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"Fear is the path to the Dark Side." - Yoda

Chapter 26

Coruscant

Jedi Temple – Council Chambers

Late Afternoon (4th day since collapse)

Padme stared into Master Windu's dark face and saw nothing beyond a small muscle working low on his jaw line. The Korun master's gaze intensified, and Padme dropped her own eyes, feeling her insides squirm with dismay. The chamber was silent for a long moment, and she grew painfully aware of the empty council chairs that would normally be filled with the blue holograms of the off-world masters.

"Then the worst is confirmed," Windu finally glanced away to Master Yoda. "Restraint may not be our best option now."

"Never thought it was, you did," Yoda returned softly. He turned his attention to the Senator standing in the center of the council chamber. "Senator Amidala, welcome, your news is not, but your words are appreciated here. In danger, have you placed yourself by coming?"

"I don't think so," Padme choked out, nervous before the penetrating expressions of the masters. Through their all-seeing eyes, she felt they were dissecting her, exposing every dark secret she held. She drew on her politician's training and pulled herself upright despite the ache in her abdomen. "I think-" she bit back the words she wanted to say. I'm safer than any of you right now because of Anakin. "As a member of the Loyalist Committee in charge of determining your culpability in this madness, I'm allowed to access the Temple. Besides, I don't think Palpatine will openly harm one of his own people yet."

Her words were flimsy, she knew it, but the masters graciously accepted her excuse without protest. Kit Fisto tapped the edge of his chair, head-tresses writhing over his shoulders as he processed her turbulent emotions. Eventually he smiled at her, an easy grin that took the edge away, and she could breathe again. She had always liked that smile, since she first witnessed it on Geonosis.

"Senator Amidala," Master Fisto began slowly. "You might be aware that the Republic has jammed our ingoing and outgoing signals ever since Division C47 surrounded the Temple."

"Of course, the Senate ordered it," she admitted, remembering the overwhelming approval of her colleagues. "On behalf of the Senators still in control of themselves, I apologize."

"Need to apologize, you do not," Master Yoda sighed. "Know of your honor and efforts, we do."

"You see," Master Fisto continued, "we have alternate methods of transmitting information to which the Republic has never been privy, or so we thought. We had contact with H'ratth up until approximately two standard hours before the violence. At that point, every communication wave was shut down."

"Palpatine," Padme ground out. "He must have known."

Master Agen Kolar interlocked his fingers. The Zabrak master exuded an air of complete calm. "Yes, we suspect that he isolated the incident on purpose. This reporter's spin on the story will be the only account, especially if the clones have taken control of the praxeum security footage."

"Which, if that is the case, we can expect will be carefully edited," Master Fisto added. "Our situation is now more dangerous and precarious than ever. One misstep, and we can expect that the Senate will be calling for our blood."

"They aren't already?" Master Windu questioned sharply. "This disaster proves my earlier point. Every hour that passes turns the Republic against us. How could destroying the Sith make this any worse?"

Obi-Wan Kenobi leaned forward, having remained silent until now. "Well, for one, Master Windu, we could have a civil war on our hands. I'm not entirely prepared to forcibly suppress the people's representatives as well, which would be the next step. In removing a dictator, we would be setting ourselves up in his place."

"To a dark place, this would take us," Master Yoda cautioned. "See us as power hungry, the Republic would. See us through his eyes, they would."

Master Windu snorted. "They already do. They are blind, Master Yoda. They need strong leaders in these dark times. We must make them see reason."

Obi-Wan gazed at Padme, eyes reflecting a deep regret. "The prophecy must also be considered, Master Windu. If we move against him, we risk the loss of Anakin, or worse, his total surrender to the Dark Lord of the Sith. If the Chosen One allies with the Dark Side of the Force, we could be undone."

Windu dropped his fist against his chair. "We should never have put the two of them together. I was against that from the start."

"Perfect, hindsight may be," Master Yoda warned, "But in hindsight, we no longer are. Obi-Wan, know you do that misread the prophecy may have been."

