Title: Dark Magic (1/?) Author: Jessica Barber Author email: mara_jade101@hotmail.com Category: Series (New Republic) Keywords: Kyp Durron, original characters Spoilers: Jedi Academy Trilogy, Darksaber Rating: I'd rate this fan fic PG 13 because there is some violence and a couple bad words and a few sexual innuendos in the later parts, but that's about it. Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Lucasfilm, Ltd. No money is being made and no infringement is intended. Summary: This is a story all about Kyp Durron and an evil woman named Legerdemain. Hopefully you've read the Jedi Academy Series and Darksaber, but if you haven't you probably shouldn't read this! Some of this story contains flashbacks of Kyp's childhood, but not much. Legerdemain is a three-hundred or so old woman who, with the dark side, switches bodies and stuff. She's out to kill off the Durrons, so obviously Kyp's going to confront her. Author's Note: Thanks to Michelle Windsor aka Wicked Lady for all her ideas. DARK MAGIC by: Jessica Barber Dark Magic Part One The room was cold and dark, resembling the woman who sat in the black, metal, spider webbed chair. Her hair was a dark blue and it flowed out, over her shoulders, down to her black booted feet. Her eyes and eyebrows matched the dark blue hair that surrounded her face and body. Sighing, the woman, unregally, rested her chin on the palm of her left hand, her elbow resting atop her knee. The young man standing before her was silent as his lightsaber blade lit up what parts of the room were not touched by the blue flourescent lights overhanging the elegant looking woman. Finally the young man spoke confidently, "Legerdemain, I will kill you." Legerdemain lifted her chin out of the palm of her hand and laughed coldly. "You kill me? Young Matrix, you amuse me so." "Come fight me like a real Jedi." "Dear, I dropped the title Jedi a millennia ago when I found this body." Standing gracefully, Legerdemain narrowed her blue within blue eyes where no white shown. "I will kill you like I killed your father before you, and his father before him. And, I shall go on killing the Durrons until I have totally annihilated your blood line." Stepping down the stairs that led to her dark throne, Legerdemain entered the yellow glow of Matrix's lightsaber. The yellow light caused her livid features to glow and her blue within blue eyes to shine with an eerie light. "I remember when you were just a boy, Matrix. I remember when I killed your father. I hated him more than any of the other Durrons. It is because of him that I shall continue to murder your lineage." Matrix stepped closer to Legerdemain and lifted his lightsaber, ready to strike. "Your reign of terror ends here, Legerdemain." Legerdemain giggled, and threw back her head, sending waves through her long hair. "You amuse me, Matrix Durron I think I shall give you a break and kill you quicker than I did your father." Matrix growled deep in his throat and then rushed towards Legerdemain, lightsaber held high above his head. Legerdemain grimaced and lifted up her left arm. The lose sleeve of her black dress fell down to her elbow, revealing smooth, pale skin. A small ball of white and blue lightening formed quickly and, before Matrix could reach the tall woman, she threw it at him. Matrix stopped short as his lightsaber fizzeled out and his body began to shake as it grew numb. Matrix fell to the floor, back first. His broken lightsaber rolled out of his hand. Legerdemain blocked the silver cylinder's path with the toe of her boot. The blue haired woman kicked the lightsaber away from her and Matrix's shaking body. Stepping closer to Matrix, Legerdemain whispered, "Die Durron, and enjoy the feeling of the dark side lightening, its power doubled, within you." With what little strength he had left, Matrix lifted up his hand and centered his shaking gaze on the woman. "My heirs will kill you, Legerdemain. Be pre . . .pared. There is one coming that will . . . de . . . feat . . . you . . ." Legerdemain whipped out her own lightsaber and at the same time ignited the red blade. "If you will refuse to die the easy way, you must die in this way." Legerdemain swept the lightsaber down and through Matrix's chest. The young, black haired man gasped and his hand dropped to the floor which was already being covered in his dark red blood. Legerdemain hooked her lightsaber back to the belt that encircled her waist, and clenched her ivory hand into a fist. With her other hand she pulled out a flower from a brown sack tied to her belt. It was