This is a longer chapter. Over 10.5k words. Just a heads up, but I tried to keep it entertaining and flowing all the way through.

Chapter 23

Ryder was laying down on a bed with his hands behind his back. He was thinking of the times he had with Master Korvin on their missions. They had helped a few rebel regimes fight back against ISIS invaders; yet there were still missions that he HAD to take on because of either 'politics' or 'for a greater good' as explained by his old master. Regardless of the mission; there were always people that he killed in order to reach his goal.

Lifting his hand up in front of his face, Ryder stared at it recounting how many lives that one had had taken.

His room door opened and revealed woman with a notepad and pen. "The council is ready for you Mr. Ryder," she said.

This girl was about five feet and six inches. She had brown hair that barely made it past her shoulders. She was wearing yoga pants and a loose black white shirt.

Ryder sat up and slid on his sandals. "You look good, Becca."

It seemed like her long, skinny legs glistened in the light produced by the lights that lit his room.

She saw him check out her legs and said, "Cut it out perv and hurry up." She turned and walked outside.

Ryder strapped on his Jedi belt and lightsaber then left his room and followed Becca. Her black yoga pants were pulled up tight to her waist revealing the curves of her waist and a wedgie that showed her plump ass.

They were walking through a stone walkway lined with torches. It was an old place that whispered to Ryder as he continued through them. Soft words emerged from the depths of the stone walls.

Becca led Ryder to two large double doors. "I hope you're ready," she told him as she opened the doors.

The room was large and circular. In the middle was a large ring that encompassed a crest that resembled a phoenix.

In the front of the room were five thrones that looked like they were made of black diamonds. A single person sat in each of them except for one.

Ryder could immediately feel the incredible pressure that each of the persons on the thrones exerted. Even though Ryder was strong in the Force, the sheer power of these people made Ryder fall to a knee with a loud thud. It took everything he had just to keep himself from falling onto his chest. He lifted his now heavy head up to the people on their thrones.

From the left, the first chair was the empty.

"As you can tell, Colby isn't here with us. Funny thing really. He's dealing with something that your old comrades kind of fucked up for us," said a darkened figure in one of the chairs.

The chair second from the left of the dark figure was wearing a white lab coat. He was the head doctor of the facility. "It doesn't matter anyways. He's only good for infiltrating."

The man in the middle leaned forward enough that he revealed his stature. From a source of light that shined in from a window, he was athletically fit and had dark hair. He wore a set of black, light armor. All it was were small enchanted plates that overlapped his chest and arms. A brown fabric wrapped around his waist and on one side hung a silver hilt. This was the head of their council, Gambino. Not much was known about him.

To his left was another empty chair. From previous experiences, Ryder knew that Gouda sat there and hadn't been there since him and his crew arrived. He had only heard stories of him.

In the last chair sat Stacy, the Sadist. That was her nickname of course. The worst part about her, well could also be the best part about her, were her looks. She had a pair of breasts and ass that a man could only dream of. Her tits were plump and firm; they sat high on her chest.

Her butt was round and curvy. The leather pants she wore only defined each curve and crevice that presented itself.

"You've been here for five months, and you have progressed more than we expected. Your training has been going well; however, you haven't awakened your inner strength! That was our deal!" yelled Gambino. "You can become a better swordsman and Force wielder, but someone out there can always overcome your level of expertise in those fields. If you awaken your inner power, then you will be able to overcome any obstacle and then dominate your enemy!" yelled Gambino.

Ryder stood silent.

"I have a mission for you, Nero, and Ben."

Quickly looking up to his leader, Ryder asked "What is it, Master?"

"Fly to Orus in the Clingar sector. There, I want you to assassinate this bounty hunter. He has been trying to sniff us out, and we are tired of him," said Stacy. "He's strong, so watch out." She held out a polaroid picture.

Ryder walked up to her throne to grab the picture. When he tried to pull it from her hands; her grip only tightened. He looked up at Stacy who gave him a seductive smile then let go.

"That's it," said Gambino. "You can leave now."

Ryder bowed to the four councilors and left the room. He walked back to his room. On the way back, he grabbed his communicator and called out to Nero and Ben. "Meet me at the Rogue Shadow in an hour. Be packed for an assassination mission on a bounty hunter, so bring supplies."

Nero and Ben answered, "Roger" one after the other.

Ryder arrived at his room and grabbed his backpack. He filled it with spare clothes, a few books, and his mask. He didn't really need much for the trip, so he went left for the Rogue Shadow.

The black star ship was exactly where he left it. Other ships surrounded it, but they were outclassed significantly. The ramp was down, so he wondered who was in it. He walked up the ramp and into the main hold yelling out, "Anyone in here?"

A few seconds passed before he heard a familiar voice say, "Yeah, one second" as sounds of tools falling filled the ship. He knew exactly who this was.

"Wow, I knew you were clumsy, but I thought you had gotten better with it," Ryder said while laughing.

Katie walked out from the engine room with an annoyed face. "Well, I have to fix parts of the ship before y'all takeoff and explode." She was wearing work boots, short shorts, a cutoff shirt with a sports bra, and had her hair up in a ponytail.

"Hey now," she said pointing at her eyes. "Eyes are up here."

Ryder laughed and said back, "Don't dress like that and I will quit. Actually," he paused, "No. I'd still do that."

Katie took off her gloves and walked over to Ryder. "Oh yeah? How about this?" She walked up close to Ryder. Biting her lower lip, she stood up on her tippy toes and looked up at Ryder. Her breasts were pressing up against Ryder's chest. Ryder lowered his head and leaned in to kiss Katie. Right before their lips locked, a loud noise came from outside the ship.

"I wonder if Master Ryder is in the ship already," said Ben loudly.

"I'm sure he is," assured Nero as they walked up to the ship.

Katie smiled and turned away, swiping her butt against Ryder's waist. She went back into the engine room as Nero and Ben walked in.

"See, there he is," said Ben.

Nero threw his bag on a couch then sat at the table. "So, what's the plan, boss."

Ryder slowly walked to the middle of the main hold and said, "We are going to Orus in the Clingar sector to assassinate a bounty hunter. His name is Dre Grimlore, and he uses the Byakugan and wood style Jutsu. We leave when Katie finishes up in the engine room."

Katie walked into the main hold and to the door. Walking with some pep in her step she said, "Good luck on your mission and stay safe you three!"

