:: Chapter Thirteen ::

Delicate blades of grass tickled the palm of her hand and in the distance, she heard laughter. Childlike and pure, from a memory, while the sweetest of voices called out to her and a shadow created by the figure sat between her and the tender sun, fell over her face.

"Eliiizaaa… come on now, haven't I waited long enough for you already?"

It rang familiar but she couldn't quite place it and in the absence of sight, her eyes still straining to adjust to her surroundings, she had little to go on.

"Alright, sure, I'll just sit here while you waste time on a beauty sleep," the voice teased, light-heartedly and now Eliza recognized it at last.

"Kira?" Her eyelids fluttered and she looked up.

"Finally." Kira's eyes shone brightly and her smile was unwavering. "I wasn't sure if you'd ever hear me call out to you."

They fell into each other's embrace and Eliza sighed out, "Oh I've missed you, I thought I'd lost you."

"I've missed you, Eliza…" Kira beamed and a small chuckle escaped her. "Or Arielle—it's still so odd and foreign using your true name."

Eliza chuckled too and nodded, tender fingers stroking her friend's hair. "You've let it grow out, it suits you," she commented, "What uh, where are we…"

"Home, of course, where it all began, on Tython."

"Tython… how?"

Slowly, and while taking in her environment, Eliza rose up with Kira's help. The childlike laughter she'd heard came from a group of padawans out in the courtyard training with Master Kiwiiks—same as they had the day Kira became Eliza's padawan. The Jedi Temple as she knew it stood proud and strong, untouched, unbroken and like a guardian watching over all.

It warmed Eliza's heart and a single tear ran down the corner of her eye. "Kira… how, why are we here?" she asked, realizing they stood in a memory rather than anywhere near Zakuul.

Was this death and the afterlife, had they both become one with the Force?

"This is my sanctuary, I've been here for the past four years—it's the only place where he can't touch me."

"He?"

"The Sith Emperor."

The two friends linked arms and walked, their bare feet stepping across the meadow and the grass tickling their toes.

"He survived, somehow," a somber tone rang heavy in Kira's voice, "I wasn't strong enough."

"Is he still out there? Where do I find him?"

"No, he is in here, or… was, until you came along." Kira tapped the tip of her index finger to the side of her head and smiled, more wryly this time. "He knew you'd come, we both did I suppose…"

"Kira, what is this? I don't understand."

"We don't have much time but you'll learn soon, I just had to see you one last time and warn you."

A path of sand, dirt, and gravel led them down to the creek, Eliza's favorite spot and for one peaceful second both women breathed in the beauty, listening to the babbling water gushing along the stony path.

"One last time…?" None of it made sense to Eliza and worriedly, she clasped both Kira's hands in her own. "What's going on, warn me about what?"

"You can't trust him. No matter what he says or what he promises, you cannot trust him, Eliza, not ever and under no circumstances."

"You mean the Emperor?"

Kira nodded and cast a wistful glance behind her friend, watching darkened clouds draw near. Watching the golden light of the sun over the mountains dim and the color of their world fade. She embraced her former Master, closer than she ever had in life and whispered.

"I'm so sorry, I thought we'd have more time but my energy is waning, I can't hold on."

"Kira?" Panic now resonated in her voice. "What's happening, where are you going?"

"This is the end of the road for me but remember, I love you, so much and I thank you for all you've taught me, for being a part of my life. We'll see each other again, one day."

Slowly, just as the water had ebbed down the creek, so evaporated the beauty and luster of their surroundings making way for a grim and cold design. It disquieted Eliza even further, especially once her former padawan's touch left her and her image disappeared into the oncoming darkness.

"Kira!"

"Always remember and before I go, you must know, Lord Scourge, he…"

Deafening silence stole away her words and the last thing Eliza saw was a pair of blue eyes swallowed whole as Kira vanished completely, leaving her to stand alone on a now ashen wasteland.

"Kira!" she called out a second time but only heard her own voice echo back.

