From Darkness, I Rise

by Kurenaino

The Jedi are thrust into a war that threatens to tear the galaxy apart, and prospects are bleak when the fearsome Sith Negotiator begins to win key victories against the Republic. Sequel to From Grace, I Fall. Also, more Sith!Obi keeps the sadness away. Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

77. Convergence

Chapter 77: Convergence

Jedi Master Saesee Tiin fell to the ground in a heap, groaning as he tried to rise, but found he could not. The wall behind him was caved in from the force of the impact, and blood clung to the sharp rifts and valleys of crumpled metal. He had been tortured before. He had been tortured often, as of late, but there was something different about Kenobi today. Today, he wasn't just cruel for the sake of being cruel. Today, his violence had purpose, and the Sith Lord was happy.

It didn't bode well.

"Come on, get up, Jedi!" Kenobi laughed, standing across the room with his arms extended out from his sides. "You can't quit yet, we've only just begun!"

Saesee was a Jedi Master, did his best to adhere to the Jedi Code, but Force, he hated Obi-Wan Kenobi. He had struggled against his containment at first. Then the cruel Sith had thrown the mangled body of Eeth Koth into his cell, and he shut up. Master Koth was alive only in the most basic sense. His body still functioned, but his legs had been severed at the knee, the amputations never treated to facilitate proper healing, but perhaps worst of all, the Zabrak was lifeless, like the Force had been drained out of him. Which, it turns out, it was. Any attempt to connect with the Jedi Master resulted in physical pain for Tiin, Koth's once strong presence replaced by a gaping wound where the Force should have been. Somehow, the creature that was once Obi-Wan Kenobi had ripped the Force right out of the Master, leaving him an empty, gaping shell that yearned for life, but could not reach it.

He spent that time in silent meditation. It was all he could do to stave off insanity.

Saesee was uncertain of the passage of time, but eventually, the grisly reminder of the Sith's power was removed, and the torture began. That he could handle. At first. Kenobi approached torture with an almost bored ease, as if he were simply aimlessly experimenting, uncertain of what he actually wanted from the man. The physical abuse was easy enough to bear, but the mental ravishing was not. It was an easy thing for Kenobi to break into a person's mind if he was allowed full focus, and when the Sith came to visit, he was always focused. It took no time at all for Obi-Wan to open the Jedi's mind and rape it, forcefully removing anything of value with disinterest, as though it was nothing. Saesee had difficulty remembering what happened in those sessions. They were hazy, unfocused, and while he never felt as though he submitted to the Sith, Kenobi was never shy about recounting how the Jedi moaned for his Sith Master, as all Jedi were made to do.

Still, Saesee Tiin could bear it, and did so with satisfaction when the Sith had complimented his fortitude, bemoaned the fact that the Jedi simply would not break. He could be made to submit, yes, but it was never complete, and it never lasted. That had changed when the Sith Lord had altered his tactic, and showed the Jedi instead how submission was rewarded by bringing his fellow Master, Shaak Ti, before him. At first, he had thought she hadn't changed, was bolstered by seeing her, comforted to know she was alive and unharmed. But then the Sith had touched her, and the Togruta Master's famous resolve melted into mewling submission to the Sith. He didn't sense the Dark Side in her. She had chosen this, and she had told him so herself.

Kenobi had made it worse by forcing him to watch Shaak Ti happily and so, so willingly lay her body open for a clone to take her as he pleased, and she had begged for it. It nearly broke the Iktotchi Master to see his friend debase herself, willingly render her beautiful form for use as little more than a pleasure slave for one of Kenobi's cruel cohorts. Kenobi had been endlessly amused by how badly it hurt the Jedi, had even offered to have the Togruta spread her long legs for him, if only he were to submit to the Sith's will, but Tiin would have none of it. However, the shameless display had bothered the Master, which was more than could be said for the torture he endured, and Kenobi had Saesee's cell wired with audio receivers that played the lewd, shameless sounds of Shaak Ti's breathless moans and pleas every time the clone took her.

