(Y/N) was sitting in the monastery's library, reading a tome written by Darth Bane in one hand while playing with a ball of lightning between his fingers in the other. Much of the tome was explaining why Bane instituted the rule of two, much of which (Y/N) found ranged from ridiculous, such as that the Master must never give the Apprentice all their knowledge, to the outright incorrect, such as claiming that the power of the Force is a venom rather than a fire.
"And he wondered why he couldn't complete the feats we had managed," Nox tutted at an unpresent Bane. "Still, that 'Dark Brotherhood' wasn't much better. 'Every Sith an equal,' what a horrendous idea."
There were some bits of his works which (Y/N) still found useful, though. A list of features that could be added to his lightsaber, such as a pressure-activated ignition switch, and a way to make it so his blade couldn't activate unless he wills it. Additionally, there was a compilation of powers at his disposal as a user of the Dark Side. Listed under the same section as the lightning that (Y/N) had used so often was Convection, the creation of heat and fire using the Force, and Cryokinesis, the opposite. Additionally, there were also a couple of other techniques (Y/N) was more hesitant to use. Drain Life, which did exactly what it said on the tin, and Death Field, also quite straightforward.
However, just as interesting to (Y/N) were the powers listed under the focus of the mind. The three that most caught his eye were memory walk, a power that allowed the user to view the memories of the one they use it upon, horror, which allowed the user to raise the level of fear in another to the point where it could cause insanity, and Crucitorn, a method to resist interrogation and torture.
Before (Y/N) could truly delve into how these powers were implemented, however, he heard someone running down the hallway. Looking out the door to the library, he saw Obi-Wan running to get the Father, (Y/N) could only assume. He went to follow, but before he got the chance, he was met with what he would classify as an issue.
"I sense a presence. One of extreme dark, even darker than you were, Nox," (Y/N) muttered. "And given that I've gotten used to the Son's presence... oh kriff, someone's in free fall." (Y/N) took off running behind Obi-Wan, wanting to know what was going on.
Free fall, the name (Y/N) had since given the state where one has fully given themselves to the Dark Side of the Force, and has willingly severed all of their connections in their pursuit of power. Looking around to make sure he wasn't being watched, he stuffed the books into his robe, intending to smuggle it off the planet. He then gave chase to Obi-Wan, wanting to know what was going on.
When he arrived, he was met with Obi-Wan standing over an injured Father, with the Daughter attempting to heal his wounds. The Son could be seen flying away from them, heading back towards his tower.
"What happened?" (Y/N) asked, having just arrived.
"Why don't you tell me?" Obi-Wan retorted. "The Son just shot the Father with that Lightning you Sith love so much."
"Kenobi, getting mad at me for that is like me getting mad at you because Anakin used the Force to mess with me," (Y/N) countered. "We can talk about philosophy later, let's just address what's in front of us."
The Daughter knelt next to the Father, waving her hands over his body. She eventually stopped, saying that he needed rest. Kenobi insisted that he had to speak to the Father about the actions of the Son, though the Daughter insisted that he could wait. When Kenobi mentioned the Son's actions as of late, the Daughter remarked that he must have had his reasons.
"Reasons to murder your father?" Kenobi asked. "Surely you see it too. Your brother is falling to the Dark Side and has taken one of our friends."
"Yeah, he's in free fall," (Y/N) reinforced. Kenobi raised an eye skeptically at him, unsure of what he meant. "I've been spending some time in the library, and it would seem that the Dark Side has levels to it. The more connections you intentionally sever from others, the further you fall. The further you fall, the more powerful you feel. However, after a point, that feeling is all there is, it's a placebo. In fact, you are actually becoming weaker, as you begin to hate yourself, and what you hate is what you unconsciously use the Dark Side against. What you use the Dark Side against, after a point, starts to have it's very life force ripped away"
"Do not blame him. It is my nature to do what is selfless," the Daughter said. "It is his nature to do what is selfish."
"Oh, what a brilliant excuse that is," (Y/N) sighed sarcastically. "To blame your nature for something would be like my blaming Master Drellik for my loss in a lightsaber fight. For once, take some responsibility, the both of you."
"You must help us," Kenobi pleaded. "With you and Anakin combined, surely you can stop him."
"I cannot interfere in the ways of the Force. My father forbids it."
"And look where that got him," (Y/N) pointed out. "Look, I'm with the Dark Side as much as the next Sith Lord. But if your brother gets out, there's no telling what he will do to the galaxy, if not the universe."
