She couldn't believe it. The fear that gripped her stomach as Y/n slid down one of Dathomir's slimy slopes was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Cal was gone. She watched him disappear beyond the rock wall that separated them on this horrible planet. She had never felt such terror in her life, not even when the Shyyyo Bird had fallen on Kashyyyk. She knew then that Cal was alive, and that she could get back to him. But right here on Dathomir, they were separated. She didn't even know if his heart was still beating. Force, she hoped it was.
After what felt like hours, but in reality was probably only a few seconds, Y/n fell into a large swampy pit. She groaned as she hit the ground face first, feeling the slime go all over her front. Her hair was now coated the Dathomir's green mud, her shirt soaked as well. She raised herself up onto her hands, looking around at the environment she was now in. It was filled with hot mist, water dotting small areas of the swamp like little pools. Green, red, and purple moss covered many of the rocks, and she could hear the calls of many different animals surrounding her.
Standing back up, she rubbed what mud she could off of her face and arms, her eyes not leaving her environment. Without Cal by her side, she was unsure of her likelihood of surviving, especially if more of those Nightbrothers or undead Nightsisters found her. Keeping a steady hand on her blaster, she looked for the nearest path. It didn't take her long, finding a small way through the swamps, but it only led to more swamp.
Y/n looked up at the rocks and bridges that were built over her. If she could just get up to one of those, she'd have a vantage point of where she was, hopefully even being able to see the Mantis. Taking her blaster from her hip, she went to fire off the grapple, only to find the mechanism broken. "No. No, no, no, no!" Y/n muttered as her hands fumbled with the gun, trying to fix the grapple. When she realized it was a lost cause, she let out a scream. "Kriff!!" she cried, holding her hand to her head in frustration and fear.
"Y/n... Y/... Are you t... I'm... find you..."
Y/n's eyes widened when she heard Cal's crackling voice over the comms. "Cal?! Cal is that you? Can you hear me?"
"Y/n? ...cut out... I can't... you.."
"Cal? Oh, for the love of all that is good," Y/n muttered to herself, feeling her eyes sting from frustration. "Please, I can hardly understand you! You're cutting out!"
"...put an... move... find yo... BD track..."
He suddenly went silent. "Cal?" Y/n spoke, and fiddled with the comm in her hand. "Cal, oh please don't be broken too. No, no, no, I can't do this without you! Cal!!"
Y/n felt a tear finally drop past her eye, closing them tightly as she put her dirty fists up to her head. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't contact Cal, which meant she couldn't contact Cere and Greez to even attempt to get her out of this swamp. Her land must've been worse than she anticipated, going by the pain she felt in her side. She knew she didn't break anything, she would've known, but she definitely bruised herself bad. Once again, she realized she was short of something she usually relied on. BD's stims.
She needed a moment to collect herself. She could feel the lump in her throat growing as she tried to keep the tears at bay. Literally any other planet in the galaxy would've been better to be alone on than Dathomir. "Damn Nightsister. Damn Nightbrothers. Damn this whole planet!!" she shouted out, picking up a rock and throwing it at the nearest wall. She watched as a piece flung off, falling into a nearby shallow pool of water. "And especially damn the walking dead."
"Okay, okay. Y/n," she started talking to herself, letting out a breath and closing her eyes. "What would Cal do? What... would Cal do...?" She began pacing back and forth, racking her brain to find any way out of this. "He would... meditate. Look to BD's map for the next path. Or just... start swinging his lightsaber around." She tilted her head. "Only one of those I can do right now, and I can't even do it properly." Meditation had never been one of her stronger skills. Letting out a pained sigh, she whispered, "Oh, what the hell can I even do? I'm no Jedi. I'm just a karking doctor."
She really wished she was lost on Coruscant instead. She could navigate her way out of that slum better than she could navigate the Mantis.
She took another gaze around the swamps she was stuck in. She was beginning to notice the stench that lingered around the mist. It reeked of decomposing bodies and decay. She could only imagine why, until she turned a corner and found a wide eyed Nightbrother corpse sitting against the stone wall. Y/n yelped, covering her mouth in horror as its pale, empty eyes bore into hers. Death wasn't a shock to her, but now that she was alone and in a place so obviously familiar with death, she was frightened that whatever had killed this Nightbrother would soon come to claim her next.
