The Unknown Planet
The plains were a whirlwind of dust. Thunder claps reverberated up and down the canyon. The blades hissed as they came into contact with each other, grunts and moans split the air, and then the humming of blades insistently reminded anyone who would have heard it that two Force Sensitives were in the midst of a life and death struggle.
John parried and swung his Lightsaber in short cuts and thrusts, keeping Death off guard and making sure that Death was on the attack.
It took precision, concentration, and a tremendous test of willpower and patience.
It also took vast reservoirs of physical energy and aptitude with one's body. That was where John had the advantage, no matter how great one was in the Force it did not beat actual muscle and strong sinew.
And over the last five years John transformed himself from a slightly overweight person who snaked his way around the school grounds and just barely passed his physicals, to a well tuned fighting machine, a weapon in his own right.
Death's teeth grimaced and sweat was pouring off his brow, after his duel with Galen he expected his son to be easy prey. But John had proven to be a tenacious opponent worthy of the battle that Death was offering.
Death leapt through the air and charged, he shot lightning in John's direction and John shot his Lightsaber straight out, absorbing it. He then swung his Lightsaber down hard, the blue shaft of light sizzling and humming violently, shaking, and threatening to come out of his hand. He redirected the ball of lightning to the side of him and as it exploded he rolled on the side on the ball of his foot.
Death smiled.
"You have done well young Jedi." He acknowledged with a small nod.
"Thanks." John batted back sarcastically, his chest heaving as he was trying to catch his breath for the next volley.
"But you must know you cannot resist, however you have proven to actually be a challenge." Death acknowledged with a slight sneer.
"My father trained me well." John replied.
"Did he now? Well he was no match for me, only a weak old man." Death asked curiously.
"Yes he did and it will be that which will allow me to defeat you!" John yelled angrily.
"We shall see, defend yourself young Jedi." Death challenged, he rose his Lightsaber in a battle stance and charged with a vicious yell.
John just had a second to raise his Lightsaber with one hand in a feeble defense as Death just slashed on through.
John used the momentum and swung around on the ball of his foot, kicking out with precise movements, making things up on the cuff, not intending to do damage. But he bought time.
Death leapt deftly out of the way and charged.
John returned running on his feet backwards, shaking his head violently to clear his sight from the sweat.
This time Death was right on him, as John just had a second to raise his weapon. But this time he was ready, he held his weapon in both hands and hacked through the air batting the attacks of Death in precise strokes.
John was retreating, towards the canyon wall, rapidly. The one disadvantage of being on the defensive right now his opponent had the advantage. So John's feet were moving rapidly, he was dancing in a crazy waltz, intense, close, and intimate. Always backing up, always running out of room.
Occasionally he stepped into the attack, stepped inside of Death's arc and batted his Lightsaber in. Batting his out of the way, putting up an attack giving him just enough room to maneuver. He was heading over to the bridge, he looked over his head and gulped, rediscovering his ancient fear of heights.
They finally reached the edge, the bridge he was heading for. It was a solid glass structure, with a simple railing, looking down at the dry river bed below. He looked down again and gulped, his head swirled, he tried to get into the attack and push Death back. Death simply raised his main hand and elbowed John in the face backing him onto the bridge.
An battle that had begun in a hurricane of strikes and blows and counter moves turned into a timid affair. Instead of the vicious strikes that were exchanged between the two bitter rivals turned into probing, lackluster attack. Neither of them were used to this, and both of them did not want to go into the canyon.
This gave John time to breathe as Death came on, buying him vital seconds to regroup and prepare again.
They exchanged these blows for several minutes, almost as long as the first part of the duel itself, backing up and heading towards the center. John continuing to give space and time, but it was a harder fight despite the lack of actual intensity.
Death grimaced and came on again. He kicked out with a whirl of his robes with his left foot and nearly caught John in the stomach. John leapt back instantly and brought his Lightsaber into a defensive posture.
Death leapt forward and brought his Lightsaber in on a hammer blow. John caught it and pinned it, slowly pushing his Lightsaber off to one side. Death continued to push against it. The blade caught on the edge of one of the railings and sparked through it, cutting through the metal and the mesh wiring. They pushed it the other way trying to get free but only succeeding in cutting the other side. The glass bridge began to creek.
John and Death looked down at the bottom of the canyon worriedly, then at each other. Death slashed out with his blade which was easily blocked by the Jedi.
They both started to run back the way they came from the canyon wall.
But the sudden shift of weight on the crippled and poorly constructed bridge was too much. The damage was done and the bridge made with a resounding SNAP as the two ends of the bridge separated almost down the exact centerline.
John nearly lost his footing and fell but he braced himself on what remained of the railing and then on small metal holders that kept the glass in place. He grimaced as he slid down farther, the air rushing and whirling about him through his hair as they plunged towards the rock face. His eyes stinging at the sudden change, he looked up at Death.
They hit the rock wall, John felt like he was punched in the gut by a proton torpedo as he nearly lost his grip and fell. He yelped at the impact, his bones and every bit of his core was jarred by the impact. He shook his head to clear it and looked up, he tasted blood, but there was Death crawling down to him, bringing Lightsaber to hand.
