Anakin and Ahsoka had briefly split up, Ahsoka and a droid nicknamed Russo to conduct interviews, while Anakin moved through the temple conducting interviews before back to the site of the bombing to search through the wreckage and try to discern cause and motive.

Ahsoka walked up to Anakin, who was deep in thought. Without turning, Anakin waved his hand, acknowledging her presence. Ahsoka asked, "Did you find anything?"

Anakin shook his head and replied, "No, but the rumor about it being a Jedi is growing, Ahsoka. I can feel the anger and confusion throughout the Jedi Temple."

"Russo and I have a lead. We are looking for one of the Temple workers, Jackar Bowmani. One of the witnesses saw him in the area where the bomb exploded right before it happened, and we have not been able to find him anywhere."

Anakin shook his head and turned around. "Come on. Nobody just disappears."

Ahsoka shrugged and replied, "Unless it was well planned out."

"Well, it had to be well planned out to get past Jedi. I'll talk to security."

Anakin walked up to Cin Drallig, Jedi Master in charge of the Temple's security. Anakin looked out over the crowd that was protesting in front of the temple, many with anti war signs. Anakin asked, "They're all family and friends?"

Cin nodded gravely and replied, "Yes, looking for answers."

Anakin pulled out a hologram of Jackar and said, "So am I, Cin. This is the guy who might be behind all of this. If you see him, alert me immediately."

A woman in the crowd saw the hologram and gasped before yelling, "That is Jackar!"

Anakin turned to her and asked, "You know this man?"

"He is my husband. I've been trying to reach him since I heard of an explosion. Where is he?"

Anakin motioned her to follow and sternly said, "I need you to come with me."

The woman, who went by the name of Letta, was brought to an interrogation room within the Temple. Once seated, she immediately asked, "You have no idea where Jackar is?"

Anakin sat down and simply shook his head. "No."

Angrily, she snapped, "You are a Jedi, and you cannot find him?"

Calmly attempting to deal with her frustration, Anakin quietly replied, "I understand your frustration."

She shook her head in response. "Don't. Just find Jackar."

Anakin was quiet for a moment before tentatively asking, "Letta, do you think Jackar could do something like this, blow up the Temple?"

Letta, taken aback, angrily replied, "Do you have any idea what someone has to go through to work in the Jedi Temple, hm? Jackar dedicated his life to serving the Jedi. It had been his dream. Not just anyone can walk into your precious Temple. He passed all the entry tests that were needed."

Anakin held up his hands and nodded. "Okay, I had to ask. Unfortunately, everyone's a suspect."

Letta was quiet for a moment, looking down at her hands, before solemnly saying, "Jackar would never do anything like this. Please, find him."

Anakin nodded. "We will, Letta. I promise."

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Revan screamed in pain, the white-hot lightning coursing through his veins. The onslaught lasted for a few more seconds and then ended, leaving Revan gasping for breath. Revan gasped a few more seconds, looked back up, and then spit in Maul's face.

"Is that all you have got? I have fought acolytes with more power than you."

Maul, enraged, blasted him with lightning again, taking the time to exercise the new power that he had learned after being forced into the role of a servant to Darth Sidious. Maul blasted Revan with lightning again and again, but each time, Maul felt his power sapped to the bone and he would look up to find a pained but proud Revan goading him on, insulting Maul's power and appearance as the dark side user did everything in his power to drive Revan to the dark side for power.

Finally, hours of torture later, Maul shook his head, looked up at the torture droids, and said, "I am done with him, for now. Do what you will with him. But make him suffer."

Revan glared at Maul and muttered, "Someone has to."

Maul whipped around, catching Revan on the side of the head with a blunt and broken vibroblade. Revan's head ricocheted back and he began to spit blood as he attempted to block the stars from his vision. Revan glared back and smiled at Maul, knowing that he was getting under the Zabrak's skin. Maul glared at him with hate for a moment before storming out of the room, flinging the door shut with a screech as he did so.

