Orbital Showdown: Corvo Vis vs. Emperor Malon

[Phoenix]

OOC: Since this is happening above Jakku, @Malon and I decided that it would be better to make it somewhere that isn't mixed with the planetary battle and will be between only Malon and Corvo.​

Theme​

Corvo had long suffered dreams and nightmares he wished he could set aside. Sleep had come to evade him at many times after he'd left the Sith and given up the old life. Shae's presence had always been a soothing balm, her form in the bed next to him an anchor against the terrors of his own mind and his past. With her abandonment, he was alone once more and they had returned in new versions. Where he was once haunted by his past sins - murder and genocide that had made his name famous - in recent days there was something far more foreboding: the darkness that had consumed his wife, the loss of what he valued most, and an impending doom. It had been on the horizon for some time and no matter what he did, he couldn't shake the sense of finality that had been haunting his mind just as it had before Shae was taken.

The galaxy was on the brink of destruction, civil war having torn apart everything on both fronts and a final showdown was destined to occur. It was now that Corvo realized the time for half-measures was over. He'd faced Darth Malon before and held back the pieces of him that he knew he needed to embrace if he were going to end this blight on the galaxy. He feared what it would mean for himself and his family, but now, as time went on and he watched the horrors that Malon had already unleashed on his family, he asked himself what it would cost if he didn't lay it all on the table. Shae had already been taken from him and one day Ciri would be targeted as well. He couldn't let that happen, no matter the cost.

Star-streaks turned to pinpoints as the Fury dropped out of hyperspace, Chaz left behind with Ciri and one of Chaz's highly advanced droids piloting the ship without another soul aboard; he couldn't ask anyone else to come with him on this trip. A tightness pulled at his chest as he thought of Ciri and he hoped to the Force she wouldn't be alone, and that perhaps one day, she might understand why he chose this path.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he reached out to touch the Force. Everything came flooding in at once, dots of minds across the entire system as they prepared their rituals before battle. There was fear, anticipation, excitement, and everything in between. Everyone knew this was the time. He cycled through the minds of war, and even from here he could feel familiar souls amongst them. Men who had shown him mercy, men who had taken everything from him... and one mind who was everything to him. Even now, the emotion of feeling his wife's presence from a world away was enough to nearly break his will. But that was precisely why he was here: what had happened to her could never happen to his daughter, and perhaps there was still a hope to be had. There was still love, and as long as there was love there, there was hope.

A familiar voice filled his helmet, and his eyes snapped open, pulled from his near-trance. A sad smile pulled at his lips at the sound of Vosrik Tanari's voice. Surely, Corvo wouldn't be standing here now were it not for the mercies of the former Jedi Lord. Stay alive, old friend. The galaxy will need good men to put it back together.

Reports of the Emperor's presence came in as well, something almost unmistakable even amidst the sucking darkness of the Sith presence here. He nodded, though it struck him that no one but himself would see it. I know. His trail ends here.

His hazel eye closed once more and he opened his mind to the Force around him, calling on years of training in tracking and killing to guide himself toward that presence, the darkness inside himself feeding on the hatred of his enemy. He could feel all the swirling emotions of the enemy. Yellow eyes snapped open.

 

[Malon]

Cue my theme music

Darkness rises... and light to meet it. Darth Malon, reigning Dark Lord of the Sith and the last reigning Sith Emperor (before Darth Sidious reigned over the galaxy a millennia later), stared out at the vastness of space from his position on the bridge of the Malevolence and contemplated the end. The end of the Jedi Order. The cleansing of the Sith. A new era without the diseased Republic or the failed Jedi. This battle would decide all of that. Or, at least, that is what he allowed them to think.

In truth, the battle was a trap. All the might of the Sith Empire gathered both above and below on Jakku in order to draw the Jedi into this their final confrontation. And all so that the Emperor might use his new ritual—a gift from that fool, Darth Bane—to extinguish the Jedi fire once and for all and to allow him to start anew with the Sith; a new Order, forged in his image. The ritual had already begun. Even now, the energies of the dark side of the Force twisted around the planet. The Force storm that would result when the ritual was complete would utterly ravage Jakku's surface. The Jedi below would be exterminated while the fleet handled what few remained in orbit. Perhaps the planet would be destroyed too. Malon did not know. Nor did he care.

What was a planet when its death meant the extermination of the Jedi at long last?

Only one obstacle remained. There was only a single Jedi who stood a chance of defeating him and ruining his plans. And that Jedi—his final test—was on route. Malon could sense Corvo in the Force: a beacon of light flying into a curtain of darkness. The Emperor couldn't help but smirk at the irony. He and the Jedi Master had met above Coruscant years ago, when the Empire was still a Brotherhood and the Republic yet clung to life. Now, here, above yet another world, the two of them alone would decide the fate of the galaxy. The fate of the Jedi. The fate of the Sith.

In the Force, the shatterpoint created by their looming confrontation was larger than any the Emperor had seen since he first manifested the ability against Darth Vanus. It wasn't just a shatterpoint. It was the shatterpoint. One of them would not be walking away from this battle; and, whomever lost, would also ensure the death of their Order. That much was certain. But the Force was cruel; it did not show Malon the outcome of the battle, only indicated its significance to the history of the universe.

So the Emperor summoned his powers until he was more than just the Lord of all the Sith. He stood on the bridge of his ship like a wraith in the night. The dark side of the Force itself made physical. His very presence made the bridge cold as the winds of Hoth and seemed to suck all the air out of the space, silencing the deck officers in the pits below him.

"Come," the Emperor said. His voice whispered through the Force to his approaching enemy. "Come to your death, Jedi."

@Phoenix

 

[Phoenix]

There was no escaping what was to come now. He knew once he set foot on the ship of his greatest foe, there would be no turning back. Once upon a time, Corvo had made the mistake of looking at Malon and seeing him as a pawn of Kira to be used and discarded. One more Sith Lord who would fall with time. He had been so wrong.

