AN: Merry Christmas, you guys! I MIGHT get another chapter out over the holiday, but consider this one your Christmas gift. (Though, for reals, I'll probably get the next one done too. It's a big one, that.)

Chapter 84: Immolate

Cad Bane looked between the two Sith Lords, his swift mind rolling over all that he had been asked to do. It wasn't anything he couldn't handle, certainly not for the price that Dooku was offering. The Count had been a very lucrative patron during the course of the war, and the jobs ran from simple distractions to devastating attacks, from hostage situations to assassinations, and he and his crew had done it all without any trouble, for the most part. This job was actually a touch on the easy side, especially for the amount of credits that were being offered, which made Bane think that there was something else at work. Dooku had always been careful and methodical, an easy man to do business with, given his calm rationale. But this other one...

He knew there was more than one Sith Lord, had been hired by the Master, Sidious, on more than one occasion, constantly worked with Dooku, Tyranus, and now, he sat in the presence of Darth Lumis, the final member of the unholy trio. He didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't what he saw. Lumis was pale and gaunt with deep, dark circles under his golden, glowing eyes that made him seem as if he hadn't slept in weeks. He stood as a shocking contrast to the calm and collected Dooku, and in comparison, Lumis seemed completely unhinged. Bane would have thought him insane, had the man not planned out every detail of the job down to the letter, a plan so well-conceived that even Bane found it to be genius. The Sith had done his research, knew every detail about Bane and his crew, knew their strengths, their weaknesses, knew exactly how best to use them to deal the most amount of damage in the most effective way.

Of course, Bane had done his research as well, as he found was necessary when dealing with the Sith. He knew they were dangerous, and information, more often than not, kept him alive. He didn't feel that security with Lumis, though. It felt like the man could snap and kill him at any moment were he simply to look at him wrong, and he knew that killing the man was not possible. Killing any of the Sith was impossible. Instead, he kept quiet and listened. All that mattered was the job.

"So the goal is not Poggle the Lesser and Wat Tambor?" Bane asked, eying Lumis cautiously when a cascading tremor of rage passed through the younger man, but it was Dooku who answered.

"They are secondary to your primary mission," the Count said swiftly before Lumis could cut in, and Bane's nod of understanding seemed to pacify the man. For now.

"They look like the primary mission."

"That's the point!" Lumis snapped, fixing his furious gaze on the bounty hunter, but Bane didn't recoil or flinch. "Nobody will be looking where they should be when such high-profile prisoners are escaping. I suspect you'll be getting the attention of every Jedi in the city."

"I suspect we will," Bane said, a cocky smile on his thin lips, and the confidence seemed to please the unpredictable Sith. There were certain benefits for being known for specializing in fighting Jedi, and one of them, it seemed, was earning the approval of the Sith. "And what do you want me to do with these Jedi?"

"I don't care," Lumis growled, his golden eyes seeming to blaze as they unfocused, and the Sith seemed to struggle with...something. Bane wasn't sure what it was, but it seemed to have Dooku worried, which wasn't a good sign. At all. "Kill them. Burn them, all of them!"

"Engage as necessary, Cad," Dooku muttered softly, moving away from the other Sith Lord and closer to the bounty hunter. "You want to keep them spread out and confused while you stage the girl's rescue."

Bane nodded, but kept his red eyes focused on Lumis as the man shivered, eyes closed and biting his lip as he fought for control of himself with the madness that threatened to overtake him. "And this job is to be carried out when?"

"Soon..." Lumis whispered. "Soon, soon it will be ready. Soon, Skywalker will be out looking for me..." A cold, manic laugh carried through the air, the tones both chilling and melodic. "He will be away from Coruscant, the Jedi will be busy dealing with you, and while you get me my new ally, I will be able to sneak in and secure her..." He dissolved into a new peel of crazed laughter, and Bane inched closer to Dooku, the older Sith looking at the other with apprehension and concern.

"Is he alright?" Bane asked, his voice modulator lowering his tone to a whisper when he was certain that Lumis couldn't hear him, lost within his own mind, or the Force, or whatever it was that Sith lost themselves in.

