Chapter 22

The moment could have lasted an eternity.

With the Veil of the Dark Side torn away, if only here, there was a moment where all sides just waited and marveled.

The Jedi.

The Sith.

The Force.

For the first time in ages, both sides peered forth at one another, mutually recognizing that one another existed.

For the Jedi- no, for every Force-Sensitive on Coruscant, it was like looking into an oncoming storm of lightning, like standing over a pit of snakes,… or like realizing a dark ocean had rested just outside their lofty gaze, obscured by a mist of shadows.

And Darth Vader found himself more surprised than any of the Council members. Not from what he sensed, but by his own feelings on the matter.

There was a satisfaction that he had succeeded, a growing caution in him knowing that Sidious might yet live past this night. But what shocked him most was what he felt looking at the Jedi.

Pity.

"You were so sure, Jedi," Vader stated without coldness or spite, simply knowing it to be true. Some glared, some just turned their shock onto him. Most didn't react, not daring to take their gazes in the Force off the Sith Lords that had been hidden just before them all this time.

"All this time...," Eeth Koth murmured in disbelief.

He had told them and they refused to believe him. He showed them and it was almost too much for them to accept. He supposed it made sense. In his timeline, there had been over a decade for the Order to come to terms with the return of the Sith and just as much time of suspicions building onto each other. Crumbs leading them to a truth they could never learn in time to truly matter. They didn't know Palpatine was a Sith Lord, never suspected it, but they had long believed that something was wrong.

Now? Their entire view of the galaxy had essentially been torn from under them in an instant, leaving them unsure and doubtful, hesitant almost. He pitied them, because it echoed to him, to his past; to the final days of the Clone Wars, when everything had changed. Everything and everyone he believed in had failed or been wrong. The Council, he came to realize how arrogant and hypocritical they really were. The Jedi, how biased and closed-minded. The Republic? He always knew that was broken, he just accepted how unsalvageable it had truly been.

The only one who hadn't failed was Padme. He failed her. The Dark Side was like a drug and he had been so new to coping with it. He was liable to blame that partially on Palpatine. Not to ease the guilt rightfully on his shoulders, but because he suspected that man of everything after a while.

Vader tilted his head towards the direction of Sidious and Plagueis, many miles away. Being a Dark-Sider, a Lord of the Sith, Vader was privy to more minute details revealed through the force.

He was not surprise that Sidious made the first move.

The atmosphere became oppressive, as if something wanted to strangle the very souls from their necks, the Dark Side now actively bearing down on the fortress of the Jedi.

The Jedi Masters could shake it off with some unease, but...

Vader could hear him. Hear Sidious cackling through the Force as his words whispered terror and nightmares upon all his powers could reach. The rage, the fury, the sheer hatred being unleashed upon the Jedi as a whole...

"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon called as the Padawan fell to his knees, the master kneeling by his side instantly.

"M-master, I can...can see things," Obi-wan said, trembling even as he obviously tried to fight it off. "Are these...visions? You, dying in a duel, the Temple in flames. Everyone is dead! And the younglings he's...he's-...by the Force, no!"

"Obi-Wan! Listen to me! Concentrate, calm yourself. It's not real. It's not a vision," Qui-Gon assured as he tried and failed to try and help Obi-wan recenter himself through their bond.

"Coward," Poof spat, the usually jovial Jedi looking surprisingly upset as he felt...no, actually heard the cries of the young ones from the Temple.

The Dark Side and the Sith terrorizing the weaker Jedi within the Temple, that was weighing more on the Masters than fighting off the assault themselves.

"...Vader."

The Dark Lord glanced to Dooku, who was giving him a narrowed look.

"What are you waiting for?" the aging human asked suspiciously, ignoring the various calls to power, both political and of the Dark Side, all awaiting him the moment he left the Order.

After all, temptation wasn't effecting with something you already planned to do.

Vader gave him credit for noticing the lack of action for what it was. "To see if the Master joins in the fray," he answered factually.

He was not blind to the many wide eyes at that implication. That this was merely the apprentice, that the True leader of the Order of Bane had yet to make a move against them.

"You're...you're not serious...!?" Obi-Wan asked in undeniable fear.

