Fated Origins: Chapter 6: He Who Has Power
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or added this story to their favorites and alerts. Keeps me workin'. Selected review responses are at the bottom. Be sure to check 'em out.
Enjoy!
oOoOoOo
"Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?"
A Dream Within a Dream, Edgar Allan Poe
oOoOoOo
38 BBY-Korriban
"Yes, Maul was a fool, wasn't he, my dear child?"
Darth Sidious, known to the public as Senator Palpatine, stood like a sinister sentinel with his scarlet lightsaber still drawn; the corpse of his now ex-Apprentice, Darth Maul, lay cold at his feet. The obsidian and crimson-hided man's eyes were still peeled back in his outraged expression, the angered irises locked and frozen in the encasement of death.
Sidious had followed his Dathomirian trainee after relaying to him his orders, for the Sith Master had foreseen Maul's incredulity and suspicion at being sent to retrieve a mere boy from the hostile surface of a desert planet. If not at first meeting, he knew Maul would have attempted to end the child's life sometime, being of the envious and pigheaded variety. Yet, it appeared things had simply turned out favorably for Sidious. Maul's demise had cleanly presented itself before matters became complicated.
No. Favorable circumstantiality was nonexistent: he had foreseen it. Everything was proceeding just as he had predicted it would. Maul had been easily dealt with, and now Sidious had a chance to take an Apprentice once more with this innately powerful child.
Tragic, it would seem, that the Master had to do away with his Apprentice. But, disobeyed orders were disobeyed orders, and a noncompliant pupil was unacceptable. It had been too easy to kill him, as the red-skinned man had been too absorbed in his rage to even perceive Sidious' approach.
"And he was quite the repulsive, unobservant creature," drawled Sidious indifferently, as he reached down into the crib and pulled out the small boy. He half-expected the child's powers to flare, or to repel him in some manner, but nothing of the sort occurred. Perhaps he thought of Sidious as a guardian, after observing him slay Maul in his defense.
A brief glint caught the Sith's eye.
It was a metal plate of some sort, attached to the front of the child-carrier. He crouched to interpret it, and was just as surprised as Maul had been when he discovered he could comprehend the language inscribed on the plaque.
"Aristarchus Cygnus Riddle-Black…" he read, looking at the infant male in his arms. The name sounded aristocratic. Odd. Sidious was extremely inquisitive about the boy's history, but the time for questioning would not present itself for several years. But then again, he doubted the child would hold any knowledge of his previous existence.
"Well, Aristarchus," said the Sith, addressing the wide-eyed infant. The child's eyes were quite captivating, colored of the purest ice-blue he had ever seen on a being. "If you are to be my Apprentice, everything that currently encompasses you must be erased. To initiate this, you will require a new name." Sidious grinned chillingly, white teeth nearly gleaming in Korriban's harsh sunlight.
"Welcome to the Dark Apprenticeship, Cadmus."
oOoOoOo
Unknown Date, Day One of Cadmus' Return, Unknown Location-Cadmus' Perspective
Cadmus, a thoroughly trained Sith Lord, had been caught off guard by the unexpected squeezing sensation that followed Tonks' performing of the 'magical travel', Apparition. The world about him had abruptly become a blur of indiscernible chromatics and fuzzy shapes, and just as quickly as the sensation came, it had left, and he had found himself standing in a tiny, carpeted room. He stumbled forward slightly, his disorientation an after-effect of experiencing Apparition for the first time.
"By Revan!" the Sith cried, dropping the unconscious Healer Aeschylus unheedingly, hands immediately scrutinizing his own body as if he was making sure it was still whole. Force Teleportation was much more fluid and simple, and one undergoing it possessed the feeling of merely walking through a door.
"Even your magic is crude!"
His servant-girl huffed, but made no vocalizations. Wise.
Cadmus, now certain his body was intact, revolved around and examined their location, taking in the rough carpet, the scarce furniture (a table, two chairs and an illuminating-device in the corner), and the stained walls. He scowled, aghast.
"Where have you taken me?" he enquired scathingly, eyes roving about the diminutive living-area. The tiny space reminded him off the meager dwellings in the ghettos of Nar-Shaddaa. Their occupants were usually just as unsavory as their homes appeared.
She made an exasperated face, but her tone was even. "My flat, Master."
