**Well, friends, it's been over eight years since I updated this, and I'm sure it seemed like I would never post again! I actually finished most of this story from 2014-2015 in my attempt to get it done before the sequel movies started coming out, but that didn't happen the way I'd hoped. (Real life, babies, adulting... you know how it goes.) I still have several scenes to fill in throughout, but the end is definitely in sight. (For me, not for this story, which is maybe nearing the halfway point with this chapter.) I would like to be able to update more frequently from here on out; my track record isn't stellar, but I promise to try! Whether you read this long ago or are joining me for the first time, I hope you enjoy!**
.
.
Chapter Twelve
Darth Dominius had to give credit where credit was due – young Skywalker was a force to be reckoned with, the most powerful Jedi he'd ever encountered. Perhaps the most powerful Jedi of his time. But he was going to lose this battle.
The young Jedi flipped through the air, soaring high above the reach of Dominius's blade. He landed with almost feline grace, parrying each blow with ease. How confident he must be in this moment, thinking he had a chance at victory. Always so focused on the smaller battles; never truly seeing the greater scope of things. If he did not lack the capacity for it, Dominius might have pitied the boy.
Ben Skywalker could have made a great Sith, given the proper encouragement.
"How many of your friends have fallen today, Skywalker? I didn't think you could afford such a loss."
Skywalker blocked a low strike, then swung at Dominius's midsection. "I haven't lost anyone yet."
Dominius smiled as he repelled his enemy's attack, forcing him to take several steps backward. "You think I speak of death? How amusing."
The Jedi's face was impassive, but Dominius had lived long enough to know when a human was upset. He had struck a nerve. The boy fought back with barely controlled ferocity, and Dominius saw his eyes dart over to his companions, the ones who were fighting Darth Raze.
Skywalker flashed a smug look. "Your man over there isn't doing so good."
Before Dominius could respond, he heard Raze howl in pain. A quick glance confirmed that the unknown Jedi had just stabbed Raze through the stomach. Too bad. What he lacked in refinement, Lord Raze had always made up for in enthusiasm. His sister would miss him, surely.
"First Misra, now Raze." Skywalker swung his lightsaber hard; as the two blades locked, the Jedi pressed in close, trying to use his weight as leverage. "That must make you a little mad."
Dominius held his ground. The loss of Lady Misra was the more regrettable of the two, but he wouldn't waste time feeling sorry. Not when he was this close to killing Ben Skywalker.
"Not at all," he answered, letting go of his lightsaber with one hand and raising it in the air. "But I will be upset if your friend over there reaches us before I am through with you." He made a fist and pulled it back as though yanking on a rope. Across the room, Skywalker's apprentice cried out in surprise and fell to the floor with a violent thud. Her tall companion abandoned his attempts to reach Skywalker, running to help her instead.
Skywalker smiled. "You won't be able to keep him away for long. He's very persistent."
Dominius waved a hand, and the soldiers who had been standing in a circle around them dispersed. He waved again, and they simultaneously moved toward the anonymous Jedi.
"I am a patient man, Skywalker, but even my patience has its limits. Let's stop toying with one another and get down to business, shall we?"
He saw the ligaments in Skywalker's hands flex as he tightened his grip on his lightsaber. The smug smile was gone from his face; in its place was the grim expression Dominius knew so well. The real Ben Skywalker, ready to fight at last.
"Have it your way, Darth."
Dominius embraced the carnage around him, letting each cry of anguish and each expression of rage feed into him. His skin grew warm and began to take on a faint orange hue.
He was going to enjoy this.
.
.
The Sith starfighters came at them from the south, flying low and in groups of three. The Last Call was in the air even before the Daybreak, cutting a path between it and the incoming fighters. Arden had seen a few of these ships before, during their escape from Ossus. She'd barely had time to process their appearance at the time, but now she could see they shared the familiar spherical cockpit that the TIE series had been famous for. The similarities ended there. Instead of wings, these fighters had a half ring engine that rotated around the cockpit as it flew. Laser cannons were mounted to each end of the ring, creating a deadly double helix as they fired on Myri's ship. Arden swiveled her seat and lined up the closest fighter in her crosshairs.
