Chapter 25

"Just make this easier on yourself, My Lord, and hand yourself over to us," Mace Windu said. "I would hate to make a mess of your lovely office."

"You dare think you have any kind of power over me now, Master Jedi?" Palpatine asked. "You are even more of a fool than I first thought."

Palptine struck first with astonishing speed that none of the Jedi had expected the older man to be capable of. Kit Fisto and Mace Windu could do little more than angle their lightsabers to block the sudden attack as Anakin stumbled backwards, stunned by what he was witnessing. Palpatine's glowing yellow eyes found his over the shoulders of the Jedi Masters and with a deft twist of his wrist he sliced through the arms of the Nautolan Master.

Kit sank to his knees in shock and looked down at his severed arms. He was helpless against the Sith lightning that struck him in the next instant and sent him flying into one of the ornate statues the Chancellor had decorated his office with. Mace tried to attack the Sith Lord when his back was turned away but again Palpatine moved with surprising speed and the Jedi's violet lightsaber struck nothing but air.

Palptine held up his free hand as he defended against Mace's attacks and used it to bring the fallen Jedi within reach again. He smiled when the Master's dim eyes met his and understanding flowed through the Force around them. He spun away from Mace's attack and used his momentum to easily sever the head of Kit Fisto, watching with childlike glee as it landed perfectly upon his desk.

"A little help here Skywalker," Mace growled as he parried a strike, unable to find his stride in the dual.

Anakin shook his head to clear his mind and took a deep breath. His hand grippdc the handle of his lightsaber even tighter as he finally stepped into the fray. This was his destiny and if he died fighting the Sith Lord then he would do so with his head held high. He caught Palpatine momentarily flat footed and used it to his advantage, driving him back towards his desk, but in the next second the Sith Lord was the one dictating the flow of the dual.

"My boy, do you really believe that sending your wife off with your former Master is enough to protect her from me?" Palpatine taunted.

Anakin's blood ran cold at the words and again attacked the Sith Lord. Their lightsabers clashed overhead and the dual was momentarily stalled as they glared at each other through the shower of sparks. There was a paternal smile on Palpatine's face, much like the one he always wore whenever Anakin had vented his frustrations with the Jedi Order to him, but now it made his face look grotesquely twisted beyond recognition. "Don't you dare threaten her," Anakin growled. "She is no longer a threat to you."

"Ah, but she is such an easy target to use against you," Palpatine said, twisting away from Anakin. "I have clones hunting her down at this very moment. Soon she will be joining us to either witness your death or to watch you succumb to the darkness that I feel swelling within you."

"Don't listen to him Anakin," Mace said as he rejoined the dual, attacking the Sith Lord with a series of impossibly fast attack that would have easily killed anyone less skilled. He was finally able to slip into his favored style of combat, drawing from the dark power that flowed through the office of the new Emperor.

Anakin stepped back and watched in amazement as Mace Windu seemed to fade in and out of existence as he sank into the thrill of the fight. He realized then that he had never truly seen Vaapad in action and he found the blinding speed of the attacks mesmerizing. It was nearly impossible to keep track of where the two skilled warriors were, only the respective glowing blades giving them away as they fought with such speed that their movements were nothing more than elongated blurs of color.

The dual was a seemingly endless loop of sheer power as the two combatants fed off of each other. They were evenly matched. Neither of them sustained an injury and neither grew tired as the fight continued. Nothing in the office was safe from the energy that crackled between them and everything was eventually tossed from its rightful place as they moved around the room. They had reached an impasse in their evenly matched power and they both realized at the same time that Anakin Skywalker was the only thing capable of tipping the battle one way or another.

Mace sank deeper into the fight, channeling his own inner darkness and using it to attack the darkness that surrounded the Sith Lord. He used the dark energy that Palpatine put off to further his own attacks, drawing it into himself and doubling his own attacks. There was a small part of him that knew Skywalker was standing to the side in awe but he could not allow himself to focus on that. He used his gift for finding the shatterpoint of any situation and let a part of his mind follow the cracking of the Force to where it practically halted around the young man standing frozen near the Emperor's desk. He reached out to Anakin Skywalker and saw his eyes grow wide for a moment before the Chosen One seemed to understand the sudden importance for action of any kind.

Mace had always known that Anakin was prodigiously gifted in the Force, but even he had not expected the boy to possess the sheer power that was now shining from him. The light side seemed to have enveloped him as he charged at Palpatine, a battle cry ringing in the air that already crackled with a life of its own.

Palpatine was unprepared for the intensity of Anakin's attacks. He had no knowledge that the boy was partially trained in the art of Vaapad and used in a deadly combination with his natural Djem So made it nearly impossible to know where his next attack would come from. He felt a sudden wave of panic as he realized that perhaps he was not going to survive this dual.

"Even if you succeed in killing me you and your wife will never be safe," Palpatine hissed over the clash of their lightsabers. "There will always be those that are willing to hunt you down and they will not rest until they have done so."

"You will not harm her," Anakin said through clenched teeth. "She is nothing to you."

"On the contrary, my boy, she is your biggest weakness and therefore the best weapon I have against you."

"I will not allow you to harm her."

"Your devotion to her is sickening. You show so much potential but you choose to hinder yourself by tying yourself to her."

"I draw my strength from her," Anakin said, pushing Palpatine back towards the large window behind where his desk had once been.

