Thanks Katie Ladmoore and DragonRider2000 for your reviews!

Sarah McLachlan's "Do What You Have To Do" goes with scene 2…

Unpleasant Surprises

Kelly had been a bit confused when she had seen Elaina wordlessly storm out of the Council chambers as she and Anakin had entered; however, the tension was still building even after ten minutes of worthless explanations.

"Allow this appointment lightly the Council does not," Yoda stated. "Disturbing is this move by Chancellor Palpatine."

"I understand," Anakin replied. As always, Windu did the finalizations.

"You are on this Council, Anakin, but we do not grant you the rank of Master."

"What?! How can you do this? This is outrageous…it's unfair! How can you be on the Council and not be a Master?" While the boy might have been angry, Kelly was simply fuming. They had practically ignored her. What did they have against her?! But no, she would not let it show, no matter what.

"Take a seat, young Skywalker."

He seemed to unquestioningly take the chair two seats away from Obi-Wan, exactly where Kelly had seen her twin so many times before. That would have to wait. For the moment, she had more pressing matters.

"What of me, Masters?" she queried.

Silence…never a good sign.

"For several reasons, Kelly, we cannot accept you onto this Council at the moment…perhaps in the days to come, we will have the time to consider it. Aside from having only one place temporarily available, we would prefer to have limited, if any, interference from the Chancellor in our midst."

She was furious…absolutely livid! However…she would keep it quiet for now…

"What makes me less deserving than Anakin?"

"It has nothing to do with who does or does not deserve it. Many reasons cover this as well…one being that Elaina suggested it."

"What? Never mind…I'll figure that out myself. May the Force be with you, Masters," Kelly hissed, stalking out. Elaina had kept her from being promoted?! Elaina had promised to not leave her sister behind. Elaina was presently dropping hints to keep Kelly from being promoted. How could she?! All those years of trust and two-way help, and this was how she displayed her thanks!

--

Elaina waited for Obi-Wan to finish talking with Kelly and Anakin before catching his attention. As he passed her up to wait around the corner, the girl caught little bits of her siblings' conversation. First was Anakin.

"…treason…investigation…Sith…"

Next was Kelly.

"I don't care…betrayed…"

"Elaina?" Obi-Wan suddenly queried from behind her. The Knight turned, walked a little ways forward, and looked around to be sure that no one was watching. "You wanted to speak to me?"

She shook herself into concentration and looked at the man. Did he have any idea why she always wanted to talk to him?

"Yes, Master Kenobi…" She saw him wince, as he always did when the woman referred to him as 'Kenobi' or anything formal. "I suppose Kelly didn't take my suggestion too lightly."

He grimaced.

"I was actually quite surprised that she didn't completely blow up at the Council."

It was Elaina's turn to cringe.

"She's probably waiting to vent the greater part of her anger on me. What about Anakin?"

"About the same…those two are, often tragically, very much alike."

"And, the other thing…Obi-Wan, you don't believe what they are saying about me, do you? Over the years…I don't think anyone, even my sister, knows me nearly as well as you do. The evidence is practically irrelevant."

"You're right. I probably do know you the most; but that's just the problem. You erased files, you hardly put any effort in escaping from Dooku (in fact, you seemed almost distraught when we did), you have practically lost control of your emotions, you hardly ever agree with the Council, you have accused three different people, all of great power, of being the Sith lord…the list goes on for miles, Elaina. And, may I mention, many of them are very legitimate. Still, I can't believe you would do something like this."

"Then, you don't believe it?"

"All of the evidence points to the contrary."

"Obi-Wan, how could you? My loyalty to you has never changed or wavered! Yes, we have our differences, but so do all people, even Jedi."

Obi-Wan quickly put a hand over her mouth (for her voice had been getting more vibrant by the second) and dragged her around another corner.

"Elaina, just keep quiet, be mindful of your actions, and perhaps this situation will resolve itself."

"And if it does not?"

"I do not know who to trust anymore, even you."

"You also think I'm the Sith." He simply stood there with a defeated look on his face. "I thought I knew you better than that. You will regret this."

As soon as Obi-Wan left, Elaina slumped down to the floor and tucked her head between her knees. Were all the secrets really worth it? Was keeping the ones she loved out of it enough of a reason for such secrecy and deception?

"What was that about?" a shadowed figure leaning against the wall five feet away hissed.

"Oh, Kelly!" she exclaimed, quickly standing with an uneasy smile. "I didn't see you there."

