009. I'M SMILING, BUT I STILL HATE YOU

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Evangeline simply glared. It was all that she could do at the moment. Her hands and legs had individually been chained to the walls, not to mention the metallic mask that covered her mouth. The Mandalorian equipment was infuriating as it prevented her from even attempting an escape. Although she'd had no quarrels with their people before, she'd certainly have a long discussion about the cuffs if she ever met another Mandalorian. Now if being imprisoned was bad enough, she was forced to share her cell. She'd honestly prefer solitary, but that apparently wasn't an option. So, she had resorted to glaring at Ben Solo who had found himself in a similar predicament as she. Of course he had yet to notice since he hadn't awakened from his unconscious state yet. So she glared in silence.

She couldn't think of a single thing that had worked in her favor throughout the day. First, the ravagers had hit her score before she could react, the part she required was taken off her hands, she'd been united with an ex-friend who had grown up to be a crazed sith-lord, she'd been physically and emotionally drained by a machine, and just when she had been close to receiving answers said machine had been blown up by the two idiots who had prevented her from joining the cargo raid. Her thoughts were interrupted as the cell door opened. Ben stirred by the sudden noise and his eyes shifted around the room in confusion. A few muffled sounds came from his direction, but they were ignored as a pair of stormtroopers entered the room followed by the Admiral.

"The Supreme Leader wishes to see you."

Evangeline simply raised an eyebrow as she was unable to speak. However, the gears in her head began to turn as she immediately began to think of an escape plan. Those hopes were destroyed as her wall cuffs were replaced by a pair of handcuffs. Furthermore, a similar pair had been placed around her ankles. Which seemed rather pointless as the troopers were then forced to wheel her out of the room and down the hallway. The ride was silent up until the point that they reached the throne room. After entering, Evangeline immediately noticed the various scorch marks around the room and the fact that one of the walls had a large gaping hole. Although the fires had been put out, the room still smelled like it was burning. Even though his identity had been revealed, the Supreme Leader still sat on his throne covered by his cloak.

"You may leave us, Admiral."

The Admiral gave a curt nod before signaling for the stormtroopers to follow as they left. Seth then stood from his throne, descended the few stairs, and began to pace in circles around Evangeline. He remained silent, but it was clear that he had a lot on his mind as his expression reflected he was deep in thought. Irritated by his movement, Evangeline attempted to speak; however, the only sound that emerged from the gag was a muffled shout.

"Ah yes, I suppose you won't be able to answer any of my questions while wearing that," he said as he removed the gag.

Evangeline stretched her jaw since it had been clamped shut, "Gee, thanks."

"I doubt you would have been forced to wear such a device if you hadn't stirred up so much trouble with your words."

"It's not my fault that some of your troopers have thin skin."

"No, I suppose not," he noted deep in thought, "Corrections will be made."

"So what do you want?"

"Answers."

"I'm not sure-"

"Who are you, Evangeline Plutarch?"

She frowned, "Ben's got a big mouth..."

Seth sighed, "I'll ask again. Who are you?"

"Why's it matter to you?"

"Do you not know?"

"I know who I am," she retorted in an attempt to cross her arms before remembering the cuffs, "Do you mind removing these?"

He ignored her, "You have no clue as to who you are... but I could show you."

"Yeah, thanks, but no thanks," she stated sarcastically, "I'm not really in the mood to trade my soul today."

"You're powerful," he said, "More powerful than those before you, but you're inexperienced and lack discipline."

"Thanks for the critique, but I'd like to be going."

"Just as you have seen into my head, I have seen yours," he continued to ignore her, "You never completed your training, but if you stand by my side we can both find the answers that we've been searching for our entire lives."

"You don't know me," she suddenly grew angry, "No one knows me!"

"I know you," Seth protested, "Because I am you."

She remained silent as she met his eyes.

"You're lost," Seth continued to speak, "You have no one to call home and the thought of finding answers is the only thing that motivates you to keep moving forward. I know you saw something when you were connected to that machine because I had started to see things. Now that you've gotten a taste, you won't stop searching. But you won't be able to do it on your own. Join me. Let me teach you how to use your strength. Together... no one could stop us."

He slowly undid the cuffs that restrained Evangeline's wrists. She gently massaged them to restore the lost circulation. She resisted from lashing out and making an immediate poor decision. She was exhausted and drained. Likely, she'd be no match against him in a fight, so she'd bide her time and wait for her moment to escape.

"I know you need to know," his tone quieted, "You're dying to know the universe's secrets about Jacen Plutarch and why that name is so important."

She stopped thinking about escape as soon as the name had been mentioned. It was the first time she had heard it said aloud outside of her head. The name had come to her in the vision she experienced while connected to the others. She'd started to speculate how he could have been related to her, but nothing had been solidified. Had he been a brother, an estranged family member or her father. She had no memories associated with the name, but it was the first real answer that she had the chance to track down.

"Together," he stretched out his hand for her to take.

She stared down at his hand. He was right. She needed to know, but she also didn't want anything to do with the jedi order or the sith. She had put that lifestyle behind her a long time ago. Her self-taught life lessons returned. Trust no one. It was her first rule of survival. It was how she had made it so far from where she had come from. True, there were brief moments where she broke that rule across time, but she always came to regret it. But she wanted answers. She needed them. She slowly looked up and stopped considering his offer the moment she met his eyes. They were so similar to another pair she had seen before. They were filled with hope and openly conveyed the knowledge that she had potential. She'd only had one other look at her that way before. Her mentor. The first to abandon her. True, Ben's betrayal had occurred first, but her master's abandonment stung the most. Her eyes hardened, which Seth immediately noticed. She tried to turn and run, but she had forgotten about the cuffs around her ankles that prevented her from going anywhere. She immediately fell to the ground.

"I had hoped that you would accept my offer," Seth shook his head, "You had so much potential."

She immediately tried to remove the cuffs; however, she was quickly subdued by a squad of troopers that entered the room, "If you took off these cuffs, you'd see how much potential I really had."

"Now that would be a foolish decision on my part," Seth chuckled, "I can assure you that I may be many great things but foolish is not one of them."

The cuffs that had been removed before were once again placed around her wrists as she was wheeled out of the room back toward her cell. At least the mouth guard hadn't been put back on. She'd hold her tongue for the moment though just to make sure she'd never see that piece of metal again. Once inside the cell, she noticed nothing had changed. Ben still hung on the opposite wall discontented, but unable to speak, and her own chains awaited her on her side of the cell. After the troopers had decided that she was well enough situated, they left the room. Ben simply raised an eyebrow as if to ask where she had gone, but she didn't answer. Instead of words, when she opened her mouth, a key emerged. Now she just had to figure out how to unlock the chains. Although the devices were meant to prohibit force wielders from accessing their power, they were old and worn from their time of service. It was weak at first and required a great deal of concentration, but the key floated wobbly from her mouth to the lock by her right hand. With a satisfying click, the first lock had been undone. She quickly grabbed the key, mentally cheered, and focused on removing the other chains that kept her pinned to the wall. She then quietly approached the other side of the room and removed the mask that covered Ben's mouth.

She immediately shushed him before speaking, "Whether you want to or not, you're going to help me."

"Now why would I do that?"

"Because believe it or not, right now we want the same thing."

"And what would that be?"

"You as the Supreme Leader."