Dooku nodded. "He'll be fine. He needs to sleep." Bane nodded, and said nothing more. He was certain that it was far, far more than just that, but he wasn't paid to pry. He'd do this Sith's work for him. It was a simple enough thing to break into a prison and take someone out, especially when nobody would be looking toward that particular area of the detention center when there was chaos surrounding the imprisoned Separatist leaders.

Lumis' eyes suddenly flew open, his head snapping toward the doors behind him, and without another word, he turned and left Cad Bane alone with a worried Dooku, his long legs taking him quickly through his palace, the heat from the lava lakes seeping in and warming the dark black stone of the halls. He felt it. That strong, familiar presence in the Force that had been gone, out in the galaxy doing his work for him, looking for her. One identical to millions, and yet, this one had upon him the touch of darkness, deep and pervasive and readily embraced.

Cody. He had returned. Lumis had sent him away, tasked him with a mission that he trusted only his clone commander to complete, and now, he had returned to his Master, returned home, and Lumis could feel he returned victorious. She was with him. He closed his eyes and drew in a long, shuddering breath, whimpering as he exhaled at the feel of her, so familiar, so intimately close to him, so deep within his being that his body screamed for her. Lumis slammed his hand against the wall to keep himself up on his unsteady legs that threatened to give way. It was familiar, yes, and the pounding of his heart upon his ribs made him believe, if only for a moment, that it was possible. Cody had returned with her, he had brought him back his Satine.

But the Force was not so kind. It was so like his Mand'alor, so like her, but slightly off. Not quite her smooth, easy presence, not quite her soft-spoken cunning, not quite her galactic ambition. This was rougher, harsher, stained with violence that his Satine was never gripped by. They were similar, but only because they were family, and his being longed to feel that warm and comforting presence once again, if only because he knew he never would.

He saw the two soldiers walking closely to each other as they walked down the halls, and when they saw each other, the Sith and the Mandalorian rushed toward each other and tightly embraced, Lumis holding her in a crushing hug, his hand sliding into her shoulder length red hair as he used to do with her sister, and she tightly held her hands splayed on his back, her shoulders shaking with repressed, dry sobs. After a moment, Lumis held her at arm's length and looked over the sharp features made soft with emotion, and he felt anger and grief and joy and a mess of conflicting emotions pouring off of her. He opened his mouth, but the words he wanted to speak died in his throat.

I'm so sorry.

"I thought you were dead," Bo-Katan hissed as she punched him in the chest, far stronger than had been expected from a woman of her size, far stronger that her sister ever struck him. "I thought you were dead," she said again, her voice cracking as she balled her fist in the dark folds of his robes. "I hoped you were alive, I couldn't bear it if you were dead too..." Rage passed over her face, and Lumis gasped when he felt the Dark Side rise up in response, his hand clenching into a tight fist as he staved off the Force, threatening to overtake him again. "We're going to kill them all! All of them, we will have revenge for them, Obi-Wan!" Those golden eyes seemed distant, the man not quite there, and Bo-Katan leaned in, looking him over carefully. "Obi-Wan?" Still nothing. She frowned. "Obi-Wan!"

Lumis sucked in a sharp breath, his focus returning as he looked at the woman, rolling her words over and silently trying on his old name. It felt...wrong, uncomfortable and ill-fitting, as if he had not worn it in a very long time, though he knew it had not been long at all. "Revenge, yes," Lumis said quietly, rage making his usually smooth voice quiver. "Kill them all. All of them, we need to slaughter the entire lot."

"Yes!" A cruel, malicious grin passed over her face and she laid an armored hand upon his cheek, and Lumis closed his eyes and nearly recoiled from the affectionate gesture. This wasn't for him. This was for a dead man whose face he wore. He felt Bo-Katan's strong pulse in the Force, and like him, it was consumed with thoughts of revenge. She was also changed. "I returned to Mandalore as soon as a I heard the news, but by then, the city had stopped burning."

"Where were you?" he snarled, far more wrathful than intended, and instantly, the woman's rage took hold of her and was redirected at the Sith Lord.

"Where was I?!" she cried indignantly. "Satine sent me and my best men to hunt the man that you were supposed to be hunting! Where were you?! How could-" She stopped, eyes wide as her throat snapped closed, and she stared in fear and disbelief at her sister's lover, the gold of his eyes burning into her as he coldly appraised her. His breathing was fast and shallow, a rush pleasure spreading through him as he felt her life in his hands, fragile and delicate and so easy to break, a single flame in the light of the Force that could easily be snuffed out. He could do it. He could do it.