She left down the ramp, and Nero immediately blurted out, "She is fine, no lie."

Ryder laughed and said, "Oh, we know you're not lying. Now get to the cockpit and take us to Orus."

"Roger that," he responded. He walked into the cockpit and began setting up everything.

Ryder looked over at Ben and said, "Let's go train some. Go put yours and Nero's things up then meet me in the training room." Ryder left and walked to the training rooms.

Ryder sat down with his legs crossed and closed his eyes. Within a minute, both of his lightsabers, broken down to the core, were floating in front of him. The purple and two red crystals were suspended above their metal hilts.

"Come, come here next to me," voiced Ryder.

Ben, who was watching from the door, walked slowly towards his master. A calm but on edge aura seeped from the man he looked up to. Ben began to sit down, but before his backside hit the ground, Ryder voiced out and said, "No, keep standing."

Confused, Ben stood back up waiting for instructions; however, Ryder didn't say anything.

"I sense that you feel troubled, Master," said Ben.

Keeping his eyes closed and still being able to organize his lightsaber parts, Ryder said, "Yes, we are going against a strong opponent this time, we can't lose focus. You're allowed to be afraid or nervous, but you can't allow those feelings to cloud your judgment when you must make decisions in the moment. If you succumb to those feelings, you will lose yourself along with the ones you're close to."

The pieces to the lightsabers began to form two groups. They slowly came together to form the mold of the two lightsabers side by side. "With this opponent, you have to use everything that you've learned up to this point. We don't know anything about the planet or the people there; he could have some friends with him. I have confidence that you'll do what's right when the time comes," said Ryder.

Ben just stood there frozen in place. This was going to be the first mission where he wasn't just a bystander. "Yes, sir," he said quietly.

Ryder stood up with his two lightsabers in hand and said, "As long as you follow the Force, you will be fine, kid."

The grin that Ryder was wearing on his face somehow gave Ben confidence. "So, what's the lesson for today," Ben asked.

Still grinning, Ryder put the lightsabers on his hilt and did a hand stand. After being up for a few seconds, Ryder slowly lifted his right hand up and out to his side. Keeping still, he said, "I want you to hold this position for an hour. If you happen to do this, hold the position and just meditate on the Force. Become one with it."

Ryder brought his right hand back to the ground beneath his head then fell to his feet and stood up. "Any questions?"

Ben looked at his hands then back up to Ryder. "No. I've got this."

Ryder smiled and said, "Well come get me when you're done," as he walked out of the training room. Ryder looked back through a window and saw Ben attempt his first hand stand, but failed tremendously. Laughing, he walked back to the cockpit to talk to Nero.

"How long until we get there," he asked Nero?

"About five hours. Do you know anything about this place?" asked Nero.

"Gambino told me that there are two things that we should watch out for here: the mafia, and spies lurking throughout the town that report back to them. They could be watching us from the second we land," Ryder explained. "That's why we have to wait for the right opening before we kill our target."

'Our target, a Byakugan user,' Nero thought. "Got any secret strategies to deal with his Byakugan," he asked?

Ryder looked at Nero with a carefree expression that showed zero confidence. "Nope," he laughed a little. "I guess we should just overwhelm him with power." Ryder was leaning back in his chair with his hands folded behind his head.

Nero put his head on the dashboard in front of him and replied, "Yeah, we're gonna die."

Ryder flipped the page in one of the books that he brought. The title of the book read, "Sith Magic."

"Ryder, we are flying into Orus' orbit. I'm about to send in our clearance codes," said Nero. The Rogue Shadow was slicing through the clouds in the bright blue sky. A large city with a few skyscrapers came into view from the distance and got closer and closer with every second.

"Please transmit clearance codes or turn around. Otherwise, you will be shot down," said a voice coming through the speakers.

Nero pressed a red button that was beneath a microphone and said into it, "Transmitting now." With his other hand, Nero pressed a few buttons then turned to Ryder with his fingers crossed. About ten seconds passed before a voice came through the speaker again.

"Starship 2433B12, you are clear for landing."

"Stage one complete. While you're landing us, I'll get Ben," said Ryder standing up from his chair. He walked up to the training room doors that had a window in them and saw Ben as still as ever in a one-arm handstand. Books, his lightsaber, and other objects in the room were floating around him. Ryder opened the door and stepped inside.

His connection to the Force is incredible. With the proper training, he could be molded into someone very formidable. Who knows. He might just pass you.

'Well he has a long way before that happens, Lord Vader,' responded Ryder to the voice from within.

Impressed with Ben's advancements, he said, "Alright Ben. Good job. That was incredible. I could feel your concentration from the cockpit. However, we're here. Time to get your things ready." Ryder turned and left the training room then went to his own room.

The only thing Ryder needed to bring were his two lightsabers, his mask, and some money. He put on his loose dark brown pants, black boots, and a black shirt with a collar that came up to his chin. On his coat rack hung a black jacket with two red stripes on the shoulder. Ryder grabbed it and slung it on. He grabbed his old master's mask and immediately had a flashback to when he first received it.

He was leaving the ship going to make his first lightsaber. Master Korvin had ran down the ramp and gave it to him.

Ryder placed the mask in an inside pocket in his coat.

"One more thing," he said to himself. Ryder walked to his nightstand and opened his drawers. Inside, two metal hilts rolled to the front. One was distinctively smaller than the other, but Ryder knew that it made no difference. It was a powerful blade. He grabbed the larger hilt and placed it in a pocket that was inside the left side of his jacket. Ryder did the same thing with the smaller lightsaber, but the other pocket was on the right side of the jacket. He looked to the doorway and saw his oldest friend there, R2.

"Ready, buddy," he said as he walked by him giving him a pat on its tin head.

Out in the main hold sat Ben and Nero who had been ready for a few minutes. Nero was sitting on the couch with tan capris, a white button-down shirt completely unbuttoned exposing his 8-pack, and a pair of black Ray-ban sunglasses. His short golden hair made him look like a surfer from Miami, Florida.

"How about you throw on an actual shirt and get rid of the glasses," said Ryder. "We aren't supposed to stick out like a sore thumb."

"Fine," Nero said. He buttoned up his shirt then threw his sunglasses to the side.

"That's…. better."

Next to him sat Ben, who was visibly nervous. He was wearing black boots, red pants, a white undershirt, with a gray jacket that buttoned across his chest. A black sash around his waist covered his lightsaber and utility belt. His legs was shaking and right when Ryder walked in, he jumped up to his feet.

