. . . . . "Master Windu is going to be disappointed, Anakin thought with satisfaction. Palpatine had barely reacted at all when he told him the news. He merely invited Anakin to sit down on one of the low red couches in one of the antechambers of his office. Behind them, Anakin could see a curious relief displayed on the walls. He thought he could see Jedi, or figures holding lightsabers, battling some kind of huge tube-like creatures. Yet it was one side of this relief that caused his to shudder, bodies were piled up with no more ceremony than if they were firewood. \u201CDoes that\u201D\u2014Anakin nodded to the relief\u2014\u201Chave any thing to do with what you told me? That story of Darth Plagueis?\u201D \u201CNot really,\u201D Palpatine replied amiably, he turned to look at the relief himself. \u201CThis is a much more complicated story, battles and adventures, more your kind of story I would imagine.\u201D Anakin smiled in agreement. \u201CYou seem to be particularly interested in Darth Plagueis,\u201D commented Palpatine. \u201CMay I ask why?\u201D \u201CI\u2019m\u2026not sure,\u201D Anakin admitted shamefacedly. \u201CIt is interesting, isn\u2019t it?\u201D \u201CYes, it is,\u201D agreed Palpatine. \u201CWould it interest you further if I told you that the story was not a legend?\u201D \u201CSorry?\u201D He wasn\u2019t sure if he was following here. \u201CThe Tragedy of Darth Plagues is, in fact, true,\u201D Palpatine told him. \u201CBut\u2026how can you know this?\u201D Anakin demanded. \u201CPlagueis was my Master,\u201D Palpatine said slowly. \u201CHe taught me in the ways of the dark side, and in the ways of the Sith.\u201D \u201CWhy\u2026you\u2026\u201D Before he knew it Anakin he was on his feet, had his lightsaber out and the blue blade pointed at Palpatine. \u201CIt\u2019s been you all along, hasn\u2019t it?\u201D He demanded, his anger rising quickly. \u201CYou\u2019re a Sith Lord!\u201D \u201CYes,\u201D replied Palpatine with a quiet smile, sitting calmly with his hands in his lap. \u201CAnd what are you going to do about it?\u201D \u201CI will\u2026I should\u2026I'm going to kill you.\u201D Anakin brought the blade closer, but he found he could only bring it so far. \u201CYou say you do, yet something holds you back,\u201D Palpatine said evenly. \u201CI know you want to kill me, I can feel your anger.\u201D He closed his eyes for a moment, revelling in the young man\u2019s torment. \u201CBut there is something else, isn\u2019t there?\u201D Someone else?\u201D \u201CPadm\u00E9.\u201D Anakin spoke before he realised he had. \u201CYou have seen her death,\u201D Palpatine continued, still smiling, \u201Cand you seek to prevent it because above all else, you cannot lose Padm\u00E9. I know this, Anakin.\u201D \u201CHow dare you say that!\u201D Anakin growled. \u201CHow dare you even mention her name!\u201D \u201CYet am I supposed to be the Sith that kills her?\u201D Palpatine asked. \u201CDoes she have to die?\u201D \u201CBut\u2026my vision\u2026\u201D Anakin protested. \u201CYour vision may show the future, Anakin,\u201D Palpatine mildly pointed out. \u201COr\u2026you could choose to change it.\u201D The blade lowered slightly in Anakin\u2019s hands. \u201CChange what?\u201D \u201CBecome my apprentice,\u201D said Palpatine. \u201CLearn the ways of the dark side and you and Padm\u00E9 need never be parted.\u201D There was something in this that made Anakin stop, something that made him consider them further. Palpatine\u2019s words came back to him... Anakin\u2026it doesn\u2019t have to be like this\u2026there is a way you can have what you\u2019ve always wanted\u2026there is a way for you and Padm\u00E9 to be together\u2026 \u201CI\u2026\u201D Anakin\u2019s voice died in his throat. As a Jedi he knew he had to kill Palpatine, but after what he had said, what he had promised, could he? \u201CI'm going to turn you over to the Jedi Council,\u201D Anakin decided, deactivating his lightsaber and replacing it on his belt. \u201CA most wise course of action,\u201D approved Palpatine with a nod. \u201CYet need I remind you,\u201D he added darkly, \u201Cif I die, my offer dies with me.\u201D It was with a heavy heart and whirling mind he left Palpatine\u2019s office, racing through the corridors as if all nine Corellian hells were unleashed after him. It did not take Obi-Wan long to catch up to Grievous. The droid general was quickly advancing towards a landing platform where a small starfighter was parked. Obi-Wan urged Boga faster, Grievous could not escape. Grievous clambered off his bike and prepared to receive Obi-Wan, yet the Jedi was ready. He urged Boga to head down then jumped off her back, somersaulting through the air to come to rest beside Grievous. Yet Grievous did not have time to stop and chat like last time, he seemed intent on leaving then and there. Obi-Wan came between him and the starfighter, fending off the droid general\u2019s attacks again and again. \u201CThere!\u201D Grievous gestured to two of his guards. \u201CFinish him! I have other business!\u201D \u201COh no, you don\u2019t!