a dark blue rose found only on the planet Anoat. Legerdemain clenched the stem of the dark rose in her hand, ignoring the searing pain of the sharp thorns pricking her pale skin and drawing blood. Disgusted, she threw the rose on top of Matrix's chest. The rose rolled off and fell into the gathering pool of blood. "No one will defeat me. No one can." * * * One Hundred and Twenty-Seven Years Later . . . "Seems, a couple hundred years ago there was this woman named Legerdemain who was out to kill the entire Durron family." Tionne raised her pearlescent eyes up from the data pad in her hand and looked at Kyp Durron. The man sitting beside him pointed to Kyp. "This Durron's family?" Kyp shook his head and swiped away Kam's hand. "Of course, Kam." "Too bad she's dead then." said Seretessa, a sixteen-year-old, brown-haired, green-eyed girl, shrugging. "Who said she was dead?" Tionne questioned, raising one of her silver eyebrows. "I do," Guy said calmly, pointing to himself, "You yourself said this Legerdemain lived about a hundred years ago." Guy was a man in his early twenties who had just come to the Jedi Academy two months ago, one month after Seretessa Shia had appeared. "Yes, but before then,"Tionne glanced down at the data pad in her hands, "She had already been alive for two hundred years." Kyp narrowed his dark eyes. "That's impossible Ti, unless . . ." "She switched herself from body to body . . ." Guy began. "Or clone to clone." Tionne finished. "She did fail miserably, then. I mean she didn't kill all of us." "She stopped with Matrix Durron." Tionne stated. Kam asked, "Why stop with this Matrix? Why not continue to kill them?" Tionne shrugged helplessly, "I don't know." "Were all my ancestors Jedi?" "No, they stopped with Matrix." Kyp frowned, "Weird . . . If this Legerdemain is still alive . . . I could avenge my ancestors' death." "That's impossible, Kyp!" "Why, Kam?" Kyp asked, turning his dark blue eyes to the older man sitting on the floor beside him. On Kyp's other side sat Seretessa in Indian style, and beside her sat blonde-haired Guy who serenly studied each face in the main room of the temple. The main room of the temple on Yavin Four was where a lot of the Jedi trainees gathered to talk late at night when their studies for the day were over with and they still did not yet seek sleep or meditation. "If she is even still alive, she's been hiding for the past hundred years! If no one found her, how can you? Anyway, her dark powers should have been sensed by somebody." "True, but maybe it is possible." Seretessa's eyes lit up, "There's just gotta be some way to find out more about this Legerdemain." "Where'd you find out about her in the first place?" asked Kyp, turning his attention onto Tionne. "Remeber when I went to Anoat with Master Skywalker a couple of weeks ago?" Kyp nodded his head, "Yeah." "We stopped by Deyer and they had this museum on the citie's history. I saved some files on my data pad about the Durrons. It said that ten of them were Jedi and those ten were all killed by a woman named Legerdemain. The tenth and last was Matrix Durron." "Well, Kyp, you could go to Deyer and see if they have any more info on this Legerdemain or your ancestors." Kyp nodded his head, agreeing with Kam Solusar's statement. "I guess so." "Just don't get too obsessed with revenge." Tionne said warningly. Kyp smiled, "I know! Don't worry, Ti. I'll have to talk to Master Skywalker about it tomorrow morning." Tionne flicked her eyes above Kyp Durron and Kam Solusar, looking out the window over their heads. Outside the sky was dark and clouded over. A cold wind blew in from the outside jungle of Yavin Four, the fourth moon of the gas giant Yavin; also known as the Jedi Academy, founded by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. "Yes. It is pretty late." Tionne stretched her arms and then threw the data pad to Kyp, who caught it with a smirk on his face. "You might want this." * * * Walking back to his small room, dark-haired, dark-eyed, Kyp Durron decided that first thing tomorrow morning he would review for himself what all was on this disk about his ancestors and the witch-woman Legerdemain. Then, he would talk to Master Skywalker about leaving for his home Anoat to check up on any other information they had in their libraries and museums. "Kyp!" Kyp smiled and shook his head, waiting for Seretessa to catch up to him. When the slightly shorter form of Seretessa was beside Kyp, he continued on his way towards his room. "Seretessa." "You're lucky about being able to leave the