Private Love and Corruption: Shadows of the Past

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As Phoenix spoke Katarine couldn’t help but feel like a heavy pressure was building in her throat. Was this what it felt like to be Hawk and have people constantly placing their faith in you? It was one thing to back a winner but Katarine had lost every fight she’s ever had with Daxium. Sure she had always escaped or managed to evade death, but she hadn’t ever actually put a true stop to him. Last time she had even tried sending him to the pit, a place on Aviprine most people thought of as hell, but he he clawed his way out.

But the last part of the old man’s speech drove that from her mind. The room was suddenly spinning. She grabbed the seat next to her and eased herself down, cradling her stomach and fighting the new emotions creeping up. She wanted to wake Hawk, but knew it would only make him put a stop to the mission or insist on coming with her. She wanted to cry out in joy, because this was all she had ever wanted, but she also wanted to go screaming in the other direction, become a cave hermit and baby proof the galaxy.

To deal with the madness she did what she always did, smirked and used sarcasm.

“Great. I’ll just go free my husband, tell him I’m carrying another man’s baby, and then I’ll find some way to incapacitate a demigod. Just another average day.”

She smiled at Phoenix but inwardly she vowed

I won’t let anything hurt you. I promise

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

Phoenix's suit had automatically scanned everyone in the room when he had put it on. Hawk was unlikely to wake for several days; the suit was thoroughly confused by Thistle, and within Kat shone the beginnings of a new life, perhaps only a few weeks since conception.

"If I knew the serem wouldn't harm the baby you'd be taking a nap right beside my grandson," Phoenix told her plainly. "If I thought this ship had the provision to contain a celestial powered Jedi you would be contained." He told her sternly, but then his tone softened. "As it is, I doubt I can stop you coming, and a big part of me knows it's where you should be. You will have to face all those things, and who knows what more. Your mother defied her God and risked everything to bring you into this world and Tenebris was blind to it all, because there is one thing he will never understand."

Phoenix left what it was unsaid, knowing full well that Kat already knew. The dark God would never understand love. Not the love of a mother for her child; not the love between and man and a woman; the love of friendship, or of one's home and life.
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Hawk sat atop a grassy hill with his back against a tree. A brook bubbled through the valley below and a line of conifers swayed in the breeze.

"Beautiful, is it not?" Lychnus spoke from beside him.

"It is," Hawk agreed. "I had thought you and Tenebris both died when you disappeared together?" Hawk's question held a tone of accusation.

"Ah, straight to the point as always," Lychnus chuckled. "Yes, that was my intent, but just as we were about to be forgotten by the universe someone reached out to my brother through his heart and he broke free of my grasp."

"Daxium." Hawk stated.

"It would appear so," Lychnus confirmed.

"I have to get back and help face him. Please, send me back."

"A thousand years and you still struggle to learn the same lesson," the celestial smiled down at him. "You can not always save everyone Hawk."

"So, they're going to die and you're going to keep me here to teach me a lesson!" Hawk raged and got to his feet.

"Do you possess such little faith in others?" Lychnus scolded softly. "I said that you can not always save everyone. Now sit."

Hawk had no time to think before his body was pulled back against the tree next to Lychnus by an invisible force.

"I know you want to protect those you love. I first learned of love when my children were born, and in some way I love each living thing in the universe that came from the force. But, as you know, celestial love spans an eternity and can never reflect the intensity or passion of mortal love...but, when you have lived all of time you learn a thing or two. I could, if I chose to, fix all the problems of your galaxy. I could step in and interfere in every aspect of everyone's lives to protect them from danger. But I don't. Not because I don't care, but because I do. If I solve everyone's problems, they will never learn to solve them themselves. They will never learn, and they will never grow."

"So, you're saying Kat needs to do this alone in order to grow?" Hawk asked rhetorically. "So, she'll be ok?"

"Now that I can not say. I have been quite blind to the flow of time since our spirits combined." The Celestial held out his hand and jets of light shot out of Hawk's head and into his palm before seeping into his skin. "Did you ever wonder exactly what your grandfather put in your DNA to enable you to control celestial power?"

