Chapter 19

Shadowborn

QOTILE

Many Years Ago

Obi-Wan stood there watching the Masters deliberate on the cliffside. A thick fog was lifting at the rise of a golden sun while behind the Jedi the expeditionary forces were loading up their wounded and dead onto transports for the long trip back to Coruscant before another attack could begin, across from him stood his own master. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn speaks with Masters Yoda, Windu and Plo and the stout Saesee Tinn holding his cane. They were speaking in hushed voices too far for him to hear or his fellow padawan "So what do you think they're talking about?" Padawan Quinlian Vos asked his friend.

The kiffar youngling had his dark black dreadlocks tied in a high braid behind his head, shaved on the sides, while Obi-Wan wore the traditional crew cut of a Jedi padawan with a long braid "Probably out next move, the pirates will be coming back for sure for a Sixth battle?"

"Again, but we barely have enough forces left?" Vos gasped beside him "We'll do our part Master Jedi." A voice said behind them.

The two boys turned around to see a young man with half of his face wrapped up in bloody bandages wearing a blue uniform and backpack holding a blaster rifle, "Jace how many times do we have to tell you, we aren't Masters?" Vos said when another jedi joined them "You might as well be, you two have fought well." The towering young besalisk Jedi Knight Pong Krell approached them, a set of amber brown eyes looking down at his fellow padawan, he wore thick beige jedi robes without sleeves or boots but he bore a friendly smile on his face for his little Jedi's brothers.

"Sir Krell, you honor us." Obi-Wan retorted "Always so formal." Vos joked, nudging him when the jedi heard the sound of an approaching ship from the clouds. All three jedi reached for their laser swords but when they saw the Masters hadn't moved but only to gaze skyward. Slowly a light freighter came into view, descending slowly toward the cliffside, the thick fog made it hard to recognize the make and model at first but when it came into view it was only because of its dark brown paint scheme with yellow stripes, it was a YT-1000 series that landed just in front of the Jedi Masters before exhaust escaped its ports.

"A parlay?" Obi-wan asked while the padawans looked on waiting for the ramp to lower which it did.

"Probably an offer of surrender?" Krell guessed crossing his upper arms with the others on his hips "For them or us?" Vos asked.

Emerging from the ship were four people, a man in a long yellow coat, followed by a woman wearing simple clothing in a cloak with a tall duros with a wide brimmed hat on his head hiding his red eyes, behind her and beside the duros a weequay man with goggles and a metal cap over his head. The woman seemed to be holding something in her arms but it was difficult to make out, the man in yellow approached the Masters.

"Can you hear anything there saying?" Obi-Wan asked "I'm trying?" Vos whispered before Krell started to walk toward the masters, a Knight after all and not a padawan who needed to eavesdrop.

The two padawans watched the Jedi masters speak to the man in yellow, "Do you know who that is?" Jace gasped beside them.

"Some pirate?" Vos asked him.

"That's not just some pirate, that's the Pirate, Iaco Stark?" Jace said squeezing his blaster rifle "All I need is one shot and-" "No." Obi-Wan stopped him before he saw Stark look back at his crew, Stark stopped in front of the woman looking down into her arms. Obi-Wan could feel a tremendous amount of emotion coming off of them a mix of anger and sadness he'd never felt before.

"Are you making a deal?" Obi-Wan said seeing Stark walk back to the woman and take the thing she was holding. The second he did the woman let out a belching screech, both the duros and weequay had to hold her from chasing after Stark who walked slowly back to the Jedi Masters as if she were carrying a cinder block in his arms it seemed so heavy. The padawans watched the woman fight and scream kicking and cursing Iaco, cursing the Jedi, cursing the very force itself before Iaco handed the item over to Obi-Wan's Master. Qui-Gon looked down at the bundle and out of the corner of Obi-Wan's masters figure, Obi-Wan swore he saw a patch of bright red hair.

UMBARA

Present

Obi-Wan was looking outside the gunship as it flew to the airfield, his beige jedi robes were stained with dirt and singe marks, inside the gunship with him were his battle weary troopers who had just routed the rest of the Umbaran forces from the Capital and beyond. Commander Cody was standing in front of him holding onto one of the ship's grips in the ceiling speaking into his com. "I'll relay it to the General." Cody said as Obi-Wan looked over the fields of Umbara, the cloud coverage had started to recede slightly letting in some glimmer of light to wear. Umbara looked like a planet covered in light clouds giving it a soft gray feeling.

"General, the Umbaran holdouts have all surrendered, we've taken Umbara." Cody said proudly beside Boil and the other clones who let out yelps of cheer.

"General Kenobi did you hear me?" Commander Cody asked him.

