The temple rumbled and dust fell from the ceiling. The distinctive scream of intercept fighters could be heard even here, as well as the explosions that followed as they were torn apart, the ground shuddering under their impact.

Korriban, the homeworld of the Sith, was under attack.

And yet, Darth Occulus did not stir. The other members of the Dark Council had long since left - whether to fight or to flee in the face of the enemy - and the Council chambers sat silent. The Head of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge however, did neither. They had analyzed the enemy forces and realized that there would be no victory in this battle. However, even if the Sith were to be denied victory, they could at least avoid defeat. It was something that Occulus excelled in. To retreat when necessary, to build power and wait for the opportune moment to strike. Though this battle might be lost, the Heir of Kallig was not so easily defeated.

Immersed in the Force, visions flickered at the edges of their vision, even as they pulled on it, shaped it into the form they desired. Flickers of color, sights processed and discarded and replaced with more. A great creature stood over a city, wreaking devastation with each step it took. A Jedi stood firm in the face of an Emperor. A golden man shone with power, yet seemed all the more empty for it. A great planet seemingly made of crystal. A young girl screamed, trapped in darkness. The Emperor was betrayed, stabbed from behind. The Emperor looked at Occulus and smiled, his plan coming to fruition.

Occulus jerked back. That Vitae's latest shell had seen them, even in a vision, was disturbing. The agitated whispers of the ghosts teased at their ears, and the sound of combat came from outside the Council doors. They ignored both. Khem Val would be their last line of defense and the Dashade did not fall so easily.

There had been an answer there, in that final vision of Vitae. They would need to commit everything to it. The spirits they had bound would need to wrung for every drop of power. The spirits would annihilated by the effort, and Occulus did not count on being able to so easily find powerful Sith ghosts to bind once again. It would be a permanent loss of power. However, it was necessary if they were to survive.

Occulus began to gather power, to direct it, swirling it about them until they seemed to be sitting in the eye of a maelstrom. It was not some simple circle however. The power followed patterns, eddies moving across the ground in eldritch shapes that Occulus had not bothered to draw. There was no need after all, so long as they kept the necessary sorcery firmly entrenched within their own mind.

The door shattered, a powerful wave of the Force sending it sliding into the Chamber. A pair of men, twins from the look of them, strode in - one clad in black, the other in white. They immediately began to separate, circling around to surround Occulus. The one in white was the first to speak. "So this is the final member of the Dark Council? It feels a bit underwhelming to finish things off by fighting a coward who hid away."

Occulus did not answer. They simply closed their eyes. The last of their companions had fallen. They had felt Adronikos and Talos fall, the Fury crashing into the surface. Ashara and Xivhkalrainik had been part of the ground defenses. And now Khem Val was gone as well. Well. Let it not be said that they were incapable of being spiteful. They might not be capable of killing these aggressors in turn, but they could at least manage some petty vengeance. The man in black frowned and began to step forward before suddenly stopping. "Careful, Arcann. I can feel her power. And… there's something wrong here."

The man in white, Arcann apparently, let out a disdainful snort. "We've already trampled through the rest of the so-called Dark Council. I doubt this one will be any more of a challenge than the rest."

A cold voice cut through the conversation. "You would be incorrect, Arcann. Thexan is wise to be wary. Of course, you are used to being second-best to your brother, aren't you?"

The man - no, the boy, Occulus corrected themself, flinched ever so slightly, his lightsaber seeming to ignite almost reflexively. Occulus tilted their head, the pale mask finally turning to look directly at the man as they analyzed him dispassionately. Arcann was a brute, favoring aggressive swings and keeping his opponent on the backfoot using sheer power. Thexan seemed to prefer a more defensive style, luring his opponents into making mistakes before crushing them.

Occulus was a competent duelist - but only competent. They would be at a disadvantage in melee, especially with Thexan there to contend with as well. In that case, Occulus would need to act first. A ripple of power went through the room as the Heir of Kallig drew upon the spirits bound to them, the ghosts forming visibly to their back and their side.

The ritual had already begun, and Occulus would be able to continue it while fighting. They would not need to stall much longer, but they would need to disorient the two, draw Arcann and Thexan out of their usual tactics in order to buy time if Occulus was to be victorious.

