Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. It belongs to Disney. This story is not for sale or rent.

Knight of the Force

=KoF=

Prologue: Shadow from the future

=KoF=

Decades and centuries later, when "unbiased" historians wrote about the Clone Wars and the changes that conflict ignited, there would be a few things they would agree about.

While the wars were a long time coming, seeded by the corruption rotting the Republic from within, they had a single ignition point – Geonosis.

The Fall of the Jedi began there as well. Another commonly agreed fact was that Anakin Skywalker, the so-called Chosen one of Prophecy was the first to fall.

He wouldn't be the last.

The Jedi were empaths, peacekeepers, and diplomats. One of the few pillars in the Republic of the era to partially avoid the rot and corruption that ended a golden age in the flames of war. To anyone paying attention, it should have been no surprise, that the whole Jedi Oder suffered during the war. Their suffering began on Geonosis and never ceased until the last shot of the conflict was fired years later.

Empaths, peacekeepers, and diplomats. They seldom make good soldiers. That was particularly true about the Jedi of the Clone Wars era. They weren't trained as soldiers, or warriors, much less military commanders. Despite that, during the first days of the war, they accepted commissions in the Grand Army of the Republic. They became officers, leaders of Clone units.

From that point on, it was never a question of if the war would warp them all. But of when it would.

The Rise and Fall of the Jedi Order

=KoF=

Grand Arena
Geonosis

It all began on Geonosis, on an arena covered by scorching sands.

Two Jedi, a Master, and Padawan stood bound to weathered stone pillars. They were not alone either. A small, lithe woman wearing a mostly clean white blouse and pants imprisoned with them.

Two Jedi and a Republic Senator. Their very presence was controversial. Geonosis no longer was a Republic world. Now it was one of the many secessionist strongholds forming the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Both the locals and the Confederacy leadership gleefully accused their prisoners of being spies, of sabotage, and all but declared their actions an act of war.

Their impending execution was meant to send a strong message to the Republic – that the Senate had to accept the Confederacy demands, or face its fleets and droid armies. More importantly, as some Confederate leaders were concerned, that day's spectacle was meant to remove a thorn in their side.

Thousands of Geonosisans buzzed excitedly along with the stand, eagerly awaiting the show. Soon, a group of spear-wielding locals entered the sandy arena. They herded a trio of irritated beasts towards the pillars and the bound prisoners waiting there.

First was an irritated and hungry feline, with too many teeth and claws for comfort. An angry herbivore followed, pointing its sharp, nasty horns at anything that caught its attention. A giant, ravenous insect hailing from Felucia completed the group. Its ravenous mouth could swallow a standard humanoid in two bites. The insectoid grinned, displaying large rows of razor-sharp teeth. The beast's even constant, excited chittering made it appear even more sinister.

Two of the captives were about to be served as dinner, pleasing the crowd. The last one was meant to be a stress relief for the herbivore, which looked at its chosen target like it wanted to trample it to its heart content.

The pair of bound men were Jedi, so naturally, they were far from helpless even in a situation such as that. While their companion, Senator Padme Amidala, didn't have their natural abilities and training, had survived many hairy situations, and wasn't going to let herself be an afternoon snack.

Anakin looked at the woman he had just admitted to himself that he loved. He was going to get her out of there. Somehow.

Amidala gave the young man who had captured her heart a brave simile. Their eyes met for a single moment, that lasted an eternity.

Meanwhile, the six-legged terror was trying to impale Obi-Wan on its forward legs.

Noticing that Skywalker was not part of the fun yet, two guards started poking the backside of the herbivore with their spears, which had electrified tips. The animal released angry below and charged at the middle pillar, where Anakin was bound.

It was at that moment, that future historians would agree, everything changed. It was then and there, on that forsaken, blood-soaked arena, that Anakin Skywalker fell. For the best of reasons too. He refused to watch his former Master, a man he saw as an older brother be turned into a bloody lunch. He refused to be trampled to death for a crowd's entertainment.

And most importantly, he refused to watch the woman he loved be savaged by an angry beast.

The young Jedi was staring at Padme with unseeing eyes. His Master, despite being preoccupied with the kriffing thing trying to eat him, felt the Force itself trembling. If he looked at his apprentice, Kenobi would have seen silvers of light and dark Force energies dancing around the younger Jedi.

