"DESTRUCTION PROTOCOL BEING EXECUTED. TARGET ANALYSIS. HIGH PROBABILITY THAT JEDI HAVE ARRIVED. SUPREME DEFENSE IMPLEMENTATION. ERROR. INSUFFICIENT ENERGY RESOURCE. DESTROY AT ALL COSTS, REGARDLESS OF LOSSES," a mechanical voice said.
"Apprentice," the mentor stood to my left with his Lightsaber raised, pointed at the robots that had filled the corridor. "Calm down, emotions won't help you now."
"Yes," I said dryly. "They won't help..."
And yet, this is our mistake. For the umpteenth time... I wasn't fast enough to reach her. Strong enough to realize we were being watched. They kidnapped Mila right from my ship! Yes... I haven't known Mila for a long time. But the connection that managed to arise between us... It's of the "love at first sight" kind, right? I want her to be okay. To be whole... Emotions... Calm down, Light. Calm down...
"You are standing in our way!" I roared, trying to calm my emotions. "Don't do this!" Taking the Ataru stance, I suddenly lunged at the opponents.
"HUTT! Apprentice! You are not controlling your emotions..."
The Master ran after him. And the droids opened fire… They shot more frequently than the robots seen before, and quite inconveniently. Still, they used to make things a little better, considering this was a Zakuul complex. But I wasn't going to deflect the shots… Accelerating my body to maximum, I quickly found myself next to the droids, a swing… Three droids were cut in half at the waist. A ten-degree turn and a swing of my free hand. Several more were swept away by a Force wave… A shot from the right? I spun on the spot, putting my Lightsaber in the path of the shot. The shot hit the blade and flew off to another target, carving a corridor, it hit the body of one of the droids. They opened fire again, but I didn't stand still, rushing into the attack. Ataru isn't suitable for confined spaces? Only when you're dueling some Sith. Now the walls, floor, and even the ceiling were a surface for me. With the help of the Force, my body performed incredible somersaults, and with the help of the Force, I developed incredible speed. A jump to another bunch of droids, a swing of the lightsaber. I cut one down, pierced the second, and a Force push knocked the third down. A blaster beam flew past nearby… A second, and it flew back to the shooter, the Master began to use his favorite Shien.
He stood some distance away and was in the position of a pursuer, but I didn't wait for him, rushing forward.
"Hutt, just stop, Apprentice!" the Master shouted.
But I didn't listen, orienting myself by the feeling that pointed me to Mila. A jump, and in flight, I knocked off a droid's head, kicked another one, knocking the blaster out of its manipulators, a flip in the air, and the second became a pile of scrap. The air filled with the smell of burnt metal, but I didn't stop, giving myself more and more to the battle… Finally, I felt the exit from the corridor. It was burning in the distance… The corridor was intersected at a right angle by many other corridors, from which new enemies were popping out… There were about a hundred meters left to the exit. I rushed forward, hacking droids that were pouring out and shooting at me from all sides. Pulling four towards me with telekinesis, I immediately dealt with them, the next passage… They opened fire? Ripping a steel sheet from the wall, I used it as a shield, closed in on those who opened fire, and destroyed them… Fifty meters behind… Another twenty-five meters…
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" I used pyrokinesis. A full-fledged fireball, red-hot, flew at the droids. The ball exploded, and even the fire alarm went off, flooding the surroundings with water.
"Jummm," right at the entrance, blocking the passage, a tank stopped.
"What?" I gasped. "GET OUT OF HERE, DAMN IT!"
"You get out yourself!" the Master's voice roared from behind me, there was a sharp pop, and it smelled of ozone. The tank, which had barely aimed its weapon at us, was thrown back by a powerful Force Lightning of emerald light. "You idiot! I said 'FOCUS ON HER,' not run headlong against Zakuul's security droids! Are you tired of living?!"
"I was handling it quite well, Master. Your lectures are superfluous…"
"What the hutt lectures? This is a full-blown thrashing! Is this what I taught you? Is this how I wanted to see a sentient being, whom I intended to teach Force Lightning, so that he would lose his mind over some girl!"
"Mila is not 'some girl'!" I exclaimed, my voice echoing down the corridor.
"Screw that! Think with your head! Will you do Mila any good if you forget everything and get a mortal wound here?" the Master's voice had a threatening intonation. "This isn't cutting down mercenaries, apprentice. This is a Zakuul prison complex. Even the Gifted were held here! Witches, Jedi, Sith! And there was no information about anyone escaping from Gizelum until the Republic Commandos went on a rampage here! If no one escaped from here before the special forces group arrived, then why are you acting as if you have a couple of legions with tanks and artillery in space?! Calm down. Get a grip. I want to save Mila Karnur almost as much as you do. Don't reject my help, accept it!"
We entered a rather huge room. Apparently, the Master's Force Lightning had burned out the tank's computer circuits and even damaged the operator droid. But the regular droids were alive, slightly damaged. Now I could examine them more closely. They were a cut-down version of the Empire's assault droids. They seemed a little smaller in height and width, armed with blasters. Their paint was rusted, although I was sure they were yellow. And the guards' eyes burned crimson. The Master behind me unleashed a wave… An ionization wave. It spread in all directions from his body, for a good thirty meters, disabling our enemies.
"Good," the Master nodded, looking at the fallen droids, which hadn't even had time to shoot at us when we ran out of the corridor. "Now listen to me carefully. I'll trust you with my back. Cover me from behind. I'll cut our way into the main hall, where Mila should be with Shillazh."
"But how do you know that, Master?"
"While you were screwing around, I was studying the complex's schematics," Lorm remarked. "I have an auridium rule, my young apprentice: I never screw around before a fight! Male genitalia hinder clear thinking in combat."
"I understood," I grumbled, "but Mila…"
"We'll find your Mila. Focus on communicating with her and report if they change location…"
"No," I shook my head. "They've stopped. Frozen. What they're doing is unclear. Mila is very surprised."
