Arya walked past shelves and shelves of data housed inside blue databanks that resided in the Library of the Republic. Belerian's Breath was still activated in her hand and as people saw her they fled to any exit they could find. She had run into several more Jedi along the way and had quickly incapacitated them. Eventually, she came to a chamber that opened up wide and high above her revealing hundreds of more levels just like the one she was traversing. She crouched down and summoned as much force energy as she could before springing upward. The ground cracked underneath her in a circular pattern, shattering the shelves of nearby records. She flew through the air as if she were shot out of a cannon and dozens of levels flew past her in a blur as she ascended. When her speed slowed down, she pushed off one of the far walls with the force and that in turn moved her over the railing of the nearest level and onto soft carpet. She walked over to the railing she had just flown over and peered down. The ground floor teemed with people who must have just come out of hiding after she had jumped away. The people now looked to be about the size of ants. She must have flown several hundred feet in a single bound.

As she walked, she could feel the presence of dozens of Jedi heading towards the library. One thing she noticed was that the their presence felt different than Maul's. It was as if the Jedi running in her direction were emanating pure light. It was different with her master. Every time she felt Maul's presence it had always reminded her of power hidden in the shadows. She had first noticed the difference between the light and the dark when she had fought the Jedi in the entrance chamber. Though, the presence of those first Jedi seemed weak compared to the Jedi who were headed her way now. She hid her own presence and walked farther into the level she had landed upon. She would just need to keep revealing herself and then hiding to send the approaching Jedi on a wild goose chase. Hopefully, she would not need to confront any of them and Maul would get the time he needed.

As she walked, she began to feel a disturbance in the force. It was as if there was a large shadow looming over her thoughts. The feeling was similar to what she felt with Maul's presence, but much stronger. It was probably closer to what Maul felt when she revealed her presence to him. As she walked through the carpeted hallway, she noticed a pair of ornate double doors and immediately made for them. They were locked, but a quick push on the lock with the force sent the doors swinging open. She quickly slipped inside and closed the doors behind her. When she turned around she found herself in a large lavish chamber with wall hangings and blood-red carpet. There were a small number of shelves in the chamber on either sidewall, and in the center of the chamber sat one of the largest tables Arya had ever seen. She walked to the end of the room and sat in the chair at the head of the table. Her presence was hidden, so most likely no one would find her here. Although the disturbance she felt in the force was growing stronger by the second.

Arya decided she had waited long enough and was just about to leave when the door she had entered minutes before opened slowly and someone walked into the room. The figure was male in shape and cloaked in all black. When he looked up, Arya could see that his nose and mouth were covered in black cloth so that only his eyes were showing.

"I think it's best if you leave." Arya said as she climbed up on the table and activated her lightsaber. Not only did the figure not flinch or run away, it began to laugh with one of the evilest sounding cackles Arya had ever heard. As it laughed, Arya felt the disturbance in the force grow even stronger. She grabbed her chest and nearly stumbled. So that's what that feels like. She thought.

"Are you the one who is responsible for the disturbance in the force that I felt moments ago?" its voice was high-pitched and rough and dripped of pure evil.

Arya said nothing. She simply revealed herself to the figure causing it to barely flinch in pain.

"Ooooahahaha." It muttered as if the pain it had just felt was causing it pleasure. "My oh my, you are a strong one, aren't you? And steeped in the dark side no less. An apprentice like you would be extremely useful for my plans. Tell me, are you looking to learn more about the dark side of the force?"

Arya scoffed at that. "I already have a master. And I doubt there is much you could teach me." She said.

"THAT is where you are so very wrong." The figure replied as if amused and angry all at the same time. "Maul could not possibly teach anyone as powerful as yourself anything of real consequence."

Arya started. How could this person know about Maul? She must have let her surprise show on her face because the figure responded to it.

"Yes, I know that Maul is your master. I can smell his stench all over you. The way you conduct yourself in the force tells me that much. But tell me, would you rather spend time learning from an insignificant, half-broken former Sith, or would you rather learn from a powerful Sith Lord, such as his former master?" The figure raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Sideous." Arya entered a defensive stance. Sideous didn't move from his spot at the other end of the table. Well this was definitely a wrinkle in their plans. Sideous was supposedly one of the most powerful force users Maul had ever known. This would not end well.

