Anakin hurried through the senate towards the Chancellor's office, silently fuming at being the council's messenger boy.
He nodded at a few senator's that greeted him and stepped into the turbolift, pressing the button for his office and trying to get his feelings under control. He was only marginally successful when the doors open and he stepped out into the Chancellor's office.
The reception area was empty, but he could feel someone in the second office so continued on through.
The Chancellor was sitting at a desk there and to his surprise, so was Padmé.
"Ani" she smiled as he approached.
"Padmé," he greeted her with a nod and a smile before turning to the Chancellor.
"Chancellor, Master Kenobi reports that he has engaged General Grevious," he said.
"Very good," Palpatine responded with a smile "Everything is proceeding to plan."
"Plan?" he asked, confused and for the moment forgetting his anger at the Council.
"Yes Anakin, our plan for the galaxy" Palpatine said, with another smile at Padmé.
He glanced at her, still confused and Padmé smiled as well.
"Our plan to save the galaxy," she said, as if it were obvious.
"I... don't know what you're talking about," he said, glancing between them.
"Well of course not," Palpatine said with a laugh "We haven't told you yet, but come walk with us." he added, standing "And I'll explain what I can because we need your help"
"Alright," he said, curious and followed them out into his main office.
"The galaxy has always been chaotic," he began "Ever since intelligent life has been able to cross the stars there has been war, our history is built on it, the Republic and Jedi have thrived on it, using it to build their strength until they are unassailable. And then they allowed themselves to be corrupted by their power, they, we have become the very things we sought to destroy."
Palpatine stopped and turned to face him.
"Padmé and I have a plan to save the republic from itself, to rid it of the corruption that plagues it, something we've been working together on for almost fifteen years," Palpatine continued, placing a hand on his shoulder "But now, we need your help."
"What can I do that you can't?" he asked, warily.
"Our plans will... upset a lot of people, and they will try to stop us," Padmé said, picking up from the Chancellor "We need your strength, your power, to make sure they can't."
"It sounds like you're talking about a coup," he said suspiciously.
"Haha, don't be ridiculous Anakin, it would merely be a consolidation of power until such time as we could find worthy successors," Palpatine said, a little sternly.
"Yes, and in that time we would use our powers to bring order to the galaxy, end slavery and improve the lives of everyone," Padmé said, looking at him and placing a hand on her stomach "Just think, our children would be able to grow up in a peaceful galaxy, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"Yes, it would," he muttered, imagining a time where he didn't have to fight and could just spend his days with his wife and children.
Then a thought occurred to him.
"The Jedi would never allow this to happen" he said.
"No," Palpatine sighed "They won't, but we have a plan to... deal with them."
"I don't like the sound of that."
Palpatine looked up at him in surprise.
"You would defend the Jedi? After everything they've done to you? Why all we had to do was imply that your Padawan was guilty and they threw her to the wolves to save themselves, they'd do the same to you if they thought it could win the war," Palpatine said, almost angrily.
He froze.
"You set up Ahsoka?" he asked, voice dangerously quiet.
"No, it's not like you think," Padmé said soothingly "We simply put the thought out there and the council did the rest."
"What do you mean?" he demanded, glaring at them.
"When Letta was killed we just suggested to Tarkin that he arrest her on suspicion of it and then with only a bit of encouragement, Offee helped her break out and you know the rest," Padmé said, smiling at him.
He didn't return it.
"What I know is that you almost got my Padawan killed," he growled.
"No, we would never have let it happen" Palpatine said "If she'd been convicted, we would simply have arranged for her to escape again. And this way she's out of harms way when we make our move."
"And what about Barriss?" he asked, still angry "You're just going to let your ally rot in prison?"
"Pah, she was hardly an ally, she didn't even know we were manipulating her. She was a convenient pawn, something to be disposed of once their usefulness has run out," Palpatine replied.
"I see," he said quietly, feeling a small bit of sympathy for Barriss despite what she'd done to him and anger that the two people he'd trusted more than anyone else had betrayed him like this.