Glass and metal fragments were raining down all around them.
John growled savagely at his opponent and then reached for his Saber. It was not there.
He looked back and it was dangling from the lowest wrung, just hanging off the edge. He cursed to himself and held his hand out stretching towards it.
It flew to him and turned on, swinging it around in an arc of blue energy just as Death was about to impale him head first. He held on tighter with his other hand, forcing Death to swing his Saber up in a feeble parry.
They hung there for a second or two. And then Death brought his Saber down in two diagonal swings, trying to keep the Saber off the rails to avoid doing any more damage. John blocked those easily.
Death roared with fury and threw his Saber in the air deactivating it instantly. He then tackled John around the scruff of the neck forcing them off the bridge.
The air rushed and whistled by the two of them as they fell like fallen birds. They fell and fell, John's neck was craned back by the force and he was busy trying to bring himself around to get out of Death's grip.
Death clutched down harder and grabbed more of John's robes intending to choke him with it. John finally managed to spin around and then slugged Death in the face, being greeted by a satisfying snap of bones.
He was able to swing his elbow around and hit him in the side of the head again, getting Death to loosen the vice like grip on him. This allowed John's hands to swing free and he reached out to the opposite wall of the canyon. He unlodged a large boulder and shot it at his opponent at high speed.
John managed to wrap his feet under Death and pushed off hard. With a gasp Death released John and floated away, only to have the Boulder slam into him at full speed, shooting him into the wall at the other end with a shower of particulate rocks and matter.
John was still in free fall though and he had mere seconds to straighten himself out and prevent the fall from killing himself on the flat surface below.
He straightened himself out and flipped himself over in mid air. He was pointing at the ground reaching out with his hand and with the Force itself, trying to steady his fall. It was working somewhat but not enough for him. He reached out with another hand for a vine letting it come free. Hoping that that he was able to catch it before he hit the bottom.
The vine shot out at him as he slowed down from the other end of the Force he was using. Just a meter from the ground he caught the vine, it jerked him forcibly causing all of his bones to rattle around and his teeth to grimace. He let go, as he dropped to the ground.
He peered up along the canyon rim, all the paths and trails leading their way down to the bottom. He finally saw Death, glaring back down at him with a cold fury.
Death suddenly smiled crookedly and looked skyward. John followed his gaze and saw Death's Lightsaber still falling, slowly, as if it was caught in something.
Death smiled again and reached out, the hilt suddenly changed directions rapidly and shot towards its master's hand.
Death started to run, with the full power of the Force behind him, gathering speed rapidly.
John looked around for his fallen Lightsaber, panicked. He wondered where it was again running out of time.
He found it and held his hand out, the blue blade turned on springing to his hand.
Death leapt sideways at the last second intending to impale him. John wind milled his blade and batted that of Death's out of the way, and used the momentum completing the turn to ready his defense.
The two combatants traded a series of vicious, quick, precise blows on one another trying to gain a brief upper hand. But in the end they both had to separate from one another.
"You have done well John." Death panted slightly, some begrudging admiration leaking through his voice.
"Thanks," John replied sarcastically, but then he used the opening. "Want me to tell you something?"
"Sure." Death smiled bemused.
"It's about Galen." John continued, tensing up.
"Go ahead, tell me about your father." Death sneered.
"He did not do it. Well he did, but only partially." John stuttered.
Death rolled his eyes, "Oh so he only half lied then?"
"Your father told him to get you. Told him to keep you safe, he was only following the wishes of your father and he did so in the best way at the time." John explained. "He was only trying to help you."
"So my father wanted me in the hands of the person who killed him. Why?"
"I don't know that, I do not think I ever will. But the fact remains that Galen thought he was doing what was best." John pleaded, trying one last time to reach out.
Death spat. "What was best? You liar! He manipulated me and the entire situation and now he and the Jedi shall pay for their lack of vision!"
Death then charged and slashed through the air with his Lightsaber. They traded blow after blow, counter slashed as they danced at a furious pace. John was beginning to get on edge trying to keep ahead of it all.
The battle stretched on into infinite and uncountable time as the sun arced high into the sky above them, neither side willing to give an inch, as shadows were beginning to close in around them.
It was not about strategy, it was about action and reaction, and pure instinct, using the Force as a guide as their Lightsabers whizzed through the air, humming viciously.
Their blows were reverberating down the long length of the canyon, bouncing off one rock or the other. John thought he could just barely make out the sounds of rocks being shaken free of their crevices, rolling slightly down the rock face, kicking up dust, the first pebbles of the coming avalanche.
John's Saber slashed down and connected with the hips of Death, he grimaced and moaned as his flesh burned.
Death pulled his hand back and knocked him back with the Force. Flinging him full force into the canyon wall.
John hit the wall with a loud thwack and some of the pebbles around him came loose and spilled around him. He moaned and tried to clear his thread, but blind spots clouded his vision.
His Force sense spiked suddenly and a boulder about the size of him shot through his vision. John held out his hand stopping it just as it was about to plow into him.
