I'd just like to say thank you again for all the positive feedback I've received so far. Also, there was a question about the 'volunteers' in the story. I'm not sure what part you're referring to, I'll have to take a look back at it, but in the next few chapters you'll find out that the Jedi do still have some loyal allies left. This is the first half of a two-part story, so those of you reading it might have a few questions when it ends – which I would be glad to answer. Until then…hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or anything Star Wars related.

CH. 8

"CALL OF THE DARK SIDE"

With one final swipe, Mace's lightsaber was knocked out of his grip and sent flying across the room. The blade of Anakin's lightsaber was at the Jedi Master's throat before he had time to react.

"You are making a grave mistake," Mace said with an extraordinary calmness to his voice. "You know this is wrong. You have the power to set things right, Anakin. The decision is yours."

"I'm done listening to your lies," Anakin spat in disgust.

"Who is really lying to you?" Mace asked. "Is it really the Jedi or is it someone else? Look around, Anakin…you are becoming a pawn in a Sith Lord's plot to take control of the Republic. You have been tricked into doing exactly what he wanted you to do!"

Anakin tightly closed his eyes as he fought with his own mind. "No! You are the one who is trying to trick me!"

"Search your feelings. You know that I speak the truth."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Believe what you wish, young Skywalker. Just remember what I said…the decision is yours."

"No!" Anakin roared, pulling his arms back to strike.

Mace took advantage of Anakin's susceptible position and called upon the Force to shove his would-be murderer away from him, but a moment too late…the glowing blade slashed him in the stomach a second time – deeper than the first – and blinding pain hit him as the wind was taken from his lungs. A moment later and the lethal blow would have no doubt been fatal.

Anakin flew back and hit the ground hard, instinctively rolling back to his feet and bracing himself for another attack, lightsaber still in hand. To his surprise, his former Master had fallen to a knee and was wheezing for breath while he held a hand to the newly inflicted wound.

Then he watched in stunned silence as Mace Windu screamed at the top of his lungs, his face contorted in pure anguish. He looked over at the cause of his distress -- Chancellor Palpatine. Bright lightning moved from the tips of the dark lord's fingers and ravaged the body of the helpless Jedi Master.

A mixture of hatred and joy was plastered on the face of Darth Sidious. His evil laughter echoed off the walls of the room as Mace Windu collapsed to the floor.

"Stop!" Anakin cried out, but didn't move from where he stood.

He desperately dropped to his knees while he watched his Master's body twist and convulse. His futile attempts to move away from the lightning failed and a moment later his struggle ceased – his body falling perfectly still. Anakin was in a daze while he continued to stare at the mentor he had learned from for most of his life…the mentor he knew was now dead…

Darth Vader remembered the last words of Mace Windu. "The decision is yours."

It appears I have made my decision, Master… he thought bitterly.

He pulled his hood up over his head as his cloak flapped around him in the strong wind. Then he cast his eyes up at the electric sign that hung above the entrance of the small building he stood before. This is the right place…I can feel them sitting inside.

The Empire had received an anonymous tip that led them to believe a Jedi had been hiding out in this place. He found it fit to investigate himself. Once he had finally arrived, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that there was in fact somebody strong in the Force at this specific location. Without pause, he pushed through the door and made his way into the diner.

The time has finally come. I will experience the satisfaction of killing a Jedi first hand! I have been waiting for this moment…

The diner was completely deserted -- with the exception of the employees behind the long counter that was lined with stools and stretched across the cramped space -- and one hooded figure that sat alone in a corner booth. Then it hit him through his connection with the Force.

Obi-Wan!

All of a sudden he felt his old Master's presence wash over him.

Why couldn't I sense it was him before now? he asked himself. I have always been able to feel his presence. Could he have somehow figured out a way to shield himself from me? Impossible. He is nowhere near that powerful…

He watched the hooded man take a sip from a steaming mug before setting it back down on the table in front of him. Using the Force, Vader hurled the mug into the nearest wall with a casual wave of his hand, shattering it.

"I had a feeling you would come," Obi-Wan spoke first, seemingly unphased by the sudden disposal of his beverage. "Would you care to join me for a drink?"

Vader skeptically peered into Obi-Wan's hood from his place in the diner. "You know I don't like that tea you insist on choking down."

"Aah, yes, I nearly forgot."

The employees of the diner quickly retreated into the back when Vader ignited his crimson lightsaber. "This ends today, Kenobi."

"I didn't lure you here to fight you, Anakin."

"That is not my name," Vader corrected him. "Anakin is dead. You can call me Darth Vader now."

"Vader?" Obi-Wan questioned, pulling his hood down to reveal his face for the first time. "Somehow the name of a Sith Lord doesn't suit you."

"I would get used to it if I were you," Vader retorted, a menacing smirk on his face as he took a step closer to the booth Obi-Wan sat in. "That is, if I were to give you the time to get used to it…but I'm afraid I have grown tired of dealing with you and the rest of the Jedi. I will rest much easier after you are all gone."

Obi-Wan sighed and slid out of his booth, tossing a few credits onto the table. "Well then, Vader…I suppose this is the part where you try to kill me before I can explain why I wanted to see you."

"I don't care why you wanted to see me. Tell me where the Jedi are hiding."

"I came here to tell you about Padme," Obi-Wan continued, acting as if he never heard Vader's last statement. "If there is anything left of Anakin Skywalker in there, I am sure he would want to know that the Senator is dying."

"Padme?" Obi-Wan watched Vader's eyes widen, fear evident in them as his usual blue tint seemed to replace his burning yellow for a brief moment. Then the glow of the dark side returned and consumed them once more. "What have you done to her!"

