XIII

[Josh Dragovalor]

Madalena's admittance that Gerwald was here and then the paging that he was in to see them made Josh quirk a brow. What the hell was he doing here and why was Madalena now asking him to let him in? He stared long and hard at her, before he spoke softly.

"He ruined your life" He spoke in almost a hiss. "You wouldn't eat. You wouldn't drink. You wouldn't sleep. You refused to love. You were driven to do what you did because he stabbed you in the back. Now you want me to let him in?" He asked, before just letting out a sigh. Enough of this day already. Not even her insistence that she would kill him if he tried anything stupid made him feel better. This had already been a day. The last thing he wanted was to see Gerwald. But she had asked, and he would oblige.

"Let him in" He told the pager, before moving to sit down. This entire thing just got more and more messed up by the minute. "But you can have the pelt if you kill him. I'm already going to have to de-scent my office once today after this."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"] - [member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

Gerwald was let into the office, where he entered with a good amount of caution. He was not sure what Madalena would think, but he was certain [member="Josh Dragonsflame"] would have an opinion of him. This was going to be a awkward meeting, but the only reason he was here was because of what [member="Scherezade deWinter"] had told him. Gerwald had information which could help, and he had promised to see Josh in person to deliver the information. He just did not expect Madalena to be there.

He sighed as he walked into the room, surprised to find one more there. The woman he saw gave him the heebeegeebees.

Eyes settled on everyone in the room and all Gerwald could manage was...

"Hi..."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena tried to dry her face on the back of her arm. The tears were still coming out, making her mission a complete and utter failure. Thoughts were still swirling in her mind, words that made up sentences that toppled one on the other and made no sense, not even enough to tell them apart.

Josh went on to detail how Gerwald had ruined her life. Madalena looked at him, finding it so hard once again to believe any of it. Because it wasn't about her. To Josh, Scherezade and Madalena were one, but Madalena was not the one who's life had been ruined before she walked into Josh's office today. Her life was… Not perfect, but as close to it as one could hope for it to be.

It sounded so absurd. How could someone be so hurt that they refused to eat, drink, any of the other stuff. But still, she nodded. Yes. There was nothing he could do to her in Josh's office. But that still not answer the question of why the heck he was there at all.

They all turned around to look at Gerwald as he entered the room. Josh's face was… Josh's. The marks of heavy crying and emotional turmoil were plastered all over Madalena's face. And Sod… Sod stared at the Lupine, her eyes narrowing behind her veil, all seeing… All understanding? Whatever it was that her dark eyes took in, she remained as silent about it as her name meant.

"Why are you here?" Madalena at last managed to break the heavy silence, entirely unable to keep the shake out of her voice. They were in a private meeting. Yes, she had been the one to tell Josh to buzz him in, but… But why was he here at all? Did he know what was happening? Was he here to play part in it?

Quiet as a shadow, Sod rose from her seat, motioning for the male to take it as she moved to stand closer to the Jedi, not quite moving too close so that he would not feel his personal space was broken.

[member="Gerwald Lechner"] [member="Josh Dragonsflame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh hated letting Gerwald in. And as he walked in, he couldn't help but stare at him with the iciest glare that he thought he could have ever mustered. Here was the bastard that had caused all this. The cheating, traitorous monster that he'd crafted lightsabers for Scherezade because she needed some kind of happy memory to hang onto after what he'd done. All of the time he'd spent trying to help her, only for her to turn around and do what she did, all because of him. He couldn't help but despise him on sight. But he kept his calm. He didn't bite, he didn't attack as much as he wanted to. He spoke in a calm, yet firm and sharp tone.

"I imagine you're here to help resolve this whole nonsense with getting Scherezade back" He spoke. "If so, then the minute she returns... You leave and you do not let her see you. And then you leave both Scherezade and Madalena be, permanently. You've done enough damage."

And as much as it went against much of who he was... Josh had no qualms about killing him if he posed a threat to either woman.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"] - [member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

Gerwald sighed.

Madalena's question was drowned out by Josh's assumptive answer. He was correct. Gerwald was there to settle the issue, but he was in no position to make any threats or demands. Eyes flashed at the Jedi with a wild ferocity that threatened the Jedi with one single look.

"The wolf is hungry. Do not tempt it." Gerwald said to Josh completely missing everything that Madalena has just said. There was a point to be made. "You do not get to tell me what to do. You also do not get to tell me what Scherezade wants. The reason I am here is because she sent me. I saw her, the place she is at, and I know how to help."

He looked over to Madalena maybe she would remember that day. It had been the first time Gerwald had confronted her on who she really was.

[member="Josh Dragonsflame"] [member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Josh was keeping his calm. But Josh was most definitely biting. Madalena looked at him in surprise as he let the words come out of his mouth. She'd known Josh all her life… No. She did not. But she knew him for long enough for those words to take her completely by surprise, her jaw dropping almost to the ground. Not even against their greatest enemies had she heard him speak like that.

