AUTHOR'S NOTE – Hey everybody! This chapter pretty much wrote itself which thrills me because here… the entire trilogy comes together. I hope you enjoy! Padme's Sister – Hee! Have faith, my friend! Read on to discover Padme's fate. Elmthesmartypants – I'm happy to say that I updated sooner than expected – hope I can do that with the next chapter too! Meandmysharpie – Aw, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of the ass kicking boots – although, I'm glad they're not being put to use on me! Hee! ;-) Hellish Red Devil – I think you're going to like this chapter – you get to find out more juicy tidbits about Jarrick. And if you hate too many cliffhangers… Well, brace yourself! Stanfield Skywalker – Thanks for the compliment on how Anakin's coming across – I really appreciate that b/c that's what I'm striving to depict! Hope you enjoy! Disco Shop Girl – A knife's edge? Wow, that's cool to hear –it really makes me feel good to know that you're excited to read what's coming next. Jedi X-man Serena Kenobi – Sorry about all the cliffies – it's just that there's so much going on, I can't help it! Kickbutt Jedi Chick 4191 – I'm thrilled that you're enjoying it so much. This trilogy has been a blast – It's going to be sad to see it come to an end! RavenRulzRF – I know! Bad cliffies, bad! One more, coming right up! ;-) ALL – I'll be back as soon as possible with more. The good news is that this chapter is LONG so hopefully it will tide you over! Enjoy!
Padme let out a guttural cry of pain as the saber made contact with her forearm and upper leg. She flinched instinctively, her weapon slipping from her fingers as she sank to the ground.
"No!" Siri cried. She suppressed the urge to rush to her fallen friend, knowing she couldn't give up her position. Now that the Senator was essentially helpless, it was critical that she stay between them.
Channeling her desperation, she unleashed a barrage of attacks against Palpatine, pouring every ounce of training she ever had into her technique. She finally succeeded in driving him back and felt a flicker of mild satisfaction at the small victory.
"Impressive," Palpatine commented. "Unfortunately for you, I know your strength is draining far more rapidly than you would like. No, it won't be long now." He held his saber loosely, as if it was a harmless prop instead of a deadly weapon.
"I will fight forever for the fate of my friends," Siri pledged, panting from the exertion. "You will not have any of them, not while I still have breath in my body."
"Then we'll just have to take care of that." He raised his hand and a surge of lightning flew from his fingertips, lifting her up and tossing her aside. She struck a wall hard and lay unmoving on the ground, her entire body aflame.
Not good, she thought. Not good at all.
She summoned her saber and it leapt towards her, but she was struck by another electric blast before it reached her grasp. Her teeth chattered as her body arched, her saber falling to the floor and rolling out of reach. The pain was excruciating, dancing along every nerve ending she possessed and leaving it shrieking in protest.
"You really have been a thorn in my side, Tachi," Palpatine noted conversationally. He paced the room, paying no mind to Padme as she slowly sat up, cradling her injured arm. "Didn't your Master ever tell you it wasn't polite to eavesdrop?"
"Don't know what you're talking about," she whispered.
"The conversations I had with that pitiful servant of mine, Jarrick," he hissed. "You were listening in on them."
She shrugged noncommittally, recalling the snippets she had caught. "Perhaps I did." She gestured to their surroundings and to the fact that he obviously had the upper hand. "Not that it made any difference."
"Oh, but it almost did," he murmured. "There was something about your presence that made Jarrick reconsider some of our plans. He said it reminded him of the fiery spirit of his mother and wondered whether she would approve of what he was doing. Can you imagine? Decades of planning nearly down the drain - all because some incompetent henchman decides to grow a conscience. Where is his loyalty?"
"That's the thing about the dark side," she snarled. "It's not always dependable."
Palpatine shook his head dismissively. "Never have I seen such a breed of short-sighted people. Thankfully, young Skywalker has been more open-minded as of late."
A cold finger of dread trailed down her spine. "What do you mean?"
"It seems Anakin has been walking a fine line. It shouldn't be hard to get him to see things my way."
MAIN RINK
Throughout the Arena, Jedi fell, robbed of their connection to the Force.
One after another, audience members found themselves lurching in shock as the stranger seated next to them slumped to the ground. The implication suddenly became clear: The weapon the Senator mentioned was real.
Meanwhile, in the center of the rink, two of the three figures remained standing, surrounded by the forms of the Chancellor's paralyzed guards.
"So I see you've embraced the Dark Side," Jarrick murmured knowingly. "It appears my Master's prediction has held true."
