A/N: Well this is the second to the last chapter (chapter X will be the
finale) so I hope you guys liked the story. And please, feel free to
comment I want to know what you think of my work.
Chapter IX- Attack of the Clones
Five Republic attack gunships circled the skies. They swept down into the coliseum, unleashing a barrage of blaster fire wherever they went. Havoc rained from the skies as the droids tried to shoot down this new threat. It was no use- the gunship's armor was too thick to be penetrated by small- arms fire.
"Around the survivors, a perimeter create!" Master Yoda ordered. The clone nodded in compliance. The five gunships landed as Jedi began to get in.
As Jedi loaded onto the gunships, clones got off, reinforcing their position with fire from their own blaster rifles. Lana, Anakin, Alan, Padmé, and Obi-Wan boarded one of the gunships. Mace boarded the same gunship Yoda commanded. After a few minutes of fighting and bombardment, the gunships took off and left the coliseum. Only seconds after the fighting had stopped, the coliseum was empty, and seemed to echo with irreverent silence.
All were gone. Only the boy, Boba Fett, remained. The young clone stepped into the sandy arena, bypassing the broken parts of droids and the blood of slain Jedi to find his father's helmet. He clasped the Mandalorian blue and silver helmet and touched his head to it, as though it could attune him to the soul of his slain originator.
Jango probably would have preferred that this would have happened later when the boy was older, but the force of circumstance was greater than a dead man's wishes. Boba looked deep into the Mandalorian helmet, knowing that he too would don the armor someday, and follow in his father's footsteps.
* * *
"Aim right above the fuel cells." Anakin ordered. The pilot nodded and fired a pair of missiles at the energy tower, hitting it in the bottle neck right above the fuel cells. The resulting explosion caused the tower to buckle and collapse, crushing a few battle droids with it.
"Good call, my young apprentice!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. Anakin smiled, genuinely happy to hear some words of encouragement, rather than criticism, from his mentor.
The five gunships spirited away to the scene of the main battle. Republic assault ships landed, unloading the legions of clone troopers. Commanders rallied and led their troops into battle against the ranks of battle droids. AT-TE walkers were dropped into battle by larger versions of the Republic attack gunships.
Many of the gunships docked at the forward command center, where clone troops had gathered and surged forward. Anakin watched as the fight raged on. Clone troopers fell. Battle droids fell. Hailfire droids sped along on their tracks and fired their surface-to-surface rockets at AT-TE walkers. All around, the air was thick with the smell of blaster fire.
Lana looked up at the five other gunships that had formed up on their wing. She could see what was happening; she could predict the future with the force. She looked down to the troops on the ground and watched as each division of fifty or so clone troopers was led by a single lightsaber.
"Pilot!" She ordered. She pointed to the gunships that had formed up on the wing, "synchronize your fire with theirs."
"Yes ma'am." The clone nodded. Within a few seconds, the six gunships unleashed a barrage of missile fire on the battle droid's ranks. The battle droids had bottlenecked through an important tactical pass, and were easy pickings for the gunship's air-to-surface missiles. The gunship wing continued to rain more and more missiles on the ranks of battle droids, clearing the way for the Jedi and their clone trooper support.
As the smoke cleared from the explosions, Alan noticed something glaring in the distance- a speeder bike. Anakin scowled. He had noticed it too. The two Jedi reached out with the force, as if to identify the rider.
"Dooku." Alan spat the name with such anguish and distaste as his eyes opened. He motioned to the pilot, "Shoot him down!"
"We're out of missiles, sir!"
Anakin's jaw clenched, matching the tension in Alan's jaw. "Follow him, then!"
"Yes sir."
Dooku looked back to the massive gunship that had been following his speeder bike. He subtly shook his head and punched a few buttons in his wristband, and the two Geonosian starfighters that had been serving as his escort pulled back to engage the gunship.
Blaster fire began to rock the gunship, each shot hitting closer to home than the next. The four clasped their handrails close, as to avoid falling out due to turbulence. Padmé had not held on so tightly. The ship rocked from one especially bad hit, and the senator fell out.
"Padmé!" Anakin cried. "Turn the ship around!"
"Don't." Obi-Wan said to the pilot.
"Padmé's back there!" Anakin rambled. "We have to go back for her! Turn the ship around!"
"Anakin," Lana whispered, "don't."
