Okay, there's a major plot twist in this chapter that I was really nervous about writing. I hope you guys like it...

I think I answered everyone's questions. If I didn't, I'm really sorry, but I've had some real life situations to deal with. :/

Anyway, here's chapter 7!


Sidious narrowed his eyes as Ventress finished her report. He was not pleased that she had captured and tortured Skywalker without his permission, but he could not deny that her plan was well thought out. Except...

"The girl will close their bond. This will make Skywalker's torture pointless. And if she brings this to the Jedi Council? What then? You're placing a lot on chance, Ventress."

The hologram of Ventress bowed slightly. "Even if she closes their bond, I have captured her attention. No doubt she will come to rescue her Master. She will not trust anyone else to do so. Even if she brings another Jedi to help her, I have more than enough security to detain them both."

Sidious frowned. This sounded careless, and he could not afford to lose the Nexus route to the Jedi. "Do not underestimate the Jedi. They will do whatever needs to be done to rescue one of their own."

"Yes, my Master," Ventress said. "When I have the girl, do I kill Skywalker?"

"No," Sidious said, more sharply then he had first intended. "No," he said again. "I require Skywalker alive." He thought for a moment. With Skywalker in custody, he could unfold another part of his master plan that he had been hoping to execute in a few months. The trouble was, he trusted no one but himself with this. Did he take the risk now, even when the time was perfect? Or did he wait, and possibly lose the opportunity?

He made a split-second decision. "I'm sending information to you from a Sith holocron. Allow Skywalker to find it. Let him escape his cell, but plant a datadisk with the intel from the holocron in his path. Do not let him escape with it. Just let him find out what the disk says and capture him again."

With Tano captured and safely off-planet, he would have Skywalker freed. Sidious knew that Anakin would come to him- or rather, Palpatine- with what he had found out on the disk. And then he could take action.

Ventress was obviously confused. "But why must he find out what's on the disk? And what if the other Jedi arrive while he is free?"

"You obviously seem confident that you have enough security to detain them," Sidious replied. Let the assassin's words come back to haunt her. "But Ventress- I will be very displeased if you fail me."

Ventress's eyes seemed to carry a spark of indignation- perhaps she was reminded of Dooku- but she bowed once more and the hologram flickered out.

Sidious leaned back in his chair. Even if Ventress were to fail, and Skywalker escaped with the disk, he would have lost nothing. But this was a test for Skywalker as much as it was for Ventress. And it would show him just who he would have to eliminate in order to ensure his fall to the dark side.


Exhaustion. Pain.

Those words had become Anakin's existence. Ventress had left for the moment, but he knew she would be back. Until then, he could do nothing but hang there, suspended in midair, only half-aware of what was going on.

The door opened and a battle droid walked in. Anakin blinked, his focus coming back, along with an escape plan. The droid was carrying the remote to deactivate the containment field!

Ventress is losing it if she trusts one of them with something that important.

As the droid examined controls for the containment field,Anakin gathered up what little Force power he had. Then he concentrated on levitating a small stone from the floor. It rose half an inch before he was unable to hold it any longer. Anakin held back a frustrated sigh. He couldn't let this chance slip by!

Come on...

Slowly, he lifted the stone off the ground. Then he painstakingly moved it until it was hovering over the button that would deactivate the field. The droid hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary until Anakin dropped the stone on the button. The field vanished and he fell to the floor. Every inch of him ached, but he pushed aside his pain and fatigue. He would deal with it later, when he was free.

"Hey!" cried a mechanical voice as Anakin got to his feet and dove for the door. A blaster bolt struck the wall beside him as he sprinted out into the corridor. He used the Force to crush the circuits of the battle droids guarding his cell. Then he closed and locked the door to his cell. Hopefully that droid wouldn't be bothering him again.

Staying in the shadows, Anakin made his way down the corridor. His progress was slower than he would have liked thanks to his injuries and he had to stop every time he saw a squad of droids. He came across a room that looked like a command centre. It was mostly deserted, save for a few droids.

If I can find out the layout of this place, it'll be easier to escape.

Summoning the Force once more, Anakin leaped into action, flattening three droids against the wall with a simple Force-push and destroying six more with a Force-crush. He leaned against a control panel, willing his exhaustion and pain to recede.

After a few moments, Anakin straightened up again, scanning the area. He made his way to to holographic table. There was already a disk in place when he powered it up, and his eyes widened as the first sentence echoed.

"Born of the Force itself, he will bring balance."

Somehow, Ventress had obtained a copy of the Prophecy of the Chosen One.


Ahsoka scanned the stars for any sign of a Jedi ship. It had been four hours since she had contacted the Jedi Council and she was just about ready to go find her Master by herself. By studying the maps of Vulpter, she had garnered a pretty good idea of where Ventress was holding Anakin. There was rumoured Separatist activity in the ghost town of Benoga and the town had an old Trade Federation base stationed there.

