Topic: The Final Chapter - The Death of Christopher Grim

[ChrisGrim]

Chapter One - The End is Near
   The winds howled outside of the small cave in which I hid. The rain had become too strong for me to continue walking the planet tonight and so I was forced to take refuge inside a small mountain. Not that it really mattered at this point. I was sure she was not here and that I would have to find a new planet.
   I sighed at the prospect of continuing on this journey. I ran my hands through my now graying hair. I was a 44-year old Jedi without a clan, a hope, or much time. I’d been on the run for longer than I wanted to remember. Years had compounded and become a blur. I’d been running from Dark Jedi and towards Nimora since I’d left the Jedi Order all those years ago.
   I needed to find her. She was the last living person I had a connection to.
   The fire at least kept me warm. It was nice to feel warm again. I had taken for granted such little things for so long.
   “What has become of you,” a voice echoed in the cave. I didn’t need to look up to know who it was. No one but he could get past me without my notice. Ghosts don’t make sound. “You’ve gotten old.”
   “Look who’s talking,” I retorted, I lifted my eyes from the fire to meet his transparent gaze. “Haven’t your bones been dust for a few years now?”
   “And still I look better than you,” he grinned back. He was right. While he had been dead for many years I continued to age and become to look like the living dead. Mirrors had begun to scare me as I’d started to not recognize the exhausted old man who stared back at me now.
   “What can I do for you, Master?” I knew I couldn’t offer him anything but there was still the child in me who wanted to oblige his Master’s request. I wondered why I had been so reluctant to do so in my youth yet so willing to try in my final years. And make no mistake; I knew these were my final years. “The Order cannot be pleased with you speaking to me.”
   “No, they aren’t. Those of the old council who still remain consider you a lost cause. You still have a few friends in the ranks but they are few. For the most part they are not pleased with my speaking with you. The Jedi Order considers you to be a danger to them for as long as you are on the run hunting Dark Jedi and Myste.”
   I shuddered at the reminder of my best friend’s former name. She hadn’t been Myste to me in so long it was hard to believe Myste even really existed anymore. Nimora was all that remained. My knuckles cracked as I balled a fist. Nimora and Lander.
   He had taken her from the Sith Order. He was the reason she and I were no longer in contact. I needed to make sure she was safe and happy before I could disappear. That he was not using her for his benefit.
   “I can’t do much about that, can I?”
   “You can come back to the Order. Surrender yourself over. You won’t likely be made a member but you could stay to protect the younglings and—“
   “I am not the right guy for that job,” I interrupted. “I am too dangerous to be around younglings. And I won’t even consider returning without her.”
   I paused for a few moments as we both stayed silent staring into the fire. I question popped into my head and while I knew the answer I still had to ask.
   “Can you find her?”
   “No,” he shook his head solemnly. Master Menelaos had had many Padawan’s I was fairly certain he considered myself and Nimora among his greatest failures. He knew better than to blame himself for our youthful ignorance but still it was a mark on his otherwise illustrious Jedi career. “She continues to block herself from me.”
   “She needs to teach me that,” I said with a smirk as I raised my eyes back to his. He tried his best to keep a straight face but I could see it crack momentarily.
   “I’m an aging Padawan. I couldn’t go back even if I wanted to.”
   “A Jedi is never too old.”
   “Even so, I’ve done too much damage and tapped into too much power to ever be trusted around defenseless Younglings. I can’t always contain my power, I can’t always stop myself. I’ve been a rogue Jedi for too long. And beyond that I won’t have any Jedi die to protect me or the Order from the wannabe Sith Lords that come looking for me.”
   “You are never coming back.” He wasn’t asking, he knew where my mind was and my decision was far from unmade. I knew where my future laid.
   “No.”
   I closed my eyes and channeled whatever control I could manage within myself and the force. I raised my hands in front of me and took a deep breath. The lightning created between my fingers shot out, powerful, and by nature uncontrollable. The cave walls lit up while as I pushed and manipulated the power of the Force to contain the lightning. I drew my hands together grapping the technique into a sphere within my hands. A force lightning sphere.
   “I started this as an attempt to create a long distance Force technique. A lightning grenade, as it were. But, the lightning cannot be contained when thrown; it has to stay close to the user for it to be effective. And so I created this technique. A mishmash of force techniques that has ultimately created a powerful force… Technique.”
   I opened my eyes, the sphere still contained between my hands. Master Menelaos stared at me for a long moment before speaking.
   “But, won’t that—“ he didn’t continue his sentence, but I knew where it led.
   “Kill me? Yes, I believe it will.”
   “Only you would create a technique that would kill you.”
   “Me and everything else in a solid 100 foot radius.”
   His jaw dropped and his eyes widened. “You created a mini Force Bomb!”
   “Don’t look at me like that. Anyone could have created this and it’s not that special. Even moderately powerful Jedi or Sith could, in theory, use this. Master Achilles, Nimora, Knight Vargus. They all could use this technique to varying degrees with the right training and mindset. I just don’t think anyone ever thought of using the force and their own bodies like this before.”
   “And for good reason. Grim, this will kill you. This is insane.”
   “It’s not an everyday attack,” I said as I tried to calm down my Master. Even dead I was still afraid he’d have an aneurism. “This is my end-game. The last attack in a desperate time. It lives with me and as I have never taught anyone how to perform it, it will surely die with me.”
   “What am I to tell the Council about this?”
   “Tell them whatever you want, but be sure to tell them to stay as far away from me as possible. When I unleash this attack it’ll be indefensible. Jedi need not die by this attack. Tell them to keep their distance and let me continue my work.”
   He sighed. I could tell this technique bothered him so I contained the power and the technique dissipated. The lightning crackled a little as it faded and the cave dimmed again.
   “Where will you go next?”
   “I don’t know,” I said honestly. I was running out of planets to go. I hadn’t been to all of them by any means but I’d gone to almost all of the ones I thought she would be. “You should get back to the Council and tell them whatever it is they wanted to know. I’m going to get a night’s sleep and then get going.”
   “Good luck.”
   “I’ll need it.”

