A/N: A longer chapter than the last, for your wait. So, what happens when Vader is not amused by the day's proceedings? Read on and find out... Thanks for reading, and please! Review! It only helps me and encourages me! I can always use what you have to say! Enjoy! A/N #2 on the bottom!

The color is not black, Vader muses. Its deep, velvet folds are too rich, too severe as they envelop him to be considered black. And as he is thrown away from Supreme Chancellor Valorum in a violent explosion, he cannot help but feel a fleeting fear. Not for himself, but for the galaxy. For if Vader should fail, the galaxy would once again be ensnared in the all encompassing web spun by the deceit of the Dark Emperor. Valorum is a pale light to combat the velvet folds. His visage is peaceful even, despite his impending doom. He is not sensitive to the Force, so he could not have known the moment would be his last. Even so, Vader knows he can feel the Force's warm embrace and his white hair is a halo around his head. Strange how he once thought angels were only tall tales. Yet, the image is only momentary and time must continue its inexorable march forward, forcibly throwing Vader into the abyss.

He is faintly aware of the distant panic filling the air with a soft buzz as he forces his eyes open. Reporters and civilians alike scramble away from the conflagration that consumes the once majestic ship. The few brave remain, some recording for later use, others attempting to help those injured in the shock wave or ensuing panic. The younger Jedi, somehow less intimidating by their semi-youthful appearance, attempt to herd the crowd away, shielding the carnage from prying eyes. The older members look for the danger they will never find. As it always has been; chasing but never catching. Master Stass Allie crouches over the blackened form of what must have once been the leader of the Republic. Her violet eyes, similar to the color of a Force crystal, turn to meet crystalline blue ones, similar to the color of the peaks of Hoth in midday, saddened. The blast must have occurred only minutes ago, Vader deduces from the situation.

He hurts. Though Vader is no stranger to pain, the heat of a burn had always been sufficient to distract him, stopping him from forming more than a coherent thought. Perhaps it was the memories associated with heat, burning, fire, red that gave him pause. Vader attempts to force his body up, away from the blazing heat still too close to his sensitive, exposed skin. Then again, perhaps it was always the penetrating way the heat stole his thoughts in continuous burst of intimate pain. He grits his teeth, clenching them painfully as he stares unseeingly at the polluted gray sky above him, and he braces himself. Vader reaches for the Force and allows it to suffuse his burned and bruised limbs, imagining a cool wave of Light washing over him. Then, he does, for there is no try. Vader stands.

Master Allie does not rush to his aid, the healer choosing to instead focus her capabilities on a much younger version of himself. Finally, Vader allows himself to feel a wave of panic. He could not die. That in itself would be wrong. He glides (or rather, limps) to the Jedi's side and stares at Anakin's still body, not taking the time to note the slight rise and fall of his chest. "He's not…"

She shakes her head, the sweat gleaming off her ebony forehead. "No, no… just unconscious."

Vader sighs a breath of relief, ignoring Obi-Wan's sudden closeness to him. "Perhaps that is for the best…" Obi-Wan murmurs softly, his grey-blue eyes shining protectively.

Vader scoffs as he beats his body into submission to rise from his kneeling. "Best for what, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan moves to stand in front of the injured boy while Stass pointedly ignores the two's animosity. "Best that he doesn't see that," Kenobi jerks his head to the blackened body, which is being covered by Master Windu's outer robe.

"Better he see it now than later on, Kenobi. Best he sees the life of a Jedi early so he knows what he wants." Vader's lips curl into a snarl of disgust.

"And how would you know what he wants?" Obi-Wan parries, showing the same avid protective side that was once directed to a fourteen year old Padawan on the planet Voss.

A sharp thwack lands on Vader's burning legs, and he stumbles from the sudden sharp pain. "Disappointed, I am," Yoda's large, green eyes are fierce, and Vader cannot help but shudder as he remembers the vision that saw their light go out, "In both of you. Not the time, or place, this is."

Obi-Wan, ever the perfect Jedi, bows and murmurs a placating apology while Vader manages to look somewhat contrite. If Yoda does not believe Vader, he does not show it. Instead, he turns his eyes to Anakin, whose right eye has a rather large gash running along the young, soft ridge of his eyebrow. Yoda kneels next to the healer and places a warm, gnarled hand on Anakin's head. Obi-Wan kneels next to the boy as well, quietly observing. Odd. Vader did not remember his protectiveness happening so soon. Qui-Gon rushes to Vader, his eyes alight with some sort of understanding. "The danger is not over," he speaks with his eyes as well and Vader's own grow wide.

