As the duel progressed, Ithron felt himself using the Force more and more. Earlier, he had controlled each strike - thinking about where it would go and how it would contact. Now, he let the Force guide his actions. It was only thanks to this that he managed to save the potentially painful situation by pulling the sabre back to him and reigniting it.

Presently, Mira flew over his head. He turned with all the speed he could - just in time to see a hint of her hair as she faded into the shadows.

Silence.

Using my own tactic against me, he thought, remembering how he had hidden himself from her view only a few minutes ago. Well, I learned it by watching Master Jas....it's hardly surprising she can learn from me.

Ithron's footsteps echoed as he paced forwards trying to sense her, in any way he could. You're either standing still, or damned good at hiding yourself.

Suddenly a sound made him turn, spinning on his heel and bringing his sabre up to his chest. There was nothing there. Suddenly, he smiled as an idea came into his head. Briefly closing his eyes as he always did when preparing a particularly challenging Force move, he sent a Force push in a random direction and listened. Nothing. Then he tried again in another direction.

Having no idea if this would produce any useful results or if he was just wasting time and effort, Ithron continued to Force Push the air, listening for any sign of his adversary...

Mira, a bit rested now, watched as her oppenent scanned the room. He was having a bit of trouble finding her. Hm. Perhaps later she'd have to teach him a few things. For now, though, she simply watched and waited.

Then he began to Force Push into the air randomly. Darn him, she thought. I wanted to sit some more. Oh well. He'll tire himself out, not to mention distract himself. She knew that if he kept this up, he would eventually find her, but she wasn't going to let that happen. So she waited.

Just as he was sending out another push (with his back turned towards her), her lightsaber flashed. Immediately it was scintillating out towards him, thrown with as much force as Mira could muster. Ithron turned, alerted through the Force, and batted it aside. But the lightsaber was just a diversion.

Ithron was focused on the immediate threat. Already tired from his use of the Force, he didn't even see Mira following the blade. As he swung, there was that one split second when he was off-balance, and it was at that point that Mira slammed into him.

As she had thrown the blade, she had sprinted after it, leaping into the air as Ithron knocked it aside. Her feet hit him first, connecting hard with his chest and sending him flying back towards the opposite wall. Mira landed on her feet, calling the lightsaber back to her hand as she did so, then charged after him, intent on finishing this fight quickly while he was disoriented.

Concentrating on Force pushing air around him had tired Ithron, and the sabre out of nowhere came as a surprise. Quickly batting it out of the way, he didn't even have time to wonder what was happening before he found himself flying backwards after being kicked hard by Mira. She wasn't heavy, but her ferocity added to the element of surprise meant that her kick was enough to lift the older apprentice off the ground.

His sabre flying out of his hands and deactivating itself, Ithron found himself thrown to the ground once again in this duel. Mira was running at him now, her sabre humming in her hands. The fact that Mira was being so aggressive was confusing him - she seemed to have abandoned her usual tactics of precision, subtlety and illusion in favour of a sudden onslaught - and it was working.

Ithron, still on the ground with no sabre, had no way to fend off the attack. She paused for a moment and smiled. She muttered something that Ithron didn't catch and sliced her sabre down. The trajectory and power were perfect - in seconds it would have sliced itself through Ithron's clothes and skin. It wouldn't kill him - assuming Mira's sabre was still on a low power setting - but it had the potential to badly injure him.

Left with no option, with no time to recall his own sabre, Ithron reached out with the Force and grabbed the first thing that came to mind - in this case, it was Mira's wrist. Gripping it as tightly as he could, trying to force her backwards, Ithron stumbled to his feet and slowly started to step over to his own sabre - he knew he couldn't both force grip Mira and force pull his weapon at the same time.

Mira was too quick for him; she stepped to block his path to his own sabre. Frustrated at being helpless and on the verge of defeat, Ithron felt anger filling him - anger that had been refined and distilled by his Dark Side training. Using both his hands, he attempted the grip Mira's wrist to breaking point.

If I can get the bitch the drop her sabre and we end up in a Force grappling match, thought Ithron through the rage. Then we'll see who's winning.

Mira realized what was happening when she felt the pressure on her wrists and saw Ithron stand, but she was powerless to stop him. He was much stronger in the Force than she, and he was using his strength to his advantage. In the process, he was gaining control over her movements. She didn't like that.

