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| - Clap... Clap... Clap... Three slow claps are heard through the dry, desert air as Aubrey's war cry drowns into nothingness. Cort, baked from the twin suns of this dead planet, seems to magically appear only a few feet from the training center that he had designed. Lying next to him on the ground is a large, draw string bag, containing some unseen object. Due to its weight, a crater of sand surrounds it. The apprentice takes a few steps forth, walking through the support beams and closer to Aubrey. Anyone can tell that this isn't the Cort that had been a student at the Jedi school. This isn't the easily-impressed gambler from Bespin. This is someone else. Cort had died days ago, just as Aubrey, his soul replaced with a new. He moves forth cautiously, stopping only a few steps away from Aubrey and the woman she murdered. "Congratulations," a cold voice says escaping from his lips. "You're one step closer." His eyes divert from Aubrey to the woman who lays dead beside her. "You really did a number on her, Apprentice." He looks back to her, a thin smile forming upon his parched lips. Jaw clenched, lips pulled back in a savage sneer, brown eyes fiery, Aubrey's countenance is a perfect representation of the wild animosity churning within her mind, all focused on Cort. In her moment of surprise at his appearance, she'd taken a pair of steps in his direction, arm tensing and knuckles whitening around her lightsaber. The need to cut the arrogant man down was great, her hatred toward him made more complete by his presence and his condescending words. Yet, she refrains, holding herself back with a visible effort. Her muscles strain with the effort to keep from attacking Cort, not only with the saber but with her fingernails and teeth. Like a chained animal, she holds back. Unlike a chained animal, she finds her voice, and speaks as another need presents itself. A need for answers. "Why did you do it?" Her voice is raw from her previous scream and quavers as if she were still on the verge of tears. Perhaps she still was. "How could you use me like that? What have you done to me?" As Aubrey's accusations echo through the training area, he cannot help but find the humor in this. There she is, the woman who allowed herself to be led towards her downward spiral, as he gladly waved goodbye, on the verge of tears. So much for her being the strongest of the bunch, he muses. Mocking laughter begins to flow forth, laughing at her. Laughing at her so-called Jedi Code which she ignored for her own self gain. But most of all, he laughs at Luke and his trust for him. "Me?!" he questions. "What did I do? I'm the one who just seen you strike down the woman who is supposed to be -your- friend in a fit of rage and suddenly everything is my fault." The humor in his voice quickly fades as he senses the growing hatred which flows from Aubrey. His eyes light up, feeding upon it like an addictive and gratifying drug. "Ahhh, Aubrey. So angered with little Cort. So typical. Never once did she realize that everything she had done was of her own free will." The Dark Jedi shakes his head, looking towards the blood stained sand. "Though, I guess you could say I played a minor role in this, but don't you dare put the blame on -me.- After all, you attacked her after she had surrendered her weapon." Somewhere in his mind, he actually finds his actions justified. Right down to the moment he had stolen Aubrey's saber and modified it. Each word delivered is like a slap to her face, like the tail of a whip cracking on her flesh. Pain and self-loathing chase back the anger and hatred much as a flame keeps a rabid dog at bay. Fear that his words are true leads to anger directed toward Cort for delivering the words. And the hatred returns again, hot enough to rival the Tatooine suns, cold enough to freeze her blood. She takes another step toward her antagonist, her blade raising slowly to rest between them. "No..." her voice still quavers, but is forceful in its denial. "You're a liar! Everything you are is a lie!" "Is it?" Cort inquires thoughtfully. "Well, I guess we could ask Priti..." He stops as if awaiting an answer from her dead body or from another plane of existence. The apprentice doesn't get one. "Oh wait, you killed her." He takes another step forward, his grin widening. "Aubrey... Aubrey... Aubrey..." he repeats like some crazed mantra. "You want to fight me?" he asks, almost laughing. Though he doesn't show it, the anger and hatred which wells up inside of him could be sensed for miles. "You actually think you are better than ME?" In a quick movement, his saber is withdrawn from his belt, accompanied by the quick rustle of his robe. "You don't stand a chance, little girl. You have so much left to learn." His eyes look into her, filled with hatred and contempt, but enough control to keep from