Chapter 10 -Act I- Illusions of Pain, Part I
The next day, Louise woke up with a terrible ache in her back and a blurred memory she recognised as yesterday. She remembered Harkun, getting her trial, Gerr's death and funeral, but beyond that, nothing but a swirl of colour and noise. Knowing that she had to get up, the pinkette slid off the bed and began to get ready for the day.
A quick check to see if Lyira was still asleep in bed found that the raven-haired girl was out. Pleased once again with her luck, she performed the different workouts before getting dressed. Once dressed in her acolyte uniform and armed with her training blade and blaster, Louise quickly dipped in for breakfast, before heading off on her day. The first thing on her list was to check out her new trial.
Knowing the floor, but not the room Lord Kahn was in, Louise began to ask the different guards around the higher floors for the missing Sith. Soon enough, she was shown Kahn's office.
Bidding her guide goodbye, the pinkette entered the office carefully, knowing that some Sith were temperamental when disturbed. "Excuse me?" she called, into the room.
"Yes?" A strong voice replied, coming from the adjoining room. A few footsteps later, and a being Louise could only describe as tall and attractive entered. "Ah, yes. You must be the acolyte Harkun has sent me."
"I am, my lord," Louise replied, craning her neck to look the man's face -if she were to guess, he was nearly two feet taller than her. It was obvious that he had spent much time delving deep into the Dark Side if the yellow eyes were any indication, oddly enough though his skin was milkier than those like Lord Renning. He was quite a slim man, with a more simplistic style of dress than some of the Sith she had seen, dressed in a dark tailed tunic and equally dark pants and boots.
"Good, good. Now, I suppose you would like to know more about what your trial will entail?" Kahn asked, delicately raising an eyebrow in a way that made the pinkette nervous.
"Yes, my lord." She answered absently, still taking in the handsome man's appearance.
"It's quite simple." The Lord said, "During our excavations, we managed to uncover a new tomb. We suspect that the tomb is that of Ludo Kressh. Your trial is simple, go in and acquire any artefact you deem important. Now that you're finally here, I'll be heading over to the tomb promptly; care to join me?"
"Yes, my lord," Louise said again. Kahn inclined his head and began to strut towards the exit, the pinkette following closely behind.
The journey to the tomb was a by no means long, only passing by Ajunta Pall's tomb, but the view she had the entire walk, made it more than a simple trek. Exiting said tomb, the pinkette was directed towards a small gathering of beings; two officers, three soldiers and half a dozen slaves, each with some sort of mining apparatus. Absently, Louise rubbed the back of her neck.
"Here we are!" Kahn exclaimed once they drew near the group. "The tomb is right in there, just follow the tunnels and you should find your way." He continued, gesturing to a cave like opening behind the group. Odd, I didn't notice that. "Don't worry about light, we've set up a few excavation stakes throughout the cave system."
"Is there anything else I should know, my lord?" Louise asked, hoping for any more information she could get her hands on.
Instead of Kahn answering, it was one of the nearby officers, "The tomb, at least according to our sensors, is devoid of life. There are markings inside the tunnels that show lightsaber damage, but the youngest is about three to four hundred years old."
"Your sensors?" The pinkette echoed, "Has anyone entered the tomb?"
"No, not in recent history." The Sith answered, "We would have sent the slaves in first, to scope out the area, but we are a bit hesitant to do so these days, especially with the concentration of Dark Side energies seeping out of that tomb. We don't need another Ragnos incident."
"So," she began, drawing out the word, "I am going in blind?"
"It wouldn't be much of a trial if you knew everything, now would it." Lord Kahn joked, before musing, "Then again, by the time you leave, you would know more than us. No matter, just head in there, get something of value and get out. Simple as that."
"Yes, my lord," Louise said, though, a small part of her knew that it would not be as simple as the Sith hoped.
...
True to the Sith Lords words, the caves were lit by small light poles that had been staked into the ground at various intervals. Finding the entrance of the tomb was quite easy, especially as all the tunnels seemed to end in the same place.
The entrance was across a man-made bridge that contrasted the natural cave it was built. Though, it was not the most out of place structure, that instead belonged to the entrance. If she were to guess, it was made from a heavy duty durasteel. It was nestled off to the side of the cave, and she would have missed it had it not been for the lights guiding the way. It looked like an older version of the blast doors of the Imperial Transport that brought her to Korriban, used to keep wandering hopefuls away from the more important parts of the ship.
Cautiously, she approached the entrance, but as she drew near, she began to feel… something change. As she got closer, the feeling got stronger, bigger, and it was then that she realised the Sith Lord's words were true. The Dark Side was strong here, but at the same time it was twisted and felt… wrong. Mentally, she shrugged but continued to be weary of the tomb as she began to examine the door, quickly finding the control panel to open it.
The door slid open without error, granting entrance.
Beyond the door was a long dark hallway built from smooth cut stone. From where she was standing, she could see a dimly lit room, sitting innocently at the end. Louise took in a deep breath, then began walking. As she walked through the hall, she started to notice a presence, an unfamiliar presence, but the second she tried to lock onto it, it vanished.
Eventually, Louise reached the end of the hall and entered the dim antechamber which leads to three different halls. Inspecting her choices, the pinkette found that the path to the left and right lead to dark rooms, with only the way, forwards lighting her way. It seemed like a simple decision, and it was, but before she could even pass the half way mark, the sounds of footsteps echoing behind her made her pause.
