Private The Darkening [Valery]

[Kaahlil]

The rhythmic crackle of energy rang out through the crisp morning air. A furious scuffle of boots on snowy stone as two figures danced back and forth, one wielding a blade of brilliant amethyst and the other a blade of furious sunfire. Brown and black cloaks swept gracefully with their movements, their clothes tousled by the frigid wind. Each sought to overtake the other, a bitter duel that would leave one or the other's blood to stain the snowdrift crimson.

They seemed evenly matched, their movements lined up in concert as they moved from attack to defense and then back to attack. Their breaths exuded in thick puffs of white clouds, their skin slick with perspiration. The Sith's entire body seemed to vibrate with energy, with barely constrained rage. In contrast, the Jedi was calm and still, his brow knit in focused determination. They were the epitome of their Orders, the Light and the Dark.

Red saber flashed as the Sith lunged, the Jedi's amethyst blade rising to meet it. They clashed, sparks flying. Unlike before, they held the saberlock as they glared deep into each other's eyes; neither relenting. The Sith reached out with his right hand, holding the blade against his enemy's with his left, and the Jedi girded himself for an attack through the insidious Dark Side. Lightning had stained the air in their duel in prior struggles, the stone and snow around them bearing the scars of its crackling power.

This time, however, was different.

A smaller blade slipped out from within the Sith's cloak, called towards his outstretched hand through the Force. The blade ignited, far shorter than the weapons they already wielded, the tip cutting a shallow valley through the Jedi's midsection. There was hardly anytime to process what had happened, as the Sith swung the shoto down through the Jedi's saber-arm just above the elbow. Their lightsaber deactivated as his arm tumbled to the ground impotently, fingers still clutching the inert blade.

Falling to his knees, the Jedi was stricken by a deep pain, but he did not cry out. He knew that it was over, and thus resigned himself to a dignified death. The Sith obliged him, and swept his longer blade down through the Jedi's neck, severing the head from the body.

Breathing heavily, the Sith deactivated his blades and stepped away from the body. He turned his bright yellow eyes towards the yawning stairwell behind him. He'd fought hard to get to this point, killed many Jedi, and set entire villages aflame. His master, his Lord-Father, had sent him to Vandor on a very specific quest. The Jedi had been protecting something beneath the ice-tipped Iridium Mountains for many years, keeping it hidden from those that would use it for their own ends. Long has his Lord-Father sought what the Jedi had kept from him, and now he was on the cusp of acquiring it.

Kaahlil allowed himself a brief smile before descending down into the darkness.

Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

Vandor

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kaahlil

Just outside Vandor's gravitational field, Valery's X-wing dropped out of hyperspace and began its approach down toward the cold planet. A distress call had made a request for immediate assistance and while she'd normally be able to assign others to handle these types of problems, there was something about this situation that made her decide to go alone. Perhaps it was the knowledge that the Jedi storied precious artifacts on Vandor, but more likely it was the influence of her daughter. Vera had always been particularly gifted with visions, and whatever was happening here had sparked one and made her terribly upset.

Last night, she started talking about her father again, and how she had seen him in her dreams but there was something different about him. Something she couldn't explain. After everything that happened, it didn't take very long for Valery to understand what she meant. Kaahlil was out there somewhere, which also meant his father was somehow connected to all of this and that alone made her the only candidate for this mission.

With a loud bang, the X-wing soon burst through the atmosphere and began a dive down into the Iridian Mountains. She wasn't exactly sure where the distress call had originated from, but her senses were already beginning to guide her. She could feel the stain of death in the Force, as well as the familiar darkness that continued its hunt deeper down into the mountains. Valery had her target.

"I'm taking us down, R-6. You'll stay with the ship and I'll handle the rest," Valery said, her tone lacking its usual spark. She was emotionally cold and intensely focused. What she felt boiling deep inside of her hadn't been felt since that one night when she lost him, and she knew today's confrontation was going to awaken a lot more inside of her. But she knew it wasn't something she could avoid forever, and she felt certain that Aldric Laurent would understand that this was her fight. This clone had to be stopped and it was her duty to do so.

