Mustafar:

Anakin enters Darth Ty'Rahns observation-lounge and finds it empty. T7 follows him and hooks up to a console and closes and locks the door behind them. Anakin removes the mask and throws it to the side and then beings to slowly move through the lounge. Anakin eventually finds a circular platform and steps on top of it.

"T7" he says. "Send me down."

T7 beeps and spins his computer-link. The platform lowers Anakin into the floor, as it is an elevator.

The platform, and Anakin, end up sinking into a massive cave filled with ancient statues and wall-carvings. A large entrance, almost looking like a hangarbay-door, overlooks the landscape, with lava falling down from above like a waterfall. Here stands Dooku/Ty'Rahn.

Ty'Rahn turns as Anakin steps down from the elevator. "I am impressed that you finally found the courage to free yourself from the shackles of Jedi dogma, young Skywalker. Soon you will embrace the true nature of the Force."

Anakin ignites his lightsaber. "You're wrong. I have no wish to use the gifts of the Dark Side. I have not turned, nor will I."

"You can not hide your feelings from me, Skywalker" Ty'Rahn says, quite confident. "I can feel your anger. The rage that you work so hard to contain. You have no choice but to release it, to embrace it. Only your hatred can destroy me. Only your unleashed anger can secure Republic victory and bring peace and order to the galaxy."

"I'm not here to kill you" Anakin says. "You will stand trial for your crimes. You will come back with me to Coruscant and be judged by the Republic for your treason."

"How noble of you" Ty'Rahn chuckles. "Tell me, when the war is over, do you think the High Council will allow you to explore your affection for Queen Amidala? Yes, your feelings for her are strong. Only by embracing the Dark Side and renouncing the Jedi Order will you be free to love her. And only your hatred will allow her to love you."

Anakin turns enraged. "Leave her out of this!"

Anakin attacks! Anakins attacks are furious and Ty'Rahn easily parries each strike. After a brief fight, they end up pointing their lightsabers at one another.

"Good" Ty'Rahn says. "Your hate has made you powerful. You can feel it."

"It will not control me" Anakin says.

"This cave, it is strong in the Dark Side" Ty'Rahn explains. "You can draw strength from it. Even find the strength to defeat me. The Sith turned this cave into a sanctuary millennia ago for this very reason. I brought a young Jedi knight here, by the name of Alanda Barro. It was here that she became Assaj Ventress. You can feel the power of this place. The air vibrates with it."

"I will not be turned."

"Seems like my master was wrong about you, Skywalker" Ty'Rahn says. "He thought you could replace me. Now I will prove him wrong!"

Ty'Rahn goes on the offensive and Anakin is forced to defend himself against a long series of attacks. The fight continues out of the cave, out onto a catwalk running along the outside of the mountain. A couple of antennas gets sliced by the lightsabers, as is the railing. Eventually, the blades get locked, with Anakin having his back against a free fall into a river of lava below.

"You disappoint me, Skywalker" Ty'Rahn says through his teeth as he tries to push Anakin off the ledge. "I was hoping to get a glimpse of your power. Of your true potential."

Anakin throws himself from the ledge, to Ty'Rahns surprise, an impressive Force Jump, and grabs a beam holding a catwalk that extends from the mountain. Anakin is hanging above the river of lava several yards below him, and climbs the beam and jumps to the catwalk that extends from the mountain. Ty'Rahn moves to the same catwalk and walks out to meet Anakin in the middle.

"Impressive" Ty'Rahn says. "But not what I had hoped for."

"You'll find I'm full of surprises" Anakin says.

Anakin throws his lightsaber towards the cluster of antennas at the end of the extending catwalk ( it's Star Wars after all, why shouldn't there by an antenna-cluster at the end of an extending catwalk ), the antennas gets cut and as Anakin grabs his lightsaber once more, he uses the Force to throw the antenna-pieces at Ty'Rahn. Ty'Rahn strikes them to the side using his lightsaber and Anakin uses the moment to go on the offensive. Anakin flips over Ty'Rahn and begins to push his opponent out onto the catwalk until they reach the platform where the now cut antenna-cluster is located. The fight continues in a circle around the antenna-cluster, until finally, Anakin gets the upper hand and manages to cut off both of Darth Ty'Rahns hands in a single move. Ty'Rahn falls to his knees in front of Anakin, with his back to the ledge.

