Sith Fortress

Throne Room

Yang knew she had a bit of a temper. Well, perhaps more than a bit. And every so often, despite her considerable level-headedness against most adversity, she'd been accused of jumping into the Sarlacc pit before looking.

Those who knew the blonde Corellian, though, understood that it was a matter of her triggers. There were some things so sacrosanct to her, so inviolable, that she would move the stars themselves to protect them.

And at the very top of the list was her little sister.

In retrospect, however, charging out into the bad guy's lair at the top of the enemy's fortress, occupied by no less than three Sith, with naught but her blaster pistol, charm, and good looks was one of the more foolhardy things she'd ever done.

"Whelp," Yang muttered under her breath as she pointed her blaster at the pale-skinned Rattataki Sith Lord who she assumed would be the head bad guy. "I'm here now, nothing to do but make the best of it…"

"Well, well, well," her target mused, regarding the blonde as if she were examining a particularly intriguing insect. "What have we here…"

"I remember this one, Masters," one of them spoke up, the young grey-haired Human she recalled from the assault on Nar Shaddaa. "Tricky, but not a threat."

"Aww, now that's just bein' hurtful," Yang smirked. "Take me dancing and I'll show you a threat."

Her lilac gaze flickered over towards where Ruby hung limply from durasteel restraints against the wall. She tamped down on her rising temper, unwilling to charge in further lest she endanger her sister any more than she might already have.

Or, maybe I just need to distract them long enough for the others to find their way here…

With that, she switched targets, leveling her heavy blaster at the bored-looking Sith male. "You think you can take me, kid?"

"Kid?" he snorted incredulously. A new expression crossed his face, one a mixture of curiosity and anticipation. He turned towards the third member facing the Corellian pilot and gave the Sith woman a semi-respectful nod. "Lady Cinder, do you mind if I indulge myself?"

"Not at all, feel free, Mercury," the raven-haired woman purred. "Entertain our uninvited guest."

Well, shavit, here goes nothing…

Without further warning, Yang opened fire on the younger Sith as he turned to face her. Two of the bolts impacted against dark chest armor before his lightsaber ignited with a snap-hiss, deflecting the others. As the blonde moved back from the advancing warrior, she felt her sidearm be unexpectedly ripped from her grip by an unseen force.

Mercury smirked widely as he examined the blaster pistol now in his possession before his hand closed into a fist, crushing the weapon into plasteel detritus.

"Hey!" she squawked angrily. "I liked that gun!"

Chuckling, the dark-robed Sith advanced on her further. "And what will you do now, little smuggler trash? Try to punch me?"

She was tempted, honestly, but knew she'd receive a blade through her stomach for her troubles if she did so. Yang was panicking a bit, running through what was left of her tricks… grenades were all spent, she'd somehow lost her vibroblade in the scuffle with the Zabrak without her noticing, and that only left…

With a gulp, the Corellian woman pulled out Ren's lightsaber. She fumbled with it for a second or two while her opponent looked on incredulously before she found the proper button to press.

And quickly realized she was holding it upside-down.

Fortunately, there was no loss of limbs on her part, but she was blushing furiously in embarrassment as she carefully righted it and set herself into a two-handed stance as she'd seen Blake do before.

"Okay, then," Yang stated, her voice carrying far less confidence than she would have liked. "Let's do this."

At the top of the audience chamber, Salem had given up on her attempts to tenderize the diminutive Corellian, much to Ruby's relief. Instead, she was referring to a handheld with her brow furrowed. Cinder, meanwhile, was watching the one-sided battle below with great amusement.

"Would you believe that blonde oaf actually brought a lightsaber?" the raven-haired girl murmured. "She'll likely lop off her own arm within the first few seconds."

Ruby strained to see around her captors, eventually obtaining a glimpse of her sister. She was, indeed, holding a blade with a very familiar emerald green hue, which made her heart sink. What happened to Ren, is he okay? And what is Yang trying to do? She'll get herself killed! Or, yeah, lose an arm! ...Again...

