literature

Nothing - A Star Wars fanfiction

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   I can feel the white hot anger coursing through me, like liquid fire pumping through my veins. I drag myself off the floor, shaking my head to clear it.
   I will do this. I will kill you.
   "Thought you could challenge me, apprentice? Did you honestly believe you could face me and come out on top?" Darth Vacuus asks me, his voice sounding rough, and mechanized through his breath mask.
   The hilt of my lightsaber flies across the room and slides smoothly back into my outstretched hand, igniting with a snap-hiss. The steady hum of the crimson blade seems to grow until it fills the vast emptiness of the ancient temple, echoing in the semi darkness.
   "Come apprentice. Come and test your strength." I can hear the laugh hiding behind his words as he ignites his own blade and settles back into a guard.
   He doesn't know the power I have, the power he trained me to wield.
   I leap forward with a cry of rage, spinning through the air to bring my blade down on his head. Our lightsabers meet and I feel the shock of the blow run up my arms and into my shoulders.
   Darth Vacuus is moving almost before I’ve landed, swinging horizontally with the all the power of his large frame behind it. I backflip, his blade missing me by inches as I dodge his blow.
   Landing, saber held out behind me, I watch him, waiting. His eyes burn with the fire of darkness and, staring into them, I feel like I’m falling, tumbling helplessly into an oblivion. A paralyzing silence falls over the room, disturbed only by the steady hum of our weapons.
   Then he jumps and the spell is broken. I snap back to reality. I feel, as if for the first time, the rock beneath my feet, hear the rush of air as his blade falls. I roll under him, then kick behind me, the heel of my boot smashing into his back.
   He grunts and stumbles forward with the impact, then turns to face me. I step forward to meet him, raising my blade. We clash hard, exchanging blows faster than the speed of thought. I struggle to match his style, finding his Juyo to be wild, unpredictable, and hard to counter with my Ataru. I pull the Force into my body, using it to heighten my senses and increase my speed and strength.
   I spin, jump and twirl, nothing more than a blur of deadly grace as we move across the polished stone floor. I swing and parry, each motion flowing seamlessly into the next, until I’m almost dancing, my red blade becoming a whirlwind of potential death and destruction.
   After what feels like an eternity, we break contact, stepping back to regain our composure.
   Darth Vacuus’ breath rasps through his mask. Sweat runs down my back, making my tunic stick to me uncomfortably.
   "You.....will not win this.....You were a fool to think..........you could kill me....." The Sith Lord pants, extending his finger to point at me. Then he reaches towards me with both hands and his saber hilt drops to the floor, seemingly forgotten.
   The air around me seems to harden and solidify, becoming a barrier between us. I find myself unable to move towards him. My ears pop as the air pressure increases and everything inside me feels like it’s being crushed. Suddenly I can’t breath. My lightsaber falls from my grip as I sink to my knees, gasping. The air seems to gain weight, pushing me down until I’m laying on the floor, twisting and rolling as I claw at my throat, desperate to escape the pressure. Pain stabs through me and I swear everything inside me is being torn apart. My heart pounds so hard and fast I’m convinced it’s going to burst from my chest.
   "You fool! You had potential. You could’ve been one of the greatest Lords of the age. You had true power. But you threw it away! Ambition is highly prized within the Sith order, but too much will get you killed. I thought I taught you patience boy!" He’s crushing me. I stare at him, eyes wide as I continue to choke, writhing on the floor in agony.
   No, it can't end like this.
   I will die beneath this invisible weight and I will never be able to realize my true power. My body convulses with another crushing weight and I feel something inside me burst. Blood trails out of my open mouth.
   No. I have power. And I will use that power.  
   I look at the Sith through the haze of Force energy that surrounds me. I hate everything about this hollow shell of a man, this animal who murdered my parents so many years ago.  
   I. Will. Kill. You.
   I gather the Dark Side like a cloak around me and the pressure lessens. I growl as I stand, slowly rising from the cold stone to face my old master.
   "I have.....more power...than you will ever understand." I grunt, every word conceived in pain. Then I throw everything I have at him. The pressure vanishes as he flies through the air, his back smashing into the wall behind him and sending cracks shooting across the face of the ancient stone. He slides to the ground in a cloud of dust.
   The first full breath I take is agony and I begin to cough. More blood. I wrap my arms around my chest and sink back down to my knees, gasping. Something inside me is broken, that much I can tell. How bad the damage is, I have no idea. For now, I can fight. And that is enough for me.
   I stand and my lightsaber flies to my hand. It ignites, filling the room again with it’s deadly hum. Darth Vacuus rises to his full six foot height and beckons me forward. I run toward him, determined to end this once and for all.
   I leap. A wall of energy flies forth from the Sith Lord’s open palm and hits me midair. I’m thrown backwards and across the room. Twisting my body mid-air, I arch my back, hit the wall feet first and spring off. I flip once, twice, then hit the ground running. Fifteen feet. Ten.
   I swing, thrust, swing again. Rage fueled by pain; this is what drives me. I can feel the Dark side of the Force in and around me. It burns like fire, and I use it, forging it into my weapon; a razor sharp tool used to wreak havoc on all who would oppose me.
   I hammer Dark Vacuus with blows, one after another, pounding his defenses with the powerful and aggressive form, Djem So.
   I swing downward for another blow. Darth Vacuus steps to the side, swings a fist. His knuckles hit my face and I stagger backwards. Before I can recover, he’s on top of me. I feel him grab my lightsaber, his large fingers wrapping around mine. He squeezes and the bones in my hand pop, breaking and snapping beneath his iron grip.

