Disclaimer : This is a work of fiction. I don't mean to state anything about the sexuality of Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen or anyone else.
Note : This story of mine will only make use of the Star Wars characters, and will barely follow the Star Wars story, if at all.
Planes of Gray - chapter 2
Descending down onto my quarry, I set my lightsaber in position for a deathblow. The best option when dueling a Force sensitive was to end it quickly, and cleanly. I could see him now, a man of average height totally concealed in a dark cloak. His face was a shadow, but a beam of light revealed a malicious smile, and named him as human. For a moment I thought he would merely stand there and die by my hand, but as my saber went in for the kill, it struck his saber blade, yellow sparks showering off the collision as the two blades met, red on purple.
There we stood, our sabers locked in a battle of strengths, his lips now grimacing with effort, my face a portrait of cold determination. Force sensitive channelers occasionally reared their heads, and I had come across a few in my lifetime. Without the proper Jedi training, they were all tainted with the Dark Side in some way. Very few had managed to construct a lightsaber, and all of them died within moments of confronting a true Jedi Knight. This man was different. So close to him, I could feel his power. It was similar to mine, which would normally be considered a very rare find. The Dark Side rushed through him like a dark vortex, its torrents so powerful, that I nearly lost my concentration twice. What was he? Could he be... a Sith Lord? They had been extinct for over a thousand years, slain by their own hands. Yet how else could I explain his power, his saber and the fact that he'd lasted more than minute in a duel with a Master such as myself?
Growling I pushed his saber off of mine, and attacked as aggressively as I could. I was far beyond even mastery in wielding a saber, but for every move of mine, he countered with his own. I knew almost every Jedi form, but he moved with a serpentine action which forced me to adapt my defenses several times. There we danced with our sabers, a furious blur of motion guided by the Force. Many times I came close to cutting of his head, but twice his saber missed my heart by less than an inch. On we fought at an impossible speed, until I felt weary even with the Force flowing through me. Suddenly he flipped back and landed on some high containers twenty feet above me, his dark demeanor staring down at me from his vantage point, the saber illuminating his high point in a red glow.
"You are powerful, Dark One. In the end you will fall by my hand. No one has ever survived a duel against me," I said gravely, my eyes glaring up at the silent presence.
He laughed a scornful, mocking cackle. "Fool Jedi. I sensed your power years ago, and I now you are mine to collect."
I laughed. "As I trophy I suppose? A fool for challenging a Jedi, and double a fool for challenging this Jedi."
He laughed again, his wheeze nauseating me. "Slay? No! I wish to train you."
Shock hit me like a gale. Train me? "I may be exiled, but I will never turn to the Dark Side! I sense you now. So... the Supreme Chancellor is a Sith Lord. Now you are exposed. You are finished however this ends."
I expected a terrible rage to flow from him, but he smiled widely. "You are the fool, Deryk. Only one attuned to the Dark Side could penetrate my illusion."
Once again I felt shocked, but my disbelief was corrupted by a deep intuition that he was telling the painful truth. Impossible! "No! Liar! Just like all the Sith, you are using falsehoods to corrupt the Jedi!" I was angry at his attempt to fool me, and when I realized that, I felt a deep sense of panic rise up in me. Anger. I felt angry. It felt wrong, but strangely exhilarating.
"Am I lying? Why have you never sensed me before? Why have none of the other Masters who claim to see so clearly through the Force sensed my presence? Yet within minutes of our meeting, your gaze has pierced my deepest levels. Am I still a liar, Deryk?"
I closed my eyes, feeling the Force. It felt different, and when I really felt it I realized that the difference was terrible, and horrifying. I could feel the Dark Side, feel its insidious entrance into my soul. How could this have happened? I let the blade of my saber fade, and placed it in my belt. As soon as I did this, the Sith Lord jumped easily to the floor, and walked toward me, his own saber now sheathed.
"What do you want with me?" I shouted. "I don't need the Dark Side! I'm going to reverse this corruption and get on with my new life. Now leave me alone!"
His face was serious. "We both need things in life, Deryk. I need to teach, to have someone as an apprentice in the Dark Side. You need love. You need Anakin."
I gasped, and took a step back. "How do you fucking know that!?" I screamed. "Tell me, you fuck, or I'll make you beg for death!"
He calmly continued striding in my direction. His face was still serious, and eerie. He lifted the hood of his cloak, and I saw that he was indeed, Chancellor Palpatine, his face full of deep sympathy, but surely fake. Surely! "The Dark Side allows unique abilities, Deryk. I foresaw that you and Anakin would be together one day, but only the Dark Side could tell me this, and only the Dark Side can help enforce it. Without it, Anakin will never think on you again. Never, until you grow old, die, and fade to ashes."