That was bad enough. And then the Sith had found his motivation.

It couldn't have been more than a week, maybe two, since Kenobi's cruel intentions were set to vile purpose, but something had changed in the Sith, some awful inspiration had struck, and he set to work crafting a masterpiece of pain and suffering out of the Jedi. If it wasn't Kenobi himself, it was his rancor, a cruel, savage, enormous beast with ghostly white skin and wicked, twisting horns that Obi-Wan had called Yoda in a grim mockery of the Jedi Grandmaster. Or it was his clone, a commander called Cody that, as far as Saesee could tell, was the Sith's right hand and was just as cruel as his Dark Side Master. It was made worse by the fact that the clone had used Shaak Ti's lightsaber, and the Jedi could hardly stand watching the Master's elegant blade be used for such ill purpose. But there was nothing he could do about it. There was nothing he could do about any of it.

"I should tell you, it's about to be my best day!" the Sith called, a flick of his wrist sending the Master slamming against the opposite wall. He coughed when he landed on the floor with a sickening thud. Kenobi's command of the Force was terrifying, so effortlessly he commanded such awful power. Saesee groaned as he pushed up to his hands and knees. He thought one of his horns may have cracked. "I thought the Jedi were splintered before, but now..." Kenobi gave a long, low whistle. "I don't know how they're going to recover from this! Would you like to hear it?"

"No."

Obi-Wan grinned. It was the most the Jedi had spoken to him all day. "Perfect! Come here, baby, I'll tell you all about it." It was a command, the full weight of the Force behind it, and the Jedi could feel the Dark Side pierce into his mind, grab hold of his consciousness, and pull him toward its Master. Saesee tried to resist, tried to keep his heels planted, his hands tightly gripping the floor, but it was like fighting against a rapid current. The process was excruciatingly slow, but the Sith inflicted no pain on him, and eventually, Saesee Tiin crawled to Kenobi's side. The Sith grabbed hold of the Iktotchi's downward sloping horns and yanked back hard, the Jedi hissing as he looked up into the Sith's glowing eyes.

"Two weeks ago, your precious Jedi Temple was bombed." The Jedi's eyes widened, and with a gleeful laugh, Kenobi affectionately patted his cheek. "I know! Awful, isn't it? It wasn't even the doing of the Separatists! Even the Sith aren't at fault. Well," he corrected himself, a dark smirk on his face, "not exactly." Kenobi laughed at the Jedi's confusion. "It was one of your own. A Padawan, Barriss Offee."

"Luminara's student?" Tiin asked, his shock palpable in the air before it quickly turned to anger. "You did this."

"I am completely innocent of this one, my friend. Back at the start of the war, I sensed darkness in her, and we may have had a conversation aboard the Tranquility, but I did nothing to influence her. All I did was give word to her own thoughts." He grinned broadly when he felt the Jedi's heart begin to race. "This darkness was her own, and her fall an event of her own making."

"This will not divide the Jedi," Tiin growled, shaking his head to try and free himself from the Sith's grasp, but Kenobi simply held tighter.

"It is splintering the Council, and Offee's very long, very contentious trial is straining them. Between the deaths of Masters Adi Gallia and Even Piell and the grave mistrust and suspicion that has come of wrongly accusing Quinlan Vos' Padawan, the Council is having a very difficult time staying united."

"Sith evil, all of it!" Tiin snapped, moving suddenly to try and dislodge Kenobi, but he felt his mind grasped in cold, dark hands, softly whispering for him to calm, and he couldn't help himself as his body relaxed at the Sith's command. His mind struggled against it, but his body wouldn't obey him, content instead to submit to Kenobi's orders.