"You wouldn't with your fawning over my lover now, would you?" She continued in a mocking tone. "'My loyalty to you'...'our differences'…'this situation'…'you will regret this'…" Every word stung like a blade. "Obi-Wan is not yours to take, Elaina! He is mine, not yours!"

"Kelly, what are you saying?"

"You know exactly what I'm saying, Mistress Jinn! If I see you alone with him again, I will be forced to only assume the worst."

"Kelly!" But she was gone, storming away in a fit of anger.

--

A short time after his argument with Elaina, Obi-Wan Kenobi was sitting in a clone transport with Masters Windu and Yoda, bringing the latter to the air field for his trip to Kashyyyk.

"With all due respect, Master, is he not the Chosen One? Is he not to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force?"

"So the prophecy says," Mace doubtfully confirmed.

"A prophecy," Yoda added, "…misread could have been."

"He will not let me down," the bearded man defended. "He never has."

"I hope right you are."

"It's Elaina that worries me the most. Over the past several months during the investigation, probably seven or eight people have approached us with most disturbing evidence: the infiltration on Corellia, the confidential information leak, Dooku's knowledge of the Chancellor's schedule for specifically the day he was captured, the three mysterious Jedi deaths last year (all Jedi who were looking into the Sith lord's identity)…all with direct connections to Elaina's personal communication link. It is only obvious that she has had some large part of everything that has occurred."

"Indeed disturbing this recent information is. Thought that I knew Elaina did I. But wrong…how could we have been blind to such things?"

"I too was wrong about young Ka…Jinn," Windu put in. He had never become used to calling Elaina 'Jinn', "…we all were. But something still doesn't seem right. We all trusted her…for very good reasons, I might add. She never gave us reason not to, until now."

"But why would she stay under the radar until now?" Obi-Wan put forth. He still wasn't convinced of Elaina's complete guilt. "The pieces just simply do not fit together."

Yoda finished the debate, further concluded by the dark-toned Master.

"Resolve this situation we must. If guilty Elaina is, expose her we should; however, if she is innocent…amends we must find, as well as the true culprit."

"…and find out the truth behind all of the evidence."

--

Elaina remained in a casual but hidden position, leaning against a pillar outside Senator Padme's quarters. Some time before, she had followed a rather perturbed Anakin into the building…unseen, of course. The only reason she was still there was because her brother's visit gave her an idea. She needed someone to talk to who wasn't Anakin, Obi-Wan, Kelly, or anyone who would not instantly judge her. Dexter wouldn't be of any help, so why not Padme?

Still, she wondered why Anakin had gone to the beautiful politician of all people. As far as she knew, he had given up chasing after the woman three years ago. When the young man finally exited the nearby quarters, Elaina walked out into the hall to watch him go prior to strolling in the other direction. Padme was found sitting limply on her couch on the balcony.

"My lady?" the Knight queried from twenty feet away, figuring that it was best to be polite.

"Elaina," the girl stuttered, standing, "…what are you doing here?"

Just as she had expected…

"He told you, didn't he?"

"That you were expelled from the Council…that you're under investigation…that you might be the Sith we…you have been searching for so long? Yes, Elaina! At first, I found it a bit hard to believe, but…"

"Padme, please don't!" the woman suddenly exclaimed, holding her hand up to stop the girl. "Please, stop!"

"I will not stop, Elaina! You have to stop! Stop what you're doing. Stop the war! Do you know how many families you have torn apart, how many dreams?! The Republic is crumbling and all you can do is stand there staring at the city, the planet, the galaxy that you are shredding at the seams."

Indeed, the Jedi was simply standing in front of the senator, looking at the scenery and taking the verbal blows in silence. Padme's distressed cries momentarily went ignored before any reply could be mustered.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you, my lady."

--

Curiosity overwhelmed the young Knight. The Chancellor held so much information at his fingertips and was giving him the privilege of learning from that knowledge. Momentarily, Palpatine had been elaborating on the story of Darth Plagueis the Wise.

"Whatever happened to him?"

"He became so powerful…the only thing he was afraid of was…losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, even the whereabouts of his most secret research establishments; then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It's ironic…he could save others from death, but not himself."

"Is it possible to learn this power?"

"…not from a Jedi."

A strange silence swept over them until Anakin decided to break the ice.

"Sir, you mentioned something about him doing secret research."

"Ah, yes…actually Plagueis only had one secret lab that he cherished the most. It was the smallest, only consisting of a stasis pod, bare-minimum living quarters, and the lab itself with all of the amenities, a computer, mainly…but even being the smallest, it was his most cherished secret of all. Anakin, do you remember when I told you of the last Enduring Warrior, Sheba Bladerunner?"

