Chapter 5 – You Are The Nighttime Fear

Author's Note: In which things get Interesting. Or more interesting, I guess. :)

To Guest: Thanks!

~ Amina Gila

Sidious feels the Dark bearing down on him, staring at him as though it's a living thing, and beyond it, he can feel the sentience of a living person.

Of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

But that does not make sense. He has met Master Kenobi many times, and never before has he shown the ability to see through the Veil of the Dark Side with such overwhelming, smothering strength. He has never been that strong in the Force, not compared to Sidious himself, and yet… and yet, he knows something has changed. He's felt it, the ripples in the Force, the way there's something brilliant and blinding on Coruscant, the way the very air ripples as though alive, the way his chosen apprentice is… different.

Something has changed. Sidious does not know what, and he does not like it, either.

**w**

It's late in the evening when Anakin gets the summons for an emergency Council meeting, requesting that he bring along Ahsoka. There are no details, no reason for why it was called, and he can't quite help the apprehension that curls within him as they return to the Temple.

"Masters," he says, bowing to them. He might be stronger than any living being has ever been, but this is the Jedi Council, and he still respects them. "You called for us."

"Obi-Wan has discovered the identity of the Sith Master," Windu tells them without preamble. "He sensed it while meditating."

Anakin stills. That was something he'd never given much thought to, admittedly, too focused on trying to keep themselves and their new abilities hidden and under control. Obi-Wan is the Son now, so of course, it only stands to reason that he can sense Sidious, whoever he may be. "Who is it?"

"It is Chancellor Palpatine," Windu replies, and Anakin gapes at him in shock.

It rings with truth in the Force, and he reaches out, just the smallest tendril toward where Palpatine is – it is so easy to just know his location without having to search – and yes, there it is, the Dark. He's a Sith. The Chancellor of the Republic is a Sith. He's the one who started the war. He's the one who has been there for Anakin since he was a child. He's the Sith Master. He's Anakin's friend and mentor. He – what are they supposed to do now?

The Jedi way says they need to kill him, but Anakin refuses to believe that's the answer. That can't be right. Killing is of the Dark. Killing is not the answer. There has to be another way. Maybe Palpatine is a Sith, but he is also the one who has supported Anakin through everything. He is more than just a Sith.

He doesn't – what are they going to do?

"What now?" he asks, blinking hard as he tries to wrestle his power under control, tries to make his eyes and body stop glowing, tries to make himself corporeal again from where the edges of his body were fading into an aqua mist. Ahsoka's hand on his back probably helps.

"He cannot be allowed to remain in office, but we cannot forcibly remove him, not right now," Windu answers.

"Dangerous that path would be," Yoda adds. "Unrest to the Republic we would bring."

Yes, that – they would, if they did something… violent. It's not a crime to be a Sith, and for whatever Palpatine has done, he's still the Chancellor. Moving against him would be treason without evidence to back them up.

"There is another matter," Plo speaks up for the first time. "Master Even Piell has been captured by the Separatists. He obtained coordinates for a secret hyperspace lane, the Nexus Route, which travels into the heart of both the Republic and Separatist home worlds. They could prove vital in maneuvering our forces deep into remote Separatist sectors."

"Or the enemy could use them to slip through our defenses and attack Coruscant," Windu adds, looking around the room.

A grim silence settles, broken by Obi-Wan. "Master Piell is being held at the Citadel, which was taken from the Republic at the start of the war. It is their most isolated and impenetrable detention facility. No one has ever escaped."

Yes, Anakin has heard of it. It was designed to contain Jedi who lost their way, not common criminals. Normally, a mission to get in and back out would be… challenging, to say the least, but now, they have the three of them. And this might be a good time to test out what they're capable of, especially in a more… controlled environment such as that.

"Their security has prevented our probes from obtaining recent reconnaissance, so we've been forced to construct a crude map based upon data from the Archives," Windu tells them. "With… your new abilities, this should not be too much of a challenge, or so we are hoping."

It's a little unnerving that Windu is thinking along the same lines as Anakin is. Normally, the opposite is true. They almost never see eye-to-eye, even if Anakin still respects him, given that he's a Jedi Master on the Council. He glances towards Master Piell's seat, closing his eyes and reaching out with the Force. He has some questions for the Council about the mission and their plan for carrying it out, but first, he wants to try something.

He can keenly feel the residual traces of Piell's Force signature, and he grasps them, reaching out to find him. It's… like grabbing a live wire, and he can feel the glow starting up and flowing outward through his limbs as he reaches further and further and – there. He can almost see the Jedi Master, being contained in a cell. Droids are questioning him, torturing him, but he's not breaking. It would be easy, Anakin thinks idly, to just shift himself, to step from one place to another, to enter the room and destroy the droids, freeing the Jedi Master. But he doesn't know if Piell's the only prisoner, and he doesn't know if he can transport people other than himself.

