chapter three The Spiral Downward

You guys are in for a doozy of an update. When we last left, Anakin was completely unaware as to what his padawan seemed to be thinking. Siv was carrying so much malice toward the senator that she may be desperate. Read on in this chapter as to what will happen!
----Mizra

Goth Jedi: thank you so much! I'm glad to hear people are enjoying my story.
mrs skywalker: Siv isn't at the age of knighthood. It's just simply a middle age, 13. Did I confuse you? I'll fix it.

Siv sat on her bed, eyes closed, and reached deeply into the Force. She felt confidant, yet frightened at what she was about to do. She probed her innermost thoughts and carefully ran through her plot again, posing every detail and every possible obstacle in her path to destroying the senator.

After seeing every hindsight imaginable in her mind, she reached into her pocket and cradled the small vial in her hand. She had traded her bead necklace for the vial to a seedy merchant down on the lower levels of Coruscant earlier that evening, just before meeting with her master again. She looked through the vial and watched the watery, purple poison swish side to side. Placing it in her pocket again, she got up from her bed and walked out of her room, carefully closing the door.

Siv made her way towards the Visitor's Quarter, near the Senate Hall, and walked briskly to the senator's suite. She knew the number by heart, for it was her master's backwards: 8311. The senator had stayed in that room every time she visited, making it easy for those who knew who to visit her often, without alerting any of her presence during important votes at the Senate.

She walked to the suite and stood in front of two Naboo guards.

"I would like to speak with Senator Amidala. I am Siv Miraluka, Master Skywalker's padawan."

The guards exchanged glances and one told her to wait, while the other informed the senator. Minutes later, the guard came back out and told Siv she could enter. Siv walked into the suite, smiling like an innocent child when the senator approached her, with her two handmaidens in tow.

"Siv Miraluka. It is quite a surprise to see you. I hope you are doing well?" she spoke, with a stern, yet nervous voice. Her handmaidens stood at her sides, their blank stares looking back as if they were staring off somewhere else.

"I'm doing quite fine, Senator. How are you this evening?" Siv answered.

"Fine. I was preparing to lie down for the evening, but when I heard it was Master Skywalker's padawan, I knew it was something important to have him tell me. Is he here with you, young Jedi?"

"No milady, he isn't. He regrets to have been detained by Masters Yoda and Mundi. I have come bearing a remorseful apology."

Senator Amidala's face perked up and she spoke to her handmaidens to leave the room, allowing the two be completely alone.

Siv began. "I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for acting the way I did the last time you visited Coruscant. It was very foolish and immature and I hope that we can start anew?"

The Senator was surprised at the girl's words and felt sure that she was being genuine. She nodded in agreement and Siv stood up, stating that the matter was settled.

"Shall we have a toast, to our new friendship? To the Jedi Padawan and the Senator from Naboo!"

"Yes, that would be nice."

Siv walked to the table behind her, retrieved two stemmed glasses and a bottle of sparkling Coruscant champagne. She poured her glass and then, without hesitation, pulled the vial from her robe and poured it into the senator's glass. She watched the purple liquid bubble in the champagne, then return to normal color, making it so that it looked as if nothing was amiss. Siv turned and brought the two shining glasses to her and the senator.

They both raised their glasses and the senator gave a toast, "To peace to the galaxy."

Siv added, "And to my Master, Anakin Skywalker."

With that, they both drank the champagne. Siv watched as the senator swallowed and then watched in horror as she felt, in the Force, Padmé Amidala start to choke. A smirk spread across her face as she brought the glass down to her side and watched her rival writhe and uncontrollably cough and hack to the floor. Her handmaidens came in, and ran to her side, shouting for the guards. Padmé's eyes, for one brief instant, looked at Siv and knew what she had done. Siv was killing her.

Siv ran out the door, and turned back around to lock it with the Force. Inside, she pictured a wire being split and a fire begin to start. She soon could smell the smoke crawling from beneath the doorframe and ran out of sight, safely back to her hall, to her room for the evening.

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Padmé's eyes watered as she looked around for a way to escape. She crawled on the floor calling out to her handmaidens and guards, hoping one would have found her or the exit. She searched the floor for the edge to the door, and found the wall. She slowly crawled up and pressed the emergency button, releasing the door and running out the door, coughing and hacking. She turned back, long enough to shout for her companions one last time, before an explosion went off. It threw her backward, making her hit the wall behind her. She scrambled to her feet, still coughing.

By this time, several guards from the Senate began to run to her and calling for backup.

"Milady, are you okay?" asked one of the clone guards.

"No. Someone's poisoned me! And started a fire! Please help...us.." she said, watching her world turn black and the guard reach out to catch her.

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Calling Masters Skywalker and Kenobi! Please report to Sector 20042 for backup rescue. There has been a fire in the Visitor's Suites! I repeat, a fire in the Visitor's Suites! called a loudspeaker in Anakin's quarters. The Jedi stood up and ran out of the room to answer the call.

Please, Please don't let it be Padmé! He thought. The two ran down the hall and past the Senate, to the Visitor's Suites. There, they made their to Suite 8311, where Senator Amidala was staying.

From down the hall, they both could see smoke rising from the portal and rescuers hustling the injured out of the fiery room. Anakin grabbed his lightsaber in his hand and did a somersault to shorten the gap between him and her room. Obi-Wan followed closely behind him, grabbing his own lightsaber and making his way down to her room. Anakin made it to the door and ran in, calling out Padmé's name when a clone guard ran in and told him to get out.

