Force of Wills: A Duel of Fates Story

by Shadowsnake89

Chapter 9

Above the planet Kentoph, the royal fleet's flagship The Somnambula, a Providence-class dreadnought accompanied by six escort vessels as well as several smaller support craft sat in their defensive formation to watch for any signs of rebel or other unauthorized attempts to enter their space. On the bridge of the capitol ship a male Chiss in the standard dark purple and gold officers uniform sat in his command station looking over a cube device in his hand that was little more of a brain teaser puzzle. He played with the object as he pressed several colored squares on each side, choosing carefully which one he put pressure on as little by little the colored panels vanished. "Admiral?" Someone called as he gave no response, his mind fully invested in solving the puzzle. "Admiral Semalir?" The second call just managed to catch his attention just as he finished solving it and all the colored panels were now gray on all sides.

"Hmm? Apologies, Juniper. I often get distracted with these little bobbles." He looked up to a young woman with her blue hair tied in two tight buns holding a datapad in her hands. She also wore a semi-translucent visor over her eyes as she had a look of annoyance on her face.

"Maybe I should find a different type of gift for you. Anyway, we've been trying to hail the supply depot in the capital. It's not like them to be late."

"Not strange. Pharaoh Hisan has all these preparations for the festival today. A lot of traffic. It's not abnormal for such an undertaking planned by him to get things jumbled." The admiral stated as he sat up in his seat.

"I understand that but we aren't able to reach anyone. No response on any channel we've tried."

"That's definitely a security risk. Take a team with you on one of the shuttles and let them know what's going on. The last thing we need is to be caught with our guard down."

"Sir, we're detecting multiple objects coming out of hyperspace!" One of the bridge crew sounded off as a small single seat fighter with a hyperspace ring attached appeared a short distance from the lead vessel. Semalir took note of the ship.

"That's a Jedi starfighter."

"Another one? Great." Juniper said sarcastically. "As if the ones we had weren't enough of a headache." Suddenly the other hyperspace detected targets appeared in the form of at least a dozen warships, among them two large carriers that began to deploy starfighters from their hangers. "It's a Republic invasion force!"

"I don't recognize the models." Semalir noted, his thoughts on the ship profiles cut short as his mind quickly switched to the task at hand. "All hands, battle stations." The Chiss said calmly as everyone rushed to their stations as the alarm was sounded. The ship gun batteries began to fire on the incoming fighters as they made attempts to counter with the thin patrol squadrons that were already launched while they scrambled to sortie more from their own hangers. Amidst the fire, the Jedi starfighter was targeted almost immediately as its pilot quickly ejected the hyperspace ring which was promptly destroyed. The pilot managed to penetrate the distracted fighter screen and heavy anti-fighter weapons, though a shot from one of the support ships hit one of the engines, sending it damaged but still flyable to the planet's surface.

Royal Palace
The room froze as everyone's eyes turned to the captured Hisan as Sonata Dusk's blade singed his throat. "Let's go for a little walk, Your Highness. There are some folks who can't wait to meet you and the little lady." The siren smiled widely as she prepared to move away from the throne. Sonata was surprised as her hand was twisted, forcing the blade to the ground, taking off the front of Hisan's celebratory garb but leaving him otherwise unharmed and able to stagger away from the danger. The siren instantly responded by rolling with the grab and getting her hand and weapon free and spun to face her attacker.

"I was hoping I'd get the chance to face you again, space witch." Celestial Knight Crimson said as he brandished a scimitar like vibro-blade in his left hand before switching it to his right. Not having time to done his full attire, he'd settled with a blue tunic and black pants with boots the same color as the shirt. "Time to die for what you've done."

Sonata shrugged at this comment as he charged her with several furious swings, which she managed to evade with a bit of effort. "Eh, I'll take what I deserve, but...who are you?" This response only warranted another series of attacks that forced her away. Before the fight could continue, Tempest and the four others entered the evacuating ballroom.

"Father!" Therma's call was just the distraction Sonata needed to make her escape as she force pushed Crimson back several feet and leaped out one of the windows and onto one of the lower balconies. The group looked out as they watched her run into the palace interior.

