Part Two
"What are you doing here?"
"How the bloody hell should I know? And what the hell happened to you?" Spike and Willow glared at each other from opposite seats in the Space Ship.
"Darth Sidious will be so pleased to meet you both. Your dark powers are great."
"Yeah, and you promised me more. Where is it?" Willow raised an impatient brow. The gray haired man chuckled and touched her face. She flinched.
"All in good time. You won't be so impatient once you meet My Lord."
"You keep saying that."
"What do I have to do with all of this. I get the whole evil Wicca thing, but I'm not much of a fighter anymore."
"Don't worry about it. We can fix you, where we come from." Senator Dooku touched Spike's head, and Spike's eyes widened in surprise.
"You mean…?"
"In return you will work for us."
"I don't know." Spike closed his eyes, and visions of his last moments with Buffy passed through his mind. Images of her horror, his horror, and their pain. He loved her, but he needed to be free of it, before it killed him. And why not? He could start over, and she would forget he was ever good. "Will you make me forget?"
"We will make you hate, pure hate, isn't that good enough?" The man smirked, and then Spike nodded. Willow looked at both of them through lowered lids. Her wrist flicked and the ship lurched.
"Just thought I'd give it a boost. Much more of this crap and I swear I'll puke." She crossed her arms.
"We'll be on Geonosis soon enough." Senator Dooku left the room, and moved to another. A hologram appeared.
"Hello Senator. How are our potential apprentices?"
"Fine Master. The hate from them radiates."
"And you know, turning from the light side yourself." His master never failed to remind him that he was one of the Twenty who left the Jedi order. "But you know a choice will have to be made."
"One master and one apprentice." Dooku answered. "And one assistant." He added softly.
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"Good you are. I knew that training had you, before you came."
"Yep. It's my job." Buffy slipped the blindfold from her eyes and looked at the broken orbs on the ground that she had sliced with the light saber.
"Ready quicker will you be. Good for the Light Side."
"I don't know about Xander." Buffy and Yoda laughed as they watched Xander trip over his Jedi robes and swing his green light saber around. He stopped, upon hearing the comment and turned off the light saber.
"They'll move you up to the kindergarten class in no time." Buffy couldn't resist adding.
"Still much for you to learn about the ways of the force, young Padawan."
"And also how to drive one of those phat flying cars." Buffy smiled, but then frowned. Yoda looked up at her.
"I felt something. Willow, I think."
"In tune with the force are you becoming." Yoda said with a sad smile.
"I don't like this." Buffy said, exchanging glances with Xander.
"Maybe I should teach them how to navigate a----" Obi Wan said, entering the room. He bowed to Yoda and then looked to Buffy.
"I'd love a break." She attached the light saber to her belt and followed after Obi Wan. Xander made a move to join them, but Yoda jumped out, little a little green ball of lightning, and Xander was on the floor.
"Work left for you to do."
"I get it." Xander made a face and glared at the orb that bobbed around in the air. Obi Wan and Buffy made their way to the roof.
"I have to tell you, I suck at driving."
"I think it will be very different from driving those primitive things on earth."
"Can you stop calling it primitive? That's really annoying."
"Sorry. Force of habit."
"That was a bad pun."
"I'm not much of a fan of flying either. We'll take it easy. It's a lot different from the ship we took to get here."
"Uh huh." Buffy said, dubiously. Obi Wan hopped into a speeder and motioned for Buffy to join him. She took his outstretched hand. "I can't say much for Slayer balance in space." She breathed a sigh of relief once she was sitting. "So where are the seatbelts?"
"The what?" The car lurched forward and soon they were flying, weaving through thousands of little flying speeders. Buffy gripped her seat.
It was strange. She thought of how sheltered the people were on earth. They didn't even know about vampires, let alone an Intergalactic Republic! Imagine what they would think. Imagine what Giles would say.
"Hey, ya know. My friend Giles would make a kick ass Jedi. We should like invite him into space."
"The Jedi are a very elite group."
"So you're snobby?"
"Well it's more that we try not to accept the impure of heart. If someone with the knowledge of the Force joined the dark side, it would be horrible." Obi Wan thought of Anakin, and wondered what his future held now. And then he thought of Senator Dooku. He could very well be one of the first who pulled a switchero.