   I cry out as I pull my hand away, shoving him back. I clutch my broken hand to my chest, gathering the Force, fueling the Dark side with my pain. Pure, raw, hot; the energy swirls around me and Darth Vacuus hesitates, pausing in his advance towards me.
   I smile, stretch out my hand. The air crackles, hissing as if it were alive. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end. The energy grows until I can hold it back no longer. It bursts forth, breaking free and hurling itself across the space between us in the form of pure, hot, ice blue lightning. Like a chain connecting us, it arcs from my fingertips, clawing it's way through the air until it meets him.
   It seems to swallow the Sith Lord whole, engulfing him completely in a white hot net of electricity. The Force energy illuminates the cavernous space around us, casting everything in a pale, haunting, blue glow.
   I hear him scream, feel his pain rippling outward in the currents of the Force. And I smile.
   Then something changes. Something shifts in the currents of the Force and suddenly, I’m the one screaming. Lightning courses through me, burning, searing. I can’t see, can’t hear, can’t think. All I know is pain. I fall to the ground, writhing as I struggle to escape the web of electricity. Pain is all I know. Pain is what I am.
   Then it ends and I lay still, gasping, choking, crying, screaming, all at once.
   "I WILL KILL YOU!" I cough, spitting mouthfuls of hot blood. Smoke rises off my hair and clothing, my skin is cracked and red, my clothing charred.
   I point at the Sith, my hand trembling. "You. Will. Die." I rasp. My voice. It’s deeper than I remember. Colder, harder, rougher than it's ever been before.
   The Dark Side gathers inside me, filling every part of me, feeding off my pain, my hatred. The Sith reaches towards me, lightning arcing off his fingers. The energy curls around me, swirling and twisting around itself just inches from my skin. But I am protected. The Force is my tool, my weapon.
   I am the heart of the darkness. The words of the Sith Code give me strength. I am the destroyer of worlds.
   My entire body shakes. My vision blurs, turning almost red with my hatred for this man standing before me.
   I see him drop his arm. The lightning storm ceases. My lightsaber is still clutched in his hand. His lies on the floor between us. I pull it to me, feel it vibrate in my grip as it ignites. I step forward, ready to end his life.
   "Not this day apprentice. Surrender now and perhaps I will make you my slave. Surely you would prefer to be stripped of the Force and live a life of servitude, than to accept this death I will bring to you otherwise."
   "Surrender and death are for the weak!" I snarl. A drop of blood falls from my chin, sizzling as it meets the angry, red energy of my lightsaber blade. A moment passes in silence as we stare at each other. Then I strike. He parries, then slams his fist into my gut. I fall, roll, stand again, charge forward.
   I feel blinded by my rage. The Force is stronger within me than I ever thought possible. I no longer feel in control. It’s as if some animal inside of me has been released. This rage consumes every part of my being, taking over my mind, heart and soul and drowning me in darkness. It's overpowering. It smothers me, pulling me into an abyss. I fall, tumbling into it’s never-ending depths. It consumes me. Crushes me. Burns me.
   I black out momentarily. When I become aware of myself again, I’m standing over my master. He lays on the ground, holding his lightsaber above him in a weak attempt at defense. My arms rise above me, then smash downwards, pounding him with blow after blow. He parries each one with greater and greater difficulty. I will overcome him in a matter of moments.
   I should feel triumphant, victorious. I feel nothing but fear.
   None of this is right.
   I’m out of control, my body moving without my command, my mind being smothered by this power I’ve unleashed.
   It’s almost a foreign presence. A consciousness so vast, it can’t be comprehended or understood. It whispers in the back of my mind with a voice I cannot hear and in a language I do not know, yet it’s meaning is perfectly clear.