Occulus felt the Force, felt the shape of Arcann's thoughts for a second time, and then smiled beneath their mask. "Foolish Arcann. Weak Arcann. Unwanted Arcann. Did you wonder why your father sent Thexan on this mission but tried to hold you in Zakuul? It is because you hold no value to him. Not as a son. Not even as a pawn to be used."

Thexan drew in a sharp breath, tried to speak out to warn his brother, but Arcann did not wait. As they had anticipated, Arcann let out a roar and rushed in, leaping through the air to attack them - and immediately found himself flung back into the wall, durasteel cracking under the force. Shadows seemed to gather around him, the darkness of the chamber crushing him beneath it.

With that, Thexan's hesitation was gone and he rushed Occulus as well. Yellow blade met white, as Occulus brought their lightsaber into a block before sending a burst of lightning towards Thexan to force him back on the defensive. Thexan's charge had been enough to free Arcann however, and Occulus was forced to make a careful dance between the two.

A twist, a parry, a step to the side. Darkness caught at their feet, making even simple movement a struggle. A storm of lightning fell, scorching the chamber. Unnatural winds kicked up, swirling around them, lifting them into the air, only for them to tear their way back to the ground.

All the while, Occulus' concentration was on manipulating the Force. Another minute. If they could last a minute it would be enough. Occulus touched Arcann's mind and he swung at Thexan before realizing the truth of the illusion. The thrones that the Council once sat upon ripped down to barrage the two, forcing them to dodge back. Terror crept into their thoughts, their strikes coming slower, more hesitant with each passing moment.

Thirty seconds. It wouldn't be enough, Occulus realized. Even in the depths of rage and terror, Arcann fell into old habits working together with his brother, and their strikes were easily coordinated. A shimmering barrier of force caught a pair of strikes that would have bisected Occulus, and the Heir of Kallig frowned slightly before bursting the barrier outwards, sending Thexan skidding back even as Occulus slapped Arcann's saber aside with her open palm, channeling the heat, the energy, through her and converting it, lightning lancing out to burn along the boy's face. Occulus would fall here, but the Heir of Kallig could at least ensure that their enemies did not emerge unscathed.

Twenty seconds. It wouldn't be enough for what Occulus had originally planned. However, plans can be adjusted. It would not be ideal, but it would be functional. Occulus closed their eyes, burning through the spirits, crushing their existence one by one as she bound the last of their power into herself. Arcann screamed, raising his arm to keep the lightning from his face.

Ten seconds. Arcann screamed, as the flesh seared from his bones. Arcann screamed and Occulus smiled as she flayed him for his arrogance. Occulus smiled, her head quiet for the first time since she had first bound Lord Ergast. Then, Thexan's saber pierced through her, finding her heart.

With a final spiteful laugh at the twins, her spirit abandoned her flesh and her robes fell empty to the floor.

She would not be able to direct where she went. She had not had the time for that. Occulus had bound her spirit, much as she had once bound so many other Sith Lords. It would, in time, find a host, even if she was unsure as to who it would be. So, she would simply have to trust in the Force to carry her to safety. Her body would expire, but her spirit would remain whole.

It was too much. The locker pressed in tight around me. The pungent stench of the waste that Emma, Sophia, and Madison had left in my locker combined with the acrid aroma of my own puke, leaving me nauseous. I wanted to vomit again. I wanted to scream again. I wanted to pound on the walls and break my way out.

I can't.

My stomach was empty. My voice had gone hoarse from screaming, little more than a croak escaping me. The walls didn't budge and only seemed to close down even closer every time I pushed on them. The darkness pushed in and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

A laugh drifted by from outside the locker. Sophia, I think. I can't make out the words. I can't make out the words, but I still know what she's saying. It's the same sort of thing she's been saying for two years now, afterall. Look at Taylor. What a loser. What a weakling. Why is she even still here? Can't she tell she's unwanted? She should just kill herself already and spare us the effort.

I bite back a sob. I bite back a scream. I ignore the tears running down my cheeks. I won't lose. I won't lose. I won't let Sophia Hess of all people break me. I won't-

Something crawls along my neck and the sob escapes me.

