Xenosaga : Destiny of The Force
Part One : Re-Ignition
Story:
A
Star Wars/Xenosaga crossover. AU of Xenosaga. A Jedi Knight happened
to be a member of Vector Industries on board Woglinde when all hell
broke loose. Little did he know that the following events will set
him up in a battle with his age-old enemy.
Disclaimer:
I
don't own Star Wars nor Xenosaga but I do own the characters
Alexander Darkblaze, Daron Sol/Darth Exodus, Darth Malice/Erina Karas
and E1-D1.
Chapter 12: Master of The Force
Alexander was standing on a wide plain. He looked around but saw nothing in the horizon. He felt the presence of a dark side and was shocked to see another 'him' standing in front. His eyes were green, his skin was in pale grey and he was wearing an all black Sith robe.
"Who are you?" Alexander demanded.
The Sith Alexander chuckled. "I...AM you and you ARE me."
"I see. You're the dark side within me."
"Indeed. And both of us can't exist should either of us die."
"What are you proposing then?"
"Let me fight against Malice."
"Like I'm gonna let you."
"Heh. Fine then. But I'm taking you over should Malice defeated you. Remember that."
With that, Dark Alexander disappeared. Alexander looked down on the palm of his hand. "Will I...be able to defeat my own master?"
He slowly opened his
eyes to see the ceiling of his room on the Durandal.
"Ugh..."
"Alex! You're awake!"
Alexander turned to Shion who was sitting on the bedside. He smiled.
"How long...have I been...out?"
"Approximately three hours, forty-eight minutes and thirty-one seconds." KOS-MOS' monotonic voice came from the doorway.
"I...see. What happened when I was out?"
"We managed to defeat the hooded man and was about to destroy the Song of Nephilim. But Albedo interfered and summoned Proto Merkabah." Shion explained.
"Proto Merkabah...I see. Where are the others?"
"They are doing some...shopping at the Dock colony. We don't want to be short-equipped while we're in that thing."
"If you guys going, I'm coming too."
"No, you can't. Your condition..."
Alexander shook. "Don't stop me, Shion. Malice is probably waiting for me there. I must...defeat my own master..."
Shion gasped. "Y...Your master?"
Alexander nodded silently and Force-pulled the sword he synthesized earlier. He then handed it to the bewildered Shion.
"Alex?"
"Take it, Shion. You should have it."
"I can't. This one is a little too big for me..."
Alexander smiled. "Don't worry. Just grabbed the hilt and see what happens."
Shion nodded and grasped the hilt. To her amazement, the crystal sword morphed into a straight crystal katana. The semi transparent blade slowly turned to red of heart.
"Alex. This is..."
"I named it Heart of the Force. The blade changes upon the wielder's preference and proficiency in swordmanship. And it seems that you're pretty good in using katana. Like you-know-who."
"Oh, don't mention his name. You know how much I hate him."
Alexander laughed. "Hahaha. Sorry."
"What's with the color? This is not a lightsaber."
"The color represents your heart, Shion. And red of heart represents you. It means that you love all living things and will do anything to protect them."
Shion stared at the glowing blade. "I see. But do you really want me to have this? I don't think this was an easy feat for you."
"Hah. Of course not. But I think you will have to fight against more powerful enemies in there. Surely you can't rely on Miyuki's invention and your ether powers all the way."
Shion gave a thought before smiling. "Thank you, Alex. To receive such gift from a knight..."
"Now, now, Don't get all mushy on me, Shion. Well, I think I should get ready now."
He got out of the bed, showing the scar left on his right chest. "Wow. Looks like I'm completely healed. Must be tiring for you three."
Shion blushed sligtly upon seeing her friend's large chest. "That was...nothing..."
Alexander tilted his head sideways. "Shion?"
She quickly got up. "I'll...see you in the Elsa soon." She approached the door and stopped in front of KOS-MOS.
"We're leaving, KOS-MOS."
KOS-MOS shifted her gaze at Alexander. He simply shrugged. Then, she blinked once. "Affirmative." she finally replied.
The two left as Alexander scratched his head. "What was that all about?"
Alexander went up to the bridge to see Gaignun was talking with Juli Mizrahi, ex-wife of the late Joachim Mizrahi and MOMO's mother. Gaignun turned to him.
"There he is, Dr. Mizrahi. Alexander Darkblaze himself."
Alexander raised a brow. "Oh? What's happening here?"
"Dr Mizrahi here is eager to see you." he said, glancing at the smiling face of Juli. Alexander smiled back.
"You haven't changed for the past thirty years." she said.
Alexander chuckled. "Hah. The same goes to you, Juli. Beautiful as ever."
Juli laughed. "Are you flirting with me? You musn't go for this old woman, you know."
He raised his hands up. "I assure you. I will never do that."
Juli smiled but coughed when she noticed Shelley and Mary's confusion over their conversation. "Alex was my mentor back in my days as a college student. We haven't met since graduation day, right?"
"Ah, yeah. Had my own reason to go AWOL at the time. I think Gaignun here has told you a lot about me."
"Yes he did. To think you actually over a century old. That fact will take some time to sink in."
"Well, better put up with it, Juli."
Alexander turned his gaze at the gigantic fortress not far from Second Miltia. "So that is Proto Merkabah."
"Yes it is, Alex. My...late husband designed it for the purpose of finding the origins of the universe."
"That research maniac will do anything to reach his goal. Even by wreacking havoc in this world."
"You're going, I assume?" Gaignun asked.
He nodded. "Absolutely. I still have to settle over some unfinished business there."
"Then please help Jr. and the others to destroy that abomination."
Alexander smiled and turned around. "Me, saving the world? Hah. I never thought of that. But I'll do my best."
"Alex!"
"Huh?" Alexander glanced at Shelley.
"Come back alive, okay?"
