Unnatural lightning flashed through the air between the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and Jedi Master Mace Windu, reflecting off of the purple blade of the latter man's lightsaber. Between them both stood a prodigy of the Jedi Order, the Hero with No Fear, Anakin Skywalker. Tears ran down his cheeks as he looked between two men representing the duality of his life- the Jedi Knight and the troubled man.
"He is a traitor!" the Chancellor shouted, leveling the barrage of Sith lightning at Master Windu.
Through gritted teeth, Windu countered, "He is the traitor!"
Palpatine, grotesquely deforming before their eyes as the lighting drained him and reflected back onto his own person, called out, "I have the power to save the one you love!"
It was an impossibly alluring prospect, saving Padme from the same death his mother faced. He looked between the two men again, face illuminated by the blue light.
"Don't listen to him, Anakin!" Master Windu shouted, barely holding together under Palpatine's relentless barrage.
His foe reverted to simple begging. "Don't let him kill me! I can't hold on any longer, I'm too weak..."
All at once the lightning ceased, leaving a scarred Palpatine at Master Windu's mercy. Once again the purple blade leveled at Palpatine's head. Master Windu said, "I am going to end this, once and for all!"
For a moment, Anakin reached for his own lightsaber. To execute a fallen foe- that was not the Jedi way. Even so... he'd done the same only weeks ago when he had Count Dooku at his mercy. His mind roiled as his hand closed over the hilt of his lightsaber. What was he going to do? Disarm Master Windu? He would be be forsaken by everyone he knew and cared about. Padme emerged at the fore of his mind, and the image of her death in childbirth caused his hand to close over the hilt totally.
Before he pulled his lightsaber from his belt another thought came to mind, so quickly was his mind whirling. Long had he considered Palpatine a friend, a confidante- but this confidante had turned on him. He let slip to Windu that there was someone he loved- was he being manipulated? This realization redirected many of his emotions. The darkness that had swirled around him was shot through by this one blinding thought. He had been betrayed in Palpatine's desperate effort to turn him against the Jedi.
Mace Windu's blade raised above his head, prepared for a slash that would end the Chancellor. In his eyes there was only determination, the end of the Sith was one swing of his sword away. Anakin looked at the malformed creature that had been his friend, staring back at him with horrible yellow eyes and blackened teeth. "Don't, please!"
In the end he closed his eyes. Dimly was he aware of the flash of light as Mace Windu ended the Sith threat, but he could feel it more clearly than he ever could have seen it. Darkness that had shrouded Coruscant for so long that he had become accustomed to it lifted, all at once. His senses were clear, his mind was clear. Pressure that had been resting on his chest and that of every Jedi for years vanished. Evil had been banished.
His eyes opened to see the ruined corpse of Chancellor Palpatine hunched against the windowsill. Mace Windu stood above him, his lightsaber humming for only a moment longer before he deactivated it. For once he was shocked silent, taking in such a monumental scene.
"We have put an end to the Sith," Master Windu replied, breathing heavily. He clipped his lightsaber to his belt and looked over his shoulder, striding across the office space to where Masters Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin lay prostrate, motionless. Anakin followed, but he sensed no life in them. Master Windu confirmed it, searching each for life signs but finding none.
Before Anakin could say anything, two blue-clad Senate Guard dashed through the door, weapons drawn. "What happened here? Where is the Chancellor?"
Master Windu looked up from where he knelt beside Master Fisto's body. "The Chancellor betrayed the Republic. We tried to arrest him, and he killed these men."
"Where is the Chancellor?" the Senate Guard asked again, seemingly ignoring the other answer he had gotten.
An outstretched hand indicated the window behind Anakin. He stepped aside as one of the two Guardsmen brushed by, kneeling beside the body. "I've got nothing," he reported to his colleague.
The second Guardsman looked between the two Jedi. "Did you kill the Chancellor?"
"Yes," Master Windu replied flatly. "If I had not there would be five dead Jedi rather than three. Look for his lightsaber, it'll be some place on the plaza below the window. Check the security footage, too."
"With respect, Master Jedi, we do not need you to tell us how to run an investigation," the Senate Guard replied. His weapon lowered as he became cognizant that these Jedi meant him no harm. Now the Guardsman knelt beside the body of Master Tiin, examining his wound. "This was no blaster bolt, nor any common blade."
The two surviving Jedi exchanged a look.
"I have never heard of a Jedi killing his own men to frame someone else, not least three of them at once. Give me your names," the Guard said, standing up.
They did as requested. An entire squad of Senate Guards trotted through the door now, weapons at the ready. Their helmets looked this way and that one, taking in the scene. Now the scene had been truly secured. The leader of the Guard squad arrived, conversing briefly with the first man on the scene. This officer, denoted by the plumage on her helmet, rehashed much of the same information with Master Windu, who patiently retold the story. Anakin could sense his exhaustion, though. The entire process took nearly an hour, and the entire time Anakin remained in shocked silence except when directly questioned.
"I will release you to the Jedi Temple," the leader said, her questioning completed. "Remain on Coruscant until you are freed to travel. If you leave beforehand, we will know and you will be placed on a wanted list."
She received a transmission, listening to it for a moment before looking between the two. "You're in luck. Some of the Coruscant Guard found the lightsaber among the broken glass from that window. Wind didn't take it at all, it fell like a rock. Strange."
"Good," Master Windu said, looking at Anakin. "Let's go."
The two Jedi left the scene, boarding the LAAT/I that had taken four Jedi to the Senate building a short while ago. There was much to discuss, and Master Windu sent a signal to his colleagues to prepare to discuss it.