"I think the prophecy is open to many interpretations, Master Yoda, but why push him away for certain?" Obi-Wan argued, and Padme silently cheered him on. "Considering the potential power that Anakin holds, and considering the love he holds for Palpatine, we could be upsetting the very balance of the Force. Haste now could be the end of us."

Windu launched to his feet, jaw slacking open. "Love? Obi-Wan, you're telling me the boy loves the Sith Lord?"

Obi-Wan bit his lip. "I'm afraid so. He has become like a father to Anakin. His encouragement over these many years has sunk into Anakin's mind with far deadlier effect than any threats or blackmail could do. I've told you before, Anakin is loyal to people, not principles. If we force him to make a choice, I fear the results."

As I do, Padme keenly felt the Jedi master's pain. Anakin hates choices. More than anything, I think he just wants to pick one path and keep going, consequences aside.

Agen Kolar looked to Obi-Wan and bluntly pressed, "You are referring to the mission to Mortis, your accounts of Anakin's influence in the Force."

"There is that," Obi-Wan lowered his gaze, remembering.

Padme took a deep breath. Anakin had told Padme very little about that disturbing mission. She only understood that something significant had transpired in his life, in the Force that she could not contact, and that he was a different Jedi when he returned.

Changed. Wilder. Darker.

Her ears caught Master Windu's rebuttal. "Regardless of the boy's power in the Force, by letting Palpatine operate openly, we're playing his game."

"But are we?" Padme found her voice at last, the Korun master's words opening up a dark and cold place inside of her. She froze, examining the ideas that began to form, thought of the recording of Queen Organa's senseless death. Maybe…maybe…

"Senator?" Obi-Wan Kenobi straightened in his seat.

Her thoughts tumbled frantically now, pieces falling into place with frightening effectiveness, as though it had been laying completed before her for days. "We could play his game, for keeps," she said slowly. "He manipulates everything, one step ahead of us all the time. He deceives us, plays us for fools."

Master Windu's expression tightened with disgust. "All the more reason to destroy him now."

Anakin's anguished face floated into her mind, and she quickly moved to intercept the idea. "No, no, destroying him would only make him a martyr. I can almost guarantee you that the Senate would disband your order, if not something worse. We have no tangible proof that he is the Dark Lord of the Sith, like it or not. And until something does surface, we must outwardly treat with him."

"Outwardly?" Master Fisto smirked.

She took a deep breath, knowing the immense danger of what she would now suggest. "I say we take a page from Palpatine's own book."

Every Jedi master in the room focused on her intently, eyes widening, sensory organs shifting. Master Windu looked as though he wanted to remove her from the council chambers, but instead he calmed himself. "What are you saying, Senator Amidala?"

"He doesn't expect deceit from you, because you are the Jedi Council. You're above the shifty politics of the Republic, and you disdain everything he does. He's counting on that, on you taking the high road, and he treats you like fools." Padme paled at the burning question in the Korun master's eyes. "I don't believe you are, not for a minute. But…"

Master Fisto's lips twisted upward. "But we're naïve, Senator?"

She returned a tremulous smile. "From the viewpoint of myself and other politicians, the Jedi appear unwilling to take necessary steps at times. You hold yourselves back. You play by a set of rules harsher and more demanding than any others. You see things in terms of black and white, Jedi and Sith. Those of us who cannot access the Force…well, we see things less clearly."

"Perhaps," Master Yoda hummed thoughtfully. "Or perhaps only differently. Go on, Senator Amidala."

"Killing Palpatine, overthrowing his government, that will only end in bloodshed that will make the Separatist war look like child's play. The Republic would shatter, because like it or not, Palpatine has engrained himself into the very fabric of the Senate. The Senators would demand your blood in vengeance."

"But…?" Obi-Wan prompted, sensing the new direction to her thoughts.

