To Lose a Gamble

Chapter 1 - The Legend

Author's Note: This fanfic was actually inspired by a short humor one-shot I read a while ago in which Anakin totally misunderstands what Palpatine is telling him about Plagueis. I thought it was hilarious, so I decided to write another, more serious version. There's just a little bit of crack, but other than that, I think it's a quite realistic version of how ROTS could have ended. Enjoy this short AU! :D

~ Amina Gila

Anakin's thought spin in a tumult, the chaos only growing as each second passes. He – he needs to stop. He needs to calm down. The conflict is tearing him apart, and why did the Council ask him to do this when they already knew he wouldn't want to?

"Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise?" Chancellor Palpatine asks, totally oblivious to Anakin's turmoil.

"No," Anakin replies. Focus. Breathe. He remembers that sometimes when he became overwhelmed, Obi-Wan would tell him to focus on something concrete and breathe slowly and rhythmically.

Palpatine settles back in his seat, a half-smile on his lips. "I thought not," he comments, obviously planning to keep talking, so Anakin latches onto the sound to ground himself in the moment. He can't allow himself to continue considering the betrayal he's been asked to perpetrate. It's wrong, and maybe he should talk to someone about it. Rex is with Ahsoka. Maybe he can call her. She won't mind – or maybe she will. He'd wanted to talk to her, and she'd brushed him off. Fine. Not her. Obi-Wan? No. No. Not him. He asked Anakin to do it, and he can't help. But Padme? She could help or advise him or something.

"It's not a story the Jedi would tell you," the Chancellor continues after a momentary pause, and Anakin nearly misses the words as he drowns under his thoughts and doubts. "It's a Sith legend." Those words catch Anakin's interest, and with an effort, he forces everything else to the back of his mind. This is something he can focus on, something he can use to temporarily occupy himself. Everything else can wait for a few moments.

"Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life," Palpatine smirks slightly as if the thought is ridiculous, and it is. Life? Seriously? Was he on drugs? Anakin forces himself not to blurt out that outrageous comment and struggles not to grin.

"He had such a knowledge of the Dark Side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying." Anakin hardly registers the words, mind running over the previous sentence. Because life and death? That's something beyond mortal abilities. The Force can be used to prolong life, but not create it. Then, the last words register. Save people from death?

Anakin knows he's waited too long before replying, and he very nearly flushes with embarrassment. "He could save people from death?" Anakin queries skeptically. Because no. He'd like to have such an ability, because it could be useful, but life is Light. Death is Dark. And he nearly laughs at the ludicrousness of a Sith being a Light Side user.

"The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural," Palpatine intones as though repeating something he heard. Unnatural like creating life? Or being a Light Side Sith. No. Palpatine said Dark Side. Well, yes, everyone knows that. The Sith do all sorts of creepy things.

"What happened to him?" Anakin wonders curiously. Maybe this Plagueis character was a drug addict. Maybe that's the funny part he's missing.

"He became so powerful the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did," Palpatine replies. "Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep." He smiles slightly. "Plagueis never saw it coming. It's ironic he could save others from death, but not himself."