[ChrisGrim]

CHAPTER TWO – Distance Between Stars
   I’d never travelled such long distances in a speeder before.
   Truthfully, I doubt anyone had tried. Who would ever consider taking a speeder from one end of the galaxy to the other? The distance from one planet to the next was usually fine for these little puddle jumpers but a cross-galaxy trip was usually considered out of the question. These machines were not meant for such long distances and to make it work I was constantly forced to stop.
   In order to be able to keep my trusty ship from dying or falling apart I had to take a stop every few planets. This naturally made my two-day trip become a week-long trek.
   I tried to avoid the planets I had visited while under Darth Mukhtar’s teachings but I knew most planets I had gone to, whether it was as Jedi or Sith, would not give me a nice reception. I was never the most civil person and age had done many things, but it had not taught me patience.
   The only planets I could ever go to without such receptions were Tattooine and Naboo, my homes. But, I was forced to say goodbye to them.
   I took the time to lock down the Order of the Force temple, sealing the doors and re-initiating the Temple’s defenses to keep anyone and everyone who was not a Jedi away. I did not want the memories of my family to be disturbed, especially now that I had set my mother to rest insider its walls.
   I wasn’t sure where to put her but the Temple seemed the best place. I wanted to make sure she would never be disturbed. I thought perhaps of putting her on Naboo but I couldn’t bring myself to go there again. It filled me with sadness to go to a place with such beauty.
   I took the time to apologize to her, to apologize for my having fallen to the Dark Side despite knowing that she wouldn’t have wanted it for me. I told her that, if I was able to atone for my misdeeds that perhaps I would see her and Ahna again. I wanted nothing more. Still, somehow I knew I wouldn’t be able to atone for everything but perhaps it was the intention that mattered.
   One whole week traveled in the endless reaches of space with nothing but my thoughts and the seemingly endless void of blackness as my companion. I tried my best not to go stir crazy and lose what was left of my mind as I made my way towards the last planet I could conceivably put Nimora on.
   Still, as time went on I began to loath the sight of nothingness. A person could go mad staring at blackness with the occasional useless planet for a week straight.
   And then suddenly, there is was. As if it had just been blinked into existence in front of me I suddenly set sights on Mandalore.
   This was the last place I thought of going because she and I had never gone there before. I should have understood how little that meant to a person on the run and paid more attention to things she’d said. Hindsight was always clearer than the present and my memory suddenly began to fill in the blanks as I struggled to find a new planet to go to.
   On one trip to Mustafar to destroy a rather pesky group of Dark Jedi she’d mentioned how she hated feeling exposed on so many sides. The open terrain did not suit her fighting or hiding style and she mentioned planets like Kashyyyk and Endor. What I had neglected to commit to memory was how she said she'd never felt quite as at home as when she was on Mandalore.
   I hated it had taken me so long to remember that fact. I may have saved myself a lot of time and energy.
   If she was even there to begin with.
   I hoped this would be the end of my search and that I could finally set things right between her and me. I wanted to release her from the lies of Mukhtar’s teachings and make sure Lander hadn't corrupted her mind with his lies, either.
   The planet’s surface came up fast as I found a small, flat surface to land. I popped the canopy and hopped out of the cockpit. It felt good to get my feet on solid ground again. The trees and soil were a lush green that reminded me of Naboo. I missed home more than I wanted to admit.
   I found I instantly loved this planet. It was perfect. Green, beautiful, remote, quiet, and most of all I was sure I wouldn’t have to worry about any large number of Dark Jedi coming my way or sneaking up on me. That said I also knew the forest would end and countless Mandalorian's would likely kill me before speaking to me which left a feeling of excitement running through my veins. Beautiful and dangerous, like the women in my life.
   It took me a long moment to realize it was raining. The tall trees caught most of the rain water before it had the chance to hit the surface. I loved the rain. I liked the feeling of being cold and wet more than being hot and sticky. I wished this were a place I was vacationing to and that for once I didn’t have an ulterior motive.
   I closed my eyes and took a deep breath letting my mind and senses wander.
   As quickly as they closed my eyes snapped open. There was something on this planet, something familiar, something—comfortable. I wasn’t sure it was Nimora or not but whatever it was I knew I had to find it. The first few steps of my run felt awkward after having been flying for so long but once I broke into my stride it felt great to be moving under my own power and not aided by machinery.
   Most importantly, it was nice to be moving towards something that I knew was there. Not an idea, not a hope, but towards something—or someone real.

[ChrisGrim]