Obi-Wan hadn't given up his vacant stare, "I heard you Cody, but I sense at a terrible price." He said as they approached the airfield. The 212th gunships landed in the airfield where members of the 501st were gathered and waiting, they were gathered up in parade formation waiting outside the tower when they landed. With them even stood a couple of the 212th under Waxer who was out front with Fives and Rex.

"What in the world?" Boil asked, seeing it.

But Obi-Wan seemed to already know what they were there for as they approached "General Kenobi sir." Rex said standing up right saluting, all the clones had their helmets under their arms with their weapons at their feet.

"Captain Rex, what's going on?" Cody asked him "Sir, as you know we lost contact without prior to your assault on the Capital."

"During which my men and I discovered that General Krell had betrayed the Republic and not only destroyed our transmitter but did everything he could to sabotage the success of our campaign here on Umbara, including turning out his own men against each other." Rex said looking back at Waxer.

Cody turned to look at him "Waxer, is this true?" Obi-Wan asked "It is General, if not for Captain Rex and Commander Rock we would have killed each other, sir."

"And your evidence?" Obi-Wan asked.

Fives held up a data drive and played an audio recording "You've turned- you're a Sith like Dooku." Obi-Wan and Cody heard Leo's voice.

"Not yet, but once I've driven the Republic from Umbara the Count will reward my actions and make me his new apprentice, I think I'll start by delivering him your head-zzzt." It was undeniably Krell's voice coming from the recording before it went static and Fives handed it to General Kenobi.

"These are serious charges Rex, who were all involved?" Cody asked, his answer was Rex, Waxer and Fives stepping forward followed by the entire 501st battalion with the 212th of the scouting mission all taking a marching step toward them in one movement. Obi-Wan and his clones looked on as not a single clone had refused to deny their involvement or willingness to partake in the mutiny.

Rex stood firm and tall as he spoke "We attempted to arrest General Krell on crimes against the Republic but he resisted sir and Commander Rock had to… intervene." Rex said putting it lightly as two clones pushed up a hover coffin with two lightsabers planted on it "Krell." Obi-Wan said putting a hand on it knowing what was inside.

"What's left of him sir." Rex replied

Obi-Wan shut his eyes holding in his emotion "...Where is the Commander?" Obi-Wan asked.

"He's inside the command tower sir." Rex said, Obi-Wan looked up to see a single figure inside the tower's window looking down at them, Leo.

Obi-Wan handed the recording over to Cody "Cody, send this report to the Jedi Council and Rex."

"Yes General?" Rex said, still standing at attention, "Tell your men to stand down."

"And our punishment sir, for the treason?" Fives asked, but Obi-Wan only walked past him without a word heading to the tower "Guess that's it then, its over?" Tup said watching Obi-Wan head to the tower.

But Waxer could see differently "No it's not."

Obi-Wan entered the tower and let the elevator lift rise to the top of the tower, when the doors opened Obi-Wan walked in to see Leo standing in a robe, a hood over his head shielding him from view "Leo, what have you done?" Obi-Wan asked him.

"I did… what I had to-..." Leo started to speak but he stopped "Yes?" Obi-Wan asked, taking a step in.

"I killed him Master, I killed Pong Krell." Leo replied.

"Why?" Obi-Wan asked him accusingly "You heard the recording, he was a traitor to the Republic he was planning on joining Count Dooku, if had escaped he would have given the Separaitst all our defense codes, out secrets everything." Leo said, not turning around still.

Obi-wan took a step forward "Why didn't you try to contact me, we could have taken him together?"

"There was no time Master, Pong was killing our troopers like it was sport. I had to do something, I had to act." Leo replied, his back still the only thing Obi-Wan saw. "You say that as if this was all simple."

Leo squeezing his robed hands into fists "It was simple Master, he was a traitor and this is war, he had to die."

"Leo, what has happened to you?" Obi-Wan asked, taking another step "I have seen…. the light, Master." Obi-Wan heard his padawan reply "Leo look at me."

Leo reached up and pulled back his hood, Obi-Wan gappeda the sight of not red hair but pure white locks of hair "I would Master…" Leo slowly started to turn "But I fear you wouldn't recognize me." Obi-Wan looked in horror at Leo's pale face, the blackened veins around his eyes and golden rings in his eyes. In a split second Obi-Wan reached for his lightsaber, fear and endless training about to take hold when Obi-Wan forced his arm to stop just short of taking the hilt.

"You've turned?" Obi-Wan said, Leo walked towards his master "No Master, I remain loyal to the Republic, to the Jedi it was Krell who betrayed us." Leo tried to explain.

