Chapter 21: Vader's Wrath

Roman turned away from the sunset to look at Sally, who turned to look at him.

"What?" Sally asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing." Roman said. "Just glad everything over the past fifteen years is finally behind us."

Sally nodded. "Guess the days of pointing you in the right direction and getting the fuck out of your way are over, then." She said.

"Oh, no." Roman said, looking towards the horizon. "Those days won't be done until the Empire leaves this planet alone. Though we could do away with the 'get the fuck out of my way' part." Looking back at Sally, Roman placed a hand over Sally's. "Change that to fighting alongside me. Just like old times."

Sally smiled. "Just like old times." She said. "I've been meaning to dust off my old ring blades,"

"Well, that's good news." Roman replied, noticing the blue ring bracelets that adorned Sally's wrists. "Because then-"

"WATCH OUT!" Sally shouted as she grabbed Roman and pulled him down behind the balcony railing as something struck the doorway behind them and exploded.

The resultant explosion buffeted both Roman and Sally, knocking them both against the railings.

Shaking their heads to clear them, Roman and Sally stood up, seeing the damage done:

The entire wall behind them was crumbling as a massive hole existed where it had once been. The room behind them was littered with rubble and flame, although nothing had been too badly damaged.

Roman looked at Sally and nodded. "Thanks." He said.

Sally nodded in return before they felt and heard something beneath them crumbling.

Looking down, they both saw that the balcony was moments from collapse.

Reacting fast, Roman grabbed Sally and hurled her into the room, just as the balcony collapsed completely, causing Roman suddenly felt weightless as he began to fall, hearing a scream of anguish as he plunged. But for some reason, he couldn't hear it clearly. He sensed the ground rising to meet him, so he called upon the Force in order to try and cushion his fall…

With Sally…

"ROMAN!" Sally shrieked at the top of her lungs as she watched Roman plummet. Utterly helpless, she fell to her knees and began to fight back tears. Just after they had begun to get along again, the explosion and collapse of the balcony had torn them apart once again.

It wasn't long before she could no longer fight back tears, letting them burst out as she lamented the loss of her friend. So close to having him back, only to have the chance ripped away forever.

A sound from somewhere above her caused her to cease her lament, a sound she had come to associate with pure evil:

It was the sound of breathing. Deep, laboured breathing, which echoed resonantly around the surrounding area. Breathing that sent a blade-like chill crawling down her spine, as if someone were dragging an ice-coated knife down her spine and using her vertebrae as if it were a xylophone.

Looking up, she sighted the sound's origin:

Staring back at her from the lowered ramp of a Lambda class Imperial shuttle, was none other than Darth Vader himself.

Vader leapt down from the shuttle and into the room, waving the shuttle away with his hand.

Sally stood up as she faced the Dark Lord of the Sith, who stared at her with what could have doubled as both curiosity or lack of emotion.

"Your Majesty…" Vader said, with a voice so devoid of emotion it would send any psychiatrist running. "We meet at last." He punctuated the last part of his sentence by igniting his lightsaber.

Sally swallowed some saliva as she replied: "So we do." The moment she had said this, she activated her ring blades, which flared to life at an alarming rate and painted the area around them blue. She didn't care if Vader was a Sith Lord; at least she'd go down fighting.

If Vader was surprised at the appearance of Sally's ring blades, he failed to show it, simply advancing on the Queen and slashing up at her.

Sally blocked the blow with one of her ring blades and spun away, backing up as she prepared to meet Vader's next attack:

Only for the door leading into the room to open, followed by Tails immediately rushing in, lightsaber at the ready. "Sally, get yourself and the kids out of here!" He shouted. "I'll handle Vader."

"No." Said a voice as Ashla came into the room, standing alongside Tails. "We'll handle Vader." She said icily as she drew her lightsaber.

Sally looked between Tails, Ashla and Vader before looking at Tails. "Don't make me regret this." She said as she turned and left the room, leaving Tails and Ashla to face Vader on their own.

Vader regarded Tails and Ashla with no less emotion than before, although he stared at Ashla long and hard. "The daughter of Ahsoka Tano and Seth Kerran." Vader remarked. "We meet at last."

"I get to kill you at last, as well." Ashla said with barely masked anger as she rushed to assault Vader.

"Ashla, no!" Tails made to call out, but he was too late, watching as Ashla slashed at Vader with the ferocity of an animal.

Vader met the attack with practiced ease, parrying strike after strike from Ashla before finally knocking her lightsaber out of his path before lifting her up by the throat and tossing her into what was Sonia's bed, watching as she struck the side of the bed hard before crumpling to the floor. He now turned his attention to Tails, to whom he remarked: "You are very brave or very foolish indeed to come seeking another battle so soon after our last."

"Seems I'm the only one around that's good enough to fight you." Tails said. "Besides, I owe you a number of things: Pain being one of them."

"Come and inflict it, then." Vader growled as he and Tails slashed at one another viciously.

The resultant blade lock was easily won by Vader, who shoved Tails back with his lightsaber before shoving Tails back further with a Force Push.

Tails flew back as a result, but allowed his backwards momentum to carry him over, flipping backwards and landing on his feet. Now back at a vertical base, he charged Vader once more.

Vader easily parried Tails' downwards slash at him, as well as the slash made towards his flank. He saw Tails rear back and lunge forward, but Vader reached out, seizing Tails' hands, which were holding his lightsaber, and lifting Tails high in the air.

Tails struggled, losing his grip on his lightsaber and hearing it switch off; just before Vader hurled him into the nearest wall. Letting out a groan of pain, Tails sank down the wall, losing consciousness as he did.

Vader made to move towards Tails in order to strike a mortal blow, but sensed someone advancing on him from behind. Whirling around with breakneck speed, he was quick to meet a fresh attack from Ashla, who growled:

"Whatever you did to my mother two years ago, you're going to pay for it." Ashla snarled.

"We shall see." Vader replied as he shoved Ashla's blade away from his, holding it at the ready as he noticed Tails rise to his feet.

"This time, we take him together." Tails said sternly to Ashla.

"I was just about to suggest that myself." Ashla said as the pair hurled themselves at Vader.

With Roman…

"Ugh… Fuck…" Roman groaned as his eyes fluttered open. Every inch of his body hurt, as if every single bone in his body was broken. As far as he could tell, they weren't.

Rolling over onto his front, it wasn't long before blood started to drip down onto the floor beneath him. Reaching up to his face, he was quick to discover a nasty cut on his forehead that was vomiting blood. Sighing, he wiped off any blood with his sleeve before forcing himself to his feet.

But once he was vertical, pain flared up in his leg and he staggered forward. "Gah!" Roman hissed, looking down to see a jagged piece of rebar stuck in his leg. Gripping it whilst swearing under his breath, Roman tore it free with a yelp of pain. "G-ugh!" He exclaimed as he threw the piece of rebar away. Then, taking off his coat, he tore a strip of it off and wrapped it around his leg as a sort of makeshift dressing. It wasn't much; but it'd have to do for the time being.

