The Apprentice

"So, you're telling me, you flew all this way, and infiltrated a Super Star Destroyer just to talk to me?" Cody raised a white eyebrow as he sunk into the seat behind his desk; Rex bashfully rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, when you put it that way."

"Whatever way you put it, it still sounds pretty bad." The two clones glanced back at Bran, the blonde raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I'll shut up."

"The kid is right Rex." Cody shook his head as he rested his forearms on his desk. "Coming all this way, just to try to get me to turn against Remnous wasn't exactly a bright idea. I won't turn against my Emperor."

"Cody, please, just-" Rex cut off as the holographic projector on Cody's desk seemingly activated on its own.

"That's odd." Cody frowned as the symbol of the New Regime appeared in mid-air. "The only one who can remotely take over the broadcast is..." The old clone trailed off as the symbol faded away, the frail form of the late Emperor Palpatine taking its place.

"Never underestimate the power of the ignorant mob Lord Remnous, it shall prove to be your most effective tool." Bran took a few cautious steps forward and raised a curious eyebrow, Palpatine was sat in a familiar opera box. The image of the former Emperor faded away and was quickly replaced by the image of a darkened bedroom; Remnous was stood with his hand raised towards a window, and pinned against it; Bran's eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared with rage as he recognised Tandi.

"Remnous, please!" All three of them flinched at the obvious pain and fear in her voice. "You can't kill me! I saved your life! I'm the only one who really knows you! You need me!" Rex took a sideways glance at Cody, the other clone's eyes had narrowed as Remnous stepped into the projection, Tandi slipped off the window and collapsed to the ground; the Emperor crouched next to the trembling redhead and almost tenderly ran a hand through her hair.

"You may be right." Remnous rose to his feet. "Get up." Bran grimaced, he'd heard about the scars on his friends back and he knew how she'd gotten them, he could tell what was about to happen; he turned his head away as she rose to her feet. "Perhaps not." All three of them flinched again at the sound of shattering glass and Tandi's haunting scream as she was tossed out of the window. The projection changed again, Remnous stood over another woman, it didn't take any of them long to recognise Leia Organa. The Princess was lying in a rapidly spreading pool of her own blood, a wooden training sword clutched in her tremoring hands.

"Master! Please! Mercy, it hurts!"

"Suffering teaches wisdom, my Apprentice." Rex kept his eyes on Cody as the image rearranged itself once again. One of the Sabine Wren clones was floating in mid-air in the Emperor's throne room, Remnous was stood at the top of the dais, one hand raised. "I have to say, that the sight of you makes me sick." The clone choked and spluttered weakly, her legs kicking weakly. "And my one regret in all of that has happened since I took the Emperor's throne; is making you so vital to my war machine!" There was a sickening crack as the clone's neck broke, and the body dropped to the ground.

"Wasn't that Clone one of our sisters?" Cody bowed his head at Rex's words, Remnous had always kept the clones of Sabine away from the Clone Troopers, now he knew why. Bran coughed politely and nodded to the projection, it was realigning one more time, Remnous took shape once again, he was stood over a weakly groaning Luke Skywalker.

"How have you justified the idea of slaying me to yourself? Do you honestly believe the Galaxy will thank you for it? No, those blind fools will just see you as a conqueror, the cursed Jedi who struck down their beloved Emperor; do you really think they have the wit to follow you? That they have enough agency to chose freedom over the beautiful lie I've built for them? No, the people of the Galaxy are simple Shaak who would let me lead them off a cliff if they believed there was a greener meadow at the bottom of it!" Bran grimaced as he watched a spark of rage flare to life in Cody's eyes, he had a feeling he knew who was behind this transmission... "You Jedi were never bright enough to realise that, once this is over, and you all stand as Stalkers by my side, you will see. You'll see just how eager they are to grovel before me! And I assure you, you will see them thank me for it!" The projection froze, then after a few seconds Palpatine reformed and the transmission began to repeat itself. Rex turned to his old friend.

"That's your Emperor?"

##

Remnous's communicator cracked in his hand, then crumpled in on itself as the projector shattered, the Sith Lord was stood with one foot on Luke's chest, while Sabine hovered in the air before him and Kanan gripped his stomach and gasped for air on the ground. The Sith Emperor's eyes burned with an insane fury as he turned to glare at the communications array, even at this distance, he could see the two figures and the astromech that were gathered at its base.

"Clever." Sabine's eyes rolled into the back of her head as Remnous dropped her, the Sith Lord took a few unsteady steps towards the array, his entire being was trembling with fury. "So, that's what my own medicine tastes like." His bloodred lightsaber quivered as his burning golden eyes locked onto the slight dark-haired girl that was crouched at the arrays controls. "I must say." The ground cracked around the Emperor's feet as he leapt at the girl, his lightsaber rising to strike down at her head as he shot through the air. "It's bitter!"

The girl, who he vaguely recognised, turned to stare up at him as he bore down on her, her eyes widened with fear. With a flash of red, a figure appeared between the two of them and blocked his bloodred blade with an amethyst one. The two lightsabers screeched as they dragged across each other. Remnous's eyes narrowed as he glowered at the redhead. "Tandi Thurinos."

"Darth Remnous." The Grey Jedi hissed back as their blades pressed against one another, her teeth gritted and raw hatred coursing through her green eyes.

"You're looking well, though if I'm honest, I had something more akin to a red stain in mind." The Emperor ran an eye over Tandi, genuine intrigue gleaming in his eyes, he'd never been able to believe that Tandi had really managed to measure up to Vera. "I must say, I'm impressed!"

"Like I need compliments from you!" The Grey Jedi broke the lock and slashed at Remnous, the two backed away from the array as Tandi pressed the Sith Lord back, her lightsaber swinging wildly, Remnous raised an amused eyebrow.

