Chapter 2:

The walk through the terrain was tricky and not easy, not even for the two Jedi, who had to completely rely on the guidance of the Force by now. The fog had even gotten thicker and Obi-Wan had found it necessary to connect him with Anakin by a rope that was tied to their belts. Anakin had looked sceptical at first, but at this point he was more than happy that Obi-Wan had more or less forced him to tie himself to his old Master. Not that he would admit this to the ginger haired man.

"Master, are you sure this is the right way?" Anakin asked.

"I have no idea where we are going Anakin," before the younger man could protest or freak out, Obi-Wan hastily added, "I am simply following the will of the Force."

Apparently that had been enough for the younger Jedi, for he kept silent and did not retort. Obi-Wan sighed. He would get crazy if the fog did not lift or if they didn't leave it soon. That and they were getting exhausted from the constant contact of the Force. Their own senses wouldn't be of use now and Obi-Wan doubted they would come out alive of this fog and forest if they tried.

After what seemed like an eternity, the fog seemed to get less, at least the two Jedi could make out the form of each other again. From this point it did not take much longer for the two men to reach the end of the forest and as soon as they stepped out into the moonlight, both their commlinks blinked.

"Kenobi and Skywalker here," Obi-Wan took the call with Anakin listening.

"Thank the Force, we finally reached you," the static voice of Ahsoka Tano sounded, "Do you have any ideas how worried we were?"

"A lot?" Anakin suggested with a smug grin, which earned him a raised eyebrow from his companion.

"We couldn't reach you for hours, Master. That and I couldn't feel you in the Force."

Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged questioning glances, "Snips, are you sure about that? Obi-Wan and I had been completely in tune with the Force… it would surprise me if the Sith hasn't located us yet."

Obi-Wan hummed in agreement, "Now that you mention it… Doesn't this fog feel strange to you?"

Now it was the dark haired man's turn to raise an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Obi-Wan gave his companion a pointed look, which was returned with a rolling of eyes, before the younger male closed his eyes and turned his focus towards the heavy and milky fog.

"It feels…" he began.

"…alive!" his apprentice finished for him and Anakin reopened his eyes to star astonished at the older male.

Obi-Wan's hand rested on his chin - a clear sign that he was in deep thought - and his gaze rested on the strange fog. Anakin patiently waited. He knew that, if there was an explanation to this, Obi-Wan would find it.

"Masters, do you have any ideas what it is?"

Obi-Wan remained silent at the Togruta's question and Anakin was beginning to feel uneasy, when the bearded man finally opened his mouth. "It's moving."

"Excuse me?" Anakin asked bewildered.

"Look closely, Anakin. The fog does not only appear to be alive, it seems to be connected to the Force as well, almost as if… almost as if somebody used the Force to create it, in order to actually feel creatures and all kinds of living being approach."

"That's impossible!" the younger man exclaimed, "Isn't it?"

"Apparently not. Ahsoka, you and the men have to get away from there. Get back into the ship and block the entrances. Whatever created this, is powerful and does not want people roaming around." Obi-Wan had barely finished speaking, when another voice joined in, "How very true." The voice was muffled and sounded lightly contorted and when the two Jedi whirled around to gaze upon the newcomer, they saw why. The man, at least Obi-Wan guessed that their new companion was male, was wearing a two-coloured mask over his face. The right was black and the left side was right and a predatory smile was painted on it.

Simultaneously activated Obi-Wan and Anakin their lightsabers and strengthened their guard. Anakin was completely focused on the being before them, while Obi-Wan quickly got rid of the rope that bonded them.

"Who are you?" Anakin demanded.

The man tilted his head, gaze resting on Anakin for a moment. At least Obi-Wan thought so, for he couldn't make out the other's eyes. Actually there was not much at all that Obi-Wan could make out of the man before him. He wore a black coat that hat silver plates on it and boots in a dark grey.

"I am me and me is I," the stranger eventually answered.

"That's no answer and you know it!" Anakin yelled, clutching the hilt of his lightsaber tighter, "Stop playing games with us!"