He made to start heading into the castle, but the drone of ion engines drew his attention. In response, he turned around, lightsaber drawn as a TIE Striker sailed into view.

Its ramp lowered as it neared the floor, allowing several black clad Imperial Death Troopers to jump down.

The moment they hit the floor, the Death Troopers popped up and opened fire, their shots focused entirely on disabling and neutralising Roman.

Roman blocked their fire as best he could as he advanced on them, eventually gathering enough strength to leap towards them, managing to behead the first, slash through the torso of the second, and open the throat of the third.

As he turned to attack the fourth though, a blaster shot rang out, and Roman doubled over, backing away from the Death Trooper, who held a smoking blaster rifle.

Cautiously, the Death Trooper advanced, muttering gibberish into its comlink as it drew close to Roman.

It wasn't counting on one thing though: And that was whether Roman had other weaponry at his disposal.

Getting to his feet, Roman quickly drew his blaster pistol, dodging the shot the Imperial Death Trooper snapped off at him before pumping several blaster bolts into the Death Trooper, who toppled to the ground and joined his deceased compatriots.

Roman allowed himself to exhale slightly before holstering his pistol and retrieving his lightsaber. Then, grabbing one of the Death Trooper's rifles and any ammunition he could find, he started limping towards the castle. He had things to do.

With Sally and the Royal Children, Throne Room…

Sally, Owen, Sonia and Manic found themselves standing in the throne room as Eren shouted commands into the comlink:

"Attention all units! The Queen and her family are secure! I repeat: The Queen and her family are all secure!"

"What about Sonic?" Sally asked Eren.

"I have men currently working on extracting him." Eren replied.

"Forget about Sonic for a minute." Owen said. "Where's my dad?"

"He was on the balcony with the Queen when it collapsed." Eren said. "We haven't been able to confirm whether he's survived or not."

Owen's fists clenched as he looked away from Eren for a number of moments before looking back at Eren. "Then I'll find out myself." He said.

Eren shook his head. "Not an option, kiddo. As a Jedi, you're a high value target as well. Your father would want-"

"How the fuck would you know what my dad would want?!" Owen snapped, startling everyone in the room with his rare use of profanity. "The last time you saw him was when you were three years old!"

Eren's face remained unchanged. "Because your father was the father I never had." Eren replied stonily. "Before my mother died, he helped her raise me to a degree. My mother had done fine with my grandfather around, but your father was there for me when my own father wasn't." Kneeling down to face Owen, Eren said: "I may have been young when I first met your father, but even then, he struck me as someone who wasn't willing to let others risk their lives on his behalf. Especially people he cared about." Eren stood up and said: "You're staying here." Glaring at Owen as if daring him to try and defy him.

Owen returned the glare with unequated fury, growling: "Fine. But if I find out my dad was killed because you didn't let me find him, then that my friend, is on you." With that, Owen turned on his heel and stormed towards the throne, sitting on the steps at its base and putting his head in his hands.

Sonia sighed and walked over to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and starting to say things to calm him down.

Sally saw this and smiled, recognising some of her own traits in Sonia's attempt to comfort Owen.

"Mom?" A voice asked.

Sally looked to see Manic staring at her hopefully. "Yes, Manic?" She asked.

"Will Dad be okay?" He asked. "I don't want what happened to him to happen again."

"It won't, Manic." Sally said comfortingly. "I assure you, it won't."

With Ashla, Tails, and Vader…

Vader quickly parried two strikes from Ashla before savagely backhanding her away so he could better focus on Tails.

The twin-tailed vulpine came at Vader next, rearing back with his lightsaber as he attempted an attack.

Vader simply sidestepped and parried the attack, watching as Tails lost his balance and toppled to the floor. Sensing something behind him, Vader once again turned to meet Ashla, who suddenly called Tails' lightsaber to her hand via the Force.

Breaking the blade lock with Vader, Ashla spun her lightsabers as she spun around, slashing at Vader using all forms of attack combinations. Enmeshing herself in the Force, Ashla called upon her knowledge of Form Four of lightsaber combat, Ataru, beginning to use the environment to her advantage as she leapt around the room, using furniture, pieces of rubble, anything she could use to attack Vader from.

Vader parried most of her attacks, dodged some, and blocked others. It wasn't long before he and Ashla found themselves in a blade lock once more. "Impressive." Vader remarked. "Most impressive. You share your parents' skill with dual weapons and their aptitude with form four."

"Better equipped to kill you, then." Ashla replied as she pushed Vader away, leaping forward as she drew back with both of her lightsabers.

Vader simply made a pincer of his hand and reached towards Ashla, who suddenly dropped her lightsabers as she reached for her throat, clawing at it as she fought to pry the invisible fingers that were ever tightening around her throat. "Better equipped to die by my hand, you mean." Vader said menacingly as he tightened his telekinetic grip on Ashla's throat, preparing to crush her windpipe.

But before anything else could happen. Vader felt something charge into him, knocking him back and causing his grip on Ashla's throat to falter.

Ashla toppled to the floor, coughing harder than she ever had before as she fought to regain breath.

Vader regained his balance in time to see that Tails had returned to the fray, having seized back his lightsaber. Looking to his right, he soon saw that Ashla was getting to her feet and had retrieved her lightsaber.

"I told you we would take him together!" Tails said angrily to Ashla.

"Kinda hard to do when you're all conked out!" Ashla replied with equal annoyance.

Vader listened to this bickering and nodded. It was clear to him that his opponents were divided on how best to combat him.

That division, would prove their undoing.

Meanwhile, the throne room…

"DAD!" Owen shouted as he nearly tackled his father with a hug. "Thank the Force you're okay!"

"Ugh, you know me, Owen." Roman replied with a grin. "It'll take more than just a huge fall to kill me."

Owen nodded. "I guess." He said. Looking down, his eyes widened as he saw the bloody bandage wrapped around Roman's leg. "You're hurt." Owen said almost casually.

"Ah, it's nothing." Roman replied, limping over to where the nearest medic was, inviting him over to get his wound treated.

Owen watched this with a relieved eye, just as Sonia walked up to him, wrapping an arm around him.

"See? I told you your father would be fine." Sonia said gently.

Owen nodded. "Now we can only hope your father fares equally as well." Owen replied.

Sonia nodded agreement as she sighed. "One can only hope." She said.

"It seems we're in luck." Eren remarked as he got off his comlink. "Sonic's extraction team tells me that Sonic's been safely extracted and is on his way here as we speak."

Sonia breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at Owen, who smirked.

"Guess we're both lucky, then." He said.

Sonia responded by suddenly grabbing him by the collar, pulling him closer, and kissing him hard on the lips.

