You Will Bleed

[Johnathon Lynd]

Moving swiftly through the hallways of the temple and to the living corridors of the Padawans, Johnathon carried a small package under his arm wrapped in cloth. Taking all the precautions he normally took to avoid any unnecessary contact with anyone. It was early yet as the fifteen year old's eyes darted from side to side, he had encountered only two people, both of which knew him well and gave him a friendly nod. A gesture which he returned in his own reserved way. As he approached Alex's door he stopped, their birthday would be coming up soon and a small gift was in order for his twin, but that wasn't the real reason he was here. Being on the authorized users list for this door, since Alex had granted him this privilege, Johnathon carefully dug his wristband out of his pocket and placed it against the door which opened and the young man stepped in.

No Alex, no Jaryl. Perfect.

Johnathon moved carefully over to Alex's bed and gingerly set down the piece of cloth and unrolled it. Inside was a wooden case, carefully carved with wood from the Jungles of Endor, it could be used to hold anything and it was a small gesture, but inside were copies of two ancient scrolls on the art of proper diplomacy. He smiled, Alex would love it.

Then he turned to the real reason he was here. Jaryl was disorganized and frequently lost things, something which would serve Johnathon well today. He couldn't stay long, so he pulled the glove from his right hand and walked over to Jaryl's extremely cluttered desk. He placed his hand on the top of the desk and took a deep breath in and closed his eyes.

Bottom left under the washcloth.

He knelt down and pulled open the bottom left drawer and picked up the wash cloth.......that was a mistake....more of Jaryl than he cared to see. He grimaced and set it aside and there it was before him. A perfectly blue Kyber Crystal, one that Alex himself had picked out as a gift for his roommate on his birthday. Gifts all around, one for Alex, one for Jaryl....and one for Johnathon.

He snatched it up and put it in his pocket. He placed the disgusting washcloth back in it's original spot and closed the drawer. He put on his glove, scanned the room one last time and made his swift exit.

Once back out in the public space, he moved fast, he only had a twenty minutes before the morning traffic in the temple began to pickup, he returned to his room, grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulder and made his way to the temple exit. A clone stopped him as he approached the exit near the streets.

::Leaving again Mr. Lynd?::

Johnathon bit his upper lip nervously.

"I...Yes, I'll be back tomorrow, late."

::Do you mind if I ask where you're going sir? You've been coming and going a lot recently::

Johnathon shifted awkwardly and grabbed the back of his neck.

"I uhhh....really do we have to?"

::I'm afraid I must insist sir, orders...::

Fuck! Johnathon had already seen this encounter but he hadn't seen the last bit, he had a story made up and perhaps it was best that he was caught off guard because it made him even more nervous.

"....Fine."

He motioned and leaned in close

"I have a girlfriend alright? She's a bit older than me and she stays with her older brother down by the south end near the hospital. He's a doctor and every once in awhile he leaves town for a conference for a day or two. It's the only chance we have to be alone together....please....don't tell anyone, make something up...I don't want everyone to know...they'll worry. Say I'm visiting a friend I've made, another Seer who is helping me with my visions. They don't need to know more than that."

Johnathon squeezed the back of his neck hard and the clone started laughing and clapped him on the back. Johnathon grimaced but smiled awkwardly.

::Of all people, I didn't think you had it in you! Congratulations, I can see she's made you very happy and that makes me happy. secret is safe with me. Go enjoy your time together.::

"Thank you....I won't forget it."

Idiot. The lie was perfectly constructed, the clones were a smart bunch but at the end of the day they were grunts and grunts ate this type of story up. Of course the clone was going to be proud of him and of course he would understand the need for secrecy and even more importantly, even if he did reveal the reason it was a lie in the first place, not that he would. The last thing the clone would want to do is betray another guy sneaking off to see a girlfriend. Who was he to get in the way of young love? Especially that of an extremely introverted young man who seemed to finally be coming out of his shell a bit. This lie explained almost everything about him too, the increased muscle tone, the bag he took with him, and of course the disappearances.

Rather satisfied with himself, Johnathon left the temple and headed the direction he said he was going. Once way out of sight he took an immediate turn down an alley and then down a flight of stairs. He placed his hand on the door and it opened, he walked into the dimly lit room and the door shut behind him. Once sealed inside the was in a sort of force bubble, no one could sense what was happening inside just a mile or so away from the Temple. He heard the footsteps could be heard and a dark figure emerged.