"But if he only disappeared, the fracture might hold long enough to stabilize." Padme steadied her nerves. "He would need to disappear under very specific circumstances. It could not be traced to the Jedi or the Senate."

Obi-Wan pushed to his feet, feeding from her excitement. "But it could be traced to the Separatists without harm to ourselves or the Republic. Palpatine's puppets would be mired down in helplessness, and the Senate could organize, could unite, against Grievous and the others." His eyes were brighter than Padme had seen in many days.

Hope had suddenly entered the room.

Yoda's large eyes bloomed wider yet. "A Separatist kidnapping, you mean?"

Anakin's former master paced in a tight circle around the chambers, thinking out loud. "You know we have many refurbished Separatist droids. We could use the assassin class, with stun weapons. We could set up the board to our liking, in a place of our choosing with Anakin's help."

As Yoda closed his eyes in quiet meditation, Master Windu steepled his fingers over his mouth. "And once captured, we could execute him away from the prying eyes of the Senate."

The chambers went quiet at the thought, many of the masters uncomfortable with the idea. It was… dark.

Padme felt a surge of fear and covered it with the cold tones of her office. "There is one thing. Pulling this off would require the assistance of Knight Skywalker." Padme hesitated. "This is why we cannot kill Palpatine after kidnapping him. He wants the Chancellor alive."

Windu grunted. "He's too dangerous to be left alive."

Padme felt the fire ignite in her bones, providing a deep well of courage. "And too dangerous to kill, Master Windu. Enlist the aid of Anakin Skywalker, and you might succeed. Ignore him at your own peril."

"Agree with the Senator, I do, if this kidnapping can be done," Master Yoda tapped his cane gently on the smooth floor. "Killing a prisoner is not the Jedi way. Expecting us to overthrow him, Lord Sidious will be, since he stays within our reach so boldly. A plan in place for that, he must have. But a kidnapping, he will not expect."

Padme felt a wave of warmth and gratitude for the wise old Jedi master. She had not been able to count on his support for this plan, but now he offered it in full. She inclined her head in a regal bow. "If you do this, you can depend on the support of me and my friends in the Senate. We will do everything in our power to stall the Senate proceedings and to expose the corruption of Palpatine's office."

She then turned her gaze on Master Windu and felt the apprehension descend again. I'm doing this for Anakin, she reminded herself, and the thought provided her with the power to add, "Alive and as our prisoner, Palpatine could be an endless source of information, a valuable resource." She met the turbulent brown eyes head-on. "If you cannot agree to spare his life, then I cannot agree to work with the Council."

Her implied threat raised the eyebrows of nearly every master in the room, excluding Obi-Wan and Master Yoda. They all knew her influence among the disgruntled Senators. Your first lesson in politics, Master Jedi. You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours, Padme felt the steel smugness of the trap, and only a tiny hint of regret.

Obi-Wan came to stand beside her. "Senator Amidala, your words are well considered. Masters, I believe that if we can remove Palpatine from Coruscant under the pretense of a Separatist raid, away from his adoring masses, then our combined strength will be enough to contain him offworld until the Senate can stabilize."

Master Fisto nodded. "Or until we can uncover evidence of his crimes."

"End the bloodshed," Padme urged into the quiet chambers. "Play his game, and then end it, I beg you." For all your sakes, for mine, and for Anakin's.

Windu's tone was grudging. "If you recall, young Skywalker actively resisted us before. How do you intend to convince him to assist us now, Senator?"

Was it her imagination, or did he emphasize the word convince with a deeper meaning? She stared back at him, into the face of his cold suspicion, and swallowed slowly, felt the cold sweat gathering on the back of her neck. "Master Obi-Wan will need to speak with him and convince him. I know he can."

And by that, of course, she meant herself.

The Korun master leaned back in his seat. "I trust Master Kenobi in this matter." Meaning you don't trust me. Well, that's okay. I don't need your trust. I need your promise. Windu pondered his next words for a long moment. "If Master Kenobi can bring young Skywalker to our side in this matter, then I am willing to support your plan, if the Council agrees. If you agree to help us in the Senate."

