Chapter 17

Plagueis went flying through the air, blasting a hole in the metal wall with a Force Push, giving him more time to lessen his acceleration as he landed with a crouch inside the mighty indent. He mentally went over what just happened a hundred times in an instant, wondering if he could have avoided that nasty little encounter:

He had disarmed Sidious briefly, forcing the Naboo-born Sith to resort to using his weakened Sith Lightning again.

Just as before, he had parted the stream around him with relative ease.

He had been closing in on his wayward apprentice, ready to put a stop to this charade.

That was about the time when the Dark Side started rushing back to them in bulk.

And Sidious had an affinity with Sith Lightning.

It had honestly taken everything he had in that moment to keep a cocoon of Force Energy around himself- not just a single barrier, but layers of barriers. It was hard to do while still adjusting to the sudden influx of power, but it was the only way he could hold an attack like that at bay when he received it at point blank range.

The end result was that he was inevitably launched into a wall at blinding speeds from the sheer power the cackling Sidious unleashed at him.

Running over everything else he could have done, he summarized that no, there wasn't much of a better option in that split second window. Dodging would have been impossible, even with his formidable speed and the growing power of the Force Lightning outpaced his own increasing ability to hold it off.

"HAHAHAHA!"

That didn't make Sidious's laughter any less grating. Why his former student insisted on that kind of laugh, he never understood. The sound alone would have made anyone that heard it suspicious of the good senator.

"Well, well, it would seems your new favored's performance has ended on a rather lackluster and anti-climactic note, Darth Plagueis," Sidious sneered with his false sympathy.

"Hmm, I suppose I should feel fortunate. Any stronger, and that attack might have actually gotten to me," Plagueis mused absently, completely ignoring the gloating as he folded his hands behind his back and calmly walked off the edge of the hole, falling to the floor and hovering above the surface for an instant before his feet made contact.

Sidious's laughter ended abruptly, his attention once more on his regrettably still-living master. And said Master's powers were fluctuating, same as his own. The Dark Side was returning to its normal state with its various adepts across the galaxy, but for right now, Coruscant was a temporary hotspot for the Dark Side. It was flooding in and out of them in waves. For the next few hours, at most, they could both likely call on much greater power than they normally did without being noticed, masked by the fading collective of the Dark Side.

Greater, but much less controllable.

"What was the point of this?" Sidious asked with a scowl. "Why aid him with this?"

Plagueis almost smiled at that, as if he found the question sad. "Your pet, Maul? He was meant to be a way of revealing to the Jedi that we have returned. Or, rather, never left. Regardless, Vader has done that far more soundly and effectively. And if I'm being truly objective, more entertainingly as well," he said, forcing a snort through his mask. "So, when he requested my assistance with making that point very, very clear to the Jedi? That the Dark Side isn't so easily swept under the rug? I couldn't resist, no more than you could bring yourself to not lend him your hold over the Dark Side."

Sidious gritted his teeth at the very true statement. "And what does this so called Darth gain from all of this?"

Plagueis raised an eyebrow. "Have you not been paying attention, Sidious?" he asked, sounding genuinely surprised, albeit slightly.

The manipulative human paused at that, realizing he was missing something. So absorbed in his battle with Plagueis, he failed to notice just what Vader was doing, where he was going.

Where he was.

"They let him into the Jedi Temple?" Sidious realized, his rage temporarily on the backburner as he savored the delicious taste of knowing that, due to whatever Vader had said or done, a Dark Sider had be begrudgingly welcomed into the Jedi Temple.

"The Sith of old have battled their way inside, and a few of our order have been invited there under our public personas, but it's truly rare for a Sith to be brought into the temple without restraints," Plagueis agreed, he and Sidious eyeing each other, both waiting to see who would attack first.

Plagueis felt Sidious's hatred grow and swell anew, yet it had no outwards target. Nor did the younger Sith show any of his disdain or rage, looking at the Muun with something approaching regret. "You never were intending to replace me," Sidious stated, not asked. His infliction might even be mistaken for sadness, if the room and its contents weren't vibrating with his wrath.

Yet, Plagueis just nodded solemnly. "It is too late to turn off that lightsaber, Sidious," he forewarned, twirling the unignited lightsabers behind his back idly.

