I do not own any of the Star Wars and DC characters and ideas represented in this work.
"The Dark Side of the Force is the pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural." - Darth Sidious to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.
Darth Angelicus fell into a murky, muddy puddle, arms first then head. Getting back up, she wiped the dirt from her face and fixed herself upright.
The forbidden jungle on the planet Almerac was a place where few should want to be in. Though the reputation of the region wasn't infamous as planets that had wild jungles and forests cover most of their surfaces, the jungle here in Almerac was so dense and alien compared to the other regions on the planet that it might as well be considered to be on a different planet.
Trees and many exotic plants sprung out of the wet soil and covered the landscape with no break. Vines and lianas creep their way to the jungle's canopy. The air was balmy and thick with the smell of greenery. The animals were just as dense and dangerous as the terrain was. Vipers slither through the grass; poisonous insects and reptiles patiently hang onto trees to ambush their prey; carnivorous felines and even the monstrous carnorites hide somewhere within the jungle's dense hideaways. Any wrong turn or bad mistake could leave one lost indefinitely or wake a slumbering predator up.
The forbidden jungle was a perilous place, Angelicus found out, but it was a more dangerous and unforgiving place in the realm of the force than in the material realm could ever offer. The dark side was strong here much like how shadows were at its strongest within the night or haunting spirits in a graveyard. Everywhere she looked, the dark side had its influence over everything; animals, plants, whatever resided in the jungle was under the dark's cloak. It was in the air she breathed in, the soil that she walked on. The smell of dark energies whispered into her nostrils and her taste buds danced with power from taste.
In the few little months under her Sith training, Angelicus has come to understand that these places of dark side energies can grant those who have the dark side as their ally to heighten their powers than it would usually be. It surrounded her and in turn she drew its power into herself. She can feel the dark side talk to her; through the plants and their soft but docile voices; the animals and the way they stalk their eyes onto the Sith.
This was the dark side's absolute domain, and in accordance, hers.
When up, she saw her master not too far away from where she stood. They walked on a trail created by Almeracian Gazelle, though this temporary path that somewhat lacked plants, in time, will regrow and overtake that trail. Her master, Darth Vader, black as a shadow and more so in the force, stood along the edge of the bank of a raging river, where the trail ended. His back turned, arms folded, and not a single trace of mud or grim onto his blackened body, he had an aura of impatience for Angelicus still struggling to traverse the jungle's wilderness, where he had no problem going through it.
Since the beginning of her apprenticeship to the Sith master, he had subjected her to cruel and gruesome training that every Sith had to go through. Though his experience wasn't as painful or humiliating as her previous tortures with the Gordanians, this was to break her down and for him to recreate her from that collapse.
Her master was cold as intergalactic space, and his patience was thin as ice on frozen water that can break easily at any given moment. But within that cruelty was a man who held powers and authority beyond her reach. She had seen and experienced his eldritch powers at hand; sometimes she was the unfortunate victim of them. She, however, respected him greatly since she saved her—his powers and handing her the tools of her rebirth.
When she came to think about it, nowadays, she respected no man other than him. She had no high regard to the many suitors that swarmed her like bees on a flower; she never met her father for he died when she was at a young age; and she hated the Gordanian men who tortured her for months without end.
Vader was the only man in her life she truly respected, feared, and hated as well. Emotions that many would call conflicted and contradictory, but to the Sith, were necessary and appropriate.
She walked behind her master, the rushing speed of the river filled the air and while it was wet from the condensation. She used her hands to clean herself off as she waited for her master to speak.
"Since my arrival on this world and this jungle we are in," Vader's mechanical voice pierced through the river's animatic yelling. "I have attempted to search for an origin of this wilderness and why it was so strong in the dark side." He paused, "In Almerac's ancient lore, was a man named Thusla who is said to be a powerful man that had wielded dark magic."
He ever so slightly turned his black helmet at her, "I suspect that he was an agent of the dark side, and his exploits are no less similar to a Sith." He returned his gaze to the river. "But his demise was at hand in this jungle, along with any teachings and secrets he held. For a time, I tried searching through the force to see if Thulsa had created the jungle's connection to the dark side or to see if it was a simple creation of nature itself." He shrugged his heavy shoulders, "Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that it mattered little whether this nexus that we stand in is artificial or natural. Trying to find the answer would be a quest as long as time, just as the force will always be to us."
"This Jungle, young apprentice," Vader continued. "Is a symbolic representation of the dark side. It is a place many would perish if they walked through, and few can traverse it without being unscathed. It is a realm with its own mind and will; respect its power, and not only could you survive its wilderness but prosper, but disrespect it, and it will deliver a punishment that you will not be able to escape from, for it will be too late."
He kept on looking at the rushing river. "Much like the animals and beasts who call this jungle their home, if we are to survive its wilderness, and therefore the dark side, we must surrender our instincts and faith to its will. Then, will it bestow us with its power." He faced Angelicus, removing his arms from his chest. "That is what you must do, Angelicus; you must embrace the dark and accept its power. In doing so, it will grant you the strength that you ever so wish."
She bowed, "I understand, my master."
Vader didn't respond immediately, "No, you don't." He responded bluntly. "But you will soon enough." He started to walk away from the river and back to the wild jungle. She followed, not wanting to be left alone in the exotic woods.
Time passed of him walking in a random direction, moving past foliage and greenery with her closely behind. Within this walk, she decided to be bold enough to ask a question to her dark master, "Master…when will you tell me how to heal my wings?"
Vader, still waking and not slowly doing, musingly said, "Ah yes, your wings; you wish to regain your ability to fly, much like how your people dearly hold it and look down on those who don't have such gifts of the sky."
