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Dragon Wars: The Force of others

Episode 36: There is only death

He leant forward, recovering his breath…no, not breath, how could he when there was no air around him. There was only darkness, but he could see them through the darkness, his enemies. They strode around him, their weapons at the ready. They were going to kill him; he had no doubt of that. The shadow's eyes flared red and he ignited the red energy swords in his hand. He rushed forward, running as fast as he could and brandishing the swords. They struck, but he hit first, sweeping his blades through one enemy after another. Again and again he struck, swinging his swords through flesh and bone, stabbing through hearts and heads. They were his enemies, they had to die, so that he could…he could…live?

The shadow stepped over one of the bodies, illuminating it with his blades. His eyes widened when he saw what was lying in the darkness. The body was illuminated, red and brown robes over a lithe body, her red hair framing her bloody face. Her name, the shadow recalled it, Petra. He turned and looked towards an armoured man he had impaled, Knight-trooper armour, a hole burned into his chest. Greagoir, that old Knight-Commander, grumpy, so grumpy and full of himself, always lecturing about duty and that magic should serve man. It always made him angry, but he still admired the man. He looked towards another body, Niall, they got along well, he had hopes and dreams of doing something important, but what was so important about how he died. More death, robed individuals, dwarves, elves, knights, the man who wanted to reclaim his homeland and avenge his family Cousland, a chantry priestess Lily. He walked over a final body, dark hair and a bloodied face, blue and yellow robes. Jowan, his, no, Daylen's friend.

They were all dead, all because of him. He didn't mean to kill them, he didn't want them to die, there was only one person he wanted to die. Daylen, Daylen Amell, that bastard, that freak. The shadow yelled, screamed, tears of blood bursting from his eyes. He fell deeper into the chasm, hearing the breathing of a great beast, a beast of fear, a nightmare shaped from fear.

What did they have beyond fear? It was a question that Ren often asked himself, this first and only order had built itself off of the rejects of Revan's army. Hux was capable enough (because why would an incompetent ass be given an officer title) and the Captain of the guards was ruthless in her efficiency. Ren walked into the training arena where young cadets, those kidnapped and conditioned by the Captain would be moulded into fighting men and women. It was difficult to tell with the white armour and black shoulder guards, but the troopers standing close to the wall where of numerous walks of life. Ren would only know if he killed a man or a woman after he'd taken their helmet off. He watched the Captain ruthlessly slam her staff into a trainees back. Again, just fear, what else was there for her.

"We are order, the galaxy has grown stagnant, falling into meagre dreams of hope and cooperation, but hope will not save them, it will not keep them safe through war or fed through famine," the Captain said.

Ren huffed, knowing full well that the First Order would prioritise human lives, prioritise the rich. There were those in the order whom deluded themselves into thinking that they were fighting traitors, murderers and monsters. Ren was not one of those people, the galaxy was cruel, they were cruel and he was cruel. Cruelty was a choice, and one he made for its ease, its convenience and the power it could give him. But what did he have beyond cruelty? The force was no longer his ally, it was simply chaotic in his hand, his lightsabre was perhaps his only truest ally. What else did the order have? Some funding yes, but not enough to truly win the wars to come, unless they won more allies to their side. Ren turned away from the arena and made his way through the corridors of the ship, they were still in normal space, still in the system of Korvis. Hux wanted to claim more resources from the world, materials for the walkers and tanks. They still had more to do before they departed for Coruscant. Ren turned the corner and saw the maintenance techies lingering over the garbage vent. He noticed a mass of cloth on their trolley and walked over, blood dripped out of the cloth.

"Sir," one of the techies tipped his head.

"The prisoner," Ren muttered.

"Yes sir, the general requested we dispose of the body, we've collected some samples and Hux deems that it's no longer necessary to keep it," the techie said.

Again Ren huffed, perhaps he spoke too soon about Hux capabilities. He heard the techies dump everything they carried into the trash compactor, the body included. Ren walked to the lab where Warr'en Frontal worked, the scarred Kamonian was, as common amongst his people a cloner. Within the tank he had built floated the skeletal form of what he intended to build from the blood he had been given.

"Impressive is it not?" Warr'en asked.

"A monster," Ren said.

"That depends on your definition of life, is all life born, or is there something more to it, a spark within the force that makes it truly alive. My children have that spark, you have felt it have you not?" the Kaminoan looked at the dark Jedi as Ren walked around the tank.

