((Note: This takes place long after the attacks on Krexarn and other nearby cities, also after Scarred Story Line events of their initial attacks on RhyDin. Several months have passed since then.))


Silken lavender sheets caressed her skin as she laid on her bed alone in her room. The Citadel had been moved and grounded back again in its old place southeast of Exodii City. The complex once again merged with Corellon?s Sanctuary, though the foliage still seemed barren and lifeless yet the fit merged perfectly.

Sha?uri shifted her gaze from the ceiling to the window and looked into the distance. Her thoughts reflected her gaze, searching along some unknown horizon for answers. Her thoughts looked back in time, trying to remember what she could not? trying to understand why the city of Exodii had charged her with such crimes and sentenced her for something she couldn?t remember had ever happened? and to remember her death, the one they kept talking about?

There was nothing she could remember from that day. She couldn?t remember Aquil?s intense gaze that day torn as he struggled with what he had to do? yet every day for the past several weeks she could feel something in the background, something he?d been trying to hide from her.. some sort of ? guilt or shame. She couldn?t remember how intense her own gaze had been the day he killed her, pleading and yet full of fear though it wasn?t for her life.

She didn?t even know he?d been the one who killed her even though Aquil had been trying to teach her these last few months. He had covered it up so well, and she was too new to the ways of the force.

Rumors crept through the Citadel as they had come from the city and throughout all the lands? rumors of how Aquil had fought her for weeks on end prior to her death. It was being said how they had leveled mountains in some places and raised the sea floor in other places or blew lakes out of existence and created new ones elsewhere ? but she knew they were just rumors. It seemed ridiculous to her that any of them could be true.

She?d forgotten all those things and more. She couldn?t remember that she faced her death with open arms?

The reality was, she had used her last strength to force him to the task, moving herself toward it as he relented in his mind to do so.. to live up to his promise. She did not give him even a split moment chance to renege the thought.? forcing herself to move those few centimeters necessary upon the heat of the lightsaber, it had seared flesh, destroyed both her hearts and the multicolored magical explosion of dark evil spewed from her chest literally breaking through the antimagic zone and disrupting it for several minutes. It was enough time to finish what needed to be done?

None of that came to her memory as she stared out the window now. She didn?t even know her death drew her to the highest court of the Gods, to the One.

It had been the decree of the One, a hierarchy beyond anything she knew, which had wiped her memory from her. She didn?t remember she?d never felt so much pain in her life, and yet so much release. She didn?t even know it was the mercy of the One that stripped her of so many abilities, charged her with certain tasks and brought her back to life, reforming her body next to Aquil before the antimagic zone became active again.

?What happened? Why can?t I remember?? she whispered.

Now, as she laid in bed trying to remember this event, something stirred within her, some sense of the force remembered a time before as if she could almost see a shadow of it just on the edge of her feelings and inner sight. Images, sounds and smells wavered in the mist of her memory and teased her inner senses to the point of torture.

?Please, I need to know? why?? She whispered to the gods above?. To the One.

Silence?

Everything seemed so quiet and still?

Even the clock on the wall seemed to sit still in time? ten after six to be exact. Oddly, Sha?uri got a forboding sense from looking at the time.

Perhaps he listened, or perhaps it was already set in motion to be, but the images of memory began to come back?. The pain of the event burned in her chest? Back to the time of her death.

This was then?

As her soul was released from her body, she felt herself move out of body facing her other self who looked upon her with gentle repose. This one had long tendrils of light that reached from her backside and swayed gently as if caught by some unknown current. Sha?uri couldn?t keep her eyes on this part of herself filled with so much emotional pain of guilt and remorse that to look upon the light from her other self burned her soul. The angel appeared beside them, laying a hand upon her shoulder and suddenly everything seemed peaceful. A shadowy doorway opened beside them and the two stepped through leaving the other to linger for just a moment longer. Turning to Aquil, one of those tendrils reached toward him to touch his cheek briefly but with a flood of gratitude and love felt through that simple touch.. Then she, too, turned and went through the doorway, tendrils of light trailing behind her to close the portal.? It was time to face her trial before the Gods ? face her guilt of atrocities? her judgement.