"And you destroyed him?" Obi-Wan asked Leo to look away, unable to look into his master's blown eyes with his now yellow ones "I did, I took arms, then I took his head…" Leo said holding up both lightsabers from his broken hinge lightsaber, now two separate blades, offering them to Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master just stared at the hilts then at his padawan, hardly recognized as the red headed Leo and now, whatever was.

Leo then got to his knees and laid the lightsabers at his Master's feet "Do you realize what will happen to you, once the Council hears?"

"I do, Master." Leo replied stone faced.

Obi-Wan picked up the lightsabers seeing Leo wouldn't make a move, Obi-Wan reached up to his coms "Cody, come to the command center and…" Obi-Wan bit the inside of his cheek aiming for his tongue "Put Leo under arrest."

Not long after, Leo was being led to the tower by Cody, Waxer, Boil and another clone of the 212th, escorting him to a gunship. When the clones of Rex's battalion saw this there was a mix of shock and even some anger at the sight "Whats going on?" Tup asked next to Jesse.

"I don't like this Rex." Fives said beside the other Arc trooper, Obi-Wan was out in front walking to the gunship "Neither do I." Rex said approaching Obi-Wan as the other clones in blue started to get closer shouting and yelling.

"What are you doing!"

"He didn't do anything wrong!" Another yelled.

"He saved us, Krell was the traitor." Jesse yelled.

Rex stood in front of Obi-Wan "General, Commander Rock was only following along with my orders, if anyone should be punished it should be me." Rex said, putting his hand on his chest, "No, we're all in on it." Fives said beside him.

"Yeah you can't just take him." Tup snapped with the 501st starting to get closer, Obi-Wan looked back to see if Leo was doing anything with his battle mediation but with the binders on his wrist dampening his force abilities, and Leo's cool demeanor looking only at the ground it was nothing to do with him, but everything too.

"This is a jedi affair Rex, order your men to stand down, now." Obi-Wan replied calmly. Rex took one look at Obi-Wan then at Leo and stood aside raising his hand to his men, the 501st all backed off and got silent while Leo was led away, to be taken to a cell on a Republic cruiser brig.

CORUSCANT

Jedi Temple

Ahsoka was running to the hanger as fast as her legs could carry her before she burst through the doors to see Anakin walking to his Jedi transport where Artoo was waiting for him. "Master." Ahsoka called out as he got in "I read the report from Umbara, I couldn't believe it."

"Well believe it Ahsoka, Leo's betrayed us he killed General Krell."

"There has to be some mistake, Leo wouldn't do something like that- couldn't do that, Krell is a Jedi Master?" Ahsoka argued.

"Obi-Wan has Krell's body aboard his ship right now and Leo is in custody." Anakin said as a group of temple guards entered into the hanger approaching his chip.

Ahsoka saw the Sentinels approach them before one of their orders stopped "We are ready to depart Sir Skywalker." He said behind his mask, his voice muffled.

Ahsoka looked at them early then at Anakin "Master, why are the Temple guards coming with us?" She asked.

Her master turned grimly, arms locked over his chest, "To escort Leo back for his trial?"

REPUBLIC FLEET

Leo was sitting in his cell at the interrogation desk, his hands still bound looking at them, the robe that he'd used to cover himself had been replaced with a long sleeved loose fitting brown shirt but that was it. Obi-Wan was standing outside the cell looking inward before turning away when he heard Jedi boots approaching him from the prison deck entrance. Gazing in their direction Obi-Wan saw the bald headed Mace Windu approaching when their eyes met, the stoic Jedi Masters brown eyes softened to mournful ones of regret.

"Master Kenobi, how are you feeling?" He asked.

Obi-Wan put his hands behind his back somberly "I've had better days Master Windu, Leo has said a word since we brought him aboard."

"And Master Krell?" Mace asked him, "We've prepared to take his remains back to Coruscant, but you received the evidence I sent to the Council?" Obi-Wan asked him.

Master Windu's sorrowful look returned to his calm and cool demeanor "We have, surely you realize what this means?"

Obi-Wan cocked his brow at Windu "I'm afraid I do not?" He inquired crossing his arms at the cryptic warning.

"Obi-Wan." Mace said, trying to sound sincere.

Kenobi said nothing still waiting on Windu's explanation "If its discovered that one of our own Generals was plotting against us, the Republic War effort would take a serious blow, and for padawan his own former padawan no less to kill him would give the Senate cause to lose faith in the Jedi Order." Windu pointed out holding a hand toward Leo's cell.

"Regardless if Leo and the clones put a stop to Krell's treachery…" Obi-Wan said, looking between the lines.

Windu knodded "Yes, the fact we weren't aware of it sooner is this most concerning, and what is to be done with your Padawan."

