Alright, we're finally to this chapter. This one, well, this one took a little bit of time to develop properly over the months that I've been working on this story. In this chapter, you'll find that there's a speech in it not originally written by me; trust me, I'm not a genius like the one who wrote it. Spoiler Alert incase you want to be surprised, it's the Greatest Dictator speech preformed by Charlie Chaplin. If you want to listen to it on YouTube, I suggest looking it up with the Inception music as the background, if you look it up you'll find it at the top.
Before you get to reading, just to let you know, there will be another A.N. at the end; it's kinda important if you want a detailed explanation about what happens but you don't necessarily need to read it.
Anyway, Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, anything Disney, Marvel or Lucasfilms or the speech included. All I own are my own characters and locations. Enjoy!
Three months had passed since Ahsoka's departure, the war seemed to be headed nowhere fast. Nothing seemed to have changed on either side. The Republic would lose Clones and systems to the Separatists and then months later, the Jedi would regain them. The whole thing began to seem completely pointless to Nairbix.
But he was a man of his word and he gave his word along with Natasha to the Jedi that they would help fight the war until it ended; or at least until they were no longer needed. At often times he wondered how Ahsoka was doing as a new wielder of the Keyblade. Given the master he sent her to, he had a feeling that even though she would probably curse his name during her training, she would gain tremendous results.
For some reason however, Nairbix refused to tell Obi-Wan, Anakin, or even Natasha the master he sent Ahsoka to. Every time they asked he would always say, "Ignorance is bliss," or "Curiosity killed the cat," and even sometimes, "Lose lips sink ships."
The actual reason why Nairbix refused to tell them was that the master he sent Ahsoka to was-
"Hey!" Nairbix shouted to the narrator, "No spoilers, damn it! We need to keep that a secret until after the fourth story, remember?"
…Moving on, Natasha had requested to be taken from the outer rim for a while; with what happened to Ahsoka, she felt the need to keep a closer eye on the council. They didn't seem as trust worthy as before; not that she trusted them all that much in the first place. While she stayed at the temple, she took to teaching the younglings their lightsaber forms. All in all, she enjoyed working with the children and taking a breather from all the fighting for a change while Anakin and Obi-Wan remained in the outer rim.
As for Nairbix, he took a different approach with the help of Noise Maker squad; their objective, look deeper with in the Republic's/Senate's secrets. You may be wondering why that is, yes? Well, Nairbix didn't take what happened to Ahsoka lightly, he found it extremely suspicious that Tarkin's so called 'facts and evidence' were so believable to everyone in the Senate even though it was all a poorly planned ruse.
At first he considered going to Padme, but then he remembered that if he got her involved in any sort of espionage, she would get in trouble too. Thankfully, his men were loyal enough to him to where they were more than glad to assist him; no one was going to threaten the Republic and get away with it on their watch.
Their first stop, infiltrating Chancellor Palpatine's office. It was surprisingly very easy to get in, especially since the chancellor was attending a session of Congress at the time. "Uh, General," Dars asked as they entered Palpatine's office, "Are you sure that we should be doing this?"
"Dars, let me ask you this," Nairbix began flatly, "After everything fishy that's been going on lately, what with Ahsoka, the Zilo Beast, and Fives, rest his soul, do you honestly think that there isn't something odd going on?"
"Well, uh-of course not, sir." Dars defended, "I was just asking in concern for the squad."
"Hmm, can't say that I blame you, all of you technically are committing treason right now." Nairbix bluntly shrugged as he walked past the bewildered clone, "Wool, you got that computer up and running yet?"
Wool nodded and gave a series of his odd hand gestures as Tear brought up the chancellor's files. "Alrighty then, boys, let's have a look-see at what the chancellor is hiding."
"Um, sir?" Keres alerted, "The chancellor is on his way here."
"What?!" he exclaimed, "I thought the session just started! Why is he coming back so bloody soon?!"
"I don't know, but he's even closer than he was before." Keres replied.
"Make yourselves scarce!" Jackal cried as most of the younger clones began to panic.
"Shut up! All of you, shut up!" Nairbix shouted. He then waved his hands and in an instant, they all turned invisible. "Alright, now all of you sneak out as quietly as possible while I take care of this. Understood?" he asked only to hear silence. "Um, guys, if you're nodding yes I-I can't see you; you're all invisible, remember?"
Silence.
"…I guess they already snuck out." Nairbix assumed before huffing in annoyance, "Glad to know they were so quick to leave…bastards." he spat as he made himself invisible. A moment later, Palpatine walked in with Padme, several other Senators, and a few reporter droids for the news.
"Chancellor," one of the droids asked, "Is it true you ended the session of Congress early due to the threat on your life?"
"Someone threatened the chancellor?" Nairbix asked himself.
"I ended the session ought of concern that if I were to remain then whoever among the Separatists who has threatened me would not bring the Senators to harm." Palpatine replied, "As it happens, I have asked the Jedi Council to task two of their Jedi to look into the matter and discover this identity of this terrorist."
"Would these two Jedi happen to be Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi?"
"No, they are currently fighting in the outer rim. Instead, I have requested that Master Plo Koon and Master Romanoff take on the responsibility."
"Natasha and Plo Koon? That's a first." Nairbix thought bluntly. He then slowly made his way towards the door but unfortunately tripped on one of the smallest reporter droids and fell flat on his face, ending the spell.
As he became visible, the room filled with silence as everyone stared at him. "It's like that time on Geonosis all over again." he grumbled in his mind. He then picked himself up and dusted off his coat and nodded to everyone in the room.
"Chancellor," he nodded as he tried to exit, "Senators…good day." As he tried to leave, two of Palpatine's personal guards blocked his path and seized him. Now as you can imagine, Nairbix could've easily fended them off, but he felt that would be a terrible idea that would only get him into more trouble.
Sometime later, Nairbix found himself looking curiously around in the interrogation room he was in; the whole time he could only think how weird it felt to be on the other side of the glass for a change. A moment later, Padme walked in in order to question her old friend.
"Nairbix," she addressed as she sat in front of him, "Would you mind telling me why you were eavesdropping on the chancellor today?"
"Well, to be honest, I wasn't eavesdropping. I was actually snooping around through his office to gain some answers."
"Questions about what?" Padme asked.
