Chapter 5

The tunnel was even darker than outside it. Outside, there was light from the stars, from the crystal plants. But inside the tunnel was pitch black. Lit by the glow of lightsabers.

Aayla was afraid. Not of the Doashim, not of the darkness or the freezing cold, but the fact that she admired the Doashim's driven intensity. Their anger that gave them power. She had always sought after strength in the light. Perhaps that in Ryloth, the answer lay in the darkness?

She shook the thought out of her head and tried to occupy herself with something else. Aayla threw a concerned look at the Cirus who was still lying on the ground, blood flowing freely. She knelt down to his side and pulled out a med-pac, grabbing some spray bandage. Groggily, Cirus pushed her away. 'No…' he groaned, 'Not you. I've lost enough dignity already.' Aayla shrugged and tossed the spray bandage to Kit. He caught it and began applying it on Cirus' arm. Cirus didn't struggle.

Aayla paced around as Kit applied the bandage. 'First things first. Thanks.'

Cirus spat blood on the ground and glared up at Aayla. 'You saved my life after I tried to kill you. So I saved yours. And now I can kill you again.'

Aayla shrugged and said, 'Seems reasonable enough. Now, second thing, why in the name of the Force did you trap us in this tunnel that goes to the Force knows where? And why did such a large number of Doashim come above ground? Last time I heard, they were subterranean creatures.'

'We have been using the tunnels for….business. We couldn't have monsters roaming around at every turn could we? So we flushed them out. The Doashim have been hunting above ground now, in packs,' Said Cirus.

'And who are we?'

Cirus stiffened. Then he relaxed and with a little chuckle, tapped his lekku slyly. 'That's for me to know and for you to find out. And find out you will, soon enough.'

At that moment, Kit finished applying the bandage on Cirus' arm. 'There!' Kit took Cirus by the arm and helped him to his feet, though keeping his blade ready.

Cirus pushed Kit away began walking groggily through the darkness. With a scowl, Aayla followed, Kit close behind. 'Where are you going?' asked Aayla.

'I'm taking you to my clan.' Cirus replied simply. The trio continued to walk blindly along the tunnel, twisting and turning along it's length. There seemed to be a whole network of tunnels.

……………………….

As they were walking, Kit whispered to Aayla, 'Are you sure we can trust him? And why are we even going to their headquarters? There could be hundreds of them, all as skilled as Cirus.'

'We have to get to the bottom of this, Kit. And my feelings tell me that following Cirus is the right way.'

Kit shrugged and they trudged on. 'You and your feelings.'

They walked solemnly through the darkness for what seemed like hours. Suddenly, through the darkness, Aayla saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Am I dead?

Cirus held out his hand for them to stop. 'We're here. The meeting point.'

He walked into the light. Kit and Aayla shot each other uneasy looks and they followed.

They stood in a large cavern of ice and rock, several tunnels seemed to lead there. The light came from a blanket of glowing crystal plants that covered the roof, illuminating the cavern. In the middle of the cavern floor were three beings. With lightsabers.

The one in the middle, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward. He was a Twi'lek male with bleached white skin and piercing red eyes. He was clad in black clothing, a contrast to his white skin and stood shorter than Cirus at six and a half feet tall. Aayla and Kit lingered back, with there lightsabers held up in guard, as Cirus stepped forward to address the Twi'lek. The Twi'leks companians, a horned Zabrak, his face tattooed and a tall heavily muscled human man, glared at the two Jedi.

The Twi'lek stared blankly at Cirus as he stepped forward.

'Lord Gahnn Ta'a,' Cirus said formally to the him in Twi'leki. 'Our attempt has failed. But I managed to bring these Jedi to you and-….'

Cirus words turned into a gurgle as Gahnn thrust three fingers into Cirus' exposed throat, three times. Cirus bent over coughing and Gahnn quickly pinched one lekku. The lekku, houses a Twi'leks brains and grabbing or hitting them could immobilize almost any Twi'lek. Cirus stiffened and Gahnn kicked him savagely in the face. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Aayla gasped in shock and Kit bounded forward, landing in front of Cirus, his blade held in a Shi'Cho ready stance.

Gahnn hadn't shown one hint of emotion while he attacked Cirus. Softly he said, as if talking to himself, 'We can not tolerate failure….' His lightsaber was in his hand before anyone could blink. A purple blade, like Mace Windu's jetted out.

The Zabrak and the human's own blades ignited. One orange, one yellow. Aayla noted to herself that they could not be the Sith. Sith only carried red blades.

Aayla was at Kit's side in a blur of speed. She held her blade in the two handed grip of Ataru. Gahnn Ta'a sighed and pointed his amethyst blade at her. 'Do not meddle in business that is not yours young one. I would regret if I would be forced to kill you. Accompany us to the Fortress. You would be a valued asset among our clan. Unfortunately, we will have to kill your green friend here.'

Aayla glared at him, ingoring the fear pounding in her ears. 'I am a Jedi Knight. Stopping low lives like you is my business. I will not let you harm anyone. Lay down you arms.'

'Very well,' sighed Gahnn. 'I promise that your deaths shall be quick and as painless as possible.'