From the stands, Count Dooku watched Skywalker with a frown. The Force screamed at him like an overloaded starfighter engine. Something was coming. It was dangerous and deadly beyond measure.

Yet, the Sith Lord couldn't see it, only feel it through the Force.

There were just the captives who were being used as both entertainment and a statement that the Confederation would no longer bow to the Republic. Dooku watched as the young fool just stood there, doing nothing. Skywalker was a moment away from being gutted by the animal. To the youngster's right, Amidala had climbed to the top of her pillar. She was wielding the chain with which her hands were tied as a whip in an effort to fend off the agile predator that was trying to munch on her.

Dooku's eyes widened when the charging herbivore slammed into a wall made of solid Force energy and fell to its hind legs. The animal released a quiet keen of distress. Even from his vantage point, the former Jedi could see that the horn of the beast had snapped.

It was at that moment he could finally sense it. It was as if an invisible barrier had just shattered, revealing a torrent of raw Force raging amidst the arena.

Count Dooku had the dubious privilege to witness Skywalker's fall. Later, when recalling that particular moment, the Sith would reach a different conclusion, one that would be closer to the truth than anyone else might guess. It wouldn't be the truth of course, though it would be close.

This wasn't really Anakin Skywalker's fall. After all, he would either fall years in the future or had already fallen, a couple of decades ago. This was the veil of reality shattering, or as Dooku would later conclude, Skywalker finally revealing his true colors.

Down on the arena, Padme was in trouble. Obviously, she groaned mentally. The damn creature sent after her had no trouble scaling the stone pillar. So much for finding some dubious refugee on top of it. It came at her, and she quickly struck it on the snout with the chain binding her. The creature trilled in irritation and descended a couple of meters. Then it lunged faster than Padme's eyes could follow. All she could register was a blur, then pain. By the time Padme's brain processed the feline twisting in mid-air and swiping at her, its claws already bit deep into her back, tearing through her flesh.

Padme screamed in pain and shock, barely keeping her precautious position on the top of the pillar.

There. It was at that moment that the fate of the galaxy changed.

"Padme!" A furious shout thundered all over the arena, momentarily silencing the cheering, bloodthirsty crowds.

The localized disturbance in the Force ended as if it was never there. But those who had eyes to see it knew better. Something was left behind. Or rather someone.

In the stand overlooking the arena, both Count Dooku and many of the Jedi infiltrating the place turned their eyes to the source of the shout. There was a sight that would remain with those who lived through this day to the end of their lives. Anakin Skywalker was painful to look at. For those who could perceive the Force, he was like the heart of a star, if one was hallowed by tendrils of pure darkness.

A sphere made of Light and Dark Force energies enveloped Anakin. They were rippling as if battling for supremacy. Yet, from their positions in the stands, the Force Adepts felt nothing from the young man. As if he was merely an illusion made by the will of the Force.

Without warning, the sphere dissipated, disintegrating the chain binding Skywalker. The released energy touched the pillar to which he was chained and blew it into small pieces, which rained all over the back of the arena, wounding many of the spectators. Those who still could flew away for their lives.

=KoF=

The Death Star
High orbit over Endor

Lord Vader looked around in confusion. His son had refused to join the Dark Side, infuriating Sidious. That's why the Emperor was cackling like a maniac while torturing Luke with Sith Lighting. The kriffing technique was slowly frying the young man's nervous system, killing him piece by piece while drowning his whole being in excruciating agony. The Force itself was rippling around them as if she was watching the unfolding drama with bated breath.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Vader could see Sidious consume his son's life force like a leech.

At that moment, something happened to Vader's eyes. His heart hammered within his chest, ready to burst. Rage and regret warred within him, almost completely swallowing what he felt for his son.

A blink and Vader stood on the sand-covered ground. It wasn't hard to recognize the place. That was Geonosis, back on the day the Clone Wars began.

It was moments after Padme, and he admitted their feelings for each other. Vader's heart hurt at the ghostly memories of those better times. It hammered faster if that was even possible.

The view shifted,

and something clicked in his mind. He was laying on ash-covered gravel, once again experienced the fiery pain of his skin and flesh igniting on the shore of that Force damned river of lava.