"Then let's go. And remember! Don't try to use emotions anymore! She was only kidnapped, she's still alive, but you've already walked on the edge!"
The huge hall of the Gizelum complex's main control was filled with a large number of control consoles. However, to adequately manage the complex, administrator access to the main computer would have been enough, which the newly appeared Joiran Karnur had. His plan had failed… He had died thousands of years ago but managed to bind his spirit to a medallion he had worked on for almost forty years. He had never managed to put the boy Vitiate in his place… And he died on Korriban, defending one of his damned offspring. But fate and the Force had given him a unique opportunity… The medallion was found in his residence, and one of those who found it, Joiran Karnur, turned out to be an ideal candidate for reincarnation. Naturally, he would later find another, he knows about others offhand, for example, Jedi, into whom he could reincarnate. Although he was not a specialist in this field and treated those who tried to cheat death with arrogance.
His theory was as follows: to feed and sustain his life by consuming Force Ghosts… Summoning one Ghost is incredibly exhausting. And he still has to defeat and devour it… But he came up with an idea. Using Force Forging, he embedded the very scheme of summoning a Ghost into the manufactured Medallion. The resulting Medallion was breathtaking. It was enough to charge it, and a Ghost could be summoned. Proportionally to how much Force was invested, so strong would be the summoned Ghost. Naturally, one could summon a more specific personality, it was enough to have just a small part of what the deceased had contacted… But the plan was ruined. Now he had managed to resurrect himself in Joiran. But the body of a non-Gifted was weak, very weak.
He uses only the Force of his Ghost, that is, his own. Ideally, reincarnation into a Jedi should solve the problems… He was so pathetic that he even had to enter into this vile alliance with Shillazh and the Mandalorian. He saw their goal perfectly… They desired to obtain the results of his labor. They desired to possess them, but deception is the path of a true Sith. And he, Darth Arrogant, had been one from birth to death. His reincarnation into Joiran changed the young man… He seemed to have aged, elements of gray appeared in his hair. And his eyes acquired not a golden… but a red hue, so unusual for Arrogant, accustomed to his native molten gold color.
"You have arrived," he said, stepping away from the console and addressing the mercenary and the witch. "And you have not arrived alone."
"Here's the girl, as promised," the Mandalorian threw the girl directly onto the cold, steel floor.
"Ugh… You let me go, you bitch!" the girl snarled, looking at the man in armor with fury in her eyes.
"Your tongue should have been cut out," Joiran-Arrogant said. "Too much filth pours from it."
"You promised to show me the medallion's effect," Shillazh reminded him. "Why do we need her at all?"
"Oh, everything in its own time," Joiran approached the girl. "First, we should wait for our guests."
"Joi… ran?!" the girl asked, looking at Karnur. Although he had changed the clothes of this pathetic worm for more practical ones: with armor inserts, she still recognized who was once her brother. Joiran's face had not changed, except that his eyes burned red. "You're alive, brother!"
"Your brother is dead," her Arrogant replied coldly, "he became a victim of my ritual. A weakling," he raised his hand, and the girl was lifted, beginning to choke.
The girl's eyes, dressed in a technician's suit, watered from the strain. An invisible grip squeezed her throat. Suddenly, the medallion vibrated. Shillazh concentrated and saw a stream of Force flowing directly from Mila Karnur's body. So that's how it is. Darth Arrogant, in Joiran's body, is absorbing the girl's Force, her very life, turning it into energy for the Medallion to work… They discovered it by accident, beating a couple of "Master-Apprentice" by literally a couple of hours, and formed an alliance with him. According to the terms of the alliance, they were to provide Arrogant with a Gifted person, in return – he would show them how the Medallion works and point out a couple of Sith hiding places of Imperial Zakuul. But they intended to betray each other – that was obvious. Arrogant's story was known to her from Darth himself. And after he absorbed enough Force, he would be able to summon a ghost. Although he wouldn't do it now… Light Flaingstar… He clearly wants to reincarnate into that boy's body to take it. This Sephi has an incredible affinity for the Force, stronger only than Yaddle and Yoda, if Plageuis is to be believed. And a Muun, if he says anything, he rarely lies directly to Shillazh. Because she is very difficult to deceive…
She understood everything… The theory of how the Medallion works, the scheme of the ritual. Or she thinks she understands. In any case, she definitely won't destroy the artifact. It was time for her to take the next step. She placed her hands on her daggers… A moment, and she pierced Joiran with them, absorbed by the torture and life drain from his own sister. Or rather, his body… But. The daggers only slashed the air, the man bent down and directed his hand at her. Shillazh felt herself being blown backward. Strong… Even if he's not in his own body, such strength is anomalous. She was pressed against the steel wall, she even thought she heard her own ribs crack.
"Gh…"
"I knew from the beginning that you would betray me, Witch!" the scarlet blade flashed in the room. Jeyron Jarps' blaster shots hit their target, but left no scratches on him. "Pathetic nothingness. What if your armor is made of beskar? Do you think you can kill me, mercenary?" With his other hand, he threw Teyron away. "You two are idiots, just like your worthless Master. Oh, I can feel him perfectly… GHA!" he suddenly spat blood. "Hutt and his three sons! This body won't last long. Where is that boy? I need him!"
Unexpectedly for Joiran himself, Shillazh was able to transmute the metal with her magic and throw it precisely at his head. Even while pressed against the wall…
"Pathetic gizka! Don't you understand yet?!" he laughed. "After so many millennia, you have degenerated," he deflected the telekinetic attack. "So you can't even touch my forehead."
He turned back to Teyron, who was aiming his weapon at him.
"Your name will be erased from history, Mandalorian. Just like millions of your pathetic ancestors who perished without leaving anything behind!"