Academy for a while. I wish I could go with you. I'm sure Guy feels the same." "Yes, well, you two will have enough fun here." "Yeah. Master Skywalker said that Kam said that I had great potential for being able to wield a lightsaber. He'll start training me tomorrow." "That's good." Seretessa pulled on Kyp's right arm, stopping him in the thin hallway of the brown-stoned temple. Her big green eyes were widened with worry, and she chewed on her soft pink bottom lip for a moment, then, smiling, said, "You seem to be worried about something. I sense something wrong, you don't have to tell me . . . but . . ." "It's nothing, Shia." Seretessa frowned when he used her last name to address her. She let go of Kyp's arm and they continued walking. "Yes, I see. Well, unlike you and Tionne,I'm still wide awake. I'm not going to sleep this early. Bye, and have fun! I'll miss you!" she said happily, running off the opposite way that they had been traveling. Kyp raised an eyebrow as her form disappeared down the hallway. Seretessa had to be the most interesting girl he had ever met, and Guy the most interesting man. Seretessa was from a planet that Kyp had never heard of called Hander. She said it was made mostly of water and islands dotted the surface. These grassy islands were where the people lived. Seretessa Shia was talented in all ways of the Force and was a promising Jedi. She was only sixteen, reminding Kyp of when he had first come to the Academy at age sixteen with Han. Now he was nineteen, and Seretessa's ways sometimes seemed childish to him. She was constantly happy, but had a strange aura around her of depression. Kyp had promised himself a month ago that he would figure out what had caused this aura, but first he had to find out more about Seretessa. For looks, Seretessa was a beautiful girl, and living on a planet where it was popular for the younger children to swim, she was physically fit. Her green eyes were large, her soft pink lips full, her skin impeccable, her attitude sometimes happy and sometimes sarcastic. Guy was a twenty-one year old with blonde hair and golden-brown eyes. He was amazingly calm at all times and powerful in the Force. Not as powerful as Kyp, but was close. Very close. He was an orphan from Coruscant who had captivated Kyp Durron's attention the first day he had arrived. He had a soft melancholy voice and it was always hard to find out exactly how he was feeling at any time. Memories from a long time ago shot across Kyp's mind. Kyp leaned his head foreward, allowing his black bangs to fall against his now closed eyes. * * * Kyp Durron always liked to watch the sky. Night was the best time, not because of the multicolored lights that decorated the incoming and leaving ships even though that was a part of it, but because he was able to watch, and study, and memorize the constellations that passed him by. What fascinated him the most, though, was the fact that in some of the constellations the bright blue, red, and white stars were actually planets, and on those planets lived people. People or aliens, that he would never meet, but, somewhere there was a young girl or boy out there who would be a big part of his future. Hopefully it was a boy ‘cause girls had dirty germs that turned boys into ugly fish. At least, that was what his friend had said. Kyp concentrated on one bright white, almost brown, star. It did not twinkle like most stars, which obviously meant it was a planet. A big planet, with living humans and other creatures. Maybe, somewhere on that planet, a kid was thinking the same thing he was, and was now staring up at the planet Kyp was on. Who was that kid then? And, would he ever meet him? Kyp could not wait to leave his home on Deyer. His parents said that he could leave as soon as he was eighteen, of course, they did not believe he was serious when he told them that he wanted to leave. They had asked him why would anyone want to leave the beautiful world of Anoat. He had said for adventure. They had laughed. It was from today, exactly ten years until he turned eighteen. Today had been his eighth birthday. The years were going by slow, but his older friends who were twelve and thirteen told him the older you got the faster the years went by, so hopefully when he reached ten he'd start getting older quicker and when he turned eighteen he'd stop aging. It was possible. Kyp, now standing outside on a wooden porch a few feet from the doorway leading into the Durron's blazingly lit home, looked up at the sky. It was pitch black, he recognized practically every