With that in mind, the Jedi Master brought her ship down, climbed out of the cockpit, and began her pursuit into the darkness.

 

[Kaahlil]

Descending through the hewn steps and chiseled corridors, Kaahlil persevered through the many winding pathways of the Jedi vault. Had this been any other time, he might have stopped to marvel at the craftmanship of his surroundings; for it surely must have taken many, many years to tunnel these pathways through the mountain stone. None of that crossed his mind, however, as he was wholly fixated upon the task before him. Now, with the intuition of the Dark Side, he navigated through the narrow passages.

Occasionally, guardians built into the very rock walls themselves would emerge to challenge him. But they were old, older than his Lord-Father even, and they had not been equipped with modern weaponry or shields. He swatted aside their blaster bolts before closing the distance, dismembering them with a few quick strokes of his red blade. He didn't linger by their side as the last light of their artificial consciousness ebbed out into nothingness, for he could feel the mountain pressure at his back.

She was here.

The Lord-Father warned him that she might yet interfere, and he had accepted that possibility. The potential of their reunion exhilarated him, tantalized those lingering feelings of resentment, desire, and jealousy. The Other had died protecting her, she had lost that which she mostly dearly cherished. And here he was, not just a simulacrum of what used to be; but the original itself. That revelation had been a shock to himself, as he had always felt unreal, fake, an imposter.

But the truth was undeniable. And if he could get her to see as he did, then perhaps he could receive what was so rightfully his. The family that he had longed for was finally within reach.

He passed through another corridor that terminated in a large chamber, and he could sense his prize just beyond. The end of the chamber started to widen into a natural cave, but that threshold had been built over with a closed gate that had no exterior controls. It could only be opened with the Force, but not by any Jedi alone. Two must open it, and therein he began to lay the foundations for his trap to ensnare her in his grasp.

Turning to face the path at his back, Kaahlil lowered himself down to the floor and entered a meditative state.

And thus waited.

Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

Vandor

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kaahlil

Valery could feel the Force rushing through her body with each step she took down the depths of the mountains. The path was littered with the bodies of those trying to stand against him, but none could stop him. None had the experience or skill needed for it, but Valery was confident she did. Her problem, however, wasn't the power or skill of the man she was going after — it was who he was, and what he represented.

What he looked like.

She had always been in control over her emotions, but she wasn't quite sure how well she'd be able to contain everything when they'd inevitably clash. Valery had always known this day would come but hoped that she'd be given more time to move forward in life again before it. To an extent, she had, but this encounter was going to really put it all to the test. For now, she set aside what she felt and focused simply on the path ahead. Kaahlil was no longer moving and with each passing second, her powerful aura of light was getting closer to his corrupted presence within the Force.

Until finally, she entered the chamber with him and looked down at him. He looked so familiar to her, but felt so, so different. Her brows furrowed and her hand already shifted to the hilt of her double-bladed weapon, which she held in a tight grip.

"You shouldn't have come here," Valery said, her tone cold and her eyes ablaze as they searched to connect with his own. That was the real physical difference between him and her Kahlil. His eyes.

 

[Kaahlil]

"But then we would not be here together," replied Kaahlil. He slowly opened his eyes, their sharp glow piercing through the suboptimal lighting of the chamber. Those eyes were not of the one that Valery had come to love, there was no trace of gray within them. Instead they shone with a terrible yellow light, halos of sulfur suspended in pools of blood. They settled their gaze on her, looking her up and down very slowly, sensually, like an anooba sizing up a cornered jakrab.

Rising to his feet, Kaahlil stood where he was without reaching for his weapon or taking a step towards Valery. "I have come to learn many truths, my beloved, things that have changed everything I thought I once knew. I can show you what I have learned, the very truth of who we are." He laughed, a harsh crackling bark. "Once I believed that it was I who was the distorted reflection, a shadow of the man who shared my face. This is no longer true, the Lord-Father had bestowed upon me a revelation." Tears welled up in Kaahlil's eyes as he recounted what had been revealed to him, a few errant drops running down his cheeks.

