"There is no one to stop us this time."
"Indeed. We've always fought our best this way."
And in the next instant, there in the dark, crimson met green with a familiar zinging noise, accompanied by the hissing and crackling of Kylo's lightsaber, volatile and overflowing with unharnessed energy. The slim green blade of Yasha's saber, on the other wand, was meticulous, clean, and restrained. Just like her.
In the fight that followed, Kylo Ren cursed what he felt was his own weakness - every time he came close to overpowering the woman he was fighting, one of his old injuries began to cave in fatigue and gave her a chance to regain her bearings. At his full strength, he knew this battle would have been over easily.
He easily could have used the Force to defeat her as well, but his last encounter with Yasha had made him privy to an insight he previously had not considered: it was not enough to simply defeat her physically. In order to rid himself of the turmoil he felt when he saw her - the torturous sensation that searing and writhed like a wildfire in his deepest parts - he had to best her in every way. It was the only way, he had come to truly believe, that he could be rid of Ben Solo entirely.
Beneath his mask, Kylo Ren's teeth bared into an almost feral grin when he realized that he had her on the defensive - he had the upper hand. His elation, however, waned when he noticed that their fight did not have her undivided attention. He saw the way her dark eyes flitted every few moments to the projected map that still emanated from the device around her wrist. She was only fighting to distract him - Yasha Faygill had not come for him. She had come for the Marelignium.
Infuriated at the insult against his prowess, he let out a sound like a roar and again descended into a rage, swinging his weapon almost blindly and continuing to force Yasha backwards through the darkness. But this, he realized in a brief, flickering moment of clarity, was an opportunity as well. Quickly following the woman's lead and darting his gaze to the map, he was able to determine the direction she was heading in. The next time their weapons met in a deadlock, he gave a shove just hard enough to throw her off balance and knock her aside - a loud hiss indicated that in the process, the sleeve of her tunic was singed as she fell away. Kylo then bolted off down the tunnel, leaving her behind.
He gave a sneer of a grin as he heard the shuffle of Yasha scrambling to her feet and darting to catch up with him - he had always been faster. Kylo's longer limbs carried him in bounds down the tunnel until he reached a dead end- and a place of inexplicable heat emanating from the walls. The Marelignium was still encased somewhere inside. Up above was a hole that led back to the surface, attached to makeshift ladder made from chain that did not even extend the entire way down.
Whoever had been here last had come so close to the prize, only to have found themselves incapable of finishing the task. Kylo Ren's eyes narrowed. He would not allow himself to suffer the same misfortune. Drawing his lightsaber again, he began swinging indiscriminately at the stone wall before him. His lightsaber hissed and sparked, almost as though growing more angry along with him, making only small dings in the rock around him. The Marelignium was here, and it was his mission to retrieve it.
Within moments, however, the duplication of the sound behind him in a different pace signalled him that Yasha had caught up and had started to follow his lead in a different part of the tunnel. He was torn between finishing his mission, or finishing their battle - but succumbing to the desire to defeat her would be weakness. He continued swiping away at the solid rock, only barely burning scars into the solid stone. He roared aloud again, swinging away furiously so that the sounds of both his and Yasha's weapons echoed on the walls. Perhaps it would take hours. Perhaps their arms would give out long before they found it... but it would be found somehow.
There was something almost meditative about the process that each of them pursued in silence, almost forgetting one another's presence. Kylo Ren had found himself so deeply buried in his task that he was actually taken aback by being yanked backwards by his cloak, pulled the ground. Enraged, he whirled to turn his weapon on Yasha until the loud rumble of crumbling stone overrode his intentions - the wall he had been attacking had, because of the overwhelming din, crumbled slightly and would have fallen on top of him, had Yasha not intervened. And yet, she merely turned away and continued on her own assault.
As the dust settled, however, the cave was filled again with a dim amber glow. Quickly, both Kylo and Yasha turned to look for the source of the light and saw in the debris a fist-sized glowing stone. Though momentarily immobilized at the sight, knowing that it was Marelignium, the pair immediately made a mad dash for it. Again, however, Kylo Ren was faster as he had always been. He let out a victorious cry when his fist closed around the stone. Enraptured at the sight, he held it up to gaze at it, only have the beautiful amber glow disrupted by a flash of green - Yasha's saber sliced through the stone so that half of it fell to the ground with a clatter, and she dove down to retrieve the severed half.
He could have struck her down - he could have done it easily. But Yasha Faygill was different, and different because of what she had been to Ben Solo. He knew that in order to purge her from his mind, to rid himself of the almost sickening ache he felt when he looked at her, he needed to defeat her at her best. He needed to best her when she was wholly dedicated to defeating him, and then he would be free of her.
And he relished the expression of shock on her face when in a few mighty movements, he tucked away his own shard of Marelignium and threw his lightsaber upward so that it landed outside of the opening in the cave ceiling. He lept upward to grab a hold of the bottom of the chain that led to the surface and pulled himself up, disappearing on the surface.
