AN: A slightly shorter part this time and it looks like it will be more than five parts as, as I've edited and refined it, it has grown to be somewhat longer than it was in the draft form.

Many thanks to everyone who has been reading and especially to the lovely few who have commented.

The Previous Disclaimer Still Applies.


Insidious

Part Four

The Teacher

Long before his shuttle broke through the atmosphere of the desert world he could feel the boy's presence in the remote and deserted dwelling he had taken as his Tatooine home. In the time it took for him to transfer from ship to speeder to destination the child's anticipation was flaring excitedly within the Force, and yet… it was tempered, hidden from all bar his Master. The boy knew something, had gained a knowledge that he was desperate to share with his teacher and, as the portal of the building opened to admit him, his pupil was already kneeling on the floor.

"You have news for me?"

"Yes, Master!"

He crossed to the only piece of furniture in the large room; it had once been a simple block of sand stone, but he'd hired a sculptor to carve a chair from the rock and it was from there that he taught the boy, it was from there that he imparted his knowledge to his latest protégé, while the sculptor lay rotting in a sandy grave behind the property.

Sitting and gesturing with his hands, he intoned. "Then rise, young one, and tell me what you have learned."

As he had been taught, Luke stood at ease with his hands behind his back. The posture one of calmness while inside his feelings were wild with agitation. "A Jedi came to the farm."

The Force chilled within the room; he could feel the Dark Side recoil at this news. At the last the Jedi had made a move. "Are you sure?"

The boy nodded, his eagerness to please evident in his tones. "Yes, Master. I've known him most of my life. He came to the farm, I could feel him try and read me. That's how I knew what he was and…"

"Does the Jedi suspect?" He snapped, ready to punish the boy should he have failed in his task. It concerned him that the Jedi had been around the boy for so long. Why had the knight not made a move to train Skywalker's child?

"No, Master," the boy intoned, shaking his head, blond locks catching the sun that filtered through the open door. There was pride in his voice, a confidence and assurance that belied his years. "I have been careful. I have hidden as you taught, projected only what he expected to find. I did as you said and redirected his attention."

"Explain."

Luke raised his head, a small smile curling his lips. "I could feel he knew I was hiding something. I gave him a knife, pretended it was that I hid. I let him feel my emotions… how I felt when Fixer beat on me. He was satisfied, I could feel it."

The boy was indeed strong; talented and clever.

"And does our adversary have name?"

"Yes, Master. Ben. Ben Kenobi."

Kenobi!

The Force thrilled around him… At last Obi-Wan Kenobi scuttles out from the hole he had dug for himself, at last he is pulled into the open by the lure of the boy. It was all so obvious now. Kenobi had bested Vader on Mustafar. Kenobi had taken Amidala and so it made sense that Kenobi had been the one to secret away the child upon his birth and deliver him to Anakin Skywalker's step-kin.

Kenobi believed that Luke had been safely hidden from his father and his master… Oh, if only the Jedi knew how much he had failed and how far the boy had already fallen into darkness.

"What do we do, Master?"

"Do? Why child, we do nothing," he grinned at the confusion on the boy's face, enjoying his secret game. It was time to further ensnare the boy. He leaned forward, his bony hands grasping the armrests of the stone chair. "The Jedi is here to watch you," he explained, watching the boy's expression, feeling the boy's emotions spike. "You are the son of his adversary, the man who hunted down and destroyed the Jedi Order, and he is here to kill you should you show the same abilities as your father."

The shadow of fear crossed Luke's face and the blue eyes darkened. The young heart beat with consternation and panic. He stepped forward, breaking his stance. "Then we should strike first as you taught. We should…"

He suddenly stood, causing the boy to take a step back again. His ire was pure; a sheer scorching heat, energy crackled over his knuckles. It was a small infraction; he had previously ignored similar, or had gently chided. However, things were shifting, changing and the boy needed to be taught a lesson. "Never question my judgement!" he spat in fury.

There was a burst of Light, a sharp yell of pain and Luke was propelled backwards to land hard on his back. He skidded across the sandy floor, the crackling Force energy dissipating.

It was just a touch, just enough.

The teacher took a step forward and the boy cringed, arm thrown up in a feeble attempt at defence.

"I…" Luke gasped, stumbling over his words, his confusion and hurt clear on his face. Never had his master lifted a hand to him. Never had he seen his master like this. Never had he feared his master before this moment and… the boy paled as he suddenly realised, suddenly felt, how absolutely powerful his Master was.

He smiled at the boy's horror, at the teenager's abrupt understanding.

"Master I…"

"I am Darth Sidious," he hissed, finally giving the boy a name. "I am The Dark Lord of the Sith and you will know your place, young one."

