The Ghost and the Fountain

[Dark Link]

One, two, one, two, one, two...the incessant and relentless march of the company in white continued as the portal that would lead them to their home world glittered in the far distance. The soldiers were not daft; they were fully aware of the fact that every step they took, every move they made brought them closer to their desired goal. But the sheer featurelessness of the void combined with the long distance to their objective occasionally made them believe that they weren't making any progress. It was one of the reasons why the Stormtroopers hated coming to that place. The Nexus was almost like a desert; it seemed to stretch on for an eternity and played tricks with your mind.

That was, of course, if one actually bothered to think about such things....and the boy dressed in black certainly was not one of them. Having known nothing but empty pockets of space up to that point, he did not give the seemingly endless white around them a second thought. Instead, he was completely enamoured with all the new objects and creatures he had encountered, his mind racing to figure out what they were. The teenager actually liked the Nexus better than the void he was in before; at least there were things he could interact with.

However, the words the red-haired girl told him telepathically resonated in his mind and gave him something else to think about. Most of it was unintelligible to the grey-haired male...but one phrase in particular struck a cord. "Sword." He had heard that word before....in fact, he had heard it just recently. As the dark blade gradually ceased to vibrate, the boy reached out with his left hand and drew it from its sheath in order to examine it once more. This move unnerved the nearby soldiers, especially since they had reluctantly left behind their firearms at the fountain, though they said nothing. The swordsman examined his weapon of choice as the phrases the Ghost shared with him played in his mind again and again.

He recalled that the man with the green beard called it a "nice sword", yet the girl just called it a "sword"...which meant that the item he held was called a sword and "nice" meant something else. Then he thought about the other words she mentioned. "Blade. Weapon. Steel. Metal." What did they mean? The Ghost used all of them together, including "sword"....so perhaps all those words applied to that same object. But then he remembered that one of the white figures said "weapons" when referring to those long black items they were carrying. So there were various kinds of weapons, not just the one he held in his hands.

There was another phrase he had heard before......"kill". That was the second time the red-haired female conveyed the word to him...though the first time, it didn't seem to be intentional, but something she thought to herself. So the sword was meant to "kill"....but what did that mean? The white figure the sword levitated in front of before seemed distressed by the fact that it was pointed straight at him.....was he afraid of something? Was he afraid that it could "kill"? And the girl thought to herself that she killed. Did that mean that both the sword and "her" existed to "kill"?

All this thinking about the object he held in front of him finally prompted the boy to touch it with his free hand. Unlike the surface of the fountain, the blade felt smooth to the touch. Curious about how it was used, the black-clad swordsman raised the metal object and made a large swipe with it. Though he hit nothing with this action, it still resulted in the nearby Stormtroopers jumping away in a mix of surprise and fear. A lot of them were already on the edge of their nerves, feeling extremely vulnerable without their blasters, and the teenager swinging with his blade only served to make them even more tense. But most did not dare stop walking, let alone verbally protest this action, out of fear that the "freak" would end up going on a killer spree if provoked. Only one of the soldiers mustered up the courage to speak out in a rather weak manner: "P-please...do-...don't do that."

For his part, the Prime just looked at them with a perplexed expression, though he quickly came to the conclusion that they too must have been afraid, perhaps indeed of the fact that the sword could "kill". Though he still did not know what that meant, at the very least, the boy did not wish for them to be frightened. Though he made a few more swings with the blade, they were much slower and limited to a more narrow space. His hand followed the sword's momentum in a natural manner, allowing the warrior to make his movements with little effort. As he did so, the young man looked different than usual....he appeared more focused and alert, much like when he defended the red-haired girl with his shield. Once he was finished with his little experiment, he brought the brand back into an upright position in front of him. Though he didn't have the faintest clue how he knew to use the weapon, he nevertheless did......in fact, for him, it felt entirely natural. Even though it was an external object, when he held it in his hand, it still felt as though it were a natural extension of him.

Returning the item back into its sheath once more, the grey-haired warrior noticed that he was being observed by the newcomer, a somewhat sickly smile appearing from under the hood. Much like the rest of them, it too was a humanoid creature. However, it wore long black robes and its long hair was pink. Gazing back at the stranger, the teenager was once again confused. The being appeared to have a figure similar to his...yet its hair was more similar to that of "her". So was this person also a "her"?

But he did not have the chance to ponder further on this matter as the commander shouted out: "Company, halt!" Almost unanimously, the entire company came to a stop, which resulted in the teenager almost colliding with one of the soldiers in front of him. Only then did he pay attention to his surroundings again...and witnessed the grand sight in front of him. Standing tall in front of the group was a grand archway, its smooth steel frame elegantly curved. Inside it was a field of blue energy, always moving and wavering inside the arch as though it were alive. Standing on either side of the construct was a pair of Stormtroopers, quietly standing guard and observing anyone who might have been headed towards them.

While the black-clad swordsman stood there, somewhat mesmerised by the sight of the portal, the soldiers collectively breathed a sigh of relief. They were glad to have reached their destination and in one piece. Stepping forward, Simmons addressed one of the guards: "I'm Commander Simmons. As you were no doubt notified, my company is escorting these Primes to Coruscant."

Acknowledging the man's statement with a nod, the guard on the left replied: "Welcome back, commander. We've been expecting you. I know it's a long way to the fountain, but the captain was starting to get concerned because you didn't report back for so long. We were worried you might have run into someone dangerous, like that armoured freak who cut down the Gamma boys. It's good to see that everyone's alright." Pausing for a moment, he then inquired: "Ugh...sir, not that it's any of my business, but.....why are you and your company not carrying your blasters?"

Simmons sighed. He was already annoyed at the present situation and dreaded the idea of having to explain it to his superiors; he was really in no mood to share their embarrassment with the portal guards: "Like you said, it's none of your business. I have my reasons. You just do your job."

Even if one was unable to see his expression, the guard's tone clearly revealed how awkward he must have felt: "Y-Yes, sir...." Straightening out, he motioned towards the arch before stating: "The other side was already made clear for your arrival. You may enter when ready."

Nodding to the guard, Simmons turned around and loudly said: "Alright, Primes first. Step forward!" Though the grey-haired male merely observed what was going on with his usual slight bewilderment, the girl in the suit and the pink-haired stranger moved towards the commander. However, the Prime in black robes didn't stop at that and just proceeded to the portal itself with little regard for protocol. Before the commander could stop him, his body was already submerged in the field and he disappeared. Simmons brought one of his palms to his helmet....he was really going to need a drink after this colossal mess. But at least the Ghost waited patiently at his side.

He then finally turned his attention to the boy in black, motioning him to move: "Come on, you too." At first, the warrior did not respond to the man's prompts, simply observing him with his red eyes. It was only when Simmons confirmed his order with a somewhat irritated "Well, go on!" did the teenager finally realise what the commander wanted from him. Slowly, he took steps forward towards the arch, the red-haired girl escorting him. Reaching out, he touched the surface of the field with his gloved hand. Though the hand practically sank into the portal as he did so, this did not result in any pain...in fact, aside from a slight cold sensation, there didn't appear to be anything wrong with going in. The warrior turned to the Ghost, who gave him a reassuring nod. Without another word, they stepped forward towards Coruscant....and a fate unknown.