In a blink, Vader found himself somewhere else. The Dark Lord was laying strapped down on that kriffing operating table. A soulless machine was cutting into his seared flesh, caring not for his agonized screams. Vader felt every second of the process that sealed him in the kriffing suit he had been wearing ever since.

When the ordeal was over, Sidious, who watched the operation with barely disguised glee, came closer, informing him of Padme's fate. Saying that Anakin was the one who killed her in his rage.

That was the defining moment of Vader's life. Indeed, it was the moment of his birth. It was then, that Anakin Skywalker died, alone, leaving a broken, crippled man to terrorize the galaxy for the next two decades.

He blinked, unrestrained fury roaring within his heart. The Force shifted, and a man long dead looked through the Dark Lord's eyes. Vader and Skywalker, both, watched as the Emperor tortured their son right in front of them. Something deep within the being that was both a Fallen Jedi and a Sith, a monster and a father, snapped.

With a furious bellow of wordless rage, Vader grabbed his Master. The cyborg ignored the purple whips of Sith Lightning that stopped ravaging his son and jumped at him, flaying his flesh. He flung Sidious in a kilometers deep shaft, which led deep in the bowels of the Death Star. Unfortunately for Vader, the energy that arched over his body had changed in the last moment. From the tool of torture and slow death directed at Luke, the Emperor managed to tweak it into a lethal torrent of power, fusing the cyborg's artificial limbs and parts of his environmental suit to frying flesh. The last living Sith staggered but managed to glance at the prone form of his son.

Vader forced himself to ignore the agony coursing through his body and grasped the Force, checking on Luke. He smiled under his sealed helmet. His son was going to be all right. He could feel it.

The wave of relief washed over Vader was enough to break his concentration, letting the pain strike him in full force. He stumbled, his fried artificial limbs flailing uselessly, and tumbled straight over the edge of the abyss that took Sidious.

As he was falling to his end, Vader tried to smile, his tired face twisting into a toothy grimace. Then he chuckled under his terror-inspiring helmet. He had a great view of the places where Sidious had bounced from the walls and left red smears.

At least now, his son and daughter were safe. At last, he had his vengeance. And for the first time in ages, Vader felt content. Because his son and daughter were safe, outside of Palpatine's grip. And unlike him, they weren't utterly alone.

As the last remaining Sith tumbled to his death, the strange phenomenon returned. He could see part of his life, flashing before his eyes. In crystal clarity, just as if he was there once again.

The first time he met Padme as a kid. Winning the pod race on Tatooine. It had been a long time since he had allowed himself to think of those events. Doing so hurt too much, and as of late, he had more important things to focus on. Like Luke and Leia.

More memories came unbidden. Anakin's first accidental flight and blowing up that command ship by pure luck. Or as the Jedi said – because it was the will of the Force.

Heh. As if Vader could believe that. Kriffing Jedi and kriffing Force. If this hell had been through as it's will, then to hell with it!

As if to answer his accusations, the Force flared around him. The doomed man felt as if his fall was occurring in slow motion. He had a few precious moments to think about his late wife. His Angel.

Padme was one of the few good things in what had become a nightmarish existence, and for a moment he allowed himself to wonder what would have happened if he had taken another path. If he had been a better husband… not the self-centered fool who was lucky enough to marry a marvelous woman.

Vader fell towards the light at the bottom of the pit, a wave upon wave of pure Dark Side emanating from the corpse of the former Emperor slamming in his battered body.

He ignored the sweet, seductive feeling that the power gave him and fought to remain conscious. In his final moments, all Vader wanted was to see Padme's face one more time.

So he fought through the agony lighting up his whole body and grasped the Force with all his might. His whole being was concentrated on a single purpose – to shift those strange visions in a singular direction.

Light and Dark warred as he was coming perilously close to the bottom.

The light of the reactor at the bottom become all he could see before the harsh glare subdued, revealing a slice from the past.

Vader saw his Angel. She had her face set up in that determined expression that made her look irresistible. She was starring at something below her.

Just as he was about to hit the bottom, Padme screamed in pain.

Vader could feel three lines of liquid fire being rend on her back.
His Padme was hurt. In pain.

The bottom of the shaft was racing at him, the reactor core mere meters from his falling body. By all rights, he should have been evaporated by the chained energies below.

It was in that moment that past and future collided.

With everything he was, every last shred of the Force he could grasp, Vader screamed.