"They are all alive, all the clones, but not all are capable of being individuals, they need more than the force. Hux never liked the idea of clone soldiers, why change his mind now?" he asked.

"Raw power has a way of altering a person's perspective, do you think it is logic that has driven Valorum to accepting us as patrons of the republic?" Warr'en asked.

"Fear, overwhelming fear and raw power, I suspected as much, but what do we have beyond fear?" Ren put his hand to the tank and his eyebrows tilted in surprise.

He could feel something from a body that shouldn't yet be alive, a body that didn't even have lungs or vital organs yet. It wasn't the force, it was something else, what was that spark?

Ranna looked down at the Twi'lek corpse in front of her. Another victim of the arena, since Daylen had been taken Kalla wasted no time in trying to turn the arena into the blood bath it was before. Kas'Im returned from the arena exhausted, having barely finished his match without killing his opponent. Moorint wasn't so lucky, he had to stab his Quarren opponent through the throat to survive a relentless battle. The 'rebellion' was falling apart, and the atmosphere around the slave pens returned to the despair and fear that haunted them before. What did they have without hope was something Ranna wondered.

"He is alive," Oola said, touching Ranna's shoulder.

"How can you be sure?" Ranna asked.

"I can feel it," she said.

"The force," Ranna shook her head.

"It is real, but no, that isn't what I speak of, my instincts tell me that Daylen Amell will not die so easily. He saved my life, I have to believe he can do the same for all of us, I am alive now and able to feel," Oola explained.

"But not able to dance," Ranna retorted.

Oola touched her metal foot and an uneasy smile crossed her face.

"That was unworthy of me, I am sorry," Ranna said.

"Don't worry, you're wrong, I'll show you that I can still dance. As for my faith, for what I can feel, inside of me," Oola whispered, her hand drifting over her heart.

Ranna turned away, Oola was not the only prisoner whom had begun to feel a particular melancholy lately. Her own people had begun to have dreams, even the Flesh Raiders had begun to show more intellect, a calm that hadn't passed over them before. That wasn't to say everything was better, there were some people haunted, ranting about demons, women with horns, creatures of fire, spiders and other terrors bought to life. Ranna had trusted in the Jedi before and they failed, she would not trust in the force and she wanted to trust less in…whatever Oola was trying to go on about. But still she could not resist to ask.

"Do you love him?" she asked the former dancer.

No, that wasn't what she wanted to ask at all, Ranna chided herself. A smirk crossed Oola's face, her gaze alone teasing her.

"No one has a chance with him yet Ranna Tao'Ven, I think you know this," Oola said.

She spun on her heel, her metal foot drawing a circle as she span. Her arms made the right movements still, and her face had the right amount of calm and sensuality on it. It was her sign that she was not yet broken, she had not yet fallen into despair. Ranna looked to her fellow Twi'leks, those dressed up as servant girls and those in the training courtyard. They needed t show that now was the time to remain…not hopeful…but at least defiant.

Moorint clutched his bleeding leg, it had been cut during his last fight and would no doubt be infected if not properly treated. Their defiance had earned them no mercy from their master, rations had been cut and even medical attention was lacklustre now. Perhaps it was Torvan's way of punishing them, Moorint wasn't sure, but his priority was his people.

"Damn, I knew it, I knew we couldn't trust an outsider," said Saylew.

The widower was clutching his side, nursing a vicious cut he had gained from a duel with a Trandoshan.

"We are all outsiders," Moorint said.

"We trusted that man to help us, trusted in his plan but where is he now?" Saylew demanded.

"Perhaps facing his own troubles," Moorint said, pausing when he saw one of the Flesh Raiders leave his tribe.

He raised his eyebrows as the shark like creature waddled towards them. Saylew kicked sand at the raider, gritting his teeth together.

"Keep back," he snarled.

The Flesh Raider was holding a ration in his hand, he knelt by Moorint and offered the bar to him. Moorint calmly took it, but recoiled slightly when the Raider touched his leg. A warmth suddenly enveloped the wound, which burned for a moment before the pain began to subside. The Flesh Raider's hand shook slightly, glowing, his eyes seemed to darken and he sluggishly stood. He looked to Saylew and tried reaching to the man's side.

"Keep away from me monster," Saylew suddenly kicked the Flesh Raider's knee, bringing him down.

Two other Flesh Raiders walked towards them, snarling in their language and pointing at Moorint and Saylew.

