Chapter 10

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PRESENT

A tear fell down Qui-Gon's cheek as he read the last line on the page. Beside him, Tahl was similarly affected.

...I'm a killer...

3 MONTHS BEFORE

He had been told that there were only ever two Sith in existence at time; a master, and an apprentice, but once he and Xanatos had finally got to the gathering, he had found that that was not the case. Either the Jedi had been over confident in their knowledge of the Sith or the current situation was so dire that the Sith now had a sufficient enough cause to bring them together.

Whatever the reason, Obi-Wan was glad to be a part of this group. He had found his 'home', and though he never would have though it possible in such a place, a 'family'. Everything he had been taught in the Temple was now being reversed.

"You're thinking of them, aren't you?" Xanatos asked. The two were sitting under a blossoming tree eating lunch. The sky above them was a bright blue and the Sun ever so shining.

Obi-Wan looked down.

"Don't dwell on such thoughts," Xanatos admonished. "Soon enough you and everyone here" Xanatos gestured around them, "Will be able to go and make things right."

Obi-Wan looked up at Xanatos.

"What then?" he asked.

"The sky's the limit," Xanatos replied. "Come on," he said with a smile, "It's too beautiful a day for such depressing thoughts."

"You're right," Obi-Wan said, biting into his sandwich.

Minutes passed. Only the sound of birds chirping could be heard as the two ate in companionable silence.

"Hey Obi-Wan!"

Obi-Wan sighed as he swallowed his last bite.

"You done yet?" An out of breath boy about Obi-Wan age stopped to gather his breath in front of Obi-Wan.

Smiling at the boy's exuberance, Obi-Wan replied, "I am now."

Perking up, the boy reached down to Obi-Wan and pulled him up.

"Lets go then!"

Obi-Wan looked to Xanatos.

"I'll still be here when you're done," he said rolling his eyes, good naturedly.

Obi-Wan smiled and followed the energetic boy.

Minutes later, the two were entering a large bright building. Inside, other similarly aged young men and women were gathered. Obi-Wan knew them all and greeted them as they passed through.

Suddenly a hush passed through the crowd.

Obi-Wan smiled as he saw who had just walked into the room.

A tall figure draped in black slowly walked to the front of the room. The light dimmed as the figure turned to face the group. Slowly the figure removed the shroud of darkness covering their face, revealing a pale man with gleaming black eyes, chiseled cheek bones, and a strong chin. He radiated confidence and with a deep breath, the man began to speak, his low voice reaching the very edges of the large room.

"You have all proven yourselves to be the most courageous, the most ambitious, and above all, the most powerful," he purred. "It's time to move on to the final stage of your training."

The room was now filled with an overwhelming sense of anticipation.

"This will the hardest task you have ever faced in your young lives." he continued, "It will take months to fully complete" he spoke slowly, letting every word sink in, "But once you are done, no Jedi shall be able to overcome you, you will be finally able to enact the change you so desire"

Obi-Wan looked to his friend and shared an excited smile.

At this moment, another person entered the room. It was a woman.

She was rather short and had short shaggy black hair. She was very fit and walked with purpose. When she faced the group, she fiercely looked into the eyes of every person with her intense golden eyes, as if testing their commitment. She wore a red strapless corset and matching red pants and combat boots. Finishing off the outfit was a thick choker around her neck. She was not someone to be messed with, though curiously, she carried no weapons.

"This is my associate Arden Lyn," the man said looking at her with deep feeling. The two were obviously more than 'associates'. "From her, you shall be learning the art that is Teräs Käsi; one of the only combat forms that can best a Jedi without the use of a weapon."

Obi-Wan was impressed, in his years as a Jedi, he had never seen heard of a Jedi being defeated by someone that didn't have a blaster or another type of weapon.

"A Demonstration now," the man announced, stepping into the shadows.

The woman nodded to the man, and from the shadow came a confused looking man dressed in Jedi robes. When he caught sight of the woman, he took a defensive stance and ignited his lightsaber. It glowed green.

Arden smiled as she took her starting stance.

It all happened so quick that if Obi-Wan had blinked he would have missed it. He now stood, staring at what was left of the Jedi, with his mouth wide open.

As far as he could tell, the woman had charged a the Jedi, hit him in the jaw, then brought both of her arms down on the sides of the man neck, effectively causing him to collapse to the ground gasping for air. In his distraction, the woman had then completed a sideways flip, bringing her feet down on the Jedi multiple times, before opening her arms wide and bringing them down together, similarly to how she had hit the sides of his neck, on his head. It all had happened within seconds, it was so quick.

A low chuckle was heard and the man came out from the shadows clapping.

"That, my young friends, was a combination of two moves, the charging wampa, and the spitting rawl," he sighed in enjoyment. "Remember those two. Those attacks will be your friends when you face the Jedi," he gestured to the remains of the Jedi on the floor. "As you can see, it was very effective."