CHAPTER THREE – Reunion
   I ran as fast as my legs could move through the forest towards whatever it was that drew me. I hadn’t the time to worry about the Mandalorian’s, Dark Jedi, or Bounty Hunters that roamed around the planet; I was too occupied with what I could sense.
   I pulled my blade from its hilt and gripped it tightly. Even though I was preoccupied my survival instincts were in full flight. I knew the person I travelled towards was strong in the force and could just as easily be an enemy as it could be a friend.
   The brush began to clear a bit and I could hear the sounds of a saber cutting through the wind. I gripped my blade tighter and placed my finger on the button to activate it if need be.
   I leapt into the air and through what was left of the brush. I could tell the person, who I now could tell was a man, had not noticed me yet and so I held off activating my blade. I landed with a small thud in a crouch a few yards away from him, his back turned to me. He held his blade activated but I noticed his grip was loose. I wondered if he’d even noticed my landing.
   I got my answer a few short seconds later when he spoke with a simple ‘Hello’.
   “So, you are the one I sensed. What are you doing on Mandalore?”
   “Training,” he said simply. “I have to get myself back into fighting shape.”
   Looking at him he seemed to be an elderly man, almost twice my own age, but still his body looked strong and powerful. His red blade hinted at him being a Dark Jedi but nothing else did. I could not sense malice, anger, or anything I’d come to feel when I associated with the Dark Force users.
   “Fighting shape for what?”
   He turned off his blade and hilted it as he turned around. It was then that I saw his face and a new emotion filled me instantly.
   “To protect you, son.”
   My father stood before me now over fifteen years since the last time we’d last spoken when I’d saved him from Mukhtar’s attack. He looked good despite his advanced age. He’d turned himself around considerably since the frail, defeated old man I’d seen those many years ago.
   “What makes you think I need protecting?” I barely managed to slip out between shocked, shallow breaths. I’d never considered the possibility that he would survive this long judged solely on how he looked the last time we encountered one another. The broken old man on the edge of sanity was now a strong, powerful old man who seemed completely competent mentally.
   “Surely you don’t think I haven’t heard the talk around the galaxy of a Jedi Sith Lord on the run. Who else could it be, really?” He smiled mockingly at me. “Only you could have this much bad luck.”
   I couldn’t fault his logic.
   “You don’t need to protect me. If you hadn’t noticed I’m far from a child,” I took a step back and displayed my ever aging person. The graying hair, the tiring body, and most of all the slight wrinkles that had begun to mark my once youthful skin were all marks of my age. There was no mistaking it.
   “There are things in this Galaxy that some people just shouldn’t have to face alone. You should learn that,” he said, his paternal instincts in full effect. It was an awkward thing to have this man, a man I’d hated for so long give me fatherly advice. “I have no intention of letting you fight alone this time. You’ve been fighting alone for too long, the coming battle is too big for you to continue doing so.”
   I had to agree with him only because I knew what was coming. I could feel it. The end was near. I had narrowly avoided a run in with a large group of Dark Jedi on the last five planets I had gone to and my window between encounters was becoming shorter and shorter with each passing landing. It was only a matter of time before I ran out of it and have to begin fighting for my life again. My life had been too peaceful. I hadn’t had to fight, actually fight for a long time. Almost five months since I’d last swung a blade in combat.
   I suppose in a small way I missed it.
   “Why Mandalore?” I asked trying to change the subject. “Seems like an odd choice to train yourself.”
   “I never said I was training myself.”
   Had I not let my guard down I would have noticed the third disturbance in the force closing in sooner. I heard the brush rustle behind me before the hiss of a lightsaber blade igniting and my legs moved instinctively. I leapt as high as I could into the air and turned to spot my attacker who looked to have just missed a kata as he stared up at me.
   I pulled my blade from its hilt and ignited it. I missed the sound. I landed on the ground a few short meters away and planted my feet awaiting my opponent’s next move. As he began to circle me I notices the distance between he and I getting slightly larger as they remained patient for my next move. I knew I couldn’t use my Ataru style with this much of a distance between us. Too much room would leave my jumps and spins predictable.
   It then dawned on me. Was it possible? How could someone defend against my Ataru style without having seen it? Was I fighting someone I knew?
   It had taken me a long time to both master and learn the weaknesses of my chosen style. While I was fast and hard to hit in most one-on-one combat I was also prone to fatigue and when too much space was put between my opponent and I it could be more easily countered. This left a mid-range fight which would be my specialty and close-combat when fighting a slow, tired, or otherwise sloppy saberist.
   I realized that if this were the case I would have to change my style. I didn’t know who I was fighting and now I couldn’t use my most powerful fighting technique. I spun the blade around to hold it in a reverse grip fashion and took on a Soresu stance with a Shien saber grip. I’d spent time toying around with mixing saber combat styles and this was the closest to serviceable I’d come up with. A defensive style with counterstriking ability was the right call in this situation.
   We began to circle one another slowly as we both looked for an opening in the others defense. Slowly and almost indiscernibly I began inching closer as the posturing continued. Soon, the gap between he and I had closed considerably. I allowed myself a quick smirk as I flipped the blade around in my hand and leapt.
   My opponent hadn’t noticed the closing distance between us fast enough and suddenly my Ataru was useful again. I landed to their left side and jumped again quickly over their head spinning as I passed them swiping downwards as I passed over. They were able to move their body just quickly enough to avoid my blow and deflecting it with their blade. I landed on the other side and swiped at them quickly as they attempted to move away from me. My blade narrowly missed their legs as they managed to put a few feet of distance between us.
   I righted myself quickly and sprung back at them quickly bridging the small gap between us. I was right behind them before they could turn around. How sad. I’d already won the fight.
   Before I could launch my final attack I felt a crushing force impact my chest. It sent me flying backwards and to the ground breathless. I heard the wind around me change and realized that I had been force pushed away. My father had betrayed me? Again?
   My blood began to boil but my body could not move, the force of the push had knocked the wind out of me. I was defenseless. I heard my opponent leave the ground and come towards me. This was it, I was dead.
   Two things happened and once, both confusing me equally as much. First, I heard the saber of my opponent turn off, the unmistakable hiss of the blade was gone but I was not. Second, my opponent found himself mounting me, their hood hiding their face but the unmistakable sound of laughter coming from them.
   He reached to his hood and pulled it back revealing that he was actually a she. Her long blonde hair graying slightly, he blue-green eyes shone adown at me brightly, and her smile beamed as she laughed at me.
   It couldn’t be. I knew it couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible was it? I knew it couldn’t be possible. My eyes had to be deceiving me.
   “Ahna?”
   She smiled brighter and nodded. My first love and closest friend had risen from the grave… I must have lost my mind.

[ChrisGrim]