In a second, she had spun around, her blaster and training blade in hand. However, it seemed her worry was unfounded because out of the darkened hall came two imperial soldiers dressed in their dark armour and features obscured by their bucket shaped helmets.
"What are you two doing here?" Louise asked the faceless and nameless soldiers, sheathing her weapons.
Before the two could answer, another voice called out, once again from behind her, "To do my bidding."
Louise internally shuddered once she recognised the voice. "Harkun!?" She exclaimed in surprise.
"Surprised to see me, slave?" He spat in return.
Immediately, Louise's face lost all expression, "You're not supposed to interfere with our trials, Overseer."
"You do not tell me what I can and can't do, but it doesn't matter, I am not interfering with an Acolytes trial." The Overseer explained, grinning smugly, "I am dealing with a runaway slave who doesn't know her place."
Before she could react, Louise felt four metal-clad hands restrain her arms in a bone crushing grip. Her training saber and blaster were confiscated with the former being cut in half by , something unmistakably metal was pressed against the back of her neck before an audible beep accompanied by a painful pinch. The four hands released, pushing her to the ground.
Immediately, her hands shot towards the thing on her neck, feeling the objects familiar shape with growing horror. "No, no! You… you can't!" Louise stammered, pulling at the shock collar with a hint of disbelief.
Her breathing began to quicken with each tug. The feeling of her skin being pulled and stretched hammering in the reality of what was happening. Louise began to look around the room for anything that would reveal this to be a cruel joke played on her to show her place. Yet, none could be found. "... No, no! No, you can't do this! I am not a slave!" She screeched, as she ripped forcefully at the collar on her neck, no longer caring about the pain.
A second later, Louise was convulsing on the floor screaming, her body ravaged by the familiar feeling of electricity. "One shock for trying to remove your shock collar," Harkun said in a drawl tone, his finger pressed down on the controller. The collar continued to do as it was designed for a few more moments until the Overseer ceased pressing the button.
The Acolyte tried to push herself off the floor but was met by a boot slamming her back to the ground. "Another for misbehaviour," The Sith Lord said again, activating the collar once more.
When the electrocution finally stopped, Louise had no strength. She tried to move her arms, but the movements were slow and sluggish, her legs felt as if they were being weighed down by stones. Despite the effects, the pinkette continued to try and fight, pushing back the blackness that threatened to overtake her.
"Not going to try and get up?" He asked lazily, "Are you really that weak? Hmm, I guess that should be another shock for disappointing your master."
Louise tensed her muscles for the pain she knew was to come. She needed to fight back but the pain of the shock collar did not come.
"No, I don't think shocking you would work anymore." Harkun said eventually, "You've had a taste of freedom, of power. I think we might have to do something more… permanent. Ffon?" He called.
"Yes, my lord?." The voice of the Pureblood responded eagerly from somewhere behind her.
Despite being unable to see the Overseer, Louise knew that he was grinning smugly, "Will you do the honours?"
"With pleasure." Ffon replied, "You two, restrain her."
Once again, Louise felt the two sets of strong arms restrain both her arms perpendicular to her body. Memories of the first week at the slave mines began flooding back and with it a hurricane of hate and anger. She tried to shout and curse, but her throat was raw with pained screams, so instead she focused on trying to free herself, but even then, it was all for naught; their grips were too strong and her limbs were too weak.
She felt someone grab her hair, pulling it up along with her head. Before she could see what was happening, no less vocalise her discomfort, the glowing white of superheated metal was shoved inches from her face. Her fear began to crawl back, digging its roots into her as the branding iron was waved casually waved in front of her. "Perhaps we should start with your face?" Ffon mused aloud, "No, not yet..."
Her hate and anger turned swiftly to desperation upon realising what would be branded onto her skin. Efforts were redoubled in her attempt to escape, even more so when Ffon moved out of view. She needed to escape, to fight back, but she could do nothing, she was not strong enough to stop what was happening, something she hated herself for.
Soon, the sound of sizzling skin and agonised screams resonated in the chamber.
The smell of bubbling flesh was barely noticed by Louise as the pain seemed to block out everything else. Soon, the branding iron was removed along with the four restraining arms, however, this did nothing to alleviate the pain.
"Oh, yes, that did come out quite nicely. Well done, Ffon." Harkun praised, presumably examining the new brand on her skin. "Slave, you should come see this, it is quite remarkable."
Louise felt someone, Ffon, Harkun or one of the guards, grab her head before twisting it roughly to face her arm, "Do you like what you see?" The Pureblood asked from out of view. Not that she truly cared who was speaking.
Tears began to run down her face when she looked upon her burnt flesh. The word 'SLAVE' was written down her upper arm in Aurebesh. Louise felt something crack inside her as the gravity of what had happened came slamming down on her. Forever, she would be marked with proof of her enslavement, proof that she was once nothing more than property. Even if it were for only for a short time, it had a larger impact on her than she would care to admit; and now, everyone who looked upon her would know what she was.
In hindsight, she missed being called a Zero.
"Where should I brand next, Overseer?" Ffon asked, holding the iron just in front of her face.
"As you said before, go for the face. At least then, it will be more difficult to hide," Harkun responded.