Obi-Wan was in shock. Sure he wanted to change the way things were, but he'd never thought of killing anyone.

"We will start right now," the man announced, "Arden will lead you in the drills, begin!"

Later that night, lying awake in bed, Obi-Wan was still grappling with the idea of killing Jedi to accomplish change.

"Surely you didn't think that asking them nicely would be all it took?" Xanatos had told him, when he had returned from the training session.

He had to agree, but not about the killing part. Xanatos had told him that as time went by, he would get used to the idea, and when that didn't work on Obi-Wan he had told him that in the end, killing one Jedi would save so many people, that that more than enough made up for taking life. When he saw it that way, it was easier to contemplate the act of killing, but it was still difficult for him.

Sighing, Obi-Wan pulled his covers up under his chin, and willed his body to sleep.

It was another day.

By now, the days all blurred together; he could barely differentiate anymore. All he did was eat, sleep, and train. That was what all of them did now days, though Xanatos was another story. As far as Obi-Wan could tell, he was off doing 'special' tasks assigned to him by Xendor, or rather Darth Xendor, the overall leader of the movement against the Jedi. He and his girlfriend, as Obi-Wan called her (though not to her face, never to her face), ruled this place with an iron fist, though not unfairly.

They needed discipline and had agreed as a group that that was what they needed. Everything here was done democratically with everyone weighing in on decisions before they were made.

Right now they were going through their drills.

"Stop!" Arden shouted.

The order was followed immediately, though looks of slight confusion crossed everyone's faces. It had been so long since they had done anything other than their drills.

"Today I have a surprise for you," she smiled. "You cannot truly master this art form without a proper outlet to express it on."

Dread filled Obi-Wan at this pronouncement and it only grew when over a dozen struggling people were herded into the room. All wore Jedi robes and carried lightsabers on their hips.

"Pair up!" Arden ordered, igniting her brilliant red lightsaber.

Upon catching sight of her lightsaber, the Jedi went from struggling desperately, to snarling in anger. Shouts of 'Sith!' rang through the air as they lit their lightsabers and went after their perceived enemy.

Obi-Wan shook his head in denial at the brawling before his eyes and backed himself up against the walls. He prayed that he wouldn't be noticed, and wouldn't have a kill anyone.

But that was not to be.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi" a voice declared. "So, this is where you ran off to."

Obi-Wan's heart plummeted. In front of him was Master Tahl, her normal unique beauty, marred by her unnatural anger and hate. He remembered her as Qui-Gon's friend. She had watched Qui-Gon hurt him without saying anything.

"To cowardly and fight like the sith you are?" she taunted.

He remained silent, noticing that behind her, Jedi were being killed off one by one, rather quickly and it was almost beautiful, if not for the fact that murder was taking place.

With no response, Tahl charged Obi-Wan in anger. With a sharp intake of breath, Obi-Wan ducked and rolled away from her. She only smiled in response.

For the next few minutes, the two engaged in a fierce game of cat and mouse; Obi-Wan doing his best to not have to kill her, and her giving her best effort at killing him. Soon enough, the room silent except for the two battling figures. Everyone else had completed the task placed before them. They were now watching, observing, and restricted from doing anything to help.

"We have an audience Obi-Wan" she sneered, "All the better when I finally kill you" she lunged at him, catching him off guard and singing his pant leg.

Hissing in pain, Obi-Wan grew angry. It was getting easier and easier to become angry these days.

"You truly are pathetic" Tahl taunted, her eyes boring into his soul.

With that comment, he finally snapped.

Giving into his anger, he charged her, grabbing her lightsaber holding hand and twisting it, bringing a howl of pain from Tahl's lips, as the weapon fell to the floor. With a fierce head butt, Tahl was left dazed. Taking advantage of this, Obi-Wan unleashed a series of kicks and punches that left Tahl winded and gasping for breath. During the whole act, Obi-Wan's anger not only grew, but fueled him on.

In his anger driven state, he went for a move that had only been hinted at by Arden, the aryx slash.

A loud crack rent the air, and Tahl was no more.

The room was silent.

The anger fading instantly, Obi-Wan looked down at where Tahl laid in shock. A hand clapped him on the back. It was Arden.

"You have done well" she purred. "I could not have done any better" she said looking at Tahl mangled form."There is nothing more I can teach you," she graced him with one of her rare smiles and walked away.

When Obi-Wan finally managed to turn away from the sight before him, he looked around the room. Bodies were strewn haphazardly where they had fallen. All were Jedi, none were sith. Staring at him in awe, and slowly coming toward him, were the other young sith.

"That was awesome!" one enthusiastic youth said.

"She got what she deserved!" another voice rang out.

"That's what the stinking Jedi get!"

"Will you be our leader?"

Obi-Wan couldn't take it any longer. He ran from the room.

Watching from the shadows, Xanatos smiled cryptically and followed the distraught youth.

