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Chapter 1
Petranaki Arena, Geonosis -3 Years, 6 Months Before Empire Day (BED)
"Are you sure I am not needed master?"
From the front of the balcony where he would oversee the proceedings, the elderly Sith turned to his apprentice. "No, stay in the box, the animals will handle the execution."
It wasn't the endless buzzing from the natives, or the intermittent growling of the animals that ticked off Anakin Skywalker. It was the sand. Sand was part of the reason he hated the hellhole known as Tatooine. A quick flick of his boot affirmed his query.
Yep, still sand.
He took a deep breath, struggling to bring the bubbling anger down to a controlled simmer that was emphasized by the Count's training. He sighed, his eyes slowly moving around the arena. He adjusted his stance, and stood in what any good soldier would call parade-rest, with his hands behind his back and his weight distributed evenly across his wide stance. He tapped one finger on the back of his hand, simply waiting for anything to happen.
He hated waiting. Silence he could deal with. In fact, he adored silence. It allowed for one to think, create a plan or simply relax; far away from any of the galaxy's problems. But waiting around in an arena filled with oversized insects was not particularly enjoyable; and it wasn't very silent. It took all of Anakin's willpower to not strangle the Archduke standing next to him for even joining the Confederacy; maybe then they could have been somewhere slightly more pleasant. Instead he moved his hand to his belt, running a finger along the grip on his lightsaber.
Force help me if this doesn't end quickly.
"I'm telling you master, I could end this much faster than any animal." Anakin said, meeting the steady gaze of Count Dooku with a light smirk.
"Of that I have no doubt Skywalker, that is why you are my apprentice, is it not?" Before Anakin could answer, Dooku continued. "However, this is much more painful, and it seems Viceroy Gunray wishes to prolong Senator Amidala's death."
Anakin's stomach lurched at the mention of the Senator. Quickly, that lurch settled as Anakin realized the severity of the situation. Then, his stomach clenched in anger and dread as he understood what Count Dooku's words had meant.
"Who master?" He asked, leaning forward slightly. But he already knew the answer. Padmé. At once, his stomach dropped, and he felt the sensation of bile rising in his esophagus.
"Padmé Amidala. I assume you remember her, correct?" He said, fully aware of his apprentice's raging emotions.
"Yes master, I do." His eyes turned to the Neimoidian, who looked smug as ever in his regal attire.
"Focus, my boy, don't waste your energy." Dooku said, still watching the proceedings. Anakin rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to chop the reptile to pieces.
"Yes master." He said, teeth clenched as he stared at Gunray, who was oblivious to the teenager's reaction.
He could feel the Force around him, crackling with excitement. The tendrils of the dark side slowly wrapped around Anakin, making their way to his heart, ready to prey on his emotions and turn them into raw power. He flexed his hands, conscious of the energy spitting out of his fingers.
Don't worry, I am focused.
This is Anakin Skywalker:
He is simply the best. The best swordsman, the best pilot, he is the strongest, most powerful being in the galaxy. He is the living embodiment of the Force. A legend among men.
And he knows it.
He has a furnace for a heart; and that furnace rages inside him. Controlled, yet dangerous. He is the perfect leader; smart, daring, and willing to serve on the front lines. He has no fear, and why should he? He is the best.
But, what if he isn't?
What if his talents are not enough? They weren't enough to save his mother; they weren't enough to become a Jedi. What if he isn't as great as he seems? To any of his colleagues, that would be considered blasphemy. There is no questioning it; Anakin Skywalker is the pinnacle of the Force, the peak of the mountain.
But at the peak of the mountain, it is extremely cold. And Anakin's furnace is the lone source of heat in his body. The rest is filled with fear and dread.
The dread reminds him of the serpents that lived on Serenno. But unlike the snakes and other killer reptiles that resided in the forests, the serpent in Anakin's soul doesn't kill him with poison, but words. It chews at Anakin's inside, constantly reminding him that while he is extremely powerful, he is not powerful enough.
Not powerful enough to be a Jedi, and not powerful enough to save his mother. And if he was not powerful enough for those tasks, what hope does he have to save himself? Why does he continue on this path, the path to greatness?
He blames the council. Once he destroys the Jedi, then he would be powerful enough. Then, he could save anyone he wanted to. Perhaps then, he could bring back his mother. Anakin is the best, but for him, it isn't enough.
It would seem outrageous to anyone that knows him that Anakin has fears. But they are there. They sit inside him and dwell, a constant reminder of his failure. He pretends not to notice them, but like the small itch that plagues people at night, it is always on his mind. The dread that eats at him and constantly hisses at him.
