From the Ashes He Rises

[James]

Over a year had passed since that day. That fateful day he had killed his worthy friend. His most cherished enemy. Ord Mantel. He didn't know how long he had spent under the rubble of the building that had caved down on them. Hours? Days? Months? He had been in a coma for more then a month. Found in the clearing of the building. Body mangled and everything but dead. Taken to a hospital he spent close 3 months recovering from his wounds. Reconstruction of many many bones. His left leg from the knee down replaced with a cybernetic counterpart. The same for his right arm up to his shoulder. The hospitals cheap parts hardly doing the trick once he was mobile. Learning to walk again. His body now covered in scars.

The memories of that time swarming his mind. Nothing left of who he once was or who he could have been. Looking down at the thing that was now his hand. The wires and metal. Hearing the gears as he clenched it into a fist.

Leato Kan will not stay hidden for long. They will know his name again. His face will soon haunt their dreams.

[Bobbi]

It had been silent in their house, everyone had been sleeping nearly soundly. It wove, sneaking through their awarenesses like a cat on the prowl for a mouse. The sensation rooted itself in fit full sleep, dragging black dreams into visions of nightmares and half-formed fears.

The Force had been just as restless as their sleep had become over the past few months. Since before Ord Mantel, none of them had been able to sleep well. Something had happened, as it was bound to happen, during that fateful time she had spent on that planet. It had left them all feeling disorganized and alone.

Murra had perished on Ord Mantel. Her body had never been recovered, speculation surfaced that she had been incinerated by a powerful Force attack. From what they could gather, her opponent had cornered her, trapping her in a narrow passage. The battle had been intense and swift; and as she was known to do, Murra held her own quite well. All up until the end, that is.

Her team had returned with nothing to show for the battle but two dented lightsaber hilts and a broken vibro blade. It had been a spurring moment in their lives, the knowledge that she had been taken from them without so much as a chance to say their good byes. To know that she had died doing what she loved to do, carrying out the mantra of the Jedi until the last breath was taken from her body. They had been told of how she fought to defend another, they had even met the person she had fought for. It did little to comfort their mourning hearts.

They kept her sabers in glass displays, set out where they could be seen. Not an attempt had been made to refurbish the weapons, and they had not been touched, let alone turned on, since she had last held them. Within those hilts rested energy, just another memory of the woman who owned those fine blades.

It hurt for them to look at the hilts, each one not daring to think about the possabilities of how the metal casings could become so damaged. Murra held onto those sabers with the very breath of her life. She'd always taken great care with her blades, and to see them in such disrepair seemed like a perversion. They were too heavy with grief to care -- but it was getting better very slowly.

It was there that the flowing energy of the Force found a pause, slipping in and out of the crystal matrixes of each weapon, then moving on to glide into the surrounding world of dreams.

The eldest of them had felt it first, a sharp pricking within her right hand. It flowed upward, tightening the muscles of her shoulder, then up into her brain. There was a burst of agony, blazing white hot and terrible into her mind. She tossed in her sleep, the image of a face floating into view. Leato Khan, she could see him clearly while not knowing his name. He was smirking, blood staining his shoulder from a wound that had been inflicted by a vibro blade. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, her body feeling as if it were being burnt alive -- and then...nothing.

She jumped awake, her left thigh aching as if it had been cut by a lightsaber. Her entire body was soon to follow with that same dull ache. She felt sick, she felt hot -- she felt like she couldn't move.

"Uri -- are you alright?" She wanted to turn to the sound of her brother's voice as he lingered within the doorway, it was soon followed by the other's, "Sol, she ok?" She could just lay there, listening as an exchange was made. Within moments they were both by her bed side, the lights having been brought up in her room. "Sith spit!" She had heard Darien cry, rushing out of the room, disappearing into the hallway.

He had gone to ensure that Jaysten was secure, as well as to keep the lad from seeing his mother. Solomon had bent over her, hovering on the bed, kneeling beside her body. She was injured, her left leg still steaming from the wound that had taken a chunk of flesh. Her skin was red, a deep red and stank of evaporating sweat. Her breathing was shallow, and he could not lock her down within the Force.

Something had taken place within her dreams, something had isolated those final moments trapped within those two lightsaber hilts and had released it on the daughter of Murra Tekal.

[James]

The time was now. Leato Kan had returned to the land of the living. The soul of Orin Dar died with that of Murra Tekal. Now all that was left was the fire that blazed hot. The darkness that was Leato consumed this body. This rebuilt, new body. His arm and leg also retooled. He would not fail in his new mission. For his pain. For his agony. He would make the force balance out. He would do what he was called into this galaxy to do.

Walking slowly up a Correlian street. Shrouded in the darkness of his robes and the force itself. He could feel them as easily as he could feel the grip around the saber he had rebuilt.

That crooked smirk parting to speak crooked words. "The house of Tekal will not survive my wrath this time. None of them."

[Bobbi]

Sol had reached into the Force, letting it pass down through him. He was going off of instinct, as he had not had the chance to learn techniques from his mother. HIs energy, his focus went down into his sister, wafting waves of cooling winds through her form. She needed to get cooled off, she needed to be healed. If he didn't get her temperature down, he was certain that her form would combust from the heat within.

