Misread Prophecy

AUTHOR: Abigail

SUMMARY: What if the 'chosen one' wasn't Anakin Skywalker? What if the Jedi Council realized their mistake too late?

CHAPTER 6: Exposed

RATING: T

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that was created by George Lucas.

NOTE: The turning point chapter...I spent all night on this...so please review. By the way, to 'Anakin-Padme'...I have no idea how many chapters it will be! I don't think it will be done by Friday though...if you want, I can e-mail you and give you a brief summary of the rest until the end...I'm so sorry! Hope you guys like this.

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I will come to you in the still of the night ...
And I will crush you with the burden of sight ...
And you will understand the shadows in my heart ...

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Anakin and Padme stood next to their fellow Jedi members, who all stood sporadically amongst the Jedi War Room, talking to Yoda and the others via hologram.

"General Kenobi has made contact with General Grievous, and we have begun our attack," said the Clone Commander. Master Windu and the other Jedi nodded at this, all feeling the sense of accomplishment.

"Thank you, Commander, your dedication is always appreciated," Windu said. He then turned to face Anakin. "Please deliver this report to the Chancellor. I have a feeling his reaction will give us a clue to his intentions," he said thoughtfully. Anakin began to nod and leave when Padme interrupted him.

"Master, if you don't mind, I would like to deliver the message to the Chancellor. I was just on my way to see him for a Senatorial matter...Besides, I would truly like to see for myself this lack of reliance that the rest of the Council sees in him," Padme spoke, disregarding the faces throughout the room that were showing disapproval. Mace considered her proposition for a moment, his brow furrowing with deep thought.

"All right, Miss Amidala. Please send us a hologram once you've found anything out..." he said hesitantly.

"Thank you, Master..." she said, as she quickly left the room, followed by Anakin. The Commander's hologram disappeared, leaving behind the shady faces of Mace Windu, Yoda, and Ki-Adi-Mundi. The Jedi Knights waited for the heavy footsteps of their apprentices to disappear until they spoke again.

"I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi. The dark side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor..." he said, his eyes searching the room slowly. The others nodded in agreement.

"If he does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous, then he should be removed from office...immediately," Ki-Adi-Mundi added.

"That could be a dangerous move ... the Jedi Council would have to take control of the Senate in order to secure a peaceful transition." Made Windu said. The others thought this over. It would truly mean chaos, especially for the Chancellor who already suspected the Jedi's lust for power and control. Yoda thoughtfully scratched his head.

"To a dark place this line of thought will carry us," he said, his croaky voice breaking the deafening silence that had filled the empty room. "Hmmmmm. . . . great care we must take..." The meeting was then adjourned, as the fuzzy holograms one-by-one disappeared from the room.

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"Padme!" Anakin called out, quickening his pace to keep up with her. She stopped and turned around, agitated that Anakin pursued to watch over her every move like a bodyguard. "I don't like you going alone...you shouldn't even be out in public right now, the condition you are in...Please let me go with you," he pleaded, his eyes searching her annoyed face.

"I will be fine, Anakin. I need to do this alone...for my own sake," Padme said this and quickly turned around, walking down the stairs that led out of the Temple. A speeder waited for her at the end of the stairs, and she quickly hopped inside, her gown swishing over her slender legs. "To the Senate Building..." she said to the driver. Within moments, the speeder zoomed off the terrace, leaving behind the faintest trail of exhaust.

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"Chancellor Palpatine," Padme said, as he rose majestically from his chair upon her arrival.

"Padme...do come in," he replied, walking around from behind his desk. "Any news?" he said, almost as if he were expecting some...

"Actually, yes. We just received a report from Master Kenobi. He has engaged General Grievous..." she said, unable to help the idea that it could have been her that found the General. The Chancellor noticed this regretful look in her eye, and drew himself closer to her.

"We can only hope that Master Kenobi is up to the challenge...you know you should be there instead of him," he said, looking deeply into her eyes. Padme didn't respond, beginning to feel an uncomfortable void fill the room. "It is upsetting to me to see that the Council doesn't seem to fully appreciate your talents. Don't you wonder why they won't make you a Jedi Master?" he asked. Padme could feel the small warmth of anger heat her stomach once again.

"I wish I knew. More and more I get the feeling that I am being excluded from the Council. I know there are things about the Force that they aren't telling me..." she said quickly, amazed at how easily her emotions willingly poured from her soul when she was talking with her good friend.

"They don't trust you Padme. That is why. They can see your future. They know your power will be too strong to control, unlike your husband's..." he said. Padme turned her head at this. "Padme, you must break through the fog of lies that the Jedi have created around you! Let me help you know the subtleties of the Force..." he continued. By now, their footsteps had led them into the hallway. Padme stopped at his final words.

