Private The Devil is a Jedi

[Danton]

It was the fourth day after the Battle of Exegol, since the cleansing of his only home and the ruin of his warlord master, and Danton was waiting to die.

He stood inside the barren cell, hands clasped at his back, purpled with bruises and stained in dried blood. His blood. How and why he was still alive, he'd no idea. All he could remember was trying to escape from the Wall of Light that had threatened to consume the planet, and then, nothing but black.

Your name is Danton, he murmured, as if every word he spoke was what kept him sane. You are a servant of Darth Hakan. You are the last of the Maw. You have not yet lost.

Over and over, he repeated those words to himself. A mantra. Danton was only pulled from his reverie when he felt her—a presence he hadn't felt since that accursed Light had swallowed Exegol. He didn't let himself flinch. Instead, he kept his eyes forward, staring at the bare-faced wall of his cell, listening as their footsteps approached.

He could feel them watching the back of his neck. He could feel their intentions like a dagger at his throat.

Would his death be quick? Would it be painful?

Danton finally turned, feeling his heart burn at the sight of them. Hate was an old friend. It helped make him forget the ache in his muscles, the ringing in his ears and the voices at the back of his skull. Looking at the Jedi before him, he could feel it returning to him, a thunderbolt of pure and electrifying hatred.

"You," he said at last, his voice dripping with venom.

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

Azrael Asylum

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber

Azrael Asylum.

There had been a time when Valery would have never believed in locking Sith up, either for rehabilitation or just to keep them contained. Any Dark Side corrupted being beyond the third stage of Submission was to be returned to the Force, so that they could never cause harm again. It was only through her husband that her mind had been opened to alternatives, and much of the extremism was no longer part of her.

But deep down, she was still a Jedi Shadow.

So walking through the hallways of Azrael Asylum was an almost uncomfortable thing. Many of the Sith here would never be redeemed, and while this asylum kept them contained, there was always the higher risk that they'd find a way to escape. A risk that people would get hurt because the decision was made not to return them to the Force. Even now, she wasn't quite sure how to feel about it all.

"Good morning," Valery finally said, after reaching the cell that held one of Exogol's survivors. Danton was one of the few remnants of the Maw's Sith Order, and hopefully, he would never see the light of day again.

"I have a few questions for you, and you're going to answer them for me."

 

[Danton]

Morning? Danton thought, restraining his surprise. He had counted the hours and minutes during his time in this cell, but now he was not sure of the time anymore. See, there was no sunlight in this place. No windows. No sign of the outside. Just flickering lanterns and a suffocating air, accompanied by the maddening laughter or whispers of other inmates.

When he saw Master Noble, he almost thought he was hallucinating.

But no, he could see it in the eyes. A piercing orange, like staring at a flaming pyre. She was real. More real than his migraine and the scars on his hands.

"Questions?" he repeated. A cold chuckle echoed on the bare stone walls. "I have no answers for you, Jedi, and if I did, I would rather die than to freely hand them to the likes of you, Valery Noble." He spat her name like a curse. He knew all about the woman. All her battles and heroics, the Sith Lords she'd slain and the worlds she'd conquered.

She should've terrified him. Instead, he just felt disgust and defiance.

"I should be honored the Sword of the Jedi herself would come visit a nameless Sith like me in a cesspit like this. I thought you would be up there, celebrating your so-called victory over the Sith." He took a step closer to the bars, although much of his face was still cast in shadow. "Do you honestly think it's over? That your victory will last?"

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

Azrael Asylum

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber

"Do you honestly think it's over? That your victory will last?"​

"No, which is exactly why I'm here," Valery replied, her tone cold despite the burning fire in her eyes. "The Maw has been defeated, but I can feel other dark forces moving throughout the Galaxy. So while my fellow Jedi are allowed the time to enjoy the relief of a war ending, I'm already watching people like you." That was ultimately the role of the Sword — a restless life in which she'd never find peace, though be blessed by the peace she could bring to others.

Valery then took a visible step forward, closer to the bars and the man they contained. Even now, with the Brotherhood of the Maw destroyed and in chaos, she could feel his intense hatred. The desire to destroy and engulf the Galaxy in darkness hadn't diminished even a little.

It was for this reason, that she knew the fight would never be over.

"And people like you have all the answers that I need, whether you want to offer them to me or not." The corners of her lips tugged up into just the faintest of smiles.

"Rest assured, I won't just get the information I desire. I will use it to keep cleansing this Galaxy of the likes of you. Exogol wasn't the end — it was only the beginning."

 

[Danton]

Her smile enraged him. He wanted to reach out and wrap his hands around her throat, to watch that smirk fade away into fear, but he knew she would break every one of his fingers before he even grazed her throat, and Danton would not give her the satisfaction of seeing her words land. So, he hid his anger. The disgust. His overwhelming hatred. He threw on a mask of calm, then stepped into the light.