"Not without the senator!" he shouted back.

"You must come out now! She is safe!" said the guard.

Anakin ran back out, following the guard and yelling to Obi-Wan to run with him. The two Jedi and clone guard ran past the suite just in time for a second explosion to go off, blackening the door portal and walls around it.

All three got up, rubbing various sore limbs as the clone guard informed them of the situation.

"About fifteen minutes ago, screaming was heard in Sector 20042 and I was dispatched to the scene. When I arrived, Senator Amidala was in her bedclothes, coughing and hacking her way out of the smoking room. Her handmaidens made it out, but her two guards didn't. They are thought to be dead. Senator Amidala tried to speak, but blacked out, most likely due to smoke inhalation and stress. She and her handmaidens were sent to the Medic Lab to be treated. The senator did say something about being poisioned, but I believed it to be hallucinations from the smoke's toxic fumes."

"Did she say anything else before falling unconscious?" asked Obi-Wan.

"No, sir. Just that she was poisioned and that there was a fire," said the clone guard.

Obi-Wan turned to Anakin and rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go see how the senator is doing, hmm?"

Anakin nodded and began the long trip to the medic lab to find out exactly what happened. When they arrived, droids were whizzing by a white table with Padmé's body lying unconscious on it. Anakin felt a sob catch in his throat; seeing her there, like this, wasn't what he had wanted. He wanted to see her smiling face the next morning. Her love for pineapple for breakfast was her weakness and he always made sure she had all that she wanted when she visited the Senate. Now, he just wanted to see her open her eyes and look at him. He didn't want to lose her; not this way.

Obi-Wan put a hand on his shoulder, reaching into the Force to feel what Anakin felt.

Suffering. Pain. But, beyond everything else, there was a peace. Somehow, Anakin was still at peace with himself, even though she was near death. Anakin had managed to still love her, but without it overtaking him as it once did when he was younger. He had become wiser and knew how to better control his emotions.

Obi-Wan turned to a droid and asked how the senator was doing.

"We are doing all we can, but we seem to still be losing her. She may not make it through the night. The poison has already started into her blood stream. We are doing all we can to sustain her now."

Anakin turned to the droid, staring at him. His eyes were blank and he began to topple over. Obi-Wan grabbed him and helped him to sit on the floor, holding him carefully as if we would break. Anakin's eyes watered and soon he was crying. A grown man, and Jedi Knight at that, crying like a child who lost a dear playmate.

Obi-Wan gently stoked his padawan's back, trying to console his friend. He knew how hard this could be for him, but he didn't know how hard. Obi-Wan didn't realize the love they both had for each other. Anakin had been faithful to the Jedi Code, and now, with his only true love dying, he had to find someway to let them be together. She wasn't going to get better. The poison in her system was too strong. Whoever poisoned her, meant business. They somehow knew about how much this would hurt him and knew how much they truely cared for one another.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan whispered, begging for his attention.

"Anakin, you must stay on your guard. Whoever did this to Padmé meant to harm you, too. They knew how much you loved her and wanted you to feel pain for her loss. To grieve. Keep your eyes sharp and back carefully guarded, for these are dangerous times."

Anakin nodded his head through the thick haze of tears. Though his love for Padmé ran deep, he knew that he couldn't let it hinder him. To make him angry. To make him hate. It almost happened once before. Years ago, in the Chancellor's office.

"Don't let him kill me. I can't hold it any longer. I-I-I-I can't. I-I-I'm weak. I'm too weak. Anakin, help me!" said a low voice from Palpatine, laying back, wheezing like a dying animal near the windowsill.

"I am going to end this once and for all. He has control of the senate and the courts. He is too dangerous to be left alive!" shouted Mace Windu, pointing his violet lightsaber at the chancellor's throat, keeping his watchful eyes on him the whole time.

"You can't. He must stand trial!" yelled Anakin, his anger rising for his friend, but torn to Master Windu.

"Please, Anakin... Trust me. Don't you see what I was talking about? He is trying to kill me..." Palpatine said, getting weaker and weaker by the minute.

"Don't listen to him!" yelled Mace, raising his lightsaber to strike.

Palpatine's grin was wide and dark. He was the Dark Lord of the Sith and he knew it. He could feel the anger radiated from his body, and the power that was welling up inside him.

"Noooo!" Anakin cried out, turning to his mentor.

Anakin unsheathed his lightsaber, raised it and struck his mentor down in one, quick swipe.

Palpatine held his left socket, where his arm used to be. His eyes showed of a man truly afraid of what was to come.

"You could have been the strongest Jedi ever!" he cried, before succumbing to the pain and slumping down, dead.

Mace Windu looked at Anakin, trying to understand what happened. Moments later, he powered off his lightsaber and he called from his comlink the Senate guards to come to the Chancellor's office.

"We must report that a Sith was in the Chancellor's office. He has been destroyed and the Chancellor with him, also. Report to his office, immediately."

Mace turned back to Anakin, laying his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Anakin, you have done well. My trust is with you. I'm glad you did the right thing."

Anakin swallowed hard, knowing full well that he had aided the Master Jedi, but knew how much Palpatine meant to him. He was his first friend since his mother died. Now, he was gone, too.

Anakin reached into the Force and mustered enough strength to stand up and at least lean on her table, where he could look at her one last time. Obi-Wan retreated outside, where he could speak privately with Master Yoda about the senator's fate.