Break These Chains!

Djaeric roused himself after his creepy interaction with the unknown Sith lord.

" What was that?" he asked himself. " Who was that man?"

Djaeric couldn't understand it, but for some reason his arms wouldn't stop shaking. It was like a force of nature staring into that man's eyes. A cold unkempt sweat ran down Djaeric's forehead, but quickly he put it to the back of his mind.

Being afraid in anyway was an instant death sentence, especially now.

The competition was starting.

Inside the grand stadium, at the very peak of the stands sat the Hutts and Darth Marr along with his apprentice Lachris. The tension was palpable. All eyes were indirectly planted on the Sith lords in attendance.

" That is a shame, Darth Marr. Truly. But I know of the Sith's current situation on Corellia. As such, I will leave it be for the time. For now, what do you say we start the colosseum battles?"

" Very well." Darth Marr responded. His voice modulator made it slightly hard to tell whether or not the man was pleased, but from the way his body seemed to relax, Jumwa took that as a sign to go ahead."

Jumwa chuckled through his fat skin, and called over the head in charge of the colosseum, meanwhile another guest had made his presence. known.

Venturing into the stands and finding a seat right next to Darth Marr, was none other than Malgus himself.

" Malgus... Where have you been?" Marr asked the man.

Darth Malgus was known as a violent and aggressive individual, which is why Marr took to bringing his apprentice with him, on something that shouldn't have concerned her in the first place. But the deceit of the Sith was strong, especially in Malgus who had killed his own master when reclaiming Korriban.

Darth Malgus planted himself firmly in his seat and chuckled ominously.

" Don't worry, Marr. I simply found myself a contestant worth betting on is all." Malgus' answer was cryptic. Something unexpected of the Sith lord.

Malgus wouldn't have said such a thing without reason. And because of that, Marr felt a slight chill run down his back.

" This should be interesting." Marr muttered.

He joined Malgus, and watched on with slight enthusiasm as the head of the colosseum began his intro into the gladiatorial event.

" Welcome! Ladies and Gentlemen of Mek-Sha. Let's get ready to rumble!!!!!"

The stadium erupted into a round of applause for the head announcer.

" Now, then ladies and gentlemen, we have a long day ahead of us. We're lucky enough to be welcoming two very special guests, in the shape of two Dark masters of the Sith empire. Darth Marr and Darth Malgus. Let's give them a round of applause!"

Once more the stadium came to life and cheered the two Sith lords, who personally didn't care at all about them, but were instead focused on the fights to come.

" And since we have such esteemed guests, we've decided to go about things just a little bit differently tonight. Now, normally we have two back-to-back brackets going. Just for the sake of money. But tonight, we're gonna put these lousy cats together in giant tournament! The rules are as simple as always, we go in rotation of fighters from left to right of the bracket board. Every time a fighter wins, he moves on to the next round. Every time a fighter loses, well... They die. Simple right! I know that you all have a lot of faith in your fighters, but I gotta tell ya, a lot of people are gonna be raging tonight! So! Without further delays, let's get this game of life and death started, shall we?!"

Once more the filth of Mek-Sha erupted into roars and stomps of applause. Their energy was undeniable, and the sheer volume of their combined voices filled the entirety of the rock. Even those slaves back at the pens could hear the shouts coming from the distance.

" If you'll all please divert your attention to the screen, we'll display the brackets."

There was a large screen hanging over the center of the pit that displayed a holo-image of the fighters' brackets. And starting things off immediately on the left-hand side, being one of the first fighters to start was Djaeric.

" There we have it, folks. Djaeric Keto vs Slingshot. Let's go boys!"

With his name being the first to appear it meant that Djaeric was heading into the ring first.

" All right, let's do this." Djaeric grabbed his spear and his sword and carried it to the central gate where the fighters gathered.

" Heh! Djaeric keto, gonna be fun cutting you to ribbons." Slingshot was a twi'lek man standing just short of Djaeric, with a slim build, but surely muscular and skilled, of this Djaeric had no doubt.

No way was there going to be anyone weak or physically abled for this event. Not with so much pressure from the masters. Djaeric knew that.

