Private On to Triumph or to Judgement Day

[KitKatt]

“Jedi I asked you a question!”

Tenbris pounded his fist on the table and Kat came back to reality, her deep green eyes focusing on him fully.

“What nonsense could be on your mind and more important than me, the greatest god in the universe?”

“My dry cleaning is more important than you.”

He howled with mock laughter and pounded the table again.

“You are quit witty Jedi, and such a beauty. Tell me, what makes you different than the Jedi I’ve slain in the past?”

“I am no different.” Kat spoke meekly as she fought the urge to faint from dizziness.

“Yes you are. I sense something different in you. A power I did not sense in Hinata or the Witch.”

It was Kats turn to laugh, and she did, the musical sound carrying around the cavern. “Hawk Hinata has more power in his pinky than I have in my entire body. If you think otherwise you are beyond foolish.”

“Oh really? Yet I killed your Jedi hero quit easily.”

Kat blinked back tears and let her deep green eyes travel once more to the spot where Hawk lay apparently lifeless.

“There is no death, there is the Force.”

The dark monster howled with laughter and pounded the table again.

“After everything you have seen you still put faith in that Jedi poo doo taught to you? Don’t you realize it was I who created the Jedi? They were fools who rebuked my influence and rebelled into what you now call the Jedi Order, but it was I who gave the mortals of this galaxy the power to wield the Force.”

She took her eyes of Hawk reluctantly and tried to process what Tenbris was telling her. He had created the Force? No… not created… but had given mortals the power to harness it. The Jedi had never taught this. Maybe they did not know. Or maybe it was a steaming pile of bantha dung.

“You’ll forgive me for never reading your falsities in a history book.”

Tenbris scowled and thrashed food off the table angrily. “You mortals are so arrogant! You are nothing in this galaxy. You cannot fathom the creations of matter and beings in the limited brains you have. So quick are you to dismiss ancient ways for your new fancy religions, but never truly knowing where your power comes from! I gave it to you! And I can take it away!”

In one swift motion he stood and raised his palm towards Kat. The same purple black tendrils of the darkside emerged, but powerful this time. They hit Kat in the chest and sent her flying from her chair. Her back hit the rough stone wall and she felt all the air get knocked out of her lungs.

He advanced slowly, still holding his palm open to keep the dark energy washing over her. Kat could feel energy moving in her body, but it did not seem to be depleting. In fact she felt just as strong as always, perhaps winded, but her strength in the Force was not influenced, despite the darkness surrounding her.

She stood up and held her own palm up, breaking the dark tendrils with the same white energy as before. She had not meant to do it. Her body seemed to be working on auto pilot, while her mind lagged behind.

“That’s impossible!”

He lowered his palm and stared at her, but she was not looking at him. She had just seen Hawks body stir and suddenly a small glimmer of hope erupted in her chest. If she could keep Tenbris busy long enough maybe Hawk would stir further, and then the true hero could win this battle. The galaxy needed Hawk Hinata, of this she was absolutely certain. But how long would Tenbris play with his food before he ate it? Surely he intended to kill her? But what was one more weak Jedi sacrifice if it meant Hawk could live again? If she could just stall long enough maybe she could give Hawk a chance to escape.

She got fully to her feet, and faced Tenbris again, but he did not attack immediately. He was staring at her in disbelief. Again he sent a wave of dark energy at her and once more the weird white energy waved it away.

“It can’t be! I have taken away the gift I gave mortals centuries ago. You should be in agony as you lose your ability to sense the Force!

………Unless….”

“Unless what?” Kat was only half listening. She was trying to think of other ways to stall the dark creature.

“Unless you aren’t mortal.”

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

Tenebris' fury was immense as he continued to puzzle over the mystery of the female Jedi. How was it that he could have destroyed the entire planet they sat upon as easily as one would swat a fly, and yet this this bag of corporeal meat resisted him? Could it really be possible that she was not mortal? What then was she? One of Lychnus' brood perhaps, or some other unknown? The questions were endless but the answers were exponentially more. Reducing her to less than atoms would probably make things more simple.

"Perhaps you don't even know your own power," he mused to himself. "It matters not, no one will know you even existed and the galaxy awaits me."

"Mmm, I must say...this chicken is actually very good." Hawk said between mouthfuls as Tenebris had raised his hands to obliterate Kat.

Tenebris whirled to stare at Hawk who now sat at the table he had manifested for him and Kat and screeched, his rage a palpable presence in the room.

"This is impossible!" He seethed. "I killed you and sent your spirit to hell!"

"Mmm, yeah, really not a fan of that place. It could do with a little more colour." Hawk responded flippantly and lightly dabbed his lips with a napkin as he got up.

"Lychnus..." Tenebris growled.

"In the flesh," another voiced boomed from Hawk's mouth. A voice similar in magnitude to that of Tenebris, but which filled one with hope instead of pain and fear.