Vader looks around, ignoring the burning sensation to instead feel the faint buzz of the Force in his limbs. Master Yoda stands as well, his eyes alert. He takes in the scene, and watches. A Twi'lek reporter, her blue skin gleaming with the sweat of panic in the evening's sunset, tries to get closer to the Chancellor as tears run down her full cheeks. Several Republic police have already arrived on scene, herding witnesses away for questioning, their white uniforms distinguishing them from the rest. Medical droids go through the wreckage of the ship, futilely searching for survivors in the destroyed wreckage. The sky, resplendent in its bright orange color, is darkening quickly as night falls. Qui-Gon's deep, aqua eyes stare at Vader's own lighter pair, searching. Then, Vader closes his eyes and he asks the Force. A memory leaps unbidden to the forefront of his mind.

The Dark of the night is suddenly more foreboding as a young child runs from its cruel embrace. Nightmares become the plague of the galaxy, extinguishing the brightest of them all. The Night brings with it an explosion, leaving black spots in the still figure with a Gray signature lies besides the unmoving blonde Light figure. Behind them is fear incarnate, though welcoming. "The vision showed this…" Vader trails off as realization dawns on him, his eyes reflecting Qui-Gon's urgency.

Vader surveys the rapidly growing crowd of first responders, droids, and curious (if horrified) civilians. Luke, joining the police and Masters Plo Koon and Kit Fisto join him in herding the crowd away from the Chancellor's body. The blue skinned Twi'lek, her violet eyes shining with unshed tears, stands forefront among the crowd. She make eye contact with Vader, if only for a moment, and Vader catches the minute flick of yellow in her eyes. Vader's own only widen slightly, and he more than knows. He understands. Ce'na Luwira. The fallen Jedi. Well played, Sidious.

He allows his eyes to scan over hers, hiding his true intent, while moving to the Jedi, as if to assist them. She slinks back into the crowd, hiding herself from the warning the Force sings to her. Qui-Gon remains where he is at a slight hand gesture behind Vader's back, and Master Yoda stays next to Anakin, aiding the young boy with comforting waves. Vader should be touched, really, but he has more pressing concerns. Master Fisto, Master Koon, Luke, come here. I found something," He calls softly, not wanting to alert the Dark Jedi.

Vader almost smiles at what Obi-Wan's voice sounding in his head from previous memories, "Patience, Anakin. Think." Of course, Master. I'm trying, Master. Luke is the first to turn away from the crowd, easily reading into Vader's low pressed urgency. The green Nautolan turns near simultaneously with Luke, his customary flashing smile replaced by a grim frown. The Kel Dor, his expression hidden and his Signature calm, nods once at the brightly uniformed officer. Vader cannot help but notice their similarity with the clone troopers' armor. The three Jedi approach slowly, hesitant of the warning in Vader's deceitfully calm eyes. Once they are in earshot, he whispers softly, "Ce'na Luwira has left the order, no?"

He keeps his focus on the crowd, though he eyes the Jedi. Both Masters nod, deadly serious. "I believe she is here, the blue Twi'lek. She served Sidious before her death during the Clone Wars. She was trying to become Sith."

"I did not recognize her among the crowd, Vader. Are you sure?"

"Yes, Master Koon, I am quite sure. She dyed her skin blue to hide herself from the Jedi."

Luke looks back at her and quickly snaps his eyes back to his father at his mental reprimand. "Focus, Luke! Are you trying to let her know you see her?" Vader's voice cuts as deep as a saber, though not as elegantly so.

"The youngling I remember would never harm another being," Vader cuts the young(er) Jedi Master off in the middle of his sentence, Fisto's deep voice being overridden by Vader's own (and very much his, no longer distorted by the mask).

"The youngling you remember was not cast off to the Agri-Corps despite twelve years of being trained to be a Knight, Fisto. I remember her in a, shall we say, a different light than you," Vader's voice is again sharp in his reprimand.

Luke fidgets slightly, his organic hand scratching at his mechanical counterpart, at the revelation presented to him about the old Jedi Order. "I'll deal with her. Look around for an explosive, she has to have another one, if my vision is accurate," Vader orders, the authority heavy in his voice.

"We should evacuate the area, so there is no more loss of life, Vader," Master Plo Koon's voice, though modulated, is slightly accusing.

Vader imperceptibly shrugs it off, "I leave that to you. Be discreet, Master Jedi."

"And Vader?" Master Koon prompts. Vader raises an eyebrow, prompting him to continue without uttering a single word, "Victory can be found in mercy."

The Master Jedi pair go off, slinking into the crowd, stopping every uniformed official with a slight whisper. Before Luke can follow, however, Vader stops him with a slight touch on his shoulder. If Luke catches the slight flinch from the physical contact, he does not show it. "Luke, I need you to focus. Trust in your feelings and rely on the Force. Be careful, my son." Vader does not verbally add what they both know he is thinking. I cannot lose you too.