The torture droid whirred its two blades at the edge of its first two arms and brought a needle up with the third, but Revan simply looked over, stared it down for a moment, and then, as if without a thought, threw the droid back against the wall with the force, snapping it into a plethora of pieces. Revan sighed and stared back at the door, taking the first moments of conscious silence to breathe in his surroundings.

The room was dark and built into the dark black metal and ash of the planet. Revan quickly noted the chains designed for force users and realized that there was something off about the planet. He reached out, sensing a few sentient beings, but soon realized that other than them…he felt nothing, yet, he somehow had been where he was before.

Back at the explosion, Anakin and Ahsoka poured over the information that was presented before them. Russo had projected the what the explosion would have looked like via hologram, based on the information that had been gathered by he and his droids. Anakin and Ahsoka walked amongst the life-size projection, picking through the pieces as it was played back again and again. After a few moments, Russo pointed to an area where a LAAT Gunship had been and remarked, "Based on the trajectory of the debris, it seems the blast came from there."

Anakin asked, "Why is there no bomb residue?"

Ahsoka, trying to catch up with her master, asked, "So you think whoever did this triggered a ship to explode?"

Anakin nodded in response. "We think so. Russo's trying to use the shrapnel to determine that now."

Anakin looked through the report on his holopad for a moment and then remarked, "The witness says he saw Jackar in the area. Maybe Jackar planned to do this and just kept quiet."

Ahsoka shook her head and dejectedly replied, "…Or It actually was a Jedi."

Russo waved the two Jedi over to his position. "I found something, an anomaly, something that should not be here. These pieces came from the blast origin. They are covered with microscopic droids of a highly volatile nature."

Anakin looked at the projection and the quietly exclaimed, "Nano-droids…"

"Yes, nano-droids."

"Great. Now we're chasing nano-droids. Russo, go through security footage. Try to see if Jackar went to other parts of the Temple. Ahsoka, let's go find out how Jackar got his hands on these nano-droids."

Russo handed Anakin a new holopad. "Bowmani's file, Master Jedi. He's a munitions expert. Jackar was the foreman over all of the gunships, bombs, and weapons. His specialty was nano-weaponry."

Anakin shook his head as the pieces began to fall in with one another and said, "We've got to find this guy."

Revan, who had fallen into unconsciousness after the latest bout with Maul and his lightning, slowly opened his eyes to see the floor covered with blood and hear a few ominous footsteps. The blood confused him for a moment, but he soon recalled that before blacking out, Maul had decided that a little physical punishment might do Revan some good.

Even as he realized this, he winced, feeling pain course throughout his body. Even as Revan called on the force to heal his wounds, he felt as though he had been run through by a starship. Everything was in pain and everything was on fire.

Revan, his long brown hair, no longer pulled back, soaked in sweat and blood while hanging in front of his eyes, heard a few ominous footsteps and didn't look up. He didn't have to. He could recognize the presence that approached anywhere in the galaxy and across the realm of time. Revan shook his head and muttered, "Vitiate."

The dark hooded figure chuckled. "I no longer go by that name, Revan. I would suggest that you do the same."

Revan slowly lifted his head. "Oh? Then what do you go by? Coward? Traitor?"

The figure glared back and sharply said, "You will watch your tongue in my presence, boy."

Revan glared and responded, "Or what? Are you going to torture me to my end? Please. We both know in death that I become more powerful than you could ever hope to be."

The emperor simply threw lightning towards Revan, who howled in pain as it consumed him for what seemed to be an eternal moment. After a few seconds, Vitiate dropped the onslaught and simply replied, "I go by Sidious, now, Revan."

Revan rolled his eyes. "Mysterious. Almost makes you intimidating, my lord."

Sidious lifted his hands and more lightning charged from his fingers, destined for Revan. But they never got there.

Revan stared, his face taught with focus, the lightning and energy frozen in time and space before him. Sidious, shocked, dropped the onslaught and stared for a moment before regaining his demeanor and saying, "My, it seems that you have been practicing your little powers, Revan."

Revan dropped the lightning from his focus, allowing it to dissolve. He stared back at Sidious and replied, "Well, considering how long you imprisoned me, I figured that I could learn a few new tricks."

Sidious chuckled. "Whatever you say, little Jedi."