"Which brings me to my best day!" Kenobi cried, releasing the horns watching in satisfaction as the Jedi bowed his head, the will to fight still thee but the ability to act stolen from him. "Today, Dooku and I are taking over the holonet. It's been a long time in the works, but our agents have finally hacked the relays and integrated the Shadowfeed with the holonet source code. By the end of the day, the Republic will be flooded with Separatist propaganda, and I will be standing in your Council chamber, stirring your Masters into a frenzy." Kenobi grinned broadly. "It's going to be chaos. Beautiful, beautiful chaos. Information is power, and when the Republic can't trust the information given to them, they may as well have lost the war."

"You are a virus," Saesee snarled, eyes bright with anger. "The Jedi will not stand for this! This will be your last act, they will send someone for you!"

"Oh, I am counting on it," Kenobi drawled lazily, his disaffected tone angering the Jedi even further. "This is how you will serve me. I found exactly what I am going to use you for, and you, my friend, are bait for Anakin Skywalker. Give me a few weeks and you will be fully prepared for the trap I am setting."

Kenobi grinned when he heard the Jedi's breath hitch. "He will not be lured into your trap," Saesee said, but his wavering voice belayed his lack of confidence in the statement. Anakin Skywalker was emotional, impulsive bordering of reckless, and above all, trusted the Force to navigate him out of harm's way. It usually worked, but Tiin, in his long imprisonment in the Sith stronghold, had realized that the Force wasn't only with the Jedi. The Force, in a dark twist of fate, favored Obi-Wan Kenobi as well.

"He will, just you wait and see. The lure of a Jedi of the High Council, especially one that was lost because of his failure, will be too much, especially when I put you on a ship bearing precious Anakin's name. He will know it's a trap, but it won't matter." He laughed when the Jedi shivered. "Of course, what the Council will do with you is another matter entirely. You have been in my custody for a long time, and I'm certain they remember what happened the last time they let a Master back inside the Order that had prolonged exposure to me. My touch," Kenobi whispered, leaning in toward the Master and wiggling his fingers before him, "is poisonous."

"I am not affected by you!"

"That you know of," Kenobi drawled, straightening up and smoothing out his robes. "I could have you calling me Master in under a minute, if I wished it, but I rather enjoy these talks we have. Besides, the Council won't know what to believe, they can't sense the Dark Side. I imagine the decision on what to do with you will tear them further apart. If I choose to allow you back to them."

"We should have killed you when your family surrendered you to the Order," the Jedi spat, his temper flaring dangerously close to darkness, and the Sith Lord laughed when he felt the Force darken in the Jedi's rage. "If only we knew at the time that we'd be raising Darth Nihilus reborn, we could have spared the galaxy of your evil!"

"Oh, if only!" Kenobi said, amused laugher in his aristocratic voice. "The power to consume the essence of the living...mind you, I do have that power, but it isn't nearly so grand as the Lord of Hunger's power to drain the life out of entire planets! I hear he made a holocron, perhaps I will search for it after the war..." Kenobi looked away from the Jedi, the Dark Side surging around him in hunger, desire for the knowledge of such a powerful Sith, when he suddenly gasped in realization and looked back to Master Tiin. "Oh, you've been studying Sith history!" He waved a dismissive hand. "I applaud you for your efforts, but it's too late. Know your enemy, I have always said, and nobody knows the Jedi better than the Sith..."

The soft hum of the energy field that crossed the door ceased, and the heavy door slid open with a hiss as Cody stepped through. The Jedi glared at him viciously, but the clone seemed to pay him no mind. "My Lord. Mand'alor Satine has arrived."

"What?" The Sith drew up to his full height and strode quickly to Cody's side. "She isn't supposed to be here, she's supposed to be home."

"You try telling her that, sir."

Kenobi growled. "Tyranus and I have a meeting with our Master to get permission to launch our attack on the holonet, we can't postpone it." The Sith ran a hand over his face and sighed. "I suppose it can't be helped. I better go see to her before she goes to war with Dooku and tears my palace down."

"She is with the Count, my Lord," Cody said, a sly smirk on his face. "And they are getting along famously."

