No, that wasn't the word for it; exhausted might be better, bone-weary as he'd never been in the Rebellion or anything afterward, not even after Mara's death when all the light had gone out of the universe for a time.
Mara...
Luke's blue eyes cracked open, thinking of his wife, his dearest heart. Mara, wherever she was in this nightmare (he'd spent far too much time following the shade of their son around his memories of this ship to know anymore, and that pained him), he hoped she was faring better than he was--he, the great Jedi Master, who was brought to his knees by a few phantasms. Wearily, he reached out, touching her presence along their bond that they'd barely begun to scratch the surface of.
Something in him, in the Force, shifted. And suddenly he was full of light.
Yoda had said to him, in that time on Dagobah before Bespin, that a Jedi was a luminous being, something made of starstuff and compassion and not flesh and bone. And in the same way, the bond that he shared with Mara was of light and love and the deepest respect and compassion. Luke basked in it, drinking its strength in, bolstering himself for whatever lay ahead. For her--for Ben, who might still be in podsleep, for Leia, who had to be as well--for all of his friends and family, he would continue.
Luke would take up his lightsaber and protect the ones he loved.
Around him, the cold walls of the Star Destroyer Anakin Solo began to crack, crumbling, almost running down like water, until at last he felt the Force surge through him and stood, trembling slightly with the feeling of it all. His connection to the Force, that had waned as he battled his nightmares, was back. And with it, Luke knew he had his first ally. He'd have to find people, help them out, and then maybe they could do something about all this.
But when this was all over, he was going to have to kiss Mara senseless.
It was wonderful that Ling had saved Shang's life when the avalanche threatened to sweep the unconscious captain to his death. Mulan couldn't have been more pleased to see him alive again, just before she succumbed to her wounds, but now -
Now that she was revealed, he wasn't happy to see her. She knelt in the snow, freezing in her blanket, as the captain approached her with his unsheathed sword.
"Fa Mulan."
His voice is so steady, so calm. She knows he must do this. HE knows he must do this.
"You are guilty of impersonating a soldier."
She looks up for a last glimpse of her captain, cold steel reflecting mountains and moonlight, heart in her throat. The last thing she will ever see.
"For this, you must die."
Nigh imperceptible - a tremor in his voice. But his arm is steady as he raises the sword.
A soldier does not cry. She bows her head. She always knew this was only a short slip away.
Perhaps the people of China will still know who saved them. Too bad the soldier Fa Ping will have sacrificed himself in battle to do so. She hopes this is what they will say of her. They are her friends. They would honor her deeds, though she dishonored them with her self, right?
The sword bites through the cold air. She waits to die.
Haku's dragon-form was a formidable thing, and when he'd writhed free of the initial disorientation of entering another's nightmare, it was convenient to take flight. The Army of China was encamped on a snowy hillside below, each wearing armor he'd recognized from that girl. Figures in the snow like children's toys.
Fa Mulan kneeling there, looking up without seeing the sky, to where the dragon watched. A soldier stood over her, with a sword, raised above her head.
Unacceptable.
With a roar that forgot the unreality of the waking dream, Haku dove, meaning to put himself between the woman he could hardly yet call a friend and the sword, to snarl and attack the swordsman, since Mulan would not. He would stop this! He could never simply stand by and let her drown...he never had been able to.
Scatter they should. Haku snarles, a primal barking sound, from deep in that long throat to push the bewildered Shang back another step. His mane is up, standing on end and as the river-spirit turns his gaze to the girl he lashes his tail at them. Pathetic creatures of dream and shadow— even if Mulan had made them herself.
"I have known you, Fa Mulan," He replies, as clearly as he can through teeth that wish to clench. He can see the readiness to defend in her and from a girl laid bare in the snow it's little more than a joke, "Do you know me? Or has your fear made you forget even that?"
"I . . ." the dragon is talking to her, and every minute spent talking to her is a minute NOT crunching her captain in half. "I know the sight of you. Honored spirit." She pauses - "Haku?"
There are other memories attached to that name . . . why doesn't that make any sense?
That was what she dreamed, of her captain? Haku turned his head back to the man with the sword and regarded him with a rising growl.
