A.N.: Heya! Just a bit of a self-indulgent fic to fullfill a random idea that came to me one day; Aka Palpatine gets harassed and beat up for a whole day by Ghost from Hollow Knight. Enjoy!
Oh, and apologies if Sheev is a bit OOC, first time I write him or anything related to Star Wars!
Palpatine was a busy man. Between running the affairs of his estate on Naboo, managing the numerous senators as Supreme Chancellor and serving as the ultimate authority in the Grand Army of the Republic, he had more than his fair share of work.
Darth Sidious was also a busy man. Between pulling the strings behind a galactic war, cultivating the arts of the sith, manipulating the jedi order into looking the wrong way and preparing his ascendance to the title of Galactic Emperor, there was a lot on his plate.
Considering that he was both, Palpatine, Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and secretly Darth Sidious, last master of the Sith, was a very, very busy man.
Which made moments such as this, when he was alone in his office, when he was alone in his office, with a full hour ahead of nothing to do but relax, precious indeed. No prying eyes to play doting old man to, no meetings to attend or senators to pacify… truly bliss.
Of course, he actually liked the manipulations and string pulling. And it WAS extremely cathartic doing all of it right under the nose of the jedi as they scrambled like headless chicken looking for him.
But even he needed a break from time to time. He sighed, relaxing in his chair. Now, what to do with his free…
There was something in the room. A chill of dread ran down his spine as a burst of sudden, long forgotten fear gripped him. Something was there and he knew it. It was impossible to miss.
A gaping, gnawing void in the Force; No Light, no Dark, nothing. A blank space, right behind his chair, only perceptible by the sheer wrongness of its existence. He'd never felt anything like this. So instinctually… wrong.
He whirled, the force answering his call as he prepared to lash out at whatever monstrosity had managed to sneak its way into his room, a tug away from grabbing his concealed lightsaber…
He blinked, confusion gripping him.
The thing, distinctly, did not blink back.
It was… small. About the size of a human child really. Humanoid in shape, with a body as pitch black as the inky darkness of space wrapped in a ratty gray cloak and a white horned mask for a head, entirely smooth and devoid of features save for a pair of holes where eyes might have been. It was… cute. Almost non-threatening.
Palpatine immediately hated it.
And as harmless as it looked, he knew better than to trust appearances. He was a prime example of that himself after all.
Besides. Its lack of eyes was… unnerving. There was nothing behind those holes. Nothing but further darkness.
Overall, it was one of the strangest things he'd ever seen. No species, alien or otherwise, came to mind when looking at it. It couldn't be a droid, with its utter lack of mechanical parts. But… the absolute lack of any Force presence; Nay the way it seemed to create a veritable hole in it was disturbing to the highest degree. The metallic handle sticking out from its back made his eyes narrow. A weapon?
Too many questions swirled in Palpatine's mind. What was this thing, why was it here, how did it get in here, what did it want…
He considered playing the part of the kindly old politician… but no. This… thing, whatever it was, could not be allowed to exist. It was too unnatural.
It unnerved him.
And besides. It had disturbed nap time.
As he considered the best way to deal with the unknown intruder it moved with incredible speed, lashing out its… hand? He couldn't see any fingers… but it was somehow holding some sort of glowing blade. He cursed, his lightsaber falling into his hand and turning on with a well practiced flick, rising to meet the foe's blow only for their blade to go straight through his. His eyes widened. No, this couldn't be it!
The blade struck him, barely clipping the edge of his stomach as he pushed himself backwards with unnatural force. And yet, no pain came. His hand grasped at the wound, only to find none. No damage to his clothes, no blood pooling between his fingers. Nothing. Confusion returned stronger. A holographic blade? Some kind of trick?
The creature had stiffened after the hit, failing to push its attack. It was looking at him. Or at least, he assumed it was. Its mask was facing him at least.
"I'm not sure what you are." Palpatine said, his tone dripping with venom as he raised the crimson lightsaber towards the creature. "But you've made a severe mistake coming for me."