"Oh, I am aware, Plagueis, I am aware," Sidious acknowledged, rolling his shoulders as his own sabers flew into his palms. Yet, he did not raise them or even move, merely regarding the Muun with idle interest. "I'm curious. If I win, I just go along with the plans we already made. If you emerge alive at sunrise, how well do you believe you can salvage things?"

"Depends on how the Naboo-situation plays out with reactions to your death, which may require me to wait until the next election to take the chancellorship, lest I appear too…opportunistic, shall we say? Regardless, the heinous murder of the kind, modest Senator of Naboo will surely be blamed on the Trade Federation," Plagueis laid out without even needing time to consider his answer.

"Giving you all the headway you need to push the galaxy towards a great and terrible civil war," Sidious added in with approval before scowling. "Considering the humancentrism of many worlds, you might have better luck just full-scale backing the defecting faction to inevitably win."

"I'm deeply considering it, Sidious. Now, if you're done stalling, I believe you've grabbed as much as you need," Plagueis asked condescendingly.

Sidious paused for half an instant, before snarling as he unleashed hell.

Igniting his lightsabers, Plagueis was neither surprised nor alarmed by the overwhelming amount of objects hurdling towards him at high speed. Scraps, tools, even chunks ripped off the wall or ship. Indeed, he weaved about the assault as if he were intangible, a mere ghost, closing the gap between him and Sidious rapidly. What he could not dodge, he knocked aside with a skillful and precise swing of his blade.

Just as the distance between them closed to striking distance, Sidious's snarling rage turned to twisted delight.

The Muun felt it coming before he saw it, striking to deflect it before he could be hit. His surprise, his alarm was genuine when he saw the slab of burnt metal make impact and cut through his lightsabers. Barely saving his arm or oxygen mask, he managed to spin out of the way at the last instant. Jumping back, he expected Sidious to already be upon him, but was caught off guard by said Naboo-born Sith remaining unmoved from his position. Plagueis tensed as he turned around, seeing the slab coming towards him once more. He reached out to counter the Force thrown object's momentum with his own Force powers, but was briefly dumbfounded by the Force not affecting it in the slightest.

He vaulted the projectile, causing it to impale into the rear of what had once been Sidious's escape ship while he landed on top of the craft. Plagueis took an instant to examine his hand, a gash along the back, before regarding Sidious with a curious look. "Very impressive, my former student; you truly caught me off guard. I never imagined you'd be able to secure this much of a Force-resistant metal," he admitted, raising an eyebrow as he regarded his temporarily useless lightsabers. "Sith Alchemy with Cortosis?"

"Much less than you'd imagine," Sidious confirmed vaguely, having no intention of revealing the secrets to this little display.

"I am most curious on how you can affect it with the Force when I can't. I suppose I'll have to pry it from your mind by the end of this," Plagueis decided, clenching his injured palm as if to test the feel of it.

Sidious's eye twitched as he saw and heard the metal of the ship and floor crush around the metal slab. "You always did enjoy not letting me savor my small victories," Sidious murmured, his rage dimmed by how familiar he was with situations like this with Plagueis.

"You always savor them too much," Plagueis retorted darkly. "Still, congratulations. For the first time, you have me at a disadvantage."

"For now," Sidious corrected knowingly, teeth gnawing as he resummoned his hate anew. "A shame too, as I'll have to kill you quickly."

Meanwhile

There was silence and it was loud.

The Jedi council, both those that had accompanied Windu and those that held back with Yoda, walked through the temple with only the sound of their walking.

*Kuuuuuuh Kerrr*

And the breathing of their "guest."

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, walked through the temple with the Jedi council marching just to his left, each tense and eyeing him either physically or through the Force. All except for Mace Windu, who covered his displeasure with stony stoicism and the Grandmaster himself, now riding in his hover chair. While the small Jedi was clearly unhappy, he was far more suspicious than displeased for now. Alongside them were Dooku, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan; all looking particularly grim but also possessing an air about them that could only be summarized as 'We told them this would happen.'

And far and wide, Jedi peered on from down halls, out of doors, and floors above. All in disbelief and bitterness as the Sith Lord was practically welcomed into their halls instead of repelled.

He ignored them all, taking an instant to peer out and take note of the civil war amongst the Order of Bane. Sidious wasn't dead, and clearly wasn't winning, so Plagueis was either being merciful or dragging the event out. Well, that or Sidious had created enough minor but annoying contingencies and such to stall the Muun long enough to cheat death.