"...I fear that may be worse." Kenobi extended his hand toward the Jedi, and the Iktotchi was pressed flat against the ground, his body convulsing as the Sith Lord reached into his mind and gripped it tightly, and the screams of pain were silenced quickly as the man fell still. "Put that away for me, Cody..." Obi-Wan ordered as he turned and left the cell, taking long strides through his palace to find his lover. She was not difficult to locate, as the sounds of her and Dooku quietly talking and laughing carried a long ways in the black halls of the palace. He found them sitting very close to each other on the large, comfortable couch in his spacious livingroom, her delicate hand lay lightly in the other Sith's hand, and Obi-Wan, bracing himself for jealousy, felt...pleased. It was uncomfortable, and he didn't like it at all. He and Dooku were getting close, yes, but Satine was his. Why wasn't he feeling jealousy?

"Satine." The Sith Lord and the Mand'alor both looked up to see Kenobi, and Dooku quickly rose, extending his hand to help the woman to her feet, which she gratefully accepted, and with a bright smile, she quickly walked toward Kenobi, the Sith Lord meeting her halfway and tightly embracing her. "Making nice with the Separatists?" Obi-Wan teasingly asked, cupping her cheek and quickly kissing her lips before she pouted.

"Getting to know your fellow Sith. Tyranus has been very accommodating."

"Really," Kenobi said flatly, turning his gaze on Dooku, who looked perfectly smug as he sauntered over. "I wonder what he wants."

"He wants," Dooku droned, "to get acquainted with Mand'alor Satine. I have heard a great many things about her as of late." A small, reluctant smile tugged at the edge of his lips. "I have to say, I'm impressed. Her knowledge of the Sith is...extensive."

"I'm to be mother to a line of Sith Lords, Tyranus, it had better be extensive," the Duchess said, folding her hands before her and resting on the slight swell of her stomach, and Obi-Wan felt himself beaming with pride. Shy of five months by a week, she was showing enough to be noticeable, but only slightly, and the child's Force presence was strong, far more focused, and well defined. He reacted to the world around him, was attuned to his mother's moods, his father's presence, and with the addition of this new Sith Lord, Kenobi found the child had stilled before the unfamiliar dark power.

"Yes, our Master has spoken briefly about the child," Dooku said softly, eying the woman, and Kenobi quickly took her hand. "I can feel it in the Force, it's...powerful. In the hands of Lord Sidious, the child could destroy us all." He looked at Obi-Wan. "Do you truly mean to surrender the child to him?"

"We are doing our duty to the Sith," Satine said softly, drawing closer to Obi-Wan. "We will do what we must to serve the Sith Initiative."

Dooku took a small step forward and leaned in toward his fellow Sith. "Tu galetis manti kialeisti Sidious kia kaer'tave berniuk." You cannot possibly plan to allow Sidious to keep your child.

"Isar tu'minti nunzo zioplys, Tyranus?" Do you think me a fool?

"I'm standing right here," Satine growled, crossing her arms across her chest and frowning, and with a soft laugh, Kenobi leaned over and kissed her cheek. "And I do understand some!"

"I know you do, pet," Obi-Wan said, offering his arm to the woman, and she delicately took it, leaning her head on his shoulder as they walked through the palace toward the large central spire, Tyranus falling in on his other side. "I thought you were in talks with Republic and Confederate delegates this week."

"The negotiations were short," she said curtly. "As it turns out, your friend Padmé Amidala is very skilled at what she does."

"And what were we negotiating for?" Kenobi asked, and Dooku next to him rolled his eyes.

"Some nonsense about delivering relief to contested worlds," the Count scoffed.

"Which will soon be Mandalore's worlds," Satine said softly, and Obi-Wan gently kissed her fingers. "Your war is making it very easy to expand my empire. And since we were done so quickly, I thought I'd come see you." She laid her hand over Obi-Wan's chest. "We've had so little time to be together as of late."

"I know. The work of the Sith has kept me busy."

"Have you caught that animal you were hunting yet?" Kenobi's face darkened and he tightly squeezed the Duchess' hand.

