//------------------------------//
// The Bad Ending 
// Story: Bounty Hunter Anon III 
// by Sunny Solaire 
//------------------------------//

A couple minutes of running later, you make your way back to the elevator shaft. Another boom from outside makes the building vibrate again as you skid to a stop. Did everyone else make it here already, or are you the first one?

You get your answer after a few seconds as Applejack, Pinkie, and Mandalore round a corner behind you. They all stop in their tracks and raise their weapons at you, ready to fire.

You hold up your hands at them. "Hey-Hey! It's me. The real me."

"Prove it." Applejack barks.

You exhale for a moment as you try to think of a way to prove you're not a doppelganger. You think back to something, anything you can use to distinguish yourself to your friends. When you glance at Pinkie, you remember something she's said before. Something no one else would think of.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." You say.

Pinkie blinks once and lowers her blaster. "It's him! That's a Pinkie-Promise!"

Applejack looks at her for a moment before lowering her blaster as well. "'Stick a cupcake in my eye...'" She repeats. "I like that."

You exhale and lower your hands as Mandalore steps towards the elevator shaft. "I take it you didn't destroy all the droids after I left?" You ask.

Applejack shakes her head. "We got most of 'em, but a few ran after you and Chrysalis when the bombs started fallin'."

"I still don't understand why Gilda is here, and why she's helping us." You comment.

Pinkie looks at you with hope in her eyes. "Limestone too... Maybe she's come back to the Light Side, and she wants to be a Jedi again! Maybe she convinced Gilda to be good too!"

"Fat chance." Mandalore says. You all look at him as he turns to you. "I don't know who this Limestone is, but Gilda is a bloodthirsty brute who only looks after herself. She's brought irredeemable dishonor to herself, and this little stunt she's pulling now will not undo that. If we weren't in the middle of something more crucial right now, I'd do all in my power to take her down."

The three of you stay silent for a moment before you speak up. "I'm not disagreeing with you, Mandalore, but the fact that she's going out of her way to buy us time to escape tells me that what she wants to discuss is important. Limestone is Pinkie's sister, and is also Lord Sombra's apprentice. After seeing what they did to Rarity's building on Cato Neimoidia, if they really wanted to kill us, they would've tried already."

Mandalore exhales into a bit of a growl and turns back to the elevator shaft. "Be that as it may, none of this will matter if we don't kill Chrysalis. Let's get back to the task at hand before discussing this further."

You all nod and follow Mandalore to the elevator shaft. He activates his jetpack and hovers in the air for a moment as Applejack approaches him. He wraps his arms around her waist and she holds on tight as they both ascend up towards the rooftop. You activate your jetpack as well and fly into the elevator shaft after them with Pinkie in your arms.

As you fly, Pinkie turns to you. "Anon, what do you think Gilda wants to talk about?"

You shake your head. "I don't know, Pinkie. I say we hear them out though. I know Gilda very well. She prefers killing over talking. I don't trust her, or your sister, for that matter, but the fact that they're working together to destroy a crucial Sith base tells me that they're no longer friends with them. What they have to say might be important."

She pauses for a long moment before speaking again. "What if... What if it's a trick, and Limestone and Gilda don't actually want to talk?"

"Then they both die." You growl.

She frowns and exhales as she turns away, still holding onto you tightly as you ascend. The thought of watching her sister die in front of her is not what she wants in the slightest. You don't blame her, to an extent, but Limestone has tried to kill you all multiple times now. There's got to be a point where enough is simply enough.

For her sake, you decide to change the subject. "When we get up there, I want you to look for a terminal or something and download that data for the droids, alright? It would be a shame to lose them since we can use those schematics better than the Sith can."

Pinkie nods. "Okay, Anon." 

The both of you don't say anything else as you follow Mandalore and Applejack up the elevator shaft. She occasionally looks down at you to make sure you're still behind them, but does nothing else otherwise. The rest of the ascent is uneventful.

As you approach the top of the building, Gilda comes on your comms again. "Resistance is starting to get pretty heated out here, Anon. Hurry the hell up."

"We're working on it, Gilda." You reply. "Chrysalis is trying to escape. We're heading up to the top floor to stop her now."

"Chrysalis is a conniving coward." Limestone says. "I've met her before. She's brilliant, and has big aspirations, but she's weak. My Mast-" She pauses. "Sombra... appointed her as overseer of this facility after failing to best me in combat."

So something did happen since the last time you saw her...