"So, will you join us?" Padmé asked coming close and putting her arms around his neck.
He didn't know what to think, she was his wife and he loved her, but did she really love him? Or was she just using him like everyone else tried to. How could she love him if she could do that to Ahsoka, he thought as an image of Ahsoka on trial flashed through his mind, she was suppose to be Ahsoka's friend. He couldn't, that would make him as guilty as if he'd helped frame Ahsoka too.
"I... I need to think about it" he said eventually, extracting himself from her arms.
"Okay" she said "But don't take too long, we need to make our move soon."
"Alright," he said, kissing her on the cheek "I'll call you later."
"Chancellor," He nodded.
"Anakin."
Then he turned and walked out, moving quickly back to his speeder and setting a course for the Temple.
On the way back to the temple he ran back over the conversation, silently raging, he felt so betrayed.
He was still fuming when he arrived back at the temple and was surprised to find Master's Windu, Fisto, Tiin and Kolar getting into a gunship.
"Obi-wan has just informed us Grevious is dead," Mace said as he approached them. "We're going to make sure he hands over power until a new Chancellor can be elected."
"He won't give up power," Anakin told him gravely. "He's just told me he plans seize control of the Senate and deal with the Jedi."
"Are you certain?" Mace asked, shocked.
"Yes, he's been planning this for a long time, I think he even started the war so he could retain his position." Anakin said. "And... I think... I think there are Senators involved," he added, aware that the Masters could probably sense his anguish.
"If that's true, we'll need to act now to stop them now," Mace said. "Thank you for informing us Anakin, I can sense how hard it is for you." he added, clasping Anakin's shoulder.
"I'll come with you, you may need my help," Anakin said, though he didn't really want to go anywhere near the pair of them.
"No," Mace said firmly. "You're too close to this, wait for us in the council chamber, we'll need to discuss this once the Republic is safe again."
"Yes Master," he replied, relief flowing through him.
With a last look, Mace boarded the gunship and it took off, leaving Anakin alone.
He watched it till it vanished amongst the other traffic, then made his way up to the council chamber and took his seat, looking out across the city, lost in thought.
He couldn't believe they'd done that to his Padawan, after everything she'd done for the Republic, just throwing her to the wolves because it furthered their cause.
How long he sat there, silently raging, he didn't know, but he was brought back to the present by a surge in the dark side and the deaths of several of the Masters.
"No, he can't be," he gasped, getting to his feet as a terrible possibility occurred to him.
But it appeared it was true as he felt another Master die, Fives had been right, he thought, he had to warn the rest of the order.
He pulled out his comm and switched to the special council frequency that enabled him to contact every Jedi off world.
"This is Anakin Skywalker," he began. "The Chancellor has revealed himself to be an enemy of the Republic and the order, several Masters have gone to arrest him but they have all been killed. I also believe the Chancellor will order the clones to execute their Jedi Generals using chips they have planted so get away from your troops and-"
He was cut off suddenly by the comm turning to static and realised they must be jamming him. He tried other frequencies but they were jammed too so he rushed down to the security centre to raise the alarm and activate the temples defences.
By the time he arrived there, it was too late, the security showed the 501st, his men, marching through the front entrance of the Temple, shooting any Jedi they encountered.
He pressed the emergency alert anyway, then rushed out to help defend the temple.
When he arrived at the battle site, most of the Masters and Knights were already dead, the rest were just Padawans and Initiates.
"Stand down," he yelled at his men, but they ignored him and continued to kill the surviving Jedi.
So, hating himself for not finding another way, he ignited his lightsaber and joined the battle.
Together, with the remaining Jedi, they quickly finished off the company, Riptide, he thought sadly, but at the cost of the last knight with him, leaving just Padawans and Initiates alive.
He gazed around the hall several times, making sure there were no more threats, before he deactivated his lightsaber and turned to the surviving children.
There were seven all up, of various species and ages, all above ten and all looking terrified and he didn't need to be a General to know they had no hope of fighting their way out.
He motioned them to come over and they all gathered round, pressing close to him.