It is always there, whispering to him; that even if he is the best, even if he could grow stronger and more powerful than any being to ever live; it still would not be enough.
Anakin felt someone watching him, and turned his head. His eyes met the visor of Jango Fett. He couldn't tell if Jango was watching him, and frankly it unnerved him. So he reached out with the Force, and entered the hunter's mind. He narrowed his eyes slightly, finding it harder to probe the bounty hunter's thoughts than the cowardly Gunray's, or San Hill's. Once he confirmed Jango was not thinking about him, he exited, and turned towards the arena, searching for the culprit.
Suddenly, one of the gates rose, and Anakin saw someone he hadn't seen in ten years.
An angel.
Padmé Amidala was being sent to her death, alongside a younger Jedi. Anakin squinted, examining the Jedi, and trying to identify him.
A few centimeters taller than Padmé, no lightsaber, and a braid. He's a padawan.
Anakin watched both of them get chained to their respective pillars. Anakin watched the Jedi who was chained earlier berating the younger Jedi.
Most likely his master. He looks familiar, was he on the council? No, he is too young; it looks like Qui-Gon's apprentice, though he didn't seem like the beard type.
But Anakin's main focus was on Padmé. He felt his stomach lurch and a warm tingle rush through his body.
She certainly has changed. More shapely than last time.
He felt the corner of his lips tug slightly as he ran his eyes over her white jumpsuit, her very snug jumpsuit.
A few tendrils of her chestnut hair had fallen out of her bun, and she shook them out of her face. She took a few deep breaths, and the color slowly flushed away from her face.
There was no denying it; she was even more beautiful than ten years ago.
Seconds later, three gates opened. Anakin saw a Reek, Nexu and an Acklay enter the arena.
They fed the reek meat, explains the red skin.
The beast lumbered towards the padawan, while the shrieking Acklay quickly moved towards the other Jedi.
Anakin noticed Padmé had somehow broken free of her chains, and was climbing up the pillar to escape the Nexu. He couldn't help but smile.
She seems to know what she is doing.
The elder Jedi also broke free, although it seemed only his chain broke, and he was still handcuffed.
The younger Jedi wasn't having as much fun; he was still struggling to tame the Reek. Anakin grinned as the padawan finally yanked his chain free, and used the force to sprint away from the lumbering beast.
He can handle himself.
Anakin then focused his attention on Padmé who had successfully made her way to the top. The Nexu jumped higher and higher, attempting to claw her down. His breathing hitched when the Nexu's claws scraped across Padmé's back, barely a second later Anakin heard Nute Gunray laugh as Padmé continued to scream in pain. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the Neimoidian.
Time to end his fun.
Anakin closed his eyes, and once again felt the Force surround him. It swirled around his body, and Anakin felt it strengthen him, expanding his strength, his speed, and his senses. He could feel the breath of the guard patrolling the levels below him. He could hear the silent curse of Nute Gunray as Padmé successfully evaded the Nexu; avoiding further harm. He reached out, and felt the Reek's frustration as the padawan eluded the animal. He then reached farther.
He felt the Nexu's increasing heart rate as the feline attempted to reach Padmé. Anakin reached deeper, and felt the Force wrap around the Nexu's throat. With a quick exhale, Anakin felt the Nexu's neck snap, and it dropped to the sand, dead before it hit the ground.
He quickly frowned as he felt many small flares pop up within the Force.
What was that?
They were like stars, light and bright. And then it hit him, like a punch to the gut.
Jedi.
He quickly moved to the back of the box and flipped up his hood. Seconds later, an amethyst blade was at Jango's neck.
Dooku turned around, a polite smile on his face. "Master Windu, how pleasant of you to join us."
"This party's over." The Jedi Master had apparently not noticed Anakin, who busily made himself small in the Force. Anakin however, had seen him.
He was on the council. He said I was too old. He ruined my life.
Anakin fought hard to control his anger and conceal his Force presence. He apparently was doing a good job, as the Jedi was still unaware of his presence.
At once, over two hundred lightsabers sprang up around the arena. Anakin carefully looked around, while the insects fled from the arena. He couldn't help but sneer as Nute Gunray stood terrified behind Dooku, with the rest of the council shaking in fear.
Anakin took in a breath, taking the Force inside him. He felt his blood rush through his body, and once again, drew more and more power.
"Brave, but foolish, my old Jedi friend. You are impossibly outnumbered."
A small chuckle escaped the Korun master's lips. "I don't think so." Anakin reached for his saber, before Dooku silently waved him off. Anakin's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and he hesitated before proceeding to grip his lightsaber.
"We'll see."
