Star Wars Episode V, Phantoms Of The Past

by FourShadow

Aftermath

Author's Note:

And so, the somber aftermath begins.

Thanks again to Scholars for the proof-reading!

On Bracca, the salvage team was hard at work, collecting more fuel cells and metal for the repairs. They had started to separate piles neatly, and even found some old construction droids back online to help with the collection work. More and more carts were neatly sorted for sections of the Venator they were going to work on, and the cranes were back into service as well, hoisting up a thruster to the back of the main Venator. Crews worked on the double, fusing the parts and inner workings back together.

Sandbar and Team Six looked at the schematics of the ship, having done scans and surveillance on the ship before getting to work. Multiple red marks were visible on the screen, showing the weakest areas that had higher priority.

"Okay, so we just need that second thruster on the side, and that should be enough for power," Gallus observed. "What about the glass that's destroyed?"

"We've collected more shards to fuse back together, along with replacement metal to seal any loose holes," came from Sandra on the line.

"Okay, good. Let us know if you find anything else," the Griffon finished before hanging up. "Whew. Close call on that one."

"We're not going to be sucked out into space if we fly that thing, are we?" Silverstream worried, scratching the top of her head.

"No, we should be fine, Silver," Gallus rolled his eyes. "The idea is to steal glass from the other ships in the area to prevent that."

"Ohh..." Silver dumbfounded. "Silly me, I guess."

G-G rolled around the corner, pushing another cart over. "Bwoop boop bop?"

"Oh just put that over there, G," Gallus pointed.

The R4 beeped in affirmation, pushing the load of canisters to the side where needed.

Sandbar who had arrived was about to speak up, until a small chirp on his device started to call for him. “Oh, hang on. There’s a call coming in,” Sandbar said, stepping away from the group. He pressed the com device to his ear. “Hello? Oh, General. Hey!”

The others just shrugged; it was probably the general requesting an update on their progress.

“Oh us? Oh we’re doing okay. Our ship’s still totaled, but we’re getting by alright. We’ve made excellent progress on the Venator,” Sandbar nodded. “What’s going on back at home?” Sandbar waited for a reply, pacing side to side as he listened. “New allies? … Huh. Didn’t think we… wait. Wait, what are you saying?”

The concern in his voice caught Ocellus and Yona’s attention first. Sandbar’s pacing stopped, and he froze in place.

“… What? … Oh... that… that’s horrible,” Sandbar’s voice was low. “W-What happened? … Ohhhh… I… Is, is Flurry okay? … Oh…” Sandbar’s hand massaged his forehead and his face as he spoke to her. "I... Yeah..."

Now the rest of his team had their attention directed to him. What was he talking about, this couldn’t have been any good. Was someone taken? Hurt?

“… Well, is there anything you want us to do? We can’t go back, our ship’s totaled, do you want us to find a way to come back to base?”

Sandbar waited for more responses. “Okay. … Understood General. … No, no, of course. We’ll make sure to participate, we’ll set times, we’ll prep the holoprojector, we’ll all attend, I promise. … Okay. I’ll let them know right away. Over and out.”

“Sandbar, what happened?” Silverstream questioned.

Sandbar slowly looked at his friends with a distraught look. “… Lyra was murdered.”

A sullen silence was among the group for a moment.

“Lyra’s… wait, what happened?”

Sandbar cleared his throat. “Lyra, along with Rex, Flurry, and Adagio went to Agamar to check out a distress signal, and found battle droids from the Clone Wars leftover. Apparently they came together in some agreement to join our side, and the Empire found them. They did manage to make it back to base safely but… Lyra was killed, trying to keep Flurry from being taken.”

“I can’t believe that monster…” Silverstream grimaced.

“Poor Flurry…”

“Is there anything friends can do? At least for Lyra’s sake?” Yona asked.

“Sunset plans to host a funeral back on home base this evening. She wants us all present for the eulogy and to give our respects,” Sandbar explained, scrunching his eyes and wiping out a soft tear that escaped. “I just… I can’t believe she’s just gone.”

“Guys?” Silverstream interrupted with a quivering beak. One of her claws pointed to her right, and all eyes turned to see an R4 unit standing there. He had listened to the entire conversation, and he hadn’t made so much as a single beep.

“… Bwoop… Bwoop?”

“Oh… G-G. I’m so sorry,” Ocellus frowned. “She’s… gone.”

