Chapter 17 - Fight to the Death

Author's Note: Nothing is easy fighting Plagueis. ;)

~ Amina Gila

Alema Syndulla

The Marauder nearly crashes from the lightning. It's almost embarrassing, honestly, but Tech has to put us down at a distance to keep us from going... well, supernova. Gonky can't guard the ship, but we leave him behind anyway, and the rest of us move out instantly. Everyone else will be reaching the Sith Temple soon, and we have to get there as soon as possible. The longer we wait...

But between the lightning flashing and the thunder, and the way everything is just so eerie, I don't like it. I don't miss how, for the first time, Omega presses closer to Hunter, hanging back a bit, though I sense a great deal of discomfort radiating from him, too.

Omega can feel the darkness in the Force – I've been training her a bit now and then, though she still has a difficult time actively using the Force the way Jedi do – but Hunter is being overwhelmed by the highly overactive atmosphere. I can't imagine what it would be like to feel that.

"There's going to be Sith traps here, so don't touch anything," I caution, as we make our way in through one of the entrances. We're heading to the throne room where Plagueis likely is, but what makes it so unsettling is that that's a Dark Side nexus, on a Dark Side planet. All the odds will be against us, except the twins.

"I don't like this place," Omega says finally.

"Yeah," Wrecker grumbles, "I don't, either."

"Just keep moving," Hunter advises.

Maul is in the front of the group, though I'm using my own senses, because no matter what the twins say, I will not trust this Sith. Even if he didn't stab Ahsoka and me in the back before, I don't have a reason to think he won't now, if he gets the chance and a good reason.

We're all sticking close, weapons raised, even if there's no obvious threat yet. I expect that to change at any given moment, though. There's Maul, Jinx, and myself, and a group of clones. The best of the best, yeah, but still. I'm not sure how much of a chance we have if something goes downhill.

"Do you hear that?" Omega asks suddenly.

"Hear what?" I ask, pausing and glancing over at her.

"It sounds like... whistling," she says, moving forwards, parting a bit from the group.

Jinx glances at me, expression saying the same thing I feel, that it's a Sith trap. "There's nothing there," he tells her.

"It's coming from that," she says, pointing to a towering rock structure, breaking away from the group and running towards it.

"Omega, wait!" I call, sprinting after. I can feel it, though I can't hear it like she does. "It's not real! You're hearing your own mind."

But she's moving too fast, or maybe it's just that the darkness is drawing her towards it, and she skids to a stop in front of the rock structure. Something about it feels wrong. Her shielding isn't strong, and the Dark Side is drawing her in. It's overwhelming her.

"Don't touch it!" Echo yells, but before there's even a question of that, the ground literally gives way beneath her feet, and she lets out a startled cry, plummeting from sight.

I sprint to the edge, careful to keep my distance lest the ground give out more. She's a good ten feet down, but not enough for it to be fatal. She knows how to cushion her landings. Something is... glowing red down there, emanating from something I can't see.

Except she looks eerily motionless, and the Force is twisting around her in a way I don't understand and definitely do not like. Something is shifting, changing about her.

The light is shining on her, and... I can feel the Dark Side even stronger from in there. It must be some sort of Sith artifact, and I'm not sure she can get away from it.

Crosshair instinctively starts raising his rifle, clearly fully intent on pulling her up with one of the literally endless functions it has in it, but Maul steps forwards. "Breaking the hold so suddenly will kill her, clone," he says, moving to crowd around the edge with the rest of us.

"Permission to take him out?" Crosshair asks dryly.

"Permission denied," Hunter says flatly.

"I'll give you permission, once we're done here," I reply, giving Maul a glare. He's ignoring us all, though. "Alright, Maul. Since you said you know what to do, care to enlighten us?"

Maul pauses, for a long moment.

"Or do you not know?" I demand suspiciously.

"Of course, I do," he retorts, "It influences minds."

He doesn't get past that, because suddenly, a pink energy bolt whizzes past us, and I deflect it on instinct before it can behead anyone, then look down.

Omega is standing there, her bow raised, now farther away and much closer to the red glow, though something is wrong with her eyes. They're red, and they look entirely unreal. They don't look... human. "Come here, Jedi," a voice calls from down below, through her body, though it sounds nothing like Omega.

"She's possessed," Jinx realizes as we duck back to avoid a few more shots.

"Would destroying the artifact help?" I ask as we scramble for cover. Of all of us, why did it have to be the one good at long-distance combat who was possessed? At least it wasn't Crosshair. He spent long enough in that place already.