"No need to be rude." The Sith Lord ducked under the amethyst blade and raised his foot, a telekinetic burst shooting from his heel; Tandi grunted as the burst caught her in the stomach, the Grey Jedi doubled over as all the wind was driven out of her. "But if that's the way you want to be." Remnous grinned as he raised his left hand. "You're still weak." Golden lightning shot from the Sith Lord's fingertips and lanced over the Grey Jedi; Tandi's body locked up, her jaw clenched tightly as she fought to hold in a scream, Remnous scowled. "Way to take the fun out of it-" He abruptly cut off the lighting and spun on the spot, his left hand flying up to catch the dark-haired girl's wrist as she swung at the back of his head, a monkey wrench in hand. "Seriously?" The Sith Lord stared at the wrench incredulously before turning his gaze on the girl; her brown eyes had gone wide with fear as she desperately tried to pull her arm free. "I don't know if that was brave or stupid." Remnous turned his head to stare at the wrench again. "What in the Galaxy made you think that was a good idea?" Then his eyes widened and an evil grin spread across his scarred face. "You and her huh?"

"Allana." Remnous glanced over his shoulder, his golden eyes practically glowing with amusement; Tandi had weakly risen onto all fours, her jaw clenched as she glowered up at him. "Get, your filthy hand, off her!"

"Tandi, I had no idea." Remnous turned back to Allana and ran a critical eye over her. "I didn't know you had it in you, but then again, it does make sense." A glint of pride glimmered in the depths of Remnous's glowing eyes. "I don't think another man will ever measure up to me."

"Bastard!" The Grey Jedi forced herself to one knee, her teeth gritted and lips peeled back in a hate-filled snarl.

"That's just hurtful." Remnous turned back to Allana, his grip tightening on his lightsaber. "Alright then, let's make this hurt." Tandi's world seemed to slow down as Remnous drove the blade forward, the searing plasma burning through Allana's chest as she was run through. The Grey Jedi opened her mouth to scream, but didn't hear anything except the intense ringing that had sprung to life in her ears. Allana gaped up at Remnous as he tore the lightsaber free, then she turned to stare at Tandi, her hand rising weakly to her chest.

Then the dark-haired girl collapsed; Tandi lunged forward and caught her, her lightsaber hilt slipping between her fingers as she wrapped the smaller woman in her arms as she pulled her close. "How sweet." Remnous's voice cut through the ringing in her ears and she turned to glare at the Emperor as she hugged Allana to her chest. "You can die together!" Tandi felt all the strength drain out of her as the Sith Emperor raised his bloodred blade. "Goodbye. Tandi Thurinos." Remnous grinned as he prepared to bring the blade down, then rolled his eyes and spun on the spot once again to block Kanan's incoming blade. "Kriffs sake!"

Tandi turned back to Allana and pulled her closer as Kanan and Remnous began their duel, the dark-haired girl was gasping weakly, her large brown eyes wide with fear.

"Tandi..." Allana's voice was weak and filled with dread, the colour was quickly draining from her cheeks and the light in her eyes was beginning to dim. "I." Allana paused and closed her eyes as she took a painful shallow breath. "I don't want to die."

"You won't" Tandi's voice cracked, she tenderly tucked a stray strand of hair behind Allana's ear and took one of her hands in hers. "Just stay with me." The Grey Jedi glanced around her, the clones had scurried off to the walls in an attempt to hold back the now advancing droids. "They'll be through the walls soon, then we can get you fixed up." Tears sprung to life in Tandi's eyes as she stared down at the fading dark-haired girl, her gasps were getting weaker. "The Dauntless is still waiting for us, the Galaxy will be the limit!"

"That's good..." Allana took one last laboured breath. "I can't wait..." The dark-haired girl trailed off and lay still in Tandi's arms, her empty brown eyes staring over her shoulder.

"Allana?" Tandi sniffed loudly as she shook the other woman, she didn't respond, her hand slipping from the Grey Jedi's grasp and landing on her chest. "Allana?" Tears began to slide down Tandi's face, then they stopped as a new emotion flooded through her, replacing her sorrow; rage.

##

Kanan raised his lightsaber and blocked a bolt of golden lightning, the static charge in the air making his hair stand on end. Remnous snarled as he cut off the lightning and began to prowl around the Jedi, Kanan parroted his action and the two began to circle each other.

"Caleb Dume." The Sith Lord scoffed as he spun his lightsaber in a wide arc, the plasma blade humming menacingly. "Or would you prefer Kanan Jarrus? Not that it matters, you were a failure under both names." Kanan let a long breath out through his nose as he forced himself to stay calm, he had had a long time to come to terms with his failure, the boy he had trained was long gone; lost to a sea of darkness and pain. "Are you ready to fail again, Jedi?" Kanan took his lightsaber in both hands as his eyes narrowed.

"I won't fail, not this time," Remnous smirked darkly.

"Don't be so sure." The Sith Lord lunged forward, his bloodred plasma blade lancing down on the Jedi's head; Kanan raised his blue blade and blocked the strike, there was a second of stillness as the two pressed their blades against each other. "You're out of your league." Remnous sneered as he drew his blade back and thrust it forward and Kanan's chest, the Jedi fell back, moving only to counter as Remnous continued his assault. He knew he wouldn't last long one on one, the best chance he had was to stay on defence hold out until Luke or Sabine got back up. There was a flash in the Sith Emperor's eyes as the two locked their blades once again. "Stalling won't save you!" Remnous jerked his head forward, slamming it into Kanan's nose; the Jedi was knocked off his feet as he clutched at his face, his eyes glaring upwards as the Emperor raised his lightsaber. "Don't worry, I won't will you. You 'll be amazed at what you can live through." Remnous paused before he could bring the blade down, his eyes narrowing, Kanan frowned bemusedly, then his eyes widened and he twisted to get a look around Remnous's leg. Powerful waves were being sent through the Force, the hairs on his arms stood on end as goosebumps spread over his skin.

