They all looked in shock at what he had just said.
"Sacrificed?!" said Ceran.
"Yes, so that you may live on," said Xerxes.
"Thanks Xerxes, but no thanks. Now let us go," said Ahsoka.
"I'm sorry, I cannot. Whether you like it or not, you will be sacrificed," said Xerxes. At that, his eyes turned red. The audience stopped applauding, standing up rigid. Their eyes were also red.
"Kill them!" yelled Xerxes. As a mass, the native species ran for them.
"Get back!" yelled Taran and Ceran. They both unleashed massive walls of fire at the natives. Many were burned while the others backed off. Taran and Ceran kept a circle of fire around the group to dissuade them from trying again. Xerxes hovered above them as if to survey the situation.
"Don't fight, you're only delaying the inevitable," said Xerxes.
"Just leave us alone!" yelled Tia. "We've done what you asked."
"And this is the last thing I ask you to do," said Xerxes as if them dying was the best thing in the world. "Because when you die, you become a part of me."
"What?" said Dooku.
"With every death from those who participate, I grow stronger. Could you imagine the power I would gain from of all of you? It would be magnificent. I could conquer the galaxy with it!" said Xerxes.
That's when everything made sense.
"What were the jewels for?" said Obi-Wan. "If you wanted our power that badly all you had to do was to kill us."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple," said Xerxes. "The jewels are tied to the magic I possess. Every now and again they must be scattered and collected by willing individuals. The jewels harness part of their energy on contact and allow me to absorb their energy upon their deaths. Your energy slips into the jewel, and I absorb it through the gem. However, if I can't absorb your energy by the given time, then my powers are lost and this world will come to an end."
"Where are Felix and Hunter?" said Anakin.
"You'll be joining them soon enough," said Xerxes.
"You bastard," said Anakin.
"Now stop avoiding your fate," said Xerxes. He waved his hands and the fire circle disappeared. Immediately the natives attacked. Everyone who was Force-sensitive used the Force to push them all back.
"Get into the jungle!" yelled Obi-Wan. They all ran there, Taran and Ceran in the rear to ward off the vicious natives. In the jungle, a native charged at Grievous. Grievous viciously punched it, making it fall dazedly down to the ground. Stepping above it, Grievous brought his foot down on its head. It gave way with a sickening CRUNCH. Grievous pulled his foot out of the corpse, its bright-yellow blood staining the metal of his feet. The others didn't have time to chastise him for his brutality before they were set upon as well.
Ahsoka fought with the martial arts skills used by all Jedi. She kicked, punched, sidestepped through the natives that tried to pin her down. Bruck kicked one away from Tia, it trying to sneak up behind her as she fought off two of them at the same time. Dooku knocked one back into a tree and used Sith lightning on it, making it cry out in immense pain before it went limp.
Taran air bent a group of five of them up into the air while Ceran used an air swipe to send six of them flying off into different directions. For the time being, it looked like they could hold them off.
Suddenly, Taran felt as if something was reaching his soul and he suddenly shot into the air as if being pulled by the Force itself.
"Taran!" yelled Obi-Wan. Xerxes was in the air, his hand covered with a black matter and extended as if summoning Taran to him. His hand made contact with Taran's chest, and before he knew it he was on the ground, clutching his gut as he literally couldn't breath while also spitting out the blood that was in the mouth.
"He could have punched through my body!" he thought as he struggled to keep his consciousness. Ceran saw what happened, and suddenly he felt the same force pulling him in as well. As he was hurdling towards Xerxes, Ceran reacted fast. Two fireballs appeared in his hands and he hurled them at Xerxes. Xerxes yelled from the pain of the flames burning his bodies and his fist came down on Ceran's neck instead. He crashed to the ground, clutching his neck.
"He nearly broke it!" he thought.
"You'll pay for your insolence!" yelled Xerxes. At once, his body started to morph. His body turned black and expanded. His eyes formed into slits. His teeth grew into large fangs. His height grew until he stood fifteen feet tall. His skin was now black hardened scales. His nails were coal-black daggers. His laugh was booming and sinister.
"Now you die!" he said. He fist smashed the ground, sending an immense shockwave that knocked everyone back twenty feet.
Bruck and Tia landed into a pile of vines, which then started to wrap around them. They struggled with them as they were slowly encased. Grievous crashed into a boulder, sliding down to the ground apparently out for the count. Ventress and Obi-Wan were sent into clearing, immediately surrounded by the natives. Ahsoka and Anakin were thrown into a pit full of quicksand. When landing in it, they struggled, trying to free themselves from their confinement. Dooku was knocked out on contact with the ground. Taran and Ceran were thrown out to the ground, where they discovered that the ground around them had morphed back into the volcanic landscape.
