Sidious steps into the antechamber of his office, concern plastered on his face as he looks Anakin up and down. Anakin is careful to keep his expression grim, gently projecting a feigned depression into his Force signature. Everything is done discreetly, but he doesn't know if it will be nearly enough to keep Palpatine fooled for long, if at all. "Chancellor," Anakin bows, "I'm glad you were able to meet with me."
Looking at the face of the man who has long been like a mentor to him, Anakin finds that he's unable to entirely think of him as a Sith. Even now, even after knowing the truth, he still cares about Palpatine. He shouldn't. He knows that. But he does, and he doesn't know how to wish away those feelings. He doesn't think he even can. Hopefully this wasn't a mistake. Dooku is right about him being vulnerable, about being unable to trust his judgement. He can't trust himself not to say or do something stupid. Palpatine has long been able to read him, and he has to be at least somewhat suspicious about what's been going on.
"My boy, I'll always make time for you," the Chancellor assures him. He moves closer, but Anakin can now see something almost calculating in the depths of his gaze. He's suspicious. He might even know why Anakin is here, and that thought arouses no small measure of fear which Anakin ruthlessly crushes. "It is wonderful to see you alive after what I heard."
"I'm – I'm sorry for deceiving you." Anakin forces himself to say. The words feel like a lie. They feel bitter in his mouth. Slowly he begins to feel detached from his surroundings, as if he's viewing everything from a distance. It shouldn't be this hard to fit into the role he's long played.
"Did the Council ask you to?" Palpatine queries with a grandfatherly concern. He doesn't get any closer, Anakin notices distantly. He stays just far enough away to be beyond Anakin's reach which is odd in and of itself.
Anakin mutely shakes his head. "I – I needed to sort some things out, and it was even harder when I learned the truth about – about the Hardeen mission." He swallows, inhaling slowly to bolster himself, pain and helplessness rushing over him as he lets himself remember.
"I was not aware of any tension between you and the Council," points out Palpatine, frowning. Anakin can see the dark gleam in his eyes. He's enjoying this conversation. He turns, shifting towards his office in invitation, and Anakin falls in step next to him as they enter the smaller room, the Chancellor walking to sit at his desk.
Anakin forces himself to nod, before staring down at the floor. "I'm upset over how they made me think Obi-Wan was dead," he admits. "I – it's hard to grasp how they could have done such a thing to me, and I – I don't understand why." He doesn't have to fake his rising frustration. He is still upset at the Council for their actions, even if he's trying to forgive Obi-Wan.
"I was surprised too," agrees Palpatine, nodding sympathetically. "They really need to trust you more. Do you see now how little trust they have for you?"
"Yes," nods Anakin, "I just – I don't know what to do or who to trust anymore." He looks at Palpatine with what he hopes is a pleading expression. "I'm so worried about Obi-Wan, but what he did – it – it hurts so much. I can't just forgive him, even though the Jedi would say I should. I – It's not something I can forget so easily." Without meaning to, he's saying more than he'd initially intended. It's so easy for him to fall back into old habits, confessing to Palpatine – Sidious – his deepest fears and insecurities.
"The Jedi don't really understand you," suggests Palpatine, "Maybe you simply aren't meant to be a Jedi." Anakin looks up at him in shock, seeing the silent challenge in the elder man's eyes. He knows, Anakin realizes with a chill. He knows where Anakin has been, what he's been doing. Well, that's not terribly surprising. Right after Anakin disappears and is allegedly dead, Dooku turns up with a new Dark Side apprentice. It wouldn't take a genius to connect the two, especially for someone who knows Anakin so well.
"I've spent my whole life working towards being a Jedi, towards being the best Jedi," Anakin replies, shaking his head. "I've always wanted to be one..." He doesn't add the rest. He doesn't add how he's questioning himself now, how he's questioning if he would fit in better as a Sith.