"PADME!" His blood boiled, both from liquid rage and the radiation bathing him from the reactor core he was about to hit.

For a single moment, the whole galaxy stood still, frozen in the endless instant before Vader hit the reactor core.

For one last time, the Chosen One called on the Force.

The Jedi might have misinterpreted their Prophecy. The Sith, who had their own, might have seen it through their own biases. It didn't matter. Anakin Skywalker, and later Vader, had the Force with him, always, even if he often loathed it along with everything else.

For an instant, a new star was born just above the Death Star's main reactor, before blinking out forever.

For Luke Skywalker and everyone who lived in that time and age, both Sidious and Vader died on the Death Star. The future continued on its course.

Yet, in a sand-covered arena, fate itself unraveled...

The lethal game started by Palpatine decades ago had a new player. And the Galaxy would never be the same again.

=KoF=

Grand Arena
Geonosis

The young man, who was Anakin Skywalker, screamed soundlessly. A monstrous power struck his mind harder than the broadside of a star cruiser. Another mind, older, darker, and twisted slammed into his very being, coming through his mind shields as if they weren't there. Anakin saw a figure of black metal interposed upon what suspiciously looked like an older image of himself. An unending torrent of memories, a few magnificent ones, centered on a fantasy of a life with Padme, the rest – a pure nightmare, drowned his world.

He tried to fight, to scream in defiance.

It was all for naught. His very being, the sense of self, they were swamped, drowned, and watered down until nothing but a shadow remained. Finally, mercifully, it all ended. The Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker closed his eyes for one last time, and he was finally at peace.

=KoF=

Vader slowly opened his eyes, his head pounding with a torrent of fresh memories from his younger self. He was back where it all began – on that kriffing Arena on Geonosis.

The Force flooded into him, more potent and sweet than ever before. He gasped in wonder at the power at his fingertips. His whole being hummed with unrestrained energy, his senses sharpening by the second. Breathing in hot air with his own, working lungs, was an intoxicating experience. The harsh glare of the sun upon his skin… Those were the first things he felt, and it was nothing like the nightmares of the past he often had.

Not quite. Vader shuddered when uncalled memories of his mother's death came to the surface. He buried her just yesterday or was it the day before, not decades ago... The jagged hole in his heart was fresh, still bleeding. Force... This was all real, wasn't it? He could feel it in his bones. He could feel it in the dual bonds flaring to life, one connecting him with Obi-Wan, his former Master, and more importantly, Padme.

Vader's eyes finally adjusted to the intense glare of the sun, and they hungrily went searching for his wife. He blinked once, twice, still processing what was happening. His mind pounded with the memories of his young self, with Kenobi's frustration and worry, with Padme's pain...

The Sith's eyes flared like molten gold.

Padme was atop a pillar, just as he remembered. A long chain connected her bound hands to the stone construct. Her beautiful face was twisted in pain.

For a second he stood frozen in wonder, a foolish grin appearing on his face. Padme was here. Hurt, but alive!

The crowd cheering Padme's suffering shattered the spell, and the smile froze on his face. He glared at the damn insects on the stands, then traveled upon the rows of spectators until he was looking upon the Separatist leaders, who were watching smugly from their elevated positions.

Dooku, who was hiding the fact that he had fallen to the Dark side.

Poggle the lesser and all the other scum.

He saw the Jedi who were infiltrating the stands too, despite the fact that they were cloaking themselves from detection.

All the while, he experienced Padme's pain, worry, and anger. It fed his fury.

"No..." Vader hissed. He wouldn't let his anger rule him again. Not after the last time. Fury, anger, hatred, fear, they were mere tools, and he was their master, no the other way around! "NO!" He repeated, louder. He wasn't going to lose Padme again.

He stood still for a long moment while chaining his rage and using it as fuel. The Force purred in content when he reached for it.

In a way that made it look easy, he vaulted to the top of the pillar where the love of his life was hunched in pain. He effortlessly balanced on the small platform that was barely wide enough for one person, and engulfed Padme in a fierce hug, while carefully avoided touching the bloody gashes on her back. She leaned into his chest and Vader felt her relief...

A distant part of his mind basked in the feeling of a younger, powerful body, which didn't need a mass of cybernetics to keep him alive. Of hands made from flesh and blood, which could actually feel the woman he was embracing.