"Will the council deliberate?" Obi-Wan asked "When they can, we're still awaiting on Master Plo and Master Fitso to make contact, in the meantime I'd say your farewells." Mace said walking toward the hanger elevator leaving Obi-Wan in the brig alone.

When Mace walked out, Obi-Wan took a deep breath and approached Leo's cell, there were two clone troopers guarding it before Obi-Wan dismissed them "Leave us."

The two clones nodded and Obi-Wan opened the cell door walking in to sit across from him "Has the council made its choice?" Leo asked looking up.

Obi-Wan found it hard to look into Leo's yellow eyes, hardly able to recognize the padawan he'd trained "Not yet, but it's clear what they'll decide."

"Humor me?" Leo asked him shrugging "Pong betrayed us, the evidence of that is clear but the point is since weren't aware of it in the first place, the Order could lose control of the War and the people's support for the war could suffer badly when and if this is made public." Obi-Wan told him.

Leo bit his limp squeezing his shackled wrists "So a cover up, I take the fall for Krell he dies a martyr slain by a fallen Padawan?"

"That's not how it has to be Leo." Obi-Wan told him to reach for his hand but Leo pulled away "Yes it is, unless you fight for me." Leo asked looking up at him.

"How?" Obi-Wan asked "When the Council sees you, they'll know you've turned."

Leo shook his head "But not from the Order, not from the Republic I am still loyal to them."

"How can you be loyal when you've betrayed every teaching I've tried to instill in you, I can feel the anger in you, I can feel the darkness." Obi-Wan said leaning forward.

"My angers always been here Master, my passion too but the darkness- haven't we always been part of it as the light creating the shadows, I can use this power to fight for the Republic." Leo said leaning closer to him "Leo what your suggesting is heresy, the Jedi are sworn to the light side of the force."

"What you're suggesting is using the dark side, doing what the Sith do?" Obi-Wan said.

Leo snarled and stood up pacing in the back of the room "Master how many other Jedi besides us have faced Sith, and won?" Leo asked him.

"Because we stayed true to the code, you told me once you want nothing more to be a Jedi and to be that you have to adhere to the code." Obi-Wan told him standing up "Master the code is holding us back, stopping us from winning this war from taking the fight-to-Dooku." Leo shot back at him "You've become the very thing you swore to destroy Leo, your no better than Dooku?" Obi-wan shot back.

"THEN MAYBE HE SHOULD BE MY MASTER!" Leo thundered, Obi-Wan's disdain turned to fear all over is face in an instant, Leo looked into his Master's eyes seeing the pain and sorrow he'd caused him, but there was something else in Leo's eyes besides the discolored gold of the dark side that Obi-Wan recognized "You would turn from the Republic, from the Jedi?"

Leo looked away and at his handcuffs "If this is what awaits loyalty, if exile and death are my rewards for all the blood I've spilled for the Republic?

"Before he died, Master Krell told me he had a vision that we'd lose this war and the Republic would be destroyed by the inside, maybe it already has." Leo said "Maybe all that's left for me, is Dooku and whatever wisdom I can take." Leo hissed pacing back in the -Wan squeezed his hands into fists "Padawan- Leo, you're going down a path I can't follow." Obi-Wan turned to the door, when he turned it on he heard Leo "I'm not asking you too, all I need is your trust." Obi-Wan turned around then looking at Leo who sat down back at the desk as if he had said something different, his Master stared at him confused before he walked out leaving Leo in the cell alone, scratching his beard as the two clones returned to guard him.

But another Jedi approached them from the other end of the brig, Master Windu had peculiarly not left the brig at all and was heading straight for them and for Leo.

Later, outside the fleet's perimeter, a Jedi transport soared out of hyperspace with Anakin and his padawan on board with a detachment of Jedi Temple Guards. It docked with Obi-Wan's cruiser landing in the hangar where Mace Windu and Obi-Wan we're ready and waiting.

"It's not right." Waxer said from another part of the hanger next to Boil who was polishing his blaster "You know it's not right." Waxer snapped at Boil. The two brothers were with about a dozen other of the mutinies survivors all gathered together in the corner.

"I never said it wasn't but aren't you the one always telling me to follow orders?" Boil reminded him "Commander Rock didn't do anything wrong."

"He killed a General, a Jedi Master?" Boil asked him "But Krell was a traitor." Waxer barked louder than he meant to, when Anakin and the other jedi emerged they easily heard the disgruntled clone.

Boil grabbed Waxer by the arm "Want to keep it down, Skywalker doesn't like the kid enough we don't need his anger on us too?"

"What's he going to do, besides General Kenobi won't let anything happen to the kid." Waxer said before he saw the temple guard emerge in rows of two with one at their head hands behind his back, he stood a bit taller then the others, with hands behind his back.