"I know," agrees Palpatine, his expression becoming at once thoughtful and caring, "But is it not possible that the Jedi are mistaken? They don't understand your emotions, and Anakin, all sapient beings have emotions. It's not right to deny part of your humanity for an Order that doesn't even trust you."
More than anything, Anakin wants to kill him right then and there. He's talking so smoothly, planting all sorts of suggestions. It's no wonder he was slowly turning to the Dark Side without even realizing it. He was never getting guidance from this man. It was always about manipulation. What Sidious wants. What Sidious needs. It's purely selfish. And it hurts, because Palpatine has always seemed to understand him more than anyone. He needed understanding and acceptance when he was younger, something which Obi-Wan never gave him, and he got it from the Chancellor. Except it was all a lie.
"Maybe you're right," Anakin mumbles finally, "But I don't know where I would go."
"You've always wanted something more significant than the life of a Jedi," Palpatine notes, "Something where you actually matter. Something where you can make a difference. I think that perhaps the Jedi are mistaken about more than one issue. I still trust them to help the Republic, but as the war goes on, I must confess I'm having doubts about their loyalties." He rises from his desk, pacing to the window and looking out for a moment, before turning back towards Anakin.
"Surely, you're wrong," protests Anakin, following him. "The Jedi would never betray the Republic!" Except he doesn't know that for certain.
"They would not tell you even if they intended to," demurs Palpatine, "You're not like the rest of them. You know this is true."
"I – yes, I suppose," Anakin replies slowly. He feels as if he's being lulled into a sense – false sense – of security, as if something is whispering to him to trust the Chancellor, to tell him everything. No. Wait. That's... not right. That is a new development. He doesn't remember having felt anything of that nature in the past. He fights against it, though he quickly realizes that it's a losing battle. "I touched the Dark Side," he blurts out in an attempt to make Palpatine stop doing whatever he's doing. "After – after I thought Obi-Wan... you know."
The surprise and shock that flit across the Chancellor's face are real, the Force tells Anakin as much. Maybe he shouldn't have said it, but he doesn't know how else to distract and manipulate the manipulator. "I assume the Jedi Council is unaware," Palpatine states.
"I – yes, I didn't tell anyone," he admits, and it's the truth. He didn't. Obi-Wan figured it out, and Dooku told him the rest. Maybe he has to pretend to give in to succeed. He thinks he might be able to sense Obi-Wan and Dooku approaching, but his mind is too chaotic right now for him to focus properly. "It – it felt like – like I was coming home. It felt right." It's the first time he's really voiced those thoughts, at least like that, and the truth hanging in the air like that terrifies him far more than he cares to admit.
"Yes, you are fulfilling your destiny, Anakin," says Palpatine – no, Sidious, turning entirely to face Anakin. His voice is different somehow, and it's as if he's trying to compel Anakin to submit to him through sheer willpower. "Embrace the Dark Side and join me." The whispers grow louder, bearing down on Anakin, urging him to accept, to agree with what Palpatine wants, because he's right. He knows what he's doing and fighting him will only prolong the inevitable; it will only make everything so much harder unnecessarily.
His vision nearly whites out, and he sways on his feet, trying in vain to formulate words as the Dark Side crashes down onto him. It feels wrong, but Anakin doesn't have the presence of mind to understand why. He's your master, whispers an unseen voice. Accept him. No. No, that's not right. He knows it's not right. But... why...?
"Pledge yourself to me," urges Sidious in a hushed voice, tone drawing Anakin deeper into whatever spell is binding him. Rational thought deserts him, and he gives in, kneeling before the Sith Master in front of him.
***
Obi-Wan shifts in his crouched position inside the ventilation shaft, silently cursing the necessity of hiding in such a cramped place, especially so close to Dooku. He leans closer to the grate below him – the one which they'd managed to get to after being forced to painstakingly disconnect the wires for an alarm, something which took at least ten minutes – trying to get a feel for who is in the communication center. While he can hear the droid activity, he can sense a few lifeforms, one of who is... Ahsoka?!
