneven. He wondered if he could even do it. He was sure he had the ability to. But even if he had her unarmed and at his mercy, he wasn't sure he could end her life. Because despite his best efforts, he did care about her, and he did have feelings for her. "Where is she," he whispered.
Fennec sighed again. Her brows moving closer together, she could sympathize with him. There was a time when she played a hand in Vissna's game. "You have to think. What does she want with you? What does she have to gain through you? One thing's certain, she's somewhere you've been before."
"Grogu," Din cussed under his breath, "he's not safe." Din was ready to run out of the room when Fennec ran after him and stopped him.
"You have to calm down Din, think with a level head. She isn't on Mos Espa," she reminded him.
"What if she hired someone?" He said still panicking.
"I will have Drash and Skad go babysit your kid until you return," she said. He nodded, she was right, he couldn't take Grogu with. "Did you two discuss any other places together? Did you think of any places when you were around her?"
"What do you mean, did I think of places?" He asked.
"It's a thing she does. She reads minds." Fennec rolled her eyes.
Shit, Din thought. "I don't know."
"Where were you before you came here? Before the war?" She asked.
"I was on the space station, Glavis," Din paused. She was after the Mandalorians.
"You know where she is," Fennec smirked.
"I have to go," he said.
"Be careful. And don't trust anything she says. Nothing. No matter how good it sounds. No matter how much you want it to be true. Everything she feeds you will taste like candy." Fennec raised an eyebrow.
Din nodded. Fennec put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Then he turned away, letting her hand fall off him. He had work to do. He was going to go kill the only woman he's ever cared for.
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Vissna was all too glad giving away the Razor Crest. She was never a fan. If she were going to be on a ship, it would have a shower and a full sized tub. And after all, the ship technically wasn't hers to begin with, she had borrowed it with absolutely no intentions of giving it back. All she had to do was grease the right palms and off her Razor Crest went, off to Mos Espa to throw Din off her scent. She needed time. She wanted Din to find her, just not yet. She needed him to see that there was no part of his life she wasn't already involved in. That there was no escaping her. That it was best for all involved if he bent his knee and obeyed. She needed time to find a new Mandalorian, preferably a male, and seduce him. But those fuckers were hard to come by. And she wasn't talking about one of those pretend Mandalorians like Bo Katan. She needed the brainwashed kind that still followed The Creed. Or her plan wouldn't work as well…
Had Vissna not been so thorough in mind-reading, she might have been looking for another Mandalorian for a long time. However, after doing her proper research, she knew just where to look. There was a certain circular space station with a "queen bee" hiding underneath. Mandalorians, unlike Jedi, loved their attachments. Where the queen bee goes, her followers will swarm.
They liked to keep quiet, the Mandalorians that remained. Out of self-preservation no doubt. She also now had a bounty on her head, thanks to her old Master. That would make finding and keeping another Mandalorian a trick. There was a dance club, not far from the entrance to the Mandalorian's covert… she had to plant her information and wait for the Mando to find her…
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