"You mean the beginning of your end."

His face came into full view, flickering under the dim lanterns of the room. Haunted grey eyes. Wild, dark hair. A chiseled jaw heavy with stubble. He'd never shown his face to a Jedi, not until his capture, when they stripped him of his armor, his lightsaber and his pride. He should've felt exposed without it. With Valery, he felt nothing.

"You may have managed to stop the work of my master, of Kyrel Ren and the Avatars, but one day, in your lifetime or in the next, they will rise again. They always do." He mirrored her smile, lacing his words with twice as much poison. "The Sith, the Empire, the Netherworld. You are just a prickle of candleflame against the night, and the dark will destroy everything you hold dear."

"You have a child, don't you?" There was a dark gleam in his eye. A sinister look that would make most people tremble at the sight. "Indulge me, what is their name again? I would like to know who I am threatening."

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

Azrael Asylum

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber

Despite the words laced with poison, Valery's smile widened faintly, but just noticeably. She could feel the emotions stirring within him, and she wasn't going to do, say or show anything that would stop it. Sith were known to draw on their anger and rage for strength, but it also made them reckless and unpredictable. In combat, it could be both a weakness or a strength, but contained in a cell, Valery could only see it as the former.

"They will rise again," she agreed, "In what form, I do not yet know, but I will be ready to stop them again." She stepped closer again, allowing her fiery eyes to pierce through the darkness to study his form. He had been to hell and back on Exegol, and while the battle was over, the fury inside remained. It was there in his haunted eyes, and the rough appearance carried it as well.

Then, he asked about her daughter.

For just a second or two, it was as if the air around the two grew hotter, the temperature rising to meet the intensity of the woman's eyes. "You aren't going to threaten anybody," she finally said, her calm returning while she looked him in the eyes. But even now, a glimmer of her inner fire burned through them, almost threateningly so.

"If you're lucky, your miserable life will continue for a few more years at least, while you rot away in this cell. You might helplessly feel more of your kind fading from the Galaxy, but there will be nothing you can do to stop it." She smiled once more and stepped back.

"Now, where was I?"

She looked at him and tilted her head, "Right. You're going to tell me where I can find the rest of your New Sith Order, as well as its creations. That won't be too hard right? Answering my questions? You've always been nothing more than an obedient little servant."

 

[Danton]

Danton had struck a nerve. That was good. He almost wanted to continue testing the boundaries of Valery's self-control, seeing just how long before that mask of hers cracked to reveal the monster underneath.

Oh, and there was a monster alright. He saw it in flash in her eyes, a fire more blazing than a hundred suns, threatening to burn him to ash in a blink.

Wouldn't that be nice? Death by her hands would be an honorable end. Better than rotting here in this cell, fading into a husk like the others in this asylum.

"Fading?" he repeated after the Jedi, baring his teeth in a smile. "They grow with each passing day. Just because you triumphed over Exegol means nothing. You have only poked the hornet's nest, and you and your friends in the Alliance are about to be swarmed. Coruscant? Tython? They had only been the start. You may have won this war, but in the next? Well, good luck."

A scowl tugged the corner of his lip. He tried his best not to let his irritation show when she labeled him little more than a 'servant,' but so what? He had served the Maw for years and been proud of it. Darth Hakan had awarded him with powers untold and secrets of the Dark Side few had ever learned. That was loyalty, not blind slavery.

"I will tell you nothing, Jedi. So, why don't you crawl back to your family and your wretched husband and wait instead?" he told her. "When the Sith show themselves again, billions more than before will die, and your little brat will be one of them."

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

Azrael Asylum

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber

"I've heard these threats before," Valery said but without meeting his smile with one of her own this time. "From far more dangerous Sith than you." Deep down, she could still remember her return to the Galaxy — the Maw had just become a huge threat to the Alliance, but the old Sith Empire had just fallen apart. Yet even in their defeat, some of its most prominent Sith were still alive and causing trouble. From her husband's father to their new Dark Lord she had cut in half a few years ago.

It was an endless cycle that she acknowledged but wasn't afraid of.

Her eyes then pierced into his again, as she felt his growing irritation and listened to his venomous words. The mention of her daughter had sparked a fire earlier, but she was in control again now. So as he refused to cooperate and told her to wait, she let out a soft sigh and briefly turned her gaze down to the ground, before staring up with another fire lit in them.

Not one of anger, but pure determination.

"I'm afraid that waiting is no option," she said, and all at once, Valery's mind extended to the Sith. Jedi did not torture or cause unnecessary harm, but Telepathy allowed pathways into the mind of others that could expose their deepest secrets. It was not a technique to ever use lightly, but one meant for situations like this. "You will tell me where I can find them." It was no request, but a demand she projected straight into his mind.