Aayla scowled. 'And I too.'

Kit dragged the unconscious Cirus to the side and sat him up on a stalagmite. Away from the battle that would soon ensue. He returned to Aayla's sides. Gahnn and the other two formed a circle around the duo. Kit twitched his head in the direction of the Zabrak and the human. 'I'll take those two.' Aayla nodded.

'That leaves one for me,' she said grimly.

Fires lit in Gahnn's eyes. A violet blade twitched. A whirlwind of light exploded into life, and the battle began.

Kit met the Zabrak's strike with a sidewards sweep, moving the orange blade away, and he moved back avoiding the brutish human's yellow blade with an inclination of his head. The Nautolan Jedi was a master of the simplistic and traditional art of Shii-Cho. The fighting style was born from the traditional sword fighting and was the basis for all of the Jedi fighting forms. It lacked the style and flair of the other forms, but that was Shii-Cho's power. It's sheer simplicity. Kit's opponents lunged, trying to overwhelm him with a blurring whirl of slashes. A simple block and a quick slash stopped them in their tracks.

Aayla's vision exploded into purple light. Gahnn's face remained expressionless as he cut at her with his blade, forcing her backwards. Aayla parried and kicked him backwards, trying to get a breath. Her foot collided with a wall of muscle. Gahnn ploughed on, blade moving at blinding speed.

Aayla met his strike and backed away. Her back hit rock. The cavern wall. She cursed herself, Gahnn had backed her into a corner. Face expressionless and eyes blazing with dark light, Gahnn slashed repeatedly, each strike stronger than the last. Aayla felt her back hit the wall repeatedly as she was forced back from the strength of each of Gahnn's strike. Desperately, she tried to find away to move away from the wall, but Gahnn blocked her off, never ceasing his attack. Aayla felt her arm almost give way to the strength of his attack. But it was all melting away. Aayla shed off layer after layer of her consciousness into the Force, she submerged herself in it's depths, letting it guide her, move her. She couldn't tell if it was light or dark.

Gahnn slashed forward again, Aayla was weakening, her injuries from her fight with Cirus were barely healed. If she met the strike, her arm would surely have been forced away. But she didn't have to. The purple blade slashed into the wall, sparks flying out. Aayla dropped down to the ground and rolled under Gahnn's leg. A slight hint of shock registered in his eyes as Aayla's leg swept across the ground and took the ground out from under him. He barely managed to roll away from her downwards stab. Gahnn leapt to his feet, only to be forced backwards by Aayla's blade, whirling faster than the eye could see. He could feel Aayla's presence, floating in the river of the Force. And it was moving towards the darkness. This wasn't going according to plan. Time to start being clever.

Their blades flashed through the air, faster than ever. Gahnn cut swiftly at Aayla's legs, drawing her into an overhead leap, moving faster than the eye could see. But Gahnn wasn't there anymore. He slipped over to the side and aimed another sharp cut at the back of Aayla's leg. She span her blade to her back, blocking the strike. This was the opening Gahnn needed. He shot his leg out, catching Aayla in the side of the head. Stars exploded in her mind and she went airborne from the power of the kick, landing heavily on the hard stone ground. Dark power swirled around Gahnn and he raised his arms towards the ceiling above Aayla. Several sharp cracks sounded. A cloud of icicles rained down from the sky. Heading right towards her.

Aayla rolled aside, narrowly avoiding a razor sharp icicle, centimeters from her head. Her heart thudded in her chest. That was too close. Before she could get up, a violet blade sliced down at her. Aayla rolled to the side, acting on pure instinct. She aimed a leg sweep across the ground towards Gahnn, but this time he easily jumped over it, striking down again. Aayla avoided his blade, just barely, moving like flowing water. She leapt to her feet, but Gahnn's blade was everywhere, slicing around her, Aayla struggled to parry his strikes, but his blade flashed out, and grazed her across the arm. She winced at the burning pain and was forced to give ground, narrowly avoiding a vicious thrust. Gahnn maneuvered her expertly backwards, using precise cuts and slashes. They fought their way to another tunnel, Aayla cursed herself, Gahnn was forcing her into close quarters, with no room to maneuver, she couldn't defeat him on pure skill.

Aayala backed into the tunnel, giving more and more of herself into the Force. Blue and purple flashed in the darkness, scoring the walls of the tunnels. Aayla slashed frantically at Gahnn, trying to fight her way back to the light at the end of the tunnel. Gahnn blocked her slash, and their blades locked together. Aayla struggled, trying to push Gahnn back, but with impossible strength, Gahnn hurled Aayla backwards, her back colliding with the icy wall of the tunnel. She moved aside just in time to avoid a slash that would have otherwise decapitated her. The light was too far away, and it was getting farther. Aayla had to accept the darkness. Accept her shadows. With a deep breath, Aayla pushed aside her Jedi restraint and gave in to her fear, her anger, and channeled it through her lightsaber. Now, the real battle was beginning.

Kit frantically blocked a barrage of yellow and orange strikes from both his opponents. He backpedaled furiously, blade flashing green. In the corner of his eye, he saw Aayla avoiding a shower of icicles and being forced into a tunnel. He cursed himself and tried to move away to help her. But the Zabrak blocked his path, slashing at his head. Kit ducked under the blade, and launched a counter attack, letting the Force flow through him.

