"You are weak, son, always were…"
"No…You are dead, dead and gone!"
"My legacy will forever stay with you; you have nothing besides it. Your brother had leadership skills; your sister exceeded all else in raw power. You had neither."
"Enough, show yourself!"
"I am always here, Arcann, always by your side. You may deny it all you want, yet the outcome is inevitable."
"I will kill you! Again and again, no matter how many attempts it takes, do you hear that?!"
"You failed before, son. You will fail again."
With every passing day, Arcann felt more disturbance in his sleep. It was father's distant presence that still echoed within his mind, disturbing what little peace he could have in this limbo. Echoes of voices from the world of the living were replaced by his words. His heartless, cruel worlds of denial, of arrogant mockery that he didn't even pretend to hide. This was father's nature, that of a remorseless monster; Arcann was used to it. Yet despite all this, he saw Valkorion perish, saw his soul be extinguished as the Emperor screamed in agony. Why did Arcann still feel his presence? Was it his trauma manifesting itself even after he got his moment of vengeance? Will it forever haunt his soul?
He didn't want to ponder on this, at least not yet. Arcann walked towards the seat on the podium, as he usually did. The dark prince could already hear Vaylin's loud comments; her voice was full of mockery and annoyance.
"Serves you right, imbecile!" Arcann was half expecting this to be addressed to him, but she seemed to speak seamlessly into the void. "Thought you're going to bring me down, and then your precious Outlander would become the perfect peaceful ruler you imagined in your minuscule brain? Hah!"
"You seem engaged today." Arcann made his presence known.
"Oh, big brother! You're just in time to see the fun part." She seemed unusually chipper today. Arcann couldn't lie; it made him feel a little uneasy. Perhaps seeing the source of excitement would help explain it. Arcann attuned to the flow, seeing a familiar trio of two Sith and a Jedi walking alongside each other in what looked like a dark and empty space station.
"I warned you about seizing the throne," Jac spoke with disapproval as he looked at the unrelenting Chiss in front of him. "Indo and his brethren were fighting for freedom, and you chose to present yourself much like the tyrants they fought to dethrone; now they turned against us."
"Zakuul is a planet that needs to be ruled with an iron fist," Cassian responded. "There are far too many of them who have demands and far too few who are willing to do more than just idle talk. I'd rather deal with Indo and his crowd than half of that planet's population."
"Oppression isn't worth it. It never is." Before he could continue, Lana intervened and pointed them to another terminal.
"I think you'd like to take a look at this."
As the trio activated, a hologram of a Zakuulan man appeared.
"I…I think I finally found it. After combing through all the data we took from Iokath."
"Is that…Vinn Atrius?" Arcann wondered, recognizing one of Zakuulan lieutenants from the early days of war.
"You know this man? No matter, he's just another traitor to both us and their Alliance." Vaylin was eager to simply shrug it off. Vinn, meanwhile, continued his explanation.
"There was a string of numbers, repeated over and over. When I decrypted them, the string spelled a word. Zildrog. I thought it was just a legend, but the dragon god of Zakuul is real…And it's a super weapon. Capable of consuming entire civilizations. I don't know how to wake Zildrog, or how to control it. But I'm one step closer. It's finally here…My chance to destroy the Alliance and avenge my people. But I can't do it alone."
Cassian, Jac, and Lana watched his intents unveil in the purest of horrors while Arcann turned towards his sister.
"Care to provide context?"
"Nothing too drastic yet. They got an encrypted message about the Order's plans…The one Shan left for. It led them here, and they found all sorts of evidence…People from Zakuul coming together to aid their stupid plan and avenge themselves or something…Be it you, me, the Outlander, they are never happy. Seems like now that they got most of it, the actual fun can begin." Vaylin said with anticipation.
"I suppose we should've expected Zildrog to be real after what we've seen on Iokath…And I suppose Vinn's plan is to use it on Odessen?"
"Probably…Everyone wants to bomb Odessen at some point. It's just when I did, somehow everyone hated the idea." She crossed her arms and put on a mask of pettiness as Arcann continued to watch the decryption, which the trio assumed would be from Theron due to the type of code used. Perhaps he didn't betray them after all. But what mattered much more were the contents of this message.
"It's a set of coordinates on Nathema. There's a message. "They've found it. Hurry."
…
Theron's coordinates were proven to be accurate, and so the course was set to Nathema. The trio went there without hesitation, each of them with doubt and a glimmer of hope in their hearts. They did not want to believe that their friend betrayed them. Wanted to trust in his judgment and believe that his actions were for the greater good. Betrayal for the greater good…Did it justify the pain brought to the betrayed ones? Arcann wished he had an answer to this question.