Immediately the land around them changed. Vines still clutched at Bruck and Tia, but they were brown and thorny. They were in a volcanic field where lava pits and rivers of lava surrounded them all.
Ceran and Taran both got up, shakily, and looked at their surroundings.
"You have no chance. Accept your fate now, and I promise your deaths will be quick," said Xerxes. Ceran spit out the blood in his mouth and got into a Bending stance. So did Taran. Suddenly, Dooku came to as well. Seeing the situation, he readied himself.
"We're not going down without a fight," said Taran. With that, the three attacked.
Ceran unleashed a boulder at Xerxes, hitting him square in the chest. Dooku leaped behind him and unleashed a full torrent of his Sith lightning. Taran launched a fireball straight to Xerxes' gut. The triple blows hit him hard, making him stumble back and yell in pain. He roared and lightning began striking the ground around them, causing them to scatter.
Ceran ran over to where Ahsoka and Anakin were fighting the quicksand. Quick as a flash, he dried the ground. Anakin and Ahsoka managed to break their way through and join the fight.
Xerxes swiped at Dooku, making the Sith Lord jump above it. Taran Force jumped to Xerxes and shot an earth disc the size of a bed into his head. Xerxes fell back, Taran landing on his feet near Bruck and Tia. He used his Firebending to burn off the vines that had nearly encased them.
Elsewhere, Ventress and Obi-wan were fighting the natives that had surrounded her, kicking and punching this way and that as the natives advanced. Two of them managed to grab her arms while one lunged and hooked around Obi-Wan's legs, bringing him down. The rest swarmed around them. Just as they were about to be overwhelmed, the natives were all thrown back violently by a combined Force push that sent some tumbling into the lava flow, others into the pits, and others just knocked out on the ground. They turned to see Anakin and Ahsoka had used the Force to send them all back.
"Thanks," said Obi-Wan.
"I'll put it down on the list," said Anakin, grinning while Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. Meanwhile, Xerxes was getting up. It was now or never for them all. Using the Force, the nine of them combined their power to make one massive Force push that sent Xerxes toppling back into the river of lava. Xerxes howled in pain as he sank into the molten rock before he submerged and disappeared beneath its depths.
Once he was out of view, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Grievous came to and looked around.
"Well, this is most unpleasant," said Grievous, standing on his bionic limbs.
"Let's get out of here," said Obi-Wan. Suddenly, the river of lava erupted and Xerxes came out, his skin now covered with molten magma. Black darts shot out from him. Everyone tried to dodge them, but they wee all hit in various places. Taran took two to his left shoulder and one to his unhurt leg. Grievous even had one dart hit his gutsack where his vital organs were kept, sending him coughing to the ground as he clutched them.
"If I can't defeat you, then I'll take you all with me!" yelled Xerxes. At that moment, the earth began to shake. Cracks and fissures formed all around them. Lava spewed out of the volcano as the top blew away into pieces from the titanic explosion that caused it to erupt even further.
Xerxes glowered at them all.
"Now you see, death is kind and sweet. You struggle in your lives as pain envelops you. By choosing death, you free yourselves from this pain. But now, your end will be much more painful than you would have wanted," said Xerxes. He raised his hand as more black darts appeared, ready to finish them off.
Suddenly, two rocket missile hit Xerxes in the back and he toppled forward. An LAAT raced towards the surface, its passenger doors opened. The LAAT landed on the slowly crumbling surface and a squad of clones came out, Rex at its head.
"Sir, hurry. Scanners show that this world is going to implode," said Rex.
"Sir, what about them?" said a clone indicating towards Dooku, Ventress, Ceran and Grievous.
"Get them too," said Anakin.
"But sir?"
"I know, just do it," said Anakin. The clones nodded and went to help the rest of them.
"I do not need your help," said Grievous, getting to his feet and skulking to the gunship. Ceran managed to get to his feet with the help of a clone. Once he was on his feet, he could walk just fine. They all loaded onto the gunship, the doors were shut and the craft hovered off the ground. As it prepared to take off, it lurched to the side. Its engines whirred as it fought to take off, but something was keeping it from moving.
"What's wrong?" said Obi-Wan.
"That creature is holding on to the wing," said the pilot. Xerxes was holding on the craft with one hand, straining to keep it from leaving.
"YOU WILL DIE HERE WITH ME!" he bellowed. As long as he held onto the craft, they could not leave. Ceran looked to Taran.
"I'll get him off," said Ceran.
"What?" said Taran.
"I'll fight him long enough for you all to get out," said Ceran.
