Sidious smiled to himself, feeling the hate roll off from the young Skywalker. Yes, he could use that. It only made the darkness stronger. It made him stronger and he could feel it wash over him in refreshing waves. It was the same hatred he felt radiating from Vader despite his apprentice's efforts to hide it.
But Vader was weakening. Every day he could feel that strength faltering. Perhaps it wasn't entirely because of the state of his health but also because of the presence of his son. Vader was becoming weak in the Dark Side with such a pull towards the Light once more. Palpatine would have to nip that in the bud sooner rather than later before Vader decided to move against him in any way.
"Your father has told me what he has taught you so we will not have to start over entirely." But of course, Vader would have taught his son more than what he would tell his Master. "I will push you during your training- we will see what you are capable of," he said with a nod. "That is why, effective immediately, you are being transferred to the Imperial Court. You have served well in the field but we both know you are capable of more."
He closed his eyes with a smile, letting the Dark Side surround him. Soon the ghosts of the long-dead Jedi Masters would be entirely wiped out by the corruption of darkness- this was no longer a place of Light.
"Close your eyes, young Skywalker. Reach out in the Force, feel the Dark Side. Tell me what you feel as you surrender to it," he said softly. He was going to show Luke a glimpse of what awaited him if he was just willing to reach out a little bit to grasp it.
Luke tried -- and entirely failed -- to hide his surprise at the news. Transfer?! No, he couldn't transfer to Imperial Center, to the court itself; it would limit what he would be able to do to for his father and the Rebellion, if not destroy his ability to help entirely. This really, really couldn't get any worse right now; he couldn't even find it in him to stomach replying and he really just wanted to punch a wall.
He slowly forced out a breath, trying to calm himself, but he was only marginally successful. Where he was and who he was with definitely served as a detriment to calm, so he just took a deep breath, counting off in his head as he let it out slow, before he closed his eyes and focused on the Force.
He hadn't really consciously focused on the Dark Side before; his father was content with him just making use of the Force, and letting him decide what he wanted to do with it. He knew Luke was strong, that he as an adult capable of making his own choices on what to do with that strength. Focusing just on one side while trying to hide that strength was proving far more difficult than he would have liked, especially in present company. It felt like forever before he finally managed something, letting out a shuddering breath.
"I feel... cold," he murmured softly, trying to hide his distress at it. "I feel the death that happened here, like it's happening now."
"Can you hear them?" The smile on Palpatine's face was cruel but satisfied. He had felt the deaths of each of the Jedi Masters. All except one but that one was only a matter of time- one Jedi Master could not take on the entire might of the Empire. The Inquisitors were wiping out the remains of the Jedi Order so Yoda was alone. He would make sure that little green traitor would not get his shriveled hands on his new apprentice.
"Go deeper, feel it surround you," he said quietly. "Do you feel what is under the foundations of the temple? This was once a sacred shrine of the Sith before the Jedi took it by force. Reach deeper and you'll feel the ancient power flowing through you."
Oh, he heard them all right. Luke had no illusions about the kind of person he father was, the things he had done; he knew he had been personally responsible for much of the death here. If it weren't for the Emperor, he would have offered those hurt voices something, some apology, some words of comfort, but he couldn't, not without being heard.
As it was, he didn't want to sink deeper; it felt gross, like he needed to take a million sonic showers, and it still wouldn't be enough to get him clean. But at the same time, he couldn't help but be curious; this was built on top of a Sith shrine? Who thought that was a good idea? He fought back a grimace, hesitantly reaching out and trying to feel out this shrine, but it was beyond his grasp, at least as things were at the moment. There was no way he could keep his presence in the Force tapered down, to hide his power, and try to reach for that distant, ancient dark.
Luke blew out a breath, half tempted to give up, admit weakness, but at the same time...
He grimaced in annoyance, more at his own curiosity than at Palpatine's goading, and allowed his control over himself to slip a little. His own light steadily grew brighter as he reached out for the dark, a metaphorical hand reaching out to touch it as his real hands clenched against his knees.
The Jedi and all that they stood for, all that they once protected, was gone. It was time for what was left to be wiped away and who better to do it than Luke? The hope of the Force, the hope of the Light Side, would be the greatest weapon of the darkness now.
Anakin had been limited in his ability with the Dark Side. He was powerful but something of the Jedi still remained no matter how much he had tried. But Luke was practically a blank slate. He smirked as he felt Luke reach deeper as the palace started to rumble. Something deep in the foundations, deeper than the Jedi had dared to go
Luke grimaced, dimly aware of Palpatine's words, but not really hearing them. The Emperor and everything in the room they were in felt like it was light years away, and his voice sounded like it was coming from the end of a long tunnel. He couldn't really see anything either, and felt his sense of self drifting blindly into the dark.
It was cold, so impossibly cold, to the point that his breath coming from his physical body was fogged.
"I can't see," he murmured, but he couldn't really even hear his own words.
"Yes, you can. You know not to depend on your vision but to reach out with the Force," Palpatine said as he walked around to face Luke. He could see Luke's frozen breath, knowing he was going deeper.
"The Force will guide you where you need to go," he said softly, reaching out himself to guide Luke along this dark path. He had guided Anakin down this path before, Luke would find his way as well.
Luke managed somehow to not recoil when he felt the Emperor come up behind him. Being physically before the man was bad enough, but in this... space, whatever it was, was somehow worse. Still, it was helpful, as much as he hated to admit that; something familiar, something he knew the shape of, brought what he was supposed to be looking at to clearer focus.