"Get 'em!" Myri yelled from the cockpit. Arden squeezed the trigger and watched as her lasers shot past the fighter. Growling in frustration, she readjusted and fired again, hitting one of his wingmates. The next trio of fighters came within range, and this time Arden was able to get two out of three before they raced by.
"Nice!" Myri called out. "Now hold on to something!"
Arden was about to ask why when Myri sent the Last Call into a barrel roll, firing continuously at the swarm of Sith fighters. Arden watched in awe for a few seconds as several fighters exploded; then she shook her head and joined in the fray. She was getting better with every wave, but there were still so many.
Myri swung the ship around to chase after the fighters that had slipped past them. As she did, laser blasts crashed against their shields.
"Dammit!" Myri dove, but two of the Sith were right on their tail, staying slightly below them where Arden's cannons couldn't reach. Myri accelerated, and Arden felt her body being pushed forward against the controls. The computer next to her showed the Sith matching their speed.
The two fighters exploded suddenly, and Arden heard a familiar engine roar overhead.
"You all right, sis?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Myri said through gritted teeth as she yanked back on the controls. "Forgot how fast these suckers are."
"Three more at point oh six."
"Got it. Now go take cover."
"You just worry about yourself."
The Last Call and the Daybreak flew alongside one another for a few more seconds before splitting off in opposite directions. They circled around, attempting to herd the Sith into one area. Arden tried to do a rough count of the enemy, but they were moving too fast.
"We can't keep this up much longer," she yelled over the noise from her cannons.
Myri's voice was the most serious she'd ever heard it. "We don't have a choice."
.
.
Anakin lifted Allana to her feet with one hand while deflecting blaster fire with the other. Out of the corner of one eye he saw another squad of soldiers running toward them.
"Over here!" He pulled her toward one of the massive stones the Sith had torn from the ceiling; they ducked behind it as the soldiers opened fire.
Allana held a hand against her ribs and winced.
"You all right?" he asked as he steadied her against him.
"I'll be fine." She pressed her back to the boulder, activating her lightsaber with shaking hands. "We need to get to Ben."
Anakin peered out from behind their stone shelter, head whipping back to avoid being hit by another round of blaster fire. For that brief half-second, he saw Ben locked in battle with the Falleen Sith and more than a dozen soldiers blocking their escape route. "We need to secure the entrance, or none of us are getting out of here."
His danger sense flared, and he swung his saber in a high arc over his head, shearing off the end of a blaster that had been aimed at Allana. Anakin glared up at the soldier who had crawled on top of the boulder. He wrenched the man down from his perch, using the Force to hurl him against the wall behind them.
"Where do they keep coming from?" he said with a growl. He almost missed fighting battle droids. He glanced over at Allana and noted the tension on her face. "Hey, we're gonna make it, okay?"
She pressed her lips in a thin line and nodded.
"Ben, are you there? Ben?"
Anakin barely heard the voice of Valin Horn coming from Allana's comlink, but he immediately sensed the man's urgency. Anakin nodded at Allana, positioning himself in front of her while she reached for her comlink.
"Ben's a little busy at the moment, Master Horn."
"Allana?" Valin's voice was strained. "What's your position?"
"Main entrance. We're under pretty heavy fire here."
He sensed the soldiers converging on them, moving to either corner them or flush them out. Anakin and Allana only had a few more seconds of safety.
"We have the kids… almost there… to the Daybreak…"
"Master Horn, you're breaking up! Master Horn!"
Allana tapped the comlink against her thigh before hooking it back on her belt. Anakin heard something else above the din of the battle: the distinct whine of an engine. He grabbed Allana by the elbow and gestured in the direction of the main entrance.
