Disclaimers: This chapter is inspired by the Warzone Arena Matches, found in Bioware and Electronic Arts' video game, "Star Wars: The Old Republic." Perseus comes from Greek Mythology.
Warning! This chapter is Rated M for gore and violence.
Sorry for the month-long delay. This chapter was a monster to write, rewrite, and draft. Not only did my brain decide to shut down, heading into a mental breakdown, at the start of writing this chapter, but then a lot of spiritual stuff happened to me, then I soul switched with LOTR's Frodo Baggins, and then I got disconnected from Frodo, too. So, that's taking time to reconnect with Frodo. Not only that, but this chapter was overall tricky to write. Too complex for me to figure out, but I did it! :)
By the time I got to the revision process, I ended up getting a headache and nearly didn't feel like revising and editing it. Now that I polished this chapter, and getting out of a perfectionist's behavior, which I'm thankful to have finally gotten out of, this chapter finally got finished drafting and revising.
So, that's my behind-the-scenes portion on this chapter's writing process. I don't know how I'll get used to writing longfics again, but I will do my best to get back to it. Especially since, I've been used to working on shorter fanfics for years. So, writing a longfic again is daunting, but this is what my Long Series wants. So, might as well write it. :)
That said, enjoy reading this chapter. :) Hopefully, it's all good and everything's okay with it. :)
"Jock, wait! Jock, please!" Janus cried, rushing out of the speeder shop towards him.
By the time Janus found her way out into the hall, on the upper left section of Eris Station, where brimming fountains and pools of water engulfed the areas between the metallic stairways, Janus stopped to see Jock had already departed on his speeder. Janus huffed, tears threatening to leave her eyes, as she debated on what she should do next.
Jock had left her, ditched her, before another word was spoken. Janus huffed, not knowing what else to do… that is, until she looked up at the top of the stairway to find Jock, mounted on his Rendili Watchman speeder, gazing back at her with longing eyes.
Jock huffed, shaking his furry Dalmatian head from side to side, as if that was enough to ensure all went well with the world around them. He chuckled, telling her from above the stairway, "Janus, are we meeting up with Helen or not?" He added, admiring Janus from above the stairway, "Or did we want to meet this companion of yours first? I'm sure he's somewhere aboard this station."
Janus stared at Jock in wonder, admiring him at this point, "You remember? You remember our new companion? Whoever they are."
Jock nodded, smirking at her, "Why, of course I did! Now, come on. Which are we doing first?" He added with a laugh, "I'm sure Helen will understand in time. Now, where do we want to go first? It's your call, after all, even if Helen doesn't see it. But I do!" He smirked, saying to her, "Now, come on. Which are we doing first?"
"Which way?" Janus asked, shocked and in wonder at these words. It was these words that drove home the point she was trying to make. It was also in this moment when Janus remembered how much freedom Jock had given her today. Normally, the Jedi Masters would be all over her with their instructions, telling her what was right and what was wrong, and all around telling her how to live the Jedi ways.
In spite of this, Janus knew she had to do something about her current dilemma. She just couldn't think right now of what that was, or where her circumstances would take her.
As far as her new companion, Janus felt certain that Pan, the God of the Wild, might give her a clue as to who her new companion was, their whereabouts, as well as the name of hers, as well as Jock's and Helen's, new companion.
It was in this moment when Pan arrived, standing right next to Janus. Pan leaned forward, close to Janus' furry Dalmatian ear, where he stated the location of Janus, Jock, and Helen's newest companion was and their name, "Your new companions, yes there is more than one, who you will meet soon, are headed your way."
Janus leaned back, whispering back to him, "Who are they? Our new companions? You told me there'd be one new companion we'd be meeting up. Now, there's more? That makes no sense! Pan!" Before Janus could intercept, Pan intercepted her with some words of his own:
"Your new companions are: Ellvara Suns, who you will find over by the Jedi Knight trainer, and Perseus, the Demigod, the son of Zeus," Pan interceded, deepening his hold over Janus. Pan laughed, reminding Janus, "Do not misspoke what I have just said to you. Ellvara is by the Jedi Knight trainer, and Perseus—well, Perseus is headed over to the warzone terminal, in search of a match. I believe that is all I will tell you for now. Good luck, Janus! You'll need it." Pan vanished, leaving Janus disheveled.
Fear awoke within Janus. The very thoughts of finding new companions scared her. Her legs shook violently. She knew she was in trouble!
"Janus, are you all right?" Jock asked, getting Janus' attention.
