Alice the Raven: Thanks. Ergot will always be a real SOB, because you remember how he betrayed the crew on your original fanfic, right? Well, he is going to get what's coming to him.
Trillian4210: Thanks for the review. Probably you can be my beta-tester in future fanfics?
Dante-Raven: Thanks for the review. Yes, Seja is a tragic hero, in a sense, but he isn't going to die.
RJ Striker JK5: Thanks for the review. Even though I spoiled who the traitor was, it still surprised you I guess, eh? Shawnou is going to prove to be really creepy and a major bastard when he is an adult.
Chapter 6: Farewell my Beloved part I
Bruloune Mountains, Barrier Forest, Katarr
Callista walked threw the forest, and she wasn't bothered by the cold. She had to tell them basic facts that everyone would know, and then hope to convince them to leave. Her legs shuffled threw the deep snowfall, and since it was a light snow she didn't have to make long steps. Pushing her way threw the branches; she was coming up on the site where Ergot met with the Mandalorian assassins. She had been hiking to this place ever since the she had woken up, so she had made quite a bit of headway.
In the trees, the Transdosian Alakaaka climbed around during surveillance. His black mask, long clothing, and longer than normal arm made him a stealthy predator. He sat back on a branch, taking a little rest. He then heard a rustling coming from the forest floor. He jumped down to attack, but he recognized it was Callista, and went to inform the others.
At the Mandalorian Camp, the Mandalorian was practicing with his pin launcher high in the trees, while the Gammorean swung his axe, preparing for the coming battle. He rested his axe on his shoulder, and he heard Alakaaka coming.
": What is it:"
"/Somebody, a girl. It's her/" Alakaaka informed him.
The Mandalorian swordsman leapt down from the trees as she approached. He tapped his feet as she came into hearing distance.
"You're half a day late…any later, I'd have killed you," the Mandalorian swordsman threatened, and then he looked around, "…and I…hey, where is the kid?"
"Shawnou is on guard duty at the Slayer's place," the elder Mandalorian told his subordinate with a smirk, "In any case…all is going to my plan…"
Callista approached, her emotionless façade was returned to her face. She would not let them get the information they wanted.
"Well then, I wonder what information that this girl is going to give us…?" he asked, sitting on a stump near the shed, "Well, let's hear it."
"Answer me one thing first…" Callista started, her arms folded, "Why…why did you involve Shawnou in this?"
"That wasn't our doing. He kept asking about you in Iziz, and they got sick of him, so they sent him over here to us," the elder Mandalorian replied, crossing his arms and looking at the ground, "So we told him of your whereabouts and how your fiancée was dead. Now, tell us what you know."
Callista paused for a second, trying to get her story right. The Mandalorian Mercenaries waited, and the Gammorean got impatient.
": Come on…what is it:" the Gammorean squealed.
"And don't say you don't know either. You lived with him for what, a year now?" the Mandalorian swordsman badgered.
"Well…?" the elder Mandalorian asked, getting impatient by Callista's stalling.
Callista stood there silent a little longer, and she began to speak, "The Mandalorian…Slayer's weak point is…" and then she closed her eyes, 'His kindness isn't suited to being a killer…'
"Continue…" the elder Mandalorian urged, his patience wearing thin.
"'When he is sleeping,'" Callista finished, telling the Mandalorian elder a bald face lie, "Regardless, all swordsmen, even Jedi, are caught by surprise when they are asleep, and he is no exception."
The elder Mandalorian smirked, "Okay, I'll ask you now…is he in love with you?"
Callista's eyes widened in surprise, she hadn't anticipated this.
"W-Why do you ask that? It has nothing to do with…" Callista stammered for a second, taking a step backward.
"Actually, I think you'll find that it has a great deal to do with it," the elder Mandalorian told her with a glare, and he watched her pupils shrink as she covered her mouth, "If the Slayer really does love you, he'll most likely come here to get you back. Also, this forest is our advantage, it cuts off his connection to the Force and it jumps our chances of winning up a great deal."
