she knocked his blasters away, and more and more the inhibitor chip started to take over with more aggression. rex growled and rushed to grab them before rushing after her. dammit, dammit!! he holstered one blaster and grabbed his helmet instead, pulling it back on as he ran. he hated this. the war in his bad was worse than all the others he’d experienced combined.
❝ tano!! ❞ he shouted. as he passed more clones, they paused and saluted him. ❝ find the jedi- do whatever it takes, ❞ he barked before continuing to run where his intuition told him to.
.
ahsoka shut each door shut as she ran through them. it wouldn’t stop rex and the other clones at all but maybe it would give herself a few extra seconds to figure out what exactly she needed to do.
one. medbay. two. figure out what exactly she had done to get rid of the chip. three. get rex alone - or at least knock him out. four. get rid of that goddamn chip. she had a vague plan, now she actually needed to execute it.
ahsoka took a sharp turn in hopes of losing him by changing her direction.
alana had gotten wind about a man in resistance attire making havoc around the town - which didn’t make sense if they were actually a rebel. they were probably just a first order member trying to add more tension by making the townspeople question the resistance and create even more tension.
she felt like she alone had to be the one to deal with the problem. most weren’t itching to leave base so it wasn’t like she had to argue her way to be the one to end this, whatever this was.
so she dressed as discreetly as possible, opting for a jacket that she hoped didn’t scream ‘ rebel ‘. she made her she didn’t have anything on her that would pin her to the resistance and left. it didn’t take her long but it was long enough for her to have to occupy her time with her own thoughts and worries - and dread.
alana gets to the town. there was nothing unusual at first - or at least nothing that alana wasn’t expecting when she volunteered. the state of the town was HORRIBLE but she was expecting it. and honestly, she was expecting it to be a lot worse, especially with how much chaos was going about.
she walked around for awhile, keeping her head down but at the same time keeping herself alert.
and then her eyes landed on what she assumed was the ‘ rebel ‘. it certainly dressed like a rebel pilot. bright orange flightsuit ... some lettering that hinted at black squadron ...
alana did NOT want to be right in her assumptions - she’d recognize that messy head of hair anywhere. when they were kids she used to put it in tiny braids when it got long enough and he’d do the same for her. ronen was always much better at the braids meanwhile alana was impatient and wouldn’t sit long enough to let herself finish her own braids.
“ ronen? “ her voice betrays her in trying to sound sure of herself. she sounded like a child.
he turns with a devilish sort of smirk.
she was right. alana didn’t want to be right this time. it couldn’t be him, it just couldn’t. ronen wasn’t bad. out of everyone ronen was the best - he was a great son, brother, rebel ... he was a great pilot too.
every memory she had of ronen simply flashed before her, taunting her. this wasn’t her brother ... but it was. it had his face. it looked the exact way he looked when he went off to fight the first order on starkiller ... as if no time has passed.
it was like her brain was shutting down as she tried to process this new information. she refused to accept that her baby brother was now BAD?
“ ronen, please, leave them alone. it’s me, it’s alana ! “
he turned enough for the civilian he was tormenting to run away.
“ alana? you mean the sister i died for? do mom and dad still blame you? i’m sure mom does at least. “
alana froze, that wasn’t true ... but it was. ronen only became a pilot because of her. he joined her and black squadron on starkiller. if she wasn’t around he would still be alive.
he pulled out his blaster and started shooting right at her. alana didn’t have a second to think and BOLTED down the alley. she didn’t have time to think or even talk him out of this.
she was going to have to kill her own brother ... or figure something out, and fast.
rey felt the hard, solid ground of the caves. she must have fallen asleep or something, although they couldn’t remember passing out - only meditating. rey wasn’t so tired that she’d just ... fall asleep during meditation. she didn’t sleep much as she was still a very early riser but she wasn’t that exhausted to the point of just collapsing.
they sat up and leaned their back against the cave wall.
rey saw a slight movement in their eyesight and turned, only to see nothing. a faint whisper echoed in her mind, so faint that she couldn’t even understand what it was trying to say.
rey turns again, only to see a figure in a black cloak with a weird familiarity rey couldn’t exactly explain. they don’t even know what to say, who was this person? and why did they feel so familiar?
and then a realization hit them - this was the figure rey had been seeing for weeks; the sliver at the corner of her eye, the shadow following quietly behind her, the chill in their spine despite it being far too hot for that reaction - she’d even come to rey in their dreams in the form or horrible nightmares. and every single time rey would forget about the strange image or the random feeling.
