A/N: Biggest apologies to my lovely followers. Real life plus, computer problems, plus the heavy nature of this chapter made it take a while to get finished.
Hopefully it will live up to the rest of the work done so far.
Let the Dance Of Darkness And Light Begin.
Big thanks to NixNox and Tyren as always.
His lightsaber meeting her force-imbued blade made a spectacular light show as the Force crackled through both weapons. Linshara skilfully blocked his overhead swing then swung as hard as she could at his closest knee to trip him up.
He'd however anticipated the move and jumped aside, freeing up a hand and pointing it at her, open palmed. She felt herself violently and painfully pushed back as a wave of Force hit her. The Jedi thudded onto her back painfully but used her momentum to flip her legs over her head and roll aside, her blade in front of her. She duck rolled aside again as he threw his lightsaber at her. Its red, glowing, menacing look spinning on its vertical axis towards her was enough to put anyone on edge.
She raised her barrier just in time, combining it with a short healing burst, and tried to parry or deflect it. Only marginally was she successful as it left a glancing blow on her barrier before being recalled to its Master's side.
Linshara crouched low and jumped, propelling herself high in the air her blade extended and ready to slash. Kallus easily countered this and used her own momentum against her as he sidestepped, used his saber to guide her descent to the side and grabbed at her hair, pulling her backwards roughly, bringing his lightsaber under her throat.
"I am going to enjoy breaking you, little girl." He growled into her ear as he pulled her close against him.
She would not be swayed however, she used her free hand to touch his face, imprinting a sense of immense pain into his head.
"Aaaargh!" He growled and grabbed at his head.
Seizing the opportunity, Linshara turned on the spot, dropping her blade and forming an U-shaped pose with her palms and releasing a bright golden ball of energy at him. The impact pushed him away onto his knees. He did manage to pull up a barrier of his own so her attack was only half effective.
She used this momentary distraction to gain distance and reached out through the Force for her blade. As he stood up slowly, his mind still reeling she released a sphere of bright blue energy at him which knocked him onto his back his robes reflecting the amount of damage he had just taken. Rising her free hand in front of her face, her index and middle fingers extended up, the rest curled she focused all her attention on him.
Quickly small pieces of rock and debris rose from the ground and hurtled at him at lightning speed in a continuous stream. Kallus raised his arm up, to block them from hitting him in the head extending the other to her, a jolt of lightning leaving his fingertips. She saw it early enough and ducked out of the way.
He chuckled menacingly as blood poured out of a gash a piece of debris created. "Clever, very clever. It won't help you though."
Kallus growled and extended his arm towards the Jedi, palm open then his fingers curled menacingly toward her. She could feel the ever so familiar drain inflicted on her and grunted, deflecting his blow but staggering a little. The life drain slowly ticked away inside her, draining energy and focus. It was not something she could remove only bear it and hope what strength and healing ability she had left would help her ride it through.
He intensified his attack, his blade work revealing the traits of makashi and djem-so. Linshara knew her only hope was her own proficiency in soresu, its impregnable defence. If she could spend herself so much while riding out the life drain that is. For every swing she deflected. Every thrust she parried, every lounge side stepped.
His hatred and fury were so overwhelming, they powered each and every move of his blade, whereas she grew progressively weaker and more tired as she waited for that one opening she needed to turn the battle.
She found one soon enough as he grew overconfident, a vice seemingly ingrained in the Sith. Pushing out with her hand she sent him hurtling through the air and immediately charged after him, swinging and thrusting her blade in quick motions. Suddenly though she felt a sharp pain in the very core of her being, a head splitting migraine accompanying the sensation.
Thorin lay heavily wounded on a lake of ice, a huge orc towering over him. The pale white one, Azog. Commander of legions.
A glancing blow of his blade and a strong kick to her abdomen sent her toppling over to her back, her head still reeling. Thorin was quickly fading, she could feel it, his diminishing presence in the Force. The flash of the red blade was advancing on her quickly.
She grabbed his hands just before the blade impacted her and kicked out with her feet, in an attempt to unbalance him so that she could roll away. It didn't quite work as he buckled a little but remained standing, grinning down at her as her strength was slowly eaten away.
"Do you feel it? The passing of these fools? How delicious their screams sound?" He chuckled as he slowly pressed down against her arms.
Another shot through her heart, a scream released as the tell-tale migraine again foretold an image.
Kili and Fili fighting Azog, stood bravely in front of Thorin's broken body, Kili's injuries slowing his advance, the pale orc hewing at them with vigour.
Realizing she would soon join them and this would would fall to utter ruin if she didn't find the strength within her to finish this finally, she pushed through the life drain and grabbing at his hands tighter, pushing it out of her, pushing the taint away, pushing it onto him. A light golden hue passed from her hands onto his and he pulled away, grunting and twisting, his blade turning off and falling to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, she reached out for her blade through the force and swung at him, cutting deeply at his closest shoulder. The advantage though was short lived as he quickly rolled away.
