This story is based on a Sith AU prompt I saw on tumblr so the credit of this story goes to them. I wouldn't have thought of it otherwise! However, other than the basic prompt for it, the rest of story belongs to me. As always though, the canon versions of the characters belongs to disney and lucasfilm.
For those of you who follow my other story 'Secrets of the Past' (if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it, especially if you love Obi-Wan!), don't worry! I haven't abandoned it, in fact, the next chapter will be up by the end of the week.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this new story and I'd love to see some reviews. After all, who doesn't love the Sith versions of our favorite characters? Buckle up your seat belts, this is going to be one hell of a ride!
Dooku leaned back in his leather chair, observing the screens in front of him as a fiendish grin began to crawl it's way onto his lips. In front of him the screens showed numerous camera angles of the same laboratory the size of a hangar, the flickering blue light from the screens casting his ever aging face in eerie shadows.
Grevious could be seen on the screens, barking orders to droids and scientists alike, who all scurried to and thro around a massive, mechanical machine that resembled a gateway. Small lights shone all over it's structure, its mechanical insides open for everyone to see with wires strewn all across it like a network of veins and arteries that made it able to function.
The engineers had called it the greatest step in technology their generation had made in centuries, even though it was just a prototype. To be fair, Dooku had agreed with them. After all, if the first trans-dimensional portal wasn't a leap in new technology, what was?
Dooku didn't care that he was breaking history or that it was a massive technological discovery – he only cared whether it worked or not. If it did then, well, the Republic was going to find it even harder to fight against his army. The idea of the machine was that it opened a doorway into another dimension that had infinite space. Once opened, they could store whatever they wanted inside that dimension; ammunition, droid armies – even whole battle fleets. Then they would open another gateway on the other side of the galaxy or wherever they needed the reinforcements, and retrieve what had been stored in the alternate dimension. It saved time traveling in hyperspace for hours or even days, depending on how far away the destination was. If the Separatists could have reinforcements instantly, how could the Republic even hope to beat them?
The only problem was, was that Dooku hadn't considered that a door, once opened, could be entered from both sides.
"Grevious, is it ready?" Dooku asked, talking through his com unit as he watched Grevious answer the call through the screens.
"Yes, Count Dooku. They await your instructions." Came the cyborg's cybernetic reply, his eyes meeting the cameras that Dooku observed him through.
Dooku himself paused for a second. Maybe it was the force that caused him to hesitate, subtly telling him something bad was going to happen if he chose this path. However, he was Darth Tyranus, a Lord of the Sith; he sought power and that was definitely something this machine could give him.
"Activate it, Grevious." Dooku ordered, his eyes now fixed on the machine that was visible on the screens. The cyborg bowed his head to the cameras, acknowledging Dooku's orders before barking his own orders to all the droids and scientists in the vast room.
And then the portal began to turn on.
At first, all Dooku could hear was the deafening hum as the machinery began to turn on, its lights flashing to a silent beat. Then the real magic happened as the actual portal began cracking open in the middle of the gateway. Blue energy swirled and spun, the opening getting bigger and bigger until a pitch black abyss hung in mid air, big enough for a large ship to fit through. The scientists and engineers worked furiously, pressing buttons and pulling down levers, in an effort to staberlise it and after a couple of agonizing minutes, they succeeded.
"General, the portal has been staberlized!" One engineer called out while some of the others let out cheers and calls of excitement.
On Sereno, Dooku grinned. And that's when it all changed.
Sparks suddenly flew from one of the control panels on the machine, red lights and sirens piercing the air as they turned on instantly. The portal itself began to flicker and move again, blue energy pouncing out like an animal fighting against its chains.
"Grevious, what's happening?" Dooku asked into the com again, watching as the laboratory dissolved into chaos as the scientists and engineers tried to regain control, panicked cries filling the speakers that Dooku listened through. The Separatist General didn't answer, instead yelling at one of the head scientists to tell him what was going on.
"Something's trying to get through from the other side, sir!" One human scientist answered, his eyes fixed on the controls. He jumped away in fear as a shower of sparks flew from the consol, the sirens only intensifying.
"WHAT?" Came the cyborg's incredulous response, his eyes sparking with anger. "What do you mean something's trying to get through from the other side?" Grevious growled, now standing in front of the poor scientist, towering over him.
Meanwhile, Dooku had heard every word through the speakers and even though he was a Sith Lord, supposedly a master of fear, he couldn't stop the cold sensation that traveled up his spine.
"GREVIOUS! SHUT IT DOWN!" Dooku yelled into the com, leaning forward toward the screens. He gave the order too late.
