Well, here's the overall sixth chapter for Knights of Tal'Dorei. Now they are going to travel to Whitestone albeit in a safer route.
I looked at the TV tropes page. And it needs to be worked more since there are three errors I've spotted. For instance, it was Jolee who used the Jedi Mind Trick on Uriel to ensure that Vox Machina isn't arrested like in canon, not Revan. Which is what me and jojobinks01 planned. Another are the common misspellings like Bastila having another L when it should have one and Mission being spelt 'Vision'.
A third one is the location of Exandria. Just to confirm that it is located outside of the Galaxy Far, Far Away due to having different rules. Revan and other Force Sensitive can still use their Force Powers regardless of where they are.
I hope I made my points clear. After this, I hope I can see the work getting done. But it can't be The Disquieting One/LeBlancRegular043/FrankTHaddock be the one editing it. There has to be others considering how much fans that both Knights of the Old Republic and The Legend of Vox Machina has.
Apologise for my rant. But this needed to be addressed. I hope I haven't made anyone mad.
Before we do anything, a little content warning. Ladies and gentlemen, the following scenes are so dark that not even the right teens will keep it safe, so the intense purposes which couldn't describe the aftermaths thank you.
Now then, onto the sixth chapter of this story of Knights of Tal'Dorei!
Knights of Tal'Dorei
V
Tales of Tension and Assurance
GILMORE'S GLAMOROUS GOODS, EMON
"Where are we heading?"
"To a shop in Emon. We know a guy who can provide us with the necessities."
"But what for? We have enough firepower to last us to Whitestone."
"Oh no. We're going to someone that is familiar to us."
"But I have to warn you. He's…flamboyant with his customers. Especially with the males."
Those were the exchanges between Vex, Vex, and Keyleth to Revan as they walked through the streets of Emon before standing in a rather colourful shop. Before leaving the city, they needed to make one quick stop to resupply themselves.
"Um, Revan…" Keyleth asked the Jedi, making him look at her. "Why did you decide to come with us? You know Bastila is capable of handling herself."
Revan glanced at Bastila, who was deep in her thoughts, before looking at the three Elves. "I know she can handle herself. But not when she hasn't calmed down regarding last night." And he regretted that he agreed with Vex and Jolee to leave her and Carth along with Scanlan as a distraction. Though, that seemed to scar her to the point that she barely had any sleep and ate little for breakfast.
"Eh, things happen all the time with our group." Vex said with a shrug. "That's our motto."
"We fuck shit up all the time." Her, Vax, and surprisingly Keyleth said at the same time. Revan just gave a stare at the three.
"Did you three have to say it at the same time?" The Jedi asked.
"Force of habit. Sorry about that Revan." The Half-Druid apologized.
"We better make this quick!" Bastila quipped. "We don't have all day and I am not going to waste anymore time." She walked in the shop before anyone entered.
Revan and the three members of Vox Machina looked at one another. Vex couldn't help but give him that look. "Isn't she a bit snappy due to my idea?"
"And the fact I am kind of partly responsible for it…" Revan commented before he and everyone entered the building.
Entering the shop, the male Jedi couldn't believe the sight before him. There were many things. From weapons to outfits to even trinkets. What was more surprising was that there is a second floor with more items. 'Huh, it looks like appearance can be surprising at times.' He thought to himself.
"You have entered a realm of mystery, of magic, of marvel." A man spoke with a flamboyant voice. All turned to the top view-point of the second floor, a dark-skinned man in fabulous clothing made a pose to greet them. "Welcome to Gilmore's Glorious Goods! Enchanted curials and magical artifacts at discounted prices. I take gold, silver, platinum…" He stopped and gasped at the person that was in front of him. "Oh my! We meet again, my mysterious Vax'ildan?" He walked up to the half elf and immediately hugged him before kissing him on each cheek.
"Glad to see you again, Gilmore." The Half-Elf greeted him.
The shop owner looked at him lovingly before he glanced at an unfamiliar face. He was taken back at how handsome he looked. "Oh. And who's this charming looking feller?" That seemed to break Bastila out from her bothersome thoughts and he immediately glared at him which he immediately took notice of. "And who is this Tsundere?"
"Excuse me?!" Revan was taken back by what he said.
"Tsundere!?" Bastila was absolutely confused why this man referred to her as…wait, what is a Tsundere?
"Well you both are new about it. My apologies," Glimore said as he walked around both Bastila and Revan. Both of them were partly blushing.
"Gilmore… can you uh, please stop?" Keyleth asked as she didn't want to risk a wrathful Bastila and the store blowing up because of her exploding temper.
"And why is that, my dear half-druid?" The shop owner whimsically said, now facing Keyleth.
"Well… um… it's just uh…" She was about to say.
"Bastila, our new friend, has quite a temper that if triggered the wrong way, might stir this shop out," Vax stepped in for her.
"Oh," Now Gilmore was interested as he glanced at the female Jedi in question. "And why is that?"
"One word. Scanlan." Vex answered bluntly. Bastila, for a second, slowly twitched and Revan could have sworn her eyes turned yellow before turning back to her original grey color.
Gilmore knew what happened when the mention of their horny Bard Gnome was brought up. "Ah, I see." He looked at Bastila. "You aren't used to his…charm, correct?"
"Let us just say he is lucky I don't sick our dear friend with him." Bastila commented as the three half elves flinched at the 'dear friend' bit. For Vex, it was a double twitch.
Revan eventually cleared his throat and asked. "Do you have any supplies you can give them?" He was referring to the three, "And also some stress relief for Bastila?"
"Of course. I can give your girlfriend something to forget about Scanlan." Gilmore answered before he summoned items within his desk. He looked at Bastila. "Now, my dear, which of these items suit you well?"
Bastila walked over to his desk and saw five items. An Elixir, a Moodstone, a Lute, a Stress Ball made out of the toughest leather, and finally…a slime?!
"Uh, can we leave the slime part out?" Keyleth demanded, knowing that Scanlan would make sexual innuendos if Bastila ever used them despite HK-47 threat.
Glimore nodded and the slime disappeared leaving the few items available. "Now, which one would you choose?"
Bastila scanned the items and had differing thoughts. The lute is an instrument, which she didn't even want to touch as it reminded her of Scanlan. The Stress ball seemed to be a good option, but she can easily destroy it if she used her Force Powers. Only the Elixir and Moodstone seemed to be her liking. But she needs to ask what their properties are. "What does this do?" She pointed at the Elixir.
"Oh the Elixir," Gilmore looked at the bottle. "This helps the drinker to be distressed and forget about everyone momentarily. But I have to warn you. You must take a sip. It can be fatal if you take more than one sip."
Well, that was out of the picture. Now it was the moonstone. As she stared at it, there was something about it that drew her attention. She looked at Gilmore. "How much for the stone?"
"Five gold. It's a discount just for you." Gilmore said with a smile and he was immediately handed five gold coins.
"I'll take these enchanted arrows." Vex dumped a lot of arrows onto his desk.
"And as much garlic as you can spare." Keyleth kindly asked as she neatly placed a bucket full of items onto his desk.
"Ugh, I don't even want to know." Gilmore spoke before he shifted his attention to the archer. "No, that's a lie. I absolutely want to know. What's this all about?"
