Author Note: Sorry for the long wait! Please remember to follow, favorite, and review it greatly helps with my motivation with newer chapters. Have a wonderful and awesome day!
"'Have you guessed the riddle yet?' the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.
'No, I give it up,' Alice replied: 'what's the answer?'
'I haven't the slightest idea,' said the Hatter."
Chapter 17
Katara, Aang and Sokka were busy walking down the streets of the village. Their eyes fixated along this new place. It was the first time the trio had seen a fire nation colony. Yes, they had seen fire nation labor camps before, but this was completely different.
The fire nation labor camps were hellholes. Places where the captured or the displaced citizens of the nations would flock to. These places were created so the refugees had a place to go, and to make money…on the flipside, they would support the fire nation war machine.
Yet, the trio's eyes soaked in this strange place. The valley itself was beautiful, nearly beautiful enough for them to forget what this place was. Brilliant tree lines decorated the surroundings, vibrant strands crimson colors filled the area. The fire nation notable color was red, yet it was brilliant in its own strange way.
The warm red brick tiles, the neat reddish logs stacked on top of the buildings, the heavily foreign architecture of the fire nation. It was definitely a strange…but unique place to be. Yet, that was all it was. It wasn't a mixing pot but rather a place which the fire nation wrenched away.
"Woah, this place…it's insane!" Aang spoke, a hat covering his arrow as he strained his eyes all around the place. A group of children pushed past the trio as they kept on walking. There chittering and jabbing causing the trio to smile.
Even Sokka, the one that tried to keep up a macho warrior persona couldn't hold back a smile. "It's almost like the war hasn't touched them here."
"Still…don't forget that it's a fire nation colony, the only real reason there here is due to the fact that they captured the valley." Katara spoke up, she was happy no doubt but even she could not look past the reality of what was going on here.
All three split off to do what they had to do. Sokka wanted to go to a place where he could purchase a new map to hopefully start their next step in their journey, Aang was going to listen to any rumors about the Jedi or the freedom fighters, and Katara was going to pick up any supplies that they needed.
The young waterbender walked through the crowd. A couple of the fire nation civilians giving her odd looks at her water bending clothing, but none moved to oppose her. "There's a lot of fire nation soldiers and guards around here…"
She murmured the words to herself as she gazed to her side. It was true, squadrons of them patrolled the streets. She assumed it had to be due to the Jedi and the freedom fighters that had been opposing them all this time.
As she made her way to the marketplace she was astonished. It was the smells and the overall crowd that had her feeling kind of warm. It was definitely strange; it was completely different from the harsh temperatures of the southern watertribe and the plains of the earth kingdom.
Yet, she felt so warm. As she began to grab the supplies. Food and medicine, she took it to a clerk. After giving the funds she held the large sack with her two hands as she began to turn away. Only to stop…
"Hello…Miss." A gravelly voice spoke towards Katara as turned towards her side. Her eyes widening at the very sight.
He was larger than Benjamin. A feat not many could accomplish due to the boy being 6'5 and having a very muscular athletic build. He was nearly 7'0 and was massive.
He wore heavy black plate armor. He planted both of his feet in front of the waterbender as she gazed at him. His shoulder guards had dark black protruding spikes, the elbow guards following as she stared at his helmet. Dark voids protruded from his eye holes, two raven like spikes coming from the space between the sides of his helmet as he stared at the waterbender.
"Oh, hello…" She stuttered as she watched this massive hulk of a man stare down at her. She could feel the sweat begin to form as she struggled to remain calm. Her eyes traveled down to her belt, widening as she saw the faint blade of a lightsaber.
It was a long handled one with a parabolic shaped emitter. It was massive, the type that would require two hands to properly hold. It made sense, the man that would wield such a weapon would be a mighty warrior.
"Oh this…" He muttered; his voice hoarse as he stripped the lightsaber from his belt. Igniting the weapon, Katara was relieved that the weapon ignited a crisp emerald blade…the same color as Haru's own.
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's good…I was worried that you were a dark Jedi like Kiara." She spoke to the armored warrior.
Katara was so focused that she couldn't see the civilians start to leave. She couldn't see the fear etched along their faces at the sight of that green blade, at the sight of that very warrior. "I'm with Benjamin, a guardian of the Jedi Order."
"Oh, a Jedi…I've heard that there was another one. One that has taken the liberty to travel with the avatar." He spoke, his metallic helmet whining down to face Katara. "I shall say that I was shocked…is it true?" he feigned curiosity, Katara couldn't tell how he was slowly smirking under that mask.
Katara smiled, nodding her head as he still held the crisp emerald blade in his right hand. "Yes, my friend Aang is the avatar. Benjamin, he is at camp."
"Camp?"
Katara nodded. Ben was asleep when they woke up, them deciding to let him have the day off. The last couple of days have been rough on him. Fighting those two dark jedi and training Haru must of took their toll on the young warrior.
"Ah, then please tell me where they are located. I shall…"
Katara felt a weight wrap around her, a tension wrapping around her frame as she was viciously pulled back. The sack of supplies flying from her hands as the vegetables and medicine spilled onto the floor.
"What…" Katara murmured to herself right before she ducked. A wave of heat following over her head as the masked warrior was slammed chest first with a bright reddish orange beam. A mini explosion rocked through the marketplace as he was launched, his body sprawling and breaking through the wooden stalls as he clutched along the green blade of his weapon. He laid there, dazed for a second.
The masked warrior coughed as he planted his hand on the floor to help steady himself. "You know, Katara. What did I tell you about the color of lightsaber blades…"?
Benjamin's voice echoed in her ears. She turned around seeing the large boy with his strange robes, his lightsaber following in the harsh breeze of the wind as his hair twisted with it. His right hand was aimed forward, his palm open as beads of sweat went down his brow.
The masked warrior chuckled. Finally wrenching himself off the ground as he stared at the pair. "Unbelievable, to think I would have gotten easy pickings. Kiara and that fool…too weak to take the prize of killing the last of the Jedi."
He got up as he held his green blade. Leveling the weapon in his stance as his beady eyes fixated on the pair. "I am Ketatu, a marauder of the Fire Nation and Sith Empire!" His voice boomed as he proclaimed his title and allegiance.
Ben dropped his hand as he ignited the blade of his lightsaber, gripping the weapon in both hands as he followed the stance of Shien. "Another practitioner of the Shien form." The warrior mumbled as the green and purple blades contrasted with the other. "I must say, if I wasn't wearing this hunk of armor then that ability would of destroyed me."
Force destruction, an ability that Exar Kun the prior lord of the Sith taught him in his Holocron. When used, a massive amount of energy was stored up within the user, drawn from the dark side of the Force, with incredible concentration, it could blast a large radius vaporizing anyone who got too close to it. Even those who escaped direct contact with the blast would be pushed asunder by the power's backlash.
Yes, it was a powerful technique, but Ben was nearly exhausted from it. His lack of sleep cupelling with his skill over the force was something that he wasn't quite sure how to handle. Yet, he wasn't going to let some dark side warrior cut him down here.
"Katara, get Sokka and Aang together so we can bust through. I'll meet you at the forest edge!" Ben screamed the order, Katara nodding her head as she broke through the marketplace to reach her brother and her friend.
