Ask Between a Rock and a River of Lava

[Veles]

Mustafar, Fortress Vader
2031 local time

It was on Mustafar and Dathomir that he felt the strongest, the two worlds complementing the sorcerer's skill set perfectly, the dreadful environment only serving to encourage him. Steeped in the dark side, he strode down the halls of Fortress Vader just as he had done infinitely many times over the past few years, his cloak billowing behind him. A few stormtroopers bowed as he passed, his steps big and quick. Veles had somewhere to get to.

Today was a special day, because today he would be able to pick the brain of a Jedi, which he was certainly intending to do literally if need be. Perhaps he would discover the location of some hidden Jedi bases and make history. Perhaps the Padawan was useless--as they usually tended to be--and then he'd be free to do with the boy as he wished. Veles always found it to be a waste killing Force sensitive life forms, and if given the chance, converting a Jedi would not only be a beneficial addition to the Empire's ranks, but would also serve to make him stronger as he learns to manipulate those around him. He'd brought a special artifact along for the interrogation, and he was looking forward to cracking the Padawan's spirit wide open.

He turned a few corners and headed deeper down into the lower levels where prisoners were kept and the interrogation rooms had been built. It did not take him long to find the room, since by now he knew the halls like the back of his hand. Besides, he could sense the Jedi, a dim light glowing amidst a volcano of darkness. A lost little lamb, surrounded by wolves with no one around to save him. They were far from any other territory save for perhaps the ISC, and there was no conceivable way the Jedi would sacrifice the resources necessary to storm Fortress Vader itself and extract a single Padawan. He just didn't want to think that they were that stupid. Regardless, security had been on high alert for the past few days, prepared for the worst and hoping for the best. Stormtroopers patrolled the perimeter of the Fortress, and others guarded the caverns below, which were in the process of being sealed after the Mustafarian attack a few weeks before. Veles had just met with the Empress a few days before the arrival of the prisoner, though he was sure she would have relished this opportunity as much as he did.

The Padawan had been transported from Dromund Kaas after his interrogation was derailed by several Acolytes all looking to get a piece of him. Veles found the lack of discipline not only irresponsible, but outright dangerous. Should something like that happen on the battlefield, there would be no Sith Lord to clean up the mess they leave behind. They would bleed out on the soil of a planet in an obscure corner of the Galaxy because they had been able to curb their arrogance and act like the soldiers they were.

His mind wandered as he walked, but his head cleared as he reached the door. Tapping the keypad a few times, the door slid open in front of him, and the Sith Lord stepped inside, where a stormtrooper and a probe droid were guarding the prisoner. "Leave us," he commanded, and the trooper left the room. "You too," he added, staring at the droid. It whirled around in confusion a few times and then whizzed out of the interrogation chamber, and they were alone. A vast array of instruments had been prepared for him on a table near the Jedi, but Veles lacked the psychopathic tendency to derive pleasure from damaging someone physically. When it was needed in a fight, it was needed, but other than that his battlefield was the mind.

"Hello there."

@Charles

 

[Severus Creed]

Mustafar was not anything like Dromund Kaas beside the fact that the Sith both equally plagued each planet. His interrogation on the later planet was extremely confusing and notoriously smelly, as the young Padawan remembered, and Severus was almost glad to have a change in his holding arrangement.

Well, that was until Severus felt the difference between the Dark Side. On Dromund, it was light, like a dark cave, but Severus could choose whether or not he wanted to go into it or simply stare at it and hope for the best. The sense of doom and dread that Severus felt was fleeting and short-lived- not like his experience with Darth Draugr and even Aziz back on Wayland. A similar shadow of cold and dread overwhelmed his senses when he was transported to Mustafar. Whoever was in charge here was something more than the Sith Lord on Wayland.

Already, Severus began to spiral, struggling to keep his thoughts in line. For his entire life he had been struggling with the Dark Side, and now the temptation, the shame, and the overwhelming sense of doom were all like a corroding acid that ravaged his soul. No one was coming to rescue him either because they despised the Padawan or because the wouldn't risk an assault on Mustafar anyway. It wasn't the Jedi way, either. To attack first was what the Sith's purpose seemed to be in this galaxy, so the Jedi could defend.

