Shadow of the Jedi
Chapter 20: The Demigod that walks alone
Nico's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared at Windu, his body tense and ready for any move the six Jedi consular guards would make. "So this is how it is, is it?" He questioned as the six guards that have surrounded him moved closer. All six guards were wary of the Prince of Death.
Windu nodded his head, his face betraying nothing. "We wish that there was another way, but without the protection of the Jedi Order you are a wanted War Criminal of the Republic." He replied as he raised his lightsaber.
Nico looked at all of the Jedi holograms that he knew, that he was friends with, or at least acquaintances with. Secura. Kenobi. Fay. Luminara. Shaak Ti. They all looked somewhat saddened by what was happening as they watched the guards shuffle closer to Nico, though none of them stood up for him. He could see it in there eyes, they had no choice but to follow the rest of the Council's decision. It was put to a vote and the majority won.
Nico scowled, "Very well then," he started in a low and deadly voice as the shadows started to twitch, the Jedi consulars falter in there steps and stop moving closer, they glanced at the shadows cautiously. "If I am now a fugitive of both the Republic and the Separatists then I only have one thing left to say."
Windu's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward, not liking the way those shadows were twitching closer toward the Ghost King. "What might that be?"
Nico lost the scowl and he glared at the Jedi Master. "Be ready." The shadows suddenly shot toward him, encasing him in complete darkness, and before Windu or the consulars could do anything, he disappeared before there very eyes.
At first there was a stunned silence. The Council knew he could control shadows, but use them to teleport? Windu was the first one that snapped out of it and glanced at the confused Jedi consulars, they didn't know about the son of Hades' power over shadows. "Search the Temple. I want you to give a transmission to every Jedi on Coruscant to be on high alert for Di Angelo. He is now a wanted fugitive, tell them to use whatever force is necessary." He ordered as the consulars snapped out of their trance and immediately nodded toward the Jedi Master before leaving the room in a rush.
Windu glanced at each and every other Jedi Councillor, all of whom were staring at one another in uncertainty, wondering if they had made the right decision with the Prince of Death. "You will be informed if we manage to capture the fugitive, Council dismissed." He said as all of the holograms suddenly winked off under Windu's command, he didn't have time to answer any of there questions right now, he needed to find Di Angelo.
Windu stood from his chair and glanced at the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, who, throughout the entire ordeal, has kept his head lowered and eyes closed. "Are you coming Master?"
Yoda murmured under his breath, then spoke aloud, "Stay and meditate, I will. Try and find young Di Angelo's Force signature, I shall." He said, not raising his head.
Windu nodded as he left the Council chambers. As for Yoda, he kept his head lowered and eyes closed as he heard the Council doors slide open and closed. He kept his head down as the shadows next to his chair started taking shape. He even kept his head down when he heard the familiar hum of a lightsaber igniting.
Opening his eyes, Yoda looked up at the emotionless face of the Ghost King as he held his black as night lightsaber in hand. He was staring at the Grand Master with a cautious expression.
At first there was silence as the two powerful Force users stared at each other. Neither of them made a move to attack each other. Nico glaring at the diminutive Grand Master with hardened eyes. Yoda staring back with a curious and wise gaze.
Nico suddenly breathed in deeply and let that breath out in a long, tired sigh, deactivated his lightsaber and walked up to the chair next to Yoda's, Windu's chair, and sat in it lazily, his leg going over the armrest as he stared at the diminutive Grand Master. Yoda was watching him as he does so, not mentioning how disrespectful that is toward, not just Windu, but the Jedi as a whole.
"Why?"
"Why what, young Di Angelo?"
"Why don't you believe me?" The Ghost King asked in a bitter tone. "You said that you valued my opinion, why didn't you believe me?"
"Say, I did not, that believe you, I do not." The Grand Master replied.
The Ghost King frowned, "Then why didn't you stand up for me?"
"Neither did I say, that believe you, I do."
Nico blinked, "So you both believe and don't believe me?" Yoda nodded, making the Prince of Death roll his eyes, "Yeah. Okay. That makes sense." He grumbled.
Nico was well aware that he was being incredibly disrespectful toward the most powerful Jedi alive, but he honestly couldn't care right now. Just like everyone else, the Jedi have abandoned me. Then a thought came to Nico and his eyes widened in realisation. Oh Gods, Ahsoka! I forgot about her!
The horror and panic slowly started to dawn on the Prince of Death, I'll never be allowed to see Ahsoka again. He thought in a panic, unaware that he let his mental defences down and that Yoda could now see in particular thoughts in his head. What's she going to think once she realises that I've been kicked out of the Order because I was the one who apparently initiated the kiss? Hades, I'll never see her again.
Nico was interrupted from his sudden panic attack by Yoda, "Worry about Padawan Tano, you should not." the Grand Master said softly, "Her destiny to become a Jedi, it is."
Nico's eyes widened even more as he realised that he let his mental defences down and he turned a stony glare to the Jedi Master, who was just sitting there, staring at the Ghost King. "Stay out of my head." He snapped.
Yoda smiled slightly, "Apologize, I do." But then his expression turned solemn once again, "But listen to me, you should. Become a great Jedi Ahsoka will, but let go of you, she must."
Nico frowned, "Master, I know that you have never fallen in love, but you have to understand, this is hard for me." He said as he moved his leg from the armrest and sat back down in the chair.
"Understand love, I do not." Yoda agreed with a frown, "But led many Jedi to the dark side, it has."
Nico shook his head and stood up from Windu's Council chair, "Love doesn't lead to the dark side." He started with a sigh, "Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled...but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love...that's what you should teach the other Jedi to beware. But love itself will save you...not condemn you." The Ghost King knew this from his own experience, the only bit of light in his heart is love after all, everything else inside him is carefully balanced.
Yoda frowned thoughtfully at Nico's words, but decided to change the subject, "Go now, where will you?"
Nico sighed as the shadows started to slowly move toward him, "Someone has to do something about this immortal Emperor," he started as he turned to look at the Grand Master, who was watching Nico calmly as the shadows started to slowly crawl toward him, Yoda made no move to stop him, "And it seems that I'm the only one who understands this threat..." Nico shook his head and sighed, "Let's put our cards down on the table here Yoda, you Jedi are scared of me because you can't control me, you won't control me and you never will...but that doesn't make me your enemy." He said as he sunk into the shadows, leaving the Jedi Master alone in his thoughts, wondering what the Ghost King meant.
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The shadows in Ahsoka's quarters formed into a human figure before Nico walked out of those shadows, stumbling slightly at the amount of energy it made him use. Shadow travelling once was bad enough, but he's still got to do it two more times. He knew that Ahsoka wasn't here in the Temple, she was still on the mission at Sullust with Anakin, he didn't know how or when she'll find out but he needed to make sure that she doesn't do anything rash.
Nico sighed as he took a holoprojector out from a pouch in his robes, he had prepared it after the little conversation he had with Yoda. "When you find out I hope you don't do anything stupid Princess." He muttered as he lay the holo-device down on her cot, he then unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and stared at it silently.
He had destroyed his Sith lightsaber because he was no longer a Sith and now he was no longer a Jedi, but he wasn't going to destroy this lightsaber. Instead, he lay the lightsaber down next to the holo-device.
The Prince of Death sighed, "I am so sorry Ahsoka." He said in a soft voice, "I failed you. But I promise you, I will come back. Nothing will keep me from you. Nothing." He said with determination as he looked at the desk and saw several holo-pictures of him and Ahsoka simply fooling around. Nico walked over to the desk and picked one up, he didn't know why Ahsoka had these out in the open but he didn't question it either.