"I wonder, Slave, if I could melt your lips together?" questioned the pureblood sadistically, kneeling down in front of her with the iron dangling just before her face, "I guess we'll just have to find out."
Soon, Louise found herself on her back with Ffon straddling her. With one hand he brandished the branding iron close to her face, and with the other, he was holding her head still.
In that moment, she felt her mind clear and immediately knew that this was the best time to move. Using the power of the Dark Side to invigorate her limbs, she grabbed the iron in both hands, redirecting it away from her face and back towards Ffon. With Ffon distracted, Louise quickly shot her hand out and summoned Harkun's lightsaber to her hand.
The second her hand touched the weapon, all the pain and ache seemed to dissipate and new strength seemed to fill her bones. Pressing the activation stud with haste, she struck at the recoiling Pureblood. Quickly, she removed the now dead Pureblood from atop her, before sending a telekinetic blast towards his master.
Immediately, she jumped to her feet, just as blaster fire filled the room. Some she dodged, other she deflected. A few choice slashes later, and the only two beings left alive was Louise and Harkun.
The pinkette turned to face the Sith Lord, her eyes burning with absolute hatred and ungodly fury. Thoughts on how to deal with the cockroach before her started flying through her head. She did not want him to scream, to beg for mercy; that would be too easy.
No, she wanted him to be in so much pain, that screaming would be impossible, she wanted him to beg for the sweet merciful embrace of death. She wanted him to have no hope, no will to live. Sadly, she knew that what she wanted was unattainable. She was too inexperienced in torture, and the longer he lived, the better chance he had of getting free. So, instead, she raised his lightsaber and brought it down.
The instant the crimson blade hit Harkun, her world erupted into pain, then finally darkness.
When she came too, Louise found herself lost, confused and alone. All she knew was that she was in a tomb and her body felt as if it had been ripped apart at the atomic level, then rebuilt several times.
Slowly the events trickled back to the forefront of her mind; the soldiers, Harkun, Ffon, and most importantly, the torture she went through. Fresh tears began to flow, blurring her vision. Louise laid there for a time, silently sobbing to herself as if the sound of her crying would bring Harkun back. Soon, however, she ran out of tears, and her cheeks dried and she began to take more notice of her surroundings.
One part, though, stopped her dead in her mental tracks. There laying on the stone ground, was her training saber, but that was not the strange thing. The strange thing was that the training blade was intact.
The image of Harkun slicing her training blade in half sat, burning a hole in her mind as a flame through parchment. Yet, here her blade was, sitting there intact.
The next second, her training saber was in hand. Once the runes washed the pain away, Louise pulled herself up before examining the impossibility before her. Thoughts of it being a fake or that it was someone else's were silenced upon noticing the several battle marks that she had been unable to mend; the gash from Lyira's warblade being one of the more prominent ones.
Despite the pain-numbing effects of the runes, Louise felt as if a headache was beginning to form as she tried to wrap her head around what had happened. The urge to scream and shout overcame her as she was overwhelmed by a series of emotions; fear, anger, hate and confusion being the main four. In the end, she decided against it. She was tired and just wanted to leave. With that, she began her walk back to the entrance, though one could see in her stance, that she was ready for anything.
Soon she arrived back at the entrance, feeling a sense of relief wash over her as she neared. However, that relief was short lived as when she tried to operate the control panel for the door, she got nothing in return. Again, she tried, thinking it was some sort of malfunction, then another, and another and another. Soon, she started to get the feeling that something was wrong with the panel, and tried to find another way of opening it; once again, to no avail.
Dread filled her heart as she found no way to open the door despite her best attempts. Soon, she had devolved into complete panic. Her small, yet strong, fists thumped against the durasteel door in a feeble attempt to gain the attention of the outside world. She had even discarded her weapons, stopping the numbing effects of the runes, to try and open the door, but all she accomplished was more pain.
Louise would not say she was claustrophobic, but an intense feeling of the walls closing in on her and the darkness encroaching in did not help her condition. When she looked back down the hall, she could no longer see the dim light of the antechamber, but instead a murky darkness that seemed to move like murky water.
That was when the voices began.
"You cannot leave..." At first, it was barely a whisper on the horizon, but as the seconds passed, the voices grew, frightening the small acolyte. "Failure..." Louise quickly created a small flame in her hands to light the room, but even then, she could not see a source for the voices. "Never escape..." To her horror, as the voices got louder, she began to recognise the owners, but it was impossible; Guiche, Kirche, Montmorency, others from her old school. "Forever our's..." It was impossible, yet she could hear them clearly. "Zero..." Not only that, but she could make out other voices, Lyira, Kory, Zyn, the twins and many others. "Slave..."
"Shut up!" she shouted, but the voices would not listen. "Shut up, shut up!" against, she yelled for the voices to silence, the sound grating on her sanity. Finally, she could not take it anymore, "Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" She screeched, attacking the darkness with her fire, and sending stray bolts of lightning every which way. When that did not work, she renewed her attempts to beat down the door, slamming her fists into it, "Let me out! Please, let me out!" She pleaded, "Help!"
The banging drowned out the voices for a moment, but soon overwhelmed even the loudest noises she could create. Eventually, she ceased her thumping, choosing instead to fall to the floor, covering her ears with her bloody hands as she screamed at the voices to stop.