Applejack comes on the comms as well. "I thought it was the way of the Sith to kill anyone y'all saw as weak..."

"My Master commanded that she be kept alive." Limestone says. "Sombra is brilliant and has big aspirations as well, and did not see her as disposable quite yet. Believe me, I wanted to kill her right then and there, but he ordered me to stay my hand."

You all reach the top of the elevator shaft and Mandalore opens the doors. The ground is hundreds of meters below you right now. Being this high up doesn't make you uneasy, unless you're on a planet like Coruscant or Nar Shaddaa. Hell, being in space doesn't even make you nervous anymore. You will never hate having the ability to fly.

As you pass through the doors, Limestone continues. "She knows she is invaluable. She'll try to copy or purge as much important data as she can before escaping. With her shapeshifting abilities, she'll believe she has extra time."

You all proceed through the hallways together. "She came here in a shuttle or something on the landing pad up here." You say. "Think you can slow her down?"

"I see it." Gilda growls.

A few seconds later, the ground beneath your feet shakes violently and a loud explosion erupts from just outside. You almost lose your footing as the entire building seems to wobble back and forth for a moment. You can only assume that Chrysalis' ship is in smithereens right now. She's stuck here with you all.

"That's all the help you'll get from me, Anon." Gilda says. "Now kill her and get out of there, before I blow this base up and leave you all here."

"I don't think I need to remind you that she'll try to deceive you." Limestone adds.

"Yeah, we figured that out already." You reply. "This won't take long."

"Limestone?" Pinkie says. "Thank you..."

Limestone doesn't say anything, but you know she heard Pinkie, because she hasn't cut communications yet. A few long seconds pass before she finally does. Pinkie looks cautiously hopeful and sighs as she lowers her finger from her ear.

As much as you'd like to ponder and think about what's going on in her head right now, you have a more pressing task to focus on. You'll worry about this later.

You all raise your weapons and proceed through the hallways together. The sounds of muffled booms are still echoing from outside, as well as the occasional blasterfire from Sith starfighters fighting Gilda. She should be able to keep them occupied, but if what she has to say is so important, then you've got to hurry.

You turn to Applejack as she jogs alongside you. She's cringing slightly as she holds her blaster in her injured hand. Her good hand is rubbing her injured one a bit.

"Are you okay?" You ask.

She glances at you for a moment and nods. "Yeah, I'm okay. I ain't bleedin', I'm sure. It just stings a bit."

You look ahead again and continue forward with everyone. As you all turn another corner, you reach a closed doorway. The doors are large and obviously lead to somewhere of great importance. You all approach and the doors automatically open, revealing a large chamber that almost looks like an office. This must be where Chrysalis spends most of her time.

The four of you cautiously enter the room and look around with your weapons drawn. She obviously runs this installation like it's a business, based on the layout. There are tables and chairs to your left and right, along with elaborate décor and trinkets scattered around. The lights are dimmed, so it is a bit dark in here, but not enough to blind you. Occasional flashes of orange and green lights from the fighting going on outside can be seen through the windows and illuminate the room a bit more. On the walls, you notice a series of glowing red objects, either in ancient weaponry or jewelry.

Directly ahead of you is a large desk with a series of terminals on it. In addition, you also see a glowing red pyramid sitting in the center. The light pulses softly, almost hypnotically. You've never seen anything like it before.

Pinkie takes a shaky breath and stops walking. "Guys, we should leave. Now."

"Not until we kill Chrysalis." You reply.

Applejack approaches the desk and walks behind it. "Lemme see if I can find any info on those droids here."

Pinkie takes a few frantic steps forward. "Applejack, no! Get away from there!"

As she moves, the terminals shut off, as well as all the lights in the room. The pulsing red object on the desk glows brighter and starts making weird sounds. It almost sounds like people speaking in a different language that is mostly comprised of hissing. It's eerie.

"What is that thing?" Mandalore asks.

"It's a Sith holocron!" Pinkie says. "It stores information and data that can only be accessed by those who use the Dark Side of the Force! It's extremely dangerous!"

You've never seen a holocron before. You've heard of Jedi holocrons, but not Sith ones. Though, it doesn't surprise you that they'd have their own version. Supposedly, a Jedi could sort of transfer their essence or something inside of one, and store lessons or knowledge for future generations to learn from long after they died. Very noble of them, but the Sith, on the other hand, are anything but.

You approach the holocron. "I wonder if she stored the droid's info on this somehow."

As you reach out to touch it, Pinkie runs towards you. "Anon, no!"