"Not yet. He's learned from his prior mistakes. If he's moving, than he's being quiet about it. We will just have to keep our guard up until then." They reached the end of a long hallway, and Obi-Wan laid his hand on a control panel on the wall, the device softly beeping as it scanned his biometrics, and the elevator slid open with a gentle hiss. Obi-Wan and Satine stepped in, leaving Dooku to gawk in the hallway.

"She is coming to the meeting with our Master?" the Count asked, and Kenobi shrugged.

"I can't see why not. She's going to hand her child over to the man, I think she should meet him once before she does. Besides, our Master likes to know our allies."

Dooku frowned, but stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed swiftly behind them as the platform began to rise, and the Count rolled his eyes and turned his back to the couple when the Duchess reached up to stroke her lover's beard, bringing his face down so she could kiss him, gently at first, but becoming quickly impassioned as the Sith's unrestrained emotion took hold.

"You couldn't wait to do this?" Dooku growled, crossing his arms and glowering when he was answered with giggles from the infatuated pair.

"We've had so little time together as of late, you're just going to have to deal with it," Kenobi muttered, delighting in the agitated groan of the other man and grinning broadly when the Count rushed out of the elevator the second the doors slid open. Dooku had shed his role as a Jedi far later than Kenobi had. Old reservations died very hard.

"I feel him moving sometimes," Satine said softly, intertwining her fingers with Obi-Wan's as they strolled out of the elevator to the large holotable, Kenobi tapping in the proper channel on the instrument and waiting as the call to Sidious went through, the table spinning as it descended into the floor, locking into the full room projector below. "And many of my guests asked who the father was." She smirked. "Indirectly, of course, but the question will be far more direct in the future. I'm uncertain how best to answer it."

"Do you have to?"

She nodded. "Unless we want a scandal, than yes. And my people want to know." She kissed his cheek as a faint blue light filled the room as the holotransmitter scanned them and connected to the device on the other end of the transmission. "I think it's a political opportunity we cannot afford to miss, and I need to know how best to use it for our purposes."

"Oh, you are the perfect woman..." Kenobi drawled, running a long finger down her jaw line, and not looking away from her as he knelt, bringing her down with him when Sidious' image appeared. The Sith Master didn't seem irritated, or surprised, just vaguely amused, and Kenobi could feel his questioning probe in his mind. So could Satine, and whether it was her or the baby reacting to the intrusion, Obi-Wan didn't know, but the Dark Side lashed out against Sidious, and with a deep, raspy chuckle, his presence was removed.

"Kait nyovas m'tye zenoti?" Sidious asked, and Kenobi bowed his head. How much does she know?

"Viskas m'tye adata zenoti, Sith'ari." Everything she must, Master.

"Mand'alor Satine," the Master said softly, his cowl drawn and his hands clasped firmly before him. "At last we meet. I have seen that you have been a great asset to me."

A clever smirk on her face, the Duchess looked up at the imposing man, proud and devoid of fear, and Obi-Wan felt his chest swell with pride. She was fit to be Empress of this galaxy. The Sith would be stronger for it. "I do as I can to serve the Sith, my Lord."

Sidious nodded his approval. "Does the child give you trouble?" Satine shook her head.

"At first. He is strong and fierce, but the Force calms him. Lord Lumis has been helpful in tending to him." She looked away, lips pursed as if trying to think if asking what was on her mind was wise, than turned her eyes back on Sidious. "Will I get to keep any future children I may have?" Kenobi looked at her from the corner of his eye, nervous for her safety, but Sidious chuckled softly.

"For the most part. Lumis will need his own Lords to train, and if you are going to be a Queen beside him, it's fitting that you have children strong enough to continue the Sith legacy. Loyal service to the Sith is rewarded, and you have served me." He scoffed. "I assume you have been servicing Lumis as well."

An impish grin graced the Duchess' lips. "I try my best. Questions about the father have come up, and I feel it may be advantageous politically on how that is handled." Sidious drew back as if surprised, his hand coming to grip his chin as he thought. There was silence for a long while before the Sith Master folded his hands into the sleeves of his robe.