Miraculously, it worked.
The voices subsided, and the darkness dissipated, revealing the dim light at the end of the hall once again. However, it took a few minutes to realise it. Once she did she took a few moments to compose herself. Eventually, Louise pulled herself from the dusty floor, bracing herself against the door when it seemed like she was to fall and hesitated.
Staring out into the darkness, she could not help but feel overwhelmed by the silence. She feared that if silence prevailed, the voices would come back. So, she began mumbling, she mumbled various things that she read and heard over the years; quotes from famous books and plays, passages from the Founder's Prayer Book, even things that she did not even remember reading or hearing.
She knew that she needed to move, that to stay still was certain death. Not that death wouldn't be favourable. A dark part of her mind whispered. So, Louise began to walk down the hall once again, at first, she took it steadily, her legs feeling weak, but soon picked up the pace.
Yet, as she walked, she felt the silence encroaching in again, the small comforts of nostalgia meant nothing to the unstoppable silence that continued to hold its ground; those words had no power over the Darkness. That was until the first verse of the Sith Code left her lips, and the Dark paused.
Louise stopped, looking around. She was back in the chamber where… where that happened. She turned her head, looking down the paths on the left and the right. She knew, she felt, that there was nothing for her down those paths. The only way was forwards. "Peace is a Lie," she repeated loudly. "There is only Passion."
Out of view, the twin shades of Harkun and Ffon dissipated as they made a grab for her.
Louise continued on, muttering the Sith Code to herself, again and again. Soon, she entered another chamber. This one larger, longer than the previous. The smell of beasts and death hung in the room. Old bones, eroded by time lay haphazardly.
She felt the silence encroaching again, but held strong. "Through Passion, I gain Strength." the pinkette said clearly, reciting the second verse that called to her. The silence let her pass, warning her of pain and anguish under barbs of weakness and failure.
Another hallway, another room. This one split by a ravine with a single wide stone bridge being the only way forwards. The two sides were spacious, allowing for about forty people to stand comfortably on each side. A part of her mind screamed in the back of her head that it was a trap, but she knew no other way.
She paused at the beginning of the bridge, looking down off the side and into the ravine. However, due to the dullness of the lighting, she could not see so much as a few meters' down. Below that point was just an ugly darkness that looked as if it were to swallow one whole should they even dare to touch it. A more rational mind would have scoffed at the thought, but Louise felt rationality was all but lost on the tomb.
Nevertheless, Louise pressed on, eventually reaching the centre of the bridge. That was when the impossible happened.
"Louise!" Called a voice from behind, sending shivers down her spine and ice into her veins. It was a familiar voice, one she was incredibly familiar with, no matter how soft to usually was. Louise could not remember the last time she had heard it, however. It was one that she had connected with comfort and an early age, a voice connected to someone who she could tell her wildest secrets to, one that would praise her thoughts, no matter how unorthodox, no matter how improper.
Yet, it was the single fact that she was hearing the voice at all that caused her to be rooted to the spot. She wanted to run, to flee, to use everything in her power to leave that room then and there, but she also felt the need to turn and face the speaker, if only to see her one more time. Common sense, of course, agreed with the former course of action, but then again… "Louise, please!"
Slowly, the pinkette turned her head to face the speaker.
"Cattleya?" she croaked in disbelief. Instantly, her fear turned to sorrow and longing. There standing at the base of the bridge, was her big sister, looking ever so much as a taller, more filled out version of Louise. Dressed in everyday wear consisting of her favoured frilly white blouse and her rosewood floor-length skirt. Inside, she knew it was not real, it was all fake, a dream, a vision, something, and yet, she still asked, "Wh-how are you here!? Impossible, you can't! How-?"
Every word she said followed by a measured step towards her sister, however, before was within arms reach of her, another voice called out desperately, "Louise, don't leave me!"
Instead of the slow cautious turn, she had done with her sister, Louise's head snapped right around when she heard the second voice. Standing on the opposite side of the bridge was Lyira, dressed in the simple acolyte's uniform and brandishing her war blade. "Don't go with her!" The pureblood pleaded.
"Don't listen to her, little Louise." Another voice called, and there stood Éléonore by Cattleya's side, her face as stern as ever, "Your place is with us."
"No, it's with us, her friends!" called the familiar voice of Wydr, appearing with his brother right behind Lyira.
"With her Kingdom." The urge to turn and bend the knee, while weak, was still there. Louise felt as if she had been punched in the gut when she looked upon the newest apparition; Princess Henrietta de Tristain, looking ever so much like the paintings she had seen of her, only more beautiful and mature than the artist could ever imprint.
Louise, for her part, was extremely confused and worried. On either side of her were illusions of people she cared about, on one side were those from her homeworld, and on the other where the living friends she had made in the Empire. A longing pain began to flourish in her heart as she looked between her sisters and the Princess; again the more rational side tried to remind herself that it was all an illusion, but every argument it made was beaten back simply because she could see them, hear them again.
"Louise, please come home." Cattleya pleaded again.
"Her home is with me," Lyira countered passionately, "with us!"
'"Why would she want to live with you savages! You all enslaved her!" Henrietta's comment cut through the air, silencing everyone for a moment. Louise felt as if her childhood friend had slapped her; she may have been a slave, but it was not any of her friend's fault for any of that, it was how the Empire was run that enslaved her.