"Come on then," Saylew said, struggling to stand.

The Flesh Raider that Saylew kicked said something, keeping his hands levelled at his fellow Raiders. There was a glow in the Raider's hand again, and a spark of fire that kept the other Raiders back. Vim watched the exchange and smirked.

"The force is changing," he mused and looked up at the Force Order. "What next will come of your darkness Daylen Amell?"

Pain, endless pain, that's what he sought out every time he tried to go back to the light. Troopers filled him blaster bolts, archers coated him in arrows. One arrow went through the shadow's mouth, another time he got impaled on a sabre pike, or splat against a wall when a Sith pushed him with a force wave. All the while the Sorrow demon taunted him, wailed around him and turned every place he walked into a forest of ice. The shadow walked across a frozen lake, lake Calenhad. He looked up at the tower that had been Daylen Amell's home and saw the light glowing at the top of it. When he took another step forward though, his leg was suddenly covered in ice. He looked forward and saw in his path a flower of ice. The flower went into bloom and when the petals opened it revealed a pale skinned elf woman. He hair was white, her robes too white but her face was unmistakably that of Surana.

"You have allowed darkness to overtake you," she said, specks of snow flowed out of her sleeves as she stepped off of the flower. "You let me die, you always let me die, all for your shameful morals, your useless morals. So step into the light bastard," she brought her hands together and when she separated them, a staff, Cold-Blooded appeared in her hands. "ACCEPT YOUR FATE!" she slammed the staff into the ground and created a wave of ice that threw the shadow back.

He slid across the ice, igniting his swords and roaring as he ran towards the ice ghost. The demon swung her staff, shaping the end into a scythe that sent spikes of ice flying towards the Shadow. He cut through some, but got his shoulders hit by others. The needles cut at his face and still he advanced, jumping to avoid an explosion of pressurised water. He was able to skid to the side of the ice ghost and thrust his swords at her. But she parried them with her staff, hitting him and throwing him back. Thrusting her staff forward, she struck the Shadow with a blue beam of light. He struggled, ice filling his body before shards of bloody ice burst out of his mouth.

Again he ran across the lake, this time jumping off of the platforms of ice that the demon broke with an Earthquake spell. She launched sickles of ice and spears that the Shadow cut through. One he even grabbed and threw back at the demon. The ice spear began an arrow of fire that struck the demon in the chest. She gasped, clutching the wound and screaming. Her hair expanded, roots of ice came out of her legs and lifted her off of the floor. The demon screamed again, her eyes glowing white as she unleashed a blizzard that blew the shadow back with such force that he broke his neck.

The last time he kept running, kept striking at his opponent, slashing her back, her legs and jumping off of her ice platforms and spikes. His swords flashed with fire and created explosions from the ice that she made. When she tried to turn to her ice banshee state, the Shadow rushed forward in a cloud of darkness and fire. He slammed into her, stabbing her through the chest. She tried to touch his face, but he shoved her to the ground, letting her fall into the water.

"You killed me with your morality," her voice lingered in his head.

He walked across the lake as the ice melted, looking at the tower. It was darker, more menacing than he remembered. Templars in black armour looked down at him as he walked through, pale people in black robes looked at him and then away when he went through. Then he got into a brighter room, a room of light, of people in white robes who smiled at him. But when the Shadow looked back, he saw their robes begin to turn red. He looked at his hands and saw blood dripping off of them. He felt wet and dirty, he felt his bones ache, was he being crushed or eaten by something.

The shadow fell to his knees and wept more tears of blood. It was not just the many times he failed, but the many deaths that flashed before his eyes.

She had a happy look on her face, even as Kieli began to approach her. Daylen got off of the floor, fighting the pain in his eye. But he quickly collapsed, writhing in pain, as if Kieli's strike had been poisonous. Nelia closed her eyes, as Kieli thrust her sabre.

"NO!" Cullen and Daylen yelled.

The last thing Daylen's left eye saw, was the red sabre bursting out of Nelia's back. Then, much to the horror of all but Kaius, Nelia's robes fell to the floor, her body having just vanished. Kieli however simply laughed, throwing her head back as she cackled.

The woman he loved.

"Now, pick them off," Daylen commanded.

He moved with the first line, throwing fire with the other mages, in conjunction with the pistol fire from the templars. But the troopers fired back, and a blaster bolt hit the man right next to Daylen, Kinnon.

