Episode 5 Part 1 - Hail to the King

When Mandalore wanted results, he expected a battle. He expected conflict. Heck, with the Sith Lord in charge, he expected magic. He did not expect Nihilus to pull out a weapon of such simplicity, such destructive might, and such horrible potential that entire laws, safeguards, and engineering protocols would be written and named after him.

Mandalore didn't know whether to respect the results or disgusted. Considering they were facing the greatest Force user in the galaxy, with an ancient Empire aimed at the heart of the galaxy, Mandalore could appreciate the sentiment put behind the attack. Some people just take more effort to bring down and Nihilus wasn't one to hold back.

"I swear, if Valkorian lives through that attack, I'll shave every hair from my head and eat it."

"I'll take that bet."

Mandalore looked up from the hologram depicting the battle to see the door close, and an unexpected visitor enter his office. He smiled behind his mask to see the mask of none other than- "Revan."

Revan walked in with a light limp. His posture spoke of pain, but after a moment, he strengthened himself to walk tall and proud.

"You sound happy to see me. You aren't getting soft, are you, Canderous?"

"Only pleased with the opportunity to tell more stories and boast. No one lacks the braincells to just sit and listen quite like you." Mandalore rose, left his desk, and extended his hand. Revan took his arm in greeting. "And it's Mandalore now. You of all people should know that. Canderous died when I put on the mask."

"Right, of course. I don't mean to imply otherwise." Revan nodded. Mandalore could hear the pleasure in Revan's voice. Truly, it had been a long time.

Mandalore gripped his arm a bit tighter. Something he found bothered him greatly. "You have become a great deal thinner over the years... I could break your arm like a twig."

Revan pulled back self-conciously. Mandalore gulped. It wasn't just Revan's arm that was thinner. His torso was thin, his legs were barely thick enough to hold him up, and though Revan's voice was well known to him, it wasn't as deep or strong as it once was. Revan had aged, but more than that, he had suffered.

"Yes, well... My host hasn't been the most welcoming." Revan explained.

"How bad is it?"

At first Revan did not answer. He looked down, thoughtfully, before gesturing to a nearby chair. With the Force, the seat lifted into the air and rested behind him. He sat down heavily on it and sighed. "All things considered, not so bad. After I regained my memories I returned to fight Valkorian, sabatage, and do what I can to slow him down and learn of his endgame. I was successful at first. I managed to spark a rebellion that has grown since, but is still little more than an insect to him. I got as far as Valkorian himself... and you would be proud to hear I surprised him."

"Oh? The mysterious Revan caught the oh so omnipotent Emperor with his pants down?"

Revan nodded. "Gave him a nice scar across the face to remember me by."

Mandalore chuckled. "Good."

"And then... I lost. Again. I expected he would kill me, or do what he did last time and give me amnesia while making me believe I was a Sith Lord."

"Wait wait... So while you were working for the Jedi... they gave you amnesia ontop of the amnesia the Emperor gave you?"

Revan nodded. Mandalore whistled.

"Damn. Its a wonder you're sane."

"I do question it at times." Revan agreed. "But as I was saying. I lost. And... then nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. No punishments. No imprisoning. I'm alive. I won't saying I'm completely free, as I don't go where I want of my own will. Rather... he was impressed. He gave me a choice. Become one of his champions and he will turn a blind eye to my rebellion, or die and he destroys everything I have worked to build."

"And naturally, you went for the former." Mandalore tapped the desk in thought. "This doesn't sit right with me. Is he stupid? I am grateful you are alive, but you are spared on nothing more than a whim."

"He is an enigma, I will give you that. One moment he is thinking on a seemingly higher plane, a higher level, and then the next he is filled with lowly self-interest."

"Hm." Mandalore hummed. "You spoke of an endgame. Did you happen to learn of it, by chance?"

Revan did not react at first. He hesitated, uncertain. "A hint of one, I believe. No proof, but enough clues to offer a possibility. I believe he has a Star Forge of his own."

"I expected as much." Mandalore immediately answered.

Revan flinched. "You..."

"We expected it to be a possibility. For a man as cautious as he has been for the last thousand years, to suddenly give up a Star Forge to you, a pawn? No one gives up an ace without a spare up the sleeve. You will be pleased to know we can counter this ace easily. HK finished its programming into the final stages. It implanted itself into your Star Forge and took over."

"Did it now." Mandalore could hear the pleasure and relief in his voice. "Excellent."