Tandi had risen to her feet and stumbled away from Allana's body, her hands on her head, clutching fistfuls of red hair as her face contorted with emotion, her eyes clenched shut. Around her, stray rocks and flecks of dust were rising upwards as the air around the Grey Jedi quaked with telekinetic power.

"Now, what is this?" Remnous smirked as he turned away from Kanan, his golden eyes gleaming with new interest. Tandi threw her head back and howled, tears squeezing themselves out of her clenched eyes as she screamed, a piercing pain was building behind her closed eyelids and an icy cold was spreading over her; feeding her anger and pain.

"You bastard." Tandi opened her eyes, lashes of gold had spread across her irises like cracks on a mirror, light and darkness swirled within her as her lightsaber sprang back to life in her hand. "You just made the biggest mistake of your life!" The Grey Jedi's kaleidoscopic eyes burned as she advanced on Remnous. "Because now, I have nothing left to lose!" The ground under Tandi's feet splintered as she lunged at the Sith Lord, her teeth bared in a hate-filled snarl.

"Just your life," Remnous smirked as he leapt to meet her; his bloodred lightsaber rising to meet her amethyst one.

"You think I care about my life?!" Tandi's voice rose hysterically as they clashed. "What have I got to live for now?! My family, my friends, my home! The only person I've ever loved! All taken by the Sith!" Kanan grimaced as he propped himself up on an elbow to watch the fight; the Grey Jedi was radiating cold power as she rushed the Sith Lord, again and again, her seemingly amateurish fighting style throwing Remnous off; Kanan knew that Mace Windu had taught Tandi his refined variation of Juyo, Vaapad, the personalised form channeled the dark energy of Sith opponents through the wielder and forced it back out at the enemy, Tandi seemed to be bolstering that form with her own dark power; each blow was growing harsher, fueled by ever-mounting brutality. "You're sick parasites! All of you!" Remnous scowled as he managed to lock their lightsabers, he was breathing heavily, his golden eyes glowing with annoyance. "You manipulate events, doom thousands to die in the name of your sick game! Killing for pleasure and toying with people's hearts!" Tandi took a step forward, forcing Remnous to take one back, their plasma blades screeching as they dragged across each other. "All the while you style yourself as the champion of the people! The symbol of hope to the downtrodden and the damned!" Tandi polychrome eyes flared as she shoved forward with all her might, breaking the lock and making Remnous stumble back. "The Galaxy you promise will be nothing more than a gilded cage! A stale and unchanging mimicry of life, devoid of all that gives our existence meaning!" The Grey Jedi raised her hand and thrust her arm forward, Remnous grunted as a telekinetic burst caught him in the stomach and sent him skidding backward.

"You make a Galaxy without loss sound like a bad thing." The Sith Lord took his lightsaber in both hands as he glared at the Grey Jedi, his chest rose and fell heavily as he panted. "That's what I wanted to build, a safe and prosperous future, safeguarded by an incorruptible leader!" Remnous spat on the ground. "But thanks to that little schutta, it looks like I'll have to resort to more, crude measures to keep the Shaak in line."

"You won't be resorting to anything Remnous! Your reign ends here, enough people have died! Enough lies have been told! Your vision cannot continue!" Tandi snarled as she prepared to leap again. "I won't allow it!" Remnous smirked as the Grey Jedi lunged towards him.

"Bold words." The Sith Lord raised his left hand and flexed his fingers. "Pity you can't back them up." Gold lightning shot from Remnous's fingertips and struck Tandi in the chest, her lightsaber slipped from her grasp as she dropped to the ground, her teeth gritted together as she thrashed. "Not bad Thurinos." Remnous broke off the lightning and took a few unsteady steps away from the downed redhead, a bead of sweat was running down his temple. "Not bad at all. Surviving that fall was one thing, but coming back this strong?" Tandi groaned dully as she forced her onto her stomach and weakly rose onto all fours. "You're tough to kill, I'll give you that, I honestly expected all that broken clari-crystalline to shred you." The redhead grunted as she felt a foot press into the small of her back and force her to the ground. "It must have at least left a mark." Tandi flinched as she felt Remnous's cold metal fingers grip her shirt. "Let's have a look." The Sith Lord smirked as the material tore in his hand, revealing the scar tissue on the Grey Jedi's back.

Tandi scowled as her face was pressed into the dirt, a long mark ran from the middle of her left shoulder down to the centre of her back, two more scars began halfway down the scar on either side of it and another shorter wound had been slashed across her right shoulder, her lower back had been just as badly injured, deep marks still lingered on her skin.

"Get off me!" The Grey Jedi pressed her palms into the ground and sent a telekinetic burst into the ground, rocking her body against Remnous's weight and making him stumble off her, taking her chance, she flipped over onto her stomach and leapt back to her feet. Remnous's eyes narrowed, as Tandi had leapt her shirt had slipped up her stomach, exposing a thin, faint scar on her navel, Vera had one just like it. His thoughts were cut off as Tandi lunged at him once again, a purple shoto blade springing to life in her hand in a reverse grip, the Sith Lord sidestepped the first slash and ducked the second, raising his free hand as the Grey Jedi flipped the blade over in her hand and drove it straight at his throat; catching the blade in his metal grip.