When Anakin blinks his eyes open, it's to see the unnatural glow of his body, the aqua mist swirling around his limbs as he fades from existence. "I can reach him," he says, and his voice echoes faintly, just enough to be noticeable, "But I don't know if I can transport him out of there." It would be a disaster if he failed to transport the entirety of a living person, after all. He's not going to risk it until he is certain that he can succeed.

"Perhaps you can at least go there and obtain intel about the facility's layout," Windu suggests. "The lifeform scanners will not be easy to fool, but if you are there, you may be able to disrupt them. Obi-Wan will take a team in, so you will have to be precise."

Anakin's first thought is that Artoo would be incredibly useful to him. But he doesn't know if he can transport the droid with him, and the last thing he wants is to lose him somewhere along the way. "I'll do it," he tells the Council, as if there was ever any doubt.

Palpatine is the Sith Master behind everything, and the stakes are higher now than they ever have been. Their power is only a good thing if they can use it to end the war. And Anakin knows that the Sith will be more drawn to Obi-Wan than they ever have been before. Ahsoka will repel them. He can control them. But Obi-Wan? His power will call to them, and Anakin doesn't know what that will mean for the future, for the galaxy.

But all they can do is keep moving.

**w**

Ahsoka shifts impatiently as they wait in a stolen Separatist shuttle. She's there with Obi-Wan, Rex, Cody, and a number of hand-picked clones from both the 501st and 212th. Anakin went ahead with Artoo to the Citadel after doing a couple test runs to make sure he's able to transport objects other than himself, and once they've downloaded the schematics and messed with the lifeform scanners, Anakin will contact them to come in. Right now, they're in orbit over Lola Sayu, waiting for Anakin to give them the signal so they can come in.

They didn't explain to the clones how Anakin got there, but Ahsoka suspects that Rex and Cody know. Or at least they've guessed that it has to do with the 'Force osik' that happened to them on Mortis. But now that they're here, Ahsoka suddenly doesn't know how they're supposed to keep hidden what they've become. It's as instinctive to them as breathing, to reach into the wellsprings of power buried within them. Even with the protective suits that they're wearing, Ahsoka suspects that the glow of her body will be visible. It will definitely be visible on Anakin, especially if he starts phasing.

That… could be a problem.

But maybe they've never stood a chance at keeping this hidden from the Sith. Maybe they need to hit hard and fast to stop the Sith before they can understand the power that is up against them and start planning ways to counter it.

Maybe… But Ahsoka is only a padawan, what does she know? Still, it's something she'll have to talk to Anakin about when this mission is over.

She jolts when she feels Anakin reaching to her and Obi-Wan through the Force, through their bonds. "We're good to go."

"Let's go in," Obi-Wan tells the clone who's piloting.

Ahsoka nearly holds her breath as the shuttle flies down to the Citadel, but they're unnoticed, unstopped. It's as though the Separatists there don't even register them. Which is good. That means they have the element of surprise. Her body is buzzing with anticipation as they jump off the shuttle onto the pad outside the entry point. Anakin is inside, but Artoo is nowhere in sight.

"Where's Artoo?" Ahsoka asks.

Anakin jerks his head toward the inside of the facility. "Scrambling their surveillance," he answers. "They shouldn't even know we're here if we steer clear of the droids, so they don't sound an alarm."

"Sounds good," Obi-Wan answers. "Take us to Piell."

They take off through the halls, Anakin in the lead. Ahsoka can see the edges of his form flickering with light, but it's so faint that she doubts anyone else notices, especially with their protective suits. She might be the only one who can see it, partially because her eyesight is a little different from humans'. She can see different spectrums. It feels strange to run past the cameras without stopping to worry about whether or not they're being spotted.

The clones shoot the two droids standing guard outside the interrogation room where Piell is being kept, and they burst into the room, shooting at the droids that are there. Well, the clones shoot. Ahsoka and Anakin use the Force to throw them across the room where they smash into the wall so hard that they crumple to the floor as scrap metal. … She's never been able to use such strength before.

"Skywalker, I thought I sensed you a while ago," Piell says as they free him from the torture device to which he was attached. "It took you a long time to get here."

"Your sense of humor is still intact, I see," Anakin quips, stiffening suddenly. "We need to hurry. They'll be onto us soon."

No one questions him, and they immediately make their way back into the hall.

"You have the coordinates for the Nexus Route?" Obi-Wan questions.

