Disclaimer: Star Wars and everything in it belongs to Mr. George. I'm just playing with his toys. I'll put them back when I'm done.

You find out how Palpatine found Anakin in this one.

I'm going on vacation this weekend, so there might not be another update until next week, and then I have a bunch of stuff with band, so they won't be as frequent.

Chapter 3: Discussions.

"Is there a problem, Lord Vader?" Master Sidious asked calmly.

Vader inclined his head and answered, "Yes, Master. Three Jedi are here on Korriban; two Masters and one Padawan."

Sidious smirked slightly. "Yes, I know. Do you have them under control?"

"They are confined and unarmed, master." Vader responded, glancing briefly at the Jedi. He had already felt their shock and fear; looking at them only confirmed what they were feeling. This was most likely the last thing they'd expected him to do.

"It may not be safe to stay on Korriban any longer, my boy," The Sith Lord stated unexpectedly.

"M-my Lord?" Vader stuttered in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Sidious let out a small sigh and continued, "Once the Jedi realize that their little…expedition…has failed, they will undoubtedly send reinforcements to aid the Jedi in your custody. Three Jedi you may be able to handle, Lord Vader, but I have no doubt the Jedi will send their best to assist them."

"Y-yes, my lord," Vader stumbled, not looking at the holo. Leave Korriban…That thought hadn't crossed his mind in years, not since he'd first met Lord Sidious.

-Flashback-

Anakin silently crept around the temple towards the ship that had just landed in front of it. He'd been here for three years and seen no one; who could possibly be here now?

As soon as he started wondering, the ramp on the ship lowered and a dark, hooded figure stepped down and strode purposefully into the temple. Following him silently, Anakin watched him proceed down the hallway to his right, where the holocron of Darth Bane rested.

Seething that someone might be coming to take it away, he snuck faster, until he was about six feet behind the hooded man, reaching for his light saber, he was about to ignite it and demand that the person explain himself when-

"How much longer were you planning on hiding from me, my boy?"

Anakin froze stock-still where he stood. Eyes wide in shock, he could only stare as the fugure slowly turned around and smiled at him in dark amusement.

"Your cloaking skills are to be commended, child, but you cannot hide from me," The man continued still smirking at Anakin, "I am Darth Sidious. I expected I would find you here."

He expected to find…? Standing up straight and narrowing his eyes at Sidious, he looked over him, trying to figure out exactly who this person was. If he was telling the truth, he most likely was a Sith Lord, and was to be obeyed. But if not…

"Who exactly are you?" Anakin asked, his hand still holding his light saber, and his eyes still narrowed in suspicion.

"I am the Lord Darth Sidious, Sith Master and former apprentice of the late Darth Plagueis," His eyes roamed over Anakin, an almost approving look in his eye, "You seem to know how to handle that weapon, boy."

"A bit," Anakin agreed, still trying to figure the situation out. It seemed as though Sidious was telling the truth. "Why are you here?"

Sidious let out a low cackle and replied, "Why, the same reason you are here, my boy. To learn from the holocrons. Not that there is much left for me to learn, but one can never know enough."

The smirk was gone from the Sith's face as he looked Anakin over once more.

"Follow me, boy," he said before setting off back down the hallway at a brisk pace. This time, however, he strode through the antechamber and down one of the large hallways within. Stopping before a door, he turned back to Anakin.

"You've never been in here, have you, my boy?"

Anakin shook his head. "That door won't open."

Sidious smiled and said, "Yes it will. You just need to know how." And he reached out to touch a seemingly unremarkable patch on the wall and, right before Anakin's eyes, a small portion of the wall receded, revealing a control panel. Anakin stared at the opening, completely unaware that his jaw was hanging open.

He'd tried so hard to get that door open. It was the only part in the entire temple that he didn't know by heart. It made him feel so stupid now that he knew the door was so easy to open.

Coming back to reality once he realized that Lord Sidious had opened the door, he shook his head slightly to bring himself back on-planet and went inside. Once through the doorway, he couldn't figure out what had inspired anyone to ever lock the door at all. The room was practically empty. All that was there was a small cot that looked around a century old and what could be…a com system?

"You know what this is, don't you?" Sidious asked smiling knowingly. Anakin simply nodded at him, overwhelmed by everything that was happening. "And I assume you know how to use it?"

