Dicing with Darkness

Chapter 26 - Final Bout (Part 2)

"Wakey, wakey sleepy little puppy." A hissing voice taunts.

Blurriness clouds their vision. Leo squints to his left and makes out an outline of a blue body.

"Aria?" Leo whispers to it. No response. He returns focus to the origin of the voice. A dominant red colour prevents him from seeing anything else. "SIDIOUS!"

"Perceptive as usual." The Emperor laughs. "Your sight will return in time."

"What do you want?!" Leo snaps, hurling Force lightning in the direction of Sheev's outline. He dodges the sparks and walks back around to his desk. Along with Leo's original sabre, his new sabre and Aria's now sat on the desk.

"Have you forgotten already? You are to become my new apprentice." Sidious calmly informs.

"Leo." Aria whispered. Leo's sight finally returns, he peers to her. "Now's your chance you can kill the last Sith and take control."

"Sweet clone, fulfilling her duties as always." The Emperor mocks. Leo gazed to Sidious, to Aria. His gave her an I-will-get-you-out-of-here face and kissed her, one last time. "I see she's doing an adequate job of serving you."

Leo turned back to the Darth, narrow eyed and furious; yellow changed to orange. "Where's Aya?" he demanded, standing up and walking to Sheev's desk.

"It's not a matter of where, it's more of a... how situation, yes." Palpatine teases, enlarging the smile on his face.

"Where? Is? She?" Leo reiterates sternly.

"At this moment, being burnt in a furnace to hand you the ashes." Orange becomes red. "Oh, now your angry, but I wouldn't act on it if I were you." Sidious warns walking to meet Leo face to face.

"And why is that?" Leo sarcastically asks.

"Did you ever consider the fate of the spirit who put your beloved Nelani in that temple?" Sheev stops centimetres from Leo's face, his speech becomes maniacal.

Leo goes wide eyed. "You?"

"Centuries of experience invested into that tomb all done under the nose of that dim-witted girl. And now all these years later my Other-Half has finally come to me. Ready to embrace the Darkness Master's teachings."

"Master!"

"Shut it, degenerate!" The Darkness Master hisses, keeping his attention on his apprentice, but augmenting his voice to sound like a devil. And looking like one in the orange afternoon sun, masking his wrinkled face and only showing his yellow eyes.

"You're DEAD!" Leo shouts, sparking an explosion from within his hands. Sending himself into the wall behind him and Sidious into the other. The desk is flung out the window with the sabres flying off it and hitting the ceiling.

Sidious stumbles from his whole in the wall and drops to his knees. Leo recovers to his feet. He slams Sidious up, down, up, down the floor and ceiling repeatedly. On the fifth way, up, Sidious turns around to face the ceiling and jolts it with lightning so he can go through.

Sheev recovers by flipping off the ceiling in the room above and onto the floor. Leo jumps through the whole, but is met with a flying desk, it slams him into the wall, cracking a few ribs upon impact. He wails in pain and drops onto the desk.

"You are not a true Master yet, but you will be." The Sith Lord teases.

Leo groans as he lifts his head to face the Emperor, blood drips from his mouth, the adrenaline setting helped him work through the pain. He moves himself off the desk and onto the floor. Sidious walks over. Leo's eye is vacant; however, he refocuses and sends lightning through the Darkness Master.