Djaeric observed Slingshot carefully, looking for any signs of disabilities or a weakness he could exploit, unfortunately there was nothing that stood out about the man that indicated any such existence. The only thing that did have Djaeric's attention was the blade on the man's back. It was a standard vibro blade. Lethal. Probably as much as a regular sword, the only difference is that a vibro blade was capable of stopping a lightsaber.

Djaeric took note of the blade and how Slingshot handled it.

The gate to the giant cage opened and Djaeric and Slingshot stepped out to the sound of cheers from the crowds above.

Out of the corner of his eye Djaeric scanned the crowd, taking in the faces. There were many new faces among the crowd, too many to count.

" Guess, I should have expected this." Djaeric mumbled.

" What was that human? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you." Slingshot said to Djaeric. He gripped his vibro blade tightly and twirled it around his shoulder.

He appeared to be confident.

But so was Djaeric.

Djaeric raised his spear outwards and kept his sword close to his body, strapping it to his waist.

As he did so, Darth Malgus adjusted himself in his seat to get a better look at the man's fighting stance, something Darth Marr took notice of. Most likely because Malgus did nothing to hide his interest.

But neither did Lachris.

" Oh my, he's quite the handsome man, isn't he?" Lachris stated. Her hand found itself placed gently under her chin, and a smile spread across her face as she fawned over the young man's surprisingly well attuned body.

" Quite, Lachris. Let us watch this carefully." Marr said to the young girl. The chiding sensation in his tone was like a whiplash to Lachris, who spoke not another word, in fear of earning her master's ire.

" Alright, folks. Let round one... BEGIN!"

Slingshot rushed Djaeric and tried cutting him with his vibro blade.

Djaeric parried the weapon with the metal handle of the spear and tossed Slingshot to the side. The moment the two weapons made contact; sparks started flying off of the spear because of the friction from the metal handle, but Djaeric was able to easily repel the man away, using his own strength.

Djaeric immediately took note of the man's strength. He was strong for a man his size; he would give him that. But in Djaeric's mind he was certain he could win. He just needed to wait for a moment, when it would be appropriate to strike.

Djaeric raised his spear again, and waited until Slingshot made his next move.

Darth Marr watched as carefully as possible.

" Hm, this boy... His stance is quite strong, as well as are his reflexes. And then there's that fire within him. I can feel it screaming. There's more to this child than meets the eye. Watch carefully Lachris, you need to improve your saber skills, if you are to take Corellia. You could learn something from this."

" Yes, Master." Lachris replied.

Marr watched as the young human man, quickly and easily parried Slingshot away, over and over again.

" Careful, fast, tempered. He's a fine young warrior indeed."

" I'm surprised, he hasn't made a single move yet." Lachris muttered.

" No, dear Lachris. He's made all the moves, he needs." Malgus finally spoke up. " If you paid attention, you would know this, but he's gauging his opponent and deciding how to properly use his stamina." Darth Malgus explained to the woman.

" Really? Master?" Lachris turned her attention to the older Sith lord, who sat in silence.

Darth Marr had listened to Malgus' explanation, but he was also studying Djaeric's movements on his own.

In all the empire, Darth Marr is praised for his genius intellect and tactical mind, especially during the war. It was how he made his name. And of the many Sith lords sitting on the Dark Council not many can hold a candle to the Wrath of Marr.

Deep within Marr's mind, he was going over the young man's performance, using his own skills in dueling to simulate how he would fair.

" Hm, this boy... Would have made a remarkable Sith someday. Too bad." Marr muttered.

The Sith continued watching as Djaeric once again, dispelled Slingshot's attack. This time however, as he pushed the twi'lek male down, he thrusted his spear forward and impaled the man directly through his chest, both stunning and killing him in seconds.

Slingshot dropped to the floor dead, and the crowd erupted into cheers, while some of them started booing the young Djaeric. Most likely because they placed money on Slingshot and were forced to watch as he was crushed in the first round.

Either way it didn't matter to Djaeric, who simply pulled his spear from the man's chest and walked away.

" Hm, not bad. Not bad. What you think Marr? Slave quite good, right?" Jumwa asked the Sith lord.