He closed his eyes then nodded. "Of course." He waved as the elevator took him downwards.
Alexander entered the Elsa and was greeted by E1's loud screeching tone.
"Hey, you're too loud. Tone it down, will ya?"
The droid chirped and wheezed. He smiled.
"I'm okay of course. A Jedi in the house. Hello?"
E1 emitted a low tone. He laughed and patted its head.
"Sorry, my friend. I'll be careful next time, okay?"
He then entered the bridge and saw everyone already gathered. Jr. was the first to react.
"Blaze! You okay?"
"Of course I am. Thanks to the Chief, chaos and MOMO."
"Don't mention it, Alex. We only did what we must. Right, MOMO?" chaos said, looking at MOMO.
"Yeah. That's right!" she replied.
"Well, if you all are ready, let's go." Matthews said. "Tony!"
"Yes sir!" the ace pilot shouted as he boot up the system.
"Sorry. I didn't mean for you to get pulled into my personal issues…" Jr. said apologeticaly.
"Heh. When a madman tried to destroy humanity, it is no longer a personal problem, Jr." Alexander said.
Shion shook. "Don't worry about it. After all, my homeland is in peril. And we've received company approval. So it's okay, right Allen?"
"…Oh, sure, why would I want to miss out on the fun? Besides, it's not like you ever listen to me…" Allen muttered. Alexander grinned.
Shion glanced at Allen, half angry. "What was that? If you've got something to say, say it."
Allen coughed and straightened his posture. "Ah, no! Nothing! I'd accompany you to the very depths of hell!"
Matthews glared at him. "Hey, what are you trying to do, jinx us! …So, getting in won't be difficult, right?"
MOMO nodded. "Right. There should be no external anti-air defenses, since it was originally constructed as a manufacturing facility. However, security on the inside is most likely still functional. We should be prepared to deal with many active guard machines."
Jr. commed in to Mary. "Mary! What about the reinforcements from Second Miltia?"
"The space bound units were destroyed in the first blast." she replied.
"In other words, it's up to us."
"Looks like it."
"Gaignun… I'm counting on you to cover us…until we get inside."
Gaignun entered the screen. "I have a request of my own as well. Don't let his provocations get to you again. All right?"
"Yeah, I'll be careful. You don't have to worry."
"Now, don't do anything foolish, Little Master." Mary warned him.
Shelley looked at the monitor. "ECM levels at maximum. Elsa, you have the clearance."
"Got it! Tony!" Matthews said.
"Aye, sir! We're getting hazard pay for this, right?"
The Elsa reached Proto Merkabah without problem and mde its way inside the hangar.
"Well, this is the only dock we can see." Tony said as he positioned the ship into docking position.
"Let's go and end this." Jr. said.
Everyone nodded and left the ship. Alexander looked around.
"Malice is here. So is Albedo."
"You sure?" Ziggy asked.
"No mistaking it. I can feel his presence." Jr. added.
"Let's be quick then." chaos suggested.
They made their way though the storage area and maintenance facility until they arrived in a room.
Shion looked at the equipments. "This is..."
"A Realian maintenance room." Alexander continued.
chaos opened up a terminal. "It looks like some kind of data."
Shion looked at the diagram closely. "A Realian? But it's pretty old. The year T.C. 4474 made by Tyrrell, Lamech Model 3."
"Lamech Model 3… That's the model that was manufactured up until a year before the Miltian Conflict." Jr. added.
"The production year and manufacturer all differ, but they are all older than 4752." Ziggy stated.
"It seems all of these Realians were transferred to the Miltia maintenance facility due to some kind of abnormality." chaos said.
"But why is that data here? What is all of this data for? MOMO, did Dr. Mizrahi ever tell you anything?" Shion asked the Observational Realian.
"No, Mommy…never…"
"At any rate, we're wasting time here. Let's go to the next room." Jr. suggested.
They entered the next room. "Infirmary..." Alexander muttered.
chaos took the initiative again to open up the terminal. "This one's a list a sick and wounded soldiers. Looks like it's from during the Miltian Conflict."
"They were transferred to Miltia for treatment, just like those Realians we saw earlier. An odd coincidence." Ziggy added.
Shion examined the records closely. "Those don't look like ordinary wounds. They're only fragments of the data left, but it looks like something more serious, like mental illness."
"You can tell all that from these fragments?" Jr. asked.
Shion nodded. "Yes. The list of medications here are all ones used to treat psychological disorders."
"I see. I guess there's a reason why you're a chief engineer at Vector."
The group went in deeper into the facility. Alexander felt the dark presence of Darth Malice became stronger as time went by. They eventually reached the monitoring room for all of Proto Merkabah. There was nothing significant about it other than a single terminal located inside.
"It seems all the controls are centralized here. Can you locate the reactor core?" Ziggy asked.
Shion examined the computer and made several keystrokes. "It seems to be far below where we are. It looks like we'll have to take several elevator shafts down to get there."
"Oh, fun." Alexander remarked sarcastically.
Jr. went to the exit door. "Looks like we still have ways to go. Let's hurry, Shion."
They took several elevators and eventually reached a long corridor with a ledge at the end.
"Looks like we have to jump down to go in further." Alexander remarked.
chaos nodded. "Seems so since there isn't any other path or doorway to use."
"My sensors detected three powerful security machines down there." KOS-MOS informed.
Ziggy shook his hand. "I see."
Alexander turned to Shion. "It'll be quite a distance, Chief. Want me to carry you on the way?"
Shion turned red while MOMO closed her mouth. The others (excluding KOS-MOS and Ziggy) grinned.
"I...I suppose there is no other choice."
"Well, see you there!" Jr. said as he and MOMO jumped. KOS-MOS and Ziggy followed with chaos used its wings to fly downwards. Alexander picked Shion up and held her in his arms.