Owen's eyes went wide with shock at the sudden motion, but it wasn't long before he wrapped his arms around Sonia, breaking the kiss soon after.

Sonia awkwardly stepped away, saying: "Sorry. Got lost in the moment."

Owen smiled and replied: "Sonia, there's nothing to be sorry for." He said.

His wounds now treated, Roman stood up and walked over to Sally, who was watching her daughter's romance unfold with tears in her eyes.

"Guess this means we're going to be closer than ever, now." Sally said.

Roman nodded. "We're going to need to set some guidelines and boundaries for those two." He remarked.

Sally nodded. "Just like my dad did with me and Sonic."

"You know, we can hear you, guys." Owen called out.

Roman and Sally looked at one another and shrugged. "It's called parenting, Owen." Roman said. "You'll have to do it when you have kids."

"Yeah, we'll see." Owen replied as he turned back to Sonia.

Leaning in to Sally, Roman said: "Trust me. I catch Owen doing anything to Sonia besides kissing her, I'll kill him."

"Thank you." Sally said as they continued to watch the scene before them unfold.

With Ashla, Tails and Vader…

Ashla flew out of the room with flailing arms, colliding hard with a nearby wall from part of a plantation.

Tails soon followed, although he was quicker to rise to his feet to battle Vader further.

The Dark Lord of the Sith was upon him instantly, cleaving down with his lightsaber multiple times in an effort to leave Tails in pieces.

Calling upon his knowledge of Soresu, Tails managed to parry, block or dodge many of Vader's powerful blows. Knocking one of many aside, Tails lashed out at Vader's midsection, feeling a distinct satisfaction as he felt his blade cut through armour and into flesh or metal, depending on what part of Vader's body he'd struck.

It obviously did some damage, as Vader let out a rare groan of pain as he backed away, holding his wounded midsection.

Sensing Vader's vulnerability like a shark senses blood in water, Tails immediately went on the attack, seeking to exacerbate Vader's wounds with a considerable stab to the same general area.

Barely, Vader swept the jab aside before lashing out with a Force Push, throwing Tails back as he met an attack by Ashla, who had noticed his wound, and had pounced instantly.

"At least I know you bleed now." Ashla said as her blade clashed with Vader's. "And now that I know that you bleed; I know that I can kill you."

"Then I will ensure that you are destroyed along with me." Vader said as he pushed Ashla back, attacking with renewed ferocity and slashing at Ashla's midsection with a heavy cleave, with designs upon inflicting a similar wound to his own, or separating her two halves completely, depending on Ashla's proximity to him.

Ashla blocked the blow, spinning into Vader's guard and jamming an elbow firmly into Vader's midsection, scoring a direct hit on the wound inflicted by Tails.

Vader doubled over with the force of the blow, but was able to block a combined attack from Tails and Ashla as one, shoving them both away as he stood his ground.

His wound throbbed and sent shockwaves of pain through his subconscious, but he reached out with the Force and allowed the pain to sharpen the edges of his anger, as he often did when in pain.

"Give in to your anger…" he heard his Master say in his mind. "It gives you focus... makes you stronger…"

And so it did. With a renewed focus and increased strength, Vader fell upon his two opponents with a savage ferocity rarely known to them.

In the Throne Room…

A loud banging on the door drew everyone's attention, particularly Roman. Lightsaber already in hand, Roman looked to those around him, saying: "Set up a defensive perimeter around the Royal Family. Nothing gets in or out without our knowing until it's all clear."

Eren nodded assent and gestured to his men to follow Roman's directive, the entire group forming up around Sally, Sonia, Manic, and the recently arrived Sonic.

Owen and Roman stood aside from the group, with their weapons at the ready; Roman with his lightsaber, Owen with his blaster.

Roman looked at his son and said: "Use your lightsaber, this time. If this is Shadow Guards, we should be able to handle them easy. You're advanced enough to stand a chance against them, although you'll be more hard pressed than I will be."

Owen nodded, before asking: "What if there's multiple Shadow Guards? I don't think I'm experienced enough to be handling several at once."

"I'll try and keep the majority on me." Roman said. "I'll let one funnel through at a time, so you're not too hard pressed." Looking over at the Royal Guards, Roman said: "Be wary, boys. Death Troopers are nasty customers if you underestimate them. Especially when they're here in numbers."

"Trust me, Roman. We know that all too well." Eren replied.

Roman nodded as they once again turned their attention to the main door of the throne room, from which a booming series of knocks reverberated around the room.

Roman felt his muscles go taut with tension as he waited for the slightest hint of Imperial Forces trying to break in. His hand curled tightly around his lightsaber as he prepared to ignite it.

Owen wet his lips nervously as he too prepared for combat to begin. His eyes darted around the room, something he often did when in this type of situation, and something that had served him well over the years, as it had helped alert him and his friends to more immediate threats.

His eyes met those of Sonia's and her fear shone bright. She'd been brought up in relative safety, never having to fear that something like this would happen. But now it was happening, and because of it, she was beyond terrified.

Owen responded with a gentle nod, assuring Sonia that all would be well.

At least until a blood red lightsaber blade burst through the main doors.

"They're coming, boys!" Roman shouted as he and Owen ignited their lightsabers.

With Ashla, Tails and Vader…

The first thing Tails knew, something flew straight into his head, smashing him senseless and knocking him off of his feet. Hitting his head on the concrete, Tails felt consciousness draining from his skull as he lapsed into unconsciousness.

"TAILS!" Ashla shouted as she watched this occur, at the expense of her own defence, as something hit her square in the back and knocked her over, sending her head first into the concrete floor. Thankfully, she too did not lose consciousness as she forced herself back to her feet, beginning to taste her blood. She came to her senses just in time for her to sense Vader right behind her.

Whirling around, she blocked Vader's attempt to cleave her in two before shoving his blade off of hers. Lashing out, Ashla jabbed towards Vader's belly. When that was blocked, she spun away and slashed at Vader's throat, which was blocked too, much to the teenage Togruta's annoyance. She moved to attack, but found herself falling back under a series of heavy attacks from Vader.

Vader pressed his attack with a vengeance, pulling back after one of his cleaves was blocked before slashing at Ashla's midsection with yet another heavy cleave.

The force of the blow threw Ashla off balance, knocking her lightsaber out of her hand as she blocked it.

Vader responded by lashing out, grabbing Ashla by the throat and lifting her into the air, listening sadistically to her choked and strangulated groans and screams.

Ashla had never felt this sort of strength before. It was as if Vader was intent on slowly crushing everything in her neck to mere sawdust. She started to try and escape, first by struggling, then by outright kicking Vader. But nothing worked, and instead, Ashla felt darkness creeping in. The sort of darkness that comes with being strangled to death.

