Kanan was surrounded in darkness. It was a darkness which came not only from his loss of sight, but from the absolute feeling of nothingness which overwhelmed his senses.

It was like his entire body was shoved into a dense liquid. His ears felt clogged up, his skin felt clammy, his breath felt ragged, but worse of all, he was alone. Only his thoughts accompanied Kanan in the dark empty room.

And his thoughts had nothing good to say about him.

The memory of what happened on Malachor replayed in his mind. The pain, the searing heat of how own blade pressed against his face. It terrified him, causing him to freeze up whenever he heard his own screams.

Kanan almost wanted to cry at his own helplessness. He was a Jedi for Force's sake. He needed to be better than this. He was better than this. Confidence welled up in his heart as he gripped his chest. He will be better than this, and he will make his usefulness known..

But just as quickly as it spurred him, it vanished.

A strange feeling rose up to his mouth like bile climbing up his throat. Images of people praising Ezra for his great plan flickered through his mind. But instead of feeling happy for him Kanan only felt one thing.

Jealousy.

Ezra was so young, yet he was so capable. He had not been inducted as a Jedi, and yet he was helping others as if he was one.

Another image played in Kanan's mind. But this time it was not a memory. Kanan imagined a future where he would have no use. His abilities in the Force already paled in comparison to that of Ezra. And now he had lost his sight..

Kanan couldn't hold it in anymore. The bile rose up through his mouth and exploded into wet chunks of spit and saliva. The contents of his own stomach forced its way out of Kanan, as if his own body was disgusted by him.

Weak….. A sickly voice suddenly rasped in the air.

The voice caused Kanan's head to snap left and right. Flecks of spit drooled onto the floor as he wondered to himself if he had actually heard something.

"H-Hera?"

Weak….. The voice said this time even clearer.

WEAK!

Suddenly, Kanan felt a tug on his hands. Like someone using the Force, he found his fingers forcefully wrapping around a certain object. Kanan didn't need eyes to know what it was. He recognised the feeling.

Kanan found his arms to be held in place right in front of him. The Sith Holocron which he had supposedly left on Malachor was somehow still in his possession.

Being a Jedi, Kanan had half a mind to dispose of the holocron. Anything with the word Sith in front of it was not good, especially for him. But for some reason, having the holocron at such a close distance eased his thoughts. It gave him such a calm feeling of serenity, a feeling which he would not have expected to feel from such an artefact.

Slowly, Kanan brought the holocron closer to his face. He could faintly hear voices emanating from beneath it.

Going against his better judgements, Kanan focused his mind on the holocron, trying to understand what it was saying. He brought it closer and closer, until…

"Caleb Dume!"

Kanan felt the holocron practically shake in his hand. Hearing his old name being said so suddenly and with such intensity caused him to throw the holocron across the room. And the moment the holocron left his hand, the feelings of insecurity rose right back up again.

Unceremoniously, Kanan scrambled around the floor. His arms clambered across the floors, searching for the holocron and its calming presence.

"Please!" He whimpered, trying to crawl until the very edges of his room. But through his own efforts, he wasn't able to find what he wanted. It was only when he felt yet another familiar tug did he then find the holocron in his hands once more.

With his fingers gripped around the familiar material yet again, Kanan immediately thrusted the holocron into his chest. He knew how it felt to be without it, and he did not want to feel it again.

"You are pathetic…"

Kanan once again reacted in surprise. Only this time he did not throw the holocron.

"W-what?"

"Look at you. Cowering over a simple flesh wound,"

"A flesh wound?" Kanan exclaimed in anger. "My eyes are burnt to a crisp, and you call that a flesh wound?" His voice rose several magnitudes, but the holocron simply tsked in response.

"Is this what the Jedi of today amount to? A mewling bunch of whimpering worms?"

Kanan gripped the holocron hard. His legs shot him up for the first time since Malachor. "You know nothing!" He shouted for all to hear.

"I know everything!" The Holocron responded with a similar magnitude. The force at which its voice emanated from pushed Kanan all the way back down to the ground. "Your kind lost! And you dare tell me that I know nothing?"