The Daughter looked pensively, as if unsure of what to do. She eventually reached a decision, saying, "Jedi, follow me. Sith, please, slow my brother down. His temple is that way." (Y/N) nodded in understanding, beginning to run towards the brother's tower.
As he ran, he flipped through the pages of Darth Bane's tome, desperate to see if there was anything about redirecting Force Lightning specifically, as that seemed to be the only fighting that the Son had in him, or at least was his most powerful. However, there was nothing, likely due to the fact that Bane had anticipated that only the two Sith would use lightning, and they would each need to find their own way to counter it to become the Master.
"Nox, a little help here," (Y/N) stressed. "How would I redirect Force Lightning?"
"Have you not already done that?" Nox asked, confused at why the boy was confused.
"Yeah, electricity, not Force Lightning."
"What is Force Lightning if not electricity created by the Force?" Nox suggested, causing the boy to mentally facepalm.
"Ones dammit. Alright, let's give this a shot."
(Y/N) arrived at the entrance of the tower just as Anakin had finished climbing the wall. Knowing that if he had followed the same route Anakin had taken it would take too long, (Y/N) opted to experiment a little. He called the powers of Convection to attempt to lift himself off the ground. It worked, but barely. He was barely being held aloft by the power of the flames, and it was draining his energy quickly. It was then that he noticed a series of platforms along the wall, ones that he should be able to jump between if he gave himself a boost. He leaped from the ground to the first platform, clearing the gap. He then attempted to jump from the first to the second, using Convection in his hands to give himself a boost. It worked, but he nearly didn't make it, having to grab the edge of the platform to avoid falling. Not wanting a repeat as it would likely wear his hands out in the long run, he instead attempted to channel the power of Convection through his feet on the next jump. It worked even better than when channeled through his hands for this purpose, as it placed the upward force in a more centralized location.
"Sweet. Now, to reach the top..."
When (Y/N) landed in the courtyard of the Son's tower, he saw Anakin attempting to talk to Ahsoka, who was kneeling in meditation in front of a tree. However something was off about her. Her Force signature screamed free fall, and her skin matched it. Veins ran across her body, especially noticeable against her white lekku. (Y/N) had arrived just in time to catch the tail end of their conversation.
"Then you will be forced to kill me!" Ahsoka yelled, leaping at Anakin with her green lightsaber ignited. Unsure if Anakin had the mental strength to even put up a fight, (Y/N) used the Force to pull Anakin away from the blade. However, between the effort of pulling him away so fast and the amount of Convection used climbing to the top, it had left (Y/N) tired from overexertion, falling to one knee. However, he still had the wherewithal to ignite his orange blade, in case Ahsoka came after him.
"Skywalker, listen to me," (Y/N) emphasized. "I don't know what the Son has done to her, but she is in free fall right now. That is not Ahsoka, that is what she becomes should she ever intentionally sever all connections."
"What are you talking about?" Anakin asked. "Of course that's Ahsoka, just look at her!"
"No, you look at- oh, kriff," (Y/N) began before having to roll to the right to avoid a slash by Ahsoka. He blasted a cone of Cryokinesis at her, attempting to freeze her with as little pain as possible, but her anger was too much. It kept the cryokinesis from taking full affect.
"Anakin, if you think my using the Dark Side is bad, she's about to get ten thousand times worse. I'm talking about Darth Bane levels of fallen."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Anakin retorted. "Shouldn't you be happy about this turn of events?"
"When someone starts free falling as quickly as that, it's hardly ever by choice," (Y/N) explained. "The Son's done something to her."
"And why do you care? Shouldn't you be happy about another potential Sith running around?" Anakin continued, blocking a thrust from Ahsoka while still patronizing (Y/N). (Y/N) was unsure how to respond, because while it would be a great chance to get an apprentice, he wasn't sure he was ready for it. Plus, as he said before, this wasn't Ahsoka.
"Because at this point, Skywalker," (Y/N) began, preparing a ball of lightning in his hands, "I just want my friend back."
(Y/N) shot the ball of lightning at Ahsoka, who had her back turned, still focusing on Anakin. Anakin lept out of the way, causing Ahsoka to turn and face the ball. She attempted to cut it in half with her lightsaber, but it simply rejoined to itself as soon as the lightsaber passed through. She was shocked and fell to the ground in pain, though not unconscious. She stood again, igniting her second saber and launching herself at (Y/N), who blocked the telegraphed attacks with a decent amount of effort. He would occasionally use the Force to push Ahsoka away, but she would just close the distance again. (Y/N) looked around for anything he could use to distract Ahsoka for a moment, but saw nothing.
