Jedi gal of Darkness

*Brooke's eyes widened as the saber entered her midsection and her own saber clattered to the ground - still ignited but forgotten. The deafening cheers of the crowed were lost on her ears as she stared into the eyes of her enemy. She stumbled foreword slightly, her small fingers finding Sly's shoulders and grasping them tightly for support. She could feel the blood rising in her throat - feel the life leaving her faster than she had ever anticipated. Her wide angry eyes glared defiantly up at him as a thin trickle of blood escaped the corner of her mouth. With her last bit of strength she grabbed at the hilt of her dagger, still protruding from Sly's shoulder and twisted it - pushing it deeper. She watched the pain on his face as she did her best to block out her own deathly pain. She coughed and sputtered Her blood staining Sly's robes. Her knees felt weak beneath her as her strength failed her quickly and her legs began to give out. Still clutching Sly's left shoulder and her dagger she fell, the dagger cutting a longer deep gash in his shoulder as all of her weight was placed in a downward force upon it, and he fell forward beside her as she landed on the ground with a sick thud. She coughed again, blood spewing forth from her open mouth - she barely managed to make out her words* "Damn your apology..." *In her final moments all of the hatred she felt flowed forth from her and crashed into the wounded Sly. The burden of her hatred would be his to bear in her last moments alive - for the first time in her life she was free of hate, anger, and fear... the corner of her mouth twitched slightly beneath the flow of blood into a slight smile and she laughed quietly before giving in to a wrenching cough once more - and then she lay still, her eyes unseeing stared up at the bright sky... the only true smile of her life still frozen upon her bloodstained face.*

*Love... an emotion she was all too familiar with, though she had come to wish it was an emotion a bit more foreign to her. The images left her dazed for a moment, but only a moment before she realized her mistake. As a sith she had used her opponents' emotions (though usually in the form of fear) against them many times... she, however, had not fallen victim to such tricks for quite some time. Experiencing 'love' once more made the faithful widow feel treacherous... as though she had befouled something within herself, and betrayed her husband's memory. It served to fuel her anger even further and it took but a moment for her eyes to go from a confused gaze to a glare that burned with all the hatred she possessed. She extinguished one end of her saber, returning to fighting with just one blade for the moment and stood ready as she glared at him. If he wanted to play dirty she was more than willing to oblige... let him see as i have seen... She locked her eyes with Sly... time for him to taste his own medicine... in short order he stood captivated by the images before him. Sly Stevenson stared at the stone floor beneath his feet, covered in the sticky blood of a woman who lay dying near by. With her last shuttering breath the lock of hair that hid her face falls away and he recognizes the woman he loved so deeply lying dead - killed by his own hand. Years later the woman returned from the dead.. he begged forgiveness, but she had none to give, his heart was shattered as she vowed vengeance; swearing that nothing but the last drops of his blood upon her hands would appease her - when she left the only emotions Sly retained were Anger, Hatred, and a deep sense of self loathing. Years more passed and he found what he thought was his redemption, a woman who loved him in spite of his faults - but she died all to soon as he held her in his helpless arms - slain by an enemy he was unable to conquer. As the images neared their end Brooke removed the dagger she always carried from within her left boot and threw it. A searing pain in Sly's left shoulder jerked him from the images - from her memories, altered to fit his own perspective. She saw his own dazed look as he was pulled from the images mingle with a flash of pain. And He felt the anger, the hatred, the helplessness, and the self-loathing - though he was unaware that the images he saw held a basis in reality. The Deep blue hilt of her silver dagger protruded from his shoulder and Brooke took one step back, holding her saber at the ready... If he wanted to play with emotions, she'd match him blow for blow...*