What is she doing here? This was never part of the plan. What will they do now that she's here? They can't really attack her, but they don't have the time for a lengthy explanation, especially if she starts being unreasonable. She might accept Obi-Wan's words and presence, but she probably won't be as generous to Dooku. He exhales quietly and shakes the worries from mind. He knows they can trust Ahsoka. She won't betray them, at least, and she'll help them if she can. That is what worries him more than anything else.
"Ahsoka is here," he tells Dooku, in a hushed whisper.
The Count nods. "We need to move forwards," he replies.
Obi-Wan reaches out with the Force as much as he dares, using it to remove the grate from the ventilation shaft as he leaps down into the communication center with a cheerful "hello there!" Ahsoka starts in surprise, whirling around, while Dooku follows Obi-Wan down to the floor.
"Master Obi-Wan!" she splutters, eyes widening when she sees Dooku.
"Stop," Obi-Wan says, looking between Ahsoka and Rex, who is also here for some unfathomable reason. There are a few others clones in here as well, and he'll have to make the explanation short. "We don't have time to argue. Listen to me carefully. The Chancellor is Darth Sidious, and he has installed inhibitor chips in the heads of all of the clones. He will use those chips to control you." He pauses, looking at the clones, the men standing around, hands hovering near their blasters.
"Anakin has gone to distract Palpatine until we can transmit a frequency from here which will deactivate the inhibitor chips permanently unless they are reactivated on an individual basis," he explains, knowing exactly how much trust he's putting in Dooku. If the Count is lying, Obi-Wan couldn't begrudge the clones' anger at him for letting himself be deceived. But now, just as before, Obi-Wan sensed no deception or treachery on Dooku's part.
Ahsoka glances back at Rex, understanding dawning on her face. "So, that's why Anakin was trying to kill him?" she exclaims incredulously.
Obi-Wan and Dooku exchange a look. "You knew?" Obi-Wan asks, surprised.
"We figured it out," she corrects before gesturing at the computer consoles. "Go ahead. Do whatever you need to do."
"The General is crazy if he allied with Dooku," Rex mutters under his breath, loudly enough that Dooku definitely hears him. Obi-Wan is quite certain that it was intentional.
Rex rests his hands on the handles of his blasters as Dooku goes to one of the computer consoles, while Ahsoka watches warily. Obi-Wan joins the Sith, pulling up a comm channel to all clone troopers throughout the galaxy, entering his Council code to give him access. He's fortunate that his rank is high enough to give him such clearance. Dooku inserts a datachip which contains the frequency, and Obi-Wan feels the ripple in the Force as it's transmitted throughout the galaxy. Whatever they did has changed the future in a major way.
"It's done," Dooku says quietly, his relief obvious.
"Don't say anything to anyone until we've dealt with Sidious," Obi-Wan instructs the clones and Ahsoka, giving the Padawan a pointed look. "Stay here, Ahsoka."
Dooku begins entering something into the computer console, and a quick glance reveals that he's activating measures to jam all transmissions within the Senate. "Monitor this," the Count tells Ahsoka. "Make sure that no one turns it off. Sidious cannot be permitted to call for reinforcements."
She looks decidedly unhappy at accepting orders from him, but she nods mutely. "You heard him, boys," she declares, turning to the clones. "We have to do our part, and they'll do theirs."
Obi-Wan is... a bit proud of her composure, even in the face of the unexpected circumstances. At that moment, the Dark Side surges, and he nearly gasps aloud, feeling darkness flood his bond with Anakin. "Anakin..." he whispers numbly.
"I feel it too." Dooku's voice is grim. "Sidious has done something to him. We have to hurry."