"You may be right. I shall think on how best to approach it to suit my needs. How will this effect Mandalore?"

"It won't. My people stand behind me."

Sidious nodded, a cunning smile on his lips as he turned his attention to the Sith Lords. "Is the plan in motion?"

"Yes, Master," Dooku said in his deep, pleasing voice. "The Shadowfeed has been integrated into the holonet. All I must do is contact my servants on Murkhana to activate the transmission and it is done."

Sidious nodded, shifting his gaze to the other Lord. "And you?"

"All is ready, Master. All I need is for the Council to be in session."

"They are currently in talks with Admiral Tarkin on the matter of their rogue Padawan." When Obi-Wan bowed his head, Sidious grinned deviously. "We reach the final stage of our war, my students. Begin when you are ready."

---

"Execution?!" Luminara gasped, her blue eyes wide and staring in disbelief at the hologram of the Admiral, and Tarkin raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"I said it was on the table, Master Jedi," he droned. "The court has yet to decide the matter. As with many things within the Republic, the trial is taking some time to come to a satisfying conclusion."

"Will you argue against execution, Tarkin?" Anakin asked, standing beside Qui-Gon as the older man listened to the meeting. He hadn't said anything this time, and Anakin was fairly certain that the Master was asleep. The Admiral looked appalled for a moment, than sighed, rubbing his temple with his long fingers.

"I have no say in the courts, General, but I will speak to Chancellor Palpatine on your behalf, if you wish it."

"If it's going to the Chancellor, I'll speak to him myself," Anakin said, rolling his eyes. "I want you to fight for us."

Tarkin sputtered for a moment before he regain his composure and curtly said, "You are too soft on traitors, General Skywalker. What have we discussed about being soft?"

Anakin snapped and pointed at the hologram, a sly grin on his face. "Never with a girl in your bed!" Quinlan immediately doubled over in raucous laughter, the other Masters glaring at him or hiding their own chortling behind their hands.

"I suppose men are simply men," the Admiral groaned. "Even among the Jedi. I support the execution of traitors, General, if for nothing else, to serve as an example to others who would do the same. But," he sighed, "I suppose I can be convinced otherwise if-" The hologram suddenly scrambled, flickering back to the image of the Admiral for a moment before it jumped to static. Even the restful Qui-Gon sat up in his seat. It was highly unusual to have connection problems between the military complexes and the Jedi Temple. Something was wrong. They all could feel it. The hologram flickered back to life, and Admiral Tarkin looked...nervous. Almost panicked, and for a man that was nearly always calm and composed, the change was jarring.

"Tarkin, what's going on?" Anakin demanded, and the Admiral quickly looked back to the Jedi he served.

"Can you hear me?" he asked swiftly, voice tight with tension, and Skywalker nodded. "You all stay there, I will be there as soon as I can. Something's wrong with the holonet, all our communications are being interru-" The signal faded again, the hologram flickering as the image scrambled, pulsing quickly as the image reformed, and the Council sat motionless and stared in fear at the new image being projected into the center of the room.

Obi-Wan Kenobi.

He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he looked around the room, observing each Master in turn and stopped when he faced Yoda and Mace Windu, the tiny Master's ears high and alert, and Mace looking as though he were ready to leap out of his seat. Kenobi smiled wickedly. "Hello, Masters."

"That's a live feed, cut the transmission!" Mace commanded, and Anakin rushed to the holotransmitter controls to switch it off, but the image remained.

"Don't bother trying that," Kenobi drawled lazily. "I have assumed complete control. You could cut the power grid, but if I remember correctly..." He whistled and pointed down toward the ground. "Those controls are far beneath us, and I think you'll find your elevator isn't working." Kenobi grinned. "What a coincidence!"

"What do you want, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked softly, and Kenobi turned to look at him, smirking when he felt the panic coming from the room.

