Chapter Ten: The Jedi vs. the Sith

It was Luke Skywalker who ended up engaging in a lightsaber duel with his father, Darth Vader. The Doctor had broken off from their locked sabers and allowed them to take their fight away from Darth Sidious. He held his lightsaber aloft at the Dark Lord himself, who smiled and stood.

"I have waited to finish what I started on Coruscant for twenty-three years," said Sidious evilly as he produced a lightsaber from his sleeve. "Now, I finally have the chance to kill you again," he added as he activated the red blade of his saber, which made a blood-curdling sound that shook the Doctor to his core. Nevertheless, the Gallifreyan stood his ground against the Dark Lord of the Sith.

"Are you ready to die, Doctor?" asked Sidious as he paced toward the Doctor.

"Are you?" the Doctor shot back, and Sidious lunged toward him. The fight was on.

Two duels were going on at the exact same time: Luke was fighting Vader, and the Doctor was fighting Sidious. Green blades matched red blades blow for blow, marking the first strikes of the final battle. The Doctor didn't think at all about what Luke was doing; he was concentrating purely on defeating Darth Sidious.

The Doctor remembered Sidious being very fast, and the memory of that speed was not in any way tarnished by Sidious in the throne room. Sidious was just as fast as he was when the Tenth Doctor had fought him, if not faster. His red blade hummed menacingly as he and the Doctor continued their duel, matching each other in combat almost perfectly. It seemed as though neither the Doctor nor Sidious were getting the upper hand.

"You're good, Doctor," snarled Sidious when the two legendary combatants' sabers locked together. "Just as good as your last life, it seems."

"Good to know that being able to fight toe-to-toe with you stayed with me through the regeneration," growled the Doctor.

"It matters not," said Sidious. "You will still never defeat me, and your lives will be mine!"

"We'll see," taunted the Doctor as he broke the lock and applied the full extent of his mastery of Ataru to his duel with Sidious.

The Doctor jumped, kicked, and slashed at Sidious, but the Sith Lord could match it completely and perfectly without a flaw in his step. Just like last time, his defenses were perfect and impenetrable, no matter what the Doctor tried. On the plus side, the Doctor kept his defenses just as impenetrable so that he and Sidious really were perfectly matched.

The Doctor was very determined to beat Darth Sidious this time around. As he slashed and swung and sliced as his opponent, he thought of all the misery Darth Sidious had caused. The galaxy was hurting under his control. The Jedi Order was dangerously close to extinction because of his scheming and planning. Who knew how many people he killed during his time as Chancellor of the Republic, and even before that? The Doctor had found a record that the House of Palpatine had been killed off almost entirely when their yacht crashed on Chommell Minor, with Sidious being the only survivor, but the Doctor suspected that there was more to that than had been revealed.

The Doctor quickly concluded that Darth Sidious really was one of the only people he had ever encountered whom he vehemently believed deserved to die, or at the very least have justice be done upon him, which would probably kill him anyway. This, of course, meant that the Doctor or Luke would probably have to kill him. If they failed, nobody else would ever be able to touch the Emperor again.

Sidious snarled in rage as the Doctor cut off a small piece of his left sleeve that he had left open.

"You were fortunate enough to strike me once, Doctor," seethed Sidious. "You will not be so fortunate again."

Sidious attacked again, much harder and faster than ever before. The Doctor had trouble keeping up with all of the moves Sidious was pulling off at once. He had no trouble noticing, however, that Sidious was keeping up his tradition of rapidly switching forms from one to the next. Juyo to Ataru to Djem So to Shii-Cho, then back to Ataru, then to Juyo, the Doctor listed all the forms Sidious went through in about five seconds of strikes and parries. The Doctor had to admit that, as much as he disliked Sidious, the man was a true master of combat.