But now the Jedi were losing almost every battle they had with the Sith. It grew more and more hopeless for the black-haired Padawan as be began to think about it more and more.

Then, finally, the presence of darkness that had drove Severus nuts was standing in his cell.

"If you're here for secrets about the Jedi, I can't really help much. I'm a Padawan. Not a Councilor." Severus was choked up, and his speech was soft and sheepish. It was hard to even look at the Sith Lord without flinching. What had this monster done to create such a defiled aura?? Was Severus to die here? Was he to be tortured for this creature's pleasure?

"If...if you're going to...you know...make it quick. Please."

@vamp

 

[Veles]

He could already sense the conflict brewing within the Jedi, and it made complete sense that Mustafar would be wreaking havoc in a Padawan's mind. The circumstances likely only made it worse. Faintly noting that the Jedi kind of looked like Kylo Ren, he approached the table, picking up a long scalpel and running his finger along the hilt. He tapped the blade to his fingernail and saw it had been sharpened to be able to cleave through bone like butter. He set it down and turned toward the man strapped to the table.

"No? I would think the Jedi cared about those below them enough to treat them like equals," he remarked, injecting even more conflict into the boy's head. Even if the words did not make him doubt the Order, they would anger him. Veles did not particularly care, because he was going to be getting to the same destination in the end.

The Padawan could not even look at him and flinched as the Sith Lord just stood still, which pleased him because he knew that made this process even easier. He approached the table the man was tied to and reached out through the Force.

"I'm not calling you a liar, but I'll check anyway," he declared abruptly and then his tendrils struck directly into the Padawan's mind. He would easily break down the walls, soaring through them like a wrecking ball. He tore through everything in his way.

He saw Yavin IV, and the face of someone he knew was the Jedi Grandmaster. He felt peace, anxiety, stress, panic, and the smallest tinge of hate. He saw the Padawan's parents and felt the conflict within him. "Abandoned and ended up a Jedi?" he mused, his eyes closed and his hand outstretched toward Severus' forehead. Memories flicked through his mind--

An ignited crossguard lightsaber, the face of the Grandmaster, the utter feeling of helplessness and fear. "Don't kill me," the Padawan whimpered. Voran looked disappointed and perhaps even irritated. Did Jedi get irritated? He'd think that was against the code.

Severus, talking about becoming a spy. The Sith Lord chuckled a little to himself. Lightning, crackling and erupting out of the Padawan's hand in front of a Sith. Rage, hatred, uncertainty. He was an open book, and Veles very quickly assessed the Padawan.

"You fear her," he murmured. "And perhaps rightfully so."

@Charles

 

[Severus Creed]

"No...no they can't trust me." Darth Veles had a point, and Severus wasn't going to deny it. Everyone already saw Severus as a villain, and with the multiple accounts of interesting behavior that the Padawan had shown, there wasn't much to trust him with. He withheld two Sith lightsabers from the Masters, tempering with the darkness of one and hiding away the other. The Grandmaster had taken one, which had actually angered the boy. It was his! Severus won it. Not her.

Then came the frightening powerful mental attacks from Veles- something Severus had trained vigorously in defending against, but this circumstance made it hard for him to focus on what was in front of him. Fighting it only made everything worse- like knife cutting through his mind, any tense movement he made in trying to block out the Sith Lord felt like a searing heated blade stuck in his skull. Severus indeed felt helpless and hopeless as he let Darth Veles plunge through his past that Severus held so privately. The damnable parents that gave him up for money...the brands he received from Crimson Dawn as their Force sensitive slave...his friends at the Jedi Temple on Yavin...

Then, Veles touched memories that reminded Severus of how far away from being a true Jedi he really was. The day on Yavin IV when Severus was convinced the Grandmaster was going to kill him and he freaked out, drawing his lightsaber to defend himself. Except...it wasn't really Severus that was afraid. It was the nasty part of him that he felt was slowly growing inside it's little cage.

