Ask We Walk a Fine Line

[Darth Invictus]

The waves collided harshly against the side of the cliffs. They reached halfway up and nearly touched the station that was built into the cliff before retreating back into the ocean with a defeated roar. The station was eerily silent, the only sign of it still being active was the blinking lights that would navigate ships through the encumbering weather. Throughout the station, lightsaber marks were burned into the walls, the ground, and the occupants of the station. If anyone searched the station, they would find the guards dead and strewn about as each one was silenced. The alarms and security systems had been deactivated and it left the station in a sense of total peace that was nefariously created.

Extending out from the station was a long runway that would allow multiple ships to land on the side. At the end of the runway stood Ender, on his knees with his hands covering them. His eyes were closed and his head tilted down slightly, expanding his reach with each passing second into the force. He was making himself known but to only one person in the galaxy, Talak. The signature he carried would act as a beacon to the fallen Sith, Jedi, or whatever the kriff Talak had transformed himself foolishly into. The scene at the prison continued to replay in his head, the sight of his friend and old master fighting against one of the champions in order to prevent Ender from escaping out of the prison. Everything that had been between them was thrown away in a split second and he didn't even know why.

At first, the weather was relatively peaceful but the longer Ender had sat there and waited, the climate grew tumultuous with each passing second. Dark clouds formed and slowly navigated towards the station off in the distance, the sound of thunder echoing throughout the air. Ender had been told to seek the Eternal but it had been some time since he had escaped the prison and he hadn't rendezvoused with anyone from the Knights or Sith. His mind was only transfixed on one thing and no matter how hard he tried, it just wouldn't relent and he wouldn't be able to do anything else until this was settled and he knew so personally. The lessons he was taught by his old master flashed through his head, remembering their first introduction when Talak had electrocuted him to introduce him to the real aspect of pain and the life of a Legionnaire. It felt so long ago now.

It hadn't been too long before he finally felt it. Something beside himself suddenly became apparent in the force and he opened his eyes, the irises golden and practically glowing as bright as a saber through the eye sockets of his mask. The sound of a ship pierced through the sky and distant thunder enough that even he could hear it. Ender put the weight against his heels before standing himself up to his full height. He turned around to see a single starship circling around the base as the pilot inside would be able to see the masked figure that stood on the landing and waited for him, the Dark Side radiating from him in unprecedented ways that Talak wouldn't have felt before. "You made it." He murmured softly to himself, almost hoping it wasn't true.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

The entire trip, and even before leaving for the world, Talak had debated over this decision. He didn't want to meet Ender because he knew how it was likely to end, but he also knew he couldn't hide from his past forever.

It had only been a few weeks since the prison attack, and many of his worst wounds had only barely finished healing. The arm was now at least functional, but he was far from being ready to call it his arm. He flexed it at his side as he descended the ship's ramp. He could see Ender, but he felt different. And so did this world.

Death hung in the air and clung to Ender. Talak didn't know what had happened here, but he knew he didn't want to find out. Nevertheless, he had to know. He had to know what Ender had become, and he... had to stop him? He wasn't sure he could bring himself to do that. Ender was in many ways Talak's creation. He had brought him into the Sith, introduced him to the Force, and introduced him to the dark side. He was partially responsible for every man, woman, and child that his former apprentice killed.

On his belt, hung two lightsabers, but the hilt of the Jedi that he'd taken hung at his right. It was the blade that he'd used to help kill the Champion, and it felt more weightless in his hand with each passing day. It was adjusting to him, and he to it.

But that wasn't what he was here for. He didn't want this to end in a fight, but he doubted this conversation would end with a conversion of his former friend.

