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It's like looking into a warped mirror, watching his own body - not him, not his, but someone else who looks terribly like him - slide to his knees in front of a living-again Sidious, expression so utterly lost. Where are his Masters? Where is Obi-Wan, where is Maul? Sithspit and hellfires, where are Yoda and Qui-Gon and the rest of the Council, for that matter?
Taking a deep breath, Anakin wraps his hands around the hilts of both his lightsabers, stepping out of the shadows he seems to have used to walk through a wall. It draws the attention of both his alternate self - there is a flash of surprise and bewilderment that just surfaces through the miasma of anger, sadistic glee, and betrayal that muddies the Force in the room - and Sidious.
"Nice trick, old man." Anakin meets the coldly yellow eyes of the Sith Lord, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He's killed Sidious once, and he can do it again, if he has to. Obi-Wan and Maul are going to be worried when they can't raise him on his communicator, but he'll apologize later.
Sidious studies him with narrowed eyes, his face twisted in a way it hadn't been before, when Anakin had confronted him. "I didn't think the Order would be so bold as to attempt to clone young Skywalker."
Anakin huffs at Sidious's pretence that his alternate - still kneeling, still looking uncertain, but less surprised now - isn't even here. His Masters never would have resorted to such rudeness. "I was born, and I grew up, like any one else, old man. Probably in the same place the kid you have kneeling for you."
He wonders what Sidious did to his alternate, though he's not sure he wants to know. Killed Obi-Wan or Maul, maybe. It's the only thing Anakin can think of that would leave him reeling long enough for Sidious to get hooks in his mind.
Thumbing on one lightsaber, Anakin grins at the flash of surprise that crosses Sidious's face at the crimson blade. Obi-Wan had given him a wounded look when Anakin had built this saber, even though Anakin had already made one that was blue. It seems this Sidious isn't any expecting red any more than the other one.
The surprise isn't enough to keep Sidious from meeting his first strike when he moves, and Anakin easily slides into the rhythm of a duel, reaching out to the Force to let it guide his movements. His other saber he keeps in reserve, though it's a bit of work to keep Sidious at bay without it. It's not time yet.
He has to light it when his alternate self dives into the fight, blue blades clashing, and Anakin hisses, falling back toward the open window. This is not at all what he'd been expecting from his alternate. Couldn't he see the evil in Sidious? Didn't he know that Sidious was threatening the balance of the Force?
Not that the Jedi were entirely better themselves, but Anakin doesn't want to see the Force tip over into darkness, either.
Lashing out with a Force-aided push, Anakin frees himself from the threat of his alternate self for a moment, long enough to leap up into the frame of the window. It's already shattered, so if he must, he can leap - though he can almost hear Maul shouting at him about his lack of planning, and Obi-Wan's muttered oh no, not again.
Anakin can feel the shift in the room just before Sidious brings up a hand, Force-lightning sparking from his fingertips. He hadn't liked it last time, and he grimaces as he twists, bringing one lightsaber up to deflect it. Jumping into Coruscant air-traffic is sounding more appealing now, when his other options are being skewered by himself or being electrocuted by a Sith.
"I'll tell my Master you said hello!" Anakin grins at the moment of confusion on Sidious's face before he steps backward, plummeting down into the empty space around 500 Republica. This is not going at all how he expected it to go.
Masters, I hope you can figure out what went wrong when I killed the old man the first time, and get me out of this.
"Two of you." The voice sounds aggrieved, and somewhat familiar, and Obi-Wan keeps his eyes closed as he tries to place it. "At least I can be certain you didn't have yourself cloned."
"It doesn't mean the Council didn't decide it might be a good idea." That's his own voice, but it can't be his, because he hasn't said a word. "Though you're not supposed to be able to clone Force-sensatives, not if you want to keep the ability to use the Force, anyway."
"A lightsaber does not mean he can use the Force."
There's a sneer in that voice, and Obi-Wan finally places it, his eyes snapping open as he reaches toward his belt and the lightsaber that should be hanging there. It's not, and he glares at the red-and-black demon that had done rather a lot to destroy his life.
It takes a moment to register the room around him in more than a vague sense, and Obi-Wan frowns, not recognizing the architecture as anything on Utapau, nor anywhere else he's been recently. The stone is pale grey, polished smooth on the floor, and carved in an unfamiliar manner on the walls. A pair of arches leads out into a riotous garden, and light pours in through the half-ruined ceiling - though there is a faint shimmer there that suggests it's sealed by a force-field to keep out weather.
There's also another being in the room, who could pass for Obi-Wan if he grew a beard and trimmed his hair back to his shoulders. He could almost think he was looking in a mirror.
"And closed eyes doesn't mean he's unconscious." A wry smile curls the corners of the other man's mouth, eyes dancing with amusement.
