The temptation to knock Ahsoka out and leave her behind is strong, nearly overpowering for a moment. After all, between the difference in their connection to the Force and the nature of the bond forged between them, it would be so very easy for Vader to reach out and use the Force to send Ahsoka to sleep.
From there, he would just stick her back in the quarters they'd just left behind and be on his way. But… as tempting as it is, in the end he decides against it. Even though it goes against his better judgment, there's something to be said about getting Ahsoka out of the Temple. Especially since the Jedi might be looking for whatever the cause of that Dark Side Spike was.
Letting out a grunt, Vader gives his not-padawan a side eye, trying not to spend too much time staring at how this older Ahsoka's curves are hugged by the rather skimpy attire she's currently wearing.
"… Fine. But you let me do the talking, alright?"
Ahsoka nods rapidly, though Vader isn't sure whether he believes her or not. Tch, this was shaping up to be quite the headache. Even still, better to have her with him at this point in time, rather than risk her being found out by the Jedi…
-x-X-x-
The Jedi High Council Chambers, situated at the top of one of the Grand Temple's five spires, are silent as the grave. This is in spite of them being occupied at the moment, with most of the Jedi High Council currently in their seats or holograms that are transmitting in from elsewhere in the galaxy.
Once upon a time, the need for such things as distant holograms was far more minimal. Once in a while a Jedi High Council Member would be away from Coruscant for a meeting, but they would just be absent and the rest of the Council would simply handle things without them.
That was a thing of the past with the advent of the Clone Wars, however. With the Jedi Order instructed to take command of the Grand Army of the Republic and begin fighting back the Separatist Threat, the High Council had never been more stretched thin. Half of them were only in attendance due to holograms in fact, and sometimes it was even less than that these days.
Finally, the last hologram turns on, revealing the aged features of Ki-Adi-Mundi. Bowing his rather large, conical head, the Cerean Jedi Master briefly shuts his eyes.
"Apologies for my tardiness."
One of those actually there, Jedi Master Mace Windu, waves a hand dismissively.
"No apologies necessary. Now that we're all in attendance, we can begin. A short time ago… the Jedi Temple was attacked."
There are ripples of shock through those who are transmitting via hologram, while those who are there in the flesh merely nod, their faces grim. Leaning forward in his chair, elbows on his knees, Windu steeples his hands together, splaying his fingers apart as he does so.
"The attack was not a physical one. No bombs, no blasters, nothing like that. But that's what made it all the more insidious. It was like… a wave of darkness, nothing even I've ever felt before, washing over the entirety of the Jedi Temple."
One of the other Jedi Masters present in the flesh speaks up with a grunt at that. The relatively short Lannik Jedi known as Even Piell shakes his head and frowns.
"It wasn't quite a wave. A wave suggests there might be an epicenter, or at least a direction from which it came, neither of which we've managed to pinpoint as of this time. This darkness… it came all at once, like a funeral shroud tossed over the place on a whim."
There's a pause as the others in attendance, those who had actually felt the attack directly, all turn Piell's words over in their minds for a moment before slowly, reluctantly nodding. Windu is among them.
"Master Piell is right. We have yet to find the source, nor did it feel like it came from any specific direction. That said, I think we can all guess where this came from. The Sith Lord that we've been hunting."
A ripple goes through the chamber at that. Even those who are transmitting in via hologram shift uneasily in their seats. This war… the entire conflict was the machinations of the Sith. They knew this and yet there was little they could do about it but continue to prosecute the war in the Republic's name.
After all, one of the Sith was both one of their own and the Republic's sworn enemy. Count Dooku, formerly a Jedi Master and even a member of this very council once upon a time, was now the face of the Separatist Movement, or as they called themselves, the Confederacy.
Taking Dooku down was a top priority, with many of the Jedi feeling that his defeat would bring an earlier end to the war in general. However, there was one small problem with that belief… Dooku was only one of two.
There was a second Sith Lord out there and all they really knew about them so far… had come from Dooku himself.
Leaning forward, Obi-Wan Kenobi voices what they're all thinking.
"Count Dooku claimed that the Sith Lord had penetrated into the heart of the Republic. He heavily insinuated that the Sith had control over hundreds of Republic Senators."
All of them have heard this before, of course. Obi-Wan was one of their best. After the Battle for Geonosis, he'd told them all about Dooku's attempts at manipulating him. Still, it bears repeating in this moment. On the one hand, trusting the word of a Sith, even one who was formerly a Jedi, would be foolhardy. On the other…
Adi Gallia, a Tholothian Master and the liaison between the Jedi Order and the Galactic Senate, speaks up next.
"Such power as we felt today could only have come from nearby. It certainly didn't come from Dooku. There might be truth to his claims… a kernel of honesty in the lies he was spouting as he tried to convince Master Kenobi to join him. There might in fact be a Sith Lord right here on Coruscant, hiding under our noses the entire time."
Glances are exchanged, none more poignant than the glance that Mace Windu and Grandmaster Yoda share. Finally, Windu nods.
"We agree. Ever since… Geonosis, we've been putting out feelers here on Coruscant just in case, trying to find out if there was any truth to Dooku's words. We hadn't found much yet other than rumors and hearsay, but this… this cannot be ignored."
Ki-Adi-Mundi speaks up, his hologram flickering as the Cerean frowns.
"You said the attack was not a physical one… even still, was anyone harmed?"
Windu shakes his head.
"No, thankfully. The Light prevailed on this day. If anything, the Sith Lord was rebuked by the combined power of so many Jedi. I confess, I do not know what they thought to gain from such an act. But… if nothing else, today was a victory. Not a defeat."
