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This is the final part of the Mortis trilogy! Let's begin.
Chapter 4: Shadow of Mortis
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Xur Eon, Anakin Skywalker and his padawan Ahsoka are caught in the middle of a treacherous battle between good and evil. The scale has now tipped towards the Dark Side, and now our four warriors must guard against attack as they plan their escape. A great weight has been placed on Anakin's shoulders, for now he must face who he really is…
The rain poured all around them as they stood under their crashed ship for shelter. Obi-Wan looked out at the landscape and saw nothing but darkness with the massive tower in the distance. Anakin sat behind him atop the boarding ramp while Ahsoka was hard at work trying to repair the ship. Xur sat in the empty cockpit with his legs propped up on the dashboard and no Obi-Wan to tell him to move them. There he finally got the sleep he so dearly wanted.
Obi-Wan shrugged. "I'm beginning to grow tired of how unreliable the weather is here," he said, shaking his head.
Anakin smiled. "Some might say that's part of the appeal,"
Obi-Wan nodded. "You did well Anakin. How do you feel?"
He wasn't sure. He hesitated a bit before he sighed. "I don't know. It feels wrong to leave the Father alone. The Son has been consumed by the Dark Side."
Obi-Wan scratched his chin. "Yes, but if we stay, we may be used to the Dark Side's advantage."
Ahsoka shuffled behind them. She popped up from the grill of the ship holding a wrench wearing goggles over her eyes. "Well…do you want the bad news, or the really bad news?"
Obi-Wan smiled. "Let's try the bad news, laced with a little optimism,"
Ahsoka nodded and then began to lay out what needed fixing, but Xur wasn't having a peaceful sleep. He was conflicted.
The same man was next to him from his vision in the cave, but this time they weren't fighting. Xur looked around and noticed they were in the hull of a ship and walking down a dark hall. Lights flashed on as they walked further down. Eventually they came to the end, and it was revealed what their destination was. It was there, the black mechanical…thing was restrained, unmoving. The man next to him then began to speak.
"I let you live," he said. Xur was confused. How did they beat this thing? It was horrifying to say the least. The only sound that occupied the silence was the being's breathing through his respirator. The man began to speak again. "You know maybe this is all a trick…a way to get me so lost and confused that I'd forget who I really am and become your slave again but either way…I let you live," he continued. Xur couldn't move or speak. All he could do was watch. The man finished. "I've finally broken your hold over me."
What was going on? This man worked for this…thing at one point? None of this made sense. They were about to walk out of the hull, but the thing finally spoke.
"As long as she lives…I will always control you," he said in a mechanical and deep tone.
Xur opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. Still at the ship…good. He pulled his feet down from the dashboard and turned in his chair to notice the other three rambling on about what he assumed to be the ship.
"That sounds terribly downbeat," Obi-Wan said, deep in thought. Ahsoka smiled and then returned to work. "Can you fix it?" he asked.
Ahsoka sighed. "Well, I can reroute the primary initiator, weld the dampening vents, and that might give us enough power to leave the atmosphere. After that, I have no guarantee she'll hold together,"
Xur scoffed. "So what you're saying is that we could get off this rock, but just break apart and die in space?" he asked. Ahsoka nodded from underneath the grill. Xur sighed. "Well I guess it's better than no ship at all."
Obi-Wan agreed. "We'll take our chances. Better than staying here." Xur nodded and then returned back to his nap, which he wasn't sure was going to be pleasant. Obi-Wan returned to his position outside of the ship. The rain still didn't let up, but at least there was hope to leave. Anakin then appeared next to him holding on to a speeder from the ship. "Where are you going?" he asked.
Anakin unfolded the speeder and climbed aboard. "To see the Father. I'm not convinced that the Son will be contained without our help. Maybe we should make a stand,"
Obi-Wan shook his head and reached for him. "Anakin,"
He shook his head. "If I don't get the Father's blessing to leave…it'll haunt me forever," Anakin sighed before he took off down the path on his speeder.
