A/N: Thanks for the reviews! And here's chapter two; sorry for the lack of Obi-Wan, but he'll have a bigger piece in future chapters. ; )

Jedi Knight247

Into the Shadow

Chapter Two: The plan fails

By the time Sabé and Felix reached his ship The Dark Star, Bail Organa was already gone; taken to be imprisoned, accused of trying to free the galaxy from a certain tyrant.

Felix led the reluctant handmaiden into his ship. It was small by certain standards; it was only big enough to hold a small sleeping cabin—and of course, the cockpit.

Sabé stepped in uneasily and slowly took in her surroundings.

"She doesn't look like much, but I added a whole lotta modifications; she's one of the fastest in her class."

"Why did you do that?" Sabé asked, changing the subject.

"You mean why did I save you from a certain death?" Felix asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sabé nodded. "Yes."

"Well," said Felix, walking closer to her; "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself knowing that I'd let Palpatine do anything to ruin you pretty little face," he smiled slyly.

When he got close enough, Sabé slapped him as hard as she could manage.

Felix's smile disappeared. "Well Miss, maybe you could try to show me a little more respect," he said settling into his chair in the cockpit.

"I don't owe anyone who kills for a living any respect," Sabé said angrily. "You should have just left with your money; I would have rather stayed and died."

"I don't think you mean that, Miss," Felix replied darkly.

"What do you know about loyalty? I have been by Lady Amidala's side for years now; I am loyal to her, and I should have stayed, even if Palpatine intended to kill me today."

Felix sighed. "Well, you're gonna have to settle for living, sweetheart. And by the way, you might want to sit down."

Sabé scowled when he called her 'sweetheart' but sat down when she noticed that he was about to takeoff.

"Where are we going?" she asked after a few moments of silence.

"Good old Tatooine."

Mustafar

Padmé was led down a narrow corridor by two guards—and of course, the Emperor. They stopped when they reached a door at the end of the hall. One of the guards pressed a combination on the buttons at the side of the door. In five seconds the door slid open, revealing a gray room which was all but empty, save for a stool, and a hologram which rested on a nearby shelf.

"Do sit down, Amidala," Palpatine said in a croaky voice.

"I would rather stand," Padmé protested.

"I said sit," Palpatine ordered.

Padmé obeyed.

"Good," Palpatine stated.

All was silent for a moment, until Padmé looked up and saw Palpatine staring at her intensely.

"I see your mind, Amidala; you intend to inform Anakin Skywalker that this is indeed a trap," Palpatine said, clearly agitated.

Padmé didn't know whether to confirm or deny his accusation, all she knew was that she had a very slim chance of warning Anakin; but she knew that she had to, or their lives would be doomed forever.

"Well," said Palpatine, pleased that he had uncovered her plan. "Shall we start now?"

Padmé nodded, knowing not what else to say.

The guards activated the device and soon let Palpatine know that everything was ready.

"Excellent," he said; then turning to Padmé, "Tell Skywalker that you are on Mustafar and that I will dispose of you quickly, seeing that you are of no use to me."

It was impossible to warn Anakin, especially since Palpatine was already telling her what to say. Padmé just hoped that Anakin would be sensible enough to know that it was a trap. But something in her doubted that he would do that, she could imagine him letting his anger get in the way and rush off trying to save her without realizing that he had made things worse.

"Speak!" Palpatine ordered.

Apparently she had been sitting deep in thought; Padmé snapped put of it, sat up straight, and began to recite her message.

"Anakin, Palpatine is holding me on Mustafar," she began, "And he intends to dispose of me quickly seeing that I am of no use to him."

The hologram cut off immediately after she had said 'him'. Palpatine seemed rather pleased with everything.

"Take her back to her holding cell," Palpatine said coldly.

"What! But you said that I could see my children if I did this for you!" Padmé said, her voice rising out of anger.

"At the mention of her children, a mother will eagerly agree to anything," Palpatine said wickedly. "And you also broke your half of the agreement when you plotted to tell Skywalker that it was a trap."

"But I didn't!" Padmé shouted.

"I didn't allow you," Palpatine corrected. "Take her back to her cell," he ordered.

The guards seized Padmé a carried her, kicking and screaming, back to her holding cell.

Naboo

It seemed to take forever until Aayla and Mace arrived; but they eventually did.