"You won't stop me brother, that mortal's body won't be able to contain your energy for long. All you will do is make her watch her hero die twice and spend an eternity in hell alone."

"It always amazes me brother, how you can have all the knowledge of the universe yet know and understand nothing." Lychnus sighed. "You have been thwarted by the same power time and again and yet you are still none the wiser. Hinata can bare my spirit and wield my power because in the blink of a mortal life he has understood the cosmos far better than you."

Hawk gestured towards the daughter and her head righted itself on her shoulders; colour came back to her skin, and finally life returned to her eyes and she gasped a breath.

Inside Hawk's body the spirit of the Jedi Master surrounded that of Lychnus. It was like trying to contain the sun. Lychnus exerted his power to restore the daughter to life and Hawk braced himself against the solar flare of energy; his spirit feeling a bit scorched, but intact.

"Make one more move brother and I shall reduce this woman to less than atoms. There won't be enough of her left for even you to restore. This galaxy is mine now; try to stop me and I will make sure that by the time our fight is done and you lie defeated, there won't be a world unscathed."

"Go ahead, try to destroy her. She possesses a power you know not, and another she has yet to know." Lychnus chuckled and moved towards Kat. "You will find that our powers will not reach beyond this cavern."

Hawk's face smiled as Lychnus looked into her eyes with Hawk's emerald green ones.

"Oh my daughter, there is much I wish I could tell you about the destiny before you. But it is a path you must walk for only you have the strength to walk it. It need not be walked alone however. There are no coincidences my dear, but still you are free to choose. Tell me. What does Hinata mean to you?"

"I said enough!" Tenebris roared, his anger colossal as he unleashed a wave of dark energy towards the pair.

Lychnus did not look away from Kat or make any move to defend himself, he simply waited to hear what Kat would at.

 

[KitKatt]

"Unless you aren't mortal."

“What?”

For the second time that night Kat felt true panic. First watching Hawk fall and now this? It was too much. She had spent her entire life rebelling against a prophecy that she was certain was false, but here she stood in this chamber with another being telling her it was true. Her brain could not accept it, and quickly found an alternative explanation. Tenbris could sense her fears. He must be using them to torture her. Yes that would be it. Why hadn’t she been forced to kneel then? Why hadn’t his darkness been able to bind her? It muse have all been part of his trick. Yes that made sense. She could believe that without her entire world shattering.


"Mmm, I must say...this chicken is actually very good."

Kat snapped her eyes away from Tenbris and with elation saw Hawk alive and well. The daughter returned to them and the voice issuing from Hawk seemed to fill the room with hope.

"Oh my daughter, there is much I wish I could tell you about the destiny before you. But it is a path you must walk for only you have the strength to walk it. It need not be walked alone however. There are no coincidences my dear, but still you are free to choose. Tell me. What does Hinata mean to you?"

Kat felt panic rise in her throat again. Her destiny? She did not want a destiny. It was getting more difficult to ignore it however. Even now when Tenbris shot dark energy at the pair the weird white energy acted as a shield.

“Please. You have to get Hawk out of here. The galaxy needs him. He is the strongest person I’ve ever met. He is the best of us and he doesn’t deserve to have his spirit trapped in hell.”

Kat was pleading, and through her panic she could feel Tenbris and his rage. The walls of the cavern were starting to shake with dark energy.

“I know what Hinata means to the galaxy child. But what does he mean to you?”

She looked up into the emerald eyes of Hawk and felt a jolt as she realized something she had known since they shared the dyad. It should have made her swell with happiness but instead it made her cower. Loving anyone was a death sentence. How many people had to die to prove that? Daxium would never let her have Hawk, and everyone seemed certain that the prophecy was true. It was like putting a target on Hawks forehead and she did not want not do it. But as she looked at the emerald eyes and felt the presence of light swell within the room she realized she could not lie.

“I love him.”

She whispered the words and closed her eyes, bracing for the explosion. Sure enough in the back of her mind pain erupted like a wildfire. She felt rage and impatience explode within the connection she held and the resulting pain in her mind was so intense that finally Katarine dropped to her knees. She held her head and screamed as a vision of a giant cathedral swam into her mind. Just as quickly it was over and she could see the two gods before her. The protective cage of white energy broke and the ceiling started to shake from the dark energy Tenbris was getting ready to unleash. The pain was so intense that black spots were forming on the edge of her vision. Surely she would loose consciousness soon and let the pain end.

“Please… save Hawk.”

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

"I love him." The words reverberated around the cavern and within Hawk.

The cavern shook and cracks ran up the walls under the terrible onslaught of Tenebris, yet the walls stood when it was impossible that they should.

"Please... save Hawk" Kat pleaded.