The creature remained silent, as it had been since it appeared. Then, it pulled something from its cloak. A writing board. So bemused was the sith he remained where he was as the creature began to write, making no move to interrupt it. Then, it flipped the board towards him.
You are a bad man. Shepard would want you stopped.
"Who in the world is Shepard…"
The creature quickly erased its text, writing some more.
That's Commander Shepard to you.
Palpatine stared. And then stared some more.
"I'm not dealing with this today." He raised a hand and within the blink of an eye lightning was erupting from it, answering his call as he pushed all of his frustration, all of his anger and hate at having his nap interrupted into it. The lightning struck into the creature, black particles flying from it as it hit, sending it flying backwards and crashing into the nearby wall. Darth Sidious cackled at the sight of the slumped creature. And yet, a creeping worry came to the forefront of his mind. He could feel no pain from the creature. No fear. Nothing to feed the Dark within himself, nor truly satisfy his urges. In fact… he could feel nothing. The void was still there.
The creature rose to its feet (though it did not seem to have any, its legs ending into strange stumps). Its mask was singed and subtly cracked, its cloak's gray was tainted with streaks of black.
But it was still standing. That would not do.
Its hand grabbed the handle on its back, flicking in a swift gesture the weapon to action.
A strange metallic blade, with oddly intricate carvings on it. It was elegant. Pure.
Sharp.
A weapon after all. One question answered. A hundred remained.
No matter. The thing had shown it could speak and better still it had shown it could understand. He would make it answer.
It dashed towards him with incredible speed, Sidious only just able to keep up with force-enhanced reflexes as the creature's blade sought to slash across his midriff. He twisted away, bringing the lightsaber down in a cleaving motion, cutting straight through the chair the creature dashed behind the innocent furniture. It glanced at the chair and then the blade, tilting its head. Was it unfamiliar with lightsabers? Metal blades weren't the most common after all…
The creature seemed more reluctant to attack now, content to dodge and dash out of the way of Sidious' relentless attacks. Jabs, swings, slashes, it matter not; The damnable thing was just too nimble. It continued for a further minute before frustration overtook him and he pointed a hand at the wretched thing, lightning arcing at his fingertips. His eyes widened as it immediately sprinted towards him, jumping over him before stabbing with its sword. Sidious twisted, using the force to allow the blade to just barely miss him, a deep gash appearing in his robes where the blade cut. At least that one he knew was real.
The lightning struck out, catching the creature once more and sending it flying. This time he did not let up, continuing to pour energy into the attack as the force lightning fried the creature alive. Any relief he was starting to feel was swiftly squashed as the creature turned into a wispy, shadowy form with two glowing white orbs of light where its eyes should be, slipping away from the lightning and reappearing out of its path near Sidious; As if it had dashed in shadows. It had made a faint whooshing sound doing so, and immediately went to stab him again. The sith snarled, the lightning disappearing as he reached with the force, trying to pin the damnable thing in place, swinging his lightsaber for the killing blow. To his horror the Force simply slid off the creature, swallowed by the gaping maw of void where it stood. A jolt of fear ran through him and he took a step back, his balance vacillating for an instant. An instant was all it took as the creature took its chance and struck, turning to shadows as it simply went through his blade and reappeared right in his face, stabbing towards him. Even as he dodged, he couldn't fully stop the attack from landing, earning himself a cut on the leg. Rage welled within him as blood splattered his robes. Hurt him?! HIM?! HOW DARE IT!
His scream of rage was accompanied by a deluge of attacks, a rain of blows of speed and strength only the Dark Side could provide the fuel for. The creature, infuriatingly, dodged it all. But Sidious knew better than to expect to land a blow with his blade by now. Instead he fainted another moment of hesitation, the creature pouncing upon it without hesitation. It was surprising how eager it was to strike him down, but it worked to his advantage here. As expected, it vanished into shadows as he struck with his blade…
And reappeared right in time to take another burst of lightning. The creature was sent slamming into the floor as Palpatine grinned. It couldn't use its shadowy form constantly, as he suspected. Else it would have used it far more throughout their fight. His good mood at his success was somewhat marred by the creature's complete lack of reaction to the attack. Oh it was taking damage no doubt; The cracks in its mask and the burns on its cloak told him as much, having grown worse as it was submitted to the terrible power of the Sith. But without the pain, the fear… there was no enjoyment to the fight. Only the lancing pain in his leg, and nothing to take it out on!
