Yuurei opened his eyes, groaning. Everything ached. Wait... Everything hurts? He looked around, noting the bright lights of a spaceship and the various gadgets that were humming quietly in the room he was lying in. Where am I? How did I get here?

He tried to sit up, an involuntary whimper escaping him as he did so. How am I even alive? Did they have the doctors heal me so they could torture me or something? Why not just execute me, anyway?

A door slid open, and he slowly turned his head to look, biting back a moan. Kanan stepped in. Yuurei's eyes widened, and he momentarily forgot the pain. "You..." The word slurred strangely, and his lip smarted, reminding him that at some point it had been split. He couldn't even remember how he'd received the injury.

"Me," Kanan deadpanned. "I came to get you up and moving... Your presence has been requested for the Force only knows what reason."

"Requested?" Yuurei lisped, clutching his aching head in both hands. "H-how... How am I here?"

"Because I got to you before you got yourself killed, moron." Kanan folded his arms, glaring at Yuurei. "What did you think you were doing, anyway? Pulling a stunt like that with those injuries was idiotic."

"The point was for me to die," Yuurei muttered, wishing his head would quit pounding.

"She wouldn't want you dead," Kanan snapped, walking over and hauling Yuurei to his feet. "As for you, you've been sleeping for the past week after the rebels' doctors patched you up."

Yuurei blinked, then frowned. "R-rebels?"

"Yeah, they're fighting against the Empire. Some kind of resistance, I guess... Most of us have joined. We have nothing left to hold us to the outside world anyway. They wanted to shoot you, but I vouched for you," Kanan said, clearing his throat. "For a Sith..." He shook his head, stopping. "Never mind. Just come on... The leader wants a private audience with you."

Yuurei nodded, getting his bearings back slowly. "Kanan..." he said slowly, something occurring to him. "I really meant what I said on our execution day. I'm sorry I didn't stop her death. I tried. I really did... It's how my hand ended up broken. I know she's dead because of my failures, and if you want to kill me now, then I—"

"Would you shut up?" Kanan shouted, startling Yuurei into silence. "What's with you and dying? It's like you'd rather be dead! She's gone, okay? Zillah is gone! You can't bring her back. Nothing you do can. So just let go of her, already. I miss Adaara too. Heck, I feel like I'm dying each day without her. But you have to keep moving. It's what they'd want."

Yuurei swallowed back tears, nodding. "Okay," he mumbled. "You're right... It's just going to take some time before I accept that I even deserve to be alive. I've done some pretty awful stuff."

"Yeah, and some pretty awful stuff was done to you too. I didn't want to believe it, but Adaara's part of the Force now, and I guess she was allowed to join the ranks of the Jedi who guide others. She visited me while you were out to convince me that you weren't just another traitor looking to gain our trust. I guess you did some pretty brave stuff to try to help her... And had a pretty dark past..." Kanan headed for the door, refusing to meet Yuurei's startled gaze. "I forgive you. Now pull yourself together and go to the bridge. You're wanted."

Yuurei watched Kanan disappear down the ship's corridor, unable to speak or move. Those three words seemed like a balm to his broken soul. They mended what had been shattered, knitting the pieces back together and bringing hope. He was forgiven. For the first time in his life, someone had actually shown mercy and forgiveness. He barely knew what to do with it.

***

"We want you to join us," the Twi'lek woman General Amataria said, meeting his gaze boldly.

Yuurei swallowed his exclamation of surprise. "Uh... I'm honored... But... You know what I am, right?"

"We do. Kanan has informed us that you are a special case, however. I hope we have not made a mistake in trusting him about you." She raised a brow, silently asking if he was a threat.

If I wanted you dead, lady, you wouldn't still be standing there... Yuurei thought. He didn't speak, shrugging despite the pain it brought.

"So yes... We want you to join us," she said again.

"Why? I'm Sith," Yuurei said blandly, trying not to wince at the word Sith.

"You have Sith training. You are not a Sith," the rebel general corrected calmly. "A Sith would've turned on and killed every one of your companions the moment they had the chance. A Sith wouldn't work with a Jedi or try to save one."

Yuurei looked away. "I'm not so sure about that... Maybe I'm faking it all?"

"You sound so convinced of that," the general drawled, huffing out a laugh.

Sighing heavily, he shook his head. "I don't understand what I bring to the table. I'm severely injured, General Amataria. I don't even know if I'll ever hold a lightsaber again thanks to the way my hand was smashed to pieces. Every bone in my hand was snapped, most likely."

"The doctors say with some metal enforcing, you will be able to wield a weapon again. Let me put it to you this way," General Amataria said, smiling. "You have nothing left to you out there..." She waved toward the open expanse of space through the window behind her. "And you have personal reasons to want Sidious and Vader dead. We're offering you a way to help with that."

"Can you promise me I can be the one to take them out? I want the satisfaction of seeing those who hurt so many I love dead and gone."

"Will you succumb to the Dark Side if you do that?" she inquired quietly.

Yuurei sucked in a painful breath, his chest aching. "I'm strong enough... I'm not a Sith, as you said. I have no issue with using the Dark Side of the Force, but it's always been motivated out of a sense of justice and a desire to protect those around me. I've been through too much to go that direction... It causes more pain and suffering than I could bear to see. I'd rather be dead."

She stared him in the eye, her green eyes shining in the harsh blue light of the ship's command deck. Finally, she seemed satisfied. Nodding curtly, she said, "You have that promise. If you join us, I will allow you to be part of the elite team that goes after Vader and Sidious. I can't promise you'll get the kill, but if you can prove yourself capable, you can be in charge of that team when the time comes."

It seemed fair to him. Yuurei nodded, slowly extending his arm, pain shooting down his back and across his shoulders. His head throbbed in angry disagreement with the motion. Nonetheless, he shook General Amataria's hand with a pained smile on his lips. "Then I will join."

"Welcome to the Resistance, Yuurei Fantomu."

He started, staring at her. "How did you know that name?"

"We have our ways, Yuurei... The Resistance has heard of the Sith that the Empire wishes to see hunted down and destroyed. You, sir, have a bounty on your head."

Yuurei swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "Great..."

"So I say again, welcome, Yuurei Fantomu. I hope you're prepared for a wild ride."

Yuurei swayed, dizziness washing over him as the exertion of standing upright became too much. "Sure... Can't wait," he mumbled before he lost the remainder of his strength and crumpled to the floor. Seconds later, as he heard the alarmed shouts for the medic, he blacked out with one final thought on his mind. Not again... What is it with me and blacking out?

***

And so began his path to recovery—physically, mentally, and emotionally—with the Resistance. The group welcomed him onboard with mixtures of suspicion and warm-hearted greetings. Some accused him of being a spy in their midst, and others hailed him as a hero for what he'd done to fight the Empire and keep his fellow soldiers alive. As the years went on, he settled in, learning to ignore the accusations and accept the adoration of both parties. While he always remembered Zillah and what had happened between them, he did eventually move on and marry a Twi'lek woman who joined the resistance shortly after he did.

He and Kanan were both placed on the elite team that was to eventually go after Vader and Sidious themselves. The two men reconciled and became great friends as Yuurei let go of the past and all the pain it held. The Sith who wasn't truly a Sith had finally found his place.