"Where are the labs? The Sith and the Sithspawn?"

 

[Danton]

Danton cringed as her thoughts threatened to pierce his mind. Voices—her voice, layered over one another a dozen times—rang in his skull like twin church bells. He'd trained against mental attacks. Learned how to resist them, how to let them bounce off his head with little focus. But Valery? She was a tidal wave. She was utterly overwhelming.

"No," he hissed. "It's… no. I'll give you nothing."

But he was wrong. Trying to summon the Dark Side to him, Danton tried to repulse the Jedi Master from his mind, but this cell was built to dampen his abilities, to weaken him, and against the might of the Sword of the Jedi, he was weak indeed.

As Valery's question fought to invade his head, flashes of memory were drawn to the surface. An image of Darth Hakan, wreathed in pitch-black robes and a shattered crown on his head. Sofiel, the yellow-eyed demon he met in a massacred settlement. No maps, though. No labs or locations or Sith secrets. He would sooner die than give up that information.

"G-get out… of my head, wretch…" Danton cursed, still resisting her mind. He was strong. It was going to take more than what Valery was giving to make him bend to her will.

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

Azrael Asylum

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber

"Very good," Valery said calmly, as her mind dug deeper and deeper. "I can feel you resisting, but it's pointless." Images were already starting to flash through her mind. Other Sith, but no locations and no information that would lead her to them. It was in there, she could feel it, but he was not so easily broken. It just meant that she was going to have to push him further. So, with an outstretched hand, she approached the man behind bars.

"You will give me what I need to protect this Alliance," Valery said, as the telepathic intrusion grew in intensity. "But even if you do, I see now that you remain a threat. Perhaps I need to make you more... compliant. Take away your source of strength." She stopped closer to his cell this time, her hand almost touching his face while she pulled away at memories and tried to force him to reveal his secrets.

But what followed next was far more intense.

All at once, beams of light began to swirl around the woman's limbs, curling up from around her legs to a focal point in the palm of her hand. Her bright orange eyes began to glow, her hair started to move and an intense wave of light expanded out from her, trapping the Sith within while it lashed out at the darkness inside of him. It was a painful thing, to be stripped of the Force, but a necessary step to ensure that he could not use his powers to harm others anymore.

"This fortress of light will take away your strength, and open your mind to reveal its secrets."

"You will give them to me."

 

[Danton]

The Jedi's attack on his mind was worsening. She poured her strength into it, and against his own, he could barely stand against her. She was starting to pierce his mental walls. Starting to reach into his memories.

Danton snapped. He lunged for Valery, trying desperately to wrap his hands around her throat and break her neck like a little bird's, but a beam of light seized him first. Swirls of it grabbed at his arms, sinking into his skin, as if a thousand needles were penetrating him all at once. The pain was excruciating, but what horrified him the most was that he knew what this was. He knew exactly the ritual Valery was performing.

She was going to strip him of the Force.

He thundered and thrashed against her hold. The Dark Side, black tendrils of it, threatened to break free against her Light, knowing they would be destroyed if nothing was done. But again, the Sword of the Jedi was also a shield, and all his fighting could not break through her defenses.

"You can't do this!" he roared. "I'll kill you! I'll kill everyone you love!"

More secrets peeled away. The location of a laboratory, hidden on the planet of Kynachi on the northern reaches of the galaxy, where his master, Darth Hakan, experimented upon and created undead Sith abominations. Danton screamed as it was drawn from his head.

Thoughts came with it, burning and terrible. I will kill you. I will kill you. I will kill you. But all he could really do was stand there and howl.

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

Azrael Asylum

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber

"You aren't killing anybody," Valery assured him, her eyes staring straight into his soul despite his attempts to lash out at her. No matter how hard he tried, or how hard he fought, the Jedi Master would always feel just out of reach. Her strength in the Light couldn't be stopped, and she wasn't going to allow him to lay a single finger on her. His darkness was a sickness that had to be purged from the Galaxy, and she wasn't stopping until his connection was stripped away from him.

The pain it caused was not something she enjoyed nor wished upon him, but it was an inevitable result of something so crucial to life itself being taken away from his being. It was enough to bring any man down to his knees.

With a final flash of bright light, the imprisonment of the Sith had been completed. So as natural darkness returned to the room, Valery was left breathing heavier, while Danton could no longer perceive or manipulate the Force the way he once could. Slowly, Valery lowered herself to his level and looked him straight in the eyes.

"You have given me what I need, for now," she told him. "But you may know more than you've revealed to me already." She chuckled once and stood back up. He had gone through enough already for today, so until she had taken down this lab on Kynachi, he'd be allowed some peace, alone in his cell.

"Was there anything else, before I go?"

