24. Windu

Windu pov

I could feel something shift inside me when the enemy in front of me mentioned his 'Queen' and his service to her. I felt the urge to kill him rising, and even though I knew it was wrong, a part of my mind whispered to me that my urge to kill was normal. he was a Sith, the hated enemy of the Jedi. wanting to kill him was reasonable, rational! and yet I knew I would lose a part of my self if I let the urge dictate my actions.

I lunged, intending to weaken him, and my blade went through his armor, and peirce his side, burning its way out again. Then it happened. He roared.

The dark aura he was giving off before was now overwhelming. Suffocating. the urge to kill, to tear him apart surged, and I felt myself grinning. I could sense my own inner Darkness growing rapidly, so I did the only thing I could think of. I wrapped what little of myself was left I within a blanket of pure light within my own mind. I was afraid. I knew this, and I accepted it. my emotional barriers had begun to crumble, and I lashed out at my hated enemy instinctively trying to kill it.

My body was moving on its own, without my input. I could vaguely sense that my body had been defeated, as the darkness ebbed away, slowly settling. It was still there, still very much alive, it simply seemed calmer now.

Light. a great blinding light came near, and the darkness raged. I could feel it trying to devour that light, but it seemed to sense the hostility given off by the darkness. I didn't dare reach out to it, that would mean facing that all consuming rage. I wasn't ready just yet. then something changed, and the darkness seemed to shy away from the light. a faint golden thread approached me where I hid, and I knew who it was who was trying to help. Yoda. he was aware of my being stuck in my ball of light, and wanted to free me, but I was afraid.

I didn't dare accept, not just yet, and the golden thread weakened and was immediately set upon by the darkness. this seemed to alarm him, as he immediately pulled back, leaving that thread in place as it had begun to be devoured. I could see another thread, though it was faint, it seemed to glow red, and looked like lightning. another was there, this one seemed to follow towards the first, but this was a pale blue lightning. I knew the presence this lightning thread gave off, it was the Sith I faced!

Why? why was I bonded to him? and who was that red lightning thread? as I thought of it, I seemed to feel a tug in that direction. I decided to follow it and see where it went.

it seemed to pulse, this electric red thread, growing stronger and thicker as I followed it. then I felt an immense pressure on my consciousness and heard a loud thunderous voice, filled with authority, but still polite and somehow gentle?

"Who are you?"

Who was i? I had been here so long, I had almost forgotten... I was Mace Windu.

The presence seemed intrigued.

"Is it Jedi? Is it Sith?"

I am, or was a Jedi. I'm not quite sure anymore.

It seemed alarmed at this revelation. then...

"was?"

yes. something seems wrong... some sort of mental illness. it hurt to touch the light now.

I could feel the surroundings changing, then.. I was in a dark tunnel, with faint red glowing lights and symbols. I could feel the presence at the end of the tunnel, and knew if I went in the opposite direction all I would find was that void. I didn't want to go back there. my mind wouldn't survive that.

so, I followed the tunnel towards the presence, only to find myself in what appeared to be a throne room, with four strange black bug-like creatures, and a fifth on a throne of red Kyber.

"I am Ashla, Queen of the Endoralian Legion Hive, and I welcome you, little soft-skin, to my throne room. You are here because my pet Maul accidentally triggered a latent illness that exists within any who has touched the dark side of the force. I will teach you to control this madness, and you will be my spy in the Jedi Order. Refuse, and the madness will continue to consume you, making you into little more than a mindless beast. What say you, little Soft-Skin?" as it spoke, it rose from its throne, and approached me. it was clearly two feet taller than I was, forcing me to look up into its predatory eyes.

Serve or die? I would serve this Queen. It was then I sensed him. Maul. the one who caused this madness.

He spoke.

"I feel I must apologize, it was never my intention to cause you harm."

I knew that much. I simply turned to the Queen, and dropped to one knee, saying, "If what you say is true, then I would serve you until the end of time, My Queen."

"Open your mind to mine, and show me all that you were taught as a Jedi."

I did as I was asked, and felt memories I had forgotten during my time in the void surface, and knew what this Queen was. what she could teach me. I wanted it. her knowledge her power. the ability to crush my enemies to dust beneath my heels. then new information flowed in, the Art of the Small, lightning, countless other dark side techniques, I knew my eyes would be a feral orange. I would now be able to hide not only my alignment, I would also be able to hide my eyes. She taught me personally for many weeks, then sent me back to my body. I was hers now.

I would gladly carry out my Queens will.