AN: This one ended up being more fun than I expected. Really, it flew by. Good thing, too, since tonight is all about Zelda: Breath of the Wild OH MY GOD YOU GUYS!
This one suggested by my special lovely EV the Werewolf over on . Thanks, buddy! This one was fun!
Holocron Heist
The Force was calm. Peaceful. Serene. All the things it should have been, all the things that, as of late, it hadn't been. It had been turbulent and strained, its waters choppy and dangerous, and just beneath the surface lay an undercurrent so fast and powerful that one slip, one look beneath the water's waves, would see him pulled underneath. Perhaps it wasn't so for everyone, but for Jedi Master Eeth Koth, the Force had become a very dangerous place.
For months, he had been on the run, hunted by a Sith Lord and his pet, a disturbingly dangerous droid - cyborg, it's, he's a cyborg - called Grievous, a creature programmed to fight Jedi, one that had learned proficiency with a lightsaber from one who was clearly skilled in a variety of forms, one that had the intelligence to change his programmed movements on a whim. He had been skilled enough to take on five Jedi at once, and he had killed all of them. Except for Koth, of course. When he was the only one left, the creature's master had arrived. A far more dangerous foe that knew he had won before the fight even began. The whole thing seemed a test, a trial for the cyborg to overcome, to display his abilities, one that he had passed spectacularly...but the Negotiator wanted to play.
The Negotiator. Obi-Wan Kenobi.
He was supposed to be dead. Young Obi-Wan had died years ago at the hands of Count Dooku when the Knight had correctly deduced that he was a Lord of the Sith and left Coruscant to confront him. But there was no mistaking that it was him, and in the shadows of his face blazed golden eyes, in his hand a lightsaber of bloody red, and in his soul...darkness, deeper, more complete than Eeth had ever seen, ever felt in anything. Ever. It nearly broke the Jedi Master to look upon the face of the young, promising Jedi, alive after all these years, and see beating within him the blackened heart of a Sith Lord, twisted and corrupted beyond saving, beyond redemption, beyond forgiveness, and though the Jedi Master didn't know anything that Kenobi had done in the past six years since his death, he could see the blood on his hands.
He fought with the Sith, but not for long. Shock had crippled him, and Kenobi was cold and focused on nothing but murder. So he ran. Through the riots, through the narrow streets of Kabal and out into the thick forests that surrounded the capital city, the Sith and the cyborg close upon his heels. He didn't know how he escaped their relentless pursuit. His memory of what had happened was...fuzzy. Unclear, uncertain, like a thick fog had settled on his mind and refused him access to the memories beyond. Even his recollection of the events of the riots was hazy at best. Had he even seen Kenobi through the chaos and confusion? He knew he must have, he knew what he saw, remembered the disbelief, the fear, the anger, and even through his clouded mind, he could see those eyes.
The eyes, golden and glowing and terrible and magnificent, like fire or a sun or a star that was blazing as it went supernova, bright and vibrant and powerful, burning in brilliant destruction, a blaze of glory as it rocketed toward its end. It was the only thing within him he could see clearly, the calm of his mind penetrated by eyes that reflected in the mirror-perfect waters of the Force, rippling the surface with fire and passion and hatred so strong, so cruel, it made Eeth's chest tighten with fear, his breath hitching in his meditations. He was powerless to stop it, though not for lack of trying, and as he shut his eyes tight in focus, a hand reached up from the waters to the shore where he stood, grabbed him firmly by the ankle, and pulled him underneath.
He was drowning, or would be very soon, knew it to be true as darkness surrounded him, grasping him tightly in its embrace as it dragged him deeper and deeper within the Force, beyond the serenity of the Temple, the bustling Coruscant, the ravages of a galaxy at war, and unable to hold his breath any longer, his struggling not enough to dislodge the darkness that grasped him, Eeth Koth opened his mouth, exhaling as he screamed, and silent as water, black and poisonous, rushed in to fill his lungs. It was over. This is how he ended, drowned and left lifeless within a Force veined through with cold, so different from the warm, comfort he used to know.