Ty'Rahn looks up at Anakin. "Are you truly prepared to turn to the Dark Side of the Force?"

Anakin looks him in the eyes. "If it will bring peace… Yes."

Anakin then kicks Ty'Rahn in the chest and kicks him off the platform, sending him falling into the river of lava below. Anakin returns to the cave and retrieves his commlink as he spots a shuttle waiting in a hangar-bay in another part of the cave.

"T7, get down here. I've found a ship that can take us out of here."

Kashyyyk:

Grievous and his officers overlook a hologram of the battle.

"We fall back to the far side of the moon" Grievous says. "The moon will prevent their battleships from firing on us. There we regroup and gather our fighters and bombers. We deploy our heavy artillery on the lunar surface; as the Republic fleet enter lunar orbit, the artillery will provide fire-support. It will give us the advantage we need to turn this battle in our favor."

"A bold plan, general" one of the officers comments.

Another officer walks up to Grievous. "Sir, a priority message from Lady Ventress."

Grievous growls. "Proceed as planned. I will be with you shortly." Grievous walks away and enters a private chamber where the lights dim and a holographic transmission of Ventress appears. "What do you want?! I'm in the middle of a battle!"

Ventress seems little concerned. "I have lost all contact with Mustafar" she says. "No contact with central-command, nor with my master. I sense a great many deaths, including my master, Darth Ty'Rahn. We must consolidate our forces, or the Republic will use the situation to create chaos in our ranks and we will lose this war."

"Withdraw from Ryloth" Grievous says. "We will join forces in the Drouba system. Without assurances that we will receive support and reinforcements from central-command, we risk losing both our fleets. We will regroup and rebuild our forces. The Republic may have won this day, but this is far from over."

"Understood, general" Ventress says. "I will await your arrival in the Drouba system."

The transmission ends and Grievous rejoins his officers on the bridge. "Alert all captains; we are retreating. Deploy all droid-fighters to cover our rear as we prepare to jump to hyperspace."

"Yes, general!"

One by one, the Confederate warships jump to hyperspace.

On his ship, Kenobi lets out of sigh of relief.

"This is General Kenobi, the enemy is in full retreat. We have won."

Fighter-pilots, captains, officers, all smile and applaud and pump their fists. Wookies roar triumphantly.

Jedi Temple, Coruscant:

Anakin walks through the temple and enter a large chamber where all the Grand Masters have gathered. Obi-Wan is present as well. Anakin stops in the middle of the room and bows.

Ki-Adi-Mundi is first to speak. "Anakin Skywalker, what can you tell us of your mission to Mustafar?"

"I was asked by the chancellor to go to Mustafar" Anakin says, "in hopes of ending the war. As a result of the success that mission, the Confederates are now in full retreat on all fronts."

Plo Koon is next to speak. "I was not aware that the chancellor could dictate and bestow missions to Jedi knights."

"It had to be done" Anakin says, "to ensure the peace."

"And why the secrecy?" Mace Windu wonders.

"The chancellor did not want to risk that word got out to tip the Confederates of the attack" Anakin explains. "He was simply cautious. While I told him that he could trust the Jedi, he still felt that the mission needed to be on a need to know basis."

"If a Jedi is sent on a mission to assassinate someone, anyone, the Jedi Order needs to know" Deepa Billaba counters.

"It has been a long war" Anakin says. "The chancellor was simply being careful."

"Careful, not to include us, he was" Yoda says. "Dangerous to confront Darth Ty'Rahn on your own, it was. Changed you are, young apprentice. Not the same man as before. Concerns me, it does."

