Red Opus

Chapter 1: Emergence

Screaming. That was all you could hear.

Not the kind that you might hear in a movie, where the actors run from whatever terror has been concocted by the director. This screaming was pure. Unrestrained. Raw. You wondered what was happening to the poor creature to have it expel such a wicked noise.

Pain. So much pain.

Behind your eyes, in your ears, in your throat. Your skin was aflame, your face stretched like a hide for leather. Every joint in your body was being pulled apart, making obscene popping sounds as balls detached from sockets, and cartilage crunched like sand. Your body levitated a few feet from the ground, limbs lengthening as the joints connecting them split apart. You realised then that the screaming had been coming from you. It was your face that was wet and hot with pain. Your throat so raw that no sound was coming out. And you wondered for the seventh time that morning if there was a higher power punishing you.

He sat in front of you, a small smile on the side of his face that was not scarred and torn. His hand dropped back down to be placed on his armrest and he spoke.

"Remember the pain. Pain will lend you strength."

You gasped aloud, wrenched from the memory and thrown back into the cold of the training room, your body jerking backwards from its cross-legged position on the floor. It was like being plunged into an ice bath. Your face, just now so hot with blood, was now flushed with anger. Teeth clashed together and your body trembled with adrenaline. You opened your eyes wide and raised your hand just in time to block the electric blade which had swung your way.

The blade froze in mid-air, the red guard wielding it struggling against the power of the force. Your fingers curled, and you slowly stood, eyes burning with anger and determination. With a swift motion, the guard was hurled into a wall, snapping of bones drowning out the sounds of the footsteps as the other guards advanced. You moved into a half-crouched position, one hand behind your back, the other with fingers splayed in front of you. The training room was not as large as your usual, however the cold air mixed with the durasteel on your bare feet meant you could focus more easily, the cold sharpening your senses.

Snoke sat on his make-shift throne at the opposite end of the room, leaning back in his chair to watch you work. The index finger on the hand that had just been drawing you into your own head lingered just in front of his mouth as he slowly nodded. You barely noticed his approval, as you relented against the guards with nothing but your own body as a weapon. You ducked and twisted under electrified knives, jabbing into exposed nerve points and kicking out into weak knees. The guards were fast, but You were faster. A hard punch to the side of the head sent a guard into the path of his companion, who tripped towards you, blade swinging out wildly. You rotated, elbow swinging around to meet his stomach and he folded and dropped like the others. The guards were whittled down to the last few individuals, stepping over the pile of unconscious bodies and charging towards you as a single unit. Blades outstretched; they formed a charging line. You couldn't possibly defend yourself against all of them at once. You closed your eyes when they reached a few feet away, and for the briefest second, the guards saw victory. Your eyes opened in a flash of yellow, and your arms swung out in front of you as you yelled, force pushing the guards into the walls on the far side of the room.

As their bodies crumpled to the floor it almost seemed like slow motion. You took a breath to steady yourself, and walked back towards Snoke, crossing your legs, resuming your sitting position in front of the chair. Your hands found the tops of your thighs, and rested palms down. Another breath, and he spoke.

"Even without your weapon, you prove you are as capable as any force wielder."

His praise would once have made your heart soar, but alas you felt nothing. Just the calmness of a battle won, the pure rhythm of your shoulders rising and falling. You could as much have just woken up.