One could argue that everything he had done had led to this point and one could also argue that this was all his fault; that the day he had corrupted a Jedi named Kira, he had set in motion the wheels that led to one of the most dangerous Sith Lords in the galaxy: Emperor Malon. Today was a day of monsters and sometimes you needed monsters to fight monsters.

Venator's eyes gazed at the outline of that terrible ship against the darkness of space. The ship angled forward, heading for the hangar bay even as streaks of green began to fill the sky. Flashes designed to vaporize him outright and the ship that had become his home. He had lived here throughout his time as Supreme Leader, but now the only thing he took was a single picture whose frame had long ago been broken. It was of happier times, but if by some miracle, he survived this, he would have that picture of he and Shae on the day of their wedding with him.

The ship rocked with the impact of cannon fire and warning flashes went off throughout the cockpit. The shields were failing, but with every inch traveled, he was one step closer to his target. I'm ready to die. How about you?

The ship took another hit, cannons firing as they approached the hangar and suddenly the shields were down and the bay's physical doors were closed with the clanking of finality. The Fury snuck in just as its shields failed and pieces of its hull burned away. The counter-thrusters came on hard so he didn't meet the same fate as that foolish Sith he'd heard of at the Battle of Lothal. That first battle for the Jedi seemed like a lifetime ago, and soon it truly would be. The Fury's cannons fired as it came into the hangar, scraping to a rough landing in the hangar just as one of its bolts struck a minor generator on the destroyer. Lights flickered and died in the hangar, the hissing light of blaster fire and the smoldering hull of the Fury the only things that seemed to light the darkness.

Taking a deep breath, Venator made his way to the exit ramp, short physical blade in his hand as the ramp fell. The gunfire had stopped and an eerie silence fell over the room, every faint crunch of a boot or hiss of a pipe reached him. The Force flowed through him and the darkness became no obstacle.

He darted down the ramp, moving with the fluid precision he'd become known for. His arm flashed out, the Force-tempered blade giving off none of the light of a saber. It plunged deep into the throat of the nearest soldier who fell in the darkness. He pulled the blade free as it swung to the next man. Panic set in as the screams of dying men filled the darkness, no signs of where it came from.

Panicked blaster fire filled the darkness and lit the room for flashes, flying into walls, floor, and ceiling. The floor became slick with blood until the yells stopped, nothing left but a single man in the darkness. I'm coming, Emperor, the voice echoed through the Force as a pair of violet sabers lit the dark.

 

[Malon]

Lightning danced in the upper atmosphere of Jakku. The Emperor gazed upon it as one might gaze upon a child. The dark side was supercharging the planet's atmosphere; the ritual was well underway. The storm that would soon emerge out of it would be unstoppable, making the natural Force storms of the late Tython look like child's play in comparison. He wondered if the Jedi below could sense their impending doom. He wondered if they would feel helpless when at last the darkness came for them.

"Your Majesty," a deck officer called from below. "An enemy vessel has boarded the Malevolence. We believe it to be the Fury. Corvo Vis's ship."

The Emperor was quiet a moment. The voice that replied did not belong to him, though; or, if it did, it sounded radically different. Like a Shadow's. "Good. He is expected." The Shadow almost seemed to growl, as though a demon had taken up residence underneath the Emperor's cowl. "If he is to be my test, than I shall be his. Send every available soldier to intercept him. We shall see how badly he wants to reach me on this bridge."

"And, should he reach us, my lord?"

The shadow of amusement crossed over Darth Malon's scarred face. "Then I will test him myself."

@Phoenix

 

[Phoenix]

A sense of dread pulled at Corvo's mind even as he made his way to the hangar's exit. The Force moved darkly near death, and here there was nothing but the pitch black of night. The stench of impending genocide stung his nostrils again, a feeling he would have liked to forget, but it plagued him night and day for years. Whatever the Emperor was planning, he could feel its implications in the Force even now, an urging to push to the end, no matter the obstacle.

The doors to the hangar slid open in front of him with a hiss-clunk as the sight of a dozen soldiers filled the hallway. For a moment, the world felt as if it slowed to a fraction of its time, and he felt as though he could see the attacks of his opponents even before they happened. The masked, black clad figure moved with the grace of death itself, feet darting forward and pushing to the side as the first barrage of gunfire erupted down the hallway, slapping against the once more closed door beyond.

Violet sabers arced through the room, leaving dark scorch marks into the pristine white walls of the Malevolence, every swing sending a severed corpse to the ground. Blasters flashed, only to have their super-heated plasma returned to its firer. Even as the last man fell, more filled the hallway before him, blocking the path. His saber snapped off, both hands coming together next to him. He touched that darkness swirling around the ship, year's worth of hatred and animosity that gathered itself in almost physical form as whatever dark ritual unfolded. It mixed with his own hate and the memories of seeing his wife tied to a table in a torture chamber run by none other than the man he was here to kill. Hatred flooded the monster inside, gathering in his hands before unleashing in a terrible blast. Lightning and solid Force energy tore down the hallway, ripping panels from the wall and leaving a deadly trail of lightning and bodies in its trail. It was a darkness he'd not touched since his days as Dark Lord and the monster inside ate up every moment of it.

He proceeded without hesitation in the wake of his own destruction, moving quickly to the lifts and making his way to the bridge. The doors slid open to the sight of Sith, no doubt determined to protect their master. More than before, it struck a chord of irony that some of these may once have served him; now they were nothing more than obstacles to his vengeance on the man who had robbed him.

His hilts rotated in his hands, blades flashing out as his fists came down on the ground. The pulsing energies of the Force bent to his will once more, traveling along the surface of the ground and flinging back those who would stand in his way. His blades rotated and flashed to life once more, moving with impossible speed as he overtook the fallen Sith.