Her comlink crackled to life. "Ahsoka, come in."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Master Kenobi!" It's about time!

"I'm coming out of hyperspace," the Jedi Master said. "I'll send you the coordinates for the rendezvous point now."

Ahsoka checked the readings. "Okay, I've got the coordinates. Heading for the rendezvous point." She ended the transmission and turned her attention to the controls of the ship. The coordinates would bring her to the far side of the planet, not far from Benoga. Perhaps Obi-Wan was thinking along the same lines as she was.

When Ahsoka arrived at the coordinates, she found a shuttle waiting for her. She could just make out a clone pilot at the controls before it flew down toward the planet's surface. She glanced at Artoo and shrugged before following it.

Ahsoka nearly lost the shuttle in the smog and clouds several times. The smog interfered with the sensors and made it hard to see. She was able to land safely, thanks to the help of the astromech droid. She exited the ship with Artoo by her side as Obi-Wan and a small squad of clones walked toward her.

"Master Kenobi," Ahsoka greeted. "I think I have an idea of where Master Skywalker is." Artoo displayed the hologram of Vulpter and Ahsoka pointed to the abandoned city of Benoga. "There's been some supposed separatist activity in this sector. Also, it's so secluded and well protected by the mountains that anyone in the town would be able to see someone coming from several kilometres away."

Obi-Wan looked thoughtful. "You could probably say that about dozens of locations on Vulpter. What makes Benoga any different?"

"Well," Ahsoka said. "Benoga happens to be the town where the Trade Federation first set up their base."

Obi-Wan nodded slowly and Ahsoka knew she had him convinced. "I suppose it's worth a look. Let's get going."


It was like a speeder crash, Anakin thought. No matter how badly he wanted to look away, shut off the Prophecy, he couldn't.

For his entire life at the Temple, he had denied the fact that he was the Chosen One. Prophecies made by people a thousand years ago couldn't possibly have impact on his life... right?

Wrong.

He couldn't deny the overwhelming evidence. The fact that he had no father. The fact that his gifts were so advanced. And light and dark will bow before him... hadn't that happened on Mortis? The test in the arena?

The Chosen One. The one who would bring balance to the Force.

"Are you the One?" the Daughter had asked him.

Apparently I am.

Then the next lines sounded and Anakin froze.

"The one who has fought him as an enemy will return to the Chosen's side and only then will he be pulled from the edge of darkness and restore balance. There is a price to pay for balance, and the Learner will pay that price."

Anakin felt numb. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.

"The one who has fought him as an enemy will return to the Chosen's side..." he could only think of one who matched that description, and the description of "the Learner," which could refer to "Padawan Learner".

Ahsoka.

This was his fault. If he had never taken her on as an apprentice, she would never have been part of this.

"There is a price to be paid-" what kind of price?

He exhaled slowly. He had been taught to let the will of the Force take shape... but this... he couldn't just let this go. Ahsoka would not be harmed because of who he was.

A sudden clanking noise made him look up. Droids were stiffly marching into the room. They surrounded him, blasters raised. "Surrender, Jedi."

Ventress entered the command centre. "Very predictable, Skywalker. I knew you'd come here, needing to find your way out. So I set a trap that would keep you occupied until I could reach you. Now, surrender and you won't be harmed.

Even tired, in pain and still recovering from the shock, Anakin noticed the flaw in her sentence.

If she knew I would come here, why wasn't she waiting for me? Did... did she know I would escape?

Something wasn't quite right about that, but he couldn't think about it now. His Force suppression dose was wearing off and he intended to use that to his advantage. Anakin released a Force wave that knocked Ventress and every droid backward. Then he leaped over the droids and sprinted out the door. He had only gotten a couple dozen metres when a blaze of red blasterfire erupted around him. Anakin looked around for a side corridor to duck into, but there was nothing but steel wall. He was weaponless and he was trapped and...

A burning sensation flared just below his left shoulder blade and he stumbled, crying out in shock and agony. His exhaustion and pain was finally catching up with him and he knew he couldn't keep it up much longer. Then he felt another white-hot flash in his left leg and went down.

I thought battle droids were supposed to have terrible aim, Anakin thought hazily. The white-hot seemed to be getting worse and it felt like his entire leg was on fire. If a portal to Coruscant were to have opened up right in front of him, he wouldn't have been able to summon enough strength to get up and walk through it. He was completely drained.

He heard footsteps approaching him, he heard Ventress distantly yelling about how "you fools were supposed to stun him!" and he heard his own ragged breathing.

Then he finally succumbed to his fatigue.


Cliffie. What a surprise. ;)

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