"Master, did you hear me? They are coming."

He looked down at and frowned. "Padawan, calm yourself-"

That caused the messenger to smile a bit. "I'm a knight, master." He pointed to where his padawan braid should have been. "See? Not even a stub."

"…no," he said with a chuckle. It was a deep sound, rumbling from his chest, and yet oddly light to his ears. How often had his laughter been taunting, mocking, filled with dark delight at the failure of others? So much so that the sound of a simple chuckle over an amusing mistake startled him almost as much as the sight of the supposed knight before him. And it was supposed because as he looked at the young one he couldn't help but shake his head. "Are you quite sure? Because I believe you are not a knight yet. Someday, perhaps…"

"I assure you I am!" The other Jedi thankfully took no offense to his comment.

"You look like you belong in a youngling class… or a crèche."

"Maybe you're just getting old, Master." The knight smiled at that only for it to fall as he looked ahead. "They are coming… we have to be ready."

"Who is coming?" he asked, trying to remember why they were there, what they were supposed to do, who they were fighting-

And then he heard it.

It was a sound he would never forget. No matter how long he lived he knew he'd never forget it.

The blasts of a Mandalorian jet pack.

"No…" Yan Dooku whispered, looking about at the gathered Jedi. "No… this… not again… we can't-"

"Cut them down!" someone shouted and even though he knew no one had shouted those words before Yan could only watch as the gathered Jedi ignited their lightsabers and rushed forward, calling upon the Force to attack the Mandalorians that had just landed.

"Stop!" he screamed, chasing after them. "They aren't the ones we want! It was a set up! A trick! We were given the wrong information!"

His pleas fell on deaf ears. The Jedi began to attack the Mandalorians. Many knights fell. The young one he had been talking to. Old veterans who had said this would be their last mission before they retired to a life of quiet peace and reflection in the temple. Knights in their prime and newly minted masters. But… for every Jedi that fell three Mandalorians died, cut down viciously as the Jedi moved to avenge the fallen and stop the killers who hadn't been killers at all.

Yan rushed towards one master who wouldn't stop hacking away at a corpse, grabbing him by the shoulder and giving him a hard shake. "What are you doing? He is dead!"

"Why do you care?" Obi Wan Kenobi asked with venom in his voice. "That never stopped you before." His eyes blazed yellow and thrusting out his hand he sent Force Lightning into Yan's body, making him scream in agony. "The noble Dooku!" his grandpadawan taunted. "Mourning the Mandalorians he killed, talking of how the Jedi lost their way… and then sending out armies of droids to slaughter millions. Turning innocent beings into Dark Apprentices. Admit it… Tyrannus… you only wish you had killed MORE!"

Yan was flung down to the ground, body twitching, and when he turned he saw a group of Mandalorians… all with the faces of his own dead padawans.

Count Dooku's eyes opened once more and he took several deep breaths. He was in his room, the fine silk sheets and his expensive pajamas soaked with sweat so that they clung to his skin. He grumbled in frustration; not the kind that could fuel his power, making him strong enough to do what he never could as a Jedi. Just… frustration. The annoying kind. There was a reason why Sith didn't go around stubbing their toes or hitting their funny bones.

"Count Dooku?" a protocol droid asked, shuffling into the room. "Are you well?"

"I'm fine," he grunted, slowly shifting himself up.

"Would you like me to change the sheets?"

He considered that before deciding… no. While he hated the feeling of everything sticking to him the act of getting up, changing his clothes, and waiting for the droid to put new sheets on would only wake him up all the more. And he had a busy day ahead of him.

"No, thank you," he said. He knew many felt there was no need to be polite with droids but he'd never seen the harm in it. He was polite with his enemies for the exact same reason.

"Perhaps something to help you get back to sleep? It is important for you to be well rested. It is said that certain teas can encourage pleasant dreams-"

"There is no need, Sixtee. Go back to recharging."

"Yes Count," the droid said, shuffling out of the room and leaving Dooku sitting on his bed, propped up with pillows.