Pointing with his thumb, Nero said, "This kid hasn't stopped moving around since we landed."

"Calm down, Ben," Ryder said placing his hand on his shoulder. "Be one with the Force, and it will calm you down. Make you more alert." Ryder walked past the two and towards the exit door. "Well, here we go," he said as he pressed the button that opened the door.

A blue hologram lit up on top of a short circular table. The hologram stood about two feet tall. It showed a human figure with a robe on and his hood up. "Take the golden hair one, and kill the young kid, but keep the one in black alive. Make him suffer," the hologram voiced.

The receiver nodded and said, "Yes, sir. I'll show him pain that he will never forget."

"One last thing, my apprentice," said the hologram. "Torture the one with golden hair. I'm sure that it will make the Jedi squirm."

The other figure bowed and turned off the hologram. He turned and walked out of the small room that he was in. Two Devaronians and one Falleen were standing outside the door dressed in dark clothes and a black robe over those. "Walk with me," said the figure.

Ryder, Nero, and Ben began walking down the streets of the city. There were many streets that converged in the middle of the city at a large town square. A few skyscrapers were around the square next to the smaller buildings that had swarms of different races walking around. There were green aliens to jawas and werewolves. This city was a melting pot for many races; very populated and busy.

The three made their way to the square avoiding any form of attention or detection. In the distance, a young Twi'lek had a lemonade stand that was a getting a little business from people passing by.

"Do any of y'all want a lemonade. I'm pretty thirsty," said Nero. He was wiping sweat from his forehead with his white shirt.

"I'll gladly join," said Ben. "I completely regret wearing pants."

"I'll stay here and keep a lookout then," said Ryder scanning the rooftops.

Nero and Ben walked over to the young Twi'lek and said, "Can I get three lemonades?" The little girl nodded and poured three cups full of her homemade lemonade. "Three shmeckles," she said in reply. Nero placed three shmeckles on the table right when two large, burly men walked up to the stand.

"Two lemonades and make sure they're cold," he said as he put two shmeckles on the table. The girl poured two cups and handed them to the men and put the money in a tray. The men drank it and made a sour face in disgust.

"This is the worst shit I've ever tasted," yelled one of the brutes. The other flipped the lemonade stand and threw his drink at the little girl. She was now crying rivers as she sat on her butt looking at her wrecked stand.

The first man walked up to her, brought his hand back and said, "This is what you get for trying to sell me crap." He swung the back of his hand down toward the face of the little girl.

In a blur, a person with blonde hair appeared in front of the girl and blocked the swing with his foot. The man with his hands in his pockets, leaned on his foot that made contact with the punch. Slowly lifting his head, he said, "Don't you dare ever hit a little girl." Using the same foot, Nero roundhouse kicked the brute into a close by wall.

"Damnit," said Ryder under his breath. "Gotta do everything in a flashy way."

A slow clap came from behind Nero and the little girl. From around a corner walked a white male with a long sleeve white shirt and black shorts with a pouch wrapped around his right leg. "Impressive showing of power right there," he said.

He got about ten yards from Nero then said, "So, why did you hit my worker like that. Don't you know that I can take you to prison now?"

"No way!" yelled out Nero.

"The other guy shouldn't have destroyed the girls stand!" protested Ben.

The man looked at Ben, "You shouldn't have messed with them… Ben."

'How does he know his name,' thought Ryder.

Suddenly, a power surge began swelling up in the unknown man, but from the outside, nothing looked different at all. Ben felt this presence as well, so he reached down and grabbed his lightsabers and ignited its gold blade. By this time no civilians were around, and Ryder was hiding behind a corner because multiple other people dressed completely in black began appearing. At least fifteen people surrounded Ben and Nero who were in attack position now.

"So, you want to try and fight your way out, do you?" asked the man sarcastically. "I believe that it's proper etiquette to exchange names in battle, and I already know both of your names, so without further ado. I am Dre Gilmore; your executioner."

That's your guy. Go get him!

Ryder ignored the voice inside him and remained hidden.

Dre disappeared in a blur and reappeared right behind Ben with a kunai in hand. Surrounding it with wind chakra to sharpen it, he thrusted it towards Ben's back. However, sensing Dre's move, Ben side stepped the attack, spun and sliced his lightsaber through Dre's chest.

Upon contact, Dre poofed into a cloud of smoke. "A clone," mumbled Ben. Ben turned back around to see if Dre was there, but he wasn't. Suddenly, walking out from the cloud of smoke behind Ben, Dre shoved the kunai right through Ben's chest. It was so quick that neither Nero, Ben, or Ryder noticed it happening.

Blood began to trickle down from the corner of Ben's mouth as he stumbled and fell to his knees.

"No!" yelled Nero at the top of his lungs. He jumped high into the air, but one of the robed men appeared right behind him with his forearm bands unwrapped. They wrapped around Nero within a second, and the figure sent Nero to the ground at high speeds while spinning. The crater from Nero slamming into the ground had a ten yards radius.

"I know that you're here, Ryder!" yelled out Dre into the streets. "You better come out or your buddy, Nero here will die too! You already failed with this young one!" Dre pointed his kunai at Ben and the puddle of blood around him.

"Ma… master," stuttered Ben as he spit out blood. "Where are you? Why aren't you here?" Tears rolled down his eyes. His once blue eyes, now tainted with a hint of yellow and orange.

Ryder stood still. Tears still rolling down his face. He could fill the warmth of rage and wrath fill this stomach and soul.

'What should I do?' he thought. 'This guy is on a whole new level.' Ryder punched the corner of the brick building that he was hiding behind. The entire corner was sent in multiple directions as brick flew everywhere.

"There you are," said Dre and he turned to Ryder. Brick, dust, and smaller rocks were suspended in the air around the dark pressure Ryder was putting out. "This is a surprise," Dre said as veins began bulging around his eyes. "Byakugan," he yelled!

Ryder reached out his right hand and gathered the Force in his body. He pulled the hand back to his shoulder then thrust it towards Dre, sending a massive storm of lightning towards his opponent.

"Not good enough, Raven," said Dre with a laugh. He disappeared and reappeared behind Ryder, who jumped high into the air to dodge an incoming attack.