The astromech was frozen stiff. No noises were made, and it seemed as if he was possibly taking a long time to process this information. But then his body started to rumble. Steam was hissing out of his head, and his shaking got more and more violent. The only binary beeps they heard were starting to sound more angry. Vengeful.

The R4 let out an ear-piercing shriek into the skies, making everyone cringe and wince as they covered their ears from the intense volume. RG-G1 had never been so furious before, and he was looking for something to focus his hatred on, something to break, something that wouldn’t hurt his friends.

Racing off the side of the ramp that led down to the cliff, he rolled down and pulled out the targeting blaster that extended from his cone. With a powerful hum and quick load, the blaster cannon fired like a rotary cannon towards some pieces of broken metal, smashing the decayed pieces into nothing more but broken waste and worthless parts. The blaster cannon kept firing, and he didn’t give up no matter how long he had been shooting his ammunition.

Finally, after what felt like minutes, the rotary cannon stopped firing. Steam was hissing from the top of the blaster, and he still growled and rattled. He slammed himself into a piece of cargo, trying to push it from where it stood. And he slammed it again, pushing it harder. He arched himself back far enough, and with one quick dash he slammed his body into the cargo and sent it flying off the edge of the cliff into the canyons below…

All the while, Team Six looked to each other with concern. How were they going to break this news to Derpy as well, and more importantly, how was Flurry going to be processing any of this?

---

The night sky grumbled from the thunder and rain. All of Lyra's closest friends and associates were gathered in an open patch of land, cleared away from trees. A stone cube, decorated with flowers and funeral decorations was in the center. The tomb was marked with Lyra Heartstrings’ Jedi mark which was that of a lyre, and on it were a few pictures; one of her and baby Flurry at Dexter’s Diner on Coruscant, another of her and Bon Bon on Sorgon after a successful rescue mission, another of the two of them in wedding dresses, and a few more showing them, their droids, and Flurry growing up over the years and happier memories.

Everyone was holding a candle or lantern, while the Jedi around held their lightsabers up. Bon Bon and Flurry came up to give two more pieces of memory; from Bon Bon, a small piece of beskar metal, blazed with her mark and Bon Bon’s graphic forged together, something she embedded on her armor after their first mission together. And from Flurry, a small but fluffy plushie that she won for her mom, trying to get her something for a Mother’s Day but had little to no money to get it. But it was a gift that Lyra loved regardless, simply for how sweet her daughter was for trying to get it.

Sunset Shimmer stepped up front, taking the center of attention as she addressed her friends. The Jedi Six, Tawni Ames, General Kalani, Admiral Raddus, Cheep, IG-11, Spike, R2, even the holograms of Team Six and friends all the way on Bracca made it to join the procession. Sighing heavily, she addressed the crowd. There was even a crew of Rebel-aligned Mandalorians who came to show their respects as well; recognizing Lyra as one of their own.

“We are gathered tonight to honor the memory of a fallen friend. We’ve lost many friends over these past few years as we grew our Rebellion, and we never forget those who died to fight for our freedom. And that has never changed. Several hours ago, Lyra and a small team were called to Agamar to search for a lost clone, only to recruit an unlikely set of allies…”

Sunset looked over to a portion of the group, seeing Kalani and a few battle droids participating in the memorial, surprisingly behaved. None of them talked, none of them beat each other up or tried to attack anyone, they were participating like real people.

“… and unfortunately, like many of our Jedi friends… Lyra was murdered by the one who leads them all; Darth Midnight. But I am here, not asking to continue this war with hate… but to continue with the joys of our memories of those we loved, and to honor all they have done. Lyra was not just a great Jedi, but she was a great friend. She was so perky and upbeat, she found the light to any situation, even when it was the most grim. And on top of all that, she was one of the few who accomplished a life-long dream after the war was over.”

Flurry was dead quiet as she listened to Sunset’s eulogy, all the while she just stared at the memorial and leaned her head on her remaining mom’s shoulder, with Bon Bon pulling her close for comfort. Bon Bon hadn't said a word since they started to prepare, nor allowed anyone to see her face. Her helmet remained on her head, and not once did she remove it since she started preparing for the funeral.

“Now before we commence the twenty-one blaster salute, would anyone like to say anything?”

Bon Bon stepped forward, enticig Sunset to move away so the Mandalorian could step onto the podium to speak.

“When I first met Lyra, I was just… soulless. I didn’t care about anyone or anything, other than getting paid. I was hired to bring Flurry to the Storm Army, but I couldn’t do it. And when I promised to take Lyra and Flurry to Naboo, I… I felt this connection, this feeling to them. I couldn’t say goodbye, nor could I let go of them.”

