CHAPTER 37

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BEGINNING OF THE END!

*:･ﾟ✧

Mando hadn't known what to think when Farren cut her channel off suddenly. After he'd processed what she'd said: how the hell did you get out? —he could only assume that the kid, or Gaia for that matter, had managed to escape whatever kept them restrained. As such, he had made use of the opportunity and steered the Razor Crest forward in order to lock on to the other spacecraft and ultimately board. Ever since Farren was interrupted, her ship's engines had been stalled, meaning it was destined to then drift through the galaxy.

Mando had been thankful for the chance, granted he was still nervous about Gaia and The Child. Farren seemed like an unpleasant person, the sort which doesn't hold empathy.

However, as soon as he'd hurried past the procedures and entered the ship, he found no such thing. . .only a rough-looking blue alien.

"You're alive," Mando blinks, appearing lost.

Gaia is the exact same, though more speechless. Truth be told, she hadn't known what to think or say when she saw a man clad in Beskar Steel turn to her. She had an urge to run forward in that moment but hesitated when thinking it might be a pirate or somebody else who happened across the Razor Crest, deciding to wear the armor since it has a higher range of durability. But then they spoke, and Gaia knew who it was — who had been looking for her this entire time.

"So are you," she croaks, barely talking.

No other words are exchanged. The two bounty hunters simply stare at one another, not knowing how to act with the situation until Mando pierces through it, granting himself the relief of being vulnerable. "I came for you as fast as I could," he whispers and loud enough for Gaia to hear. Her expression slowly contorts altogether, repentant tears stroking the brim of her eyes as she finally begins to fully register what's happening. Mando is alive. He's here. Her grasp around Farren's dagger comes undone from her hold and plunges to the floor, noise reverberating in her ears while she lightly rushes towards her partner. Her mind draws a deafening blank and her arms swathes around him as the first stifled sob breaks away from her lips.

Mando had watched Gaia become utterly overwhelmed, his heart twinged with concern when her walls broke down. It was painful to notice — painful to hear, as he returns the hug and holds her sincerely close to him.

"I'm so sorry," Gaia forces out between her teeth, hiccuping along the way as she does so.

A gloved hand upon her shoulder, the other supporting her waist, Mando frowns slightly beneath his helmet. "What for?" he inquires.

"For lying. . ." Gaia squeezes Mando tight, as if expecting him to disappear with her next words. "I thought I could trick her, but it only made her angry and then she came after you. I thought she killed you, Djarin — her hands were covered in blood. She told me you were gone. . ." Gaia can barely get the last part out due to her throat becoming worn with tensity and she strives to silence her cries, lips quivering like a beast caught in a snowstorm.

Mando shifts then, nudging Gaia to loosen her grip a bit while he gazes down at her. She may not have been able to see past his helmet, yet she can tell he's worried just for her. "I'm okay," he comforts. His voice is mellow, mindfully lowered as he reassures, "She wouldn't have been able to handle me."

Gaia's tears are beginning to calmly dry, a rift of happiness bandaging her heart now that she has been reunited with Mando. "Not many are able to," she quips and attempts to brush her tears away. She sniffles every now and then, endlessly grateful for the usual chill of his armor — a verification that this whole interaction is very much real and not some horrifying figment of her own imagination.

"Your nose. . ." Mando gestures vaguely to her face and the blood, careful not to actually touch her recent injury. "Are you alright?"

Gaia supplements his question with a nod. "She hits like a bitch. . .that Kessurian. . ."

"Has she been neutralized?"

"Knocked unconscious for now, handcuffed," Gaia informs, indicating over her shoulder, "and she's in the cockpit. The kid is safe, don't worry. He's currently occupied with some very colourful scopes. . ." She halts, and the thought of The Child's loud giggle circles her mind; the memory of him freeing her repeating itself. "He's a little troublemaker."

By the knowing undertone of her voice and the sudden change in topic, Mando can only imagine what The Child has been up to while he's been out searching. "What did he do?"

"He. . ." Gaia stills in confusion. Sure, this is not the first time the kid's been acting weird but how exactly is she to explain that to someone else who wasn't there with her. "Well, he sort of. . .teleported, I think? That or he can manipulate some type of plasma. I don't — I don't know how he did it, but when I woke up he was on the other side of our cell, past the active defense. It was so bizarre. . ."

Mando expels a sigh, not knowing much more than what his partner does regarding The Child and his strange powers. "You're right. He's not like us," Mando agrees, softly. "He can do things that are far past us and I guess we're going to find out why sooner or later, but no matter what he can or can't do, the Empire is looking for him and so is the Guild. Which reminds me, we're gonna have to detain that Hunter before she wakes up."

"About that. . ." Gaia trails off and glances after Mando when he passes by her. Her posture seems to have gotten a bit stiff again, causing the small hairs on the back of his neck to rise and bristle. "She's not a Hunter."