"I got them, all right. Half of them, anyway. My captain's got the other half. I erased the computers when we were boarded and had both of us memorize part of the intel. That way, if somehow I cracked, the information would be useless to them without the other half," Piell tells them.

"The officers are all together," Anakin says, eyes going distant. "Let's move."

They make it to the rest of the prisoners, all clones except for the captain, Tarkin, before the alarms go off.

Their plan had been simple. They were supposed to retrieve the prisoners and rendezvous at a landing platform down below so they could escape. But if the Separatists know they're here, Ahsoka doesn't know that it'll be that easy. Something cold and dark trickles down her spine, and she shudders. Something is going to go badly; she can feel it.

**w**

"If we stay together, we are more likely to be captured," Tarkin protests as they run through the halls toward the landing platform where their clone pilot was to take the shuttle.

"We know what we are doing," Obi-Wan almost snaps back, and the Force screams.

Electricity sparks from the walls behind them, moving rapidly forward. "The walls are electrified!" yells Cody. "Run!"

Anakin skids, spinning, throwing his hands out towards the incoming blast. It's too fast, too close, and they're going to lose some of the clones. Obi-Wan pauses, glancing back to see a very visible glow on Anakin's hands, traveling up his arms, as the electricity halts in place, long enough for the clones to get to safety.

"None of you are dying here," Anakin says, and his voice echoes with the power of the Father.

Obi-Wan nearly winces. This is what they were trying to prevent, trying to hide. Maybe there was never a chance. They are something… other. Trying to pretend that they are still mortal was probably fruitless. At this point, they don't even know how to properly control it.

But he doesn't have time to worry about it.

Anakin will always be protective of the clones, and Obi-Wan would never tell him to stop, especially not now when he has the power to keep them safe. They're good soldiers. Losing them is a waste. And more than that, they are people. They don't deserve to die like this, in a war they never chose.

They keep moving, when a group of droids intercepts them. Obi-Wan draws his lightsaber and leaps forward, slashing through them with Anakin and Ahsoka at his side.

A cackle fills the hall. "You fools! I hope you enjoyed the reunion with your fellow Jedi, because you're going to be my guests for a very long time!" calls the overseer of the facility, whoever it is. Obi-Wan could care less, and he also knows that it's untrue. They are too powerful to be contained here, or anywhere, and they will use their power to protect those who are in their care.

The Force twitches with warning, and Anakin is suddenly yanked upward to the ceiling, along with all of their weapons. "They're magnetized," Obi-Wan realizes, flinching as electricity crackles from the ceiling into Anakin's body. He can feel Anakin's pain like his own, and it makes him furious. The Dark crashes into him, screaming and demanding violence and vengeance for Anakin's pain, and without thinking, he presses a hand into the wall, channeling that fury into it.

And the wall… crumbles. It warps and rusts and dies, and Anakin crashes out as the decay spreads up, destroying the mechanisms that were keeping him there. Obi-Wan runs to his side, touching his shoulder. Ahsoka is there, too, and she covertly grasps his wrist to help him let go of the Dark. He doesn't need to ask to know that his eyes turned red.

This is not something they can hide. They were fools to think they could.

"I'm fine," Anakin assures them, standing a little shakily. "It merely caught me off-guard. Let's move. And this time, no more holding back."

He gives them both a meaningful look, and Obi-Wan understands the meaning, even if he doesn't agree. They can't trust that word of this won't spread. The clones might not talk, but Obi-Wan doesn't trust Tarkin. Tarkin feels like oil in the Force, sticky and disgusting, and he's… not good. There is darkness in his soul borne from greed and a lust for power. Obi-Wan doesn't like him. And yet, Anakin is right. It's too late to play this off as nothing. It's best if they make their escape with their intel and decide their next course of action from there.

**w**

Droids try to intercept them several times along the way but stopping them is easy. Too easy. Anakin lets the clones do some of the work, but he can crush them with a flick of his wrist. Ahsoka is focusing on keeping a bubble of Light around them, protecting them and feeding them strength. Obi-Wan is focusing on destroying. It's what he's good at, after all, and there is no way for them to play off the way that he destroyed a durasteel wall with a mere touch. They need to survive, right now, and protect the people in their care. They can deal with the fallout after everyone is safe.

Artoo meets up with them along the way, and Anakin calls in the shuttle for an evac as they make it to the landing platform.

But more droids are coming, lots of them, coming at them from all sides. These aren't just battle droids anymore. Some are assassin droids and crab droids, too, and those are harder for the clones to destroy. But not for him. But when he's trying to protect so many, it's… harder. He's afraid of going too far, of hurting someone by accident.

