Korriban's Open Terrain

There was a look of caution on Sarah's face as she ventured deeper into the dark tomb along side Malvus, her Master. Her yellow eyes scanned the area around them. If there was any sign of movement or danger, she would pick it up and prepare her attack. When the two of them entered a large chamber, something in the air changed. before them, Sarah noticed text, scrolls, and other various items that related to the First Sith Empire. For a moment, a rogue thought penetrated the young Sith's mind. She felt as if the scrolls of the Old Sith Empire might prove useful to her one day. Before she could even think of making a move toward them to investigate, Malvus whipped around toward her, his lightsaber drawn in a defensive manner.

The Dark Haired Sith narrowed her eyes at her master, but it was not long before she knew why he made such a sudden movement like that. The sound of a few pair of feet filled Sarah's ears as she snapped around to face the oncoming enemy. Her lightsaber hummed, the Dark Side of the Force danced around her left arm. Malvus ignited two torches within the corridor, which revealed the Undead Sith. Upon seeing the disfigured creatures with her own eyes, Sarah experienced a feeling she had not felt in several years: Doubt. The Sith took several steps back and brought her lightsaber up to bear.

Sarah could see the hate in the monsters' blood red and glowing eyes. That doubt spreading throughout Sarah's mind slowly began to covert itself into a deepening fear as she took a few more steps back. She wanted to increase the gap between her and the undead monsters before her. There was a clear sign that she was already trembling from the way her lightsaber shook in her hands. If Malvus was not standing with her, Sarah envisioned herself being torn apart from these Undead protectors of the tomb. A rush of energy was sent flying pass Sarah, which in turn knocked all four undead protectors to the ground. The energy was originated from behind her, so it had to be from Malvus. The very scent of energy he used reminded Sarah of Force Blast, a force power she was very familiar with. With her own fear still spreading rapidly throughout her mind, The Young Sith became unfocused and the energy she gathered from the Dark Side of the Force began to wane.

Malvus then informed Sarah on the origins of these creatures. To even think that Sith Alchemy and Sith Magic could achieve this level of control was beyond her. As Malvus then sprang into combat with the enemy, Sarah followed right behind him. Well, she would have if she wasn't frozen by fear. Sweat dripped down from her forehead and around her eyes as she watched her master begin his attack. She wanted to fight, to show Malvus that she was not afraid to get her hands dirty in combat, but her current physical state would not allow it. Then, in the mist of her sudden cowardice, an overwhelming migraine racked her entire brain, forcing her down upon her right knee. The pain was so intense, Sarah didn't noticed that her lightsaber had slipped from her hand, deactivated, and rolled away from her. At the time, it didn't matter. With each beat of her own heart, she felt massive surges of pain shattering against her temples. Sarah gritted down on her teeth hard to keep herself from screaming out, but that didn't stop a faint yelp from escaping her lips. Just before reaching the point of blacking out, a voice whispered to the far reaches of her mind.

The voice was ever soothing and solacing but it was unmistakably of Shadow's. It spoke with both male and female characteristics, which gave Sarah the impression of united parents trying to console their child. But that couldn't be right, could it? Sarah's mother had passed away during childbirth and she never even knew anything of her father. But in a strange way, the Dark Haired Sith found the way Shadow spoke pleasing to the ear. Shadow then asked a simple question to Sarah as she remained on her knee, pain still racking throughout her mind.

Shadow: "Do you want me to rid you of your fear way and show you how to fight like a true Sith Lord..?"

It was a question answered before even responded to Shadow. There was no doubt in her mind: If this strange being could help her fight with pride and destroy any traces of doubt and fear, she would take it without questioning. While Malvus continued his fight against the Undead creatures, Sarah whispered a small reply out loud.

"...Yes..."

And just like that, the fear was gone, as if someone had just unplugged that emotion from Sarah's very mind. Her trembling stopped, the headache subsided, and slowly, she stood to her feet. There was a taint of Dark Side Energy radiating from her body, but it wasn't her own. It radiated from something much other and much more powerful than Sarah could obtain on her own. Her Dark Black hair began to stand up on end from the energy now surging throughout her core. With both hands hanging down at her sides, The Sith opened her right hand and summoned her lightsaber with the Force. The very moment her fingers closed around the hilt of her weapon, she vanished. Well, to a non-Force Sensitive, it would appear that the Dark Haired Sith had simply vanished without a trace. But to any Force User, like Malvus, Sarah had manipulated her power in the way of Force Speed and lunged toward the nearest Dead One engaged in combat with her master. The Sith reappeared along side her Master with the tip of her blade piercing deeply into the face of one of the undead warriors. The eyes, nose, and mouth of the creature had been destroyed as it let out an unearthly wail. With a smirk, Sarah twisted her wrist slightly, which scrambled the rest of the creature's brain. The body fell limp and collapsed helplessly to the ground in front of her. One down, two more to go.

