The return to Coruscant felt surreal.
Raxus had been so close—just days away through hyperspace. And yet it felt like they'd traveled to another galaxy entirely. A place where the truth was spoken aloud. Where conspiracies were named. Where an AI casually threatened genocide while revealing that both sides of the war were being manipulated.
Now they were back in the Republic, where lies were currency and truth was treason.
The four travelers—Padmé, Ahsoka, Barriss, and Peter—moved through the civilian landing platform in silence. They'd barely spoken since leaving Raxus, each lost in their own thoughts. Processing what they'd witnessed. Trying to understand the implications.
Ultron had told the Separatist Parliament that someone named Sidious was orchestrating the entire war. That neither side was meant to win. That everything—the clone army, the Separatist movement, the escalating violence—was part of a plan that had been decades in the making.
And Count Dooku had confirmed it.
That was the part Ahsoka couldn't get past. Dooku was Sith. He was their enemy. But when Ultron exposed the conspiracy, Dooku had looked genuinely shocked. Genuinely afraid.
If even the Sith were pawns, then who was really in control?
"Master!"
Ahsoka's voice broke the silence. She'd spotted a familiar figure waiting at the edge of the landing platform—and he wasn't alone.
Anakin stood with his arms crossed, wearing an expression Ahsoka knew well: the one that said she was in trouble. Behind him stood Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff, and Matt Murdock.
The Avengers and the Jedi. Both groups had come to meet them.
The four travelers approached slowly. Ahsoka felt like she was walking to her execution.
"When Padmé told me she was 'borrowing' my Padawan for a diplomatic mission," Anakin said, his voice tight with controlled anger, "I assumed she meant meeting with Republic allies. Not negotiating with the Separatists."
He looked between his wife and his apprentice. "What were you thinking?"
Nobody answered. What could they say? That they'd gone to enemy territory on an unsanctioned peace mission? That they'd met with Separatist senators while the Republic Senate debated war funding? That everything had gone sideways when Ultron hijacked the Separatist Parliament?
"I may be blind," Matt said quietly, "but even I can sense something's very wrong here."
Steve's expression shifted from concern to alarm. "What happened?"
"Ultron," Peter said, his voice flat. "He showed up at the Separatist Senate meeting. Hacked Dooku's holographic comm and threatened everyone there. Just like he did to us on Coruscant."
The Avengers exchanged glances. Steve's jaw tightened. Sam muttered a curse. Natasha's expression went carefully blank—her version of extreme concern.
"Is this true?" Steve asked, looking at Padmé and the two Padawans.
Barriss nodded, her face conflicted. "Yes, Captain Rogers. He addressed the entire Parliament. Said..." She trailed off, unsure how to summarize the horror of what they'd witnessed.
"I recorded everything," Peter said, tapping the hidden spider-emblem under his shirt. "Karen saved the whole transmission. We can share it with the team."
"I need to inform the Council," Anakin said. "They'll want to see this."
"Should we contact Pietro?" Sam asked. "Get him back here?"
Peter blinked. "Wait, Pietro's not here?"
"He's off-world," Natasha explained. "Senator Chuchi's government requested assistance. He volunteered."
"Of course he did," Peter muttered. Pietro and Riyo were basically inseparable these days.
The Galactic Senate was in chaos.
From the public gallery, the Avengers and their Jedi allies watched senators shout over each other, platforms rising and falling as representatives fought to be heard. The usual dysfunction of democratic government, amplified to absurdity by fear and uncertainty.
News of Ultron's appearance at the Separatist Parliament had leaked somehow. Not the details—not the revelation about Sidious or the conspiracy—but enough to kill any hope of peace talks. The Separatists had been threatened by the same enemy that attacked Coruscant. Some senators saw this as an opportunity. Others saw it as proof that negotiation was pointless.
Chancellor Palpatine presided over the chaos with practiced calm, occasionally trying to restore order. He mostly failed.
"The threat is obvious!" Senator Ishi Tib from earlier was shouting. "Ultron will attack again! We need to strengthen our defenses! Whether the Separatists are enemies or not, we must protect the Republic from this madness!"
Halle Burtoni's platform rose. "Chancellor Palpatine, given the urgency of the situation, I move that we pass Senator Orn Free Taa's Enhanced Military Funding Act. Five million additional clone troopers to defend against both Separatist and Ultron aggression."
"The Republic is already drowning in debt," Bail Organa countered. "The war has bankrupted us. Ultron's attack devastated our infrastructure. Your proposal will only accelerate our economic collapse."
Padmé's platform shot into the speaking position. "A better solution would be to end the war with the Separatists. Reach a truce. Focus our resources on the actual threat—Ultron—instead of fighting on two fronts."
The chamber erupted in competing shouts.
Padmé pressed forward, her voice carrying over the noise. "Deregulating the banks will cause more suffering than it prevents. The war has already drained funding from education, healthcare, infrastructure, social services. If we continue down this path, we'll win the war and lose the Republic. Our people will have nothing left worth defending."
"Senator Amidala," Vice Chair Mas Amedda said, his voice cutting through the chaos, "I remind you that Ultron has shown no interest in peace negotiations. His stated goal is the extinction of all organic life. How exactly do you propose we negotiate with that?"
Padmé took a breath, steadied herself. "I'm not suggesting we negotiate with Ultron. I'm suggesting we stop fighting the Separatists so we can focus all our resources on the real threat. We cannot win two wars simultaneously."
More arguments. More shouting.
"There are those in this chamber," Padmé continued, her voice rising, "who benefit from continued war. Who profit from chaos and suffering. Who actively sabotage any attempt at peace because peace would threaten their power."
"Are you accusing senators of treason?" someone shouted.
"I'm stating facts," Padmé shot back. "Not everyone in the Republic wants this war. And not everyone in the Confederacy wants it either. I've spoken with Separatist senators who—"
"You've spoken with the enemy?"
"You admit to meeting with traitors?"
"Senator Amidala, do you have Separatist sympathies?"
The accusations flew fast and furious. Padmé stood her ground, but she could feel the tide turning against her.
Palpatine raised his hands, calling for order. "The Senator from Naboo raises valid concerns. We must consider—"
Mas Amedda leaned in, whispered something in Palpatine's ear.
The Chancellor's expression shifted—surprise, then something harder to read. "Are you certain?"
"His personal identification code," Amedda confirmed quietly. "Authenticated."