"We kind of pissed off a vampire." Keyleth confessed.
The merchant hummed at this before he thought of something that may be useful. "Then may I suggest the addition of something special?" He twirled his left index finger around, which made a small vial materialise from the pink magic. "Holy water. One of the only things truly known to stop a vampire…Well, that and direct sunlight." Revan and Bastila took note of that."
Vex leaned at him. "We will take all the holy water you've got."
"You're looking at it." Gilmore raised the small vial at her, making her sigh.
"I'll need to grab a few more things, then." Vex walked away with Keyleth following behind her.
A blue apparition came up to the man, holding a tray with a drink. "Thank you, Rodrigo." Gilmore spoke as he got the drink. "You're a gem." He took a sip before looking at the male elf. "One must have a bit of company while handsome half-elves are off thwarting evil."
As the two men were conversing, Keyleth was looking at the items that were displayed in front of her. While doing so, her eyes looked at a cylindrical item made out of bamboo, and had two holes at each end. "Oh!" She was interested in the item. That made her grab the item and stuck both of her index fingers at each end. She began to immediately pull her fingers out but to no avail. "Uh, um…" She began to pull it but her fingers remained stuck.
Back to the conversation, Vax wanted to know something. "You mentioned direct sunlight."
Gilmore chuckled upon hearing this all the while the Ashari was struggling to pull the items out from her fingers. "Oh, yes. But you need more sunlight than summer in Marquet."
"Well, that seems unlikely." Vax said while taking this information in. "By the way, I don't think we have to mention that I still owe you something?"
"Oh, don't worry, darling." Gilmore spoke as he ran a finger around Vax's chest. "You can repay me after your mission." The sound of clattering could be heard, making everyone look at Keyleth who fell down. He immediately saw what was in her fingers. "Need some help, love?"
Keyleth just nervously chuckled. "I'm fine. Thanks. I…It's okay. I'll just stay this way." He sunk down on the chest she sat in. "For forever."
"Press the tooth of each snake at the same time, dear." Gilmore suggested before Vax went to her.
The male half-elf helped her to her feet and he immediately helped by holding both of her hands to press her index finger together. A quiet snap was heard, which brought much relief to the half-druid . "Woah, cool." She held the object in one of her hands. "Thanks Vax."
Vax let out a loving smile until he realised how awkward it is for him. "Uh…" He clears his throat before he resumes to roam around the shop. "Wonder what we have over here."
In the far side of the shop, Revan couldn't help but smile at what he saw. Turns out, there must be something between Vax and Keyleth, which reminds him of his own romantic story. He turned to his left and saw Bastila swaying back and forth. He immediately caught her the moment she was about to fall forwards and held her on the back. "You okay?"
His lover let out a weak chuckle. "I'm fine, Revan. I'm just tired and hungry. That's all."
Well, it looks like Bastila was able to calm down thanks to the moonstone, which absorbed all of her negative emotions, and was back to her old self. Revan let out a loving smile. "Don't worry. We'll grab some food once we're out of the shop. After that, you can lean your head on my shoulder while we're travelling."
"Oh, that would be lovely." She said as she smiled back at him. "I would certainly enjoy the moment. Think of it as an apology gift to me." Unknown to the two jedi, Vex overheard their conversation. She just rolled her eyes at their words. Still, she couldn't help how positive they were while interacting with one another.
-Scene Change-
EBON HAWK CAMPSITE, EMON
"Continuation: While it may be just a fireball in your eyes to do that sort of flirty thing with some females, it is apparently disgusting how you would try to flirt with Mistress Shan after everything she has been through, little pointed ear meatbag." HK-47 ranted for the past half an hour while making very, very intimidating poses that even shut Grog up.
The crew of the Ebon Hawk were packing up their camping tents and supplies back into the ship. It was during this time that Percy, Grog, Pike, and Scanlan volunteered to help in order to make things quick. It was at the same time that HK decided to "lecture" the Gnome Bard regarding how he traumatized his Mistress. "Query: would you do that again to Mistress Shan or any other female meatbags after my lecture? I can cut off what is very important to you meatbags right now."
Scanlan could only freeze as his face went pale. Percy, Grog and even Pike had the same expression hearing this threat. While the crew just stopped their packing and they had varied reactions. Carth, Canderous, Zaalbar and Jolee flinched. Mission had her ears covered by her best friend and Juhani shook her head.
Even Allura and Kima, who wanted to give a word to them before their departure, were deeply disturbed by the threat Revan's Aeromaton made the moment they arrived. "What the Hell…" That is what the Lady of Vord could utter.
"HK…" Percy immediately began to speak, making the droid look at him. "You can't make threats like that!?"
The droid looked at the white-haired man. "Reminder: This is only a threat, white-haired meatbag. That is the line that if he crosses, I'm going to do it. Addition: Should you also do something too, you will be met with the same fate." That only caused Percy to take a step back and Grog only gulped at this.
Allura couldn't believe this. That Aeromaton is so insane! How can someone like Revan tolerate him?! She quickly glanced to the side and saw Revan, who was carrying Bastila Princess Style as she was eating a sandwich high in calories, walking back with Vex, Vax and Keyleth behind him with the supplies they bought. They stopped after looking at everyone's faces. "Um. What's going on?" Keyleth asked.
"I'll tell you what's going on!" Scanlan shouted. "This psycho Aeromaton just threatened to main my manhoods off after I told him about that distraction at the party that seemed to traumatize Bastila! Like, why go for that!?" That caused Vax and Keyleth to be disturbed by this.
"Answer: Because meatbags like you need to be taught about limits and being kept in line." HK reminded the gnome bard.
"THAT WAS NOT A LITERAL QUESTION!" The Bard shouted.
Allura just ignored this and went to where Revan was. She was eying at Bastila and could tell she was ignoring everything. "So, I take it that she has calmed down?"
"Thankfully yes. Our friend Gilmore seems to have a good idea when it comes to calming emotions." Revan answered as he saw Bastila finishing her food.
"How do you feel, Miss Bastila?" The council woman asked.
The female human Jedi looked at her with a smile. "Much better now. Although, I do feel tired after not getting much rest." There was a question that lingered on her mind. "Lady Allura, what does Tsundere mean? Gilmore referred to me as one after I gave him a look."
The Council woman was unsure on how to answer that. Fortunately, Vex could gladly answer. She let out a playful smile. "Well, how do I put it, Bastila? The term 'Tsundere' is someone who is a bit…well, difficult to approach at first hand. They act all tough, aloof, or even a bit of both, especially when they are dealing with someone they care about. Yet underneath that exterior of theirs, they have a soft spot. Eventually, they'll warm up to show a much kinder side. Think about how they have a hidden heart of gold but hate to admit it."
It took a moment for Bastila to take in what she was told before… "I'm sorry, but is that why he referred to me as that?"
"Uh…Probably because you were like that before you opened up to Revan, Bastila." Mission assumed, having taken notes of the female jedi during their travels to find the map to the Star Forge.
Revan just sent a look to the Mission saying, "Not now."
"Agreed statement: What Mistress Pointy eared Meatbag said is true." HK spoke up, grabbing everyone's attention. "Query: Would you like for me to play a recording?"
"Oh yes please!" Grog excitedly answered as if it was a child opening a surprised gift.