"The chancellor." he replied without hesitation. Padme's mouth slightly slacked once she heard this but continued with her questioning.
"Um, wha-what questions do you have about him?"
"Hmm," Nairbix hummed with sarcasm, "Let me think, how about, why did he bring the Zilo Beast here only to torture it and eventually kill it? Or, why did Fives go from cooperative to ballistic only after Palpatine had that one-on-one conversation with him? Or better yet, why is it that even though Barriss' frame-job on Ahsoka was so sloppy, she was still convicted and found guilty even when there was no actual evidence and the chancellor was the one who appointed the investigators?
"I haven't really seen anything that would allow for me to see the man to be all that trustworthy. Not to mention that he's remained in office far after his term ended and all the emergency powers he keeps on receiving without any conflict." Nairbix pointed out as the doors opened for more guards to come in, "Do you honestly not find any of that at least somewhat suspicious?" he asked as the guards escorted Padme out.
In his palace on Serenno, Count Dooku received a message from his master; he quickly turned on his holo-panel and kneeled as the image of Sidious appeared before him. "Master." he humbly addressed.
"Lord Tyranus, there is an issue that needs to be dealt with before it interferes with our plans." Sidious informed.
"What do you speak of, my lord?" Dooku asked.
"I speak of that insufferable ally of the Jedi, Nairbix VanSull." Sidious spat, "He is becoming an even greater nuisance by the minute. He must be eliminated."
"I understand, my lord. I shall have General Grievous dispatch his best droids to take VanSull out." Dooku replied only for his master to wave off his plan.
"No." Sidious said flatly.
"Master?" Dooku asked.
"Mere droids will not be enough to deal with VanSull. Not even an army of droids would be enough, only delay him."
"What do suggest then, my lord?"
"…Contact General Grievous and tell him to procced with the kidnapping of the Supreme Chancellor. He is to bring him to Cadonia with an army of droids and a fleet of Starships, and you are to arrive there as well. I shall join you shortly after the general arrives; we shall lure VanSull to the world and use it as his burial site."
"You shall be there as well, Master?" Dooku asked in shock.
"VanSull, as insufferable as he is, is a formidable opponent capable of feats even beyond my own comprehension. If we are to be rid of him, it will take you, General Grievous, your predecessor, and myself to defeat him."
"It will be done, my lord." Dooku bowed, "Nairbix VanSull will die at our hands."
On Coruscant, the Jedi Council was currently discussing the matter over Nairbix a well. "It is rather odd that Nairbix would go as far snooping through the chancellor's office out of mere suspicion." Obi-Wan mused through his hologram.
"His actions are unexpected," Plo Koon added, "And it is also strange how the chancellor is taking the matter in such a way. If anything, he seems to be in a panic and a rush to keep young VanSull quiet."
"Secrets kept hidden, the chancellor may want." Yoda contemplated.
"If that is the case, Palpatine may be willing to do whatever it takes to keep Nairbix from blurting out anything he learned." Natasha added, "And to make matters worse, seeing as Nairbix is neither a member of the order or a citizen of the Republic, his rights are limited giving Palpatine more leeway to get away with his intentions towards him."
"While that may be true, we all know that Nairbix won't allow himself to be taken prisoner; even if it means going against the entire Republic army and risk being branded a criminal." Obi-Wan reminded.
"Hmm, VanSull's actions, his own they were. For him little there is we can do." Yoda said to them all.
As the day carried on, Palpatine proved that he was indeed desperate to keep Nairbix quiet; instead of giving him a trial, the chancellor moved that his sentence was to be given before the entire Senate by his decree. Nairbix was brought before them all in the Senate building's Congress room in one of the hovercrafts with two guards at his sides and his hands cuffed together.
"Well, this certainly is not how I planned things out for today." Nairbix mumbled bluntly.
"You can say that again, General VanSull." one of the guards replied causing Nairbix's eyes to widen in surprise.
"…Um, no offense but who exactly am I talking too?" he asked.
"It's Spades and Jackal, sir." Spades replied as they slowly floated before the Senate, "We intercepted the actual guards and switched places with them in order to help you escape, sir."
"Well, thanks for the concern and help, boys, but I already had an escape plan that would've gone well even without you." Nairbix replied in honesty, "By the way, do either of you have the others on your comlinks' other ends?"
"Yes, sir." Jackal replied, "We have them waiting at several of the entrances as we speak."
"Good. Contact Dars, Keres, Lou and Wool and have them transmit a live feed of what goes on from the moment this starts, understood? I have a few things I want people to hear." Nairbix informed.
"Understood, sir. Where do you want them to send the feed?" Jackal asked as Spades relayed the orders through the comlink in his helmet.
"Everywhere in this galaxy, Commander. Everywhere in this galaxy." Nairbix replied as they reached their position.
"We're all set, sir." Spades whispered just before Palpatine's chairman began to speak.
"Keyblade Master Nairbix VanSull," he addressed.
"True." Nairbix muttered, "True Keyblade Master."
"You have been brought before the Galactic Senate to bear witness to your sentencing for your crimes against the Republic."
"Funny, I don't remember looking through someone's drawers to be considered a capital offense." Nairbix retorted with a smirk causing several Senators and on looking Jedi to laugh.
"Your offense is far more severe than that," the chairman corrected, "You willingly and knowingly trespassed into the chancellor's office so that you may search through his personal documents in hopes to gain information you might use against him."
"…Well, you got everything right except for the part about using the information against him. Then again, that all depended on what I would find."
"With these charges against you, you are hereby relieved of your position in the Republic army, all rights, authorities, and privileges are hereby revoked, and you will be sentenced to life in prison forthwith." the chairman declared causing the room to fill with gasps. Natasha, who was standing next to Windu and Yoda just shook her head in annoyance over how much trouble Nairbix got himself in.
"(Whistle), wow, all that for little 'ol me just because I did a little snooping. Out of curiosity, just what do you think I planned for the information I was trying to find?" Nairbix asked. It was at this point that Palpatine spoke.
"Master VanSull, it is plainly obvious as to what you intended." informed the chancellor, "Like all traitors we have dealt in the recent past, you planned to use whatever valuable information you could find and use it against the Republic to aid and support the Separatist cause and ultimately bring about an end to not only the Republic but its people as well."
