Obi-Wan had frozen in shock. Anakin was alternating between staring at the guardian, and staring at Obi-Wan. "What?" Obi-Wan finally managed to stammer out.
The guardian smiled. He might have overestimated Obi-Wan's knowledge before, but that just meant he was going to be able to teach two new Sith Lords. "You heard what I said, Lord Kenobi."
Obi-Wan winced minutely.
The guardian relented. "One of the rites of passage in our Order was to have an apprentice fight and defeat one of the more experienced Sith in the temple. Eventually, an ancient Sith- there are no records of which one- managed a spell that required such a feat before they could become a True Sith Lord. It was originally designed so that the defeat would have to happen inside one of the Temples. But then war came, and the Sith fought against the Jedi, and we discovered that if a Sith was defeated and killed outside the temple, their vanquisher became marked as a True Sith the same way we were if we simply defeated a Sith in the temple. That is what happened to you, Lord Kenobi. And you, Lord Skywalker, went a bit beyond what is necessary. Simply disarming Tyranus the way you did would have been enough, here."
Anakin looked down at Tyranus' body. Obi-Wan kept his gaze on the guardian. "So when I defeated Maul, when I hacked him in two, I became a Sith?" he asked.
The guardian sighed. "To any True Sith, to all the temples here, you are indeed one of us. But you need to learn more about our Order. You both do." He brightened. "You hacked him in two? Tell me!"
Obi-Wan shuddered. "I… he had just killed my Master. I was still a Padawan, and I…"
"You lost your temper," the guardian said when Obi-Wan trailed off.
"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "I eventually regained control of myself and surprised Maul enough that I was able to kill him."
The guardian didn't like the sound of that "regained control of myself", but they could work on that later. "Good," he said shortly. "Maul was one of the Banite Sith."
They both looked over at that. "Banite?" Anakin asked. "You used that word before. What is a Banite Sith?"
The guardian rolled his eyes. "Banites are practically all that's left of the Sith, aside from you two. They follow Darth Bane, the only survivor of the last battle between the Jedi and the Sith. He decried that there would never be more than two Sith, a Master and an Apprentice. And they have given up so many of the ancient traditions. The ancient rite of combat is all but lost. I am… so very glad we have Sith who aren't of Bane's line."
Anakin was scowling. "But Tyranus wasn't a True Sith," he pointed out.
"He was enough of one," the guardian countered. "As, I suspect, this Maul was. Now, their Master may indeed be a True Sith. He would have had to kill his Master to become the Master. That might make him both True Sith and of Bane's line. So you might want to keep looking for someone who has the same feel as the two of you."
"You want us to kill him," Obi-Wan breathed.
"The Banites are an aberration, wasting their Lordships, and forgetting so much of our Order. Yes, Lord Kenobi. Either kill him, or teach him what Sith truly are."
Anakin gasped. "Obi-Wan, you said…"
"That twist in the Force felt like Palpatine," Obi-Wan finished. "Sweet Force, I hope not. He would…"
"If we're right…" Anakin swallowed. "If we're right, he probably wants me."
"I hope we're wrong," Obi-Wan said. "To think that it might be…"
The guardian narrowed his eyes. "Who?" he asked.
Obi-Wan pressed his lips together. "I'm not sure. I'd need to spend some time comparing Anakin's Force presence with his. But…"
"If we're right, it's Supreme Chancellor Palpatine."
"The leader of the Republic," Obi-Wan added.
The guardian blinked. "Well. He's done well for himself, but why, if he's actually a Banite Sith, does the Republic still exist?"
Anakin and Obi-Wan just looked at each other. The guardian could tell that this was starting to get a little overwhelming for the two living Sith. He couldn't really blame them, so he changed the subject. "There is one more thing, for both of you," he said.
They looked at him. The guardian could practically see the "now what" in both their gazes. "The Sith must return to galactic prominence. Perhaps our chances to rule the galaxy are over, but we must be visible, and we can still lead the galaxy, even if we can't rule it. You must learn our traditions, both of you. You work within the Jedi Order, and the Jedi have many of our holocrons locked in their vaults. Use the older ones to learn. You will need it. If it turns out that this Palpatine is the Banite Master, you will need every advantage you can get. He has been Sith, likely for longer than either of you have been alive. You both have defeated one of his apprentices, but you will need more power to defeat the Master."