The elder Mandalorian then stood up, and cracked his muscular neck, "We've also sent him a letter. He's no doubt red with fury this very moment, and he may fall to the Dark Side…which would even better for our greater master…"
"It can't be…then from the very beginning…" Callista gasped with her hand over her mouth, '…wanted to use me as Seja's weak point!'
"That wasn't the original plan, however," the elder Mandalorian told her, walking past her and looked out at the forest, "…but it assured me the method of getting him…and you know what? We aren't as nice as you think."
'Oh…god…' Callista thought, looking down at the snow covered ground, her eyes, 'I was a fool, and led him into a deadly trap…!'
Callista's hand reached to her back, and she began to pull a concealed vibrodagger from a hidden sheathe hidden in her dress. She turned around with the dagger fully drawn, prepared to stop these men.
'But before then…' she thought as she turned around, 'I might as well take one of them with me!'
Her eyes widened as a large fist came crashing into her face. The elder Mandalorian hit her hard, making her crash onto the ground like a child's toy.
"I, Katahara, saw this coming easily!" the elder Mandalorian fighter, Katahara announced, clutching his fist proudly and looking down at the now unconscious Callista, "And that weakness she mentioned is most likely a lie…her feelings must have gone too deep for the Slayer!" he then threw out his hand and his men looked over to him, "We'll deal with her later! But now, we must deal with the Slayer! Tarakoto, Larku'alta, Alakaaka, let's show him what Mandalorian assassins are made of! Come Slayer! To the Barrier Forest!"
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Kimura household
Seja looked angrily out into the forest to the west of his house. He had armed himself with his blue lightsaber, and a vibrodagger. Wearing his heavy Jedi Robes, he was dressed for battle. He looked down at the ground, his eyes tinted with the golden killing color, and a shadow descended over his eyes, and he looked over at the note.
We have your woman, Kimura the Slayer. Come to the Forest of Barriers if you want to get her back! She will die if you don't come! Ha!
Angrily, Seja crushed the note while forming a tight fist. The woman he loved had been taken hostage, by her own people. Adjusting his robes, he began to walk down the driveway, and turned to the right to walk towards the Barrier Forest, the same forest that Visas had warned him about. From behind a couple of trees near Seja's house, Shawnou watched him.
'Okay…he's moving…' Shawnou thought with a sinister smirk on his face, and he remembered what Katahara told him, 'Remember, Shawnou. Take this letter to the Slayer's home, and do not read it. It is for Slayer's eyes only. If you succeed, you and your sister are free…'
He thought of what he would do when the Slayer was dead, 'Come on sis, and let's go home. Let's go home to Ordo together!"
After a few minutes, Seja had reached the outside of the strange Barrier Forest. To the normal eye, it looked ordinary, but to anyone who was Force Sensitive, their connection to the Force would be temporarily cut off, and they would be unable to call upon the Force to attack. Strange creatures walked among the branches, and when a Force Sensitive got near them, their connection to the Force was even more cut off than it was in the Forest normally.
"Where is this place?" Seja asked, looking for the Mandalorian base that resided in the forest.
He tried to reach out with the Force to try to get a pin-point location, but due to the Forest properties, he couldn't find anything. He walked forward, after throwing the crushed note onto the ground. Pulling himself threw some trees, he trudged threw the Forest, and he began to feel weird.
As he kept walking, he looked around as his connection to the Force became weaker and weaker. Snow began falling again as he kept looking around at the tall trees with strange animals climbing on them.
'I know Visas warned me about this forest, but what is causing the Force not to exist here?' Seja thought as he walked further, 'This is unlike any forest I've ever been too, not even the one on Dantooine was this intense…it is almost as if this Forest is…completely separated from the Force…'
As he walked further, he didn't realize he was being watched and stalked by the Mandalorian swordsman, Tarakoto prepared to attack. Unsheathing his vibrosword silently, he leapt to another branch just as Seja stopped walking. His overconfidence got the better of him, and he leapt down from the branch. Bringing his blade down in a vertical position, he yelled, giving his position away.
Seja heard the yell in time to not get cut in half by Tarakoto's blade, yet he was slashed on his back. He looked back, showing the anger in his eyes, and stepped to face his attacker.