"It was he who was the shadow, the parody of my flesh. It was I who was conceived from my mother's womb, and he who was concocted in a laboratory. My flesh is real, it is truthful. His flesh was false, a mockery. That was why he strayed so far from Father's sight, ventured so far from what he was meant to become. I am the trueborn son of my Father, the Lord of All. He has given unto me His truth and I have accepted it. Reach out with your feelings, my beloved wife, and know that what I am telling you is as true as the constellations above."

Where once there had been doubt and resentment in his voice, now there was newfound resolve. He had been shown a truth so profound that it had unraveled everything that he had thought about himself, and from that ruin he rebuilt himself into the man he always wanted to be; the man who he truly was all along.

"Join me, Valery, we can be together at last."

He reached out with his right hand, palm open and fingers inviting.

Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

Vandor

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kaahlil

Every word felt like a dagger stabbing into her heart, as painful memories resurfaced. He looked so much like the man who had been her everything for years, the man who had blessed her with the daughter she loved so much. But he was so very different, and everything he said further emphasized that contrast.

One thing, in particular, stood out to her though.

"Reach out with your feelings, my beloved wife, and know that what I am telling you is as true as the constellations above."

"Don't call me that..." Valery finally said through gritted teeth and with a new intensity in her fiery eyes. Her entire body was tense, filled with a mixture of deep pain and a slight hint of anger. She had loved Kahlil Noble so much, so for him to say such a thing was unacceptable. Perhaps an intentional part of his plan was to play into her emotions, and while she wanted to control them, she also knew from herself that it was difficult. "You're not like him, and you never will be if you remain a puppet to your father," Valery said as she watched his arm extend toward her.

"I don't care that he was a clone of you. He did something with his life and helped give so many others a better future," she said, referring both to the countless people he had helped as a Jedi, as well as their daughter. "You could learn something from him," Valery said, thereby rejecting his offer as well.

"Now, I've found someone I love deeply again, and you aren't going to get in the way of that." Her grip tightened on her lightsaber, and for just a minute, she really had to remind herself who she was, and why she was here. "Make this easy on yourself, and surrender your weapon."

"We don't have to fight, and you don't have to live in the shadow of your father. You can be so much more. All you need to do is give up your weapon and trust me."

 

[Kaahlil]

Something dark passed over his face, the shadow of indescribable rage.

His demeanor changed in an instant, his eyes narrowing slightly as every muscle in his body tensed as though electrified. His breathing came just a little bit more ragged, as he was struggling, and failing, to maintain the façade of composure he'd carried up until now. He rose to his feet, every action carrying with it dark purpose, like a bha'lir tensed just before the lethal pounce. He was angry, angry in that way that she had only seen when he stabbed her through the gut on Ossus.

He was more than dangerous, he was murderous.

"Already you trade us for another. How I bemoan that fate which has befallen my Other, to be so quickly discarded." Now his hand reached for his weapon, fingers coiling around the hilt as his thumb pressed the activator. A scarlet blade sprung into existence, plasma edge hissing with the same hatred that boiled beneath Kaahlil's skin. He pointed the tip towards Valery in a threatening manner, the Dark Side blocking out all thought and logic and replacing it with sheer fury.

"I will cut you to pieces and make a bride out of what remains, you needn't ever be anything else."

He launched himself off from his front foot, soaring through the air with blade slashing down towards the Jedi Master.

Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

Vandor

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kaahlil

A wave of intense rage struck her senses through the Force and began to beat against her mind. She had hoped that her words could have gotten through to him at least a little bit, but all she got was a powerful desire to kill. Yet nothing changed about her own demeanor at all, and she stared him down with the same intensity she had since they first came face-to-face again. Then, the reason for his anger became clear to her.

"Already you trade us for another. How I bemoan that fate which has befallen my Other, to be so quickly discarded."

Discarded.