"We need to fall back, we're not going to be able to fight our way through all the clones and even if we could there's nowhere to go, the entire army will be after us now." he told them gravely.
"What are we going to do then?" a Pantoran girl asked, fear in her eyes.
"There's a secret way out in the prison that I think we can use," he told them, as sounds of fighting erupted nearby, eliciting sounds of fear from them. "Come on, we need to hurry."
He grabbed a second lightsaber from one of the fallen Knights and, motioning the children to be quiet, led the way down to the prison.
They crept down hallways littered with the bodies of both Jedi and clones, the sounds of blaster fire echoing down the corridors, along with the cries of those hit.
"Keep moving," he said quietly, when they passed another group of fallen Jedi, this one consisting mostly of Initiates, making the children freeze in horror.
"Come on," he insisted, gently taking the closet boy's arm and tugging him away.
The rest quickly followed, pressing even closer together than before as they pressed on.
When they reached the level that housed the crèche, even he froze in horror as he felt the terror, pain and death radiating from the place.
"Wait here," he said, stepping over the carpet of bodies that showed just how intense the fighting here had been and peeked inside, steeling himself for the worst.
It was as bad as he'd feared, everywhere lay dead younglings and those that had tried to protect them.
He gulped in a breath and was just about to leave when he felt a little spark of life in the force, coming from one of the large wardrobes that were attached to the crèche.
Curious, he made his way over and opened the doors.
Inside were half a dozen younglings cowering in the corner, who let out screams of terror when the doors opened, until they saw who he was and rushed to him, crying silently.
"It's alright," he said soothingly, as they wrapped their arms around him, at a loss for what else to say. "I'll get you out of here."
He led them out, trying not to look at all the bodies and rejoined the other children, who looked incredibly relieved to see him again, along with more survivors.
"We're almost there," he told them. "And I need you to look after the younglings," he said to the older children. "That's your mission, to protect them, okay?"
They nodded and the Wookiee let out a low growl while the Tholothian girl put a protective hand on one of the younger children.
"We'll protect them Master," she said grimly.
He nodded, then turned and they pressed on to what he hoped would be safety.
Ten minutes later, they'd almost made it to the prison and he was beginning to hope they'd get their without having to fight any more clones when they rounded a corner and walked straight into a platoon.
The clones reacted faster and got a volley of shots off before he could blast them with the force and there was a cry of "Petro!" behind him as another Initiate was hit.
Feeling his anger build at all the senseless killing, he rushed the clones, cutting through most of them before one of the last in line, evidently deciding there was no hope of stopping him, triggered a thermal detonator.
The blast threw him back at the children and set him on fire, which was quickly patted out by one of the kids.
"Thanks," he muttered, picking himself up and groaning as the numerous cuts, bruises and other injuries made themselves known.
Then he moved over to where the Tholothian girl was slumped by the body of the boy who'd been hit.
One glance was enough to tell him there was nothing they could do for him.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
She looked up at him with tear filled eyes.
"Why are they doing this?" she asked.
"I don't know," he sighed, not wanting to explain everything he suspected here. "But we needed to keep moving, he wouldn't want you to get caught here and the clones almost certainly reported our position."
She let out a quiet sob, but nodded and gently took his lightsaber from his hand, attaching it to her belt, before rising and rejoining the other kids.
He limped back to the front of the group.
"We're almost there," he said, continuing down the hall.
They made it the rest of the way without anymore encounters and he ushered them inside, before sealing the door behind them and disabling the door controls.
"The cell at the end," he told them as he limped down the line of cells, his clothes still smoking from the blast.
The kids rushed ahead as he made his way past empty cell after empty cell, till he reached one that wasn't.
He froze as he reached it, as the occupant was pressed against the ray shield, and slowly turned to face Barriss Offee.
She was looking at him with a mixture of confusion and surprise, which wasn't all that surprising, considering how he knew he looked and that a dozen terrified children had just run past.
She gave him a questioning look and he shrugged, not really sure where to begin and feeling a bit lost and dazed from his injuries.