The portal lurched as a huge black mass came through. It took Dooku seconds to realize it was a ship, sleek in design with red streaks across its sides. It flew through the portal, its engines still roaring. Whoever was flying must have been shocked by the change in scenery, their pilot skills faulting for a mere second as they took in the hangar. A second was all it took for the wing to catch on one of the power pilons that fueled the portal, knocking away the pilot's control. One of the rear engines, probably the hyperdrive, was caught on the way down by another piece of apparatus, causing it to explode, knocking away the pilot's control further. Within seconds it was crashing to the floor of the hangar as people scrambled to get out of the way, its belly scraping across the floor letting out screeches of protest. Dints and dents ended up adding to the damage, smoke and flames already eating it away as the ship slowly came to a stop.
For a few moments, Dooku just sat there stunned until he finally regained his wits. When he relocated Grevious, the cyborg was already getting back up, eyeing the fallen ship with caution. Dooku silently cursed himself for picking such a cowardly being.
"Grevious, investigate who was in that ship." Dooku ordered after a few beats of silence, ignoring the cries of some of the scientists who were trapped under debris.
"But we don't know what is on the ship, it could be-"
"Now." Dooku growled out.
"Yes my lord." Dooku watched as Grevious lowered his com, before approaching the ship. He didn't get five steps before the boarding ramp lowered.
Smoke billowed out from inside the ship as tension filled the air, everyone else along with Dooku waiting for the pilots to emerge. The first thing Dooku heard was footsteps and then a series coughs and splutters as someone emerged out of the smoke.
To Dooku's surprise, it was a young Torgutan female, her head tails and horns instantly giving her away. She was dressed in pitch black fighting gear, though she didn't seem to be wearing any armor. A tall, brown haired humanoid came running out behind her, dressed in black robes and equally black armor, coughing and spluttering just as much as she had been. Dooku, because of the terrible quality of the screens, couldn't make out their faces but he hated how they looked so…familiar. However, the worst had yet to come.
A third figure strode through the smoke, a pitch black cloak covering whatever robes or armor he wore and obscuring his face from view. He wasn't coughing or spluttering like the two before him had been. Instead he strode confidently off the ship as if he had all the time in the world, completely unaffected by the black, possibly poisonous smoke that billowed around him as if it wasn't there at all. When Dooku looked closer, his eyes narrowing on the figure, he realized that was literally the case: the smoke seemed to move out of his way as he strode through it, leaving only clean, fresh air for the figure to breathe in.
The figure, once off the ship, completely ignored his coughing companions, along with Grevious who stood a few feet away, and turned back to the ship, observing the damage it was in and the chaos the crash had caused. He didn't say a word or give away that he was aware of anything around him. Instead he just stared at what Dooku guessed was his ship. And that, somehow, was more unnerving than the opposite of what he could have done.
"This…" cough, "is…" cough, "all your…" cough, " fault!" The small torguta yelled at brown haired male through bouts of coughing, her raw anger clearly lacing her voice and the dark force currents that swirled around her.
"No, it…" cough, "was…" cough, "the…" cough, "ship's fault!" The young male replied with as he jabbed a finger at the ship, his body leaning over as he suffered from the smoke. The sound of his voice made Dooku freeze, the familiarity making Dooku's mind work overtime. It couldn't be, could it?
"You…" cough, "always blame…" cough, "the damn ship!" The torguta snarled back, sending glares that could burn through durasteel in the male's direction. In response, Dooku saw the male return to his full height, towering over the girl, using all of his height to become as intimidating as possible. When Dooku saw a flash of yellow in the male's eyes, Dooku's jaw may have even dropped slightly. In fact, Dooku wouldn't be surprised if the male attacked the torguta there and then, but Grevious broke the stand off with a low growl of his own.
"Skywalker." At the mention of his name, Anakin Skywalker swerved his head to Grevious, the torguta girl mimicking his movements. At the sight of the cyborg, another familiar expression that Dooku had seen countless times when it had been aimed at him, sprung onto Skywalker's face. It was one of disgust and hatred, though this time the boy wasn't trying to contain it like a good Jedi should. This time it was more feral, more raw, and definitely darker.
"How in the bloody Sith Hells, do you kriffing know my name, droid?" Skywalker spat, his eyes yet again flashing yellow. The sight made fear run through Dooku's veins as he realized that that definitely wasn't Skywalker. Or at least, the one he knew. For one, the boy's eyes never glowed like a Sith and for second, Dooku had never heard anyone line so much anger and hatred into their voice. That combined with the fact that Skywalker was acting as if he hadn't met Grevious before made Dooku's eyes widen even further.
