When the Senators from the group of Two Thousand gather again, the group is far smaller. No one says so, but Lux knows it's because they don't know who all they can trust. The only ones here now are Bail, Padme, Mothma, and a few others. They all know that they can't sit back quietly while Palpatine destroys the galaxy like this.
He may claim that it's going to be democratic, but Lux saw enough of that with the Separatists. He won't fall for it again.
And then, of course, there was what happened with the Jedi. Legally, they may have committed treason and action had to be taken against them – although he still thinks he's missing something huge here, especially given that he doesn't like Palpatine in the first place – but there's no way all of them could have been guilty. It's worse that Palpatine did have the legal authority to order their mass execution, because of the emergency powers he was given throughout the war.
Joining the Republic had seemed like the right thing, but now, Lux has to wonder again. They brought Onderon right under the control of an Empire. He's not going to say so publicly, but maybe the actions the Gerreras are taking back on Onderon already is for the best. They're already rebelling, and he has to say he silently supports it, even if he can show nothing publicly.
Maybe they can take action in the Senate, but he doesn't know.
He knows something's clearly troubling Ahsoka, not as if that's a surprise. With everything that just happened, there's no way it couldn't be. She's usually a lot more open about how she's feeling, though, so he wonders for a moment – but no. If there's anything else, Ahsoka will come to him when she's ready. She always does, and she probably doesn't want the issue to be pushed.
He doesn't know where things are going to go with the Empire, but he knows whatever happens, Ahsoka is going to stand with him. She may have chosen to stand with the Chancellor instead, for now, but in truth, that was the only wise decision, given the situation. It was the legally right choice, whether she agrees with him or not. And trying to assassinate Palpatine is not right, regardless of the reason. He should be put on trial, not just outright murdered. Again, Lux doesn't know all the details.
But he knows if things come to a fight, Ahsoka will be with him, fighting back-to-back the way they did on Onderon, and Carlac before that, when their relationship truly began.
And he's sure Anakin will join them, too. It makes the conversation on how to handle the Empire just the slightest bit easier.
***
It's only a couple weeks later when they accompany Sidious to a place in the Works, something about some new project of his. Ahsoka has a distinctly wary feeling about this.
They follow Sidious through the building, to a railing that overlooks a large training room. Down below, there's about half a dozen figures with red lightsabers gathered. She doesn't recognize any of them – except one.
A much too familiar red and black Zabrak.
Maul.
What?! What's he doing here?!
"Most were slaves of the Light Side once," Sidious declares, "But now they are mine. Hunters, one and all."
"Who do they hunt?" Anakin asks, cautiously.
"Jedi, of course."
"Why is Maul here?" Ahsoka blurts without thinking.
"He was once my apprentice," Sidious replies, "His skills are still... useful, even if he is no longer worthy of that status. He is now the Grand Inquisitor."
Does that mean they're going to be working with Maul now?!
"Tano will join the ranks of the Inquisitors," he continues. Hey wait, when did she agree to that? She keeps quiet, though. It's not as if he cares for her opinion. "And you will train them, Lord Vader. They all have much to learn. Make them a blade that will cut the Jedi infection from the galaxy once and for all.
"I will begin immediately, my master," Anakin replies.
Ahsoka doesn't know how she'll ever get used to hearing him say that to Sidious. Then again, it's jarring to hear him being addressed with a Sith name too.
"Good. Most of the Jedi were killed in our glorious purge, but some few remain." She does not miss how he's pointedly looking at Anakin as he says that, obviously in reference to whatever... conversation they had about it. "The luckiest, the deadliest, the strongest. Those more duplicitous, willing to tell any lie to save their lives. You and the Inquisitors must find these Jedi, Lord Vader. You must destroy them all. For in truth, there is no greater threat to our Empire."
***
A group of Inquisitors to hunt down the Jedi.
It makes sense. Sidious is right that the Jedi are a serious threat to his Empire. (It only scares him so much because it means it will be so much easier for them to find Obi-Wan. He can only hope his former master will do what he asked him just this once and stay hidden, not try to start a rebellion or something.)
It's worse that Maul is one of the ones here. He's been going after Obi-Wan for over a year now, and now that he literally has the opportunity from Sidious, there's no way he's going to pass up on it. This is not good. But he knows there's nothing he can do except go along with what his master wants.
