Jedi Insurgency 244

Rain hammered the ruins of the Senate District, it was as if the planet itself were weeping at the destruction done to its people. Meanwhile, entire city blocks burned beneath the storm, and people were fleeing as far away from the epicenter as possible. 

The skyline of Coruscant had become a graveyard of shattered towers and falling debris, illuminated by several clusters of advertisement billboards that hadn't turned off during the combat. Those million men freshly graduated from the Empire's bootcamps-volunteer soldiers, not clone troopers-who were invited to witness Windu's sentencing were now MIA, KIA, or huddling in place, shellshocked beyond imagination. 

Many youths had been promised work, college credits, and an opportunity to see the galaxy. To fight for the ideals of democracy, to uphold Emperor Palpatine’s promises of stability. Today, that promise was shattered. 

At the center of it all stood Darth Vader.

His cape was now gone, and an endless deluge of water pitter-pattered off of his worn suit. Chunks of durasteel orbited his body alongside wrecked speeders, broken gunships, and twisted beams ripped from collapsing skyscrapers. His crimson blade hissed in the rain whilst sparks dripped from damaged armor plates. 

Breathing heavily, the Dark Lord moved with a limp, his lower extremities were beginning to ache in the cold. That ruthless X-shaped wound Revan had dealt him at the start of the conflict had been patched up in an ad-hoc manner. Now that nearly an hour had passed, he was barely sustaining himself. 

Each breath of Vader’s asthmatic lungs brought pain. His joints ached, and the water entered several tiny gaps in his armor, chaffing his burnt skin, forming several blisters upon his biceps, and thighs. At this point, his suit was held together solely through his will, and the faintly glimmering Infinite Gear. 

Vader briefly considered retreating from this fight, opting to take his hated foe out another day, however, he wasn't the only one who was lagging. 

Across from him, atop the fractured remains of a senate transit bridge, Corvus emerged from invisibility. 

The [Shadow Wrath State] slowly receded, his time had run out, and no amount of clinging to Vader could delay the inevitable. 

Dark vapor peeled away from his body in steaming wisps until his cloaked form became visible once more beneath the rain. His twin lightsabers remained ignited, their crimson & azure reflections danced across puddles of water, oil and blood that caked the district. 

For a moment, both warriors simply stared at one another. The fight had been exhausting. Pushed to their physical & mental limits, they regarded one another. 

Corvus regretted that his most powerful weapon had receded, however, there was still hope. Three more well placed [Heals] should be enough to crack the Infinite Gear. The tricky part was that he had to distract Vader, otherwise, the Sith Lord could use the Force and deflect it. On the plus side, Vader’s manipulation of magnetism had become sluggish, and much more restrained. Where before, he was hurling the entire Senate at him, now, he merely had about an average household's worth of metal hovering around himself. That was indeed a threat, and a substantial one at that. However, when Corvus had to dodge entire buildings flowing at him like thousands of tentacles from a monster, this was ‘easy’ mode. The tricky part was, without the [Shadow Wrath State], Corvus was significantly slower, and he wasn't afraid of taking any damage. Unless he was repeatedly comboed, Vader didn't have anything in his arsenal to end the fight easily. Now, however, if he got caught out by a stray shot, it would all be over. 

Like fighting a cornered animal, engaging with Vader at this time would actually be the most deadly part. For all his arrogance, this psychopathic cyborg had fought his way out of worse. Many, many times in Legends, Vader would lose his limbs, and have his suit chewed up to hell and back, only to seize victory from the jaws of defeat. To underestimate Vader now would be the height of foolishness…but as they had this staredown, Corvus knew he couldn't wait too long. 

Every second wasted here was one in which Palpatine killed Plo Koon & Mace Windu. A win against the Sith didn't necessarily mean killing them. It was important to remember that this was a rescue mission. After all, greed had killed many men over the eons. 

The standoff was broken as a pair of lightsabers ignited beside Corvus. Twin blue beams of plasma announced her presence. After sending Padmé away, Ahsoka had returned.

Her reverse-gripped sabers spun once in practiced arcs, adding an additional bout of hissing from the rain. Her lekku were streaked with soot from the destruction around them, and her narrowed eyes never left Vader.

