The sizzling blade trembled.
"Unless, that is, I have the opportunity to teach it... to my apprentice..."
His vision swam.
"I..." A whisper of naked pain, and despair. "I don't know what to do..."
...
Palpatine gazed upon him, loving and gentle as he had ever been, though only a whisker shy of a lightsaber's terminal curve. And what if this face was not a mask? What if the true face of the Sith was exactly what he saw before him: a man who had cared for him, had helped him, had been his loyal friend when he'd thought he had no other? What then?"
"I know what has been troubling you . . .", he professed. "Listen to me. Don't continue to be a pawn of the Jedi Council! Ever since I've known you, you've been searching for a life greater than that of an ordinary Jedi . . . a life of significance, of conscience"
"Much conflict, I see in young Skywalker", Yoda said, observing the current aura that the Jedi Knight possessed. "Forced to choose on what is right or wrong"
"You're wrong!", Anakin snapped.
Not facing the Jedi Knight as Anakin circled behind him. "Are you going to kill me?"
Gaining his courage, he responded. "I would certainly like to"
"I know you would", Palpatine taunted him. ''I can feel your anger. It gives you focus, makes you stronger."
For a moment, the memory of Darth Vader slaughtering through helpless rebel soldiers flashed befored them. And they could not imagine Anakin's rage taking over him completely.
For Obi-Wan, he was desperately hoping that Anakin could still resist Sidious. But as they watched further into the holotape, it was going unlikely as time passed.
Pausing for a moment, Anakin turned off his lightsaber. "I am going to turn you over to the Jedi Council"
"Of course. You should. But you're not sure of their intentions, are you?", Palpatine said, now facing Anakin who scowled at him.
"I will quickly discover the truth of all this."
"You have great wisdom, Anakin. Know the power of the dark side. Power to save Padme"
"At this point, Palpatine knows that he had Skywalker by his thumb", Mundi gravely mused.
"What I am concerned with is, why Skywalker would be very cautious on what could happen to Senator Amidala? It was only a dream to begin with", Shaak Ti asked, not helping as to why would dreams be his pretense.
"Masters if I may, I have the explanation as to why"
The Council turned to Obi Wan, who rubbed his temples before clearing his throat. "About three years ago before the first Battle of Geonosis and Anakin's first solo assignment as Senator Amidala's protector, he confined with me regarding dreams that showed his mother's death. As I have not known, it was simply dismissed as a dream until Anakin went to find Shmi who was captured by Tusken Raiders"
The Jedi didn't like where Obi-Wan is heading and they continued listening. "And by his arms, his mother had passed from the wounds she sustained. And this filled Anakin's anger to slaughter an entire village of Tuskens as a result, that may have sown the seeds of his use of the dark side"
The Jedi, sans Windu and Yoda, were shocked "Are you suggesting that the dreams of his mother could have possibly been a warning that he had failed to heed?", Depa asked.
Obi-Wan nodded in dejection. "Possibly and it is partly my fault, and Anakin is likewise eager to prevent that from happening with Senator Amidala in this case. Which is possibly a reason why he was so eager in becoming a Master himself"
"But his fear in losing Senator Amidala would only draw him further to Sidious", Mundi said, unsure of what to do firsthand.
"Could be true, but we can only see for ourselves what could happen to him as time passed", Windu said, their attention turning back to the screen.
...
Entering the Chancellor's office, Mace Windu, Agen Kollar, Saesee Tiin and Kit Fisto entered as the headed towards the Chancellor himself, with the intent of arresting and removing him from power.
"Now I can see why Master Yoda had told us to stand down...", Mundi grimly said out loud.
"Unprepared against Sidious we are", Yoda reasoned out. "Know what he as for us, we do not"
"Rushing in towards Sidious without any legal reasons or jurisdiction will only cause jeopardy into the order", Obi-Wan said, not approving the Master's move for one moment. "Especially if being a Sith is no longer a crime within the Republic"
"In addition, we do not have any evidence convict Palpatine until now", Kit Fisto admitted. "We are walking in a trap laid by him"
"However, bringing in Skywalker could help convince him that Palpatine isn't who he is", Depa said on behalf of the others.
"If he does, the conflict within him would only get in the way that Palpatine could exploit at any moment", Plo Koon observed. "But at the same time, it could consume him out of his conscience and guilt"
Turning back from his chair, Palpatine greeted the four Jedi Masters with a pleased expression. "Master Windu! I take it General Grievous has been destroyed", he professed but his tone later became unsure. "You have come than I expected-"
Not taking any of it, Mace Windu proclaimed. "In the name of the Galactic Senate and the Republic", they pulled out their lighsabers, simultaneously igniting them. " You are under arrest Chancellor"
Mace sighed to himself, realizing the error of his judgement, to which Yoda and a few Masters saw through it and mentally reminded him that they will work with one another.
"We are bout to face against the Lord of the Sith himself", Kit Fisto said, now unsure if he could face him himself upon witnessing himself in this future.
"If we are to fall to his blade, let it be a glorious one at that", Saesee added, now feeling dread as to what Palpatine had in mind.
Palpatine's smile faded. "Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?", he asked in a dangerous tone.
Now everyone knew that this was no longer the Chancellor. They are now looking at Darth Sidious himself.
"The Senate will decide your fate", Windu declared, unfazed at the Chancellor's change of aura as the latter continued to glare at him.
"I am the Senate!"
