Force of Wills: A Duel of Fates Story

by Shadowsnake89

Chapter 15 (Finale)

Unaware of the events transpiring above the planet, Flurry Heart and her team of droids finally reached the old temple where the main gas tanks were hidden and ready to be unleashed upon the world with the turn of a valve. The teen dismounted her bike and marched into the decrepit structure, flanked on either side by her eight commando droids, headed directly for the main control system that lay in the center of the open air temple that had clearly seen better days. Around the area were several dilapidated pillars of various heights that had been eroded by time and the elements, though Flurry paid them little mind as she was focused solely on the console that controlled the release of the gas stores.

After equipping the mask given to her by the doctor, Flurry approached the console, prepared to flood the war zone and rid herself of all her enemies at once. Feet away from the controls, a blaster bolt crashed against the ground in front of her. The teen turned to find Adagio Dazzle and about six troopers with her, the former's red lightsaber lighting up the dark area. “That's far enough!” She commanded.

Flurry smirked under her mask as she looked up at her former partner. “Ms. Dazzle. Surprised to see you here. But maybe I shouldn't be. Are you planning on killing me?”

“If she's not then I am.” The two groups turned to see Indigo Zap with four additional troopers with her coming in behind Flurry's group. “Now drop your weapons or we drop you.”

“You won't stop me. Not when I'm so close...”

“To killing everyone.” Indigo cut the princess off. “You open those valves, you'll kill us all.”

“All of you? Yes, but I'll be just fine.” Flurry said confidently.

“No.” Adagio responded. “Whatever Patchwork told you, she's lying. That mask you're wearing won't save you. There's no defense for that gas. As smart as she is she never figured out any defense for it. She's planning on killing all of us to have everything for herself.”

All of a sudden, laughter echoed through the ruins as everyone looked around, aiming their weapons at the likely source of the sound. “This is a pleasant turnout.” The voice said as a figure began to appear out of thin air on top of one of the pillars. It soon became recognizable as Adagio identified Sonata Dusk. “Oh Adagio, the stories you tell. Flurry Heart, my sister is lying to you, trying to get you to stand down when you are so close.”

“Sonata, what are you...” Adagio tried to intercede.

“Nope. She's playing you for a fool. Just like she did to Aria and me. Only difference is that I wised up before it was too late. But I've got your back. All I ask for killing these fools is giving me enough time to get out of the blast radius, not having a mask and all.”

“You won't have to worry about that, because you won't be making it out of here alive.” Indigo said as she and her men aimed at Flurry and the droids.

Sonata simply shrugged and threw out her hand as a force push knocked Indigo and her men down. This action prompted Adagio's group to engage Flurry and her droids as blaster bolts flew across the room. Two troopers were initially hit in the exchange as the others scrambled for cover, Indigo and her men doing the same as they found their footing. Shots flew from all angles as Flurry took cover behind her droids, who proved their durability by taking heavy shots from the surrounding troopers.

Sonata laughed as several shots came her way, though she deflected them all and leaped down from her perch to attack with her red bladed saber. She quickly ran through a trooper who tried to stop her and targeted another before her blade was blocked by Adagio's own as the two engaged in a duel amid the firefight. “Sonata, stop this now.” Adagio commanded as she pushed back against her sister.

“You're not giving me orders anymore!” Sonata snarled as she bared her razor like teeth and rushed forward as she launched a flurry of strikes and forced her sister on the defensive. The final blow knocked Adagio back several feet as she felt a sting on her left shoulder and found a fresh cut from the exchange. To her surprise it was not healing up as her injuries previously had.

“Well, isn't that fun.” Sonata chuckled at her sister's discovery. “You've truly forsaken the dark side, and all the benefits that came with it. Meanwhile...” The blue siren's gem began to glow red as the nails on her hands and feet extended with sharpened points, patches of scales grew over her body and several of her fangs protruded from her mouth. “I've fully embraced what you taught me.” She charged forward as Adagio braced for the attack.

Meanwhile the shootout between the troopers and droids heated up as Flurry hurled a grenade that caused three of the troopers to break cover, causing two of them to be cut down by the droids as the explosion ripped through the pillar they hid behind. Indigo managed to covered the other trooper, shooting two of the droids down with accurate head shots. The troopers cut down two more droids and leaving the princess with only two remaining. “You will all die!” Flurry shouted in a rage as she shot furiously at her targets. “All of you will...” She was promptly cut off as a shot from Indigo struck her in the chest, putting her down.

“Kid just couldn't shut up.” Indigo said as another trooper found himself hit before she and the remaining four troopers cut down the final two droids. The group then turned their attention to Adagio who was life or death with the other siren as Indigo led the charge to aid her.