Hearing this made the female Jedi look at her lover's droid, "HK, Don't you—"
But it was too late. HK immediately played a recording which caused both Bastila and Revan to blush. "Mockery: "Oh Revan, I love you for everything that you stand for. And I think we should press our slimy, mucus-covered lips together and spar with one another in the cargo hold." Commentary: Oh how I never knew both Master Revan and Mistress Bastila were both good sparring on and off clothes. They continued to do this even a few days after the war."
Upon this revelation, there were various reactions among the group. Grog was laughing his ass off upon hearing this and slapped his thighs. "HA HA HA! Oh, I never knew Revan and Bastila had that sort of relationship. Um, what did they mean by sparring in the cargo hold?"
Pike cleared her throat despite finding this funny. "You don't want to know, Grog."
Vex was the next to laugh. She smirked at the female Jedi. "I say, you two get freaky at times."
And so did Vax. "I-indeed. But we don't need to know anything else."
Percy just facepalmed at this. That was too much information he didn't need to know.
Keyleth was blushing heavily. "O-oh, I-I didn't know Revan and Bastila were that freaky."
Scanlan tried not to laugh despite finding it funny, lest he suffer the wrath of either HK or Bastila.
Revan's group went awkward after hearing HK's recording. Sure, they knew those two were in a relationship for quite some time. But to actually hear it…they don't want to invoke anything else. Especially since both Revan and Bastila are blushing profusely.
Allura cleared her throat to ease the awkwardness within the area. Everyone looked at her and she was about to make an announcement. "W-well, moving on, I assume you are all going to board…" She looked at Revan. " What is this airship's name?"
"The Ebon Hawk." The Former Sith Lord answered.
The Ebon Hawk. What a wonderful name for a transport and it seemed to be safe to travel to Whitestone. Now that she looked at the ship, she was certainly caught off guard by how advanced it looked. She had never seen something like this in her entire life. Both as an adventurer and a council member. "Well this is more crafted than our current airships," Allura commented.
"Hm, looks like we can take a few notes." Kima pragmatically suggested, seeing how advanced it is.
Carth immediately shot down that idea. "I won't say so. Not going to offend anyone, but your nation lacks the resources that can recreate a ship more capable than ours. Besides, it's not suitable for combat."
Just then, Grog, who did a quick scan, ran out of the ship and had a beaming smile on his face. "You guys! You won't believe what I saw!"
Every member of Vox Machina looked at the giant. Keyleth couldn't help but ask. "What did you see?"
"A giant like metal wagon, plus some cool awesome weapons!" Grog said as he rushed back in to get them within the ship as the crew of the Ebon hawk facepalm. Who knew that the biggest guy would be the most kid of them all?
-Scene Change-
After the two council women gave their sincerest farewell to them on their quest to stop the Briarwoods before leaving, Vox Machina went on board the Ebon Hawk and were surprised to see how advanced the interior looked. It had two private quarters (one of which were occupied by Mission, Zaalbar and Jolee), a cargohold where Trinket can rest and keep an eye out on HK, and even a cockpit that views what the pilot can see. Speaking of which, Carth felt cramped as most members of Vox Machina took too much space. "Would you all please save some room for the pilot? You're going to make me crash onto the landscape."
"Oh right/sorry." They quickly apologized.
Keyleth can't help but childishly marvel at the sight before her. "Oh! This is so awesome! Oh, I can't wait to tell the others about this when I am about to finish my Aramenté!"
Grog felt the same way. "Yeah! Just imagine the amount of ale and women we can fit here!"
"The Ebon Hawk isn't suited for those things, Grog." The Republic Soldier warned the group, making the Brute slump his shoulders.
"Yo guys!" Scanlan ran to his group after he had looked at every room within the ship. "You wouldn't believe this! They have two bathrooms here! Not to mention a kitchen!"
Grog gasped upon hearing the latter words from the bard. "Do they have any ale!?"
"We don't have any of that stuff, remember." Carth spoke. "We only have essentials." And that caused the Giant to have the look of sadness in his face. Seeing this made him give the look of assurance. "Don't worry. We'll get you some after completing our mission." He turned on auto-pilot and stood up from his seat. "We'll be arriving at our destination within eight hours."
"Why eight hours?" Percy asked. "This ship is fast and we could be there soon."
"Revan instructed me to not reveal the ship's presence. That way, we get less people setting their eyes on it." The Republic Soldier told them, knowing all too well on such consequences, as he walked past them before looking at the group. "We better move to the main deck. There's a lot of space there. You can ask any question you want."
The group followed Carth into the main area where there was a holotable in the center of the room. There, Canderous and Juhani were already there with Revan and Bastila sleeping together on one of the chairs in the far corners of the room. Seeing this made Grog squeal at this sight. "Aw! Look how cute they are."
"Careful, Grog." Pike warned him. "We need to give Bastila some space. She…hasn't fully recovered from last night." Hearing this made Scanlan chuckle nervously.
"Right." The Barbarian said.
The Mandalorian just chuckled at their words. "Well, now that you are all here, how about we talk?"
Everyone, apart from Percy who was slightly away from them, looked at Canderous. "Talk about what?" Keyleth asked.
"We only knew you for a couple of days. So, we're going to use this time to properly get to know one another." Juhani spoke up.
It dawned on the Ebon Hawk that none of them even knew about Revan and the others. It has only been two days and didn't learn anything from them except the fact that they're from another Galaxy, have cool laser swords and Firearms (something that Vex and Percy seemed to grab their attention) and also how they have a psychotic Aeromaton with them. Vax realised how important this is. "Sure. We have time."
"This trip will only be eight hours. So we'll give you as much information as we can give you." Carth reminded everyone.
Vex didn't seem to mind it. "Sure. Just as long as you don't hide anything from us." The Republic nodded and looked at the other two before they began to talk about their stories. Vox Machina listened to the adventures they recently had and they were interested in it to learn about the other cultures within Revan's galaxy.
Three hours had passed, and laughter could be heard in the main cockpit. It was lucky that neither Revan or Bastila were awakened, probably because they must have used form Force Ability to nullify their ears. The three members of the Ebon Hawk and Vox Machina got along pretty well. Especially for Vax as he learned what they face. "I got to say, you faced strange enemies from the planets you ventured into."
Canderous just shrugged. "True. Not that it means a lot to me."
It was at this time that Grog thought of something to discuss. "Alright. How about what's the strangest creature you've ever killed?"
Now that grabbed everyone's attention. Even more so for Canderous but he decided to let the others go first. "How about you?" He looked at Vox Machina.
Vax was thankful the Mandalorian allowed them to speak. He just happens to know one. "Oh, that's easy?"
-Vax's strangest kill story begins-
In a ruined building, Vax'ildan was facing a tiger Rakshasa, who was down on one knee and pointed his blade at him. "Gh! I will return, and I will find you!"
*STAB*
A throwing knife landed into the Rakshasa's forehead, who then tumbles before falling backwards. There, he broke a window in the process.
Right after, Vax's dagger immediately materialised back into his hand. "Uh-huh. Heard that before." He proceeded to exit the building.
-Vax's strangest kill story ends-
Everyone laughed at the male half-elf's story. Carth was impressed by it. "I got to say. You're pretty good with knives."