His opponents fought with blistering speed and power, but they lacked skill and they flourished unnecessarily, showing off. And that was what Kit was counting on.

He struck with a renewed vigor; whirling and knocking both his opponent's blades aside. Shii-Cho was a more raw and Force-based style than most, and it was showing in this battle. Kit pushed the Zabrak's blade aside and used the Force to send him spinning backwards, crashing into a stalagmite. The stalagmite cracked in half from the impact, and the Zabrak warrior slumped to the ground limply.

With a growl, the human pressed his attack on Kit. He slammed his blade forward, battering against Kit's guard. Kit met his attack, slowly gaining the upper hand though the human didn't notice it. The human growled as Kit refused to yield and slashed wildly, anger growing. Kit just grinned, though inside he churned with worry for Aayla, and parried his strike. The human began to grow even more frustrated and begin improvising maneuvers, combining the most complicated series of attacks he knew. That was just the opening Kit needed. His green blade flashed out, and cut through the human's skin, cutting through muscle and bone. A hand fell to the ground smoking. The human howled and he fell down to his knees clutching at the cauterized stump that was once his hand.

Kit stood over the human panting. Now to get to Aayla. Suddenly, a nudge of the Force warned him of danger, and he whirled around blade up. A second too slow. An orange blade sheered across his shoulder and down his back as he turned. The Zabrak glared at him, grinning. Kit's lightsaber clattered to the ground and he collapsed, his mind going dark with pain. Kit tried to struggle to his feet, but the pain grew too intense to ignore. At that moment, a dark tidal wave surged it's way into the Force, engulfing Kit in it's icy depths. 'Aayla?' he whispered. Then he fell back to the ground, eyes closed.

Aayla's world was darkening. All around her was the darkness, lit by the glow of flashing lightsabers, blue and purple. Terror began to cloud her senses.

Aayla and Gahnn's blades flashed even faster, walls of light colliding with each other. Aayla was now as much Gahnn as he was her. Their minds blended together, struggling for control. Aayla parried Gahnn's blade and both of them whipped to the side, blades crashing against each other. Fear fueled her blade. The time for running was over. Fear would be her ally. The darkness, her weapon. Aayla gave herself to the Force, to the dark side. Now was the time to destroy her enemy. Finally, Aayla was accepting her destiny.

Dark power flooded through Aayla's system and it carried her away from Gahnn's blade, her feet running up against the wall and flipping backwards. She landed behind Gahnn, stand struck, powered by the Force. Gahnn barely blocked her blade and stepped to the side, swinging at her head. Aayla avoided the blow and stepped back, blade flashing. She struck over and over again, blade blurring into a steady pattern. Gahnn was forced back, step by step, by the ferocity of her attack. Her blade shot out and scorched his leg. Only by moving slightly to the left, did he save himself from being cut in half. His back met hard rock as a hard kick forced him back. An unfamiliar feeling flooded his mind. It was fear.

A primal scream roared into Aayla's mind, born from the dark, but it didn't escape her lips. It vibrated through the Force, like a wave of darkness. Aayla's blade sped up, until Gahnn couldn't match her speed anymore, his guard faltered, and Aayla struck, her blade slicing though the air in a deadly arc. Gahnn's arm fell limp to the ground, sizzling, separated from his body. He staggered forward, eyes clouded over with pain, and Aayla's blade pierced through his chest, exiting from his back.

Gahnn gaped at Aayla, who seemed to have just come out of a trance and seemed just as shocked as he was. Gahnn's eyes glossed and he pitched forward against Aayla, staring with eyes that didn't see anymore.

Aayla's blade shrank back into the emitter and she let Gahnn fall lifeless to the tunnel floor. His eyes seemed to stare at her accusingly. She stared at her quivering hand, in shock. Her eyes closed, as if in pain. What have I become?

She leant heavily on the cage wall, and started to sob softly. She was now a creature of the dark. A monstershe had sworn to destroy. She had gone down this path before. Her Master, Quinlan Vos had barely managed to turn her back to the light. And she knew, this time there was no turning back. Suddenly, she felt a wave of pain make it's way through the Force. 'Oh no' she said to herself. 'Kit.' With a final glance at Gahnn's corpse, Aayla rushed away, dread welling up inside her.

Aayla reentered the cavern, and gasped when she saw what was inside. Nothing. Nothing but a lightsaber handgrip laying abandoned in the middle of the cavern. Kit and Cirus were gone. She walked over to the handgrip and bent over, picking it up. 'I'm sorry Kit,' she whispered. It was her fault. She was the one who lead him to Ryloth. It was her idea to go in the first place. But both of her companions were alive, she felt it. They had been abducted.

Aayla clipped Kit's blade to her belt and sighed heavily. 'I swear by the Force, I will find you. Both of you.' Aayla began to walk away to a tunnel, hunched over as if she carried the entire planet on her shoulders. She disappeared into the darkness.

Reviews please! Next chapter will be about Wrath the Devaronian. I'll be sure to make it action packed!