CHAPTER FOUR – Distant Memories and Far Away Futures
   I couldn’t believe my eyes. It had to be a lie. A trick of light or my imagination, I wasn’t sure but the fact remains that I could not be seeing or talking to the person I saw above me now. Everything told me I had to be being tricked, I had to be mistaken, but I could smell her, touch her, and most importantly see her there. There was no mistaking this.
   “Not possible. The dead cannot live,” I said the first thing that came to my mind even realizing how stupid it had sounded.
   “You’re right,” she said simply with the bubbly smile I remembered from our childhood. It was 30-years since I’d last seen her through more than just a photo but I would always recognize that smile. “The dead cannot live again. So either I’m a figment of your imagination or...”
   She pushed herself off of me and stood at my feet. I inched myself to a sitting position and stared up at her dumbfounded. I could not wrap my head around what I was hearing, none of it made sense.
   “I don’t understand,” I said truthfully.
   “It’s a bit complicated, I admit.”
   “Understatement”
   “It happened like this,” she took a brief moment to take a breath and collect her thoughts. “First things first, I never died. In the years that followed Endor I found it difficult to acclimate myself into the Jedi life. After years under my sisters training it was difficult to be as controlled as the Jedi Order would like. Still, I made it work. It took time but I thrived as a Jedi. I’d advanced ranks quickly and all was good.”
   Her expression changed, became solemn. I wondered what she was editing in her mind but she spoke before I could ask. “That was all until I got word that you had fallen to the Dark Side. It wasn’t just your Temple that wanted to find you, mine was worried about the danger you could pose as well. They were unaware of our friendship and tasked me and a small group of Knights to find you. We got close too, but I couldn’t hunt down a friend and so I ran. They however continued on Cerea.”
   I understood the look she had worn now as I remembered the brief stop Mukhtar, Nimora, and I had on Cerea. We’d gone to find an informant of his who said to have information that would help in Mukhtar’s plans to destroy the Jedi. He demanded our involvement in his trip in the unlikely situation that it was a trap, which of course it had turned out to be. I, along with Nimora (Mukhtar stayed out of harm’s way) killed the four Jedi Knights that we encountered.
   “I fled to Endor and the Jedi Order presumed me dead. I took refuge in the old training enclave. I stayed out of trouble and under the radar for many years while I continued to train and prepare myself for an encounter I’d hoped would never come.”
   “And that’s where I come in,” my father spoke as he stepped beside Ahna. “After you spared my life and killed that Sith Lord I went to live out my final days on Tatooine, the place where I was last happy and mourn for the loss of everyone I had killed, including your mother and brother. It was a short time after that I began hearing rumors of a Jedi Sith Lord, one who had taken the mantel but was not claiming it. I knew this had to be you and when I realized the sheer number of Dark Jedi that were attempting to kill you for it I knew I had to get back into shape and be ready if you needed my help. I came to Endor knowing that there was an abandoned training facility.
   “When I arrived this young lady greeted me with an attack and admittedly defeated me. I explained to her what I was doing here and about your situation which is when we realized we had something in common. You. We trained with one another for a while until we decided it was time to move on past and leave Endor. We stopped here on our way to Telos and then we came across someone we hadn’t expected. Another Force user was on the planet, someone said to be reasonably powerful. We decided to stay and find this person, add them to the team. Every little bit helps, right?”
   “I suppose.” It was a lot of information to take in all at once so I hoped they didn’t expect more than a few sentences from me. I’d almost completely overlooked the part where they mentioned another Force user on the planet. Could it be her?
   “Which brings us to your story, Christopher.”My story? Wonderful. Where to start?
   “What do you want to know,” I managed to say as my thoughts began to collect themselves.
   “What brings you to Mandalore?”
   “Now that you mention it, it could be that other Force user you spoke of.” They eyed me suspiciously and so I continued quickly. “I think it is an old friend of mine; a close friend from my childhood who, at least presently, goes by the name Nimora. She fled a long time ago and I need to know she is taken care of. I need to know what became of her, know the assassin she ran away with isn’t using her, and to make sure no Dark Jedi will ever use her to get to me. They’ve tried in the past to use old acquaintances to get my attention and I need to make sure it doesn’t happen to her. I have little time left and I need to be sure everyone I care about is taken care of. And with most everyone else I care about dead she is the last I need to check on.”
   “We will help you find her.”
   “I have no doubt I will need you both for the fight that is coming, but I think I ought to find her alone. If she senses three powerful Force users coming towards her she might run again.”
   “What do you want us to do?” When Ahna spoke I heard something in her voice that through me off. Was it jealousy? I sighed internally. Things were much simpler when all I dealt with were emotionless Jedi.
   “Nothing right now. Right now I could use sleep. Tomorrow I track Nimora and by the end of the week I’ll go into exile somewhere and hope never to be heard of again.”
   “Well, we can help you with that for now then. We have camp set up through the brush.”
   My father held out his hand to help me up and the three of us went to their camp. The tents were set up on opposite sides of a twenty foot clearing with a fire pit in the middle, the wood stacked beside. Ahna directed me towards the tent to the right. As I entered I was surprised slightly to find she and I were in her tent and not my fathers.
   “We are all grown up Christopher,” she giggled at me. It was amazing to me how much a full grown women could sound like a young girl when she laughed.
   I didn’t have it in me to debate, argue, or even make a comeback as I collapsed down into the cot that was set up in the middle. It was a bit larger than a normal cot, obviously having been built for a more extensive use that it was designed for. I couldn’t keep my eyes open but I was still too aware to sleep. I felt as Ahna slipped into the cot beside me but didn’t have the energy to even look at or acknowledge her.
   “So, when this is all done where do you think you’ll go?”
   It took longer than it should have for me to understand what she was asking. I took a minute to think of all my options but nowhere came to mind. Where would I go to die? I could pick any place I wanted except for the two places I wanted. Too much death had already happened on Tatooine and Naboo was too beautiful for me to sully with my blood.
   “I don’t know.”
   “So, you’ll renounce your training like your mother did? Give it all up, put away your blade, and live out the rest of your life without fighting?”
   “Sounds perfect. I’m tired of fighting. I’ve been fighting in one way or another since I was twelve. Jorka, Drake, Achilles, Vargus, Rando, Alpha, Asheron, Mukhtar, Menelaos, Lander, it’s just been one after the other. Too many people over too many years, I need a break. An extended break.”
   “Only took you 32-years?”
   “Only.”
   We stayed quiet for the next minute or ten. I couldn’t tell but as I drifted off to what I was sure would be the first peaceful sleep I’d had in years I couldn’t help but wonder just how different my life could have been had I not joined the Order in the first place.

[ChrisGrim]

