A week passed without much event, though Sunset gradually got back into the routine of training. After her conversation with Master Fluttershy, the Council allowed her to roam the Temple as usual, and was allowed to continue learning without restraint.
Macedon had started to shift the focus of his teachings as well, where before it was mostly strength of defense, and keeping her emotions in check, it was now starting to include more offensive training, as well as more extensive endurance and Force training. It was rigorous, and Sunset now realized just how practical Macedon had been by slowly increasing the difficulty of her training as slowly as he had been.
It was after one of these training sessions and Macedon had let her rest that master Luna approached her. Sitting in her room, Sunset was resting, and trying to meditate when Luna stepped in, giving her a nod in greeting. For a moment, she said nothing, and they looked at each other in silence.
"Are you ready to restart your lessons with me, Sunset?" Luna asked, her face showing only passiveness, and a small amount of curiousness in her eyes. Sunset nodded, and stood up, coming eye to eye with the Master standing across from her. Anticipation, and a little anxiety filled Sunset as another gleam flashed across Luna's eyes.
Without another word, yet a rather cryptic smirk, Luna turned around, and started on the small trek leading to her private training area. Once there, Luna opened the door, and once again, Sunset felt that odd ripple. It startled her, however, after not having sensed that for a few months it came as a surprise. The door opened, but Sunset didn't move to go in.
"How do you open the door?" she asked quietly, and the Master stepping front of her stopped. Luna turned around, glanced in the hallway, and motioned for Sunset to follow.
"I'll explain inside; some do not approve of the practice. Well, I do a lot of things that others do not approve of, but this is an uncomfortable topic for some." Luna amended her statement and continued on, leaving Sunset to follow in confusion and curiosity.
As they walked into the training room, Sunset thought over the strange feeling, and realized she had been wrong. At first, she thought it was the use of the Dark side of the force that opened the door, but after facing a Sith herself, she realized that this was different. It wasn't dark or menacing, but it was… unsettling. Luna turned around, and handed Sunset a small box she had picked up from a small table.
"Hold this up for a moment," the Master instructed, and Sunset complied, gripping the small box with the Force and holding above her palm, "ok, now imagine that the box is the lock holding the door." Luna focused a moment, and Sunsets hand started to tingle. The box dropped into her palm, and Sunset felt the Force she had been using to hold it up jerked to a halt, and she flinched.
"The door is imbued with the force, and only the lack of it will make it open. This is the most basic of abilities with such knowledge, however. Once, long ago, a similar ability could sever a user's connection to the Force completely, or even leech it away against another's will. I have not the strength to do such a feat, besides, Celestia wouldn't be too keen to know about it anyways… would you care to learn how to accomplish this?" Luna ended her explanation, looking with an upraised brow at Sunset as she looked horrified from box to Master.
A part of Sunset feared what might happen if she agreed, and another was excited at the prospect of learning something that could be useful in future encounters. Curiosity overtook caution, and hesitantly, Sunset nodded.
"Then let's begin." Luna said with an approving look, and a proud smile.
Macedon was leaning against the wall the next morning, arms crossed and frowning when Sunset walked up. Macedon's gaze softened the barest hint when he saw the state she was in.
Dark bags were under her eyes, and her hair was a wild mess. Her steps were slightly uneven, and her head was pointed down.
"You look awake this morning." Macedon commented dryly. Sunset groaned in reply and tried to smooth her hair.
"Sorry I am late… I had a rough night." Her hair not cooperating, Sunset gave up, and rubbed at her eyes, still in the process of waking up. Macedon 's frown deepened back to its normal state, and he gave Sunset another look. Feeling exposed, Sunset stared at the ground, and tried to move into the training room, but her attempt was halted.
"You were training with Master Luna again, weren't you?" He asked, the tone of his voice made it obvious of his disapproval.
"Yes, what is wrong with that? I know firsthand that she can be a little unorthodox, but-"
"But she is teaching you things that you are not ready for. I recognized my fault, I have not been training you as I should have, but she should not be pushing you as hard as she is." Macedon stated firmly, and stepped into the training room past Sunset, who followed. She knew arguing would not help, but she felt she had to defend her side of the argument somehow.
"She has been testing me and finding my limits, all you seem to do is see how angry you can make me. Besides, her training kept me alive more than yours did." As soon as it had left her mouth, Sunset regretted it. She winced as Macedon stopped mid stride, slowly, almost painfully letting his feet and arm relax. He took a deep breath, but said nothing. He slowly turned around, and the still open door slam shut with a quick motion of his hand. Sunset took a step back, not sure what to do, how to react to that. She hadn't realized she had struck so deep a chord for him to react like this.
"Then let's see where your limit truly is." Macedon said darkly, and three training sabers flew over from the wall. Sunset yelped as two of them shot towards her, yet they stopped just before hitting her. She hesitantly grabbed them, and immediately jumped to the side, as the practice saber Macedon held flashed dangerously close.
Taking the immediate defensive, Sunset planted her feet from the jump and brought her two glowing practice blades in front of her, yet they felt awkward in her hands. Macedon jumped after her and swung. Sunsets block was sloppy and ill prepared, and one of her blades went spinning across the room, dropping lifelessly to the floor with a small clatter. The next swing was again met by a sloppy block, but this time Sunset was able to hold on to the blade.
By now, Sunset was wide awake, her senses on overdrive, and adrenaline coursing through her blood. She gripped her saber more steadily, and the third block she made was solid. As Sunset pushed back on her masters' blade, Macedon spun, using the momentum of the push to swing him around, earning a yelp as his practice saber hit her, her block coming too late, and at an awkward angle.