"If you can get down there to destroy it," Maul replies flippantly. He looks so careless, and the others are clearly panicking. I'm panicking. We can't lose Omega and seeing him like this makes me want to punch him.

Fives starts moving forwards, and Echo grabs him. "We need a plan," he objects.

"If it influences minds," Hunter says, always the most thoughtful of us. "Tech may be able to hold out against it the longest."

"Yes, but would it be long enough to stop it from affecting him?" Echo asks.

"I can go instead," I object.

"Could a blaster shot destroy the artifact?" Jinx interrupts, "Because we could never get close enough to cut it with a lightsaber. It would overwhelm us first."

I sense a very distinct note of amusement coming from Maul. He keeps this up, and I'm throwing him down there.

"I will do it," Tech replies. Once, I think he would have been more reasonable. But Order 66 took tolls on everyone involved. Even if they're together, even if they've recovered, even if they have each other... some things, no one can truly recover from. Tech's recklessness has never truly faded. Hunter still pointedly keeps his siblings out of the line of danger. Wrecker still has occasional – no matter how rare they're becoming – modes of depression, and Crosshair still has mood swings that can get really bad sometimes, even if that's calming a bit.

"We'll cover you," I say, and Jinx and I move forwards, our lightsabers ignited and ready.

"Just – bring her back," Wrecker asks, stepping forwards.

Tech looks at him and nods mutely.

Maul doesn't immediately object, which I take to mean he either doesn't know what will happen or doesn't much care what we try. Tech moves to the edge of the hole, hesitating only a moment before jumping down. Of course, he does. They're all like that – jumping head-on into danger to protect each other, especially Omega.

We jump after, careful to keep back against the wall, though I can feel the Dark Side so oppressively already I'm not sure how long we'll last. I can feel the Dark Side against my shields now. None of us have much time.

Omega is standing deeper inside now, and I can see the glow originating from a holocron-like object in the center of the cavern, though she's in front of it, hiding it from sight. She fires at us the moment we arrive.

"Lure her out," Tech says, "I need a better angle."

I know it's not her, but it still hurts to see her doing this. Just like Mortis with Ahsoka.

"Split up," I tell Jinx, and he breaks away from us, pressing closer. We have very little room to move, and I can't stop throwing glances in his direction, expecting him to either leave or attack us. And that's what distracted me enough that I nearly notice too late when the Dark Side surges. The Force is humming with danger everywhere,and I can't shake the feeling that something is about to go terribly wrong, but whether here or elsewhere, I don't know.

I whirl around. Tech's blaster lowers from where it was aimed at the artifact. He's suddenly as still as Omega and – oh no.

This is running purely on emotion, and considering how very unemotional he is, I thought he would be able to hold it off. I shouldn't have let that certainty bring him in danger.

I step back instinctively when I realize his eyes are the same red as Omega. I'm almost entirely certain he's about to attack one of us when someone stuns him from above. But his blaster's still here. I can do it myself. I'm mid-crouching down to get it when Omega fires at the blaster, blowing it up.

So much for that.

"... Maul?" I demand of him, even if I hate that we have to rely on him.

"Only one who uses the Dark Side can free them," the Zabrak replies.

I glare at him. "Then why didn't you say so from the start?"

"I had to witness the trap in action first," he answers flippantly, and I am this close to outright hitting him. He intentionally let someone else go down and get trapped, too, just to see how it works? If Crosshair decides to use his horns for target practice later, well, I won't stop him.

Maul jumps after, and Omega lunges at him, firing her bow a few more times. He lazily deflects the shots aside, then picks her up altogether and throws her across the cavern.

"Omega!" I yell, bolting forwards, but stopping short from running to her when the Dark Side crashes into me full force, enough to send me to my knees.

I think somebody is going stun-happy, because I really don't remember the next few minutes from there. All I know is that I'm waking up a few moments later, at least it feels like a few moments, and the others are climbing down, and the red glow is gone.

I can feel Maul reaching out with the Force then, the red glow abruptly flicking off. Both Tech and Omega land unceremoniously on the floor, and the others instantly move forwards to help pull them out.

"Are you alright?" Hunter asks, urgently.

"Yes," Tech's voice answers, though he sounds slightly strained. He's clearly not alright, but he's a soldier. He's not going to admit to it. The clones see that as weakness.