The man chuckled, "If I wanted to play games Jedi, I would have expanded or shifted the fog so that you would still be trapped."

Before Anakin could say anything in return, Obi-Wan stepped in, "So it was you who created this sphere?"

The head of the dark figure turned, "To a certain degree… The planet naturally produces fogs and I only had to add my Force signature and finally I am able to manipulate it to my will."

"That's… astonishing." Anakin shot Obi-Wan a look of utter disbelief.

"Why thank you," the man chuckled and inclined his head in a bow.

"How can you complement him?" Anakin asked, "He is the enemy!"

Obi-Wan cleared his throat, "Up to this point he is only a Force User, who is talking to us, Anakin. He has done nothing to earn our suspicion until now."

"Except the darkness that radiates from him, you mean?" Anakin snapped.

"The dark power does not necessary need to come from him, Anakin. It could very well pass through him and you know it."

"I hate to interrupt your bickering," the dark figure stepped in, "but I must ask you to leave now."

"And why is that?" Anakin challenged and stepped forward, before Obi-Wan could stop him from doing so.

The figure chuckled darkly and Obi-Wan suddenly had a sick feeling in his stomach. Only a blink of an eye later, the figure was not standing a few feet away from them, but right in front of a stunned Anakin Skywalker, whose wrist was trapped in a vice like grip.

"Because if you don't Jedi, I will kill you both," the voice sounded calm and collected and maybe that was exactly what caused a shiver to run down Obi-Wan's spine.

They hadn't even seen the man moving and the ginger haired Jedi knew that they would have no chance against the man should they challenge him. At least not without knowing what exactly was going on.

Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and straightened while placing it back on his belt. The figure was looking at him and Anakin was clever enough to keep completely still.

"Who are you?" Obi-Wan asked calmly.

"I have a lot of names, but you may calm me Lord Ombro."

Obi-Wan swallowed a lump in his throat. So this was the Sith they were supposed to spy on? "You are a Sith, are you not?"

"Unfortunately I am."

"Oh," Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, "and why is that?"

The figure let go of Anakin and stepped closer to Obi-Wan until they were standing right next to each other. The ginger haired man gave his companion a pointed look that stated not to do anything rush and Anakin actually complied to that. The dark being leaned closer into Obi-Wan's personal space and whispered right into his ear, "Because the Sith of this time are pathetic. Darth Sidious is weak and follows this ridiculous rule of two," he chuckled, "But I am going to change that. I will kill Sidious and become the new leader of the Sith…"

"Then what, are you going to fulfil Sidious plans?" Obi-Wan asked, also whispering even though he did not know why.

"No, I have my own plans. Plans that will not fail, like his plan is fated to," he hesitated, "One aspect deals with the rebuilding of the Sith Order."

"Sith Order?" Obi-Wan inquired.

"Ask your Council about that or look into the Sith Holocrons I know your Order has."

"Why are you telling me this?" Obi-Wan tilted his head, so that he could look directly at the figure next to him and he found himself gazing into penetrating golden eyes and Obi-Wan suddenly felt exposed and vulnerable.

"Because I will make you an offer… Join me and together we will rule the galaxy."

"Why are you offering me this?" This Sith Lord was getting more and more confusing, "You do not even know me."

Again the man chuckled, "I have known you my whole live and even longer, as you have me. You are just too blind to acknowledge this."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

The figure shook his head and started to lean away, "Again, ask that Council of yours, if you cannot figure it out on your own." With that the figure started to walk away. He eventually stopped, the fog started to surround his feet and was creeping higher, and turned his head to look over his shoulder at the two Jedi, "Leave this planet, do not return and do not seek me out." His gaze turned to Obi-Wan. "At least not until you have found out the truth."

With that he vanished into the fog, leaving two stunned Jedi behind.

"What was that?" Anakin asked bewildered.

"I have no idea," he turned around when he felt a shift in the Force and he saw how the fog behind them parted into a way, "But let's follow his orders for now. Let us return to our ship and contact the Jedi temple."

Anakin nodded and together they walked the crafted path, both not noticing the pair of golden eyes that followed them.