"Welcome to the Forest of Barriers, Slayer!" Tarakoto yelled his blade in hand, and Seja looked at him angrily, "What do you think? Are you surprised? This isn't your typical forest after all! For some reason, there is a bubble that cuts people off from the Force here! Nothing but those lizard-like mammals you saw in the trees thrives here, and for a Jedi, your precognition won't function! Only we Mandalorians who have trained here can fight effectively! And that means, you cannot fight at your full strength!"
Tarakoto smirked in a creepy toothy grin, his teeth looked like they were filed, and with his mask, and that gave him an even more menacing appearance. Seja continued to look down for a few seconds, and then he glared at Tarakoto with his killing eyes, and he snarled.
"But…" Seja snarled, looking at his Mandalorian opponent, "do you think I care?"
Tarakoto's eye twitched, confused at Seja's statement. With lightning fast reflexes, Seja grabbed his lightsaber. With a snap-hiss, he spun around slashed the Mandalorian across the chest before he could even react. From the force of the slash, Tarakoto was thrown back a few meters. Blood then shot out of the wound on his chest, and he looked down surprised by it.
Seja then took a few steps forward, and kicked Tarakoto in the wound. The Mandalorian howled in pain as the Slayer's foot pushed him down.
"I will protect Callista…I promised her that last night," Seja growled down at the Mandalorian, "Where this is or who you are makes no damn difference to me," he then bore his teeth angrily at Tarakoto, his golden killer eyes flashing, "Anyone who stands in my way, I will kill!"
Seja then pointed the tip of his lightsaber at Tarakoto's face, the hot blade made the Mandalorian sweat.
"Take me to Callista…or I will kill you right now," Seja ordered him, not taking his eyes off the Mandalorian swordsman, "Choose quickly."
'I thought he would try to kill me…' Tarakoto thought, staring at the burning blade in front of him, and then it dawned on him, 'If he'd been one step closer…could it be…?'
Tarakoto smirked maliciously, and threw up his arm which had the 'pin launcher' strapped onto it. Making a fist, he let the first pin fly.
"TAKE THIS!" Tarakoto roared as the pin flew out of the launcher.
The pin slammed into Seja's right shoulder, making blood squirt out. The Jedi was surprised at such an attack, and he looked down at the Mandalorian.
"Just like I thought, you don't know how to move properly!" Tarakoto cheered in triumph, looking up at his opponent, "Your ability has decreased with your Force awareness! You have no chance of…"
Ignoring the Mandalorian's boast, Seja grabbed the pin that was stuck in his shoulder. Tarakoto was confused at such a display, and the Jedi began to pull it out. Tarakoto's smirk was turned to fear as Seja pulled the pin out. With one final tug, the Jedi had torn out the pin, and sent it flying into the air.
"No way…" Tarakoto gasped, as he watched the bloody three inch pin go flying into the air.
"Like I said before, I don't care!" Seja roared, and while Tarakoto was distracted, he turned his lightsaber to a horizontal position, and lifted it up at an amazing speed, severing both of the Mandalorian swordsman's arms below the elbow.
Tarakoto was thrown back by the attack, and he slid on the frosted ground up to a tree. He looked down in horror at his severed arms, which were now spraying blood from the wounds. Seja slowly brought down his lightsaber, and watched as his disabled Mandalorian opponent scrambled to his feet, and began running in the way of a cave. The Jedi grabbed Tarakoto's severed arms with one hand, and began following his opponent slowly.
After a few minutes of running at full speed, Tarakoto reached the special cave. He remembered what his leader, Katahara told him:
"We have planted procolerite detonators in this forest. If one of you is near defeat, you are charged with blinding him further," Katahara told his men, who nodded, "We must defeat the Slayer, and even if you are defeated, your sacrifice will allow us victory over the Slayer."
He walked into the cave slowly, breathing hard. The loss of blood was starting to take its toll on his body. Looking down at his stubs, he watched the blood drip out of them. A few meters into the cave, he slumped against the wall. He then heard footsteps behind him, and his fear struck his soul. Slowly, his head turned around, and he heard something fall onto the rocky ground; they were his arms.
"You forgot these…" Seja quipped, walking into the cave with his lightsaber fully drawn and lit, "If you won't take me to Callista, tell me where she is. If you do that, you'll die painlessly."
