Aeris could see and feel the doubt he felt. He didn't know what to make of what she said. She couldn't blame him, really. What reason did he have to believe her? There were little clues, here and there, if he chose to see them, but some of them could be attributed to something else. He undoubtedly considered the possibility that she was trying to deceive him. What he thought she had to gain by deceiving him, she wasn't quite sure, but she found it unlikely that the thought hadn't crossed his mind. He was a Jedi, after all, and Jedi trusted no Force users other than those within their own ranks. For Jedi, everything in this world was black and white. There were no shades of grey. Everything was light or dark, good or evil. There wasn't room for doubt, questions, or anything but blind faith in their teachings. That never sat well with her. But she supposed that it was different for everyone. Obviously there were many who were happy to blindly put their faith in the teachings of the Jedi, to follow their rules to the T without so much as a question. She supposed that for some, they found comfort and peace in the idea that they needn't second guess themselves, because their cause was right. After all, if you serve the light, the good in the universe, how could you ever be wrong?<br/><br/>As she thought these things, Dren's voice cut through the brief silence, epitomizing everything she'd just been thinking about. She thought she saw something in his eyes--regret, perhaps? This made her wonder. Was that how he really felt? Did he truly see her as an enemy? She supposed he must. After all, he was right, the Jedi demanded that he see her that way. To falter in that, to allow himself to see her as anything else, to believe even for a moment that she might not be evil, that was to doubt the teachings of the Jedi, to doubt everything he'd devoted his life to. Everything he'd ever known.<br/><br/>"Don't you think I know that?" She shot back to the former portion of his statement, pausing and taking the time to prevent the debris from crushing the female Jedi. "I never expected it to be easy for you. It wasn't easy for me. I guess I just hoped that..." she stopped, shaking her head and smiling, a sad, somewhat self-deprecating smile. "I suppose that was foolish of me, wasn't it? But then, I was a young, foolish girl who trusted too much in my feelings, and too much in those I thought you shared."<br/><br/>No sooner than the words had left her lips, she heard the Jedi scream 'look out,' to Dren, she presumed, causing her to look up to see the debris descending on her. She didn't have time to react. She'd let herself become distracted, and now it was too late. She was just about to use the Force to try to stop the descent--an action she knew would likely be unsuccessful, albeit perhaps not wholly--when she felt a pair of arms around her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she was suddenly moved by the same pair of arms as Dren jumped, trying to get them out of the way. Why?<br/><br/>She didn't really have time to wonder, as the world around her suddenly changed. The room filled with dust, making it impossible to see anything as they crashed into the floor, which soon buckled beneath the weight of the massive chunk of ceiling that had narrowly missed them. They were sent spiraling downward, crashing through floor after floor as the massive object crushed everything in its path. It was impossible, even with Force Sight. There was too much happening, she couldn't concentrate, and the world around her changed too quickly and too often. She was hit by a few loose pieces of debris as they fell, including one to the head. Nothing was fatal, but the sharp pain caused by the impact, mixed with the dizzying course they were set in was nauseating and she found herself fading in and out of consciousness as they careened towards the bottom. She was too disoriented to do anything. Even as she thought they were about to hit the ground, she was powerless to do anything about it. She could try, but given that she had no idea what was up or down, left or right, it was unlikely to do much good, even if she could make herself focus enough to do it.<br/><br/>Luckily enough, Dren was able to cushion their landing. The breath was still knocked out of her, but it was a much soften landing than what they otherwise would have experienced. He even made a bubble around them to prevent the pieces of debris that continued to fall from hitting them. She didn't make any move, to sit up or otherwise, instead she just laid there for a moment. The world still felt like it was spinning, so she took a moment to breathe and try to calm herself, mind and body, until the dizziness past. It was then that she opened her eyes and tried to reorient herself. She could see the faint red glow from the veins on the walls of the tunnel, but little else was visible. She groaned a little as she tried to sit up when she heard Dren's voice.<br/><br/>"I've been in worse shape." she managed a reply, although her voice sounded pained. She managed to sit herself up, wincing as she did, feeling a sharp pain in her left arm. She could see the shape of something sharp sticking out of her arm. Great. She braced herself and then pulled it from arm, barely managing not to cry out in pain. She held her right hand over the wound and used the Force to heal it, at least a little. She couldn't do much in her present state, especially since the pain made it difficult to concentrate. She managed to stop the bleeding, but not much else could be done for now. She looked up at him, her eyes adjusting somewhat to the light. She could make out his shape, but the faint glow wasn't enough to allow her to see his features clearly. "What about you?" she asked as she glanced over him. She didn't see any obvious major injuries, but it was hard to tell how many minor ones he'd sustained in this light.<br/><br/>"We should probably move soon. It's not safe to stay here." she spoke up once he'd answered, pushing her other questions from her mind, at least for the moment.