"Hey," I mutter, pushing myself up and rubbing my head. I haven't been stunned in a very long time, though I got used to it. I should ask Appo how many times he got the honor.

"You okay?" Jinx asks, offering a hand which I accept, letting him pull me to my feet.

"Yeah."

I glance to the others. Hunter is holding Omega, and I think she might be unconscious from how still she is. Wrecker is crowded next to him, and Fives is on his other side. Echo and Crosshair are hovering by Tech, though they're all gathered together. Maul is standing off to the side, looking bored.

"Out of curiosity's sake, who stunned us?" I ask.

"You're welcome," Crosshair replies dryly.

Fives laughs. "It's been a long time since I got either of you."

I roll my eyes at him. "Ahsoka's not around to stun."

"Well," Fives tells me, "Unfortunately, Crosshair got you both before me."

My eyes narrow at him suspiciously. "Did you stun me again just to say you did it?"

No one answers.

Honestly.

I don't know how we put up with him, either.

"Is now really a good time to increase your stun count?" I ask, flatly.

"I'm sure you could use the rest," Fives states, cheerfully.

"After this is over, undoubtedly," I agree, dryly, "We should keep moving."

The humor of the moment fades in the face of that. We have no idea what else we're going to encounter here. What happened to Omega and Tech could easily happen again, and I have no idea if we'll be able to get out of it as easily – or as relatively unscathed – as this time.

**w**

Ahsoka Tano

"This place gives me the creeps," Rex mutters, as we move through the halls of the Sith Temple. It feels sickeningly of the Dark Side in a way that makes my skin crawl. It's probably worse that some of it is so recent.

I can't help moving slightly closer to Anakin as we keep moving, hands resting on my lightsabers, ready to pull them out at a moment's notice.

It doesn't help that sometimes I could swear the strange statues lining the halls are actually watching me. It almost feels like there are lives here, but faded, as though they're spirits. Either it's just my imagination gone wild, or it's actually possible. I have no idea, and I don't know that I want to.

"Why did the Sith carve their faces all over the walls anyway?" I mutter, finally, "Do they really think someone's gonna remember who they are?"

"I recognize some of them," Anakin replies, throwing a furtive glance around. I can tell how tense he is, though, being here.

"You do?"

"Part of being a Sith apprentice means learning more of... Sith past."

Right. It always makes me uncomfortable, thinking of how he's technically still that. Of how he betrayed the Jedi, and everything he ever taught me. "Sidious sat down and gave you a history lesson?" Somehow, I cannot imagine him having the patience or interest to do that.

"Much of it is documented," my former master replies. Honestly? I don't really want to know anymore.

I pick up speed as we keep moving down the hall, trying to ignore the shivers running through me. Is something watching us? "There's no Sith spirits here, are there?"

Anakin pauses, glancing back at me. "Do you not hear the whispers?"

I gulp, glancing around. "What whispers?"

"I don't hear anything, sir," Rex objects, sounding equally confused and spooked.

Anakin frowns. "Perhaps only those who draw on the Dark Side can hear it. We should leave this hall soon."

No one has any objections to that.

We finally get past that hall, except now, the eyes on us feel less distant and from long ago, more like they're right here but I don't see them anywhere. It doesn't help that it's so dark in here, with only light from Rex and the other clones' helmets. Now that we're in a much larger room, our footsteps echoing loudly, it would be far easier for someone to sneak up on us from any angle.

There's a noise suddenly, and I freeze, focusing on the sensation my montrals are picking up. Something is moving along one of the beams above us, something big.

"Look out!" I yell in warning, right as it moves.

A double-bladed red lightsaber – Inquisitor style – activates as the figure jumps at us, cutting through a couple of the clones before we can all scramble clear.

Anakin and I instantly draw our own blades, lunging forwards. So Plagueis has some Inquisitors working for him?! I shouldn't even be surprised, though why they'd want to work for him when they could finally be free, I have no idea.

We trade blows with the Inquisitor, me on one side and Anakin on the other. They hastily back away from us, swinging wildly. Something about the way their fighting is strangely sloppy, and now that I can think about it, their presence feels strangely hazed over, even if it's somehow familiar at the same time.

Something about the height and the mask and some of the way they're fighting is reminding me of... of when Aniya and I were fighting Barriss at the warehouse. This isn't her, is it?

Anakin slashes through her lightsaber when she tries to block him again, then shoves her back with the Force. I jump at her before she can regain her bearing, blade cutting across her mask – just not deep enough for it to actually be a killing blow.