"I always am, Father," His identical blue eyes shine with emotion that is quickly released to the soft currents of the Force, swirling into the lazy tendrils that wraps him. You won't.

Luke turns away, his brown robes swirling behind him, and Vader cannot help but think about how proud he is of his son. "Luke?"

"Yeah?" Luke raises a single eyebrow to emphasize his question.

"May the Force be with you."

Luke smiles and salutes Vader with two fingers in a form of a bow. His smirk is all too familiar to Vader, and Vader has to resist to send him his version. "And with you."

The aching familiarity of the scene has to be released to the Force to join Luke's wistfulness. Vader turns his eyes back to the dispersing crowd, some wailing, others shocked. He scans the crowd for a whisper of the deep blue skin, tattooed with swirling black patterns whose meaning is only known to their owner. It would be a shame, really, for their beauty would be lost today. One way or another.

The former Sith Lord stalks among the crowd, his Jedi pretense gone. Those who dare to remain despite the orders from Jedi and police officers alike shiver as the air grows colder around him. The sentient life around him have little to no Force sensitivity, yet they would not need it to know that a predator walks in their midst. He towers above many, his height giving him an advantage over his adversary. He reaches out with the Force, feeling his way through the crowd as well as they are finally forced away from the scene. A flash, a glimmer really, catches his attention, and he sees the glint of a gleaming silver metal apparatus. The camera the Dark Jedi had in her possession. The Force must be with him, for it was caught in the last, dying ray of the setting sun. Darkness ushers in over the crowd, the city lights no longer as bright as they were the night before. Another flash, this time blue, falls over the side of the platform, though Vader ignores it momentarily. "Masters! Over here!" He waves the Jedi over when the Force screams a warning, its lilting, piercing notes inaudible.

"Kriffing hell…" He reaches for the Force around him and he obeys. With a swift, heavily Force-fed leap, he throws himself off the platform. With the Force guiding his sudden descent, he has to chuckle darkly to himself. This seems familiar. He can feel the Dark energy pouring off the Twi'lek beneath him, the emotions and flow going unchecked now that she believes the danger has passed. How very foolish.

He lands heavily behind her, the drop relieving his lungs of much needed oxygen. He bends his knees to partially absorb the fall as the Force absorbs the rest. Difficult, even for him to do, after such a long fall. He straightens his back slowly, his hand already on the smooth, iridescent cylinder clipped to his waist. His body protests at the maltreatment, though Vader easily ignores it. Burning, he was used too. Above him, the sudden flash of another reverberates through the air, the shock waves similar to the beat of a Wookie war drum. An abrupt flare of pain and fear is thrown against Vader, and he keeps his face impassive with a monumental struggle. Ce'na turns to face her pursuer, her face showing her true colors. "Strange. I thought Jedi were supposed to stay and help their own. Maybe you aren't as predictable as the rest." Ce'na's voice drips with a mocking contempt.

"I assure you, Ce'na, I am not a Jedi."

The teenager giggles, though Vader is not fooled by her youthful visage. "Silly me, I forgot who you were. The fallen Jedi my master wants dead. He assured me of a place by his side when I succeed in my mission."

"Do you really think you could beat me, child? Trust me, you are nothing but a pawn to Sidious. One that is as expendable as foolish," Vader can feel her anger and surprise grow, but he halts her protest with a raised, gloved hand, "I was his real apprentice. I know him better than you do. No matter what you do, you will never be good enough. You will never be strong enough. You are weaker than that puppet, Maul, and I destroyed him easily. Count Dooku will be his next apprentice, and you will be dead long before you hold the title of Darth." Vader's impatience is clear, and his voice emanates his frustration and anger at the day's proceedings.

"You, you know nothing about me!" Ce'na sputters, all guises disappearing.

"Actually, on the contrary, young one. You were taken from your home, like many were, from a mother you don't remember. You trained for twelve years, begging to realize a misguided dream of being a Jedi Knight, only to be sorely disappointed by each and every single Knight and Master who refused to take you as a padawan. The fear you felt lead to anger, and now, your anger leads to hate. When will the suffering begin, I wonder?" Vader's calm anger keeps his voice surprisingly level, though the flash of the Dark Side is evident in his yellow-flecked eyes.

Ce'na unclips her sophisticated lightsaber, the jet black hilt a deep ebony against the dark blue of her soft hands, not quite calloused by age. A quick press of the button ignites a blood red lightsaber, though she stays her hand. "You don't know anything about me! What the Jedi did to me, what they put me through! I was one of their best and they denied my true power! They are afraid and weak!"