“ i’ve been waiting for you to see me. “
rey scrambles to her feet and ignites half of her lightsaber.
“ who are you? “ rey demands and points the lightsaber in their direction and ignites the other side, as impulsive and intense as ever.
“ me? well, i’m - “
“ me, “ rey answers her own question. “ me but ... “ rey didn’t want to speak it into existence.
“ better ... i am what you could become. i am what you WILL become, just you wait, child ... “
no! no! no! rey grips the lightsaber tighter and lunges, only for rey’s body to go right through the ( ghost ?? ) and land on the ground with a loud thud as her mind is over crowded with whispers.
❝ absolutely not, ❞ he replied. ❝ i’m going alone, we’re not risking you. ❞ out of anyone to go, sol was the best option. he wasn’t going to let things go too far anyway, but even if they did, they couldn’t risk selene.
❝ you have a fiancé and a kid now. the last thing you’re going to do is put yourself in danger. but, if there is something you can do to help, we’ll tell you. i don’t think i can do it all on my own, but it’s not smart for you to go in with me. ❞ he tried to come up with some sort of solution so she could feel like she was participating more. ❝ we can extract him – we stun him and take him somewhere safe… not here. not safe. but someplace hidden? ❞ he glanced up at selene. ❝ woods? ❞
.
selene frowned in protest. “ but we’re risking you? and you want me to stay home and wait for you to report back? “ selene just ... wanted to help. she wanted to be helpful and not go so stir-crazy in her home. she wanted to help her brothers and as a mand’alor she needed to help, it was her duty to help all mandalorians. what kind of a mand’alor would that make her if she just sat out? she might as well give up her title.
last time she couldn’t do anything to save lior, even with how much she tried to find him. she at least needed to do something this time around.
selene glanced up. it wasn’t as involved as she wanted to feel but ... she could tell sol just wanted her out of danger. “ the woods? um, yeah, i’m sure i could find something. “
jett made a sound like he was about to start crying. he could feel something very dark coming from his dad. he didn’t like it. it reminded him of scary times, and he didn’t want him to fall to that. he whimpered and his ears flopped down.
din glanced, panicked, between jett and selene. ❝ n-no i- i need to- i’ll take care of this, i’ll be back- i’m sorry- ❞ he said, swiftly grabbing his helmet and pulling it on.
shit. she saw his eyes. this was bad.
he stumbled when he got up, but all he could do was grab his back and rush out the door. and yes, he knew he was leaving jett there. he had no choice, there was no way he was going to bring that child back when he was about to destroy everything. his only hope was that no one else got caught in the crossfire. but this was a sign, he couldn’t avoid this anymore. he had to finish this somehow.
“ s-stay, please! din, tell me what’s going on! “ selene had a horrible feeling about all of this. this wasn’t how things were supposed to go. they should’ve been married by now. something had been off in din for weeks now and while selene had chalked it up as din being his usual quiet self that’s not at all what was really going on.
selene scrambled after him but wasn’t fast enough to catch up to him. if it weren’t for jett she would’ve ran after him but once she got to the door she was brought back to reality by his whimpers and ran back over to him. she couldn’t leave jett alone to run after din, that just wouldn’t be right.
so a sad, defeated and worried selene shut the door behind her.
when she got back to the room she tried to not show how upset and worried she was — but jett was force sensitive so it was easy enough to guess that he could sense her strong emotions. “ your buir’s gonna be okay, “ she cooed and picked jett up. “ he’s just … having a hard time. it’s gonna be okay. “ at that point she wasn’t sure who she was trying to reassure. she had no idea what to think. did he just … not want to marry her? that would explain why he’s been so distant lately … but that didn’t sound right.
she slid jett off of her lap and leaned him against one of the couch pillows. she then joined din in the middle of the living room and knelt across from him. she was still in her armor so she didn’t have to delay the vows but having to change.
“ i love you, “ selene murmured, her fingers reaching over and touching din’s iron heart. she had no idea what was currently going on in his head, she was just excited to marry him. they’d finally be connected like they should be.
selene looked up at him smiled softly. once he was ready she began the vows. all they had to do was say it together, touch each other’s iron hearts and they’d be married. simple as that.
“ mhi solus tome … “ we are one when together. “ mhi solus dar'tome … “ we are one when parted.
-
the pain was getting worse and worse, and din realized all too late that there was no way he could push this off. this was fucking bad – only getting worse by the second. just say the vows! keep control!!