Her hands clenched and unclenched uselessly, bound above her head. Panic began to bubble up inside of her as she realized there was nothing she could do to prevent her sister's death right in her sight.

Nor could she help the hot tears that ran down her cheeks from her utterly helpless situation.

Yang clutched at the unfamiliar weapon with a determined grip. She shifted in a wide semicircle around the Sith warrior, trying to ignore his amused smirk.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" he taunted, swishing his blade back and forth with exaggerated movement as if daring her to dart in for a strike. "You could just give up now, you know. Be less painful for you."

"Not gonna happen," she gritted out in response. "I came for my sister, and I'm not leaving without her."

"Oh, you poor, deluded girl," Mercury chuckled. "You really think you're leaving here? That's so cute."

The blonde risked a quick glance over the Sith's black-robed shoulder. They seemed to be taking their time up there with whatever was going on. Was Ruby to be sacrificed for some sick and twisted dark ritual? Were they experimenting on her for something? She had to get up there and get her sister out of those restraints before anything bad happened. But Mercury was doing an admirable job of keeping himself interposed between her and her objective.

She stamped down on her rising anger, instead pulling from deep inside of her to reach that place of calm and tranquility that'd been so difficult to grasp ever since first Summer then Tai had left them.

I can't let my temper get the better of me, that's what he wants… She sighed softly, adjusting her grip as she prepared to try and do what she came here to do. Rescue her little sister.

I don't know if the Force is a living thing or not, or just some kinda hocus-pocus… But if you are really what Blake and Ren and all those Jedi say you are… Please, please help me, anything, something… I can't let my sister die, not like this, not with me this close…

Her eyes burned but she couldn't take the time to swipe at them. She felt more helpless than ever before in her life, even more so than when she lay at the bottom of the crevice with her right arm trapped beneath those rocks…

But she was vaped if she was going to give up.

One slow foot in front of the other, she began to approach the amusedly waiting Sith.

Ruby was chewing on her bottom lip so hard that she was close to drawing blood. Besides the fact that Lady Salem seemed to be ready to begin her ritual, she was terrified for her sister. The blonde was gamely wading forward, giving a few pokes and thrusts that were easily deflected. Clearly, Mercury was toying with her, not even attempting to attack but just idly batting away the green lightsaber blade.

"Very well, then," Salem murmured. She took a deep breath and on exhale, she stared at Ruby with an intensity that left her breathless.

But then the Dark Lord broke eye contact, looking over her shoulder with some irritation. "Get on with it, boy. I can sense more fools approaching, finish her and then go deal with the other intruders."

Once her gaze was freed, though, Ruby glanced at Lady Cinder curiously. The raven-haired Sith, previously looking on with rather malicious glee, was now staring off into space sightlessly and with a frown on her beautiful face.

Straining, the brunette Corellian could just barely pick up on a whisper from the other woman.

"I sense a presence… One I haven't felt in many years…"

"I still owe you," the grey-haired Sith sneered, once more batting away a feeble attempt to reach him with the green lightsaber. "For that broken nose on Nar Shaddaa." He paused, stepping back to regard the blonde levelly. "Perhaps I'll take my time with you after you're disabled," he mused. "One limb at a time…"

Yang let out a low growl. She knew up to this point she'd been lucky, shavit, far luckier than she should have been to manage to delay for this long. And if the pale-skinned Sith woman up top was right, her friends were on the way.

Unfortunately, Mercury seemed to be taking his orders to heart. With a dark smirk, he flourished his lightsaber before darting in to attack.

The blonde yelped, getting her saber up just in time to deflect the assault. And then the next. And once again. She didn't think, just reacted. Slowly, ever so slowly, her movements were becoming more smooth and surer. Confidence was returning to the Corellian woman accompanied by a tingle that began in her chest and ran down through her arms to her fingertips, even the artificial ones.

The burning in her eyes was unrelenting, but she wasn't about to question it or anything else she was feeling at that moment as her desperate defense managed to scarcely parry all of the Sith warrior's strikes.

