Coruscant

The sky flashed, illuminating the room briefly, before returning to its dark state. Thunder rolled across the capital as rain poured down. It hit the glass window in front that shielded Palpatine as he stared at the Jedi temple from his office. A snarl warped its way over his face as he continued to stare at the temple. He wanted nothing more than to wipe them out and claim the temple as his own. But Palpatine knew he needed to wait, like a predator waiting patiently for the right time to strike. After the fall of their empire, Sith had been acting like a raging Wampa, mindlessly striking throughout the galaxy. Until Sidious stepped in. He was the pinnacle of all Sith. His plan would bring the galaxy under his control.

The door behind him opened and Mas Ammeda stepped forward. "You summoned me, my lord?"

"Yes, old friend," Palpatine said smoothly, not turning to address his lackey. "I will be unavailable to be reached for the rest of the day. I trust you will use your judgment to determine if something is worthy of interrupting me. "

Ammeda nodded as he held his staff, "Of course my lord. Will there be anything else?"

"No, no, that will be all. Dismissed," Palpatine said with a wave of his hand. After hearing the door shut behind him, Palpatine got up and moved to his private chambers, sealing the doors behind him. Taking his seat, he shut the blinds, closing off any potential wandering eyes.

Palpatine's plan to establish a new empire had taken a few unexpected hiccups. Skywalker was not turning to the Dark Side as fast as he wanted. The holocron of Revan, combined with the new brotherhood he had formed with Kenobi was preventing the Dark Side from dominating him.

Things had to change. Palpatine still needed an apprentice to be his enforcer. There were few who were able to meet what Sidious desired. Dooku was skilled and rivaled some of the Council members, but was old. Too old to lead such an attack on the temple. The clones needed a strong force wielder on their side. Grievous was out of the question. Palpatine refused to led the attack unless absolutely necessary. Sidious was intent on keeping his Force-sensitivity hidden from the public. He could not risk that secret being leaked.

He needed someone else to lead the attack. Perhaps if he played his cards right, Maul-

Palpatine stood up in shock. That couldn't be right. The tremor must have been from somewhere else, it had to be.

It happened again. A vicious grin crept over Palpatine's face and he let out a dark chuckle as he pressed a button on his armchair. Two Red Royal Guards came into the room, awaiting their instructions.

"Take me to my shuttle."

The Senate burned and crumbled before him. Bodies of his brethren Jedi were scattered around him. The only thing he could hear was the crackling fire before him as the Republic crumbled to dust and the grinding of battle droid servos as they marched all around him.

Mace looked into the flames and reached out with his prosthetic hand, and to his shock, a hand shot back out at him. A bony hand with rotting flesh grabbed onto it, tattered robes and a charred cloak attached to a body. The arm was attached to a skeletal body, who had decayed flesh and hair. Fire roared in the place where eyes were supposed to be. Mace felt himself being pulled into the fire, despite his attempts to resist whatever force was forcing him forward. The skeletal hand wrapped around his over and pulled him to the face. The voice of Depa Billaba came from the skull.

"You failed to save me. To save us. To save the Republic. It will now all fall because of your inaction. Your cowardice. Burn. Burn with us, my Master."

Mace opened his eyes furiously, the glass on his windows cracking like a spider web. Anger bellowed deep in his soul as he tried to anchor himself back in the light. He had had the same dream before.

How many Jedi, clones, and innocents died under his watch because he wasn't strong enough. Depa was the first. She wasn't the last. He lost his commander to a bounty hunter, his body never recovered. Master Dibbs turned against him. He remembers seeing a padawan get blown away by an AAT shell, holding her hand and comforting her as she passed into the Force. No matter how much he developed into Vaapad, the darkness seemed to get closer, his dreams getting more and more chaotic. There needed to be an answer.

There it was.

Power.

He needed to become stronger.

He needed-

Spinning around, he activated his lightsaber. The Force had him on high alert that a presence was nearby. He could hear whispering around him.

A voice came from behind. Then beneath him. Then above him. And then he found it right inside his head.

Ah, Master Windu. I am so very glad that we finally get to have an audience.

Who are you? What are you doing in my head?

I have gone by many names. One that you may know me by is... Darth Sidious.

Mace widened his eyes. Impossible. There is no evidence of your existence.

I have kept it that way for a long time, my friend. But, I need your help, Master Jedi. The Republic is in danger. I have felt it.

Mace chuckled. The supposed Sith who is orchestrating this war has decided that he wants to save the Republic? Don't make me laugh.

What do I gain from lying?

I'd imagine some form of power and control. It's in recorded history the lies and treachery of the Sith.