" Quite." Marr muttered.

He and Malgus both watched as the young man disappeared beyond the veil of the red energy shield that kept the prisoners locked inside the colosseum.

Djaeric stepped inside the cage once more and, as the next competitors went out, sighed. He was immediately beset upon by his quartermaster B'Dock, who was extremely happy with his win.

" Way to go boy. Good fight. You made me a lot of money, already. Many people think Slingshot beat you. But I know. Oh yes! I know."

Djaeric rolled his eyes at the Trandoshan, clearly not amused by his constant prattle.

" Look, I gotta run back to the stadium and place more bets. You rest now. You got some time before your next fight. Remember, you got this." B'Dock

patted Djaeric on his back and then quickly scurried away to further increase his profit.

Djaeric felt his anger of being used by the trandoshan running through his veins. But quickly he quelled it. Knowing that he was eventually going to fight the winners of the next matches, Djaeric took a seat in front of a monitor and watched over the holonet as the battles played out.

There were 31 fighters all together, all of them were different. They were all different shapes and sizes. And each of them fought with a ferocity, and none of them were more impressive to Djaeric than the last man to fight, was the Zabrak man, Zylix.

Zylix was an intimidating man, standing well over Djaeric, who himself is over 6 feet tall Zabrak with long sharp horns on top of his head. He was quite big and physically more imposing than Djaeric. His skin was pitch black and the only sign of color on his body other than his brown horns, was the menacing red face paint.

After killing his opponent in record time with a flurry of overwhelming strikes with his vibro blade. Smashing his way right through the human man's guard repeatedly before decapitating him, earning a resounding round of applause from the crowd.

Zylix was confident that he was going to win this, it was a matter of fact to him. Like Djaeric, he had never lost.

Djaeric watched as Zylix came strolling back into the rest area with the rest of the slaves. However, instead of going to rest, Zylix took a step to the side and marched straight towards Djaeric, who grabbed the hilt of his sword in preparation.

" Easy there, boy. I ain't come to fight. Not here anyway. Just wanted to tell you, I was watching you earlier, and I look forward to slicing you up real good." Zylix leaned down and growled in Djaeric's ear, before walking away. He was confident... Or maybe arrogant. But not without good reasons. He was undefeated in his bracket.

In his bracket that is. But this wasn't Zylix's bracket and wasn't the only one to never taste defeat in blade-to-blade combat.

With the last of round, one's battles being finished, it was once again time for Djaeric to enter the ring Against his opponent, the Cathar man who managed to kill the Trandoshan with his fangs and claws.

" Hello, boy. The name's Hoopa. I just want you to know, it's nothing personal, yes. My master has called for your death, and while it does not, please me, I must deliver his victory. " Hoopa told Djaeric.

Djaeric grunted a little. Hoopa wasn't as arrogant as the last guy, and Djaeric didn't feel any hostility coming from him, but even still, now wasn't the time to care about others.

Djaeric wasn't a heartless man, far from it. The love he carries for his little brother is indicative of that. But Djaeric knew that having any sympathy for a person who wouldn't hesitate to kill you, would only ensure you end up dead faster.

Djaeric observed Hoopa, looking at his choice of weapon. Two small daggers and a rope dart. Cheap quality weapons.

" Hmph. You will try." Djaeric muttered.

With that said, the shield dropped once again, and the time came for Hoopa and Djaeric marched into the stadium.

" Oh, master. That man is back."

" Yes, Lachris, I can see that." Marr said to the girl. " Let us see how he handles this one."

Without saying a word, Djaeric drew his raised his spear and pointed it at the Cathar as he grabbed his two daggers.

" FIGHT!"

The headman gave the shout to begin and Hoopa rushed Djaeric with his blades, running low to the ground like an animal.

Djaeric twirled his weapon on the ground, cutting off the low approach in front of him, and forcing Hoopa to try and go around the sharp blade.

On an ordinary foe, it would be a great strategy to keep distance. Unfortunately, Hoopa does not fight like a human or a trandoshan. No, instead of using brute force, his skills lie with his amazing speed and reflexes.

Hoopa, easily maneuvered around Djaeric's spear and lunged for his throat with one of his daggers.