Janus huffed. She rushed back to her Lhosan Duster speederbike and mounted it. As soon as she turned on her speederbike's engine, which roared with life, Janus raced over to Jock, telling him, "Our first companion, Ellvara Suns, is waiting for us over by the Jedi Knight trainer. I'm guessing we'll already know who she is when we find her."
Jock shrugged. "All right then. Let's get moving." He didn't question her. In fact, he let Janus do her own thing, taking the lead over this brief mission.
Janus smiled, knowing then she found a good friend, a good companion, and maybe something more. Janus revved up the engine to her Lhosan Duster speederbike, as she and Jock raced throughout Eris Station in search of their new companions.
Janus just hoped Helen wouldn't be too angry with Janus and Jock for leaving her for over half an hour or two.
~o~
Helen stored the last of the food within hers and her crew's Jedi starship, the Defender. She couldn't believe how much food and other supplies she had gotten for their ship. She knew it would take them nearly an hour to get all the supplies, a lot of it not easy to find. It took an even shorter time when she noticed how quickly Jock had gotten the engine parts for their ship as well.
However, Janus had gone missing and Jock went out to look for her. Helen felt sure Janus would remember them! And yet, Helen noticed, as she waited in the ship's hangar bay for Janus and Jock that they had both gone missing.
What was Janus doing? And why did Jock go with her? Helen stayed by the ship for a little while longer, but even she couldn't take the sudden silence that accompanied the waiting.
Helen looked at the clock. Too much time had passed and Helen was bored. Then she saw, within the folds of the Force, that Janus and Jock were being led on a mission, by the God of the Wild, Pan, to find their two new companions: Ellvara Suns and Perseus, both of whom didn't know Janus and Jock were coming to greet them.
Helen nearly decided to take her speederbike and go out looking for Janus and Jock, but it was then she got pulled to stop and faced Pan himself. Helen hesitated. She closed her eyes, lost in thought. Just what was Pan doing?
"Pan, leave! Please? You've done enough," Helen stated, already tired.
"They'll find you again. Just wait by the ship," Pan said, furiously.
Helen choked back tears. She opened her eyes and looked around, only to find Pan stood there, in his satyr form, playing his tune on his panpipes. Helen sighed, falling into a trance, as she sat down on the ship's ramp, lost in Pan's music.
Pan smirked, knowing he had her now!
~o~
Janus revved up her speederbike's engine, driving faster and faster. There was no stopping her! The thrill of driving, racing, her very own speederbike thrilled her. Though, she did have to stop in front of the Jedi Knight trainer's room. It was a wide, square room with a red rug nestled in front of a dark grey, metallic desk, complete with this room's wide window, gazing out into the skies beyond Eris Station.
And just as Jock stopped his Rendili Watchman speederbike, next to Janus' Lhosan Duster's speederbike, they caught sight of a young woman with dirty blonde hair, tied back into a ponytail, and emerald green eyes. She was fair of skin and face, but a little sunburned on her arms, perhaps from fighting many battles with her former Jedi Master. Her Jedi Knight attire consisted of a brown and blue top, brown pants, and tall, jet-black boots.
Already, Janus was looking forward to meeting this new Jedi Knight, and hopefully, become acquainted with her long enough to where they could be friends and comrades in battle. Jock could not wait until they met up with Helen. But where was Helen? It wasn't like her to be this late!
"Janus, maybe we should go and meet up with Helen," Jock complained, hopeful what he was doing was right.
Janus, on the other hand, blew a raspberry. Turning off her speederbike's engine, she dismounted from her speederbike, parking it up against the wall, Janus frankly told Jock, "Don't worry. I'm sure Ellvara is very friendly."
Jock huffed. "I hope you're right." He turned off his speederbike's engine, parking his speederbike next to Janus' speederbike, right before they decided to take the next step: meeting with their new Jedi Knight companion. That is, if Jock and Janus were hopeful to earn themselves a new companion.
Janus wasted no time! She rushed towards this new Jedi Knight, shocking the female Jedi Knight. She huffed upon seeing Janus, with a great big grin on her face. Jock followed, hesitant.
"We really ought to find Helen now!" Jock fumed in Janus' furry Dalmatian ear.
The dirty blonde-haired Jedi Knight crossed her arms, tapping her foot, as she proceeded to look Jock and Janus over. "Are you new?" she spoke rather rudely to Janus and Jock, before calming down and apologizing to them, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I'm Ellvara Suns. Forgive me, but what brings you here?"
Janus grinned, pointing her furry Dalmatian index finger right at Ellvara's face, "You're her. You're the one Pan sent me to. Pan, God of the Wild. Jock and I are on the hunt for new companions, two to be precise, to help us on our mission, to find six other Angelic feathers. It's a long story. We'll have to clue you in after we get back to our ship."