As the pairs of fighters continued their respective duels, the Doctor found that Sidious was definitely fighting to win this duel. Maybe not to kill him, but to win and to steal his remaining lives, then kill him. The Doctor didn't particularly like that plan, so he fought just as hard to keep Sidious from winning their duel.

No, Doctor, came the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn suddenly. He must win.

What are you talking about? groaned the Doctor, trying his best to keep his thoughts on Sidious while also communicating with Qui-Gon via his thoughts.

He must win, Qui-Gon said again. Trust me.

Okay, said the Doctor. The Doctor did trust him. After all these years, Qui-Gon had never led the Doctor astray. The Doctor would follow Qui-Gon's advice. He would let Sidious win, just this once, and see what happened after that.

The Doctor slackened his grip on his lightsaber just a touch, and sure enough, Sidious took the bait. With a violent slash, the Doctor's lightsaber was knocked right out of his hands. The old lightsaber scattered across the floor of the throne room. The next moment, the Doctor was being held up in the air by invisible chains. His head was allowed to move, but his hands and feet were restricted. From his position in the air, he could see both Sidious and the ongoing duel between Luke and Vader.

The Doctor reached out with his senses to see if the Force was pleased with what he had done, and he got a small nudge of approval from both Qui-Gon Jinn and the Force itself.

"You have lost, Doctor!" cackled Sidious, drawing the Doctor out of his thoughts.

"Well, aren't you going to kill me, then?" shouted the Doctor over the sounds of clashing lightsabers. "Steal my lives?"

"Not yet," said Sidious. "First, I will make you watch."

"Watch what?" asked the Doctor.

His question was never answered. The Doctor suddenly heard a shout come from Darth Vader. Evidently, Luke had fought even harder now that the Doctor had been captured. He had kicked Vader down a flight of stairs, causing the Sith Lord to tumble down and land on his back while Sidious merely laughed as he watched it happen.

"Good," he encouraged Luke. "Use your aggressive feelings, young Skywalker. Let your hate flow through you. Give in to it, and strike him down."

"Remember what I told you, Luke," called the Doctor. "Don't listen to him."

Luke looked from the Doctor to Sidious, then back to the Doctor. He stared at Vader for a few seconds after, then deactivated his lightsaber as his father stood again.

"I won't fight you, Father," said Luke. "I won't do it."

"Obi-Wan and the Doctor have both taught you well," said Vader, stepping up the stairs and approaching his son. "Young Oswin, too."

"Thank you, Father," said Luke, tensing up, from what the Doctor could sense.

"But you are unwise to lower your defenses!" shouted Vader as he brought his lightsaber up to slash at his son. Luke reacted instantly, reigniting his lightsaber and parrying Vader's killing blow.

The two Skywalkers continued to duel ferociously, Luke always on the defensive. The Doctor watched anxiously as Vader continued to hammer his son's blade with his own. Luke defended as best he could, but Vader was too strong. He had the upper hand. Luke decided to retreat from Vader, backflipping up to a long bridge suspended high in the air. The Doctor noticed some hints of an Ataru move in there and was glad to find that he actually had taught Luke well as Vader had suggested.

Good, Luke, the Doctor thought to the young man. Luke sent back a nudge of thanks as he addressed his father.

"Your thoughts are betraying you, Father, even now," said Luke, applying what the Doctor sensed as Dun Möch. "I can sense the good in you. There is conflict between your two selves. Anakin Skywalker is in there somewhere, trying to get out."

"There is no conflict within me, my son," said Vader. "The Doctor is trying to poison you against me, no doubt."

"Wasn't my idea that you were still good, Vader," called the Doctor. "It was Padme's, and it was your son's."

Vader looked at the Doctor, confusion the predominant feeling in his mind. A word was probably forming on his lips, but then Vader looked at Sidious, glaring at him while telepathically still holding the Doctor prisoner, suspended in midair. The Sith Lord looked back at his son.

"There is no conflict," he said. "My thoughts are clear." It was obvious to anyone that he was lying, so Luke pressed on.

