Chapter 29
It has been decades since Vader was able to fight Jedi who is fully trained Jedi instead of mere Knights who hardly stood a chance against him. One such as Windu had been someone only Dark Lords in the past would have dreamed at pleasure of fighting but only one among them was ever granted with the pleasure. Now, it seems that Vader's destiny is to fight the Jedi and those accompanying him.
"You are not going to corrupt any more Jedi, Vader," Koth snarls, twirling his lightsaber in front of him.
Vader rolls his cerulean eyes. "Insolent Jedi, you have no potential or the skill to match me."
"You'll find we're full of surprises," Windu responds, dashing forward and attempting to bisect Vader into two.
Vader brings his lightsaber in front of himself to shield himself from Windu's first strike, returning it with a swift stroke which the Korun Master is barely able to leap back, evading the strike.
The Council has been wise to send more experienced Jedi than just typical Padawans, Vader would have to grant, at the very least they learned much about Vader in the encounter in the Council Chambers and know that he would have easily dispatched their youngest of the Order.
The four Jedi dashes forward, directing their attention at the two other individuals. Kenobi joins the battle and deflects the attacks from the first two while Skywalker begins attacking the other two.
Vader and Windu's lightsabers lock once more. It's been a long time since both feel like they were genuinely fighting for their lives as both has always been the type who called for battle among both the Jedi and Sith Order. He can sense Koth is waiting for an opening and choosing not to engage with him for now aside from aiding his fellow Master in the Force in the background.
"You betray your code with your attack, Windu," Vader says, deciding to use this moment to test the Jedi's vexation after he broke the Code that long ago he has swore to uphold. He knows that he would be successful especially since the turmoil emotions, for it is possible that he had unintentionally corrupted Mace far earlier with his mere presence alone. "Your anger clouds your judgment and here you stand before me, believing you are fighting for the Republic when we all know that you only seek to wipe out someone who has clashing views with the Force."
"You and the dark side won't control me like it has controlled our fallen brothers," Windu replies defiantly, pressing several assaults against Vader which he only counters with his lightsaber. "We now know that you pose a threat which we cannot - for any longer - ignored and finally bring you to justice with the crimes at your back for us to date."
"Windu, you are subverting what it means to be a Jedi for your biased views." Vader replies.
"It is not subverting what it means to be a Jedi if we stop the darkness that have plagued the galaxy," Windu snaps furiously, pointing his lightsaber up at Vader. "We have to bring the likes of you to justice before you corrupt many of those within the Order."
"If you do not turn away now, the Jedi Order is truly lost," Vader declares like a god casting judgement on a angel, no longer affected if the Jedi falls as of again. They cannot be saved with the arrogance populating the Order. Qui-Gon Jinn is indeed their last hope. Vader has little hope in saving them; he can see them be wiped out again as their arrogance has lessened them becoming puppets of a corrupt Republic which would only see about their downfall in another life.
Perhaps Vader should destroy that Order and allow those who see the true meaning of the Force to live and start anew like he did with the remaining Tuskens who chose not to attack briefly. An Order which only his son, Luke, was able to draw out at the end. There has to be an Order which doesn't answer to the Republic that only seems to dominate them nor an Order which allows politics to influence their actions as they have done for generations.
Windu says nothing as he steps slowly towards Vader, noticing the Jedi at his flank has managed to recover and is cornering Vader, attacking with all of their might against the individual who they want nothing but to bring to justice. Nonchalantly, Vader deflects all of their strikes, moving without any complication despite the Jedi currently pressing the offensive as of the moment, twirling around their efforts and sending a crippling cut at Windu, causing his cloak to fall off.
Despite this, the Jedi Master is able to keep his balance through a brief stagger before he lunges towards Vader.
Against that posture, the Korun's sudden flurry of attacks appears exaggerated and inefficient, for Vader defends all of the strikes, one after another, with a slight parry, seeming barely able to move. For while Windu and most of the Jedi are lightsaber fighters, Vader is someone who has been through wars, encountering forces of both light and dark and becoming the ultimate power among them both.
Now, as the battle plays out between Vader and Mace Windu, the two warlords are crashing against one another. Windu leaps and spins, slashing side to side, chopping and thrusting, but all of Vader's movements are efficient as he counterattacks and begins sending Windu back, cracking whatever defensives that the Jedi Master put up. Vader follows a single line, front and back, his feet shifting to keep him constantly in perfect balance as he retreats and come on suddenly with devastating thrusts that have Windu stumbling backward.
At one point, Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi who was inspired after Mace Windu and strived for his approval and proved himself to be the suited one to be the future of the Order. But now, in all of Vader's battles and experience that have been birthed through decades of battle, he have risen far more powerful than the Korun Master, not only in combat but ability to see that there is a life outside of the Jedi Order.
"Master Windu, you have no idea how easily this could have been avoided; you are leading the Order down the path of the dark side. You have become the very thing you swore to destroy."
