Chapter 21
Under the Weeping Sky
SERENNO
Palace of Count Dooku
It was late into the evening, Leo was sitting in the halls of the library inside the Count's palace, unlike the Jedi Archives of the Temple, the ancient scrolls of Sith were rolled up into scrolls of papyrus and leather bound books of different hides and skins, some were held together by locks their pages yellowing eaten at the bits by moths. The would be apprentice sat leg crossed in a low chair holding a red book with black markings on it and writing of a long lost language. The library itself was in the Easter quarter of the palace, with green tinted stain glass windows between the bookshelves, at the end much like Count Dooku's office was a larger window but crafted into the frame was the visage of an ancient Sith Scribe holding a lightsaber and a the only non green piece of glass in the shape of a triangle in his palm.
The door to the library opened soon after and the only other person to accompany the former padawan to Serenno walked in, the Trandoshan Turok Skell.
Hands in his coat pockets, Turok came in quietly behind him two battle droids were standing guard eyeing the lizard who stood just as tall as the metal soldiers "So where are we going?" Turok asked, coming up behind him.
Leo closed the red book and knitted his brow, rubbing his eyes, glancing up with his two yellow pupils Leo sighed "I've read dozens of texts and scrolls, I must have learned of a hundred Sith Lords that the Jedi never even dared to say their names."
"So that's a no?" Turok asked by picking up one scroll and unrolling it, he couldn't read the writing but there was a painting "Uew, what is that a reanimated corpse?" Turok asked pointing to the painting, the man in it was gray skinned with cracks in rotting flesh at one sith eye matched with a pale milky white one with rotting flesh around it "That would be Darth Sion, the records say his wounds never healed but he kept himself together through sheer will and he was in constant pain which he channeled into the force."
"Darth Sadist I got it." Turok said putting the scroll down and picking up a book flipping through its pages before he found another picture.
This one was of a woman, with pale skin, tattoos on her eyes with short blond hair with a hood pulled down showing she was both beautiful and deadly "Darth Zannah, she would become the first apprentice of Darth Bane who formed the rule of two."
"Rule of two?" Turok asked him "One master, one apprentice, no more no less." Leo answered him.
Leo nodded leaning forward "That explains why there are so many Sith here, what happened to them, did Darth Bane kill'em all?"
"In part." Leo said standing up and rummaging through the scrolls and books, he pulled out a large scroll and opened it revealing a tapestry showing a great battle between warriors with blue and green lightsabers versus warriors wearing dark armor and red sabers. Between them were warriors wielding melee weapons, "In the War of Light, on Ruusan the Army of Light fought the Brotherhood of Darkness an alliance of Sith Lords who sought to bring all the galaxy under their heel." Leo said pointing to a gray haired Jedi in ornamental armor with a top knot "At the time there were Jedi Lords such as Lord Hoth who fought them."
"How'd the war end?" Turok asked "The Brotherhood detonated a force bomb, it killed everyone on Rusann Sith and Jedi, only Bane survived because he was out of range." Leo said.
"Why not go after this Bane's lightsaber?" Turok asked.
Leo crossed his arms "Believe me I thought about it, but that's to on the nose, this is a test."
"A test?" Turok asked him.
Leo looked up at his life debt "The first thing I did when I came in here was learn about Bane's rule of two, why do you think only two?"
Shrugging in his coat, Turok replied with a subtle "Do I look like a scholar?"
"One Master, One Apprentice, one to teach, one to learn, one die, one to kill and so on." Leo said leaning over the table then holding his hand up summoning up another Sith Scroll "There have been numerous Sith Lords throughout the ages who adhered to the rule, Darth Revan and Darth Malak for example, Malak betrayed his Master for power."
"Wait I know this one, then Revan came back, but was he a Jedi or a Sith?" Turok asked him "It was thousands of years ago, even the Jedi don't know what Revan really was at the end plus nobody knows where his tomb is." Leo said as he opened another scroll.
He unrolled it "There were the original Sith who fled into the outer rim only to return under the Sith Emperor three hundred years later after the Great Hyperspace War when Naga Sadow unified the Sith Lords, but they're old Sith, Count Dooku follows the teachings of Bane the new Sith or curren."
"Wouldn't it be flattering then to wield his lightsaber?" Turok asked him.