"You would have been a perfect fit for being a Mandalorian Warrior." Canderous agreed with the Republic Soldier.
"Yeah, that's pretty crazy." Keyleth spoke as it was her turn to take. "And I think maybe my strangest kill had to be…"
-Keyleth's strangest kill story begins-
The Ashari found herself within a cavern near a lava pit where she was scanning around the room.
"YYYYYAAAAHHHH!" She heard someone yelling behind her and turned just in time to see a duergar raising a weapon to attack her. Out of pure fear, she used air magic to push him back…which immediately caused him to land in lava and he screamed in agony.
"Oh, no, no, no. Oh, no, no no." Keyleth spoke while panicking. To ease his suffering, she used one of her feet to dunk his head into the lava to muffle it. She began to shush him by saying. "Shhh! Shh! Shh, quiet. Quiet. Go to sleep."
-Keyleth's strangest kill story ends-
A metallic hum echoed throughout the main deck of the Ebon Hawk. Keyleth had a long and silent stare after retelling this experience to everyone. By the looks of it, this has deeply traumatized her.
Everyone else had the same facial expression as her. That was until Scanlan broke the silence. "Pretty dark."
"More like…outright disturbing." Carth added, disturbed at how some happy-going and pure-hearted person like her is capable of doing such a thing.
Canderous, however, seemed indifferent after hearing this. "That kill traumatized you? Oh, please. That would be looked down upon by my people. Even though that wasn't the cleanest kill."
Juhani just glared at the man. "Not everyone has the heart of a killer, Mandalorian. It just so happens that she was in the heat of the moment."
Now it was Grog's turn. "Okay, this one was awesome."
-Grog's Awesome kill story begins-
"Oh, you…"
Grog muttered as he wrestled a skeletal-armored worm monster in a sarah setting. It proved to be difficult at first. Until he was able to get a hold on both of its jaws to reveal its tongue. Seeing an opening, he bit onto it and using all of his strength, he was able to pull off the monster's tongue. It died from this action and fell onto the ground. The Barbarian cheered with laughter while still having the monster's tongue within his mouth.
-Grog's Awesome kill story ends-
"Oh!" Scanlan, Vex, and Pike said, awed upon hearing this.
"That was the best!" Keyleth praised her companion's story.
Grog nodded. "Yeah."
Pike was impressed by her friend's story. "That's a good one, Grog."
"Points for originality." Vex commented.
Canderous was certainly impressed by this. "I got to say, killing a monster by biting its tongue off is overkill. But my people will look up to that." He is certain that Grog would be perfect to be a Mandalorian Warrior.
Seeing as how most of his companions have told their story, Scanlan knew it was his turn next. "Okay, I got one. Hands down, the worst monster I've ever faced."
-Scanlan's Worst Monster story begins-
A high pitched moan was heard in a bedroom as a woman, who was all bare, found herself having Scanlan inside of her. She thrusted her hips, which seemed to give the gnome some pleasure.
-Scanlan's Worst Monster story interrupted-
"So what?" Vex flatly asked, clearly unimpressed that the gnome bard was retelling one of his sex stories in front of everyone.
"Yeah, that sounds pretty normal to you." Vax voiced what was on everyone's mind.
Carth couldn't help but pass the bridge of his nose. "You're lucky that Mission isn't here. Otherwise Zaalbar would tear you apart for it."
The bard felt like he didn't complete his story. "No, no, no, I-I haven't gotten to the good part."
-Scanlan's Worst Monster story resumes-
"Ah! Yes! Yes! Yeah!" As the woman was thrusting her hips, a strange liquid fell onto Scanlan's bare chest. It wasn't blood. This made him open his eyes and looked at the woman in confusion.
"Huh?" He muttered with confusion. He looked up to see the woman moaning pleasantly until he heard a growl from the left side of her neck. The noise eventually revealed another grotesque head that let out a monstrous scream.
Naturally, Scanlan was freaked out from this before climaxing. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH—"
-Scanlan's Worst Monster story Ends-
"Aah!" Vex backed away from the holotable in disgust after hearing this story.
"Oh!" Vax shared the same reaction as his twin sister.
"AW! WHAT THE FUCK?!" Grog held the side of his head with both hands after hearing this story.
"No, NO!" Keyleth frantically uttered as she covered her ears.
Pike just shook her head at this to hide her disgust. "Seriously?!"
Carth facepalmed, shaken that he heard Scanlan's story. "Really!? That has got to be one of the worst stories I ever heard. I don't think I'll look at sex the same way ever again." Fortunately, Mission didn't hear any of this. She'll be outright traumatized by it, which he was thankful for since if Dustil was here, then it wouldn't be out right good.
"My people would say the same thing," Canderous, for once, agreed with the Republic Soldier's words. Juhani nodded in agreement and she needed some place to meditate after their conversation. Luckily, both Revan and Bastila didn't hear this or otherwise the latter would go ballistic on the Gnome.
Speaking of which… "What? I still finished." That earned him dreadful groans from the others.
Canderous eventually cleared his throat to bring anyone's attention. Everyone looked at him. "You think that is one of the worst monsters you've ever faced, wait until what I have to say."
Now that got everyone interested. Even Percy, who was busy with his gun, looked at him. "W-what monster did you face?" Keyleth can't help but to ask nervously.
The Mandalorian let out a smirk. He crossed his arms and began to tell his story that he only got to tell Revan. "As you know, my people faced many strange creatures and races on the Outer Rim that the stagnant Republic never faced back during our glory years." He stopped as he looked at their faces. They were confused by what he said. Even Carth and Juhani had the same facial expression.
"Back to my story. We were going through the asteroid fields of the Crispin system at the very edge of the galaxy. We played with pirates and smugglers that we encountered. The main belt in the Crispin system consists of many small rocks covered in frozen methane gas shells and the pirates were using them for cover. I remember using a thermal generator to cause the outer layer of one of the asteroids to vaporize in a picosecond. It blew out and shredded the three smugglers using it for cover!"
"Why were you playing with pirates and smugglers?" Vex can't help but ask, which the Mandalorian ignored.
"But that was a mistake…" The Mandalorian revealed to them. Some leaned closer as he was about to tell them something. "The asteroid I had targeted was smaller than most, maybe a dozen meters of a side. On the outside it looked like any other: just a ball covered in frozen gas. But something must have been inside it… something inactive in the cold. The heat of my blast might have triggered something or woken something up. After I had hit, spots of light and heat appeared all over the thin shell still covering it, evaporating the gases. What lay underneath looked like some sort of rocky growth… a deformed rock pitted by scores of micrometeorite scars. I think something even older might have been inside that."
That was enough to fill dread in everyone. So this was this 'monster' that Canderous faced? Vax decided to press on and ask, "So…what happened next?"
Canderous could answer the half-elf's question. "It started rotating - faster and faster as we watched it. After a second it started spraying fire - thermal projectiles that melted our armor like wax. We were caught completely off guard." Carth and Juhani were taken by this. The former encountered Mandalorians during the war and knew that Mandalorian metal was tough. But to hear how this unknown force managed to melt it like it was nothing. All continued to hear his story. "Before we could counter-attack, it fled at an incredible speed. We couldn't catch it, but we could follow its hyperspace wake. We followed its trail as far as we could, heading from the galactic core. When it finally led beyond the edge of the galaxy, we abandoned its efforts."