 

[Danton]

Danton reached out to the empty air, like he was grasping for something that was just out of reach. His fingers twitched. His eyes searched the dark shadows of his cell. For a long moment, he felt horribly confused, like he'd wandered into a dream. No, a nightmare. Nothing made sense to him, not until he looked up and saw her, Valery Noble, kneeling at his level.

"What did you do?" he whispered. "What did you do to me?"

Memories trickled back into his mind. The powerful Sith girl, the location of Dark Hakan's laboratory and the creatures he'd concocted there—all of it had been exposed to the Jedi Master, proffered up to her like a sampling tray of food. She'd devoured nearly all of his master's secrets, and now that she'd satisfied her appetite, she thought to mock him. To make him feel lesser.

Danton stared at her through the bars of his prison and at those piercing, golden eyes of hers. His gaze slowly hardened to stone. "You… you," he began, trying to string the words together. "You will regret this. You will wish you never crossed paths with mine. There will come a day when you will beg for my mercy, but the only mercy I will ever give you is your death."

His dark eyes followed after her as she stood. He lashed out, fingers wrapping around the bars. Something like madness possessed him then, and his voice rose to a fever pitch, "I am Danton, I am a Sith, and I will kill you, Valery Noble, with or without the Force."

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

Azrael Asylum

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber

"I'm sure you can feel what I did," Valery said calmly. "I took away your connection to the Force, so you can't use it to harm others again. I believe the source of your evil runs deeper than this connection, but perhaps you'll find a way to be a better person now," she said with a faint smile tugging at her lips.

That comment was quickly answered by Danton, however, as he lunged at the bars and continued to threaten her. Valery knew that some Sith were beyond redemption, and even though he no longer possessed the strength the Sith relied on, she had a feeling that this man wasn't capable of redeeming himself either. A shame — there was something about him that made her think that things could have been different.

Perhaps a result of exploring his memories.

"You are Danton, but you're no longer a Sith Lord," Valery said, the corners of her lips twitching up a little. She then stepped close to the cell again and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way, but I sincerely hope you find your way. Until then, you may call this place your new home. Goodbye, Danton. I hope the next time we see each other will be under better circumstances."

 

[Danton]

"The next time we see each other will be the last day you draw breath."

His hands clenched around the bars, squeezing them hard. With the Force, they've might bent or shattered, but now he was just an ordinary man, a weakling, a faded husk of his former self. Still, he had venom in his bite and every word, and he would continue spewing it as long as Valery stayed within earshot.

"You think you see through me?" he said through gritted teeth. "I see you, Valery Noble. I see you for what you are, and you are no different than my master." He choked and spat at her feet. "But you're weaker, and one day, I will show you how weak you can be. I will show you, I swear it on my blood, on the word of the Avatar of Death and Kyrel Ren."

He glared up at her with all the hate he could muster, but at her goodbye, he wavered. Danton didn't want her to leave. He didn't want her to abandon him to the silence of his prison, to rot with the punishment she'd given him. Already, he could hear the voices in the back of his mind, taunting him. You are pathetic. You are ruined. You are no one.

Threats were all he had left, and after that, he had nothing.

"This isn't over!" he cried as Valery turned to leave. "It'll never be over! Not until I have you under my knife, until the Sith rise again and lay waste to everyone you love!"

Valery Noble​

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[Valery Noble]

Azrael Asylum

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber

His threats, his vile words — they didn't spark any hostile or frustrated reaction from the Jedi Master. Valery just looked at him with a smile that made it clear he was defeated. Without the source of strength that allowed him to be a Sith, he'd rot away in this cell until his death. While she continued to hunt down the people and labs he had exposed to her after his connection had been stripped away.

But she wasn't stopping there.

"The sooner you realize that it's over, the higher the chance is that you'll survive this place." Asrael Asylum wasn't just a prison. It was also a rehabilitation center that could help some find a better path forward. She didn't think it would be like that for Danton, given how deep his roots in the Dark Side were, but she had to retain the hope that he could change.

"Farewell," she said again, and this time the doors closed behind her.

 

[Danton]

"No," he shouted, ringing against the bars, "No!"

The door slammed shut, leaving Danton alone in the silence and to his own haunting thoughts. The sound of his baby sister, whispering in his ear, You are nothing, or Darth Hakan, hissing, You are a fool. The thoughts might've driven him to madness, because without the Force, he'd lost everything.

Danton dug his nails into his palm, hands curling into fists. With an outraged cry, he smashed it into the wall, again and again and again. It wasn't until he was a panting mess, his knuckles bruised and dripping blood, that he finally collapsed against the wall, his anger subsiding. Rage was not going to save him from this cell. Only a plan could, and he needed to find one soon.

There was no burrowing out of this cell. No carving out a tunnel or a weapon and single handedly taking on the prison guards. The odds were stacked against him, but Danton, Sith or not, made a vow to himself right then and there.

He was going to escape, and he was going to kill Valery Noble.

End Thread​

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