Shadows of the Sith

Disclaimer: Disney owns everything and I make no profit from this.

Chapter 3

The Rage of a Sith. Left to battle against the spirits of bygone Sith alone and with Revan defeated, Anakin has no choice but to dive into the Dark Side of the Force and unleash it's true power onto those who threaten his and the galaxy's safety, but will Darth Vader leave the shrine alive, or is he destined to die at the hands of someone greater than himself?

Warning: For those who have not read my story "A Messed Up Destiny: Before the Dark Times", it is needed for context of what's going on here and for the other side stories I plan to write that will take place in the same universe. So I suggest you go read it or you'll be completely lost here.

Note: This chapter is going to be a bit shorter than the others, mostly because it's centered around Vader's rampage and battle against the Sith spirits, and because there's only so much I can write regarding that. Though I do promise the next one will be longer as compensation.

Coruscant, Sith Shrine, Darth Vader's point of view:

The fires of hatred burned within my soul as I listened to my heartbeat, which was playing the familiar tune of revenge. The color of my eyes must have been pure yellow by now, with how much I wanted these pathetic spirit dead. The sound of footsteps could be heard all around, the spirit's soldiers getting closer by the moment. The dim lighting of the hallway was masked by my blade's azure one, though I would have preferred it to be crimson, like my regular blade used to be.

Sith troopers swarmed me from all angles, but they would soon meet their ends at my hands, or if they were lucky, by my blade. Feelings of anger overwhelmed me as they moved closer, demanding that I surrender to them. I, of course, did no such thing, instead pulling one towards me and slamming my saber through his torso. He dropped to the ground, dead, and he would only be the first of many.

The rest opened fire on me, though there was a visible difference in their emotions. They weren't afraid, or desperate for help like the Rebellion's foolish soldiers, these troopers were determined, loyal to their masters and willing to pay any price for victory, which meant they would do anything to see me dead. Certainly different than any other enemy I had faced as Vader, but they too would be no match for my power.

Deflecting the blaster bolts with my Jedi saber, I edged closer to the largest group, wanting to destroy them before they got any lucky shots in. The squad -consisting of six troopers- began falling back while their allies tried to distract me, but I simply froze the incoming blots in midair and continued to advance, moving closer to the soldiers who began feeling afraid, like so many others before them.

One of the troopers looked at the one next to him, almost in fear, that is until the two advanced on their own, determined to put me down. It was brave, but ultimately foolish. The other four began providing cover fire for their allies as the ones behind me kept shooting blindly, their bolts being frozen like the others.

The two that had advanced towards tried to jab at me with their rifles, but it was to no avail. Both were cut down in a matter of seconds, and the remaining members of their squad had their necks snapped right after. Turning to the troopers behind me, I grinned at them and used the Force to throw all of the frozen bolts in their direction.

The hallway we were in was far too narrow for them to dodge in time, and they quickly found themselves with too many holes in their bodies for one to even try to count. I let out a sigh after confirming they were dead, knowing that their reinforcements would be on their way, which meant I'd have to fight more of them before finally reaching their summoner.

I turned around and began moving forwards, aiming to end this quickly, less I be trapped here for longer than I'd want. It was then that I heard a groan coming from one of the soldiers, the one who I had stabbed in the chest, my first kill of the day. Being too stunned to stop him, he managed to get back on his feet and collect his weapon before looking me in the eye and giving me what I knew to be the galaxy's most cocky grin.

Taking a step towards him, my blade raised high and ready to kill him again, I could see the others moving as well, groaning in pain as they pushed themselves off the floor and collected their weapons with intent to kill, which was something I already knew.

Angry at them for wasting my time, I shot a lightning bolt straight at the aforementioned squad, all of whom recoiled in pain and fell to the floor soon after, unmoving, as if dead. The remaining troopers charged at me -not caring if they would be cut down-, stopping about a meter away and opening fire in an instant. I deflected the incoming blaster bolts and let out a loud sigh. This was going to take a long, long time…

What must have been hours later, I was still fighting the Sith spirit's undying soldiers, who kept coming in waves as the ones I had already struck down continued to get back up on their feet and charge at me. My patience for them had run out long ago and I was showing them no mercy, annihilating them as brutally as possible.

The process didn't just consist of me cutting them down with a lightsaber, but I also took every opportunity to bash their heads against the wall until they stopped resisting, to snap their necks with my bare hands or to simply turn them to ash with the use of Force Lightning, but it all was to no avail. They would keep coming no matter what I did, and I could feel my strength fading, having used up most of on more taxing abilities like Deadly Sight in the hopes that it would be enough to put them down for good.

As I deflected what must have been the millionth bolt of the day, I used the Force to grasp at all their chests, their armor and bodies crumbling into themselves with no signs of stopping, at least until they would turn to black ash, that is, only for them to rise up barely a minute later.

Truly, there was no hope for victory. I was exhausted, and no matter how much anger and hatred I fueled my powers with, it was never enough. I must have gotten shot at some point too, since there was nothing else the constant pain in my side could have been, though it didn't matter. I was Darth Vader. The Emperor's former apprentice and most powerful Sith to have even lived, I would get through this. I just needed a bit more time to find a way out of here…just a bit more time…

My ears were ringing from the constant sounds of blaster fire, and I lost my train of thought just before everything turned to black, just before I my defeat and my second greatest failure, the failure to avenge the death of a comrade, a brother in arms who had been lost this very day…

I awoke facing the cold stone floor of what I presumed to be the shrine still, since had the Jedi found me it would have been a bed that I'd be on, and not just the floor. I unwillingly let out a groan as I tried to move my head, only to find that someone was holding me still, though I could feel no arm touching my body. My legs ached, my chest feeling like it was on fire, and a headache was practically killing me at this point, more so than any lightsaber ever could.

"Ah…I see you're awake, my Jedi friend!", an unknown voice gloated. "Took you long enough…", it mumbled in a low tone that made me think I hadn't been meant to hear that.

I moved my head, trying to look to where the voice was coming from, and saw a figure dressed in what seemed like a lab coat of some kind, though it was torn and seemingly burned in a few places, as if it had been hit by Sidious' lightning.

"Who…are you?", I managed to ask the figure.

They –no, he- let out a loud cackle, the sound filling the otherwise empty room. "Who am I?", the voice asked in a mocking tone. "I am no one!", it screamed. "I used to be someone, one of the Emperor's most prized scientists in fact, though now…now I am no one thanks to that cursed Jedi Knight! Revan, they call him! The traitor I saw you with, my friend!"

The scientist continued to rant about how Revan had killed him before he could finish his work, how he had been so very close to becoming the greatest Alchemist the galaxy had ever seen, but I wasn't listening. Instead, I was looking for a way out of here, only for my gaze to fall on the dozens of guards and troopers that were blocking the entrance to the room I was in, a room that began looking more and more like a place where sacrifices are made than I'd like to think about.

I never noticed that the spirit had focused its gaze on me again, not until it blasted me with Force Lightning for ignoring it while it talked, something that I certainly didn't appreciate and would have to repay with a similar action when I had him at my mercy.

The scientist moved closer, using the Force to hold in place before grasping at my jaw and examining it, as if looking for something. An icy finger trailed its way to my heart and a satisfied grin found its way onto the spirit's face, which unnerved me greatly, though I couldn't show it with my muscles frozen in place.

"Ah…finally. A Jedi with a soul purer than any other, and with power unlike any I've ever seen, even in that fool Revan. I'll have to see how a heart so pure can carry so much darkness…", the spirit said, that sickening grin once again visible on its face, without any part of his being visible, covered by his coat. "…and I'll get my answers once I tear it out of you!", it suddenly screamed lunging at me with a dagger in hand.

"I think not!", a familiar voice yelled as streaks of purple lightning blasted the spirit to the wall, the dagger flying out of its hand and onto the floor.

Not trusting my ears, I turned around to look at the person who had saved me, and saw Revan, standing in the middle of the room, his gaze falling onto the guards that were ready to attack him. I then immediately flipped next to him and pulled my lightsaber from a guard's belt, igniting the azure blade that lit the room in a faint blue light. Revan and I looked at each other and I allowed myself to smile. Before, this was a suicide mission. With him here, it was a battle, a winnable battle. And neither of us had any intention of losing today…

And…scene! There you have it everyone, the third chapter of Shadows of the Sith! I know people are going to hate me for doing a second cliffhanger in a row, but I promise it'll be worth it in the end! I hope you enjoyed the action (which I delivered, as promised) and Vader's rampage. It certainly was fun to write, seeing as I had the freedom to make it as brutal as I wanted, seeing as the enemies aren't real people…and it's only going to get worse now that Revan has joined the fight!

Anyways…on to your regularly scheduled exposition!

Firstly, Vader and the Dark Side. Anakin, now having been overwhelmed by his emotions, draws upon the Dark Side of the Force for power and strength in battle, as he usually did when he was still a Sith, but here he isn't getting caught up in a daydream. He understands and recognizes the emotions he's feeling in these moments and has a sense of self, not in any way thinking that he's back in the Emperor's service, something further reinforced by him later referring to himself as the Emperor's former apprentice. Granted, he isn't exactly working on a clear head, but while the Vader side of his is in control, the Dark Side itself isn't and he isn't mindlessly going on a rampage, but conducting calculated strikes against an enemy like Darth Vader would do against Rebel Soldiers once upon a time.

Secondly, Anakin getting his butt handed to him. I had to find a way to have Anakin lose this fight without visibly taking away from his powers since the main character suddenly losing his powers/skills just to get his butt handed to him for plot purposes is –objectively- bad writing, hence the mentions and details regarding the variety of Force Abilities he is utilizing in this chapter, even though they don't really help him in the end, as seen in the chapter itself. Anakin is still extremely powerful, but he's met his match in the form of these enemies, seeing as they aren't just random guards he can just kill and be done with, but indestructible soldiers of the Sith who have (some limited) experience fighting Jedi, though that isn't very well depicted here for reasons that will be explained in the next chapter.

Thirdly, the scientist. This guy is an OC and will remain nameless for the remainder of the story. He's supposed to have been working under Emperor Vitiate when Revan was still his prisoner, with Revan having killed him while making his escape, therefore leading to the man's work being left unfinished. What said work isn't exactly important in this moment since he could (and probably is) exaggerating the significance of it, but alas, that's who this guy is. There already is a scene where Revan explains this to Anakin and it will take place after they escape the Sith shrine, but I just wanted to give you some context in regards to who this guy is meant to be.

Fourthly, Revan's return. I'd be the first to admit that this scene certainly classifies as a Dues-ex-Machina, but I don't mind adding it because Revan is a badass and is allowed one such scene every now and then, though I doubt it will ever happen again. I just thought it was cool and went with it. The details of how Revan returned even though we saw him being drained last chapter (less than an hour with in-universe time) will be explained next chapter but are considered spoilers and I don't want to get into that for obvious reasons.

Next time: Anakin and Revan battle against the Sith spirits in the bowels of the Jedi Temple and two troopers begin questioning their loyalty when confronted with their former Master as time begins to run out for our Jedi heroes, who will need all the help they can get to leave the shrine alive...

That's all for now everyone! Reviews are always welcome, whether it be to ask a question or to chat, and I'll see you all next chapter, but until then, May the Force be with you!