Anakin unclipped his weapon, right before a squadron of battle droids appeared from the tunnel, firing upon the Jedi. Anakin moved his thumb to activate his lightsaber, but Jango Fett fired a stream of fire towards the Jedi, who leapt over the balcony, meeting up with the rest of the Jedi below.
"Anakin, stay up here." Dooku ordered, holding his hand up to stop his apprentice from joining the battle.
"But master I can do this, I did destroy seven training droids at once right?" Anakin argued, pushing down Dooku's hand before starting to remove his robe.
"Be careful my apprentice, there are many crafty Jedi down there." Dooku said, his stare clearly telling Anakin to stay where he was. "Besides, I have much more important plans for you."
"Yes master." Anakin hissed, clearly angry at Dooku's words.
Crafty, I can take on twenty crafty Jedi blindfolded, and with one hand.
He instead crossed his arms, and surveyed the Jedi. Pain shot up his arm as he realized that he still held his saber, and was attempting to crush it in his bare hands. He looked down at his gloved fingers, holding a long silver hilt, with a black grip and black obsidian emitter shroud. He closed his fingers over the grip, running his thumb over the length adjustment knob.
Anakin was fifteen, holding his red lightsaber in both hands. He rubbed one of the knobs on his lightsaber with his thumb, his eyes flicking between all seven of the training droids.
"Set the training level to maximum!" Anakin looked uneasily at the Count standing outside the protective ray shield, as he shifted his weight back and forth.
"Request exceeds safety regulations. Would you like to override?" The droids said, holding sabers in their skeletal hands.
"Yes." Dooku said, crossing his arms.
At once, the motors in each whined and all the droids shot at Anakin.
He ran his saber through a defensive pattern, successfully repelling all attacks. He sent two crashing into the shield. Three others had been sent flying towards a wall, the force of the attack crushing the inner workings of one.
He turned around and quickly blocked an overhand slash. The last droid was given a healthy dose of lightning, crashing into a heap of sparking metal. Anakin felt two other droids sprinting towards him and he turned around, parrying an attempt to stab before sidestepping a thunderous overhead slash. He ducked under a swipe and with a quick flick, relieved one droid of his arms.
He jumped over a low slash, as the other droid relieved its peer of its two remaining limbs. Anakin stepped right with a quick spin, slicing through the fallen droid's skull. With four more droids left, Anakin smiled, holding his saber forward.
He reached into the Force, extending his power to the arm motors of two droid. With a quick motion, the machines plunged their sabers into their partner's chest cavities, dropping to the floor. The two remaining droids then turned to Anakin.
Anakin could feel Dooku's displeasure radiating through the Force, most likely due to the "ungentlemanly" actions of his apprentice.
One droid spun towards Anakin, who pushed back with a neat block before pushing the other droid away. Anakin used the Force to reverse the motors in the droid's hands, catching the saber as it tumbled out of the open hand. He beheaded the droid before dropping its saber.
One droid left.
On cue, the droid sprang forward, leaping into a high overhead slash. Without hesitation, Anakin flicked his thumb, watching as the meter long scarlet blade grew nearly a quarter of its length. The droid was impaled, dropping its limbs instantly.
Anakin ran his finger over the knob once more, fondly reminiscing of that particular training session. A grunt brought him out of his dream world, and Anakin quickly looked up.
A lone alien Jedi decided to confront Dooku. He jumped into the box, brandishing his green lightsaber, taking steps towards the Sith Lord.
It took Anakin less than a second to gather the Force, the whirlwind of energy flowing around him harder than it did before.
Finally, some action.
It took the rest of that second for Anakin to move his lightsaber, lighting it mid-motion as he attempted to cleave the Jedi in two. He parried, and attempted to stab Anakin in the chest. It took a slight flick to avoid the glowing plasma, and Anakin spun to his left, cutting right through the Jedi's throat.
Anakin felt the Dark Side roaring through him, and he sent the Jedi sailing out of the box with a quick burst of lightning. He deactivated his saber, resuming his original stance as if nothing had happened.
Jango slowly holstered his blaster before flying down to the battle below.
Showoff.
Anakin watched him kill the Reek, before promptly being beheaded by Mace Windu. The Jedi glanced up at the box, causing Anakin's heart to beat faster for a moment as he prepared for a battle. Before he could descend to the arena floor, the Jedi had moved on to other droids.
Anakin noticed that Padmé had picked up a blaster, and was picking off droids left and right. "Is this the best we have? These droids couldn't hit a Sarlacc." He looked at Nute Gunray, waiting for an answer.
"They serve their purpose boy."
Anakin unclipped his saber, and took a step towards Gunray, with anger flaring inside took great control for Anakin not to disembowel the cowardly lizard at that very moment. Dooku noticed however, and shot him a warning glance.