(Yes, this was rather inspired by the current challenge on![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fan_flashworks, but I am not posting it there. Some other snippet, that does not encourage the muses to keep a new plot bunny and forget the ones they've already brought me.)
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Taking a deep breath, Anakin wraps his hands around the hilts of both his lightsabers, stepping out of the shadows he seems to have used to walk through a wall. It draws the attention of both his alternate self - there is a flash of surprise and bewilderment that just surfaces through the miasma of anger, sadistic glee, and betrayal that muddies the Force in the room - and Sidious.
"Nice trick, old man." Anakin meets the coldly yellow eyes of the Sith Lord, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He's killed Sidious once, and he can do it again, if he has to. Obi-Wan and Maul are going to be worried when they can't raise him on his communicator, but he'll apologize later.
Sidious studies him with narrowed eyes, his face twisted in a way it hadn't been before, when Anakin had confronted him. "I didn't think the Order would be so bold as to attempt to clone young Skywalker."
Anakin huffs at Sidious's pretence that his alternate - still kneeling, still looking uncertain, but less surprised now - isn't even here. His Masters never would have resorted to such rudeness. "I was born, and I grew up, like any one else, old man. Probably in the same place the kid you have kneeling for you."
He wonders what Sidious did to his alternate, though he's not sure he wants to know. Killed Obi-Wan or Maul, maybe. It's the only thing Anakin can think of that would leave him reeling long enough for Sidious to get hooks in his mind.
Thumbing on one lightsaber, Anakin grins at the flash of surprise that crosses Sidious's face at the crimson blade. Obi-Wan had given him a wounded look when Anakin had built this saber, even though Anakin had already made one that was blue. It seems this Sidious isn't any expecting red any more than the other one.
The surprise isn't enough to keep Sidious from meeting his first strike when he moves, and Anakin easily slides into the rhythm of a duel, reaching out to the Force to let it guide his movements. His other saber he keeps in reserve, though it's a bit of work to keep Sidious at bay without it. It's not time yet.
He has to light it when his alternate self dives into the fight, blue blades clashing, and Anakin hisses, falling back toward the open window. This is not at all what he'd been expecting from his alternate. Couldn't he see the evil in Sidious? Didn't he know that Sidious was threatening the balance of the Force?
Not that the Jedi were entirely better themselves, but Anakin doesn't want to see the Force tip over into darkness, either.
Lashing out with a Force-aided push, Anakin frees himself from the threat of his alternate self for a moment, long enough to leap up into the frame of the window. It's already shattered, so if he must, he can leap - though he can almost hear Maul shouting at him about his lack of planning, and Obi-Wan's muttered oh no, not again.
Anakin can feel the shift in the room just before Sidious brings up a hand, Force-lightning sparking from his fingertips. He hadn't liked it last time, and he grimaces as he twists, bringing one lightsaber up to deflect it. Jumping into Coruscant air-traffic is sounding more appealing now, when his other options are being skewered by himself or being electrocuted by a Sith.
"I'll tell my Master you said hello!" Anakin grins at the moment of confusion on Sidious's face before he steps backward, plummeting down into the empty space around 500 Republica. This is not going at all how he expected it to go.
Masters, I hope you can figure out what went wrong when I killed the old man the first time, and get me out of this.
"Two of you." The voice sounds aggrieved, and somewhat familiar, and Obi-Wan keeps his eyes closed as he tries to place it. "At least I can be certain you didn't have yourself cloned."
"It doesn't mean the Council didn't decide it might be a good idea." That's his own voice, but it can't be his, because he hasn't said a word. "Though you're not supposed to be able to clone Force-sensatives, not if you want to keep the ability to use the Force, anyway."
"A lightsaber does not mean he can use the Force."
There's a sneer in that voice, and Obi-Wan finally places it, his eyes snapping open as he reaches toward his belt and the lightsaber that should be hanging there. It's not, and he glares at the red-and-black demon that had done rather a lot to destroy his life.
It takes a moment to register the room around him in more than a vague sense, and Obi-Wan frowns, not recognizing the architecture as anything on Utapau, nor anywhere else he's been recently. The stone is pale grey, polished smooth on the floor, and carved in an unfamiliar manner on the walls. A pair of arches leads out into a riotous garden, and light pours in through the half-ruined ceiling - though there is a faint shimmer there that suggests it's sealed by a force-field to keep out weather.
There's also another being in the room, who could pass for Obi-Wan if he grew a beard and trimmed his hair back to his shoulders. He could almost think he was looking in a mirror.
"And closed eyes doesn't mean he's unconscious." A wry smile curls the corners of the other man's mouth, eyes dancing with amusement.
(Yes, this was rather inspired by the current challenge on
fan_flashworks, but I am not posting it there. Some other snippet, that does not encourage the muses to keep a new plot bunny and forget the ones they've already brought me.)Next Part