"How do you know the ways of the Force?" she asked doubtfully, not believing that Chancellor Palpatine, of all the people she knew, could be gifted in the ideals of the Jedi.

"My mentor taught me everything about the Force...even the nature of the dark side..." he said slowly, watching Padme's bright eyes widen with disbelief.

"The dark side of the Force?" she asked, not even hearing the words that came out of her mouth.

"Padme...if one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects, not just the dogmatic, narrow view of the Jedi. If you wish to become a complete and wise leader, you must embrace a larger view of the Force..." he said, circling around Padme like prey as she stood rooted to her spot. "Be careful of the Jedi, Padme. They fear you and in time they will destroy you. Let me train you..." The open-ended question he posed rang loudly in Padme's attentive ears...she couldn't find the words to answer him...her mind to muddled and dazed by his bursting confession...

"Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any Jedi. Learn to know the dark side of the Force, Padme. Only then will you be able to save your unborn child from certain death..." the Chancellor said, a tone of evil entering his once diplomatic and attentive voice.

"What did you say?" Padme whispered, barely able to hear her own voice with the pounding of her blood, drumming to her heart's own beating inside her ears. Her hands protectively flew to her stomach...

"Use my knowledge, I beg you...save your child!" he said, stopping front of Padme and gripping her forcefully by the shoulders. She felt utterly helpless and cornered, as the voice that was growing inside her mind exposed itself, and transformed into the one thing she had trusted, believed in...But had that changed? Was everything that the Chancellor just revealed to her true?

"You're the Sith Lord..." she whispered quietly, the realization hitting her quickly.

"I know what has been troubling you Padme...Listen to me. Don't continue to be a pawn of the Jedi Council! Ever since I've known you, you've been searching for a life greater than that of an ordinary Jedi...a life of significance, of conscience, something that a life of politics couldn't give you..." he said, his words seeming so true inside her empty mind, where all teachings and ideals had been abandoned.

"No...you're wrong," she said quickly, realizing what he was doing. She came back to her senses and deftly reached inside her gown, unveiling her light saber. She quickly activated it and brought in front of the Chancellor's face, letting it rest painfully close against his throat. The flames of anger shot up her body, filling that empty void inside her soul with a flaring passion of anger and spite. Her teeth gritted, her arms and hands ready to unleash their power...it would take a small movement of her wrist and this man before her could be gone...

"Are you going to kill me?" he suddenly asked, his eyes and voice devoid of fear. Padme took a step away from him, her weapon still a threat to his life. She didn't respond, her eyes still focused on his eyes...that glimmer that flashed in them. It almost felt like she had known all along...the Jedi were right...

"I know you would like too. I can feel your anger. It gives you focus, makes you stronger..." he said, his voice coming out slowly from behind his clamped teeth. Padme immediately let the saber fall from its position. She deactivated it and placed it inside her gown...

"Ahhhh..." he said as his body relaxed. "I know you too well Padme. This is all for the better, believe me. It will only be time until you see the benefits of the dark side and you can help me rule the Galaxy for the good of all. Until then, you must keep our internship a secret. And if you don't mind, I have a meeting with you and your fellow senate members that I must prepare for...Goodbye, my Apprentice." Palpatine left the hallway and walked to his office where he sat behind his desk.

Padme waited until his office door slammed shut. At this, her trembling body crumpled to the ground, overwhelmed by her defeat and weakness. The anger welled up inside of her as she rested against the hallway wall, tiny tears forming inside her pulsing eyes. "What have I done...?" she whispered quietly. She squinted her eyes shut, hoping to close out the reality of the situation that was flooding her body.

You're fulfilling your destiny...

With this, Padme opened her eyes, seeing the room in a different light. "My destiny..." she repeated. She struggled to stand up, smoothing her dress down and wiping the wetness from her cheeks. Padme left the hallway and marched with conviction down the carpeted halls. It would require a fast speeder if she were to make it to the Jedi Temple in time...before it was too late...

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Padme rushed out onto the hangar where Mace Windu and Anakin were boarding the Jedi Gunship. "Master Windu...what are you doing?" she asked, slightly out of breath.

"We are in a hurry, Miss Amidala. We have just received word that Obi-Wan has destroyed General Grievous. We are on our way to make sure the Chancellor returns his emergency powers back to the Senate..." Mace said, while Anakin walked up to his side. The two stared at each other. For a moment, Padme felt like she could tell Master Windu everything; all about the revelation of the Sith Lord, what he asked her to do...But the moment passed and Padme spoke up.

"All right then..." she said, watching the two men board the ship. Anakin looked down on her, a worried look in his eyes. But she let her gaze dart away from him.

