Chapter Text
As Luke landed on the charred and barren surface of Malachor, a single figure waited on the surface, clearly anticipating his arrival. Deciding there was little point in resisting, Luke set the ship down, lowering the ramp and checking to see that the figure still remained motionless before walking out of the ship. In front on him was a brown hair, brown eyed boy, possibly in his early twenties. HIs face was normal, yet the dark side's aura radiated from his pores like a black hole's power seeping into the side, latching and leeching onto anything it could get its twisted tenticles onto.
"Welcome young Skywalker. I knew you would come," an ominous voice that could only be the late Emperor's softly stated. Luke recoiled in disgust and horror, much to the Emperor's amusement. "Ah, young Skywalker. Did you truly think that you could kill me so easily? You may have destroyed all my clones, but I am alive and well, as you can say."
The Emperor, or the host body that he controlled, broke out a snarl, raising his fingers and conjuring up several bolts of lightning. Luke simply raised his hands, and the lightling dissipated into the think air. "Very good. You have improved vastly since we last met, young Skywalker. But your mental shields remain weak. Even now, I can tell your greatest fear, yes."
The words rolled of the tongue like a serpent's hiss, causing Luke to cringe and try to concentrate on his mental barriers. But a part of him knew he had been too foolhardy, and that the Emperor already latched into his mind. All he could do now was try and stall for time and avoid thinking about Jade. "I see you remain arrogant as always. So tell me, why has the great lord of the sith resorted to latching on the body of a child?"
The Emperor's eyes narrowed as the dark aura surrounding him radiated more ferociously than ever, almost causing the very air beside him to vibrate and tremble in fear. Luke simply chuckled, goading the Emperor with his trademark grin. The Emperor was not amused at being taunted by the young boy, and simply snarled, "You fear for the safety of my apprentice's clone of Mara Jade. Yes, you fear her leaving you, losing her. I can feel it in you. The feeling of leaving her behind to find me, knawing at you knowing that at any moment a bounty hunter might decide to show up on her doorstep, or better yet the planet is scortched by one of my ships. Surely the training you gave her could not help her fly into space, young Skywalker."
His laugh echoed along the emptiness of the planet, and Luke snapped, launching a sudden force push at the Emperor. Not expecting such a show of force, the Emperor flew back, landing on the ground with a thud and sending sand and ash into the air. Brushing himself as he got up, the Emperor praised, "Good. Your power is begining to show. Now use your hatred. End me."
"With pleasure," Luke said, a fiery determination within his mind as he lunged at the Emperor, sending bolts of force judgement. The Emperor raised his own hands, straining slightly as he was still not fully accustomed to Kyp Durron's body. But his power was sufficient for the time being, and he was determined to draw out more anger from Skywalker. Something was wrong, the boy had not outright refused to use the dark side, a thought that both pleased and scared the Emperor.
Slowing him down by launching his own force lighting, bolts of orange and blue exploded in blinding flashes as the stale air molecues were ripped apart violently. Both master's hands shook violently as they poured their force energy into sending more powerful bolts at each other, the meeting point of their bolts never shifting in spite of both's increasing efforts. Straining slightly, the Emperor teased, "Do you think that Jade is truly safe. Naive and hopeful as always. You must realize that I am only stalling, or you would have been defeated long ago."
Sensing Skywalker was none the wiser to his weakened state and still believing he had the reach and influence of his old self, Palpatine took in the tremours of the force, which began to reel to the fingertips of Luke, the emerald bolts inching closer to the Emperor. Sensing that he needed to recover lest he exhaust this body, Palpatine sent a wall of ash and sand into Skywalker's face. Dazing him long enough, the Emperor whipped out his lightsaber, refusing to dignifying running. Running was for the weak.
Green blade met red as Luke lunged at the Emperor, the violent cackle of their coloured blades searing the air in the immediate vicinity. The two masters stared each other down, waiting for the other to make a move. Luke jerked to the left slightly, and Palpatine seized on this, launching his iconic forward thrust. Luke brought his blade round, catching the crimson blade as it cracked mere centimeters from his face. With a flick of his wrist, he whirled his green blade dangerously close to the Emperor's own head, who lept back with a snarl.
To his suprise, the Emperor deactivated his lightsaber. Luke resisted the urge to charge, lamenting he would have to sacrifice the edge he only managed to achieve with great difficulty, centering his balance and reaching out with the force to prepare himself for one of the Emperor's attacks. The force swirled around him, forming a ring of ash and sand with its invisible tenticles, and Palpatine at its epicenter. Luke managed to create a barrier with the force as debris pounded and slugged away at him, bouncing off to rejoin the storm or disintegrating.
As Luke pushed closer towards the Emperor, he decided to take a new tactic, calling upon the force to probe Palpatine's mind. The Emperor at this moment was so engrossed at the thrill of manipulating his force storm that he failed to notice Luke enter his mind, freeing Kyp Durron. The storm died just as quickly as it surfaced, and Palpatine's force presence looked down to see a lightsaber through his chest. As he slowly faded away, confined to wander the galaxy as a phantom for the time being, he promised Luke he would return.
Kyp Durron introduced himself nervously to the legendary Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Luke told him to join him on his ship, and explained to Kyp of the Emperor's force entity taking over control of his body. Saved from having to explain randomly attacking the war hero without being able to control himself, Kyp found himself in Luke's debt, telling him as much.
Luke turned to Kyp, his azure eyes brimming with hope and confidence as he told the young boy, "I want you to take this meditation ring. It helps you force presence. Take these holos and go find Leia Organa. You will train together in the ways of the force." Smiling, at Kyp, he pressed the ramp controls, and only now did Kyp get over the awe of meeting Luke Skywalker to find that they had landed on some developed planet. "Goodbye Kyp. Perhaps one day we will meet again."
Kyp took this as his cue to leave, stepping out of the ship and watching it quickly lift off again, shooting off for the stars. Kyp pinched himself and rubbed his eyes to confirm this wasn't just a dream. Looking at his hands, he just finished processing meeting perhaps the two most influential figures in galactic history. Fingering the ring Luke gave him before putting it on, he felt his fear and turbulant emotions fade away, replaced with a resolute determination to find Leia Organa and train in the ways of the force.