Chapter 24: Duel of fates

*** 1 ***

"Now you have seen the whole truth. Palpatine and Dooku orchestrated this war from the beginning," Vader said and shattered the data card he obtained from Dooku's ship with a touch of the Force.

"No! You should not destroy it. You need to show it to the Jedi Council!" Palis exclaimed.

Obi-Wan had the same feeling, but he waited for Vader to explain.

"This video incriminates Palpatine as a traitor, but it will throw the whole galaxy into total chaos. Both sides of the war would feel betrayed by their own leader. All will blame the other side, then there will be no peace ever. Truly, peace is a lie. I refuse to show it to another living soul," Vader spoke with a tired voice, but he smiled. "Padme agreed with me on this."

Obi-Wan winced at the phrase "Peace is a lie," but he found himself agreeing with Vader's judgment. There would never be peace anymore. Sidious needed to be brought down, but not with the whole galaxy together.

"You already made being a Sith legal. What is the Jedi supposed to arrest him for?" Obi-Wan asked sarcastically.

"I will make sure he says self-incriminating things in his office when I meet him at sunset. Padme and I prepared a few questions to trap him. We need him to admit he was working with Dooku recently , so he can be arrested. But not boast about engineering a war." Vader spoke carefully, "He is meeting Padme and Bail Organa now, they will tell him that they support him staying in office until the Separatists' remnants are all gone. My father would think he has already won. He will let his guard down."

"You still call him your father?" Palis was surprised.

"Yes. I never had a father in my life. I admired and loved him," the young man said ruefully. "I do not want him to die. This is why I am asking the Jedi not to kill him. He needs to be arrested and stand trial. I know he will not surrender without a fight."

"What if he tried to murder you or other people in the process?" Obi-wan raised an eyebrow.

"Then he already would have made his decision," Vader said sadly. "If he wants to kill me, I am okay with that. I do not care about what will happen to me-"

"Anakin. Don't say that!" Palis interrupted. "You are disillusioned and confused by what happened recently, but that is not the end of it! You still have a good life ahead of you. "

"Really?" Vader scoffed. "I hope you are right."

Obi-wan cleared his throat. "Admiral Skywalker, I have to make it clear. I still do not trust you. How could I believe that this is not another deceptive tactic to frame the Jedi for an attempt on the Chancellor's life, and brand it as treason?"

"Likewise, I do not trust you either. How could I believe the Jedi will not try to murder both of us because we are too dangerous to keep alive?" Vader's eyes were icy. "How about I propose a way to hold each other accountable?"

Obi-wan nodded curtly, waiting for him to continue.

"There is a ritual. The two sides take an oath to each other. If one side breaks the oath, they will face a painful death. Each of us must swear on a person we care about deeply. That person will face the same fate as well. " Vader commanded authority with a dark voice. "Of course, it is a Dark Side ritual. The oath will expire after the promise is fulfilled."

"The Jedi have no attachment. I doubt it will work for me."

"Obi-wan, I know you care about me a great deal. You cannot deny it," Palis said with anxiety.

"I will swear on Padme's life. She consented. We are expecting a baby. Thus, I swear on three lives including mine. Is that fair enough for you?" Anakin said with sorrow, but conviction as well.

Expecting a baby. The young Sith was going to have offspring. As a Jedi, Obi-Wan could not really reconcile the idea of being a Sith and being a father. To use Sith lightning, the Force wielder must have a very high number of midichlorians, a level that was near Yoda. He found he did not know what to think of this child. It would be a dangerous child, but it didn't feel right to think of an infant as dangerous. Anyway, it was a thought for another time. If he did not survive this confrontation with Sidious, it would not be his concern.

"Oh stars, congratulations! You have another reason to live!" Palis said excitedly. Obi-wan was marveled at her ability to see the positive aspect again.

"Very well," Obi-Wan agreed.

Vader extended his left hand, and Obi-Wan took it. The hand was cold.

"I, Darth Vader, the Lord of the Sith, pledge to Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi that I did not and will not deceive or mislead him on issues related to Palpatine and the Sith. If Kenobi and I have to fight Chancellor Palpatine, Darth Sidious, we intend to arrest him and keep him alive." Vader spoke with a ghostly voice. Dark energy surged, surrounded, and twisted around them. It turned to bright flames circling them making the ground around them look like lava. "I swear on the life of myself, my fiance Padme Amidala, and our unborn child."

"I, Obi-wan Kenobi, swear on my own life and my former Apprentice Palis Athia that I will keep the promise of keeping Sidious alive to stand trial." He pronounced each word painfully and felt both freezing and burning sensations inside his skin.

"The party that breaks the Oath will face a painful death." Vader gestured to the flames and lava surrounding them.

