10) Shroud of Darkness

—

A month had passed since the events on Concore Dawn and Keanu and Kitana confessed their love for one another. In the time that passed, the Rebels search manically for a new base considering all so far were under Imperial control.

Keanu and Ezra were on a planet hoping it would be a decent for a base but unfortunately the 5th Brother and 7th Sister managed to find them. They engaged in combat by the cliffside.

"I'm starting to think this planet won't work for a base after all!" Ezra said blocking the 5th Brother's attack.

"You sure about that?! I'd love to have the Empire on my doorstep, considering that the whole idea of a secret base is to keep it secret!" Keanu said sarcastically while fighting the 7th Sister. "Where's Chopper?!"

"I signalled him!" Ezra replied. "Either he's lost or ignoring us"

"Oh, he's not lost!" Keanu said still facing off with the 7th sister. They clashed before entering a saber lock.

"Your parents can't save you this time my dear" 7th Sister said.

"Yeah sure, but Vader can't save you either!" He said as he pushed the Inquisitor back.

"KEANU!" Ezra called out as the 5th Brother pushed him off the cliffside. Keanu slid across the ground grabbing Ezra's foot just in time.

"I got you" He said but he watched the inquisitors close in, chuckling deeply. "Ezra, I could really use your help up here!"

"Hold on! I'm busy right now" Ezra said using the force to call some creatures to his aid. But the inquisitors got too close and were about to strike.

"Ok, times up!" Keanu grunted, throwing Ezra into the air and using the force to push the inquisitors back whilst catching Ezra's arm.

"Up on three?" Keanu asked.

"Yeah" Ezra replied. "One"

"Two"

"Three!" the two said as Keanu pulled Ezra up and tossed him to the inquisitors with his blade ignited. The two teens engaged in combat again.

"Come on!" Ezra said as he and Keanu started running toward the cliffside.

"Why don't I like this!" Keanu asked himself as they were nearing the cliff edge.

"Just get ready to jump!" Ezra replied.

"Jump!? You're crazy! screw it!" Keanu yelled as the teens jumped off the cliff and landed on a large creature.

"This was you?" He asked in amazement.

"Yeah not bad huh?" Ezra asked.

"Not bad at all" Keanu said as Chopper flew the phantom in front of them. They leapt of the creature and into the ship before taking off.

"Phew that was a close one" Ezra said.

"Yeah too close if asked me" Keanu said, clearly agitated.

"What's wrong?" Ezra asked.

"Everywhere we go we run into those guys and I'm tired of it" Keanu said. "If this keeps up, we'll never find a base"

"So, what do we do?" Ezra asked.

"I don't know Ez" He replied. "We need advice or something. Maybe my parents could think of something"

"Well you're getting awfully cuddly with Kitana so maybe-"

"Not. Another. Word."

Later the teens met up with the rest of the Ghost crew as the Phantom reattached itself to the Ghost. The teens climbed down the Ladder and into the hanger.

"Well you two seem fine" Hera said. "How's the Phantom?"

"I don't know, Chopper flew it" Ezra said as Hera turned to Keanu.

"Your parents are here as you requested" She said.

"Thanks Hera" Keanu said as he and Ezra walked into a room where Dante and Ahsoka were sitting on their knees, listening to a holocron of Anakin Skywalker.

"He's Amazing" Ezra said. "I've watched these recordings to help me with my own saber training."

"You should have seen him in person" Ahsoka said. "Anakin Skywalker, he was my Master"

"Kanan and Keanu told me about him back when we met Rex" Ezra said. "Kanan said he was the greatest warrior the Jedi had"

"He was powerful alright, rarely lost a battle" Dante said. "Even though I beat him once or twice. But he wouldn't have been if it wasn't for my master"

Dante then pulled out his own holocron from his jacket and opened it, revealing a middle-aged man in a beige robe.

"I've seen him before… on Kanan's holocron" Ezra said.

"Obi wan Kenobi" Dante said. "He was my Master after tutoring Anakin. He was like a Father to me"

"What really would've surprised people were how kind they were. They cared deeply about their friends and looked out for them to the very end" Ahsoka said as the recording finished.

"Do you know what happened to them?" Ezra asked.