Vader's silver and black hilt, polished and refined by Sidious, ignites to match Ce'na's scarlet light. Her eyes widen in shock, their yellow eyes nearly orange as they reflect the red. "I understand more than you know. Surrender, and I will see to it that you are trained. This is my only warning and I suggest you take it," Vader's voice is venomous, uncaring of Ce'na's short, seventeen years.

"A Sith never surrenders and they never offer mercy," Her voice matches his venom as she draws upon the Dark Side in a near visible wave.

"So be it."

She leaps first, her lekku swinging behind her in a typical Ataru flip. A violent slash, overconfident in its speed, swipes at his midsection as Vader parries the cut with a lazy flick of his wrist. Ce'na is offensive, though, and is instantly back upon him with another strike, this time pushed forward in a Makashi thrust. Sloppy, almost. Vader backpedals away from the blow, his scarlet lightsaber forming a wide, swinging arc through the air as the lightsabers collide in a shower of sparks. The Twi'lek teenager is swift, drunk off heavy use of the Dark Side of the Force and she executes a half spin to the right, her lightsaber meeting Vader's in a violent collision. Her back to the enemy, she swings her lightsaber to Vader's protected left side. With a slight dance, her feet move her to face him again in a heartbeat, a moment of a second, though her following gasp certainly lasts much longer. A burning sensation in her abdomen, not dissimilar to that of scalding tea settling in her stomach, is a sudden surprise, and her black hilt falls to the ground. She looks down to see the graceful blade penetrating her midsection. "Oh," is all she can utter before looking up to meet Vader's eyes.

They are cold, unforgiving as they stare into her own. Time ceases to exist, and his eyes devour her being. She is lost among their swirling, blue depths. Flecks of yellow, similar to stars, appear here and there as she travels through his personal galaxy. They really are quite beautiful, she muses, and the sparks certainly add character. Not a bad last sight, she marvels. A hiss snap, signaling the blade's retreat is quick, though she is gone before she hits the trash covered ground. In her fading, violet eyes are a bright light, not of life, but of one joining the Force and finding peace unseen in the sharp knife of her short life.

Vader does not take the moment to mourn the lost life (nor does he truly grieve) as he feels his son's pain ringing through the Force, echoing across their shared bond like a shout lost to the canyons of the Jundland wastes. "Luke," is all that can be heard from the 'reformed' Sith as he uses the Force to enhance his strength as he leaps from foothold to handhold. His abused muscles scream at him though he cannot feel it as he scrambles up the side of the massive Senatorial platform in an attempt to reach him. "Luke!"

A/N #2: Ce'na, in case you're wondering, is the name of a Twi'lek called Vette in SWTOR. Got my inspiration for her first name only and she is my O/C, though a very dead one. I also now have a Deviantart and a Facebook page! Both are under the same pen name if you wanna check it out! I was also wondering, weird request, if someone good at drawing could draw a picture of Ce'na. I would love to see how you guys see her! Thanks for reading!

Responses to Reviews:

Miss Mustang: I just did though.. XD LOL Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!

ReySkywalker112: Nope, Palpatine ain't Chancellor (yet) though these events will certainly change that! I kept Valorum in charge to further make him mad. XD Nah, hun, your guess wasn't dumb! Thanks for reviewing! Your reviews always bring a smile to my face!

: Your name was a lot harder to spell out than I originally intended. By the way, those cookies were great! I definitely have some plans for Dooku, though Vader seems to think he will still fall. At this point in my story, he has left the Jedi Order and Vader will be trying to hunt him down. You should note Ce'na's surprise, however, at the mention of Dooku in the chapter... Won't reveal what that is yet! *evil grin* Yoda, of course, backs Vader so the rest of the Council is going to have to let him into the Archives most definitely. And that gives me an idea! Yay! Thanks for reviewing!

JackPegbeard: Hmm... let's see. Military joke: check. NCIS joke: check. Security reference: check. Now, where did I put that Clone Wars reference... Thanks for reviewing as always! Thanks for pointing out the typo and LURVE YOU!

Khalthar: Kriffing hell, Vader needs to focus. For Force's sake... XD! I promise, your question will be answered next chapter :) promise! And though Palpypie (new favorite name for him, btw) wasn't his toy, Ce'na was and that'll have to do for now.

Scottusa1: Thank you for the reviews! And I most certainly will keep it up :)

KK: Nah, Anakin's too sweet at this point though his brother, Darth Siddian (aptly named, Obsidian), most certainly has lol!

Andthestorycontinues: Nice name, btw! I am so happy you enjoyed!

Sanna Black Slytherin: Vader, when he saw the way Anakin was being treated and Anakin's obvious affection for the Jedi, he had to nod in respect. Though, as you saw in this chapter, his opinion has not changed. Thanks for reviewing!Phoniex373: Thank you!