The Inquisitor staggers back, hand reaching up to touch her mask – maybe I did burn her face after all – before she rips it off.

It is Barriss. Yellow eyes stare back at me, except they look dead. There's no real recognition there, just a burning desire to attack us again.

I don't have a second longer to consider it, before the sound of something opening clangs through the room. We all spin around, Rex's headlight falling on an entrance at the far end, where several more figures sprint in, all igniting their lightsabers.

And every single one of them feels about as dead as Barriss, but all we can do is fight, as they charge us. The clones start shooting, and Barriss readjusts her grip on the two blades, lunging at us.

"Is there anything we can do about this?" I yell, blocking her blow, throwing a desperate glance at my once master.

"We may be able to break the control, but it would not be without risk," he replies, "He is trying to wear us down."

And that's exactly what we can't afford. We need all the help and energy we can get, if we're going to defeat Plagueis. I try to ignore the unsettling feeling twisting inside of me, as I realize we really have no idea how many of these people are, how many we'll have to fight our way through to get to the Sith Master.

(Or how many of our own people will be left by then, if this keeps up.)

I hurl Barriss back again, jumping to Anakin's side where he's knocking out one of the other mind-controlled people. "If we broke them free, they could help us, right?"

We're already working with Sith, and I would never trust my former friend enough to fight alongside her, but we're fighting with other Dark Siders we definitely don't trust anyway. This wouldn't be pushing it.

"We can try it," Anakin muses, "Cover me. I will try to reach her mind."

He moves towards the center of our group, and I can feel him reaching out with the Force to... don't know what, but I need to focus on fighting right now.

Barriss' blade nearly takes my head off, as she swings her lightsabers almost wildly. And then, she stumbles back a step, blade falling from her hand as she reaches up to press a hand against the side of her head. I can feel something resisting against whatever Anakin's doing, but it feels sickeningly unnatural. What did Plagueis do to them all, anyway?

Spinning away, I join the clones in taking down the others as fast as we can – preferably without fatal injuries, in case we can get them to help us, but there's only so much we can do. Because if not, leaving them alive is going to hinder our fight against the Sith Master even more.

Barriss suddenly falls to her knees, gasping, and I'm suddenly hit with the feel of her presence again. It doesn't feel fogged over like before, but now, it feels like it's fading.

I have no idea how to feel coming face to face with her again after everything that happened between us. I don't see her as my friend anymore, but that doesn't change that – that she's dying.

"Barriss?" I ask, moving closer. Anakin comes to stand next to me.

She looks up, expression tight. "Ahsoka..."

"What – why're you here?"

"We're here to kill Plagueis. Can you help us?" I touch her presence again, an emotion I can't quite describe tightening in me when I realize it's only slipping further.

"She's dying, Ahsoka," Anakin tells me, quietly.

I know that, but for some reason, I don't want to accept it. I never thought I'd see her again – never wanted to, honestly – but somehow, this still hurts.

"You can't," Barriss replies, shaking her head, "He's too... powerful. Leave, while you can."

"No," I reply, firmly, "We are the last Jedi, and we have to finish this."

She's breathing heavily now, hands pressed against the floor to keep herself upright, though her arms are shaking. "Ahsoka..."

"What?" I move slightly closer hesitantly, crouching across from her.

"I'm sorry. I – This is what I wanted the Jedi to prevent." She momentarily glances up, presumably to include Anakin – and Aniya – in her words.

And... I have no idea how to feel about that. I don't think I'll ever understand how she could've done what she did, though I suppose I can say the same for my once master. (But at least he didn't try to have me and Aniya executed. It wasn't me, specifically, that he betrayed.) "If you had concerns, why not just take them to the Council?"

"I didn't know how else to – to make my point. They would not listen," Barriss grits out.

"That is not entirely untrue," Anakin interjects, quietly, "The Order was losing its way. That's why Aniya and I... lost faith in it."

There's so much I could say, but is now really the time? She's dying. In moments, she'll be gone forever, one with the Force. And I don't... I have no idea what to say. "It's okay," I blurt finally, even if it really isn't, "You can't undo it now."

"I never wanted the Order to – to fall," she gasps out, abruptly collapsing forwards. I catch her before she hits the floor, but she's already gone. I can feel it. For a moment, I let myself feel the sharp pang of grief. She might've had it coming in one way or another, but that doesn't mean...

I don't even know what she died from. Likely, Plagueis did the mind-control in a way that guarantees it's permanent. They'd probably break their minds or something, to get out.