"Flat?" he repeated. "Another useless term? Is it that difficult for you to make sense in your explanations?"
Traces of confusion and umbrage in her Signature.
"Yes. A flat. Master," the Metamorphagus Auror countered, spitting out his appointed title like a distasteful fluid. "It's like an apartment. Well, basically, a small house."
"Well, whatever it may be, it displeases me," hissed Cadmus, wrinkling his nose. He looked very much like a child who was being forced to eat vegetables. "How do you exist in such a tiny, unkempt Hutt-hole?"
Tonks made no reply, but her shade-altering tresses did. Her shoulder-length mane burned a deep red, and Cadmus consequently smirked. A fiery one. Just to his partiality.
The Dark Lord of the Sith reached down and languorously trailed a single index finger through her now-ruby hair. On impulse, Tonks shuddered, and Cadmus' grin widened. He did have an effect on her, and it would seem both emotionally and physically.
He leaned down, close, and whispered into her ear, voice seductive and husky.
"I am hungry, Tonks, my servant. Your Master needs to be fed."
She visibly swallowed, the irises of her eyes briefly flashing pink.
"Y-yes, Master."
She quickly stepped away from him, hurrying away into another room, which he presumed was the kitchen. Faintly, he heard a moan originate from somewhere near his feet.
Cadmus peered downwards, and found Aeschylus lightly stirring, mouth gaping as the pain reinstated into his now-conscious psyche. Dried blood covered the man's face, having leaked from his nostrils and mouth following Cadmus' ruthless mental attacks.
"Bloody…hell…" the man muttered, struggling to his hands and knees.
"Well, well," drawled Cadmus, voice contemptuous. "Rise and shine, Aeschylus."
With a motion like that of a speeding bullet, the Sith Lord drew back his right leg and kicked, brutally. Cadmus' iron-like shin slammed against the side of the Healer's torso with a resonant thump and several distinct snaps. The sheer force of the blow lifted Aeschylus clear off of the floor, and he soared through the air limply, like a doll. The sullied Healer collided with a chair, flipping over it and alighting with thud on the raggedy carpet. In a flash, Cadmus was next to him, pulling him off the ground anon by the back of his white, medical robe.
Like the man was simply a toy, Cadmus spun and flung Aeschylus across the room and into a wall, the impact of his body splitting the drywall.
Cadmus was never one to enjoy being the cause of suffering, but, torture was a most viable method to securing wholesale information. When he did interrogate the man, lies and half-truths will have dissipated under the correct amount of applied force, and because of Cadmus' unacquainted circumstances, the whole truth would be required. He did not know if the man was a Rebel agent, an Empire dissolutionist, or perhaps just as he appeared to be, a bystander sickbay specialist, but nonetheless, the man had been in charge of Cadmus' treatment. At the very least, he may know how the Sith Lord arrived at the "Earth" infirmary, if "Earth" was even the planet he was currently located in. The information acquired from Tonks' mind was not sufficient, because of the possibility of implanted, false memories that had acted as defense barriers. Which, of course, was highly unlikely.
The battered Healer slid down the wall and collapsed. Cadmus began striding his way over to his victim when something unthinkable occurred.
A lamp collided with the side of his head.
The contact of the metal with his skull was somewhat light, not enough to render him unconscious, but certainly adequate to split the skin. Cadmus roared, the cry of an angered Sith, and revolved around faster than the eye could distinguish. Tonks stood before him, a newfound stick in her hand.
She bellowed. "You're not my fucking master, Riddle! Stupefy!"
In ostensibly slow motion, a red bolt of light emitted from the end of her extended twig and flew directly at him. With motions honed from a near decade of combat familiarity, Cadmus ducked and rolled lithely to the left. In a bout of harnessed wrath, he thrust out his right hand and projected a concentrated burst of electrical energy into her chest. With an agonized scream, she was propelled backwards through the doorway she had been standing in and out of sight. Cadmus consequently heard several loud clangs, a dull thump, and proceeding silence.
For a moment, Cadmus stood immobile, chest slightly heaving in his unhindered anger, his mind processing what had just happened.
His servant had turned to downright insurrection? It was not a completely inconceivable idea, as this girl had never tasted bondage before. Probably also due in part to the fact that her spirit was somewhat wild and untamed, from what she had displayed and what he had read from his first penetration of her mind. But how had she recovered her self-direction so completely after his first breaking of her?