Only one door stood in the path to his final test. Fear settled gently in his chest, knowing the repercussions of his victory and the horrible consequences of his loss. With a wave, the door slid open and two of the most feared men in the galaxy once more faced each other. The Emperors armor was well-known to him. He'd spent countless sleepless nights poring over old footage of the Dark Lord, but even his presence now felt different than when last they'd fought. There was a horrible evil lurking just beneath the surface that he recognized from the cave on Moraband.

Corvo stood, sabers pointing to the ground on either side of him, yellow eyes and grimace hidden behind the helmet of his armor, but the presence of Darth Venator was unmistakable in the Force. Your blight on this galaxy is over, Malon, he said, voice little more than a low growl. The entirety of the Sith Order had become wrapped up in this single man. The Grand Admirals were dead, the Sith Lords gone, and the Warlords abandoned and killed. This man - Dark Lord and Emperor - now represented all of their evil in his very being. An evil that would end today.

 

[Malon]

"You are not easily slain," said the shadow in the voice of Darth Malon. "Perhaps it what you are made of... the dark side, and the light. But it is of no consequence. If you fall, the Jedi Order shall die with you." From within his dark, billowing robes, the shadow raised his hands until his arms appeared like a demon's wings spread out before Corvo. Before Venator. "And die you shall."

Lightning speared out from the Emperor's hands. Fingers of corrosive energy licked the surface of the Malevolence's bridge. Officers screamed and dove for cover. Yet the brunt of the electric assault was solely focused on Corvo. And this was not the Emperor's usual lightning, meant to torture an enemy before bringing about death; it was lightning meant to kill upon contact, delivering a lethal shock to the system of any unfortunate enough to touch it. But that shadow knew... he knew that Corvo would find a way to survive.

And so, upon releasing the lightning, he summoned a cylindrical weapon into the cold palm of his hand. A Sith weapon, blazing with bloodshine fire, burst to life out of the shadow's battle-scarred hands and cast a crimson glow into the dark contours of the chamber. Then the shadow loosed a black scream from the depths of his throat and made a leap for the Jedi Master...

...and the battle was on.

@Phoenix

 

[Phoenix]

And that was the way of the Dark Side. Torture and murder his own people with no thought to the consequences in order to kill one's enemy who ended up surviving. Malon felt more like a demon in the Force now than anything, fully taken by his own corruption. This was what Venator would have been were it not for his family.

Corvo's sabers came up in a crossed X in front of him, much the way he'd seen Shae do in their numerous times fighting together. The lightning struck out from his enemy, cracking and arcing out from his enemy. Fight smarter not harder. Corvo wasn't going to absorb the entirety of an attack so powerful. Instead, he simply guided it, allowing his sabers to absorb it, dancing along the blade of his sabers before it unleashed into the wall to his right, arcing out and striking several of the less fortunate officers who now were running and scrambling to escape the devastation filling the room.

He saw the blade leap to hand before his enemy made a horrible screech and flew toward him. The sound caught him off guard, realizing he was up against something not entirely human. Whatever - whoever - this was, it was in Malon's body but it was something else.

He brought three fingers off his now deactivated hilt and unleashed a burst of Force energies, hoping to catch his opponent off guard in the air. It had no intention of actually harming him per se, just to throw him off balance and interrupt him. He moved forward regardless of outcome, slashing with his right arm from his own right to left horizontally, gathering the Force to himself in his other arm. If I die, you die with me, he growled.

 

[Malon]

It was his own tactic. The one he'd used to repeatedly interrupt and buffet Darth Vanus all those years ago, though now it had been turned on him. The irony.

Propelled by the dark side, Corvo's blasts managed to slow Malon's approach and forced him to land prematurely, but the Dark Lord scarcely noticed them. He landed, instinctively crouching low, as Corvo cut horizontally from right to left; the Jedi's violet blade passed overhead and the shadow used the opening to get inside the Jedi's guard, thrusting his blade upward towards Corvo's chest.

In the same instant, he sensed the Force gathering in Corvo's free left hand. He responded by summoning the Force himself, drawing it in tight around him and bringing with it a cold that chilled the room, as though he had drained the room of all its heat to use as power the moment Corvo revealed his hand.

@Phoenix

 

[Phoenix]

There was no doubt that the Emperor was a skilled warrior, and more agile than he even looked. Corvo's blade met nothing but air as it slashed over his head. Corvo pulled at the blade, moving it into a tight redirecting arc. Much like Form II his bladework was focused on precision often with a single hand. He didn't subscribe to the wild power blows he saw in so many practitioners of the arts of war.

Meanwhile, his body movements never stopped and he pivoted on his left foot to face the Emperor's left side. His left blade reactivated just in front of him as his opponent jabbed upward. Malon's blade was inside Corvo's right but not his left and as it activated, he pushed the blade to the outside and when combined with the pivot, put Corvo's body just outside range of his enemy. His right blade traveled down toward his opponent's head as it had passed over, aiming to slice him in two.

His own attack may not strike the other man, but at the least, it should keep him occupied for the moment and likely cause both combatants to disengage from one another. Even now, Corvo could feel the power growing in the ritual below them and knew that time was ticking by and with every moment, things became more perilous. What is this? he asked, searching his mind for ancient rituals he had learned about as Dark Lord but coming up short on this one. He hoped the Emperor might be arrogant enough to care to share his creation.

 

[Malon]

The shadow could not deny Corvo's skills. He had seen the Jedi Shadow's handiwork time and time again. It was the reason both Jedi and Sith alike feared him. But, to the shadow, fear was a weapon. A means of increasing his power—and his power had built enough.

