034. THE NIGHT THE STARS DIED

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The smell of the flames is what first caused her to frown. Although she knew exactly where she was, she refused to turn around and confirm what she already knew to be true.

"So much trauma at such a young age."

A snarl formed at her lips and she whipped her head around, "What are you doing here?"

"We're connected," he explained, "in a long drawn-out game of cat and mouse."

"Are you the cat or the mouse?" Evangeline slowly crossed her arms as Seth chuckled.

"Both."

"If that were true I wouldn't be able to play."

"Don't you see?" he asked looking behind him at the destroyed temple ruins, "We're constantly switching back and forth between the two. You won't truly know your role until the final moments of the game."

"That's pretty messed up."

"A crude way to put it, but I agree," he nodded his head, "Yet, here we are, unable to change the facts."

"What do you want?" she asked to change the topic of discussion.

"Direct as always," Seth noted, "But you summoned me."

She raised an eyebrow, "I'm pretty sure I'd remember doing that."

Seth rolled his eyes, "Whether purposeful or not, you still called me here."

Evangeline looked around and analyzed a stray piece of ash as it floated to the barren ground, "That actually makes sense. You belong in my nightmares."

Seth frowned.

"Though that still doesn't explain why your consciousness is included in my thoughts," Evangeline added on to her previous statement.

"I shall repeat myself once more," Seth took a breath, no doubt to keep calm, "We are connected through the force by a bond that allows us to access one anothers thoughts, emotions, and even memories."

"All the time?"

Seth shook his head, "The link seems to have a mind of its own as it acts up whenever it wants."

"You act like it's sentient."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Seth raised an eyebrow, "It is part of the force just as you or I... You really hadn't noticed it?"

"I may have been a bit preoccupied with other things," she snapped, "And it hurts like crazy so I don't have a burning desire to make a habit out of accessing the darn thing."

"Interesting..."

"What?" she asked annoyed, "It doesn't hurt you?"

"On the contrary," Seth noted.

"Well lucky you then," Evangeline mumbled under her breath.

"I'm sure this whole thing could be amended," Seth said, "That is if you were to return with my witch in hand."

Evangeline scoffed, "I'd hardly call her anyone's property, she's a person."

"It seems I touched a nerve."

"I don't have time for this," Evangeline turned to walk away before remembering that there was nowhere to go, "Which way out?"

"It's your mind," Seth shrugged, nonchalantly.

"You're trapped here too," she pointed out, "You may as well help."

"Only until Skywalker or someone else wakes you up," he contradicted.

However, his comment froze her in her tracks, "How did you—"

"Did I forget to mention that the link also allows me to see some of your surroundings?" Seth's expression grew smug.

She sought for the next words to say, but she remained silent. It wasn't that she didn't have anything to say. She had an earful that she wanted to express, yet she remained mute all the same. When she finally found the strength to actually open her mouth, only an ear piercing shriek exited. The familiar sensation of a headache slowly grew as well. Seth seemed to wince in response as well, but she was unable to determine if he felt her pain or if she had just injured his eardrums.

"You weren't kidding about the pain."

Even though she knew what he said, she felt as if she had read his lips rather than actually heard him speak. However, she wasn't permitted to focus on that for long as the area around her changed drastically. A beam crashed down in front of her which placed Seth out of her vision. She rubbed her eyes as they stung from the smoke that now surrounded her. She yelped as heat licked her skin and the flame that had reached out to touch her left a lasting mark.

"No, no, no," her eyes widened and the rate of her breathing increased, "It's just a dream. It's just a dream!"

Her eyes darted everywhere for some sort of salvation from her personal hell. When she spotted an opening, she didn't hesitate. She ran. Her nerves were already on end, but she jumped when she heard the sound of cracking. She was unable to determine if it was just the flames or something much worse in the distance. When screams other than her own followed, her question was answered. She ran as fast as she could, but even that didn't last long as her panicked state led her into a dead-end. She spun in a circle, but the flames surrounded her. The heat was unbearable and she was forced to crouch beneath the blanket of smoke just to breath.

Debris crashed around her as the temple destabilized. That's when she saw it: her hiding place. She slowly pulled herself across the ground to the hole in the wall that had protected her before. However, she bit back her tears as she came to the realization that she might have felt like that small, scared little girl, but she had grown much older. She closed her eyes and seemed to embrace the end. The single tear that escaped her eyelids slid down her face, but immediately evaporated.