"Hey, I don't know if I'm pure of heart. I like loved a vampire who was kinda evil." Buffy said, biting her lip.
"I don't think that's what I meant." Obi Wan said, with a twinkle in his eye. He tried to banish thoughts of this young woman, his new Padawan, from his mind, but her blond hair that twirled in the wind as they zipped along, was like a charm, it beckoned him towards her, into her mind. He blocked out her life force and turned his eyes to the traffic.
"So you want me to find this kid, Anakin? While you like go fight in battles?"
"Well it's more than that. Jedi are not supposed to love. Anakin has fallen in love, but he still holds the power of the force. We want to try and save him, before it's too late. "Right now, there are battles brewing all over the republic. The Separatists Droids, and our newly acquired Clones can not fight forever. Soon the Jedi will have to rejoin the battle, and we will have to stop the chaos."
"Ok. Makes sense. But I have a question. If this Intergalactic Republic has grown to big, you said so yourself earlier, on the ship, then what's so bad about a couple people leaving it to start their own?"
"Because. If they don't have to answer to anyone they could do whatever they wanted."
"But aren't they doing that already?" Buffy rolled her eyes. She had never understood any of this political stuff. It was the same with the hierarchy of vampires.
"I'm only a warrior. I suggest you ask Senator Amidala when you meet her."
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Geonosis didn't seem very different from earth as the ship arrived. Senator Dooku motioned for the two to follow him. Spike stayed put, crossing his arms.
"Mate I'll fry." He said in disgust.
"Nonsense. This planet is not lit by your solar systems moon. You'll be fine."
"Poor Spikey. Little neutered vampire." Willow taunted, sauntering past him. He snarled, and forgetting the chip for a moment, lunged at her. "Uh uh uh." Willow held up her hand and Spike felt himself blasted across the ship. He hit a far wall with a thud. A head poked through the doorway. It was hidden by a large hood. The person inside laughed strangely.
"Welcome." Willow peered at the man and then tossed out another ball of energy. The man held his hand up and absorbed it. "He was right. You still have much to learn." Intrigued by this powerful man, veiny Willow followed him, leaving the Senator to help Spike.
Once inside the building Willow and Spike were seated at a table. The Senator and the Mysterious man stood before them. "Welcome to Geonosis, the head of the Independent party." Senator Dooku said. "Because you are new to our order, we are able to share with you the secrets of the Siths. This is Darth Sidious, also known as Chancellor Palpatine."
"Didn't you say he lead the Republic mate?" Spike looked at them in confusion.
"To effectively dispose of the Jedi that protect the republic it is necessary to destroy the republic from without, and within." Spike felt chills go up his spine. This was true evil genius, the likes of which he hadn't dealt with in a long time. It gave his demon side excessive thrills.
"You will know him as one or the other, depending."
"Depending on what?"
"The Order of the Siths calls for one master and one apprentice."
"And you have the pick. Ok. And the other?"
"Will become a leader in the Separatists."
"So where's my little bubble fill in sheet. I'll outdo him in everything." Willow glared at Spike and sniffed. "He's a pathetic waste of time."
"He has more darkness in him than you ever will." The chilling voice of Sidious crept out from under the robes and Willow frowned. He knew. Shrugging it off Willow nodded towards the weapon at Senator Dooku's side.
"What's that?"
"I light saber. Anyone of the Sith or Jedi order carries them."
"Willow loves toys." Willow tried pulling the weapon towards her but Senator Dooku held up his hand.
"You forget yourself. I was once a Jedi. You can not bend the force around me."
"So," Spike started, rapping on the table. "Bout this force, and my chip."
"Yes. You will soon see." Dooku nodded.
"The Force drives all life forms. It can be controlled, and manipulated for good or evil." Sidious pointed a pale finger at Willow. "She has begun to learn the greatness of the force."
"Ok. So my chip?" Spike really didn't care about the mojo they yammered on about. He wanted something solid, that would yield immediate results.
"Yes. Right." Senator Dooku pressed a button on the wall and a strange frog like creature entered. "Newt Gunray, take this vampire to the Lab. He has a microchip in his brain that needs to be extricated."
"As you wish my lord." The shiny eyes of the creature fell on Spike. He squirmed in his seat. Would this finally be it? Would the chip be taken out for good? He followed Newt out of the room, and felt a darkness fall over him. And he knew he was experiencing