CHAPTER FIVE – The Ties That Bind
   I wasn’t sure how long we slept but when I woke up Ahna was already awake. She looked at me and smiled before her face became solemn again.
   “Why can’t we all just leave now?”
   “I told you why, I have to make sure she’s okay.”
   “What does it matter?”
   “It matters to me.”
   “And if she’s not on this planet, what then?
   I didn’t have an answer to this. I had no plan, I had no idea what tomorrow would bring. I couldn’t even be sure there was a tomorrow for me.
   “Do you love her, Chris?”
   “Not in the way that you’re asking, no.”
   “But she was one of the reasons you fell.”
   “No,” I lied. “Not entirely. She contributed. She was the convenient means to an end. I would have turned my back on the Order eventually but when she did I took the opportunity to make up my mind.”
   “Explain.”
   “The Jedi in my Temple had become complacent (inactivity). Because of that I knew that it would be near impossible to reach my goals (ranking). Further, as much as I shouldn’t have I wanted to become stronger, better at the things I knew my Temple was ill equipped to help me with (dueling). All of this led to me needing a change (I wanted to roleplay a Sith) and Nimora’s leaving gave me that opening."
   “With all those reasons to leave why did you come back to the Jedi?”
   “I’m not evil,” I said confused. I thought the reason would be self-explanatory. “The Sith teachings and abilities were fascinating their approach left a lot to be desired. I allowed myself to experience it, tap into the power. The power was nice, the strength I felt. I liked the perception of being better than other people and having people feed my ego rather than detract from it. I liked being able to do as I pleased. To test my limits in a way the Jedi never allowed me to. To gain powers I would never be allowed to and learn of the Force in a way that many JO members could never even dream of. I thought I was invincible.
   "But as time went on and the bodies began to accumulate I realized that my heart was never in the Evil. I didn’t enjoy a lot of it. It was liberating for a while but eventually I grew tired of always having to be angry and filled with hatred in order to be powerful. I realized there had to be a better way. I guess I just stopped being angry."
   “Besides, I had something to prove in the Jedi Order. I had to go back and try to prove myself once again.”
   “Always about you, isn’t it?”
   “As often as the situation allows it.”
   We looked at one another and laughed. It was nice to enjoy some levity now and again. I’ve been running, fighting, and killing for so long it felt nice to laugh again.
   “Why’d you leave again, then?”
   “When I returned I found nothing had changed. Sure, I ranked up to Knight and it felt good, but I was expected to be quiet like a Padawan. The rank felt hallow. The Council was too complacent to lead but wouldn’t step aside to let the next generation step up. I felt trapped in a never ending cycle. I mean, it’s been 38-years since I first joined the Jedi Order Temple and I hear the Council remains mostly the same. These Councilors have to be pushing a century old, likely are just as complacent, and still they won’t move aside. There is no progress to be made and I don’t do well with ceilings.”
   “The Council is the Council; it is up to them to decide when they have worn through their usefulness. When they are ready to step down they will. You lack patience, Christopher.”
   “I suppose I do, but I could not see a reason to wait until some of the old Councilors destroy the clan with their inactivity just to have them get bored, leave, and leave myself and others with the rubble of a Temple that can’t be helped.”
   “What have you been doing since then? I mean, if waiting for them to step aside was a waste of your time surely you’ve been doing something more productive then tracking this girl then.”
   “I have, actually.”
   “Oh?” She sounded surprised that I’d managed to occupy my time, like I’d been prone to bouts of laziness my entire life when the opposite was true. I’d always been among the most active Jedi in training and missions. I’d always been working to better myself and my knowledge of the Force.
   “I’ve been continuing my pursuit to become more powerful. More powerful than anyone thought I would be able to. To outgrow my father, my Master, and my Lord in ability since I admittedly could not rival them in other things. I’ve been trying to find a way to both stay with the Light while being able to tap into the Dark. To use the Force in ways neither Jedi nor Sith of the modern era are able to.
   “How has that worked out for you?”
   “Work in progress.”
   She sighed to herself and shook her head slightly. I could hear her say in her mind ‘always about himself’ again and I think she knew it. “What’s the plan then?”
   I was embarrassed to admit I had nothing. I was completely unsure of what my next move would be but knew I had very little time in which to make a plan. What kind of plan was there to be made? I would find Nimora and either I would find what I hoped to find or be forced to fight. There wasn’t much a way around it.
   I shrugged and got off the cot. My bones cracked and my muscles felt tired. I was reasonably young for a Jedi but the travelling had left me exhausted. I was glad this story was about to come to an end one way or another.
   As we exited the tent the heat hit me immediately. I groaned loudly. I hated the heat. My father was already awake and waiting for us.
   “Good sleep?”
   I looked over to Ahna and smiled. “About as good as they come.”
   “So, I know you well enough to know that plans aren’t your strong suit so do you want one or are you going with the saber out, head down approach?”
   “It’s worked for me in the past.”
   He smirked at me and pointed towards his shoulder and nodded. I knew what he spoke of and reached to my shoulder to feel the scar hidden beneath my clothes. The injury was old but I still felt the pain from time to time. Mike had given me when I stepped into his blade to protect Dal’Vahn all those years ago.
   “Alright, it occasionally worked for me in the past.”
   “You are a lot like your mother,” he commented with a large smile. It felt wrong as I watched him smile at the memory of my mother. He’d betrayed and killed her. I could see in his eyes that he carried that pain inside but I couldn’t forgive him for it.
   “What did you have in mind?” I asked trying to change the subject.
   “Well, obviously you’ll have to follow and track her,”
   “Which should be the easy part,” I added.
   “Because she’s set up a trap knowing someone is following her.”
   “Which I’ll likely fall into.”
   “We’ll have to be close to free you.”
   I stopped for a moment putting the plan together. “So your plan," I started slowly. "Is for me to do what I normally do, get in trouble, and then for you and Ahna to come clean up the mess?”
   “Yes, that sounds about right.”
   “You must know Menelaos.”

[ChrisGrim]