"No! We have to go back!"
"We must get Dooku!" Alan's normally cool voice seemed to be rigged with poison. A vivid expression of retribution was etched upon his face.
"Fine." Anakin growled. "Just let me out, I'll find her."
"Anakin, you can't let your personal feelings get in the way!" Obi-Wan said. Lana's nod seemed to echo and reinforce the Jedi Master's wisdom. "There are four Jedi here, four chances to get Dooku. If get him, we can end this war, before the entire galaxy is consumed by it."
"I don't care!" Anakin roared. A salt stream dripped down from his left eye. "Let me out!"
"I WILL NOT let Dooku get away!" Alan roared. The poison of retribution and vengeance was smeared all over his voice. Obi-Wan paid it no mind because he was focused on Anakin, but Lana looked worried. "We can't let him get away with this!"
"Anakin, you are going to be expelled from the Jedi Order!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. He grabbed his young apprentice by the shoulder and glared at him, face-to-face. "Think with your mind, not with your heart. What would Padmé do if she were in your position?"
Young Skywalker took a deep breath. "She would do her duty." It was a heavily burdened and pained voice that admitted this.
Anakin wiped the salt stream from his face as the gunship came to the hangar where Dooku was hiding. The ship was rocked by more blaster fire. This time Lana fell out.
"Lana!" Alan growled as he tried to grab her hand. He suddenly felt a panic again as he peered out the ship. He couldn't see her. That same panic and fear that had gripped him the day Lana was shot by Noré began to emerge. Alan shook it away. She was a Jedi. The drop was not long, she would survive. Alan had faith in her, in her abilities.
With a renewed sense of duty, the Jedi Guardian hopped out of the gunship. The black migraine seemed to encroach upon him again as he drew closer to the threshold of the door to the hangar. Obi-Wan and Anakin followed him, and all three Jedi Guardians were focused on doing their duty. Duty. That's what this was- duty.
They came to the main hangar room, where Count Dooku was prepping a ship and supplying orders to a droid. The black migraine became a splitting headache as Alan eyed the Count with his vicious scowl. Anakin carried a frown which was almost as intense as Alan's scowl. He felt the same burden Alan did.
"Count Dooku." Anakin said. "You're going to pay for all the Jedi you've killed today."
"Indeed you shall." The taint in Alan's voice seemed to echo.
"There's no way he can take all three of us." Obi-Wan said. "We move in slow-"
"No, I'm taking him NOW!" Anakin roared. A split second later, Alan sprung into action without warning. Anakin followed. Dooku quickly reacted by showering the two Jedi with a fresh serving of force lightning. He then used the Force to slam Alan into the wall. Anakin fell back, skittering across the floor.
Sparks of Force lightning jumped across Dooku's fingertips. "You cannot hope to match my Jedi powers. I strongly suggest that you back down." When Obi-Wan did not, Dooku unleashed another volley of the lightning. The blue blade of Obi-Wan's lightsaber absorbed the jagged lightning bolts.
"No." Obi-Wan spat defiantly.
Dooku drew his lightsaber. The red blade jetted out of the curved hilt of the saber. A sort of staring contest initiated as the two circled for a moment. Obi-Wan charged. In a violent exchange of blows and cuts, Dooku had passively matched Obi-Wan's attacks.
"Obi-Wan, you disappoint me." Dooku said as they reached a pause in the combat. "I begin to wonder if Qui-Gon really did train you."
The two exchanged blows again. Dooku fought more aggressively this time, pushing Obi-Wan back towards the wall. A grandmaster in all six forms of lightsaber combat, Dooku did not seem to have trouble asserting his mastery over Obi-Wan.
"And Master Yoda holds you in such high esteem..." Dooku said as he countered Obi-Wan's latest blow. Obi-Wan's blue lightsaber met Dooku's red lightsaber in a climactic clash. Obi-Wan tried to muscle his saber over Dooku's. The dark Jedi grinned evilly, his red lightsaber illuminating his evil expression. "Surely you could do better!"
Dooku suddenly retracted his saber and struck again, burning Obi-Wan in the ribs. He followed this with another strike to the leg and one to the hip. The Jedi Master crumpled to the floor. Dooku's darkness seemed to radiate throughout the room. He paced a bit and raised his saber over his head, preparing to deliver the killing blow.
