Part 1

Tohny-Qui opened the door to the Council chamber, his bright silver blue eyes looking around, searching for something, someone. There, his eyes fastened onto Anakin Skywalker who was standing straight with his hands clasped behind his back and as he faced the massive window. Something was wrong, so terribly wrong. Tohny-Qui wanted to just curl up in a corner and hide. The darkness, it was almost suffocating now.

Anakin turned slowly around to face him, and Tohny-Qui emitted a tiny gasp of surprise. His hero, the hero with no fear, was crying. Was it possible that the hero with no fear did feel fear? Biting his bottom lip, Tohny-Qui shuffled his feet, not sure if he should leave or stay.

Today was his tenth birthday, he was getting to old to run to an older person for comfort, or was he? Tohny-Qui thought and looked up into Anakin's cloudy blue eyes. Cloudy, where did the clear look go? The laughter in his eyes?

Tohny-Qui opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He looked toward the floor, his cheeks coloring. Maybe he should leave, later, there was always later. Isn't there?

"Do you need something young one?" Anakin asked.

"I…" Tohny-Qui paused, almost choking on a sob that came up his throat. Throwing aside everything about how a ten year old should behave according to his teachers, Tohny-Qui ran to Anakin and wrapped his arms around him in a tight embrace.

Stunned, Anakin managed to lower himself to the ground so that Tohny-Qui switched to hugging around Anakin's neck instead. Anakin felt the wet drops of tears on his shoulder as they soaked through his tunic, but did not move. When the child's crying did not cease, Anakin wrapped his arms around the boy and hugged him close.

Safe, that is what he felt, safe in the strong, muscled, arms of his hero. Tohny-Qui grabbed the back of Anakin's tunic with his hands, suddenly fearful that the security he felt would disappear.

Anakin placed his left hand on Tohny-Qui's head and ruffled his short, curly, blond, hair. "Things will turn out all right little one, don't be afraid."

Tohny-Qui just squeezed all the harder, almost choking Anakin in the process.

Anakin picked Tohny-Qui up and he went to sit down on one of the Council seats. He sat down and Tohny-Qui rested his head against Anakin's chest. "Would you like to tell me what's wrong?"

"It's dark, it's so dark." Tohny-Qui told him, lifting his head and looking into Anakin's eyes. "I'm scared. Can you make the darkness go away?"

Anakin was saved from responding when the door to the Council chamber opened again. Two four year olds ran into the room and attempted climb onto Anakin's already occupied lap. The girl managed to get on when Tohny-Qui shifted to make room for her and the boy settled for sitting at Anakin's feet instead. "Are you both scared too?" He asked them.

They nodded and shivered from a cold that came from the darkness that now permeated everywhere in the Council room.

Anakin forgot his anger at Mace as he tried to comfort the children with soothing words and caresses with the Force. The young ones trusted him, of all the Knights remaining in the Temple, these three had come to him.

The Council door was opened again and five younglings entered. They paused as the door shut behind them.

Anakin smiled at them and they managed smiles of their own. "Come and sit with us." Anakin invited them.

They did so and crowded around his chair and then the door opened again. This time two twelve year olds entered the room, somewhat nervously and sheepishly.

Chuckling Anakin said, "You never grow to old for comfort."

The two twelve year old boys laughed, still a bit uneasy, but they stepped forward and sat near Anakin's feet. Yeber, the four year old boy crawled onto one of the older boy's lap and laid his head against his chest.

As the door opened again, a small comm. unit that was embedded into the arm of the chair beeped and Tohny-Qui pressed the receive button so that Anakin could answer.

A small hologram appeared on the arm of the chair and before Anakin could say anything, the crèche Master spoke. "Ah, I see you've found my wayward charges. I hope they haven't been giving you any trouble. I'll see if I can free up someone to get them right away."

"They have not been a problem Master, you don't need to send anyone." Anakin told her.

"Alright, if you're sure, I've been getting reports of some of the younglings leaving their groups." The Crèche Master informed him.

Anakin nodded as five more children sat down as close as they could to him. "Well, it looks like they're all coming to the Council room, so I don't think you'll have to send out search parties."

