The rays of the suns beat down on the grey field, basking the hundreds of people that filled the park in their light. The afternoon breeze was soft, cool, the perfect contrast to the heat of the day. Laughter, conversations, happiness filled the air making her nauseous.

With her arm bent at the elbow and her head resting in the palm of her hand, Tevarii lounged on her side watching the people pass her by. " It's revolting."

" Oh come now dear cousin," The devastatingly beautiful woman laying next to the Sith lifted her head from the grass, silken blonde hair tossing lightly in the breeze. "It's not all that bad."

Off in the distance three children, a boy and two girls, played make-believe Jedi's using sticks as their lightsabers. Chasing one another around the park their giggles and shouts seemingly drowning out the other sounds.

Tevarii sat up, pulling her knees up and leaning back on her hands. " They're going to hurt one another, Vess."

Vessana shook her head, sitting as her cousin. " No, they'll be fine. They'll have their Uncle to teach them."

They watched as Dakarius playfully stabbed at Sorsha who melodramatically fell to the ground and played dead. Tevarii narrowed her eyes. " That wasn't very nice."

" No less than what I did to you," Vessana gestured to the Sith's abdomen.

As Tevarii's dark eyes lowered to gaze at what her cousin pointed to, a bloody gash tore across her robe, staining the fabric and the grass beneath her. " Well that was rude."

" You had it coming."

" I suppose I did." She sighed, oblivious to the blood that continued to flow from the wound. " Too bad though, we could have been great together."

" It's hard when you're suppose to be dead."

Tevarii nodded in agreement. " You would know. How was it, being dead?"

" Pretty nice, I miss it." Vessana yawned as she watched Dakarius stab at Yana who also fell to the ground. He leapt around as he cheered and waves his hands in the air. She turned her crystal blue eyes to Tevarii. " It's coming back that's a @#%$."

A bolt of lightning split the suddenly dark sky overhead, a searing rush of pain slicing into to Tevarii that doubled her over. Her hand went to her abdomen, the blood burning her hand as she tried to stem the flow of blood. She collapsed onto her side, her scream shattering the stillness of the day, yet no one seemed to notice.

Only Vessana looked to her, watching her with cold fascination as she writhed with the pain.

Tevarii reached a bloody had toward her cousin. " Help me please!"

" Help you?" Vessana lifted a hand, a blood stained dagger rising as she stared at it in satisfaction. " Now why would I want to do that?"

Gasping for breath as the pain threatened to overwhelm her, Tevarii opened her senses, reaching for the power of the Darkside she held. The usual sensation of strength and certainty never came, and she could only suffer in agony as she watched her cousin move to hold the bloody dagger between her breasts. " I'll just finish what I started, if that's all right with you." She lifted the dagger high over head, readying to plunge it into the helpless Sith. " Oh, and don't forget to scream..."


Dark eyes opened, wincing immediately at the blindingly bright light that hung overhead. The incessant beeping of monitors around her head drew her attention. The filth of the place was sickening, but none the less, Tevarii found herself in some dive they called a hospital. Around her, various other patients lay in the same state as she, unmoving and unobserved by any staff that would care.

She sat up with a frown, hissing softly as she drew the IV needle out of her arm and tossed it aside. The monitor nodes were next, pulling them from her chest and forehead before climbing out of the bed. The cool air of the ward rushed over her nude body, though she did not give pause as she exited out of the first door she saw.

As she walked through the deserted corridors she took notice of everything. Her hair had grown, considerably, and her legs shook with every step she took. Her muscles had atrophied while she had been unconscious, how long she couldn't tell exactly, but a year at least. So much time wasted...

Tevarii came around a corner and stopped, tilting her head to the side as she watched an orderly speaking to a nurse at the desk. The spoke softly, and by the blush that was rising in the woman's cheeks it was obvious their conversation was private. The orderly leaned across the desk, his lips nuzzling against the nurses neck, and pulled back a moment later when he saw the Sith standing there.

" I thought you said everyone on this floor was either dying or comatose."

The nurse stood suddenly, coming from behind the desk. " They are." She took a few hurried steps toward Tevarii. " You sho-"

Slower than she normally would have been, Tevarii was still quicker than the nurse. Her hand snapped out, clutching the woman by the throat and her fingernails digging in to the tender flesh around the windpipe. Her ebony eyes bore into the nurse's as blood oozed onto her fingers. " You're going to give me your clothes."

" Hey! Let her go!" The orderly took a single step toward the two before he was flung back against the wall with a thought.

Tevarii wavered, her weakened body unprepared for any exertion of the force. But for now, she needed answers and wasn't going to get them in the Hospital. Her fingernails dug deeper into the nurse's throat. "Your clothes?"

The fallen Queen broke into a run as the Rogue Jedi ignited his saber. As she ran, Lupercus followed her with his eyes, his trademark smirk breaking into a grotesque grin as she departed the hall. His eyes paused on the door, before slowly returning to Ren.

"I hate to see her leave but I love to watch her go!

She always was good for a bit of that!"

His jibe was met with stony silence from the Jedi whose stance revealed his offensive intentions.