"The last time I saw Obi wan was when Ahsoka and I decided to leave the order." Dante said until his mind was bombarded with flashbacks. His fight with his brother. His banishment from the order. His final goodbye to his master. "With Keanu on the way, I wouldn't allow him to grow up without a father… unlike I did before I met Obi wan"

"The last time we saw Anakin was when he was rushing to save the Chancellor. That was when we were fighting to free Mandalore" Ahsoka said. "Then everything changed, the war ended, and the Jedi were accused of treason. One by one, they were hunted down"

"By the Inquisitors" Ezra said.

"Or worse. By Vader" Keanu said as Kanan entered the room. "Ok, now that everyone is here Mom, Dad, what do you think about us becoming the hunters for a change?"

"When Kanan defeated one two more came" Ahsoka said. "Who's to say that we wouldn't multiply our problems"

"And there's Vader" Ezra said.

"I don't disagree" Kanan said. "But the fact remains that we can't protect our friends from Vader and his inquisitors"

"The fact that he's got his own grudge against us makes it worse " Keanu said.

"In times like these Anakin and I would turn someone like Obi wan or Master Yoda. They always seemed to have the answers" Ahsoka said. "Almost always"

"Well maybe we should ask them" Kanan said as Keanu and his parents all had a look of confusion on their faces.

Later the five force wielders took the Phantom to Lothal.

"Ok, this is where I draw the line. We've been working together for months and yet I don't remember being told about a Jedi temple on Lothal" Keanu said.

"You never asked us" Ezra said with a smug look on his face.

"Ha. Ha… smart ass" Keanu mumbled as Kanan landed the Phantom in front of the Jedi Temple.

"This is the Jedi Temple?" He questioned "Alright im just gonna say it. It looks like a big rock"

Dante approached his son and placed his hand on teen's shoulder "Remember kid, not everything is as it appears"

"Right..." Keanu said as he and the others approached the temple.

"Here it is" Ezra said. "If you two and Kanan stand… here, you can use the force to open the temple"

"We cannot" Ahsoka said.

"Why not?" Ezra asked.

"Because Ahsoka and I are no longer Jedi" Dante said as he and his wife stepped back. "It's probably best if you three open it"

"Ok then Kanan, Keanu " Ezra said as the three Jedi used the force to slowly twist the temple around until there was an opening.

"Ok that's new" Ezra said.

"What's new?" Keanu asked.

"This is a different entrance" Ezra replied.

"Well, new problem, new door" Kanan said as the five force wielders entered the temple. The door closed behind them. They wandered for a bit before reaching a circular room.

"How exactly did you contact Master Yoda here?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well he kinda contacted us" Kanan replied.

"I thought I was dreaming when I heard Master Yoda's voice" Ezra said.

"And I was meditating" Kanan said.

"Then perhaps that's how we'll do it" Dante said as he and the others got on their knees and started meditating. Kanan opened his eyes and saw a bright light, revealing a doorway.

"I see a doorway" Kanan said.

"Where? I don't see anything" Ezra said.

"Me neither" Keanu said.

"Neither do I" Ahsoka said.

"Las time we spoke to Master Yoda, we were separated" Kanan said.

"If Kanan is the only one who can see it, then he's probably going solo" Dante said, facing the Jedi. "Don't die"

"Be careful!" Ezra said.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't do anything you would do" Kanan smirked as he stood up and walked through the door, leaving the two teens and Adults alone.

"Where'd he go? He just disappeared?" Ezra asked.

"As you know, these temples can be tricky" Ahsoka replied.

"Is that gonna happen to me and Ezra?" Keanu asked.

"I'm not sure" Dante said "At this point anything could happen"

"Um… Dante?" Ezra spoke up. "Keanu's gone"

Dante and Ahsoka both opened their eyes and saw that Keanu had disappeared.

Keanu then opened his eyes and saw that his parents and Ezra were gone.

"Mom? Dad? Ezra? Where are you?" Keanu called. He stood and witnesses a horrific sight. His friends and allies, covered in blood and on the ground, Dead.

"No! Ezra! Kanan! Hera! Zeb! Sabine! Elyk!" He cried before seeing Kitana and Ahsoka. He ran to her side and held her in his arms. "No…"

But then he heard a faint groan. Dante fell from above him, impaled with two black spears. He looked up to his speechless son.

"Run…" Dante said before another black spear shot into his back, killing him on impact.

"DAD!" Keanu cried as he looked up and saw the killer. A Zabrak with spiked, ebony black armour and ice blue skin, his eyes, an even darker and glowing blue. "You're going… to die for that"

Keanu charged the Zabrak, his sabers ignited. But his target slowly rose their hands as if asking for someone or something to rise. Little did Keanu know but his dead comrade's eyes started to open but they were blank. When he was about to strike down the Zabrak, he noticed the rising corpses, making him stop in his tracks.

