--Xa Fel--

The room was black. Darker then the farthest corners of space, and yet just as empty. Nothing seemed visibly able to exsist in such a room. Where no light was present, no life, nor nothing to keep that life alive.

But there was.

The force flowed freely and heavily within the room. Like waves of water flooding a stream the force was strong here. But like the room, it too was empty.

For the force that flowed in the room was the darkside.

Sitting in the center, deep in mediation, a being clad in white reached out with his mind. His white robes not even combating against his dark surroundings. His body seemingly being devoured by the dark.

Malice was trying it once again. Once before he had tried to tap into the raw, true power of the darkside. A power very few sith, and even fewer jedi have ever felt. The last time he did it, he nearly died.

Around him the black void began to change. Color started to flow into the picture. Hints of a dark purple glinting here and there. Followed up by patches of red floating by. Then little bright dots formed. It was as if Malice was sitting in the very space that surrounded him and the planet he was on. In his own little galaxy, just for him to explore.

Opening his eyes Malice looked around the room. Searching for something. Feeling where the dark power was hiding.

*I must find it*

Malice knew he was destined for greatness within the darkside. He only had to prove it to his fellow sith......as well as himself. And so, he searched for that greatness.

Though the void seemed to go on forever, never ending. As if it didn't want Malice to find the power it kept deep within its self. But the sith lord wouldn't give up, this set back, this wall only succeeded in making Malice more determind.

His mind began to race. Frantically it started to search for the true power that is the darkside. So many times before he had gotten a little taste of it. Everyone had at one point and time. Whenever anger, pain, pure hatred filled your soul. The darkside in its truest form was there.

The room began another change. The colors draining away. Slinking back into the darkness from whenst it came. Malice was left alone again. Alone in the black void. Silence crept around him as he refused to give up. But that silence was broken.

"You are not ready"

A voice had pierced the darkness. Striking Malice in the earlobe. Turning every which way, the sith looked for the source of the voice.

*What do you mean i am not ready?*

He called back. Figuring if he could get the voice to speak once more, he could find out where it had come from.

"You are not ready for such power. You are not pure"

Pure? what the hell was he talking about. He was a sith. No sith could ever be pure. They were tainted with death and evil deeds. Purity was never the issue with a sith.

*You speak nonsense. Show yourself*

His anger rose. This mysterious voice was someone, or something he did not recognize. It had no right to speak to him in such a way.

"You are not pure in the darkness. You have been weakened by the light. You cannot handle the power that is the darkside"

Just then, a blinding flash of red filled the room. Scattering the darkness to the far reaches in the corners. A figure appeared infront of Malice. A hideous figure. Tall and menacing. Wings protruded from his back. A long whip like tail swayed in the distance. Two, large, menacing hands stretched out from its sides.

It was a demon. Or rather, Malice's mental depiction of the darkside in its purest form. An evil manifestation of himself if you will.

Staring at the creature with unrelenting, unwavering eyes, Malice moved towards him.

*The light holds no sway over me. Nothing can stop me from attaining the ultimate power. Now give it to me*

Malice shouted with affermation. His determination and certainty rang in his voice. The demon would not stir him from his quest. The darkside would be his.

"You think yourself ready Malice. You think you are ready to grasp the true power of the darkside"

Without hesitation Malice answered the demon.

*Yes, i am ready. I will obtain the power i seek and with it, all will tremble before me*

And so it was. With a simple gesture from the demon, a door opened up infront of Malice. All he had to do was open the door, and the power he sought would be right there waiting for him.

A sly smile on his face, Malice walked towards the door. He could feel the very essence of evil flowing from behind the door. Reaching out to the doorknob, Malice's excitment began to rise.

But it was not to be. A blinding flash of light halted him in his tracks. Two figures now stood infront of the door. Bathed in light it was Amalia and his son Lono. They blocked the door, and the demon as well. Causing the blackness and blood red surroundings to retreat. Replacing it with a calm, seren look.

In confusion and anger, Malice stared at Amalia. But she said nothing, instead he heard the voice of the demon in the distance.

"You are not pure in the darkness. You have been tainted by the light. The memories you keep. The feelings you harbor for others. The very clothes you wear. You are not ready for the power"

Malice ignored his words. Instead he tried to bypass Amalia and Lono. Though as much as he tried, he could not get by.