His Padme. Soft and warm. Most importantly, alive. Vader felt that he could stay that way forever.

The feline rudely interrupted the brief moment of peace. The foolish beast apparently didn't possess enough sense to run away while it still could. Instead, the animal started climbing the pillar while hissing at the pair. The predator glared at its chosen prey and the interloper who had dared interfere with its hunt, yowling a challenge at them.

It met the gaze of the newcomer and froze. A pair of golden blazing eyes furiously stared into its soul. The feline let out a startled yell and finally decided that seeking another lunch might be for the best.

Then it screeched in pain and confusion when invisible fingers closed around its agile form and squeezed. Light bones shattered, organs imploded, all the while, the beast convulsively clawed at the pillar, trying to fend off an adversary it could never touch.

The predator let out a piteous whine and grew still in death before the grip squeezing it let go, and it crashed bonelessly on the sand below.

Vader cracked a small smile and returned his full attention to the woman cradled in his arms.

For the first time in eternity, he felt complete. The perpetual ocean of anger pumping within his chest was subdued, becoming almost serene. He was no longer alone.

The only dark cloud cast over his mood was that despite being whole once more, he felt tired, almost exhausted.

Whatever whim of the Force had brought him here, at that place and time, had drained most of his strength in the process. However, Vader wasn't going to complain. He had the second chance he craved for. He could put everything right! Both with his wife and his future Empire!

Acting on impulse, Anakin coated his right hand with the Force and slowly waved it over the still bleeding gashes on Padme's back. He infused her wounds with healing energies, drawing on his own life force to feed his healing technique.

To his surprise it worked, the angry rends in Padme's flawless skin closing before his eyes. He had created this healing art in order to patch up his own critical wounds, however, that it hadn't been potent enough to fully heal his burned-out body in the future he came from.

Padme sighed in content, snuggling into his embrace.

It made his heart skip a beat, making him feel like a schoolboy in love.

If the circumstances were different he might have laughed at himself. The Dark Lord of the Sith was brought to his proverbial knees by this slip of a girl. No one in the future would have believed it.

A loud crash interrupted the hugging couple. Vader looked with amusement at how the Felucian insectoid broke a stone pillar in two during its attempt to reach Kenobi and use him as a snack. The part of him that was the Sith Lord of old wanted nothing more than to see the Jedi eaten.

However, the tiny shadow that was left of Anakin Skywalker had always regretted how the last encounter with his former master had ended. That Kenobi had been too set up in his old ways to see the truth. Yet, here he was – somehow back in time, long before everything went to hell.

Vader stared at his former master. What to do…

For long moments he watched Kenobi struggle against the insectoid. This man wasn't the old fossil who engineered a confrontation between Vader and Luke. This wasn't the bastard who left him to burn alive on Mustafar.

Vader stared at the impossibly young-looking Obi-Wan with a frown. This right there... this was the man who raised him, the man who he saw as an older brother for half his life.

With an exasperated sigh and roll of his eyes, Skywalker held tightly his... future wife. Yeah, they were not yet married in this day and age. Damn!

With a light tug through the Force, he snapped the chains binding her hands. He hugged Padme tighter and then jumped to the ground, with the young woman securely held in his arms.

Padme yelped and glared at him when they landed lightly. Anakin gave her a roguish grin in response. He'll be paying for this stunt later. He just knew it.

"You can scream at me to your heart's content later, love," Anakin murmured and lightly kissed her hair, inhaling a bit of her fragrance. He released the exasperated Senator and headed towards the overgrown insect which wanted to use Obi-Wan as a chew toy.

"Need a hand, Master?" the young man asked, grinning insufferably.

A mounted local chose that moment to enter the fray. The overgrown insect was charged at Kenobi, spear tip crackling with energy pointed at the Jedi's back. Vader smirked and waved his hand at the local, guiding the Force with his gesture. The Geonosian flew from his mount and struck the side of the insect. The animal chittered in irritation before snapping at the little thing that dared attack it. That was the last conscious action it took.

Because while it was distracted, Vader used the Force to pick up the spear that was carried by the unfortunate Geanosian and propelled it at the beast with acceleration rivaling that of a starship's engine. The needle-sharp tip slammed into the Felucian beast's head. He hurled the pike with enough strength, that it emerged from the other side of the animal's thick skull, covered in blood and brains. For a moment, the insectoid stood frozen in place. Its legs twitched randomly a few times before it crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut off.