"Alex, this..."
"Hold on tight, Shion. Here we go!"
Shion wrapped her arms around his neck as Alexander jumped down. The acceleration was fast at first but with the use of the Force, Alexander decreased the velocity and speed to slow down the fall.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. Otherwise, you will have to hear me screaming." Shion replied, smiling.
"I don't want that to happen. Hahaha."
Alexander returned his gaze downwards. Shion looked at him and blushed again. She felt comfort in this man's arm and suddenly remembered Kevin. Then, she shook.
(No, I have to move on...)
Alexander helped Shion to her feet as his feet touched the floor. He looked ahead to see the others already engaging three machines. A rather large unit accompanied by two identical units.
Alexander raised his right hand close to his face. A flicker of electicity popped from his fingers. "Looks like the fun just started."
Shion equipped her MWS. "Right. Let's go, Alex!"
He nodded. "Aye."
Both jumped into the scene and dished out huge damage on the larger Proto Dora. One of the smaller Schutz came in and launched several beam attacks to throw them away. Alexander charged up his powers with both fist. White electric with a hue of blue was formed.
"EVERYONE CLEAR!" he shouted.
His companions jumped back and the Jedi released a powerful version of Force Lightning, Force Storm. Endless waves of lightning surged from his fingers and dealt massive damages to the three machines. After a few minutes, both Schutz were completely burnt while the Proto Dora still standing but not without suffering heavy damages. Smoke rised from his hands but Alexander didn't bothered by it. He ignited both lightsabers and leapt at the giant machine. Seeing this, KOS-MOS and Ziggy followed up. Jr. rolled sideways and lauched barrages of bullets on the side of Proto Dora.
Shion used her ether powers to form a pentgram on the floor before lauching hails of laser beams to the top. "RAIN BLADE!" she invoked. Rain of beam blades were shot from above, dealing the Proto Dora with even more damage. Sensing its destruction was near, a scythe appeared in KOS-MOS' hand and she jumped high above the head before she swung the weapon down. The sharp tip of the scythe pierced the head of Proto Dora and KOS-MOS went all the way downwards, splitting the machine in half.
The group then cleared the scene as massive explosion covered most of the area. Alexander extinguished the smoke from his hands. To his surprise, he wasn't tired from the exhaustive Force power he unleashed.
(I'm...stronger...powerful...)
Jr. slapped his back. "Back on top condition, eh Blaze?"
Alexander clipped his lightsabers and smiled. "Yup. More or less. Just in time too."
"For your showdown, you mean." chaos said.
He nodded. "Yeah. Malice played me like a fool the last time. Well, not this time."
The group entered a room. A rather big hologram featuring various planets and stars.
"What an amazing hologram." MOMO said in awe.
"All observable space appears to be projected here." KOS-MOS informed.
Shion looked closer at it. "All observable space…? I wonder what that black area is? It doesn't look like a black hole."
Jr. shrugged. "Guess it's not quite all observable space."
"Lost Jerusalem..." chaos uttered.
"What?"
Alexander raised his brows. "Lost...Jerusalem..."
"Lost Jerusalem was once our homeland in the distant past, but no one can go near it now. Actually, nobody knows its location anymore. It could be that pitch black part there." chaos explained further.
"I've heard that the government has been working on a project to find Lost Jerusalem for quite some time. It looks like the radius of that black region is at least several hundred million light years." Jr. added.
"Our homeland is somewhere in there…"
Alexander raised his hand. "I think I stumbled on that place during my journey here."
"You sure?" Ziggy asked.
"I didn't exactly touched my feet there but I do saw glimpses of that world."
"What did you see?" MOMO asked.
"War, MOMO." Alexander grimly replied. "Every country had their own super weapons and attacked each other, killing many innocent lives."
"As long as greed exist, the fighting will never stop..." Shion said.
Jr. nodded. "Come to think of it, we moved from Lost Jerusalem was because of war. No doubting that."
They moved further down and entered a large circular room, possibly the most central area of all Proto Merkabah. Alexander looked over the railing, down the pit below.
"Looks like we can reach the core. If we decide to jump from here, that is."
MOMO looked around the room and remembered something. "This…is the room where I was born."
Shion looked at her, wide eyed. "What? This is where you were…?"
"Mommy never told me what this facility actually was responsible during the Miltian Conflict…"
"You're a bad mother, Juli..." Alexander thought.
"But…I think I know. When I was born, Daddy died… If that vision was true, then what happened afterwards was…"
Jr. looked at her sadly. "MOMO..."
"It's just like Mommy said. This is an abominable machine. If a lot of people died because of my birth, does that mean I'm an abomination as well, just like Daddy?"
Shion instantly reacted. "No! No parent could ever say that."
"That is not true, MOMO." Alexander shook.
"Shion...Alex..."
Shion held her. "Even though you're a Realian, you're still their child, right? No parent would ever think of their own child as abominations. Surely…there can't be any…"
"If your parents ever say that, they are not humans. Hell, I won't ever forgive your mother for that. I should know. Because...I...lost a Realian friend 14 years ago. I think she was one of your sisters, MOMO..."
"Alex..." MOMO proceeded to touch his hand. Alexander stared down at his fist.
"If I have the chance to save her. To use my powers properly..."
"Touchy, are we?" a voice boomed throughout the room.
Darth Malice descended slowly from the top as she removed her robe to reveal a Sith battle armor underneath. Her hair raised as she charged up the Force around her.
"You're still weak, Jedi. Still clinging on to emotional attachments. YOU will make a great Sith Lord should I turn you."
"MALICE!" Alexander yelled. He then turned to his friends. "Get down to the reactor, NOW!"
"But..." Shion muttered.
"No 'buts'! This is my fight alone. KOS-MOS, take care of Shion."
KOS-MOS nodded. "Affirmative."