The creature rose to its feet once more despite the lightning, turning to shadow and reappearing further away. Sidious frowned as its entire form turned black, dark, darker than night, darker than space… And a sphere of screaming void came barreling towards him, a rip in the Force that came crashing into him; Burning at his skin, pain radiating through him, and worse he couldn't even shutter the dreadful feeling into the Force! Small mercies that it seemed to do most of its damage to his lifeforce, leaving his appearance mostly untouched. The wound on his leg was going to be hard enough to conceal…
Fortunately he was a master of pain, and he had a foe to kill. Whatever it had done to him, it didn't seem intent or capable of doing it again, running towards him with its blade by its side.
Sidious struck out with his lightning, watching in disbelief as the creature jumped prodigiously in the air and above the attack, strange glowing wings appearing on its back for an instant before coming back down for another strike. Sidious lashed out with lightning speed, the light saber cutting clean through the creature's sword and into the wretch that dared defy him. Satisfaction coursed through him as the blade was cut in half. Strangely it did not seem to penetrate fully into the thing, failing to cut it or even leave any distinguishable wound. But hit it must have, for when the creature fell it did not raise again. Instead, its mask shattered, and it vanished into a shower of dark particles, disappearing without a trace. Even the mask was gone.
Sidious stood there with an incredulous expression on their face. Confusion and frustration warred within him. His chair was broken. His everything hurt. His leg hurt especially.
"What the absolute kriff was that?!"
In the end, Palpatine had to rely on some… discreet help to clear his office. Too many questions would arise if he mentioned the attack, such as 'Why does that chair have lightsaber marks', or how he, an old politician, beat back an armed assailant; Especially one armed with a lightsaber if it wasn't him who did the damage to the chair.
It had been a very annoying senate meeting that followed. He'd managed to get his robes changed, but hadn't managed to find discreet healing in time for it; Having to conceal his injury as best he could. Which was very, very well. One thing to thank his master for, and then bury him again. But now, at last, he could relax in his office whilst waiting for the healer to arrive. He had to keep it quiet; The last thing he could afford to raise right now was more suspicion.
A soft whooshing sound caught his ear. Turning the chair away from the window, his eyes widened as his senses began screaming at him through the Force.
"No…" He growled. It was back. It was once again in his room! At least this time he heard it get in… "There's two of you?!" He screeched, his lightsaber falling into his hand and turning on with a hiss.
The creature trotted to the middle of the room, writing on its pad.
There is only one of me. As my friend Grunt would say…
It didn't have its sword anymore. Likely having discarded it or kept it aside for repairs after he cut it in half. Small blessings. It raised its pad once more.
Round Two.
With a scream of rage, Sidious launched himself at the thing. His lightsaber whizzed, missing by a hair as the creature stepped forward and… Sidious stared in disbelief as it punched him in the leg. It hurt quite a bit, but the shock overcame the pain.
"Did… did you just…"
It looked up at him. Said nothing. And punched again. It was surprisingly strong for its size.
"STOP!" Sidious snarled as he swung his red blade, clipping the creature's mask as it dashed away from him; Its body turning pure black with glowing eyes. Sidious' eyes widened. That was…! He threw himself just in time to avoid the screaming void that passed him, impacting the wall with a screech of bent metal, a deep gouge appearing in it. "You died!" He said with barely restrained fury as he lifted the two large sofas usually reserved for visitors and threw them at the creature. "How can you be back?!"
It clearly didn't expect the attack. Immune to being grabbed by the Force as it was, it apparently was less so to being slammed in the face with furniture. "Die! Just die!"
It emerged from the pile of broken furniture unfazed save for the crack in its mask, running at Sidious again. Lightning streaked from his fingers but failed to find purchase as it vanished in shadows, reappearing mid-air behind him and delivering a jab to the back of his head. Sidious snarled in pain and anger as he stumbled forward, jumping away from a follow up. He lifted the couches once more, making them orbit around him as improvised defenses, his mind rushing. He needed a plan, he needed…
It shadow dashed through the couches and gut-checked him, making him spit and gasp in shock.
