Chapter Five: Attacks and Encounter
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The sounds of the Temple under attack were not pretty. Almost immediately, the younglings were startled awake. The four-year-olds started to cry.
Oh, great. This is just what I need. Just when I start understanding these kids, the Temple is under attack! And what am I doing? Standing around with crying kids. Wonderful.
Tru pushed his thoughts out of his head and turned his energy to protecting the younglings.
Suddenly, Tru felt his knees buckled and his breath was sucked out of him, almost as if a window had broken in space. He fell to the floor, unable to stop his fall. His jaw smacked into the hard floor. Even though the floor was covered with bantha-wool rugs, the floor was still hard.
Thank the stars for bantha-wool rugs… Even so, Tru could taste the blood in his mouth.
Noooo! Tru felt the deaths of his Rynna, his Master, and hundreds of other Jedi he knew. He closed his eyes, bidding a final farewell through the Force to his Jedi friends, and a special one to his Master. Similarly, some of the six-year-olds who were stronger in the Force had fallen to the ground, holding their heads. Slowly, he stood up, tears stinging his eyes and threatening to spill out.
No, I must be strong…for the little ones.
He breathed in deeply and tried to relax. But even though he regained his composure as fast as he could, it still took a few minutes before he could speak clearly.
Scooping up the youngest two, he told the rest of the group, "Come on, we gotta go." Seeing the urgency of the situation, the younglings followed him into the Archives, one of the safest places in the Temple.
Hopefully they'll be safe here until the attack stops; I can't do anything to get all of them out.
Tru divided them into groups of two or three, and gently pushed the younglings into the less-obvious corners of the Archives in various locations, hoping all the while that whoever was attacking wouldn't find them there. As he hid each little group, he warned them all to stay hidden, quiet, and still. When the last of the younglings was tucked away, Tru himself stood guard atop a high shelf inside the locked door, with his left hand on his lightsaber hilt and eyes watching for movement.
Suddenly, the metal began peeling away. No way… that could only be…a lightsaber.
In horror, Tru watched a blue-white blade cut through the durasteel door, and a cloaked figure peel back the metal. The figure stepped inside and deactivated the lightsaber. Shocked, Tru realized, this is why we're under attack—this is a fallen Jedi—and he wants to kill the Jedi.
He discarded his cloak, leaped from the shelf and activated his lightsaber, all in one smooth motion.
Vwoom! The figure turned and re-ignited his own lightsaber so swiftly that their blades clashed while Tru was still in midair.
Kssshhh! The sabers hummed and clashed, and though the style of the intruder was familiar, Tru couldn't piece together the attacker's identity.
I've fought him before, but…who is he? After a few more violent thrusts and parries, the intruder flipped his lightsaber to his left hand to imitate Tru's style, a trick Tru had seen only in one person before. NO! It can't be!
"Anakin!" Tru's voice betrayed his surprise. This is Anakin! We were friends!
"Tru Veld…we meet again," came the voice. Kssshhh! The lightsabers clashed, sending sparks everywhere.
"Anakin—what are you doing?" Buzz, hmm. Already, though being the flexible Teevan that he was, Tru felt his muscles aching and his skin perspiring.
"I am Anakin no longer… I am Darth Vader." Kssshhh! Their lightsabers clashed again.
"Anakin! You've turned to the Sith! Why?" Vmm! Tru carefully circled his opponent, just like in old days.
"You! The Jedi! All of you!" His voice rose to a snarl. "All of you! You've all turned against the Republic; you've turned against me! You've turned against the Chancellor!" His voice became a scream. "You will pay for your treachery!" He launched another attack, so fast that the lightsabers became just a blur.
This leaves me no choice… no, I can't! But deep down, he knew that he only had one choice—to kill Anakin. Ironically, he'd wished that someone else could make his choices—but now, he wasn't so sure.
"Anakin! What are you saying?" Kssshhh! "We have done nothing! You're becoming a madman!"
"You will pay." A surge of both sides of the Force nearly caused the Archives to shake. Both men were sweating hard now, but neither would give up.
Tru summoned all of his courage. "Anakin! Don't make me kill you!" His sweat trickled down his silver skin. He felt the salt of his sweat drip into his eyes, and he blinked as hard as he could to get rid of the irritation. "Anakin, don't make me do it! I don't want to kill you!"