Yes, actually, that sounded exactly like what Sidious would do against a superior foe he had no choice to fight. And given how limited their Force powers had to have been during the start of the confrontation-Yes, in hindsight, this was an even more likely development than he originally expected. Still, things were progressing about as well as he could hope. Big question now was what would end first: Sidious's life or this meeting.

The Temple held its breath as Vader came to an abrupt halt, the council members doing so as well with many already half way reaching towards their lightsabers.

But still, Vader paid all of them no heed, head turned to stare intently in one room. Or rather, at one child

Anakin Skywalker stood in the doorway, with many of the Clawmouse children looking in fear and amazement as Anakin regarded the Sith Lord with the last emotion any "sane" Jedi believed he should have towards te Sith:

Exasperation.

He knew that Vader was trying to get some kind of point across to the Jedi. And while they were hardly innocent in this mess, young Anakin certainly had mixed feelings about the cyborg's choice of methods.

As amusing as Vader found that reaction in some regards, his attention wasn't on his younger self at all. It was on the petrified Togruta girl that stood just behind the boy while clothing the sleeve of his shirt.

He didn't meet Ahsoka until over a decade from now in his original timeline.

For the first time since arriving in the past, Vader was truly caught off guard. Freeing his mother by accident? That was surprising, but he could understand how it happened and what it might cause. But this? This? These two meeting now was astronomical in its own right, between Anakin having only been in the temple a few hours and that he didn't even know Ahsoka was at the Temple yet by this exact date. More mindboggling was just...what did this mean? How would this change things? He could already feel something forming between his younger self and the orange skinned girl, but what?

He didn't know.

But for right now, in the present, it was hardly important.

"Enjoying your first day among the ranks of the Jedi, Skywalker?" Vader inquired idly.

"Leave the young one alo-" Oppo Rancisis started from behind the Sith Lord, only to be cut off by the boy in question.

"I'm...not sure if I am one yet, Vader," Anakin answered sheepishly.

"Is that so?" Vader mused, glancing back towards Yoda and Windu, both matching his look with hard yet curious stares.

"You're saying that timing your arrival to when we were about to return to the council was a coincidence?" Qui-Gon asked with mirthful skepticism.

"Believe as you will, Jedi," Vader retorted uncaringly before returning his gaze to the former slave boy. "We shall speak later, Skywalker."

The tone was not a command or a threat, just a simple statement of future facts. With that, he continued his walk with the council, many giving him unfavorable looks- and if not to him, then towards Anakin out of the corner of their eyes.

Ahsoka herself peeked out a little further as the children around the room glanced out at the retreating form of many Jedi Masters and one lone Sith Lord. And even as she, and the others, felt the titanic weight of Vader's power, it felt more- contained, steady; like the passing of a great beast instead of a charging one…or a sustained gust instead of a twister.

"See?" Anakin asked with a small smile down at Ahsoka, a tint of awe in her cautious eyes. "I told you he wasn't that bad."

Phara Nannar watched the exchange with a growing sense of confusion and disbelief. A boy, this old, this powerful, yet untrained in the force? She understood the rules about Jedi needing to be trained from youth to lessen their connection to their old lives, but there were exceptions- and clearly, a boy that could banish the dark side so easily from the minds of the vulnerable youths needed to be one such exception. What was there to really consider?

Though, she was a bit perturbed by the familiarity and civility this Anakin Skywalker had with the Darksider. Then again, if the rumors were to be believed, the Sith had been traveling with Master Qui-Gon and his Padawan, supposedly peacefully. But that contradicted with...everything that just happened in the last twenty minutes.

What was going on in the Galaxy?

Meanwhile

'It seems that the incident has come to an end. We still have no word on who this dark, masked stranger is or what flew towards him from a hovercar, but the Jedi do not appear to be arresting him, despite the numerous injured he clearly left in his wake. One can only hazard a guess as to what caused this battle, but this Dark Jedi-if that is what he is- appears to be more skilled than the average member of the Order. I originally believed there to be many fatalities, but during this climatic duel between this unknown Force-user and the Master of the Order, Mace Windu, this reporter has noticed many of the "victims" either returning to their feet or being tended to. While the numbers are still unknown, any death toll would appear to be much lower than we first feared. Coruscant Police have declined to make a statement, except that the Jedi have not requested aid or made any attempt to contact th-'

The room of senators and anti-federationists became very quiet as they turned off the holonet projector.

"That...was a person," Sol Sixxa stated, seemingly at random.