"That is not your Captain," he spat, glaring green hatred at the sending and the sword in his hand. The dragon's head wheeled back to face the girl, sparing a sweeping glance of the assembled soldiers so that they took another step back, "That is a lie made from your dreams. The man you will marry is probably in danger, right now. Will you protect this falsehood while he fights for his life?"
Haku, you broke her dream brain in addition to jogging her memory.
"I . . ." she remembers things AFTER being discovered. Things involving not having her head chopped off. Because LING didn't save Shang, SHE did. And Shang couldn't kill someone he owed his life.
"I . . . think we should be going, then." She looks from the cowering soldiers to the dragon. "There's someone . . . something we need to defeat, right?"
He blinked and stilled, all but the tip of his tail, which still lashed like a cat with it's eye on a mouse. The dragon crouched, and coiled himself around Mulan.
"The Nightmare King," He reminded her, more gently, and tilted his head and neck to offer Mulan his bare shoulder as a perch. She was light enough. Get on, Mulan: Haku will fly you out of here.
She climbs on, blanket being replaced as the illusion fades with her plantsuit and ship clothes. Too bad she doesn't have her armor, but at least she has her sword still.
"Right. Let's go."
Riding a river spirit to fight a Nightmare King. Not things she expected to do outside of dreams, ironically enough.
He'd been a fool to think it would be so easy to evade his own nightmare, knowing what it was, but Haku had still allowed himself to become arrogant. Perhaps that was his failing, pride, that this particular brand of humility should be his downfall. The worst part was knowing what was coming, knowing to the moment when it would happen, and yet when the voice came, it was still a shock that made him jump, startled.
"Well well, if it isn't Haku..." The nightmare King's sending was Yubaba, smoothly smug in her superiority. She stood as Yubaba never would have, among the shadows in her borrowed finery, and made no pretense of reality in the Nightmare. Haku inclined his head, and stepped forward to meed her with a deep and icy calm. He could no longer remember his name, and that meant...
Luke had hung back from the dreams of the ones nearest him until now; too mentally exhausted to dive into the fray, trying to pull from that infinite reservoir of the Force, he had lain quiet, gathering himself for this. Wearing the tunic and trousers Arha had gifted him, the cloak she had made shrouding him, Luke watched from the shadows of his hood as the scene changed.
It felt wrong. Luke suppressed a shudder at the icy mental touch of the Nightmare King, but knew that he could fight off further incursions, now that he'd remembered what he was fighting for. And he wanted to help others free themselves, too. Being able to breathe the free air after being trapped in his own head, wondering if he was losing his mind, was exhilarating.
Luke half-closed his eyes, gathering the Force to him as he reached out to Haku's mind. He only hoped he could do enough to help this young man find his way out of his dreams.
At Mulan's call and Luke's gentle touch, Haku turns. It's not like most dream-landscapes...just a void of shadow with only enough variation in light to make it clear where the floor is, to illuminate the people within it.
"I know," He's almost smiling, saying it, "It's a nightmare."
But it doesn't make a difference because he can't remember his name. Even in his own mind, he's become 'Haku' in this nightmare world, not... Not ... Nothing will come, but Haku knows there's a name for himself, somewhere. He frowns at the not-Yubaba, his eyes sharpening to match the ice in his tone, "You have something that doesn't belong to you."
Yubaba's shade was smug, she lit a cigarette and inhaled, 'Ah, yes...but what will you do to get it back? Come here, boy, where I can see your face.'
And he does, of course, because what else can he do? Haku is certain this will play out just as it would with the real Yubaba. Arrogance. Pride. It's the reason why he's surprised when she lashes out with an arm that's suddenly a snake-whip of shining black oil. He takes a step back in surprise, but it's not enough— Haku falls back, tearing at the black magic wrapped around him desperately, and can't help but scream, "No!"
Luke's head filled with static, but he fought it back as best he could and tried to maintain the contact. Haku needed him, needed all of them, those whose presences he could sense and those who called out to this young man who was obviously their friend.
You can win against this! he thought, not caring if the words didn't make it through--the intent was what mattered. Stretching out to Haku's mind, trying to shore up the young man's defenses against whatever this is that has him captive--mentally and physically--trying to help him remember--
(Remember what?)
Luke stretched back to that Force bond between himself and Mara, the love and life and light that flowed between them, and anchored himself there. And even as he reached out to Haku again, he reached out to where the others glowed in the Force around them. They were all in this together now, and their crewmate needed them.