killing the woman just yet. "You should come with me... to Dreven. My true Master and I could teach you so much. You'd fit in well." A few moments go by before he adds, "Hell, you've already killed your first Jedi. You got one on me, I guess." He smiles again. That sick smile of confidence which is like a punch in the face. The slap was replaced with a full-fisted punch, the whip replaced with a heavily weighted hammer. His words didn't sting: they mutilated. From the moment Cort made mention of Priti, Aubrey's hold on herself to keep from charging blindly began to falter. By the end of Cort's speech, there was nothing left of it at all. With a cry of rage and pain, Aubrey moves to strike, swinging her saber like a heavy club. In and of herself, Aubrey was no warrior. She lacked the natural talent of a duelist, and she had extremely little training in how to actually wield the saber. Even so, the Dark Side is with her. The Force is pulled through her by her stubborn will, her fear, her anger, and her hatred. She is one with the blade, and her attack is fierce and quick and deadly. In a split-second, Cort's lightsaber is activated in defense. It is a weapon which already holds much history. It had been handed down from the Emperor himself to his apprentice, who had later passed it down to the child of the dark "family." Though, the saber has changed a bit since then. It's once sapphire gem had been replaced with a ruby found in the workshop, changing it's color to mimic the blood-red jewel. With a crackling flash, he raises the saber to parry Aubrey's attack, holding the deadly weapon away from his body with all his strength. He can feel that the dark side flows strongly through her. It wants her as it's slave, just as he. Though, Cort has already submitted to it's strong will. Aubrey has grown strong under what some could consider his teaching, but the Dark Jedi possesses the control she lacks. He pulls away from the attack, stepping back and away from the woman to give himself some breathing room. His feet find themselves moving backwards up one of the ramps of the training center, moving higher into the maze of ramps, tight wires, and other such training contraptions. The red blade of Cort's weapon defends its new owner from Aubrey's new blade, fending her off for the time being as the Dark Side tries to exact control over her. "Good," he grunts. "Kill me." Higher and higher they climb into the tower, Cort seeming to be out matched by the woman. "Give into your hatred. Throw away the values of the light and take your revenge upon me." The blades lock together, crackling and humming through out the desert. "You are just like me now..." Cort's low, but angered voice, confides in the woman through a crazed smile. The training contraption. Why on Tatooine would the fight need to return to the device that Cort designed? Defeat and a single, hollow victory were all that Aubrey had taken from this place. Its structure was designed to press a Jedi student to their physical limits and force them to draw on the Force. To Aubrey, it was a torture device, pieced together in part by her hand, maliciously crafted to scrape her soul raw and leave her open to draw further upon corrupting and violating Dark Side. If she could have taken the fight anywhere else, she would have, even in her blind hatred. Yet she was a slave now to something else. The fight... Cort... the Dark Side. A slave goes where its Master bids; it doesn't matter who the Master is. Give in to hatred. Throw away values of the light. You are just like me now. Why couldn't Aubrey be deaf to Cort's words as she'd been to Priti's? Why were these phrases so poignant as to rip through Aubrey's walls of hatred and fear and anger? The attack is pressed on, and tears come unbidden to brown eyes, washing away the rage and blinding her. It doesn't matter, she was blind before. Closing her eyes, her mind fixes on the blackened rose as she continues to pull the Force to her through her stronger emotions. She was one with the blade, and in blindness, she reaches out to find Cort. She becomes one with his presence, and her attack continues, emerald fire against sapphire. "Good. Cry for me, murderer," Cort says to her, feeding off the anger that wells within her. Everything he had taught the woman is being used against him. Whether that is good or bad in his eyes is hard to tell. Cort believes he is chosen though. Chosen by Palpatine, the Dark Side, or whatever higher power there is, to bring the destruction of Skywalker's knights. It is his destiny alone, not Aubrey's. He knows, not feels, that he will live through this. Fighting for his life, their blades collide. If she will not be his slave, then she will die. In a sense, Aubrey was his. His slave to the Dark Side. He had chosen her because of the strength that was inside of her. The others had the faults of purity, but