CHAPTER SIX – The End of an Era
   The morning had barely begun, the sun had not yet reached over the trees but I had already set off running. Vroxil had told me in which direction they’d felt the murmurs in the force and so I headed in that direction first hoping to get lucky.
   I’d been chasing Nimora and Lander for so long I hadn’t even stopped to think of what I would do when I found them and where I would go once I was done. I had no doubt that my days were numbered but if I survived Mandalore was there any place I could go with my father and Ahna to steal a few more years of life?
   Naboo had always been my favourite place but I knew I couldn’t go there. Perhaps somewhere remote. Csilla was cold. I liked the cold. Toola was the same. I had to think of the others too so perhaps somewhere warmer. The Galaxy was my shelter; I could run anywhere I wanted.
   But before I could run I had to finish this.
   It was two hours of constant running before I finally found what I was looking for. A small, distant disturbance in the force that wasn’t anyone I’d already seen. I sprinted off through the woods as fast as I could. The hiccup was gone, whoever it was must have been covering up their connection with the Force but I didn’t need to continue feeling the disturbance to know where it had originated from.
   I broke from stride as I saw a clearing begin to open up in front of me. When I jogged into it I saw just how expansive it really was. It had looked to have been cleared away as opposed to a natural clearing. The trees appeared to have been uprooted at some point and then the holes filled back in, and in the middle sat a rather large two story house made of stone with a large perch on the roof that added additional height to the already tall structure.
    I wondered for a moment what the purpose of such a perch would be but stopped when I noticed the front door.
   “Should I ring the bell?” I asked no one in particular.
   I took a step forward and the door began to creak open. I cursed under my breath as I remembered Nimora having taken the time to use Force Listening, a rather useful ability when people came towards you from a distance, like me for instance.
   She looked a lot like I remembered. Almost exactly, though a touch of grey had now found its way to her hair. She looked at me taking a long second to realize who it was. Her eyes widened for a moment, I could tell she wasn’t happy to see me but I couldn’t understand why. What had I done to her?
   “Was in the neighbourhood,” I said trying to bring levity to our ever increasing tension.
   “What do you want, Grim?”
   Yup, definitely not happy.
   “I had to see you were okay.”
   “It’s been nearly fifteen years since we’ve spoken.”
   “You went into hiding, you didn’t say goodbye, I was worried about you Nim.”
   “Why?” She sounded defensive, like I’d insulted her. “Because I left with him? Why do you hate him?”
   “Story for another day,” I commented quickly. She knew, I had explained it while we were in the Sith Order together, it was not my fault she had no retention. “I just—“
   Before I could continue I saw a glint of light off of something metal above me. I moved as quickly as I could manage as the loud sound of a Blaster Sniper echoed through the forest.
   Lander had taken up position in the perch above the house. Of course he had a sniper perch; he was a mercenary after all. Why hadn’t I seen that?
   “What the hell, Nim? I demanded. I hadn’t shown any aggression towards her. I hadn’t drawn a blade, taken a battle stance, or raised a hand to her.
   “He brought reinforcements!” Lander’s voice echoes from his perch.
   “What?” I hadn’t brought anyone as far as I knew. Vroxil and Ahna had agreed to stay behind until I let them know I needed help. No one should be coming.
   “You idiot,” Nimora all but screeched at me. I could feel her anger as it radiated from her. She wasn’t even trying to conceal herself anymore and I felt as she began channelling the Force through herself once again. I would say this much, she’d definitely grown more powerful. “This! This is what I’d hoped to avoid! This is why I didn’t want you to find me! Why I’d told all those Dark Jedi about you killing Lord Mukhtar and taking his mantel!”
   The betrayal stung more than the electricity that I could feel in the air as she began losing control of herself. She’d done it? She’d sent all of the Dark Jedi after me? To kill me? She’d cost me my safety! My life! It was her! What had I ever done to her!

   ‘Kill her for this betrayal, she deserved death!’ A voice inside my mind echoed in anger. It was mine but distorted with fury. It was the evil I’d been pushing back since killing Mukhtar, the side of me I’d been running from my entire life.
   ‘No! We agreed not to kill out of vengeance anymore.’
   ‘But you want to! Do it! We’re dead anyways, let me out!’
   ‘No! But--’ The idea came to me quickly, the solution to unity of the Force. If I was right then IO had just found the way to gain unity between both a person’s dark and light tendencies to allow one to be able to use the strength of the Dark Side without succumbing to it. A secret I wondered if Mace Windu had learned to use Vaapad, or Master Ewie for that matter. I wasn’t sure but I knew it was possible.
   ‘You have to be kidding me,’ the voice answered.
   ‘It makes sense.’
   ‘You know if we do this then neither of us will exist anymore.’
   ‘As you said, we’re dead anyways.’
   I closed my eyes.

[ChrisGrim]