Their matters went on for some time before Mandalore decided he had spent too much of his old friends time on business. There were others, such as his daughter, who would want to finally meet him. Revan was not shaken by the word Bastilla was dead, but expressed how he knew and had mourned already.

A shockwave rippled through the ship, sending Scourge tumbling to the floor. The sudden shaking startled him, but more than that, what he sensed shook him.

To sense an abundance of life, entire armies, a planet that held life, not thriving as a forest but still with a sizable military and scientific community, disappear is no small thing. Most disappeared without a trace, no feeling of conflict just simply erased, and others screamed in horrible agony. Though Scourge did not know what the pain was, he no less felt it in the Force as the very air inside their lungs burst into flame with the rest of the atmosphere. Like them, he felt it. Most of all, he felt it not through a passive ripple in the Force, but the active bond he had with Valkorian.

Valkorian took the full blunt of the inferno, and Scourge felt it just as much as he did. Scourge writhed on the ground as an unseen fire tore at his flesh, his throat, and his lungs. The snake that encircled his heart squeezed in its own pain and for a time Scourge was convinced death had finally come for him. Like him, every soul Valkorian held in his hand collapsed in agony and screamed. Every heart in his grasp was tightened, and some did die, but not all. After what felt like a true eternity, Scourge felt the snake around his heart loosen and relax cautiously. The pain that Valkorian broadcasted disappeared, and after a moment, Scourge heard a voice in the voice. It was a voice heard not only by himself, but all souls in the system.

Well done. I actually felt that one.

Scourge raised himself up. His muscles spasmed and he groaned painfully. He looked towards the planet, and he felt despair lick at him. Everything... everything he had built, was destroyed. All that was left for them was death and void.

-Anakin-

Well done. I actually felt that one.

Anakin opened his eyes. He didn't recognize the voice, but it wasn't a stretch to know who it belonged to. Anakin saw the ceiling and the cold metal of the vessel under his bruised back. He rolled over, put a hand to the floor, and pushed himself up to his knees.

"Who's not dead... sound off." Anakin said.

He was met with a chorus of groans.

All around him the soldiers were unconscious or recovering. Thankfully there wasn't fire or sparks or blaring alarms, but Anakin didn't doubt there was some level of damage. The ship had shaken. Up ahead, Anakin saw Ahsoka on the ground. He crawled his way to her and cradled her head.

"Snips... Snips." He patted her cheek, then shook her. She stirred. "Oh, thank the Force! How many fingers am I holding up?" He opened his metal hand to show all possible appendages, which was substantially more than five.

"As soon as all three of you stop spinning... I can tell you." Ahsoka replied. She pushed his moving hand out of her face. She winced and tried to sit up, only to collapse back into Anakin's hands. "Anyone else hear a creep in your head?"

"Good to know it wasn't just me." Someone said.

"You most likely have internal bleeding..." Anakin said. "Which is fine... that's where the blood belongs."

"I am so glad that's not a certified diagnoses." Ahsoka snipped.

The door opened and a number of soldiers rushed in and checked in on everyone. One or two were found to need a doctor for minor concussions, but beyond that it was just bruises and minor fractures.

The doctor cleared Ahsoka and Anakin, and moved on.

"What hit us?" Ahsoka wondered. She stood and looked out. She gasped. The entire system was a giant 'asteroid belt' of ship pieces varying from the size of grains of sand to massive chunks the size of a city. In the midst of it all was a planet reduced to a barren volcanic wasteland with discernible pieces of ships sticking out of its surface like a graveyard.

"You want the short version or the long one?" Anakin replied. He made his way to a panel and accessed the intranet for the fleet. The communications channel was filled with reports of damage. "Thankfully it looks like the large ships in front absorbed most of the projectiles and impact, shielding the rest of the fleet. Our shields were strong enough to hold the fraction of what hit us... Very few, if any casualities, but massive injuries varying from bruising to broken bones to concussions... a broken spine..."

Anakin sighed. He turned away from the panel. "As for what hit us... imagine taking the galaxies biggest fragmentation grenade and shooting it with another fragmentation grenade going at the speed of 'OH SHIT' inside a pressure cooker while we are standing next to it and you got what hit us."

Ahsoka walked to the window and gazed out. All around them, the fleet was moving forward. On the comms Anakin could hear orders to push in and establish a beachhead. While recovery was well on its way, the casualities were being found to not be near what was expected.