not Aubrey. Aubrey was very different. To him, his words are all true. Aubrey and Cort were one and the same. With blinding speed his saber defends against her attacks. Briefly, he admires the woman's rage, wishing that he had not become so unattached, so indifferent towards her. If he had some sense of emotion for her, tapping some pure emotion would be much easier. However, the hatred for the Jedi Order and Skywalker, boils within his soul, giving him the strength to fight back against the other student. He will exact revenge upon this school and upon the students for Anakin's and Luke's crimes against Palpatine. Valak had sent him to burn in His name... But Cort will burn in the name of the Sith. Murderer. She was a murderer, and her victim had been Priti. The blonde girl from the world of ice had perhaps been the greatest of them. Ethan was good, but there were shadows surrounding him. Tholt had been too quiet, too self-possessed. Only Priti had been the epitome of what the Light side was. She had been life and love, and even in her last breath, she'd shared her essence rather strike Aubrey down with words that were her right to wield. Words that Cort now used with as much cunning as the crimson blade in his hand. The thoughts burn in Aubrey's mind even as she continues to press her attack. No longer does Cort give ground, but neither does Aubrey, her arms and blade moving in accordance with the guidance of the Force. Fear melts in the fiery warmth of Priti's memory. She had been afraid of what she had become, but the truth could not be denied any longer, only accept. She could die, or she could vanquish Cort. Fear no longer played a part in that decision, and with the disappearance of fear, her hold on the Dark Side begins to weaken, the image of the rose in her mind wilting, fading. Tears continue to roll down her cheeks from her closed eyes. Curiously, Cort begins to feel Aubrey's sudden self-doubt. What had changed? he wonders to himself. No matter though, she wasn't chosen as he was, as crazy as it may sound. His razor-sharp tongue finally silences for once, giving all of his concentration to the fight in hopes to turn the tide. The dark apprentice's eyebrows narrow, glaring into Aubrey's eyes, into her soul, as he fights back with renewed strength. Together, now at the height of the training area, their blades clash together with such might that the Tusken people which call this planet their home would be proud. Cort swings his blade harder, the weapon being pushed by not only his strong muscles, but the strength of his darkness. His teeth grind together, just as the student's blades, turning his anger and rage into the power which fuels him. The tide has indeed turned, on levels obvious and unobvious. For a moment, it had seemed possible that Aubrey might just be able to take the more experienced, more muscular Cort. Had her rage been greater than his? Had her passion been more deep, more compelling? A raging torrent of dark emotion had raged through her, sweeping her away in its destructive power. She was helpless, trapped in the jaws of a ferocious animal of her creation. Anger. She had been furious with herself for her actions, for striking Priti down in rage and hatred. It had been Priti's right to be angry, not Aubrey's. Her mistake had been made, and had been made in a rage that Priti had denied herself. In the absence of fear, and the absence of the anger in her friend at her passing, another thread between Aubrey and the Dark Side falters. Her blade shifts from offense to defense, and for the first time since her onslaught on Cort had begun, she takes a step back. Pressing forth, Cort attacks brutally with his weapon, swinging the ruby blade like mad. If there were any onlookers, they may consider this the flailings of an untrained learner, but to the woman he is attacking, it is another story. The mighty swings come hard and fast, seeming to come from every direction and complete random times. As Aubrey's ties to the dark side weaken, Cort's only become stronger. "Giving up so soon?" the Dark Jedi asks, a hint of amusement in his cold voice. He presses onward, pushing Aubrey back towards the edge of the wooden structure. His plans may be obvious to the woman, but he doesn't care at this point. He senses the drop below growing closer and closer. It may not be a deadly fall, but it's enough to injure. Hatred boils within him, as he swings the blade fiercely towards her. As Aubrey is pressed back, her eyes open. Tears no longer run down her cheeks in streams, but her cheeks are still moist despite the heat of the twin suns bearing down on them from above. Her feet continue to move back towards the edge of the platform while her arms, now growing tired, barely keep Cort's deadly blade at bay. The fight with Cort is extraneous, as the fight with herself grows to its own boiling point. Hatred. How