Star Wars: The Good Ending

Anakin

The two Jedi approached the massive doors to the Black Sun Headquarters. It was a massive compound, built into a cliffside overlooking the rolling plains of scarred earth on Mustafar. Scorching billows of red smoke rolled off the sea of lava rivers and lakes. The dry, arid air cracked and popped, blood roared in Anakin's ears as he blinked the smoke from his eyes. The dark fortress sliced through the crimson sky like a knife, and the red fog seemed to swirl around the central spire like some kind of vortex. Red fog. His vision wasn't wrong. A gargoyle-like creature hopped off the wall and flew into the night, screeching some kind of call.
    Boots crunched over blackened obsidian gravel, leaving a trail of ash in their wake. It was then Anakin was reminded of a particular mission, years ago. When he and Ahsoka had rescued kidnapped Jedi younglings from the clutches of a Sith Lord on this very planet. Anakin was a bit taken aback by the irony.
    The huge doors swung open before them, revealing over a dozen Faleen men, all towering well over six feet tall. Their green skin looked ghastly in the harsh lighting, and their piercing yellow eyes gleamed with malice. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi approached them unyieldingly without hesitation, ready to fight their way to Maul if they had to. The one in the front clearly possessed a higher rank than the others, addressing the Jedi coldly, as if this were nothing more than an inconvenient business transaction to him. He didn't bother searching them or confiscating their lightsabers. He looked Obi-Wan dead in the eyes and said plainly, "I suggest you behave yourselves. Should you try anything, it won't be you who suffers the consequences,"  his voice was very low and raspy, almost reptilian.
    Anakin said nothing, instead clenching his fists as they were escorted through the corridors, his jaw tightened and he buried his fingernails so deep in the palm of his hand, he could feel the blood trickling down his knuckles, but unaware of the pain. Over the last couple weeks he'd managed to gain some control over his rage, but the closer he got to Maul, the closer he came to reaching his breaking point.
    Something felt odd about Mustafar. It almost had a sort of presence in the force, not unlike that of Korriban. Something mystical felt oddly harsh about the planet, and it almost seemed to whisper to young Skywalker as his thoughts drifted further and further from the light.
    He glanced at Obi-Wan and noticed him rubbing the side of his head and wincing. He'd always told Anakin he gave him a headache when he got into his moods, but it wasn't until recently Anakin understood the real reason why. He knew he was teetering dangerously close to the dark, and the rage and hatred rolling off him in waves could be felt easily through the Force, most severely by his old master.
    Ahsoka had once told him he had a unique presence in the Force, one unlike anyone else. She described Obi-Wan and other Jedi as feeling like a beacon of light, and Anakin like a storm. Wild and uncontrollable, calm at times, but unpredictable and violent too. He's been working with other masters to learn to control it and himself, but sometimes it feels useless.
    Still, he felt guilty for ailing his friend and forced himself to reign in his anger. He tried to connect with Ahsoka but was crestfallen to feel nothing. He did feel Obi-Wan reassuring him though, and it was a welcome sensation. Anakin took a deep breath and relaxed a bit, trying to think of something peaceful, and naturally his thoughts went straight to Padme. He thought about rolling through the sunny, grassy meadows of Naboo, how the light breeze would catch her dark ringlets and lift them ever so slightly into the air. He thought of the steady thrumming of waterfalls and the melodic sound of her laughter. He could almost feel the soft brush of her fingertips as she took his face into her hands and called him an idiot before kissing him.
    The memory filled him with a fire, but not angry or vengeful like before, but warm and strong, strengthening his resolve. He opened his eyes as they approached an elevator, where just the two of them were directed inside, their escorts staying behind. As they sped higher and higher into the atmosphere, Anakin was struck by a thought. He turned to Obi-Wan and pulled a small pendant around his neck out from under the collar of his robe. It was a little bit of crudely carved bone, a gift he'd given to Padme when he was just a child during their first meeting. He brushed a finger over the ivory, and handed it to Obi-Wan. He remembered Padme's parting words to him as she hugged him furiously and pressed it into the palm of his hand. 'I'll be wanting that back, Ani.'