Hisan, now flanked by two of his regrouped guards, rushed to the assembled team. "They've taken the queen! They've taken Sunny Flare!"

"We'll find her, Pharaoh Hisan. I swear to you no harm will come to her." Sunset reassured.

Crimson steadied himself as he looked out the window. "They couldn't have gotten far. I'll go after this one. They have to be rendezvousing with each other if they were trying to get Hisan as well." He turned to his daughter. "Stay with Hisan, Therma." She went to open her mouth to speak before he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Keep him safe, apprentice. I know you'll make me proud." She balled her fist and her face was clearly showing that she was not pleased with this arrangement but she obediently nodded in agreement. Crimson braced himself and leaped over the side to pursue his siren quarry.

Sunset then got everyone else's attention. "Let's move. Rose, Daisy, you two find and protect any of the civilians caught in this. We don't know how many of the rebels have penetrated the palace. We'll go and rescue Sunny Flare." Tempest and Sunset ran out into the main hallway to track their target. Rose hesitated for a moment and raced after them.

"Master!" She shouted out as they stopped and she ran up to them.

Tempest looked at her with stern eyes. "Apprentice, you have your assignment. Go!" Tempest turned back to head her own way.

"Master, please...I...I'm..." Rose couldn't manage to get her words out, but Tempest Shadow understood all the same.

The Jedi sighed before answering. "I know, Rose. I know. It'll be alright." The two Jedi Knights raced off as Rose watched them depart before going back to join Daisy.

Down the hall from the ballroom, Sunny Flare and her captor used the crowd of fleeing guests to mask their escape. "This is Blue 1, I have the royal pain in the butt and I'm on my way to the extraction point. Come on!" She yanked on the queens arm as she led her down a side hallway to their destination where two guards stood.

"Guards, arrest him!" Sunny commanded as the two turned to her, their eyes a solid green color with blank expressions on their faces.

"Sorry to disappoint, Sunny. My friends have secured us an easy escape route, so please save your breath." Her captor finally removed the mask revealing Indigo Zap herself as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't need that anymore."

"Indigo?" A shocked Sunny Flare said as the other woman rubbed the short bristles on her freshly shaved head.

"Surprise. Be honest, is this a good look for me or no? You were always good at giving your own straight forward and unfiltered opinion." She joked as she pushed Flare along with the two troopers escorting them.

"You won't get away with this." The queen said defiantly. "The Jedi will stop you."

Indigo had a none to pleased look as she grabbed Sunny Flare by the face. "Believe me, nothing is going to stop me from making sure you pay for what you've done to these people, this planet... and Lemon."

"Lemon Zest? What are you talking about?" Her confused response was met with a pistol whip across the face that rendered her unconscious as the two guards held her up.

"Really wish you'd stop taking me for a fool. But we'll have time to sort that out later. Bring her." One of the guards lifted her into his arms as they continued on. "As for those Jedi, I've got a fix for them."

On one of the many high points of the palace, Adagio was knelt down, singing her siren song as the energy traveled through a section of the palace to maintain her control of a select set of guards that would help ferry the kidnapped royals to their extraction point as well as stop anyone attempting to interfere. The feat seemed a task easier said than done as her gem flickered on and off as she strained to maintain so many connections on her own, even with the steady flow of negative energy being generated. This was something that she would have previously been able to do with no problem at all. She simply chalked it up to being out of her original body for too long and stepping back into it far too quickly without either rest nor practice and went back to singing.

Inside and around the palace, battles had broken out as rebels, their battle droids and controlled guards did battle with the royal guard who did their best to reorganize amidst the chaos. Meanwhile, Crimson Napalm stalked the halls as he was on the trail of the blue skinned siren. He rounded a corner that led to a hall filled with tapestries of the past rulers of the planet. The knight walked down the hall cautiously as he kept his blade close to his chest. A sudden movement of one of the tapestries to his left caught his attention as his eyes shifted that way only for Sonata to leap out of the shadows on the opposite side. The two clashed blades before he forced her back and charged with a series of heavy handed swings that put the siren on the defensive early. An overhead swing came at her as she shifted her body to the left and let herself seemingly go limp as her arms hung down freely and her shoulder were slumped. She began to effortlessly dodge each of Crimson's attacks and retaliated with a series of unpredictable and awkward movements that saw her swinging her blade wildly at different angles.