*Brooke took in each of Sly's carefully practiced motions, her senses heightened by the force to take in all of her surroundings. Their close proximity allowed her to take in each change in his movements, each tensing muscle. Physically she knew her strength was not equal to his - and she could see in his eyes that he knew it as well. Both hands on her blade pushed against one of his own, yet still the sabers tipped closer to her... she saw her advantage quickly and took it. The other end of her saber was pointed directly at Sly; using a combination of her flexibility, balance, and the force she tipped her body backwards some, arching her back as the blades drew closer to her, simultaneously igniting the other end of her double bladed crimson saber. If sly pressed the combine sabers any further in her direction she would not be the only one injured now. The flash of indecision on his face was all the time it took for her to slip sideways slightly, taking advantage of the increased agility that came with her smaller frame, and allow both sabers to tip towards the ground, leaving her out of harm's way, and singeing only the very edge of MP's cloak with the other end of her saber. Standing slightly to the side of him, but still close, she swung one leg around to kick Sly in the back of the knee and as he fell forward slightly she brought one end of her saber, now clutched firmly in her right hand, swinging in the opposite direction towards his neck. As his saber met hers to block she stood once again with both feet firmly planted on the ground. Their combine glows lit his face and she looked down at him with hate in her eyes... and perhaps something else - something akin to respect. The saber's glow accented the angles of his face, casting shadows... the look on his face told her he thought he had her game down - but she knew better... she hadn't trained as a sith her entire life to be bested so easily... she still had a few more tricks up her sleeve.*

*As Sly ran backwards away from her, Brooke stepped forward towards him, concentrating as she used the force to summon up the earth just behind his feet, creating just enough of a ledge to trip him, sending him sprawling onto his back - unfortunately he managed to maintain his grasp on his saber. In a flash she was at his side, looming over him with anger and hatred unmatched by any. She swung her blade downwards towards his exposed throat but he blocked quickly and moved out of her reach, scrambling once more to his feet. She took a single step back, and allowed a slight smirk to grace her features as she waited for his next barrage of attacks.*

*Brooke's eyes stung as she tried to blink the dust from her eyes while remaining alert. She brought her saber back to an angled position quickly, using the force to maintain an awareness of Sly. Hate and Anger consumed her as she wiped the last of the dust from her eyes with her free hand, and she spun round quickly to see Sly's exposed back. Quickly she closed the distance between the two of them and swung directly for his midsection, and with speed to match her own he turned to block. Their sabers locked for the moment, she gathered each drop of hate and anger she felt and released it in the form of Force lightening - a mark of her status as a sith master. She'd managed to catch him off guard and hit his left shoulder, pleased with the flash of pain she saw in his eyes before she was force to stop by his continued pressure on her saber. The blades broke apart and she stepped back for a moment ready for his retaliation.*

*One eyebrow arched elegantly as Brooke took in her opponent. Her glance was calculating, daring him to show a sign of the weakness she knew was there. Other than being overly self assured she was hard pressed to find one at that moment - she grudgingly admitted to herself that he was a worthy opponent... and she hated him all the more because of it. She tilted her head back for a moment to stretch her neck and tap into her hate. Anger came easily as always, and when she met Sly's gaze once more her eyes held a dangerous glint. She scuffed on of her boots back and forth across the dry dirt as the hot sun beat down upon them - best to know what to expect in terms of her footing. She narrowed her eyes as she took in Sly's practiced stance as she took her own similar stance, her saber angled up rather than down. She smiled darkly anticipating the inevitable carnage - death was a game... and she played it well. They stared at each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move... the first mistake. She didn't flinch under is unwavering gaze - fear was a weakness she couldn't afford. Her anger built as he stared back unmoving. Finally she stepped forward and swung her saber high... the duel began as the sabers met above their heads with a hiss. Quickly she placed a kick in his chest sending him stumbling backwards and prepared herself for his counterstrike..*

*After weeks of meditation JGoD emerged from deep within the temple. With her son gone on a mission to discover himself she felt rather as though she'd lost a piece of herself - she wasn't really sure who she was without him now... he was all that she had. She made up her mind to discover just who she was once more, what it was that had driven her so in the past... reclaim the hatred that ruled her. She strode out of the temple and to her ship... half an hour later she was out of the atmosphere and on her way to the woman she had once been*

*Brooke smirked from beneath her hood and pulled it back off of her head, her long golden locks falling from beneath it. She had a distinctly unimpressed look about her as she pulled her sabre from beneath her cloak, spinning it idly around in her right hand as she looked at MP - he did seem to have a flare for the dramatic. With a crack one end of her sabre ignited, the crimson blade cast an eerie light across her features as she smiled wickedly. She nodded slightly and unclasped her cloak with her left hand; it fell to the ground with a slight rustle leaving her clad in a black jump suit - more mobility without such an encumbrance. She stepped forward to meet her opponent.* "Are you sure you know what you're doing boy?"