constellation that was out tonight. He had no names for them, but that did not matter. He was sure that when he was older he would name them. He would use big words, too. The kind his brother, Zeth, used. He could use words like ethereal or hyperbola. It did not matter to the young boy. The constellations were beautiful with or without names. "Kyp." Zeth, Kyp's fourteen year-old-brother, knocked him on the shoulder lightly. "It's time to come in, supper's on the table . . . and so is your present." Kyp smiled at the mention of a present. He hadn't been sure that year if he would get one because his parents had been so intent on their political meetings. But, like always, his loving parents had come through. "Is it big, Zeth?" He asked, excitedly. Zeth patted Kyp on the shoulder and followed Kyp's gaze towards the sky. "Big enough for you, shorty." "Just you wait, Zeth, when I'm older and bigger I'll be out of here for good. No stopping me, don't even try." Zeth laughed at Kyp's childish remark, for who would ever want to leave a place like Deyer a colony on Anoat? "I promise, I will not try to stop you. Now, come on, or your present might just disappear like last year." "It went away ‘cause you took it." "But I gave it back." "A week later!" "Give me a break, Kyp!" The chilled wind that came off the water blew Kyp's bangs in his dark eyes, and he pushed them away with his hand. He followed the shadowed form of his brother back to the house, lit in a happy, loving glow. At the white stone doorway, Kyp turned around and let his gaze drift once again across the gray and white stoned houses that rested on the pale green lakes. Every house looked the same: two story stone, rounded features, and every one was brightly lit. It was beautiful, perfect. That was why few people ever left Anoat, but Kyp was different. Maybe he was different from everyone else, but it did not matter. He still wanted to leave as soon as he could. Zeth took Kyp's small hand in his. He studied the raft cities that were anchored down in the huge terraformed lakes, with wide, wooden and stone bridges connecting each house and other buildings. Daily he would take his little brother out to play in the water. To swim, fish, and play with his toy boat, which had been sunk days before by accident. That was what Kyp's present was, obviously. A brightly colored, not to mention expensive, well-built, toy boat. Zeth knew Kyp would be more than delighted to receive something like that. Kyp watched as a large, barely lit, transport docked a few hundred yards from the house. Something, almost like a little voice deep inside him was telling him to run. 'Run.' This ship was bad. 'Run.' His family would be hurt. 'Run!' His life would be changed forever. 'Run, are you crazy? Run!' His destiny . . . to leave this place . . . 'run' . . . the darkness . . . 'run for your life!' Zeth squeezed Kyp's hand. "Come on, Kyp. We'll come out later, okay?" Zeth smiled to himself as he realized how much his little brother meant to him. He could not let Kyp leave when he was older. He could not bear to not be able to ever see his brother again. But, if Kyp did leave . . .he would not, could not. Kyp followed Zeth, who was still holding his hand, into the happy home of the Durron's. It was lit up brightly, ready for a happy, bright celebration. Every light in the house was on, creating a warm glow. 'It will soon be dark and cold,' the little voice spoke. 'Run . . .' * * * Deyer, a city on the planet Anoat. It had been destroyed by the Empire years ago, but was slowly rebuilding itself into a fantastically beautiful and peaceful looking city. The once small, squat buildings were now being rebuilt into tall buildings made of a pearlescent stone that shone angelically in the light, reflecting their light onto the blue water making it glow like its neighboring buildings. Even the poorer regions of the city were being rebuilt just as beautifically as the richer regions. As the rising sun finally made its way over the tall buildings to shine on the two teenagers, Derek knocked Kereene in the side with his elbow and received a not-so-serious glare from the elfin faced girl. Her long, honey brown hair was not in the usual braid that it had to be in for school, but was in a fist-sized bun at the back of her head, which was wrapped around three times by a bright red ribbon, the rest of it coming out of the bottom of the bun to reach down to her waist and wave around freely. "Jeez, Derek," Kereene said with a sigh. "Grow up." "I was just trying to get your head out of