Chapter 56: Come the Gathering Rain (Part 1)

There is some kind of chaos rippling through the Force throughout the Temple, but Siri really doesn't give a damn at the moment.

The Holocron isn't opening, and all Siri can do is float and sputter around it in a blind panic. When she really thinks about it, Jedi pouring light into a Sith Holocron should have outright destroyed it. She'd only loosely looked into the artifacts, or had their design mentioned to her, but they are very carefully and precisely constructed. That should have disrupted and ruined the Holocron... or does having part of a soul being part of it change that? Zannah might have implied otherwise when they first met, but from what Siri knew, while there were plenty of Sith in the past who bound their souls to various objects or locations, putting one's soul or part of a soul in a Holocron wasn't actually that common.

It wasn't a cognitive matrix that held Zannah's Holocron together and stored its knowledge, it was a part of Zannah herself that did.

Siri takes a shaky breath and lets it out, sitting down on her couch and staring at the holocron on her table. She remembered how sore and tired she had been after Anakin did what he did, Zannah likely just... just needed rest. Potentially a lot of it since she was just a fragment of the original. She nibbled on her lip, and actually started to try and process what she had seen and heard, to process Rain...

Siri had been completely offguard, she certainly hadn't expected that as Zannah's fall. Good gods, how old had Zannah been at the time?! Rain barely looked ten! Siri could rag on and bemoan the faults of the current day and age Jedi all day, but at least they didn't do actual damn child soldiers! Though one could argue the ethics of indoctrinating children, teaching six year olds how to handle a lightsaber, and sending out teenage padawans into life or death situations all day, there was a marked difference between raising a weapon to be used when they were at least somewhat ready, and dumping child soldiers with barely any training into an active warzone!

Siri will never demean her own fall, Gallia's death was awful, but Zannah's... Rain's... came off as so much worse. Siri's was a result of... of her own weakness. Rain had been a child even younger than Siri had been, and from the sound of it, set up to fail by those she should have been able to count on. A child without any of the training Siri herself had received. Fallen at ten and found by Darth Bane... Siri could admit she had been influenced and molded by Sidious, and Zannah herself too, but... a vulnerable recently fallen ten year old with no experience or training, a blank slate for Bane to have molded to his liking...

It twists her stomach and makes her want to be sick. The Dark Hound outside the gate stares at her impassively, primal nature is a merciless barbaric thing, but the dark in herself snarls protectively. She always imagines Zannah as a powerful and imposing Sith Sorceress, a defenseless child just... jarred that heavily. She wants to take that girl and lock her away somewhere safe to never be harmed again... but she's roughly a thousand years too late to have done anything for her. Hells, even if time travel was real (not counting hyperspace hiccups that vaulted people forward a bit), she kind of doubts she could take Bane on for Zannah, even if Bane hadn't been at his peak at the time.

She remembers something she had said before, that any who turn to the Dark Side should have done so willingly, cognizant of what they are doing, a choice. She doesn't have the exact details of what happened, but, she wonders how much of a choice Zannah had at the time. Because that was a fall, a crash and a burn, not a turn, at least to Siri it seemed. She supposes she'd going to have to pry it out of Zannah, because she can't leave it as it is, she wants, she craves, she has to know. A possessive desire to know just how much Zannah was hurt, and how much in turn she wishes she could kill those who had done it to her...

"I have the feeling you are going to be staring at the holocron for a long time if you are expecting it active anytime soon."

Siri jolts a little, turning her head to see Obi-Wan standing in the doorway. "Her."

"Her," concedes Obi-Wan, nose wrinkling, "I really couldn't imagine locking myself away in a little pyramid for a thousand years."

Siri really couldn't either. She didn't want to die anytime soon, but... "Sith generally want to live forever, from what I've studied its a common trait. So damn arrogant, or perhaps desperate, to believe they can cheat death. By any means necessary."

"You don't want to?" he prodded.

"I mean... if a realistic option came along I'm not sure I'd turn it down, but, I'm not going to go foaming at the mouth trying to figure something out," she answered, "First life has been shitty enough, haven't seen much of a reason to want to live multiple lifetimes, Force forbid forever."

Especially not alone.

She considers it for a moment, remembering how Zannah initially greeted her. If Siri really wanted to live forever, she'd figure out how to Essence Transfer, but even then its kind of iffy. She likes her own body thank you very much. She's... also not exactly comfortable with killing someone else's soul for their body, because that's what it sounds like she'd have to do. Or at least boot them out into the Force, she'd have to interrogate Zannah on it later if she remembered.