Turning back, due to her merely finding a dead end, she let out a breath. She really wished she at least had BD at her side to help her get out of this swamp. She didn't know how long she had been there, but it was starting to get to her. She at least knew that Cal was alive, although she couldn't contact him. Hopefully he had landed in a relatively nearby part of Dathomir, and BD-1 could scan his way to finding her. But Y/n knew she couldn't just sit here and wait for the Nightsister to find her just to kill her. Moving was probably the best option, especially since the swamps were starting to feel like they had eyes constantly on her.
She had managed to find a small way through to another side of the swamp, squeezing through a portion of rock that opened up towards a more... luscious part of the swamp. Luscious was being kind, considering that this part merely held more different types of flora. Plants that looked like bulbous red blood cells covered the sides of the rock, not to mention the various colored mosses and flowering plants that were currently being fed on by a large bane-back spider.
"Kriffing hell," she whispered to herself as the spider turned around to notice her presence. Taking her blaster, she shot it twice to bring it down. Although her ease lasted all of one second before she heard the sound of a hissing growl. The very same the undead Nightsister made when they were closing in. "Oh, come on."
She continued forward, examining every single rock formation and structure around her that could possibly get her out of the swamp pit. Just to be above the mist and the green water and able to see where she was on the planet. Keeping a firm grip on her electrified baton, Y/n peered around any corners before moving on, not wanting to be caught off guard by one of the walkers.
Except, that's exactly what ended up happening.
When Y/n saw the bane-back spider charging at her from the front, she didn't think to look to the side. As she shot the spider, she suddenly felt herself be tackled to the ground by bony hands. She grunted as she hit the ground, feeling her baton get knocked out of her hand as the undead Nightsister wrapped its fingers around her neck. It hissed and growled down at her as it crushed her windpipe beneath its hands.
Y/n tried to take a breath, but all that came was pitiful gasps that left her with less breath than before. She tried to reach her hand towards her baton, but it was just out of her reach. Looking up into the eyes of her murderer, all she could see was the shimmering green of the magick that made the walker so strong. Spots began to dance in her eyes, and her fingers suddenly brushed against a rock. With one last fit of strength, she took the rock into her grip and bashed it into the head of the walker as hard as she could.
She coughed as she regained her breath, gasping as she managed to sit upright and get on top of the Nightsister before it could crawl to its bony feet. Y/n could feel herself losing control as she kept bringing the rock down onto the head, feeling the fragile skull crush under the weight of her attack. She didn't stop, not even when she felt the body of the walker stop twitching. Not even when the head of the walker was just a pulp of skin and bone on the ground.
Finally, when she did stop, she dropped the rock on the ground as she caught her breath. Looking down at her work, she suddenly realized just how far she had gone. Quickly standing, Y/n stepped away from the body of the Nightsister in a hurry, picking up her baton without taking her eyes off the body. She didn't mean to get so violent. She just wanted to get rid of her attacker. She knew she should've stopped when the walker stopped moving, but something inside her whispered to just keep going. Make sure it was defeated.
There was that damned devil again, laughing on her shoulder.
"Dathomir is driving me over the edge," Y/n muttered to herself, turning around so she would stop looking at the body. Would she have done that to a stormtrooper on Zeffo? A living man behind the mask of the Empire?
You know you wanted to. They took everything from you. Why not take their life from them in the form of punishment? the devil whispered to her, but she shook her head with closed eyes as tears fell down her cheeks in a silent plea for help.
"No. I shouldn't have done that. It doesn't matter if it was already dead. I couldn't control myself," Y/n spoke back and immediately scolded herself for it. "Don't respond. Just don't listen."
Like you don't listen to you heart every time you're near Cal? Sure, just ignore me like your feelings.
I have no feelings for Cal Y/n told herself.
Liar
"Go away," Y/n said, shaking her head free of the voice. Luckily, it was whisked away by the time she kept moving.