Xur found himself in a massive area. He looked around to recognize the place as the Kamino Cloning Facility, but it wasn't cloning troopers it seemed. All of the unfinished clones seemed different. He looked up to see the many platforms holding cloning tubes. It went up for miles it seemed. Suddenly, two figures came to his side. The one to his left he recognized as the same man that he had been with during his other dreams. He looked to his right and noticed a female togruta that looked strikingly familiar. No…it couldn't be. She's too old to be Ahsoka, at least in her thirties. Xur felt the ability to move freely and speak, so he did.
"Ahsoka?" he asked. She turned to him, confused.
"Yes Xur, it's me, now come on, we must defeat him!" she spoke. No…no this was a trick. These dreams weren't real, or would they be? Future events? It didn't make sense.
A voice sounded from above. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you returned. Now you will surrender to me, or you will die, here." It was the same mechanical being from before, standing high above on a platform. The man next to him wasted no time jumping to meet him. Ahsoka turned towards Xur.
"Come on! Let's go!" she urged as she jumped up as well. Xur looked around, but his body jumped for him. The other two were already ready to challenge him, but Xur struggled to maintain his composure. The mechanical being suddenly became engulfed in fire and the words echoed in his head.
"As long as she lives…I will always control you."
"May I suggest less sleeping and more working?" Obi-Wan's voice sounded as Xur violently awoke, slamming his fist on the chair next to him, getting the attention of Obi-Wan. He turned in his chair and looked back to him, rubbing his eyes with his hand.
"Everything alright?" Obi-Wan asked. Xur paused for a second and removed his hand from his eyes.
"Yeah," he said quietly before he walked past him and outside into the rain.
Ahsoka rose from her sleeping position. "Oh…sorry master," she said, Obi-Wan turned back to her, holding a cup of water.
"Here, this should help," he offered. Ahsoka removed her goggles and took it quickly. Obi-Wan was deep in thought.
"We need to change plans, I need you to disengage the firing drives," he said.
Ahsoka was confused. "But, I'm almost finished with putting this junk-heap back together-,"
Obi-Wan stopped her. "Just, do as I say, we don't have much time," he said before he walked out with a speeder.
Ahsoka raised her shoulders. "Well, you're the boss," she said before returning to work. Obi-Wan came outside to see Xur walking past him and back into the ship, but now the Father was in front of him.
"Where's Anakin?" he asked, wanting to know where to look for him.
"He came to me for guidance, but at the crossroad only he can choose," the Father answered.
"I don't like this, what have you done?"
"I…have done nothing. I am merely letting the will of the force…take shape,"
Obi-Wan was becoming frustrated with his riddles. "Where has he gone?" The Father hesitated to respond, but turned to him.
"To the Well of the Dark Side," the Father answered. Obi-Wan didn't exactly know what the place was, but its name was enough to set off alarm bells.
"Anakin's off to confront your son isn't he?" Obi-Wan assumed, an assumption that was correct. The Father stopped him as he unfolded his speeder.
"You cannot interfere!" he ordered. Obi-Wan blew it off.
"The way I see it, if we were not supposed to interfere, Ahsoka, Xur and I wouldn't be here," Obi-Wan explained before preparing to leave.
"I don't think it's that simple," Xur said from behind. He walked past Ahsoka and pointed towards the Father. "Tell me…why am I having dreams of fighting mechanical horror along with an unfamiliar man…" he paused and then pointed back to Ahsoka, "and her…a much older her?"
Ahsoka was confused. He had never told her about these dreams, besides the one inside the cave, albeit briefly. Obi-Wan looked at him strangely.
"Xur…what are you talking about?" Ahsoka asked, shocked. He looked back to her, but didn't know what to say. He might just be going insane, so he shook his head.
"Those may be visions of the future that you're seeing," the Father suggested. Xur looked at him quizzically. "This place is very strong in the force, and tends to show visitors things that may happen to them in their future, especially gifted ones, such as yourself. The force may be trying to warn you."