"But..you'll..." said Taran. Ceran showed his side for them all to see. Three long darts had pierced into his ribcage and one near his heart. The blood from his lips wasn't from the injuries he had sustained from Xerxes beforehand, but from the darts.
"I'm dying anyway," said Ceran.
"We can help you," said Anakin.
"No, it's better this way, besides I won't last long enough to " said Ceran.
"We can't just abandon you like this," said Ahsoka.
"You're not, you're fulfilling my dying wish," said Ceran, fire appearing in his hands. "Open the doors." The pilot looked to Obi-Wan. Though he didn't want to do this, he nodded. The pilot opened the door enough for Ceran to get through. As he was about to step out, Taran grabbed his arm.
"I won't let you do this," said Taran.
"You have a future ahead of you. Me, I can never have that. You better survive this war Taran. By the way, take this," said Ceran, handing him a small disc off his belt.
"You'll know what to do," said Ceran. He flashed a smile at him, his eyes turning green before he dove out. His leg engulfed in flames, Ceran viciously kicked Xerxes in the face, making him let go of the gunship. The gunship dipped down to regain control before it shot towards the sky. Taran stood frozen in place as the door closed. Ahsoka held his hand as he fought to piece together what had just happened.
Ceran landed on the ground, facing Xerxes. Xerxes got to his feet.
"What do you have to gain from this?" said Xerxes, readying his hand as blue energy surrounded his fist. "What could you possibly gain from meeting your death like this?"
Ceran smiled, lifting up his hand as a ball of flame steadily grew in his palm until it was the size of his own body.
"Satisfaction," said Ceran. The volcano exploded again as molten lava was hurled into the air and the world around them was slowly engulfed. Ceran and Xerxes ran towards each other, roaring at the top of their lungs. Their attacks met with blinding force as the ground they stood on crumbled into a layer of magma.
Meanwhile the gunship broke through the atmosphere as the world beneath them turned red and yellow. The gunship raced to the Resolute, the Separatist battleships the Republic fleet was previously fighting in pieces around them. The gunship flew to the hangar doors, which opened for them before closing. The gunship landed and the doors opened. A medical team was waiting for them, along with Plo Koon. Taran pushed past them to look at the planet imploding before their eyes. Without warning, a massive explosion from the inside sent pieces of the planet streaking to all areas. The ship was far enough away for them to escape the blast. A blinding-white light lit up the hangar, followed by a red-orange haze in front of them.
Taran stared out at the pieces of the planet hovering before them.
"Taran," said Obi-Wan. His hand found his padawan's shoulder to reassure him. Taran turned to face his master. His gaze was sad, yet also uncertain.
"He didn't have to do that," said Taran.
"Even I did not know that he possessed that inside him. We won't forget him," said Obi-Wan.
"What happened while we were gone?" said Anakin to Plo Koon.
"We're not sure. It seemed like we were locked in time. We could sense everything, but we couldn't move at all or respond. Suddenly, time started flowing as if the mechanism keeping us frozen was broken. We finished off the battleships and found your life signatures on the planet. We sent the gunship down there when we discovered that the planet was about to explode," said Plo.
"Sir, what do we do with these three?" said Rex. Some of the clones had their weapons braced, pointing them at the two Separatists and ex-Dark Acolyte.
Obi-Wan and Anakin both studied them before looking at each other, an understanding passing between them.
"Release them," said Anakin.
"Sir?" said Rex, extremely confused.
"I know it sounds weird, but we owe them," said Anakin. "Give Dooku and Grievous a ship and Ventress as well. She's not our enemy anymore." The clones were dumbfounded, but slowly obeyed. Two small transport ships were being prepped for them. Obi-wan came to face Dooku and Grievous.
"This is the only time this will happen. Once you get back to your forces, it's back to normal," said Obi-Wan.
"We know," said Dooku. Dooku and Grievous went to their ship when it was declared to be ready.
"Until next time Kenobi," said Grievous as they boarded. The door closed and the ship hovered up before it took off into space, entering hyperspace one it was a safe distance away.
Ventress turned to Ahsoka.
"This doesn't change anything either," said Ventress.
"I know," said Ahsoka, the two glowering at each other for a moment before their eyes softened.
"But...thanks," said Ahsoka. Ventress did a curt nod before she too left.
"Now, tell us exactly what happened down there General," said Cody.
Taran was in his room, staring at the wall after his wounds were healed. His legs were up against his chest and his arms wrapped around them as his head rested on his knees. The shadow slowly formed in the corner of the room within his peripheral vision.
"Now that Ceran is out of the picture, you are now the sole descendent," said the shadow.
"You don't have to remind me," he said, his eyes glaring angrily at it.
"Why? Wasn't that your goal? To end him so that he may not use that power against you or the Republic?" it said.