"She...saved me. Or I thought...Stop! Please...I'm sorry...I failed..." The last bit wasn't directed to anyone in particular, but Severus truly too depressed to actually give into any anger. He was pathetic. How could he have ever called himself a Jedi?

@vamp

 

[Veles]

"They demonize you because you're different," he lamented. "You are closer than them to finally striving to be the best version you can become, and yet you cower in fear at the prospect." The Padawan had not lied; the Jedi truly did not show him anything, though the insight he gained from the interactions with the Grandmaster was certainly worth the effort. Even if no strategic details had been gained, he now had the psychological advantage over her. He knew how to touch where it hurt now.

"She saved you?" he chuckled, a tinge of cruelty to his voice. "There was nothing she had to save you from, boy. She imprisoned you, tried to coddle you into an emotionless pawn for her use. To fail a dysfunctional order is to succeed in the end."

Gently and slowly, he pushed the doubt within the Padawan's mind. It was Veles' turn to show him what he wanted the Jedi to see. It was his turn to inject things that would plague the prisoner for months to come. There was no anger within him, not yet, but resignation could sooner lead to a blinding rage if one knew how to temper the flame into an inferno. It was what Veles was the best at.

Severus saw the Jedi striking down Sith, could feel the darkness that flowed through them as they snuffed the life out of their enemies even though it was against their doctrine. No one is pure, his voice echoed through the boy's mind. Some choose to live a lie, to pretend they are. The Grandmaster, and flicks of ash-covered battlefields in worlds she failed to protect. Corpses in the darkness of a smoke-filled sky, and the feeling of utter helplessness of watching your compatriots either die or flee, the fear of the tension that followed, the anxiety of being chased. Severus could feel, at last, all there was to feel, emotions that he had been denying himself and suppressing as a result of the weak Jedi upbringing.

He'd see himself, in Jedi robes, lightsaber in hand as he faced down a faceless opponent. Him faltering, choosing to parry and back off rather than go for the kill. Him making a deadly mistake only because he chose to show mercy. The assailant cutting him down and then beheading his master as he lay, dying, on his back. Illusions, yes, but they may as well have been the future, because that was where his path would take him.

And yet, Veles offered him salvation. He showed him the way out, opened the Padawan to allow the dark side to flow through him even against his will. He'd feel its power, would feel the confidence it gave him, the clarity to take charge of his destiny. Electricity crackled in the static air around them, the dark side looming like an evil presence over them.

"There is no light here, Severus Creed. And it is time that you renounce your weakness and rise stronger than before."

@Charles

 

[Severus Creed]

"I already know that!" Severus groaned in reply to Darth Veles' statement that Severus knew, deep down inside, but never spoke of out loud to anyone. The feeling of being held back was a constant with the Jedi. Somedays Severus wasn't exactly sure how powerful some of the masters had gotten without tapping into the Dark Side of the Force. No...no, Severus understood that there was great power in controlling your emotions- the Padawan was sick and tired of the criticism they all gave him on the rare occasions that he did use his emotions.

"No. She did save me." Severus, finally finding the fire inside him, looked up to glare into the Sith Lord's eyes. "Everyday...they pushed heated metal into my skin, leaving a brand of ownership. They fall all...over...my body. You know nothing...nothing of what I went through. Sure, you can see it- but you will never relate." And the truth was that very few could relate.

However, what took Severus aback was Darth Veles offering of...Salvation. For so long the Sith had been the enemy, and he felt that with the visions of himself fighting against the Sith. But Severus wasn't a monster. He never killed- never would kill -innocence like Aziz had on Wayland. Severus was not present on Felucia for that same reason. It did not seem very Jedi-like to invade and conquer like the Sith. Yes, Severus was no Jedi...but was the Sith Empire where he truly belonged?

"I will not...represent myself...with monsters who slaughter purely out of bloodlust." Severus stated firmly, still looking the Sith in the eyes. "I will not be forced into killing mindlessly...I won't be controlled. Not anymore." And that's when Severus felt the true power and promise of the Dark Side. With what Darth Veles offered would've been something Alexandria never would have even spoke of.