It was decreed by the One who?s name was never given, who?s face was never seen, who?s voice at a whisper nearly tore her out of existence? or perhaps it was just more painful to have both sides of her forced into one being, one place, one time. She was to walk among the mortals as a mortal, no longer Soul dragon only dragon of normal lines until she proved herself again. She was stripped of her heavenly duties. She was stripped of her arcane knowledge and forced to relearn some of her normal abilities, some with twice the difficulty ? even so, it was a chance to start over for her, a way to keep her from growing too strong, a trial period for her.

The deal she had made with Bob had been the fruit of her arrogance. It was this decision that lead to so many innocent deaths and destruction? the overall of attacks on Krexarn, many were lost there. Many were lost in so many places not only on Exodii but in Rhydin. Even though this last time around Krexarn was saved, it only slowed down Sha?s efforts to her evil plan. Still, she had managed to gain enough corpses to use. Her guilt of such abominations, from one that had been so dedicated to protecting souls, welled up inside her? . The torture she had performed on so many, the guilt churned as each memory came back to her like a wave of nausea over an ocean of vomit.

Lupinius.. the memory was so vague but she remembered?she?d almost killed him and Onyxia. As it was, something had distracted her Number Three self, something akin to arrogance, resulting in that one?s death. Lupinius and Onyxia got away that day?

And the children? the attack on Arcanum in RhyDin had been part of the distraction so that Travanix and his fleet could maneuver to blockade the planet and try to take over not only the city of Rhydin but the entire planet. Many were scarred physically, mentally or both. Her part had been executed with no regard for those children, no remorse or regret for the destruction nor did any sympathy arise in her three selves. She even managed to kill her former friend, Briarius.

As it was, her original self took chase after Aquil leaving the other two copies behind to deal with the school?. One of them tried to enter the buildings and was sent to places unforeseen, as was the other each taking many of the storm troopers along with them. It took the other two some great efforts to get out of that situation and back to the Citadel so they could look for the Original. Alex and the Exodian Forces proved to be a major distraction from that. In the end, all copies were killed leaving Aquil to kill the original.

That battle was epic, literally taking weeks as the two chased each other round the face of Exodii planet. Some mountains were damaged, waterways were effected, changing river courses and creating canyons or large lakes. Finally, between Aquil?s efforts and her warring with herself, it was an ongoing battle while she was cornered into the antimagic zone?.

The buzz of a light saber searing through armor and sizzling delicate flesh came painfully to mind. Her armor, her flesh? she could still feel it almost as if it were happening again. But no, as her hand moved to her chest feeling the undamaged shirt beneath her fingers, she knew it wasn?t. She was alive. It was just a memory? the memory of her death so fresh with details? like the look on Aquil?s face as the saber was forced into her and he watched her die. She loved him and feared him, more then anyone she?d ever known before, in that moment.

Her dead corpse had laid there for a few moments before it disappeared, fading from substance. Long moments had passed before her body reformed from the small amount of blood left behind in the dirt. The anti-magic zone once again rekindled after she was laying there, stripped of magic, weapons and clothes. She was alive but not complete.. she remembered how blank her mind felt, void of a past in which to draw thoughts from, void of who the man was before her. All she could think about was who she was and where she was, but mostly how there was no answer to any of that anywhere in her mind. She remembered Aquil helped her back to Exodii.

Exodii City rulings, which took place immediately upon her return ? forced her to give up rights to control her house holdings and to never be head of Exodian Forces again. Lack of memories had been a godsend in their opinion and that she must take different measures with her retraining?. Still, they knew her memories could come back. At such time a new evaluation would be made. In the mean time, she was forbidden to use anything but minor magics and must strive to learn the use of the force through proper training.