"Time to go," he said. "Stay with me, no matter what."
She swallowed hard. "Okay."
Anakin took the brunt of the assault as he leaped out from behind the boulder directly into the soldiers' line of fire. Allana stayed behind him as they ran for the massive entry doors. He weaved his lightsaber through the air, picking off blaster bolts with preternatural precision. The remaining soldiers were concentrating all their efforts on the two of them, trying to keep Anakin away from Ben.
Ben.
He was on the complete opposite side of the room from the entry, still dueling with the remaining Sith Lord. His grandson appeared to be holding his own quite well, but he was still being led away from the others. Or was Ben leading the fight away from their exit on purpose?
There was a commotion from one of the hallways adjacent to the main entry, and Anakin breathed a sigh of relief as two more lightsabers – one silver and one blue – lit up the gloom. Valin and Elias herded about a dozen younglings between them, running at full speed for the doors. Elias stretched out a hand, and the doors swung open just as the Daybreak touched down outside. Anakin continued to deflect enemy fire as he and Allana made it to the entry. Valin ran past them with the children, leading them up the ship's open ramp.
"Don't stop!" Elias yelled as he broke away from the group and dropped to his knees beside two prone figures. Anakin recognized the boys as Allana's friends, Kohr and Ames.
"I'll cover you!" he called out to Elias, batting away laser blasts as he moved in front of the other Jedi. Elias scooped Kohr into his arms, careful not to disturb his injured head, while Allana took hold of Ames by the torso and began to drag him slowly.
Enough of this.
Anakin deactivated his saber, threw his hands out, and pushed. The entire line of Sith soldiers were knocked onto their backs, some of them losing their weapons in the process. Anakin ran to Allana and took Ames from her, hauling the boy over his shoulder.
"Come on!"
As they carried the unconscious Jedi to the Daybreak, Anakin sensed more starships approaching. Too many to fend off from the ground. And Ben was still inside. Great.
Blaster fire scorched past him, spilling out of the open entry doors as the downed soldiers regained their wits. Anakin thumbed his saber on and stood in front of the ship's ramp.
"Go!" he yelled over his shoulder. "Take off!"
Behind him he felt Allana's panic, felt her dragging Ames the rest of the way up the ramp, anxious to return to Anakin's side.
Stay, he called out to her.
He surged forward through the thick cloud of ozone. There were still a handful of soldiers left, and these ones had stacked bodies and debris to shield themselves as they fired on him. Ben was still on the far side of the room, dodging stone projectiles while he danced just beyond his opponent's reach.
And then it happened.
A cold brilliance opened up over the entry hall, a rush of energy that coursed through him like an icy river. He trembled under its power, its magnificence. It was a presence – a single presence that seemed to take all of Vjun within itself before reflecting it back tenfold. Anakin was vaguely aware that every person in the room had stopped what they were doing and were now looking for the source of this power.
Anakin spotted him across the chamber, standing calmly at the top of a wide staircase. The coldness vanished, shut down as quickly as it had opened up. But the man was still standing there – if he could even be called a man. His armor was unlike anything Anakin had ever seen, like he'd scooped out the insides of a giant crustacean and fashioned its shell into a full body casing. Only the lower half of his jaw was visible under the jagged outline of his mask. Something ugly reared up inside Anakin as he stared at the man. He knew who this was. There was only one person it could be, only one person who could command the undivided attention of every eye in the room, including Ben and his Falleen adversary.
This was the Master of the Sith, the one responsible for Leia's death.
Darth Krayt.
All around him, the battle resumed. Anakin looked over his shoulder, finding Allana through the smoke and debris. She turned away from the Daybreak, ready to run after him; but he raised a hand toward her, holding her back.
"Wait!" She tried in vain to break his invisible grip on her. He pushed her back onto the ramp as it began to close. "Anakin! You said no matter what!"
He held her in place until the ramp had closed and the Daybreak shot off into the air. Without further hesitation, Anakin turned and charged back into the chaos, fighting his way toward the Sith Master.