"I was fighting Jedi," Lumis said coldly, evenly, as if removed from the constricting force around her throat, and Bo-Katan dropped to her knees as she clawed at the grip around her to no effect. And he continued to hold her, his hand extended as if he were holding something, fingers twitching as he slowly closed the grip. This was the Jedi's fault. He should have been with her, he should have been there. He could have saved her, he could have saved their son, and his strength had failed him. It was...it was his fault...

No! He hissed, his hand tightening and a gurgling gasp was torn from the woman, the Force licking at his mind, and flames were all he saw as his anger deepened his connection to the Dark Side. It wasn't him. It was Maul, it was the Black Sun, the Hutts, the Pykes, every single criminal organization in the vile Shadow Collective. And it was the Jedi. The Jedi and Skywalker. The Force was with the Sith, the Force had always been. Lumis snarled in rage, bearing grit teeth as his hold tightened, felt the flame of her life in his hands, small and fragile, and one slip was all it would take to join it to the eternal fires of the Force. It wasn't with him. It couldn't have been. Not if the Force would allow Satine to die, not if it would allow their beautiful son, the one he had seen so often in his visions, to die before he was brought into the world. He had always believed the Force was with the Dark Side, with him, but now, he felt himself the conduit of a power that was complicate in the death of his Satine, and he hated it...

"My Lord." The voice was clear, strong and commanding, and his intense focus broke from Bo-Katan, the woman collapsing on the ground and coughing uncontrollably, and a moment later, his attention snapped to Cody, the clone finally making his presence known and bowing to the Sith. Lumis grabbed him with the Force, read him quickly and found...sympathy. He shivered. He hadn't felt that since it happened. It wasn't pity, or the warm feel of comfort that he occasionally felt through the Force and quickly pushed away. It was joined mourning. The clone had a slight smile on his face as he helped Bo-Katan to her feet, the woman cautious, but not fearful, the sharpness of her previous anger gone. She had been choked by him before. She did not fear him. "I'm sorry I took so long to return, my Lord," Cody said softly, respectfully, and Lumis laid his hand on the wall, leaning against it to hold himself up. He felt...weary.

"It's my fault they're dead," Lumis whispered, turning from the two and dragging his feet as he shuffled away, and both Cody and Bo-Katan rushed to stand at either side of him, the woman looking at him expectantly, as though he would continue, offer an explanation, but he said nothing more.

"It's my fault," Bo-Katan echoed. "I should have been with her. Especially with her son..." her voice cracked, and she quicky cleared her throat. "With your son growing so quickly..."

"You followed the orders of your Mand'alor," Lumis said, his voice smooth, detached and even. "You did as commanded, as you should have."

"As did you. I saw the throne room," she said quietly. "There were a hundred people dead. Did you do that?" The Sith nodded but said nothing, his face cold and expressionless, and even without the Force, the surviving Kryze could feel the fathomless hatred within him, could feel how dangerous he had become on the pale expanse of her throat. "Then you avenged them."

"A hundred men do not make up for your sister," Lumis said lifelessly. "A thousand men do not make up for her. Ten thousand, a million, and it will not be enough."

"It's true she has no equal," she growled, her fists clenching by her side. "But we must have vengeance. If that wasn't enough, we must keep going until we have satisfied our need for revenge."

"Kill them," he whispered. "All of them." All of them. The entire Shadow Collective, down to the last man. All the crime families not involved with them. The Black Sun Headquarters on Ord Mantell. The entire planet. The system. The galaxy, all of it must burn. Like it or not, the Force worked through Lumis, and all he saw was the fires of his rage. It would all burn. All of it. And still, it would not make up for Satine and his son, still would not ease the pain he felt at their loss.

"Mandalore has rallied," Bo-Katan said, her voice tight with excited anger and bloodlust. "I've spent the past week rebuilding my Death Watch, and we are larger than before. Every able body on Mandalore has taken up the armor of our ancestors to avenge Satine." She grabbed his arm, a pleading look in her green eyes. "But it isn't enough. My army is large, but it's untrained, and it's as nothing before a united criminal force."

