Chapter 16
Darkness Beckons
Without the slightest bit of warning, a pang of pain struck at Elena who lurched forward onto her hands and knees under the willow tree. Her right shoulder blade felt like it was burning up under a searing fire, and she panted heavily and madly, trembling eerily in the arms of Bastila who quickly moved to tend to her. The younger Jedi Knight looked with shocked eyes at the brow of her senior who suddenly began to sweat with nervousness.
Damn this Force bond, Bastila gritted her teeth. It's going to drag us all into hell!
"Elena! Calm yourself!" she yelled, trying her best to shake the dark-haired Jedi to her senses.
Obviously, it did very little, as Elena gasped with a hoarse breath, beckoning with a wobbling hand at the direction of the crystal cave. "R-Revan…he's in danger…he's…"
"In danger! I know!" Bastila said, struggling to keep the convulsing Jedi in check. "But he has to do this! It's part of his trials!"
Elena fought ferociously against the grip of her former student, determined to be by her fiancé's side. Trial or not, how could she simply sit idly by while the most precious person in her life was about to die, all because of the stupidity of the Council?
"To hell with the trials! He needs me!" Elena shrieked and desperately tried to initiate a hapless crawl towards the cave, but was stopped by her own fatigue as much as she was stopped by Bastila's hold.
"You know we can't!" Bastila had enough of her madness and shoved her hard in the stomach, sending her onto her back against the cool grass. She stood over her former master with a serious glint in her eyes as she continued. "Just what do you think you're going to accomplish by running out there by yourself? He's miles away, and by the time you get there, he might already have been killed!"
"Bloody hell, Bastila, I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Elena cried, slamming her fist down on the ground.
Wait, she realized, looking at Bastila with a stunned expression on her face. I can't, but perhaps you can…
"You don't mean it…," Bastila murmured, shaking her head upon reading Elena's thoughts. "I can't! It's not allowed! Revan has to do this on his own, remember?"
"The Council can go to hell, as far as I care," Elena grunted, then shot up to her feet and looked Bastila dead in the eye. "He's not ready for this, Bastila. I can feel him being overwhelmed as it is. Now do what you have to do."
Bastila whimpered, her head spinning in a daze as she shook her head. "But…the rules of the Trials…"
"I don't care!" Elena snapped. "Do you honestly think that the rules of the Trials are more important than the fate of the entire galaxy which could be destroyed if Revan dies out there? Now get on your knees and begin your Battle Meditation!" She pointed ferociously at the spot where Bastila stood, determined not to lose Revan to an unnecessary fate.
Bastila froze with fear. What if the Masters could somehow discover that she aided Revan with her powers? Revan failing his trial and being made to repeat it was one thing; the possibility of exposing the true depth of Elena's relationship with him was another. Was it really worth the risk? Was it really worth possibly facing expulsion from the Order in such a dire time for the galaxy?
Oh, to hell with it, Bastila puffed and got onto her knees and begun to meditate. After all, everything would be meaningless if Revan died for nothing in a cave and couldn't do anything to stop Malak.
"Thank you, Bastila," Elena sighed with relief, albeit still pained from the piercing sensation that had struck her earlier. Revan was in no way out of the woods yet, but to be aided by Bastila's Battle Meditation surely raised his chances of survival against the wild beasts which lurked within the cave.
But just when Elena began to calm her nerves and allay her fears, another sharp burst of pain etched across her back, as if a monster had swiped its claw cleanly through her flesh. She could feel her veins bulging up in agony, threatening to burst and make her bleed to death. It almost made her regret retraining Revan in the ways of the Force, as she in no way felt this pain when Revan saved her life on board the Endar Spire by shielding her from the fierce blast of a power conduit. She fell forward, her face buried against the soft ground which smeared her cheeks with dirt.
Realizing that the situation was turning desperate, Bastila urged every fiber of her being to channel her strength into Revan. She looked down at Elena to find her clutching at Revan's old pendent for dear life. Everything about the woman stood in stark contrast to everything the Jedi Council and Order stood for, whether it be on the matter of love, or allowing oneself to be driven by emotions. But still, it felt so right. The three of them were family, after all, and Bastila had no intention of standing idly by while her dearest friend's fiancé was about to lose his life.
She intensified her efforts tenfold, pouring every bit of effort into rejuvenating Revan's strength and will.
-o-
Kael thrust his lightsaber into the belly of another kath hound, forcing himself to ignore the disgusting sensation of the beast's blood and saliva shooting against his face before it dropped dead and silent onto the rocky cave floor. His knees were on the verge of collapsing from the pain throbbing from his back which now sported two rows of bloody gashes from the claws of the monsters which swarmed all around his group, gnawing, snarling and barking like the insane, half-starved beasts they were.
His head was still pounding with agony after one of the kath hounds slammed into him, causing him to fall head-first upon a rock which, to his fortune, cursed him with only an agonizing headache instead of knocking him unconscious and unable to help his friends. His ears could only barely make sense of the racket of the battle that was raging around him, as if a cannon had let off a shot right beside his head. He saw Canderous and Carth shouting at each other at the top of their lungs, the latter pointing his finger at Mission who lay on the floor, desperately holding back the two horns of a kath hound which madly snapped at her, drawing closer to ending her life inch by inch. Canderous roared back at the Republic soldier, too occupied with the need to stand his own ground as his repeating blaster unleashed a punishing volley of fire against a seemingly endless wave of kath hounds which advanced towards him from the deeper parts of the cave which were pitch black. The Mandalorian jerked his weapon upward and stabbed with a long bayonet attached to his weapon one of the beasts which tried to leap up and go for his neck. The kath hound squealed in pain before falling onto the ground, blood pouring out of its slashed throat.
"Kael! For fuck's sake, help Mission!" Audrey screamed at the stunned Jedi Initiate who struggled to find his balance. The former Hidden Bek had run clean out of bullets in her blaster pistol and was forced to resort to using her vibroblade; with all the wild beasts swarming around her, she didn't dare take the time to reload her pistol. Her swordsmanship was more reminiscent of a ceremonial dance rather than the rugged combat style that Kael had utilized prior to his Jedi training, with elegant and rapid spins designed to catch opponents off-guard. Her sharp, slightly-curved blade cut through the flesh of the beasts with ease, drenching the ground around her with their dark blood.
Heaving himself up, Kael rushed with all due speed towards the young Twi'lek who was now only seconds away from losing her life. No matter how hard she heaved against the horns of the kath hound, there was no way that a young 14 year-old girl could last long against the vicious and brutal strength of a fully-grown predator. Zaalbar, barely a few feet away from her, roared with boundless anger at the kath hound, but was helpless to protect Mission while he was occupied with three which snapped at him and his twin longswords with hungry eyes.
Just when he raised his lightsaber high above him in an effort to initiate a leaping downward stab at the monster's head, Kael was knocked violently in the side of his left shin, causing him to once again lose his balance and tumble onto the ground. A pair of sharp fangs dug into his left leg and drew out of him a scream of pain. He turned himself over and flailed his lightsaber wildly about at the two yellow orbs of hatred which stared down at him. The head of the kath hound splintered in two, and a fountain of blood and gore rained onto his robe and face, making Kael's skin crawl with disgust.
But then it was too late. Mission's tender arms were no match for the kath hound's might and it wrenched its horns out of her grasp. Mission froze in place as she looked with horrified eyes at the monster which pinned her body down beneath its heavy weight. Its claws dug through her light combat vest and into her sides, and Mission whimpered as she felt blood begin to seep from her sides. The hound growled menacingly at her, and the sickening sound of its hot saliva being gargled in its throat could be heard even by Audrey who screamed out to the child who was now well and truly like a daughter to her.
