Private Love and Corruption - The Coruscant Conundrum

[Hawk Hinata]

Hawk shot Trevannon a look, which softened somewhat as he felt and understood Kat's compassion towards him. The assassin had stated he was searching for a child that had gone missing, but now that Hawk thought about it that did not fit in with Torshin's MO here, nor with what his student had said about them being permitted to see their families whenever they liked.

"No, it was on Yinchorr," Hawk responded to Kat's question about the Crystal Hall. "It was however a force nexus that didn't entirely exist within the physical world, so I imagine it could exist wherever it liked."

This still did not explain why it was here, in Torshin's illicit Temple of all places.

"This neighbour girl, Myrial was it?" Hawk stated turning to Trevannon. "Didn't happen to have your eyes or nose did she?" Hawk asked in such a fashion that demanded no lies.

"Your intuition is a bit spooky sometimes," Trevannon half grinned.

"Does Torshin know?"

"No, or I imagine he'd have used her to keep me in line."

"And what is it that makes you not want her here training with Torshin?"

"He is doing something to them," Orlic turned his face away as he spoke to hide the look of anguish there. "Myrial was tested when she was born and found to have a negligible midichlorian count, perhaps enough that she might excel at some sports that require quick reflexes, but not enough to become a Jedi. Her mother came to me worried one evening after Myrial had visited; told me how she had demonstrated her force powers...she had levitated the entire diningroom set." Trevannon ran a hand though his hair and turned back to Hawk. "I told her I'd look into it and so fell into Torshin's employ..."

"So you knew about this place!" Hawk accused. "You used us to get you here so you could snoop around."

"Of course I did!" Trevannon snapped back. "And I'd do it again and again if I had to. He is experimenting on them Hawk, and himself. From what I've gathered there is a serum. It enhances the force powers of those who take it; don't ask me how it works, but it's how he, Myrial and many of the others here have their abilities."

Hawk took a deep breath. He had known there was more to Trevannon's story, and if he were truthful he could not blame the man for what he had done. If the roles were reversed than he might well have acted in the same way to find out what was happening to his daughter.

"This would have been good to know earlier," Hawk growled. "There's nothing to be done about it now though. We're here and, if what you say is true about the serum, than we need to put a stop to Torshin's experiments...we will find Myrial," Hawk added placing a hand upon Trevannon's shoulder. "But I can not overemphesise enough the importance of the Crystal Hall."

In the midst of everything that was happening, Hawk's eyes fell upon Kat and he smiled despite himself. The frustration at having been manipulated by Trevannon and the trepidation about Torshin's Temple and his serum seemed to simply vanish with that smile. Hawk wanted to reach out and take her by the hand, but thought better of it in front of Trevannon and the reporter.

Soon the four of them entered the hangar. The roof was flat with a slit that ran along its length hinting that it would open. Two large transport ships sat at the far end while a myriad of starfighters ran in rows along the edges. The facility was truly impressive. It was a wonder that Torshin had managed to keep its construction off the books. Hawk wondered how many contractors had died to keep his secret.

 

[KitKatt]

A serum to increase Force abilities? Kat felt a hard lump form in the back of her throat as the image of a young dark haired man and his master surfaced in her memories. But no... Daxium couldn't be behind any of this. She wasn't even certain he was alive. In fact it was foolish to think he was alive after all these years, no matter what the Witch had said. Her deep green eyes darted around the room, as if trying to confirm to her brain that they were truly alone in this room.

Get a grip on yourself

Trevannon was a liar, which Kat suspected from the start, but he truly did not seem a danger to Hawk. Perhaps the man really did just want to find his child. She couldn't fault him for this. She had always wanted a child and could imagine moving the heavens to help it if she ever had to. The thoughts brought a pang of sadness which she tried to shovel down deep into her gut. What in the world was going on with her? Being this emotional was dangerous, especially for a Jedi. She needed to get it in check, but even as Hawk smiled at her and Kat tried to smile back, she could not hide the fear in those deep green eyes.

The hangar looked exactly as one would expect of a world class facility, which made it truly impressive considering it's origins. How much money had been laundered away to build this place? Hawk was right, there was no way Torshin was destroying this temple if he could avoid it.

"Wow. If I could get some pictures of this place it would be headline news."

Joycin had been so quiet Kat had almost forgotten the reporter was a member of the group.

"Let's worry about pictures after we figure out what to do next. I don't know if we are going to be able to persuade his students to leave him. He's given them superpowers. It's very difficult to convince a god to become mortal again." She didn't mean this literally of course, but she knew how many non Force users craved the power the Jedi had. If Torshin had found a way to give someone that power, there was no doubt he would have influence over them, especially if they had to keep taking this serum to keep those powers. If this serum wasn't a one shot concoction then Torshin was basically the best drug dealer on the planet and his customers would jump in front of a blaster bolt to make sure they got their fix. Her eyes met Hawks and she knew he must be fearing the same thing she was. She did not want to hurt innocent kids who were being mislead by a mad man.

"Should we split up? I can look for Torshin if you want to visit the crystals."