As he stepped towards his saber, Mira used what remaining mobility she had to move between the apprentice and his weapon. The growl that escaped Ithron's throat reminded her of the noise a rancor made when it was injured, and despite the pain in her arms she barely contained a chuckle. Then the pressure got worse as Ithron focused his concentration on getting her to drop her saber.

Mira felt the grip begin to loosen in her hands and knew she had to act fast. If she dropped her weapon now, the fight would be over, for he would be able to do with her as he pleased. Her eyes narrowed at the thought, and she released a bit more of her anger - just enough to hold while she thought of a plan.

Then a smile came to her face. She stared directly into Ithron's eyes for a moment, her look of confidence perhaps giving him pause. Then she stopped resisting.

The Force grip that Ithron was using was simple, one designed simply to hurt one's opponent. However, in doing so, the Force had to press both upwards and downwards on the wrists. Were the Force grip on her neck, what Mira did next would have failed miserably, but it wasn't. Mira simply ceased giving any resistance to the upward pressure on her wrists. While this dramatically increased the pain, it lasted but a moment longer. Using the energy that had just been freed for use, Mira Force jumped upwards. The upward pressure on her wrists flipped her backwards, breaking Ithron's grip and allowing her to land on her feet, saber in the ready position. Her move, though, had allowed Ithron time to recall his saber, so she waited for his advance, eyes once again emotionless and cold.

As Mira propelled herself upwards, breaking his grip, Ithron found himself thrown backwards and down in accordance with the action-reaction laws of physics. As he rolled himself backwards and recalled his sabre, he felt in no mood to hang around. The girl had brought him, weaponless, to the brink of defeat.

Damned clever trick though, he thought.

He sprung on the offensive and battle was joined by Mira, the two apprentices spinning, blocking, slicing, attacking. Each was using the Force in a different way, and the stalemate continued as they moved round the room, each seeking an advantage.

As they fought, Ithron sensed something - something inside himself. The 'bottled' darkness inside of him that he tapped into when he used the Force. Now though, as the fatigue of battle started to set in, the darkness seemed to grow stronger, and his control of it weaker.

Release me.

The words were almost audible, and shocked Ithron so deeply the he stumbled. Mira's sabre sliced a chunk out of his sleeve and burned the skin on his left arm. In pain, Ithron gave back in front of his opponent.

Release me.

There could be no doubt. The words were coming from inside of him. How could the darkness in his own soul be speaking to him? Surely it was just another part of his own mind?

Who are you? What is this? Ithron thought, still parrying Mira but losing ground every second. The other apprentice looked puzzled. Perhaps she heard the voice? Or perhaps she just wondered why Ithron was giving ground.

Release me.

On each repeat, the voice became stronger and more powerful. Ithron seemed to see himself the victor, having defeated his opponent. All this could be his...and all he had to do was give in to the darkness inside him, the Dark Side, and let it fight for him.

Why am I fighting this darkness? He thought as the sabres danced in front of his eyes, his own actions seeming to be on instinct alone. Don't the Sith embrace the Dark Side?

Skygge took advantage of her opponent's temporary confusion to strike out, her low-powered saber slicing through his arm, leaving a painful burn. Her assault never slowed, coming fast and hard, beating back his defenses. She knew this battle would have to end soon, for Ithron seemed only to be getting stronger while she tired.

Ithron was not the only one who felt the voice, but he had less experience with such things. While she was a Jedi, she had heard this same voice many times; however, her Masters had taught her how to control it and why she must. Release me, it said. It was the darkness speaking to her, that consuming darkness that if released would destroy her.

But then she thought, What if that is another Jedi lie? What if the darkness will give me power without destruction? Or if it can be controlled if released?

As the voice spoke, she began releasing small bits of that dark energy. Strength returned to her weary limbs, and her assault achieved a new level of intensity and agressiveness. Her saber whirled in unpredicatble green circles, taking full advantage of her limited knowledge of Form I. Since Ithron had spent less time under a Master, his knowledge of combat was inferior to hers, but his knowledge and power in the Force made up the difference. The two were, for the moment, evenly matched.

Then something happened, something for which Mira was unprepared. The sabers locked. Green and red energy met in a blinding, energy filled display. The dance of sabers interrupted, Mira's eyes met Ithron's and saw only hate. They saw anger. They saw victory.