"Thank you for the obvious observation," Cifo remarked dryly.

"No, you prune! I mean that thing he...grabbed, or whatever the Jedi call moving stuff with the Force. That was a person, a body," he remarked through gritted teeth.

"A body? Why would he be bringing someone, unconscious, to the Jedi Temple?" Duke Brumel questioned, looking to Padme.

"I am at a loss as well," Amidala admitted stoically, internally troubled by this news. "Whoever it was, Vader felt it of importance to hand them over to the Order."

"And they just started attacking him?" Sixxa remarked skeptically. "That doesn't sound like what I heard of Jedi."

"Myths and reality often contrast harshly," Sod Gert retorted. "All sapients are primarily spooked by one thing or another, no matter how civilized or disciplined. This Darth Vader appears to be such for the Jedi Order."

"Do you all still believe him to be a liability?" Padme questioned pointedly, merely getting a shake of the head from Sod.

"He just took on an army of Jedi," Sixxa remarked dryly. "I want to see what that kind of power can do against droids."

The queen glanced to her captain, who answered at her behalf. "He destroyed two federation tanks as a distraction," he informed with practiced neutrality.

Sixxa appeared to simmer in envy as Cifo Klatt and Brumel shared a look. "If this incident should come back to bite this Vader, we have enough deniability due to several Jedi aiding him and the lack of arrest," the Neimoidian pointed out.

The duke hummed with a nod. "Very well, Queen Amidala. Despite how unusually this situation is developing, even for us, we shall continue with our original intentions of supporting and aiding your world."

"Thank you, Duke Brumel. All of you," she said with honest gratitude.

And hiding her worry that whatever was going on with Vader and the Jedi was far from over.

Meanwhile

Vader was not surprised that the council didn't take their meeting to the council room. He doubted any of them favored the idea of being in an elevator with him. Thus, they had settled for a rather fitting location, in Vader's opinion.

The Great Assembly Room, or the Jedi's Senate as Vader recalled the nickname. Not often used, only for a few mass situation updates at the start of the Clone Wars when the Jedi were still trying to adjust to the roles of Generals. A great circular room, build with similar voice sensor-amplifiers that allowed the colossal body of the Galactic Senate to have speakers be heard clearly throughout the room.

He stood before them, half of the council sitting and the other half standing. There was more than enough room for all to take a seat, but some were obviously too uneasy in his presence to sit. The tension in the room could be cut with a blunted blade. None seemed sure why they were here, just that they should be. That this was important.

"I suppose this is the time for a religious debate?"

Obi-Wan gave an unapologetically apologetic look as every head in the room turned to give him odd or reprimanding looks; except for Qui-Gon who looked away while trying not to look proud or amused, Dooku, who just raised an eyebrow while glancing between his former apprentice and Obi-Wan, and Vader who actually appreciated the ice-breaker.

"Talk, you desired," Yoda spoke up, staring hard at Vader. "Talk now, we should."

"Considering I have been ambushed twice by your order within the same day, it seems required by this point," Vader reminded bluntly, getting more than a few glares for his remark.

"Why did you reveal yourself now?"

Everyone turned to Yarael Poof, the long necked Jedi eyeing Vader with open curiosity.

"From what Master Qui-Gon and his Padawan report, you unveiled your power well before it was necessary to do so," Poof elaborated, steepling his fingers.

Vader regarded the Quermian for an instant. He had very little memory of this Jedi, who died well before the Clone Wars came about, but recalled stories of him being more whimsical and playful than the average master. "And how well would that have appeared, if I kept my power in the Dark Side hidden?" Vader inquired bluntly. "Upon finding myself on that planet, with that blockade, I chose to align against the Federation by aiding the Queen in her escape. Therefore, my path was inevitably going to cross with your "ambassadors." I had no desire to continue this act of Dark Siders hiding their natures at all times, so I felt this timing proper enough to act on that intent."

The Jedi looked confused or astonished as they tried to comprehend that logic. "You...unveiled and broadcasted your power in an attempt to put us at ease?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked slowly, his eyebrows raised.

"No, Jedi. I did that to throw you off guard," Vader answered flatly, getting confusion even from his pseudo-allies amongst the Jedi. "Your Order has gained a terrible habit of being utterly certain in your actions until things are blatantly not as you believe they should be."