***********

Just then he woke. On his kness in the meditation room, sweat rolled down from Malice's forehead.

*Damn*

He knew....he had failed once more.

A rush of wind came to circle Amalia as her thoughts swarmed throughout her mind, impairing her reality.

She let out a quivering sigh for a rush of wind that failed to exist. Wrapping her arms around her as tightly as she could, she turned to Jensen, a disheartening look appearing across her face.

"You don't know..."

Her lips came to tremble, the imaginary chill still presenting itself.

She looked far away, as if at another place and time.

Something had touched her, a premonition.

Her body made one quick jolt and then it was over.

"I... am sorry," she said, sounding exhausted as she made eye contact with Jensen's brown eyes.

She took in a deep breath as she looked away from him, off to his right as she placed her arms at her side.

"Another premonition..."

She continued on with the conversation they had been having, blatantly ignoring what had just happened.

"Maybe you could go on avoiding him, but I couldn't," she said looking at his face but not locking gazes this time.

The topic quickly changed its direction as Amalia came to respond to the unrequited question.

"... I know what he wanted," she said softly. Her response naturally left Jensen to wonder; perhaps it even left him confused.

She ignored everything else he had said, as if none of it mattered (when in reality, it really did all matter to her), giving him the impression perhaps that she just didn't care.

"We should get going..."

Without another single word Amalia turned away from him and headed back toward the direction of the speeders. She kept on walking until she reached the speeders, blocking anything and everything out but the castle across the way.

Moving onto the speeder she didn't bother to wait for Jensen as she zoomed on toward the ancient ruins.

Jensen was in silence and just stood there for moments that seemed like an eternity.

Watching Amalia get on her speeder bike and ride off. Jensen just stood there, with his hands on his hips. An actual breeze this time whipped by.

He turned his head and looked at the shuttle, then back toward Amalia whose silhouette was dimming and becoming smaller with each passing second.

Another premonition??

With a light grin of disbelief about what the Jedi Master just done. He made his way to the shuttle and up the ramp to the second speeder bike.

“Oh no…This conversation is not over” He hopped on the bike, fired it up, navigated down the ramp, and headed toward Amalia and the ruins at a very high rate of speed.

Quickly the shoreline gave way to the clear waters of the planet underneath his bike, the second speeder seem to stutter and become unstable for merely a second as it rushed over the wake of the first bike Amalia had been occupying.

Slowly he was gaining distance on her, small islands rushing by in what seemed almost a blur.

But it wasn’t enough, he wouldn’t catch her in time before she got to the castle ruins without some help, then it came to him. An island…off to his slight right and ahead of him with a steep incline of a hill. Just the momentum he needed.

He steered the bike in the direction of the small island. He punched the throttle and with a sudden burst of speed he met the hill and meeting the peak….found himself airborn.

The bike climbed to what seemed 300 or 400 ft. As gravity would eventually take hold on the nose and started pointing toward the planet, a most unlucky occurance happened.

It’s engine stalled.

“No…” Jensen pushed the button to restart the bike with no avail as the planets surface was quickly coming to meet him.

“Come on…” His voice very tense as he was attempting various ways to restart the speeder.

Third time however is a charm.

Quickly turning electronics off that ran the machine he started it from the beginning, the bike coming back to life.

He hit the throttle again and as the engines howled as he gradually leveled the speeder off. To meet the surface again, flying past Amalia overhead and ending up in front of her

They had both arrived at the ruins and nearly at the same time, Jensen cutting the bikes speed, swerved it sideways as Amalia stopped her bike just at his left, as he was right in front of her.

Jensen leaned forward and rested his folded arms on the speeder bike. Realizing just how close to death he had just been.

He spoke in a quiet but serious tone.

“You never told me what that Sith had wanted.”

He turned his gaze to meet her, clearly not to pleased she was avoiding the issue.

“I think I deserve to know…”

He shook his head again.

“You can’t keep being so distant, not if we are going to get through this.”

His tone quieted…

“Why was he there??”

He had yet to ask her about the premonition, but he knew she probably would not tell him about it…as of yet.

Leaning against one of the walls within the meditation room, Malice was trying to recover the energy he had lost. While at the same time trying to make sense of what had just happened.

*Why.....why was i denied. How could they have stopped me*

Closing is eyes, Malice could hear the demons voice fresh in his mind. The words the being spoke running through his head over and over.