Once he finished his accusation, Nairbix noticed a slight smirk on Palpatine's face; he then countered with one of his before he gave a speech of his own. The very one he wanted the entire galaxy to hear.
"Is that what you think?" he asked in amusement, "Well, I'm sorry but I don't want to be a conqueror, that's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Republican, Separatist, neutralists, those in the outer rim. We all want to help one another, living creatures are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another.
"In this galaxy there is room for everyone and the good worlds are rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful. But you have lost the way. Greed has poisoned your souls, has barricaded the worlds with hate; has goose-stepped everyone into misery and bloodshed. You have developed speed but you have shut yourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left you in want. Your knowledge has made you cynical, your cleverness hard and unkind. You think too much and feel too little: more than machinery you need morality; more than cleverness you need kindness and gentleness.
"Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. Your transports and holograms have brought you closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in people, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the worlds, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say 'Do not despair'. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die liberty will never perish." he said as everyone looked and listened to him in awe.
Everyone across the galaxy not fighting heard these words and felt completely and utterly speechless, enemies and allies of the Republic alike. His troopers lowered their heads out of sadness over the possibly final words they would hear from their General; the Jedi, emotionally unmoved as always, except for Natasha who smirked in agreement with the words spoken by her oldest friend.
"Soldiers: don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think or what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of life in your hearts. You don't hate, only the unloved hate. The unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers: don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty. The right of freedom belongs to everyone from the moment of birth to the end with death. Freedom lies within all. Not one man, nor a group of men, but in all men; in you! You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness! You the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure!
"Then in the name of democracy let us use that power. Let us all unite! Let us fight for a new universe, a decent universe that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie! They do not fulfill that promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfill that promise. Let us fight to free the worlds, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for worlds of reason, worlds where unity and progress will lead to everyone's happiness. Everyone! In the name of freedom: let us all unite!"
Truth be told, when Palpatine anticipated applause at the end of the sentencing, he expected it to be for him not Nairbix. And yet before him, the entire Senate building and possibly the entire galaxy were cheering louder than he had ever heard as they gave Nairbix a standing ovation. In his moment of certain triumph, Nairbix bested him in just a few short minutes with a speech filled with unrealistic ideals, ideals that sounded like the hopes usually found in ignorant little children. Yet here stands one man who appears to believe in the words he had just said and knew fully well the difficulty and uncertainty of the chances of those ideals coming to fruition.
"Take him away!" the chairman shouted over the applause, "Guards, take him away!"
"Ah, you still seem to be under the impression that I'm going to come along quietly to some prison cell." Nairbix shouted back as the noise died down. "Now then," he said turning to the crowd of politicians around him, "Most of you have undoubtedly heard of my magical abilities and from what I hear, many of you don't believe that I have magic. So allow me to demonstrate a little bit for all of you."
Nairbix then opened a corridor in midair in front of the chancellor's throne and jumped off his hovercraft and dived into the portal taking him to a location no one knew. Where was this location? To be honest, Nairbix didn't really plan on just running and hiding. So instead, he just hung out out of sight in the temple. But given how long and well Natasha knew Nairbix, she anticipated this and met up with him.
"So," he trailed playfully as he propped himself on the rim of a windowsill, "What did you think of my little speech?"
"You mean the one you had your squad broadcast to the entire galaxy from here past the outer rim?" Natasha asked as she folded her arms, "To be frank, I found some parts of it a little too idealistic and naïve."
"So did I," Nairbix admitted, "But I was speaking before an entire room filled with naïve idealists as well as an entire galaxy of people on both sides lacking hope and reassurance. Hearing words from someone like me was just the kick start to their sense of hope."
"Well, aren't you a Narnian of the people." she joked, "Seriously though, what were you looking for in the chancellor's office, Nairbix?"
"Anything, really." he shrugged, "I don't trust Palpatine, Natasha. Not in the slightest. Never have. But with what's happened recently concerning things with him involved, things seem…suspicious."
"I agree, but you should've told me what you were planning."
"Eh, it was more of a last minute, spur of the moment kind of plan. And things would've gone better if that damn invisibility spell wasn't so damn sensitive. Bloody hell, I hate that spell!"
"Then why the hell do you keep using it?" Natasha asked.
"Because it's the only invisibility spell I have that doesn't just wear off after a few moments." he replied.
"So what your next move?"
"That depends, what exactly was the threat made on Palpatine?"
"One of the Separatists sent a threat that the chancellor would be kidnapped and held hostage thinking that the Republic would surrender. So far no of them have made a move yet."
"I heard that you and Plo Koon are going to be the ones looking into this."
"What?" Natasha asked, "I have heard anything about that, the council never said anything about that either. Hell, we just had a meeting earlier today and nobody said anything about a Jedi leading an investigation."
"Sounds to me like the chancellor is making the council's decision for them." Nairbix mussed, "Makes the bastard even more suspicious, don't you think?" he asked. Just then, a loud explosion could be heard from outside.
From the window using his magic, Nairbix could see from the smoking Senate building General Grievous carrying the unconscious chancellor over his shoulder as he made his way to his ship while his droids held off the guards. As soon as a group of Jedi arrived, Grievous had already taken off in his ship.
"Well, whoever wanted the chancellor kidnapped got what they wanted." Nairbix bluntly said. Not long after the incident, Natasha was called in for an emergency council meeting over the previous event. Nairbix however, decided to do a little digging of his own. Not that he wanted to rescue Palpatine out of the goodness of his heart, he simply saw an opportunity too important to ignore.
If Grievous himself was sent to kidnap the chancellor, then it was a good chance that he would be meeting up with Dooku. This would give Nairbix the perfect chance to take both of them out and bring an end to the war, and then he and Natasha could finally go home.
The only problem with that plan was that he had no idea where Grievous had taken him. That being said, he did have one person in mind that could get him a location. As he searched for his target in the lower levels of Coruscant, he found her; he found Assajj Ventress.
"You know, I really figured that you would've left this world by now after the last time we encountered one another." Nairbix mocked from above the former Sith's head.
"Nairbix VanSull," she hissed in spite, "What's the issue now? Another one of your Jedi friends wrongfully accused?"
"No." he replied as he jumped down to meet her face to face. "You don't pay attention to the news all that much, do you?"
"The only news I listen to nowadays is bounty reports." Ventress replied as she began to walk away.
"Well, then that makes things easier for me." Nairbix said.
