"Hurry!" Anakin crawled out from the collapsed metal duct and, as Denali was pulling a somewhat shaken Obi-Wan up from the floor, used the Force to lift the battered object into the air and place it back in the ceiling where the deformed clones were quickly approaching. It groaned in resistance, but a quick glance told him that the vent would stay put. Although, the shrieks and screams from their maniacal pursuers were informing him otherwise. "That'll buy us some time, but we need to get out of here before-"

The Jedi Master paused and he felt his heart hiccup in his chest. He couldn't explain it, but he could feel a familiar restlessness in the Force wash over him like a tidal wave. It was malicious, unnatural, chaotic in every sense of the word. The first name that popped into his mind upon experiencing the phenomenon was Danik, but that was impossible. He'd killed the sith himself, unless the darkness was radiating from one of the clones clattering through the vent systems. But if it was truly a clone, he would've felt the disturbance earlier during the chase, wouldn't he?

"Hey, guys, do you feel that?" Anakin asked his two friends, but there was no reply from either one. He looked up from the tiled floor to his left and his eyes found the source he'd been mentally searching for. The married couple were staring in awe at three bacta tanks, each one containing an infant floating in the fluid. As Obi-Wan marveled at the sight of his children, overwhelmed by the fact that he was now a father, Anakin felt the pull of the dark side urging him towards the tank farthest to the right, daring him to step towards the child practically glowing with a horrendous energy. The Jedi Master put his hand over his mouth to stile a sob as the realization of the moment hit him like a brick.

Something as evil as the infant before him would be nothing but a burden to the universe, causing destruction and blood-shed with every move it would make. There was no positive thinking in this case, just the horrible reality that this baby would grow to be one of the most powerful enemies of the Jedi in all of history. Anakin needed to stop this evil before it was too late, before it could develop into a blood-thirsty killing machine.

He'd have no choice but to kill it.

**********

The room was dark and filled with soot, thanks to the heated climate and lava flowing channels that made Mustafar the desolate wasteland it had always been. Though the air conditioning systems did their best to keep the stronghold at a moderate temperature, it still felt as if the building were on a sun rather than an actually planet. Panels of red and green buttons lined the walls, glowing and beeping as the battle droids seated at their stations fulfilled their commands.

General Grievous knew what was coming. With the death of his master only days prior and the Separatist Alliance dissolving like salt in water, it was no surprise to the cyborg when he received the message from Lord Sidious that would alter his path. He'd consented to this act years ago, before he'd even thought of cybernetic modifications and his legacy as a leader in the droid army. When it came to the downfall of the Jedi, that was his only purpose in this life, and he'd do whatever it took to fulfill it.

His metal talons clanked against the hard, flat floor with each step he took towards the carbonite chamber. He wasn't scared; this wouldn't have been the first time the sith used carbonite to preserve their advantages over their enemies to be used in a different day and age. The facts and research proved a living thing could survive the freeze for weeks, months, even years if need be. This was only one more step to the defeat of his enemies, one more necessary step in the right direction.

He stood at the center of the dark chamber, his four iron hands clasped behind his back, and took one final raspy breath.

"I will wake you when you are needed once again, General."

The old voice came from the cloaked, blue hologram only a few feet away, witnessing the final moments of the cyborg before who-knew how long. But it was necessary, at least that's what Grievous continued to tell himself over and over in his mind. The sith lord gave the signal, and the droids at their control panels began the process of starting up the freezing device. 

"I will see you then, my master."

The floor beneath him began to sink into the ground, exposing the holes in the chamber walls where the carbonite would burst forth and knock him unconscious. It wouldn't be too long, the General tried to convince himself as he was lowered. A few weeks, maybe a few months, possibly a year at the very most. This wasn't the end for him, he'd be back in action, slaying Jedi and any other enemies that tried to get in his way. This was merely a short break. 

He should've felt honored. To have been held at such a high regard by the most powerful being in the galaxy, the fact that his superior thought so highly of him that he wanted to preserve the general at all costs when the threat of their intergalactic alliance failing began to knock on their door. It was a compliment, a privilege. If anything, this was his leader showing his appreciation towards the cyborg and all he'd done for the Separatist cause. It was a considerate act that showed the sith lord didn't want his most powerful weapon to be affected by the collapsing universe around them.

He stared at the holes in the walls, oozing white clouds like an infection. The machine was whirring to life, groaning like a beast being wakened from hibernation, and the droids began their countdown.

"In five...four...three...two..." 

But if all of this was a good thing, then why did he feel so-

**********

Rahm wasn't going to Kamino to help solidify the Jedi's connections with the locals. Though it had been a very convincing lie to tell Master Windu, especially when he'd factored in Master Yoda's supposed needs, there was no way Mace would've suspected his true intentions.

As the Jedi sat in his starfighter, typing in the specific location he needed into his hyperdrive, he could recall the conversation he'd had with Master Fisto after Obi-Wan had sprinted from his wife's funeral. The Nautolan man had been very convincing with his words, how taking one of Denali's secret children as his own would be an advantage in the long run due to the parentage of the infant. With both a mother and father strong with the force, their child would be nearly indestructible.

"There are three children in all," Master Fisto had said with an eerily calm tone. "And I believe it to be wise move if we decide to keep them from the eyes of the Council."

At first, Rahm thought it was crazy, absolutely insane. Hiding a force-sensitive child from the Jedi was illegal with severe punishments. There was a reason parents didn't fight when a Jedi came to their doorstep to retrieve their newborn. In what universe would it seriously have been a smart move to try and hide a force-sensitive child from more-powerful force-sensitive people?

He tried to convince the Nautolan that keeping Denali's children a secret was the worst mistake Kit could've possibly made. But as the aftermath of Alderaan's attack began its wave of chaos through the galaxy, Rahm began to think differently of Master Fisto's plans. With each passing day, the Republic was growing weaker and weaker when it came to democracy. Planets were at civil war and blamed the Chancellor's lack of better judgement and the Jedi's inconsiderate hearts for it. Entire systems were beginning to starve thanks to a collapsing economy that depended on Alderaan for its crops. Like dominoes, Alderaan was the first to fall and send the rest of the Republic tumbling down with it.

As the months went by, Rahm decided to reconsider the plan that he once thought was insane, but now believed it to be the only way to find a chance at peace. The Republic was falling and taking the Jedi down with it.

Knowing that his time was running out, Master Kota jumped to lightspeed in hopes that he wasn't to late to save his friend's child.