A/N: And the next update for "Change of fate" is here! I again apologise for grammar mistakes – my beta is on holidays, and I wanted to update as often as possible before I leave for Russia.

I apologise to those of you who are reading my other story – I wanted to update on Tuesday, but I couldn't log in till today. I don't know what was wrong – either it was me, or the server was experiencing some difficulties.

And I feel really horrible for not replying to your reviews! I read every single one of them, and I enjoy them very much, both the criticism and kind words. My writing time is just cut so short, that it's either writing a new chapter or doing replies. And somehow I think that most of you would prefer getting a new chapter. ;)

Next chapter concludes the "Invisible hand"-story arc, and from Chapter twenty-three on, we will be on Coruscant where the hell begins…

See you next week, or earlier (you know what you have to do so that I might try updating earlier, right:D )

Chapter Twenty-One

Replacement

The enormous ship was shuddering under their feet, as they made a path to the room where Palpatine was being held. The feeble lights were flickering, and, after another explosion, died off. An impenetrable darkness surrounded them, which matched too well to the dark sense of foreboding in Leia's soul. She gripped Luke's arm even harder, as they continued to march through the layers of darkness, the floor jerking aggressively under their feet.

A blue lightsaber hissed to life, joined by two others an instant later. They were standing before the large closed door, made out of gleaming durasteel.

"Palpatine is being held behind this door. Dooku is guarding him," Anakin said emotionlessly. Lit by the dim light of his blade, his face seemed cold and made out of stone.

"Anakin, stay calm and don't do anything reckless. It is not a time for any stunts," Obi-Wan said evenly, glancing meaningfully at his former Padawan.

For an instant, Leia believed that a sparkle of anger flashed through Anakin's cerulean eyes, the vivid blue becoming icy and distant. But as suddenly as it came, the moment passed, and Anakin inclined his head obediently.

"Yes, Master."

A shadow of smile ran through Obi-Wan's features. "Very good. And, Anakin, remember-"

"-this weapon is your life," Anakin imitated Obi-Wan's voice so precisely, that Leia had to suppress a giggle. "I'll try to keep that in mind, Master," he said in his normal voice, looking calmly at Obi-Wan.

The elder Jedi hid a fluent grin in his beard. "I'll try to believe you this time, Anakin. Luke," he said, turning to Leia's brother. "Guard your sister, and don't intervene in the battle. Dooku is too advanced for you."

"Of course, Obi-Wan," Luke said, though a thoroughly hidden determined gleam in his eyes told Leia otherwise.

Obi-Wan watched him suspiciously for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. "Matters are clear then. Let's go, the Chancellor is waiting."

Three blades touched the door and hummed simultaneously, cutting a hole on the door's perfect surface. Anakin raised his gloved hand, and a large piece of metal fell with a loud clank, forming a large opening. Without casting a glance at the others, he climbed through it, with Obi-Wan and Luke following him.

The clutches of foreboding intensified their grip on Leia's heart, as she joined the others on the other side of the door. She stood in a large hall, lit by occasional explosions and multi-coloured jets of laser canons. The horrible battle was raging on the outside, with the future Emperor sitting on the throne-like chair, and her father, enveloped in a large black cloak, coming up the stairs to the Sith Lord – a picture that sent icy chills down Leia's back. The Sith Lord was marvelling at the destruction his perfidy plans caused to the galaxy, and his future apprentice approached him…

"Master Kenobi and the Hero With No Fear, what a pleasure to meet you here," a deep baritone sounded directly over Leia's head. She looked up and saw an elder man, standing on the balcony. He was observing the Jedi with a scornful smirk on his haughty features, battle droids standing behind him at the ready.

Obi-Wan's face bore the expression of calm resolve, while Anakin stood with his back turned to the Count, rigid and unmoving. He might as well have been a statue.

"We are here for the Chancellor, Dooku," Obi-Wan said evenly.

A mocking smirk on Dooku's face was his only reaction to Obi-Wan's words. Palpatine looked panic-stricken, however.

"Anakin, Master Kenobi, run! He's a Sith Lord, you are no match for him!" he cried out, his voice shaking with fear.

"Sith Lords are our speciality, Chancellor," Obi-Wan said quickly to Palpatine, wearing an amused grin. Anakin was still unmoving.

"Those are great words," Dooku said indifferently. "Ah, I see you've brought company. A Jedi and a princess…How interesting-"

"Leave them, Dooku," Anakin spat through gritted teeth. "I swear I'll kill you if you as much as lay a finger on them."