❝ mhi solus tome… mhi solus dar’tome. ❞ he took a deep breath and another sharp pain practically split his skull in half, bad enough to make him wince.
and when he started to feel blood drip from his nose, he knew he couldn’t go further. the voices in his head were screaming so loud that he could barely hear his own environment. ❝ i’m – i – fuck- i’m sor- i h-have to– ❞ he gasped, trying to get control of the situation and failing miserably. the blood was rushing faster and his eyes were bright fucking gold – this was over. this had to be over, he had to wait.
selene had never seen din like this. never. she had never seen his eyes appear so bright and golden, she had never seen a bloody nose like this. selene had never witnessed an episode or the beginning of an episode like this. knowingly, at least. if din had gone through an episode while in her presence selene simply didn’t know what was happening.
selene’s look of pure joy and happiness was replaced with worry. what was happening? why were his eyes so golden? “ din … your nose … your eyes … what’s - “ she turned slightly and couldn’t see anything that she could just grab to stop the bleeding.
she didn’t understand what was happening but she had an inkling of an idea of what was going on … a warning from weeks ago that she didn’t think much of.
“ why are you apologizing? let me grab the medkit and we can pick this back up after … “
selene looked at din with only awe and love in her warm eyes. she could practically feel how strongly he needed this. selene had been feeling a similar way. the only reason why she’d consider waiting was due to her family and friends and wanting to share this joy with them. but they could do that later when things calmed down, right?
she loved the idea of the vows being private and just between them ( and jett ). stars, they were actually going to be married soon.
selene glided her thumb against his cheek and gave him a gentle smile. “ i’d love to …. i want that - i want to be your wife more than anything. “
-
a small smile appeared on his face when she replied, expressing the same interest. he had a feeling she’d answer that way, but it was nice to hear regardless. it was just another sign that she was still interested, that she wasn’t backing out.
but something… something didn’t like that answer.
the presence in the back of his mind started clawing its way to the front, much more aggressive than it had ever been. it took significant effort to not just start disassociating completely. they had to do this – if din could keep his focus, this would only be a good thing. they were just saying some words, but in his mind, it was a task. a task that could keep him together.
he moved to the middle of the living room, kneeling down and placing his helmet in front of him. from all the marriages he’d seen, all they had to do was touch the other’s iron heart and say the vows, so… it wasn’t like there was much preparation needed.
she slid jett off of her lap and leaned him against one of the couch pillows. she then joined din in the middle of the living room and knelt across from him. she was still in her armor so she didn’t have to delay the vows but having to change.
“ i love you, “ selene murmured, her fingers reaching over and touching din’s iron heart. she had no idea what was currently going on in his head, she was just excited to marry him. they’d finally be connected like they should be.
selene looked up at him smiled softly. once he was ready she began the vows. all they had to do was say it together, touch each other’s iron hearts and they’d be married. simple as that.
“ mhi solus tome … “ we are one when together. “ mhi solus dar'tome … “ we are when when parted.
he paused a few moments, just watching her expression. no explanation that he came up with could accurately explain what was on his mind. nothing sounded right. so finally he just sighed and shook his head.
❝ i just… hate not being married to you. ❞ he brought one of her hands up to his lips to give it a gentle kiss. ❝ i can’t explain it, i… every day, i feel it getting worse. this- this… discomfort. with our souls being separate. ❞ din was so honest, it was palpable. that feeling of separation, it was killing him. and marriage was a technicality, sure, but he wanted it. he wanted to not only justify the breaking of his creed and return it to its proper allowance, but he wanted her. he wanted to be married to her. he wanted to be her husband. he wanted to be a family.
.
selene looked at din with only awe and love in her warm eyes. she could practically feel how strongly he needed this. selene had been feeling a similar way. the only reason why she’d consider waiting was due to her family and friends and wanting to share this joy with them. but they could do that later when things calmed down, right?
she loved the idea of the vows being private and just between them ( and jett ). stars, they were actually going to be married soon.
selene glided her thumb against his cheek and gave him a gentle smile. “ i’d love to .... i want that - i want to be your wife more than anything. “
din was hyper-vigilant. constantly waiting for the shoe to drop, for maul to burst through the door and destroy more lives, for anything to happen. he was just waiting. and he hated it, he hated waiting, he hated having this massive thing hanging over his head. so he cleared his throat a little.