"To hutt with heritage!" Teyron's voice rang out. "A warrior seeks not recognition, but battles where he can die with honor!" A loud pop sounded. Joiran, or rather Arrogant, was so absorbed in the pleasure of the fight, and also dreamed of a new body, spending Force to maintain the old one, that he didn't have time to react immediately. The shot pierced his stomach, literally tore it apart.
"Kinet… ic… Bastard… KHA!" he spat blood and, spreading his arms, fell to the floor. Darth Arrogant's lightsaber clattered across the floor.
"Phew," Teyron Jarps exhaled. "Every time I'm convinced that the Gifted are dangerous creatures."
"You, bantha poodoo!" Shillazh snarled, running to the corpse of the Sith who hadn't resurrected. "You could have damaged the medallion!"
She examined his neck and literally tore off the coveted artifact, inscribed with symbols of the Sith language. Now Shillazh herself couldn't read what he had inscribed there. Only Plageuis himself could do that. But it didn't matter. The main thing is that the artifact works, she understood that immediately and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Calm down, I didn't shoot with a shotgun," he said. After all, Arrogant had thrown Teyron back a good forty meters. At such a distance, a shotgun is not very effective. He shot from a rifle. Look how his stomach was torn apart. "I even managed to aim while he was bragging about his Omnipotence. Arrogant Gifted – dead Gifted. You'll never learn."
"Joiran," the weakened girl's whimper sounded. Shillazh looked at her… Yes, she couldn't touch Flaingstar yet. But her strength would be enough to charge the Medallion. She stood up and walked towards Mila.
The girl got up sharply and jerkily, holding Darth Arrogant's lightsaber in both hands.
"Put down the toy," the witch laughed. "You'll hurt yourself."
"Don't come any closer! Or else…"
She pressed the activation button, launching the scarlet blade, and waved it in front of her.
"Look at the great Sith we have here," Teyron spat. "Any carrion can now activate his weapon."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Shillazh laughed heartily. "Wow. You managed to start it. But what's next? You haven't had specialized training and can't wield a sword. The Jedi who arrived with you can fight using this sword. Not to mention, they can almost certainly defeat us. But you…"
"I'm just," Mila grinned. "I'll hold out until they arrive… OW!" She dropped the blade, clutching her hand. Teyron shot her arm.
"Well, that's it. Stop this theater," he grumbled.
Shillazh just grinned and handcuffed the girl so she wouldn't twitch unnecessarily.
"It's time for me to test the Medallion. Plageuis demands results," she said. "I'll rip his belly open when I become strong enough. "And he will get them… Jarps? What are you doing?" she asked the mercenary who approached the console.
"If you can divide your opponents, don't hesitate," Teyron's chuckle sounded, his hands flying over the keyboard. "Ha-ha. This base has interesting capabilities."
We cut through the droids, but they didn't get any fewer. This time it was a little more drawn out, but at the same time, more effective. The Master was like a shield and a sword at the same time. He deflected shots, punished droids. I finished off those who could still harm him… Halls, corridors. It seemed this complex was endless, but with each passing moment, I was getting closer to Mila. Her emotions were filled with surprise, horror, hope, and pain… I tried to detach myself, as the Master advised, but I couldn't and was in too much of a hurry… Suddenly, the droids ran out.
"Calm down," Lorm's voice came. "Apprentice. Just calm down. We should…"
But then I felt unexpected pain from Mila's side and rushed further.
"Just stop!" Lorm roared, but then something else strange happened. We were literally separated. An energy shield appeared between me and Lorm. "What the…"
"Master!" I tried to break through the shield with my Lightsaber, but it bounced off. "I… I'll go forward, Mila is still in pain," I said.
"No! Stop! Wait until we figure this out," Lorm Decer replied. "You won't manage alone. Not with them."
"But I can't wait!" I shouted. Interestingly, even through the shield, we could communicate. It didn't cut off sounds. "I have to save her. Don't worry about me, Master!"
Lorm turned sharply. Droids were clearly approaching him from the other side…
"Hutt, where is the console… Right! BB-7! BB-7," he brought his hand with the communicator to his lips. "Connect and deactivate this hutt shield! And I don't know where it's located! Just do it! Find where we are! Faster…"
"I'm sorry, Master, but I can't," I turned and ran.
He'll be able to get out of it, I'm sure – he has enough skills, but Mila doesn't. I have to protect her. I'm starting my life anew, and there's so much more I have to do. And I want her to be by my side all this time. To be and to be… It cannot be otherwise. I ran like I had never run before, using Force to strengthen my muscles. But finally, light appeared. I ran out into a huge hall, which did not have an abundance of consoles, but it was precisely the control hall. Before me appeared the body of a man, fallen on his back… I immediately recognized Joiran Karnur. Dead… Immediately, I had to duck from a blow. The Mandalorian, Teyron Jarps, attacked me from the side, aiming for my head.
"Good reflexes," the man said. Is this a spear? I've seen something similar. In the series The Mandalorian, the main character had a similar one. I took the Soresu stance and deflected Teyron's two blows, immediately counter-attacking. You can't cover your whole body in beskar armor. There are weak spots where precise thrusts can be made, which is what I did, trying to pierce him. Unsuccessfully.
He flew up, using his jetpack, and opened fire on me with a blaster. I rolled, dodging the shots. Interestingly, he wasn't shooting at my head but at my limbs.
"WHERE IS MILA?! LET HER GO!" I shouted, and my voice echoed through the hall.
"So you came for the girl?" Teyron asked. "Not for the 'protection of the galaxy'? Not for peace, peacekeeper?" The Mandalorian's voice held mockery.
"Your beauty is here…"
Because of the fight with the Mandalorian, I didn't have time to look around properly. On the opposite side stood Shillazh, holding Mila, who was on her knees, by the hair.
"Let go?" Shillazh laughed. "Why? Or do you, boy, not understand the situation you're in? You see, for the Medallion, which you and your Master were so frantically chasing, to work – it needs to be charged with Force. And for that, either hours of meditation or a sacrifice. Now do you understand? I intend to test it…"
"On me?" I asked.