And then Gerwald responded to that, and now Madalena could pick her jaw back up. She saw the look he gave her, and she remembered that day – the day she had saved his life from the collapsing tunnels in the Unknown Region. He had tried to tell her, when he came to, who she was. She had not believed him, just as she had not believed the few others who had attempted to do the very same thing.

"Stop this pissing contest right now," she told both men, the pain at last making way to let the anger through, "if you're both here to help, then this is not the way to do it."

Sighing, she leaned back in the chair, her face pressed into her hand. All Madalena wanted to was to get up from the chair and walk away. Get back to her life. Do a gazillion missions. Spend the end of each of them in Cardinal's arms. Remaining here was ensuring she would not be able to do that. Remaining here ensured she would never be able to do that again.

"What do you mean, she sent you?" she asked, removing her hand and looking at Gerwald, "where is she? How did you get there?"

Looking over to Josh, she almost opened her mouth to speak, but preferred to take a more private route instead. You're my best friend and I love you, she whispered to him through the Force, please try not to antagonize him in advance. If he lies, we'll both know anyway.

[member="Gerwald Lechner"] [member="Josh Dragonsflame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He had almost retorted to his threat with something hokey like "A wolf is nothing to a dragon" but it just sounded... About as hokey as his wolf threat. Instead, he merely shook his head. "Do not mistake my decision to let you in for weakness, or hesitance" He spoke calmly, but the way his gaze pierced him made it clear that he had moved past the stage of hesitation a long time ago. If Gerwald became a threat to the girls, he would strike him down if need be. It was not within his character normally, but... It was a Jedi's job to fight monsters. And he was looking at one.

But Madalena had asked for peace, and he would respect her decision. Instead, he waited to hear what they had to say.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"] - [member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

"Scherezade sent me, and she is in some holding place that is connected to you. You were having a nightmare and when I touched you, tried to shake you awake I was taken to where she was. That is when she told me how to free her."

Gerwald gave her condensed answer. She did not need to know anything about their argument or the things Gerwald had said to her. As far as he was concerned this was his final act, the one thing he owed her. Gerwald was going to help because he promised, and then he was going to leave. That would be the end of it.

On Josh's end Gerwald simply ignored him as he did his best to not contribute to the tension in the room, but there was at least one thing to say.

"I am here because I said I would come, that is it. As soon as this is over, I am gone and you will never see me again... Now let's get this over with."

[member="Josh Dragonsflame"] [member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena shot Josh a glare as he still resumed the pissing contest, though in a more… Holding back sort of manner. Truly, there was no need for any of it. If Gerwald was there to cause harm, he did not give that feeling off, not through his body language and not through the Force, and he didn't seem like a man who could be a good enough of an actor to pull such a lie off.

She always had nightmares when she slept. It was part of why she wasn't any good at it, and preferred to do it as little as possible. But she remembered. That night, her alarm clock had gone missing. But it had not been the first time she'd had a nightmare around another person, yet no one had… Or at least, no one had said they'd touched her and gone to a holding place where that Scherezade was.

The only movement that came from another at that instant was from Sod, who simply shook her head, but added no words.

"Fine," Madalena exhaled. She was tired. Tired of it all. An hour ago, she had not imagined she would shortly no longer exist. Half an hour ago, she was trying to cope with the thought of dying. Now, she was being told that a person who had a big part in her existence was going to help her not really exist anymore but the woman was saying she still would and would come back.

Her tears had run dry, and she had no more of them to give. Slowly, the numbness was beginning to take her over. Was this what death row prisoners felt like?

Turning to Josh, she shrugged. "Let's get this over with. Where is the ship."

[member="Gerwald Lechner"] [member="Josh Dragonsflame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

If Josh was in a better mood, maybe he'd have found Madalena's reaction to be hilarious. It was Scherezade after all, who was responsible for the way he was behaving right now. She had filled his head with so much hatred and blame on Gerwald over the course of a year, and then dealing with the consequences of it since she had become Madalena, that perhaps it was only his Jedi training that ensured he didn't just stab the man outright. But as far as right now went, Josh only knew Gerwald as the liar. He only knew him as the monster that had caused all of this through his deceit. No matter what he himself sensed, he knew the man only as a liar and would remain suspicious of him until the end. Perhaps in another lifetime, he'd have given the man the benefit of the doubt. But everything that had led them to this point had made that impossible at the moment.

Gerwald stated that he would leave when he was done. That would be acceptable, if he kept his word, so he said nothing. Instead he turned his attention to Madalena when she would demand she be taken to the ship. He took a deep breath and nodded his head, grabbing his comm and issuing a command for the ship's dock to be unlocked. With that, he would lead the two out of the office and into the hanger bay. Eventually, the mechanisms that had long-held Scherezade's ship were released, and as he gazed at it, the reality of what was to come truly hit him. Josh would reach over and take Madalena's hand. He wasn't able to look at her for the moment, he was only able to stare at the ship.

