Kit Fisto led many of the Jedi who were stationed at the temple against the troopers who were trying to infiltrate their sanctum. When he saw the former Jedi turned Sith he led a few of his compatriots to deal with him. The clones, still loyal to the Jedi, would deal with their brothers who were attacking the temple.

"Dooku? Why attack here of all places? You once revered this temple as much as any of us?" Kit didn't want to fight his former ally, but he would do what he needed. He couldn't let the man complete whatever mission he had come here for.

The elder human casually flicked his wrist as he activated his lightsaber and shook his head. "The time of the Jedi is over. Surely you can see that."

"What I see is that you have turned your back on everything that you once believed in and instead became the antithesis of it."

Kit squared off with the older man and patiently took him on. Lightsabers clashed and Dooku sent force lightening to try to get one over on the man. Fisto dodged and deflected and leapt just beyond the Count's reach and then waited as other Jedi faced off with the man, as well. He collected himself and went to move back to fight with the Sith when one of the Temple Sentinels turned to attack him. He was taken by surprise and felt the blade brush one of his flexible tentacle-tresses that hung from his head as he barely moved out of the way as it came down toward him. His dark eyes focused on the unlikely ally to the dark-side user.

"What are you doing? You have sworn to protect the temple from those who would desecrate it!"

The temple guardian, a Pau'an, sneered. "I was and I have for years. But the Jedi have lost their way."

"So, you think you will right it by joining the Sith?"

"At least within it, one knows where they stand. The hypocrisy has been settled."

Fisto brought up his blade to fend off the other man's attack and drew on the force more as he sensed other Jedi behind him to help him in his fight. They were now divided between the guard as well as Count Dooku. Up ahead, he saw the clones continue their fight and wondered briefly how they could have gotten to this point.

"We will not allow you to go further into the temple. We will stop you here!" Kit Fisto prepared to propel himself at the dark acolytes and trusted that his fellow Jedi would follow him. They had to win this fight. There wasn't any other option available to them.

Ahsoka heard the distant sounds of the battle creep slowly toward the room that Padmé had been left to remain safe. She didn't like the idea of just waiting for the fight to come to her. She glanced around at the two squads of clones who were in the room with her. Jesse had sent them inside to guard the other woman and had called for more to line the hall outside. She addressed them quickly.

"I'll be joining the men outside of the door. Your orders will remain the same. Protect the senator at all costs."

"Ahsoka! No!" Padmé tried to change the younger woman's mind. "You can't go out there."

"Your safety is the most important in this room and I can do more good out there preventing any dangers from coming in rather than fight them off once they are already in here." Ahsoka then smiled. "Besides, I was trained by Anakin. I'll be fine."

The pregnant woman sighed. "Just be careful."

Ahsoka nodded as she walked outside of the room and pulled out her lightsabers as she strolled to the front of the clones who lined the hall while prepared to defend the woman who was close to their general. She called to the force to calm herself as she waited for the battle to make its way through the temple. She could sense the pain caused by blaster bolts as well as lightsaber strikes. She could also sense the fear and determination of the soldiers who were fighting. Fear that they would never show but was there, nonetheless. She held her blades at her side, inactivated, and waited as the fight neared the meeting room behind her.

When she felt the marching grow closer, she ignited her blades and stood at the front of the clones who were still loyal to the Jedi and those they were close to. They stood ready and as the first trooper turned the corner to head in their direction the men behind her started to fire. But these were stun blasts. They were not willing to kill their brothers if they could help it. Unfortunately, the other clones didn't have the same aversion.

Ahsoka deflected bolts as they reached her and sent as many as she could up into the walls and ceilings instead of returning them to the men who fired them. The clones behind her kept up a steady barrage of stun blasts even as many of their numbers fell from the killing bolts that were sent in their direction. The former Jedi knew that if they continued to fight without willing to cause fatal wounds then they would soon lose their advantage of numbers. She leapt forward and took the fight forward, kicking the men and using her blades to disable their weapons. She used her many years as a padawan as well as working alongside the clones learning how they fought and thought to take as many down as she could. Behind her, many of her clone troopers followed her lead. They moved forward to fight their brothers in hand-to-hand combat rather than fighting them with blasters.

She didn't know how long they had fought like that but eventually she looked up and found that the soldiers who had come to seize control over those in this section of the temple were defeated. The fighting still raged in other parts of the temple but for now, their battle for the hall was over. She heaved a sigh and looked to her men who were still standing.

