Star Wars Multiverse

Count Dooku vs Count Dracula

Count Dooku's hands fell to the ground in a quick succession of dull thuds.

The count stared in horror at the burned ends of his arms. His fierce duel with Anakin had been more difficult than the last, but he hadn't expected to be defeated. Despite the skill and experience Dooku had, Anakin's unrelenting aggression proved triumphant. Finally, after all these years, the young man had managed to tap into the dark side of the Force and realize his true power.

As Anakin snagged the count's lightsaber out of the air, the old man fell to his knees. He had no weapon, nor the hands to wield one. The shock was preventing him feeling the pain, but he was in no condition to continue fighting.

Count Dooku had lost.

"Good, Anakin, good," Chancellor Palpatine said gleefully from his chair. For a man that was restrained and held hostage, he was extraordinarily upbeat. He had been observing the fight for his rescue as entertainment, which, in fact, it was.

"Kill him."

The order, given by the same cheerful, smiling face, caused Dooku's veins to freeze. His head turned, eyes wide in horror, to the chancellor.

Palpatine was smiling, but that smile slowly morphed into a condescending sneer as he commanded, "Kill him, now."

Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, the leader of the Galactic Republic, the most powerful man in the galaxy. Dooku knew him well. So well, in fact, that he knew Palpatine's second identity, Darth Sidious, the man who controlled both sides of the intergalactic war from the shadows.

Dooku knew that his master had no qualms about disposing of pawns who had outlived their value. Many lives Dooku had taken, both directly and indirectly, at the command of his master. Even his own apprentice, Asajj Ventress, had not been safe from Palpatine's orders. While Ventress still lived, it was not out of Dooku's lack of diligence. Despite the sentiments he had for his apprentice, Dooku had sought fervently to kill her on more than one occasion.

However, not once had Dooku expected Sidious to discard him the same way. Dooku had been Sidious's apprentice for years, and while his loyalty had faltered at times, he worked tenfold to redeem himself for every falling. He had successfully set up the Clone Wars and shifted the balance of power galaxy-wide at Sidious's command. Sidious should have known that Dooku's loyalty was guaranteed, and he was still a valuable asset. There should have been no reason to betray him.

Not now.

Not like this.

Anakin looked into Dooku's eyes, trembling and hesitant. The young man that had fought with unrelenting fury now looked lost as he looked at his helpless opponent. Killing Dooku would be criminally easy, but despite the Chancellor's order, Anakin's hands were trembling. "I shouldn't..." the young Jedi said shakily.

The amusement on Palpatine's face quickly vanished. "Do it," he ordered.

It was then that Dooku had a grand revelation. He wasn't being betrayed. Far from it. One can only be betrayed if there had been trust and loyalty to begin with. Darth Sidious had never intended for Dooku to be his true apprentice. All throughout his life, he had only been a piece on a chessboard. A valuable piece, for sure, but that was as far as his value stretched. This was the conclusion of his usefulness, forcing Anakin Skywalker to take the final step to bring him to the dark side.

All those years, wasted. War, dueling, deception, strategy, training, skills that he had taken pride in, had all been used as tools to Darth Sidious's ambition. Every foul act Dooku had committed in the pursuit of the new Empire and the Sith had been in vain. There would be no light at the end of the path that had been paved and paid for in blood. All he had done is stain his hands with the blood of innocents, and dragged so many more people into the depths of the abyss with him.