A.N.
It has been SO long since I've updated this story, I know.
I've suffered an awful writer's block trying to work up the best way to write this chapter. Now that it's complete I'm sure things will flow smoothly from now on.
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Chapter9- Breaking Bonds
"Lord Vader," came the crackling voice of Emperor Palpatine over the hologram, posing tall and confident, "What happened? Where are the plans?"
"The rebels shot down the transport and attempted to steal them, but we got to them first." Vader let off a loud mechanical sigh, "Unfortunately, the fool of a sidekick I had stepped on and crushed them."
Darth Sidious' eyes widened with horror.
"Vader, do you realize how critical those plans were?" snapped Sidious, "without them plans the construction of the Death Star will have to be delayed again!"
Vader remained still, silent and angry, but hesitant.
Sidious sighed and rubbed his forehead, and then he perked his chin up and glanced warily at his metallic apprentice, "I feel you have more to say."
"I discovered the source of the disturbance, master" Vader spoke steadily.
The empreror's brow creased as he listened closely.
Vader noted his master's reaction and went on, "I found two Jedi, one of them was dark."
"Did you kill them?" the emperor asked carefully.
"No master," Vader's gripped fists tightened, "the force was strong with them. To my surprise, they fought alongside each other, and with great efficiency. It was as though they shared…the force."
"A force bond..." Sidious noted with astonishment.
"A force bond, master?" Vader queried.
"I'll explain it to you some other time," Sidious halfheartedly replied, and whispered to himself in thought, "How did they get here?"
Vader added, "May I also say that they were young, their skills equivalent to trainees"
Palpatine was barely listening, his heart throbbed anxiously; once the Jedi are involved, he knows things are beginning to get out of hand.
"The dark Jedi claimed to have been trained by the ancient Sith on this planet. A claim I'd prefer to deny, surely the spirits of the dark lords would never…"
"It is an expected drawback," interrupted Palpatine, pointing a wrinkled finger at his apprentice, "do not under-estimate the powers of the passed lords of the Sith, Vader." Palpatine brought his creased hand to his chin, "What of the other Jedi?"
"A female padawan with an unorthodox fighting style,"
"Vader," Sidious' eyes narrowed and his voice turned cold, "find and kill the master, then bring the children before me."
Vader bowed, "As you wish, master."
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The sky turned red as the sun began to set. Ron paced slowly across the quiet and broken battlefield. Fallen machines and rotting corpses littered his footpath.
"Impressive!" came the voice of Perfidious, Ron shifted his eyes upwards and met his master's gaze.
"What do you want from me now?" Ron asked bitterly, his eyes falling to the ground again.
"What do we both want?"
He kicked the burnt sand, "I'm not so sure anymore."
Perfidious eyed his apprentice closely, "I saw your performance against Vader," he smiled and his ghostly figure pompously walked over to his apprentice, then Ron smiled and got Goosebumps when it looked as though Ron was looking into his reflection now, his master very rarely praises him for anything, "I must say that was quite a show!"
Ron asked excitedly, "So, do you think I stand a chance against these posers then!"
Perfidious' expression now turned sour, "I think you stand a much better chance without your friend."
As though an arrow struck his heart, Ron turned away crossing his arms.
Perfidious' form suddenly creased till it turned into the bony figure of a thousand year old mummy, "A true sith lord cannot continue to grow in power until he has sacrificed the one thing he values the most. It is the most sacred aspect of our…"
"Traditions," Ron interrupted and turned to face his master with an angered face, "I know! And that is where we clash master…the reason I'm doing this is to protect my friends and family. Not hurt them!"
Perfidious staggered back, "Then you're no different than the infidels."
Ron got sick of hearing the same rants over and over again, and he's sure his master must probably feel the same way about repeating himself, he had to change the subject, "Why do I get the feeling you came to me for something else?"
A nasty grin crept across the bony face, then as he motioned forward, closer to Ron, his face transformed to its former human complexion, but the smile was still there, "Our disciples have made a new discovery about both our enemies!"
Ron's brows expressed interest, "what discovery?"
"Something neither side knows about the other," Perfidious shifted to Ron's other side and whispered in his ear, "Something we can use against them!"
Ron finally turned to face the ghost, "wait, you mentioned disciples! Who are these people?"
"Ronald Stoppable, please don't tell me you thought we were fighting this war all on our own, did you?" Perfidious chuckled.
"You never told me we had anyone else on our side!" Ron snapped, gripping his fists at the same time, his pale skin turning paler and his veins radiating a blue aura.
"I'm disappointed in you Ronald," Perfidious stated plainly, maintaining a smug composure," nevertheless I feel I must inform of the intriguing secret Darth Vader has been keeping from us!"
"What secret?" Ron raised his chin, listening intently.
"That he was once a Jedi Knight. That he betrayed them and became the emperor's apprentice. That he personally led an army of storm troopers into the temple and slaughtered everyone inside!"
Ron's expression was that of disgust, horror and…shock. He always thought this dark lord was evil, but never to that level. Now, to him, Darth Vader seems like a walking monster.
"And that's not all," Perfidious went on, "it appears that at the time he knew the master of your friend."
Ron's eyes snapped forward, had he heard him right?
"That's right Ronald," perfidious teased, "the old man your friend has taken as a mentor was once a friend of Vader's!"
The shocking revelation was evident in Ron's eyes and the sudden drop of his jaw, "Are…are you sure?"
"Your faith in the dark side is weaker than I thought, Ronald." Perfidious scorned.
Ron's eyes shot daggers at his master, "I think it's my faith in my master that weakened!" he stepped forward and fumed, "apparently, you've been keeping secrets from me and made me put my neck out for you, why?"
"Do not make the mistake of thinking that you're the only one at risk of death, my young apprentice," his master threatened, "there are things you're meant to know, and things that are better off untold!"
"What the heck are you talking about?" Ron quizzed.
Perfidious turned his back towards Ron, "nothing."
"No master, speak to me!" he urged, gesturing with his hands on his chest, "I must know what is going on if you expect me to help you!"
Perfidious snapped towards Ron, and flashed a lightning bolt at him, striking Ron hard, sending him to the ground writhing in pain until the Sith ghost was satisfied and stopped.
He waited till Ron's fast breathing slowed down and spoke menacingly, "the teacher never requests aid from his apprentice!"
Ron gasped on the floor as he felt the surge of superheated energy wear off, reducing him to a smoking heap of weakness, this time Ron was not going to apologize. He's had enough of this so called teacher. He had always been waiting for some reason to leave him, and the old bony fool has just given him the best excuse.
Ron lifted his head slowly, bitterly. He watched his master tower over him. This ghost, who resembled him in shape and complexion, has taught him everything about the force for the past months. But now it seems their relationship got from bad to worse. They practically do not trust each other any more.
Without a word being uttered Ron watched Perfidious' spiritual figure fade away with the gust of wind. Ron struggled up on to his feet and dusted himself, when he was satisfied that his black attire was clean enough he allowed a faint smile creep across his face.
If Darth Vader was truly an old friend of Master Dan's then he has just found a sure way to get at the old man and save himself from having to hurt Kim in the process. After all, Vader did offer to take them both under his wing.
The only trick that still remains though is to convince Kim to join the dark side. And that would also mean convincing her to join the Empire.
It's the only way he can grow in power with Kim by his side. It's the only way to bring order.
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A.N.
I know this wasn't very long, but I'm gonna take this opportunity to tell you all that I'm already planning the next and final installment to this saga.
Yes there will be a third sequel!