Obi-Wan took a deep, shuddering breath. "You're right," he said. "If he is the Sith Master- the Banite Sith Master- he can hide that he has any Force strength at all. He's been right under our noses- right under the Jedi Council's noses for over a decade. Anakin…"
Anakin scowled. "I know. I'll keep this quiet," he said.
The guardian nodded. "And come back, once it's all over, and tell me of your battle. Having new Sith in my temple is the most fun I've had in far too long."
Surprisingly, Obi-Wan smirked.
"Now, perhaps you might deal with your Jedi Padawan and the two Mandalorians. They've been stuck in the first chamber for quite a while."
Anakin's eyes widened. He glanced around, found Tyranus' lightsaber, and called it to his hand. He hung it on his belt next to his own before looking at Tyranus' body.
"I'll do it," Obi-Wan said. He gestured, and the body rose from the ground. Anakin and Obi-Wan started heading for the entrance, the guardian walking with them for a time.
Anakin flicked on his comlink. "Snips, how are things going?"
The Padawan snorted loudly enough that it carried through the com stream. "We're stuck, Master," she said. "We were pushed back into the temple, and all the doors just slammed shut."
"We can hear the clankers trying to break the door down, sir, but there's some sort of shielding protecting the door," Cody added. "Did Dooku escape again?"
Anakin coughed. "No, Cody, he didn't," he said.
"Dooku won't ever escape again," Obi-Wan added. "Anakin defeated him. He's dead."
There was dead silence in the first chamber. Anakin glanced at the guardian, walking with them.
"The droids will not be a concern," the guardian said.
"Who was that?" Cody, Rex, and Ahsoka all asked at once.
Obi-Wan looked briefly annoyed. "The guardian of this temple," he said. "He… doesn't want to hurt us," he added.
They were quiet the rest of the way. The guardian released his hold on the chamber doors, except for the outer door, and they entered. The Togruta girl stared, first at Tyranus' floating body, then at the guardian.
The two Mandalorians looked shocked for a moment, then resigned. "You've managed it again, haven't you sir?" Rex said.
"Rex?" Anakin asked.
"Doing something crazy and impossible."
Obi-Wan chuckled. "Yes, rather," he said. "Now. Let's see about returning to our ship, and then to Coruscant."
"I will handle the besiegers," the guardian said. He studied Ahsoka for a moment, and made a decision. Perhaps it would backfire, but you sometimes had to compromise, and Anakin clearly cared about this girl. "Anakin Skywalker, I do believe she fits very well. Bring her back when she is ready, and she can test herself here."
Anakin sighed. "Thank you, guardian," he said. He glanced over Ahsoka, who looked confused. "I'll explain later, Ahsoka," he said.
The guardian waved his hand. It was an unnecessary gesture, of course, but the Mandalorians had always preferred it when a Sith made some acknowledgement that they were using the Force.
A wave of the Force swept across the plain, disabling all but the speeder bikes the Sith and their allies used to arrive here. "May the Force be with you," he said as the door swung open.
Rex stared at him suspiciously before looking out the door. "The clankers are down, Sirs," he reported.
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said. "I cannot promise that we will be able to return, but if we can, we will."
The guardian smiled before releasing his physical form. The Mandalorians were the first out, followed by the Padawan, then the Sith.
He watched as best he could as they secured Tyranus' body to one of the speeders, then left.
The guardian sighed and turned back to his duties. He was grateful the Force had seen fit to return the True Sith back to the galaxy. But now, he had to make sure the damage done by the lightsaber battle repaired itself. He could ponder on the events of the day later.
And here we end this part of the story. The characters are now returning to Coruscant, and the POV shifts away from the Guardian. The next chapter will be in Anakin's POV. That's when we will get more of a reaction from our Jedi-Sith. Right now, they're still in "mission mode", and also in what they still consider to be hostile territory.