(A/N) Sorry for the long space between updates, I'll be able to post more frequently when I get out of school in the next couple of weeks! Please R and R, they keep me writing!

"Dead, your old master is?" Yoda's eyes bored into him only as hard as Master Windu's did. But he did not falter under them. He let them feel his emotions, his grief and anger and rage. He let them think it was directed at Obi-Wan. He refused to give them a reason to believe otherwise.

"Yes, Master Yoda." The false lightsaber blade felt impossibly heavy in his hand. This was a form of treason that he never would have dared, never would have desired if his master had stared with him here. But now, there was little left for him here. He felt the tears burn at his eyes, thinking of another man who had stood here with him once, one that was dead, long ago. He activated the blade, the familiar blue blade, to prove to them he wasn't lying. In a way, he wasn't lying. The Obi-Wan they knew was gone for the most part, but now he was stronger, wiser, and, in Anakin's mind, he was finally free.

"Obi-Wan was a great Jedi, to lose one of his caliber is deeply upsetting. You should be congratulated for being able to handle this, Skywalker." Windu was talking. Why did Windu always feel the need to talk? Anakin simply nodded, and placed the fake hilt on a shelf that had risen from the floor. "To lose your master to the dark side and not follow suit shows a strength I didn't know you had."

It was a backhanded compliment, whether it had been meant like one, he didn't know. It was almost cruel, that they didn't know what was coming. He simply nodded, boring his own stare into the gaze of the Master, who seemed slightly startled by it, moving back only a fraction of his stoicism. "To be frank, Master Windu, with all deserved respect, I have never been treated appropriately by this council. You and I are both fully aware of it. Obi-Wan wasn't wither, why do you think he left?" They stared at him, and his eyes went to the chair where Obi-Wan used to sit, a black band laid across the arm of it. "That does not represent the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan, even after falling to the dark side, killed no innocents and had no fight in this war. You didn't even ask. You wanted only to be sure he was dead." He could feel his anger trembling, and knew that everything that Obi-Wan had said to him had been true. His destiny did not life here. "A man that fought his entire life, was tortured for this Order, and the only thing you want to know is whether or not he is dead. I would hope that as an Order, we would have more faith in our own members, but I suppose that's untrue."

Yoda let out a long breath, closing his eyes. "Troubled, you are Skywalker, by Obi-Wan's death. Release your grief into the force. Your pain, your anger, consume you it will."

"Yes, master." Windu was fuming, he could feel the tremors coming off of him, but he ignored them, bowed in general to the masters surrounding them, and left, not sparing the blade hilt a second glance.

"The boy has made an ass of himself to the council, Kenobi." Dooku's back was turned, his legs spaces evenly apart, hand clasped together behind his back. "Your protégé's insolence is astounding, to say the least."

"He is still young. And he is powerful enough to help us defeat Sidious."

"You care for him." It was not an accusation. Both of them knew it was simply a statement of fact. Anakin was the closest thing Obi-Wan would have to an actual child. He was, for all intents and purposes, the man's son. But they had surpassed the age where he was dependent. He was a man, full grown, and they had grown into more a state of equality than of master/student. Until recently, when Obi-Wan had taken him again under his wing, to show him the true power of the dark side.

"I will not deny that, master." Obi-Wan said, and Dooku gave something that sounded like a stifled laugh. "That does not make him less powerful."

"No." the Sith Lord was thoughtful. "There are other you care for. That woman, for example."

"That is private business, Master." Dooku turned around slowly, hearing an edge of defiance in his new apprentice's voice. Not that he truly cared who Obi-Wan chose to sleep with. But he was in control of this. He would always be in control of this.

"You are my apprentice, there is no private business, as you say." He held his apprentice's cold stare, and pressed his lips into a thin line. "Be glad I don't care more about this woman, or what you do in your free time. Do not fail me, and it won't be a problem."

It was impossible to tell if he had struck a nerve. There was no glimmer of fear, no slight widening of eyes, only the clear, impossible blue stare that seemed to cut through his own. "The Negotiator". What a title that had been. How appropriate it seemed. It would take more than threats to shake him.

He walked past him, waiting on him to turn out of his way before he pushed past. "Have Skywalker lead the Jedi invasion of Naboo. He will be a great asset to you."

"It is already in place, Master." The voice behind him was completely level. No betray al of his emotions through it, or through the force. A prickle of unease came to his stomach at his apprentice's seeming disconnection from him.

"Very well." And he stepped out, letting the door slam shut behind him.