32

Days passed.

Months.

Years.

Or perhaps only seconds. There was no way to tell in the nightmares. No way to tell truth from lies; minutes from hours.

In the eons of time that stretched in her memory, Saedii became a monster. She was a killer with thousands of victims. A murderer with buckets of blood dripping from her hands. She knew intimately what it felt like to have the blood of her friends and family cool on her skin, and the words they spoke as they begged for her mercy.

Monster.

There was nothing left of her. Not in this nightmare world. Not in the visions. Here, she'd become the worst version of herself. Someone who was desperate enough to embrace the dark for only a mere glimpse of the light.

One nightmare bled into the next. On and on until she could no longer tell what was real and what wasn't. Until it all felt the same. Until none of it mattered.

Traitor.

Blood stuck to her face. Her hair. Below her, the bodies of friends and families scattered at her feet. Ripped apart by her hands.

There was one more left.

Saedii turned towards the figure of Omega, sobbing over Hunter's body. Red stained the front of her flight suit. The same red that stained Saedii's hands. Around them, the grungy floors of the Black Hole were a river of blood.

"Please, Saedii," Omega said for the thousandth time.

It was always the same. Omega always begged her. Tried to appeal to her better nature, even when there was none left.

The lightsaber glowed red in Saedii's hand. "Begging won't save you."

By now, she knew what words to say. Knew what Krell wanted to hear. Anything to make the nightmare end sooner. Sometimes, if she pleased him, he would reward her with empty dreams. Pockets of peaceful nothingness.

That was all she wanted now. Nothing else mattered.

The neon signs above the bar buzzed. Broken bottles glittered the ground, smashed to bits from the deflected shots of the Batch. The harsh scent of cheap ergas stung Saedii's nose.

Omega screamed and crawled backwards as Saedii stalked towards her. Her eyes were panicked. Terrified. "You don't have to do this."

"No," Saedii agreed lightly. "But I want to."

Krell enjoyed it when she was needlessly cruel. Enjoyed the barbed words that she used to taunt her prey before she killed them.

"You're my sister."

"I'm nothing."

Lies draped in truth. She was nothing.

Omega's lip quivered. "You're not dreaming, Saedii. Please, you have to believe me! It's real!"

Once, this would have made her pause. Back in the beginning, when Saedii had hoped that she was getting out of this terrible dream world that Krell had imprisoned her in.

Now, she knew better.

Her hand brushed her throat unconsciously, feeling for a necklace that she knew wasn't there. It would never be there. She was never getting out of here.

Empty. As always.

Saedii's hand fell back to her side. Her other tightened on the blade in her hand. "None of this is real."

Her blade raised above her head.

And just like that, the inside of the Black Hole faded into darkness. The blood on her hands vanished. The bodies of her friends – gone in an instant. If she had a body in this dark and empty nothingness, it would have sighed in relief.

Finally. This was what she'd wanted.

She must have impressed Krell. He hadn't even waited for her to kill Omega. A small mercy. Usually, he didn't make her stop until they were all dead.

The darkness was peaceful around her. Unending and silent. Here, she wasn't a monster. Didn't have blood on her hands. She just existed, a steady pulse of light and life.

Except...

A voice spoke her name. Distant. A whisper.

Saedii...

No. Another dream already? He couldn't. The last had just ended.

Faint sounds were beginning to pierce through the darkness. The murmur of voices too far to be understood. The scuff of metal on stone. A shrill ringing, low and persistent in her ear.

Saedii.

She clung to the darkness. She didn't want another dream. Didn't want to hurt and kill again.

Just a few more minutes of peace.

The voices were getting louder. When she shied from it, her head lolled against cold stone. Her body was quickly coming back to her. Cold skin. Sore muscles. Dry throat.

No. Another dream. Another nightmare.

"Saedii!" a voice shouted close by. It was only just audible through the ringing.

Not a ringing. An alarm. It blared overhead, flashing red lights against the closed lids of her eyes.

"Maker, she's a mess. Look at her arm," a different voice said.

"Tech can fix it."

"Are you sure? Some of those wires are fried."

As the rest of her body slowly came back to her, she was aware of hands on her. The binders were being ripped away, freeing her from the stone table. Someone stroked along her cheek in a protective touch.

Sure hands were prodding at the stump of her arm. Running along the wounds that had slowly scabbed but still ached. "The prosthetic is destroyed. I will need to construct a new one."

"How long will that take you?"

"That is not my current concern. The wound on her back will need medical attention. It has not been healed properly."

A bite of pain echoed along her shoulder, down her spine. Her breath caught before she could help it.

"Saedii?" a low voice coaxed again. "Can you hear me? We're getting you out of here, kid."

She didn't want to leave. She'd had this dream before. Krell loved to torment her with visions where she was freed only to make her execute her saviors in the hangar bay. If she could only save herself a few more minutes. Linger in the dark for just another moment of peace...