That was until she was suddenly released and hit the floor like a heavy sack of potatoes, coughing as hard as she could in order to regain what little breath she had. Looking up, she saw why Vader had released her:

Several members of the Royal Guard had came into the area, firing on Vader in an attempt to distract him.

Unfortunately for them, this meant that Vader was now focusing his efforts on eliminating them.

Ashla coughed back the last vestiges of her breath before she sighted Tails' unconscious form. Looking up at Vader, she sighed as she rushed for Tails, picked both him and his lightsaber up and retrieving her own lightsaber before beating a hasty retreat.

In the throne room…

All Sonia could hear was blasterfire and the clash of lightsabers.

In front of her were the Royal Guard, firing with every bit of energy left in their power cells at the oncoming Death Troopers, who had come with Shadow Troopers as backup.

To her left, she could see Owen, doing his best to battle against a Shadow Guard whilst his father fended off the majority of them. Of the two, Roman was having the best success, his experience in battling multiple opponents at once affording him well in the circumstances.

For Owen though, it was an entire difference story. Youth and inexperience were not doing the younger vulpine any favours, and neither was the fact that the Shadow Guard was wielding a lightsaber designed like the ceremonial polearms that Sonia sometimes saw the Royal Guard wielding on special occasions. It was a form of lightsaber clearly unfamiliar to Owen, and as a result, he was suffering difficulty against the Shadow Guard.

The Shadow Guard was steadily pushing Owen back with his polearm, making short, quick movements with it in order to keep Owen far enough away so that Owen himself could not land a strike unless he wished to suffer a wound of his own.

Sonia's eye fell upon the sidearm of the head of the Royal Guard, Eren. If she could just grab it, she could use it to distract the Shadow Guard and enable Owen to get close. Good thing that the holster was not equipped with a strap to obstruct drawing.

Sally, who was watching everything alertly, noticed her daughter' staring at the sidearm and at Owen, frowning. She knew that Sonia had undertaken training with a blaster, but she was not keen on letting Sonia put that training to use until she was older… maybe when she was sixteen, perhaps. At the moment, she was twelve. Far too young to be committing acts of violence.

But then again, Sally had been doing that sort of thing since she was six, half the age Sonia was now. And as much as Sally wished to wrap her children up in cotton wool, there would inevitably come a time where she'd have no choice but to let them go. Just as her father had.

"Eren." Sally said. "Hand me your sidearm."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Eren said, grabbing his pistol and handing it to Sally, who handed it to Sonia.

"Remember your training." Sally advised. "Eye through the sight, elbows bent, and take a deep breath before you fire."

Sonia nodded thanks, and raised the pistol, aiming it straight at the Shadow Guard. Taking a deep breath, Sonia fired.

With Vader…

The door leading to the outside of the private apartments snaked open as a single hand lashed out, grabbing onto whatever was possible to grab onto whilst dragging the owner of the hand out.

Dragging himself out was a middle aged anthropomorphic hedgehog in his mid-forties, with greying brown fur and bright green eyes. He would have been handsome, had there not been a nasty cut on his head that was fountaining blood, and he would have looked impressive in his attire, were it not dirty and torn in places. He would have also been walking out of there, had both of his legs not been severed from his body at the knees, and he would be using both hands, if he'd not had the other one severed, along with most of his left arm.

Before the Royal Guard could get any further, a searing pain erupted in his back, before he eventually slumped down, and was still for eternity.

Vader looked down on the last of the Royal Guards he had been forced to slay in order to continue his pursuit of his quarries, those being Ashla Kerran-Tano and Tails. Switching off his lightsaber, he attached the weapon to his belt, before stepping over the corpse and leaving it be. The rest of the corpses littered the private apartments behind him, all of them in some stage of gruesome mutilation. But, that was what occurred when one stood between Darth Vader and his goal: Complete and utter annihilation.

Reaching out with the Force, Vader locked onto Ashla and Tails as if they were Starfighters in the crosshairs of his TIE Advanced.

He could sense that they were both making their way towards the throne room, where he could sense the rest of the people within the castle. With this freshened goal in sight, he began walking.

Before he got too far, something metal flashed in front of him, forcing him to back away as a lone Royal Guardsman leapt in front of him, lunging forward.

Catching the sword in his hand, Vader gave a little jerk, and the sword snapped in two with almost hopeless ease. Throwing the broken blade aside, Vader grabbed the guard and lifted him up in the air by his throat. With another small movement, Vader snapped the guard's neck, hearing the sound echo down the corridor. Releasing the corpse, Vader once again paused for a moment, examining his surroundings to ensure that no-one else was hiding somewhere with intent to get in his way. Reaching out with the Force, he again ascertained that none were in the vicinity that could conceivably stand in his way. Neither Tails nor Ashla had stayed behind to protect the other. Both were making their way towards the throne room. So that was where he would go as well.

Inside the throne room…

With one last triumphant yell, Roman and Owen cut down the last remaining Shadow Guard, as the Royal Guard, albeit with heavy casualties, dispatched the last of the Death Troopers. Taking a deep breath, Roman extinguished his lightsaber and hung it on his belt. Looking to Owen, Roman nodded and pulled him close. "You did good, Owen. You did good."

Owen nodded. "That first one was hell, though."

Roman nodded and replied with a hint of regret. "Yeah. Should've warned you that Shadow Guards wielded polearms. Fuck, those were a pain in the ass for me to begin with as well."

Owen nodded as he turned to greet Sonia. "Hey. Thanks for the assist." He said.

"You're welcome." Sonia replied, beaming at Owen's expression.

The two stared one another down for a period before a voice behind them said:

"That better not be you starting to date boys, Sonia."

Sonia turned, and her face could have lit up even the darkest of caves. "DAD!" She shouted as she rushed Sonic, who was now in a wheelchair, and was already dealing with Manic and Sally. "Thank the Goddess you're safe!" Sonia remarked as she hugged her father.

"I'm just glad to be out of bed." Sonic replied, drawing out a laugh from his family. Looking up to Roman, Sonic nodded. "Good to see you, Roman."

"Good to see you too, Sonic." Roman replied, grasping Sonic's arm. "Any updates on Tails and Ashla?"

Sonic made to answer, but as if on cue, Ashla burst into the room, followed suit by a clearly injured Tails.

"Shut the fucking door!" Ashla shouted to some of the Royal Guards, who moved to oblige, before she walked over to Tails and helped him towards the others. "Easy now, Tails." She said. "You took quite the shot to the head."

"No, Ash, really, I'm fine." Tails said, although he clearly wasn't.

"No you're not, Tails." Sally said, moving to help. "You're concussed and bleeding." Looking up, Sally asked. "This Vader's doing?"

Ashla nodded, looking up to Roman. "We need to get ready. Vader's coming this way. He'll be here any minute."