Ben leaped forward, slamming his weapon down for the Sith Warrior to block. The battle commencing as both men swung and parried along the other. With a couple of swings, the large warrior slammed his emerald bladed lightsaber down. Ben went to parry but the moment the two beams of plasma connected he had to block and leap away.
"Come on…Jedi!" He screamed.
Ben took a heavy breath, trying to force himself back into the force. Shien was a form that relied heavily on the critical strikes of the duelist as well as said duelist own physical strength. The warrior lashed again, slashing to the side as Ben quickly brought his own blade to block. The purple stream of light compacting with the opposers emerald.
Ben leaped away, jumping over the warrior as he cleaved in an arch. Only to be repelled by the Sith warrior's overhand attack causing him to land away, even then he was too slow. The large warrior slamming his blade into a mighty cleave, Ben dodging and rolling away as he chambered another blast in his left hand.
A bright orange reddish orb appeared, nearly fizzing out as he lashed out his left hand. The beam traveling but the warrior already knew of the ability. With a flick of his wrist the ground underneath him caved, the beam implanting into the rubble that worked as an impromptu shield as rubble and splinters of wood collapsed between the pair.
Ben let out a shaky and hollowed breath, his purple beam of light still shining strong while it's masters will was slowly starting to shake. "Come on, Jedi fool. Is this all you've got!" He jabbed as he took a step forward on the advance.
Ben's eyes started to turn the color of the true Sith…the putrid color of the reddish orange. His fear, his regret, his hate. It gave him strength, he stared at the warrior. 'Why should I deny such strength?' He questioned himself.
His strength was reignited as the purple streams of violet lightning spilled from his palms and coiled along his lightsaber blade and his body. "…do you believe that you can win. Do you honestly believe that this resistance will do anything? Can your armor truly repel the might of a true warrior of the dark side?"
Ben got back into his stance. Both of their gazes transfixed on the other as they didn't break eye contact. "…for a Jedi, I can feel your rage. Much hate…much anger, yet." He clicked his lips as Ben stared at him. "It's your fear and regret…that creates such powerful echoes within the force."
Ben howled. The battle once again commencing as he lashed out with his right hand, the volts of purple lights colliding with the Sith's warriors blade compacted and transfixed as they each struggled against the other.
He broke through, dodging the emerald blade as he slashed. The warrior shirked as the plasma etched along his right shoulder guard. Parrying Ben's blade as the Jedi exile pivoted out of his reach. "Lord Ketatu!"
A trio of fire nation soldiers screamed. There weapons aiming for Ben as the boy dodged and blocked their attacks. 'Shit, there are more of them…'
One of the fire nations lashed out there spear towards Ben's face. The boy planting a well-placed kick into the man's chest as he fell backwards, blocking another attack with his violet lightsaber as the plasma crushed the metal.
The other, Ben wrenched his throat with the force. Breaking it under his hold as the man's corpse fell to the floor. The Sith warrior tried to cleave into Ben's large frame, only to be blocked.
Ben lashed out his left hand as the large, armored warrior was pushed away into a stall, his body producing a mighty crunch as he slammed into the wooden stalls once again.
The spearman holding the blade got up as Ben slammed the blade of his lightsaber into the second fire nation soldier. The man's final wrenching breaths rasped as he collided, Ben ripping the blade right before the final spearman jabbed him.
His eyes widened as he felt red hot pain streak across the left part of his face. His eyes widening as he saw a faint piece of skin fly off. The spear slightly traced along the lower cheek of the left side of his face. The wound was powerful enough to spark blood but wasn't deep enough to scar.
Yet, a piece of skin…a lower piece of his ear was gone. Mangled as the spear dug into him as he wrenched his head to the right, pivoting his feet as he once again got his stance ready.
Yet, that feeling of losing another piece of himself still filled him with anger…it filled him with rage. Anger, it was not the way of the Jedi. Even then, Benjamin choose not to turn away from it. He turned towards the man; the final sight was Ben's poisonous orange eyes that symbolized those of the true Sith. Fear gripped his heart as Ben parted his lips to speak only one word.
"Enough"
The purple streams of force lightning hit there nostrils first. Blasting from Ben's fingertips as the fire nation guard was consumed by the powerful current. Ben twisting his fingers as he lifted him into the air, his body riding as the purple sparks fueled with such intensity that the skin glistened as he was cooked from the volley.
He was launched from the pressure of the blast as he was thrown into a wall. His back and bones breaking under its weight.
Ben stared at the figure, turning off his lightsaber blade as the purple sparks died down. He began to run; he could feel the next squads that were going to come so he began to sprint towards the forest and tree lines. He needed to get out of there.
Still, as he pushed through the brush and ran through the forest lines. There was a part of him stirring, that deep part of darkness that wouldn't stop. 'I took it too far…'
Ben's thoughts, about what he did. He didn't regret killing Kiara and the dark Jedi that aided her. It was like he told his friends and himself before. Kiara, she was far too much of a monster to be let alive…she was only growing far more persistent and would forever keep hunting them.
The three fire nation soldiers were killed because he couldn't spare them. They were working for a dark Jedi of all things and needed to be stopped. Still, the last one…he could still smell the air that electrocuted under his weight, over his control over the force.
He knew that calling upon the dark side had become far more easier, to him it had become far more consistent to play along that dangerous edge.
'So, who cares? He's a fire nation scumbag that nearly cleaved my head off. Any bastards that come against me gets what's coming to them. Enemies included!' Ben thought. That thought filled him with validation, so what that he killed those people. They were steppingstones that sure as shit didn't hesitate when he nearly killed them.
Still, Ben knew that what he was doing was wrong…a small part of himself knew that walking the path of the Jedi did not mean to give into your emotions. 'Yet, when I gave into my emotions, I was rewarded with strength…when I was a Jedi, the rest of the fools on the council would dream about holding such power. The deluded fools of the council, weakened by the Jedi code.'
His master…Exar Kun told him of such things. That when he found the dark side of the force, like Ben it was far easier, and he knew it was stronger. Still, he didn't want to fall. "Light side…dark side…merely just tools." He repeated his mantra to himself, trying to steady his self.
He knew he would need it. The more he steeped into the dark side and into Sith lore he would need far more self-control to remain tethered to the light, no matter how small of a light it was.
As he pushed through the final piece of brush that led back to the main path. He saw team avatar, and…other people?
Ben moved through the planes as he stared at them. "Yo!" He screamed as they snapped their heads towards him as he caught their attention.
Ben felt it first…
A long rope rounding along Sokka's ankle as the boy turned towards his friend. His comrade being lurched into the tree line. "Sokka!" Aang and Katara cried out as the boy screamed, his body wrenched in view.
Ben ignited his lightsaber again, the weapon in his hands as he cleaved through the remaining brush as he felt something, precognition telling him to dodge!
He pivoted away. A clang etching through the tree lines as he connected with another's knife. Both weapons producing an array of sparks as they stared at the other.
A small frame, tribal paintings, brown hair down to their neck. They wore heavy worker gloves that you would expect welders to wear, moderate iron armor and underneath blue overalls. "Firebender!" A strange voice followed, an arrow whizzed dangerously close towards Ben's head as he quickly slashed, cleaving the arrow in half as he used the force to push the strange warrior away from him.
