His black boots clicked softly against the floor as his straightened his uniform a bit and boarded the Emperor's ship. He was nervous about the meeting. The butterflies within his stomach weren't fluttering from fear exactly, but from the subject that would be discussed. His new light sabre tapped lightly against his side as he walked - an eerie reminder of the task at hand.

A pair of red-cloaked guards stood by the Emperor. He seemed to be such a frail, old man, but Ben knew from previous experiences that apperances are all too deceiving - sometimes their deception is a matter of life or death. A chill ran down his spine at that thought. He forced himself to bury his emotions as he had done so many times before. He felt as though this was a meeting with the jedi council in a midly warped sense.

"Guards, leave us." the Emperor hissed.

Each nodded and exited the small room. The Emperor slowly stood and carefully studied Ben. "Promising, quite promising," he murmered, "I see you've constructed a new light sabre."

"Yes, sir." Ben replied.

"Call me Master." the Emperor insisted.

"I.. I don't wish to have another master. I have enough experience to be considered a jedi knight. I would prefer to never call anyone master again." Ben stated firmly.

"I feel a hatred within you. Your former master deceived you terribly. Although you try to hide your feelings toward the matter, the scars upon your heart are quite visable." the Emperor said in his constant hiss.

Ben didn't reply. He didn't understand why the Emperor could read him so easily. True, it had been awhile since he'd really used his jedi powers, but still, this was just ridiculous.

"There are still things you can learn, but you don't need a master. There is hatred in you, Obi-Wan, so much hatred." the Emperor continued.

"I don't go by that name anymore..." Ben murmered.

"And why not? Why did you kill Obi-Wan? To turn away from the jedi?" the Emperor inquired.

"Yes, sir." Ben replied.

"Good... good..." the Emperor murmered.

There was an eerie silence between the two. It was like a silent game of hide-and-seek. Ben was trying to hide everything he could, but the Emperor was determined to seek it all out.

"Sir, not to be rude, but what exactly do you want from me? Yes, I was trained as a jedi, but I want no part of that life anymore. The jedi are cruel, heartless, and deceptive. I don't want to be part of them. However, I'm not sure if the dark side is the right place for me either. I don't want anything to do with the Force. I just want to live my own life free from these rules and regulations." Ben stated.

The Emperor's hauting, yellow eyes seemed to glisten a bit at that. "I assure you, there are no rules and regulations to follow on the dark side. Simply give in to your feelings. The jedi are so deceptive; you are certainly right about that. They hide their emotions, their feelings, their memories. They hide everything and put on the worst sort of facade. There is much power in hatred, and you certainly have hatred. You have an amazing talent with the Force. If you come to the dark side, you'll be able to use your powers with your emotions."

Ben remained expressionless. The idea of it didn't seem so bad. Using the Force with feelings couldn't be that bad, could it? The Emperor could tell Ben was pondering this, and an evil smirk graced his lips.

"Now, about your former master... he left you for a boy, a very dangerous boy." the Emperor said.

"Yes, sir." Ben replied with a haunting sadness in his gray-blue eyes. The words stung him deeply, another thing the Emperor could clearly see.

"You were right all along. The boy is dangerous, very dangerous. He isn't the one meant to bring balance to the Force. If anything, he will make bad matters worse." the Emperor stated.

"How is that possible? His midichlorian count exceeded Ma- Yoda's, and he was the virgincy in the Force. He is clearly the fulfillment to the legend, according to Qui-Gon." Ben said.

"Yes, according to Qui-Gon. Those pretty words are Qui-Gon's, not yours, Ben. You're much to bright for that. Do you honestly believe such a thing could occur? Balance the Force? He is dangerous. The jedi council said his future was unclear, didn't they?" the Emperor continued.

"Yes, sir, but they always said the future was hard to see." Ben murmered.

"Another lie. I can see the future quite clearly. The jedi council deceives everyone. They know the truth, but they refuse to tell anyone. I will tell you all about the boy, and about your master's grave mistake in choosing him over you." the Emperor hissed.

Different hidden emotions were beginning to dance in Ben's eyes again. Emotions he had hidden since the day he thought Qui-Gon died were beginning to live again. He fell completely into the Emperor's dark web of deception.

"The boy is so closely connected to the Force that if he were to be trained as a jedi, he would have the ability to destroy the Force. If his training is completed, life as we know it will end." the Emperor lied all too eaisly.

"What can be done then?" Ben inquired.

"The boy struggles with his emotions. He's so close to the Force that he could be on both the light and the dark side, thus leading to the destruction of the Force eventually. If we were to do something to completely catch his emotions and state-of-mind off guard, it might break the close bond between him and the Force." the Emperor stated.

"But, that won't change his midichlorian count or the virgincy." Ben said.

"That's true. However, if we disrupt his mind and spirit enough, he won't be able to reach the Force anymore. If he's caught off guard and thrown in the opposite direction, it's not likely that he will find his way back to the Force again. Even if he did find his way back, he wouldn't have nearly the same amount of strength." the Emperor continued.

"But what could be done to cause such a reaction?" Ben asked.

"That's simple. We must eliminate the one thing his entire life depends upon." the Emperor stated then paused for a moment. He waited until his haunting gaze met Ben's, "Kill his mother."

"Kill his mother..." Ben repeated softly, although the idea disgusted him.

"The trouble is, we haven't been able to locate the boy or his mother or Qui-Gon. We've searched every planet within the Empire." the Emperor said.

"The Empire doesn't exist where they are.." Ben thought aloud without realizing what he was saying for the Emperor's greedy ears to hear.

"I'm sure someone as brilliant as you would know exactly where to send a group to complete this mission. I'm trusting you with the mission. Don't fail me, Ben. The entire Force-dependant universe depends upon this." the Emperor stated.

"But sir-" Ben started.

"Ben, you've been given your orders. Don't let those jedi ideals tell you what to do. You've admitted how cruelly deceptive the jedi knights are. They would never admit to how many necessary killings they've participated in, or even the un-necessary ones. They probably want the Force to be destroyed just so we'll all be caught in such a chaotic state. You know what must be done. Do it, Ben, embrace the dark side and do what you must." the Emperor said, "You're dismissed."

Ben nodded and saluted the Emperor. He quickly exited the Emperor's ship and let out a sigh. He truly didn't know what he felt about the situation anymore. His group of soldiers were awaiting his orders. An innocent life would be taken. Another life would be disrupted. Another life would be filled with even more guilt, if that was possible. He didn't know Anakin's mother, however, he knew of her and where she resided. He knew Anakin, but he couldn't honestly say he was fond of the boy. As for Qui-Gon, he knew him all too well and wanted more guilt to be brought upon the damned jedi and poor excuse for a father.

Ben approached his awaiting soldiers. Without any further contemplation, he told them they would be going on a mission to take one life and only one life. He gave them the detailed directions from where to land upon the desert planet to the Skywalker home. "Kill Shmi Skywalker. Do not harm the boy or his master. The boy shall have enough problems, and the master, well, I shall deal with him on my own."

[Welcome to the wonderful world of plot twists! Isn't it grand? ^_~]