Taking out a handful of shuriken, Dre threw them at the airborne Jedi. Ryder reached out his hand, and froze the shuriken in place. Immediately, he threw them back at Dre.

Dre simply jumped out the way and waited for Ryder to land on the ground.

Using the Force, Ryder pulled his small, red lightsaber to his hand and ignited it. He dashed towards Dre who pulled out a katana and coated it with blue chakra. Ryder swung down from up high then jabbed at Dre's chest. After both were blocked, Ryder spun and swung at his opponent's ankles.

Dre jumped up to dodge the attack, but Ryder accounted for this. With his hand brought back, he thrusted it forward sending Dre into a wall behind him with a Force Push.

Ryder threw his lightsaber, but it missed Dre and impaled the wall a few feet to his left. Walking forward towards Dre with his right hand still out in front, he clinched his fist. His red lightsaber immediately sliced towards Dre's head, but he ducked and rolled out of the way.

With his lightsaber back in hand, Ryder brought his weapon above his head as a sign of Form five. Dre smiled as he found his opening.

Using his chakra, Dre gave him an incredible boost of speed. He dashed close to Ryder and jabbed him in his chest with both his hands. Dre quickly followed these jabs with more and more.

After a few of the jabs, Ryder's lightsaber deactivated and fell to the floor. He stumbled backwards as Dre continued jabbing him in his arms, legs, chest, and neck. Finally, Dre shouted, "Sixty-four palms!"

With one more jab to the chest, Ryder consciousness faded as he flew five yards backwards onto the ground.

"And this guy is special?" scoffed Dre under his breath.

Dre signaled three men to grab the bodies and take them to their hideout. They grabbed them and instantly teleported them to their warehouse.

Dre walked up to the same hologram table and turned it on. The same hooded figured appeared as a blue hologram. Dre knelt down on a single knee and said, "The mission is complete. I killed Ben, and the other two are unconscious."

"Good, good," said the hooded figure. "I will be there shortly to oversee the rest of this."

"As you wish my Lord," responded Dre then he turned off the hologram. "Get those two set up," Dre told a squad of guards.

Ryder opened his eyes to see a large monitor in front of his face. He was strapped down to a chair with Force-cancelling handcuffs around his wrists. "You know this was an idiotic mission," said a voice from behind Ryder. "Why were you three here?"

Ryder tried to speak, but the cloth around his mouth made it impossible to understand him. The voice walked to the front of Ryder and crouched in front of him. The veins on the side of eyes were bulging as his pale white eyes were focused on him.

"Today, you will suffer more than any man that has ever lived. Let's begin with this." Dre turned on the monitor and the video was paused at a specific frame. The frame showed Dre stabbing Ben through his chest with a kunai encased with wind. The same warmth from before filled Ryder. He knew that it was his rage intensifying within himself but didn't stop it.

"You don't like this do you. The fact that I killed your precious apprentice. Pathetic," he scoffed. "Soon, my master will be here and he will end you himself." Dre spat at Ryder then left him by himself with the video on loop.

Ryder opened his eyes to the door of his secluded room opening, and four figures walked in. The first two were guards that were escorting the other two. The next figure, Ryder recognized. His long-sleeve white shirt and black shorts immediately gave away his identity. It was Dre walking with his head held high. Lastly, a figure with a dark robe on walked in. The hood covered his eyes and half of his face so that his identity remained unknown. "I hear that young Jedi was easy enough to kill, isn't that right, Dre," he said.

"The blade went through his chest like a knife through warm butter," responded Dre giving a chuckle. "It's too bad that no one was around to help him when he needed it the most."

Steam was coming off Ryder either due to his rage or his body working so hard to free itself. His eyes focused on the hooded figure as he just stared at Ryder. "Let's begin the fun," he said.

Dre reached towards a curtain and pulled it down to reveal a double mirror, and on the other side sat a golden hair man restrained to the chair. Ryder yelled out but the rag around his mouth muffled his voice.

In the background, a large burly man with a white apron walked towards Nero. A silver tray was resting on top of his hands and forearms. He came up next to Nero and crouched towards him. "Try and stay awake for all of this. There's a surprise at the end," snickered the torturer.

Nero squirmed at the sight of scissors, a scalpel, a saw, tweezers, pliers, and a sickle on the silver tray. As if he was teasing Nero, he began playing eenie-meanie-miny-moe with his instruments. The first instrument was the scalpel, and the torturer smiled as he sliced down the side of Nero's cheek.

The hooded man looked back at Ryder and said, "All this can be stopped if you give me the name and location of the man that sent you." Ryder kept quiet as the screams of his best friend echoed throughout the base. Tears rolled down his face as he struggled to set himself free, but he never could do so. As his rage built, so did a strange pressure that came from Ryder as well. The pressure was strong enough to crush any metal around the area.

Ryder's eyes then turn red with three black tomes connected by a ring surround the black pupil. With a flex of his eyes, Ryder casted powerful genjutsu on Dre and his master. Ryder began trying to use every resource at his disposal to get free.

He heard a voice softly say, "A genjutsu like that won't work against me, you fool." The hooded man extended his hand and with some power, he slammed Ryder into his chair. Behind the hooded man, Dre was bent over gasping for air.

"You bastard," he mumbled as he walked quickly towards Ryder getting his Gentle Fist techniques ready. A quick jab at Ryder sent a strong shockwave of air towards him, but it suddenly dissipates into nothing. The arm of the master was in-between Dre and Ryder.

"You won't hurt this one, understand?" demanded the master.

Dre bowed his head as a sign of apology and said, "Yes, master. Forgive my actions."

"We will meet again soon, Jedi," said the hooded man.

The screams of Nero yelling filled Ryder's head as he passed out from exhaustion. About two hours later, he heard a knock on his mirror. It was the torturer standing on the other side waving his hand, making sure Ryder saw everything. He had a strange grin on his face this time. He walked up behind Nero and stood there staring at Ryder.

He punched Nero in the cheek, and Nero jolted to the side then went back to how he was before, hanging down towards his chest due to all the torturing. The brute laughed in pleasure of his work.

Ryder could see cuts and bruises all over his body. Blood ran down from his head and face. It looked like the tip of his fingers were bruised from the nails being ripped off. His white sleeves were ripped, and his shirt was unbuttoned revealing his now bloody eight pack. Nero was in bad shape. An inch from death it seemed.