Obi-Wan sighs and moves to sit on the couch near her. She gives him a sidelong glance, he looks... tired. Perhaps a little shell-shocked. "Something the matter?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe Jorus C'Baoth trying to initiate a schism over you and the holocron," he answered in scathing sarcasm.

"Pfff, called it," she said, shaking her head, not nearly surprised.

"Called... called what?"

"Schism, and C'Baoth," she said, a smirk on her face, "I've been observing as an outsider for the last few years. The cracks have been building for awhile, even before I arrived here, perhaps before I was born. Me, and what information I revealed, just brought them front and center, made them hard to ignore."

Obi-Wan frowned. "And C'Baoth?"

"Not that anyone would believe the accusation in the manner I mean it, but, he's been using a False Aura of Light for awhile now."

"A... what?!" exclaims Obi-Wan, standing up sharply, "And you haven't said anything?!"

She yanks him back down. "Other Jedi have been trying too, including your shadows, in an attempt to replicate and pick apart the ability. Who would be believed, Obi-Wan? Me? Or a well respected Jedi Master, on why he was using one? Or if they would even humor an accusation to begin with?"

Obi-Wan's lips thin. "You're saying he's... dark?"

"Hell if I know, haven't prodded to try and feel under it," she answered, "Against policy for my parole to dig into people's mental shields."

"Like digging into Anakin's medical records was?"

She grinned in response. "Medical records can't fight back."

He scoffed.

Siri leaned her head back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "He stinks of Sidious, both him and Krell do. Whether they know it or not, they are playing into his hands. A split Jedi Order is going to have him foaming at the mouth in delight. You should be out there trying to convince people to stay, not in here watching me."

"I'm likely a reason some will leave," said Obi-Wan, "Apparently I'm a 'Sith Lover'."

Siri snorted. "There's love, then there's you Jedi's platonic shit. If we ever got into bed with eachother I might die of shock."

"I do care for you Siri," he said softly, a tingle going down her spine at the words, "But I will never betray the Order for you."

Ignoring that sex wasn't against his precious code, but whatever, he was likely concerned about where it would lead.

"I'd be ignorant of who you are to expect otherwise," she said dryly, "As would anyone else. Your love is compassion based, with a dash of personal mixed in, selfishness intentional plucked out of the mix. Touching, but bland and boring."

He snorted. "Nice Siri."

"I thought so too."

He huffed and shook his head. "You're impossible Siri."

She smiled a little, sadly, "I'm still aware its the most a creature like me will ever receive."

"That Siri, is entirely your choice," he answered, "If you chose to change, and... as much as I can admit a selfish desire otherwise, if you left at the end of your parole to find a life outside of this to settle down in, if it made you happy I would let you go."

Kriffing shit he really knew how to drive it in didn't he? The difference between them? Because she can readily admit she'd never want to see him with another. "Go rescue a tooka out of a tree or something Kenobi."

He snorted. "I've never actually done that."

Go go go...

"Begone pest," she said, trying to hear what the Force was saying.

She needs his help...

Why was it picking up all the sudden? And who?

He smiled a little at her needling before sighing and getting up and leaving.

She stared at the door, feeling like wind was blowing past her in the Force, unseen currents pushing Kenobi out and towards where it felt he was needed. Something was to happen that would make a difference, somewhere, somehow, in the long run. Choices could have very intended consequences and results, sometimes immediantly, sometimes years or decades down the road. She'd suppose she see.

Until then, she was on Rain watch duty.

Being so used to Siri's dark mood swings, Obi-Wan became aware of something somewhat similar as he made his way down the halls near the training rooms. Not that the entire temple didn't have an air of negativity at the moment. But this was... deeper, there was an air of actual hurt and suffering and fear to it that made him frown. Someone should not feel like that in the temple. He starts cautiously peering into empty rooms, his fellow Jedi to busy with the potential schism to bother with training, until he finds someone.

An older female human padawan, the dreadful signature haircut he no longer had to wear, sat in the corner of a dimly lit room, kneels drawn up to her chest arms wrapped around them, forehead resting on them tucked towards her chest. He can hear the faint shaky breathing and crying. His frown deepens, what caused a senior padawan to have such an episode? Part of him wants to give her the privacy such a thing deserves, not to embarrass her by seeing it, another part desires to reach out and see if he can help.

The Force nudged him forward, more like a kick in the ass actually compared to its usual guidance, but he took the hint and approached. "Are you alright?"