"Kill me? What makes you think you can do that?" Though he was dripping sweat from the exertion, Vader laughed evilly. "I have become stronger since we parted, and you cannot kill me!"
"Anakin, I don't want to kill you! You were my friend!"
"Were?" Suddenly, Vader's attack stopped and deactivated his lightsaber, though Tru kept himself on guard. Vader's face betrayed a look of surprise. "I never threw you away. You threw me away. But that doesn't matter now!"
Did I cause this? Was I a factor in his leaving?Almost as if he'd read Tru's mind, Vader hissed, "Yes, you dismembered our friendship. But that wasn't why I left the Jedi. My eyes were opened to the fact that the Dark Side has more power! The Dark Side is the right side!"
Now it was Tru's turn to be surprised, and he also turned off his lightsaber. He panted out, "You turned to the Dark Side, so I can't be your ally if you're with the Sith! Don't you get it? I can only be on your side if we're on the same side!"
Vader laughed again. "Of course we can't be on different sides. That's why I'm asking you now: Will you join me in the Dark Side? Together with Emperor Palpatine, we can rule the galaxy!"
Tru was incredulous. "Emperor Palpatine? Are you saying the Emperor is the Sith Lord?" Tru was both shocked and horrified.
"Oh, yes. But of course, you wouldn't know." Vader's voice rose to a shout. "You and the Jedi have corrupted the Republic!" Vwoom! Vader reignited his lightsaber and lunged at Tru's head. Tru was so drained and in such a state of shock that he just barely activated and parried Vader's attack in time to avoid being decapitated. Again, the Force surged on both sides. Both men had tapped into their near-last reserves of strength.
"For the last time, Anakin!" Tru's strength was near-drained, and he could barely get the words out as he parried and returned Vader's lightsaber slashes. "The Jedi are not corrupted! What are you thinking! It is the Dark Side that is corrupt! Palpatine has corrupted your mind!"
"Do not call the Emperor corrupt!" Vader's voice became a scream. His attack intensified. "The Dark Side of the Force is what the galaxy needs! The weakness of the Jedi is their complacency! You don't even want to kill me! The Dark Side is the right side!"
"Anakin, you are wrong! The Dark Side is EVIL!"
"You are WRONG! You have spoken your last!"
"Wha—" Tru's words were cut short. Buzzzzzzz! A current of lightning from Vader's fingertips crashed into Tru, sending him flying back into a shelf full of holodisks, all of which fell on top and around him. Tru felt his blood stream down his face. But he couldn't move; his arms were pinned by the holodisks. And he had no strength left to move them. As the lightning coursed through his body, he screamed in agony.
"AAAAAHHHH! AAAAAAHHHH! ANAKIN! STOP!" Despite his pleas, the lightning increased, virtually frying every millimeter of his body. Memories flooded back into Tru's head of the end of their friendship. As the lightning drained the very last of his energy, he gasped out, "Anakin… I'm… sorry… forgive… me…"
"NOO! You had your chance! You threw me away! You are weak! Just like the other Jedi—you are all WEAK! Now, you will pay with your life!" But the lightning stopped.
"Anakin," Tru gasped, "I'm sorry, my friend. Return to the Jedi!" As weak as he was, Tru was determined to set things right. He had no choice. He couldn't second-guess himself any longer. He was going to die; he knew it. But he needed to die nobly. However, Vader wouldn't take it.
"LIAR!" shouted Vader. "YOU WILL DIE!" He raised his lightsaber one more time, and brought it down.
End
A/N: Tear Tru's dead! (I know, I know, duh...) I can't believe it... I made my favorite character die first! Oh well... saves me the speculation... anyway, hope you enjoyed this fic...
A/N #2: Coming Soon! (hopefully)... Sometime in July, I should have how Ry-Gaul (Tru's ex-Master) dies. Well, it's either gonna be him, Soara, or Siri. Anyways, expect somethin' soon!
A/N #3 (Final Note!): Thanks to my betas, SteveWraith and Shoeanders... you guys rock! And thanks to my reviewers--you're all awesome! Keep up with your fanfics! ...'till next time, Scifish.