Such hate and malice, coming from a Jedi.

He frowned.

I sense many emotions within you, Master Windu. I turn to you because you are the only Jedi I trust. Too many innocent lives are at stake. The future of the Republic is at stake. An enemy from within needs to be stopped.

Why would I ever trust you? You're a Sith. You desire to destroy the Jedi and Peace. The peace that was undisturbed because of your apprentice Dooku.

Are you claiming the galaxy was at peace before Dooku turned against me and started a war? The Hutts and Black Sun cartel followed all of the Republic's rules? The Senate is corrupt and profiting from this conflict. Master Jedi, I offer you this. Meet with me here. There, I will reveal everything to you.

Mace felt the presence of Sidious leave his head. The image of a large, abandoned factory burned into his mind. He knew what had to do. Picking up his cloak, he rushed out of his room towards the Temple's hangar.

Mace's purple Eta-2 dashed through across the skyline of Coruscant, heading towards the abandoned Works section of the capitol. Fury brewed within him. Could Sidious truly have been hiding right beneath their noses, his nose, all this time? In such vicinity to the Jedi Temple? While anger boiled, so did glee and righteousness. He would meet Sidious, draw him out, and strike him down. He would reveal his corpse to the Senate and force the Separatists to surrender. The war would be over and he would be hailed as a hero.

Slowly, the ship descended into the building that the Force led him to. His astromech chirped at him as the cockpit opened and he exited the ship. "Stay here R9. I will be back shortly."

He stopped and stared at the shadows before him. Whispers came from the doorway before him, the sunlight breaking through the storm behind him casting a shadow. Mace had to do this. He had to go into the darkness. The Darkness answered to him. Vaapad allowed him to use the Darkness. Igniting his lightsaber, he stormed forward into the shadows, ready to conquer.

The only sound Mace heard was the noise of his own boots smacking the metal platforms beneath him. The Dark Side was like a festering wound here, growing and oozing puss out with every minute it existed. Disgusted, Mace followed the sickness to its source, which led him to a large room. Several pillars were erected in a circle around an altar with a basin of blue fire in the middle.

Mace slowly walked towards the altar, suspicious of the altar before him. As he got closer and closer, an dark, evil laugh boomed around him.

"Welcome, Master Windu. I must say you are here sooner than expected. And alone, no less. Do you really think you can defeat him all by yourself?"

Mace's purple lightsaber sprang to life and he entered his Vaapad stance. "Your evil ends here, Sidious. I will drag your corpse out to the public and force the Separatists to surrender. The Sith die here. The Dark Side dies here."

"Foolish child, the Dark Side can never die. You yourself use it. It lives in you, in several of your Jedi allies, and it lives in the hearts of those who you have forgotten."

Sidious chuckled as he saw Windu tense up and slowly pace forward. "You see, Windu, even now as your approach me, you are drawing on the Dark Side. Ever since the start of the Clone Wars, you have been allowing it inside of you. It's led you to many victories, but not all the time. It's because you are holding back. And each time you hold back, you allow for people to die."

Mace snarled and leapt forward with the Force, bringing his lightsaber down onto Sidious. His purple blade was met with two crimson blades. The room's only source of light was the blue fire and the lightsabers. Sidious gave a toothy yellow smile at Windu. He shrouded his face in darkness, which only enraged Windu even more.

Sidious pushed the sabers above delivered a kick into Windu's midsection, creating a distance between the two. The few seconds it gave him was all he needed. Sidious pushed forward, swinging his lightsabers like they were extensions of himself, pouring his hate and rage at Mace. The flurry and twirls of red were bombarding the Korun Master, who found himself back peddling and shadowboxing.

But only for a short while.

Then Vaapad activated.

Sidious was a font of darkness, crushing and overbearing.

Vaapad allowed Windu to take that Darkness and empower himself while directing and expelling that new power right back at Sidious.

But Sidious took that power and shot it back at Mace.

The loop continued. They fought with such speed and ferocity that one would simply see spheres of red and purple fire moving around the room. It was a duel worthy of the Jedi Archives.

Mace found himself doing deeper into Vaapad than he ever had. The war could end here, the senseless bloodshed and destruction would be stopped and the Republic would be saved. Peace would return and he would be hailed as a hero. This conviction drove Mace to believe that he what he was doing was necessary. He needed to fight fire with fire.

Sidious leaped over Windu's blade and brought his twin sabers down upon Windu. Any other Jedi would have lost their arms, but Windu was no ordinary Jedi. He was The Master of The Order. All the Jedi looked up to him. Windu moved to the side quickly, amplifying his speed and strength with the Force and Vaapad. AS he leaned back to avoid the blades, he could feel the heat of the blades and was sure if he had any hair, it would be singed.

