Chapter Six.
Joza walked slowly down the hallway of the building. She knew were she was going. She knew what was going to happen. She knew that only one room would be open. That would be the room at the very end of the hallway...the largest room...the room filled with anger. The room with the floor covered in blood and Sith symbols.
The ceiling was cathedral like and the room itself poorly lit. Yet Joza could see everything, make out every little detail on the circle of pillars. She walked until she was standing in the center of the room. She waited and knew that she wasn't waiting long.
"Finally. We met again,sister."
Joza turned and looked at the speaker. Netoa was the spitting image of Joza. Save for the black clothes and angery red scars on her right cheek. The brillant crimson red lightsaber in her hand was also a big difference.
"Do you like this room, Joza? It's where the Lords of the Sith come and review apprentices training."
Joza followed Netoa's eyes to a spot on the floor.
"Those that are found un-satisfactory are immediatlely dealt with."
Joza remained silent.
"Tomorrow it it my turn to go before them. And when I do, I will prove my prowess as a Sith. I will either have my twin sister by my side, bowing her knee to the masters or her head on a silver platter to lay at their feet."
Joza ignited her saber and took up a defensive position.
"Why Netoa? Why? You could have been an apprentice with me. We could have trained together. Become Jedi Knights together."
Netoa gave a cold laugh.
"You know as well as I do. The Jedi were afraid of us Joza. They still are. Twins who were Jedi. How powerfull would they be? To powerful. Only now, I am powerful. So powerful that I could take on and kill every member of the Council. Every last lying stupid one of them. They think that they have their emtions under control. They won't when I arrive. They'll be so afraid that they'll faint away dead."
Joza gave Netoa a hard look. Netoa glared menacingly back.
"You know better than that, Netoa."
"Do I?"
Netoa's red saber flashed and Joza blocked, her saber pointed downwards...she would've been cut in half. Netoa broke the deadlock and aimed for Joza's head. Joza backflipped away.
"I sense the anger inside of you, Joza. You know as well as I do which one of us will win. The only way that you stand a chance of winning is by giving into your anger," Netoa taunted her sister.
Joza gritted her teeth. They knew each others weakness and strengths, even though it had been over a decade since they had last seen each other.
Joza shoved Netoa into a pillar with the Force.
"Joza, stop fighting your destiny. You belong with me."
Joza charged her sister, if only to get Netoa to shut up. Joza aimed high, then low, then high again. Netoa blocked as if Joza was throwing ants at her. Netoa spun, swinging her saber at Joza's left side. As Joza brought her saber down to block, she side kicked Netoa.
Netoa screamed in pain and rage as bones crunched. She fell backwards and crawled a little ways away. Joza stood with her lightsaber in one hand and watched her sister on the ground.
"It's not too late, Netoa."
"You're right. You can still join me."
"NO! To return to the Jedi. We can fight side-by-side."
Joza felt like crying. She wouldn't though. She couldn't. She had to concentrate on this.
Netoa shook her head.
"I am a Sith. And I can see now that you are a Jedi," Netoa spat the word as if it were posion.
She stood up slowly and winced as bones protested.
"Joza. You aren't my sister anymore. You are dead."
Joza heard a ripping sound above her. She looked up and saw a large hideous looking chandler begin fallin. Netoa began to laugh cruelly as the sound of breaking glass filled the room.
Joza crouched and waited until the last second. She lept up into the air, her lightsaber spinning around and around, cutting a hole for her in the chandler. It wasn't big enough though. She screamed as she felt her back torn into by a piece of the glass.
Joza turned herself enough to where she could land safely by the broken ceiling fixture. She collapsed as she did. She could sense her sister coming up behind her with that blood red saber...about to be made even redder with Joza's blood.
Netoa sneered down at her sister.
"You always were the weaker one."
Joza finally got up onto one knee.
"Oh yeah..."
Lightening sprang from her fingers and threw Netoa across the room. Joza focused all of her anger into her hands. She cried out as more glass suddenly cut into her back and fell back onto her stomach, writhing in agony. Netoa wasted no time in getting up and charging her fallen sibling.
