End This Way

[Krux Mullarus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE_SqkwOEks​

Krux found himself wandering the courtyard of the Voss Academy deep in thought. Not that he wasn't always. Ever since he made the decision to leave the Sith and join the ranks of the Silver Jedi under the wing of Connor, once an enemy, he had far too much to ponder. Numerous times from numerous people, Krux had been told to let go of the feelings he felt for that woman he fell madly in love with aboard his personal flagship. The woman who was now, in his eyes, a prisoner within the flaming abyssal heart of [member="Darth Azurea"], gone mad with lust for the Dark Side and their old master, the tyrannical Darth Pyrrhus, who almost ended his short, painful life in the ruins of the manor he forged his love for the Dark Lord's 'Trophy" within.

Krux knew there would come a day when he would meet that woman again. He had hoped it would be Setzi Lunelle he would lock eyes with, and not Darth Azurea, but deep down, beneath how much he still clung to his past love for her, there was doubt that she would ever open her eyes and see what a monster the man she found herself obsessed with was.

Unfortunately, it seemed that day was today. Through the powerful bond he still shared with the woman, Krux's eyes lit up beneath the mask he wore with his white and beige robes as he felt her presence closing in on Voss. It wasn't near the Temple, but close enough to where he knew he had to meet her halfway.

Using the Force to propel himself, he sprinted across the Academy grounds and to the hangar, where he would begin to prepare Patriot for takeoff. He had a feeling he could still communicate with her telepathically, but...

Why ruin the surprise?

[member="Connor Harrison"] / [member="Darth Azurea"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Darth Azurea landed the Pirate's Foe on Voss as though she was just another lightside Force user, heading off to the Temple for a day of meditation - as if she wasn't a Sith Lord, with a bounty on her head, having terrorized many of the Jedi already on the planet. Her trip was not sanctioned, not even in the slightest by the One Sith or her own companion Darth Pyrrhus. Or even by herself for that matter. But still, she found herself there.

Chastity Lunelle. She was always the delicate beacon that drew Azurea closer. Like a faint pulse. The closer she got, the more she felt the signal. Or perhaps it was all in her mind.

Last the brunette Sith Knight knew, her sister was dead. But "dead" was a loose term on the lips of Jedi Master Connor Harrison. What Azurea had extracted, when she spoke with him on Toola, was that there were no more traces left of the younger sibling she knew... but it didn't necessarily mean there was an extinguishment of the corporeal. If Chastity's body was still alive, her mind would also be there. And possibly Azurea would bring her home where Sith Alchemy to revive her would commence as she had done to her sithspawn the Xilsaga.

Debarking the Pirate's Foe, the Sith Lord strode across the Voss landscape, feeling a familiar presence herself. But it couldn't be. Not this soon.

A spike of anxiety sizzled up her spine like a live wire. She momentarily thought of her twins at home with Bellatrix, safe and warm.

Everything is okay, Azurea. What you are doing right now is the right thing. Whether Pyrrhus knows or not, there is nothing wrong with paying the Silver Jedi a short, cordial visit to check on one, Chastity Lunelle.

What could go wrong?

[member="Krux Mullarus"] [member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Krux Mullarus]

Krux felt his heart sink into his gut as he peered over a hill and saw Setzi Lunelle's starship, the Pirate's Foe, docked on the surface of Voss. Granted, it was a considerable distance from the Academy, but the fact that she might have been here both terrified and excited Krux.

But was it Setzi Lunelle, the compassionate young woman he had hopelessly fallen in love with so long ago that continued to haunt his dreams to this day, or was it [member="Darth Azurea"], the witch of the Dark Side who broke his heart and followed the Sith Lord who corrupted her heart and soul down the path of the Sith?

Only one way to find out

He felt her presence nearby. He couldn't not feel it. It was too familiar to him. He could practically feel her soft breathing across the galaxy. Mask on over his face and hood over his head, Krux sped himself onward with the Force through the Voss jungle in her direction. It was as if catching her would bring her back to him - away from the Dark Side that he now realized was wrong and inhumane. I have to save her...from herself

Finally. There she was. A clearing in the forest was the arena that surrounded the two old friends. Krux felt as if the Fates were staring him down now. His entire existence here on Voss led up to this pivotal moment.