"No-o-o-o," she shook her head. "Someone wants to meet you. And I wouldn't want to kill you. But what do you say to me killing your darling?"
"We offer you two options," Teyron Jarps' voice came from behind. "You're going with us anyway. But a sacrifice is needed for the ritual. Either your girlfriend, as I understand it – you love her. Or your dear Master. Whom do you prefer, boy? Think."
I looked towards the corridor from which I had run out. Somewhere there, the Master remained. Or Mila… I glanced at her… It happened again because of me. When I try to act rationally, I achieve something. But when I give in to emotions, everything goes wrong. What should I do? What should I do…
"Don't listen to them, Light! They're deceiving you! They killed Joiran, they'll kill me and the Master! Fight!" Mila's voice rang out.
"Joiran was captured by the creator of the Medallion," Shillazh's voice came, and I clearly felt pleasure in it. "His body didn't belong to him. But there is a choice here. Either I will absorb the life of this girl with the Medallion," she pulled the girl by the hair, "or your Master. Who is dearer to you? But we know the answer. I clearly feel the connection between you. My boss is merciful, he will allow you to take her with you. Just throw away your Lightsaber, Jedi…"
There is no choice. I don't want the Master's sacrifice, nor Mila's sacrifice. I threw the sword aside, too demonstratively.
"No! Light, fight! FIGHT!" Mila shouted. "Why?"
"Obedient boy… What?" she looked at Mila with surprise. "What?"
The Medallion, which hung on her chest, glowed green. A substance from Mila's body was being drawn into it.
"Impossible!"
"Witch, stop," Teyron asked her from behind me.
"I can't! The Medallion. It's not obeying…"
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" a cold, cruel, and terrible laugh rang out. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Did you really think you could get rid of me so easily?"
Next to Shillazh, a Force Ghost appeared. It was noticeable that he belonged to the race of true Sith. Red-skinned, with tattoos.
"Darth Arrogant?!" Shillazh asked.
"As long as my spirit lives – the Medallion belongs to me! To its true creator! You were too naive, you whore Witch!" green energy flowed from Mila's body to the Medallion, and from the Medallion to the Force Ghost. Suddenly, he looked at me. "You arrived on time, young Jedi. Your body is perfectly suited for possession. Your girlfriend's sacrifice was not in vain…"
"Sacrifice," I asked in shock, looking at Mila's body… She was weakening with every moment and writhing in convulsions. "NO! DON'T YOU DARE!" I shouted.
"Too late. As soon as the last bit of her pathetic life leaves her body, I will gain enough Force to possess you…"
"Do something, Shillazh!" Jarps shouted, firing at the ghost, but the blaster shot passed through.
"Ah yes, youuuu," Arrogant drawled, aiming his hand at the Mandalorian. He was thrown back. "I'll get revenge on you later. First, my new body. Feel despair, boy," he gestured towards Mila. "She is dead…"
Two words… She is dead… Mila's gaze glazed over as she fell to the floor, a look of peace frozen on her face… No… NO!
"You were weak," a voice whispered. "You yourself erected an insurmountable obstacle. An insurmountable wall. And now you have lost her. Because you are weak. You were weak from the very beginning, throughout your life. So why should someone like you continue to poison life?"
I clutched my head from the infernal pain. The connection that existed between me and Mila finally dissipated… Pain and darkness flooded the world.
"What's wrong with him?" Jarps asked, looking warily at the VIP object.
"He has fallen!" Shillazh exclaimed. "There was a Force Bond between him and the girl based on love. The pain of loss, the rupture of the bond, and an unstable psyche. He has fallen to the Dark Side of the Force, but not like a Sith. He is far from being a Sith. Sith are those who subjugate the very essence of the Dark Side of the Force. He is now nothing more than a pathetic animal… AH! His Force has burst out from behind the walls that contained it. Incredible!"
"Finally!" the Force ghost shouted and rushed into Light's body. He seemed to merge with him.
"Now it's time for revenge!"
Sefi opened his eyes… Eyes of molten gold.
"And I'll start with you!" he pulled Arrogant's Lightsaber, activated it, and attacked Shillazh. She barely managed to dodge, only recognizing Makashi's style.
But Arrogant in Light's body didn't stop and continued to attack.
"Child's play!" he shouted, launching a Force Lightning at Shillazh's body.
She wasn't ready for this, and the Force Lightning, crimson in color, threw her back, giving her unforgettable impressions…
***
And so, darkness… I was sitting in literal darkness, which was strange because I could navigate it perfectly… Vague images of the battle my body was fighting arose in my mind.
"Not what you expected to see," a voice came from behind. I turned around, looking at who was behind me. I was looking at myself. Purple eyes, black hair, the same Jedi clothes.
"To answer your question, which, without a doubt, arose in your skull. I am you. And not the dark side, although it's here too."
"I actually have a lot of questions," I said, drawing my Lightsaber and taking a Soresu stance.
"Who you are is the very first one."
"As I already said. I am you," the clone remarked.
"You don't understand, do you?" he asked me.
"I am not your dark side, but I can't be called light either. And do you know why? It's all because of you, Leonid Ivanov. You didn't want to change… And at the same time, you changed. But those who wield the Force have always been much more unusual than many sentient beings. And what's the result? A kind and naive idiot in the world, making utopian plans as if you could achieve everything without giving anything in return, calculating, cold, and cynical when it's necessary to kill. In fact: two different personalities, don't you think?" he asked, sitting down in front of me, seemingly ignoring my activated Lightsaber.
"I am a reflection of the second. That second part of you that walks on the edge, slicing people into organs. There's a third one… He was… at the helm since Mila's death, but where he is now – I don't know. Our body was taken over by an ancient Sith, by the way. It seems he's fighting with the third one now."
"Mila…" my heart, as I thought, ached with pain.