The beast lurched forward with its fangs, and Kael gave up all hope of saving her.
It was too late. The kath hound's merciless teeth drew closer and closer to Mission's face, and Kael was in no position to save her. His heart pounded, consumed by madness and the fear of losing her.
Why?
Why was he so powerless, despite all his training and the techniques he had learned?
Why was this the limit of a Jedi's power?
It wasn't fair. It was maddening. It seemed to drive him to the point of insanity and anger.
He closed his eyes, wishing for nothing more than another kath hound to pounce upon him and tear apart his neck for his failure.
But then, another indescribable presence seemed to envelop him in a power that he had never felt before. This new source of strength gave him focus unlike any that he had ever possessed, and seemed to vanquish from the deepest corners of his mind any trace of doubt and fear. His eyes were still clenched shut and he knew himself to be in the deep parts of a pitch-black cave, but he could somehow see in front of him a blinding flash of light which vanquished the darkness altogether.
Bastila…?
He felt her familiar, warm and assuring presence through the Force. He couldn't make sense of the muffled words which seemed to resound in his ears, but he could feel the emotions behind them. She wanted to save them, to see them come back safe. Despite the Council's warning to Kael that he had to undertake this task without the help of Bastila or Elena, Bastila was risking everything in the hopes of saving his life. Strength seemed to flow back into Kael body, and the anxiety lifted from his mind.
The overwhelming and rejuvenating strength that now coarsed throughout his entire body was indescribable, and undoubtedly it was thanks to Bastila who aided him from afar. He could feel her emotions enveloping him, restoring his will to carry on despite the fact that he was in the darkest and most desperate fight of his life. Emotions which the Jedi Council would without hesitation condemn and shun: unrestrained passion, unconcealed attachment, the strong desire to protect everything precious to them, and—
…Love?
It was eerie to think of a true Jedi who had such feelings, but they were undoubtedly there. But in the current set of circumstances he was in, Kael didn't care in the slightest. All that mattered to him now was that Bastila's emotions gave him strength – the strength he needed to save Mission.
His eyes shooting open with newfound strength, Kael allowed the Force to course through his body as he leapt headlong towards the kath hound which was hellbent on devouring the young and innocent Mission. He reactivated his blue lightsaber and held it straight in front of him, its tip pointed directly at the neck of the monster. The young Twi'lek who lay pinned under its paws had already closed her eyes, a teardrop falling from the side of her left eye as she believed herself to be doomed and with no chance of ever reuniting with her long-lost family.
Mission could feel the tip of the salivating mouth of the kath hound touch against her soft cheek, and gave up all hope. She thought herself to be up to the task of fighting effectively alongside Kael in his quest, but she saw now that she was about to not only fail miserably at the first hurdle, but also cause the deaths of perhaps all of her friends through her incompetence.
Then, in a miraculous turn of events which seemed to transpire in a blink of an eye, Mission heard the kath hound shriek in pain, leaving her ears with a nasty sting which was infinitely better than having her face bitten off and mauled. Rubbing her eyes and removing the gunky saliva from the surface of her eyelids, she sat up and looked with amazement at the carcass of the kath hound which lay beside her. Evidently, Kael's lightsaber had burned cleanly through its left eye and straight out the right, incinerating its brain in the process. The stink of burnt flesh caused a churn in Mission's stomach and she quickly backed away before managing to stand on her feet.
She moved her lips to thank her friend, but remembered that there was no time for words. Acting on instinct, she grabbed her blaster pistol which had clattered out of her hand after she was attacked by the now-dead kath hound and shot a flurry of rounds at the monsters that were assaulting Zaalbar. Meanwhile, Kael rushed to the aid of Audrey who was grateful for his help, as the two of them made short work of the rabid animals.
With their flank now clear of all kath hounds, Kael, Mission, Zaalbar and Audrey concentrated all their efforts on helping Carth and Canderous stem and turn back the tide of the battle. A combination of heavy forward firepower, coupled with the melee prowess of Kael and Zaalbar who dispatched any beast which came too close for comfort, was too much for even the superior numbers of the kath hounds to contend with. Howling and whimpering, they retreated back into the darkness of the cave's inner section.
A heavy sigh escaped all of their lips. They were spent and exhausted, even the battle-hardened Mandalorian who stood with them. Kael felt as if his knees were about to give in and fall into shambles, but he remained stalwartly on his feet for fear that the beasts could regroup and push for another attack.
About to lay her hand over the wounds she sustained in her desperate fight for life against the kath hound, Mission was stunned as Audrey threw her arms around her and sobbed. "For fuck's sake, Mission, I thought I almost lost you!"
Still suffering from her wounds, Mission murmured back. "Audrey, I…"
"I never should have brought you here with us," Audrey berated herself, shaking her head while her tears wetted Mission's shoulder. "It's far too dangerous. Just what was I thinking?"
"Hey! We have to do this, remember?" Mission argued, breaking apart from her with a shove to the chest. "It's the only way that Kael's going to become a full-fledged Jedi, and it's the only way that we're going to learn as a group how to properly support each other in a serious fight!"
"I don't give a shit, Mission! I'm taking you back!" Audrey yelled and grabbed her by the wrist. "This is Kael's trial, and he can take care of himself! Now come with me!" She began to walk fiercely back in the direction of the cave entrance, but was stopped as Mission didn't budge a muscle, instead opting to stay exactly where she was. "Mission," she growled with a glare. "Out. Now."
"No," Mission fiercely shot back, ignoring Audrey's horrific stare at the two points on her torso that were stained with trickles of blood. "I'm staying here with Kael. I'm not abandoning him."
"I'm not going to say it again, Mission," Audrey hissed. "Come with me this instant, or I'm going to drag you out."
"Just what the fuck's your problem, Audrey?" Mission harangued her. "Nothing's going to count for shit if Kael dies out here! So why are you so insistent on leaving this place?"
"Because I love you, fucking damn it!" Audrey screamed, not caring whether her voice was heard by the kath hounds or even worse. "Do you have any idea of just how precious you are to me? You just might be the only family I have left in this world, do you understand? I am not letting you die out here! I am not going to break my promise to Zaerdra, not now, not ever!"
"Listen to her, Mission," Carth approached and placed his hand on Mission's shoulder after reloading his pistol. "You should go back; there's no point in risking your life for nothing." He removed his hand and placed it back by his side, and then spoke to everyone. "In fact, we should all just turn back and return to the Enclave building. There's nothing to be gained by going onward at this point. Look at the state we're in: we're almost out of ammo, and Mission and Kael are wounded. We can always try this again another time. And besides, the Council won't just drop you forever after this one little failure would they?"
Kael looked at Carth straight in the eyes, and Carth's words began to settle into his head. It made sense, after all: if he was truly the galaxy's last hope of defeating Malak as the Council made it seem, then the Council wouldn't want him to throw his life away in a relatively insignificant trial.
There was no shame in calling it a day and trying again another time.
"You're right, Carth," he nodded with a sigh. "Maybe it is wiser for us to turn back. I know how important Mission is to you and Audrey, and frankly I can't bear to imagine how I'd feel if she lost her life because of me. Let's return to the Enclave."
"But we're so close, Kael! Please reconsider!" Mission begged him, almost sounding hysterical and out of touch with reality. The young girl seemed to even become ignorant of the fact that her torso was still bleeding.
