Matty vs Leveler

But that same madness was rolling back toward her, stripping everything else away. She tried to focus on the happy memories she'd recalled in the chamber but couldn't see them anymore. Master Leebon's face was gone. Vildar and Tey, too. She could barely remember Oliviah, let alone anyone from before Dalna. The past was gone, the future was empty, and the present was only pain.

The sun opals glinted in the wall, mocking her, and Matty wanted to do more than hide; she wanted to die.

What had she been thinking, pathetic little Jedi with her head full of dreams? She had one job to do, and there she was sniveling in the dark. Get the girl? She didn't even know where Marda was. Matty was lost, so terribly lost, and everyone would die.

She had to run. Yes, that was what shed do. Back to Oliviah. Back to safety. Away from the hurt and the fear.

No.

That was wrong. The stones were wrong.

"Jedi can be afraid," she told them as they winked at her from the walls. "Jedi can be scared. There's no shame in it. Everyone is scared at one time or another. The difference for a Jedi is that we know fear is fleeting and should never win. A Jedi never runs from their fear. They face it, safe in the knowledge that the Force is with them, and they are one with the Force. The Force is with them, and they are one with the Force. The Force is with them, and they are one with the Force!" Matty took a step, and the step became a walk, and the walk became a run. Soon she was pelting along the corridor, teeth clenched and lekku streaming behind her. Today, Matty Cathley wasn't just facing her fear; she was running toward it.

Star Wars The High Republic Path of Vengeance Chapter 57 Page 490