Anakin had been summoned by the Chancellor that evening to meet with him at an Opera Theatre.

At first Anakin was still bitter about learning the true nature of Palpatine but the more he thought about it, the more he knew the importance of the council's assignment to spy on him. If Anakin could identify him as the Sith Lord which had orchestrated the Clone Wars, he could report back to the council and bring an end to the war once and for all.

As much as he thrived in combat situations and loved the thrill of the battlefield, Anakin was desperate to end the war. Now that he was going to become a father very soon, his priorities had shifted. Now all he wanted was his child to grow up in a peaceful world away from corruption and war.

If that meant outing a long time friend as an enemy of the state, he would do it.

On his journey to the Opera Theatre, his mind wandered to her former Padawan. He had been so preoccupied with politics, wars and fatherhood, he had nearly forgotten Ahsoka's campaign on Mandalore.

Things had been so hectic in the last few months, he hadn't the time to speak to her, after all, they had parted ways so hurriedly once the Chancellor had been kidnapped.

He hoped she was ok. Even though she was no longer his apprentice, that didn't mean he still didn't care for her like a brother. It had broken his heart when she left and in fact, Anakin himself had felt betrayed by the council, sowing the seed of doubt he had in them from the start.

But ever since Palpatine's true colours were brought to light, he had a newfound trust in the council. It turns out that it was Palpatine leading him astray, not the Jedi.

When finally he arrived at the Opera Theatre, he did his best to shield his emotions. If Palpatine was a powerful force wielder, then it would easy for him to sense his uneasiness, so he built up a mental shield wall around his anger and disgust.

Pretending as though nothing had changed, he sat by the Chancellor, intent on the conversation. That was, until Palpatine brought up a legend, an old Sith legend.

Though he was intrigued and curious by the story and the fact it was apparently possible to save people from death, Anakin was aware this could just be another ploy to gain his trust. After all, the Chancellor was implying that the Jedi were holding him back and that a Dark Side user could be more powerful. Anakin had told the Chancellor on many occasions that he believed the Jedi were not teaching him everything there was to know, so it would make perfect sense he would try to entice Anakin with a story about gaining power. As Obi-Wan had told him, he did have an ego and it was apparent the Chancellor was taking advantage of that.

Though Anakin was aware now that this so-called legend was a ploy by the Chancellor, it still made Anakin wonder.

He knew all too well that there was some information and training with held from him. Most of said information was only accessible by Jedi Masters and because of course he did not hold that rank, he didn't have access to it.

It frustrated him that information was being denied to him, after all, perhaps the key to Padmé survival lurked in those databases. However, he knew that should his mission of playing spy be a success and the Clone Wars finally came to an end, he had no doubt it wouldn't be too long before he would be made a Master. He just needed to be patient.

Patience wasn't exactly one of his virtues but he would try his best.

During the whole conversation, Anakin tried to make it seem he was interested in learning more about this legend and the power behind it. He could tell that Palpatine thought he was winning him over.

When at last Anakin made to leave, he couldn't wait to report to the council. For once in his life, he could honestly say that a council report was something to look forward to.

***

The council meeting was far from uneventful. Anakin had told them about the Chancellor's ploy to gain his trust and the whereabouts of General Grievous.

To his surprise, Mace Windu had actually thanked Anakin for taking his assignment to heart.

Whilst Master Kenobi was tasked with going to Utapau to find and destroy Grievous, Anakin was told that gaining more information from the Chancellor was his top priority.

***

After a heartfelt goodbye to his former Master, Anakin retired for the night.

He didn't use his Jedi Temple quarters much, in fact, he mostly just used those chambers as a place to build and repair things, like his own little workshop.

In all honesty, many Jedi just overlooked the fact that Anakin was nearly never actually in his chambers and that he would spend whole nights away from the Temple.

Most turned a blind eye to this because it wasn't strictly law that Jedi had to stay at the Temple. In fact, it wasn't uncommon for some Jedi to spent nights at hotels. This was either because they hated the rather uncomfortable beds at the temple or they were bending the rules of the code so to speak. Either way, most Jedi that knew Anakin didn't stay at night, chose not to bring it up.

Though the Code was law amongst the Jedi, some, if not most Jedi didn't believe in certain rules. So if one Jedi decided to bend or break one of the code's rules, who were they to talk if they outed Anakin as a rule breaker?

Though many suspected where he would go to sleep, they dare not mention it.

Anakin was finding it more and more difficult to keep his relationship with Padmé a secret so for the last few months he was rather lax when he left for the Senatorial apartments.

Fortunately, Anakin had no nightmares that evening. Everyday for the past few months, he had dreams of Padmé, his beloved wife, dying in childbirth. He had promised her he wouldn't let that happen, no matter the cost.

But recently his nightmares had been getting shorter and more faded for the past few weeks. He knew his premonitions could come true, his own mother was proof of that, but since his newfound trust in the council was blosseming, his nightmares were slipping away.

He felt more at peace than he had felt in years. Perhaps everything was finally falling into place for him.

Anakin would soon be a father and due to the fading of his visions, he believed Padmé would survive. General Grievous would soon be destroyed. The Sith Lord would be destroyed and the Clone Wars would finally end, leaving the galaxy in peace.

Waking up to his wife in his arms and his hands laid over her baby bump, he could almost believe he lived a normal life, away from politics and war. It was a shame he couldn't share any of this domestic bliss with those closest to him.

Obi-Wan no doubt had his suspicions and Ahsoka always made it clear that she believed him and Senator Amidala were a great team. In actual fact, only Commander Rex, Anakin's second in command of the 501st squadron (Anakin's squadron if clones), knew that Anakin and Padmé were together.