The padawan startled and looked up at him, teary eyes going wide.

He blinked. "Padawan Jinzler?"

What was C'Baoth's padawan doing here like this? He'd have thought she would be with him, she usually was dragged around to his speeches and gatherings.

She wipes at her eyes, trying to collect herself. "N-nothing, I'm... I'm fine."

Obi-Wan raises a slow eyebrow, letting a thread of incredulous flow out of the Force from him. He kneels down and reaches out to put a hand on her arms. "Padawan, that's a blatant li..."

She hisses and yanks her arm back from his grip, pain on her face.

Obi-Wan freezes for a moment, dread filling him. He reaches for her shoulder, grips her, ignoring her protests as he pulls up her sleeve... and finds nasty purple bruising, along with several untreated training lightsaber burns. Jinzler looks like she's about to crumple, her presence withdrawing on herself like a scared child. He stares at her arm solemnly, his mind blank with disbelief. He wouldn't... surely C'Baoth wouldn't...

Then his conversation with Siri fills his mind, and all the little things he'd ever noticed about C'Baoth and Jinzler, or that had been pointed out to him fill his mind. "Oh padawan, I'm so sorry..."

Obi-Wan feels awful. He recalls, in years past, that he and his lineage had once commented on Jinzler as C'Baoth's padawan. How she seemed to be struggling under his teaching. They had nodded their heads, considered it unfortunate, and done nothing, leaving it to the choice of a floundering padawan to want to leave him when its now so obvious that she had been drowning instead. She was a padawan, closing in on her senior years and entering into adulthood yes, but its more than apparent as he sees her huddled in a corner with a tear stained face how badly set-back and hurt she's been by her Master's abuse. She should be coming into her own by now, strong and confident, starting to look towards her trials, not... not this.

He had failed her, they had failed her, the entire Order had failed her. They were supposed to look after their own! Not abandon them when they knew something seemed off.

"Just... it was just a training accident," she hiccuped out.

"A training accident," he said flatly, "Much like my own falls down a flight of stairs after getting into a fight with another initiate when I was younger I imagine."

She averts her eyes.

Obi-Wan takes in a deep breath and slowly lets it out. He doesn't yet release what he feels into the Force, no, he wants to stew on the anger building as much as it isn't the Jedi way, because this deserves being angry about. Still, the Force presses at him, to dig deeper. "I've had enough injuries and accidents to know those are not at least from today. What's wrong Padawan Jinzler?"

"He wants me to leave with him," she said shakily.

"You don't have to," pointed out Obi-Wan.

"He's all I have!" she shouts at him in a panic, "No one else wanted me! No knight or master even looked at me! I was about to age out and he took me on... if I leave I'll never be a knight... I... I don't have anything else."

Obi-Wan closes his eyes. That's familiar to him, that's dreadfully familiar. Memories of going to knights and master's one by one and seeing if they wanted a padawan fill him, the desperation of that last year as an initiate. He knows that pain and fear, that sense of being unwanted.

"I keep telling him we shouldn't leave, that my nightmares...," she begins before cutting off, "He just... just gets angry at me. He's always angry these last few years..."

Listen listen listen...

Obi-Wan frowns. "Nightmares?"

"Something bad will happen to my Master if he leaves," she answers, twisted loyalty that feels like a slimy rope, no, a chain around her neck, in her words, "I see him with these horrible eyes, he's coming towards me and asking why I'm running, that I'm supposed to help him 'ascend'. He... he activates his lightsaber and its red."

Obi-Wan goes rigid. He's spent enough time thinking about Naboo, and what Siri had said during her questioning, to know and understand exactly what a Sith Sacrifice is. He doesn't care what he has to do, Jinzler is NOT leaving with C'Baoth. Over his dead body.

"We... we need to stay, he needs help," she answers, "I've tried... but... it just makes him angry... that I'm not learning the lessons he's trying to teach."

Damn C'Baoth, he's not worthy of that loyalty. "You can't help someone that doesn't wish to be helped, Jinzler, I know this better than most."

Then Obi-Wan's thoughts slow to a crawl on her wording. "His... lessons?"

Obi-Wan makes a choking sound when Jinzler's face contorts with anger, hints of hate in it, and she draws on the Force in a way that has become intimately familiar considering the time he's spent around Siri. Her anger slips away though, she can't hold it, and she is filled with self-loathing. "But I can't learn it, can't hold onto it right. I'm a failure of a padawan..."