"I have done nothing," Obi-Wan calmly replied. "She was gunned down by clone troopers. The very clone troopers you now command."

"Shut-up!" Vader scowled at his formed Master. "You are only trying to manipulate me again, but I won't fall for it this time!"

A sorrowful smile appeared on Obi-Wan's face as he pressed on. "She regained consciousness several times since it happened. Each time she was asking for you…she wants you by her side, Anakin."

"Where?" Vader growled. "Where is she?"

"She wants Anakin, not Vader," Obi-Wan retorted.

"First you turn her against me and now you hide her from me!"

"You turned her against you on your own, my padawan."

Vader glared at the Jedi with even more hatred than before at the use of his old title. "Why should I even care what happens to her? You are all traitors!"

"She loves you," Obi-Wan said as he took a step forward. "As do I. We all want you back."

"Tell me where she is, Obi-Wan Kenobi, if you wish to live…"

Obi-Wan lowered his eyes to the floor with an expression of defeat spreading across his features. I have failed, he told himself. This isn't going to work. I was a fool to think it would.

"I will take only Anakin to see his wife."

A long moment of silence ensued before Vader reluctantly deactivated his lightsaber. "Very well."

Obi-Wan watched in utter disbelief as the dark lord turned to leave. Using the Force to push the door open ahead of him, he stormed out of the diner and back out to the streets of Coruscant.

In a matter of seconds the small diner was filled with armed clone soldiers. Obi-Wan let a labored breath escape his lips while raising his hands above his head in surrender. It wouldn't do to let innocent patrons get hurt on my account, he thought. I put enough at risk the last time I encountered these wretched troopers.

He had been in his holding cell for hours now as Darth Vader's prisoner – a prisoner of the new Empire. He leaned the back of his head against the metallic wall behind him and allowed the Force to calm and soothe him. After numerous attempts to clear his mind, which were all unsuccessful and resulted only in tiring him further, Obi-Wan finally gave up. He was too exhausted. The last few days of fighting and getting no sleep were clearly beginning to take their toll on his mental and physical state.

His plan didn't work.

Good going, Obi-Wan, just hand yourself over to a Sith Lord…brilliant move, he thought sarcastically. How could I think I could change him? Anakin is truly gone. There is no use in trying to save someone who isn't there. His body is only a shell that contains something much darker than the young slave we found on Tatooine. Ironic that he left one slavery to fall prey to another…he is now a slave to the dark side.

Obi-Wan was in the process of shifting his position on the hard floor to get more comfortable when he heard a voice speak beside him. "Obi-Wan…"

He quickly turned to see who the voice belonged to and his eyes widened in shock at the sight of a man he had not seen since he was still a Jedi in training. But how can this be?

"Qui-Gon!"

The blue life form that sat within arms reach of him warmly smiled. "Hello, Obi-Wan. It has been a long time."

"How is this possible!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. Perhaps I have lost my mind, he told himself. I am delirious! He had seen it with his own two eyes. Master Qui-Gon Jinn had been murdered by the evil Sith known as Darth Maul many years ago."You are dead, Master! I saw it myself!"

"Have you forgotten one of the first lessons of the Jedi, Obi-Wan?" the glowing form of his old Master questioned, raising an eyebrow at his apprentice. "There is no death, there is only the Force. I have passed over, yes…but in doing so I have become one with the Force."

Obi-Wan was stunned. Once again, after all this time, he was getting advice from a man he had thought long gone. The man that was like a father to him when he was a mere padawan. "I have never heard of anything like this! Why have you not contacted me until now?"

"I was waiting for the right time," Qui-Gon answered. "I have visited Master Yoda on many occasions -- quite frequently actually."

"Master Yoda?"

Qui-Gon lightly chuckled as he continued to explain. "Yes, we have debated the fate of the 'Chosen One' more times than I can count."

"Then you must know, Master, that Anakin has succumbed to the temptation of the dark side."

"No, Obi-Wan…he has not fallen so completely yet. There is still hope."

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked, staring into the blue glow of his Master's eyes. "He has destroyed the Temple! He has killed Jedi!"

"That is where you are wrong, my apprentice," Qui-Gon replied. "The Temple was only cement and stone, it can be rebuilt. As for the Jedi, he has yet to have taken the life of any being other than those Darth Sidious ordered him to eliminate – beings that the Order itself had been seeking out."

"What about Master Windu?"

Qui-Gon's face slightly saddened at the mention of his name. "Anakin did have a hand in that, but Master Windu was killed by the Chancellor."

Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Obi-Wan struggled to take in everything he was hearing. Is there really hope? How can there be after all the evil he has done? He has tried to kill me more than once. Just because I got away, that doesn't mean he wouldn't have gone through with it if he got the chance.

"Master Qui-Gon, there is something I must ask you…"

"Yes, Obi-Wan?"

The hiss of doors opening grabbed his attention before he could ask his question. Darth Vader confidently strode into the cell while a clone soldier stood at either side of the doors and waited outside. Obi-Wan turned back to where Master Qui-Gon had been sitting, but to his dismay he was no longer there.

"I am going to ask you one more time, Kenobi," Vader said in a calm tone. "Where are Padme and the rest of the Jedi?"

Obi-Wan slowly climbed to his feet and brushed off the sleeves of his tunic, taking his time before responding to the Sith Lord. "They are somewhere safe."

Vader glared at the Jedi for a long moment before reaching into his cloak and pulling out a lightsaber.

"Have it your way," he replied, tossing it to the ground.

Obi-Wan watched as the weapon rolled to his feet…