"It is the deal." He seconded it. Then the illusions disappeared. To his surprise, he did not feel anything strange.

Vader pulled the sleeve of his left arm back. A Jedi symbol was on a spot below his wrist. He looked at his own wrist, to his dismay, a Sith symbol was here.

"All will disappear after the promise is fulfilled." Vader said urgently, "There is no time, I will leave this place first. Then you leave after I am gone. We absolutely cannot be seen showing up together."

He took a breath. "I let him talk first, to incriminate himself. Only when the fight starts, you come in. Windu and the others have to come later. Bringing in more Jedi at the same time would only lead to your disadvantage. He excels in fighting multiple opponents at the same time. You just need to assist me, like what we did when we were against Ventress."

"Like the old times. It was like a lifetime ago." Obi-Wan sighed.

"Indeed." The young Sith smiled bitterly.

"Padme and I will do our part. I'd better get going. May the Force be with us all," Palis said and disconnected the call.

*** 2 ***

Vader's thoughts wandered as he made his way back to the Senate District.

It was the first time he felt relieved since he joined the Sith. His religious philosophy was finally legal under the law of the Republic. He had told Padme the secrets, she did not reject him, at least not yet. But she would once things settled down, he was sure of it.

He did not know how he should feel about Sidious, his master, and his adopted father. He hated his lies, deception, and other horrible deeds, but Vader did not want to hate him . However, he could never forgive Sidious for the things he did either.

Vader doubted he could ever forgive anybody or anything. Forgiveness was not the nature of the Sith. It meant he could not forgive himself for the wrong things he had done.

He thought if Sidious was really behind Shmi's abduction, Vader's whole life was built on a lie. He indeed was in the hand of another slaveholder, who played his life for more than a decade. His freedom was an illusion.

"The Force shall free me." It was the promise from the ancient Sith Lords. Another empty promise.

Maybe death could free him. Maybe he should never have lived.

He looked around, and watched the familiar scenes and buildings, trying his best to carve them into his memories: the military compound, Starfighter hangar, the Jedi Temple (which he disliked), and the Senate building.

He recalled friendships that he had made in the secretive years. He did not have many friends to begin with. After knowing the truth, how many of them would still consider him a friend? Rackeli would think he had used her. The Naval officers and clone troopers would think he was part of Sidious' treason. Everyone would hate him. He hoped they could forget him, and move on.

This probably was a one-way trip. He was confident that he could get the evidence that could incriminate Palpatine, but he did not think he would be able to defeat Sidious. He would give it a serious try. If he failed, the Jedi would finish what he had started. Obi-Wan would drain out Sidious' energy, and Jedi's swordmaster Mace Windu would arrive to finish the task. If Windu killed Sidious, it had nothing to do with the Oath.

Another thought hit him. If he was dead, who would protect Padme and the child from harm? He certainly did not trust the Jedi could do any good to them.

He forced himself to stop all these thoughts as he came into the Senate building. He found tears started to form. He managed to stop it, otherwise, people would see it.

He did not take the turbolift but used the stairs instead. He called the Force to him, to help him concentrate.

He could see the entrance of the Chancellor's office now. He took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. He knew Sidious would be the only person in the office.

Behind him, the Coruscant sun was sinking.

*** 3 ***

"Master, I have arrived." Vader bowed to Sidious, the same way he usually did.

"You arrived early, my Apprentice." Sidious looked at him with a triumphant smile from his massive office desk.

"I want to ask you a few questions." Using the Force, Vader checked that the recording device was working. "Too many things have happened recently."

"Yes, we still have time. Go ahead." He could sense his Master trying to probe information from his mind. He wouldn't get through. Vader's mental shielding skills had become very strong after these years hiding in plain sight while working along with Jedi Council members.

"You arranged the abduction, so you could meet with Dooku? You two were working together, and had a deal to rule the galaxy together? "

"Yes. I arranged it. We had some agreement about how the Galaxy should be run. Dooku was weak. His own failure decided his fate. You earned your place as my worthy Apprentice. You will rule the galaxy together with me, as my heir." Sidious screened Vader's face with a newer level of intensity.

"Yes, my Master. I am your heir. Do you know that Sate Prestige participated in my mother's abduction? Were you a part of this plot?" He spoke with disobedience and anger.

"Interesting. You know a lot, son. " A brief moment of menace flashed on the older man's face. "You knew that Plagueis wanted to kill you. He sent agents to kill you and your mother. I protected you. Yes, I separated you two, because you must fulfill your destiny."

"What destiny requires my mother being left to rot in slavery?" Vader demanded with pain and anger.

"It is necessary. You do not know anything about your biological father. Because you had no father. You were not born as a human. You were a Sith creation." His Master said passionately, "Plagueis the Wise was powerful enough to create life. You are the results of his experiment."