I start slightly when I feel Anakin's hand on my shoulder, but I lean slightly closer to him. I can't help but wish there was a way we could give her a proper funeral, though, but we don't have time to take bodies.

"We have incoming, sir," Rex speaks up, after a moment. Likely, they're picking it up through scanners or something. "We should keep moving."

Right on cue, something explodes through the nearest open entrance, and Anakin's lightsaber is ignited in a flash, deflecting the explosion away that would've otherwise taken off his head.

It's another mind-controlled being, and I have no idea how many there are, but we need to move if we're ever going to reach the Sith Master in time.

And I also can't shake the increasingly unsettling feeling that, for whatever reason, he wants us to go to the throne room. Because if he didn't want us to find him, he definitely could've left by now, assuming he hasn't. So, what's he really after?

**w**

Aniya Skywalker

The Dark Side is smothering here, and with each passing moment as we get closer to the throne room, it's only growing stronger. If I wasn't a Sith, I wouldn't be able to handle it, but now? It should only strengthen us.

But in some ways, that only disturbs me more, because Plagueis has to know that. And that means he has to be bringing us here for a reason. This once, I try to do as Sidious taught us, letting the all-consuming panic flooding me at the thought of facing the Sith master again turn to hatred and determination instead.

I'm not going to let him hurt anyone else in my family, not like he did Qui-Gon. I still can't believe the person who brought my entire family together, the one who saved us from a life on Tatooine – even if maybe that would've been better for everyone – is gone forever. No matter what happens, Plagueis will not take anything else from us.

I can feel Obi-Wan's eyes on me, as we finally reach the hall right outside. "Are you ready?" he asks me quietly, and the amount of concern in his eyes almost hurts. It feels like it could've been another lifetime when I saw that vision of – of what he would've done to Anakin on Mustafar. I don't want to think about it ever again.

"I have to be," I reply, gaze fixed on the door.

He touches my shoulder, and I instinctively lean into it. I miss him so badly. There's so much I suddenly want to say, but now's not really the time. But from the look of concern – and affection – in his gaze, I think it says all we need to right now.

I don't have a moment longer to consider it anyway, before Dooku, Ventress, and Sidious finally arrive. I'm mildly surprised they're still in one piece right now – I didn't think they could get along well enough to work together.

"He is waiting for us," Sidious says, eyes narrowed. Now that they're so close, I can feel the... twistedness of their bond again, and I can only hope it won't seriously play against us.

"We do not have time to wait for the others," Dooku agrees.

I reach for my bond with Alema first, to make sure she's fine. She is, except panicked; whatever's happening, I hope she can handle it. I reach out with the Force to Anakin next, silently letting him know where we are and that I'm alright – and to make sure that he's alright – before we all head forwards, into the throne room.

Despite my determination, my heart is still pounding as we all stride through the doors, into the dimly lit chamber. Everything here is an eerie blue in color, and high above, I can see the lightning flashing over our heads again. This opens to the sky, and it is the Dark Side nexus.

At the far end of the rooms, there's an enormous throne, with tall, pointed curvatures coming out of it. Plagueis' black robes blend in perfectly with his surroundings, and he looks like – like just what he is. The master of all the Sith.

His yellow eyes bore down on us, the only part of him that really stands out in the darkness, other than his obvious satisfaction. He knew we were coming. And he wanted it, despite what he knows about Anakin and my power.

I can't speak for how terrified that makes me, but I stand my ground, stubbornly holding my head high, even all I want to do is hide. But I'm done doing that. It's like I told Anakin – fighting back, so much as we could anyway, is all we have. I'm not a slave anymore, and I won't let myself act like one.

Everyone is depending on us – my family, and the entire galaxy. This has to end now.

"And so, you have arrived," he comments, mildly. He doesn't even sound bothered, and I want to – to kill him.

"Your rule is finished," I snap, drawing my lightsaber, though I don't move to attack. He's waiting for something, and I don't know what it is.

"Is it?" he asks, casually. The Force is twisting around us – or is it just me? – strangely, in a way I don't like, but I can't pinpoint what it is.

"Do you truly believe you could defeat all of us?" Obi-Wan asks.

Plagueis doesn't answer, but the sound of lightsabers activating behind us is answer enough. I spin around, as close to a dozen figures leap out of the shadows, charging for us. I should have seen that coming. I actually did, but it still slightly throws me off.

Mind-controlled, like all the others we've encountered here. This is... bad.

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