One of the creatures sluggishly lifted his primitive sword toward Sarah's saber wielding arm. Being careful to not strike her master, the Dark Haired Sith continued to use Force Speed to quicken her own movements. She turned her body in such a way so that the left side of her body would be facing the enemy. As she turned, The Sith brought left hand to bear against the center mass of the creature's chest. There was a sudden release of Dark Side Energy, which carried the Undead off its feet and propelled it directly into a nearby wall. The sickening sound of rotting flesh tearing and old bones breaking echoed throughout the tomb as the creature slumped down to the ground and did not move again. Sarah was within a few feet of her master when she finally turned and faced him. Her eyes were blood red. But that wasn't all. Her eyes seemed old, as if they had seen the universe and uncovered the true nature of the Dark Side. When she spoke, her voice was different. It sounded like Sarah, but then again, it didn't. There was a voice dubbing over hers, an old voice. A devious smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth when she finally spoke.

"Isn't this thrilling....Master?"

As Malvus dispatched the last of the four Undead Sith, he did something that nearly took the Dark Haired Sith by surprise: The Red Sith turned and was now directing the tip of his lightsaber directly at Sarah. This sudden movement caused Sarah's left eyebrow to rise sightly as she stared at him with a questioning expression upon her face. Her Old Sith eyes glanced him up and down while the Sith barked questions at her, demanding answers she could not provide. Who was she? Sarah Dillard, of course. As for the fear, Shadow had taken that away and empowered her with the energy she didn't quite understand at the moment. Even now, her body was struggling to contain and house the massive amount of Dark Energy surging throughout her core. Sarah, with her red eyes glaring, felt the corner of her lips pulling up in a seductive like smirk. After giving the Red Sith a final glance, Sarah responded, her voice still carrying the trace of another's. It was obvious she could not pick up on this trait herself.

"You know who I am, Lord Malvus. Why the questions? My fear kept me from fighting at all. With it now gone, I fought better than ever. You clearly witnessed that fact for yourself, My lord."

However, the being within Sarah's soul looked through her eyes at the Sith standing before her and was not amused. Malvus had obviously picked up on Shadow's presence, but what would he do? Attempting to remove Shadow's influence from Sarah would prove most grave for her health. If Malvus tried to remove Shadow anyway, It would lose its chance to return to the living world if Sarah was no longer among the living. The fact that the Red Sith could sense Shadow was quite impressive. Maybe there was use for Sarah to stay in this Sith's company while Shadow waited for the woman to be ready. It would return one day, but it would not be this day. Shadow actually thought about lunging at the Red Sith and make an attempt to strike him down before he tried to remove the spirit. But then again, Sarah's body might not be strong enough to survive, yet alone win a confrontation of that level. Deciding to withdraw for now, Shadow removed his influence and control from the young woman's mind, which allowed her to return to normal. Her eyes changed back to yellow/hazel, her aura was once again her own, and the seductive expression on her face was replaced with slight confusion. Sarah blinked a few times before noticing that Malvus was in a fighting stance, his weapon drawn and directed toward her. The Dark Haired Sith stepped back on her left leg and brought up her lightsaber. The two sabers formed something like a red, humming 'X' in the large chamber. More of the Undead Sith were bound to be on their way here by now, so Sarah was not keen on staying here. When she spoke out to Malvus, her voice was her own once again.

"What are you doing? We came in her for knowledge, but was it also a test of my strength? Did you wish to duel me to gauge my power?"

In the background of Sarah's mind, Shadow laughed to itself. For now, the being would lay in the shadows and wait for Sarah to grow in her knowledge in the Dark Side of the Force. One day, a terror would return to the galaxy.

"Yes Master, I understand.."

Sarah deactivated her lightsaber with a push of her thumb, sending the red hot blade sinking back into its hilt. The Dark Haired Sith would have to gain mastery over her own Fear instead of allowing Shadow's abilities to empower her. Despite the fact that she allowed Shadow access to her body and parts of her mind she locked off from it, Sarah fund her increase control and mastery over the Dark Side of the Force nothing short of invigorating. The very essence of the Dark Side yielded to her command. It was a taste of the power to come, yet it made her hunger for more. As she began to follow her Master, Sarah's yellow/hazel eyes seemed to be lost in thought. Again, why did Shadow call out to her and name her as its Key? Was there something in store for Sarah that she could not yet see? Was she purposely led down the path of the Dark Side to fulfill some destiny that was laid out before her? Figuring that Shadow was indeed a being from the afterlife, most likely Chaos, she knew it meant one thing: Shadow was attempting to use her to bring a soul back from the grips of Hell itself. But who was trying to punch through the walls of the afterlife and return to the living? And why was it up to Sarah to be that anchor? Questions like these continued to buzz around in her mind as she walked barely two feet behind her master, her right thumb hovering over the switch for her lightsaber. If anymore of the Undead Sith showed up to fight, Sarah would use her own fear to call upon the Dark Side of the Force.