"I won't think small of you for chickening out, Kael," Canderous grunted. "Besides, I never had a high opinion of Jedi anyway…or Republic soldiers, for that matter." He shot a glance of Carth who returned his gaze with a slight glare of disapproval.
"To be honest," Kael said, "I always had a feeling that the Council was playing some kind of sick practical joke by sending me out here. I've had enough. Let's go." He swiftly turned around and proceeded to walk out of the cave, doing his best to ignore the sting in his back which Mission and Audrey winced at in horror. No small amount of kolto would do the trick when it came to dressing this wound.
"Thank you, Kael," Audrey voiced her gratitude as she and the others followed. "Thank you for caring for her safety."
"Don't mention it, Audrey," Kael smiled back. "I don't know where I'd be without you all."
"Dead, most likely," Mission joked, and they all shared a small laugh. "But boy, do I need a rest after that. We can come back here for another try some other time, right?"
"Oh, I'm not so sure about that," Audrey grimaced. She didn't want to frighten the young child, but knew that Mission's wound which was negligible now could very well become serious if left unchecked for long.
"Ahahahahaha!" a sinister female voice suddenly cackled from somewhere in the darkness, and then another voice echoed with an equally insidious chuckle. Kael, as tired and as pained as he was, quickly reactivated his lightsaber and begun to frantically look around for the source of the laughter.
"What the hell was that?!" Mission squealed, holding tightly upon Audrey's arm.
"Shut up! Keep your voice down from here on out!" Audrey whispered a warning to her as she crouched alongside Mission.
"You are right, my dear girl," the first voice spoke, its tone slithering like a snake which seemed to draw closer and closer. Slow, drawn out and high-pitched inhaling and exhaling could be heard approaching them from within the darker interior of the cave. "How can you be sure that you can come back at all, or even leave this place for that matter?"
The accent was heavy, sounding like that which belonged to a woman who had only learned Basic in her later years and incorporated the pronunciation and phonetics of her native people. This woman was obviously the 'taint' described ever so vaguely to him by the Masters, and every breath she took exuded an overwhelming air that only the dark side could bring. Kael was now well and truly on his guard, knowing that he would have the fight of his life on his hands if the woman attacked, and with the injuries sustained by Mission and himself, he had no choice but to attempt to reason with her.
"Who are you?" Kael called out to the woman. "What is it that you want?"
"Simple," she cackled. "You. Dead. Along with all of your friends."
"We don't want trouble!" he insisted again, looking around and trying desperately to use the light emitted by his weapon to locate the woman. "Please, just let us go! We've got wounded!"
"Oh…," she clicked her tongue three times, creating a fear-inspiring echo all throughout the cave chamber. "But it's always the most fun to pick on a wounded beast as prey, don't you agree? You can circle it…taunt it…humiliate it before finally sinking your claws and fangs into its neck…"
"Audrey, I'm scared!" Mission sobbed, grabbing for dear life against her guardian's arm.
"Courage, Mission. Courage!" Audrey huffed back at her, squeezing her hand.
"Courage, indeed," the second voice, more eloquent in its pronunciation of Basic, whispered from the dark. "You need plenty of it in here, considering what we're going to do to you…"
"I'm telling you again, we don't want any trouble!" Kael yelled. "The Council told me to come here and cleanse the crystal cave of its dark side influence! They never told me to harm anyone!"
"Liar!" the second voice hissed, and suddenly a whoosh of wind came from the deep, winding darkness and blew viciously past them, taking them by surprise as they hastily stood their ground. A rapid pattering of damp footsteps skidded past Kael before he could notice, and yet there was no presence of another sentient in sight. "You've come to kill us!"
"That he has, my dear," the accented voice said again. By the Force, Kael shuddered with fear. The voice was now coming from somewhere behind him! "Will you enjoy killing me, just like you killed my pets?"
"Your pets?!" Carth drew back in fear. "You keep kath hounds as pets?"
"Why, that we do," the second voice echoed from where Kael and his party originally faced. "They protect us, and in turn we care for them. But you have killed them, and so you must pay the price."
"I didn't come out here to kill anyone or anything!" Kael insisted, feeling more and more concerned for the safety of Mission who began to tremble uncontrollably. "I'm only here to—"
"Don't lie to me, human worm!" the feline voice berated him. "Only a few weeks ago, an idiot Jedi just like yourself came here, looking to kill me and my dear friend. And now…" The clattering of something hard could be heard as a yellowish, spherical object came rolling towards Kael's feet from behind a small mound of dirt. At first he was puzzled, wondering why the woman would throw at him a bright stone. But then, upon second inspection after the obect stopped right in front of him, Kael was horrified, feeling a chill rise up and down his spine.
A skull. A human skull. By the Force…
"There's plenty more where that came from," the first voice continued. "In fact, there are the bones of dozens of slain Mandalorian warriors deeper in my cave, every last one of them eaten to the bone by my hounds. Warriors? Ha! They were nothing but cowards, all of them!"
"That's enough, you little bitch!" Canderous roared, incensed at the woman's insult towards his people. He fired madly at the general direction he heard the voice come from, striking multiple areas in an fan-shaped trajectory before he finally ceased fire and panted angrily.
"Where the hell is she?" Carth asked, pointing the red beam of his scoped blaster pistol about. "That volley hit absolutely everywhere she could have been. She should be dead!"
"I don't like the look of this," Canderous gritted his teeth, and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. "Keep your guard up."
Then, Kael froze in terror, looking down at the moist ground which seemed to patter with what appeared to be footsteps. Left…right…left…right…The water was surely splashing ever so quietly as an unknown presence approached the unwary Canderous from behind. Kael knew he should have cried out or at the very least whispered a word of warning to Canderous, but for some reason he could not. For a hopeful Jedi, he still hadn't fully learned to control his fear.
At last, a final footstep pattered down right behind Canderous, whose ears were only now aware of the noise coming from behind him. The Mandalorian's eyes veered right and he exhaled deeply until no more air came from his lips as he slowly turned around.
There, right in front of him, were two gleaming yellow eyes with black pupils contracted into terrifying and catlike narrow slits staring right into his soul, enough to strike fear into the heart of one of the most stalwart Mandalorian warriors in history. The alien was tall – just short of Canderous's height – and with a head that was bald except for a collection of scruffy dreadlocks that were tied back by a single gold-colored band. Her ears were pronounced and pointy, just like that of a cat's, and beneath her aggressively-shaped nose were peach-colored lips which housed two rows of sharp teeth which obviously served the purpose of tearing apart at flesh, satisfying a carnivore's diet.
A Cathar, one of the most ferocious races in the galaxy when it came to melee combat.
"Time to die," she grinned at the stunned Canderous who was helpless to do anything but watch as she lifted up what appeared to be a lightsaber, pointing it against his chest.
Without a second's hesitation, Kael tapped into his Force potential and hastily pulled Canderous away using a strong telekinetic grip, just as the Cathar activated her lightsaber which burned pure crimson. The Mandalorian grunted in pain as he slammed against a rock formation, momentarily dazed and unable to pull himself up in order to spring into action.
Utterly incensed that the Mandalorian's life had been spared, the Cathar let out a shriveled shriek before rushing at Carth, the nearest to Canderous, with frightening speed that was augmented by her Force abilities. The pilot unleashed a desperate torrent of fire at the woman, but only gasped in panic as he saw her deflect every single one of his shots away, and only barely jumped away in time before one of the energy bolts pierced his right shoulder. He stared up and pointed his weapon in vain at the approaching Cathar, but his heart sank when his gun wouldn't respond to his pulling of the trigger.