"I am not a DROID!" Grevious growled back, igniting his four lightsabers. He charged at Skywalker, just as the boy ignited his own – to Dooku's surprise – crimson lightsaber. He moved into a fighting stance, ready for when Grevious struck. The strike never came.
Dooku watched as Grevious suddenly froze mid charge, almost as if someone had pressed a pause button on a holovid. For a second, Dooku actually thought maybe the stupid screen had crashed but everyone else in the hangar wasn't frozen. When he turned his gaze to Skywalker, or at least, the boy who looked like Skywalker, he looked just as surprised as Dooku felt.
"If you weren't a droid, you would have at least apologized for the damage you caused to our ship, not to mention you wouldn't have acted like some kind of mindless barbarian." Dooku's gaze once again shifted, this time to the third figure who seemed to have spoken for the first time. He strode past both Skywalker and who, Dooku guessed, was probably Tano, coming to stop centimeters away from Grevious. The hood still covered his features but Dooku didn't need to see his face to recognize that thick Coursanti accent that he had heard countless times before. And neither, it seemed, did Grevious.
"Kenobi." Grevious snarled, though his limbs stayed frozen in place, immobolised. Skywalker and Tano seemed surprised that Grevious knew the Master's name, both of them showing expressions of shock when Grevious ground the name out. Kenobi himself even leaned back, away from Grevious, almost as if he was caught off guard too. The whole exchange left Dooku perplexed, his mind still not managing to grasp what in the force's name was going on.
"So, you know my name as well… Now that is interesting." Kenobi stood still for a few moments, his eyes no doubt taking in every inch of Grevious underneath the hood. Then he leaned forward, ending up centimeters away from the cyborg's face. "You wouldn't be kind enough to tell us how you know our names would you?" Kenobi asked, his voice too polite for Dooku's liking. Grevious didn't seem afraid of him though. In fact, he even laughed.
"I didn't realize you hit your head that hard when you crashed the ship, Kenobi." Grevious mocked, ignorant of what he had just done. Dooku wasn't stupid though. He could sense this wasn't the Obi-Wan Kenobi he had met before, the padawan of his padawan. Anyone could see it just by the way he was dressed – Jedi wore brown cloaks and beige robes, not black and red. Black and red were the colours of the Sith.
Being a Sith himself and Jedi before that, Dooku knew this. Even more than that, he could sense Kenobi's force signature, even though he was far away on the other side of Sereno. There was no mistaking the dark cold that always accompanied Sith Lords wherever they went. So, Dooku couldn't say he was really surprised when the Dark Side of the force flared, just as Grevious was thrown half way across the room like a rag doll by some invisible force.
Normally a force user would lift their hands, or just one to perform such a powerful force push. But Kenobi didn't. He hadn't even moved.
"Now that's no way to treat you Master, now is it?" Kenobi drawled as he walked forward, tiring of the sight of Grevious pathetically trying to stand. The Separatist General raised his lightsabers again and would have charged at Kenobi this time, had his limbs not frozen in place yet again. The difference was, this time Grevious was actually pulled into the air like a puppet on strings, his limbs forced to spread out to their maximun length. Dooku could only watch in shock as a horrible snapping noise filled his ears, the cyborg's metal wrists being crushed by the same invisible force that held him high in the air. Grevious snarled and struggled but it made no difference. Eventually four lightsabers fell to the floor, out of the cyborg's reach.
Again, Kenobi hadn't even lifted a finger. He'd just stood there silent, a hint of a yellow glow coming from under the black hood.
"Ahsoka, you wouldn't be a dear and pick those up will you?" Kenobi asked, his head tilting ever so slightly to the lightsabers that were now laid on the floor. "I would, but I'm busy holding this pathetic excuse of a lifeform." Just to exaggerate his words, Kenobi crushed the Separatist Generals leg with the force, making Grevious snarl and writhe even more. Tano herself, didn't even look at Kenobi, her eyes instead glaring at the cyborg that hung in the air.
Her hands did move though, and after a slight shake, all four lightsabers flew through the air into her two outstretched hands. She threw two to Skywalker, who caught them in mid air, while she placed the other two onto her belt. Skywalker did the same with his.
"Thank you dear. Now," Kenobi paused as the cyborg's metal chest plates were pulled away, revealing his beating heart. "how about you answer the question for me. I assure you, if you don't, it won't just be your limbs that will be crushed this time." Kenobi threatened, his voice as sharp as ice and so low Dooku could barely hear it.
Grevious seemed to realize at that point maybe this wasn't the Obi-Wan Kenobi he had fought before. His eyes seemed to widen in fear, though a good deal of hatred seemed to swirl in his eyes still.