Angelicus fought back the urge to snap at him from irritation and frustration. Since the start of her apprenticeship, Vader has suggested how she could heal her wings. In her imprisonment, the Gordanians broke her wings to the point where normal surgery and medicine wouldn't cut it. They broke and bended tendons in unnatural ways; bones cracked and nerve endings became unresponsive. In this, there was a constant sting and wrenching pain from the things she dearly valued long ago.
Cloning, expensive and not very available as it is, was still an option of replacing her wings with surgery, but cloning and other artificial means of limb procurement were heavily frowned upon in Havanian society, and to an extent, her. Beauty was held in great respect and even worshipped amongst Havanians, which included wings as they saw beings who had no appendages beneath them. Cloning and changing one's physical appearance was just as seen as immoral and taboo in Havanian culture as other cultures considered stealing or fraud as crimes. Yes, Sith were not supposed to have their past shackled and be slaves of it, but cloning her wings wouldn't suffice, not mentally at any rate, and she knew that would grasp into her thoughts. She would know that they were cloned and, therefore, would be disgusted by it. Regardless, her master warned her that cloning from force-sensitives was a dangerous and unfruitful effort.
Since Vader took her, she was given medical treatment, though he couldn't care less, so that her wings wouldn't be damaged any further. While slightly repaired, the damage to her wings could not be reversed. At least from normal means. But Vader had not taught her the healing techniques of any kind.
She instilled a manner of obedience into her voice: "Yes, my master, you said how I could do such a thing with your teachings."
"Patience, Angelicus, in time, you will be taught the Sith techniques of healing."
"When?"
"Soon." He spoke with venom.
She grated her teeth out of anger. "That's not good enough."
Vader stopped, and she did as well. He let his breathing come in and out, then whirled at her. "Is this how you repay me?" Emotion entered his cold breath. "I give you strength and power few can manage to have, and you repay me by questioning my teachings?"
"I'm not questioning your power, master, but you've promised that I can heal my wings, and you've shown me nothing that can do that!"
"You think I am treating you unfairly?"
"Yes." She said it bluntly.
"And the power of the dark side is not enough for you?"
She worked her jaw. "The Green Lantern corps would've probably helped fix my wings right now."
Irk silence was born in between them. Her mentioning of the powers of that Lantern Corps over the dark side seemed to work up her master into a rage, for the cold aura she is used to seeing him in disappeared and a hot angry spark replaced it. Vader balled his fists; though hidden under his mask, she could tell that his eyes glared at her. Shadows created by the trees and plants inked out from their natural borders, as if darkness in them was overflowing. Shadows flowed and dripped from the ground and above, and the humid air got bitterly cold.
"So, this is what my Sith will become?" He said it more to himself with anger: "A hive of unfaithful beings with no loyalty to me or to the dark side? Is it because I taught you so little in the short span of time that you came to the conclusion that this is all I have to offer? Have you learned nothing from my teachings?"
Before Angelicus could say anything, an invisible tendril of the force wrapped itself around her neck and squeezed a heavy pressure onto her light blue skin. She instinctively pulled her hands onto her throat as air was being restricted, and she gasped for needed oxygen. She dropped to her knees as she was barely clinging to consciousness.
She looked up and saw Vader having his forefinger and thumb close to each other, as if her neck was in between them. "Perhaps I should have left you to the Gordanians…" he mocked as darkness was coming within her vision. "Perhaps I should've left you to your fate with them and let them have their way with you till you die! Is that what you want!"
With whatever strength she had left, she let out a weak voice begging, "N-no."
He opens his half-closed fist, and the pressure on her neck is released. She fell further down to the muddy ground, pulling in heavy inhales and exhales. At the same time, the increased shadows and darkness started to wane and return back to their natural borders. Light was slowly returning.
"To test me, apprentice," he said while she was coughing. "Is one thing I lack tolerance of, but to question the force and to have no faith in it is another."
He stepped closer to her, "Especially when you think the Green Lantern Corp has more power than the Sith. If that is the case, my young bird, do you think that a green lantern can influence the mind of a being? Do you think they can conjure the dead, summon beasts and the Sith cannot? Is their vaunted rings more powerful than the force itself? Do you think they have the power to destroy entire worlds like Vitiate and Nihilus could? Can they will themselves to live like Sion? Encourage stars to explode like Naga Sadow has or create life from nothing as Plagueis did? Do you think Green Lanterns can conjure true power with their so-called constructs?"
"No…" Angelicus collided, "…master."
"Because the lanterns' power is flashy and grand," Vader went on as she stroked her tender throat, "Doesn't mean it is great. Power, my young bird, comes in many forms and we Sith use all out of them while the Lanterns could only use one. Tell me apprentice, who would have more power than the other?: the Lantern who wields a theatrical lightshow on their wrist? Gaining the attention of all beings around them. Or is it the Sith Lord who secretly stores their power in reserve until the time is right and strikes their enemies with no mercy?"
"The Power of subtlety triumphs over the power of show. Consider the difference between a grenade and a hidden bomb in a public space. Yes, the grenade could be devastating, but every being knows their power and avoids it. The Hidden bomb, however, is beyond their sight; no one will know the true knowledge of their demise when the bomb detonates. The being who lives under the knowledge that he has control over the lives of beings who don't know it truly gains power from it. Do you think the Green Lanterns know this?"
Angelicus didn't say anything; Vader accepted her silence. "I thought so. The power of the Lanterns is like docile stars: they have to obey the laws of reality; there are many but none that alter the course of a galaxy; they only can create a star system and nothing." He gestured between them, "But we Sith are like black holes: we ignore laws of nature and create our own rules; we are anomalies that bend space and time to our imagination; we are few but grand; we can change and warp galaxies in whatever we desire."
"Look at my empire and see what I have created. I have done more for this end of the galaxy in months than what the Guardians have since their long creation. We are destined to take over, for they had their chance to rule and failed that test. They will no doubt try to resist the inevitable change that the galaxy desperately needs. For beings who wield power are afraid to lose it. The status quo the galaxy is stuck in will be destroyed, but to do so, we will need to study our enemy in and out."