The heat in Hawk's head disappeared as Lychnus took back his power to see through time, and his brow furrowed as he considered his last question, but when he turned to press him for answers, Lychnus was gone.

Hawk sighed and relaxed against the tree, watching the brook continue to race through the valley and birds periodically swoop down to snatch up small fish. Every instinct in him wanted to fight this illusionary world and to get back to Kat, but Lychnus was right, and he did have faith in her.

 

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The rest of the trip to Aviprine was thankfully uneventful and contained no more big bomb shell revelations. Katarine had spent a lot of the journey resting, meditating, worrying, checking on Hawk, and worrying.

When they flew over the planet they could see the small farm villages, the beautiful terrain, and the plethora of natural resources the planet kept because it was too far away to mine. They landed in a field because the planet had no space port, and when they walked down the ramp of the Phoenix it felt like they had gone back in time again. There were no droids, no neon lights, no busy speeders and no crowds of people in the latest fashions. The planet looked like a medieval representation drawn in a history book for school children. It was almost impossible to believe this one backwater planet could be the source of the galaxies entire destruction.

As soon as her boots touched the soil her deep green eyes traveled towards the castle in the distance. Her childhood home looked foreboding and so big next to all the straw houses in the villages but she knew that’s how Dax liked it. She much preferred the small farm house she and Hawk had stayed at.

She took a deep breath and nodded at Phoenix, knowing he was off to find the heart and she was off to the castle in the distance.

 

[Hawk Hinata]

The mountain rose like a shadow over the primitive dwellings. Phoenix remembered when he had first seen it all those years ago; it had unsettled him then, but like a fool he had ignored the feeling and scolded himself for allowing the stories of the villagers unnerve him. Now that he knew what it contained, and the dangers of returning to it he was unnerved all over again.
For just a moment he wondered if he had done the right thing sedating Hawk; this was most definitely his grandson's area of expertise. But no, this was a problem of his making and he needed to fix it, and besides, if he had managed to sedate Hawk than he was correct that he was not as sharp as he needed to be.

Not a word passed between him and Kat as they each set off on their own quests. The magnitude of what they were attempting to do no doubt weighing down on them both.

The followers of Tenebris had mostly abandoned their old God after he failed to rise, however his most devout followers who lived within the mountain caves remained loyal, captivated by the influence of his heart.

"At least I don't have to climb it this time," Phoenix smirked and activated his jetpack.

Phoenix spiralled through the air in a less than dignified motion for a few minutes. He was definitely out of practice. By the time he had made it to the base of the mountain, Phoenix's flight skills had returned and he changed his trajectory and headed for where he knew the cave entrance was.

 

[Kitter Bitters]

Wrong account

 

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The trek up to the castle was uneventful, which Katarine had expected. Daxium wasn’t the type to keep guards. He trusted nobody so whatever staff he had was purely for show. In matters of this importance she knew he would only use them as a last resort.

But she wasn’t looking for her twin just yet. First she wanted to find James and either see if she could get him out of here or if she could at least give him a comfortable place to die. This mess was her fault. She should never have gotten involved with James. He was doomed from the start. Every time she tried to be happy in love Dax found some way to ruin it. The men in her life were cursed.

What did that say about Hawk?

She pushed that thought deep inside her mind because she wasn’t sure what to do with it just yet. It might be impossible to push Hawk away now, given what Phoenix had said. She clutched her stomach as she walked. Maybe Phoenix was wrong and she wasn’t, but that thought was also filled with sadness. As selfish as it was to bring anybody into this Kat couldn’t help but hope Phoenix was right. She hated herself for it.

She entered the castle through the underground, where the river pulled up to a dock system. This was the closest way to the dungeon and given her vision she figured that was where Dax was keeping her former padawan.

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

Phoenix landed upon the paved approach; the path a crudely fashioned deathtrap of a trip hazard made of large stones bashed into the soft soil, which supported trees flanking either side. Four of Tenebris' fanatics stood guarding the entrance, two clutching long pike weapons and the other sporting swords and shields. Their weaponry was ridiculously pitiful against the arsenal built into his suit, and he'd have been greatly surprised if their weapons could even scratch the beskar, but he wasn't about to simply slaughter them either.