"Kinnon, no," Daylen gasped, holding him as he fell.

There were no last words, just a look of permanent shock, and a hole through his heart. Greigor deflected a blast before it could hit Daylen, and the mages electrocuted or burned the remaining troopers.

"Stand up Amell, do not appear weak, more will die if you do," Greigor whispered to Daylen.

Someone who believed in him.

"We are rebelling, and we're looking for allies, will you fight for the dream?" Daylen asked, offering Merrill his hand.

Merrill smiled as she moved to take Daylen's hand. Suddenly, a red bolt flew into Merrill's chest. Her eyes were wide in shock as she fell to the floor.

"SNIPER!" Leliana yelled.

Daylen immediately erected a barrier around them, more blaster bolts flew towards them, slamming into the barrier. Merrill looked up at Daylen, her lips shaking as she reached out to touch the hand he offered.

"Go, save your rebellion, save the dream," she whispered.

Her hand dropped to the floor, and all of the light left her eyes.

Someone who believed in what he was fighting for.

Letting out a yell, Tabris swung the cross guard sabre, cutting down any imperial in her way. She beheaded one man, and stabbed another in the chest. A blaster bolt suddenly hit her in the shoulder, bringing her down to the ground.

"KALLIAN!" Cyrion, her father yelled.

He quickly ran in her way, grabbing her as three troopers fired their rifles. The man protected his daughter with his own body, taking shot after shot. Seeing the city elf in danger, Alistair ran to support her. He behead one trooper, and slashed the other across the chest. Then he literally disarmed the remaining trooper, before stabbing him through the chest. Kallian looked at both her father and the remains of her cousin, she didn't have anyone left now.

Those whom fought for their loved ones.

Daveth cursed as the ventral cannons fired. He swerved, doing his best to dodge the onslaught of fire. The meteorites were blown to bits, but luckily the commanders had deployed their crews. What wasn't so lucky was their landings. Greigor, Byran and Cousland landed smoothly with some of their men. Jory awkwardly rolled, his jetpack impacting with the surface of the star destroyer. It damaged the pack, triggering the rockets and shooting Jory off course. A bad death, not the first or the last.

"MAKER GRANT THEM STRENGTH!" Devons yelled.

His great cry was his death cry. Blasts from the ventral cannons caught his fighter's wings, then triggered an explosion that destroyed his fighter.

Those who fought for their beliefs.

Kallian pushed her fighter to its full speed, using the knight's sun like projectile as cover. She swerved as the projectile struck the imperial ship, electricity surged through it, an explosion rocked it and decimated the shields. The elf saw the look of fear in the eyes of the bridge crew as she fired her blasters, tearing through it and burning several of the humans inside. She kept on flying, going for the miniscule warship that first responded.

"This is for everyone that has suffered because of the empire," she whispered to herself.

Suddenly, her ship shook and she felt her cockpit canopy shatter. Pushing on the control sticks, Kallian screamed defiantly, flying straight for the bridge. But a laser shot through her ship, throwing her out of it, shattering her body and disintegrating her armour. Kallian died, without realising she had failed to kill her enemy. She died thinking of a man planet side, a prince who tried to save her from her hatred.

"Alistair," she whispered.

Again he took a deep breath, raising his blaster, popped out of cover and fired. He brought down two men before his pistol clicked, and he threw it aside.

"Ready to go out in a blaze of glory?" the dwarf asked.

"With you, no way," Aedan drew his sword, his family sword. "This is my way of going down, father, mother, brother, I will soon join you, but first, I'm going to kill this bitch."

He tossed his helmet away, and activated a band on his arm. A field surrounded him, deflecting a blaster shot as he walked out of cover. The last of the Couslands held up his blade, showing the Highever sigil on the hilt. Then with a yell he broke off into a run. The imperial marines began firing, and throwing grenades. Cousland rolled to the side, held his sword out in front of him as the bolts hit his chest. He sprinted the last length and crashed his sword through the head of one of his enemies. Yanking the blade free, he bashed a trooper across the head with the hilt, using it as a club to batter, and swinging his arm wildly. His target was the officer, who narrowed her eyes at him.

"Primitive fool," she growled.

She raised her blaster, firing it again and again into Cousland's chest. Bolts slammed into his back, finally leaving scorch marks as his field faded. He thrust his sword at the woman, cutting her cheek. With a look of utter contempt, the imperial officer shot Cousland in the gut, whilst two of her men shot his back knees. He fell, still trying to stab her with his sword. She raised her rifle to his head and smirked.