It was of him, Anakin and Ahsoka after the battle of Ryloth. Anakin was in the middle of the two and had his arms wrapped around the two teens, he had two of his fingers above Nico's head and was grinning. Ahsoka was smiling, though she wasn't looking at the holo-camera, she was trying to give Nico discreet side-glances. And as for Nico, he had his arms crossed and the picture was taken just in time to see him in the middle of an eye-roll while trying not to smile, but failing miserably. All three of them were standing in front of Anakin's fighter, and all three of them were covered in dirt and dust.
Nico smiled slightly, he remembered Anakin wanting this picture taken because it was his first mission/campaign with the Republic.
Nico raised an eyebrow as he saw three buttons on the holo-device. The one in the middle was the traditional on/off button, but next to that button, on the left and right of it, looked like a previous and next button.
Nico clicked the 'next' button and another picture came up, and Nico had to smile at this one. It was of him and Ahsoka. Nico was staring at the camera with a wide-eyed shocked expression as Ahsoka was giving him a kiss on the cheek. It was in her quarters on the Resolute.
Nico smiled a little as he turned the holo-device off and put the device in a pouch on his robes. He had no pictures of him, Ahsoka and Anakin just acting like friends and pretending there isn't a war going on and he wanted something to remember the two if he was never able to find a way to see them again.
Nico sighed, he wasn't angry with what the Jedi are doing, no, he actually understood there reasoning for disowning him from the Order. Thinking about it, it really does sound ridiculous that there is an immortal Sith out there. Instead of feeling anger, he instead felt a great sadness inside him and he felt like letting his frustrations out in some way. But he wont. It isn't the time to let his emotions take over. Right now, he had to escape the Jedi. He had to find a way out of this Temple and off of this planet. Then and only then, will he allow his emotions to take over.
Glancing around the room, Nico only had one more stop to make before he left the Temple. The Black Vault. The vault where the Jedi keep all of the Sith artefacts.
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After picking up what he needed from the Vault, Nico discreetly shadow travelled to the hanger bay. He had a thick grey briefcase in one hand and a satchel hanging from his shoulder, obviously the contents inside both held whatever he stole from the Black Vault.
Nico moved out of the shadows, his black cloak on and his hood up, and he made a beeline for the Twilight.
The hanger wasn't empty, not by a long shot, there were Clones and engineers all over the place, but Nico knew that it would take time before they were to be informed about his 'treachery'.
He focused his eyes on nothing, hoping that the constant noise would spare him any contact with any of the Clones or engineers, hoping that they wont question him or his motives.
Nico raised his wrist comm to his mouth, thinking to hail R5, apparently the Twilight was the Astromechs favourite place to hang around now for some reason. But a voice from behind called to him and shattered his calm.
"Nico? Nico Di Angelo?"
His heart lurched as he turned to see Vollen Sor, a human Jedi Knight emerging from a nearby lift and hurrying to catch up with Nico. Vollen's Padawan, a Rodian named Keevo, trailed behind him, a satellite in orbit around the planet of his Master. Both wore their traditional robes. They wore their lightsabers openly, outside their robes, as they would in a combat environment.
Nico tensed. Perhaps they got the transmission from Windu. Perhaps Windu knew of Nico's intent of trying to escape the planet and sent Vollen and Keevo to keep an eye on the hanger bay.
He tensed, his hand moving to his pocket to reach for his sword.
As Vollen and Keevo approached, Nico realised what he was doing and tried to relax. He wouldn't fight the Jedi, not while he was in there Temple, too many for him to take on. Besides, he sensed no hostility in them.
The Ghost King tried to clear any anxious emotions from his mind and face as Vollen and Keevo avoided a train of cargo droids and approached him. Nico imagined how he must look through the Force and through his physical appearance. His emotional state made it hard to maintain his mental shields. Both Vollen and his Padawan sweated apprehension. It came off them in waves.
"Hello, Vollen, Keevo."
Both of them returned his greeting.
"What are you doing here at this hour, Nico?" Vollen asked.
For a moment, he had no words. And he checked his watch only for his eyes to widen as he saw that it was two am. Nico found it strange that he had known the question would be coming, yet he had not rehearsed an answer.
"Master Yoda wants me to...reinforce Master Skywalker and Padawan Tano."
Nico put the briefcase down and put his arms behind his back and he pressed a button on his comlink several times, giving his Astromech unit instructions through a coded message.
Prepare for launch.
"Ah," Vollen said with a nod of his head, "Yes, I heard about Sullust. Well, Skywalker will be lucky to have a warrior of your calibre reinforcing his position." He said as he turned to his Padawan, "You see, Keevo. There is hope yet."
The Rodian nodded. Nicitating membranes washed his large, dark eyes. The oil moisturising his pebbly green skin glistened in the overhead lights.
"There is always hope," Nico said, and ignored how false the words sounded to him. Let them feel some relief, even if only for a time.
A pair of cargo droids wheeled past, beeping in droidspeak.
Vollen stepped closer to him and lowered his voice, as if discussing a conspiracy. "So what is happening with Sullust? We heard that the Sullustans are helping the Separatists, very irritating."
Understatement.
Keevo put his hand on the hilt of his lightsaber and mouthed something in Rodian that Nico took to be an agreement. The Rodian looked around as if concerned someone might have overheard.
Nico felt the creeping pressure of their heavily suppressed anger, their disappointment. They felt betrayed, deceived. He heard in their words the echo of his own thoughts and started to utter agreement. But before the words had cleared his lips, he saw how the words, the thoughts, if given free reign, would fragment the Jedi Order.
For the first time, the consequences of his decision of keeping all of these secrets from the Jedi Order struck him, but even as they did, he knew that there was no way he could take it all back. And so he made the sacrifice. Other Jedi, however, could not make the same choice or the Order would disintegrate.
"Trust that Master Skywalker knows what he is doing," he said.
"I hope you're right," Vollen said, sounding unconvinced. Keevo nodded in agreement.
Nico nodded, "I must leave now." He said with a small bow.
The two Jedi bowed there heads in respect as the Ghost King picked up the briefcase, turned and headed for the Twilight. As he walked, he activated his comlink and hailed his Astromech.
"R5, is the ship ready for launch?"
The droid acknowledged receipt and queried about a flight plan.
"None," Nico said, and the droid let out a long-suffering beep.
Nico saw the Twilight and saw that it had its engines primed and ready for launch. The hum of the warming engine coils made the pad vibrate under his feet.
Nico stood there for a time, staring at the ramp that led into the old-but modified-freighter, listening to the hum of the engines, thinking that if he got in and took off, he could never come back.
He thought back to when he was being introduced into the life of a Jedi. He was actually hopeful about becoming a Jedi. He was hopeful that the Jedi would understand him, but they understood him as much as Dooku did, at least Dooku put up with him for longer than six months.
As Nico strode up the ramp he closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, a new, clean breath, and shed his outer Jedi robes, the robes he'd been given by Windu before the Trial of Skill. The robes that were a sign that he was a Jedi. They fell to the ground of the Temple Hanger.
He could not defeat the Emperor as either a Sith nor a Jedi. He will defeat the Emperor as who he truly is. As a Demigod. As a son of Hades. Or, as the Father put it, as a Guardian of Balance.
"What are you doing, Nico?" Vollen called from behind him.
He turned to see that Vollen and Keevo had followed him to his ship. Vollen wore a concerned frown.
"Are you following me?" Nico asked.
"Yes."
"That's a bad idea," he warned.
"What are you doing, Nico?"
Nico pressed a button on his comlink, ordering R5 to prepare for lift off. "I already told you, Vollen. Reinforcing Skywalker's troops."
"But your robes? I don't understand."
Nico could offer no explanation that would satisfy him, the Jedi will find out about what is really happening eventually. Nico turned around and continued up the ramp.