His words spur Mace Windu forward with another series of slashes and chops, but Vader's red blade angles left and then right, then up just enough to send Windu's descending blade slipping off to the side. The Korun has to retreat soon after, gasping for breath, realizing that Vader's expertise is not only in his odd Force powers but also his ability of a lightsaber.
"You have to do better," Vader says, knowing that the Jedi Master is running out of strategies. To think, this is the same famed Master who defeated a powerful Sith Lord of their Era but now Vader is living against his expectations.
The other Jedi who attempts to join their Master is seized into the air, grasping their throats and attempting to release the pressure that has been placed on them.
Windu steadies himself, peering his eyes towards Skywalker and Kenobi, noticing they are moving with such movements similar to the Jedi that have decided it was wise to attack them.
A skilled young Master is on the ground beneath them, his arm having been amputated, stomach impaled, and his lightsaber destroyed caused by Kenobi. A old Master follows his line of sight, a slicing wound in his stomach, wrapped in a pool of his own blood caused by Skywalker. Those who are on the ground are still alive but they are deeply into unconsciousness, laying in a different position from one another.
The Jedi lunges forward towards Vader, lightsaber poised above his head. Vader didn't raise his weapon but rather becomes a black blur of an angel promising death. Is it possible that he was successful in striking the threat of the Order down before it is too late?
"And thus proves my point," Vader says, causing Windu to turn around to face him again, appearing to have just teleported behind him, "you have rejected the Chosen One and now he is by my side. One could only wonder how much of a Jedi he would have been if he was trained by you, Master Windu. Or what about Kenobi? He could have accessed Grandmaster status while mere time. Alas, your mistake is not amenable for I have accepted his attachments for what they were and not refuse it."
The younger one is fighting off the Twi'lek Jedi Master, one of the best in their Order, and is beginning to drive him back more and more. The fact that a mere boy who would hardly be called a Padawan in another life is managing to engage several prized Jedi and is beginning to defeat them the more this battle persists only fills Windu with incredulous thoughts and insecurities.
Sure, he has Kenobi to assist him, but the boy is still showing immense power.
Windu realizes that Vader continuing to train for this battle would only result in him becoming more of a threat to the Order. Not even several Padawans could fight as impressively as Skywalker currently is, parrying a flurry of attacks from Koth and sending a hurl of power at his direction before again locking blades with the Twi'lek Knight.
He can see it as clear as he can see the battle before him now. The boy, under the training of Vader, marching to the Jedi Temple with an entire army at his back, claiming to have incredible knowledge about the Force and mowing through Jedi in mere seconds, who are helpless to even raise their lightsabers. Allowing a power such as that - even if it means he would have to kill a teenager who is little more but a child - is extremely risky-
Then Windu explodes into motion, coming on again fiercely, his purple lightsaber flashing all about. He keeps a better measure of his cuts this time, though, reversing his angle often, turning a wide slash into a sudden thrust, though Vader blocks with his impressive movement of Djem So, not moving a step as he blocks each blow without struggle.
Koth decides to end his mental attack through the Force and strike forward with his lightsaber, pressing forward forcefully and effortlessly, but Vader continues to parries each of the strikes, and then his momentum plays out. He is too far forward, while Vader remains in perfect balance, preparing for a counter strike which works effectively, as proven when the Jedi Master is send backwards.
Windu leaps up into the air behind Vader, thrusting his lightsaber at his back. Vader blocks each of his swings, leaning into a duel lock with the Jedi Master. While the Jedi is gripping his weapon with both of his hands, Vader is only holding his lightsaber with his right hand.
From within the Jedi, an emotion rises akin to nothing but anger. Vader isn't taking him seriously. He only sees him as another Jedi who he could exploit and possibly killed by the end of this battle. Windu wouldn't allow a dark force such as Vader who deceptively play hero to be allowed to corrupt more to his cause.
Vader begins to attack the Jedi Master far more aggressively than Windu thought possible, causing him to feel an immediate strain of his muscles, each of his opponent's strikes precise and calculated and far too close to home, breaking through his Vaapad style more and more this battle continue down. Vader is a blur of crimson, meeting each of his strikes with dare he says negligible swings and parries. Rarely, if ever, did Windu encounter a being with such mastery of Djem So.
Those years of training under his time as a Jedi Padawan and those times beforehand in those multiple battles are now being brought to the test-
For this is Vaapad's greatest trial-
The Korun loses none of his iron will, and quickly withdraw his saber and attack again, this time from the sides, blows being swiftly deflected and hammered all at one. He has to accept the skill of Vader and acknowledges his prowess with a lightsaber. He is surprisingly quick as a blazing shuttle, but his strength can not be underestimated. Windu would have to be quicker with his strikes, because every time he proves too slow, Vader catches his blade and overpower him.
"Windu, you don't have to fight me," Vader hisses, not wishing to kill the Jedi Master despite how the other is attempting to do so. "You are breaching your own Code, my friend. You and all the other Jedi who have agreed to this attack. I have a mere difference view of the Force to the Jedi."
