Fear Itself (Eclipse and Lishi Side Mission)

Eclipse was lost to the world. Her eyes slightly glazed and staring out into something invisible as she stood at the edge of the funnel.

Lishi had tried to call out to her, but she couldn't hear her. She had gained control of herself from the pull of this place, but she didn't trust herself to have the strength to do it again. But, she had to try.

She stepped closer to Eclipse and slapped her, trying her hardest to shake Eclipse out of this trance, but to no avail.

As her hand dropped to her side, she found herself being pulled again and this time she lost. She closed her eyes.

When she opened them she found herself staring down a dark, endless hallway. Closed doors dotted the walls on either side.

This hall was familiar, with its brutalistic design in varying tones of obsidian and blood red. One of these doors led to her old bed chambers... She shook her head and trained her montrals to search for signs of anyone else in her proximity.

A small creature was behind one of the doors near her on the right. She rushed to the door and opened it, aware that no one else was around except for her and whomever she'd felt. It was a small Togruta child, a boy. She was strapped to a reclined chair, poked and prodded with the devices she knew were meant to mold him into an inquisitor by the fire of pain and mental anguish.

She moved to unbind him, but a dark presence now loomed over them. She turned to see its source and was shocked to see an ashen mirror of herself. Her vibrant coral colored skin turned to rust, bluish circles ringed her eyes... This was who she would have become if she had never escaped. This is who she might still become is she failed to gain control of herself.

Lishi's intuition told her to protect the child at all costs. She revealed both of her lightsabers as she took set her feet shoulder width apart, one slightly behind the other with her heal off the ground - ready to advance. Her waist twisted toward her opponent, she crossed her sabers in front of her body as a shield for both her and the child behind her.

Dark Lishi leapt forward, striking at Lishi with all of her strength, but Lishi perried the attack. Dark Lishi swung again, slicing a small wound across Lishi's cheek but failing to harm her otherwise. Lishi pushed her back and took the offensive, twisting through the air with both sabers extended in opposite directions and pinning Dark Lishi to the ground.

"You will not create another monster like me," she said, her voice ringing with finality.

She allowed the darker version of herself to bring herself to her feet, her saber still pointed at her and ready to strike if necessary. Dark Lishi raised her hands in surrender and Lishi retracted the beams of her lightsabers, sheathing them before returning to the child and freeing him.

There was no longer any menace emanating from this darker version of herself. In fact, she realized that there never was. Only fear. She would not come after them, so why give reason to that fear and strike her down? Lishi decided to let her live and leave this wretched place for good.

When she opened the door, the room was flooded with bright light and she closed her eyes, raising her arm to shield them from the light. Once she opened them again, she found herself at the bottom of the funnel surrounded by bodies in various stages of decay, but no longer under the pull of that hideous feeling of dread. She felt freed.

She looked towards Eclipse, who was also shaking herself free from whatever she had seen in the funnel.

They smiled at each other. They'd survived this trial.