"Until then, apprentice, your journey into the dark side will have to transcend further and your unfaithfulness to me and to the dark squashed." Vader finished. She stood up, her pride sore much like her throat. Before she could say anything further, Vader looked to the side and stated, "We are being tracked…"
Alarm went into Angelicus, and she began to dart her head around. "Who or what is it, master?"
Vader didn't respond to her questions immediately, "Hunters…that could be considered sentient if we are generous: Lizarkon."
Lizarkon, bipedal and crocodile-like, are a reptilian race that had no real permanent homeworld and instead were a diaspora in the wider Milky Way. Known for their barbarity and uncivilized manners, they were much like other cold-blooded sentient Saurian races. Angelicus mentally admitted to herself that she had no previous knowledge of the race's history, say, for they once inhabited the same star system the Hawkmen of Thanagar were in. When Thanagar's power eventually rose up, the Thanagarians beated the Lizarkon into submission and cast them out of the Polaris System.
But recollecting her shaky memory of the history of the Lizarkon, she asked her master a pressing question. "Why are the Lizarkon here?" She said, puzzled, "Why are they here on Almerac, and why not just get rid of them?"
Vader considered her questioning, "As you know, Lizarkon has no world to reside in. It is said long ago when the Thanagarians kicked the pathetic race out of their home system, some Lizarkon went to this side of the galaxy and landed on Almerac. Much like the Hawkmen, the ancient Almeracians defeated the reptiles, and the survivors were driven to this jungle as a refuge." He paused and added, "Despite once possessing technology, their defeat at the hands of Almerac destroyed much of their technology and made them recess into a primitive group. With the remote region this jungle is, Almeracians saw no reason to pursue, and the Lizarkon kept to themselves in this wilderness."
"And you didn't see the need to get rid of them?"
Vader folded his arms. "They are beneath my attention, but that too might change."
"Well, I guess we aren't above theirs," she replied.
"Maybe so," he said while dropping his arms and retreating to a nearby tree. He looked behind her. "But perhaps this is an opportunity from the dark side to test you, my young bird."
She felt a warning from the force. Before she could unclip her lightsaber from her belt, she heard the cocking of a gun behind her. Then she heard a viper-like voice utter, Handssss up."
She didn't dare to move; without making a motion with her head, she drew her eyes towards her master, who didn't move or bothered to kill the assailant threatening her. Confusion overtook her, but she ceded to her captors demands and lifted her hands up. The voice spoke again, "Walk forward ssslowey and turn around when I sssay it."
She breathed in and out; she took a few deliberately slow steps forward on the forest floor. After the fifth step, her captor commanded her to turn around with his snake voice, and she did so. There, her captors, two Lizarkon males with ragged clothing and armed with wooden projectile rifles, pointed at her and looked deeply at her, only at her.
The one that commanded her stayed at his place while the other moved to the right of him, in the direction of her master. At first, though they had eyes on her, they should have seen him by now, but the moving hunter passed Vader, as if he didn't know that a Sith Lord was standing there.
In her thoughts, she began to make any possible explanations on why the hunters are ignoring him. Was he that anchored into the jungle's dark landscape that no other being other than a force sensitive can see him? Has he always been there? Was he just an illusion since they entered this jungle these past days? Has he deployed his eldritch powers into their minds, removing his presence from their point of view?
Many questions whirled around her head, and she was spooked by a voice that entered her mind. "You are becoming a victim of your thoughts, Angelicus." She recognized the feel and aura of the voice as her master's, but the sound of it wasn't the one she is used to. It wasn't the mechanical, deep voice that her master spoke, rather, it was the voice of a normal man. She suspected that was his real voice. His words in her head continue, "Put yourself in the here and now, teach these barbarians a lesson on why no being should ever cross a Sith Lord."
[Note: Vader telepathically speaking is his Anakin voice]
Without trying to raise suspension to her reptilian holders, she slowly eyed her master, making the confirmation that he was still there, and spoke to her telepathically. When going back to her captors, she drew inward, gathering the dark side in her. When the dark took hold of her, fear for the lizard men washed away; anger and hatred filled her being.
The Lizarkon that held her in front of her looked back at his partner, then at Angelicus, "You look lossst, pretty bird."
She played along; she cocked her head to the side, "Am I? Then I should thank you for rescuing me."
The hunter she spoke to nodded with a devious, tooth-filled smile. "Asss you ssshould." His partner gained the same expression.
She put up a forced smile. "Well then…I guess I should express my gratitude in a gift…" She slowly moved her hand downward to the zipper of her black bodysuit that showed her body's natural curves. Naturally, both hunters' eyes follow her hand, fixating their gaze onto her body. She felt their lust and anticipation for her already strong in their minds. "But first," she cooed out, "You boys shouldn't fight over me like that."
The hunter that talked to her stiffened, his pupils dilating, his reptilian face going blank, then with hot anger. Quickly, he motioned his rifle to his partner and squeezed the trigger. The cracking of the projectile that exited out of the gun echoed through the jungle air, disturbing some birds out of their roosts and somewhat silenced the bugs' buzzing. His partner was too slow to make a response, so the back of his head ruptured into a shower of gore as the bullet went through it. The shot hunter dropped the rifle down to the dirt and fell with it onto his bloodied face.
The hunter's rifle trailed of smok, and the Lizarkon who shot his friend stood like a statue, not understanding what he just did. Satisfied, she effortlessly suggested to the motionless hunter with another command. "That knife at your belt looks nice; maybe you should give it a closer look for me."
The hunter dropped his rifle, unsheathed his Bowie knife, and with both hands, jabbed his blade across this scaly green neck. Blood spurted out and flooded as he dragged his knife across; it poured out from his mouth as well. Not long after the knife opened a gash into his throat, he dropped to the ground, his body twitching and choking on blood.
