Chapter Eleven

Hyperion cut down dozens of the young spectres, left and right, making sure that not one of them closed in on Patricia. "There is nothing you can do to stop me, Morgana! I will save your sister," Hyperion vowed as he sliced down the spectres. Sure enough, he summoned slugthrower pistols, grenades, shurikens, throwing knives, spears, and even summoned shot after shot of the wrist blade that he could launch from his gauntlet. He even summoned nets for flying spectres so that he could destroy them without even having to fight them.

"How are you doing this? This is impossible!" Morgana demanded.

"My mind, my rules or did you forget whose head you entered already you little bitch?" Hyperion snapped back. He fought of the spectres with his main arsenal which fortunately didn't require him to make much use of a lightsaber, his ax, or his whip. This assault was sustained for several moments with Hyperion using grenades to do damage when there was still some distance between himself and the spectres of his youth. When one of the ones that were levitated above him began closing in, he used his nets and alternated between the wrist blades and the spear whenever those needed reloading. He would also use his throwing knives and shurikens against the ones that were closing in to the front of him so that he could buy himself enough time to toss more thermal detonators.

Any of the spectres who passed all that never made it past his slugthrowers which kept his defense nigh impregnable without using a lightsaber or other bladed weapon. "Enough of this!" Morgana said. Right as she did so, Hyperion felt a pang of agony cut through his head with a heat more intense than any lightsaber and clang more heavy than any hammer. "Now, you will have no use of your blasters, no use of your detonators, no use even of your shurikens, throwing knives, nets, or blades you can shoot out your wrist! See if you can save her without them," Morgana shouted, the spectres significantly lessened but still a formidable number.

Above them, the roof turned to dust and the walls fell away to reveal a vast grey sky studded with stars and spectres arriving on floating bits of building. The illusion of Patricia was still near him for protection sake but Hyperion knew that he had a couple more tricks left in the bag for protecting her. "If you think the shortage of weapons will stop me, you'd better think again Morgana," Hyperion said. Then his mind produced the whip with a couple more powers that he added to it without Morgana being able to know. He also kept his shield at the ready in case anyone got past it until he could use one of the powers his whip now possessed to shift it into the ax so that he could cleave their head in two without drawing his lightsabers out.

But for the moment, he was doing just fine with the whip, absorbing the energy of the fallen spectres into every lock of its long, bladed tendril. When he killed about another forty or so spectres, he revealed one other power he'd given the whip just in time for another three hundred tried to mob him. He raised the hilt of the whip over his head then brought down the business end to cast a flame so wide and intense that it consumed them all, reducing them to ash in seconds. "No, this cannot be!" Morgana demanded.

"It can because this is my mind, and therefore my rules as I said!" Hyperion told her, catching other spectres with the hook of his whip and tearing their throats or spines out. Fortunately, he was now beginning to see the end and he calculated he could actually do battle with his ax and attached wrist blade in combination to his shield after just one more fire burst. So he absorbed enough energy from the spectres to charge his whip then unleashed the attack, once more reducing all in the vicinity to ash within ethereal seconds. Shifting the whip into his ax and producing his shield, he prepared for the remaining spectres to arrive and when they did, he used the shield to deflect their lightsabers and brought his ax on their heads or guts. He didn't absorb their energy but instead let it disperse, occasionally supplementing his fighting with the mounted wrist blade he could collapse into his gauntlet but not shoot from it.

When he was closer to the end, he noticed his gauntlet wither and turn into several rusted pieces which broke off his arm, freeing him from that aspect of his past at last. When he was down to just three more spectres, he threw his ax into one, threw his hunting knife into another, then used his shield to beat the last one to death. As the last one finally faded, the battle coming to an end whilst the land all around Hyperion was beginning to shrink, he raised his head to the ethereal heavens and shouted in rage. "Is that the best you have to offer me, Morgana? I took your sister from you yes, but I have now given her back to you," he shouted.

"You cannot save her anymore than I could when you first ravaged her. When you had your way with her, you gave up any real chance of love and respect from her or your brother in the quest for dominance and ultimate power. There is always a price to be paid for all that you could ever fight for," Morgana hissed at him.

"There is nothing in this galaxy that is so immense that it is worth stepping on the backs of other people. I know that now, Morgana, and I have known it since I raised Menelaus as my son while you raised your niece as your own," Hyperion said, remorse thick in his voice.