The boy crumbled into the dirt. Another arrow whizzing by as he once again followed his movements. "Katara!"
"I know!" The waterbender screamed back at the warrior. Both waterbender and avatar working together to provide a monetary defense against the strange foes.
Two clangs etched as another warrior broke through the brush. Ben and him locking into a sword lock as he stared at the other. Each of their brown eyes staring into the others soul. He wore mismatched armor plates, a monetary leather chest piece. Yet, it was his dual wielding swords that caught Ben's eyes.
He lashed down with both blades, breaking the lock as Ben kicked him in his stomach. Grunting as he rolled away, he lashed out with both weapons, aiming for his sides as Ben blocked and parried the exchanges.
"Fire nation scum!" He screamed as Ben lashed out with his right hand. The boy's efforts proving useless as he was launched forward, his back colliding with the earth as he further approached him. "That's enough!" He could feel more gather, he took a heavy breath as his next words were loud and etched all around him. "I am not with the fire nation. My companion is the avatar!"
The fighting stopped, the people turning around to the arrowed headed boy as he turned to the crowd. Ben unignited his lightsaber blade as things began to change. First thing was getting Sokka off from the
tree line. Begrudgingly he got off but was still rightfully upset due to the fact he was yanked suddenly away. Ben sighed under his breath as he turned towards the leader. "My name is Benjamin, a guardian of the jedi order." He raised his hand, catching the strange boy's hand.
"Jet…" He nodded.
"Those were some nice moves you got there. I have to admit any duelist would have it hard dealing with you." Ben mentioned, he wasn't being obnoxious or trying to butter him up. He was actually impressed with his dual wielding technique.
He had fought against many Jar Kai practitioners, he was even familiar with the form. Still, there was something bugging him as he stared at Jet. There was something within him, a faint darkness that resided there.
He shook his head. There was a darkness within everyone, whether we wanted to admit it or not but there it was. Ben let go of his grasp as the trio and the rest began to be led back to their base.
Travel
Ben sat along a table. Drink to the side as he stared at the hot food prepared along his plate, a small grin etched along his face as he peered towards his left and right. The freedom fighters, that was what they were called.
They set up their base in the tree lines to create a home. Many were destabilized from the fire nation and the constant wars, so they decided to take up arms and to fight back. Hoping to one day take back the valley.
Jet, that was the boy's name. He was a natural leader, quick-witted, and an amazing swordsman. 'Just like Revan and Malak.' He muttered to himself. As everyone kept on listening to his speech.
"…now the fight has begun to turn." He turned his drink towards Ben, lifting it as everyone's gaze turned towards the false jedi. "Now with the arrival of a Jedi. It looks like things really are going to begin to change."
The crowd went crazy, Katara lightly nudging Ben's elbow as he blushed from the praise and the attention. Lightly combing through his hair. Jet sat down across Ben.
"Benjamin, I've heard good things about you. A Jedi that has taken on many of those warriors with blades of fire, also how you guys have helped destabilize a labor camp." Jet chatted.
Ben nodded his head, proud as he rested his drink. "Your damn right."
"Good, because we need a favor." Jet spoke, everyone starting to silence as they turned towards the pair that was having a conversation. "From what we understand…Katara mentioned before that you guys had a little battle with the armored warrior, the Sith."
"Yeah, I would've been able to beat him, but the waves of fire nation soldiers were far too much. I can kill him, but something gotta be done with those bastards." He answered.
Ben was thinking about it more, he had an upper hand against the armored warrior but he would be doomed if he battled all those soldiers at one time. Hell, one of them got lucky and pricked his ear. He could still feel the bandages attached to the missing part. Jet agreed. "Listen, that bastard killed a couple of my fighters. We want him dead…but none of us are strong enough to do that."
"Jet did nearly come close…you broke thought his armor with that sword. It nearly crumbled like sand!" One of the freedom fighters spoke.
Another poked there head from the table, the boys straining to see it. "Yeah, it was amazing…how did you know where to hit him like that?"
Ben raised an eyebrow. Jet shaking his head as he took a sip from his drink before parting his lips to speak again. "Relax, it was no big deal…it was just a feeling, you know what I mean." Jet uttered, still ben was confused.
"No, I don't…" He curiously answered. Jet straining his eyes as he let out a sigh, everyone turning to both warriors as he parted his lips to speak.
"I get this feeling at times. Sometimes when I do battle with people…I see these strange red lines where everything comes together, it's a strange sensation."
"You can see the weak lines in an opponent?" Ben uttered, louder than what he would of liked. "…can you do that in events?"
"No, that's impossible…it's just a feeling and maybe the glare of the sun in my eyes. But it would be wrong of me to just ignore it. I can see those lines, those moments where the unbreakable…"
"…becomes breakable." Ben finished his sentence, both boys staring at the other. Ben's eyes widened at the sight. The words reaching his ears as he began to understand. "Shatterpoints…" He mumbled to himself, still it was far too early to tell. Such an ability, it had been gone for years and was a thing of legends. He watched as Jet carelessly flirted with Katara as his own thoughts were preoccupied.
'No…' He shook his head. 'I need more evidence to see if this is true or just a feint. I may very well be wrong; it may very well be instinct rather than the blessings of the force.'
"Still, I can use you and Sokka's help for tomorrow. We got patrol; will you aid us?"
Ben nodded his head with the young warrior's statement. Smiling as he turned towards his comrades that were engaging with the festivities. Still, that was all going to change just as quickly.
Old
It was morning now. The freedom fighters perched as Ben and Sokka stared off from the large enveloping area. "I really don't like this guy…he just seems off."
"What…Off?" Ben repeated as he turned towards his friend, then back to Jet.
Sure, Ben was shocked to find someone like Jet. Someone so young but so skilled. It was a rare thing to happen. He was a natural leader, someone that he would expect great things to come out from. "Yeah, too good to be true. He just…"
"I've met people like Jet before. He's a good and a strong leader. Someone like him shall make it very far with such talents." Ben spoke over Sokka, he didn't care for Sokka's accusations or jealousy. The whole thing didn't make much sense to him at all. It was ironic in it's own way, Ben the force user was far too blind to see the darkness in Jet's heart, while Sokka's own eyes saw the truth.
Ben cocked his head. Straining his eyes as Jet lightly elbowed him, Sokka cringing at the fact that he was caught talking shit. "Thanks for the compliment but there is something coming…"
He pointed with his finger down the winding path as they perched over the tree line. It took Ben a second to realize that there was someone down there, even then Jet shouldn't have been able to see him. "Jet, how did you know there was a person down there?" Ben asked.
Jet shrugged his shoulders, carelessly waving it off. "I already told you, I get these feelings at times you know, instinct."
"Yeah, instinct…" Ben silently repeated as they dropped to the floor. There legs landing as Ben held the unignited weapon in his right hand as Sokka and the rest joined. His eyes widening as he saw the figure, he was a short old man. A balding head with traces of graying hair, a small beard that wrapped around his face. He wore a large red fire nation robe that went down to his ankles.
"He's just an old man, Jet." Sokka spoke up.