The power he had built around him exploded in an instant the moment Corvo moved to redirect his initial strike. The resultant shockwave did not contain enough concussive force to be lethal on its own. At the most, Corvo would be thrown back against a wall, whereupon he would quickly recover; and that was not all the shadow had to worry about; there was still that power Corvo was building in one of his hands. Fortunately, the Emperor had a plan to address that as well.

The shockwave struck the viewport of the Malevolence, shattering fragile transparisteel. A cold vacuum opened up as the bridge of the Destroyer was opened to the cold death of space. Malon's cloaks billowed wildly and deck officers screamed as they were sucked out into the vacuum outside. The ship's autopilot systems would keep them in orbit... for a time. But, at that moment, the true concern (for both Jedi and Sith) was survival.

Though the suction of space pulled him closer to the shattered viewports, the magnetic seals in the boots of his suit kept him glue to the the bridge. He wondered if Corvo would be so lucky. Either way, only a few moments passed before the Star Destroyer's blast doors kicked in, swishing across the broken viewport until they were once again sealed away from the vacuum of space. It was only then that the Emperor reassumed a fighting pose, stalked close to Corvo, and deigned to answer the Jedi's question.

"That," said the shadow, "is an ending. Or a beginning. Depends upon one's point-of-view, I suppose." Though he could no longer see it, the shadow could sense the power of the ritual growing in strength on the planet below, feeding off of the darkness both combatants brought to bare against one another. The storm was nearly ready. "Either way, it doesn't matter. Your feeble skills haven't the means to stop it."

@Phoenix

 

[Phoenix]

Corvo felt the swelling a moment too late as it struck him, flinging him back and away before he could land his strike. It was becoming more apparent that they were evenly matched and equally relentless, both unwilling to cede their position as long as they held breath.

Corvo's body flew back until he struck the wall, feeling the impact throughout his entire form as he hit the floor and the viewport ripped open, the vacuum of space tearing at him immediately. His blades dug into the thick durasteel on either side of him, the tough metal providing resistance against even a lightsaber as they slowly carved a glowing path behind him before the viewport's natural seals clanged back into place.

In his younger years, he would have done some athletic move to regain his footing, kipping-up or otherwise using one of his many martial skills, but in recent years, the aches had become more common and the joints stiffer. He'd never expected to make it this long or this far and the realization that he was getting old settled over him every time he fought. Still, he was on his feet in short order, facing his enemy once more.

The bridge had become eerily quiet apart from the quiet hum of sabers, as most of the deck officers were already either dead or fled. Corvo never wasted an opportunity, and as the Emperor spoke, his fingers danced along the hilt of his saber seemingly nonchalantly. Perhaps I can't stop it, but I can stop you, he quipped, voice cold as ice and murderous in its intent. Behind the Emperor, the hilt of one of the fallen Sith just outside the hangar rose and flew toward the Sith Lord, igniting as it traveled its path to impale in his back.

Corvo used the distraction and closed the last of the distance between both men, charging past the Emperor's left side as his left saber slashed at his enemy's left ankle which had long since been replaced with robotic parts. His right blade pulled close to his own body as he moved, keeping his momentum going past the other man. @Malon

 

[Malon]

"Can you?" The Emperor sensed Corvo use the power of the Force. He sensed the flow and direction of its intentions. There was no need to see what Corvo was grabbing for with his own eyes; the Force served as his eyes and further warned him of a feign, all at once. He pivoted, holding out his free left hand in order to use the invisible powers of the Force to freeze the sailing saber. That was when Corvo rushed.

Corvo swiped down at his robotic ankle and the Emperor intercepted with his own blade. The clash of red on violet sent sparks showering across the bridge. The crackling energy blades caused vermillion shadows to dance across the darkened walls of the room. Malon knew that Corvo intended to use their blade lock to his advantage; the Jedi's free right lightsaber was the likely culprit. So a twitch of the fingers on his left hand sent the lightsaber he held in midair flying towards Corvo at face height, which would likely cause both combatants to disengage.

The Emperor ended up near the entrance of the bridge, looking back towards Corvo.

"I don't think you can." Again, the shadow spoke with Malon's voice. "Once, perhaps, when you were Darth Venator and thoughts of family did not pollute the darkness that gave you your power—that sharpened your blade. Then, it might have been possible."

The Emperor reached through the Force and somewhere on the bridge machinery screeched. At the same time, Malon felt a shockwave from the planet. Then the cold of death. The storm was beginning below. The ritual was complete. Soon, the Jedi and the Sith would be gone, and he would be free to start from scratch and mold the galaxy as he pleased.

A malicious grin curled across the Emperor's face. "Now, though? The light taints you. And you cannot save your family or the friends who fight below." More screeching as Malon telekinetically wrenched one of the bridge terminals from its place and hurled it at Corvo. "You have lost."

@Phoenix

 

[Phoenix]

Sparks scattered across the floor as their blades met and the unmistakable grinding of saber on saber rang out through the room. The lock lasted only a moment before all of Corvo's warning bells screeched in his mind to stay alert to other attacks. The floating saber redirected, swinging hard for Corvo who dropped without hesitation, hitting his knees on the floor and arching his back as the blade soared by just above him, his own momentum letting him slide across the floor and continue past his enemy.

He shifted his body weight, popping up onto his feet again and spinning to face Malon even as his right blade swung back behind him at where the Emperor should have been only to see that he had leapt aside, the blade biting into the cape with a hiss as his enemy avoided the attack.

His eyes locked on his enemy even through his helmet, the predatory gaze enough to cut right to the heart of whoever he faced. There was malice and a chill that was entirely uncharacteristic to his normal voice. Spoken like a man who knows nothing of what he speaks of. Vengeance for those you love is a more powerful motivator than even survival.