Kit Fisto is next to speak. "Skywalker has ignored doctrine, but it was for a greater good. Perhaps it was necessary?"

Deepa Billaba shakes her head. "If we ignore our teachings, the only thing left is the fear of the Dark Side. Our doctrine is what gives us discipline and clarity. Without it, only fear remains. The fear of failure, the fear of loss, even fearing the future."

Yoda nods. "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." Yoda then turns to Anakin, "Ignore our teachings you did. Now, I sense much fear in you."

Obi-Wan steps in. "We can not deny that Anakin has turned the tide of war and that the Confederates are now divided and on the run. We can all sense it, the Confederacy is falling apart and within weeks they will no longer hold a unified front. And we have Anakin to thank for it."

Mace Windu sighs. "It can not be denied that the Republic is on the verge of victory."

Yoda grunts. "A victory at great cost."

Senate Building, Coruscant:

Anakin enters a large ball-room filled with politicians and officers, all celebrating the recent events in the war; the Republic is winning! As Anakin enters, everyone begins to applaud him and more and more join in. Out of the crowd emerges Chancellor Palpatine and embraces Anakin. Palpatine urges everyone to calm down.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Palpatine says. "It is an immense honor to present to you a soldier, a leader and hero of the Republic!" More applauds. "If only there were more Jedi with young Skywalkers resolve to put an end to this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy. Ladies and gentlemen! Anakin Skywalker, a true hero!" Even more applauds. Palpatine begins to usher Anakin to the side. "Come, Anakin, let me save you from the vulgar crowd."

They end up out on a balcony, overlooking the grand scenery of Coruscants city-landscape.

"You did good, Anakin" Palpatine says. "There was never any doubt in my mind that you would succeed. I have followed every campaign in this war from the very start, and I can tell you, no soldier or Jedi has impressed me more than you. You have been instrumental in defeating the Confederacy and in saving the Republic from destruction. The Republic will rely on you to win this war now. The Jedi are too mired by their creed to take any decisive action against the enemy. A fact that has needlessly prolonged the war by several years, resulting in the deaths of billions of civilians." Palpatine sighs and shakes his head as he stops by the railing and studies the skyline. "As loyal as the Jedi are, the Republic, and myself, need someone that dares to defy Yoda and his grip on the High Council. I'm afraid it is the only way to ensure stability throughout the galaxy."

Anakin seems suspicious. "Forgive me, chancellor, but I refuse to be your spy."

"You misunderstand" Palpatine clarifies. "All I want is for you to be a voice of reason in the Jedi Order. You have proven what one Jedi can do to change the outcome of this war. We need to convince the Jedi to see the need for such missions, to rid the galaxy of our enemies; only then can we ensure the future of the Republic."

Anakin nods. "I will consider it."

Palpatine places his hand on Anakins shoulder and smiles.

Drouba system:

Two massive Confederate fleets merge in the middle of space. One of the vessels is Grievous flagship and a shuttle leaves it and flies to a nearby Confederate battleship.

Grievous enters the bridge of the battleship and is received by Assaj Ventress.

"Two more fleets will join us in three days time" Ventress says. "The other fleets and armies are falling back or fortifying their positions. The Confederacy is falling apart. It's every man for himself. We are scattered and divided."

"This is only a temporary setback" Grievous says. "With strong leadership, we can regain control and momentum before this war is lost. You must assassinate the leaders who are willing to turn on us. I will negotiate with those who are prepared to rebuild the Confederacy. But we must act quickly; the Republic will try and exploit the situation and crush us once and for all."

"We will risk fighting our former allies as often as we will fight the Republic" Ventress says. "Is it worth the effort, trying to re-forge the Confederacy?"

"My lady, I refuse to accept defeat" Grievous growls.

Ventress gives it a moment of thought. "Come with me" she then says.

Ventress escorts Grievous through the ship and enter a chamber. They are alone. The lights dim and a holographic transmission begins.

"General Grievous" Ventress says. "May I present my lord and master; Darth Sidious." She then falls to a knee and lowers her head in submission.