Leo raised his brow "For starters Bane didn't fight with a lightsaber, he used a lance; the lightsaber I choose has to reflect what kind Sith I want to be, it's as much my test as it is theirs." Leo explained "When I carry this lightsaber, I carry the memory of the Sith Lords who came before me and if they worthy of remembrance."
"Where do you keep all this knowledge?" Turok asked him.
"Nightmares made me stay up a lot." Leo said reading the scroll "And are we sure this isn't another nightmare?" Turok asked, earning him a glare from Leo. The trandoshan and acolyte starred at one another "I know what I'm doing." Leo said looking back into the scroll. Turok walked to the library entrance leaving Leo alone to research what lightsaber would be his "I hope so."
Leo didn't look away from his scroll before Turok left him alone, he dropped the scroll and sat back down in his chair "... me too." The boy's eyes began to grow heavy, he laid back in the chair looking up at the stained glass window and at the red triangle in the picture's hand, his eyes started to grow heavy.
Rubbing them, Leo stood up and walked around the table and stood in front of the stained glass window starting to meditate, "Show me… show me who's sword do I take." He said to anyone who was listening, raising his hand to the table the books and scrolls rose up and began to float around him in a circle. They began to swirl around him at a steady current then they started to go faster, their rotation quickened till a gust of wind was flying around him. The other scrolls and books flapped in the wind from every shelf in the chamber until one of the scrolls flew into his hand, he squeezed the papyrus in his hand before he opened his eyes. The other books and scrolls fell onto the floor before Leo unfolded the scroll looking at the Lord it pertained to.
Soon Leo walked into Count Dooku's throne room, where the Count was at his desk Leo knelt down the scroll in his hand, waiting for the Count to finish whatever business he had. The Count came up slowly and peered down at the boy, "You have chosen?"
"I have, Master.'
"Do not call me that, I am still undecided if you are even worthy of my teachings, have you something to show me otherwise." The Count asked looking at the scroll.
Leo opened the scroll before him and laid it at his feet, above the written words of the scroll there was an image of an ancient warrior clad in dark black banded armor on his shoulders wearing dark black robes under them. The Sith Lord in the portrait was light skinned with long black hair tied in a long ponytail behind his head, three scars adorned the right side of his face, and directly on his forehead was a strange scar resembling a four legged spider, in his hands he held a blue double bladed lightsaber. "Hmm Exar Kun, explain?" Dooku took the scroll and bid Leo to rise.
"My Lord." Leo said with a bow "I like Exar Kun came from the Jedi and saw the way to power was not from their teachings but from searching the forbidden knowledge our own masters feared."
Dooku looked at the scroll before rolling it up "And you believe you are worthy to carry his lightsaber, what do you know of him?"
"Before his rise to the Sith, Exar Kun was Jedi of great skill and prowess he delved deeper than any Jedi dared to into the Dark Side teachings the Jedi Council of the era dared too, when he was Knighted he ventured to Onderon where he encountered the spirit of Freedon Nadd who lies still entombed there to this day. Guided by Nadd, Kun was tested by the Sith Lords of old on Korriban before going to Yavin 4 where he embraced the Dark Side, after a brief war with the Jedi and was betrayed by his own apprentice Kun fled back to Yavin 4 where-" "I did not ask for his history, what do you know of the man why do you choose him?" The Count interrupted him.
Leo gathered his thoughts "Apologized My lord, I have chosen Exar Kun lightsaber because like Kun I chose not to live in fear of the Dark Side but to embrace it, to embrace the knowledge and the power it will lead to." Leo dropped to his knee "And that I will do whatever is necessary to attain it, even killing those I once called brothers."
The Count stroked his beard thinking of Leo's words "And do you know where his lightsaber is?"
"Returned to the Jedi Council after an… altercation with a former Jedi, as it was a Sith artifact the Council sent it away from the Temple."
"To where or do you not know?" The Count asked him.
Leo looked up at him "I do My lord, despite his betrayal the Jedi still honored him as a jedi and returned his blade to where he died on, Yavin 4." The Count stopped stroking his beard and his hand vanished beneath his cloak, he took a step toward Leo and the boy bowed his head again. His silver hair was combed and gelled tightly onto his scalp before he heard Count Dooku speak.
"Go then and if you should fail, do not return at all."
Leo looked up to see the Count was already walking back to his desk "By our will, my Lord."
Soon Leo was walking out of the palace toward the Jedi transport he'd taken with Turok, both the trandoshan and probe droid Oculus were by the ship. When they saw him coming, Turok asked "Where are we going."