"Wait, now I remember you." She said as she backed away for a moment. "Yeah, you were one of those knight guys."

"You will pay for that." He said as he pointed the blade at her.

"Doubt it. FYI, if you fought with this much ferocity before, maybe they wouldn't have died." She casually reached into her pocket and pulled out a golden ring with ornate carvings on it. "I have to say, your Mrs. did have good taste."

The Celestial Knight's body shook in anger as he looked at the ring that had previously belonged to his wife. "Give that to me, now!"

"At the risk of sounding corny; Come and get it." She smiled wickedly as her charged forward and she fled further into the palace. Unknown to the knight, a green aura began to emanate from him as Sonata looked back to make certain she was still being pursued. The chase eventually led the two to the Sunny Flares personal aviary as Sonata looked around for a place to get out.

"No where to run, siren." Crimson said.

"Funny," Sonata aid calmly as she had her back to him. "I was just about to say something similar." She spun her head, showing her red eyes and the rows of sharp teeth in her mouth just before snapping her fingers. A sudden growl was heard as a blue furred anooma rushed out from some of the foliage and leaped at the surprised Crimson, knocking him to the ground as it clawed at him and made constant attempts to bite his face and neck. Sonata gleefully ran up to him and took her time to kick him as he used all his strength to keep the creature from finishing him. A sharp kick to his kidney was all it took for him to give way as the beast seized him by the left arm and began to violently shake him and toss him about. He landed on his back as Sonata laughed. "Remo, kill."

The anooma obeyed the command and pinned the Celestial Knight to the ground with it's paw and prepared to deliver the killing bite to the back of the neck. A sudden burst of blaster fire sounded off as the creature slumped over dead. In the doorway of the aviary stood Garble, a heavy blaster pistol in his left hand. Seeing her favored pet dead caused Sonata to let out a psychotic scream as Garble immediately responded by firing shot after shot at her, only for the projectiles to be deflected by her wild yet somehow accurate saber swings as she rushed him. With blinding speed, she came from under him and with a simple flip, took off his shooting arm up to the elbow, which caused him to scream in agony.

Sonata swung around for the final strike only to be blasted against the wall. She arose in anger and looked to find Napalm, his arm and palm outstretched, had hit her with a force push. He arose as Garble held the stump of his arm. "Go." The knight said as he raised his blade with his still functional arm and prepared for the siren's attack. Garble responded by picking up his blaster with his right hand.

"You need all the help you can get and between us we've still got two working hands. I figure that makes us a whole fighter still." He smirked as Napalm gave an approving nod. Sonata looked at them both and charged forward with blinding speed. Garble fired a flurry of shots as she either evaded of blocked them in her awkward style. She got between them and kicked Garble away before targeting Napalm. He did his best to parry her attacks but found few openings to counterattack as she pushed him back. Garble got to his feet and fired again, one of the shots hitting Sonata in the right ankle as she winced for a moment. Napalm took the advantage and began delivering powerful strikes that backed her up.

The siren flipped backwards and kicked the knight in his left arm that caused him no small amount of pain as he yelled. She followed it up with a spinning kick that caught him on the side of the neck and put him down. Sonata swiftly turned to Garble and used the force to pick him up and tossed him out of one of the glass windows of the aviary and onto the small balcony outside, rendering him unconscious. The sound of metal clanging hit her ears as she turned around to see the Celestial Knight getting to his feet, using his blade to support him. Sonata rolled her eyes before charging him again, this time with a continuing fury as he did his best to hold ground even for a brief moment. It wasn't long before he swung too widely and she parried the shot and ran him through the stomach with her lightsaber.

His body went limp as he fell to his knees, the crimson blade still firmly in his chest as he strained his remaining breaths. She stood over him and put her hands to his cheeks and caressed them softly. "Shh shh. It's okay. Just let go. You look tired. How about I sing you a lullaby?" She took in a deep breath and opened her mouth which unleashed a horrible wail in the knights face that shook the entire room and shattered the glass windows behind Napalm as any remaining birds that resided there flew off. Soon she'd stopped and looked down at her victim as blood trickled out of his ears and nose and his eyes were now completely blank. With a twisted grin, she pulled her blade out of him before releasing him from her grasp and allowing his body to finally fall to the ground. She knelt down and pulled the matching golden band to the one she'd possessed off his finger and, after spitting on him, left the room to rendezvous with the rest of her team.