"Yes…no one knew what happened to her in the end."

"I recently discovered that a previous Sith master from years before had been the dark-side trainer of Sheba. After killing Silvereyes, Sheba began having doubts as to her allegiances. For fear of having someone so powerful turning against him, the coward put her into cryogenic sleep, where she was later studied by Plagueis and, eventually, his apprentice. After a while, the apprentice finally woke her, only to kill Sheba before she realized what was happening."

"Oh," was all the boy said, absorbing every element of the tale. Just then, he realized the time. "I'm sorry, Chancellor…I have to go."

"Of course! You have business at the Council."

--

Around Anakin, Kelly was not even slightly worried any more about being near Obi-Wan. That would be evident to any outside observer as she walked with the two men towards the clone landing platform with her arm linked through that of her lover.

Actually, the real reason she wasn't momentarily letting the man out of her sight was because of the scene she had witnessed between him and Elaina. Sure, she wanted to be with him, but the main reason for her 'clinginess' was primarily to drop hints and hopefully sneak a confession out of him. If Obi-Wan was being unfaithful, especially with her own sister, she wanted to know. The only problem was that her 'fiancé', as she thought of him as, was much slyer than she would have thought.

"If you won't stay Obi-Wan, than at least let me come with you," she whined, side-glancing at him.

"You're going to need us on this one, Master," her brother confirmed.

While they continued the conversation, Kelly silently deliberated. Could she have been wrong about the situation? How could she? The faces of Obi-Wan and Elaina had only been inches apart…and there was something other than simple thoughts of friendship in her sister's eyes. Elaina was still in love with him and he was falling into her devious trap without even the slightest protest. Suddenly, her friends were concluding their conversation.

"Goodbye, old friend. May the Force be with you." Kelly quickly approached the man, for he had broken away from her grasp a moment before, and grabbed his hand in silent desperation. She didn't know whether to corner and question, cry, or break out in anger for the torture he was putting her through. "Don't worry so much, Kelly. I'll be soon enough…and then, you and I can have that conversation."

"I'm not so sure," she skeptically hissed, receiving a rather confused look.

"Don't worry so much, Kelly, or you just might end up like your sister." At that, everyone seemed to flinch; however, no time was given for it to simmer as Obi-Wan hopped into his ship and flew off. The girl proceeded to turn around and retreat back towards Anakin, though she froze upon reaching him and jabbed the boy with an elbow.

"Ouch!" he moaned. "What was that for?"

"It seems we're not the only ones here to see Obi-Wan off."

"What…oh, her."

The 'her' both Knights were referring was Elaina some ways away, simply standing there, talking to one of the clones.

"Now that Obi-Wan isn't here…what exactly is going on with Elaina, anyway? You said something about investigations for her being a Sith, but beyond that, your details were a bit sketchy."

"Apparently, a great deal of evidence has built up that points to her being the Sith lord…or lady, in this case." He seemed a bit shocked when his sibling didn't flare up at the assumption.

"What? Unless you've been blind during the past three years, Annie, Elaina and I haven't exactly been best buds since…well, since what happened."

"Does Obi-Wan know that…that I know?"

"He's probably guessed it by now. That brings to mind…how is Padme doing? I haven't had the chance to visit her lately." All of sudden, Anakin seemed a bit nervous. "You can tell me. It's not as if she's pregnant, although that would be exciting news. What is it? You're joking!"

A broad grin broke out on his face.

"No…I'm not joking."

"Oh, Annie! Congratulations!" she squealed quietly, even though no one was around, jumping up to link her arms around her brother's neck. "I'll be an aunt!"

"So will Elaina, don't forget." That soured her mood as she released her hold and scowled at the boy. "What's wrong? You close up tighter than anything whenever she's mentioned anymore."

"The Sith lord who's stealing Obi-Wan from me, you mean?"

"Oh, I see."

"There is an upside to her being investigated, though."

"Really?"

"Yeah…it means they'll stop suspecting the Chancellor and you can stop playing the spy…he told me."

--

Elaina nervously withdrew from the building upon seeing her siblings watching her. Confusion from one, anger from the other. Circumstances were simply becoming more confusing by the minute, even though she knew exactly what was happening…and couldn't really do anything about it.

Answers and solutions were needed and she would find them in familiar territory: the library.

Thanks for reading! Please review and vote!

Oh, and I put yet another trailer on youtube…finally one for this story. You can find the link on my profile.