"A nice try." Remnous pushed his weight into the blade, jerking the hilt back into Tandi's nose, he lunged forward and seized her wrist as the purple blade hissed back into its hilt. "But not enough." The Sith Lord spun on the spot, dragging the Grey Jedi with him and off her feet, with a roar of effort, Remnous tossed Tandi across the dig site. The redhead flew backwards through the air and crashed into the wall of the habitation unit Remnous had been living and smashed clearly through it, a large dent appearing on the other side as she finally came to a painful halt.

##

Vera's eyes flared with glee as her fist managed to connect with Mara Jade's stomach, the Sith Apprentice was knocked off her feet as the Sith Lord loomed over her.

"This was fun." Vera lowered her plasma blade so the tip hovered just over Mara's face. "Remnous may want you alive, but he doesn't need you in one piece." The Sith Lord's grin split her face in half as she raised her lightsaber over her head. "So we can have even more fun!" Mara screwed her eyes shut as the plasma blade descends on her. Nothing happened, the Sith Apprentice cracked one eye open to see an emerald lightsaber had intercepted Vera's.

"I think you've had enough fun, sister." Luke Skywalker remarked casually as Vera glared at him, her yellow eyes gleaming. "It ends today!" Luke forced his blade up, making Vera stumble back; the Jedi took advantage of her confusion and lunged forward, barely giving her time to raise her lightsaber to counter. The two children of Vader stared each other down as their blades strained against one another.

"Oh don't be like that brother!" Vera crowed as she pressed Luke back, her crimson plasma blade screeching as it clashed with Luke's again and again. "My fun is only just beginning!" Luke ducked under the Sith Lords latest slash, his teeth gritted and his brows furrowed with concentration. He had never known Leia, but the first time he'd seen her he had felt the connection between them, an odd sense of familiarity, it had almost been like seeing an old friend for the first time in years. He couldn't sense that connection anymore, all he could feel was darkness, rage, and pain. Vera's eyes narrowed as she glanced over her shoulder, Mara Jade was getting up again; she raised a hand and prepared to shoot a bolt of Sith Lightning from her left hand when Luke lunged in front of her and forced her to counter him, the Sith Lord snorted as she felt Luke's mind probe at hers. "Looking for the remnants of Leia?" Vera shook her head, the markings on her face twisting as she smirked. "You're wasting your time Skywalker, Leia Organa is long gone."

"I didn't want to believe that." Luke's lightsaber hilt trembled in his hands as he and Vera locked blades again, all he could see in the Sith Lords' eyes was rage and madness, there was no sign of the Leia who had begged Obi-wan for help in Vera anymore, Luke bowed his head. "But it's true." The Jedi was vaguely aware of Mara climbing back to her feet behind him, he couldn't save Leia, so he had to take Vera down. The Sith Lord tilted her head to one side, a smug gleam in her eyes.

"You really think you can defeat me, big brother?" Vera laughed madly as she broke the lightsaber lock. "Well go on then Skywalker! Let's see what you've got!" Both the Jedi and the Sith Lord thrust their arms out at the same time and sent telekinetic blasts at each other, both of them skidded back on the balls of their feet. Luke's chest rose and fell heavily as he came to a halt next to Mara, the Sith Apprentice glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"You good?" Luke nodded, his lightsaber hilt was slick with sweat.

"What about you?"

"Nothing a stiff drink won't fix when all this is over." Luke chuckled lowly as Mara raised her lightsaber, the two took a cautious step forwards; their weapons raised.

"I'll join you, but for now." The two glanced at each other, before turning back to Vera. "You watch my back and I'll watch yours."

##

Kanan knocked Remnous's lightsaber aside as Ahsoka thrust her arms out, the Sith Lord grunted as the telekinetic burst slammed into his stomach, the Emperor's eyes narrowed with frustration as he sunk to one knee. He'd used up too much of his energy on Tandi and he'd already been drained from dealing with that damn Ghost, he needed to end this, now. Remnous thrust his arms out and a pulse of golden force energy was released from his body. Ahsoka and Kanan were tossed across the dig site in a tangle of limbs as Remnous gritted his teeth and bowed his head, he could feel the beginnings of fatigue wearing down the edges of his strength, it had been a long time since he'd been challenged like this, the corners of his mouth twitched upwards.

"I had almost forgotten," the Sith Lord lunged back to his feet and swung his lightsaber around to counter Sabine's as she swung at his head. "What a real fight felt like!" The Mandalorian barely had time to react as Remnous took his lightsaber in both hands and barreled towards her, his golden eyes gleaming with mad light. "Let's see how far you've come from the last time we fought!" The Sith Emperors blade moved in a blur of light as they clashed again and again. Sabine's eyes widened with panic as Remnous pressed her back, tried as he was, she could tell this was going to take a while. "Come on? Is that all you have?!" Remnous cackled maniacally as his eyes flashed, his blade still in continuous movement. "Are you really the same Sabine who slashed my face up?" The Mandalorian scowled as she bent her knees and put a bit of juice into her jetpack, letting the thrusters carry her over the Sith Lords' head. "Ah ah ah!" Remnous thrust his arm out and closed his fist. "No cheating!" The Mandalorian's stomach dropped as the thrusters on her jetpack crumpled in on themselves and she fell to the ground, her lightsaber still in hand. She barely had time to catch her breath before Remnous was on her again, her blue blade only moving to counter his as her left hand traveled to her belt. "Think you can divide your attention while facing me?" Sabine ducked Remnous's blade and lunged forwards, her left hand raised; the Sith Lord frowned as he felt Sabine's hand slam into his chest plate, he glanced down. Sabine smirked as his eyes widened, she'd managed to plant a magnetic thermal detonator on his chest.

