23 Tatooine: The Mask.

The night wind blew into the face of the blue-skinned beauty, causing her to squint her eyes slightly. Beneath her, the speeder bike roared as it obediently flew over the lifeless sandy terrain of the planet. Long hair billowed backward, toward the passenger who held onto the woman's shoulders tightly, making sure not to accidentally slip from their seat. Although, even if he had really fallen off the transport, nothing would have happened to him.

This time he wasn't holding her by the waist or the hips, but by the shoulders. His earlier actions had made it clear that he could do whatever he wanted to her using the Force, with a mere flick of his finger. But now, he wasn't touching her with any intention. One could say that he was behaving as tactfully as possible in this situation. Perhaps she had imagined something, but the abrupt change in her teacher's behavior had completely thrown the beauty off balance.

On the horizon, half-ruined structures of an abandoned village flickered into view. In a couple of minutes, they would reach the temporary base, and then she could finally relax. She needed some time alone to collect herself, contemplate everything, draw some conclusions, and simply rest. She had been tense all day, so she really needed to unwind.

The speeder bike gently slowed down at the same spot where it had been parked in the morning. The engine stopped roaring, calming down in sync with the sand drifting in the wind. The passenger released the driver's shoulders and was the first to step onto the ground. He lazily stretched, loosening his joints after the long ride. The girl hesitated for a moment. She still felt extremely lost, and her heart was in even greater turmoil than when she had awakened from her nap.

"Whew!" he exclaimed, releasing his hands as he finished the quick charge. "Thanks for the ride! I rate the Sev'rance  Express a ten out of ten!" He extended his hand toward the girl, with his thumb up.

A flash of anger in Tann's gut sent a shiver through her. Fatigue disappeared as if it had been lifted by a hand. Adrenaline surged through her veins once more, urging her into action. Why was he behaving like this? Where was that arrogant, despotic, and haughty Hassan who had effortlessly handled the girl yesterday? The one who had frightened her not only with his aura but also with that eerie shattered mirror mask that vividly conveyed the emotions of the one behind it.

Who was standing before her now? Some sycophant making excuses to bend beneath someone's will. Weak, pitiful, a good-for-nothing creature unworthy of Sev'rance  respect. Worst of all, she was still afraid of him. The Force was telling her that Hassan had merely hidden behind the mask of this so-called Raphael and was now watching her.

"Hey," the guy gently touched the shoulder of the preoccupied girl, sitting astride the speeder bike. "Is everything okay?"

Tann flinched slightly. She really was not herself, having gone so deep within. Sudden changes did not bode well for the already unstable psyche of a Sith apprentice. With each passing second, it became harder and harder to contain the surging emotions. Even now, his soft voice was annoying the girl, whose fingers trembled near her blaster.

"Are you okay?" he leaned closer to her. "If something is bothering you, you can tell me. After all, I am your mentor."

Did she need his pity? As if he could easily understand her! And that sweet voice of some playboy, as if trying to seduce her. Her heart pounded furiously with rage, anger from misunderstanding and her own weakness. The metallic-toned speeder bike's body was slowly turning red. She was losing control. But why now? She couldn't afford to have a breakdown!

Silently, Sev'rance  shook her head.

"Alright then," Raphael stepped away from her. "Shall we go to sleep?" He turned his back to her and headed toward the dilapidated huts that leaned to the side.

The girl slowly got off the speeder bike. She sighed softly when she realized that her negative emotions had broken through the dam of patience. Quietly, she drew her blaster from its holster, then aimed it at her "teacher's" back. In the darkness of the desert, a red light briefly flashed, disappearing into the wall of a ruined building.

Hassan vanished immediately when she pressed the trigger. He leaped behind Sev'rance  with an extended, graceful somersault, bypassing her over her head. She didn't lose her composure and quickly turned around to continue firing, but she stopped when she saw the shattered glass mask, through which she could see the beastly contorted face from losing control.

In the next moment, an unknown force slammed into Sev'rance  body, sending her flying to the other end of the village. She plowed through every building with her body and didn't intend to slow down until she finally landed on the cold, sandy ground. Even after that, she somersaulted on the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

At some point, she came to a halt. She stared at the black sky, unable to move. Her body was completely unresponsive. It was as if Sev'rance  had lost all control over her limbs. She could only...

"X-r-r-r..." she made an incomprehensible sound, blood flowing from her lips.

Her head was throbbing. Her body wouldn't respond, and her chest... It was agonizing! The shock passed, and she twitched in place, which only brought her more pain! In surprise, she lifted her head slightly in a futile attempt to ease the pain. And that's when she saw her body... Transformed into something horrifying. Bones jutted out from her elbows, and her forearms simply hung there like rags. Her legs were twisted at unnatural angles. Had she lifted her head higher, she would have seen bones protruding there as well.