❝ i’m sorry that things have been so bad. and if there’s anything i can do to help, i want to help. ❞ he bit down on his lip for a moment, his eyes trained on his gloves, which he was nervously fidgeting with. ❝ i actually… came here today because there’s been something weighing on my mind for a bit. ever since we… agreed to it in the first place, actually. ❞
.
selene gave a little shrug. lior’s absence created a giant shift in the home. everything was so off. selene felt so off. she didn’t even feel whole anymore ever since waking up to find out that he left and was reconditioned. “ you being here is enough, “ she reassured. his presence made her so happy that she could forget about the real bad stuff for a bit.
“ oh? what do you mean? “ her eyebrows raised slightly at his words. “ what’s on your mind? “
❝ i’m not accusing you, ❞ sol reminded her. ❝ we’re going to find a way to solve this. ❞ it was nearly impossible, but nearly implied a chance. even if it was small, he’d risk anything to try and get his brother back.
❝ i might visit the base. to talk to gawynn, see if she can’t sneak me in or something, ❞ he said after a few moments. ❝ i’ll disguise myself or something. ❞
.
her brows furrowed slightly at sol’s idea. it sounded like a sure way to lose both of her brothers. if sol got caught ... if gawynn got caught sneaking sol on base ... if sol tried to talk to lior and it ended horribly due to the circumstances ... stars, there were so many ways for that to backfire.
jett cooed and cuddled up to selene, happy that he was getting attention. he loved attention from his buir, that was for sure.
din gave a small smile. he was never too expressive in general, so the small smile was enough. he entered further into the home and sat down on the couch, then patted the spot beside him so selene would sit with him. he was feeling a little strange – partially due to his helmet being off ( he was positive he’d never truly get used to it ) and partially because he could feel that presence in his mind, that Something that usually led to his horrible episodes. he was concentrating hard to avoid such a thing – the last thing he needed right now was to lose his fucking mind in front of selene. but they had become so common that he’d had one that very morning and already felt another coming on. there was more flecks of gold in his eyes than usual.
❝ i’m sorry i haven’t been around as much. ❞
.
selene sat beside din and placed jett on her lap. she was worried a lot more nowadays, what with din vaguely hinting at things that she didn’t exactly understand but knew enough to worry and lior not being ... around. also staying inside so much made her more antsy and anxious than usual.
she nodded a little. she wished he came by more but with everything going on she assumed he was just busy with his own stuff. “ it’s okay, it’s been so crazy lately ... but you’re here now, “ selene gave a tiny smile. she was just happy to see him, that’s all.
she noticed the gold in his eyes almost right away. when he first showed her his face there was less gold and more brown but maybe it was the sun? yeah, that sounded right. she could be quite foolish sometimes. love made her foolish.
annora tried feign some sort of confidence as well, hoping that if they both faked it then maybe some miracle could happen. stranger things had happened, right? cobb had literally died and was alive again so getting a stormtrooper to open the cell wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibilities, although very unlikely.
she thought back to the times she had watched the other cells get opened. “key card,” she said, actually confident in that. “the troopers that guard the cells each have one. they don’t even have to enter a passcode or anything. just swipe and the door opens.”
.
kai nodded, processing the information. not that it would help a lot, but still! maybe it would come in handy? could one of them steal a keycard if they got a trooper close enough and distracted enough?
he sat back down with a soft sigh. “ i might ... “ kai’s connection to the force was always erratic, but especially now, so taking any chance to use it might not be completely safe. but he was in jail and his daughter wasn’t safe. he’d take the chance. “ and the stormtroopers that come by? how often do they check on things? i might - well - i’m not sure - but i might have an idea ... but i can’t do anything with these, “ he motioned to the force suppressing cuffs he still wore.
❝ i don’t think that’s true. we didn’t have access to him last time. this time, we do. we could help somehow. ❞ it could just be a spice dream, but they needed to at least try. they couldn’t just… ❝ we can’t abandon him. not when he needs us. ❞
but he had no clue of how to go about it, especially given how confusing the situation was overall. he didn’t know what would be making matters worse, what would get him killed, what would get lior in trouble… there wasn’t exactly a way to learn this sort of thing, was there. ❝ i’m not going to lose him again. i won’t. ❞
.
“ i-i’m not abandoning him, i’m not giving up. “ she didn’t give up hope that he was alive throughout all of those years without him, she wouldn’t give up now when he was just across town.
surely they could deprogram him again? they did it once they could do it again. but that seemed tricky. it was difficult to not feel so lost as selene thought about all the things they couldn’t do, like interfering.
