Facing the Mirror

[Cain]

Deep within the shadowlands, beneath the dense cover of the wroshyr trees a shuttle has made a somewhat bumpy landing. After being left on Coruscant, Kyo was able to commandeer himself an escape vessel, though from there his limited piloting ability proved a hindrance. Kyo chose a random destination within the ship's navicomputer and wound up alone in the deep dark forests of Kashyyyk.

With only his brown Jedi robes, a purple lightsaber and the force, Kyo survived for several days on his own in the shadowlands. The unending battles with the beasts of the forest were beginning to take their toll however. This particular morning Kyo was awakened by several Katarn who'd been looking for an early breakfast.

"Goddamn lizards can't give me a moments peace..." Kyo muttered to himself as the beasts hissed, stalking slowly inward. Kyo ignited his lightsaber, its glow illuminating the surrounding area a deep purple. The Katarn were unphased and charged in anyway.

The first two charged in from opposite sides. Kyo sidestepped the first to reach him though it caught the side of his face with its claw, using the force to continue its momentum he slammed it into the Katarn charging from behind. The next came from the left, Kyo quickly spun around firing his lightsaber like a dart that caught the beast between the eyes. The final Katarn leaped up over the two that had collided in an attempt to pounce on Kyo. He extended his hand and used the force to hold it in the air. The Katarn he had hit with his lightsaber then slid to a stop at Kyo's feet, he grabbed the lightsaber from between its eyes with his free hand and swung it across the neck of the last Katarn.

When all the beasts were slain Kyo struggled to catch his breath as his lightsaber retracted back to its hilt. As he fell backwards off his feet Kyo heard a curious sound coming from the trees. It sounded like... a girl laughing. Slowly Kyo stood back up, stroking his rough unshaven chin for a moment before cautiously starting forward. The sound seemed to be coming from the direction in which the sun was rising. The laughter echoed around the trees and seemed to beckon Kyo forward.

Finally Kyo came across a lake where a petite young woman sat. She seemed to be admiring her reflection in the water, giggling as she did so. Kyo didn't know quite what to make of it but was revealed to see another human being. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could utter a word the girl interrupted him.

"That's quite some skill you have there, mister," The girl said, glancing up at him. She was wearing long flowing gray robes and had silver hair, though her exact features were difficult to make out with the rising sun behind her, "beating up all those Katarn by yourself, you must be some kind of Jedi or something."

"Something like that..." Kyo responded, placing his lightsaber back on his belt, but keeping his distance, "who are you? What are you doing down here?"

"Me? I'm just a quiet observer," the girl answered, "You're injured, let me help you," She said, motioning towards the cut on his face. As she pointed at it the replication of cells in Kyo's face sped up and rapidly healed. Kyo toched his face, amazed by what the girl had done.

"You... you healed me? Are you a Jedi also?" Kyo asked.

"Something like that..." She said with a smile, "My name is Na'omi... what's yours?"

[Cain]

"I'm Kyo..."

"How is it you've come to be here, Kyo?" Na'omi asked, tilting her head.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he replied, "I don't know why I'm here exactly. I didn't fit in anywhere else and... I guess there was just no where else for me to go."

"I know what you mean..." Na'omi said. As she turned back away from Kyo and stretched out her arms a pair of wings also stretched out from her back, large white wings whose span was at least as tall as the girl.

"What are you?..."

"I've had my eye on you for a while now, Kyo. There is something that deeply troubles you... I felt it across this planet. A darkness kept deep inside... I suspect that's why the katarn have taken such a liking to you."

Kyo's shoulders sunk as Na'omi spoke. It was true, his friends were still on his mind and their memories weighed on him. Moonfire, Ryuu, Jor... he'd failed them all. But what could he have done?

"It's my friends," Kyo said finally, "I... I let them all down."