The torturer reached down to the ground and pulled up a bucket. He reached into the bucket and pulled out a black spider the size of a quarter that had a red dot on its back. Slowly, he placed it on the crown of Nero's head. Then, he took the whole bucket and poured all the spiders on the neck, head, and shoulders too.

Gradually, the spiders worked their way into the ear canals, mouth, nostrils, and any other holes while biting their way to the brain. Writhing in pain, Nero kicked the ground and threw his body in every direction, and Ryder was forced to watch it all. His eyes were burning at the sight of this torturing method. After fifteen seconds of the spiders crawling into every exposed hole on Nero; he went limp.

The executioner turned around towards Ryder and walked up to the mirror. "Seems like your buddy wasn't that tough after all!"

Fueled with rage, Ryder's blood boiled at the sight of his friend unconscious out of his reach. Suddenly, Ryder, with his Sharingan, saw a life force appear from behind the torturer.

Nero, with a bloody face, eyes drooped, fingers broken, scraps of skin peeled off, and clothes partially torn off, appeared right behind the torturer's shoulders. Quickly, Nero blinked his eyes then appeared on top of the torturer having already twisted his head around one hundred and eighty degrees. Nero jumped from his torturer then walked to the exit door.

"You won't get away that easily," said the torturer rising from the ground fixing his neck. He placed his hands firmly on the ground and pushed his magic through the ground. It slowly became soft, and Nero got slowly absorbed by it. However, Nero manifested two kagunes from his back and shoved them into the ceiling. He flung himself at his torturer with his kagunes in a drill-like motion. The brute was not ready for this kind of power from a mere teen as Nero's tails blew a hole in his chest.

Nero stood up, looked at the mirror, and walked towards it. With blood trickling down the corner of his mouth, Nero tilted his head and stared. With a swift kick of his leg, Nero demolished the wall separating him and Ryder.

Nero stood there staring at Ryder. His blonde hair had red in it from the spider bites and blood. His eyes hung low with dark rings formed around them. He walked up to Ryder. One of Nero's kagunes raised into the air and hovered over Ryder. He pointed a kagune at Ryder's throat.

Ryder gulped then flexed his Sharingan. Immediately, Nero was under a genjutsu, and he dropped unconscious to the ground.

"Seems like you're getting a hold of your Sharingan," said a voice at the door. Gambino was standing there draped in purple robes looking at them both. "I knew that you three would fuck up, so I came. However, I never expected that you'd lose the kid on this mission."

Ryder said still seated, "Well, are you gonna untie me?"

Gambino looked at Dre behind him and nodded his head.

"Got it, boss," responded Dre. Veins bulged on the sides of his white eyes as he could see the chakra flowing to Ryder's eyes. He widened his legs and bent his knees and concentrated on increasing his own chakra.

Carefully, Dre began jabbing Ryder in the chest with hands cloaked in chakra. After a series of jabs, he stepped back and stared at Ryder. He was panting for air with blood slowly being absorbed by the shirt.

Ryder's Sharingan deactivated due to the attack on his chakra system. "And now for the final step," he said. He wove the serpent hand sign. A four by four piece of wood emerged from the floor behind Ryder and slammed into the back of his head in an instant knocking him out.

Turning and walking away, Gambino told Dre, "Good, now take their bodies to the ship." Dre gathered the two unconscious bodies under his arms and followed his commands.

Ryder slowly opens his eyes and saw a man standing in front of him. "Even though the Assassination mission was a fail. You succeeded in awakening an inner power or two."

Ryder couldn't move around due to the restraints on his new chair.

Confused about the situation Ryder asked, "What's going on?"

Gambino turned to Ryder and said, "I was the hooded man." Dre walked in from the background. "This was all part of my plan for you to awaken the beast within you. Congratulations, a few more successful missions and you might even hold a seat in the council. You did well not to give up my name or location. You almost have my full trust."

Ryder was still in shock. 'But what about Ben and Nero's torture?' he thought.

"Sorry to kill off your apprentice, Ben. It was just to help you out of course," said Dre as he shrugged his shoulders. Nero was fastened to a chair behind Ryder and was finally waking up. He was no longer berserk, but Ryder could feel the anger and rage within him.

"So, you killed and tortured two of my friends just to get me to reach another power level?" asked Ryder.

Gambino and Dre said nothing.

"There is still one last task for you to gain my full trust, Ryder," said Gambino. "A few days ago, we found someone lurking around the city following you. He's currently in the holding cells. Go and interrogate him. Kill him if he doesn't provide anything of use. He's a Jedi, so be careful."

Ryder sat quietly trying to sort everything out. He was pissed at what they did to his friends just for his own power. "Can Nero join me. I'm sure he will prove useful during the interrogation."

Gambino nodded in approval.

"Now that we have gotten that out of the way, there are things I must do. Come to the Council's chambers when you're finished," explained Gambino.

Dre released Ryder and Nero from their restraints who both looked like they wanted to kill Dre. "He's in cell #304B. Don't take too long. The council awaits you both," Gambino said from the door.

Kill that fucker when you get the chance.

That was one thing that Ryder could agree with.

After Ryder told Nero about how he went berserk, Nero just stared at Ryder. "What?" asked Ryder.

"Why weren't you there to prevent Ben dying?" asked Nero.

'Shit. I knew he was going to ask that,' thought Ryder. "I don't know. I froze up. For some reason by body wouldn't move," he said looking at his hands.

After a few minutes of silence, the two left the room and headed towards the cell. On their way, Murdoch and Katie pass them in the hallway.

"Hey, you guys!" yelled out Katie. "Good to see y'all again! Where's Ben?"

Ryder bit his bottom lip and kept walking to the cell barely acknowledging Katie and Murdoch.

"What's wrong with them?" Katie asked Murdoch.

"I don't know," Murdoch responded. "But, they don't look very happy. Let's leave them be for now. They'll tell us when they're ready."

Ryder and Nero reached the front of the holding cells and held up a laminated badge to the guards. "Go on ahead," said the guard.

Cell 304B was the last on the right. Ryder looked at Nero then put on the mask that was given to him so long ago. They opened the door and saw a middle-aged man with a beard shackled to the wall.

"So, my executioners have arrived and they are mere boys." The man was staring directly at Ryder. "I don't know why they chose you two, but I'm glad they did. I like the mask," he said laughing. The man flipped his hair out of the way, and Ryder nearly cried then and there when he saw the face. He knew exactly who was chained up. The same soft, wise voice. The same color of hair. The same bad smell.