"What do you want, VanSull?" Ventress asked.
"Chancellor Palpatine was kidnapped by Grievous a few hours ago." he informed bluntly, "Given that you're now a bounty hunter, I figured you'd be able to find out where he was taken so I can find him and kill Dooku and Grievous."
"Do you honestly think I'd be eagerly willing to help you after last time?" Ventress asked, "I think I'll pass." she said as she continued to walk away, but Nairbix's humorless chuckling stopped her.
"Heheh, oh, that's funny," he muttered loud enough for Ventress to hear him, "You think you have a choice."
"What?" Ventress growled as she turned towards him.
"See," Nairbix said as he approached his old enemy, "I wasn't asking, Ventress. You're going to help me whether you like it or not." he said before he did something unexpected. Nairbix shoved his hand through Ventress's chest and literally ripped out her heart. Ventress gasped in pain from the action but quickly realized that she wasn't dead.
"…Wh-what d-did you do to me?!" she asked as her voice shook with fear.
"Hmm? Oh, I just gave myself a little insurance along with some leverage over you." he replied as he examined the heart in his hand. It looked like it was encased in glass and glowed black with little to no red in the center. "To be honest, I don't really prefer doing this, but I'm in a hurry to get back home."
"So what now?" Ventress asked bitterly, "What can you possibly do now that you have my heart within your clutches?"
"Well," Nairbix trailed with a mischievous yet sinister grin, "I can do this." he said as he gave the heart a tight squeeze making Ventress fall to her knees as she clutched her chest in pain. After Nairbix stopped, she looked up at him in horror. "I bet you're wondering what's changed me seeing as you haven't seen this side of me before, right? Truth is, I've always been like this, I just don't show it around others that often. Now then, unless you want me to crush your heart into dust, you'll do what I say."
"I don't care if you do kill me." spat the bounty hunter, "I'd gladly choose death over being your puppet."
"Hmm," Nairbix hummed as he looked down at her in disappointment, "It's like I told you, you don't have a choice." Nairbix growled in anger as he brought the heart up to his face, he then spoke to it like her would to a person. "You will find out where the chancellor has been taken for me and you will do so quickly. Now."
As soon as he gave the order, Ventress, who seemed to be in a daze, stood up and walked away as she went to fulfil the task given to her. "Oh, and as soon as you get the location, meet up with me at Dex's Diner on the surface." He then placed the heart in his coat pocket and made his way up to the world's surface level.
Three hours later, Ventress met up with Nairbix at the diner and informed him of the location. "Alright, I know where they are." she said quietly in the booth they sat in, "Grievous' ship was seen leading a fleet of Starships and an army of battle droids to Cadonia. It's an uninhabited world a few parsecs from the outer rim."
"Cadonia, huh?" Nairbix asked as he fiddled with his glass filled with alcohol. "Any particular reason why the chancellor was taken there?"
"No idea," Ventress said casually before giving him her usual glare, "I was only forced to find out where they were. So now that I've done your little errand for you, can I have my heart back?"
Nairbix acted like he was thinking for a moment before he gave his answer. "Hmm…no." he replied.
"No?!" Ventress asked hotly.
"No." Nairbix repeated calmly, "Despite you being useful for these last two favors you've done for me and my friends, I'm not about to let you walk away that easily after everything you've done. No, you don't get off that easily, Ventress." he informed still speaking in a calm tone as he pulled out the heart. "I'm afraid this is the end for you."
"Wait, you can't-"
"Goodbye." he said as he crushed her heart into dust in an instant. At first, Ventress's face changed into a look of pain and shock as she tried to reach her heart but as soon as Nairbix crushed it, her body went limp and her head smacked the table.
Nairbix looked unfazed at the sight before him not caring in the slightest over the life he just ended. He then began to softly hum as he scooted the glass towards Ventress's hand making it seem as though she were drunk and left a few credits on the table before leaving the diner. As he walked through the streets, he summoned a corridor in front of him which led him to the little world of Cadonia.
When the darkness cleared its self from his eyes, Nairbix saw what awaited him; thousands upon thousands of various droids and a large fleet of Starships surrounding the world. Driven with excitement at the chance to let loose his power, Nairbix rushed down with his Keyblade ready and began his attack.
Running faster than the eye could normally follow, Nairbix viciously slashed and hacked at the droids. As the other battalions noticed his arrival, they began to rapidly open fire at him only for their attacks to either be deflected, dodged, or sent at their own kind all the while Nairbix continued to destroy the others.
As he wiped out the droids surrounding him one at a time, he activated on of his Shot Lock techniques he dubbed Backlash. While he fought, he made a path about two miles out that would send him flying through the droids giving him the chance to take them out in the process. Once the path was ready, Nairbix took off in a blur and dismantled the clankers as he sped through them to the end point he set.
After he finished that attack, Nairbix activated another Shot Lock that would send an explosive volley of electric orbs of magic. As each of them made contact, enormous domes of electricity erupted and wiped out the droids caught in the blast radius. Even though he knew that he had taken out a good number of droids, he knew that he was nowhere near done in taking care of the ones on the world.
With that in mind, he placed his free hand on his Keyblade, tugged on its grip, and produced a second Keyblade. With the extra weapon, Nairbix's onslaught was even more vicious than before. None of the clankers stood a chance against him and none of them even so much as laid a scratch on him, not even the giant spider droids. Even as they began to surround him and close in, Nairbix got the upper hand by creating a barrier sphere around him which redirected all the blaster bolts back at the very droids who sent them.
The droids basically took care of themselves as they continued to fire and shoot themselves, Nairbix only managed to take the remaining out after he dispelled the barrier which took out the droids surrounding him with its fragments.
At that point, a group of vulture droids took to the skies and fired at him from what they believed to be a safe distance in the air. But Nairbix was far too clever and experienced for them. So, he replaced his Keyblades with two incredibly long links of his chains and began to whip them at the soaring droids; as an added bonus, he had his chains engulfed in black lightning.
He never took his eyes off of them as he twisted and turned while striking them with his chains sending each of them to the ground after each strike. As the last one tried to evade his attacks, more battle droids came over the barren hills as they opened fire on the lone Narnian. But Nairbix once again proved his skills were superior.