Ender. Stop this, he said. He knew the Sith wouldn't. What'd you do here? he asked, his eyes flicking up to the station and once again feeling the sense of death that permeated this place. A slaughter. Just like the police station. Just like he'd tried to do to Trys. Just like at the prison. Death followed him around. Senseless, pointless death. Talak dreaded what this would turn into, but he didn't turn and he didn't leave.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender's eyes never left the small ship as it eventually deaccelerated and came down with its landing gear erect. He was immediately told to stop and he shook his head slowly in response, "I was hoping you wouldn't show up." A slow exhale of breath came out from underneath his mask that was slightly muffled, "A part of me still wishes you hadn't." Even then, there was a tug in his chest that begged him to calm down and think through this rationally but it was too weak compared to the anger that been cultured over the years. He needed answers.

Talak asked what he did in the station and his eyes flicked toward it before responding, "Gave us some privacy." The last time he was interrupted by a Jedi and the Champion. This was a remote location, there was no call for help or no one waiting in the shadows for both of them. Ender stared at Talak only for a few moments longer as both of them could hear the waves crash down below. He brought off his hands to the back of the helmet, pressing a button to have it loosen as mechanical pieces shifted for it to come off. The mask was simply pulled over his head before tossed to the side, it clanging loudly against the metal runway as it rolled to the side. There was a black cloth that was wrapped around his neck and that was the next thing he tore off as it drifted in the wind, giving him room to fully maneuver his head.

Ender's face would be fully revealed now, his golden eyes before dimmed until they had transformed back into their blueish silver ones. Hard lines formed on his face as he tried to keep his emotions in check while staring at his previous master. "Why?!" Ender hissed out the words as he took a step forward, "Why would you side with them?" He shot his arm out into the air. There wasn't anything physically there but they both knew he was referring to the Jedi and the Rangers. "After everything, you would betray me?! Your own kind?" Talak would never be able to repent for his mistakes, he would never be a Jedi or a mangled representation of it that he thought he would be by suddenly joining them and trying to make up everything he did.

The rage that Talak would be familiar with that was buried inside Ender lashed out, smacking his palm against his own chest, "We were supposed to bring them to their knees! Together!" As he continued to speak and fill his head with the memories of Talak's teachings and everything they did for the Eternal, he grew slightly more erratic, drawing resemblance to when he was infected with the mental sickness that he was saved from by the man that stood across from him.

 

[Talak Rand]

The anger washed over him from Ender in waves, but Talak was immovable. He knew that anger too well, and he had rejected it. Or at least, he was trying to. He had long thought the Light and the Jedi were weak and foolish, but now he recognized something: the Sith promoted a "larger" view of the Force, but they were as dogmatic and narrow as they'd been taught the Jedi were.

He couldn't help feeling the swell of anger within himself as Ender casually mentioned how a slaughter gave them "privacy." No, don't choose a remote world or somewhere isolated. Kill everyone because he could. It was a sickness and once it took its hold, uprooting it was no small task.

Ender spat words of acid and he could feel the same mania from him now that he'd felt when they were inside his mind.

Together. They should have done it together. Fought side by side and fixed the galaxy, not destroyed it. I failed you, Ender... he thought, grief constricting his chest.

But his face was like stone. Not a twitch or a flinch apart from a slow shake of his head.

He didn't say anything right away, but his eyes wouldn't break from his old friend's gaze.

You're sick, Ender. You have been sick since Mustafar and you need help, he said. That wouldn't be what he wanted to hear, but it was true.

The man I know didn't just murder because he could. I had hoped we'd cut out the thing in your head, but it's still there, and you're not the same man you were. I still want to help you, he said.

But no, I won't lie to you. I don't condone the Champion's pointless slaughter... or yours, he said, waving his hand at the station behind him. But the evil from Mustafar is consuming, and it won't even let you see the truth, he said, lowering his hand. He knew how the darkness infested the parts of the mind, and once one submitted, it was so difficult to rip out the roots.