The constant pain in her head was getting annoying.
She saw herself releasing a stream of lightning at the Sith.
She'd seen the exact same image at the High Fells. Blinking and refocusing at the last moment she rolled out of the way quickly as he hurled rocks and debris at her. Then it happened. A stream of lightning cut through the charged air at her. Dropping the blade to the floor she extended both of her arms in front of her, palms upward.
The pain that seared through her arms was so intense she felt as if her every nerve was on fire. His lightning had grown stronger since the last time they'd fought. Gritting her teeth together, almost gnashing then she rode out the pain as her arms absorbed the destructive energy. Cuts and gashes began to form on her arms, her body starting to singe.
Kili was nearly dead yet still swinging his sword near his uncle's body albeit weakly and ineffectively, Fili taking more and more wounds as he now defended both his uncle and brother.
She could feel it, the rage was building, threatening to overwhelm her. She focused all her strength and mind on reversing the lightning into him. Once he was drained out and she had absorbed it, she extended her arms towards him, fingers extended and growled angrily, a stream of lightning now leaving her fingers. It had caught him by surprise.
He fell to the ground, writhing and roaring in pain as his skin split open and began singing. Linshara channelled all her pain and rage into the lightning, almost willing him to stay locked on the ground as she advanced on him.
Then, the final, strongest stab cut its way across her heart, the pain in her heart and mind sending her toppling to her knees, her rage at the red skinned man momentarily forgotten.
She could not feel him anymore. Her love had passed away from this world, slain by the pale orc, next to his beloved brother and uncle. The line of Durin was no more.
Her heart thundered in her chest and her vision clouded, her head swimming. She braced herself against the ground growling in pain. Then an armoured boot shoved its way into her rib cage, breaking several ribs in the initial blow at the least. She almost didn't have the will to fight back. It was as if her own connection to the Force was severed, her life force drained. Another hit to her abdomen, it felt like her spleen was severely contused.
She could see Fili's smiling face in her mind's eye. His handsome, golden head, bright blue eyes, as blue as the sky. She could almost feel his kind soul again, his keen mind, his loving, understanding heart.
He was saying something to her but she couldn't quite make it out, he was speaking in Khuzdul. The pain inflicted on her body made it difficult to concentrate.
"Azagal…" she could make out a few words. "Azagal, do not give up."
His rough yet gentle hands cupped her face. "Linshara, daughter of Rasan, you must not give up. The Sith is trying to break you in every way possible before destroying you. You cannot give up, not even for me! This is not the woman that I grew to love."
"There is…" a grunt of pain, "no death." A howl as he slammed his gauntleted fist into her jaw, "there is only…" she opened her eyes as he swung at her again, grabbing his hand just in time, pushing out with her other hand, sending him propelling backward.
"The Force." She growled.
Reaching out with both hands, both her own blade and his light saber propelled through the air to her hands.
"You have fallen to the Dark Side, I have felt it in you," he was getting up slowly, charging the Dark Side around him.
She ignited his red blade, and advanced towards him, a blade in each hand. "I have tasted it, I have swum in the river, and I exited." Her words were stone as she advanced resolutely. "I am grey, a child of both dark and light, not devoting to either."
"There is no grey, there is only the dark and those fools who think the light will do them any good." He chuckled and released a single, strong, thick strand of lightning at her.
She easily caught it with his saber and reflected it back at him, never halting her advance. He tried again to unbalance her with yet another release but she deflected that one at him too. His red skin by now was marred and burned, his clothes burned into the destroyed skin.
Reaching out with the hand that held the elvish blade, she reached out through the Force and grasped his throat, lifting him up into the air. His hands grasped at his throat, unable to breathe or fight back with the wounds he sustained.
"This is the end of the road for you, Kallus Ruun." She said quietly and swung both blades towards his neck, effectively severing his head from his shoulders and the body fell to the floor.
Blood sprayed her, making her injured arms sting, her torso ached with the beating it had taken. Blades fell to the ground as she watched the lifeless red body beneath her feet. The battle thundered around her yet she heard nor felt anything.
It was over. It really was over. The Sith was dead. Yet she felt numb, dead inside. The three presences she had come to value the most, they were gone too. One with the Force. She found some comfort in the fact that she would see Fili one day when it came her time.
She looked down at the lightsaber that lay on the ground. Reaching out with her hand, she reached out through the Force and crushed the thing as hard as she could, destroying the assembly to beyond repair. It would be dangerous if it was ever found, and she would not use the infernal item again, not even with a different crystal.
As the reality set in, so did her multiple injuries, the loss of the Durins, the loss of Fili. With her weakened state, the pain and grief overwhelmed her and her world turned grey.