"Yes… No matter what we were, one thing connected us: we all loved her equally," the clone sighed.
"Although I didn't love her like you did, just as the Dark One didn't love her like we did. But the fact remains. This finally drew a line between us. And the fact that a Sith flew in here without resistance shattered us into pieces, and in the end, we are talking here… In our consciousness, while that scoundrel is fighting with Shillazh and Teyron."
***
Shillazh clutched her stomach and looked in horror at Light Flaingstar, or rather, Darth Arrogant. This scoundrel would soon kill them at this rate. Having gained access to incredible power, Arrogant attacked them fiercely and mercilessly…
"What a scoundrel! This is my body now!" he suddenly shouted.
What's happening? Who is sharing his body with him?
"How dare you?" the Sith clutched his head.
"No! Don't!"
"He… It's like he's fighting," Shillazh replied.
"He's fighting the padawan's personality in his mind."
"Then we have a chance," Teyron remarked.
"He can't do both…"
"YOU UNDERESTIMATE MY POWER, MANDALORIAN!" Arrogant literally shouted.
"ON YOUR KNEES, BEFORE THE DRAGON OF ZAKUUL!" he aimed his hand at the couple.
"You are not a dragon!" the right side of Arrogant's face smiled strangely.
"You are just a parasite who took the body of someone stronger than you. A parasite and a loser! You will answer to me for what you did to her! Get out of here, spawn! Let me kill them all!"
There was a pop, for the umpteenth time. The Force seemed to explode, and the Sith ghost flew out of Light's body.
"Hahahaha!" Light laughed. His eyes remained golden, testifying to his fall.
"FREEDOM! Finally! I pushed that wretch back and now I can kill everyone, and I'll start… with you… Or no," he turned his gaze to the ghost.
"I should start with you, Darth Arrogant. I've truly never heard of such a Sith. Probably died in some dump. I don't know the technique… Although. A true Sith subjugates the Force, doesn't he?"
Darkness spread from Light's hand.
"And if I want to destroy you, I will!"
The ghost seemed to be captured by the darkness and pulled towards the padawan's body.
"I will take you, but only your Force. I don't need your personality! How is this done? Ah, it doesn't matter."
A surge of Force struck the Padawan. The ghost completely dissipated…
"Now you… Red blade. Interesting…" Light muttered thoughtfully.
"Very interesting…"
Shillazh retreated… Incredible power. This boy is talented, but until now, his talent was held back by his character, his self-suggestion… natural kindness and naivety. Plagueis would have definitely wanted to break him, but forge a loyal servant for himself. Now it was clear why. His power was literally crushing… If before the fall it still shone and even attracted, now it was crushing. It was crushing the surroundings so much that even a warrior like Teyron looked at Light with apprehension… Now everything was clear to her. Meanwhile, the Padawan, holding Arrogant's red lightsaber, had no intention of holding back. Shillazh prepared for battle… And then Light disappeared. He instantly closed the distance between them, cut the spear of magic sent at him into pieces, and crossed swords with Teyron's beskar spear…
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Light attacked the Mandalorian with furious ferocity… A second later, the Mandalorian flew into the wall, thrown back by telekinesis. Now Shillazh entered the battle, and Shillazh easily recognized the Ataru form. Sidious, Plagueis's apprentice, practiced it. She had seen him use it in combat a couple of times. The same fencing forms are used differently by Sith and Jedi. Jedi forms are slightly passive, more focused on disarming and capturing. Sith can use anything to kill. The Ataru that Shillazh saw Sidious use was aimed at killing. Fierce, deadly, and agile… The same was true for Light. Almost… He wasn't a Sith after all. He was a fallen Force-sensitive, not trained by a Sith. What was wrong? His Force was like a beast… Furious, evil, subject to instincts. And Shillazh sadly admitted that, even united, she and Teyron would do almost nothing to this boy… If they wanted to capture him and deliver him to Plagueis.
Light can only be killed… And she didn't care about Plagueis! Her survival was at stake now. Light circled her, the scarlet blade of his Lightsaber reflecting her attacks, even sharply accelerating and deciding to kill the impudent one, she still found herself being pushed back by him. The scarlet Lightsaber flashed everywhere and didn't think of sparing her… She was horrified, thinking what she would turn into after a few minutes of such a fight.
***
And what should I do? I clutched my head, trying to control myself.
"Oh, it's the same as always," I heard from my copy.
"It was always like this with you. When you were a boy, when you were a man, and when you were a boy again and a rather strong Force-sensitive in the galaxy. Well… potentially," he added, smiling disgustedly.
"You always cry, whine, naively think that the world is so simple and everything can be solved by applying some effort to certain points. Is that what you called your plan? Complete crap, to be honest. You never learned the lesson, the most important lesson."
"AND ARE YOU THE SMARTEST ONE?" I asked sharply.
"YOU DAMN PART OF ME THAT…"
"Don't shout," my copy interrupted me sharply.
"I am not a part of you in any way! I AM YOU! You created me yourself, just as you created the one who is now having fun with that couple," an image appeared before me, just like on television. The setting in the familiar hall was chaotic. The scarlet blade danced, drawing familiar but aggressive figures. It danced, chopping at Teyron Jarps's armor, it even managed to cut off part of the hood that hid Shillazh's face.
"Understand. You had problems. In the world, you are a kind and naive idiot, in combat, you turned into me, and darkness… it's in everyone from the beginning. And if you were an ordinary sentient being, you'd probably be in a psychiatric hospital, but you are Force-sensitive. The Force exacerbated the problem, gradually splitting you into three parts. You are inherently kind, he," he nodded at the image and the scarlet Lightsaber.
"is inherently evil. And me. Not him, but not you."
"The Unifying Force?"
"You idiot, what does this fanfiction nonsense have to do with it? Read too many fanfics? It's not your Force that splits. It's your personality that splits…"
"And what's next? You understand…"
"… that this can't go on," the "middle" one continued for me.
