Chapter 27: Reflections
Arkunov took the parchment from the Sand Person, who scurried away the moment Arkunov took it from him.
Opening it up, Arkunov saw a map of the desert and a highly detailed one at that. He studied it for a long moment, his brow furrowed in furious concentration. Arkunov scowled down at the map, he had no idea what he was looking for. At least not if he looked in the conventional way.
Closing his eyes, Arkunov let the force flow through him, guiding his hand across the map. When it finally came to a stop, he opened his eyes. But before he could properly examine the place, Arkunov was distracted.
"I've never seen one of the Sand People approach an outsider in peace." Raising his head, Arkunov saw Sharack Breev approaching him. Arkunov grunted, ignoring her, focusing his full attention on the map. Sharack joined him, frowning as she saw the map. "Remarkable. I don't think I've ever seen such a detailed map of the desert. Especially from such a crude people."
Her eyes flicked across the map, drinking in every detail. Only coming to a stop when she saw the spot Arkunov found earlier. It was a passageway of sorts, carved into the side of a ravine. Beyond it lay a pool of clear water.
"That door," Sharack muttered, "it's carved into the Desert Wound Ravine. But I've mapped the ravine before, there is no such door."
She was adamant in her resolve, but Arkunov didn't care. "Clearly the Sand People know the desert better than you."
Sharack was disconcerted at the rebuke, "Perhaps. That is... unsettling to say the least."
Arkunov folded up the map and made ready to leave. "I will head there immediately," he said. "You may follow, if you have the nerve."
As Arkunov approached the pool, he could feel the force hanging around it. It was as if a residue clung to the area, sticking to the walls of the cavern and bubbling within the water's depths.
He felt a pull towards the water, as if it was trying to drag him into its depths. The demon's blood on his skin tingled, reacting to the power contained within the pool.
"Vette," Arkunov said, "wait here."
The Twi'lek frowned, "You sure?"
Arkunov didn't respond. He walked towards the pool, tossing aside his robe as he walked into the depths. He kept walking, only coming to a stop when the water was up to his waist.
The Sith paused, hesitant at what to do next. The water called to Arkunov, inviting him beneath it's surface. It was against his every instinct. To submerge himself, to enter into the unknown. Yet that was what had to be done.
So, with a deep breath Arkunov dived headfirst into the pool.
Arkunov found himself in an empty void. There was nothing around him, no matter how hard he looked. Silence filled the area around him, the sheer lack of it was almost oppressive.
"You have lost your way, Dark One."
The voice surrounded Arkunov, seemingly coming from all sides. The Sith Warrior narrowed his eyes, he couldn't locate the source no matter how hard he tried. There was also, something familiar about it. Yet he couldn't but his finger on it.
"Who's there?" Arkunov snarled. "Show yourself!"
A figure appeared before him. He was a human male, and of the same height and build as Arkunov. His face was hidden by the hood of a brown robe, identical to those of the Jedi Knights. At his hip he carried a deactivated lightsaber. The only feature that was visible was his mouth, which was fixed in a small smile.
"I have come to correct your course," he said, voice filled with calm serenity.
"I have no need of correction Jedi, my course is true!" Arkunov interrupted. "Now, who are you?"
The figure's smile widened slightly, as he reached up and pulled down his hood.
Arkunov stepped back in shock, his lip curling with disgust as he saw his own face staring back at him. Though, this Jedi Arkunov was not entirely the same as he. For one his eyes were blue and seemed to radiate a calming light. The other difference was only noticeable when Arkunov looked deeper. Using the force he could sense the foul stink of the light side emanating from his doppelganger. It was as if a cool, calming breeze was brushing against his mind.
"I am the embodiment of your greatest potential." The Jedi said, "I am what you could be, if you let go of your fear and hate, to walk in the light."
The rage in Arkunov grew, swirling around him in a crimson wind of dark side energy. His hand's curled into fists and itched to reach for his lightsaber. Yet he restrained himself and growled, "That is impossible. You're trying to trick me. You are not what you say. I am a Sith Warrior! Hate is my strength! And through that strength I gain power!"
