Dren waited as Aeris shimmied down the hole. He studied the hall, each statue a different Sith. He wondered if any of them represented the monster they had unleashed. He wondered where the Sith was at this very moment, and what he could be doing. His heart began to quicken the more he thought of it, looking into the shadows at the end of the hall. He almost didn't notice Aeris falling towards him--but he could feel her. He turned at the last minute and caught her in his arms. Yet again, her body against his--it was testing his resolve. His heart began to quicken for another reason. As she apologized and left him, he felt a little bit colder, like he was missing something. He had never felt that way in a long time--not since she left the order.<br/><br/>He breathed out, trying his best to ignore all of it. He needed to focus now. He needed to rescue his friends. Aeris felt them close, and Dren felt it too. Yet something was off about their presence. The force, it was twisted and frigid. Maybe he was just reading it wrong because of what happened in the tunnel. Regardless, he couldn't help shake that something was off. "We need to be cautious," Dren told her. "It might be nothing, but-" Dren trailed off. He didn't know how to explain it. Instead he walked forward.<br/><br/>He turned the corner at the end of the hall, but it was dark. So he ignited his lightsaber--both for light and for protection. It bathed a green hue over everything, but it struggled to reach the far corners of the rooms. He didn't know who he would face, friend or foe--and if it was one of Aeris' companions he wasn't sure if they would attack him. Just as he had that thought, he saw a figure out of the corner of his eye deep in the shadows. It was someone he recognized, someone with white hair.<br/><br/>"Asha?" Dren asked. She was silent, standing there and not speaking. Something was wrong. "Asha? You're alright--I thought you were hurt--" Dren paused for a second. She had been hurt and was unconscious, and he saw the room collapse around her. Yet here she was, alive and well. Yet she didn't say a word. That twisted force he felt, it was there, stronger than ever, and coming from Asha.<br/><br/>He took a step closer, the glow of the green bathing her face. Her blue eyes were gone. Her eye sockets were empty, replaced by black mist dancing out like flames. She opened her mouth and the same black mist poured out towards the ground like a waterfall. She didn't say anything, but a sound emanated from her, and it was frightening. It was like a scream of a ghost. With that she turned the corner and out of sight. Dren turned the corner to catch her--but she was gone.<br/><br/>Dren turned to Aeris and asked, "please tell me you saw that."