Author's Note:
I've been wanting to write this for awhile. Enjoy, y'all.
Pairings: Darth Vader/Padmé Amidala
Warnings: Graphic Depictions of violence, sexual content, horror, dark humor, foul language, and disturbing themes.
Main Cast: Darth Vader, Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Asajj Ventress, Darth Sidious, Count Dooku, Captain Rex, General Grievous.
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Dark Comedy, Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi
noun
1. the witching hour, the hour at which witches are supposed to appear, usually midnight
Chapter One: Abyss
Well . . . this is certainly unexpected, Vader observed, eyeing the cavernous monolith of earth surrounding him. The gorge was circular and precipitously steep, extending upwards until it formed a crude hole in lieu of a proper opening. A velvety night sky peeked through the small aperture, the the stars overhead twinkling dimly. Magma licked at the rock slab where he lay kneeling, the heat pricking at his skin and stinging his eyes. It was all too horribly reminiscent of Mustafar, but by the Force, this infernal pit was far more preferable than the intolerable hell of his life-support suit. His stay in the netherworld was already getting off to a favorable start. He awkwardly flexed his fingers, savoring the sensation. Vader blinked slowly, sucking in a breath of hot, dry air as he rose unsteadily to his feet.
"Do you see now—the future you will be forced to endure, should you continue along this path?" The slick, arrogant voice of the Son called out from behind him.
The Son's presence in the pit briefly startled Vader, though he betrayed no outward sign of his shock. After a moment's consideration, he decided that it was ultimately not worth noting. The Son had slaughtered his own sister and plotted to end his father's life; kith-killers were all too welcome in Chaos, the darkest region in the netherworld of the living Force.
Even though Vader had sacrificed himself in order to save the life of his son, he had no illusions about where exactly he would end up once he passed on. Serenity, peace—the notion that he would ever be worthy of receiving those pleasures was laughable. He was destined to suffer through an eternity of punishment as a shade, driven mad by his own woe. Though his newfound existence as a thrice-cursed spirit was getting off to a rather odd start, seeing as he was already facing off against an old enemy he'd not thought of in decades. So it has begun, Vader mused, sighing deeply. He twisted to face the tall, wraith-like form of the Son. The man's red eyes gleamed maliciously, and an oily little smirk tugged at his thin lips. A low, seething hatred burned within Vader at the sight.
"I have shown you these portentous visions because I know that together we can prevent these events from transpiring—" The Son was abruptly cut off by Vader's furious outburst.
"You dare speak to me in such a manner, knowing that this 'future' you speak of has already occurred?" Vader spat, stalking towards the Force-wielder. The Dark scorched its way through his veins, writhing with a feverish intensity as it fed off his rising well of fury. A sick grin twisted its way across Vader's face. I'm going to enjoy this, he thought, gathering white-hot electricity at his fingertips.
"I don't understand. Nothing of consequence has happened yet," The Son protested, almost unconsciously taking a step backwards. He wasn't quite pleading with Vader, but there was an unsettled air to the man. It was a sublime thing to bear witness to.
"Your beliefs matter little now. They will burn alongside your corpse," Vader roared, unleashing a barrage of Force-lightning from his organic hand. The blast struck the Son in the chest and arced cruelly along his body, eliciting an agonized wail from the man. His pale skin bubbled and softened under the deluge, slipping off like candle wax, while the continuous pressure bloated his eyes until they burst, spilling out a gooey, viscous liquid from the empty sockets. The flesh of the Son's face was torn asunder, splitting open like a gaping abscess. Vader was intimately reminded of Sidious' degradation under this very attack, where his own black powers were turned against him. Vader ended the onslaught and strode over to the horribly mutilated remains of his foe, the same smile from earlier stretching grotesquely wide across his face.
Vader wasn't sure if he could permanently kill another being in this accursed place, but he had deeply enjoyed the process. If he was allowed to torture those he vehemently despised for an eternity—well, he was at least making the best of his situation. In all honesty, things could be much worse for him, considering. He had complete access to the Force, his old body—or at the very least, the likeness of it—had been restored, and he now had something to occupy his time with. Vader lightly toed the corpse, the impact of the heavy boot punctuated with a wet squelch.
The Son appeared to be the only other specter residing in this particular region of Chaos, so it was clear that he would need to venture elsewhere to find stimulation. Vader turned to leave, but the horribly familiar Force-presence of his old Master stopped him cold. He nearly gaped in shock. Obi-Wan Kenobi—what in the nine hells are you doing here?
"Anakin—what have you done?" The familiar clipped tone of Obi-Wan's thick Coruscanti accent rang out harshly in the silence of the abyss. Vader pivoted to face the other man, finding himself unsurprised by how terribly young Obi-Wan looked. His gingery hair was in disarray, pale eyes widened in horror as he carefully advanced on Vader.
"You know very well that I have not gone by that accursed name in decades, old man. I have no quarrel with you—not anymore—but I would love to know why you of all people have decided to take a little jaunt through Chaos," Vader hissed. Obi-Wan's brow furrowed, and a baffled expression crossed his freckled visage. He raised his hands in surrender, but continued to move closer to Vader.
"The Son has twisted your mind, Anakin. We are on Mortis, deep within the Well of the Dark Side. Ahsoka is waiting for us back at the ship so that we can finally depart from this unnatural place. You are no Sith, my friend—let this foreign Darkness bleed out of you, and then we can leave," Obi-Wan breathed, his anguish almost palpable in the Force. Their bond, which had been so cruelly severed on Mustafar all those years ago, pulsated feebly.