The result left Yasha in a momentary bind - should she go back down the tunnel the way she had come, or exit in the same direction for the chance of stopping Kylo Ren from keeping the Marelignium he was able to gather. The latter quickly won out. She made her way to the surface and found that he had been standing with his weapon at the ready, waiting for her.
Coming after him had been an invitation, and he wasted no time in lunging for her with a furious swipe of his lightsaber, giving her only moments to roll away and engage her own weapon.
But it had been a long time since Yasha Faygill had fought so hard for so long - the years spent with Master Skywalker on the island were not spent actively training anymore, and quickly, she felt her arms beginning to grow tired. She continued furiously parrying whatever blows she could, but found herself quickly on the defensive. And then, wish a fast movement of the cape-like end of his topcoat, he hurled a rush of sand from the ground into her face. Yasha let out an agonized, guttural cry at the feel of the hot sand against her skin and in her eyes - she dropped her weapon, and heard it being kicked away, skidding over the sand as she fell to the ground in defeat.
"I knew you would lose eventually," Kylo Ren spoke finally, removing his mask so he could lock eyes with her properly. "You forget. I use every tool at my disposal." He leveled his weapon so that it was pointed directly at the center of her chest. "The stone, Faygill. I'll be needing it from you."
She looked up at him, defiant as ever as her hand slowly withdraw the shard of Marelignium from the pouch in her clothing. Yasha cast it aside in acknowledgment of her defeat, and her eyes dared him to finish it, to kill her. Upon seeing the expression on her face, Kylo smirked and, to her surprise, powered down his weapon. He stood over her ominously for a few moments before kneeling next to her, shoving his face uncomfortably close to hers.
"This is how I will best you, Yasha Faygill," he sneered. "I will be the better Jedi. I will let you live."
But why, then, when he had gained the upper hand and shown her mercy did she begin to smirk back at him as though she knew something that he did not? There was no fear in her face, there were no fearful shuddering breaths from their closeness. Yasha Faygill was still even-keeled as ever, unwavering - the small puffs of warm breath from her slightly parted lips, too, were disciplined as though she were still meditating. The look on her face was disgusting. Infuriating. Once, many years ago, it would have driven him absolutely mad in a far different way.
"Get up," he sneered, taking a step away from her. His hand, after forcefully fitting his lightsaber back into its holster, unconsciously drifted to his side, which admittedly throbbed and ached, especially after such fervent exertion. Yasha complied, though her eyes narrowed suspiciously. However, before she could speak, whatever she had meant to say, the loud sound of simultaneous rumbling and whistling overtook the air.
A Tatooine sandstorm was the last thing that could possibly help the situation, and was exactly what appeared seemingly out of nowhere on the horizon. It was a rumbling stampede of sand and wind and heat that grew louder and larger by the second. Forgetting completely the fact that the prize for which she had come to the planet at all - the Marelignium sample - was now in Kylo Ren's possession, Yasha scrambled for ther weapon first, and tore off in the other direction in attempts of creating distance between herself and the storm. Up ahead, she saw a small shanty. It was shelter, and she needed desperately to reach it.
It felt as though an unseen hand, however, pulled her thoughts back to what she was running from - she turned her head to look back as she continued to run and saw that Kylo Ren had taken a knee, using his cape to shield himself. It would last, but not for long. Yasha could hear the storm in the distance and knew that soon it would be carrying more than just sand, and Kylo was already weakened.
And she could have left him. She could have left him and considered it a victory - but his words from moments earlier lingered in her mind. Kylo Ren believed that he was now more knowing in the Jedi Way because he had let her live - that he had fulfilled his goal of besting her.
She had to prove him wrong, even if it was for only one last time. Whatever the consequence, Yasha was determined this time to show him mercy.
Yasha quickly turned back, crouched low as she ran back in the direction of the storm until she reached him, undoing the fastenings of topcoat to clumsily shove it off his shoulders then reaching down, yanking away the helmet he held close to himself as though protecting it.
"Leave me -"
"Non-negotiable, Commander," Yasha said through gritted teeth, stiffening against the harsh hot winds. She forcefully grabbed a fistful of his clothing and yanked him to his feet, beginning to run before there was the opportunity to protest further.
She could hardly keep her eyes open even a sliver against the blistering wind and sand - Yasha let out a small hiss of pain when she felt a small stone dash across the side of her face, but did not stop.
It was not until they had both stumbled inside of the abandoned shanty that she was able to draw a breath that did not burn her lungs. Kylo remained on the ground, still relegated to one knee as he clutched his torso in pain. Yasha then glimpsed the faint discoloration, even on the black fabric of his clothing, of blood leaking through from an old wound that had unknitted itself in their struggle. He looked up and attempted to sneer, almost moved his lips to say something, until he finally succumbed and slumped into exhausted unconsciousness.
A/N's
As always, you guys are the best. Keeping notes short and sweet so I can work on the next update while juggling work and class. Your feedback is always valued and appreciated! Until next time, cheers!
Next Time: Master Skywalker reflects in solitude. Kylo Ren and Yasha declare a temporary ceasefire in the face of the storm.