He pointed in the direction of the empty chair, at a spot on floor just in front of it. Immediately he could see the awareness strike at the heart of his pupil; Luke understood what the gesture meant. The boy glanced to the door, glanced at the sun and sand beyond the shadow of this place and Sidious grinned as he sensed the sudden surge within the boy.

Luke wanted to run.

"Ah, my child," he soothed, the anger still present, still threatening. He was about to teach yet another lesson. It was time to fully explain his pupil's position. "You think to take your chances with the Jedi? You think to leave, to abandon me and your teachings now? Your training is incomplete, you are not yet strong enough to survive without me. How long will you last without my protection?"

Still the boy looked to the door. Just as his father had looked to the Jedi and had betrayed him…

"I am going to turn you over to the Jedi council"

"But you are not sure of their intentions, are you?"

…only to join him a few hours later.

"I pledge myself to your teachings."

Anakin had run… would the boy?

"Without me the Jedi will sense you, find you… and he will not suffer you to live."

Still Luke lay on the floor. Still he stared at the door with chest heaving and limbs trembling. His need… his want to run… coursing through him with rushing adrenalin. But he was hesitating; he was torn between his loyalty to his Master and Teacher, who had given him so much, and the sun and the warmth and light of the freedom that lay just beyond the open door.

"Only I can give you the freedom your desire. Only I can help you, Luke. Only I have the answers to the questions you ask. Only I can give you the power to defeat the Jedi who guards you. Only I can save you from Kenobi."

He returned to his chair, sat and clasped his hands on his lap; waiting for the boy to accept the reality of his situation. There was nowhere for him to go. There never was, just as it had been for his father.

There was only him. There was only the Dark Side.

"If you leave now," he warned, "you will die."

He would kill the boy himself, if he had to.

He watched, ready to act, as Luke dragged his eyes away from the sunlit door and looked to the sand on the floor, looked to the place where he had often sat crossed legged captivated by his master's voice.

The Place.

His place.

Where he was safe from the Jedi beyond the door.

With a sigh, that was both defeat and acceptance, Luke dragged himself from the floor. He licked his lips in indecision, wiped the tears of pain from his face, and not daring to look upon his master's face he lowered himself to his knees, his head bowed. "I...," his voice was heavy with doubt, with uncertainty and fright, but still the boy submitted. He knew he had no other choice. "My… apologies, Master," he whispered, "I meant no disrespect."

Sidious smiled, he reached out and placed a gentle hand upon the bowed, blond head. "Have patience. The Jedi will be dealt with in time," He told his pupil, his anger waning.

The tension in the room faded to simmer quietly within the Force, but he did not doubt that it would rise again for he sensed a spark of rebellion in this boy and he knew that Luke would question his authority again and would have to be put down more sharply, be taught a lesson he truly would never forget.

"Once you have grown, once you are strong enough, we will entice this Jedi out with bait he cannot resist and he will be cut down. Meantime, his presence will serve you as a reminder against failure. He is aware and he is watching, if he ever suspects what you are, what you are becoming, he will act against you, against me.

"Our fate, the fate of the Sith, lies in your hands young one. Choose your actions wisely."

"Yes, Master," Luke's cheeks were warm with shame, with humiliation. He had almost failed his master, had almost ruined it all and his anger burned deeply. Anger at himself, at the Jedi and at his master.

"Now," Sidious deliberately lightened his voice, grinning at the flare of hate within the Force from the boy, "you have more news for me, yes? Stand and tell me of your tormentor."

With relief at the switch of topic, the change of his master's mood, Luke stood and at last raised his eyes to his teacher. "I have dealt with him, master."

There was pride in the boy's voice. Pride of accomplishment. There was also pleasure, that dark shiver of delight that rested within when retribution had been fulfilled. Darkness wanted this boy, yearned for him. He wanted this boy and all the power he possessed and Luke was becoming a willing vassal.

"Tell me," he commanded.

"He will never touch me again. I made sure of it." Skywalker's voice was thick with his victory, the teenage tones deepening to a man's.

Sidious sat straighter in his chair, in surprise and in concern. Had the boy over-reacted? Had the boy left a mess behind him as his father so often did? "You killed him?"

"No, master…" and suddenly Luke seemed unsure, afraid that he had failed, afraid that his master would punish once more. The boy's voice returned. "Should I have?"

"No, my child…" he pacified, gently, "that would have brought unwanted attention to you. You did exactly as I wished. You have overcome your weakness, stood up to those who would have power over you and defeated them. You used your powers and yet remained hidden from the Jedi. You have brought him out of hiding and exposed him. I am pleased.

"You are strong with the Dark Side of the Force. Someday you will be a powerful Sith like your father before you."

The youth's sudden happiness was blinding in the Force, causing his master to wince with the light.

Eager, Luke instinctively returned to his knee, to the floor. "You'll teach me more?"

"Yes, young one. I will teach you it all…

ooOOoo

To Be Continued…