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

There was a lot to be said about the power of emotion in the force. Hawk knew this especially well as he had written much of what there was to be said across several volumes in the Jedi Archives. The Jedi of old had feared emotion; sought to suppress and eradicate it from their lives, but in the end it was this fear of emotion that destroyed them. To have never experienced emotion was to be unprepared for it when it surfaced, and when one was so unprepared for the spectrum of emotions they became overwhelming.
Hawk had come to this conclusion early in his Jedi career, but his voice as a young Knight had been lost amidst those of older more experienced Jedi. His warnings that the Jedi were hearing for destruction again had been ignored. A small number of other young Knights had shared his views, and when word of a new Jedi order called the Jedi Brotherhood reached them they had departed to join it.

Hawk felt Kat's fear, and while he shared in her concerns...there was an edge; a sharpness to her fear that he could not understand. They had been in far worse situations. In fact they had been in a far worse situation only a few weeks ago. They had faced down an entity so ancient and powerful that it could be regarded as a God, and yet something had her very rattled right now.

"I have a feeling that both searches will end in the same place," Hawk sighed. "The Crystals. They're...in pain," Hawk's brow furrowed as he said it.

The statement sounded foolish, but it was what Hawk felt from the crystals. Hawk had never felt them this way before; they had always been a serene comfort vibrating at a low frequency that filled him with a sense of life.

"He must be there, and whatever he is doing must be stopped."

The feeling of pain and torment scraped at the inside of Hawk's skull as if Torshin was in there digging at his brain like some depressed teenager gouging at a tub of ice cream with a spoon. Hawk kept the discomfort out of his face but did not speak any further, instead he turned on his heel and strode off in the direction that he could sense the crystals in.

"I wouldn't want to be Torshin right now," Trevannon whispered to Kat and Vanessa, casting a glance at Hawk as he began to follow. "He's somewhat scary for a good guy. Can you imagine being a Sith putting the final touches to your diabolical scheme and someone informs you that Hinata has landed?" He chucked.

"Diabolical scheme over," Vanessa smirked.

The quartet approached a door that was unlike any other door in the facility. The door was old and made of a deep red wood. An energy radiated from it that would be detectable by any who stood before it, force sensitive or not.
Hawk reached out placing a hand upon the door and it opened at his touch. What lie beyond was a hall of indefinable boundaries; dimensions that defied the constraints of the structure that surrounded it. A cool mist clung to the ground and blurred the horizon of the hall.

"The Crystal Hall," Hawk breathed. "Do not stray from the path or you may never find it again. Do not allow your minds to dwell on negative thoughts. In here your focus really does determine your reality."

Hawk stepped into the Hall and began to walk along the path towards a misted area up ahead where he knew he would find the large crystals of the hall growing from the ground.

 

[KitKatt]

Katarine did not want Hawk to feel how scared she was, but it wasn't something she could hide. Ever since their Force dyad a connection lingered between the two Jedi. She had never heard of this happening before, but with so much going on and so many priorities to attend to she really had not researched it thoroughly. All she knew was she could feel Hawk more deeply than she could feel anybody else.

Except one person

She closed her deep green eyes and took a long steadying breath. There was no time for irrational fears right now. When she opened them she almost closed them again immediately upon seeing the look on Hawk's face. She could sense the confusion... the concern... the .... anger? Did Hawk Hinata get angry? Surely she had seen him as a determined sage standing between right and wrong, but had she ever seen him angry?
She felt a shudder and knew immediately she never wanted to, which was a thought the assassin seemed to share.

"He's somewhat scary for a good guy. Can you imagine being a Sith putting the final touches to your diabolical scheme and someone informs you that Hinata has landed?"

Kat grinned at the assassin as his words triggered a memory of James Terran, her abandoning husband. James had once said he wanted to see Kat but didn't fancy breaking into Hinata's temple because he was a pirate, not a moron. The grin slid off her face when she felt the pain in Hawk's mind. Whatever he was feeling was serious.

At the wooden door a collective shudder passed through the group, and Kat knew that the reporter and the assassin were sensing the crystals even if they didn't know that's what was happening. Kat eyed the duos sideways but they appeared steady on their feet as the foursome entered the hall. Hawk advised everyone to keep to the path and lead the way. Something felt off to Kat as they walked through the mist, almost like the crystals were whispering a warning in her ear.

As they walked on all sense of time and space left them. It was almost as if they were now in a giant cathedral that had no ending and no beginning. The silence was thick and pressed in upon them until they heard the faint voice up ahead. It was Torshin speaking. He was knelt in front of one of the larger crystals, which was glowing a dark black color and pulsing almost as if it had a heart beat.

"Please master... tell me what to do..."


Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

The sense of a deep wrongness within the Crystal Hall only deepened the further Hawk entered with the group. He could still feel the essence of the Jedi who had once walked this hall and joined with the Crystals, but the connection was nowhere near as strong as it should have been.
Hawk desperately wanted to reach out to the Crystals and to see if he could isolate the essences of any of his long passed friends. Perhaps he could reach Vohn within the force and cause his old friend to manifest within the hall. He did not however and resisted the urge; he needed to remain focused on the task at hand, and who knew what might happen if he opened himself to the Crystals when they were feeling so...wrong.