He used one of his chains to wrap around the vulture droid as he summoned more links and began to spin wildly on the ground creating a swirling torrent of electrocuted chains before causing them to swat and destroy the incoming droids.
However, behind the droids that had just gotten wiped out, at least a dozen heavy cannons like what the Republic used and row upon row of tanks similar to what he destroyed on Geonosis unleashed their own attacks upon him.
At that point, Nairbix would have admitted that he was becoming a bit overwhelmed, but he would have also admitted that he was having the time of his life. Letting loose so much power he had built up and not having to worry about hurting any of his friends in the process? What more could he ask?
Seeing the tanks and cannons, Nairbix re-summoned his Keyblade and built up a powerful attack. Once it was ready, he unleashed a single long ranged slash that made quick work of the heavy fire he was receiving. But the droids just kept coming.
Even though he was having a blast (no pun intended), Nairbix was getting tired of the annoying clankers that were trying to kill him. As they began to close in on him, Nairbix steadied himself and gathered his strength for his next attack which would take out the last of the droids left on the surface.
Once his attack was ready, Nairbix let out an outcry as he unleashed a tremendous explosive wave of magic, destruction and darkness. After the dust settled, he scanned for any incoming droids; once he saw none coming, he enveloped himself in darkness as shot himself into space.
Thanks to his many abilities and after years of training, Nairbix no longer needed oxygen to survive; it was more optional for him really so fighting out in space wasn't an issue for him. As he exited the atmosphere, he came to see his next challenge: a massive fleet of Separatist Starships armed to the teeth with all weapons pointed at him.
Before they could kill him with their cannon fire, Nairbix flew faster than any ship could and maneuvered to the closest Starship he could find. Once he reached it, he ran atop its hull and tore open a gaping tare with his Keyblade and left rows of four large explosive magic circles with each step he took, exploding with each passing minute.
After that ship was destroyed, he leaped/flew over to the next spinning forwards as he did so. Because of this, once he made contact with the ship, he tore through it and ran inside it as he wiped out everything inside it, including the power generator and engines. As it exploded from within, he made a makeshift exit before moving on to the next ship. For some of them, he used similar methods to what he used for the first two, and others he simply send blasts of dark energy from his Keyblade which took them out instantly.
As he noticed there were only a handful of ships left, Nairbix decided that he wanted end this with a dramatic flair. He then descended back to the planet's surface and readied his final move against the remnants of the fleet. He dismissed his Keyblade and summoned a small, swirling, magical pool of silver floating next to him, from the pool came a Keyblade identical to Heartbreaker half-way revealing itself. In that moment, several more pools with Keyblades of their own appeared around Nairbix as he looked to the sky and before anyone could blink, thousands of pools appeared and aimed themselves at the exact spot where Nairbix was looking.
He then raised his left hand and lazily swung it down sending all the Keyblades into space where they rendered the remaining ships to shreds as they exploded, killing and destroying everything inside. As the sky filled with explosions and the debris came crashing down onto the world, Nairbix turned his back to the scene and casually walked away in search for the missing chancellor.
It didn't take long for Nairbix to find where the chancellor was being held. On a flattened cliff at the end of another barren hill, Nairbix spotted a ship where Dooku kneeled before it, meditating as he waited for Nairbix.
"It seems that the Separatists have more to spare than most would think." Nairbix called out to the former Jedi as he approached him, "At least I had that impression after I took care of all the toys you left for me to play with that is."
"We have more resources at our disposal than you know, Master VanSull." Dooku replied as he rose to his feet.
"Uh-huh," Nairbix replied looking unimpressed, "You know, I'm not stupid, Dooku. I've been known to be eccentric. But I'm not stupid. I knew that this was a trap since the beginning."
"Did you?" Dooku asked, "Hmm, it matters not whether you knew of the trap or not, you are here just as my master planned."
"Yes," Grievous added as he emerged from the ship as he coughed, "Lord Sidious's plan has gone accordingly. All that is left is to kill you, VanSull. (Cough, cough)."
"Sorry to disappoint you, gentlemen, but the only ones dying here today shall be you two. And whoever is breathing louder than the sound of a race horse's piss when it makes contact with snow behind those rocks over there." Nairbix added bluntly as his next enemy revealed themselves. It was surprisingly Darth Maul.
"You again?" Nairbix asked in actual surprise, "There's just no getting rid of you, is there?"
"It is a shame that when last we met, you missed your chance to witness the death of your friend's precious duchess." Maul taunted.
"If you're trying to rile me up over Satine's death, you're wasting your breath. I never even liked her so I don't really care that you killed her." Nairbix informed bluntly as his the opponents took their own place and began to circle him. "Out of curiosity though, why is it that you're working with these two? I was under the impression that there could only be two Sith. Or do you no longer count considering Dooku replaced you?"
"Let's just say that killing you will give me my revenge against Romanoff for taking my legs." Maul replied.
"You got to learn to let things go, mate." Nairbix suggested, "Hmm, where's Savage? You two were working together as crime lords last I checked." he wondered causing Maul to grit his teeth in anger and give a snarl. "Ah, I see. But something tells me that it wasn't either of these two who killed him. Your former master perhaps?" Nairbix asked already knowing the answer based on Maul's expression.
It was at that point Dooku activated his lightsaber, Grievous separated his arms and activated all four of his and Maul activated both his red lightsaber and his black one. "Hmm, seven lightsabers and three opponents," Nairbix mused as he summoned his Keyblade and gave himself a second one, "I like those odds." he said ready to fight.
Maul made the first move as he charged at Nairbix who easily parried his attacks and knocked him to the ground. From behind, Grievous attempted to stab him with all four of his weapons but Nairbix jumped into the air and got behind him only fend of Dooku's lunges.
As he deflected and dodged the Sith's attacks, he gained the upper hand and managed to slice Dooku's right bicep; not enough to give him a fatal wound, but he still managed to land a decent blow on him. Maul then jumped over and wildly swung his blades at Nairbix hoping to overpower him, but to no avail.
Nairbix wasn't even struggling to hold them all off despite the greater number in both fighters and weapons. As Maul came at him from the front, Dooku tried to get him from behind with his lightning; but Nairbix's reflexes proved to be useful as ever and gave him the chance to summon a barrier. Thanks to it, the lightning was sent back at Dooku and the power behind Maul's strikes were redirected back at him. In that brief moment, Nairbix shattered the barrier and knocked all three of them back.