The closer they got to Nathema, the clearer it became that Vaylin felt uneasy. At first, Arcann could see his sister flinch and fidget in her seat even though she had no problem remaining still before. As they began the descent, she stood up and began pacing around the isle, desperately avoiding eye contact with Arcann. The dark prince wasn't sure if he should intervene; this was likely to irritate her even further, but his heart ached at the sight of Vaylin's pain. It wasn't right. He had to do something about it. The cyborg walked down and looked at Vaylin; she didn't notice him, or at least pretended not to notice.
"Vaylin, are you alright?" He spoke up, making her turn around and stare into his eyes.
"Yes, of course I am, couldn't be better!" She responded snappily. "I'm merely finding it extremely ironic how out of all planets in the galaxy, they decided to pick this hellhole. Guess it being dead wasn't enough; it also has to have a weapon that is able to turn other worlds into wastelands!" She spoke loudly, trying to let go of her tension and failing at every opportunity.
"You sound…Angered."
"Of course I am! I had this superweapon right under my nose and never managed to find it! I could've destroyed the Alliance with that, I could've made father tremble, just had to look harder and…And…" She began breathing heavily with her eyes running around in complete chaos. Arcann would have to be very careful.
"I know that this planet harbors certain…Memories for you," Arcann said with a softened tone. "If you want to vent about it, I just wanted to tell you that it's alright."
"Vent? Vent about what?! If you think I have any problem seeing Nathema again, you're wrong! I know you were busy being dead by that point, but I'll have you know that I returned here voluntarily without any doubt to break my conditioning. If you're insinuating that I'm somehow afraid…" Her words grew quicker and more chaotic as she spouted one word after another, barely able to maintain control.
"I understand, but back then, it was your choice to return, right?" Arcann tried to rationalize, half expecting Vaylin to get violent again. "It's against our will now…It might feel different."
"You…Are you saying that I don't like being forced into anything against my will? "Vaylin frowned with anger. "Well, of course I don't! No one does! You don't enjoy being tied to Outlander's mind and being unable to influence reality in any way either, do you?! And I'm not completely powerless, either!" Vaylin raised her hands as force longing began to form within. "I can watch you sizzle any time I want."
Arcann was ready; he took out and ignited his lightsaber to block Vaylin's attack, but despite this, his sister hesitated. She enjoyed seeing him on his guard, Arcann had no doubt about that, but she didn't want to take it further. She wanted to assert her dominance and control because she felt as if she was losing it.
"Vaylin…Our father is dead. Jarak is dead. They will never hurt you again." He could see her standing and breathing, each one becoming heavier as Vaylin desperately grasped for air. She was a spirit; she didn't need to breathe, yet spirits were just as susceptible to emotion as living people.
Before either of them did something, an intriguing picture emerged through Cassian's eyes, something that distracted the siblings from their feud.
"Wait, this doesn't look like…" Vaylin examined the picture that opened before them; it was a sight to behold. The wasteland of Nathema has changed greatly since Arcann was here the last time. There was life here…Plants began growing from underneath the ashes that Valkorion left, and Arcann could even feel the force's presence. "That can't be Nathema?"
"But what else can it be?"
"I know how…How gross this planet feels. This one is different!"
"Perhaps it had something to do with father's death?" Arcann theorized. "He consumed its life force, and now that he is gone…It returned to its roots." Arcann could feel relief emerging in his heart. If this was true, then this would serve as an undeniable confirmation that their father was gone and his soul completely erased. That all the dreams he saw were nothing more than a fragment of his own trauma and imagination, as were his twisted senses. The siblings watched the trio walk through Nathema's renewed wilds, making their way to the coordinates. It didn't take long until they reached them, but it was just another open space with no signs of Zildrog's presence.
"This is where the coordinates point to, but…" Lana said with doubt in her voice.
"Where are we?" Jacques asked.
"Not Zildrog's location, evidently."
"Be careful. It might be a trap." Cassian cautioned. "And whoever set it will have to pay dearly."
Before they could investigate any further, a fourth silhouette emerged.
"Oh, this is going to be fun…" Vaylin could finally smile again.
"Sorry. I needed to meet somewhere the Order wouldn't notice." Theron was here, speaking in a fainting, almost apologetic tone. The moment he approached the trio, Lana ignited her lightsaber, making Theron slowly put his weapon on the floor and raise his arms. "I managed to give them the slip, but we don't have much time.
"So you betrayed the Order, too." Cassian chuckled as the Sith Lord made his way towards Theron. "You have quite a track record."
"I know how it looks, but just hear me out."
"Give him a chance." Jac intervened before looking at Theron with relief. "They said I was crazy to trust you, but I knew you'd come back."
"I…Have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?" Theron sighed.
"Thant you do," Vaylin commented. "Could start with explaining that awful haircut of yours."
"He never betrayed them, it would seem," Arcann added. "But he was dedicated and foolish enough to pull off an insane scheme…Now sounds like the Alliance spymaster I had a dossier on back on Zakuul."