Padme glanced from face to face, and delight crept up her spine when she saw each nod, some heavy, some hesitant, but all in agreement. "I will help you to the best of my ability," she promised.

Master Yoda sighed. "Then move quickly, we must. Weakened from the attack, the Chancellor is, and easier to capture, he will be."

"Anakin will know his schedule," Obi-Wan offered. "We can plan a diversion, something to draw the attention of the public."

Windu locked his doubts behind a mask of durasteel. "Then let us prepare for a kidnapping."

Or a disaster, Padme mused as she bowed and took her leave, Obi-Wan and Kit Fisto following her out of the chambers and into the deepening shadows of the late afternoon.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Obi-Wan was impressed.

It rarely happened anymore. He had seen everything, done everything, and personally he felt very jaded. Much too cynical for the perfect Jedi that everyone expected him to be.

But Padme finally managed to impress him. Single-handedly, she brought the Council to heel with a plan that was almost manipulative in its conception. Underestimate Anakin at our peril? I think the same applies to her.

The more he considered her idea, the more he liked it, but he questioned whether Anakin would truly support them in their endeavor. He worried at the thought, turning it over and over in his mind. The access to the Holocrons and his honest, sometimes brutally so, conversations with his former Padawan had warmed Anakin to him again, but could he depend on it?

Kit must have been having similar thoughts, because he struck up conversation again as they walked down the long hall toward the Temple entrance. "Senator Amidala, you seem very sure that Anakin Skywalker will agree to this. How can you be so certain?"

Padme locked her gaze on the floor in front of her as she walked, her long concealing senatorial robes flowing around her, covering all evidence of her secret love.

How much longer could that last?

"He has indicated that he needs the Chancellor alive. By promising this, I think he will help us." Now that Obi-Wan was aware and reaching out, he could feel the Force presence of the child, a tiny pulse of potential energy. If they all survived the coming confrontation, then the child would likely be Force sensitive, perhaps eventually as powerful as Anakin.

Anakin…Obi-Wan tuned to Kit. "I agree with the Senator. Anakin will come to realize that any other confrontation will end either in the death of Palpatine or the destruction of the Republic."

"Or both," Padme added. Unsaid, floating between the two of them, hovered the real reason. Neither acknowledged it as they slowed to a stop in front of the main Temple entrance.

Kit pulled gently on one of his left tendrils. "Skywalker can get rather excited sometimes. How do we know he won't turn on us, that he hasn't done so already?"

"You don't know him like I do!" Padme exclaimed.

"That's for sure!" Kit grinned.

She flushed.

The Nautolan master chuckled mercilessly, then sobered. He reached out and caught Padme's hands in his own green ones, the smooth moistness leaking against her palms. "Senator Amidala, you are the bravest Senator and non-Force sensitive I have ever met. You bring a freshness and a boldness to these hallowed halls that I, for one, will not protest. It is an honor to work with you."

Padme sputtered for a reply. She settled on a soft sound of acknowledgement as the aquatic Jedi padded away down the long hall. As soon as he was out of sight and hearing, she spun on Obi-Wan, the fear rising in her chest and seeping into Obi-Wan's sensitive awareness.

"Do they know? Did you tell them? You promised me, Obi-Wan-"

Obi-Wan sighed. "Padme, your…interactions…with Anakin have never been terribly discreet. Or rather, his with you. I've told them nothing. The Council has long known of his interest in you, but they would never dream that you are actually married or involved like you…currently are. He is a Jedi, and as such expected to follow the Code. Master Fisto often finds Anakin's fascination with you to be quite," he searched for a word, "amusing."

Padme hugged herself, draping large sleeves over her abdomen. "Master Fisto always seems amused by something."

"Once the Council discovers your marriage, he'll be one of your few supporters, Padme," Obi-Wan decided that honesty was critical now. "I can't see how they won't find out soon, Padme. It's going to become much harder to conceal yourself. And today, when Anakin and I went to the Archives, his emotions were terribly unbalanced. Did something happen between you?"