When they came upon Torshin, Hawk had stood incredibly still for a long time. A feeling of rage bubbled through his veins at the sight of the blackened crystal, and he noted with horror that pieces had been chipped away. He had corrupted it. He had desecrated it. The Crystals bore the essences of every Jedi of the Jedi Brotherhood, but this one had been drained. Those essences lost forever. What if Vohn were gone?

"What have you done?" Hawk's voice shook when he finally trusted himself to speak.

Torshin looked up from the Crystal he was talking to and Hawk saw tears in his eyes.

"M-My father was a Jedi," he wept. "The force was my birthright but the Jedi rejected me. I was cast aside; told I was not good enough. I thought political power would be enough, but it wasn't. I wanted the life I was owed!" Torshin rose to his feet and stood before Hawk. "I had some setbacks early on in developing my serum, it was regrettable but no one misses orphan kids from the lower levels...but then the voice came...and I found the entrance to this hall." Torshin's eyes bulged with excitement as he spoke. "He came to me, a shadow confined to this place. He taught me the ways of the force, and showed me how I could use the crystal and the essence contained within them to complete my serum."

Hawk felt sick. Torshin had used the crystals in his serum. He had consumed the essence of the Jedi who resided there. Hawk's eyes flicked to where Torshin had sat and saw that the ground was littered with empty vials, and something; a figure, moved within the darkness of the Crystal.

"Did you use all those vials?" Hawk asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

"It was the only way I could be strong enough in the force to bring my Master here, and now I am more powerful than even the great Hawk Hinata!"

Torshin raised his hands and Hawk felt a grip tighten on his throat and himself lift into the air. Torshin raised his other hand in Kat's direction.

"My Temple will rise and it will replace the Jedi. It will empower the weak; those cast out and forgotten."

Behind Torshin the dark crystal hummed and pulsed faster and faster, and now Hawk could sense another presence within the hall. Something dark and malevolent.

"Manipulating...your midichlorian...count, doesn't make you powerful...or a Jedi." Hawk managed to state as Torshin maintained his choke. "The size of the jug doesn't matter if you never fill it." Hawk smiled as his feet lightly touched back down upon the floor, his own hands rising to counter Torshin's power.

 

[KitKatt]

The bubbling rage radiating off of Hawk was alarming. As the group moved closer to the crystals they could see one was blackened and chipped away. What had Torshin been doing here and more importantly what was Hawk doing? Kat could feel something off in the lingering connection she had with him. It felt like a cold, calculated, longing. That made no sense to her. Every other indication in the Force presented Hawk with great anger. What was this coldness she was feeling then? It was in the back of her mind, deep within her, almost a part of her, and yet it was not her. It had to be the connection with Hawk. Unless...

No

Her deep green eyes peered intently into the depths of the black crystal. Was that a shadowy figure moving inside the crystal? How was that even possible? These crystals were the essence of all the Jedi from the Brotherhood. None of them would manifest as dark shadowy figures. It was confusing to Katarine, but she tried to listen to the monologue Torshin was giving because it might hold answers.

Torshin was using a serum to inject himself with the Force? A serum made of the essence of countless Jedi from centuries past? Kat felt her stomach turn. What would that do to Torshin or to the Jedi from who the essence came? Had Torshin ripped them from the afterlife?

"It was the only way I could be strong enough in the force to bring my Master here...... "

No

She felt the Force close around her throat. A dark malevolent presence filled the air around them and the Force screamed it's warning that something was coming. Something dark. Something terrible. Torshin lifted her off the ground, and a snarl ripped through the air, not from Kat or even within her mind, but in the very hall they stood, coming from the dark pulsing crystal.

No

Torshin winced in pain, but it wasn't Hawk's doing. The snarling creature from the crystal was punishing Torshin for touching Kat. She felt the grip on her throat release as Torshin's pain went away. Now it was only Hawk holding Torshin, but the crystal was glowing now, the light increasing until it was almost blinding.

"Run" Kat whispered, causing the reporter and the assassin beside her to look at her with alarm at how frightened she sounded.

"I think Hawk can take him sweets...."

"Get out. You have to run!" She was speaking to Hawk, but she was not looking at him. She was staring at the blinding crystal like a wild Nexu trapped in the headlights of an oncoming speeder. She couldn't look away, but she had to make Hawk understand the monster on the other side of the crystal was coming for him. She should have told Hawk everything and now it was too late. His life had been in danger ever since he kissed Kat and she had foolishly stayed by his side. This was her fault. All her fault.

The hall filled completely with the blinding black light and then suddenly it extinguished, leaving the hall to look dark by comparison. Everyone blinked to adjust to the new lighting, and behind her she heard the reporter gasp when they all realized there was another human shaped figure in the hall. The crystal beside the new man was split completely in two and smoking slightly.

Daxium Ryiah looked so different than he had when they were kids, but there was no mistaking him. He was no longer the thin gangly teenage prodigy who was coming into his own as a duelist. He was now a powerfully built man who stood taller than she remembered. His face still harbored the handsome features of his father, but in his sockets now were poisonous golden eyes. Those eyes were narrowed slightly and staring right at Katarine, a look of triumph on face that held them.

"Leave the girl. Kill Hinata."