Vollen and Keevo walked toward the ship, Nico felt Vollen's alarm, his uncertainty. He stopped when he reached Nico's black robes. He looked as if he were standing over a grave. Perhaps he knew what it meant that Nico had left them there.
Nico pressed a button and brought up the ramp on the ship and let the hum of the Twilight drown out the protests from the two Jedi. The engines grew louder and Vollen stood on the landing pad, staring up at the Twilight. Keevo stood beside him, his dark eyes on Nico's robes, eyeing them in confusion.
"Get us out of here, R5." He called to the cockpit.
The droid beeped an acknowledgement, and the Twilight's engines lifted it from the pad and they were quickly in the Coruscant sky.
If he could look down at the hanger one last time he would see Vollen gathering his robes with the same delicacy he might use to bear a fallen comrade.
"R5," Nico said as he entered the cockpit and jumped into the pilot seat, "Prepare the Twilight for hyperspace, I want off of this planet as soon as possible."
The reason why Nico chose this ship is because it belonged to Anakin, and it didn't matter if he was a pain in the ass, he was the best mechanic Nico had ever seen and this ship was probably one of the fastest on Coruscant, he'd like to see the Jedi catch him in this thing.
The astromech droid beeped something and Nico looked at the onboard translator of the Twilight and he frowned.
"What do you mean we have an extra passenger on board."
That's when he heard something enter the cockpit making him turn around on the chair, coming face to face with a very familiar assassin droid.
"Statement: Greetings psychotic meatbag."
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Still heart, still mind, these things eluded Ahsoka, floated before her like snowflakes in sun, visible for a moment, then melted and gone. She fiddled with the smooth black bead bracelet she had made, the colour picked out by Nico, much to her amusement and irritation. Silently counting the smooth, slick beads, sliding them over their chain one after another, she sought the calm of the Force.
No use.
What was wrong with her?
She was sitting on a chair in her quarters of the Resolute. Inside, she felt turmoil. Ordinarily, she was better able to shield herself from surrounding emotions...
She realised she was bouncing her leg, she stopped. She crossed and uncrossed her legs. Did it again.
Anakin sat beside her, his hands crossed over his lap, they sat there, meditating. Anakin did not look at her when he spoke.
"You are restless."
"Yes."
In truth, she felt as if she was a boiling pot, the steam of her emotional state seeking escape around the lid of her control. The air felt charged, agitated. She would have attributed the feelings to the stress of war, but it seemed to her something more. She felt a great sadness creeping up on her, a darkness. Was the Force trying to tell her something?
"Restlessness is a common thing in war," Anakin said.
"I know. I feel...odd."
His expression did not change but he would know to take her feelings seriously. "Odd? How?"
She found his voice calming, which she supposed was part of the reason why he was her master. "As if...as if something is about to happen. I can explain it no better than that."
"This originates from the Force, from your empathy?"
"I don't know. I just...feel like something is about to happen."
"Be at ease," he said. "Everything will work out."
She nodded, trying to believe it. Closing her eyes she felt the bond that she and Nico shared. And as always, the line of Nico Di Angelo glowed as brightly as a guiding star in her inner space.
She missed him, his presence is calming to her.
Though something was wrong, his bond to her was growing slightly darker, something terrible is happening. And somehow, it involves the Ghost King.
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Nico jumped up from his seat and reached for his pen/sword, he was completely shocked that he wasn't able to sense the damn assassin droid on the ship as he got aboard.
Nico sighed, "Damn it, HK," he muttered as he glanced at the viewport to see that they had already broken through Coruscant's atmosphere, "Where have you been for the past two weeks."
The assassin droids head swivelled around, "Answer: I have been upgrading my knowledge on what the galaxy is like today. Explanation: I am over four thousand years old so I did not have much knowledge on the galaxy before, but now I do. Query: Is it true that you are a child of Hades?"
Nico blinked once. Twice. Then he frowned, How in the name of my father did he find that out? He glanced at the viewport and his eyes widened as he saw that they were in space. Hades, what has Skywalker been doing to this thing? Nico thought incredulously, this ship was fast, he understood that. It usually took at least five minutes to break the atmosphere of Coruscant, but on the Twilight it took less than one.
Nico shook his head and turned to the Astromech unit that was plugged into the ship, "R5, make a jump to Tatooine." He ordered. Ten seconds later, the ship suddenly lurched and the familiar blue ring of hyperspace came into view, making Nico raise an eyebrow. This droid works fast. Nico then shook his head and turned back to glare at the assassin droid, which had just been standing calmly and waiting for Nico to answer him. "What do you know of children of Hades?"
"Smug answer: More than even you know about them. Query: Are you a child of Hades?"
Nico narrowed his eyes as he put his hand in his pocket, grabbing hold of the pen. "Yes, I am. What of it?"
The assassin droid suddenly stood straighter, Nico wasn't sure how it was even possible for a droid to stand straighter, but if anything, HK looked taller and Nico was almost intimidated by the instrument of chaos...almost. "Statement: My Creator was Lord Revan, a son of Hades. Explanation: You are the closest being that is his next of kin. Statement: It is unfortunate for me to say, but you are my new Master. Congratulations, you are the newest owner of the greatest assassin droid in this galaxy, and most likely in any other galaxy."
Nico blinked several times, Humble much. "Revan told you about him being a demigod? I'm your new Master?" Nico questioned cautiously.
The droid nodded, "Yes Psychotic Master."
Nico was pretty sure he felt his eyebrow twitch.
Nico rolled his eyes and turned to R5. "Keep us on course buddy, I'll be in my quarters if you need anything." He then turned to HK and narrowed his eyes. "Stay out of trouble."
He didn't give the droid a chance to respond as he quickly moved toward his quarters, he opened the door, entered his room, closed the door and just stood there for a second, staring at the cot in front of him. Nico breathed in deeply and let it out before he walked up to the cot, through the briefcase and the satchel in the corner, and sat down on it. He brought his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as he stared at the door of his quarters.
He suddenly blinked as he felt his vision become all blurry, he breathed in deeply, trying to control his emotions. He has held strong since the meeting with the Jedi, he could keep strong now. Looking down at his hands, something on his wrist caught his eye. A silver bracelet that had the word FRIENDS.
Tracy...Anakin...Fay...Friends...
The blurriness in his eyes got worse and he felt something going down his cheek.
Zhia...Barriss...Friends...
He closed his eyes as the emotional pain started to take over. The vice around his heart tightened.
...Ahsoka...Best friend...Love...I love you...
The tears came quickly for Nico after that. Right now, he wasn't the deadly Sith Lord Reaper. He wasn't the Jedi who has liberated planets from the evil Separatists. He wasn't the Demigod son of Hades everyone was scared of. He wasn't a Guardian of Balance, given the job to destroy the immortal Sith Emperor. Right now, he was just plain old Nico Di Angelo, a scared teenage boy who just lost everything all over again.
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Halfway through the jump of hyperspace, after he had let out a little emotional pain. Nico decided to mess with that Sith Holocron that he took from Angral, he was no longer with the Jedi or inside the Temple so they wont be able to feel him using the dark side of the Force to open the irritating little thing.
Moving carefully, he set the Holocron gently on the floor of his quarters, then sat down before it. He crossed his legs and began the deep, slow breathing of a meditative trance. Gathering and focusing his energy, Nico projected a wave of dark Force power out to engulf the small relic on the floor. The Holocron began to sparkle and shimmer in response.
He held his breath in anticipation, unsure what would come next. A small beam of light projected out from the top, the particles scattered and diffused. They began to shift and spin, coalescing into a cloaked figure, its features completely hidden by the hood of its heavy robe.
Then a voice spoke, crisp and clear. "I am Lord Vorn, a Dark Lord of the Sith, what is it that you wish to know Angral?"