"The Shadow Collective broke upon the lives of the Death Watch," Lumis growled. "Their army is broken, they have retreated back into the holes they crawled out of."

"And Mandalore will wash over them like a storm!" she snapped, her anger rising, and Lumis could feel the Dark Side grasp him in its claws and pull him out of his self-loathing. Even that hatred made him strong. "You said it yourself, Obi-Wan. Kill them all. And I will. I will have nothing less, and neither will the people of Mandalore. They are screaming to avenge the blood of their Mand'alor, and I have promised it to them. Blood will be paid in blood. An ocean of it."

A small smile passed over Lumis' lips, his gold eyes glowing as the fires of the Force burned around him. "What do you need of me?"

"You gifted Satine an army once," she muttered, looking away when the Sith stopped to face her, a red flush upon her high cheeks. "I would ask that you bring me one as well. Obi-Wan," she said softly, her armored hand carefully laying on his strong chest, and she could feel his heart pounding even through the silk of his robes, his body tense as his breath hitched, and she felt a sudden stab of guilt and grief. How often had her sister touched the man like this, felt his beating heart under her delicate hands, stroked the fine hair of the beard on his handsome face as she found herself doing right now. She felt a shiver run through the man as he closed his blazing eyes, and she couldn't help but wonder if he thought of Satine when he looked at her, despite their differences.

"Obi-Wan, the Mandalorians call for the Shadow King," she whispered. "They're calling for you. They may have rallied behind me, they may lust for revenge, but they all know the singular truth that I know. We cannot avenge Mand'alor Satine without you."

"Shadow King," he scoffed, disgust dripping off his words as thick as poison. "I am no king of Mandalore."

"Of course you are," she growled. "My people are not stupid. They know who stood beside their Queen, the first real Mand'alor in a thousand years. They know who Satine sent to her enemies. And they know who put that child inside her."The Sith quickly looked away, and before he could leave, she grabbed his hand and pulled him back, furious eyes flying to her, but she stood unafraid. "Maybe you were not born to us, but you are as Mandalorian as Satine was Sith."

"And your people fly to you now, Bo," Lumis said, soft and distant. "That makes you Mand'alor."

She sucked in a sharp breath, her armored hand clenching into a fist. She had been so consumed with grief, so focused on revenge that she hadn't even considered that it was a possibility that her sister's title had become hers without her even noticing. Despite her death, despite the dissolution of the Mandalorian Empire, Mandalore remained, and shockingly, it remained united. The clans weren't infighting, as so many believed would happen were something to go wrong. The people rose up united against the people that attacked them, and were immediately drawn to the focal point of rage that was Bo-Katan Kryze. She had, inadvertently, become Mand'alor., though to her, the title would always belong to her sister.

"Maybe so..." she whispered. "But that doesn't keep you from being their king."

Perhaps once, it would have pleased him. Once, he would have been king, Emperor of far more than just Mandalore, and the people's cries for help would have fallen on deaf ears had Lumis not possessed a burning need for revenge. "You and I, Bo," he said softly, "will set fire to all the worlds those filth inhabit. We'll kill them all to the last man."

She couldn't keep herself from throwing her arms around the man, exhaling a shuddering breath against his chest, and she felt his powerful hand running absently through her hair. "Thank you, Obi-Wan. We'll make them sorry they even heard of Mandalore."

"Ashes can't hear, Bo," he whispered, clutching her tightly to him for a moment before the clone reached out and touched his arm, and Lumis let the woman go, the proud warrior drawing up to her full height, a victorious smirk on her face.

"I'm returning to Mandalore. We have already begun attacking them, but I'll send scouting teams ahead to see if they can find the dens those rats are hiding in." She didn't wait for a response, and a moment later, Bo-Katan Kryze was tearing down the hallway at top speed, disappearing from sights as she rounded a corner, her armored footfalls slowly fading to a faint echo, than nothing.

"You look awful, My Lord," Cody said firmly when the woman was gone. "You look like you haven't been eating or sleeping in weeks." He paused. "And it's only been one week since I last saw you on Mandalore."

"I have no need for such things," he scoffed, dismissive and cold. "I am nourished by the Force."