His mouth twisted to an almost evil grin behind his helmet. But what do you know? You slid into power. I left Kira stripped of the Force, Shae killed Kyuss, you were blown up and slid into a spot you never deserved because you were all that was left after we cleared the true Sith. The Empire crumbles within your clutches, your supporters dead, your home worlds taken... what are you but a fallen "has been" grasping at the straws of a once great Empire? Cutting words of death and destruction went both ways and Dun Moch was a powerful tool if used rightly, but always a tedious one against Sith. To break the will of another and force them to act without thinking was powerful, but it also unlocked a rage that drew on the Dark Side. It was a two-edged sword that Venator had always played with since his days as Supreme Leader.

Venator watched as a terminal was ripped free and sent across the room. He poured his own energy into his violet blade, swinging down as the improvised weapon came in range. It sliced through without issue, the energies of the Force trailing just behind the blade and causing the two halves to split like a wedge, each half going to either side of the former Sith Lord. As the fire and debris cleared, Venator unleashed a blast of lightning with his left hand, its tight stream directed at the Emperor.

Moments later, the entire ship shook from what Corvo could only assume was a barrage of enemy fire. Panels shook free and the lights flickered as the room grew warm and a section of the floor fell in nearby, leaving a hole to the unknown. @Malon

 

[Malon]

Yet, the Emperor's will remained ironclad. "Responsible," hissed the shadow. "Isn't that what you meant Venator? That if you had not proved Vanus' weakness, another would not have risen to take her place? That if your wife had not destroyed the last Emperor, one far more dangerous would not have taken his place?" The Emperor's face twisted into something horrific. "You gave the dark side a path to victory. The Republic is dead. The Jedi Order is rotting as the dark seeds of vengeance and bloodthirstiness have taken hold of its leaders. Even your own family is infected with darkness. Don't you understand by now? The dark side doesn't win with empires or armies or territory. It wins by claiming hearts and souls."

A uncharacteristically menacing cackle escaped the Emperor's throat as he watched Corvo cleave the machinery in two. The Jedi's strength was fueled by darkness, and the shadow drank it in. "Don't you feel it, Corvo? The death and darkness looming over the Force? That is the true war. That is why you fail."

Corvo's answer blast of lightning roared across the darkened bridge and, instinctively, Malon caught it along the length of his blade. Even so, the former Dark Lord's lightning was potent, and tendrils of electricity occasionally escaped the super-conducting loop of Malon's lightsaber, which then licked at the current Dark Lord's face. Slowly, the flesh was melted away, eroding the scarred mask of Darth Malon and revealing the horrific face of the shadow, its putrid yellow eyes glowing from within their sunken sockets.

Embolden, the shadow looped his lightsaber and redirected Corvo's lightning back at him; then, using his free left hand, he joined Corvo's redirected lightning with his own powerful blast of electricity, allowing the pain he felt in his flesh to fuel the power of the blast. As lightning danced across the bridge, several stray bolts struck the remaining machinery on the bridge—one of which was the autopilot system.

The ship lurched... then, slowly, the shadow felt it began to tilt. It wouldn't be long now...

@Phoenix

 

[Phoenix]

The only of Malon's words that didn't fall on deaf ears were those of Shae as the pain of that loss was still fresh on his mind. Corvo didn't care for the loss of nations if he saw the destruction of his enemy, but the memory of Shae's fall still cut deeply into his soul, the rage growing with each passing word. The mistake Malon made - and indeed so many others - was to think that Corvo would ever fit in as a true Jedi. He'd been reminded time and again by Jedi and Sith alike that he would never have any place, regardless of what the leadership said. He was among them, but he wasn't one of them. There was still too much festering darkness within that he embraced all too often to destroy his enemies. Sith-hunter was what he was and always would be.

With mastered precision, the Emperor stopped the lightning, but even so, tendrils burned at his face, revealing an evil that Corvo had feared took hold. There was something inside Malon that was entirely too terrifying to let live: pure evil.

Amplified with his own strength, the lightning was cast back even as his Venator moved to stop it. It poured into his palm as he constrained and manipulated it, the strain of stopping such a powerful blast could be felt through his whole body. It only held so long before it detonated, casting him backwards and skidding across the floor. Tendrils of the explosion bit at his left arm and though the superficial nerves were long since burned away and replaced with scar tissue from flamethrowers on Lothal and saber battles against assassins that came for his family, he could feel the burn through the deeper nerves, twitches of pain and muscle spasms momentarily seizing the limb.

Even as he slid back to his feet in a low crouch, the ship began to lurch under them, both men no doubt feeling it as if the controls had begun to fail. He could feel pains and aches beginning to plague his body, but now was not the time to falter. If there was ever a moment to persevere it was now. He was drawn back to those hours of sleepless nights he spent training until his body gave way, and he knew his own limits. He hadn't reached them yet.

Your reign ends, and with it will the darkness you've spread. You like to believe it'll live on past you, but it won't. You're the last piece holding it together. You and that demon, he spat. He stalked toward his opponent once more, blades in his hands as he approached his enemy once more. His blades moved in a flurry, striking at shoulder, hip, and opposite shoulder. He wasn't usually one for spinning, but as he moved, he dropped low, kicking his right leg out and allowing his momentum to carry it around to sweep the legs out from under the Emperor as his right blade followed up with an upward slash aimed at the falling Emperor's torso. @Malon

 

[Malon]

Malon wasn't entirely unaffected either. His body was worn from years of war and immersion in the dark side. The power he was bringing to bear at the moment was tearing him apart; the pain was almost unbearable. However, ironically, it was the pain that gave him focus. Such was the way of the Sith.

The ship lurched again and Corvo stalked ahead, lightsabers in hand. The Emperor raised his own and went on the defense. Lightsabers clashed as Malon met him at both shoulders and his hip. Corvo answered by sweeping down and attempting to knock the Emperor off his balance. The Emperor responded by focusing his power into his mechanical feet and jumping; Corvo's sweeps met empty air and the Emperor landed behind him, by the door to the bridge. By then, his anger had turned black and dangerous; his power built along with it.