Nevermind, lightning it was!
With one hand he unleashed lightning, whilst with the other he twirled his lightsaber to cut off the little bastard's escape. The tactic proved fruitful as the blade struck true, the blasted creature emitting black particles as it impacted. Once again it failed to actually cut through, but a deep jagged crack appeared in its mask. The mask must be related to how injured it was.
It did not run however, instead seemingly intent on wailing on him as much as it could; Punching him in the ribs as he struck them again, and then again in the leg as his lightsaber finally brought them down. The mask broke and the creature disappeared, leaving a bruised and heaving Palpatine staring where it had been.
Once was a freak event.
Twice? That was a problem. And a big one. So far, it had only attacked him when he was alone, when he was free to use his full powers against it without fearing revealing himself to the population, and worse, the jedi order.
If it attacked him in a more public place… It was fast enough to get to him faster than a clone trooper would be able to intercept it.
No, no. He needed to deal with this privately. It already knew what he could do, and if it came to the mind of… whatever this was, to go around spreading that knowledge, it could be disastrous.
What to do, what to do… bounty hunters perhaps? An investigation at least, if only to figure out what the hell that thing was and what it wanted… perhaps ask around for that 'Commander Shepard', whomever that was.
As the doors opened, his eyes snapped with fury. No, it couldn't already be… oh. The healer looked back at him startled, clearly not expecting such a gaze of rage. He smoothed his expression, smiling genially to the healer. Planning could wait later.
"...I'm afraid no such creatures exists in any of my databanks, my master." Count Dooku's refined baritone voice brought no comfort to Sidious.
"That accursed little thing can't have just come from nowhere. A new species, one with abilities as potent as it, and a Force nullificator? Someone, somewhere must have heard of it." Sidious pinched his eyes. "Look more into it. This is NOT a matter you want to disappoint me in, Tyrannus." He reveled in the flicker of fear from his apprentice.
"Of course my master." The hologram of the count bowed. "I will investigate this matter further."
"Excellent. Now, regarding those bounty…" His eyes widened, his lightsaber falling in hand and rising just in time to force the abomination to turn into shadows, dashing away from him and falling into a crouch a few metres away from him.
"Master?" Dooku asked, eyes furrowed.
"It's here!" Sidious hissed, raging. "It's barely been half an hour! How…" He glanced up. "The ventilation?! You tried to ambush me from the ventilation?! There are…" He paused. "Right. You can phase through objects. Of course the laser grids wouldn't stop you." Sidious' eyes narrowed at the little monster. Killing it wasn't working. Despite the healers' best efforts, in such a time he'd been given he'd only been able to heal up the cut from his leg. He was still feeling the effects of the monster's punches across his bruised body.
Sidious took a deep, calming breath. Then, he turned off his lightsaber. Rising to his full height, he loomed over the much smaller creature, which had paused in its assault at the sight. "Look. This clearly isn't working. You can't beat me. I can't kill you. You must want something." Darth Sidious grinned, masterfully hiding the raging fury in his heart. "I must admit myself impressed with your abilities. I know not who sent you here, but I promise you I can offer far more than they can."
The creature stared silently. Then, it pulled out its writing pad.
You are a Monster.
Well that wasn't inaccurate. Darth Sidious was fairly self-aware as to how evil he was.
I kill Monsters. And you are wrong. I can beat you.
Its mask tilted up, hollow, empty eyes staring straight into his own. A wave of cold washed over him as he found himself almost pulled into them, the world around him growing darker.
You will falter eventually. They all do.
With that, it turned to shadows, reappearing right before him. Sidious snarled, Force jumping away from the creature as he turned the lightsaber back on.
"Fine then! I'll just have to carve this lesson into you!" He roared, lifting every piece of furniture within the room and casting them towards the creature. It nimbly jumped over each of them, using them as if improvised platforms on which to parkour its way towards him. With a flick they slammed into the ceiling, crushing the pesky bug against it.
