Chapter 12 - Unveiled

Author's Note: I'm so sorry. *sobs*

To Guest: It's necessary. The twins might have been the focus, but they aren't the only important characters who have important arcs going on. xP

~ Amina Gila

Anakin Skywalker

We've seen the blue Twi'lek off and on ever since the direct threat he gave us, but we've never really spoken since. So I have no idea what he's doing here now, but I have a very bad feeling about it.

Especially when a medical droid follows him in moments later, holding... something, and approaches Aniya. This is weird, but he does seem to be Plagueis' assistant or something. Maybe he sent him to... I don't even want to know what, but I thought Sidious said we wouldn't have to deal with this anymore.

"What are you doing?" I demand anyway, fear clenching me in a vice. All I can remember is that sheer agony of whatever he was doing to me, and I'm not about to let anyone hurt Aniya if I can stop them. It would help if my mind didn't still feel so foggy and hazed over, though.

The Twi'lek gives me a hard look, not responding, but there's something dark and satisfied in his eyes as the medical droid injects the substance into Aniya's arm.

Resistance would be a sure way to make Plagueis angry. I don't care to push him far enough to know what he'd do then. (Sidious seems... scared of him, even if he'd never admit it, and I don't know what that says.)

A sudden flare of pain from my bond with Aniya nearly throws me off-balance, and she draws in a sharp breath, catching her balance on the nearby table.

That's – it's a torture drug. I know it, because I've been injected with them before by the Separatists. And why would Plagueis do that, right after he nearly killed us?! Before we were even recovered? Unless –

There's nothing I loathe more than being helpless while my sister is being hurt, and for a moment, it whites out any fear I have of angering the Sith. Or maybe it's just that Plagueis isn't here right now.

"What are you doing?" I demand, furiously. It might have more of an effect if I didn't feel about to pass out.

"Plagueis didn't send you, did he?" Aniya grits out. She's breathing hard and shaking, sitting on the edge of the medical table now, hands clenched on the side of it. I want to go to her, but if I move, I think I'll end up on the floor instead.

"He is of no concern here," the Twi'lek says, and he's enjoying this. I'm very tempted to reach out with the Force and just – something, because this is going to end now. "He may want you functional, but he cannot stop me."

"Then what do you want?" I growl.

"Have you already forgotten my message to your master?"

What? "Hurting Aniya will do nothing to him."

The Twi'lek scoffs. "I am well aware of what you mean to him."

I – I don't want to think about what Sidious feels towards us. It's so much simpler not to, to pretend it's nothing. That he doesn't care. But I know, deep inside, that he does. That is obvious, else he wouldn't show it so clearly. He couldn't fake that, and he'd have no reason to. But it makes sense. It makes sense now, why Sith always hide that, if they care at all. Sidious didn't as much as he should've, and of course, that means people are trying to find vengeance through us.

It's not as if they can go after the Emperor himself.

"We're nothing but his slaves," Aniya hisses, voice cutting off in a quiet gasp of pain.

It's true, but sometimes it also seems like it's not, and I don't... know, especially right now. We mean something to him, I know, but he flips back and forth between showing it and being so Sithly I can hardly tell sometimes. Not that the Twi'lek needs to know any of that.

"Stop this," I demand, moving for my lightsaber, though what I intend to do, I'm not even sure. But I have to make this stop. I've failed Aniya long enough, failed to keep people from hurting her. I won't do that anymore.

"Or what?" he asks, mockingly, "You'll kill me like Sheev did?"

I blink, the words taking far too long to process. Sheev –

Wait, he means Sidious? Then why is he calling him his first name? That doesn't even... make any sense. Why call a total stranger who ruined your life by their first name? And – what does he mean killed? Is he implying that he's... alive again somehow?

Suddenly, I can't help but remember that base we ran into during the war, where we found those people who seemed... mindless. What was Plagueis doing? Trying to put dead spirits back into them or whatever? It would explain while the Twi'lek feels like a literal Force abomination. "Who are you?" I demand.

He doesn't have the chance to answer – I'm not sure he was planning to anyway, considering how violently he reacted when I first asked his name – when the door slides open, and Sidious stalks in. His already angry expression instantly flips to fury as he takes in the scene.

There's a momentary flicker of unease from the Twi'lek, but mostly he just feels smug, and so satisfied. "What are you doing to them?" Sidious demands, eyes narrowed. I can feel his fury, even if he's hiding it well at the moment – that doesn't make the iciness of it scare me any less. Though I hardly have the presence of mind for that anyway, with what I can feel from Aniya.

