Chapter 54: The Darkness

Avaryss exploded her way through one of the old factory's windows. Glass shards flew before her, pushed out of the way by the power of the Force. She leapt into the room, sword at the ready, landing like one of the Massassi champions of old, ready to defend the Empire.

She arrived to find only chaos.

The Bith Jedi was down; shot through the head, likely the first to die when HK Sigma 3 began his attack. Sy Dar Bynn and his one remaining Jedi were trying to flee only to find their exit blocked by both HK's sniper fire, and the blasts being generated by the auto guns that the droid had set up after successfully following them to this place.

Avaryss grinned.

She had not really been sure if the droid would have been able to carry out that second part of her plan. If Sy Dar Bynn had had any watchers outside…?

…Still…it seemed to have worked, just as her spell had worked.

The Jed and his cronies had been completely fooled.

It had felt strange though, using that spell. Only now that the disorientation had finally cleared did she realize just how strange it had been.

When she had been connected to Holli, she had caught a glimpse of HK carrying her, seeing that had almost undone the whole spell. Holli had almost recognized HK and as a result her mind had almost risen up and could have forced Avaryss out of it, it had not happened, but it had been a close thing.

Still…it had worked. Holli's mind was stronger than Avaryss would have suspected, but that was not necessarily a bad thing, she liked having underlings who could think for themselves, she was not above taking informed suggestions when they might lead to victory.

She did not want bootlicks in her service, she wanted soldiers and advisors. Holli might just prove to be both.

Speaking of the changeling, she had found her own fun. It seemed that Sy Dar Bynn had kept a few soldiers of his own in reserve, they responded to the blaster fire, and came charging in. Holli had changed shape again, and met them in a most…interesting way.

The creature that she had taken the shape of was out of Avaryss' own nightmares, a shadow of her past.

The engineer had taken the form of the dirty bedraggled Wookie soldier that had nearly ended Avaryss' life back on Butcher's Clearing. How the engineer knew that form was beyond her, perhaps it was a side effect of the spell, perhaps something of Avaryss' memories had been left behind, an echo of sorts. The changeling had copied the creature's shape to the letter, Avaryss was sure of that, at least, her memory of that day was still fresh in her mind; she could still see the shaggy beast's face, hear his roar in her ears, and the feel of his claws as he had gutted her, gutted her, and left her to die on the floor of the jungle.

The sight made Avaryss shudder, but she did not lose control, in fact, she was slightly amused, now that she thought of it.

Good choice, she thought, let these pub bastards share my dread.

She grinned openly.

Their fear…was just beginning.

Holli had managed to free Quenya and Beric as well. Her brother had scooped up a blaster, while Quenya had managed to retrieve another lightsaber from somewhere, it wasn't her own, obviously, likely the dead Rodian's or the fallen Bith's.

Not that it mattered in the long run, none of it did; the point was that her crew was once again armed.

Now they would finally be able to end this.

Sy Dar Bynn was barking orders at his soldiers, trying to get them to target the auto-guns. It was not an order easily obeyed, not with Quenya and Beric adding to the chaos.

Avaryss left them to deal with the soldiers; she had her own dance partner to play with.

Sy Dar Bynn was getting closer to the exit.

She would be damned if she let him get away!

She leapt over him blocking his path; she dropped into a Soresu guard, her blade over her head, but pointed down at his heart.

"Going somewhere Jedi scum," she purred, "I don't think so."

He glared at her, bringing his own weapon up, dropping into a two handed combat stance.

His eyes narrowed as he noticed her blade. It was not the traditional red of the Sith, but instead a fiery blue.

"That weapon," he said, "I…know it."

"You should," she said holding it up, "It belonged to your master."

She laughed.

"I thought it…appropriate for our little meeting."

He frowned.

"I will never feel my master's blade."

"We will see," she replied, "You have seen how quickly I can turn things around on an enemy."

"So I have. It seems that you're more than you appear, Sith."

"Oh Yes," she laughed, "You will find me full of surprises."

He moved in fast and to the right, she met his attack and parried, she responded quickly, switching to Makashi.

He met her blade with his, its emerald hue weaving back and forth in a most skilled demonstration of Soresu.

So he is not all talk after all, she thought, good.

I want to savor this victory.

I do not wish it to be over too fast.

The Jedi that accompanied Sy Dar Bynn tried to attack her from behind. Avaryss parried his assault, while the master charged in, looking for a quick victory.

Quenya leapt to her aid, her own green blade flashing. She managed to draw the other Jedi's attention, pushing him back with her own assault.

Avaryss was grateful; it freed her up to deal with Jas Dar Bynn's brother.

"We did wish to face each other one on one, did we not?" she taunted.