Darien sat in Jay's room with the lad, holding onto him in a hug more to keep him from leaving then to offer any sort of comfort. The young man looked up at his uncle, swallowing roughly. There was a questioning look in Jaysten's eyes, one that begged for reassurance. He'd lost his grandmother, and did not want to think about loosing his own mother to the Force.

Darien could only offer a small nod, a reassuring smile and no words of assurance. There was no telling at the moment what was going to happen. But it was Jaysten who had broken the silence between them first. "...He's coming..." the child said, his skin turning pale white.

[James]

Darkness covered Correlia. A storm raging in the night. Thunder and lighting masking any other sounds this part of the planet had to offer. Torrents of rain pouring down. His presence in the force faded out completely. Nothing of him left. Like the phantom he was. If they only knew. If they only knew how close they had come to death this night. How close they came to seeing the eyes of the man that had taken the head of their house. But soon. Very soon. They would all get to look into those eyes. One by one as he dispatched them. And when the time came for the last to die. She would know. She would know that their fate. Each breath they took from this moment on. Was a gift from him. A blessing.

"What a waste of good suffering."

He sat the lightsaber that had belonged to Orin at the doorstep of their home. The scared and dented hilt would remind them. They would know who came. Death. Death came. And on swift wing. Then he was gone as quick as he had come.

[Bobbi]

None of the eldest would sleep through the night. Darien managed to calm Jaysten down enough for the boy to drift back off into a fit full sleep. He would not rest well. His Uncle would post as sentry outside his door, vigilant through the night should the boy need anything.

Solomon would work furiously to tame whatever had attacked his sister. She'd get better just before dawn.

And in that dawn, just when the sun of Corellia begins to kiss the sky with the light hues of a promising day, that lightsaber hilt would be discovered. Darien, having been sent by Solomon, ventured out, heading to the nearest medical facility to aquire some items that their home was lacking. If need be, he would return and insist that they move Ureala to the hospital. But, that was only a last resort. She was safer with them, should she stay in a hospital there was no way that he, Solomon, or Jaysten could protect her all that well. Not if they were split up, and not since she was in no condition to fight.

He'd nearly stepped on the lightsaber hilt, but something had told him to look down. He scopped, picking up the damaged hilt. It looked to be in much the same state as what Murra's were. This one, though, had a different feel to it. From the waning sings of darkness, and the cold feeling of the hilt he held, Darien gleaned a sensation of foreboding.

Whatever the Force was delivering to them, it would not be good. He didn't return into the house to alert Solomon of the danger. Darien tucked the lightsaber hilt into his belt and kept on his way, pulling out his com as he went. "Sol, it's me. Be prepared...somethings going on. I'll fill you in when I get back... just do me a favor, secure the door behind me."

[Bobbi]

Khan:
Leato stood in the darkness. Pulled it around him. Became part of it. He watched as Darien left the Tekal home. The young man looked like he hadn't slept all night. Pitty. He would have liked his first victim to have been rested. He almost felt sad that the boy would not survive this encounter. As he passed Kan's hiding spot, he fell into place behind him. Fallowing him. During the morning hours Leato did not fit in. Dark robes flowing all around him. The darkness from surrounding buildings seemingly reaching out to him as he passed by. The crouds of people parting around him as he stalked his prey.

Tekal:
It had taken the lad a few moments to realize that someone was tailing him. The crowds, those who looked up and in his direction, anyway, seemed skittish. When he smiled, no one smiled back. They all looked so...pale... And the way that they parted around him, just barely daring to cross his path... It made Darien wonder. The young man rounded a corner, proceeding on his way to the hospital. If someone was following him, he had all the more reason to get his tast completed and return home. He'd keep to filled streets and occupied spaces as much as he possibly could.

Khan:
The moment Leato rounded the corner the snap-hiss of his lightsaber signaled the time for this ones end. The crimson blade gave him plenty of room. He watched as people scattered and ran. A few yelling in surprise at the sudden show of a Force user. "I can't pass this moment up younge one." His voice was broken. Gravely. No more then a whisper but he knew the boy would hear everything he said.

Tekal:
Just as Darien had stepped around the corner, the crowd scattered. This had not been what he had been expecting. He'd been thinking it to be more along the lines of a theif. But, he should have known. His right hand brushed over the damaged hilt, and it all fell into place. This person behind him must have been hte one to put this on the door step. His right hand continued, tapping the reciever to the com unit. If his brother could not be there, if Darien was lucky, Sol would be able to trace the line of the com link should anything happen to his body. That is, if the com survived the battle. Darien turned, moving to face the darkly dressed man with a hard swallow. He could fight, but not without his brother by his side. He was at a disadvantage, and his ability to use the Force limited. Apart, the Tekal twins were weak, at least in Darien's case. His brother was the power house. "What in the nine hells do you want with me, stranger?" He asked, staring the dark dressed man down.