Lyira, and the twins, both glared hatefully down on Henrietta, "We did not!" the Pureblood roared back, "We gave her a chance, we gave her a true home!"
"A chance?" Éléonore echoed, "You would have my little sister drown in blood before she ever got anywhere!"
Something ignited in Louise when her sister said her words, flames of anger burned again as memories of her eldest sister belittling her for her lack of magic. "And that is my choice!" the pinkette shouted angrily, speaking for the first time in the exchange.
"You… you're going to join them?" Éléonore asked softly, her face contorted in an expression that the petite Acolyte could not remember seeing on her sister; hurt.
Louise did not answer. No, instead, she stood there, memorising every detail of their being, as if she were looking at them for the first time. How Henrietta had changed, grown into her features and how she had developed into a beautiful princess. How Éléonore was still as stern as she had remembered, with her long blonde hair she inherited from their father, and the striking pink eyes she got from their mother. And most of all, Cattleya, who still brought comfort to Louise despite the frown on her lips.
Inside, she knew this to be fake. Her sisters, most definitely the Princess, could not be here. They were back on Halkeginia doing Force knows what. But when she looked into their eyes, all logic left the window. She needed them to be real, to be there for her, to comfort her. Right here, right now, they were real, at least to her.
She turned her head towards the others.
Lyira, Balek and Wydr. Her friends, her three only living friends. She had a connection to them she never had with the princess or her sisters. They all acted how she had seen the students at the Academy of Magic acted, laughing and joking around with each other, sparing, or even just hanging out around the academy, Lyira especially. Each looking at her with the same look in their eyes, all wanting her to stay with them. Memories of the night before brought fleeting joy to her heart when she looked upon the Pureblood.
If she returned home, she could get away from Harkun and see her family for real. Then the doubt set in. Would I be regulated back to being the failure daughter of a duchess? Would the church accept me as I am now? I have killed, taken lives, most of the time without a second thought. Would my family even want her back after what I've done? Do I even want that anymore?
But what of the life I have created here? She asked herself, here in the Empire, she had access to teachers who could help her master the power she had been granted. Beyond that? While it was no secret that being a Sith was difficult, it did sound more appealing then becoming some trophy wife. There was also Lyira and the Twins to think about, her first real friends.But only one can be the apprentice. A cynical part of her mind reminded her. Would she have to kill her two best friends? She loathed the thought.
In the end, there was only one choice, which was why, when Louise made hers, she walked over to their side with her head held in shame. "Yes." She answered softly.
"Why?" came the pained question of her sister. Louise felt an urge to run over and give her a hug as she used to, but pulled back, feeling unfit to even look her sister in the eye.
"I'm sorry Cattleya, Éléonore, Henrietta, but I can't. This is my home now, my life." Louise answered, steeling herself. "I made my choice several months ago, and I still think that this is the best choice. I'm sorry."
"You made the right choices, Louise," Lyira whispered in her ear.
An incensed grown emanated from Éléonore, "Louise, you will come home with us!" she exclaimed stubbornly.
"She made a choice," Balek answered, "she will stay."
Without warning, Éléonore's wand whipped into her hand, unleashing a barely visible needle of air towards Balek, puncturing a hole through his head. The Acolyte dropped to the floor dead with a loud thump.
The next few moments passed in a blur; only a few things she knew for certain; Éléonore was the first to die when her head was ripped from her shoulders by Wydr in a fit of uncomprehending fury, Henrietta killed Wydr moments after, and she fell to Lyira's warblade.
By the time, she could comprehend what had happened, the fighting was nearly done. Cattleya had conjured arms of iron to restrain Lyira, before summoning a large metal needle, pointing it at the purebloods neck.
"I will not let you corrupt my little sister any longer!" Her sickly sister shouted vehemently, sound angrier than Louise had ever heard.
She tried to run up and stop her sister, but from the floor rose two chains like arms of stone, restraining the Acolyte by the wrists.
"No! Sister, don't! Please don't hurt her!" Louise pleaded as she struggled against the restraints, trying desperately to free herself to stop her sister.
"I'm sorry, Louise. But I have to." Cattleya said mournfully, bringing her wand up for the strike, but before she could make the final move with her wand, a wave of pressure slammed into her, sending her hurtling into the stone walls with a crack.
Louise stood frozen, with a look of unimaginable horror on her face as she looked between her still sister and her outstretched hand. A numbing sensation spread throughout her entire body as began to redouble her efforts to break free from the stone restraints.
"No, no, no, no, no… No!" The pinkette shouted, using both the Force and her rune-enhanced physiology to power through the restraints. Moments later, she was over to her unmoving sister's side, muttering many words of disbelief under her breath. "No, no, you can't. Please, don't be…"
Tentatively, she made a move to try and flip her sister over, but the second she touched Cattleya, her sister vanished into thin air.
The pinkette sat there frozen, her hands still in position to flip her sister. Despite knowing that it was an illusion, she still got ensnared in it, and for that, Louise felt most of her anger directed at herself in this moment. She was fooled into thinking that her sister had been hurt, that Cattleya was going to kill Lyira, but if the lack of breathing was a clue, her roommate was just as much an apparition as the rest of them.