"I upgraded my holotable to a holoroom!" he chirped, arms out and spinning in a circle. "I wanted to test it out, and what better way to do it than by looking at all of you!" A wicked grin passed over his face as darkness swirled around him, so strong that the Jedi could feel it. "It has been so long since I stood here before the Masters. There are so few of you left..."

"And who's fault is that?!" Mace snarled, rising from his seat and fists balled by his sides.

"Mace," Qui-Gon quietly warned. "Don't engage him. He has no power here."

"There's so much anger, so much fear here," Kenobi said softly, looking about the room, but not at the Jedi that sat in attendance, eyes distant as he focused on something so very far away, a young, naive Jedi that had so long ago trusted the Council and was met with betrayal. He smiled sadly, focusing again on Mace, the Master's face contorted in rage. That Jedi had died long ago, killed by the Sith that now stood in his place.

"All of it was caused by you, Kenobi," Mace growled, ignoring Qui-Gon's advice and throwing himself back into his seat, and the Sith close his eyes and breathed deeply.

"Oh, Mace, you have danced so close to the Dark Side for so long...did you really believe you could remain untouched by it? Did you really think you could leave it behind on the battlefield? You reek of darkness, Master Windu, how long do you think it will be before your temper refuses to let you go?"

"Shut up!"

"How long before your rage consumes you and you murder someone for it?" Yoda's hand swiftly reached out and grabbed Mace's arm, the raging Jedi trembling in anger, but he remained silent, his strong hands clutching the hem of the cloak so tightly the corse fabric began to tear, and Kenobi grinned. "Yoda won't be there to save you from yourself every time, Mace."

Before the angry Master could respond, Qui-Gon softly asked, "Why are you here, Obi-Wan? The real reason, if you please."

Kenobi was silent for a moment, carefully looking over his stoic former Master, the nervous, strained Luminara on his left, the frantic, hopeful Quinlan on his right, and his eyes narrowed dangerously when he saw Anakin Skywalker standing behind Qui-Gon, his young face cold, serious, but terribly curious as well. "Two reasons," Kenobi said softly, almost kindly. "I had heard about what happened with Luminara's Padawan." He looked at the Mirialan, and the woman's face became cold and unfeeling, as it always did when she was hiding. "Truly, I am sorry for what has happened to you, my friend," he said genuinely, and Luminara shivered. "I've no doubt you did everything right with her. Her fall was no more your fault than Dooku's fall was Yoda's."

"You did this..." she whispered, shaking her head, and Kenobi smiled sadly at her. It was genuine, and the Mirialan could feel it, and knew right away that she wasn't correct, that she was simply struggling for meaning where none existed.

"I wouldn't do that to you, Luminara," he said gently. "Just as I didn't harm Quinlan's Padawan on Florrum." His eyes narrowed in anger. "Even though the little bitch stabbed me in the back..." Kenobi took a deep breath, suppressing the rising anger he felt. He hadn't hurt Ahsoka Tano yet. When Quinlan fell, the girl would no longer be safe. He hadn't forgotten about his vision, and the Togruta female that continued to plague his visions. "Despite our differences, you are...my friend."

"Don't listen, Luminara!" Mace snapped. "He's trying to mislead you, this is how he will break the Jedi apart! His words are poisonous!"

"He only has the power that we give him, Mace," Qui-Gon gently reprimanded. "All of you remember that."

"It's cute that you believe that, Qui-Gon," Kenobi said, his voice relaxed and amused and so very easy to listen to, and he looked again at Luminara. "The holonet has covered her trial quite extensively, and I hear they may put her to death. But you could save her," he whispered, and the Mirialan found herself leaning forward to listen. "Give her to me. I'll take care of her."

She recoiled, her green face frozen in an expression of horror. "You would have me give my student to you so you could lead her into further darkness! I'd rather her be executed!"

Kenobi laid his hand on his chest in mock hurt. "You wound me. Aren't the Jedi supposed to hold all life sacred?"

"T-this isn't our decision!"