"You believe that we would have attacked you if you didn't reveal yourself preemptively?" Qui-Gon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have seen little evidence to counter that theory. Though, that only served to forestall the assault, obviously," Vader answered without hesitation. "After all, is it not the mission of the Jedi Order to destroy the Sith?"

Mace Windu's eyes widened and narrowed in an instant as his own words echoed in his ears with the Sith's synthetic voice. "A mission you've hardly given us cause to abandon," the Master of the Order stated firmly.

"Apologies, I wasn't aware you had suffered an attack from any Sith during this past thousand years," Vader drolled. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon shared a look, having not heard this level of sarcasm before from the cyborg.

"You arrived with the body of one of our members. You can not believe that would be taken lightly," Mace Windu countered with forced yet cracked stoicism.

"Yes, I suppose you are unaccustomed to having your fellow Jedi brought to you as criminals," Vader remarked without missing a beat.

"So you claim," Even Piell retorted gruffly with his short arms folded. "I don't suppose you have any proof of this?"

The small, one-eyed Jedi briefly made Vader wonder just where Tarkin was at this point in his life. Was this before or after he flew live pirates into a sun? "I doubt she will think to deny it, given she was there to confront a Sith Lord. After all, it is, how do you phrase it? Jedi business."

There were a few winces from Jedi that knew that term had been used as an excuse for a few different things over the generations.

"What is the point of this meeting?!" Eeth Koth called out with a frustrated scowl as he stood from his seat. "You came here, you wanted this talk, but for what? To just...cast blame at us for everything you've done?!"

Vader kept his eyes on him an instant longer than needed. Recalling how in another time, he hunted down this man, killed him and stole his child for the empire on the very day of the child's birth. Well, him and some Inquisitors. "Jedi, perhaps you did not hear me. I did not come here to justify myself to you. Despite what you all may believe, you are not sitting in judgement of me," he stated before looked directly at Yoda. "I wanted this talk to hear if the Jedi Order can justify itself to me."

There was a long silence at that. "Justify?" Yoda repeated, looking entirely bewildered for once. "Desire this, why do you?"

"I have watched for many years, Jedi, and studied your history well. Admittedly impressive feats, but I nonetheless find myself disappointed," Vader stated before his shoulders sagged in a show of tiredness. "But mostly I'm tired. Tired of the Jedi Order laying claim to a moral high ground that I can not perceive. Tired of you prtending you are the only true way of following the Force. But mostly, I'm tired of being your excuse."

"A debate on the Light Side being no different than the Dark?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked in an uninterested tone.

"Hardly. The Force has nothing to do with this particular topic. No, I am merely claiming the Jedi are as bad as the Sith. That there is no longer a moral high ground between us," Vader explained solemnly.

"And why should we entertain this pointless conversation?" Mace Windu questioned coldly.

"Considering half of your order just tried to kill me and I deigned to spare every last challenger, I believe a conversation is the least I am afforded," Vader countered pointedly. "But most of all, I wanted to explain to you one simple fact."

Vader could feel Obi-Wan staring hard at him as the Padawan caught on.

"That fact being how you have failed everyone."

There was a heavy silence over the group, some giving him tense and uncertain looks while many more gave him hard glares.

"Allow this, I shall," Yoda spoke up firmly, getting disbelieving looks all around. "Curious, I am, to what you shall claim. But first, a question, I do possess."

"And what would that be, Grandmaster?" Vader inquired patiently.

"Desire this, why do you?" Yoda repeated, giving Vader a warning look, pointing his staff at him. "But this time, the truth, I wish to hear."

Vader didn't answer at first as he locked gazes with the most ancient Jedi alive. Technically speaking, he was more than a match for the diminutive Jedi. But even after decades as Sith, Yoda would be the last Jedi he ever underestimated. If there was any among the order that could possible take on all the other members and emerge victorious, it would be Yoda.

After all, he may not have founded the Order, but the current mold of Jedi was built around the legend and leadership of the green Grandmaster. It only made sense he would be the best at tearing it down.

Regrettably, unlike Sidious and Dooku in his old timeline, he was aware that Yoda was about as incorruptible as a Jedi could get.

With all that in mind, Vader decided to give Yoda the truth. Because at the end of the day, there was only one real goal to all of this.

"Because by the time I leave this planet, I hope that some of you understand something I know all too well: That there is one thing the Jedi and the Sith truly have in common at this instance in time," Vader paused to let the gravity of his claim sink in.

"And what would that be?" Dooku questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"That we both need to clean house."