"Can't you go any faster?" a thin, whispery voice demanded.

"We are going as fast as we can," another retorted. "Her injuries –"

"Ahsoka can't hold them for long."

The hand on her cheek lingered on her scar. "Wolffe and the boys are covering her. She'll be alright."

Finally, the last binder was clipped. The cold air bit at the raw skin on her wrist and ankles. She shivered.

All of her limbs felt heavy, like massive weights held her in place. Exhaustion weighed on her head. Her eyes, though she fought to open them, stayed shut. She felt drained.

Sometimes, Krell liked to do this. Liked to make it worse by making her fight her way through her friends under the influence of spice or a sedative. He enjoyed how much more she struggled.

"Wrecker."

A massive set of arms scooped her up, cradling her body protectively. "I've got her."

Footsteps echoed into a cavernous space. In her head, Saedii traced their path. They would be running out to the hall, like always. Fighting their way up to the hangar bay at the top. The thousands of times before this flashed in her head, each more terrible than the last. It always ended in blood.

This time, the halls were silent. There were no stormtroopers to slow their path. No Inquisitors to help Saedii cut her way through. The chest beneath her ear took in slow, silent breaths as they began to descend up.

"Rex has the guards engaged," Hunter's voice reported.

"What about the Inquisitor?" Echo this time. Saedii was starting to pick out their voices.

"Still occupied."

A door opened. Faint echoing booms vibrated the air. The ground beneath them shook violently. Wrecker nearly stumbled.

The heaviness in her limbs was receding at a glacial pace. Faint feeling in her fingertips made her impatient. Whatever Krell was holding her down with, it was taking longer than usual to wear off. She was impatient. Ready to get this over with so she could return to the dark.

The blaster fire grew louder. Closer. The fight that always waited for them was finally drawing near. The final piece where Hunter and the rest would be subdued and forced before her on their knees.

Why wasn't she waking up? Krell liked her to lead this part. If the weights didn't release her soon, she wouldn't have any part in this.

Cold salty air blasted her bare skin. The arms holding her instinctively tucked her closer as the air around them was suddenly alive with blasts of heat. Saedii's fingers twitched and she fought to move – to do something. Anything.

"Go! Get to the transport!" Echo shouted above the sharp bark of a blaster.

Sound and light exploded around them. Without her sight, it was overwhelming. Disorienting. The darkness spun and threatened to yank her down.

People were screaming. Men shouted orders – to close the hangar, to call for reinforcements, to hold the damned line!

Further away, an enraged voice snarled, "Don't let them escape!"

Krell. Saedii felt dizzy again. He didn't often insert himself into her nightmares, but when he did, they were more gruesome than usual. What terrible deeds did he have planned for when she finally opened her eyes? What would he make her do this time?

"Hurry!" Hunter barked.

Saedii's body jostled as their speed increased. Around her, pressing against her skin, the Force hummed with battle. With pain and anger and determination. Blood and blaster fire. A faint image toyed with her senses: three ships parked at the edge of the hangar, two more overhead peppering shots upon the sea-locked Fortress, red lightsabers fighting against two blue.

This was different. Very different.

For a moment, Saedii didn't know what she was supposed to do. Did she need to kill the Batch? Help fight against the Jedi – Ahsoka, she thought, as the faint image of a figure flipped along the far corner of the hangar? Dozens of white armored Clone troopers fought with the stormtroopers, painting the deck in red.

Why couldn't she move?

A new sound echoed beneath her. The tinny peal of boots on steel. The echo of a cavernous space. The arms that held her breathed a sigh of relief as another voice shouted, "We've got her! Fall back!"

Footsteps thundered up behind her. The heart beneath her ear was beating fast as she was set down. More voices called, urging each other to go faster. And beneath it all, the faint hum of an engine powering on.

No.

They weren't supposed to take her.

She was never supposed to let it get this far. Krell would punish her for this. For her failure to save herself.

Her arm jerked as she surged against the invisible bonds that tied her down. Her eyes, which had been heavy and unyielding, suddenly flew open.

Colors were blurring around her. The faint outlines of helmets leaning over her, trying to force a respirator over her mouth. An IV into her skin. The dull interior of a small transport ship, packed full of Clones.

"Hey, it's alright!" Hunter was closest. His hand shot out as she tried to sit, stilling the slow progress of her still-heavy body. When she turned to look at him, he removed his helmet so that she could see his eyes. Warm and familiar. And full of relief. "You're safe now. Just lie down."

"Hunter?" Saedii said. Her voice was thick. She fought against the hand that tried to stick the needle into her skin.

"I'm right here."

"Easy, kid," Echo added gruffly, somewhere behind her.

"You are in need of medication. If you would just let me –" Tech began, but cut off with a gurgle as Saedii's fingers curled and the Force wound around his neck.

