One gloved hand and one bare hand.
It's him.
It has to be—
Gideon suddenly pops up to his feet in a trice, breaking my train of thought as I spin around to face him properly. He whips out a blaster and manages to shoot Bo-Katan square in the chest, knocking her down to the ground before turning to face Grogu. The muzzle of his small blaster levels out with the little green child before he pulls the trigger, causing Din and I to—quite literally—jump into action.
Din dives forward in an attempt to block any of the incoming blaster shots with his beskar armor, but Gideon doesn't even get the chance to shoot another round, nor does his first blaster bolt ever meet its original target. Without even thinking about it, my hands had shot forward into the air. One of them stops Gideon from moving any further while the other stops the blaster bolt that had been heading towards Din and Grogu.
Gideon's eyes widen as I keep a tight hold on him and slowly stride over to the burning red blaster bolt that's buzzing loudly in the middle of the tense air, completely stuck in place as I do my best to hold it back with the force. Din immediately swoops the child up into his arms and moves out of the way before I whip one of my lightsabers up to deflect the shot to the ceiling of the bridge.
I slowly turn back around to face Gideon, who still happens to be frozen in his spot thanks to my tight grasp on him through the force. Once I'm toe-to-toe with the tall Imperial Moff, I turn my lightsabers off. My brown eyes stare at the silver metal of the weapon for a few short moments, analyzing each intricate edge and smooth flat.
"You know, I forgot to mention this one little thing that's really been bothering me for the past few days," I say, letting out a heavy sigh while shaking my head in a disappointed manner. I take a deep breath and look back into his blown-up eyes. "You blew up my fucking ship, and I'm still mad."
I wind my arm back and whack the edge of the silver hilt across his face, immediately knocking him out in one clean hit. He slams down onto the floor, limp and unconscious. I nod my head a few times while rolling my shoulders back into a comfortable position.
"Alright, now I really feel better," I say, shrugging my shoulders as I step over his unconscious body and back over to where Din and Grgou are now huddled in front of a small screen on the nearest standing command board. I carefully pat Grogu's head, rubbing his ears as I steal a glance at the screen they're looking at.
The Jedi in question has taken out all of the Dark Troopers on the lower level of the ship and is already heading into the lift that leads right up to the bridge level we're on.
Perfect.
"Open the—"
A coughing fit interrupts my unfinished request, causing me to turn away from everyone to shove my face into the natural bend of my arm. My ribs shake as harsh coughs rack my entire body, forcing me to hold my free hand out in an attempt to balance against one of the command boards.
Din is immediately at my side, one of his gloved hands falling onto the curve of my waist while the other gently squeezes my shoulder.
Come on, I just have to last a little longer before I can crash.
I pull my face away from my arm, using the cuff of my sleeve to wipe away the remnants of red blood that has stained the corners of my mouth. I clear my throat and nod my head once before turning back around to face the small crowd. Din keeps his hands on me, steadying me out as I forcibly take a deep breath to replenish my heaving lungs.
Everyone has their eyes set on me, sending me worried glances that I choose to ignore. Maker, even Bo-Katan—who's already back on her feet after taking a kriffing close-range blaster shot to the chest plate—has the visor of her helmet glued to me.
"Open the doors," I finally manage to get out. I bring one of my hands up, tapping the large hand on my shoulder a few times before stepping out of Din's grasp.
"Are you crazy?" Fennec asks, furrowing her brows while stepping in front of me to stop me from walking any further.
"Yes, in fact, I am a little crazy. I feel like you should know this by now," I say, perking my brows while stepping around her defensive figure. I walk over to the blast doors and stop right in front of them. "Now, will you please open the kriffing blast doors?"
"Is that really the best idea for us right now?" DIn asks, making me glance over my shoulder to look at him. I already knew that he was going to protest my request, but he's really just going to have to trust me on this one. "If we open those doors, we're letting in more than we can handle."
"Cyare." I smile at him softly, tilting my head to the side while keeping my eyes on his gaze. "Shi ruusannyc ni."
We stand in silence for a few moments before he finally says, "Ni narir."