He took off his mask and said "Master Korvin, how the fuck did you get here?"

Korvin smiled and said, "There was still one last thing that I had to do before I died. It's good to see my two of my favorite students. I heard from sources that you were landing on my planet, so I had to go see if that was true, and thank goodness it was."

Looking frantically, Ryder said to his old master, "We have to get you out of here."

"Wait, Ryder. Let me say a few things first," said Korvin. "Time is of the essence, so this must be quick."

The room darkened, and an intense aura was coming from Korvin. "Nero, your will is unbreakable, like your loyalty towards Ryder. Use your powers to stay by his side through the toughest of times that lie ahead. Be his shield and his sword. Because, you two are about to go through things that would make a grown man crazy."

He took his eyes from Nero and placed them on Ryder. "Now, Ryder, I found you about four years ago, and that's when you decided to come with me. I could sense the Force and other powers stirring within you at that moment and boy have you grown." Korvin shut his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, they were red with a strange pin wheel design in the middle. "You possess this same power. I'm sure you will gain this soon. What I'm about to ask of you will be very hard, so, Nero, I'm giving you the task of making sure it happens. I know that you two were sent here to kill me, and Ryder you must be the one to do it."

Ryder's jaw dropped in shock. The magnitude of what he was telling Ryder and Nero was so strong that tears were now building up in their eyes. Korvin waved his hand and a green swirling portal appeared. "Ryder, reach into the portal and grab the jar that is inside."

He looked at the portal in confusion, back at his master, then again at the portal. He reached inside and pulled out a jar that had a pair of brown eyes.

"When you kill me, take my eyes and put them into this jar to preserve them, and place these other eyes into my sockets. When the time is right. Replace your eyes with mine. You'll know when that time will be. This will give you strong, new powers." Tears we're rolling down both Ryder's and Nero's face as their master took one last deep breath.

"Why did you have to get captured?" asked Ryder as he wiped his face.

"This was not in my plan, and the head of the council is not easy to defeat," responded Korvin.

"Now, do what you came to do. There is no time for questions; Gambino will be here any second to observe. This will not be the end. I'm very proud of you both. And, may the Force be with you, always." He said with a large smile.

Ryder ignited both of his red lightsabers and made an "X" with them, and he had Korvin's neck on the outer meeting point of the two blades. "We'll never forget all the things you did for us, Master. Thank you." Ryder's eyes were blood red with the sharingan as tears flowed down his face. He pulled the two blades apart, consequently beheading their former master.

As he shut his eyes tightly, tears rolled down his face in a constant stream. Korvin's smile slowly faded as his body went limp and fell. Ryder stood still, but the air around him was thick and heavy. Chains, keys, chairs, and other objects began to shake violently. His own clothes and hair were flying upwards as if there was a giant fan beneath him. Anger, love, and revenge were building up to their caps inside Ryder. While just standing there over his master's dead body, he tilted his head back and let out a loud yell, dispersing the built up power and anger.

At the command center on the ship, the captain was standing a few feet away from a giant window that peered into the space in front of them. The only thing out in front of them were two escort cruisers.

'Good,' thought the captain. 'We are on pace to make it to Tremor in the Tego sector.'

A young cadet down at the radar system said up to the captain, "Sir, we are detecting a very large power surge from within the ship. Should we sound the alarm?"

The captain turned from the cadet and to the window and said, "No, I'm sure it is the execution that is happening right now. The ship can handle it." The cadet looked at the others and back at her monitor. "What size power levels does that radar pick up?" asked the captain.

"It picked up large scale energy level increase from 800,000 to 1,700,000," explained the cadet.

The captain smirked in admiration. "Seems like we have a powerful prisoner," he said.

Ryder wiped his eyes and walked over to his former master and grazed his hand over his face. His Sharingan had a unique pinwheel design that had six tomes with a circle connecting them all. Using his fingers, Ryder gauged out his master's eyes and replaced them with the decoys. Ryder sealed the jar and placed it in his large pouch. He grabbed his master's head by the hair and placed it in a sack that Nero was holding open. Ryder slowly turned towards the door with Nero by his side. His head hung low. He walked to the door and looked back at Nero.

His eyes were still red, but the pinwheel was a different design. It looked like two different bladed fuma shuriken stacked on top of each other but turned as if to reveal each blade.

Within a few seconds, his eyes turned back to his blue eyes. He wiped his face, and walked to the door. Without saying a word to the other and not making eye contact with anyone else on the ship, the two made their way down a few different hallways and to the entrance to the council's room.

Ryder and Nero walked to the center of the floor and knelt on the ground. Slowly, he took the head out of the bag and set it on the same bag.

"Looks like we have two skilled executioners," said Strike.

"They are two of my promising assets," said Gambino.

"Guarantee you that they wouldn't be able to stand up to my guys," said Colby leaning forward.

"So, what's their business here?" asked Dr. van Hooser.

"These two are incredible assets that we have acquired. We need to use them. Ryder here is a capable Jedi that also has the Sharingan. Nero on the other hand has the power of the string-string fruit, and he's a ghoul. I vote that we create a faction that is directly connected to us. Apart from the military. They only listen to us and only do OUR bidding. We put together a strong team and they might just beat out ISIS's Ten Degrees. That would mean domination. We would have to plan for the battles, but this squad that… strikes from the shadows, will be the foundation of our military advancements."

The other members were very interested looking at each other. Stacy leaned forward and asked, "How many should we gather?"

Gambino scratched his chin and answered, "Seven. That's the perfect number for the Rogue Shadow. Matter in fact, they will be called, The Seven Shadows."

Strike leaned back, "No lie, I kind of like that."

Gambino looked at the others and asked, "Does anyone object?"

No one said anything. "Then that's it. The Council of Anubis' Seven Shadows are now official." He looked down at Ryder and Nero. "Go out a form your team. We trust your judgement in the selection, but we will let you know if we want someone specific on the team." Ryder and Nero bowed and left the room.

Ryder and Nero began walking to the cafeteria. Neither of them said a word. The stone walkways only added to their bad mood. There was nothing that they could say that would make them feel better after killing their very own Master. Instead, Nero decided to bring up the only relevant topic.

"So, the Six Shadows. At least it sounds badass," said Nero.

It took a few seconds for the words to come out of Ryder's mouth. "Yeah... Yeah it does. Hey look. No one can know about Korvin."