With the press of a button he retracted his helmet to give them a target, and with his other hand he drew a beskar sword from where it blended in with the metal on his back. He knew the fanatics would not surrender and that they'd have stood and fought against an entire army of Jedi, a pointless gesture or not, but he had to offer them a chance.

"Are you fellas sure you wouldn't rather piss off to the village tavern and have a good grope at the barmaid?"

They stared back at him blankly, and that was when he saw it. In an instant he reactivated his helmet and not a moment too soon as the four attacked with inhuman speed. Their black bloodshot eyes had warned him that they had been enhanced by their dark God.

"Damn it," he swore as he barely avoided the first strike that whipped past his skull with enough force to cleave straight through the tree on his left.

For a minute or two Phoenix moved and avoided blade and pike out of pure instinct, but gradually he saw patterns in their attacks and started to intercept blows before counter attacking. That was the problem with Tenebris' enhancements. They sacrificed skill for raw power.

The first of the pikemen went down to a lightning riposte as he allowed the weapon to slide harmlessly by him, and, as any good swordsman knows, the best time to kill a second opponent is in the immediate aftermath of killing a first. They would withdraw, recoil, doubt themselves as their comrade fell and then they would die. Of course, this didn't really apply to fanataic zombies enhanced by an evil celestial being and a sword ringing off his temple was waiting to remind him of that.
The blow caused him to stumble, but fortunately he had been right about the effectiveness of the weapons against his suit...not that that stopped the impact from jarring his brain and momentarily blurring his vision.

As his vision cleared he saw the second of the swordsman ready to deliver a follow-up blow to the first to the back of his head, which he had no doubt would at least render him unconscious - suit or not.

So...Phoenix shot him.

"Yeah well I cheated. Maybe you should pray to a God with a clue what century this is." He laughed before lunging forward to engage the remaining two enemies.

The pikeman quickly lost his footing as Phoenix pressed the attack, and as Phoenix ducked under a sloppy strike he stabbed a knife from his belt into his foot before rising to thrust his sword up through the man's chest and out of his back. He turned upon the balls of his feet, using the dead man for balance and then shoved him off his blade into the path of the swordsman. The speed of the swordsman was enough to avoid the body launched into his path, but not then Phoenix's blade as it crashed through his neck.

Breathing heavily, Phoenix wiped his blade on the clothing of his fallen enemies and slotted it back into his suit.

"I think the easy way next time," he coughed before entering the cave.

 

[Hawk Hinata]

Hideous laughter seemed to make the valley shudder, and Hawk's warm tranquility beneath the tree was shattered by the arrival of Tenebris.

"And they call me deceiver," The dark celestial scoffed sitting upon a log opposite to where Hawk sat.

"Didn't you get the memo?" Hawk asked with dripping sarcasm. "I'm on the bench for this one. Shouldn't you be more concerned with protecting your heart than bothering me?"

"Oh, my heart is quite safe young Hinata," Tenebris smirked showing off a mouthful of sharp teeth. "I knew you were coming here long before you did. Your grandfather will meet his end shortly and he doesn't even know he's bringing me the one weapon in the universe that can not only kill an immortal, but a celestial. I must thank you for leaving my brother blind to my actions these past months."

The dark God rose from his seat, but Hawk did not rise with him. He knew he was here to goad him into some action that would tilt the balance in his favour, and he would not rise to it. Even still, an uncomfortable feeling began to form in the pit of his stomach. Lychnus had been blind all these months, and even at the end with his sight restored he refused to tell him whether Kat would make it...and he hadn't even asked about Phoenix.
Was the blade Kat forged for him the key here? Could Tenebris take it and use it to give Dax Kat's power? Would he then use it to destroy the universe and kill Lychnus, returning the universe to darkness as he desired? After all, Kat had forged the blade for him as her champion, not Phoenix.

"Time to prepare will not change the outcome of this," Hawk informed him. "My grandfather will destroy you as he has always planned, and Kat will defeat her brother."