Ziggy patted his shoulder. "Be careful."
"No worries, I will. Just protect MOMO."
"Alex..." MOMO muttered.
He smiled. "Go, little princess. I'll be following you soon."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"Good luck, Blaze!" Jr. said.
"Heh. There is no such thing as luck to a Jedi. But thanks anyway."
"A drink at the Foundation." chaos simply said.
He grinned. "Looks like you still remember. Heh. Since I do promise that, I have no plans to die at the moment. Now, GO!"
With that, they all left the room and Alexander used the Force to held the door shut. He turned to Malice.
"The time has come, Jedi. Prove to me that you are worthy of Lord Exodus' time!" the Sith Lord roared and activated her lightsaber.
Alexander ignited both of his weapons. "I am a Jedi Knight! I will return and restore the order to its former glory! That is my pledge and my destiny!"
With that, the two leapt at each other and their weapons clashed fiercely.
The others already on the elevator down towards the reactor. Shion held the sword given by Alexander which was stored in her MWS.
"Alex..."
"We have to believe him, Shion." Jr. said.
"That is his fight. We have no right to interfere them." chaos added.
"But..."
"If we can believe in him, you can too, Shion." MOMO added. Shion smiled and nodded.
KOS-MOS looked up. "Gnosis from above."
Jr. nodded. "Gotcha!" He then fired at the approaching Gnosis. KOS-MOS jumped and attacked with R-BLADE.
"More of them!" MOMO warned.
Within moments, the elevator ther were on was surrounded. Ziggy assessed the situation before turning to Jr.
"What do you think?"
"You kidding me, old man? There's nothing we can't handle." he replied.
"Might be a little hard, though." chaos said.
Shion launched a fire blast with her MWS. "Less talk, more action! Let's do it!"
Jr. reloaded his guns with bullets. "Hey, I should be the one saying that!"
Alexander attacked Malice persistently with his dual lightsabers but find it hard to breach the Dark Lord's defence. He tried various forms and fighting style yet every lunge, pivot and slash missed his adversary completely.
(By the Force. Even Exodus wasn't this good in defence.)
"Still have the time to think, Jedi? One moment of hesitation and it will cost you!"
Malice parried Alexander's cyan lightsaber before she twisted around and did a vicious cut at his waist. His mind screamed danger and the Jedi Force-jumped before he did several backflips and landed about a hundred meters away from her.
(I must devise another tactic...)
Before he could finish, he felt a pain in his abdomen. He looked down and saw his flesh was cut wide open. His Jedi robe absorbed the blood and the ab section of his clothing turned red. Malice laughed.
"As I said; it will cost you, Jedi."
Alexander quickly applied Force Healing just enough to stop the bleeding. Groaning in pain, he removed the belt of the Delta Armor.
"I've been encumbered. That doesn't count, Sith." he said.
"Heh. Whatever it is, you're badly wounded. It's just a matter of time before I kill you."
"Tch. There's only one thing I can do now..." Alexander turned off the cyan lightsaber and took a deep breath as he closed all his thoughts except for this battle.
"That is not a wise decision, Jedi. Not with your condition." Malice then went into her Djem so stance.
Alexander closed his eyes and used the passive but solid form of Soresu. "Come at me, Sith." he motioned.
Malice summoned all her rage and anger and her eyes turned into blood red. "You don't need to tell that, Jedi!"
With that, Malice attacked with ferocious speed but her opponent easily parried it. Crackling sound echoed throughout the room as their fluorescent blades locked into each other.
"When there is darkness, there will always be light, Malice. Even if its nothing but a flicker."
"And we Sith Lords shall extinguish that flicker you call 'hope'!"
Malice then followed up her assault as they took the battle afloat around the room.
Shion and the others made their way into the reactor core but was greeted by Albedo as soon as they arrived.
"You're late! I was about to give up on you, Rubedo. Take a look. This thing has a full belly already." he said as he gently rubbed the surface of the reactor.
Then, he jumped down and stared intently at the group. "Well then, what shall we do now? Shall we continue where we left off?" He raised his hand and it glowed.
Jr. was bewildered. "Wh-what is that? Are you…how are you doing that…?"
"Don't be so surprised; this is the power of will, a fundamental power that exists within everyone. What you are witnessing is simply your perception of it. And you know what? Perception and pain are but one and the same. So…go ahead… Feel my pain for yourself!"
With that, Albedo unleashed his new powers and charged at Jr. Having no time to use his guns, Jr. was forced to use his own powers to defend himself. Seizing the chance, KOS-MOS attacked from behind with R-BLADE. Shion and Ziggy followed suit while MOMO was left behind with chaos who was waiting the right time to strike. Jr. immobilized Albedo with his powers and the others took this chance to attack in full force. After such vicious combo attacks, Albedo's body was totally destroyed only for his remaining cells merged together to bring him back. He laughed.
"That's surprise me. But that's all you will get."
Alexander defended resiliently against Malice's intense lightsaber attacks. Due to his devotion into Soresu and the level of concentration he had, Malice so far failed to breach the near-perfect defence.
(She's relentless. She should have been tired by now.)
He suspected something was wrong and parried another attack before countering with a slash at the waist. Malice avoided just in time but she suffered a cut on the side of abdomen. Sparks could be seen from it. Alexander broke his stance.
"So that's the reason. You're not Jedi Master Erina Karas. You're just a clone droid infused with her blood cells!"
The Sith droid laughed before she spoke in her robotic voice. "SO WHAT IF I AM, JEDI? IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT I WAS SENT TO KILL YOU."
Alexander reactivated the cyan lightsaber and went into his Jar'kai stance. "How dare you dishonour the memory of my master. How dare you!"
With that, he attacked as flurries of cyan and orange rained at Malice relentlessly. His adversary parried a few as she was hit in various parts of her body, revealing more of her metallic bones.
