A/N: I don't own Star Wars, the characters Palpatine and Darth Sidious, or the idea of an origin story. Disney and Lucasarts gets the former two. I've no idea who has the last one.

The Ancient Jedi had a saying:

Life, death, and control.

There is power in all

But through Control, there is acceptance of the others.

The Ancient Sith had a much similar saying, except for the last line:

But through Control, there is power over the others.

The scholars in the Jedi Archives debated about this adage to no end. Some say the second was a bastardization of the first, used only to promote the selfish and power-hungry goals of the first Darth's. Some theorize it was originally spoken in a long-lost tongue, and it was a simple mistranslation that initiated the aeon's long conflict between the Light and Dark. Some still preferred to ignore the issue, saying none of it mattered now that the Darkness was defeated for good.

But there, meditating in the tallest temple of ashen Malachor, Palpatine knew the truth.

Yes, after six days of hunger, six days of thirst, six days of breathing the cinders left behind by Jedi "Crusades", he knew.

He heard the screams of the Ancient Sith, slaughtered by the "Righteous" Jedi, and knew that there was no Dark and Light. The visions he saw, flashing by his closed eyes like hyperspace, reminded him that all was subjective.

He exhaled and, for the first time in days, opened his eyes to see the darkness of Malachor. From the balcony he saw for miles in every direction. There were pyramids with tips glowing red, smaller than the monument he sat on but eclipsing any Jedi Temple save the one on Coruscant. All else was ruin, with bodies of the Ancient Sith burnt to ash and left standing in their resting places.

As he once more inhaled this ash, feeling the suffering of a thousand Sith coursing through him, Palpatine knew that there was only strength. The Jedi demonized the Sith, saying they were slaves to their passion and desire. They were hypocrites, slaves to their own doctrine and to the Republic. They covered up their own agenda with words of pursuing the greater good and protecting the peace, but Palpatine saw through their lies. There was no good and evil, only power. There was no peace, only order.

"The Force shall free me," he said into the air.

No sooner had Palpatine said it then he felt the presence behind him.

He jumped to avoid the lightsaber's strike, flipping behind his attacker as his own sabers snap-hissed in a glow of green and blue.

The attacker expected this and swung above in a wide arc. Palpatine swatted the blow aside, violently thrusting his second saber through the opening it created. The attacker swatted the blow away like Palpatine had done, and the frenzy began. Strike, block, slash, parry, strike, slash, clash. The two were locked in a dance, reading each other's movements with the Force with neither gaining the upper hand. Palpatine had learnt well. He never let up, unleashing a constant barrage of strikes against his opponent. He stopped only to block and parry, following that up with a newfound furry. He grinned. He knew he could win. His attacker slashed downward, and Palpatine caught the blade in a cross. His senses let him know that this was his chance, and he swiped his opponent's lightsaber away while slashing upwards towards the torso.

But his senses halted his movements at the last moment. His eyes widening, he quickly reached out his hand and blocked an incoming stream of lightning. He manifested his own lightning, creating a vergence where the abilities clashed. He began to sweat, and felt his arms numb. He looked into the eyes of his opponent and saw them grin in the glow. Palpatine grimaced and focused all his hatred into that moment, using all his willpower to stay connected with the Force. He was rewarded. The vergence began to creep towards the attacker and was certainly going to overpower him. Palpatine cackled, focusing on all that he had learned. However, he failed to see the glow in his peripherals and was left helpless as the attacker caught the lightning in his blade. It reflected back at Palpatine, along with all the anger he had put into it.

Palpatine was launched from the balcony into the room, the air driven from his lungs as he struggled to get up and continue the fight. He reached for his sabers, but they weren't there. When he looked up, his opponent had the red saber at his throat. The two stared into each other's eyes. Palpatine said nothing.

The attacker retracted the saber.

"Always be aware of your surroundings," Plagueis said, "Your adversaries' aim is to kill you, and he will not consider what is 'fair'. He won't execute the same tactic for you to predict."

Palpatine clipped his sabers to his belt and kneeled at the Muun's feet, his cloak billowing behind him, "Yes, my Master,"

"You're ambitious like a true Sith, but don't let that tenacity overpower your senses. Your goal is to destroy your opponent, but that end means nothing if you sacrifice your ability to achieve it."

"Yes, my Master," Palpatine kept his head bowed, resisting the urge to meet Plagueis' critical gaze. He knew this, but he knew he had improved as well.

"Rise, my apprentice," the Muun commanded.

Palpatine stood, meeting his Master's gaze.

"You have done well, apprentice. Tell me, what do we believe?"

Palpatine grinned, "That power is the only constant in the galaxy."

"And what do you gain through power?"

"Victory."

"Over what?"
"Over our inhibitions, over our limitations, over the things and people that oppress us."

"And how do we gain this power?"

He grinned, "Through control. Control over all we have, and over the living Force."

"Very good, apprentice. Your meditation has served you well."

As Palpatine attempted to read his Master's face, the Muun turned away and walked outwards toward the balcony.

"But tell me, what is the Dark Side?"

The answer was on Palpatine's lips immediately, "A lie,"
"No!"

Palpatine's eye's widened, but he held his ground as Plagueis let a shock fly from his hands, "You still don't understand!"
The young man took a few seconds to respond.