Sunset and Tempest were themselves pursuing Indigo Zap and the kidnapped queen as they battled their way through about half a dozen battle droids and controlled guards, slicing the droids up but being careful to only disable the guards. Ahead of them Indigo and her controlled guards took the queen passed another checkpoint as they neared their escape. Indigo listened in on one of the trooper's headsets. "Dang! The Jedi are right behind us! We need to slow them down." After saying this, a black cloaked figure appeared from the shadows which caused Indigo to jump. "Jeez! Could you not do that? Well since you're here, stop those Jedi on our tails." The figure nodded in acknowledgement as Indigo and the others ran on. They stood in the center of the hall and awaited the Jedi who were in hot pursuit.

"Come on! I can sense them up ahead." Sunset stated as the two rounded the corner only to be met by the shadowy figure who stood in their path, perfectly still.

"Jedi." They hissed in a raspy voice as the cloak obscuring there face and body was removed and dropped to the ground. The purple skinned siren, Aria Blaze stood before them, her skin covered in fresh scars and burn marks, her singed hair allowed to flow freely and her right eye covered with a black patch, a jagged scar running along the skin under it. She smiled, several of her teeth having been removed. "Hehehe. Jedi...." She ignited her single red saber and stood in defiance of the two, using the weapon's heat to carve a line in the ground.

"We don't have time for this even with two of us." Tempest whispered as she and Sunset had ignited their blades as well.

"Right. Well...I'll give you an opening and you retrieve the queen. On my signal." Sunset rushed forward and engaged Aria as the siren blocked her first attack and pushed her backwards. The fiery haired Jedi charged again as the two opened up with a flurry of attacks against one another. Tempest saw her opportunity and quickly leaped over the two duelists. Seeing this, Aria gave a swift kick to Sunset's chest that knocked her down before she reached into the air, grabbed Tempest by her leg and tossed her back across the line. The two regrouped and charged at her in unison, this time finding success as Tempest dove under a swing from her opponent just as Sunset caught the red blade with her blue. Tempest came out of the roll and dashed forward, leaving Aria furious. She could do little however as she still had an opponent in front of her.

"One Jedi still dies by my hands. Then...she'll see. She'll see me." Aria ranted on as Sunset noticed the gem around her neck was taking in a green mist like substance. The siren began to change as the Jedi saw that the purple skinned girl's muscles became slightly larger and more toned. Aria breathed out as the transformation stopped and she charged Sunset, ignoring the line she'd drawn in the ground. Their blades collided as the ground beneath them cracked from the power of Aria's blow, sending Sunset staggering backwards. Sunset prepared herself for another attack as the siren swung with heavy blows that were delivered with a surprising speed as each pushed Sunset's defensive attempts away and she was pushed further back down the hall.

"Weak Jedi. I'll kill you. Then your weak friends." Aria swung widely across that tossed Sunset against a wall. The Jedi used force push on the siren who braced herself so that the attack didn't move her at all. She responded with one of her own that forced Sunset Shimmer through the wall and into the upper floor of the palace art gallery. Aria leaped through the wall and attempted to bring her blade on top of the Jedi who rolled out of the way and jumped back to her feet and charged the siren with a flurry of attacks. Despite the speed of the onslaught, Aria grinned and blocked each of the speedy blows. She kicked Sunset against the railing that overlooked the first floor of the gallery and brought down a powerful overhead strike that the Jedi dodged by rolling forward and delivered a kick to Aria's left kneecap. A cracking sound was heard as she screamed in pain and collapsed on her one good knee.

Sunset held her blade to Aria. "It's over. Give up and we'll show you mercy. You can't fight like that, no matter how strong you are."

