All That Remains: Cenotaph

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

They were like some hopeful couple, standing upon a beachfront and watching a glorious sunrise.

Except the sun was already halfway above them, and the land it bathed with its light was a horrendous scene.

She felt his hand take hold of her own, felt his closeness. He was an oppressive creature, with his desires and intentions. And yet she still held firm. She let out a long breath, looking from him to the wreckage of Dauntless. His tool. Much as she had been his tool.

This scene now, with so much tumult roiling beneath the surface.

"We could have been the best, you know," she finally breathed out.

Her gaze was sent outwards, to the end result of so many years of his hard work.

[General Dan]

"We were both our best selves. Would've been one hell of a match."

He held her hand, watching the hull of Dauntless begin to list as enough compartments began to flood to pitch it further below. The lie was easy to believe. Darth Decepis, the Lord of the Sith, almost believed his own.

A heavy breaker crashed on the shore, rushing water up to their ankles in a surge. Through the roar of water in motion, an energetic hiss almost passed unheard. With the blade held out of her sight, the Dark Lord brought his weapon around quickly, pouring all his focus into a fast, decisive strike.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

In perfect concert with his own strike, the twin orange blades of her saber sprang to life, rising up to meet his killing blow with a block. She had half-turned to face him, maintaining her hold on his hand, and held him at bay for the briefest of moments. It felt like seconds that stretched into hours. In the next breath her body tensed ever so slightly, and she heaved both of their weapons to the side. Her grip on his hand was like a beskar trap, keeping him from moving away even as she countered another swing from his familiar serpent hilt. The Lupine wrenched his arm and pulled him even closer, feeling as the two occupied the same space in the sand.

Another rapid deflection, and as both weapons traveled up and dangerously between them to crackle together over the tops of their still clasped hands, she let her entire being grow calm. The Force pulsed all around, giving strength and resolve.

In the next moment her blades extinguished, and she caught his backhanded swing with the two emitters, trapping both his hand and his hilt between them.

It was then that she gave a twist of her wrist, sending his now useless weapon spinning from his fingers. In the same moment she grasped his now free hand, and her body moved swiftly, drawing them fully together as her lips met his in one last kiss.

And yet, it was a kiss that drew from him everything. All that he was, all that he had once been, and all that he could've possibly been in the future. She felt the Force pool around and through her, giving her the strength that she needed even as she continued to pull from him every last shred of his own connection to the Force. So much of his being was rooted in the ethereal powers, drawing life from it and sustaining his years far beyond what were natural. Every layer, every facet, every tenuous thread that held him fast was severed and taken away until there was nothing left.

Until it was just... Dan Thrule.

Slowly, she parted her lips from his. She still held both of his hands, and as she opened her eyes there was a sorrowful look of finality that she sent up to him.

[General Dan]

He'd been fast. As fast as he needed to be, fast enough to strike his former pupil down. It was fast enough, until it wasn't. She disarmed him and drew him into embrace. Instead of her own blade, she struck in a way he had not anticipated.

And then it was done.

They parted lips, and Dan's breath exhaled in a ragged rush. He'd counted on the Force as his tool for centuries. In a moment, senses that seemed second nature were now leaden and dulled. There wasn't even time to lash out and stop it. He'd been so perfectly undone. Now the only thing that kept him here was the connection to her, and her own willingness to maintain it. Darth Decepis, the Lord of the Sith who's reign had lasted longer than all others, was now watching the last chapter in his story being penned. What was left to be said by him?

"That was pretty fast, kid."

He felt tired, weak, and yet somehow relieved? Without the Force to command and control to his whims, the novelty of endings and finality captured his attention and he could no longer look away from it, or her.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It was the first time she'd ever heard him speak in such an unguarded tone, and her features pinched as she felt a tumult of emotions threaten to overtake her.

Relief, elation, sadness, loss, triumph... they all washed over her even as she still held fast to him. Her eyes remained locked with his, and the Lupine blinked away the onset of a tear.

"It kind of was, wasn't it."

It was all she could think of to say in that moment.

It was easy to see though, that the strain of holding him in his current state was a taxing endeavor, and she let out a hissed exhale even as her shoulders slumped. But still she held his years at bay, still refusing to let him go just yet.

"I... "

Even after everything he had done to her, done to twist her about, and done to try and reshape her into something evil, she couldn't help but feel so terribly for him in this moment. She couldn't break his gaze, and gave the slightest shake of her head.

"... I'm so sorry."

[General Dan]

He shook his head.

"It's what you were meant to do. Maybe it's even what I deserve."

He was aware of his ambitions and all of his machinations. It would be hollow to apologize for that.

"It's funny. I've had all this time. Never once have I given much thought to how it would end. I probably would have changed a few things, but in a way, I'm glad it was you."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I would've been upset if it wasn't me," she whispered.

