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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2139812" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 186: All the Pieces...They arrived at the palace and set down in what had to be record time. Shadow complimented Hermes on it and then picked went back and picked up Kyren before stepping out onto the palace ground to see Akan standing there and shuffling his feet. She placed Kyren back on his feet as he was slowly coming back to consciousness.    Upon opening his eyes, they went wide and he stumbled back, slamming the back of his head into Hermes’ hull with a loud thud. Kyren cursed, but used the ship to support himself, “You...Marix...?! What....what happened?”    She grinned proudly and shrugged, “I’ve been freed.”    Kyren gaped. He blinked a couple of times, then mumbled, “F...free?”    “Yes, free,” Shadow’s grin widened, “You hit your head too hard? Or just deaf?”    “You...fr...” he went back to gaping, then suddenly ran up and picked her up, dancing around some and laughing. Suddenly, Kyren became aware of this and immediately dropped her back down with a cough an a shrug.    She just smiled and then glanced off towards the afternoon sun, “Lets go talk.”    And then she jumped up, morphing to a small bird in the process and flying off. Kyren was right behind her, though a little slower when it came to morphing. As the two of them flew off, Akan stood staring blankly.    “I guess I’ll...I’ll just...stay...here...” he trailed off and sighed watching the spot in the blue, afternoon sky. For a long while he just stood there, feeling abandoned for good reason. To add to it, he still couldn’t feel her through the link. Well, not correctly anyway. There was something there, definitely, but it just didn’t feel like the Shadow he was used to. Something was still wrong...and she just...just ran off like that. Not even a word. Not even a glance. Nothing.    Running a hand through his hair, Akan tore his eyes away from the sky and slowly made his way to the palace interior. He quietly wandered the halls, going no where in particular and just trying to ignore the fact that he hurt. Hurt when he shouldn’t be hurting. When nothing made sense...nothing at all and here he was stuck in this damned place all alone. His only connection to the entire section of the galaxy around him was Shadow and she was off doing her own thing...as usual. But she usually at least said something...she usually...    His thoughts were cut off when something in his mind just started blinking. He recognized it as a warning through the Force, but not one in the sense of danger. Immediately, Akan new what it was. Or rather, who.    From behind him, a soft and familiar voice purred, “Mmm...did not see Jedi Boy at breakfast...”    “I was busy,” Akan growled, turning to face Kato, who stood all together too close to him and looked very much like she knew it.    She smiled, idly pulling back some of her lilac hair from out of her eyes, “Mmmhmm...have not seen Jedi Boy at all today. What you have been busy with...hmm?”    Kato slowly reached up towards him and Akan very quickly took a step back and to the side, dodging her hand without any trouble and glaring at her. But, of course, she just took another step forward, smiling anyway but not attempting anything again. Though he felt something...something odd. Through the Force. Yes...or close. No, no it was definitely the Force. Where else would something like that come from? It was the Force. Had to be.    When he didn’t say anything, Kato said slowly, “You no eat breakfast...I think you hungry now, hm? Late for lunch, but food could be arranged...”    He was hungry. In fact, hearing her mention it only made Akan remember he hadn’t eaten anything at all for a very long while. Betraying him, his stomach growled. That got a bigger smile on Kato’s face, but Akan quickly responded, “I’m fine. I don’t need anything.”    Quickly, Akan then turned around and marched off the other direction as fast as he could. After rounding two corners, he realized he was lost. The damn palace was just too big and everything seemed to look exactly the same. Of course, when he turned around to see if there was anyone that spoke Basic who would lead him around, he saw only Kato, who was just turning the corner and smiled to see him.    Casually striding over to him, she tipped her head to the side and asked, “Need you help...?”    “I’m fine,” Akan said again firmly, though his mind was racing with trying to figure out where exactly his...Shadow’s...their room was. But he found nothing, though there was that odd feeling again through the Force.    It was quickly followed by Kato pointing behind her, “I lead you to room?”    He stared at her blankly. Seeing this, she smiled again and took his hand and started walking down the other direction. For some reason he didn’t resist and just let himself be dragged(lightly) along through the long hallways. Kato was radiating something through the Force and it was only annoying him in a very odd way that didn’t make sense. But thankfully, after a few turns and long walks, they stopped in front of a door and Kato motioned to it, “You tired...rest. But need eat later.”    She squeezed his hand before letting go and then sweeping off and out of sight. Akan stared. He couldn’t really help it. She did look...well...female. Sighing and mentally kicking himself, he stepped to the door, which irised open to the familiar, but empty, room. Akan found the bed and collapsed back onto it.    Yes, he was tired. Yes, he was hungry. But something was still very wrong in this place. Something he couldn’t put his finger on. It was getting beyond the point of just being an annoyance, and Akan did his best to use some old Jedi calmly techniques to think straight. There were so many pieces to the puzzle, and Akan didn’t even know half of the pieces...honestly, he didn’t even know the puzzle, but that was just a technicality at this point.    So he calmed himself and thought. What were the pieces he knew? Well, himself and Shadow were two. Kyren was a possibility but Akan wasn’t sure on that. Kato was another possibility, though his instinct was telling him she definitely was a piece in whatever it was. His instinct also told him that the older Alraxian Faban was another piece. Ket and Nine were two more, without a doubt, though they felt so distant lately that it took him time to even think of them. So what else? Was that it? All that he knew...?    Akan sighed. It was. Even if those were all of the pieces, not knowing how they connected made things impossible. But they couldn’t be all of it. There were loose connections at best that he knew of, and there was definitely more going on. Much more. Maybe he should talk to the Empress or Cole...no. Not until he understood more. And to do that he needed Shadow. And she was off with Kyren...off with Kyren and ignoring Akan.    That was obviously not helping the whole situation. Somehow, Akan had a feeling that her being ‘free’ didn’t really change a thing in the grand scheme of things. Whatever the grand scheme of things happened to be. Why couldn’t it just have been Ket and Nine? It was so much easier when there was a clear cut enemy. This was why Akan had never liked politics. And here he was...stuck in the middle of it all, in a place he didn’t understand with people that he understood even less.    And he was alone in it all. Alone when there should have been someone there.</blockquote>

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