Obi-Wan stared out into the cloudy, stormy sky not really seeing anything.

He had just killed a Jedi and it was Tahl no less.

Qui-Gon would never forgive him now. Not that he had ever thought that Qui-Gon would ever accept him. But with his actions, he had now effectively cut himself off from the Jedi...permanently. He had given into his anger and hate and ended a life. He was a killer.

"Tearing yourself up over Tahl?" Xanatos asked, he arms folded across his chest looking down condescendingly at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan looked down.

"Why waste your time" he said forcefully. "She would have killed you if you didn't kill her. It was self defense" Xanatos reasoned.

Obi-Wan looked back up at Xanatos sharply.

"Is that how I'm supposed to justify myself every time I have to kill someone?!" he said angrily, standing up to face Xanatos.

Standing in an equally defensive stance, Xanatos threw his head back. "Do you want to go back to the Jedi?"

Obi-Wan deflated a little.

"No."

"Do you want to just stand back and watch as they kill innocent people?" Xanatos further asked.

Obi-Wan grew quiet.

"No."

"Well then, if you're going to get involved, then you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that you are going to have to kill, or be killed."

With those last words, he walked away, leaving Obi-Wan to stare at his retreating form, deep in thought.

As the days and weeks passed, the idea of killing became less and less repulsive. In fact, as the deaths racked up, killing was becoming second nature for Obi-Wan. Every day now, Jedi were brought in for them to practice on. Every day, their dead bodies were taken away. Obi-Wan now accepted that in order to welcome change in the galaxy, he was going to have to kill off a lot of Jedi, but it was only because they had gone down the wrong path. He was going to make things right, and to do that, the Jedi had to go. Obi-Wan credited Xanatos with helping him come to terms with these things. He had been remarkably sensitive and caring in talking out these issues with him, and though those talks, he had come to see the light.

He had also accepted his call to be a leader for the Sith trainees. As much as Arden and Xendor wanted to lead them in the fight for change, they had told him that the group need someone their own age to lead them. Though reluctant at first, Xanatos had been able to help him see that with his leadership, great things could be done.

It had been a long hard few weeks though. The work it had taken him to get where he was now, had been painful to say the least. It was almost as if the very thought of ending a life was threatening his own life.

There had been countless days where he had had to literally drag himself out of bed to train. The headaches had been the worst though, by far. Throughout the day, intermittent flashes of light would overpower his vision and bring him to the ground in pain. Other time, his arms would ache as if someone was drawing repeatedly sticking needles into his arms. Over all, he was glad that what ever had gone wrong with his body, was now right.

Arden and Xendor, had reassured him that the things he had been taught as a Jedi about ending life were so embedded in him, that his body was going through a withdrawal. Though skeptical at first, as the weeks passed and the pain lessened, he had accepted that that was all that was wrong with him.

Once he had 'recovered' Arden and Xendor had celebrated with him the fact that he had overcome the Jedi within him. That was why he was feeling so much better now, they had said. Whatever had happened, it was over now. And he was ready to lead. The time had come for change to be wrought.

When he woke the next morning, he felt as if something had changed. He couldn't explain it, but he knew it. Sitting up, he noticed that he was unusually tired and sluggish, almost as if he hadn't moved in ages.

Strange

When he went to bed, he had felt fine, now he felt as if he had been hit by a speeder. His growing headache wasn't helping either.

Looking around at his surroundings, Obi-Wan's sleepy mind finally registered that he wasn't in the same room he had gone to bed in. Standing up, rubbing his bleary eyes, Obi-Wan walked over to the window and pulled the curtains aside. Instead of the bright sunny sky he had grown used to, was vast empty space.

Turning away from the window Obi-Wan sat back down on the bed. Looking to the nightstand, he saw a note with his name on it. Picking it up, he read it out loud.

"The Jedi found us, so we had to leave in a hurry. I figured it would much easier to just carry you on board than face your wrath at being woken up at such an hour," The note was signed by Xanatos.

The undying anger within him grew at the Jedi for finding them and forcing them to leave their 'home'. They would pay, and he would be the one to do it.

Just as before when they had had to travel for a month to get to the Sith home base, they had to do the same thing now, only now they were on their way to Coruscant. As the days and weeks passed, they had stopped on numerous planets, split up and met back again, and made copious amounts of plans for what they would do when they finally arrived at their destination.

Unlike the previous times though, the group was traveling on private ships where they could have their own rooms. He couldn't explain why, but he felt as if Xanatos was fearful of him talking to civilians and other outsiders. It wasn't as if he would tell those people about what they had planned, for Obi-Wan saw no purpose in that. But it was as if Xanatos was hiding something from him.

But with everything going on, this was a secondary matter that could be dealt with after they had accomplished their goals.

This was the last flight. Coruscant would be the land mass he would step foot on. Spread out over about 5 different ships, arriving within an hour of each other, were the rest of the sith.

Justice was coming, and it would be swift.