Pleasant dreams.

Sith did not have pleasant dreams.

He settled back down, deciding that he would attempt to fall asleep again and if that failed he would move to some light reading. He had awoken plenty of times ever since he had Fa… since he had decided to open himself up to the full power of the Force (he hated the term 'Fallen'… such a negative term; he preferred awakened but considering he was trying to get back to sleep…). But he knew that soft thoughs would not await him when he finally drifted to sleep. Sith did not have pleasant dreams. He could almost hear his master cackling at the thought, declaring such a notion to be foolish.

'A Sith does not have time for such weak things. They are always striving for more… dreams are for the weak that will never gain what they desire.'

Though that didn't explain why he couldn't just sleep without dreams… why he had to suffer through nightmares over and over again.

"What a lonely existence it must be that you can't even find comfort and solace in yourself."

Dooku's eyes opened up and he snapped his head to his right, staring at the painfully familiar figure sitting near his bed.

"You certainly can't find peace with others-"

Dooku thrust out his hand, sending out bolts of Force Lightning at the intruder.

"I don't know what kind of trick this is," Dooku warned, "but it was a sad and poorly thought out one. Know that you will be punished greatly for it and then I will hunt down those that…"

He trailed off.

The intruder was still sitting there. They hadn't even flinched. The only damage his attack had done was burn the chair he was sitting in.

"Come now, my master," the intruder said with a teasing smile, "I am the first friendly face you've seen in nearly a decade and that is how you react?" He shook his head, clicking his tongue. "For shame."

"You… are not here," Dooku declared, getting out of bed.

"I most certainly am."

"No, you are not." He looked around. "What is this, a hologram? A projection?"

"You know you shield everything in your rooms to prevent such things. I personally think you are being far too paranoid but then again I am not a Sith Lord." He paused. "I was only killed by one those master you now bow to."

"And that is proof you aren't here."

"I don't see how."

"Because Qui Gon is dead!"

The Intruder… Qui Gon… merely looked down at himself. "And yet… here I am, my master." He smiled that infuriating smile of his, the one Dooku remembered his padawan flashing whenever he had decided to utterly ignore him and his orders and do whatever he wanted. It honestly made Dooku pause and consider, for a moment, that Qui Gon really was there.

"You're dead," he repeated.

"The Sith are always searching for a means to continue on after death," Qui Gon stated. "Unless I am wrong?" Dooku didn't say a word and Qui Gon continued. "Is it so hard to believe that it truly exists? That there is a way for one to not lose themselves within the Force and retain their identity?"

Dooku almost asked him if that's what he did before feeling utterly foolish. First because clearly if he was there then that is what he had done. And second because Qui Gon was dead and not sitting there talking with him.

"Leave me be," Dooku declared, turning away from the blue-tinted figure. "I am in no mood to talk to you."

"That's not what you said on Naboo," Qui Gon said and Dooku froze up. "Even though my ashes had been taken back to the Temple to be interned there you still wished to visit the funeral pyre. Queen Amidala allowed it, did she not?"

"She did…" Dooku found himself whispering, unable to bring himself to turn and face the intruder. He had always remembered that kindness… it was why when his Master had insisted she die to further their goals he had, for the first time, truly stopped and considered disobeying him. He had caused pain to so many others but he had never forgotten the young Queen and her soft offer to accompany him to the pyre and her acceptance when he asked to be left alone.

"You tried to meditate but you couldn't. Because doing so would cause you to feel our broken bond and it would finally be confirmed that I was gone. And you wished we had talked one last time, even if it was just to hear me mock you for cutting your hair-"

Dooku twisted around and stared at Qui Gon. No one knew that. No one. He hadn't spoken the words aloud… he's wept them into the Force itself.

"Qui Gon…" Dooku whispered.

"Hello Master Yan," his padawan said with a smile.

"…how?"