In the moment of distraction, I move towards Aniya as discreetly as I can. There's nothing I can do for her, but at least if I'm with her, we can... something.

There's something about the way Sidious is looking at him, though... Does he have some idea who it is?

The Twi'lek draws his lightsaber – he has a lightsaber? – and I suddenly have the very sinking feeling I know what he thinks he's going to do. But does he seriously think drugging Aniya would be enough to stop either of us if he tried to do anything more? "You will lose all that you have gained, Sheev," he hisses, speaking the name like it's some curse, "Did you truly believe you would gain anything from my death?"

Sidious stills for a moment – it's almost unnerving to see. "Who are you?" he demands.

"I always knew you would be nothing but a disgrace to my name," the Twi'lek snaps, "I should have killed you before you were born."

What the –

The surge of blinding rage that coils around Sidious nearly makes me flinch back and – do I seriously sense traces of fear, too? None of it shows on his face, though. I've never seen him look at anyone with such loathing, not even Plagueis. I don't think. "How –" he demands furiously.

"Your master brought me back," the Twi'lek scoffs, and suddenly, I have a very bad feeling that I – at least have some inkling about what's happening. The way he said 'disgracing his name' and – how he's calling him his first name.

Someone please tell me this is not seriously one of Palpatine's... parents? Father, presumably.

Who he... killed? Or... something. What –

Sidious lashes out before the other can move, unleashing a blinding bolt of Force-lightning on him. I can't help flinching at the sight of it, even if I know it's not directed at me. I can't forget what that felt like.

The Twi'lek blocks it with his lightsaber, struggling to hold off the assault. "You deserve this," he hisses, "You deserve to see them die."

The lightning lets up momentarily, though his eyes look like they're burning almost literally. "You will not come near them again."

The other – whatever his name is, I'm not sure – lunges at him. Their lightsabers clash together in a shower of sparks. I have no doubt who will come out on top. Sidious bested Aniya and I at once on Mustafar, and we very rarely don't come out on top in any situation. Sidious is deadly in literally every way.

I genuinely don't know what happened with them – so really, I don't know who I'd help, so I don't get involved at all. Instincts tell me to help Sidious, but he hurt us, too. Instead, I turn away altogether, focusing on Aniya. I reach out to her with the Force, not certain what I'm doing, but I have to help her somehow.

I'll admit to having been... avoiding our bond somewhat ever since Plagueis came into the picture, simply because I know he wanted us not to, but now, that's... the only thing I know what to do. I reach out to her, delving into the Force, feeling the drug working through her system. It's hurting her, and I can't stop it, but I can still draw on the Dark Side, let myself feed off it.

Clearly, this aspiring Sith knows nothing about real Sith. The Dark Side feeds off pain, and all he's doing is giving us a power boost.

"Thank you," she murmurs. I nod, but we both know the dangers are far from over. They're just beginning and somehow, I have a very, very bad feeling that something will go... wrong. Even if it's still what was meant to happen. I still believe in the Force. That could never be shaken or changed. Now, I find myself wondering if this had to happen, to keep our families safely away from us. I have no doubt we could hurt them, or... so what is Qui-Gon doing here?

I don't know what to do now, but...

I don't even have time to think about it, because the door opens again and Plagueis stalks in. The other two freeze in a way that reminds me way too much of Aniya and I when Obi-Wan caught us goofing off and we're both done for. It's insane enough that I could almost laugh if not for the circumstances.

Sidious turns towards him finally, rage swirling around him. "You promised you would not harm them," he snarls.

"I didn't send him here," Plagueis begins.

"You brought him back."

Honestly. I do not want to know details – I cannot imagine having blood family that don't mean the world to me. I can't imagine having family at all that don't mean everything to me.

"It ensures your loyalty," Plagueis says, and Sidious flies at him. My heart nearly skips a beat at the move – he was the one just saying we couldn't try to go at his master, because we wouldn't stand a chance. Now, he's doing it himself. And of course, I've seen him angry before, far too personally, but never in a way that he's completely lost all... sense of control and reason. I have no idea what it could be that would throw him so off-balance.

The Twi'lek – I need to find out his real name – turns towards us finally, smugly. I lash out before he has a chance to return, flinging him across the room and into the wall. Literally, because it leaves a considerable dent.