The shuttle swoops down toward the platform, and the cannons open fire. Anakin sees it in his mind's eye, the blasts catching the ship and blowing it up, leaving them stranded here… and taking the life of the pilot aboard.

No.

Not if he has a say in the matter.

Anakin spins, turning his focus to the cannons and the laser blasts firing from them. He catches them all midair with but a thought, holding out his hands. Once, this would have been a strain on him, but not now. Now, it's just as natural to him as breathing. "Get on the ship!" he yells to the others, rousing them from their momentary shock. This is hardly the first time he's displayed such power, but never quite so obviously, and it's still taking everyone by surprise.

He deflects some of the blasts back to the droids, so he doesn't have to contain so much raw energy, sending it back at the cannons, too, to destroy them. An explosion shakes the ground, sending Ahsoka stumbling, but it's not her he's worried about.

Rex turns to cover for her – because of course, he does, she's their kid – and a blaster bolt hits him square in the chest.

Ahsoka screams as he goes down, and Anakin feels raw, numb horror and denial crash into him with the force of a speeder. His body lights up with power, aqua mist swirling around him as he reduces every single droid and cannon in the vicinity to scrap metal with a flick of his hand.

"Go!" he shouts to the clones who have frozen, staring at him with a mix of shock and awe, hurrying to Rex's side, or maybe phasing there, he doesn't know. He can feel Rex fading, and he knows that his time is running out. They need to help him, if they can, but they can't do that here. They need to leave before more droids show up. If more droids show up. Anakin doesn't know if more are coming, can't think through the terror that's clawing at him.

He lifts Rex carefully, half with his arms, half with the Force, and moves for the shuttle. He doesn't remember walking there, but he must have, unless he phased again without meaning to, because the next thing he knows, he's laying Rex on the floor of the shuttle as they take off. "Stay with me," he half pleads, because he's not letting Rex die.

Rex makes a sort of strangled inhale, half cough, half gasp. "It was an honor to serve with you, General," he says, and it sounds like a goodbye.

No.

No.

"Ahsoka!" he calls, and she's there in an instant, or maybe she was already there this whole time. Anakin isn't sure. His grasp on reality is shaky at best, right now. "You can heal him. I know you can."

"How?" she asks, panicked. "I don't – I've never done this."

"Just try," he answers. Because the Father used the Daughter's life to bring Ahsoka back. The Daughter is Light and life, and if anyone can bring Rex back from the brink, it will be Ahsoka.

"Okay," she whispers, and rests her hands on his chest, her eyes falling shut.

For a moment, nothing happens, and slowly, a glow starts up in her hands. It spreads upward, across her whole body, and it's painfully visible, even through the protective suit she's wearing. She looks like the Daughter now, in all of her radiant glory, waves of Light emanating from her, so strongly that Anakin thinks even the clones can feel it. And Tarkin, but he won't worry about him now.

The glow increases, and Anakin almost has to shut his eyes against it, but he doesn't, because what Ahsoka is doing isn't anything more than he can do; she can just do it easier, because she is the Light while he is the Gray.

Anakin can feel it as Rex's body heals, as the wound knits itself back together, as the pain decreases and vanishes entirely.

"There is something odd, in his mind," Ahsoka says, her voice echoing softly. "It is not an injury, and yet, it is abnormal. It is… wrong, somehow."

"Can you… fix it?" Anakin queries. "Heal it?"

"Yes. Should I?"

For the first time, Obi-Wan enters the conversation. "If there is something off in his mind, then yes, you should undo it, if you can. Is it deliberate? Some… sort of alternation the Kaminoans did to the clones?"

Ahsoka's brow furrows. "I don't know."

Cody moves closer. "You can check me, Commander, when you're done with Rex."

Ahsoka nods to him, and after a few more moments, she pulls back from Rex with a tired sigh. "He's okay," she assures them.

Anakin closes his eyes, offering up a silent thanks to the Force. He doesn't know what he would have done if he'd lost Rex. It would have been… intolerable. It's unthinkable. Rex has always been there and losing him… He can't even fathom it.

"Cody has it, too." Ahsoka's voice is alarmed, and she catches Echo's hand and then Fives'. Even with the helmet, Anakin can see the furrow of alarm on her face. "And so do they."

Anakin exchanges a concerned look with Obi-Wan. "It seems we have another investigation on our hands," he murmurs, glancing towards the clones. They're his boys, and it's his duty to protect them. Only, this isn't the way he ever thought he'd have to protect them. It seems they might need to dig into the clones' creation. If there is something unnatural in their minds, it's his responsibility to know about it.

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