"If it brings you any comfort," Vader stated steadily, raising his hand. "Darth Plagueis is far too pragmatic to bother in whatever visions of torment Sidious is haunting you with. Without motivation, at the least."

He held out his palm and the insidious winds within the Force were lessened, a roar of fury still echoing through the Force at being denied.

"Curious. Plagueis remains merely an observer," Vader noted distrustingly. Why spare Sidious yet not get involved in this? What happened out there?

The screams of the younglings died down, the council allowed tension to slide off their shoulders somewhat and-

Obi-Wan vomited. "What...IS he?!" he spat out as Qui-Gon rubbed his back.

"I told you: Everything that you feared I would be," Vader answered pointedly. "So, what shall you do now, Master of the Order?"

Mace Windu scowled. Every last one of them had been trying to hold back the Dark Side from the temple, but this...Sidious wormed his way through every crack and weakness in their defenses. And scared younglings gave something like that many cracks to work with. "You're...aiding us?" Windu questioned skeptically.

"No," Vader answered bluntly. "I am giving you a moment of respite to decide what to do."

"Obviously, we need to confront this Sidious," Windu said firmly.

"Are you certain?"

They all looked to Vader strangely. "Are you suggesting we do nothing?" Even Peill asked with a nasty scowl.

"On the contrary, I sincerely hope you aim to leave Sidious a corpse this night," Vader answered honestly. "However...they have prepared for a thousand years, Jedi. For victory and defeat. If you go now, I assure you, they will have prepared for you. And gathering all the Dark Side here has still bolstered their already considerable power," he cautioned. "Many Jedi will fall. I doubt any below the rank of Master would do more than die," he cautioned.

It was a surreal feeling, a Sith Lord warning them of a potential deathtrap.

"If you go, Jedi, let it be clear that the deaths you bear will be of your own doing, not mine," Vader stated pointedly.

The message was loud and clear: They didn't get to blame him for this. They had asked for proof and he supplied it.

"What about you?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked with a scowl. "Or was that talk of cleaning house real-"

"One more word, Jedi, and I will stop holding him at bay," Vader threatened coldly, silencing them. "I am unable to assist you currently."

"Unable or unwilling?" Qui-Gon asked in honest confusion.

"Unable," Vader answered meaningfully.

Mace Windu studied the Dark Lord and his eyes widened minutely. There were small shatterpoints along the Sith's limbs, many of them. He had only seen them appear like this when... "You need repairs."

"I can manage those myself," Vader admitted harshly. "But in the time it would take me to do so, Sidious will slip away. He is no fool. He can't escape and hide himself if you go after him now. If you give him too much time, he will vanish. And the next time you feel his power, it will be on his terms. This may be the only time you catch him so vulnerable and unprepared."

There was a split second where the Council searched the feelings of themselves and one another before coming to a decision.

"Vader," Poof spoke up. "This Sidious cannot maintain this mental assault while in battle, can he?" he predicted.

"And now you are requesting I stay and guard your temple?" Vader said, for the irony needed to be taken note of. "Even if I was willing, that would only delay me from my repairs and keep me from the battle."

He didn't need the Force to know some of them were still certain that was a good thing, that having him "aid" them would only be a part of a trap.

Curiously, Windu didn't have that feeling about him, and the Jedi Master felt his gaze.

"I don't trust you," Windu stated firmly. "But I will trust that you hate this Sidious more than anything else."

"An accurate statement," Vader agreed frostily.

Everyone noticed Vader bristling. It was like an alarm in the Force at this range. Within seconds, they felt the assault on the temple subside.

"What happened?" Qui-Gon asked with a scowl, unable to sense the minute activities within that blackness of hate. "Are we too late?"

"Jedi," Vader spoke slowly. "The ones you sent to spy on me, before I arrived at the temple? Did they ever return after I came to the temple?"

Windu's eyes widened.

Meanwhile

"Huh. I always find it weird, seeing storm clouds on Coruscant," Guzzoth noted as they flew towards The Works.

"Yeah, every tourist thinks we can control the weather here with the press of a button," Vane said with a snort.

"The weather-control systems maintaining Coruscant's atmosphere primarily keep conditions planet-wide at stable levels. They do not actually control the weather," Guso the droid informed. "That said, the existence of the systems do limit severe meteorological events to some degree."