Leia felt an invisible Force lifting her off her feet and smashing her across the wall. She landed in a heap on the floor, groaning. Luke rushed to her.

"It looks like as if you must kill me now, Skywalker," the Count said mockingly, his lips curved in an arrogant smile. He looked at Anakin as if he were a bug.

Anakin turned to face Dooku. His jaw was clenched, and his narrowed eyes seemed to send sparks of anger.

"You won't get away this time, Dooku," he growled in a low voice. It was a voice of another person, from another time…

The Jedi threw off their cloaks and ignited their lightsabers, exactly at the same time as Dooku jumped elegantly from the balcony to the main floor.

"I've been looking forward to this," he said, igniting his crimson lightsaber.

Simultaneously, the two Jedi and the Sith launched at each other, and the battle ensued. To Leia's dismay, Dooku was a very skilled warrior, as he effortlessly parried Obi-Wan's steady blows and Anakin's energetic strikes. The Jedi were bouncing off him like water off of a rock, and Leia could see that Anakin was getting more frustrated with every second. She was afraid that he would lose control and then…

Luke was watching the fight anxiously. "I have to help them," he said shortly.

"Luke," Leia began, protesting, but Luke dismissed her. "They can't succeed," he said, as Count sent Anakin across the room with the Force. The Jedi landed on the floor with a sickening thud. Obi-Wan continued to exchange strikes with the Sith, cautiously calculating the aim for each parry, his face covered with sweat.

"Stay here," Luke said to Leia, as he ignited his lightsaber and hurried to the duelling opponents. He flipped elegantly and attacked Dooku from behind, but the Count effortlessly blocked his strike.

"Ah, very interesting," Dooku said, spinning around and facing Luke, who glared furiously back at him. "So noble and frustrated are you. Like father, like-," he began speaking, but was interrupted as a worried Obi-Wan kicked him into the ribs. The Sith extended his hand sent the elder Jedi flying back with a powerful Force push.

The sickening feeling of premonition was increasing, as Leia watched Luke fight Dooku. The Sith clearly had an advantage, as his lightsaber skills surpassed Luke's, and he was about a head taller than her brother. Luke was in a defensive position, his forehead furrowed in concentration, as he was neatly blocking the merciless series of strikes that Dooku unleashed on him. She also didn't like the look of hidden interest with which Palpatine was observing Luke. It was the same look her gave her when they met first time…

"I told you to stay away from this, Luke," Anakin said exasperatedly, re-joining the fight and driving Dooku away from Luke.

"But I'm helping you," Luke said stubbornly.

Dooku laughed contemptuously. "Stupid boy," he said to Anakin. "You can't even control your own-"

"Ah, you don't know?" he exclaimed in mock surprise, watching the expression of confusion on Anakin's face. "No wonder those feeble skills of yours didn't reveal it to you. But I can open your blind eyes to the truth-"

"NO!" Luke yelled, as he launched at Dooku with a strength Leia didn't expect from him. He swung his lightsaber in high arcs, the blue flame of his blade dancing madly around them. For a second Leia thought she noticed a slight trace of fear in Dooku's eyes.

The humming songs of lightsabers were accompanied by the sound of blaster fire, as battle droids opened fire on Jedi at Dooku's command. Anakin Force-jumped up the stairs and attacked the droids; Obi-Wan soon joined him.

A cry of pain erupted in the hall, as Luke fell on his knees, clutching his right leg, which had been pierced by the lightsaber. Dooku was towering over him, pointing the humming energy blade at Luke. The Count's left arm was burned.

"That was an impressive stunt you pulled, boy," he said. "But it will end for you here."

He swung his lightsaber, attempting to strike the helpless Luke down, but a turquoise blade blocked its path. Dooku turned left and saw a furious Anakin, staring back at him.

"No, it won't," he spat through gritted teeth, as he attacked Dooku with a ferocity Leia had never seen him use before. Anakin was drawing power from his anger, and the turbulent clouds of the Dark Side were swirling around him. His fury intensified even more, as he heard Luke moaning in pain. Leia hurried to her brother and ripped a piece of her dress to bandage his wound.

Three blades, one crimson and two turquoise, were dancing in the hall, as Obi-Wan stood by Anakin's side, helping him with the duel. Under the power of young Jedi's attack, Dooku seemed to tire slowly, as his movements became less fluid and tense with each parry. Anakin seemed to get stronger with each step, with each move of his arm. In her inner eye, Leia imagined him as a black rain cloud, sending bolts of lightning. Anakin's aura was dark and filled with vengeance. Both Obi-Wan and Dooku were looking at him with hints of fear.

