Now on to the final chapter of the Felucia arc. Prepare for a shocking end to the arc, and a new plot twist.
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Maris's rage was easily detectable, both by the expression on her face and through the Force. Starkiller saw her yellow eyes narrow and her hands go for her lightsabers. The Sith turned to Fisto.
"You find Shaak Ti. I'll handle this," Starkiller told the Master. Fisto wanted to protest, but Starkiller had already charged toward Maris, his red blade activated and held high. Maris charged back, yelling a furious battle cry.
Fisto sighed and muttered "Good luck." He then turned and ran into the jungle, toward Shaak Ti's prescense. He glanced back for a split second and saw Starkiller swipe at Maris's head before the fight was blocked by the trees.
Starkiller swung and Maris ducked before throwing her foot up. It hit Starkiller's helmet, and Maris cried in pain. She jumped back and began hopping on one foot, frustration obvious on her face.
"You'll pay for what you did to my rancor," she growled as she ran forward, crossing her blades in an X shape. Starkiller sidestepped and Force-Pushed Maris in the back, knocking her down.
"Control that anger, girl. Or it'll control you," Starkiller chastised as he calmly walked toward the Zabrak girl. She jumped up and took multiple swings at his helmet with her tonfas, none working.
"That's Mandalorian iron, sweetheart. You can't get through it with a lightsaber. Or much else," Starkiller said smugly as he grabbed both of Maris's wrists (putting his lightsaber back on his belt beforehand). He then lashed out with his foot, hitting Maris in the stomach. She gasped in pain, the wind getting knocked out of her. Starkiller released her wrists and she fell to her knees, trying to regain oxygen.
"Your anger is taking control! You're losing concentration, and you're becoming an easy opponent!" Starkiller snapped as he pointed his palm at her head. Maris had no time to respond as a Force Push knocked her back quite a distance. She landed in a puddle of rancor blood.
She saw what she was lying in, and her rage intensified. He killed her rancor, and now he was toying with her!
She jumped up and charged forward again, Starkiller front-flipping over her and throwing a burst of Force Lightning at her back. Maris cried in pain and fell, once again, on her face.
Starkiller sighed in annoyance. He was expecting at least some kind of entertainment. But this was pathetic. He wasn't even using his lightsaber, and he was slaughtering her.
"That does it," he snapped as he pulled out his lightsaber and activated it. He walked forward, fully prepared to kill Maris quickly and painlessly. Maris looked up and saw him approaching. Starkiller sensed fear in her, and then she disappeared.
"Ah. Here's where it gets interesting," Starkiller said, pleased that Maris actually had tricks up her sleeve. He sensed something to his left, and ducked as a tonfa flew by. He then released a Force Repulse, knocking Maris back. She regained visibility as she flew throught the air and landed on her back.
"Gotta be faster," Starkiller said as he used the Force to lift Maris into the air. Then he slammed her into the ground. She cried in pain, her lightsabers leaving her hands.
As Starkiller approached her again, he saw her eyes go from Sith yellow to a beautiful forest green. Then her eyes turned yellow again as she scowled and became invisible once more.
Starkiller looked around, trying to find Maris or sense her. But she was talented, he had to admit it. He waited, and then he heard a footstep behind him, and turned, swinging his blade.
Maris lifted both her blades to block Starkiller's assault, her Cloak waring off. He began swinging rapidly, Maris struggling to defend herself. Her face took on a look of worry as she realized what she was up again.
Starkiller then kicked in a downward motion, knocking Maris's feet out from under her. She looked up to see Starkiller's blade inches from her throat.
"You shouldn't have turned to the Dark Side. It only brings you misery," he said quietly. Maris scowled again and snapped "Oh yeah? Then why are you on the Dark Side?"
"Because there is nothing left to cause me misery," Starkiller replied. Maris looked confused, so the Sith explained. "You formed a bond with that rancor, and I killed it, causing you misery and increasing your rage. Attachments are a weakness, for Jedi and Sith," he told her before stabbing down.
Maris quickly lifted her hand up to the blade. It stopped in mid-air, as Maris was using the Force to keep the lightsaber at bay. Starkiller chuckled as he pushed harder on his hilt, the blade slowly descending. Maris quickly rolled out of the way before the blade pierced the ground she had been on milliseconds ago.
"You're wasting my time, and I hate it when people do that," Starkiller growled as he walked toward Maris, who was struggling to get to her feet. She backed away from Starkiller as he advanced.
"I won't let you win," she said as she turned and ran for the jungle.