He wished it hadn't. He really wished he'd failed to see what the Emperor was trying to show him.
It was like a cacophony of atrocities, anger and fear and regret and something warped and twisted to the point where he was pretty sure his mind couldn't even process what he was looking at. He shuddered, hugging his arms to himself, wanting nothing to do with any of this but finding it difficult to look away at the same time.
"Don't be afraid. This power, this unlimited power, is yours to take if you dare to reach out," Palpatine murmured quietly. He knew what Luke was seeing, he had seen the same thing when he had first started down the path to the Dark Side. He saw the unlimited potential in that moment and he had done everything to hold onto it.
Now he would use this power to shape his apprentice. Where Vader had failed to fully grasp and understand the full potential of the Dark Side, his son still had the opportunity. "This is the heart of the Dark Side. This is what makes all things possible, things that you could not hope to accomplish without it."
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no subject
Date: 2019-04-19 05:29 am (UTC)But Vader was weakening. Every day he could feel that strength faltering. Perhaps it wasn't entirely because of the state of his health but also because of the presence of his son. Vader was becoming weak in the Dark Side with such a pull towards the Light once more. Palpatine would have to nip that in the bud sooner rather than later before Vader decided to move against him in any way.
"Your father has told me what he has taught you so we will not have to start over entirely." But of course, Vader would have taught his son more than what he would tell his Master. "I will push you during your training- we will see what you are capable of," he said with a nod. "That is why, effective immediately, you are being transferred to the Imperial Court. You have served well in the field but we both know you are capable of more."
He closed his eyes with a smile, letting the Dark Side surround him. Soon the ghosts of the long-dead Jedi Masters would be entirely wiped out by the corruption of darkness- this was no longer a place of Light.
"Close your eyes, young Skywalker. Reach out in the Force, feel the Dark Side. Tell me what you feel as you surrender to it," he said softly. He was going to show Luke a glimpse of what awaited him if he was just willing to reach out a little bit to grasp it.
no subject
Date: 2019-04-19 04:28 pm (UTC)He slowly forced out a breath, trying to calm himself, but he was only marginally successful. Where he was and who he was with definitely served as a detriment to calm, so he just took a deep breath, counting off in his head as he let it out slow, before he closed his eyes and focused on the Force.
He hadn't really consciously focused on the Dark Side before; his father was content with him just making use of the Force, and letting him decide what he wanted to do with it. He knew Luke was strong, that he as an adult capable of making his own choices on what to do with that strength. Focusing just on one side while trying to hide that strength was proving far more difficult than he would have liked, especially in present company. It felt like forever before he finally managed something, letting out a shuddering breath.
"I feel... cold," he murmured softly, trying to hide his distress at it. "I feel the death that happened here, like it's happening now."
no subject
Date: 2019-04-23 09:51 pm (UTC)"Go deeper, feel it surround you," he said quietly. "Do you feel what is under the foundations of the temple? This was once a sacred shrine of the Sith before the Jedi took it by force. Reach deeper and you'll feel the ancient power flowing through you."
no subject
Date: 2019-04-30 12:52 am (UTC)As it was, he didn't want to sink deeper; it felt gross, like he needed to take a million sonic showers, and it still wouldn't be enough to get him clean. But at the same time, he couldn't help but be curious; this was built on top of a Sith shrine? Who thought that was a good idea? He fought back a grimace, hesitantly reaching out and trying to feel out this shrine, but it was beyond his grasp, at least as things were at the moment. There was no way he could keep his presence in the Force tapered down, to hide his power, and try to reach for that distant, ancient dark.
Luke blew out a breath, half tempted to give up, admit weakness, but at the same time...
He grimaced in annoyance, more at his own curiosity than at Palpatine's goading, and allowed his control over himself to slip a little. His own light steadily grew brighter as he reached out for the dark, a metaphorical hand reaching out to touch it as his real hands clenched against his knees.
Somewhere deep in the palace, something rumbled.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-05 03:19 am (UTC)The Jedi and all that they stood for, all that they once protected, was gone. It was time for what was left to be wiped away and who better to do it than Luke? The hope of the Force, the hope of the Light Side, would be the greatest weapon of the darkness now.
Anakin had been limited in his ability with the Dark Side. He was powerful but something of the Jedi still remained no matter how much he had tried. But Luke was practically a blank slate. He smirked as he felt Luke reach deeper as the palace started to rumble. Something deep in the foundations, deeper than the Jedi had dared to go
no subject
Date: 2019-12-09 12:33 am (UTC)It was cold, so impossibly cold, to the point that his breath coming from his physical body was fogged.
"I can't see," he murmured, but he couldn't really even hear his own words.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-14 11:34 pm (UTC)"The Force will guide you where you need to go," he said softly, reaching out himself to guide Luke along this dark path. He had guided Anakin down this path before, Luke would find his way as well.
no subject
Date: 2020-01-01 04:05 pm (UTC)He wished it hadn't. He really wished he'd failed to see what the Emperor was trying to show him.
It was like a cacophony of atrocities, anger and fear and regret and something warped and twisted to the point where he was pretty sure his mind couldn't even process what he was looking at. He shuddered, hugging his arms to himself, wanting nothing to do with any of this but finding it difficult to look away at the same time.
no subject
Date: 2020-01-01 08:32 pm (UTC)Now he would use this power to shape his apprentice. Where Vader had failed to fully grasp and understand the full potential of the Dark Side, his son still had the opportunity. "This is the heart of the Dark Side. This is what makes all things possible, things that you could not hope to accomplish without it."