Kanan felt himself slink back into the darkness. "I'm sorry," He hastily apologised, hiding his face in shame.

"I do not need your apologies," The voice replied, seemingly uninterested. "The only thing I need from you, is your servitude,"

Kanan lifted his head and directed his questioning eyes at the holocron. "My what?"

""Your loyalty," The voice repeated again. "I want you to follow my every word as if you were a slave obeying his master,"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because if you did so, I will give you everything that you desire," The voice answered.

It was the typical Sith creed. The promise of everything, for your undying loyalty. Perfect for souls who had just lost everything.

"Tell me, Caleb Dume. What is it that you want most?"

Kanan thought for a moment. The obvious answers came first. But then, after thinking for a few more moments, he realised what it was he actually desired.

"Power," He finally answered. "I don't want to be someone who only gets protected by others. I want the strength to defend myself,"

The holocron seemed to react extremely favourably towards that answer.

"If power is what you desire, power is what you will acquire. Offer me your loyalty, and we can begin your training,"

"Hold on," Kanan said, stopping the holocron in its tracks. His common sense was already warning him about such a deal, while his Jedi training was telling him to stomp it in its tracks. "You're a Sith aren't you? How can I be sure you'll give me what I actually want?"

All of a sudden, the room grew heavier, as if a shadow had just spread over it. Kanan felt as if something was pushing him down, and that was because something actually was. Without warning, Kanan suddenly found his face pressed flat against the floor.

"I don't enjoy being questioned," The voice seethed, revealing that it was behind this sudden turn of events. "But since this is your first time, I'll let you off with a warning, and a small demonstration of my power,"

The weights which held Kanan down suddenly lightened up, and a tug pulled him back to an upright position. The holocron found itself right in front of Kanan's eyes, and a deep red glow burst forth from it, covering the room and the entirety of Kanan's face with it.

At first, Kanan felt nothing. He didn't even know what was happening. But then, he felt his eyes getting colder. Like a veil being lifted, Kanan found his vision slowly coming back. The colour returned to his eyes for just a few moments. And for just that few moments, Kanan was actually seeing the room he was in.

Kanan gasped to himself, unable to believe that he could actually see. His eyes scoured all over the room, going over every detail and trying to commit it to memory. And then, just as quickly as his vision returned, it faced once more. Colour returned to grey, and dissolved back into the black void he had become familiar with.

"No!" Kanan shook the holocron in his hand. "Let me see!" He demanded.

But the holocron paid no mind to his requests.

"You know what you must do if you want your vision again,"

The proof was in the pudding, and everything seemed legitimate. Kanan knew that this was a bad idea. Working deals with the Sith only ever benefited the Sith. So this should be a cut and dry case of what he should do.

And yet, Kanan couldn't find the strength inside him to say no. He wanted his sight back. He needed it. What would he be if he could not see?

He could handle it. If Ezra could do it, so could he. Or at least that was what he convinced himself of. Once he had gotten his vision back, he could just toss the holocron, pretending like it never existed. He wouldn't go too far, he would still be a Jedi at the very end of it.

With a deep breath, Kanan brought the holocron to his face.

"I will do thy bidding, my master," He declared. And unbeknownst to him, his eyes started glowing a slight yellow the moment his words left his mouth.

And that's all for part 2!

It took me quite a while to actually finish this part, a lot longer than I would have liked, but I am so glad that I managed to get it done.

I just want to say a huge thank you to those who have stuck with me all this time. It was your comments which got me going, and even though I don't reply to any of them, believe me, I do read them.

Anyways, I do have a prologue planned for the 3rd part, and will be posting it after I get done with the outline.

The official 1st chapter for the 3rd part won't be coming out so soon, as I think a lot of planning is needed to get the 3rd part done right.

I will be on a hiatus, but its too properly work on the 3rd part, so do look forward to that.

Once again, thanks for your continuous commitment to my story. I'll still be writing in between, mostly to refresh myself, so I hope you'll enjoy my other works as well.