"We, as Jedi, have to stop the dark forces!" Windu exclaims, directing a strike aimed for his torso. "So don't you dare attempt to act innocent when you are the one who has committed this split in our Order! Both Kenobi and Jinn were great Jedi that you have corrupted and that means you are nothing but a disease! A Sith disease! You unbalanced the peace in the galaxy! I have to stop you!"
"For thousands of years the Jedi have left unbalanced in their wake and I have come down to the conclusion that the old Order must be destroyed," Vader replies. "How can you support a corrupt system that has the deaths of millions on their hands?"
"You are no better, for you are leading the fallen Jedi which would easily jeopardize the entire galaxy if left unchecked!" The Jedi Master snaps, no longer fighting with only Vaapad as his ally, but now he is indeed giving into it, hacking away at the individual the moment he stands.
"Kenobi has far from fallen despite his new beliefs and Jinn is remaining true to his moral beliefs despite me offering training of my own to him," Vader replies, his voice tranquil. "Hopefully you would soon follow their capability of seeing through the fog of arrogance that has wrapped over the Jedi for decades and join us."
"I will never join you and I won't allow you to destroy the Republic!" Windu growls, feeling a same feeling of exhilaration the more he is engaging into the battle. Vaapad is beginning to gain control of the Jedi Master.
"Destroy the Republic?" Vader replies with a scoff. "I am hardly attempting to destroy the Republic, for if I was, I would not be here now. I would have been creating a war against the Republic. And that is the truth that we all know. I have no care for the Republic but for peace in the galaxy."
"Peace?!" Windu shouts, as if the word itself is ridiculous.
"As obnoxious as it may appear to you, my friend, I am seeking for peace in the galaxy," Vader replies placatingly. "Riddle me this. Does the average citizen of Coruscant's lower levels or the ones who are suffering in the Outer Rim got any say whatsoever in how the Senate operated before my intervention? Or how about Skywalker who would have been property of the Jedi Order due to him not legally being a citizen at the time along with those Togrutas and Twi'leks among your ranks? No, Jedi, you don't bring peace to the galaxy, you simply ignore the issues in the galaxy until they become too problematic for your Order's liking."
"As right as you may be in some of those conclusions of yours, I will never turn to the dark side," Windu admits, loathing how he has no proper argument to offer against Vader especially since whatever response he could possibly offer would be just hypocritical at this point.
The Jedi thrust his lightsaber towards Vader, pushing him back one step at a time. Breaking his block for a split second, he reaches out with his hand to send a wave of Force energy hurtling towards Vader, but before his arm could even move, he is blasted backward by a push of Vader's own.
Vader exerts the opportunity to widen the distance between him and Windu, standing away from each other, eyes locking with each other as if they are communicating. After a second, Vader focuses his thoughts and tightens his grip on his red lightsaber. Pure Force energy surrounds him.
Windu momentarily slows his advance, looking in confusion at what Vader is doing. It is enough of a pause to allow Vader to dash forward, closing the distance with formidable velocity. He stabs his saber forward, only being caught - predictably - at the last second by the Jedi Master, who raises a shield of some sort around himself before throwing a Force Assault at Vader.
After thirty seconds, both of the Force Users halts their attacks. It isn't long before Vader and Windu is dashing at one another, cleaving away at each other's blades with whatever trickery is up their sleeve, showing no reservation and picking up speed each strike.
Eventually it is broken by one of the attacks. None of them could be sure.
Vader chooses to attack before Windu can be able to recover. Now the Jedi Master is forced on the defensive, fighting to keep up against Vader. He has never fought someone like this before, someone who utilizes blunt attacks with such precision, speed, and animalistic force behind each blow. The Jedi Master is forced backwards, time and time again, just barely keeping Vader's swings at bay.
Standing across from his opponent, Windu blasts a sandstorm towards Vader. He raises his free hand, and with a swift gesture, blows away the sandstorm directed at him, pulling them towards the Jedi Master. He runs along, sending several swings towards Vader's direction but each of the assaults are reflected.
Vader extends his hand towards the direction of Koth who is rushing to attack from behind. Anakin grasps a hilt of the lightsaber of a fallen Jedi.
"Vader!"
Seeing the older man staring at him, Anakin throws the stolen hilt towards Vader's direction, causing him to activate a green lightsaber in his left hand.
Jedi Master Koth never stood a chance. He thrust the lightsabers downwards to the Jedi's ankles, again kicking him in the face which causes him to collapse into a paralyzing state, leaving him ineffective now and allowing two Masters of the Force to fight, undisturbed.
The Jedi Master has been through many battles like Vader, his achievements in terms of battle is something that Vader could respect but as well as admitting that this could be his downfall if he allows the dark side to guide his movements especially Windu's defeats of his opponents has come with the being either inexperienced or falling into the trap.
And indeed he is right Mace Windu will not fall to the bait, mixing in Ataru with a mixture of his specialized form, engaging into another duel lock before sending more assaults in the hope to send Vader backward. Ataru's strengths are Djem So's weaknesses; speed, agility, and swiftness.