As the force that animated him ebbed out, she caught it and brought it into herself. "Well done, Angelicus," her master finally spoke after the transgression ended; he said his cold words with a sign of congratulation. "Though I will not forget how you didn't sense these men before it was too late." He turned his head to the hunter that slit his own throat, who just now died, as if Vader's gaze killed him. "But I will admit, your powers over controlling one's mind are considerable despite how early it is in your teachings. With time and nurturing, you will achieve many things with it."
He took his words to heart, due to how little he praised her. "Thank you, master," she bowed.
"Still," he said, "I felt their minds when you took care of them, and there was a hunting party of sorts not too far from where they came from. Perhaps we shall continue your tests with them." He walked towards what she presumed to be where this hunting group is at.
She looked down at her victims and saw that their once green skin was turning pale as flies started to gather. She followed her master before he disappeared into the greenery. Time passed of them trekking through the dangerous wilderness, passing by dangerous fauna and flora where if they were lesser beings, they would have died.
She shadowed her master on a tree-covered hill. Hidden within the trees, they saw their quarry at the bottom of the escarpment. In a group of at least twenty, the Lizarkon at the bottom of the small valley were similarly armed and dressed as the ones Angelicus killed. Around them were lined up dead animals that they hunted and shot with their projectile rifles. At the base of the escarpment was a cave opening that mawed deep within the valley.
Wanting to prove herself to Vader, she grabbed her lightsaber and was to activate it, but a black gloved hand stopped her arm from going into motion. He gestured to an open spot further away from the hunting party, and they went there. "As I said before, apprentice," he started, "There are many forms of power that the Sith process. I believe it is time to show you one of them."
Vader walked past her and onto the open space. There, he gathered dark side energies around him, no different than an eye of the storm, the air, and the force bending around him. He extended his arms out, and the wind, with the force, began to condense into a ball in front of him. Its color slowly creeps into a shade of blood.
Electricity danced around the orb of red energies as Vader called out an incantation that Angelicus detected as the Sith language. "Dwomutsiqsa…" he repeated again, louder and more commanding. "Dwomutisqsa! Tapti' negu nun! Tapti' ir sotus zo geida nuo zo Jen'ari! Tapti' ir s'dies tu'saen!"
The orb of dark side energies swirled and expanded into a cloud of black, oily smoke. It smelled like sulfur and death. It stretched into a pillar that didn't rise to the trees. It swirled until it started to condense into a figure.
The black smoke parted until it fully disappeared, revealing a tall, red-skinned, yellow eyed humanoid with two protruding horns on its head. Though it was close enough to see details of its physical appearance, the demon looked like it was made entirely of smoke; its features were vague and dark.
Vader returned to his 'normal' voice. "There is a group of hunters, spirit," he pointed in the direction of the Lizarkons. "Kill them, choose any form you desire, and do whatever you please with them."
The smoke spirit then, making no sound, morphed into a cloud of black, fiery dust and slithered through the air to the hunters. Vader gravitated towards that same direction as Angelicus, shocked with awe, did as well.
When back at the hill, both of the Sith were hidden amongst the shrubbery while the spirit went down to the ground where the lizard hunters were. Despite her being able to see it, and most likely Vader, the smoke spirit wasn't spotted by the hunters. Seemingly, the spirit still in its cloud form chose its first prey and set itself behind the drinking hunter and morphed to its humanoid form.
The hunter paid no attention as the towering spirit was behind him. The spirit did something that made Angelicus's draw drop. The spirit outstretched its smokey arms around the hunter and covered the reptilian man with its essence. The Lizardkon's body was see-through for a moment before it fully disappeared, only leaving clothing behind.
Not only that, he disappeared from the force entirely; his only mark of existence was his screams echoing. As if the lizard screamed into her head, it must've only been detected by force sensitives, as the other hunters weren't alerted by the spring or their comrades' disappearance.
When the spirit was finished with his first victim, a hunter who was walking to check up on his hunter friend was alarmed by his disappearance. He looked around, poking his rifle at the pile of clothing. He called out to the rest of the group but didn't notice the spirit. Hunters of the party went to his call and circled around the commotion; they started to discuss within each other what happened.
Then the slaughter truly started.
With most of the group around it, the smoke spirit fully revealed itself in the physical realm, so it may appear to the Lizarkon. The sudden appearance of the smoke spirit towering over them startled the hunters, and their horror was sparkled in the air. The spirit attacked the nearest ones closest to it; it slashed its arms horizontally and rid some lizards heads off their bodies. Blood from their headless bodies geysered, and they fell to the dirt.
Panicked overcome them, then fear and desperation. Some members of the hunting party were frozen out of abject terror; others ran away and dropped their weapons, wanting to run faster so they may lose the dark phantom; others were brave enough to shoot at the spirit, firing their projectile rifles. But it was pointless; the bullets harmlessly passed through the spirit's smokey figure.
It continued the attack, using its strength to turn heads and bodies into red paste; it used its dark powers to absorb their essence and reduce some members into clothing as their whole being faded away from the material world. Screams echoed throughout the jungle, as well as in the realm of the force. The smell of iron ran thick in the hot air as streams of blood ran their course around the ground.
As the slaughter unfolded before Angelicus's eyes, Vader spoke through the bloody air to her. "The Smoke Demon," he said, "are the many spirits that are under our command as Sith. Summoning such spirits requires strength of a particular sort. Conjuring these beasts and phantoms demands the practitioner be overwhelmed by the currents of the force and allow the dark side to flow freely without hindrance."
He paused as one hunter was ripped in half by the waist, and his screams were deafening. Vader let the yell of pain from the reptilian hunter subside as the demon continued its frenzy. "We owe the origins of Sith alchemy and sorcery to Sorzus Syn, who is the mother of such techniques and said to be the most gifted in such works."