Adagio found herself in a position she'd never been in, with Sonata staying on constant offense. The elder sister soon realized that she had long neglected her martial skills as her dependence on the force regeneration had negated her need for superior sword fighting. Her original strategy to ware down opponents, letting them gas out as they struck her only for the body to heal was no longer an option. Eventually, she was driven back against a pillar and was forced to duck as Sonata's blade cut it clean through and the top half fell over with a loud crash.

“Looking a little green in the gills there, Adagio.” Sonata mocked as she charged towards her before her sister could barely get to her feet. The orange haired woman managed to get her saber up in time just to block her attack and staggered back only to be met with another onslaught. “You know, this plan was all me once I realized you weren't coming back and I was fed up taking orders from Aria. So I played dumb and let her believe she was in charge. All the while I worked with the doctor to make my plans a reality.”

Sonata leaped over her sister and delivered a light slash to her left leg, forcing her to her knees. “And then you had to come back. But lucky for me, you came back soft and all I have to do now is kill you, activate the valve and get out before it all goes up.” Sonata found herself surprised as the remaining four troopers and Indigo charged into the fray, firing a flurry of shots at the upright siren.

The blue skinned girl immediately leaped away from her sister and into the swarm of shots, deflecting some with her blade and avoiding others with her awkward, dance-like movements. Sonata quickly made her way into the soldier's ranks and effortlessly cut down one after another until only Indigo was left standing. The leader of the rebels marched forward without fear as Sonata deflected shot after shot, closing the distance as well. Finally the two were mere feet from each other as Sonata spun, cutting Indigo's blaster in two before dipping down and, with one swipe, removing her opponent's legs just below the knee. Indigo collapsed to the ground, her body in pure shock as she simply laid motionless.

Sonata twisted her head, facing her downed sister with a wide toothy grin as Adagio could only look on in horror. “Sonata, don't do this.” She uttered as she fought through the pain to get to her feet. “All this will do it...”

“Create more chaos. I know. It'll be magnificent.” The younger sister said. “Can't you imagine it? This entire world dying in a puff of smoke, both sides blaming the other. The death and destruction. And once we take this show on the road, this whole galaxy will erupt in war. I can almost taste it.”

“Yeah, but you'll have to get through us to do it.” A voice cried out as Roseluck leaped down next to a surprised Adagio, her lightsaber igniting upon her landing. “Having a hard time with this one?” She asked the former siren leader.

“It's not so easy as before. I could tap into the power of my pendent before. Now that I've rejected that, it's just a hunk of rock around my neck.”

Rose looked at her quickly as Sonata was busy sizing them both up. “You can't be serious. Your old siren style won't cut it anymore. Remember that night? When I trained you? Recall those fundamentals. Her style is tailored to what Zaza learned from Fluttershy and myself, so remember. Do that and we might just make it out of this.”

Adagio's mind suddenly began to race as all her combined memories were coming to the forefront. In the blink of an eye she had it all, the brief proper training from the two Jedi merged with her experience and current strength. “Right.”

Sonata rolled her eyes at the two before she launched herself several dozen feet into the air towards them. She performed a flip in midair and launched a wave of force energy at them as Rose and Adagio leaped to away in different directions as the force push collided with the ground, kicking up dust as the blue siren landed down amid the cloud. Through the kicked up sediment, she spotted the illuminated blades as the two Jedi rushed to attack her from both sides, she flipped backwards and landed behind Rose who was caught off guard but managed to spin and parry a swing from the siren in the nick of time. The red haired girl stumbled backwards as Sonata thrust her blade forward, aiming at the girl's midsection.

The attack was prevented as Adagio used force pull to draw her fellow Jedi to her as the two now stood side by side. The blue siren immediately charged in again, spinning and contorting her body into odd angles that were still catching the two off guard. By sticking together, though, the two padawans were able to fill in the defensive gaps of the other and make for a solid defense against their opponent.

Finding it near impossible to find an opening, Sonata took a leap backwards before launching a focused torrent of force lightning at her sister who initially blocked the attack before she was overcome. The blast lifted Adagio off of her feet and threw her back over twenty yards before she hit her back against one of the broken columns. Rose looked back to see smoke emanating from the now unconscious orange haired girl. Her attention was soon taken off of her fallen comrade as Sonata had lunged back into the action, swinging furiously at any and every angle imaginable and once again forced the lone Jedi on the back foot. Rose used every defensive trick in the book that she had studied and drilled for years to keep the siren at bay. The girl eventually shifted to the left as Sonata slashed downward before she brought her blade across in an attempt to slice open the padawan's abdominal section. Rose evaded the attack but the follow-up blow from her attacker sliced through the hilt of her weapon, rendering it useless.