Just as the Cathar was about to stab her lightsaber through Carth's heart, Kael leapt in and deflected her attack, the two lightsabers illuminating the cave in blue and red light. Breaking apart from an intense saber lock, the Cathar leapt back just in time before Canderous recovered and reinforced Kael with precise shots which whizzed through the space which was formerly occupied by her. The woman's shadowy figure was now barely visible again after she deactivated her lightsaber, as if she was a silhouette or a shadow lurking in the dark.
Kael rushed forward, eager not to lose her for fear that she may strike again. The Cathar lured him deeper and deeper intermittently striking at him with her lightsaber before scurrying off again, using the rocks as cover. The hopeful Padawan quickly learned that this fight he was in was nothing like the sparring exercises he had with Elena and Bastila. Every strike the Cathar took was vicious, many of them lethal stabs which were ever so difficult to parry and defend against. Unlike the comparatively passive Niiman practiced by Elena or vibrant Ataru utilized by Bastila, this Cathar was ultra-aggressive in her violent use of the most deadly of lightsaber forms, Juyo. Kael did not even have the confidence to apply one of his hybrid forms combining the quick defensive parries of Soresu with the powerful offence of Djem So, due to the sheer speed and malice of the Cathar's attacks.
He could hear Audrey and Mission crying out to him from behind, begging him to turn back so that they could escape the cave, but he didn't heed their advice. What choice did he have in the matter? With his non-Force-sensitive companions, there was no way that they were going to safely exit the cave before being overwhelmed by the two Dark Jedi who occupied this cave.
Two…
In Force's name, where was the other one?
Quickly noticing that he was going deeper and deeper into a trap, Kael paused in his steps and instead opted to stand his ground. The Cathar hissed in indignation, frustrated that he didn't fall for her plan.
And oh, how big a mistake it was.
If Kael was terrified before of the Cathar's strength, he had every reason to be petrified out of his skin now that she was the one pressing the attack. Every strike she took was augmented by a cunning use of Force Speed, throwing Kael off balance with an unpredictable rate of attacks. A heavy downward swing would quickly be accompanied with an uppercut movement which aimed the tip of her lightsaber against Kael's torso, blows which he barely managed to dodge in time before his guts were spilled. He didn't dare use the Trakata technique he had so often practiced on Elena with their harmless training lightsabers – one false or stupid move on his part might end up with him losing his head or worse.
And then, Kael thought his life would quickly be cut to a premature end when he saw a second crimson lightsaber ignite from behind the Cathar. Running at him was a human woman, her eyes yellowish just like her companion. She was beautiful, had fair features and light brown hair, and wore the brown robes that would normally distinguish her as a Jedi Knight if it wasn't for her fall.
The Cathar chuckled evilly as her partner came by her side, opening up a two-pronged attack against Kael who now struggled to hold back their advance with a hastily put-up Soresu defence. The two worked in perfect tandem together, the human initiating wide slashes while the Cathar aimed deadly stabs at Kael, leaving him no choice but to withdraw in order to avoid being killed by their simultaneous attacks.
"Kael! Get the fuck down!" Canderous roared from some distance behind Kael, as he and the others finally caught up with the initiate. Not thinking for another second, Kael flung himself back as far as he could using the Force, and then lowered his lightsaber so that Canderous's blaster fire could come through and buy him some time. The Cathar and human were taken by surprise and stopped in their relentless tracks. Managing to deflect back two shots which were blocked by his attackers and aimed back towards Canderous and the group, Kael scrambled to his feet and retreated.
"Get back! Back in the main chamber!" he cried, not wanting to get his friends caught up in a bottleneck which favored the two Dark Jedi over them. They listened to him without question and did as they were told, preparing their blasters as they ran back through the natural rock corridor to the chamber and jumped behind whatever rock or other cover they could in order to shield themselves from deflected fire.
Although he was determined to make it back to the chamber in order to avoid being eviscerated by the two Dark Jedi, Kael momentarily looked over his shoulder so as to ensure that they didn't have any more nasty surprises in store for him. He was certain that at least one of them would attempt to strike him with Force Lightning or other dark powers, but surprisingly they did not. Judging by their heavy focus on lightsaber combat, Kael had reason to believe that they were both Jedi Guardians prior to their fall.
And that was something he could use to his advantage.
Just before turning left and back into the chamber where his friends were now braced for combat, Kael turned about and channeled his strength into an almighty wave of Force Push, sending piles of loose rock against the two women who shrieked as they threw their arms forward, barely managing to put up a telekinetic Force shield in time to protect themselves. Taking heart in the success of his attack which told him of the shortcomings of his enemies, he retreated back into the main chamber. His friends saw from the glow of his blue lightsaber which illuminated the side wall that it was safe to hold fire, and thus waited until Kael returned to them and stood in the middle of the chamber as he began to channel another heavily concentrated burst of Force energy in his hands.
"Kael! What the fuck!" Audrey yelled, noticing that the rock she was using as cover in front of her began to crack and wobble.
"I have no choice! Trust me on this!" Kael insisted stubbornly. "Zaalbar! Get a frag grenade ready!"
The Wookiee grunted and did as he was told, grabbing a grenade out of his utility belt. He looked with amazement at Kael who held up multiple heavy rocks in the air above his head, ready to hurl at the women as soon as they turned around the corner. The fuming, angry voices of the assailants, coupled with the humming red lights of their weapons were well and truly noticeable by the companions who readied themselves for a fight unlike any they had before.
Then, two pairs of hateful yellow eyes gleamed in the dark as the Dark Jedi approached around the corner, brandishing their red lightsabers as they screamed at their would-be victims.
"Zaalbar, now!" Kael yelled as he hurled the rocks at the Dark Jedi who, being less than ten meters away, had no time to react to the violent onrush of stones which pelted their bodies in excruciating pain.
Zaalbar roared as he threw the grenade with an almighty swing of his arm, sending it clattering against the wall behind the two women who were already stunned by the rocks. With great fortune, they reacted in time to save themselves, using the Force to leap forward straight into the chamber as the grenade exploded where they had stood only a split second before. They frantically rolled about and leapt to their feet as blaster shots riddled the cave floor around them, the Cathar heading straight towards Kael with a vicious scowl on her face while the human woman charged at Audrey and Mission who were left exposed at the rear after the loss of their cover.
"Holy fuck!" Mission screamed as she panicked, grabbing at her vibroblade just in time as the human's red lightsaber came down towards her skull. Her skills and strength was no match for the trained and disciplined Dark Jedi, as she only ever used her vibroblade in sneak attacks on unwary Gamorreans in the Tarisian sewers rather than in a pitched battle.
"Get the hell away from her, you bitch!" Audrey howled at the woman, kicking her right in the gut and sending her away from Mission.
Meanwhile, Carth and Canderous stood on helplessly, fearful that their shots may very well hit their allies instead of their enemies due to the sheer pace and speed with which both duels seemed to move with. The human woman was grinning as she fought, as if she was enjoying every moment of her fight with Audrey and Zaalbar despite being outnumbered two-to-one. As expert as Audrey clearly was in swordsmanship, her self-taught skills were no match for the likes of the Dark Jedi, and Kael knew he had limited time to act as he continued to fight on against the mad attacks of the Cathar who snarled at him with every strike she took.