"You are not pure in the darkness. You have been tainted by the light. The memories you keep. The feelings you harbor for others. The very clothes you wear. You are not ready for the power"

Those words felt like thousands of daggers stabbing him all over. For as much as he wanted to deny it, what the demon spoke of was true. All this time he didn't want to believe what being with a jedi had done to him. In his own blindness, he had robbed himself the chance of receiving true power.

(I am such a fool. How could i not have known this would happen. But what now? There must be some way to fix this so that i can attain the power i rightfully have earned)

New thoughts entered his mind. Thoughts on how he could reach the power that eludes him even now in his prime of strength.

And that's when it happened...

Flashes of the past entered his head. Images of his life with Amalia when they had first met. Images of them together. All the way up to when his son Lono was born. Then, images of him spending time with his son.

All this and much more was running through Malice's head. And slowly, the sith was beginning to understand his folly. Opening his eyes, Malice struggled to stand. His body still weakened from the meditation, he leaned heavily against the wall as he made his way towards the exit.

Taking a glance at his clothes, Malice scoffed.

"You are not pure in the darkness. You have been tainted by the light. The memories you keep. The feelings you harbor for others. The very clothes you wear. You are not ready for the power"

*The very clothes i wear. White, the mark of all that is good and pure. Even something as simple as this denies me true darkness*

As he made his way out of the room, Malice thought about the images of him being with both Amalia and Lono. The family he had onced loved..........and still loved. Somewhere deep within him he still harbored love for the two. He didn't want to believe it but it must be true. Otherwise he wouldn't of had those flashbacks. Those memories in his mind, feeling as if all that had happened yesterday.

***************

Upon entering his room, Malice undressed. He would have to change many things now if he were to gain the power he saught. First was the clothes. Then....no he couldn't. He had tried time and time again, and even when he had the chance he couldn't.

*But i have to. I know now what i must do to remove the wall that stops me from touching the ultimate darkness*

Malice knew. He knew what he had to do now. He had to seek out Amalia and his son.......and kill them both. That was the only way.

Getting on a comm link, Malice spoke to his loyal spies and acolytes.

*I want every single one of you to go out into the galaxy. Find the jedi Amalia Azalin. And find her son Lono. When you have done so, report back to me their location. Leave at once*

Getting his commands out of the way, Malice plopped down onto his bed. He would need to rest and regain his strength. For what was ahead would be no easy task

OOC: I'm not entirely clear on the timeline for this thread, so if there aren't any complications I'll have Kahn returned a week or so prior to this; it really only affects how I play him, and not much else, but if there's a problem, I shall edit.

IC:

In a small forest on Naboo, a Jedi Master sat on the cold earth, his legs crossed beneath him, his eyes closed. The steady inhalation and exhalation of his breath was the only noise, other than the chirping of songbirds and the occasional woodland creature that happened to scurry about through the foliage.

Kahn was aware of all of this, and yet, in a way, he was not aware. His mind was focused elsewhere, in the detached state of meditation that he had always taken comfort in. It was a way of communing with the Force, not trying to control it, or use it- simply letting it flow through him, heightening his senses, and creating a sense of peace that was elusive in his life.

As he went deeper into his trance, Kahn felt a series of ripples in the Force, ripples that were tainted with Darkness. Rather than pull away, he mentally searched for the source of these ripples, only to discover that they spawned from a disturbance that he'd pushed to the back of his mind for some time, trying to convince himself it would heal itself.

Amalia.

His Master, the Jedi who had taken a confused, angry young Sith and guided him towards the Light, helping him grow into a Jedi Master. It was ironic, that she'd taught him so much on how to resist the Darkness inside of him, and yet she was now the one being slowly consumed by the Dark.

She was far away now, Kahn could tell that; not on Naboo any longer, though the Force would reveal no more on her location. It was likely that the only reason he'd even felt her was because of the bond that still connected them, a bond that was forged years ago, the same bond that a Master and Apprentice shared. Not just Learner and Teacher, but friends as well. And he had failed her, failed his Master.

Isolating himself on Tatooine was his way of dealing with this failure- as though by leaving the life he knew behind, he might find some peace, some reason for why it seemed chaos reigned supreme.