CHAPTER SEVEN – Friends No More
   I opened my eyes for the first time. A new person born from two consciousnesses, one of a Jedi and one of a Sith. I could feel both inside of me, separate but the one; different but the same. The power of the Dark Side flowed within me but did not control me. The anger bubbled in my blood but I did not feel threatened to lose myself in it.
   I briefly wondered what colour my eyes were.
   It felt like the first time I’d controlled the Force all over again, when I was 12 and Master Zunin had started to teach me to meditate to feel the Force and then telekinesis through it.
   I felt both voices muted in my head but still present. I was harnessing the power of both of them and felt strong because of it. I wondered if anyone else could feel it too. Could Nimora sense something had changed?
   Nimora.
   My former best friend was now my enemy. My betrayer. She had sent an army of Dark Jedi to kill me all to save her and her lover. Would I show her mercy? Would I be the Jedi? Or would I show her pain. Would I be the Sith? I looked at her, her anger building as she looked at me. Our eyes locked.
   I heard in the distance the sound of Lander reloading from his perch. No, he would not be the one to destroy me. I reached out both with my hand and through the Force to take hold of the perch he believed safely protected him for the moment. He was not safe. I would make sure of this.
   Nimora, wondering what I was doing, looked behind her and then snapped back to me. She had barely enough time to open her mouth before I ripped the perch from the roof of their stone house, Lander and all, and thrrew it to the ground in front of it.
   I saw from the corner of my eye something fall from Nimora’s sleeve as she began rushing towards me. Lightning cackled and crashed through the air at me.
   ‘I guess she wants my attention,’ I thought. ‘I wouldn’t want to be rude now.’
   I reached out and blocked her attack as I pulled my saber from its hilt and ignited it. She reached me only a few moments later and our sabers met with a clash. It was odd for her to be this aggressive, her main style being Soresu. ‘She must be mad.’
   I grinned at her as our saber lock brought us close together, our faces covered in the light of our blades. She pushed away from me and swiftly moved back a few yards.
   I wondered what style I should use. Should I toy with her and use Makashi or Shii-Cho? Maybe a Shien grip with my Ataru? So many options. I flipped the saber back and forth in my hand between the traditional grip and the reverse grip. Nimora had to know I was the better fighter so I could only assume she wanted to die.
   I sighed as I chose to use the regular grip with my Ataru. If she was intent on death I would offer it to her quickly. I wouldn’t toy with my former best friend.
   She took a defensive stance and I knew she’d gotten control of herself. I walked towards her slowly for a few steps before breaking into a run. She gave up more ground with a step back and I leapt into the air spinning as I passed over her. She hadn’t turned around completely yet as I landed so I jumped again to confuse her. She turned around quickly to where she ‘knew’ I was and found nothing there. I had already landed on the other side of her again. She must have thought I’d learned to fly.
   I lightly kicked her in the back to give her a hint as to where I was which caused her to lose her balance slightly. She spun around again and took up a defensive stance again.
   I laughed one last time before I took my stance and prepared to take her seriously. I clenched my jaw and squeezed my hand around my hilt. I allowed the anger and hatred to flow freely again as the betrayal she’d perpetrated sunk in again.
   The lightning rippled down my arm into hand. It crackled and popped loudly as I concentrated on my opponent. I ran towards her again as I released the energy of the Force at her. She used her blade to block my attack but the power behind it distracted her long enough for me to jump into the air behind her. She swung around her blade low to the ground as I landed and managed to get off the ground again. As I landed this time I struck down at her head, she managed to get her blade back in front of her to block mine. I back flipped away and used the momentum of my landing to push me forward quickly. She hadn’t seemed to expect my sudden burst of speed at her and stood up slightly in shock. I used this moment to drive my shoulder into her stomach sending her falling backward and driving the wind from her.
   She got to her knees with her blade up defensively as she gasped for air. I walked towards her slowly now. I wanted her to see what was coming for her. What she had done to herself. I swung my blade and she met it weakly, I knew I could disarm her with a strong attack so I swung my blade around in a circle up into an uppercut. The attack knocked her blade out of her hand a couple feet away and she fell to a sitting position looking up at me.
   I held my blade straight at her towards her throat. I could kill her now. It would be so easy. I considered doing it in a more painful way through the Force when I heard the sound of rustling behind me.
   I knelt down to her and smiled mockingly. “It would seem your lover did not die when I collapsed his little perch.”
   Her eyes widened as she realized what I intended to do. She tried to stand as I stood and turned away. I turned back quickly and used the Force to push her back to the ground hard. She slammed back into the ground and rolled a few feet further away. She lay motionless as she watched me, helpless.
   I turned back towards Lander and stalked towards him. I felt the air change and I could feel the static of Force Lightning as it built weakly and came towards me. It hit me in the back shredding my robes but didn’t do much if any damage to my body. It was the last, feeble attack of someone desperate to save her love.
   I shrugged off the remnants of my robe. As they fell I heard Nimora gasp behind me. I knew what she was looking at on my back that had caused her to gasp. I winced slightly at the memory. I built the Force in my hand and turned only slightly to Nimora and released the power. The Lightning hit her motionless body and she shrieked loudly in pain. The sound made part of me want to stop and the other want to push harder. I chose to stop. I was wasting time.
   As I got to the destroyed perch I saw Lander crawling a few feet away as he tried to get to his rifle. I lifted the perch off the ground and threw it towards their house. He reached for his blaster and got his fingertips on it as I grabbed him through the Force and lifted him off the ground. I brought him face to face with me.
   “You will not make it out of this,” I told him what I thought was obvious to everyone here. He responded by spitting in my face. I wiped off the spit with my hand and grinned at him. His eyes widened slightly as I released him for a fraction of a second from my Grip and sent him falling towards the ground. Before his feet could touch the ground I unleashed a Push unlike any I had ever managed that sent him flying back into the stone wall of his house with a loud crunch, presumably of a bone or two.
   “No,” Nimora said weakly. Her body had had enough but she wanted to fight me even still. I stepped back directly between the two and surveyed the destruction around me. Both lovers lay damaged, broken on the ground.
   I wondered how much either could take.
   The brush behind be began to rustle and I turned my head to glance behind me. Vroxil and Ahna had pushed through the brush and entered the clearing.
   I heard them both gasp as they saw my shirtless torso.
   “Son,” Vroxil said shocked. “What has happened to you?”
   I knew what he’d meant. My body was badly scarred all over, my arms the worse of everything. Deep, dark bruises that never seemed to fade coloured my body an odd shade of red, purple, and black.
   “This is what happens when two Sith push the limits of the Force for five years against one another. And then one of them turns around and spends the last 18-years doing the same while trying to implement the Light with the Dark to an extreme perhaps his body was never meant to handle.”
   “Mukhtar did that?”
   “He planted the seed. He wanted to use me as an experiment to see what he himself could do safely and what he could not.”
   “Chris,” Ahna interrupted quietly. She had to be disturbed by the ‘person’ she saw now and I wondered if maybe she had felt the change in me earlier. “Ships have started to land around the forest. Dark Jedi are coming, many of them.”
   “It looks like your plan backfired,” I yelled to Nimora. “You wanted me destroyed so no one would come after you and now your army comes to your doorstep.”
   “Grim, what are we going to do?” Vroxil looked at me panicked. I could see in his eyes the conflict of wanting to run with the side that wanted to fight.
   “I want you two to run as far and as fast as you can; 100-yards at least, no less.” I knew the Bomb was all I had left. I would draw them in and blow as many of them as I could up.
   I heard Lander grown as he regained consciousness. I reached out with the Force and lifted Lander off the ground. I heard him gag slightly and pulled him towards me. He traveled through the air limply and I stuck out my hand as he was just about to pass. I wrapped my hand around his throat, our eyes met quickly and only for an instant; I used his momentum to slam him to the ground hard. His head cracked off the ground in a sickly fashion.
   I stood over him and pulled my backup blade from my belt and held them both reverse grip. I looked over to Nimora who watched me, tears forming in her eyes. I thrust the blades downwards and ignite them just a few inches from Lander’s shoulders. Both blades ignite and rip through his shoulders pinning him to the ground. He screamed out in pain as the lightsabers went through both bone and muscle.
   “You’re going to want to watch this.”

[ChrisGrim]