"Yavin, the fourth moon." Leo said walking up the ramp "Oh good and here I was dreading somewhere with a beach." Turok grumbled following him into the ship.
CORUSCANT
Jedi Temple,
Obi-Wan Kenobi was meditating in the upper garden terrace of the Jedi Temple, the esteemed Master and Knight was deep within his personal time. He sat legs crossed breathing steadily while he communed with the force before both blue eyes awoke from the trance sensing a tremor in the force. That tremor was the footsteps of another approaching him from behind "Master?" It was Anakin, his former apprentice standing hands behind his back.
"Yes, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked.
The younger Knight stood behind him "I wanted to see how you were doing, Master?"
"As good as to be expected." Obi-Wan said standing up hands behind his back to look at Anakin "But Master, to loose your Padawan to the darkness I can only imagine?"
Obi-Wan took a deep breath looking up at the clouds passing over the Republic Capital "Do you think he's okay?"
"Okay, Master he betrayed us, turned his back on the Republic?" Anakin asked him "Yes, he's a traitor… but I just was wondering." Obi-wan murmured under his breath "Well, I don' think you need to wonder anymore, follow me."
Kenobi's bearded face looked to his old student confused and concerned before following Anakin back into the interior of the Jedi temple threw the hallways and stairs all the way to the the war room. Awaiting their arrival was Masters Plo Koon, Windu and Yoda along with padawans Ahsoka Tano and O-Mer. "Whats going on?" Obi-Wan asked. Leo
"I upgraded our transport with a tracker in case we ever needed it." Anakin said standing over the holotable bringing up the galaxy map, showing a blinking red light going across the galaxy out of Separaitst space into outer rim territory to lone star system.
"Is that….?" Obi-Wan started to ask "The ship Padawan Rock stole, its left Serenno heading for the Yavin system, we can only assume he's attempting to visit the Sith ruins on the fourth moon." Master Plo said to his old friend.
"What does he hope to find there?" Obi-Wan asked but before they could answer "Nevermind, I'll leave immediately." Obi-Wan said starting to leave the room.
But before he could leave Yoda stomped is cane "Master Kenobi, hold you will to far Yavin four is from Coruscant, dispatch another we will."
"Another?" Ahsoka asked "General Selene will track down the turncoat." Master Windu said as a hologram of the raven haired young woman appeared, Selene was wearing her jedi robes and leather armor over her chest and arms hands on her hips "Masters, Padawans." She said smiling at them all before giving a sorrowful look to Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.
Obi-Wans face turned from visible confusion to worry "Masters, Leo may have been a padawan. But I trained him myself and can attest he is extremely dangerous."
"Without his lightsaber General Selene should be able to recapture the traitor." Windu said looking to Selene "I'll handle it Masters, as this is a Jedi Master I won't risk any of our troops to Yavin four."
"Is that wise?" Master Plo asked "If he's allied himself with Dooku as the Count's new apprentice he could have many battle droids following him?" Plo Koon dared to imagine. Selene nodded "I accept the risk, if anything Leo Rock was once my friend Masters, if I can't save him from himself I'll do what needs to be done." Selene said stoically before Ahsoka gave her a look that spelled out her concern of what had happened to their old comrade.
YAVIN SYSTEM
The jedi transport dropped out of hyperspace over the titanic gas giant of Yavin, also known as Yavin Prime, was an orange gas giant, nearly 200,000 kilometers in diameter, located in the Outer Rim Territories. It was orbited by twenty-six moons, three of which could sustain humanoid life. One of those moons, Yavin 4, was once home to the ancient Massassi warriors of Naga Sadow the long dead ancient Sith Lord. The transport approached the fourth moon of Yavin, a small green marble in the shadow of Yavin Prime. The jungle covered surface and large lakes gave the moon a blue and green mix of colors from their current position "So where do I land?" Turok asked.
"Head to the north Western Hemisphere on the other side, outside the ruins they may look like mountains that are so overgrown." Leo told Turok from the copilot seat.
The ship descended over Yavin 4, breaking through white clouds that had been turned orange by the setting sun before Turok spotted the ruins Leo mentioned. A series of ancient temples stones stacked on each other smaller then before rising slowly to the sky before stopping just below the great red orb of Yavin Prime. The transport landed just outside the outskirts of a towering temple overgrown with dying roots of the jungle.