"Sounds like we got off lucky. All things considered... there isn't much of a Sith fleet left." Ahsoka said. Her voice trembled and she clenched her fists together tightly. Anakin could guess what was passing through her mind. Varus was in the middle of all that.

Varus was as skilled and powerful in the Force as the best of them, but Anakin didn't know if he could survive having billions of microscopic bullets flying at him at the speed of light, entire ships being shoved forcefully into each other, torn apart, and just the sheer instantaneous chaos of destruction that occurred. Varus was good. He wasn't unlimited.

Anakin tried to sense Varus in the Force, but could not. He sensed nothing, nothing but Valkorian. Valkorian's presence overshadowed the entire planet like a blanket through which he could feel nothing... and there was little to no life left around it within the Sith fleet.

Anakin took her by the arm and drew her attention to himself. "We will find him, Snips. Don't give up. I won't rest until I find him."

"Don't." Ahsoka shook her head. She smiled sadly. "You have a job to do. Varus is a grown man. You can't continue to take responsibility for him. I'll find-"

"Screw that! You two are family. If we don't stick together, who will?" Anakin replied heatedly. "I am here to stop Valkorian, but if I lose you and Varus... Victory will lose its meaning. So I'll stop Valkorian, but first... I'm making sure you two are safe."

Ahsoka blinked. Tears welled up in her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and sniffed. She continued to shake. She didn't know what she would do without Varus or Anakin. They were a family, in multiple ways. "Thanks. But how are you going to find him? I can't sense him at all."

"Simple. Where Nihilus goes, Varus will be sure to follow."

The dreadnaught they were on ignited its engines and headed toward the planet as well with the rest of the ships. The Sith fleet limped away on its last legs, and the beachhead would soon be established.

Ahsoka left the bridge in search for Cahj, and found her among the wounded. She had a small fracture on her wrist from where she fell, but it was nothing the doctors couldn't fix.

"Hey, Cahj." Ahsoka greeted.

The younger girl gave her a glance before returning her attention to flexing her fingers with the strap around her wrist. The girl smiled in greeting, but was otherwise pensive. Ahsoka sat by her. "I just wanted you to know I will be taking over as your master for a time. Varus hasn't returned from his mission and we will be establishing our beachhead on the planet soon."

"Why didn't he take me with him?" Cahj asked. "We went on all the missions together up till now. Even the scary ones or the stealthy ones."

'Ah, this was why the girl was pensive.' Ahsoka thought.

Ahsoka took the girl's hand gently and massaged it, "Varus did not take you with him because this was a special case. There are some people he would never let you near, and his partner on this mission was one of them."

"Who in the galaxy would that be?"

"Perhaps the one man he has ever truly feared." Ahsoka explained vaguely. The girl's eyes widened in surprise.

"He fears someone?"

"Very much so. Varus is full of fears. His greatest fears is losing us. He already lost so much, and continues to fear losing more. As you can imagine, putting the one man he is the most afraid of with the people he is afraid of losing don't go together well."

Cahj nodded. She looked down thoughtfully.

Ahsoka gave her a moment to process that before standing up and saying more firmly, "So get yourself checked up, and come see me. I need to have a brief spar with you to know what you can do, what Varus has taught you. Not only to know what next step I can help you with in his absence, but so I can understand what we, as a team, can handle. If am going to take responsibility for you in the middle of a warzone, I need us both to take this seriously. We will avoid as much conflict as possible, but there are no promises in war. Understood?"

Cahj nodded more firmly. The pensiveness was gone and she was herself again, "Ye-up!"

Ahsoka snorted. A proper soldier would say 'yes, maam.' It did not surprise her that Varus' apprentice would not exactly conform.

Well done. I actually felt that one.

I snap my eyes open. Heat. All around me is heat and fire. The metal above my head is red and searing to the touch. The metal beneath my skin burns. I lift myself up and stand. I feel something tug at me. Reaching behind me, I feel a shard of metal in my back. With a single lightning claw I cut it. Standing finally, I pull it out of me and with the same claw stab my own own so the blood clots.

It hurt, a lot, but I did not scream. I don't recall making a sound even if I had. I feel nothing. I'm entirely numb. I know why, though it don't make it any better. If I were to allow myself to feel anything, I would crack. If I were to think, I would fall and never rise again. There is too much on my shoulders, my heart bleeds openly and it is raw will that holds it together.