"Yes, I understand. We will either drive the sentient being named Light Flaingstar completely insane by existing three in one place. Because when he finishes having fun, he'll return here and try to destroy us. Or…"
"… we'll decide who is in charge."
"Correct," the copy nodded.
"But I see that there will be no victory here. Unlike in the outside world…"
***
This can't go on any longer! This is madness! Shillazh clearly understood that if she continued to fight the monster that had appeared, she would die a most ignoble death. Chopped by a Lightsaber… She looked, fleetingly, upwards. The hatch through which they had arrived at Darth Arrogant, which he had opened for them, still led outside…
"What's next, witch?" Jarps stood next to her. His entire armor was scorched. Mandalorian iron did not provide 100% protection from a Lightsaber. Especially considering that this was not 100% beskar, but with minor impurities. According to Jarps, if he had poured all the beskar he had, 100%, into his armor, he would have been left without shin guards, at least. He had to dilute it, although he cherished the hope that he would remake his armor.
"I have a plan," Shillazh hissed as the Padawan, grinning gleefully, walked towards them.
"Now," she moved sharply to the side.
"WHAT?" the blow to the back stunned Teyron Jarps. She damaged his rocket pack.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU BITCH SCAVENGER?" he asked, almost impaling her on his spear.
"To win, someone has to stay and hold him back," Shillazh jumped to the emergency hatch and clung to the ceiling with magic. The daggers returned to their rightful places.
"I wish you luck in the coming wars, Teyron Jarps. He won't wait."
She climbed into the hatch, got out into the air, and, jumping down from the complex, headed for her ship. It would have been nice to take the Jedi's "Star Courier," but the cunning Mandalorian had rewritten the ship in his name. To enter it, she would need to take his datapad. But she didn't think she would live long enough to do anything with Teyron's datapad. And besides, she had the medallion. She had emerged victorious… It was time to move on to her plan.
***
Teyron Jarps didn't last long after Shillazh's escape. I watched as the dark one literally toyed with him. Yes – he was experienced. Yes, strong. But a Force-sensitive, devoid of any principles and chains, calmly beat the proud Mandalorian, slammed him into the wall, and cut off one of his hands, despite the beskar. Teyron Jarps passed out… But before the newly-made Dark Jedi could rejoice, Lorm Decer appeared.
"Apprentice," the mentor called me.
"Master," my body turned towards him. I saw, albeit not from the first person, how the zabrak's blue eyes widened in horror, surprise, and disbelief.
"I see," Lorm Decer nodded.
"I understand everything."
"And what did you understand, mentor? That you are my enemy? You don't want to join me, do you? Haha. This galaxy has long needed a whipping and a good lesson, and I can organize it now."
"I have no intention of joining you, moreover," the mentor replied.
"I will try to bring you back."
"Bring me back? That part is long dead! Died, along with her. And even if his feelings were passed on to me," what was this. It seemed like some moisture passed through his body, and it wasn't sweat from the battle. These were… tears?
"But that doesn't change the fact that you have already lost your apprentice."
"Is that so…"
"And having lost an apprentice, you stand in my way. I will kill you, because you will prevent me from taming all of them in my galaxy."
"You consider the galaxy yours," Lorm Decer smiled, drawing his Lightsaber.
"And you 'killed' my apprentice. I spit on the galaxy. But for crushing my apprentice and deciding to replace him in his body – I will avenge you."
"Revenge is not the Jedi way, mentor…"
"And I am not a Jedi," Lorm Decer literally roared.
"Am I a Jedi of the Order that exists now? That has forgotten its roots? That languishes in ignorance and stagnation? I have decided everything for myself. And I decided thanks to you, Light," I flinched… Light. For the first time in several years of training, he called me by name!
"I taught you many things. But you taught me too. Therefore," he took the Niman stance.
"I will try. I know you are still there, you couldn't have just left. You are much better than you think!"
"Empty hopes, mentor!" the fallen one in my body shouted and rushed to attack.
And this battle was much more difficult for the wielder of the Scarlet Blade. Lorm Decer was not some outsider witch. He was a real, full-fledged Jedi Knight. Even if of an Order he had disowned. But the skills hadn't changed. My mentor's specialty, Niman, showed itself in all its glory. The fallen one seemed to be hitting a wall. When he went into a furious Ataru attack, performing all sorts of pirouettes around the mentor's body, the mentor defended himself, and elements of Soresu, the very one I studied, began to appear in Niman. Then the fallen one decided to defend himself, waiting for an opportunity for a counter-attack. Only he didn't take into account that the mentor's seemingly simple attacks almost led him to defeat.
"WHEN WILL YOU DIE?!" he threw the mentor back with telekinesis, but Lorm was ready for this technique, doing a somersault in the air and landing on his feet. He didn't show it, even though telekinesis is one of my best techniques.
"Come to your senses, Light! Would Mila want to see you like this? Did she see you like this? Useless and weak? Didn't you tell me," he got close to my body and struck at my legs. My body jumped, letting the cyan blade pass under it, and immediately attacked the mentor in the face with a thrust. He blocked the blow, returning the sword to an upper stance, reminiscent of Djem So.
"Didn't your beloved woman," a powerful Djem So strike fell on my body, which had barely managed to assume a Soresu stance. The mentor's sword was deflected.
"Want," a right-hand attack. The body bent down.
"To be," the mentor struck my nose with his knee. The image shook, and I felt phantom pain.
"Such a nobody?" he directed his hand at my body. The setting changed abruptly, the next thing I saw was the mentor standing about twenty meters away. With telekinesis, he threw the body straight into the wall, slamming it in… Suddenly darkness flooded my vision.
"What's happening?" I asked, and then a body flew out of the darkness… My body.
"HAAT! How strong he is! Well, nothing, I will destroy him!"
"Stop!" I shouted, but he disappeared abruptly.
"What? Why?"