"Lord Sidious" Grievous says. "Am I to assume you were the one giving orders to Darth Ty'Rahn?"

Sidious hologram raises his hand and Grievous falls to his knees as he begins to choke.

"General, I am the one giving orders to you" Sidious says while Grievous chokes. "From now on, you will call me… Master."

The Force Choke on Grievous throat ends and Grievous fills his lungs with air.

"Yes… Yes, of course, my master" Grievous says.

Sidious speaks again. "I did not expect you to survive at Kashyyyk, general" he says. "You may yet be of some use to me. Continue your war with the Republic, do not let them rest or believe that they are safe. Double your efforts. I have instructions for you both and if you follow them without question, the Jedi will be lured into a trap; a trap that will change the outcome of this war entirely."

Grievous dares to look up at Sidious hologram. "Deceive the Jedi? Is that even possible?"

Sidious leans back into his chair. "I have foreseen it."

Darth Sidious lets out a truly evil laughter.

Coruscant:

Amidala is walking down a corridor together with her officers, and B6, the butler-droid.

"Make sure to have all flux-capacitors in sync by the time we ship out" Amidala says. "I don't want any energy-drains while going through hyperspace. And contact the senator of Malastere again, will you? We could really use their new prototype torpedo."

"Yes, your highness."

The officers veer off and leave Amidala alone. Amidala is about to enter her quarters as she turns to B6.

"I'm sorry, B6. Tonight I would like to be alone and just get some peace and quiet" she says.

"Of course, your majesty" B6 says. "I shall wait outside for when you have need of me."

"Thanks, B6" Amidala says and enters her luxurious quarters.

( funny thing just hit me; in my story Amidala remains the queen, yet, I have totally forgotten about her bodyguards, the handmaidens. Surely, they need to follow her around where ever she goes, right? I will have to rectify this in the 2nd draft of the story )

The door closes behind Amidala and Anakin steps out of hiding.

"So" Amidala says and smiles, "the Republics greatest hero? Not a badge of honor to sneer at."

"The chancellor exaggerates" Anakin counters. "Although, my actions has more or less ensured lasting peace. I suppose that does make me The major hero of the Republic" he grins and is clearly proud.

"The war is far from over" Amidala says. "The Confederacy is falling apart into dozens of new separatist factions, all of whom are enemies of the Republic. Instead of one enemy, we have fifty."

"Well, I am hopeful, nonetheless" Anakin says, still smiling. "No need to worry, my lady. In the end, I will force the separatists to surrender. Their only other option is to be destroyed."

Amidala looks at him funny. "Not your usual choice of words" she remarks.

"Simply stating the facts" Anakin says. He then walks over to Amidala. "I will stop at nothing to defeat the separatists. Should I become the savior of the Republic and The glorious hero that brought peace and stability to the galaxy, the Jedi Order would be unable to deny me anything… not even marrying the woman I love."

They smile, embrace and kiss.

THE END

So, that is it, my version of Episode 2. A war-movie set in the Star Wars universe, depicting a few key pivotal moments in the Clone Wars that made Anakin begin his journey towards the Dark Side. The battle of Geonosis, leading to the capture of Anakin and his confrontation with Dooku/Ty'Rahn, followed by Palpatine convincing Anakin to try and assassinate the leaders of the Confederacy. Perhaps most importantly, Anakin does not go off on some strange killing-spree, murdering Tusken Raiders; instead, he is trying to save the Republic and end the war by murdering the leaders of the Confederacy. How Padmé could forgive him for killing Tusken children and women is a bit strange in Attack of the Clones. I think it would be easier for her to accept Anakin killing the leaders of the enemy faction; especially since she doesn't realize it is a bad thing, considering the Dark Side and all. And Palpatine/Sidious is doing what he can to trick Anakin to join the Dark Side, and at the same time he is preparing the galaxy for his hostile take-over. What do you think? Leave a comment/review and let me and everyone else know! Like it or hate it, all comments are welcome.