You barely nudge it when all of the sudden, the holocron seems to burst and produce a thick plume of dark red smoke that envelops you completely. The sounds of the Sith language from before rise to deafening volumes and seem to swirl around the room and inside your head.

You shout in surprise and try to wave the smoke away, but it doesn't dissipate. Mandalore, Applejack, and Pinkie all seem to vanish from your view, leaving you completely alone and blind. Immediately, you feel the pangs of panic set in as you try in vain to push your way out of the smoke.

What the hell is going on? Where did everyone go? Is this the fear virus? Did you inhale it?

Your heartbeat quickens rapidly and you shout as you grip your head. The hissing sounds grow louder. It's like they're all yelling at you simultaneously in an evil language. Among them, you hear another voice. 

"Feel the fear, Mandalorian... Embrace it..."

You yell loudly again as Chrysalis' voice resonates within your skull. Her clawdite form face materializes in front of you. She holds an outstretched arm towards you and chuckles as you throw your fists at her in a hopeless attempt to attack, but she fades away. You drop to your knees and hold your head as she appears in front of you again, multiple times. Like an army of clones.

"Show me what you cherish most in life..."

Her nearest form walks towards you and transforms into a perfect doppelganger of yourself. Down to the last detail.

She grins at you with your face before speaking in your voice. "Give me the pleasure of taking it away..."

Next, the red smoke behind your form changes to look like the jungles of Mandalore. Sunset is there as well, along with a pair of children... Your future children... With her... Everyone looks so happy. Your doppelganger is wearing a sinister smile as it glares at you with its arm around Sunset.

Then, to your horror, the scene immediately changes to one of you slaughtering your family in the most gruesome way imaginable. Sunset has been immobilized, mutilated and you're forcing her to watch as you brutally murder your children in front of her... They're cowering, screaming, begging you to stop, but you're wearing an evil, gleeful smile on your face as you ignore their pleas.

"No..." You breathe. "Stop it... Please..."

A single tear falls from your eyes as you watch the vision unfold... It's all so real. You can hear their screams. You can see their confused terror. You can feel yourself doing these things to them, but you can't stop it. It's like you're possessed.

"Don't worry, Anonymous..." Chrysalis coos. "I'll take good care of them for you."

Your eyes widen as you realize your greatest fear is being displayed right in front of you. What she's going to do to Sunset after you die here. She's going to live your life in your place, then kill the ones you love.

That. Cannot. Happen. You refuse to let that happen.

You clench your fists and growl in anger. You punch yourself on the side of your helmet a few times, trying to push these horrific images out of your mind.

"Get out of my head..." You snarl.

You open your eyes again and the horror scene in front of you starts to shatter and break. Like a moving piece of glass chipping away. You shake your head again and try to come back to reality. The spire on Khar Delba. The Sith. Your friends.

"Anon!" Another voice shouts. It's Pinkie.

Behind the broken vision of your future family, you spot Chrysalis running towards you. As she breaks through the imaginary picture of Sunset and your children, she changes her form to look like Pinkie and holds her arm out to you as if to save you.

Your eyes widen as you see right through her disguise. As she reaches for your hand, you reply with a punch to her face. She looks surprised as you see through her trick and doesn't have time to react. She grunts as you impact her in the nose and she falls to the ground on her back. She looks up at you, still disguised as Pinkie, except for the eyes, and starts to panic.

You stand up and raise both your fists over your head, ready to deliver the final blow. "DIE!"

She scrambles just in time to avoid your impact and runs away. You're so focused on her that you almost don't realize that you're back in her office. The vision has faded away. Blasterfire is going on all around you. More droids have entered the office. Applejack is taking cover behind the desk and Mandalore is fighting alongside the real Pinkie.

You're too blinded by rage to join them. You've got to kill Chrysalis right now.

"CHRYSALIS!" You roar as you charge after her.

"Anon, wait!" Applejack yells, but you ignore her.

Chrysalis turns to run towards a pair of holodroids. One of them is also disguised as Pinkie, while the other is disguised as Rainbow. You shoot them both as you try to hit Chrysalis. She yells as you gain on her.

You follow her down a hallway, shooting at her as best as you can. You blast her in the leg and she yells as she trips. With another snarl, you bring your foot back as you prepare to kick her, but she turns around and pushes you away with the Force. You fly backwards and land on your behind, but you quickly recover and get to your feet again. Chrysalis has run around a corner and is no longer in sight.

With another enraged growl, you get back up and bolt after her.