"Old men could be very dangerous." Jet turned back to Sokka, his eyes narrowing as he realized Sokka's hesitation. "You never know, Sokka."
That was when Ben felt it first. A wave of hostility echoing within the force, Jet's insult only growing sterner as he turned away but the moment, he did…he saw the sight of fire nation metal first. A large blade or glimmer of something in his arm but as Jet turned away…
Ben's fiery violet blade sparked to life. Slamming downwards as the old man was launched from the propulsion, everyone turning towards Ben from the immense speed and strength the boy was able to call on to push the old man back.
The fiery blade stirred in Ben's two hands as he unignited the weapon. The old man staring at him, eyes wide as he began to run away. Yet, what shocked Ben the most was the fact that the old man still had an arm. Yeah, fire nation metals were known to be able to contend with lightsaber blades, but they were still way weaker. An overhand slam the way Ben did would have easily cleaved the old man's arm off of his body.
He reattached the blade back to his belt. His hands combing through his tendrils of hair that had fallen in front of his face as he turned back to Sokka and the rest of the freedom fighters. "Thank you, Ben. The fire nation most likely sent an assassin after me. I owe you, my life."
Ben nodded with the praise, a couple of the other freedom fighters cheering his name as Sokka silently huffed. He could already tell that the pride was going to get to Ben's head. Still, there was a far more pressing thought that was bugging him far more. A thought he didn't understand, it was like a rabid rat. Sinking its razor-sharp teeth into the side of his thigh and refusing to let go.
He heard that sound before. Hell, he heard that sound all the time during the Mandalorian wars. His breath hitched, sweat beginning to go down his brow as his eyes quivered. His brown orbs staring into the dirt as his body rapidly shook.
"Impossible…" He muttered to himself, turning around him as he stared at the direction the old man went. His lips forming into a snarl as he couldn't believe it. The weight he carried further ushering him on as his boots clamped along the fallen leaves and dead brush as he finally remembered what was bothering him. He could remember how that sound would be produced.
It was the sound…when both lightsabers would connect, with Mandalorian iron. A material that could only be located on their home worlds or in the Outer Rim. Even then, Ben knew far too well why that old man stared at him like that.
"The Jedi who fall are the most dangerous of all."
Joncorn Sarhac…
An old man nearing his late sixties. He was a pale man, with a balding head with a small beard that was freshly trimmed. He walked without a cane and held his back straight, his eyes were a warm blue. Yet, they matched his old age.
He stared at his house as his sandals clapped along the tiles of his home. He stared at it for a second, grateful once again that he got out of there alive. "Damn freedom fighters…just an old man trying to take a short cut home." He mumbled to himself, staring at his home.
It was a medium sized log cabin, the large logs stretching out as it created a foundation. A couple of windows and a fireplace was pushed into its side. The very same wood was the one that he cut down in the forest to build a home for him and his granddaughter. He took another heavy breath as he fished out his keys. Unlocking the door as he pushed into his home, it was a comfy place. Furniture filled the home, pictures and comfy animal skin furniture decorated the place.
Still, as the man took off his hat and dropped his keys on the table. He turned to his side, staring at the table. His old and wrinkled hands wrapped along a picture frame, his lips twisting as his old face struggled to form a smile.
His blue eyes danced along the frame. A younger picture of him, another woman around that age…and a young boy. He swiped a loose tear out of his eye. Planting the photo back down, after a couple of seconds the door was thrown open.
The dull of the wooden door compacting and slamming into the side frame. Such intensity causing the house to rock, the door frame nearly thrown from the hinges as Jon looked to his side, sighing almost like he expected it to happen.
Cindra, his granddaughter. A girl of sixteen years. She wore the standard fire nation attire. Yet, it was her features that contradicted those of standard fire nation girls. Long blond hair went past her neck and descended to the base of her back, green, emerald eyes shone with an array of freckles that decorated her skin.
"Oi, Cindra…you're looking as cheery as ever!" Her grandfather jabbed as he chuckled to himself, she thrown her backpack off to the floor as it compacted with the wall. Sitting on the table on instinct as her grandfather tirelessly walked over towards her.
He let out another sigh, feeling the weight of his daughter's anger. "Cindra, did something happen to you at school today?"
"What doesn't happen at school…Lin and the rest, what a bunch of bitches." She fumed as her grandfather let out another sigh.
"Oi, come on there…Cindra."
Her facae schrunched up. "No, it's unfair. I hate this place; I hate this cabin…I hate this damn colony! I don't know why we're even here. Is it because of those Sith!"
"CINDRA!"
She stopped speaking, her eyes widening as she heard her grandfather spark to life. He was a quiet and timid man, still she could never forget the times he got truly angry. She strained her eyes at the old man.
She gazed down at him, her eyes going towards his large muscular frame that he kept hidden under the fire nation robes. The same robe that he wore to cover the scars, the strange burns that riddled his body.
Sometimes she would forget how strong her grandfather was, how he wasn't just this man…whether she knew his wars or his battles, she knew he could truly be a force to be messed with.
He let out a heavy breath, the anger rolling from him as he massaged the wrinkles on the side of his head. "Cindra, I've told you before, this is a big change but a change I felt that had to be made. War, it's coming. I don't want you all around that stuff. You're a good kid with a good heart, I don't want what happened to your father…"
"I know, Dad went off to war without your permission. I wouldn't do anything like that."
"My son, he was just…confused. I told him of my past, of the battles I had and the glory we held. Still, he had too good of a heart." He murmured to himself, going back into his seat as his granddaughter stared at him.
"…is that, how my father died…I heard that he disobeyed orders. I know that you don't want to talk about it but…"
"Maybe, it would do you some good. It's been years ever since it happened."
"Okay…" She murmured, bracing herself for the story.
"He was a soldier in the fire nation, he listened to the stories I told him. Of the battles we fought, of the creed me and my people held. If he was born back home, he would've been a child of mandalore." He saw the way his granddaughter perked up at those strange words, those strange words that she knew held such a powerful weight but held no real knowledge of what they meant. "Yet, his heart was still too pure…his mother and the love she gave him made him like that, it even affected me I guess. So, when you were still in your momma's belly, he decided to enlist and aid the war effort."
He smirked at those words, almost proud of his son. Still, the remembrance of what happened next caused him to suck in his teeth. "I'm not sure what happened. Yet, there was something...a masked warrior with a blade of fire, just like the one that lord waves around, though this one was a blade of crimson. My son…your father. He fought against him, choose to disobey orders because he thought what they were doing was wrong. It was evil, still there were members of the fire nation that held the same sentiment as your father, even a couple tried to speak out."
"…that Sith Lord, he cut them all down. Killed them all." He snarled as the words emptied from his lips.
His granddaughter stared at the table, her eyes wide as they were implanted as they traced along the wooden table. Only one word came out of her mouth. "Woah…" She aimlessly muttered, her eyes starting to leak tears.
She never met her father and could hardly remember anything about her mother. Still, it was evil what they did her family. "I'm sorry for telling you this Cindra. Still, you have to understand how dangerous it is to even show that you have any knowledge of who they even are." He massaged those wrinkles, the old man's eyes red but refused to leak any more tears, knowing full well that he had to show strength to his granddaughter, how he had to be her rock. "All that knowledge that I have of your father's death was never told to me, this came from numerous sources and trusted contacts that I have developed over the years."