Anakin roared as he sprung into action. His blue saber intercepted Dooku's strike.
Dooku eyed the young Padawan. "Brave of you, boy."
Dooku switched his attention to Anakin. The two traded blows and it would seem that Anakin fared better than his master in single combat with the count. The two lightsabers danced and clashed as Anakin aggressively sought out Dooku's weakness. Dooku showed none to the young Padawan.
Alan slowly felt his strength returning. Dooku had showered him with the brunt of the force lightning, and had slammed him into the wall for added effect. But the power of the Force was beginning to flow through him, and he was beginning to get a feel for the dark whirlwind. He eagerly watched Anakin and Dooku clash, waiting for the right time to enter the duel. Then it happened.
"Anakin!" Alan growled as Anakin's right hand fell to the floor. Having cleaved off the young Padawan's hand, Dooku stretched out with the force and pushed the boy back. Anakin slumped to the floor. Alan roared and pounced into the air, both ends of his lightsaber lit.
Alan glared at the count with the vicious scowl that was etched upon his face. That splitting headache, the black migraine, was beckoning to him. It was swelling and calling for intensity, calling for Vaapad. The black migraine became more powerful the deeper Alan sank into the dark whirlwind. Dooku would pay for Anakin's arm. Dooku would pay for Master Tor's death.
Alan knew the sensation. It had taken control of him the day Lana was shot by Noré. It had returned, more powerful than ever. Anger. Hatred. There was no restraint, there was no discipline, and there would be no mercy. The more Alan's anger flowed, the more powerful his whirlwind became.
Overwhelmed by Alan's assault, Count Dooku fell back. There was a pause in the fighting as four meters of empty space stood between the two warriors. Alan began to feel the salt sting of perspiration and the coiling fatigue of his muscles. Dooku analyzed his foe. His eyes narrowed. Dooku could feel his anger.
"The Force is with you, young Dawnstrider." Dooku said. He closed his eyes as he felt the darkness generated by this Jedi permeate throughout the room. His anger was... refreshing. It was new. "I can feel your anger."
"You're going to pay for all the Jedi you killed today." Alan mirrored Anakin's earlier words.
"I will pay?" Dooku asked sinisterly as he searched Alan's feelings. "Especially... for your master?"
The black migraine swelled. Alan roared in anguish and assaulted Dooku again. All Alan could see was Dooku's throat. All he could hear was Dooku's heartbeat. All he could imagine was Dooku's death. As he continued to exchange blows with the count, he could hear a million different voices crying out in his head, crying for blood, crying for the end of count Dooku.
"Yes... Tor has taught you well. But it is your anger has made you powerful." Dooku commented as they came to another break in the fight. "Only your hatred can defeat me, boy. USE IT!"
Alan attacked again. For one reason or another, his attack fell short this time, and Dooku had caught him off guard. Alan backed away.
"Today has seen the end of your master. Shall it see the end of you too?"
Alan attacked again, this time with a renewed sense of vigor. Enthralled in his anger, the Jedi Guardian was nearly unstoppable. His rage knew no bounds. Alan viciously sliced and hacked at inanimate objects that got in his way. While pursuing the count though the hangar, Alan left a string of debris in his wake.
"Beautiful..." Dooku remarked sadistically as they came to another pause in the fighting. He looked at the boy with a sense of wonder. Dooku knew the way of the Sith- master versus apprentice, apprentice versus master. Lord Sidious was little more than a schemer, and when the time came, Dooku would usurp the mantle of Dark Lord.
"You can't defeat me." Alan growled.
Dooku grinned evilly. This boy would make for a powerful ally and a prized apprentice. This time, Dooku attacked. The red blade clashed against the two blue blades in an endless fight for victory.
With each attack and each slash, Alan could see his old mentor's face, haunting him. Alan's heart beat with pain as he thought of the Wookie Jedi Master. Tor was the closest thing he had ever had to a father, and now he was gone, gone because of Dooku. Alan's lust for retribution intensified tenfold as he fully focused his hatred upon this dark Jedi.
Vaapad is the path to the shadow of the dark side. Mace had told Alan this many times during training. But now, in his darkest hour submerged in the whirlwind of Vaapad, Alan did not sense the shadow of that dark side. This was the dark side. Alan hit Dooku's lightsaber with such force that the dark Jedi lost his grip of his saber and dropped it. Alan held the blade of his saber to the dark Jedi's throat.
