Happy Saturday! Only one more chapter, coming tonight. :( *starts sobbing insesently*. But there is a third book coming!
Shin
Shin lay there, propping herself up and staring at the barrier.
Baylan was just…gone.
And he had freed her.
Sabine and Ezra lay frozen like that, too.
Stuck.
Finally, Ezra spoke.
"They're just…gone," he whispered.
"I know," Sabine mumbled.
"They're with us no matter what, you know," Ezra reminded them quietly.
Shin didn't reply. She stood slowly, walking towards the barrier. She touched the force field, and it rippled like water that she couldn't pass through. She turned and started to walk away, avoiding the two Jedi's gazes.
"Thanks," she muttered, turning her head so they could only see the side of her face as she walked away from them, "for, you know, not…killing me."
Then she turned again, looking straight ahead as she blocked tears and walked away.
"Wait, what? You're just going to leave?" Sabine demanded, sounding bewildered.
"Yes." Shin didn't turn, but she slowed down a little.
"You want to leave? You don't want to go home?" Ezra asked, sounding confused.
"I…" Shin turned slowly to face them, confused and still blocking tears,
"You're…you're…not just going to leave me here? You're not going to throw me away?" Her voice cracked.
Sabine and Ezra exchanged a stunned glance and both stood slowly, walking towards Shin.
They're going to kill me, Shin panicked, heart dropping like a stone in water.
"You think we'd…do that? Leave you here on this cursed planet by yourself? When the ultimate plan is to cut Peridia off from human civilization itself? So no one ever gets stuck here again? But you're going to stay behind? Just because you think you're not good enough for us to take care of you?" Sabine checked, raising an eyebrow like the whole thing was completely bonkers.
It wasn't.
Not to Shin.
"Yes," Shin whispered, "of course."
She had been thrown away a few too many times.
"Of course not," Ezra laughed.
"We would never leave you here," Sabine promised.
"But…" Shin hesitated, "Why would you care what happens to me when all I've done is hurt you?"
"Because that's what we do," Sabine told her, walking forward and grabbing Shin's shaking hand. She pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry," Shin whispered.
Ezra walked towards them. "Um…not to interrupt. Because I personally find this to be a touching moment of redemption and all, but… Hera, Zeb, Jacen, Chopper, and Huyang are all waiting for us."
"Yeah," Sabine smirked, grabbing his right hand while keeping Shin's hand in her left, "come on."
Phantom stopped them. He had been silent, and was standing in front of the Temple like some kind of Sith Lord, a tiny cloak—that Shin didn't want to know where he got—flowing in the wind.
Very Darth Vader-ish moment for him.
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! He screeched suddenly. They stopped and turned to him.
His fur was puffed up, eyes wild and wide, tail flicking angrily.
WE'RE DOING FORCE-ASCENSIONS, AND NO ONE INVITED THE SITH LOTH-CAT?! I was BORN for this stuff! HEY! DISCO-BALL-LIGHT-THINGY! YOU FORGOT THE LOTH-CAT! I DEMAND TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER! Phantom shouted, smacking the watery barrier like he could destroy it with his tiny paws.
"Uh…Phantom?" Shin asked, trying to reality check him a little, "maybe just—"
NO! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I am a kriffin' Force-sensitive CAT! This is UNFAIR! However…I am glad that he didn't leave you here by yourself, and they won't either, Phantom added quietly.
They walked back towards the ship, but not before something interesting happened. A wisp of light flashed around them, and the owl, Morai, landed on Sabine's shoulder. Sabine laughed, petting its head with a smile.
Shin watched a red fog move around her, feeling Baylan's presence. She smirked a little as it swirled around her, knowing Baylan was within it—or was it.
"Alright, let's go," Ezra laughed, as the owl pecked at his hair playfully.
Shin smiled as she walked with them, watching Morai fly away and the red fog fade.
They arrived at the ship walking together, only to be greeted by an angry looking Hera.
"WHERE DID YOU GO?!" Hera demanded.
"And where is Lady Tano?" Huyang asked, walking out of the ship behind her.
"My question exactly," said Zeb, walking with Jacen and Chopper by his side off the ship.
"Baylan and Ahsoka—and Anakin Skywalker, actually—are the Force now," Ezra explained.
Sabine and Shin glanced at one another.
"The light," Sabine said.
"…and the dark," Shin finished.
"And the Force itself is Anakin, of course," Ezra added.
"Ohhhhh. Yeah, duh…yeah. Yeah, that makes no sense," Zeb said, very annoyed and sarcastic.
"It doesn't need to," Shin smirked.
"What are you doing here?" Huyang sighed. "Shouldn't you have followed your master into whatever mess he wound up in?"
Shin turned to Sabine and Ezra.
"They'll never accept me. I'm better off here," she whispered.
"NO. No, you aren't," Sabine said firmly, "she's coming with us."
"But I thought she was a bad person! She was only staying because Ahsoka made her! She almost killed Aunt Sabine," Jacen yelped.
"Proving my point," Shin grumbled, "the kid is right."
"The kid is wrong! You are coming with us," Sabine repeated, pulling her into the ship.
The kid is always wrong, Phantom grumbled.
"Can I confirm something?" Huyang asked.
"Depends what it is," Sabine growled as she powered up the ship.
"Is…Lady Tano coming back?"
"No. Neither is Baylan," Shin sighed.
"Hm. So what did they intend to happen to the rest of us?" Huyang wondered.
Shin smirked. "We'll see."
Love you guys, see you tonight for the final chapter!