"Namely tornados, those are the only thing the system makes sure never happen. It usually only rains or storms once a month, but sometimes..." Vane shook his head clear of that. "Never mind that. Guso, any updates?"

"Negative. But location has been confirmed as the LiMerge Building. Coordinates have been relayed to the ship," Guso answered.

"LiMerge. Ain't that the people that we suspect to be funding and supplying pirates?" Vane recalled idly.

"Correct, but the building has been out of use for years. Current owner is unknown, listed only as a group called BanKorp. That is Corp with a Krill," Guso elaborated.

"Out of use? That sums up The Works nicely," Vane muttered.

Guzzoth grimaced as he looked at the bleak area of Coruscant often referred to as The Flats. "You say that, but most of these places look like they're still running."

"Automatic systems, homeless and gangs making use of them, defective droids," Vane rambled. "Only place on the surface we can't do anything about because all of the people that used to own these places either can't or won't hand over the credits needed to deal with these facilities," Vane explained.

"Droids hear rumors that this is the location where droids are tossed out if they become too expensive to repair," Guso remarked with something approaching dread in his robotic voice.

"Guso, the only way you'll end up here is if you literally fall out of th-," Vane started before he stopped as he noticed something on the screen connected to the camera at the bottom front of the ship. "Wait, what the hell?"

"What is it?" Guzzoth asked, coming up to the front. "Bodies?" he realized, glancing up to look through the front window. They were at least a mile away from the large, spire-like building. "They couldn't have been tossed this far by an explosion."

"Not without excessive external damage," Guso agreed, looking over the shoulders of the humanoids. "Those clothes are clean for The Works"

Vane nodded slowly. "They...almost look like Jedi."

"Jedi?" Guzzoth repeated in alarm. "What would they be doing here?"

"Calm rookie. Jedi don't die that easily. Probably just some pretenders or fan group," Vane assured, prepping the ship for landing. "Guzzoth, get the blasters, I don't trust-"

That was as far as Vane got, before the ship jerked hard, tilting harshly to the right and sending all three of them flailing about.

"WARNING! ELECTRICAL OVERLOAD! RIGHT ENGINES UNRESPONSIVE!"

Vane cursed as he forced himself to reach for the controls as the vehicle began to spin wildly. "Brace yourself! This thing won't land softly!" Vane warned.

"Shitshitshit!" Guzzoth said, hyperventilating as Guso steadied himself with artificial calmness.

The panther interceptor twirled and fell like a crippled sparrow, crashing into the landscape of the world.

Sidious watched the crash with muted satisfaction. "Now, where were we?" he said, turning back to the human woman at his feet, her lightsaber cut in two.

"You're sick, Senator," she spat, clutching her arm, burnt and scorched by Sith Lightning.

"Indeed," he said, igniting his own lightsaber.

The Jedi braced herself for Death.

She didn't get it.

She screamed as the blade cut off the lower half of her left leg, eliciting a scream of agony. Only through her own mental strength did she not pass out. Or succumb to her mind's frantic attempts to comprehend that her foot was now gone.

"W-whatever you want, you won't get it, Pitspawn," she swore, trying to steady her breathing.

"Ohh, my dear," he said with an overly sincere voice, his chuckle morphing into a cackle. "I don't want anything from you."

She blinked.

Her other foot was gone.

Pain, pain, agony, torment.

She could feel it; The Dark Side, feeding on her suffering, calling her to join it, to use it against him…to use it to stop the pain.

She didn't. She refused.

She wasn't sure if that was faith in the Light anymore, or doubt in herself. It seemed impossible, for her own powers to reach this monster's level.

"Then what is this? Just...some twisted desire to make me fall to the Dark Side before I die?" she asked with gritted teeth.

Sidious hummed. "I suppose I lied. I do want one thing. Just...one thing," he said with a smile that twisted itself into a sneering grin.

She reached out with the Force, pulling the lightsaber of a fallen comrade to her.

She lost her fingers before it even got close to her.

She bit back another pained scream, clutching at the scorched stumps where fingers used to be. She was crying only in pain, not in fear.

That's what she told herself.

"I want you to scream," he said with a smirk as her eyes wavered. "Scream for your sister, Sar Labooda."