"But, Master." Palpatine said, "Isn't that why you brought me here? To show me the lies of the Jedi?"

Plagueis growled, "It seems you know our basic principles, but you don't truly grasp what they mean. The Jedi are fools, but they know the Force just as we do."

The Muun faced Palpatine, lifting his hand to create a roll of sparks, "The force is alive, my apprentice. It is not merely a tool. It is a consciousness with a will and the ability to act on that will. It may sound like weak Jedi philosophy, but to ignore that truth would be foolish. The control we seek, that is what separates us from them. The Jedi believe only in control of the self, and blindly follow the force as slaves to its will."

"But we don't."

"Exactly! We know the Force's true power, and how we can use it to achieve our goals! We are not slaves to its will, we seek to blaze our own path! A path towards control over all aspects of life, death, and the Force that connects it all!"

Palpatine shivered at the prospect of such raw power. The promise of infinite abilities, the abilities to solve infinite problems. One day it would be his, if he only followed his Master's instructions.

The Muun walked further outwards onto the balcony, looking up and letting out an exhausted sigh, "You still don't understand what it means," Plagueis mourned, "but you will."

Palpatine felt the pull too late, and watched as his lightsabers flew into his Master's hands. Before Palpatine could object, Plagueis threw the objects over the side of the balcony, lifting them into the air.

"Master!"

There was a blinding flash, and Palpatine had to brace himself to keep from falling.

When his eyes readjusted to the darkness, there were four pieces of sparking metal thrown at his feet.

Palpatine clenched his fists and snarled, years of training lying in smoke. Year of training had led up to this.

He felt the air around is fists start to move. He looked up at his Master, only to find him standing directly in front of him. With a sharp breath, Palpatine released his fists.

"Why, Master? Am I no longer worthy?"

The young man couldn't hide his shock when the Muun started laughing,

"The opposite. You are ready to take the next step."

This confused Palpatine even more, "Then…why?"
"Exactly. You know what you want. But you need to figure out why. That is the next step of your training, my apprentice. You must give yourself fully to the Dark Side, with no misconceptions about why it is the only righteous path to take."

Palpatine flinched when Plagueis ignited his lightsaber. He stared as the red glow reflected in the Muun's eyes.

"Do you know why a Sith's lightsaber is red?"
"No, my Master,"

"Of course you don't, I never told you." Plagueis reached out his thin-fingered hand, pulling at the broken pieces on the floor. A sparking piece of crystal flew into the space between the two, "It's because of this, the kyber. This crystal has a strong, nigh symbiotic connection to the Force. Like the Force, it is alive, and since it lives, it can feel pain."

Plagueis clenched his fist. The crystal began to shake erratically, surrounding itself with a field of electricity. Palpatine resisted the urge to cover his ears at the screech and was saved when Plagueis reopened his hand.

"Since it lives, it can also make connections. The crystals choose the Jedi, and the Jedi rely on the will of the Force to guide them towards a crystal that serves them well. But we know better than to trust the Force that willed so many Sith slaughtered. So, we make the crystal feel our pain, we make it know the struggles we have gone through, and we make it bleed as we have bled. Out of this crucible, a beautiful, strong crimson, and a blade that will never betray us. It is a blade completely under our control."

Palpatine watched as Plagueis threw the crystal over the side of the balcony.

"Those toys I gave at the start of your training were spares, acquired from Jedi who got too close to the truth. They served you for combat training, but they were never yours."

Palpatine stood up straight, finally understanding, "So how do I acquire my own?"

"To fully commit yourself to the Dark Side, you must prove you understand our principals. You must know that the Dark Side is the only morally righteous path, and you must know what you will do with the power it will grant you. You must find a Jedi, kill them, take their lightsaber, and bend its kyber to your will. Only then will you be worthy of the title of Sith."

Palpatine brought his shoulders back in pride. He was right. All the years of training had led up to this. He moved back to the balcony, looking out onto the ruins. Reaching his hand back, he flung the rest of the broken pieces off the edge, watching them clatter to the ground below, "I will not fail, Master."

"See to it you don't," Plagueis replied, "and don't return to me until you've a loyal blade."

The Muun walked deep into the room, disappearing in the darkness.

Palpatine gazed into the cavern, being sure to not look down at the Jedi weapons. To be a true Sith. To have complete control over his destiny. To have untold power and strength. The thought was almost enough to make him salivate.

But where to begin? Where to find a Jedi?

He would have to lure them in, make the situation appear ordinary. He couldn't reveal who he and Plagueis truly were. But how?

To figure that out, he needed his connections. It was time to go home.

Turning his back on the ruins of Malachor, he couldn't help but recall the similar ruins his father once showed him. The ruins in the less traveled areas of Naboo.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed and let me know how you felt!

A quick note about the context of the story. This is an attempt to create a backstory for Darth Sidious in the new "Disney" Canon given what we know about his motivations through the movies, comics, books, and other Disney EU material. This only relates to plot beats, though (i.e. what Palpatine end goals in canon vs. in Legends), so that doesn't mean that "Non-canon" races, tech, locations, and characters can't or won't show up.

May the Force be with you.