Rescue her, Krux. She is wrapped around Pyrrhus' finger. Show her the evil in his ways.

He ripped his mask off. His face was now completely devoid of all dark-side corruption that had taken refuge over his body after his fall from grace after this woman before him tore his heart to shreds. His face was colored, no longer ghostly pale. His indigo eyes stared toward her, glowing with determination. This battle would be won with words, not lightsabers.

"Who treads the surface of Voss!? he shouted out to her.

"...Setzi Lunelle, or Darth Azurea?"

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Darth Azurea closed her eyes for a moment just listening to the sounds of Voss, the near-lurid forest and the faint hum of industry nearby, a city or town bustling with trade and domestic activity. None of it interested her. She was focused on one thing - Chastity Lune-

And then she heard him. That familiar baritone asking her questions for which she had no answer. The Sith Lord opened her eyes.

"Can it be someone in between?" she asked softly, knowing that no matter how low her voice was, he would probably hear her.

"Why does it have to be one or the other?"

More inquiries with no resolution. This was the way she fought Connor Harrison before, baiting him with Dun Moch, of which by now, Azurea was quite an expert. Harrison had bested her, that was for sure, but this new adversary? Darth Azurea was pleasantly surprised, a little puzzled and quite intrigued.

"I am the same person you knew before," she said louder. "But you know why I have come to Voss. I am not sure why you are here, Krux."

Why was the Sith Lord on Voss anyway? Again, more questions than answers.

[member="Krux Mullarus"]

 

[Krux Mullarus]

Krux's right hand reached up and removed the hood over his head, his hair cut short, different from the long locks she would have remembered.

So many questions. Why was she asking questions, when Krux was the one with all of them? "The same woman I knew before loved me. Can this one say the same? The one who ran off in the night and left me to my lonesome? Of many things, Setzi, your sudden, unexpected betrayal showed me what I was doing all of that time with the Sith...with the Dark Side...was all wrong. You once felt that way. I know.

"You're here for your sister, i'm sure. She's alive. I've felt her presence, so similar to yours. She's afraid, and it's partly because of you, i'd wager. The Dark Side almost killed her, and you've gone and gotten yourself high on it. Of course she's hidden. You're not the Setzi Lunelle she remembers..." he said, his face loosening up and starting to look more upset and full of sorrow.

"You still don't see it. Pyrrhus manipulated you. I knew it since you told me about it in my - our manor on Ragoon VI. Remember? When you talked about coming back here for Chastity? When you thought about leaving the suth because you didn't want to live in agony anymore?

"Setzi...the door is open. Come home. Open up your eyes..." he pleaded, barely keeping control of his voice as he stared across the clearing at her. A subtle breeze began to blow around them, and his heart began to race as her brunette hair flowed with it. She still drove him crazy.

"...Please."

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

"I never said I was loyal to anyone but the Dark Lord," said Azurea her voice wavering. The mist was thick for a moment, but it passed with a cool breeze, and she saw Krux Mullarus. He appeared different than she remembered. Was he a lightsider now?

It made sense now. His presence on Voss. The echoing taunts. But there was an urgency in him that she had trouble resisting.

She walked closer in slow steps. "You have felt Chastity. But have you seen her?" she asked. Do not let him hear the hysteria in your thoughts, Darth Azurea mused. If he did he would know exactly how vulnerable she was right now.

"All of the rest is irrelevant. The agony I live in everyday is my own," she admitted.

"I can't be saved, but Chastity can."

A smirk creeped to her face, tentative, unsure. It was clear she wasn't confident of how much she could still manipulate him.

But by the maker, Darth Azurea would try.

[member="Krux Mullarus"]

 

[Krux Mullarus]

She took steps toward him. Her golden eyes pierced his soul like sharpened swords, but her voice ravaged it further. "I can't be saved..."