He didn't bother looking at Torshin when he issued this command and it made Katarine cringe. Torshin was a fool. Dax didn't care about this temple, or creating Torshins abilities in the Force. Daxium had used Torshin and now he was using Hawk to end the foolish man. Torshin couldn't see it this. He was blinded by a master who had given him the gifts he had longed for all of his life. At his masters command Torshin began attacking Hawk.

The dark man took a few steps toward Katarine and then folded his arms across his powerful chest in a very characteristic gesture. He didn't speak, just stared at her as if he knew she was about to.

"Call your lap dog off."

Dax smirked. "Of course. If you come home."

"I've told you that is never happening."

"You prefer to let your friends die while we settle our problems?"

"Daxium please. I have no problems with you."

The smirk faded off his face, replaced with a look of anger. "You still aren't prepared to face your destiny?"

"I'm not prepared to kill for it."

"Then die for it."

Katarine had a split second to push the assassin and the reporter away from her with the Force before her twin was upon her.

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

Hawk's triumph was short lived as darkness blossomed forth from the corrupted crystal, and then the presence he had sensed entered the Hall. Torshin's Master ordered him to leave Kat and kill Hawk, but even as Torshin obeyed Hawk could sense his confidence had been shaken by the seemingly relative ease with which Hawk had countered his choke.

"You must realise now that this is not what you wanted," Hawk said as he side stepped Torshin's attack and moved so that Torshin was between him and the newcomer. It wouldn't do to allow whoever or whatever had come from the crystals to move behind him, especially as darkness rippled off him like mist off the ocean. "Use the force; feel the darkness emanating from him, and search your feelings."

Torshin's yellow blade twirled through the air but his heart was not in the attack and Hawk swatted the blade aside with a wave of his hand.

"Look at your blade," Hawk continued. "In my time yellow was the colour of a Temple Guard's lightsaber. It was their duty to protect the Temple. You've made mistakes; you've done some terrible things, but I do not sense the darkside in you. You need to protect your Temple now from this evil."

Torshin was torn. He owed his power to his Master who he had helped emerged from the Crystal, but he could not deny the evil he could sense. Had he sensed it all along but been willing to ignore it to get the power he wanted? Hadn't he always shied away from reflecting on the steps he had taken; telling himself that it was for the greater good? He felt so foolish. All he had wanted to do was remove the power from the extremes of good and evil and give it to those who were so often caught in the middle. Instead he had brought a great evil into the world.

"Do you think you can stop him?" Torshin asked and lowered his blade.

"It's what I do," Hawk sighed.

The newcomer seemed focused upon Kat and his manner hinted at an intimate relationship between them. What was more strange however was the fact that Hawk could sense this newcomer through what remained of the connection that he and Kat had made with their temporary dyad. Somehow this individual was a part of it.

"Don't step off the path!" Hawk shouted a warning that stopped Trevannon and the reporter in their tracks as from the corner of his eye Hawk had spotted them scrambling away from Kat as she pushed them out of harm's way. "Torshin, can you get them out of here safely?"

"I..." He glanced at his former Master who was now advancing on Kat, his focus seemingly consumed by her and oblivious to the conversation between him and Hawk. "I will."

"I'm not sure what your goal is here..." Hawk's voice carried through the Hall, low, calm and full of authority. "...but, if you have come to harm her, than you have made a serious error in judgement."

The anger that had filled the Jedi minutes ago had dissipated. It was a righteous anger and he would have been a fool to hide from it or suppress it. That would only have given it more power over him. Instead, he had taken a moment to let it wash over him; to feel it without fearing it. The urge to simply strike Torshin down was then easily overcome, the emotion having no power over him. Now, Hawk was once again completely calm ; utterly focused and balanced within himself and the force.

 

[KitKatt]

Daxium hit like a rancor. Each time their blades collided Katarine was certain he would break her arm. He was relentless in his attack and Katarine was scrambling to stay one step ahead of him. Where her twin radiated power and purpose she was a ball of panic, certain that he would end her life any second.

Dax did not let up until Hawk spoke. Kat felt like her stomach would fall through the floor when her twin held up his hand, freezing her in her tracks.

“My plans for Katarine are not your concern Jedi. You have already disgraced her mind because she was foolish enough to let you in it. Do not make matters worse.”

Katarine could feel the cold hatred radiating from her twin and she winced. He felt betrayed by the dyad she had opened with Hawk.

“I never meant to hurt you Daxium. Let Hawk and the others walk out of here and I will go back to Aviprine with you.”

“Quiet Katarine. You are being rude.” Dax deactivated his blade and stared at Hawk for a long moment before speaking. He noticed Torshin was nowhere to be seen. The coward would pay for that.

“Hawk Hinata you are no fool. When you thwarted my first attempt at crossing into this timeline you realized dear Katarine wasn’t mortal. She could never belong to a mortal man, no matter how many times she wants to try.”

Kat’s deep green eyes widened as she realized Dax had pulled the puppet strings to release Tenebris the same way he had pulled the ones attached to Torshin. It was never going to end. He was going to hunt her for an eternity, just like the stupid stories the cult had preached.

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

"You don't really believe I'm going to just leave her here with you do you?" Hawk remained casual as he positioned himself perfectly balanced should the newcomer attack.