Sidious turned back to Maul, who had been standing in the back of the room, and commanded, "Leave us."

Maul did as he was commanded, and Revan taunted, "Is your little apprentice scared of blood? The Dark Side certainly seems to have lost its fervor."

Sidious chuckled. "No, Revan, no, you misunderstand. He is not my apprentice. And even if he was, he would not be privy to the power I am about to unleash."

Revan swallowed the rising knot in his throat and managed to reply, "Something new? Good. The lightning was getting a little redundant."

Sidious simply smiled with an evil glare and lifted his hand. From his hand, a dark red shadow emerged. It took the figure of a woman and slowly moved forward, caressing Revan's cheek and whispering nothings as it moved closer. Revan, recognizing the presence, shook with rage as lightning raced up and down his body. "YOU FOOL! I WILL SLAY YOU FOR THIS!"

Sidious lifted his head and cackled gleefully as the figure moved around Revan, her voice a thousand whispers knocking at the door of Revan's mind. Revan closed his eyes and shook his head. "No. No. I will not look. I will not listen. No. No. NOOOOOOOO!"

Anakin and Ahsoka walked through the halls of the Temple, taking a moment of respite from looking at the evidence and simply talking with one another, hoping to make sense of everything that they had seen. Anakin shook his head and muttered, "It is imperative that the truth be found soon. There are whispers the Senate will have a meeting to decide whether the military police will need to become involved in the investigation."

Ahsoka exclaimed, "They can't do that!"

Anakin calmly replied, "Clones died in that explosion, maintenance clones working on the gunships as well as civilians, Ahsoka. The Senate tends to take notice of these things no matter where they happen."

A droid walked up to the pair of Jedi and said, "Master Skywalker, we have found Jackar."

Anakin and Ahsoka rushed for the location given to them on the holopads and Anakin yelled, "Lock down all exits so he can't escape!"

Anakin and Ahsoka arrived at the morgue and Anakin immediately asked Russo, "Where is he?"

"Well, part of him is here."

Anakin looked down at the hand in front of Russo, glared, and told Russo pointedly, "I don't think now is a good time to joke."

"This is all that remains of Jackar."

"His hand?"

Russo matter of factly replied, "The rest of him exploded."

Ahsoka, attempting to clarify, asked, "Because he was so close to the bomb?"

"Because he was the bomb."

Russo held up a reading of the blood analysis. Ahsoka asked, "What's this?"

"The connection we were looking for to the explosion in the hangar. The nano-droids."

Ahsoka shook her head and asked, "How did they get in his bloodstream?"

Anakin rolled his eyes and muttered, "Oh, this just keeps getting better and better. We're going to have to search Jackar's home for evidence."

Anakin and Ahsoka arrived at Jackar's home on the slums of level 1315. Ahsoka quietly observed, "This is not the nicest place. I would've thought working for the Jedi paid better."

Anakin and Ahsoka knocked. After no response, they did so again, much louder and with more urgency. After hearing no one move within, Anakin gave Ahsoka a nod and waved his hand, opening the door with the force. They moved into the dark apartment and began to search. Ahsoka called, "Letta? Are you here?"

Anakin directed her, "You search for the droids, but be careful, and remember, he was a munitions expert. I'd rather not set off another explosion today. I'll see if he left a note."

Anakin moved through the apartment, the darkness and silence causing his skin to crawl and his hair to stand on end. After a few tense moments of searching, Anakin heard a crash in another room and quickly called out, "Letta?"

Instead, Ahsoka replied, "Master, come here!"

Anakin moved back into the main area and found the kitchen, where Ahsoka's sensors had found traces of the nano-droids. "The sensors are picking up traces from the disposal. The nano-droids were in the food."

Anakin replied, "Well, I guess the question now is, did he eat them willingly, or did someone feed them to him?"

There was a crash behind the two Jedi, who both spun around to find Letta, shocked and looking terrified. "…What are you doing here"

Anakin, now leaning away from Letta's first story, sternly replied, "We've learned Jackar was involved in the bombing."

Letta shook her head and began to back away. "That can't be true."

