Private Welcome back to the fire Pt.2

[Arq*]

Arq cursed behind him, halfway to pulling his collapsible baton from his coat.

"She's got a saber!" Arq shouted. "We are not equipped for this level of psycho!"

 

[Kaelon Virex]

"I noticed!" Kael growled.

 

[Zori Galea]

Zori advanced, each step measured — like a spider's foot touching silk.

"This isn't the Euphoria," she said smoothly. "You don't get to sweet talk your way out of this one."
"You came into my chamber," her voice dropped into something velvety, "and now you'll die in it."

She struck first — a horizontal arc of red light that seared across Kael's chestplate, narrowly missing flesh. Sparks flew.

 

[Kaelon Virex]

Kael dove back, dragging Arq with him. "We're not ready for this!"

 

[Arq*]

"No kriffing kidding!"

 

[Kaelon Virex]

They stumbled out the main doors, dodging a telekinetic blast that slammed the wall behind them. Dust rained down as a pipe burst overhead.


Kael threw up a shield grenade, buying a few seconds.


Behind the flickering barrier, the two men caught their breath.

 

[Arq*]

"You had one job," Arq huffed. "Don't provoke the lightsaber witch. And what did you do? You provoked the lightsaber witch!"

 

[Kaelon Virex]

Kael spit blood. "I didn't think she'd be hiding a saber in her thigh slit!"

 

[Zori Galea]

Zori's laughter echoed through the corridor — not angry. Not unhinged. Just... entertained.

"Come back when you're ready," she purred. "Or don't. I'll find you."

 

[Kaelon Virex]

Kael stared at the barrier as it began to sizzle.

"We need a plan," he muttered. "Fast. And we need to wake Sommer up now."

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer's Mind — Illusion Yacht

Silk sheets. Open balcony. The sound of the ocean was perfect.

Too perfect.

Sommer lay beside her — this dream version of Zori, no longer speaking, no longer pretending. Just… there. Beautiful. Close.

 

[Zori Galea]

One of Zori's arms was wrapped loosely around her waist. The other traced lines over her shoulder.

"Don't go," the woman whispered.

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer breathed slowly. The sound of the surf matched her pulse.

She felt her eyes flutter.

Reality was there — somewhere beyond the edge of this dream. People were shouting. Someone was bleeding for her.

But here?

Here was warm.

Safe.

Loved.

"I won't leave," Sommer whispered. Her voice cracked.

 

[Sommer Dai]

The sun never set.

The waves never changed.

And Sommer, who had survived the streets, the poison, the fire of survival — slowly began to forget what she was fighting for.

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer sat cross-legged on the velvet lounger now, overlooking a sea that still refused to ripple wrong.

She'd stopped asking how long she'd been here.

Days? Hours?

 

[Zori Galea]

Time didn't pass here. It folded. And it folded around Zori, who now lounged beside her in a sleek black satin dress, her hair glimmering with jeweled strands, her voice low and endlessly patient.

"You were always a queen," Zori said. "You just never had the kingdom."

 

[Sommer Dai]

Sommer didn't answer at first. Her drink — she couldn't remember how many she'd had — sparkled with bright pink fizz and glittering ice cubes that didn't melt.

She blinked. "I'm not like you."

 

[Zori Galea]

Zori smiled. "That's the point. You're better."

 

[Sommer Dai]

She stood, barefoot on marble that hadn't been there before. The deck of the yacht transformed into a palace balcony — veils flowing in the breeze, stars expanding above like an opera stage.

Below, the entire city of Nar Shaddaa glowed beneath her, neon woven through shadows. But it wasn't the real Nar Shaddaa — no grime, no stink, no heartbreak.

Just… order.

Beauty.

And silence.

 

[Zori Galea]

"You've scraped and clawed your way through every gutter," Zori said, walking slowly behind her. "You survived poison. Cruelty. Men who wanted to save you, or break you, or worship you — but never really knew you."

She leaned in close, voice a breath at Sommer's neck.

"What if you didn't have to survive anymore?"
"What if you ruled?"