"Stun the men here and keep them stunned until we can figure out what to do with them."

One trooper, Besnik, nodded. "Until we can have their chips removed, as well. Hopefully, once they are, they will return to normal."

"And perhaps," Ahsoka added as she reined in her breathing. "You can tell me more about what these chips are and what they are for."

"When there is time," Besnik said with a smile. He and the other men then started to move the unconscious men to the side to make way down the hall so that they wouldn't be trampled on should anyone wish to come down this way.

The woman nodded and stretched out her senses to the larger fight still raging elsewhere. She could sense many Jedi still engaged in warfare against the Sith who led the campaign against the temple. Still, it did feel as if the tide had turned just as her clone trooper once more addressed her.

"Sir, the rest of the 501st have arrived along with the 532nd. The reinforcements have secured the temple and the rogue clones have been contained to smaller skirmishes."

Ahsoka let out a sigh of relief as she smiled to the clone. "That is the best news I've heard all day."

She turned and returned to where she'd left Padmé to inform her of the progress of the battle. Once the temple was secured, she would need to remove the senator from the area and get her someplace safe. She'd once considered the temple to be the safest place in the galaxy but clearly that was no longer true. And with the events of the night, both here at the temple as well as at the opera house, things were bound to get more complicated and interesting here at the temple in the coming days.

Master Fisto looked down in sorrow as he stared at the man that he had no choice but to kill in self-defense. The man had been charged with protecting the Order, yet he'd betrayed it on the highest level. He'd left him no choice when the man had nearly killed one of the younger padawans who had joined their master to defend the temple. With a weary sigh he shook his head and turned to find the defeated Sith Lord, Count Dooku, disarmed and restrained.

"Count Dooku, you have been charged with violating the Jedi Code and with treason. You will be taken into custody, and you will tell us all that we need to know about your Sith Master; Chancellor Palpatine."

The man gave a defiant smirk. "You think that you can defeat him? He's already ruined the Order's reputation with the senate. He's planned this for decades. You won't-"

Dooku's words stopped in this throat, unable to make it past the invisible hand that grasped his neck. The man reached up with his hands but knew that he wouldn't find a physical hand there. He sputtered and gasped as he sought relief from the choking. He found none and in only a moment his eyes became soulless portals to the afterlife.

"It would appear that our Sith Lord's master has decided to leave no witnesses," Kit Fisto shook his head. He then turned to the other masters and clones around him. "Tend to the wounded. And make sure that all of the clones who haven't had their chips removed are taken to have that addressed."

A clone stepped forward and nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Kit headed back to where he'd left the senator and saw that Ahsoka Tano had been busy, as well. There were many downed clones who were being treated by other clones and Ahsoka was leading the senator out to meet him.

"Master Fisto," Senator Amidala addressed the Jedi as she saw him coming toward her. "How bad is it?"

"We've lost many good people, unfortunately. Clones and Jedi. I came to inform you that it would be best for you to leave in case there is a second wave on its way."

"I understand. I've made contact with a friend who will be willing to take me and my retinue here into hiding." Padmé looked around with sadness at the sight of the men who were both dead and some unconscious from the stuns. "But what happened?"

"It would appear that Palpatine sent Dooku and his personal clone forces to attack the temple."

"Why wouldn't Dooku have come with battle droids, instead?"

Ahsoka thought about the other woman's question. "Because this was a mission that required stealth. A battalion of battle droids would have drawn attention here on the Capital. But it wouldn't have been difficult for Count Dooku to have made his way to the planet undetected. Especially if the chancellor was the one who was doing the sneaking."

"Astute as ever, Ahsoka," Master Fisto nodded. "I'm afraid I won't be able to spare anyone to help escort you to your speeder and to your friend, but there are few masters available to protect the younglings."

"I understand. Thank you." The senator put a hand on the man's arm as she passed by him. "I'll make sure I share what I know happened here, that the Sith were responsible for what happened tonight."

"In the meantime, we will need to find someplace safe for the younglings to go. The temple will not be safe for them right now."

Master Fisto then headed up to the temple's center to learn which Jedi Masters survived the attacks around the galaxy just prior to the attack on the temple. From the disturbance that he had felt when it occurred, he knew that the loss will likely be devastating. But he could only imagine the carnage if they hadn't had the warning to try to remove the chips from the clones who were closest to the Jedi.