"Think fast." The Sith Lord scrambled to fumble with the release catch on his chest piece as Sabine raised her vambrace and pressed the detonation switch. The explosion, though small, still blasted Remnous off his feet and sent him flying across the fortress, his lightsaber slipping from his grip. Kanan and Ahsoka appeared on either side of her, their eyes wide as the three of them cautiously approached the downed Remnous. The Emperor was laid splayed out on the ground, smoke hissed up from the twisted ruins of his chest plate and his eyes were closed.

"Well, that was effective," Ahsoka muttered under her breath, suddenly Remnous groaned in the back of his throat and his body jerked as his eyes opened, the Jedi reactivated their lightsabers as the Emperor slowly sat up.

"Seriously?" Remnous shook his head in an attempt to curtail the ringing in his ears, then he glanced down, his gold eyes running over the twisted wreck of his breastplate. "Mandalorian armour, not bad, not bad at all." He pried the ruins off with his metal hand as he raised his left to summon his lightsaber. Kanan lunged forward and slashed at the hilt as it flew through the air, Remnous's eyes narrowed into hate-filled slits as the destroyed hilt landed in his hand. "Well, now you've done it." The Sith Lord raised his hands and shot bolts of golden lightning at Kanan and Ahsoka, striking the force sensitives and knocking them off their feet. Sabine lunged forward, her lightsaber rising to strike at Remnous's neck, the Sith Lord reached for his belt only to find it empty. "Oh, shab."

"Master!" The Emperor lunged forward and dodged the Mandalorian's blade, his head whipping around to see Vera, his Apprentice had her foot on Luke's throat as she drew her estoc. "Catch!" The shining beskar blade caught the moonlight as it hurtled towards him, spinning through the air end over end.

"Much obliged." Remnous took a few practice swings after catching the sword, it would do. The Sith Lord gripped the thin metal blade tightly as he spun back around to counter the Mandalorian's next strike, a shower of sparks raining down to mark the impact point as the plasma blade ground against the beskar. Remnous pushed against the plasma blade and shoved Sabine back, his teeth gritted with effort; the Sith Lord snarled as he gritted his teeth and shook his head fiercely, the ringing in his ears was intensifying and the edges of his vision were beginning to blur. The Mandalorian sidestepped as the Sith Lord thrust at her heart, her eyebrow rose as he stumbled forward, he was off-balance, the explosive must have at least concussed him. Sabine raised her foot and brought down on the back of his knee, the Sith Lord hissed through gritted as he sunk to one knee, his head hanging weakly as his eyes drifted in and out of focus. The Mandalorian lowered her blade to the Sith Lords' throat, her eyes narrowing as the plasma blade hovered over his flesh. She didn't move. "It's harder than you think, isn't it?" Sabine's eyes flitted up to Remnous's. "Taking a life." The Sith Lord raised his hands and shrugged as the left corner of mouth twitched upwards slightly, Sabine shook her head, then snarled and drove the blade forward only to have Remnous catch the tip in his metal fingers, the searing heat of the plasma blade burning only millimeters away from his skin. "Too slow." Remnous yanked the weapon out of her hand and lunged to his feet, Sabine tried to back away from for one of Remnous's arms to lash out and snake its way around her waist, holding her in place as she felt the tip of the beskar estoc press into her side, the Mandalorian glanced down to see Remnous holding the blade against her ribs. There was a whole minute of silence as the two stared at each other, both their chest rising and falling as they tried to catch their breath.

"You won't do it." Remnous cocked his head to one side curiously, his the glow in hos golden eyes fading slightly.

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm everything to you, I'm the only person who's ever denied you." The Mandalorian pressed the flats of her palms against his chest. "You're obsessed with me, this is the one thing even you could never do." Remnous's brows furrowed thoughtfully, the gleam in his golden eye intensifying again.

"You know?" Sabine gasped as she felt the tip of the estoc begin to press into her more purposely. "Over all these years I've done all sorts of things I never thought I could do, and every time." The Mandalorian grunted as the blade pierced her skin. "It's been easier than breathing." The Sith Lord scoffed as he pushed the beskar between Sabine's ribs. "I don't see why this should be any different." Sabine gasped weakly as Remnous released the blade and her waist, letting her back away, her gaze dropped to stare at the weapon impaling her, then it turned back to Remnous, her eyes wide.

"You... you actually?"

"Yes." The Sith Lord's voice was full of genuine intrigue. "And like I said, easier than breathing." Sabine gaped at the Sith Emperor, then all the strength drained out of her and she sunk to the ground, a pool of blood beginning to form around her as she lay on her back, her brown eyes wide as she stared up at the star-filled sky.

##

Thrawn scowled, the Rebels had managed to encircle the New Regimes fleet and was beginning to push in on them, the situation was growing desperate.

"Grand Admiral, what are your orders?" Thrawn turned to Piett.

"Remain calm, Admiral, though the situation is less than ideal, as long as cool heads prevail, I am certain-" Thrawn grunted, his red eyes widening with shock.

"Grand Admiral?" Piett fidgeted nervously, then took a horrified step back as a large red stain began to seep into Thrawn's crisp white uniform. The Chiss's body rocked ominously and a few droplets of blood leaked from the corners of his mouth as the end of a blade emerged from Thrawn's chest.

"For my people!" Ruhk's head appeared from around Thrawn's shoulder, glowering up at the Chiss with uncontrollable rage.

"Grand Admiral!" Piett backed away as Ruhk shoved Thrawn to the ground and turned on him. "Kill him!" Every Stormtrooper on the bridge stepped forward and raised their blasters, Ruhk bore his teeth and howled at the top of his lungs as he was gunned down.

"Admiral! We're detecting several ships entering the system." Piett rolled his eyes as he turned back to the battle, his eyes narrowed.

"What's the Organa doing here? I distinctly remember Remnous ordering the clone to stay over Coruscant."