There are nods from all those in the council chamber, both in the flesh and transmitting in. Everyone projects visages of serenity and calm to hide their true feelings, leaking just beneath the surface.
Of course, if they could hear one another's thoughts in that moment, the Masters of the High Council would probably be very surprised indeed to find most of them are thinking the exact same thing.
Namely… that the Dark Side energy which had come crashing down on the Jedi Temple just a little while ago had left them feeling more invigorated and energized than they'd been in months.
The other thing most of them were thinking in that moment, completely independent of one another… was that they had to do everything in their power to keep their fellow Jedi Masters from finding out that they'd already Fallen.
The Jedi High Council talks for a bit longer about what they need to do next, before ultimately dispersing as the meeting comes to a close. Some return to the battlefields they're currently fighting on. Others spread throughout the Temple to check on this or that.
Each and every one of them, doing their level best to hide their growing Darkness from their fellow Jedi.
-x-X-x-
Sheev Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious was not used to being confused. He didn't like it, not one bit. He was a Sith Lord… no, he was THE Sith Lord. Dooku was merely his apprentice, and barely even that. The former Jedi Master was really nothing but a pawn for Sidious' plans, and by the time the Clone Wars were over, he would be replaced with Sidious' true Apprentice… the Chosen One.
Everything was going according to plan so far. The Jedi Order had taken the bait and accepted leadership of the clones with nary a complaint. Meanwhile, the Separatists were proving to be quite the enemy, killing hundreds of Jedi just in the opening battle over on Geonosis.
Yes, all was going as he had foreseen… until today. Today, he was confused. Today… he was caught off guard. Whatever had happened over at the Jedi Temple just a little while ago, Sidious didn't understand it. Not yet, anyways. It was a Dark Side Presence the likes of which he'd never felt before, truth be told.
There was the Force Nexus beneath the Temple of course, long forgotten by the Jedi and turned to the Dark Side by frequent visits from Sidious himself. He'd used that Force Nexus to blind the Jedi many years ago now, before he'd even killed his Master and taken his place. It was the source of the Dark Side Shroud that hovered over the galaxy, muddying the Jedi's ability to use the Force and see what was happening around them at all times. And it was right under their noses.
… But he wasn't sure this had anything to do with that. Unless… perhaps one of the Jedi found the Nexus. And perhaps coming into contact with it had caused them to Fall to the Dark Side. Hm, but for this magnitude of power… it would have to be a Jedi Master at a minimum. And more than likely, it would be one of the Jedi High Council.
The thought brings a wicked, cruel smile to Darth Sidious' face as he sits there behind his desk in the office of the Supreme Chancellor. Someone on the High Council falling to the Dark Side? It certainly wasn't unheard of, and Sidious hoped to engineer such incidents as the war went on… but he had to admit, the idea was nevertheless quite a delicious one.
He could just imagine it, one of those sanctimonious fools realizing the true power of the Dark Side after coming into contact with HIS Nexus, resulting in them having to hide their new power from their fellow Jedi.
But who? Who could it be? He would have to keep an eye out in any future meetings he had with the Council in his capacity as Supreme Chancellor. If he could figure out which one of them had Fallen, he could almost certainly make use of that information. Oh yes he could.
Even though everything was going exactly to plan, there was no denying a certain… tedium to current events. The Clone Wars might be fully in swing, but Sidious himself was forced to stay on Coruscant and continue his slow conversion of the Galactic Senate as he convinced more and more of them to vote to give him emergency powers on top of emergency powers.
If nothing else, this hunt would break up that tedium just a bit. Yes… Sidious could hardly wait to find out who it was. Who among the Jedi had tasted the true power of the Dark Side?
-x-X-x-
He probably should have thought about it a little harder and called ahead, but… well, thinking things through had never really been Vader's strong suit. Even after everything, he'd always been more a man of action than thought. It was why he'd always led from the front, even after finding himself limbless in that blasted life support suit.
That said, obviously Padme wasn't going to be home at this time. It was the middle of the day so of course she was over at the Senate, doing her job as the Senator of Naboo.
Arriving at her apartments and finding them empty save for C3PO of all people had been… well, almost nostalgic for Vader. Almost, anyways. He'd rather quickly shut off the protocol droid and then sent Padme a message to let her know that he was waiting for her whenever she made it home.
From there, he and Ahsoka had been left to sit around doing nothing for a few hours. The Togruta had tried once or twice to ask him some things about what had happened between them, but Vader had shut that down, not really wanting to talk about it… especially not without Padme there to hear it as well.
In the end, Ahsoka had eventually fallen silent and Vader… Vader had been left to think and feel for the first time in far longer than he cared to admit. Padme was alive. She was alive and he was back in a healthy body only missing one appendage and it wasn't the important one.
… But of course, there was still what he and Ahsoka had done. She deserved to know about that and everything else, Vader figured. So he would sit and wait and when she arrived, it was just as he'd told Ahsoka. He would throw himself at Padme's feet and beg her for mercy. Metaphorically speaking.
Vader thought that last bit went unsaid. But apparently not. Because despite him telling her to let him do the talking, the moment that the door opens and Padme finally steps inside, Ahsoka doesn't even wait. The Togruta throws herself on the floor at Padme's feet, kowtowing to her immediately.
"S-Senator Amidala! I'm so sorry! I seduced Anakin and made him break his vows to you! Please, whatever you do, don't blame him! I'm the one who's at fault here!"
A smacking sound echoes through the silent apartment as Vader's fleshy hand meets his fleshy face. All the while, Padme stands there staring between him and Ahsoka, looking as blank faced as he'd ever seen her. Still the most beautiful woman in the entire universe though.