Star Wars Monopoly

A/n: So, this is a sequel of sorts to Star Wars Risk, but you don't need to read that one. Ever. In fact, it would be quite beneficial to you if you didn't read that story as long as you live. Anakin's POV, I'm sure you'll notice... umm, that's it. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.

Upon reaching the end of my very first week on the Jedi Council, I came to the conclusion that I must have been completely and totally insane for ever wanting to be on said Council in the first place. It was so mind-numbingly boring! All they ever did was sit. In a circle. And talk.

How this pointless ritual always managed to last five hours or more was beyond me.

Today seemed different, though. There was an uneasy tension in the air. Master Windu seemed to be ignoring it, however, running the meeting as if a certain Negotiator wasn't trying to drill a hole in his head using nothing but his eyes. Which, by the way, was more than slightly unnerving to watch. Master Windu, however, didn't even bat an eye.

"Is there anything else anyone would like to address?" He asked, glaring at each member in turn as if to dare them to say something. No one did. If there's one thing I've learned as a Jedi, it's that you never mess with Mace Windu.

Apparently, everyone else learned that lesson, too.

After a moment of silence, Mace nodded. "Very well. Then I officially adjourn this—"

"Maaaace..." Obi-wan said slowly. His tone had a slight edge to it that I was only too familiar with. It was the "Where-is-your-lightsaber/comlink/starfighter/whatever-happens-to-be-missing-this-time" voice. Somehow, it sounded a lot more dangerous than usual.

A vein in Master Windu's forehead jumped. "Yes, Obi-wan?" He asked calmly, looking over at his colleague.

Thus the staring contest began. The two locked eyes and attempted to stare each other down. "It's Friday, Mace." He replied evenly.

"I realize that, Obi-wan."

"It's the third Friday of the month."

"I realize that also, Obi-wan." His voice was calm, but he had that "One-more-word-and-you-die" face on, and I looked over at my Master (err, make that former Master) worriedly, wondering if he had a death wish. Cause seriously, if he did, I could totally hook him up without having to face off with the creator of one of the most deadly lightsaber styles known to the galaxy.

But that's beside the point. The point is that my Master (Ahem, former Master) Was in the process of getting himself killed. What else was I supposed to do besides try and save him? I mean, that's what I do best. But just when I decided to pipe up and help the guy, Windu turns that glare on me. I mean, yeesh! The guy makes a krayt dragon look all cute and cuddly.

So I shut my mouth. It was the only sensible thing to do. And besides, Obi-wan glanced at me and gave me the "Stay-out-of-it" look, so it's not like I was chickening out or anything. Cause I totally wasn't.

Anyway, so there they were, glaring daggers at each other, with the other members darting nervous glances from one to the other.

"We had a deal, Mace." Obi-wan said in a low voice. I blinked. It was at that moment that I realized I had no idea what they were fighting about. I looked around for some help, but no one else was paying attention to me. I caught Yoda's eye, though. He just looked slightly amused. What the heck?

"I don't see how you passing a proposal while I had the flu qualifies as a deal, Obi-wan." He replied darkly.

"The Council voted unanimously."

"You didn't have the authority to put it to vote, Kenobi!" Mace's voice got louder, exasperation finally settling in.

"You gave me the authority when you asked me to cover for you!" Obi-wan shot back, and just like that, it turned into a fight between siblings instead of a dangerous end-of-the-universe throwdown. Phew. What a relief.

Okay, that's it, I decided. I was completely lost listening to them. So I turned to the nearest other Council member, who happened to be Kit Fisto. "So what's going on?" I whispered, gesturing to the two bickering Masters.

He smiled. "A few weeks ago, Master Windu got the flu, so Obi-wan took his place on the Council. Temporarily, at least. Anyway, while he was in that position, he took a... ahh, sore subject of Mace's to vote. One that, if I may add, Mace had put off voting for a number of weeks."

I blinked. Okay, I have to admit, that does sound like my Master... Former Master.

Whatever.

"What was the proposal?" I asked.

Kit chuckled. "Board Game Day on Fridays." He replied simply. "Or, more importantly, the contents of said Game Day. You see, Mace is mostly unstoppable in every board game in the known galaxy. Game Day is never fun because we already know that Adi will cheat within the first ten minutes, and then after we get onto her for that, Windu turns on God Mode and completely decimates anyone else in whatever we're playing."

"Master Windu's good at board games?" I asked, confused. That was certainly news to me.

"Every board game except one. Which happens to be the game Obi-wan decreed would be played every third week of the month."

"Which is...?" I asked. Kit just smiled and nodded his head towards the center of the room. Yoda had already used the Force to summon the box from the game closet, which left Mace fuming in his seat, glowering at the Monopoly box like he was hoping it would explode.

I'll admit, what I did next was stupid. I mean, I know I've done a few – okay, maybe a lot – of stupid things in my lifetime, but this one takes the proverbial cake. I grinned and exclaimed "Hey, I love Monopoly!" loud enough for EVERYONE to hear.

Very, very slowly, Master Windu turned to glare at me. I could tell he was gauging how easy it would be to rip my arms off, or something equally horrible. I gulped. Big oops on that one. Luckily, the aforementioned Negotiator is my Mas – former Master. I looked over at him hopefully, doing my best to put on the 'Please-Save-Me' face without anyone else noticing. He gave me that annoyingly calm frown of "well,-you-got-yourself-into-this-one..." and just like that, I was on my own.

And just what, pray tell, is the use of having a former Master if he won't save you from the wrath of council members? Seriously.

Then I realized that Master Windu was still staring at me. Uh-Oh. I wasn't sure how to get outta this one, but somehow the concept of keeping my yap shut until he lost interest didn't cross my mind until two days later.

Instead, my master plan was to mumble some eloquent apology such as "uuhhh sfgmruelehhh..." and fidget as much as possible. Realizing that wasn't working, I finally blurted out, "Well, it's a good game!"

If anything, I somehow made Master Windu madder. Hey, has anyone ever heard of the whole Jedi Serenity thing? Waaay overexaggerated.

At this point, my good-for-nothing former Master realized I was hopeless and intervened.

"Precisely why I called it to a vote two weeks ago," he said calmly. I registered a small smirk on his face. "Apparently everyone likes Monopoly except you, Mace."

Master Windu seemed to be having trouble figuring out who he wanted to kill more. He finally settled on glaring at Obi-Wan, who was more than willing to return the favor. Did I call him good-for-nothing? Cause seriously, he's the best former Master ever. I could've kissed him right then and there, but I seriously doubt he would've liked that.

Finally Mace said in a semi-calm-but-still-death-plotting-like voice, "I'm the Scotty dog."

I was about to object, because that's my favorite piece, but Obi-wan caught my eye before I did something irreparably stupid. "I'll be the thimble," I replied instead.

And just like that, we managed to start the game semi-peacefully.

Even Adi refrained from cheating for a full 20 minutes before she started directing the dice and sneaking paper money from the bank.

Kinda weird ending... not sure if I like it, but meh... So Review!