Bon Bon’s eyes were watering up, but no one could see them under the helmet. Despite this, she still kept her voice together.

“Lyra also told me that the Jedi Order forbid marriage from happening… but she didn’t care. We dated long into the war, and out of the blue one day, she, she popped the question. She proposed to me, and I couldn’t say no to her. We got married, and there wasn’t a day that passed where I had any regret in marrying her.”

Sunset and Fluttershy softly smiled as they looked to each other, and diverted their attention back to Bon Bon’s speech.

“And I never will regret nor forget any of my memories with her. The long walks, the picnics, playtime with little Flurry, our fun on Tatooine… and the thing I won’t forget most of all… it’s our first date,” Bon Bon sniffled. “She made it so beautiful… and I didn’t even know what she set out was what I wanted. And she knew it. So… from this point forward. I declare myself to not stop fighting for the memory of my wife, and the memory of everyone we lost. We will win this war. And I know we will.”

She stepped down from the podium, and stood back with Flurry, pulling her close.

“That was really good, Mama,” Flurry whispered.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Bon Bon said back, lifting her mask slightly to kiss her forehead.

“Would anyone else like to say something?”

No reply.

“Very well. May I ask that the Jedi join me, as we give Lyra a proper send off, along with the 21 blaster salute?”

Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and the holographic Derpy (thanks to a flying drone) all stepped up to join the final salute. Derpy had to improvise with a staff, but it worked. Their lightsabers ignited and were raised in the air, all joining together. Very softly, all of them sang a small but beautiful harmony…

This is where the magic happens…
This is where the magic lives…

One by one, everyone joined together to sing. Even the droids, chirped along with them.

Our friendships weave together, stronger
The bonds grow deeper, lasting longer
And the greatest spell there is…
And the greatest spell you’ll know…

Is that the magic of friendship grows…

Three men, two women, and two battle droids stepped up, and fired seven shots into the air. Reload and repeat, reload and repeat.

After the funeral, everyone started to return back to the base to get some sleep, as they all needed to get some rest for the next day. They were happy to make the memorial, but they weren’t going to stop where they were.

The only one left standing was Flurry, who stood at the memorial, waiting for everyone to leave. She sensed most of them were gone, but still waited. And when she finally saw them all leave, that’s when she finally snapped. She dropped to her knees in defeat, and cupped her eyes, finally crying in sorrow. She couldn’t stop herself, she just sat there, crying to let it all out.

Unbeknownst to her, just near one of the trees, Adagio watched as Flurry bawled her eyes out. Her magenta eyes didn’t move from her current position, but she eventually left with a neutral face, walking back to the base, with her red glowing lantern held up for light…

---

The next morning came slowly, with a solemn mood hanging over the Jedi and their closest friends. Flurry helped push some cargo on the tarmac, with very little emotion. She was still drained from the night before, and couldn’t bring herself to feel anything; any reason to keep trying. Getting up from her spot, she walked past some of the troopers who were working on their assignments, still trying to reel themselves in with the sudden new change.

Battle droids were now walking among the base, and despite them being unarmed, everyone was still scared to see them. Most of them at least. Flurry’s eyes watched as a poor B1 unit walked over to help a mechanic push a fuel tank into place, only to receive fear as an answer, unwilling to let the droid help.

The morning podcast on the radio by Rebel announcer Buried Lede wasn’t helping matters either (his talk show had basically become a new gossip channel for Rebels to talk and share thoughts in an open forum, at least, that was the idea). Flurry could tell what kind of rhetoric he was going to say, knowing his stance on the Jedi and the wars in the past. So, not wanting to listen to him rant and rave, she instead opted to put a pair of headphones over her ears, playing some tunes from Equestria in hopes of changing her mood, or at least, blocking the outside sources so she could be left in peace.

“Today’s a day for reflection. For praising the efforts of the Heartstrings family and clone Captain Rex for safely bringing home Separatist remnants to safety… but it’s also for somber reflection, for the loss of a fallen hero, like Lyra Heartstrings…”

Bon Bon wiped sweat from her gloves as she finished the repairs on another astromech droid, allowing him to go free and do his work. Her next patient came in the form of a standard B1 battle droid with arms that were ready to fall off and needed patching. She looked at the droid for a second before closing her eyes, trying not let the memory of her wife’s departure tear her apart on the spot, but instead gripped her helmet to make sure it was tight on her head, unable to come off.