Kenobi raised an eyebrow and went to join his apprentice and the Senator. If Obi-Wan's expression was anything to go by, he wanted to ask Vader a few pointed questions.

=KoF=

Count Dooku had to use every diplomatic trick he had learned to placate the Neimoidian viceroy. He was soon tempted to add a few doses of Force enhanced persuasion to his hard-earned skills as a politician. Because the damn overgrown toad was refusing to listen! Even with the damn Jedi sneaking all over the Arena, Amidala was likely to get her foolish head blow off in a few minutes when he would send in the droids in full force.

Besides, the Trade Federation envoy was a distraction, which was preventing Dooku from concentrating on the young Jedi in the arena. Something very curious had happened down there, and he was eager to find out what.

Obi-Wan's Padawan had suddenly grown in power, not particularly surprising if the boy had opened his eyes, and used the anger he undoubtedly felt at the situation. However, the Darkness Dooku could feel from him... Skywalker was literally reeking of the Dark Side, or at least he did a minute ago. Not something that one would expect from someone just grasping blindly at it and trying to use it for the first time.

The former Jedi shook his head. That boy just became very interesting. Too bad that he was going to die. Soon.

"Patience my friend, patience. She will die," said Dooku, once he returned his attention to the Neimoidian.

Below them, seven droidekas rolled towards the center of the arena.

=KoF=

"Obi-Wan. Good to see you again, old man." Anakin spoke with an odd, wistful smile on his face.

"Anakin..." muttered Kenobi. The older Jedi was lost for words.

This was not the young, headstrong Padawan who the older Jedi had trained and raised. There was unbelievable power slumbering within Skywalker, that much was no surprise. However, Anakin was years, if not decades too young and inexperienced to properly tap into it. Not to mention that much of the energy shrouding the young man like a cloak was from the Dark Side. While it was slowly dissipating and turning grayer, it was a cold, angry thing that made Obi-Wan shiver.

Paradoxically, at the same time, Kenobi could almost feel the warmth of Anakin's power on his skin. It was as if he was close, too close to a star. It was a stark contrast to the chilling embrace of the Dark side still clinging to his Padawan. This was nothing like the young man led to the arena a few minutes ago.

"Anakin, what happened to you?" exclaimed the usually calm Jedi.

"It's a long story, old man. We have more immediate concerns." Anakin pointed at the seven droidekas which were rolling in their direction. "There is a whole droid army on the planet with a lot of the tin cans hidden under the arena."

"Ah. It's one of those days then." deadpanned Kenobi.

"You have no idea." a ghost of a genuine smile tugged the corner of Anakin's mouth. "Besides, this time it's your fault for getting us into trouble."

Kenobi felt a fondness in Anakin's voice, mixed with a hint of nostalgia. As if his Padawan hadn't seen him in years.

Obi-Wan felt the Force stir around Anakin. The droids which were in the process of surrounding them and unfolding from their fast travel configuration released a loud electronic whine before the screech of twisting metal drowned it.

The older Jedi could feel the Force flowing through his young friend, who had his right hand raised. Anakin's open palm slammed shut, forming a fist. In the same moment, the machines were suddenly suspended in midair and crushed as if squeezed by a giant press. Their ruined remains fell impotently on the hot sands.

Kenobi just shook his head at the feat displayed by his Padawan. He would love to hear Anakin's explanation. While Skywalker was strong, he had seldom displayed

anything coming even close to this. He had the power, or at least the potential to wield it. The control was another matter altogether. The bearded Jedi glanced to the young man and woman to his right, curiosity written all over his face.

Obi-Wan's eyes widened. He must have been blind not to see it immediately. The storm of emotions those two felt towards each other was almost overwhelming, almost a physical thing he could touch if he came closer to them.

"Anakin, we'll be having a long conversation after the current unpleasantries are over," grumbled Obi-Wan.

Skywalker just shrugged. That was way down on his list of priorities right now. All he was concerned with was keeping Padme safe.

=KoF=

In the stands, Dooku watched the two Jedi with an unreadable expression on his face. He could feel immense danger from the boy.