Now she trembled before him now.

The Sith Lord glanced lazily over his shoulder. "I hope you're enjoying the show, Plagueis."

The Muun did not respond as lightning danced from Sidious's fingers.

Meanwhile

Depa Billaba clutched her head with one hand.

"Are you alright?" Qui-Gon asked as they rode in a hovercar, speeding through Coruscant; one of three, actually, all filled with Jedi

With them were Yoda, Mace Windu, Dooku and Vader himself.

"He's torturing Sar," she said with some distress.

"Make no mistake, he is intentionally torturing both of you," Vader corrected. "It was by no accident he spared the one with a blood relative on the council."

"I'm beginning to understand why you want this Sith to perish," Dooku remarked dryly.

"I'm fine," Depa assured, looking back to Vader. "You were saying?"

"I have no idea what defenses or traps they have waiting for you," Vader warned. "But I can advise you on combat."

"It is two Sith against two dozen Masters," Qui-Gon observed curiously. "Do you truly believe they have that much of a chance?"

"How many masters do you believe the Grandmaster and the Master of the Order could defeat at once?" Vader countered.

They wisely didn't answer.

"The only one of you with a chance of defeating Sidious alone is Windu," Vader admitted, turning to the man. "Do not mistake the meaning, Jedi. Your style, loathed as he might be to admit it, is an effective counter to his own. You should NOT atttempt to engage him one-on-one without cause."

Windu nodded shortly. "And what is his style, exactly?"

"Sidious can wield a lightsaber and is faster than you would ever suspect. He favors the use of Juyo, but he is a capable master of all lightsaber forms. However, he...prefers is too light a term. He enjoys using Sith Lightning above all else. Be wary of that. With these circumstances, he might overwhelm even you. Mace Windu," Vader cautioned. "My strongest advice is to not listen to anything he says."

"Believe you, we are scarce to do. This enemy, we will not," Yoda stated firmly.

"You misunderstand, Grandmaster," Vader remarked, nodding toward Depa. "Sidious does not require you to believe what he says; merely having his words cloud your judgement is weapon enough for him."

Qui-Gon and Dooku shared a look. They both had the same thought: Vader was speaking from experience, in all likelihood.

"We are here," Vader stated abruptly, causing everyone to turn to see their one and only stop between here and the Works.

The landing pad where the Queen's Nubian starship was docked.

As they pulled up to it, Depa hissed in pain. Mace Windu wordlessly moved over to put a supporting hand on his old student's shoulder, who silently nodded in thanks.

Vader made no comment as he climber out of the craft while sensing the passing of Depa's sister, Sidious having grown bored of that victim.

"And this...Darth Plagueis?" Dooku brought up suddenly, knowing there wasn't much time.

"Do NOT engage him unless he does so first," Vader warned firmly. "He is acting...peculiar, taking no part in this currently. Which is strange."

"You know something," Qui-Gon observed with a frown. "It's not just his inaction that has you bothered."

Vader hesitated only for an instant. "I ripped away the Veil, Jedi. Why do you believe I waited so many hours to do so? Why would I do something so bold so erratically?"

Yoda's ears perked up in understanding. "Betrayed the Master, the Apprentice has," Yoda realized, everyone looking to Vader in shock.

He nodded. "I had been observing their battle through the Force. Plagueis appeared to be victorious, but then- Everything stopped, and I am cannot be certain why. My intention was to complete my repairs and confront the situation myself after leaving the Temple," he explained.

"But we arrived," Mace Windu realized with narrowed eyes. "And we asked for you to prove your intent."

"My intention was to reveal Sidious to you after the Battle concluded, no matter the victor," Vader elaborated. "This was an eventuality I could plan for the least."

Yoda hummed and nodded as Qui-Gon sighed heavily, rubbing his forhead. "And if the Master does stand against us?" Qui-Gon asked.

"I have a plan, but I am not confident it will actually aid you," Vader warned grimly.

Meanwhile

As much as Obi-Wan hated to not be with his master during this event, he knew this was out of his league. The assassin on Tatooine? That he could help with. Two very powerful Sith Lords that cut through Jedi Knights like butter? He wasn't stupid, he knew he'd probably hinder more than help. Two other masters of the high council remained to ensure no one else tried to go out to the battle. And, well, the unspoken reason was to keep the Order from falling into chaos if all of them fell.