Anakin had been worried about how to tell his second in command about his affair with the Senator, but it was the only way. Anakin had been battling the Outer Rim Sieges for months now and he needed to talk to Padmé. He placed his trust in Commander Rex to keep an eye out whenever he contacted her.

***

Anakin and Mace Windu stood in the communications tower at the Jedi Council with Ki-Adi-Mundi, Master Yoda and Ayla Secura all stood as hollograms before the two.

"Master Windu, may I interrupt?" A hologram of Commander Cody (Obi-Wan's second in command) appeared in their midst, "General Kenobi has made contact with General Grievous and we have begun our attack."

"Thank you, Commander." Mace said as Cody dismissed himself, his hologram fading out, "Anakin, deliver this report to the Chancellor. His reaction will give us a clue to his intentions."

"Yes Master," Anakin replied respectfully, "But what exactly should we be expecting. If he indeed wants to cling to power, what then?"

"I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi," Mace replied.

As he didn't know whether he was supposed to tell Anakin of the stranger's warnings from the future, he phrased his reply vaguely. He wasn't lying, after all, the stranger warned of the destruction of the Jedi.

"If he does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous then he should be removed from office," Master Mundi added.

"The Jedi Council would have to take control of the Senate in order to secure a peaceful transition." Windu added.

"Perhaps I could entice him to reveal his darker half, It would give us solid evidence of his malicious intentions," Anakin suggested as the Jedi around him agreed.

"Great care we must take," Yoda warned, evidently troubled by the prospect of plotting something which could go wrong in so many ways.

Just as Anakin turned to leave, another hologram appeared.

"Ahsoka..." Anakin muttered under his breath, relief washing over him to see his friend safe after everything he heard was happening on Mandalore.

"I understand that your mission was a success," Master Windu said as he turned to regard the former Jedi Padawan.

"Yes. I have Maul in custody." She explained, though it was obvious she was looking at Anakin.

Obi-Wan had contacted Ahsoka just before his departure for Utapau system. Shebhad informed him that the infamous Darth Maul was once again at large on Mandalore and was wreaking havoc in the city.

"I will escort Commander Rex when he delivers him to Coresant." Ahsoka explained as she turned her attention back to the other Jedi, though it was clear she wished to speak with her former Master.

"A great service to the Republic you have done," Yoda pointed out.

"I did my duty as a citizen." She said bluntly.

"Not as a Jedi?" Yoda inquired solemnly, obviously disheartened by her rather sad tone of voice.

"Perhaps..." She admitted, her eyes once again falling on Anakin, "Actually, I was hoping to speak with General Skywalker. It's about something Maul said, I think perhaps you should all hear it."

"Go ahead, Padawan Tano," Ayla Secura encouraged her, though Ahsoka had to try not to wince at being called a Padawan again.

"Is Master Kenobi not here?" Ahsoka questioned, "This may concern him as well."

"Engaged the enemy, he has." Yoda confirmed, prompting Ahsoka's eyes to light up in hope.

"Then the war could be over soon..." She mused as she figured that with Grievous gone, the Separatists would be without leadership.

"That depends on the Chancellor," Mace crossed his arms.

"What do you mean?" She inquired.

"I'm sorry, citizen. These matters are for the council to discuss," he said bluntly, making her grit her teeth in annoyance.

Choosing to ignore the casual insult thrown at his somewhat sister, Anakin turned to Ahsoka, "Please, you wanted to tell us something?"

"I did." She said, turning away from Master Windu and back at the group, "Maul mentioned a Sith called Darth Sidious. When last I spoke to Master Kenobi, he just said that we had nothing to go on but his name, Sidious. I thought it nothing at first, just the ramblings of a madman but during our fight, Maul mentioned how Skywalker 'was the key to everything' in Sidious' plans. He said Anakin was being groomed to join him and that he only orchestrated the siege of Mandalore to lure him here and kill him so as not to give his former Master that satisfaction."

Silence befell the room as they all tried to process this. Anakin was a cocktail of emotions, scared at what this could mean for him, Padmé and their child, angry at Palpatine - Darth Sidious - for trying to raise him to be some sort of dark side apprentice, and hopeful, now he knew the truth, they could bring the Chancellor to his knees and end the Clone Wars.

"Am I missing something here?" Ahsoka questioned as she looked from Jedi to Jedi, trying to make sense of the silence.

"Ahsoka, tell you everything upon your arrival, I will." Yoda assured her, "But for now, bringing Maul into our custody at the Temple, your mission is."

With that, Mace Windu cut Ahsoka's hologram off so she couldn't listen into the conversation. Anakin was already too preoccupied with keeping his calm to notice her absence.

"And now the truth comes clear," Master Mundi sighed, "It appears Palpatine not only wanted Skywalker for his influence in the Council, he-"

"He wanted to raise me as his slave, to bend my will to the dark side." Anakin all but spat in disgust, "Why me?"

"Because you are one of the most powerful Jedi to ever grace these hall, Skywalker," Mace stated bluntly, surprising Anakin, "We all sensed it when you first came to us as a boy. Power. The potential to be the best Jedi there has ever been. But perhaps Palpatine saw that power too and thought there was an opportunity to turn that power to the dark side."

"What should I do?" Anakin asked, looking to the Masters around him for the answers.

"Go to the Chancellor as planned. I will come with you and wait for your com signal should anything happen."

"Now we know his purpose for you," Master Secura added, "Use that to your advantage. Coach a confession out of him and we can have him arrested and out an end to the Clone Wars for good."

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