As Dooku tried to quickly regain his composure, Nairbix came charging in at him. He then swung his lightsaber and actually managed to land a blow on him. Or so he thought. As soon as his weapon made contact with Nairbix, he froze in mid-place and somehow managed to come at Dooku from behind. When he noticed this, Dooku once again struck Nairbix but to only face the same out come again, and again, and again until he was surrounded by dozen of copies of Nairbix. As for the real Nairbix, he stared Dooku down as he stood in the air above him. He then snapped his fingers and all of his copies moved from their frozen stasis and struck Dooku all at once. At that point, Maul and Grievous spotted him and Maul tossed his lightsabers at him only to see Nairbix dodge them with a bored frown.
He then raised his hands and wiggled his fingers as though he was groping the air. As he did this, the ground beneath them morphed into two large hands grabbing them as they rose into the air. As Nairbix had them being crushed in the hands' grips, Maul managed to activate one of his lightsabers and cut himself free while Grievous did the same.
Nairbix then willed the hands to come crashing down on them but Dooku and Maul used the Force to try and stop them while Grievous ran up one of them and jumped at Nairbix swinging all of his weapons as fast as he could. Nairbix quickly re-summoned his Keyblade and held off Grievous's attacks before grabbing his head and throwing him to the ground. Unfortunately, due to his robotic body, Grievous landed gracefully on all six of his limps.
As Nairbix descended to the ground and summoned a second Keyblade, Grievous began to rapidly rotate his upper claws so fast, his lightsabers were spinning in a blur as he ran towards him. Upon seeing the incoming attack, Nairbix sent Grievous flying with a Flux Wave just before Maul came charging at him and deflected his attacks.
"You have proven to be a formidable opponent, young VanSull," Dooku acknowledged, "But you must realize that this battle will not end in your victory."
"Speak for yourselves," Nairbix retorted, "None of you have even laid a scratch on me yet. Here's a thought," Nairbix said as he twirled one of his Keyblades in his hand, "Why don't all three of you just let me kill you already?" he asked bluntly.
"Your arrogance will be your downfall." Maul warned.
"It's not arrogance, legless." Nairbix replied, "It's assurance." he said as he charged at them.
"That key of yours has been a nuisance for us since the beginning of this war. It is a pity that I cannot add it to my collection." Grievous taunted as he and Nairbix exchanged blows.
"If it annoys you so much let me kill you quickly." Nairbix offered, "Though, I won't make it painless. And you'll find that their a little bit picky on their owners. Flux Wave!" he cried as he sent a volley of chains to wrap around the general's back after sending him flying. Once the chains were behind Grievous, Nairbix pulled them back and gave another flux wave from the kick he sent to his opponent's chest.
After tossing him aside, Nairbix returned to fighting with Dooku. His own attacks were faster than Dooku's causing the old man to go on the defensive. Nairbix then swung the lower half of his coat in Dooku's face as he spun, blinding the Sith for a moment giving him the chance to electrocute him with his black lightning.
Maul attempted to strike him down with an attack from above, but Nairbix blocked his attack and pushed him off; after doing so, he sent a volley of dark orbs at Maul, each one causing him tremendous pain and knocking him to the ground.
As Nairbix looked at them sprawled on the ground as he stood in front of the ship, he readied himself to finally bring an end to the ones controlling the war. His eyes blazed in anger at them as he dismissed his left Keyblade and moved in the finish them. But as soon as he took his first step, Nairbix felt a sharp, blinding pain in his lower abdomen.
As he gasped in both pain and shock, he looked down and saw a crimson lightsaber protruding above his waist. From behind, he could hear the sound of sinister chuckling from behind him. The pain coursing through him was so great, he couldn't even bring himself to turn around to see who had done it; but he knew fully well who it was. Sidious was there after all and he had just rendered Nairbix helpless for what would happen next.
Sidious had in fact modified not only his lightsaber, but the others as well to where they would stay activated even when no longer being wielded. This was proven as Nairbix staggered a few paces forward with the lightsaber still in his abdomen even after Sidious released it.
After coughing up blood and trying to regain his footing, Dooku got up from the ground, rushed behind him and pierced Nairbix with his own lightsaber just barely below his neck. After that, Maul followed suit and impaled the center area of Nairbix's back with his lightsabers bringing him to his knees. In front of him, Grievous raised all four of his lightsabers and brought them down on the rest of Nairbix's upper back.
Nairbix had been impaled by eight lightsabers in a mere moment. Due to Grievous's last strike, he had been pinned down with all eight weapons imbedded into the ground. Pain and shock coursed through Nairbix's body as the burning sensation of the lightsaber continued to fill his senses. His strength was leaving him and he could feel his life slip away.
For the first time in his life, Nairbix VanSull, the living manifestation and embodiment of Narnia's firstborn darkness, apprentice to Keyblade Master Yen Sid, creator of Nueva Destra and third True Keyblade Master had lost; and the cost was his life.
He couldn't exactly hear what his four enemies were saying, but Nairbix just kept thinking how he would not tolerate an end like this. As his anger boiled and the thought of killing them grew, Nairbix gather what little strength he had and did the unthinkable; he called forth his Guardian and muttered possibly his last order.
"Kill them." he struggled to say. The Guardian then charged at them and attempted to kill them all at once with its sonic wail. Unfortunately, it only knocked all but Maul into the ship, he was simply knocked at the base of the ramp. But before Maul could get up, the Guardian towered over him as it raised its razor sharp claws and swung down, severing Maul's head.
Apparently, however, the ship was already warmed up and ready to take off, so as soon as the three main conspirators got inside, they took off right after Maul was killed. Given that the Guardian's strength came from Nairbix, it wasn't able to linger any longer after the ship took off. As it slowly began to fade away, it returned to its dying master.
"Well, I guess seeing as I killed Maul at the last second and the others ran away, this doesn't really count as a loss." Nairbix weakly chuckled in his mind as his life continued to ebb away. "Damn it. Aslan, Mickey, Jumba, Mother, Master, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Sigurd, Goldmin, Delton, Trisha, Aggie, Indy…Natasha. Please forgive me." he begged as he thought of all the people dear to him as darkness took him.
It was at that moment where all the people Nairbix had thought of could somehow feel his last moments; they could all feel a pain in their hearts as their dear friend faded away.