"Janus!" Jock huffed, whispering in her ear. "We should get going."
Ellvara looked the two Dalmatians over. She sighed, admitting, "Oh, I knew it! You're them? The ones Pan spoke so much about. He told me I'd meet two new companions—well, three—but I can see your third companion, that Dragonoid creature, isn't accompanying you. So, how can I be sure it's you?"
Pan whispered in Ellvara's ear, shocking her to bits, "Just go with it. These are your new companions. Helen is waiting over by their ship, the 'Defender.' You should know her by now. We've spoken of her often. She's Helen the Shapeshifter. Perhaps you've heard of her." Pan vanished, leaving Ellvara gasping in wicked delight.
Ellvara smirked, saying to Janus and Jock, "Yeah, I know her. All right. You have me convinced. Who's our second new companion?"
"Great!" Janus spoke up, delighted. "His name is Perseus, the Demigod. He's the son of Zeus." At that, Ellvara gasped, jumping up and down, giddily. Janus looked at her, stunned and confused, "Is something wrong?"
Ellvara calmed down. "Okay, I need to think. I don't know what to say to him." She looked at Janus, realizing she was behaving like a fool to her. Ellvara collected herself once more, saying to Janus, "I'm sorry. It's just—the moment you spoke of Perseus, I just fell in love. Perseus and me… oh yeah. I really want to meet him. He's supposed to be a hero, but I'm not sure how accurate that is."
Jock checked his datapad, finding out when the next warzone match was taking place. "Oh, it says here Perseus just signed up for a warzone match. I'd say we better get our tickets!" He nearly walked away, strutting, when Janus pulled him back. Jock huffed, disappointed, "What Janus? Can't you see we'd better stay out of the warzone arena? We could die in there! Or suffer a near-death experience. But still, eh!"
Jock huffed, shaking his head, "Nu uh! There's no way you're getting me into one of those matches."
"What are you kidding me? Sign us up! With Perseus' team," Janus said, all smirks.
Ellvara huffed, resting her hands against her hips, "You're kidding? Perseus is a Demigod and we're just going to meet him? No, we have to plan. Perseus is powerful and we're beginners at our craft. Let Perseus have his match and we'll have ours."
"But don't you want to meet Perseus? Have him as our new companion? He has to come!" Janus stated, giddily.
Ellvara raised her eyebrow with great suspicion. "You're joking? There's no way we're getting into—"
"—We're in!" Jock said, getting himself, Janus, and Ellvara on Perseus' team. He looked up at a stunned Ellvara and Janus. Jock shrugged, saying to them, "What? You said you wanted Perseus to be on our team? Well, that's what I did. So, what do you think? Shall we go? The match begins soon."
Ellvara sighed. "I hope this won't take long."
"Great!" Janus spoke up, rushing off in search of her speederbike. Ellvara and Jock followed, knowing they had to hurry, if they wanted to enter the warzone arena on time.
~o~
The shuttle flew at top speed to the first warzone arena. Janus looked out the shuttle's window at the skies above Eris Station. And right there, located on a massive rock platform were two landing pads, made of dark grey metal. Janus waited until the shuttle stopped, before she, Jock, and Ellvara climbed out of the shuttle, right in time to see five other teammates waiting to score their first victory against the enemy.
Janus looked up at the centermost part of the rock platform. She could make out a mourning dove Angelic feather. It was glowing in a golden orb. Great! Was that the feather she would have to win, in order to move on? She looked over her shoulder at the young man with a muscular build, wearing golden armor. His hair was bronze and curly, but he seemed nice.
And he was a warrior, too! That made everything easier.
Janus sighed, the moment Ellvara pointed out this man, this warrior, and smirked his way. Janus however was quick to approach him, much to Ellvara's disdain, as she watched their shuttle depart.
"Hey! Where are you going? Wait! Ohh!" Ellvara stomped her foot, not knowing what else to do.
The warrior whispered to Janus, timid and shy, but strong, "Excuse me, but what is with your friend? I'm Perseus!" He shook her paw, leaving Janus mystified.
"I'm Janus," Janus said introducing herself. She pointed out Ellvara, introducing her to Perseus, "That's Ellvara Suns. She's a fan of yours."
Perseus smirked. "Aren't they all?" He looked at the male Dalmatian Sith, admitting to Janus, "He seems friendly."
"Hi! The name's Jock! So, what's the mission?"