Aria's one eye began to twitch as she looked to the ground. "I am strong. She'll see my strength." She muttered to herself as her gen began to absorb more of the negative energy that permeated the entire castle from the ongoing conflict. Swiftly, she ignited her blade and delivered a swing that knocked Sunset back and over the railing onto the hard floor of the gallery. Aria continued to absorb more as she grew stronger, her muscle mass increasing until she was twice the size she started out and almost half a foot taller. She jumped down, cracking the floor as she grabbed an injured Sunset Shimmer by the leg and tossed her about, smashing several ceramic vases on pedestals before throwing her into a wall. "Pathetic Jedi." She walked toward her and crushed Sunset's weapon under her foot. "I'll break your bones, shatter them into pieces. Let them put you back together and take you apart again." She grabbed Sunset's leg as she weakly tried to crawl away.

"E....Enough!" Sunset shouted out as Aria found herself flung across the room. Aria crashed into the wall which caused the paintings to fall to the ground and on top of her. She got to her feet as she was shocked as Sunset was furious, her eyes a bright yellow as she walked towards her. The Jedi raised her hands and the siren was lifted from the ground before being slammed against the wall. Aria fought in an attempt to break free of the force hold only to be rewarded with a stream of force lightning that hot from Sunset's fingertips. She screamed in agony as a twisted smile ran across the Jedi's face as she pumped more lightning into her body.

On the landing pad where the rebels awaited the arrival of their captives, Adagio had already made her way there and meditated in the gunship they had ready. Her breathing became erratic, her body shook and her brow furrowed as something seemed to be troubling her. Finally her eyes shot open as she came to the realization. "Master?"

At that same moment, her voice echoed through the force and into Sunset's mind, snapping her out of her current action. Sunset shook her head as her eyes turned back to their original cyan color. Aria was dropped to the ground as Sunset breathed heavily, looking down at her hands as she immediately regretted what she had just done and tried to calm herself. She closed her eyes, put her hands together and began to recite the Jedi code. "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force."

As she did this, Aria struggled to get up to her feet and looked across the room at her opponent. "You...hurt me. Just like....her. Just like her!" She ignited her blade and charged at Sunset whose eyes were still shut. Aria let out a primal shout as she swung downward at the Jedi who, with lightning reflexes shifted to her left, evading the attack completely. The siren brought the blade up and across to hit her target's new position only for Sunset to spin away and behind her with seemingly little effort. She spun around and attacked again and again, each blow being evaded easier than the last as Sunset used ergonomic movements to evade the wild, telegraphed swings of the siren. Finally Aria had had enough and put all her power into a roundhouse swing, intent on taking the Jedi's head off.

In one swift motion, Sunset stepped forward, spun under the attack and deliver a single punch to the chest of her opponent as she opened her eyes with an intense expression. The blow sent a shock wave of energy clear through Aria's body as she dropped her blade and gasped for air. Her gemstone shattered to pieces as her body began to shrink down to it's normal size. She leaned on Sunset's fist for a moment before taking a few steps and toppling backwards. The Jedi quickly rushed forward and caught the girl before her head slammed against the floor and cradled her head in her lap.

"Should have..." Aria choked out with a small smile as she began to cough, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of her mouth. "Couldn't...make her see me. Not good enough....Useless."

"Shh, It'll be alright." Sunset assured her. "We'll get you help."

Aria looked up to the Jedi and held up a shaking hand that Sunset took into her own as the siren squeezed tightly. "I don't...wanna go...please." She cried out through the coughs. "I don't...I...I..." Her hand released it's grip as her arm went limp and her head drooped down to the side. Sunset retained her grip for several seconds before placing it on the siren's chest and gently closing the young woman's eyes. She got to her feet and picked up the siren's lightsaber as her own had been destroyed in the duel, and raced off to Tempest, hoping she'd have things well in hand.

On the landing pad, Indigo along with the controlled guards and Sunny Flare arrived as the queen was loaded into the gunship. One of the rebel troopers then stepped forward and shot both of the controlled guards in the chest, much to the surprise of Indigo and Adagio. "What was that?" Indigo shouted.

"Just following orders ma'am."

"My orders, by the way." Sonata said as she gleefully leaped onto the landing pad. "They served their purpose and we certainly weren't going to bring them with us. Right Master Adagio?"