How did they miss this? HOW DID THE ENTIRE DAMN TEMPLE MISS THIS?! That C'Baoth is corrupting and abusing his own padawan under their noses?! That was the Dark Side! "Padawan, forget what your Master said, its a good thing you can't."

"But I... I know its not what we're taught in classes," defended Jinzler, "But he said its what we need to fight the Sith and the Dark Side."

Oh sweet Force...

He pulls her to his feet. "Come with me Padawan."

"I... I need to go back to my room, I have to get packed...," she begins.

"Padawan Jinzler," he says softly, lowering his shields to let his compassion, grief, and sorrow flow out and wrap around, making he bow her head, "Your master is going down a path you should not follow. Please come with me, I only wish to help."

She hesitates for a long moment. "Just... just give me a minute. Master says we always have to be in control of ourselves."

Obi-Wan's heart plummets as Jinzler perfectly wraps herself up, all that conflict and beginnings of darkness smothered under a curtain of serene light. Witnessing the before and after right in front of him... he can see, can feel the falseness to it. C'Baoth has completely and utterly betrayed one of the most sacred duties of a Jedi, to safeguard and guide their padawan. He takes a minute, with Jinzler awkwardly fidgeting in front of him, to control and release his emotions into the Force.

"I think, Padawan Jinzler," said Obi-Wan, "You need to forget the lessons he's taught you and walk away."

"I don't have anywhere else to go!" she said sharply, frustration (and soft, sad helplessness), a brief stir in the Force before she yanks them back down under her shields and her beginnings of a false aura of light, "And I... he needs help, he needs me."

And that's the gist of the matter, isn't it? There's been a lack of masters to cover all their padawans since long before Obi-Wan has been born. He reflexively goes through a list in his mind of potential knights and masters that might be available. But how much is that list going to change? How many will walk away with C'Baoth? How many might shy away from Jinzler simply because she had been C'Baoth's padawan? How many will feel unfit to help her when they learn how she's been abused and manipulated? On the flip side, how many will shy away from the beginnings of the Dark Side and decree she should be sent to the Corps or released from the Order instead? As if C'Baoth wouldn't just hunt her down without the Order's protection if he became a Sith and wanted to Sacrifice her.

Dooku would have been his best guess, but... grandmaster had sworn off training another Padawan, and was focused on Vosa at the moment. There's a few council members who don't have padawans at the moment, but he doesn't know if they are interested, or would be willing to try. He's at a loss, there are those he could ask, but he doesn't think they will take her, or if they do, how much they can truly help.

So who could...

Oh.

The Force smiles knowingly at him.

Well then, the Force sure hadn't been subtle in why it sent him here, had it?

"C'Baoth needs to make a choice only he can make, and I fear he has already made it," said Obi-Wan, "Lorana, you know, you know deep down what he is doing and where he is going, how wrong he is. I'm sorry you haven't felt that you can reach out for anyone for help, the Order has failed you in this. I cannot force you to stay, but if you do, I will take you as my Padawan Learner."

She startled, badly, shields cracking in surprise and shock. "I..."

"I'm untested and unproven," admits Obi-Wan, "Freshly knighted not that long ago, but I can promise you, I will do the best by you that I can. I will complete your training as best to my abilities, and will never ask of you something you cannot give, or that you know is wrong, and I will never raise my hand to you with the intent to harm."

That's something he feels he can do. She already has training, from her years as an initiate, and hopefully some of what C'Baoth taught Jinzler before he started down this path was right. All he has to do is correct whats wrong, help her back on her feet, and guide her the rest of the way. He has an entire lineage he can go to for support as well, one that will be willing to reach out and help in a way she probably needs.

She looks at him, shell-shocked and completely silent.

"You don't have to decide right now," he offers quietly, "But please come with me to somewhere you can think safely."

If C'Baoth gets to her again while she's so vulnerable, Obi-Wan doesn't know if he can save her. He tugs gently on her sleeve, and she numbly follows him. He thumbs his comlink on, ques a multi-call, and brings it to his mouth.

"Master, Grandmaster, please come to Siri's apartment, now."

"What is it Obi-Wan?" asks Qui-Gon

Dooku sighs at the same time. "I'm too busy, Obi-Wan, for whatever mess Tachi has caused now..."

"I need you to safeguard and protect a padawan that's been abused by her master."

That gets a jittery shameful feeling from Jinzler, an urge to turn and bolt, but he grips her sleeve tightly, pressing his care against her shields to quiet her.