.
.
Ben had just raised his lightsaber to block another of his opponent's attacks when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye: an angry blur of dark robes and cerulean light, hurtling toward the staircase.
Anakin.
Panic burrowed into his chest with unrelenting force. "No, don't!" Ben screamed as he twisted out from under Dominius's blade. "Anakin!"
His grandfather either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. He was already sprinting up the steps, taking them three at a time, flying up to meet the Sith Master.
"ANAKIN!"
Darth Krayt retreated into the mansion, leading Anakin away from the entry hall.
Dominius's saber swiped the air barely a centimeter from Ben's throat; he blocked clumsily, still trying to crane his neck to see which direction Anakin had gone.
"Your friend will not survive," Dominius said, emphasizing the point with a thrust toward Ben's middle.
Ben parried, trying to tamp down the despair that had gripped him so suddenly and ferociously. He had no clever retort, no brave words, no argument with which to counter the Sith. He had nothing. Anakin was going to die.
Or worse.
.
.
"Do you have them?"
Myri's voice was strained, although Arden marveled that she could even focus enough to talk right now. Another squadron of Sith fighters swarmed around them as they tried to cover the Daybreak.
"All except Ben and the new guy." Syal's response wasn't quite as stressed as her sister's, but then she was a career starfighter pilot. "These blasted ships just keep coming."
Arden kept her fingers wrapped tight around the controls, blowing up anything that crossed into her sights. There was an uneasy couple of seconds before Myri said, "What do we do?"
Static, and then a new voice. "We can't leave them!" Allana sounded close to tears as she yelled into the comm.
"We're not," Syal broke in, but there was hesitation in her voice.
A pit opened up in Arden's stomach as she pictured the captain in that damn mansion, fighting off the Sith by himself. Even before she'd known he was Ben Skywalker, he'd always taken crazy risks that somehow worked out perfectly, no matter the danger. Maybe it should have been obvious that those impossible feats were being performed by a Jedi Knight. At the time she'd just thought he was slightly insane. Now that she knew who he was, all those risks made a lot more sense, even if they were still scary as hell. What was his plan now? Did he even have one?
Her eyes fell on the grand entrance of Château Malreaux, smoke pouring from its open doors as they circled around. And suddenly she felt a little insane herself.
"Myri!"
"Yeah?" The older woman cocked her head to the side, one eye on Arden and one eye on the sky.
"I have an idea." She explained her plan quickly.
Myri raised one eyebrow, smiling as she did so. "I like the way you think." She raised her sister on the comm and relayed the plan to her. Arden wondered what it said about the Antilles sisters' sanity that they both insisted it was the most amazing idea they'd ever heard.
The Last Call twisted and turned to avoid fire while Myri switched her comm to another frequency. "Ben! We're coming for you, so get ready!"
.
.
If he'd had time to process it, Ben might have been furious that Anakin had left him on his own to fend off a fully-trained Sith Lord as well as half a dozen fanatical, blaster-wielding soldiers. Fortunately – or maybe unfortunately – he couldn't focus on that now. He was losing stamina fast, and his only saving grace was that the soldiers were hesitant to fire on him for fear of hitting their master.
Darth Dominius seemed completely assured of his victory. His normally cool green skin was flushed deep red, and the smug smirk on his face had split wide open into a demonic leer. Ben tried not to think of Anakin facing Krayt alone. He tried not to imagine Sith starfighters surrounding the Daybreak and blasting it from the sky. He tried not to remember the children and the horrors they must have experienced. The dark side was so strong here. So, so strong.
"Ben!"
The voice on the comlink brought his mind snapping back to attention.
"We're coming for you, so get ready!"
Dominius laughed. An ugly, guttural thing that might have shaken Ben to his core if he hadn't just heard the barely contained excitement in Myri's voice.
"Fools!" Dominius spat out, still grinning wickedly. "Let them come!"