Hawk's eyes flicked to Kat as she spoke, her words were confusing; how had she hurt this Daxium? Once again Hawk sensed more through the remnants of their connection. Her relationship with him was familial; yes, Hawk could definitely see the resemblance now. A brother? Hawk's brow furrowed as he focused. A twin! A twin who was already part of a dyad that Hawk had intruded upon.

Daxium spoke again and Hawk fixed Kat's twin with a gaze of steel from eyes the colour of a stormy sky.

"You sound surprisingly confident for a man who sent a God to kill a mortal, yet finds himself left facing the mortal." Hawk stated matter of factly, no hint of a boast in his voice. "Kat belongs to no one. Not me; not you. Kat is her own person and can live her life in any which way she chooses however long that life may be."

Hawk thought back to their first encounter with Tenebris. The dark God had tried to invade Hawk's mind, but he had been protected by his grandfather. He had watched events in Phoenix's life and come to pity the man his father had always taught him was evil. Phoenix had discovered the key to eternal life after a life spent squandering the one he had. As an old man he had watched his family fall apart; his wife die and son reject him. The curse of immortality was to lose those you loved; but Phoenix had done that in order to achieve his goal anyway. His youth restored, Phoenix had began a new life unknown to his remaining family. As far as Hawk knew Phoenix was still caught somewhere in between life and death by the power of the same entities that Daxium had first tried to use to cross into this time. Phoenix had manipulated his own DNA with both science and magic; he had even experimented on Hawk's father when he was young. Hawk remembered the vision he had had of his father raging at Phoenix; telling him that he would never get his hands on Hawk. What's more, he now recalled the knowing look on Phoenix's face.

Hawk didn't know what it meant, or why it came to him now, but he was a patient man and believed everything would be revealed before long.

"Everyone I ever knew is dead," Hawk continued. "I live in a time far beyond the one I was born into. The pain of loss can be overwhelming, but the pain of loss is merely the echo of love. I have loved and I have lost, but I will gladly love and lose again rather than never love for fear of love's echo."

Hawk looked at Kat when he spoke of love and hoped she felt the strength of his words and the strength of the emotion behind them.

 

[KitKatt]

"Kat belongs to no one. Not me; not you. Kat is her own person and can live her life in any which way she chooses however long that life may be."

Dax snorted in apparent amusement and looked over his shoulder to where his sister stood frozen. He grinned and looked back at Hawk. This was part of how Dax operated. It wasn't arrogance really, just how he was taught to see the world. What did the feelings of mortals matter when you had been told your entire life you were a god? To Dax the Jedi Hinata was an annoyance in the path of true purpose and destiny. It was a situation that needed dealt with but it brought him no pleasure in doing so. All he wanted was to ascend into his celestial form and complete the mission he'd been chosen for. If he had to kill one Jedi, or a thousand Jedi to do this then so be it.

"Katarine does belong to someone. She has since the beginning of time. She's been told this, but foolishly chooses to run off and play Jedi in a galaxy she isn't meant to be part of. She has done you a disservice by not revealing her true nature. Every time she runs off to live a pathetic mortal life I am forced to clean up the pieces and drag her back to her true purpose. The body count keeps rising but she continues to insist on playing house with mortals."

"You sound surprisingly confident for a man who sent a God to kill a mortal, yet finds himself left facing the mortal".

The dark man threw his head back and laughed, which sounded more like a loud bark that echoed off the walls of the crystal chamber.

"I like him better than the pirate. He's amusing."

Katarine squinted at her twin in confusion. Why were his thoughts suddenly trailing so far away to James Terran? Dax grinned at his sisters unspoken question and started fishing inside his pockets.

"Your pirate is what kept me. I had to tie up loose ends before I got here."

He tossed something shiny down on the ground and waved his hand, releasing Kat from the freezing hold. She fell to her knees and picked up the small golden necklace that had once belonged to James' father. Her husband wore it everywhere, as a treasured keepsake from a father never known.

"I have business with Kat. I can either go through you or past you. The choice is yours Hinata."

The conversation felt like it was happening far away, almost muffled to her ears as she stared at the small golden trinket in her hand. She was starting to shake as a horrible realization washed over her. James Terran had never left her.

He'd been taken from her.

.... the pain of loss is merely the echo of love. I have loved and I have lost, but I will gladly love and lose again rather than never love for fear of love's echo.

Hawks words seemed to be on repeat in her mind. Over and over again she heard his voice while she stared at the frail golden necklace in her hand. Her whole body was shaking now and when she spoke it wasn't her own voice, but a thousand terrible voices all speaking together.

"You want a fight Daxium.... you've got one."

Dax spun around in time to see Katarine look up from the necklace, her deep green eyes replaced with glowing white ones. For the first time in his life fear graced those handsome features as his sister came for him. A prodigy since birth, he had beat her at every training session Lady Sinistra had put them through, but now he could barely keep her saber away from his flesh. She overwhelmed him quickly, and he fell to the ground, his saber flying out of his hand. He looked up at her and pure shock registered on his face as he saw her standing over him.

Wings

Long, graceful and elegant wings framed Katarine. They appeared to be made of the same glowing white light emitting from her eyes. These wings were things Dax had never seen before. His mouth fell open and he felt panic and confusion as his worldview and all he'd ever known shattered in his mind. Daxium and Katarine were lied to by the Dark Jedi cult. They were not reincarnated gods sent here to fulfill a prophecy.