She doesn't know to apply herself mentally to Haku's defense, or the Force, or anything - she knows that her honored friend is in trouble, and needs help.
Out comes an arrow, knocked to the string. Shooting the . . . black stuff around her friend is too dangerous, but the little hag, nightmare or not, may be vulnerable to weapons. She fires at Yubaba.
Hisk stands up, fanning her wings out a little to maker herself seem a little bigger. She doesn't know what's happening here and is hesitant to get close to Haku or Yubaba, what witchery is this?! Mulan and Luke now have a dragon standing nearby, all tensed up with nowhere to go.
She wants to help. There's nothing else for it here, she can't run away even though that comes to her as the sensible answer here. The enemy is here.
And so, she hesitates. Hisk growls at Yubaba low in her throat, but doesn't attack. It's a bluff to buy her time to think, which... between her lack of sleep and confusion isn't going so well.
The arrow strikes Yubaba like a bird flying through an image projected on smoke, scattering and deforming her face as the hag throws back her head and laughs. The not-Yubaba dissolved, but as she did she cast one leering glance back over the assembled group. No, this was no witch, this was the Nightmare King...and then he was gone.
On the ground, Haku made a sound somewhere between a dragon's hiss and a groan. It hurt, it burned, the taste of it, sliding down his throat, clenching through nostrils and eyes and ears as if by sheer enthusiasm it could breach his defenses. One last furious struggle, and he collapsed, laying on his stomach and then... The boy rose to his feet, as a dragon. An angry one.
Without hesitating, the Nightmare King's corrupted thrall lunged across the distance, mouth open and seeking to tear and devour whoever was closest. Haku was the nightmare, now.
Blue eyes went wide, and Luke dodged out of the way, rolling up to his feet again. His lightsaber wasn't on his belt--perhaps he'd dropped it wherever he lay outside the nightmare, on the ship--but a true Jedi didn't need a weapon. Luke's ally was the Force, and for those who were here to help Haku regain himself, though they might not be able to touch it or feel its effects, they still served it in their own way. He would use it to defend these people he'd been thrown together with, to defend the dragon-boy from himself.
Luke opened himself to it and as he did, realized he'd come up near the other dragon and the young woman, and reached out a hand to both of them, brow furrowed as he put up a shield around them to protect them momentarily. One strong physical hit and it'd shatter--Luke wasn't at his full strength, and even with the entirety of life to draw on there just wasn't any substitute for real rest--but it it'd be something.
"He needs us," Luke said simply. "We need to make sure he doesn't hurt himself in this, and we need to get him out of his dream. I can try that last part, if we work together for the first part." He grinned. "I trust you to know what to do."
Hisk shows her teeth, fanning her wings out a bit more and lashing her tail. She shies back away from the shield slightly, more witchery, but it's guarding them so that's not a bad thing.
"He has me in size," she says, "but 'f I can git my teeth round near his head I might be able t' pin 'im."
For a moment the enraged river-spirit snarled, coiling in on himself like a snake preparing to strike. He turned to face Luke and lashed out in a wide arc with his tail at Mulan and the Jedi both. It contacted the shield in a shower of sparks as power met power.
And then, Hisk made a target of herself.
"Haahhhhsssssssssssssssssssssssss..." Like a dog presented with a rival Haku snapped round to face her. The challenge was clear, in face and posture and as quick as a cobra he lunged. The inside of his mouth was as black and shining as wet pitch, save for the bone-white teeth. He meant to rip out her throat if he could; blood in the water and the waters would bleed. The corruption would nourish the blackness inside him and make it that much stronger.
He'd seen a lot of things in his line of work. Didn't really think seeing two dragons going at it would be added to them, but Han was tired from the last few days and he knew his trusty blaster would probably do very little to their enraged foe.
"Luke, if you have a plan, now would be a good time to tell us!"
Hisk hisses with a sound like monsoon rains on a tin sheet, ducking under Haku's teeth. She hasn't fought in this body in years, but some things never leave you. Her wings flare out instinctively to make her appear larger, though this makes them an easy target for clawing.
She latches her teeth into Haku lower on his neck but above his front legs, growling and trying to push him back and bowl him over, pushing with her back legs.