"Why?" Percy of all people can't help but ask.
"Anything that wants to commit suicide in that great void is not worth our trouble trying to catch." The Mandalorian responded. "But that's the only story I have now."
"Damn, that's creepy." Scanlan spoke.
"What kind of alien was it?" Pike asked.
Canderous just ignored those questions. Instead, he looked at the Republic soldier. "What about you, Carth? What monsters did you face at your time as a soldier for the Republic?"
Carth had a troubled look on his face. "I try not to think about my past battles. The horrors of war are something I'd rather not relive." That brought disappointment to Vox Machina. They wanted to hear his stories but it seems as though he wasn't comfortable just yet.
Having already had this conversation before, the Mandalorian focused his attention on Percy. "And what about you, kid? What's the worst monster you've ever faced?" He already knew the answer but wanted him to join in.
Percy looked away as he answered. "They're in Whitestone. And we'll all be facing them soon. But leaves me to wonder one thing. What did Revan mean by "Darkness"?"
Now, that made the three members of Revan's Group look at one another. They were unsure of whether or not it was the right time to explain. Well, it looks like they weren't going to hide anything now that they are in an alliance with Vox Machina.
"Well if you wanna understand what he meant by darkness, Percy, we first got to talk about the Mandalorian Wars. It was a war between the Republic and Mandalorians as the title suggests." Carth started as he partly nudged Canderous to help out.
"Man of what now?" Grog spoke.
Percy just pinched the bridge of his nose. "He said Mandalorians, Grog."
"It is war we Mandalorians always wanted to fight big challenges. Well, we view the Republic as a challenge. We Mandalorians are known for being glory fighters or what the Republic calls us Vikings." Canderous continued while ignoring what Grog asked. "Before we targeted the Republic, we targeted outer rim worlds ripped for looting and plundering, and recruiting more and more people to the Mandalorians."
"Little stories when the Mandalorians attacked my people. They believed we were in the same state from the previous war. They decided to massacre my people. Revan and a group of Jedi came to my world to investigate only to find nothing had survived," Juhani added, shooting a glare at Canderous.
Scanlan blew out a whistle upon hearing this. "Wow. Gotta say Canderous. Your people are one sick fu- crazed men."
"It was an accident that Clan Ordo did not approve of one that was carried out by Cassus Fett," Canderous countered as he stared down Scanlan.
Vex was most intrigued by this. So that is where Canderous got his basassery from? Still, she was wondering what has got to do with Revan. "So, what about him?" She glanced at Revan, who was leaning his back against the wall with Bastila resting her head on his shoulder. "What does he have to do with all of this darkness and Mandalorian Wars?"
"What was bad was that most of the Jedi refused to aid the Republic due to them wanting to assimilate the threat." Carth added as he shook his head with that thought. "Leaving worlds to be taken just to figure out the real threat wasn't good. But Revan, he didn't want to wait while innocents were in danger. He and a group of Jedi followers began aiding us against the Mandalorians, and that's when the war began."
"Revan employed new ships to combat us while using our own tactics against us. Winning battle after battle after battle. Till Malachor V, when he defeated Mandalore the Ultimate, our leader, in battle." Canderous told them.
Vox Machina was taken back by this. Revan, the people they knew was a pretty badass person, was able to accomplish such a thing. Their reaction varied from shock to even surprise. Keyleth was the one to physically speak. "I never knew Revan played an important role."
"Yeah well we thought that would be the end of the war, that was the Mandalorian defeated there would be peace again. We were wrong after the war. He continued to chase down the rest of the Mandalorians with the weapons he gained. When he came back, he became a Dark Lord. He turned many of the Republic against itself. Their justification was that the Republic abandoned them during the war." Carth said.
"You gotta be kidding me." Vex spoke up.
Just then, she heard Bastila and Revan waking up from their sleep and saw everyone was staring at them. More importantly, at Revan. "What's…going on?" Bastila asked.
"Is it true you turn bad and become some sort of evil Dark Lord and that you turned the Republic against itself after you saved it?" Pike asked.
Revan took a deep breath as he was asking this question looking to his crewmates Carth and Canderous nodded that they told his story. Getting up and walking to the center he put his hands on the table as he sighs.
"It's true. When I came back, I…" Revan halted as he tried to remember why he turned against the Republic, only to feel flashes of his past and of something that shocked him.
"Uh, what's with that look?" Keyleth asked upon seeing his confused look.
Revan didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at Bastila and everyone did the same. "Well, are you going to tell us or what?" Vax demanded to know.
"When Revan returned and began the Sith Empire again, he began his goal of taking over the galaxy, taking planets. But not destroying them entirely. Just taking the infrastructure intact, capturing Jedi, taking out key figures within the republic. In order to stop him, the Jedi council decided to send a strike team to go after him. I was the leader in the strike group. However, his close friend and Apprentice, Malek, turned against him. I was able to preserve a small trace of his life. When I took him to the Jedi Council, he was badly damaged. That's when they decided to try and mind wipe him and program him with a new identity."
Everyone went silent upon what Bastila had told them. None of them spoke a word as it shook them to their core. That was until Percy shaked his hands in anger before he venomously glared at her. "You're telling me that the Jedi Council altered his damaged mind into being a loyal dog to the Republic? AND YOU DIDN'T STOP THEM?!"
The others can understand why Percy acted like that. It brought up a lot of trauma within him. "Why would they do such a thing!? I just don't understand!" Keyleth asked while covering her mouth with both of her hands.
"I do." Revan spoke up. "It was something I may have done a few times when I was a Sith Lord. What better way to defeat an enemy than to turn their own weapon against them. I do not think for a minute that the entire council was in agreement; one Jedi master and a few were against it. Master Vandar protested such a idea seeing it was—"
"EVERYONE STOP AND SHUT THE FUCK UP! I WANT TO HAVE A WORD WITH YOU FIRST!" Percy spoke, barely able to contain himself as he went over to where Bastila was. "WHY DIDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING TO STOP THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE!?"
"Why? Why?!" Bastila asked in anger as she stood up and curled her fists. "Because I was just a Padawan! I was one of the few who followed the code–"
Percy didn't believe what she had said as he cut her off. "EXCUSES! EXCUSES! FUCKING EXCUSES! IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU WERE DOING IT LIKE THE LOYAL DOG ON A LEASH THAT YOU ARE! YOU COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING IF YOU HAD THE STOMACH TO DO SO!" He poked at her chest with his right index finger.
"You two, calm down!" Now, it was Vex's turn as she barged in between them with Grog and Canderous grabbing them both. "You both either stop this or you may be risking something worse than a temper tantrum."
"What's all this yelling about?" Jolee asked as he came out of the bunks as he saw what looked to be near the killing field.
Percy breathed in before he looked at him while deathly glaring at Bastila as they were both let go. "Bastila didn't stop the Council from altering Revan's damaged mind."
"Does this have to do with your past?" Jolee asked as he crossed his arms, "Do you think you and Revan have more in common than just some darkness? Also, do any of you have any idea how hard it is for an old man to go to sleep only to hear some yelling and screaming over the fact that the Council did a dumb goof up thing? Well, interrupting a story about Revan and what it has to do with darkness?"