"Very well," the Emperor's voice dropped low. His lightsaber winked out and, by the time Corvo would've recovered from his failed sweep, the shadow faced him with arms spread like demon wings. "Taste my full power."

The storm of lightning that sprayed from the Emperor's fingertips surprised even him. Lightning poured over the surface of the bridge. Machines fried and burst into flames, but the brunt of the blast's power was directed at Corvo alone. The ship lurched again and Malon felt it beginning to pick up speed. He needed to end this. Now.

@Phoenix

 

[Phoenix]

As the Emperor leapt over him, his blade swung around, following that upward arc to try to catch him but just a hair too slow. His blade found nothing but air as he spun up to face the Emperor once more.

The Force pulsed around them both, its unseen streaks bending to the wills of each man. The power radiating between them both unmistakable as the Emperor drew in what remained of his power. Between fighting through the soldiers to get to the bridge and now facing such a powerful warrior, his own reserves were growing far thinner than he would have liked and he feared being able to stand against whatever the Emperor had planned.

There was no choice, though. This was do or die and if he died, everything he cared about would fall. No, he wouldn't leave Shae and Ciri to the mercies of this man. He raised his left saber just before the lightning unleashed, pulling what remained of his own power to himself, defending himself from what he could as he guided the lightning into his blade and around his body. He pushed forward, the sting and agony of burning lightning tugging at his sides and arms. Even with the dampening of his own shield, the agony was unmistakable.

He stood there against the onslaught, wondering when it would end and if now was simply the time to give in. Perhaps he had been beaten. Thoughts of his family flashed through his mind even as the doubt crept in. He remembered the joy he'd known the day he married Shae and thought of the photo in his pocket before his mind moved to finding Shae tied down aboard a Sith ship. He pictured his daughters big green eyes staring up at him and fear of her suffering a similar fate pushed him forward. It was more apparent with every step that the two warriors were nearing their end. Even they had limits and as much as Corvo didn't want to admit it, he could feel his own approaching.

He moved with the final burst of energy he had, drawing on the paradoxical mixture of love, fear, hatred, and compassion he'd ever known to push himself through the barrage. You'll never hurt my family again. Corvo didn't know if he'd actually said the words or if they simply echoed through the Force itself, but Malon would know and feel them even if he didn't hear them, as if catching a glimpse of the mind of a father and husband.

The lightning swirled around him on every side as consoles detonated on every side. His focus was on nothing but the man in front of him, swinging both his blades parallel from his own right, one just above and one just below the base of his opponent's rib cage. Many had come for his family before and many had been cleaved in two by these blades.

Striking such a blow left him open for the slightest of moments and he took the full brunt of lightning to his body. His muscles began to fail and his heart spasmed inside of him as it lost its own electrical pulses and began to flutter. His body was taken by a pain he'd never known before in all the years he'd fought and his legs gave way as his nerves were overloaded, buckling and collapsing to the ground as he gasped for breath. @Malon

 

[Sreeya]

Shae felt that pulse through the Force, that signature that was as familiar to her as every breath she drew. It had become a part of her being now, a part of her identity, her life and her thoughts. It was Corvo, and he was right here amidst all the chaos and the pain as the Sith made their last big stand. The Jedi forces were moving in and closing in from all around, and Shae was thrown amidst it all, her connection to Corvo nagging at the back of her mind.

Her knuckles were white from gripping the saber hilt, her whole body shaking as she felt his presence. Through it, she could parse through tendrils of emotions, and amidst it all she felt fear. Fear for her, fear for love, fear for letting go. Every moment, every fraction of every second, every thought up until now didn’t hit her so hard. None of it ever came close to the idea of Corvo experiencing terror. It was not terror at facing the Emperor, it was not terror at making his last stand. It was terror at letting everything go, and it was palpable and tangible, striking true in her heart.

She stood gazing before the many faces of the soldiers looking at her for her orders. She was to lead the troops for defense, and they were all looking to her for guidance. Shae stared back at them, lost in her own mind, navigating through a sea of thoughts and despair. She moved as if a woman possessed, turning back around and returning to the ship that was not hers to command.

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The star destroyer began to fall almost serenely, and she could see it making its slow and tranquil descent. Alarms were no doubt blaring inside and people were hastily making their escape, and Shae ignored it all, propelling herself directly towards the hangar. Her ship tilted at an angle, crashing directly inside as the destroyer continued to slant and descend towards its doom. Shae skidded out of the ramp as the ship crashed into the hangar wall, twin sabers at the ready. She was in Imperial armor, her comms buzzing for her immediate return to post.

Corvo’s signature stood out like a beacon, and she followed it as if her life depended on it. Soldiers ran by her in a frenzy, the alarms were shrilly crying to warn everyone that doom was imminent. Through it all, Shae ran directly towards where she felt his energy. Her life choices weighed on her and she felt the outcome of every action. Every little seed planted had blossomed for better or worse, and she had to live with everything she had done.

Pain and agony whirled in her chest, the crushing weight of knowledge almost enough to make her fall to her knees. With Corvo, she sensed her Emperor, the man that let every bit of his pain govern him. This was the man she had followed to release her own shackles. As she felt the despair in her heart, she began to realize it had been of her own doing, and no external force could ever siphon that out of her. Not even Emperor Malon.

She thought of all the familiar faces that carried them through their journey. She thought of Valin, she thought of Edin, she thought of Kyrene, she thought of Valek, she thought of Chaz, and she thought of everyone else that stayed with them from the beginning. She thought of all the lives they touched, the lives they ruined, the lives they shaped. She thought of Ciri. The girl that was displaying more and more of her father’s traits by day.

