11: Visions and Nightmares.
Lord Scourge tossed and turned in his bed as he tried to escape from the images that continued to flood his mind. His past memories, his visions and his fear had all begun to melt together just for the sake of torturing him while his body didn't feel like his to control and he was powerless to fight the horrors he witnessed.
Arielle danced around inside the Emperor's sanctum, scantily clad in a black and laced gown with a blood red trim along the sides. She smiled his way and blew him a kiss across her hand before giggling and twirling around on her bare feet. The Emperor sat on his throne behind her, watching the Jedi who appeared to be entirely oblivious to his presence until Lord Scourge called out to her.
"Behind you!" he yelled and tried to rush over to her but his feet wouldn't comply.
The young Jedi spun around and her eyes widened when the Emperor raised his hand up to her and through the Force grabbed her by the throat, choking her slowly.
Lord Scourge still couldn't move and any objections he made died in his throat before ever reaching his lips. The rage within him quickly reached epic proportions as he stood by and was forced to watch the harrowing scene unfold before him.
A dark cloud crackling with energy drew up all around them as the Emperor slowly lifted Arielle up higher, her feet now dangling aimlessly above the floors of the inner sanctum. With an elegant flick of his wrist, he suddenly snapped her neck ending her life instantly and Lord Scourge felt the tears burn in his eyes as he watched her limp body fall back to the ground accompanied by the Emperor's mocking laughter.
Suddenly the vision before Lord Scourge blurred out and vanished before making way for brand new surroundings. He found himself on a dark and barren planet, one he remembered from times long ago and he could practically taste the death that lingered all around him.
"Scourge my love, join me?"
He spun around at the sweet sound of Arielle's voice, relieved to think she was still alive but his joy was short lived. She sat upon the Emperor's former throne, a crown atop of her head while massive piles of skulls and bones littered the ashen ground before her.
"Just like you spoke of my love. My throne, my crown and you at my side always."
The devious glint in her eyes that under any other circumstances would have caused his heart to skip a beat now instead elicited a sense of fear from him.
"What have you done.."
"What I was always meant to. I stopped the Emperor and performed the ritual myself. The galaxy belongs to us now and we shall build our new Empire upon the ashes of those who've tried to stand in our way."
"No! You weren't.."
"Isn't this what you always wanted my love? What your vision foretold? All your efforts spent grooming me for the Dark Side?"
The warm laughter that escaped her lips quickly turned shrill and then the Emperor's voice replaced Arielle's as the same mocking laughter Lord Scourge had heard before carried on.
He closed his eyes trying to block everything he saw and heard out and when he opened them again, the scene before him had changed once more.
Lord Scourge found himself staring straight into Arielle's deep blue eyes but it was as though she couldn't see him. She looked around frantically until an elderly man joined at her side. He preached to her words that Lord Scourge somehow couldn't make out and though the man bore a new face, he recognized him as the Emperor.
The barren wasteland they'd stood in before had now been replaced by Coruscant's famous buildings and yet, it wasn't quite the Republic capital either. It was darker and overcome by destruction, the city's soldiers lay dead in the streets and across the plaza.
"None of this is real." he heard Arielle say clearly.
Lord Scourge watched her break down in tears but each attempt he made to reach her somehow seemed to only further push him back until she vanished from his sights completely with nothing but her last few words lingering in his mind.
"None of this is real…"
His eyes finally snapped open and he found himself staring up at Grand Master Satele who hovered over him and seemed to be channeling the Light side of the Force. Lord Scourge's arm flew up in an instant and he grabbed her by the throat snapping her out of her focus.
"What's the meaning of this!" he barked angrily while Satele used her fingers to pry his hand away from her neck.
He released her slowly and Satele coughed several times before sinking back into the chair that sat next to his bedside "I was attempting to reach you through the Force to calm your mind. You were dreaming, violently."
The images of all he'd seen hadn't left his mind yet, neither had the fear and unease that he'd felt "Did you see? What was that?"
"I saw it, all of it."
She looked concerned and even somewhat frightened herself, disturbed by what she'd witnessed "I cannot presume to know what it meant, only you have those answers."
"None of those things have ever happened and Arielle would never.."
His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes, lying back and pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers "She would never take the Emperor's seat and commit such gruesome acts."