"You're more fool than I thought if you believe this is Phoenix's plan," Tenebris chortled. "Did you really believe he was able to resist my power all these years through mere gumption and tenacity?" Tenebris heaved with laughter. "I admit, I was arrogant and caught off guard a thousand years ago. It had not occured to me that his new found immortality would allow him to hide things from me, but all of this since our first encounter; all of this, was me."

Hawk arched a skeptical eyebrow. He had heard Tenebris' fear when Lychnus had been ready to sacrifice himself to destroy them both. Even still, the feeling in Hawk's stomach intensified as he considered the impact if any of this were according to his plans.

"None of this explains why you're here," Hawk reminded him.

"I thought that would have been obvious," he smiled causing his lips to skin back from his teeth. "I'm here to kill you and take back what was stolen."

The dark God screamed; a sound that could rend entire galaxies, and from his mouth shot a ball of black fire. Tenebris' eyes gleamed bright red. He was enjoying himself.

The impact of the scream was like a physical blow to Hawk, which was strange in two ways. Firstly, because this was not a physical realm, and secondly the power of it had not obliterated him. All he could assume was that this was Lychnus 'Not interfering'. The tree was not so lucky. It was utterly destroyed by the shock wave of the scream, and then the Earth upon which it stood was scorched by the black fire.

Hawk moved as fast as he could, avoiding the fire ball itself but being thrown back by its concussive blast. He didn't have time to think, or to wonder about the logistics of being killed wherever this was; his own mind? Some other realm? Hawk sprang to his feet as Tenebris rushed him, slashing in a frenzy of blows with claws that grew from his fingertips. Hawk span, flipped and jumped away wishing he had his lightsaber, and just as he thought it the blade appeared in his hand.

Tenebris growled and summoned a dark blade from the air and continued his frenzied attack. He pummelled Hawk with the blade; rained black fire down upon him, and when Hawk could barely stand from the effort of simply not dying, Tenebris smashed him into the ground over and over. Finally, with demented laughter filling his ears, Hawk felt himself be dragged down the hill; he could hear the water of the brook as they got closer, and then he was face down in it. The water was cold. It was not deep, just enough to cover his head, and the stones pushed into his face as Tenebris stamped on Hawk's head and held him under. Hawk struggled; he flapped and flailed; bucked and kicked out...and then he was still.

 

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The inside of the castle was exactly how Katatine remembered it. Dax was a slave to tradition so none of the decorations had changed. The only new parts were the dungeons and that was simply because she had never been down there. Whenever Lady Sinistra had locked Katarine away it had always been in a bed chamber, which considering the musty dank prison atmosphere was probably a blessing in disguise.

There were no prisoners in any of the cells but a few skeletons did occupy them. Perhaps nobody had fed the poor souls. The thought turned her stomach but she pressed onwards, extending her senses as far as she could. She could not feel her former padawan and that worried her greatly. What if this all had been a trap?

Just as she was starting to consider turning back she entered a large chamber that looked like it may have been used for torture. On the other end of the stone wall was a man hanging in shackles. His blond hair fell over his face where his eyes were closed.

She stopped for half a second, feeling her breath catch at the first site of her husband in all this time. There was no nostalgia inside the woman, but instead a great sadness. She hesitated for only a second before she rushed forward and put her hands on his throat, checking for a pulse. She felt one, but it was weak, and she worried it might stop at any moment.

Her lightsaber cast his face into great relief as she carefully cut the metal binding him. He looked awful, but not as if he had been hurt. He just looked more hollow than she had ever seen him. As soon as his arms were free he slumped forward into her arms, his eyes still closed.

She gently shifted her weight, intending to lay him flat when he stirred.

“..Kat…?”

His voice was so weak. She blinked back tears and pushed his long blond hair out of his face.

“Am I dreaming? Is it real? Why…”

She half smiled through tears. “You never got around to signing the divorce papers. I figured rescuing you was easier than finding a good lawyer.”

He tried to chuckle but his voice was so weak that it was more of a gasp.

“Can you stand?”

“You’re here. If you want I can fly.”

