"Are you here to kill me Kael?" Thantaroz asked bluntly.
Kael let no emotion show. "If that is what I must do to stop you," she answered.
Thantaroz smiled, though it was nothing like Kael had ever seen. It was darker, sinister.
Calmly, Kael took of her Jedi robe and unhooked her lightsaber. There was a snap-hiss as it came to life and shone a brilliant green.
Thantaroz also took off his dark robe and let it fall to the ground.
On his belt hung a lightsaber. It had a black hilt, not curved like Kael had expected. Thantaroz ignited his lightsaber and it emitted a bright red blade.
Neither opponent moved. Kael let the Force flow through her entire being and knew Thantaroz would be letting the Dark Side take him over.
They walked to meet each other and both took an offensive pose. Kael suddenly struck out with her lightsaber against Thantaroz and the battle soon began.
Kael fought hard, her movements became a blur as she let the Force guide her. Thantaroz blocked her lightsaber blows every time. They were evenly matched. Their constant sparring together at the Temple had imprinted the moves of Thantaroz into Kael's mind. Suppressing any emotion, Kael continued to battle the one person who had been her best friend but had turned to the Dark Side. Thantaroz began to drive her back against a wall. Kael jumped into the air over Thantaroz. She managed to barely deflect what would have been a killing blow.
Instead the end of Thantaroz's lightsaber nicked Kael's left thigh. She had no choice to come down into a roll on the floor.
Thantaroz spun around his lightsaber in his hand and focused on Kael.
"Could you really do it?" Thantaroz asked. "Could you really deliver that final blow?"
Kael didn't acknowledge his question. She lunged at him again, keeping her guard up. Calling on the Force, Thantaroz ripped a generator from the wall and sent it flying at Kael. It was a cheap move, something to catch Kael off balance but Kael deflected it easily back at him. It had given Kael an opportunity.
Kael faked a slash with her lightsaber and brought her knee up to the side of Thantaroz's ribcage. Normally she wouldn't have done that in a battle, but everything about this situation was unorthodox.
He grunted in pain and stumbled back a few steps.
Kael stood in an attack position, breathing heavily, and ready to take anything Thantaroz would try.
Lifting his head, Thantaroz glared at Kael. His eyes had turned a bright yellow and were outlined in red. Kael had only seen it once before and recognized the mark of a true Sith.
No longer was this Jace Enaree, the boy she had grown up with, the one person who knew Kael inside and out. The thing before her was an enemy; one Kael had sworn to destroy.
It was impossible to tell who had moved first because suddenly the two lightsabers were clashing against each other. Thantaroz and Kael stood only inches away. Neither would give up their ground.
Suddenly Kael was hit so hard that she was sent back against the temple's stone walls. Using the force to soften the hard contact barely worked. She still hit the wall hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Thantaroz was strong, so much stronger than he had ever been at the Temple. The lightsaber in her hand powered off as Kael fell to her knees, struggling to remain conscious.
Kael calmed herself and lifted her head to the Sith Lord. Thantaroz was watching with satisfaction, enjoying the sight of Kael's defeat at his hand.
"You have been beaten," said Thantaroz. "Give up and I will offer you a merciful death."
But Kael would not back down. Never before had she given up and it would not start now.
Again she charged Thantaroz, driving him back with her unexpected power. The Force seemed to hum throughout her entire body and she became one with it, a vessel for an incredible power.
Thantaroz recognized the sudden burst of power and brought on his own, deflecting Kael's blows against him.
Bringing her guard low, Thantaroz brought up his elbow. Kael moved just in time for the blow to glace off of the far side of her cheek rather than full on in the face though it still brought on a new round of pain. It caused her vision to blur, giving Thantaroz the opportunity to knock her down. Her lightsaber flew from her grasp and went skittering across the floor.
Kael's hand flew to her face in an attempt to alleviate the pain that was quickly manifesting in her skull.
She was beaten. Thantaroz was more powerful that any other Dark Side user she had met before.
The Sith Lord's boots clinked loudly on the floor as Thantaroz walked to Kael. Using the Force, Thantaroz grabbed Kael's lightsaber as it flew through the air.
Slowly, Kael got to her knees. Kael tried to call on the Force for her lightsaber but it was useless, the Sith Lord was blocking it from her. It didn't matter; there was no fear of her becoming one with the Force.
Thantaroz stopped just before Kael and looked down at her.
"Look at you now Jedi, you are weak," Thantaroz said loudly, the sinister grin had returned to his face.
He used the Force to push down on the bruise that was already blossoming on Kael's cheek. She cried out in pain but could not to move. Thantaroz still held her in place with the Force.
"I asked you once to join me, and rule over the Jedi," stated Thantaroz.
He stepped even closer to Kael and added, "I will not make that same mistake again."
Thantaroz brought up his lightsaber and Kael closed her eyes expecting to feel the sudden pierce of the lightsaber in her body but instead felt…nothing.
Opening her eyes, Kael saw that Thantaroz had not moved. He was ready to strike her down but something was holding him back.
Kael's mind couldn't process what was happening. Thantaroz should have killed her.
To her surprise, Thantaroz lowered his lightsaber and heaved a sigh.
"I can't do it," he said in a soft voice. It was the voice of Jace.
"As much as I told myself that I could kill you, I know in my heart that I can't."
Kael was at a loss for words.
"That was why I could never follow the Order…because I loved you," he admitted.
Kael was shocked. She never thought he would say those words to her.
Thantaroz powered down his lightsaber and stepped back.
"And I know that no matter how much you tell yourself otherwise, that you love me too," he continued.
Kael flinched as the truth hit her. Did she really love him?
Of course she did. Kael had always loved Jace. He brought light when she fell into dark. He was always there, like a warm breeze to guide her. They had shared everything together.
But the man before her was no longer Jace. He had become twisted and mangled by evil.
"Say something," Thantaroz commanded.
Kael thought out her words carefully and then spoke.
"You're right. I did love you, all those years ago when we grew up together in the Temple. I loved you everyday of my life!" Kael shouted, holding back the pain in her voice.
"And even as you turned to darkness I still loved you, because I knew the good person inside. I never would have admitted it to you because passion is forbidden and leads down a dark path…" she trailed off.
Kael bit back tears and shouted. "And then you left!"
Thantaroz flinched at her words.
"You left and I was broken. You never said good-bye. You left me to face my own darkness alone. I was lost and I didn't know what to do with you gone.
"And then one day I just buried it all. I forced all thought of you away. I wanted to forget you.