They continued to exchange blows, moving up the grand staircase step by step, neither one relenting despite their fatigue. As he locked blades once more with the Sith Lord, Ben reached out with his senses, pushing beyond the boundaries of the great house. And he smiled.
"Looks like my ride's here."
Laser blasts ripped through the ceiling, tearing the roof right off of the entry hall. A deafening roar vibrated throughout the château as the Last Call flew overhead, cannons firing. Through the gaping hole in the roof, Ben saw a pursuing Sith fighter get caught in the debris and explode in a fiery ball.
Their fight abandoned, Ben ducked and held a barrier of energy over him, deflecting the hot, twisted shards of metal and chunks of stone that rained down from above. Then he sprung into the air and backflipped to the top of the staircase.
Murky light filtered through the demolished roof, and Ben realized the sun was setting. He quickly assessed the damage, looking for the clearest path through the wreckage. A metal support beam jutted out into the open air, just beyond the fire that had begun to rage.
"I'm not done with you yet!" Dominius screamed as he vaulted through the air, blood red saber still ablaze.
Ben summoned the Force to buoy his aching limbs, and he jumped straight at the broken beam. Dominius followed, barely pausing to touch the ground before giving chase.
For those few seconds that Ben was airborne, with his enemy in close pursuit and nowhere else to go, he thought he might have finally pushed himself too far. Once he landed on that beam, he'd only have a moment before Dominius caught up to him and ran him through with his lightsaber.
Then the most beautiful vision opened up before him, and his heart soared.
The Daybreak came to a screaming halt above the roof, ramp already lowered. As soon as Ben felt his boots hit the beam, he pushed off again, launching himself toward the waiting starship. He hit the ramp dead center and rolled the rest of the way into the ship. He staggered to his feet, and the last thing he saw before the hatch closed and the Daybreak rocketed away was the furious visage of Darth Dominius, perched like a malevolent bird atop the broken metal beam.
Ben hooked his lightsaber to his belt and stumbled down the curved corridor to the cockpit. Force, his legs felt like they were mired in sludge. He hadn't been in a fight that intense in years. He opened the cockpit door and fell into the empty co-pilot's chair.
Syal looked over at him with a huge smile – which promptly disappeared when she actually saw him.
"Stars, Ben, you look like hell!"
Ben winced, leaning forward over the controls. "Nice to see you, too." He examined the radar for a second as he took control of the main cannons. A capital ship had just entered the atmosphere and was headed straight for them. "Guess we know where all these fighters are coming from."
"They're keeping us boxed in pretty good," Syal admitted. "We won't last long once that Star Destroyer gets here."
"Then we'd better make a break for it."
Syal threw the ship into a tight turn to avoid another swarm of fighters, flinging Ben back in his chair. He sensed a rolling wave of fear and realized belatedly that it was coming from the cargo hold full of traumatized children.
"What about your new friend?" Syal's tone was uncharacteristically hesitant.
Ben gripped the controls tighter as he remembered Anakin charging relentlessly toward Darth Krayt. Heart hammering in his chest, jaw clenched tight, he shook his head. "We have a mission to complete." When Syal didn't respond right away, Ben looked at her sidelong and let out a shaky breath.
"There's nothing we can do for him now."
.
.
Even with all of that impressive armor, the Master of the Sith was quicker than Anakin had expected. He fled down a darkened corridor, never appearing to rush even as he managed to stay several steps ahead of his Jedi pursuer. The ugly heat in Anakin's chest spread out to his limbs, racing along every nerve like small, uncontrolled fires, screaming fight me!
By the time Darth Krayt reached the end of the long hallway he was hardly more than a shadow, nearly indistinguishable from his surroundings. Anakin brought his lightsaber up in front of him, illuminating both the ruined corridor and his enemy. Awash in cerulean light, the Sith looked over his shoulder before pushing open a set of double doors. On the other side, Anakin saw a once-lavish bedroom and an open balcony with tattered curtains flapping in the wind. The Sith Lord jumped onto the railing and shot up like a rocket, disappearing from view. Anakin barreled into the room seconds later and came to a crashing halt against the railing. He craned his neck to see where Krayt had gone.