As Malvus continued to study the large sealed door before him, Sarah returned to a sitting position near the massive door in question. She brought her knees up against her chest once more and let out a small sigh. After dispatching that last group of Sith Undead, Sarah noticed that there was an eerie silence within the tomb. Compared to the surface of Korriban, the atmosphere within the tomb was quite cooler, despite the living Dead trying to kill Sarah and Malvus and the...smell. Sarah could live without the smell. There was something different about fighting the Undead. Unlike the two security officers she brought down just hours ago, the Undead felt no pain. They had no fear, not regret, no emotions of any sort. Sarah still feared them like she did before, but from Malvus' instruction, she used that fear against them instead of asking Shadow to remove said emotion. Just as she began to relax her muscles and calm herself after the last battle, that same old dull headache began to resurface. Groaning softly to herself, The Dark Haired Sith rubbed both of her eyes with her left hand in an attempt to alleviate the pain. She knew Shadow was trying to make contact with again, but why did it have to be her? And why did it have to be so painful when the Creature entered her mind? For example, Malvus would have been a much better choice to use as the 'key' or 'doorway' or whatever Shadow called Sarah when the being first appeared before her.

The Sith moved to stand up and make an attempt to walk the pain off, but she found her body completely unresponsive to her commands. Whatever Shadow was doing to her, it stripped Sarah of control of her own body. A slight feeling of panic swarmed Sarah's mind. Her eyes drifted to Malvus, as if she were to plead with him for help, but she couldn't speak. To Malvus, it would simply appear that she was just resting for the time being. But in reality, the pain was increasing and the throbbing of her temples was pushing her into unconsciousness. At the apex of the pain, Sarah passed out, her chin resting softly upon her knees as her mind was whisked away to the cosmos. Within moments, The Dark Haired Sith found herself standing on the same beautiful planet from the last forced vision. The sun's brilliant radiance was a warm and comforting touch to Sarah's skin. The temperature was just right, the sky was dotted with beautiful white clouds, the breeze carried the scent of fresh flowers from afar. In the distance, Sarah noticed the sprawling city she witnessed in the first vision, but this time, it wasn't blurred like it had been in the past. Now, she was able to see vehicles of all shapes and sizes buzzing around the city, which itself was an marvel or modern construction. She was able to identify a structure in the heart of the city that sort of resembled an Imperial Palace. In her studies of Galactic politics and landmarks, palaces like this would have been on several planets, scattered throughout the galaxy. She still couldn't identify what planet she was on, but it was a far cry from the dry, dirty heat of Korriban

Sarah, who had been standing be herself for the last few moments, was admiring the view of the city, but she wasn't alone for long. The Creature of Shadow, or simply out Shadow manifested itself just a few feet on Sarah's right. It too was gazing out toward the city, as if it was enjoying the view for itself. Sarah was not surprised that Shadow had decided to show itself, which was new to the young Sith. Usually, she would have been repulsed by the presence of the creature, but now, she barely reacted to the being. As a gentle breeze filled the silence between them, Sarah turned her head slightly to the right to ask what Shadow had brought her here for, but she was totally unprepared for what her eyes had just laid upon. Shadow had already been staring at the Sith, its eyes matching Sarah's completely

Young Sarah almost lost her footing as she put some distance between her and the creature with her eyes. Those yellow/hazel eyes seemed to pierce into Sarah's mind as Shadow continued to stare her, unblinking. Just like the city in the distance, Shadow's face was no longer blurred to her. In fact, Sarah almost assumed Shadow was mocking her image perfectly. From the creature's current appearance, its facial structure closely echoed Sarah's own face, but it was more masculine. The Dark Haired Sith studied Shadow carefully as it stood before, unaffected by her curiosity. Her heart began to race and she bit down softly on her lip while trying to understand why Shadow was mocking her. Shadow was now at least over six feet tall and had dark brown hair, much like Sarah's. His facial hair was lined up in a full beard with a black goatee and his body was lean, yet muscular in its own right.

Sarah approached the being, which was clearly male to her now, and stared directly into his eyes. Finally, she spoke out in a stern voice.

"Who are you, Shadow? What do you really want from me and why do you now decide to show your form?"

Shadow blinked once and nodded his head slowly as he turned his attention back to the city in the distance. There was a certain calmness to the creature's face when he turned his attention away from Sarah. Again, there was a silence between the two of them which was only filled by the gentle breeze. Sarah didn't know if time was actually moving in this realm, but she was sick of waiting for an answer. When she attempted to make a move toward the creature, Shadow snapped his attention back toward Sarah and extended his right index finger, which pointed at the center of her forehead. When the being spoke, its voice sending soothing and comforting feelings into Sarah's very heart.

Shadow: "No Words Are Needed. Go Back With This Knowledge. Keep It To Yourself."

Before Sarah could even respond with her questions, a blinding light flashed from Shadow's finger. She felt her mind being invaded with brand new information and she couldn't believe a word of it! None of this could be true! The entire atmosphere around Sarah changed and when she opened her eyes, she found herself back in her own body on Korriban. Hot tears began to stream down from her eyes as she sat and tried to muffle her painful sobs. Nothing was going to be the same. If what Shadow just put into her mind was true, it changed everything. It changed her.