    Obi-Wan didn't seem to need an explanation, carefully tucking it under his neckline with a brisk nod that told Anakin everything he needed to know. The two had unspoken, mutual understanding that they were both willing to die if it meant ending this madness, once and for all.
    However, Kenobi caught his old apprentice completely off guard when he suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into an embrace. Anakin returned it gratefully, and hugged his master, no, his brother, tight. "I'm proud of you, Anakin." he said quietly.
    Too choked up to respond, Anakin said nothing, instead giving a tight, emotional smile and a quick nod when Obi-Wan pulled away. They quickly composed themselves, letting the moment of vulnerability pass as they faced the doors and what awaited them on the other side.
    The Hall of The Order of the Black Sun had been completely changed into a sort of throne room, not unlike that of Mandalore, however unlike the cool, blue-gray throne room of the former duchess, Maul seemed to fit right into the environment. The black stone walls stretched up to the ceiling, spiraling into a sort of cone shape. Crown molding elaborately carved with visages of destruction melted into huge mosaics depicting the ancient battle between Sith and Jedi in the temple of Malachor. The dark charcoal gray floor tiles formed steps onto a dais that held a simple black throne, with the visage of a rising sun, the symbol of Crimson Dawn, carved in the top. Two massive doorways stood on either side, giving way to a large balcony overlooking the hostile planet. The room felt strangely cold, a stark contrast to the sweltering environment just outside.
    Darth Maul himself was longing casually on the throne, dressed in simple black robes not typically indicative of one of the richest individuals in the galaxy. Standing at his side was a tall, unusually scarlet red Twi-Lek woman dressed in much finer black clothing, her exposed shoulders, arms, midriff, and thighs showing off intricate black tattoos that stretched from her lekku to her fingertips. Darth Talon. Anakin's heart dropped when he saw what lay at the Sith's feet, a beaten, unconscious togruta woman, her wrists shackled in binders. Talon's bled lightsaber blade was poised and ignited in her hand, mere inches from Ahsoka's neck. His brow furrowed and his mouth twisted into a snarl, his anger beginning to boil once again.
    Maul casually stood up from his throne and strode over to one of the glass balcony double doors, looking thoughtfully out onto the horizon.
    "We did what you asked Maul! Now hold up your end of the bargain, and let Ahsoka and my kids go!" Anakin growled, resisting the urge to keep his lightsaber sheathed.
Maul turned to face them, his yellow eyes settling on Obi-Wan practically glowing with visceral hatred, and Anakin realized he was struggling to keep his composure just as much. The notion brought him a certain satisfaction.
"Ah, no. Lady Tano was not part of the deal. I said I'd return the children. She's not a child, is she?"
Anakin swallowed back the bile rising in his throat, and he pondered for a moment if he could pull off Force Lightning again. He hated it, but he was getting dangerously tempted.
"What do you want?" Obi-Wan demanded.
Maul's cruel, maniacal laughter echoed throughout the room, sending a chill down Anakin's spine. It was the laugh of a madman, someone so crazy, you never knew what they were going to do.
"What do I want?" he mocked, still laughing, "All I've ever wanted, Kenobi. That which kept me alive for over ten years as my mind and body failed me. The one, singular goal that has driven me every second of every day since that fateful battle on Naboo. The insatiable hunger for revenge."
Vengeance. Anakin reached into Obi-Wan's thoughts. Vengeance for Qui-Gon. Vengeance for Satine. Vengeance for his brother's children he loved like his own. Anakin was shocked, he'd never felt these things from Obi-Wan before.
"Surprised, Skywalker? Surprised that the infallible Obi-Wan Kenobi could possibly stoop to the level of a Sith? Surprised his craving for revenge rivals your own?"
His own. Anakin could finally see what the Dark Side truly does to someone. What hatred and vengeance leads you to. It may be strong, but Maul didn't use the Dark Side. the Dark Side used him. His mind was a slave to evil, his soul was hollow, consumed by his own rage and anger. Maul was no more free than Anakin was as a child. He had nothing. Only rage. 
