Stronger Than Blood (9 - End)
Chapter 9: A Fighting Chance | Cal Kestis x Reader
Requested by Anon
Summary: Meeting another Force-sensitive was one thing, but having them related to one of the most formidable known duelers was a whole other story to tell. While being stranded in another planet after barely escaping the Haxion Brood, Cal crosses paths with someone who’s at a crossroads with their own identity and lineage.
A/N: I hope the Anon who requested enjoyed this fic ;w; and thank all of you for stopping by and giving this fic some love! <3 Y’all are awesome as always~!
Also tagging @ayamenimthiriel
Also posted in AO3
Tags: Force-User! Reader, Force-Sensitive Reader, Sith-Related! Reader
Chapters: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 | Previous: Part 8 | Masterlist
9 of 9
The two of stalked through the corridors under the red light that filled every corner.
Your boots skidded and squeaked against the metal floor when you hear the rhythmic hooves of the Stormtroopers approaching; both of you hugged the wall until the footsteps receded. Cal reared his head over the wall and beckoned you on.
“Why’d you come for me? I was good as dead anyway!”
“And deny you a fighting chance to do good? Never!”
You thanked the Force that he had his back turned to you and that the alarm light still colored the hallways, otherwise, you could and would not have a sappy excuse for your cheeks burning red.
“Cere!” Cal huffed through his commlink. “Do you read?”
“Loud and clear!”
“I found [y/n], we’re passing through the prison block now, but the castle is on high alert,”
“We’ll try to find a way around! Keep your lines open,”
Upon reaching the foyer of the prison block, where the control terminal stands, both of you were stopped in your tracks when the sight of Darth Vader greeted you.
“Oh gods…!” you gasped in sheer fright. “It’s him.”
Cal ignited his saber, preparing himself to face off this dark lord. Your thumb felt for a button, upon pressing it, electric current flowed to the ends of your techstaff. Both of you brandish your weapons at Lord Vader, who was not the least bit challenged.
“Courageous. But foolish.” He chided.
In his hand rested his silver hilt with black stripes at the sleeve. His gloved hand thumbed for the switch and then a blood-red beam emitted from his lightsaber. Without a second’s notice, he jumped and closed the impossible distance between the pair of you and himself—he was standing by the control podium at the ground level, but he got to the second tier within a single leap!
You and Cal dodge-rolled in opposite directions. By instinct, Cal swung his saber at the dark lord to which Vader easily deflected. While the Sith Lord was preoccupied with the boy, you attempted to get a swing at him with your staff—which he surprisingly halted at the last minute using the Force with his free hand. His fingers curled and tensed as he gradually closed it into a fist, slowly crushing the head of your staff with the Force, no amount of your might can pull it away from his hold.
“Had you been any smarter, you wouldn’t be in this situation,”
“Yeah, how perceptive of you,” you managed to let out that dry snark.
You finally got out of Darth Vader’s grasp, but the end of the staff barely held any more electric current, but it still served its purpose as a melee weapon. To Darth Vader, he didn’t feel outnumbered. Two children with weapons felt more like a task than an actual fight, he knows perfectly well that he could end these two right then and there. But he thought of toying them instead, seeing for himself just how far their skills could take them in this duel.
Cal drew Vader’s attention to him, trying to keep the red saber from finding you. When the dark lord read through this tactic, he struck Cal against the face with his pommel—disorienting him and causing him to drop his saber. He then Force-pushed the boy out of the fight, sending him flying down to the ground level, hitting his spine hard against the metal machine podium.
“CAL!!!!” you shrieked.
This may be a trick for Vader to provoke you into tapping the Dark Side, to succumb to your hate and anger, and use it all on him—just so he can prove a point.
“That anger in you,” he bellowed. “It’s seething. Yes, use it!”
You spotted Cal’s lightsaber behind Vader’s feet, you reached out—actually tapping into the Force itself, devoid of the wrath you’ve bottled up for so long and instead found the balance of it all. Darth Vader stood watch in a silent, emotionless curiosity and awe. The lightsaber zipped past his feet, ruffling the hem of his cape, until it found its way to your grip, while keeping your staff in the other. You ignited it as soon as your fingers caged the sleeve.
“If only you knew the power of the Dark Side, only then would you have been more powerful than you already are!”
“I’ll never be like Dooku…” you gasped, struggling to keep the one-handed grip firm around the hilt. “And I most certainly will never be like you!” you roared.
A few strikes against the dark lord, he deflected them all; he found your technique quite rough and flimsy, but with every blow, a newfound strength resided within you, within every hit—whether it was blocked or received—and it kept you on your toes as you confronted this lumbering man.
