Balance (A Httyd Fanfiction)

Chapter 13: Escaping Tipoca City

(Horus's pov— Unknown location)

It was extremely cold when I regained consciousness, not only cold but pitch black. Looking up, I could see the ceiling and bars preventing me from escaping the hole I was currently lying in, rising up on my elbows, I look around the pit I'm in and am most relieved to see that I'm the only prisoner in this hole.

Where am I though?

The sounds of familiar breathing fill the air as I once more look up to see the shadowy form of Darth Vader, the Sith Lord hummed to himself before speaking. "Good. You're awake." Looking around in my cell, I ask. "How long was I out?"

"Four days. Which was more than enough time to get what I needed from you." Was Vader's answer, cocking my head in confusion, I slowly rise to my feet and growl out. "What have you done?" The sound of Vader's breathing was the only thing that reached my ears, that was until he finally answered. "I have extracted a sample of your DNA." Grasping the bars of the pit, I snarl out. "What purpose?" Vader then took his leave and answered. "To clone you." Horror entered my mind, so I'm on Kamino to be cloned?!

This... This is all Vader's doing. He knows just how powerful I am, and if he clones me? He can make an army of Dark Siders that will sweep through the galaxy like a plague! That or... or he'll just use one clone and sway that copy of me to the Dark Side entirely and to train that clone in the ways of the Sith.

Great. Just great.

(Normal pov— Mandalore)

"This is an outrage!"

"Mandalore has been captured by the Empire and we are to do nothing?!"

"If they kill our leader, our cause will shatter!"

These were protests filling the ears of Val Haddock, the matriarch of House Haddock extended her hands to calm the Mandalorian people's words. "It is an outrage that the Empire has captured my son, true. But we cannot afford reckless action! We are on the verge of creating our Rebel Alliance and with the leader of not only Mandalore but also the Rebellion gone? We're at risk of being wiped out by the Empire."

"What would you have us do then Val? Certainly not stand idle and do nothing!"

The Mandalorian people roared out to the matriarch; demanding that action is needed, once more Val silenced the peoples cries and spoke out. "We will take action rest assured, those who command the Force and a group of our best warriors will go and rescue my son." As the people once more roared out in protest, Ahsoka watched from the sidelines before sighing heavily and entering the palace before contacting Bail Organa, once the senators image projected, he gave Ahsoka a worried face.

::Ahsoka, we've heard Imperial chatter saying that Horus has been captured by the Empire, is this true?::

"Sadly so senator. We were on a mission on Zygerria to free thousands of my people from Shili as well as many more former slaves of those slave traders, the Empire intended to use Zygerria's slaves and my people to aid them in completing a super weapon thats the size of a planet." Ahsoka proceeded to send images and holographic footage of the super weapon to the senator of Alderaan, once Bail received the footage and images of the Imperial super weapon, he turned back to Ahsoka.

::Do you know if the weapon is operational?::

"Unclear, but as soon as it is? I have no doubt Palpatine will aim the weapon on Mandalore for openly defying him and his forces. You need to present these images to the Imperial Senate, surely they can do something to overthrow Palpatine once they see that monstrosity."

::Sadly, those within the Imperial Senate are either too afraid to speak out against Palpatine or they've become loyalists to the Empire its conquest for galactic conquest. I'm afraid Senator Mothma, Bel Iblis, myself and a handful of others are all that openly speak out against the Empire, but our words are falling on deaf ears on Coruscant. You need to free Horus before the Empire executes him::