Padme stared at him, wavering for a long minute. "We argued."

Obi-Wan offered a wan smile. "About what, I can't imagine." He lowered his voice to a low whisper. "Do you believe Anakin will agree to this?"

"I hope so. I'm afraid we'll be out of options if he doesn't." She was pulling away from him again, retreating into the cold professionalism of her profession, an act for the Jedi warrior guards that waited ahead by the doors. "We'll speak again, soon, Master Kenobi."

"Senator," Obi-Wan bowed and watched her sweep down the long stairs and past the waiting front line of clone troopers, her delicate form disappearing into the mass of men and bristling machinery far beneath.

Alone, he stood in the entryway, briefly consumed by his self-doubt and trepidation. Will Anakin listen? Am I about to lose my old friend or get him back? If he is forced to choose between the Jedi and Palpatine, winner take all, who would prevail?

And then, because he was supposed to be the perfect Jedi, Obi-Wan shunted the rampaging questions to the back of his mind and focused on the present, on the plan that could change the fate of the galaxy. He and the others had much work to do.

And for the first time in an age, he thought they might actually succeed.

The thought infused his steps with long-deprived buoyancy.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Coruscant

Senate Medical Center

Evening (4th day since collapse)

Palpatine watched the boy stalk from one end of the small room to the other and back again, and he shifted in his chair, moving his stiff left leg in a vain bid to restart the circulation. Anakin's mind was awash in agitation and frustration, waves of fear and anger and doubt that crashed against his own dark mind. He did not resist, letting the feelings seep into his blackened soul, absorbing the endless stream of power.

Even playing with these pathetic emotions, his presence in the Force defies all others. He is magnificent. Does he even suspect how powerful he could become?

Anakin stopped in front of the viewing window, suddenly slammed a metal fist against the shielding. He turned, showing only the left side of his face. "You've shown me great power in the Dark Side, Chancellor," he murmured.

Palpatine waited, but nothing followed. "I've shown you many things, Anakin," he drawled slowly, cautiously, sensing a hollow bitterness in the boy. "I'm afraid you will need to be more specific."

"I appreciate what you have done," Anakin started and stopped again. "Looking into the future has given me confidence, made me stronger, just like you said…"

"Have you been continuing the meditation exercises I taught you?" he preened inwardly at the thought.

"Yes."

"And what futures are you seeing lately?"

"I see Padme, alive. I see us both living together the more I meditate on the power you've shown me," Anakin admitted. "My visions still come to me though, and I, it's –"

"And it is not enough." Palpatine kept his tone even and unemotional. "You need more. You fear for her, and…" He looked closely at the boy. "And you've discovered something new, I feel." The only question was: would this new knowledge prove a threat to his designs?

Anakin managed a stuttering inhale. "You may not like it, but I have been going to the Jedi Archives with Obi-Wan. I've been looking into the Jedi Holocrons."

The look he offered was almost challenging, as though he dared the Sith Lord to protest.

Well, I suspected as much. I wonder if he has discovered the Sith replicas yet? His solemn face revealing nothing of his thoughts, Palpatine kept his voice level and deceptively light. "Have you? And has your research yielded fruit to your liking?"

Anakin eyed him for a long moment. "Maybe. I'm not really sure. One of the Holocrons today talked about the power of love in healing." He crossed the room to sink into the other guest chair. "I don't get it sometimes. The Jedi claim to support compassion and love, but they don't like emotions."

Palpatine thrilled at Anakin's subtle distancing of himself from the Order. They…yes. We, on the other hand… "The Jedi are a paradox of conflicting values and standards, Anakin. They've locked their true selves away so severely under that Code of theirs that they cannot comprehend the nature of the universe around them. We've touched on this before, but you and I, we've led far different lives, with vast experiences that the Jedi can only imagine. And that rather poorly, I would think."