"Ah, I see he has told you about me. He has most likely poisoned your mind against me as well. Well, think what you wish, but consider this. Maul is a merely a trickling stream, where as I am a thundering waterfall. You are strong like me too, I can feel it in you. Join me, and I will show you power that Maul could never even dream of. You don't even have to be my apprentice. You could be my equal, and together no one would oppose us." As he talked, his voice became sweeter and visions of power blossomed in Arya's thoughts. What could she accomplish with a teacher like this? Maul had already unlocked so much power in her, she was almost afraid to imagine what Sideous could get her to be able to do. Under his tutelage she would become unstoppable. She could fix her own broken world and make it how she saw fit. She could wipe the Lannisters from the history books. She could put whoever she wanted on the Iron Throne and be their loyal sword. Everyone would live under the rule of whoever she chose. She could bring peace to Westeros by the end of her lightsaber.

Sideous merely stood there and watched her as she contemplated all he had said. As her thoughts swirled amidst visions of a peaceful Westeros and her own chosen kingdom, Sideous's eyes gave away a smile of triumph that was hidden underneath the cloth that was covering the bottom of his face. Arya could tell that he was peering into her thoughts.

"Yes." Sideous said. "With the power I can teach you, armies would bend the knee before you. You could rebuild your home world and make it the way you wanted. No one would oppose you. Your enemies would cower in fear of you and your loved ones would always be protected. No one you love would ever have to die." Sideous's voice was like pure honey dripping into her mind, but something about the last words he spoke felt wrong to Arya for some reason. No one she loved would ever have to die. Ever. Suddenly, and she did not know why, she remembered something her old mentor Jaquen H'ghar had told her, 'A minute, an hour, a month. Death is certain. The time is not.'. His monotonous voice pierced through Sideous's words and gave her the clarity she needed. Valar Morghulis: All men must die. No one, not even this strong and twisted individual in front of her would escape the God of Death. This Sith Lord's words were poison and lies. He would not teach her everything he knew for fear of his own mortality and her ability to make that mortality a reality. Maul had told her Sideous's back story. About how Sideous had learned everything he needed to know from his old master Darth Plagueis, and then used force lightning to slowly torture Plagueis to death. She could not trust anything that came from Sideous's lips.

Sideous must have sensed Arya's thoughts turning on him because he jumped onto the enormous table with an inhuman and ear-piercing shriek. When he landed, he activated his lightsaber and held it up high with the blade pointing directly at Arya. Arya emerged from her thoughts and entered her defensive stance once again, Belerian's Breath hummed in her hand.

"You fool!" Sideous screeched. "You must be too stupid to see the opportunity that I have laid before you. If you want to follow that sad Dothmirian Maul and never realize your true potential, then so be it. Unfortunately, you will never get the chance. You are too powerful an enemy to be left alive."

With that, Sideous lunged forward spinning inhumanly fast with his blade pointed straight at Arya's heart. He almost caught her off guard, but Maul's teaching proved effective as she was able to drop to the ground and deflect his lightsaber with her own. He slid to a stop on the table behind her and looked up at her, growling as he did so. He came in for another attack with his lightsaber held high, and right before he reached Arya he leapt to the side, landing on the wall of the chamber and then springing back at her from a high angle. All Arya saw was billowed out robes and Sideous's lightsaber hidden within. As he passed her, his blade shot out from among his robes and Arya missed blocking it by mere inches allowing it to strike her left shoulder. She yelled in pain, and Sideous laughed with amusement.

Arya moved her shoulder, and while it hurt, it wasn't enough to keep her from fighting. Enough of being on the defensive. She thought. With a growl of her own she sprang at Sideous. He seemed to think she was hurt worse than she was because she caught him slightly off guard and was able to strike his side, but apparently that was not enough to slow him. Her next blow was aimed straight for his neck, but he caught the strike with his blade. They pressed their blades together, neither of them relinquishing an inch to the other. As she stared into the eyes of Sideous, she saw that they were red and yellow, like Mauls. There was a difference though. Maul's eyes seemed more dull and sad, while Sideous's seemed to glow and reflect with a hatred buried deep within his soul.

Arya slowly removed one of her hands from the hilt of her lightsaber and was still able to hold Sideous's own blade at bay. She reached to the back of her neck and in a quick fluid motion, she pulled the face she was disguising herself with off to reveal another face. Her new face was still not her own. She had prepared for needing to change her face multiple times during this mission, so she was currently wearing several of them. Sideous looked at her with a stupefied look on his face. Apparently, even with all his strength and knowledge, he had never seen anything like that before. Sure, Maul had told her about changelings, but this was different. In his moment of distraction Arya was able to shove his lightsaber back far enough to give her room to kick off of his chest and fly to the far wall. Sideous went flying into the opposite wall and crumpled onto the floor.