Another nod.

"Good."

"And what of the Jedi here, my lord?" Vader asked, snapping out of his reverie.

Sidious's eyes flickered over to where the Jedi were sitting captive. "Do whatever you deem necessary."

"Yes, my lord," Vader responded obediently, before he cut the transmission.

It was very unlike Obi-wan to be this nervous, especially because of a barely trained teenager. But no matter who this boy was, one thing was becoming increasingly clear: those holocrons had to be secured.

Shortly after ending the com, Vader had turned to them, released the shields, and ordered them to start moving again. Obi-wan had absolutely no idea where they were going; it was not a feeling he particularly enjoyed.

They had entered a long hallway that had what looked to be very thick, metal doors on either side. Obi-wan had a very, very bad feeling about his whole situation, and it kept getting worse.

"Stop."

Vader abruptly halted at the end of the hallway and pointed to Obi-wan.

"You, in there," he said, gesturing towards an open door. Obi-wan hesitated. He wasn't sure what would be worse, saying no to Vader and facing him defenseless, or facing whatever was in the room.

"Now," Vader commanded, sounded annoyed. Flickering his gaze over to Siri, he saw her nod. Sighing deeply, he cautiously walked through the doorway, peering inside apprehensively…and heard the thick, durasteel door shut and lock behind him.

Sighing Obi-wan turned back to the door. To think the boy had made him uneasy…he didn't even have the sense to know that a lock couldn't hold a Jedi. Annoyed, he placed his hand on the door and reached out his mind to unlock the door.

Nothing. It didn't budge. He couldn't even feel the lock.

Oh, that's not good…

"You, padawan, in here. The other master goes in there," Vader said carelessly. The remaining Jedi both looked around the room nervously before stepping inside. It was pathetic. If he was going to kill them, he wouldn't have bothered to bring them all the way down to the prisoner's cells.

Rolling his eyes, he waved his hand slightly and made the two doors slam behind the Jedi. Now, with that out of the way…

Turning on his heel, he strode back down the hallway into the main antechamber. Walking right past the intricate writings that fascinated him years ago, he paced right up to the large entrance doors and went outside. Getting up and down the stairs used to be a huge ordeal for him-one reason he was so glad to find other doors inside-but now it took him less than ten minutes to get to the ground, where he then walked around the side of the temple. Directly in front of him was the Jedi's ship.

When the Jedi had first landed, he had been too preoccupied with keeping them under control to think what the entire situation meant. Not until Master Sidious suggested it did Vader realize he could actually leave. The thought was so mind boggling he could barely even think about it.

Still reeling from his realization, Vader slowly, almost reverently approached the ship. It was rather unremarkable for a ship, but still…

Speeding up slightly, Vader strode up the ramp and into the ship with renewed vigor. He couldn't believe it. It was just unreal.

Grinning, he started on his way to the cockpit-and stopped dead in his tracks. Almost exactly two feet to his left was a floor length mirror.

Vader hadn't looked in a mirror in over ten years.

When he'd first come to Korriban at the age of nine, Vader was about three and a half feet tall, tan, blonde and blue-eyed with a round, innocent face. Now, he could barely recognize himself. Staring back at him was a six foot tall nineteen year old with dark, dark brown hair, very pale skin and bloodshot eyes with sickly yellow irises. His face was no longer round or innocent; his features were sharp, almost accusing, with a half-sneer frozen on his lips.

Vader simply stood there, staring at his reflection, for a very long time before he made his feet move in the direction of the cockpit.

"I understand your concern, Senator, but I have every confidence that Master Kenobi is perfectly safe," the hologram of Master Windu said, looking very patient, "And as for his company, while the Jedi Council would be much happier with a larger expedition, the Order is simply spread too thin to send more Jedi with Obi-wan unless he is in extreme danger."

"So you are in contact with him?" Padme asked confidently, "You are absolutely sure that planet is no longer dangerous?"

Something that Padme couldn't quite identify flashed in Mace's expression.

"You have my assurances that Obi-wan is perfectly alright," Master Windu said.

Padme nodded, eyeing Mace suspiciously. "Thank you for your time, Master Windu."

Mace's hologram nodded and winked out. Padme stood there for several moments, thinking things over. Something's not right here…