Nero nodded then said, "I also think it goes without saying that Murdoch and Katie are a part of the Shadows. The others we will have to find for ourselves."

Two months had passed since the death of Korvin. Ryder focused back in on his training exercises. He was training his lightsaber forms, knowing all forms and mastered forms one, two, three, and five. He worked on his Force abilities, his Sharingan, and jutsu that he found out that he could now use.

Ryder was challenged to a series of duals in the Council's academy's training arena. Something where other student could challenge him to prove how far they had progressed. He had beaten one after another with no challenge. He was in a bad mood, so he was easily distracted at the moment. He was wearing his mask, black boots, loose black pants tucked into his boots, and a white long sleeve shirt.

His opponent was wielding two lightsabers compared to Ryder's one. It was easy practice for him. His own lightsaber skills had improved drastically with the awakening of his Sharingan.

Knowing the basics of chakra control, Ryder used his Force lightning to coat his lightsaber making it stronger. Within a few seconds, he had knocked the lightsaber out of his opponent's hands. Ryder proceeded to slightly move his mask to reveal a single eye. His Mangekyo Sharingan met his opponents gaze and was immediately placed under a genjutsu.

"What... what is this place," asked the victim.

"This is my genjutsu. I control this place and the time here. This is where you'll meet your end." Whatever Ryder wanted to happen, he could do that in this genjutsu. The great, Tsukuyomi.

Suddenly, a giant asteroid burst through the red clouds in the atmosphere.

"No!" yelled the victim as the heat of the comet intensified the air around him. It was slowly burning his skin. When the planet-like asteroid was close to collision, the Jedi felt blisters and severe burns all over his skin as his vision turned to black from contact.

Outside of the genjutsu, Ryder was standing next to the Jedi putting up his lightsaber. The opponent was standing still for a few seconds before he collapsed to his knees gasping for air until he passed out.

The Medics rushed the Jedi to the medic center right after. A voice came over a loud speaker, "That's what he gets for challenging an S-class opponent! If anyone else wishes to challenge the top mercenary please come forward. So far the record is 15 seconds!"

At first no one stepped forward to challenge Ryder, but a voice from the back sounded out loud, "This chump will be easy!"

Ryder turned around and saw a guy with short brown hair, jorts, tennis shoes, and a Hawaiian shirt walking towards him. "And who are you?" Ryder asked.

"Devoski. But call me Skibo," replied the challenger.

Ryder nodded and said, "Whenever you're ready, Skibo." He readied himself with just his hands up.

"No lightsabers I guess?" said Skibo.

"Can't be showing everyone all my tricks, now can I?" replied Ryder.

"Well that's fine with me," said Skibo. He bent his knees, brought his arms by his side and began powering up. Dust, dirt, and rocks began floating around him as his power began to exponentially increase.

"Your power level is now lower than mine. You were at 120,000, but I've surpassed you with 135,000!" yelled Skibo.

Throwing his hands out, Skibo began firing off chi blasts towards Ryder.

He jumped around dodging every single one until one grazed his foot and caused an explosion that blasted him into the wall. Using this opportunity, Skibo flew directly towards Ryder who was beginning to stand back up. Once Ryder got to his feet, he received a flurry of punches and kicks to the torso, arms, and the head. Skibo went for a punch that would hit Ryder on the bottom of his jaw, but instead, he did a quick front flip and slammed Ryder into the ground with his right heel.

Skibo jumped away and regained his breath. Slowly, Ryder stood back up and adjusted his mask. "You might want to start using those lightsabers chief," mocked Skibo.

Ryder laughed and said, "Don't go around getting too cocky. I just wanted to see what you had in store for me."

Ryder formed a hand sign and a clone appeared next to him. Casually, it began walking closer to Skibo at a slow pace. Annoyed, Skibo sent a chi blast towards it, but it flipped and dodged the attack. He went in for the punch to destroy it, but right when Skibo made contact, the clone exploded sending Skibo a few yards back.

"Fire style: Piercing hell strike!"

A spear made of fire and about five feet in length shot out of Ryder's mouth and headed straight towards Skibo at alarming speeds.

"If this connects, it will all be over!" yelled the voice from the speaker.

Skibo was standing there waiting for the spear. He lifted his palm towards it and right before it made contact, he yelled out, "Full Counter!" The spear instantly changed direction and flew back towards Ryder bigger and faster than before.

"What the fu—" said Ryder right before the spear hit him. The collision caused a large explosion of fire and dust.

"It looks like the match is over, folks!" yelled the announcer. "Somehow, Skibo was able to reverse Ryder's jutsu!"

Ryder looked unconscious in the wall, and Skibo didn't even look tired from redirecting Ryder's attack.

"Do you give up!" yelled Skibo.

Ryder didn't respond. Instead his body fell and landed on the ground.

Ryder twitched as his arm began supporting him and lifting himself up. His clothes were ripped, and his mask was scratched all over.

"I'll finished this with this last attack," announced Skibo as he looked annoyed from Ryder getting up.

He brought his palms together and in front of him. "Ka-meh" a blue ball of light appeared in his palms as he brought them to his hip. "Ha-meh" he gathered the last of his power into the blue ball. It shined a bright, pure blue. "Haaaaaaaa!" yelled Skibo.

Thrusting his palms out towards Ryder, a blue beam shot towards him at a blinding speed.

Ryder, about forty yards from Skibo, closed his eyes and widened his stance. He focused the Force into his hands and reached out his hands. The pressure from the attack was rising as it got closer and closer. After strengthening his hands with the Force, the Kamehameha wave rammed into his hands and stopped dead in its tracks. Ryder had caught it in his hands, but the force of it was so strong that it continued to push him back inch by inch.

Do you need my help?

"No. If this guy beats me then he beats me. But, I wanna try to deflect this using the Force," replied Ryder to Anakin within him.

I know an easier way for you to do this.

This time, Ryder ignored the inside voice.

Ryder smiled at the challenge and activated his three-tome Sharingan. The force of the attack was still moving Ryder backwards, until the tomes in his eyes spun into a new design, the Mangekyo. Ryder's feet suddenly stopped moving backwards as he was holding his own against the chi wave. With a deep red hue coming from the clear bar on Ryder's mask, an orange-red haze began to surround him and sure enough, with one thrust, Ryder threw the chi wave into the shield protecting the ceiling.