Starkiller sighed and ran after her, hoping that she at least came up with a challenge.
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Shaak Ti woke up to someone shaking her. Her eyes slowly opened, trying to take in the surroundings.
"Good to see you're awake," Kit Fisto said with that infamous grin on his face. Shaak Ti leaned forward, rubbing her head. She had a serious headache now. "What happened?" she asked, trying to catch up with what was going on.
"Well, you got knocked out by Maris. She sicced her rancor on us, and it killed the clones. Starkiller managed to kill the beast, but he's fighting Maris by himself now," Fisto said, summing up the events that had just occurred.
Shaak Ti bolted up immediately. "Starkiller's fighting Maris?!" she said in alarm. Fisto nodded, and she yelled "You left him to fight her?!"
"Maris has turned to the dark side, Shaak Ti. It cannot be helped. If she hasn't joined him by now, one of them's dead. It was a quick decision," Fisto said firmly. Shaak Ti, in response, began to run for the crater.
She arrived on the scene, Fisto right behind her. Shaak Ti put a hand over her mouth, trying not to puke. The sight combined with the smell made her horribly dizzy. She gazed at the dead rancor body in amazement. Such a mighty and vicious creature, now dead. But it left behind a stench of death that would make a battle droid sick.
"Where'd they go?" Fisto asked. Shaak Ti looked around. She had been so distracted by the dead rancor that she had not looked for the two fighters.
"I sense them in the jungle. Come on!" Shaak Ti said as she ran in the direction of the two dark warriors, hoping that Maris was alive.
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Starkiller was pleasantly surprised when he found the large clearing. He had been to Felucia before, but he had never seen this. The clearing looked similar to the crater he was just in, but much deeper. In the middle was a deep depression. Starkiller saw large tentacles reaching out of the pit, moving through the air as if waiting for something.
"A sarlacc. Interesting," Starkiller muttered as he jumped into the clearing to see Maris sitting near the edge of the pit. "Welcome to the Ancient Abyss," she said without looking at him. Starkiller casually pulled his lightsaber off his belt.
Maris stood and said "This is the home of the largest sarlaac in the galaxy. When I defeat you, I will throw you into the sarlaac's mouth. And you will slowly be digested, painfully, for a millenia."
Starkiller chuckled and said "Cruel, evil, and scary. I like your style. But you forgot one thing." Maris turned and regarded him with cold eyes. "What might that be?" she asked. Starkiller shrugged and said "You just can't beat me."
Maris gave a cruel smile and said "We'll see." She then pulled her lightsabers off her belt and activated them, Starkiller doing the same. The two looked at each other for a few seconds, and both charged.
Maris jumped and flipped, spinning her blades in a whirlwind. Starkiller ducked under them and swung behind him, hitting both of Maris's blades. She then pushed his blade away and shoved both her hands in his direction, hitting him with a Force Push.
Starkiller was knocked back and was nearly thrown into the sarlaac's maw. He looked down and saw the grotesque beak, blindly opening and closing. Starkiller jumped up and lunged into the air, Maris following. The two connected their lightsabers in mid-air, and landed.
*Maris then turned and threw her lightsabers at Starkiller, who backflipped over them. He saw that they were flying back, and he ducked under them. When he turned, he saw Maris jump in the air and catch them. As she was about to stab down, Starkiller reached out with the Force and Choked her before slamming her into the ground behind him. He twisted around and stabbed down at Maris, who disappeared with her Force Cloak thing. Starkiller had no time to react as Maris reappeared behind him, sliding between his legs and pulling his feet out from under him, knocking him down. Starkiller landed on his back, his lightsaber flying out of his hand. Maris backflipped and crossed her lightsabers in an 'X' shape, attempting to stab Starkiller. He activated a lightsaber on his belt and a blue blade sprang forth, blocking Maris's attack and saving his life. Starkiller then did a Force Repulse that knocked Maris away. She landed on her back, her lightsabers flying out of her hands. Starkiller then deactivated his lightsaber and put it on his belt before Pulling Maris to him. He grabbed her throat and leaped into the air before unleashing a massive Force Push on her that sent her flying into the ground.*
Maris sat up and groaned. Starkiller walked forward, calling his Sith blade on the ground back into his hand and activating it. Maris smiled and said "You think you've won?"
Starkiller swung his lightsaber around casually as he walked closer to Maris. "Sure seems like it," he said as he prepared for the kill. But that was interrupted by a giant tentacle slamming in front of him, blocking him off from Maris.