It would have been effective on any other's lightsaber wielder, but Vader knows how to adjust to certain situations.
"You could stop here," Vader says, sounding almost solemn for reasons best left unsaid. "Legally speaking, Windu, I am only defending myself, but even with this, I don't wish to kill you."
Windu's eyes flashes darkly, swinging towards the hand wielding the lightsaber, hoping to finally destroy Vader before it is too late. Through his determination, he manages to slip through Vader's defense for a split and destroys the red lightsaber hilt, causing his opponent to stare at the pieces before up towards the Jedi Master.
And for the first time in a long time, Vader feels himself losing ground, as Master Windu stabs Vader in the arm. For a brief moment, Vader feels pain at the sudden wound and he realizes Windu is seconds away from performing a killing blow.
"Enough," Vader exclaims, storming forward and grasping the Jedi's throat, causing him to reach out desperately in an attempt to release the hand on his airway but also removing the lightsaber from his shoulder as if it is nothing before throwing it across the ground, continuing to focus on the Jedi Master. The dark side urges him to squeeze and bring an end to this Jedi, to relish in the emotions of the dragon.
Suddenly, there is another sound, a sound all too familiar to him, and Vader twirls around, blocking the blow from decapitating his head from his shoulders, emerald reflecting off both of their faces. Ironically, both Masters are quite the duo especially since they had saved each other multiple times, but even that would not be enough to fight Vader.
The Jedi Master's weapon is crackling against Vader's own, interlocking sabers briefly before the latter pulls away and again entering in another volley of attacks with the Jedi, sending Koth staggering backwards.
Once more, Koth advances towards the former Dark Lord, swinging his lightsaber while reaching deep into the Force to assure Vader doesn't have any tricks. Somewhat entertained by the Jedi's manner of ingress, Vader single-handedly parries a downward arc before stabbing forward and sending the Jedi Master dashing backwards. There is enough brute force behind the blow to turn an starfighter over on its side, but the former Sith didn't move even slightly.
Koth's face is set in a fierce sneer as his blade drives against Vader's. Yet even with his strength enhanced by the Force, the Jedi Master cannot force the former Sith to budge.
Their saber lock is splintered when another blur comes rushing at Vader, its lightsaber dignified to impale him. The former Sith is swift to deflect his attack before lashing out with his fist. The Jedi Master leaps back in a magnificent exhibit of reflexes and celerity, but he did not have time to revel in his small victory. Vader is above Windu in a second, his lightsaber forming a wall of violence. Not to be outmaneuvered, the Jedi matches Vader's convoluted attacks blow for blow, displaying the natural skill that only grows stronger with each strike.
"I was hoping that you would have learned a lesson, Windu. Very well. Let us end this."
A chop from Vader is swerved, a slash from Koth is ricocheted, their bodies weave around endeavored stabs, and punches and kicks are reciprocated when there isn't a chance of the limb being amputated by the fierce might of Vader's lightsaber. The former Sith Lord is now beaming rapaciously in spite of his impetuous reservation about this fight, not willing to allow the Jedi Master to take his loved ones from him nor place Tatooine back into that life of slavery. Still, the veteran side that is overwhelming his senses slowly couldn't help but relish in this. Finally, a confrontation where his life depends on it because they still can kill him! It had been decades since Vader encountered a worthy opponent, every Jedi that had encountered him were either highly ranked Padawans or lowly rank Knights who had little grip on battle after Order 66. It will be so refreshing to be able to fight warriors who are his equal again.
Windu throws himself towards Vader, now altering his form to Juyo and causing Vader to not block it with his weapon as expected nor use the Force, but to merely hold out his left hand, stopping the blade with a ability that the Jedi Master have never seen before. Logically speaking, Vader's hand should be nothing but a burning hole by now, but the blow doesn't seem to effect him.
Vader releases a powerful Force Assault that propels both Jedi Masters away. Windu and Koth recovers as one, send nods to one another, before dashing forward towards the armored individual, who blocks all of the blows from the two Masters, sending attacks towards the former more than the latter, knowing Windu's aggression is greater than Koth's.
"We should have sent a strike force for you years ago but now we'll fix our mistakes," Windu snarls, attempting to spite Vader but they both know that he is not so easily gullible but at this point the Korun is tiring the more this battle persists. "Kenobi would be brought to our custody. Jinn would as well. And the boy would be severed from the Force."
Now beyond angered at his family in all but blood being threatened, the Jedi's ignorance blinding them from seeing the truth, Vader's eyes flash crimson. He felt a similar rage on Mustafar where he believed Obi-Wan and Padmé were there to kill him, and now he has lost all meters of calm. He remembers the motion lava flashing around the two duelists, remembering when he attempted to chop his old Master's head off, and this battle is just as tense despite how he had reached his full potential at the time.