Vader's heart thudded weakly in his chest. This can't be possible . . . has he merely come here to taunt me—to torment me with memories of a life long since passed? A creeping sense of déjà vu slithered along his spine, and the minute details of his surroundings sharpened into better focus. The chthonian enclosure stretched out above him like a gaping maw, drifting embers illuminating the craggy surface with an almost sickly glow. When he left Mortis all those years ago, Vader never thought he'd forget this sulphurous hellhole. Hazy memories of his brief time here slithered through the corners of his mind like wriggling serpents. Unless he had already been driven mad by his stay in Chaos, then this—whatever it was—might be something else altogether.
"This is truly Mortis?" He rasped, gazing at the stars overhead. Their soft light burned worse than the heat of the magma, and he longed to be closer to them.
"Yes, Anakin—we are deep within the bowels of the planet, in a place where the Darkness gathers and festers. We must leave now, before your condition worsens and this state becomes permanent. The Father will surely be able to aid us," Obi-Wan replied earnestly. Vader grimaced.
"He can do nothing for me, Master. I am no longer the Anakin Skywalker you know, nor will I ever be. The Son perverted the very laws of nature and has called me forth from the gloom. He has since reaped the consequences of his thoughtless actions," Vader spat, gesturing at the corpse. "Nothing can save me now, not when I know intimately what destruction and terror I will wreak."
"I'm afraid that I can't accept that. If I have to use force to—ahem, persuade you to accompany me, then so be it," Obi-Wan responded, igniting his saber. Vader cackled madly.
"This is a foolish endeavor. The very air here fuels my power and saps your strength—you are at a severe disadvantage, one that I will find no trouble making use of," Vader bit out, eyes burning with power as the Dark blazed within him. He didn't bother flicking on his blade; it wouldn't be necessary for this battle.
"If it means saving my friend, then I will most certainly play the fool," Obi-Wan cried as he leapt forward, swinging his lightsaber down in a fierce arc of blue. Vader pivoted to the side, narrowly dodging the strike. Obi-Wan flowed seamlessly into his next strike as he righted himself and jerked his blade harshly upwards, lunging into a deadly volley of tightly compacted stabs. Vader ducked and weaved around the attacks, grinning as the other man sent him an infuriated glare.
"Aren't you going to fight back?" Obi-Wan bit out, clearly irritated. It was an out of character statement for the usually level-headed man, but Vader supposed that seeing your best friend be mysteriously consumed by the Dark Side was an apt a motivation as any.
"The lightsaber is far from being my only source of strength, Obi-Wan. Behold the foul abilities bestowed upon only the most knowledgeable of Sith Sorcerors. Galez tave jena\'tes buti aukotijas natura," Vader intoned, contorting his hands into the arcane gestures needed to summon Dark Side tendrils. Animate shadows formed around Obi-Wan's feet, the vaporous curls twisting up to eat away at the blade held aloft in his hand. Obi-Wan cried out in pain and released the weapon, where it was consumed by the writhing darkness. Vader could feel the other man's disquiet through the restored bond, but Obi-Wan's hard face revealed nothing.
"That was merely a small example of the true depths of the Dark Side's depravity, and it is eclipsed by legions of far more monstrous abilities. Shall I show you another?" Vader queried rhetorically, stretching his mind across their bond to envelope the other's. Qâzoi Kyantuska was an ability he had often used with his more unruly subordinates, as well as those he needed to acquire information from. It completely suppressed the mind of the victim, leaving them in a trance-like state where they were unable to wrest control over their own faculties. Those who fell prey to this technique were left utterly malleable in the hands of the caster. Obi-Wan struggled viciously under the assault, but with the additional aid of the pit's innate darkness, Vader quickly subsumed his mind. The great Jedi, once so venerated for his supreme strength of will, was left looking as though he were lost in a dazed stupor. The irony was not lost on Vader, who rasped out a low laugh at the sight.
"Pilot your speeder back to the ship. I will follow close behind," he instructed, using the Force to call his own vehicle to him. He flicked on the power and revved it wildly, quickly catching up to Obi-Wan, who was swerving through the cascades of lava erupting from the sides of the chasm. They sped around the circumference of the Well of the Dark Side, shooting up through the fissure at the top onto the dusky earth of Mortis. The adumbrated land stretched out before him like a dark mass, with only the occasional tree or bush forming a distinguishable shape. The cold air whipped brutally at his cheeks as he increased his speed, but Vader paid it no mind. He hadn't felt this alive in decades, and he was going to relish every facet of his newfound humanity. Pain, pleasure—ecstasy, agony; these were all sides of the same coin. He didn't care about where or when he was, only that he would live for himself this time around. There are no gods, no masters—only me, and whatever path I decide to take.
A/N:
Sith magic is an expression of the Dark Side of the Force that can manifest itself in a variety of ways, and can only be used by those who have utterly embraced the Dark (i.e. Sith). All of the abilities featured in this story are canonical, but certain liberties will be taken so as to enhance the plot.
Dark Side Tendrils:
Appears as a tentacle-like black mist, but can easily be confused with shadows. They can burn, and even completely disintegrate whatever they come into contact with.
Qâzoi Kyantuska:
Allows the user to control the mind of anyone they chose.
Sith Language Translation:
"Galez tave jena\'tes buti aukotijas natura." — 'May the darkness be given life.'