la-la land, Reene ." Kereene smiled. She glanced up at Derek from the corner of her eye and then looked out at the blue and gold water beyond the three meter-wide bridge. "There's nothing wrong with thinking." "Thinking, eh?" "Yes," Kereene said in all seriousness, "about the Jedi Knights." Derek slapped his hand to his forehead. "I swear, Reene, you're a genuine Jedi freak. If only you had the Force." Kereene raised one eyebrow. "Freak? I'm no freak. I rarely think about the Jedi. You just happen to be around whenever I do." Derek hopped off the step that took them off the wooden bridge and into the center of the city Deyer. Around them were small land and water speeders, humans and aliens of all kinds opening their food and clothing shops, and various kinds of children running around, heading towards the lower parts of the land where they could set their toy ships to sail, happy that they were out of school for two more days. Kereene slowly followed behind him, causing Derek to stop his roguish stride and slow down his step. The eighteen-year-old raised her gray-green eyes up to the blue sky, and clasped her hands together behind her back. "Feel like taking your time today?" Derek asked. "Why not? We don't get many breaks from school." Derek said, "And you don't like school?" Kereene scowled. "No, and you didn't either when you went." Derek stopped walking and stretched his arms slowly, yawning. "Yeah, I know how you feel, kid." "Kid?!" Kereene slammed her hands onto her hips and turned around to face Derek. "Hey, you're only one year out of school and that means just one year older than me. I'm even maturer than you!" Derek saddled up to Kereene and said smokily, "Ah, yes, but I am so much more stronger. I have so much more muscle than you. I'm so much thinner." Kereene put her right hand up to Derek's chest and pushed him back saying, "Hun, you may be strong, and you may have muscle, but I could whip you up any day with my mind or a blaster." "Yes, but I am the master of vibroblades, and I," Derek came up behind Kereene and slammed his arm around her shoulders, "could - how should I put it? Ah, yes, - quote, 'whip you up any day,' with my vibrobla . . . Oh my." Kereene wriggled out from under Derek's arm and looked up into his brown eyes. "What is it?" "Who is that?" Derek's eyes widened, and the smile on his face grew larger. Kereene followed Derek's wide-eyed stare to a young woman walking towards them . . . now walking past them, haughtily. Her hair was long, very long. In fact, it was two inches from the ground, flowing gracefully around the tall woman who was probably in her late teens. "Her eyes were so beautiful . . ." Derek said as if in a dream. Kereene reached up and slapped Derek upside the head. "Get a grip, she looks like some kind of cold witch." Derek ignored the hit, but did take his eyes off the woman. He turned his back to the woman, bridge, and water. "Looks like a goddess. I think you're mistaken, see, you're the witch." Kereene folded her arms across her chest and pursed her full lips. "Somehow, I have failed to see the humor in that statement." Derek closed his brown eyes and put the palm of his hand on Kereene's sternum. "I'm sensing, only the way a Jedi Knight can sense, jealousy." Kereene slapped away Derek's hand. "There's no way I could be jealous of a devil." Derek smiled and grabbed Kereene's upper arm. "Let's go on to the library so we can leave as soon as possible." "I'm going to take my time there. I love reading. You can just do what you always do and stare out the window and watch all the beautiful women that pass by." Derek pushed his long brown bangs back with his fingers. They quickly fell back into his eyes. "I think I will." Walking faster than they had been before, they passed the open stores and and fell into the constantly moving traffic of humans and aliens. "You know what's best about being out of school for a couple of days?" Kereene asked, having to slightly raise her voice to be able to be heard over the hustle and bustle of the crowd. "Sleeping late?" Derek asked sarcastically. "No, silly. You know I like to get up at the crack of dawn." "You also like to stay up half the night." Derek said, finally realizing just how tired he had become ever since he had begun hanging out with this girl. "I know, and I thank you for coming to the library with me." "As long as you buy me breakfast and lunch." "I will as long as you let me borrow some money." Derek laughed and then said, "So tell me, what is so great about being out of school?" "I don't have