Chapter 26

Ryu Jayks Residence

Shaznia slept poorly the night before she went to go to Ryu in the Demon's Battle Cave. The images and feelings that assaulted her were so jumbled and mixed together, she couldn't tell which ones were Force related and which ones were simply the anxiety she felt for her husband. Giving up the attempt at sleep, she went into the main room of her home and performed a pair of katas for health and meditation. As soon as her heartbeat and respiration had returned to normal, she placed herself into a conventional rest trance to make up for the sleep she couldn't get and stayed there until 1000. After a shower, she caught up with Michelle who had just finished making breakfast in the kitchen. The two said little, each one wrapped up in her own thoughts of the moment. By 1100, Corran Horn arrived. On her way out the door, Shaznia grabbed Ryu's lightsaber from its place on the table by the door and attached it to a spare hook on her utility belt. Wordlessly the three went to the parking area and got into the airspeeder that Corran had brought with him.

Coruscant air lanes, enroute to the Demon's Battle Cave

Shaznia saw that traffic had gotten thicker the closer they got to the Cave before the surrounding buildings obscured further observations as they went to a back entrance usually reserved for high stakes patrons and met the Namor brothers, Torse and Pars. The taller of the two, Pars, was visibly nervous as he said to the two Jedi Masters and one Jedi Padawan, "Hurry up! If Master Xoran sees that we allowed three Jedi into our box, he'll never let us place wagers here again! Torse, this is the last time we ever make an open-ended offer to anyone as a gratuity!"

Corran distracted Pars with a hand gesture and suggested, "You really should relax. No one who sees us will recognize us for what we are. What Xoran doesn't know won't hurt you."

Pars calmed down almost instantly and in a peculiar voice replied, "I really should relax. No one who sees you will recognize you for what you are. What Master Xoran doesn't know won't hurt me."

Torse chuckled into the palm of his long fingered hand and motioned the three to follow behind him as Pars took up the rear of the line. Not five steps into the door and all three, Michelle, Shaznia and Corran felt the Force vanish. The three exchanged a glance and knew they were committed to the course they had chosen.

Front Entrance, Demon's Battle Cave

As Ryu entered the Cave with Nirri in tow, he thought for a moment that he'd felt the presence of his wife Shaznia and his Cousin Michelle, but the feeling vanished before he could focus on it as he entered the bubble created by the Ysalamiri. Entering the Fighter's Rest Area, he saw that he had the room to himself and began to warm up and stretch out all of his major muscle groups. Already, the ever-increasing crowd noise could be heard coming from the arena seating tiers. While Ryu was doing that, Nirri changed out the powercells in his hand and foot gear for him. After his final stretch, Nirri handed him his gear which he then put on. Checking the tie downs of his gi, Ryu made sure his headband was secure and tugged down on his gloves one more time to ensure they were seated properly. Looking over to Nirri he said, "So, you ready for this Manager?"

Nirri answered, "Where you go I follow Master."

Ryu said, "Don't call me 'Master'. Not until the Council decides one way or the other Padawan."

Nirri answered, "Yes Master."

Shaking his head in faux exasperation, Ryu strode through the doors and into the arena proper.

Namor Brothers Box Seat

Ignoring the Neimoidians, the three Force Sensitive people looked out onto the arena floor itself and the tiers of seats surrounding it. Above the highest seats on each wall of the Cave were high definition screens so that the spectators could see instant replays no matter what direction they were facing. As soon as Ryu came into view, Shaznia automatically reached out to him through their bond only to find emptiness where the bond should be. Then she remembered where she was and mentally chastised herself for reaching out, knowing the whole time, that it wouldn't work.

Michelle said, "Ryu looks like he means business, no doubt of that. What do you think Master Corran?"

Corran looked down from his seat and said, "I've seen body language like that before and it seldom bodes well for the focal point of such attention. Shaznia, I never saw Ryu fight in his GFC days. Was he always like that going into a final?"

Thinking back to those times and places; she had to admit that she'd never seen Ryu like this and said as much. A moment later, she added, "Once you take into account that there's no referee to prevent the fighters from permanently damaging or killing each other, it makes sense. Even in the champion level fights of the GFC, there were always rules. No biting, no gouging, no throat strikes, that kind of thing. Here, there's only the fight. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to cut my way out of this box and go to him right now, but I have to have faith in the Force, even though it has been repelled, and faith in my husband that he knows what he's doing. That must be Nirri behind him, carrying his bag. She's the one who called me and said to bring along some trusted friends in case it turns ugly."