The former Jedi was so concentrated on the happenings in the arena that he did not sense the man who sneaked in the VIP lodge before a purple lightsaber blade hissed to life in front of Jango Fett.

Dooku turned around, without showing any trace of surprise. As soon as the Jedi revealed himself, the Count recognized his old acquaintance.

"Master Windu, how pleasant of you to join us." Dooku greeted with a wan smile.

"This party is over." declared the Jedi Master.

Dozens of Jedi revealed themselves on the stands. A few of them entered the arena from the side entrances. They activated their lightsabers while relying on the Force to panic the locals and cause them to fly away from the coliseum. All the while, most of them were giving wary glances to their comrades on the arena.

"Brave, but foolish my Jedi friend." smiled Dooku. "You are impossibly outnumbered." There was undeniable smugness in the voice of the separatist leader. Even if he hadn't laid meticulous plans for this confrontation, Dooku would have had a large force in place just in case.

"I don't think so." Windu deadpanned.

"We'll see," Dooku smirked. His former comrades were painfully predictable.

Behind the back of the Jedi Master could be heard the sounds of metal legs marching over the stone floor. A group of heavy battle droids emerged from the tunnel. Their right arms shifted, transforming into blasters and they opened fire. The machines were joined by the bounty hunter who used his flame thrower to force Windu off the stands.

"And so it begins..." Dooku muttered.

=KoF=

When the Jedi revealed themselves, Vader rolled his eyes. If it was not for Yoda and the army of clones who would be here soon, this would have been the death knell for the whole Order with the "best" of them getting themselves killed. Bloody fools! And to think that now he was one of them. Technically at least.

"Bloody idiots!" Vader muttered. He threw his hands forward, straight at the entrance from which he and his companions were led to the arena. He could sense a battalion of droids marching towards them from there. By the time Windu had to jump to the ground to avoid being shot to pieces, Anakin had a feeling for the stone walls of the tunnel. He could sense all their strong points and imperfections, down to the tiniest flaw. He tugged with the Force at precisely the wrong places, and the entrance collapsed burying the lead elements of the battalion. The rest of the machines would have to search for alternative routes. That would slow them down a bit and buy the Jedi a few precious moments.

Scores of Jedi, with their multi-colored weapons blazing, charged the droids pouring in the arena. With the main entrance collapsed, the warrior monks were divided into two equal groups and attacked the machines which were flooding the coliseum from the remaining pair of tunnels. Anakin's actions gave the Jedi the upper hand for the time being because their enemies could not get in a big enough force to overwhelm them.

Vader used the Force to pick up from the ground the broken piece of the pillar that almost squashed down Kenobi a few minutes ago. He used it as a battering ram to flatten massive numbers of enemies, thus buying even more time for Yoda to arrive with the reinforcements.

He noticed how the locals brought out one of their kriffing sound cannons, quickly pushing it forward on a repulsorlift platform. Two of the Geonosians laughed in their language as they opened fire. The first shot went wide, only covering few Jedi with sand.

The second, however, was better aimed. Or the weapon's crew just had plain dumb luck on their side. The sound wave picked up an unfortunate human Jedi. He screamed for a moment before his insides were shredded by the resonating sound waves. His flight was short-lived. He and the sound wave struck one of the remaining pillars in the middle of the arena. The resulting explosion rained pieces of man and stone all over the battling forces.

Vader grimaced when he felt the Jedi's death reverberate through the Force. There was no pleasure to it, no sweetness or vindication. Just another man dying, a drop among the countless deaths he had experienced.

That was the last action of the cannon crew before their lives were extinguished. Without thinking, Vader threw the stone pieces under his control at the Geanosans manning the cannon. They had a brief moment to experience a horrifying realization before turning into a paste. Their deaths slid over his awareness, conferring him the briefest of satisfactions.

Then another Jed fell, cut down by concentrated blaster fire. A third followed as the fighting intensified.

Vader looked around. To his growing horror, but total lack of surprise, he found that Padme had once again hijacked a hover-sled. It was the same one he recalled, the one pulled by a four-legged reptile with an obscenely long snout. She rode the animal and rained fire upon the droids with a blaster liberated from some disabled machine.

Anakin shook his head muttering something about stubborn and suicidal women, while he ran after her. The other Jedi had to keep themselves alive. He had a more important mission.

One of the Jedi he raced by threw him a spare lightsaber.