Jon was afraid. He wasn't afraid when he and his Mandalorian brothers descended along their basilisk, he wasn't afraid when he was butchering and killing, it was sickening but he felt no fear. He was afraid when his wife died in his arms due to fever, he was afraid when his son went off to war and was heartbroken when he learned of his death. He was afraid when the doctor told him the dangers of his daughter in laws pregnancy and feared for the life of both his unborn grand daughter and his daughter. She died, but his granddaughter still lived.
After all these years fear had always been around the corner. He believed that getting out of the fire nation, the place in which the Sith had made their home would be for the best. Yet, his memories came back towards the Jedi in the forest and the Sith that was stationed at the town. Maybe, this was a bad idea after all.
"Maybe, your right. I saw another warrior brandishing a blade of fire…a jedi. I've heard rumors there making a comeback and the Sith will try and deal with him. Maybe, it's time for us to go back home." He conceded, he saw the light of his granddaughter's face return.
"Really!" She spoke, her voice cracking as she collided with his frame and wrapped her arms around him.
"Well, you don't have to act so happy about it." He chuckled as he lightly patted her back. "Still, maybe I thought too quick to do such a move. After grandma's death, it's just been hard you know. Thought, that this place would be a good thing for us…only to find more of those bastards."
His eyes glossed out of his granddaughter's blond hair. His eyes traveling back to that picture frame. "My son, he was a good man…a good soldier that stuck to his heart and his convictions. Yet, he would've made a bad Mandalorian." It wasn't words laced in anger or resentment, but the happiness in which his son had the choice to become the man he wanted to become.
A loud bang echoed through along the frame of there door. The sound of knocking commencing as Jon turned towards the door, shrugging his shoulders at the sight. Not a lot of people came out here, they liked the isolation. They got the mail in town and were relatively left alone.
Cindra got up from her seat to get a closer look. Only for her grandfather to latch along her arm, turning her towards him as he pressed a finger to his mouth. "OPEN UP!" Another bang ricochet, so strong and loud that it caused Cindra to jump.
"I know who you are, I know where you came from!" The voice frothed with hate and poison, echoing along the frames of the cabin as Jon instinctively dragged his granddaughter closer to him. "Beskar!"
Cindra stared at the door, the strange words going out from one ear and out the other. She stared up at her grandfather, perplexed by the look he had. He stared at the door; his eyes so wide that you could see the dilation in them. She glanced down to his right hand, how it shook like a house caught in a tornado.
There were a couple times in Jon's life where his blood ran cold. His blood ran cold when he was fighting in the war and his damaged ship launched into an incomplete hyperspace, sinking into a black hole and expelled into a foreign world. His blood ran cold when he made a family, lived a life in which he tried to become something that he wasn't…a father, a husband, a teacher. Only to find out that his son was murdered, it took all he could to not once again take up his weapons and armor to slaughter each and every one of the Sith. It was his wife and the last members of his family that he had to stay alive for and to protect.
His blood ran cold when he found out that his Son's widow died in labor, his blood ran cold when his granddaughter was seven years old and his wife was terminally ill…dying in his arms as he held one of his final loved ones.
Cindra, he stared into those bright green eyes of hers. He smirked, trying to act like there was nothing to be afraid of but she knew better, ruffling her hair as he grabbed her hand nearly yanking her away. "Grandfather!"
"It's okay, Cindra." He smirked, trying to keep up the façade as he led her to the side of the room. Pushing off a piece of carpet as he lifted a trapdoor. "Stay here, Cindra. Remember Grandfather loves you…"
Before she could utter a word, he practically threw her down the hole. The girl needing to quickly get up as the final thing she saw was her grandfather smirking at her. "I love you…" He declared to her, slamming the door shut as he turned towards the other door. He took a step forward…
The door was blasted off of its hinges. The wood splitting in half as it crumpled to the floor, rocking as it danced along the wooden logs of the floor. Jon stared at the figure, illuminated in the orange gleam of the sunset.
He looked…
"You're the same age as my granddaughter…what's a kid like yourself, holding wounds such as that."
Ben stared at the old man. The orange, crimson sulfur color of the true Sith overtaking his golden eyes. His left hand was aimed at his fingers curled into his palm. Jon eyed the lightsaber, obviously knowing what the weapon was.
Ben stared at him silently. Walking over towards the sides of the cabin as he stared at the old man, his large frame hidden under the robe. Jon chuckled to himself, the old man letting out a sigh as he began to walk over towards the bookshelf implanted into the wall. Not even uttering a word
"…you know something, old man." Ben finally spoke up, his eyes following Jon's movements as he rested his hand on the base of the bookshelf, the old man slowly training his hand over to its lower base. The hilt of his bronze vibrosword gracing the tips of his fingers.
"What is it, Jedi?" Jon answered back, trying to keep up a façade. Hoping that he could get away and try to survive this encounter.
Ben's eyes widened once again; his lips snarled as his breath was heavy. His suspicions were starting to become correct after each second "Jedi…not a lot of people in these parts know that name."
Jon quickly backpedaled. "The Jedi have been gone for years. Still, with the resurface of yourself there has been many people that have been educated of the history of the world. It must be truly something…to be the last of your kind."
It wasn't a lie. When Jon crashed on this world years ago, he had searched for any people that were like him. Any people that had fell into the black hole and was transported to this new galaxy. Still, for nearly a full decade he found nothing, only that the Sith reigned supreme…not the Sith of Exar Kun but a new type of Sith. They bore crimson lightsabers and acted like Sith, but even Jon knew that there was something off.
However, after the reveal of Benjamin as a Jedi and his exploits against the fire nation. Numerous channels have been noted that the Jedi have returned, historians have been scouting all over the world and more and more people have grown to learn about the Jedi. The Sith as well, the fire nation's shield of secrecy, was quickly failing.
"Yeah, it is…" Ben agreed, smirking at the old man as his breath hitched at the sight of Ben's eyes. "Do you know something, that in this world that the fire nation has weapons that can deflect lightsaber blades. They can block it, but they make this ting sound that radiates along the ears." For further affect, Ben lightly pricked the end of his bad ear. The old man taking a step back as he questioned what to do.
"Oh, really…" He spoke, lightly scratching his beard. "I've never used a lightsaber before, I've seen them in the fire nation but never had the opportunity to go against a lightsaber user."
"…you see old man, the difference between fire nation metals and the things from my home, is the fact that you would have been dead. With such propulsion and the strength in the force, fire nation metal wouldn't be able to hold the beam of a lightsaber." Jon knew it, he knew it as clear as day. He had found someone just like him, a person not of this world. Even then, he knew that he had to step carefully, or he would die. "The only thing that can hold back the plasma in a lightsaber, is cortosis but cortosis doesn't exist in this world. Yet, what I've heard wasn't cortosis, I've heard something else…something I've heard many times."
He turned towards Jon. The old man finally looping his fingers firmly around the handle of his sword. This was it, do or die. He knew that Ben was not going to stop, he knew for certain that the boy knew what he was. He could feel the air of hostility that surrounded him.