##

Mara Jade's lightsaber strained against Vera's, the Sith Apprentice's strength was beginning to fail her, Palpatine had beat the values and ideals of the Sith into her for as long as she could remember, she had dedicated herself to gaining power in the Dark Side, but another dozen lifetimes could never have prepared her for a fight against Vera. The Sith Lord was on a completely different level to her.

"I see it now." Mara sunk to one knee as Vera doubled her pressure on her lightsaber. "The power of the Skywalker bloodline."

"That name means nothing to me," Vera remarked coldly as she stared down at the beaten Sith Apprentice. "It never has." The Sith Lord raised her left arm and closed her fist. "The Skywalker line is a failure, it's up to me to restore our honour." Mara closed her eyes as Vera's fist descended on her and struck her harshly on the temple, the Sith Apprentice crumpled to the ground as Vera turned to Luke. The Jedi knight gripped the hilt of his emerald blade tightly as he let a long breath out through his nose. "Time to end this, big brother."

"Aren't we twins?"

"One of us had to be born first." Vera rolled her eyes as she began to prowl in a circle around Luke, Vader's lightsaber humming menacingly in her hand.

"Fair point." Luke took his hilt in both hands as his eyes narrowed, the end was approaching he could feel it.

"We'll have plenty of time to catch up, I'll keep you as my personal Stalker!" Luke felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

"I'd rather not." The Sith Lord threw her head back and laughed.

"Oh, you think you have a choice!" Grinning ear to ear, Vera lunged at Luke once again, the Jedi raised his blade and swung to counter her attack; at the last possible second, Vera deactivated her lightsaber and flung herself at her brother, ducking under his blade, her fist rising. Luke's eyes widened and all the wind was knocked out of him as Vera's fist connected with his stomach, the Sith Lord sent of telekinetic push out of her fist and sent the Luke flying away from her. "So much potential." Vera cooed as she advanced on the groaning Jedi. "I'm going to have so much fun with you." The Sith Lord laughed cruelly as she raised her hands and sent bolts of Sith Lightning towards Luke, her yellow eyes steadily turning gold as he screamed.

##

Remnous howled as he tackled Kanan around the middle and sent the two of them spilling to the ground, the Jedi barely had time to roll onto his back before the Sith Lord scrambled to his knees and grab his collar with his left hand.

"Night night Jedi!" Kanan's eyes rolled into the back of his head Remnous's metal fist connected with his nose and he collapsed back to the ground. Remnous braced himself on all fours, the exertion of the fight was beginning to show. "I take it this was your idea?" The Sith Lord glowered at Ahsoka Tano as he climbed to his feet, the Togruta gripped her white blades tightly as Remnous chuckled darkly. "Smart, you knew that there were limits to even my strength, an overwhelming show of force. Not bad, not bad at all." Remnous grinned tiredly as he forced himself to stay upright.

"We aren't done yet!" The Sith Lord rolled his eyes as the former Jedi charged him.

"Yes, we are." He raised one hand and the Togruta was frozen in place, her arms rising into the air. "Who was it that put you back together?"Ahsoka's eyes widened as she heard a slight groaning sound, she glanced down to see her artificial arms begin to bend. "I'll be sure to bring them before me once I've had them weld a new mask onto you." The Togruta cried out as her arms and her synthetic leg were torn in half. "Oh, I have missed your screams Nyria." Ahsoka was roughly dropped to the ground, her ruined limbs dropping around her. "I won't be letting you out of my sight this time, I'll be sure to..." Remnous trailed off, his brows furrowed, then he turned in place and stared up into the night sky. "You have got to be kidding me!?"

Upon first glance, one would be forgiven for assuming an asteroid was plummeting towards them, the huge object had built up a massive amount of heat and was shrouded in a heavy red glow. But after a moment to examine the object it soon became apparent what it was.

"Not quite what I meant when I said blow it out of the sky Thrawn!" Remnous hissed as he stumbled a few steps forwards then collapsed to one knee. "Vera!" His Apprentice appeared at his side in an instant.

"I'm here Master." She took one of his arms and helped him to his feet. "What do we do? Force it down?" Remnous shook his head as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No, the shockwave would annihilate everything for miles, we'll have to guide it over us."

"Yes, Master."

"They really must be desperate." Remnous rolled his eyes as he raised his hands and focused his mind on the flaming wreckage of the Loth Wolf as it hurtled towards them. "They threw my own ship at me!" The two Sith Lords dug their heels into the dirt, they exchanged one last glance and nod. "Now!" Both of them thrust their arms out, teeth gritted as they took the entire weight of the wreckage between them. "Try. To. Angle. It. Away!" Remnous cried out through a clenched jaw, he could feel his heels being dragged through the dirt as he was pushed back. He could feel the wreck in his hands, the speed it was moving at, the searing heat of the burning metal.

"Trying!" Next to him, Vera was beginning to weaken, her muscles were beginning to lock up and her right eye was twitching violently. "Master!"

"I know!" The intensity of the glow in Remnous's eyes began to rise, growing brighter with every inch the ship gained on them, he could feel it begin to pitch upwards, chunks of scrap metal and debris were raining down around them. "Keep it up! We're almost there!"

##

Galen Marek frowned down at the battlefield as he plummeted towards the ground, through sheer force of will that he was certain wasn't entirely his own, he had managed to stabilise the Venator's re-entry and point it in roughly the right direction. From there he had smashed out one of the bridge windows and leapt out of the wreck.

Now, from his position in the sky, Galen was beginning to suspect that he had come in a little too steep. The flaming debris that had once been the Loth Wolf was descending on the fortification at an alarming speed, at this rate, it would destroy everything.