"You wouldn't know traitor, someone of your depravity is beneath even a normal person."

The grin returned to a smirk, but not at a result of the Jedi’s reply. A glint appeared in Lupercus' eyes as the two of them faced off without moving a muscle, Lupercus' other saber lying fallow by his side. The smirk was still visible, his bone white teeth like small eerie tombstones yet still perfect in the glinting moonlight. He slumped slightly to the side against the doorframe as he cocked his head off to one side, his eyes remaining fixed on Janggar.

“Temper temper great Jedi Master, your feelings of protection for your Queen are folly. She has simply used you to get to her children. Your purpose has been served.

You’re just one small cog in the machine that is Hapes. I should know, we can smell our own…”

Ren grimaced, his anger and hatred for the Hapan Prince almost palpable in the air between them. He paused for the slightest of milliseconds, composing himself.

“I protect my Queen to the death, as I have sworn to do to the Prince and to the Cluster. She is much more than you think, we found you and the children are being saved from your tainted hands once and for all.

Your little ‘rebellion’ stops here!”

As if to accent his point the Jedi then stepped forward provocatively, showing no fear in the face of the Sith who had taken so many lives, most of which with his own hands. But as the Jedi’s foot touched the ground to step forward Lupercus unleashed a harsh barking laugh bred from arrogance and insanity.

“The children are being saved? Oh no, you don’t think I’m retarded do you?

They must breed ‘em big and dumb where you come from!”

The laugh continued as did the Sith.

“You think I’d just let her walk off with my investment? Oh no, your darling Queen has walked into a, shock horror, trap! One she won’t walk away from…”

Rens face turned ashen as he realised the mistake he made, his eyes immediately darting to the door from which the Queen exited. His concentration momentarily distracted Rens mental guard was dropped. It was that look that betrayed him and everything that had happened over the past week. When he glanced back the look he received was one of a massive combination of feelings. Amusement combined with a sense of scheming and just a hint of surprise.

“Your thoughts betray you Master Jedi! And I must admit I’m surprised! Imagine what my poor little brother will do when he learns that his right hand has betrayed him for his long dead wife!

Oh, I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it…”

The grin narrowed as Lupercus assault the Jedi’s senses from another angle.

“She tastes sweet doesn’t she, just like peaches. She was always very good with her mou…”

The speed of the Jedi Masters reaction startled even Lupercus as he launched himself the remaining distance between the pair, tackling the Sith viciously. As he was hit, Lupercus’ saber clattered to the side, the blow and the landing knocking the wind out of him. His retaliation was a full-bodied kick/throw, the Sith throwing the prone Jedi up accelerated by the force and into the roof, sending plaster everywhere from the force of the impact. Not wanting to end the battle now, Lupercus leapt up to meet the now descending Ren. As he rose the Hapan swung his arms above his head, swinging his body so that his legs met Janggar, delivering a brutal 360-degree spin kick that sent the Jedi into the wall to his right. More plaster cracked and fell as the Jedi impacted, and then tumbled painfully to the earth.

Standing above the bloodied Janggar Lupercus sneered, mocking the Rogues efforts.

“Nice try, but those of common blood have never been able to compete with royalty.”

The disdain that was in his voice told Ren that Lupercus truly believed what he was saying. As he spoke Lupercus approached the injured Jedi without fear of reprisal, believing the Jedi Master to be down and out.

“As I was saying, she always was very go…”

Within striking range now, Ren lashed out with his feet, sweeping Lupercus to the floor with him. Anger welling up inside now, Ren leapt on top of Lupercus, straddling him across the chest. Instantly vicious punches rained down on Lupercus’ head with the fury of a man scorned.

“Don’t. You. Ever. Shut. Up.”

Every word was accentuated by at least 4 or 5 lightning fast punches, such were the frequency of Janggars attack.

“I never liked you, always thought you were a pompous @#%$. Now I just know its true!”

The punches stopped now, Lupercus’ face bloodied beyond belief. He tried to laugh, but only succeeded in coughing blood onto his shirt, further adding to his indignity. Lupercus gurgled, as if to speak, but he couldn’t. Suddenly the trademark sneer was back.

You shouldn’t have stopped punching!!

It took a moment for Janggar to realise who was in his head, and by that time a large chunk of stone, sitting in the hallway, had already impacted with the back of Rens head, flipping him off the Sith in a most vicious fashion. Stunned the Jedi Master lay there momentarily, allowing Lupercus to climb unsteadily to his feet. He swayed, a massive gob a blood spitting forth from his mouth, before regaining his balance.

"@#%$ gimp..."







His eyes opened to reveal only blackness. Slowly, as his eyes adjusted, Lupercus could make could the roof above him, singe marks apparent in the corners of his eyes revealing his location.

Naboo...