*Brooke lifted her eyes from her young sons face, away from the question begging to be answered to look at Abaddon standing in the door way. She raised an eyebrow as her eyes met his... a face she had definitly not seen in quite some time.* "Is there something we can do for you...?"

*Brooke leaned back against the wall behind her and closed her eyes as the images of her husband unfolded in his lap. The ever calming images of the man she loved slaughtering the unworthy blocked temporarily from her eyes. When she opened them again Viano was already immersed in the images of Zar at the Killing fields. The look on his face calmed any doubts she may have had about showing him this... she knew now that she was doing the right thing - raising him the way Zar would have wanted her to. She used to watch this after her son went to bed, after she'd told him the fantastic tales of mighty sith... often just to remind herself that it was real... that they weren't only stories. But this time she did not watch the images of Zar... she sat silent, studying her son's face and his reaction to all that he saw.*

*JGoD noted the change in her son's mannerisms with wonder... not sure of what had just happened... but quite sure that she didn't like it. She'd kept him from so much for so long... everything involving the sith had been nothing more than bed-time stories, she told them more as myths than as the stories that made up her life and the life of her husband. She knelt for a moment beside her son... perhaps it was time to really show him. Much as she disliked the idea she knew he had a right to know. Her decision made she took the small boy by the hand.* "I want to show you something Viano..." *Brooke helped her son to his feet and led him down the long corridors until they reached the temporary chambers they had been given. She walked to a small bag that sat in one corner (she liked to pack light) and shuffled its contents about for a few moments before she found what she was looking for... a holocron from her own private collection... one of the few she bothered to carry with her. She turned to face her son who was looking at her as though she had sprouted an extra head. She placed the holocron in her son's tiny hand before sitting upon her bed and watching him with the loving eyes of a mother who knows her son is growing older...*

*JGoD raced down the halls after her son... he had a tendency to run off without so much as a backward glance. As she approached the chamber Ryanuk, Viano, and Cineon stood in she stopped, hanging back in the shadows and watched. She smirked as she listened to Cineon's words... this one had potential. Instinctively she stepped forward as he knelt beside her son, ready to protect him as always... though she knew that she needn't worry. She walked up to stand behind Viano, laying a hand on his shoulder she spoke to Cineon..* "You'll have to forgive my son, he's a terribly inquisitive little boy..." *She shifted her gaze momentarily to Raynuk, still angry at him...* "You must also forgive master Raynuk... he suffers from delusions of grandeur..."

*Brooke sat shocked for a moment as her son ran into her arms but regained herself quickly and returned the hug... willing this moment to last a lifetime. Viano was her world.. he was all she had.. and she knew that eventually she would have to give him up... let him become who he needed to be. But for now she could hold him, as she had for the past four years, and know the she was his world too. In a voice almost too low for Viano to hear she wispered:* "I already am..."

*She recognized the look in her son's eyes... she'd seen it in her husband's eyes so many times... and, long ago, she had seen it when she looked in the mirror. She smiled slightly as she nodded..* "I promise.."

*JGoD closed her eyes in silent defeat... questions she never wanted to answer... phrases she'd never truely wanted to hear... not from the mouth of her son. With a brief angry glance at Raynuk she knelt before her son and took his tiny hands in her own.* "Your father... is not coming back..." *The hardest part out of the way she looked down at the floor... not wanting to see the expression on Viano's face.* "He was a great warrior Viano... but one day you'll best us both... you'll be better than your father ever was... better than i ever could be..."