Sweat formed on Tarakoto's face, and he breathed hard. He bore his teeth in pure anger and hate at the Jedi who so effortlessly defeated him, on his turf, fighting on his terms, he still lost. Seja waited for his answer, with a look of indifference on his face. Slowly, the Mandalorian swordsman began to step back, to where the button to the procolerite detonator was.
"Go outside and to your right…" Tarakoto started, biting his cheek making more blood squirt out, "But don't you think you've won! There are still three more…" he then looked to where the detonator was, "Even if only one of us can defeat you, we still win."
He took one step backward again, his heel over the detonator button, "We are the elite Mandalorian Assassins of the Western Mandalorian Empire, like the Mandalore's Personal Assassins of the East! We never fail in our goals!"
He lifted up his foot, and slammed it onto the detonator, "Even in death, I'll hinder you!"
The hidden explosives started glowing, and erupted in a massive explosion. Seja's pupils widened once he realized what happened and watched Tarakoto be engulfed by the explosion. The sound of the explosion rocked the area, making snow fall off the trees. A few miles away, Alakaaka and Larku'alta looked up into the air as the sound of the explosion travel to their location.
": That noise…Tarakoto has become one with the Forest…:" Larku'alta grunted, setting the shaft of his vibroaxe behind his neck, looking at the explosion's location.
From a tree, Alakaaka crawled lower, "/The Slayer must still be alive…/"
The Transdosan with the unusually long left arm leapt off the tree, and looked at his Gammorean comrade. Both nodded and started running.
"/Let's hurry…/"
Back at the cave, Seja had turned and ran from the explosion. He was moving at full speed, and even though the Force wasn't enhancing his speed, he was able to run faster than a normal human. He watched as a plume of flame gained on him, and he tried to pick up the pace. When he reached the entrance to the cave, he leapt up and rolled in the snow. His feet skidded across the ground, and he put his left arm down to stabilize himself. He looked up, and sighed.
"Your death…such a waste…" Seja muttered, as he rose to his feet, 'In the next world, find peace…even though you took Callista from me, there is no ill will…'
Then he felt something else was wrong. He picked up his lightsaber, and he heard his ears ringing loudly. Putting his hand on his head, he stumbled forward, trying to shake the ringing out of his ears. He then looked to see some clumps of snow fall from a tree branch, and he couldn't hear them at all.
"So this was his plan…" Seja thought, putting his right hand up to his ear, 'The explosion messed with my hearing…' and he sighed, "He has really become a hindrance," he walked forward, 'I haven't gone deaf, but I can't trust my ears. I'll have to move forward carefully.'
He looked at the smoldering cave, and although his hearing wasn't so good, he heard a reptilian like voice pierce threw the ringing.
"/ So far you've lost two senses…/" the voice, which Seja recognized as Transdosan mocked, "/ Your Force Precognition and your hearing…/"
Seja then looked back to see a Gammorean with black clothes, a black veil covering his mouth, and he wielded a mighty vibroaxe, which he held with both hands. He was surrounded by large, three to five foot wide trees. Seja raised his lightsaber and looked over at his new enemy.
"You people keep saying that, but…" Seja started, preparing to attack, "I don't really care."
": Here I come:" the Gammorean retorted, and he rose his vibroaxe.
Seja steadied himself, not expecting what will happen. With a few mighty swings of his axe, the Gammorean slams his axe into the nearby trees, shattering their trunks with ease with his gargantuan strength. The force of the Gammorean's blows sent the chopped tree trunks flying at the Jedi.
As the tree trunks neared him, time seemed to slow down for the Jedi. He closed his eyes, and his pupils changed to their golden killing tint. As the first trunk neared him, he leapt out of the way, pointing his lightsaber vertical to the ground as the trunks crashed where he was standing.
"I may have lost my ability to use the Force and my hearing, but my sight is all I need!" Seja roared, dodging the splinters from the tree.