Shae felt the pain and misery from what she knew to be Corvo’s confrontation with Malon. She knew it was one that would test them both, and she knew Corvo would never back down. Shae couldn’t despise herself any further for not having been there for it. Her blindness had cost her everything, and her stubbornness doomed them all.

She ran through the halls and corridors, shoving aside anyone that stood in her way. Rage boiled within her, her eyes still an animalistic yellow. Troopers were bodily thrown aside as they came in her path, and she rushed towards the nexus of Force energy, the center pulsating with raw power. She knew both men were there, and she knew both men were drained and close to falling.

Scores of people were blocking her way, and they were all casually tossed aside. Men and women were slammed into walls, thrown to the ends of halls and a path was cleared for her. Shae felt the Force whirling within her, a power wrought from determination and anguish. She needed to be there, and she needed to see him.

“I’m coming,” She whispered to herself, knowing full well the battle was slowly coming to its end. She knew Malon was angry, and she felt that little sliver of fear from Corvo again. The fear that he felt for his family, the fear that both empowered him to face Malon and crippled him. Shae felt it course through her like molten lava seeping beneath her skin and through every vein in her body. She cried out loud as she whirled her sabers and cut down the Imperials in her way, leaving destruction and corpses in her wake.

The entire destroyer shuddered and groaned as parts of it began to chip off and fade into the vastness of space. She heard screams and cries all around her, people hastily fighting to get off the ship and make it out alive in once piece. She dropped to a crouch as a particularly violent lurch sent her skidding forward and down a hall, the slant taking her down in an incline directly into the end of it. Shae slammed harshly against the door, scrambling to her feet to blast the console to make the doors open.

At once she saw the scene she dreaded the most play out before her. She was standing directly behind Malon and he was pulsating with nothing but pure hatred. The Force coursed through him like poison, and she could almost taste the bitter taste of the dark vitriol that emanated from him. It was almost tangible, and she felt as if she walked into a miasma of the Force, cocooned in complete dark energy.

The very same same energy fed into her, pouring into the chasm that was the inside of her mind, that portal she unwittingly opened. It was the same darkness she carried with her for decades, the darkness she denied, the darkness she hoped Malon could help foster. It was at that moment, that moment when she knew Corvo was falling apart, when Malon was dealing the final blow, that she realized she misread that darkness.

It was determination. It was untapped strength. It was clay to be molded. It was power to be harnessed. It was support she never knew she had. It was a part of her she read wrong for all her life. It was what drove her, it was what fueled her, what led her to every decision she made in the past. It was at that moment, as she could feel the awesome power of Malon and Corvo almost knocking the wind out of her, that she realized she never belonged to any Faction. Neither Jedi nor Sith. She was and always would be queen of her domain, for all the intricacies and complexities that came with it. It was at that moment that she realized she had been trying too hard to run away and had been denying the fundamental flaws that made her who she was.

Corvo Vis had given every waking moment of his life to help nurture that part of her. He saw in her what she couldn’t see in herself. He proudly set aside his own pains and fears to go stand before the Emperor to hope to put an end to the plague that threatened to rapidly take over the galaxy. Shae watched the crackling of lightning and the storm that began to flare out from Malon, and she could all but sense death in the air. Malon was weak, Corvo was weak. Both men were dying.

Did Shae have a role to play in this? Her entire time with Corvo she had been concerned about living in a shadow. It had been a shadow created by herself, one that she found herself eclipsed by. She had thrown herself into darkness, ignoring all the love and nurture Corvo and her family surrounded her with. It had always been him, and she had tried to take on the weight of the galaxy. And now she was watching him die before her eyes.

“No…. NOOO!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, the weight and the pain of all her realizations cutting through her more than anything ever could. The Force surrounded her and encompassed her, drawing from the deepest pits of her mind and body to give her strength she had never had before. It was neither dark nor light, but it was the Force in its purest and most raw form. Her yellow eyes were glowing with a white hue as she charged forth, driven by a million emotions, driven by the weight of her mistakes, her choices, her decisions, her fear and above all...her love.

With that, her saber drove through the back of Malon, piercing through his back and exiting out from his chest, directly between Corvo’s blades. Husband and wife both dealt a devastating blow to the Emperor at that moment. The lightning had already left Malon, though the effects were lessened by the sudden arrival of Shae and her attack from behind. She poured her hatred into the attack, driving the blade directly through him, “THIS IS NOT HOW THIS ENDS! THIS IS HOW EVERYONE WANTS THIS TO END! NO ONE DECIDES THIS ENDING! NOT YOU, EMPEROR MALON AND ESPECIALLY NOT YOU, CORVO VIS!”

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Corvo would hear her booming voice before he would see her. She emerged a moment later from behind Malon, eyes still glowing white, the Force throbbing within her. She left her saber in Malon, uncaring how he fell. Uncaring that this was the man she thought could finally liberate her. Instead she simply went from her illusionary cage to a real one.

The entire ship was buckling and rocking, parts and debris chipping away. A massive lurch threw all three forward and Shae was once again on her knees. She slid over to Corvo, glaring down at him, “No, this is not how this story ends. The story ends only with Shae and Corvo. And Corvo and Shae. No Jedi. No Sith. No mother. No father. It ends with us the way we began, the way we loved, the way we suffered, the way we came together. Through all our mistakes and crimes,” She clutched him fiercely to her chest, hot tears running down her face. She poured into him every bit of energy she could. Her emotions, her love for him, even the pain and misery all fed into his being, all working to heal him as much as she could, “By the gods I’m not going to let anything take you from me. The Force, fate, destiny, due justice and judgment, none of it can take you from me,” The ship gave one more large lurch, sending them both tumbling to the side, and yet she still held onto him with all her might, “I will reach into the depths of the Force, into hell, into heaven and drag you back if I have to. I will tear myself apart if I have to. I will destroy and create if I have to. But I will not lose you Corvo Vis. Not today, not ever. The rest of the galaxy be damned. I am yours and you are mine and so it shall be until I’ve had the entire rest of my life to live out with you.”