She leaped onto the tentacle and said "The sarlaac is on my side! You don't stand a chance." Then she called her lightsabers to her, activated them, and jumped into the air as the tentacle lifted back up.
"What's with her and animals?" Starkiller muttered as he dodged a slash by Maris. She then jumped back into the air, and Starkiller dodged another tentacle that slammed down near him. He was getting frustrated.
Maris leaped toward him, but he leaned back and kicked his foot up, hitting Maris in the chin with his foot. She flipped in the air and landed on her stomach, a grunt of pain escaping her black lips.
*Before Starkiller could react, Maris jumped forward and activated her blades, clashing her lightsabers against Starkiller's. Starkiller pushed back and twisted around, knocking Maris back. Then he shoved his hand forward, a Force Push sending Maris into a sarlaac tentacle before falling into the pit below. Starkiller deactivated his lightsaber and turned to walk away, a sense of victory filling him. But then he sensed something wrong and turned around. Maris was standing on a sarlaac tentacle, her lightsabers activated. Maris yelled in rage and pointed one of her lightsabers at Starkiller. The sarlaac's tentacles leaned back, preparing for an attack. Starkiller put his lightsaber on his belt, preparing. One tentacle flew at him, and he dodged to the left. Another one thundered down, and Starkiller jumped onto the first tentacle.
The first tentacle lifted into the air, Starkiller still holding onto it. In mid-air, Starkiller lost his grip and fell. The sarlaac's tentacles caught him in a tight grip with multiple tentacles. Starkiller immediately released a large Force Repulse, the tentacles flying back. He then used the Force to land on the ground near the sarlaac pit. Maris ran down a tentacle, leaping at Starkiller with her blades raised. Starkiller pulled his lightsaber into his hand and activated it, turning around and knocking Maris away. In a quick motion, Starkiller hit her with a burst of Force Lightning. She flew back, landing on a sarlaac tentacle.
Starkiller then put his lightsaber on his belt and concentrated hard. He lifted his hands behind his back. Then he lifted them up, and released the largest blast of Force Lightning he had ever done. It was like an explosion flying from his hands. Maris and the sarlaac cried in pain, the sounds reverberating through the pit.*
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Shaak Ti and Fisto had lost the two fighters. They couldn't sense them anywhere, and Shaak Ti was beginning to think that Starkiller had killed Maris and left. The two continued searching until they heard loud screaming travel through the air.
"That's Maris!" Shaak Ti said as she ran towards the source of the noise. Fisto followed, his lightsaber hilt in his hand. He sensed something bad was about to happen.
He just hoped he was wrong.
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Maris fell onto the ground, her body in intense pain. She had never felt such pain. She managed to stand, but every movement caused the painful sensation to flare back up. She looked at Starkiller, who was advancing at a casual pace.
"That was cool. I think I'll call that my 'Force Storm'. Whaddya think?" he asked in amusement. Maris flinched in pain. She held her sides, trying to keep them from collapsing. Starkiller saw that her eyes had returned to that beautiful green color, instead of the Sith yellow.
He walked toward her and grabbed her throat. "You have beautiful eyes, girl. Too bad you corrupted them with your dark alignment," he said, sounding almost... Regretful?
He released her throat and drew his blade. "I release you from your torment, Maris Brood," he said as he lifted his lightsaber. She looked up and said "Please, no." Starkiller cocked his head and lowered his weapon.
"No? You're a fallen Jedi. A slave to the Dark Side. I'd be doing the galaxy a favor," he said coolly. "Please, listen. I was abandoned, stuck on this planet by myself for six months. I had to survive on corpses and fungus. I only felt hate. It was agony," she told him, her eyes pleading.
"Your point? I'm stuck in this suit with the whole galaxy hating me. I have no connections, no friends. Just enemies," Starkiller told her.
"Then turn away from the Dark Side. I want to. Why don't you?" Maris asked. Starkiller was about to respond the same way he did with Luminara and Ahsoka. Until he realized something: Whenever he said he liked killing Jedi, he was lying. He only killed Jedi because it was the only thing he had to do. But did he truly enjoy it, or just put up a pathetic facade?
"I will never be accepted. By either side. I've killed too many Jedi and too many troops. And the Separatists fear me. Either way, I'm despised. I could never be a Jedi. No matter how much I would want to be," he told her. Why was he telling her this? What made her so special? But he felt something familiar about her story. Left alone with nothing but one companion that wasn't human, having to survive on her own. Why did that give him a sense of nostalgia?