Finally, after managing to avoid the other undead Nightsisters that roamed around the area, she found a small ladder that led to the higher rocks and bridges above the swamp. She almost let out a cry of joy until she heard a walker heading her direction. Clipping her blaster back onto her belt, she started to climb up the ancient wooden ladder as fast as she could. Just as she reached the top and swung her leg over, she looked down to see a Nightsister jumping up to try and reach her, waving it's skinny arms and growling. "Go back to Hell," Y/n sneered at it, shooting a bolt down upon its head. It fell to the ground, but went to get back up. She paid no heed.
Now that she could see where she was, her eyes gazed over Dathomir's surface. She couldn't see the Mantis, unfortunately, but it probably wouldn't have done her any good anyway. She had no way of knowing where she was or how to get anywhere. BD was back with Cal, who she hoped was faring alright by himself. He had BD's stims to get him through any fights he had, although it might not be enough. She cleared her mind of the thoughts jumbling her focus, looking out at some way to reach back to the Mantis. She figured the only way to do this was to retrace her steps the best she could.
Y/n began walking down the rock bridge, coming back to the cavernous and abandoned Nightsister ruins. She looked down through the windows, seeing the familiar swamp below her as a nydak crashed through a pack of walkers. She averted her eyes. She didn't want to think of what could've happened had that giant, rageful creature found her before she found her exit.
The doctor came to a familiar slope, seeing the trail that led out just under it. Deducing she could follow this back, she stepped up to the path under the slope she had fallen from, keeping herself up and on guard for any undead or Nightbrothers. With her electrobaton in hand, she was careful just as she was in the swamps. Checking corners and moving quickly and quietly. She was surprised when she saw the low amount of undead Nightsisters stalking the corridors. When she was with Cal, they were at every turn. Now, she only ever saw two or three rogue ones in total as she moved through Dathomir.
Oh, Force, she needed to find Cal. If all those Nightsisters and Nightbrothers were running after him while he was alone, she feared for his survival.
"You are no Jedi."
The Nightsister survivor's voice made Y/n turn in a flurry with her baton extended and electrified. Except, the woman wasn't sending her forces after her. She was simply standing there, the last residual bits of her fire flying off of her as she solidified in front of Y/n. Finally taking in the words the Nightsister said, Y/n shrugged slightly and replied, "I told you. I'm just a doctor."
"And yet, you travel with a liar and a murderer," the Nightsister sneered, the darkness behind her voice returning.
"I don't know what you've heard about the Jedi, but... that's wrong," Y/n stated as simply and carefully as she could. "And, to be honest, you don't seem like you get out much to know."
"I know enough," the Nightsister barked back at her. "I know it was Jedi that stormed my home, sending my sisters to their fate. It was one carrying the blade your Jedi carries in his hands."
Y/n knew starting a fight wasn't going to help her here. She couldn't contend with Nightsister magick, it was too powerful. It was almost like fighting a Jedi. But she could use her more diplomatic side. "Okay, I'm sorry for what happened to your people," she began, turning off her baton. The Nightsister tilted her head, which Y/n knew wasn't a good sign, but nothing happened. "But you have to believe me when I tell you the Jedi were not the ones that burned down your home."
"I have no quarrel with you, Doctor," the Nightsister addressed her, shaking her head. "But whatever the Jedi has told you, it is a lie. I know what I have seen with my own eyes. I cannot mistake what happened to my fallen sisters."
Y/n needed to find another way. She hesitated, but asked, "What's your name?"
The Nightsister furrowed her brows. "Why should I give you my name?"
"I don't know. If we're talking, I might as well be able to address you as something other than 'Nightsister'," Y/n spoke as easily as she could, giving a light shrug.
The cloaked woman paused for a moment. She did not let her expressions give away her emotions. Y/n was almost certain she was going to die, until the woman took a breath and said, "Merrin."
"Merrin," Y/n repeated with a gentle smile. "I'm Y/n Novar." Merrin nodded her head at the information, although her expression remained unchanged. "Look, Merrin, Cal and I are on a mission, and everything depends on us succeeding."
"I cannot allow you or your Jedi to reach my ancestor's temples," Merrin told her with a shake of her head. "That ground has been sullied enough."