"I'll be over after I collect Anakin from his class," says Qui-Gon grimly.

Dooku's voice is sharp. "I will wrap up here and arrive shortly."

Obi-Wan could have taken her elsewhere, and maybe leaving her with Siri while he went to the Council wasn't the brightest idea, but, if he asked Siri, he knew she would get between Jinzler and C'Baoth if the man came for her, if he so but asked; Regardless if, as Jinzler's current Master, C'Baoth was in his rights to Jinzler until he officially filled out the forms to leave the Order (or stormed out), or was banished by the Council. He thinks his Master and Grandmaster will to, but its better safe than sorry.

He takes her into Siri's apartment, and Siri glances over, eyes furrowing on Jinzler, probing at her through the Force. Jinzler flinches and glares at her, Siri merely raises an eyebrow. "Obi-Wan, why did you bring a padawan teetering towards falling to my apartment?"

"I'm not falling!" shouted Jinzler at her, anger seeping through her shields, even strips of hate, thoughts of -Hate and be angry at the Sith- bleeding from her in C'Baoth's voice.

"My point stands," said Siri dryly, "Even if you're not in the process you certainly are well on your way."

"Enough," said Obi-Wan, "Siri please. Just leave her be, and if C'Baoth comes anywhere near her, flatten him to the damn wall."

Siri's eyebrows climb in surprise, and then narrow. Eyes that see and understand much gazing at him. She pokes him through the bond, demanding a confirmation. 'C'Baoth's gone off the deep end already then? Not just on his way?'

'He's been abusing and manipulating his padawan towards the Dark Side', agreed Obi-Wan, 'She's having nightmares, visions of him wanting to use her as a Sith Sacrifice'.

Siri's expression darkens intently. "Leave your saber with me."

He doesn't hesitate, despite how much trouble he's going to be in, and he tosses it to her.

"Jinzler," order's Siri as she patiently moves to plant herself between the door and the couch, "Take the couch."

The Padawan stands still, fight or flight clear on her face. Again, Obi-Wan presses compassion against her shields that makes her relax, but when he pulls away, she tries to reach out and bring it back this time, an edge of longing and need to it. How long had it been for her since someone had shown care? Force he's going to have to struggle not to throttle C'Baoth with his bare hands. He should bring her to the council with him, but he's not going to parade around her abuse in front of the highest of the Order and make her die of shame and embarrassment. He remembers his own struggles with it when he and Qui-Gon were going through their early less than stellar years together.

"I will be back," says Obi-Wan before he leaves, gripping his comlink and dialing for Yoda, hoping he still had the same comlink he had before.

He has to comm four times before the Grandmaster picks up. "In a Council meeting, I am, Young Kenobi."

"Its important, Master Yoda, please," said Obi-Wan, "Its a matter of immediate safety for a Padawan whose been abused by her master."

Yoda goes silent for a moment. "A grave accusation that is, Knight Kenobi, hear you the Council will. The safety of our young, always important that is."

He arrives minutes later to... to a Council room that is lacking two of its members. He knew Master Tinn was leaving, but Master Mundi's empty chair is a suprising slap across his face. The High Council looks tired and like they want to be anywhere but here at the moment. He takes a moment to school his expression and bow.

"Pad... Knight Kenobi," corrects Master Windu, "Master Yoda informs us that you have a dire matter to bring before us."

He takes in a deep breath and lets it out. "Jorus C'Baoth has been abusing his padawan and manipulating her towards the Dark Side."

The intensity and focus on him through the Force makes him wince.

"I am not pleased with the path C'Baoth has chosen to walk anymore than anyone else is," rumbles Master Koon, "But that is a steep accusation to make, Knight Kenobi."

"I saw the bruises on her arm myself," answered Obi-Wan flatly, letting an image of the clearly untreated lightsaber burns pulse through the air, "And that was only one arm. She spoke briefly on his lessons, on him encouraging her to use anger and hate, under the illusion that its only at the Sith, enough that she is darkening under such ill guidance. I felt her wrap it under her shields in a way that seems light at first glance. Feeling the before and after, I can clearly sense the falseness of that light."

The Council room is deathly silent.

"She spoke to me of nightmares, of C'Baoth's eyes being wrong, of him coming at her with a red lightsaber in order to 'ascend'," said Obi-Wan, barely keeping a snarl back, "He's twisted and abused her loyalty so much that she wanted to stay with him in order to help him, but its plain as day he's already chosen his path."