And... Ahsoka is going to be an Inquisitor? That's not surprising, but he doesn't like the thought of her working under Maul, instead of directly under Anakin himself. But again, there's little he can do about it. Sidious has the final say in the matter, and he dare not object. Not right now. He can push limits later, but the stakes are too high right now.
"Lord Vader," Maul greets, curtly once Sidious leaves, and he goes down to talk to the other Dark Siders. Anakin doesn't miss the clear animosity in his voice, or his obvious anger at having to address Anakin as a superior. He's not taking any pains to hide it either. "I see Lord Sidious' plan for years in turning you to his side has succeeded," he hisses.
The comment shouldn't sting so much. He already knew that, all these years, what Palpatine really wanted was to make him a Sith. But... it means their entire relationship was nothing more than a front. Was any of it real? He can't handle the thought that it might not have been, but he can't entirely deny what it seems like, either.
"I saw the true nature of the Force," Anakin replies evasively. The Dark Side does fill him with a power he never before knew he could have. Maybe it will finally make him strong enough to protect everyone in his family. That's the one thing that always mattered above all else, after all – he is the sun-dragon. He will do whatever he must for his family. (Obi-Wan is still out there, though, and there's nothing he can do to protect him.)
"I have never seen one who isn't raised as a Sith achieve the true power of the Dark Side," Maul says, and that's definitely a pointed jab at him. He's clearly very unhappy that he's technically subservient to Anakin right now. Not that Anakin cares.
"You were raised a Sith?" Anakin asks, instead. He never really thought about it before, but he supposes it makes sense. Maul can't be older than Obi-Wan, so he must have been quite young during the Trade Federation Blockade. It would make the most sense if he was raised a Sith. What would that even be like? Anakin hasn't seen much of Sidious but he's... nothing like what he always thought Palpatine was. He can't imagine actually being raised by him.
"I was," Maul confirms, "Here in this building."
"... you lived here?" The Sith apprentice was also living right on Coruscant, and the Jedi were none the wiser?
"Yes. And the Jedi were too weak to sense it." Anakin... can't entirely disagree with that statement.
He has little interest in working with Maul, but he's not being given that choice, so they might as well at least be... civilized. He hasn't forgotten how he killed Qui-Gon, and how he hunted Obi-Wan for the past year – and killed Satine – but he'll have to... tolerate him for now. Especially since it seems Maul is more competent than any of the Inquisitors, or he wouldn't be their leader.
Anakin ends the small talk there, because they need to get on with training and preparing the others.
He wins the first time he fights against Maul, and it makes him really wish he'd just gone with Obi-Wan in the past when his former master had gone after him. The Sith looks none too happy about Anakin winning against him, but he thinks it gains him a very grudging shred of respect... Not that he cares for any from him, but still.
Except for the missions that Sidious occasionally gives him – he really wishes he was sent with Ahsoka more often, but not everything is under his control – he spends much of his time training with them. Or whatever time he can, back with his family.
The rest of it, he's with Sidious. The Sith Master is unsurprisingly very busy, but he occasionally makes time to spend with him – just as he always did as Palpatine – except this time, it's to train him more in the ways of the Sith.
Sith training is far from easy. It's much more extreme than anything Jedi training was, and he tries not to be thrown into a near panic attack the occasional times he's hit with a blast of lightning. Sidious is only doing it to "help him learn" not to outright hurt him the way Dooku always did, but still. It's only a blatant reminder of the massive power difference between them.
Being around him never gives the same feeling of acceptance and security that it always used to, even if he still finds it surprisingly easy to talk to him, or maybe it's just that Sidious still encourages it so much. He's learning more and more, though, and becoming more powerful, and that's... a good thing. The stronger he is, the more he'll be able to protect his family.
He can only hope this is going to be enough.
***
Ahsoka thought the first few weeks were bad, but this is even worse.
She's been labeled as the "second sister." All of them go by number designations, perhaps a part of leaving their former identity behind? Is that what all this is supposed to be? Will she be expected to do the same? Actually, that's not really a question. She knows she will be. Maybe in some ways that's almost... better, because she isn't the Ahsoka she used to be anymore, and she'd almost prefer it if these people didn't address her as such.