Leo got up from his chair "Want me to come with you?" Turok asked.
"No, I do this alone, take the ship back into orbit." Leo ordered him.
Turok gave his life debtor a puzzled glare "Why?"
"I sense danger coming towards me, I don't want you near me when it strikes." Leo told him as he walked back into the transport exit lowering the ramp "Thats the point of a life debt though?"
Leo looked back "I know, bu this is jedi business."
"Thought you weren't a jedi anymore?" Turok asked him, Leo looked down back at the ramp when it hit the ground "I don't think I will be after this, now go." Leo said walking out.
When he was off the ship and heading toward the temple, Turok reluctantly took off leaving for the upper atmosphere. Leo gave one look back before he looked at the shadowy temple before him. Summoning what courage he had Leo sucked in a deep breath before he walked forward to it, the temple was covered in vines and roots dotted with leaves and grass on its upper levels he stepped when he he and a crack of a branch under his boot but saw it wasn't a branch. Instead there was a bone broken, laying overgrown with grass and vines. The entire field outside the temple was littered with the remains of fallen warriors wearing a mix of golden bronze armor of two different types. One set of bones was clearly humans of the ancient Republic legion, the other were more monstrous with fangs and large clawed bones tangled with them.
Leo pushed past the ancient battlefield toward the mouth of the temple, a few low steps led into a large entrance that Leo stood outside of. Cold slicing wind was coming in and out of the temple like the wails of the ancient ghosts still haunting the temple grounds before Leo squeezed trembling hands of fear into fists of determination and went inside.
He had no torch or light to guide him, instead he walked into the darkness his hand pressed against the cold stone wall. He felt a gap making him almost fall before he caught himself on another part of the temple the little light he had from the entrance let Leo know this temple was a large open floor that formed shapes as his eyes adjusted to the shadows. In a few seconds Leo was able to spot an open doorway at the back of the main entrance littered with the piles of bones and rusted armor around them and coming from the pitch black doorway were whispers in the force.
Come… come to us… come young jedi…
Leo took high and off the wall and walked to the entrance following the voices down a blackened staircase that was consumed by shadow and the void.
We're here… we're waiting, that's it, take a step into the darkness where you belong.
His feet obeyed taking the first step followed by another, and another down and down he walked into the darkness while the ghosts of dead spoke.
A jedi?
No, a Sith?
Doesn't know yet?
Curious, a seeker of knowledge a seeker of power?
Leo ignored them closing his eyes when he reached a level floor, the hallways floor was bare covered only in dust while the ceiling had roots from the earth above clawing their way down into the stone dripping with water from the mud surrounding them. When Leo walked deeper in the places where the floor and wall met started to glow with dim emerald light giving the walls illuminating in ghostly green. He took note of the ancient sith hieroglyphs telling the tales of the Great Hyperspace War, he spotted two humans identical in nearly every detail except one was black haired the other brunette wearing white and blue. Then showing a group of Sith Warriors kneeling before one holding a sword to the sky surrounded by lighting, the walls changed to show ancient warships firing at one another, armies of Massasi warriors and Republic legionaries clashed in epic detail before the image of the same Sith Lord Leo recognized as Naga Sadow falling at the hands of what looked like his owns ships before it showed him again this time on a throne before the walls ended.
Leo walked into another chamber and stopped when he stepped on another boe, breaking it, that's when Leo saw the entire floor was littered, covered in Massassi warrior bones. When he entered two fire pits lit with green flames ignited in the back of the room, Leo looked at it to see sitting there in the back of the chamber was a single throne occupied by skeletal remains in faded dust and cob webbed covered robes of "Exar Kun…" Leo whispered, seeing laid on the skeleton's lap was a white cloth not as degraded as the rest of Kuns corpse.
Approaching the throne, Leo knelt before Kun's remains looking at the white bones with faded hair attached to the skull, empty eyes staring at him before Leo reached out for the bundle and the second he squeezed it he felt the metal hilt of a lightsaber underneath slowly unfolded the cloth and saw it wasn't just some wrapping it was a flag. Funeral flag for a Jedi's funeral pyre even in death the Jedi had horned him, Leo gazed up at Exar Kun's remains and the empty eyes were filled with green fire.
"You dareI" The skeleton bellowed, one of the bony hands suddenly grabbed Leo by the neck squeezing him "You dare to touch my lightsaber, the blade who slew a hundred Jedi, the sword that tormented the dreams of Padawans fore centuries?"