"What did you expect?" my copy asked, with an activated green Lightsaber.
"That he would listen to you?"
The image restored.
"Understand – you can't finish everything perfectly. You saw it yourself when you were killing. Or will you say it was me? You have the right to. But you created me, as, in part, you created him. And that means that everything he does in the real world and I do here – you are also doing."
"And what should I do?"
"Change. You see for yourself what your inadequacy has led to. Mila Karnur, the woman you loved – is dead. Your mentor is forced to fight you, fallen to the Dark Side of the Force. And not even a Sith. An uncontrolled animal," he wrinkled his nose with disgust.
"And to top it all off, Shillazh escaped! What Order are you going to change? The Jedi Order, whose power, even now, has prospects for the galaxy, or an Order of people who like to tickle their asses? You are worthless, but you can become better."
And how should I do that… What? He closed the distance and pierced me through the chest with his Lightsaber. The pain from the Lightsaber strike enveloped me.
"You fool!" Through what seemed like oblivion, the copy's voice reached me.
"I told you – I am you. Just as you are me. It's impossible for one part of you to wound you. Think a little. Is there pain? And accept me!"
"Pain…" I croaked, looking at the Lightsaber still entering my chest.
"There is no pain. Correct. It's a logical puzzle, isn't it?" I asked.
"I needed to understand a lot. To understand that I can't be such a naive idiot. I can't make the galaxy and the Order great without making the appropriate sacrifice. I didn't want to pay myself. You can't change anything without sacrificing something. But sacrifice isn't always bad, is it?" I asked.
"Sacrifice can also help evolve. Sentient beings sacrifice part of their savings to acquire something, it's the same here. I am sacrificing myself… My very essence. Just like you," I looked at the smiling copy.
"To comprehend something new. Here is the answer, which lay on the surface. Change. The world has changed, the conditions have changed… And only I haven't tried to become better. Now I will fix it. I understood how to do it and…"
"… got rid of vain illusions. Now something will happen that will make you better. Or worse. But the main thing is that nothing will be as it was before…"
***
With every moment, Lorm Decer realized with horror that the chances of Light becoming himself again were fading. After about forty seconds, his body rose again and looked at him with eyes filled with the color of molten gold. With a roar, Lorm lunged into attack, trying to break through Light's defense. He didn't lose hope… After all, the Light Side of the Force is not just about renouncing everything, it is faith and hope that everything can still change for the better. He would disarm him, bind him, and try again to return him to the Light Side of the Force… Well, if that didn't work… He would fulfill his duty. For Light's own sake and for the future of the galaxy.
Light jumped over Lorm, apparently hoping that a change of scenery would help him. But the scenery didn't change. This room was quite huge. It offered a lot of room for Ataru's maneuvers… But Lorm no longer gave him chances for maneuvers. He went on the offensive and fiercely pushed through his defense until, finally, something happened that threw him off balance. They had just swapped places again. Light attacked him with his favorite Shiiak, aiming for the heart, but Lorm, with a sliding block, sent him to the floor, accompanying it with an instructive kick. Lorm was about to continue the attack, but then something stopped him. He felt changes… His eyes… They were not golden, but purple. The kind he was used to.
"Finally, teacher," his apprentice said calmly. No Dark Side of the Force emanated from his body. The aura was light… Light to the edge. He had recovered, but he hadn't become what Lorm Decer remembered him to be. Before, Light's aura felt warm and welcoming. Now it was scorching and sharp, like a blade.
"It's time to stop this mess."
He deactivated his sword.
"I am glad…" Lorm's eyes, a convinced cynic, moistened against his will. He had taught him a lot… And he had become what Decer himself wanted him to be. Now…
"GHA!" A sudden pop, and pain gripped his body. He understood his mistake, but, spitting blood, it was too late. He saw his student's eyes widen in horror… He reached out his hand to him, but couldn't reach. Something was pulling him down… Light caught his body, but… He understood. Lorm understood that this was it. This is what darkness is…
***
I had enough shocks… I would have had enough. But Teyron Jarps thought otherwise. I had managed to rethink a lot during this time… What happened after my merging with the middle one? I stopped being hypocritical, I understood what price I and many others would pay for my ambitions and what I wanted. I ended up in the Far, Far Away… Not to be an ideal knight who solves everything bloodlessly. It's a joke, I've managed to kill many. I came here to rebuild it according to my vision. I know the canon of legends… Disney. I understand what can happen, I know the reasons for many, not all, but many events. What should I do? I need to review the list of events I will participate in, review plans and goals, but most importantly – now I understood what was holding me back. The Force does not tolerate fools, and I was truly foolish.
Teyron Jarps thought otherwise. Before I, having barely recovered from absorbing the fallen one and adopting part of his worldview, could react – a bullet hit my mentor. Right in the back. It was an explosive bullet, such a hit to the body is equivalent to death.
"BASTARD!" I shouted throughout the hall, preserving myself, I waved my hand, Teyron was thrown against the wall, while the kinetic weapon of the Mandalorian, betrayed by his ally, remained in the place where Teyron had been before.
I ran to my mentor's body and caught him before he fell to the ground…
"Kha…" he spat blood, drenching my clothes.
"Too late, Light. Too late. You are not a medic and cannot save me from such a wound… Not even tons of bacta will help."
"Mentor…" I felt moisture in my eyes.
"I failed you…"
"Kha… Nonsense. You saved me," he coughed blood again.
"You freed me from unnecessary… Kha… Illusions. In return, I helped you become the Jedi… KHA, you wanted to be. You've become better… Although… You still have a lot ahead of you, Light. Now I see what you are capable of… Kha… Of what you are capable."
"Mentor… Without you, I…"
"Hutt… Let me die in peace already… My life… KHA! Was full of regrets and sorrow. I no longer knew… KHA, if I could change anything in it… A long path awaits you, Light Flaingstar… Thank you for walking part of it with me. And… May the Force be with you, always, my apprentice."