Everyone just took a minute to absorb those words, "We may have overreacted before we got to the end." Grog admitted.
"Well why don't you do us a favor and let us finish our story before you all decide to make the final judgment. And maybe, Percy, if you could listen to Bastila's point of view, and how she also turned to the dark side, maybe you get some better understanding on why she has a different view of the Jedi Council now." Jolee suggested.
The white haired gunslinger eventually calmed down before he looked at Bastila. "Explain. Now!" Black smoke was emanating from within him as he had his hand over the handle of The List.
Bastila took a moment staring at Percy down before continuing, "I tried to come up with a better solution. However, as I said, as I was a Padawan, I didn't have any say in the matter. If you think I was on board with the whole idea, then you are wrong! I wanted to tell Revan the truth. I wanted to redeem him and in the end. My faith in him was not misplaced."
"Oh, right, the audacity of redeeming someone that was taken advantage of and had his memories altered. Something you were so complicit with." Percy bitterly spoke.
"Percy…" Vex wasn't happy with his attitude knowing that he wasn't himself.
"Percy, if you have a moral high ground that you want to still stand on you do it. If not, then drop it." Revan spoke up and the tone of his voice was enough to send chills down everyone except for Jolee who knew that Revan was using his memories to teach Percy a lesson.
Turning to Percy and walking up to him, Revan continued staring darkly at the smoke coming out of him, "If you think for one minute that I was OK with this that I approve of my memories being altered, do not think that way like you do. I was furious like you. I was angry. But as both Malak and Bastilla explained to me why the Jedi council did it my memories showed me something. That while what the Council may have done was against the Code, they were those who spoke out against the idea as Bastila said. But you don't believe in redemption. Do you think it's beneath you because of what happened to you or what pain you were inflicted on by the Briarwoods? I am in no mood to hear any more words of yelling or saying of how you think what Bastila did was wrong. The real anger that you should be pointing towards is me, the horrible act I've committed, the terrible things I did to my friends. I am to be blamed for what happened to myself. Not her. And if you can't see within yourself to understand that. Then whatever it is that you possess, you must be a bigger fool than I ever was. I redeemed myself for what I did and I am still doing it. My question to you is can you redeem yourself, what you've done, or would you be doomed for darkness because you felt like it?"
Everyone in Vox Machina pondered on what he spoke on. In all honesty, they were taken back by his words of wisdom. Keyleth and Pike totally understood what he was trying to say. The twins Vex and Vax got hit harder than a sharpened blade. Grog was absolutely confused. Scanlan only looked down at the floor. And Percy…
Percy felt everything went still. He thought about it for a moment before shame overshadowed him. The smoke was no longer present as he eventually calmed down. "I…" Everyone looked at Percy, who looked awful at what he had done. "I need to be alone for the moment."
Without any further word, Percy left the middle of the ship as everyone else just stayed silent. Bastila went over to hug Revan and he comfortably hugged her back. Through the bond, Bastila understood what Revan meant by guilt.
Carth, Juhuani, and Canderous put their hands on Revan and Bastila's shoulders for support. They knew what Bastila went through and how hard it was on her. As for Jolee…
"I'm getting hit sensitive." He commented as he went back to sleep in his bunk.
- Three Hours Later-
Vex was still feeling the effects of the revelation about Revan. All those thoughts about him being a Space Dark Lord to altering memories, that was going to take time to take in. As she continued to contemplate, she could hear…tears coming from the West Wing. Going there, she saw Bastila, hugging her legs, as she cried. Her heart was pained as she knew the jedi wasn't alright.
Thinking about what she was going to do, she walked towards her before letting out a word. "You okay?"
Bastila wiped a tear away and looked at the archer. She didn't say anything as she continued to cry. That gave Vex the answer she needed as she walked by her and sat by her side. "I know you feel immense guilt about what you did. About the Jedi Council wiping Revan's mind. But at the same time, I did not expect Percy to suddenly lash out at you like that."
She didn't hear the female jedi speak. Instead, she allowed Bastila to let out her emotions, not knowing that she bottled them up to an extended degree and the heavy responsibilities she carried. "Yeah. Sometimes it's a bitch to carry our past mistakes. But do you know what? We all fail. We all make mistakes." That stopped the Jedi crying and looked at the half-elf. "That's what makes us human."
"I'm…I'm sorry…" Bastila suddenly spoke up, now looking at Vex. "What do you mean by that?"
Vex just leaned backwards a bit and she pondered at the question. She slightly shifted her soft gaze at the Jedi. She wasn't exactly sure how to explain it. But she had learned a few things regarding guilt and redemption before Vox Machina was formed. Perhaps it was an appropriate time to share some of her own experience.
Breathing in, she eventually found the right words. "What I mean by that," her voice was steady but full of understanding, "is we all fuck up, Bastila. We make mistakes. Hell, I've made my fair share. But that doesn't mean you're alone. You don't need to carry that burden alone."
She gently placed a hand on the Jedi's shoulder. "I know what it's like to feel like you have failed, to wonder if you could've done more…done something different. But I also know what being full of guilt and self-loathing won't fix anything. I think…maybe what you need to hear is that, just because something was done by your own hands, doesn't mean it defies you. Not everything you have done defies who you are, or what you can be in order to move on."
Bastila's eyes softened as she looked at Vex while wiping a tear away. The half-elf's eyes softened as she reminisced her own mistakes and how they shaped her to the person that she is. "You did what you thought was right at the time. It wasn't easy to process. And I know that doesn't make it any easier to carry. But you don't need to hold onto that guilt forever. Sometimes, it's okay to let go of it. You can't fix every fuck-up you made. Sometimes, all you can only do is to learn from it, and how that can prevent things from ever happening again."
Vex turns to Bastila and notices that she finally stopped crying. Still, she had the look of sadness on her face. All that the ranger can do is to give an assured smile. "Look, I'm not saying that it's easy. It's never easy. But we can all fail no matter what we're indoctrinated into. And sometimes, it's those failures that can teach us more than we realise." She leaned back more in giving Bastila the space that she needs. "You don't have to do this alone. No one here thinks less of you. Even Percy despite what he has said to you. We all carry our own burdens, but that doesn't mean we have to carry them by ourselves."
"I…" Bastila was trying to find the words but couldn't find any. It seems as though Vex, of all people, had struck her to her core with words. Not words coming from a jedi. But words coming from someone who has an understanding outside of the Jedi Order. She let out a tired sigh before smiling at the other woman. "Thank you Vex. Your words mean everything to me. And I feel much better."
"You are most welcome," Vex said with a smile.
Now that Bastila was quite better, she thought it would be appropriate to show her something. "I…I want to show you something." And that made the Ranger raise an eyebrow upon hearing that. The Jedi got off the floor and went to get something within the room they're. It only took a few minutes for the Jedi to grab an object that was thickly wrapped up.