For so long I hoped to be free of Nihilus, but time has proven that so long as he lives his hold will continue to be on me, on my family, and on the future of myself and everyone I care about. If this was just about me, I would have allowed death to swallow me, but this is not about me. I have a future, but that future is gone so long as he lives. I tried it their way. Now let's do this my way.

I kick open a panel and crawl out of the hole. The lights are dead and bodies litter the ground. A door panel opens and closes, broken, never quite managing to either open or close before creaking, stuttering, and stopping. Through a window I see stars, volcanic explosions across the surface, and ash.

Gotta give him credit. He doesn't do things half-assed.

The window is cracked. There is the faintest whistle of air blowing through it. Good to know there is breathable air to welcome me.

I walk through the halls of the fallen ship and find the hanger bay. Most of what was here did not survived reentry, as most everything wasn't strapped down. But along the walls are still fighters and tanks stilled nailed down, so to speak. I'm not big into flying, and tanks are too slow for my purpose. It takes a little investigation, but among the vessels are a set of ground-speeders. I have to pry the panel off to gain entry, and cut away at the metal holding it in place, but I pull a speeder up with the Force, place it down, and kick it into speed.

The air is thin and smells burnt, smoke rises from the ground, the water is gone, and volcanic eruptions have burst out of the ground from deep beneath the surface.

Now where would Nihilus hide? He wasn't present when I woke, so he wants me to give him a chase, to hunt him. His normal Void presence is gone amidst the thick Dark Side presence filling and surrounding the planet.

I stop the speeder at the top of a broken crevice. Ship debris is the new forest of the planet as the remains of the Sith fleet fell to the surface and impaled themselves into the ground. Still they continue to fall, and I look up to check that nothing will fall on me. In the distant orbit the Mandalorian assault fleet enters lower orbit seeking to create beachheads dotting the land, and what remains of the scattered Sith fleet tries to zealously contest them with no regards for their own lives. Before my eyes a Sith fighter shoots one of my allies before crashing purposefully into a transport, taking them with him. However it is a losing battle for the Sith. The Sith are outnumbered dozens of times over since Nihilus' little plan came to be complete. Transports drop tanks and soldiers, larger transports drop entire buildings or supplies to establish a base of operations, fighter squadrons fill the air and scatter in every direction searching for prey, and in the midst of all of it five dreadnaughts dare to enter the lowest orbit. Anymore than five dreadnaughts and they might disrupt the gravity of the planet. As it is they are already causing the loose ground and dust to rise in their gravity well. Among them, the Ravager enters lower orbit directly above me, but doesn't lower. I sense the Ravager reach out, searching for me. Anakin and Ahsoka are on my ship, as well as Koj and Cahj.

Ahsoka...

Flashes of death, of her pain as our children repeatedly died at conception, her growing belief she was barren, flood through my eyes. I caused it... I caused it all. A knife impales itself in my heart and its thorny vines enter my veins, but just as quickly I push away the guilt, the feelings, the thoughts and memories. It will destroy me if I let it, and now is not the time for it.

I ignite my speeder into life and speed away.

They have their mission. I have mine.

"I need an artillery placement on that hill! Scan for traps or hidden places where they might be hiding!" A captain commanded. More orders were given to secure the immediate landing zone around the Ravager. Its larger guns were shut off and its sub-guns were activated. (Who would want to fire a nuke laser in point-blank range?) Scouts on speeders and all-terrain tanks spread out in every direction. Drones sped into the sky scanning for traps and signs of life.

In the midst of soldiers marching out, fighters ascending, and tanks rolling, Anakin stepped out onto the surface of the planet. His boots made contact with the burned ground and his nerves shuddered. The Dark Side filled the land down to the soil. Death and destruction was the only constant this planet had ever known, but there was something deeper... something vile that called out to him. A place that to him felt like a whirlpool of life and death ending in nothingness and void. It was a great node of the Force, but it felt... wrong.

Anakin recoiled and stepped back onto the ramp. He shook his head and his nerves. Behind him, Obi-Wan landed a fighter in the hanger and approached.

"This place is sick." Anakin commented.

"Anyone can sense that, even the clones. They whisper this place is haunted. You ain't scared of no ghosts, are you, Ani?"

"Not with you around. One glance of your ugly mug will make them scream." Anakin returned easily.