But he kept raining blows at her, which Sunset decided her best bet was dodging instead of blocking. Rolling under a swing that would have put Darth Korata to shame, Sunset found her first chance to go to the offensive, but she hesitated. It cost her a blow from Macedon that she had to take full on, her saber above her holding back the vicious hum of Macedon's practice blade. As she looked up, she saw the intense gaze of Macedon staring back at her, yet it held almost no emotion, which Sunset found horrifying.
Even more terrifying, Sunset realized what he had been doing. He was using form 7, not his usual form of combat. The reality of that revelation hit her almost as hard as the boot that came flying towards her side. The force of the kick sent her sideways, and she yelped as she hit the floor, awkwardly trying to keep from hitting herself with her own blade.
Suddenly, her practice blade was ripped from her hand as Macedon took control of it, yet he did not swing. He stalked calmly towards his fallen Padawan, the same passiveness Sunset had seen now less intense, yet still terrifying to behold. Against her will, Sunset scooted away from him, until her back was against the training room wall. The two glowing practice sabers were silenced, and Macedon placed them both in one hand. He held the other out to Sunset.
Relief flooded every part of Sunsets being, yet she took his extended arm after a long moment of silence, and hesitantly still. He helped her up, and gave her the two sabers he held, using the force to grab the third, which Sunset had forgotten about in those terrifying moments before.
"I was asked to take you as a padawan because I showed similar traits when I was your age. I was angry, and picked Vaapad* to learn. I was second only to one, but that is not why I do not want Luna teaching you. Now, I have been moving slowly with your training because I had to make sure exactly how far your emotions could be stretched." He paused, letting Sunset take in what he had just explained, but she would not meet his gaze.
"So, if you are still willing to test your limits, I will explain everything else after round two. Deal?" he asked, a smile that did not reach his eyes forced itself upon his features. Sunset continued to avoid his eyes. Finally, she nodded, and as she readied herself, allowed her eyes to lock on his. They were still filled with that terrifying passiveness, yet they seemed more gentle, the intensity was replaced by mere attentiveness, and for that, Sunset was grateful.
In the middle of the second duel, while dodging a swing, Sunset was filled with determination. Either she would land a hit on Macedon, or she would collapse on this floor. When the second bout ended, she took a short breather, and waved off Macedon when he started to speak.
"Round three?" at the question, Macedon seemed taken back, but simply shrugged, and reset his stance. Sunset found it easier to break away and go on the offensive in the third round, but still couldn't land a hit on her master. The determination grew with each failed attempt, and when she seemed close, adrenaline building and pushing her forward, Macedon would pull some new trick he hadn't taught her, slipping back into that passive state and regaining the offensive.
…
"Round four?" Sunset asked as she leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Macedon had finally broken a sweat, and raised an eyebrow in response. The tension had slowly slipped away, and the familiar gesture gave Sunset a boost of hope. He was relaxing, maybe, just maybe, she could land a hit on him now.
As they reset, Sunset could feel it, this would be the one! Either she accomplished her goal, or she would find out just how far her limits would truly stretch in the process.
This time, Sunset swung first, one blade launching high, the other holding back, keeping her balanced through the swing, and waiting, just in case. Suddenly, Macedon dropped his blade and lunged. One hand grabbed her wrist she was swinging with, the other grabbing her shoulder. Sunset didn't even have time to react as she was thrown over Macedon and onto the floor. Now grateful more than ever for the padded ground, Sunset felt both of her practice blades being pulled from her hands.
The two stolen blades now swung down, and Sunset rolled, before bringing one leg up to her chest, and pushing forward. She tackled Macedon, sending him crashing to the floor, and jumped away just in time to avoid an awkward slash of one of the blades. Using the Force, Sunset grabbed Macedon's dropped saber and went for the finishing blow.
Macedon slapped it aside, and jumped up to his feet, and Sunset growled at her missed chance. She closed the distance while she could, and rained blow after blow towards her master, who blocked them efficiently. Slowly, Macedon gave ground. The anticipation built in Sunset, and she felt the new rush of adrenaline, knowing she could have her victory this time… and then she saw it. The subtle change in his foot work, the slight shift in his eyes.
Sunset would not give up this time. Macedon feinted a swing left, and lunged to her right. Instead of allowing this to throw her off, Sunset forced herself to stay calm, and lunged backwards. As Macedon slid to a stop, his swing hitting nothing, Sunset launched herself back forward, catching him by surprise, and finally planting a glancing blow on his upper arm. Even with a real lightsaber, such a hit would be considered rather pathetic, but it was a hit nonetheless.
Overwhelming pride filled Sunset, and she raised her practice blade, cheering.
"Ha! Finally! Take that Macedon! Who just landed a hit on you? This padawan!" Sunset yelled ecstatically, not caring that the room was spinning, and the floor was growing dangerously close.
*Vaapad is form 7, and Macedon learned Form 4 after becoming a knight, which he chose over Vaapad in an attempt to find out how to integrate the two with each other. Thus the blending seen in the chapter.
A/N: Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, to date I think this was my favorite to write, and in my opinion, probably the best ive ever written, though that might be me just being biased about my work… anyways I need to address something right quick. I kinda "auto-piloted" this entire chapter, so pretty much everything past the first page and a half was unplanned. That being said, I do plan on expanding that little tid-bit about Macedon's past. PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW I DID ON THE COMBAT SCENE! I feel like i am really weak in that area, and any feedback would be appreciated.
also, because they are few and far between, I think I might start doing Review Responses at the end of each chapter.
So, to Darian J. Kim: I felt we all deserved a happy ending last chapter, but don't worry, things will be getting back to normal soon… maybe.