The orange haired siren stood silently for a moment before speaking. "R-Right. Just...loose ends." She turned to board the drop ship as Indigo had a concerned expression on her face. "Hurry, we don't have much time before. We need to get moving while we still have a clear exit." The siren paused just before stepping onto the vessel and turned her head to see Tempest Shadow rushing to the landing pad. She jumped back off and ignited her blade. "Get on the ship and get out of here."

Sonata smiled as she prepared for a fight. "You heard her."

"You too, apprentice." Sonata gave a confused look before a stern glare from her master forced her to comply as everyone else jumped into the vessel and it prepared for takeoff. She began to walk toward the approaching Jedi and launch a short burst of force lightning at her as Tempest used her saber to absorb the energy of the attack. "That's far enough, Jedi."

"Stop!" Adagio's eyes shifted behind Tempest as Sunset quickly joined her. Adagio looked unsure of herself as the drop ship began to take off. "Zaza, don't do this. I don't know what's going on, but it's not too late to stop this. Please, just stand aside." Sunset took a step forward and slowly began to advance on her former apprentice. Her uncertainty turned into rage and then to determination on what she was about to do as she gave a small smile.

"Zaza? Zaza is permanently out of the picture." She focused for a moment before unleashing a powerful force wave that threw the unprepared Sunset back and almost off the platform as she barely managed to save herself. "You're dealing with Adagio Dazzle now."

Tempest sighed before adopting a combat stance. "I suppose that's it then." Opening quickly she rushed the Sith, releasing a powerful force push that Adagio held her ground against and took it full force. This turned out to be a ruse as the Jedi leaped over her and made a mad dash for the ship. She jumped onto the side of the vessel and began to cut into the door before Adagio used the force to pull her off the ship.

"Go, now!" Adagio yelled as the crew complied and sped off. Unknown to her or the crew, Tempest had slipped a tracker on the hull. The siren leaped into the air and brought down her blade onto Tempest, who managed to block the attack from her downed position. She forced Adagio's blade upwards and proceeded with a series of rolling attacks from her current angle, aiming at the siren's legs as she was forced to move backwards. Sunset had gotten to her feed and quickly ran toward the two as she stopped the action by grabbing Adagio from behind, locking her arms to her sides.

"That's enough! Listen to me!" Sunset tried to reach her former apprentice only for the siren to rear her head back into the former's nose and forced her to release her rip. She reignited her blade and clashed with the now upright Tempest and shot her with lightning, sending her far across the platform. "Listen to you? Listen to you?!" She screamed before she grabbed Sunset, punching her in the stomach and, when she was doubled over, kneed her in the face before throwing her to the ground. "All I've ever been was lied to! From the council.", she kicked Sunset in the side. "Fluttershy.", she stomped on the Jedi's right hand, forcing her to release her blade. "And you knew, didn't you? Didn't you?!"

She held her blade to Sunset's neck and looked down at her with a sneer. "I knew." Sunset admitted. "It was wrong to hide it. Zaza was a child. How would you explain that to someone so young? I...we wanted to protect her from that. Give her a new life, a second chance."

"Well it's a bit late for that." Adagio raised her blade to deliver the finishing blow.

"I don't believe that. She...you pulled me back from giving into my darker nature. I sensed it." The siren's face softened a bit as Sunset continued. "I know how you are feeling. I may just be the only one in the order who does. You may have Adagio's body, her power, but I know that somewhere in that shell Zaza is still there deep down. She knows and you know. You don't want to do this."

"I can't stop this. None of us can. She's on her way as we speak."

"Who?" Before Sunset's question could be answered, a yellow lightsaber flew through the air, barely missing Adagio's face, cutting off her left ear as she screamed. The blade came back to it's original position as Rose caught the returning weapon.

"Liar! " In her rage, Adagio lifted up Sunset with the force and threw her off the platform. She charged Rose as the two locked blades. She pushed the red haired girl back as she spun her blade and connected with a shot that put her opponent off balance before attempting to sweep her legs. Rose was quickly losing ground and found herself with little else to do but move away just as she blocked an overhead strike that began to force her to her knees. The padawan looked up to the furious siren as her abilities had already began to heal the damage done by the lightsaber throw and the ear was almost restored.