I turned my back on him - not a wise choice with a wielder of the Dark Side behind you. I couldn't help it. My eyes were tearing and I was ashamed. Even the Chancellor knew who I was, and I still had some pride to maintain, even in my disgraced state. I wiped my eyes before the tears could escape, and I sniffed my already running nose. "They denied me any form of emotional attachment. I just wanted to be with Anakin. It wasn't as if I would stop aiding their cause. I'm one of the greatest who've ever lived! But they wouldn't listen. And now... now I've lost any chance I had to be with him." I covered my eyes with my hands.
"There is only one way that he will ever be yours. You must submit to my authority as your Master, and I will teach you to wield the powers which will change the tides of fate." His voice was slow and calm, and logical.
I knew he was corrupted. I knew what the Dark Side did to a Jedi, but I was prepared to pay the price to be with Anakin. I would do anything to be with him, even tear my own soul to pieces. I remained stubborn though. "Why should I bend knee to you, Palpatine? What gives you the right to claim the title of Master over me? Should I not hold dominion over you?"
He snorted. "I have already proved how powerful the Dark Side is. You may be as great as any three Jedi, but your knowledge of the Force in its entirety is sadly lacking. In time you will have powers you will not believe were possible, and no Jedi will be able to stand against you. And I mean no Jedi."
I gravitated toward the promise. I needed Anakin. My very soul cried for him. If I needed to touch the Dark Side to get what I needed, then I would. I could always repent later. "Very well. I submit as your apprentice, but I bow to no one." I stared at him defiantly. He smiled widely.
"Good. You are aggressive, and powerful. You will strike terror into the Jedi. Your old name, Deryk, no longer means anything. Now you are Lord Syrin, a Sith Lord."
I bowed my neck in acceptance, but maintained stubborn eye contact. I felt a heavy mantle settle on me, and my emotions surged like they had never before. "As you will it.... Master."
Anakin tossed and turned in his bed that night. He hadn't been able to concentrate ever since seeing Deryk in a near hysterical state the previous day.
He'd met Deryk a few years ago. Deryk was a legend as a Jedi. He had often been told how amazing his potential was, but he used to doubt he could ever surpass Deryk in any way. He'd fought alongside him in a few skirmishes and he'd been reduced to a shocked silence after watching Deryk blaze in battle. Yet there was something else about him. Anakin felt an intense attraction to him, which he couldn't put his thumb to. He'd never thought of himself as gay. Indeed, most Jedi never thought of themselves as anything except Jedi. Deryk was different. When Anakin looked at him, he felt his heart beat in his chest, and sweat form on his back. The desire to rush up and seize him with a deep kiss was almost too much to resist, even for a Jedi. Deryk was a perfect package in every way. He was tall and hot. He even moved in a sexy way, like a leopard prowling casually through the savanna grasses.
Anakin sighed in disappointment. He'd tried several times to initiate a friendship with Deryk. If he could just get his foot in the door, perhaps something could develop from that. It was very frustrating. He used all his best moves on Deryk. He'd joke around him, and even casually rub up against him, but whenever he thought he'd made some sort of breakthrough, Deryk would catch fright and flee. Well, he wouldn't flee literally in most cases, but his behaviour would change. He would shift from friendly to aloof and uninterested, or from sweet and shy to arrogant or proud. Anakin thought that perhaps he was disgusted by the idea that another Jedi would try and cross that boundary. He had been sure, but he had caught Deryk staring at him hungrily on more than one occasion. He was certain those stares weren't innocent, mainly because he knew that is how he would look if he was caught staring at Deryk. It was this small kindle of hope which gave him the stamina to pursue Deryk over all these years. Nothing had happened yet, but Jedi lived very long lives, and he was willing to wait for that prize.
He tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Deryk's face was painted across his dreams and it drove him mad with lust. One day he would be with Deryk.
The next morning...
Mace Windu and Yoda stood at the window of the council chambers staring at the rising sun over the Coruscent skyline. It was a beautiful view. The city covered the whole planet, but it bustled with its own life, and the sun reminded it on a daily basis that nature was everywhere, as was the Force. Silence reigned supreme in the room as the two sole occupants deliberated calmly.
"This could mark the end times for the Jedi," Mace Windu said, lowering his head.
Yoda looked at him. "Don't give up hope, my friend. His power is great indeed, and he would not have turned unless a greater power or an equal one had offered him something of indeterminate value."
Mace Windu nodded. "With two Dark Jedi of such strength moving freely within the galaxy, it will only be a matter of time before they clash with us."
"I agree," Yoda said. "The Dark Side cannot resist an attempt to destroy us. If Deryk comes for us, ready we must be. Evil and weak he has become, not stronger. His former brightness dimmed by a parasite on his soul."
"Perhaps," Windu said gravely. "Yet only a fool would try and deny the danger of a Sith Lord. I still do not know how it happened. I cannot shake the thought that we pushed him in that direction."
