I know, two in one day. I had the time to get this uploaded, so I figured, why not? I am still getting everyone's comments, and thank you! I'm glad everyone liked the little twist in the last chapter.

Silence. The guardian wanted to say something, but this had, to his knowledge, never happened. Sith had always been defeated by someone who at least had training in the Force. Lady Skywalker- and wasn't that an even more appropriate title now- had never so much as had training in how to lift a stone.

Padmé shifted. "What is it? I saw the chance and I took it."

"And I am grateful for that, milady," Obi-Wan said. "But…" words seemed to fail him.

"What?" Padmé asked.

Anakin shook his head. "Aren't we a group?" he finally asked the ceiling. "Two Sith Lords who stumbled on it by accident, and a Sith Lady who hasn't even been trained."

"WHAT?" she all but shouted.

"When you kill a Sith Lord, you take his title," Obi-Wan said faintly. "I didn't realize it didn't matter if you're not actually…"

"I'm not strong in the Force!" Padmé protested.

"You are," the guardian said. "Perhaps not strong enough for the Jedi, but you do have some strength in the Force."

"He's right," Obi-Wan said as he studied her. "It's why do so well in the Senate, why you're such a good shot. You're not Force blind."

Padmé looked over at Anakin who blinked and headed to her side. "Padmé," he said quietly, after he pulled her into a hug. "Do you think less of me for killing Dooku?"

"Of course not," she mumbled into his chest. "You didn't ask to be a Sith, and anyway, it's not like you're trying to take over the galaxy."

The guardian very carefully didn't frown at his fellow Sith. At least they were Sith, even if they seemed to have no grand ambitions.

Anakin chuckled. "So why should I care that the same thing happened to you?"

"I'm not a Jedi like you are," she said.

"Er." Anakin paused. "Um."

She pulled back. "What did you do?"

"We… might have disobeyed orders," Obi-Wan interjected. "Stolen a ship, left Coruscant after being told to stay put. Nothing major."

"We made Snips stay behind," Anakin offered. "But I think she, Rex, and Cody were getting a team together to come after us."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Obi-Wan mumbled. He paused. "Where did you get that blaster, it looks like a museum piece?" he asked, in a clear attempt to change the subject.

"I gave it to her," the guardian said. "I didn't expect her to…" he gestured to Palpatine's body helplessly.

He really hadn't expected it when he'd given her the blaster. He'd thought, at best, she'd distract Palpatine for a moment. But…

Slowly, he started to smile. It was truly poetic justice that a woman Palpatine had dismissed as harmless had destroyed the Banite Order.

"Anakin, how did you know?" Padmé asked. "How did you know that Palpatine was taking me here?"

Anakin sighed. "You know we have a bond in the Force," he said. "It's nothing like the bond I share with Master Obi-Wan, but it's there. I… just knew. But Obi-Wan was the only one who would listen to me. Master Windu ordered me to stay on Coruscant, while they searched for Palpatine. I couldn't do that."

"And I wasn't going to let him go alone," Obi-Wan interjected.

Padmé shook her head. "You are going to be in so much trouble, Ani," she said.

Obi-Wan snickered. "I'm on the council. I can say I authorized it.

Wait. The guardian blinked at him. He was on the Jedi Council?

Anakin, unaware of the guardian's shock, snickered in return. "Master, they ordered us both to stay put. And by now, they know we didn't."

Padmé glanced between us. "Well, there's nothing we can do about your complete inability to avoid rushing into trouble, but we should probably head back. What's our story?"

Anakin frowned down at Palpatine's body. "It was retaliation," he said. "Dooku is dead, so the Separatists kidnapped Palpatine and shot him. You were caught just because you were meeting with him at the time. Obi-Wan and I arrived him time to save you, but they killed him before we even got there. That will work until we can prove to the galaxy that he's behind the war."

Obi-Wan tilted his head. "That might work," he said. "Milady?"

"I dislike the idea of lying," Padmé replied. "But if we don't…"

"No one will believe us," Anakin finished. "And we all know it."

"How many people know he was a Sith Lord? And when did you find out?"

Anakin bit his lip. "From our side? Just us and the Jedi Council," he said. "And we only knew for sure at that last Senate meeting, just before he took you captive. He must have realized we knew. I'm sorry, Padmé."

She sighed. "It's not your fault, Anakin," she said. "What about his body?"

Anakin turned and scowled. "Space it," he said.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan yelped.

"Master, we can't bring his body back. You know it. I know it. We have to make out like the Separatists shot him and spaced the body." He sighed.

The guardian simply watched them. "You can leave it here, if you wish," he said. "This is a Sith Temple, and there is a crematorium here."

Padmé nodded once. "Very well," she said. "We'll do that." She looked down at him. "If someone who is actually trained wouldn't mind carrying him, you can lead us there, Lord Rivan."

He eyed her. "Lady Skywalker, if I may ask… why were you meeting with the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic?"

She smiled thinly. "I'm the Senator for Naboo, his home planet. And another one of his pawns," she added bitterly.

The guardian blinked but turned to lead the other Sith to the furnaces. A Senator, a Jedi Councilor, and a Jedi Knight. The revitalization of the Sith Order was off to an excellent start. Now he just had to get them to realize that. They had the ability to take over the galaxy. The three of them together could rule, and rule well.

"No, Lord Rivan," Obi-Wan said.

"Lord Kenobi?"

"Whatever you're planning. We don't need to rule the galaxy."

Rivan sighed. "Would that I could keep you here until you understood the true power of the Force," he muttered. "Until you realized just what it means to be Sith."

"We've got too much to do for that," Anakin said as he floated the body along.

Unfortunately, Anakin was right. He did have to let them go. But eventually, someday, they'd understand. When that happened, he could hope they would let him advise them.

They were silent the rest of the way to the furnaces and as they loaded the dead Sith Master's body into it.

Finally, once the cremation was done, Anakin broke the silence.

"I know one thing," Anakin said.

Everyone glanced at him. He smirked. "We aren't telling the Council about Padmé."