Having no other option, Rose charged towards the siren and did a somersault over her, quickly reaching into her belt and drawing out a second saber, the blade of her old master, Sandalwood. In midair she took a swipe at Sonata's head with the green saber, the maneuver taking the blue skinned girl by surprise as she barely managed to bring her own crimson blade over her head to defend herself. Sonata collapsed onto her back, making her head the perfect target as Rose scrapped her blade across the ground. The siren managed to kick off the ground and hop back to her feet, narrowly avoiding what would have been the killing blow.

The siren spins around but is immediately put back on the defensive as Rose launches a flurry of attacks that pushes her back. Sonata is able to glide with one of the strikes and soon begins to do so with ease as more attacks are effortlessly deflected. Rose attempts a heavy overhead strike down the middle to end the fight only for Sonata to spin left off the center line and respond with a single stab that pierces the padawan's chest. The red haired girl falls to her knees, her eyes wide, seeming to try to come to terms with what had just transpired.

Sonata rises and stood over her for a moment before she instinctively brings her blade up to shield her face as another saber is deflected by her and returns to a now charging Adagio. The elder siren leaps into the air and lands down in front of her sister as Sonata rushes forward and thrusts a blow at her abdomen, the attack barely missing as Adagio leaps back. Sonata cartwheels towards her and then turns into a front flip with Adagio blocking the downward strike as the pair lock blades. Sonata uses the superior strength her transformation has provided to force the elder back before lunging in with a one handed, fencing style of combat, flicking her blade out, keeping Adagio on the defensive. Eventually, Sonata hits her target, cutting the hilt of the orange haired Jedi's saber in half, leaving the latter defenseless before another swing clipped Adagio's left arm.

Adagio staggered back as Sonata charged in to finish the fight. The orange haired siren charged forward and dove underneath the attack, causing her sister to miss wildly and lose her balance. As she spun around, Adagio felt something approach her and held out her right hand to block it, finding a familiar item land in her hands. She found Sandlewood's saber and looked up to see a barely conscious Rose, her hand outstretched and looking to her collapsing soon after.

Sonata had regained her footing and turned to see her opponent with a replacement weapon. The two sirens stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, both knowing that Adagio could not keep up with her sister for much longer. With that in mind, the elder sister charged at the younger, though her blade was yet to be ignited as Sonata smiled wickedly and responded with a charge of her own.

That final motion ended the fight as Sonata's blade ripped through her sister's left shoulder, just above the heart. On the other hand, Adagio had chosen to ignite her blade at the point of contact, letting her sister achieve her blow before switching it on, her attacking running the green blade right through her opponent's sternum. Both simply stood there frozen, each leaning on the other for support.

“I'm...sorry....” Adagio choked out, out of breath and in great pain from her injuries as she switched off her saber. “I never meant....”

Sonata's eyes were wide as she looked at the gaping hole in her body, her transformation reverting her back to her original form. Blood trickled from her mouth as she heaved out a few pained breaths. “Shut...up. We both....knew this...would only end...one way.” The light from her eyes faded as she fell over, taking her sister with her.

Adagio rolled onto her back and looked to her side to see the motionless body of Rose still face down. Slowly but surely, she fought through her pain to reach her fellow padawan, crawling little by little until they were side by side. She looked over to the red head and stretched out her right hand, taking Rose's into her own as she surprisingly felt a weak but determined squeeze. She chuckled lightly, expecting nothing less from the other Jedi, just before she closed her eyes and allowed her body to rest.

Several Weeks Later

“We can't thank you enough Master Jedi for all your help.” Sunny Flare said as she stood on the palace balcony overlooking the city that was still under reconstruction. In the weeks that followed the successful foiling of the Sith plot, the royals and rebel factions had called a temporary truce to aid the civilian population that had suffered.

Fluttershy stood beside her as she looked down as well. “It is a beautiful sight.”

Sunny turned her attention to a golden colored crib next to her where a small infant with violet hued skin slept. “Yes, she is.” She placed a hand down and gently caressed the child's face. “To think we never would have seen this day if not for the help of your order.”

“I simply wish it didn't have to come to this.” Fluttershy noted.

“Neither did we. But we let our egos get in the way.” They were joined by Indigo Zap, who was wheelchair bound as her prosthetic legs had not yet been completed. “But this is a new beginning for all of us if we let it.”

“I admit, things will be hard to say the least. Many are still distrustful of the other side.” Sunny said.

“But I'll try my hardest to keep the peace on my side too. But I can't stop those who want to go.” Indigo admitted.