"I've met you before. The rest of the galaxy at least know who you are too. The famed Negotiator and Hero With No Fear." Grevious ground out, finally managing to bury his anger. In response, Kenobi was silent, as if considering the new information he had been given. Then, after what seemed ages, he finally spoke.
"Thank you for that wonderful piece of useless information." This time Kenobi's arm did shoot out, and in one single movement, he crushed the Separatist General's heart with the force. Seconds later he released the hold on the cyborg's limp body, letting it smash into floor in a tangled heap.
Dooku couldn't even believe what he was seeing. This wasn't Kenobi, the Jedi Order's golden boy, the Jedi they used as an example to the padawans. If Dooku didn't know any better, he'd be sure he was looking at a Sith.
"I hate droids." Skywalker spat, kicking one of Grevious' legs with his boot. "They never give you any good information."
"For someone who hates droids, you're very good at putting them together." Kenobi commented, his eyes also not leaving the body of Grevious.
"That's only because I like to tear them apart after I've put them together." Skywalker explained with a wild grin, before turning around to see what else was in the hangar. Many of the scientists and engineers were cowering in corners or hiding behind the broken parts of the gateway. At the sight of them, a chilling smile leapt onto Skywalker's face. "Speaking of tearing things apart, maybe we should go see if they know the answers to our questions." Skywalker pointed to the cowering personnel, Kenobi and Tano following his gaze.
"By all means, go investigate." Kenobi's voice was laced with amusement this time as he turned to Skywalker, and even though he couldn't see it, Dooku had the horrible feeling Kenobi had a chilling smile hidden underneath that hood too.
"What do you think snips? You up for it?" The torguta sent Skywalker another one of her famous poison tipped glares, before it morphed into a fake sweet smile.
"I might be. Are you Skyguy?" She asked innocently, making Skywalker's grin instantly drop. He replaced it with a scowl and pair of eyes that portrayed his hatred of the nickname perfectly well.
"Don't call me that." He managed to growl out, waving his ignited crimson lightsaber in anger.
"Then don't call me snips." She growled back. Dooku was getting the distinct impression that this Skywalker and Tano didn't like each other much and only worked together because they had too.
"If you two feel the need to kill each other, at least wait until I'm out of your sight. I'd rather not watch while a pair of five year olds have a cat fight." Kenobi interrupted them, his voice bitter and laced with more that just disapproval. Dooku was pretty sure there must have been a hidden threat in his words for the amount Skywalker and Tano paled.
"Sorry Master." Skywalker apologized, gulping in fear as he bowed his head.
"It won't happen again, Master." Tano added, also bowing her head in what Dooku thought resembled submission.
"Make sure it doesn't." Kenobi snarled. After each sharing a glance, Skywalker and Tano left pretty quickly, to do whatever 'investigate' had meant. Dooku was quite sure it involved killing his staff judging by the amount of screams that drifted through the screen speakers.
Kenobi, however, stayed where he was. His gaze lingered on the destroyed gateway, the portal having closed itself long ago. Curious, Dooku tried to use the force to read the man. Maybe if he could sense what he knew, what he was planning, Sidious wouldn't punish him too much for his failure. Or outlandish story, since even Dooku was beginning to believe maybe he was in some kind of twisted dream. After all, who would believe Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master, would act like this?
What Dooku didn't count on, was that Kenobi would sense him probing his force signature. Kenobi's gaze instantly swerved to look directly at one of the cameras when he felt Dooku, somehow knowing where Dooku was watching him from. Since the cameras were high up on the walls, Dooku finally caught a glimpse of his face.
It was definitely Kenobi – the beard and bangs of light auburn hair that hung over the man's eyes were proof of that. But that wasn't what made Dooku's blood run cold.
What really made him freeze, made chills creep up his spine, was the sight of Kenobi's eyes – his molten yellow eyes. The eyes of a Sith.
Kenobi's eyes narrowed on the camera and it took Dooku a few seconds to realize that Kenobi was now probing him. In fear and shock, Dooku instantly slammed every shield he could muster up all at once, making Kenobi blink in surprise. Of course, that didn't last long because this time, Kenobi's eyes didn't narrow. They only sparked with anger and was that…amusement?
Dooku watched as a grin spread over Kenobi's face, just as all the camera screens went black in unison, except for the one Dooku was looking at. Later, Dooku would realize they had been smashed by the force, but right now, it only installed more shock into Dooku's soul. Kenobi then threw Dooku a wink for good measure, sensing the fear that rolled off him in waves.
Then the last screen went black.