And now that day had come, her memory came back in a flood as she stared outside her window ?. The clock on the wall tick, tock, tick, tock ten after six o?clock the alarm set off blarring her back to the here and now. The memories rolled in like waves of nausea rising in her throat, building to a crescendo as she rolled off the edge, fell down to her knees, grabbed the cool metal of a nearby trashcan pulling it closer and hanging her head to vomit. The memories never tasted so noxious and bitter.

The throbbing in her head brought instant tears spilling from her eyes. She cried, she threw up, and cried even more the more she threw up. So many memories, and not just of one time line?. All of her memories surfaced seemingly all at once. It was like an explosion and she swore, no? hoped that her head would explode to make it stop. But that never happened.

She finally stopped throwing up but the throbbing pain lingered on. Crawling to the sink with trashcan in tow, she pulled herself up to stand and turned the faucet on. Shaken and her brain was in a wild haze, she managed to splash cool water on her face and to force herself to drink.

Confusion settled into her mind as the pain subsided. She could hardly think straight. The memories were all jumbled but enough of them stuck out clear enough to launch her into a panic.

?Aquil?? the name almost stuck in her throat, so much worry and pain in her gaze as it shifted towards the door. She could feel him through the force yet it seemed he was hiding ? she didn?t know where he was but she could feel him, could feel a sort of panic rise and that only added to her own. Or perhaps it was just her own, but she knew he could feel her, knew that her memories were coming back, could feel that she was in pain, was afraid and confused.

What would she do? What would happen? The guilt.. could she even look at him again? Her heart never felt such pain.

And what of Exodii? Would they execute her?

And Alex?. Her thoughts turned feelings burned inside out and panic overtook her into a run.

She was only partially aware of her thoughts while she grabbed clothes, a few books, a few more essential things that she stuffed into a backpack, slung straps over shoulders and made for the window. The latch moved aside and the window swung open.. her bare foot touched the ledge and she crouched, perched in a position ready to jump.

Sha?uri!

The sound of her name, faint as it was, made her stop and look around. There was no one in the room and she began to wonder if it was in her head. It was in her head, but the voice? she wasn?t sure who it was or even if she?d heard it. Alex? Aquil?

And suddenly she felt him through the force. Was he leaving? Perhaps in her panic she was misreading the force, but it felt as if he were leaving? it felt as if he were slipping away from her. She was suddenly faced with life without him. Mixed emotions brought on a new set of tears. She didn?t want to be here if he left. She didn?t want to be anywhere. She couldn?t think straight, she needed to think. The memories, so jumbled and out of sync, they made no sense.

This time, she turned back to the open skies and jumped, never looking back. She couldn?t. She needed to run.

Fly is what she did? hard and fast to the only place she could think of to go?in a way that others wouldn't expect?.to the one place she could escape everyone and everything, to the one place that had a portal of sorts to anywhere... literally.

To RhyDin.

"Yous time's coming, Sha'uri!!! I'll see yous end this! I'll see you destroyed!! I swear I wills!"

Such anger from the little one, but it was a promise she would keep.

It was a promise she'd made when Sha'uri had killed Lyndra's mate, Voec, on Marta. To her it was the most horrifying thing she could ever think to happen to someone. There was no resurrection from it, there was no coming back from something like that. It was something that totally destroyed the core of a person. Cadence had made good on that threat.

The tear she'd given Aquil had protected him in the end. She'd taken a chance, a huge chance, that she had something that could handle what was really effecting Sha'uri... something that the same person who gave it to her friend also gave something to Cadence. It was something she discovered to have a particular alignment between the item and the aura from Sha'uri. One was power, the other could contain it.

There was a reason she had not been seen in so long. If truth be told, only one person stood a chance to have known. If he knew, if he saw, if he felt or sensed it Aquil would have been the One. All anyone might have noticed, if Aquil noticed anything at all, was that the anti magic zone came down, her door finally opened up near Sha'uri, the evil magic aura after failing to get through to Aquil flooded in through her doorway with an explosion that rocked not only the area, but through into other dimensions, realities and even rippled time itself.... and the force of it knocked Cadence's door shut again. After that, there was rightfully no information, no detection, no sighting and no word from the little elf.