Fluttershy acknowledged this. “That is admirable. And I will stay here long enough to oversee the disposal of all the chemical stores. But if I were you, I'd work hard on bridging those gaps. We weren't the only observers to this and once the Republic hears of this they might not be so understanding on what's been going on here.”

Indigo and Sunny looked to each other and gave a firm nod. “Of course. And you're welcome to stay as long as you like.” Sunny said. “Your padawan, on the other hand...I'm sorry to say, but many of my people are...uncomfortable having her around. I'm aware that she saved us all but it might be better for her to depart.”

Indigo interceded. “What Sunny means is that some of my people have been talking and the word is getting out on who she really is, or was. It might be safer for her if she wasn't around.”

“Then that will no longer be an issue. I've sent word to her already to depart with Garble to Coruscant.” Fluttershy explained as she refocused her gaze to the horizon.

In a field not far from the castle, Adagio stood over two freshly dug graves. One was for the Celestial Knight, Therma Knight and it rested with her father's grave directly on her right. Though she was not witness to it, the siren had heard the stories of the young woman's gallant feats during the battle; Rushing to save soldiers pinned down under heavy firing, and despite her own injuries, rushing back and forth through the lines to ferry the wounded. She was told how the knight didn't cease until her body finally gave out on her. Adagio had taken the time to retrieve the two rings from Sonata and had ensured that they were buried with her. It was the least she could do.

On the other side rested Roseluck, her fellow padawan, her bitter enemy and yet her closest friend. It was hard to describe exactly what the two were in the end but she'd like to think that in the final moments they shared, they had some sort of understanding of the other. Though tradition would state that the body be taken back to the temple for a Jedi funeral, a special request was made by Fluttershy to have her interred on Kentoph, where Master Tempest Shadow's final resting place lay. She gave one final bow to the two before turning and heading to the landing platform where a few others waited.

She arrived to find the Shock Jackal being tended to by her captain, Garble who, with his arm still having yet to fully regrow, was getting help from his new co-pilot, the R series droid Spike. The two were in a heated argument that resulted in Spike shocking the captain which Adagio couldn't help but chuckle at as she approached. Nearby, she also spotted Daisy who was laughing at the whole ordeal before spotting her comrade.

“Adagio, you made it just in time. I was just about to place a bet on who was winning this one.”

The orange haired girl chuckled before it soon faded. “So are you heading back?”

“To temple guard duty? I don't think so.” Daisy said. “Besides, I doubt they'd take me back after up and abandoning my duties like that, even if it was for a good cause. I think I'll stick with these jokers and see where that leads. What about you?”

“I will go back to the temple of Equus and Coruscant if necessary and find out what fate I am to meet. I will face up to my crimes, no matter the punishment.” She looked down in shame before looking at Sandalwood's lightsaber on her belt and handing it to Daisy. “Here, I should give you this. It isn't mine to keep.”

Daisy looked at it, smile and placed it firmly back into Adagio's hands. “Hold onto that. What is a Jedi without their lightsaber? And I know that Rose would want you to keep that. She'd be honored knowing that it was being used for good.” She placed a hand on her friend's shoulder as the two boarded the ship. “Perhaps I will accompany you to Equus as well and speak on your behalf, if you'd allow it. I know the word of a failed temple guard won't mean much but...”

“I'd be honored.” Adagio said as they were soon joined by the rest of the ship's crew and soon set off into the stars.

Author's Note:

I know it isn't the best way to end things and it's not what I initially had planned but I didn't want to drag this on any longer than I thought necessary and I already had enough delays. So here we are at the end of the road. Some scenes did get cut as I had Flurry Hearts final scene much different but once I finished the duel it just didn't fit right anymore. I also had one final scene with Sky Stinger but that particular one didn't feel appropriate after the rewrite. Still hope everyone who read was at least entertained even if you didn't enjoy everything about it.

Comments

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

Finally sat down to read this. Not a bad finish, even if some plot points were a bit truncated. I did like the core material, particularly regarding Adagio and Sonata, as well as Rose. So I'm glad to see those story elements end on a solid note.

All told, I'm glad to have followed this story to the end. Thanks for sharing it!

[Shadowsnake89]

11439085
Thanks. Yeah, I know a lot of it felt rushed. I'm blaming myself for thinking too big. But I wanted to get this finished up since I'd taken so long to wrap it up. Honestly, I want to go back and touch it up with what I initially left out. Reading it back, I need to keep a list for if I do go and rewrite this final chapter.

But thanks for staying with me until the end, even if it wasn't the greatest conclusion.

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

11439151
Fair enough. And hey, you managed to wrangle together a finish for this plot, right? Regardless of whether or not you ever decide to edit or rework this conclusion, that's still an achievement in my book. ^_^