The others froze as Saedii sat up. As they caught the expression on her face, which was cruel and cold. As her lips curled back into a terrible snarl.

"Saedii?" Hunter asked.

"I don't want to be saved," Saedii said. Krell's favorite line. She could almost hear him whispering in her mind, Resist.

She pushed out. Tech's body flew through the length of the transport ship, colliding with a sharp crack against the far wall.

Hands reached for her. Trying to hold her down.

But she struck out, slamming her elbow across Hunter's temple. Driving her knee into Echo's chest, who wheezed. As the two slumped beside her, Saedii pulled Hunter's vibro knife from its sheath and slid into a crouch.

Around the transport ship, the other Clones suddenly swung their blasters towards her. The ship shuddered and groaned beneath them as something exploded just outside their walls, but Saedii's feet were sure as she widened her stance. Picking out her first target.

One Clone shoved to the front. Weapon pointed at her. Rex.

"Kid, it's us," Rex said over the top of his gun. "You're not in any danger."

"Why would I believe the word of a traitor?" she said, voice chilled.

He didn't lower it.

"Come on, kid! Snap out of it!" Wrecker added.

Saedii's gaze slipped to Crosshair, who was frozen in the door. He was the only one who hadn't raised his weapon towards her. The only one who stood as if in stupefied silence. Transfixed.

"You're all traitors to the Empire. By Imperial Order 66, all traitors are to be executed," Saedii said.

"Sedate her," Tech called, voice tight with pain. "Before she hurts herself."

She smiled. They could try.

Rex's finger tightened on the trigger. "Sorry about this, kid."

She moved at the same time he did. His shot sailed over her head, blinking against the far wall just as her blade buried itself into his shoulder. He yelped and fell, clutching at the blade that stuck out from his arm.

Wrecker's arms grabbed for her, but she slipped beneath them, snatching the knife from Rex's shoulder. Her arm yanked back and her eyes narrowed on the small gap of skin between his helmet and his chest plate. Right where his carotid artery was.

Someone caught the blade. Another Clone.

He pulled her back, trying to stun her, but in the commotion, his shot went wide. Missing his target.

She didn't miss hers.

A fountain of blood spurted from his neck as she stabbed the vibro blade deep into his skin. From far away, Krell's voice crooned, More blood. More death, and I will set you free.

Freedom was close. She had to keep going.

"Saedii, stop!" Hunter's voice shouted.

But she didn't. As another set of arms reached for her, she lashed out, catching another throat. Spilling more blood. Taking another life.

It wasn't enough. Krell would demand more. He would want them all dead.

If she didn't, he'd punish her. There would be more nightmares, more killing. More pain and pleading and suffering.

The blade was finally knocked from her grasp. Wrecker's massive arms wound around her, putting her into a headlock. Trying to immobilize her.

Krell would be growing impatient. She could hear his voice in her head, snarling, What are you waiting for? Kill them.

Holding tight to the back of his neck, Saedii flung herself forward, using her momentum to break his hold just as Hunter had taught her. Wrecker's arms swung back out towards her, missing by inches, and he yelped as she jumped onto his back.

Her arm wound around his neck.

"Stop! We're you're friends!" Wrecker bellowed as he fought to get her off.

Another Clone reached for her and she glared at him, sending a push into the Force. It took him off his feet, sweeping him straight into the two others that waited behind him.

Saedii began to twist. Wrecker howled as his head was forced to the side, straining. Beneath her hand, she felt as the bone readied to give.

Hunter was suddenly there, tearing at her hands. Trying to break her hold.

"Come on, kid. Fight it." Hunter said desperately into her ear, pulling her arm away from him inch by inch. "We're your family."

"I'm not your family." She released Wrecker so fast that both he and Hunter stumbled. Saedii grabbed Hunter by the throat, crushing it beneath her fingers. "The Inquisitors are my family. You are an inconvenience."

White light exploded before her, close enough that she felt the heat against her skin. A blaster bolt.

She turned slowly.

Crosshair was sighting down his sniper. One hand trembled as it reached up and switched back to stun.

"Don't make me do this." His voice was low. Pleading.

Saedii actually laughed. He always hesitated. "You won't. You never do."

In her head, Krell screamed, Enough playing! Kill them!

Hunter choked as the Force tightened on his throat.

A warning whispered against her skin. A movement too quick for her eyes to catch. She turned instinctively, towards Crosshair. Eyes widening as she felt the incoming heat.

Blinding white light engulfed her then, burning down every nerve ending. Her already sore muscles tensed, body going rigid and then slack. Stunned. Hunter slipped from her grasp as she swayed, sputtering for breath.

Saedii tried to glance behind her, tried to see who'd done it even as the darkness hedged in.

There was a flash of shorn, dark hair. A silver, scarred eye. Grey paint across a white chest plate. A single blaster raised in her direction.

Wolffe, she thought feebly as her body collapsed.

Then there was nothing. Finally nothing.