"Pathetic," Cousland remained defiant, even as she pulled the trigger.

"I have a message for them," Dworkin said.

The imperial officer shook her head as her men laughed at the dwarf.

"Fine, what is this message?" she asked.

"Don't fuck with the Thedas rebels, especially us dwarves!"

Dworkin laughed as he ripped open his shirt, revealing the numerous explosives strapped to his chest. One fuse was lit, and the imperial officer's eyes froze in horror as it reached the bomb. Dworkin went out as he lived, with a bang.

He turned his fighter around, flying over his ship. Inside it, the mages began to fall to their knees, some even passing out from exhaustion.

"You're not getting past ME!" Daveth yelled.

He pushed his fighter to full speed.

"Divert all power to forward deflector shield, I don't want anything getting through," the captain of the enemy destroyer said.

"FOR THE REBELLION!" Daveth roared.

His ship barrel rolled straight through the destroyer's bridge, killing the crew and destroying the controls.

They all died, they all gave their lives and fought for what they believed in, ultimately sacrificing themselves for it. Even those Daylen Amell cared for the most, gave everything.

Greagoir watched the Star Destroyer's bridge blow, silently thanking the former thief, turned hero. He drew his sword as the blast doors to the bridge opened. The Knight-troopers lined up with their shields and blasters, bracing themselves. Marines floated onto the bridge, pelting the knights with blaster fire. Greagoir rushed through the blasts, slicing the oxygen tubes on one of the marines. He pushed another with his shield, and stabbed another through the neck. As two of his men fell, he jumped between the mages and the marines, not hesitating to shield them with his own body.

"We can't draw anymore power from the lyrium," Petra said.

"Plan B then," Jowan said as the defiance's sword arm was blown off.

"We'll launch you, with everything we've got left," one of the mages said.

"Just...take...one more ship," another whispered, already near unconsciousness.

"We don't have enough," Niall said.

"Maybe not lyrium or mana, but we still have blood," Jowan said.

"It's a taboo," Petra said.

"Daylen risked everything for a victory, why should we not do the same, besides we all knew what this trip meant."

Niall nodded in agreement with Jowan's speech. Both men suddenly bit, deep into their tongues, drawing blotches of blood that filled their suits. Red veins glowed across the construct as it raised its cannon. The imperial fighters continued firing on the warrior of mana, breaking more and more of its body apart. At the epicentre of the ritual, the remaining three mages grit their teeth together as they raised their arms. Then they yelled, releasing every bit of power they had left. A blast penetrated the Star destroyer, triggering explosions across the ship.

"Come on," one of the mages whispered.

"Come on," snarled another.

"ONE MORE SHOT!" they yelled.

The explosion consumed them, but the warrior they constructed, before fading, fired one more shot from the cannon. A fireball flew from the cannons as it faded, the flames swept aside by the new warrior that flew across the stars. It was a fighter sized, blood red knight, similar to what Daylen had constructed in his battle with the golems. The gigantic sword it carried, aimed towards the Star Destroyer that Tenebrous and Plagueis were stationed on.

"FIRE EVERYTHING!" Hyden yelled.

Turbo lasers and missiles blazed, trying to shoot down the weaving and curving knight. Inside it, Jowan, Niall and Petra, her own tongue bleeding, the blood filling their suits, put everything into maintaining the construct. Their target was only the Star Destroyer's bridge. Several fighters flew up behind the knight, only for Porkings to shoot at them.

"Who's a joke now bastards?" he asked, before he rammed the ships, blowing up them and him.

Hyden stepped back in horror, whilst the two Sith lords stood still. Forward the knight charged, taking shots that tore off its legs. Niall's own body was split apart by the shot, his remains left behind. The knight kept moving forward, taking a blast that tore off its arm. Petra headless body was thrown from the construct. Jowan let out a final scream as he flew the knight forward, thrusting the lance. Suddenly, a blast ripped through the knight, shattering it to nothingness. Hyden huffed as Jowan's one armed body floated towards the bridge of his ship.

Plagueis narrowed his eyes at the window. What the captain and his former master didn't notice as they debated, was that the mage was drawing a circle of blood across the glass. He squeezed his hand into a fist before throwing it forward.