"Windu," Vader says, his voice ringing with steel, "you have already seen the merits. The Jedi must return to their status as warriors in order for them to be prepared for those who would threaten the Order in upcoming times. Eventually, the Jedi will betray you as they have betrayed me and eventually you will feel like a fool for not seeing the truth. That Order is driving itself to the ground. Once your galaxy is crushed around you, once your precious Order is defeated, your peers dead, Mace Windu, you would be the only one responsible for all of this."
A deterrent from the Force interrupts Vader from speaking further or continuing the battle, and he speedily vaults back from Koth, the only Jedi who have any chance of standing alongside Windu after all the other Jedi have been disarmed or unable to attack Vader due to Skywalker and Kenobi making quick work of them. It is just in time, for have he not moved he would have been lacerated in half by Koth's lightsaber. The two sides stand a few meters away from each other now. Jedi fighting who they presume is a Sith Lord. That will be a battle long remembered.
"I have been waiting for this. It is time for the Jedi to be reinstalled into their original ways of their Order. Prepare yourself, Jedi, we are making history." Vader speaks, outstretching his hands as if there is some enormous victory in this.
Windu simply glowers, while Koth resolves in bestowing the man a bitter smirk that did nothing to conceal the verity that he is primed to eviscerate Vader in under a moment's notice. "Indeed, and this is also where violence will end, Vader, and peace would return to the galaxy. Your reign of terror will die before it can even be established. You won't be able to escape justice from the Force. Lay down your weapon, Vader, so we won't have to drag your corpse back to the Republic."
Vader laughs, a full-blown laugh, in authentic entertainment at the Jedi Master's assortment behind his mask. Even before the beginning of the Clone Wars, the Jedi are just as hypocritical and full of themselves. It just grows worse in the seeds of time yet this have always been a secret of the Jedi Order which have been revealing itself as of late.
"Please end me, Jedi. So far it appears I have the advantage over the both of you." Vader ridicules, amusement evident around his aura, smirking as he aims his lightsaber down at the ground.
Vader abruptly drops all of his amusement as he discharges into the opening posture of his reorientated version of Djem So, placing the lightsaber in front of his abdomen, welcoming them for battle along with a singular motion of his hand.
"Show me you can end my rule," he continues.
The two Jedi require no more endorsement, and they lunge forward in tandem, the older Jedi aiming his lightsaber over his head while the younger Jedi is running forward in the hope to eviscerate the former Sith Lord. If one of them can stagger him...
Vader meets their lunge midway, remaining unexpressed as he allows his lightsaber to do all of the talking. He expeditiously converts to a one-handed clutch on his lightsaber as he operates intensely to rebuff and avert the Jedi's blows. His lightsaber is ceaselessly reversing hands as the two of the most powerful Jedi in the Order work around him, endeavoring to track a lack of defense in the former Sith's purportedly incomprehensible defense.
Meanwhile, Skywalker is finding it increasingly difficult not to avoid bloodshed, and he doesn't know how Kenobi is avoiding from feeling the urges to do the same. He knows that there is no possibility that this could end without blood, not with the Jedi all attacking him at once, and that means he would have to kill them unfortunately. He can see Obi-Wan is beginning to get overwhelmed.
And so he gives into the temptations...
Skywalker spins around, stabbing one in his heart, and swiping vertically and chopping the other down, moving as if he is a blur and using his agility as an advantage.
'Yes! Kill them!'
Before he can even understand why he had heard that voice, Skywalker remembers that a Jedi is swinging at his direction, and he swerves seemingly through him, chopping him in two before staring at the battle, his golden eyes surveying the Jedi attempting to kill Vader and feeling nothing but rage at them daring to harm his father figure.
Skywalker dashes forward, knowing that his help is unnecessary but not willing to allow Vader stand against those dogs alone. Koth is able to recover just in time, turning his attention from Vader to Skywalker before the boy could have chopped him down. Those hours of training with Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Vader is paying off as he fights for his life against a seasoned Jedi Master.
The Jedi Master is pushing against the young man, bearing his teeth as natural of his predatory nature and the very species who is nothing short of aggressive. The only tactical advantage that the Jedi has is height and experience, but that does not make Anakin completely useless and valuable, parrying almost all of her blows before stabbing upwards and sending him backing on his foot, nearly causing him to collapse under the mere weight of his attacks.
Anakin drives against the Jedi Master, casting a look to the duel lock of the Jedi and Vader across from him which continues on without either appearing to gain any step, before turning his attention towards where the Jedi has just been standing.
He almost loses his head the moment he sees a green blur. Anakin growls, driving his lightsaber downwards and forcing Koth to spin out of the way before shoving him across with the Force, dashing forwards and striking without any hesitation, attempting to open him enough to kill him.
"He was right about the Jedi."
"Open your eyes, boy! He is manipulating you!"
"He made me see the flaws of the Republic and you won't stop us," Skywalker spats. "You have started this war, and we shall end it."
"You are not going to ever be a Jedi, boy."
"You're right. I will not. I'll bring your arrogance crashing down upon you!"