"I don't believe you could bring yourself to kill me on Bespin, and I don't believe you can do it now," said Luke.

"My son, you foolishly underestimate the power of the Dark Side," said Vader. "If you will not fight, then you will meet your end!"

Vader then threw his lightsaber in a deadly arc at Luke. The lightsaber missed Luke, but it did hit the bridge, causing it to collapse and sending Luke tumbling down below the floor on which Vader and Sidious were standing and above which the Doctor was floating. Sidious cackled maniacally, seeming to enjoy every minute of this.

"Having fun, are we?" asked the Doctor.

"Doctor, you have no idea," laughed Sidious. "Very good, Lord Vader," he added as Darth Vader retrieved his lightsaber with the Force and reactivated it. He made his way down below and started to look for Luke.

"Shall we watch, Doctor?" asked Sidious, grinning from ear to ear.

"Not like I have much of a choice either way," spat the Doctor, trying and failing to resist his invisible bonds.

"Such aggression toward me," taunted Sidious. "It will do you no good. Let us watch as your precious student falls to the Dark Side."

Sidious lifted his hand, and the Doctor felt himself moving with the Dark Lord of the Sith as he went to look on Vader, who was searching for his son, red lightsaber humming menacingly.

"You cannot hide forever, Luke," said Vader.

"I will not fight you, Father, no matter what," echoed the voice of Luke, who was trying his best to camouflage himself and keep the fear out of his voice.

"Give yourself to the Dark Side," commanded Vader. "It is the only way you can save your friends. If you turn, they can all be saved from fates far worse than any death they might suffer at the hands of Imperial soldiers."

The Doctor felt a wave of fear and anxiety coming from Luke. He still couldn't quite pinpoint where he was, but neither could Vader, so that was something, the Doctor supposed. Even still, Vader knew that Luke was fearful just as the Doctor had known. His own Dun Möch was working.

"Yes," he said. "Now it is your thoughts that are betraying you. Your feelings for them are strong. They are especially strong for..."

Vader paused for a moment, and the Doctor knew instantly what Luke was thinking.

No, Luke, don't think about Leia! the Doctor shouted in his thoughts, but it was too late. Vader knew about Leia now. The Jedi's last secret from the Sith was out at last.

"...sister," Vader said smugly, smile evident behind his mask. Sidious was smiling, too, the Doctor could tell. "Your thoughts betray her, too," added Vader. "You were wise to hide her from me, Doctor. Now your final failure is complete. If you won't turn to the Dark Side, Luke, then perhaps your sister will."

What happened next was a whirlwind of furious motion. For an instant, the Doctor felt a tsunami of rage emanate from Luke. Before the Gallifreyan could warn Luke to control it, Luke had already screamed, "NEVER!" at the top of his lungs, activated his lightsaber, and was hammering it into Vader's, enraged beyond anything the Doctor had ever seen in him.

"Luke!" cried the Doctor, but it was no use. Luke was already past the point of listening. Green smacked and barreled into red as Luke attacked his father, furious that Vader would dare mention turning Leia to the Dark Side. The Doctor watched in horror, Sidious in apparent glee, as Luke skirted ever closer to the Dark Side. He pounded Vader with blow after blow, and it was all Vader could do to keep his son at bay. Luke was on the offensive now.

Luke led the duel back to a bridge right near the elevator they had come to the throne room on mere minutes before. He forced Vader to the ground and hammered more strikes into Vader's lightsaber, whittling away at his defenses all the while. Seven times he swung his lightsaber as hard as he could. On the sixth strike, Vader's lightsaber was knocking into an unfavorable placement. Vader wasn't quick enough to stop the seventh strike, which cut off his right hand entirely, sending it and his lightsaber into the abyss over which the bridge was positioned.