"I wasn't going to kill him, only to get him into custody. I didn't want him dead, not like this," said Taran. His gaze saddened as he stared at the wall.
"He was a liability. The galaxy's well rid of him," it said.
"Just like how the Jedi are well rid of you," said Taran.
"Watch it, you are still part of me."
"I'm nothing like you, now leave me alone. Ceran was worth a thousand of you. He didn't deserve to die, which is more than I can say for you," said Taran. The shadow glowered at him before it disappeared. Taran sighed. He heard his door open and close and the three people who sat on this bed with him.
"You okay?" said Bruck.
"I'll be fine. I just don't know how to process this," said Taran.
"I know Ceran wasn't the best guy, but what he did for us...we can never repay that," said Tia. Ahsoka moved to sit by Taran's side.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"I don't know what to feel. Should I be happy that he's dead? Or should I be sad?" said Taran. His eyes betrayed otherwise. The three of them knew he was confused and decided to veer off of the subject, for Taran's sake.
"Are you guys alright?" said Taran.
"Yep, we're good to go," said Bruck. "Me and Tia also wanted to tell you something."
"What is it?" said Taran, turning around to face them. That's when he saw their hands were clasped together. He pieced it together in his mind.
"We decided to stop hiding our feelings and be together," said Tia. At that, Taran smiled, the first time they saw him smile all day.
"I'm happy for you," said Taran. "I'm guessing you figured out about me and Ahsoka?"
"Well Ahsoka told us in the cave when I was asking her about it," said Tia.
"I had a feeling she was," said Taran, grinning at Ahsoka.
"Anyway, we'll leave you two alone," said Bruck. "Master Plo's preparing to go. We'll see you two back at the Temple."
"We'll see you later," said Taran and Ahsoka. Bruck and Tia smiled before they left the room. Ahsoka pulled Taran closer to her, their heads resting together.
"Anything else bothering you?" said Ahsoka.
"Yes. I'm wondering what this disc is that Ceran gave me before he..," said Taran. He took the disc off his nightstand. He gazed at it, rubbing around it to see if there was anything he missed on it. As he gazed at it, he saw a small button to the side.
"How did I miss that?" he thought He pressed it without a second thought. The disc expanded until it fit his palm and a hologram of Ceran appeared. From the looks of it, it was their first night in the jungle. He must have been sleeping heavily if Ceran had done this without him waking up.
"Taran, if you're getting this, then I'm probably gone. I bet you're wondering why I did this. Well, to be frank, it was going to happen anyway. I haven't been the best person to you, actually I've never done a good thing to you until today. It..felt...right to help you. I knew Kara would have been proud of me. She helped me to see that what I was doing was wrong.
"She's a good woman. If it wasn't for her, well...I don't know what I would do. I want you to look after her. She's back on Elementia in Republic City. Make sure she's fine. Even if I could turn, I could never give her the life she deserves. You and Ahsoka can. I'm going to make sure you live through this, so that you can live your life with her, something I can't do," said Ceran, hanging his head down.
"If I die, do this one thing for me. You're probably never going to hear me say this to you in person, but I'm proud to be your brother, even if you don't see me as such. Hope we can get through this challenge together. If not, may you live your life to the fullest, but we both can't die here. Goodbye." The recording stopped. Ahsoka felt sadness in her heart. When she looked over to Taran, his face was completely blank. A tear slowly made its way down his cheek. His hand began to shake as well.
Ahsoka took the disc out of his hands and hugged him tightly. His arms wrapped around her as he began to cry into her shoulder. He fought to hold back the sobs that were bound to erupt. She felt the wetness of his tears on her, her eyes shedding her own. They stayed like this for a long time as Taran sobbed into her shoulder.
He sniffled to regain himself, shaking in her arms.
"I have to tell you," said Taran, his voice low.
"About what?" she asked. He held her by the waist as moved off her shoulder to gaze into her eyes.
"About my ancestor," said Taran. "He haunts me everyday. That's who I've been talking to."
"But, he's dead," said Ahsoka.
"Nothing truly dies," said Taran. "If I tell you, you'll see me as a monster."
"Taran, you're anything but a monster. I promise you, nothing will ever change my mind about you," said Ahsoka, pressing her forehead to his, her arms wrapping around his shoulders.
"Who is he?" she asked softly.
Taran took a deep breath, closing his eyes for the duration. Seizing his courage as his heart raced, he looked intently into Ahsoka's eyes.
"His name is..."
END
Can't believe it took me a year to write this. Now that I'm on break for the first time since March, I can finally write. I hope you enjoyed Shadow Games. Next story will be out soon. You all are a good fan base and I look forward to your reviews.