Suddenly, smoke appeared on the glass, inside the bridge. A gigantic gloved hand shot out of it, punching Hyden with such force that he flew past Plagueis, breaking his neck against the blast door. Tenebrous looked at the hand for a moment.

"Fascinating," he said.

The hand then grabbed the Bith Sith lord, and Tenebrous yelled as he felt the grip break his shoulders and hips. Plagueis raised his hand, releasing a torrent of force lightning, burning his former master and the hand that was crushing him. The electricity spread to Jowan's body outside of the bridge. Finally having had enough, Jowan let go, and let himself drift back.

Jowan floated in space, his eyes beginning to freeze, locked on the distance of the galaxies far, far away.

'Did we do it Daylen, did we free our planet?' he wondered.

'Daylen, I wish you could see the stars as I do now, you were right, they are so beautiful!'

He raised his hand, fingers twitching as he moved them in a grabbing motion. His target, the world he called home.

'Daylen, I can imagine how jealous you are,' he thought. 'This is the best view in the galaxy.'

'Daylen,' everything was getting darker, there was no more light, and his body began to convulse.

Deprived of air, deprived of light he thrashed.

'You were my brother Daylen, I loved you, I hope, I pray, I believe that we will see each other again.'

Though suffocating, he closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He looked up at Petra, Niall, Lily, Kinnon and Greagoir, and smiled.

'There is no death, there is the force!'

There was still only death. The Shadow looked up as a door opened in front of him. A warrior in red armour emerged, holding the hilt of his sheathed sword, blue eyes practically glowing through the bangs of his white hair and beard.

"That's enough," Fausten Amell said.

"It is too late," spoke a Desire demon.

"He is falling into the darkness," said a nightmare.

"Ready to lose himself," said Envy.

"To allow only despair…"

"AND RAGE!"

"Rule over him, he is no longer himself, no longer alive both in body and soul, there is only death," said Pride.

"Enough of that depressing bullocks, you're a good man, it was never going to be easy but you did it anyway. We loved you, they loved you, blood never mattered, it's never mattered my boy, its always been about the choices that good people make against the bad. All of us, all of us were knights, all of us were forces fighting the evils of the world," tears nearly spread across Fausten's eyes as he spoke. "You're a good man, DAYLEN! So stop being a whiny little shit, and stand up!"

"Stand up Daylen!"

"Get up!"

"Rise!"

"Fly up you fool!"

He was falling, it was too late, the Shadow seeped into the darkness and let the light of the demons rise. One such demon, a small wisp rose above all the others. This wisp turned into a ghostly body, and then into a person. Daylen Amell's ID looked down at the shadow and huffed.

The ship was shaking, force tremors moving throughout it. Blood suddenly began to appear in the medical bay and brig. From the blood rose ghostly spirits, demons of rage and despair. The garbage disposal team opened the trash compactor, expecting the creature inside it to have fed, or the garbage inside to be crushed. Instead, the mass of metal inside rose, a growl escaping from it. A maw opened and red eyes glowed before snapping over the men. Then a bundle floated over the metal dragon, bones snapping into place, blood flowing back into the body as red energy glowed around it. The corpse unravelled the cloth around it, revealing shards of metal and old dumped leather coming together around its body. They formed a suit for it to wear, straps tightening around the limbs to push them back into place. A horned crest appeared on the corpse's head, horns stretching out past its hair, which turned from brown to black. The once pale skin turned grey and the red eyes turned black, splitting briefly into the eyes of a Pride demon.

Hux struggled to maintain his balance as the ship shook. He heard the claxons begin just as a crunching sound echoed through the ship. It had been breached, and then came the metallic cry of a dragon. People on the planet looked up and saw a winged figure flying away from the ruined ship.

But in the darkness, the Shadow fell and shrugged his shoulders.

'There's nothing more to be done,' he thought.

"You don't truly believe that, do you?" a voice asked in the darkness.

'What am I? Who am I now?' he wondered.

"You know who you are!" the voice said.

Shining hands touched his face, forcing him to look into the eyes of a ghostly apparition. The ghost of Nelia Surana whom smiled at him with a smile he felt that he should remember.

"You know who I am," she said.

"You are a good man!"

"Rise!"

"You know who you are!"

He looked up at the light and wept in frustration.

'It's too late,' he said.

"Oh mage, come now, what did I tell you about true tests. You know, most people cheat when things get difficult…come now little mouse, let's cheat!" the demon of pride said.