The word stung more than it should have and ignited the fire in her eyes. Her thumb pressed into the activation switch and two violet blades ignited, one on each end of her saberstaff. "Shut up," she said through gritted teeth and his answer came non-verbally, as he launched himself towards her through the air. A crimson blade was swung down and in response, Valery raised her weapon to catch the incoming blade at an angle, allowing her to deflect it aside.

She then fluently transitioned into a spin, hoping to sweep around her rear blade while his was parried, and cut horizontally across or through his torso.

 

[Kaahlil]

Instinct took over, pure reaction without thought. One thing that Valery would have noticed is that Kaahlil's skill with a lightsaber had improved considerably since they last met. His Lord-Father, the spider at the center of this malicious web, had instructed His student well. Now He pitted the two of them together, drawn into a drama whose script neither of them fully knew. Even now, His eyes could be sensed watching the two of them as they fought.

Long had Kaahlil relinquished any desire to understand the machinations of his Lord-Father, that was beyond his ability. He was content to be his Lord-Father's sword, an instrument of His will, bared against his Lord-Father's foes whenever and wherever He desired it. It was paradoxically liberating, the freedom from choice and direction. He need only heed the edicts of the Lord-Father, let Him move him about the board as He wished.

Many struggled against what they would consider to be bondage, but Kaahlil embraced it heartily.

Uncertainty was nightmarish, faith in the certainty of the Lord-Father buoyed Kaahlil from sinking into doubt and indecision.

"Have I angered you, Master Jedi? The truth is always agonizing," he spun back, blade lashing out to strike against the Jedi's saberstaff before pirouetting out of range. "But it is necessary, it purifies us. You will be made pure when your resistance comes to an end, I will see to that." He spun his lightsaber in his hand, rolling his wrist in smooth circular motions as the two combatants stared each other down. "And then all that is mine shall be returned to me."

Again he rushed forward, blade jabbing forward like the tip of a spear. Into his other hand slipped his shoto-blade, scarlet blade igniting as it rushed up towards Valery from below; a pincer attack.

Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

Vandor

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kaahlil

"You wish," she said, but his words had definitely stung more than she'd admit openly. Just looking at him alone made her uncomfortable, as old feelings she had tried to move on from returned so vividly. It made her doubt her decisions all over again, and for that reason, she did feel some anger boiling deep inside. But Valery was a Jedi Master for a reason and managed to keep herself composed enough, as their battle continued.

He defended himself against her quick counter-attack and created some distance that left them both staring at each other. Valery could feel that he had changed and gotten stronger, but she had as well. In her new role as the Sword, she had spent time training with the Mandalorians, as well as with the Jedi. As long as she kept herself controlled, she had the confidence in herself that she was going to take him down.

"You're not getting anything. I was never yours to begin with, and never will be." She had someone else she loved and cared about now, although today's encounter was throwing a lot of doubt into her life regarding the decision to move on from Kahlil relatively fast. Had it been the right call?

Kaahlil then engaged again, this time drawing a second, and much shorter weapon she recognized as a shoto to strike from two angles. In response, Valery twirled around her saberstaff, using the angular momentum to swat aside the stabbing blade, before evading the shorter weapon by distancing herself quickly. The Jedi Master then charged forward with immense speed and made a move to strike, but right as blades threatened to make contact, Valery tapped into the Force to phase through the corrupted son. She wanted to end this fight quickly, so she decided to tap into her old Shadow training for a surprise attack.

It left her on the opposite side, behind him, from where she thrust her rear blade back with great speed, hoping to puncture through his back.

 

[Kaahlil]

"Do you think he would've let himself be killed if he knew just how fast you'd throw him away?"

Kaahlil sought to pry at those doubts that he'd unsurfaced, he could sense them building in Valery's mind. Even with the feeblest of toeholds, the Dark Son would stop at nothing to rip open those sore wounds and dig as deep as he could. He'd been taught to do so by his Lord-Father, a monster who delighted in manipulating the fears of others for His own benefit. He'd attempted to do the same to Valery many times before, but the connection between Valery and Kahlil had made such attempts difficult or outright impossible.

But things had changed.