He hit the ground hard, the cold and the dark so oppressive as he lay upon the ground, coughing and shaking and sputtering as he tried to breathe, heaving to try and expel the water he knew he had inhaled, but there was nothing. He could breathe, but the tightness of his chest, the heaviness within his lungs remained. Something was within him, and it wasn't leaving. It was...part of him, and with a shiver, Master Koth wondered if it had always been this way. He suspected it did. He had never felt any different, had never felt peace and calm as he did now. The Jedi sought to find peace, and it was here, in his submission, that Eeth Koth found the coveted serenity that the Jedi Order strived to achieve.
He slowly opened his eyes, burning as they focused in the darkness, and he whimpered softly when he saw the fine, familiar black boots of the man standing before him. Struggling to his hands and knees, the Jedi sat back on his heels, his eyes downcast and moaning softly at the cold, commanding touch upon his head. He didn't need to look at his face to see the pleased amusement in those eerie golden eyes. He saw it, felt it deep inside his mind, and he hated it.
"How's Temple life?" Darth Lumis asked, amusement staining his features when the Jedi groaned and clung to his leg, pressing helpless, desperate, reluctant kisses to the inside of his thigh, the Jedi Master resisting as best as he was able, but it was for nothing. This Sith Lord had owned him a long time ago. "Everything you ever hoped for?"
"Y-you made a mistake..." Koth said weakly through grit teeth, his focus intensifying as he managed to release one hand from his grip on the Sith's leg, raised his hand to force him away...and howled in revulsion as he found himself lovingly stroking the amused Lord's strong stomach instead. "The Jedi will make me strong, they-"
"When. You've been gone for weeks, Koth, and they sense nothing amiss. Not even Yoda can feel me within you." He grinned wickedly when the Jedi looked up and glared at him with dark, angry eyes, defiant and longing all at once. "You don't even want me to leave you. Just look at yourself. Your consciousness, your very presence in the Force itself is desperate for me."
"You must love this," Koth vehemently spat, shaking in rage as his rogue, disobedient hands clung desperately to the man that had made himself his Master. Lumis simply sighed in satisfaction.
"I must admit, it's nice to be wanted. Such a rare feeling, especially from a Jedi. I never felt such from your lot when I was one of you." He flicked his hand in the air as if trying to dislodge something distasteful that clung to him. "Nothing but a cold, disinterested family, one that couldn't get rid of me soon enough. Thank the Force I got away when I did, you all would have ruined me."
"You've done that to yourself!" Eeth growled. "The Jedi would have made you great, and you have chosen the path of selfish corruption!"
"I embraced my passion," Lumis softly explained, his hand stroking the Zabrak's head, and it was suddenly far more difficult for the Jedi to focus on his resistance. "The Jedi would have taken everything from me just to give me something I have taken for myself. They would have stripped me of the emotions, the passions that make me who I am." He hooked his fingers under the Jedi's chin and forced him to look him in the eye, a slight smirk on his face when he saw the struggle within him. He was resisting him still, yes, but it was swiftly fading. "Can you deny the truth of this?"
"Yes." Lumis scoffed.
"So like a Jedi to blindly turn your eyes from the truth..." He released Koth, viciously pushing him away and watching with cold disdain as the Jedi groaned upon the floor. "And I had sacrificed so much for the Jedi..." Lumis growled dangerously. "I fell in love with a woman, strong and passionate and beautiful, a woman that was everything right with this galaxy. Perfection." He sighed wistfully before his golden eyes hardened once again. "And because the Jedi demanded it of me, I left her for cold, dispassionate peace, and you Jedi never told me that peace is a lie. I left her for nothing."
"Peace can be achieved, Obi-Wan!" Koth desperately said, looking back at the furious Sith Lord, holding himself up on shaking arms that threatened to give way at a moment's notice. "It isn't easy. It takes time, work, dedication, steadfast resolve and-"
"Jedi half truths and lies..." Lumis quietly hissed. "I killed a Lord of the Sith for you. I saved the Jedi Master that betrayed me. I went in search of our ancient enemy so that we may finally defeat them, only to be hindered at every turn because my...feelings were misguided." He flashed the Jedi a bright, easy smile. "But my feelings weren't wrong, were they? My emotions guided me to truth, and the Force took my hand and brought me to darkness..."
"You chose this!" the Jedi snarled, attempting to rise to his feet and failing. "Don't blame your twisted, corrupted view of the Force for actions that you chose!"