Xur looked back at the visions and remembered the line that was repeated. "I keep hearing this: 'As long as she lives…I will always control you.' I don't know who 'she' is. None of it makes sense."
The Father smirked. "Perhaps we will all find out in time," Obi-Wan nodded.
"We'll talk about this later Xur, I'm going after Anakin," he informed them before speeding off down the path. Ahsoka and Xur returned to the ship, while the Father was left alone outside.
Much time passed, and neither Obi-Wan nor Anakin had returned to the ship. Xur decided that sitting around and watching Ahsoka work wasn't efficient, so he decided that helping was in his best interest. Sending out a transmission outside of the planet didn't work, so they worked away at getting the ship back in order.
Although, help according to Xur was standing around the grill and grabbing anything she needed, not really assisting her with the dirty work. He handed her a ratchet, and proceeded to stay quiet. While she tightened the last few screws, Ahsoka decided to speak up.
"So…about these…visions. How do I look in them?" she asked as she popped up from the grill, surprising him.
"How do you look? Umm…well…taller of course…also older…pretty good, pretty good," he nodded. Ahsoka rolled her eyes.
"That's not what I meant," she said, crossing her arms. "What was I doing?"
Xur chuckled. "Telling me to get my act together,"
Ahsoka smirked and shook her head before returning to work. "I guess some things never change, do they?"
Xur scoffed. "Whatever," It was then that Ahsoka's communicator lit up, and Obi-Wan's voice chimed in.
"Ahsoka, can you hear me?" his voice sounded.
Ahsoka stopped what she was doing and responded. "Yes master, any success with Anakin?"
She could hear him sigh in the background. "No…quite the opposite in fact,"
"Oh no," Xur said before he walked out to the boarding ramp.
"Master, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Anakin has joined with the Son,"
"What?!" Xur shouted, drawing one dual-bladed lightsaber. He was not about to let the Son get the upper hand on him…again.
"Do not engage him!" Obi-Wan ordered. Ahsoka protested, but he quickly cut her off. "Just do as I say! You have to disable the ship."
"But I just finished putting it back together!" she protested.
"Ahsoka…please listen to me. We need to prevent Anakin and the Son from leaving," he ordered. Ahsoka was about to confirm until she overheard Xur and Anakin conversing, or at least Anakin was speaking to him.
Xur stood with his arms crossed in front of him, unmoving. Anakin shouted at him. "Stand aside! I must get to the ship!" At this point, Xur would ignite his lightsaber and attack Anakin, who's yellow eyes gave away his allegiance, but he sensed that Ahsoka was tucked away safely.
"OK Skywalker, you win, go on ahead," he stood out of his way and he walked in straight to the cockpit. Ahsoka then descended from her hiding spot and dashed to Anakin's speeder, Xur following. They both hopped on the speeder before Anakin could return. He ran out of the ship, realizing what had happened, and saw them waiting on the speeder.
"Sorry Skywalker, got to jet!" Xur taunted. "Punch it!" he yelled and Ahsoka revved the engine, speeding off down the path.
They eventually arrived at the well, looking for a distraught Obi-Wan somewhere. They eventually found him, scaling the wall, and had gotten a good ways up already. They floated up next to him.
"Nice job!" Ahsoka commented on his efforts. Obi-Wan scoffed and grunted.
"What took you guys so long?" he complained, causing Ahsoka to smile.
"It's going to be a tight fit, but hop on!" Xur urged him, pointing behind him. Obi-Wan managed to sit behind Xur, albeit barely.
Ahsoka pulled out the key to the ship. "I did as you asked. The ship isn't going anywhere without this,"
Obi-Wan nodded from behind Xur's head. "Good, that should buy us some time to rescue Anakin, let's go!" They then took off up and out of the well to find Anakin.