“… a lot of people say I hate the Jedi and blame them for everything. Well, I don’t blame Lyra Heartstrings for any of this. She may have been a Jedi, but she went down fighting to protect innocent people and bring them home…”

Rainbow and Fluttershy walked past some of the passing battle droids who went to go to their new jobs. They wouldn’t be dispatched for battle until they were absolutely okay. But just like Flurry, they had to watch as many of the people around them, reacted to them with fear, not wanting to get anywhere near these monsters from long ago.

“… but it’s also a day to vow; never again. It stops now. We have lost many of our friends and family over the years. Sweet optimists like Karis Nemik...”

Pinkie sat with Rarity and Applejack in one of the hangar bays, with a wave of sadness all over them as they worked on repairing one of the Y-Wings. No one felt like smiling or laughing. Not even Pinkie could find a way to lift their spirits, nothing was funny or amusing to her right now.

“Strong hearts like Kanan Jarrus...”

Other Rebels listened to the podcast; including the Ghost Crew who were unloading new supplies from their ship. All the while, Hera Syndulla was softly rocking her baby back to sleep.

“… or pure good like Ahsoka Tano.”

Captain Rex sat on a step, looking down at his helmet. He sighed heavily, before scrunching his temple. He should have been happy that he didn’t fail, he helped get Lyra’s child home safely true to her wishes. But at the cost of her life…

“Well it stops here. The Empire has made life on us harder than ever… and we can’t let them take any more people from us. Not again. This is Buried Lede, and I hope you all will continue to prosper as we strive to push forward, and continue to amend our troubled past.”

Sunset Shimmer however didn’t feel like attending her work; not now. Instead, sitting at a bar, she just stared down at a cup of cider, taking a shot of it as she slapped the cup down on the counter, wanting to reduce the pain and replace it with a drunken state. Not many patrons were in one of the few bars at the moment, it was just her and the bartender; Berry Blend.

“Hit me again, Berry,” Sunset stammered.

The bartender put her hands on her hips. “General, I’m afraid we are still in the work day, and your schedule says you’re packed right now. I cannot serve you more cider right now.”

“I said, hit me again,” Sunset glared with some seethe.

“Okay. You need to leave, now,” Berry pointed to the door. “Or I’m going to have to escort you out myself.”

"I am a general. When I say hit me, I mean, HIT ME."

Sunset was shoved out of the bar by an angry Berry Blend who wiped her hands clean of any dust from her assault. Sunset now had a bit of a bruise on her face from the punch, but she took the hint. She had work to do, and she couldn't wash her troubles away with hard cider. Zorii walked past her, accidentally getting a waft of cider from her breath, but chose to ignore it. She had work to do, wasn't about to interrupt her.

Walking back into one of the briefing rooms, she met up with Flash Sentry, Admiral Raddus, and General Dodonna who were waiting for her.

"General," the higher ups acknowledged.

"Yeah, yeah..." Sunset passively replied. She had to stop for a second. Shaking her head violently, she tried to force herself back to a sober state of mind. "S-Sorry, I don't know where that came from. So, is Tawni here?"

"Right here, ma'am," the governor walked into the room, removing her mask so the rest of the higher ups could see her again. "I appreciate you all for allowing me a seat at the Rebel Council, despite our past differences."

"We need all the help we can get," Flash nodded. "You said you had some requests you wanted to discuss with us?"

"If this is an appropriate time to bring them up," the governor asked.

"It is," Admiral Raddus affirmed, giving her the okay to speak.

"First, I want to say thank you for providing the citizens of Agamar refugee housing, it is greatly appreciated," Tawni began. "I wasn't sure what I was going to do when we arrived."

"We've housed refugees from all over for safety; they should be okay as long as they're here," Sunset nodded. "What was this other request you had?"

"My battle droids; I understand they don't have the best reputation among the Republic officers, understandably so, especially among former citizens of said Republic. But I had a few proposals to offer to help the battle droids become more accommodated here on base, and maybe give them a chance to start over with your fellow soldiers."

"I'm open to ideas, I'm running on fumes at this point with them," Sunset waited.

"Your droidsmith, Bon Bon? She's customized battle droids before?"

"Yeah, she's a maestro at it," Flash said with a bit of a smirk. "Why?"

"Aside from the repair work, I was wondering if I could ask her for some new custom paintwork on some of the droids. They stand out enough as it is, but I wondered if giving them their own personal paint, along with Rebel insignias will not only allow them to be treated better, but give them a chance to explore their own identities," Tawni proposed.

