Alright, so this chapter is going to be rather short compared to the last two, but it's also incredibly vital to read. It mostly consists of a couple of scenes, one of which I have been waiting to do for a while, and it will shake up the plot rather heavily.
How and why? Well, you'll just have to read on to find out. And with all that said, let's dive right in.
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, RWBY, the MCU, Bionicle or anything else that appears in this story.
Palpatine sat on the floor of his sanctum, the darkness swallowing up the light as he meditated, searching for insights into the Force. The fiasco at Remnant had left him with a lot of questions, several of which he needed to answer.
Hux's punishment had already been dealt with, and the sniveling little worm was fortunate enough to be alive. The only reason Palpatine hadn't executed him for his incompetence was the fact that the General was still one of the most skilled officers the First Order had available.
But the Sith Lord had a different question in mind, one that had been nagging at him since the planning stages for the assault on Remnant: How had he known about Raven's Semblance in the first place?
It wasn't that he was displeased to have known about it; it had allowed the First Order access to Remnant and was part of the reason they had gotten off as well as they had. But the fact remained that someone or something had given him that knowledge, and it definitely wasn't the Force.
So, this led to where he was now. Feeling the currents of the Force, letting the Dark Side flow through him as he meditated. Of course, it was hard to ignore how the Force had changed, a constant scar from the Tidal Wave could be forever felt among the energy.
But despite the damage, it could still do what Sidious required, and that was all that mattered. With patience born of a lifetime of training, Sidious waited as the Dark Side flowed through him. He didn't know how long it had been, but finally, a figure appeared in his mind's eye. His own eyes opened and then narrowed.
"Of course."
...
Several minutes later, the figures of Captain Phasma, General Hux, Raven and Red Skull were gathered in the Supreme Leader's throne room. He had left the Knights of Ren out of this, given how they were still recuperating from Remnant, and instead had several ordinary and elite guards lining the walls.
The Phase III Dark Trooper was standing openly near the entrance, drawing an aura of tension into the air as Snoke's body walked onto the dais. He stood above them, but refused to actually get in his throne.
"I sense you're wondering why I called for you." The Supreme Leader got straight to the point. "Someone in this room has been deceiving me." There were nervous looks all around, particularly from Hux. "And that will no longer be tolerated." The tension was almost palpable now, as even Raven and Red Skull were looking alarmed.
Without warning, Palpatine hurled a burst of Force lightning... at the Phase III Dark Trooper idly standing behind the gathering. The energy from the attack was powerful enough to send the droid flying, hitting the other side of the room with a loud thud before clattering to the ground.
"Your Highness... I'm afraid I don't understand." Hux said after a moment. "How could the droid deceive you?"
"Because this is no mere droid." Palpatine unleashed another blast of lightning. "It has been manipulating us ever since the Flood were destroyed, have you not?" The Phase III silently rose to its feet and stood quietly. Not to be outdone, Snoke's body gestured, holding it in the air with the Force and unleashing a third bolt of lightning. "Answer me!"
There was a brief moment of silence, leaving enough time for the others in the room to question their leader's sanity, before the Dark Trooper started to laugh in a voice that was most certainly not programmed into its vocal modulator.
"Well done." The droid suddenly hurled a bolt of lightning of its own at Palpatine, forcing the Sith Lord to defend himself and allowing the Dark Trooper to land harmlessly on the ground. "You play the game competently... for an amateur. Of course, it took longer than I expected for you to catch on."
Raven pulled out her sword while Red Skull pulled out a blaster rifle, just as Palpatine was preparing to attack once more and all the guards got into a combat position. The droid hurled another bolt of lightning, this time striking Red Skull.
The lightning didn't just stop with him, arcing out from person to person and electrocuting everyone in the room. It's purpose wasn't to kill, merely hurt, which it did quite well as the ordinary troopers were left writhing on the floor.
Red Skull, Raven and Palpatine had managed to recover rather quickly, with the former taking aim with his disrupter. Suddenly, the weapon was torn out of his hand, which then smacked him in the face before doing the same to Raven.
Palpatine sent a powerful Force Push, which knocked the Dark Trooper against the wall and allowed all the soldiers and warriors to recover. The droid also rose to its feet, creating a brief stand off between the one droid and all the organics in the room. The silence was shattered with Palpatine's command.
"Take him!"
That was all he had time to say before it suddenly felt as if the gravity had increased tenfold, forcing them all to their knees. They struggled against the overwhelming force, while the Droid stood there calmly.
"I believe that's enough to prove my point." Suddenly the field of gravity lessened, allowing everyone in the room to at least look up at the droid. "You will all serve me now."
"Do you really think I'll stoop to serve a machine?" Sidious spat. This elicited a chuckle from the Dark trooper.
"There is something I have learned about organics." Suddenly, Palpatine, Raven, Red Skull, Hux and Phasma were doubled over in pain. "You are especially vulnerable to Poison."
Searing agony swept through their bodies as this unknown toxin flowed through their veins. Truthfully, it had been present in their bodies for some time, undetectable and harmless until triggered by a second poison. The Dark Trooper walked towards Palpatine, Raven and Schmidt, who were suffering the worst of all.
"It was rather difficult for you three. I had to make a unique concoction for each of you. Oh and Your Highness, the more you try to use the Force to detoxify yourself, the worse it will get."
"Who-who are you?!" Red Skull gasped, trying and failing to rise. An unnatural darkness began creeping into the room as the Dark Trooper approached the downed super soldier.
"I am your new leader." The droid lifted Red Skull up. "And you are going to help me."
...
The people in Wakanda had recovered quite well since the events of Thanos' invasion and the subsequent Tidal Wave. Between Republic aid and their own work, life in the nation had almost returned to a degree of normalcy.
Naturally, that sense of peacefulness was shattered when a twenty foot tall biomechanical dragon appeared in the middle of the city, seemingly out of nowhere. The Wakandan guards nearby were quick to respond, but a blast of Shadow had sent them flying before they could do anything.
The dragon screamed, its voice loud enough and powerful enough to crack even the Vibranium glass in Wakanda. Everyone nearby doubled over in pain, most with bleeding ears from the sheer strength of its voice.
And through the scream, a single question could be heard.
"WHERE! IS! TERIDAX?!"
Well... shit. That certainly just happened. I'll expand on this in the next chapter, but just to be clear, it was Makuta Teridax who was hiding in Snoke's Phase III Dark Trooper, and he's going to become much more relevant in this story now.
Why is he in Wakanda now and how does Miserix (the dragon attacking the city, in case that wasn't clear) know he's there? You're just going to have to wait for the next chapter in order to find out. But trust me, it'll be good. I have been waiting for so long to reveal this twist, and I'm definitely going to make good use of it.
Anyway, with all that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.