Anakin pointed and told Ahsoka, "See if she has any nano-droids on her, Ahsoka."

Letta, confused, asked, "Nanodroids?"

Anakin simply nodded and pointed Ahsoka forward. Ahsoka quickly scanned her, checked the results, and replied, "She's clean."

Letta, who was beginning to lose her calm, asked in a frightened tone, "What do you mean, nano-droids?"

Anakin, choosing what information to reveal carefully, replied, "We believe someone set Jackar up and made him the bomb."

"I…I don't understand."

Anakin observed her behavior and watched as she continued to back towards the door. Her facial expression was a dead giveaway. Letta could have been many things, but a good liar was not one of them. Anakin calmly but sternly told her as he moved his hand towards his lightsaber, "Letta, I want to bring you in for more questioning. Maybe you can help us make sense out of all of this."

Letta nodded and turned around, moving towards the door. "I'll answer any question I can."

Ahsoka walked up to Letta and gently guided her down the steps and towards the speeder they had taken to get there from the Jedi Temple, but Letta, knowing that more interrogation would bring out the truth that she had been hiding, saw her one opportunity to escape. With the two Jedi's guard down, Letta gave a sharp shove to Ahsoka, sending her tumbling into the gutter. Letta took off, sprinting for a rising transport speeder that was beginning to rise up and head for the upper levels. Letta managed to grab a hold and swing herself up. As she did so, Anakin and Ahsoka gave chase, yelling, "Letta, stop! Letta! Letta!"

Seeing the transport begin to drift off, Anakin sprinted for one that appeared to be following a similar path, while telling his apprentice, "Take the high road."

"Right, Master." Ahsoka nodded and leapt for the tops of the buildings, hoping to use the drainage pipes running along the tops of the level to catch up with the transport before it drifted off into one of the high speed currents of traffic that were making for the shaft openings.

Ahsoka chased as best she could, using her speed and nimbleness to careen around the various manmade outcroppings as she chased Letta. After a tense minute of running, the transport began to make a turn towards the shaft, angling to go underneath Ahsoka. Seeing her chance, Ahsoka slowed slightly, made sure that she had good footing, and leapt, tackling Letta and rolling off the transport into the alley below with her prey in her arms.

They landed with a sharp thud, Ahsoka's catlike reflexes and Jedi training making for a rather routine fall, while Letta took the brunt of the fall and laid on the ground for a moment, catching the breath that had been knocked out of her before slowly and uneasily standing to her feet. At that moment, Anakin, who had been chasing Letta from another transport, leapt off and dropped to the ground, shaking up dust as he landed mere inches away from Letta, who recoiled in fear. "Stop! Let me go."

Ahsoka pointedly replied, "Running means you know more than you're telling us."

Letta shook her head in fear and replied, "Jackar is dead, and now you're trying to blame his murder on me."

Anakin glared and darkly replied, "Nobody ever said he was dead."

Letta, realizing her mistake, recoiled, her eyes wide. Ahsoka pushed, saying, "But running proves you had something to do with the bomb."

"No…You don't know what you're talking about."

Anakin, now furious, leaned forward, intimidating her and shouting, "People blamed Jedi because of you! People were killed because of you!"

Letta feebly replied, "You can't prove anything."

Anakin, furious and tired of waiting for an answer, stepped forward, grabbed her by the throat, and with one of the darkest voices that Ahsoka had ever heard come from her master, demanded, "Did you feed the nano-droids to Jackar? You. Will. Answer me! Now!"

Letta finally admitted, breaking down into tears and screaming, "I did feed the nano-droids to Jackar."

Ahsoka, shocked at how anyone could think of doing something like this, asked, "You set up your own husband to die?"

Letta shook her head and looked at Ahsoka, who was shocked to recognize the sadness and hopelessness in her eyes. "You're dealing with things you don't understand."

Anakin, who was far from compassionate at that moment, yanked her to her feet and muttered, "Oh, where you're going, you'll have plenty of time to explain everything."

Revan lifted his head, the shadow disappearing and the torture ending. He was drenched in sweat and shaking from exhaustion, but he managed to whisper, "I will kill you for this. If it is the last thing I do, I swear, I will kill you for this."