"I am beaten." Dooku remarked. He grinned evilly again. "Now finish it."
"Surrender." Alan ordered.
"I can sense it stewing within you: the rage, the anguish, the hatred, all flowing to harmoniously. It's beautiful." Dooku said sadistically. "I know what you want to do. You have executed flawlessly up until this point."
"Alan, no!" Obi-Wan warned. Alan's jaw clamped down even harder. He paid the Jedi Master no mind. Obi-Wan was of no importance. Obi-Wan could not save him.
"Give in to your anger!" Dooku ordered. "Now, I am unarmed. Strike me down!"
Alan's grip tightened as he glared at the count. Every muscle, every nerve, every sinew within his was screaming, 'kill him, kill him!' Alan knew he could do it, the Jedi rules no longer held him down. Alan could see it now, a vision of the dark side. He would simply give his lightsaber a whirl and Dooku's head would roll off his shoulders, severed by the searing heat of the blue blade.
But something beckoned to him. Something had penetrated through the cloud of anger, through the shroud of hatred, and through the black migraine... Lana... Alan closed his eyes. He could feel her coming close; he could feel her presence as though he was wrapped up in her loving embrace this very second.
The anger and hatred began to drain from his mind as he practically felt her rejuvenating caress. The black migraine faded, and his rationale returned. He looked at the count with a calm expression, and he felt the darkness that had permeated throughout the room- the darkness he had created.
"Count Dooku." Alan took a deep breath as he lowered his lightsaber. "By the authority of the Jedi Council, I place you under arrest for charges of high treason, conspiracy, attempted murder, sabotage, and espionage. You are to accompany me to Coruscant, where you will be admitted to the courts for trial."
A bitter expression of disappointment replaced Dooku's sadistic grin. "Fool." He spat as he stretched out with the Force and used it to punch Alan in the face. The Jedi Guardian stumbled back and clasped his face as blood began to flow out of his nose. Alan never saw Dooku call the curved lightsaber back into his hand. He could not respond to the count's lunge, until it was too late. Alan felt Dooku's crimson blade stab through his abdomen and poke out though his back.
"No!"
Chapter IX- Attack of the Clones
Five Republic attack gunships circled the skies. They swept down into the coliseum, unleashing a barrage of blaster fire wherever they went. Havoc rained from the skies as the droids tried to shoot down this new threat. It was no use- the gunship's armor was too thick to be penetrated by small- arms fire.
"Around the survivors, a perimeter create!" Master Yoda ordered. The clone nodded in compliance. The five gunships landed as Jedi began to get in.
As Jedi loaded onto the gunships, clones got off, reinforcing their position with fire from their own blaster rifles. Lana, Anakin, Alan, Padmé, and Obi-Wan boarded one of the gunships. Mace boarded the same gunship Yoda commanded. After a few minutes of fighting and bombardment, the gunships took off and left the coliseum. Only seconds after the fighting had stopped, the coliseum was empty, and seemed to echo with irreverent silence.
All were gone. Only the boy, Boba Fett, remained. The young clone stepped into the sandy arena, bypassing the broken parts of droids and the blood of slain Jedi to find his father's helmet. He clasped the Mandalorian blue and silver helmet and touched his head to it, as though it could attune him to the soul of his slain originator.
Jango probably would have preferred that this would have happened later when the boy was older, but the force of circumstance was greater than a dead man's wishes. Boba looked deep into the Mandalorian helmet, knowing that he too would don the armor someday, and follow in his father's footsteps.
* * *
"Aim right above the fuel cells." Anakin ordered. The pilot nodded and fired a pair of missiles at the energy tower, hitting it in the bottle neck right above the fuel cells. The resulting explosion caused the tower to buckle and collapse, crushing a few battle droids with it.
"Good call, my young apprentice!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. Anakin smiled, genuinely happy to hear some words of encouragement, rather than criticism, from his mentor.
The five gunships spirited away to the scene of the main battle. Republic assault ships landed, unloading the legions of clone troopers. Commanders rallied and led their troops into battle against the ranks of battle droids. AT-TE walkers were dropped into battle by larger versions of the Republic attack gunships.