In a flash, as Koth sends more swings now recognizing that the teenager is not just another feeble individual, Skywalker twists his body to accurately deflect all of the powerful strikes against the seasoned Jedi Master who is fighting for his life, his false belief that he wouldn't have to take him seriously now being replaced by desperation to disarm him and kill the boy.
He rolls backwards from the Jedi's movements, now raising his hand and sending a flash of lightning at Koth who barely raises his hand just in time to deflect the attack with his lightsaber, stumbling backwards at the power he has never expected to witnessed but also creating a further strain about in his grip over the lightsaber.
"You should surrender, Jedi," Anakin says tonelessly, noticing how he sounds familiar to Vader, the dark side now rubbing around him and his movements. "It would be a shame if I have to kill you."
"Never. I won't allow the likes of you to rule the galaxy."
Koth is already charging towards Skywalker, who has little time to deflect each of the strikes and returning them with thrusts of his own, before at last, he chops his hilt in half before pointing the tip up towards the Jedi's throat.
"Surrender."
"I would never allow myself to be a servant of the Sith. You would have to kill me, boy." the Jedi spats, launching towards Anakin and sending him onto the ground, beginning to attack him like a savage, blows that he can barely deflect.
Through the struggle with the Jedi, the teenager stares at Vader, seeing that he is still in conflict with Windu and gaining the upper hand slowly but surely.
A punch of the Jedi Master reminds him now is not the time to stare at the battle, causing him to stare back at the Jedi Master and seeing that there is no other choice, reaching out with the Force before he can offer another attack, a immediate gasping sound making itself know.
And he tightens his grip around the neck of the poor Jedi.
The Jedi who have been abandoned by the rest of his crew now going to suffered a torture death...
The Jedi's visage screams defiance but his eyes tell a different emotion.
Fear.
And that would be the last that he ever feels...
"You doom yourself, foolish child. The Sith only know betrayal. It's bound to happen to you."
Anakin's hand clenches up into a fist, feeling the delicious emotion of the dark side feeding against him, his eyes becoming a dark crimson as he can hear...
A scream.
And everything around him turns red.
By the time his ambition is filled, Skywalker stares down at the corpse, muttering only three words that he almost didn't even comprehend himself. "It already has."
Angered by his companion's death along with the countless others, Windu knows that now is the time to destroy these two dark menaces before it is too late.
Vader is continuing to protect himself from whatever attacks Windu is barreling at him, batting away each of his strikes with only one hand before moving in faster than Windu expecting, allowing a slight astonishment to cross the Jedi's face. It is painfully obvious that Vader is going to win through Windu's pure exhaustion.
Only Windu is able to avoid several strikes from Vader, but Vader is exploiting opens that are not as fatal as they could be but surely painful by the name of the Force. Vader would eventually disarmed him and the Jedi Order's reputation may be further damaged by what Vader is planning next.
Windu thrusts his lightsaber towards Vader's flank, but the darker individual swing his lightsaber in front of him, dragging the Korun Master along before tripping him about in his feet, swinging his lightsaber at the back of Windu which is barely deflected by a Force Assault, but even that is not enough to save him from injury fully, for there is a gash at his side and that causes him to collapse to the floor.
Vader and Windu again crosses blades, pushing against one another with so much intensity in every slash. Due to their positions of warriors that have seen these types of battles many times, this battle shall, unfortunately, lead to one of them being with severed limbs at most and the other having a few scratches at the very least.
There shall be no alternative outcome unless one or the other is feeling merciful.
There is little to no opening against Vader's form, no matter of whatever tactics and strategies the Jedi Master have up his sleeve.
Windu would have definitely defeated Vader if this was Operational Knightfall. The Jedi is attacking Vader with everything he has left, twisting Vader's grip of the lightsaber in a method to disarm him.
Such a method would have worked on a Jedi Padawan or a Sith Learner.
Vader's not a simple Padawan Learner, however, allowing him to release his grip over the lightsaber and send him onto the ground with the Jedi's lightsaber flying away. Windu reach out to the lightsaber through the Force, bringing it upwards and activating it just a split second before Vader's lightsaber would have descended downwards in an attempt to commit a wound of some sort.
Vader would have to admit that only the likes of Windu and Yoda pose a threat to killing him among the Order. That could only be due to their mastery of the lightsaber or the Force itself, but should they both die or be recruited to his side, that threat would perish just as swiftly.
Skywalker feels his hand gripping tightly around the lightsaber, running up to the confront the Jedi Master, only to be shoved by the desperate Jedi Master.
Just as Vader shoves him onto the ground, pointing his lightsaber at his throat. Kenobi and Skywalker who have finished with their respective Jedi begins speaking with Vader.
For that moment Windu didn't hear what they were saying.
While it is obvious Windu is wavering between emotions, he knows what would happen now that Vader has gained control of the planet, that he would be judged not for trying to bring a threat to the Order and the Republic to trial but for attempting for in all intents and purposes assassinating one who have saved the slaves in the outside of the Core-
No, that is something that Windu would not allow! He would have to see to it that the Jedi stand as the moral peacekeepers and cut Vader down-!