In the outer rim, both Anakin and Obi-Wan sensed Nairbix's life force fade away from their starship. "Master?" Anakin asked worriedly.
"I sense it too. Something's happened to Nairbix. Something terrible." he muttered in concern for their friend. "The dark side has overwhelmed him."
"Dooku." Anakin hissed.
"Perhaps, but this much hatred, this much power over the dark side? I doubt that it was Dooku alone." reasoned Obi-Wan, "Regardless of that, I can barely sense him, and it's becoming harder to do so by the moment."
"We can't just ignore this, Master." said Anakin, "If Nairbix is in trouble we have to help him."
"I agree," Obi-Wan nodded as he steadied himself and closed his eyes with Anakin following his example. "Reach out, sense whatever trace of him you can find and hone in on his location." he advised as they sensed for their friend.
In the meditation room at the temple, Natasha tried to calm herself so she could sense Nairbix herself. At the exact moment when he was impaled, she could feel a deep pain and sense of worry in her heart she knew concerned her oldest and closest friend. Before they came to this galaxy, they had made a promise to each other, and while she was known to have been a notorious liar, she fully planned on keeping her word for Nairbix, no matter what.
As all three of the Jedi reached out for Nairbix, they soon discovered that his last surge in energy was on the small world of Cadonia. After discovering this, Natasha rallied Spades and a few members of Noise Maker squad to help her if need be before taking off in her ship; as for Anakin and Obi-Wan, they went off to find Nairbix as well with Rex, Cody and a handful of other Clones to assist them.
As they landed on the world's surface, Anakin spotted Natasha's ship as it began to land. "Master, look, Natasha's here." he alerted as Natasha emerged from her ship and approached them.
"You guys sensed it too, huh?" she asked, they nodded, "Normally, I can still sense Nairbix's darkness, but now…I can barely sense what he left here."
"Seeing what he left behind is a bit more impressive though, General." Rex replied as he looked over the rocks to see all of the wreckage left from the droids and starships. "Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that General VanSull has all that power inside of him."
"Looks like he left a trail leading up that hill over there." Anakin pointed out as they looked at the cliff where the final battle was.
"Get the speeders ready," Natasha said to Jackal, "Wall-E, Rex, Spades, Cody, you four are coming with us, we may need you."
"Yes, sir." the Clones replied. Once they maneuvered their way through the all the shrapnel to the hill, they made their way up and found a sight that sent pain through all of their hearts; they found Nairbix's body, still impaled with all eight active lightsabers.
At that moment, Natasha felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. She had no expression on her face, even as she fell to her knees she couldn't even bring herself to cry over Nairbix's death. She just couldn't believe it.
Anakin and Obi-Wan looked away in pain, they couldn't bring themselves to look at the sight of their friend for too long. As for the Clones, Spades was the first one to remove his helmet and salute his fallen general; Rex and Cody followed promptly. Wall-E looked at her master's friend in sadness and gave a heartbroken moan.
"You idiot," Natasha muttered, "You idiot, you why did you go and do this by yourself?" she asked as the tears finally flowed down her face; even though everyone around her knew it was forbidden for Jedi to have the sort of emotions she was showing, none of them cared, they all felt that way. They were all mourning over the loss of their greatest ally and friend.
"It was the greatest honor I could have to serve alongside you, General." Spades said in his mind as he continued to salute Nairbix; the whole time, he struggled to control himself from shedding even one tear.
Obi-Wan finally brought himself to open his eyes, when he did, he noticed the beheaded body of Maul a few feet away from Nairbix. He also noticed similar claw marks on Maul's chest from what he had seen during the second battle of Geonosis. Putting two and two together, Obi-Wan realized what had happened to the former Sith lord; he had been killed after Nairbix was impaled.
"I know that I'm looking at him…but I can't believe he's gone." Anakin whispered as he tried and failed to control the sadness he felt over his friend's death. However, he quickly noticed something about Nairbix. "Guys, take a look at the lightsabers."
Obi-Wan did so and gave his observation, "The one through his chest is Dooku's. The four in his back are the lightsabers Grievous uses, and the red and black ones above his waist were Maul's; he took the black one after he killed Vizsla and took control over Mandalore."
"Then who owned this one?" Natasha asked as she stood up, wiped her tears and stared at Sidious's weapon.
"Natasha, do you remember what Dooku told us just before the first battle on Geonosis?" Obi-Wan asked already knowing she did, "He said there was another Sith who was behind the war. What if this lightsaber belongs to that Sith lord?"
"What are you saying?" Anakin asked, "You think Nairbix fought Dooku, Maul, Grievous and this Darth Sidious?"
"The first three, I'll believe." Natasha replied skeptically, "But all four of them? Nairbix wouldn't have ended up like this. I think he fought Dooku, Grievous and Maul and just as he was about to finish them, Sidious sneaks up behind him, literally stabs him in the back and has the others do the same. And believe me, it was never easy for anyone to sneak up on Nairbix."
"My guess is that he summoned his Guardian after being impaled with what little strength he had left and tried to have it kill them. Though, it looks like he only managed to kill Maul." Obi-Wan explained.
"Went down fighting, just like warrior." Spades acknowledged in respect.
"The others will never forgive me for this." Natasha said to no one but herself, "I led him to his death bringing him here."
"Nairbix chose to come here, Natasha." Obi-Wan soothed.
"He chose to come to this world." she corrected in monotone, "I chose to bring us here in the first place when we were children. In the end, I'm just as responsible."
"No you're not," Anakin argued, "You weren't the one who did this to him."
"I made a promise that we would come back here. I made a promise on his behalf that he felt obligated to uphold."
"You know that isn't the truth." Obi-Wan denied, "You know that even if you hadn't made that promise, the moment Nairbix would have sensed trouble in this galaxy, he would have rushed here straight away to do everything he could to help. That was the kind of man he was."
"Guys," Anakin spoke up as they talked, "Guys, shh!" he shushed shutting them all up, "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Listen." Anakin replied. For a few moments, no one said a word, they kept it as silent as possible in order to hear what Anakin heard; just then, they heard it. It was faint, but they could hear it, it was the sound of very soft short breaths coming from the ground.
