Nur: 18 BBY
Fortress Inquisitorius
Lesia Mirri

    Les blinked her eyes open. Everything was blurry and her head throbbed as usual. She managed to focus her vision. The purge troopers and the Seventh Sister were gone. She felt a movement near her feet. Les looked down and her mouth fell open.

    Nakoa was struggling to get the binders off from around her ankles. She blinked, her vision blurring again. "Nakoa," she murmured.

    "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Just hang on, Les."

    Tears stung her eyes. It isn't him. It's another illusion. A sob escaped her throat. He set to work on one of her wrist binders. He abandoned me. He would never come for me. It's an illusion. Her hand fell free and he turned to her last binder. Les spied her lightsaber dangling from his belt. They're tricking me. It's an illusion.

    Anger locked onto her mind. Her other hand came free. Nakoa straightened and she slammed her hand around his throat. Her lightsaber landed in her other hand.

    "No more illusions!" Les screamed. "He left me! He would never come for me!"

    "Les!" Nakoa clawed at her hand as she tightened her grip. The Force crashed into him, sending him flying through a wall and into a large empty room.

    Les jumped away from the table and chased after the illusion. He had landed in the training dojo. Her hand tightened around her lightsaber as she ignited it. Nakoa stumbled to his feet.

    "Lesia, stop!" He shouted.

    "No, I'm tired of being tricked. Stop playing with my mind!" She swung her blade at him.

    He drew two silver blades and fended off the attack. Nakoa slipped past her and reversed one blade in his grip. Les spun and attacked again. She slammed her lightsaber against his blades. How they managed to hold up against her weapon, she didn't know. Her mind was too foggy to figure it out.

    "Les, it's me." Nakoa blocked her attack and rolled beneath another.

    Les kicked her foot into his chest as she jumped up. He skidded back before recovering himself. "You're an illusion, just like they all are!" Her vision blurred with tears. "Just like my master and Cole."

    She swung towards his neck and he narrowly avoided her lightsaber. The cyan blade hummed with energy. It crashed against his blades once more. Nakoa slashed at her fingers and jetted back a few feet. Les flinched, even though he hadn't cut her.

    She lunged at him again. Nakoa sidestepped and she whirled on him. He yanked his helmet off. Les froze, meeting his warm brown gaze. He raised a blaster and fired.

Nur: 18 BBY
Fortress Inquisitorius
Nakoa Sen

    Alarms were blaring as Nakoa holstered his blaster and threw his helmet on again. He scooped up Lesia's unconscious body, making sure to grab her lightsaber as well. "I hope you can forgive me for that, on top of everything else," he grunted. Nakoa ran from the room and started towards a lift.

    He activated his comm, hoping it hadn't been jammed. "Ketei, is our exit still clear?"

    "Not exactly." He heard muffled blaster fire. "Purge troopers are cutting you off. I'm doing what I can but we have to hurry."

    Nakoa swapped frequencies without giving her a reply. "Manon, I've got her."

    "I'm right behind you."

    He glanced back. She was running after him. Manon caught up to him quickly. "Ketei says purge troopers are blocking off our path to the exit."

    "They won't be for long."

    Manon pulled ahead and jumped into a lift. Nakoa ran in behind her and they headed down. He set Les down for a moment and Manon brushed a hand across her forehead.

    "She thought I was an illusion," Nakoa explained. "She attacked me."

    Manon pulled away and Nakoa picked her up again. "She's lost her sense of reality. I still sense much anger in her, but..." she knit her brows.

    "What?" Nakoa prompted.

    "It's not like it was before. I think she's fighting through it. She'll be all right if we can get her away from here."

    The lift opened up, revealing another hallway full of purge troopers. Ketei was hunkered down behind a column, blasting at them as they closed in. Manon's eyes glowed with green magick. She raised her hands, letting it tear through the purge troopers.

    Ketei stood and holstered her blasters. "I wish you would've done that five minutes ago."

    "Later. We have to go now." Manon's magick surrounded them. She opened the entryway and they shot into the water. Nakoa glanced back. Water flooded the hallway, washing the incomping purge troopers off their feet.

    They breached the surface and he activated his jetpack. The magick surrounded Manon only as they soared upwards. "Oni!" Nakoa shouted into his comm. "Where are you?"

    "I'm coming."

    He saw something flicker in the distance. The Mythos was still mostly invisible, but it seemed like Manon's spell was faltering. He glanced at the Witch. She was panting for breath as she flew upwards.

    Nakoa shouted as a blast hit his leg. His grip slackened in shock. Les slipped from his arms and plummeted towards the ocean. Without a second thought, he dove after her. He heard blaster fire overhead, but ignored it.

    Les blinked her eyes open suddenly. She flailed her arms and began shrieking. Nakoa reached towards her, as the waves grew closer. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him, quickly banking upwards. A wave slammed down, spraying salty water over them.

    Nakoa quickly located the Mythos. Ketei and Manon were nearly there. Les was crying, her arms locked around his neck with a deadly grip. He reached the Mythos and they tumbled on board. Ketei sealed the ramp behind them. Manon let her magic fade and ran to the cockpit to help Oni.

    "Nakoa." Ketei pointed to the injury on his leg.