Fight Platform

Ryu stepped up onto the platform itself and took a deep breath to help center himself in the moment. Xoran entered the arena a moment later and took his own place on the platform, across from Ryu. Instead of his usual custom-made suit of shimmersilk, he was barefoot and wore a set of fighting trunks that clung like a second skin while leaving his upper body uncovered, and a set of shock-gear that had seen heavy use. Touching his jaw, he activated his voice amplifier and said, "Greetings one and all to the final fight of this cycle here in the Demon's Battle Cave. Today's match will decide ownership of the Cave as well as decide once and for all, who is the strongest!" Allowing the crowd to sound its applause for a minute, Xoran motioned for their attention. When he had it, he said, "For those of you watching this event live on pay-per-event in your favorite establishment, the Cave has remote betting kiosks waiting for your wagers. For those of you lucky enough to have a seat in the arena today, you will have fifteen more minutes to place any last minute wagers and obtain any refreshments compatible with your biochemistry."

Turning off the mouth piece, Xoran snapped the fingers on his right hand and Acks came up onto the platform holding a large cushion. On it were a set of datacards and the lightsaber from the display case in Xoran's residence. He said, "I have honored my side of our bet, Master Jedi. Where is your lightsaber?"

As answer, Ryu walked over to the side of the platform closest to the seating box belonging to the Namor Brothers. He hadn't mentioned to Nirri that in all of the short visions of the future that he'd had, Shaznia was in each one. Even though the glass on the front of the box was completely opaque, Ryu made eye contact with his wife and made a gesture as if in salute, as if his lightsaber were already in his right hand. A moment later, the emergency escape hatch on top of the box could be seen to rise up from the inside and a shiny metallic object could be seen to arc through the air to land in Ryu's hand as if attached by an invisible line. Turning back to face Xoran and Acks, Ryu walked over and placed his weapon on the cushion next to the other objects. Wordlessly he returned to his side of the platform.

Namor Brothers Box Seat

Shaznia resumed her seat after closing the escape hatch. Seeing the surprised looks on her companions' faces and the near horror on the faces of the Namor Brothers, she said, "Don't ask. It's a married thing," and returned her attention to the platform below.

Fight Platform

Fifteen minutes later, Xoran reactivated his voice amplifier, "The betting cages are now closed! Prepare yourselves for the final match of this cycle." Deactivating the amplifier, Xoran removed it from where it had set on the side of his face and handed it to Acks. After the Gran had stepped off the platform, Xoran said to Ryu, "Let us both dispense with the power cells in our respective equipment, shall we?" Fitting action to words, Xoran removed the cells from his gear and threw the disc-shaped objects aside. Ryu did the same just as different voice came over the sound system and said, "LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!" Xoran stood there, hands held at waist level, pushing palm to palm, in an isometric position, eyes closed and said just loud enough for Ryu to hear, "I have one last surprise for you Master Jedi."

Ryu wondered what it could be and then noticed the support frame with the Ysalamiri retract back into the ceiling. Seconds after that Ryu felt the Force flow through him again at full strength. In those few seconds, he was certain of Shaznia's, Michelle's and Corran Horn's resonance in the Force. Then he felt one other resonance, dark and tainted, almost oily in sensation, coming from right in front of him. Xoran revealed the source of this dark resonance by opening his eyes and showing a pair of orbs a sickly and wholly unnatural yellow-red staring out at his opponent. Before Ryu could adjust to this sudden revelation, Xoran blurred and Ryu felt a sudden and intense pain as Xoran connected with a standing uppercut to Ryu's abdomen. Ryu fell back, his breath almost completely knocked from him. Only his many years of fighting experience had saved him when he unconsciously exhaled sharply at the moment that Xoran had moved. Even so, Ryu was caught slightly off guard.

As he recovered he said, "Are you . . ."

Xoran finished the question, "Sith? No, not entirely. I serve no one but myself. There is no Sith spirit guiding my actions. My travels while I searched for a purpose took me far and wide. I suspected for many years that I was Force Sensitive but I knew I was untrained. What I learned was entirely on my own from scraps of manuscripts and fragments of holographic records that I found. The Force led me to these fragments but it wasn't the weak passiveness of your light side. You would call it the Dark Side but regardless of what you call it, it is my darkness; freely chosen, and embraced completely and it feels incredible. My anger is my own. Anger at you for what you took away from me when you caused me to be cast out of the GFC and hatred for what my daughter was turned into. After today, I will take what I want, when I want, starting with your life!"