Three levels up on an identical balcony, the Sith leaned over the edge, watching. Anakin gauged the distance, determining whether he could make it in one Force-fueled leap. He decided not to chance it, steeling himself instead for a couple of shorter jumps. He launched himself up two stories, pausing for a moment on the balcony below Krayt. His eyes met his enemy's, shadowy behind the mask. Krayt retreated into the mansion; with a growl, Anakin jumped again, swinging himself over the railing and activating his lightsaber in one fluid motion.
The Sith was on him before his feet touched the ground, blood-red saber thrumming dangerously close to his throat; but Anakin was ready for him. He dropped down, sliding across the scorched marble floor as he swung his blade at Krayt's legs. The Sith avoided it with a surprisingly nimble leap. Anakin shot to his feet and spun around, bringing his weapon to bear. Darth Krayt did the same, slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, and he flexed the arm that held his saber. That small action only served to fan the flame of Anakin's anger. Was he not taking this seriously?
You will, you damn monster.
Anakin lunged at his opponent, striking high and then low in quick succession, never pulling back far enough to leave an opening. Their blades battered each other; Anakin could feel the raw strength behind each of Krayt's blows. And through it all, the man hadn't once opened his mouth.
Anakin cut his weapon in a horizontal line, trying to bisect the Sith at the waist; but Krayt twisted and blocked hard. The Jedi tried to push back against their locked blades, but it was like trying to move a wall. The Sith shoved his lightsaber with explosive power, knocking Anakin's sword arm away in a wide arc. With his center undefended for that brief second, he was unable to prevent Krayt from kicking him square in the chest.
He flew backward, smashing through the bedroom door and into another dimly lit corridor. He used his momentum to roll back into a crouch and activated his lightsaber once more. The Sith Lord stepped through the wreckage of the broken door, calmly appraising the situation. Still silent.
Without warning, the château rocked violently, throwing both men against the corridor wall. A distant alarm began to sound, and the ancient fire suppressant system went off, dousing them in water. The sudden rain sizzled angrily against their lightsabers. Anakin wiped a stray lock of damp hair from his eyes as he stood, angling his blade at the Sith.
Krayt rose to his feet, unhurried and seemingly unbothered by the explosion that had torn through the building. He drew himself up to his full height and cracked his neck. Before he could finish, Anakin attacked.
The crimson blade snapped up to deflect his blow, and in that moment – barely audible through the sound of sirens and pouring water and engines racing overhead – the Sith Master let out a short, barking laugh. Blood pounded in Anakin's ears; the heady scent of Vjun's Force-rich atmosphere filled his lungs, promising power and revenge and anything else he desired. And what he desired most was to choke the laugh right out of that disgusting mouth.
Without lifting a finger, he grabbed hold of the Sith's throat and willed it to close. He felt it constricting, felt a flash of genuine surprise from his enemy as the man's airway shut tight. Anakin and Krayt stood frozen, lightsabers locked between them; and through the interplay of crimson and cerulean light, the young Jedi saw something that shocked him.
Darth Krayt smiled.
Anakin shoved as hard as he could, forcing Krayt away from him long enough to punch him in the jaw. The Sith backpedaled, gasping for air as mental fingers loosened around his throat. Anakin swung his saber at the man's neck, but Krayt reached up and caught his wrist, halting the blade's descent. The Sith sliced at him from the left, but Anakin mirrored his move, grasping Krayt's armored forearm in his left hand.
They tried to wrestle each other to the ground, neither one giving an inch. Anakin's muscles screamed under the strain, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain. He didn't sense the projectile until it was too late.
