Exile passed through the stone doorway, and she paused at the sight. The walls were like the walkway she stood on, a deep depressing rock-like brown. Faint green light bounced off the same walls that let every pant of hers become clearly audible, like a cave. She peered over the edge and saw the lake of viridian goo at the distant bottom of the core, and watched as bubbles from to its surface and popped a second later. It was then she decided not to look back down.

She proceeded down the walkway, still clutching her lightsaber and trying to not think of the searing pain in her right shoulder. The structure in front of her was a colossus, standing what she guessed was three stories high with large pillars, carved like a creature's fang. And at its core, was Kreia.

Her arm dangled at her side, waving almost uselessly. Exile had tried to pour the Force into her arm, just trying to feel anything, but was getting little response.

"It's like loosing apart of you, isn't it?" Kreia asked grimly, her back still to Exile. "Though I suspect your loss will not be as permanent as mine was."

Only when Exile reached the foot of the structure did Kreia turn. She had replaced her dirt-brown robes with black ones, even her eyes had changed. Her expression was stern, and the former Jedi saw a lightsaber hanging from the sash that operated as a belt. But where she got it from, Exile could only begin to image. Not from her, surely.

"And so we have arrived, just as I foresaw when this journey began. But now only the outcome remains in question."

"Not in my mind, Kreia." Exile said with a slight grin.

"But in your mind, you're invincible." Kreia countered, and then gestured at her arm. "You must to open your eyes and realize you are not a god, but mortal. A being that can and dose fall prey to the simplest of mistakes and horrible wounds, time and time again." She raised her arm to Exile. "So perhaps a final lesson is in order."

No sooner did the words leave her mouth did blue lightning erupt from her fingertips. Normally, Exile would have just absorbed it, but with her only working hand occupied at the moment, all she could do was throw her arm up and guard her face before the lightning slammed into her. The suite took most of it, but she couldn't help but cringe from the few sparks that broke through. She lowered her arm to find Kreia in the air, a ruby-white lightsaber in hand and coming toward her.

Exile got her own saber activated and up in time to block. But once Kreia's feet touched ground, they were off again, this time driving a knee into her student's chest, followed by a quick Force-assisted push that sent Exile over tumbling the edge.

Wind blew her hair wildly about, but it didn't register in her mind. Working quickly, she threw herself at the rock and called on the Force to stick herself to it. She paused, taking in a breath of ozone-filled air before launching herself up and landing, this time behind Kreia.

The woman jumped back, bearing her weapon and putting herself out of range. "Can't you do better, Kreia?" Exile asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. With a Snap-hiss, her blade was out again.

Then, she charged.

Scarlet met with ruby as the two women lashed out at the other. With both employing the one-handed grip style, their strikes were mostly quick with both frontal and back-hand, but still lethal. Exile threw her foot up and slammed it into the side of Kreia's temple, distracting the older woman for a fraction of a second. But it was enough. Exile slashed her blade in a downward horizontal arc that cleaved through Kreia's remaining hand; slicing it neatly at the wrist and having it land at their feet just as the lightsaber it still clutched shut down.

There was a soft scream, followed by Kreia's leaping backward and landing in the center of the structure, panting heavily with her now two handless arms at her sides, useless. Sweat fell from her wrinkled brow.

"It is time to end this." Kreia hissed, raising her arms. Exile looked up and found three lightsabers floating down from the tops of the three pillars, purple blades jumping out from each and stopping just above the woman.

Exile smirked. "Yes, Kreia, it is time." She shut down her lightsaber and dropped it. Then, brushing her cloak fully open, she raised her arms, even getting the wounded one up halfway from the other, but could do nothing about the shaking.

The seven lightsaber hilts at her waist flew from the belt, igniting all at once over her head and covering her in a rainbow of crimson, violet, silver, blue, and emerald. The heavy waves of humming drowned out all other sound.

"At last," Kreia breathed. "you learn." Even though it was futile, she sent the three sabers soaring. It was a quick battle, and of the seven, only one of Exile's was caught in the cross-fire. The rest of them soared in the air and skewered through Kreia, stabbing through and removing limbs, but nothing vital. The final blow would be hers.

Calling her saber back, she ignited it with a Snap-hiss and threw herself at her, plunging the scarlet blade into Kreia's heart.

The woman's breathes came in small, quick spurts as she looked up into Exile's eyes. "You have finally done it." Kreia said, her voice a whimper. A faint smile touched her lips. "You are complete."

Exile didn't blink. "Goodbye, Kreia." She pulled the blade out and reached out with the Force, throwing Kreia's weak body over the edge and into the abyss below. Exile swore she could hear laughter echo off the walls.

And she was alone. Shutting down her weapon, she glanced around at the variety of lightsabers' scattered across the ground, some less then intact. For a moment, she simply stood and stared at nothing, until a cold shiver prickled down her spine and she snapped to attention, reactivating her weapon.

Before her, the air was disrupting, shifting and churning until a man dressed in a full black suite wearing a strange mask and armed with a shock-staff appeared. Exile back stepped, unsure what the assassin would do. But stopped when a second one appeared behind her, then another . . . and another . . . and another. Less then a minute later, she was surrounded by dozens of them.

There were only a few steps worth of space, and with only a single rock bridge currently occupied by assassin's being the only way out, Exile calculated that her chances of making it to that door were slim. The first one to appear approached her, but instead of an attack, he dropped his staff, fell to one knee, using his arm to brace himself and bowed his head.

Raising an eyebrow, she looked around wryly and found all of them doing it, one-by-one until all were kneeling to her. They began uttering some high-pitched squeal in rhythmic chanting, but stopped mid-squeal when Exile raised a hand. Finally, she closed down her lightsaber and slowly clipped it to her belt. Her mind free of the strain of battle, a question came into her brain and wouldn't leave: What next? Looking up at the small gap at the end of the tunnel above, she answered her own question with a grin.

"The galaxy."

END.