"Anakin, a little help here please!" (Y/N) shouted at the Jedi Knight, as he was nearly overwhelmed by the number of lightsaber strikes coming at him. Anakin ran in, ready to assist, as (Y/N) fell back to recover his strength a little, though kept his blade ignited just in case.
Ahsoka stowed her second blade and kicked Anakin away, causing him to drop his lightsaber. Ahsoka stood between the lightsaber and her master, ready to kill him.
"And now, the student will kill the Master!" Ahsoka yelled, confident in her abilities. She charged at Anakin, who used the Force to pull his lightsaber to his hands to block.
"Getting a little ahead of yourself there, aren't you, Snips?" Anakin asked jokingly, trying to remind his Padawan of who she was.
"Like I said, Darth Bane tier!" (Y/N) yelled from the back.
"Don't call me that!" Ahsoka yelled at Anakin. "I hate it when you call me that!" Anakin spun his lightsaber, disarming Ahsoka and causing her lightsaber to fly into the air. She used Anakin's body like a ramp to jump into the air and catch it, before landing back where she started and reigniting the lightsaber. Obi-Wan joined the rest of the group, his lightsaber already ignited.
"Two Jedi and a fake Sith. Finally, a challenge," Ahsoka gloated, before diving into the fray once again. It continued for a time, the three weaving in and out as the one currently fighting became tired, before Anakin was starting to get desperate.
"Any suggestions?" he asked, hoping one of the others had a trick up their sleeve. Thankfully, one of them did.
"Yes. We cut her free," Obi-Wan yelled, pulling out the Dagger of Mortis.
"What is that?" Anakin asked, to which Obi-Wan responded by saying that it could kill the Son.
"Where did you get that?" Ahsoka asked angrily. "Give it to me!" She lept at Obi-Wan, attempting to grab the Dagger for herself. (Y/N) got in her way, blocking with his own orange blade.
"Sorry Ahsoka, I'm afraid that thing is 'people in their right mind only.'" (Y/N) quipped.
Before the fight could go any further, the sound of shattering glass rang throughout the courtyard. Everyone looked up to see the Daughter and the Son falling into the spot where they were fighting, causing everyone to dive out of the way. At the other end of the courtyard, the Father landed, seeing what had been wrought.
"So glad you could make it to our little party, father," the Son laughed, shooting red lightning out of his hands.
The Father intercepted it, saying, "You will stop this!"
"You are too weak for me, old man!" the Son replied. "You mean nothing to me anymore!" The lightning was too much for the Father to bear, as he was sent flying backward into the large tree that decorated the courtyard's garden. The Son continued to blast the Father, who was clearly in pain.
"Anakin, now!" Obi-Wan yelled, tossing the dagger at his old Padawan. Speaking of Padawans, however, Ahsoka intercepted it mid-air, and ran with it towards the Son. (Y/N) attempted to pull her away, but the Son turned around and knocked him aside using the Force.
"Everything has transpired as I have planned," the Son gloated.
"You showed them the ALTAR?!" The Father yelled, stunned that the Daughter had done so.
"I'm sorry, father. I saw no other way to stop him," the Daughter pleaded, begging her father's forgiveness.
"Give me the dagger, child," the Son requested of Ahsoka.
"Ahsoka, no!" Anakin yelled, sounding more angry than anything.
She gave Anakin one last glance back, smirking, before handing it over to the Son, who was more than pleased with it.
"Thank you," he began, "but I'm afraid your usefulness has come to an end." He placed two fingers on Ahsoka's forehead, causing her to fall over, seemingly dead.
"NO!" Anakin yelled, ready to charge the Son for what he had done. However, the Son simply raised a hand and Force pushed him away, causing Anakin to be sent flying backward. The Son then turned to the Father, gloating about how the Jedi had brought the dagger, and the Father himself. The Son went to stab the Father, but the Daughter leapt between them, taking the blow herself. Both the Son and the Father were shocked at this turn of events, the Son letting out a cry of fury and hatred before changing into his beast form and flying away. Lightning began to strike around the tower, as Anakin held a dead Ahsoka and the Father held a dying Daughter.
"Do not blame him, Father," the Daughter begged. "It is his nature."