"Oh yeah?" the clone said in a tone that indicated just how ridiculous the notion was. "The Force stole Satine from you." Gold eyes slowly turned to him, cold and dangerous, but the clone was unafraid. "The Force stole your son from you. And the Force will steal you away as well, if you let it. Look at you!" he cried, grabbing the Sith's shoulders, and for the first time ever, Lumis saw his clone, his closest friend, look worried. "You need rest, my Lord!"

"I can't!" Lumis choked, his voice cracking under strain he didn't know he was carrying. "I close my eyes and I see fire. Everywhere, all the time, always burning. Sleep brings me nightmares and visions, and they are so real, Cody! I can't keep them away, they plague me."

"Alright." Cody nodded, took the Sith's arm, and led him down the hallway toward the stairs that would bring him to his room. "I don't know if I can keep that away from you, my Lord," the clone said gently, "but I can watch over you while you sleep, and I'll be there if anything does happen." The Sith Lord said nothing, but he didn't fight him either. "...I'm sorry about the Mand'alor," the clone said softly, feeling a pang in his heart when the Sith shuddered. "And your son. All the men do. We...stand by you, sir."

"...I know, Cody," Lumis said, his head dropping to the clone's shoulder, weariness overcoming him as they walked the rest of the way in silence.

They all stood behind Anakin Skywalker, ten blades of blue and green and purple blazing in skilled hands that pointed directly at Lumis, their features obscured by the shadows cast by the fires around them, though he could recognize most. Luminara, Kit Fisto, Mace Windu, Plo Koon, Yoda, faces he expected, and Aayla Secura, a face he did not. Others were present too, others he did not recognize, or were too dark to see. But they were nothing. Lumis lifted his hand, and they all fell. All but Skywalker. His blue blade raised, Skywalker raced toward him, and with a his, his own red saber ignited, clashing with the blue with such ferocity that he could feel the Force shake, the Dark Side roar in fury, raging as it thrashed against the Jedi. They were evenly matched, or had been in their previous fights, but now...

Now it was different. Now, the Dark Side clutched Lumis in it's clawed hands and drowned him within it, and he could feel his lungs fill with the Force, could feel his limbs weaken in his surrender just before he was filled with strength unlike anything he had ever felt. The Force itself trembled with him deep inside it, and it was all his to command. The warm comfort, that hated, painful touch, was grabbed in his forceful hands and bent to his will, made to do his bidding. Abiding by the Force led to the death of Satine, the death of his son, and Lumis would lose no more. Everyone else would be made to lose, everyone. They would all suffer the pain that the Force had made him suffer.

With new hatred rushing through him, Lumis found new power, and grabbing his saber in two hands, he brought it down upon Skywalker's blade, the strike not exploding into sparks, but into a blinding flash of light, and when his vision slowly returned, he looked upon the familiar sight of the field of dead Jedi, their bloodied bodies laying in the ash of a fire that consumed everything. Still stood the Padawan, teal eyes bright and unafraid as Lumis approached, and far off, far beyond his reach, was the Togruta, her image no longer hazy and uncertain as before. Now, she stood dark, a strong, defined shadow among the field cast in death and darkness. Lumis' breath caught in his throat as he looked upon her, trying to come closer only to find her image moving further and further from him, and he could feel his side burn, his hand drifting to the scar that stood as a reminder of the treachery of the Jedi.

Ahsoka Tano.

Quinlan's little Padawan. There could be no mistake. The memory of old pain shot new rage through him as he looked at the shadow and saw flames flickering at the edges of his vision. He had wanted Quinlan at his side before, wanted to draw his old friend to him to be brothers in the Dark Side. Tano was kept safe because of that. Her death could very likely spur Vos harder against the Sith, give him a personal reason to want to destroy them, one far closer to his heart than the general Jedi consensus. But Quinlan Vos had been Obi-Wan Kenobi's friend. Obi-Wan had coddled Vos, had treated his fall gently and with patience to secure his turn toward darkness. Lumis saw no need for such things. His choice was simple: choose the Dark Side, or choose death. Giving him a choice was a courtesy to all the hard work that Kenobi had sunk into the man, but now, it was enough. The time for gentle treatment was over, and Padawan Tano would die with the rest of them.