"Spare me your sentiments, Hyperion!" Morgana screamed, this time the words flowing from the mouths of Patricia. "You believed no price was too high for the power the Dark Side offered! In your youth, you gladly paid those prices and now you shrink away from the chains you have cast on yourself!? You dare pretend you could ever be valued as a moral man ever again, should you have been in your childhood? The only fate that awaits you is your death, your oblivion in the abyss while I transfer my consciousness into your physical shell!"

Before Hyperion could react, Patricia's wrapped towel changed into the robe and hood of Morgana, one of Patricia's eyes changed color to suit her sister's eyes, and two lightsabers appeared. "You will have no other weapons, no other tricks up your sleeve but the lightsaber and your Force powers. Face me with honor or die in disgrace!" she said when the transformation was complete. Hyperion reached for a pair of lightsabers on his chest straps and when he ignited them, he was only mildly surprised that he was fighting with Seth's blade and the red one he'd wielded as a rogue Sith warrior. Saluting his opponent with the purple one, he turned and faced her as she readied for him with her own crimson lightsabers that glowed with the color of blood around her.

"About time you stopped fracking around and faced me. I was hoping you'd duel with me sooner but seeing as only cowards follow the Dark Side through and through, I won't hold it against you to be afraid of me," he told her. Morgana didn't say anything for a moment then sneered and shot back with fire of her own for him.

"Brave words from a doomed man," she assured him. Then they dueled with Hyperion taking the advantage early by swiping in wide arcs with his blade while Morgana fell back on close-quartered defensive stratagems. They sparred like this for a few seconds until Morgana was able to use Force-imbued speed to kick Hyperion in the chest, sending him into the air but only enough to back flip, landing on his hands then pushing himself back to his feet. He did this in time to intercept a slash from Morgana then neutralize her reach for a brief moment. But given her own Makashi expertise, she was soon using jabs of precise nature that he dodged, countering by attempting to slice her legs off then trying to bisect her, each attempt with one blade.

In counter, she leapt and tried to stab him with both blades but because he had lowered himself into a crouching kick that would have tripped her, there was only one thing to do. When she landed, he wheeled again with the other leg and kicked her square in the midsection, adding a Force push to the blow to send her spinning through the air. She used the Force to hurl a boulder at his right flank that was promptly deflected with a downward slash of Hyperion's purple blade. When she threw another one straight for his face in near concurrence, he raised both lightsabers up in an underhand that formed an X-shaped slash. For good measure, he also added a bit of Force repulse in order to accelerate the process of tearing the rock apart.

But having not yet learned her lesson, Morgana hurled one towards his legs as he charged her but he leapt over this, landed on the boulder with his feet then leapt over that. When he landed conducted a series of power strikes using the Shien reverse grip which helped disarm her of one of her blades readily whilst keeping her on the defensive with the other. Rushing her with his red blade held forth in a reverse grip, he forced her to use a burst of speed to back away from him despite her wounds. But he leapt across to cover the distance and allowed no remorse, hounding her with power strikes from both blades until he had finally sliced off her right hand, ripping the last blade from her grasp and plunging his crimson one into her. To ensure his success, he activated his Force Rage and fought with the power coursing through his veins as in years past.

When his red blade successfully plunged into her abdomen, purple and blue fires began to leave her as she realized with dawning horror that she failed to take over his mind. "How?" she asked, looking up at him as she began to accept her oblivion.

"Through victory our chains are broken or so the Sith Code teaches us, Morgana. What they don't teach you is that true victory lies in confessing your flaws and learning to move past them. True power lies in being able to admit one's sins and being humble enough to seek repentance no matter how atrocious the original sin may have been," Hyperion said. And with that Morgana burst into blue and purple flames, consuming everything in Hyperion's vision until a white light blocked out even that, likely signalling his return to corporeal consciousness.

Chapter Twelve

"By the Force, I don't believe it! You've come back!" Morgause exclaimed when Hyperion awoke. Hyperion rose up enough to accept an embrace from his daughter which she gladly gave when he could accept. But when he realized what she was doing, he backed up a little as best he could.

"Wait, how do you know it's me? How do you know it isn't your aunt?" Hyperion asked.

"Because she'd be saying something like, 'of course, I'm back' if she were here. You're more humble and asked me the question of how I knew. And it does help to have a Force bond that can detect when she's finally become one with the Force or not. C'mon Dad, I was only with her since I was six-months old!" Morgause teased. Hyperion chuckled slightly at the compliment his daughter paid him, perhaps the kindest thing anyone had said to him.