One of her hands released, traveling up the length of his arm, and over his shoulder to rest her palm along his jawline. His features were familiar, and she gave a smile that was also a grimace.

Cut away from the Force and all of its power, she knew that his ability to lie was severely diminished. He could certainly try, but in his severed state, she would know. To that end, she spoke once more.

"What would you like me to tell our children... ?"

[General Dan]

"I haven't taught you everything I know, Lok. That's not how it works. But you know enough. You can create a lie big enough to live in. But maybe with a certain point of view, it might even be true."

The wistfulness of his smile now eclipsed the secrecy of his previous expression.

"Tell them a good one. They deserve the best."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Even now, he deflected. It made her give him the smallest of smiles, and the Lupine stood on her toes to deliver a gentle press of her lips to his cheek.

"I will do my best," she breathed. Was that a lie of her own?

Pulling back, she gave him a concerning look, watching as the lines of his face gradually deepened, her hold on his life beginning to slowly falter.

Another minute passed in silence, and she couldn't help but send her hand further up, undoing his hair to let it fall to his shoulders.

"The one thing that would have saved you," her fingers toyed with a thin lock of his hair for one last time, "... was the one thing you could never do."

He was a creature of finality and avarice, however, and she conceded him that, at least.

"But I suppose you wouldn't be you if that was the case."

[General Dan]

Dan said nothing to that, except to raise his eyebrows as his head canted, an unspoken admission of the truth in her words.

"If they ask about me, truth or lie, I trust that to you. You won, so you get to say. But if there's anything I can tell them that they ought to know, you know, a father's advice, I'd tell them to not make any excuses or apologies for who they are or who they choose to be."

As he spoke, Dan looked here and there. To their feet standing next to one another on the beach as the waves barely touched them. To the land, the sea, the sky. He took it all in like a person who knew that was going to be the last look.

"That's the one power everyone starts off with, and too many people give away."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She gave a silent nod, her own eyes turning to the water. In the distance, Dauntless let out a rumbling groan, the cruiser further listing to her side as the waves began to more fully consume her.

There were no words spoken as the minutes passed, and she looked skyward, to the jutting clouds and the blue sky. Even despite the trail of debris that still fell, there was no denying what had once started as the loveliest of mornings on Ossus.

Finally, the Lupine let out a long breath.

"It is a beautiful day."

[General Dan]

Still taking it in, Dan's eyes at last returned to the smoldering keel of Dauntless, still fighting the losing fight against the sea.

"Red sky at morning..."

When there was a bit of a pause, Dan added, "you know, that old proverb? Red sky at morning, sailor take warning."

He glanced up, chuckling.

"Nothing but blue and white. Funny."

The slight smile on his face began to ebb, and he squeezed her hands slightly.

"Guess I get to go down with the ship after all."

He paused, eyes closing for a moment. He opened them again, looking at her.

"Goodbye Lok."

His grasp on her hands began to wane, until at last he let her fingers slip from his grasp. Turning slightly, Dan began to walk to the sea. Towards Dauntless. Towards his destiny.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Goodbye... "

The word was barely above a whisper, and she felt as his hand slipped from her own.

And then he turned to the sea, taking his first steps down a road that he would never return from. She watched him, straining to continue holding back the Force even as it pulled at him. It demanded he return so many centuries of stolen life, and she could feel each one of his footfalls.

The further from her he moved, the more her hold waned, and slowly she sank to her knees in the sand, unable to take her eyes from his departing form.

[Darth Decepis]

The steps he took from Lok drew away by degrees his last connection to the Force, and the tether that allowed him to live beyond his years. He could feel the strength leaving him; his body betraying him with each stride. He began to wither, atrophy turning to decay and dust, which settled like ash in the foamy surf. As the water rose up to meet him, Darth Decepis poured the last of his effort into shoring up his pride and sense of dignity, until his will was no longer enough. He faltered, stumbled, and righted himself for one more step before being unmade, his form turning to nothing and disappearing into the waves.

So ended the reign of Decepis, Lord of the Sith. He could not, it turned out, outlive his own story. The end would not be penned by his hand, but of another.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine watched as he passed beyond her influence. Watched as he stumbled, then gathered himself for a last step. Watched as he was reclaimed by the Force.

The tear that had threatened to escape her eye before, now broke free to travel down her cheek. She felt her body release so many years of tension and heartache. Countless memories paraded through her thoughts then, and she let them wash over her.

She wept, then. Tears of elation, utter relief, and at the same time acute loss.

Both hands came up to cover her face, and still on her knees, she let herself lean forward until her head nearly touched the sand.

It was over. And for the briefest of moments she held onto a sliver of disbelief at that fact. It was a notion that was dashed away swiftly however, with the knowledge that she had watched with her own eye, the end of her tormentor. Everything that he had been to her...

Her shoulders heaved in silent sobs.

After so very many long years, she was finally free.