Many of the gunships docked at the forward command center, where clone troops had gathered and surged forward. Anakin watched as the fight raged on. Clone troopers fell. Battle droids fell. Hailfire droids sped along on their tracks and fired their surface-to-surface rockets at AT-TE walkers. All around, the air was thick with the smell of blaster fire.
Lana looked up at the five other gunships that had formed up on their wing. She could see what was happening; she could predict the future with the force. She looked down to the troops on the ground and watched as each division of fifty or so clone troopers was led by a single lightsaber.
"Pilot!" She ordered. She pointed to the gunships that had formed up on the wing, "synchronize your fire with theirs."
"Yes ma'am." The clone nodded. Within a few seconds, the six gunships unleashed a barrage of missile fire on the battle droid's ranks. The battle droids had bottlenecked through an important tactical pass, and were easy pickings for the gunship's air-to-surface missiles. The gunship wing continued to rain more and more missiles on the ranks of battle droids, clearing the way for the Jedi and their clone trooper support.
As the smoke cleared from the explosions, Alan noticed something glaring in the distance- a speeder bike. Anakin scowled. He had noticed it too. The two Jedi reached out with the force, as if to identify the rider.
"Dooku." Alan spat the name with such anguish and distaste as his eyes opened. He motioned to the pilot, "Shoot him down!"
"We're out of missiles, sir!"
Anakin's jaw clenched, matching the tension in Alan's jaw. "Follow him, then!"
"Yes sir."
Dooku looked back to the massive gunship that had been following his speeder bike. He subtly shook his head and punched a few buttons in his wristband, and the two Geonosian starfighters that had been serving as his escort pulled back to engage the gunship.
Blaster fire began to rock the gunship, each shot hitting closer to home than the next. The four clasped their handrails close, as to avoid falling out due to turbulence. Padmé had not held on so tightly. The ship rocked from one especially bad hit, and the senator fell out.
"Padmé!" Anakin cried. "Turn the ship around!"
"Don't." Obi-Wan said to the pilot.
"Padmé's back there!" Anakin rambled. "We have to go back for her! Turn the ship around!"
"Anakin," Lana whispered, "don't."
"No! We have to go back!"
"We must get Dooku!" Alan's normally cool voice seemed to be rigged with poison. A vivid expression of retribution was etched upon his face.
"Fine." Anakin growled. "Just let me out, I'll find her."
"Anakin, you can't let your personal feelings get in the way!" Obi-Wan said. Lana's nod seemed to echo and reinforce the Jedi Master's wisdom. "There are four Jedi here, four chances to get Dooku. If get him, we can end this war, before the entire galaxy is consumed by it."
"I don't care!" Anakin roared. A salt stream dripped down from his left eye. "Let me out!"
"I WILL NOT let Dooku get away!" Alan roared. The poison of retribution and vengeance was smeared all over his voice. Obi-Wan paid it no mind because he was focused on Anakin, but Lana looked worried. "We can't let him get away with this!"
"Anakin, you are going to be expelled from the Jedi Order!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. He grabbed his young apprentice by the shoulder and glared at him, face-to-face. "Think with your mind, not with your heart. What would Padmé do if she were in your position?"
Young Skywalker took a deep breath. "She would do her duty." It was a heavily burdened and pained voice that admitted this.
Anakin wiped the salt stream from his face as the gunship came to the hangar where Dooku was hiding. The ship was rocked by more blaster fire. This time Lana fell out.
"Lana!" Alan growled as he tried to grab her hand. He suddenly felt a panic again as he peered out the ship. He couldn't see her. That same panic and fear that had gripped him the day Lana was shot by Noré began to emerge. Alan shook it away. She was a Jedi. The drop was not long, she would survive. Alan had faith in her, in her abilities.
With a renewed sense of duty, the Jedi Guardian hopped out of the gunship. The black migraine seemed to encroach upon him again as he drew closer to the threshold of the door to the hangar. Obi-Wan and Anakin followed him, and all three Jedi Guardians were focused on doing their duty. Duty. That's what this was- duty.
They came to the main hangar room, where Count Dooku was prepping a ship and supplying orders to a droid. The black migraine became a splitting headache as Alan eyed the Count with his vicious scowl. Anakin carried a frown which was almost as intense as Alan's scowl. He felt the same burden Alan did.
"Count Dooku." Anakin said. "You're going to pay for all the Jedi you've killed today."