As he approached Windu and Kenobi he bowed with the others of the guard bowing at the same time as if they moved with one mind and body "Where is the prisoner?"

"Below deck in the brig." Windu told him "Then let's take him and be done with." Anakin said rather harshly.

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan noticed the tone in his voice "Very well, Padawan Tano and you will escort the prisoner to the hanger, Master Kenobi and I are going to speak with the Council in this matter." Windu said but Obi-Wan seemed to have other plans.

"I'm afraid I can't Master." Obi-Wan said bluntly.

"What?" Anakin asked him.

Obi-Wan shook his head "The… betrayal of my Padawan has left me distressed, I would not be able to pass a fair judgment with the Council if I took part." Obi-Wan told him "Understandable Obi-Wan, Skywalker, Tano, Temple Guard." Windu said before he left the hanger.

"Come on Ahsoka, let's get this over with." Anakin ordered her back to her, "Yes… Master." Ahsoka said, trying to maintain a calm demeanor despite the sad assignment, she watched Obi-Wan walk off alone, hands behind his back, head hung low as if he were broken.

Ahsoka followed Anakin who was marching briskly to the brig when Ahsoka said "Master shouldn't one of us go speak with Obi-Wan?"

Skywalker gazed over at his Master pacing sensing his distress "Hmm your right, think you can handle the traitor?" He asked them to stop letting the temple guard move on.

"If you mean Leo- then yes." Ahsoka said unable to bring herself to call him a traitor. Ahsoka followed the temple guards shortly after watching Anakin to make sure he went to confide in his former Master. "You okay?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan when he got close.

Obi-wan only replied with a scowling glare "Right, dumb question." Anakin sighed.

"I just don't know where I went wrong?" Obi-Wan asked himself "You can't blame yourself Master, Leo did this on his own?" Anakin said, trying to comfort him with a strong hand on his shoulder.

"All failings of a student are the failings of a poor teacher Anakin, imagine if it were Ahsoka down there instead?" Obi-Wan asked him.

Anakin could see he was right "But you've had him shorter then Ahsoka and me, whatever darkness that was in Krell surely infected Leo, you tried, we both tried to help him but sometimes people just can't be helped Master." Anakin said, trying to reason with his Master's guilt.

"But he surrendered to us willingly, he at least deserves a fair trial from the Council, a chance at redemption?" Obi-Wan asked him "If he repents the darkness, do you think he will?" Anakin asked him.

"I think Leo has made his choice." Obi-Wan replied.

Ahead of Ahsoka and the Temple Guard, the trandoshan Skell was limping into the brig off the elevator on a pair of crutches and a bandaged leg in the air. When the clones saw him at the entrance, two guards walked forward "Oh come on boys, what am I going to do? Just want to say goodbye the prisoner?"

"The Jedi are on there way down, let'em pass." The clone officer behind the desk ordered "Much obliged sir." Turok said limping down the hall to Leo's cell.

Turok approached the laser door and its two guards "So, I leave you alone on Umbara for a few days and this is what happens when you go and dye your hair." He said making a joke of Leo's new white locks.

"No fault of my own." Leo replied up to his life debt.

Turok only hissed in a sigh "Well you're Jedi jailers on their way?"

"From one cell to another." Leo said looking at his cuffs "Hmhmm, shame is I still owe a life debt." Turok said.

When suddenly Turok dropped his bandaged leg to the floor and swung both his crutches up, smashing each clone trooper in the helmet before grabbing them with both arms and smashing them into the walls of the cell doorway, knocking them out. The sudden commotion of the scuffle made the clones at the brig entrance coming running "What's going on down here?" Turok spun around two blaster pistols in his claws hidden in the folds of his coat shooting wildly, he turned one of the blasters on the door controls breaking it and opening it. Leo dove over the table grabbing the keys from one of the guards and deactivating the restraints and picking up one of their blasters starting to fire at the clones.

"Took you long enough." Leo snapped at the trandoshan "Do you know how hard it is to convince a clone medic that a trandoshan sprained ankle is deadly?" Turok hissed, before the clones started firing back.

"Save it, we need to get out of the brig before the lock it down." Leo told him before the alarm started to ring through every corner of the ship from the brig, to the hallways Ahsoka and the Temple guard were in, to the hanger and to Mace Windu's council session.

"Like right now- Run!" Leo snapped before the two of them took off down the hallway toward the end of the brig "This is a dead end?" Turok said seeing Leo was running to a pair of vents.