Yet, when she opened her eyes, she sputtered and coughed out—not smoke—but water. Her eyes remained wide and tears streamed down her face as she wildly looked around disoriented. She was soaked from both sweat and what she assumed was water based on the empty bucket that the medic held in his hands.

"Why did you do that?!"

"It woke her up didn't it?" the medic replied almost sarcastically.

"What sort of medic are you?"

"Look," the medic pinched the bridge of his nose, "I know what I'm doing. She was overheating and needed to cool down immediately."

Ben appeared to relax slightly with his explanation, but did not look satisfied, "How often is this going to happen?"

"I don't even know what's happening," the medic retorted under his breath.

"It is worse than I feared," the witch's comment
silenced everyone in the room.

As Evangeline's breathing slowed, she tried to settle her thoughts by focusing on the little details of the room. Like the way Ben's face scrunched up in concern whenever he looked in her direction. She quickly averted her eyes as the image of fire blocked out his face.

"Are you alright?" Kallus's voice was comforting as she noticed his presence in the room.

However, as he touched her arm, she immediately winced and bit her lip to stop herself from crying again. He noticed though and lifted the sleeve of the imperial uniform to reveal a nasty looking burn. Her breathing hitched.

"What happened?" Ben asked as he now approached.

The medic shrugged, "How should I know?"

"Seth knows," Evangeline mumbled.

"He knows what?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

"He knows that he is on the right track," the witch interjected, "He knows about your not-so-recently-departed friends."

"He knows about Skywalker," Evangeline continued to whisper.

"How could he possibly know?"

"The two are linked," the witch had seemed to pick up on everything Evangeline hadn't said and understood it as well, "What she sees and feels, so can he. I assume the inverse is either currently true or will be soon enough."

"A link?" Ben asked, "Like the one that Rey and I share?"

Evangeline temporarily snapped out her own thoughts at his comment to pay attention to the current conversation, "I'm sorry, what now?"

"Snoke, the supreme leader before myself, he created a force bond between Rey and myself," Ben explained.

"And you were going to tell me about this when?" she looked at him expectantly.

"I thought we weren't friends," Ben crossed his arms.

Evangeline crossed her arms and slouched against the wall, "We're not."

She didn't know why she was so bothered by his statement, but she was. He had a point though. She had made it explicitly clear that she was not his friend and didn't need to catch him up on everything that had happened since they parted ways. Therefore, she in no way had any right to demand such information out of him... but it certainly bothered her not knowing. Perhaps it was because they had shared so much with one another when they were younger.

"To answer your question," the witch brought the attention back to herself, "Yes, it is similar to that bond. But it has certainly taken its toll."

"Now what exactly does that mean?"

Evangeline lifted her head from her slouched position to actually see who was in the room. Ben, Finn, Poe, the witch, the stowaways: Master Skywalker, Ben's father, and Poe's droid were present in addition to Kallus.

"What? Chopper couldn't make it?" Evangeline asked a bit sarcastically as she implied that there were alot of people in the room as it was.

"I thought it might feel a bit crowded," Kallus replied nonchalantly.

"Ah," Evangeline nodded her head and couldn't help but smile ever so slightly.

"Too many people already here in my opinion," the medic grumbled under his breath as he tried to squeeze past Han and Luke to approach Evangeline at her cot.

"Elvi!" a voice from the hallway shouted.

"I'm a little preoccupied at the moment," he retorted with an eye roll, "Can it wait?"

"Your comatose patient is walking around."

"And you didn't stop her?!" Elvi quickly turned to leave the room, but remembered why he had entered in the first place, "Here, apply this salve to her burn."

Without another coherent word, the medic shoved his way out of the room and shouted down the hall. As Ben held the salve in his hands, he gave her a look that seemed to request permission to apply the ointment. She gave a subtle nod and he drew closer. She winced at his first touch. But as the ointment cooled the burn, she relaxed her stiffened posture. It had seemed like the smell of smoke was ingrained in her mind until the lavender from the salve overpowered it and allowed her mind to relax as well. She lifted her eyes from her arm to meet his; however, they were deep in concentration as he focused on applying the medication without hurting her. Once he finished, they met for just a second but it was unlike before. Normally, her expression would harden, but instead they reflected gratitude.

His eyes quickly darted aside and he cleared his throat as he stood, "What else can you tell us, witch?"

Evangeline frowned like the moment never occurred, "She has a name."

The witch looked at her surprised yet also delighted.

"Nim Okri?"

Everyone turned to face the doorway where Kenobi stood looking confused and Anakin looked purely disgusted.

