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Palpatine ground his teeth. "If not power, then nothing." (Darth Plagueis)

The Will to Power

As the wizened old Jedi struggled to contain the force of his blow, Sidious was mildly impressed with the little fool's determination. The battle was brutal for both of them, drawing on Light and Dark in equal amounts. Yet with each passing moment, the Dark Lord sensed his own power encroaching, growing, devouring the tarnished radiance of his opponent. He tried to content himself with the realization that the outcome was already established; all that remained was this dance of death.

Yoda also discerned the growing might of the Dark Side and still fought it with outward calm. However, Sidious could sense the blackness of despair seeping into the miniscule green body, leeching at his inward strength. Though a satisfactory observation, Sidious was impatient with the entire situation; his amusement was dying away to be replaced with an unsettling discomfort, and his cautious warning to his apprentice returned to his mind. What is Skywalker doing? he wondered, and swiftly dodged a lateral blow of Yoda's lightsaber. Perhaps a bit of Dun Möch would make things more interesting. Perhaps even the mighty Yoda might slip up.

He waited for the little green troll to bounce one of his counterattacks away and grinned, "You know, all those times we met together, I wondered how Master Yoda would actually perform when the time came." He slashed his red blade up, singing the corner of Yoda's cloak and unfortunately nothing more. "I confess I feel rather…let down."

Yoda furrowed his broad brow in concentration, although Sidious detected a small trace of self-frustration at being fooled for so many years. "Waited long, you have, for your revenge," the small alien rumbled and sidestepped a quick thrust.

Sidious pondered the words even as he smoothly transitioned his energy from one hand to the other, backhanding the Jedi master over the edge of the Champalan senator's pod. "Revenge?" he laughed as Yoda barely caught the edge. "Why, Master Yoda, that would imply that you have done me harm in the past."

"Imagine the Jedi at fault for their fall, the Sith do," Yoda grunted and pulled himself upright. "Blame us for your own misfortunes, when you are truly to blame. The Dark Side you make your ally, and always pain you will have." He balanced the thin green blade in one clawed hand and held the other out.

Sidious took it for an invitation, and swiped for the creature's feet. "On the contrary, Jedi," he called out when Yoda leapt to the next pod down. "I must thank you for the years of priceless entertainment you provided. Tea just will not be the same without you."

For the first time that evening, the Sith felt a tendril of anger snake from Yoda and latch onto the darkness. He bared his ruined teeth in delight. And the best part of it all, he told Yoda the truth. Revenge was petty, an emotional force scarcely to be admired, particularly when placed next to the purified and glorious pursuit of power. Simple. Raw. Endless.

For that had been his goal, the drive that led him to this point in time, suspended in the roaring might of the Dark Side. Naturally, revenge had been useful. Plagueis had greatly desired to avenge the Sith Order, and by manipulating that desire, Sidious had gained all the power of the Sith. Revenge had given him the courage to take his rightful place as Sith Master. Thoughts of revenge amused him each time he apologized for the regrettable death of another brave Jedi warrior.

But revenge also blinded one to the ways of the Force. Revenge was too often hot-blooded and impulsive, opening the wielder to strikes from dark corners. Plagueis had considered them partners in bringing about the new reign of the Sith Order, and he had not comprehended until lightning was ripping through his bones that Sidious only had one true motivation. Power. His. Alone. He hated the Jedi, but his hatred stemmed more from their refusal to either change or die out and less from personal revenge. They were only one obstacle of many in his path. Maul had been different, showing a deep desire to avenge the wrongs against the Sith. Such mindless and emotional hate had gotten him killed.

If not power, then nothing. His life mantra. It kept him cold when the situation required long thought; it gave him speed when his aims were threatened; it gave him patience, for the power was promised to him. The Force whispered as much daily in his ears. Just as the Jedi were his to annihilate, so were the Sith his to mold and shape. With the Dark Side as his willing servant, he was beholden to none. Sidious pulled on that power now, tearing a senate pod from its docking bay and launching it down toward his foe. The Jedi leapt to one side and threw his lightsaber in a blinding arc at the Sith. Sidious batted it away with a cheerful snarl.

Realizing that Yoda had gotten quiet and was now maneuvering up the pods on his right side, Sidious decided to try for another weak point. "Have I hit a nerve, my dear friend?" he asked, injecting a note of the mild Supreme Chancellor into his question and watching Yoda scowl in return.

"Better to see the snake later than never, it is," Yoda told him, easily hurtling the next pod. "Regret your acting skills, I do, but the curtain of your dark stage, drawn it must be."

"You know, now that you mention that, there is one thing I shall regret about destroying the Jedi," Sidious kept his voice conversational even as he fended off a new wave of lightsaber blows when Yoda landed next to him. Yoda's eyes were narrowed, waiting, so Sidious locked their weapons together in a crackling explosion of sound and leaned in close and smiled, "No encore."

He was rewarded with a deep surge of sorrow from the wrinkled old troll, and Sidious jumped back with a joyful and wild laugh. It felt so good to be out in the open, to stab with his words and sword alike. The Darkness moved in him and all around him, stretching out to smother the faint glow of the last Jedi Master.

Yoda quickly released the sorrow and anger and wrestled with the shadow that threatened to choke him. "The last of the Jedi, you are not seeing. Harder to destroy us than you think, it may be."

"I have always enjoyed a challenge," Sidious moved in close and Force pushed the Jedi down onto the pod below. Yoda immediately counterattacked, and he had to duck quickly to evade the flying bundle of robes. Red met green, and both seared into the seating beneath. Sidious sent a wave of the sparks into Yoda's eyes and watched – delighted – as the Jedi stumbled back. "However, it looks that I may not get one after all, if you are any indication of Jedi skill."

Yoda glared at him. "Good with words, you are, but yet to impress me with your lightsaber, you have."

"Then I shall strive to give you my best," Sidious cackled. Yoda's control was a bold bluff, but only a bluff, and they both knew it. The alien was on borrowed time here in the bowels of his Empire. The impasse could only go so long before the Dark overwhelmed the Light. Yoda's reserve was cracking under the pressure. Sidious could feel the fissure growing in the Light Side, and though it pained him to press on it, he did without reservation.

Enough playing with his helpless victim. Enough mockery. This was the last consequential light that stood between him and the black hole of utter power, and until it was destroyed, he would not cease the onslaught. Here was a meeting beyond Yoda, a clash of titans, of the dichotomy of ages past, present, and future. Yoda wielded the Light, but Sidious was the Darkness.

The Darkness swept Yoda off his clawed feet and carried him in a torrent of debris to the bottom of the Senate chamber. The Darkness flashed its rotten teeth in a thoughtful smile and stretched out to the dozens of nearby pods, lifting them with ease to hover alongside. And when the pitiful little creature returned from the depths, Darkness planned to end it.

The power was in his hands now.

I could not imagine Yoda and Palpatine going at it without exchanging a few words, so this "between-scenes" one-shot came to mind. The fight is less equalized in the ROTS novelization, so my scene is a mix between the movie and book, but it was initially planned for the time before Palpatine really goes crazy with pod-tossing in the film.

I have a new poll to determine Palpatine's first name for future childhood fics; check it out on my profile page.

Also, a new Palpatine photomanipulation/art piece spoofing the Insidious film on my deviant art account: TheArtsyAardvark.

Read and review! :)