Games in the Wrong Place
A/N: I'm a massive Nihilus fan, so of course I managed to squeeze him into this Fic as one of the main characters. Sweet.
000
Darth Malak, aboard his pride and joy the Star Forge, rubbed his eyes. Then he furiously rubbed them again as what he was attempting to erase from his vision absolutely refused to go away. He didn't know what the cause of these hallucinations were, perhaps they were the result of his extended interactions with the Star Forge. Or maybe he was simply crazy, because the scene in front of him seemed utterly impossible.
Right?
Storming forward, as he was determined to prove that what he was seeing was in fact imaginary, the Dark Lord of the Sith's newly forming sense of incredulity increased as he came closer to the scene. The scene itself was presposterous, and Malak was almost sure he was dreaming. Or maybe he really was crazy, because up until the point he was at Malak had never seen anyone on the Star Forge play a chess game with absolutely no one.
But that was the very scene was playing out before him. A man, dressed in simple pallid robes and dreadlocks tied back in ponytail, was gazing intently down at a chess board while on the opposite side he was battling nothing but air. Carefully, as if he were about to touch a scaldingly hot piece of metal, the robed man reached his hand outward and grasped one the chess pieces, then moved it forward a single space.
"You!" Malak growled wickedly, and then clamped a hand down on the man's shoulder, who proved to be quite solid despite Malak desperately wishing that he wasn't. That still didn't prove anything though, atleast, that was what Malak told himself, and continued on with the one sided conversation, "What are you doing?"
The robed man glanced up at the Dark Lord plainly, then quickly glanced at, what Malak assumed to be, his invisible opponent darkly. Malak narrowed his eyes and squeezed the man's shoulder tightly. The man looked back up at him, "Yes, Lord Malak?"
The utterly callous tone that the man spoke his name with made the Dark Lord feel both enraged and shocked. He recovered quickly however, "Do not speak to me in such a way," Malak snarled, "Now, tell me what you are doing." Inside, Malak was slightly embarrassed by the fact he was undoubtably talking to a hallucination, but he ignored this feeling.
The man frowned, as if it should have been obvious, "Um, playing chess?"
Malak removed his hand from the other man's shoulder and then glared at him, which, infuriatingly enough, didn't even get a reaction of slight fear from the robed man, "Tell me your name soldier." The Dark Lord growled menacingly, swelling up to his entire, impressive height.
The other man's frown deepened, and then glanced at his invisible opponent with some weariness, "Nihilus. I'm just having some fun sir."
Malak felt his right twitch in irritation, "As in Nihilus the Sith Lord?"
"Yes, Lord. Don't you recognize me?"
No, Malak didn't recognize the Sith Lord. Malak had never actually met the man, as far as the Dark Lord had known beforehand, Nihilus had been stationed halfway across the galaxy fighting the Republic. "Shouldn't you be fighting the Republic?"
"Yeah, about that," Nihilus said, clearing his throat and rubbing his neck nervously, "You see, I got this message through the force to come to the Star Forge. I did, and I've been here playing chess with the Star Forge ever since."
Yep, Malak was pretty sure he had spiraled into insanity, though when the Dark Lord wasn't sure. This Sith Lord before him was claiming that the STAR FORGE of all things had called to him through the force so as to bring him here to play a game chess? Malak's right eye twitched again at the ridiculousness of the situation. Meanwhile, Nihilus had returned his attention back to the game at hand. A moment later he burst out laughing, "Yeah, he does look pretty funny with his eye twitching like that."
"Shut up!" Malak screeched, and then lunged at the Sith Lord only to bounce off an invisible wall of force energy erected by someone the Dark Lord couldn't detect. Immediately when he recovered, he felt the Star Forge's inky presence in his head, giving off an aura of reprisal.
"Mine," The dark presence hissed in his head, "I like to play with him."
"What?" Malak spluttered out loud, "You brought a Sith Lord here all because you were lonely!"
"Yep," Nihilus and the Star Forge said in unison, the former out loud. Malak stared dumbfounded at the wall for a long moment, hardly believing what he had just heard. Meanwhile, Nihilus finished scoping out the board and moved one of his rooks up to A5 and captured one of the Star Forge's Bishops. The Star Forge immediately retaliated with a capture of Nihilus' defensive pawn using his Knight when it moved to G6.
"What is happening here?" Malak cried out, gripping his bald head and storming out of the room with a roar of frustration. Nihilus glanced up at the Dark Lord's rather dramatic exit, then shrugged. "What was his problem?"
The Star Forge gave its own mental equivalent of a shrug and spoke in the Sith Lord's head, "No idea."
Then they lost themselves in the game.
000
A month later, Malak strode into the room with Bastila in tow behind him, his pleasure at turning her still burning brightly in his chest. It was in his excitement that he failed to remember the reason he avoided the very room he was currently approaching. It was only when he heard a groan of frustration across the room as he opened the door into the room did Malak remember. Snarling in fury, he strode forward and saw the Sith Lord Nihilus still playing that blasted game of chess. Malak could also still feel the Star Forge concentrating fully on the chess board.
Bastila looked past her new Master, and was confused to see a Dark Jedi playing chess with absolutely no one. The Dark Jedi moved a piece, and then threw his arms into the air afterward when he payed for it soon after. His invisible opponent moved its own piece and captured one of the Dark Jedi's troops on the board.
"Are you all still playing that game?" Malak snapped irritably.
"Yep," the Dark Jedi replied in a low voice, barely even sparing the Dark Lord a glance, something that shocked Bastila.
In response, Malak screamed in frustration and stalked toward the opposite door from the one he had come in from. Bastila began to follow, but her master whirled and pointed at her, "Leave me alone!"
Bastila immediately recoiled, "But what of my training, master?"
"Not today!"
Then Malak was gone, leaving Bastila with an unknown Dark Jedi. She turned and reguarded the man who was still playing chess with his invisible foe in a new, bizarre light. Bastila was quick to leave after that.
000
Then, a week later, Bastila faced her former lover Revan on the Star Forge, using its power to fuel her offensive. Yet, despite her increased power she could not overcome Revan no matter how hard she came at him. She felt Revan's lightsaber brush her shoulder, and yowled angrily, reaching out to the ceiling to conjure up more power from the Star Forge. The power never came. Bastila blinked slowly, and felt her fury increase as the power she craved refused to come to her.
"Star Forge!"
Several chambers away, Nihilus, who was completely oblivious to what was going on as he was still focused on the game he had been playing for over a month and a half, stared up at the ceiling and adressed the Star Forge, "Did you hear something?"
The Star Forge, who was also so focused on the game that he had forgotten to lend its power to the people defending it, stopped concentrating on the game for a moment.
". . ."
". . ."
" . . . Nah."