Perseus retreated to the glowing, blue forcefield, pointing out the Angelic feather. "Oh, do you see that? It's an Angelic feather, one of seven. If the winning team wins this match, they get to keep the feather. The important part is to keep alive. We don't want anyone getting killed…" he looked up, the moment the forcefield went down and Ellvara leapt out onto a dark grey metallic ramp. Perseus declared, sheepish towards her, "…she doesn't listen."
Janus sighed. "Well, I'd say we join her. What about the rest of your teammates—well, now our teammates?"
Perseus sighed. "I'm sure they're all right. Come on. Let's go!" He dived out of the landing pad, landing on the metallic ramp, in a similar fashion to Ellvara's landing stance, if not a bit different. Jock sighed, aggressively, diving out of the landing pad and onto the ramp, waiting for the first enemy to take down.
Janus huffed. She didn't know what to do. Already their five other teammates were heading out onto the warzone arena without her. She glanced around, deciding to take the plunge and join with her teammates. Saying a quick prayer, Janus leapt out of the landing pad, right as the force field came back up behind her.
Janus ran down the dark grey, metallic ramp, not knowing what dangers awaited her.
.
At last, Janus reached the rock platform. The rock pillars loomed over her, making it harder for her to see what was going on. She huffed, crossing the catacombs in search of her teammates.
She was a couple of yards through, when she spotted them: her teammates, facing off against the enemy team. Janus saw how quickly Ellvara leapt into the air, her rotations proceeding into a backflip, before she ignited her blue-beamed lightsaber and snagged a slice off an enemy opponent's ear.
The Sith, wearing full armor, let out a blood-curdling scream. His eyes turned yellow and red in anguish and anger. He moved past one of his opponents, slashing down one of Janus' other teammates, who she didn't get to know. Her focus was too fixated on Perseus to even think of who her other five teammates were, and what they were doing in combat.
Before Janus let out a scream, she watched the medic team lift her fallen comrade down on a stretcher, before taking off inside a shuttle, where he would receive medical attention, before returning to the warzone arena.
Janus kept her gaze locked on the fight, shortly before coming face to face with a spiky-haired Sith man, with a thin build, but a deadly, fiery gaze. He ignited his staff, its tips showing off purple lightning, as he dived for her.
"Ohh! Oh no! Not me!" Janus took out her lightsaber, rounded on the Sith man with the spiky brown hair and maddening yellowish-red eyes.
This Sith laughed, cackling in wicked delight, for he did not care who he took down first. He rounded on Janus, hoisting up his staff, while bearing to attack her and get it over with. But Janus was too quick. She dived under his legs, hopeful she made it this far… and got whacked by his staff, who shot purple lightning right at her.
Janus landed on the rock platform, tumbling, all while regaining her footing. She wasn't injured too badly, but could stand another fight.
Hoisting herself off the ground, and preparing for another fight, Janus looked over her shoulder. Her lightsaber landed a few feet away from her. Janus looked on at the spiky-haired man, who charged right at her. She threw herself into the air, right as the Sith attacked her with the tip of his staff, while she was in mid-air.
Janus tumbled on the ground, shaking herself off. This Sith wasn't going down easy.
Tapping into the Force, Janus stretched forth her paw. For a moment, her lightsaber wouldn't budge. She closed her eyes, making another effort to calm herself. To her surprise, her lightsaber clicked a little. It moved slowly at first, then careened towards her, just before the Sith could grab it.
He stumbled, tumbling on the ground, as Janus' lightsaber hilt flew into her paw. Janus stood up, igniting her green-beamed lightsaber. She was ready for another fight.
And so was he, who launched another blow at her from the air.
.
Ellvara tore down two more enemies, shortly before running into a full blast of purple lightning. Ellvara flew backwards, landing on the rock platform's surface in agony. She careened close to a pool of water nearby, staring at her bloodied appearance.
Her cheeks were red and scarred, blood dripping off them. She winced, pressing her hand against her face, tapping into the Force to heal her. A green glow overwhelmed her, allowing her scars to heal and her face restoring its fair appearance. She sighed in relief, happy the scars were healed.
She stood up on shaky legs, watching the Sith run towards her, shooting more purple lightning her way. She held off the attack, the moment she ignited her blue-beamed blade, its blade careening up and away from her silver, lightsaber hilt, as she moved her lightsaber up and away from her face.
She stood there, throwing the purple lightning with her lightsaber, right at the Sith. She let out a screech, driving the purple lightsaber home until the Sith was scarred and bloodied from the attack. She stared at the Sith in rage. Something inside her stirred.
It was the Dark Side, it was close at hand, as she caused the purple lightning to blast its way towards the Sith, until the lighting slammed right into his chest, knocking him out cold.
Ellvara stared at the Sith Marauder, unsure what was happening to her. She looked up at her companions, her teammates. They were still fighting. They hadn't seen what she had done!