Kaahlil lashed out with his weapons again, only for the plasma blades to phase right through Valery as she rushed through his entire body while intangible. Danger screamed in his mind, and he barely got his weapon twirled around to clatter against the Jedi Shadow's blade before it could pierce him in the back. He dove forward, rolling head over heels, before coming up in a low crouch a few meters away. His lightsabers had deactivated automatically when he started his roll, and he kept them dormant for the moment as he looked up at Valery.

"My Father once told you that Kahlil was fickle in his affections, when you came to visit Him in that Ashlan prison. You would not imagine how amused He became when He learned that the opposite was true, that is was you who was fickle. Poor little Kahlil. Does his daughter even remember him, or has she abandoned him as well?" A dark smile crept over Kaahlil's face, twisting the handsome visage that he shared with Valery's deceased husband into a spiteful visage.

"You're not fit to be a mother, Valery."

Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

Vandor

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Kaahlil

"He supported my decision," Valery said, still through gritted teeth after her attempt to strike him down with some Jedi Shadow trickery failed. A while ago, on Lothal, Valery had communed with the Force and was able to talk to Kahlil. He had assured her that moving on was the right thing to do, and he wanted her to be happy in life again. Deep down, she accepted it and moved forward, but his words still played heavily into the lingering doubts she had.

And he wasn't stopping.

After evading the strike that easily could have been lethal, Kaahil distanced himself and continued to pry and agitate her. But while she was finally beginning to shield herself against his venomous words, he decided to bring Vera into it. Valery visibly tensed up again, and almost looked at him with pure anger in her eyes. "She'll never forget him," Valery said with a hint of pain in her voice. Vera had of course struggled a lot when her father died, and it had made it more difficult for her parents to always be around her. But still, Valery knew she was a good mother to her.

"Even in death, Kahlil will be loved. Your own mother and father couldn't even spare you a loving gaze," Valery said, the grip on her weapon tight as she stared him down. "You'll never be anything more than a puppet. A tool."

"If only you'd find the strength to change. Perhaps you'd be able to know what it feels like to be loved and to be a good parent." She assumed her stance again and readied herself to resume the clash. "But I fear it might be too late for you. A pity."

 

[Kaahlil]

"What do you know of strength?" Kaahlil snarled, his eyes glowing bright like coals. He stood now, dormant lightsabers clutched in both of his hands. "You know nothing of true power, power that my Father alone has the right to bear. He has shown me what one can do with but a fraction of the power that is His." Kaahlil slowly sheathed both lightsabers at his waist, raising both of his arms out in front of him and clasping his hands together. "Look now at what strength He has bestowed upon me, that which can undo the stars themselves!"

Dark magic flowed around Kaahlil's clasped hands, sickly green fire rushing out from between his fingers in violent gusts. He opened his hands, and a pillar of flame burst forth into the air. The flame began to take shape and form, the silhouette of a great and terrible blade coming into existence. The flames dissipated as though a great breath snuffed them out, and in Kaahlil's hands was held aloft Gliod'limkil, the Clever of a Hundred Stars; blade of the Black Iron Tyrant.

It was so large that Kaahlil had to use both hands to even lift it, where the Dark Lord was known to carry it in one-hand without difficulty. Still, the strength of the Dark Side flowed through Kaahlil, and he leveraged the blade against his shoulder for support before pointing his finger towards Valery.

"The Lord-Father has blessed me with this token of His favor. You shall no longer impede the mandate of His will. What lies behind those doors shall be His, regardless of whether or not you pay the price."

Placing both hands on the hilt of Gliod'limkil, Kaahlil rushed forth and swung the great weapon down to cleave her from head to groin. The blade made a keening wail as it swung down through the air, the sound of which resembled the agonized screaming of a thousand voices crying out for release. When it struck the stone floor of the chamber, the ground was sundered from the impact. A burst of energy was released, breaking the floor in all directions out from where the blade cut as the walls themselves started to crack under the strain.

The door, which barred the way to Kaahlil's prize, likewise shook with tremendous force; but did not break.

Valery Noble ​