They were angels

Kat pointed the end of her lightsaber at her twins face and spoke in the same horrible echoing voices.

"Daxium Zedious Ryiah you have sinned in this timeline and the last. Your actions have brought violence and suffering to the beings of this galaxy and for that you will burn. Let the fire and brimstone cleanse your soul and from the ashes rise a changed man. Hear my warning now. If I ever see you again I will end your existence in this realm and the one beyond. When you finally crawl out of that fiery pit head my words and keep your distance. It ends now."

She lifted her hand and the same bright white light circled around her twin. He screamed as the light got brighter but a second latter he was gone, and his screams were just echos.

"Wha... Where did he go?"

Torshin had returned. He scrambled out of her way as she walked past him, stopping only to answer his question.

"Hell"

She placed her hand on the crystal that was fractured in two and it resealed itself. The crystal stood complete once more but a long horrible scar remained. It might never be the same. She wanted to explain that to Hawk and turned to look at him, but whatever emotion that was registered on his face stopped her. She stared at him for a second before the lights in her eyes started to blink, almost like they were shorting out. The wings of light faded and her deep green eyes returned, full of horror at what had just happened. She stared at Hawk with sorrow and remorse as the weight of everything that had just happened sunk in.

"I'm sorry"

With those words she collapsed and everything went dark.

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

"You know nothing of her true nature. You may know what her physical form is, but you do not know your sister." Hawk called to Daxium as he saw the power emerging within Kat behind him. "Truly you are blind if you believe it is me who you must go through," Hawk lofted an amused eyebrow and watched as Daxium turned to face the radiance of his sister.

The Crystal Hall vibrated and filled with an an ethereal light; Hawk wasn't sure if the Hall was responding to Kat's power or if she was the source, whichever it was the light swirled around the Hall and Hawk was forced to shield himself from the energy even though it was not directed at him. It was all over very quickly as Kat manifested the power that Hawk had always told her she possessed whenever she doubted herself, and Daxium was gone.

Torshin returned, the question of Daxium's whereabouts upon his lips; his mouth remaining open at Kat's response. He and Hawk watched as Kat mended the Crystal, and now Hawk could feel the harmony of the place as he remembered it.

Hawk was moving even as Kat fell; she had channelled a huge amount of energy and he knew from experience that doing so took its toll on the body. He caught he lightly in his arms before she hit the floor and settled with her held against him in front of the Crystal.

Hawk felt her neck for a pulse. It was weak and growing weaker.

"You have nothing to be sorry for and you are not dying on me and leaving me here alone," Hawk whispered in her ear.

It was Hawk's turn to draw force energy into himself now, but he found that when he tried to push the healing energy into Kat it would not go.

Torshin looked on helplessly as he watched Hawk try to revive Kat. The Crystal Hall hummed again as Hawk desperately tried to force the healing energy into the woman, but Torshin could see that there appeared to be come kind of bubble around her preventing the energy from entering her body.

Hawk screamed as blood dripped from his nose and tears streaked down his face with the effort, but it was all for nought. Hawk had to hold his breath now to feel Kat's pulse, and her chest barely moved as her breathing grew faint.

"No no no," Hawk pulled Kat tighter against him and kissed her forehead repeatedly.

"Hawk."

Hawk looked up. The voice was instantly familiar to him though it had been centuries since he had heard it. Through his tears Hawk saw a pale blue figure standing before him, and though the robes he wore shimmered with the same blue light Hawk knew they were a deep green in colour.

"Vohn," Hawk whispered.

"In the flesh - well, not quite," Vohn replied.

"She's dying and I can't stop it," Hawk told him as he stroked Kat's hair.

"We must all die sometime; that we must," Vohn responded with a hint of his old speech pattern breaking through. "But you are still Master here, and the Brotherhood is still with you," Vohn gestured and rows upon rows of luminous figures began to line the path within the Crystal Hall.

"Ardeth, Liagu..." Hawk almost laughed as the two other Jedi whom had restored the Brotherhood with him and Vohn stepped forward. The three had been like brothers to him though these two had died during a campaign on Korriban.

The hair on the back of Hawk's neck stood on end as Vohn placed a ghostly hand upon his shoulder. The tingle increased as Ardeth and Liagu followed suit. One by one the other figures stepped forward and placed a hand upon the shoulder of one of the three, and then those behind upon the shoulders of those who stood in front of them. From Hawk at the center thousands of ancient Jedi radiated out like spokes in a great circle. Hawk replaced his hand upon Kat's chest and focused upon pushing the healing energy into her.

Torshin watched in a strange mixture of fear and awe as the Hall filled with force ghosts. Tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of ancient Jedi, all of whom had once communed with the Crystals and left something of themselves within them now stood surrounding Hawk and Kat. The light emanating from Hawk grew to such intensity that Torshin had to shield his eyes to keep watching, and as he watched he saw the bubble that surrounded Kat warp and fracture lines spread across it like cracked glass...and then he couldn't see. Pain had suddenly flared in his eyes and it felt like he had stared at the sun and burned out his retinas. Torshin blinked rapidly and smudged shapes began to form as his vision returned.