Obi-Wan stepped up beside him. Anakin's attention lay in the distance. Anakin said, "He's here. The Emperor. I can sense him. I cannot tell where, but he is. So are many other Sith. Nihilus... Varus." Obi-Wan extended his hand and grasped Anakin's shoulder in comfort. Anakin shuddered, "I'm thankful he survived. We were worried. If Varus had been caught up in the middle of all that when HK... it would have destroyed 'hsoka."

"And it would have almost destroyed you." Obi added, knowingly. "But he survived."

"My best guess is Nihilus helped make sure of that. The Sith Lord won't even allow death to take his apprentice."

"We can be sure to thank him while sending him back to the prison he belongs in. For now, one Sith Lord hunter to another, which one are we going after?"

Anakin looked to him questioningly, "We?"

"You really didn't think I came all this way from another battalion just to see your scarred face did you?" Obi-Wan grinned. "Your face isn't that pretty."

Anakin smiled a bit, his mood growing a little less dim, but he couldn't pretend to be cheery. There were too many heavy things on his mind, too many personal matters; but it was a great comfort that Obi-Wan would help him.

"Mandalore may want us to stay back and help with leadership, but screw it. We got some Sith Lords to hunt. First we find Varus, then retrieve Nihilus, then beat down anyone who gets between us and the Emperor."

"Dead or alive?"

"Yes."

The two of them returned to the dreadnaught, notified a captain they were leaving (to which the soldier was very vocal about his displeasure for), sent a comm to Ahsoka that they would leave and why, and left in a fighter with room for a few men.

The men took turns with the flight controls as they looked out onto the land and reached out with their senses. Everywhere they flew was barren and dead. The remains of the Sith fleet fell to the surface creating a planet-wide forest of ruins and metal, at times so large they had to fly inside of the larger ruins of the dreadnaughts and at times ascend high to scale over. Lava exploded from volcanos, spewing smoke and dirt into the air, and lava flowed from the ground where the metal ruins pierced deep into the crust. The ground was barren, dead, with a reddish or black color, and as hard as black glass in some places. There was not a single sign of life visible. No one could be found but fallen bodies and skeletons that somehow made it through atmospheric entry or the atmospheric burn without being reduced to ashes. Not one skeleton or body was that of an animal or plant or insect though. There were no birds. The planet was entirely devoid of life, yet it felt full because of the Emperor's planet-wide presence.

"How are we ever going to find them?" Obi-Wan murmured as they flew through the ruins of a Sith ship comparable to a Star Destroyer. "There are a seemingly infinite number of places to hide."

"We will, because we must." Anakin replied firmly.

He looked out with intense, focused eyes and a grit jaw. He glanced in every hole they flew by and he extended his senses in every direction, but no matter how far he probed, all he sensed was hot, lifeless, immobile metal with the shadow of the Sith over it. It was aggravating. The hours passed and each breath wore on his nerves. Varus was keeping himself supressed, Nihilus had an unusual presence that made it hard to detect most of the time, and the Emperor filled the system so fully that he was impossible to pinpoint.

It was like trying to look for three black needles in a black haystack in the middle of the night with no illumination. Where one needle was purposefully hiding, the second was actually a plastic straw, and the third was the haystack itself.

They came across other squadrons in their search. Quick communication checkups showed no other squadron had found life either.

"Do you think any have joined up with the Sith beachhead?" Obi-Wan asked.

Their search had gone far and wide, while the Sith were establishing a beachhead just as much as the Mandalorians were on this lifeless world. Thus far they had avoided the Sith fleet, knowing the ones they searched for would not be among the Sith fleet that had remained in the higher orbits.

"Possibly, but I don't think so." Anakin mused. "Varus would never join with the Sith Empire and the Emperor is too busy playing hide-and-seek to make it so obvious."

"And Nihilus?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"Just because I was joined with him briefly and in the loosest meaning of the phrase, doesn't mean I understand him."

"Better than most, still. He is entirely alien to me. Hey, look at that."

Anakin looked out where Obi-Wan pointed. Before them was an ancient ruins. Unlike the metal ruins of the ships that fell, this ruins was entirely stone, square around a central building which emitted a shield around the ruins, and in the middle of it was a shimmering light... Around that light they sensed life, and through the light they sensed... somewhere else. Like it was a window or a doorway.

Or a portal.

"We have to report this." Obi-Wan said.

"You send a message, but we aren't returning until we bring back Varus or Nihilus-" Anakin stopped.

Concerned, Obi-Wan leaned around the seat and looked at him. "Ani?"