Krux shook his head. It was either persistence or denial. "No, Setzi...you can be. The veil over your eyes simply keeps you from seeing the truth, as it did from me for so long. I question your loyalty to the 'Dark Lord' often, ever since the day you kissed me on the Paladin. You turned away from darkness to one other dark that was...less dark. I know you, Setzi Lunelle." he said, his voice calmed and full of composure. That's it, Krux. Focus. There is no emotion, there is peace. "There's a part of you that you're blind to. I saw it when you looked into my eyes with love and desire. You can't see it now. Darth Pyrrhus has brought out the worst in you. He gave birth to this...Darth Azurea that's twisted your mind and taken your humanity.

"You brought out the best in me, Setzi. I think I brought out the best in you, too. But it wasn't just me. It was the Light. You didn't have to suffer with me. You just had to be happy."

He blinked, remembering her question about Chastity.

"I didn't have to see your sister to know she is here. The Light Side, the Jedi, they opened my eyes from how closed they were when I thought the Dark Side was the right path. When your eyes are opened, Setzi, you will see her. Not with your eyes, no. With the Force. That's the catch. The Dark Side blinds you. Pyrrhus, the Sith, they all make you see what they want. They're manipulative.

"You know what, Setzi?" he asked, the notion popping into his head as he gazed at her flat stomach. Of course, she wasn't pregnant anymore. Her child had been born. The one he was willing to raise with her. "I know you don't want that for your child. You want what's best for them, right? Do you want her to live in this same agony Pyrrhus and the Sith forced you to live?" Referring to her child, of which he was unaware were twins, as 'her' was really just a guess. A lucky guess.

[member="Darth Azurea"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Krux's words were like honey on a tongue that had only tasted bitter spices.

There was something there, piercing the darkness, the familiar darkness in Darth Azurea. It wasn't the defeat on Ziost so long ago, or her respite with Krux himself, or even her twins.

"Let's not talk about anyone else but us," she said. "My daughters are not a part of this game."

Closer she grew to Mullarus, the more he could feel her surrendering.

But she kept walking towards him.

"I only want to see Chastity," Darth Azurea said doggedly.

[member="Krux Mullarus"]

 

[Krux Mullarus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CuK0MaWF8M​

​

Krux's heart throbbed in his chest as she drew nearer. He used every bit of willpower in his body not to throw himself at her into his arms and just beg her to come back to him. He felt like his life depended on it, like he couldn't carry on without her. Part of him felt he was finally starting to lose her before she arrived on Voss, but now, with her here, her voice reminding him of how much it soothed his aching bones and rid the illness from his scarred body, and how beautiful she looked in the Light...no, he never forgot her. He always loved her. There was always something about her he could never let go of, ever since the day he met her on Lorrd. She was always special, even when he was supposed to look at her like she was the enemy. He couldn't.

Daughters?

He blinked, feeling guilt at having done so. Bringing her...daughters...into this. No, you're right. he thought, I won't stoop to Pyrrhus' level...I am not a manipulative tyrant.

"You can...but you can't see with a veil of darkness covering your eyes, Setzi..." he said softly this time, as soft as he spoke to her in the lounge at Mullarus Manor.

[member="Darth Azurea"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

"I am not trustworthy, Krux," said Azurea. "You take me into your bedroom, and you are asking for trouble."

The Sith Lord knew that the only way to get closer to get Chastity was to surrender to familiar desires. And to her own desires which were right in front of her.

"The veil is off," she said and for a moment she was the Setzi he remembered.

But how long would it be until her yellow eyes turned onto Mullarus as though he were prey.

[member="Krux Mullarus"]

 

[Krux Mullarus]

"The veil is off"​

​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWlkmkZW2hk​

Krux's gaze never actually left her, but he felt as if he were suddenly looking at someone new. Or...was he? This time, he took a few steps toward her, closing the gap between them exponentially. His voice softened even more, which should not have even been possible.