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him upwards. He was surprisingly steady as he got to his feet, but he was still leaning heavily on her. She shifted his weight and started towards the door, hopping she could drag him far enough to hide him until she could get him medical care.

Before she had gone three steps though she felt the Force screaming in warning. She slipped out from under his shoukder and spun just in time to avoid a blood red blade. The next second her own white blade had sprung to life to catch the red one.

She stared in complete shock as he stood there, his blond hair cascading over hollow eye sockets that were finally open to reveal the yellowed corruption of the darkside.

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

The endless misty expanse of the Crystal Hall stretched seemingly (and quite possibly) forever in each direction. Hawk's brow furrowed as he recognised his location; he had not been here just moments ago. It was hard to think. Where had he been? The train of thought was completely derailed as shadows began to emerge from the mist. First there were a handful; then dozens, and finally hundreds, but Hawk was not worried, he knew who they were.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" Hawk asked as he approached the crowd.

"Nearly love," Evelyn replied and took his hands.

Hawk smiled sadly at the force ghost of his murdered wife, and then took in the host of those around him. His children stood close by; the wounds that made their small bodies unidentifiable when he had last seen them thankfully gone. Beyond them stood Vohn; then Liagu, Ordan, Ardeth and it went on and on. Thousands of his friends and comrades past stood in ranks waiting for him to join them.

Hawk moved to join them, but Evelyn resisted his movements.

"You can't. We are the ghosts of your past, but you need to remember your present, or there may be no future for anyone."

Hawk turned his face guiltily as his mind focused.

"Don't be fool enough to believe I'm not happy you found love again, Hawk," she scolded him.

"What can I do?" He asked defeatedly. "I'm lying nearly dead face down in a river. I can't save everyone; I can't beat him without celestial power."

"Tenebris has never been beaten by celestial power," Evelyn tapped him on the forehead.

Hawk lofted a brow as he considered this. She was right. The war against Tenebris had been going badly until Lychnus and Matercula had given birth to Vital and the force which then destroyed Tenebris' celestial body.
So, that was why Tenebris knew Phoenix was going to fail. The celestial lightsaber would not destroy Tenebris' heart unless it was wielded by a force user...by him. Phoenix was only bringing Tenebris the thing he needed to empower his own weapon, Daxium.

"I have to go," Hawk whispered, but the ghosts had already merged with the mist once again.
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Tenebris stood over the Jedi, savouring the moment of his death. It wasn't the Hinata he wanted, but this one had become as much a thorn in his side as his cursed ancestor, and it was a start. Once the Jedi was dead, he would finally destroy Phoenix with the celestial blade, rectifying the thousand year old mistake of bestowing immortality upon him. Then, he would pass the blade to Daxium who would use it to take his sister's power and destroy Lychnus. Then, with his brother out of the way, Tenebris' power would be unbridled. He would cast aside the boy Daxium, perhaps torture him for a few centuries for his arrogance, and then...then the universe would be silent once more.

The surface of the river began to ripple in a wholly unnatural way, and then it stopped moving entirely. The river frozen in its flow. Singular droplets of water rose into the air and the ground shook; small stones and larger rocks joining the droplets of suspended water.
Tenebris' eyes shifted to the Jedi still face down in the water and a growl began at the back of his throat. The dark God raised his foot ready bring it crashing down on the Jedi and put an end to him, but when he brought it down it only hit an invisible barrier.

Hawk pushed himself up from the water, which ran in red rivulets down his face as blood poured from a dozen wounds upon his face where stones from the river had cut him.

"Did you ever wonder what Phoenix put in my DNA to allow me to control celestial power?" Hawk echoed Lychnus' words to Tenebris.

Hawk had figured it out in the moment right before he returned from the Crystal Hall, perhaps because that was where it had all begun. He knew it as if he had been there himself. Perhaps the knowledge had been given to him in that moment. Lychnus' son, Vital, was the force. The Crystal Hall was a nexus in the force. It was the force made physical...or, it was the physical body of Vital. Phoenix had imbued Hawk's DNA with the Crystal Hall, and therefore the body of Vital. That was why he had been drawn to the Jedi Brotherhood all those centuries ago; why his connection to the force seemed so strong.