Windu spins into the air faster than ever before, becoming a purple blur rotating towards the direction of the threats. No one shall intervene with his final strike, not when this Sith Lord, an embodiment of which the Jedi Order shouldn't allow to violate the galaxy with poisonous words, would be able to live.
Painful grunts fills the air seconds later after Windu's final attempt. In a split second: two things happens; Skywalker's face is scarred as he collapses onto the ground and... Obi-Wan's arm is chopped off, his throat synched by the Jedi Master's lightsaber, and his chest is stabbed and cut through deeply, sending him onto the ground, his lightsaber now in pieces.
From the distance, Vader's ire rises; he can tell the wound with Skywalker is bad as it is but his former Jedi Master from another timeline obviously is wounded to the point where he could become one with the Force at any time. It is the Jedi who have done this...
In front of them, Windu stands, the faint outlines of not satisfaction but close to it flashed across his face, purple lightsaber ignited. Skywalker's severe injury is catching up to him as he collapses into unconsciousness while Obi-Wan croaks, hand going to his wounds and obviously attempting to move but failing to do so.
"Now you will die," Vader barks, the rage growing at the pit of his stomach, emotions that he didn't feel since Mustafar. One noticeable weakness that came with fighting Master Windu is that he can draw onto the dark side and become stronger with it, however, Vader is wise enough not to fall to such a bait.
Vader launches forward towards the exhausted Mace Windu, who barely has any time to raise his lightsaber to protect himself from the angered Master of the Force. The whole time Windu has taken notice to how Vader is skilled but calmed, however, seeing the two who he obviously cares about forces him to explode, attacking with the Force itself benefiting him.
Usually, the Jedi would have been able to counter the likes of Vader not to the point of defeating him but in a preferable manner.
Vader would relish in breaking this Jedi, crush his ambitions and allow him to watch the Order crumbled. Why didn't he join alliance with Plagueis years back and begin crushing the Jedi? Why didn't he become the ultimate power of the universe instead of attempting to cause peace?
Whenever he strives to lead to a galaxy of peace, it appears as his loved ones are hurt. Skywalker is wounded badly to the point where scars would be obvious across his face and Obi-Wan may have lost the function to speak properly.
His son figure and his brother.
Wounded if not mortally.
By the karking Jedi.
He should have left this galaxy behind, should have fought harder instead of attempting to redeem himself. Had Vader allowed Obi-Wan to be left with that pathetic Order and Skywalker to be raised on Naboo or by Qui-Gon, perhaps neither of them would have been injured.
Vader wants.. needs blood to satisfy his thirst for vengeance... and that is what he shall get.
So he releases a lit over his fury and attack as if he is a madman. His vengeance would at last be at his hand. For the first time in centuries, waterfalls crashes down around Vader, clouds crashing around him, and every single being in the galaxy feels a shiver coursing through them.
"Even if you kill me, the Jedi Order would be hounding you!" Windu shouts above their 'saber clash.
"You should have stayed away," Vader growls. "I have broken no law of your Republic and now you harmed a child and a former member of your Order as if they are not beings who have souls, you arrogant fool."
Vader is falling into the familiar movements of a bygone era. Darth Malgus himself would have not been able to stand against him for five seconds, and now Windu is barely able to evade the strikes. Vader is arching closer and closer to his throat, the crimson orbs from behind the blade startling even Windu for a brief moment. Vaapad appears to have abandoned him the more he is fighting against the man, but even should it have been here, it would have not stopped Vader.
Not even on Mustafar Skywalker was angry like this, but now that he is far from the newly drunk Sith Lord he was at the end of the Clone Wars, someone who is different from the Jedi Master.
The man is calling upon the Force itself. He would bring an end to this pathetic fool and the rest of his precious Order. Faster than the Jedi Master could even see him, Vader stabs low, which is barely dodged before cutting upwards, swerving to the right and engaging in a saber lock.
"Your teachings would be brought to an end before it begins."
"I know where my loyalties lie, and it is with my allies," Vader declares. "Do you?"
Vader's tenacity matches with Windu's experience, executing maneuvers that the Jedi has never experienced before. Windu's exhaustion combined with his brutal battle with their battle beforehand leaves him with never standing a chance now. The Force User from the side watches the battle that he never expected to be able to witness, intrigued by how this battle would end.
Vader is pressing against the Korun Master more frustratingly, and is forcing him to deflect or enter into a duel lock. Windu is staggering back the more the battle between the two grows intense and as the younger slowly gains the advantage over the dark-skinned Jedi.
Before at last one blow rips through the bastard's defenses.
Windu's lightsaber is decapitated in two pieces, the Jedi forced to the ground by the explosion that suddenly forms from the lightsaber, his back receiving a nasty wound, and his right arm chopped off. The Jedi Master collapses onto the ground, staring at his now annihilated weapon before staring up towards Vader, who is hovering above him.