He had come back here, searching desperately for something, anything that might hold clue to his holy grail, his penultimate of penultimates. He opened his eyes wider now, taking in the full scene around him. To his left lay a bloodied form, not quite dead as was revealed by faint whimperings that eminated from it as it slept. If he looked past the blood, he could have noticed the fact she wore a nurses outfit, but then again, he already knew all about her. Flashbacks popped like starbursts infront of his eyes as he recalled the events, that great day on Naboo that the Jedi had been broken. Only now, with the Wraith Virus and the New Empire's wounds barely healed, did the people forget about the massacre on Naboo.

To his right lay another form, this one long dead. It had been eviscerated, its bowels forcing a putrid stench out amongst the hallways of the house. Lupercus knew enough about him to know he was a doctor, the replacement in fact for the man they had killed just a few years before. The nurse and he had shacked up together, or so it would appear to Lupercus, although it was only the woman he cared about. She had remained hidden in the doctors surgery on Naboo where Lupercus and Tevarii had sought refuge from the storm, allowing the Sith to recooperate enough to continue the havoc. Lupercus had not noticed her on that day, much to his chargrin, but he was surprised that irregardless of her hiding ability, his HE grenade had not taken care of her, as it had done with the rest of the surgeries occupants.

Stirring from the bed, Lupercus contemplated probing her for more information, but he knew her sanity was too far gone to entertain any such fantasy. Stepping up and over towards the doctor, Lupercus removed the ornate black amulet from around his barely identifiable neck, smirking all the while.

One more Cenobite for the road, i guess...

But his heart was truly not in his work, the Cenobite would be quickly rounded up and killed as an abomination by the Naboo Security Forces as it lacked the intelligence of the others. Shrugging, barely acknowledging the creature as his own, Lupercus left the house, for good this time.

He had bigger fish to fry.

Ren lay on all fours with his back to the sith. He wriggled his tongue into the side of his cheek and dislodged a few teeth knocked loose from the impact of the stone.

His lip bleed furiously, staining his teeth with a red mask.

Lupercus steadied himself, his weapon returning to the palm of his blood-drenched fist.

"That's it Jedi, relent, let go of that flimsy grip you still have on the light, and slip into the dark. You know its what you want. . ."


Ren turned, the grimace of pain turning to a sneer of hatred on his bludgeoned face.


"Yes . . .it was me who caused all this pain to your whore . . .isn't it me who should suffer . . .isn't it me who should be killed.

Yes Jedi, strike me down."



Ren's eyes swelled, boiling over hatred for his tormentor.



"No."



Lupercus' face suddenly dropped the sneer, replacing the trademark smirk with a look of sheer astonishment.


"W . . .what?"


"I said no . . .I won't give you that satisfaction Lupercus. I won't turn to the darkside."


"Then you and your mistress will perish in short order!"

Lupercus strode forward upon the fallen Jedi, his saber arching down upon his laying opponent.

Ren rolled, dodging the aimless and anger-fuelled blow from the Sith knight who screamed with every following viscous stab and thrust. A second swing caught Ren in the ankle, causing him to loose his already unsteady footing, sending him head first down a nearby stone staircase.


He hit the bottom with a thud, his entire body crumpling over on his shoulders and neck as he sickeningly fell to the floor.


The crazed sith leapt from landing and came down upon the prone Ren, stabbing his brightly glowing lightsaber through the jedi's right shoulder.

Ren yelped in pain, his broken bones cracking as his body contorted with the pressure of it all.

Lupercus raised his lightsaber above his head, turned the blade downward as if to make a final strike that would end the Jedi's life . . .but as he sat there, staring down upon the fallen Jedi, there was only one thing that crossed his mind.


"Too easy."


From behind bruised eyes, the receding hiss of a deactivated lightsaber could be heard. Ren tried to focus, but could not, as a pair of cold, wet hands cradled his head and neck.

He could only listen as the initial snap was made, before he was shrouded in darkness.


..............................



"Can't you fell it Maxor?"

"Feel what Master."

"The darkside . . .can't you feel it?"

"Of course I can feel it, Master Xion."

"Of course, my young apprentice . . .of course you can." chuckled Darth Xion.

"What you feel, are the bi-products of an underdeveloped ability. What you sense are the simple after effects of using the force.

What I feel, after I choke the life from a person, is a buzz . . .a high . . .but what I feel coursing through my veins when I am alone, and one with my thoughts . . .is the darkside.

You will learn in time that the darkside is more than just the evil other to the galaxy's good side. The darkside is an idilic paradise, a euphoric high that will never end.

Once you truly give in to your own fear and anger, you will be able to wield the ultimate power in this universe, my apprentice.

Never push your hate aside.

Doing that, once cost me my life.

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>
"No."

"W . . .what?"

"I said no . . .I won't give you that satisfaction Lupercus. I won't turn to the darkside."<hr></blockquote>


Let my past deeds be your example."


Maxor nodded, acknowledging his master's sage advice.


"Come, we shall meditate. We will block the windstorms of the Olabrian atmosphere to our outer selves, and become one with the force."

The pair sat in the centre of the large circular training pit, surrounded by innumerable brightly burning candles, and began to recite part of an ancient sith prayer in unison.

"Fear attracts the fearful.

The Strong.

The weak.

The innocent.

The corrupt.

Fear.

Fear is my ally."