The shadow shook and tightened his fists.

There is no emotion, there is peace

"It doesn't change anything, it doesn't change the fact that you all still died," he said.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge

"Does that mean that your deaths, that mine, that our lives were just meaningless in the end?"

There is no passion, there is serenity

"Does that mean that there was no point in us, in you, being born?"

There is no chaos, there is harmony

"That in the end, all we can do is accept it, accept our part, accept that we're done, finished, that there was nothing more we could do?"

There is no death, there is the force

"Fuck that, I do not accept death, I do not accept the cruelty of this world. When faced with it, with the cruelty of people, with the futility of it all I will yell out. When peace does not work, when knowledge fails, when there is no room for serenity or harmony, when death must be fought at all costs, when the force or the universe, or the maker, or god, is against me I deny it."

"I WILL RAGE!" the shadow roared.

Hux listened to the blaring of the alarm and crossed his hands behind his back. Warr'en looked at his creation, the half completed clone.

"A shame, I wanted to see what I could make with this genetic material," the Kamonian said.

"Get to your ship doctor, we will need to relocate," Hux said.

"Oh, planning to go down with the ship?"

"Of course not, but once enough of our men have retreated I will fall back, making it seem as if I did follow a captain's tradition. We shall meet at the Crucifix doctor and pursue whatever creature has flown down to the planet's surface," Hux explained.

The doctor nodded his head before he left Hux alone. The general turned to the clone and scoffed. It had gotten to the age the donor had been before death, a mask protecting it from choking on the liquid it swam in. Hair had even grown on the clone's scalp, but it was longer and wilder than the

"Sir, electrical equipment throughout the ship has begun to go haywire," someone from CIC said through Hux's radio.

"The ship has a giant hole in it," Hux said dryly.

"Exactly sir, there's not a lot of places for the power to go, but something's drawing power from the core general," the engineer explained.

Hux raised his eyebrows in curious concern. Suddenly, the clone opened its eyes, bubbles blowing out of the mask. The general backed away in shock as the clone's body glowed and it recoiled in pain. A cut suddenly appeared over its left eye, a burn mark on the bridge of his nose to his cheek and neck, spreading across its right arm, mirroring the scars of the donor.

"Impossible," Hux gasped.

The clone's eyes glowed red and swung its arm at the glass. A portal suddenly appeared on the glass, allowing the hand to pass through and grab Hux by his head. Hux's hand froze at his holster, his eyes wide in terror.

"Please, please let me…" he screamed in agony as fire burned his face, melting his skin to the bone.

With a roar the clone, the creature, pulled the general's head through the portal and closed it. The glass shattered, blood spraying out of the general's corpse. His killer walked barefoot onto the floor, eyes and hands glowing. The blood that came out of the general's body shaped into blades, more blood burst of the general's body and became blood red, crystal versions of weapons from memory. A bow, shield, dagger, maul, great sword, staff and sword of the dragon, all flaming like Thedas's true flames of the inquisition arsenal.

"Behold," Mouse's voice echoed in his head. "Daylen Amell, reborn!"

He walked out of the lab, looking down a long corridor and towards a squad of troopers.

"The general, where is he?" one of them demanded.

Daylen nonchalantly tossed the general's head onto the floor. He began to walk forward as the troopers aimed at him.

"OPEN FIRE!" the commander yelled.

They fired their blasters down the narrow corridor, a simple movement of his hand was all Daylen needed to shield himself with his floating arsenal. The troopers frantically fired, the great sword suddenly impaling one and the dagger spinning into another made the remainder panic. Daylen moved the weapons with his hand, bashing with the shield, crushing with the maul and simply tilting his head to avoid return fire. He returned the weapons flaming blood to him, gathering fire into his hands when he got nearer to the elevator.

"Oh shi…" the surviving trooper was cut off when fire consumed him and tore through the elevator, rising up through the other floors of the ship.

Outside the ship, Ren watched from his shuttle as inner explosions began to put the ship on a collision course with the desert of the planet. He chuckled, he had spoken too soon about Hux, but it was all right. There was something to be gained from this new enemy.

"Daylen Amell, reborn indeed," he mused. "Will this new development force the republic to act, father?"

Next Episode 37: The battle of Val Royeaux part 1

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, yep Daylen's still alive, but at what cost and what about his original body? Well you probably figured it out but it'll be confirmed in two chapters time.