Young Alexsandr had fallen asleep while reading over the texts that he'd been left while lounging on the couch in the sitting area of the senator's suite. When they returned to the apartment to retrieve him, they rushed to wake him. He looked around and saw that both women were looking at him with concern before addressing the clones behind them.

"Have my handmaids been sent to the safehouse yet?"

"Yes, Senator. He was the last to be moved. And if I may say, coming back here personally may not have been wise. We could have-"

"The boy is under my protection. Which means that I need to see to his safety personally." Senator Amidala spoke in a way that let it be known that she didn't intend to argue her point. She then looked up into the face of the young man, who already surpassed her small stature, and smiled. "Now, Alexsandr, we need to get moving. There isn't time to explain but how well are you able to take care of yourself in a fight?"

Alexsandr tilted his head since that was an odd question but answered, "I started to earn extra credits about six months ago in the fight clubs in the lower levels. I win more times than not against some of the older teens."

Padmé lowered her brows since she hated hearing that someone of his age had already had to learn to fight just to survive. Still, such a background could come in handy right now. "And a blaster, have you ever fired one?"

"A couple of times. Not enough to get good at it, though." What he didn't say was that the only times he'd actually had a blaster had been when one had been found on the body of another resident of the lower levels. He'd never been able to afford more ammunition or power cells so once they were empty, he would toss them since they wouldn't be any use to him any longer.

"That's good enough for now," the woman nodded to a clone. "Give him one for an emergency." Padmé looked back to the teen and added, "This will be just for an emergency. Once we get to our safehouse you'll be returning it. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am." He accepted a blaster from the clone and examined it quickly. He then listened as the clones filled the woman in on their next planned move to get the group out of the city and, from there, off world.

Anakin stared out of the cockpit and tried to meditate. The force suppression bubble was too strong to actually use the force. Still, the meditation helped to clear his mind. He looked out into the starfield as they raced back to Coruscant, but he knew that by the time he reached the planet that much of the events that he saw in his visions would have already taken place.

As he sat in the solitude of the cockpit, he saw that a transmission was coming in. He answered it despite the fact that this wasn't his ship. When the image of his wife came in over subspace he smiled in relief.

"Padmé! You're okay!"

"Ani!" The woman gave her husband a reassuring smile in response to both his own and his concern. "I thought that I'd best let you know that I've had to leave Coruscant. The chancellor has framed Master Windu for an attempt on his life and has essentially started an all-out war with the Jedi. He sent Dooku and clones who still have something called inhibitor chips to attack the Jedi Temple. I was also with Master Fisto when both he and Ahsoka sensed something just before the attack. I'm not sure what happened but I know that a lot of Jedi were involved."

Anakin lowered his eyes as he thought about the potential casualties. "The order that our friends told us about. The one to kill the Jedi."

"What order?" She crossed her arms since there had been far too much secrecy recently for her tastes.

"The individuals that I've been travelling with... You aren't going to believe this, but they are actually from the future. They warned us about the inhibitor chips being used to program the clones to kill the Jedi when the Sith activated them. They are the reason why we started to have them removed. But unfortunately, not fast enough to prevent a lot of death."

"The future?" Padmé gave him a skeptical look. "I'll have to take your word for it."

"You said that you've left Coruscant. Where are you now? Where are you heading?"

"I've been able to seek help from Senator Organa. I didn't want to return home to Naboo since that would likely be the first place anyone would look for me if I really am in danger as you claimed when you recruited Rex to assemble the rest of the 501st under Jesse's command at the moment. I'll send you coordinates. We'll arrive there tomorrow."

Anakin took a look at the coordinates and smirked. "I can be there in only two days instead of the six that I still would have for Coruscant. I'll change course immediately and meet you there. Oh, and consequentially, the young boy that you were sent to find. Is he still with you?"

"Yes. And he's really something. He's been completely engrossed with the clones. Jesse said that it is a shame that he's not a clone himself." Padmé gave a small laugh before she continued. "Said that he shows great promise and has taken him under his wing, so to speak. He even suggested the possibility of military school for the boy. And he seems to be amendable to the idea. Though, just looking at where he's been living, I'm sure he'd jump at just about anything for the promise of regular meals and a roof over his head."

"After meeting him, I have no doubt that the boy is everything that you say."

"I thought that you and Rex hadn't actually met this boy, yet."

"I haven't. But I have met him as a man." He grinned and gave a wink. "He's one of our friends from the future."