to wear those horrible uniforms!" "I think their cute. You look good in short skirts." "And knee highs? Ugh, that kind of uniform was used thousands of years ago, why in the galaxy do we still have to wear that kind of thing?" "You look good in short skirts." "Shut up. They're not even short." Derek's eyes widened innocently, "Sorry. I was always told it was good to tell the truth. Speaking about that, I'd have to say you also look good in tank tops and pants." Kereene looked down at her clothing. "Thanks," she said dryly. With renewed vigor she skipped in front of Derek and walked backwards, smiling up at him. "I also like wearing boots, I guess that's the only good thing about the uniforms, if we want to we can wear boots as long as they stay two or more inches below the knee." "You always wear boots." "I know." Kereene whirled back around and smiled at the sight of the library. It was one of the only buildings that hadn't been destroyed when the Empire had attacked Deyer. It was still made of old white stone, and still contained all its wonderful information. * * * Deyer, a city on the planet Anoat. It looked so different from when he had last lived here as a child. The buildings and houses were much taller and made out of a pearlescent stone that glowed in the morning sun. It was all so beautiful. Kyp stepped up onto a bridge that would lead him to the center of the city. Tionne had explained to him where the library was, and she had told him that it was one of the few buildings that had not changed at all. Looking across one of the smaller terraformed lakes, Kyp recognized the two-story unchanged building. It was the only private school on Deyer, another remnant of Kyp's past. Obviously the school hadn't been destroyed either. Seeing no children around it, he figured that all the kids were out for the day if school still started as soon as the sun rose. If not, and the times had changed, school had not started yet. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Kyp was practically bombarded by a large group of young boys, toy boats in hand, running across the bridge. Kyp could not help but smile as two of the boys offered apologies and then ran on with the others. The young boys brought memories to Kyp's mind that offered no solace. Every memory he had of Deyer consisted mostly of Zeth. Everything here reminded him of Zeth. 'Zeth . . .I'm so sorry. So sorry.' Even though his turning to the dark side had taken place three years ago, Kyp still woke from dreams of terror, coated in a cold sweat, and with his heart beating against his chest so hard that it was painful. He would never forgive himself because he knew that there were thousands if not millions of people in the galaxy that would never forgive him for what he had done. * * * "Let's go, Kyp! Hurry it up!" Kyp poked his head out of the room he shared with Zeth and looked down the hall. He met the dark, glaring eyes of his brother. Kyp pulled his head back into the bedroom and took one last look into the full length mirror. He fixed his dark blue jacket, which went with the dark blue pants and black boots of his school uniform. He and Zeth were so lucky to be able to go to a private school! "I'm ready now, Zeth," Kyp said, running out of their bedroom and past his brother who was dressed in the same uniform, only it was a dark green, representing that he was a high school student. Zeth ran after his younger brother and out the door, wishing his parents a silent good day. Their parents never woke up unti the sun was up, whereas he and Kyp had to be at school as soon as the sun had risen in the sky. Across the bridge, through the main part of the city, across another bridge, from where they could see the school, Zeth could see that children were already making their way towards it. As soon as Kyp ran into one of his friends, a boy by the name of Derek Hallon, Zeth ran on ahead of them so that, as always, he could be at school early so as to talk to his friends who lived on the other side of Deyer, in the richer parts of the city. "Hey, Derek, after school wanna go sail our boats at my house with Zeth?" Eight-year-old Derek nodded his head. "Need to borrow one of mine?" "Yeah." Derek shrugged, "'k." It was with Derek and Zeth that Kyp had lost his boat. He had set it a sail and, while watching Derek's boat, had lost sight of it until his boat had disappeared for good. A group of high school students, the girls dressed in dark blue and the guys dressed in a dark green passed by, Kyp looked after them jealously. "I can't wait until I'm