He then picked up his Saber with one hand and slashed through the rock, leaving it red and smoldering at this feet. He leapt above it and prepared for the next assault.
Death launched a lightning strike from his hand, John did not have enough time to get his blade up so he caught the blast with his hand, trying to absorb it and hold it there.
He could not manage to, his arm was being tickled and some bolts were shooting up his hand, making him cry out in pain as his arm was taking the brunt of the assault.
He started to cry a bit, from the pain. But it seemed as though the lightning was feeding him, transferring to him, dark energies. Images flooded into his head, washing in and drowning out all other things. Images of his father, images of the good times, and images of him dying.
John yelped and cried out in pain and sadness and pure rage drowned out everything else.
He dropped to one knee, the lightning and the overwhelming power of his bitter rival threatening to destroy him. He was dirty, his robes were stained, and now the air was sizzling around him with pure electricity.
Then Death stopped. He pressed on, limping, favoring his side, but John was tired and wearied as well.
Death came on, John retreated, John was back against the wall.
He yelled out in rage and fury and swung wildly, his Saber positively whistling in the air, Death fell back. Ducking and sliding out of the way, staying one step ahead the now deranged Jedi.
His hair was on end, his eyes were sparking violently, and his arms were tired and were in serious pain, but yet he still charged. No style, just pure kill intensity.
Death was biding his time, thrilled to know that John was raised up into such a fury…until he could strike.
John swung once more and Death deflected the blade with a grunt, but then he brought up his hilt and smacked John in the face. John felt his nose break and blood leak into his mouth, a tooth was chipped and blood was streaming into him from two wounds, he spat it out.
Death swung his blade down, intending to skewer John's left hand. John was just able to side step, but he still got the trailing edge of it. The Saber grazed him but his skin still began to burn and melt and turn black as the high energy beam traveled all along his right arm. He yelped out in pain, and then Death smacked him away, using the Force to lift him into the air and slam him down on the other arm.
John defiantly picked up his active Saber and faced his enemy. John snarled and held his blade up in challenge. Figuring this was his last moment and he might have made a shining last stand.
Death hulked forward, coming in for the kill.
Calm Calm!
The voice flooded every part of John's consciousness, he could not recognize it, could not make it out, and he winced as it boomed through his head. But he remembered.
More memories flooded to him. Memories of his training and all the years he spent with Galen. Memories of him extolling, banging into their heads, the constant need for patience. The constant need for the warrior spirit, for the hunter, waiting for his opponent.
Time seemed to slow down slightly as Death continued to sulk in. There really was no time to escape, no place to maneuver, he had to pay for his sins.
But John knew that and he was ready.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again.
Death was right on top of him. He yelled out in victory and triumph, yelled out in one long yell. His eyes widened and his mouth curled upwards, he thrusted the red blade forward intending to impale John through the heart.
John smiled to himself and sidestepped, the blade pierced his shoulder, an orange burn mark appeared on the edge of the hole, and it began to smoke as the blade pierced through to the other side, John grimaced and nearly lost his footing as his legs suddenly went weak.
Death smiled, John had made it hard for him again. He moved to detach his Saber but John beat him to it, he held it fast with his left hand, grabbing onto the hilt with a dead man's grip.
Death jiggled it and tried to rip it from John's grasp.
John gave him a simple smile, Death's eyes widened perceptibly. John took his own Saber in the other hand and slashed in reverse, decapitating Death with a solid thud, the head rolling away.
John turned off the Lightsaber in the shoulder before dropping it, he then turned off his own Saber and began to stumble away.
He lost his footing and fell. He fell face down in the dirt, and then turned to the sky.
He was moaning and breathing hard.
The hours passed, the sun was beating down on him, making him sweat. He could feel the water draining out of him. His throat felt parched, his eyes heavy.
He tried to put together enough moisture in his mouth so that he could spit. He could not. He felt like he was going to die, like he was going to lose it. He was drifting out of consciousness, in and out.
He felt like his time was upon him. He stared up at the sky, arms and legs sprawled straight out.
A small box hovered over the air, it passed lazily in the sky, John barely registered it, and the hum of some kind of mechanical contraption.
He then heard boots on the ground, the grinding of weapons against shoulders, and the shouted orders of men.
A helmeted figure peered down at him, interrupting the sky and blocking out a large portion of it.
"Sir over here!" He waved for his commanding officer to come over.
He then disappeared obviously going to attend to something else.
He then saw what appeared to be Sora look down on him. Worry etched on her face. "Hang on John." The apparition said, and then she left, giving her own orders.
John then could feel two powerful sets of hands lifting him up by the shoulders and trying to get him air born. But he could not help, his legs would not work at all.
They finally managed to get him into a medical bed, the repulsor's depressing slightly from the new weight. It moaned as it lurched forward, for one of the drop ships.
He was safe, he was going to be fine, just as he was about to die his fate had changed, he had gotten a second chance.
And then in the back of his head a voice echoed, lighter this time, more soothing, but oh so reassuring.
I am proud of you John, I am so proud of you.
