Chapter Fifty-One

~ Kya Ranor ~
"Let me go!" I shouted.

The chanting suddenly stopped, and he stretched out a pale, wrinkled hand towards me. Streams of faintly glowing silver . . . something left me and sped towards him.

As they did, I gasped and sagged, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. It's energy! I realized in horror. He's draining me of energy!

"That's right," he said smugly as silver energy coiled around him, highlighting the shadows that made his outline fuzzy. "It's energy. It's the last payment needed to call up an old friend of ours. One I'm sure you'll enjoy meeting."

I tried to open my mouth, to shout, to say something, anything.

But then he said a single word, and everything fled from my mind.

It was a single word, but the second he said it, all feeling and sensation and thought fled from me. I became utterly and totally numb.

This word – This name – It was the worst possible thing he could ever summon.

And he had summoned it.

The shadows that formed my bindings suddenly vanished, and I fell to the ground. As I pushed myself up, I noticed with horror how the ground was suddenly starting to bubble. Dark liquid that looked a lot like blood was bubbling up from the ground. The silver mist hissed and dissipated immediately as the liquid spread.

I had no doubt that Drakale/Sidious had successfully summoned my darkest nightmare.

Dark energy blazed around it suddenly, so that all of the liquid was rimmed in a faintly glowing outline that was neither natural nor friendly. The aura of it was dark and ancient and angry and potent, and every single instinct I had screamed at me to get away.

The bubbling suddenly sprouted upwards like a geyser and cold, dark, unnatural, deep laughter echoed.

Free, at last! boomed the . . . well, whatever it was. Free to take vengeance!

I froze as all the dark power focused on me. The power was astonishing; it ripped past my shields as one bats away flies.

It brutally yanked out a memory from my mind – no, two memories. One where I stood on a Naboo balcony, Obi-Wan's arms wrapped lovingly around my waist as I relaxed against him. And another, where I stood silently in front of the Council, my Master's hand resting comfortably on my shoulder.

I tried to shield them, to take them back, because something in me knew that whatever this creature intended, it wouldn't be good.

But it was too late. The creature laughed again and sank through the ground, vanishing.

I stared where it had gone.

Oh, this can't be good.

It didn't help things when Drakale/Sidious snapped his fingers and I saw both my Master and my lover start awake . . . and find themselves with Darth Maul and Vereora standing over them.

~ Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi ~
The first thing I saw when I woke up made me start so bad that I nearly impaled myself on the red lightsaber.

After all, it's not every day you wake up and find a Sith Lord you thought was knocked out and dealt by your lover with standing over with an activated lightsaber at your throat.

As it was, my mind recovered seconds later. I kicked out and made Darth Maul stumble enough so that I was able to roll away from him and to my feet, grabbing for and activating my lightsaber. I sank into a defensive position, preparing to fight. I hadn't fared so well last time, but I was sure with the Force I would be okay.

Or, at least, I wouldn't be sliced to ribbons too fast.

But when I reached for the Force – it wasn't there.

I nearly dropped my lightsaber. The comforting presence of the Force that I had lived with and used and sensed all my life was simply . . . gone. And not the gone of Force-inhibitors and Force-suppressors, when I could sense it beyond my reach and could only wait patiently for the suppressant to wear off.

No, this gone was the gone gone.

It simply wasn't there, as if it didn't exist . . . or as if I was no longer Force-sensitive.

Neither thought was really that pleasant. And I had the slight problem that was now a big problem of a fully-trained Sith Lord waiting to duel me.

Except that right now the "duel" was looking more like an outright "slaughter". Without the Force, I wasn't going to be that much of a problem to a Sith. Oh, I could fight, but I wasn't going to last that long.

Then Maul took a step forward, his teeth bared in a challenging smile, and I noticed something odd.

His step was almost . . . shaky. Unsure. Deprived of the fluid and powerful grace he had demonstrated on Naboo during the duel there.

He cannot sense the Force either, I realized with a start. What in blazes is going on?

While it would make things easier that neither of us could use the Force to retaliate or gain the advantage, it was also kind of worrying. I knew that there was no transmitter, no collar, no suppressant in or on me – yet why couldn't I sense the Force?

And then Maul leapt at me, teeth bared in excitement, eyes fierce, one end of his lightsaber already whirling in a blow that could dissect my head from my shoulders in a single swoop.

I ducked underneath and parried the other end as it too came around. The next few minutes were a blur as we traded blows and punches and kicks. It seemed that without the Force, the duel became much more savage as we resorted to more uncivilized routes to victory.

Maul swiped at my torso, and I blocked it – and then he whirled around punched me straight in the jaw, knocking me back. At the same time, he dropped into an ankle-sweep and I fell rather ungracefully, barely bringing my blade up in time to block the blow he leaned into, ready to plunge the red blade into my heart.