Leo raised his blaster and shot at the vent making it Swiss cheese before he kicked it in revealing a shaft with a set of wires and cords leading up and down an opening in the wall. "I grew up on ships like this, we can get to the upper levels this way." He said climbing in and starting to scale the cords. Turok looked over his shoulder hearing the white boots of clone troopers coming before he got into. Just then at the entrance to the brig Ahsoka and the five Temple guards came out of the elevator seeing the still smoking blaster marks. Leading the temple guards on ahead Ahsoka came to the cell Leo had been in when the brig clones helping up the two guards who Turok had attacked, both still alive

"Where is he?" Ahsoka asked them "He went that way." One of the clones said pointing to the hole in the wall.

Inside it Leo and Turok had scaled the cords to another level before breaking out of another access panel and looking around, Leo reached in to help the trandoshan out who had a hard time making his way through the walls with how big he was "When I got your message saying you'd need an escape plan, I thought it meant the Umbarans were overtaking you?"

"They almost did." Leo said helping him out "To be honest I'd rather be back there then stuck on a Republic warship with a couple thousand clones, three jedi masters, their temple guards and your girlfriend."

"She's not my girl- Look did you get us a ship?" Leo asked Turok as they started to move to the hanger scanning the hallway with their blasters.

Turok scoffed "You think they'd let me in the hanger."

"So that's now." Leo hissed "We'll find a ship if we get to the hangar. But what about the entire fleet's guns?"

They came to a crossroads in the hallways "Don't worry, we got a man on the inside and by man I mean droid." Unbeknownst to anyone save Leo, the probe droid Oculus was making his way through the through the vents of the cruiser all the way to the ships power station, the droid flew up the open shaft of the to the power generator and took its small arms pressing every button and pulling every level forcing the generator to overload before the droid flew back down into the vent, followed by the Generator exploding crippling the ship. It came to a lurching halt making people fall over even the Jedi almost lost their footing when the ship's red lights came alive showing the ship was in distress.

Leo and Turok grabbed onto the walls by a doorway when all the doors clamped shut "Well great we're trapped." Turok said.

"So are the others, now shut up and help me get this door open." Leo said starting to pull on the crease in the doors. Turok grabbed onto it with his claws groaning and starting to pull the door open.

Down in the hanger, in front of a door Obi-Wan and Anakin were with some clones trying to get the doors open too, but they had lightsabers, they were trying to cut a hole big enough for the Jedi and clones to get through. "So much for redemption." Anakin said.

"He's just scared, frightened if we can get to him before anyone else I can talk him down." Obi-Wan argued back to Anakin "And what if he gets past us, he'll come here for one of the ships to escape?" Anakin asked as he finished cutting the hole.

"Then you stay here." Obi-Wan ordered him "Cody have the men sweep the ship, set blasters to stun we need Leo alive." Obi-Wan ordered before the clones went in.

Anakin looked aghast "I can't just stay here while he escapes?"

"Just think of it this way, if he does get past me you get to save the day like you always do." Obi-Wan said before he followed his clones inside.

Back in Leo and Turoks predicament, they had managed to get a hole big enough for Turok to squeeze through after they put one of the clone blasters in the gap to keep it open. "You first." Turok said Leo crawled in when from the other door down the hallway they saw a bright purple lightsaber cut its way through "That door won't slow Windu down for long." Leo said as Turok climbed through and saw the semi circle was almost full "It won't slow him down at all."

They escapees were sprinting down open corridors left and right, before they came face to face with Waxer and Boil "Hold it right there!" Boil barked.

Leo and Turok raised their blasters the second they saw white and yellow armor "Drop'em boys." Leo told them.

"Commander Rock, stand down." Waxer ordered him "I can't Waxer, I don't have time to explain but you have to get out of my way, that's an order." Leo told him

Waxer looked at Boil briefly "We have our orders Waxer." Boil reminded him when suddenly both clones went erect, their bodies covered in blue electricity before falling unconscious in front of them. The escapees gazed at the attacker hovering right behind the two fallen clones to see Oculus with two taser cords sticking out of its disk like a body stuck in the back necks of the two clones. They plucked out going back into the probe's body before it gave a friendly beep.

"Did it kill them?" Turok asked.

Leo knelt down to check if they were still alive, each brother was still breathing but would probably wake up with a headache when they woke up. "How much further to the hanger?" Turok asked him.

Looking to see what level they were on "Few more doors, then we just have to hope they left Master Obi-Wan in the hanger and not Skywalker?"

"Why Obi-Wan, I thought he was a Master, Skywalkers just a knight?" Turok asked him.

"Because Skywalker will probably not hold back." Leo replied.

Not far behind them, Ahsoka had climbed out of the hole in the wall Leo and Skell had made, she quickly found Master Windu and some clones going through another fresh hole in a door before she joined them. "Admiral, how much longer till the ship is repaired?" Windu asked in his comlink.