"/ Oh really/" the Transdosan voice from before taunted, appearing on one of the trunks, and he lifted his vibroclaws that were attached onto his hands, "/ What happens if I attack you in midair/"
Seja realized the trap he was in, and the Transdosan lifted his clawed gauntlet up to attack. The Jedi then threw out his left arm in a thrust with his lightsaber, making the Transdosan jump. Grasping the pommel of his lightsaber with his right hand, he brought down his blade in a vertical slash, cutting the trunk in half. He landed on his feet hard, and looked up at the Transdosan. With a look of indifference, he watched as the cloaked Transdosan opened his mouth, revealing hundreds of finely sharpened teeth, which with black mask, made him absolutely intimidating to a common man.
The Jedi raised his lightsaber over his shoulder and looked at his opponents, "So it's two on one…"
With a few more shattering chops, the Gammorean sent more of the large timbers flying at Seja.
"Thanks for saving me the trouble of hunting you both down," Seja told them with utter confidence in himself.
Back at the Kimura household, Shawnou had broken in, looking for his holder sister. She was no where to be found. He looked around, wanting to find her and get her out of this place, away from him, even if he died or not.
"What?" the boy asked himself, walking around, "Sister? Sister, where could she have gone?" and then it dawned on him like a ton of duracrete, 'She…she couldn't have gone to the forest already?'
In the forest, Seja had begun his charge toward the Gammorean, who did the same. Dodging past the splinters and wood chips that the fallen trees picked up, he was quickly closing the gap. Then, he noticed a trunk heading straight for him, and he raised his lightsaber.
"HA!" he roared, chopping the large piece of wood in two.
": He's chosen a target. Now he'll try to finish us off one at a time:" the Gammorean grunted, a smirk forming on his pig-like face.
"/ He's playing right into my hands/" the Transdosan yelled with glee, leaping from tree to tree at surprising speed, and he brought his clawed gauntlets up, making the blades form into a knife hand attack, "/The space above him is wide open/"
Before Seja could react, the three inch vibroclaws pierced his right shoulder, and they flew out at startling speeds. Blood gushed out from the close proximity wound, and the Jedi stumbled as he put down his guard. He yelled in pain, closing his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, he saw a five foot trunk flying right at him. It slammed into his upper-body and face, it was like a speeder rammed into him at full speed. The trunk flipped up and Seja's face flew up from the force of the blow, blood spraying out of his nose and mouth.
His two opponents laughed in triumph, and he stepped forward, bringing his injured face down to bear on them. Blood was streaming down his forehead and lips, and he looked angrily at the Gammorean. The Gammorean, Larku'alta realized what was going to happen, yet he was frozen from the Jedi's piercing glare. Before the Gammorean could even react, Seja sunk to the ground, and slashed at the pig's legs with his lightsaber, severing them from the pig's body.
": AH:" Larku'alta squealed in pain, as his legs flew away from his form, and due to his own weight, he collapsed, green blood spewing out of his severed limbs.
Seja dropped his lightsaber, and fell back to a nearby tree. The pain from his back wounds shot instantly threw his system, and he grunted in pain. He leaned back, and put his left hand over his shoulder wound, since blood was still trickling out of it. Without warning, his Transdosan opponent attacked his left shoulder, leaving his extra long limb open for all to see. He didn't remove his claws; he just stuck on the tree trunk in triumph.
"/You're impressive, Slayer. But now you're easy pickings…/" the Transdosan chuckled, sinking his claws further into Seja's left shoulder, "/You shouldn't have dropped your lightsaber/"
"You're getting to be really annoying…" Seja growled, grabbing the hilt of his vibrodagger with his right hand.
With lightning fast reflexes, he drew the blade, and slammed it threw the Transdosan's clawed gauntlet. The reptilian humanoid let out a blood curdling cry of pain, his teeth and long tongue stuck out. Seja then eased himself out of the Transdosan's claws, and he put his right hand over the deep wound.
"Wait there a minute," Seja told the Transdosan, walking forward, "I'll be right back to kill you. You will have peace in the Force; that I can assure you…"
"/Shit/" the Transdosan cursed, trying to pull the vibrodagger out of his gauntlet and from the tree trunk, "/I can't get it out/"
The Transdosan then looked up at Seja, who was panting with a confident smirk on his face. Even though he had sustained all those wounds, which would have killed a normal human or Jedi, he was still standing, mocking the elite Mandalorian Assassins.