"She makes you weak," Palpatine goaded. "If you were not so bound to her you would not be so afraid of falling and doing whatever it takes to defeat me. Instead you are holding yourself back, terrified of slipping over the edge into darkness again. You know she would never forgive you if you fell."

"Enough!" Anakin cried. He directed the fight even closer to the window and could sense the Sith Lord's hesitancy about getting so close to something so easily broken.

Mace stood aside for a moment, allowing Anakin to dictate the intensity of the fight, and he found himself feeling pride for what the younger Jedi was able to accomplish. He knew in that moment that he was witnessing the Chosen One truly coming into his own as a Jedi and to be witness to such an event was not lost on him. He silently sent a wave of thanks into the Force and then drew a deep breath to center himself as he walked forward to rejoin the fight.

Anakin slashed the window with his lightsaber and used the Force to steady himself as the Permaglass shattered and the wind from outside whipped through the office. Shards of shattered glass struck anything within reach, slicing skin and cloth, but the combatants ignored the sharp stings of pain upon impact. Palpatine staggered in surprise and Anakin was able to deftly slice through the Sith Lord's wrist, watching as the hand holding his lightsaber flew from the window with a sense of confidence. He stalked towards the now unarmed man, sensing the end of the battle close at hand.

Palpatine slipped on the hem of his robe and slowly backed away from the two Jedi who were now moving in synchronized motions towards him. His back hit the frame of the window and a sense of relief washed over him, he still had a chance to escape this, even if it was a slim chance.

"It is time to end the disease of the Sith," Mace said. "This is the end for you, My Lord."

"Fools!" Palpatine hissed. He raised his arm from where it had clutched at the window ledge and his crooked fingers pointed at the two Jedi. "Fools!" Blue lightning streaked from the tips of his fingers and the two Jedi staggered under the sheer power of it as they deflected it with their lightsabers.

Mace was able to deflect the energy back onto the Sith Lord and the two Jedi watched in amazement as his face seemed to melt before their very eyes, his true self emerging from the once polished exterior of the Chancellor. Palpatine's eyes glowed red as he continued to struggle against the advancing Jedi. He knew that he only had one chance to escape them but he had to be patient.

"Take him Anakin," Mace said, his voice tight with the strain of fighting against the sheer amount of power being directed at them. "It is your destiny."

"Destiny," Anakin echoed. He watched the old man he had once looked up to, the hatred burning in his eyes as he fought back against them. He knew this was the moment to attack, to finish this once and for all. He stepped closer to the Sith Lord, using his lightsaber to continue to push the lightning back on him and moved out of the way long enough to raise his lightsaber to strike him down. "It ends now."

But he only struck the expensive stone that lined the window as they watched the Sith Lord throw himself out of the window. He had been momentarily weakened during their dual but he was still able to control the Force and land on the ground below.

"No!" Mace cried.

"We need to leave, Master," Anakin said, pulling Mace away from the window ledge.

They raced through the crowded hallways of the Senate, pushing their way past those that got in their way as they hurried towards the hangars. Anakin did a cursory scan of the large room and the ships housed inside and raced towards the ship they had managed to save from the burning Jedi Temple. It was nothing special but it would be enough to get them to where they were going.

Mace sank into the copilot's seat and watched Anakin's skilled fingers dance over the controls and the ship roared to life. Anakin cared little about following regulations and pushed the ship forward, clipping others as they raced from the hangar into the busy Coruscant sky. He deftly piloted his way through the skylanes and out of Coruscant's atmosphere. As soon as they were in open space he punched in the coordinates for the rendezvous point and sat back in his chair as the stars streaked by.

"You did well today Anakin," Mace said, breaking the silence that had descended over the ship's cabin.

Anakin tore his eyes away from the hypnotic view in front of them and looked at the Jedi Master. "Thank you Master," he said. "I only wish we had been able to kill him."

"The Sith are known for being cowards," Mace said. "Our time will come to kill him."

Anakin nodded weakly and turned his gaze back towards the vastness of space. "Things are going to be different now aren't they?"

"The galaxy has been plunged into darkness and the remaining Jedi will have to hide for the time being," Mace said. "The younglings we saved are the future now more than ever before."

"I understand Master," Anakin said.

Another silence settled over the cockpit and Anakin believed that his companion had slipped into a meditative trance until he asked, "Who is your wife Anakin?"

Anakin felt a jolt of shock race down his spine and could not bring himself to meet the Jedi Master's gaze. "Senator Amidala," he whispered.

"That is why you insisted on seeing to it that she was safe before we fought Palpatine then," Mace said. He did not sound angry only resigned and that surprised Anakin more than anything. "Did she leave the planet?"

"She left with Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi," Anakin said. "It was too dangerous to let her stay on Coruscant if Palpatine knew the truth."

"Indeed," Mace agreed. "Perhaps, in light of all that happened today, we can overlook this breach of the code."

Anakin finally turned to look at the Jedi Master, his shock evident on his face. "Master?"

"We have lost too many Jedi today and you have proven yourself invaluable to those remaining. If she has already joined us in hiding then there is little that we can do to turn her away," Mace said. "And she is a very valuable ally to have."

"Thank you Master."

"This does not mean I condone what you have done. You still willfully broke the code to form a lasting attachment but I'm sure the remaining members of the Council will be willing to overlook that after today."