"Chancellor."
Kenobi stood at the entrance to his office. His appearance, calm and unassuming, sent fury through Sidious' veins, anger burning through his soul like a wildfire.
It burned.
"Knight Kenobi," Sidious said with the voice of a politician. He stood slowly, making sure his shields were secure. "I'm sure there must be a good reason for you to come at this hour," he commented. It was almost midnight, and the Chancellor's meetings were long over for the day.
The Jedi Knight nodded, and walked further into his office. He looked around for a moment. Sidious felt him reach out into the Force for something, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.
"Master Qui-Gon's Master left the Order yesterday," Kenobi said conversationally, voice mild. "I'm not sure if you met him, Chancellor. His name is Dooku."
"I don't recall if I did," Sidious replied, knowing fully well that he met with Dooku a few days earlier.
Kenobi nodded again.
"I was concerned about…the circumstances surrounding his departure, so I decided to look into it myself," he continued, stroking his chin.
"I see," Sidious replied. "He must have been devastated to lose Master Jinn so suddenly, as are you. I can't imagine what you've had to do, Knight Kenobi, in the past few weeks since your Master's death." The lie fell easily off his tongue.
Kenobi smiled then, just slightly.
"Yes, well I decided to speak to Dooku myself about his reasons for leaving," Kenobi continued, "and he told me some…interesting things."
The Force shivered.
Kenobi suspected him, he was sure of it. Sidious would have to divert him or distract him somehow, before everything was ruined.
"He told me that he was approached by the Sith. By the Master of the being that I faced on Naboo," Kenobi said. "And he said that the Sith were in complete control of the Senate."
Sidious frowned.
"That's preposterous!" Sidious exclaimed, feeding surprise into his voice. "Surely I would be aware of such a thing, if it were true."
Kenobi moved closer, though his eyes roamed behind Sidious, looking out the window into Coruscant's night.
"That's what I told Dooku, Chancellor," Kenobi said softly. "But then I decided to look into the Senate's activities and funding myself, and there were a lot more discrepancies than reported."
Kenobi's eyes finally met Sidious', and he raised a brow, almost challenging him. The fire burning within Sidious rose, and Sidious resisted the urge to scream. Instead, he relaxed his shoulders and slowly began to reach for the Force.
"And all of those discrepancies somehow lead back to you, Chancellor Palpatine," Kenobi concluded. He smiled again, though there was more to that smile now. "When I saw that, I remembered something else."
"What?" Sidious asked flatly, narrowing his eyes.
"You've been trying to meet with my Padawan alone, without my permission or the permission of the Council," Kenobi replied. "And I know that you know who he is. And I am aware that you know that I know."
Sidious barked out a laugh, cold and menacing.
"I will not let you get in the way of my plans, Kenobi," Sidious uttered. "You were supposed to die by Maul's hand at your Master's side, but you survived and threw a wrench in my plans. I won't allow you to do it again."
Kenobi shook his head. "The Sith will not return, Chancellor," he said softly. "I will assure you of that."
"The Sith will survive, Jedi," Sidious hissed, "as we always do."
Sidious slipped a hand into his sleeve for his first lightsaber. In a smooth motion, he pulled it out and struck, but the Jedi Knight was already meeting his strike with his own lightsaber.
Kenobi was surprisingly good with a lightsaber, but Sidious quickly and easily overpowered him and struck his weapon out of his hands. It was almost disgusting that Maul couldn't defeat a Jedi that lasted only mere seconds with Sidious.
Never mind that. Dooku would be a much better apprentice than Maul.
With that thought, Sidious smirked and plunged the lightsaber into Kenobi's chest, next to his heart. Kenobi choked and then sagged, eyes fluttering slightly.
"See that, Jedi?" Sidious whispered, feeling the cold rush of victory seep through his veins. "I win."
Sidious barked out a laugh and pushed the lightsaber all the way to the hilt. Kenobi groaned and opened his eyes. His body was shaking weakly, and the Force around him trembled with agony.
"N-no…"
"No?" Sidious laughed even more, then extinguished his lightsaber. Kenobi's knees immediately buckled, and he fell onto his side with a hoarse gasp. "I fail to see how you think otherwise, Jedi."
Kenobi breathed out a laugh and looked up at him with clear eyes. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth and down his chin. He reached a shaking hand into his robe and placed a small object on the floor.
A commlink.
Sidious blinked.
A commlink that was on.
Sidious instantly swiped at the commlink with his lightsaber, destroying it. He didn't know why Kenobi thought the commlink would be useful; it served no purpose now.
"Anakin…" Kenobi whispered. "Pr-programmed it…" He drew in a pained breath and gasped.
Sidious frowned, not completely understanding.
"Already sent…Council…" Kenobi coughed weakly, and his body jerked. He cried out and rolled onto his back, chest heaving. "Senate and Courts."
"What do you mean?" Sidious asked.
Kenobi looked at him again and smiled. "Recording," he breathed, and his eyes fluttered shut as he struggled for more breaths.
Sidious' eyes widened. Kenobi recorded everything. He revealed his identity to Kenobi, and Kenobi recorded it.
Anger reemerged in his blood, and fury overwhelmed him. All these years of careful planning, gone completely to waste because of an aggravating Jedi with a commlink. It was pitiful, and it was wrong.
"How dare you?" Sidious whispered, but Kenobi didn't reply. The Jedi was already fading from the Force. It would only be a matter of seconds.
Kenobi's eyes opened again, just slightly, and he looked up at Sidious again.
"Anakin…my Padawan," he gasped. "He is…Jedi."
The Jedi's eyes rolled to the back of his sockets and he went still as his Force presence faded away.