Author's Note: I do not own either of the characters, the Force, or any of the Force abilities in this story

Lessons of a Sith Apprentice

"Again!" Plagueis shouted as he observed his apprentice in the middle of the chamber. Young Sidious was proving to be disappointing with this particular lesson, but at twelve standard years of age, it wasn't surprising.

"Yes, Master." Sidious panted, wiping the sweat from his dripping forehead as he tried to catch his breath. He raised his right hand out in front of him. Concentrating with all his might, he flicked his fingers out but was rewarded with only several blue sparks from his fingertips.

"No!" shouted Plagueis. He was beginning to get frustrated.

"You must concentrate! Feel, don't think! Allow your passion, the raw emotion, to fill you up. Again! And remember to concentrate, not think!"

"Yes, Master." The young boy said through gritted teeth. He was quite frustrated as well, and was beginning to get angry. Again, Sidious lifted his right arm and flicked his fingers out once again. This time, several miniscule crackles of lightning came from the palm of his hand.

"Master! I did-"

"NO, YOU DID NOT!" Plagueis roared, finally losing his temper.

"Do not think! Concentrate your power and will, and it will happen! Concentrate on what you desire to happen, and it will not!"

Furious, Sidious bellowed back.

"How am I supposed to make something happen without thinking about it!?"

"Patience! A skill you must master before you can learn anything!"

"Patience? Patience will not bring my goals to me! Patience will not destroy my enemies!"

"If that" Plagueis said, dropping his voice so low it was almost a whisper "is what you truly believe, then you have failed me."

With a scream of rage, Sidious flung both arms out at his Master, attempting to knock him off his feet with a Force push. Plagueis easily absorbed this and extended his own arm. He lifted his young Apprentice off his feet, and with a slight twitch of his wrist, flung him back against the crumbling brick wall of the ancient chamber. He heard the crack as Sidious's head struck, and let him drop the ten or twenty feet to the floor.

Sidious knelt on his hands and knees, unable to rise from exhaustion and the blinding pain in the back of his head. Humiliated, he looked up at his Master.

"You disappoint me, Sidious." Plagueis turned to leave.

Sidious felt a dam in his head break, and the intense pain was replaced by an incredible rage, the blind fury replaced by an icy hatred towards his Master. He wanted to watch him suffer, to humiliate him, to destroy him body and soul. He looked down and his hands had a blueish glow to them. Without thinking, but concentrating all his will on his desire to see his Master writhe in agony, he leaped to his feet, and extended both arms. With a ferocious roar that embodied all the hate in his blood and the rage in his head, he released a magnificent storm of dozens of lightning bolts.

All arched through the air at his Master.

Plagueis felt his Apprentice's anger, felt it as it filled the room, pulsing as if a living thing. A thin smile curled his lips. He was learning. Now, if only he could concentrate…

What Plagueis didn't expect was to hear the air crackling behind him. He spun around just in time to be engulfed in a storm, just barely deflecting many of the bolts. Opening himself as a channel for the Force, he absorbed the storm - and shot it right back at his Apprentice. When it was over, Plagueis leaned against the wall panting with his robes slightly singed. Sidious lay on the ground in a smoking heap.

"Good!" Plagueis exclaimed. Perhaps he had underestimated Sidious's power.

"THAT is what I spoke of! Feel your raw emotion and passion flow through you! Your anger and hatred fuels the Dark Side. Use it! Passion is useless without purpose, purpose is useless without the Force, and the Force is useless without passion. You have done well today, Sidious. It matters not that you hate me still. It is to be expected, and I encourage it. You have learned two very important lessons today: how to turn your passion into a weapon… and to choose your battles carefully. But you MUST learn patience, my young Apprentice. Do not underestimate it's usefulness again."

"… Yes, Master."