much could she hate herself for what she'd done? How much could she hate Cort for what he'd done? His words had been correct... it had been her choice, and her will that had brought Priti to her end. It was the most despicable mistake she'd ever made, but it was a mistake. How far could she take it? If she were to somehow strike down Cort, who would be next? Would Ethan be next? Luke? How much blood would have to be spilled before Aubrey came to the end herself? In the absence of fear and anger, her hatred fades, the twisted mental image of her focus crumbles to dust, and her hold on the Dark Side fails. At the finest edge of a moment, Aubrey is stripped bare of all that she had become, a clean slate to be drawn upon by the will of the living Force. The memory of Priti's passing fills Aubrey's mind. _"I can feel it, Aubrey. The force. It's so strong. How did we ever not feel it? It's all over. I can practically see it."_ Like her original mental image of the rose, Aubrey turns her face to the sky, opening herself to the light of the Force. Her feet stop at the edge of the platform. Serenely, Aubrey's blade lowers. _"It's beautiful. It's okay. Don't worry.."_ As Priti had done, she extinguishes her lightsaber. As Aubrey extinguishes her blade, Cort looks at her for a moment, wondering if this is some sort of trick. He senses nothing though. No deception here. He can only feel sorrow. Aubrey's sorrow. The apprentice can hear the woman's thoughts, as if they were her own. His eyes look into hers, but his hatred for what she is does not fade. He lowers his saber and for a moment, one could think that he has decided to spare her life. Spare her for being so admirable in the end. Spare her for the perfection she wishes she could obtain. She wasn't like the other woman, but at least she had hope within her soul. But he doesn't. Cort's hand flies forth, an invisible wall of the Force flying forth, into the woman's body. It crashes into her like a speeder, the air being sucked backed into the void of nothingness as the invisible object dissipates. The sound of rolling thunder echoes through the desert. As she flies off through the dry air, Cort calmly deactivates his saber and casually walks to the edge to watch her hit the rocky sand below. "An admirable sacrifice, Aubrey," he says quietly to himself. "But stupid." In the bare instant before the physical strike of Cort's Force attack contacts Aubrey, her mind drifts as she basks in the presence of the Force. Much as she'd been carried off by the wave of emotions that sent her into the Dark Side, she is caught up by something else, only she is held as a babe by a mother's arms. In that moment before her fate is sealed, there is no longer emotion for Aubrey, but peace. Luke had said she would find peace, and several times she had thought she'd known what he meant. Now, at last, the truth was clear. Aubrey's small form is picked up by the ferocity of Cort's attack, thrown up as well as away from the platform. Her eyes remain fixed on the sky above, the twin suns blinding her in their blazing glare. The Light. Pain wracks her body from the blow, but it's a distant thing as she basks in the Light. A rush of wind from behind her splays her hair wildly about her head, but her eyes remain focused, looking up in anticipation of that which Priti had seen in her passage from this life to the next. And then, it is ended. Aubrey Saralyn form lies broken below Cort's gaze, her eyes tilted upward yet unseeing. Cort stands there silently for more than a few minutes, just staring at the woman's broken body. A strange coldness touches his spine, as he realizes what he had caused. He's killed someone. Not like he had assisted in Priti's death, but this one he had done with his own hands. A sense of sickness falls upon him first, but then the feeling of exhilaration begins to overwhelm him. The Dark Apprentice walks off the edge of the platform, the Force slowing his decent until he hits the bottom, a light spray of sand flying up from beneath his feet. Slowly, he walks towards her, sensing that her life has left her, but feeling cautious anyway. Her neck is angled at a strange direction, leading Cort to believe that a broken neck is what had killed her. It doesn't matter to him though. Kneeling down, Cort pries the deactivated saber from her dead hands and clips it to his belt. Soon, he will also take Priti's as his prize. Stepping back, he looses himself in concentration as Aubrey's body begins to levitate form the ground and towards the school, as Cort follows behind her. The winds of Tatooine blow away the signs of footsteps and the outline of where Aubrey had died. In time, Priti's body joins Aubrey's in one of the rooms of the Jedi School, followed shortly after by Tholt's body. Each of their practice sabers becoming his trophy.
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