"I would trust you with my life. Even after all of this time. I feel the conflict in your heart. I know you, Setzi. I know you'll make the right choice. Just like me...you've made mistakes, but the truth is not wasted on you. You're here. We can find Chastity together and unite your family again." he said, his dark blue gaze never leaving hers. He stared into her eyes with the deepest infatuation and admiration a man could muster.

"Setzi Lunelle...are you willing to turn away from the Dark Side, as I have? I will make another promise to you. I will stand at your side and help guide you down the path of the Light again. Will you...come home? Will you devote yourself to the Jedi once again?" he asked, then proceeding to sound as if he were pleading again as he extended his hand to her, standing directly in front of her now.

"Will you...mend my broken heart?"

[member="Darth Azurea"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Now that Azurea was in closer proximity, she could see that the lightside had treated Krux well. His face had a healthy glow, and his body was more muscular than she remembered. Even his scar was less pronounced – perhaps he’d had a healer reduce some of the damage to his body? The Silver Jedi robes appeared foreign on him, but not bad. They suited him. By the Force, he was born for the lightside, she thought!

And the petite brunette was once herself, wasn’t she?

Darth Azurea dug deep for reserves of anger and rage in order to combat the confusion she felt. But like attempting to conjure a stubborn genie, she could not summon it no matter how hard she tried. Even his calmness and his soothing voice did not rattle her as it would have even a few minutes ago. In her own dark robes, in stark contrast to the Jedi Padawan before her, the Sith Lord’s delicate gloved hand hovered near her lightsaber momentarily. But when she realized what she was doing, she was filled with an enormous shame.

He has made no attempt to fight you, Setzi, she thought. So quickly you reach for a weapon when you aren’t getting your way. The best way to see Chastity is to remain clear headed and poised... just as Krux is.

“I cannot promise those things… not yet,” she said, a flicker of sadness washing over her features. Her voice was less taunting and more resigned. “But I am here now. All I can promise is that I will stay here until I have the answers I seek.”

As her heart pounded in her chest, she experienced a sudden wave of various emotions, lust and yearning for Krux, yes. But regret and even envy were also there. And although she knew his path to the lightside was unlikely a simple and straightforward road, she was almost jealous of how easily he seemed to take to it. Azurea’s road would be more difficult… wouldn’t it?

“But if you make any moves to capture me…”

She left the threat hanging there. Although Setzi did not mistrust his intentions, she was still very frightened of being held prisoner by the Silver Jedi, especially due to her crimes against the Galactic Alliance on Suarbi 7. She felt that despite the longing and nostalgia she felt for the Jedi, she was still skittish, and not at all sure that she wouldn’t run her crimson blade through his torso if pressed to attack.

However, she did grasp his hand, the supple, leather glove a barrier between their skin.

[member="Krux Mullarus"]

 

[Krux Mullarus]

As Setzi Lunelle took his hand, Krux smiled more sincerely than he had in years. She was afraid, he could feel it, so he had to hold himself back from fully embracing her, as much as he ached to. As far as he could tell, she wasn't even comfortable with finding the romantic feelings she once felt for him yet. Perhaps thay would return with time. All that mattered now was that he was successful.

Restless nights full of nightmares of watching Setzi be corrupted by Darth Pyrrhus and living in constant pain in the name of the Dark Side had inspired Krux to this end. Now, at last, here he stood. Despite unable to slay Pyrrhus in their battle on Ragoon VI that left his proud Manor in shambles, he had saved Setzi from certain doom in the Dark Side of the Force.

His hand tightened on hers for a brief moment, but he loosened up. He finally had her back, but she was like a shy cat. He couldnt scare her off so soon. "Show your devotion to the Jedi and you will be treated with the same respect I was. You're no prisoner here, Setzi. I promise." he said, staring dearingly at her. "Let's go then. I know just who to bring you to. We'll go together." he said, stepping even closer to her instinctively. He stared deeply into her eyes, the Dark Side corruption so familiar to him. Soon, she would be devoid of it just as he was. As he stood there gazing at her, he wanted nothing more than to kiss her again, but still, she was afraid. It was probably a bad time.