Tenebris attacked, but he was sent sprawling as Hawk held up a hand and rebuffed him with the force. Before the dark God could recover, Hawk held out both hands and raised him into the air, bound tightly in the grip or the force. He raged against Hawk's power, but Hawk contained him and crashed him into the ground. Hawk's eyes shifted colour over and over as he held Tenebris, but finally they settled upon his usual emerald green.

Tenebris screamed as a shaft of light broke through his body like a spear of fire. It shimmered as the dark God clawed at it uselessly, and then finally it turned to crystal. No sooner than had it done so, another spear of light burst through Tenebris; and another; and another. One after another, shafts of force light burst through Tenebris and became crystals. Tenebris' face was contorted in agony as his very essence was being destroyed.

"HINATA!" He screamed as the majority of his body had been replaced by crystal, but Hawk did not hear him.

The force poured through Hawk in a tidal wave. He had channelled the energy of force light before, but never anything on this scale. He was manifesting the force itself in a physical form to destroy the dark celestial's spirit, and not only that...he was transporting them both. Hawk and Tenebris left the realm their spirits inhabited darted across the barrier of worlds. They crashed through a mountain to where Hawk could see Phoenix battling his way through Tenebris' minions towards the heart. He would make it just before they overcame him, but he would not be able to pierce it. He and Tenebris settled over the heart; the one place upon Tenebris' body where crystal did not erupt was the where his heart now sat.
Phoenix slashed left and right with the celestial blade, cutting his way to where Hawk stood with Tenebris pinned, although he could see neither of them. As he brought the blade down towards Tenebris' heart, Hawk reached out and clutched the hilt of the blade.

There was an explosion of energy. Phoenix and Tenebris' followers were sent crashing into the cave walls, and before them, as they scrabbled to their feet, stood Hawk and what remained of Tenebris with crystals reaching up from his body to the ceiling. Hawk did not hesitate, he brought the blade down to slide into the space in the Crystal. Into Tenebris' heart.

Light filled the cave, far too intense for Phoenix or Tenebris' followers to gaze upon, but Hawk could see. As the heart was pierced, crystals erupted from it and the blade was encapsulated. The crystals grew enormous and Hawk smiled as he recognised them. These were the crystals of the Crystal Hall. This was where and when they had been created, but they existed outside of time and space allowing for effect to lead to cause. The power of Vital surrounded the crystals and in a flash they were gone...gone to reside within the Crystal Hall, to call to a Hawk of the past in a closed loop of inescapable destruction for Tenebris. The dark God could never have won. He had already lost, and he had lost in every possible future that had ever been possible since the force was created. Hawk could see it now, he had escaped a final death by hiding his heart in this mountain, but he had been destined to do so by the will of the force for this very moment, and finally Hawk understood why the birth of Vital had ended the celestial war, and he understood why Lychnus would voluntarily join his brother in oblivion. The time of celestials was over.

 

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Her padawan had fallen

She had failed.

The words repeated over and over in her mind she she weaved and dodged out of his grasp. He was strong, but they had done this dance thousands of times in the training rooms. Katarine knew her student, and she could practically see his mind calculating the next move before hit came. It was impossible to pin her down. She knew him too well.

She spun sideways in time to avoid the red blade that cut through the stone behind her. Before James had a moment to turn around she lifted him off the ground and sent him blade flying across the room. She lifted him easily with the Force, until he hung upside down facing her, much in the same way he had the night they met when he tried to steal from the galactic senate. Her heart ached at the memory.

"If I put you down will you talk to me? You can keep me busy with a conversation just as easily as you can with a fight."

She saw his eyes widen and she nodded. Somehow in the last few moments a realization had come upon Katarine. Should couldn't pinpoint it's source but she knew without a doubt that it was true.

"He needs time to get the blade from Phoenix, so he's sent you to keep me occupied. You realize he hopes I kill you? Your life means far less to him than my suffering does."