It smashed into his head, and he staggered backward, dazed. In the dim light he couldn't make out what it was, but he noticed an open door on his left, revealing another opulent bedroom. Krayt lunged forward, slicing ferociously at him as another object came flying out of the room.
Anakin managed to dodge that one, a jewelry box or something similar. He parried the next saber strike quickly, wondering if he was imagining the feel of blood dripping down his neck. Suddenly a whole arsenal of furniture filled the air around him. Krayt stepped back and lowered his saber, and the furniture hurtled toward Anakin.
He sliced through as much as he could, but his head throbbed and there was too much debris. He raised a hand, trying to stop the barrage as he looked for somewhere to retreat. A quick glance over his shoulder showed an open door at the far end of the hallway, with computers and vidscreens and – most importantly – a wide balcony he could use to escape. Abandoning any pretense of continuing the fight, Anakin turned and sprinted down the corridor, ducking and weaving to avoid the worst of Krayt's projectiles.
He slammed the door shut as he entered the room. A quick scan confirmed that is was a secondary control center, although it didn't appear to be in use. Or maybe, he thought darkly, there was no one left to operate it.
He used the Force to drag a desk in front of the door, though he knew that wouldn't stop the Sith. He had only seconds to escape. Anakin ran to the balcony, ready to descend to a lower level and rejoin Ben and the other Jedi. His vengeance would have to wait.
His breath left him as he leaned over the balcony's ornate railing. There was nothing below him but a sheer, craggy cliff wall and a long drop to the black waters of the bay. He tried to push down the despair welling up in his chest. How had he miscalculated so badly?
The wooden door burst in, exploding in a hail of splinters; the desk that blocked it slid across the room and crashed into a vidscreen. Anakin stepped away from the balcony, grasping his lightsaber in both hands as he turned to face his enemy. Krayt's crimson blade carved up everything in its path as he entered the room. Only a few meters and some hardware separated them now.
The computers and equipment that Krayt demolished became missiles in his hands. Anakin deflected the pieces aimed at his head and torso, but some of them circled around him, striking from behind. A large metal shard sliced across his right thigh, and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out. The Sith Master advanced, each swing of his saber creating new weapons for his arsenal. Anakin's arms were lead as he tried to block. A computer struck him across his face, and he saw stars.
Too late, he sensed the shift in Krayt's position. Fire burned across the whole of his left side as the Sith's blade seared a jagged line from hip to ribs. Anakin barely had time to register the pain when a twisted chunk of metal pummeled him in the exact same spot, tearing open the cauterized flesh. An agonized scream ripped from his throat as he fell to his knees. Krayt's lightsaber battered against his, sending it ricocheting into the dark interior of the control room.
Drawing ragged breaths, Anakin touched a hand to his left side; it came away soaked in blood. He pressed his whole arm against the wound, trying to stem the blood loss. Darth Krayt stood over him, the tip of his saber centimeters away from Anakin's heart. And finally, after everything, he spoke.
"Do you yield?" His voice was a soft baritone that rumbled around the inside of Anakin's skull. Nowhere near as harsh or ugly as he'd expected, and somehow that made it worse.
Yield? How could he yield? He'd never surrendered in his whole life, not to the Separatists, not to the Sith, not even to the Force itself. How could he possibly yield while he still drew breath, while his last remaining family was out there fighting for their lives? Instead of answering, he began to crawl backward toward the balcony.
As if reading the defiance in Anakin's eyes, Krayt sighed and shook his head. Then he reached up with one hand and removed his mask, revealing an astoundingly human face. Anakin wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but a man hardly older than Obi-Wan was not it. His dark hair was cropped short; and where before Anakin would have sworn his eyes were the color of fire, now they appeared the same dark brown as his hair.
"I confess," Krayt said evenly, "I thought Anakin Skywalker would put up a better fight."