Nice.

Except now Sidious and Plagueis are fighting, and knowing them, they're going to level the whole building. They're both deadly, but Plagueis is more so. It... would be ideal to interfere and deal with him, but I'm not sure we're capable of that. Not now. Maybe not even on a normal day.

I duck as something explodes. Someone literally ripped one of the walls down. I can relate. I would like to do the same myself, but I don't know what will happen. We should intervene, but I...

I don't know.

I hate being so uncertain of everything I do. That never used to be true, so I don't know why it is now. Everything changed after Mustafar, after the Jedi, after... the Empire.

Qui-Gon's presence is getting closer.

Aniya huffs out a sigh. "We can't let him get here," she says finally, "It's too dangerous. He'll die."

That's what finally spurs me into motion. "Then we'll find him, first. Can you walk?"

Clenching her jaw, she stands again, swaying slightly and drawing on the Dark Side to keep herself steady, but she's standing, at least. "Yes. Let's go."

It's not even hard. In a place like this, his presence draws me in as a beacon of light, the first I've sensed in years. I haven't seen him since the Temple, since Order 66, and... I don't know what to expect. I have no doubt he'll be angry at us, and very rightfully so. He should be. It would hurt worse if he wasn't. (It would hurt worse if he didn't hate me as much as I do.)

We move for the door, stopping only to collect our lightsabers and armor before leaving. I know we haven't been allowed to leave yet, but I'm willing to take it – there's only so much longer we can afford to stay here, anyway. There's only so much longer I'm willing to risk Aniya and Ben and Ezra.

I don't need to know where we're going. The Force leads us through the building, to one of the dark, narrow halls in the back of the ground floor. We stop as we round the corner as the very familiar figure of Qui-Gon steps into view. He looks the same, just... older. Different. More tired, more worn.

My heart clenches painfully upon seeing him again though. We may have had... problems, but still, I missed him. "Qui-Gon."

"Master," Aniya breathes, and it's the first time she's willingly used that title in a very long time.

"Ani."

I don't know what I expected to happen when I saw him again, but the way he says it, uses that nickname as if nothing happened at all just... shatters something inside me. "That's not who we are anymore," I argue anyway.

"We have all changed, but I still know you. That, I know, will never change."

"Really?" Aniya asks, with much the same bitterness that I have. "Would we? We wouldn't be here if you were. We didn't even know what we were."

"Well, what do you think you are?" Qui-Gon asks, much too softly. That's the same tone our mother would talk to us in.

"We're tools of destruction. Of the Sith," I respond bluntly. "We can never get rid of that."

I can't read his expression. "Whatever Sidious has told you, it's not true."

"Yes, it is!" Aniya and I argue in unison. He doesn't know. He doesn't understand, and likely, he won't want to, either. He won't want to see what we know ourselves to be true, and he's going to fight against it. "You don't know," she continues, turning away to face the wall. "No one does."

"Why did you come back?" I ask, voice raw. He should've stayed away. Far away – where it was safe. I would rather never see them again, then for them to come back and die. We're not worth it.

"I sensed you. I felt you. I should have come back a long time ago."

"You came back to die," I snap back, "Sidious will never let you go."

"He can't stop it if you help me."

"Sidious isn't the one we need to stop right now," Aniya objects, "It's Plagueis. But he's too strong."

"Not as strong as you."

Logically, I know that's probably true, but after months of... this, I'm too afraid to try fighting back. "You don't know that."

"Be what it may, I will not leave you again."

"You don't have a choice on that, Master," I object, "Go. While there's still time."

"I will not change my mind on this." Great. I somehow forgot how insanely stubborn he is. I don't know how. He wouldn't have left in the Temple, either, except he never had a choice. It was... us who pushed him away, and even if I'm trying to do the same now, I don't think he'll let that stop him. "I know the Dark Side. I learned it from Dooku. And I know the destruction it can cause, but it doesn't destroy its users."

"That's... not the point," Aniya protests quietly.

I sigh. "You don't understand. It's not that we're using it. It's that we're from it."

"You're the children of the Force, not the Sith."

"That's what you want to believe, but you never knew that, did you?" I challenge. There's a distant crash in the background. Uh oh. He needs to go, and fast. "It was a lie. None of it was real. It was all based on assumptions and circumstances." I don't want to tell him this. I don't want to – can't – see his rejection, but I need to do this. This isn't about me, it's about the man who freed us from slavery, who raised us, who was so unfailingly loyal when he had no reason to be. "The Sith made us, Qui-Gon. Sidious told us."