"When you come back... If I'm able to, I will drop everything to come to you" Josh spoke softly toward her. "That is a promise."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"] - [member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

“Wait, you already know about the ship? Then why did I even bother coming?”

It was clear Scherezade didn’t know everything, or it had taken Gerwald that much more time in recovery. At this rate, he felt as though his presence was not needed. Gerwald had simply come to deliver a message and ensure that Scherezade returned, and that was it. Gerwald rolled his eyes, and shrugged.

“Of course you already knew,” he sighed. “She told me it’s not going to be pleasant, and it might be overwhelming. However, it would be best if I do not go in the ship myself. There is going to be plenty of other potential trauma that my presence will only add to.”

[member="Josh Dragonsflame"] [member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

No. Scherezade hadn't known everything. Had never claimed to know everything. She had given Gerwald the information on how to bring it back, knowing that Josh knew about it too. But she had not known that there were other people working towards the same goal in one way or another, had not known Madalena would be in the office when Gerwald showed up, had… Had known preciously little about what was happening where she was not. It was almost ironic, how certain things played themselves over and over again in a pattern. Of course, this was something none of those present knew.

"You have come because you are needed," said the veiled woman as she moved from the desk to stand in front of the wolf-man. "And because you wish to be here," she added after studying his features for a moment. "And you are wrong," came the third portion of her words. Her voice was dry, and harsh, like the sand in a desert, and yet something about it sounded soft and deep, speaking almost to the vibrations that ran through the bodies of those gathered with every beat of the heart.

"The two of you must go in with her, as well as the wolf," Sod said with a sigh, "I will not be entering. My life has not touched hers or the other one's and I will be a hindrance. So I shall wait for you outside."

All of them walked out to the ship's dock. Madalena blinked and rubbed her eyes once they were there, and she could see that Baal was sitting patiently, waiting for them. How had he known?

Her eyes averted then to the ship. It was an old version of a Sith Infiltrator. She recognized the design simply enough, considering the Confederacy and the Knights Obsidian made frequent use of it. But it looked… Almost ancient. And in bad repair. Almost as though someone didn't want people to think it was usable. Was it usable, at all?

Taking a deep breath, Madalena walked up the ramp and beheld the closed door. She knew. Something inside her knew that if she would simply hold her hand to the access panel, it would slide open for her. She brought her hand up hovering it inches away from the panel, not close enough for the scan to begin, and her hand shook.

"I…" her voice shook as well as her hand, and she pulled it to her chest. Madalena turned to look at Sod, at Josh, at Gerwald, at Baal. It was like a bad high school ceremony, which she never actually attended because it was all fake inside her mind. What was on the other side of that door? What was there that was so terrible that it would make her leave her body and put another one in it?

Again she raised her hand, and again it shook violently. "I can't do it," she whispered, "I can't do it alone."

Turning to look at them, her chin quivered. Would they come? Would they understand? Would they even guess how much the numbness was now making way for pure panic?

[member="Gerwald Lechner"] [member="Josh Dragonsflame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Ignoring the banter, Josh would instead look to Madalena when she would seem to get cold feet. Letting out a sigh, he would once again reach over and take her hand. "If you feel you cannot, then you do not need to. You do what you feel is best" Josh would whisper toward her softly. "But whatever decision you make, you will not be alone in it. I'll be with you until the end of the line, Maddy. That's a promise."

He hoped this wouldn't be the end though. If it were, and Madalena never came back though... Well... Gerwald and Granny had best peel out and get out of this known galaxy if they were to ever escape what he would do to them if she didn't. He was putting a lot of trust in this whole thing... A lot of trust to bring one friend back now... And the other friend back later, safe and sound. If that promise did not go unfulfilled...

Well, he would not be a very good Jedi for a little bit.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"] - [member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

Gerwald looked at the older woman.

"No," he said matter of fact. "My promise to Scherezade was to come here and tell Joshua what he needed to know in order to bring Scherezade back. Since he already knows, my promise is fulfilled. My presence is only going to be add to the mess that is about to occur, and I'm about to do that."

Pointedly, Gerwald had already made a significant mess of things to begin with.

He turned to Josh and Madalena and nodded his head.

"I wish you all the best of luck in there, and do be safe. Shocking her back to reality isn't the best plan, but I'm not about to go the other route and give false hope. I'm sorry for all the trouble I have caused, and Josh... next time she gets the bright idea to try and end herself... be a bit more forceful in stopping her."

With that Gerwald turned on his heels and walked out the door.

[member="Josh Dragonsflame"] | [member="Scherezade deWinter"]