**Chapter 744: Fractured Healer**
**Scene 1: Jedi Temple – Grand Master's Chambers**
Dagon Marek sat on the edge of the large bed, rubbing his temples. *Okay. Time to heal the girls. Should I do it individually or all at once? Honestly, this Mind Prison is already starting to wear on me, and it's only been two days since I healed Atroxa and Talon.*
Atroxa lounged against his side, red skin warm. "The real question is what you're going to say to them."
"What do you mean? About what?" Dagon asked.
Miaria, curled on his other side with her tail draped over his lap, answered softly, "Your face, for one. It was burned by their lightning. You used Blood Sacrifice to save them. You have multiple healed lightsaber wounds on your stomach, chest, back, and legs — all because of them. Even if they don't remember the details, they'll ask questions."
Dagon brushed a hand over the heavy scarring on the left side of his face. He had stopped wearing the mask around the girls — they didn't mind the scars — but the memories still stung. Ahsoka and the others had betrayed his orders under brain-worm control and nearly killed him during the rescue on Geonosis.
"That is a terrible excuse," Atroxa said bluntly. "You *did* know something was wrong. You just needed concrete proof before striking — except for the Chancellor or Darth Sidious at the time."
"You're right," Dagon admitted. "But still… I put them in that position. They chose to follow me originally. They were afraid because I was stronger and fighting enemies well beyond them."
"Enemies that could still destroy the galaxy as we speak," Talon added from where she sat cross-legged nearby, smirking. "And who are immortal and hell-bent on seeing you dead."
Miaria pointed lazily toward the sealed healing wing. "Then start with the problem girl first." Her finger settled on the pod containing Aubrie Wren.
Dagon nodded. "Good point. Though I should at least figure out who she really is first."
**Scene 2: Jedi Archives**
The archives were quiet as Dagon, accompanied by Atroxa and Talon, reviewed the files on Aubrie Wren.
**Aubrie Wren**
Female Human Jedi Padawan to Jedi Master Sirrus. Served as a Jedi Commander during the Clone Wars. One of the best healers at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Selected for advanced training under Jedi Master Mace Windu. Master Sirrus believed she was destined for the Jedi Council.
However, before that could happen, she and her Master were dispatched to the Mission to Queyta alongside:
- Jedi Master Knol Ven'nari
- Jedi Master Nico Diath
- Jedi Master Fay
- Jedi Master Jon Antilles
Master Sirrus and Zule's first master, Glaive, lost their lives. The four "weirdo Jedi" survived, but Aubrie was presumed dead. In reality, she had been captured.
"Not much to work on," Talon muttered, scrolling through the limited records.
"Actually, there's plenty," Atroxa said. She turned to Dagon. "You said on Geonosis, when you freed her, you pulled the darkness out of her and helped her overcome the Geonosian mind control?"
"Yeah. That's why I'd rather save her. She didn't choose that fate," Dagon replied.
Atroxa's golden eyes gleamed. "Excellent. Then this is what you do…"
She laid out a careful psychological strategy for approaching Aubrie's broken mind.
**Scene 3: Mind Prison – Aubrie's Mindscape**
Dagon stepped into the constructed realm. The scene opened in the Jedi Temple — bright, pristine, filled with applause.
An announcer's voice echoed: "We congratulate Master Aubrie Wren on becoming the Grand Master of the Order at only nineteen years old — the greatest healer the Jedi have ever known!"
*So Jedi do have pride,* Dagon thought, watching the spectral Aubrie beam as medals were pinned to her robes. *This is what she dreamed of.*
The scene suddenly crumbled into dust. Aubrie stood alone atop a mountain of skeletons and blood. The Jedi High Council, led by Mace Windu, stared down at her coldly.
"You failed us."
Vines burst from the ground, wrapping around Aubrie's legs and rooting her in place.
Dagon stepped forward. "Aubrie! Come on! Snap out of it!"
More vines surged. Aubrie's eyes turned wild. "I don't need your help!" A red lightsaber ignited in her hand as a green cocoon engulfed her.
The cocoon shattered. Aubrie emerged as a monstrous pterodactyl-like creature, screeching as she took to the sky.
"I'm going to fly around and wreck things until I feel better! Or until I tire myself out!"
Dagon called up to her. "Aubrie, come on! I'm not fighting you."
"You'll never understand what it's like to be me," the monster roared. "I'm TORMENTED!"
"I'm also tormented sometimes!" Dagon shouted back.
"Prove it… or I'll never stop fighting you."
**Scene 4: Mind Prison – 500 Years In**
After centuries of simulated battles and conversations, Aubrie — still in partial monstrous form — snarled at him. "Dude, I blocked this stuff out for a reason!"
Dagon stood firm, lightsaber lowered. "Aubrie. This is why I brought us here. We can defeat the darkness together."
**Scene 5: Final Healing**
After a thousand years within the Mind Prison, repairing the last of her mental blocks — including the trauma of repeated violations by Geonosian brain worms — Aubrie finally stood before him as herself again.
"I'm me again," she whispered, touching her own face. "It feels like it's been years."
Dagon offered her a gentle smile. "I have a planet — actually a few planets — safely away from the war. No harm will come to you there. It's filled with other Jedi who left the Order because they couldn't accept my changes."
Aubrie looked down, conflicted. "What do I do now? The Order was my life… and the darkness, even though you killed the demon inside me… it's still part of me."
"It's time to wake up," Dagon said softly.
**Scene 6: Jedi Healing Hall**
Aubrie's eyes opened. She was no longer purely human. The purification and long healing process had evolved her — white skin with a faint pearlescent sheen, silver-grayish hair that shimmered like moonlight, and striking blue eyes that glowed with inner peace. She looked ethereal. Interesting. Almost otherworldly.
She sat up slowly, touching her new features with quiet wonder.
Dagon stood nearby with Miaria, Atroxa, and Talon watching. "Welcome back, Aubrie."
The former Jedi healer looked at him — at the scars on his face, the wounds she had helped inflict under mind control — and for the first time in a long while, she smiled.
The Dragon's circle continued to grow. One broken soul at a time.