But the answers he sought were not on Tatooine; the drive pushing him forward, telling him his purpose was not yet fulfilled, brought him back to Naboo.

A long time gone. . .

Too long. Now he might have lost his Master, his friend, forever.

No.

He would find a way to reach her- even if she did not want to be contacted. If there was a way to save her, as she'd saved him- then he would find it.

The young Jedi Master stood up, stretching his leg muscles for a moment. Then he entered his home nearby, gathering a survival pack, and a few other essentials. His hand drifted to the saber clipped to his belt, his fingers lightly caressing the cool metal hilt; Amalia took it from him during their last encounter, but when he returned from his time on Tatooine, it was sitting on his bed, as though waiting for him to take action once more- and take action he would.

Of course, a lightsaber was just a tool- a Jedi's true strength resided in the Force. But still, it felt good to have that familiar weight on his belt, comforting, almost. If he encountered trouble along the way, he would trust in the skills his Master taught him, and he would trust in the Force, and Fate, to run its course.

Even as Amalia's speeder moved smoothly about the water's crest, there was a part of her that opted to make her ride across the terrain not so smooth... that one small part of her that was pushing her to be rebellious just once, to let go and say to hell with it and burn rubber.

It was Jensen however that pushed Amalia's rebellious conscience back to rectitude. Her instincts still told her to watch over Jensen and keep him safe, putting him first before her own life, as she would with anyone else when charting unfamiliar territory.

The protector.

Even with her inner demons, there was still a part of Amalia that still wanted to act with goodness, a part of herself that she could not let go.

It was as Amalia reached the center of the lake that she was traveling across, that she came to hear a loud commotion come from her right side, though the sound seemed to come to her from all around after a few seconds. The sound was so vociferous that it disrupted the woman's hearing.

She didn't have to turn to look behind her to know just what it was that was causing such a commotion.

The deafening whizzing noise was Jensen's speeder.

Embitterment reached her before the concern.

Jensen's speeder hit the ruins before her own, she having to pull to a screeching halt to prevent serious injury to herself and the rebellious Jensen Bettencourt.

Amalia stared back at Jensen for a long time, looking back first at his folded arms across the speeder bike and then at his face. For a few heartbeats Amalia's gaze was set toward no emotion whatsoever.

Then it finally hit her; the anger set in. She knew what he had done and why.

Without a word Amalia got off her speeder, her brown eyes blazing hot with mad heated fury. It didn't take her but ten steps to reach him. It was as Amalia took her last step that her left hand came to take a rough swing to Jensen's face, hitting him squarely across his mouth.

Her slap drew the tiniest trace of blood to the right side corner of his bottom lip.

"Now we're even," she said heatedly.

Jensen took his index finger and lightly wiping the wound, had glanced down at the crimson color covering it – it was his own blood.

"Now we're even,"

It took a few moments for it all to register. The anger and impatience with the situation was welling up within him quickly. He didn’t even look at her to acknowledge what she had just done at first.

Then he locked an intense heated gaze with her, eye to eye.

He climbed off his perch on the speeder bike his eyes not leaving hers as he realized he was hopping mad.

“Glad I finally got your attention…”

He answered sarcastically, disproval clearly in his voice.

“Wrong answer, but my little fly by was your first wake up call, here’s your second.”

“Soon you are gonna realize Amalia, that out there we are a small part, a very small part of the big picture in this galaxy. That includes you as such you are gonna find that people have their own agenda, and couldn’t care less about you or how they affect you.”

That’s just the way it is, that soldier that keeps running through your head and his words, he had his own, he doesn’t see things as you may do in his mind his was right, even though he really wasn’t….if you continue to dwell on such things. You will never regain who you once were and you will be consumed by the darkness forever.

He meekly shook his head briefly allowing his words to sink in.

“The exact opposite is true for the people who want to help you. If you are unwilling to work with them you will end up pushing those people away, and anyone…even Jedi Masters, need help every now and then. There are just some things you cannot do alone.”

“This little game you’re playing, isn’t impressing me. I strongly suggest cleaning your act up, right now…”

He felt himself starting to calm after a few moments, he raised his brow to her.

“I want to help you, that’s why I came with you, you can’t do this alone. Even though I barely know you, I worry about your safety. And if you don’t start focusing and cooperating we are both going to die out here.”

