Gates of Hell

Chapter 38 - What Stays and What Fades Away

Author's Note: I do not enjoy writing fight scenes, so this... is all that will be included on-screen. :) Enjoy! :D

Next chapter: October 26th

~ Amina Gila

Even while consciously tapping into the Light, clinging to it fiercely, Vader is still every bit as relentless and merciless as ever. He's had to be, to survive as long as he has. And Windu is one adversary to which Vader has no intention of showing mercy. Their lightsabers clash repeatedly, a blur of red against purple. Windu is good, but Vader is better, and it's only a matter of time before the Jedi Master falters and fails.

But it's hard to fight him when Vader is so angry at him, hard to hold onto the Light and not let his anger get the better of him. It's against everything he's done for years, against everything Sidious taught him, and he... is struggling, far more than he cares to admit. But he won't let himself weaken, because it's the Light which is giving Anakin a fighting chance. Even while they fight, even as he continues to press forward, forcing Windu back and away from where Anakin is, Vader feeds the younger strength. Anakin can use his abilities, to a limit, to keep himself stable, but he cannot do it alone, and Vader is helping him as best he can. He can feel Obi-Wan helping, too, and later, though he cannot say how much time has passed, he can feel Omega.

It's her presence which gives him pause, because she should not be here. It sends fear coursing through him, too; if something happens to her, he could never forgive himself.

Windu raises a hand, trying to Force shove him backward, and Vader counters, throwing up a shield to block him. It backlashes on them both when the pressure gets too high, sending them flying in opposite directions. Vader catches himself on one knee, pushing back to his feet and stalking forward to meet his adversary once again.

They trade furious, rapid blows, testing each other's defenses, searching for weaknesses, but Vader has none, not in his lightsaber form. His only weakness is his armor, and that he's heavier, slower. The weak points in Windu's form are more than accounted for by his speed and agility, leaving them fairly matched.

But there can only be one victor, and Vader will not die here. He and Anakin will live.

Fire fights are scattered all around them, and even some lightsaber battles. A distance away, Vader can see Grievous cutting through a group of Pyke guards, and he turns his full focus back to Windu, letting a trickle of raw power continue to filter to Anakin, keeping him stable. His anger is growing, though, and with it, a steely determination to win no matter what. It gives him pause, because he knows how easily it could lead him into the Dark once more.

"You can still surrender," Vader warns, lightsaber clasped tightly in his hand as he battles with himself. He cannot let this duel continue much longer lest he lose himself again and lest Anakin suffer the consequences.

"To a Sith?" Windu almost scoffs. "Never. You may have fooled the people into believing you're a good person, but not the Jedi. We know who you are, what you're capable of."

"Then you will die." It's a promise.

Vader delves into the Force, holding his bond with Anakin open, and dividing his focus between feeding the younger with energy and lifting nearby debris with the Force, hurling it toward the Jedi Master. Windu ducks and repels what he can, but some of it gets through, hitting him in the shoulder hard enough to make him stumble.

Vader seizes that opening, shoving him backward against the crumbling wall of the building, pinning him there with sheer brute force. Windu struggles in his grip, trying to break free, but his strength is not even half as powerful as Vader's, and Vader is being driven by desperate need just as much as a desire to win. Windu, on the other hand, is relying solely on his hatred of and disgust for Sith as well as a misplaced sense of superiority, for not having chosen the Dark. Vader's need to protect, though, is stronger than Windu's need to destroy, and he's helpless to fight back when the clones come to place Force-restraints on his wrists, standing guard to keep him prisoner until they can safely extract him.