**Chapter 500**
**The Choice**
**Lantilles – Jedi Training Base**
**Dagon POV**
Aayla's strikes had grown wilder, more desperate, each swing carrying the weight of years of suppressed pain. Her lightsaber blurred through the air as she charged again, screaming.
I raised my hand and froze her mid-lunge with Force stasis. Her body locked in place, muscles rigid, blue eyes wide with shock and lingering fury.
The training hall fell silent except for the soft dripping of spoiled milk.
I exhaled slowly and released a wave of Force purification. A gentle white-gold light radiated from me, spreading outward like ripples in a pond. Every drop of milk, every sour stain on the floor, walls, and Aayla's body dissolved into nothingness. The foul smell vanished instantly, replaced by clean, neutral air.
Aayla's eyes widened further as the stasis released and she looked down at herself — completely clean, as if the last two hours of humiliation had never happened.
"What… was that?" she asked, voice hoarse.
"I can use it in small areas without affecting myself," I explained with a small shrug. "Seems like the best way to stay clean after training like this."
The girls watching from the benches — Ahsoka, Shin, Erictia, Zule, Flare, Kayla, Stella, and Visenya — stared at me with a mix of confusion and mild awe. Aayla wasn't much different.
I continued calmly, "I won't deny it… if it wasn't for this damn Force bond connecting me with all of you, I wouldn't be putting this much effort in. Not like this."
Aayla was quiet for a long moment, then a tired, bitter smirk tugged at her lips. "Yeah… I can see that. To be honest, I thought your harem was just Kayla and Visenya. They're both Zeltrons, so it made sense. But those lipstick stains on your neck… and those purple bite marks…" Her eyes flicked to Shin. "Only Master Shin wears purple lipstick."
Shin immediately blushed deep crimson and hid her face behind her hands. "Aayla!"
I glanced at Shin with an amused smile, raising an eyebrow. She peeked through her fingers, mortified but unable to deny it.
Aayla's smirk faded as she looked back at me, exhaustion and vulnerability creeping back into her expression. "So what now? You've humiliated me, cleaned me up, and admitted you're only doing this because of some mystical bond. What's the point?"
I stepped closer, my tone becoming serious. "I'm giving you a choice, Aayla. But it's a difficult one. Painful. Sad. Depressing. It will probably cause you more heartbreak than you think you can handle. But if I don't push you toward it… you'll stay like this. Just a broken woman who got her heart destroyed by someone she trusted."
Aayla's lekku twitched. She crossed her arms defensively. "I'm not little. I'm twenty-nine years old. And how do you speak like Master Yoda with all those wisdom quotes?"
I gave her a tired half-smile. "Well, I did protect the Temple from a Thought Bomb, saved an entire planet from a galactic pandemic, and pulled off more impossible feats than most Jedi or Sith manage in a lifetime."
Aayla stared at me for a long moment, searching my face. Then, quietly, almost reluctantly, she said:
"I would like to hear it."
The training hall grew still. The girls leaned forward slightly, watching the exchange with careful attention.
I nodded slowly. "Alright. But not here. Let's sit down. This isn't the kind of story you tell while standing in a training ring covered in dried milk residue."
We moved to the side of the hall where benches and low tables had been set up. The girls joined us, forming a loose circle. Aayla sat across from me, tense but listening.
I began speaking — not the full story, not yet, but enough. The war against Skynet. Being thrown into this galaxy. The loneliness of the Balance Corps. Meeting Ahsoka. The slow formation of the bonds. The battles. The losses. The choices that had cost me pieces of myself.
Aayla listened without interrupting, her expression shifting from skepticism to quiet understanding, and finally to something softer — almost fragile.
When I finished the abbreviated version, she looked down at her hands.
"I don't know if I can do this," she whispered. "Trust again. Let someone in again."
"You don't have to decide today," I said gently. "But you do have to decide. Stay broken… or try to heal. Even if it hurts."
Shin reached over and placed a supportive hand on Aayla's shoulder. Ahsoka gave her an encouraging nod.
Aayla took a shaky breath, then looked up at me with tired but determined eyes.
"…Tell me more."