Roman scowled before he looked to Sally. "Get Tails behind me and Ashla. Now!" He ordered in a voice that brooked no argument whatsoever.

Sally nodded and dragged Tails behind them, as the Royal Guard formed up on Roman and Ashla.

As if on cue, the door burst open violently.

Darth Vader was here.

Vader stepped into the throne room and immediately met the combined attacks of both Roman and Ashla, fending off a lunging jab from Ashla and smashing aside a slash from Roman, using the Force to throw Roman away from the fight, sending him flying headfirst into a pillar.

Calling Tails' lightsaber to her hand, Ashla stared Vader down once more. And then she charged, leaping at Vader with a diving kick to throw the Sith Lord off slightly, ducking his counterattack and countering with an upward slash, which was blocked.

Vader attempted another attack, but this was parried, forcing him to counter another slash from Ashla, which gained more traction as she slashed at him with her other lightsaber. Catching the blade on his, Vader pushed his way out of the resultant blade lock and pressed forward.

Ashla ducked the sweeping cleave he made in an attempt to behead her and shoved him back with a Force Push before charging him yet again.

Vader looked up just in time to block her leaping slash and throw her over him, spinning around with a heavy cleave that she blocked, but the force he put behind it was enough to push her down to one knee.

Pushing Vader away, Ashla flipped backwards to avoid his next attack, doing so several times in order to put a decent degree of distance between her and Vader so she could meet his next attack, which came swiftly and brutally as Vader bore down on her with heavy cleaves, one of which resulted in a brief blade lock, but Ashla fought out of it, dodging Vader's next few attacks with agility that would make her mother proud.

As they duelled, Sally, Sonia, Sonic and Manic watched with bated breaths, watching Ashla make her stand against the Sith Lord.

Manic was holding his mother as closely as he could, tearful eyes somnolent with fear at its most primal base.

Sonia was watching with wide and fearful eyes as well. She'd watched a sparring session between Tails, Ashla and Owen, but those had been friendly and good spirited. But right now, she was watching a legitimate fight to the death, between two accomplished and fierce warriors.

Sally and Sonic watched with eyes that had seen this before and were not overly worried. They knew that Ashla was on the level of a Jedi Knight, and that she was more than able to hold her own with Vader.

The whole room watched as Ashla and Vader shared a brutal exchange of strikes before Ashla blocked a particularly heavy cleave from Vader, scowling as she stared Vader down.

But suddenly, Vader violently shoved Ashla's blades to the side before slashing her savagely across the face.

The entire room gasped as Ashla screamed in agony and sank to her knees, holding her face in her hands. She had been defeated.

Vader stared down at his adversary as she held her now blinded face, lightsaber held at the ready. "Perhaps your mother was wrong about you, child." Vader remarked. "She spoke of you in the last seconds of our duel on Malachor. She said you would be more than a match for me."

"You know nothing about my mother." Ashla spat.

"That is where you are wrong." Vader replied. "I once was the one who instructed her."

At this, the rest of the room let out a gasp that beggared belief. If that was true, then Vader was…

"Liar!" Ashla snarled, calling her lightsaber to hand, slashing wildly at anything that moved. "Anakin Skywalker would never turn on his friends."

"Anakin Skywalker was weak." Vader replied as he stepped back a number of paces. "I destroyed him to become what I am today."

Ashla stopped as Vader said this, tears leaking from her now ruined eyes. "Then I will kill you, and preserve the memory of who you were." With that, she charged.

Vader easily parried Ashla's sloppy and reckless attacks, disarming her with embarrassing ease. Then, picking her up by the throat, Vader snarled: "Now join your mother in death." With this, he drove his lightsaber upwards, impaling the daughter of Ahsoka Tano on his lightsaber.

"NO!" Owen cried out in desperation as Ashla fell to her knees, and then to the floor, motionless.

Vader stared down at Ashla for but a second, before he looked up towards the still assembled Royal Guard, with the royal family plus the son of Roman the Fox behind them. Then, turning towards them entirely, he raised his lightsaber and began to advance.

Eren took a deep breath as he turned to Sally. "Your Majesty, get the children out of here! Me and my men will hold him off!"

Already, Royal Guards had opened fire on Vader, who was blocking all of their attacks with practiced ease.

Closing quickly with one of them, Vader brought them down with a brutal cleave, before beheading a second and nearly disembowelling a third. The fourth was felled with an opened throat, and the fifth was run through.

Sally eyed Eren with tearful eyes. She wanted to refuse, wanted to say that she'd fight and die at their side like some of her ancestors had done, but seeing Vader filled her with a dread rarely known. And on top of that, she had her children to consider. Sighing, she said: "Fight with honour, Commander." Before turning and running away, Sonic and her children at her back with Owen providing a vanguard, shedding a tear as she listened to the Royal Guard make their final stand.

Outside, the Main Courtyard…

The group finally came to a stop in the main courtyard, each taking a moment to catch their breath.

Sally sat down on a piece of rubble, head in hands and sobbing as she bemoaned the death of the remaining members of the Royal Guard.

Sonic leaned back in his wheelchair, saddened and bewildered at the horrors he had just witnessed.

Sonia was staring back at the entrance into the Castle with wide and horrified eyes, silently reliving everything:

The initial attack with the Shadow Guards and Death Troopers, to Vader's arrival and duel with Ashla, and now he had more than likely massacred what remained of the Royal Guard, and was on his way.

Manic on the other hand was openly weeping, slumped over a piece of rubble and sobbing his eight year old heart out. The sight of Vader making short work of the Royal Guard to Vader's defeat of Ashla was enough to give him nightmares for life.

Owen saw this as he lowered the concussed Tails to the floor. Walking over, he knelt down by Manic, saying: "Hey… We're safe… We're going to be okay, Manic."

"B-But the guards… and… and Ashla…" Manic said between sobs.

"The guards died to make sure we got out of there." Owen said. "As for Ashla… You'll find she's tougher than you think. Just like her mother was. If there's anyone I know besides my dad that can take a lightsaber to the chest, it's Ashla." Patting Manic on the shoulder, Owen said: "As long as we're out here and Vader's in there… we're going to be fine."

"For how long, though?" Sonia said. "For all we know, Vader could be making his way out here as we speak."

Owen sighed. "Then I'll take him." He said.

"No…" Tails groaned as he forced himself into a standing position. "You're not ready for Vader, Owen."

"Fuck being ready!" Owen spat. "You're concussed, Sonic is still recovering, and I'm not about to let Sally get a shot at Vader unless he goes through me first!" Owen took a deep breath and sighed: "It has to be me that-" He was interrupted by the familiar sound of Vader's breathing as it echoed around the courtyard.

Manic and Sonia literally froze with fear as they stared past Owen towards the doorway leading into the courtyard.

Sally let out a panicked breath. "Owen…"

Owen drew in a sharp breath as he turned to face what was behind him:

None other than Darth Vader, who ignited his lightsaber before advancing.