Vader groaned in pain as he fell to the ground, quite literally disarmed. Sidious, who watched the whole thing, laughed again, as if he were pleased that Luke had passed some test. The Doctor, however, was less than pleased. Luke was now more susceptible than ever to the lure of the Dark Side. He had to remember not to listen to Sidious. Luke looked at Darth Sidious warily as he spoke.

"Good, young Skywalker!" he grinned. "Very good!"

"I'm sorry, but how exactly is that good?" asked the Doctor sarcastically.

"Hush now, Doctor," ordered Sidious. "The adults are talking. Your hate has made you powerful, Skywalker. Fulfill your destiny as I have foreseen! Strike down your father, and take his place at my side! Together, we can take the Doctor's remaining three lives for ourselves! We will rule the galaxy for ten thousand years!"

"No, Luke!" urged the Doctor. "Look at his hand! Look at Vader's hand!"

Luke, at first, looked as though he would do as Sidious asked, but he instead did as the Doctor asked. He looked at Vader's hand and was horrified to learn that it ended in wires, not flesh, just like his own right hand. Luke stared at his hand in obvious horror as he realized that turning to the Dark Side would turn him into the man his father had become. Luke would have none of it, the Doctor could see, and he deactivated his lightsaber.

"Never," he croaked. "I'll never turn to the Dark Side." And he threw his lightsaber to the floor, sending it clattering on the ground, before giving a small, triumphant smile. Sidious's face went from a smile to a deep, cross frown.

"Ha!" laughed the Doctor from his bonds. "Now, you see that, Sidious? That is a true user of the Force right there!"

"You've failed, Your Highness," said Luke patronizingly. "I am a Jedi, like the Doctor, like Obi-Wan Kenobi, like Jennara Oswin, and like my father before me."

Sidious was silent for a long time, but the Doctor could feel the anger radiating from him in torrents. Rage billowed out from him and he furrowed his brow and frowned.

"So be it," he said, trying very hard to keep his voice level, "Jedi."

"What are you going to do now, o great and mighty Sidious?" asked the Doctor tauntingly.

"You are laughing at the darkness again, Doctor," Sidious shot back. "It will not help you."

"You cannot turn me, so you'll have to kill me, too," said Luke. "And I may die here, but my friends will make sure you will too."

"I will not die!" roared Sidious. "I cannot die! The same cannot be said for you! If you will not be turned, then you will be destroyed!"

At that very moment, Sidious shot a current of Sith Lightning from his fingertips right at Luke. All of Luke's confidence and triumph had vanished as soon as the Lightning hit him. With a grunt, he collapsed to the floor, the Lightning shooting through his body like a blaster bolt. The Doctor had felt Sidious's Sith Lightning before, and he knew to get Luke out of there as soon as he possibly could.

Vader stood and joined his Master, watching along with the still-imprisoned Doctor as Sidious tortured Luke for his refusal to turn.

"Young fool," mused Sidious. "Only now, at the end, do you understand the power of the Dark Side and the severity of your refusal to join me."

He shot another current of Lightning. Luke spasmed even more, grunting against the pain of it all. The Doctor could sense Sidious's glee at using his Lightning again, even though his back was turned to the Doctor. The Doctor thought that maybe he could break free of his bonds now that Sidious was both holding him and shooting Lightning at Luke, but it was no use. Sidious was too powerful. The Doctor was still trapped, with no way to break free.

"Your feeble skills are no match for the Dark Side," continued Sidious angrily, and he shot more Lightning at Luke, who was now screaming in pain.

"You have paid the price for your lack of vision!" shouted Sidious. The Dark Lord shot another torrent of Lightning at Luke, this one longer and more unbearable for the Doctor to watch.

"Father, please!" pleaded Luke above the Lightning before screaming in agony again. Vader simply watched as Sidious tortured his son.

"Vader, help him!" shouted the Doctor. "He's your son!"