"Save him?" Lychnus' voice asked and a smile tugged at the edge of Hawk's lips in a very Hawk-like expression. "My child, you already have."

Hawk's fingers lightly brushed against Kat's face and he leant in close until their lips were but a breath apart, and then he kissed her. In that moment the spirit of Lychnus was expelled from him. The bright spirit wrapped itself around the dark form of Tenebris.

Light erupted from the two Jedi and slammed into the entwined gods. The dark flesh of Tenebris began to blister and flake away as did the spirit flesh of Lychnus.

"No, it's not possible, we are Gods!" Tenebris screamed.

"Yes brother we are, but our capacity for love could never match that of mortals. When your life is but a heartbeat in the universe than love is fleeting and powerful. Our power is but a slow burning candle before a supernova." Lychnus' voice was serene despite the fact that his very essence was being incinerated.

"Release me brother...I...I'm afraid." Tenebris sobbed.

"Be not afraid my brother. I am with you," Lychnus soothed...and then they were gone.

 

[KitKatt]

Kat looked up at Hawk and felt herself blush. What had just happened? She turned to see the place where Tenbris had been but there was nothing left.

The daughter got shakily to her feet, rubbing her neck which must have been stiff and sore from the trauma it suffered.

“What happened?”

Kat did not know how to answer that question. Her mind was exhausted but there were still riots to worry about.

“At least you didn’t have to get in the lake this time.”

She smiled at Hawk but couldn’t hold his eyes long. It was a little awkward and they would probably need to talk latter, but there was so much else going on. The life of a Jedi was never peaceful.

Hawk Hinata

 

[Hawk Hinata]

The awesome power of Lychnus left him, but he did not feel weaker. In fact he felt more alive and stronger than he had in a long time. A disconnected apathy had drawn a mist around his senses in the familiar, yet also entirely alien galaxy he had woken up within. He had tried to reconnect with the Jedi, but few among them had any knowledge of Grandmasters long past. Even the statue of him that had stood upon Naboo had had its countenance weathered away by countless years of erosion. It was like everything he had stood, fought and bled for had had no meaning. The galaxy still suffered from the same problems with or without him, and it would have kept on doing so whether he cared about it or not.
Hawk had been following a small band of drug smugglers; trying to make a difference to people on a small personal level when he had seen Kat taken by the Mandalorians, and through their adventures together over the course of the past months he had found both purpose and joy in his life again.

"We won," Hawk said simply in response to the daughter's question. The how and the why were not important right now. There was still a lot that Hawk would need to unpick over the coming months before he could be sure he understood what had happened.

There was just as much to unpick between himself and Kat. They had been thrust back into each other's broken lives and entangled in the most intimate way by their temporary dyad, and now their emotions had surfaced to save the galaxy. There was a lot to try to understand. Neither of them were young giddy fools likely to rush into a relationship with their passions burning, but nor could it be ignored. The Jedi had learnt long ago the dangers of repressing their emotions instead of dealing with them.

"I did have to die and visit hell though...so upon reflection the lake might not have been so bad," he chuckled, but cast a distasteful eye over the lake of blood. "Can't say as I envy those who have to come drain this out though."

Hawk looked thoughtful for a moment as he remembered his promise to the people of Coruscant who had come to the communications tower.

"I think without the influence of Tenebris the riots will burn themselves out, but I gave my word to help root out corruption and bring about a fairer society for the people of Coruscant..." The unasked question lingered before them for a moment as his emerald eyes fell upon Kat. "Rooting out corrupt politicians and righting the wrongs of society might not be as...exciting...as fighting a dark god, but I would very much enjoy your company on the mission, if you have nothing else to do of course," he spoke quickly, aware of the daughter's gaze upon them.

 

[KitKatt]

“Rooting out corrupt politicians and righting the wrongs of society might not be as...exciting...as fighting a dark god, but I would very much enjoy your company on the mission, if you have nothing else to do of course.”

“Oh I’m sure I can delay my plans a little. Besides, you know how much I love politicians.”

She winked at him and headed towards the beginning of the tunnel so they could make the large trek upwards to the surface. Of course most of the Jedi from her time knew that Kat hated politicians and would complain about any assignment that involved them, but just now staying close to Hawk seemed the right course of action. She could put up with a few politicians for that.

They climbed upwards until they were back in the communications tower. A monitor on the screen was showing a static filled broadcast.

“… has created a turning point in the riots. Local authorities urge remaining citizens to go home and await an open forum where they can discuss grievances in a non violent manner. Stay tuned to HNN for further updates….”

They reached the door to the outside street and the daughter turned to the pair of Jedi.

“I should get back to my mother. You have both helped restore our families honor. We will not forget this.”

“Would you like us to accompany you? There may be rioters in the street.”

“I can handle a few rioters. Master Hinata, you have the thanks of my clan.”

Hawk Hinata