Owen drew in a shaky breath as he took his lightsaber from his belt, facing Vader and forcing down every ounce of his very palpable fear, which now throbbed throughout his body like its own bruise.

As if sensing this fear, Vader quickened his pace, advancing on the cluster of Mobians with a clear and vicious purpose to kill.

Owen swallowed his fear and tightened his grip on his lightsaber, preparing to defend himself. Looking back at the Royal Family, Owen wet his lips. "No matter what guys, stay behind me." He said, praying his voice wasn't betraying his sheer terror.

The Royal Family along with Tails watched with horrified eyes, especially Sonia, who after seeing how close Vader had gotten, let out a yell of "OWEN! LOOK OUT!"

Owen turned just in time to block Vader's first attack, a sweeping cleave meant to simply bat Owen aside.

Much to Owen's credit however, he held his ground, gritting his teeth in determination.

Vader quickly shoved Owen's blade aside and hurled Owen back with a Force Push, sending him flying back to where the Royal Family now stood and or sat, riveted to their positions with fear.

Seeing this, Owen felt a newfound determination fill him, and he leapt to his feet, charging Vader once again and spinning his lightsaber in preparation for an attack, slashing down at Vader.

Vader parried the blow, the same as he did with Owen's next two attacks before catching his hands as Owen jabbed towards his belly, and lifting the inexperienced Jedi up into the air.

Feeling himself lose grip on his lightsaber, Owen found himself thrown aside, the force of which sent him sprawling. Getting to his feet, Owen called his lightsaber back to his hand and once again attacked Vader, slashing at Vader as hard as he could.

Vader sidestepped easily, watching as Owen stumbled for a moment before turning to face the Dark Lord.

"The Force is strong in you, young one." Vader said. "But you are not a Jedi, yet."

"If this is your attempt to scare me, it isn't working." Owen replied.

"Then you will die braver than most." Vader replied darkly as he advanced on Owen.

Owen attacked first, but his blow was blocked, resulting in a blade lock.

Pushing his way out of it, Vader attacked, but found himself in another blade lock. Growing frustrated, Vader shoved his way out of it before violently slashing Owen across the shoulder.

Owen cried out in pain as he held his wound, before he gritted his teeth and attacked again.

Vader parried this with ease, the same as he did with the next few attacks from Owen before finally counterattacking, slashing through Owen's lightsaber with a short deft slash of his lightsaber.

Owen felt desperation take hold at the loss of his lightsaber, and he backed away, drawing his blaster pistol and opening fire.

Vader blocked each shot with ease before finally, he made one other deft slash, and Owen's blaster pistol fell to the floor, also in two pieces. With this done, Vader slashed viciously at Owen, catching the twelve year old vulpine across the face, cutting into Owen's cheek.

Owen yelled out as he felt the gash, before he felt a build-up of pressure around his throat. His mouth fell open as he began to struggle for breath and was lifted into the air, hands falling around his throat as he fought to retain his breath. But more and more breath began to leave him as he felt darkness closing in. He could swear he heard screams of anguish from someone, probably Sonia, as he did his best to fight the darkness.

Suddenly though, something smashed straight into Vader, costing him his concentration and letting Owen go.

Owen fell to his knees, coughing his guts out and fighting to regain his breath. Once he had though, he looked up to find a horrifying sight:

That of Sonic the Hedgehog, now risen from his chair, facing Vader alone.

Vader regarded Sonic with nothing but a raised lightsaber. "You are either very brave or very foolish to battle me in your state."

"You've killed enough people here today, Vader." Sonic said. He was standing just fine, but he still was a little unsteady on his injured leg. "I'm not letting you take another life for as long as I live."

Vader stared Sonic down, as if completely unmoved by Sonic's reply. Finally, though, Vader replied: "Then you will die." With this, he advanced on Sonic, who awaited him with a resolute look on his face.

Sally watched this with an expression appearing as if her very heart was being torn from her chest. "Sonic…" She said.

"Sally, get the kids and Tails out of here." Sonic commanded "Now."

Sally bit her lip as she fought back an outbreak of tears. She wanted so desperately to refuse, to beg Sonic to get back in his wheelchair and escape with them, but she knew Sonic would not be swayed. So, with tears in her eyes, she picked up Tails, and ushered the equally tearful royal children away with her, leaving Sonic to face Vader alone.

Sonic watched them go with a tear in his eye as he prepared to battle Vader, knowing that he might never see them again.

Inside the Throne Room…

Roman awoke to complete and utter silence, which he broke with a groan of: "Oh, fuck…" It was only then that he became acutely aware of the silence in the room, at which he looked around alertly. He hated these types of silences. They usually preceded something bad happening.

It was then that he saw the bodies. With widening eyes, Roman shot to his feet and rushed towards them, murmuring: "No, no, no, no, no…" As he knelt down and examined the bodies.

Many of them were in grotesque and gruesome states of mutilation, others simply appeared as if they possessed no necks, and others simply had their bodies punctuated with some form of slash or stab wound.

Roman didn't stop looking, removing every helmet in order to ascertain whether the one he was looking for was among the dead.

"If you're looking for me, you're barking up the wrong tree." A weak voice croaked.

Roman snapped around to find his quarry staring back at him: "Eren…" Roman remarked.

The eighteen year old Caracal looked a right state. His uniform was stained red from the blood of his comrades, and torn in several places as well. His face, once punctuated by his clear, intelligent eyes, was now marred with an ugly wound slashed right through his left eye and across his lips. His right arm, once always resting on his now absent blaster pistol, was now gone, a part of the pile of corpses that now littered the room. "Yeah… That's me." Eren said. "Or… rather what's left of me."

Roman stood up and walked over. "Where's the Royal Family? Where is everyone else?" He demanded.

Eren sighed. "The Royal Family have been sent outside, alongside your son and Commander Prower. As for Ashla, well, you won't have to look very far." At this, he pointed behind Roman, who turned, wishing he hadn't.

Ashla lay in a heap where she had fallen, sprawled pathetically on the floor like meat for the carrion eaters.

Rushing over, Roman immediately checked her pulse, breathing a sigh of relief. "She's alive." He said. "Barely, though."

Eren looked surprised. "How…"

Roman smiled sadly. "Ashla's tougher than a lot of people give her credit for. Just like her mother." Looking up at Eren, Roman said: "Get her to the medical bay. I'll go after the others."

Eren nodded and moved to obey his latest directive. Damned if he was going to let someone else die.

Retrieving his lightsaber, Roman marched out of the room. Blood was to be spilt.