"Indeed you shall." The taint in Alan's voice seemed to echo.
"There's no way he can take all three of us." Obi-Wan said. "We move in slow-"
"No, I'm taking him NOW!" Anakin roared. A split second later, Alan sprung into action without warning. Anakin followed. Dooku quickly reacted by showering the two Jedi with a fresh serving of force lightning. He then used the Force to slam Alan into the wall. Anakin fell back, skittering across the floor.
Sparks of Force lightning jumped across Dooku's fingertips. "You cannot hope to match my Jedi powers. I strongly suggest that you back down." When Obi-Wan did not, Dooku unleashed another volley of the lightning. The blue blade of Obi-Wan's lightsaber absorbed the jagged lightning bolts.
"No." Obi-Wan spat defiantly.
Dooku drew his lightsaber. The red blade jetted out of the curved hilt of the saber. A sort of staring contest initiated as the two circled for a moment. Obi-Wan charged. In a violent exchange of blows and cuts, Dooku had passively matched Obi-Wan's attacks.
"Obi-Wan, you disappoint me." Dooku said as they reached a pause in the combat. "I begin to wonder if Qui-Gon really did train you."
The two exchanged blows again. Dooku fought more aggressively this time, pushing Obi-Wan back towards the wall. A grandmaster in all six forms of lightsaber combat, Dooku did not seem to have trouble asserting his mastery over Obi-Wan.
"And Master Yoda holds you in such high esteem..." Dooku said as he countered Obi-Wan's latest blow. Obi-Wan's blue lightsaber met Dooku's red lightsaber in a climactic clash. Obi-Wan tried to muscle his saber over Dooku's. The dark Jedi grinned evilly, his red lightsaber illuminating his evil expression. "Surely you could do better!"
Dooku suddenly retracted his saber and struck again, burning Obi-Wan in the ribs. He followed this with another strike to the leg and one to the hip. The Jedi Master crumpled to the floor. Dooku's darkness seemed to radiate throughout the room. He paced a bit and raised his saber over his head, preparing to deliver the killing blow.
Anakin roared as he sprung into action. His blue saber intercepted Dooku's strike.
Dooku eyed the young Padawan. "Brave of you, boy."
Dooku switched his attention to Anakin. The two traded blows and it would seem that Anakin fared better than his master in single combat with the count. The two lightsabers danced and clashed as Anakin aggressively sought out Dooku's weakness. Dooku showed none to the young Padawan.
Alan slowly felt his strength returning. Dooku had showered him with the brunt of the force lightning, and had slammed him into the wall for added effect. But the power of the Force was beginning to flow through him, and he was beginning to get a feel for the dark whirlwind. He eagerly watched Anakin and Dooku clash, waiting for the right time to enter the duel. Then it happened.
"Anakin!" Alan growled as Anakin's right hand fell to the floor. Having cleaved off the young Padawan's hand, Dooku stretched out with the force and pushed the boy back. Anakin slumped to the floor. Alan roared and pounced into the air, both ends of his lightsaber lit.
Alan glared at the count with the vicious scowl that was etched upon his face. That splitting headache, the black migraine, was beckoning to him. It was swelling and calling for intensity, calling for Vaapad. The black migraine became more powerful the deeper Alan sank into the dark whirlwind. Dooku would pay for Anakin's arm. Dooku would pay for Master Tor's death.
Alan knew the sensation. It had taken control of him the day Lana was shot by Noré. It had returned, more powerful than ever. Anger. Hatred. There was no restraint, there was no discipline, and there would be no mercy. The more Alan's anger flowed, the more powerful his whirlwind became.
Overwhelmed by Alan's assault, Count Dooku fell back. There was a pause in the fighting as four meters of empty space stood between the two warriors. Alan began to feel the salt sting of perspiration and the coiling fatigue of his muscles. Dooku analyzed his foe. His eyes narrowed. Dooku could feel his anger.
"The Force is with you, young Dawnstrider." Dooku said. He closed his eyes as he felt the darkness generated by this Jedi permeate throughout the room. His anger was... refreshing. It was new. "I can feel your anger."
"You're going to pay for all the Jedi you killed today." Alan mirrored Anakin's earlier words.
"I will pay?" Dooku asked sinisterly as he searched Alan's feelings. "Especially... for your master?"