The Crystal Hall was gone. The army of force ghosts was gone. Torshin found himself standing in a cavern with both Hawk and Kat unconscious in the middle. Quickly, Torshin ran to them. He checked for their pulses and sighed with relief as both beat strong and regular. He squinted his eyes and tried to see the barrier that had prevented Hawk from healing Kat, but there was no sign of it. Whatever the ghosts had done had helped Hawk overcome it.

"Do we just leave them there?" Came the voice of Tevennon causing Torshin to jump.

"I think so, they'll come to when they're ready, and I imagine they'll want some privacy. Besides, there's someone who you should see."

"Myrial..."

"Yes, a most disturbing vision of you murdering me over the girl came to me after I took those extra doses of the serum, so I think we should avoid that if we can."

The two laughed together as they left the Jedi in the cavern.

 

[KitKatt]

There was nothing. She was standing in the middle of what must be a room, but she could see no walls, nor ceiling, nor furniture. It was simply a vast white nothing. Was this death?

She turned to look behind her and noticed she was wearing a white fabric that didn’t quit seem solid. It was somewhere between gas and liquid. How odd.

A shadow caught get attention, easily standing out as the only other thing in existence here.

“Hello?”

the shadow stopped and simply stood there in the distance. When she took a few steps toward it nothing happened, and she was no closer to her goal.

“Please. I don’t want this.”

She winced as the shadow suddenly occupied the space next to her. It hadn’t moved at all and yet somehow it was now near her, and it wasn’t a shadow at all. It was a tall horrifying creature covered in scabs and burns. Its eye sockets were empty and wrinkled and it was drawing long low rasping breaths.

She reached for her lightsaber and realized it wasn’t there. The creature in front of her held forth a long rotting finger and she tried to back away but she could not figure out how to move in this place.

"You have nothing to be sorry for and you are not dying on me and leaving me here alone,"

Hawks voice thundered from somewhere above. Or was it below? She could not tell but the burned creature heard it too. Then suddenly there were small glowing lights, slowly taking the form of Force ghost. They did not approach but Kat seemed to understand they were offering her a way out.

She opened her eyes slowly and blinked. The ground beneath her felt solid, and up felt like up and down felt like down. Was she away from the weird nothing place now?

She sat up and saw Hawk lying close by her discarded ligjtsaber. Had she hurt him? Were all the stories of a great darkness waiting to be harvested true? Is that what she had done with Daxium, harvest the darkness and claim it as her own?

She crawled to Hawk and checked for a pulse. He was alive. She glanced around and saw nobody else. If she really was a dark creature now Hawk Hinata was the last person she ought to wake up but she couldn’t just leave him. Even if he rose only to slay her she wanted to make sure he was okay.

“Hawk?”

She shook him slightly and looked around. All of the crystals were gone. Had she destroyed them? She cringed at the thought of how angry that would make Hawk. Torshin destroying one crystal was bad enough.

At the thought of Torshin small memories came to her. There were younglings here that still might need rescuing.

“You have to wake up. The galaxy needs you.”

I need you

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

"Are you ready to give your life to save hers?" Phoenix questioned.

Hawk looked around and found himself back in that tortured in between place where Phoenix was kept and tormented by his memories.

"I am Grandfather," Hawk replied.

"Even now knowing what she is?" The old man probed.

"The only part of a person that matters is who they are, not what." Hawk replied.

"I wish I had been as wise as you at your age," Phoenix smiled and placed his hands upon Hawk's shoulders.

"Is there no way out of here for you Grandfather?" Hawk asked.

"Perhaps. The fall of Tenebris will eventually lead to the fall of his followers and my prison may cease to exist, but do not worry about me boy."

A strange feeling swept through Hawk but he did not draw away from it or try to fight it. Hawk's eyebrow arched as he felt it move up his body and out into Phoenix.

"What are you doing?"

"When I discovered the secret to immortality I did not fully consider what it meant. I watched so many people I loved grow old and die while I remained as I was. I corrected this mistake in your father; he could choose to age; to grow old and die if he wanted...and he passed that ability to you. Unfortunately you're a remarkable Jedi and willing to give your life for the one you love, and so you will die. I however can make the payment of life for you and live...though it will hurt somewhat."

Hawk watched as Phoenix took the death into himself. For a moment the visage of the young man changed; his smooth skin wrinkling and losing its firmness. Phoenix's hair grew white and his back curved. The old man let out a groan and his jaw clenched in pain. Phoenix's eyes glazed over and he thrashed sightlessly before eventually clutching at his chest and collapsing to the ground dead.

"Phoenix!" Hawk yelled and went to his side, however he was instantly forced back as the old man's body burst into white flames.

Hawk now watched the process in reverse as youth and life was restored to him. Phoenix drew in a sharp breath and the flames died.

"I'm sure that hurts more every single time," he groaned and stretched. "I don't die for just anyone either...listen."

"You have to wake up. The galaxy needs you."

I need you

"This time I chose to die for love," tears shimmered in Phoenix's eyes and Hawk looked away allowing him to wipe them away.