Rhiow heard the pained hiss in a familiar voice as she limped, bruised and battered, through the city - her head whipped around, her ears pinning back hard against her skull, and ran as well as she could on only three legs. I thought we already dealt with this - how can he still be under influence - we banished it, right?
She skidded to a halt near Luke, breathing hard, feeling the very edges of her reserves. She had expended just about everything she had in that battle, but... she also knew Haku's true name, and what he really was, and - maybe - how to stop him. "I think I may be able to do something," she said, looking up at Luke with her eyes wide and her tail lashing. "I can contain him, maybe, for a moment - it'll probably knock me out, though, I don't have much energy left."
Static saw the commotion around Haku from the air, chasing after the avatar. He already knew he wasn't going to be much use there; Aang didn't know him, had no reason to trust him, and had the ability to bend water, which would severely hamper Virgil's style. But, Haku he could deal with... Haku was his friend, and a friend in need.
So he dropped his team off to deal with Aang and left to try and do some good.
"The hell is going on!?! What've I missed?" He called out as he flew over.
They are joined by a being whose form now resembles the dragon in a way, at least outwardly. Tobias is slightly larger than the horse-sized reptilian, at seven feet, but the other dragon is bigger than him. The main difference between he and they are his many blades, and his ability to walk only on two legs. He also cannot fly, not in this body.
His snakelike neck and head watch the dragon closely, his bladed tail held ready behind him. It's not the slicing fury that's an Andalite tail, but a Hork-Bajir tail is still something to fear when it's coming at you.
He lashes the tail toward the enemy dragon, hoping for a decent strike He takes care not to hit the dragon with the girl riding it.
Haku opted not to resist Hisk's pressure, instead setting his teeth into her shoulder and pulling. He had neither the bulk nor the balance to shove against her weight and so brought his hindclaws up to rake across the inviting targets her wings made. Fly on this, will you?
And then Tobias' tail-blade hit him with a dull thunk, like an axe into wood; a solid hit. He screeched, high and loud in a way that quickly petered off into the hypersonic range, inaudible to human ears. It was enough to get his fangs out of Hisk's flesh, at any rate, though now he was struggling to get free of her own, scrabbling hard with his forelegs and thrashing like an angry fish. His own tail was a whiplash, striking out randomly as he thrashed.
It was desperation, an attempt at escape. The fragment of nightmare that oozed inside him had sensed the death of it's greater self, and knew he was losing the fight.
Is there anything at all she can do here? She is not a mighty dragon, nor does she have spectacular abilities. She can only shoot her friend . . . and even seeing him in this state is not enough to make shooting him easy.
The point of Mulan's arrow weaves in her focus. She pulled it on reflex, a good, well-trained soldier, but she can't use it. For one thing, it probably wouldn't do anything. For another, if it did, she could not possibly forgive herself.
"Haku, my honored friend," she shouts, trying to reach him over the sound of the fighting. "You brought me out of my nightmare. You reminded me to fight it. I am reminding you of the same now! We are friends! You must remember that!"
Rhiow's ears were pinned flat to her skull as she crouched on the ground, eyes narrowed, piecing together the spell in her head.
It was one she had used before - one she even had on hand - but it needed more than a few modifications before it would do any good on Haku, and the power requirements... Rhiow licked her nose as she mentally slotted in the amount of energy required to hold even a lesser power.
The spell was complete. Another snarl echoed from overhead and she flinched, took a deep breath, and began to read. "This is a localized-specific neural component inhibitor meant for use on Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi-" she had to pause, gasping, as the full spoken version of Haku's name in the Speech pulled more energy out of her than she had anticipated. The working silence of the spell pressed in around her ears and she shook herself, continuing, coming to the power requirement and hesitating only a moment before the syllables spilled off her tongue.
The spell took in a rush, leaving Rhiow weak and trembling. She looked up - even raising her head took effort now - and saw Haku suddenly stop moving, falling through the air as his body stopped doing what his brain told it to.
Then the Whisperer hissed a sharp warning in her ear - if she held it much longer she'd pull her life into it - and Rhiow gasped the release words before she collapsed unconscious in a small ball of black fur.