Namor Brothers Box Seat

Shaznia stood up and placed her hands against the glass of the box. "That was Burst of Speed just now! Xoran has conscious awareness of the Force now! Ryu mentioned that Xoran was Force Sensitive but didn't know it back then. Now he does! Corran, you faced a Sith Lord when you encountered Exar Kun. Does Xoran exhibit anything like that?"

Corran focused on Xoran as he said something to Ryu who was recovering from that first punch. "No, he doesn't have the concentrated malevolence that Kun did. There is dark power yes, but it's only barely controlled. Xoran is a wilder of the worst kind."

Michelle spoke then, "How is there a 'worst kind' of wilder Master? What do you mean?"

Corran said, "There's being a wilder and then there's being what Xoran is. Ryu's father, your uncle Ronin was technically a wilder in that he was able to unconsciously channel the Force into his Teräs Käsi. It made him stronger and faster though he didn't know it was the Force at the time. Xoran can feel the Force, but he can't control it yet. That's what makes him the worst kind of wilder."

Michelle asked, "Should we go down there then?"

Corran said, "Not yet. If we do, Xoran may become like a cornered animal and strike out at everybody in the arena with the Force. He might lash out with the Force and strangle a bunch of people before we can subdue him or he might even throw some Sith Lighting. While the Lightning is extremely unlikely, it's best not to take chances with so many innocent people around. But if we do, you will stay here in the box and out of the way Padawan. Shaznia and I are the only ones capable of taking Xoran down if this goes badly. For now, we should trust in the Force and in Ryu's abilities."

Fight Platform

Xoran finished speaking and waited for Ryu to recover. He wanted to savor this fight and everything it stood for. Ryu assumed his natural fighting stance and in a flicker of motion, he was gone. A heartbeat later, Xoran felt a solid kick to his back. Turning the kinetic energy of the kick into a forward roll, he recovered to his feet and turned to face Ryu. Nodding his head to acknowledge a clean hit, he and Ryu both slid in and started trading punches at point blank range.

Ryu connected with a left jab to Xoran's head. His second jab was deflected. Then he countered with a right hook to Xoran's ribs, followed by a short left uppercut to Xoran's chin. Xoran answered with a two-handed punch to Ryu's chest and abdomen but Ryu was ready this time and absorbed the blow with a focus grunt to absorb and dissipate the energy, but it still caused him to take some steps back. Xoran followed up with a leaping knee that Ryu was able to sidestep just barely. Having never faced a Dark Side Force user, even a partially self-trained one, hand to hand, Ryu knew they were roughly matched in that the Force would, to their sight, slow down each attack as it neared its target, but both men were too close to fully block, evade or counter. As Xoran turned around Ryu stepped in with his best combination: left uppercut low to the body, right punch to the face, right round kick to the head, spinning left thrust kick to the body, capped off with a thrusting left elbow to Xoran's solar plexus. Each hit connected fully, Ryu felt it through each limb as his attack followed through to the end. Xoran went down for only a second before getting back to his feet and wiping a trickle of blood from his split lips and smiling.

Ryu thought to himself, 'Force almighty! What does it take to put him down?'