"What do we do now?" Gunray asked, looking to Dooku for an answer.
"You go to the control room. Anakin, you stay with me." The Council shuffled off, while Anakin stood on Dooku's side; none too lightly bumping into Gunray on his way forward; just as the Jedi were being shepherded into the middle of the Arena.
Around twenty Jedi stood; dust kicked up during the battle was just starting to settle, allowing Anakin a clear view of the captured combatants. The scents of charred flesh and fumes from the destroyed droids mingled and rose in the arena, giving Anakin a grim sense of satisfaction.
He knew the Jedi were a proud bunch, and would not surrender, so he prepared for a battle. Once again, the waves of the Force washed over him, bathing him in its power. Anakin reached out, and could feel the breathing of the winded Jedi, the dismay as they checked their wounded and dead; and their shame as they were surrounded.
"Master Windu, you have fought gallantly. Worthy of recognition in the archives of the Jedi Order. Now, it is finished. Surrender and your lives will be spared."
The Jedi Master stared up at Dooku, narrowing his eyes. "We will not be hostages to be bartered with Dooku."
"Then I am sorry, old friend." With a wave of his hand, the droids aimed their weapons at the twenty or so remaining Jedi.
Anakin started to reach into the Force, ready to join the battle. Before he could jump in however, six or seven gunships, carrying troopers in white armor dropped into the arena. They fired lasers from their bubble turrets and deckplate; lighting up the droids, destroying dozens in a matter of seconds. They quickly formed a perimeter around the Jedi, while clones disembarked to cover the rescued warriors.
Anakin looked to Dooku, who didn't look shocked as the clones loaded back on the gunships before quickly leaving the arena.
A final roar of the gunships left the dust kicking up again. Anakin covered his eyes and coughed, particles of sand entering his lungs.
What I would do for a helmet.
He wiped the sand off his clothes and hair, surveying the landscape. Over one hundred Jedi lay dead on the arena floor, surrounded by many more broken droids. He then noticed a headless armored body, with a helmet not too far away.
Perfect, this should be useful outside the arena.
"Come, my apprentice." Anakin called Fett's helmet to him, watching as the corpse's head tumbled out. He then followed Dooku out of the Arena, and into the tunnel, holding the helmet against his hip.
"Who were those soldiers?" Anakin asked, curious that Dooku was not outraged that they had arrived.
"The Army of the Republic, clones bred on Kamino." He stated, swiftly walking towards a passageway that took them to a bunker.
"And when were you planning on telling me that we had to fight clones bred for war?" Anakin asked, keeping pace with the Sith lord.
Dooku stopped abruptly before turning towards his apprentice "When the time was right my apprentice. Now don't forget your place. I need you to take me to the hangar once we secure the plans. Do you understand me?" Dooku said, staring into the eyes of his apprentice.
A long pause passed between the two, Anakin no doubt showing the fury in his eyes. He clenched his fist before letting out a deep breath.
"Yes master." Anakin said, turning towards the control room. He entered, and strode directly over to the Archduke. "Archduke, the plans." He barked, towering over the Geonosian.
"I don't answer to you." The Geonosian said in his language. Anakin smiled slightly. Before Poggle could react, he was pinned against the wall, Anakin's hand against his throat.
"The plans please; before I squash you like the bug you are." Anakin growled. He stared into the Geonosian's eyes, where two yellow flecks shone back at him. He smiled as the Geonosian squirmed, obviously unnerved by Anakin's unnatural eye color.
"You wouldn't, I'm too valuable." The archduke's voice was barely above a whisper, but Anakin heard it enough to understand the clicks and other annoying sounds.
"There are a lot of things I wouldn't do, don't make the mistake of thinking ending a life is on that list." Anakin whispered, his hand tightened around the royal's neck, before the Archduke pointed to one of the aides. Anakin dropped the alien before snatching the datapad out of the aide's hand.
He quickly activated it, and a hologram of the moon shaped space station popped up. He quickly grimaced, examining the blueprint.
So ungainly, a good fleet of starfighters is much more valuable than this thing.
He closed the pad and gave it to Dooku.
"We shall meet you all soon, I must deliver these plans to Lord Sidious." Without waiting for a reply, Dooku spun on his heel and walked out the door, quickly followed by Anakin.
"I assume you want me to travel separately for protection." Anakin said, taking out his comlink and keying in the frequency for his swoop bike.
"Yes, fly low, and when the Jedi follow me, kill them." He said, reaching the docking bay. "Remember, no Jedi should know who you are."
"Yes master." Anakin hopped on the already running bike. He took the helmet from earlier, and placed it on his head.
This should be fun .