"Very easily yet also the most difficult thing I've ever done. That is why it took me over ten years to complete it. And also why no Sith will be able to ever achieve it. They can create ghosts that haunt temples and ruins and watch the actions of the living… but they will always be prisoners." He paused. "And before you say a word it is something Jedi can't do either. At least the Jedi as they are now. I always agreed with you on that, even if we differed in opinion on what actions to take to correct it."

"You always wanted to fight the system… I tried to change it from within…" he pushed himself up so he was sitting once more. "I was wrong."

"As was I," Qui Gon said. "Jedi… Sith… we are all dealing in absolutes and don't even realize it."

"You… said this was easy yet hard…"

Qui Gon nodded. "For one who embraced the Light upon their death it is the strongest beacon calling you home. I never knew my family but I imagine it was the same feeling a child has when they are on the last leg of a journey that will let them see their parents again. It calls to you… wraps you up and soothes your worries away." He let out a content sigh. "Even now I can feel the call."

"And yet you have resisted it."

Qui Gon nodded. "That is the key. To retain your sense of self you have to desire it not for yourself in any way. It can't be because of unfinished business or a desire for justice or anything like that. Instead it has to be wholly for others." He looked past Dooku and smiled sadly. "Tahl is there. I know they say that when you join the force you completely lose who you were but I don't think it's like that. I think it means you join with all others, becoming more than yourself. You don't lose yourself… you gain everyone else. We would be together at last, joined in ways that I can't even dream of… but I remain."

"For your padawan."

"Yes," Qui Gon said before shooting him an annoyed look. "You couldn't have merely kept him locked up? That arena was tasteless."

"It wasn't my choice," Dooku admitted. "I told Skywalker and the Senator that as well. Gunray desired them dead and wanted a show-"

"And so the man that left the Jedi because he was tired of senseless slaughter caused by those from on high not caring decided to allow senseless slaughter-"

"Enough," Dooku said, cutting him off. "Why are you here, Qui Gon? Are you here to plead with me to stop all this?"

Qui Gon smiled at that. "When have I ever been able to get you to listen to me, Master?"

"Hmmm… I suppose knowing that proves you are Qui Gon."

"I suppose it does." His former padawan folded his arms over his chest. "While I would delight in you returning to the light I understand that you must go where the Force takes you." He paused. "I didn't understand that with Xanatos… things could have been so different if I had only stopped and seen beyond the labels we place upon ourselves. Light… Dark… we all have such things. It is foolish to believe that we are all one or the other."

"A surprising statement," Dooku admitted.

"Death makes one see the world differently," Qui Gon admitted.

"Then if you are not here to uselessly plead for me to turn off the path I am going down… why have you come? Why use a power that has never been recorded before… and come to see me of all people?"

"To merely pose two questions: What is the plan?"

"Pardon?"

"What is your plan? What do you seek to gain from all this?" Qui Gon held out his hands. "For someone who left the Jedi because he was disgusted by the Council allowing tragedy to happen you have been rather eager to cause such tragedy to occur by your word. How does it go, that old proverb… he who slaves Rancors...?"

Dooku shot him a dark look. "Needed losses. I do not enjoy them."

"A sith loves death. It feeds them."

"…yes," Dooku admitted. "But I only use the ways of the Sith to further my goal."

"And that is?"

"The galaxy is corrupt," Dooku stated. "You know that… your padawan knows that. It is why I had hoped Obi Wan would join with me. I still hope he will see the wisdom in my actions. The only way to correct the path we find ourselves on is to shake the Republic out of is lethargic slumber. This war… it is a thunderbolt to all of existence. Nothing will ever be the same. My Master will destroy the rot that exists… already the Trade Federation and the Banking Clans and the Techno Union have found themselves devastated by war. Those that were willing it and allowed horrors to occur because it didn't affect them now taste the ashes in their mouth. This war will end but the people will never forget. The same with the Jedi. They have realized that we can not be the passive weapons of the Senate… we must be proactive. We were given access to the Force to rule… to shepherd the nerfs to their pens for their own safety. Ages ago the Jedi led the Republic. The Chancellor was a Jedi. Senators were selected first and foremost if they could tap into the Force. That time must come again. But we can't be weak… we can't mute ourselves to the power that is available to us. To use only the Light is like fighting with a single leg." He smiled. "Soon Skywalker will Fall… and when he does the Chosen One will bring balance to the Force. Light and Dark blended into one. He will be the Commander of our new Forces. Dark Jedi not bond by a Code that prevents us from saving the Galaxy. The Grand… Inquisitor… my master has decided he will be."

