Chapter 30:

Vader's blade was inches away from the Emperor when he was knocked out of the air by a brutal side-kick. Mara Jade stood over him, lightsaber ignited, a dangerous glint in her eye. "You will not touch him, Lord Vader," she hissed, and whipped her blade down towards him. They met in midair, with a rush of crackling electricity.

"Fool girl." Vader said as he used his free hand to shoot a large amount of Force Lightning into her.

Mara broke the saber lock in an attempt to shield herself from the lightning, and found her lightsaber ripped from her hands. Vader crushed the hilt, effortlessly, and turned to stare down at her, icily.

"I will be sure to punish you for this… fool, and I will enjoy it."

Atrox spun his blade down towards Palpatine's feet, reaching upwards with the other tip as his enemy leapt back. The Emperor parried, ending with a stab towards Atrox's leg. Atrox stepped quickly out of reach, only to catch the Emperor's blade on his own once more.

Atrox could feel Palpatine becoming weaker, and used it to his advantage. "You're becoming weaker, old man, for one as powerful as you claim to be."

The Emperor's eyes glittered. "I can feel your hunger for power, Lord Atrox. You—"

Atrox fairly blazed with dark energy, and quickly drew the Force into himself, too quickly….

The Emperor let out a snarl of rage and agony as the Force began to be drained from his body, from his very being. "Lo- Lord A- Atrox... s-stop what y-you are do-doing! I- I will not g-give up com- command o- of MY E-Empire to you o-or V-Vader!"The Emperor screamed out through the agony he was in. "I- I can s-show y-you more p- power th-than you co-could ev-ever bel-believe!"

Mara and Vader both snapped around to stare at the Emperor….. and at Atrox. "M- my lord," Mara whispered, turning pale.

Vader instantly reached out to the Force to see what was happening between the Emperor and his son. He chuckled, "Impressive… most impressive. Lord Atrox is feeding off of his Force energy, completely draining him of any Force potential." He could feel his son's Force-signature growing with each passing moment, while the Emperor's diminished equally.

Mara glared at Atrox, and furiously tried to push past Vader to get at him. Vader shoved her to the ground, roughly, and pinned her there as Atrox stripped the last of the Force from Palpatine. Once Atrox finished, he got up and used the Force to pin Mara where she was as he walked over to the Emperor and loomed over him, mocking him. "Excellent work, Lord Atrox. Your attempts to turn my own son against me have failed. Now look at what you are, master, some pathetic old man with no Force abilities whatsoever. Your Hand, as well as your Empire, is mine now."

The Emperor didn't reply. His eyes, formerly yellow with hate, were mere hollow pits, despite the intensity with which he glared at his former apprentice.

A ghostly shadow flickered into being at Vader's side. Both looked at each other, recognizing each for who he was, then the ghost of Darth Maul stared down at Palpatine, and said in a hoarse voice, "You are no longer Dark Lord of the Sith, Sidious."

Mara's eyes burned with barely contained rage as she struggled to free herself, but Vader was too powerful in the Force for her to break his hold on her. "You traitor!" she hissed, longing to lash out at Vader in any way she could, wanting him to suffer for his betrayal.

"I am no traitor, Jade. It is the way of the Sith. If the apprentice cannot beat their master, they are killed and a new apprentice is found. In this case, the apprentice has won. I do recall you swearing loyalty to me, Jade, you are the traitor here, not me. For your… punishment, you will be forced to kill your former master." He dragged her to her feet, mercilessly.

Mara's eyes hardened. "I swore loyalty to you, but my first, and foremost loyalty is to my master. As yours should be," she spat, furiously. "I would die before I raised a hand against him."

Vader's fist slammed into her stomach, and she doubled up, grimacing in pain. "You will do what I choose you will do," Vader informed her, his voice like ice. He then forced her to straighten up and pushed her towards Palpatine, shoving his lightsaber into her hands, sensing her moves carefully.

Palpatine met her eyes, and she shivered. It was like looking into the shell of a man. "I- I- I can't," she whispered, and winced as the shock of Vader's wrath washed over her.

"You will!" he snapped, and forced the saber to ignite.

Mara's hands trembled, and she closed her eyes and tried not to think about her master at all as she slowly lowered the tip of the blade to rest at his throat.

Tried….

….and failed. "No! I—"

DO IT! The voice thundered in her head. The blade shot forward, and for a moment, just a moment, she thought she could hear the Emperor's voice in her head, in that connection they'd always had. Then it was gone, silenced forever, and Mara collapsed.