\u201D Obi-Wan said, but first he had the two magna guards to contend with. The first he managed to dispatch quickly, a quick slash at the belly and the thing was in pieces. The second took a little longer, it whirled his electro-staff at him in a way that was creepily familiar to Obi-Wan. Yet he noticed that for no more than a moment, cutting the guard in two and looking about for Grievous. He was above, racing along the face of the wall of the sinkhole on that crazy wheeled vehicle of his. Obi-Wan gave a shrill whistle. \u201CBoga!\u201D His mount instantly responded, in another moment he was astride her and off after Grievous. From the circular cockpit of his bike, Grievous turned around to see where Kenobi was. With a start he saw the Jedi was behind him and gaining quickly. Cursing the Jedi, he increased speed further and entered a tunnel. There was no way that the organic mount could catch him. Boga was not as fast as Grievous, yet she was able to make quite tenacious leaps at astonishing angles and seemed to know the layout of the tunnels instinctively. So it was not very difficult for Obi-Wan to come up right next to Grievous and grab his vehicle with one hand with his lightsaber lit in the other. Grievous fought him off, batting his away with a free hand and the Jedi would have fallen if Boga had not swerved in time. \u201CThanks,\u201D he murmured, continuing after Grievous as they left the tunnels and were out in the open again. Around them the battle was starting to finish, and to his delight Obi-Wan noticed his troops were winning. He would not be on Utapau much longer, he realised. All that remained was Grievous\u2019s death. Once again he managed to get next to Grievous just as they were racing up the side of the sinkhole. He grabbed the vehicle and this time he dodged Grievous\u2019s punch and continued to hold on. Grievous then grabbed an electro-staff as he passed and lunged it towards the Jedi. And Obi-Wan realised he needed both hands, so he did the only thing he could do. He dropped his lightsaber. Perhaps it\u2019s a good thing Anakin is not here, he reflected, Anakin would never let me hear the end of it. He grabbed the electro-staff and hit Grievous over the head with it, then used the moment of distraction to leap from Boga and on to the side of the vehicle just as they were coming back to the landing platform. Yet this overbalanced it and the vehicle tumbled over the side of the sinkhole. Grievous and Obi-Wan fell the other way, coming to land on the platform behind them. Grievous crawled away like a demented crab and brought himself up to his full height, he drew out a small blaster pistol and fired quickly. Yet Obi-Wan was ready, he was on his feet and using the electro-staff to fend off the blaster bolts, closing quickly on Grievous. Then with his free hand, he called into the Force and simply\u2026 reached. One of the blaster pistols flew from Grievous\u2019s hand and landed in Obi-Wan\u2019s. The droid general stared at the Jedi and stared at his open hand. He then looked up and saw his own death in Obi-Wan\u2019s eyes. Yet Grievous was not done yet. He dodged Obi-Wan\u2019s attack with the electro-staff and grabbed the middle bar of the weapon to throw the Jedi back. Yet Obi-Wan held his ground, using the close contact he had with Grievous to pull apart pieces of his stomach armour. Grievous pushed Obi-Wan back again, and this time the shove was so violent that Obi-Wan dropped the staff, blaster and would have fallen over the edge if he had not grabbed on at the last moment. The staff fell down into the sinkhole, yet the pistol\u2026 \u201CThis is the end for you, Kenobi,\u201D Grievous declared, picking up the second electro-staff where the remains of the second magna guard lay from before. \u201CNot even your Jedi powers can save you now!\u201D And suddenly he remembered where the blaster was! He could feel it in the Force, so it was nothing to call it to his hand just as Grievous walked up to him. Before Grievous realised what was going on, Obi-Wan pulled the trigger. The bolt ripped into the bag containing the remains of the general\u2019s body parts, burning what was there and causing fire to shoot from his eyes. Obi-Wan fired again and Grievous dropped the staff, he writhed on the spot in pain for a few moments before collapsing to the ground. With a sigh and a smile Obi-Wan climbed back up onto the landing platform and lay there for a few moments. Then he got to his feet and threw the blaster pistol aside. \u201CSo\u2026uncivilised,\u201D he said, putting as much condemnation in his words as he could. When he heard a soft honk behind him, Obi-Wan smiled again. \u201CCome on Boga,\u201D he said, mounting her. \u201CI think we just might be done here.\u201D"@en . . "Revenge of the Sith (AU)/Chapter 17"@en . . . . . "Master Windu is going to be disappointed, Anakin thought with satisfaction. Palpatine had barely reacted at all when he told him the news. He merely invited Anakin to sit down on one of the low red couches in one of the antechambers of his office. Behind them, Anakin could see a curious relief displayed on the walls. He thought he could see Jedi, or figures holding lightsabers, battling some kind of huge tube-like creatures. Yet it was one side of this relief that caused his to shudder, bodies were piled up with no more ceremony than if they were firewood. Anakin smiled in agreement."@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .