Disclaimer: Don't own. Ask Nickelodeon and Schneiders Bakery why. Heck, ask Netflix, cause they're streaming the show. Just, don't ask me, cause I only own the original characters. Same goes for the star wars stuff. (Disney and Lucas films, respectively.)

Okay, I think we're gonna see something happen now.

:}

Jade was the first one out when they got near the lift, and she used the stolen ID to get a car while her father checked and made sure they were heading the right way. Three was invaluable, giving them directions while also helping blind the internal sensors to their current location. Even the lift, with it's internal sensors, didn't so much recognize them as a recording played of a few Stormtroopers who'd ridden it just a short while earlier.

Moments passed, and with it, a growing feeling of dread encompassed them. The two darksiders were together now, with the princess, and presumably Beck. That meant all kinds of bad could be happening. Neither Jade nor her father wanted things to get any worse. 'Besides, whatever protection Trina had, it's gone now. This is the guy in charge, or his top lieutenant, and that means they're calling the shots. If they wanted Trina alive, then they'll keep her alive, but whatever they do, no one is gonna say splat about it. We need to get closer.' Jade thought, even as she pried open the access to the tubes and started in towards where Trina was. They were closer now, but still over two football fields away. That was as close as they could get without alerting the guards.

"I'm having Three lock the guards out, but no telling who may be with Lord Smyde, or what kind of danger our presence alone will be placing the princess in. Our first priority is her safety..." Grey was telling his daughter.

"I know, I get it." Jade groaned. "We're almost there..." They'd managed to crawl over two hundred yards as quickly as humans could, and while their knees would hurt in the morning, right then it was finally time for action.

They paused just outside the room Smyde was in, listing in on what sounded like an argument. "….If I marry her, then no one would question my attention to the throne." A male voice was saying.

"A good enough plan, except I want the throne." Another male voice countered. "Once she abdicated to me, then I can have my agent eliminate the emperor, make it look like an accident, and claim the throne for myself." There was the brief sound of protest, but this man quickly shut that down. "CALM DOWN!" The man snapped. "As my son, you'd be next in line. Stay loyal, be my strong right arm, as well as my left hand, and together we'll rule the galaxy. You will find many trappings falling your way once that's done."

"But all I need to do is marry her, and I'd be the emperor." The son said, almost whined, and Jade edged closer, deciding on where she wanted to be. Her father had pushed her forward to not only listen, but placing himself in position to glance out through an air vent, seeing where everything was.

"That's Lord Smyde, and his son, Anton." Malcolm whispered. "There are also royal guard types here, probably Smyde's personal guard. Don't like that. However, we brought blasters, just in case, so maybe it's time to..."

"Who's in the air ducts?" Smyde asked.

"Play times over." Mal whispered, quickly opening the latch and crawling out. The access in this room was in the floor, and so while they were vulnerable for a moment, both Wests were able to get to their feet before the dark lords were able to do much of anything. "Smyde, never pegged you for a force user."

"Lord Grey, back from exile I see." The older of the two men said. He was tall and regal looking, while his son, just a couple of inches shorter, was far more broad and intimidating looking. "And you brought us a plaything? See, Anton..."

"Rend." The younger man said. He looked to be about five years older then Trina. "Darth Rend."

"There are always pretty girls for those with power." He gave a dark chuckle as he took in the moment. "Did I ever tell you that, at one time, Malcolm and I shared a master?" The dark lord said more then asked. "Of course, to our master, I had value, while he was just a tool. One that fell to the graces of a fallen princess. It's why I know so much about him, and yet, he never once realized what I was." His gaze once again locked on jade, before returning to the elder West. "I noticed the princess, her children weren't yours. So I can only assume this one is? I'll make good use of her body, throw her to my son. She probably won't survive, but that's the price when you cross a Sith."

"Ten guards, and two dark lords." Grey told his child. "Protect the princess."

"Where's Beck?" Jade asked, looking around.

"He's okay." Trina told them, somehow in control of herself despite the danger of the situation. "They left him outside, cause they didn't need him here."

"We'll get him on the way out, assuming there's time." Mal told his daughter, even as he braced himself for the attack.

Jade could already see it. The guards would open up, oddly using hand to hand weapons designed to withstand the touch of their lightsabers. Then, while the two were engaged, the masters would attack. Jade had no intent of letting things go down that way, and marshaled a great deal of her own power for what was about to happen.

'First, I need to get Trina to safety.' Jade thought, organizing her priorities, even as time felt like it stood still. 'Beck is probably safe, cause they think he's not a part of this. Besides, I'm betting the guards outside, they only come in if they are ordered too. That means, we win in here, we have our escape, and all I need to do is find a way to rescue the boy who just stomped on my heart. Joy.' Her hand quivered, a sign of her growing sadness, and something everyone who noticed mistook for fear. 'Okay, Dad, whats the plan?'

"Jade, calm yourself." Malcolm warned. "They'll exploit any weakness they see."

'Got it, no plan.' Jade thought, smiling to herself. 'Then it's time to act.' And act she did, because she was an actress. Living the feeling, like any good method actress, she projected fear, loathing, hurt, and reluctance. "Dad, please, I'm just a kid, only seventeen. I-I don't wanna die." She said, staggering forward, her arms out, releasing her pain as a form of art.

"Anton..." Smyde warned, even as Jade lunged forward, her blade activating in a desperate swing, trying to end things before they got started. Guards shot, while the self styled Darth Rend activated his own weapon to deflect the incoming attack. All eyes were on the desperate, terrified girl, just like she planned.

Rend's blade, like the dozen or so other weapons, passed through the illusion, even as Lord Smyde finished his warning. "….That's an illusion…!"

In a burst of speed, Jade had moved to where Trina was, used the force to push the guards away, and was now taking the princess to the jefferies tubes. Her hand protected the older girls head, even as her strength pulsed far stronger then it had in years. Jade had succeeded in saving Trina, and now all she had to do was keep the enemy away while her princess made an escape.

"There's a blaster in there, and these tubes go on for miles, like in all direction." The pale girl ordered, even as her father, Lord Grey, was intercepting Lord Smyde. Red energy blades clashed, igniting sparks while the two men danced about with far more grace then their age might hint at. "Just go, the others are already recovering."

"Most of them." Trina noted, crawling into the tube in the floor, eyes open for the promised blaster. Across the room, the two guards who'd been watching her had slumped to the floor, each knocked out by their bodies impacting the walls. Jade hadn't held back.

Then Jade was in the middle of it, her lightsaber dancing around her, deflecting attacks from the wide variety of energy based hand to hand weapons the guards wielded, all of them trying to score some kind of telling blow. Worse, from her perspective, was the simple fact that she had to use all her energy for defense, both blades now active, while also trying to interfere with the guards attempt to harm her father. Jade was feeling over matched, and Rand hadn't yet entered the fray.

Rend, it seemed, was more interested in retrieving his would be bride, and so was causally walking around the fight when the first shot rang out. Jade couldn't spare even the moment to glance over, but took advantage when the guards in front of her did, slicing them both down in one combination strike. Her intuition guided her, painting the picture with comic precision. It seemed that Trina had found the blaster, and realizing she needed more then just to get out of that room, had decided to help out instead of running blindly. She'd shot one of the guards who'd broken free of Jade to go help Smyde in his battle, taking the man by surprise. The weapon in his hands was designed to fight Jedi and the like, but wasn't a lightsaber. Unable to deflect the attack, and caught by some level of surprise, he'd just been shot, knocked off his feet, and was either wounded or dead. Jade didn't know for sure until the third shot confirmed Trina had protected herself the only way available, killing that guard.

The odds were shifting now. Trina was a threat, because someone had taught her how to shoot. Using her acquired blaster, as well as her half cover from standing in the tube, Trina now opened fire on any guard far enough away from one of her two would be rescuers to present an open target. They may have had ranged weapons, but not in hand, and so Trina trimmed the odds quickly, and with a grim determination, cutting down another four men before she had to duck into the tube to avoid Rends grasp. Already, one of her shots had been deflected away by the young Sith lord.

Jade was free. The guards, unprepared for this type of battle, had tried to move to put Jade between Trina and themselves, thus making things easier for her to deal with them. Not only did she not have to deal with more then two to three at a time, he could use her power over the force to take them out. Three pulses of telekinesis later, and the remaining guards had all been tossed, hard, to the far wall. Not content to leave things at that, Jade tossed her black blade, piercing two of them, before retrieving it and making sure no enemy stood to challenge her.

Rend covered the distance from his position to Jade's in a single leap, a cry of pure rage echoing from his lips. Jade didn't bother to deflect it, instead simply side stepping the attack, letting all that power slice down into the remaining guards. Jade knew what to expect, her practice with her father had prepared her for this. 'Rend is all about two handed blows. Power to smash through your opponents defenses. I've been taught a variant of a style based on precision and control, mixed with a second style based on two weapons or dual weapons. Right now, I have the advantage, because I suspect, from the way things are going, I'm a better fighter then this guy is. Only problem, dad's not doing so hot.'

Jade knew she couldn't let herself be distracted, despite actually, for the first time in years, knowing she was better then her opponent. 'Just have to hold back, not unleash any rage. That's his tool, and it gives him strength at the cost of precision. No, I got this. I totally got this.' Knowing she had to make sure she didn't slip, she let her feelings for another surface, and that was her buffer against the fear and hatred.

Jade felt an odd feeling, riding the love she had for Tori, as well as her caring for her friends, letting that emotion flow through her, giving her strength and endurance. Her blows danced around the dark Jedi's blade, pushing him back, dealing with his weaker and weaker defense, moving the boy to the point where she could have dispatched him

Only Jade felt something for Rend. Pity. She knew, just knew, that this boy was as much his fathers tool as she'd been hers, so she stayed her hand, looking for the real winning blow, turning Anton to the light side, or rather to the gray, and the balance that would let him be good without sacrificing the passion he'd thrived upon. 'Hold on, Dad, just hold on, cause I have this guy.' Jade thought at her father.

"Look, Rend..." Jade started, pulling at his own feelings of inadequacy. "Wait, what kind of name is Rend? I mean, no disrespect, but that's the name of an enforcer, not a ruler. You choose that yourself, cause if you're gonna rule, you need a better name. No, Rend is a warrior, but not the leader. He's the guy the leader sends out to take care of business."

"SHUT IT!" Rend roared, pulling on all his hatred to make himself powerful. Only, he'd missed the point, and Jade just yanked at that string, the feelings of inadequacy he'd used to fuel that rage.

"Oh, please, I've had you beat for a while now." Jade all but scoffed. "Only, I get it. I get wanting Trina, cause as annoying as she is, she's a dish. Girls got a great body, and I can see how a guy would appreciate that. Plus, and never let her know I said this, but she's a good dancer, when she doesn't let herself get in her way. Hell, she knows a lot more about people then most girls her age, and that's saying a lot."

"Wait, are you her lover?" Rend growled, even as Grey dodged yet another attack, forced backwards by Smyde's onslaught.

"I'm actually into her sister, but that's a whole different problem." Jade admitted. "Thing is, you're so busy being an Incel, you never once considered that she could like you. I mean, you're not bad looking, have a good family, and if you'd just romanced her, I'm betting you'd have at least had a chance. But that wasn't gonna happen, cause you're dad, he thinks of you as a tool, just like my dad think of me that way. Figures, since they had the same teacher and such. Only, I'm gonna rise above that, show everyone I call my own destiny. See, yes, I'm my fathers daughter, but I'm my own woman."

"What in the darkness is an incel?" Rend asked, staggering back. His anger was breaking, despite his best efforts to keep the berserk like rage going.

"Involuntary celibate." Jade filled in. "Only, it really is your choice. Just stop being such a gank, and the girls, they'll come round. Just like Trina. She's a catch, except she wants only the best, so that's a strike against her. Plus, she acts like she's a fudging princess, which I guess, knowing what I know now, she really is."

Anton, because Rend really didn't fit him any more, had stopped fighting, wanting to know more about what Jade was saying. "So, whats this now?"

The pale girl shifted her red blade off, choosing to only have one blade ready in case she needed to defend herself. The black blade shimmered with promises of a quick end, but stayed comfortably away as she spoke. "You just have to be willing to treat the ladies like their people, and probably better then you've been treating the people around you." She started.

She never got to finish, as Smydes red blade deflected off her black one. Her father had been wounded, and was holding that wound while trying to defend himself. Smyde, however, screamed as he pressed his attack, shifting his target at the last moment. "Fools, I choose who lives and dies, and I say, if a tool isn't useful anymore, then I don't need it." His cut struck Anton down. "Foolish boy, you've always been week. I just had no idea how week you really were, not before this very moment. No, I'll take the princess, and make myself a better son. One worthy of placing my lifeforce in. Then, that way, I'll extend my line, without constantly reminding myself of my mistakes." A flick of his wrist, and the blade shot upward, ending his son.

Jade felt it, all the resentment she'd had for her father, building up inside her. With a scream, she unleashed her rage, as the true test of her will bent her to the darkness. Only a small, persistent voice pulled at her, keeping her from fully falling. However, that was hardly enough to stop her from lunging at Smyde.

The dark lord should have had every advantage, being calm while his opponent was raging. Jade's style of fighting relied upon precision, control, while his was more based on building a solid defense, and waiting for his opponent to make a mistake, or sometimes forcing that mistake to happen. Jade's rage based attack lacked some of her usual finesse, leaving openings her opponent should have been taking advantage of, counter striking over and over, cutting her apart through the many holes In her defense. Only, Smyde, while the superior swordsman, wasn't ready for what came with her physical attack. Each blow was backed by the force, her rage made physical in wave after wave, breaking across the mans body, forcing him backwards. Slowly, the Sith lord found himself being pushed back, knocked backwards and often almost off his feet. Battered and bruised, Smyde was staggering back from each attack. This confused Trina, who had no idea why the man was so easily deflecting Jade's attacks, yet seemed to stagger back, often barely able to keep standing. To the princess, and anyone lacking knowledge about what was really happening, the whole fight was odd, as they only saw the masters defense easily deflecting the angry child's tantrum, while the older man was still driven to his knees.

Smyde knew, deep inside, he wasn't going to overpower Jade, not until her rage passed. However, he also understood how short her burst of energy was going to be. Solidifying his defense, the mastermind of the rebellion gathered his own power, enacted shields, and pushed back, blunting Jade's onslaught. He'd lasted long enough, and once he stopped her mad assault, he was able to cut open the waves, pushed back, use his own power to slam Jade down. Then he rose, like a demon, standing above her, blade raised to strike her down.

"Now girl, you will die….. Errr?" His blow, however, never landed. Instead, he felt a wave of something even stronger then the rage Jade had been feeling wash over him. It came from behind, filling him with a dread, because he could never understood the true power of what Malcolm West was feeling. Mal, it seemed, was fighting for everything he cared about. Now, feeling he was dying, fearful of losing the things he'd valued his entire life, and spurred on by the echoes of his son's own feelings from so far away, the self styled Lord Grey for the first time felt the full extent of his own love. That emotion swam through the air, driving even Jade's rage back, and Smyde could taste the raw, unfiltered power born of a resolve that was willing to die just to protect what was truly loved.

Malcolm struck, his fear and hate muted behind the resolve, the love he felt for his family, his princess, even his wayward daughter he'd tried not to care about. Not caring if he died in the process, or even lost his soul, the West patriarch mixed his own life into the attack, reaching across the room with the force and crushing the life out of the dark lord of the Sith. Knowledge and power and love and regret all formed into physical force, and in that moment, Smyde, who was so sure Grey was out of the fight, was unable to muster enough power to counter this attack. With a sickening crunch, is was over, and Lord Smyde fell to the ground, all his plans ended. His last emotion was a raw fear of the man he was so sure was never his match.

:}

Okay, that happened. Thoughts?