“Anakin, there really is no hope for you, is there?” The orange-skinned alien said in a sad, tired voice. She ran a hand over her chest where a perfectly circular hole had cut through her clothes, where a crimson lightsaber had once met her flesh less than half an hour ago. 

Vader’s mask tilted toward her. 

“You have taken Padmé from me.” He stated in a flat tone tinged with a cold darkness fed upon him by the dark rain. 

“Was it worth it? All of this?” Ahsoka snapped back in a bitter tone, gesturing towards all the destruction. 

“You underestimate the power of my Master.” Vader replied, taking one heavy step forward, his boots crunching on the blackened remains of an Imperial soldier. 

She then turned to Corvus, and stared into his mask pleadingly. “Master Revan, you taught me that you returned from the Darkside, that you saw through the lies of the Sith. Please…please say something to him.” 

Corvus sighed as he eyed the advancing Dark Lord. The black armored cyborg was slowly trudging towards them, a maelstrom of metal floating around him during his walk. For a moment, he didn't say a word to her. Instead, he reapplied all of his buffs, making sure to add them to her too. 

“Only the strong are welcome to participate in this conversation. Want to rehabilitate him? Remove his limbs, and strip him of his armor for me.” Corvus slowly muttered, preparing himself to strike. 

Ahsoka-now buffed with [Valor] & [Inspire Followers] amongst other things, had temporarily lost her depression, and once again found the fire in her soul. 

“I'm with you, Master Revan.” She declared. 

“Very good. Together, we shall combine our lightning, aiming to disable his storm of metal & malice. Once this is accomplished, we shall close with him. Are you ready?” Corvus stated in a calm tone, detailing his plan. 

“Mn.” Ahsoka nodded along. 

Raising his hands, Corvus unleashed [Force Lightning]. It wasn't nearly as impressive as the buffed version under the [Shadow Wrath State], but then again, he wasn't trying to bring entire Star Destroyers down. Seconds later, Ahsoka let out a green wave. The two energies collided, and threatened to break one another apart. However, both of them were-much to Corvus's surprise-in sync, achieving balance between the Light & Dark. 

The ashy, rainy landscape took on a bright hue as their combined attack met the maelstrom. Vader did his best to protect himself, and sent several shard of twisted metal overhead, traveling at an arc like how a mortar shoots out bombs. Bypassing the lightning, these chunks of debris were heading straight at them! 

Ahsoka was about to dodge, when Corvus's shouted at her. 

“Continue the pressure! Have faith in me!” He said in a stern, unrelenting tone. 

Sure enough, as the metal made contact with their bodies, a dim blue barrier lit up, deflecting this blunt damage. Meanwhile, their offensive was bearing fruit, the entire area around Vader was melted down, and whilst the Dark Lord would love to do his lightning rod technique, that only worked if he was the target! 

As soon as this massive AOE defense had collapsed, Corvus dropped his technique, and ran at Vader, sabers drawn. 

[Shadow Hopping] just above, and behind him, Corvus struck out. 

Vader reacted instantly, spinning just as Corvus reappeared behind him. Twin blades crashed downward in a savage Form VII combination aimed at Vader’s neck and spine simultaneously.

Vader blocked both strikes with sheer power.

Before he could counter, and send Corvus away with a psychic blast, or hold him in place, Ahsoka had already arrived. 

She came low and fast from Vader’s blind side, both of her azure sabers slashed upward in crossing arcs aimed for the same spot that Corvus had diced up earlier. 

Motivated by the pain of this wound, Vader pivoted violently, and positioned himself in such a way that all three combatants entered a saber lock. The clash illuminated the rain-soaked bridge in red and blue. 

The duel began in earnest as Vader shoved off of them, and slid backwards using the Force to create some distance. During that brief clash, Corvus had cast [Heal], sapping one third of the remaining battery life remaining in the Infinite Gear. 

Corvus then attacked like a phantom unleashed from hell itself, his Form VII aggression was relentless and unpredictable. He vanished and reappeared constantly, [Shadow Hops] carrying him around Vader in bursts of shadow while his blades carved vicious combinations from impossible angles. Given his current speed, and overall stats, Vader should come out on top. However, since this was a 2v1 scenario, Ahsoka was in a similar tier as Jedi Master (high), and Vader was on his last leg, they just barely managed to pressure the blackclad man into a defensive stance. 