"I've heard the greatest of Mandalorian weapon masters bang it into our weapons and armor when I was a child, I've heard it when my own cyan lightsaber blades cleaved through the ranks of soldiers and droids."
His eyes filled with furry as he narrowed them down. The force tightening along his lightsaber as it flew into his grasp. The violet blade sparking to life, Jon was quick, gripping the handle of his virboblade as his muscles tightened.
They connected with the others chest, the array of violet light illuminating the Sith corruption, the hate that was etched along Ben's face. The sparks compacted with the cortosis weaved into the sword as Ben's eyes traced along Jon's arm. The old man smirking, as both understood.
"Mandalorian Iron, or rather Beskar!" He broke through the sword lock, kicking the old man in his abdomen away as he blocked another slash. Jon grunted, quickly glancing at the little hatch, he could see the sparkle of his granddaughter eyes.
He turned back, the hum of the boy's lightsaber blade still echoing through he log cabin. "Come on, Mandalorian. Show me!" Ben slashed overhead; Jon tried to pivot but the old man was forced down to his knees.
Sure, he was strong for an old man, but he was still he was an old man. He was nearing his seventies, Mandalorian training kept him strong but against a boy of sixteen years…against a jedi?
Ben parried and his attacks flew into a fierce flurry. Slamming at all corners as Jon tried to keep up, his old blue eyes scanning the area. Ben was different, not even fazed by the old Mandalorian as he stood sneering at the old man. Burning him with the end of his purple blade as it would lightly prick and pierce into the skin of the old man.
He was taking his time…and all three of them knew it. Jon swung forward with his fist, Ben dodging as he parried the vibrosword as the weapon clang along the wooden floor. He lashed out another jab, only for Jon's beskar bracer to divert the weapon away. The old man seeing an opening as he swung forward, his legs following in a mess of footwork as he put all his strength and all of his weight, fixated on the memory of his granddaughter that needed him to stay alive.
'I won't leave you alone, Cindra. I promise, grandpa will deal with this.' He thought, he felt the muscle of Ben's cheeks. His lips twisted into a grin as he knew he got him, a punch like this would knock any average man out. Still, his eyes widened at the sight of Ben.
Pure fury and rage, it circulated along the frame of the boy. His eyes widening as he barred his teeth, his breath hoarse as his hard breathing followed his chest. Ben screamed, driving his own fist into the old man's face, Jon saw stars.
His whole life flashing before his eyes as he flew across the room, his mouth filling with blood as two of his teeth flew from his mouth. His body flopped along the floor, crashing into the table that he personally made.
His body crashed into it. Splintering in half as he rolled. Blood pooling from his nose and mouth as he quickly put both of his hands on the floor. Staring at his vibrosword as he spat out a wad of blood. He swiped the spit and crimson from his lips as his fingers interlocked with his blade. Ben was on him in a second. Swinging in half, Jon following in a roll as he threw his vibrosword up. The propulsion knocking him further backwards.
"Come on you filthy dog!" He screamed as spit flew out of his mouth, his breath heavy as he swung again with his blade. "You fucking animal!"
Jon threw up his bracer, repelling a lightsaber attack as the sparks burnt into his retinas. The boy's fury following his movements as he tried to steer clear from the side of the room, the side in which his granddaughter was watching him. 'I can't die here…'
She needed someone, she needed him in such a tough time. He was all she had, and she was all he had. He grunted as his sword pricked into the side of Ben's stomach, the boy pivoting his feet as he backed away.
"I know who you are. What you are!" He screamed into his face. "Filthy Mandalorian! You butchers! Hiding behind those beskar mask as you destroy and pillage. Your kind allowed my father to beat on me and my mother. YOUR KIND MURDERED MY MOTHER!" He cursed with such furry that Jon felt his old knees starting to break under the fallen jedi's strength. "IM GLAD THAT YOU FOOLS STARTED A WAR. IM GLAD THAT I WAS GIVEN THE CHANCE TO KILL YOU FUCKERS!" Jon was too busy, trying to stay alive to hear the maddened words that emptied from Ben's lips. "I killed the men and the woman; I've killed the soldiers. I'd slaughter each and every one of you personally, except Malachor did it for me! The whole warrior caste, all the fleet that surrounded around Malachor V. From the lowest soldier to even Mandalore himself! They all got what they deserved, they deserved to die! Every Mandalorian deserves death!"
His hate filled him with such strength, a powerful warmth that filled him to the brim. It gave him strength; it gave him power. His emotions broke through the chains of the Jedi council as he further immersed himself within the rage he felt.
Ben lashed out with his left hand, Jon chocking as he felt the weight surround his throat as he still clutched to the vibro sword. Ben lashed out, the palm expelling from him as Jon was thrown through the log wall.
Splinters and planks exploded. A Jon sized wall crumpling as the old man felt the ribs on his left side crumple to dust, his throat hitched as the hold was released. His leg was far too mangled to do anything. His back collided with the cold dirt, his body slamming into the dirt twice until he slid.
Jon coughed up a wad of blood, feeling harder to breathe as his right eye began to slowly shut. A purple wound starting to form as he found it difficult to see. He glanced at his left arm. He grimaced in pain, one of the bones pierced through his skin, his arm far too mangled to even properly move.
He turned over towards his right leg. The act hurting his broken ribs as blood dripped from his ears, it was mangled behind belief. His foot was inverted and even trying to stand would cause him to keel over.
"Get up, Mandalorian!" Ben screamed, Jon staring at the purple plasma blade as Ben's bright orange eyes peered down at him. "We aren't done yet!"
Jon clutched his vibro sword. Implanting it into the dirt as his good eye glossed over towards Ben. The boy cracking his neck as he advanced. Jon slammed his foot down, trying to leap, trying to pierce through the boy's chest. Still, Ben moved just out of the way.
His lightsaber dancing but Jon was far too weak to resist or to evade. His arm flew upwards, the Mandalorian beskar bracer flying with it as the old man face first collided into the ground, his nose breaking on impact as he felt the bone break further smush into the cold mud.
His good eye wanted to close, he wanted to sink deeper and deeper into sleep. The pain was becoming far too much, and he knew that he had already lost. "Damn Jedi…" He muttered to himself; he was far too weak to resist. Losing an arm caused him to see stars but he was too much of a stubborn old bastard to die right now, to die and leave his granddaughter. 'Please, just more time…I just needed a couple more years.'
Ben flipped him over. Grabbing his throat with his fingers, Jon was far too weak to do anything as Ben dragged him back into the house through the hole that he was caved in through. Ben held him by the neck, staring into his eyes. Jon didn't realize it at first, but after a second, he saw the violet lights of electricity that snaked around the boy's frame. That was when he felt it…
A prickling sensation rode along his body, his hairs standing up as he felt like he was being stabbed by a million toothpicks, after another second it became unbearable. The violet lights snaked along his body as he tried to flail around and to escape, Ben not letting go as smoke rippled from the old man's skin.
After a minute Ben held his lightsaber close to his face. The blade so close that Jon could feel the pressure it excluded. "Old man, I have bested you in this duel. Whether it be your Mandalorian honor or fear…answer my questions, if I detect even the smallest of lies…" He brought the blade closer to Jon's face. The old man too weak but his vocal cords still produced a heinous scream as he felt the plasma prick his skin. "…I'll brand you with my mark."
