Forces of Nature
Set AU after somewhere after Vector maybe, AU before Commencement, ambiguous timelines, AU after the series, ambiguous/after meeting Revan, ambiguous timeline, and AU before Commencement.
Prompt: Contradictions: Betrayal vs. Loyalty, Virtues vs. Sins, Serenity vs. Chaos, Lies vs. Truth.
Forces of Nature
Contradiction Arc
Betrayal:
The lightsaber hovered at his neck, but Lucien didn’t cringe. He was the last one left, the others slowly meeting their ends.
“Did you know how much you meant to me?” Zayne whispered brokenly.
Lucien felt his resentment be tempered with confusion at Zayne’s words.
“You Masters betrayed us, and everything a Jedi is supposed to be. But I don’t care about that, not really. No, Lucien, you betrayed me. And yet I still love you.”
Lucien snapped his eyes up to meet Zayne’s anguished ones.
“Once upon a time, I would’ve died for you. Maybe I still would,” Zayne snapped the lightsaber hilt in reverse, forcing it into Lucien’s hand and then shoving the humming blade to his own throat.
“Go ahead and do what you’ve been waiting to do for so long.”
Lucien’s hand wouldn’t hold the hilt tightly. Zayne shook his head, letting go and taking a step back. Zayne turned and walked away. Lucien felt as if he’d been tested for a second chance, succeeded and yet failed at the same time. Lucien hadn’t killed Zayne, but he had let him go.
Virtues:
Jedi are virtuous. They do not feel emotion, but compassion for the weak and innocent. That is why Zayne is wrong. Everything about him is wrong. And Zayne knew all of that. He knew he tried so hard to please his Master, but he couldn’t with Lucien there. No, when Zayne was alone, everything he was supposed to learn came easier then.
It’s the same reason why, as Alek escorts him back instead of leaving Zayne be, that he allows Alek to tilt his head up and take Zayne’s first kiss. It was a new concept for Zayne, and he was surprised that he liked it. He barely registered Alek’s arms pulling him closer as he felt a strong blast of jumbled emotions through his bond. With his eyes closed, Zayne’s mind split between the emotions and the kiss, he missed seeing his Master exit the Jedi Tower and his face darkening harshly.
“Zayne, I was just coming to get you,” Lucien said calmly, his face already back to being impassive.
Zayne and Alek broke apart, and Alek grinned at Lucien.
“Master Lucien! We meet again! Well, I’ve dropped off Zayne like you wanted, just couldn’t help myself. Or the kiss! He’s rather irresistible, wouldn’t you say?” Alek laughed and said his goodbye to Lucien, almost walking past Zayne. Instead, he paused by him and ruffled Zayne, placing another light kiss to Zayne’s lips before leaving.
Zayne stared dumbfounded after him, startled when Lucien was suddenly beside him, his huge hand oddly holding onto Zayne’s shoulder gently.
“Let’s go,” his tone even seemed strained.
“Okay.”
Zayne didn’t understand why Lucien stuck close to him throughout the party, nor why the other Masters all seemed tense and kept glancing at Lucien all through the Knighting Ceremony.
Sins:
Lucien has committed many sins during his life. He has helped planned and kill Padawans, tried to kill his own Padawan, framed Zayne, and continued to chase him. Lucien knows he has committed many sins in the name of the Covenant.
But he would not commit the one sin that lingers in his mind. The one that dreams of flushed lips, long legs wrapped around his waist, a lithe body arching into his own, and glazed eyes with mussed hair.
He would at least not break the Jedi Code of no attachment, not when he has already broken it in his mind.
It’s a faraway dream anyway. Zayne is, after all, planets away. It does not help that his ex-Padawan probably thinks he is sin itself.
Serenity:
There is a valley holding casualties of the war. Whether they are Mandolorian or Republic, a few Jedi as well, that valley held them in a despairing embrace after the battle.
That is where Lucien has come to find his Padawan.
Zayne is cold, but at least alive. He has a serene expression as he lies still, with only the beating heart of his showing proof of his life.
Lucien feels cold, but in a different way. He feels terror creeping up on him as he stares at his dead-like Padawan. Suddenly, Lucien realizes that his conviction that what he was doing was right was really wrong.
All he wants now is to share the serenity Zayne had. He is at a crossroads, and maybe Zayne can make him right.
Chaos:
Everything was wrong.
No one understood what had happened, but somehow they had screwed up horribly. Zayne was reported dead. Revan and Alek had returned as Sith Lords –they were Darth Revan and Malak now. And that was wrong.
Did that mean they had killed their Padawans for nothing? Was Zayne never meant to become a Sith? That their vision was wrong and their Padawans’ deaths had had no effect on the future?
They all mourned, but Lucien took it the hardest. He hardly left Zayne’s old room, could not fathom anything than the fact that he was wrong, and he wouldn’t talk to anyone.
