Star Wars:The Apprentice

The training chamber was dimly lit, the air thick with an unspoken tension. The cold durasteel floor sent a chill through Adam's bare feet, but he barely noticed. His mind was elsewhere—still trying to grasp the reality of his situation.

Sidious stood before him, his expression unreadable. His long, dark robes barely moved as he stepped closer.

Dooku stood in the shadows, arms crossed, observing in silence. His sharp, aristocratic features betrayed nothing, but Adam could feel his gaze piercing into him, studying him.

Adam swallowed hard, forcing himself to focus.

Sidious lifted a single hand. "Strike me," he ordered.

Adam blinked. "What?"

Sidious tilted his head slightly, his expression calm. "Attack me."

Adam hesitated. "I don't have a weapon."

Sidious smirked. "You do not need one."

Adam clenched his fists. He still didn't fully understand the Force—how it worked, what he was even *capable* of. But he had felt it.

That power.

Raw. Uncontrolled.

The memory of the alley flashed through his mind—the way his rage had exploded, the way those men had *died* by his hand.

His fingers twitched.

Sidious waited, unmoving.

Adam gritted his teeth and lunged.

He swung his fist toward the Sith Lord's face, but before it could connect, an unseen force slammed into his chest, sending him flying backward.

He crashed into the ground, gasping for air.

Sidious tsked. "Pathetic."

Adam coughed, trying to push himself up.

"You rely too much on your body," Sidious continued, stepping forward. "The Force is your *true* weapon."

Adam's head spun, but he forced himself to listen.

Sidious raised a single finger, and Adam felt something tighten around his throat.

His breath hitched.

He clawed at his neck, but there was nothing there—no hands, no rope—just *pressure*.

He choked, his vision blurring.

"You *feel* it, don't you?" Sidious mused, his voice eerily calm. "That power. It flows through you. It is yours to command."

The pressure suddenly released, and Adam collapsed to the floor, gasping.

Sidious looked down at him. "Again."

Adam clenched his fists, his breathing ragged.

The rage inside him simmered.

He gritted his teeth, reaching out—not with his hands, but with his *will*.

The air around him seemed to shift, a ripple in the unseen currents of the Force. He focused on Sidious, pushing *outward*.

A powerful *shockwave* burst from his body.

Sidious barely moved.

Adam's eyes widened.

Sidious smirked. "Better."

Dooku, still watching from the shadows, finally spoke. "Interesting."

Adam turned his head, realizing the man had been observing the entire time.

Dooku stepped forward, his hands still clasped behind his back. "The boy has potential," he admitted. "But he lacks control."

Sidious chuckled. "All things in time, my friend."

Dooku narrowed his eyes slightly. "And what of the Rule of Two?"

Adam frowned, not understanding.

Sidious only smiled. "Rules are meant to be *broken* when necessary."

Dooku raised a brow. "A convenient justification."

Sidious chuckled darkly. "You forget, Count—my master and I allowed Maul to take the title of *Darth* despite his role. If an exception could be made for him, why not for another?"

Dooku glanced at Adam, his expression unreadable.

Sidious turned back to Adam. "You are still weak," he said simply. "But you will become strong."

Adam exhaled, nodding.

He *had* to.

He had no other choice it was either be strong or die and he wasn't going to die not yet at least.For now he had to be ready he needed to train more with his new master.

Adam sat cross-legged on the cold floor of the chamber, his breathing steady but his mind restless. The Force still hummed in his veins from the training, but he knew he had barely scratched the surface of what he was capable of.

Sidious stood before him, his long robes pooling at his feet, his expression unreadable. Dooku had retreated into the shadows once more, watching, always observing.

"The Force," Sidious began, his voice smooth yet commanding, "is the very foundation of existence. It binds all things, seen and unseen." His yellow eyes gleamed. "And yet, for all their arrogance, the Jedi fail to *understand* it."

Adam remained silent, listening.

"The Jedi preach balance," Sidious continued, pacing slowly. "They claim the Force must be wielded with restraint, that emotion must be *suppressed*." His lip curled in disgust. "Fools."

Adam swallowed. "But don't they still use the Force? They're strong too, right?"

