14
Rain fell upon the planet of Coruscant, cascading in brilliant patterns down the buildings into the abyssal darkness below. The lights were brightened by the liquid matter coating the skyline. Cloudsscattered overhead, destroying any chance for stars to penetrate to the surface. Below the ominous clouds, two figures appeared upon a small landing platform. Cloaked in darkness, they moved about unseen.
Darth Annhil dropped to one knee before Lord Sidious. After a few moments of silence in the driven rain, he stood.
"My master, what is our next move?"
Sidious began to walk across the landing platform, prompting his apprentice to join him. "We are going to storm the Jedi Temple, taking it for ourselves. This government was mine, and it will be so in the end."
"According to reports, the higher ranks of the Order have taken the bait and left two days ago."
"Everything is returning to normal. Malastare is a death trap.You have done well, my Young Apprentice, and you shall be rewarded."
"Thank you, my Lord."
Anakin stared out the windows of the temple, but saw nothing. The light reflected from within hindered almost all view of the outside world. He felt this way in his heart as well. Deep inside he was restricted from seeing the beauty that lay in the outside world. Outside, the storm raged, blinding him with flashes of light.
"I hope the others are alright," Anakin mumbled.
"They know what they're doing," Obi-Wan replied, kneeling in the center of the room. "If anyone can face the Sith and win, it will be them." His eyes closed and reopened. "Besides, there are at least five Jedi to one Sith."
Outside the Jedi Temple, Eros Derjinn stood, huddling in the down pour. The rain pounded down upon his brown cloak, splashing around his body. He called to the Jedi on door duty. SeeingEros on the monitor, the door man opened it without hesitation. This was his last mistake. As Eros stepped through the door way, he pulled back his hood. In that final instant, The door man realized his mistake, and the consequence was death by a burning crimson blade across his neck.
Darth Annhil began to walk down the hall, and behind him came the haunting image of Lord Sidious in the door way. His face was filled with fury, so destructive it seemed calm. He was the visage of evil, and had stepped into the palace of purity. No one would see their intrusion, and no clone forces would be called. The untrained Jedi held at the compound were now at the hands of the most vicious being in the galaxy. Or so he thought.
The lights flickered in the Temple, a result of Jedi knight being thrown into a service panel on the wall. Anakin and Obi-Wan both jumped to their feet, feeling the presence of the dark side. It came to them not by their own skill, but by the will of the Sith.
"Sidious is here," Anakin gasped to himself. "We've been tricked."
They both ignited their lightsabers, moving out of the chambers.
At length, Annhil came to a group of huddled younglings. He smiled. This mission was going to be like shooting fish in a barrel. He reared back his blade, preparing to deal death to each of them slowly. At his back was Sidious, walking slowly with his hands folded at his waist.
"Kill them," he said.
As Darth Annhil began to lower his saber blade against the youngest of the group, he paused. It wasa voice of familiarity.
"Eros!"
Anakin and Obi-Wan came to a skidded stop in the room, sabers singing loudly. "I should have known that something was wrong with your story."
"His name isn't Eros, anymore Anakin," Sidious said, provoking the sense that he still knew the boy fondly. "It's Annhil."
Anakin and Obi-Wan moved closer, light sabers held defensively. "Back away from the children, Annhil."
"This is a pretty idiotic move, Sidious," Obi-Wan chortled. "You're attacking the center of the Jedi Order. If you succeed in attacking the temple, the Council members will still return."
Sidious glared at him for some time, moving closer. Around him the veil of the dark side glowed. "I have plans for them. In the end, the Jedi Order will be in shambles."
Annhil backed away from the children. He did so not out of orders by the Jedi, but as if seeing a new, more palatable prize. Anakin. "I've wanted to kill you for some time now, Anakin."
"Let's see if you have a chance." Anakin twirled his saber in his palm, flicking his fingers in a suggestive manner.
Sidious watched as the two did battle. Anakin immediately seemed to have the upper hand. He parried an attack, and kicked Annhil across the room. The Sith hit a window with a sickening thud, cracking the window behind him. It didn't phase him a bit. In truth, it only angered him more, and he returned to attack Anakin quickly. In a blaze of fury, Annhil came down upon Anakin, catching the two sabers in a block. They pressed together so close that Anakin could smell the ozone being burned.