Sidious chuckled darkly. "All you ever wanted to do was protect her. And now you will have to choose between the galaxy and her."

Revan glared. "You must be desperate to do this."

"Desperate? No, boy. I simply realize that even you, with all your power, have your fragilities. You should have listened to the council all those years ago. It would have saved you so much weakness in the grand scheme of the universe."

Revan shook his head and angrily whispered, "You have no idea what you have done."

Sidious opened the cell door to leave, but before he did, turned back around and responded, "Oh, no, Revan, I know EXACTLY what I have done."

Anakin and Ahsoka walked into the council chamber, where another emergency session had been convened to report the findings. After giving their report, Master Khaar asked, "And what has become of Letta?"

Anakin swiftly replied, "We're holding Letta in the cell below the temple to await further questioning."

Khaar looked over at Russo, who gave his report on the incident in no short detail, making sure to note every moment and factor of the investigation. After his lengthy address, he finished with, "I am pleased to report there were no other nano-droids found in the sweep of the Temple. I am also pleased to report, based on the security footage, Jackar Bowmani acted alone, which means no Jedi was involved."

Anakin nodded in appreciation. "Thanks, Russo. Good job."

Mace Windu asked, "Did this woman say what her reasons were for attacking us?"

Anakin shook his head, as Letta had not yet been fully cooperative, opting to remain silent since her last ominous words to Ahsoka. "Not yet, but we're working on that. But I think we can guess her motives easily enough."

Obi-Wan nodded and replied, "Public opinion is swaying against the Jedi. That is becoming clear. This war is becoming less and less popular every day it persists."

Anakin nodded and sensed that he and his padawan had fulfilled their duties for the moment. He gently nudged Ahsoka and then bowed to the council, which Ahsoka followed, and then proceeded to exit the chamber and move to the windows that overlooked Coruscant from the hallway outside of the Council Chamber. Ahsoka, still somewhat crestfallen at the thought that someone would attack the Temple, quietly asked, "Master, I'm relieved we solved this case, but…"

Anakin, sensing her inner turmoil, finished the question for her. "What if it had been a Jedi?"

Ahsoka lowered her eyes and nodded, ashamed that she was even thinking along those very lines. "Yes…I don't know how I would have felt if a Jedi was really behind this."

Anakin put his arm on Ahsoka's shoulder in comfort and quietly replied, "There are going to be Jedi who disappoint us, Ahsoka. But as long as we know there are good Jedi who fight for what's right, it makes it all worthwhile."

Ahsoka, sensing that Anakin was not just saying those words in general, but was praising her, raised her head and offered a small smile. "Thank you, Master."

"I'm proud of you, Ahsoka. This investigation is not an easy one. Certainly not for a padawan. You handled yourself well. I'm lucky to have you by my side."

"Thank you, Master. I'm just glad to be here for you."

In that moment, Anakin offered her his signature grin, but as he did so, gasped and nearly fell over, the pain in his side returning with a vengeance like never before. Ahsoka managed to catch him and hold him up for a moment before it passed, but a concerned Ahsoka said, "Master, you NEED to tell someone. This isn't normal. This shouldn't be happening."

Anakin shook his head. "It's fine, Ahsoka. This too shall pass."

Revan screamed as the lightning coursed through his veins, Sidious and Maul both cackling from a viewing platform as they watched a torture droid do its worst to Jedi Master. Maul looked over at his master with a demonic glee and asked, "Master, when shall I finish him?"

Sidious shook his head. "No, Maul, there will be no death. Not for him. Only pain. Only suffering. This taste of power and this time of pain is all he needs to begin tipping back towards the Dark Side. And when he finally he falls, he will bow to me and bring me the Chosen One. And the Sith will be born anew.

This galaxy is mine for the taking. One drop can send ripples across an ocean. The galaxy is my ocean, Maul, and Revan will be the storm that brings it under my control.

Everything is going exactly as I have foreseen."

(Hey guys! Hope you enjoy the chapter. PLEASE review and PM. I love to hear what you guys think.)