His jaw tightened but it was enough for her and she sat him down on his feet. He was still taller than her, still broad in the chest, and still had the unmistakable hint of a thief about him. Long before he had ever been a Jedi or a mandalorian warrior James Terran had been a pirate after all. All of these things were the same, only those eyes had changed over time. She could find no trace of the man he had once been inside them.

The two stood there for a long moment with Katarine simply staring at her husband sadly and James breathing heavily, clearly trying to decide if he should attack again. A loud scream from a room above them broke the tension.

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

Hawk stood very still as the Crystal, that had been Tenebris, vanished. It was gone, and yet the place where it had been still shimmered in the force. As he reached out to touch it, Hawk could feel the raw energy of the force as a physical presence. Not a solid one like the crystals, but it was definitely more substantial than the usual feeling of one's connection with the force. Hawk knew what this was, it was an infant nexus within the force, a vergeance of force energy. It felt both familiar and alien to him, for he had known it positioned beneath the Jedi Temple on Yinchorr as a fully matured nexus fixed in its position, but here it was new and unstable, able to move through both time and space.

As Hawk reached out to touch the ripple in the air it's surface became opaque, and then silvery like a mirror...except it wasn't him reflected within it. Hawk could see Kat as her fight with James came to an end. The moment Hawk's fingers touched the image upon the nexus he was there, the mountain cavern left behind in a stomach churning warping of space-time.

The image reflected upon the surface of the nexus (now behind him), was that of the Crystal Hall. The enormous crystals diminished by the boundless mists of the strange room. A figure appeared from the mists to right and began to walk towards the crystals, and Hawk immediately recognised him as Kat's twin.

"Kat, we must stop him. Tenebris...the blade, if he gets to those crystals the universe ends!"

 

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The scream turned into a snarl and then a very odd sound almost like liquid expanding. Miraculously a portal opened and Hawk Hinata entered. Did he just magically know when the galaxy needed him? He was oddly impressive, standing there with his silhouette lit up by the softly glowing crystals. Intentional or not, he had style. She was so entranced by Hawk she hadn’t noticed the image behind him.

"Kat, we must stop him. Tenebris...the blade, if he gets to those crystals the universe ends!!!"

Her deep green eyes shot past Hawk, into the shimmering portal where Daxium stood among the crystals.

She spun on her heel and sent James sliding backwards, into one of the empty prison cells with the Force. With another wave of her hand white light formed bars of the makeshift prison. James tried to grab them but they burned his hands and he screamed.

“They won’t hold him forever.”

Her eyes briefly met Hawks, and in that moment she knew he understood. The decision to try and convert James back to the light or to end his life because he had fallen was one she could not make. Of the two of them, Hawk was much more capable of fighting Daxium, or so Katarine believed, but she could not bring herself to harm Terran. Whatever was to be done to him she would leave up to Hawk. Kat might not have any faith in herself but she had nothing but faith in Hawk.

After a brief glance backwards she reached her hand into the shimmering portal. Immediately she was jerked forward and landed among the crystals. It was eerily silent here, and yet she could hear faint whispers. She glanced down and saw she was safely on the path. That could never change.

With measured footsteps she moved forward until she was behind her twin, who seemed to be trying to decide which way to go.

“You were never any good at our scavenger hunts Katarine. I always got the prize first. Today will be no different. “

“Daxium please.. listen to me. We cant fight here. It’s dangerous. We need to leave. “

“Not without the blade.”

“It’s over. This place is sacred. Cant you feel that? I won’t let you decimate another of these crystals. “

“As you wish.”

She activated her white blade just in time to catch his black one. He pushed her backwards but she was careful not to step off the path. She slid around him and brought her blade up to block again. At any moment they would both be lost forever. Maybe that was for the best? In here they could stay away from the galaxy for all time. Kat could spend eternity keeping her twin from the blade, and away from the rest of the lifeforms he was so deadly to.

But she would never see Hawk again.

She felt something flutter deep within her and gasped. Something was reaching through the Force from inside her! No.. not something… someone… a tiny … precious… new someone, was reaching… for its daddy.

Realizing she couldn’t spend eternity here she deactivated her blade so the path was clear before her.

“Finders keepers then.”