Jon knew full well that he did not have the strength anymore to fight. He lost one arm and the other was mangled, his legs were beaten, and he was far too exhausted to do anything. So, he simply nodded his dead. His dry lips trying to form an array of words. "I accept…"
Ben got up, practically tossing the old man into the bookshelf. Books and pictures collided and broke along the floor as he stared at the Jedi. Ben turning off his lightsaber and reattaching it back to his belt. He stood in the center of the room, staring at the other. It took a full minute before the fallen Jedi exile spoke again, the orange eyes of the Sith began to vanish, once again blanketing Ben's eyes back to there golden brown.
"How does it feel…"
"What?" Jon aimlessly muttered, unsure of what Ben was even speaking of.
"The last of the Mandalorians, a withered old man that couldn't even cut me twice. To believe that you are the last of a warrior race, pathetic." Ben's words were steeped in bile, Jon continued listening on. Confused about everything he was saying as Ben continued to circle him. "What even is your point, if you can't kill, Mandalorian. What is your purpose…I've shattered your body? What is the point of you now!"
Jon heard those words. Yes, his body was shattered now. But still, he glossed over towards that bookshelf frame, he saw that picture of his family. He wasn't just a soldier, maybe he would of felt horrible all those years ago if he was reduced to this. Maybe it was because he was an old man, but he didn't care as much. He knew what he was, while this Jedi deluded himself of the force…an old Mandalorian already concluded his stance in the galaxy, and whether he knew it or not. The force had already decided his position.
"Your nothing." Ben ribbed once again, pacing around as his boots crunched along the fragments of wood and glass, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the broken old man. "What the hell are you here for!"
Jon heard those words. He would not tell this boy about his granddaughter or his family, but this was a question he could answer. "I've been waiting here for over two decades, I've been waiting for orders. Exar Kun and his Sith apprentice Ulic Qel Droma, and Mandalore the Indomitable. I have crashed on this world, and I have been waiting for my brothers and sisters to come for me."
It was partially the truth, there was a small part of Jon that wanted to be brought back to his home world on Mandalore. But another part, was content to live and die here.
"What?" Ben spat out. His eyes narrowing as he stopped pacing.
"I am still a child of Mandalore. I am still a soldier; I was bred to receive orders and to wage battle."
Ben got up close. Taking a knee as he faced him, almost in complete disbelief of what the old man was saying. "What…you're never going to get any, are you insane!" He gibed, but Ben was far too angry to realize why Jon was saying those words.
He was far too angry to realize that Jon came from the time of Exar Kun. That he did not live in the aftereffects of the mandalorians wars, that he was ignorant of what happened in the galaxy after he crashed on this strange world. "Quiet…the mandalorians are still strong. Yes, me and my clan had issues with allying with the Sith. Yes, we lost battles still, but we are still strong, the Mandalorians may have been weakened but we still live on."
"There never going to come, there will never be another Mandalorian crusade!" He got up in front of Jon's face, the old man close enough to see the boy's scars and the feral intensity of his golden eyes. "Your race is dead. All burnt, all of you. The men, the woman, and even the children all burn. Millions of ships on fire as they crashed into a dying planet! The entire Mandalorian race, wiped out at the press of a button!" Sinister and disgusting pride welled up in Ben's face and words.
Jon's face scrunched up, straining his head to shake it. "IMPOSSIBLE!" he screamed so loud that it rocked the cabin, the act even causing Ben to stammer back. "I am not the last of the mandalorians, I am not!"
Ben saw him upset, he smirked…rather a disgusting sneer etched along his face as he stared at the broken old man. He didn't care, he was just another filthy Mandalorian that liked killing people. He was a dirty diseased rabid mutt that had to get put down. They slaughtered his brethren during the wars, they got what was coming to them.
"I watched it happen, I MADE IT HAPPEN!" He screamed back, Jon's eyes snaping open as he strained his eyes towards him.
Yet, it wasn't feral or rage. It didn't match Ben's own hate but rather Ben felt the echo in the force. He saw the trickle of tears fall from Jon's eyes as the old man wailed, knowing that this was the truth.
"What, tell me." Jon commanded; his eyes directed towards his legs. His heart shattering into a thousand little pieces, to be the last of his kind. "Why…why should I, Mandalorian."
Jon strained his eyes back to the exiles face. His words broken as he still couldn't believe it. "Please, I beg you…"
Ben saw the broken old man. For a time, he forgot that he was a Mandalorian, the anger still clouded his head but he didn't…
He shook his head as he turned away from the old man. Getting up as he stared at the opposite wall that surrounded the pair. "Exar Kun fell on Yavin 4, his apprentice Ulic was cut off from the force by Nomi Sunrider after he murdered his brother. Mandalore the Indomitable, something happened on Yavin 4 a great fire swarmed the planet and he died, his helmet was taken by another Mandalorian."
Jon took in the information. He didn't care for the Sith. Yes, he was apart of the clan that was tasked with fighting alongside them, but he was one of many mandalorians that believed in not interfering with the conflicts between Jedi and Sith. They had their own wars and battles to deal with, but he was merely a soldier…and Mandalores words always rang true.
"When I was a child, growing up my father talked about something…some really insane stuff was going to happen in a couple of years, I just thought that was my father's drunk ramblings and stuff. After his death and me being trained into the Jedi order I began to understand what he was speaking about."
"Mandalorian, you have the blood of Mandalore?" Jon perked up. "That explains a lot…why would the Jedi train you, especially at such an old age?"
"I don't know…doesn't matter, not anymore." As it was quickly brought up, it was just as quickly shut down. "The Mandalorian Wars, they started out small. The mandalorians branching out and conquering a couple of planets, until they started to conquer systems. The republic asked the Jedi for help. They didn't help…"
Jon didn't speak, it was surely strange that the Jedi would not interfere. Still, it made sense to him. The only reason why the Jedi got involved during the war was because Exar Kun was a dark jedi, they only gotten involved when the force was involved.
"Time passed and the Mandalorians realized this. They started to provoke the jedi and the republic. Bombing cities, killing civilians…they set fires to Eres III, the fires that still burn." "Revan, a Jedi knight like myself. It was the genocide of the cathar that made him fight, He choose to fight back against the Mandalorians and disobeyed the council, he took up the mask of a fallen Mandalorian and asked for his and mine generation of Jedi Knights to help." For the first time, Jon saw Ben smirk. It wasn't the type of happy smirk, but the smile of remembering good times. "My master, myself and many more Jedi followed Revan to war against the Mandalorians. It felt good, I hated the Mandalorians and savored in each kill. They got what they fucking deserved, damn beast."
Jon didn't understand…for a Jedi, the boy held such hate. Weren't they meant to be a bunch of peace mongering pricks, but he was reminded that this very same boy that was the age of his granddaughter lived through the horrors of both war and abuse. Even Jedi training couldn't heal such wounds.