More immediately...

"Kenobi, keep an eye on Skywalker."

Those had been the last words Darth Vader had said to him before he and the council departed, after a rather blatant order from Qui-Gon to remain at the temple.

Call him paranoid, but he doubted Vader said something like that without good reason.

"Master Nannar!" Obi-Wan called, stopping in shock as he saw three younglings laying on the ground, and another covering his mouth with a very bloody shirt.

"Padawan? Please tell me you have some good news?" Phara Nannar asked as she approached him, the rest of her students sitting around the passed out and injured clanmates.

"I'm sorry to say otherwise," Obi-Wan said apologetically. "Do...you require a medic?"

"He bit his tongue," Nannar explained with a weary look. "It's not as bad as it looks. He's a Trandoshan, so it'll regenerate. And the...pain is keeping him distracted from...whatever caused it," she said meaningfully. "The others are just passed out from the stress."

"Only hours after what Vader did, I can't say I'm surprised," Obi-Wan said as he looked to the other younglings, all looking scared and exhausted. He shook his head, knowing he could not help wit that currently. "If there's nothing you need, can you point me to where Anakin Skywalker ran off to?"

Phara raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. "He was heading to the council room with Master Yaddle," she explained.

"Thank you, Master Nannar," he said with a nod of respect.

Phara nodded back, looking back at her poor younglings. They were still so young, and unready for such an assault from the Dark Side. Vader's march had been nothing more than a warm up compared to those few minutes where that...that...creature in the Dark Side whispered in the Force such horrible, terrible things that would haunt the nightmares of these children.

And, if she was honest, perhaps her own.

She shivered, pushing away the memories of a false-vision of her kind being eaten by "civilized" creatures short on food. And that was the tamest of what she witnessed.

Obi-Wan, meanwhile, took a breath as he stood in the Elevator, waiting for it ascend. Just as the doors closed, he blinked and looked down to see a youngling with orange skin looking up at him. "And...what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Skyguy," Ahsoka answered, as if it was obvious.

Obi-wan supposed it should have been.

Meanwhile

"Sir?"

Vader paused to look at one of the pair of Naboo guards, who had opened the ship for him.

"Did I imagine it, or did a hovercar full of Jedi just drop you off?" he asked in confusion.

"Illusions are not my specialty," Vader answered simply before moving on. "It would be best not to dwell on it," he cautioned as he boarded the ship.

The Dark Side lapped at Vader's annoyance and frustration, goading and baiting him into lashing out at anything…everything. And it was particularly insistent now, after everything.

It took him a moment to wrestle it back into submission. He had indulged the Dark Side's hunger and desire greatly since arriving in the past, because it suited his plans, but the Dark Side would always prod for more until a wielder gave it a figurative punch in the snout. It wasn't an easy thing, but it became easier with time. If one had the will to stand against what the Dark Side resonated with: Their wants, their desires, their impatience.

And by the Force did he want Sidious dead. Being so close to that, before the Clone Wars even started? It gnawed at him like he was a starving rancor. It would have been easier if Plagueis and Sidious had never fought, or even if Sidious had won. He had been prepared for the long plan, to wait a decade or more to see Sidious's lifeless body. But with it suddenly within reach yet just held out of his grasp?

It was making him anxious, on edge. And the wear and tear of his cybernetics catching up with his limbs wasn't helping. Not to mention, he was putting off the fact that he needed a trip to the bacta tanks.

Was tearing away the Veil a wise decision? He wasn't sure. It was an idea in the back of his head, a gamble. He could have never pulled it off with Sidious and Plagueis both on the same planet and he had his doubts about pulling it off with even just one of them. But pulling all of the Dark Side to himself? For one glorious moment, there was nothing his fellow Sith Lords could do to stop him.

But even if it was just Coruscant that was...Unveiled, and it was indeed temporary, it still gave the Jedi a look through the tear. He didn't know the full consequences of that yet, no one did. No one had ever been powerful enough to do it or insane enough to try it.

Still, it had one desired effect: It certainly threw the Jedi off their axis, both realizing Sith Lords had infiltrated deep into the Republic and that it was a Sith Lord himself that had revealed this to them.