"THIS...CAN'T BE! YOU ATTACKED WITH RAGE BUT I COULDN'T FEEL THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE FROM YOU."
"I'm drawing the power of light, Sith. Someone like you will never understand of what it means being on the Light Side of The Force!"
Releasing both his weapons, Alexander shouted as he used the Force once more to control them. The lightsabers attacked Malice in a wave of light. The Sith Lord unleashed her dark powers to knock them away. Seeing that Malice finally shown her weak spot, Alexander pulled one of his sabers and within a blink of an eye, the battle ended. Both duelists paused as if the time itself has stopped.
Alexander, with his cyan lightsaber ignited, stood still with his weapon pointed downwards. He turned around at Malice.
"It's over, Malice." he said.
Moments later, the body of Darth Malice splitted in two as the top half of it tumbled to the ground, revealing wires, sparks and oil. Alexander walked to it and stood over her. "Anything you wish to say?"
"I...UNDERESTIMATED YOU, JEDI..." she groaned. "BUT LORD EXODUS WILL SUCCEED IN HIS HUNT..."
"That depends on what the Force will say."
"CURSE YOU..."
The clone droid couldn't complete her sentence as her energy reserves finally ran out. He stood still for a few moments. Then, he felt a new presence. He was shocked to see an apparition of Erina Karas. She was smiling at him. "Alex..."
Alexander kneeled down in respect. "Master Karas..."
"Thank you for freeing me from that abomination."
"Master, I..."
"It's been a long time, Padawan. The last time was on Coruscant."
"Master, forgive me. I've abandoned my duty as a Jedi and vowed to forsake its ways..."
"But you can't."
He nodded.
"I understand that, Alex. I see you have made many friends and they put so much faith in you. And you fear you won't be able to live up to that expectation..."
"Master, do you see me as a coward?"
"I don't, Alex. With the will of the Force, you are the Jedi's last hope. But you must confront Exodus so that the cycle will be completed."
"I will, Master. I will defeat Exodus and avenge our kinsmen before I return and restore the order."
"I trust you, Alex. Now, stand up."
Alexander obeyed.
"With the Force watching us as witness, from now, I proclaimed you, Jedi Knight Alexander Darkblaze as the last Jedi Lord. I grant you the title Guardian of The Jedi."
He was beyond words upon his master's proclaimation. Before, only Luke Skywalker held a title that is higher than Jedi Master. But nonetheless, he accepted it.
"Thank you, Master. I promise I will not fail you."
Erina smiled at him. "I have to go now. Goodbye Alex. My...love..."
Before he could react to that, Erina's Force Ghost finally vanished, becoming one with the Force. Alexander gulped as tears flowed down his face. "Thank you...Erina. Please rest in peace..."
Albedo in hysterics as each of his opponents were knocked away by his winged cape. He glared at Jr.
"What happened, Rubedo? I thought you should have been able to defeat me now."
Jr. struggled back to his feet. "It's...not over...yet...bastard..."
KOS-MOS recovered and charged at Albedo. But the URTV simply blocked her fist with one hand, twisted her arm before throwing her back into the wall.
"Who's next?" he taunted.
Shion applied the healing ether of Medica on chaos. "Thanks." he said. She looked at her almost destroyed MWS. A plan sprang to mind.
"I hope this works." she thought.
She dashed at Albedo, much to the surprise of Jr. "Shion!"
Albedo grinned. "Hmph. Very well."
Shion launched her flamethrower attack at him and Albedo countered it by using his white ball of energy. The two elements clashed and a thick smokescreen was created. Seeing this, Albedo simply swiped his arm to clear his view. "You think this is enough to defeat me?"
To his surprise, he could only see Shion's MWS on the floor. He suddenly felt a pressure from above. He looked up to see Shion was floating above in a sommersault.
"HEART OF THE FORCE, COME TO ME!" she shouted.
Brilliant red light appeared from her MWS and the crystal katana flew out to her. She grasped the hilt and did a vertical overhead slash at her surprised opponent. Albedo tried to block with his palm but pain coursed through him as the crystal blade slashed through him. Shion pulled her weapon and slashed back endlessly as she sliced Albedo into pieces. The others were in awe over the sudden turn of event.
Jr. stared at her in amazement. "Sh...Shion..."
Shion suddenly went down on her knees as the exhaustion caught up with her. "It's...not enough..."
Albedo's body took some time to regenerate. "This...power...DAMN YOU!" He then made his way to the exhausted Shion. Jr. fired from his Makarov but did little to deter his advance. Albedo raised hand to finish off Shion when he was stunned by a drill shot from behind.
"This..."
He glanced to see Alexander in his Delta Armor launched a flying kick at him. Seeing this, Shion rolled her way out and the kick went through Albedo, taking his top half of his body with it. Alexander landed on the floor and canceled the transformation. Shion got up and hugged him.
"Alex! It's really you!"
He smiled. "It's me alright, Chief. Sorry to keep you worried." He then turned to the others. "You guys okay?"
"Pretty much alive." Jr. said.
MOMO pulled Ziggy up. "We're doing alright here. Right, Ziggy?"
Ziggy nodded. "Yeah."
"I am still in good condition." KOS-MOS said.
"You sure took the right time to appear." chaos said.
"Hey, I just got here. Give me some slack, eh?" Alexander moaned.
Albedo's bottom half raised to its feet before regenerating once more. "You should have been dead!"
Alexander turned to him, grinning. "Well, sorry to break your heart. I killed Malice and I'm no longer a Jedi Knight. I'm now a Jedi Lord, The Last Guardian of The Jedi."
Then, he called upon the Force and waves of light washed over Albedo and he screamed in agony as if his every part of his body was being ripped apart.
"Hope you guys are alright." he said.