Louise had no idea what to do. Was she even going in the right direction, or had the illusions sunken their claws in deep enough to keep her running around in circles. The thought was believable enough. But she did not even have the power to prove that she was not sitting on the ceiling for all she knew.
So, she did the only thing she could, she continued on.
Off the bridge, she walked down another dark hallway, eventually reaching a crossroads. Tensing, Louise waited for another vision to play out, yet nothing came. Still not thinking she was safe yet, she started to look down the two options she had.
To her left, she could see a hall leading to a large chamber with a tall statue in the corner. To her right, was a dark hall that turned off somewhere else. In her mind, she knew that the left hall was the better choice, that it was the way forwards, but as she turned to walk down her chosen path, something called out to her in the Force.
Immediately, she wanted to get as far away from the thing that called, but it continued calling. It was not malicious, that much Louise could discern, no, it felt desperate. Just as she was, it was trapped in the tomb, pleading for anyone to come and rescue it, or at least that was what she assumed.
The call overrode common sense and Louise began to backtrack, down the path that called. Taking a left when the hall turned, Louise found herself in a small room. Scattered bones, claw marks and plasma burns betrayed a battle that took place, and in the centre of it all, was a pile of bones and rags. She knew that the pile was the source of the call, or at least covering what was calling.
Carefully, she approached the pile, using her training saber to move push the bones and rags around. The dull clang of metal hitting stone resonated over her mumbling, and Louise knew she had found what she was looking for; it practically sang through the Force.
Summoning the object to her off hand, she was immediately bombarded with knowledge of the weapon and how to use it. Pressing the small activation stud, summoned a blazing amber blade, nearly three feet in length. Louise could not believe her luck, she had found a lightsaber of all things. It was then that doubt started to trickle in.
Was this an illusion? She thought, scanning the room for anything suspicious. Thoughts of leaving the obviously old weapon behind flashed into her mind, but as soon as they did, the call became stronger. It was as if the lightsaber wanted her to have it.
Confusion and suspicion reigned supreme as Louise decided on what to do. In the end, she decided to keep it and face whatever the tomb would throw at her. Quickly, she switched hands, holding her training saber in her left hand, and the real deal in her more dominant, right hand; she did not trust the lightsaber to not simply disappear at some point.
Keeping the saber lit, she walked back down the hall. She managed to walk at least half way to the next chamber, before pausing.
There was somebody in the chamber, which was completely different from how the illusions usually appeared. From the distance, she stood at and with how the being was sitting with their back towards her, she could only make out blue clothing and a sheathed sword slung across their back.
Narrowing her eyes, she began to cautiously walk towards the being, eventually reaching the threshold of the chamber.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"Me?" The decidedly male being spoke, pulling himself up from the ground before turning to face the pinkette. He was an odd human, to say the least, his features foreigner yet she could not help but feel like she recognised them. He had short messy black hair and unusual dark eyes. His clothes were strange, not of the Empire or even Halkeginia; a blue long-sleeved over shirt with the chest a bright white, his dark blue pants were made of an unknown material. Familiar too, was the sword on her back, a golden guard and pommel with a bandaged grip. "My name is Saito, Hiraga Saito."
"I don't know you." Louise said bluntly, "Are you real, or are you just an illusion?"
"I had as many questions when we first met. I am real, from a certain point of view, but at the same time, you are speaking to an illusion." He answered cryptically.
"Met me for the first time?" Louise repeated irritably, "What are you talking about?"
"Nearly a year ago, you performed in the Springtime Familiar Summoning."
Louise quickly schooled her surprise into a glared, her stance shifting as to allow her to strike at any time, "How do you know about that?" She asked venomously.
"Because you told me about it." He explained, "Well, not you exactly, more like the Louise that should have been, the alternate you who did not fail the summoning ritual. The Louise who summoned me."
All of Louise's thought processes seemed to crash and burn with the new revelation. "Wh..what?" the Acolyte replied dumbly.
"You were never meant to be summoned here." The Saito apparition said, "In fact, none of this should have happened. You should have summoned me, but due to the will of those before, you were brought here."
"Your lying!" Louise shouted aggressively. His story was too fantastical, too wild to be true, "You're just an illusion trying to drive me insane!"
"While that is a possibility, it is not true." Saito replied, "The ones who created this tomb wanted to drive trespassers insane, but it is not their sorcery that speaks to you now. All and all, it doesn't matter if you believe me or not, I am merely here to say this.
"Louise, you are standing on the horizon of something big." He began "Brought into this world, much like me, and flung into this mess. The question I pose is what you will do. I made my choices when you summoned me, for better or for worse, but I still made them. You made your choice all those months ago when you joined the Academy and reinforced that choice in the chamber before. But what will you do now? What is your end goal, my master?
"When you summoned me, I was walking home from getting my laptop repaired, think of it as a mobile terminal. I was not someone who stood out in any stretch of the imagination, my grades in school were mediocre at best, and my closest friends were people online. But, there was one thing I did have, I was quite accepting; a go with the flow type of guy. My goal was to return home, to a more simpler life, but slowly, as time went by, my mind changed. So, tell me, what is your goal?"
"I…" Louise paused and began to truly think on the question, but the more she thought about the question, the less certain she became. She had no goal beyond becoming an apprentice to Lord Zash. "I don't know…"
"I expected as much. I wouldn't feel too bad, before I was summoned, I had no idea what I would do with my life. Though, I wouldn't keep that question unanswered for long."