[member="Darth Azurea"] / [member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Korriban had been interesting to say the least. New faces and a few old ones.

There was still much to do in order to bring himself back to the Sanctum, and he hadn’t even seen many of those he called friends whilst there. Somehow though Connor Harrison accepted the fact he wasn’t part of things anymore. He wasn’t on the Council anymore, and just a Master by rank. A title.

He was doing what he always had done – act first, explain later. The Silvers seemed to be following suit, but without him. The events on Korriban would no doubt pass lips, but who knows how much people would care.

Connor didn’t, right about now.

He was too busy wincing as he rubbed lotion into his cracked knuckles, a little swelling and a cut wasn’t a bad price to pay for fending off a Sith with a double handed Force punch. Standing topless in front of his chamber mirror, he dabbed some on a little nick he had on his collar bone. It was a wonder nothing else had happened considering the fight.

His eyes couldn’t help but look at the indented scarring on the right side of his torso. It was like brail, but inwards. Still, it was a nice ice-breaker.

Smiling to himself, he then took his hand through his hair to brush it back from his brow and winced again – careful with the knuckles!

[member="Krux Mullarus"] | [member="Darth Azurea"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

As he clutched at her hand, she could feel Krux relax, which gave her momentary contentment. However, the lightside was so incredibly strong in him, it almost caused her physical discomfort to be around him. She tried not to let him see how distressed she was but she imagined her face to be pallid, agitation present on her features.

She chided herself in a punishing tone, Is this the monster you’ve become, Setzi? That you can’t even be within arm’s lengths of a Jedi without the urge to either attack them or throw up? Or both at the same time?

But Krux was the one who had enlightened her to the benefits of Force meditation, so the Sith Lord did just that. She breathed deeply and concentrated, not on dark or light but the Force itself until it felt like something in between.

Gray. Neutral.

Her mouth opened in protest against the word “devotion," but she snapped it shut again. Play along, and you will get what you want.

The promise of Chastity was far too enticing to her to turn back now. But she felt nowhere near giving herself over to the Jedi. Krux hesitated for a moment as they walked. Those old feelings of fondness for him came flooding back, and she immediately wanted to comfort him, to make sure he was okay.

“Devotion is a strong word. But I will be respectful during my time here. Dear friend, how have you been spending yours?” Setzi asked, curious now as to how her old lover ended up on Voss. She had no idea about his battle with Darth Pyrhhus. Defeat was not something the Togruta advertised freely around her.

[member="Krux Mullarus"]

 

[Krux Mullarus]

Krux found himself nodding, "Yeah...it is." he said, starting to walk. He hadn't noticed, but he didn't let go of her hand. He had her now, he desperately wanted her to stay. "I've been here on Voss...after you left, I...made mistakes. Mistakes that led me here." he found himself staring down at the grass as he spoke. He paused for a moment, though, to send a telepathic message through the Force to his master, [member="Connor Harrison"]. Force knew what he was doing.

Connor...I did it. Setzi Lunelle is here on Voss, and i'm bringing her to the Academy. She's afraid and skittish. Please, be gentle with her...

"Just as it does to all who follow it, the Dark Side took control. I...I had a thousand of my soldiers aboard the Paladin killed in preparation for an attack on Glee Anselm. I remember that much. I hated Pyrrhus for taking you from me. I wanted to destroy everything he had built on the planet. Fortunately...I managed to see through the veil that was cast over my eyes after you left me alone on Ragoon VI. I stopped myself and fled back to Ragoon...but..." he swallowed loudly, clearly feeling uncomfortable at talking about this. But this was Setzi. He wouldn't keep the truth from her.

"Apparently, in my hateful wrath after losing you, I...murdered dozens of soldiers at the outpost near where our manor was. I don't even remember it happening. The Dark Side's hold on me was too powerful. Darth Pyrrhus heard. He met me in the courtyard. In our battle...in my blind fury...the manor was destroyed, and I found myself skewered on the togruta's lightsaber..." Krux's voice started to get softer and more pained as he recounted the events that led to his fall from grace.