After all, she had stabbed him. She had wounded him when he needed to be at his best. If he had killed Maul on Florrum, he never would have made it to Mandalore where he would forever alter the path of the Force. The calm, warm comfort reached out to him again, and he could feel new anger rush through him as the vision trembled and faded away, blowing away like mist on a wind, the soft breath of it tugging at his robes and ruffling his hair, and deep within his mind, he could hear a soft voice call for him. No, not him. The Jedi, Obi-Wan. Gentle and insistent, urgent and soft, the voice seemed familiar, but barely, the thread within his mind pulling at him until he could stand it no longer. He opened his eyes, golden fires in the dark, and saw Qui-Gon before him, his image pale, ethereal as if made of the Force itself.

"Obi-Wan."

Lumis turned from it, his eyes adjusting to the black abyss he stood in, that old, familiar feel of dread coming from behind him, from where Qui-Gon stood guard. He turned his head to look over his shoulder and found the Jedi mere feet from him, and with a startled cry, Lumis staggered back, drawing his lightsaber and pointing it at the Jedi apparition, but the Master didn't move, stayed calm and safe in the comfort of the Force.

"Obi-Wan."

"No," Lumis choked, shaking his head and stepping back. "That isn't me, that man is dead."

Qui-Gon smiled sadly, deep pain within his dark blue eyes, and Lumis felt his heart beat out of time, irregular and jarring, and with grit teeth, he moved his blade closer to the Jedi's chest. "I know," he whispered. "I felt it. They have stolen the heart from inside you."

"Shut up," he growled, angling his lightsaber up and closing the distance between them, but instead of thrusting the red blade through the Master's chest, the weapon deactivated, the plasma sliding away with a hiss and the cold hilt pressed against the Jedi's heart, and Lumis could not bring himself to switch the blade on. The Force stayed his hand, as it always did, and with a howl of frustration, he tossed the saber aside, and a moment later, he found the Jedi's arms embracing him. He couldn't move. It was...warm. Comforting and sympathetic as the Force gently caressed him, and the Jedi's touch burned him. Lumis wriggled away from Qui-Gon and quickly called his weapon back to his hand, the red blade extending with a hiss as he held it before him to ward the Master off. He was disgusted. Even after all that it had done, Lumis felt as if he was a slave to the Force, the overwhelming will moving through him without restraint or restriction.

"Do you still follow the will of the Force?" Qui-Gon asked softly, and the Sith reeled on him, his anger rising to dangerous new levels.

"And why should I?" Lumis snarled. "The Force had led me only to pain and betrayal. Maybe the Force is wrong. Maybe it doesn't know what it wants!" The rage dropped from his face, but he could still feel it burning inside him. "Maybe the Force needs a heavy hand to tell it what to do!"

"You don't believe that, Obi-Wan, you-"

"I trusted the Force on Mandalore!" he shouted, and again, he felt the warm comfort of the Force, sympathetic and sorrowful, and it burned worse than the darkness ever had, Lumis shut his eyes tight, drank deep of the Dark Side, embraced all his pain, his anger, his suffering, and the feeling faded, giving way to the deep, bleeding wounds within him that both hurt and filled him with relief and satisfaction. He could feel the Force around him shifting and changing, the dull echo of the abyss becoming the rush of a gentle breeze, and when he opened his eyes, he had to squint, shield his vision from twin suns beating down on blinding sands. When his eyes adjusted, Lumis could feel his heart stop in his chest, his breath held, his muscles clenched.

There before him, shimmering like a mirage, was himself, his black cloak draped over his body, his young face showing no signs of being effected by the heat, a result of his tireless training near the lava of Mustafar. He knelt down in the sand, a holocron in each hand, one Jedi and one Sith. And before him, a child, no more than ten years of age with bright blue eyes and hair the color of the sand around them. Nausea gripped him, his focus narrowing to the point of obsession upon the child. Lumis had this vision before. Many times before. His son. He began trembling, tried to force the vision away, but the harder he tried, the more vivid it became. But why. Why would the Force show him this now when this future was lost and gone. Why would it see the need to show him what he would never have. Why was it so cruel as to flaunt his loss before him.