You timed the moment when you could use the Force. Mustering whatever strength you could from it, the energy swirled along your palms; at the perfect moment, you released that wave of Force energy towards Darth Vader, it was potent enough to break his footing and bring him down to the floor. Using it on a whim seems to have taken a toll on your body, since it had been dormant in your system and you barely had any practice in controlling it all this time.
While Darth Vader was down, you sprinted down the stairs towards the ground level. Cal was already coming to, you hurriedly helped him up.
“Can you stand?”
“Yeah…” he groaned, clutching his sore side.
“Come on,” you take him by the hand and return his saber to him.
The two of you make a run for it. As soon as you got through the door, Cal used the Force to seal the door and dash towards the corridor. Knowing that he can’t use the ventilation shaft path, with the castle on high alert and everything, the two of you went through the winding, labyrinthine network of intersections, twists, and turns.
A few good turns around corners and curbs, you find yourselves in a control room filled with Stormtroopers and a KX droid. They had you seven to two. Just when their odds were good, you and Cal evened it out to just two Stormtroopers. You bashed heads with your techstaff while Cal severed the KX droid in half as it fell to its knees.
Smoke wisped out of the cauterize wounds and seared cuts that his lightsaber made. The two of you approached the computer terminal.
“I’ll cover you,” Cal went behind you and faced the door, ignited saber in hand, anticipating for a swarm of enemies.
BD-1 assisted you in hacking the computer and you managed to reach Cere via the radio on the terminal.
“[y/n], is that you?”
“Yes, I’m with Cal in some kind of control room. I think we’re in the very center of the building.”
“Hang on, I found your signatures! There should be a turbolift in the center of that room. Get to the highest level, you should be in an outdoor clearing between the two spires. We’ll meet you there!”
“Gotcha!” the transmission ended and you beckoned Cal to the turbolift.
Cal jammed the door controls as the two of you stood on the platform of the lift. The Stormtroopers banged on the door with the pommels of their blasters as you ascended to your meet-up point. The elevator ride allowed the two of you to finally catch your breaths. Your glances met with one another, you playfully tussled Cal’s hair—causing his sunset-orange locks droop by the hairline—both of you exchanged huffing, naïve chuckles at one another until natural light pooled over your heads.
You could hear the throttle of the Mantis whirring loud into your eardrums and its turbines blowing hot air into your face. The ship hovered sideways so its entry ramp faces your direction as it opens. In your collective periphery, Darth Vader appeared in one of the doors that blended well into black walls of the left-side spire. You froze at the sight of him.
Of course he caught up!!! You panicked mentally.
“Get ready to jump!” Cal screeched.
Cal took the lead, both of you ran so fast that it felt like flying. You sprinted as fast as your legs carried you, the hot wind breezing over your cheeks and making your hairs flow.
“Come on, [y/n]!”
Cal leaped over to the ramp no problem, but you were a little behind. There was no safety bannister in that clearing, and so from the balls of your feet, you sprang from the edge and hoped to close the gap between the spire’s platform and the entry ramp of the ship.
You barely made it, your arm hooking over the ramp saved your life from plummeting into a hundred-foot drop from the spire to the obsidian floor and lava rivers. Cal took your arm and then the other to drag you back into the ship. Cal stumbled and landed on his back, while securing you in his arms. The altitude was nauseating that you lost feeling your legs again. When you found yourself pressing over his torso, you rolled over to the side, removing your weight against him, breathing out a weak “Sorry.”
“Let’s get out of here!!” Cal exhaled, lying down on the floor as the door closed.
Greez punched it and sent the Mantis flying through the atmosphere out of the literally infernal planet and back into the cold vacuum of space. The two of you were still lying down on the floor, catching your breaths while waiting for the feeling to come back to your limbs and joints. You bobbed your head to the side, facing Cal who had his eyes closed as he kept his mouth slightly ajar to breathe in and out.
“You came back for me…”
The tone of your voice made your line sound more like a question that stating an obvious fact. Cal bobbed his head back to you; his eyes were tired but the gleam of his clear, emerald green eyes shimmered right back at you.
“Of course,” he panted and brought his hand over yours, giving it a light squeeze. “I’d come back for you. We’re a team. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that?”
You managed a small smile along the corner of your mouth, a weak chuckle escaped your throat and you struggled to shake your head.
“No, I didn’t forget,”
“Good.”
Though Cal reminded you that you’re not alone anymore, that you have a new family, and you’re determined in protecting it. Your fingers twitched and curled, intertwining with his, as the Mantis flew off to safety.












