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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2685600" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 295: A Word Best ForgottenThe door opened just like the one before it. There was no lock, no mechanism of protection or defense beyond the series of buttons that needed to be pressed. That was not the sign of someone hiding out. It was the sign of a place left alone for nearly ten years after a long, losing battle. Either that, or it was the sign of someone expecting company and leaving the door open so they could get in.    Either way, Jyren didn’t like it.    But when the door opened to a wisp of cold, ventilated air, what he liked and didn’t disappeared. It was Shadow that stepped into the gigantic hanger first. Carefully, and still shivering a noticeably, the small human woman took a few steps in and looked around. Jyren was right behind her, but his eyes weren’t doing a good job of checking for trouble. He was simply amazed at the...the everything.    Much of the hangar was just blocks of white duracrete that had once lined the ceiling, holding back the ice, but now were scattered in huge chunks across the deck plates that felt suspiciously like durasteel. But the ground was covered in a white layer of frost and ice, left untouched for a decade. A few pillars lined an area far off to the left, and between them were the ancient ruins of airspeeders that had never left their places. Jyren could even see the yellow ladders leading up to the cockpits of the speeders. Most of the equipment that one usually found in a hangar was still scattered around, and a wide open section at the center, leading straight up to the still-closed hangar door, was a series of small grooves and raised sections at even intervals. They lined a path just wide enough for a small freighter. Jyren knew landing lights when he saw them.    There was even the remains of a Y-Wing off to one side, torn to pieces for parts from the look of it, but still a Y-Wing at one point long ago. And though here and there black scorch marks could be seen, it was generally a clean, icy white colour throughout the entire gigantic area. As a strange moment of nostalgia passed by, Jyren said quietly, “This isn’t right.”    “What do you mean?” Shadow asked, voice equally soft but not completely due to her own control of it. She had stepped over to one of the pillars to look around and check for any signs of...well...anything.    Jyren sighed, not even completely sure what he meant, and waved his hand vaguely, “All of this. Where’s the ship that would bring someone here? Where’s the signs that anyone has been here in the last decade?”    “There could be more than one hangar,” Shadow commented over her shoulder before motioning for him to follow, “And I have a feeling this place is bigger than just a place to land.”    Saying nothing, Jyren walked over and fell into step behind her as she led the way towards the far wall. It took him a moment to notice she was heading for a grey, blaster bolt scorched door. Even from the distance they were at, he could see the panel next to the door had only two buttons. Open and lock. The lock likely wasn’t even very complicated to break, either. Sometimes, those two switches were all that were necessary, and in a way, Jyren missed being able to rely on just that.    A single violet colour eye looked up at him through black hair as Shadow caught on to his tangent thoughts, “Need you here and in the moment, Akan-jai...”    That got him to blink back into reality. It was a name he hadn’t heard since...since...since before Alraxia. He didn’t even know how long ago that was anymore. Jyren was just...him. It was why it was so easy to accept, even more so than the previous times in his life that he had changed names. But it wasn’t just hearing ‘Akan’ that surprised him. It was the whole thing, which he now actually knew the meaning of. It seemed to be the only term of affection Shadow had ever, ever used, and besides, Jyren-jai didn’t have the same ring to it.    “Better,” she said with a grin on her face, immediately noting his jolt back into the icy cold hangar. It was still driving her crazy, and Shadow had a feeling she was beginning to turn blue, but at least they were alive and hopefully they’d be gone soon. Very soon. When they stopped at the door, she decided one last thing was necessary to make sure he wouldn’t retreat into whatever his old self-pity again, “Any sign of her?”    Amazingly, while Jyren understood what she was asking, he didn’t even pick up on the ulterior motive behind the asking of the question. It wasn’t like it was completely unfounded, either. Jyren had always connected with Jen much better than Shadow had, and he would likely be able to pick up on her faster and more accurately than she would.    Taking a deep breath, Jyren reached out with the Force very carefully. The usually familiar feeling was altogether alien as he sensed the...the everything around them. He could feel Shadow next to him, her presence in the Force warm and a very strong offset to the physical cold surrounding them. He could feel...the planet itself. Mostly dead, but with some life scattered here and there, living lives that seemed impossible. But there was something else. Something distant and yet right there. Something that made his stomach tighten without any explanation at all to his body, which was not at all happy.    “Jyren!” Shadow quickly stepped over to grab him before he fell face first into the hard mix of ice and durasteel at their feet. Supporting him as best she could(which wasn’t easy...not only was he bigger than her, but human females weren’t exactly built anything like Alraxian females), she decided a stupid question was in order, “What is it?”    She heard(and felt, from the awkward way she was holding him), him breathing heavily before mumble into her shoulder, “I don’t know.”    Shadow soon realized that holding him up like this was doing nothing but causing her back, arms, and legs to hurt. Silently cursing whoever designed the human body(especially the female design), she gave in against all natural urges and very carefully sat down on the freezing cold ground, helping him down with her in the process. Once down, Shadow did her best to keep Jyren from sliding off her relatively small shoulder and gently ran a hand through his hair. Through their link, she could feel a sense of panic and fear that was overwhelming him. Then, quietly, she ventured a careful guess, “Jen?”    As best as one could shake one’s head when it was buried in another’s shoulder, Jyren did, mumbling again, “I don’t think so.”    Her usual curious and untrusting self, Shadow wasn’t satisfied with that. So, while still outwardly trying to calm him down and get his breathing back to normal(as this quick breathing was probably not very helpful with all the cold), she pried through the link. But no matter how hard she searched and pushed, she couldn’t find anything. He’d never had any blocks as strong as those up ever before, not even to keep her from finding out about that Mare girl. That worried Shadow, and forced her to press the old fashioned way, “Then what is it?”    Jyren only had to speak the first syllable of the word before Shadow regretted asking the question. When he finished whispering the word, she felt the same gut wrenching pain that he did. It was the only word either of them had ever heard that actually caused physical pain. One day, the both of them hoped they’d never have to even think the word ‘Darkwing’ ever again.</blockquote>

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