"Hard to say General, whatever overloaded our generator has crippled the ship, I've contacted the nearby cruisers to send over repair crews and a fresh generator they'll hook up immediately." Admiral Yuralen told him from the bridge.

Ahsoka heard it as she came through standing behind Master Windu "Padawan Tano, help me with this door." He ordered.

"Yes Master." She said as they started to cut through the next one.

Ahead of them Leo and Turok were running down the hallways almost to the hanger when Leo held out his arm pushing Skell and Oculus to the wall. Down another corridor opposite of them clones were running and Obi-Wan had stopped in the doorway. Turok took one sniff of the air. "It's him."

"I know." Leo replied taking a deep breath waiting to see what Obi-Wan would do, the Jedi master looked down the empty hallway sensing a presence but sensing something and making a choice are two very different things. "Are you ready?" Leo asked Turok who primed his blaster.

Leo walked slowly out from behind the corner and stood twenty feet away from Obi-Wan, Leo's eyes fell on his lightsaber or lightsabers at Obi-Wan's belt "Padawan-stand-down." Obi-Wan ordered.

"I can't do that Master." Leo told him.

"If I am still your Master, still your brother as a Jedi then do as I say and stand-down!" Obi-Wan said, raising his voice.

Leo shook his head as Skell got ready "Do you trust me?"

"How can I trust you when you do something like this?" Obi-Wan asked him "With faith Master, with faith." Leo told him, looking at his Master with pleading eyes.

Obi-Wan sighed "Don't do this." Obi-Wan begged "I have questions that need answering and the Jedi can't give me the answers." Leo told him.

Kenobi took out his lightsaber "I will do what I must."

Leo raised his hand and was only able to tear one of his lightsabers off of Obi-Wans belt before his master grabbed the other one, Leo caught one of the white blades turning it on in the air before Obi-Wan turned on the other and ran at him. Turok sprung out of the shadows aiming not for Obi-Wan but the door controls. The moment Turoks shot blew them out the door slammed shut in its failsafe mode cutting Leo and Obi-Wan off by four inches of solid metal.

Obi-Wan slammed his fist on the door before Leo pressed his hand on, trying to reach him in his own way. "We have to go- now." Turok told Leo. Suddenly a blue lightsaber burst through the door missing Leo's head by inches with Obi-Wan starting to cut a way through, "I know." Leo said before he followed Turok to the hanger. When they finally made it to the hanger entrance, Leo spotted the entire hanger was empty "Looks like they sent all the clones after us, let's not wait to see if they come back." Turok said spying the jedi transport. All three of them ran, but two for the trandoshan and boy, Oculus flew behind them when leo sensed the incoming danger.

"Look out!" Leo yelled pushing Turok out of the way of Anakin Skywalker who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere with his lightsaber in hand.

Leo took out his white blade and locked swords with Anakin "Get to the ship." Leo ordered Turok.

"You're not going anywhere traitor." Anakin hissed.

"Even after everything we've been through, all those times you told me I could trust you- IT WAS ALL A LIE!" Leo yelled breakin the blade lock and countering Anakin's parry and swings. The two young Jedi's lightsabers flashed bright colors of laser on laser sword combat.

Anakin used his advanced training and strength to push Leo back but the smaller more agile padawan evaded his strikes, only narrowly. "Then why run, why flee like your guilty?"

"You know what the Council decided before they'd even hear my side, I'm not going to sit around and let bitter old men decide my fate." Leo snapped backflipping away before running at Anakin and swinging from all directions, before Anakin force pushed Leo into a stack of metal crates that buried him for a second. Until Leo used the force to blast them off him sending them into clone fighters and gunships causing some to explode "How many times has the Council chastised you, me, anyone who contradicts them!" Leo barked at Anakin.

Anakin gritted his teeth the words striking a cord to him even though Leo couldn't tell "The code holds us back Anakin, I know you think it, I gave my word to those prisoners on the Citadel and they were slaughtered, I held the line at Geonosis only to realize we're the enemies the monsters, I believed everything I was taught because I knew nothing else."

"And you know everything?" Anakin asked Leo before they locked the sword "I know that the only thing in this universe that matters-" Anakin swung his lightsaber around Leo's blade and sliced the lightsaber at the emitter breaking "-Is power!" Leo raised his hands Anakin held out his and an invisible explosion clashed in the middle of both jedi. The force was crashing into one another at each side of the jedi, Leo's two hands with Anakin holding one up before he had to drop his lightsaber and raise his others. Objects and wreckage from the destroyed ships were being blown back by some strange gust of wind that was lifting up other objects around the hanger. The floor began to shake as the walls trembled.