"Let's try to keep it that way, shall we?"

She and the Jedi continued their lethal dance, all around them the battle continued to rage, soldiers firing at auto-guns, HK sniping from the shadows. Quenya and her Jedi playmate trading blows, neither willing to give an inch, and. Holli roaring and howling as she attacked the soldiers who got too close to her and Beric.

It was at that moment that she felt a sudden shift in the dark side, it felt like falling, like she had just stepped over a cliff.

Avaryss threw herself back, ducking her head, as if she was sliding beneath a low beam. A blue lightsaber passed within inches of her face, its beam so bright it momentarily blinded her.

Xen Loor was back on her feet, her blade spinning wildly; her voice a wail of pure rage and madness.

Avaryss parried one of her strikes, but was pushed back. Sy Dar Bynn tried to aid her, but she wailed and took a swing at him as well.

"YOU LIED TO ME!" she cried, "YOU LIED!"

"I WILL NEVER BE YOUR SLAVE!"

One of the Republic soldiers took a shot at Avaryss only to have her deflect the bolt back, catching the man in the face. He fell without a sound.

Not now, she almost said, I'm trying to watch this.

She watched as Xen Loor attacked her master, all the rage and anger that he had convinced her to bottle up now exploding like a volcano.

It was an impressive sight, but at the same time…limited.

The girl is flailing around; she does not know how to focus her anger, to draw on its power.

Avaryss shook her head.

"Padawan stop!" Sy Dar Bynn shouted, "Regain control of yourself!"

The girl did not listen; she continued to push her master back.

Avaryss shook her head again.

She does not need control.

She NEEDS a teacher.

She needs someone to show her how to channel the dark side of the Force.

Avaryss reached out with the dark side, catching the girl off-guard, she caught her in a crushing Force grip, she could have killed her right then and there; she had had no shields, no control.

Sy Dar Bynn started to move forward, it looked like he was going to take advantage of what Avaryss had done, that he was going to end his student's life.

Avaryss did not give him the chance; she flung the girl back, while at the same time casting a spell, Xen Loor's eyes rolled back in her head, not just from the impact of striking the wall, but from Avaryss' magic.

She slumped to the ground, asleep…for now.

Once again Sy Dar Bynn found himself facing Avaryss; the light of their lightsaber's casting dark shadows on their faces.

Avaryss grinned and raised the blue blade of the late Brandol Venari.

"Now," she purred, "where were we?"

The Jedi did not respond with words, he reached out his hand and drew Xen's lightsaber to him; he caught it in his left hand and ignited the blade. He dropped into a fighting stance she found…unfamiliar.

"Enough of this," The Jedi growled, "No more games."

He spun as he leapt forward the green and blue of his blades became a blur.

Avaryss fell back, but found herself caught off guard by the Jedi's choice of attack, both that and the skill he showed in using it.

She was surprised, to say the least.

She was familiar with the fighting styles of both the single hilt and the double bladed lightsaber. She had drilled to deal with those types of opponents, and had killed wielders of both. Back on Fury 9 she had read about those that chose to fight with two blades, but had never faced anyone who studied the art herself.

Jar Kai it was called, and aggressive yet acrobatic style of combat that could be as both artistic as it was lethal.

A pretty style, Master Adaz had admitted, but exhausting, you would be better to focus on your own style girl. Soresu is a shield, a shield that can even stand up to the pressures of Jar Kai.

Avaryss frowned.

In this moment, Master Adaz's opinion was being tested. It was clear that Sy Dar Bynn was no novice in the art of Jar Kai.

This…would be the ultimate test of her use of the defender's style.

The Jedi's blades were everywhere, her blade spun like a saw blade, blocking his attacks, but every time one blade was parried, another was coming at her face. She was force to give ground. The Jedi Master was both fast and stronger than he let on.

She tried to conserve her energy, keep up the wall of light she had built. She had no idea how long that Sy Dar Bynn could keep up such an onslaught.

If she could outlast him, then this battle would be hers.

There was an explosion off to her left, she risked a quick look over her shoulder, the Republic soldiers had brought up a trooper with a grenade launcher, he fired off two quick shots, and, after two loud booms, some of the fire from outside ceased.

Avaryss cursed under her breath.

The Pub was destroying the auto guns.

He needed to be stopped.

Her moment of distraction nearly cost her life, Sy Dar Bynn moved in again with a new flurry. Her blade only just managed to turn back his attack.

"Quenya," she shouted, "Kill that grenadier!"

She had no chance to see if her disciple obeyed or not, again the Jedi Master pressed the attack, and again she found herself forced back under the onslaught of his spinning blades.

"You are no match for me Sith," Sy Dar Bynn crowed, "NO SITH IS A MATCH FOR ME!"