Anakin sneered, looking menacing and fearsome. "I will do what I must to see that you are destroyed and the Republic is safe."
"You will try." A trail of deadly mist swirled around Jarrick's fingertips, ready to do its Master's bidding.
"No, Anakin-" Obi-wan whispered urgently. "Something... else..." His throat constricted painfully, as the mist demanded silence.
The Jedi Master wanted to howl in frustration. His former apprentice was so overcome by his anger, he had missed the warning the Force had sent just before the crystal was activated. Though Obi-wan didn't know the particulars, he remained certain of one thing - the women were in trouble - big trouble.
He struggled to reach them through the Force, but remained disconnected by the weapon's dark power. His head returned to its resting place on the ice, the chill quickly numbing his left cheek. Anakin, please. Return to the light. Padme needs you.
His plea never made it past his lips. There was nothing he could do but wait. Oh Siri, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
"You'll be all right, Master," Anakin promised through gritted teeth, oblivious to his former Master's internal dialogue. "I won't let you down. I won't let any of you down."
"I see you are still striving for acceptance. How pathetic." Jarrick's eyes narrowed.
"You would know, I suppose. After all, why else would you be doing this?" Anakin's fingers tightened on his saber, ready for the upcoming battle.
"To save the Republic," Jarrick insisted, still playing his part. He gestured to the crowd dramatically. "I am here to see that these people will continue to receive the rights and freedoms they deserve."
The audience looked from the cloaked figure to the forms of the helpless Jedi and back again. Their unrest continued to grow, the whispers now reaching a dull roar. A few fans had even gotten out of their seats and were starting down the aisles, their expressions firm and determined.
"I think they are starting to see through you," Anakin pointed out. His eyes snapped with simmering rage and a thirst to end the threat once and for all. "After all, you've just been caught in quite a substantial lie."
Jarrick looked at the young Jedi and then at the crystal he was holding aloft. He remembered his earlier statement to the Senator:
"Wherever did you get such unreliable information, my dear Senator? Although, if this so-called weapon actually existed, it might prove useful in protecting the Republic from the power-hungry Jedi."
His secret was out; there was only one thing he could do.
It was time to embrace his destiny.
STORAGE ROOM
Siri's drew in a ragged breath that mingled with a sob. Her limbs were a dead weight, the pain of the lightning rending them useless. The tiny bit of comfort she had received by clinging to the Force was gone… abruptly and inexplicably destroyed. Now she simply lay in a broken pile, while Palpatine drew out the final moments, relishing her agony.
"Leave her alone," Padme demanded.
Siri glanced at her, noting the way she had torn a strip off her costume to bind her injured leg. However, her forearm still displayed the ravages of the blood-red light saber strike and Sidious' eyes landed on it, drinking in the sight.
"Don't worry, Senator Amidala, I haven't forgotten about you," he taunted. "I just have to spare some attention on our friend here. She still has a few more things to answer for before I can allow her to pass into the Force."
"She hasn't done anything," Padme protested. Her voice, previously thready with pain, was now strong and unwavering. Her legs were stretched out in front of her, iceblades glinting in the dim light. Siri fought the urge to giggle as she recalled their outrageous routine. Had it really only been earlier that evening?
My how time flies when you're getting hit with Force lightning, she thought. Oh dear... Am I getting delirious? She shrugged, the motion causing a rebellious strand of hair to fall into her eyes.
Palpatine cocked his head and stared at Padme, his tone condescending. "She hasn't done anything? Oh, but when I get my turn before the Holo-news, she will have. And it will be deemed treason."
He turned back to Siri and she forced herself into a sitting position, refusing to wilt under his threatening gaze. The small movement resulted in a tidal wave of nausea, but she didn't let it show. If she was going to die, she would do so with dignity. After all, she was a Jedi.
"Back for more?" she quipped.
"It must be exhausting," he responded.
"What?"
"Always having a witty comment handy. You know, some people say that a sharp tongue is an attempt to avoid the acknowledgement of a hurtful moment in one's past."
"Then your past must have never seen the light of day," she seethed. She immediately kicked herself, not wanting to play into his hands, no matter how insignificant.
He chuckled. "There, a perfect example of my point."
Siri darted a glance over his shoulder as Padme slowly began to flex her fingers, gauging how bad the damage to her arm was. The young woman grimaced but continued her ministrations, keeping a wary eye on Palpatine's back.
Siri realized she had to distract him... keep him talking and away from Padme.