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No, that wasn't the word for it; exhausted might be better, bone-weary as he'd never been in the Rebellion or anything afterward, not even after Mara's death when all the light had gone out of the universe for a time.
Mara...
Luke's blue eyes cracked open, thinking of his wife, his dearest heart. Mara, wherever she was in this nightmare (he'd spent far too much time following the shade of their son around his memories of this ship to know anymore, and that pained him), he hoped she was faring better than he was--he, the great Jedi Master, who was brought to his knees by a few phantasms. Wearily, he reached out, touching her presence along their bond that they'd barely begun to scratch the surface of.
Something in him, in the Force, shifted. And suddenly he was full of light.
Yoda had said to him, in that time on Dagobah before Bespin, that a Jedi was a luminous being, something made of starstuff and compassion and not flesh and bone. And in the same way, the bond that he shared with Mara was of light and love and the deepest respect and compassion. Luke basked in it, drinking its strength in, bolstering himself for whatever lay ahead. For her--for Ben, who might still be in podsleep, for Leia, who had to be as well--for all of his friends and family, he would continue.
Luke would take up his lightsaber and protect the ones he loved.
Around him, the cold walls of the Star Destroyer Anakin Solo began to crack, crumbling, almost running down like water, until at last he felt the Force surge through him and stood, trembling slightly with the feeling of it all. His connection to the Force, that had waned as he battled his nightmares, was back. And with it, Luke knew he had his first ally. He'd have to find people, help them out, and then maybe they could do something about all this.
But when this was all over, he was going to have to kiss Mara senseless.
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Now that she was revealed, he wasn't happy to see her. She knelt in the snow, freezing in her blanket, as the captain approached her with his unsheathed sword.
"Fa Mulan."
His voice is so steady, so calm. She knows he must do this. HE knows he must do this.
"You are guilty of impersonating a soldier."
She looks up for a last glimpse of her captain, cold steel reflecting mountains and moonlight, heart in her throat. The last thing she will ever see.
"For this, you must die."
Nigh imperceptible - a tremor in his voice. But his arm is steady as he raises the sword.
A soldier does not cry. She bows her head. She always knew this was only a short slip away.
Perhaps the people of China will still know who saved them. Too bad the soldier Fa Ping will have sacrificed himself in battle to do so. She hopes this is what they will say of her. They are her friends. They would honor her deeds, though she dishonored them with her self, right?
The sword bites through the cold air. She waits to die.
May I cut in?
Fa Mulan kneeling there, looking up without seeing the sky, to where the dragon watched. A soldier stood over her, with a sword, raised above her head.
Unacceptable.
With a roar that forgot the unreality of the waking dream, Haku dove, meaning to put himself between the woman he could hardly yet call a friend and the sword, to snarl and attack the swordsman, since Mulan would not. He would stop this! He could never simply stand by and let her drown...he never had been able to.
"Fa Mulan!"
Re: May I cut in?
"A dragon? You think that's a dragon? I'll show you dragon, Cri-kee, get the flaming arrows."
A small red annoyance of a similar (but miniscule) build to Haku flits about the snow as the Chinese soldiers fall back in panic.
Mulan looks at Haku, confused, frightened, ready to leap between the dragon and Shang if he doesn't respond to her question - "Do I know you?"
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"I have known you, Fa Mulan," He replies, as clearly as he can through teeth that wish to clench. He can see the readiness to defend in her and from a girl laid bare in the snow it's little more than a joke, "Do you know me? Or has your fear made you forget even that?"
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There are other memories attached to that name . . . why doesn't that make any sense?
"Haku, please do not hurt my captain."
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"That is not your Captain," he spat, glaring green hatred at the sending and the sword in his hand. The dragon's head wheeled back to face the girl, sparing a sweeping glance of the assembled soldiers so that they took another step back, "That is a lie made from your dreams. The man you will marry is probably in danger, right now. Will you protect this falsehood while he fights for his life?"
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Haku, you broke her dream brain in addition to jogging her memory.
"I . . ." she remembers things AFTER being discovered. Things involving not having her head chopped off. Because LING didn't save Shang, SHE did. And Shang couldn't kill someone he owed his life.
"I . . . think we should be going, then." She looks from the cowering soldiers to the dragon. "There's someone . . . something we need to defeat, right?"