Seeing that Carth, Canderous and Mission were in no position to help with their blasters in such a closer-quarter fight, Kael summoned every single ounce of strength he had left in his body. Bastila had never stopped supporting him and his friends with her Battle Meditation, and thus Kael was ever more determined to make it out of this encounter alive and return to her and Elena in one piece.
He had to make it through this, even if it meant killing this woman and her friend.
In the limited time that he had left, persistently blocking the Cathar's brutal flurries of Juyo strikes enabled Kael to discover a pattern behind her attacks. No more than four broad strikes would be initiated before she varied her assault with a stab, and this allowed Kael to finally exit his ultra-defensive Soresu style and start to incorporate elements of Makashi in one of his favored hybrid forms which he experimented on with Elena. The Cathar's power now became a liability, as she found that her heavy swings were deflected and made to reach out too far in a way that overextended her arm and left her vulnerable to quick Makashi counterattacks which she barely held back. Instead, she fell back on a standard Ataru stance, aiming to rely now on her speed over brute strength. She darted side to side, mixing things up with a few acrobatic leaps and spins in a vain attempt to confuse Kael who now utilized a steady and consistent attack pattern of Djem So.
Kael had now fully understood and grasped the combat style and lightsaber techniques of the Cathar, and victory was out of the question for her. Not with Bastila's strength flowing through Kael.
Seeing that her Ataru was fruitless, the Cathar gave in to her rage and began a wild, animalistic bout of Juyo once more. Her lightsaber cut through numerous stones, sending rock and debris flying in all directions. With a quick glance over his shoulder, Kael was glad to see that Audrey and Zaalbar were still holding out against the woman, albeit with diminishing strength. And again, the Cathar was fully focused on a brutal lightsaber assault, leaving her the perfect target for another barrage of Force energy.
Still ensuring that he blocked every swing by the Cathar, Kael glanced all around her, taking notice of all the crushed rocks. He silently gathered up those that lied behind her into a singular mass, then launched a fierce jab of his lightsaber towards her.
It worked.
She had fallen for the ruse once again, and was now engaged in a heavy saber lock with him, pushing her lightsaber mercilessly towards his face while hot breath steamed from behind her clenched teeth. Then her face froze up in shock as Kael looked over her shoulder and jerked his head backwards. The Cathar moaned in pain as the rocks crashed against the back of her skull and spine, incapacitating her. She fell face-first onto the ground, defeated, with her lightsaber clattering out of her hand before Kael quickly took the initiative and called it into his left hand using the Force.
"It's over! Stop your attack!" Kael shouted so that the other woman could hear. His lightsaber hummed as he pointed it at the head of the Cathar who slowly turned around to look up at him with fierce eyes. To his relief, the racket of battle had calmed down and became silenced all around him. But then, the feline then looked to her right, smiling devilishly in a way that Kael did not understand until the second woman spoke back to him.
"I already have," she hissed. Turning his head, Kael shuddered as soon as he saw the woman holding Mission in an armlock around her chest, with her crimson lightsaber humming dangerously close to the neck of the young child who was trembling and sweating in fear.
"Fucking bitch! Let her go!" Audrey snapped, aiming her blaster pistol straight at the woman's forehead.
"For a bunch of people who barged into someone else's dwelling and killing so many of their pets, you're demanding a lot, wouldn't you say?" The woman's eyes gleamed yellow in the darkness, and she had absolutely no intention of letting the Twi'lek go.
"We told you already, we had no intention of starting a fight!" Kael argued, looking down at the Cathar who hissed back at him. "I don't want to hurt either of you!"
The Cathar wriggled at Kael's feet as if she wished to hurl an insult at him, but realized that there was truth behind his words. After all, if Kael really wanted to hurt her, he would have driven his lightsaber through her heart before he took notice of her friend who currently held Mission hostage.
Instead, she decided to converse with him. "Who are you? What is it that you truly want?"
"My name is Kael Deren," he answered promptly. "I was initiated into the Jedi Order about a month ago. This is the final step in my Padawan trials. The Council sent me here and told me that I had to 'cleanse' this place of its darkness before I could become fully accepted into the Order."
"Cleanse? 'Cleanse', did she say?" the human woman puffed in indignation. "They've done it, my dear. They've sent these bastards here to kill us!"
"I said no!" Kael shouted at her. "I'm going to admit to you now that I had absolutely no idea that you were in this place! When I heard the Masters say those words to me, I was under the impression that I had to slay a beast of some kind, or perhaps do something as simple as meditate in this place in order to remove the darkness that tainted it! I don't want to kill someone if I don't have to."
The Cathar looked into the eyes of the hopeful Jedi who stood over her. If it was another Jedi who had come striding into her cave with false pretenses, she would have beheaded him in an instant. But this Kael Deren…she couldn't sense any lies or falsehoods coming from him. He exuded an air of honesty and integrity, and a bright spark of the light that she had never felt before.
"You…aren't here to kill me?" she asked gently, placing a soft hand on the left leg of Kael which stood firmly beside her stomach.
"No. Not unless you force me to," he said with hope in his voice. "And I pray that it never has to come to that."
"Kael! Stop fucking around and deal with these damn bitches!" Mission squealed under the choking arm of the woman who held her. "I don't care if I die! Better me than all of you if you fall for their tricks!"
"Silence, whelp!" the woman tensed her hold around Mission, and the crimson lightsaber drew closer to her neck.
"Let her go, I said!" Audrey hissed, her finger dangerously close to pulling the trigger.
"Or you'll do what?" the woman chuckled and looked at her with widened eyes expressing mockery.
Audrey narrowed her eyes as she took one step forward. "That girl is all I have left in this world after the destruction of Taris. You hurt her and I'm going to slit your throat slowly and painfully with my sword. Jedi or not, that pretty face of yours is going to be a bloodied mess if you don't do as I say."
Kael could suddenly hear the Cathar rustling and trembling at his feet, her hand eerily shaking as it departed Kael's leg. "Taris…destroyed?" she murmured in horror. "My…my home…"
Puzzled by the Cathar's confession, Audrey slightly released the tension she exerted on the trigger as she spoke, her eyes still fixed on the other woman. "You were from Taris also?"
"Y-yes," she stammered, slowly rising to her feet and gesturing with a passive hand to Kael, allowing him to know that she no longer meant harm to him. Kael stood aside and allowed her to recover, but still kept a firm hold on her lightsaber. "Taris was my home for many years after the destruction of my people's homeworld of Cathar at the hands of those...those…" She looked with hateful eyes at Canderous who sported his people's battle armor. "Those monsters…"
"So kill him already," the human grinned. "Rend his flesh. Make him know the full extent of your anger."
"No, Belaya," the Cathar shook her head. "As much as every fiber of my being yearns to end his life, I would also have to bring harm to all those who are with him." She looked straight at the face of Mission who grew weaker and weaker in Belaya's grip. "Let her go."
"What? You can't be serious, Juhani!" Belaya gasped at her friend who approached her without fear, not caring in the slightest about Carth and Canderous who had their blasters ready to fire away at her.
Juhani walked right past the stunned Audrey whose aching elbow begged her to put down her weapon. She stood in front of her friend and looked into her eyes as she spoke solelmnly. "Let. Her. Go."
With frustration evident in her eyes, Belaya puffed as she pulled away her lightsaber and shoved Mission into Audrey's arms. Audrey embraced Mission tightly, and began to show great concern for the wounds upon Mission's stomach which still continued to spill small trickles of blood.
"Why the hell did you tell me to do that, Juhani?" Belaya growled with seething anger. "He's going to kill us, just like he killed our pets!"
