Part Three—Revenge
The Dark Side screamed around Darth Sidious, a howl of a thousand demons, the ancient spirits of the Sith shrieking in challenge as he leaped in front of the Jedi.
What had been a long time for the Dark Side had been less than six heartbeats in reality; the Jedi were still raising their blades as Sidious leaped into them.
First to fall was Agen Kolar. Sidious drew his blade back; the Jedi, slowed by the Dark Side, gasped as Bane's Fire ran through his chest. It was a hollow gasp; one of surprise, of pain, of anguish—the death rattle that heralded the fall of the Jedi Order. Such an honor.
Sidious twisted, letting the blood-hued blade rip across Master Tin's body. A scream of pain, and a body falling to the floor, and the second Jedi was dead.
The Dark Side rippled in warning, and Sidious whirled, letting Bane block the blade of Master Windu. The Jedi Master had thrown the veil off, and was now attacking firmly. Kit Fisto struck in his turn, and Sidious blocked again. He pressed his attack, aggressive, unrelenting, drawing on the fear. The two Jedi worked against him, green and violet on crimson red, but he pushed them back. Shoving sideways, he sent Windu staggering for a moment—and turned his attention to Fisto.
The Jedi's terror surged as he found himself alone, and Sidious seized it, twisted it, threw the Jedi off-balance. A quick slash, and Fisto's head was separated from its body.
Windu's blade came down, and Darth Sidious only just blocked it.
Bane's Fire throbbed hungrily, its thirst for blood unquenched by the three Jedi it had consumed. The blade was an extension of the Dark Side—its will made fire. The Sith were in this blade—the Sith were all around.
Master Windu blocked a slash, came in with a series of his own. Darth Sidious fought, blocking them, then snarled and stabbed for Windu's heart, throwing the Dark Side into the Jedi's face.
The purple light turned Bane's Fire aside, locking with it, struggling with it.
Darth Sidious looked into Mace Windu's eyes.
They were like icy stone, glittering with a dull, unfeeling determination. There was no fear to draw on from this figure—he felt none.
Sidious felt something tremble within him.
There was no hatred, either—no anger to feed the flames. He did not want to kill this person, did not want to end his life—he wanted to win. That was all. He wanted to conquer—not to conquer to kill, to conquer to end. To end his threat, to end his destruction. There was no aggression, no seeking of vengeance—but a hard wall of fire that took the threads of the Dark Side and burned them to ash.
Rage built in Sidious, and he struck again and again, his blade moving in a frenzied whirlwind of flame, struggling to kill, to destroy this unwavering resolve.
But each attack failed. Spinning, snarling, slashing, the Dark Lord attempted every manner of killing he could. Still there was no success.
Then he was aware of the figure spinning, fighting one-handed, the other hand moving, manipulating the Force.
And Sidious saw the threads of the Dark Side tremble, saw them begin to snap, to fall, to turn back upon him.
No!
He pressed the attack more ferociously, kicked Windu, sent him off-balance. He lunged to finish him, but Windu had already recovered, and was returning to destroying the threads…
No, to proceeding along the threads…
Sidious growled and attacked again, locking blades…but the other one looked at him, gazing with that same cold resolve, the intent to conquer.
Bane's Fire flashed, shrieking in the office, struggling to overwhelm this fool, this Jedi, this…
Windu's blade slashed the enormous window, shattering it, sending shards of glass spilling out into the night. Sidious attacked, determined to hurl this Jedi through the gaping hole, into the abyss, to send him down forever…
But suddenly, the Master had begun his own attack, hacking, slashing…
And he saw the tendrils of the Dark Side nearest to him quiver.
NO!
But suddenly, he felt the fear within him boil to the surface, a scream of terror finally released. The fear of this unshakable fire…the fear of the dizzying drop…the fear of a miscalculation…the fear that the order of the Sith should fall with him…
Suddenly, Mace Windu kicked out with one foot, and it connected with Sidious in the chest. Bane's Fire left him, hissing out of existence as the weapon itself plunged into the void.
Sidious fell, twisting, crawling back along the inside of the window, seeking to escape this terrifying figure above him. He stared as the violet blade moved for his chest, and he froze at the corner of the window, looking at the purple flames before him.
It was over…?
But suddenly, another presence, a tremble in the Force…
He felt the young man enter the room…the Chosen One…
Anakin Skywalker had returned.