She snarled, teeth barred, as she made another fierce dive for another Sith. Using all her power, she charged at him full on, before making a dive for a Mercenary and plowing him down. Ellvara was unstoppable! There was nothing to cure her from this blood-curdling lust for power!
The Dark Side felt so good. She charged at the next Sith, mowing him down until she raised her hand in the air and attacked him head on.
"All right, whose next?" Ellvara screeched, drawing upon the power of the Dark Side, enough to summon the creatures of the air to attack all the enemy opponents. To her shock, she also attacked some of her teammates. But she didn't care. She was too filled with the Dark Side to notice anything.
That was, until a might blow to the back of her head left Ellvara to collapse on the ground, the medic team coming around on a stretcher, taking Ellvara out of the warzone arena, where she would be judged by the Jedi Council.
Pan sighed, agonized over what happened with Ellvara, "She was always reckless." He turned to the warzone arena, staring at Perseus, Jock, and Janus, who were the last teammates still in the fight. "Let's hope you do better."
.
Janus' legs shook violently. She fled for cover inside a cave, during Ellvara's monstrous rage against the Sith, Mercenaries, and other opponents.
Janus whimpered, not knowing what to do. She feared that once Ellvara got a taste of the Dark Side, there was no stopping her. She was in bad shape, and Janus wondered why Ellvara suddenly went into rage mode against every single enemy, including her teammates. It made no sense. But then, Janus sensed there was something off about Ellvara.
Janus had to get to the bottom of it, as soon as the warzone match ended. Surely, Janus could help Ellvara, even if it meant doing battle against her, just to calm her down.
Janus sighed, climbing out of the cave, the moment no more enemies were in sight. Perseus and Jock managed to hold off against the oncoming storm, and were back at the control panel, where Perseus worked on getting the Angelic feather down from the arena's ceiling.
Janus approached Jock, igniting her green-beamed lightsaber, as Jock ignited his red-beamed lightsaber. They smirked, knowing then what the other was about to say, before they said it.
"Ellvara seems… messed up. What happened?" Janus asked Jock, courteously.
"I read her mind. No one paid attention to her after she defeated her enemy. That's why she went into a rage. Something's wrong with her. We've got to figure out what that is, before Ellvara falls too far to the Dark Side, like she did minutes ago," Jock stated, leaving Janus only to nod at him.
"I think I've got it." Perseus said, shutting down the Angelic feather's force field. He watched the mourning dove's feather drop towards the ground. All at once, Perseus declared to Janus and Jock, "There's the feather! You two go grab it! I'll wait here! This'll end the match!"
"Is there anything we should… know?" Janus asked a moment too soon. She watched Jock fly into the air. He missed the feather by inches, before careening to the ground. He sighed, lifting himself up into the air once more, stretching his paw out to grab the feather, and nearly missing it again.
Jock huffed, stretching forth his neck, reaching for the feather, as it floated further down to the surface. He grabbed it, moments into one of the Sith Warriors ready to take it from him. Jock smiled, landing on the ground, barring his teeth as he held the Angelic feather between his pearly-white, yet yellow, teeth in triumph.
All at once, the match ended. Janus' team was victorious! Janus smirked at Jock as he approached her and Perseus, handing the Angelic feather over to Janus with a smile, "Told you I'd get it!" He grinned, wide-eyed and already impressed with her.
Janus smirked, laughing at him, and kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you, Jock."
Jock smirked at her, too. He leaned in, whispering to her, "Is it all right for us to kiss? I love you, Janus. You know, I do."
Janus' eyes widened. At first, she was a little offended, but then smirked with wonder and love for him. She nodded, right as Jock pecked a kiss at her mouth. Janus smirked, kissing him back, long and hard. Jock and Janus stayed there, lost in their kissing for a good long minute.
Perseus winced at the sight of Jock and Janus kissing, then smirked, wondering when he'd find a wife and raise a family. He shook his head, returning to his meddling with the control panel, just as a shuttle came to take him, Jock, and Janus out of the warzone arena. After Janus and Jock were done kissing, of course.
Well, Janus and Jock's romantic moment finally arrived. :) I couldn't resist waiting to get to this moment with these two Dalmatian OCs. :) And now, we have the Demigod, Perseus, joining their crew. :) So, that's exciting! :)
So, what will happen next? :) Will Janus knock some sense into Ellvara? What if Ellvara ends up joining the Dark Side? And what will happen next for Helen, Perseus, and Jock? And how does Pan, the God of the Wild, assist them further?
Thanks for reading this story so far. :) More to come. :)
~Aria Breuer