He paused, glancing away and out the window. He chose his next words very carefully. "The difference between the Jedi and Sith lies in the simple fact that we are not afraid to feel, Anakin. I speak of the entire spectrum of experience. Joy to Despair. Life to Death. A Sith does not fear these things, and in fact embraces every aspect in the summation of his being."

He could feel Anakin's stare burning into him.

Palpatine sighed. "You've said to me before that the Jedi are too restricted, that they cannot go far enough to achieve victory in this war. I say they cannot go far enough to achieve life itself. Can you call what they have 'living,' Anakin?"

"Well…" It was Anakin's turn to look away and down.

Palpatine pressed him. "Or could it better be labeled 'existing'? Is that what you want, for Padme and yourself? A mere state of existence? Apart and alone? Could you truly be content with that?"

Anakin clenched his natural fist. "No, I don't want to just exist. I want so much more. I even want what you are – " He stopped abruptly, swallowed, continued in a much quieter tone, "But I know it's wrong to be like this."

The boy was practically begging him to say otherwise. Palpatine obliged with a faint smile. "Sith do not deny their feelings, Anakin. That's a pointless, counterproductive, and ultimately destructive path."

"Not even love?" Anakin straightened. "I would have thought that, you know, the Sith wouldn't want that."

Palpatine's legs protested as he pushed to his feet and stepped away from the younger man. He kept his back turned as he replied, "From a certain point of view, Anakin, no emotions are forbidden to a Sith, although some are admittedly weaker and less useful. To be constrained by limitations would be demeaning. It implies an internal lack of discipline, a lack of ability to choose one's own destiny. The Jedi attempt to force you to believe in rules, but there are no rules, not for luminous beings such as us."

Anakin barked a short laugh. "You almost sounded like Master Yoda there. Not the 'no rules' thing, of course. I meant the luminous thing…" he trailed off as he processed Palpatine's expression, the Sith Lord turning to spear him with a heavy glare.

Being compared to the ancient Jedi master rankled his nerves, but Palpatine squashed the indignant anger immediately, letting the frown dissipate. "The two Orders may have more in common than you care to admit, Anakin. But if we must compare the two, I see the Jedi Order as a mere shade of the Sith, a frightened contingent of Force users who have delegated themselves to an existence of misery and servitude, on the edge of power but too weak and timid to take what is rightfully theirs."

Anakin watched him, eyes wide.

Palpatine raised one slender hand in an open query. "And why? What possible benefit has it gained the Jedi, Anakin?"

"It's…It's not always about gaining," Anakin's voice was tiny with confusion, and Palpatine watched the Jedi's expression bloom with uncertainty.

And that's where you are completely and irrevocably wrong, little Dark Jedi. Gaining is everything. The universe revolves around gaining, whether it's material possessions, companionship, prestige… or… power. And if not power, then nothing.

The younger man found a small reserve of strength in the ensuing silence. "The Jedi are glad to serve the needs of others. They try to be selfless for the sake of the galaxy."

Palpatine smothered a snort of disdain but could not resist the sarcastic reply that oozed from his chest with a slow, dark smile. "Who in the galaxy might that be? The poor immigrants sliding in the muck of Coruscant's skyless levels? The countless farmers on countless worlds feeding their families hand to mouth? The slaves in the Outer Rim whose masters operate with impunity? I cannot imagine where the galaxy might be without the Jedi watching over it."

Anakin flinched.

I have you now. His point was sharply made, but he also sensed a strong dismay in the boy, and with his usual cold efficiency Palpatine redirected the conversation. "We could go on, Anakin, but I sense you came here with a purpose greater than dissecting the motives of the Jedi Order." Keep her on the pedestal, and he won't even notice where his feet are taking him. "This Holocron of yours, did it feel that love was strong enough for your purposes?"