I can't do this anymore.

Two years. I had put up with them for two years. Every taunt, every piece of stolen homework, every time I had been shoved around in the hallway; I had raised my head and ignored them, intent on being the better person, on maintaining some sort of moral high ground.

Well, the high ground had done me jack shit. It just meant that they kept escalating, trying to get a rise out of me. I couldn't do it anymore. I needed to escape. I needed to punch their faces in. I needed to run away and hide. I needed to dump juice over Madison and leave her soaking in the hallways. I needed to leave this school and never come back. I needed to push Sophia down the stairs. I needed to put a gun in my mouth and end all of this. I needed to hold Emma down and choke her until she begged for forgiveness.

I needed to know why Emma had suddenly betrayed me two years ago.

I try to scream again, but it sounds more like a whimper.

I felt as though I was barely holding onto consciousness. I couldn't let myself drift off. I knew somehow that if I fell unconscious, I might never wake again. That I would die here, trapped in my own locker, mired in human waste. I wouldn't let myself die. I would beat them. I would be stronger them. I wouldn't let myself die.

Whatever it took.

Pain shot through my head. My vision was suddenly a whirl of color as galaxies spun past. Stars spun out to infinity and collapsed in turn. Life expanded out to infinity and collapsed in turn. I was surrounded by anger and apathy and love and hate and kindness and cruelty and elation and dismay and satisfaction and regret. A single person was the Universe writ small. The Universe was a single person writ large. The cosmos turned unheeding of our actions. The cosmos ached with our every hurt.

A pale girl is being beaten, shackles keeping her tied to a wall. Lightning lances towards a pillar and a woman's chains are broken. A youthful woman turns and her visage withers into a hag's. A proud, arrogant man crawls away, a spineless coward in the end. Darkness swirls over a world and leaves it barren.

Image after image spun through my mind, faster than I could comprehend. A scream escaped me, uncaring of the damage it did. Fingers scratched at my face, uncaring of the damage it did. I slammed my body against the locker, desperate to get out, uncaring of the damage it did.

Light appeared in front of me.

And then there was only darkness.

·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·

I woke to a faint beeping. It didn't sound like my alarm clock. It was too quiet. Too regular.

I was hearing a heart monitor, I realized.

I let out a soft sight. I was in a hospital then. I suppose it must have been night, since the room was dark. I shivered, biting down on my lip to keep the scream from escaping me. I wasn't in the locker anymore. Just because it was dark didn't mean that I wasn't safe. I was in the hospital. I was safe. I was safe. I was-

I can't keep the whimper from escaping me this time, but at least it isn't a scream.

I take deep breaths, trying to force myself to calm down. I'm alright. I'm still alive. I'm safe.

The lie isn't even convincing in my own head.

I try to sit up, only to fall back with a small groan. My whole body aches. I jump however, when my groan triggers a scramble of noise at my side, and I pull back, ready to lash out. It's the voice that stops me. "Taylor! Oh thank God, you're awake. You're awake."

"Dad." A voice escapes me, so small I hardly recognize it as my own, and I'm soon engulfed in a hug. I smile and close my eyes, letting myself lean into him. I was safe.

I clung to him for a long time, just shivering in his arms. His arms are solid and steady and more than anything, warm. His voice is as choked as my own however. "I'm so glad you're awake. They said - They said it was touch and go for awhile."

Touch and go. A euphemism common to doctors, a way to easily say that a patient might not make it. I'd nearly died there in that locker. I squeeze my eyes shut. Sophia, Emma, and Madison had nearly killed me. I took a shuddering breath. "How long?"

"You've been asleep for nearly a week now, Taylor. I thought - Nevermind. I'm just glad you're okay now."

"Yeah." I let myself slump back into the bed. "I'm okay now." A week. They'd taken a week from me. A week later and my body still ached. The darkness suddenly crushed down on me again, like I was back in that locker. I bit down on my lip, fighting back the shame that rose in me. I shouldn't be embarrassed. I shouldn't feel weak because of this.

I blinked back the tears and asked quietly, "Dad? Could you turn the lights on?"