Jr. shrugged. "Never been better..." The others nodded.
Albedo laughed like he always did. "Hehehehe. Interesting. But those fancy powers are not enough to kill me! The cycle of destruction had just started. Surely you all realized that."
"Answer me! Why are you doing this! There's absolutely nothing you can hope to gain out of this." Jr. demanded.
"Au contraire. I…am doing all this…for your sake, Rubedo."
"For…my sake…?"
"Have you forgotten, Rubedo? That fateful day, fourteen years ago… Have you forgotten what you did to us!"
Jr.'s eyes widened as he remembered whatever Albedo meant.
"Jr.! Snap out of it!" Alexander yelled.
"It's all because of you… Because you closed yourself off from us, our mental link was broken, and one after another, we succumbed to the power of the Song. Left behind in that horror, did we have any choice but to submit to it? Remember what happened…and repent for your sins!"
"It's true I… I mean…" Jr. uttered.
"Jr.!"
Albedo laughed upon the confession. "So you finally admit to it, you coward!"
Jr. finally shook off his memories. "All right, damn it! I couldn't control my fear!"
"Yes! And therefore, you must atone for your sins, atone with your life! I am the executor for all those who were destroyed! Although… I'm actually grateful to you, Rubedo. Thanks to you, I alone was able to find the way… The way to a whole new world."
"What do you mean, a whole new world?"
"That's all that I seek… It's quite simple. Don't you think?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Albedo then jumped to the top of the reactor. "At first I wasn't sure if I should believe… But I experienced something a moment ago that confirmed it… " he glanced at Shion and KOS-MOS. "And this ought to verify that experience for me. Entertain me, if you will!"
The reactor opened to reveal a different type of Gnosis. Alexander felt something different about it.
"Damn… You fused the Gnosis…with the reactor…!" Jr. said.
"You must first destroy this in order to stop Proto Merkabah. You do realize that… Oh, almost forgot the time! Hmmmm, not much left nooow… I'd say five minutes, at best. I wonder how far you'll get in your current condition?"
Albedo laughed again.
MOMO stared at Jr. sadly. "He's so cruel… He's tormenting Jr. just for fun…"
"Farewell. I'm sure we'll meet again, if you survive… Rubedo, my other half…"
With that, Albedo left the scene. Jr. gave chase. "Albedo!"
"Jr., look out!" MOMO warned.
"Wha--?"
The barrier came from the Gnosis prevented Jr. from going further. Jr. used his powers to prevent himself from being knocked away. The Gnosis finally stepped out with its two other companions.
"Damn it… We have to destroy this thing first!" he shouted.
Ziggy acknowledged. "Right, this takes priority."
"Be careful, everyone! That's no longer just a machine!" chaos warned.
Alexander activated his orange saber. "Aye, aye. Let's take this out and go back happy." He noticed KOS-MOS staring at him. He winked. "Let's go, Chief." he then said, turning to Shion.
Shion nodded. "All right! Let's do it, KOS-MOS!"
"Affirmative. Switching to maximum output for all combat systems."
chaos jumped and initiated the first attack by forming a large snow ball. "Arctic Blast!" he shouted before slamming it with his fist.
Shion zig-zaged her way closer to one of the smaller Gnosis and did various slashes with her katana. Within moments, the creature turned into slice meat before dissolving away.
Ziggy signaled the others to clear the way before he summoned he generated electricity with his cyborg hand. "Execution!" A giant, hammer-like thunder came down from the sky, hitting the remaining two. Another one of the smaller Gnosis was taken out, leaving the reactor-fused Gnosis.
Giving no chance for it to recover, Alexander charged forward with Jr. providing cover from the back. Alexander dodged its slow attacks and countered with vicious blows that took out part of the reactor itself. He glanced at KOS-MOS and noticed that she was prepared to launch the long range abdominal beam blast, X-BUSTER. Alexander rolled away and the blasts hit the Gnosis in full, leaving it severely weakened and barely had enough energy to stay alive.
"Come on! Let's finish it in one swoop!" Jr. shouted and everyone rained down their powerful attacks until the Gnosis finally gave in.
The group quickly left the reactor and were making their way back to the elevator.
"We'll be caught in the explosion! We have to get out of here quickly!" Shion said.
Suddenly, the whole place vibrated. The Force screamed danger at Alexander.
"What was that rumbling?" Ziggy asked.
"More explosion?" MOMO suggested.
"No. It's faint, but it feels like we're changing directions." chaos informed. Alexander nodded. "Yeah. I have a feeling we're about to..."
"Shion. I have confirmation of ignition in the Proto Merkabah's propulsion units. It is descending toward Second Miltia now." KOS-MOS informed.
"KOS-MOS, are you sure!" Shion asked for clarification.
"Yes. Should its descent continue at present speed, we will enter the atmosphere in approximately eight minutes."
"Looks like he planned this from the very beginning." Ziggy speculated.
"That bastard! He's got too many tricks up his sleeve…" Jr. cursed.
"We have to do something… If something as large as the impacts at full speed, Second Miltia will be…"
"No need to say that, Chief..."
"Based on the current angle of approach, breaking up the facility into approximately 28,000 pieces would result in 99.6 of them vaporizing before impact."
"If we detach each sub-compartment?" Shion suggested.
"Just a second. I'll search through my memory banks." MOMO said. After a short while, she opened her eyes. "The control room… The control room on level 33 will allow us to detach the facility!"
"Hurry! There's no time!" chaos said.
The group made their up to level 33. MOMO quickly approached the console and tinkered with it.
"Oh, no!"
Ziggy looked at her. "Is there a problem?"
"The entire process from system startup to complete detachment takes one whole minute. That's not enough time for us to return to the Elsa!"
"Bloody hell. THAT short?" Alexander said.
"Is this the only place we can activate it from? We can't do it remotely?"