"I know it's important to you, but this is important to us. To our friends," Y/n tried, almost begging her. It was certainly easier to talk to Merrin than it was to fight her.
"And why should I care about your mission, hm?" Merrin questioned her. "A mission I am unsure I can trust from your mouth when you travel beside one who brought my sisters to their graves."
"Massacres right now are more often than you think," Y/n sighed out, causing Merrin to raise a brow. "There is a great evil in the galaxy right now, Merrin. Cal- My friend is trying to stop it."
"Your friend," Merrin began, "has already desecrated sights sacred to me trying to reach your treasure."
"And I am sorry for that. I truly am," Y/n spoke as softly as she could, stepping closer the Nightsister. "But, please, you have to know that he's been through hell too. We all have. And he's trying to stop more people from living through what we've had to live through."
"You say you are a doctor, yes?" Merrin questioned her, and Y/n nodded her head. "You are a doctor, but you fight. And you harm. I cannot help but think this Jedi is the reason for it."
"Trust me, it's not the Jedi that made me this way," Y/n nearly scoffed, but held it in her chest. "I fight because there are people out there that can't. And right now I'm fighting to make sure that they won't have to in the future. Merrin, all I am asking is that your Nightbrothers retreat. Or... you know, you stop sending your dead sisters after us, cause honestly, it's starting to freak me out."
"My sisters know who is responsible for their deaths," Merrin said, but shook her head. "You are not one of them, Y/n." The doctor was almost relieved until the Nightsister started speaking again. "But I cannot say the same for your friend. I am sorry, but they will not relent until the Jedi is dead."
"Please, Merrin," Y/n spoke one last time as Merrin started to move back.
"I will not harm you, Y/n Novar. But I will also not aid you," Merrin told her. She paused, and touched the necklace on her chest. It looked like gold teeth, but she dropped her hand as quick as she had brought it up. "You are the first person to offer me kindness in a long time. I will not forget it."
"Merrin-" Y/n was cut off when the Nightsister lifted her hands as a ball of fire grew in them. It was almost mesmerizing how the flames reflected in her eyes. Merrin suddenly disappeared behind her fire, disintegrating into the air of Dathomir. And with that, she was gone. "Damn it," Y/n muttered, suddenly more on edge. With less walkers after her, that just meant more would be going after Cal. "I kriffed up bad," she muttered, and turned to run back towards the path she was following. "I need to find Cal."
Y/n's journey was surprisingly short, given that she no longer had to worry about Nightbrothers or Nightsisters slinking over her shoulder or coming out to kill her from behind a door. Just as she was turning a corner, she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of fear course through her body. Furrowing her brows, she leaned against the wall beside her with a hand to her chest, doing everything in her power to calm her now racing heart and soothe her tiring lungs. Blinking away the terror, she looked around her environment, seeing nothing that could've triggered such fear in her. Where had that come from?
She saw no reason in thinking any longer on the matter, and continued forward. Although not without a wonder on whether or not Cal was alright out on his own on Dathomir. Y/n worried deeply that Merrin's undead army would kill him and she wouldn't even get the chance to try and help him, let alone say goodbye. She didn't want to say goodbye to Cal. She shouldn't have to. "Oh, shut up, Y/n. Now you're just scaring yourself with scenarios," Y/n scolded herself, although pleasantly surprised when no devil appeared on her shoulder wearing her face.
The ache in her body was starting to get noticeable as she kept climbing back to their original position. She was becoming increasingly tired. All Y/n wanted to do was curl up in a nearby cave, preferably an empty one, and just sleep until Cal found her or the Mantis reached out to her with working comms. Both were just as unlikely as the other. She forced herself to keep her eyes open, aggravated she didn't have any stims to keep her body up to speed with her situation. Her feet were sore, and mud dried in her hair and clothes from her time in the swamp. Her legs were close to just dragging her feet forward with every step.
"Force, Cal. Where are you?" Y/n muttered to herself, finding refuge by a large rock as she merely sat, listening to the wind blow through her ears.
Her moment of rest of harshly interrupted by the sudden shout of a boy, and something crash landing into the ground beside her.