"No, you're right," Lumis said, not unkindly. "I did choose this. And I would choose it again. My eyes have been opened, and the Jedi are wrong. If there is not passion, there is nothing." He smirked. "And look at me now. I've cast aside the Jedi and I have power beyond anything I could have achieved as a Jedi. I am wanted, treasured by a new Master, unlike anything the Jedi could have ever given me. I've returned to the woman I love, my perfect goddess, and I have from her now something the Jedi would have never allowed." Lumis grinned, his arms outstretched. "Tell me, Eeth, what exactly is it I've lost by embracing the Dark Side that you Jedi so wrongly fear?"
"Everything." Lumis laughed out loud.
"The way I see it, all I've lost is a persistent sense of boredom. I have everything I ever wanted." He looked at the Jedi with something that Eeth thought was almost pity. "But you are right, if only slightly. Peace can be achieved." He extended his hand toward the Jedi, his fingers splayed. "There is no peace, not for the Sith, not for the truly powerful, but for everyone else, those that are destined to serve us..." A crushing weight fell upon Etth Koth's shoulders, forcing him back to the ground and penetrating his entire being with frigid cold. "There is peace in your submission, Jedi," Lumis hissed, and Koth shut his eyes when he felt the dark hand of the Sith Lord within his pliant mind. "Submit, and know peace."
The pain was excruciating, but it didn't last long. He had been broken before, so, so many times, more times than he could remember, and while he still did put up a resistance, any real fight had been sapped from him long ago. There were no defenses left to break through in the shattered remains of his mental walls, no strength left inside him to force the Sith Lord's hands out, to keep those long, cold fingers from reaching deep within him and grasp exactly what he wanted. The familiar feeling of pleasure seeped inside him as his mind gave way, and though he still held on to himself, still fought with all he had, the reward for submission, for complete obedience was far too great, and the harder he fought, the quicker his will seeped through his fingers as it fled him. It only took seconds for the Jedi to begin softly moaning for his Master, but while he struggled, it felt like an eternity.
"Are you there, Eeth?" Lumis asked softly, leaning over to look into the blank, hazy eyes of the Jedi Master, his gaze mindless as he looked into the face of the Sith Lord.
"Yes, Master..." Lumis drew up, a pleased smirk on his face.
"Then hear me and obey. There are Sith holocrons deep in the holocron vault within your Temple, accessible only by the Jedi Masters of the Council." He flashed the unfocused, enthralled Jedi an easy, arrogant smile. "Which you are. Or were, I suppose, but I don't think you will have trouble gaining access. Enter the vault, retrieve the Sith holocrons, and anything else that calls to you."
"I won't fail you in this, Master..."
"See that you don't." Gold eyes searched the Jedi's face for something, anything that may give an indication of any form of resistance, and rogue thoughts or pesky scrap of will that remained, anything that could foil his plans or expose him, but he found nothing. The Jedi was his, completely, gratefully, willingly his, or as willing as a broken slave could be. "When you have succeeded, get a ship and return to Mustafar. Reach out to me when your task is done so I know you're still alive."
"As you command, Master..."
"Go," Lumis said softly, pressing two fingers to Koth's forehead, and the Jedi Master fell back, through the ground he had been kneeling upon and into nothingness.
As his Master had said, gaining entrance to the deepest recesses of the holocron vault had been criminally easy. Eeth Koth felt nothing of it. The Jedi didn't know anything, couldn't sense anything, couldn't feel the presence of the Sith Lord deep inside him. It was...a weakness, spoke to the Jedi's declining state, made him understand how easy it had been for the Sith Lord to destroy his mind, how willingly he submitted to a new, dark Master, and it felt...right. If the Jedi couldn't detect his enslavement to the Sith, then perhaps they weren't meant to know. The Dark Side of the Force protected Darth Lumis, and the Light Side neglected its Jedi tenders. This was the will of the Force, as his Master had said.
Even as he walked the long halls, countless rows of holocrons sitting safely in their individual vaults, he could feel the presence of Master Lumis in his mind, the passive observer making certain that his slave didn't stray, wasn't somehow tempted, had a sudden, foolish surge of resistance. Eeth knew he wouldn't. Why would he? His Master had a task he commanded him to complete, and it was the Jedi's duty to serve him. Defying him...wasn't even an option.