"You're excellent at sneaking around to attack," Seja commented, his eyes shifted back to their normal blue hue, "But I see you now for what you really are…"
"/You saw me/" the Transdosan roared in anger.
The Transdosan used his right hand to brace his left arm. He began pulling with all his might, and the sound of shattering metal was heard. With one final tug, he ripped his hand out of its trapped position on the trunk, nearly ripping it in two.
"/This body is a secret handed down by my clan for generations/" the Transdosan yelled angrily, "/It's the law of our clan to kill anybody who sees it/" the Transdosan leapt into the air, his wounded hand weighing him down, "/I may be retreating for now…but I will kill you! I don't care how many years it takes, I will kill you! Remember by name Slayer, it'll be your doom, Alakaaka/"
Larku'alta tried to get up on his stumps, and he thought, 'He's strong, he's too strong, even without his Force powers or hearing!' he bore his teeth and tusks nervously as sweat formed on his face, 'He's fighting so recklessly! This couldn't be the fighting style that assassinated over one hundred fifty Mandalorian warriors!' Seja then shot him a glare, 'This is not the Mandalorian Slayer we so carefully investigated! Who is this man?'
"The first guy said there were three more," Seja started, looking over at the Gammorean, "Where is the last one?"
":There's a cabin up ahead:" Larku'alta replied, ":The girl is there too.:"
Seja nodded, and began to walk away. He walked right by the second bunch of explosives, and Larku'alta realized what he was doing.
":WAIT:" the pig squealed, ":You're forgetting something, the third barrier:" the Gammorean slammed his hand onto a nearby detonator, ":I've served my purpose, take this:"
Seja's eyes widened, realizing he walked into another trap. The explosives detonated right next to him, and another thunderous explosion rocked the forest. Miles away, it was heard.
"That light!" Shawnou gasped, seeing the blast from his location, "They must be fighting there!" he then began to run frantically, "Sister!"
Seja was slumped against a tree, still alive. He managed to avoid most of the blast with a timely jump, but the light, the light was so bright. He had slammed against a tree from the force of the blast, and he wiped his eyes, which were now bleeding. His vision was blurry, he couldn't focus. It was another temporary barrier, and he had stupidly walked right into it.
'The Force, hearing, and now vision…' he thought as he picked himself up, rubbing his eyes, 'My senses will come back in time…' he then grasped his lightsaber firmly as he looked down at the ground, 'But…but!'
At the Mandalorian hideout, Katahara folded his hands as he watched the smoke rise near his location.
"Larku'alta has become a barrier," he lamented, looking down at the snow, "Alakaaka must have been hurt as well. I am amazed he was able to defeat both of them. I guess it is my turn…"
He then began to back to the shed that was serving as their hideout. He had thrown the unconscious Callista in there, and he decided it was time.
"With his bad eyesight, it'll take him awhile to get here…" he murmured to himself as he walked toward his shake, "I'll kill the girl now…"
He then heard footsteps behind him, and he was shocked. He looked back to see Seja there, panting hard.
"What?" Katahara gasped, seeing his opponent, standing before him, panting hard, obviously exhausted.
"I am taking Callista back!" Seja announced, as snow began to fall again.
The two men glared at each other, and then the old, Mandalorian fighter chuckled.
"Well now, I'm sure you've beaten the rest, come to think of it…" Katahara started, looking at the smoke rising from the forest, "The Slayer, like all Jedi, was a man who always fought wisely. You're not him, you're far too emotional…" he put his left hand over his beard and chuckled, "If I fought the real Slayer, I'd be dead for sure. But…you don't stand a chance against me boy!"
He cracked his knuckles, and began to yell his challenge, "Come on, boy! You'll get the girl back when you kill me!"
From inside the cabin, Callista stirred slowly. She was sprawled on the wooden floor, her face bruised by Katahara's vicious attack. Her hand twitched, and her eyes slowly opened.
"…hm…?" she groaned, her body aching.
To be Continued…
A/N: Well, the last few chapters are coming up. You'll finally learn how Seja got his scar…and what his participation in the Battle of Malachor V will be. Please, read and review.