As Na'omi came closer Kyo could see her features in more detail. Her robes were tattered and torn in several places and there was a hole in her left wing surrounded by a large scar where no feathers grew. She wore no shoes on her feet, content to tread about on the muddy forest floor and even plop herself down next to Kyo.

"A strange problem for a Jedi to have," She said, examining Kyo up and down, "Usually Jedi don't have such strong emotional attachments... I wonder if you really are a Jedi."

"Technically I'm not," Kyo conceded, "but I would like to be."

"Are you so sure about that?" Na'omi asked, "Becoming a Jedi is tough. If you let yourself get this down every time you hit a bump in the road you're only going to be setting yourself up for more pain."

Kyo chuckled slightly, "Hmph... maybe you're right. It's just... I'm tired of feeling powerless. I want the strength to protect my friends. They've given so much for me... I don't want to be a burden anymore."

Na'omi smiled, "That sounds like a pretty good reason to me. I might be able to help you, Kyo."

"Really? How could you help me?" Kyo asked.

"I can complete your training," Na'omi answered with a wink, "admittedly though it has been a while since I've studied the ways of the Jedi... but I do think I recall the basics."

Kyo raised an eyebrow at Na'omi's comment. 'Been a while'? Though she did seem to be quite talented with the force she only looked like she was 15 years old, "But you're so young, how long could it have been?" Kyo asked. Na'omi giggled at the question.

"You'd be surprised... in terms of the force things are rarely as they appear."

Kyo was a bit confused by Na'omi's answer, but decided not to make much of it, "Well what exactly is it you can teach me?"

"Hmmm..." Na'omi thought audibly as she continued to examine her new student, "from what I remember there are four trials a Jedi must complete before he can become a Jedi Knight."

"Trials?" Kyo echoed back.

"Yep," Na'omi said with an emphatic nod, "The first is the Trail of Skill. A trial in which the Jedi proves his combat prowess against strong opponents. I think you've already passed that one with your ordeals here over the past week... the second though is courage. It is only passed when a Jedi fights against great odds to defeat a superior enemy."

Without saying another word Na'omi reached out, placing the palm of her hand on Kyo's forehead. Kyo recoiled at first, not sure of what she was doing, "Relax," she said, "this won't hurt. I'm just trying to get an idea of what it is I'm working with."

Na'omi then continued, reaching into Kyo's mind with the force. She saw back to his battle with Hatori on Coruscant, and the struggle against Cain to save Drake. There were also the files Kyo had poured over at Union headquarters about Ryuu Drake... curiously there was not much more then that.

"Interesting..." Na'omi said bringing her hand back down, "It would seem you are much younger then you appear."

"As you said, things are rarely as they appear," Kyo said. Na'omi smiled.

"Indeed. You have passed the trial of courage while battling that boy made of sand... and the very circumstances of how you have come to be seems an adequate trial of flesh. That leaves only one trial you will need to face."

"What is that?" Kyo asked.

"You must face the mirror..."

[Cain]

"Facing the mirror? What exactly is that?"

"It is the trial of the spirit. You must look deep within yourself, face the darkness that plagues you," Na'omi answered, "Though I warn you, Kyo... many do not like what they see."

Kyo swallowed hard but quickly stood up, "What ever it is, I am ready," he said with confidence.

"I believe you are," Na'omi responded with a smile, "You will have to undertake a mission then, one which I cannot help you with," Kyo nodded and Na'omi continued, "though you have that lightsaber there, I've seen that it is not really yours. It is a task of all true Jedi Knights to construct their own lightsabers. There are caves not far from here called the Myyydril Caverns. The crystals you will need are located in these caves... along with something very dark..."

"What?" Kyo asked.

"That you will have to find out for yourself," Na'omi said, standing up as well, "head due north. The caves are about three days walk from here. Return to this lake with your newly constructed lightsaber and your training will be complete."

"Ok..." Kyo said with a heavy sigh and a smile.

"Good luck, Kyo," Na'omi said.

"Thank you..." He answered, lifting his head up and starting northward.