When he came to the door that protected the vault's innermost sanctum, Master Koth stood before it, emotionless and still as he waited for the automatic system to complete its scan of him, his sharp ears listening as the consoles whirred as they processed, and for a long while, nothing happened. Any number of things could have gone wrong. The hi-tech system may have already purged his biometrics from the system, given that he had been presumed dead, or at the very least extremely missing, for months. His records may have simply been updated, revoking his status as a Master of the Council and therefore refusing him access. Or, even worse, perhaps the advanced system was somehow able to read that Koth's mind was not his own, that his body moved through the will of another, that a haze in his mind quietly filled with the words of a Sith.
That he was worse than fallen. That he was a slave to one who embraced the dark, and a part of him wished that the system would discover his treachery before it was too late.
With a hiss, the doors slid open, the long hall beyond only lit by the faint blue glow of the holocrons. With a shiver, Eeth Koth stepped inside, his hands tightening around the straps of the bag that he wore upon his back. He walked slower here. The air was cooler, crisper, older than the rest, a faint, musty smell hanging in the air an indication of how rarely this portion of the vault was accessed. He kept his senses open as he went, his fingertips lightly brushing the wall as he walked. Three times, he stopped, a faint pull from within him leading him to take a holocron from its place and put it delicately, reverently inside the bag. Jedi holocrons that the Force had led him to, three cubes that contained ancient secrets of the Jedi that, somehow, would now belong to the Sith. He...hated it, but he knew it was right, and without sparing it much thought, Koth continued on.
He didn't know how long he had walked when the faint blue light gave way to red, but the end of the hallway called to him, exerting such a powerful draw for such a small section of the long, vaulted corridor. He felt...dizzy. Unsteady on his feet, like he was not a little intoxicated as he moved toward the red hallway. He didn't like this feeling. It felt too much like his Master, too much like being hopelessly drunk or dangerously high on drugs, and with a shaking hand, he reached out to touch the consoles beside the glowing, individual vaults, the drawers sliding open with a hiss and revealing the red pyramids within. He didn't know how many were inside the entirely of the vault, but upon this wall, there were nine.
Nine collections of Sith knowledge, dangerous and terrible uses of the Force, the manipulation and control of the Dark Side, everything detailing the full power of the Force. Koth wouldn't be able to open it. He wasn't sure any Jedi could. But Lumis could. Lumis would open them, would drink in the knowledge they had to pass on, would grow even stronger still, and through power, he would come to own more Jedi, morse slaves to his pleasure. And he would be...beautiful. More than he was now, possessing the awe-inspiring wonder of a storm as it slowly approached to bring death and destruction with it.
His shaking hands opened the vaults, laid the pyramids in the bag, and drew the straps to close it. Nine vaults upon the wall that now sat empty, the red glow of the area faded into shadow faintly lit by the bright blue of the Jedi cubes. All that was left now was escaping with his life so he could return to his Master, and Eeth already had a plan for that. It was forbidden for the holocrons archived within the vault to leave it, partly for safety, but mostly to ensure that knowledge was available when it was required. But this knowledge wasn't made readily available. It was far too dangerous, too advanced for just anyone to access that which laid sealed behind the Master's vault. Simply leaving was...not an option. Every alarm in the Temple would sound, the Temple Guardians would be summoned, and Koth would be slain or imprisoned, never to return to his Master again.
That...could not be allowed.
He took his lightsaber in his hands and activated it, the green blade humming for a moment before it was thrust into the wall, hissing as it cut through the thick metal of the vault's walls. Using the Force to move the heavy, cut circle, Eeth Koth stepped into the hole he had made, reaching out to move the discarded metal piece back into place behind him. It was a tight fit, but he was within the thick walls of the Temple, and using the inner workings of the systems that ran through the crawlspace, the Master slowly made his way down through the darkness, using the Force to guide his way.
It didn't take long for the systems to register that something was amiss within the holocron vault, and while the Jedi Temple Guardians and Master ran toward the Vaults to defend what was inside, Eeth Koth casually entered the hangar, took a ship, and flew away from Coruscant.