She leaned into the fight, allowing her arms to move on their own, giving in fully. She blocked high and low, feet shifting ever so slightly but able to meet her opponent with every attack made. And then, gradually, she was able to go on the offensive, causing the grey-haired man to widen his eyes even more in shock.

In was enough that, when she managed to get him out of position, she quickly released her two-handed grip and finally punched him, hard, in the face with a right hook.

Mercury stumbled back, clutching at his bleeding mouth and snarling incoherently. She merely smiled back serenely, not at all sure what was going on with her but at this point in time, she'd embrace it for all she was worth if it meant she could save Ruby.

Salem was muttering to herself, the dark undertones clearly expressing her frustration. "It definitely said the initial phrase would evoke a reaction…" she growled, pacing back and forth while staring hard at her datapad again. "Did I mistranslate? No, of course not, I checked several times…"

"My Lady?" Cinder interjected worriedly. "What is wrong?"

"This!" the Rattataki woman exclaimed furiously, throwing her handheld to the side where it landed on the large cushioned chair in the middle of the dais. "It's not working! Something isn't right, I cannot find the source of power within this little whelp!"

Said whelp was still hanging in the same position as before, but with her head held down in relief. She wasn't sure why it had happened, but she welcomed this reprieve from her execution happily.

"I just don't understand it, the instructions were so clear… the prophecy... as... well…"

Ruby perked up as she caught the end of Salem's rant when it trailed off incredulously. Both Sith women were staring agape at the scene at the bottom of the chamber. As her head twisted around to see what was happening, the brunette couldn't help but let her own mouth drop open in surprise.

Yang was moving with the kind of grace and fluidity that the younger sibling had come to associate with her Jedi lover, ably combating the young Sith warrior. Green clashed with red in rapid strikes, the blonde pressing her opponent hard.

But was most remarkable of all… were her eyes.

A silvery shine was leaking from Yang's normally lilac orbs, like wisps of mist.

"No," Salem breathed incredulously before she drew herself upright. "No! It's her, that oaf is the one who has the power within her!"

Cinder wasted little time in darting forward, drawing forth a dual-bladed lightsaber and igniting it to reveal glowing blades of an angry orange-red color. Before Ruby could shout out a warning, Salem thrust her hands forward, dark energy crackling forth towards the blonde Corellian.

But then a dark blur interposed itself between the attacks. The lightning was caught on an amethyst lightsaber, stopping Cinder's charge as well.

Straightening slowly, the Cathar Jedi Master dropped her smoldering dark grey cloak to the floor. She leveled her blade with a feral grin, pointing it straight at the raven-haired Sith woman's head.

"I don't think so," Blake murmured over the sudden silence that followed her entrance.

Cinder recoiled from the newcomer with a snarl. "Blake Belladonna…"

Nodding, Blake changed her stance into a high guard with her left hand extended, wiggling her fingers at her opponent mockingly.

"Hello again, Cinder. Let's dance."

Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):

Yang Xiao Long - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.

ZW-31 - Yang's custom astromech droid.

Ruby Rose - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.

P3-NY - Ruby's astromech droid.

Lady Salem - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.

Lady Cinder Fall - Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.

Darth Hazel - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.

Darth Tyrian - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.

Emerald Sustrai - Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.

Mercury Black - Human male. Sith Warrior.

Weiss Schnee - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Pyrrha Nikos - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Jaune Arc - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.

Hei "Junior" Xiong - Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.

Melanie Malachite - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.

Miltia Malachite - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.

Blake Belladonna - Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.

Lie Ren - Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.

Master Ozpin - Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.

Nora Valkyrie - Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.

Neptune Vasilias - Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.

Sun Wukong - Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.

Coco Adel - Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Fox Alistair - Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Velvet Scarlatina - Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Yatsuhashi Daichi - Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

A/N: Another shorter one. I think I might have actually pulled off a twist that nobody had seen coming. Yes, Yang is the one from the prophecy. How is this possible, you may ask? And how do Blake and Cinder know each other? Does Blake have a secret Jedi power of making an awesomely cool entrance? Is Ruby just going to hang around on that wall for the next three chapters or what? Sit tight, all will be revealed before the end...

Stay shiny!