"What the hell…" Keanu said before his body went stiff. The Zabrak was using the force to restrain him, yet he never moved his hands. He approached the teen, followed by Keanu's dead friends. "What the hell are you?!"

The Zabrak leaned in close and examined the Jedi before grabbing the teens throat with one hand.

"I am… Inevitable" the Zabrak said before a blade of ice formed in his hand. He impaled Keanu and his vision went black. But only moments later, he awoke to a voice.

"Keanu " a voice called out to him as he turned to someone he recognised.

"Anakin?" He asked as he looked at his Godfather who had his eyes closed. But then he opened them, revealing a dark yellow. He faded into Darth Vader.

Back with Ezra, Ahsoka and Dante, the three force wielders were still meditating.

"You two knew Master Yoda before, didn't you" Ezra asked.

"Yes" Ahsoka replied. "He taught almost all of the younglings in the temple at one point or another"

"Kanan described him to me" Ezra said. "Small, Green, wrinkly with pointy ears but he didn't know what he was really like"

"We're not sure anyone did" Ahsoka said. "He was wise and kind but when we were younger, he seemed happier. As the clone wars dragged on, he carried a great burden, a deep sorrow as if he knew before anyone else that one time was ending and another beginning"

Both Ahsoka and Dante opened their eyes and saw that Ezra was gone.

"Well then…" Dante said. "That was quick"

"The question is, which one of us is next?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well I can't see anything yet, what about you? Ahsoka?" Dante said as he opened his eyes and saw that his wife was gone.

"Ahsoka? You there? Well I guess it's my turn" Dante said, wandering around in the dark. He snapped his fingers and a flame appeared.

"So… what's in store for me today?" Dante said before he heard approaching footsteps. Two white eyes strolled towards him before an armoured figure stood in front of his flame. It looked like a walking shadow, covered in an ancient armour, obscuring the person within. They also had an ebony Khopesh blade, sheathed on their hip, along with a range of daggers and a long, curved blade on their back.

"Recognise me... little brother?" The shadow said in a horrifying voice.

"Vergil?"

"Yes... it is I!"

"That's impossible! You died!"

"The creations of the darkside do not die easily... I was restored, offered a new order to lead..." Vergil said before a 3 separate beings of mist split from his body. He multiplied. "Its shadow will darken the realms of the living and the dead..."

"Look, that sounds great and all but that's not going to happen"

"You always mimicked me… but you make a poor master!"

"What, because I upheld the Jedi principles, I thought you shared?" Dante said. "What am I saying... it's been what ... 18 years since we've been face to face? How bout a kiss from your little brother or better yet, a kiss from THIS!"

Dante then tossed a ball of fire at the leading shadow, eliminating one of four. The one with armour stood their ground as the other two circled Dante. He grabbed his longsword and shook it once, watching as it set ablaze. The two shadows then charged the Grey jedi. Dante slammed the ground and shattered it completely, purging the area with flames and leaving only the armoured leader.

"Ah… no longer restrained by the Jedi code... excellent ... and you're training has come a long way… little brother…" Vergil chuckled growled before the two clashed. "I can sense your anger…your hatred… it makes you stronger… it makes you just… like… me"

The two brothers clashed. Dante lunged his longsword, but it was parried by the khobesh blade. Their swords locked.

"Your feelings for your family were never real… they restrained you from your true power… the power of your demon blood… I unleashed your true potential!"

"They were real to me!" Dante yelled. "Now shut up and fight!"

Dante quickly pushed the blade up and kicked the shadow warrior as he slid across the ground. Vergil stood and chuckled darkly. He sheathed his blade.

"Defeating you like this… has no meaning" the shadow snarled.

"C'mon Vergil, lets do this!" Dante challenged yet his brother didn't move.

"Heal your wounds brother… become stronger… when the time comes… we will settle the matter… and you will die" Vergil said before disappearing into the abyss. Dante charged after him but he was nowhere in sight.

"Dammit" Dante cursed under his breath, placing his sword on his back. But he could sense that someone was concealing themselves. He turned and grabbed his blasters. "Show yourself!"

The hidden one approached him from the shadows. He wore a traditional Jedi robe, covering his face with a brown cloak.

"Who are you?" Dante asked.