It would surely be a death kill, with one swift move. However, before the blade could pierce his throat, Djaeric drew his short sword and blocked the strike, smacking it away with the edge of his blade.

" Good reflexes." Marr muttered. ' Malgus, you've found something truly unique amongst a pile of rubble.' Marr noted the entranced look on Malgus' face. He seemed as though he were waiting for something in particular. Like a moth staring into a flame, or maybe....

Marr looked on curiously as Malgus focused his full attention on the young man.

Djaeric dodged and parried Hoopa's daggers with his sword and spear, keeping the Cathar at an arm's length as best as he could, but even he had to admit, he was being pressured a little.

Hoopa was fast, and while his blows weren't as heavy as Slingshot's, they were more accurate, more precise, deadly.

But for all his advantages, his sharp claws, his canines, and his quick speed, Hoopa just didn't have what it took to bring down Djaeric.

As Hoopa took swipes at Djaeric, swinging around his rope dart to try and catch the man with a quick and deadly cut to his head, Djaeric grabbed the dart before it hit his face and yanked on it so hard that Hoopa was pulled towards him.

Stumbling as his body was propelled forward, Hoopa tried to catch himself unfortunately, Djaeric was just a step faster, and impaled the man right on his spear.

" Gah!" Hoopa gasped from the pain. Feeling his life quickly slipping away, Hoopa leaned over and whispered something to Djaeric. " Hn... Thank.... You-" Those were Hoopa's last words, words of relief now that his long life as a slave were over.

And as Djaeric ripped his spear from the gullet of the catharian, he said a small chant welcoming him for his freedom.

" You're welcome."

Djaeric grabbed his spear and started walking away, once again finishing his fight with quickness unexpected from a slave.

The Sith were easily impressed by the slaves doing battle against each other, especially Malgus who watched Djaeric's next two matches closely, without uttering a single word the entire time.

Marr watched as well, sensing the great talent in battle that the boy possessed.

" He's truly remarkable, for a young man. Four well fought battles and not a single injury yet." Lachris muttered in amazement. Truly her eyes had been opened. Could she do with a simple blade, what this young man has? She couldn't help but ask herself that question. Even being a lord herself, could she find the same success without the force?

" Yes, for a slave that is remarkable, but what will he do when he faces an opponent as skilled as he is, and clearly stronger?" Marr wondered.

" There is only one thing do, Marr. Break Free!" Malgus exclaimed. Malgus carried power with every breath he took. And his voice even more so.

Djaeric, sat in the waiting area, while the people in the stands were allowed a quick break to place bets or get refreshments. And the more he thought about it, the more he became angered.

Listening to their voices and laughter, Djaeric gripped his fist hard, digging his fingernails into his hand until it bled.

" Listen to them, laughing at us, our death and destruction is their amusement." Djaeric spit on the floor in disgust, but at the same time prepared himself. He was fighting Zylix next, and that man was the only thing left standing between him and his freedom.

" Hey! Hey! Djaeric, you dirty dog! You made it. You actually made it to the final rounds. I knew ya had it in you." B'Dock told the man. He placed his hands on Djaeric's shoulders and squeezed them. " I've made more money in this one day, than I have my entire time here on this rock. Now, I just need you to win one more match, kid. One more and you're done." B'Dock told the man.

" One more and I'm done." Djaeric repeated what B'Dock said, knowing that his freedom was right in front of him, helped him keep his composure.

" Alright, kid. You know what to do. Now go out there and do it!" B'Dock exclaimed. He slapped Djaeric on his shoulders.

" HAHAHAHA! Little Djaeric, you made it funny boy. You ready to die?"

" Are you?" Djaeric asked the man. He got up from his seat and walked past B'Dock. This would be his last time entering the great colosseum. This was it, Djaeric's hopes were all in on this.

" Alright, folks. Here we are at the final bout! It's been quite a long day, full of many surprises. Some of you are gonna be walking home tonight rich! Some of you, well... Not so much. But don't worry, this is your chance to score big. In this final fight, the stakes have been raised. In one corner you have, the scourge of the Outer rim worlds. He was once a known pirate but has since fallen from grace, Fighting for Jabra the Hutt, we have Zylix!"