"Please wait for us in the Council Chambers until we return," Mace said, closing the door to the Gunship. Padme watched it blast out of the hangar, heading for the Senate Building.

"Yes, master..." she said, walking away from the hangar towards the temple. But suddenly...she stopped. What if they already knew about the Chancellor? What if they were going to arrest him? Or worse? His words rang inside her head like a threat... "You do know, don't you, if the Jedi destroy me, any chance of saving your baby will be lost..." Padme didn't want to risk it. She ran back to the hangar, fumbling to set the controls on the small speeder. It finally started, and she pulled back on the throttle, the speeder zipping off the dock. Small images were flying through her mind, but only two impacted her the most. Her unborn child...and Anakin. With a furious confidence that grew even deeper inside her heart...she pulled back even harder, thrusting the speeder towards the Senate Building.

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Darkness fell over the city of Coruscant, awaking night from its daylight slumber...and two Jedi Masters walked with fervor down the long corridor of the Senate Office building, following its twists and turns until it lead to the door of Chancellor Palpatine's office. They walked in, finding the Chancellor with his back to them, sitting in the chair at his desk. "Chancellor Palpatine?" Mace said, stopping Anakin from going any farther into the room.

"Yes..." he asked slowly, not turning to face the two Jedi Knights.

"We've just received word the General Grievous was terminated by Master Kenobi..." Anakin said, his eyes suspiciously searching the room, feeling a disturbance in the force.

"Good...good..." he said, the throaty words sounding foreign and evil. Anakin looked at Mace Windu, who stared back at him. The two men could sense something was off...something was wrong...

"You'll see to it then that the Senate removes all emergency powers from your control, am I correct?" Mace asked, his voice full of question and wonder. A long pause followed...then the Chancellor slowly turned around in his chair, revealing his face that was covered by the hood of a black cloak. He stood up from his chair, rising in front of the large window that let the light of Coruscant's moon to shine in.

"I'm afraid, Master Windu...that I can't do that..." he said, his voice dripping with evil and spite. The force mutated and wrapped around his presence, and the two Jedi Knights suddenly realized what they had been so blind to all along. The evil Lord of the Sith, Darth Siddious, stood before them know, unveiled in all of his evil power and glory. It didn't take long for Master Windu to act on the revelation...

"Chancellor Palpatine, in the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest," Mace said icily, revealing an activated amethyst light saber. Anakin followed suit, his blue one lighting up the room. The bright colors illuminated the subtle shadows of the room, lighting up the face of the evil Sith lord. Palpatine laughed, softly at first, but growing with more malice and passion.

"Are you threatening me?" he spat, his eyes shining from underneath his hood. Master Windu and Anakin took a step forward.

"The Senate will decide your fate," Anakin said, eyeing the man who had once been so trusted by all of them.

"Shut up Skywalker! I AM THE SENATE!" he yelled, his croaking voice crackling with energy throughout the room. Anakin moved forward, his saber drawn, but Mace pulled him back.

"Not yet, Anakin..." Mace said. The Chancellor began to laugh.

"My Jedi Knights...before you plan ahead, may I introduce to you, my new apprentice..." he hissed. Anakin and Mace turned around as the door to the Chancellor's office opened, revealing a hooded shape. The air was filled with tension, and the force fractured around them. The small outline of the person walked forward, with long strides until they stopped in front of the Jedi Knights. Anakin and Mace readied their sabers, prepared to fight the Sith behind and in front of them. But all thought vanished when the figure raised their face, revealing its identity.

"Miss Amidala...?" Mace said, his voice full of disbelief and disappointment. Palpatine continued to laugh in the background. Padme let her illuminated face turn towards Anakin, which she knew would be a mistake. She felt her heart break it two at the look on his face...No words could describe the overflow of emotion. But the dark side shrouded everything the she had ever felt strongly for, as she pulled out her saber, igniting it.

"Please leave..." she said, her voice strong and passionate. There was a glimmer in her eye and a tone in her voice that made her almost unrecognizable to the man that once knew her more than anyone...loved her more than anyone...But his feelings dissipated when he felt the force mutate once again, as Palpatine ignited his red saber. Darth Siddious walked around the room, until he stood next to Padme.

"Don't look so surprised, Skywalker. Your wife was so easily consumed by the dark side that you never would have been able to save her..." he jeered.

Mace drew his weapon back. "You're a fool," he said fervently. "The oppression of the Sith will never return. Your plot to regain control of the Republic is over . . . you have lost . . ." The four of them were now face to face...Sith against Jedi, good against evil, Master against Master, Apprentice against Apprentice, wife against husband...

"No...the both of you will die..." seethed the Chancellor, his red saber slashing through the air...