That made Vex tilt her head until Bastila unwrapped it, revealing a metallic mask. But it wasn't an ordinary mask. It was a mask that was dark gray with red accents that gave it a battle-worn appearance, and a narrow, vertical slit for the eyes that obscured the sight of the wearer. What was mostly noticeable was that it had two prongs extending downward from the chin area. Even though it was the first time Vex saw it, she immediately realised what it was. "Is that–"
"It is." Bastila confirmed Vex's suspicion. "This is the mask that Revan used to wear when he fought in the Mandalorian Wars and when he was a Sith Lord. After he was captured by the Jedi Order, I hid it from them. I hid it from everyone, including Revan himself." With this, she shakily caresses her hand on the mask. "I hid it because I'm afraid… Afraid of what will happen if I give it to him. I fear that if all of his lost memories returned, he'll return back to his original, dark persona. I…cannot lose the man that I love…" She was barely able to hold her tears back from crying once again.
Vex wasn't sure what to say as she looked at the mask that once belonged to Darth Revan. Memories flooded back to her as she remembered Percy donning a plague mask when confronting the Briarwood Servant back at the royal banquet. It could have gone worse weren't it for Revan's intervention. That memory eventually gave her the words that she could say to Bastila. "I say you give it back to him." Bastila gasped and looked at her with her eyes widened. "Look, I don't mean now, now. I mean give it back to him when you feel like you are ready. This would mean a lot to all of us. Even someone like Percy and me. If anything, he deserves to get his memories and identity back."
Bastila was unsure on what to feel about. "And what happens if his original dark persona comes back?"
"Then I'll kill him," Vex bluntly responded, making the Jedi gasp in shock. "I know he means a lot to you, Bastila. But I hate to see you kill him. If he means a lot to you, then it would be better if someone else does it instead. I can promise you that even though you are going to hate me for it."
"Are you…sure?" Now Bastila felt bad hearing those words coming from someone like her.
"I'm sure." The Half-Elf responded, raising a hand before letting out a pinky. "Promise?"
Bastila rubbed her eyes as she too lifted her hand and let out a pink. "Promise." Both of their pinkies wrapped around one another and this made the two women smile.
-Scene Change-
Revan stood alone at the center of the ship in deep thought as he reflected on what happened earlier. The fact that Percy and the others were not happy with the Jedi Council altering his memory was understandable, but Percy blaming Bastila for something that was beyond her control was not right. And truth be told, part of him almost wanted to yell at him, saying if he was in the Jedi Council's position, or even his position, what would he do? Sighing to himself he tried to focus on the map of the planet as he zoomed in on Exandria. More importantly, the map of Whitestone if he could.
"Query: Are you certain you don't want me to incinerate those meatbags that insulted mistress Shan?" His Droid asked.
"HK, if you've learnt anything from me since you recovered your memories is that I am not the same person that sent you out to take out the Republic leadership," Revan countered, partly irritated at HK.
"Counter: but that one meatbag, the white hair one, was almost certainly going to murder Mistress Shan. Confused query: I mean from what I've heard from Master Carth and Canderous, did you not see the smoke that was pouring out of him?"
"I noticed, although I don't think that was normal." Revan answered as he remembered that moment, he hesitated for a moment before asking, "HK? Do you know why I cut it off Malak's jaw?"
"Explanation: I believe the reason was because he defied an order you gave to him. Surprise statement: I am somewhat shocked that you don't remember, despite the revelation about you being Revan." HK 47 explained as Revan looked at him.
"And what order was that?" Revan demanded partly dreading the answer despite remembering it but wanted to hear from HK's perspective.
"Answer: you wanted him to negotiate Telos' surrender as the planet was of strategic importance because of the fuel from Peragus, it was a staging point. However, I believe that the dark side of this religion, that you convince nearly half of the Republic to follow, consumed him to the point of where he did not care about the planet's surrender and instead order its destruction. Conclusion: As a result, you were very, very angry at this, and as a result punished him by removing his jaw when he attempted to challenge you when you expressed your anger over his actions. Personally, I think you should've just killed him right there and then to remind the other Dark Jedi and Sith Lord that defying you would be risking slaughter." HK-47 answered as Revan shook his head as he went back to the holo-map, "Query: why do you ask this question?"
"…. I will admit to you with one thing HK. When I confronted Percy, I wanted to use what I remember doing during my time as a Dark Lord to try and force him to back down. However, a part of me didn't want me to use it and did not want to hurt him. Remind him of the others that blaming someone for something they haven't done is full heart. I am thankful I didn't commit to such a thought but the fact I did what I did to my best friend, my former best friend, someone who's been with me all the way. A part of me is grateful the council did erase my memory, even if others didn't think so because I dare not imagine what other horrors I thought of doing during my time in the Dark lord. As Darth Revan." Revan explained as HK-47 was quiet for a moment.
"Sincerely statement: Master, if there is one thing I have learned doing my time traveling with you and other meatbag companions is that all of us regret something we are not proud of after looking back. When looking at my past, my biggest regret was not assassinating that one Mandalorian you sent to me personally assassinate. As a result of that, I have failed you as I have failed my assassination protocols." HK-47 admitted as he walked slowly to Revan and standed next to him.
"Advisement: Another reason I have come here is to thank you for bringing me when it comes to the little ear pointed meatbag. I hopefully can be here to ensure that he does not cause any further traumatization for any of the crew. If he does, I will fulfill my promise to do what needs to be done to that little pointed ear meat bag." HK concluded as a cough could be heard from the right side as Percy was standing there a bit awkward.
"While I will take him into consideration of how you made that promise to Scanlan, the main reason I'm here is to apologize of what I did earlier was wrong. But the reason I did it was because I was tortured and almost a similar way to whatever torture you have been through when the Briarwoods took over Whitestone and massacred my parents my family they left a few of us alive in order for us to be tortured on." Percy spoke as he took a deep breath before continuing, "I escaped with my sister, however something happened and we were separated. I feel she may have been killed as a result, so I was forced to flee. Never since then I vow to take my serve vengeance on the Briarwoods. I deserve justice for all they have done not only to my family, but to my home."
Revan was silent as he looked at Percy as he got up and put a hand on Percy's shoulder, "we all made vows and promises. Of justice, vengeance and many other things. I too may have done an outburst in my time, and I understand your darkness because I too had a darkness of my own and I try to justify that darkness with many things, but I fear it cost me everything. Whatever happens I will help you conquer it."
-Scene Change-
Nearly ten hours later, the Ebon Hawk found itself within a desolated village. Perfect, after he calmed down, recognised it to be the outskirts of Whitestone as he confirmed it to Carth while they were in the cockpit.
Landing down to an open area, everyone was in the meeting room and they are currently planning their next move. Revan and Percy seemed to be the most focused of them all. Well, it was more like the latter considering that it was his former home. "Here we are. Well, we're just within the outskirts. Let's just do our mission."
"But the Briarwoods are going to expect us." Vex pointed out. "They'll have an army. Especially something that can counter Revan and the others. The question is how are we going to deal with the problem?"
Revan was deep in his thoughts. He was making many plans on what they were going to do. But before doing that, he looked at Percy. "Do you think there is any resistance against the Briarwoods?"
Percy looked at the Jedi as if it was the obvious. "There's no doubt."
The Jedi seemed to take that into alright. Luckily, he already knew who to pick for this mission. "Alright, everyone look at me." And pretty much all turned towards him as if he was their commanding officer. "I'm only going to say it once. So since Vox Machina is going, I'm going to suggest the people in my group come."
"And who would that be?" Vax asked.
Revan put his hands on the holotable. "The first is Carth. He's a soldier so he has experience in the battlefield. He's also good with logistics, which is going to be needed if we are going to retake Whitestone back."