"You're wrong," he spoke up, "No one is above anger, not even a Jedi," Anakin remembered one of Obi-Wan's oldest teachings, one passed to him by Qui-Gon Jinn. "Obi-Wan could never stoop to your level. It takes strength to resist the Dark Side. Strength you could never comprehend."
"How hypocritical of you," Maul sneered, "You yourself indulge in it quite often."
"A mistake," Anakin said simply, sharing a glance with Obi-Wan. "I understand now that the Dark Side isn't a source of strength, it's slavery. It poisons and destroys everything it touches. I've seen evil, Maul. Countless times in my life I've looked it in the eye, and killed it. You're no different."
    Maul looked at Anakin curiously, "Very interesting development Skywalker. Alas it won't do you any good. My patience has run out." He turned to Talon and narrowed his yellow eyes. "Kill them. Kenobi is mine."
    "NO-" before Anakin could react, the Sith Apprentice's crimson lightsaber arced through the air, poised right for Ahsoka's neck. Only in that fraction of a second, Ahsoka's eyes snapped open and she rolled out of the way in a nick of time, the point of the blade missing her shoulder by a hair. Talon lunged at Ahsoka again, wasting no time. Weaponless and in binders, Ahsoka instinctively grabbed a hold of Talon's lightsaber hilt, only to be thrown through the adjacent glass doors like she weighed nothing. The togruta smashed through and rolled over the shattered glass, disappearing over the edge of the balcony.
    "Ahsoka!" Anakin screamed, barely having time to ignite his own azure saber as Talon turned and sprang at him, quick as wind. He held up his lightsaber defensively, barely blocking what would've been a lethal blow to the chest.
    Talon was a shockingly formidable opponent, almost as if her lightsaber form was tailor made to counter his own. She moved so fast you could barely keep up, similar to Ahsoka, using her smaller frame to her advantage when fighting opponents much bigger than herself. However unlike Ahsoka who used a much more defensive style, Talon rivaled Anakin in her aggressiveness, forcing him to go on the defensive. Anakin had always relied on a strong offense to compensate for his lackluster defense, and it was starting to prove detrimental.
    Talon slashed and struck, her movements quick and lethal. Anakin quickly regained his footing, falling into step and allowing his instincts to take over. He was vaguely aware of Maul dueling Obi-Wan, but was too wrapped up in his own to really know how it was going. Anakin glanced at his comm link, which had begun blinking yellow, the signal that the extraction team was still in the building. He had to keep stalling until they could safely make it out.
    Anakin aimed a slash for her neck, narrowly missing as Talon swung her lightsaber lower, hooking him at the base and nearly disarming him. Anakin took advantage of the distraction, forcing Darth Talon further and further towards the balcony. He could stand his ground and fight in one spot, but the less space the twi-lek had to move around, the easier.
    They moved through the smashed in double doors, out onto the terrace where they were immediately blasted by the scorching wind. The smoke seemed to settle around them, making it harder and harder to see. It was here Anakin realized his mistake, and Talon broke away, disappearing into the mist she blended in to perfectly. Anakin whipped around and held his lightsaber defensively, poised and ready for an attack.
    Talon came at him from the side, screaming furiously. Anakin blocked her easily, but received a hard blow to the face from her lightsaber hilt. Caught by surprise, Talon lunged at him, tackling him to the floor and sending his lightsaber skittering out of his hand, right over the ledge. She went for his neck and he managed to dodge it, but before he could get back to his feet he received a swift, hard kick to the gut that almost made him black out for a second as the wind was knocked clean from his lungs.
    The sith assassin raised her lightsaber to finish him off, but right as she brought it down, something slammed into her, sending her toppling over the ledge of the balcony.
    Anakin sputtered and gagged, repressing a cough as a familiar figure came into view. Ahsoka extended her arm and handed him his lightsaber, "You really need to stop losing this," she chided.
    The Jedi Order Grandmaster looked absolutely horrible. She had a patchwork of bruises up the left side of her face, and had very pronounced bags under her eyes. She'd lost quite a bit of weight, and her tattered clothes hung loosely from her thin frame. But her spirit remained intact, and her blue eyes sparked with the same determination they always did.
