Visions

Twenty-Five: The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis

Sabine looked around at the three men, all bowing to her, and felt determination set in. No matter what, she would do this. For her family, not the ones who had abandoned her long ago, but the people who stood around her each day, supporting her, keeping her going.
She nodded once, and saw a slight lift at the corner of Ezra's mouth, which belied the seriousness of his behaviour. She had to hide a smile herself. Fixing things between them hadn't been easy, but Sabine understood why he hadn't decided to go back.
She remembered earlier, the sadness in his tone when he'd said to her, "At least you have family." She'd realized she wasn't the only one who was suffering because of Ezra's choice.
~//~
"So, what's the plan?"
Ezra looked around the group gathered at Command.
"Well, we can't send Sabine alone," Hera answered. "That'd be too dangerous, especially because Saxon is Viceroy. He's bound to have people looking for her."
"And we can't forget they're Mandalorians," Kanan injected. Zeb nodded. "She'll need someone there with her. I think Kanan should go."
Hera shook her head. "It's obvious Ezra should go. Besides, he's met Saxon before. You know how to handle him, Ezra."
"Well, in reality, I think Sabine's just fine alone. She was basically the one who saved me."
"Hello?" All eyes swung to Sabine. "Oh, so you do know I'm here. I wondered for a moment there, when you were all talking about me as if I wasn't here."
Ezra felt his mouth twitch, but he tried to hide the grin by looking down.
Too late. Sabine saw the smile and her eyes became slits. He could practically hear her saying, We'll deal with this later.
Instead of ignoring it, he smirked slightly, and winked at her.
Her mouth opened adorably, but she slammed it closed almost immediately, and turned her focus back to Kanan, who seemed to have continued with the meeting without Sabine or Ezra noticing.
"...so I agree with Hera on this one."
Hera smiled triumphantly. "Then it's settled."
Ezra and Sabine eyes immediately met, and Ezra gulped. "Right. This, uh, whole thing is settled. But, just in case, let's go over the plan once more."
He smiled innocently, but Hera saw through his ruse, crossing her arm over her chest and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Why can't you...never mind."
Kanan shook his head in exasperation. "Ezra, you're going to go with Sabine to Concord Dawn. Do you need to repeat that?"
Ezra looked over at Sabine to see her grinning evilly at him. "Uhh, is that up for discussion?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ezra crept quietly through the vegetation in the near pitch-black darkness. Ahead, he heard a lightsaber, humming as it moved swiftly through the air. As he moved closer, he could see a slight red glow coming from that direction. He crouched lower.
Soon, he was near enough to see a Twi'lek practising lightsaber forms in the middle of a large clearing, and slowly lowered himself down to watch.
The Twi'lek moved faster than anyone Ezra had seen, and he could clearly see that Plagueis was once again in control of his friend.
Plagueis spun, flipping the saber so it pointed out of the bottom of his fist and performing a swift striking motion that would have removed the heads of more than one opponent.
Then, it seemed his foot moved wrong, and he fell, his face slamming into the dusty ground.
He growled, then yelled out in anger as his arm threw the saber into the bushes across from Ezra. "Arene," Ezra breathed. She was still there, and still resisting.
Seemingly with much effort, the Sith seemed to push his anger away, and his eyes slid closed. When he opened them, they were a deeper, more fiery orange than they had been before. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, and held out his hand, retrieving his lightsaber with the Force. Then he started pacing.
"Do you know who I am, Bridger?"
Ezra's eyes widened slightly, and a prickling sensation covered his arms. He frowned slightly, pushing his fear away, and stepped out of his hiding place. "Only that your name is Plagueis. And you told me that."
The Sith nodded, closing his eyes again, still paving back and forth. He clipped his saber to his belt. "But you know nothing about me." It was more a statement than a question, so Ezra didn't answer, just stood there, studying him. In Arene's body, at least now, he seemed so harmless, so reserved. The hate that had been so evident in Plagueis when they'd fueled, if he could call it that, was gone. Ezra felt anger, yes, but nothing unnatural. It was as if he were in the presence of another being entirely.
"Surprised, are you?" Plagueis opened his eyes and focused them on Ezra, an amused look on his face. Ezra decided to take his chances. "A little. You seem different than when we first met."
Plagueis turned away, but not before Ezra saw the tortured look on his face. "People change."
Ezra paused, wanting to pursue the topic, but not wanting an anger-filled outburst. "I see," he final replied.
Plagueis turned back with a bitter laugh. "I truly doubt that."
His eyes seemed to be dulling in colour. "Your friend..." He paused, looking away again. "I have never wanted to kill her. We both wanted revenge, we made an agreement, of sorts." He looked back at Ezra. "Once I kill Vader and Palpatine, her body will be returned to her."
"Yeah, well, she clearly didn't want you to kill her friends."
Plagueis smiled at that. "The way to power is often loss. I learned that way, I wanted her to as well."
Ezra frowned. "When she returned to her body, you weren't by chance planning on making her your apprentice, were you?"
Plagueis laughed out loud now. "Oh, Bridger, you of all people should know of her potential. Did you not sense it?"
"Her powers are not to be used for evil, but for good!"
Plagueis' smile faded at that. "Is there even a difference anymore?"
Ezra frowned slightly in confusion. "Of course there is. There is always right."
Plagueis looked him in the eye, and Ezra felt his mouth fall slightly agape at the pain, the turmoil they held, along with the fact that they were a brilliant green, glowing slightly in the moonlight.
"You don't know what I have faced. Once, I was powerful. Now, I am nothing."
Ezra didn't know why he asked, but he did. "What happened to you?"
The Sith's shoulders slumped, and he began to relay his tale.
"When I was younger, I took on many apprentices, but in my fear I killed them all, all but one. He was already a very powerful individual, and rising. Sidious was everything I needed in an apprentice, and his very nature made him seem like a person you could trust.
"I started to train him, and his quick learning and loyalty made me entrust him with my deepest secret.
I am ashamed to say that I was paranoid at the time. All I could think about was my impending death. And I was afraid someone would kill me, taking my power from me. So I began to experiment with life, and with midichlorians.
At this time, my apprentice and I had devised a plan that would make him ascend to Chancellor of the Republic. In fact, we succeeded, and he soon sat at the highest level if government, in control of all the Republic and senate."
Ezra gasped in surprise. "Your apprentice was the Emperor?"
Plagueis nodded. "He was. But as soon as he had office, he killed me."
Ezra frowned, wondering if it had been a waste of time, listening to Plagueis' complex story. "But...death is, like, for good?"
Plagueis looked exasperated. "Of course it's for good, you idiot. But, as I explained earlier, I had been experimenting with midichlorians, and before I died, I had found the way to eternal life."
He let out a breath. "It wasn't what I was expecting, however, for my body did die, and I was not free. Death became my prison. My only escape, taking someone's body.
"But this is not as easy as you would expect. I was much weakened by Sidious."
"Who?" Ezra cut in.
"My apprentice."
"I thought your apprentice was the Emperor."
"He was, but, as is the Sith way, his name was changed when he joined the Dark Side, just as mine was."
Ezra was quiet a moment, processing this. "I see."
"I could not take any body that I fancied, for I was relatively powerless while imprisoned. I needed someone to invite me in."
Ezra nodded slowly, understanding. "She wanted revenge against the Empire, and she would do whatever she could to get it."
Plagueis smiled slightly. "So you see, Bridger. Now, why are you here?"
Ezra narrowed his eyes.
"I came to bargain for Arene."

Without humility, courage is a dangerous game.
~Jedi Proverb