Anakin was found at the monastery's platform with the Father. He sat across from him, looking lost almost. Xur had become tired of being sandwiched between two people on the same speeder for so long, and as soon as they landed, he was the first one off. He stretched his entire body after jumping off.
"Are you alright?" Obi-Wan asked as he hopped off the speeder along with Ahsoka. Anakin nodded and rose to his feet.
"I think so, but we must stop the Son once and for all," Anakin proclaimed. Xur's yawn turned everyone towards him.
"That's more like it Skywalker," he pointed.
"We have little time, and you will get only one chance," the Father explained and approached Anakin. "You know what you must do."
"How quaint," the Son appeared from the sky above and floated down to earth. "My own personal sendoff."
The Father glared at him. "I ask you one last time. Do not leave my son!"
The Son shook his head. "You have no power to keep me here old man. You must understand by now that this planet is not my destiny!" he shouted, angered.
"What you will do will destroy all that is good. I beg you, restrain yourself, and stay!" the Father pleaded, but seemed to get no change of heart.
"I cannot," he responded.
The Father seemed to lose all hope. "Then it shall be. I love you my son,"
"Do you?" he asked before Anakin ignited his lightsaber and slashed at the Son. He parried it with his own arms and then grabbed Anakin by the neck, tossing him aside. Xur, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka all lunged for the Son with their lightsabers, but he forced them out of their grasps with the force. It was at this point that Xur let go of any conviction. It was time to end this once and for all. He changed into his Dark Side form instantaneously and drew a single bladed lightsaber. When the Son force pushed the three away, Xur dug the lightsaber into the ground, stopping him from moving.
The Father noticed the dagger on his Son's utility belt and grabbed onto it with the force. The Son was shocked and he tossed the three lightsabers he had stolen away.
"What?!" the Son laughed. "You're going to kill me now?!"
"I held hopes that you would be able to resist the Dark Side, but now I know there is no going back," the Father raised the dagger in the air and pointed it towards himself.
"Father…" the Son pleaded before he drove it into his chest, stabbing himself. "No! What have you done?!" he shouted, grabbing his father and pulling the dagger out. "It did not have to be this way!"
"Yes, it did. You and I are tied together, and your strength runs through me. This way, I take your power," the Father explained.
The Son was almost in tears. "Please, don't die,"
The Father smiled and embraced his son. "I always knew there was…good in you," He then looked to Anakin, who ignited his lightsaber. The Son moved to resist, but he was stabbed too quickly to stop him. He fell limp in his father's embrace.
"And so you have betrayed me father," he said before he gave his last breath and died. The Father laid him down to rest forever. Xur still gripped his red lightsaber tightly, and his body shuddered with each breath. He was struggling to control his Dark Side energies as the Son had died. He took one knee as he felt them growing, and his original tactic wasn't working to his unlucky surprise. He began to panic as he could no longer contain himself. Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"The energies…focus and use them against themselves," it was Ahsoka's voice above him. She was right. That's what he had done before, and it had to work now. He felt as his anger dissipated, and the glow on his lightsaber became orange again. He rose to his feet.
"Thanks for that," he thanked her, getting a smile back. They looked up to see that the Father had disappeared, and Anakin was on his feet again. The world around them seemingly began to collapse, and the shining crystal atop the monastery fell apart and glowed a bright light, which eventually became too much to see through anymore.
They awoke on their ship in space, fully repaired and in good condition. The communicator flared to life showing the image of Captain Rex.
"General Skywalker, come in," he called. Anakin nodded.
"Yes Captain, we're here,"
"Ah…good to see you. You were off the scopes for a moment," Rex informed them. Anakin was confused.
"Umm…we've been gone more than a moment Rex,"
Rex looked at him quizzically. "I don't understand sir, you'll have to explain."
Anakin smirked. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. We're coming in."
OK, I might be taking a break after this. This isn't easy to do. If you enjoyed please follow/fav and leave a review! Next up is the "Citadel" trilogy!