Kyo hiked for longer then Na'omi had thought it would take him, four days and nights until finally he arrived under the light of the moon. He was weakened by hunger and from his long journey, but there was no stopping now. As Kyo entered the cave the darkness was penetrating. Even after igniting his lightsaber the light it gave off did very little to illuminate his way.

The air grew cold and with every breath it seemed to draw the life from Kyo. Though he could not even see them, he felt as if the walls were closing in around him. After what seemed an eternity of wandering in the dark Kyo could hear something. It sounded like crying. Following the sound through the darkened corridors Kyo finally came to a dead end where a young boy curled up in the corner. His clothes were dirty and he had long black hair, he sat with his arms wrapped around his knees sobbing weakly.

"Are you alright, kid?" Kyo asked, kneeling down to his level, "what's a kid like you doing in a place like this?"

"I... I was looking for my friends," the boy said with a sniff, "th-they were all with me and then we lost each other in the dark, n-now I can't find them. I can't even find my way out of here... I've been lost in the dark for so long..."

"It's ok," Kyo said, taking off his outer robe and throwing it over the boy's shoulders to keep him warm, "I'll help you find them."

"Y-you will? Really?" the boy said, looking up at Kyo and wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"Sure. Just stick close to me, kid, its hard to see anything in here," Kyo answered, helping the boy to his feet and holding on to his hand, "What's your name kid?"

"Alex..." he said with another sniff.

"I'm Kyo. Come on, we'd better get moving," Kyo raised his lightsaber in front of himself again and began to lead the way, keeping a tight grip on Alex's hand as he did so.

"What's your friends names, Alex?" Kyo asked as he navigated the winding corridors.

"They're my mom and dad, Sarah, Blaze and Ryuu," The boy answered. The last name made Kyo stop in his tracks.

"Ryuu?" Kyo asked looking back at the boy. He nodded slowly. Kyo's eyes narrowed. Was it just coincidence? There was no way to know for sure. Kyo decided to press onward, "We can try calling out their names, maybe they'll hear us."

"No... that won't work," Alex answered.

"Why not?" Kyo asked.

"No one can hear you in the dark."

It was a strange and haunting statement. Kyo felt his body shake as the boy said it, but still pressed onward.

[Cain]

Kyo searched with Alex at his side for hours without finding a thing. Finally Kyo began down one corridor in which the cold became particularly intense. Kyo's entire body began to shiver from the cold as he pressed forward. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, but Alex began to tug back on Kyo.

"No!" He cried out, pulling on Kyo's arm back towards the darkness, "don't go down that way!"

"Why not? What's the matter Alex?" Kyo asked.

"You can't go there... you won't like what happens if you go there."

The oppressive feeling within the cave was indeed growing stronger. The cold, the pressure all around him, the boy pulling on his arm, it seemed as if every force outside of himself was trying to keep Kyo back from this light... but Kyo could not keep away. Dragging Alex along with him Kyo marched forward into the light.

Emerging from the darkened corridor Kyo and Alex came into a massive chamber within the caverns illuminated by crystals that were embedded into the walls. Though it was long after entering that all the breath was sucked out of Kyo. A gruesome scene was laid out before him. Bodies all over the cavern floor, their blood seeping between the rocks and pooling into a now reddened pond. There was a man a woman and three children. It did not take long for Kyo to realize who these people were. He quickly spun around to Alex who was no longer struggling to leave. The boy just stood there now, not a look of horror or shock on his face... only a look of disappointment as he stared at Kyo.

"I told you... you wouldn't like what happens here..." Alex said in a very cold voice.

"Wha... what happened here?" Kyo asked, almost unable to choke out the next words, "Did you... did you do this, Alex? Did you kill your friends?"

"I had to..." the boy answered again with the same casual coldness that he had before, "once you lose someone in the darkness, they aren't the same when you find them again. These aren't my friends."