It was finally his freedom.

@vamp

 

[Veles]

The Jedi always claimed that there was strength in self-control. But there was no power in it. Their "strength" was useless if they didn't use it. They only regulated the Knights and Padawans, while the Jedi Masters and those above had much more free reign, and why? Because they were more powerful. Even within the ranks of the Jedi, power was everything.

"I've fought rancors with sticks and stones," he replied, venom in his voice. "I've looked into the abyss of the Cave of Evil and survived its mind-shredding illusions. I've fought and been harmed by all manners of beasts, many which you wouldn't even be able to imagine. Don't tell me about pain or suffering, boy. I know all there is about it."

He could sense the clash within the Padawan, could feel his soul tearing itself apart. One part of the boy wanted so badly to be a Jedi, to be a guardian of light, like those who saved him, except--

"Did they save you? Or did they merely intervene before you had the chance to save yourself? Think about it, Severus." He raised his right palm up and green electricity crackled among them, the shadows dancing on his face. "Would you have stayed there your entire life? Or would you have gotten sick of being subjugated, sick of the abuse, and taken charge of your own fate and struck down your captors? Could you have done that with the light?"

He didn't give the Padawan time to respond. "No. The Jedi would have taught you that lashing out is evil, even when you're lashing out to defend your life. That the dark is inherently evil and makes you a savage, as though it isn't simply just another natural aspect of the Force that binds our universe together. What would the light be without darkness?"

He withdrew from the Jedi's mind, because there was nothing more to see. Instead, Veles stepped back and surveyed the table as the boy thought. His eyes scanned all the tools laid out. Is that the kind of person they think I am? he wondered. Or is it just what they think a Sith Lord is like? The concept of a sorcerer using physical tools to torture someone was laughable. Veles could tear creatures apart with his mind and mold limbs back onto bodies. He didn't need gnarly-looking scalpels and sharp rods.

@Charles

 

[Severus Creed]

Again, Veles words placed Severus back onto the grinding stone, the beast within rattling the cage, begging and howling to be let out. It was too much for the Padawan- all of the hate he had...

And it wasn't for the Sith Lord.

The Jedi Order resurfaced to his mind, the greatest source of hatred the black-haired Force user had. They were not his family. Yavin was not his home. Alexandria was not his Master. She held him back constantly from his potential. The same potential a Sith could see- so why couldn't she? Severus Creed was Severus Creed, what more could she ask for?

This was why everyone hated him. They all knew of his power and they were all jealous of it. It was his. They would never have it. They didn't deserve it. You can't suppress an explosion, but you can run away from it before it catches you in the fire. That was going to be the Jedi's big mistake.

The memory of the Yavin Temple grounds with the Grandmaster resurfaced. Severus had wanted to serve Alex and she set him aside as if he was some puppy straight out of a newborn litter. He wanted her to hurt they way he did- to feel betrayed by someone you trust and love.

Finally, after years of holding back, Severus gave in and unlocked the cage to his beast, going limp on the table he had been strapped to. Then, the energy that he felt on Wayland began coming back to him in rapid pulses of crackling lightning. Severus let out the same howl of rage and agony that the little, and now big, monster inside him had been making his entire life.

In this fit of rage, Severus broke free of his bonds that held his arms and head down until he was sitting upright with his eyes closed.

Whatever was left of that Padawan had disappeared in that moment for Severus Creed was finally freed of all the chains that held him down, drowning him in the see of progress and power. There was a name Sev had given the beast that fueled him...Hiricine, the Untamed. That's what he aspired to be; Untamed, and never captive again.

"I...am no Jedi..." He muttered darkly. "But they...they don't know that. Not yet."

@vamp

 

[Veles]

The seeds of doubt had not only been planted, but also sowed, and Veles could sense that the boy didn't even need his pushing anymore. He had finally come to realize the errors in his ways, how misplaced his trust in the Jedi had been. The darkness of Mustafar, the dark side nexus below their feet, rose to meet the two Sith, coiling around them and spreading like fog. It poked and probed at the Jedi's being, trying to sneak its tendrils in.