With that, she used all her might to drag him to his feet, desperately crawling for the sides of the ship to make her way towards an escape pod, “The galaxy will believe all of us died here. The galaxy can think that. We will make our own life like we always meant to. Like you always wanted to,” She was sure Corvo was unconscious by now, but the words drove her. Her waning energy needed the words to keep her going, to fuel her to make a last ditch attempt at escape, “Ciri is strong. She will be fine without our darkness hovering above her like a shadow. With time we may tell her. Our names can carry on into legend but all I’ve ever wanted was you. I’m….I’m so sorry it took me so long to realize what you’ve known this whole time,” She drew shuddered breaths, tears still streaming down her face as she held on.

The destroyer began a rapid descent now, moments away from complete freefall to explode on the planet’s surface. Shae stumbled and half crawled towards the escape pod, still dragging Corvo with her. After what felt like an eternity, she finally collapsed within it, pulling him in. Still clutching him fiercely, she slammed the console to eject away from the destroyer, sending them both jettisoning far away from the ship, the battle and from the galaxy itself.

@Malon @Phoenix

 

[Malon]

This is how Darth Malon, last Emperor of the Sith Empire, last reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, dies:

It begins with arrogance, as all follies do. In his final moments, he is confident in his victory. He can feel Corvo weakening. He can feel the end coming. The Force is shifting in a titanic fashion; but, this time, the Emperor misreads the signs. The Force is not shifting in his favor. It is shifting to the one behind him. The one he can't see. As Corvo makes his last stand—as the Emperor contemplates his retaliation and victory—Shae Vis betrays him from behind.

At first there is no pain. Then an explosion as Corvo's blades join hers. The burning of their lightsabers combined with his own lightning, stored along Corvo's blades, drives his defiance from him. His power leaves him next. The darkness only favors the strongest; the moment they are weakened, it abandons them like an unwanted stepchild. And so that is how Darth Malon falls. Abandoned by his allies and the dark side of the Force.

As power and life drain from his body, which hits the deck of the bridge with a resounding THUD, the essence of Darth Malon leaves him alongside the darkness, leaving nothing but Kelan Nomar behind. Kelan Nomar, whom he hadn't been for three decades. The light is small, barely a candlestick compared to the vast darkness he had been for most of his life, but there nonetheless. For Kelan Nomar, death is like awakening from a nightmare. One in which he barely recognizes his own actions, I've fallen so far... Yet he cannot deny they were his.

And then he wants to die. To allow it all to end. To receive his just punishment for the things he'd done. It is funny. Despite it all, he feels no remorse. The monster that had lived within from Taris to Jakku had stollen away his capacity to feel that, and even if he could, it is too late for remorse. Far too late. And yet, as he lays there, breathing his final breaths, he hears Shae's shouts. Somehow, he is able to move, slowly, painfully, and see and she clings to Corvo—as Corvo clings to her. They flee the dying ship together and, for the most brief of moments, he sees the situation from another point of view, and it is he and Taryn fleeing the carnage.

It is with that image in his mind that Kelan Nomar closes his eyes, a faint smile of contentment on his face, and fades forever into the Netherworld of the Force...

@Phoenix @Sreeya

 

[Phoenix]

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Shae's was a presence he could pick out of a crowd. He could pick her from a full planet like he couldn't with anyone else. She was as deeply imprinted on him as anyone possibly could be, but he had been so caught up in the fight that he didn't sense her until he heard her voice, that sweet music to his ears. What was she doing here and how had he missed it. There were a pair of sabers plunged through the almost to meet his own just as he collapsed to the ground, their brilliant blue a warm and inviting sight.

A small smile pulled at his lips even behind his helmet as she yelled at him, a sense of peace at being able to see his wife again before he died. He had resigned himself to his death, even with her here now, but she had none of it. She never would, and it was why he loved her so much. His breath was short and his eyes were going blurry before she reached out to him, barely clutching at consciousness as she poured the Force itself into him. As if she reached into his body and nerves itself, his heart hit its normal rhythm once more and he took a deep breath once more, the edges of unconsciousness fading but weakness still diffuse through his muscles.

He saw the tears on her face and all he could do was clasp her hand in his, weakly squeezing it. I... love you... he gasped. How did you...? Even through the pain, he smiled, knowing she was Shae Vis. No one and nothing could stand in her way. It was that very thing that warmed his heart so much and the fact that she wanted to leave behind the darkness. I... am yours. And you... are mine... he reiterated through gasped breaths as she dragged him to the escape pod.

It was only now that it dawned on him that Darth Malon was dead. The man who had brought them to the edge of the mind and galaxy was finally gone, freeing his family of the evil that haunted them. They jettisoned away and he finally managed to pull his helmet off and look up at her. Her yellow eyes were gone and so were his. Whatever was left of Venator, the good and the bad were now one. No longer consumed by his own darkness, he felt a sense of peace. He reached up weakly, pulling her down to place his lips against hers, pausing and whispering, I love you, my pillar. The pain in his body was nothing compared to the warmth he felt at being reunited with her. She had always been his pillar, the one to keep him grounded and to keep his darkness at bay. She was the one he could count on in a battle or the one he could trust to save him. I'll never leave you... don't leave me, he said quietly.

I thought... I thought that was it, he admitted, thinking he would never see her again. You always come for me, he said with a smile, reaching for her hand. From the viewport beyond, he could see the destroyer plunging toward the ground below. He regretted not being able to take Ciri with them, but he'd seen the way their darkness had nearly infected her and he feared that. He knew that Shae was right, she was strong and would do well, far better than either of them. @Malon @Sreeya