"You understand, Knight Kenobi, that while we do not doubt your testimony, we will need to observe and see for ourselves," pointed out Master Windu, "It may have been prudent to bring her here."

"I thought it would be easier on her if one or two councilors were to meet with her, rather than the entire scrutiny of the council while she is not at her best," posed Obi-Wan diplomatically, "Perhaps... Master Koon and Master Yaddle?"

Koon huffed lightly. "It would be lest pressure, to be sure."

"Hmm, understanding and compassion will she need," agreed Yaddle before affixing Obi-Wan with a look, "But understand, do you, that if wish to leave the Order she does, nothing about it, can we do. Even if stay she does, a master will she need soon, if not to the Service Corps we send her."

Obi-Wan took in a breath and let it out. "If offered to take her as my Padawan Learner to complete her training should she wish to stay."

"Mmm, much like your Master and Feemor," mused Master Piell.

Obi-Wan slow blinked. What? "Who?"

"That is a question for Qui-Gon," said Windu firmly, studying Obi-Wan with a slight hint of a frown.

Fay puts fingers together in a pyramid. "You already have a great responsibility placed upon you, Obi-Wan Kenobi, by managing the... unorthodox Sith Apprentice. Guiding a padawan learner is by no means easy, even one whose partially trained, especially if that training has been... compromised."

"There's little I can honestly do for Siri but occasionally be there if she needs me," admitted Obi-Wan, "Her fate is her own decision to make."

Fay nodded. "It always was."

"As for Padawan Jinzler..."

'Kenobi, get your ass down here, now' Siri snarled through the bond suddenly, making him flinch, 'I just shut the door in C'Baoth's face, I don't think he's going to take no for an answer in demanding his padawan leave with him judging by the crap he was spewing at me-uh... also, you're going to need to buy me a new door considering he's taking his saber to it ranting about 'rescuing' his padawan from the Dark Side.'

Obi-Wan swore aloud, turning and rushing for the entrance. "Siri says C'Baoth is after Jinzler."

"Kenobi," says Windu in exasperation as he rises to his feet with the rest, "Where did you leave Padawan Jinzler?"

"With Siri since I knew she'd do what it takes to keep her protected if I asked."

"And the location of your lightsaber?" posed Master Piell.

"Take a guess."

"Your cheek, we need not," chides Yoda as he jumps on Obi-Wan's shoulder, "Master Yaddle, Master Windu, Master Koon, and myself will go. Act upon or continue discussing remaining problems, others should."

The situation they arrive to is tense. Siri stands with his lightsaber drawn and activated, clashed with C'Baoth's in the cloven doorway. Qui-Gon, Anakin, and Dooku have finally arrived, Anakin's saber is drawn but unlit, Dooku's hand is on his, and Qui-Gon is attempting to talk C'Baoth down. Krell is there with hands on both of his saberstaves, but strangely, no other supporters of his are there.

"Enough!" barks Windu in one of the harshest tone's Obi-Wan has heard from him ever, he is outright furious at what he sees, "All of you, sheath your sabers and hands off them, now!"

Neither C'Baoth or Siri listen, sabers crossed bot not moving.

"My Padawan is in the clutches of the Sith," hissed C'Baoth, "I have every right to do what I must to see to her safety."

"Does that include her mental and physical well-being as well?" jabs Obi-Wan sharply, "If so, where are the bruising and untreated burns on her arm from?"

C'Baoth pauses. "Padawan Jinzler is still lacking in saberplay despite my best efforts. Its natural for her to pick up a few marks of training, pain is a valuable tool and lesson in correcting failure that we superior beings as Force Sensitives should not have."

Did he hear himself? Truly? Was he honestly that far gone?

'Pain fuels the Dark Side', Siri commented down the bond dryly, 'Boy on boy I'm beginning to think Sidious has already conscripted him. I'm all for putting him down rather than driving him off.'

Yoda hops down from Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Accused you are, of abusing your padawan, step away you will."

"Accused by whom?" demands C'Baoth, "I have a right to know who would slander me."

"Its not slander if its true," snaps Obi-Wan.

"You?" mocked C'Baoth before turning towards Yoda, "The false, unworthy Knight traipsing with a Sith Apprentice? You trust his word over mine?"

Yoda peers up at him, cold steel in his eyes. "Always."

C'Baoth sneers, malice filling the air, and looks past Siri. "Padawan, its time we left this failed Order. I have our forms for leaving ready for submission once you've signed them."

Jinzler stands at the back of the room, pressed against the wall, fear alight on her face.