"Because I have sensed the sincerity in that one's mind," she pointed at Kael, who held his lightsaber passively to his side in order to serve as a source of light, with no sign of intention of using it against her. "He spared my life when he had every chance and every reason to end it. And even if I initiated battle with him again, he would have killed me. His power and skill…it is unimaginable."
"I assure you, we meant you no harm from the beginning," Kael said. "Now if you're willing to oblige us, I'd like to know just who you are and how you came to be here."
The calm courtesy of Kael was further sign to Juhani that she could trust him despite the fact that he was a complete stranger. She faced him and answered. "I am Juhani, and this is my long-time friend, Belaya. I was a Padawan in the Academy here on Dantooine, and she a Knight. Two months ago, I…I slew my Master, Quatra, in a training exercise. Fearing for my life and the punishment the Council would have dealt to me, I fled under cover of darkness to this cave, and it has been my home ever since."
Quatra…Quatra…
The sound of the name struck a chime deep in Kael's memory. He recalled hearing some conversations of fellow Jedi in the dining hall a few weeks ago, mentioning Quatra and her injuries. But he could have sworn he heard a Padawan saying that the Jedi Master was alive and well…
"Are you sure you killed her?" he asked her.
"Didn't you hear me, human?" she shot back in anger, but the source of her anger was not her hatred. It was rather…a sense of shame? Regret? "I killed her! I saw her drop limp in front of my eyes! I saw the blood spill from her lips! She's dead, damn you!"
"Well, you're wrong about that," Kael shook his head. "I swear on my life that I'm not lying to you when I say that I heard other Padawans and Jedi Knights talk about her in the Academy's dining hall. She's alive and continuing to recover from her wounds. They were deep, but not fatal."
"My…Master…she is alive?" Juhani began to weep in disbelief. "By the Force, I thought I'd never see her again…"
"He lies!" Belaya shrieked. "He's only trying to deceive you! Don't fall for it, Juhani!"
Juhani felt that she had every reason to believe Kael based on the sincere feeling that resonated from his heart, but there was still something that she couldn't understand. "You say that this is part of your Padawan trials, but you're a grown man."
Kael shrugged. "I was a late starter. I came here to Dantooine with Knights Bastila Shan and Elena Adarné. Do you know them?"
Juhani shrugged and drooped her shoulders. The Council must think of her as being an absolute joke if they sent this…amateur to best her. And worst of all, best her he did.
"That fucking bitch Bastila Shan!" Belaya yelled. "She's the one who told the Council to send this bastard here to kill us, I bet!"
"For the last time, calm down, Belaya!" Juhani walked right up to her friend and looked her dead in the eye. "You no longer have the girl in your grasp, and he has my lightsaber in his hand. Just what kind of chance do you think you stand should you choose to fight him?"
Belaya tensed her eyebrows. "What do you mean I stand? Aren't you going to side with me? What happened to our friendship, Juhani?"
"You are my friend, Belaya," Juhani said. "You always have been, and you always will be. But you are wrong if you believe that I will continue on with this fight. It is pointless. My whole reason for being here is pointless now, as Master Quatra is alive."
Kael could sense in Juhani a deep sense of shame and sorrow as the Cathar hung her head, staring blankly at her feet. Still unsure as to which path Juhani would sway towards, he questioned her. "So what will you do now?"
She sighed. "As much as I would love nothing more than to reconcile with her, I cannot return. They will deem me to be a traitor. I must stay here until the end of my days, whether that time may be sooner or later."
"That's not true, miss," Carth said, now having well and truly lowered his pistol. Juhani stared depressingly at him as he spoke. "Kael's right about the conversations that the Jedi have had in the dining hall. Furthermore, I heard many of them talk about friends they had lost to the dark side. A few of their pals had turned to the dark side out of fear of torture at the hands of the Sith after their capture, or their lust for power. And those Jedi in their conversations, they…they say that they truly want their friends back."
"The Order is very forgiving, Juhani," Kael reinforced Carth's words. "If you show them that you are sincere in your regret and are ready to come back to the light, I'm sure they'll welcome you with open arms. You may have killed another Jedi previously like you said, but I can feel that you did so out of self-defence. They will understand."
"Forgiveness…after all I have done," Juhani whispered, looking at Kael with tearful eyes.
"No!" Belaya hissed. "I can't let you do this, Juhani! I won't let them lure you in and then kill you without a second thought! Just why in the hell did I come out here to this cave all those weeks ago after turning my back on those shitheads if you're going to abandon me now?!"
"I am not abandoning you, Belaya," Juhani said. "I want you to come back with me. Come back, and we can seek forgiveness from the Order together."
"There will be no forgiveness, and you know it," Belaya spat, walking to her right and standing directly between all of the others and the crystal formations behind her. "I'm not going to say it again, Juhani: these people are going to stab you in the back the moment you let your guard down. And even if they don't, they're going to kill you eventually after you've become no longer important to them and their goals. I'm staying put right here, and so are you. These people may have caught us with our guard down but they can't do it again! Join me and we can kill them! We can rebuild the kath hound pack and ultimately exact vengeance on those snivelling Masters of the Order!"
Juhani shuddered, sickened by the extent to which her friend had truly fallen. She thought she herself had fallen to the dark side completely, but she realized now that she was only being fooled by her own fear and anxiety; the belief that the Council would show no mercy. The shadow which loomed over her mind began to slowly subside for good, as did the taint of the dark side which haunted the crystal cave.
Kael sensed this inner conflict of Juhani and came to a realization of his own: this trial of his was not meant to test his prowess in the Force or lightsaber combat at all, but rather his skills when it came to diplomacy and reasoning. The words that the Masters used in order to describe this trial…they only said that there was a dark taint that had to be removed. Whereas an ordinary Guardian would have gone in fully prepared for brutal combat and slew Juhani and Belaya without hesitation in the midst of fighting, Kael saw that the Masters wanted to observe whether he could successfully remove this so-called 'taint' without the need for killing.
Cruel, yes, but a necessary lesson indeed in the ways of a Jedi.
But then he looked upon Belaya once more. The woman was now absolutely seething in anger, her entire being shrouded by the darkness within her. Whatever chance there was of redeeming her was growing thinner by the second, as was her sanity. Her yellow eyes were on the verge of turning into a searing red, testimony to her irreversible fall.
Still, he was obligated to try his best. "Belaya, I know you're angry, but please realize that we mean you no harm. You are so young and full of potential. Don't throw your life away needlessly like this."
Belaya puffed and laughed heartily. "Hahaha! Don't throw my life away? Cocky little son of a bitch you are. You cannot win here. You may have bested my friend, but she is a mere Padawan. I, on the other hand, am a Knight, and what's more, my strength now comes from the limitless power of the dark side!"
Kael corrected her. "Obsession with the dark side will only destroy you and turn you into the enemy of everything you once strove to defend. If you need proof of that, you only need look at your own reflection."
"Enough talk; now you must die," Belaya exhaled, her lips forming a smile of madness that heralded the loss of the last of her sanity. She slowly walked forward at a deathly slow speed, pointing the tip of her lightsaber straight at Kael's heart.
Juhani tried one last time to reason with her former friend who drew closer and closer towards Kael who reluctantly readied his weapon. "Belaya, please! It's over! There's no need for this!"
"I don't care. There's nothing left for me now but revenge," Belaya grinned. "Might as well enjoy it while it lasts."