There's a heartbeat of silence. "And you believed him?"

"Of course," I answer, "He wasn't lying."

"That changes nothing. You still are the Chosen Ones, the –"

"We destroy," I interject, raising a hand, "That's all we've ever been able to do. We can't –"

"We must try," Qui-Gon replies, and that's when I finally realize how absurd this is. I shouldn't be arguing with someone, trying to stop them from destroying the Sith when that's all we wanted to do. It's just that... I'm afraid of failing. Years ago, I never would've let that stop me, but that's... not who I am anymore. "Once, everything about you was built on hope."

"Hope is a lie," Aniya argues, "It changes nothing."

"It was your hope that saved thousands. Perhaps millions. I can't forget that. I know you haven't either."

"I don't know what you're doing," I object, shaking my head, "But stop. Go. While you still can. Leave. You shouldn't have –"

"No," he replies firmly, "I wouldn't have come if I only intended to leave. I'm here to stay, Ani. And I'm not leaving you here again."

I want to cry. I can't though. Not now. "We both know where this will go."

"Then we must try," he says, stepping forwards, "I know you want to."

"That's not who we are anymore."

"Waiting won't take his power. If we act, we must do it now. I sense it."

I know what he means. I can feel it – the Force is nudging me onward, urging me to act now before this chance slips away, and I already know we have to do it, though I'm... afraid to.

But... I know what he means. I can't turn this down if it's a way out. We told Obi-Wan that's what we were looking for, and that we can come back after, though I... don't know what to do. I want to go back, go home, but I don't exactly think we truly have a home. "I sense it," I admit, "But I don't know what it means."

"We're not exactly up to fighting right now, either," Aniya objects.

"You never would have said that two years ago," Qui-Gon reminds. "That isn't who you are. Don't let the Sith destroy you."

"They already have." Are we stalling? Finding excuses? Yes. And I know better, and we do need to act, but I'm so... afraid. I can't stop remembering the pain ripping me apart what feels like only hours ago.

"I should have come sooner," Qui-Gon says at last, "I should never have left you here so long."

"How did you even find us?" Aniya blurts.

"The Force led me here, just as it did you. This is what we've all been waiting for. It's a turning point. What we do now, it will change everything."

Somehow, talking to him again – it's slowly starting to remind me of the person I once was. It's starting to make me... remember. Just like seeing Obi-Wan did. Maybe what I do need is to remember that, even if I don't think I can ever find that again.

"We've put so much into the Empire. We can't just turn on it," Aniya protests quietly, "I don't believe in everything that's happening, but..."

"If the concern is Plagueis, not Sidious, why would you worry about that?"

It's an excuse, that's why, because we're afraid. And we need to somehow let go of that, because we... know better. "Alright," I reply, "We can try."

"You don't deserve to stay like this," Qui-Gon says.

I glance up at him, uncertainly. It's not until he says it that I realize that's much of what's holding me back. And it is, really. After everything we helped in, after everything we've done, it doesn't feel like we deserve to be free again.

"We're the ones who... walked into this," Aniya objects. I can see the same in her, too, and... For her, at least, Qui-Gon is right. She doesn't deserve to be stuck in this. We have to try, but –

"It's not too late," he replies, "We can do this now while there is still time. If we need help, I have... a small amount of back-up."

"Who?" I can't help but ask.

"Jango. He came with me – I had him keep an eye on you."

What –

Of course, he would do that, watch over us from afar even if he couldn't be there to do it in person. Why he would think we are worth it so much later, now, I can't begin to understand.

And I suppose that's why sometimes I just couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching us, though it didn't feel malevolent. Because it was true.

"Come," he urges, and I don't know why I'm hit with a strange feeling of finality as we take off down the hall together. Why does it suddenly feel like this might be the last battle we fight together? I shake the strange feeling off – all we can do is focus right now.

I let my fear fuel me, refusing to let it make me too scared to act like it has all along, as we go. Finding where they're fighting isn't hard, with all the... crashes, and damaged walls. I'm pretty sure these idiots are going to take down the building on top of all of us if they aren't careful.

They're moving in a blinding blur of red lightsabers, lightning, Force-shoves, and flying... things, when we catch up. The blue Twi'lek is nowhere to be seen, though I don't know why I have a bad feeling about that.