Loud cheers came from the arena, one side in particular, the western side where Jabra the Hutt sat, especially cheered for the man. It was clear he was going to be the fan favorite.

" And fighting for B'Dock the ripper, our youngest fighter yet, and also bolstering an undefeated record in the pit. The lord of the sword, The first son of Mek-Sha, Djaeric Keto!"

The crowd came to life for Djaeric, and while it wasn't as loud and boisterous as it was for Zylix, it was still quite a large mass.

" Here we go boy. Don't let me down, now." Malgus muttered under his breath. His eyes locked solely on Djaeric's form, watching as he forwent his spear, and instead chose to use his sword.

" Huh? What's this? Not going to use your spear?" Zylix asked the man.

" No. I want to get up close and personal." Djaeric told the man. This wasn't like the other matches. The other matches, Djaeric stuck to mainly using his spear and fighting conservatively as not to let slip all of his cards.

" Your funeral." Zylix muttered. Zylix grabbed from his back a vibro blade much like Slingshot. However, unlike Slingshot, Zylix seemed more familiar with the weapon and wielded it as it should be.

" FIGHT!"

With the match officially started, Zylix rushed Djaeric and started slamming his vibro blade down on Djaeric's blade with force, assaulting with ferociously powerful strikes, hoping to crush the man instantly as he did with his other opponents.

However, Djaeric was ready and parried Zylix's blade, taking multiple steps towards him, every time their blades met. Each time Djaeric parried, Zylix felt his wrists buckling under the weight of Djaeric's strikes. And even when Zylix went on the offensive, Djaeric still chose to continue advancing, moving into the flurry of blade strikes instead of away from them.

' Look at him. Rage, and power. Yes, just a little more' Malgus watched closely, he did not want to miss a single moment of what was happening in front of him.

Zylix attacked Djaeric once more, trying to use his overwhelming power and size to squash Djaeric. He threw his sword down and knocked Djaeric's upper half sideways, using the brief moment that Djaeric's guard was down to kick him in the chest and knock him off of his feet.

Djaeric landed on his back and Zylix rushed him harder than before.

This was it! Zylix saw this as his moment to take the victory and rushed Djaeric.

Djaeric managed to roll back to his feet and twirled his sword behind his back to block the blade coming straight for him. He blocked that strike successfully but left himself wide open from Zylix to punch him right in his mouth with his free hand seemingly stunning him and knocking him back.

" That's the match!" Lachris exclaimed.

" Silence!" Malgus shouted. He watched as Zylix rushed the stunned Djaeric and tried to plunge his vibro sword through the man's chest.

However, as Zylix's blade thrusted forward, Djaeric quickly recovered and spun around it, before stepping forward and driving his sword through Zylix's throat.

" What? How?!" Lachris shouted. She was so sure that Zylix was going to take that win, but then Djaeric recovered and immediately countered him.

" Simple, Lachris, a feint." Marr told the woman. " He purposefully left himself open and allowed his opponent to get in a strike, making him overconfident and goading him into rushing for the kill. The moment, that kid stumbled backwards, he had already seen Zylix's death. Isn't that right, Malgus?" Marr asked the man.

" Heh!" Malgus grunted in pleasure.

Djaeric pulled his blade from Zylix's throat and quickly spun around, using the momentum to completely decapitate the Zabrak man, killing him.

The stadium exploded into applause as Zylix's blood splattered all over the arena, and while the noise was loud enough to wake every person on the asteroid, Djaeric had gone numb, collapsing to his legs.

" I did. I really did it." Djaeric muttered. He looked down at his blade with a smile on his face. His emotions were starting to show through his usual hard-faced demeanor. Djaeric rose to his feet and raised his sword in victory, just as B'Dock started walking into the stadium.

The Trandoshan was clapping and had a toothy smile on his face.

" My boy, you did it! You did it! This is amazing!" B'Dock exclaimed.