And then an outsider came in, eyes blazing with fury and determination.
“All of you are coming with me,” the girl that traveled with Zayne, Jarael they thought it was, bit out reluctantly.
“We’re going to save Zayne from that Sith camp, and all of you are going to help. You started this mess, so fix it. You’re going to help him out because you owe him.”
It was clear Jarael didn’t like them or the mere idea of coming to them for help, but for the first time in a long while Lucien became alive with fight and with determination shining in his eyes. And if they weren’t seeing things, there was something else hidden there.
Loyalty:
Zayne has pledged his loyalties to many people over the years. Even to the dead. Zayne’s loyalties lie with his family, his dead fellow Padawans, and to the new people in his life.
He is loyal to Jarael and Camper, who save him time and again. He is loyal to Gryph, his one true friend who believed in him. He is loyal to Alek, whose courage and passion had won him over from the first time they met, and who had first seen something worthy in him. And he is loyal to Revan, whose charms and brilliance caught him up in Revan’s cause and in the man who adored him.
But Zayne will always have a part of him that is loyal to Lucien Draay, and the rest of him resented that.
Lies:
They’ve never told each other the truth. It was all lies between them, or at least half-truths.
Zayne lied about his connection to the Force and Lucien lied about feeling Zayne’s potential.
Zayne lied about his resentment of being pushed aside and belittled and Lucien lied about knowing Zayne closely.
They’ve built a fortress of lies around each other, and they’ll probably never admit anything to each other. Not anything that matters.
Lucien will lie about not regretting everything he’s ever done to Zayne. Zayne has and will continue to lie about the hatred that has grown for his old Master, crossing a fine line from before to then.
Truth:
The night before the Knighting Ceremony, Lucien is surprised to find Zayne in the sparring room drinking down a bottle of Corellian wine. Almost starting to reprimand, Zayne instead cuts him off.
“Hullo, Master Lucien,” he says hollowly.
It freezes Lucien and scares him, for this is too unlike Zayne and for a moment he thinks Zane might be the Sith in the vision. He cautiously approaches his Padawan, who makes no other move than to keep drinking from the bottle of liquor.
“What are you doing here, Zayne? Drinking no less.”
Zayne doesn’t answer so Lucien takes further steps to close the gap between them. He is at Zayne’s back when Zayne finally speaks to him.
“The truth is, Master, I really hate you. I really do. And it’s ironic how once upon a time it had been just the opposite.”
Zayne stands and leaves the bottle of wine and Lucien behind in the room. Lucien is left unsure about his plans for tomorrow and of the double confession.
Started (typing) 10/23/08 –Completed (typing) 10/23/08
Forces of Nature
Contradiction Arc
Betrayal:
The lightsaber hovered at his neck, but Lucien didn’t cringe. He was the last one left, the others slowly meeting their ends.
“Did you know how much you meant to me?” Zayne whispered brokenly.
Lucien felt his resentment be tempered with confusion at Zayne’s words.
“You Masters betrayed us, and everything a Jedi is supposed to be. But I don’t care about that, not really. No, Lucien, you betrayed me. And yet I still love you.”
Lucien snapped his eyes up to meet Zayne’s anguished ones.
“Once upon a time, I would’ve died for you. Maybe I still would,” Zayne snapped the lightsaber hilt in reverse, forcing it into Lucien’s hand and then shoving the humming blade to his own throat.
“Go ahead and do what you’ve been waiting to do for so long.”
Lucien’s hand wouldn’t hold the hilt tightly. Zayne shook his head, letting go and taking a step back. Zayne turned and walked away. Lucien felt as if he’d been tested for a second chance, succeeded and yet failed at the same time. Lucien hadn’t killed Zayne, but he had let him go.
Virtues:
Jedi are virtuous. They do not feel emotion, but compassion for the weak and innocent. That is why Zayne is wrong. Everything about him is wrong. And Zayne knew all of that. He knew he tried so hard to please his Master, but he couldn’t with Lucien there. No, when Zayne was alone, everything he was supposed to learn came easier then.
It’s the same reason why, as Alek escorts him back instead of leaving Zayne be, that he allows Alek to tilt his head up and take Zayne’s first kiss. It was a new concept for Zayne, and he was surprised that he liked it. He barely registered Alek’s arms pulling him closer as he felt a strong blast of jumbled emotions through his bond. With his eyes closed, Zayne’s mind split between the emotions and the kiss, he missed seeing his Master exit the Jedi Tower and his face darkening harshly.
“Zayne, I was just coming to get you,” Lucien said calmly, his face already back to being impassive.
Zayne and Alek broke apart, and Alek grinned at Lucien.
“Master Lucien! We meet again! Well, I’ve dropped off Zayne like you wanted, just couldn’t help myself. Or the kiss! He’s rather irresistible, wouldn’t you say?” Alek laughed and said his goodbye to Lucien, almost walking past Zayne. Instead, he paused by him and ruffled Zayne, placing another light kiss to Zayne’s lips before leaving.