With Sonic and Vader…

Sonic hit the floor as pain once again flared up in his knee, the result of his recently repaired ACL protesting the strenuous action it was being forced to undertake. Forcing himself to his feet, Sonic barely managed to dodge Vader's sweeping cleave, quickly retaliating with a spin-dash which sent Vader back a few paces. Stopping for a moment, he took a few steps forward, limping heavily as he did. "How's that for an injured guy, huh?" Sonic remarked, flashing Vader a boyish grin.

Vader felt a pang of anger at Sonic's arrogant remark, but allowed the anger to sharpen his focus. And with that, he leapt towards Sonic, who barely sidestepped Vader's downward cleave, ducking a second meant to behead him. What Sonic could not dodge though, was Vader's hand shooting out and grabbing him by the throat.

Sonic felt himself lifted into the air as an almost hydraulic pressure began to build around his throat.

"You were mistaken to attempt to combat me in your condition, Sonic." Vader remarked. "Your endeavour to protect your children, while admirable, will now ultimately result in your destruction." With this, he made to crush Sonic's neck, but before he could, a loud voice drew his attention:

"VADER!"

Vader relaxed his grip on Sonic's throat and dropped the cerulean hedgehog, focusing on the new entrant to the battlefield:

Roman the Fox stood at the mouth of the doorway leading into the throne room, lightsaber in hand as he stared Vader down.

"Leave him alone." Roman snarled as he marched down the small flight of steps towards Vader. "Your fight's with me."

Vader remained where he stood, appearing not to notice Sonic getting to his feet beside him.

Roman stopped where he was standing and glared at Vader with a hatred rarely known as a tense silence descended upon the courtyard. All that could be heard was the steady hum of his and Vader's lightsabers as suddenly, rain began to fall.

Both Roman and Vader looked around to register the new development, as the rain gently struck their lightsabers, evaporating with a harsh hiss as water met the intense heat of their lightsabers.

Once again though, their gazes came to rest upon one another, Roman's eyes meeting the bulbous and soulless eyes of Vader.

Vader, appearing to acquiesce, lowered his lightsaber. "How true." He replied, before suddenly whirling on Sonic and driving his lightsaber up to the hilt into the Fatest Thing Alive's chest.

Roman's eyes widened as his mind screamed: NO! He froze in position, a memory two months old flashing before his eyes:

Two months ago, Mustafar, 21st April 3256…

"Keep running!" Roman shouted as he stopped in his tracks just enough to snap off a plethora of shots at his pursuer.

Vader slapped the bolts aside as if they were little more than insects, continuing his singular path towards Roman and his group.

"Roman, come on!" Ashley shouted as she ran to Roman and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him in front of her as the pair of them continued to run.

In front of them was the exit, where their friends were already standing, beckoning towards them like men and women possessed.

"COME ON!" Ashla shrieked as she snapped off shot after shot at the nightmarish individual pursuing the closest person she had to a father and her co-pilot.

Again, Vader parried these blasts with complete and utter impunity, as if they mattered little to him as he continued marching on them.

Roman stopped once more and hurled a thermal detonator towards Vader, in one last desperate attempt to get him off of their tails.

Vader caught the device via the Force, pausing but a moment to let it explode before marching through the flames like a demonic entity.

"We're almost there, Roman, come on!" Ashley shouted as she beckoned Roman to follow her.

Roman turned away and sprinted as fast as he could towards the doors, which to his horror, started closing on them. At this, he shouted to the others: "Get out of here! We'll be right behind you!"

The others obliged, exiting the corridor as the doors steadily came closer and closer to closing completely.

Roman had no idea when he overtook Ashley, but just as the door was inches away from closing, he felt something roughly shove him out of the door just in time, carrying him through the door and sending him sprawling. Getting to his feet, he was quick to realise: Ashley wasn't with him. "Ashley!" He shouted, rushing the door, trying to use the Force to open it when Ashley's face appeared in the window:

"Roman, get out while you still-" She started to say, but her words caught in her throat and her face fell as a red beam of energy burst through the door directly where she was.

Roman felt a helplessness unlike anything he had felt before descend upon him as he fell to his knees, fighting back tears. A whimper escaped him that resembled a wail as Ashley's still open eyes stared back at him.

A hand-Ashley's hand, appeared at the window, pressed against the glass as if inviting Roman to reach out with his.

Roman's eyes shut against tears as he reached out with his own, only for the lightsaber currently pinning her against the door suddenly vanished, as did Ashley's face.

Present day, 30th June 3256, 23:30 pm…

Roman felt that all too familiar helplessness hit him as he fell to his knees, the gasp of horror that was so desperately building up in his throat being brutally denied release, rather being detained within him as was the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes at the sight of one of his closest friends being impaled on Vader's blade once again.

Vader turned to see Roman in this state, vividly remembering an event where he had Roman similarly rattled. Jerking his blade free, Vader allowed Sonic to stagger towards Roman.

Sonic did just that, half staggering, half limping as he reached out towards Roman, his only source of salvation. But before he could reach Roman, his strength failed him, and he too fell to his knees before slumping sideways.

Roman watched this through tear-filled eyes, memories of Ashley's death filling his mind, as well as other times that he had felt similarly helpless.

Vader watched Roman from where he was still standing, his breathing now the only sound in the entire courtyard alongside the hum of his and Roman's lightsabers and Roman's helpless sobbing. Finally, his voice broke the silence: "It was inevitable that the hedgehog would die." Vader said. "His perseverance was admirable, but ultimately lead to his destruction. A fate that now awaits the queen and her brood."

At the mention of that, Roman suddenly felt an emotion blast through his helplessness; an emotion so powerful, it filled him with an adrenaline rarely known from him, and with that adrenaline, came the emotion in the shape of Roman's lightsaber: Determination. "You'll have to kill me, first." Roman snarled as he spun his lightsaber and charged, a violent war-cry emanating from his lips as he sprinted at full pelt towards the Dark Lord of the Sith, lightsaber ready to attack.

Vader simply made a pincer of his hand, and lifted Roman in the air, beginning to choke him and causing Roman to drop his lightsaber. He would have crushed Roman's throat there and then had a cascade of blaster bolts fly past Vader, causing him to drop Roman. Looking up, he saw his newest opponent:

A teary eyed, very angry Sally Acorn, who threw down her pistol and marched towards Vader.

Roman saw this with wide eyes as he made to say: "Sally-"

"Stay the fuck out of my way." Sally snarled, her voice threatening pain the likes of which Roman had not felt should he refuse to do so.

Reluctantly, Roman obliged, allowing Sally to storm past him.

Picking up Roman's lightsaber, Sally came to a stop metres away from Vader, who regarded his new opponent with as much respect as a pile of manure.

"We need not be adversaries." Vader said, surprising Roman. "Surrender to me now, and you may leave this meeting alive."

Sally responded by igniting Roman's lightsaber and growling: "I might have considered your offer… Had you not just murdered my fucking HUSBAND!" With this, she rushed forward, an enraged war cry emanating from her lips.