The Jedi Arkunov shook his head, mournfully, "Only someone riddled with hate and fear lies to himself. The light will eliminate your reliance on such emotions. You have show mercy and kindness before, have you not? With Vette and Quinn? With those soldiers you spared on Balmorra?"
Arkunov sneered back at the Jedi, "Necessary and calculated acts of mercy. They are useful to me and a loyal servant works better than one that has to be constantly bludgeoned into submission. As for Balmorra," Arkunov snorted, "you obviously have no idea what the inside of an Imperial prisoner of war camp looks like. Many would say that is a fate worse than death."
The Jedi shook his head, "You believe that now. But let me show you a better path."
A flash of light blinded Arkunov, engulfing him and taking him from this place.
When he could finally see again, Arkunov was in familiar surroundings. He was on Dromund Kaas, yet not as he knew it.
The world was burning, Kaas city was filled with ranks upon ranks of Republic soldiers and Jedi. Sith and Imperials alike were dead or in the process of surrendering. However, there was one detail above all else that disgusted Arkunov.
The Jedi Arkunov stood at the head of the Republic Army, blue lightsaber in hand. The defeated forms of Darth Baras and Darth Marr at his feet, deactivated weapons clasped in limp fists.
"Do you understand?" the other Arkunov said. "Theirs is way the way of failure. It is limiting. They will fall, as the Sith have always fallen. You will never reach your potential if you turn away from the light."
Arkunov scoffed, "The Jedi limit themselves. They chain their power, making slaves of themselves. Only the Sith are free to reach their potential. Only a Sith can become the strongest."
"You recite the same empty platitudes that others have spoken before you. If you persist down this path, your life will be consumed by paranoia and fear. Betrayal will wait around every corner. You will never know whom to trust." The Jedi Arkunov said. He gestured to Arkunov's master, the point of his blade hovering above him. "Look at our master. If the dark side is so potent, then why is Darth Baras so afraid of a young girl? Don't you see? Nomen Karr's padawan is merely a nascent champion of the light, and already she strikes fear into the heart of a dark side master."
"I won't fall for your manipulations! This girl may be a threat to Baras, but I am not so vulnerable!"
"Really," the Jedi replied, smiling serenely. "Yet you lash out at me, in a vain attempt to hide your own weakness. Rise above it and embrace a better path. A path of light and peace."
For a long moment Arkunov was silent, staring at the city burning around him, arms completely limp at his side. Eventually, his face broke out into a smile and let out a bellowing laugh. "You truly are a fool! I never would have thought that the light side of me is so naive! Have you forgotten the first lesson of the Sith? Peace is a Lie! There is no chance you could tempt me with peace! I dismissed that fairy tale a long time ago!"
The Sith reached for his lightsaber, its crimson light bathing him in its aura. The Jedi shook his head sadly, "If you refuse the light, you must strike me down. Do you have it in you to kill a part of yourself?"
"Let's get this out of the way. I have had enough of you."
"Come then, take me on. You will discover the light inside you cannot be vanquished."
Blue and red blades flashed, each one moving in a blur of force augmented motion. Arkunov, the true Arkunov, was the aggressor, launching a ferocious sequence of Juyo strikes. The Jedi Arkunov on the other hand, took up a defensive posture, using Soresu to intercept every one of the Sith's attacks. Yet, when he recognized an opportunity the Jedi would thrust forward with a Makashi strike. Forcing Arkunov to counter with a deflection of his own.
Both of the duellists landed blows on one another, leaving burning marks over each others arms and torso. However, despite all of this neither combatant could press a decisive advantage. They were too evenly matched, both of them matching each other blow for blow.
The two duelists spun apart, circling each other; blades still raised at the ready. Arkunov snarled, but he didn't stop there. He let it grow, feeling the sensation grow in the back of his throat. Letting it build until the time was right.
The force scream that escaped Arkunov's lungs tore up the ground, rubble flying towards the Jedi. The other Arkunov remained unphased; raising his hand he threw up a barrier, which the scream harmlessly washed over.