Leo pulled away from Exar Kun's grip, but somehow it only pulled the skeleton off the throne "Who are you who would carry my sword you-" "AWAY!" Let screamed used the force to push Exar Kun's remains off him smashing them against the throne, the force push he unleashed shattered the ancient stone breaking it like glass before Leo backed holding the lightsaber but he wasn't alone.
Hmmmm, such power, such ferocity… you have only begun to understand the true power of the force.
Leo stood up straight hearing the voice of Exar Kun's spirit when from the ruble rose a dark green smoke, that took solid form, and before Leo appeared the reanimated form of Exar Kun, transparent and youthful a full head of black hair adorned in his black robes and obsidian armor the strange mark of the sith at the center of his brow staring down Leo.
"What are you called jedi?" Exar Kun asked him "I'm no Jedi, not anymore." Leo said.
Exar Kun's face broke into a smile of razor sharp fangs, Leo wasn't sure if those were his actual teeth or some ghostly visage the spirit gave off "Liar."
Leo squeezed the cloth and found the lightsabers switch turning it on, two azure blades burst from each end. The lightsaber hilt was short then his older one, with two sets of black blade guards on the end they burn away the remaining white fabric so brittle and old the flag dropped off in dying flames before all Leo held was the former Dark Lords lightsaber "Says the ghost who carried a blue lightsaber and called himself Sith?" Leo asked.
Kun only scoffed "Ha, you think a color of a lightsaber makes you Sith, black robes and discolored eyes, no fool to be Sith or Jedi is from one actions." Exar Kun said holding his hands up the ghost starting to float around him "I broke from the jedi teachings, I waged war on the Republic and you?"
"Hmmm." Kun's eyes closed if he had any ideas to speak the spirit opened them again "Hmmm you have started the path… but you are afraid of what you will find?" Kun said, opening his eyes as he floated around Leo.
The acolyte kept the lightsaber level held up to him "Whatever fear I have, I'll conqueror like all my other enemies."
"Yes, a dark jedi would destroy his enemies but a Sith Lord would turn them to allies." The spirit said floating around him "I sense you fear those you betraye-... oh- hahahahahaha interesting." Exar Kun stopped himself short when he saw something inside Leo that he had kept hidden.
Leo glared at him, his face solid as the stone on the floor he stood, hair white like many of the bones. "What?" Leo then asked.
"You." Exar Kun said floating back to the throne "You can never be a true Sith." Kun sighed floating back to his seat, the bones creaking and rattling while he returned to his rest.
Leo squeezed the lightsaber "And why's that, I've embraced the Dark Side I slew my former Master, betrayed the Republic and Jedi like you?"
The remains only gave a boney chuckle "You betray only yourself jedi." Exar Kun said "Yes I turned to the dark side not for knowledge or conquest, I killed my old Master in the very halls of the Senate but not out of anger, I killed Jedi and the soldiers of the Republic not because I turned my back on them, or they didn't care but for power, all that matters is power Jedi and do that you must abandon the one thing a Sith can never have, the thread you cling to before embracing the abyss." The spirit's green glow started to recede "Beware that thread or you will never attain true power from the threat that lies within your heart..."
Leo watched the green eyes hold the last spark of Exar Kun's spirit "Take my lightsaber if you must, but know you will never be its true Master until you forsake that which binds you to the light…."
"This thread I must cut- name it?" Leo quickly asked before the dead returned to rest "The only weapon the darkness fears, that brought my own downfall…"
The light in the skull's eyes were just flickering now "...the only weapon stronger than the hatred of the Sith...the strength… of… love."
The green flames and lights from the floor faded leaving Leo alone looking at the blue blades of Exar Kun's lightsaber, Leo held it in his hands and looked at his own reflection in the silver hilt that was covered in mold from years of neglect, but he scratched away what he could to see his eyes "I am Sith." Leo said to the bones "I will destroy all the love in my heart, and be worthy of this blade."
Leo turned around and walked to the exit but not before he heard Exar Kun taunt him one last time "... we shall see." Leo heard him at the entrance to the tomb before he took the lightsaber and slashed the support pillars causing the entrance to the throne room to cave in on itself.