"Please, come back, I don't understand and I need you! I have so many questions and I love you too," she confessed to the void that fenced her in now, shouting in desperation.

Everywhere she looked was an endless darkness, a barren land shrouded in a haze of death and decay. The air cold, dry, sharp in her throat when she inhaled and suffocating. Eliza felt her heart heavy in her chest, her body aching from invisible wounds and she dizzied, her mind fogging up. Her knees buckled, begging her to let go until she collapsed and submitted to the will of a force beyond her comprehension.

"Eliza!" Malavai rushed over and knelt at her side.

A sliver of blood dripped down the corner of her mouth and her body lay at an unusual angle. She was unresponsive and Malavai brought out his hand-held medical scanner to get a reading on her injuries.

"What the hell was that!" Ravage bristled, anger and confusion clouding his concern. "Is this what happens when she uses her family's gift?!"

"No, it's not," said Malavai who'd witnessed those particular consequences before, "this is something else entirely.

"She's fractured her spine and dislocated her shoulder. She's bleeding internally and one of her pupils is dilated. We need a medevac."

"I don't think Arcann will feel inclined to—"

"Major Quinn!" Lana called out and interrupted Ravage. She sat at Kira's side and checked her vitals, holding the frail ginger in her lap. "I'm losing her! She's barely breathing and her heart rate is dropping fast!"

"Meg and I are on our way!" Nyssa announced through their communicators, "Koth, see if you can bring the ship up closer to the vault!"

"On it!"

Malavai pulled a stim from his medkit along with an injection to combat hibernation sickness and he ran over to Lana. "Try this," he told her while he ran the scanner down Kira's body.

"Forget about her!" Ravage shouted, "Eliza needs you here!"

"Eliza would never forgive us if we let Kira die!" Lana yelled back at him.

"And if Eliza dies I will kill that little ginger bitch myself! This is her fault!" he bellowed with more fury than he'd shown in a long time.

Fast paced footsteps clanked against the slatted floor and drew near while the alarm suddenly began to wail. Skytroopers poured into the corridor, lead by two Knights who charged Ravage immediately—they'd been discovered and Ravage jumped to defend himself and Eliza.

"The Outlander belongs to Emperor Arcann!" the Knight declared, his staff drawn and he went for the attack.

Red and yellow sparks spat out when their blades clashed and Ravage kept the Knight's weapon hooked while his free hand reached out, snapping the neck of one of the Skytroopers. Plasma bolts, fired by Malavai, raced past his body and took another two-some of Skytroopers out while Lana did what she could to guard Eliza and Kira.

"You might want to hurry," she told Me'ghan and Nyssa.

"Almost there!" Me'ghan panted, out of breath.

A roar filled with pure rage escaped Ravage and using nothing but his raw power, he knocked all his assailants to the far back of the corridor. "I have waited years to get my hands on you Eternal fucks, bring it!" He sneered furiously.

"Requesting immediate assistance in sector 5, the vault!" one of the Skytroopers was heard calling out but in the next second, she collapsed, falling to one of Malavai's shots.

Ravage somersaulted over the pile of Skytroopers and took the Knight in a Force-hold, slamming him up against the ceiling and into both sides of the corridor before letting him drop to the floor. He dashed forward to drive his blade into the Knight and end him but Me'ghan came running around the corner and beat him to it.

The second Knight gave chase, his sights set on Me'ghan but in a surprising twist, Nyssa knocked him out using the hover-stretcher she'd brought. She stood proudly, just for a second and watched Ravage bury his lightsaber into the Knight's chest.

"Nice timing, let's go!" Ravage urged Nyssa and Me'ghan towards the vault.

"Shan," he barked into his earpiece, "get those doors closed, now!"

"Trying…" There was a hint of panic in Theron's voice while he worked the terminal. "Got it!"

Ravage, as the last one left in the corridor managed to dive inside just as the doors hissed shut behind him.