"Now Padawan!" barks C'Baoth angrily and...

Obi-Wan is openly shocked, and he's not the only one, to feel C'Baoth reaching through the Force and pressuring against Jinzler's shields, demanding obedience that has Jinzler shudder and reflexively step forward to obey. Siri and Anakin don't wait for an invitation while the rest of them are dumbstruck by the act, Siri pushes out with her other hand and keeps Jinzler against the far wall, Anakin yanks with his and sends C'Baoth flying back, white hot anger searing from Skywalker like the Supernova Siri calls him, a sunburn in the Force. He pins C'Baoth to the wall with his power, clenching his metal hand into a closed fist, the Force wrapping around C'Baoth's throat...

"Anakin," says Qui-gon sharply, "He's been stopped, drop him, now."

Anakin gritted his teeth but obeyed. "He just... like a slaver demanding..."

"I know padawan, I know," soothes Qui-Gon, "But anger is not the way."

"You see!" exclaims C'Baoth, stumbling to get his footing, a note of almost mania to him, "The Chosen One has been tainted by the Sith! Just as I said! You'll doom us all by allowing the stain of the Sith to remain within the temple!"

"That," snaps Master Koon, truly angry for one of the few times Obi-Wan has ever seen him that way, "Is no longer your concern even if you were a Jedi as you once claimed to be. I believe that the decision will be unanimous. You don't need to bother with submitting your forms for resignation, you are hereby expelled from the Jedi Order with prejudice. No one who abuses, manipulates, and mentally coerces those under their care is welcome in these halls. You act far more like a Sith than anyone aside from the actual Sith in this temple has. Tread carefully Jorus C'Baoth, lest that become your path."

C'Baoth rights himself, dusting himself off all the while sneering and looking down upon those around. "Fine then, wallow around in darkness and weakness, I leave to make a new order, a grand order, one so much better and superior, one that will lead the Galaxy into a prosperous future under the firm hand of the Force Sensitives destined to rule it."

He glances past Siri. "Stay here and rot if you wish, Jinzler, you always were a disappointment and a worthless padawan only good for a claim to mastery."

Absolute fury rips through Obi-Wan when Jinzler crumples to the floor, harsh hurt and betrayal and so much self-loathing and other negative emotions bleeding from her, shields cracking, that start towards the dark visible for any to see.

"I've decided," said Siri slowly, "That if you come near the girl again, I will kill you."

"You will try," said C'Baoth, lips peeled back in distaste.

"Remember this C'Baoth," said Siri, a wide sadistic smile on her face, the dark licking at her presence, "Sith don't tolerate rivals."

C'Baoth locks eyes with her for a long moment before sniffing in disdain and turning away, leaving with Krell on his heels.

Siri deactivates Obi-Wan's lightsaber, a dark look on her face, as she looks back on the ruins of a Jedi Padawan. "So much of the same. The Dark should be a choice, not something you're deceived or pushed into taking."

She flicks the lightsaber at him, and he catches it, clipping it to his belt before striding over to his to-be Padawan, kneeling down and carefully drawing her into a hug. "I'm so sorry Lorana, I'm so sorry..."

"The nerve of those pathetic mongrels," sniffs C'Baoth, "Denying me what belongs to ME!"

Sidious hums, mostly satisfied with the report he's been given on the in-progess schism, meeting with his current supposed 'Apprentice' and his pawn in one of his hideouts on Coruscant. "Its to be expected of Kenobi at this point, he always seems to try and take what belongs to the Sith. I suppose then, Apprentice, you will have to earn your Sacrifice the hard way when the time comes."

The elderly man's lips peel back into a nasty grin. "I would have given her the chance of proving herself worthy of our superior power, but alas, she gives me no choice. I will enjoy showing her the folly of the Jedi the next time we meet."

Sidious offers a conspiratorial smile even if it is of no great concern. It is a small, trifle betrayal and act of treacherous, a delicious appetizer for him and the Dark Side, but nothing truly important. Sacrifice or no, C'Baoth will serve his function and die when his apprentice retakes her place, or her replacement does. The thing that does concern him is Zannah. That was... he could admit to himself, shocking. He had never particularly thought well of his ancestor, grudging respect for her supposed skill in Sith Sorcery and her place in the Line of Bane, but regardless, he wouldn't have expected this. He is, to his dismay, unsettled by the recurring theme he is seeing, of Jedi ripping those who belong to the Dark out of it.