At this point, however, the couple crossed over a hill that overlooked the Voss Academy. Krux's hand held Setzi's firmly, but his free hand tightened up in humiliation. He felt his face grow warm again. He was embarassed to admit this to the woman he loved. "Pyrrhus left me for dead in the ruins of everything I had built on Ragoon VI. All of the pleasant memories we shared there...I was left to die. But...that stormtrooper who almost caught us on the Paladin, Tormax...he followed me in Patriot and saved my life. I told him to bring me here. My time bleeding out slowly after my duel with Pyrrhus gave me too much time to think. I saw everything wrong I had done in my life. The Dark Side led me down the wrong path. Everything...I felt so ashamed. I had Tormax take me to Voss and...i've been here ever since, centering myself. I feel much better now...and that's partly because of you showing up here today, Setzi...

"I missed you..." he said quietly, still staring at the dirt beneath his feet shamefully. His hand never left hers.

[member="Darth Azurea"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

The mere mention of Ragoon VI caused memories both fond, and also hostile, to come flooding back to Setzi. The warmest recollection was when she shared a meal by the fireplace with Krux, and they consummated their desire again and again, under the heady influence of Ithorian wine and a fur blanket. But she also felt a wave of shame on how she had left the planet so suddenly, how she had abandoned Krux. The soldiers who died in the wake were collateral damage. Setzi could still easily rationalize the loss. She was still Sith, at least during this very moment. But the news that Darth Pyrrhus had confronted Krux was shocking on so many levels.

Her dark brows knit in confusion. “He didn’t tell me. That he went to Ragoon to slaughter you…” It was unfathomable that the Togruta Lord hadn’t shared this very important development with her, but then again, it was also typical Pyrrhus. There had been an emotional gap between them that had only widened with her return to Glee Anselm. And with normal self-flagellation, Setzi willingly accepted the punishment of being left on the outside of his plans, which included sharing their home with his attractive slave Acolyte Bellatrix.

She hung on every word as Krux spoke, so much that she nearly forgot why she had even come to Voss. Her hand grew warm in his, so she removed her gloves, and then clasped his palm again with both of her hands. Of course, Darth Pyrrhus had wounded him. He would have been relentless in his cold fury. Like a business transaction, he would have exacted his revenge, murdering her lover, removing all trace of him, and would have calmly flown back to Glee Anselm as if nothing had ever happened.

“I’m sorry,” she said finally. “I too lay bleeding once on Ruusan, also the victim of a saber wound by Darth Pyrrhus, but the opposite happened to me. My recovery path lead me to the darkside, where I also became too curious for my own good.”

Setzi stopped as Krux did, also feeling a little shame as well as confusion. The Sith Lord was conflicted as the memories of Ragoon began to stir up those feelings she expressed to the now-Jedi in front of the flickering fire in the great room of his manor - that she felt doubt and regret over her decision to align with the darkside of the Force.

And now was the time that she normally sprung, her rage so close to the surface, bubbling up the way it did when she fought Connor Harrison on Toola or Taeli Raaf on Drongar. Jedi Master Raaf had called her a spoiled child, a petulant school girl who acted out when she didn’t get her way. This is the time when Setzi would normally seethe and strike. But she didn’t do that now.

“I missed you too,” she said, almost without thinking. But there was a determination to her words that made Krux realize that she still had genuine feelings for him. She lightened her grip on his hand, making sure her touch was soft and steady. She felt herself yielding to him, but did nothing to stop it. It felt too good, the same as when she was on The Paladin.

But it did not feel like peace. Not yet as her thoughts were still too turbulent.

“Through passion, I gain strength,” Setzi remarked. “How do you gain strength, Krux. Surely not through peace?”

[member="Krux Mullarus"]

 

[Krux Mullarus]

He felt the skin of her hands touch his, which caused his aching heart to skip a beat or two. Maybe three. He turned to her, the look in her still-tainted eyes making his heart beat faster again. Even more so when she admitted how she had missed him. But- did she? Did she miss him, or was that just what he wanted to hear?