"No! This system was built so that the command will only be accepted from here."
"Damn…So the only way to stop this thing is to go down with it?" Jr. said.
"If only E1 is here..." Alexander muttered.
"This can't be… There has to be another way…" Shion said, almost resigned to their fate.
"Please head back now."
Everyone turned to KOS-MOS.
"What, KOS-MOS?"
"Shion, please return to the Elsa with the others. I will stay behind to initiate the detachment sequence."
"Wait a second! Stay behind…?"
"This facility will enter the atmosphere shortly. We will exceed the tolerances for maximum temperature in three minutes 28 seconds. Please hurry."
KOS-MOS then approached the console to activate the detach sequence.
"But..."
"My self-preservation programming is functioning properly. I have no intention of remaining on this facility to the very end. Do not worry. At maximum speed, I can reach the Elsa in under one minute."
"You're sure?" Ziggy asked.
"Yes. This option guarantees the highest probability of success."
Ziggy nodded. "All right! Let's go, Shion!"
"But..."
Jr. stepped up. "Trust her, it'll be okay! She'll catch up! Now come on!"
Alexander put his hand on her shoulder. "He's right, Chief. This is the only way possible." He turned to KOS-MOS. "Make it back safely, okay?" He turned around and left the room with Ziggy and Jr. MOMO and chaos called out to Shion.
"KOS-MOS! You better make it back! You hear me? You better!" she screamed before she left with a heavy heart.
They were making their way upwards by the stairs when the staircase crumbled under Shion.
"Shion!" MOMO shouted as Shion hoplessly fell. However, Alexander grabbed her hand in time but he had little time to jump to safety as the structure crumbled under his feet. Looking at Shion, he said;
"Here goes, Chief."
"Alex?"
"Ziggy! Catch!"
Alexander summoned the Force and swung his arm to throw Shion up towards Ziggy. The cyborg caught her.
"GO!" he said.
Shion reached out for him but was restrained by Ziggy. "Don't, Shion. He's right. We have to go."
"ALEX!"
"Get out of here, dammit!" the Jedi yelled.
Jr. gulped before went up further. "Let's go, guys."
The staircase finally crumbled and Alexander fell down with the debris, disappearing into darkness. Shion screamed for him. "ALEX!"
Alexander closed his eyes, knowing that nothing will prevent him from joining his late master.
"Despite all my promises to restore the Jedi...Forgive me, master..."
"Do not give up..."
"Huh?"
A light appeared above him. He could only make out the figure of a female beneath it. "Who...are you?"
The figure chuckled. "Someone close to you..."
"Have we met somewhere?"
"You will know about it soon, Alex. But for now, you mustn't give up..."
She reached out her hand and Alexander did the same. The light disappeared and he felt a strong hand gripping his arm. He looked up to see KOS-MOS. She was holding him while clinging on the wall.
"KOS-MOS?"
"Are you all right?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Can you reach the platform?"
He looked at the platform on his above right. "Throw me in that direction and I'll manage."
She nodded and threw him. Alexander used the Force to keep himself afloat before reaching it. KOS-MOS followed by using the wall as a springboard to reach it.
"You know the way to the Elsa?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Lead the way then."
The Elsa was leaving the dock with Shion screaming and pleading Matthews to wait for KOS-MOS and Alexander.
"Are you crazy!" the captain screamed. "You wanna get caught in that! We're leaving, now!"
"You can't!"
"Don't be afraid, Shion..." the voice of Nephilim whispered. "Everything will be all right. See with your heart..."
"See...with my heart..."
She closed her eyes and saw KOS-MOS was sprinting alongside with Alexander. She opened her eyes and pushed the intercom.
"Captain! The wall! 400 meters to the port side! Take her in close!"
"What?"
"Trust me, hurry!"
"What do you mean, hurry?"
Tony's voice suddenly echoed. "Shion! Port side, 400 meters, right!"
"Tony!"
"Huh? Tony?"
Alexander and KOS-MOS were running towards the end wall. "The Elsa had moved not far from here." the latter informed.
"Heh. We have to jump for it, huh?"
"Affirmative."
Alexander gestured his hand to her. "Let's go together then." KOS-MOS blinked before silently nodded. With their hands held together, they blasted the wall and they were pulled outside by the pressure. The Elsa already positioned itself not far from them. Alexander gritted his teeth. "Ready?"
"Affirmative." she replied.
The two leapt out at the Elsa's side entrance where Shion was waiting. They were about to reach her when KOS-MOS' sheer weight gave in and brought down them both. Holding her hand tighter, Alexander turned to KOS-MOS.
"Hold tight."
Without waiting for response, he reached out the Force to propel them both towards Shion's waiting hand.
"KOS-MOS! ALEX!"
Alexander grabbed her hand but Shion struggled to pull both of them. However, Ziggy came to their rescue and easily pulled them inside.
The Jedi panted heavily as he took some time to settle down. E1 rocked its body left and right, beeping. He smiled.
"Heh. Sorry E1. Guess I do have a knack of causing worries to others."
He glanced at Shion who was hugging KOS-MOS like a mother did to her daughter.
"Have a feeling that it doesn't end here..." he thought.
The Elsa eventually escaped the fallen structure. The crew could feel intense heat as the ship entered Second Miltia's atmosphere.
"Something's wrong. Let's go to the bridge." Ziggy said.
"Aye." he replied.
They went to the bridge with Shion to see flames burning up on the screen.
"What was that! I can't hear you!" Matthews yelled at Allen.
"Like I said, the angle of approach is too steep!" he repeated.
"Well, can't you adjust it!"
"It's no use! The controls aren't responding!" Tony replied.
"That can't be! All control functions are in the green!" Hammer informed.
"The apogee and reentry balancers were damaged by the debris! We can't adjust the Logic Drive angle any further than this!" Tony added.