"Not even out of loving devotion for a man who's ruled by the darkness within himself?"
The meaning behind her words didn't fall on deaf ears and Lord Scourge sighed deeply "She wouldn't, your Jedi is stronger than that and even if she could ever love me, she'd never forsake her calling."
Satele softly smiled to herself as his phrasing made it clear he had no idea of Arielle's feelings for him, something she hoped he'd never find out either.
"That last moment though on Coruscant.. it was, different somehow and the Emperor he wasn't.. He was like another man."
Satele nodded "I felt it too. A certain sense of significance though I cannot begin to guess what it could mean."
He grabbed the pillow beneath his head and sat up slightly "Where is she? Arielle. I have to talk to her."
"Another time perhaps. She and the others left here this morning."
"Left for where?"
"An urgent mission. I'm afraid I cannot provide you with the finer details but rest assured, they'll be back soon, safe and sound."
Lord Scourge didn't appreciate her tone of voice. She sounded far too pleased about the fact that the entire crew was gone and he alone was left behind and far away from Arielle.
"So would you care to tell me the details of this ritual you and Arielle performed? It seems to have done quite a number on you."
His red eyes flared up at her "We found the gem, smashed it and I absorbed its mortality. Then the cave collapsed."
She arched her brow at him "It appears to have worked though yes? You seem, changed."
"Let me go jump out of the nearest window and find out." he snarked suddenly having lost all his desire to speak with the Grand Master.
She wasn't wrong though. He felt different, more alive than he had in a long while. The silken fabric of his sheets gently caressed his skin, a sensation that had been lost on him for the better part of his life. He could smell the fresh air that entered the room through his window and the world suddenly seemed so much brighter.
"That seems rather extreme. No I'd actually like you to accompany me to Coruscant so the more qualified medical staff there can sample your blood and DNA structure to see what other effects this ritual has had on you."
"Can't that wait until the others are back?"
He wasn't exactly jumping for joy at the thought of heading off anywhere with just the Grand Master to keep him company.
"It could but I've already prepared them for your arrival." Satele claimed and shielded her mind off fully to ensure he'd not catch onto her lie.
She felt grateful for her own quick thinking. She'd been trying to think of ways to get him away from the Jedi Temple, not just to keep him separated from Arielle even longer but also because despite their best efforts, the majority of those on Tython felt uneasy about his presence there especially with how restless he'd been. The Dark Side of the Force in him had been fiercer than ever and everyone felt it.
Lord Scourge groaned slightly and threw his bedcovers aside before climbing out the opposite end of where Satele sat. The armor he'd always donned lay over a nearby chair and he quickly snatched the pieces up one by one while getting dressed.
"I assume the rest of my belongings are still on the ship?"
"I'm afraid so but any necessities can be bought on Coruscant I'm sure."
Satele pushed her chair back and rose to her feet, announcing her departure from his presence "I'll have some dinner brought to your room so you can regain your strengths and then I'll expect to see you at the shuttle bay in an hour from now."
The urge to strangle her rose with each word she spoke and Lord Scourge was grateful to see her shut the door behind herself quickly.
He dug into his pockets to retrieve his comm and frowned when he saw the little indicator flicker red. He clipped the little device open and hit the button before Arielle's holo image appeared before him.
"Scourge? I don't know when you'll get this, right now I don't even know if you'll ever awake again but when you do.. if you do.. I just want you to know that I… well, I didn't leave you behind if that's what you're thinking. I rather wish you were here actually. Anyways… please know I'm thinking of you and I'll be back as soon as I can. I… - be well Scourge."
The holo image disappeared again in the blink of an eye though that didn't stop Lord Scourge from staring down at the communicator in his hand. He felt something. Something he hadn't in hundreds of years. There was this erratic thumping inside his chest and this unexplainable force within him urged him to hit play on the message once more.
He sank down to the edge of his bed and repeatedly played the recording she'd left for him. There was something she'd been trying to say but hadn't.
The woman who'd come to bring him his dinner went by completely unnoticed to him and rather than touch his food, Lord Scourge lay back in bed and recalled the visions that had startled him from his sleep earlier. He'd hated most of what he'd seen and those thoughts would haunt him for days to come but there'd been one fraction of a moment which he hadn't minded and it was that one he chose to cling onto for now.