·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·

Apparently, I had beaten myself bloody trying to get out of the locker. There had been a very real fear of infection and toxic shock with all the shit that had been in the locker, but apparently I got lucky and whatever antibiotics they put me on did their job.

I got lucky. I wasn't dead. Just a few more bruises and scratches for the Trio to laugh at me over.

My Dad was out in the hallway yelling - at someone from the school from the sound of things, but I really couldn't bring myself to care right now. It wouldn't make a difference in the end. It wouldn't change anything. I shifted and tried to stifle the groan that came in response. It still hurt to move, enough that I was more or less confined to bed.

A bitter laugh escaped me. I was trapped. In this hospital. In that school. In my life.

My Dad's voice rose in pitch, obviously unhappy with whatever he was hearing. I simply shook my head and tried to shut out the sound of him yelling. Dad yelling at Blackwell or whoever else might be out there just brought back thoughts of school, and that made me think of the locker, and then I was trapped again, the walls closing in on me, the stench causing me to gag. I couldn't move, couldn't escape, couldn't breathe -

I choked and forced my panic back down. The faces of Emma, Sophia, and Madison loomed in my mind and I clawed them back as well.

I wouldn't let them control me. Not anymore.

I felt my nails dig into my palm. I winced, the pain throbbing in time with the rest of my body. But it helped clear my head. I forced any thoughts of Madison, Sophia, and especially Emma out of my head and simply… focused on my breathing.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

A minute passed like that. Slowly, I began to feel some unseen tension unravel itself from my shoulders.

My Dad's voice had gone quiet outside, but he hadn't returned to the room. For all his short temper, he never wanted me to see him angry. He always tried to stay out of sight when he blew up like this. It's not like I couldn't figure it out when he did though. So he probably wandered off down the hall, to get a drink from a vending machine. Give himself time to cool down.

I leaned back, idly watching a fly buzz around the room as I waited for Dad to return. I made a small game of predicting which way it would go. Left, down, right. Onto the TV. I can't say it made for particularly enthralling entertainment, but it did serve to pass the time at least. As it turns out, flies are actually kind of predictable.

The fly lifted itself off the TV and I waited until it came close to me to reach up and swat it out of the air. It changed paths, dodging out of the way, and I just barely clipped it, the bug barely even disturbed by my attempt to hit it. It flew a circle over my head and I scowled up at it.

I heard the door click, and turned my attention back down as my Dad stepped into the room with a tired sigh. "Hey Kiddo. Sorry if I was a bit loud out there. How're you doing in here? Need me to grab anything for you?"

"No, I'm good, I think. Supposed to get discharged tomorrow anyways, right? No point in bringing in extra stuff now."

"I suppose not." He gave me a weak smile and sat down next to me. "Did Emma swing by while I was gone? I thought I saw her for a second when I was coming back."

Darkness pressed in on the corners of my vision, memories of the locker returning. I pushed it back down, careful to keep it from reaching my face. "...No. She didn't. It was probably someone else, Dad."

"Oh." Dad paused for a long moment, the silence stretching out. I was tempted to break the silence. To reach out and reassure him that things would be alright. I didn't.

When he spoke again, it was with a quiet, serious tone. "Listen, Taylor, I've been talking on and off with Principal Blackwell. They've offered to cover your hospital bills, but… We'd have to drop any possibility of a lawsuit against the school."

I felt my gut clench. So that was it. The school did the minimum amount possible and got off free, all because we couldn't afford to pay for my treatment. Hell, we couldn't really afford the lawsuit either. We'd go broke before it was over and there wasn't any guarantee that we would even win. I didn't even really have the grades to try and get a transfer to another school anymore, since the Trio had been sabotaging my work for so long.

"We don't have to take the deal if you don't want to, Taylor. We can find some other way to make things work."

I pause, stifling the urge to say that it was fine, to take the deal, on my tongue. I wasn't entirely sure why. It was just one more humiliation from Winslow on top of everything else, wasn't it? Nothing I couldn't take. But…

Would I simply return to being a slave?

Author's Note:

This story is actually an archive of a quest that I am running. If you're interested in participating in the quest itself, it has threads on the SpaceBattles, Sufficient Velocity, and Questionable Questing forums.