Johnathon dropped to one knee and lowered his head.

"My Master, I am late, I have no excuse."

"It is of no concern. I trust you were able to retrieve the Crystal as you said you would?"

"Yes Master, I have. The Temple is suspicious of my activity, I the guard had been given orders to question me and I gave him a carefully crafted story that I had thought out yesterday. It will not be a problem."

Seth smiled and motioned for Johnathon to stand.

"Well done my apprentice, in the next room are Sith robes laid out for you, they are yours, more ceremoniously than anything, the nature of our plan will not permit you to wear them more than incidentally unfortunately, but today is an important part of your journey. Once your weapon is complete and you are training with it and not some hand me down malfunctioning nonsense, you will be a Sith. Are you ready Johnathon? Is your heart ready for the task at hand?"

The gravity of the words hit the young man differently than they thought they would, he took a sharp short breath in and nodded as he stood up,

"I am indeed ready Master."

Seth produced a knife and handed it to Johnathon.

"Normally you would slash your palm and coat the crystal in your blood. You're going to have to cut somewhere that won't be seen. In your case I suggest you cut your chest directly over your heart, if nothing else it will be symbolic of the path you have chosen. Now go, change and begin the process."

Johnathon took his gloves off and cast them to the ground like the trash he considered them. There had been no more hiding, no more fear and it had been that way for awhile. He took the knife from Seth in his BARE hands, psychometric pain shot through him, the black aura of the knife and all it had done sent a chill through his spine, but he did not gasp, he did not flinch, he simply wrapped one hand around the hilt and moved into the other room. Once in there the parts he had selected were lying on the ground before him next to his robes, he took his baggy shirt off, his torso and arms were extremely well defined and athletic for someone who was just but a mere untrained archivist. He took the Crystal from his pocket and set it next to the other parts.

He changed into the robes, leaving the tunic on the ground, leaving his bare chest exposed. He sat down on the ground and crossed his legs in front of them. He took a breath in and levitated the crystal in front of him and closed his eyes. Picking up the knife, took the blade and priced it against his chest just above his heart, the wicked black blade sent burning sensations throughout his body as visions passed before his mind's eye before he shut them out completely. He pressed the blade into his chest and made a fairly deep cut from one side the the other. The pain was not non-existent but it was meaningless compared to what Seth had put him through in this last year and a half or so. Blood quickly oozed out of the laceration and Johnathon set the knife down, he snatched the Crystal from the air and pressed it against the open wound soaking it in blood.

He then lowered it in front of him and levitated it once more. He began to open his mind to the universe, all the visions, all the pain, suffering, and most importantly all of the bloodshed. He channeled these negative emotions, from the billions upon billions of people in the galaxy. Their screams, their suffering, he became a conduit as a red stream of energy flowed from his head into the crystal before him.

Murdertorturerapegenocidedeathabductionmoretorturepainsomuchpainscreamingmillionsuponmillions.

Their screams wouldn't stop and became audible in the room. He grit his teeth and poured these countless screams into the crystal which began to glow.

AngerhatredsufferingwaroppressionDEATH.

The blood that covered the system began to burn but did not evaporate, instead it seemed to absorb into the crystal itself and became part of it. Meanwhile a deep red glow enveloped everything in the room including Johnathon, the lightsaber parts began assembling themselves as a separate stream of dark energy flowed into them.

The Crystal began to shake and the blood that it had absorbed oozed out of it before being reabsorbed again.

With a final push Johnathon summoned all the negativity he had ever seen in his life and poured it into the crystal, the screams from the streams of dark energy filled the room and became deafening until finally they were silent and before him was a deep blood red, nearly black Kyber Crystal where the pure blue one was before, the now was a twisted and warped version of it levitating before him. He opened his eyes and guided the crystal into it's new home inside the wicked, yet beautifully chromed hilt that he had been assembling simultaneously. There was a red flash and then the access door on the hilt shut and there was nothing but the beautifully wicked hilt before him. He stood up and levitated it in front of his eyes, which were now glowing a bright and terrifying yellow. Inspecting the saber he snatched it from the air and held it at arms length from his face. He could feel the energy within, but it did not frighten him for it was uniquely his.

He clicked the ignition and the deep red blade screamed to life in front of him. He stood there pleased with himself, blood still dripping down his chest. a wicked smile formed as he stood their admiring his work.