No matter. No individual is indomitable. It was her own foolish actions that had just ensured the total contravention of her mind. In but a few moments, he would have her reduced to a nauseatingly loyal minion, entire will broken and pulverized under his potently compelling ministrations. Her indisputable acceptance of her servitude would have to be brought about by this unrefined technique. How sad.
An impending matter suddenly struck his mind and interrupted his reverie. Aeschylus.
He turned to the location of where he had thrown the Healer, and unexpectedly found the battered, middle-aged man crawling pitifully towards a "wand", as insolent Tonks had called it. Just before he could grasp the wooden weapon, however, Cadmus' shoe landed atop his fingers. The man keened pitiably.
"Now, now, Aeschylus, I cannot tolerate you attempting to harm me," Cadmus intoned mockingly, akin to one reprimanding a petulant child. The Sith lazily kicked the stick away, and it rolled innocuously across the floor.
"W-what do you want from me?" questioned Aeschylus weakly, green eyes broad. The Healer was in awful condition, to say the least. Blood soaked his robes in several places, and his wrist was bent at a disconcertingly unnatural angle.
The Sith crouched, and Aeschylus flinched at his captor's close proximity.
"Aeschylus, you are no welcome receiver of pain," Cadmus continued, voice still sardonic. "If you would like this questioning to be smooth and without injury, then it would be wise of you to wholly cooperate with me. Now, to begin, where am I?"
Aeschylus gawked at him as if he were insane.
Cadmus' irritation pricked.
"Answer me!" he roared, lifting his right hand and summoning a ball of flame as a catalyst.
"Alright, alright!" cried Aeschylus, though still clearly confused at the query. "We're in London, England!"
Cadmus blinked. The stupidity...
"And where is this 'London, England' located?"
"Europe? Earth?" the man said perplexedly. "Look, I don't know what you want me to-,"
Cadmus brought his foot down on Aeschylus hand anon, hard. Several pops immediately followed, and Aeschylus resultantly howled in pain.
"Do not speak unless directed to!" Cadmus shrieked. "Earth is this planet then, yes?" Aeschylus feebly nodded. "What levels of technology does this 'Earth' possess?"
Aeschylus whimpered. Cadmus could sense the man's bewilderment growing overburdening. If he was to push him any further, the Healer might enter a catatonic state, and would be useless for additional questioning.
Cadmus relinquished his foot from the man's hand, and instead switched his interrogatory tactic.
"Aeschylus, you must understand," he said, voice now soft and harmless. "I am lost and alone on this unfamiliar world. You see, I am not this 'Riddle' that you presumed I was. I am Darth Cadmus, native of glorious Korriban, Shadowed Hand of Emperor Sidious."
He observed the Healer's face for any traces of recognition or fear. None showed. Perhaps this planet actually was too primitive and distant to have heard of him…
"Do you want the pain to go away, Aeschylus?" queried the Sith in a hushed tone.
"Y-yes. Please."
"Then you must answer my enquiries. What levels of technology does this planet possess?"
"Well," hesitantly began the Healer. "We have cars, and erm, planes. Boats. Trains. Computers. I think there is a space station…"
This information confirmed Cadmus' allegations. Pre-hyperspacial in travel. Minimal in the way of computers. Personal flight-vehicles not yet available. It was all utterly primordial. But, there still was this 'magic' element...
"Aeschylus, expound for me upon this matter of-,"
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
Cadmus froze.
"Well, hello there, Riddle."
oOoOoOo
Chapter 5 Review Responses:
Julian Carax: Yes, I must admit, I drew upon the fact that the whole "tied to love" aspect really kind of killed "Broken Chains" (for me) to compose this story.
darkangelmanz: Thanks for your kind words! And, it is safe to say, that this will be completely different from Darth Marrs' fic. And, though it will be revealed later in the story, "the Force" is simply Aristarchus/Cadmus' powerful, innate magic manifest; it could be equated to potent wandless magic. It is basically a form of magic, and his Force powers are possible due to his magic. Collectively, (for the sake of this story) the Force and the magic of HP are synonymous in how they operate. Because of this, Cadmus will retain his powers as a Sith Lord, and not weakened or made stronger in the HP 'verse. It's technically like he's the same being, but in a separate universe. That probably didn't clear anything up, sorry. Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapters to come!