"It's a start," Sunset nodded. "Be warned, it won't take a week for them to be welcomed."

"I will heed," Tawni understood. "Now; what has the Empire been up to?"

"That's the problem, we don't know. They're making a big project, but with very little leads. Shipments of kyber crystals from Illum, and a project stationed outside of some planet," Sunset nodded. "The last person we talked to that gave us any info could barely make out a name, and any chance we have of learning more has been lost..."

---

Flurry set down another crate for a personnel carrier to haul off, leaving her to her own devices again. Reaching for her side, she grabbed a pair of headphones, placing them over her ears and cranking up the sound from the music player to block out everyone and everything, once again. She walked past the passing engineers, moving back to her family's ship to be alone. Outside the ship was Bon Bon and Cheep who were doing some repair work on top, fixing the damage it had taken during the escape from Agamar.

In one of the hangars, Pinkie Pie, along with Rarity were sitting by a set of crates, waiting for the rest of their group to come back with their lunch. They didn't feel like sitting back in the cafeteria, and instead just wanted to sit above where they could have a nice view of the tarmac. They didn't even mind the sounds of busy PA systems, the droids, or passing by of various workers.

Their eyes looked down, seeing Bon Bon still by herself, hidden away by her mask. Sighing for a moment, they turned around to focus as Rainbow Dash, along with Applejack and Fluttershy came up to see them with lunches in hands.

"Thanks for bringing me lunch, Rainbow. I would have gotten some myself, but I've been so busy repairing all these engines, I kinda forgot, hehe," Pinkie greeted.

"Hey, no problem," Rainbow passed her lunch to the party planner before twisting her metal hand around, extending a kitchen knife to cut her sandwich.

"Has anyone checked with Bon Bon?" Rarity brought up, taking a bite of her taco. "I tried to talk with the poor dear, but she won't let me speak. She just snaps and tells me to go away," the fashionista pouted.

"She needs time, Rarity," Applejack comforted with a pat on her shoulder. "Grief ain't somethin' you move on from in a day. I'm a bit more worried about Flurry though, she hasn't said a word to any of us after the funeral."

"I think she needs to start seeing a therapist, or some form of counseling soon," Rarity agreed.

"You know what I think?" Pinkie asked.

"I'm afraid to guess," Fluttershy looked to her.

"I think maaaaybeeeee we should have been honest with her about her heritage so she could be ready to face her when she came down on Agamar," Pinkie pointed with a bit of a deadpan stare. "But what do I know?"

Applejack sighed. "I can't believe I'm sayin' this, but she's right. We should have just told her. Heck, we shoulda told her six months ago," she glared to Rainbow.

"Hey, don't look at me, Lyra's the one demanded us to stay silent! It's not my fault she decided to just bring back a bunch of battle droids here onto the base!" All four of them were now glaring at Rainbow with a rather 'are you serious right now' stare. Reading the room, Rainbow sighed before speaking. "I don't mean it like that. Lyra did help people, that's what we're supposed to do."

"I know we're uncomfortable and we've had our... ahem, grievances with the droids in the past, but maybe we should focus on just trying to help Bon Bon and Flurry. If we can," Fluttershy suggested.

"How? They won't say a word, and even Bon Bon's closed off. She hasn't taken off that stupid helmet all day," Rainbow looked back.

"Right now, they need time to grieve," Fluttershy advised. "Let's give them space, and we'll check in later. We do have some other problems to worry about."

"Like the fact we still don't know what the Empire is up to?" Applejack asked.

"That, and someone in here needs to work things out with a certain commander," Fluttershy glared at Rainbow.

"Do not give me that look, I am not working with someone who just openly admitted to trying to kill me. First you two, then Sunset, and now you. What could possibly--"

And Fluttershy reached for the side, pulling out the damaged Phase I helmet that had been left behind in the elevator. The visor was now cracked, the paint chipped away, it was completely damaged.

"I found this in the elevator," Fluttershy explained. "I don't know what he might have heard you say, but whatever it is... it's not good."

Rainbow was at a loss for words. She almost was about to speak, but seeing that helmet? She had nothing to say.

"What about Sunset? I dunno about y'all, but she's worrying me bad. I know she's prone to anger, but that anger at Rainbow yesterday... that was somethin' else," Applejack feared. "I... I felt somethin' from that. That dark energy she used to tap into? It felt like that. Not as extreme, but..."