"She's not looking too good." Nyssa activated the hover-stretcher and brought it down next to Eliza. "Koth where are you?"

"Right outside but this is going to take some serious firepower, get to the far right of the room."

Gingerly, Nyssa and Malavai lift Eliza onto the stretcher while Ravage, despite the fact he blamed her for all of this, took Kira in his arms and everyone moved away. Several explosions echoed through the vault and the back wall came crumbling down, revealing Koth's ship. He brought the vessel closer and lowered the boarding ramp over the rubble.

"We need to hurry," he informed them, "my scanners are picking up various fighters headed our way."

While Malavai, with Me'ghan's help, did what he could to stabilize Eliza and lift her into the portable kolto tank aboard the ship, Nyssa tended to Kira with increasing concern—her vitals were near undetectable by now and her odds looked grim. Koth dipped down to pick Theron up a few levels below and hauled ass to get them all out of there.

"Eliza! Is she—" Theron began the second he boarded and Malavai shook his head.

"No, she's alive for now though my scans are showing the most unusual brain activity. Everything seems to be concentrated in one specific area of her mind, almost as if she's trapped in there and it's preventing her from regaining consciousness."

Lana assisted Nyssa as the latter tried all she could to save Kira's life. "Will she make it?"

Hours passed, or perhaps weeks, months even—Eliza wasn't sure as time didn't seem to exist where she was now. She finally came to and spat out the gravel she tasted on her lips. Her body still ached but not quite as bad as before and she managed to push herself up.

"Kira?" she asked once more in vain and sighed at the silence that followed, "where am I?"

"She's gone beyond our reach now." A voice came at last and an elderly man in regal robes appeared next to her. Eliza had never seen him before but his presence was unmistakable.

"Vitiate…"

"Valkorion," he corrected, "but yes."

He circled her, prowling like a jungle cat intimidating its prey. "I'm surprised it took you this long to come, to find her."

Eliza shook her head and took her lightsabers in hand, hissing with anger. "What did you do to her?!"

"A part of me never left her, you know?" He glanced down at her blades and smiled. "Sure, she believed she'd severed our link, defeated me but like you, she would never truly be free of me.

"A small opening, the tiniest remnant of myself left inside her mind was all I needed to save myself when she struck me down—my Child would become my next vessel instead."

"Vessel? Is she…"

Valkorion let his fingers play over the edge of her blade, taunting that she could not harm him that way. "Dead? Yes."

"Monster!" Eliza spat out and drove her lightsaber straight through him but all he did was laugh. Maniacally and delighting in her anger.

"Your former padawan died years ago—her mind was no match for my own. I pushed her out and since then I've done all I could to preserve her body, waiting for a rescue. Waiting, for you."

"But I just—"

"Saw her? Yes. A fragment, an echo of her essence lying in wait, desperate to warn and protect you one last time.

"You were meant to walk into my throne room and kneel before me, you know? Not her. Our final confrontation, at last, as prophesied but by some curiosity, I was faced with your padawan instead. I did as I had to, to ensure our paths would cross once more."

Tears sprung to Eliza's eyes while she was teased by an inescapable sense of guilt, the weight of Kira's fate heavy on her heart. She lunged at him again, ignoring her own pain but with small, elegant waves of his hand he kept her at bay and smiled.

"Nathema! Ziost!" she yelled in furious accusation, looking to trade further blows, "You killed my husband and Darth Marr, who was a better leader than you ever were! You killed Kira!"

A fierce scream left her throat and in vain, she lashed out at him again. "You had my grandfather killed, my father! You took away everything that ever mattered to me—fight me, coward!"

They danced around each other until Valkorion grew bored and threw her back with a powerful blast. Her head lulled forward when she collided with a boulder embedded into the landscape and it took her a few seconds to regain her senses.

"Are you quite finished?" he drawled.

"Where are we?" Eliza demanded when she rose back up, trying to understand how he could hurt her while she could barely touch him.