After a shorter walk back up to the main level Leo saw the blinding light of the temple entrance ahead of him his eyes had adjusted so well to the catacombs darkness he needed a moment to let them adjust to sunlight. But his ears worked fine because his comlink was beeping urgently "Leo, Leo come in can you hear me?"
"Turok?" Leo asked the trandoshan "What is it?"
"Finally the droids been trying to reach you for hours, a ship just dropped out of hyperspace, Jedi Starfighter." Leo heard Turok tell him, he looked down at the lightsaber, he'd turned it off when he got close to the exit and knew he'd need it to face the approaching enemy.
Leo looked to the exit and sensed the starfighter had landed already "Stay in position, I'll signal you when I've finished."
"... okay." Turok replied before Leo cut the transmission and saw emerging from the sun's glare wearing a jedi robe before it dropped to reveal Selene.
She took four more steps before stopping in front of him, she looked down at the lightsaber in Leo's right hand "New lightsaber, new look, hmmm black isn't your color Leo." She said hand on her hip.
"Thought I'd try something new out." Leo started to walk toward her, moving slightly to the right when she raised her arm, stopping him "You know why I'm here." Selene told him not looking up at him, Leo glanced down at her from where he stood.
A gust of wind blew in from the outside, "To bring me in."
"Dead or alive, it's up to you." She said meeting his yellow eyes "No, it's up to you Selene drop your arm, turn around and go back to your ship; I don't want to fight you." Leo told her holding his lightsaber tight.
"You betrayed the Jedi, all of us." She snapped, turning her head up to him.
"I made a choice Selene, I let the Jedi expell me, arrest me then let the Republic execute me what would you have done?" Selene's other hand moved to her lightsaber on her left side and squeezed it tightly "I would have died, I would die than betray my friends." She hissed at him, gritting her teeth.
Leo saw her tension, but something was different in how he reacted he was calm, something about the darkness in the temple had brought a strange coolness to his demeanor "Leo please, drop the lightsaber, put your hands behind your back and come home, your friends are waiting we can help you."
His yellow eyes drifted away from her "If you choose to stand in my way, then I just have to go through you."
In a split second he flipped his lightsabers switch and both ends erupted out, Selene tore out her own lightsabers a pair of blue and green blades that she locked onto his own. "Then you truly are lost." Selene said up to him.
"For the first time in my life, I've found who I really am." Leo said back to her before they broke the lock and the duel began. Selene used her two lightsabers and advanced training to use against Leo pushing him to the left side of the great hall, Leo and her passed into a narrow doorway to an access corridor, their lightsabers cutting the stones in orange streaks of melted rock. Leo back flipped up a slowly rising floor.
Selene followed him running up to meet Leo who retreated back into the depths of the temple running over a walkway above the entrance before he turned to face Selene where he could move more freely. When she engaged him again Leo swung the first end of his lightsaber toward her but she parried it, the second one came around and she countered before kicking him in the chest "Sloppy Leo, your off balance."
Gritting his teeth while he stumbled back with a dirty boot print on his black robes Selene didn't give him a chance to recover before she force punished him nearly off the walkway. He caught himself on the ledge pulling up before he retreated deeper into the upper levels. Running from her to a different section of the temple, it had low ceilings with deep end floors filled with a strange mist around their feet, Leo regained his defensive position holding up his lightsaber waiting for her "Give up Leo." She ordered him.
Panting hard Leo raised his guard high "I can't."
Selene bit her lip and yelled, jumping down into the lowered floor swinging at him with both arms in a fantastic and ferocious performance of lightsaber skill. Leo's own defense was harder to keep up, he was so used to having the longer hinge double bladed lightsaber. Exar Kun's lightsaber was half the size, even worse he could see and feel the betrayal Selene felt, she was angry but it was controlled, she was a Jedi Knight he was a padawan, or he was when he suddenly caught both her lightsabers with one arm and the other one under their lock palm opened.
Her dark eyes widened when Leo hit her with a force push so hard she flew through one of the fragile stone walls. Leo followed her taking advantage of the small victory Selene rolled onto her back then to her feet lightsabers high to catch his overhead strike. She danced around his legs trying to take out his feet with her lightsaber but he jumped over and landed on a fallen pillar. They were outside and the weather had begun to change, dark clouds had filled the sky with strong winds whipping at the trees. They were in a courtyard littered with roots growing in and out of the temple, when Selene turned to face him again she jumped up onto the pillar and took a stance one saber above her head the other below.