Yoda shook his head slowly. "No. The Dark Side is a kernel waiting inside each of us. With nurture it will grow, unless it is suppressed at every moment. By opening himself to passion, Deryk opened other doors. Stayed, he might have. Imagine the consequences of that... the Dark Side in the heart of the Jedi Temple."
Mace Windu shuddered. It was a terrible thought, to think what a Dark Jedi could do if he could teach students and younger Jedi unabated. Yet Deryk was his friend, not just a Dark Jedi. Most of the more powerful Jedi would have felt it when he turned. He shone like a bright light in the Force, and his presence had been absorbed into the darkest midnight. Mace had known as soon as he felt it. It had caused a great disturbance in the Force. No matter what Yoda said, he felt guilty. Deryk had been an honorable man, and a mentor to many Jedi. He'd slipped in one area, and had been made to pay the ultimate price. What would he himself do if he'd lost his allegiance to the Jedi? Would that not be a fate worse than death? Perhaps he would even start to hate those who had done it to him. Still, he didn't believe that Deryk had turned out of vengeance. He couldn't read the Dark Side well, apart from recognizing it, but he could sense longing and sorrow in Deryk's new presence, and not hatred and anger. Those would come with time, of course. All the worst emotions in the galaxy spawned from the Dark Side, but Mace felt at peace inside just knowing that love had turned him, and not hate. It meant that there was hope, even though infinitesimally small. No one ever turned away from the Dark Side once they'd fallen. He sensed Anakin and Obi-Wan conversing a few levels below, he could feel the pulses of the Force rushing out from them as they argued once again over some minor triviality. It seemed different this time though. Anakin's disturbances traveled and then realigned before focusing on Deryk's heinous presence. Something very odd was going on there. Perhaps the Force was altering destiny to allow a clash between those two. Perhaps Anakin really was the only Jedi strong enough to match Deryk. Time would tell.
Mace pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked down at Yoda. "I will intercept Deryk. I sense his presence on Naboo, but for what reason I cannot say. I must catch him while he is alone. I cannot face him and his Master concurrently."
Yoda nodded and looked at his walking stick. "Go with you, I would, but I sense a disturbance centred around the Temple. If the Sith do strike here, then one of us must be here."
Mace nodded. "I agree. May the Force be with you, my friend."
"And with you, Mace," Yoda smiled, before walking away slowly.
Mace looked at his lightsaber and sighed. He despised using it, but if that was so, he was going to abhor using it for his destined clash with Deryk.
Anakin and Obi-Wan were walking through the main passages of the Jedi Temple. It was relaxing stroll. They had a long while before the next relevant gathering which they had to attend. Jedi passed them, occasionally bowing their heads and greeting them warmly.
"... it doesn't matter what you think, Anakin. You're wrong," Obi-Wan said directly.
"All I'm saying is that just because Deryk went off track once, doesn't mean he's a lost cause. You know as well as I do, Obi-Wan, that he's got all the right stuff to be a great Jedi." Anakin looked frustrated as he tried to put his point across.
"He was a Jedi, Anakin, but no longer. Not ever again. We can't have Jedi's like that running around in the Temple! Imagine how he'd taint the Padawans with his teachings. He as much as said he despises the Code!" Obi-Wan was starting to show frustration, surprised that his friend couldn't see the obvious.
"Well he's my friend!" Anakin shouted, before running off down the passage defiantly. Obi-Wan merely stood there and watched, slowly shaking his head. Deryk was dangerous, and even though he had been expelled from the Jedi, his influence still remained strong, especially in Anakin.
That evening I had abandoned my plans and flown with my new Master to his private palace on Naboo. It was ironic that the two darkest presences in the galaxy would choose such a beautiful planet to form a den.
"Your training will begin tomorrow. Rest, and feel the Dark Side," he said to me plainly before leaving me.
Moving to my bed, I fell onto it with a thump. Sitting on the corner, I placed my head in my hands and wondered how I could have fallen so far. Perhaps I had not fallen. I was merely doing what I had to for Anakin and I to be together. Yes, that's right. One day when Anakin and were united, I would put away all this Dark Side fodder and return to my former glory. I heard my conscience laughing at me, but I didn't care.
I felt like crying, and my head felt heavy in my hands. "Anakin," I said and reached out with the Force, now tainted with the Dark Side in me. I could see him in the Jedi Temple. I could feel enormous frustration in him, and almost anger. He seemed as tense as an elastic band, on breaking point. Suddenly he sensed my presence and looked right at me. Instead of anger, he smiled at me. I was so shocked, I released the Force and fell back onto my back in panic. Oh shit... he'd seen me. He must suspect! I had to make contact with him... but how? Kenobi would always be near him, and any other Jedi might attack him on the spot if they sensed the Dark Side in him.
Suddenly he had a plan. It was a long-shot, but if it worked, he and Anakin would be together... forever.
End of Chapter 2
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