 

[Darth Invictus]

When Talak mentioned that he was sick, Ender visibly grimaced as his jaw tightened and he glanced the other way as rage flared once more in him. Everyone in his life had treated like he was the disease itself, being born in an Imperial lab and dissected by scientists and now by the man he thought believed in him from the start. Ender barked out a humorless and crude laugh, "You want to help me? Is that why you attempted to keep me locked up so I could be executed or worse?" He shook his head, clearly refusing his explanation.

When he mentioned the sickness again, the dark clouds let out a round of thunder that was more vicious then the last as they started to draw even closer to the station, whips of lightning striking the ocean before disappearing. The waves slammed against the cliffs even harder, sprays of the water even reaching above and touching the two Sith. "No, no Talak, it did not blind me at all." Ender spread his arms wide as he gazed at him, "It brought me the clarity that I needed to see the lies that surrounded me." He then pointed a finger at the man, "It's allowed me to see the lies you've told me, it's allowed me to see that I was used as nothing more than a tool for you until it suited you to abandon us." The anger was unnatural as if it stoked itself beyond his control even without Talak's words.

"All you've done is lie to us and yourself from the beginning and that became apparent when you fought your own brethren when you were needed. When I needed you." Ender's eyes never betrayed him as Talak had and he saw what happened at the prison. The slaughter had not been pointless, it was to draw attention away from everything else in the galaxy for the others to remain undisturbed. This was war, death walked hand in hand with it comfortably. "I did what was necessary! They declared war on us! I placed a target on my back so that you and others can move freely."

"The truth is, you grew too weak to stomach what is needed to be done. That no matter what you do from here, you will never find the foolish redemption you are seeking for the mistakes you made." To Ender, those mistakes were becoming clearer to him every second that passed. "You are just like me, I've been molded after you by your own hand. You just can't accept what you are anymore."

 

[Talak Rand]

You're right, Ender, I lied to myself. I lied to you. I was wrong about everything when it came to the Sith, he said. He wouldn't lie to himself or Ender anymore. This was the cold, hard truth.

And why does it need to be done? How did their deaths help anything? he asked, waving to the dead behind him. He realized that a confrontation was likely to be inevitable, but he wasn't finished trying.

You're right, I've done terrible things. And I'm not going to lie to myself about it anymore. You still tell yourself it's necessary but it's a power trip. Pointless killing doesn't benefit anyone, he said. Did Ender even know what the Eternal wanted? Or for that matter did any of them? The goals of the Legionnaires and the Guardians weren't compatible, so what was the Eternal's real goal? Why would it bring them both together?

They declared war on us because we were part of the rot we were supposed to purge, he said.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender scoffed as Talak admitted that he had lied to him and himself. His old master continued to try and explain himself but his mouth had set in a hard line as his words simply deflected off of him. If he already admitted he was a liar, how could he trust anything that ever came out of the man's mouth again? It was clear to him that his old master couldn't stop lying to himself and to others and turned out to be the blind one out of the two of them. "Every death by my hand is a life that no longer seeks to hunt down our kind and exterminate them." How did he not understand that?

"I had hoped that I could have known what I possibly did to make you betray me but it's become apparent that you are the one who is lost." The dark clouds that have been floating towards them had finally reached the station, a light drizzle of rain starting to come down upon them. Ender's hand opened slightly and Talak would be able to see his saber fly from behind his back and into his hand, his fingers wrapping around it tightly as lightning struck near the station and into one of the metal rods that was erected from the roof. "It's painful to witness but I see it now Talak."

Ender flicked his thumb over the switch of his lightsaber, a single crimson blade coming to life as it coated half of his body in red light. The other half of his body was in shadow and hid the side of his face as he had to suppress the one part of him that urged to stop what he was doing. It could have possibly for Talak to be redeemed for his transgressions but he was going to offer him one last chance to come back before it would never be offered again. "If you no longer stand with us, friend..." He slowly brought his lightsaber up this side, "Then you will become our sworn enemy."