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"The Nightmare King," He reminded her, more gently, and tilted his head and neck to offer Mulan his bare shoulder as a perch. She was light enough. Get on, Mulan: Haku will fly you out of here.
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"Right. Let's go."
Riding a river spirit to fight a Nightmare King. Not things she expected to do outside of dreams, ironically enough.
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He'd been a fool to think it would be so easy to evade his own nightmare, knowing what it was, but Haku had still allowed himself to become arrogant. Perhaps that was his failing, pride, that this particular brand of humility should be his downfall. The worst part was knowing what was coming, knowing to the moment when it would happen, and yet when the voice came, it was still a shock that made him jump, startled.
"Well well, if it isn't Haku..." The nightmare King's sending was Yubaba, smoothly smug in her superiority. She stood as Yubaba never would have, among the shadows in her borrowed finery, and made no pretense of reality in the Nightmare. Haku inclined his head, and stepped forward to meed her with a deep and icy calm. He could no longer remember his name, and that meant...
Well, they both knew what would happen.
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It felt wrong. Luke suppressed a shudder at the icy mental touch of the Nightmare King, but knew that he could fight off further incursions, now that he'd remembered what he was fighting for. And he wanted to help others free themselves, too. Being able to breathe the free air after being trapped in his own head, wondering if he was losing his mind, was exhilarating.
Luke half-closed his eyes, gathering the Force to him as he reached out to Haku's mind. He only hoped he could do enough to help this young man find his way out of his dreams.
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He pulled her out of HER dream - she has to help him get out of his.
"Can you hear me? I'm still here!"
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But now, it's helping her keep a lower profile. Well, as low a profile as a horse-sized dragon can maintain.
It's not an easy task hiding something Hisk's size but the "focus" of the nightmare is not on her. This isn't her vision, it's Haku's.
She'd come out, but some gut instinct is telling her to remain crouched in the shadows, a pair of amber eyes just watching Haku.
Something is going to happen, and the spikes along the yellow dragon's sides prickle with dread.
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"I know," He's almost smiling, saying it, "It's a nightmare."
But it doesn't make a difference because he can't remember his name. Even in his own mind, he's become 'Haku' in this nightmare world, not... Not ... Nothing will come, but Haku knows there's a name for himself, somewhere. He frowns at the not-Yubaba, his eyes sharpening to match the ice in his tone, "You have something that doesn't belong to you."
Yubaba's shade was smug, she lit a cigarette and inhaled, 'Ah, yes...but what will you do to get it back? Come here, boy, where I can see your face.'
And he does, of course, because what else can he do? Haku is certain this will play out just as it would with the real Yubaba. Arrogance. Pride. It's the reason why he's surprised when she lashes out with an arm that's suddenly a snake-whip of shining black oil. He takes a step back in surprise, but it's not enough— Haku falls back, tearing at the black magic wrapped around him desperately, and can't help but scream, "No!"
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You can win against this! he thought, not caring if the words didn't make it through--the intent was what mattered. Stretching out to Haku's mind, trying to shore up the young man's defenses against whatever this is that has him captive--mentally and physically--trying to help him remember--
(Remember what?)
Luke stretched back to that Force bond between himself and Mara, the love and life and light that flowed between them, and anchored himself there. And even as he reached out to Haku again, he reached out to where the others glowed in the Force around them. They were all in this together now, and their crewmate needed them.
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Out comes an arrow, knocked to the string. Shooting the . . . black stuff around her friend is too dangerous, but the little hag, nightmare or not, may be vulnerable to weapons. She fires at Yubaba.
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She wants to help. There's nothing else for it here, she can't run away even though that comes to her as the sensible answer here. The enemy is here.
And so, she hesitates. Hisk growls at Yubaba low in her throat, but doesn't attack. It's a bluff to buy her time to think, which... between her lack of sleep and confusion isn't going so well.
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On the ground, Haku made a sound somewhere between a dragon's hiss and a groan. It hurt, it burned, the taste of it, sliding down his throat, clenching through nostrils and eyes and ears as if by sheer enthusiasm it could breach his defenses. One last furious struggle, and he collapsed, laying on his stomach and then... The boy rose to his feet, as a dragon. An angry one.
Without hesitating, the Nightmare King's corrupted thrall lunged across the distance, mouth open and seeking to tear and devour whoever was closest. Haku was the nightmare, now.