But what she really despises is her new lightsaber. It's double bladed with the most horrific hilt in the history of lightsaber creation. Seriously, how is anyone supposed to fight with these stupid things?! And she has no experience with using a double-bladed lightsaber like this. She's best at using two, and this is a totally new form entirely.
How is she supposed to defeat anybody like this? Or is that the point?
She doesn't think the lightsaber is any less clumsy for any of the others, which makes her wonder, for a moment, if the purpose of this isn't to make sure they'd never be able to fight properly against Sidious if they decided to rebel. The only people who have proper lightsabers are Anakin and Maul.
And she hates when she has to train with Maul, because she knows she'd be able to do so much better if she had her old lightsabers. It already feels like he's coming this close to killing her as is.
She prefers to just avoid all of the Inquisitors entirely as much as she can. This is definitely the most awkward and uncomfortable situation Ahsoka's been in for a long time – except for being forced to work around Sidious all the time. Even being with Ventress wasn't nearly this bad. She doesn't know these people, but they all betrayed the Jedi. (Other than Maul, but she thinks she wants to be around him even less.) Not that she didn't also betray the Jedi, but it feels.... different for some reason.
They have the least productive working environment possible, and she wonders how they're expected to do anything properly like this. Not that she minds giving Sidious a hard time, but still.
This is just giving her another reason why she wants to rebel against him, though she's careful not to think about it when anyone is around.
The First Brother – a Pau'an and former Temple Guard – gets on her nerves the most. He's unbearably arrogant and seems to despite nothing more than that he's not the Grand Inquisitor anymore – apparently he used to be? He often acts as though he's intentionally trying to undermine Maul, in some lame hope of gaining Sidious' favors so he can be reappointed to his former position.
At first Ahsoka may have felt similar spite towards Maul, but at this point, she thinks she hates the Pau'an far more. She hates going on missions with all of them – she can never be sure when they'll abandon her or stab her in the back or make her mission fail because they're too focused on fighting amongst themselves – but he's the worst.
And the one thing she really has been noticing is that Maul does not like Sidious at all. He's only loyal for a similar reason that they are – out of little other choice.
And that makes her wonder.
They need help if they'll do anything against Sidious, and even if they can't trust him, maybe... maybe they could get him as a tentative frenemy.
***
With each passing day, Ahsoka knows she's slipping further and further into the Dark Side. Before she could at least occasionally feel a calling of the Light, even if she could never bring herself to reach for it. Now... she doesn't even feel that pull she used to anymore. (Or maybe she's too afraid to. It will mean confronting everything she's done, and she's not sure she would be able to handle that.) Now she knows what the Jedi mean when they say that once someone starts down the path to the Dark Side, it will dominate them forever.
It gives her power she never before had, and she would never give that up. She feels more whole, complete than she used to when she tried to let go of her feelings. It feels like she can finally be herself, without any of the constraints of the Jedi holding her back. (But it comes at a cost that she only spends more and more time trying to hide from.)
She doesn't like how much it's changing Anakin either, but there's nothing either of them can do to stop it. They made this choice. They can't walk away from it. More and more, she knows they need to kill Sidious, and then, Anakin will be the Sith Master. Then, they can make choices of their own, instead of following everything Sidious wants. Even with him gone, she wouldn't let go of the Dark Side (why would she?) but she wouldn't have to keep doing things that she knows aren't right.
Usually she tries to let go of the Dark Side after leaving her training for the day and going back to Padme's apartment or the Senate, letting her eyes turn blue again, but it's becoming increasingly difficult. At first, she only had to hold onto how much she cared for Anakin and the rest of her family and it would be... fairly easy, but now, doing that is becoming increasingly difficult. (It reminds her of why she embraced the Dark Side in the first place, of all the people she killed so she could have this and staying completely immersed in the Dark Side is easier. That way she doesn't have to worry about what Padme or Lux would think either, if they knew.)
Padme frowns the moment she steps into the room. "Ahsoka? Your eyes..."
Right. Of course, she would notice it immediately. This was not supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to find out, but Ahsoka knew she would eventually. "I know," she replies quietly, turning away. If she was still clinging the slightest amount to the Light, she may have felt a surge of guilt and shame at having to explain any of this to Padme, but she drowns out any such feelings. This is what she has to do. It is.
"What's... happening?"