in my last year. I'm gonna be outa here for good." * * * Propping her elbow on the table, Kereene rested her chin in the palm of her hand. She sighed dreamily and gazed at the screen in front of her. Derek stirred restlessly beside her and then laid his head down in the crook of his arms on the table. "How can you be so obsessed with some people you'll never meet?" His muffled voice asked. "On the contrary, this is pretty interesting," Kereene murmured in reply. "Yeah, I'll take your word on that. But, in the meantime I'm dying." "Go and look out a window or something." "It's dusty and musty in here, I need some air." "Be my guest, I believe it's free." Derek stood up, "Funny. I'm gone." "But not for long?" Kereene asked, taking her gaze off the small screen before her and looking up at Derek. "Course not, Reene ." Derek patted Kereene's head, being careful not to hit the red ribboned bun. Kereene turned her attention back to the screen. With a sing song voice, loud enough for Derek to hear even though he was walking away, she said, "I was just reading about the Durrons, and it mentioned a Kyp . . . Kyp Durron." The sound of Derek's booted footsteps stopped, there was silence. "Kyp?" "Yeah." Derek's usual cheerful voice grew churlish. "I know all I need to know about him." He began to walk towards the outside again, Kereene didn't stop him. "Fine," she whispered, "I at least feel sorry for him. I remember him, and I know that he's good now." With lips pursed, Kereene glared at the screen before her. Derek stepped outside, trying to erase what memories he had of Kyp. Kyp Durron had been his friend eleven years ago. So it did not matter anymore. It had been such a long time since then, the guy was a famous Jedi Knight now who was way too important to visit his home and friends. No relatives were here for him to visit because the Empire had killed them all off. Not just his parents and brother, but his grandparents, and cousins, and uncles, and nephews. Derek leaned against the stone building in the shadow of the overhang. The sun was making its way slowly up into the sky, making the newer buildings shine like silver. Derek took his gaze off the bright buildings, and from the height of the stairs he was able to look and study the water of one of the lakes. Various types of landspeeders criss-crossed the water, causing whitecaps to form and rush against the stone walls of the city and houses. Kyp Durron had probably changed so much by now, after all that he had been through, Derek wouldn't want to have anything to do with him. But why worry about such a thing? The guy was gone, and he'd never come back. As a kid he had been obsessive over leaving this place, so why in the galaxy would he ever want to come back? Derek hoped beyond hope that Kereene would hurry up and finish reading various news articles so he wouldn't have to go back in that place. It was so stuffy he found it hard to breathe. Everything in there was so dusty, and the place was dim and dreary. He did not understand how Kereene could stand it in there. If he were still in school, he would never want to spend his break in a library like that one, or any library at all. Derek Hallon was the son of a rich architect, a famous one at that. It had been his father's idea to use this new stone that they were using to build the new and improved colony with. His father had desperately hoped that Derek would follow in his footsteps, but Derek had other plans. Those plans were actually not made yet. As soon as Derek had gotten out of school he had met Kereene and those two things were about all that had changed in his life. He hadn't come up with any ideas of what he could do, so he spent his mornings sleeping, his afternoons hanging out with Kereene, and his nights helping her with her homework. She actually didn't need that much help because she was pretty much a brilliant girl. Not that Derek was not smart. He was smart, but she was brilliant. She liked studying, she just didn't like school. Kereene also loved history, which would make her obsession with the Jedi reasonable. After spending an infinity of time waiting, while a millenia passed, and stars died and were reborn, Kereene stepped out of the library and into the awaiting sun. Stretching she exclaimed happily, "Ooooo, that feels so good! It was stuffy in there." Dryly, Derek responded, "You're finally realizing that, Reene ?" Kereene let her arms drop to her side. "Don't have to be so rude. I never said you had to wait for me." Derek rid his mind of his memories and smiled down at his friend. "Sorry, Reene, I had some things on my mind." "Obviously." Kereene said, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm starved, can we go eat now?" Derek asked with a pleading tone. Kereene nodded and smiled. "Sure. Let's go." Kereene whirled around and with energy that Derek did not have this early in the morning, skipped down the stairs and waited for him at the bottom. Half way down the steep, stone stairs, Derek paused. Coming up behind Kereene was a young man with dark hair and dark eyes. 