Chapter XXIV – It Comes
Down To This… Part II
Zula
sat back in the comfortable chair and watched the
stars fly indiscriminately past his viewport. He had
recently made the jump into hyperspace and could now
relax. He hadn’t been away from his Master’s side in
a very long time and now that the opportunity had
arisen and been seized, he felt very alone. He
glanced down at his frail looking arms, their ash
color a constant reminder of his tortured past.
The past, he
reminisced.
In
his hand, he held a small mirror. He couldn’t recall
the last time he had glanced into one but knew it
had been long ago. He dared himself, willed it even,
to look in the mirror…and tried…unsuccessfully, for
he knew what hideousness awaited him in his
reflection. The once vibrant eyes of a young
Clawdite had become sunken in, the surrounding gray
skin growing more and more translucent. He no longer
appeared as he did in his youth, a youth that was
stolen unmercifully from him.
But
Reynard had saved him.
Zula’s thoughts swirled in his head. You will
understand…you must!
He
rose from his chair and made his way over to the
computer console. “Forgive me,” he said in a near
whisper and activated the comm.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Darkness competed against the light, desperately
determined to extinguish its torch.
However, the light fought back – such an eternal
sentence would not be achieved so easily.
Crimson struck cerulean repeatedly but could not
break the barrier. The vibrant glow of the
lightsabers served as a lodestar that guided the
combatants to their quarry.
“You cannot win!” Sidious seethed, his crimson
lightsaber illuminating his gruesome face.
“You forget, I defeated you once already,” Anakin
stated with a countenance born from confidence.
“A miscalculation, I assure you,” Sidious snarled
back.
With deadly accuracy, each lightsaber arced through
the air and came together in a powerful crash.
There was no room for mercy, no giving of quarter,
only the finality of death.
“You forget your place, Anakin,” Sidious claimed as
he tried to break through the Jedi’s defenses.
“You never were my Master, Palpatine,” Anakin
retorted.
“I have always been your Master, I always will be.”
Anakin narrowed his eyes and smirked as he said,
“Only in your dreams.”
Every stroke, every twist and turn of the body to
gain advantage, and every thrust of their
lightsabers still left the combatants evenly
matched.
And then Sidious suddenly stepped back beyond reach.
He raised his free hand and called upon the darkness
of the Force.
“So be it, JEDI!” he hissed as an enormous
concentration of blue Sith lightning burst forth
from his fingertips.
Anakin held out his lightsaber to absorb the
powerful barrage but could not gather all of the
errant lightning into his blade. The remaining
impact knocked him backward several feet, leaving
him dazed and in enormous pain.
Darth Sidious unleashed the lightning again as his
eyes filled with an excitement he hadn’t felt in a
long time. He was one with the dark energy and
watched in anxious anticipation as his enemy writhed
uncontrollably.
“Fool! Only now do you understand!” he cackled.
“I understand all too well, your highness,” came a
new voice and with it a new foe that stood between
the warring Force-users, brandishing an ignited
lightsaber in each hand.
Darth Sidious pulled back the lightning and stared
at the new nemesis who dared to interfere.
“Luke, my boy, I see you are as foolish as your
father,” Sidious venomously growled.
Luke Skywalker boldly took a step forward and fully
self-assured replied, “No, it is you who are the
fool. I am a Jedi, like my father before me! And
today is your judgment day.”
Sidious laughed so loudly the ground began to quake.
As the boisterous laughter died down he said, “I
have shown I can defeat the ‘Chosen One’, what makes
you think you can do better?”
“He won’t have to,” a voice suddenly said from
behind Luke.
Anakin Skywalker walked around his son and looked at
him with pride and love. “I won’t be needing that,”
he said, pointing at the blue lightsaber Luke held.
“But Father,” Luke said quizzically.
Anakin shook his head as he placed his hand upon
Luke’s shoulder. The gentle touch and the emotion
evoked behind it said more than mere words ever
could. “No, my son. Now go.” Before another word
could be spoken, Anakin turned to face the Dark Lord
of the Sith. In the confines of his mind, he called
upon the Force, but not as before, this time he
would merge himself with the energy…and become one.