The black migraine swelled. Alan roared in anguish and assaulted Dooku again. All Alan could see was Dooku's throat. All he could hear was Dooku's heartbeat. All he could imagine was Dooku's death. As he continued to exchange blows with the count, he could hear a million different voices crying out in his head, crying for blood, crying for the end of count Dooku.
"Yes... Tor has taught you well. But it is your anger has made you powerful." Dooku commented as they came to another break in the fight. "Only your hatred can defeat me, boy. USE IT!"
Alan attacked again. For one reason or another, his attack fell short this time, and Dooku had caught him off guard. Alan backed away.
"Today has seen the end of your master. Shall it see the end of you too?"
Alan attacked again, this time with a renewed sense of vigor. Enthralled in his anger, the Jedi Guardian was nearly unstoppable. His rage knew no bounds. Alan viciously sliced and hacked at inanimate objects that got in his way. While pursuing the count though the hangar, Alan left a string of debris in his wake.
"Beautiful..." Dooku remarked sadistically as they came to another pause in the fighting. He looked at the boy with a sense of wonder. Dooku knew the way of the Sith- master versus apprentice, apprentice versus master. Lord Sidious was little more than a schemer, and when the time came, Dooku would usurp the mantle of Dark Lord.
"You can't defeat me." Alan growled.
Dooku grinned evilly. This boy would make for a powerful ally and a prized apprentice. This time, Dooku attacked. The red blade clashed against the two blue blades in an endless fight for victory.
With each attack and each slash, Alan could see his old mentor's face, haunting him. Alan's heart beat with pain as he thought of the Wookie Jedi Master. Tor was the closest thing he had ever had to a father, and now he was gone, gone because of Dooku. Alan's lust for retribution intensified tenfold as he fully focused his hatred upon this dark Jedi.
Vaapad is the path to the shadow of the dark side. Mace had told Alan this many times during training. But now, in his darkest hour submerged in the whirlwind of Vaapad, Alan did not sense the shadow of that dark side. This was the dark side. Alan hit Dooku's lightsaber with such force that the dark Jedi lost his grip of his saber and dropped it. Alan held the blade of his saber to the dark Jedi's throat.
"I am beaten." Dooku remarked. He grinned evilly again. "Now finish it."
"Surrender." Alan ordered.
"I can sense it stewing within you: the rage, the anguish, the hatred, all flowing to harmoniously. It's beautiful." Dooku said sadistically. "I know what you want to do. You have executed flawlessly up until this point."
"Alan, no!" Obi-Wan warned. Alan's jaw clamped down even harder. He paid the Jedi Master no mind. Obi-Wan was of no importance. Obi-Wan could not save him.
"Give in to your anger!" Dooku ordered. "Now, I am unarmed. Strike me down!"
Alan's grip tightened as he glared at the count. Every muscle, every nerve, every sinew within his was screaming, 'kill him, kill him!' Alan knew he could do it, the Jedi rules no longer held him down. Alan could see it now, a vision of the dark side. He would simply give his lightsaber a whirl and Dooku's head would roll off his shoulders, severed by the searing heat of the blue blade.
But something beckoned to him. Something had penetrated through the cloud of anger, through the shroud of hatred, and through the black migraine... Lana... Alan closed his eyes. He could feel her coming close; he could feel her presence as though he was wrapped up in her loving embrace this very second.
The anger and hatred began to drain from his mind as he practically felt her rejuvenating caress. The black migraine faded, and his rationale returned. He looked at the count with a calm expression, and he felt the darkness that had permeated throughout the room- the darkness he had created.
"Count Dooku." Alan took a deep breath as he lowered his lightsaber. "By the authority of the Jedi Council, I place you under arrest for charges of high treason, conspiracy, attempted murder, sabotage, and espionage. You are to accompany me to Coruscant, where you will be admitted to the courts for trial."
A bitter expression of disappointment replaced Dooku's sadistic grin. "Fool." He spat as he stretched out with the Force and used it to punch Alan in the face. The Jedi Guardian stumbled back and clasped his face as blood began to flow out of his nose. Alan never saw Dooku call the curved lightsaber back into his hand. He could not respond to the count's lunge, until it was too late. Alan felt Dooku's crimson blade stab through his abdomen and poke out though his back.
"No!"