"Am I going the right way?" She asked.
"Yes. I am the final challenge." Replied Saito, "Strike me down and this will all be over, or don't and fail."
"What if I fail?" asked the Pinkette.
"You don't want to know," Saito said morosely.
Mentally shrugging her shoulders, she carefully walked up to the illusion before her, stopping an arm's length away from the teen. As she did this, she carefully watched him in case it was a trap, but as she got closer, he stuck to the same casual pose.
Louise swung her lightsaber towards Saito, not expecting much resistance due to how Lightsabers worked, which is why she was surprised when her swing was stopped mid-way. Impossibly fast, the apparition had drawn his sword from its scabbard and blocked her strike with impressive speed.
"Did you really think it was going to be that easy?" He said, pressing against her saber. The pinkette glanced down to the sword in his hand, her eyes almost bulging when she recognised the weapon
"Derflinger!?" Louise gasped, recognising the blade in his hand before leaping a few meters back.
"The one and only!" A metallic voice, Louise recognised as the Sword's, spoke up.
Louise gaped for a few seconds, working her jaw to make a sound, "How? Who are you!?"
"As I said, I am Hiraga Saito, Gandalfr and the Familiar of Zero." Saito proclaimed pridefully showing off his left hand revealing the glowing runes t, and with an instant, he was charging towards her, his blade posted to impale her abdomen.
Thinking quickly, Louise tried to parry the blow but found that she could only exchange being impaled for having her side cut. Quickly, she sent a small blast of Force energy, slamming Saito back a few feet.
"Partner, I can't block the Force, so watch out!" the Sword warned, receiving an acknowledging nod from Saito.
However, Louise too had heard the advice from the Sword and dropped her training saber, unleashing a blast of Force Lightning towards the two. Just as she expected, he leapt into the air, dodging the lightning completely, before closing the distance again.
Lightsaber clashed with magical sword at high speeds. Louise knew that Saito had the advantage with the heavier sword battering down on her defences, but she had the Force. Occasionally, she would be able to strike him with the Force or graze him with her saber, but much like her, he did not react to pain.
Out of nowhere, a blue shoe came flying towards her gut at the same time she was parrying another blow. Without the time to react, she was slammed in her chest, kicking her back and emptying her lungs of air -the runes might have blocked pain, but it still affected her. Louise barely time to recover when she sensed his blade descend towards her neck.
She raised her saber to parry, saving her life, but the consequence of her actions disarmed her, letting pain wash over her once more. Another kick to the back of the legs had her withering on the floor.
"I am truly sorry, master," Saito said apologetically, raising Derflinger to cut off Louise's head.
Panic began to take hold of her again; not the same panic she had when she realised that she could not escape. It was a simpler kind of panic, one that everyone goes though at points in their lives. It was the fear of death. Louise did not want to die, not now, not when things had been looking up. She wanted to spend more time with Lyira, spend more time with the twins. She wanted to prove that she was not just a slave, that sh could be someone of note. In the second Saito began to swing is sword down, Louise shot her hands up and tried the first thing that came to mind.
The sounds of screaming, that of both human and sword broke into the air as electricity slammed them to the floor.
Louise let up her attack on them, doubling over in pain, but managed to quickly summon her lightsaber before Saito could recover. Standing at her full height, she quickly knocked Derflinger out of Saito's reach with the Force, sending far off to the other side of the room.
"Still… not as bad… as your beating." Saito breathed.
Louise did not pay much mind to his ramblings, only telling him to "Shut up."
"Oh… so you don-" his screams stopped him from continuing his sentence as Louise shocked him with lightening.
"I said shut up," Louise said menacingly ceasing her electrical torture. Before Saito could begin speaking again, she plunged her lightsaber into his chest, watching him vanish with a hint of pride.
Looking over to where she flung Derflinger, she found that it too had disappeared. Quickly, she scanned the room, searching for anything else before sighing in relief. Finding the entry way to the next room, Louise began her journey, to what she hoped was the end of this hell hole known as a tomb.
"Well done, young acolyte." Upon hearing the voice, Louise span around, getting ready to strike down whatever illusion had come to torment her, but froze upon seeing the spectre, "I'm afraid that won't work on me, I am already dead."
"Who are you?" Louise asked waveringly before her stood- No, floated a transparent blue being. From the details, she could make out on his face, he was a true Sith pureblood, she could barely see any human like features than the basics. His dress was also as unique as his species, the true purebloods having gone extinct long ago, long robes with an armoured mantel, an archaic headpiece with two long horns jutting from the top.
"I should be the one asking you that, seeing as this is my tomb." He replied in an amused tone.
Chills ran down her spine as she realised who she was speaking to as well as what, "Lord Kressh?"
"At least you know who's tomb you're trespassing in." the long dead Sith Lord said, "Now, who are you, Sith?"
"Louise." The pinkette answered immediate, bowing respectfully.
"Well, Louise, I supposed I should congratulate you. After all, you have been one of two people who have gotten this far into the tomb while sane!" He cheered in an over dramatic way. Louise assumed he was attention starved. "One was an agent of the Light, a Jedi perhaps, but like you, she was strange. She was like a black hole, slowly eating away at the Dark Side energies of the tomb. You, however, are different in another way. When the Jedi came, I could not appear before her. Truly, I could not show myself on the material plane at all, yet here I am, talking to you. Curious.