We will just see about that, Avaryss thought, despite the man's skill, the bounty of the Force was not limited. The arrogant Jedi was expending a lot of energy.

He can't keep this up forever, and as soon as he begins to tire, he is mine.

If Sy Dar Bynn realized that, he certainly did not show it. He continued to press on.

"You will not stop me," he said, "I will bring you're your precious Empire to its knees, and when I do no one will ever doubt me again, no Jedi will ever…EVER question my commitment to the order…never again!"

Even as she continued to be pressed, Avaryss smiled.

What was this now?

"I take it that your fellow Jedi do not share your vision," she said in a dry taunting voice, "Why am I not surprised."

He sneered at her.

"Mock me all you want, Sith, but it will not save you or your foul kind. Once the Sith Empire falls apart, everyone will know who was responsible, who risked so much to see the Republic made safe again. I will carve the name of Sy Dar Bynn into the very stone of history; no one will ever forget the name of Sy Dar Bynn."

"They never understood, have they, Jedi? Your precious order has never grasped your greatness, how far you were willing to go to see them all kept safe?"

The man nodded.

"That was their failing, not mine, NEVER mine."

A growl escaped the back of his throat.

"I should have been named to the council. I was Venari's best student, and yet they chose that shutta, Satele Shan. They denied me what was mine by right. Well they will see, they will all see. I will see your Empire swept away. I shall bring your foul Emperor's head to the floor of the Senate. They will all see then, they will all know their mistake. I will make them see. I will make you ALL see!"

So ambitious, Avaryss thought, it was a shame that he sought to prove his point to the Jedi.

In another world, he could have served the Empire well.

It was at that moment that the momentum of the battle shifted. The Jedi Master sensed it, and spun around quickly.

Quenya's blade came within an eye lash of taking Sy Dar Bynn's head. He must have sensed how close it had been because he ducked underneath Avaryss' attack and struck back hard at the Devish. She had not seen the girl deal with her own opponent, but she must have done so, because now all her attention was now directed at the Jedi Master.

It was not enough.

Sy Dar Bynn drove his green blade up to the hilt into the Devish' gut, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open as the Jedi's weapon found its mark. He gestured and the girl flew back across the room striking a stone pillar so hard that it cracked from the impact.

The girl slid bonelessly to the floor and collapsed at its base.

She did not try to rise again.

The Jedi, so deep within the Force, losing himself in the fading light laughed.

"Death to traitors," he crowed, "Now I will deal with you and…"

Now Avaryss thought.

Now…she realized, now it was time.

She grinned savagely.

She struck back at her enemy…hard.

She sensed the change in the Jedi, even if he did not.

He, like many of his disciples danced too close to the edge, they walked that fine line between the light and the dark. Some might have thought that a strength, but it was not clearly they did not trust entirely in the light. Their pride and arrogance would always pull them towards the dark, and that was a place that Avaryss knew well, it was a place she had walked gladly, and embraced proudly, without fear.

She had taunted the Jedi, played on his arrogance, and now he was on the verge of crossing that line, drawing power from the dark without even really realizing it.

It was just where she needed him to be. Her opponent was playing her game now.

She did not hesitate.

His connection to the light was nearly exhausted, his moves had become less crisp, his speed slowing ever so slightly. He had not yet realized that the darkness could restore him, give him what he needed to finish this fight and kill her.

She did not give him the chance to realize that.

She ducked inside his guard and lashed out. She managed to catch Xen's lightsaber, cutting through the beam emitter. The weapon sparked and went out. Sy Dar Bynn was forced to adjust his attack, abandon use of Jar Kai and shift back into the familiar style of Makashi. She let herself slip deeper into the darkness, drinking deep of his anger and pride. It revitalized her, nourished her, any sense of fatigue she felt faded. She felt hungry and refreshed.

Sy Dar Bynn fell back now, he tried to dip into the light, to restore his strength from it, but that path was almost blocked to him now, his emotions, his secret desires and actions had caused him to stray from that path.

Now it was he that was struggling.

Now it was he that was starting to know fear.

She brought her sword down hard, their blades locked; their faces mere inches from each other.

She grinned.

"Your powers are weak, old man," she taunted, "You are not the Jedi you believe yourself to be."

She giggled.

"You are not your brother that is for sure. Now there is a Jedi that I'm wary of fighting. You are nothing to him, a mere shadow of his greatness, you are…"

SY Dar Bynn roared, he pushed her back, but not as far as he would have normally, the attack had been powered mostly by dark side energy. She drank it up.

He charged at her, howling like a maddened animal.

"MY BROTHER IS NOTHING! NOTHING!" He wailed, "I WAS ALWAYS BETTER! ALWAYS!"