Everyone thought over for a moment. With the Senate no longer having any power as to what Palpatine would do as he pleased after they transferred it to him, it made sense as to why he is the Senate, in form of a dictator at that.
"Not. Yet.", Windu defiantly replied, his guard not faltering as the Chancellor finally stood up.
At the same time, the Council Chamber opened, and it revealed to be Anakin, Padmé, Rex and Ahsoka. "Apologies if we took too long, did we-"
Ahsoka never finished as her eyes became glued at the screen, as did Padmé and Rex. Anakin's eyes widened as he bear witness the Council's confrontation against Darth Sidious, the same man that he had grown to hate after all that he had done in thr future.
A small metal tube slid down Palpatine's sleeve, where its hilt ignited a Crimson-colored blade.
"It's treason then"
...
Within seconds, Sidious let out an ear-piercing scream towards the Masters as he moved in. A smear of red-flashing darkness hurtled from behind the desk.
Saesee Tiin's head bounced when it hit the floor. Smoke curled from the neck, and from the twin stumps of the horns, severed just below the chin.
"Master Tiin!", Kit Fisto cried out in horror and complete denial as they watched as one of their fellow Council members was killed in what they could piece out as a lightning bolt.
Said Jedi Master's mouth was left open in both dread and complete bafflement upon seeing himself falling to the Sith Lord in a matter of seconds. Any sense of hope and confidence fading within himself.
And with that, the hearts who are currently inside the chamber were struck by one thing: fear. And the Jedi were in dread upon seeing one of their Council members fall to the Sith Lord so easily.
"What in the universe just happened?!", Ki-Adi Mundi nearly shouted in anger and disbelief, and there are more than a few members of the audience trying what they could to maintain their composure while watching the gruesome scene.
The headless corpse, still standing, twisted as its knees buckled, and a thin sigh escaped from its trachea as it folded to the floor.
"It doesn't..." Agen Kolar swayed.
His sapphire blade shrank away, and the handgrip tumbled from his opening fingers. A small, neat hole in the middle of his forehead leaked smoke, showing light from the back of his head.
"... hurt..."
He pitched forward onto his face, and lay still.
"Kolar!", Master Fisto cried out again, almost furious as he watched another fellow Council member and comrade fall to the Sith Lord, just easy as what happened to Saesee Tiin.
The Jedi tried what they could to hide or suppress their anger, fear, and denial at what comes in the near future. And they were confident that they may be able to defeat Sidious quite easily since he was only one man left who could truly be considered as a true Sith.
But upon witnessing the quick deaths of Tiin and Kolar, the Council's (sans Yoda and Mace Windu, who were observed Sidious silently) hopes were dashed. And the truth that they have underestimated the Sith came crashing down upon them.
"Can...we even stop him?", Caleb uttered out to his Master, who could only spare him a glance of uncertainty as they continued watching.
"Long hidden in the shadows, the Sith have", Yoda said, his tone grim. "Grown stronger in the Force, they had become"
"By the Force, if Dooku and Maul were powerful enough as apprentices...what more could have Sidious have in store for them as the Master?", Shaak Ti uttered out in complete dismay and of uncertainty, trying to maintain her calm demeanor amidst the obviously chaotic sequence they are witnessing.
For Anakin, he saw what kind of a monster that lay behind that serene mask that led him to be enthralled by his words. And now, he felt helpless upon witnessing the deaths of two of the most powerful swordsmen that he knew among the Council.
For Windu, his distrust to Palpatine turned into anger as he hoped for the best in Master Fisto and himself, hoping that they could still stop him in his office, but the established future had said otherwise.
Palpatine stood at the doorway, but the door stayed shut. From his right hand extended a blade the color of fire. The door locked itself at his back.
"Help! Help!" Palpatine cried like a man in desperate fear for his life. "Security—someone! Help me! Murder! Treason!"
Then he smiled. He held one finger to his lips, and, astonishingly, he winked.
In the blank second that followed, while Mace Windu and Kit Fisto could do no more than angle their lightsabers to guard, Palpatine swiftly stepped over the bodies back toward his desk, reversed his blade, and drove it in a swift, surgically precise stab down through his desktop.
"That's enough of that."
Ahsoka's eyes widened in immediate realization, remembering what her future self had told them regarding the Jedi. "The Chancellor is using this incident as evidence for the Jedi's treason!", she pointed out.
Mace Windu quickly caught wind of the Togruta's statement, the fact that his actions to rush in Palpatine had sealed their fate. "And in this case...the Jedi's reputation as keepers of peace within the Republic had died here...", he reluctantly uttered.
"And Sidious chose the right time to strike once the war is coming to an end...", Shaak Ti added, carefully gathering the pieces together.
He let it burn its way free through the front, then he turned, lifting his weapon, appearing to study it as one might study the face of a beloved friend one has long thought dead. Power gathered around him until the Force shimmered with darkness.
"If you only knew," he said softly, perhaps speaking to the Jedi Masters, or perhaps to himself, or perhaps even to the scarlet blade lifted now as though in mocking salute, "how long I have been waiting for this..."
"Palpatine...", Anakin seethed out his name, clenching his fist in complete anger that was sensed by the Jedi inside the chambers. "You will pay for this..."
He felt a hand placed on his shoulder as Padme tried to calm him down, glaring at the elderly man who was responsible for the dark future that their son had to go through, and of what had happened to her family.
...
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