"And with you, Teacher," I closed his eyes.
"And with you…"
I carefully placed his body on the floor. This is the price of my weakness… My foolishness. I paid in full to change. Now I understand what I didn't understand before. The galaxy and the Jedi… I didn't understand why I couldn't change them, but now I see. You can't change anything without sacrificing something. That's the equivalent exchange. We sacrifice our time, our rest, training and gaining strength in return. We sacrifice the lives of other sentient beings and… We also gain something. That's the fundamental truth of life. And for the galaxy and the Jedi to become better – they too need to sacrifice something. They need this lesson that I went through. Then all of them… They will understand how to live correctly and what should be done. I must ensure this, as one who has understood. Perhaps my new beliefs are wrong… But it's okay. I'm tired of standing and watching. I endured and said nothing when I was bullied. Now I will endure, but only to repay… I will help everyone understand this lesson… But first. I looked at the lying and groaning Teyron Jarps. He was without his right arm, his left hung like a stump and didn't move. His armor was covered in traces of collision with a Lightsaber… I pulled my Lightsaber towards me… It was emitting strange waves, but there was no time to pay attention to it.
"Look at yourself, Teyron Jarps. I heard you're a legend of the Outer Rim, the hope of Mandalore… "
"Kha!" the man spat blood. His helmet had long since been turned to dust by me, the fallen one, which is why he had been fighting without it recently. "To hell with this damned planet and everyone else from there to hell. I'm a warrior. I don't need Mandalore, I don't need the galaxy. It's you, Jedi, who prefer to play at futile altruism. Although you've re-evaluated a lot now," he groaned. "I perfectly understand what we are all created for here. We are beasts. Some just disguise themselves better. A beast, having honed its skills, becomes a warrior, and a warrior is immortal, even after defeat, it doesn't matter what he fought for. Yes, I was bought, but I always fight for those who bought me with full dedication… I am a Warrior… KHA!"
"Shut up," I interrupted him. "You have no idea what you're talking about. A beast cannot become a warrior. Because it's an animal, obeying instincts. A warrior is someone who can control not only their body and weapons, but also themselves. You only have skills, Teyron Jarps. I know your future. It's insignificant. A person is immortal as long as they are remembered. We remember the great Mandalorians: Canderous Ordo, Shea Vizla… But no one will remember you, neither as a warrior, nor as a sentient being. Your name will burn, because you left nothing behind… And you won't leave anything… "
"And what will you do, boy? Kha! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" he laughed.
I pulled his body towards me.
"Well? What will you do? If you're not just another impotent Jedi, but a real man… A real warrior, then you'll kill me."
"I will savor every moment," I promised. "Because I am completely different now… A Jedi."
The green blade entered the exposed part of Jarps' face… I watched, consciously slowing down the movement of the blade and the passage of time. I watched as it entered his skull, burned through it, and entered his brain. The moment seemed to stretch for almost minutes, but in the end, it ended, and the mercenary's body fell at my feet.
"Forgive me Mila… " I brought the Mandalorian's body to her and my master. Kneeling, I kissed her lips. Warmth was still felt from her side. "I failed you. I failed all of us… But now I see," I said, throwing the tattered Jedi cloak on the floor and wrapping all three bodies in it, "I see my path more clearly than ever. And I will not stop anymore. Until all enemies are defeated, all lessons are learned, and my ambitions are realized.
***
"You bring sad news," a voice came from the holoprojector. Master Yoda and the entire Council listened to my report. I did not leave and will not leave the Jedi Order. Never. Even if I have changed, even if the Order is not what I would like it to be. But I will remain a Jedi until the end. To deal with the injustice that this Order covers up – I must understand it better. "Deliver your master's body to Coruscant."
"Which I intend to do, Masters," I said, bowing slightly.
"You are idiots," Evan Piell said sharply and rudely. "Just two idiots. What was so difficult about waiting for Kuro?" he asked, looking towards the Dark Woman present at the meeting. "The result. A Jedi Knight lost his life, a Padawan lost his master, an innocent died, the Medallion was stolen by a Witch. This is a failure."
"Calm down," a voice came from beside him. I could only say that he was most likely human. And I only knew his name. Master Jonnal, who came to the Council from the Shadow Corps. He was dressed in tight white clothing that hid his face. Clothing that made him look more like a hero from a well-known game series before the part titled "Origins" was released. "They did what they could. A Jedi died. Is it worth talking about it now and pressuring anyone?"
"Master Jonnal is right," Jocasta Nu supported him. "The Council mourns your loss, Padawan," she addressed me. "We will make a decision about the completion of your training later, when you arrive on Coruscant."
"Wait," An'ya Kuro broke the silence, which could have indicated that the connection was about to end. "I can finish his training."
"What?" Master Saesee Tiin asked. "What did you say, Master Kuro?"
The entire Council stared at her.
"I can complete his training. I knew Lorm better than many, and I also know perfectly well what he could have taught Light. I think it would be right to entrust the completion of his training to me."
"I agree with this," Yoda replied unexpectedly. "You should meet on Coruscant. This is where the connection should end."
The holoprojector went dark, leaving me slightly stunned. My master – his body is next to me, and I'm already being given a new teacher. Although – the Dark Woman herself will teach me! That's worth a lot… I glanced at the Mandalorian's armor and grinned… It's a useful trophy, it's no longer needed by a nameless dead man, and I can acquire armor elements, just not the kind Teyron had. And more than that… I can modify my Lightsaber if I infuse the armor pieces with the Force… But before that… I took out my Lightsaber and twirled it in front of me.
"What's wrong with you, old friend?" I asked the hilt… "No, you can go crazy like this. Alright. VV-7," we had been in the Mid Rim for a long time, where we could report to the Council without problems, without experiencing connection quality issues, "plot a course… All roads lead to Coruscant. It's time for us to… Be there again… A lot of work awaits us."