Djaeric looked at B'Dock and grinned. " Come on, B'Dock. I won your tournament and got you your money. I'm done." Djaeric told the man. " Time to pull in on your side of the deal, get this collar off of me." Djaeric told the man. Djaeric was expecting the alien to uphold his deal from earlier and pointed to the shock collar on the back of his neck. " Come on, hurry up."

" Why, my boy, whatever are you talking about?" B'Dock asked. The grin on his face was smug, and full of treachery.

While Djaeric's was slowly twisting to anger.

" You said if I won this tournament, you'd-"

" I said I might just let you guys go." B'Dock stated. " Might, is a very big word here. But honestly, I didn't expect this to happen the way it did. You were supposed to fight more fights than you did, but because of them suddenly combining the brackets, you got off. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing! Think about it kid, you just made me more money in a single day than any other boss around these parts. You're gonna be big. Just think about it, you work for me, you keep on winning fights and making money. You won't have to work anymore, you and your brother will both live like kings, under my employ! It's a win-win kid."

" That wasn't our deal, B'Dock." Djaeric growled the man's name out of his mouth and stepped towards him. His anger swelling more and more to a level he'd never known before.

" That's too bad, kid. Because I'd hate for anything to happen to you or your brother. Especially now since he can't defend himself-"

" YOU BASTARD!" Djaeric lunged towards B'Dock with his sword, aiming to take the man's head. But before he could, B'Dock subdued Djaeric with a simple press of a button, activating the young man's shock collar and sending enough electricity through his veins to drop him to his knees in seconds. " Gaaaaaaaah!!!"

The entire crowd was briefly surprised by this sudden turn of events, but that surprise quickly turned to laughter.

" Guess, I'll cut my losses. After all, I can't have a slave trying to kill me in front of the entire world can I? Nah, it wouldn't look good on my track record. Sorry, Djaeric, guess this is where we part ways." B'Dock said to the man. " And don't worry, I'll make sure to send your brother right along with you."

Djaeric sat there in pain, still screaming as electricity coursed through him, but when B'Dock brought up Djaeric's brother, Djaerin, Djaeric started seeing his life flash before his eyes.

From the very first moment he could remember, running through a grass field with his mother and his brother, the happiness he felt, to the moment he turned four and she passed away from some kind of sickness, leaving him and his brother in the care of their father and the sadness they felt, and once again his vision changed to the moment where his father's debt landed the two brothers in slavery, the constant beatings, the brand mark on Djaeric's back, the mark across his face, the pain, the anger! The Contempt, The Rage! All of it began Boiling inside of his stomach!

Oh, it made him so angry just thinking about!

And then finally, his face came to mind and with it, his words.

" Power, Rage! All your life, you've been in a cage, A slave! When you are ready, Break Free of your chains!"

With those words echoing over and over again in Djaeric's mind, his rage finally came to a swell and exploded.

The people in the crowd, and even B'Dock had no idea what was coming, but the instant surge sent ripples through the force. Ripples strong enough that even Lord Lachris could sense the disturbance.

Marr and malgus both stood up from their seats and stared down into the arena.

" YES!" Malgus growled.

Marr on the other stood quiet and watched as Djaeric screamed.

" RAGHH!!!!!" Djaeric's scream sent out a force shockwave that completely knocked B'Dock off of his feet and destroyed his shock collar, freeing himself.

The crowd went silent immediately, being truly and completely stunned by what just happened. But things weren't over yet.

Djaeric stared down at B'Dock, his blue eyes burning red.

" Djaeric?! What a minute! Wait..." B'Dock muttered. He was trying to find the words to plea for his life, but as his body started lifting off of the ground, he couldn't find the words to speak. " Wait a minute! Let me tell you something! Wait! Let me tell you something!" B'Dock shouted. " Wait! Wai... AgGHHHHHHHH!!!!'

" Hagh!" Djaeric grunted one hard time and slammed his fist closed, Snapping B'Docks neck and killing him.

" Someone, quickly kill him!" Jumwa shouted.

The guards of the colosseum all rushed the stadium, however before any of them could even think of touching Djaeric, the sound of a lightsaber igniting behind them drew their attention, and leaping from the stands were the two Sith Lords Darth Malgus and Darth Marr themselves.