Ender tilted the tip of the blade directly towards Talak with his arm outstretched as he held it in the air. The gloves he wore would crinkle loudly as his grip tightened around the hilt, the scar of it down the center of it resembling Ender as something had been severed inside him. "This will be the last chance I offer despite all this. I beg you Talak, make the correct choice, right here, right now." Talak would be able to his silver eyes flickered as something battled inside him.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak didn't want this to happen. He could feel it in Ender and the roiling clouds began to drop a drizzle down from above. The lightsaber snapped into Ender's hand and lit a deep red. Talak just watched it with a sad shake of his head.

Ender pointed his saber at Talak and he watched. He didn't move for his lightsaber yet. He knew the distance between the two of them was enough that he could draw his saber at the first sign of movement and defend himself in time. He didn't want to force this to violence if he didn't have to and he wouldn't be the aggressor.

But what was more than that, Talak could feel the conflict in Ender. He knew his old friend well enough to recognize it in his mind. Water began to run down Talak's hair and face from the rain. There was sadness in his eyes as he looked at his old friend.

Ender, you're like a brother to me, he said sadly. His chest felt like it was contorting and he wanted to vomit. He didn't want this to happen. There has to be a way to stop this, he told himself, but he knew there wasn't.

I'm sorry I let this happen to you. But I know you're still in there somewhere, so... do you like who you've become? he asked. It could only barely be heard over the growing banging of the rain. It was the question that could change everything. The darkness wouldn't let him find the real answer, but it would fester in his mind. He would question it and ponder it in his private moments. It would linger when he didn't want it to and eventually perhaps it would grow into an idea.

 

[Darth Invictus]

"You do not get to say that, not anymore." Even if Talak had burnt down half of the galaxy without any remorse, Ender would have been there to help him no matter what. The thought of betrayal would have never occurred between real brothers. Then he did something that he wasn't expecting, he asked if he liked who he had become. The thought of questioning himself like that had never crossed his mind before and he held the lightsaber for a few moments longer between them as he couldn't help but think over his life. But then as he thought about, the results of how he turned out wasn't solely on him. Talak had pushed the first domino to begin the process so he was fully transformed.

Ender closed his eyes as his grip tightened around the weapon of his blade, the force inside him flickering as it began to get colder and colder. The chance for his friend to have come back into the fold had been rejected completely and that would be the only time it happened again. "So be it." When he opened his eyes, they were no longer silver but a bright gold for each of them as they reflected the light off his lightsaber. He leaped into the air suddenly and directly at Talak with the help of the force as he let out a rage-fueled scream. His saber would come down in an overhead strike with both hands, enough force behind it to cause the traitor on the other side to stumble back if he brought his blade up to block it and would have most likely shatter both of their weapons if they were regular blades.

If the lightsaber just went through the air and struck the metal ground, it would be lifted up instantly as Ender would begin walking after Talak if he jumped back. "How many? His saber would lash from one strike to another continuously once he was in reach, slashing diagonally before continuing with the motion and bringing it back around to do the same move from the other side to not give Talak a window to conduct his own strike. "How many lessons did I suffer through to be taught real pain?" Each word that followed the strike seemed to add more power behind it, "Electrocuted." Another overhead strike that would cut the man in half if it went through, "Beaten."

When the fight started, lightning and thunder erupted above them, the weight behind the rain increasing with every passing moment. It darkened enough that if anyone else was on the planet, they would be able to see the lightsabers on the platform miles away as they clashed and sparked.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak's heart was pounding, and he couldn't tell if it was because of the impending combat, the guilt he felt, or who he would have to fight. Probably all of them.

I don't? I'm not the one here to kill the other, he said pointed out as Ender told him he didn't get to say that. He had come to help his old friend, and he wasn't going to quit.

But he also knew that he wasn't going to let himself be killed. The fight was under foot a moment later. Ender's eyes were a familiar yellow and his words were like ice. He slashed downward, but Talak was already gone, fallen backward out of the range of the blow with a blue lightsaber now in hand.