Inside the jedi transport, Turok could feel the engines come alive followed by it's entire haul starting to shake. When he looked out and Leo and Anakin he also noticed the doors to the hanger break open with Ahsoka, Windu and the Temple guard coming in.

"Droid fires up the weapon system." He ordered taking the controls, Oculus beeped at him wanting to know which weapon to fire "FIRE EVERYTHING!" Turok barked. The transports front guns opened fire on the door and a turret below the cockpit opened fire with misses flying from under its wings at the doorway forcing Ahsoka and Mace to take cover with the clones trying to get off a few shots but the ships shields were too strong. Ahsoka glimpsed out into the hanger seeing Anakin and Leo locked in the force contest creating all the tremors.

Her jaw gapped when she saw Leo's white hair, his yellow eyes and pale skin the boy she combed to cherish as the closest person to her besides her Master was hardly recognizable. Anakin's back to her she couldn't see the rage and fury covering Anakin's face and the desire to stop Leo, to defeat Leo, to destroy the traitor. Leo looked into Anakin's blue eyes that hid the anger within him, the rage that Anakin had kept in check for so long slowly starting to crack at the seams.

"There's no way you're getting out of here Leo." Anakin growled.

"Oh I don't think so." Leo said when he stepped to the left, both of their force pushes exploded like cannon balls going left and right across the hanger, taking out every fighter and gunship inside ripping and bending the metal ships like tin. Anakin watched in a split second Leo side step past him and realized the force contest was a diversion for Leo to get this close, Leo raised his left hand before Anakin had time to react and hit Anakin with a force push which sent him tumbling across the hanger right into a wall.

"Master." Ahsoka ran out through Turoks fire dodging the ships cannons before she slid down beside Anakin, rolling him over the Jedi Knight in a daze. Leo was panting across from her and started to wobble to the transport, the fight having taken its toll on him. "Leo!" Ahsoka cried out after him, he stopped his back to her fighting the urge to look back "WHY!" She shouted at him trying to get him to look at her, but he kept walking forward boarding the ship. When he was on the ramp he reached back to his padawan braid grabbing the white braid of hair he pulled letting out a brief scream when Ahsoka watched Leo rip the padawan braid right out of his hair, blood trickling down his neck before he tossed it aside and got on the ship.

He climbed up the ramps and into the copilot seat "Get us out of here Turok." Leo ordered.

Turok kept shooting as the ship began to take off "Bring that ship down!" Mace ordered, the clones ran out shooting a t the ship trying to aim for its engines as it pulled out "What about the blast doors?" Turok asked as it pulled out to red roots holding the ship inside.

"Wait for it." Leo told him as the ship shook from clone blaster the hanger doors opened and the cruisers from Windu's fleet with the supplies and engineers were waiting to board "Now." Leo yelled as he filled in hyperspace coordinates Turok hit the thrusters followed by the jedi Starfighter pulling out into open space "Got the hyperspace ready." Leo said to him.

"Punch it." Turok added before they were gone before a single cruiser could get off a shot, and Leo was gone.

Finally, Obi-Wan came into the hanger to see Leo had escaped, Anakin was coming too with Windu and Ahsoka standing over him "So he's gone."

"We need to hunt him down." Anakin stammered getting up "Any idea where he's going?"

"The one place, we can't go." Obi-Wan said grimmly.

SERENNO

The jedi transport had passed through the separatist fleet after a brief relay down to the planet's surface "You sure you want to do this, it's a big galaxy we could go get lost in?" Turoks asked the boy.

Leo was sitting there at the copilot chair, eyes closed, he opened the two yellow pupils and shook his head "This is the only way."

"I won't ask you to follow me, you've replayed your life debt." Leo said as they flew down to the surface, to an all too familiar Palace in Leo's past. The Palace of Count Dooku, leader of the Separaitst Alliance, former Jedi Master and now Sith Lord, Darth Tyrannus. It was dusk the sun was starting to set on Serenno's surface turning the sky an array of yellow and purple.

Turok looked at it warily "Hmmm, it's either follow you or have every Republic Bounty Hunter come after me, I'll take my chances here I just hope you know what you're doing." Turok grumbled taking them in for a landing.

"Yeah… me too." Leo said calmly as the ship landed in front of the palace.

Leo walked off the ship to wait for him, as the Count himself a row of manga guards on both sides of his path to the Count. Leo approached before being stopped by the magna guards who activated their staffs and surrounded Leo. The Count said nothing; he only looked at Leo before holding up his hand to make the droids back off, receding the gesture too Leo dropped down to one knee in allegiance to the Count Dooku and the Sith.