If Yoda can do it, even if its just to a Holocron, or rather a Soul Fragment, then others could learn too, its not just something limited to Skywalker. He is briefly self-admonishing to have never bothered to investigate that Holocron thoroughly to see that it was an actual remnant rather than just a cognitive matrix. From Zannah they could potentially pull early machinations of the Rule of Two out of the shadows. He is... not as sure as he was with Tachi what she knows either, what could be a potential danger.

Something to dwell on when he is alone to meditate, for now, he beckons C'Baoth to follow through the hideout into the hanger, to a crate delivered from Dathomir per his instructions, one of the few truly useful things Vosa had accomplished for him. "I have a gift for you my apprentice, something that will make... converting those who come with you a simpler task."

"Oh?" posed C'Baoth.

Sidious grins with pure and utter malice as he levitates the lid off and fishes out a single Sith Torture Mask from the crate full of them, engineered and altered by Nightsister magic and his own improved design over those from ages past...

A/N: The betrayal of a parent, a teacher, or a guardian to one in their care is a truly, horrible thing...

Jinzler in 'cannon' was already noted to have self-confidence/esteem issues when coupled with a normal C'Baoth. A Sith in the making C'Baoth is... much worse.

Obi-Wan doesn't get a break in whatever Padawan he gets, does he?

Grumpy!Rain next chapter!

Review Responses:

Solarsailor55: Only ever temporary unless its followed by stripping them of the Force. Whether they go light, stay gray, or return to the Dark Side is however a decision that the individual must make. Rain/Zannah however is a fragment, she'd need help from Siri if she wanted to return dark, an infusion if you will.

Guest (1): Daww, thanks. To be fair, IDK how many other Siri Tachi main character fanfics even exist.

Qarz: That is your call if this isn't your cup of tea. If we're going to be honest, until the Chosen One chapters, Siri never considered any path but the one she's walking an actual choice (except if Kenobi had run away with her), she had always been committed to what she is, a Sith (of her own kind), in order to kill Sidious. Its only after Anakin yanked her out of the Dark that she's thinking about it at all. Gray or not however, Siri is still heavily leaning dark, that has never been in question or up in the air after Ur Manka perished.

DukeEarl: Ehhh, less pull out the good and more push back the bad. Killing both groups is easy, Clones with 66, droid army with an override code of their own if it goes that way. Yeah, Jedi going back and forth between Light and Dark fighting for or against the Republic is an incredible amount of uncertainty for the citizens, and the senate I suppose, hell, even the clones.

m1idnight217: Wham, right in the feels. Owch.

Truth: I don't think Sidious is going to need Jar Jar for that this time around. Yoda roughly equals Sidious without the death of the Jedi and the mass death of the Clone Wars fueling him at the time of RoTS in cannon IMO. With it, Sidious has the clear edge even if Yoda puts up a good fight. Was Outbound Flight the only contact? I was under the impression Sidious already knew of them.

1saa: Ask and receive, poor Jinzler. The lessons Rain has to teach are more for other people than Siri, or the lessons are derivative of what happened last chapter because of her.

Loldelegate: Depends on how far back you go into legends, I belive Darth Andeddu was the first Darth.

Redshirt1453: Hold that thought on Jedi Civil War 2.0 for awhile, once the Clone Wars start you can scream 'CALLED IT!'.

Silverhawk88: Eh... Zannah was more like 'WTF' than auto thinking of a Jedi Prophecy.

Nerdman3000: Discovery of a Sith Holocron would need someone high ranking to go and lead the fetching of. The Council might also have been tired of Yoda being away during a time of strife when they comed him to deal with it and interrupted his Seclusion.

Its not really control between two parts of the same person and more like Yoda painfully peeling away the Dark inside the Holocron with acid-burning like light (From Zannah's perspective). She was not in a good state when she went on that screaming fit. Like, literally burning alive with Light when she's being prodded, so she screams it all out as an outlet.

Sidious isn't going to deign him with a Sith name unless he actually manages to kill Jinzler, and I have yet to decide what her fate will ultimately be.

Ethan McCoy: Yes. .

ReadAthon45: Siri already has a decent chunk of Sith Philosophy. Debating and arguing with one another though? Oh yes. Much bickering and needling will be had.

JimmyHall24: Not nearly as much as Revan, but enough to fit Sidious's designs, enough to be a blow to the Order, and far more than Dooku had converted to his side in Cannon. Not to mention its not just about C'Baoths pull, but others disillusionment with the Republic and the Jedi Order.

Everyone else, thanks for the reviews.