"Ok." The Jedi muttered to himself as he spread his arms and legs a little wider in an attempt to slow his own descent slightly. "Might not have thought this all the way through." Then his eyes narrowed, the ship was pitching upwards; slowly pulling itself out of the dive. There were no second prizes for guessing who was doing it. "You continue to impress, Remnous." He tore his eyes away from the Loth Wolf and forced himself to focus on the rest of the battlefield; the droid army had been fully deployed and the attack was in full swing. Countless waves of B1 battle droids were swarming towards the fortress, a seemingly endless rain of artillery fire lancing over them and pounding the walls as the Regime's Clone Troopers desperately fought to keep the outer walls. He could sense the others down there, but something was wrong, none of them were moving. "Looks like it's left to me." The Jedi grimaced as he tucked his arms and legs into his body and shot head first towards the ground.

##

Vera's knees gave out and she crumpled to the ground, her eyes slipping shut, Remnous stood on alone, his arms still raised, his teeth gritted as he screamed out an effort fueled cry of frustration, the Loth Wolf lurched upwards one last time and hurtled onwards, flying cleanly over the battlefield, a stream of debris and wreckage trailing out after it. The Sith Emperor swayed violently on the spot, his heart was pounding in his ears, his blood was pumping fiercely through his veins and the edges of his vision were beginning to cloud over. For the first time in years, the Sith Lord had been pushed to his limit.

"It'll take," Remnous growled between pants as he crumpled to one knee, his golden eyes wide and exhausted. "More than that!"

"Should have guessed." The Sith Lords head whipped up, a look of pure disbelief in his eyes; Galen Marek stood atop one of the inner walls, his blue lightsaber in hand. Remnous glared at the Jedi, his fists clenched and his teeth gritted; then he began to laugh. He threw his head back and howled at the top of his lungs, a high, manic laugh, without even a trace of joy or humour.

"Magnificent!" The Sith Emperor stretched out both arms, a jagged piece of metal that had fallen off the Loth Wolf and Ezra Bridgers lightsaber flew into his waiting arms. "You really know how to make an entrance Marek!" The Sith Lord gritted his teeth as he raised the jagged piece of metal and set one of the edges against his unprotected chest. Remnous hissed through a clenched jaw as he slowly dragged the metal across his chest, the searing pain setting his adrenaline glands into overdrive and flooding his body with new energy.

Galen grimaced as Remnous tossed the shard aside and unsteadily climbed back to his feet, his golden eyes blazing with a brilliant light. The Jedi took a deep breath in through his nose and readjusted his grip on his lightsaber before bending his knees and gently leaping down to join Remnous on the ground.

"This is quite poetic!" Remnous was fiddling with the hilt of Ezra's lightsaber, a vague look of concentration on his face, the front of his undersuit was quickly darkening as the blood spread. "Deep down, I think we both always knew this was how it had to end." A satisfied smirk spread across the Sith Lord's face as the hilt made a loud clicking noise. "The way it began, you and I." Remnous raised Ezra Bridgers lightsaber and activated a bloodred blade, the Sith Lord smirked down at Ezra's lightsaber. "You know, I never got a chance to test this out, it's funny how things work out sometimes." Galen tried to ignore him, this wasn't the time to let emotion govern his actions, he had a job to do.

"I'm ready when you are." A predatory smirk flashed across the Sith Lords face as he raised his lightsaber.

"Then here I come!" The Sith Lord lunged at the Jedi Knight, a manic grin spreading across his face. Galen dug his feet in, his eyes narrowing and his grip on his blade tightening as he waited for the first blow; at the last possible second, the Jedi bent his knees and leapt away from the Sith Lord. Remnous snarled as his bloodred blade slashed into the ground where Galens' feet had been. "Running away?! How disappointing!" Galen kept his teeth clenched as Remnous lunged for him once again; the Sith Lord was exhausted, it was more than obvious that he was being kept awake by pure adrenaline and rage, he couldn't hold out for long like that, so all he had to do was drag this out for as long as he could. "Your thoughts betray you!" Galen grimaced as Remnous surged forwards and managed to lock their lightsabers. "Think you can outlast me? You're no match for me as you are!" Locked into the melee; Galen was forced to take a defensive form, his thoughts slipping to the back of his mind as he allowed the Force to lead his actions. "Nothing to say!?" Remnous's voice had risen with indignance, a more than unhinged edge in every syllable.

"I have nothing to say to you." The Jedi and the Sith Lord locked their blades again, their faces inches apart as they glared at each other. "This isn't personal, this is merely fate."

"Nothing personal?!" Remnous's eyes flashed as he shoved one hand forward, a few golden sparks spluttered weakly around his fingers, the Sith Lord glowered as he thrust the arm out again and sent an unmeasured telekinetic burst at the Jedi's stomach, Galen grunted as he slid back slightly, Remnous's second wind was already beginning to fade, he only had to hold out a little longer. "It may not be personal to you, but to me, this is everything!" A wave of kinetic energy built around the Sith Lords body, Galen's eyes narrowed, Remnous seemed to lose control of his power. "You created me!" With speed Galen hadn't even thought he was capable of, Remnous lunged forward and seized Galen's wrist. "You destroyed the life I knew!" The Jedi's eyes widened with alarm as the Sith Lord twisted in place, dragging him off the ground. "You trained me to kill!" Remnous hauled with all his might; releasing the built-up power as he did do, tossing Galen across the encampment. The Jedi crashed to the ground, rolled head over heels twice and came to a skidding halt in front of a habitation unit with a large hole in one side. "And then you abandoned me!" Galen barely had time to surge to his feet and leap upwards as Remnous loomed over him and slashed with his lightsaber, he somersaulted through the air and landed on top of the unit. "You didn't even try to find me after Offee took me!" Galen panted as he stared down at his former Apprentice, the Sith Lords' eyes were pulsing with light as he swayed violently in place. "You left me to wander the Galaxy alone, your creation! Your Apprentice!" The Jedi bowed his head, his lightsaber held slackly by his side, shame weighing on his soul. "You forsook your vow to me and ran off to become a Jedi!"