It lit the darkness and stood in stark contrast to the blade of the Sith, and met the next blow to deflect it aside. It was purely focused on defense, batting aside blows and deftly dodging others.

He had no interest in a strike of his own. He didn't want to kill Ender, and he knew he could hold up a defense almost indefinitely.

Showers of sparks and flashes lit the night as the blades clashed. Rain water hissed as it splattered against the plasma of the blades.

And that pain will drag you down forever! he shouted. He knew that pain, anger, and hatred. It was what had clawed at him for years.

If the darkness is supposed to make you strong, then why can't you control it?! Resist it?! Because it owns you! he said. It was the weight that would drag you to the deepest sea. He hated that he had done this to Ender. That he had become the man that he hated. He could only hope he might one day reach out to his friend.

 

[Darth Invictus]

The lightsaber just went through the air and struck the metal, sparks flying as a streak of melted metal formed along the runway. When Talak activated his own weapon and Ender could see that it had the color of the Jedi and no longer of the Sith, it enraged him even further. How long had it been before his master went to join the enemy? Had he been planning this all along? When he pointed out that he wasn't the one trying to kill the other, Ender's eye met his as he strode towards him, "Then you know exactly where you stand."

The strikes continued to come in a rapid fashion but Talak continued to back up and deflect them to the side. Another strike came down but instead of putting his full force behind it, he pushed it against Talak's blade instead before shoving it to the side and away from his torso. It gave him a window to act as His free hand had the force laced in his fingers and the force leaped from his hand so it would collide into Talak's chest and send him flying back. Even though Ender hadn't built up the force, he was so filled with rage and hate towards his old master that it powered it enough to send him through the air.

Talak would have slammed into the wall but the door there would automatically slide open for him when it detected his presence. If he didn't land on his feet, he would stumble and roll down the hallway until eventually coming to a stop. He wouldn't be the only one inside, at least physically. Lightsaber marks covered the wall as he would see a few corpses of guards on the ground, some cut in half or some other form of death. The door would remain open for a few more seconds and allow Talak to see Ender striding towards him, his golden eyes shining as he was basked in the light of his crimson blade as the sky lit up behind him from lightning.

The door closed again before and cut off sight of him before it opened only a second later, Ender stepping through as the rain that collected on him steamed as his entire body radiated from with his emotions. "And you were the one who happily attached that ball and chain to my foot." As he stepped through the hall, the second blade of his weapon activated and turned his lightsaber more into a spear then a regular sword as it was twirled around him. "That darkness has given me the strength I need in order to kill you." Ender suddenly sprinted towards Talak and when there were a few meters between them, he would leap towards the Sith and thrust his weapon forward as it was aimed directly for the man's heart.

 

[Talak Rand]

Violence was the only thing emanating from Ender anymore. Rage, anger, and violence. The dark side had twisted his mind. He could sense the blast incoming from his old apprentice, and projected his own blast into the area between them. It knocked him back, sending him skidding across the floor and back toward the doors.

He continued his retreat backward, seeing the dead strewn through the building, and something snapped. Pain, sadness, and even anger pulled at his mind. His grip tightened around the saber hilt and rather than retreat, this time he charged forward to meet his old friend.

The thrust at his chest left Ender in midair as he leapt. Talak's feet carried him to the left and his own saber swept from his own left to right to push the blade to the side of his own body.

For the first time, Talak attacked. The Force burst from his left hand and would bodily slam into Ender and send him flying into the wall.

The strength to kill me?! he spat, anger now lacing his voice. Too weak to be able to stop yourself, you mean. Yeah, "strength." Lie to yourself like I did, he said. He stood there, immovable once again. Did he try to kill Ender now? Dismember him?