Xoran closed the distance again and threw a jumping double back spin kick. At the first hit Ryu was able to bring his arms in to catch the kick on his forearms but the second kick connected with the heel across Ryu's cheek. Ryu felt his cheek open up where Xoran's kick had connected and went down on his belly, rolled over and saw Xoran coming in from above with a leaping punch. Ryu rolled out of the way and simultaneously felt and heard the punch against the mat where his face had been just a heartbeat before. Getting back to his feet, he didn't have to feel his cheek to know it was bleeding badly. Instead he threw a right round kick to Xoran's ribs just as Xoran threw the identical kick. Both kicks connected, setting both fighters back. Coming into range again, Ryu and Xoran both threw right hooks and again, both techniques connected on their respective targets, both men went down to the mat. Ryu rolled into a forward somersault, trying to connect with a dropping heal kick. This time Xoran rolled out of the way as Ryu's heel smacked the mat. Ryu back rolled to his feet as Xoran got to his. Ryu could see that Xoran was feeling the damage that had been inflicted on him to this point but he knew too that Xoran could see that Ryu too, was feeling his damage by this time as well. Xoran and Ryu closed the distance again, each attempting to fake out the other and thus open up another opportunity. Suddenly Xoran stepped in, latched both his hands behind Ryu's neck and started to drive one of his knees into Ryu's abdomen repeatedly. The first one connected but was absorbed, the second only partially absorbed, but before the third could connect, Ryu drove the point of his right elbow into Xoran's knee as hard as he could. Xoran couldn't stop the shout of pain that issued forth as his grip broke away. Ryu then stepped in and threw another right elbow, this time on the flat, against the side of Xoran's head followed up by a left spinning back knuckle. Both hits connected, but Xoran somehow got to his feet, a little slower perhaps, but no less ready to continue the fight. Ryu stepped forward to try and capitalize on his previous two hits only to have Xoran grab the front of his gi with both hands and execute a shoulder throw. Ryu landed hard on his back and Xoran leaned over him and threw several rapid punches into Ryu's chest from above. Each hit connected and on the last punch, Ryu felt something crack in his chest but not break thankfully. Ryu threw both feet up as if to perform a kippup but instead grabbed both Xoran's ankles, latched both of his feet around Xoran's head and then pushing against his ankles, Ryu jackknifed and carried Xoran over to slam down onto the mat just as hard as Ryu had moments before.

Ryu got to his feet just as slowly as Xoran did, both fighters facing each other. Feeling through the Force and seeing through the Ki, Ryu knew it was time to finish this fight. Closing the distance one last time, Ryu leapt up into the air and yelled out, "Tatsu-maki-sen-pu-kyaku!" All five kicks connected with Xoran's face. As he started to spin away, Ryu reached out and grabbed Xoran by one outstretched arm. Cocking his right fist down Ryu roared out, "Shoryuken! The Rising Punch threw Xoran into the air up and away. As Ryu completed his spin into the air, he put both hands to his hip and by the time he landed, could already feel the Force and the Ki begin to coalesce between his palms. Focusing every ounce of his power and intent into the technique he said, "Denjin . . ." Just over the glare of his ever increasing power, Ryu saw that Xoran had somehow gotten back to his feet and started to run at him, hoping to reach him before he could complete the technique. Ryu knew it was already too late as he shifted into a forward zenkutsu-dachi, ". . . Hadoken!"

Running as he had, Xoran collided head-on with the kinitite hadoken. The impact knocked him back and off the edge of the platform by several meters to lie in a heap against the foot of the wall that separated the first tier of seats from the arena itself. Nirri with medical tricorder in hand ran to Ryu's side as he sank down to both knees. Before she could perform a scan he said to her, "Remember when I said your first lesson would come after my fight?" When she nodded her head, he said, "Go to the platform's edge and look on just one face of many, of the Dark Side of the Force . . . the face of your Father, and decide if you want to join the Jedi Order and learn the ways of the Force."

Acks the Gran had stepped back onto the platform just as Ryu got back to his feet while Nirri did as Ryu instructed her to do. Ack's voice came over the sound system and said, "It is the way of the Demon's Battle Cave that when the stronger fighter wins, he, she or it, through that victory, becomes the owner and master of the Cave. Through victory, Ryu Jayks has earned his prize! Put your hands or other convenient appendages together and welcome the new Master of the Demon's Battle Cave . . . Ryu Jayks!"

The crowd noise was practically deafening as every spectator got to their feet clapping and cheering. The sound reverberated to and fro throughout the entire arena. Ryu looked around at the misplaced energy and sated bloodlust of the crowd, feeling a little sorry for them all. Taking the voice amplifier from Acks when he offered it, Ryu said, "As the new owner and master of the Demon's Battle Cave I will not close this place, nor will I own it. I freely give over my title of ownership to Acks the Gran. May it serve him well."

Handing over the amplifier in the suddenly silenced arena, Ryu walked over to where Nirri still stood. Placing one hand on her shoulder he said, "Fighting for the sake of fighting leaves only emptiness Nirri. There is far, far more to the Jedi than fighting but it is still necessary from time to time. Can you deal with that? Can you accept that you will learn to serve more than yourself? There is no disgrace in declining to become a Jedi. Some people choose not to join us. When that happens, we teach them just enough so that they can control their gift and then send them on their way. It all comes down to choices my Father once said to me. So many, many choices; light and dark, good and evil, never one without the other. Now you know how close the darkness can be, and how close the light. Which path will you choose to follow Nirri?"