This was astonishing news. Vader inhaled sharply with eyes widened.

"Find it hard to believe? Why is your midi-chlorian count off the chart? Why are you unnaturally talented in manipulating midichlorians? Why were you able to save Padme from certain death?" His master was smiling. "You are meant to be a Sith, ruling the Galaxy together with me. You must embrace your destiny."

"Yes, Master," he answered automatically. If he was created by the Sith, what else could he do other than being a Sith?

"You saw the hostility and menace the Jedi showed toward us at the ceremony. They were ready to have a coup. Search your feelings, you know it is true."

"Yes. It was true." Ironically, Vader was a part of the coup. There was no turning back now. He had a binding Oath with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Also, he had pledged his life to Sith's teaching. The only way out was his death. If his origin story was true, it literally meant his life belonged to the Sith Order. There was only one way to fulfill both pledges.

"The Jedi had suspected us. They were ready to attack," Sidious said with his Sith voice. "Lord Vader, I charge you with the task of crushing the Jedi planned coup."

"How is it possible that I can take down all the Jedi by myself?" He got a little bit nervous. This was the last incriminating evidence that he was collecting.

"The clone troopers will answer your command and take on the Jedi."

"The clones are loyal to their Jedi generals," he said innocently. All his practice of fooling the Jedi Masters indeed had trained him to be an okay actor.

"I will issue Order 66. All the clones were biologically engineered to obey my order. No Jedi will be left out." Sidious laughed aloud. "I am doing it now. I had sensed that some Jedi had followed you into the building."

He took out his commlink and spoke. "Commander Cody. Execute Order 66."

Vader's heart was pounding. If Cody answered, the whole mission had failed.

"Commander Cody, do you copy?" Sidious said impatiently.

No response.

"All the communication frequencies have been jammed, Master." Vader tried to speak with confidence, but he did not do it very well.

"What did you just say?"

"The commlink was jammed, Master. Working together with Dooku was treason. I knew about the biochip in the clones' heads. They will murder Jedi and your political dissenters without hesitation. You put Padme's life in danger. I have to stop you." Vader looked into Sidious' eyes directly.

"My treacherous Apprentice. Do you dare to say it again? Your judgment is clouded by your bitterness about your mother. I will give you one more chance. You will do my bidding ."

Voices in his head were telling him to say Yes. It was his last chance to do the right thing.

He also saw Padme. Two small children hugged her legs, they looked terrified. She shook her head sadly.

"No." Vader broke out from Sidious' influence. "No. I will not do it. Master, you surrender. I do not want to fight you."

"Then you are already dead."

Sidious shot a bolt of lightning at him.

Vader blocked the strike with his lightsaber. After Sidious figured out lightning would not work, he ignited his own blade.

The Sith Lords exchanged a few aggressive blows. Fighting Sidious felt completely different from fighting Dooku. Dooku was arrogant and aggressive, which was befitting his Sith name.

When facing Sidious, despair sneaked into his mind, whispering and distracting him. The Chancellor's office was in a Force storm, with dead ancient Siths' voices screaming to him, condemning him to death.

Beyond the realm of the physical world, the two Sith fought in the Force. Sidious tried to hit him with Force energy. Vader shielded himself and deflected back to Sidious.

"Impressive, my treacherous Apprentice. But don't forget that we have a Master and Apprentice Bond between us," the Sith Master hissed. He looked physically exhausted. Vader had the upper hand. "Drop your pathetic defense. Get ready to embrace your death."

Vader staggered as Sidious yanked his life Force like a hook through his stomach. He could no longer breathe. Gasping, he fell to his knees as Sidious stood that much straighter.

"You refused to obey me, but your life Force will. Your youthfulness will rejuvenate me. You serve me one way or another." Sidious laughed hysterically. "Power, unlimited power!"

Vader became weaker with every second passing. The Force transfer was accelerating. He could barely open his eyes. His connection with the Force was cut off. He still could hear though.

"All Senators and staff. An armed criminal was found in the building. Take shelter immediately. Jedi are on their way. Repeat. An armed-" He heard Palis' voice shouting in the building, moving closer to the Chancellor's office.

"Sidious, Leave him," Obi-wan said, suddenly standing above Vader. The Jedi Master launched an attack on the older Sith.

Sidious' ritual was interrupted. It was the opportunity Vader needed. With Sidious and him being connected by their Bond, Vader ignited his Life Force, the explosive energy traveled all the way to Sidious. The Force exploded in both their bodies.

He heard a loud scream, then the darkness claimed him.

*** 4 ***

"You think he will die?" Rackeli asked Crusader quietly through the commlink.

"It is not what I think. All the Jedi healers said so. They said he lost his will to live," he said frustratedly. "You still do not want to come to see him? Maybe it is your last chance."