He made a face as she brought up that line from the Sith Code. Sure, there was a part of him that understood it still, why the Sith followed it. But from all he had learned in his year or so on Voss about the Jedi Code and how ignorant he had been to what it taught, he couldn't agree with it anymore. "Jedi don't seek to gain strength, Setzi. Strength is a power that corrupts and destroys. I'm living proof of that. I shouldn't even be alive if it weren't for the mercy of the Silver Jedi. We don't seek out ways to become more powerful, we seek out ways to make the galaxy a safer place and protect those who need to be protected." he said, speaking to her as if she were another student coming to him for answers.

"Of course...we need strength to protect those we love, don't we? Jedi are not pushovers. We practice. We fight. We go to war. We are not hypocrites who preach of peace, but slaughter and maim in the name of the Jedi Code. No. We don't want any of that. Our hands are forced, mainly by the Sith and other darksiders. We have to fight because if we don't, who else will? We're keepers of the peace...we make peace, so we have to protect it, too..." he said, his indigo gaze never leaving hers as his hands met hers, holding on for dear life. Setzi Lunelle, my love... he thought, heart still beating a thousand times over and over in his chest, I don't know how I can go on without you.

[member="Darth Azurea"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

While she understood his words, mercy was a concept that felt so foreign to Setzi. So unattainable - a small point on the horizon that she could never reach.

How far have I gotten from any of the core ideals with which I was raised? Respect, goodness, morality, forgiveness, gratitude... mercy.

The brunette Sith Lord thought of her children suddenly, now being raised on the Retreat, essentially a private space station, where they would start their Sith training, essentially becoming servants of the Dark Lord. Setzi shuddered momentarily and abruptly thought of going to them now, picking up the girls and taking them far away from all of this - lightside, darkside, by the Maker, any side would be better than these polar opposites!

But one relative at a time, Setzi, she thought. You came here for Chastity. But the truth was she found so much more on Voss than she'd expected - one of the only individuals in the galaxy who she could consider a true ally. Krux Mullarus.

And all of the rest could be figured out later, couldn't it? There was no longer any urgency visible in her motions or hesitation in her words.

"I don't know how much of that I trust yet," she said. "But I do trust you." Her hand gripped his forearm, moving to rest comfortably on his bicep.

"Do you trust me?" she asked. Moments before she'd referred to herself as untrustworthy. He had no reason to count on her after all. Setzi was a master betrayer, player of pawns. Foolhardy with bravado, she had fully expected [member="Connor Harrison"] to be her puppet today, but the Sith Lord had unexpectedly run into Krux instead, and now her plans had unraveled.

She watched his indigo eyes carefully for the answer. But would it be the answer she wanted to hear?

[member="Krux Mullarus"]

 

[Krux Mullarus]

Moments ago, Krux had told her how he still trusted her. He supposed he didn't put enough emphasis on it. She drew even closer to him, grasping at his arm like she used to do before she broke his heart. Now, as he could feel her coming around and felt the Dark Side slowly start retreating from her, even if it was very gradual, he could feel the heart in his chest start to pull itself back together. Slowly.

Staring back into her eyes of solid gold, he nodded, "I probably shouldn't after everything you put me through...but ever since the day you kissed me on the Paladin - no, even before then...not a day has gone by when you crossed my mind, Setzi. Even before...I think sometime around our adventure on RagoonVI the first time...I saw how special you were compared to other women. So yes, I still trust you. You're the most magnificent woman i've ever met, and even now, I trust you'll make the right choices. After all...you haven't skewered me on your lightsaber yet. I must be doing something right."

His hand reached across his chest and rested atop hers on his bicep, inching even closer to her. This moment felt so good. He'd missed her so much, and now, standing here this close to her just talking to her at all, he felt like every aspiration he'd held as a Jedi to try and save her from the Dark Side she'd followed so obsessively for so long was finally...worth it.

[member="Darth Azurea"] / [member="Connor Harrison"]