"Ua-a-a..." She had become a cripple, and only a bacta tank could help her now, which would be hard to find on this planet.

Sev'rance  felt her ribs pierce her lungs... but not her heart... Was she lucky? Of course not, because now she would die slowly and painfully. Like a doll whose owner bent its limbs for pleasure and threw it into the trash.

"Heh, that pose suits you," she saw a dark spot above her before closing her eyes.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"HA!" And then she opened her eyes wide and flipped onto her stomach, taking in a deep breath of fresh air.

The pain had vanished. Tann breathed freely and easily, rising to her hands and knees above the black sand, soaked with blood—a sign that she had indeed narrowly escaped death. Her thoughts were in complete disarray. She couldn't understand HOW she had survived! Her lungs were intact, her arms and legs were in normal condition, and the pain... It was gone! But the fear hadn't gone anywhere... No, it was real terror, the kind she had felt before her apparent death.

Suddenly, she froze. Her body, once trembling from rapid breathing, became motionless. Tann felt his presence... His presence. She timidly looked to the side, still on all fours, like a dog, and saw Hassan looming over her, his mask reflecting a pitiful imitation of herself.

"T-teacher..." her voice quivered with panic. "P-please..." She abandoned her pride for the most fundamental instinct of any living being—survival.

But instead of an answer, he kicked her in the stomach, sending the girl flying about five meters. The welcome air she couldn't breathe in just a moment ago had been completely knocked out of her lungs. Sev'rance, like a living ball, landed on the ground and rolled again. Her stomach ached with pain. Her hands instinctively clasped the wounded area, and she had to roll to her side to release the vomit she nearly choked on.

"Kha! Kha! Kha!" she coughed hysterically.

"Look at yourself," Hassan approached her, "even a stray mutt has more brains than you." He carelessly nudged her with his foot in the side. "How many times do I have to knock this crap out of you for you to understand?" He then stepped over her with one foot, standing right above her. "You're a pathetic, cowardly wretch who was fortunate enough to meet me," the Sith bent down and grabbed her by the chest.

The woman's lips trembled, and her eyes widened like saucers. During Hassan's short monologue, the cracks on his mask seemed to move in rhythm with his words, eventually creating a semblance of a mouth, stitched together with a thousand cracks, which spoke in harmony with the words. Furthermore, a tearful blue face gazed at her, pleading for mercy with its entire appearance.

"Yes..." the cracked lips of the mask smiled widely. "Do you know what this mask is made of? Oh, I'll tell you. This mask leads to the Looking Glass. The very Looking Glass where poor Alice got lost! All conditions are met. Now you will become a prisoner of the Absurd World," the last words were as if shrouded in mist.

Sev'rance, overwhelmed by true terror, teetering on the brink of sanity, continuously stared at herself in the mirrored mask until she finally realized she was looking at a real mirror.

"Huh?" Tann began to panic, looking around frantically, but everywhere she saw nothing but mirrors.

She was even standing on a mirror, whose reflection perfectly mirrored her every move. She found herself in a mirrored cube. The reflections pursued Sev'rance, as if mocking all futile attempts to shatter the glass. And then... There was no Force. The connection that had led and sustained her for most of her life was severed, leaving her completely alone. Tears flowed like a river. She howled, whimpered, and screamed like some kind of animal. Trapped. Utterly alone, without...

"A-a-ah!" She screamed in horror when one of the reflections grabbed her leg.

The mirrored Sev'rance  broke free from her confinement and sank its teeth into her ankle, biting through the flesh and muscle. The host of reflections joined in, also attacking the original, noisily chewing and slurping...

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Kuh..." Tann shuddered for the umpteenth time, feeling the cold earth beneath her.

Without understanding anything, she got up and looked around the old shack where she had spent the night with a bewildered gaze. The bite marks didn't hurt. There weren't even any traces of teeth, but... She grabbed her head. All the horror she had experienced was firmly imprinted on her soul. Curling up in a fetal position, she lay back on the ground, unable to hold back her tears.

"Have you woken up?" an concerned male voice sounded.

Tann froze. Terror coursed through her to the marrow of her bones. She was even afraid to breathe. Hassan, dressed in the costume he introduced himself with as Raphael, entered the cottage. In his hand, he held the black cloak he had given to the student that morning. He slowly approached her, causing the girl to cover her eyes, and... covered her.

"I'm sorry it turned out this way," the young man hung his head. "I lost control. You attacked me first, but I still went too far. Forgive me if you can," and then he turned and walked away, leaving Sev'rance  alone.

Exhausted and drained, the beauty didn't even think about opening her eyes or pondering her teacher's words because... she just wanted to sleep.