"The Force," she replies, after a moment.
"What do you mean? How does using the Force do that?"
She clenches a hand but turns back to face her. "The Dark Side," she answers, simply.
Padme stills. "Ahsoka, what's going on?" she demands finally, "I know you've been... different recently. And what do you mean 'the Dark Side'? I don't know anything about the Force, but I know the Jedi always warn against using it."
She has to explain this, or at least a little of it. "The Jedi are considered traitors," Ahsoka replies, "But it's more than that. Any Force user who doesn't use the Dark Side and ascribe to the Empire is... now against the law."
Her frown only deepens. "That isn't right. They can't make regulations like that. And this... this is how you and Anakin..."
"We had to," Ahsoka interjects, "It was the only way. If we didn't, all of us would have been declared traitors." And they had to for her, and for Luke and Leia, but she doesn't add that.
"You should have told me," she replies, with no small measure of unhappiness in her voice. "I've heard rumors about... Inquisitors to hunt down Jedi. Are you a part of that?"
Ahsoka refuses to look away, even if she suddenly wants to. "We have to," she replies, evenly, "Just like you can't outright speak against the Empire."
Padme sighs quietly. "You should have told me about this," she repeats, "You and Anakin both. You shouldn't be in a position like this."
"There's nothing you can do," Ahsoka responds, "As long as – things are like this, this is how it will be." She still doesn't know the extent of what they've done, and Ahsoka can only be glad for that.
"Don't keep something like this a secret from me again," Padme warns, looking very unhappy.
"I won't but... I wasn't ready to talk about it. Anakin either."
"I... can understand," she concedes, "But had you mentioned something earlier, perhaps we could have done something about it."
"There is nothing you can do," Ahsoka replies sharply, "Not without getting you killed. Sidious is too powerful. He destroyed all the Jedi. Do you really think we would be enough to do anything?"
She didn't mean to yell, but it seems to get the point across anyway. "What are they having you do?" Padme asks, almost warily.
"Deal with rebels. Look for surviving Jedi," Ahsoka answers, shortly.
"What... about Obi-Wan?"
"He knows he needs to hide," she replies, "We can only hope he does." And she can only hope no one knows what they're talking about here.
Padme shakes her head. "Neither of you should be in this position. Can you just... leave?"
"Not without being declared traitors. Like this, maybe our positions could be advantageous... eventually." She won't hint at anything more of a rebel alliance than she is already. Padme knows. They all know, but no one talks about it.
Padme nods, though she still looks unhappy. "I suppose you are right," she concedes, "But this is still wrong. I wish you weren't in this position."
Ahsoka moves past her, turning to stare out the window. "Me too."
Anakin gets back before long, and Ahsoka makes herself scarce as he and Padme have a talk about all of this. She can tell Padme's clearly extremely unhappy, but she can only hope that her explanation from earlier will be enough. She does have the right to be upset but yelling at Anakin about it won't help. It will only make him more depressed. Ahsoka finally finishes putting Luke and Leia to bed – she can't imagine a world without them, and for that alone, she can't say she wishes they'd made a different decision even if maybe she also does – before she slips back out, going to join her... parents.
Things between Anakin and Padme seem settled now, although there's a certain tension about Anakin that he didn't have earlier. Ahsoka reaches over, taking his hand, which he immediately squeezes back. A silent promise, that she's going to stand with him no matter what, and she knows he feels the same.
It's still a little early for bed, so the three move to sit outside on the balcony. She used to love coming out here after first moving into Padme's apartment, and she's abruptly reminded of all those months she was here only with her mother, wondering when Anakin would ever be back, if he was okay out there without her at his side.
Anakin sits between them, but Ahsoka notices that Padme also has a certain, definitely unhappy air about her, even if she's not outwardly showing it.
For a fleeting moment, Ahsoka wishes again that things could be like they used to be with her parents, before all of this changed, because of Sidious. But nothing can ever be again. Maybe it can get better, but that won't happen until Sidious is dead. She looks up, staring at the stars overhead, seeing if she can pick out any constellations. There's so many lights on Coruscant it's hard. She tries to let herself find a moment of peace in that, the same way she used to stare up at the stars alongside Anakin on the battlefield, but she can't seem to find that peace. Not anymore.
She wonders when she ever will again. Or if.
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