CHAPTER TWELVE
Leia ducked as another piece of the Senate Building's ceiling fell and crashed to the ground. Outside, she could see a dark, rock-covered titan sending out emerald flames towards the various starfighters that were beginning to surround it.
She quickly turned her attention back to Valorum, who was back on his feet and running towards her, his sword raised high over his head. Leia ignited her lightsaber and deflected Valorum's blow as he brought his cortosis blade down.
Kicking Valorum in the shin, Leia pushed the corrupt man away with a blast of the Force, and then sprinted for a way out of the crumbling office. As she reached an opening gap in a nearby wall, she briefly sensed danger in the Force.
Turning around, she saw Valorum's sword heading right for her. Catching it in mid air, she flung the weapon back towards its owner, watching as the blade impaled itself into Valorum's right shoulder. Crying out, Valorum took out the sword and discarded it. With his left arm, he brought out a blaster pistol and began firing rounds.
Leia avoided the shots and leaped out of the hole in the wall, landing on a ledge sticking out of the damaged Senate Building. Looking up, she saw Valorum limping towards the gap, aiming his blaster at her again. She quickly reactivated her lightsaber and deflected the plasma bolts with ease.
As they bounced off of her blue blade, Leia began to consider on how she should end the fight. She could just wait for Valorum's blaster to overheat and then apprehend him, or she could fling her saber and end it right then and there.
As much as she disliked the prospect of the latter idea, she realized that, for a man such as Valorum, who had helped orchestrate the Sith's war and had welcomed the galaxy's very end, it was either death or an asylum.
And since there were no asylums on Coruscant- or, at least, not anymore- Leia knew what had to be done.
Once Valorum's blaster had overheated, Leia threw her lightsaber towards Valorum. It spun right though his shoulder, severing his weapon arm. Then, like a boomerang, it flew back and impaled Valorum through his torso.
The red eyes on the former Chancellor's helmet flickered as he staggered and toppled forward out of the building. Leia caught her lightsaber in time as Finis Valorum's body bounced off of the ledge she was standing on, and plummeted to the ground below.
Leia let out a sigh of relief. Valorum was dead, the titan was starting to lose against the starfighters, and the Imperial forces were starting to scatter. Only the Sith Lord behind it all was left standing, and she hoped that someone, anyone, was taking care of him to ensure that the Empire would finally fall...
* * *
Toah groaned as his body slammed against another wall again. He quickly rolled aside as Vorath made a stabbing move with his lightsaber. Toah then raised his own saber as Vorath swung and the blades clashed together.
The Dark Lord's now violet eyes glared at the Jedi Knight. When he spoke, his voice sounded like many voices speaking at once. "Why do you persist on fighting, Jedi?" Vorath growled. "Even without the staff of Valtheran, the galaxy is doomed."
Toah glanced at him and smirked. "I don't think so."
A powerful Force push quickly wiped that smirk off his face. This time, Toah cushioned the blow with his mind and was soon back on his feet.
Vorath glowered at him, his grip around his lightsaber tightening. "I never expected such smug words from a Jedi. Unless you know something I do not..."
"I do," Toah muttered. "I know that, if the staff of Valtheran is broken, its owner will be in a whole world of pain."
"Is this supposed to be it?" Vorath scoffed, gesturing around himself. "On the contrary, I feel more powerful than ever! Nothing can stop us from ruling the galaxy!"
Us? Toah ignored the change in Vorath's tone. "So your plan is to become the galaxy's sole ruler, right? And just how is that going to work? Not everyone will follow you."
Vorath and his many voices laughed in unison. "We will wipe them all out, and then recreate them into mindless, obedient slaves, bended to our will."
"I see," Toah replied. "So you'll be the only one left in the galaxy with an actual life. That's a pretty sad way to live, you know, with no one to be with and all..."
Vorath's eyes narrowed. "We don't need anyone. I don't need anyone, and never have."
"Are you sure? From the sound of what you told me earlier, about your life, it sounded like you were close to someone named Nova."
Suddenly, Vorath strode over to Toah and grabbed him by the collar of his Jedi outfit. The Dark Lord's many voice snarled all at once.
"Never speak her name."
"You loved her," Toah coughed, struggling to release himself from the Sith Lord's grasp. "I know you did. You said so yourself that she was your lover."
"She was Kalon Soral's lover," Vorath spat. "She means nothing to us-to me!"
Toah stared hard at the mad Sith Lord. "If she were to appear to you now, as a ghost or whatever...what would she think of you?"
The violet eyes began to twitch. "Her thoughts would not matter..."
"What would you think of her?"
Vorath began to shudder. "It...it matters not..."
"What would you say to her?"
"Shut up..."
"Would you still love her?"
"Shut up!"
"I know you still love her."
"SHUT UP!!" Vorath threw Toah to the side with all his might. The Jedi Knight landed on his feet, retrieving his dropped lightsaber.
Driven mad by the dark side, Vorath unleashed a burst of violet lightning, which knocked Toah's lightsaber out of his hand. Instinctively, Toah raised his hands, knowing that there was no stopping the lightning.
To his surprise, his hands suddenly began absorbing the lightning. He had heard of this ability before, but he had never been taught it. He then glanced to his side-again, by instinct-and saw the spirit of his father hovering right next to him, with one hand on his shoulder, and the other reaching out, as if he was blocking the lightning as well.
"You can do it, son," Aron Jarsan said to him. "The Force is with you. We all are."
Suddenly, the spectral image of a dark-haired woman appeared next to Aron. Toah immediately recognized her to be the woman from his glimpse of the past many months ago. His mother...
After her came the ghost of a person who looked almost exactly like Toah; his brother. Soon, all of Toah's ancestors and relatives came to his side, helping him in shielding the Sith lightning.
But the surprises did not end there. Coming out from behind Vorath were the many Sith spirits that had been absorbed into Vorath's body. However, contrary to what Toah was expecting, they had not come to help the Dark Lord.
Instead, they grouped together and began pushing Vorath towards Toah. The lightning began to roll up into an orb in Toah's hands. As Vorath got closer, the orb grew bigger. Toah strained as more and more power got into his hands, but the spirits of his family ensured that he held his ground.
Soon, Vorath was no less than a foot away from Toah. The Dark Lord's now-scarlet eyes were staring wide-eyed at the Jedi Knight. For a second, Toah could have sworn that he was a hint of remorse in Vorath's eyes, but it quickly vanished.
"My destiny..." Vorath said quietly. "It was never supposes to be like this..."
"I'm sorry," Toah murmured, still straining from the lightning. "But you chose the wrong path."
"Maybe I did," Vorath muttered. "Or maybe I chose the right path. One can never tell..."
Toah could not take anymore. He pushed his hands out and the orb exploded light. A wave of energy surged through Vorath, and his body began to harden into stone. A final blast struck him, and the stone became sand.
The scarlet eyes faded away as Darth Vorath, one of the oldest Dark Lords of the Sith known to ever live, crumbled to dust.
Toah did not take time to savor his victory and instead ran to his master, who was lying on the edge of death...
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