"Jaster don't!" The Jedi yelled over the increasing roar of the volcano far above them, but Mereel sprung, the force landing him right in front of his Master and their blades locking not for the first time in their time together.
"No, Jakome," Mereel spat, "You've stepped on my potential for the last time, and it ends here!" He brought his saber down on his Master's defense, and his inhuman speed and rage-fueled strength made the taller Jedi stagger back for a moment. When he'd regained his footing, he slumped into the open-legged fast style defensive position.
"I am your Master, Jaster, I want to help you." He insisted, stepping back away from the younger Mandalorian's confrontation. Jaster shook his head slowly, his eyes pinned on the Jedi in front of him, and his mind pushing back the mixed feelings of regret he had for his actions. "I feel your struggle, Jaster, but you have to take the first steps! Let go of the feeling of hatred and come back to the academy with me!"
"So you can brainwash me some more, Master?" Mereel seethed, "I don't think so. I was the one who defeated three of the Sith in the courtyards, I was the one who defended those weakling Jedi!" He lunged again, his saber sparking off his Master's in a brilliant flash. Jakome was pinned against the cliff as his student bore down on him, and he began to fight back, reluctantly, searching his apprentice's feelings for some sign of hope. Jaster gave him little time to concentrate; the student's sword-skills had improved impressively since he had last been at odds with Azekel, and the Master knew even his own skills might fall under the Mandalorian's furious new strength. He resolved not to hurt his student unless it was absolutely impossible not to, but the armored youth stabbed quickly at his waist, and Jakome spun away, his blade swinging down just in time to knock the killing blow away before Jaster's red saber again swung in at him, this time from high above. Jakome caught the stroke, and the Master and student stood, blades locked over their heads for some time, each struggling with all their might. Jakome was physically stronger, but the apprentice's new hate-driven power afforded him a threatening opportunity, and he slid his saber down and away suddenly, leaving Jakome open for the briefest of moments. Jaster's blade cut down into his Master's cloak over Azekel's chest, and the Jedi grunted under the force and pain of the blow; he was knocked over backwards, and just rolled out of the way as the Mandalorian's blade stabbed viciously down into the rock where he had fallen. Standing slowly, the student eyed his Master with a sneer as Jakome backed away and took a few breaths to center himself.
With a sudden cry of rage, the Mandalorian again charged his Master, his red blade swinging impossibly fast around and around his wrists as he expertly switched hands in mid swing, providing a deadly shield/attack combination as he closed in on his Master. Jakome took another deep breath as Jaster closed in, focusing his energy on his muscles, the student's charge slowed somewhat as Azekel felt the force flow through his mental and physical being; allowing him superhuman speed and near-psychic reaction time. He stabbed quickly into the nearly infallible attack and just managed to catch Jaster's saber as it swung hard down on him; the Master twisted hard and used the force to push the youth backwards as Jaster stepped off balance to follow him. Surprised, the apprentice was knocked violently backwards towards the solid cliff wall. Unlike during their first fight, however, the apprentice drew on his newly acquired acrobatic lessons and flipped in midair with inhuman ease and precision, his boots hitting the wall instead of the back of his head. He kicked off from the wall with renewed force and hit the ground a few yards in front of his crouching Master, rolling over his shoulder and coming up with on his knees with an upwards swipe meant to disembowel the Jedi, who flipped backwards just in time and got his blade up to lock the student's relentless new charge.
"You're getting tired, Jakome, and I am still full of energy!" Jaster taunted as the two gritted their teeth against the strain. Jaster's momentum wore down on Jakome, whose feet slid ever so slightly over the rough earth. "Who is the Master, now?"
"Jaster, don't make me fight you …" Jakome begged his student; his first apprentice and now possibly his greatest failure. "What about all the progress you've made at the academy?" He reminded the student of his accomplishments in the Jedi arenas and on the force tests he'd mastered. "What about the people who care about you there?"
"What people?" Jaster spat, his blade bearing threateningly down on the tiring Master gradually, "Nobody cares about me there!"
Jakome sensed no obstruction behind him, and dropped suddenly backwards from the blade lock, rolling fast over his back just as his student's blade swooshed hard down into the rock where he had stood only a half a second ago. Leaping up onto a ledge over the arena, Jakome tried to catch his breath as he again entreated his apprentice.
"I care about you, Jaster Mereel." He said, his brow furrowed in frustration; how could the hate be so strong in the youth that he could not sense the obvious? "Master Skywalker cares, Jaster, and Renak Glibbs, they are your allies against the dark side! Use their love and defeat your anger!" Jaster hesitated for only a moment, the feelings of comradeship he'd felt with Glibbs and the pride he'd secretly enjoyed in being considered one of Master Skywalker's best students.
"No!" He fought the feelings, "They don't give a damn about me! Renak didn't even want me in his room!" Jakome's saber hissed off from his perch above the saber-ready apprentice below.
"That's a lie, Jaster; you know Renak cares about you." Jakome spoke calmly now, sensing his apprentice's faint understanding; he decided to go for the coup de grace, "What about Lena Gorakos, Jaster?" He asked quietly, and the stunned silence that followed told him his words had hit home. "Does Lena not care for you, Jaster? What would she say if she saw you now?"
"Lena …?" Jaster asked tentatively, the good feelings that arose from the thought of her winning out temporarily over his anger. "She would …"
"Put your saber down, Jaster, put it away for me, for Master Skywalker, and Renak," Jakome pleaded, his hand reaching out to comfort his struggling student from above. "put it away and we can go back to Lena and the academy where your friends are?" Mereel sobbed aloud and slumped, his saber still held tight in his hands.
"I have no friends there, Jakome …" He said, his voice cracking suddenly and his head slumping as he straightened and let his blade fall. "The students all hate me; I'm an outcast, a failure before I even enlisted …" The red saber hissed off as Jakome landed a few yards in front of his student, who sunk to his knees in the heat and cried openly. Jakome rushed with concern over to his apprentice and grabbed his shaking frame close to his chest, holding the trembling student in the violent atmosphere.
"Jaster, it's okay now, my student …" he comforted the sobbing Mandalorian with a soothing voice, "You've done it, Jaster! You've defeated your dark feelings! How many of those students back there do you think could withstand the trials you've undergone in so short a time?"
"Master …" Mereel choked back more tears unsuccessfully.
"Don't cry, Jaster, you've won the personal battle with the dark side, and you know now that you have friends and people who care about you to help you defeat it again!" Jakome's heart swelled with pride for his student, and relief flooded his body as the feelings of love and emotion overpowered his apprentice's anger. "with such strength and perseverance, you shall learn to overcome your feelings of hate without thinking; soon, my apprentice, you will be a great Jedi with such strength!"
"Jakome?" Jaster whispered, his tears drying and the moisture caking on his face in the oven-like heat.
"Yes?"
"I want to go back to the academy, Master." He said, then his voice found strength, "I want to be a Jedi Knight, and then I will find my brother again, and save him …"
"Your brother?" Jakome was confused as the pair stood again, and he braced his injured student at arms length. "You mean the other Mandalorian you sensed here?"
"No, Master Jakome, not just another Mandalorian," Jaster told him with a heavy tone, "He is my brother; I remember his presence from a time almost before memory …"