Sidious saw that Mace was at his side and preparing to impale him on his purple blade. Raising his hands, he launched Mace backward across the room into the obsidian pillar, cracking it. The Korun Master shook off the effects and stared menacingly at Sidious.

"You will not beat me, Sith. I will take your head before the Chancellor and broadcast your demise to the galaxy. Dooku will surrender and he will join you in death. After that, the galaxy will be at peace."

Sidious let out a force-empowered laugh that sent chills down Mace's spine. "You fool. Even if you were to somehow strike me down, the Republic would still wither away into a shell of corruption and evil, its Senators choking it until their greedy pockets are overflowing with wealth."

"The Republic is dying. And the Jedi are a part of its demise. But I will save it."

Fury roared in Mace's heart. How dare this Sith to stand before him and say he will save the Republic? This Sith, this creature of vile darkness, was mocking him. The very hilts of his saber were mocking him and the Jedi. This monster would die here and now, by his blade.

The two duelists leaped towards each other, their blades spinning like a fan. Their strikes and slashes such a spectacle that it would be praised by Jedi and Sith for the beauty shown.

And then, one of the duelists faltered. Only for a second, but that's all it took. That simple slip-up is what caused him to lose.

Windu was younger than Sidious. He knew that much. The Force was screaming at him that he had the advantage in vigor and youth, even against Sidious's enhanced powers and mobility.

Vaapad overpowered Sidious.

Windu delivered a fist across Sidious's face, causing the Sith Lord to stumble backward and lose ahold of his left saber. Windu used the Force to push Sidious into a wall, pinning him there, pushing against his old frame before letting his foe crumble to the ground, alive.

Walking towards his opponent, Windu took Sidious's saber that lay in his hand, activated it, and pointed both blades at the Sith.

"Unmask yourself," Windu said calmly. When Sidious simply sat there starring at him, Windu yelled in fury. "UNMASK YOURSELF!"

Not waiting for him to do it himself, Windu tore the hood off Sidious' robes and revealed the face of-

Sheev Palpatine. Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. Lord Sidious.

Mace stared in shock. All this time, the Sith Lord had been right under his nose. The number of times he debriefed Palpatine on the war, the number of times he allowed him into the Jedi Temple.

Regaining his composure, Windu raised the sabers to strike down the Sith Lord-

Only to find himself being overwhelmed with a blast of lightning that he had never seen before.

Electric blue tendrils coiled around him and snaked through him. Mace screamed in agony and he held the sabers up to try and direct the lightning back at Sidious, but it was too much. The lightning penetrated him and tore through him. He found himself on the ground, screaming in pain as Sidious stood before him, pouring more and more lightning into him.

Eventually, it was too much.

The Dark Side overpowered Mace Windu.

He slipped into darkness as he saw Sidious standing over him.

Hours Later, The Works, Coruscant

Mace's eyes shot open as he lay on a medical table, probe droids flying around him. He shot forward, his senses blaring as he could not tell where he was or where Sidious was. The last thing he remembered was the lightning pouring through him, Palpatine standing-

Palpatine.

Palpatine was staring before him right now, with a calm smile as he stared at the Jedi Master.

Mace lunged forward but was held back by the restraints on the table. He tried to muster the Force, but Sidious was somehow blocking him from it.

"I do hope you have recovered after our fight, Master Windu."

"Release me from my restraints and I'll show you just how better I am feeling, Palpatine."

"Master Windu... Mace. I want to release you, but I know that you would simply run back to your masters at the temple and try to organize a large strike force to take me out. However, I meant what I said earlier. I am trying to save the Republic. And I believe you can help me do that. "

Mace laughed. "You would have me join you? You must be incredibly naive and foolish to think that I would ever willingly join you."

"You will if you care about the Republic and its future."

"What are you even talking about?"

Inside, Sidious smiled. Windu was curious. That was all he needed. Windu's love for the Republic would be his undoing.

"Mace, everything I have done has been to preserve the Republic. Yes, I did train Dooku as my apprentice, but he rebelled. He refused to accept that the Republic could change from within and believed it should be torn down. That's why he created the Confederacy."

"Then why did he refer to you as his master?"

"Because, from a certain point of view, I was. I trained him, but he rebelled. He tried to recruit Kenobi, but failed. Ever since the Clone Wars started, I've been working tirelessly to preserve the Republic. The Sith and Jedi only differ in philosophy on the Force. The actions of one do not determine the actions of all. You and I are so similar, Mace, we are the only ones on this planet who care about the Republic."