And one look at the fight quickly tells me that Sidious is losing, even if his... near-insanity-from-fury seems to be keeping him going right now.

Though I think the strange bond Sidious and Plagueis share is also at fault for why Sidious is losing. Plagueis is clearly drawing on it, putting the other at a serious disadvantage – and it makes me wonder how in the world they would have formed that, especially since Sidious seems to loath it's existence. It could only have been something very unnatural, and that... I'm not sure I want to know.

I don't wait, drawing my blade and springing into the fight, crossing blades with Plagueis. I'm hardly in condition to be fighting – Aniya even less so – but we have to do this. It's now or... never.

Aniya and Qui-Gon join a second later, though my twin's still moving too slowly for this. It's beyond bizarre to be fighting like this alongside Sidious, and it's difficult in some ways, because we don't really know his moves, but we'll have to make it work.

Plagueis uses the Force a lot as he fights; one moment he's blocking our blows with his lightsaber, and another, he's throwing us across the room, or... transporting himself across the room. I can genuinely not tell much of the time if the him we're fighting is actually real.

And this – this is what I feared from the start, because we may have more power on our side, but he's so much more skilled. But the Force wouldn't've led us to this point for nothing. There has to be a reason, and we cannot fail.

I delve deeper into the Force, reaching for my bond with Aniya, drawing on it even if I still don't want to do that in front of the Sith Master. It makes us stronger, and that's what we need right now.

Our blades clash again, and Sidious unleashes a blast of lightning on him, which he deflects with one hand. Aniya promptly swings for his hand, but he lashes out, blasting both of them back. Qui-Gon and I press our attacks instantly, and the other two join us again seconds later, and for a moment – just a moment – I actually think we might be gaining an advantage on him.

He has to wear out eventually, right? He can't keep using the Force this much forever, no matter how much he can manipulate midi-chlorians.

I nearly find an opening, almost hitting him with my lightsaber – stubbornly deflecting the Force-blast he tries to hit me with. Except then, he promptly dematerializes, reappearing behind Qui-Gon. Maybe that's where he was all along.

It happens too fast – somehow, I know what's about to happen, but I don't manage to yell the warning in time.

The blade stabs him through, and then, Plagueis is disappearing out the door, as Qui-Gon falls to the floor.

It feels like I can't breathe. Can't move. But I'm already moving to his side, and so is Aniya. I knew it would happen – I tried as hard as I could to warn him, but he wouldn't listen. That doesn't make this easier. It doesn't make it seem any more real.

"Master," Aniya chokes out, desperately.

"It's too late." It sounds like his voice is drifting in through a haze, though it's more likely he's just quiet from pain.

What did I do, whatdidIdo, what –

"This wasn't your fault, Ani," Qui-Gon continues as I drop down next to him. "I knew... when I came, that my time was up."

"No," Aniya protests desperately, shaking her head, "It can't. We can stop this, we –"

"It's alright." He looks peaceful, and I don't even know how that's possible. He's perfectly content with it, accepting, giving himself over to the Force for the first time in years. I can't say when it changed, but I did notice that he... was getting darker, like we all were. That he was trying too much to do it alone, instead of trusting the Force as a Jedi should.

"You can't die," I protest, voice pleading, even if I know full well it will change nothing. I just can't accept this. This is too much like what happened with our mother, me holding him as I held our mother, her life rapidly fading. Aniya, hovering right beside me, holding Qui-Gon's hand as if it would be enough to keep him here. It's a horrifying sense of déjà vu.

The wound was fatal, and I know there is nothing we can do to stop it, unless Sidious does something. Maybe even if he does. Lightsaber wound or no, it's starting to bleed now, soaking his clothes, and I should – should something, but I can't think of anything through the screaming in my mind.

"You cannot stop... the will of the Force," he replies. He's dying. And he's not wrong, we can't stop it. There's nothing I can do except sit here and hold him and... "The Light will – guide you. Find it. As I have."

And that's when something in him... stills.

"Master," I call, desperately – I don't think of how it's the first time I've willingly called someone that in years.

"Master Qui-Gon," Aniya calls again, frantically, begging for some sort of reaction, something, anything, but then...

I can only watch, somehow seeing clearly through my tears, as his body stills then... fades. It becomes translucent somehow, before it vanishes altogether along with the weight in my arms, leaving us sitting here alone with nothing but each other, Qui-Gon's lightsaber, and... his blood-soaked clothes.

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