   I cannot be controlled. I am not your weapon, you are mine. You are nothing beside my power. Everything you were is mine. You are mine.


   My every thought, feeling, and sensation is drowned out by this voice. This silent voice that speaks not with sound, but with power. My mind is being torn from my body. I feel everything that ties consciousness to flesh being shredded, ripped apart. I want to scream. I am powerless to do so.
   It takes all that I am to hold on to myself, to break away from the Dark grip.
   I gasp, falling to the floor as it leaves me. I am left weak, hollow and empty.


   You are nothing.


   The words echo in my head and I am unable to banish them.
   Slowly, feeling and control return. Pain. My entire being aches, burns with the remnants of the Darkness that consumed me moments before. Now I scream. It's a pure, instinctive, almost primal sound. The sound of some animal, wounded and dying. Perhaps that's all I am. An animal, a beast.
   My cry turns into more of a whimper and I roll onto my side, pulling my knees up and wrapping my arms around my head in an attempt to stop the pounding.
   My master rises from the floor near my feet. He stands above me, slightly bent, one hand covering a wound in his side. Blood seeps from between his black gloved fingers.
   Did I do that? I do not know.
   I lift myself from the floor as well, moaning softly, and make it only as far as my knees. Everything inside me shakes and my limbs tremble. I cannot rise. The floor in front of me is bloodstained. My master’s boots are covered in dust. A red glow illuminates them suddenly and the silence is broken by the familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber blade.
   "And so it ends, apprentice. Now you die, though I will be hard pressed to find another student such as yourself."
   He buries his lightsaber hilt deep in my chest, the crimson blade burning through me to protrude from my back. My body tenses, resisting, and a choked half-cry escapes my throat.
   I'm sorry mother....father....I thought....if only I could learn his power, gain his knowledge, perhaps then I would be able to kill him and avenge you. I've been such a fool...
   Darth Vacuus deactivates the blade and the room falls into a sudden silence. A tendril of smoke rises from the hole in my chest, twisting and dancing around itself as it rises up into the darkness above.
   "I will admit it, boy. You were a skilled warrior and a powerful swordsman."
   I lift my head to look up, staring past my master as my eyes struggle to follow the grey tendril up and out into the vast, swirling, currents of the Force. "No, master." I whisper, not knowing whether it is I who speaks, or the Darkness within me.


   "I am nothing."

A short story I wrote a while back. Let me know what you think of it!

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