    He shook his head. "I'll deal with it later." Les still hadn't let go of him. Shudders wracked her body as she continued to cry. He carried her to her old cabin and sat on the bunk.

    Les pressed her face against his neck, gulping down trembling breaths. Nakoa stroked her lekku soothingly. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She didn't seem entirely aware of where she was or what was happening.

    Nakoa lifted a hand and removed his helmet once more. He kissed her forehead as her panicked breaths slowed. "Quiet gar mind ner kar'taylir darasuum. Ca'nara has olaror par udes. Te moons cuyir laamyc. Nuhoy while ni taylir gar. Nuhoy, par gar cuyir morut'yc," he sang the melody softly.

Nur: 18 BBY
"Mythos"
Lesia Mirri

    Slowly, she became aware of her surroundings. She was in her old room on board the Mythos. Her gaze shifted to the person holding her. It was Nakoa. He didn't have his helmet on. Lesia's sobs faded gradually. She lifted her head after a moment. "You're real?"

    "I'm real."

    Her shining eyes grew wide as she reached a hand towards his forehead. Les smoothed some of his hair away from his face. He grabbed her hand and held it to his lips for a moment.

    "I'm so sorry, Les," he said hoarsely. "I never should have left you. I should've listened to you. I'm so sorry."

    She released a pent up breath. "I forgive you." Les knit her brows. "But I told you this," she gestured towards his face, "was something that you couldn't decide in the moment."

    "It was the only thing I could think of," Nakoa said with a small smile. "I had to keep you from killing me somehow."

    She grimaced. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

    "You thought I was an illusion."

    Les nodded and bit her lip. "I was overwhelmed by everything. The Dark Side, the torture, my own fear...I kept seeing Cole and Master Mundi. I kept reliving certain memories."

    "Manon said you were fighting through it all. She thought you were getting better."

    "I feel somewhat better. My mind is clearer. It feels like my own." Les lifted her gaze to him again. "I think the person I kept hearing was you."

    "Me?" Nakoa blinked in disbelief. "I kept hearing someone too. I just...thought I was crazy. Was it you?"

    "Maybe. The Force might've used our connection to link us mentally somehow. I don't know if that's even possible though." She rubbed her forehead, the information threatening to overwhelm her.

    "Rest. You're safe now."

    Lesia dropped her head against his chest. "What are you going to do?"

    "Don't worry about me."

    Les closed her eyes, but despite her clarity of mind, she could sense the memories still lurking. "Don't leave me."

    "Never again," he promised.

    "Can you keep singing to me?" She whispered. "But so I can understand it."

    "Sure." He began to stroke her lekku once more. "Quiet your mind, my love. Time has come for rest. The moons are high. Sleep while I hold you. Sleep, for you are safe."

Dathomir: 18 BBY
"Mythos"
Nakoa Sen

    Nakoa ceased singing when Lesia's deep breaths told him she was asleep. Every now and then, she'd make a small sound, but she didn't seem distressed.

    After what seemed like an hour had passed, the cabin door hissed open. Oni hesitated, then entered. "How is she?"

    "I'm not really sure. Better than she was, I think."

    Oni nodded. "Do you think she'll talk to me?"

    He gave Oni a smile. "She already forgave me. It makes me think there's hope for you."

    Oni shook her head with a quiet chuckle. "Maybe." She fell silent for a moment. "Are you going to tell Ketei?"

    "Later. I'm still trying to sort things out."

    "Why did you do it?"

    Nakoa's gaze flickers down to Les. "I couldn't think of another way to distract her at the moment. Besides, it was just a matter of time, I suppose."

    Oni nodded and turned towards the door. "We're going to Dathomir. Manon has something she wants to try."

    Nakoa pursed his lips, but nodded. Oni left the room. He leaned his head back against the wall and waited. A short time later, the ship jolted as they landed. He shook Les gently, but she didn't wake. He picked her up once more and stepped out of the room.

    Manon raised an eyebrow, but waved a hand. Nakoa didn't look at Ketei as he followed the Witch. "What do you plan on doing?" He asked. They walked towards an old cave of some sort. A carving of a woman's face formed the doorway. Her mouth was the entrance.

    "Mother Talzin once told me of a healing ritual that she performed on another one of my sisters. She came to us, wounded and unbalanced. Mother used the Water of Life to restore her physical and mental health. I think it will help Les."

    "Why didn't you do it before?"

    Manon flashed him a look. "Because I didn't have the Water of Life. It must be made. One of the ingredients was the flesh of a beast that lived here. I went to retrieve the flesh and found that the Sleeper had been killed. Fortunately, I realized it had left something of value behind. It took time for me to locate its only offspring and to subdue it. Now, I just have to make the Water and perform the ritual."

    "And you're sure it will work?"

    "I'm certain. Lesia is reclaiming herself very slowly, but given all that has happened, it would be best if I perform this ritual to help her."

    Nakoa nodded. They reached an open chamber with a stone table in the center of it. Manon pointed to the table and he set Les down. He kissed her forehead, then left before Manon could tell him to.

    Oni and Ketei were walking towards the cave. They paused and waited for him. "Come," Ketei said after a moment. Nakoa followed her, preparing himself to give his explanation.