Torment 5

Luke stared at Prince Xizor's body. It was hard for him to believe the man was dead. Sure, he had seen people die in battles and wars, but killed by some unseen spirit? Somehow this seemed so different, so creepy! The truth was he felt like the whole situation was out of his control and he might be forced to rely on his Father. His blue eyes shifted slightly so he could see Vader better. If Xizor's death bothered the Sith Lord, Luke certainly couldn't tell. How did his Father feel? Was he worried or scared? Angry? The mask he constantly wore hid all the facial expressions one normally relied on to learn such things. Besides, Vader was on the Dark Side and the last thing Luke wanted was to get too closely involved with the Sith. But what other choice did he have? This was way out of his league! And there was that thing that kept touching him…

"Father," Luke started to say as he stepped closer to Darth Vader, his eyes locked on the expressionless breath mask. "There's something I think you should know…"

"What is it, Son?" Vader replied, his voice echoing. But what it was he didn't get a chance to find out because a fight broke out between the Empire and the Rebels.

Han glared at Palpatine. "This is all your fault that we're trapped in here with a crazy … whatever it is!"

Mara Jade, unconcerned about Xizor's death, still stood with her viroblade aimed at the three Rebels. She had complete faith in her Master and that he'd handle the situation to their advantage. Still, her green eyes shifted occasionally towards young Skywalker; but he was behaving for the moment and sticking close to Vader. Still, if any of them attempted escape she'd be on them in a moment unless directed differently by her Master. When Han accused the Emperor, she reacted instantly and shoved her weapon closer to the smuggler.

"Jade, enough!" Palpatine said as he moved next to Luke and Vader. "I have a new assignment for you. I want you to guard young Skywalker here for me. It is he that Tantalus wants, I believe and I won't allow it!"

"Me?" Luke's blue eyes widened in shock as he stared at the Emperor and he quickly glanced at his Father, then back to Palpatine. "Why would he want me? I don't even know him!"

"Because you have the power, boy!" Palpatine moved closer and he placed one wrinkled and decayed hand on Luke's shoulder. "I will protect you, young one. As long as I'm alive Tantalus can't do you anything. Rest assured we'll get out of here and then you're training can begin."

Mara moved to Luke's side, her green eyes scanning him from his tousled hair to his wet boots and back again. A smile spread across her red lips and her eyes seemed to sparkle. "We meet again, Skywalker."

Luke gulped nervously and tried to move closer to Vader. He didn't like the expression Mara had in her eyes when she looked at him like that, like he was a tasty steak that she wanted to gobble up. She was ruthless, deadly and worst of all, she was a girl! That meant if he fought with her it would be unfair and he half feared she'd wipe the floor with his carcass. Yes, it would be totally unfair and the last thing he wanted was to be stuck with her as a bodyguard! Nervous sweat broke out on his hands and brow, a desperate trapped feeling growing inside him. "Look, I don't need a bodyguard!"

"Don't be foolish, young Skywalker." Palpatine replied, his foul breath blowing onto Luke's face. "You have no idea of the power the Dark Side has and what it can do. Do you really think you can take on a undead Sith spirit by yourself and win?"

Han stood there with his mouth hanging open, one hand half raised in the air. Then his eyes narrowed and a determined expression formed on his face. "Luke! Don't you listen to any of this!"

"An undead Sith Spirit?" Luke repeated, his fear growing. "Is that what I've been feeling touching me? But when I look there's nothing there!"

"It is as I have feared." Palpatine placed an arm around the young Jedi's shoulders. "Tantalus wants you. He is tired of being stuck in the afterlife as a bodiless spirit. So he needs a new body, one young and strong and that has the Force. So he plans on possessing you."

"P…Possessing?" Luke stuttered, utter horror gripping him tightly. The idea that the cold thing that had been touching his back actually wanted to possess him, to take over his body … why … it was hideous! Then once it was him, it'll go around doing all sorts of terrible atrocities and he'd get blamed!

Jade smiled. "Don't worry, Skywalker. I won't let the freak get you."