"But that is beside the point. I have been watching your progress through my halls. While I have not seen what you have, I could make an educated guess. And my guess leaves intriguing ripples upon your future."
"You were watching the whole time?" Louise questioned, glaring daggers at the ghost in front of her.
"Yes, of course, I have." He answered before seeing the look on her face, "Oh, don't give me that look, it is unbecoming of a Sith."
"I am not a Sith, not yet." The pinkette corrected.
"No, not yet." Lord Kressh agreed, "You have gone through a lot, three trials that have tested your mettle. And from what I have seen, and what I have heard, you completed them all with flying colours. You might not be a Sith yet, but you will be, you will be. Now, I would advise that you get out of here. Follow there," With a wave of his ghostly hand, the stone wall to the right of the chamber slid up revealing a dark corridor, "you will find yourself away out of the tomb. Oh, and before you go, take that datapad. The Jedi left it, probably as a warning. Speaking of, the illusions you've faced in this tomb have acted… strangely to your presence. I am not surprised that they affected reality more than they should have."
"What are you talking about?" Louise asked. Instead of responding, Ludo pointed towards her side, soon her eyes saw what he was pointing too; a deep cut on her side, courtesy of Saito. Looking closer, she could see several other nicks and cuts from the battle previous, as well as injuries sustained from struggling against her sister's restraints. I hadn't noticed that
A deep pit formed in her stomach as she thought of the implications and what else might have carried over from the tombs. She beat down the desire to check her left arm.
"Odd, is it not?" He said, unknowing of the turmoil running through the Pinkette's head, "But I digress, leave my tomb. I must prepare for the influx of visitors I will be having."
Making a quick stop to pick up the datapad, which, much to her caringe, was by what she assumed was Ludo's sargophigi, Louise entered the hall. The journy was quick, partially because Louise wanted to leave the tomb as quickly as possible, and soon, after exiting another secret door Ludo had apparently opened, she was at the entrence. After a short trek back through the tunnels, she was finally able to see natural sunlight. Her grip tightened on the datapad for a moment before she headed over to Lord Kahn's group.
"Ah! You're-" The Sith Lord exclaimed upon noticing her returned, though whatever he was about to say stopped abruptly when Kahn got a good look at the Acolyte, "What in the Force happened to you!?"
Instead of answering, Louise handed him the datapad, "Found this datapad in Kressh's tomb."
"Well, it's not an artefact," the Sith said, taking the piece of technology in hand, "but it is a find nonetheless. I will inform Harkun of your trial… is it safe?" the pinkette stayed silent, letting her matted hair and bloody hands answer the question, "I am going to assume that is a no..."
"You were right not to send the… them in there." Louise said, gesturing the gathering of slaves, "They would have gone insane. Remove the blast door."
"Good to know." Lord Kahn replied, "Ah, you should go and take a dip in the Kolto… you don't look very good."
Once again, Louise did not answer the question, instead beginning the walk back to her quarters.
When Louise eventually arrived at her room, she immediately set about closing and locking the door before mentally preparing herself for the pain to come flooding back. Once sufficiently prepared, she let go of the Lightsaber, dropping it onto her bed just as she dropped to the floor in withering pain.
The memories of what happened in the tomb kept repeating in her mind like some sort of hurricane of horror; Cattleya's broken body, Éléonore's rolling head, the twins lacerated bodies. Again, and again, they played out, as if the tombs maddening effect was still taking hold of her. Then there was Harkun and Ffon standing over her body, toying with her as they stimulated her nerves with electricity, and finally, branding her with the iron. The smell of burning flesh was one she was accustomed to, but knowing that it was her own made her want to vomit.
She had to know, she had to know if it was all an illusion, or if it were something more. Louise grabbed her over shirt, ripping it off before doing away with her undershirt, but still, she did not look. She was scared of what might or might not be there. Anger and hatred, pain and fear, four things that practically seeped from her very being.
Louise took the chance and glanced at her upper arm, finding that it was, in fact, branded.
She continued to look at the brand on her skin, her mind blank. Then a chuckle escaped her lips. Not a nice one, filled with mirth. It was a mad cackle, one filled with the coldest of ice, one that would make even the bravest of men fearful. She laughed at the sheer audacity of what she was seeing.
No, it was not because of what she feared; that she would forever be branded as a slave. No, instead, a different word was burned into her skin.
'ZERO'
The single most hated word she knew. The word that encompassed every horrible thing that happened to her; Ever since Zerbst had given her that name, it had plagued her life, both at school and at home, and now it was brought over to the Empire. Something she tried so hard to escape had now been permanently burned onto her very being. 'The Familiar of Zero' was what the illusionary boy had said with pride…
Her anger burned brighter and brighter, lashing out, wanting to break free. Several objects had already begun to be affected by the amount of utter darkness that seeped from the pinkette, deforming as they levitated around the room.
The need to let it out, to express the pain and rage she felt was overwhelming to the point where she did not care anymore. It needed an outlet and she was ready to give it one. And with that, she unleashed a Force sundering screech of Dark Side energy that could be felt all over Korriban before the stress forced her into an unconscious state.