This didn't bother Arkunov, the Sith leapt high into the air, lightsaber raised above his head and cleaving down towards the Jedi.
The other Arkunov was barely able to raise his blade in time; his legs buckling as he blocked the attack of his Sith counterpart. The ground shattered beneath the pair, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the ground.
Arkunov glared at his Jedi counterpart, their faces lit by the light of their locked weapons. "You cannot win," the Jedi grunted, pushing back against Arkunov. "You must accept the light, any other path leads to your doom."
A smirk worked its way onto the Sith's face, "You are mistaken."
Arkunov reached out with the force, yet his target wasn't the Jedi. Instead he grasped onto Darth Marr's fallen weapon. It flew through the air, blade burning bright, screaming through the air, until it pierced the Jedi's heart.
The Jedi Arkunov fell to his knees, his weapon slipping from loose fingers. However, this wasn't enough for the Sith. Once again reaching out with the force, Arkunov called Darth Baras' lightsaber to his free hand. The moment he had it, Arkunov slashed in a blur of crimson light. An instant later, the Jedi's saber arm was lying on the ground.
Yet despite his injuries, the Jedi did not cry out once.
"Any last words?" Arkunov said, an arrogant grin plastered over his face.
The Jedi looked up at the Sith, yet his eyes were no longer blue. They had now taken on the same yellow hue as Arkunov's own irises. The Jedi got to his feet, completely unaffected by his wounds and smiled back at Arkunov.
He stepped forward, and the two became one.
Once again, Arkunov found himself in the void.
Like before, he was alone. Yet the void was not silent this time.
"You have proven your way is strong and viable," the other Arkunov said. "With this victory, our essence is purified. United. Strong. With this clarity, a vision. Our destiny on Tatooine."
The void vanished; replaced by a small stone building, surrounded by an ocean of sand.
"Can you see it too?" Asked the other Arkunov. "An encampment hidden in the farthest reaches of the desert, past a rock formation called the Forbidden Pass."
Arkunov thought this was all rather bizarre. Mere moments ago the Jedi had been trying to kill him and now was helping him, as if nothing had happened. As he considered it, Arkunov supposed that this was what would have happened no matter the outcome. If his light side had proved victorious, he would have continued in his mission, though with completely different end goals in mind. The Sith instinctively knew that had he accepted the light, his new self would have surrendered himself to Master Yonlach. In some ridiculous attempt to join the Jedi order. The very idea made Arkunov's skin crawl.
"Tell me more of this."
"There is no doubt this is where the Padawan went... this is where the great master helped her powers become expressed." The vision of the encampment flickered, distortion corrupting his surroundings. "The image fades. Fine the Forbidden Pass and confront Master Yonlach beyond it. Our journey on this planet ends there. Farewell."
Vette had been waiting for what felt like hours, but in reality had probably only been a few minutes. She wasn't good at being patient, it made her antsy, even more so now that she was travelling with a Sith.
As she sat there, Vette idly considered running away. It wasn't the first time that she had entertained such thoughts, but she quickly disregarded them. She had a good thing going with Arkunov, apart from her status as a slave of course, and admittedly he gave her a lot more freedom than most Sith would. Though he expected skill and loyalty in return. Things that she was all too happy to provide. Besides, if she tried to run away Arkunov would hunt her down. So in the end, Vette elected not to make an enemy of the Sith Warrior.
Suddenly, her head snapped forward so that is was facing the pool. The surface of the water churned and frothed; from its depths emerged Arkunov. The Sith's arms and torso were covered in blade cuts. They bled freely, drops of blood staining the water red.
Vette ran forward, only stopping when she reached the edge of the pool. Arkunov reached the spot at the same time.
"You alright boss?" Vette asked, hesitantly. Her eyes moving over the wounds he had received. "Get everything that we need?"
She never received an answer. For in the next moment Arkunov fell to the ground, unconscious.
Okay another chapter done!
Hope you enjoyed this one, I tried to put my own spin on it as much as possible. Without diverting to much from the events of the game. Hope you enjoyed it!
Please review!