"I heard rumors about the Order of Zildrog through my old underworld contacts." Theron began. "It took me months to even find them-and the whole time, they were watching us. By the time I learned the truth about Zildrog, it was almost too late. I had to slow them down long enough for the Alliance to catch up." He looked down with regret in his eyes. "I had to join them-work from the inside. The only way to get Vinn Atrius to trust me…Was to betray you."
"It wasn't the only way." Cassian denied it vehemently. "Why didn't you come to us?"
"The GEMINI droid was watching. I couldn't figure out how, but she was recording every word we said. Telling you would risk the whole operation. I needed the betrayal to look real…You can't imagine how hard it was, putting you through that. But I knew you were strong enough. I had faith in you."
"So you infiltrated the order and learned their plans," Lana spoke with an echoing suspicion. "What are we up against?"
"They've found Zildrog in one of the Emperor's Vaults. Looks like Valkorion kept it on ice as a failsafe. The Order has nearly finished their final preparations. Once they activate Zildrog… It's the end of the Alliance."
"And good riddance, I say," Vaylin spoke arrogantly, unable to mask her disappointment. "Are they seriously going to make up after all he did? No gutting, no cutting off heads, nothing? And that's coming from a team with two Sith Lords in it…"
"Sith can respect others making difficult decisions, and what Shan did couldn't have come easy to him…I still sense some doubt in the Outlander's mind, and you?"
"If you mean the echoing desire to stab Theron with his lightsaber…Yeah, I can feel that. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll see it actually play out."
"We'll know soon enough."
…
As the reunited quartet made their way through Nathema towards the ruined Emperor's vault, both Arcann and Vaylin watched their journey closely, yet they barely talked to each other, a stark contrast to most of the previous time they watched the Outlander's journey together. Arcann always preferred to keep to himself, but the same couldn't be said for his sister. At any other time, Arcann could just assume that she was growing tired, but he knew that it wasn't the case here.
"How are you holding up?" Arcann turned towards his sister, making her shiver and turn around towards him, swiftly reclaiming her confident composure.
"I'm not feeling like sleeping yet, and if you're worried, I'll take your favorite spot…I have my own, and it's better."
"You know what I'm talking about." Arcann tried not to raise his voice, but he also needed to stay firm and confident. "This planet distresses you, and whether you like it or not, you make it very obvious. I understand why that is…"
"What, you found an easy way to get under my skin, and you won't let go now? Typical…" Vaylin's voice grew more spiteful.
"No, I don't want to get under your skin. You may believe that, but I don't think you do." Arcann made a few steps toward Vaylin, slow enough to not startle her. "Is it really that hard to believe that I am concerned for my sister?" His voice grew quieter as Arcann tried to subdue his pain. "That I don't want you to feel hurt? I stayed by your side for five years. I knew you were hurting and that you needed help, but my mind was always focused on revenge and power over the galaxy…I know it's too late, but I still want to try and make it right." No matter how many hurtful words Vaylin would throw at him, Arcann would never stop loving her. He knew that she was driven by fear. Fear of getting hurt, fear of being betrayed and humiliated.
"I don't need your help, Arcann." Vaylin shook her head before looking away. She wasn't angry this time, but her broken voice radiated sadness and shame. "Because you can't help me…No one can!"
"I don't believe this, Vaylin. You never got into detail about what you went through on Nathema, but if you were to open up…"
"And what do you expect to hear?" Vaylin said with disappointment. "I told you how it felt, and that's all you need to know. You probably could've known more if you actually visited me…Or asked the brother who actually did."
"I…"
"Father gave me to this freak, Jarak…" Vaylin's lips quivered. "Father didn't care about how much pain I endure as long as I'm subdued, but Jarak…He did care. He liked seeing others suffer, and I was his favorite toy. He enjoyed it when I screamed and cried, especially…Do you understand?" She clenched her fist. "He loved seeing a little girl scream." It was heartbreaking to listen to. Arcann couldn't imagine how agonizing it must have felt for his sister to have those memories haunt her every day and night. He hated himself for even thinking this, but perhaps she was right, and some things were too horrible to be helped.
"Vaylin, I…I need to ask you something. Something I never understood. When I traveled the galaxy with Mother, she told me something I never knew of before. She told me of her attempt to free you from Nathema." Arcann spoke firmly, noticing Vaylin immediately stare at him with caution. "She said she organized a rescue operation for you…That she found you in the sanitarium and tried to break you free, that she almost succeeded. All that stopped her was Valkorion and his squad of knights…And you refuse to follow her." Arcann recounted the tale from Senya's words. It wasn't a tale she could speak of without reliving some of her darkest memories. Arcann had no doubt that she spoke the truth. His sister didn't deny it either. "Why, Vaylin? Why did you choose to stay?"