"Anakin, control your emotions-" Obi-Wan cried out, but he was silenced by a powerful Force push from Dooku. The Jedi Master was sent flying across the hall and landed hard on the floor, unconscious. Another Force-push crashed a section of balcony onto Obi-Wan. An instant later Leia felt herself being tossed at the wall again. She couldn't suppress a groan of pain.

"I warned you not to harm her," Anakin growled, driving the Sith up the stairs, mercilessly unleashing series of deadly blows with his glistering blade.

But even under the force of the attack, Dooku managed to smirk mockingly. "Who is that playgirl of yours, boy? What happened to your precious Senator?"

Instead of answering, Anakin threw Dooku onto the main level. The Sith Lord used the Force to allow himself to land gracefully, and then stood watching Anakin, who glared at him hatefully from up the balcony. Wordlessly, Anakin leapt down and continued to assault Dooku, though his moves became less systematic, as his emotions seemed to have taken hold of him.

"I apologize at my blindness. Of course, you are loyal to your Senator," Dooku said evenly under the hissing sound of energy blades, as the two opponents clashed their weapons. "You don't know who that little princess is," he jerked his head into Leia's direction. "They don't trust you their secret. Your Master doesn't trust you, and even your beloved is keeping secrets from you. They don't love you – you must be foolish to believe in their act. You have no one, not even yourself."

Anakin blinked in confusion, trying to keep his ground, as Dooku took the offensive, grinning triumphantly. Leia would have loved to tell her father not to listen to this deceit, that they all loved him and were doing everything for his best. Anakin radiated a powerful wave of hurt and anger, as he effortlessly tried to drive Dooku away and take the offensive.

"Use your anger, Anakin!" Palpatine cried from his throne-like chair. "Remember what I told you, only by using your anger and hatred can you defeat him."

Don't listen to this snake! Leia wanted to yell out, but she was numb, as if paralysed. She watched the duel helplessly, seeing the clouds of anger and hatred devouring her father, and he doubled the ferocity of his strikes.

Drawing power from his anger, Anakin resembled a fierce hurricane of blue flame, Dooku staggering under the power of his attack. In one swift movement, he cut off both of Dooku's arms.

Anakin stared into the fearful eyes of Count Dooku, which only moments ago radiated triumph and contempt. Another person had doubted his power and his skills, and now he had shown him the true extent of his power.

"Very good, Anakin," he heard Chancellor saying from far, far away. "And now… kill him."

Still intoxicated from the sweet taste of victory and invincibility, Anakin distinctly remembered the Obi-Wan's teaching, the serenity of halls of the Jedi temple. He looked at the head of Count Dooku, situated between the two energy blades – a blue one and a red one. The blue blade was his, a sign of belonging to the Order. He was a Jedi, and Jedi weren't supposed to kill their prisoners. With his limbs severed, Dooku was a helpless prisoner.

But then Anakin looked at his right arm, clad in a black glove. It was because of this man, that he had lost one limb. He saw Padmé's smiling face before his eyes, and thought of Dooku wanting to kill her. Luke moaning in pain…How could Dooku have hurt him? He was just a boy. Leia, lying in a heap on the floor…He thought of the millions of people who were dead because of him. This man deserved to die.

Anakin tried to think about the Jedi Temple, the white glow of the Force enveloping him there. As if from another life, he remembered the Jedi Code.

"I shouldn't," he said uncertainly, still staring in the eyes of his defeated opponent which were now pleading him for mercy.

"Kill him," Palpatine persisted, his voice as hard as steel.

Just one movement of his arm, and Dooku would be dead. He deserved it, he shouldn't be kept alive after all he had done to people Anakin held dear. If he showed him mercy, Dooku would be held trial by the Jedi Council, and they would make the wrong decision. They usually made wrong decisions. Anakin was wiser and more powerful than all of them, and Palpatine, the most powerful man in the galaxy, always told him that. He would make decision about Dooku's life or death.

Should he follow the Code or his heart? Dooku had brought so much harm into this world, so much pain to those he loved. He was a merciless and evil Sith. And the duty of the Jedi was to kill the Sith.

Making up his mind, Anakin made a slashing movement with his arms. The edge of his consciousness perceived a desperate cry of denial, but it was unimportant...

A mad sense of power enveloped him, and he felt more complete than he ever had before.