Nico smiled in victory, he was thankful that this wasn't one of the ancient Sith Holocrons otherwise it would've taken a lot more energy and power to open.
So, this Holocron believes I'm Angral, huh? Nico pondered as an idea came to his head. "What am I?"
"A Sith Apprentice." The Holocron of Lord Vorn answered immediately.
Nico smirked, "What are you?"
"A Lord of the Sith and your Master and teacher." Vorn once again answered.
Nico licked his dry lips, this Holocron could hold quite a lot of information that could be helpful for Nico, he could use it to find the Sith Temples that the Father was talking about. This will be easier than he thought. Well, apart from the fact that it'll be him versus entire Temples filled with Sith.
"Where are the Sith Temples?"
Vorn frowned under the hood, "I am only permitted to tell you where one Temple is Angral, you know this."
Okay, Nico thought as a frown marred his features, Not so easy.
"Where is the Temple?" Nico questioned.
The Holocron's hologram of Vorn suddenly disappeared, only to be replaced by a large planet. Looking at it closely, it looked like a forest moon of some sort. Next to the planet a bunch of numbers came up. Hyperspace coordinates.
Riunda? (Made the planets name up) It looks like its in Wild Space. Nico thought as he crossed his arms and rubbed his chin.
"Give me the schematics of the Temple."
The planet disappeared along with the coordinates, though Nico memorized them. An exact replica of the Jedi Temple came up, making Nico raise an eyebrow. It was exactly the same as the Temple on Coruscant, with the five spires, except this Temple was black.
The Ghost King snorted in amusement, "Original," he commented as he checked the schematics of the Temple, it even had the statues at the entrance, except they weren't of Jedi, they were of Sith, "How many Sith are there in this Temple?"
The hologram turned back into Lord Vorn, "Two hundred Apprentices, twenty-five Knights and two battalions of Sith troopers."
Nico kept calm as he heard this. Alright, two hundred Apprentices and twenty-five Knights with a few soldiers and this is the first Temple that the Father warned me about. Nico blinked as he realised something. If this isn't the only Sith Temple out there then that means the Jedi are dangerously outnumbered if the Sith ever join the war.
The Prince of Death bit his lip, he wasn't cocky enough to think that he can take on the entire Sith Temple alone. He would need help.
Come to think of it, Nico remembered a small briefing that he had with the Jedi about a certain rogue Jedi, a Mandalorian to be precise, who goes by the name of Brutus Jansun. Nico heard that he became a mercenary after murdering his Master and works with a partner, a Zabrak Force-user that goes by the name of Harloth Cadav. Neither of them have a liking toward the Sith or the Jedi. And Nico also had this vague recollection that the two mercenaries attacked him once back when he was Reaper, and they had surprised him with how long they lasted in a fight with him, but Nico still won, but the two mercenaries escaped. The Jedi haven't been able to capture him mainly because they have been preoccupied with more pressing issues with the war.
Nico pursed his lips as he looked over at where he threw the thick briefcase that he stole from the Black Vault of the Jedi Temple. He got up from his crouching position and walked up to it, once he was close enough he opened the briefcase, revealing the familiar skull-shaped helmet of Lord Reaper.
Nico sighed as he reached to grab it, but he hesitated. Did he really want to wear this thing? He had hoped that he would never have to wear the helmet ever again. But it seems that a lot of his hopes are diminishing right now.
Nico sighed once again as he picked up the helmet and put it on, the familiar snap-hiss meaning that the helmet was secured. The heavy breathing didn't accompany it though, which was a relief for the Ghost King.
Nico turned his attention towards a small communicator, one specifically designed for contact with untrusted sources, another one of Skywalker's modifications. Nothing about him will be revealed in the event that this turned sour. Nico doubted that it would turn sour though.
The Ghost King activated the communicator, waiting for a response. After several seconds, the line connected and a gruff human voice yelled out, "Who are you? How did you get this number?"
"It wasn't difficult for someone of my profession," Nico said lightly, in truth, he just knows the number because he remembered it in the briefing about this guy. "Besides, that's not what's important. I called you for a very specific reason."
"Oh, and what might that be, mister..." The human voice trailed off, fishing for information. A wise move, but ineffective on Nico.
"Call me...Revan." Nico leaned in and continued, "Brutus Jansun, I find myself in need of you and your colleagues services."
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The Mandalorian mercenary and ex-Jedi raised an eyebrow at the mysterious voice coming out of his private communicator. He had just arrived at one of his major hideouts after finishing a job. When he removed his armour to get some rest-just like how his Zabrak friend is doing right now, who, when he walked into his room, immediately collapsed on his bed-his communicator had gone off with an unknown sender. Brutus had tried for several seconds to get a fix on who was contacting him, but was unable to do so. He had accepted the call and began speaking to the individual.
Revan, who Brutus was sure wasn't the person's real name, had easily deflected his questions and got down to the main purpose of his call. Brutus was slightly impressed by the man or woman's-Revan was wearing some kind of mask and distorting their voice, so it was impossible to tell-bluntness. He always hated dealing with pre-job pleasantries. Revan was a breath of fresh air to his young career.
"Oh and what might that be? I'm a very busy man after all." Brutus replied.
"Not as busy as one might think. You just finished that job with Ur'etu, so your schedule is free. Mighty fine work dealing with that Jedi imposter, I must say. You probably would like to get some sleep, wouldn't you?"
Brutus froze for a second, furiously thinking over who was on the other line. He had just finished that job! How in the name of the Force did this person know that? This individual was dangerous and needed to be handled carefully. Even though careful wasn't exactly one of Brutus's strong suits, he didn't want to piss this person off.
"I suppose..." Brutus said, seeing if the man would offer any additional information. When he did not, he gruffly continued, "You said you have a job for me?"
"I do," Revan replied, "But I will not be giving you the details on a frequency. I want to meet you on a planet of my choosing. Of course, if everything goes well, you will get five times your usual rate."
Brutus raised an eyebrow at the amount of money, impressed. Not many employers were willing to offer him that kind of money. Although he was also cautious, the client wants to meet him and Harloth on a planet of his choosing, it could be a trap. And also, the job will obviously be extremely dangerous. But the amount of money that could set him up with his own private army won out on the mental debate.
"What planet do you wish to meet me and Harloth on?" Brutus asked, calculating the specifics of the job. This might provide the boost he needed...
"Korriban."
Brutus twitched in surprise. Korriban was an old Sith world filled with so much darkness that if a Jedi were to go there and stay there for a couple of hours they would either die from the darkness or they would fall prey to the temptation of the dark side. it was a wasteland, no one would dare go there. Brutus instantly grew even more wary of Revan. Anyone who would actually want to make a meeting on Korriban of all places was someone not to be underestimated. Wait...
"Are you serious? There will be creatures of the ancient Sith crawling all over that place looking for there next meal!"
"That's why I'm hiring you and Harloth, Brutus. You and your colleague are two of the best mercenaries out there, despite your age."
It was weird that Brutus felt pride well up in his chest, he was seventeen while Harloth was eighteen and already they are two of the most feared mercenaries in the galaxy?
"Are you up to the challenge?"
Brutus then knew that he would meet this Revan guy on Korriban. His pride demanded that much.
"All right, when do you want to meet there?"
"Now."
Brutus blinked, "Now?"
"Yes, meet me at the valley of the dark lords on Korriban now. And make sure that you are prepared, because once I tell you your job, you will be doing it straight away. Make sure both of you are fully armed with everything in your arsenal, and I mean it when I say everything." He said the last part firmly. "Also, I believe you are going to need a different means of transportation for this job compared to the two star-fighters that you and Harloth use, make sure that you have a transport ship that can hold at least sixty humanoids."
Brutus nodded, "Alright, we'll be there as soon as we can."