So she disengaged. Sweeping her saber in a circle, she spun his as well and backed away before he had a chance to respond. He lunged forward, and she ducked out of the way, frustrating him further. He swung again and she flipped over the blade, heading for the exit. It was time to cool off.

But Ithron didn't let her. Leaping in front of her, he blocked the doorway and advanced. Mira set herself for what she now believed might be the final onslaught, and she released the dark energy to give her the strength to stand. Suddenly she was flooded with power, and, to Ithron's surprise, she struck first, bringing an overhead blow down with such force that his saber was pushed back to within an inch of his face. And still Mira pressed, hoping to send both sabers through his head, ending the fight.

Release me.

Ithron was unable or unwilling to fight the voice any longer. He gave in, and allowed the Darkness to fill his limbs. As it did, there seemed a sigh as of the captive released from his prison. Suddenly he became aware of Mira looking into his eyes. She seemed to start at what she saw, and made a dash for the doorway.

What did you see to scare you, Mira? Ithron thought.

Me, the darkness replied in the quietest of all whispers.

Ithron himself felt detached, as if he was watching someone else control his body. He saw himself block Mira's escape and push her back into the room. As Mira replied to this final challenge, pressing her sabre and his towards his head, Ithron willed his body to retreat; to pull back and fight on his own terms. However, he could only watch as he found himself pressing his own blade upwards.

Using strength that didn't seem to come from his muscles, Ithron managed to raise the blades away from his face. Then, with suddenness that took even himself by surprise, he swung his leg around to catch Mira off balance and sweep her feet out from under her.

With unnatural speed, she dodged and flipped away. Now the two were facing each other. As their sabres collided once more, Ithron took every opportunity to gain the upper hand, but was foiled at each turn by his opponent, newly invigorated.

The Darkness in him began to raise its voice to a frustrated shout that only he could hear:

I will not suffer defeat!

Wresting control of his body away from his concious self, the Darkness was fighting faster now, pushing his opponent back, towards the walls.

For the first time in this duel, Ithron himself felt fear as he found that his own body was not responding his mental commands. Unaware of what his opponent was doing, Ithron sought only to push the Darkness back.

What is it that's controlling me? he thought.

As Ithron continued to push her back, Mira concentrated simply on defense. Hoping he would wear down, she gave ground, allowing herself to be pressed backwards towards the wall. It wasn't until she was halfway across the room that she realized he was only getting stronger. It was time to end this fight.

Swinging as hard as she could, Mira knocked Ithron's saber to the side. Without thinking, she swung her foot up and out, smashing his nose. Ithron's head snapped back, then forward only to once again meet Mira's foot. This time he backflipped with the kick, minimizing its effects. Blood ran from his nose, though, and it seemed to anger him more.

He rushed her, his saber carving swaths of red light through the air. As he raised his weapon high to exact revenge for the pain, Mira ducked and moved forward, bringing her saber across his knees as she did so. Only a quick leap saved him from burns in his legs; the swipe caught the soles of his feet instead.

Cursing his skill, Mira twirled, bringing her saber to ready once again. What the kriff happened to him? she thought. He wasn't this good before!

Ithron attacked again, and she spun out of the way. She had seen those called matadors do this time and again - some sort of animal fight where they waited until the last moment then spun out of the way. Mira did this now with Ithron, spinning out of the way of his flashing blade at the last moment, frustrating him to no end.

Then she attacked, driving him backwards for a change. Green and red light moved so fast as to be nearly indistinguishable. The energy released could probably have heated the entire planet for a month, or so it seemed to Mira. Will he never stop?

Ithron felt a dulled sense of Mira's foot connecting with his face and found his body flipping backwards to avoid it. The blood ran down past his mouth, onto his clothes.

Why do you fight me? the voice was shouting at him.

The duel continued around him, his opponent showing skill and cunning.

Who are you? Ithron screamed in the privacy of his own mind. Why do you control my body?

As Mira pirouetted out of his way, Ithron was only half aware of the ensuing battle. She was getting faster, clearly her own skill had increased even during this duel. What Mira couldn't see, and had no way of knowing, was that it was the true battle was going on inside Ithron's soul.

I am the power to win, Ithron. I am you. I am your inner darkness. The words vibrated through his head as Mira was pushing him back, and Ithron knew that the words were true. In that moment, he saw in a flash all the power that could be his.

