Trial of the Times

Chapter 25 - Consequences - Rewritten

Vader stands there holding his lightsaber, breathing ragged. All he wants is revenge. He wants Sidious to suffer and die at his hands. Nothing else matters. "Anakin!" hisses Obi-Wan struggling to sit up, "Don't listen to him. Come back to yourself!"

An angry growl escapes the Sith Lord, and lightning flies at the Jedi Master, who ignites his lightsaber to block it a fraction of a second too late. He's knocked back to the floor, writhing from the agony. No. Vader snarls throwing himself at Sidious to stop him from hurting Obi-Wan. He's running solely on anger, and he knows he'll be hurt, but his mind isn't clear enough to logically consider it.

An unexpected blast of lightning catches him, and he's thrown back. Vader lands on the floor, a burning pain tearing through every single nerve in his body. It ends just as suddenly, and he raises his head to see Sidious bolting out of the room. He's escaping. Not again!

Ahsoka seems torn between following him or letting him go, and the same holds true for Dooku. The Count is clearly favoring his injured arm, but if he chooses to fight, he'll likely die.

Anakin, lost in a haze of anger, tries to force himself to rise, but his body is still too unsteady from the effects of the Force lightning. "Anakin," Obi-Wan's voice filters into his mind, "Let him go. You'll never be able to stop him."

He sinks back against the floor, breathing heavily, using the Force to siphon away his pain. A few seconds later, he's able to stand once more, and he immediately hurries to Obi-Wan's side. "Master, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," Obi-Wan replies, staring intently at Anakin. He reaches up, resting a hand on his former Padawan's shoulder. "Let it go, Anakin," he murmurs gently. "Don't hold onto your anger." Anakin sinks down next to his former master, relaxing in his presence.

Unlike the other times he'd slipped towards the Dark Side, this time wasn't fueled by pain so much as anger. It was different in a way he can't quite explain. It was like the time he massacred the camp of Tusken Raiders, though then, he'd been fueled by grief. This time, he reached for it almost willingly. It offered him the power to stop Sidious, and he took it, even if he didn't win. The guilt gnaws at him. He shouldn't have let himself slip so badly, much as he wants the power, the feeling of completion.

He closes his eyes focusing on the feel of Obi-Wan's hand on his shoulder, and his love for his – his father, his master, his best friend. It's time to move on to the next phase of their plan and quickly. It won't be long before someone comes looking for the Chancellor, and he doesn't want to fight anyone to protect Dooku.

"He's gone," Ahsoka reports grimly, clipping her lightsaber hilts back to her belt. "What now?"

"We need to leave," Anakin replies, shaking off the lingering effects of the Dark Side. "Get Rex to the medbay. We might be enlisting the 501st to help us... without authorization, of course, so be ready."

"I will, sir," Rex promises, sitting up.

Ahsoka hurries to his side as Anakin pushes the button on his commlink to alert Artoo, so the droid can bring the shuttle around for an immediate evacuation. He rises, offering a hand to Obi-Wan, while Dooku clips his lightsaber in place, picking up the Sith holocron. Walking across the office, he raises his right hand and uses the Force to shatter the glass in the window only seconds before the small shuttle – piloted by Artoo – speeds up, the boarding ramp lowered. Dooku leaps onto it, before the ship speeds away, presumably to the prearranged meeting location.

"Sidious has escaped, and we have no way of knowing where he is headed," Obi-Wan remarks grimly after the shuttle has disappeared from sight. Anakin nods in agreement. He fully realizes the enormity of the problem they are facing, and he can't help but feel as if it's somehow his fault that everything went wrong. Again. "We need to inform the Council what is happening," Obi-Wan continues, "This is not something the any of us can handle alone."