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Luke opened himself to it and as he did, realized he'd come up near the other dragon and the young woman, and reached out a hand to both of them, brow furrowed as he put up a shield around them to protect them momentarily. One strong physical hit and it'd shatter--Luke wasn't at his full strength, and even with the entirety of life to draw on there just wasn't any substitute for real rest--but it it'd be something.
"He needs us," Luke said simply. "We need to make sure he doesn't hurt himself in this, and we need to get him out of his dream. I can try that last part, if we work together for the first part." He grinned. "I trust you to know what to do."
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He seems to be the one in charge, so sir it is. "What's your idea?"
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"He has me in size," she says, "but 'f I can git my teeth round near his head I might be able t' pin 'im."
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And then, Hisk made a target of herself.
"Haahhhhsssssssssssssssssssssssss..." Like a dog presented with a rival Haku snapped round to face her. The challenge was clear, in face and posture and as quick as a cobra he lunged. The inside of his mouth was as black and shining as wet pitch, save for the bone-white teeth. He meant to rip out her throat if he could; blood in the water and the waters would bleed. The corruption would nourish the blackness inside him and make it that much stronger.
Besides, Hisk had asked for it.
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"Luke, if you have a plan, now would be a good time to tell us!"
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She latches her teeth into Haku lower on his neck but above his front legs, growling and trying to push him back and bowl him over, pushing with her back legs.
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She skidded to a halt near Luke, breathing hard, feeling the very edges of her reserves. She had expended just about everything she had in that battle, but... she also knew Haku's true name, and what he really was, and - maybe - how to stop him. "I think I may be able to do something," she said, looking up at Luke with her eyes wide and her tail lashing. "I can contain him, maybe, for a moment - it'll probably knock me out, though, I don't have much energy left."
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So he dropped his team off to deal with Aang and left to try and do some good.
"The hell is going on!?! What've I missed?" He called out as he flew over.
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His snakelike neck and head watch the dragon closely, his bladed tail held ready behind him. It's not the slicing fury that's an Andalite tail, but a Hork-Bajir tail is still something to fear when it's coming at you.
He lashes the tail toward the enemy dragon, hoping for a decent strike He takes care not to hit the dragon with the girl riding it.
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And then Tobias' tail-blade hit him with a dull thunk, like an axe into wood; a solid hit. He screeched, high and loud in a way that quickly petered off into the hypersonic range, inaudible to human ears. It was enough to get his fangs out of Hisk's flesh, at any rate, though now he was struggling to get free of her own, scrabbling hard with his forelegs and thrashing like an angry fish. His own tail was a whiplash, striking out randomly as he thrashed.
It was desperation, an attempt at escape. The fragment of nightmare that oozed inside him had sensed the death of it's greater self, and knew he was losing the fight.
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The point of Mulan's arrow weaves in her focus. She pulled it on reflex, a good, well-trained soldier, but she can't use it. For one thing, it probably wouldn't do anything. For another, if it did, she could not possibly forgive herself.
"Haku, my honored friend," she shouts, trying to reach him over the sound of the fighting. "You brought me out of my nightmare. You reminded me to fight it. I am reminding you of the same now! We are friends! You must remember that!"
It's worth a try?
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It was one she had used before - one she even had on hand - but it needed more than a few modifications before it would do any good on Haku, and the power requirements... Rhiow licked her nose as she mentally slotted in the amount of energy required to hold even a lesser power.
The spell was complete. Another snarl echoed from overhead and she flinched, took a deep breath, and began to read. "This is a localized-specific neural component inhibitor meant for use on Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi-" she had to pause, gasping, as the full spoken version of Haku's name in the Speech pulled more energy out of her than she had anticipated. The working silence of the spell pressed in around her ears and she shook herself, continuing, coming to the power requirement and hesitating only a moment before the syllables spilled off her tongue.
The spell took in a rush, leaving Rhiow weak and trembling. She looked up - even raising her head took effort now - and saw Haku suddenly stop moving, falling through the air as his body stopped doing what his brain told it to.
Then the Whisperer hissed a sharp warning in her ear - if she held it much longer she'd pull her life into it - and Rhiow gasped the release words before she collapsed unconscious in a small ball of black fur.