"Ya moron! Stop whining and do something about it! You wanna be vaporized!" Matthews hollered.
Moments later, the temperature rised. "External hull temperature exceeding maximum limit!" Hammer informed.
In the hangar, chaos was standing alone by himself, probably thinking of the current crisis.
"What will you do?" the voice of Nephilim whispered. chaos looked at his hands. Moments later, KOS-MOS came down the elevator. "You're..."
KOS-MOS simply walked past him towards another elevator that will took her outside. "Wait!" he called.
"Relinquish your pain...unto me..." she said. The elevator went up.
Alexander sensed tingled. He looked around before expanding the Force further. He felt KOS-MOS' presence. He called her by telepathy.
"What are you doing?"
"I must do what I can to ptotect Shion. And you."
"Is this the only way?"
"This is the only way. There is no other solution."
"I suppose so..."
"I need your help, Alexander."
"If it's within my power, sure."
Alexander cut off the communication as her voice started to distort. He already knew what she wants him to do.
"The aft hatch...it's open!" Hammer said.
"What! Who's the moron doing that! Is he trying to burn all of us from the inside out!" Matthews shouted like nobody's business.
Shion gasped. "It can't be..."
The screen showed KOS-MOS floating under the belly of the Elsa. "KOS-MOS! You can't!"
"Shion, I will proceed to shield the Elsa with my energy shield. Please stabilize the ship during that time." she replied.
"Don't be ridiculous! What can you possibly accomplish by doing that!"
"Do not worry. Maintaining this position for one minute and 20 seconds will save the Elsa. Alexander, please help to stabilize the ship."
He nodded grimly. Shion refused to accept it.
"But you'll be incinerated if you do that! Stop this at once!"
KOS-MOS activated her shield. "I am happy...to be of service..."
The communication was cut off. "External cameras destroyed!" Hammer said.
"KOS-MOS!" Shion cried. "Please, KOS-MOS! Please stoooop!"
Alexander let the Force guide him into the air. Much to the amazement of Matthews, Hammer and Tony.
"Tony, you maintain the Elsa in this position. I will try to help along the way." he said.
Tony nodded. "Y...yeah. Sure!"
Alexander spread his arms and reached out the Force, providing help to lighten Tony's effort in maintaining the position. Feathers could be seen flying outside as KOS-MOS unleashed the shield's full power. Sensing this, Alexander surrendered himself to the Force and felt that he had surpassed mortality and transcended into a realm that not many mortals had set foot on; Godhood.
"Is this...becoming one with the Force?"
Brilliant white light and a pair of wings appeared and engulfed the Elsa. Alexander saw many visions of many worlds from his home; Coruscant, Ossus, Dantooine, Tatooine, Yavin, Corellia and Hapes. He felt sad as these were the worlds he used to visit. The vision warped again. This time, he was at a place full of flowers. Gentle breeze blew, birds chirping. Everything was so peaceful and serene. A paradise. He saw the back of woman. She was wearing a simple white gown. Her long, brown hair was waving gently with the wind.
"Who are you?"
The vision disappeared the moment the woman turned around to see him.
Matthews was the first to open his eyes, staring at the sun over the horizon. "Are we...alright?"
He looked around the bridge. Save for Alexander and chaos, everyone seemed to be safe. They had made it to Second Miltia. He then pushed a button on the console to raise his seat and took a look outside. He gasped. "H-hey! Ms. Vector!"
The crying Shion looked up at him. "Huh?"
"Activate the secondary bow camera!" he said to Hammer.
"Roger!"
The monitor showed a figure was standing on the bow. Her blue hair waved gently with the wind. Her red eyes were fixed on the horizon. It was KOS-MOS.
"KOS-MOS!"
On the bow, KOS-MOS sensed Alexander who was approaching her. Standing beside her, he sighed. "You had me worried there."
No reply.
"But at least Shion is happy for sure." he continued.
"Thank you." she said.
"Huh?"
She turned around and left. He smiled and turned his eyes towards the warm light.
"So many things happened in such a short time. The battles, the duels, the Force, Jedi, Sith..."
He looked up to the sky.
"Aileen, I hope I'm doing the right thing..."
"Follow your own path, Alex. Listen to your heart..."
He unclipped Darth Malice's lightsaber. "Exodus...Daron Sol...I'll be waiting for you..." He turned around and went for the elevator. He then made his way to the cafeteria to see his companions were having a small celebration.
"Hey, don't start the party without me."
Jr. threw a bottle at him. He caught it. "Drink up, man."
"What's the occasion? A toast, I mean..."
"How about, our great escape?" MOMO suggested.
Jr. agreed. "I drink to that."
The group nodded in approval and gulped their drink. E1 wheezed. Alexander moaned. "Okay, okay. I'll do the routine checkup on you."
"We've confirmed a gate-jump by Albedo's craft. This is acceptable?" the red hooded man informed Wilhelm.
Staring outside the window, Wilhelm nodded. "Yes, that's fine. The door that leads to Abel's Ark...He is the only one who can open it."
"There's a possibility that he may link with U-DO again..."
"That won't happen. He doesn't have that much power. He's only a key. Of course, we must accept the possibility that he can affect space-time anomalies to some extent...But that's what all of you are for. Still...his will shines with such wondrous light. It's a shame to relegate him to such a minor role. Don't you think?"
A message suddenly came in. "Master Wilhelm. There is an unknown person wishes to speak with you."
Wilhelm smiled. "Interesting. Bring him up."
Rant:
Phew. Finally! Hope you guys like the ending. I will start with part 2 pretty soon. Thanx to you who's been folowing this story. I'm mighty glad to see this story was well-received. Not popular, but it will do for me. Look forward to;
Xenosaga : Destiny of The Force
Part Two : Shadow and Light