"Good decision, Brutus. I was afraid that I was going to have to kill you," Revan said. "Good day."
Brutus lowered his communicator and gazed out the window to look at the Coruscanti skyline, trying to see any hidden shooter focused on him. Seeing none, he shouted to his Zabrak friend, "Harloth, get ready. We're going to steal a transport ship for our next job."
All he got in response was a tired groan.
Line break
Nico sighed as he turned the private comm-unit off, Brutus was easy to read, even through a communicator. The mercenary may have been one of the most dangerous mercenaries in the galaxy and he may have been an ex-Jedi, but he really needed to learn to put up mental shields, the guy was an open book. If Brutus wasn't as open as he was when Nico looked into his mind, the Ghost King wouldn't have been able to intimidate the mercenary.
Nico took the the skull-shaped helmet off and put it down on the desk in his quarters, he then reached for the communicator, "R5," He started as he activated the communicator, "I want you to change our hyperspace course to Korriban."
R5 beeped questioningly.
Nico frowned, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. You keep HK occupied and tell me when we've arrived at Korriban, I'm going to catch up on some much needed sleep." He finished with a yawn.
R5 beeped an acknowledgement.
Nico sighed as he turned the communicator off, put it down on the desk and walked over to his cot before lying down on it. He wanted to meet the two mercenaries on Korriban for a reason, and if the plan that he had in mind could possibly work, he would need plenty of rest and energy.
Line break
The main Spaceport in Coruscants Underworld was huge, it was run by the most vilest of Gangsters and criminal gangs like the Hutts and the Black Sun. The spaceport was mainly used for transporting illegal drugs like Spice or Death Sticks and there were a lot of freighters all over the place. The Spaceport had an assortment of shady characters and species on the landing pads so no one blinked an eye when a cloaked Zabrak walked onto the landing pad.
The Zabrak, Harloth Cadav, was the 'associate' of the Mandalorian mercanery Brutus. He had brown robes with a hood that covered most of his face so you wouldn't be able to see the red-and-black tattoos covering his face, he was also wearing brown gloves, knee high boots, and a black sash that went from the right shoulder to the left hip. No one would be able to see it, but hidden in his robes was a double-bladed orange lightsaber, but he didn't want to look suspicious, cause he even Senators carry weapons around, so he had a small vibroblade strapped to his waist.
Harloth sighed as he looked around for a good transport ship. He didn't like the fact that Brutus made this deal without telling him about it first. For all they knew, this guy could be even bigger trouble than he's worth, but, just like Brutus, the amount of credits that the man offered drowned out his protests.
Harloth continued looking around until his sights were set on the perfect ship at the end of the landing pad, it looked fast and it looked big enough to hold at least seventy-five, so it will be good enough for this job that 'Revan' wants them to do. He made his way down there to see the ship up close.
Unfortunately, there were two Weequay guards standing right next to the entrance of the ship, but Harloth continued on casually, as if he couldn't see them. Right when the Zabrak mercenary was about to step on the starship, both of the guards appeared in front of him, hands on blaster pistols.
"This pad is off limits to civilians." One of them sneered.
Harloth put his hood down and smiled, "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know. If I see one, I shall inform you immediately." He said as he tried to take a step around them but they were in front of him again, Harloth frowned but his charming smile came back up in an instant, "Apparently there's some sort of high-tones and fancy to-do up at the palace of the late dead Ziro the Hutt," Harloth said, shaking his head in a grave fashion, as if to say 'may he rest in peace', he then looked back at the two frowning guards, "So how could it be that two upstanding gentlemen such as yourselves did not merit an invitation?"
The one that spoke before frowned, "Someone has to make sure this dock stays off limits to people like you."
Harloth nodded, completely unperturbed by the narrowed eyed guards, "It's a fine goal, to be sure. But it seems to me that a ship like that," The Zabrak turned around and pointed at a Corellian Corvette, something that only Senators or smugglers (mainly smugglers) usually use, "Makes this one here a bit more superfluous, really."
The left guard blinked, "Oh the Saviour is the power in the Underworld, true enough," the guard smirked, "But there's no ship that can match the Shadow for speed."
Harloth thought for a moment before answering his claim, "I've heard of one. It's suppose to be very fast. Nigh uncatchable. The Millenium Falcon."
Both guards laughed, "Well, there's no 'real' ship that can match the Shadow."
The second guard stopped laughing and looked at his colleague like he was crazy, "The Millenium Falcon is a real ship."
The first guard frowned. "No. No, it's not."
"Yes, it is. I've seen it."
"You've seen it?"
"Yes."
"You haven't seen it."
"Yes I have."
Harloth rolled his eyes as the two guards continued arguing about seeing the Millenium Falcon.
The first guard sighed in exasperation, "You've seen a ship that looks like a complete wreck, that's crewed by a ten year old smuggler and has made the Kessell Run in less that twelve parsecs?"
The second guard looked down in shame, "No."
Guard one looked at Harloth with a smirk on his face. The Zabrak returned the smirk with a polite smile when the second guard spoke up again, "But I have seen a ship that was piloted by a ten year old."
Guard ones jaw clenched and whirled around to glare at his colleague, "Oh, and no starship that's not completely banged up and can make the Kessell Run in less than twelve parsecs could possibly have a ten year old for a pilot, therefore couldn't possibly be any other ship than the Millenium Falcon! Is that what you're saying?"
At this point Harloth was already entering the cockpit of the ship when their argument ended and guard two answered, "No."
Guard one smirked, "Like I said, there's no real ship that can match the Shadow..." He trailed off as he looked back to where Harloth once was and he glanced around, he then turned around to look inside the ship, only to see the Zabrak enter the cockpit, "Hey! You! Get away from there!" He shouted as the two guards raced into the ship and into the cockpit, only to see Harloth sitting on the chair and checking out the controls.
Both guards had there blaster pistols aimed at him in an instant, "You don't have permission to be there mate."
Harloth slowly got up from the controls and faced them, smiling sheepishly, "I'm sorry. Its just such a pretty ship."
Guard one narrowed his eyes, "What's your name?"
Harloth smiled, "Smith or Smithy, if you like."
"What's your purpose in the Hutt spaceport, Mr. Smith?" Guard one sneered.
"Yeah and no lies," guard two ordered as he scowled at the Zabrak.
Harloth sighed, "Well, I confess then," He said as moved forward toward them and they slowly backed away, not liking the look of the Zabraks red eyes, "It is my intention to commandeer one of these vessels, go to Korriban, get a job that is most likely incredibly dangerous, gain a lot of money from that job, and then go to a lot of whore houses to spend my hard earned credits."
Guard one blinked and then scowled, "I said no lies!"
Guard two leaned over to his friend, a look of bewilderment on his face, "I think he's telling the truth," he whispered.
Guard one rolled his eyes, "If he were telling the truth, he wouldn't have told us."
Harloth grinned at them, "Unless you wouldn't believe the truth even if I told you," The two guards just blinked, making Harloth lose the grin and he just scowled at the two, getting very fed up with this game, and he raised his hand up before there faces, "This is my ship and I can do anything I want with it." He said as he waved his hand in both there faces.
The two guards' eyes glazed over and they stared at him in a daze. "This is your ship and you can do anything you want with it." They repeated in unison in a monotone voice.
Harloth smirked, "You will give me permission to leave the Spaceport."
"We will give you permission to leave the Spaceport."
Harloth grinned in triumph, but after waiting for them to do just that and only received slightly confused looks from the two guards, Harloth internally sighed. The only negative effect of the mind trick on the weak-minded is that he has to repeat it again. Impatiently, he waved his hand in front of the two guards again and asked irritably "Well?"
The two guards nodded, and one of the guards took a small device off of his belt and gave it to Harloth, before they both left. Looking at the small pad that the guard gave him, Harloth saw a series of numbers on it, obviously the code to exit the dock.