"It's…Difficult to explain." The young woman took a deep breath. "I was too weak to think logically by the time mother came for me, but I could still understand some things…Mostly how I felt at the time. It's like if your brain stopped working, but your heart didn't. A part of me wanted to leave and escape this torment, even if I was furious at her, but then…I saw her look at me." Vaylin's voice became quieter and more subdued. "She looked at me with fear, sadness, pity, whatever, but behind all that, there was a look I recognized…It was how she used to look at me before all of this. When I was still a little golden-haired girl, I still loved her. It was hard to feel other's emotions on Nathema, but I think I did…When she pleaded for me to go, no matter what her mind was telling her, her eyes told me everything. That I would become that girl again…That I would return to her as the daughter she knew. That I will simply forgive and forget, and everything will be alright again…It couldn't be all right! It could never be alright! She left me there, and when she came, a few years had already passed…She was always too late. She didn't deserve that opportunity. I made her pay for that in the only way my tattered brain of a stupid child could. I refused to follow. I guess you know what happened after."
"I see…" Arcann got his answer, though he could not resend that it was in any way satisfying. If only Vaylin put her anger aside for just a moment, their family might have stood a chance.
"You sound sad… Didn't like my answer? If you have to know, I came to regret it a few years down the line. I should've played along and used her to get away from this place and then kill her…Plus, me joining her would've made father very mad, and despite all of the things I say about our mother, he was far worse." Vaylin switched back to her upbeat tone. "Does that make it any easier to accept?"
"Not really…But thank you nonetheless. I'd rather not dwell on the past any longer."
"Hold on a second." Vaylin undercut him. "I told you something about me; now it's your turn. Tell me…When you were with Mother, did she talk about me a lot? What did she say?"
"She…She was heartbroken that that fateful explosion prevented you from leaving with us. She believed you would change your outlook. She had dreams about you every other night. I remember seeing her unable to hold back tears…It was an agonizing time."
"Good." Vaylin smiled. "At least she felt a fraction of what I did."
…
And so it ended, in unceremonious silence of the ship graveyard above Odessen.
Arcann could not believe his eyes when he saw what unfolded in the core chamber of the Emperor's vault. Not only did Vinn awaken Zildrog, but he used the superweapon to take hold of the eternal fleet and Gravestone all at once. It kick-started a calamity of galactic proportions, and for a moment, Arcann believed that it was too late to stop. At least this allowed Vaylin to cheer up after their last conversation.
"Now that's the kind of show I wanted!" His sister clapped as she watched the fleet perish. "Poor Outlander, he'll be remembered as the Emperor who lost all of his power in less than a year!"
"All of the father's legacy, his greatest weapons…Now one with Oblivion."
"Exactly what it deserves."
Arcann watched Cassian stand above his fallen enemy with his crimson lightsaber ignited.
"What are you waiting for?" The former knight scoffed. "Strike the final blow. Be the hero yet again."
Arcann felt the Outlander's rage, and now it has finally found its target.
"You destroyed my fleet, attacked my people, and endangered the galaxy. For your crimes, I sentence you to death."
"Get it over with."
One strike was enough to end Vinn's life.
"He offered no mercy." Arcann noticed.
"Did you expect him to?"
"When he defeated me on the Zakuul, he said that he was willing to take me alive."
"And you refused?"
"I would never suffer the humiliation of being imprisoned."
"Wow…Why didn't I see that side of you before you died?" Vaylin chuckled, but Arcann didn't care to enter another petty fight. He was curious as to what Cassian's decision will be.
"We don't have much time," Lana said as she kneeled over the wounded spy on the brink. "Unless we get Theron to Odessen, he won't make it."
"Call a shuttle. We're taking Theron home."
He didn't have to ask Lana twice; the woman was quick to follow his instructions while Jac looked over wounded Theron.
"And that is it?" Vaylin said with open disappointment. "After all Theron put them through, he should've just cut his head off and ended his pitiful life."
"Theron risked his life for the Alliance. He knew that he would be scorned for what he had done, that he would have to hurt his best friends…Yet he did it to save them, in the end."
"Ah yes, betrayed and lied to them for their own good, how lovely. Did our parents teach you that?" There was no point in arguing; Arcann knew that Vaylin had a good reason to be spiteful to those who betray, no matter for what reason. Arcann probably wouldn't have been merciful, either, but in the end, this was not their decision to make.
"So…What do you say? Are we still a team?"
"It will take time and effort for you to make up for the stunt you pulled, Theron, but I have faith in your abilities. Not to mention that, ironically enough, you have proven your loyalty to Alliance today in a way few ever could, so you deserve this chance. Welcome back, Theron."
Perhaps time was what Arcann needed…Just more time, and eventually, Vaylin will look past their differences. It was never too late to hope.