Or they should have, if it hadn't suddenly turned blacker than night, its eyes glowing white as it came crashing towards the floor, shattering the sofa it had been on an instant before. As it came down, the world screamed around Palpatine, the Force calling out a deadly warning. He did not have time to dodge however as the creature impacted the floor, a wave of darkness slamming into him and annihilating everything around the point of impact. Sidious' robes were torn with lashes and gashes, blood pouring from where the wave had slammed into him and stripped the skin. He easily suppressed a cry of pain, knowing the creature would not give him a moment to recover.
He was proven right as it immediately sprinted towards him, its fist raised as it went to punch him in the face. Sidious hadn't come so far without some tricks up his sleeve however. From the debris of the shattered furniture he summoned a cloud of debris and shrapnel, sending it crashing into the surprised abomination. It turned into shadows quickly, but the cloud hunted it down; Descending upon it as soon as he was once more physical. As it did, Sidious summoned the lightning once more; Sending a wave of it into the battered foe, sending them crashing into the wall.
Shadows flickered once more and it was upon him, dodging and weaving between his lightsaber strikes as he tried desperately to keep it away from him, willing the cloud of debris back towards him and into this thing that would not leave him alone, that kept moving with speed he struggled to keep up with. It managed to land a hit to his knee and he buckled, feeling it nearly shatter under the impact. It struck him across the face as he fell, his nose breaking from the impact. He was spared further indignity as the cloud of debris slammed into the creature, sharp ends and blunt objects peppering into it and carving deep cracks into its mask. Finally it seemed to be too much, the mask shattering as the entity it held disappeared into thin air once more.
Palpatine looked to the ruins of his office as he caught his breath, his body thrumming with pain from the numerous hits he'd taken. Blood splattered on the floor. His robes an absolute mess. His face beaten in. His chest was missing a significant amount of skin.
"Master! Master Sidious! Please, if you are still here, answer me!"
Right. And Tyranus had been here for all of it. Joy of joys.
"Tyrannus. I will retire to my private quarters. Whatever this thing is, it keeps making its way into my office. I will find some excuse, but this…" He shook his head. "I need to cover this up. Get this place cleaned by those who will not speak of what they see." He growled. "Get those bounty hunters hired. The best, the most discreet you can find. This needs to be handled quietly."
"Understood master." Tyrannus paused. "You've got…um… on your nose…"
"I. Am. Aware." Sidious growled. "Now get to it."
With that, he waved at the console, severing the connection.
He couldn't be seen like this. He'd take his private speeder back to the 500 Republica.
The skies of Coruscant were as busy as ever. Thankfully, being Supreme Chancellor did get some perks, such as getting the kind of vehicle identification that let him bypass much of the otherwise congested areas, taking some quieter, more private routes.
He grumbled as he adjusted the tissue in his nose. No medical supplies in this speeder, of course. He'd already called for another healer to his apartments. This was going to take some more advanced equipment to get resolved quickly. He'd managed to clear his schedule for the rest of the day, but he couldn't let the situation remain as it was. People would ask questions.
A sudden pit in his stomach made him duck as an arm swung right above his head.
"YOU?!" He screamed in consternation, anger and just a tad of fear. "HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!"
The masked creature stared right back at him from the passenger seat. Then, it went for another punch. Palpatine swore as he put the vehicle in autopilot, the speeder too cramped to easily maneuver with his lightsaber.
How did this bloody monster get into the speeder?! He'd checked before he left! He dodged another blow, lightning crackling in his hands and slamming into it, sending it flying out into the open air of Coruscant, before plummeting down towards the ground.
Sidious stared at where it had fallen, half expecting it to come flying back up to attack him once more.
When it failed to do so, he let out a sigh of relief.
Wouldn't it be great if that had done the trick.
He knew better than to hope that however.
His suite was empty. The healer would not arrive for another hour or so. He'd ordered a full lockdown of the upper floors of the building, something which was sure to attract some attention. But that was a problem for later. For now…
He glanced around. Nothing. No void in the Force. No screaming warning.