Anakin was staring ahead, frozen. Then just as suddenly as he stopped, he snarled, pulled back on the shift, spun the fighter up and around, hit the engines as hard as they could go, and bellowed, "SON OF A BITCH!"

Obi-Wan struggled to not be crushed against the windows or controls as Anakin showed off his skill in flight at a speed many times faster than most would dare.

"Anakin! Slow down!"

"What is the one place that Sith bastard would be?!" Anakin hissed. "Nihilus follows rules and agreements obsessively! He desires most of all for Varus to hunt him as a Sith and what is the one place he knows Varus would find him!? What is the one place he knows Varus cannot touch him!? What is the one place where Nihilus is safe in this war!?" Anakin kicked the the fighter into a faster gear, forcing Obi-Wan to be pushed back into his seat. "Back at the Ravager with us!"

"I dont understand!" Obi-Wan yelled, struggling to be heard. "Varus and Nihilus only went on a mission. Why would Varus return to his hunt!"

"I don't know, but Ahsoka and I know what we felt. Varus' guilt, pain, and hatred has returned in full force... I dearly hope I am wrong in saying this, but I fear Starkiller has returned, and I suspect I know why. If I am right... this will be very ugly."

"It can't be that bad. Surely not, your former Padawan has grown into a strong young man and a good husband. Both of them have, and they rely on each other so much, and... I can't imagine him falling back."

"Obi... Shortly after Ahsoka had her little verbal spout with Nihilus, Nihilus was happy. He looked smug even. I got him to tell me what was on his mind, and he told me he had won. He told me that he would win against us because I showed him how far a father will go for his children."

"But Varus has no-" Obi-Wan stopped. He was practically family, he would know what had happened. He would have listened as Ahsoka cried her eyes out, believing herself to be barren. He would have been there when they mourned the deaths of their unborn children.

How far a father will go for his children.

"Varus has no children to protect." Obi-Wan said, his mouth suddenly dry. He looked at Anakin, suddenly fearful. "But he wouldn't need to protect... but to avenge. If Nihilus takes the blame..."

"Precisely. I hope i am wrong, but if I am right, Nihilus will be back where we started."

The flight back to the Ravager was short. They flew straight towards it at break-neck speed, wheras they had spent most of the day flying in every direction. They landed, and Anakin jumped out. He reached out with his feelings... and snarled.

Nihilus.

"You son of a bitch." Anakin breathed. He approached Nihilus, his fists clenched. Nihilus patiently waited as the man approached. He was under guard once more, seeing as how he had returned.

Didn't stop Anakin from punching him in the face, tackling him, and punching him again. "What did you do! Why did you return!?"

"Anakin! Stop!" Obi-Wan grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back. The guards had their guns pointed at him, but were uncertain what to do. They probably hadn't expected a hero with authority to punch the prisoner.

As for Nihilus, he spit blood out of his mouth. Some teeth fell to the ground. "Must you be so uncivilized? This was a fresh body, you know."

"And I aught to rip you a new one!" Anakin barked, barely restrained by Obi-Wan. He snarled. "What did you do to Varus!? Traitor... you don't deserve our protection after what you did to him!"

"I don't know what you mean." Nihilus rose, patted himself down, and looked none the worse for wear. "All I did was say a few words. If you mean why your former padawan has decided to desert his post, disappear, and return to his Sith ways... Well. You are free to ask him next time you see him... though, I suspect it will be at the end of a blade."

Anakin froze, his eyes wide. Nihilus smirked, and stepped closer until he was in Anakin's face.

"That's right, Jedi. I'm under protection, and hunted by your rogue Padawan. Makes him the enemy of Mandalore. Makes him your enemy actually, now that I think about it."

"You..." Anakin shook.

"Knowing my apprentice, the next time you see him it will be in the middle of the night with his blade pointed at your face. I should thank you... none of this would have been possible without you."

Anakin's lips snarled. "Because I showed you how far a father will go for his child?"

"That, and because there is nothing quite as tasty as giving a drowning man a moment of hope... before it is all taken away."

Nihilus turned, and left. He called back, "You people and the conflict you instill in him are exactly what I needed to bring him to his final stage. I was running out of ways to break him. Should have done this years ago! I haven't been this entertained since I was alive!"

Obi-Wan carefully let Anakin go, and Anakin fell to his hands and knees. "Ani-" Anakin punched the metal floor.