And when you don't kill me? When it doesn't even deliver the "strength" you're looking for? Then you're just left the shriveled husk of yourself devoid of even the promises the darkness offered, he said. And that was reason enough for Talak to ensure he didn't die. If only to prove to Ender that the darkness couldn't deliver what it promised.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender came down towards Talak, the tip of his weapon thrust forward but the man stepped aside and tried to bat his lightsaber away. When his foot landed, however, he deactivated his blade so he couldn't be altered from his course too much and spun on that foot. The second blade traveled with him as he spun around, it coming in diagonally again to Talak's left shoulder but before it could connect, he was blasted with the force.

The saber missed his face by a few inches as he went through the air and slammed into the metal wall with a loud thud. Ender lifted up his head as his eyes flared goldenly. He was on his behind but he extended out his arms and gripped onto the wall supports, lifting himself up and back to his feet. Talak told him that he was shriveled husk and it made him sneer at his old master, "Then I will face the consequences I brought, unlike you." Ender knew he had always lost something after what happened to him in the labs but he didn't know the sickness would infect it even worse and capitalize on it. He wasn't going to let Talak cloud his mind as he had before. The man had already fooled him once and he wouldn't let it continue.

He activated his lightsaber again quickly, this time one blade as he swiped his blade horizontally towards Talak and directly towards his blade. When they made contact, he didn't let them separate as he pushed against the blade and continued to push it to his right and away from them. When it was cleared between them, Ender's snapped forward without hesitation, slamming his head against Talak's in order to make him back up. It would hurt but he planned on doing it so he was prepared to commit the strike.

It would snap Talak's head back and daze him enough to stumble back but Ender didn't stop there. He wielded the force and wrapped it around Talak to lift him up and throw him out a nearby window. It would shatter and Talak would freefall for a moment or two before his back would slam against something hard and metal. It was a catwalk outside of the station, it wrapped around the station and catching the man before he could fall into the ocean. Ender placed a foot where the window would have been and stared down at Talak, the rain and lightning continuously growing stronger with each moment.

He simply took one step forward in the air and fell off, landing on the catwalk a few meters away from Talak as the entire thing would shake from his sudden weight. Ender stood to his full height as he was immediately soaked to the bone from the rain but barely noticed it. "You will fall Talak, I am patient." The Dark Side showed him the truth even if there was a price to pay for it. Ender had been lied to enough and dove into the abyss that it was headfirst to not be again. Without hesitation, he lunged forward again and striking with a ferocity that was only fanned by whatever was inside him.

 

[Talak Rand]

You were never a fool, Ender. Is that what the dark side has turned you into now? he asked, immediately on the heels of Ender mentioning that he would face the consequences of the darkness. Either he had no idea what the consequences were or he was so blinded by the darkness that he couldn't see the truth.

His blow had knocked Ender back, but it had barely slowed him down. He was back up a moment later, and Talak was falling back again. His blade struck Ender's, but the momentum of a full body was enough to push it aside. Talak saw the head accelerating forward and managed to turn his head to the side and yank it back, lessening the blow to little more than a graze. However, the maneuver occupied himself enough that he missed the swell of the Force.

It knocked him back enough that the blast sent him through the window, and he only barely managed to wrap the Force around himself to cushion his fall.

The wind and rain were whipping down around him as he hopped back to his feet. The pain was nothing compared to what he'd suffered against Sol, but he was beginning to wonder if holding back was going to cost him his life. Did he need to attack? To actually try to kill or incapacitate his old friend? Playing defense... will wear him down, he told himself.

Fine, he thought as Ender dropped down in front of him. He took a deep, stabilizing breath and his eyes focused in on his target. On his friend.

Ender lunged forward again, and Talak fell back again, but this time he met the attack with a two handed blow of his own, counterclockwise in front of himself. The motion sent both of their blades cleaving through the hand guard of the catwalk and through even part of the base. With both of their blades out of the way, Talak twisted and sent his left foot into Ender's gut with a kick hard enough to stumble him back.

The ramp groaned under their weight now, glowing to Talak's right (Ender's left) where their blades had cleaved through portions of its structure.