What a day…
Ah. There it was.
A void in the Force, ten metres behind him.
He turned, slowly, his lightsaber already out.
"So you managed to make your way even in here? Of course." Sidious' eyes narrowed. "What even are you?"
Ghost.
Darth Sidious stared at the writing pad, snorting. "Ghost? Seriously? What, are you supposed to be some kind of embodiment of the vengeful spirits that haunt me?"
No.
"Then what the hell are you?! Why do you keep attacking me! WHO SENT YOU?!" He snarled, pointing his lightsaber. "WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?!"
You are a Monster. Shepard would want you stopped.
"Oh, I'm far worse than a monster…" Sidious hissed, the Force roaring around him. The windows cracked, the furniture splintered at the seams. "I am the culmination of the dreams of the Sith. Thousands of years of planning stand before you."
I've killed plenty of Dreams.
"Fine then. So be it." Sidious felt the Force flow around him, the Dark Side pouring into him despite his exhaustion and injuries. There was plenty for him to pull on. His rage. His frustration. His deep desire to just nap for five minutes without being interrupted by some abominable midget creature wanting to box him."I will kill you as many times as I need to."
With that he sent the furniture towards it, Ghost dashing across them with practiced ease. Lightning failed to find purchase, the vessel turning to shadows as it went through them before jumping over Sidious with glowing wings, turning to pure void as they came crashing down on the Sith.
This was only the second time Sidious had seen the attack and whilst under any other circumstances he would have easily been able to dodge it, the accumulated injuries and exhaustion prevented him from making a clean escape; Feeling the wave of darkness lap at his legs, searing them with mind-numbing pain. He rolled on the floor, rising to his feet before slashing upwards, preventing the thing from following up its attack with an uppercut. Forced to back off, it turned to pure void and let out a shrieking ball of the strange shadowy substance, forcing Sidious to once again dodge the vicious assault.
A back and forth set itself in place for some time. Sidious would chain barranges of whatever he could get a Force grip of with rapid lightsaber strikes, attempting to force Ghost into a situation where they would be forced into being hit, whilst Ghost would dodge and weave through the attacks and try and land a hit on Sidious. The suite was being an absolute mess of, but it hardly mattered to the Sith. So long as this abomination was laid to rest. So long as it was struck down! So long as he could get back to his stars be damned nap!
He jumped in the air to avoid yet another attack when… something shifted.
Once more, the creature turned darker than the deepest points of space. Sidious had quickly deduced this was an indicator of its use of strange abilities. But this time… this time it was different.
The world grew quiet. No, not quite. It was as if the very concept of sound had been eradicated. As if the universe was screaming, and in doing so drowned out any other possible noise to the point of rendering one deaf. An absolute, impossible silence as Sidious saw the world move slow as molasse around him.
Then, in a deluge of sheer power and a terrifying rending of the Force around him, it all came rushing towards him.
The cry from below.
The call of the Void.
The Abyss Shrieked at him.
And Sidious, this time, could not help but shriek back in pain as the spell tore through him; Rending flesh from bone, shattering ribs and carving gouges in his skull.
The Sith fell to the floor, in prey of such agony only his master had ever succeeded in inflicting upon him. He could hardly move. His body was damaged beyond any hope of escape.
No. No, no, no… this could not be happening. This made no sense! This… thing had come from nowhere! And now… now… all of this planning, all this time spent plotting, manipulating… all of that, for nothing?! To die at the hands of some random abomination?!
The creature loomed over his prone form, gazing down at him with its expressionless mask. Desperately, hopelessly, Sidious tried to throw some lightning towards it despite his failing body. It jumped to the side, dodging it with ease.
Its body turned as black as night.
And Palpatine knew no more.
"Oh, Ghost!" Shepard gave the vessel a quick look-ver. "We've been looking for you all day! Where in the world have you been? Grunt was worried sick!"
Not sure. One moment was here, the next somewhere else. There was a very evil man there.
"Oh. Well. That's… concerning. Anything I need to worry about?"
Not anymore.
"Well. I guess I'm better off not asking. Now, I've got a plan for those collectors of ours…"