Anakin was still slumped against the wall in despair. It didn't take long for Aayla and Mace to find him; when they did, Aayla immediately examined his wound while Mace talked with him.

"What exactly happened, Anakin?" Mace asked. "Tell us everything."

"It all started last night when Padmé, Sabé and I were all awakened by a commotion; Padmé and I were worried sick—we thought that something bad had happened to the twins…" he shifted for a moment, and then grimaced from the pain of his wound.

"Hold still," Aayla reminded him.

Mace waited patiently for Anakin to continue.

"…we were right about that part. We met up with Sabé in the hallway, and from there we made our way to the twins' room; there we saw…a Sith. I believe that she was Siri, although she neither confirmed nor denied it."

"Siri?" Mace and Aayla asked in unison.

"There must be some mistake, Anakin. Siri Tachi is dead," Aayla said.

"I don't know. But if she is alive then she's somehow been turned," he looked away, thinking of how close he had come to forsaking the very people whom he was supposedly trying to protect; and then how someone else took the fall for him.

"I know that this is emotional for you, Anakin; but you must continue," Mace encouraged.

Anakin told them all that he could remember, even though most of his tale was botched due to the fact that he slipped in and out of consciousness.

As he finished telling his story, he noticed that his left arm was not hurting him half as badly. He looked to his left and saw Aayla wrapping the wound with some cloth.

"I healed you the best I could, but it isn't enough; I was never as good as Obi—" she cut herself off when she realized what she had said.

Anakin looked down in shame. "He is taking the path that I should have taken; just because he wanted nothing more than for me to be with my family. And now they aren't here anymore either. What have I done!" he exclaimed.

"Anakin, you made a mistake; but we will find your family," Aayla said reassuringly.

"What about Obi-Wan?" he asked suddenly.

Aayla and Mace exchanged glances. They both decided that it would be best if that conversation was brought up later. Mace spoke up.

"If we're going to find Padmé and the twins, we have to start searching for anything that the intruders left behind, so that we can have some kind of clue as to where they are. Or perhaps Padmé was able to send a hologram; it sounds unlikely, but you never know."

Anakin looked at the dented wall and the crumpled device that lay on the ground and buried his head in his hands in frustration. Couldn't he do anything right?

"I smashed it," he said angrily.

Korriban

Obi-Wan stumbled up the hills; he didn't even know where he was going. He just wanted to escape the voices.

In his short time on the planet, he felt that he was already going insane; the voices now seemed to be calling to him, beckoning him to the Dark Side.

"Come, Darth Obsidian; you cannot escape…the Dark Side. Obi-Wan Kenobi is no more!"

"Nnnooooo!" Obi-Wan screamed into the open air. "I am not a Sith; I am a Jedi!"

"You cannot escape, Darth Obsidian!" The voices taunted.

Obi-Wan knelt down on the ground in despair; as he did, he could feel a hand on his shoulder; shaking, Obi-Wan turned around and found himself face to face with the person who Obi-Wan had killed through sheer anger: Darth Maul.

Obi-Wan immediately staggered away from the Sith, and drew his own lightsaber. "I am not afraid of you," he said firmly. "You robbed me of my Master. I have killed you before, and I will do it again." At this moment, Obi-Wan did not care if he was wielding a Sith lightsaber. He only cared for defeating Darth Maul.

The Sith laughed wickedly, igniting Obi-Wan's anger. The two circled around each other defensively. Darth Maul activated his dual sided light saber and advanced on Obi-Wan.

Surprised by Maul's straightforwardness, Obi-Wan immediately moved into a defensive stance; the Sith was satisfied that he had caught Obi-Wan off guard and began to move quickly and offensively without giving Obi-Wan any time to recuperate.

Obi-Wan finally managed to gain some ground, but he still remained at a disadvantage. He was also beginning to tire, while Darth Maul seemed to be getting stronger.

Finally, in one swift stroke, Darth Maul knocked the lightsaber out of Obi-Wan's hand. Obi-Wan fell on his rear and stared up at the towering Sith.

To his surprise, Darth Maul lifted his lightsaber to strike the final blow, but he vanished into thin air.

Obi-Wan reached for his weapon, and then shakily stood to the ground. "Where are you?" he called. "I'm not afraid to face you again!"

But his calls echoed hopelessly. Obi-Wan sank to the ground in despair.

He had barely been on Korriban for a day, and yet, was he questioning his sanity?