He looks over to Fennec and nods his head, telling her to do as I say. She sighs, grimaces, and reluctantly pushes the button to open the blast doors. I look back towards the large doorway, watching the dented doors slide open. Once the second set of doors disappear into the walls, the lift bell chimes loudly from the other end of the corridor.
Things are lining up just perfectly.
"May the force be with you"—I ignite both of my lightsabers as the lift doors slide open—"because you're gonna need it."
The moment I spot a flash of green light, I begin my own sequence. Using both of my sabers, I swipe down and slice through the first two Dark Troopers in my path, burning through their wires and harsh metallic exteriors. They spark and twitch before falling apart at my feet. I stab the tips of my sabers through their heads for good measure as half of the section of Dark Troopers turn around to face me.
"Well, now that I have your attention... let's do this," I say, winking before dashing forward. I work my way through each Dark Trooper, avoiding the red blaster bolts that are flying around the crowded corridor. I slice through a few of their blasters, stab through some of their heads, and slice through most of their torsos to cut off their main wire connectors.
Smoke begins to fill the small corridor, making it a little hard to breathe and see, but the flashes of green, red, and purple through the smoke make it a little easier to calculate exactly where I need to be and where I should be standing in order to not get hit (or you know... sliced in half by a lightsaber).
My body aches and my limbs strain against each other as I force my body to work through each movement, but I keep going regardless of the painful feeling.
Together the cloaked figure and I swipe through the last Dark Trooper, letting our lightsabers clash against each other as the trooper's metal remains fall to our feet. We stand still for a few moments, catching our breaths as we lean our weight to counteract each other. Soon, our lightsabers deactivate and I rush forward, wrapping my arms around the figure's neck and pulling them into a tight hug.
"It's good to see you, Luke," I breathe out, still a little out of breath as the adrenaline in my blood starts to give out and my limbs start to sting. He pulls me into a loose hug, nodding his head once.
"It's good to see you too, Mae," he says, his voice soft and sincere. I slowly pull away from him, but I keep one of my hands on his shoulder, feeling my head spin from the harsh movements of my previous attacks. "Come on, let's get you back to your friends."
He drapes one of my arms over his shoulder line, supporting half of my weight as he guides me back towards the bridge. We step through the smoke, side by side, as we clear the opaque substance. Once Luke scans the room to see that there aren't any more hostiles insight, he turns his lightsaber off and hooks it back onto his belt. We look at each other and silently nod our heads before stepping away from each other. I walk—more like limp—back over to Din and gently hook his arm with mine, letting my figure tiredly slump into his side.
"Are you a Jedi?" Din asks, carefully wrapping one of his arms around my waist while keeping his gaze locked on Luke. I smile and hum quietly, slowly leaning my head against the smooth beskar pauldron protecting his broad shoulder.
"I am," Luke answers, nodding his head. He then holds his hand right out to Grogu, his intense blue eyes meeting the child's large black ones. "Come, little one."
Maker, I forgot that he's always been the type to get straight to business (excluding all the times he's stalled a situation with his playful sarcasm).
My smile falters slightly at his forward command as well as at the thought of Grogu parting with us so soon, but I force myself to keep up a small smile on my face. Din and I slowly look back over to Grogu to see that he's already staring right back at us. He stays glued to his spot, cooing quietly while quirking his head to the side.
"He doesn't want to go with you," Din says defensively, quickly looking back over to the Jedi.
"No, he wants your permission," Luke corrects. His blue eyes send me a knowing look before speaking again. "He is strong with the force, but talent without training is nothing. I will give my life to protect this child, but he will not be safe until he masters his abilities."
I suppose it's time for us to go our separate ways.
A sigh slips past my lips as I slowly leave Din's side, hooking both of my lightsabers back onto my belt as I limp over to where Grogu is. I kneel down in front of the little green child, letting him wrap his tiny hands around my already trembling fingers. I smile some more, letting out a light chuckle to mask my sadness.