Looking over the corpses Kyo noticed one in particular. One of the children seemed to resemble Kyo exactly, "Ryuu..." he whispered, "These are your friends. You killed them..."

"No!" Alex snapped back, "I was trying to save them! I was going to get us all out of here! The darkness was going to tell me how... I could hear it. It was going to give me the strength to protect them. I was tired of feeling powerless!"

The familiarity of Alex's words made Kyo turn white. Try as he may he couldn't speak, he could only listen as Alex continued.

"It showed me that these people were in the way... I did what I had to. I will find them someday though, and until then the darkness will be all I have."

Kyo clinched his teeth and raised his lightsaber in an attack stance towards Alex, "You aren't a little boy," Kyo said, "You aren't real!"

"Not real?" Alex asked stepping forward, causing Kyo to step back, "You know that not to be true. Does it all still seem like just a coincidence?" Kyo's eyes widened. How did he know? "Don't tell me you've already forgotten the name Alex..."

Alex was such a common name, it hadn't even occurred to Kyo to think anything of it, "Cain..." Kyo uttered. The boy grinned from ear to ear, stepping up next to the body of young Ryuu, "You wanted to save them... how could you let this happen?"

"I wanted to..." Alex said staring down at the corpse, "It's been so long, I can't even remember. The darkness can play tricks with your mind... I can hardly remember..." Alex said, a trance like look in his eyes as he knelt down, his hands grabbing the Ryuu's corpse's face and digging his fingers under the skin before tearing the flesh up off the bone, "I can hardly remember... which face is mine..."

Alex leaned upright again, wearing Ryuu's... Kyo's face as if it were a mask. Horrified Kyo continued to back pedal until he tripped over one of the crystals, falling into the pool of blood, his lightsaber shorting out in the liquid. Now seeing in red the bodies on the floor had changed. Instead of Alex's friends there was now Jor, Moonfire, Drake and Ryuu... all dead at the feet of the boy now wearing the same face as Kyo.

Kyo thrashed and struggled wildly to get up out of the bloody water and took off running back into the dark, trying to get away from the boy, his laughter loud and long echoing off every wall of the cave. No matter how much Kyo ran the laughter still grew louder until Kyo finally collapsed. In front of Kyo, piercing the darkness was a single crystal that glowed with a faint yellow color. The laughter had stopped and the light from the chamber he'd come from was gone. Still shaking and out of breath Kyo took a few moments to regain his composure.

Kyo reached down and pulled the crystal out of the ground. Holding it in his hand it felt as if a great weight had been lifted off him and a warmth had returned to his body. Kyo took his shorted out lightsaber from his belt and opened it up, pouring out some liquid that had gotten inside. The old crystal was fried and the bottom half of the hilt had been dented and punctured by the rocks. Kyo mended the hilt of his lightsaber using some of the ore inside the cave, wrapping it around the outside of the lightsaber and bonding it to the old metal with the force. Finally Kyo placed the new crystal into the coal black lightsaber and brought all the pieces back together.

The newly constructed lightsaber ignited with a flash and golden light washed through the corridors, illuminating clearly what had before been impenetrable darkness. Taking a deep breath Kyo began his journey out of the cave and back to the lake where Na'omi awaited his return.

[Cain]

It had been almost a week since he had begun his journey to face the mirror, but finally a dirty and disoriented Kyo returned to the lake in the shadowlands where he had met with Na'omi. There was no one there, only Kyo's ship which had somehow been repaired and brought to the lakefront. As Kyo stepped up to the fighter and opened the cockpit he noticed there was something left on the controls... a note.

"A man who does not forget his friends has nothing to fear in the darkness."

Kyo smiled softly, carefully folding the note and placing it in his robes, "Thank you, Na'omi," He whispered before hopping into the fighter and starting up the engines. The ship lifted up off the forest floor, carefully raising through the wroshyr branches and finally emerging under the star light. As the ship took off into orbit and just before making the jump to hyperspace Kyo glanced out of the cockpit window and back down at the planet. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.