But Vader did nothing as Sidious poured Lightning into Luke's body. He did look at Sidious for a moment, but he made no move to help his son. The Doctor reached into Vader's mind and found some serious conflict. Just like the Doctor himself, Vader couldn't bear to watch his son suffer, but he still had a shred of loyalty to his Master. The Doctor sensed that the Vader part of him was clinging to that loyalty, while the Anakin part was screaming with his son.

Sidious stopped the gruesome torture for just a moment to say one thing more.

"And now, young Skywalker," he said before bestially yelling, "YOU WILL DIE!"

And Sidious unleashed another agonizing torrent of Sith Lightning upon Luke. Luke screamed in utter agony, and Vader was doing nothing but watching.

Qui-Gon, what do I do?! asked the Doctor.

He needs another push, said Qui-Gon urgently. Quickly, Doctor. Luke will not last much longer if Sidious is allowed to continue.

The Doctor nodded his head and called to Vader.

"Help him, Vader!" he shouted at the top of his lungs over Sidious's Lightning and Luke's screams. "He's your son! He's Padme's son! If you ever loved her, then in the name of the Force, help your son!"

Vader was teetering. He was looking back and forth between Sidious and Luke. The Doctor knew that Vader had heard him, and he was considering what he had been told. The Doctor could sense that he was still unsure of what exactly to do. One more final push ought to do it, the Doctor told himself as he called once more to the man standing in front of him.

"Anakin, please!" he called.

That did it, certainly. For a brief moment, Vader looked to the Doctor, then to Luke, then to Sidious, then back to Luke, then to Sidious again. Once that brief moment had passed, Vader made his ultimate decision.

Darth Vader forcibly grabbed Sidious by his torso and lifted him off the ground. Sidious was still firing off waves of Sith Lightning, but Vader was now taking the brunt of it instead of Luke, who looked up to see what was happening.

Vader remained completely silent, save for his mechanical breathing, as he carried Sidious over to the edge of the abyss and tossed him in.

The Doctor didn't see what happened to Sidious, but he heard the Sith Lord's final yell as he fell further and further into the abyss.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Sidious as he plunged into the depths. As soon as Sidious reached the bottom, an explosion of Dark Side energy radiated from the abyss and flooded into the throne room, as if Sidious were trying to get back into the room. Almost instantly, however, it flooded back into the abyss, where it would stay forever.

The Doctor felt his bonds break when the Dark Side energy subsided. He collapsed to the floor rather ungraciously, but he didn't care. He had a huge smile on his face that he carried with him even as he hit the ground.

Darth Sidious was gone for good.

Hooray for epic battles! Oh, man, that was a fun chapter to write! Such a tense scene without the dumb "No" in the Blu-ray version or whatever. Anyway, I hope I didn't make the Doctor's battle with Sidious too short. I wasn't going to have him win or anything, as I wanted to keep that scene where Sidious tortures Luke, and I couldn't very well have that if Sidious were dead by the Doctor's hand. I suppose Sidious could have cheated, but the Doctor would have killed him before he got the chance, I think.

Anyway, what did you think of this chapter? Leave your thoughts in a review!

I haven't gotten anything about the Halo fanfic I talked about a few chapters ago. I want to hear your opinions on that! Would you want to read it? Would you not want to? Let me know in a private message! I don't bite! I promise! :D

We're nearing December 18, and that means we're getting closer to Episode VII! Oh, man, I'm so excited! I don't know if I want to do a volume of SW(SD) on Episode VII, though. On the one hand, it would be fun to get back into that universe. On the other hand, I'm finished with this series. Eight volumes and a one-shot is enough, I think. It's time to move on to other things, like the book I'm writing, and the fanfictions I want to write/finish!

I don't know...I don't think I'll do it, to be honest. I think VII would conflict with the canon I've established in SW(SD) already, and that would be a complete mess to write around.

Next Friday: The Doctor, Luke, and the redeemed Darth Vader escape the Death Star, and a special surprise awaits a certain someone.

And that about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!