"I do not know." She fought to keep her tears back.

"You must come. You two are good friends," he pleaded.

"Let me think about it." She waved her hand to him and turned the device off.

Good friends. She once believed that their friendship transcended species and social status. She once believed they shared the same passion for protecting Force-sensitives children, but Anakin was for something else.

He never told her that he is a trained Force wielder, the most powerful type. A Sith Lord. Palis' accusation was correct. She had indeed served a Sith agenda to tear the Jedi Order apart.

She learned the truth about Anakin from the media among all the other political chaos. The past two weeks had been like a firestorm. The state-sponsored news outlet announced that Chancellor Palpatine had collaborated with Separatists, thus committing treason. He assaulted Admiral Skywalker, who had tried to talk him into surrendering, and resisted Jedi Council member Obi-wan Kenobi's attempt to arrest him. In the fight to save Anakin's life, the Jedi Master Mace Windu, who arrived later, had no other choice but to kill Palpatine.

When she first heard the story, nothing made any sense. Palpatine seemed like a defenseless, elderly man. How could he manage to resist one of the most powerful Jedi? Things started to make sense when it was revealed that Palpatine was the Sith Master Darth Sidious.

Rackeli always thought Sidious was a myth. It was Palis who was paranoid and believed in Dooku's lies. She could not believe it until she saw the recording of what happened in the Chancellor's office. It was quite a deadly battle between Sidious and his Apprentice Vader.

The First Family drama was now everywhere on social media. The Jedi Order took control of the state-sponsored media. Immediately, Palpatine was no longer the beloved Chancellor who single-handedly stopped the Republic from falling apart. According to the same media, he was a murderous traitor with a genocidal plan to kill every single Jedi.

The sudden change of tone in the news caused a big backlash among the public. People could not believe the existence of this Jedi genocide plan.

Under immense pressure, a few days later the Jedi announced that Palpatine installed a biochip in clones' brains to do the murder and released the code's details.

Holonet social media went wild. A good number of people in the Republic did not believe a word of what Jedi and Palpatine's opponents had claimed. These people used to be the most loyal fans of the state-sponsored news. Now they created their own news outlet and broadcasted their own version of the truth: the Jedi Insurrection.

They widely circulated the video "Jedi Cult'' made by Crusader, and uploaded it to the Holonet by her. They two were praised as prophets who dared to take the lead to denounce the Jedi evil.

In their stories, Palpatine was the courageous reformer who ended the one thousand years of Jedi-run shadow government. The Jedi were terrified by the sudden loss of power, thus they instigated a violent insurrection based on a web of lies.

The Jedi coup had won. They killed the Chancellor, and not only framed him as a traitor, but also a Sith. They would not even leave his son alone, framing Anakin as a Sith as well, so that they could strip his military rank. The Palpatine supporters, especially the senators who still supported him, vowed to bring justice to the Jedi. An eye for an eye. To her despair, the Republic itself suddenly became deeply divided. Probably it had been divided for a long time. Now everything was exposed in light, and it looked disgusting.

Rackeli had to admit that the Jedi Insurrection story sounded very compelling for people who question the authenticity of the Chancellor's office recording. She did not like the Jedi's way of doing their business, but she knew the Jedi did not lie. The biochip was real as well. Crusader confessed to her that he was a clone. Another astounding revelation. The first biochip sample was from his head, taken out by Anakin.

Her two colleagues and friends both lived a double life. Rackeli, the lawyer from Outer Rim, was the only fool. Now it explained why the two of them insisted that the Freedom Act should legalize all Force religions, and ban Jedi from recruiting members who were kids. She herself did not need the reform to go this far, but the Sith needed it.

She felt used and betrayed and utterly disguised with herself. She needed some answers.

And Anakin was dying.

Despite all his deception and all the hurt she felt, she didn't want bad things to happen to him. Was he a good person? Most likely not. But she did not care about it anymore.

She knew one thing for sure- she was not a good person, at least not as good as she thought. She was terribly flawed and blindly followed her passion and self-righteousness. The "Jedi Cult" disaster was a testament to it.

"Rackeli, you must go to see him. He does not have much time left. I know it," Crusader called her again.

"How do you know?" she questioned.

"He had a connection with me. Long story. It is fading," Crusader said desperately. He was fiercely loyal. It was surprising that he did not mind his boss being a dangerous Sith Lord at all.

According to Crusader, Anakin had been on life support for two weeks now. Even if she came to visit him, he could not hear her, nor to answer her any question. But maybe it was the last time they could meet in the world of the living.

She would hate to visit his grave in regret. She must do something now.

"I will go to the Jedi Temple. Hope I can get into it this time," she relented.

She was never allowed into the Temple beyond the entrance lobby. She hoped it would be different today.