She had a feeling she knew the exact topic for that.
"If you think you're going to lay claim to Anakin Skywalker as your next apprentice, you truly have lost your mind," she declared. "He will never turn."
"He already has."
She had to confess, Palpatine's response threw her and judging by Padme's gasp, she wasn't the only one startled. "What are you talking about?"
"Skywalker has been experimenting with the dark side for awhile now. He can sink into it as easily as he breathes. Only this time, he won't be coming back."
Although Sith lords were renowned for deceit, she found herself believing part of what he was saying. "He'll come back; I know it. And what do you have a need for another apprentice anyway? You have Jarrick; it appears he has already ingratiated himself with the public."
"That fool? He is nothing, a mere pawn to tide me over until I could claim a rightful apprentice, one worthy of my powers."
"He must truly be fairly powerful if he captured the attention of the Jedi several years ago."
Palpatine made a dismissive noise in the back of his throat. "His command of the Force is impressive enough. But he is insipid and weak, traits I will not tolerate."
"I haven't seen much of that in him," Siri admitted.
Padme was now leaning forward, slowly working on the ties of her ice blades. Siri had been in enough battle situations to know when someone was close to executing a plan.
Keep going, Tachi.
She brought a hand to her throat and massaged it, making sure her voice was soft so Palpatine had to pay close attention to catch her sentences. "If our information is correct, you trained him expertly since he was 9 years old. He must have been incredibly grateful, given the situation you rescued him from."
Her wayward compliment seemed to have the desired effect as Sidious smirked, looking quite pleased. "Yes, my ministrations were clever if I do say so myself. He was so easy to persuade; it was a tad pitiful, especially since I do enjoy a challenge."
"Your ministrations?"
"A few well-placed rumors kept the locals talking long enough for the information to reach Jarrick's ears, just as I intended. There really is nothing sadder than an unwanted, abandoned child. Their minds are fantastically pliable. Thanks to me, he grew up believing his father had never loved his mother and that he denied the existence of his own son!"
"He didn't?"
"Force, no!" Palpatine laughed. "The noble king was planning to give up his throne to marry the poor girl but she died before he could do so. Needless to say, that threw a bit of a twist into my careful planning, but a simple kidnapping and some more gossip was enough to get it back on track."
"And that's when you sent Jarrick to Rewoid?"
"It's good to see the Force lightning hasn't addled your brain, Master Tachi. Yes, that is how Jarrick ended up on Rewoid."
Siri pressed her lips together, feeling a stab of pity for the unfortunate young man. His entire life leading up to his very moment, had been manipulated by pure evil. "Why did you bother with him when you had Anakin in mind all the while?"
"I needed some… temporary assistance. Someone who could help me put Skywalker in a situation where he grew so bonded with the Senator her well-being could be used to turn him in my direction."
"The assassin droids?" Siri gasped. "We blamed the unforeseen magnetic activity… but you sent them?"
"Of course."
Siri saw Padme's skin flush a deep scarlet, a sure sign the young woman was growing furious. The time was drawing near…
"What will you do with Jarrick when all of this is over?" The tiny camera droid shot into view and then retreated to the rafters, still filming diligently.
"I will kill him, of course. Or Anakin will," he mused. "Either way, he will not leave this Arena alive." He made a tsk-tsk sound with his tongue. "An inconvenient but necessary loss. But on the upside, I will succeed in nullifying the prophecy – one candidate is dead, the other is my willing and very able apprentice. Problem solved."
"Are you sure Jarrick will be able to turn against the Senator and allow her to come to harm?" Siri wondered. "He seems to be awfully fond of her." Her stomach did a tiny somersault of anticipation as she saw a frown spread across the Chancellor's face.
"That will not be a problem any longer," he insisted. "I have… inhibited his connection to her. It was growing too dangerous."
"Does he know that? Jarrick kind of seems like a man who would be a bit upset with someone messing with his Force capabilities."
"A Sith Master never reveals all his secrets," he hissed.
Siri pasted a winning grin on her face.
Time's up.
"I'm sorry to say I think you just did." With the remaining strength she had, she pointed to the hovering camera droid. "Smile, Chancellor. You've got quite an audience. I imagine it is probably the entire Galaxy by now."
She was hit by an explosion of lightning that pinned her to the wall in all its ferocity. A dull roaring sound filled her ears as she silently called Obi-wan's face to mind. I will always be with you, Kenobi. I love you.
Padme's scream, now strangely distant, was the last thing she heard before sinking gratefully into the void.