Line break
Where he was, he did not know. It all seemed too blurry to be real; as if the world was covered in glass while he looked upon it from the other side.
Nico felt like he was floating.
He heard...voices? No, just a single voice. It was feint, like it was far away, yet he knew that voice. Somehow, he knew he did.
It started out a slight whimper. "...Nico..." The voice trailed off. It was so soft that Nico could barely hear the call, but he knew it was directed at him.
Who? Who was calling?
"Nico...where are you?...I miss you."
Who? Who missed him? The son of Hades was getting nauseous as he spun his head around, frantically trying to locate where the cry was coming from, but finding nothing but the blurry world.
Where are you?! He wanted to cry out, but in the dream world there are often things, simple things even, that you forget how to do. And so his mute self desperately tried to reach out, futiley seeking the crier.
"How could you leave me? How could you let me be...alone? It's so cold here...and I'm so sca-"
"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Finally words came to him, louder than he had meant them, like roaring in the quiet dreamland.
He cut off the pleading voice as the powerful cry tore from his throat. His own shout shattered the mirror-like world to reveal the true nature of the haunting voice that called him.
As his vision became clear, as the voice's owner appeared from the fog, how he wished he had not remembered how to see...
"No...Ahsoka..."
She was rolled up in a little ball, clutching Nico's old lightsaber to her chest as if it was a lifeline, tears going down her face.
As he stared at her, she seemed , suddenly, to see him, as if she had known all along he was there. A fierce glint rose in her eyes as she directed her weary form upon the source of her pain. "You said you loved me..."
Nico doesn't remember saying that to her, but right now, it didn't matter.
"I-I do..."
All it took was one measly word for everything to shatter.
"Liar..."
Out of the air flames began to consume Nico's form in a powerful blaze. Heat tore up his skin, fire burning into him in a way he hadn't felt since Tartarus. He opened his mouth to let his scream tear free and-
-and then he was awake.
Nico shot out of his cot. A cold sweat continued to drench his body, his breathing erratic, and his arms rattling and shaking restlessly. "Ahsoka..."
His voice rasped against his sore, sleep-coated throat as he covered his head beneath his palms-she had always been there by his side, even during the time of Lord Reaper. She was the one he owed his freedom from the Sith to. And how did he repay her?
By keeping secrets and lying to everyone that tried to care for him.
The realisation of what had happened this day finally came to be and the Prince of Death responded with the fury and anger that Ares would have been proud to have witnessed, as he banged his fist against the frame of his bed. How could he do this to her? How? She had given him a chance and he had wasted it.
By all means, when Nico had left he had stated in that holo-pad that he will find her again. That's the thing though. He had decided. He had chosen. How does he know if Ahsoka wants to see him again after this. Why would she want to see him again after this? Once word gets out on why Nico was expelled from the Jedi Order, she'll probably be taunted by the other Padawans.
'The Jedi who fell for a Sith.'
She may have had affections for him once, but will she still want to be with Nico after this? After all of this drama that he is putting her through?
Finally having enough wallowing he threw his pillow hard against the wall, and watched as it exploded feathers on impact. As the white, light pieces slowly descended onto the ground, Nico felt a strangely vindictive pleasure in their fall.
Nico scowled as he lit his hand with black fire and threw it at the feathers, he watched them slowly burn away before they disintegrated completely.
So much for the power of love. He thought, cursing Aphrodite.
His previous high had ended as quickly as it began. Nico was now back into the realm of reality, along with its problems and tribulations. He'll wallow in his own self-pity later, he had a job to do, and no pining over Ahsoka would help him finish it. It would be impossible for him ever to cut her out of his heart, and he wouldn't want to either, but he would have to accept the lonely destiny Fate had accorded him.
Suddenly, his comlink went off and he checked the frequency, and he saw that it was coming from the cockpit, he brought it to his mouth, "What?"
"Statement: We have arrived at your destination, Master." Came the voice of HK.
Nico sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Alright, tell R5 to land the ship in the valley of the dark lords."
"Yes, Master." That being said, the comm was shut off.
Nico got up from his cot and walked over to his desk and picked up the Reaper helmet and grabbed a cloak at random from the drawer. The time for brooding was over. The day was going to be a long one. And he needed to be prepared.
As the Twilight made its descent toward the planet, Nico started to feel something. The darkness on this planet was great considering the fact that it was the original Sith homeworld. And as Nico entered the cockpit to watch there descent, he couldn't help but notice the fact that he started feeling more and more powerful, more energised.
It's the planet, he realised. This planet may be the homeworld of the Sith, but that doesn't change a fact, most of my power comes from the dark side. I couldn't have chosen a better planet to find help on.
R5 beeped and whistled and Nico looked at the translator screen.
"Yes," Nico said as he put his Reaper helmet and cloak on, "Land at the North of the Valley of the Dark Lords."
Once the ship landed Nico and HK exited the modified freighter, R5 staying inside the ship, and Nico looked around at the layout of where he was.
The Valley of the Dark Lords was a massive rift in an outcropping of stone. Wider at the mouth, the valley's stone walls were sheer and steep before opening into a lower valley with course outcropping and rocky mountain ledges. Overlooking the lower valley were six towering monoliths in the shape of humanoid men bowing their heads. Lining the upper valley's walls were the tombs of ancient Sith such as Naga Sadow's tomb and the Tomb of Ludo Kressh. At the centre of the upper valley was a three story crypt containing the remains of Ajunta Pall.
"Query: Master," HK started as the two started walking towards the tombs, "if I may be so bold, but what are we doing here?"
Nico smiled underneath the Reaper helmet, he had no doubt in his mind that the assassin droid hated calling him master. "Well, HK," Nico started with the deep voiced filter on, "If you apparently know who Hades is, then you wouldn't mind telling me what sort of powers his children have."
"Hades: Power list: Hypnokinesis. Crokinesis. Umbrakinesis. Osteokinesis. Geokinesis. Necromancy. Indu-"
"Stop right there," Nico said, "That last one you said, Necromancy." They had reached the tombs now.
"Statement: Necromancy; Power over the undead."
"Exactly," Nico finished with a nod, "There are only two group of beings that can help me with what I'm about to do, the Jedi or the Sith. One of them thinks that I'm a traitor the other is the one I'm trying to destroy. So it seems like I'm going to have to create my own army of Force-users."
"Statement: Even Lord Revan, who I may remind you was the first and most powerful child of Hades, wasn't able to conjure up an army of undead Sith Lords. Query: What makes you think you can?"
Nico didn't answer. He didn't know why he felt so confident in his demigod powers all of a sudden. Its as if that trip to Mortis, meeting the Father, had brought something out of him. A power that had been dormant for many many years. He remembered the Senate hostage crisis, he shadow travelled every senator out of there, but he immediately fell to his knees and nearly passed out from the exhaustion. When he shadow travelled around the Jedi Temple, he had only stumbled a couple of times. Nico had a feeling it was because of what the Father taught him about balance. With what the Father taught him compared with the power that was coming from the planet that was connecting to him, filling him with power and energy, despite the fact that the power was completely dark, Nico was still able to keep his balance in the Force.
Nico turned his head ever so slightly just to look at the assassin droid, "There's one thing you should never do HK," he started in a dark voice, "Never underestimate my power."
HK fell silent at that and Nico was thankful, he'll need as much concentration as he can get.
Nico took a deep breath and concentrated as the air suddenly seemed to grow heavy, the shadows grew darker and an aura of intense cold generated around him, making the temperature drop to freezing, with the ground around him turning white with frost.