Sidious chuckled. "Strength? Do you mistake their *cowardice* for strength?" His voice grew sharp. "The Jedi are *slaves* to their own weakness. They deny themselves power because they *fear* it."

Adam frowned.

Sidious gestured with one hand, and suddenly, Adam felt something—an *invisible presence* pressing down on his chest, like a phantom hand gripping his very soul.

His breath hitched.

"They fear what they do not *control*," Sidious murmured, his grip tightening. "They fear passion. Fear *anger*."

Adam gritted his teeth.

The pressure grew stronger.

Sidious leaned in. "Tell me, Adam—when you killed those men, what did you feel?"

Adam's stomach twisted.

He didn't want to think about it.

He didn't want to *say* it.

Sidious smirked. "You hesitate."

Adam clenched his fists. "I…" He exhaled sharply. "I was angry."

Sidious's smirk widened. "And did that anger make you *weak*?"

Adam's jaw tightened.

"…No."

The pressure suddenly *vanished*, and Adam gasped, rubbing his chest.

Sidious straightened. "Emotion is the key to true power," he said. "It is the fuel that ignites the Dark Side."

Adam's fingers twitched.

He could still feel it—that same energy, just beneath his skin.

Sidious continued, his voice lowering. "The Jedi would have you believe that passion is a poison. That anger, hatred, *pain* must be cast aside." His expression darkened. "But what is power without purpose? What is strength without *will*?"

Adam swallowed hard.

He had spent his entire life *denying* himself.

Shoving down his anger.

Ignoring the resentment.

Telling himself that he deserved to be stepped on. That he was *less*.

And now, Sidious was telling him that all of that was *wrong*.

That his anger wasn't a weakness.

It was his *strength*.

Sidious's gaze bore into him. "There is no peace," he whispered.

Adam exhaled. "There is only passion."

Sidious smiled.

Dooku raised a brow.

Adam's hands trembled slightly, but not with fear.

With *realization*.

Sidious turned, clasping his hands behind his back. "Long ago, before the Jedi's reign, the Sith were many. An empire spanning across the stars, ruled by strength, unshackled by the weakness of democracy."

Adam listened intently.

"But as always, the strong were betrayed by the *weak*," Sidious said, his tone turning bitter. "The Sith fell to infighting, their numbers dwindling, their empire collapsing. And in their moment of vulnerability, the Jedi struck."

Adam frowned. "They wiped them out?"

Sidious chuckled darkly. "So they *thought*."

Dooku stepped forward now, his deep voice filling the chamber. "One Sith endured."

Adam turned to him. "One?"

Sidious nodded. "Darth Bane. He saw the flaws in the old ways. He understood that the Sith destroyed *themselves* as much as the Jedi did." His voice dropped to a whisper. "So he created the Rule of Two."

Adam swallowed.

"One master," Dooku said, his gaze unreadable, "to embody power."

"And one apprentice," Sidious added, "to *crave* it."

Adam shivered.

Sidious smirked. "Through generations, we have remained in the shadows. The Jedi, in their arrogance, believed us gone." His expression darkened. "But we have been growing. Waiting. *Preparing*."

Dooku's gaze flickered toward Adam. "And now, a new variable has entered the equation."

Adam tensed.

Sidious chuckled. "Indeed."

Dooku folded his arms. "You speak of the Rule of Two… yet here the boy stands."

Adam shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

Sidious's smirk did not fade. "The Rule of Two is a *guideline*, Count. Not an absolute."

Dooku frowned. "Bane created it for a reason."

Sidious's yellow eyes gleamed. "And yet, my master and I allowed Maul to take the title of *Darth* despite my apprenticeship." He gestured to Adam. "This boy is an anomaly. A gift the Dark Side has *delivered* to us."

Dooku's gaze lingered on Adam.

"…Perhaps."

Adam clenched his fists.

Sidious turned to him fully. "You are powerful, Adam. But you lack knowledge. Discipline." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I will teach you."

Adam's chest tightened.

He had spent his whole life being looked down on.

Being ignored.

And now, for the first time…

Someone saw something in him.

Something *more*.

Adam exhaled, lifting his head.

"…Teach me," he said.

Sidious smiled.