Obi-Wan stood, guarding the children from any attack. He could only watch Anakin do battle with the Sith Lord, knowing that any distraction might mean the end of the boy. He knew that he could not battle Sidious alone, and Sidious himself showed no signs of wanting to attack him just yet. He had to find a way to contact the other members of the Council.
Annhil stuck down upon Anakin, pushing him off balance. He backed away, spinning his blue saber back into defensive position, and prepared for another onslaught by Annhil. The attack came almost instantly. Another slash to his waist. It was easily blocked, but he was then thrown backward against the wall. It was then that Annhil showed his true strength.
I heard you can elevate or lower temperatures in small areas, Annhil remembered Sidious saying on Mustafar. He reached behind him, focusing on the large window pane. The rain sliding down in sheets began to freeze. Slowly the window enveloped in frost. With another blast, Annhil blew the window out, sending shards of frozen glass outward into the Coruscant air. Another maneuver sent the shards of glass back in through the window, thousands of daggers came streaking across the Chamber room. Obi-Wan yelled at the children to duck, and blocked as many shards as possible. He was thrown to the ground, where he realized he had gained multiple lacerations. It was then that he reached out through the force to the Council members. Master Yoda, he called. We need your help.
The most concentrated amount of glass came barrelling at Anakin. He, like Obi-Wan, blocked as much as possible, but received a lengthy cut along his shoulder. In that instant, standing bloodied and bruised, he saw the key to the end of Annhil.
Darth Annhil stood in front of the open window, his cloak blowing heavily in the wind. Rain pattered on him once again. The darkness in his eyes had grown. He had the upper edge now, or so he thought.
Anakin seized the moment, and struck out with the force in one amazing push. It slammed against The Dark Lord of the Sith, casting him through the open window. With a final, horrid scream, the man formerly known as Eros Derjinn fell to his death among the many duracreet surfaces of Coruscant.
Palpatine didn't even flinch. He watched witheven eyes as his new Apprentice felt the cold touch of death at the hands of Jedi. With a snarl, he ignited his own lightsaber, and marched forward at the Two Jedi.
It was at that moment a throng of Jedi knights not sent to Malastare came barreling around the corner, a range of saber colors blazing. Palpatine instantly realized that he was out numbered. If Skywalker and Kenobi hadn't been there, he would have been apt to fight. Jedi Knights were fairly easy game. Skywalker was another story.
With a hiss at the huge amount of light sabers facing him, he backed toward the window. If the Jedi hadn't been indoctrinated to act out of defense, they would have charged. They watched as the Sith Lord crawled out the window onto the ledge.
Anakin charged after him, directly disobeying the order by Obi-Wan to stop. He leapt with one lengthy stroke onto the ledge. Climbing up the ladder was Sidious. There was nowhere for the Sith to go other than up. With a sigh that was shown in the rainy steam, Anakin followed. This was the end.
This is the end. A time when darkness falls over civilization, a new light shall spring. A glimmer of hope among the shadow will grow. When the days are at their darkest, the champion of light will come forth from his womb of fear, brandishing the key to banish darkness forever.
This is the prophecy of the chosen one. The riddle that no Jedi or Sith could decipher. The mystery was not why or how, but more of when. No one would realize that the Champion of light would end the plague of darkness until it had already happened.
Anakin reached the landing on the Jedi Temple's highest tower. With a final leap, he came within feet of the Sith Lord. Sidious stood, glowing light saber in hand, at the edge. He looked sad underneath his dripping hood.
"Why did you make such a stupid move, Sidious?" Anakin asked, obviously concerned.
"You will see that my move wasn't exactly as idiotic as you think." He stopped, closing his eyes. "Your friends in the Council are going to walk into a trap on Malastare. So even though my life may come to an end here, they will be joining me very soon in the void."
Anakin blinked, seeing only an evil blur beneath the blanket of water that crashed over him. "If it is so, then let us move the inevitable along, shall we?"
Sidious advanced with a quickness the young Jedi Knight had never witnessed before. He was thrown backwards across the small landing, by a lightsaber blow. Anakin reeled, coming to a stop at the edge. He looked below seeing the countless speeders and crafts moving about below. Rain poured down his face, rolling in streams off his nose. With a tired grunt, he lifted himself from the duracreet landing.