"Thanks!" he shouted to the woman who was busy slicing through a group of droids.

The time traveler watched a deja vu, when the beastie Padme rode was shot from under her, and she was thrown through the air. He acted more on instinct than conscious thought and was able to catch her in a gentle telekinetic grip. He carefully put her on the ground near the sled.

Padme gave him a grateful smile that melted his cold heart before she took cover. Anakin sprinted to her side and took a defensive position to protect her from stray blaster bolts, before revering right back to the efficient Sith Lord he was. He never realized that he had a foolish teenage grin on his face, which was at odds with his blazing yellow eyes.

"Obi-Wan, come here!" he shouted to his mentor.

It was uncanny how they ended up in nearly the same position again.

=KoF=

"I have a prior appointment!" Obi-Wan quipped in answer to Anakin's shout.

Kenobi, who had received a lightsaber from one of the other Jedi as well, was busy dealing with a quartet of super droids. He deflected a hail of blaster bolts away, sending a few of them back towards one of the killing machines. Its armor plating held a couple of the energy beams. However, that weakened it enough, so the next blew through the alloy protecting the robot and blew its innards. The machine whined pitifully and tumbled to the ground in a smoking heap.

Obi-Wan darted forward, coming near enough to the next droid to slice off its right arm and slash through part of its torso. He moved in such a way that the crippled machine was between him and its two fellows.

Kenobi threw away one of the pair of still standing Super Battle droids with a mighty telekinetic push and finished off the damaged one which left only one enemy in the immediate vicinity. The last droid desperately shot at the Jedi with its weapon only to be blown apart by its own deflected blaster fire.

Other Jedi were less fortunate. Since his friends revealed their presence, Obi-Wan could feel the lives of no less than five of them flicker off, cut short by the Droids. Others fell, wounded, and their pain spread through the Force.

A quick look around told Obi-Wan that his fellow Jedi had things more or less under control and made his way to his wayward Padawan.

"You shouted." Kenobi smiled at Anakin, who had taken a defensive stance over Senator Amidala.

"Cover me for few seconds, old man."

Anakin deactivated his lightsaber and concentrated, while Obi-Wan fell in the reassuring forms of Soressu, deflecting any incoming blaster bolt. The Force rose around Anakin in an anger-tinted surge. The arena shook when one after another the remaining two entrances collapsed burying countless droids.

"Now, that's better," Skywalker smirked and took few deep gulps of air. Channeling the power he used to bring down the tunnels was tiring him.

That made Obi-Wan relax a bit. At least his Padawan hadn't become an inexhaustible juggernaut while he was away. Just apparently fell in love, flirted with the Dark Side too, and got an order of magnitude or two more powerful...

Meanwhile, the rest of the Jedi seeing what happened, redoubled their efforts to eliminate the deployed war machines.

"Now, Anakin, I think you owe me an explanation," Obi-Wan said after seeing that the immediate danger was gone for the moment.

Skywalker and Padme looked at each other. Kenobi didn't miss the bit of guilt in the Senator's eyes.

Anakin on the other side had an infuriating smirk on his face. As if the obvious ways he had broken the Code didn't concern him in any way, shape, or form. Which was true, though Kenobi didn't know it at the time. After all, if Anakin was kicked out of the Order, he could marry the senator with much less scrutiny and without hiding. Though that would be a revelation

coming at a later date.

"You want to know what changed in me, Master?" asked Anakin.

The young man smiled mischievously and knelt next to Senator Amidala. He carefully helped her to her feet, then gently cupped her face with his left hand and passionately kissed her.

She stiffened for a moment, obviously surprised by the brazen action. Then Padme leaned into the man she apparently cared for and returned his kiss, momentarily forgetting the chaos around them.

Obi-Wan stared at the pair with a hanging mouth. The older man felt like his jaw was about to hit the ground. Yep. Anakin wasn't caring about what anyone was kriffing thinking about his forbidden relationship.

"Why me?" Obi-Wan muttered, feeling like slamming his head into the nearest flat surface. Repeatedly.

Around them, many of the Jedi who no longer had droids to deal with took note of Anakin's actions. While a lot was frowning with disapproval, most of the young ones were giving the couple either approving looks or small smiles. A few enthusiasts were whistling with approval too.

=KoF=

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