"Hmmm," Qui Gon said.

"What was your second question?"

"Oh… a trifle," Qui Gon said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Don't do that," Dooku warned him. "That is Yoda talking and neither of us wish to discuss that troll."

"True," Qui Gon admitted. "Very well… what is your master's plan?"

Dooku stared at him, waiting.

"It wasn't a difficult question."

"I… just told you."

"You told me your plan," Qui Gon said. "Not your master's."

"My Master's plan is my plan."

"Is it?" Qui Gon asked. "Palpatine-" Dooku winced at Qui Gon saying his Master's true name so casually, "-has been focused on Anakin since he first met him."

"No different than you," Dooku pointed out.

Qui Gon gave a shrug, accepting that point. "You are an… interesting choice to be his apprentice."

"Why?" Dooku asked. "I am strong with the Force. Willing to listen to his ideas where other Jedi would have turned him away or tried to slay him needlessly. And I have trained myself to be a true warrior while so many other Jedi saw the art of the lightsaber as an outdated thing, little more than ritual. It is why it has been so hard for the Jedi to defeat my troops… and it has allowed them to remember what they once were."

"Yes." Qui Gon smirked. "And I suppose you being rich, the leader of an entire planet, and having ties to several figures needed for his plan didn't influence him at all." Dooku opened his mouth but Qui Gon kept talking. "Though I suppose he does deserve some credit… there are few Sith Lords that would choose an Apprentice 20 years their senior." Qui Gon glanced at him. "If fact I can't think of a single one."

"You do not know the history of the Order of Bane."

"No, of course not," Qui Gon said. "I am sure there are records of many Sith who chose apprentices who had a far greater chance of dying of old age before they could complete their training."

Dooku glared at him. "I have another 40 years at least."

"Yes… but none of those will be in your prime. Though… how odd is it that before you Palpatine selected that young Zabrak and you a young Dathomirian. Why not select someone far older… older than you… like your master?"

"What are you-"

"I think you know exactly what I am suggesting, Master," Qui Gon said sadly. "And if you can not open your eyes to it…" He stood up for the first time since appearing and moved to look out the window. "That wasn't a dream, by the way."

"Pardon?" Dooku said tersely, put on edge by what Qui Gon had suggested.

"What you saw… you on Galidraan, unable to stop the Battle." Qui Gon finally turned towards him. "Those who embrace the light more than the dark… their reward is to join with the Force. But for the Sith? For them awaits something far worse. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. They aren't pretty words, my master, or a mantra the Jedi use to justify releasing their emotions… they are a warning of what awaits you. In death… you will know only suffering… forever trapped on Galidraan."

There was a bright flash of light, so intense Dooku closed his eyes…

…and when he opened them again he wondered if it wasn't just him awakening once more from yet another dream.

He wanted to believe that. To push aside all he had heard and cast it as merely his sleep addled brain playing tricks on him.

And yet…

Dooku rose and took hold of the communicator. It was one that could only reach a single person and he had spent much of his own money, a good half of it purely to direct third and fourth and even fifth parties to see it made, so that only he and one other knew of its existence.

He held it, rubbing his finger along its surface, before finally pressed the button.

"Asajj."

She answered without a second's hesitation. "Yes my Master?"

"Find the most skilled Slicer you can. I don't need them to be part of the Separatists… they can be neutral or even Republic. All that matters is that they are the best."

"It will be done, my Master," Asajj asked. "And… when I do?"

"Tell them I have a job for them."

"And that is?"

"Hacking the database of Chancellor Sheev Palpatine."