"My offer is still up Anakin. I can help you save Padme."
Anger swelled within the Jedi. A beast had been awoken. It screamed to life with a terrifying roar. This time it was not the Dragon of fear. It was the beast of serenity. The paradox had come together in an explosive combination of skill. Anakin moved to his feet, feeling energized like had never known before.
"I've dealt with my demons on my own. You have nothing to offer me anymore."
Sidious cringed. "Then the end really is here for one of us."
Anakin nodded silently. The end came in silence that also was felt as a deafening roar. The rain pounded even harder. The two came to blows in the exact instant a crash of thunder roared across the Planet. Two light saber blades slammed against each other, exploding in an array of sparks. The two blades sizzled in the rain. One downward stroke was blocked easily by Anakin, but was then vaulted away by a simple flick of the wrist. Anakin's hand flew back, and he almost lost grip with his lightsaber. In that instant, Sidious pierced Anakin's already lacerated shoulder, driving the crimson blade all the way to the hilt. Anakin used the pain of the searing flesh, concentrating not into fury, but a focus of light energy. He tossed Sidious back, thus removing the blade from his shoulder.
Sidious skidded along the slick landing, coming to a stop against the barrier that separated him from the thousands of feet below. Anakin walked up to him as he lay prostrate. He put his foot on Sidious' chest. The Sith fought him with a slash of his saber, but Anakin caught it easily, and vaulted it from his hand. The red beam disentigrated from the hilt as it disappeared below. Sidious was now without a weapon.
Anakin twirled his light saber up into a dagger position, preparing to stab Sidious through the face if necessary.
"I am weak, old friend. Please let me stand."
"And what will you do, huh? Toss me from this ledge? The fact is apparent, I thought I could trust you, but everything was turned upside down. If it wasn't for Master Windu, I'd be in Eros' position right now, spattered across a landing deck!"
Sidious seemed to break down. "If you ever trusted me, trust me now. I speak to you as a friend, not an enemy."
Anakin realized that he was wrong to try to kill Sidious, as Windu was when he tried the same thing. Reluctantly, he removed his foot from the Sith Lord and backed away. Slowly the aged man lifted himself to his feet. He didn't seem like the evil being he had become, but the once trusted Supreme Chancellor. He wrung out his cloak and sighed. "You made a wrong move, my old friend."
His expression changed instantly. From serenity to anger in a flash of lightning. Lightning bolts extended from his fingertips, lurching toward Anakin. The flashing beams of electricity connected with his light saber, which was held out defensively. Anakin had no choice. He was wrong. Sidious had to be killed. Mace Windu was actually right.
Anakin connected with the force, reaching into its unending depths, bringing forth a strain of power he had never wielded before. With a scream as the force lightning passed beyond the defenses of his light saber into his chest, he sent the blast of force into Sidious, pushing him backward. The force of the push was so powerful that it threw Sidious over the edge. With a final scream, Sidious fell into the abyss.
Sidious fell for some time, racing the rain drops to the ground. He knew not where he'd land, but was prepared for the end. He knew in his last moments that he had made a final strike against the Jedi. Hopefully the Sith would be reborn within the next millennia and continue his work. In that Idea, he was glad.
He almost felt nothing when he landed head first on the duracreet landing pad.
Anakin regained his footing, glancing down at the smoke rolling off of his chest. He felt as though he couldn't breathe. It appeared that one of his lungs were collapsed. Behind him, Obi-Wan climbed up onto the landing to see his former padawan falling.
The young Jedi Master turned and saw his master, and as the rain fell over them both, his eyes rolled back into his head and he knew no more.
The stars twinkled as they never had before. An engrossing blend of light and dark, fluidly spiraling outward into the vastness of space. The smoggy skies of Coruscant were normally blanketed with a film that sealed off the Universe from view, but that night was entirely different. The smog could not stop the penetrating light, and the night was beautiful. It seemed as though the stars were speaking personally to the population of Coruscant. The adage that red skies signified death were brought to mind as Anakin gazed upward into the heavens. The universe itself knew that it was on the brink of change. Drastic change. One star shown brighter than the others. Anakin instantly noted that it was star of the Borleias system. It gleamed and twinkled, struggling to pierce the skies. The night was a symphony to Anakin's eyes.