"You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" Adagio asked as she brought down heavy blow after heavy blow on top of the defending Rose. She switched up her swing style and knocked Rose's blade over the side before she nicked both of the girl's arms with her blades. The strikes were not serious damage but made certain the girl wouldn't be fighting back again. Rose gritted her teeth and began to crawl backwards in fear of the siren, who held her at the end of her blade. "Why?" She asked her downed opponent. "Why did you do this?"

"I...I thought you were a danger...." Rose uttered before she was silenced with a jolt of lightning.

"Stop lying! Aria fixed all this. She told me so herself. But you...you went along with every step of it. You knew something was wrong and you did nothing to stop it. That little girl was happy. She had a life and you as good as killed her. Why?" She saw Rose shift her gaze down to something clipped to the padawan's side and Adagio instantly recognized the hilt of Jedi Sandalwood's lightsaber. "Your master? That's what this is? Revenge?" A mix of laughter and sobbing came out of Adagio's mouth as she suddenly stomped on Rose's right shoulder.

"You idiot! Zaza and I are not the same person! I can still feel her inside of me and I can't shut her out now. Sandalwood...he gave everything to give that child something, anything to hold onto and you took everything from her." She looked up to see Tempest getting back up and began to back away from Rose. "And now I'm going to take everything from you."

"No, no. Please no!" Rose pleaded as the Sith spun around and charged at Tempest Shadow, as the two locked blades and engaged in a high speed duel. Tempest form made it difficult for Adagio's speed to give her any type of advantage as the former's superior strength came into play as she was able to hold her own with the siren. The two sized each other up, making sporadic attacks as each probed for weakness in the other's form. Eventually Adagio rushed forward with a series of strikes that didn't move Tempest from her position as she was soon countered with a strike that sliced her right side open. The wound was temporary as it soon healed over without much effort.

The siren then opened up with reckless abandon as the Jedi's strikes connected but amounted to little as the injuries were soon patched up. A quick accurate strike cut the hilt of Tempest's lightsaber in half, leaving her without a weapon and only able to evade for the moment. Adagio eventually got through with a slashing attack that cut Tempest's left cheek and another that cut a shallow gash across her midsection as she went down to one knee. She prepared to finish the Jedi with another strike only for her to be surprised as Tempest leaped forward and tackled her to the ground. The Jedi fought through the pain and used her cybernetic right hand to deliver a rapid series of blows to Adagio's head as the siren tried unsuccessfully to block the hits. Again and again Tempest brought down her fist onto her target as the resistance from the siren gradually dissipated and she'd stopped moving.

"Master?" Rose called out as Tempest stopped herself, getting up quickly and turning her head away from the motionless body. She began to make her way over to her apprentice to aid her, only to fall down to her knees again from her fresh wounds as well as the ones that hadn't completely healed from the crash.

"I'll be okay. I just need to..." She looked to Rose whose eyes were wide with horror as she gave her a confused look before realizing all too late what was happening as she briefly felt the heat of a blade on the back of her neck.

"No!" Rose screamed out as the thudding of a body hitting the ground as well as the sound of a head rolling filled her ears. Adagio stood over her slain opponent as the bones of her previously caved in facial structure had mostly realigned themselves to there proper places. She began to approach the now defenseless Rose to finish things. She stopped suddenly as she looked into the sky to see a familiar looking fighter craft make an emergency landing on another nearby platform. "No. You haven't suffered enough yet." She threw herself over the side of the landing pad, both she and Rose knowing full well this was not the end of things. Rose looked in utter fear and shame as the recently landed ships occupant, Fluttershy, emerged and looked across to her.

Comments

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

...Well damn. I got nothing else to say!

[Shadowsnake89]

10318224
Your response is well and truly justified. I wanted this chapter to have maximum impact and I'd say it just about did it.

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

10318247
Yeah! I mean, I know I kinda got into a rut of saying that the previous chapters were heavy, or drama bombs, but yeah, this one has them all beat in that regard! XD

[Shadowsnake89]

10318254
Yeah, It was a lot to take in and this chapter is really something I had envisioned for a while. A lot happened here and the fallout in the next chapter is not going to be fun.

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

10318278
I will be waiting for that next chapter, with mingled anticipation and dread. XD