As Vader finished his words, the last of the hunters were butchered, and their screams faded into the force. Done with the bloodbath it created, the Smoke Demon turned into a cloud of smoke once more and shifted to a spot near Vader, then back to its humanoid form.
Vader gave his final orders, "You have done well." He made a dismissive wave, "You are free to return to your sleep until I require your presence once more." Without a word spoken or sound created, the smoke demon whirled itself into a cloud that condensed to the point it disappeared, leaving no trace of its existence other than leaving piles of bodies.
Vader said nothing for a moment, then he abruptly walked in the direction of the scattered bodies; Angelicus obediently followed. At the small valley, the air stunk with death and expired fear. Flies were starting to gather; blood everywhere as if a flood occurred; bodies in all types of dismemberment littered the dirt. Her master paid no mind to the corpses when he made his way to the cave the hunters were outside of. Angelicus followed, trying not to get blood on her black boots.
Entering the rocky cavity, the cave's tunnel sloped downward. They traversed down for a bit. As Angelicus was walking through the cave, she couldn't help but ask her master a question about the matter. "Master," her voice was partly repeated by an echo created by the cave, "Why are we here?"
His breathing, also being echoed through the cave's chill, was the only response he made to her for a moment. "If you opened herself to the force, more often, apprentice, you would know."
With nothing but advice from her master, she did as he said, letting the force enter her. Feeling life around her and the continued fading ripples of the slaughter outside the mouth of the cave, she scanned her area. Though there were bugs and smaller reptiles that resided in this cave, clinging to its walls, there was one life aura that she detected, one that was close to them.
Alarm shocked her nerves and she went into motion as her instincts commanded her body to action. Whirling around to the danger that was behind two rocks, she activated her lightsaber and swung it at their ambusher. A Lizarkon hid behind the two rocks and thought he could attack them when they were close enough. But he was mistaken, when he went out of his hiding spot and trained his rifle at Vader, her blade, in a blur, cut off his hand that held the weapon, then his crocodile-like muzzle mouth.
A green scaly hand, a wooden projectile rifle, and an angular reptilian mouth fell to the rocky floor along with the man that once had these. When the Lizarkon attacked and utterly failed, Darth Vader stopped his walk; he made no attempt to defend or even properly react to the ambush; he halted as if it were an inconvenience. This was brought to Angelicus's attention as she deactivated her lightsaber and theorized that he sensed the attack long ago.
Vader pivoted to see the pathetic hunter struggle to breathe as half of his face was cut off and simmering off smoke. The Sith master looked at her and said, "You should have taken his head off, Angelicus. But I suppose we can salvage this." He said while folding his arms, "Since you have been pestering me about it, I shall teach you how to heal your wings so you may not bother me again about it."
She was filled with unbridled anticipation as he said those words and restrained herself so that her heart and thoughts wouldn't change his mind. "Of course, master."
He pointed at the near-dying reptilian hunter, "Healing from the force is not like any other technique, apprentice. Like how I said about users of the light side, they draw their power out of "selflessness" and therefore restrain themselves. We Sith, however, get our power from within and are free to use it for whatever purpose." He objected to himself, "But this has some consequences in specific abilities, including force healing. Lightside adepts can heal themselves and others with the same difficulty as lifting a pebble. Those who ally with the dark side will find this technique…challenging."
He pointed at her, "But this is not impossible. Rather, it is a continued test for us from the dark side so that we may always gain power inward. If you want to heal your wings or any other part of your body, you must feed off the pain, suffering, and agony of others and convert that to your strength."
Her eyes, desire in them, naturally drew to the Lizarkon on the ground. She studied him for a moment; his eyes were starting to roll back, the half-taken, burned mouth now stopped sizzling and trickled blood out, his body twitching. In all of this, she could feel the absolute pain that ran through his nerves. What seemed like an eternity, she lifted her hand up and began what her master told her to do.
She drew in his pains and suffering to herself as if it were a thick, desirable aroma, a taste that made her mouth dance, feelings on the blue body that her electrified skin. In heavy concentration, she absorbed all of this and began funneling it into her black, damaged wings. At first, she felt nothing, but time passed and she felt the noticeable shift. The bones that were cracked unnaturally began to shift closer, tendons and joints healing as they should.
As the well of energy died when the essence of the Lizarkon left his body, Angelicus felt rejuvenated, and her wings felt somewhat better, though not fully healed. Exiting out of her meditation pose, she attempted to unfold her wings but still felt the hard pain enter them. She hissed at the pain and stopped her attempt. They were still damaged, which frustrated and angered her.
She gazed at her master, who only stood and watched. "Impressive…" he announced with a rare praise. "Ever so slowly, you are letting the dark side in you, and for doing so, its principles are feeding your power."
Darth Angelicus looked back at her wings, longing for them to be healed and her ability for flight. "It wasn't enough still…"
"The road to the dark side is not easy; you should know this by now. If you want more of its gifts, you must show your worth to it. Much like how many suitors desired you and attempted to prove themselves to your feet, you must show the dark side you are worthy. Then and only then can you achieve what you want."
She made her eyes go over to the now-cold body of the Lizarkon. "Why are we here specifically, master?"
Vader didn't say anything, instead, he continued walking down through the descending tunnel. The path led them down to a large cavern formation; what was inside the cavern made the Havanian's eyes go wide.
In the natural chamber, limp and foul-smelling, was a corpse of one dangerous animal that even she would know—a Carnorite. Worm-like, having multiple massive tentacles at the base of its body and a row of huge dagger-shaped teeth, the carnorite was known to be Almerac's most dangerous animal, and its name for ferocity reached to certain parts of the galaxy.