"Still, something wasn't right. Things began to change, and it stopped making sense." Ben muttered, his hands combing through his hair. His presence began to shape in Jon's eyes. He wasn't just a broken warrior, but now a child that had been hurt far too many times, a child that had to fight when the adults around him choose not to. "I've thought back to those days, trying to figure out when things began to go wrong. There had to be a start, a place where I could find where my life began to diverge. Something must have changed within him…within Revan, I just don't remember when. We needed to fight. Fighting became leading troops to battle, leading troops to battle led to slaughter, slaughter…it led to me massacring, murdering, terrorizing. A series of mistakes that led to even greater fall."
The silence overtaken them after a second. Those parting words, Jon was an idiot…he knew what falling meant to a Jedi. A part of him was angry at that fact, that the Jedi would push there passivity that far to force children onto the battlefield. Still, putting children on the battlefield was Mandalorian culture.
Maybe it was due to him not having kids back then, maybe it was since he lost people and knew the pain of grief. "The Mandalorians, what of them…"
"Revan fought and killed Mandalore in combat. Still, the Mandalorians would not surrender. Revan knew this so he fashioned a weapon capable of destroying them. The Mass shadow generator, a weapon that could level a planet." He spoke those words with a cold level of apathy, no lace of anger or bile. Just the process of giving out information. "Meetra Surik, my master was ordered to turn it on. It would not only drag Mandalorian ships, but Republic ships as well. She…she couldn't do it, if we failed, we would've lost the war. I did what my master couldn't. There was no other option…no other choice. Yet, to find out one still stand in the galaxy, even after sacrificing my friends and comrades to wipe you out. Is the ultimate slap in the face." He spoke those words in rapid fire succession, almost like he couldn't even believe them…or rather he didn't want to confront them.
Ah, with the fear…is mingled guilt…it squirms in you like a worm. Now, there is it's…heart.
Jon understood clear as day what happened. Benjamin, this young boy. He was broken by Mandalorian training, his mother was abused by his Mandalorian father, and the other warriors never gotten involved, making the boy slowly despise all of them. His mother was eventually killed by them when she gave him over towards the jedi, furthering his need for revenge.
He bet that the boy didn't have that many friends due to being taken in at an older age, he would even bet that this was where the dark side began to warp his heart. The war came, Benjamin now presented with an excuse to murder and slaughter as many Mandalorians as he wanted. Still, it was his guilt that followed him. Did he murder all those Mandalorians on Malachor V because it was the only thing he could do to save the galaxy? Or did he sacrifice the Jedi to destroy the Mandalorian race?
One was the choice of the greater good, to hold the pains of regret…the choice of the Jedi. The other was the choice of hate and greed, to acknowledge that he liked killing and he was ultimately a monster in the form of a man….the choice of the Sith. No, something far worse than even the lowliest of Sith.
"What of the Jedi?" Jon questioned.
"After the war…after Malachor, that was when the teachings of the Sith began to spread within our ranks. We were all young and traumatized, fueled by our passions and not by our senses anymore."
"You followed the Sith…just like me." Jon muttered back. Ben nodding his head, no hostility evident in the boy's movements.
"I did, we were loyal to Revan…that was enough, he saved us. "I then followed him and the rest of the Sith Empire, killing Jedi now. Before I crashed on this planet, the republic was nearly destroyed and the Sith were reigning supreme. The true Jedi die with you, they burn with you…on the spheres of that taboo and dead world." He solemnly muttered, trying to shake his head clear of the memories that he was forced to remember. "The last of the great Mandalorian Crusade, everyone lost. The Jedi that joined the war fell, and the Mandalorian Race was destroyed…the helmet of Mandalore was lost and was presumed to be destroyed by Revan himself."
Jon, his breath hitched. His eyes down casted as he glanced at the floor. 'So…this is really it.' He thought, his eyes still red as he glossed back up to the boy. "You're waiting for a rescue to come that will never come, we entered a blackhole into hyperspace. There is no one here that comes from our world that is alive, there is no one here that can help us anymore. The Jedi are all dead or have fallen, the Mandalorians are destroyed." Ben spoke the truth, not pulling away from it as he didn't disregard it. Rather giving himself more into his guilt and his anger, because that was all he had ever known.
"I am alone…in the universe, I am the last Mandalorian." He spoke those words, but he still couldn't believe it. They vanished, almost like dust.
"Yep…" Ben responded back, uncaring as he still didn't turn to face the old man.
"The last Jedi, the last Mandalorian." He strained those two words. Staring at the younger man. "Me and you are the same…"
Ben's eyes reignited with fury. Stomping over towards the old man as he pointed his finger at his chest. "We are not the same, I am not a kil…"
Though, right before he could finish the sentence. He stopped. A small smirk over his face as he began to use his head for once and think over the words. The last of the Mandalorians was still laying down with his broken body, but even him…even a broken Mandalorian was able to still get an outburst out of Ben. That was how small he was in the expense of the force. "Maybe we are. Yeah, maybe you got a point there." He took a step backward, his finger still aimed at Jon. "Because you are right, I have the blood of Mandalorians that flow through my veins, I know what must happen. I know what I must do, I know what you deserve…"
Ben drew upon the force, his lightsaber flying into his right hand as he pressed the red button. The violet blade sparking to life.
Jon's eyes traced along the blade. "Please, have pity…" He begged. He would never beg but this was a rare situation, he glossed over to his side. Seeing his granddaughter stare at him through the floorboards. He didn't want her to see this, he didn't want her to see him die in such a way. He didn't care for his life, but he didn't want his granddaughter to remember this. "Why should I…you never did…" Ben spat out.
Jon huffed, knowing full well that this false Jedi already had his mind concluded on what he was going to do. Maybe all that pacing he was doing was him trying to question his actions, Jedi don't seek vengeance. Still, Ben was breaking one of the most important tenants of the Jedi code. An act that would lead to him being exiled.
Jon knew that he was going to die. So, he spat out another wad of blood, his good eye highlighting a piercing blue as Ben gripped his blade tighter. He wanted to hurt him; give him a wound he would never forget.
"You would've made a good Mandalorian."
Ben saw red. His fingers went numb as he acted on impulse. His fist shook as his body recoiled like a wave of cold air funneled through the room, his heart raced and beat so hard against his chest that he thought it would burst from his chest.
His lips felt dry as his mouth unlatched like a spring, his lips producing a mighty growl like a rabid animal. He lifted the weapon overhead with his right hand. His eyes dilated, pure fury frothing from him as he cut in an arch.
Still, right before Ben did that blow. The second before the plasma etched along the old man's frame. He locked along Ben's eyes. They were still normal, not the eyes of the dark Jedi he had encountered before. The boy was still himself, not giving himself to the dark side but rather losing himself to uncontrolled anger and hate.
He closed his eyes. Letting everything vanish as the rest of the world felt warm, then everything to Jon went black.
Ben's heavy breathing was the only sound in the destroyed cabin. His golden eyes tracing along the corpse as the anger began to leave him. It took him a full minute to realize what happened. The next second, the regret and acknowledgement of what he had just done began to come to him.
"Oh god…" He held his head with his left hand, the hum of the violet blade still piercing the silence. "The anger was on me like lightning!"
Ben knew that this wasn't the dark side or the force. It was him; he had given himself to anger and lost control. What the fuck was he even doing here! He was an old man that was living in the woods in solitude, he could've just left him alone. He murdered him!
"Master Surik…what have I done!"