Zayne stared dumbfounded after him, startled when Lucien was suddenly beside him, his huge hand oddly holding onto Zayne’s shoulder gently.
“Let’s go,” his tone even seemed strained.
“Okay.”
Zayne didn’t understand why Lucien stuck close to him throughout the party, nor why the other Masters all seemed tense and kept glancing at Lucien all through the Knighting Ceremony.
Sins:
Lucien has committed many sins during his life. He has helped planned and kill Padawans, tried to kill his own Padawan, framed Zayne, and continued to chase him. Lucien knows he has committed many sins in the name of the Covenant.
But he would not commit the one sin that lingers in his mind. The one that dreams of flushed lips, long legs wrapped around his waist, a lithe body arching into his own, and glazed eyes with mussed hair.
He would at least not break the Jedi Code of no attachment, not when he has already broken it in his mind.
It’s a faraway dream anyway. Zayne is, after all, planets away. It does not help that his ex-Padawan probably thinks he is sin itself.
Serenity:
There is a valley holding casualties of the war. Whether they are Mandolorian or Republic, a few Jedi as well, that valley held them in a despairing embrace after the battle.
That is where Lucien has come to find his Padawan.
Zayne is cold, but at least alive. He has a serene expression as he lies still, with only the beating heart of his showing proof of his life.
Lucien feels cold, but in a different way. He feels terror creeping up on him as he stares at his dead-like Padawan. Suddenly, Lucien realizes that his conviction that what he was doing was right was really wrong.
All he wants now is to share the serenity Zayne had. He is at a crossroads, and maybe Zayne can make him right.
Chaos:
Everything was wrong.
No one understood what had happened, but somehow they had screwed up horribly. Zayne was reported dead. Revan and Alek had returned as Sith Lords –they were Darth Revan and Malak now. And that was wrong.
Did that mean they had killed their Padawans for nothing? Was Zayne never meant to become a Sith? That their vision was wrong and their Padawans’ deaths had had no effect on the future?
They all mourned, but Lucien took it the hardest. He hardly left Zayne’s old room, could not fathom anything than the fact that he was wrong, and he wouldn’t talk to anyone.
And then an outsider came in, eyes blazing with fury and determination.
“All of you are coming with me,” the girl that traveled with Zayne, Jarael they thought it was, bit out reluctantly.
“We’re going to save Zayne from that Sith camp, and all of you are going to help. You started this mess, so fix it. You’re going to help him out because you owe him.”
It was clear Jarael didn’t like them or the mere idea of coming to them for help, but for the first time in a long while Lucien became alive with fight and with determination shining in his eyes. And if they weren’t seeing things, there was something else hidden there.
Loyalty:
Zayne has pledged his loyalties to many people over the years. Even to the dead. Zayne’s loyalties lie with his family, his dead fellow Padawans, and to the new people in his life.
He is loyal to Jarael and Camper, who save him time and again. He is loyal to Gryph, his one true friend who believed in him. He is loyal to Alek, whose courage and passion had won him over from the first time they met, and who had first seen something worthy in him. And he is loyal to Revan, whose charms and brilliance caught him up in Revan’s cause and in the man who adored him.
But Zayne will always have a part of him that is loyal to Lucien Draay, and the rest of him resented that.
Lies:
They’ve never told each other the truth. It was all lies between them, or at least half-truths.
Zayne lied about his connection to the Force and Lucien lied about feeling Zayne’s potential.
Zayne lied about his resentment of being pushed aside and belittled and Lucien lied about knowing Zayne closely.
They’ve built a fortress of lies around each other, and they’ll probably never admit anything to each other. Not anything that matters.
Lucien will lie about not regretting everything he’s ever done to Zayne. Zayne has and will continue to lie about the hatred that has grown for his old Master, crossing a fine line from before to then.
Truth:
The night before the Knighting Ceremony, Lucien is surprised to find Zayne in the sparring room drinking down a bottle of Corellian wine. Almost starting to reprimand, Zayne instead cuts him off.
“Hullo, Master Lucien,” he says hollowly.
It freezes Lucien and scares him, for this is too unlike Zayne and for a moment he thinks Zane might be the Sith in the vision. He cautiously approaches his Padawan, who makes no other move than to keep drinking from the bottle of liquor.
“What are you doing here, Zayne? Drinking no less.”
Zayne doesn’t answer so Lucien takes further steps to close the gap between them. He is at Zayne’s back when Zayne finally speaks to him.
“The truth is, Master, I really hate you. I really do. And it’s ironic how once upon a time it had been just the opposite.”
Zayne stands and leaves the bottle of wine and Lucien behind in the room. Lucien is left unsure about his plans for tomorrow and of the double confession.
Started (typing) 10/23/08 –Completed (typing) 10/23/08