Would she ever return? How long would it be before the little one returned? Only time would tell the story of that one....

?I?ve lost her.? Alex reported. ?Send in a team to search RhyDin the old fashioned way. I found her tracker in the water near the lighthouse island.?

?Any leads?? the feminine voice on the other end inquired.

?None that panned out. The trail has gone cold.? He almost couldn't hide the worry in his voice.

He didn?t bother to mention the old gnome then. Although the fact that Grebik wasn?t at his place when Alex looked there, and more so that he wasn?t in his usual fishing place nor anywhere in between, was suspicious.. Especially since the tracker had indicated his mother in that favorite fishing area. In fact, it?s where the trail went cold. Still, he kept silent until after he'd had a chance to speak to the gnome himself.

When Alex caught up with him later, the old gnome said he merely tried a different fishing place this time and found the catch of his life to the south, even shared some of the clams and fish with Alex for dinner. It was good to see the old teacher again. Grebik had been one of Alex' first mentors when he was a very young boy.

Still, something felt out of place to Alex about the gnome. He couldn?t quite put his finger on it, but if he didn?t know better he could almost swear the gnome was lying to him or hiding something from him. However, he?d never known the mentor to lie to him before and the evidence wasn?t clearly pointing to that. It had been a long time since they last saw each other, and with the recent attacks in RhyDin well that was enough to affect anyone, or so Alex reasoned to himself.

Alex decided to let the matter slide for now, though he would be sure to ask around the southern end of town for anyone who could recognize the gnome in that area during that time, to back up Grebik?s story. It was a task he would later assign the incoming ground crew searching for his mother. They were well trained and discreet in their dealings. One would be hard pressed to realize they were people on a search team let alone that they were Exodian.

He left the gnome with renewed trade connections, something that genuinely brightened the old gnome?s spirit. In fact, Alex began to consider making a major change in trade for the future. So much of RhyDin had been scarred, buildings had been decimated and the room for new growth was turning to ripen for the picking as the city was healing. It was time to scout out some areas for building and property advancements, something that might benefit many aspects all around.

The return brought back conflicting news. He had sent for Aquil to aid in the search for his mother, but no one could find him. The ex-Jedi was gone. Alex could only assume that maybe Aquil had already left to go find his mother. Still, something felt... off about all this. Something that felt off as the days went by.

The reports from RhyDin came in slowly. At first Alex thought nothing of them until he got word that a group of RhyDin city guards were chasing a man and part of them disappeared in a strange mist. Not long after this, reports told of a major battle occuring south of RhyDin. It was an attack on the Abbey. Even then, Alex didn't know what was happening, but the incidents stuck in his mind nudging his thoughts like an itch that needed to be scratched.

"Dragons.." A whole fleet of them. He began to wonder if any of them were Icer's; she'd been having a lot of children over the last few years, more so then any other dragon he knew about. So had he himself but that was different. His purposes were to replenish Exodii of the species... but what were hers? There was no way he would think she was building forces to use to attack anything, but he wondered if someone might... or might use them against her will or theirs. And if there was someone and that someone got a hold of his mother....

"Inform a team to contact RhyDin authorities, inform them that Sha'uri has regained her memories and has escaped into RhyDin. She's confused and may not be aware of what she does. Tell them we've been searching and will lend aid where RhyDin needs. Send another team to investigate the attack on the Abbey south of RhyDin. Tell them to be prepared for battle but do not engage. Observation for now." Alex gave the order.

He drummed his fingers on the desk, gazing over the maps of RhyDin and nearby area as if studying every detail might bring forth an answer. But to which question. There were many running through his head. Questions about his mother, questions about Aquil and now questions concerning the battle going on south of RhyDin. Would the fighting ever end? He even had questions about the future with Exodii Enterprises.