Ahsoka complimented his fighting style well. The pair of them were agile and fluid, constantly flitting around Vader’s overwhelming power, and heavy strikes. 

Where Corvus battered defenses apart through fury, trickery, and overwhelming momentum, Ahsoka flowed around Vader’s counters like water around stone. Her Jar’Kai technique created openings for Corvus’s brutality to exploit.

Finding a gap in Vader’s defense, Corvus lashed out at his boot. His blade met a pale shield, growing paler every second. For his gamble, he tanked a hit to his [Energy Resistance] shield. Going in for another strike, he traded several different taps here and there, both men willing to reduce their own energy shields if it meant achieving victory. 

Together, they should have overwhelmed anyone, but Lord Vader was not just anyone. 

The Sith Lord-though large, and somewhat cumbersome-was not weak. Every swing of his blade carried monstrous strength. Each time sabers collided, shockwaves rippled across the bridge hard enough to crack the ferrocrete beneath their feet.

Vader’s magnetic powers made the duel even deadlier. Metal debris constantly screamed through the air around him. Although it was tiny in size-no larger than a coin or fist-these pieces were constantly fraying shields, or acted as cover to hide his next move. 

During one intense exchange, a broken LAAT gunship's beam cannon suddenly shot toward Ahsoka from behind. 

She sensed it at the last second, and flipped sideways as the green beam cut a hole in the bridge that they fought upon. 

Vader seized upon this opening, taking this brief window of reprieve to bully Corvus in the 1v1. 

His crimson blade hammered into Corvus’s defenses with terrifying speed for someone his size. Heavy Djem So strikes battered against Corvus’s crossed sabers hard enough to force the Jedi Master backward across the bridge.

Vader’s free hand clenched, and the bridge beneath Corvus exploded upward. Durasteel spikes erupted from the structure itself under magnetic control.

Corvus vanished into shadow just before they impaled him. He reappeared above Vader, unleashing [Force Lightning] with one hand, and [Heal] with the other. 

Vader absorbed the blast against his blade, and as he was going to resist the [Heal], Ahsoka had recovered, and was already stabbing at his flank. 

Her blue sabers flashed across Vader’s capeless backside in a perfect sequence of up, down, left, right, comboing into an endless flow of quick taps. 

The weakly shimmering Infinite Gear was conserving energy, and couldn't maintain a cohesive energy shield around his entire body. As a result, sparks exploded from Vader’s mechanical lungs as one lung was pierced. Super hot plasma burned the Dark Lord's insides, and his vision turned black for a second as the other mechanical lung worked twice as hard to keep him alive. 

Staggering forward a step, Vader barely fended off Corvus’s downward two handed slice, and tried to escape by jumping off the ruined bridge. His heavy boots loudly clanged, landing back in the ruined Senate chamber where this had all begun. 

Ahsoka pressed forward, jumping after him. Landing lightly like a cat. For several glorious seconds, she drove Vader backward.

Her blades became silver-white blurs in the rain, alternating strikes with breathtaking speed while Corvus shadowed her like a predator. The orange Togruta girl was on a streak, and recognizing that, he acted as her defender, and was gathering the energy in his FP bar to conduct an emergency rescue, as well as break the Infinite Gear once and for all! 

Form VII was especially sinister as a supporting lightsaber form. Whilst many Jedi fighting in a group would perhaps prefer Djem So or Soresu guarding their flanks, The Way of the Vornskr was modeled after predator animals that hunted in packs. Any fan of nature who watched a wolf pack, or lions pride harry their prey would understand just what kind of hell Vader was undergoing right now! 

Vader was losing ground, badly. 

With his back pressed up against a broken wall, and his breath wheezing, something snapped. With a roar, the Dark Lord unleashed the Force outward.

The ash swirled around him, completely masking his position in the dark, rainy night. Disabling his lightsaber, the blackclad man was momentarily extremely difficult to see. At this time, several dozen beam cannons from the various gunships he had collected during the course of this battle made themselves known. 

By the time Corvus had pushed all the ashes aside, streaks of pure green energy bombarded his, and Ahsoka's position. A crater blossomed through the district below as his [Force Push] obliterated the offending weapons. 