And yet it didn't need to. The Padawan opened himself completely, and Veles watched as the power coursed through him--and such power! It was surprising to see the opening of a soul to the dark side. It was when one first opened themselves up to it that they felt it the strongest, and Veles could argue that it was the reason Sith sought the power out so much--they spent their entire lives chasing the high, and it was very rare that some actually reached it.

But the journey was half the fun. Severus would find that though he would not feel this power anytime soon, he will definitely experience things that may even be better. Veles stepped back as the restraints snapped, but did not flinch. He didn't even blink, fully aware that if the Padawan tried to even touch him, he was able to freeze the boy's body and make it levitate if he so wanted to. Not that he had to.

Severus, in a heap on the ground, had resigned himself from the Jedi teachings. Veles could feel it. He could sense the finality, could see as the boy pieced the pieces together and made sense of his doubts.

"Rise."

@Charles

 

[Severus Creed]

That power was brilliant- unlike anything Severus had ever felt before. It was derived from his deep felt emotions that the Jedi Order would never allow him to use to fuel his strength in the Force. All of a sudden, he didn't feel stuck and limited anymore. For the first time in a long time, he could see a future in which he had obtained everything he put his mind to. The Dark Side was the key and Severus was tired of being locked away.

It was time delved deeper into this new found freedom that slowly grew from the power of Fortress Vader. Coruscant had been his birth place and Yavin had been his prison. Now Mustafar, the planet he thought would hold him from what he desired forever, was the place he could call home. The familiarity of the Dark Side resonated well with Severus in this place anyway, a strange comfort he would've never had considered.

When Darth Veles told him to rise, he did his best to balance himself on his one foot due to the loss of his right leg on Wayland. The thought did not make him bitter, however, as that day had been the day he unlocked his true potential. Now he was facing a Sith Lord and felt ambition more than fear. Veles had earned Severus' respect and loyalty for he, too, had shown Severus where he truly belonged.

But the young man was not going to settle for some position of Acolyte, no, for he knew how his skill was far greater than some meager wannabe.

"Where do I begin?"

@vamp

 

[Veles]

Veles watched as the former Jedi rose, his demeanor different. The air around him shifted and stirred, a new tinge of darkness to it that was not there before and continued to grow and fester. This was the first time the teenager truly embraced the darkness inside, the first time he truly felt freedom. Veles could tell, could see the peace that had finally settled over his mind. A life of struggle and strife would be ahead for him, but that would only make him stronger. In the end, he would learn that it is in fact a blessing in disguise, though it may take some time to achieve that wisdom.

"You wish to prove yourself," he remarked, then turned around. "Follow me." A brand new prosthetic leg had been attached to the ex-Jedi while he slept, though it seemed it was still going to take some adjusting. They were Sith, not monsters. The door whooshed open as Veles held his hand out in front of the scanner and the two stepped into the hallway, illuminated by bright, day-like light. Since the Fortress' restoration, there had been some modern touches added, such as day-night cycles for the lighting and dedicated areas made to look like forests or clearings that played white noise and imbued the viewer into an artificial reality that filled their needs that the harsh wasteland of Mustafar cannot accommodate.

Veles lead Severus deeper down into the building, down several long hallways that were rarely frequented. The dark side grew stronger here, thickening in the air with every step forward, falling over them like fog. They stopped in front of the door at the end of a hall, and Veles pressed his palm to it, the Force coursing into the rock, which slid open as if it was the lightest thing in the world.

When they entered the chamber, the first thing that one's eyes always fell to were the stones in the center. Rectangular prisms made of blackened stone, runes carved onto their surface. They were lined up in a circle, a large slab in between. Not many knew, but this was where Darth Vader had opened a portal to exit the dimension and seek out the past. Truth be told, Veles considered that only he knew, because the Mask of Lord Momin had told him, and it had been a firsthand witness. It had been Darth Momin that guided Vader through the process, even though he later betrayed him.