Sy Dar Bynn practically glowed with a crimson aura; the dark side tearing away the last of the Jedi's mask.

"He should never have returned, NEVER! He should have died when we were children. He should have perished when I stopped him from reaching the escape pod. He should have DIED! I have always been better. ME! ME! ME!"

The confession shocked her.

Sy Dar Bynn had betrayed his own brother, his own blood! He had tried to murder him when they were children.

Avaryss was impressed.

She was not sure if she wanted to kill this man or if she should be taking notes.

He was an insidious one this Sy Dar Bynn, but he was also still an enemy of the Empire.

She could not let her feelings get in the way of her duty. Darth Marr and the council had demanded this man's head.

She was going to deliver.

He was no longer trying to shield himself with the light, but not yet ready to give himself over to the darkness. Sy Dar Bynn was vulnerable.

She reached out with the darkness.

She ripped the lightsaber from the old Jedi's hand; before he could call it back she gestured slightly and concentrated.

The bones in his fingers snapped like twigs.

He cried out in agony.

She raised her left hand.

She blasted him down with Force lightning.

Sy Dar Bynn when flying back, he struck the stone floor hard. Dark side energy crackled across his body, Again the Jedi tried to call on the light, tried to shield himself.

He still did not understand.

She blasted him again, and again, and again.

"No," he gasped, "It…it is impossible."

She sneered down at him.

"Old fool," she taunted, "Only now…at the end…do you truly understand."

She put away her lightsaber. She raised her right hand.

Lightning now crackled from both hands. Sy Dar Bynn writhed on the floor, still not understanding what had happened, what had changed.

It was delicious.

He does not deserve the dignity of a quick death at the edge of a lightsaber, the darkness within her whispered. The man is a fool and a hypocrite.

Burn him, the darkness whispered seductively, burn him alive! Savor his end, enjoy it!

Why not, she thought.

Why not?

She blasted him again, and again. His screams were intoxicating, as she watched him writhing on the ground; she felt the growing darkness within her. It did not bring pleasure though, it brought rage, pure white and hot.

This fool thought he was our superior.

Teach him how wrong he was.

Teach him!

She blasted him again, and again.

His screams his whimpers sickened her.

He is unworthy of the Force.

He is unworthy of life!

The Force seemed to draw her mind forward. She was no longer on Nar Shadda, many years had passed. She was an old woman, a very old woman, and ruler of an Empire. The entire galaxy writhed and whimpered beneath her heel.

The young Jedi in black lay at her feet, her Force Lightning crackled around him. He was in agony, crying out to father, crying out for help.

Her rage blazed brightly at his weakness. She…

"KEERA!"

A familiar voice drew her back from the brink, back from the distant future and back to the here and now.

She blinked.

Sy Dar Bynn lay whimpering at her feet, he lay broken…he was broken.

She raised her hands to give him another blast.

"KEERA!"

She hissed and spun around.

"KEERA IS GONE!" she shouted, "I'm AVARYSS! I'm…"

She paused her hands crackling with Force lightning.

Beric jumped back, his eyes wide with fear.

She blinked.

She…she had nearly.

She looked down at her hands.

She had been a breath away from blasting him with lightning, for daring to call her by that fool girl's name.

Yet…seeing his face, the face of a loved one, it stopped her in her tracks.

She took a shuddering breath. Her anger was once again firmly under her control, held in check by her will.

"Brother," she sighed, pushing back the darkness, regaining control of herself.

"What is it Beric?"

She asked.

"We need your help," he said, "The…the battle is over, but…Quenya…she still lives…but…she is hurt bad."

Avaryss shook her head.

"We…we are victorious?" she asked, her mind not fully back in the present.

"We are," he promised her.

She nodded, grimly.

"Our losses?"

"I'm okay. Holli is too. We haven't heard back from HK or Major Forn and his people, but…"

Avaryss glanced over her shoulder; she looked down at Sy Dar Bynn with contempt.

"What about the conspirators?"

"That girl…that Xen…she is still alive."

Avaryss nodded.

"Good," she said, "Very good."

She smiled wickedly.

"Bring this one," she said gesturing to Sy Dar Bynn, "Do not kill him, yet."

Beric blinked, unsure he had heard her right.

"You…want me to bring him…alive?"

She nodded.

"Oh yes, brother," she said in a silky voice, "I will see to Quenya, and then…I shall contact Mister Rink. It is time we were on our way."

Beric leaned down; he pulled out a pair of binders from his belt, securing the broken Jedi's wrists.

"What are you going to do with him?" He asked.

"Patience, Beric," she cackled.

"I have something…special in mind for this one, something…delicious."

She turned without another backward glance.

"Come brother," she said.

"We are celebration bound."