"Alright, bud. I think it's time for you to learn what you're really capable of," I say, gently rubbing the pads of my thumbs over the backs of his hands. He coos and leans into my hold, tightening his hands around my fingers. "Don't worry. Luke is an amazing teacher. He'll teach you everything you need to know about the force and more."
I pick him up from the padded seat and cradle him in my arms, keeping my smile on my face as tears threateningly prick my eyes.
I don't want to say goodbye.
So, I won't.
"I love you, kiddo," I whisper, resting my forehead against his for a few moments. He coos back and gently run his hands over the smooth skin of my face. I let out another light chuckle, biting back a quiet sob as I slowly pull away from him. "May the force be with you, always."
I press a soft peck to his forehead before passing him over to Din, letting them have their own little moment.
"Alright, go on. That's who you belong with. He's one of your kind," Din says, slowly taking a small step towards Luke. "We'll see you again. I promise."
Seemingly ignoring the tall Mandalorian's brief words, Grogu slowly reaches up, resting his hands on the front of the beskar helmet resting inches in front of his face. Astonishingly enough, Din hooks his gloved fingers onto the bottom edge of his helmet and lifts up in one fluid motion. My eyes widen and my heart stops as he actually pulls his helmet off, setting it down on the ground next to his feet as he continues to stare back at the child in his arms.
If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time in two standard years that Grogu has seen Din's face, and he doesn't seem disappointed in the slightest. The kid slowly reaches up all the way, resting his tiny little hands on Din's face. His fingers graze over the man's skin and patchy scruff, causing a small smile to pull at Din's lips.
"Alright, pal," he whispers, his voice untainted by the pesky modulator built into his helmet. "It's time to go."
The kid coos quietly as I take a few small steps towards the pair.
"Don't be afraid," he whispers, nodding his head once. He waits for another lengthy beat to pass before slowly setting Grogu down onto the ground. The kid immediately latches onto Din's leg, making me chuckle lightly as I subtly wipe away a stray tear that had forced its way through the collapsing facade that I am so desperately trying to keep up.
A few beeps go off and I immediately look up to see a familiar-looking droid that's rolling through the large doorway.
"R2, it's good to see you," I say, smiling and nodding my head at the aging droid. "I hope Luke has been oiling up that stiff ambulatory strut of yours."
The droid beeps in pure delight, turning to look at me properly as I speak. Grogu turns around and starts walking towards the droid, sharing a short conversation full of beeping and cooing. They seem to be enjoying each other's company, which is definitely a good sign, especially when it comes to R2-D2.
I look back up at Luke and let out a small sigh.
"So, I'm guessing that you're going to be taking him along to that secret little place you've been building your new Jedi academy at?" I say, perking my brows up a bit as I await an answer from him. He smiles and nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders. "Just wondering where that might be—"
"Look, you're the one who told me that you didn't want any part of what I was doing with my academy," he says, perking his brows up as if he were meaning to mock me (and knowing him, he does mean to do so).
"We're talking about the fate of my son and his training, Luke," I say, narrowing my eyes at him.
"Don't worry, Mae. I promise to protect him with my life," he ensures, nodding his head once while clasping his hands together near his front.
I glance down at the kid for a few long moments, forcibly telling myself that he'll be safe alongside Luke. Grogu looks back at me, smiling and cooing sweetly. I smile back at him, sniffing quietly before looking back up at the Jedi in front of me.
"If I comm you or send you any sort of transmission, you better answer. Got it?" I say, my smile quickly turning into a low grimace. "No more ignoring comms and no more ignoring transmissions. You've got me, your sister, and Han all worried about you."
"I'll answer," he assures, nodding his head with a small smile. I reluctantly nod back and let out a shaky breath, praying to the Maker that he's telling the truth. He picks up Grogu and carefully cradles him in his cloaked arms, readying himself to carry the small child away.
"Wait," I say, twirling one of my lightsaber hilts around in my hand before stepping up to the new pair. I hold my secondary lightsaber out to him, placing it in his outstretched hand. "When it comes time for him to build his own lightsaber, give this to him so he can put some of the spare parts to use."