Arya pushed off the wall towards Sideous, but right before she reached him he rolled unnaturally fast and ducked out of the way of her lightsaber. Both of them jumped back up onto the table and their dance of blades began. Trading blow after blow, Arya began to sense that their skill with a lightsaber was evenly matched, and she could see in Sideous's eyes that he was realizing the same thing. With fluid feints and parries they battled each other. Finally, Sideous abandonded his lightsaber all together and started thowing shelves and chairs at Arya. He was able to throw these objects with an insane amount of velocity, but Arya was able to dodge everything Sideous threw at her. He threw one last chair at Arya and she used the force to catch it and throw it back at him. Sideous dove out of the way and let forth an animalistic scream of frustration. Arya climbed back onto the partially ruined table and activated her lightsaber again.

"Enough with the lightsabers." Sideous croaked. "Time for you to feel the full power of the dark side of the force." Then he pointed his fingertips at Arya and let forth a torrent of force lightning. Nothing Arya had ever felt before that moment hurt as much as the electricity that coarsed through her body. She convulsed on the floor as her body began to smoke from the heat. Sideous laughed mercilessly. Maul had not prepared her for this. This is where I die. she thought. But even as she felt death coming for her, she noticed that the pain from the force lightning didn't hurt as much anymore. In fact, the more Sideous tortured her, the less it hurt. She looked down at her body and noticed a shimmering blue translucent shield began to form around her body. It was as if her body was naturally reacting to the pain and the force was forming a barrier to protect her and deflect the lightning. One of the deflected bolts shot back at Sideous and sent sliding to the center of the table where he crumpled to the floor.

As Sideous lay on his back, a shimmering blue Arya walked slowly over to him and stood on his chest. She pushed off of him, jumping straight up towards the ceiling which caused the great table to split in half underneath Sideous. She flew hundreds of feet all the way to the ceiling where she found convenient structural beams that she could hold onto. Down below she saw Sideous laying in between the two halves of the table. He looked particularly feeble from Arya's vantage point, but he was definitely still alive. Tough son of a bitch. Arya thought. Still holding onto the beam, Arya swung upside down and placed her feet on the ceiling of the room. She bent her legs but kept her feet pressed to the ceiling. She deactivated Belarian's Breath and hung it on her belt. Then she reached to the other side of her belt and grabbed Needle. With a steady hand, she held the point so that it aimed directly at Sideous hundreds of feet below. With a grunt of exertion, she pushed off of the ceiling and rocketed towards the ground with Needle's point aimed true. Seconds before she reached him, she saw him come to and growl in frustration. He rolled out of the way and scuttled up the wall of the chamber like an insect. His movements were fast, even for a Sith. He reached an air duct and slithered inside. Arya hit the ground with so much force that the floor exploded and the two haves of the table shattered into splinters. She shot straight through the floor and several dozen floors below it and landed with a thud.

Arya slowly stood up and looked around. Most the room she had just landed in was now destroyed from the impact of her landing. The only reason she could think of as to why she was still alive was the force shield around her body which now looked as if it was fading away. She looked up and saw what looked like a tunnel, but must have been her path when she crashed through all of the library floors. At the top floor she could sense that the Jedi had just burst into the room where her and Sideous had fought. He was probably long gone by now.

She noticed several faces peering over the edge of the top-most hole.

"Sith!" yelled one of the Jedi who were peering down into the hole. "Do not move. The library is surrounded with Jedi."

Arya was amused by that and crouched on the ground again. She jumped and shot through the tunnel of holes she her body had created and flew past the surprised Jedi at the top hole. She landed on the opposite side of the hole and turned around. There were probably a dozen Jedi on the other side, and most of them she recognized from her training with Maul. Kit Fisto. Mace Windu. Plo Koon…She needed to get out of there, fast.

Mace Windu took several steps forward. "By the order of the Galactic Republic, you are hereby placed under arrest and will await trial by the Galactic Senate"

"No, I am not." Arya said.

"No?" Mace Windu raised an eyebrow in Arya's direction. "Then we will bring you in, Sith. You are the one we have been searching for The one who has been causing a great disturbance in the force. We will not let you get away." As he said this, he activated his lightsaber which shown a brilliant shade of purple.

"Watch the security footage from this room. I'm not the one you are looking for." Arya said as she took several slow steps backwards and looked up. There was a gaping hole in the ceiling from where she had pushed off of it. A clear blue sky shown through the hole. Arya aimed for the sky beyond and jumped. She shot up and through the hole, landing on the edge of the ruined roof. When she looked down, she saw expressions of both awe and frustration from the Jedi below.

"You can run Sith Lord, but we will hunt you, and we will find you!" Windu yelled up after her.

"I doubt that." Arya whispered, and jumped off the top of the Library.