On the slab lay the prone forms of a handful of Mustafarians. The aliens were in high supply these days on Fortress Vader as a result of the previous assault where the Empire had taken enough prisoners to fill up a decent amount of cells. This would be a good test if he was to induct the boy into the Sith.

One of the Mustafarians shifted in his slumber, breathing in deeply for a short moment and then relaxing completely, almost completely melting onto the stone like it was a mattress. Veles had stopped in front of the slab, and he turned to Severus. He reached onto his belt and unclipped a lightsaber hilt that did not appear particularly dark. There was, strangely, no aura of corruption within the kyber crystal, though the former Padawan may not notice.

"Kill them." He set his gaze down onto Severus, watching his movements, the Sith Lord simply stepping back and observing from several meters away. If the boy would ignite the lightsaber, he may be surprised to see the blade was blue. It would not take much deduction to realize how a Sith Lord may come across a Jedi lightsaber.

@Charles

 

[Severus Creed]

The new leg was a little awkward at first, but after following Darth Veles down into the lower and deeper regions of the Fortress, he began to grow a accustomed to his new limb little by little until he could use it as well as his left leg. The Dark Side was so prominent here, and Severus no longer felt bad about it being comforting. More so than the Light Side had ever been for him. This was home.

Severus had read about Fortress Vader before, back on Yavin, and little information was aloud on the topic besides the fact that the legendary Darth Vader once dwelled here. He wondered about what had been done and conceived within the depths of such a place.

When Veles came to halt before a strange grouping of rectangular stones with a single slab in the center. Mustafarians laid sound asleep among the strange architecture, and just before Severus was about to ask what he was supposed to do, a lightsaber hilt was propped into his hand and he was given his first assignment. It felt unfamiliar in his hands, leading him to wonder about his own cross-guard lightsaber. Darth Veles must have had it kept away until he could trust the Padawan.

Severus ignited the blade, unfettered by the blue glow. Part of him did wonder which Jedi Darth Veles had to kill to receive the blade, but he quickly shrugged off the distracting thought. It got the attention of one of the sleeping aliens who slowly slumped up to stare at it's impending doom. Hiricine was begging to let loose, and Severus felt the pull of that familiar power as he started forward toward his targets.

He cut them all down- every last one of them. Every cut off scream and howl proved to be nothing as he proceeded to end their lives- some even tried to beg.

Pathetic.

It was futile. They were all prisoners disloyal to Darth Veles, therefore, they had no purpose in holding the privilege of dwelling in Fortress Vader. Looking back at his new master, eyes glowering, Severus wasn't sure what to do next. Was the massacre all he wanted?

"Why the blue blade? Why a different lightsaber?" Severus had a feeling that this test had to do with whether or not Darth Veles could trust him. "And for the record..." He balled his fists, electricity crackling around his knuckles. "I will not be some lowly Acolyte."

@vamp

 

[Veles]

Veles watched on quietly, his gaze unreadable and his orange eyes set on the Padawan. He felt the two kills in the Force, could sense the ripples and more importantly, the darkness stewing within the former Jedi. He smirked slyly. Watching a Jedi murder two unarmed prisoners with a blue lightsaber was an interesting experience, but he enjoyed it. The runes carved within the stones came alive as blood poured down on the slab, glowing red within the ebony stone. The dark side hung freely in the air, the familiar scent of burning signifying that. Not many mentioned that smell of Force usage, but Veles was perceptive.

"Your lightsaber was 5 levels above," he replied casually. He looked down at the two corpses, sliding out his datapad and tapping away a bit before putting it back. A detachment would be coming down shortly for clean-up. Veles' gaze darted back to Severus. If the former Padawan thought he was going to be his master, the Lord would certainly have some bad news for him, because he was already mentoring someone, and three's a crowd.

"Though you've only recently opened yourself to the dark side, you do show promise in use of the Force. Perhaps there is some worth to you yet." Veles turned on his heel. Without another word, he began to stride back toward the stairs, to head back into Fortress Vader. Whether or not Severus trailed him, he knew the freshly minted Sith would find his way off-world. The Imperial agents would see to it, and would ensure he did not wander around too much.

@Charles