Ahsoka danced across falling wreckage with incredible agility, deflecting beams with her sabers while leaping between collapsing pieces of what remained of the senate floor. 

During her dance, and Corvus's distracted state, one coiled bar of durasteel snaked up from the floor, binding her ankle tight. Just as she was about to cut the restraint away, Vader emerged from the gloom, igniting his lightsaber. 

Looming over her backside like a specter from a horror film, Vader’s breathing was ragged, his every pained gasp not only echoed across this ruined hall dedicated to governance but echoed in the very Force itself. Ordinary people dozens, even hundreds of miles away unconsciously found themselves aching in their bones, aching in their very souls, as if some unspeakable pain held them tight. 

It was with such anguish-both mental and physical-that he began to slash into her like a serial killer. The [Energy Resistance] shield that coated her form buckled, then broke! She twisted, catching his blade at the expense of breaking her ankle. Driven onto her back, Ahsoka stared into those dark lenses, a single tear dripping down her cheek. No more words needed to be said between this master and apprentice. 

As Vader brought his weapon down, Corvus intercepted him midair.

Both Sith and Jedi crashed through a cavernous hole in the broken Senate Chamber, vanishing into the depths of the building. As they fell, the duel became brutally close-quarters.

Vader’s blade carved molten trenches through support columns, whilst Corvus’s sabers spun like furious wheels of death. Trading Force empowered punches and kicks that would pop lesser men like crushed soda cans, they collided again and again. The deep, dark shaft was lit up only by the clash of their lightsabers. 

One brutal backhand sent Corvus crashing through three walls. Before he could recover, Vader seized him with the Force and hurled him downward through the skyscraper. Floor after floor exploded apart beneath Corvus’s falling body. Although his barriers blocked most of the damage, and he had several different traits that mitigated this, the accumulated wear and tear on his body made him stagger as internal bleeding made him cough up a mouthful of blood. 

Vader fell down from the shaft like a falling meteor, his crimson lightsaber a streak of red as he picked up speed. Corvus erupted upward from below in an explosion of shadow and lightning. His blade slashed across Vader’s chest, but looking at the Dark Lord's shadow, he read that there was a more optimal play! That this was only a bait! 

Going invisible, he seemingly vanished from the spot. 

Vader, so accustomed to Corvus [Shadow Hopping] behind or under him, twisted his body, guarding both areas. However…HOWEVER!!! 

Corvus did not teleport, he had simply gone invisible, and stood still! 

At that moment when his guard was broken, Corvus poured everything into [Heal]. Shattering the Infinite Gear once and for all! 

The Darkside artifact shrieked like steam escaping a narrow pipe. Vapor rose up from it in an endless cloud as it began to melt. Like a chemical reaction of acid melting metal, the gear corroded, blackened, and emitted a foul smell akin to burnt marshmallows. A scream of despair echoed in the Force, and an extreme impact knocked Vader through several dozen floors, shooting him upwards and into the sky. 

Battered and broken, Vader ragdolled. If the broken connection between Vader and the Darkside Nexus had significantly debuffed him, the destruction of this Darkside artifact that was implanted on his chest, this bound focus that absorbed all of his hate, its death was a catastrophe for the Dark Lord! 

Barely conscious due to the sudden loss of the Infinite Gear, Vader's fingers twitched as he flew into the sky. A deep, rainfilled breath met his lungs, and he felt no pain. Looking up at the sky, he tried to fly with his power of magnetism, yet all sensation and energy tied to that had been a gift from the artifact. With it gone, he no longer could summon a maelstrom of metal as he once did. 

Looking up at the blackclad missile flying into the sky, Corvus was going to give chase when a heart throbbing pulse in his Force Bond told him Jax was in critical danger. 

Then, a second later, a heavy pressure forced him to his knees. The rain picked up in tempo, and adopted a sinister edge…each drop was slick with the Force, any living thing it touched was deprived of its essence! The entire surface population on this side of Coruscant began to slowly wither as the triumphant laughter of an old man rang across the stars. 

Emperor Palpatine.

Dark Lord of the Sith.

Darth Sidious. 

The Endless Hunger. 

WAS DONE HOLDING BACK.