Sidious was correct – he did understand now.
The ‘Chosen One’ stood between his enemy and his
son, his body becoming iridescent and then
transforming into an effervescent translucent
appearance.
Surprised and unprepared, the Dark Lord sent forth
the Sith lightning. It effortlessly sprang from his
fingertips and hurled itself full force toward
Anakin.
It entered the Jedi Master’s body but Anakin neither
recoiled in pain nor screamed. His only reaction was
the small smile that crept up his lips.
Luke stood in place, amazed by what he was
witnessing. ‘Luminous beings are we…’, he heard
echoed in his mind, ‘Feel, don't think. Trust your
instincts.’
“Master Qui-Gon? Master Yoda?” Luke appeared
perplexed by the ghostly voices he was hearing. He
thought back to when he had heard those words before
and then suddenly realized what his father was
doing. “Nooooo!” he shouted too late. A voice,
familiar yet distant whispered in his ears, “The
prophecy of the ‘Chosen One’ – it is time. May the
Force be with you – always.”
“No, Qui-Gon, NOOOO! Not like this…please!” Luke
screamed at the voice.
No reply came from the Jedi Master who had become
one with the Force decades ago. Instead, Luke
abruptly vanished.
Anakin could sense the presence of his old Master in
addition to the Jedi Master’s throughout time that
had coalesced with the Force. They nourished him and
gave him peace, but he would not submit to their
calling.
Emperor Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, Dark
Lord of the Sith, could feel the enormous power
radiating off his opponent. Years ago he had sought
to corrupt the young man, to take advantage of the
‘Chosen One’s’ gifts of the Force and manipulate
them to do his bidding. He had failed on more than
one occasion and as he now looked upon the same man,
he knew his potential fate.
The Son of the Suns had become his namesake.
Amassing every portion of strength he possessed, the
Emperor began to change, reshaping from a corporeal
form to one of pure energy and then gave it free
rein.
The clouds that had already gathered in the sky,
darkened over as lightning burst forth. Thunder
clapped loudly and rain and hail poured down
unmercifully. The mass of energy that Sidious had
become shot out in every direction, determined to
destroy anything in its path and end this battle so
he could reign unequivocally. He still had the means
of exacting his revenge upon the Jedi by taking over
Sakoya’s fetus and nothing was going to stop him
from living again!
However, Anakin didn’t agree. The Jedi revered life
whereas the Sith had little regard for it, except to
further their ambitions. When Anakin and Luke had
killed the Emperor on the Death Star, they hadn’t
considered that his soul would still prevail. Now
that knowledge had become his purpose, he knew that
this time Sidious must be destroyed – permanently.
In spite of the onslaught the Emperor had launched,
Anakin wasn’t fazed. Holding his head high, the Jedi
spread open his arms and felt the energy within him
expand outward. He recalled his friend’s words, “You
have to join the dream world,” she had told him.
“The power is at your fingertips, all you need to do
is harness it.”
And that is exactly what he had done…and more.
Anakin’s energy quickly spread out on every side of
him, encompassing everything it touched, even
Palpatine.
The struggle of balance continued in this arena of
energy as colors of blue and white flickered and
charged. Lightning randomly hurled itself outward
but soon the bolts began to dim as a higher power
continued to consume them along with their master.
The brilliance overtook everything around it, became
a part of it.
Without warning, an inhuman cry resonated in every
direction.
And then there was a stunned silence.
It was over.
Down through the ages the ultimate sacrifice gave
way to the greater good in order to preserve or
restore it.
It was said that the ‘Chosen One’ of prophecy would
bring balance to the Force. The Jedi believed in it
and alleged that Anakin Skywalker was the purveyor
of that role.
He hadn’t failed them.
Anakin finally learned this valuable lesson and
willingly gave in to the demand. Only after did he
answer the call of his Masters’ one last time.
The Living Force collected its son and granted him
eternal peace. Once more, the balance had been
restored with neither good nor evil tipping the
precious scales to their advantage.
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