A cave dwelling ambush predator in nature, the animal would live most of its life in cave networks such as this. With its long tentacles, it could spread its limbs through the cave tunnels in search of food. Its mode of attack is to lay its tentacles at the bottom of the cave and wait, during which the creature could go out without food for almost years, until prey stumble upon the sensitive tentacle.
Each tentacle appendage has sensory organs that can detect moisture, vibrations, and scent. Once detected as a suitable meal, the tentacle would coil around the prey and, with its unique ability, electrify the animal to the point of death. Finally, the tentacle would return to the main body with its cooked meal and eat it. When Carnorites were more common, it wasn't bizarre to see the beasts at the height of forty meters. Some legendary specimens of the creatures were said to be as tall as near hundreds and fifty meters and tentacles close to the length of a mile.
However, the majority of the species was driven into extinction by the expanding Almeracians during their prehistoric era; the only ones that weren't affected were the ones in the forbidden jungle, for the wilderness was too dangerous to expel the animals. Even so, not many carnorite's exist out of Almerac, say for ones in the hands of a few zoos, private animal collectors, and in the rings of animal fighting organizations. Still, it was highly expensive to grab a piece of carnorite, let alone a whole, alive one.
With its long neck dangling down to the side and tentacles still, from bullet wounds and the pieces of rope around its body, it looked like the animal succumbed to the hands of the Lizarkon, which would explain why there was a whole party of them outside and one in the cave. Though she cannot determine how specifically they manage to kill such a behemoth of a creature, in the end it doesn't exactly matter; both parties involved are dead.
Both Sith stopped right at the threshold where the tunnel ended and the cavern began. Vader, while the young Havanian was observing the grand size of the carnorite, fixed his eyes on something that wasn't too far from the giant corpse. With no word of explanation, he walked in the direction as Angelicus followed.
When Vader stopped and looked down at something on the ground, she went to his side to see what caught her attention. Close at the bottom of the dead carnorite was a nest consisting of dead plant matter with some bones here and there. In this mess was a clutch of orbed-shaped white eggs; all but one were cracked open, gushing yoke and amniotic fluid. From obvious signs, the carnorite was in fact a female and a mother who fought to the bitter end to protect her offspring.
Angelicus stood by her master, could only stay silent, and didn't ask a question on why he wanted to see the patch of eggs. What happened next involuntarily clamped her mouth shut, as if a pair of hands closed them.
Darth Vader kneeled down in order to pick up the only undamaged carnorite egg and cupped it in his black gloved hand. Standing up, Vader didn't say or do anything for a long moment; only observing the egg in his hand. Though she thought he would just crush it in some show of merciless force, as he showed to the Lizarkon, he instead brought the egg chest level and had his other hand hover over it.
Then it hit her through the force; massive energies from the dark side were funneled into the egg; her master was the conductor of such movement. Dark power warped and shimmered around them. She couldn't explain why or how; she only knew what. Energies in the force condensed, as if Vader were compacting coal with intense pressure so a shining diamond could be created; he was doing so through the force.
Time passed, Vader dropped his hand and once again stared at the egg. She felt a little spark in the force luminate as the egg moved without Vader doing it. It jiggled and sporadically moved until she heard and saw a crack form in the shell. The crack grew big, then something started to break the seal and make its way out of the egg. She heard the unpleasant whining of the carnorite hatchling as it liberated itself from its natural prison by cracking half of the egg off.
The carnorite looked different physically as its aura was so that in the force. It was red instead of the usual orange; it had more savage-looking teeth; it had spikes growing out of its skin. In the force, it was like it was born out of pure dark side energies. A spark of energy was the wrong way of putting it; it was more of a small spec of darkness.
She paused her observation when her eyes drifted down to the other damaged eggs. She saw that there were no visible fetuses, no small carnorites to show any stage of their development. The eggs were laid not too long ago and had no time to develop a proper creature. Then she realized in a thunderstruck surprise that the undamaged egg Vader had in his hand most likely had no fetus either, so it would've been yoke if Vader cracked it open.
That's not what happened; the egg would have been useless, but Vader gave it purpose. It had used the darkness to make the egg develop a fetus and make an offspring created by his own hand.
He had used the force to create life.
Was this a technique he would show her? Did this pertain to Sith alchemy? Sorcery? Would she be able to perform such a feat?
Vader dropped the wet, red carnorite; it writhed onto the dirt as the first moments in its life were the face of the Sith and in the hands of a dark lord. Yet, Sith carnorite seemed undeterred; it slimed its way back to Vader's boot, as though it already demanded a command from its master—its creator—and whirled its sloppy tentacles over Vader's polished metal boots, as if seeking comfort.
Still not saying a word, Vader motioned a finger, and the hatchling seemingly obeyed the silent telepathic command with no hesitation on its part. It crawled its way to the cracked shells and guck that would have been its siblings and began to feast on the yoke; devouring and sucking the spilled contents of the eggs.
Angelicus was still stuck in silence for a moment but managed to conjure a question. "Will you be teaching me that—,"
Vader shortly and deliberately cut her off, "That is of no true concern, Angelicus." He turned to her, "What you have just seen, is the many things the dark side of the force can do. But if I were to be inclined to continue further and regard the power of the Lanterns, do you think a Green Lantern would have been able to perform such a feat like that? Can their rings bend life to their will?"
Angelicus conceded to her master's point of view, "No, master."
"The powers of the lanterns are nothing more than a cheap imitation of a grander source. The powers of the Sith," Vader said, "Use the dark side, for nothing can get rid of the dark."
The two traversed back upward through the cave tunnel after Vader communicated with 11-4E to bring the baby carnorite back to the castle. Questions were brought up in her head as the shaft up ahead was getting brighter.
What Vader had done in the cavern—was that a show of power to her or just an experiment of some type? The way he spoke to her when she asked the question, he seemed dismissive about it. She thought about asking him more on what he did, but decided to leave it, her master's patience can drop instantly if one pesters him with questions like that.