"Wh... What?! How'd you do that!"

Slowly, the dark orange red haze disappeared, and Ryder just walked slowly towards him. Skibo gritted his teeth and shot dozens of yellow chi blasts at Ryder. One hit the ground made an explosion that threw dust and smoke into the air. Skibo was getting tired at this point. The Kamehameha wave wiped out most of his energy, and he was running low in his reserves.

The dust began to settle as everyone could seen the yellow balls of chi frozen in front of Ryder, who's hand was stretched out. In front of him was at least three dozen chi blasts suspended in the air.

"What was it you said? That's right... Full Counter." Ryder smirked and shot all the chi blasts back at Skibo in an instant. The multiple that hit him sent Skibo into the wall behind him.

Rat, Tiger, Dog, Snake, Dragon. Ryder wove these signs and said, "Gale Style: Laser Circus."

He leaned forward and held his right wrist as black lightning began crackling through his right hand. Ryder began to stand up, being able to control the chakra coursing through his hand.

The white sleeve on his right arm was torn to shreds from the vicious black lightning. On the other end, Skibo had slowly gotten to his feet. He needed to survive or dodge this attack to stay in the fight, but time was running out.

Ryder clenched both hands together in front of him causing multiple lasers of lightning to shoot out and towards Skibo.

'Trump card,' Skibo thought. He placed two fingers on his forehead.

The explosion against the wall threw dust into the air. Ryder looked over at the referee and asked, "Is it over yet?"

Suddenly, Skibo appeared behind Ryder with another Kamehameha fully powered up. "No, it isn't!" he yelled. "Ha!" He extended his arms out and pushed the chi wave as hard as he could towards Ryder. The beam hit Ryder right in the side and kept going to the wall far behind them. The Kamehameha was going through Ryder, and he turned his head to Skibo. The corner of his mouth curved up.

Ryder's body turned black as about a dozen ravens took his place and flew away from the Kamehameha wave. "What the hell?" asked Skibo to himself.

The training room faded from his vision as a red lake, black sky, red moon, and red pasture appeared instead. One after another, large stakes appeared in his body, keeping him completely still.

The pain was excruciating.

Skibo looked around him and saw other versions of himself being tortured the same way. It looked like someone had driven seven-foot nails into him. He could feel all their pain too. A flock of ravens flew overhead and phased together forming a man.

"This is my genjutsu. Challenge me again, and I'll do the same but a lot worse." The man burst into a flock of ravens once again, but the red skies didn't follow after him.

Skibo collapsed to the ground gasping for air as he cradled himself. He could still feel all the pain from the nails that were driven through him. The referee waited a few seconds and then said. "And that's the match! Winner: Ryder!"

Ryder walked over to Skibo and helped him up. "You know you're pretty good. Had to go a lot harder with you than the others."

Skibo's body was in so much pain that he couldn't say anything in return. His muscles quivered as they tried to push Skibo to stand up.

"Three days of that kind of torture is enough to make a normal man never speak again. You're strong," Ryder said throwing the limp arm of Skibo around his shoulder.

Ryder and Skibo made their way out of the training grounds together and walked towards a table in a corner. Three people were sitting there but shadows covered their faces. Ryder placed Skibo in a chair near the table.

"Hey, dummy!" yelled out Murdoch. "Why were you just standing there during the fight. You did that then collapsed; you must be weak."

Skibo sneered and said, "I should kill you for keeping me in there for three days, but obviously, I can't."

Ryder laughed. "Would you like to?"

Skibo replied and said, "What do you mean?"

"Do you want to be strong enough to beat me in a fight?" asked Ryder.

Skibo stopped and began to think. "Of course," Skibo paused. "I'm gonna have to if I'm gonna be the strongest warrior ever."

Ryder smiled. "I want you to join the Shadows. We need a guy like you. A Saiyan that can counter any special attack."

Skibo noticed the serious expression on Ryder's face. 'So, he was able to deduce that I can only counter SPECIAL attacks. He must've picked that up cause I never countered punches or anything like that,' he thought.

"You aren't joking about this? I heard y'all already had 6 members," said Skibo. By this time, the whole academy knew about Ryder and his newly formed group that only answered to the council.

Ryder grinned and said, "Nope. We only have four. Well, five plus a droid, but we don't count him."

Skibo shook his head, "Well, if it'll get me out of this hell hole, count me in."

A grin flashed across Ryder's face as he turned and looked to the group. "Shadows," he paused and looked Skibo up and down. "Give a warm welcome to our newest member. The Shadow of the Balrog, Skibo."

The others clapped as they welcomed their newest member. "So, was this basically a try out?" asked Skibo.

"Don't blame us," said Murdoch. "It was all the captain's idea. Ryder said, 'He couldn't find someone strong enough.'" Murdoch was using his fingers to sarcastically emphasize what Ryder had said. "I'm Murdoch, too. The Shadow of Abaddon."

Katie raised her hand and said, "The Shadow of Tartarus, Katie."

Nero raised his hand next and said, "I'm Nero. The Shadow of Cthulhu."

Ryder turned face to face with Skibo and said, "And I'm the Captain of the Six Shadows, Ryder. The Shadow of the Typhon." After introducing himself, Ryder turned to Nero and began chatting about other fights that happened.

Skibo remain silent. 'Typhon,' he thought. 'I remember hearing about him. Said to be stronger than Kronos and Zeus. The most fearsome monster. Pure destruction, and the cause of agony for everyone it came in contact with.'

He looked Ryder up and down. Skibo could tell that Ryder was athletic, but there wasn't anything spectacular about his physic of presence.

As Ryder continued his conversation with Nero, he could feel Skibo studying him. With a quick turn of his head and a sharp glare, Ryder said to Skibo, "Why don't you come over here and chat with us?"

As if something possessed his body, Skibo rose from his seat and walked over to his new group. Ryder's pale blue, icy eyes froze Skibo as he walked to the nearest table.

The final arc is on the way. This was another long chapter, but it set things up for future ones. Ryder will continue to build his team while trying to figure out his true role in the world. I tried to find fictional or mythical beings to name the "Shadows" and struggled a little with using 'Typhon' or 'Kronos' for Ryder. Thanks for reading, and as always; comment what you thought of the chapter and the story up until this point. Also, I'll be uploading once a week, maybe on a rare occasion, two times in a week. See ya next time!

~Aldon