I kicked upwards, making him stumble back, and flipped myself up to land on my feet.

Or, at least, that was my intention.

Midway through the flip, something grabbed my arms and boots. Instead of landing safely in a defensive stance, I slammed hard into a wall I could have sworn wasn't there before.

My lightsaber dropped and rolled away, deactivated.

Panting, I looked at Maul, who was approaching with deliberate slowness. I struggled against whatever held me, but they did not budge.

It was then that I finally looked down at the cuffs and nearly had a heart attack.

The bindings that held me weren't cuffs.

No, they were wriggling, slimy tentacles of some dark liquid that looked suspiciously like blood. As I watched, they expanded to cover both of my hands and swallowed all of my boots. They seemingly had no source – they were just random springs of some dark liquid that restrained me.

I looked back at Maul just in time for him to set his blade against my neck.

But he just stood there. He didn't follow through and burn a hole through my heart or separate my head from my shoulders. He just stood there, the heat of the blade against my neck making me stiffen, and waited.

It made me wonder what he was waiting for.

~ Master Obi-Wan Kenobi ~
The first thing I became aware of when I returned to consciousness was the sound of an activated lightsaber hovering right above my chest.

In a flash, I kicked upwards slightly behind where the humming ended, and I heard a grunt of pain as my kick connected with the holder of the lightsaber. I transformed the kick into a whirling, rising movement that flipped me up and away. By the time I'd landed on my feet, my eyes were open and my own lightsaber was activated in my hand.

The woman rubbed at her stomach and snarled at me. She was wearing an opaque bodysuit of the likes I'd never seen before, one that clung to her figure and shimmered faintly. Her dark eyes burned into me, shining with anger and hatred.

If that wasn't telling enough that she was a dark Force-user, then the fact that she was holding a red lightsaber sealed it.

By all the stars, how many Sith are there? I thought in exasperation. And why do they keep popping up at the most random and unfortunate of times?

There were only supposed to be two – Sidious and . . . Vader. Who was this woman?

"Who are you?" I demanded.

The woman bared her teeth. "Your worst enemy, Obi-Wan Kenobi, though not your worst nightmare." She chuckled darkly, stepping forward. "Your worst nightmare awaits you, though."

I risked a quickly glance around, but I didn't see Kya, and that concerned me. "Where is my Padawan? What have you done to her?"

The woman growled. "Meddlesome girl, that apprentice of yours," she hissed. "Always sticking her nose in too far where it doesn't belong. But you needn't worry – she'll be dead in a few moments anyways. As will you, and her annoying little mate."

I frowned. Mate? Not only did that term sound rather crude, but since when did my apprentice have one anyways?

She cackled. "So she hasn't told you everything, has she? Like about the life-bond she shares – or the boy she's fallen in love with."

Surprise filled me. In love? Kya? I was sorely tempted to deny that. Kya was very determined to follow the Jedi path – why would she risk it for love?

"I don't know who you are, but I can warn you that killing me is a far greater dead that you cannot accomplish," I said finally, infusing my voice with calm and authority. "You can lie, of course, and try to fight. Or you can surrender to me."

"Sith never surrender," the woman ground out. "As to your death – hah! Let's see how confident you are . . . now!"

She sprang at me, eyes wild with excitement, her blade a red blur in the air.

I relaxed into the Force, closing my eyes and calming myself, wearily preparing myself for battle –

Only to suddenly realize that the Force wasn't there.

My eyes flashed open and I whirled to the side barely in time to avoid being skewered by the woman. I barely lifted my lightsaber in time to parry the next three blows. I could hold my own, yes, but the absence of the Force bothered me. For all my life, in all of my battles, the Force had guided my hand.

Now, without it, judging where to strike and how far to strike was a little tricky. I had handled my lightsaber long enough to be able to wield it effectively and safely even without the Force, but I didn't fancy accidentally slicing the woman's arm off.

Or my own head.

My opening came after ten minutes of fierce blows, where I'd stayed entirely on the defensive to judge her reactions and how she moved in order to find a weakness. She lunged forward, in a move that – were I not a Jedi and had I not a lightsaber – would have burned a hole right through my chest and sentenced me to a slow, painful death much the same as how Qui-Gon, my old Master, had died.

As it was, I simply sidestepped and brought my blade down cleanly through her hilt.

When she tossed the sparking remnants aside and lunged for me again, I deactivated my lightsaber and flipped over her head. Rolling when I hit the ground to absorb the shock, I stood back up and looked calmly at her furious face.

"My offer of surrendering is still open," I said blandly.

"Die, Jedi dog!" she hissed.

I sighed. As I gathered myself to jump again and try to find a way out, something grabbed me, startling me and yanking me back into a wall. I slammed into it so hard that stars danced in front of my eyes and I dropped my lightsaber.