Yes, the abnormality still lingered in her memories, but she switched to another topic that is more concerning in her perspective: What is Vader planning for her? Why did he bring her to the Lizarkon hunting party? It wasn't like the Lizarkon proved a threat to Almerac or the Empire; if they were, the lizard men would have been dealt with long ago.
Vader would also not do this personally unless it owed some greater purpose. The only reason why Vader conducts most of her training in the jungle is to test her relentlessly. Was another test waiting for her? Had Vader planned this out?
"Organize your thoughts, Angelicus, so that you can order reality around you with them. If you let them run amok, then your position in the mundane will mirror so."
Vader's amendment brought Angelicus out of her internal stupor and focused on the matter at hand. She constituted her mind and sharpened her senses so that she may be prepared for any situation Vader or the jungle may throw at her. She detected multiple sentients through the force, not too far in front of them.
A breeze of foreboding entered her, and she faced Vader as the waning light of the surface was getting bigger. "Do you sense it, master?"
Vader slightly nodded. "I have, apprentice."
Her master made no stop or hinder his speed at the tunnel, only walking calmly and patiently. She went deeper into the force and found that another ambush was waiting for them outside of the cave; this time, however, there were a lot more Lizarkon. She couldn't say how they figured out they were in the cave; either by their senses or guessing who caused the slaughter outside must've entered the tunnel.
"What do we do then, master?" She asked, grabbing her lightsaber but not activating it yet.
Vader was silent, then said, "We show these reptiles the true Apex predators of this jungle." He grabbed out his lightsaber as well. "The Sith are such hunters; we herd and carrol sentient life for we know what's best for them and slaughter those who fall out of line." The signs of the outside world were getting bigger: buzzing insects while the smell of death was getting stronger. "But we do not butcher for the sake of it. We kill for the purpose of keeping and gaining power, but power, Angelicus, is a means to an end. Power is the path that lets us walk to our desires and dreams. We are not animals; we are architects of this reality."
She took a moment in herself, Vader's words reminded Angelicus of the wisdom of Darth Bane—the Sith'ari— and his opinion on killing.
"Our mission is not to bring death on those unfit to live. All we do must serve our true purpose—the preservation of our Order and the survival of the Sith. We must work to grow our power, and to accomplish that we will need to interact with individuals of many species across many worlds. Eventually word of our existence will reach the ears of our enemies."
Just when they crossed the threshold from the inky darkness of the cave to the dimming light of the jungle, Vader said his final comments to Angelicus, "Do not fear death, Angelicus; we are allied to the dark side, and for that we become death itself."
She wasn't surprised that he sensed her fear in the upcoming battle. When they exited out of the tunnel and into the death-stained small valley. As though the animals of the jungle knew it, sounds of birds chirping and bugs buzzing quieted and silent tension took over. Vader activated his lightsaber, and Angelicus' blade echoed the same 'snap-hiss'.
Breaking the silence, yells and cries were made by Lizarkon throats as they went out of their hiding spots; either from the jungle or the rocky escarpment, lizardmen made themselves seen so that they could train their rifles at the two Sith or rush them with blades and axes. Bullets crackled through the dawn air as rusty blades were raised in the air when the Lizarkon charged.
Vader made simple gestures, and the projectiles didn't reach their intended targets; another wave of a hand, melee, and ranged weapons alike flew out of their users hands and were crushed in the air into scrap junk. Lizarkon halted in their tracks and didn't fire any more volleys as their weapons were destroyed or terror struck their hearts. Bullets and whatever was left of their weapons fell to the dirt as silence fell upon the small valley again.
Fear was in the air now—in their eyes, in their bodies. It was palpable, and it sent energy through her veins. The two lightsabers still emitted their beams of energy in the color of blood, humming as if they were hungry for violence and melee.
Then, like a wraith, Vader made a burst of speed towards the cowardly, defenseless Lizarkon and began to hack them to pieces. His lightsaber became a fan of energy in the jungle as the light was beginning to disappear; it sent smells of charred meat in the air as he butchered the Lizarkon.
Some grabbed their knives and continued their charge at the Dark Lord, but were bisected or reduced to mush from dark energies delivered by a wave of a hand. A few grabbed projectile pistols and fired at Vader, but the Sith deflected the fire back with his bare hands, cutting them down with his lightsaber, or having the force to turn the bullets completely around back to their sources, as if they were afraid to touch him.
As Vader cut down five screaming Lizarkon by the waist, one brave man managed to come behind the Dark Lord amidst the frenzy and lift a pistol to fire up at the back of Vader's head. The bullet went out of the muzzle in a blast and had a clear path to Vader's helmet. As though it ricocheted from an invisible wall, the bullet went straight back to the Lizarkon when it traveled just the halfway distance between when it left the gun and Vader's head. It retained its speed, so the reptile couldn't react, and a chunk of the Lizarkon's head blew off and the reptile crumbled to the dirt.
The Dark Side clashed like angry waves, whipping a torrent all around; the eye of that storm was Vader. Fear was the wind, but instead of expelling the jetstream outwardly like an other storm, Vader was pulling it toward him, feeding off of it. So much was the dark side in a state of mania that Angelicus was caught in that strong wind.
In her vision, because of their slightly similar appearance to Gordanians due to their reptilian nature, Lizarkon frames and physiques were replaced by Gordanians. At first fear rose up in her, but immediately she grabbed that fear and used it for her own strength, just like what her master instructed her on how to do so. Fear turned into anger, then to blistering hate.
In burning hatred and in a sense of euphoria, she dashed forward and began to hack and slash the Lizarkon alongside her master. Dark energies rushed through her blood, acting like an adrenaline—no matter of drug or substance could replicate the feeling. Her lightsaber became a blinding light of hateful crimson. It took the lives of Lizakron, who tried to defend themselves, play dead, and flee. But all were powerless and were slaughtered like animals.