Do you even know what you're fighting for Ender? Or are you just a slave to the Eternal? A slave to the darkness? he asked. He wouldn't allow his old friend the chance to stop doubting his path. Doubts based only in truth.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Talak didn't advance again and Ender took it upon himself to keep going. Exertion was starting to take his muscles but the more his old master talked, the more of an injection of fuel it was into his engine and prolonged it. Their blades met once again, his being pushed the other way as both of their blades went through the railing and part of the catwalk. Talak spun afterward to shoot a kick into his stomach and he barely tilted out of the way, forgetting anything about normal tactics as he only just kept pressing the attack each time.

The kick didn't him square in the stomach but more in the ribs but it made him stumble back. He quickly gained his footing after as he had to take a few breaths to collect himself after the kick. When his old master spoke again, Ender grimaced again as he took a step forward but this time, his left arm had lightning spark and fritz almost the entirety of his arm. "Shut up!" The words were having an effect as the Sith no longer wanted to continue the verbal battle between them. A stream of powerful lightning screamed and barreled it's way right toward Talak.

There wasn't any trick to it, it was just a powerful stream of electricity that was fueled by his rage and pain. It nearly swallowed the whole catwalk and would eat him alive if he didn't bring his saber up. The catwalk, however, wasn't faring well as it started to groan from the constant battling and was struggling with just their weight before. The stream of lightning continued for only a few moments before eventually, the base gave away and snapped down the middle like a twig. It broke Ender's concentration as he immediately started to slide down the catwalk and flicked his hand up that shot the lighting. As he slid down the catwalk, he could see machinery and the vast ocean below. He spun and swung his saber to stab through the metal base in order to slow him down but he did it too late and his blade simply cut through it like butter.

Some distance down and embedded into the cliff were turbines of some sort erected high into the air, their blades slowly rotating and he was falling straight for them. If it wasn't for their height, it would have most likely broken his bones if he landed on one of them even with the force but it would only just hurt now. Ender wrapped the force around him colliding into one of the blades and falling to a platform connected to his turbine. He had to lay there for a few moments before he let out a groan and slowly flipped over onto his stomach. He shook his head before slowly looking around, trying to see where Talak landed or if he fell into the ocean below.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak heard him shouting to shut up and could only assume that he was starting to hit nerves that Ender didn't want to address.

Lightning leapt out of Ender's hands, pure hatred in physical form, and Talak had to bring his saber up. The blue of the lightning smashed into the blue of the saber and turned the dark, rainy weather into a brilliant swirl of light.

It drove his feet back across the wet metal, shoving his boots against the catwalk as it continued to strain under the energy.

It buckled with a sickening, twisting sound as the floor tore away. The two were sliding down the catwalk that had now collapsed downward, and below he saw the turbines twisting in the air. His feet pressed off from the catwalk's collapsed structure and sent him flipping through the air as he grasped himself in the Force, slowing his landing that ended up being far more graceful than he had hoped.

The two were on platforms that were separated by the two sets of turbine blades, and Talak turned to look for Ender. He was fighting with a blind rage, and Talak wondered how much longer he could keep this up for.

Answer me! he shouted across the gap. What are you fighting for?! he all but screamed. Water poured down his face from across the gap, and he plunged his saber into the turbine's generator, bringing one of the blades of a fan to a stop between the two platforms. It remained to be seen if Ender would bring his own to a stop, but he had a feeling nothing was going to stop his old apprentice from trying to kill him.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Talak landed somewhat alright but much better then Ender had. He was blinded by his emotion and it was resulting in him taking unnecessary damage but either way one of his hands would grab the railing to help lift himself up. He breathed hard as his chest rose and fell but he got back up to his feet as he looked across the turbines. It was clear that was Ender was gonna continue until either his heart would give out or Talak would. "Because everything was taken from me." He didn't have a family, he was experimented on and forgot nearly half his life and before he could find his place as he dealt with his powers, he was thrust into the Dark Side and it soaked him from head to toe.