The ground around the two started to shake and HK grabbed a hold of a large rock to keep himself steady and the droid stared at Nico. The son of Hades was just standing there, completely calm, not even stumbling slightly, his hands were raised into the air, as if he was speaking a silent incantation.
Suddenly, every stonedoor for the tombs of Sith Lords started to shift. One by one, tomb doors started to slowly slide open, black, armoured fingers sliding the doors open. As each tomb was opened a gust of wind blew into them and the smell of decay started to permeate the air. Figures started walking out of each tomb. All of them wore the same black armour with robes wrapped around them, a red and black mask, similar to the one that Lord Revan wore, was adorned upon there faces, hiding any features, a lightsaber was strapped on each hip. Some of them had double-bladed ones, some had two lightsabers, but most of them had just the one saber. The lightsabers were very old designs, you could see the lightsaber crystal at the bottom of the hilt, and every crystal was purple. The only ones that had crystals inside were the double-bladed lightsaber.
The undead Sith Lords exited there tombs and headed toward Nico, HK had his blaster ready for anything while Nico calmly stared at his undead minions. Every single Dark Lord of the Sith of the past was now under his control. Ajunta Pall. Exar Kun. Marka Ragnos. All of them, were ready to serve there master. Nico counted at least fifty. Perfect.
The one thing that made Nico smile though, as each Sith Lord kneeled before him, was that he could sense that the undead could still use the Force.
Ajunta Pall walked up to Nico, unclipped one of his two lightsabers, got down on one knee, and offered it to the Ghost King. "What is thy bidding, my master?"
Nico smiled. He had his army, now he had to wait for his transport.
Line break
A short time later, Harloth and Brutus exited the transport ship on Korriban, in the Valley of the Dark Lords. Harloth and Brutus had landed at the upper valley.
"So Brutus," Harloth started as he looked around, getting very bad vibes from the homeworld of the Sith. "Where is this Revan you told me about?"
"He said he would meet us at the Valley of the Dark Lords." Brutus replied, he also had an uncomfortable expression on his face as he stared at some of the open tombs.
Brutus was slightly taller than Harloth, despite being younger. He wore an orange Mandalorian chest plate, brown trousers and grey robes. The rest of his Mandalorian armour was on the ship. His double-bladed lightsaber could be seen poking from his back. He had two blaster pistols strapped to his waist and a vibro-knife strapped to his boot.
Harloth blinked and slowly turned to stare at the Mandalorian, "Did he tell you exactly where he would meet us in this massive valley."
Brutus turned to Harloth and opened his mouth to reply, but stopped and slowly closed his mouth. He then grimaced and shook his head.
Harloth's hand connected with his forehead, "You have got to be kidding me." He groaned. He glared at the Mandalorian. "Next time we get a call, give me the communicator."
Brutus frowned and opened his mouth, but froze and narrowed his eyes when he saw something behind Harloth. Harloth frowned, noticing his companions narrowed eyes, he turned around and also narrowed his eyes at what he saw.
At least twenty metres away were two figures slowly walking toward the two mercenaries. The figure had a cloak wrapped around its body and it was impossible to tell whether the figure was male or female. The hood was up and the shadows of the hood seem to thicken so the two wouldn't be able to see the figures face. The second was a rusty orange droid, it held a heavy blaster rifle and its red eyes were gazing at the two mercenaries, and Harloth would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little intimidated by the giant droid.
Brutus tensed and rested his hand on one of his blaster pistols, ready for anything. Harloth kept his expression neutral, but he was ready for anything as well. The cloaked figure didn't seem to have any problem, he actually seemed relaxed, despite the dangerous vibes the planet was giving off. Though there was a power coming from him, a power that Harloth could not decipher, and he knew not to underestimate him.
The cloaked figure stopped a few feet away from them and even this close the two mercenaries couldn't make out a single facial feature. The droid was a couple of feet behind the figure by his right side.
Brutus, being the blunt Mandalorian he is, asked. "Are you Revan?"
The figure cocked his head in the direction of the larger mercenary, "Yes," The figure, Revan, said, his voice unnaturally deep, obviously he was using a device to distort his voice. "I see you found a ship to the specifications that I desired."
Before Brutus could say anything Harloth intervened, "We would very much like to know what our job is." He said.
Revan nodded his head, "Straight to the point I see, very well." he said, "Though this is going to be your only warning, if you tell anyone about what I am about to show you then I will not be responsible for what happens to you."
The two mercenaries tensed, that didn't sound promising. "What do you mean?"
Revan sighed, "The job that I have for you will be very dangerous, more dangerous then anything you have ever done, but I believe you will enjoy it no matter what."
Brutus narrowed his eyes as he gripped his blaster that was still in the holster, "What are you talking about?"
"Tell me, how much do you know about the Sith?"
Both mercenaries froze. They have had there fair share of Sith and Jedi, they don't really like either of them. Brutus especially doesn't like the Jedi for taking him away from his Mandalorian Clan. They've even had some trouble when it came to Lord Reaper once, they had only managed to escape with there lives.
"We know enough about them to know that they are a bigger problem than the Jedi." Harloth replied with one of his marked brows raised.
Revan nodded, "Good, then I won't have to explain the threat the Sith pose to this galaxy."
Brutus rolled his eyes, "This is all well and good but what does the Sith have to do with the job you want us to do?"
Revan nodded, "Very well, what I'm about to tell you cannot be repeated to anyone, the credits I'm giving you should be enough to keep your mouths shut, but if you do tell anyone about this, then I swear upon the River Styx I will hunt both of you down and kill you myself."
Neither of the mercenaries knew what Revan meant by swearing on the 'River Styx', but judging by the ominous thunder that came out of nowhere, it would be best to listen to his demands.
Harloth nodded, "Very well, what will you have us do?"
Revan pulled something out from the inside of his cloak, it was a red pyramid shaped thing that was the size of Brutus' fist.
Revan dropped it onto the ground and waved his hand over it, immediately a hologram of a cloaked figure came up.
"I am Lord Vorn, a Dark Lord of the Sith, what is it you wish to know Angral?"
Both of the mercenaries blinked, "What the hell?" Harloth said in a low voice.
"You see gentlemen," Revan began, "I need your help with this problem here."
Brutus was staring at the hologram with wide eyes, "Is that the Dark Lord the Jedi are looking for?" he asked with a little anxiety in his voice.
Revan shook his head, "No, but he is a Master. He runs a Temple of Sith Aprentices." As Revan said this the hologram of Lord Vorn disappeared only to be replaced by the Sith Temple.
Brutus cocked his head, "Why does it look like the Jedi Temple?" Revan just shrugged as if to say 'your guess is as good as mine'.
Harloth held up his hand, "Hold on a second, you still haven't told us what you want us to do. Its all very well and good that you've found out about this Sith Temple but why are you showing this to us, why not tell the Jedi about this?"
Revan growled slightly, "I tried telling the Jedi but they didn't believe me, so I'm going to be taking matters into my own hands."
Harloth stared at him incredulously, "What are you hoping to achieve? Two mercenaries against an entire Sith Temple? That's madness! We may be Force-sensitive but we're not invincible!"
Revan cocked his head as he stared at Harloth, and the mercenary shifted uncomfortably as he stared into the shadows of the hood, "Whoever said you would be doing it alone."
Brutus rolled his eyes, "What? Are you and your little droid going to help?"
Revan nodded, "Actually, yes, we will." That made Brutus blink in surprise. "Along with a few others."
Harloth frowned, "A few others?"
Suddenly, a man in black armour and robes with a red and black mask on seemed to materialize from one of the many shadows in the area. A man who walked up to Revan with his head bent. Brutus and Harloth tensed at the new arrival. Behind him came others. All, like him, appearing from the shadows as though suddenly becoming visible. Brutus gaped in surprise as he counted at least fifty of these men, wearing the same armour, robes and masks. Harloth gasped, the area around the two mercenaries was suddenly full of men in black armour. Though what caught the two mercenaries' attention were the lightsabers hanging from there belts. They looked like a very old version.