Joza's mind flashed back to when they were younger and at the Jedi temple. The times when they would race from one training room to the next, Netoa losing guessing games and puzzles to Joza, and Joza losing to Netoa with the practice sabers. All of this in four or five seconds flashed through Joza's mind. The last memory seemed to glue itself into her mental eye.
Suddenly, Joza saw the one time when she had won. They had ended up in this kind of a situation. Netoa had assumed that Joza had lost her saber. Joza had actually turned it off and had hidden it underneath of herself. Joza, in her memory, shoved her saber hilt backwards igniting as she did.
A cough brought her back to the real world. Joza turned and found her silver saber through Netoa's stomach. She turned it off as quickly as she could and struggled to stand up as Netoa fell backwards. Joza rushed forward to catch her and suddenly she wasn't there anymore.
Joza looked into the stream that suddenly appeared out of nowhere as the building around her faded into a beautiful meadow. She stared at her reflection. It was her when she was younger...about nine. The time when...Joza suddenly knew where she was at.
Joza looked back into the stream and found herself looking at the self she was now.
"Huh?"
Netoa smiled at Joza.
"Is it that hard to understand?"
Joza spun. She blinked hard. Yes, it was Netoa. She was whole...no scars, no marks of the Sith.
"Neota you're okay."
"I'm dead."
Joza blinked. Netoa...wait...as Joza looked she realized that she could see through her.
"I don't understand. You're dead...but...?"
Neota placed a hand on Joza's shoulder.
"It's simple. You made an honest mistake, I paid the price for my choice, and you need to move on."
Joza screamed at Netoa.
"BUT I USED THE DARK SIDE ON YOU!! I KILLED MY OWN SISTER!!"
Netoa wiped a tear from her eye.
"Joza...let it go. Forgive yourself. I have."
"But..."
"Joza, it's time to wake up."
Joza sat up hard, hitting her head on the bunk above her as the alarm on her clock went off.
Joza walked slowly down the hallway of the building. She knew were she was going. She knew what was going to happen. She knew that only one room would be open. That would be the room at the very end of the hallway...the largest room...the room filled with anger. The room with the floor covered in blood and Sith symbols.
The ceiling was cathedral like and the room itself poorly lit. Yet Joza could see everything, make out every little detail on the circle of pillars. She walked until she was standing in the center of the room. She waited and knew that she wasn't waiting long.
"Finally. We met again,sister."
Joza turned and looked at the speaker. Netoa was the spitting image of Joza. Save for the black clothes and angery red scars on her right cheek. The brillant crimson red lightsaber in her hand was also a big difference.
"Do you like this room, Joza? It's where the Lords of the Sith come and review apprentices training."
Joza followed Netoa's eyes to a spot on the floor.
"Those that are found un-satisfactory are immediatlely dealt with."
Joza remained silent.
"Tomorrow it it my turn to go before them. And when I do, I will prove my prowess as a Sith. I will either have my twin sister by my side, bowing her knee to the masters or her head on a silver platter to lay at their feet."
Joza ignited her saber and took up a defensive position.
"Why Netoa? Why? You could have been an apprentice with me. We could have trained together. Become Jedi Knights together."
Netoa gave a cold laugh.
"You know as well as I do. The Jedi were afraid of us Joza. They still are. Twins who were Jedi. How powerfull would they be? To powerful. Only now, I am powerful. So powerful that I could take on and kill every member of the Council. Every last lying stupid one of them. They think that they have their emtions under control. They won't when I arrive. They'll be so afraid that they'll faint away dead."
Joza gave Netoa a hard look. Netoa glared menacingly back.
"You know better than that, Netoa."
"Do I?"
Netoa's red saber flashed and Joza blocked, her saber pointed downwards...she would've been cut in half. Netoa broke the deadlock and aimed for Joza's head. Joza backflipped away.