Vader surged forward to meet her, blocking Sally's attempt at a strike before attempting one of his own, which was parried as well. Spinning around in a rare show of agility, Vader swung his lightsaber towards Sally in a sweeping cleaving arc, intending to behead the queen there and then.

Sally jumped back to avoid the strike before slashing twice at Vader, with both attacks being blocked. She suddenly found herself falling back as Vader counterattacked, blocking two of his cleaves before being knocked down by a third. Rising to her feet, she once again charged Vader, slashing down at him with a rare ferocity, rage clouding her usually reserved and calculated judgement in such an engagement.

Vader dodged one strike before sidestepping the second, unbalancing the queen as he did so. Waiting for her to turn around, Vader advanced, cleaving at her several times before once again knocking her down, this time with such force that Roman's lightsaber fell from her hands. Raising his lightsaber, Vader prepared to deal the deathblow, bringing his lightsaber down onto Sally like an executioner with his axe.

Activating her ring blades, Sally leapt up in the nick of time, blocking the blow with both. It took all of her strength to stand up to Vader, who bore down on her with strength greater than anything she had ever felt before.

Raising his lightsaber once more, Vader brought it down onto Sally's ring blades again, finding that they held firm once more. Growing frustrated, Vader put all of his strength into one final savage blow, one which finally broke through Sally's ring blades, causing them to fall off of her wrists and hit the floor.

Sally made to grab Roman's lightsaber, but Vader was faster, descending upon her like a wraith before driving his lightsaber up to the hilt into her chest.

"NO!" Roman shouted at the top of his lungs as he called his lightsaber to his hand, igniting it and charging Vader.

Vader tore his lightsaber free of Sally's body just in time to intercept Roman's strike, shoving it away with ease as he turned to face Roman completely.

Roman looked down at Sally's body, and allowed his rage to fill him, charging Vader with vengeance on his heart.

Vader parried Roman's first attack, blocking the second before a stiff kick pushed him away from the engagement. Backing away, he eyed Roman, whose brown eyes were now almost black with pure unadulterated rage as the vulpine attacked.

Spinning away from a parried slash, Roman struck out at Vader's chest, with intent to cut through whatever it was that kept Vader alive and kill the Dark Lord. When this was blocked, Roman lashed out with a Force Push, shoving Vader back before spinning his lightsaber and attacking again.

Vader met Roman strike for strike, parrying a downward slash meant to cut him in two before parrying several attacks meant for Vader's midsection, which still bore the wound inflicted upon Vader by Ashla earlier. Blocking another one, Vader found himself in a saber lock with Roman. Pushing his way out of it, he made to advance, before being stopped in his tracks by Roman, who'd drawn his blaster and opened fire on Vader.

Roman snapped off several more shots before he holstered his pistol and charged Vader again, exchanging strikes with the Dark Lord with more ferocity than a pack of starving Nexus.

It was about this time that Vader and Roman paused a moment, staring one another down with nothing but hatred.

"Your anger gives you strength Roman." Vader remarked, adding: "Give in to it, release it… For only your hatred can destroy me."

Roman looked away from Vader, seeing Sally lying nearly completely motionless on the floor. Rage and hatred once again filled him as he glared at Vader. "You know…" Roman said. "I just might."

With this, he and Vader made to charge at one another, but were interrupted by oncoming blaster fire.

Roman moved to block the bolts, but lowered his lightsaber upon recognising the mutilated visage of Eren, who was focusing his fire on Vader, who blocked most of the bolts with his lightsaber while absorbing others through Tutaminis. Finally though, he lashed out with a powerful Force Push that sent everyone in the vicinity sprawling. Then, seeing the carnage he had already wrought, he deactivated his lightsaber, and took his leave.

Roman got to his feet and switched off his own lightsaber before sprinting to Sally's side, kneeling next to her and picking her up. "You're going to be okay Sally, just hold on!" Roman said, looking up to Eren and saying: "Get a medic. Now!"

"I already have one on the way." Eren said, before jogging over to Sonic to make sure the Blue Blur lived.

"R…Roman…" Sally managed to croak.

"Don't talk Sally, just rest." Roman said almost pleadingly before looking up at Eren. "How long until that medic gets here?" He demanded.

"About five minutes." Eren replied, checking his watch.

"Well, get them to hurry the fuck up!" Roman shouted, before he felt Sally's hand weakly grip his collar.

"Roman…" Sally groaned. "Is… Is Sonic all right?"

Roman looked up at Eren, who looked back and mouthed: Not good. Sighing, Roman said: "Is it okay if I don't answer that question?" Whilst choking back a sob. He nearly broke down when he heard a heartbroken voice behind him shout:

"MOM!"

"Stay back, kids!" Roman shouted, barely able to mask his own heartbreak.

"Roman…" Sally moaned. "T-Take care of my children for me…"

"Oh, no, Sally, don't do this to me!" Roman pleaded. "You're going to get through this, just hold on!" Then, shutting his eyes against the flood of tears threatening to break through, he looked up at Eren: "Where the fuck is that MEDIC?!" Roman demanded. Looking back down at Sally, Roman said between sobs of helplessness: "Stay with me… Please… I've already lost too many people… I can't lose you too." Choking back a sob, Roman added: "I just can't."

"I know…" Sally said softly. Then, letting out a gasp of pain, she said: "Roman… Listen to me…" Pulling Roman close, Sally whispered: "Tell my children that I…" Her words caught in her throat as her breath grew more ragged and her strength began to desert her. "Tell my children that I love them… With all my heart…" And with that, Sally's grip on Roman's collar slackened, and her eyes closed, her body going limp in Roman's arms.

Queen Sally Acorn, one of Roman's best friends in the world, was dead.

Roman's mouth fell open. His breath grew as laboured as Sally's had been just before she died, and his mouth opened, trying to form words that refused to come out. Looking up, he saw Eren's expression, and their eyes met. It told him everything he needed to know:

Sonic was dead, too.

Finally, Roman let out a grief stricken wail of "No!" As he allowed himself to slump onto his back, his eyes releasing their own fountains of tears as he finally allowed every single inch of grief within his being to fountain out at the loss of two of his greatest friends.

How's that for cruelty?

While I was developing this chapter, I was initially going to only kill off Sally. But after some advice from my friends, I decided that Sonic was to die as well. Vader truly has unleashed his wrath on Roman and company. The question is, with both Sally and Sonic dead, who assumes control? Neither of their children are of legal age to assume the throne, and Sally was the only surviving child of King Maximillian Acorn, after the death of Elias in In All But Blood. So who is the one to take over where they left off? Stay tuned for the next chapter, and you'll find the answer out.

With that in mind then; thank you all so much for taking the time to read this chapter, and I will see you next Saturday with chapter twenty-one, which sees the immediate aftermath of Sally and Sonic's respective demises come to pass.

T-Rock14