As he did so the tortured memories acting out Phoenix's past evaporated and a woman stood looking at them. She was much younger than Hawk had seen her in Phoenix's memories, but there was no mistaking that this was his grandmother.

"You finally did something selfless," she smiled.

The scene swirled around Hawk and the weight of reality returned to him and his eyes opened.

"The galaxy can wait for a little while," he croaked and lifted a hand to her cheek. "I need you too." Hawk leant upward and their lips met.

 

[KitKatt]

Kat felt a swell of relief when Hawk stirred. She helped him sit up gently and looked around the cavern. It was now just a dark empty room.

“I don’t know what happened. The crystals are just … gone.”

They weren’t the only things that were gone. Kat’s eyes scanned every inch of darkness but deep down she knew she wouldn’t find anything in them. Daxium was gone and she had no idea what had become of him. Her mind drifted towards the monster with the burned flesh and scorched eye sockets. Maybe she did know what had become of him. She did not know how it had happened but she knew he would make her pay for it.

“Hawk I am so sorry I did not tell you about Dax. I thought he was left behind a thousand years ago. I should have realized he wouldn’t stop. I don’t know what happened today but I do know Daxium. He will not rest until he figures out how to unlock whatever power I showed him. Once he figures it out he is going to come for you and I cannot let that happen. I don’t want anybody else to die for me.”

She let go of one of Hawks hands and picked up the small golden necklace that had been discarded in the commotion. She blinked back tears and took a deep breath.

“I cannot stay on Coruscant and help you clean up the corruption. I have to figure out what happened. I have to learn what I did and what I can do. I have to figure out who I am…. what I am.”

She couldn’t meet Hawks eyes as she said this. It was a terrible goodbye and she hated it. She wanted nothing more than to stay here, with Hawk, and be a Jedi. That was all she had ever wanted but running away from her destiny was proving futile and deadly for those around her. Whatever his faults, Dax had been right that Katarine was ignoring the body count. She couldn’t continue to do so. She had to go and she couldn’t ask Hawk to go with her. He had so many other important things to do and if he came he would just be walking towards a psycho that wanted him dead.

She pushed her long brown hair away from her face and tried to wipe away the tears falling down her cheeks.

“At least we didn’t get dirty this time.”

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

"You are not all powerful," Hawk laughed lightly though his heart felt heavy at her words. "I once struggled with the desire to save everybody, and it is a difficult lesson to learn that you cannot. People have their own choices and the universe has its own plans that we can do nothing about."

This was something that Hawk had struggled to come to terms with a long time ago. It didn't matter how powerful he became in the force, he could not control the destiny of others, and he could not save everyone.
Over the past months they had spent together, Hawk had fallen in love with Kat, and while he could not control the fact that she needed time to find herself and make sense of everything that had happened here, she too could not decide for him to stop loving her and to stay away.

"You are not letting anything happen to me, Kat. I choose to love you, and my choice is not changed by how dangerous that might be. If Daxium returns I am certain that if I cannot handle him that you can."

It was hard for Hawk to talk, but he needed Kat to know that he would be there waiting for her when she had finished figuring things out.

"I'm not as fragile a mortal as you might think," he joked remembering Phoenix's words. "But, if there is one thing worth dying for in this galaxy, it is love."

Hawk stood and looked around. The Crystal Hall had disappeared much as it had upon Yinchorr all those years ago. This time however he knew that it could return; perhaps in another time and another place. Could Daxium use it as a gateway again? It was unlikely. It would have taken immense power to corrupt a lightside nexus in the force, and the Crystal Hall was not without its defences. He might have caught it off guard once, but he would not again.

"No, we didn't get dirty this time," Hawk smiled and walked towards the exit from the cavern. "But I certainly hope we do next time."

With that, Hawk left the cavern. He did not want to leave it to Kat to walk away from him; she had enough to deal with, and those first steps were always going to be the hardest.

 

[KitKatt]

If there was one thing Kat did not feel it was all powerful. She had never felt powerful in her life, not even after whatever had just happened. All she wanted to do was be a Jedi and ignore whatever it was going on with her family.

She watched Hawk walk away and made a split second decision that would probably get them both killed. She didn’t want to face her past, and she certainly did not want to face it alone. As dangerous as it may be she wanted Hawk with her.

“Wait”

She got up and walked to meet him just outside the cavernous room, back in the hidden temple.

“Let’s finish what we started here. I think I’ve had enough madness for a while.”

Or a lifetime

“What is going to happen to Torshin and the kids who studied here?”

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

Hawk paused midstep as Kat called out to him. He did not turn at first; not wanting to see her face for another farewell in an attempt to maintain some dignity, but then she came alongside him and spoke the words he had hoped to hear all along.

"Torshin will have to face trial for the crimes he committed, but I will speak on his behalf and perhaps he can be placed in Jedi custody to serve his sentence serving the galaxy. I imagine his students will require assessment and if necessary proper training, but that will be upto others. Such things are no longer my domain."

Hawk lifted a hand to brush a lock of hair behind Kat's ear and smiled at her.

"I'd love to finish what we started too," Hawk told her, suppressing the desire to kiss her lips again. "When you're ready."

"I know a great little place not far from here where we can get some tea," Hawk grinned as they left the cavern together. "Nothing like a hot brew to make sense of the madness."