The currents of the dark side took hold of her, and she didn't struggle or try to escape its grasp.
In this miasma of pain, despair, horror, fear, and life energies released, Angelicus sucked it up like a whirlpool to her own essence. She could feel her wings coming back to their original health, though slowly.
When Vader rid the closest Lizarkon of their heads, Vader took his attention to the ones on top of the sloped escarpment as Angelicus continued her trance-like frenzy. He made his free hand go to the side; the mountainside shook as if an earthquake occurred, and rocks began to tumble down onto the Lizarkon, who perched themselves on the area. Either were crushed to death or fell from their spots.
The last of the hunters succumbed to bolder, and with no clear advantage, all of the Lizarkon that hadn't already died or ran away fled away from the Sith. Though her instincts would have forced her to pursue their prey, Vader nonchalantly walked in their direction with no sign of urgency. Angelicus followed behind her master.
In a carefree walk, they followed the fleeing men who ran through the valley in a hurry and a blind panic. This caused them to run into a natural dead end where the mountain sides they found themselves in were too steep to climb up. Hope was lost and despair took its place as the two Sith methodically followed down to the dead end. Their lightsabers became brighter and brighter when they got closer, as Vader's breathing was the call of their impeded doom.
When the Sith were in view, most if not all of the surviving Lizarkon fell to their knees, grasping their hands as if in prayer and begging for the Sith to spare them in their guttural hissing speech. Vader stopped in front of the lamenting group with Angelicus readying to pounce at the lizards like a hungry bird of prey wanting to swoop down her talons on some sniveling lizards.
Vader, with his cold mechanical voice, called out in the night to the trembling group, "You all are guilty of thinking you can wound us and kill us. That is your fatal mistake, for we are Sith, and we do not take this transgression…lightly." He let his words sink into the Lizarkon as they silenced their begging murmurs. "But I will be merciful tonight." This surprised Angelicus and brought light into the lizards. Vader pointed at the group, "Elect eight members of your group to be sacrificed. If you all wish to see your families, then I suggest you pick them on your own terms and do it quickly."
This destroyed whatever hope was left in the Lizarkon as they looked at each other. Angelicus looked at her master with a puzzled look but didn't give a question to him. Lizarkon argued amongst each other, pointing fingers to one another and yelling desperately. A minute passed, and the group forced out eight men by pushing them out of the crowd and to the Sith.
Vader deactivated his lightsaber and beckoned the eight Lizarkon with a motioned hand. The eight Lizarkon were dragged through the air and were made to kneel before the Sith in a straight line. Vader then said to his apprentice, "Now, Angelicus, we will finish what you started; these men's lives are yours to strengthen your resolve and power. Release your fury at them and find the way to the dark side."
Angelicus looked at the kneeled Lizarkon and saw their pleading faces of fear. The trance-like state she was in when slaughtering the Lizarkon faded away at that point when chasing the group, it felt like coming off of a high—a bad withdrawal. A sense of guilt wrapped around her when she looked at her eyes, and she felt hesitant to do anything.
But looking further into their yellow reptilian eyes, her world flashed into her memories. She was back at the hands of the Gordanians; their laughter, them torturing her, raping, and doing whatever they pleased. Her cries of help and sympathy were not answered for those early days of hell.
In a moment, her blue eyes turned into the color of fire, and she snarled at the Lizards as the darkness woke up in her. In a delusional state, the eight men looked like the eight Gordanians who wronged her so many times. She remembered her first touch of the dark side—the beast in her taking hold, her thoughts in a storm of rage and anger. She remembered the slaughter she did, taking and ripping the Gordanians with her bare hands. She wanted to do it again, all over again.
Having the dark control her, she let it guide her hand to be extended towards the selected Lizarkon. Anger swirled in her so much that it couldn't be contained anymore, and she released it. Red electricity danced between her fingers and forked out of her hand. A storm of pure crimson, electrified hate poured from her hand and made contact with the eight. The chaotic barrage of red lighting engulfed the eight in a blinding light; their screams echoing through the jungle as lightning thundered; their screaming skeletons were intermittently shown in the bath of light. The group of Lizkaron that saw the show of torture were horrified, while Vader only observed.
She continued to send Sith lightning at the eight, pouring every ounce of bloody rage to them. Their insides were being cooked and bones being turned into ash. In the cacophony of lights and screams, their pain and torment were sweet as nectar and she absorbed it into her. She felt her body not only getting more power from their torture, but also her wings being healed. When she had enough, she stopped the red thunderstorm she conjured. The lightning ceased and revealed the black-charred, smoking husks that used to be the eight.
The survivors were only stuck in sheer awe and fear. Vader, though his expression hidden beneath his black mask, looked satisfied. In the aftermath, she felt something enter her, much like how there was a shift in her during the Lizarkon slaughter. Yet, this was no berserker state that was just a glorified adrenaline rush; it was like she uncovered a hidden truth about the universe and gained power from it.
Her world was filled with rushing energy, much like the one she unleashed onto her recent victims. She brought her light-blue-skinned hands to her face so that she could observe them and think of the power they possessed. She breathed in the charged air and noticed how it pulsed her heart and nerves with high-like, euphoric energy. Her wings stretched out, no pain, fully healthy now.
A breeze passed her, waving her long black hair in its current. In it, she felt the sharp whispers of the dark side proclaim her as a worthy follower.
Her master commanded the Lizards to leave, though this didn't shatter the feeling Angelicus was in. "Now go." He said, "And tell your people the fury of the Sith…"
Shivering Lizarkon fled, going around the two Sith and the stinking, smoldering bodies. Once alone, with no reptilian interlopers around, Darth Vader faced Darth Angelicus who was more reluctantly coming back into the material world. "You have now learned the most powerful weapon of the Sith," he said, "…Fear."
***
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