" Stand down! This Slave has shown potential with the force, and being allies with the empire, that makes him ours now." Marr explained to the guards. " Anyone who wishes to try and take this child from us-"

" Will die!" Malgus exclaimed.

The guards quickly backed down without even trying to argue. It was just a fact that they knew they couldn't hold a candle to the two Sith Lords. So, out of fear, they backed down.

With the guards at bay, Malgus turned to face the young man.

" You broke your chains; you are no slave any longer. Well done, boy! But your hell, is just beginning. You belong to us now." Malgus stated.

Djaeric looked up at Malgus, tired and exasperated from using the force. " I don't care... All that matters, is that I leave here." Djaeric muttered.

" Yes. You will be leaving. But where you go is not your choice. You have shown potential in the force and that makes you special. You have a chance to truly earn your freedom, to stand amongst the greatest forces in the galaxy. To be Sith. But first, you must endure hell. And where you're going will be nothing but hell." Marr explained.

" I've already been through... Hell." Djaeric told the man.

" We will leave immediately. Lachris, ready my ship. We depart for-"

" Wait! My... My brother. I need to get to my brother!" Djaeric exclaimed.

" Your brother is no longer your concern." Malgus stated. " Your only goal-"

Marr raised his hand and stopped Malgus. " I will let you say your goodbyes. But after that, you are ours." Marr stated.

" You offer me the chance for true freedom. I have no problem coming with you." Djaeric told the man.

" Very well, let's go." Marr spoke.

Djaeric carried himself as best he could to his feet and walked with Marr and Malgus. As of this moment, he was no longer a simple Slave.

.........

Back at the slave pits, Djaeric walked into the cell and quickly shook Djaeric awake.

" Djaerin, wake up. Wake up!" Djaeric shouted.

" Mhmm... Djaeric? You're back."

" I am... And I have some good news, little brother." Djaeric told the young man. " We're free. We're finally free little brother." Djaeric repeated.

Djaerin's eyes shot open and his body tried sitting up, only to be stopped halfway by Djaeric.

" What?! How?!" Djaerin asked the man.

" I killed B'Dock."

" How?! How did you do that?!"

" I... It's a lot to explain. But just know that we are free. You are leaving this place with me and getting a ride to a planet called Dromund Kaas. Don't worry, everything's being taken care of, I had a little help from B'Dock before his death." Djaeric explained. " Take this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit chip with all of the money that B'Dock had earned from his fighting.

It was well over fifty million credits. Enough money for Djaerin to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

" This... This is awesome, brother! I can't wait....! Wait, I'm going to this planet alone? What about you, brother?" Djaerin asked. Djaeric's face dropped from his smile back to his stoic expression.

" I'm sorry, brother. but where you go, I cannot follow. There was only one way I could get this chance for us. And to ensure that everything is taken care of, I am to be trained as a Sith on the planet Korriban. That is where I am going." Djaeric explained.

" Wait! Forget that! If that's where you're going, then that's where I am going!"

Djaerin protested abstinently against separating from his brother, but Djaeric wasn't having it. He dropped down and aggressively grabbed Djaerin's face.

" Look at me. Look at me brother! All our lives, we've known pain. This! This is the first chance in years, that we have to be free. Truly free, and I can't mess this up. I don't have a choice. They are going to take me whether I want to go or not. But not you. You have a chance to be free, live a normal life, or you can break free too. You can join me, when the time is right. But for now, leave everything to your big brother. I promise you I will not fail. Do you understand me?"

" Yes....."

" Good. Good! Now..... I need you to listen to me and listen well. I'm only going to say this once. Be yourself brother. Never change. treat those you care about with the kindness and love that you would. But be cruel to your enemy's brother. Never let anyone walk over you again, do you understand? Our days of being the garbage of this universe is over. Never again. Never again! Do you understand me?"

" Yes..... I love you brother." Djaerin looked into his brothers' eyes, with tears welling up within them. And as much as Djaeric wished he could spend more time with the younger man, he was all out as Darth Marr walked in.

" It is time." Marr spoke.

Djaeric nodded and stood up. " Be strong brother. I will see you again. I will not die. Not until we are both free of our chains!"