"But it could be," the Sith hissed, taking a step toward her. "Don't decide now. Think about it. I imagine you have some time before her sentencing, but I'd act quickly. The Force will take her when its ready, but the Dark Side would embrace her, as she has embraced it."

"Your second reason for being here, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon said quickly, reaching over and grabbing the Mirialan's hand, intertwining their fingers, and Kenobi looked them over curiously.

"Taken a lover, Qui-Gon?" the Sith Lord asked, a sly smirk on his face that was met with indifference from the Master.

"Your reason, Obi-Wan." Kenobi frowned. The Jedi Master had been correct when he said he had only the power allowed to him, and Qui-Gon Jinn was allowing him nothing. He raised his hand and pointed behind the old Master.

"I've come for you, Skywalker."

"...m-me?" Anakin stuttered, looking at Qui-Gon for guidance, and when the Master gave him a short nod, Skywalker drew up tall, took a deep breath, and walked out into the middle of the room to stand before Obi-Wan Kenobi. They were silent for a long while, each observing the other and taking in every single detail, and even from the distance between them, Anakin could feel the Sith's anger and hatred, the Dark Side converging on him like he was the eye of a storm.

"This meeting has been a long time coming," Kenobi said in barely a whisper. "Beyond trading insults, I do not believe we have ever actually spoken."

"You are fifteen years my senior," Anakin said, the emotion cleared from his voice. He would follow Qui-Gon's example. This Sith had no power here. "How is it you look to be of age with me?"

"The Dark Side does wonders for your complexion, if you have the talent," Kenobi said lightly, an easy smirk on his face. "I'd offer to show you, but that isn't going to happen. I'm going to kill you, Skywalker."

"I'm not afraid of you." Anakin said firmly, and the Sith Lord laughed.

"Oh, but you should be," Kenobi snarled, stepping closer so they were face to face. "Look around you. Your Masters are broken, and there are so few of them now. Eight sit where twelve were." He held up his hand, fingers extended, and pointed to each one. "Eeth Koth. Adi Gallia. Even Piell. Shaak Ti." He grinned when Anakin sucked in a sharp breath and held it. "And those are just the dead. I've bested nearly the rest, and it was only by the will of the Force that they got away from me." He looked over his shoulder and his eyes fell on Depa Billaba, the woman's dark eyes narrowed in focus as she looked at the Sith who had destroyed her. "Don't think I didn't see you, Master Billaba. I'm surprised you recovered. Next time, I won't be so gentle."

Anakin snapped, a loud thing that echoed in the room, and the Sith's attention quickly returned to him, his anger flaring dangerously. "Focus, Lumis. Your business is with me, not her."

"So it is..." the Sith whispered, eyeing the Jedi Knight once again. "The Force made me in response to you. You and I, Skywalker, stand in the eyes of the Force. We were destined to collide, surely you must have felt it as I have."

Anakin nodded. "You started with me, Sith Lord, and I'll make sure you end with me." Kenobi laughed harshly.

"Bold claim from one who cannot feel the tide of the Force."

"Bold claim from one who is pulled under by the current and drowning." Anakin drew up to his full height and looked down on Kenobi. "I've seen it in dreams. You and me engaged in endless battle, and it's a fight that I won't lose. I'm coming for you, Obi-Wan. For the sake of all the Jedi you have hurt, I will put an end to your evil."

Kenobi smiled at the impetuous youth. "Come and get me, Skywalker. I'll be waiting."

"Saesee Tiin," Anakin said softly, and Obi-Wan looked at him in confusion. "Jedi Master Saesee Tiin. You didn't count him among your dead."

A cruel smile came to Kenobi's face, and Anakin shivered when he looked at it, could see the savage pleasure that this Jedi Killer took from the suffering around him. "Oh, didn't I?" he asked innocently, and without another word, Kenobi turned from Skywalker, the hologram flickering as it faded from sight, leaving the Council silent and shaken, the skyline of Coruscant in the windows behind them burning red with the setting sun.