Minutes later, the Jedi Master stood in the vast library of the Jedi Temple. A few other Jedi gave him odd looks, no doubt catching the troubled, urgent air about him. However, he made no move to explain his actions, his fingers flying on the keyboard as he searched for the flight schedules of the shuttles which took off most recently in the past few days.

Once the results came up on-screen, he took a deep breath, willing himself to calm down.

Scanning the list, Kahn felt his heart sink as he realized just how many flights appeared to have been scheduled. He reached out with the Force, trying to sense for Amalia, but it was no use; either she did not want to be found, was too far away, or the Dark Side was clouding her presence so much that even the bond between Master and Apprentice couldn't quite penetrate it- or some mixture of the three.

Kahn closed out of the programs, and sat in his chair for a moment, his eyes closed, as though deep in thought.

It had been at least two months now, since he'd last seen his Master. From what little he could feel through the Force, she'd fallen a long way in that time period- what if it was too far? What if he couldn't save her, even now?

But there the time for doubts was past; it was time now for action. If there was even the dimmest glimmer of a chance that he could reach Amalia, then he had to take that chance.

The Jedi Master stood and quietly exited the Temple; half an hour later, a small shuttle took off from the docking bay, a shuttle designed to hold only one or two occupants.

Kahn knew that without the aid of the Force, it could take weeks, even months to check the planets listed on the schedule- however, he was depending on what was left of the bond between them to at least let him know when he got close to Amalia's location; from there, he would simply have to go with his gut, and hope it was right. Zeta's information concerning a second Jedi had the potential to strengthen the signal the two would give off; although every life form existed within the Force, most of it was raw, untrained energy, unlike a trained Force User's presence.

The Jedi had packed enough to survive for some time on the shuttle; it could be just a search for a needle in a haystack, but he had to try. He couldn't just give up on Amalia.


Edit: All right, I can't quite remember what you had in mind for the edit Amalia, but I tried to change it enough so it was more plausible, as plausible as anything is in the Star Wars universe I suppose. :)

Xa Fel: The Naboo Sith Order - Sith Quarters:

The door to Malice's private quarters slid open just minutes from dawn. A familiar yet uninvited presence came to place their form into Malice's room.

.. An uninvited presence ready to provide a rude awakening…

WHAM!

The intruder came to throw his weapon, the object landing mere inches from the side of Malice's face.

A dagger.

"Rise and shine.."

Malice of course willingly obliged as he abruptly came to open his eyes, coming to stare upon a red and black skinned tattooed figure that he knew all too well.

A slightly amused smirk played across Zeta’s lips as he tilted his head slightly to one side to observe his workings.

"Pity, my thrust is off ever so slightly..."

His dreams weren't pleasent that evening. Then again, they never were. Nor has they been in the past few years. Events played in his mind over and over. Mostly though events from what had just happened earlier that day. Of his failed attempt at ultimate power.

Though luckily, they werent to last. As his unconsious mind alerted him of danger within the room. Opening his eyes slowly, Malice was able to see just in time. A dagger was flown at him. Landing so close to his head, had he moved slightly, he would have been killed.

Literally thrusting himself up into a sitting position, Malice's dark blue eyes glared at the intruder.

"Pity, my thrust is off ever so slightly..."

Irritation, more so then anger began to rise up within him. He and Zeta had not always had a very good past. Hell, at onetime they were sworn enemies. Now, they merely mock one anothers distaste with such crude jokes and mannerisims.

Staring down besides him at the dagger, Malice pulled it out of his bed. Holding it within his hands, Malice pointed it at the Zabrak. A synical smile crossing his lips.

*For shame Zeta. I would not have missed had the roles been switched. I think your growing soft*

Standing up, Malice tossed the dagger back to its owner. Turning towards his bathroom he began to freshen up. Which took but a few moments.

reentering the room, Malice was seen wearing something rather unusual. Instead of his normal white robes, he wore robes the color of his eyes. Dark blue. Looking up at Zeta, Malice decided to explain why before the sith had a chance to even ask. Not that he was expected to.

*I have had a vision yesterday Zeta. Once again i have tried to touch the true power of the darkside. The very raw essense of it. And yet again i have failed. Though this time i was able to figure out why. It came to me......*

Malice stopped there. He would let the Zabraks curiosity rise before continuing. Such mentaly torture, however small it may be was what Malice loved to see.