❝ it was fine, ❞ he answered, ❝ uneventful. ❞ that was definitely a good thing – it was chaos out there, and he knew what was causing it. that’s why he was working so hard to completely avoid it. he didn’t want to get anywhere near the problems that would only incite him – he knew that they’d stop at nothing to cause some sort of nightmare.
the pram settled on the ground so jett climbed out and toddled over to selene, babbling to her about all the things he hadn’t told her since the last time he saw her. it was moments like these when din was grateful that he couldn’t actually talk. ❝ have you been staying safe? ❞
.
“ that’s good, “ selene nodded. she was always so worried, it was difficult to not be with everything going on. she only left when she had to - groceries, necessities, checking up on friends, etc. she was glad that din hadn’t run into anything on the way.
“ hi dumpling, “ she grinned and scooped him up into her arms, hugging him close. she always listened to what he had to babble about, even if she couldn’t understand and none of it made sense to her.
“ i have! “ selene confirmed. “ - haven’t gone off and caused trouble, “ she pressed a kiss to jett’s cheek. “ i’ve missed you two a lot. “
din wasn’t going to let maul have his way. he was going to prove him wrong, in fact. he was going to marry selene, because she was one of the last possible things that could keep din from surrendering completely, and he wouldn’t fucking let it slip away. no matter how much din knew maul was right. no matter how much it all hurt, he wasn’t going to let it ruin everything he worked so hard to build.
so he made his way to selene’s home, jett’s pram trailing behind. once he got inside, he removed his helmet and pulled her in for a kiss. ❝ i missed you, ❞ he murmured. // @fieryhvpe
nothing in the galaxy could match how selene’s face lit up upon seeing din standing outside her door, or the absolute joy radiating off of her when he took off his helmet and pulled her close. “ i missed you too, “ she murmured back, pressing a few short kisses to his face and mouth. she’d react the same way if it had only been twenty-four hours since they’ve last seen each other. she really loved him.
maybe with everything going on they should rethink their decision, but that‘s partially why selene wanted to do it so badly. and she hated waiting. she would’ve done it the same day they decided they’d get married. “ how was the walk over? “ she asked, wondering if there was any trouble, especially given the state of the town.
he shook his head a little. ❝ nothing, ❞ he answered. he wouldn’t even know what to say even if he knew what he was doing. ❝ just… nothing. ❞ there was so clearly this one thing between them that they didn’t want to talk about, it was frustrating. he glanced at the ground for a few moments. he was never really one to hold back from talking to his siblings about important personal things – unless, of course, it was necessary to protect them. but this… this was difficult to navigate. he remembered it feeling this awkward the first time around when lior was taken and they had no clue what the fuck to say.
❝ i… i guess i thought it was solved for good, ❞ he confessed. ❝ gawynn is doing everything she can. but i… i feel doomed. ❞
.
selene nodded, trying to keep her hands busy with the tea. if she wasn’t doing something then she’d be shaking, she was sure of it. she wanted need to cry. lior being taken away from them once was bad enough, but now a SECOND TIME? the galaxy really must’ve hated them so much if it went through all of these lengths to constantly destroy their lives once they get readjusted and happy.
she was afraid that if she said anything more than a few words she’d lose what little composure she had and she’d just start sobbing.
“ me too, “ selene confesses quietly. she still wasn’t sure how it was possible that it happened randomly in their home. maybe it was happening for weeks before he finally snapped? maybe the force? stars, she was so angry.
“ there’s nothing we can do but wait and ... see if he snaps out of it this time ... “ all of this back and forth for lior couldn’t be good for him or his brain.
rex winced, her voice cutting through the confusion in his mind. he wasn’t in control of his body, he wasn’t in control of anything – not in the way he wanted to be. ❝ f-fives… find- chip- ❞ he uttered, still doing everything in his power to stay calm before it wasn’t a choice anymore. tears burned in his eyes – this was hell. this was hell, he didn’t want it, he didn’t want any of this!!
he pulled his blasters and his trembling hands saved them. he pulled the triggers, the shots missing as he struggled with keeping his focus on his friend. his family. ❝ ‘soka- i can’t- you have t-… ❞
he was moments away from turning the damn blasters on himself. anything to get this to stop.
.
ahsoka managed to avoid the shots. there was only one solution to their current situation - she needed to get the hell out of there and do what she did before.
“ i’ll fix this, i’ll figure it out, i promise, “ she needed to, she couldn’t leave her best friend and family to suffer ( nor could she let him kill her ... ) ahsoka knocks the blasters out of his hands with the force and disappeared through one of the other doors, closing it behind her. just a precaution. she trusted him ... but not right now. she couldn’t.