CHAPTER EIGHT – The Last Favour and the Force Bomb
   My father and Ahna took up defensive positions around me as we awaited the Dark Jedi to enter the clearing. I grabbed my father’s backup blade from his belt and ignited it. I could tell it was his Jedi blade. It was odd to have him be so sentimental towards the Order of the Force Temple after all he’d done.
   I ignited the blade and took my stance. Six Dark Jedi entered the clearing and stopped short when they found three saber wielding Jedi awaiting them.
   “Two each?” Ahna asked playfully.
   “Only if you two can keep up,” I responded with a grin.
   The two of them ran to their respective sides and began fighting their two Dark Jedi while I awaited mine in the middle of the clearing. They moved in slowly towards me getting well within my range of Ataru. Are they insane? Do they know nothing of who they fight?
   I looked down for a brief moment to feel the soft soil below me. A tree had been here. I felt below me through the Force and smiled as I felt the roots below me. I moved to the left a foot and reached down into the ground with my mind. I used the Force to uproot what was left of the tree from the ground. The two would-be opponents stared at me shocked as I levitated the roots in the air. I threw the root towards them, only one was able to move in time while the other was hit with tremendous force. I felt his life extinguish before he and the root had even settled on the ground.
   The other landed and pushed himself towards me as quickly as he could. I ignited my blade in the reverse grip deciding this was the time I wanted to experiment further with it. I waited for him as he parried at me. I shifted my weight to the right this time using my left arm to tie up both of his. I swung my blade up over his head and around to the other side of his arms and pulled it towards me.
   His saber along with his arms from the elbow up fell to the ground. I put my hand on his chest and channelled a powerful Push into his chest. I didn’t check but as his life force extinguished I assumed I had crushed his ribs and did damage to his internal organs.
   I looked to see if anyone needed my help but they both finished their opponents soon after. I closed my eyes for a brief moment to feel the forest around me for more fighters but what I sensed in the distance sent my heart racing.
   “We have a problem,” I yelled to them as I retreated back to Lander’s body in the middle of the clearing. They both looked at me. “You all need to run, now. More are coming. Dozens, maybe close to a hundred. It’s too many, even if all five of us fought side by side. You all need to run. Get 100-yards away, minimum. Go!”
   I wasn’t sure how large the blast would be now that I had increased in power so much. 100-yards might have been too little, I wasn’t sure.
   “Grim,” a voice weakly yelled out to me. I looked but realized neither Ahna nor Vroxil’s mouths had moved. I turned slowly to Nimora who had managed to get to her feet but only just barely. “Lander. Please, let him go.”
   My jaw clenched as I turned to look at Lander who looked as if he waited for death. I walked over to him and knelt over him. I looked into his eyes, the hatred between us permeated through the clearing as I reached for my blades.
   “You are a lucky man,” I whispered. I stood back up and turned off the sabers. I looked over at Nimora one last time, “This is the last favour I ever do for you. You are dead to me.”
   I lifted Lander with the Force and tossed him towards Nimora. I didn’t look but I heard her help him off the ground and rush into the woods to try and outrun the coming blast.
   I turned back to Vroxil and Ahna, “you aren’t running. Why aren’t you running?”
   “I’m staying,” Ahna argued. Vroxil nodded his head to express the same sentiment.
   “I’m using a technique that doesn’t require anyone near me. I’ll blow up this entire area before any of them even get close to me. There is no reason for you to die,” I tried to reason with them. I didn’t want to kill the only people in my life that still cared for me. “Besides, I need you both to clean up what I miss if this doesn’t take them all out.”
   “Vroxil will go then,” Ahna demanded. “I will not leave.”
   Vroxil looked to want to argue but I held up a hand to him. “You aren’t going to win. She’s a woman.”
   He nodded once again but hesitated to leave. He and I looked at one another for a moment longer and it finally happened. I stopped hating the man that killed my mother, my Order, and destroyed so many lives in the process. He was not that man, he was not evil, he was my father.
   “I forgive you, father.” I told him. He smiled at me and nodded once again before running into the woods.
   I could sense the Dark Jedi as they moved closer to the opening, I couldn’t tell if any had gone to chase Nimora, Lander, or my father but I had to hope for the best.
   “So, this is how Christopher Grim and Ahna Thraxon die?” She asked me rhetorically.
   “I suppose,” I answered glibly. I wanted nothing more than to force her to run while there was still time. I didn’t want her to die. It seemed wrong that the galaxy could be considered a just and balanced place when she would die but someone like Lander or Nimora would live.
   “I wish things could have been differently.”
   “Me too. I’m sorry, Ahna.”
   I allowed the Force to run through me freely. The lightning ran through my body more intensely than I had ever experienced before. I allowed the Force to flow into the bubble I’d created which cased the bomb inside. The amount of energy within the bubble grew larger and larger though the bubble stayed the same. The more lightning I pumped into the bubble the more energy was stored in it, it didn’t dissipate or weaken rather stayed as powerful as the moment I released the energy into the bubble.
   I lightning cracked and popped, pulsed and vibrated and grew beyond the level of any Force Bomb I had ever created. It took great control to keep the bubble for bursting prematurely but I could tell it was going to be the most powerful attack I had ever created.
   I wondered briefly if Menelaos would be proud or profoundly troubled by my ability to create an attack of this magnitude.
   I watched as dozens of lightsabers cut through the brush and into the clearing. I couldn’t count them all but I knew the number had to be reaching near the 100 mark. This was it.
   I hesitated for a brief moment to look at Ahna. Her blue-green eyes looked up at me, she smiled at me. There was no resentment. There was no anger. She didn’t hate me for what I’d brought on her or what I was about to do. She was content to die here with me, my first best friend, my only true love.
   I took a deep breath and released the energy through me as I whispered, “May the For—“

[ChrisGrim]

CHAPTER NINE – The Ones That Remain (Written by Nimora)
   I hoisted Lander onto my back and used the last of my will power to run to safety. I couldn't look back at Grim. To watch my former best friend die while I continued to live would be torture. I resisted the urge to turn around and just kept moving forward. After running as far as Grim suggested, I propped Lander against a tree and hid my face against my love's chest, listening for the sounds of sabers clashing.
   I began to panic ever so slightly when I heard nothing. Had he been killed without a fight? That wasn't like Grim.
   Suddenly, The Force exploded around and within me. I turned quickly to see a blinding light such as I'd never seen before. Thunder and lightning crashed all around me, the sound reverberating in my chest. I was thrust to the ground by the gust of powerful wind that swept through the forest around me and then... nothing.
   The forest was deathly silent. I stood quietly and sent a wave through the Force, searching for any life signs. There was nothing. No more life signs, no more Grim. My former best friend was gone, obliterated by his own power.
   I couldn't believe he had let me live. I had betrayed him to the Dark Jedi, I had used him to escape with my lover, I had ruined his whole life, and still he had given me a chance to continue to live my own.
   And not only had he spared my life, he'd spared Lander's, as well. A man he had hated for as long as we’d known him and yet he still saved our lives at the cost of his own. I would always be grateful that he had let us go. His last act wasn't that of a man hunted and driven by betrayal and hatred. He didn't succumb to the evil that he was so close to giving in to.
   I couldn't hate him anymore. No, now I could only hate myself. I had brought upon myself the one thing I had tried to avoid.
   The remorse of my actions overwhelmed me and I fell to the ground, crying. "You are dead to me." That was the last thing he said to me. The irony in the pain I felt at hearing those words was that I had been doing that to him for the last fifteen years. He had been dead to me as I ran away from him and everything I had known. I avoided him so that I could have my own happiness at the cost of his. How could I do that to him? Did he really mean that little to me? The man I'd spent so much of my time with as a Jedi and as a Sith; the friend I had gone through trials with and had stuck by me?
   I deserved to die instead of him.