Anakin was so startled to hear his name on the Sith Master's lips that he froze. How? How could he know? And more than that, why would he say it as though he believed it were true? Even as pain threatened to overwhelm his senses, Anakin studied the man before him. There was something about his face, his eyes, that was so familiar. But it wasn't possible. Anakin was seventy years removed from his own time; he couldn't know anyone here.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"He didn't tell you? He really didn't tell you?" Krayt's face broke into a smile as he started to laugh. "I was certain he would have jumped at the chance to tell you the truth."
Anakin clutched at his side and continued to crawl backward. The Sith eyed him with amusement, regarding him as a parent would a troublesome child. "What truth?" Anakin asked between gritted teeth.
Krayt's laughter faded and his eyes grew cold. The words seemed to pour out of him like a dam breaking.
"I didn't die. They all thought I had, and I let them believe it for many years. When I encountered Ben on Ziost, I was sure he would give away my secret, but he never did. And then you showed up." The Sith took a few steps toward Anakin, his lightsaber still angled at the young Jedi's heart. "If there was anyone Ben was going to reveal my existence to, I was sure it would be you."
Anakin's vision grew blurry, and he dug his fingers into the wound to slow the bleeding. "You still haven't told me… who you are."
The Sith Lord smiled again, that same admonishing smile. "Haven't you figured it out, Anakin? I'm your grandson."
Anakin stopped moving away and stared up at Krayt. "Jacen?" he whispered. He felt as though someone were sitting on his chest. "No, that's impossible. Ben told me what happened—"
"Told you what? That my dear sister died and took me with her?" The Sith shook his head. "I'll admit, I thought it was the end. But the Force had other plans." He continued toward Anakin, reaching out with his free hand. "With you at my side, I could complete what I began eleven years ago. Join me, and I'll help you discover the full, extraordinary power of the Chosen One."
Anakin's eyelids fluttered, and his head swayed as the Sith's dark energy pressed against his defenses. He could feel his own inner darkness swell, as if Krayt's aura was calling it forth. "The Chosen One… supposed to destroy… the Sith."
The Dark Lord held his saber out at his side as he leaned down toward Anakin. "But you weren't going to destroy him, were you?"
Anakin shook his head and backed up to the edge of the platform. The wind whipped his hair against his face, stinging his eyes. "I am not Vader," he growled. "Not here."
"Tell that to my dead grandmother. Tell that to Padmé."
Anakin nearly choked on his next breath. "What?"
"Your thoughts betray you. You already made your choice, didn't you? You were going to join the Sith to save her."
The horror of everything he had done and might do and would do coiled around him, squeezing the air from his lungs. "I just needed the secret," he gasped, pathetic even to his own ears.
"Spare me your feigned innocence, as if you didn't know what would happen. I saw it all. Some old recordings that show you betraying the Jedi, killing younglings, killing your wife…"
Everything else ceased to exist for the space of several heartbeats as Anakin was swallowed whole by the Sith's revelation. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't make a sound. The Sith had stopped speaking and was staring at him intently, but Anakin could no longer feel his dark presence. The air was suffocating him, drowning him, blocking out everything but the inescapable, unforgivable truth.
He had killed children.
He had killed his wife.
"No," he choked out. Denial was the only refuge he had left. "I would never."
"Search your feelings, Anakin." Krayt's face was placid as he reached toward him. "You know it's true."
Anakin shook his head, unable to respond. He couldn't listen to this anymore, couldn't search his feelings because he knew what he would find if he did. He needed to escape, to do something, to act without thinking, without facing the consequences.
Anakin looked over his shoulder at the abyss. Dark water churned angrily against the rocks below, the crash of waves creating a rhythm that was strangely enticing. He recognized this place now, understood that this was the precipice in his visions, the ledge from which he had fallen every night.
Tonight, he would finally reach the bottom.
With waning strength and faltering consciousness, Anakin grabbed the rail and pulled himself to his feet.
"If you are my grandson," he murmured, "then I'm sorry I failed you."
Before Krayt could react, Anakin released the rail and fell from the balcony.
.