As he started to walk towards the blade for the turbine, he slashed his lightsaber through the generator as well. It stopped the turbine's blades and he stepped on the one that would align with Talak's. "I'm going to take back everything I'm owed, piece by piece, head after head." Ender had always felt like this deep down but the sickness found it and heightened to levels that were beyond extreme. He stepped onto his own blade, his body bruised and battered but his gaze never leaving from the man across from him.

The blade whined slightly from his weight but he ignored it. He walked straight toward Talak and near the end of his blade as there were a couple of feet of space between. He jumped onto the blade that was stopped by his old master and when his feet touched he started to sprint down it. He jumped from the turbine and onto the platform with his blade coming down again in an overhead strike. Whether it landed or not, he would pull it back instantly and take a step back as well. He was still breathing heavy and Talak would be able to sense the putrid anger in him but Ender was taking his time this time as his movements were a lot more sluggish than before and needed to collect his breath.

 

[Talak Rand]

Bad landing or not, Talak had no doubt that Ender was coming again. The effects of the battle wouldn't be apparent until the blind rage had worn off, which wouldn't come soon.

He could only hope to wear his friend down, and he sensed he was on the right path. Or at least, he certainly hoped so.

Ender continued his advance, and Talak didn't retreat this time. Ender crossed the pair of blades and fell upon Talak once again. His blade came up in guard, using a two handed strike to block the downward stroke but his blade was quickly pulled back. The downward stroke of the blow felt heavier than it should have, and Talak realized that his own body was beginning to drain.

Their deaths give you nothing! he screamed. Why couldn't he understand?! Why was he so stubborn. Why was the darkness so deep in his mind.

The rain continued pouring down, blue and red lighting up the darkness, and water running down into the raging, churning ocean below.

You kill me, and it gets you what?! he screamed. There was nothing to be gained by Talak's death. It won't bring you peace or happiness! he said. There would be nothing for him.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender's gaze didn't leave Talak's as he stared at the man and watched his every step. The grip around his own lightsaber tightened as he breathed heavily. He knew that his old master loved philosophy and could find a talking point around anything and would keep talking until he was actually silenced.

He quickly stepped forward and swiped his blade from left to right before pulling it back and activating the second blade of his weapon. The second blade would come from Ender's right to his left on the opposite side as he pushed the end of the opposite hilt that way. With his weapon having both blades out and them on a platform that was relatively small, it would cut through the metal of the turbine relatively easy as they had received wear and tear from years of the ocean and weather of the planet.

Whether his strikes were successful against Talak, the turbine would still groan as it would suffer from the lightsaber no matter what. Ender took another step back, his golden eyes burning right towards Talak, "Oh, it will bring me both of those." It would be revenge for making him believe he had a true friendship with the man he thought that had rescued him because they cared for each other. That was the worst crime of this all.

 

[Talak Rand]

Ender continued his advance, and Talak had a flash of what was coming in the Force. Rapid attacks, more attempts to kill him, and no willingness to be reasoned with. The darkness had blinded him, and he would settle at nothing short of Talak's death.

The first swiped attack struck Talak's blocking saber, and as it did, Talak made his retreat. By the time the second blade had come around, Talak was already out of range as it swept through where he had been a moment later.

His feet were at the far end of the platform now, and he knew that his last point of retreat would be the other side of the turbine's blade. He couldn't retreat any longer.

No, it won't! And you know it! he shouted. His own blade lashed out, taking advantage of the improved reach of a regular saber over the dual-blade saber. His strike wasn't aimed to actually hit Ender, however. As Ender's blade came through its second swing where Talak had just been a moment ago, Talak's own blade struck in the same direction as his swing. Combined with the momentum of Ender's own swing, the additional energy would probably throw him off balance and if Talak were really lucky, perhaps it would disarm him altogether.

Peace will elude you because you're lying to yourself just like I used to, he said. Ender was searching for answers he wouldn't find. @Orbit