Anakin joined him at the window, relieved to focus on the new topic. "It did, except… it didn't have much about non-Force sensitives. It mentioned midi-chlorians several times. Something about translation and persuading them to heal, or allow healing, or something." His frustration seeped into the room. "I'm no scholar, Chancellor. I want to save her, that's all that matters."

Palpatine's mind cast instinctively back to the animal cages on Sojourn and Aborah, of Plagueis's limitless experiments on the Force-blind creatures and Venamis. He smiled. "It's only natural, Anakin."

Anakin's next question startled him, half making him believe that the boy had caught onto his thoughts. "You've mentioned your master before, that he had…powers?" He double checked his mental shields and found them strong.

"Darth Plagueis was a Sith Lord of many talents," he allowed softly. "One of his areas of expertise, so to speak, lay in the manipulation of the midi-chlorians. He spent many years in pursuit of his knowledge, sacrificing countless creatures and sentients to his research."

Anakin paused, opened and closed his mouth. "Sacrificed?"

Genuinely surprised, Palpatine turned pale eyes upward. "You think such knowledge comes free from the Force, Anakin?"

"I…"

"These mysteries you seek to blunder into are little known for a reason, Anakin. If you and I are to pursue the manipulation of midi-chlorians, the Force will require something of yourself… or others."

Now protest a bit before giving in.

"That's not what I want," Anakin searched the older man's face. "But I, I can't lose her, Chancellor. These creatures…were they Force sensitive?" The Dark Lord saw at last the despairing willingness in the younger man, tempted beyond his capacity to resist. Like his own master had been drawn to his single-minded destruction, now Skywalker drew nigh to the same path.

That will do.

"Most had no awareness of the Force." How pleasurable when truth served more conveniently than fiction. Anakin shuddered under the onslaught of sudden, terrifying hope.

He reached out a tentative hand, brushed the boy's shoulder and hovered there. Anakin's conflicted energy surged upward to meet his glacial presence. So close, so wonderfully close! Only with great effort did he keep the savage joy from his voice. "But then you know what may be required of you."

"I know…" the shaggy head bowed in grief and obeisance. In defeat and submission.

He sensed the confirmation glowing in the Dark Side, the triumphant entry of the last, endless night. "Can you handle this?"

Anakin gazed at him in open agony. "Do I have a choice?"

"Always."

His hand clenched tighter across the rough leather on Anakin's shoulder, feeling the indecision slowly sliding away, like the last dying rays of the reflected light across Coruscant's spires. You will come to me of your own free will, to be remade in fire and ash. You will feel like dying, like the whole universe is burning away, and only then will you come to understand the end.

Anakin inhaled deeply, nearly choking on his emotion as he forced it down and turned to fully face the Sith Lord. "Will you teach me? Will you teach me what Plagueis taught you?"

The Force coiled deep within him, spoke through the vessel of his silver mouth and tongue. "The more important question, Anakin, is will you follow me into these teachings, willingly and of your own accord?"

For a long moment, the small room lay suspended in silence. Both light and dark muted and melted into the distance, leaving only the Chosen One, alone, empty, vulnerable. His broad shoulders rose in a deep, shaky intake of poisoned air. "I will."

Silence. A promise. A claim staked.

And then the Dark Side was singing to them both, and he gently held the trembling shoulders. "Then, yes, I will teach you."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Author's notes:

Uh-oh, it looks like Anakin likes the idea of Midi-Chlorians 101: Introduction to Living Forever (please see syllabus for details). What has he gotten himself into this time, and will Padme's little surprise ruin everything for our somewhat-dense hero? And our refined villain? (I'm not biased, not one bit.)

Anakin's going to have to realize that studying the midi-chlorians is a little more involved than sitting in the Senate building with Palpatine while the universe freezes around them. Everyone is running out of time.

Thanks for all your wonderful, and often thought-provoking reviews, everyone. I do love getting those alerts in my email.

Apologies for any typos or mistakes in here; I've got a pretty strong cold raging right now, and my head is a bit fuzzy.

Next time on Opera: Harsh words are exchanged, and a bargain is struck.