"No one is above redemption. Just try. Let me live, and you're one step closer," Maris said. Starkiller looked at her through the helmet. Was she being a coward? Or was she being sincere? So many questions...
Starkiller cocked his head to the side. Then he deactivated his lightsaber, putting it back on his belt.
Maris smiled at him. A true smile, not that Sith sneer that she had adopted. "Thank you," she said as she stepped back a few steps. "You've given me my redemption. Now find the person to bring you yours," Maris said as she backed away some more, toward the sarlaac pit.
Starkiller realized what she was about to do a split second before she did it. "NO!" he shouted, but it was too late. Maris gave one last smile before she fell back into the maw of the sarlaac.
Starkiller ran forward to see if she survived. But as he reached the edge of the pit, he saw a light fly up. He jumped back and a bright flash illuminated the sarlaac in front of him. The flash died down quickly, but Starkiller kept looking at the sarlaac. He called Maris's lightsabers to his hands. He knew what he had to do.
Starkiller turned to see Shaak Ti and Kit Fisto jump into the clearing, their blades ignited. "Where's Maris?" Shaak Ti growled. Starkiller looked down at the tonfas in his hands and walked forward. Shaak Ti raised her eyebrows and deactivated her lightsaber. But Fisto stayed ready.
Starkiller reached Shaak Ti and looked into her eyes. "I'm truly sorry," he said quietly as he put Maris's tonfas in the Master's hands. Shaak Ti looked down, struggling against her need to cry. Maris was the third Padawan she had lost. Why was she such a failure?
Fisto deactivated his lightsaber and looked at Shaak Ti, waiting for her reaction. She closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around the tonfas, a single tear falling from her eye. "Maris was a true warrior. Now she is one with the Force," Shaak Ti said quietly.
"Before she died, she turned back to the Light. She died a Jedi, not a Sith," Starkiller told her as he turned and began to walk away. Shaak Ti looked up at the Sith Lord. Why would he tell her that? Was he being kind? At that moment, Shaak Ti made a mental note: Never judge a person by the first encounter. Starkiller was a Sith, but... Why?
"Starkiller," she said before she could stop herself. Starkiller ceased walking and turned to look at the two Masters. "We may be enemies. But you are an honorable warrior. May the day come where we may cease to be enemies, and become allies," she said, bowing to him.
Starkiller was really confused now. First the girl commits suicide, and a Jedi Master was showing him respect. "You never know, Master Jedi," he said as he turned and walked away, leaving the two Jedi in the pit of the Ancient Abyss, the final resting place of Maris Brood.
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Four hours later, a Separatist ship
Starkiller was pacing on the bridge of a ship, his mind deep in thought.
Why did she jump? Why couldn't she live on?
She was weak. She couldn't take the amount of power.
Power? She couldn't beat me, so what power are you talking about?
Think about it! She couldn't even use Lightning!
That's not it! She was a Jedi again! Why would she kill herself?!
Once a weak Jedi, always a weak Jedi.
Forget it. I'm done talking with myself.
Starkiller then walked out of the bridge, walking down a random hallway. He had no destination, he just wanted to understand why she would kill herself, even though she had a chance at redemption.
Wait. She said she was already redeemed. But she still killed herself!
Like I said. Weak.
You shut up.
Accept it. All Jedi are weak, and all Jedi must die.
I SAID SHUT UP!
Starkiller's mental backlash sent out a Force Repulse that bent the walls, destroyed circuitry, and sent a few doors flying away. Then he felt a familiar sensation coming on. He cried in pain as his mind went haywire again.
A black ship descended onto a snowy planet...
Starkiller saw a man being electrocuted by Force Lightning. He wore brown robes, and was in a hut...
Starkiller entered a large round room, and a beautiful girl smiled at him. She had blonde hair, a beautiful face, and wore white robes...
Starkiller leaned against the wall as the visions ceased. He was really starting to hate them. But what did they mean? Were they repressed memories? Fantasies? Delusions? Visions of the future? But Starkiller knew one thing.
He was going to Kashyyyk.
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Okay, the Felucia arc is over. Now things get interesting. Now, Starkiller goes to Kashyyyk, and a few interesting things happen. Some unexpected things. And that blonde girl? Who is she?
Note: I'm skipping the 'Dooku Captured' and 'Gungan General' episodes. Two reasons: One, I HATE Jar Jar. Sorry, but I don't want too many chapters with him in them. Two, the 'Jedi Crash' incident turns the whole plot around.