Leo did one spin in his hand before he held his lightsaber behind his back followed by pointing two fingers at her "You may dress like a Sith Leo, you may even use the dark side to make your eyes that way but I know in your heart you're still a jedi!" Selene shouted at him.
"You don't know what I am." Leo said before they charged each other, the contest of arms resumed twice as intense, they jumped and flailed around the courtyard. Towering pillars around the garden were cut down crashing behind the two fighters kicking up dirt and dust till only the flashes of their lightsabers could be seen by the birds fleeing the scene.
Leo jumped out of the dust cloud onto one of the courtyard walls followed swiftly by Selene onto another wall across from her. The wind had tripled in strength ripping at their clothes and blowing their hair loose, they ran across the walls not taking their eyes off each other before jumping into the air and clashing back down into another courtyard. Leo grabbed a fallen set of rocks and hurled them at Selene; she sliced each of them in half before grabbing Leo with the force and pulling him toward the edge of her lightsabers. He dodged at the last possible second kicking off a half fallen wall.
He drove his lightsaber forward ready to plunge it into her back but she jumped up out of the way and hit him using the force to smash him down into the dirt. When she tried to stab him into the ground the barrel rolled away on his back to deflect a slash and get back to his feet. Leo held up his right arm to use a force push but Selene grabbed his arm with the force so he missed and she was on him. He barely made his head move out of the way from a lightsaber swing before he caught her lightsabers again and fled.
They moved through the fallen wall to the base of the temple tower, Leo force leapt to one of the upper levels, with Selene following him he ran at her swinging up from below she blocked and he sidestepped striking at her from the left. She blocked all his attacks and he jumped up to another level with her chasing him like a panther would its prey. Her following attack was her spinning both lightsabers in her wrists while she twirled around on the ledge.
Moving higher and higher they kept up this same pattern and landed on a new level and one would attack the other defends, before they reached the very flat top of the temple where the wind was at its strongest, the giant red world of Yavin 4 glowing dimly through gray clouds above them. Each warrior's breasts were heaving from the fight, neither one had been able to land a hit one another only exhaust them to where they were at now.
Leo looked down at his arm barely able to lift his lightsaber. He was so tired, the blue blades starring back at him and the words of Exar Kun tearing at his soul.
"Selene…" Leo said over to her "Give up?" She asked in a gasp "I was about to ask you the same thing." Leo said standing up straight and taking a deep breath.
"You know I can't."
"I know… I just wanted to thank you." Leo said, holding up his lightsaber to her "For what?" She asked.
"For being my friend." He said before Selene saw the blue lightsaber blades flicker, something was happening Leo gritted his teeth "Grrrrrr." Leo's lightsaber arm came alive with sparks of forced lightning before Selene watched the azure blades change from the hilt the blue was melted away in a terrible aura before becoming a bright crimson sparking with red lighting before the new color took hold completely.
"You corrupted the crystal like yourself." She said, shocked.
Leo opened his eyes, a set of dark red rings were around his yellow eyes showing he'd gone even deeper into the darkness "Let's end this." Leo said, taking another stance.
Selene held up her blades and the two of them stood there over the ground and under a harsh sky, the wind was screaming around them and a single rain drop hit the stone between them before they charged., neither one of them broke eye contact from the far side of the temple, this strike would be the one to finish it all, neither of them had anything left to give but this one last attack, they strike and slide past one another on the temple roof when the heavens opened up and drenched them both in rain, Leo looked down to see a searing tear had formed in the folds of his robes and Selene, had one in hers too.
The sound of one of them falling splashed into the stone, when the other looked back Leo was the only one standing, the victor.
Leo walked back over to her, she rolled over looking up at the raining sky weeping over her body before Leo knelt over her, the black eyes once filled with so much joy and kindness were glazed over fading from life "I wanted to believe it wasn't true… that you were tricked… tortured into turning, but now they'll hunt you to the ends of the galaxy." She whispered.
The apprentice had no expression on his pale face; he just stood up staring back up t the crying heavens "I know."
He walked away then, to the edge of the temple "Skell we're done here."
Leo could see the transport heading down from the clouds, Skell had to have been keeping a close lookout the whole time when the ship came into view. Leo looked down at the lightsaber in his ham, Exar Kun's blade was now his, he'd turned the blue saber red, the color of Sith. He gave one last looked to Selene and from the blackest pits of the tombs below Exar Kun gave one last remark "...liar."