Sidious sighed and noticed the curious brow on Windu's face. The bait had been snatched, but the prey was not completely taken. Even a fish can wriggle its way out of a hook.

"However, I believe that in order to survive and preserve the peace of the galaxy, the Republic must change. We must weed out the sickness that is the Senate."

Mace lurched forward, held back by his restraints. "I knew it! This was just a ploy to take over the-"

"No, no, no my friend. There are some Senators who I can trust. But the majority of the Senate is corrupt, power-hungry. As I said before during our duel, the Senators there focus on filling their pockets and bellies. It saddens me how they let everyone suffer. My spies have already discovered plans to hand over power to the Jedi Council for the Senate. The Council already plans on removing you from the Council, because of your new powers and use of the Dark Side."

"You lie!"

"I wish I was wrong. However, this recording says otherwise," Palpatine inserted a data disk into a holoprojector. The blue, holographic layout of the Jedi Council was before the two. The entire Council was there, except Mace.

"Thank you, Masters, for arriving on such short notice," Cin Drallig said as he assumed his seat.

"Are we sure this is wise? Meeting like this in the middle of the night, without him?" Plo Koon questioned, his hands clasped in front of his chest.

"He would react poorly if he knew of this, even if we approached him. Vaapad is being to take control of him," Oppo Rancis responded calmly, though disappointment was evident in his voice.

Eeth Koth grumbled and looked at Kenobi. "We must be very careful moving forward. This could lead to disastrous results."

Obi-wan nodded. "Master Koth is right. That fact that we are doing this meeting is an insult to Master Windu."

"Would you rather do it in front of him? That would be even more of an insult," Master Tiin countered to Obi-wan, who sat next to him.

"Enough," Ki-Ad-Mundi said, silencing the room. "We must cast our votes. All in favor of removing Master Windu from the Jedi High Council because of the fear of Vaapad beginning to take control of him?"

Kit Fisto, KI-Adi-Mundi, Cin Drallig, Oppo Rancis, Sassee Tiin, Coleman Kcaj, and Even Piell voted yes.

All against?

Obi-wan, Plo Koon, Yoda, and Eeth Koth all voted no.

"The motion passes. Within the week, Master Windu will be removed from this Council. He will retain his rank of Jedi Master but will lose Master of the Order. It is unfortunate that it has come to this," Cin Drallig said. "After his removal, each of us will present a possible replacement for the seat on the Council. Once a replacement is found, the Council will vote on a new Master of the Order."

The recording cut out and Sidious looked at Windu. Rage boiled in him, like water boiling in a pot, threatening to explode.

"THOSE COWARDS!" Mace yelled in fury, fighting against his restraints. He had regained his strength and called upon the Force to break his chains and set him free. He leaped from the table and screamed in anger. Machinery and components shattered as the room they were in suffered his wrath. After lashing out for a few minutes more, Mace stopped. His anger and hate were still there. Breathing heavily, he screamed into the Force.

"How dare they?! After everything I've done for them, for the Republic?! I'll make them pay!"

Sidious gave a solemn frown and placed a hand on Windu's shoulder. "It troubles me to see you like this, my friend. Let me help you."

Mace turned to him. "What could you offer me?"

Sidious smiled. "Everything. I can give you the chance to save the Republic and get revenge against your former friends. Join me, Mace. Learn from me. Learn the Dark Side for what it is, not what your Jedi dogma has made you believe. Together, we can bring peace to the galaxy. All you have to do is join me."

Windu locked eyes with Sidious. He knew what he had to do. There was no other way. Getting down on one knee, he bowed his head. "I will do what you ask of me, Lord Sidious."

The Dark Lord grinned and raised his hand over Mace. "Arise, Darth Impetus. We have much work ahead of us."

Well, well, well. We are nearing our Journey's end.

I hope that Mace's downfall feels natural and not rushed. Originally I had thought of sticking with Dooku as the only Sith Apprentice, but I decided against it. As I said with Palpatine's internal thoughts, Dooku would have done well with the ransacking of the temple, but he needed someone stronger.

Also, the battle between Mace and Sidious was to reflect on how I believe the original duel in ROTS went down, with Windu winning the swordfight, but being heavily outclassed in the usage of the Force.

I choose Impetus for Windu's sith name because it means "driving force" or "something that makes a process or activity happen or happens more quickly." I was originally trying to make a Sith name out of Catacylst, but my brain could not create something that sounded cool.

Hold on to your hats. It's about to get wild.