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A lot of things went down after Gaia and Mando were reunited: Farren was moved to the basement and kept in the cell that used to house hauntings of Gaia, The Child was called upon and watched over by the duo as Gaia tended to her nose, and the fragmented pieces were stitched together to form a story. A story which entailed what occurred between a very particular Kessurian and the two beings she held hostage. Both Gaia and Mando had come to the conclusion that Farren had lied just as much as Gaia did and that she possessed unique skills, that of a mechanic, meaning she had tinkered with the wires of the Razor Crest and gained access outside from there — a noteworthy talent.

Regardless, they moved on to another topic after a while which Gaia decided to lead with.

She took some time to apologise once more, and thoroughly explain why Mando's dream from about a day ago had seemed so very different and just that much more palpable.

Mando had listened with intense care. He was surprised and curious about it at the same time, yet also sympathetic and slightly startled: it meant that Gaia had been within his head if that was the case, and some things are just better left unsaid. However, he still went and admitted that he was honoured by her trust in him and to the point where she was even somewhat willing to share dreams with him. It excited her at that, although she promised to condition her mind and begin handling the unreliable surges of Gazing.

"What should we do about Farren?" Gaia finds herself asking, hands clasped together on top of the table in a miscellaneous room aboard the agent's starship. "I doubt killing her will be the wisest choice and dumping her on a planet seems risky. What if she causes terror there instead, or some of her friends eventually find her and bring her back?. . ."

Mando arranges himself better against his chair, glancing at The Child every once in a while to make sure he's behaving himself. "Maybe interrogating her will be our first priority?" he suggests, casually. "From what you've told me, she's in direct contact with someone of Imperial rank, which means. . ."

"Which means there's more of them." Gaia evokes a strong sigh, and she fidgets with her hands atop the table. "The Empire should be long gone. Eradicated," she muses in a cautious tone. "I know they were powerful once in their own right, but I thought they were more spread out than this. They should be, the losses they suffered were crushing — more than anything. . . Perhaps the tides are changing; maybe they're actually regrouping for something. It wouldn't surprise me."

Silence plays along like a wistful tune. The mood in the room has been struck with reality once again, leaving space for nothing but pondering and frightening tones, hues of fear of something far greater than what their simple minds may conjure up for themselves. It's thoughts of darkness and decay, things which used to constantly be on Gaia's mind for years. She escaped it once, but will she be able to do it again? Not even Gaia herself knows. What she does know, is that this feels like something way out of their control.

"If what Farren formerly shared with you is true," Mando chimes all of a sudden, "then she may be worth a lot more than what she's letting on. She could be in possession of some valuable information; aspects we could use to our own advantage." He's looking directly at his companion, glad to be met with the actual sight of Gaia and not some hopeful wish of her ghost. Although the danger is far from over and they're still uncertain on how to proceed, it remains with him that things seem a lot brighter with her around. "It could potentially save us from our pursuers. . ."

"They're never going to stop," Gaia thinks aloud, thrusting her way through his positive perspective. "I've been with them long enough to know that. It's like an illness: you've been prone to it at least once before in your life until you get rid of it, but you know it's just a matter of time before it might come back, or things lead up to you contracting it again." Gaia's eyes which have previously been so focused on her hands, are now met with the unfazed visor of Mando. She cannot even begin to guess what he's thinking right now. "Whatever it is that they want from me and the kid — to extract or weaponize. . . Djarin, they'll get it if we're not careful in the future."

Mando adjusts himself in his chair, pointing out, "Or if we don't do something about it."

"There's nothing we can do."

"I'm not so sure about that," he disagrees calmly, approaching Gaia with an all-around serious attitude. In his mind, what she's eluding to is that they'll be running at breakneck speed until they're ready to give up. But, to him, there's no point. There's no point in refusing inevitability which will overpower them if they're not willing to go to any sort of lengths. "Gaia, if we want to put an end to this, we need to cut things off directly from the source. That's how it usually works."

"Usually," she nitpicks, eyeing Mando with a side-look. Her demeanor comes off as tired and conflicted because that's exactly how she feels, although she knows better and that Mando is still right on the matter. "I. . ."

Gaia is lost for words, realizing her cross viewpoint as the silence inside the room becomes unbearable. "I'm going to check up on Farren," she mumbles after a while, starting to rise from her seat. "Excuse me."

"Let me. I'll deal with her," Mando eases, raising a hand to effectively stop her in her tracks. He had stood up as well with her and left the table. "You've been through enough today — take some time to rest. You need it."

— Author's Note —

(double update!!💖)

They found each other again, I'm so happy 🥺 It pained me how confused and sad they both were, especially Gaia who thought Mando was gone, but everything's better now...hopefully. Next chapter is the last one before we move on to the last two episodes! It's both exciting and nerve-wracking!

I hope you're all having a wonderful day, though. Stay safe, everybody!