"I sense the anger inside of you, Joza. You know as well as I do which one of us will win. The only way that you stand a chance of winning is by giving into your anger," Netoa taunted her sister.
Joza gritted her teeth. They knew each others weakness and strengths, even though it had been over a decade since they had last seen each other.
Joza shoved Netoa into a pillar with the Force.
"Joza, stop fighting your destiny. You belong with me."
Joza charged her sister, if only to get Netoa to shut up. Joza aimed high, then low, then high again. Netoa blocked as if Joza was throwing ants at her. Netoa spun, swinging her saber at Joza's left side. As Joza brought her saber down to block, she side kicked Netoa.
Netoa screamed in pain and rage as bones crunched. She fell backwards and crawled a little ways away. Joza stood with her lightsaber in one hand and watched her sister on the ground.
"It's not too late, Netoa."
"You're right. You can still join me."
"NO! To return to the Jedi. We can fight side-by-side."
Joza felt like crying. She wouldn't though. She couldn't. She had to concentrate on this.
Netoa shook her head.
"I am a Sith. And I can see now that you are a Jedi," Netoa spat the word as if it were posion.
She stood up slowly and winced as bones protested.
"Joza. You aren't my sister anymore. You are dead."
Joza heard a ripping sound above her. She looked up and saw a large hideous looking chandler begin fallin. Netoa began to laugh cruelly as the sound of breaking glass filled the room.
Joza crouched and waited until the last second. She lept up into the air, her lightsaber spinning around and around, cutting a hole for her in the chandler. It wasn't big enough though. She screamed as she felt her back torn into by a piece of the glass.
Joza turned herself enough to where she could land safely by the broken ceiling fixture. She collapsed as she did. She could sense her sister coming up behind her with that blood red saber...about to be made even redder with Joza's blood.
Netoa sneered down at her sister.
"You always were the weaker one."
Joza finally got up onto one knee.
"Oh yeah..."
Lightening sprang from her fingers and threw Netoa across the room. Joza focused all of her anger into her hands. She cried out as more glass suddenly cut into her back and fell back onto her stomach, writhing in agony. Netoa wasted no time in getting up and charging her fallen sibling.
Joza's mind flashed back to when they were younger and at the Jedi temple. The times when they would race from one training room to the next, Netoa losing guessing games and puzzles to Joza, and Joza losing to Netoa with the practice sabers. All of this in four or five seconds flashed through Joza's mind. The last memory seemed to glue itself into her mental eye.
Suddenly, Joza saw the one time when she had won. They had ended up in this kind of a situation. Netoa had assumed that Joza had lost her saber. Joza had actually turned it off and had hidden it underneath of herself. Joza, in her memory, shoved her saber hilt backwards igniting as she did.
A cough brought her back to the real world. Joza turned and found her silver saber through Netoa's stomach. She turned it off as quickly as she could and struggled to stand up as Netoa fell backwards. Joza rushed forward to catch her and suddenly she wasn't there anymore.
Joza looked into the stream that suddenly appeared out of nowhere as the building around her faded into a beautiful meadow. She stared at her reflection. It was her when she was younger...about nine. The time when...Joza suddenly knew where she was at.
Joza looked back into the stream and found herself looking at the self she was now.
"Huh?"
Netoa smiled at Joza.
"Is it that hard to understand?"
Joza spun. She blinked hard. Yes, it was Netoa. She was whole...no scars, no marks of the Sith.
"Neota you're okay."
"I'm dead."
Joza blinked. Netoa...wait...as Joza looked she realized that she could see through her.
"I don't understand. You're dead...but...?"
Neota placed a hand on Joza's shoulder.
"It's simple. You made an honest mistake, I paid the price for my choice, and you need to move on."
Joza screamed at Netoa.
"BUT I USED THE DARK SIDE ON YOU!! I KILLED MY OWN SISTER!!"
Netoa wiped a tear from her eye.
"Joza...let it go. Forgive yourself. I have."
"But..."
"Joza, it's time to wake up."
Joza sat up hard, hitting her head on the bunk above her as the alarm on her clock went off.