There was a laugh. With a shock, Ithron realised it was his own.

See this girl. She was your equal. Now, you are above her. She can barely match you, and all this time you've been fighting to restrain yourself. Think what we can do together... This time Ithron couldn't tell whether it was him that spoke, or the voice.

Destroy her. Both voices spoke together.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. With a flash of insight, as one sees through an optical illusion, Ithron realised there never had been a second voice...

Mira was pushing him backwards. Drawing his sabre across his body, and then striking it outwards and into the path of Mira's sabre, he stopped her advance.

Through passion, I gain strength.

With his left hand, Ithron reached out with the Force and gripped Mira's neck. The darkness gave him the power to punch through her defences, that or it came as a surprise. For whatever reason, she dropped her sabre and reached her hands up to her throat.

"I thought you were made of sterner stuff, Mynenial." His voice was icy cold. In a very real way, it was not his voice.

With his right hand that held his sabre, he struck her on the side of the head with the base of his fist, sending her sprawling.

He turned his back, having humiliated and overpowered her.

Through strength, I gain power.

Turning back, he saw she was back on her feet and bleeding on her face. Her expression was unreadable and her knuckles whitened as she clenched her sabre tightly. Inside, Ithron was laughing. Whatever change had come over him was changing the tide of this duel.

Their eyes locked. He could hear her breathing, faster and shallower now.

"Do you feel fear, Mynenial?" he asked.

Without waiting for an answer, he continued.

"Perhaps you should yield to me now, surrender yourself?" He looked over her body, feeling no physical lust but only the passion of a Sith near victory.

Mira felt the air molocules around her throat constrict, and she knew before they completely choked off her airway that she would be powerless to stop them. It was the same technique Ithron had attempted on her wrist earlier, but this time no fancy moves would break the death grip that entrapped her. She gulped air quickly, taking in a lungful before her breath was cut off completely.

She barely tried to resist, knowing that he had grown very strong in his darkness. For the first time in the fight, she was terrified. Ithron, in his current state, could easily crush her windpipe, ending her life in an instant, and he would feel no remorse. She could almost visually see the darkness taking control of his body, taking his rational mind into captivity. She focused all her strength on building up a Force wall in the one portion of her throat that he had grabbed, hoping that if he attempted to kill her she would be able to resist.

"I thought you were made of sterner stuff, Mynenial," Ithron said.

Truth told, she thought she had been too. Her previous training had given her a egoist's outlook; she thought herself better than the rest of the Sith Apprentices because she had trained as a Jedi. She knew about the Force. In that moment, she realized that she had even partly ignored the Masters' teachings because she had been a Jedi, because she already knew those things about the Force that they had been trying to teach her. Perhaps that is why I have not been selected as a personal Apprentice yet, she thought. Despite the stranglehold in which Ithron held her, her mind remained detached as she considered this. Perhaps my ego has been getting in the way of my training. I must learn all I can from them, for they are both stronger and wiser than me. Only then, perhaps, will I be strong enough myself to affect the course of the galaxy.

She felt the choke hold loosen even as Ithron's fist connected with her head. Blood ran from a small cut in her temple, a small stream that was but a tickle compared to the pain in her neck. She closed her eyes and decided to try something new. Instead of trying to resist the pain and shunt it away, she opened herself to it. She gasped as the shock hit her full force, but instead of shutting it down, she embraced it.

Within moments, she was able to stand, the pain fueling her anger. Her lightsaber flew to her hand but remained deactivated for the moment. Her breath came in gasps, the pain still having somewhat of an effect on her vitals. But her strength was returning.

Nevertheless, she was not strong enough to defeat Ithron this day, and she recognized it.

Do you feel fear, Mynenial? Perhaps you should yield to me now, surrender yourself?" He offered her a chance. A way out. But at what cost? Acknowledging his strength she could handle. But surrendering herself to him she could not. She would not allow him to feel that he had any measure of control over her.

Her heart pounding, her grip tightened on the saber. "Fear, Ithron? Surrender? What planet do you live on? Not a kriffing chance." She moved as though to attack, but then, summoning everything within her, she Force pulled two torches off the wall behind him and sent them hurtling towards his back. As he whirled to face them, she backflipped and disappeared into the shadows and through the door.