Signs had been posted months ago to sell the properties in RhyDin. No one wanted those lands, no sign of interest whatsoever. In fact, some RhyDinians were adamantly happy about Exodii leaving the city and voiced their tainted encouragement with little blips of protest to any indication that the Exodians might actually stay. Even though they were exceptionally few compared to the whole of the city, Alex couldn't help but take notice how others did not speak up against it. Were they afraid to? He wondered if some kind of injustice was occuring in that city to keep the others from speaking out against their protests. That made him want to stay all that much more.

If Alex had his way, that is exactly what would happen. They would stay in RhyDin. But the rest of the Exodian Enterprise, inc. board of directors were skeptical about such things. It's why the properties went up for sale. Part of the board wanted to leave. Part of the board wanted to stay and the rest wanted to stay but find a bigger place.

Ideas had been tossed around to sell the small shops and keep the warehouse, turn it into the cluster of shops and build from there turning it into more of a seaside shop and amusement walkway along the beach. There was plenty of room for it. Alex knew of Seaside Manor and had thought about buying the place out to really expand the business, but that proved more difficult in the end since it was already owned not for personal but for a prize in conjunction with the oh so famous RhyDin *c0ckfights* in the arenas. Alex loathed the events and decided to leave well enough alone with that set up. It would prove more of a headache then what the profits would bring forth.

Many ideas for Exodii Enterprises had been laid on the table. The real question was if it would prove to be lucrative. And with the attacks his mother helped instigate on RhyDin, he knew this was the very thing many of the opposing RhyDinians hated about Exodians... even though Exodii rose up in the attacks to help protect RhyDin and their citizens. At least they were able to save one of the bridges, or most of it. It's what helped RhyDin in their recovery.

And now his mother was loose again. Yet was she evil as before?

His fingers drummed the table relentlessly searching for answers for what to do....

"Cadence..." The name was softly whispered while worry lines stretched across his forehead, lips turned down with a frown. Alex had often wondered what had happened to the little one and now he was beginning to find out.

Near as they all could tell, that little inner dimensional realm of a room of hers was being tossed about like a raft in the middle of a hurricane. The reports came in, the information seemed to match up to that.

"But how? ... and how can we stop it?" Alex had no answer to that. Even if he had all the information, he couldn't be sure there was much he could do to help her except do what the Lt. Commander had thought about trying... to beam her out. She would be saved, but what of that room? Hard to say what damage that thing could do if it opened in the wrong place... like in the middle of the jumpgate.

It was a good thing that the path didn't cross with the jumpgate. No matter how hard they tried they probably wouldn't have been able to get it shut down in time if the pattern had continued that way. But they did try and the gate was shut down. It would be a while before they could get it back up again.

As it was, her room never appeared again and anyone's guess was as good as the next for where it had gone off to... or when. Particular signatures indicated a different time or universe whenever it opened. He could only pray she would be able to deal with it on her own. Still.. he wasn't content to just let the matter remain that way. He swiftly gave the order to look into the matter and find a way to find her and stop it.

"And what of Sha'uri, sir. Do we beam her out now?"

Alex's attention was brought back to that other matter as the communication continued.

"We've got a lock on her, but there are places near her where there is some kind of interference. We might lose it."

"Then beam her out. Let me know when you have her." Alex ordered.

"Aye sir."

Alex tried to swallow, but the ball of emotion got caught in his throat. He took it out on the arm of his chair, fist curling into a tight ball as it slammed into the arm of it.

By now, both teams were targetting Sha'uri. The appearence of Cadence took everyone by surprise. Even if they had been expecting it, they probably wouldn't have had time to beam her out. There were too many orcs in the way. Moments later and the report came in of the orcs further up in the hills.

"Leutenant... are you saying her domain room severed and re-routed that portal?" Alex pushed for confirmation. But he already knew the answer.

"Aye Sir. We caught sight of them coming through the portal and then suddenly they were cut off. We could see Cadence in their place and like the last time she suddenly disappeared with the room. The portal was no longer working, yet it was still there. It was like the passage went somewhere else, and yet nowhere. We think there may be some orcs trapped with her this time."

Alex couldn't believe his ears. The implications were astounding. And this was something he totally hadn't expected. For the moment, there was nothing else he could do. He had to shut down both gates....