"Inside your mind," Valkorion began to explain, "When you used your gift trying to warm her body, you exposed yourself to me and allowed me to transfer my essence into your subconsciousness."

He smirked. "Did Tamas never warn you about using your gift against me?"

"He…" Her voice trailed off when she recalled her grandfather's words, 'The Emperor will try and trick you into using the gift against him as well but you mustn't, ever.'

"You tricked me!" Eliza snapped though her voice softened, washed out by the shame she felt now. How foolish she'd been.

"Mm yes. When I sensed your presence within the vault, I knew the time had come. I did what I could to keep the body's temperature low, only hoping you'd be desperate enough to use the gift to save your friend.

"Curious, isn't it?" He taunted and carried on, "Because of that gift, you are destined to bring about my undoing and yet, it is that same gift which has put us in this position now."

Eliza pursed her lips and turned away, casting her gaze out over the crumbled landscape that stretched for miles, further than the eye could see.

"You no longer believe in your destiny," Valkorion observed after a moment of silence.

She shrugged and wrapped her arms firmly around herself. "What's the point? I was destined to kill you but I failed, three times over. Scourge and I were meant to be together for years to come but he's dead because you killed him and now I'm… what? Stuck in my own mind, with you? Am I dead?"

Eliza turned back around when another thought struck her. "Have you taken over my body? Am I your new Voice?"

"Not quite. Your mind is too powerful for me to possess, I cannot act without your permission." He stood next to her and gestured his hand before them both, drawing up a frozen image in the distance, one of her friends and family—the people who'd accompanied her to Zakuul.

"Right now, the lesser beings you surround yourself with are working hard to save your life and soon, we must wake and return to them."

"We?"

Valkorion nodded. "You and I must work together now to stop my children."

"Your children? Arcann and Vaylin?"

The landscape before them made way for a new setting, leaving Eliza dizzy as the gravel beneath her feet transformed into a smooth, shiny marble floor and the walls of Zakuul's throne room erected all around them. Up on the throne sat Arcann, sulking and drumming his fingers idly on his armrest while Vaylin paced in front of the steps leading up to his seat of power.

"They abuse their power." Valkorion indicated at the two and Eliza picked up on a faint hint of bitterness in his voice. "We must deal with my errant son, and daughter before they ruin everything."

Eliza scoffed, "I'm not their mother—do they even have one, or are these two the result of one of your many alchemical experiments?"

Valkorion lowered his eyes. He turned away and one would almost think sorrow lingered in his voice. "I made a mistake, I let her go."

"Lucky her."

When he said nothing further, ignoring her snide remark, Eliza continued. "Why should I help you, after all you have done? This is all your fault and Kira warned me—"

"My children are dangerous and they lack discipline! They've already conquered and enslaved most of the galaxy, as you know, and it will take both of us to stop them. Do not underestimate their power or the further damage they can inflict."

"Since when do you care about the galaxy?" Eliza folded her arms and quirked a brow. "There was a time where you sought to annihilate every planet in existence."

Once more, he declined to answer her question, changing the subject to further his own agenda. "You are the only one ever to match my power, to match my will to survive. We must stand together now to unseat my children and then, you must take the throne for yourself."

Eliza gave him an incredulous look and began laughing, miserably and paradoxical to every other emotion she experienced, through the sheer ridiculousness of her situation.

"Okay, now I'm convinced. I mean, I thought I was losing my mind here but now I know—it's you and your madness, and I'm trapped inside of it, along for a ride on the crazy train."

Valkorion stared at her, unimpressed, and waited for her chuckles to subside.

"Oh, you're serious?" she brought out when she saw the look on his face, "I'm not going to help you do anything. I will take Arcann down, and Vaylin, get justice for my husband, Kira, and Darth Marr but that's it. I won't sit on any throne and I will definitely not work with you to achieve any of it.

"You can just let me wake up now and be on your way, Vitiate," she venomously spat his name out.

He said nothing at first but stood before her within seconds. His hand closed around her throat, choking her slowly as he lifted her up and Eliza sputtered.