In order to check if their hopes were right, Natasha pulled out one of her combat knives, fell to the ground, and held the blade against Nairbix's mouth. As soon as she did, she could see it; she could see Nairbix's breath fog up the blade.
"…He's alive." Natasha gasped as she turned to the others, "Nairbix is alive." she said again only louder.
"My God." Spades gasped.
"Wall-E, go back to the ship and get a medical capsule, hurry!" Natasha ordered knowing the droid was faster than any of them on a speeder. "Alright, we got to get these things out of him."
"On three." Obi-Wan nodded, "One,"
"Two," Anakin said as they all raised their hands.
"Three." Natasha said as they used the Force to slowly, simultaneously remove all eight of the lightsabers; as they all came out, Nairbix, still unconscious, gasped and wheezed in pain. Thankfully, Wall-E arrived just as that happened with the medical capsule. Once it was prepped and ready for him, the three Jedi gently lifted him with the Force into the capsule. As he was lifted and rotated to lay on his back, they all could see the holes heal themselves as strands of darkness closed the wounds and left eight round scars on both sides of his body.
The whole time they flew back in Natasha's ship, she never left his side or took her eyes off of him. Thankfully, his breathing steadied and wasn't as short; but aside from that, he hadn't moved an inch. They immediately headed to the Jedi Temple's hospital wing after they landed in order to get Nairbix better life support. Unfortunately, word of Nairbix's return spread like wildfire and to make matters worse, the chairman of the Senate acting in Palpatine's place issued for Nairbix to be arrested; and it was Admiral Tarkin who personally came to the hospital to bring him in.
As he approached the door to Nairbix's room, he saw all of Noise Maker squad guarding the door with Spades and Jackal right in front of it. "Colonel, Commander, I have been informed that Nairbix VanSull is in this room, now stand aside." Tarkin ordered.
"We can't do that, Admiral." Spades replied stiffly.
"I am ordering you, soldier, to stand aside." Tarkin repeated only more threatening.
"And I am telling you, sir," Spades spat as he and the other Clones loyal to Nairbix raised their riffles at Tarkin, "That you are not getting to the general."
"It's treason, then." Tarkin concluded with his nose raised high.
"Consider this our resignation, Admiral." Keres declared.
"Need I remind all of you that as Clones, you are to only serve the Republic?" Tarkin smugly asked.
"Actually, they work for me now." Natasha corrected from behind Tarkin.
"You, General Romanoff, a Jedi?" Tarkin asked smirking at the thought.
"See, I didn't hire them as an acting Jedi. I hired them as an acting princess." she replied with a sweet yet frightening smile.
"Princess?" he asked.
"Yes, princess. As princess of the world of Radiant Garden, I hired these men to act as royal bodyguards. And the first order I gave them was to protect and guard Nairbix VanSull, a trusted and long-time ally to the royal family."
"Master Romanoff," Tarkin said shaking his head with an unimpressed smirk, "While I admire your sentiment for VanSull, the fact of the matter is that-"
"He is under the Jedi Order's custody." Natasha cutoff.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, you didn't hear?" Natasha asked faking her disappointment, "Yeah, as soon as we got back, Master Kenobi and I recommended to the council that he be placed under our custody seeing as he has been working with us throughout the war and not exactly the military. So the fact of the matter is, Admiral, that this is Jedi business."
"We shall see what the Senate has to say about that." Tarkin retorted calmly still thinking the odd were in his favor.
"No, we won't." Natasha denied, "Because no matter how many people come through this hall, if anyone tries to come after Nairbix as long as he's like this, MY and I will kill them on the spot. And if you come back here, they'll shoot you like a dog and I'll use this," she said sweetly as she activated her lightsaber and held the humming blade close to his face, "To cut off your balls and stuff them down your throat."
After hearing that, Tarkin took the warning and left without another word. After that, Natasha entered Nairbix's room and saw him lying in bed with an oxygen mask on his face and several IV tubes in his arm with Anakin, Obi-Wan and Padme standing near the bed.
"How is he?" Natasha asked.
"Same as when you left." Anakin replied sadly, "He hasn't even twitched."
"He's in a coma, Anakin. It's not like he's gonna get up and sleep-walk." she flatly replied.
"Do they have any idea how long it'll be before he wakes up?" Padme asked.
"Months, maybe?" Obi-Wan replied unsure of his answer, "He was stabbed in almost every vital spot of his torso by lightsabers, if anything he should be dead."
"He is made out of darkness, so…I guess it's just a matter of how much dark energy he can control to keep himself alive?" Natasha suggested unsure of her answer.
"What now?" Anakin asked, "The chancellor is still Dooku's hostage."
"We just have to wait until we hear anything about his location." Natasha replied as Nairbix began to cough. But what started out as a few light coughs soon became a coughing fit that seemed to hurt him; his heart monitor went frantic as he jerked in pain. Obi-Wan was just about to call for a medic but stopped when they all saw what happened next.
From the scars left behind the lightsabers, streams of smoke-like darkness emitted from Nairbix as the coughing died into wheezing. It lasted for a little over a minute before it finally ended and Nairbix's breathing returned to normal. Silence filled the room as the four of them looked at each other in shock.
"…What the hell was that?" Anakin whispered.
"…I don't know." Natasha replied.
Little did any of them know, that would not be the last time Nairbix would experience a coughing fit like that. What they didn't know was that Nairbix had contracted a disease, a disease that caused his darkness to seep out of him and drain his life force; and it would cause him pain and suffering as he kept it a secret from the ones he held dear for years to come. And he would only be rid of it roughly twenty years later after believing to have lost everything he held dear.
So, there's one of the questions I left from The Vengeful Key, that was how Nairbix contracted his disease. See, he's made out of darkness biologically, I guess, so the disease itself is his darkness/life force escaping from the wounds he received from Sidious, Dooku, Grievous, and Maul that never fully healed.
As for Maul and Ventress's deaths, I just want to let everyone know this: I am not going to be using Star Wars Rebels in any of my future stories. Hell, I'm not even completely sure if I want to use the original three for the next story or the one after it. I know Ventress hasn't made an appearance in Rebels, but I just felt like her and Maul's stories just needed to end. And for those of you who didn't catch my little Easter Egg on how she died, it was like how they do it on Once Upon a Time.
The next chapter will sadly be the last one in the Star Wars universe, and the last one for a few weeks. Hope you all liked this. Bye!