"You're right." Remnous scoffed as he hopped up to join Galen on top of the habitation unit. "I did fail you, perhaps even worse than I failed Ezra Bridger, I'm-" Galen was cut off as Remnous metal fist connected with his stomach, he doubled over, flecks of blood flying from his mouth as he cried out.

"I already told you!" Remnous stamped one foot down onto one of Galen's; pinning the Jedi in place. "I don't want your apology Jedi!" Ezra's lightsaber slipped from Remnous's grip as his hands balled into fists. "I want my destiny!" The Sith Lord twisted his hips as he put his whole body into a blow across the Jedi's jaw, Galen grunted and did his best to roll with the punch only to have Remnous metal fist strike a glancing blow on his left cheek. "I want the Galaxy you promised we'd build together!" Remnous's voice echoed across the encampment and roused a few of the downed combatants as the Sith Lord continued to reign blow after blow down onto Galen's face. "I want everything you promised!" Both of them collapsed as Remnous leaned too heavily into a particularity heartfelt blow. Galen slumped onto his back, groaning dully, his right eye was beginning to swell up and his nose was definitely broken. "And I don't care if I have to do without you!" Remnous scowled as he rose onto all fours, the Sith Lord shook his head furiously as he forced himself to his feet. "That is my fate, Marek!" Remnous put the last of his strength into a telekinetic blow as he kicked Galen hard in the stomach; a small shockwave marked the point of impact and the Jedi was sent rolling off the roof of the unit, crashing to the ground in a painful heap in the light of the hole. "I have surpassed you." Remnous stretched his hand out and summoned Ezra's lightsaber again. "And now, this is the end for you!"

Galen looked up just in time to see Remnous raise Ezra's lightsaber over his head and lung towards him, the lightsaber lancing down towards his head.

"Galen!" The Jedi's eyes whipped up to see Tandi stood in the hole, her hand raised. Time seemed to slow as the Grey Jedi threw a short shoto hilt towards him, the Jedi raised his hand and caught the hilt with the Force as it shot towards him, with a flick of his wrist it spun around and shot towards Remnous. The Sith Lords' eyes widened with surprise as Galen's thumb flicked downwards and the purple plasma blade activated, driving itself into the centre of his chest. The Sith Lord's body immediately went limp, Ezra's lightsaber slipping from his grasp. Galen surged to his feet, his arms rising to catch him. The two sunk to the ground, Remnous firmly locked in Galen's embrace. There was a minutes silence, Galen glanced up at Tandi and nodded once as Remnous gasped in his arms.

"I?" Remnous stared down at the dark hole in his chest, his eyes wide with disbelief. "I, lost?" Galen grimaced as Remnous weakly tried to rise to his feet. "No, I can't lose." The light in the Sith Lord's eyes was beginning to fade. "There's, still, so much, to do."

"You've done enough." Galen tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice as he stared down at his dying former disciple. "Your reign ends here." Remnous's scoff turned into a fit of weak coughing, the gold in his eyes was beginning to dim.

"You have, no right, to judge me." The Sith Lord took a ragged half breath as he lay back in the Jedi's arms. "It, wasn't supposed to be this way, we, were..." Galen bowed his head as Remnous trailed off, his eyes far away.

"I know, we were supposed to do it together." Galen forced himself to meet Remnous's eyes one last time. "Please, forgive me."

"Forgive you? Just like that? Who are you? Tseebo?" The Sith Lord chuckled dryly, his eyes had regressed to yellow at this point. "No Jedi, my forgiveness doesn't come so cheap, and the price you'll pay for what you've done will be a steep one." Galen grimaced, he could only imagine what grim task Remnous had in mind for him. "You." Remnous paused, his brows furrowing as he struggled to gather his thoughts. "You, will not, abandon this fight." The Jedi's eyes widened. "You will forsake all personal ambition, just as you forsook me, and instead, you will..." Remnous trailed off, spluttering weakly a few times before dragging in one last breath. "Protect the Galaxy, no matter the cost." Galen bowed his head, his eyes closing. "Swear it to me, you owe me that much." The Jedi sighed as he raised his head to meet Remnous's gaze one last time.

"I swear." He felt Remnous relax in his arms, his eyes drifting away.

"Good." Remnous gasped weakly a few more time, slivers of blue were beginning to appear in his eyes. "Master?"

"Yes, my Apprentice?"

"Did I do it? Did I make the Galaxy, a better place." Galen nodded, a tear slipping down his cheek.

"You kept your vow."

"Yes, the Empire, was mine, and, from its ashes, I built, a better," Remnous jerked slightly, his eyes slipping out of focus as he stared over Galen's shoulder, his final word forming on his lips as the last of yellow drained from his eyes. "Galaxy." Galen bowed his head, then he slowly reached out and closed Ezra Bridger's blue eyes.

The Emperor was dead.

Authors Note: Wow, that was heavy, for me at least. I remember coming up with Remnous's name oh so long ago now if I'm honest, I've always looked at him as an OC rather than a canon character, well to be fair, he and Ezra never had much in common. There's one chapter left, I'll have more to say then, but for now; I want to send another heartfelt thank you to all of you for sticking with me for so long, it's been a pleasure to write this for you.

With Remnous dead and the finale coming to a close, I want to know what some of your favourite moments in this story have been.

See you next time for the last chapter.

So, until we meet again

Regards

Nighttrek