Harloth could tell that under his hood, even under what ever voice filter he had on, Revan was smirking as he nodded his head, "Yes, just a few others. Why do you think I had you get a transport ship?"
Harloth shrugged, "Point taken."
Brutus stared at one of the masked men, "Who are these guys? And why do they have lightsabers?"
Revan stared at Brutus for a moment and cocked his head, "I may not have been able to convince the Jedi Council about this, but I did recruit quite a few powerful Knights to my cause."
"So they're Jedi?" Brutus questioned doubtfully.
Revan sighed, "Listen, the less you know about there origin, the better, okay?"
Brutus frowned, "Fair enough."
"Now, considering your payment," Revan clicked his fingers and one of the masked men came out from the rest of the group carrying a satchel, the man handed the satchel to Revan. "Its right here." He said as he opened the bag and showed the two mercenaries all of the credit chips, and they practically drooled, "You get half now and half when the mission is complete. Deal?"
Harloth and Brutus turned to each other, having a silent conversation with there eyes, after a minute or so Harloth turned back to Revan and nodded, "Very well, what's the plan?"
Revan closed the bag and threw it to Brutus, who caught it easily. Revan then turned to the forgotten hologram of the Sith Temple, "If you gentlemen will move closer, I'll show you."
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As Nico told his new allies his plan, on the planet of the Sith Temple, Vorn's eyes snapped open a dark frown over came his features as he felt a disturbance in the Force.
Line break
Percy Jackson sighed as he looked up at the starship that Leo and Hephaestus had created, if there was one thing that he could say, it would be that his brain hurt a lot. Athena had been cramming information about this galaxy down his and the rest of the Sevens throats, along with Artemis and her Hunters, the only person who seemed happy about this was Percy's wife, Annabeth and the daughters of Athena's that were in the Hunters.
They were also told about the history of the only other two demigods that were exiled to that galaxy, Bastila Shan and Revan Bloodraven. The son of Hades and the daughter of Athena. Ironically, even though they both never met each other on Earth and were enemies once, they still got married. It seems that you can never keep two demigods away from each other.
That's not the only thing though. The Iris messages that allowed them to watch Nico and what he was doing have stopped working, as if something was blocking them. The last thing that they saw on the Iris messages were a bright flash coming from some kind of giant crystal like structure and then nothing. Something was stopping them from using the Iris messages to keep an eye on Nico. Much to his alarm. Though they were still able to look at anything else in the galaxy through Iris message.
"Well, this ought to be interesting." A voice said behind him, causing him to turn around and raise an eyebrow at the second in command of the Hunters of Artemis, Thalia Grace.
Percy grinned, "You can say that again, I wonder what Nico's reaction to seeing us will be."
Thalia smirked, "Now that is something I desperately want to see. I also can't wait to see what he's like now. Unlike you, I wasn't allowed to see any videos of him kicking ass." She said as she scowled at Percy, but the son of Poseidon merely grinned.
Before he could open his mouth someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around again, only to see his wife standing there with an eyebrow raised, Percy grinned, "Hey Wisegirl." He said as he gave her a peck on the lips.
Annabeth, despite herself, smiled slightly, "Leo says we're ready to leave now, Artemis and her Hunters are on the ship along with the rest of the Seven. We're waiting on you two now, so hurry up."
Percy smirked and turned his head to Thalia and nodded his head, she returned the smirk and nodded back, Percy turned to Annabeth and grinned, "Well then, lets go find my cousin."
*Pokes head from around the corner*
Hi?
*Immediately a tomato is thrown at my face*
Okay, I guess I deserve that.
It's been a while hasn't it? I guess I should apologize for the excruciatingly long wait. Sorry about that. The thing is, I had run out of inspiration for this story and I had hit a massive writers block. I just didn't know what to write. I'm sure some of you have had the same problem in the past. There's also the fact that now I have to go to college and the apprenticeship as a painter and decorator, I'm just really tired at the end of each day.
Also, I been getting PMs asking me why I didn't use Percy as the main character instead of Nico. I was discussing it with my girlfriend last night, and she pointed out the problem is that, in this story at least, Percy is Superman, while Nico is Batman, and let's face it, who wants to write Superman when they can write Batman? Percy always does the right thing, or at least tries to. How's that interesting?
*Spoilers for Blood of Olympus*
I was honestly kind of disappointed with this book. Mainly with the death of Leo, it wasn't Leo's death exactly that made me disappointed, it was the part where he came back to fucking life. I know people are really happy that Leo is still alive, but I can't really describe how much I hate the ending. Its the cliché riding off into the sunset on your trusty steed with the girl. And that's another thing, how in hell did Leo find Calypso's island again? Did the Gods know that Leo had been resurrected and gave him the reward of being with Calypso? If so then Hades and Thanatos should have immediately popped up and said 'Get your scrawny ass back in the underworld.'
And then there's the fact that Percy immediately forgives Calypso for basically torturing Annabeth in Tartarus with her curse, that is bull. If I was Percy I would have told Leo to keep that bitch away from me otherwise I would throw her into Tartarus and see how she likes it.
Now, lets move onto the part with Nico. Moving further into the story where he arrives at Camp Half-Blood and runs into Will, Lou Ellen and some random son of Hermes called Cecil. We are lead to believe that Will, who is just another demigod to Nico at this time, was able to convince Nico to stay at Camp, because its not the camp that has misunderstood him, its Nico that's misunderstood the camp...bullshit! Jason, who has apparently known Nico longer than Will (something tells me Will doesn't know much about Nico because he doesn't stay in Camp a lot), wasn't able to convince Nico, what hope did this random character have.
Also, I have this weird feeling that Lou Ellen has a crush on Nico. Evidence: She gets all flustered and nervously messes with her fingers as she greets Nico, saying that she had heard a lot about him and she also giggle nervously when he speaks to her directly and also, she blushes when Nico compliments her. *Raises eyebrow* You tell me, does she have a crush or not?
Also, I think I can say this for certain now, Nico is most definitely more powerful than Percy and Jason. He turned some sadistic asshole into a damn ghost, if he gets angry enough or if he trains enough he could do the same to Percy or Jason, and those two wouldn't have a single defence against it. I don't care what anyone says, I say it official, Nico is by far the second most powerful demigod.
The most powerful demigod by far however is Piper, she was able to charmspeak gods and giants with ease by the time of BOO, and I did not like that, period, she was far too powerful for Zeus to even think of keeping alive, it doesn't matter if she was his sons girlfriend, she was incredibly dangerous.
My final disappointment was the fight with Gaia, it wasn't really exciting, I thought that the fight with Gaia would be longer than like six pages but there you go.
*End of spoilers for Blood of Olympus*
(Forgive me for this but I have a lot that I want to get out so this may be long)
I have recently gotten into the 'Avatar: Legend of Aang' series, and I absolutely love it. Though I have to say, I do not like the pairing of Katara and Aang. First off Aang is, what, eleven or twelve in the series? That would make him a pretty perverted pre-pubescent kid with the way he acts around Katara. Another reason is because I don't really see any passion in there relationship, I know they're just teenagers but even then, I still don't see them as a passionate couple.
Zuko/Katara though, now that's a pairing that I like. That was meant to be the original pairing and it would've been great, a firebender and a waterbender, now that's a pairing that I'll support. (Be prepared for all of the hate from the Kataang shippers)
Also, I would like to apologize but I'm not answering reviews today, I'll answer them on the next chapter.
I feel like crap so I'm just going to stop writing now and let you get on with your lives while I try and get out of this weird depression that had suddenly hit me.
Till next time.