    Anakin completely ignored the lightsaber and grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I'd lose a thousand lightsabers before I'd lose you, Snips."
    She hugged him back, seemingly a bit choked up, "I'm sorry, I should've-"
He pulled away and hauled himself to his feet, cutting her off. "No. This isn't your fault."
    She pursed her lips and nodded, turning her attention to the throne room where Maul had Obi-Wan backed against a wall. The Jedi Master had a slash above his eyebrow, dripping blood down the side of his face. His movements were getting increasingly delayed, and at this point it looked like Maul was simply toying with him. Until Maul landed a hard kick to Obi-Wan's side, accompanied by a sickening crunch as Obi-Wan collapsed onto the floor..
    Without missing a beat, Anakin lunged at him, throwing a slash that should've taken Maul's head off. He drove Maul away from Obi-Wan, while Ahsoka rushed to his side.
    Maul had clearly been training hard for the last few years. He had reached a point where he could even rival Dooku. Almost.
    The problem with fighting Maul was that Anakin had never properly done it before. He learned how Dooku worked, and the best way to counter it. He'd only ever dueled Maul once, and he was pretty sure he had a concussion when he did it. Anakin fought hard to not let his anger take over, to stay calm, but he had to admit it was putting him at a disadvantage. He'd grown so used to using the Dark Side, it was massively difficult to fight without it.
    Darth Maul pressed and slashed and parried, using his double bladed saber to his advantage against Anakin, who frankly wasn't accustomed to countering it. Almost immediately Ahsoka was at his side, using Obi-Wan's lightsaber to counter, forcing Maul on the defensive. Anakin was struck by the dejavu of it, and couldn't help but feel this outcome would be no different than last time.
    Maul landed a kick to the side of Anakin's knee, sending him crumpling to the floor with a painful crack. Ahsoka drove Maul away from her master, who was frankly getting really tired of playing nice. Anakin tried to struggle to his feet, but his leg buckled under his weight. He tried again to stand but something pounced hard onto his back, pinning his arms to the floor and grabbing him by the hair, holding his head up and forcing him to watch helplessly with a lightsaber poised right at his throat.
    "You will watch this," Talon hissed in his ear.
    Anakin struggled to break free but it was largely in vain. Unfortunately for Ahsoka, she was far from being healthy, weeks of imprisonment and malnutrition had clearly taken its toll. She was fighting with only one lightsaber, and was at a massive disadvantage. Anakin watched in horror as Maul disarmed Ahsoka, sending Obi-Wan's lightsaber flying across the room, and went in for the kill. Anakin tried to throw Talon off, but it was useless. Obi-Wan was struggling to his knees across the room, holding his ribs Anakin could only guess were broken. He couldn't even see his comm link, and had no way of knowing if Rex and the others had even found Luke and Leia yet.
    Maul brought down his lightsaber, and in all of a second Ahsoka grabbed the hilt with both hands, closing her eyes and used the Force to disengage it, something Anakin had only ever seen Yoda himself pull off. She ripped it from his grasp and rolled away springing to her feet.
    Anakin took advantage of Talon's surprise by wrenching his arm loose and grabbing her by the wrist, throwing her off his back. She landed rather gracefully at her master's side, and Anakin hurriedly scrambled to his feet. Igniting his lightsaber, his heart lifted when he noticed the blinking green light on his comm link. They found the kids.
    "A valiant effort but you never stood a chance," Maul taunted. He called upon the force to rip his lightsaber free of Ahsoka's hands, looking it over curiously. "I must admit Master Tano, that was quite impressive. But, useless."
    He sent out a forceful shockwave, knocking them all to the floor as he made his escape to the balcony, Talon closely following. Anakin and Ahsoka both leapt to their feet to pursue, but all the exits were suddenly blocked as sizzling red ray shields sprang to life, trapping them inside the throne room.
    "I would apologize for the deaths of the children, but frankly, I'm not sorry. Die well, Jedi."
    The sith leapt off the tower onto a cloaked shuttle that seemed to appear from nowhere, and for half a second, the room was silent. Then came the undeniable sound of steel ripping like paper and stone crumbling to dust as the fortress was wracked with countless explosions.