The Republic Soldier seems to take his leader's words into heart. "Yeah. I can also train the locals into taking up arms."
"Canderous is next. He's going to be our firepower for this mission. His blaster cannons and expertise with grenades is needed if we were going to face crowded enemies." The Jedi said next.
The Mandalorian felt proud upon hearing this. "Then it is an honour. I'll partake not for glory. But it is for taking those Briarwood slimeballs down."
"Jolee is up on my list." Revan spoke as he looked at the elder Jedi. "He's good with the blade. But where he is good at is his healing. Since we are going to heal a lot," He eyed both Pike and Keyleth, "It would be a good choice to have a third healer.
Jolee let out a hum while nodding his head. "Well, don't expect me to heal all of you. I'll only do it if the scenario is bad. Don't expect me to be your nurse." Even still, he was glad he was going to partake in the mission.
"Juhani is a good choice." Revan now eyed the Cathar Jedi. "Her skills at stealth and infiltration are going to be good to gather vital intel from the enemies." She just silently nodded her head, fortunate that she is going to be useful.
Revan then proceeded to look at Bastila, who smiled at him while he did the same. "Bastila is going to be pivotal for this mission." Now everyone was caught off guard by this but they are going to allow him to continue. "Even though she is very skilled with a lightsaber, her Battle Meditation will be our advantage against the Briarwoods."
"Battle Meditation?" All members of Vox Machina asked at the same time.
"What is that?" Keyleth asked.
"Is it some sort of spell?" Pike asked as well.
The female Jedi thought it would be good to take over and explain to them. "It's a unique ability I possess. Think of it like how you used your version of Battle Meditation to help us out, Pike."
"Oh." Pike simply said as was checking her armor, more specifically at her amulet. 'Maybe I could work on that. Perhaps I need to pray to the Everlight for guidance to help me boost my spells?'
Keyleth looked at her Cleric Companion. A thought came to her. "Um, Miss Bastila, does Battle Meditation come with a drawback?"
Bastila unfortunately nodded at her head. "Yes. I would have to be in a quiet room where I can concentrate."
Vex just rolled her eyes. "Great. Just what we need. A cheat spell that requires someone to be isolated and concentrate."
"Meanwhile we will need HK-47 for this mission," Revan added, which some got partly spooked but none more than…
"Woah, woah, woah, woah! WOAH!" Scanlan spoke up. "Why him of all people!? You know he still bears a grudge against me because of what happened at that party?!"
"Because he is an assassin droid. Or Aeromaton in your language." Revan answered, "His goal will be to go behind enemy lines and take out key important targets. The struggle of their leadership and taking our key important figures is the ultimate goal to take the leadership out. You convinced people to join you as a tactic. I used to do my war."
"Statement: I'm going to have such fun eliminating meatbags." HK-47 said as he went to the cargo hold to figure out which weapons to use.
Keyleth, who felt nervous about HK's role, couldn't help but ask. "Um, do you think he'll go overboard? I mean, look what he did to Emon's palace's guards?"
"Answer: Miss Keyleth. That's just me when I'm holding back and I did not kill them. I nearly just knocked them out for a good while. I'm sure they're fine by now." The assassin Droid stated.
Meanwhile…
"Man. What a headache, it's like one big metal hand just hit us. How are you feeling?" A guardsman asked as he rubbed his head.
"The same. What was that thing?" The other guardsman asked as he nursed his head. "I've never seen an Aeromaton like that before."
Just then, Kima and Allura were about to pass by them. Both guards realised they had a troubled look on their faces. "Um, Ma'ams? Is something bothering the two of you?"
The two council women looked at one another before the Blonde answered. "We're just coming back to say farewell to our heroes who are going to deal with the Briarwoods."
"But that doesn't explain your troubled looks." The second guardsman spoke.
Kima wasn't really too keen to talk. Instead she'll be blunt. "It's their damn, psychotic Aeromaton. You know, the one that knocked both of you like it was nothing and referred to both of you as 'meatbags'?"
The guardsman said nothing as the two women went into their room as the one guardsman stood there speechless before the one said, "If we ever see that Aeromaton again, we're going to request a transfer or something."
"Agreed."
Back to The Ebon Hawk…
"As for the ones staying here, Mission will have to stay and guard the ship. I don't want her to be caught by the Briarwoods." Revan said, having information about his enemies thanks to his talks with Percy earlier. "But Zaalbar will stay with her, along with T3 and Trinket."
The Twi'lek teen understood why Revan ordered her to stay. She did not want to know what the Briarwoods are going to do with her if she has them on their sights. Still, she was annoyed that she and her best friend weren't going to participate. But that is for a good reason. "Alright. I'll stay. At least I get to have Big Z to accompany me, along with T3 and Trinket!"
"Where is T3 anyway?" Carth asked as he looked around as did everyone else as they heard some being from the exit as T3 came back in.
"Beep-doop-vroot!" T3 answered as everyone who understood him was impressed.
"Heh. Well that explains why some of our mines are missing." Canderous commented as he chuckled. T3 made a death trap around the ship. One wrong move and boom.
Vex, meanwhile, leaned over to Revan. "Remind me to never mess with him ever again. I got zapped by him because I lodge an arrow at his eye."
"You're lucky he didn't use a flamethrower." Revan said as Vex's eyes widened. He walked over to the utility droid and patted him on the head. "T3, I'm giving you the responsibility of contacting us if there is anything wrong."
"Vreet–teet-toot." T3 beeped happily.
Percy just cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attention. He didn't like that they were taking long. "Shall we get going then? We're wasting time."
…
…
…
As everyone entered the hold of Whitestone, it was what everyone expected it to be.
A barren city that was once vibrant and full of life. Not, it is devolved of it and everything looked to be in ruins.
Though that wasn't why they were silent.
Everyone stood in the center of the hold, where the Sun Tree was and it was near lifeless due to the Briarwoods meddling. But what was eye-catching was the multiple corpses strung around it. This deeply unsettled Percy as he and everyone instantly recognised it. Something Keyleth eventually voiced. "It's us."
HOLY MOTHER OF GOOD!
WE'RE MAKING THROUGH HALF WAY OF FIRST SEASON OF THE LEGEND OF VOX MACHINA TIMELINE!
*Ahem*
Still, that was an extremely funny, dark and tear jerking ride. Since this is an AU, we are going to do things that we think are right. Even though not many will agree.
11k words in. I feel as though we are like authors who wrote Avengers: Infinite Wars, another inspiration for this story.
Now then, onto the notes…
Crimson Soldat: Next chapter will showcase why Revan was supreme commander of the Mandalorian Wars and how he is the only person that nearly destroyed the Republic and the Jedis if his Apprentice didn't backstab him. But that is the flaw of the Sith, huh? Well, the Whitestone Resistance is about to see its full display.
jojobinks01: let us not also forget the fact that he was the one who pushed the Mandalorian's back, and if it wasn't for the dark side, nor for other things, he would've been a powerful leader for the Republic.
But what do you overall think of this chapter so far?
If you want anything to be seen within this story, or any character interactions, please, feel free to put them down. It would be really interesting to see what you may have for this story.
With that said, we'll see ya all in the next chapter!