"Kenobi," the witch stated with a monotonous tone and a deadpan expression.

"No vacancy!" Elvi shouted as he passed by, "The room is full! No more visitors!"

"Perhaps we should continue this discussion elsewhere," Nim suggested.

"Shouldn't Evangeline rest?" Finn raised an eyebrow.

Nim simply waved a hand, "She's fine, it'll be awhile until the next episode."

"How frequently will this occur?" Ben asked.

"No more questions until we move," Nim had made her mind up as she left the room.

It didn't take long for the others to follow her. Although it seemed like she aimlessly walked, the group ended up in the hangar with plenty of space for others to join them. Which General Organa and her droids seemed to take advantage of.

"Now will you speak, witch?"

"Her name is Nim," Evangeline corrected.

Ben huffed but ceded, "Nim."

Nim nodded her head as she took on a mystic persona, "These episodes will only grow more frequent the longer the bridge remains open. The stronger the connection, the weaker she shall grow."

"What can you do to help?" Evangeline asked.

"Provide advice on the information that you seek."

She waited expectantly before Nim proceeded to speak, "You must close the bridge between life and the great beyond; moreover, you must correct the mistakes that were made or impending doom shall befall the universe."

"How impending would you say this doom is?" Poe asked as he jumped into the conversation.

Evangeline ignored him and asked a question of her own, "What mistake?"

"Although wonderful it is to receive a second chance," Master Yoda nodded in pensive thought, "Unnatural, this path is, and dangerous."

The answer then clicked in her mind, "I'm not killing anyone!"

The witch shook her head. However, before she could contradict her exclamation, Evangeline's knees gave out as her head once again started to pound. Ben barely had enough time to react and prevent her from falling.

"Who do I need to kill?"

"We're not killing anyone, Ben," Rey protested with a frown.

The witch sighed, "Once the bridge is closed properly, all should return to its proper place without these crude methods that your mind has created."

"What happens if the bridge isn't closed?" Finn asked out of curiosity.

"With each spell that she experiences," the witch explained, "the bridge grows stronger and in turn those who crossed over do as well; however, the bridge drains the life force of those who created it... It will kill her."

"Hey! Check this out!" Anakin exclaimed with excitement.

The group turned to face him and noticed that not only were his limbs no longer mechanical, but several crates floated overhead.

Kenobi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Now is not the time to show off, Anakin."

"He couldn't do that before," Finn noted, "None of you could use the force."

As if realizing this, those who could immediately tried to access their connection to the force and found success after a moment or two. However, Evangeline shuddered with each crate that lifted from the floor.

"Stop," Ben stated before repeating himself as a demand, "Stop!"

All activity ceased and Evangeline's condition seemed to improve.

"You said it was worse than you feared," Ben said, "How much worse?"

"Her condition could be critical in a matter of days," the witch replied, "We need to act quickly."

"Where do we need to go?" Leia asked as she prepared to speak with the crew on the bridge.

"On the planet Romur," Nim replied, "only there are the proper materials present to complete the spell to close the bridge and restore the girl's health."

"How soon can we leave?" Ben asked his mother.

"I'll have the fleet prepare a few ships to leave immediately," she replied in response, "They should be ready to depart in a few hours."

Ben nodded his head, but even though she was weak, Evangeline could read his expression. He looked extremely displeased, but nothing else was said on the matter. He helped her return to the medical room that she had left much to Elvi's displeasure.

"This is what happens when you don't receive clearance," he muttered under his breath, but proceeded to apply a cool cloth to her forehead anyway, "People get hurt because they don't listen."

Once she was situated, Ben stood to leave. However, she quickly stretched out her hand and grabbed his arm.

"Please don't go," she managed to mumble, "...don't want to be alone..."

The image of the fire was still relatively fresh in her mind. She couldn't be alone after all that. She wasn't sure how to cope. Although he looked slightly annoyed, he nodded his head and took a seat in the only other chair in the room.

"Would you tell me a story?" she asked as her eyelids started to droop from exhaustion, "Please... I need a distraction."

Ben sighed but again nodded his head in response, "A long time ago in a galaxy quite far away..."

His voice became a low murmur as her eyelids closed and a peaceful slumber finally decided that she had earned a moment of rest. The aroma of lavender still seemed to float around the room as the medic applied another coat of the salve to her burn. Anything else that occurred, she wouldn't have remembered since she fell asleep moments later with more enjoyable memories of her youth at the forefront of her mind.