Vader smirks, and the Force scream. "What shall I do with you? Force you to suffer what Obi-Wan is going to suffer? Cut off your limbs and leave you alive in a suit or..." Vader appears to be debating, a chuckle forming on his lips and those crimson orbs appearing to brighten that makes Windu feel a chill from his spine. "Should I make you beg for death? Cut you off from the Force?"
Vader wills his arm to move and grasp Windu in the air, unleashing torrents of electricity against the Jedi Master and causing him to shout. Obi-Wan would be lucky if he does not need a respirator as well as an entire suit to sustain his injuries, and Skywalker would be left with another trauma for not only believing that he failed one of his closest friend but physically as his scars would possibly never hear.
Vader brings him to him and squeezes his hand around the Jedi's throat. This worm would suffer first but Vader would break him, bring him back to life, only to make his life far more painful, before at last he would be broken. His throat begins to tighten in resistance under Vader's merciless grasp around him...
Before...
Before what? The Jedi flees? It is possible for Windu to flee from him. The old man has always been someone who is unwilling to be cut down as shown with the battle within the Chancellor's Office decades ago in a different timeline. Vader would relish in bathing in the pool of Windu's blood...
The drunken overwhelming sensation of the dark side comes to an end when Vader feels common sense returning to him. While Vader was not wrong in defending himself from the Jedi, he was slipping back into his old ways, becoming the brute that Sidious have morphed him to be, and he had allowed himself to be for decades. He could possibly become a slave again to the dark side and that means Vader would have to proceed on careful ground. Even now, the darkness is urging Vader to finish the Jedi, but he knows that doing so under hatred and fury would only morph him to become a slave to the darkness once more.
When Anakin was young and cocky, he, like many young folks, was in denial of his own mortality. That the things he wanted such as love and even power were capable of being his forever. When his mother dies in his arms, he had to face the reality that nothing is forever and it began his slow breakdown. Prophetic dreams of Padmé's death accelerate it, and being denied the power he dreamed of having by the Jedi turned him towards the Sith. And in the end, he lost everything he once thought would last forever: his love, Padmé, and his power, when he was mutilated.
But he can't die. To die with nothing, to die at all, even, would make all of his pain pointless, and even in his broken state, Vader was too proud to accept that. Moreover, as a Sith who has turned away from the spiritual nature of the Force into seeing it merely as a source of power, he could not comprehend the finality of death, that all power, no matter how great in life, evaporated with death.
Vader would not become that monster again. He cannot. That being isn't him.
"You aren't worth my time," Vader states sharply, releasing the Jedi Master and allowing him to pass out forcibly. "I will not become a monster. Remember, the dark side would tempt you but you must resist it. Show that you are the strongest among that side of the Force."
Truth be told, Vader is horrified at what he has almost become and he couldn't see himself becoming that especially since he has always managed to fight against the dark side and emerge victorious everytime, and this time is too close of a call, but Vader has pulled him out before it is too late.
He sneers down at the Jedi Master, remembering those painful shouts that came from the Jedi's lips when he chopped off his hand all those years ago and finding himself longing to torture the old fool until he at last breaks, but that isn't who he is... not any longer.
"There are other alternatives to killing, and even I should remember that in my battles against future rivals. Perhaps the time would come for me to fight and eliminate this Jedi, but I will not deceive myself in believing all of them would have to die." Vader speaks, closing his eyes and trying to calm himself.
And though it was difficult to not end the unconscious Jedi Master, Vader let go and stalks over to his younger self, touching his forehead and beginning to tend to his exhaustion, knowing that the damage the Jedi have inflicted is not a mortal wound but that doesn't mean there wouldn't be echoes of scars due to this. Hopefully, the damage would teach his younger self not to jump brashly in such a manner in the future.
Vader rests his hand against Obi-Wan's chest next, noticing a pulse at his fingertips. He loathes to admit it, but the Jedi's wounds is severely injured which means he can't speak or breathe anymore. He would need a suit similar to Vader's own, but he shall assure that Obi-Wan has a better modified suit than he had back when he was forced into such a painful.
"Allow the people of the Outer Rim to see that such practices would no longer be tolerated," Vader replies, sensing slaves walking behind him and staring in confusion. "When we establish law on this desert, we can prosecute the Jedi and show the Republic the war that they have caused. Execute him, and we would be no better than thede pathetic dogs. We are not people who would allow ourselves to be limited to as butchers and thus that means we would be so much more."
The slaves nod, moving over to Windu and taking him elsewhere.
Vader grips his younger self and his former Master from another timeline with the Force, guaranteeing they are feeling as much consolation as they conceivably can, as he plants them onto beds nearby that has been escorted by some of the former slaves.
"Take them to the medical bay," Vader demands. "And assure their injuries are healed."
Vader walks back over to where he fought the Jedi and grips his kyber crystal, sensing it is still dimming loudly, leaving the pieces behind on the ground.
The utter pieces who Darth Vader have been is left in Tatooine...