Dismayed, Juhani hung her head again and sighed. But then, from the corner of her eye, she saw a pair of narrow, yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness behind Belaya. One of her pet kath hounds had not swarmed in during the previous battle against Kael and his friends. She beckoned for it to come closer, and she looked straight into the eyes of Belaya which grew redder with each passing second. The beast approached quietly and stealthily, and its presence was not at all noticed by Belaya who was too consumed by her rage.
"I have to thank you, though," Belaya cackled at Kael. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to know who I truly am."
The kath hound snuck closer, its sharp fangs glistening against the light emitted by Belaya's lightsaber.
"This darkness…it completes me. It simply washes away all the lies the Jedi have poured into my head since the days of my youth. Rejecting emotion? Ha! Only a fool would deny themselves the power which hatred brings."
Closer…
"Once I have killed you, I will show Juhani the error of her ways. I will show her that there is no safer place to be than here, in our little dwelling. Deathly silent, the peace of darkness…And the flesh of our victims to feed our beloved pets…"
Closer…
"I'm just curious…which part of your body shall I cut up to feed to the kath hounds first? Or perhaps I'll start with the bitch over here who dared to insult me?" she chuckled, pointing her lightsaber at Audrey who bravely stood in front of her beloved Mission in order to protect her.
Closer…
"And so, it all comes down to this, my dear," Belaya clicked her tongue three times at Audrey. "What a shame that pretty face of yours has to be shredded up by fangs. But no matter. Unlike you, who promised me a slow and painful death, I shall make yours quick and painless. Before you know it, you can be at peace forever. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
"Funny," Audrey chuckled at her.
Belaya frowned. "And what makes you say that? What do you think you can do to me?"
Audrey shook her head and grinned at her. "Not me. Your pet."
Belaya froze in fear the moment she finally heard the light breaths of the vicious horned kath hound which crouched directly behind her. Time seemed to stop still as she turned her head towards Juhani and looked at her with horrified eyes. As if she was asking her why she had abandoned and betrayed her in favor of a deceitful piece of filth.
Then, excruciating pain rippled throughout her body as the kath hound dug its twin horns right through her torso, their pointy tips protruding out Belaya's stomach. The Jedi Knight screamed and wheezed in pain, and her lightsaber fell from her grasp and clattered onto the cave floor. Sent hurling away by the yank of the kath hound's head, she landed on her side. Two petrified eyes stared directly at Juhani, and a trembling hand reached out to her in agony before the kath hound leapt onto her again and proceeded to tear apart her neck with its sharp fangs, ending her life in a matter of seconds.
"It is done," Juhani sighed, fighting back tears which threatened to flow down her face.
"You made a tough choice there," Kael said, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder after he deactivated his lightsaber. "I'm sorry we couldn't do anything about your friend."
"She made her choice; I made mine," Juhani turned her head away and walked away from Kael, and Kael's hand fell back against his side. But the moment it did, Kael's body suddenly gave in to the excruciating pain that he had kept at bay for so long. He collapsed in a heap onto the cold, damp floor, as did Mission who succumbed to the pain of her wounds from being attacked earlier by a horned kath hound.
"Mission!" Audrey cried out as she threw her arms around the young Twi'lek on the ground. Carth immediately came to the aid of the child whom they both cherished and sought to defend, as did Zaalbar who was deeply concerned about the health of his long-time friend.
"Kael! Snap out of it! Get your act together!" Canderous said, kneeling by Kael's side as he rattled the Jedi's body. He threw his right hand around Kael's body and onto his back, but then withdrew it upon feeling a cold, thick sea of liquid. Taking up Kael's lightsaber, he activated it and hovered it over his hand to see that it was soaked with blood that was not previously visible in the pitch-black darkness.
"The hell do we do? What the fucking hell do we do?" Audrey panicked as she continued to shake the ailing body of Mission, who was now unconscious. She spun her head and shouted at Juhani. "Can't you do anything? Help us, damn it!"
Determined to help her new friends who had brought her back to the light, Juhani crouched beside Mission and used the Force to emit a ray of bluish-white light over Mission's wounds. Carth, Audrey and Zaalbar watched on in amazement as the bleeding gashes on Mission's stomach began to heal and regenerate. Soon enough, her bleeding stopped completely and not a single sign of her old wounds could be found anywhere.
"Hey! Catgirl! The hell are you lingering there for?" Canderous called out. With a snarl at the Mandalorian, Juhani quickly shifted over to where he was, while Audrey hugged Mission tightly, grateful that she was going to be alright.
"Are you still awake?" Juhani asked Kael, who gave a slight nod of his head in response. "Then why haven't you healed yourself yet? We're out of danger!"
Kael smirked. "Heh…never really…learned how."
Juhani slapped her hand against her forehead. Always, the Masters slip up somewhere in their instructions to new Initiates and hopeful Padawans…
"Hold still," she instructed Kael, turning him over so that he lay stomach-down while she healed him. "And you, go away!" she shoved the chest of the Mandalorian who stumbled back, incensed at her push but not losing his temper as he merely grunted and got back up on his feet.
Whereas once he was held together despite his pain by the confidence that Bastila's Battle Meditation fueled him with, Kael felt like an empty, dying shell the moment he felt her energy leave him. The wound on his back was undeniably terrible, and now he could feel the full extent of its grievous state.
But then, he felt the life return to his veins. A mystical force of energy coursed through him, healing and nourishing his body. His ripped flesh began to mend anew, and he breathed deeply, filling his weakened lungs with much-needed oxygen. Although he was still fatigued from blood loss, he was well enough to carry on on his own two feet as he rose with Juhani's assistance.
"Thank you," he said to her as she handed him his lightsaber after retrieving her own. "I owe you my life."
"As I do to you," she smiled weakly, then looked with dismay at the carcass of Belaya, now an unidentifiable mass of flesh as the kath hound continued to madly eat away at her corpse. It gave her so much grief to see her once precious and beautiful friend become the victim of her own emotions in such an undeserving way.
"So what now?" Carth asked, holding the unconscious Mission in his arms as he walked over to them. "We can't possibly go on like this. Please tell me that the 'taint' has now been dealt with?"
"It has," Juhani told him somberly. "The taint was Belaya and I. You have nothing more to fear from this place. Let us return to the Enclave at once; I have much to repent and seek forgiveness for."
"So this is it, then?" Audrey sighed with relief. "This is the end of your trial, Kael. You will undoubtedly become a Padawan upon your return. Congratulations."
"Sure looks like it, Audrey," Kael smiled at her, then turned in an effort to exit the cave. The sight of the bright crystal formations overhead filled him with optimism; he didn't want to put up with the darkness any longer.
"I'm glad we don't have to go on anymore," Carth sighed as he and the others followed after Kael. He looked down at the dear child who was fast asleep in his arms. "I can't imagine what we'd do if we lost her."
"I'm surprised that you're still standing, Kael," Canderous mused behind him. "Mission fainted after losing a pissy amount of blood compared to you."
"Jedi training, I guess," Kael shrugged and smiled. "But right now, it's best that we hurry. Mission needs to rest, and—" He suddenly froze in place, and his entire world around him seemed to go grey the moment he stepped back into the illuminated crystal chamber. His legs and arms would not move no matter how hard he willed them to, and his ears went numb and deaf.
"Kael? Kael, what's the matter?" Audrey ran up to him and shook him by the arms. Kael, however, could not reply. He merely looked forward in eerie silence at the two approaching figures which he alone could see and hear. Nothing else registered in his mind; not even the woman who was directly in front of him.