"You'll change your mind before all this is over," he threatened.

Eliza grunted, her hands clawing at his trying to pry his fingers away. "Never! So just get it over with and kill me now!"

"Foolish child! I'm not killing you," Valkorion hissed, "we're being reborn."

The monitoring equipment hooked up to Eliza's kolto tank began beeping erratically, causing Malavai to rush over and take a reading of her vitals.

"What's going on?!" Me'ghan worried, looking over his shoulder.

"I don't—"

Eliza's flat hand slapped against the glass once and balled into a fist and her eyes sprung open, displaying pure shock.

"She's waking up!" Malavai panicked in surprise. "How is she waking up?! And her injuries, they're, healed?!"

Nyssa came running, hearing the commotion and catching his last comment, she turned to the panel on the side of the kolto tank immediately. She began the draining sequence while Me'ghan gestured for Eliza to remain calm. Once the kolto solution left the tank, Nyssa activated the harness holding Eliza and pulled her up slowly.

"Move!" Ravage barked and once lifted from the tank, he cradled Eliza in his arms like a child while removing the harness. He carried her over to the makeshift bed they'd prepared and sat her down.

"Vitiate… Kira…" Her voice rasped while Ravage wrapped her up in a warm, fuzzy towel. "Valkorion…"

"Shh, easy now." He dried her off and helped her into a bathrobe next. "Calm down, take a deep breath."

Eliza's bottom lip trembled and she found solace in his embrace, shivering though she was no longer cold. Her breathing evened out and now that she was once more in the presence of her friends and loved ones, she wondered if she'd simply imagined everything.

Her hope, however, was quickly shattered when the voice she loathed more than anything, spoke within her mind, 'I suggest you keep this between us. They would not understand and you would lose their trust.'

Nyssa handed her a glass of water and sat down, using her hand-held medical scanner to take another reading and once she finished, she frowned at Malavai.

"She's completely healed," she whispered, showing him the readout, "how is that possible? The fracture in her spine, her concussion, the internal bleeding, it's like they were never there."

'A gift, to you.' Valkorion smiled before Eliza's eyes, for only her to see and retreated to the far reaches of her mind where she could scarcely sense his presence.

"Valkorion," Eliza answered Nyssa's confusion and ignored the advice he'd given her, "He's in my head, and he must have used his power to heal me. He wants us to work together."

By now, Koth, Theron, and Lana had entered the medbay as well and exchanged curious, worried looks upon her confession.

"You mean, Vitiate?" Lana asked.

Eliza nodded, sipped her water and began sharing everything she'd experienced while she was unconscious, from the moment she'd used her gift on Kira.

"So, he's taken possession of you, as he did years ago?" Ravage tried to understand.

"We could shock you like we did for those on Ziost, that seemed to work, temporarily," Theron offered but Eliza shook her head.

"No, it's not like that. It's… he said he needs my permission to act, wants us to work together. Wants me to cooperate with him, to let him help me claim the Eternal throne."

Koth was the only one to smile upon hearing her story and clapped his hands together. "Well, that's wonderful news! The Commander and Emperor Valkorion teaming up to save the galaxy, hah!"

Malavai said nothing to his ignorant comment but smacked him over the head instead.

"There is nothing wonderful about this Koth," Lana said with deep concern, "nothing at all."

Eliza looked at Ravage and though she could see in his eyes that he felt disturbed by everything she'd told them, he smiled too and only pulled her closer. "We'll figure this out, I promise."

"Kira…" Eliza swallowed hard and chewed on her bottom lip. "He spoke the truth, didn't he? She's gone…"

Nyssa's brows furrowed in sadness. "She is. We tried all we could but we couldn't save her. It was almost as if she'd died already, long before she was freed."

"Valkorion said she's been dead for years… We'll give her a proper burial on Odessen." Eliza decided, ignoring the aching in her heart. "And then I'm taking the fight to Arcann—it's time to reunite him with his father."