Obi-Wan bolts towards the door of the communication center, knowing that they don't have time to navigate through the ventilation system, not with everything on the line like this. They'll have to trust in the Force that it will protect them. Dooku is right behind them, and they use the Force to enhance their speed, racing past whoever they encounter as they take the back staircase – which is safer and faster than the turbolifts – as fast as they can to reach the top level of the Senate building.
It feels as if it takes them forever to reach the Chancellor's office, and the tangible darkness emitting from the interior is enough to make Obi-Wan shiver. Never before has he sensed such darkness, such power, and it feels... almost inanimate for some reason. It's not Anakin – their bond is oddly blank, and Anakin seems distant somehow – and it doesn't really seem like Sidious either, for some reason.
"Locked," Dooku declares as he tries the outer door. He doesn't even hesitate, igniting his lightsaber and plunging it through the durasteel. If the doors weren't so thick, Obi-Wan might have suggested using the Force.
It takes him nearly a minute to cut a circle, and they duck through together, looking around the antechamber of the office. It's empty; Anakin and Sidious must be inside. Obi-Wan pushes past Dooku, slamming the button to open it. It slides open, and Obi-Wan freezes when his brain catches up with what he sees on the inside. Anakin is on his knees in front of Sidious, head bowed as if – as if he's submitting to him. What?!
"Anakin!" cries Obi-Wan, trying to rush forwards, but an invisible force stops him. He glares at Sidious, who smirks back at him, holding out his hand and using the Force to block them from entering. Panicked, Obi-Wan reaches out through the Force, calling out to Anakin through their bond. "Anakin, snap out of it! What is he doing to you?"
There's no response, and Anakin doesn't even move. It's as if he can't even hear them. Dooku raises his hands, throwing a Force shove at Sidious, and Obi-Wan is suddenly grateful that the Count is so good with telekinesis. The Sith Master skids backwards, his Force shield falling, and the two step into the office.
Obi-Wan can hardly feel the Light Side now; it's no more than a pinprick of light inside of him... and inside Anakin as well because he can still feel his former Padawan in the Force, though he seems oddly muted for some reason. It feels as if the Dark Side will smother them. "What's he doing?" Obi-Wan demands, looking at Dooku for answers.
His face is grim. "Sith holocron," he replies, gesturing to the desk. "He knew we were coming. This was a trap. Skywalker is too powerful to fall victim to it, but it will likely incapacitate him, thereby allowing Sidious to deal with us while Skywalker fights off the influence."
"I didn't know holocrons could do something like this," Obi-Wan responds, horrified.
"Only special ones can," Dooku replies, before he holds out a hand. The Dark Side swells around him, and his eyes turn yellow. It's an unsettling sight.
Sidious snarls, reaching out with the Force to counteract whatever his apprentice is doing. A red glowing pyramid floats into the air, light pulsing from it intermittently. Obi-Wan cautiously edges past Dooku, staying close to the wall as he tries to make his way over to Anakin. Sidious is too preoccupied to stop him, thankfully. The Force jolts, and the holocron stops glowing, flying to Dooku's hands.
Anakin's body jerks, and he inhales sharply. Obi-Wan drops down next to him, clasping his shoulder firmly. "Anakin, are you alright?" he inquires worriedly.
"What was that?" Anakin mumbles, looking up at him, gaze somewhat distant, the focus slowly returning to his bright blue eyes.
"It was a Sith holocron," Dooku answers, while Obi-Wan glares daggers into Sidious, who's expression is a mask of barely concealed rage. "Sidious was trying to incapacitate you. I shut it down, so you're welcome."
Anakin slowly rises to his feet, his presence as bright and strong in the Force as it always has been. "You lose, Chancellor," he hisses, unclipping the hilt of his lightsaber from his belt. "Surrender now. You are guilty of colluding with the Separatists and possessing an illegal artifact." Obi-Wan stands next to him, silently offering his unflinching support, despite the most recent development.
"So be it," he snarls, a tinge of yellow seeping into his eyes. "It's treason then." A lightsaber appears in his hand, red blade hissing to life.
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