-o-
"You must realize the consequences of what we are about to do here, correct?" a tall, imposing man in a red suit of armor spoke to his colleague who walked beside him. The second figure was much smaller in stature, minuscule in comparison to his taller companion. And yet, despite this, he carried an air of mysticism about him. The Force resounded in him, flowed through him in a way that it did in no other Jedi. The dark hooded cape draped over his back stopped just short of his ankles, and the bottom of it was slightly tattered, adding a fear-inspiring element to his appearance. The hood lay over the man's head, and on his face he wore a metallic mask of crimson and black.
Darth Revan…He was just as Kael imagined in his first vision of the Dark Lord facing off against Bastila and Elena in the bridge of the Sith flagship.
"Your fear does not concern me, Malak," Revan spat, his voice being manipulated and twisted by his mask in a way that made him sound like the very devil. "I have told you time and time again that my personal fate is of no consequence. What's important is the fate of the galaxy as we know it."
"But is it truly worth the risk?" Malak inquired as the two of them drew closer and closer to the immobilized Kael who was helpless to do a thing. "The weapon we seek is one which is fueled by the dark side of the Force. We may seek it now with the best of intentions, but there's no knowing what may happen if it consumes us in its endless hunger."
"Are you truly that weak, Malak?" Revan taunted his apprentice. "You would allow it to corrupt you so easily and quickly?"
"Not in the slightest," Malak shook his head. "I wish for nothing more than to defend the Republic, as do you. I will not let its corrupting influence get the better of my character."
"That is yet to be seen," Revan said, now barely meters away from Kael, who began to sweat nervously. Surely they had spotted him? Why have they not reacted? What is the meaning of this?
Kael's heart sank the moment he saw the two Sith Lords pull their lightsabers from their belts and hold them at the ready. He closed his eyes, hearing the footsteps draw closer and closer until…
They passed right by him, as if they never even spotted him. Was this another vision? Surely it must be.
"Beware, my apprentice," Revan warned as he and Malak continued on deeper into the cave. "Creatures of the dark side of the Force still lurk within this place."
At last, Kael felt his head become unstuck as he slowly turned it to look over his shoulder at the departing Sith. To his disappointment, he saw only the face of Carth who looked at him with concern in his eyes.
-o-
"You alright, Kael?" Carth asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
His body now out of its immobilized state, Kael quickly reassumed a normal posture and replied. "I think I very well may have, Carth. I might have had another vision just now."
"A…vision?" Audrey winced. "You mean, like the one you told us about where you imagined yourself being in Revan's shoes during his duel with Bastila and Elena?"
Kael nodded. "Exactly. Just now, I had a vision of Revan and Malak coming into this place. They walked straight past where we're standing right now and continued on into the deeper parts of the cave."
Audrey held her hand against her chin, puzzled. "Strange…why the hell would they come to a place like this? What could they have been looking for?"
Juhani had the answer. "Deeper in the cave, there is a dark presence. Something truly terrible. Not even Belaya or I dared to venture further into the innermost sections of the cave. There is…a great evil in there. It has always been in there since before my settlement, and the Masters knew of this."
"That's the darkness?" Carth asked. "Then why the hell did you say that the 'taint' had gone after we killed that friend of yours?"
"Belaya and I were indeed the taint the Council told you of," Juhani said. "We were undoubtedly the object of your test here, but we are not the true source of the darkness of this place."
"I hear you, but I don't care," Audrey shook her head. "We're leaving this place. Now. It's too dangerous."
Carth concurred. "Audrey's right. We have to leave this place now, or we might come to regret it if some other beast pops out and decides to have us for lunch. Let's move out." The entire group began to walk out, except for Kael who stood still, looking back into the darkness from which they came out of. Noticing that Kael wouldn't budge, Audrey stepped forth and tugged him by the arm.
"We're leaving, sunshine. Get your ass moving," she said gruffly.
"I have to do this, Audrey," Kael said calmly.
"What?"
"I don't know…," Kael sighed as he took one step forward. "After getting that vision, I…I get the feeling that this is something that I just have to take care of. I might not have another vision to guide my steps in this place if I come back another time."
"It's too dangerous! Get a hold of yourself, Kael!" Carth argued. "The hell are we going to tell Mission when she wakes up and finds you gone?"
"Then tell her I'll be back soon," Kael said blankly, much to Carth and Audrey's shock.
Knowing that Kael could not be persuaded otherwise, Juhani walked up to him and spoke. "You are certain of this, yes?"
"I am," he nodded.
"Then…take this with you," she said, handing him her crimson-bladed lightsaber. "You may need it in there."
"Take the speeders back to the Academy," Kael instructed his friends. "I'll be back as soon as I can after I deal with this."
Audrey took a step forth to bicker with him, but after realizing that Kael could not be swayed to abandon his current course of action, she relented and stood down. She muttered softly. "We'll leave one speeder for you to take back after you're done here. Good luck, Kael."
She had an eerie feeling that the speeder would never be returning to the Enclave building.
With a nod, Kael left his friends and soon vanished into the darkness to face the trial that even the Masters did not have planned for him. He passed through the chamber where the kath hound still sat devouring the corpse of Belaya, and proceeded through the ruins of the corridor which was littered with rocks and debris after the battle against the former fallen Jedi. Illuminating his path with his lightsaber and using the Force to guide him through the long, winding corridor, he finally came before two large stone pillars engraved with alien markings. In between them was the open entrance to the deepest recesses of the cave, a chilling, dank and foul smell reeking of decay coming from within.
But despite the terror which struck at his heart and sent a bead of sweat rolling down his brow, Kael stepped forward and into the abyss which beckoned him to enter. His last thoughts before he was consumed by the all-encompassing darkness was of the two women who had saved his life by channeling their strength into him through Bastila's Battle Meditation, and whom he inwardly swore to protect with his life.
A/N: In all seriousness, this chapter was absolute torture to write. I thought I'd fit everything into one of my standard 5000-give-or-take-a-few-hundred-words chapters, but the fight with the kath hounds and Juhani & Belaya just dragged on…and on…and on…Not to mention the conversation with them. I guess I really wanted to make my scene with Juhani really stand out from all the others that have been done by other authors.
Finally, I'll be able to get to the part I've been waiting for: Revan's first-hand visions of his past. It'll be kind of similar to the visions of the past you see when you take Meetra Surik through the cave on Korriban. Like I said in my A/N in chapter 14, I've combined the Juhani redemption quest and the Star Map quest into the same location. That's where Revan's headed right now – to find the Star Map. He'll be facing his past demons in the process.
Things will really start to simmer between Kael and Bastila and Elena in the next chapter in terms of their relationship. This fic is listed as a Revan/Bastila fic after all, and I can confirm to you now that Bastila's feelings for Revan will continue to grow and eventually cause problems. That's the little hint I put in in the early section of chapter 15, where Bastila is swayed by Revan's passionate emotions during his recital of the Jedi Code. The pot will begin to boil after Revan helps Bastila with her family problems on Tatooine.
On another note, I've been really busy with "Heart of a Padawan" and my Walking Dead fic "A Twist of Fate", and I'm sorry I didn't provide a rapid-shot update like I originally promised. It's a real challenge to consistently update those with full-bodied chapters while also dealing with this one, but then again I'm updating this fic between two to four times a month, while other authors update theirs perhaps once or twice.
Please leave your reviews, and keep an eye out for the next chapter. I've satisfied my readers in my Walking Dead fic with an update, so maybe I can work on a rapid update for this one.
Until next time!