"My Master knows what's best, Son." Vader informed him. "Do not underestimate a Sith, even a dead one. You are not ready to take on such an opponent by yourself. I suggest you do as the Emperor says."

Luke stood there, uncertain. The Emperor's bony arm and hand rested upon his shoulders, an unpleasant scent wafting off him into his nostrils. He abruptly realized that he was now totally surrounded by the Empire and cut off from his friends. He was cold, wet and scared, locked inside a Sith Temple and being threatened by an undead spirit! Confusion swirled around in his mind and he wished he knew what he should do. He didn't want to become Palpatine's apprentice but he didn't want to get possessed, either.

"Luke!" Han cried again as he rushed over to him. Reaching past Jade and Vader, Han gripped Luke's hand and attempted to pull him away from the Emperor. "Don't you listen to any of this claptrap! It's all fake I tell you!"

"Fake?" Luke asked, confused. His arm was almost pulled out of its socket by Han's enthusiastic tugging and he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. The problem was Palpatine wasn't letting go and the frail old man must have been a lot stronger than Luke ever thought. He young Jedi struggled to keep his balance amidst this tug-of-war between the two groups.

"Don't you see, Kid? It's a hoax!" Han shouted, as he pulled harder. "The Emperor wants you as his new apprentice! He wanted you for years but you wouldn't cooperate! So he cooked up this spooky scam to scare you to his side, saying he's the only one that can protect you! Then once he has you you'll be trapped!"

"Stop it, Solo!" Jade warned as she pointed her viroblade at Han's neck. "I'd hate to kill you in front of your friend, but I will if I have to."

"This is not a hoax!" Palpatine cried. "Do you think I'd kill Prince Xizor? He was my ally!"

"You'd kill your own mother to get your hands on Luke!" Han accused angrily.

"STOP!" Luke shouted. "We'll never get out of this if we all start fighting! Like it or not, we have to work together. So I think we should call a temporary truce. I really don't know if this dead Sith is for real or not, but I know the Force is real and that some Force users can continue to exist after death. I don't see why the Sith can't, too. And something HAS been touching me on the back…"

Han frowned. He dropped Luke's hand and pointed an angry finger at the younger man. "I don't believe this! I stick my neck out for you and you decide to stick to his story! Well, I hope you know what you're doing, Kid."

"Leia? What do you believe?" Luke asked, glad the mad tug-of-war over him had finally ended.

Princess Leia had been silent through the whole exchange. "I certainly don't like them Empire, but I know this is out of my experience. I don't know what to think…"

Frustrated, Han threw his arms up in the air and stalked off. "I'm going to look around this room for another way out."

"That's a good idea." Leia replied and she followed the smuggler. They slowly made a circuit of the room until they reached the area directly behind the throne made of bones. "Hey! I think there's another door here!"

Hope blossomed in Luke's heart at the idea of escape, and then he remembered what had happened to Prince Xizor. "Leia! Be careful!"

"I'll open it." Han offered as he pushed the Princess on the side. An uncertain look on his face, Han reached out for the knob and turned it. The door clicked and silently swung open. His face changed to triumph, then the happiness vanished into despair when he saw where the doorway led. "Ah, it's nothing but a tiny empty room! It doesn't go anywhere at all!"

"At least we tried." Leia remarked as she glared at Palpatine.

The chandelier above them started to swing around wildly in circles, the moving light casting strange shadows on the walls and floor. An evil laughter filled the chamber and the lights started to flicker on and off.

Luke's heart leaped into his throat and he was thankful that Palpatine, Jade and Father were close. The flashing lights hurt his eyes and it made it difficult to see anything. He felt another arm circle around his waist and he almost leaped right off the floor in fright, but then he realized it was just Jade doing her duty. If he weren't so frightened he'd be terribly uncomfortable.

YOU'LL ALL DIE! DIE! DIE!

Then all the lights went out and the room was pitched into total darkness. Luke heard a loud crash followed by a strangled gasp, and then all was quite.

To be continued…

Author's Note: Sorry this is a tad late. I'll update this and my other stories soon! I've been having some computer problems and there was a power failure earlier today and I lost a big chunk of my story, so I was forced to rewrite.