Khan:
"I want to help you. Murra is lost in the Force. I am going to send you and the rest of your family to be with her." He walked toward the boy lifting his true handoutward before him. Channeling his hate and rage for this bloodline through him. Arcs or energy left his fingers. Burning his hand and just fueling his rage even more. He sent the blast to his target. "You will be with her soon. I promise to be quick."

Tekal:
His eyes went wide as the shadow clad Force User spoke. This man knew about Murra? He knew... Darien took a step back reaching to his left hip, but it was too late. Without Solomon to aid in boosting his Force abilities, Darien just wasn't strong enough, or fast enough to avoid the lightning. His knees shook, but he pushed himself to remain on his feet. The stubborn will that Leato had seen in Murra was alive and well within her off-spring. It lasted for a mere moment or two, nerve endings and muscles giving out long before the mind would have liked. Darien felt his jaw clentch, and he bit ack a cry of agony. It hurt, there was so much pain. He felt as if he were cooking from the inside out.The Tekal before Leato fell to his knees, sweat appering and evaporating swiftly from his brow.

Khan:
Leato gave a pause. Walking slowly forward still to Darien. Saber humming it's menacing sound. Waiting to sizzle on flesh. He hit the boy with another blast of energy. Forcing the pain and anguish he had felt for more then a year now. Forcing it all onto the son of Murra Tekal. He came to a stop now just before the boy. Stoping his Force attack on the lad. Now his eyes would be visible to him. Grey. Evil. Set in their way. His voice would show a hint of sadness as he spoke. "Your time has come now. Are you ready? Do you have any last words I can pass on to the rest of them before they fallow in your path?"

Tekal:
The second wave of electricity pushed him back, his body weak from the initial attack. He was breahting heavily, wheezing to get air into his scorched lungs. HIs heart beat was too swift, having difficulty with keeping up onthe demands of his body. If this things.. this man, his attacker didn't kill him, Darien knew that he would have a hell of a time in recovery. He was pushed back, sent off his knees to sprawl on the ground, laying prone before Leato. His eyes looked upward, memorizing the face, the look in the eyes and willing it as much as he possibly could through the pain back to his twin. Solomon would know who was coming for them, Darien would make sure of it before he took his last breath. He coughed when he tried to speak, blood dripping out the corner of his mouth. He swallowed the gore, nearly choking on it and tried again. "We will prevail." He whispered, hissing out the words past the fire that burnt through his chest. His body was smoking, steaming and red hot. He hoped it wouldn't hurt too much in this last moment. "Tell them...we Tekals." He coughed, waiting a moment before continuing, "Tell them... we -are- Jedi."

Khan:
A smile spread over his lips. And he noded. Raising his own lightsaber above his head. The tip pointed downward. "That you are boy. That you truely are." He rought it down swiftly. Piercing his heart cleanly. Smelling the burnt flesh. Hearing the sizzle of it."And like one you died. A good death." Pulling the weapon up quickly he shut it off. Cliping it to his belt. Kneeling down he put his hand on the boys forhead. Pushing his hair back a little. Once the last bit a life had left him, he took the Tekal's com unit and brought it up to his mouth. "You have two days to mourn. Jedi." Droping the unit he turned and left. The sirens of Corellian police sounding in the distance.

Tekal:
Darien had been struggling to watch Leato during those final moments. It hurt to keep his eyes open, they felt like they were turning from semi-solid into liquid balls of sandpaper. They, like his body, were steaming from the heat. Darien watched, forcing his eyes to stay open as Leato raised his lightsaber. He fought off the cringe, feeling no fear within his heart like he thought he would have. Death was another part of life, and in that death he would be reunited with his mother, and he would find a place within the Force. But his thoughts had been cut off, as much of a jumble as they were. The lightsaber was swift, and the pain ended quickly. He had one more thought before he felt the wanning life slipping from his form. That single thought traveled back through the Force, dancing along hte connection he had with his brother, causing Solomon's head to shoot up from where he sat by Ureala's side. "SOLOMON!" Echoed into the nothing of the room around him, he felt it. Every last bit of agony that Darien had been feeling, the tight in his chest, the aching of his breath...the heat that had claimed his body and the pain that shot through his chest. Solomon, for a moment, feared that he too would pass with the sensation. But it ended just as swiftly as it came, and in that place where Solomon had always felt Darien -- there was nothing. He could not feel his brother, and it was crippling. Rage swept through him, a dark rage that bounced off the walls of his chest, filling his lungs with desperate air. "DARIEN! NOOO!" He screamed it out, allowing it to boil from his chest, filling the silent bed room with anguish. Jay, down the hall felt it more through the Force, and in his restless sleep, the youngest of the Tekals could see the face of the man who did it quite clearly. When Leato's voice filtered over the com, Solomon turned his attention quickly to it, swiping it up and breaking off what Leato had said with demands of his own. "Who the fuck is this? WHERE IS DARIEN?!" In the background, Solomon could hear the sirens. He was panick stricken, and swallowed back the fear that he knew to be too real. Darien was dead. And whoever this man was.... he'd be coming for them next.