'Like all those hologram pictures I saw of Kyp years back when he was causing all that trouble,' Derek thought to himself. Derek hurried down the stairs, taking two at a time. The man passed fluidly by Kereene, only glancing at her once, studying her profile. Once the man passed Kereene, she turned her elfin face towards him, and then towards Derek who was quickly making his way towards the stranger. Slowly, knowing something was about to happen, Kereene made her way back up the white stairs, letting her tanned hand flow across the smooth golden bar going up the stairs. Derek stopped two steps from the young man, who in turn stopped where he was and lifted his head to look up at Derek. Derek studied the handsome face, the black hair with long black bangs hanging just above the man's dark eyes. Kereene skipped up the stairs, passing the stranger, and stood next to Derek who placed his palm against the small of her back almost protectively. Kereene's gray-green eyes widened as she studied the gorgeous looking man before her and Derek. His skin from where she looked was impeccable, his nose the perfect size, his jaw line made of sharp angles like her own, and his eyes were the most beautiful eyes that she had ever seen. They looked as if they could hold the entire galaxy, no, universe, in them. "I know you." Derek said, not budging his hand or himself. "Derek Hallon?" The young man asked. "Ky . . ." Derek's voice faded before he could finish the name. His first thought was to run and hug his long lost friend. And yet, he didn't. He kept his hand on Kereene's back and stood staring at the man before and below him. "I can't believe it's you." The dark-haired teenager said carefully, obviously not sure what to do or say, but confident nonetheless. "I thought you were too good to come back here." Derek said haughtily. Kereene scowled up at him, but he ignored her. "I'm here on business." Kyp Durron answered fluently, ignoring Derek's tone. "Business? What business do you have here, Jedi? Don't tell me you're going to bring trouble here with you. The wrath of the dark side." "Of course not, Derek." "I don't trust you. No one should." Derek growled out. Kereene looked up at Derek through thick eyelashes, and then stepped away from him. Derek grabbed her upper arm, but she pulled away. Smiling at the stranger, she stepped down one step and held her hand out to him. "I'm Kereene Calj." The man took her hand and shook it. "Kyp Durron. It's a pleasure." Kereene's eyes widened delightedly, "No, it's mine." She whispered, "Jedi Knight." Derek stepped down by Kereene. "What are you doing here, at the library?" Deciding not to lie, Kyp answered, "I want to look up information on my relatives." "Exciting business, then. I remember a couple weeks ago Luke Skywalker and some girl came here. What were they here for?" Kereene looked up at Derek. "You never told me that! Why didn't you tell me?" "Shut up, Reene ." Derek ground out. Kereene narrowed her eyes at Derek and folded her arms over her chest. "Fine, I don't know what you're so upset about. You're best friend just came back and all you can do is speak cruelly to him. I think you're just jealous. He has a lightsaber," Kereene nodded towards the silver cylinder hooked to Durron's belt, and then nodded to the vibroblade and blaster hooked to Derek's own belt, "And all you have are those." "And that's all you have, too. So much for being a Jedi, eh Kereene?" Kereene clenched her fists and threw her head up in the air. "Fine." She turned from Derek and walked off, leaving Derek and Kyp behind on the stairs. Part Two . . . Please e-mail any comments to mara_jade101@hotmail.com Standard Star Wars disclaimer, these characters belong to Lucasfilm ltd, I'm just borrowing them for a while, except for Derek, Legerdemain, Kereene, Seretessa, Guy, & Matrix. If you ever want to use any of my characters you have to e-mail me and ask permission, telling me how you're going to use them. No money is being gained from this, I am not breaking any current copyright laws.