Redemption!

The rest of the battle had gone well. When Ju-Kai and I returned to the battlefield, we were immediately engulfed in warfare. The Sith had apparently felt their Master fall to his death for as soon as we came into view of the battle on the bottom floor, the Sith's attention immediately turned to us. We fought them back, Ju-Kai and I holding off the main force of the Sith while the rest of the Jedi fought the back of the crowd attempting to get to us. It was a long fight, but in the end, the Jedi came away victorious. I was praised as a war hero for having killed the Sith Lord and having fought off so many Sith Lords. Ju-Kai was praised too but he was already a wise, old Jedi. Winning this battle meant that I was practically a shoe-in for the title of Jedi Master. I was the youngest to reach this rank and the other Jedi practically worshiped me for it.

For me, however, the victory was bitter-sweet. My entire life had built up to this moment it seemed; the moment when I would become a Jedi Master. But the conversation with the Sith Lord in the temple had affected me more than I let on to Ju-Kai and the others. I found myself questioning my life. Was everything that I had experienced over the last 13 years really my life? In a literal sense, it obviously was. But in the sense of destiny and bloodlines, was this truly me? Ryu Tannaris, the Jedi Master? Or, deep down, was the blood of two powerful Sith Lord flowing through my veins?

With all these question, I knew that meditation was the only way to discover the answers, even if it was one that I didn't like. The truth was the truth. So, after briefly accepting the praise from many Jedi waiting for our returning, I quickly retired to my quarters and sat down to meditate. I searched all through myself, trying to decipher who I was and where I belonged. I dug deep into my connection with the force. I asked the midichlorians in my body but they refused to speak on the subject. I would have to find out on my own. I had been at it for quite some time when finally... something happened.

Deep in the darkness of my closed eyes, a man called to me by name. My conscience ran towards the voice. He became visible quickly and I was soon standing before him. It was the same man from my vision, the one yelling for me to run. I hesitated for a moment, stunned at the image before me, but eventually, I gathered my strength and opened my mouth to speak. But he held a hand up to me, telling me not to speak. He simply smiled at me and looked at me for a little while. "Remember... my son," he spoke softly. Slowly, he reached out towards me and grabbed my head between his hands. He stared into my eyes a moment then screamed. "REMEMBER!"

Immediately, my head began to throb as the walls were torn down that I had built to block out my past. The visions flowed freely now; 12 years worth of memories passing before my eyes in mere seconds. I reeled, leaning away as names filled my head and places flashed before my eyes. Then, the memories of that fateful day flashed before me. I was suddenly overcome with grief. My parents... had died so that I may live and yet I had spent the rest of that life that they bought with their blood destroying everything that they were... everything that I was. I suddenly felt ashamed, felt angry at myself for what I'd done since that day.

Then I saw something else. It wasn't a memory but a vision of the force. I was looking at myself as I leaned over my father's crushed body. Then I saw him... Ju-Kai. He snuck up behind me as I was helpless and crying over my father's body. He lifted a boot and swiftly kicked my head. I fell on top of my father and was out cold. He then picked me up and carried my body away in his arms, likely to his ship.

At that moment, all my grief was obliterated and replaced by blind, unrestrained fury. My master, the one I had looked up to for the past 13 years, was the very Jedi who initiated the lie in the first place. The council had instructed him to deceive me; to make me believe I was a Jedi and he had followed their orders. No wonder Ju-Kai had become afraid at the Sith Lord's words back in the temple. Ju-Kai, the man that I looked to like a big brother, had betrayed me from the beginning. Other than the council, he was the biggest target of my hatred.

At that moment, I snapped out of my meditative state, finding myself in my quarters once again. But there was something different... about me. I no longer even felt the same. I was renewed, I was powerful... I was a Tikori! I had never felt so powerful, not even when I was in the middle of a battle as a Jedi. The force had turned me into everything that I could've been had the Jedi never deceived me. I was Jedi Knight Ryu Tannaris no longer. I was more than that man could ever dream of being. I was Ryu Tikori, a Sith Lord.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door to my living quarters. I smirked to myself, sensing that it was the Masters coming to greet me. How perfectly they were falling into my hands... those poor, unsuspecting fools. They didn't know what they were getting into. I called out for them to enter and the door immediately slid open, revealing three of the Masters. They smiled and entered into my quarters. I smiled back, acting the part of the Jedi I had been playing for far too long and bowed graciously to them. "How may I help you, Masters?"

The first one, a rather tall human male, chuckled softly. "I think we both know why we're here, Ryu. We have come to make you one of us. Ryu Tannaris, you are now, officially a Jedi Master. Kneel, and we shall make your promotion official."

I smirked, letting the facade drop immediately. "There's just one problem with that Masters. I'm not Ryu Tannaris, am I?" Confusion was the first emotion to cross the master's face, then, when he noticed how different my force signature was, sudden fear replaced his confusion. I lunged, crossing the short distance in milliseconds and ignited my saber, jamming it deep into the man's stomach. "I'm Ryu Tikori!" I pushed the man backwards, sending him off of my saber blade and into one of the other masters. The one that wasn't occupied charged at me, saber raised high. I let my fury flow, lashing out at her with a torrent of lightning, an attack I was as surprised to see as she was. She was able to block the lightning with her saber, but with my other hand (the one holding my saber), I force pushed the front of her knee. Because it was the back leg, the one used to support her against the lightning torrent, the pressure of the force push was able to snap her knee cap and force the leg to bend the other way. She collapsed on the floor and I grabbed her with the force, lifting her withering body and throwing her head first into the far wall.

By this time, the remaining Master had stood up. His saber was ignited but I could sense his fear. I smirked, acting in blind instinct and rage as I let the darkside radiate from me like an aura. I lunged suddenly, using the hand that wasn't holding my saber to manipulate the force to push his saber hilt away, causing the blade to follow, opening up his defenses. With the distance closed, I stabbed the saber deep into his thigh, sending it out through the other side. As the Master screamed in pain, I pulled the saber back out and spun around quickly, bringing my saber back down across his cheek. Despite the fact that it was a direct hit, I made sure that the attack wasn't very deep. It left him with a sizzling gash diagonally from his ear to his chin.

The man fell to the ground, withering in pain and crying out like a child. I smirked and used the force to pull him back up, bringing him to eye level. I also made sure to restrain him with the force to stop him from attacking. I smirked and looked him in the eyes. "Go and crawl back to the Masters. Tell them what happened here. They have made their greatest ally into their greatest enemy. Oh, and be sure to assure them that they will all fall to my saber soon." With that, I dropped him to the ground and turned to walk away from him towards the window in my quarters. With a small force push, the window shattered and I leapt out, plummeting towards the ground. My trajectory was cut off by an airspeeder. I smirked, realizing that the force had provided for my escape. I killed the pilot and took his place.

Thus, my life began anew. Change had destroyed my life once and given me a new one. But Change could not keep me from returning to where I belonged. I was a Sith once again and I would make my parents proud.