They didn't need to believe he was an ally, just doubt he was an enemy. That would be enough.

"Vader?"

The Dark Lord stopped short at the voice he had been trying to avoid the most.

There, in the droid storage room was Shmi Skywalker.

"...You're here?" he couldn't help asking, obvious surprise in his voice.

Shmi smiled awkwardly, looking to a crate. "I was checking on C3PO. Anni and the others took him apart for now, since I have...no idea where I am going," she said with a shuddering sigh. "It must seem strange to you: I'm finally free, and I feel more anxious than when those bombs were first implanted in Anni and me," she said, gripping the side of the seat until her knuckles turned white.

"...It is not strange at all," Vader answered somberly. "You were accustomed to that life, even if you despised it. Then everything changed with one Pod Race. Now you're adrift in a galaxy, with no idea how to find a way forward and the person you care for the most is heading down a path you cannot follow him with."

Shmi's eyes widened before softening. "I suppose I was right about you."

Vader didn't ask for an explanation. He wasn't sure he could handle one. "If it gives you some comfort, your son appeared to have already become acquainted with some children at the temple," he offered, feeling completely out of his element and wanting this interaction to stop yet unwilling to end it in too rude a fashion.

Shmi nodded before scowling. "Something is happening out there, isn't it?"

Vader only nodded, slowly. For some reason, he wasn't surprised she knew.

"Will Anakin be alright?"

He barely held in the flinch. She only said his real name when she was upset or worried…usually both. "He will not be anywhere near it," Vader answered, turning towards the bag of items he had procured on Tatooine. "I have to cut this conversation short: I am in need of repairs."

He wordlessly picked up the bag and moved to a work table, trying to ignore how She Was Still Right There Behind Him.

"I'm not as good as Anni, but I learnt a lot between him and Watto's shop," she stated cautiously. "Would you...like me to help you?"

Meanwhile

Once the Jedi reached The Works and decided to proceed on foot via Force Speed, Mace glanced down to the green Jedi. "Master Yoda. You should conserve your strength for the battle," Mace Windu said with serious concern. "Would you be fine riding on my back?"

Yoda snorted, almost amused despite his scowl. "Travel on my own, just fine, I can," he retorted sternly.

Moments like these were a good thing in Mace Windu's mind. He himself tried to be a rock, something steadfast and familiar within both peaceful and turbulent times. Yoda was this mysterious and ancient being to most, full of wisdom and experience.

And it was instance like this that Yoda seemed less like the eternal bastion of the Light Side and more the quirky and kind elder. It made Yoda easy to connect with, Windu supposed. Despite everything, the ancient Grandmaster could just be a stereotypical "old man" sometimes, to the amusement of others- even Yoda himself.

But no one was amused as they sped and dashed over the landscape of The Works, ignoring the cries and decay going on in the lower parts of the area.

They could sense Sidious, easily. He wasn't trying to hide. Plagueis was there, like a lounging krayt debating if the meal before it was worth the effort of getting up.

The council wordlessly came to a stop before the sight of a battle.

No, a massacre.

The area was covered in the corpses of a dozen Jedi Knights or what was left of them.

Eeth Koth knelt by a pile of ashes, running his fingers through them. He shuddered in dismay at the latent feeling of the fallen Jedi's pain and fear as he was painfully electrocuted into ashes.

Depa clinched her lightsaber hard, trying to ground herself as she looked down upon the many...many pieces of what had been her sister. Tortured, solely and only to strike at herself indirectly.

Ki-Adi-Mundi just stared at the body with the top half of the head missing, sliced away and destroyed by a lightsaber swing.

Yoda hummed unpleasantly as he looked down at the young Jedi before him, stabbed through the heart. He had knighted her recently. One month? Two? Such a short time blurred at his age.

"He's waiting for us."

Everyone turned to Mace Windu, who was glaring across the metallic landscape, towards the LiMerge Building. They didn't need to see to know he was right. They could tell a dark figure was standing on a hole in the building, glaring down at them with murderous intent.

Sidious smirked beneath his cloak as he leered at the so-called Masters of the Light Side. "You've had your fun, Darth Vader," Sidious said to himself. "Now it is time for My Performance."