She ran, carefully keeping her boots on the path, while her twin howled before her, just like he had when he was worried she would win their childhood games. But this wasn’t some marble or stuffed toy they were racing for this time. She had to get that blade before he did and she had to follow the path to find it. One wrong step and…



Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

Hawk burned to head into the portal with Kat and his muscles tensed as he suppressed the urge to leap through after her, but Lychnus' words echoed in his thoughts, and he knew that this was a fight that Kat needed to win on her own if she were ever going to be truly free of her brother. It went against every fibre of his being to turn away from the portal...to leave the fate of the universe in the hands of another, but he knew that Kat could handle it. What she could not handle, was the man with whom Hawk was left with.

"Surrender now, it need not end like this." Hawk stated as James assaulted the prison that Kat had summoned to hold him with streams of lightning - Hawk removing his robes and plucking the hilt of his lightsaber from his hip as he did so.

"The life I had, ended a long time ago. The dark side is all I have now. The dark side is all I am...and I will destroy you!" James raged as the bars broke and his lightning erupted towards Hawk's face.

In the blink of an eye, Hawk had raised the hilt of his lightsaber and the aqua blue blade had sprung forth to intercept the crackling energy. Hawk paced in a circle around his opponent, deflecting blasts of lightning with a casualness he knew to be infuriating.
Nothing Hawk did however was ever casual or uncalculated when it came to combat. An opponent enraged would often act impulsively and make mistakes; attacking wildly and without thought. James attacked in his rage, his crimson blade sweeping in a savage but uncontrolled and sloppy arc. Hawk stepped inside the attack, ready to sweep his own blade through the man...but at the last moment he rotated his hips and simply tossed his attacker over his shoulder.

Hawk's brow furrowed. Was he ready to kill this man for the right reasons? To kill him for the threat he posed to the galaxy...or for some more selfish reason? In the moment before his blade had cleaved through him, a spark of doubt had crept into the Jedi's mind and he needed to resolve that doubt before he could take his life.
____________________

"Master Hinata, can I ask you a question."

"Of course you can Vrommel," Hawk replied as he moved the mop back and forth across the training room floor."

"Err," The young Calamari Padawan began a little surprised that the Grandmaster knew his name. "Why are you mopping the floor?"

"That is not your question," Hawk informed him. "But, I will answer it while you consider asking what you actually want to." Hawk smiled and squeezed the mop into his bucket before continuing to clean. "When train in here, I train my body. I train to be strong and fast. When I meditate, I train my mind. I train it to be quiet and in tune with the force. You ask why I mop the floor when I am master of this Temple and the Jedi Order, because you do not see that I am training. I am training my spirit. I am training it to be humble and remain mindful of my own desires."

"Master, I beat Alexi in a training duel this morning, but I knew he had injured his left ankle and I swept his leg to win...and now I feel I didn't earn the win. Was I wrong to take advantage?" Vrommel blurted.

"Hmmm, you feel as if you cheated by having knowledge of his injury?" Hawk considered the Padawan's question. "I suggest you grab another mop and train with me," Hawk nodded to the cleaning supply cupboard.

Hawk and Vrommel mopped the entire training room together in silence, the thrusts and sweeps of their mops as deft as any lightsaber form. When they had finished they returned the mops to the store cupboard and surveyed the room.

"I think I was right to use my knowledge to defeat my opponent." Vrommel said as they looked across the room. "But, I will continue to train harder so I can beat him in a fair duel."

"I think you're right." Hawk smiled.
____________________

Hawk's moves across the room where he clashed with James began to flow in long sweeping motions, as he explored his own doubts and motives. Their blades clashed again and again in a dance-like flurry, until finally Hawk's eyes focused and he once again slipped inside James' attack. This time he did not pivot. This time there was no doubt in his mind. He loved Kat fiercely, but he did not want to kill James for any selfish reason. The aqua blue blade cleaved through James' side and moved upward through his body, cutting him in half diagonally. Hawk sighed as he deactivated his blade, taking a moment to kneel beside his fallen opponent; to close his eyes and bid him rest peacefully in the force, before drawing a large cloth from an alter to cover him and taking a seat to wait for Kat.