"Well, she is a higher up in charge of a major rebellion trying to undermine the current government power," Pinkie thought. "That job will stress anyone out."

"But it's not just that, it feels like she blames herself for everything that's happened. Like with the Republic fallen, the Jedi turning, all of us having to hide, it... she's not the same friend we helped once before," Applejack looked.

"Well, what can we do?" Fluttershy inquired.

The girls looked to each other, then back down to the docks. Sunset had finally came out of a meeting, and was patrolling the grounds, seeing if there was work to do. She stumbled a little bit, not helping by whatever activity she had done earlier, the girls could instantly guess what that was.

"Keep an eye on her," Applejack advised. "She's startin' to slip, I can feel it. One more thing is gonna make her snap, and if it does, we need to step in and give her a hand with handlin' all those responsibilities. It's the least we can do for her," the farmer looked back at her. "She needs us... more than ever."

---

That night, Flurry's attempt to go to sleep was impeded by her growing fear, frustration, and irritability. She didn't know what to do with her mom gone, and the past few nights, she could barely sleep. Tonight was no exception. Flurry tossed and turned in her hammock, but she was unable to sleep. She tried sleeping with her auxiliary fan on the highest setting, nothing. She tried to take some pills to make her tired, that didn't work. Stripping to her under clothes did nothing either, it was impossible for her to get any rest. Looking to her side, she saw next to the desk was Cheep, in resting mode, keeping himself available if she felt threatened, or if she needed someone to pet or hug.

Realizing she wasn't going to sleep, she got up on her feet, walking over to the bathroom to try and clear her head. A few lights were still available for her so she didn't slam into everything, guiding her to the mirror. Her eyes darted to her right, and for a second, she had to do a double-take as another figure was standing there behind her. She looked back, seeing no one there in the room with her, not even a droid.

Turning around, the figure was gone, no longer in the mirror. Sighing with exhaustion, she poured some water into her hands and splashed it in her face, trying to wake up some more. Might as well do something else tonight if she wasn't going to get some rest. But when her eyes were cleaned and wide awake, she saw that same figure again, in the dark. Mask, cape, artificial breathing, all there right before her.

"You're not here... you're not here, the others would have sensed you..." Flurry whispered to herself. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the noise, she had to know it wasn't true, she wasn't here! It was impossible!

Breathing, lightsaber clashes, blaster shots, droids shouting 'Roger Roger', battle cries of flesh and blood echoed in her head, making her hold her ears from the noise. She tried to block out the sound, until finally, she could hear it no more. Looking up, she saw the figure getting closer. Upon instinct, she reached for her saber, and activated it, swinging it behind her as she spun around, perfectly clean cut sending a metal head rolling on the floor. She looked at where the head rolled, her heart racing at a mile a minute when she gazed at the decapitation.

The mask stopped breathing, until a small spark of an explosion went off, revealing the face underneath the mask... her own eyes reflecting back at her. Her heart continued to race as she backed against the wall, collapsing down on the ground. Her breathing intensified as she looked at it, it wasn't real. It couldn't have been real. She tried to calm down, but it was useless. Flurry could only stare at the false illusion of Midnight's decapitated head, with her own face.

She tried to calm down, her heart racing harder and harder, and all sounds died. Multiple figures could hear the sounds however, and came into the bathroom to find her having a panic attack. Warm hands wrapped around her, trying to rub her back to give her some comfort. The ringing in her ear started to die as she was brought back to the real world, looking up at who was holding her. Bon Bon, having woken up by the sudden terror, was here, giving her daughter the comfort she needed. Close to her was Cheep who had been alerted as well, along with the buzz droid, Bee, who had curled up in her lap for some therapy pets.

Flurry's eyes looked back to where she swore the body was, but no longer was it there. Just a regular, clean bathroom with no blood and guts spilled. All she could think about was why was she there... and more importantly, why was her face on Midnight's form?

Comments

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

Apologies for the delay in reviewing this, Four. But nice job! I really liked the handling of a lot of the stuff relating to the news of Lyra's death, the funeral in particular was very well done. Poor Flurry... that last scene is really going all-in on the allusion to Empire Strikes Back. She's really getting haunted by the shadow of Midnight and that is not good.

(One little thing, as an aside. I think that you left something out in the news getting broken to the Young Six, because it's said that Lyra was killed, but never who specifically did it. Which makes Silverstream's "that monster" feel just a little odd, at least imo.)

Still, all told, nice work! Looking forward to catching up on the next chapter!