Then their was a pounding on the door, and he turned to face it, reigniting his lightsaber, as the clone reinforcements arrived and began preparing to blast their way in by the sound of it.
But that would take them time and he turned back to Barriss, wondering what to do with her.
On the one hand she'd framed his Padawan for her crimes and whatever her reasoning, much of which he actually agreed with now, part of him would never forgive her for it. On the other she'd been set up just as much as Ahsoka had and she didn't deserve to die here.
So he opened her cell and she stepped out in mild disbelief, then cringed as all the death hit her after being in a force blocking cell for so long.
He gave her a moment to recover then passed her one of the lightsabers.
"I'll explain when we're out of here," he said as he pushed her towards where the younglings were waiting.
"Okay," she nodded, fingering the unfamiliar weapon, probably sensing what had happened to it's previous owner.
As they approached the children, she put a hand on his arm to stop him and turned to him.
"I'm sorry Anakin," she said. "For everything," she added in a whisper.
He gave her a grim smile.
"We can talk about it later, for now lets focus on getting out of here alive before the clones blast their way in."
"The clones?" she asked. "Why are they doing that?"
"Later," he said as they entered the cell.
The children were all crammed into the cell and gently pushed them aside to reach the hidden control panel.
He entered the code and part of the back wall slid back, revealing a passage that led down to the depths of Coruscant.
"You first," he said to Barriss. "I need to activate the defences behind us."
"Okay, where do I go?" she asked, stepping into the passage.
"Just follow the tunnel, it'll lead you to the safe house," he said, pushing the children in after her.
"Alright," she nodded and took off down the tunnel, the kids streaming along behind her.
Once they were all in, he ripped open one of the air vents to set a false trail and entered the passage, sealing the door and burning out the controls and mechanisms behind him.
When he was sure it was secure and that no one could follow them down, he headed down the passage, limping more heavily now that the adrenalin was fading.
He stopped every so often to engage the tunnel's built in defences, seal segments off and open false tunnels to throw off any pursuit.
Despite their head start and his limp, he caught up to the children about an hour later.
The Pantoran girl was at the back and he felt a surge of panic from her as she heard him coming, which faded when she saw it was just him.
She grabbed his hand when he was close enough and held on tight.
He winced as pain flared through his hand, but didn't say anything. It'd been a rough day and he was happy to provide any comfort he could.
They completed the rest of the journey in silence, no one wanting to talk or knowing what to say after everything that had happened and eventually, they reached the safe house, down in level 320 if his estimation was right.
The safe house was a bit rough, which was to be expected this far from the surface, but it was clean and had plenty of beds and supplies he noticed as they all trooped in.
The children huddled together on several beds radiating shock and disbelief, while he collapsed onto one of the chairs around the table and Barriss went through the supply cupboards and passed out ration packs, water bottles and blankets.
The children took them with quiet thank you's before returning to their their huddles, murmuring softly to each other.
Then Barriss went to another cupboard and pulled out a large medkit, placing it on the table in front of him.
"Can I have a look at your injuries?" she asked.
"I suppose," he sighed, still not entirely sure about her, but with no other healer around, he didn't have much of a choice.
She worked silently, cleaning the wounds on his hands and face before spraying them with bacta and covering them with gauze pads.
"Thank you," he said quietly when she'd finished.
"You're welcome," she said simply and packed everything away again.
When she was done she sat down at the table again and looked expectantly at him.
He sighed and straightened, wondering where to begin.
"You were right," he said eventually. "The Jedi were serving evil."
Then he told her everything and her expression turned more and more horrified as he went on.
"How did we not see it?" she asked softly when he'd finished.
"I don't know," he sighed. "I just hope those out on the front fared better than us."
"Me too."
After that, they remained quiet for a while, listening to the quiet whimpers coming from the children, lost in their own thoughts.
Eventually, she spoke again.
"What are we going to do now?"
"Keep them alive for the time being," he said with a nod at the kids. "Then find a way to fight back."
She looked happy with that response and turned to watch the kids who slowly drifting off to sleep, while he pondered what the kriff to do next.