[SpringsSong]

Lana. Xyshari.

"Was I really being that obvious about wanting to come to this hot spring again?" Xyshari asked, laughing as she and Lana made their way through the cave system they had navigated around a year ago. The only differences this time were that Xyshari was not blindfolded, and everything was the appropriate color.

"It's definitely been on your mind a lot the past few days," Lana said with a smile as she squeezed her wife's hand. "I know we agreed not to pry too much into each other's thoughts through our bond, but... some thoughts are harder than others not to chase down."

[SpringsSong]

"I know that's what we agreed upon, ra svet, but I think even you can agree that, sometimes, it is hard to tell where our own thoughts end and the other's thoughts begin on some days," Xyshari said, and Lana offered a chuckle as she nodded, and they both emerged from the cave network to find the hot spring they had come to the year before.

"Yes, sometimes it can be hard to separate which thoughts were mine to begin with, and which are yours. It was... easier, in the beginning, at first," Lana said, her voice trailing off.

[SpringsSong]

"'Easier at first'?" Xyshari teased, setting down the basket she had been carrying. "Clearly, my teasing that you consider defecting made an impression upon you, because I know I felt that thought come up a few times, Lana," she said, and the Sith offered a weary sigh as she spread the blanket that they had brought with them.

"We both knew that there was no possible way that I could have," Lana said. "I would not have been in a position to intercept Vitiate on Ziost, and I doubt I would have been in a position to scour the galaxy for you after your disappearance."

[SpringsSong]

"I will admit, you make a fair point," Xyshari said, beginning to unpack the basket, which had been packed up with a nice lunch for the two of them to enjoy. "And maybe, you would have been in a position to better help me; we'll never know. Either way, I'm just relieved that you were looking for me. What would have happened if you hadn't shown up when you had?" she asked.

The astromech by her side had dutifully scrambled security as best it could, but there were some things that even it couldn't manage to silence all of the alarms once Lana began the thawing process. So, Lana had suggested the opposite - set off as many alarms as possible.

[SpringsSong]

A faint alarm blared as the thawing process continued. Lana quickly assessed the situation; she had prepared for this, just in case she had ended up needing it as a phantom pain ripped through her chest, spidering from her chest to her sides. She wanted to curl up and scream until the pain subsided, but she knew that if she did that, then she risked that feeling becoming something worse, if her suspicions were correct.

The carbonite finally thawed enough to where Xyshari was physically free. Lana knew that she had to work fast, now.

"Don't try to move. You're dying," Lana had said in a clipped tone. "I may have your cure, but I'm not going to lie - this might hurt."

[SpringsSong]

The sharp stinging as the cure was shot into Xyshari's stomach affected Lana similarly, though she had been anticipating it. As Xyshari cried out in pain as the cure shot through her system, Lana sorted through the feelings that were racing through her at that exact moment. Almost immediately, Lana began to feel a measure of relief: the pain from the carbon poisoning was beginning to subside, and she could tell that Xyshari was starting to come out of it.

"That wasn't... so bad," Lana said.

"Lana? You... you saved my life," Xyshari had said. Lana had offered a mirthless chuckle.

"I stopped you from dying right this second," Lana corrected.

[SpringsSong]

"...realistically, you maybe had another hour before you succumbed to the carbonite poisoning," Lana said, frowning. "And that's assuming that Valkorion didn't try to keep you alive himself."

"He would have. He did when Arcann..." Xyshari began, but trailed off.

"I know," Lana said, reaching over to place her hand on her wife's hand. "I never cared for his presence in your mind, and I hate to admit it, but without him, I wouldn't have you."

"A small blessing," Xyshari mused, looking over at Lana. "At least he is gone for good, though."

[SpringsSong]

"That is good, at least," Lana said, smiling. "I was so worried when Kira and Scourge announced that they had a heading, and that they were going to take you and end this, once and for all. It... killed me, not to be able to be by your side for that battle, but... I knew I had to stay on the sidelines for that one."

"If you had been there... Aether, I don't even want to think about what might have happened," Xyshari said. "With our bond..."

[SpringsSong]

"Knights! Zildrog's Wedge!"

Suddenly, several pieces of metal separated Xyshari, Lana, and Senya from each other, leaving each other to deal with the Knights they were fighting.

"We have the Outlander. You may kill the others," one of the Knights said as he began to advance on Xyshari.

"Get out of here! Save yourself!" Lana had called - whether to Xyshari or to Senya, she wasn't sure. In her hesitance, one of the Knights knocked her saber from her hand, leaving her defenseless. Just as the knight brought back his pike to attack, there was a flash, and everything seemed frozen in place for a moment, and Valkorion appeared before Xyshari.

"What is this?" Xyshari demanded.

"An opportunity," Valkorion had stated plainly. "You are outmatched. Death is all but certain for your Sith friend..."

[SpringsSong]

Xyshari shot Valkorion a glare. Did he truly not remember everything she had done before?

"I could save her. I only require the briefest moment of control," Valkorion offered. "Accept my help, or watch her die. Choose quickly," he urged. "Time has not stopped."

"I'll never give in to you," Xyshari said firmly. Valkorion offered something of a growl.

"Very well," he said.

"Ah!" Lana and Xyshari both cried. The burning that Xyshari felt was like nothing she'd ever felt before, but given that that was the only sensation she felt, and given that she heard the firing of blasters, Lana was clearly not dead.

[SpringsSong]

Later, Xyshari had gone to check in on Lana. She was in another area of the ship, and Xyshari had, admittedly, been worried about her, considering that she might have died. She could hear the telltale sounds of lightning being fired off from the Sith's fingers, directed at a dismantled Skytrooper.

"Damn," Lana had said, and Xyshari could feel the pain lingering in the Sith's left arm. Thank goodness it wasn't either of their dominant side.

"You're not about to let a little scar slow you down, are you?" Xyshari had asked, mostly in jest. Lana had offered a slight chuckle.

[SpringsSong]

"'Absolutely not', I said," Lana said, smiling as she gave Xyshari's hand a light squeeze. "You were thinking about the time he offered you his power to save me, weren't you?"

"I mean, you would know, considering you said the very thing you responded with when I asked if you were going to let a little scar slow you down," Xyshari said. "I wanted to ask you if you had let anyone look at it, but I had a feeling you wouldn't appreciate it... or if there was any particular face you saw on that unfortunate dummy."

"That would not have amused me, no," Lana said. "...but at that exact moment, and after our little encounter, it was Koth's face."

[SpringsSong]

"...we exchanged what information we could. This was all before I really knew Koth, of course. Years ago," Lana had said. Xyshari offered a smile as she took a step towards Lana.

"You... were looking for me all that time," Xyshari said, her statement somewhere between a question and a statement.

"Is it really any surprise?" Lana asked, taking a few steps closer to Xyshari. As they closed the distance between each other, Xyshari had prepared to take Lana into her arms and kiss her--

...and then there was a clattering behind them.