"I am surprised that you have forgotten me so easily, young one" The man said, removing the hood that concealed his face. Dante's eyes widened. "Grey suits you well"

"Master Qui Gon?"

Back with Keanu he was fighting the Illusion of Darth Vader. They entered a saber lock.

"I worshipped you. Your mind, your conscience, they way no never gave up when the odds were against you! And you threw it all away, you murdering bastard!"

"The Jedi were the true enemy to the Republic!" Vader said. "You have been filled with lies. Your parents lied to you, your entire life. They haven't even told you what you really are"

The red and ice blue blades clashed back and forth until they entered a saber lock.

"Why would I listen to you?!" Keanu exclaimed as the two broke the saber lock and continued clashing.

"Anakin Skywalker was weak" Vader said. "That is why I destroyed him"

"You took my arm… now I'm gonna take your head!" Keanu snarled as the two commenced in a stare down. Vader spoke up.

"I will enjoy watching you suffer" Vader said before he disappeared, leaving Keanu by himself.

Ahsoka was sitting in the centre, meditating with her sabers in front of her. She heard a faint voice.

"Ahsoka"

Ahsoka opened her eyes and looked around and saw nothing. She closed her eyes again.

"Ahsoka why did you leave?" the voice said. Ahsoka then immediately recognised it. The voice of her former Master, Anakin Skywalker. A ghostly image appeared behind her but she refused to look.

"Where were you when I needed you?"

"I made a choice" Ahsoka said. "I couldn't stay"

"You were selfish!"

"No!" Ahsoka said.

"You abandoned me, you failed me! And what's worse, you and that monstrosity have filled Keanu's head with lies! You haven't even told him of his true nature!"

"No! You're wrong!"

"Do you know what I've become?"

Then Ahsoka heard mechanical breathing as the image of Anakin transformed into Darth Vader.

"He will be... turned"

"No..." Ahsoka said as tears ran down her face. "NO!"

She ignited her white blade to strike Vader but when she turned around, no one was there.

Dante couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Master Qui Gon? That's impossible" Dante said.

"No young one, I am merely speaking to you through the force" Gui gon replied.

"What about Obi wan? Is he still alive?" Dante asked.

"He is, alive and well. But he is in hiding for your own protection as it is for another"

"So then why are you here?"

"I sensed your anger and your confusion on who to trust. Raiden has said as much"

"Well can you two blame me?" Dante asked. "First my brother, then Anakin, and now with this whole new prophecy, who's next? My own wife and son!? I'm starting to think that I should just trust Vader!"

"Dante, I understand that it will be difficult but must learn to trust your allies and friends" the old Master said. "For if you trust no one, you will forever be alone"

"I guess your right " Dante said.

"Of course, I'm right" Gui gon said with a chuckle. "Now let that be my final lesson to you. Raiden will be a good teacher and mentor"

"Master Qui gon, wait-" Dante said but his old master was already gone. Dante opened his eys once again and found himself with his wife and son.

"You all alright?" Dante asked.

"I think so" Ahsoka said before temple itself started shaking. The three force wielders felt a dark presence closing in.

"Right on cue; the Inquisitors are here!" Dante said.

"We can't leave without Kanan and Ezra" Keanu said as they stood up.

"There's still a way" Ahsoka said as they ran through the passageway before pumping straight into Ezra and Kanan.

"You guys you won't believe what just happened!" Ezra said

"Tell us later us later Ez, we gotta go!" Keanu said whilst the five force wielders started running again. They found the way out.

"Up ahead!" Kanan said as they continued to run. But then Ahsoka and Dante both stopped in their tracks as they turned to see Master Yoda giggling on a rock. He waved at them as they waved back.

"Well I'll be damned" Dante said before escaping the collapsing temple. They swiftly boarded the Phantom and took off.

"I saw Master Yoda" Ezra said.

"Saw him? what did he say?" Kanan asked.

"He said to find Malachor" Ezra replied. "Who's Malachor?"

"Malachor isn't a person, it's a place" Dante said. "Not a very nice place…"

"So, what did you learn?" Kanan said to Dante as he looked down.

"My master is alive…" Dante said as the crew looked at him happily.

"That's good right?" Ezra asked.

"Of course… but That's not all, he's alive"

"Who, Dante?" Ahsoka asked approaching him. "Who's Alive?"

Dante was quiet before he looked at her.

"Vergil…" Dante replied. Ahsoka's eyes widened but the others looked confused.

"Who's Vergil?"