Luke nods his head, sending me a small smile before hooking my secondary lightsaber onto his belt. I reach up and rub Grogu's ears one last time, hoping that it would supply a certain sense of comfort to both of us. He leans far into my touch and his large movement reveals a tiny trinket that's resting around his neck. His rumpled robes hide part of the shiny trinket, but I can still make out what the symbol is.
The Children of the Watch signet is resting in the folds of his weathering robs with a thin piece of leather holding the pendant around his neck. I know for a fact that regardless of Din breaking his creed (for a good reason, of course), his covert while always be something of importance to him.
So why not let his foundling keep something that holds so much meaning behind it?
The signet had been given to Grogu in the midst of a lengthy battle.
A battle where Din and I had thought we had lost our foundling.
A battle where we thought we had lost each other.
A battle that had been worth going through.
I smile, my eyes softening at the sight of him wearing the small signet after all this time. He coos quietly, leaning into my touch even more. I press a gentle kiss to the top of his head before stepping away one last time.
"May the force be with you," Luke says, his eyes flicking between Din and me.
"And also with you," I say, forcibly shoving a sob back down my throat in an attempt to speak normally.
Luke slowly turns away and walks down the short corridor, the thick soles of his boots thumping against the floor until they reach the lift at the end of the corridor. Grogu watches us with his big eyes over the shoulder of his new teacher, tilting his head to the side as he keeps watching us from afar. I send one last goodbye through the force, my eyes darting away the moment the lift door slides shut.
Tears start to rush down my face as my facade finally cracks.
"Damn it," I mutter under my breath. I quietly sniffle and shake my head, not wanting to cry in front of everyone standing behind me. My hands wipe at my face, trying to get rid of the hot tears that are running down my skin.
Din slowly finds his way over to my trembling form and I immediately curl into him. His hands gently grab onto mine, pulling me towards him before hugging me tightly against his chest. A pained wince slips past my lips as my entire body starts to deteriorate in his gentle hold. My head spins, making me lean into him even more in order to maintain my balance.
Now that the battle has been won and everything has come to an end, my body seems to be shutting down completely.
Just from what I'm feeling, it's a horrible and sluggish process.
"Hold on," I mutter, pulling myself away from Din. I turn towards Fennec, nod my head once, and toss my lightsaber hilt over to her. She catches it, fumbling it a bit before the silver hilt settles nicely in her hands. "Hold onto that for me until I wake up, please."
"Until you wake up?" she questions, furrowing her brows.
"Yeah, until I wake up," I confirm as I stagger over to where Din is standing. I stumble back into his arms, hooking my shaking fingers onto the top edge of his shiny beskar chest plate, hoping to keep myself up on my feet for a little while longer. He wraps his arm around my form again, helping me stay upright for the time being. My head slowly tilts up to look at him as a soft smile creeps over my face. "Hey, wanna see me do something stupid?"
"Not at all," he says, letting a small smile pull at his lips regardless of the tears that are slowly trailing from the creased corners of his eyes.
"I know," I say, leaning into him a little more. My forehead rests against his chest plate as my lungs release a heavy, labored breath. As hard as I try to keep my eyes open, my heavy lids start to diminish my effort. I slowly tilt my head back up and meet Din's gaze. "I'm sorry."
"Narir nayc eparavur takisit," he whispers, holding me even tighter. His smile slowly turns into a frown and his brow furrows. "Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum."
"I love you too."
I take one last deep breath before falling limp in his arms.
Ret'urcye mhi.
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Word count: 3491
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Translations:
Cyare: Beloved
Shi ruusaanyc ni: Just trust me
Ni narir: I do
Narir nayc eparavur takisit: Don't apologize
Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum: I love you
Ret'urcye mhi: Maybe we'll meet again
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Note: Alright, to start this off, I really almost had Mae say, "May the force be with you... bitches." to the Dark Troopers, but I refrained myself from doing so because... yeah—Anyway, there's one more chapter left and then this book will be coming to a close! It's still up in the air whether I'll write a third book for Mae and Din, but I suppose we'll see... Now that we're done with that, how are y'all doing? How're you feeling about the book coming to an end? Well, I hope all is well and I'll see you guys next chapter!