"I love you, Morgause. I'm sorry I wasn't there to see your birth, I'm sorry I didn't see you take your first steps, graduate school, or become a powerful adept of the Force. Sorry for everything I ever did wrong to you by not being there, allow me to be there for you now to watch you grow even stronger," Hyperion said, sobbing into her shoulder. Morgause held her father close to her, letting him display paternal affection for the first time in his life.

"When you were unconscious, I pleaded to the Force that you would live. I begged and wept, by your side and told you I needed you. And... and you heard me," Morgause told him as she returned his embrace. Hyperion nodded, remembering when he heard her say that she needed him when he was fighting Morgana in the ethereal realm of his mind.

"So... you are my niece, after all," said a voice Hyperion was not altogether pleased to hear though he knew he would. But there was something embittered in Dantius' voice, which Hyperion noted as he turned to face him, like he still carrying the wound of what Hyperion had done to conceive Morgause. "As much as I would love to see this reunion continue, I'm afraid we still have important matters to attend to. Our advance scouts have reported that Crassus has gathered the artifacts with which to start the ceremony and I'm guessing they're organized where Crassus felt he could draw on their power in a steady stream until he could start draining life," Dantius said.

"He'll most likely use the cache readily available on Nogatan because he recognizes their power but believes the Nogatan Sith to be the bottom of the barrel for the Empire. Their victory over Vitiate's holdings notwithstanding, he'll feel good about draining the power out of their holocrons and destroying them to eradicate every trace of their abomination. If he can snag the remaining Dark Lords there in addition to the populace, all the better to him on that end. How far along are we with destroying the rest of the Sith?" Hyperion replied, turning his body so he was more comfortable when his brother spoke.

"We started the attack on Dathomir and conquered it relatively easily. Balmorra has just barely fallen and we're rounding up any traces of Zakuul technology to add to the Republic's arsenal as well. The Dathomir force is going to meet us at Nogatan and the Balmorra reinforcements will soon follow as well. Since we've barely used any of our true forces for the battle, relying on mercenaries that owed me favors, we still have our full strength for the Nogatan battle," Dantius answered.

"Then we have no time to waste when we arrive, let's get cracking on strategy now. I already have information on the layout of Nogatan from when Crassus had me looking for worlds to retreat to or, more likely, consume for the ceremony. I've got the goods on spots Crassus will most likely leave vulnerable just because he's stalling for time and hoping to consume the most lives he can when it starts," Hyperion said, raising himself up to begin preparations. He was in hospital gowns at the moment with his armor and arsenal likely being washed and sanitized for when he recovered. But even so, Dantius stopped him right where he was before he'd taken more than three steps toward the strategy room.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, where the hell are you going? You just fought across the cosmos of your mind and beat a strong-willed Sith Lady's spirit. There's no way you're fit to fight alongside us, you need more rest," Dantius told him.

"I will rest when we've destroyed the Sith or we die at the Emperor's hands. Besides, no ethereal battle has caused physical wounds because they don't need to for their damage to be done. I won and that usually means I'm up to the task of the more physical aspects of our duty and it's not like I'd be using just my lightsabers when we fight even if I were affected. Now are you gonna let me in to help you strategize or am I going to have to make you?" Hyperion snapped back at him. Dantius knew he could probably make sure Hyperion didn't enter the room if he felt like it but he knew he'd have a bigger fight than he probably needed presently.

So he nodded and snapped his fingers, asking a nurse to bring Hyperion's armor and weapons before directing Hyperion to a changing room where he would acquire his gear. Reclaiming the armor first, he closed the front door and donned on the armor before asking for his weapons at the opening of the door. From there, he clipped his paired wrist blades, collapsible spear, shurikens, throwing knives, thermal detonators, his shield, ax, whip, slugthrower pistols, and his lightsabers. He also attached a comlink to his shield arm so that he could communicate with Dantius while deflecting blaster fire with the durable defensive gear. At the same time, he made sure his shield could still collapse into itself, allowing him to use it as a knuckleduster, making his left hand durable enough to compare to his right one in punching.

When he was dressed, Morgause and Dantius awaited him with the hologram of Inoy, Ashlynn Thorin, and Jace Malcom awaiting him. "So, this is what's become of the great Hyperion Algethii. I'll admit I'm impressed you're still alive," Ashlynn remarked when she could see him.

"Inoy, it's so good to see you again. You've become a formidable warrior which will come in handy when we hit Nogatan with all we have. That aside, let's get the rundown initiated, I've still got the information you need to follow along with my strategy. But first, I'll need to know what we've got going for us as far as our forces go. Because he deliberately put three times as much defense into Nogatan as he did into Dathomir and Balmorra combined," Hyperion said.