Shaking my head to clear it, I looked at whatever was binding me – and shock coursed through my veins.

A writhing mass of dark liquid tentacles encased my hands and boots, preventing me from moving. They looked weak, all right; but even when I put all my strength behind kicking out, my foot didn't budge.

Actually, I felt weaker, as if by simply being encased by this . . . thing, I was losing energy – losing life.

I heard the sound of a lightsaber being activated, and my head snapped back up just in time to see the woman place my own lightsaber against my neck.

~ Kya Ranor ~
I watched the scenes before me with dawning horror as Vereora and Maul set lightsabers against the throats of my lover and my Master. "No," I whispered. "No!"

It didn't make any sense. Both my lover and my Master were skilled duelists who had conquered more powerful foes. I didn't understand how they could have been so easily defeated, why they had faltered during their respective duels.

"They cannot use the Force," Drakale/Sidious said suddenly. "Only Walkers can. Jedi and lesser beings cannot touch it when they enter the netherworld of the Force."

I leaped to my feet. "What do you want from me?" I demanded harshly. "Why are you going to such extremes?"

He eyed me calmly through his horrible blue-grey-tainted-with-yellow eyes. "I need your willing cooperation. And you Jedi are so . . . temperamental. I find that the only way to assure cooperation – or to even talk to you, really – is to hold hostage those close to you."

Rage poured into me, and he clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"Cool your rage, little girl," he chided. "Follow that Jedi mumbo-jumbo that your Master taught you."

"Let them go," I snarled. "Leave them out of this."

"Um . . . no. I offer you a choice, Kya Ranor, one that should consider well." He paused and leaned forward, his eyes glittering eagerly. "Join the dark side of the Force, Jedi."

My response was out of my mouth the second he stopped speaking. "Never!" I shouted. I will never betray my lover or my Master or the Jedi. Never.

He sighed theatrically, shaking his head as though my response pained him as much as it amused him. "The Jedi Order forbids attachment. How will you tell your Master that you have given your heart away?"

Now I hesitated. As much as I didn't want to admit it, he had a point – a very valid point, most unfortunately. How could I tell him? How could I tell the Master who had given me so much that I had strayed so far from the Jedi path?

He immediately pressed his advantage. "Only I have the power to save him from assimilation. Who means more to you, Jedi – your Master or your lover?"

My heart twisted and I looked back at the images. My lover or my Master. The choice was the worst choice I had ever faced. And it even worse due to the fact that I knew even if I managed to save one, the other would still . . . would still . . .

Wait a moment, I thought. Even if I saved one or the other, I would still lose them both. Assimilation would destroy both of them. I glanced swiftly at Drakale/Sidious. Even his power cannot stop assimilation once it has begun fully, nor reverse it once it is done.

I closed my eyes and opened myself fully to the Force for the first time since entering the netherworld of the Force. It poured into me, filling me with power and wisdom. And along with the latter came the knowledge, then, of what I had to do.

I had to power to stop Maul and Vereora. I had the power to send my lover and my Master back to their universes and save them both. I had the power to kill Drakale and Sidious and take upon the duty of the Chosen One for myself. I had the power to all of this – and more, if I so wished.

But I did not have the right.

The ending of the Sith and the balancing of the Force is the duty and the right of the Chosen One alone.

One simple sentence whispered to me by the Force. Just one simple sentence. But it was enough to tell me what had to be done.

A sad smile twisted my lips. To come so far doing everything I could – and yet now I find out the simple truth of the order of Walkers. We are not heroes. I am not the hero.

Anakin Skywalker is.

"Name your choice, Jedi!"

I opened my eyes. Calm filled me as the Force swirled around me, silver mist coiling around me to beat back the shadows surrounding Drakale/Sidious. I turned to face him, confident in the decision I was about to make – the one that could very well backfire on me as much as it could possibly save all of us.

"I choose neither," I said softly, confidently. "But I have yet to make my final Summons."

I had spent my first Summons to send Siri home, where she was no longer in danger. And my second Summons had been used by Drakale to Summon my worst enemy, who now bound my lover and my Master against the wall, rendering them helpless. But children of the Force like me were allowed three Summons, not two.

In short, I had one last card to play against Drakale, and the Force was telling me that now was the time to use it.

His eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

I slammed my hand down in a fluid movement that ended in me kneeling with one palm flat against the ground. In that one instant, I called all of my power to me and released it with one single sentence.

"I, Kya Ranor, daughter of the order of Walkers, Summons to me Anakin Skywalker, Chosen One of the Jedi Order!"

Silver light exploded all around me, making Drakale/Sidious shriek and leap backwards as the light pushed away the coiling shadows. The Force hummed with energy as my Summons began, and the air began rippling with explosive force.

And then, with one final burst of light, it was over.

Anakin Skywalker appeared in front of me.