He couldn't breathe. Lumis turned away and shut his eyes, and digging deep within the Force, embracing the endless wrath of the Dark Side, he welcomed the flames that burned within him, willingly stepped within the inferno and allowed it to rend his being to ashes. The sand was cleared, as was the child, gone in a rush of fire and smoke, and for just a moment, he thought he saw Qui-Gon Jinn, a red lightsaber thrust through his body, and then the flames engulfed him, leaving Lumis burning in its grasp, only to watch helplessly as the fire formed, shifting and taking shape into the indistinguishable face, screaming in the flames. He looked at it in disbelief. For a long time, this vision had left him, certain that this had come to pass, so sure that it was him that was burning, but now...

Now, as his fury focused him, his rage growing to such heights that the Dark Side screeched and howled at the fearsome power of the Sith Lord that ruled it, he could hear the screams fade to silence, and then slowly, slowly, the deafening silence was punctuated by the even, pendulous sound of heavy, regulated breathing.

Lumis was ripped from sleep, his eyes wide and frantic, his heart pounding against his ribs, his breathing fast and shallow, his forehead and hair drenched in sweat. He felt the Dark Side covering him, it's feral, predatory motions flowing thick through his blood, and when he shut his eyes to calm himself, all he could see was the child and the face in flames. His hands slid into his hair and gripped it tightly, threatening to pull it from its roots, and he howled in rage when he felt the Force, smooth, soft, warm, touch him once again.

"What do you want from me?!"

He didn't understand. The face in the flames was him. It was symbolic, yes, but it had been him all the same. This was no longer a vision, it was a memory, a nightmare, and it had no business within him, not anymore. That vision belonged to Obi-Wan Kenobi. That vision was pain and fear, a warning of what was to come, of how the galaxy would burn with him. Darth Lumis had no business with the shadows of the past, nor did the child in the visions mean anything to him. That was not his child. It was Obi-Wan's. And that man was dead. He could feel it within him, the gaping hole that sat deep in his chest that served as Kenobi's final resting place. No light could reach it. Not now. Not ever.

So what could the Force want from him?

The sound of choking brought him out of his reflections, and he saw Cody, on his knees upon the ground and gripping his neck, and Lumis quickly released him, the clone falling to the floor and taking in deep, long gasps of air. Lumis didn't even know he was holding him. When the commander recovered, he slowly rose to his feet and staggered to the bed, dropping upon it to sit on the edge next to his Master.

"I told you I can't sleep," Lumis growled, and Cody affectionately patted the Sith's knee.

"You can. You will. You're tense and you're grieving, and you need the rest, but it's not going to happen until you allow yourself to let go."

"And how do you suppose I do that."

Cody shrugged. "You need alcohol, and you need women."

Lumis' face darkened. "No."

"No..." Cody scoffed. "You can't deny yourself women forever, my Lord. You are Sith, you said you thrive on passion."

"Through pain, we grow stronger."

"Yes.." Cody said. "But pain isn't the only thing you can feel deeply."

"I won't love again, Cody," the Sith said firmly, and the man laughed loudly.

"Who said anything about love? Your heart is with the Mand'alor, as it should be. I didn't say you need a woman, I said you need women. Lots of them." He shrugged. "Take them and burry yourself within them until that Dark Side of yours is sated and you can get some damn sleep." He paused. "Sir."

Lumis looked down at his hands clasped firmly in his lap, his fingers so tight that his arms shook, not just with tension, but with anger that was barely contained just under his skin, threatening to tear him apart at any moment. "I'll be taking something of a mistress in the very near future," Lumis said softly, and a wide grin formed on the clone's face. "For the Sith, of course. The practice wouldn't hurt."

"Neither will the sleep," Cody groaned as he stood, offering his hand and helping his Master to his feet. "Let's get a few bottles of your strongest stuff and go see Shaak Ti." Lumis arched an eyebrow.

"She is yours."

"What's mine is yours, Master," he drawled. "Besides, it's not like I love her. She's...pleasing to me. And she would be more pleasing to me of she could be pleasing to you. Which I'm sure she'd love" he groaned, rolling his eyes. "The only thing she ever wants is to please you."

"What, sexually?"

Cody scoffed. "No, but I imagine she'd be thrilled that you'd grace her like that. You are her Master, after all." He could feel the Dark Side rise within him, not the gentle, pressing need that he always felt with Satine, but something dominating and carnal that gnawed at the very pit of him. He draped his arm over the clone's shoulder.

"Come, then, Cody." he drawled, a tight, sinister pull to his voice. "We'll make a party of it."