The Crèche Master attempted to smile, but failed. "Good. I'm glad you're here Anakin, having a Council member here is reassuring."

The comm. went blank, just as another group of children walked in.

"It's going to get crowded in here." Tohny-Qui pointed out, a small smile twitching at his lips. "Oh, and my name is Tohny-Qui."

Anakin nodded in agreement when the door once again opened and this time a steady stream of children entered the room. Within a few minutes, the Council room was packed, with still more children outside the doors. A feeling of dread filled Anakin's stomach as a thought came to mind. If an attack took place right now, there would be no where for them to escape. The Council room had just become a perfect target for an attack.

"Can you both get off my lap please?" Anakin asked.

Tohny-Qui nodded and managed to get off Anakin's lap without stepping on anyone's fingers and then helped the little girl off of Anakin's lap.

Anakin stood up and took the four year old girl from Tohny-Qui and placed her on the chair. "Tohny-Qui, I want you to come with me."

"Okay." Tohny-Qui answered and they made their way out of the Council room to the turbolift where a seventeen year old Padawan had just come up in.

"Padawan Urit." Anakin said when he recognized the boy. "I need you to organize everyone up here into groups with at least two teens in a group of five to fifteen, depending on their ages. Then send each group to a meditation room with orders to stay on their guard for any possible danger. Don't alarm the younger ones."

Weber Urit took a deep breath and quietly asked, "Is the Temple going to be attacked?"

"I'm not sure, but it's best to be on guard for now." Anakin responded. "May the Force be with You."

"With you too Master Skywalker." Weber responded with a slight bow of his head.

Anakin and Tohny-Qui entered the turbolift and rode it down to the hanger area.

"Are we going to stop the darkness?" Tohny-Qui asked.

"Correction, I am going to. I need you to find Shaak Ti and tell her to contact as many Jedi as she can that are not in the Temple. They are to leave their troops and head back to the Temple and also to be wary of their troops." Anakin told him. "Once I leave, I want you to close and lock the hanger bay doors behind me and change the code by pressing the emergency button. While you're in the control room, get a hold of Gate Master Jurokk and tell him to lock the doors to the Temple and engage the lockdown procedures."

Anakin handed Tohny-Qui a comlink that he had grabbed from the Council room. Keep this on at all times. I'm going to keep mine on, so hopefully you'll be able to hear what is going on. If you hear something important, notify Shaak Ti immediately."

Tohny-Qui nodded. "Yes Master, I can do that."

"Good, then you had best get moving." Anakin told him. "May the Force be with You."

"With you too." Tohny-Qui replied and then ran to the control room. Once in the control room, he scanned the controls and found the ones he was looking for. As soon as Anakin was clear, Tohny-Qui closed and sealed the hanger bay doors and then pressed the button that would ensure that any intruder will have difficulty entering through the hanger bay.

Once that was done, Tohny-Qui made contact with the Gate Master and told him Master Skywalker's instructions. Thankfully Jurokk didn't question Anakin's orders even though Anakin was technically still a Knight.

Leaving the hanger bay, He went in search of Shaak Ti and after ten minutes found her in her quarters. "Master Shaak Ti." Tohny-Qui called, after he entered her quarters.

"What is so important young one that you had to enter without knocking?" Shaak Ti asked from her meditation position on the floor.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Master, but Knight Skywalker told me to tell you to contact all the Jedi that are away from the Temple and tell them to return to the Temple immediately. He also said for you to tell them to be wary of the clones."

Feeling the Force urging her to contact the Jedi now, Shaak Ti nodded her head. "Very well. Is there anything else that I need to know?"

"Gate Master Jurokk is putting the Temple into lockdown. Anakin has left the Temple, I am not sure where he is going. Oh, and Anakin gave me a comlink so that if there is anything we need to know then I'll be able to inform you." Tohny-Qui answered.

Shaak Ti stood up and headed for the comm. console. "Alright than…

"Tohny-Qui." He told her so that she could call him something other than young one.

"Tohny-Qui." Shaak Ti repeated. "Go find Master Cin Drallig and tell him that I said to gather those who can hold their own in a fight and put them at strategic places in the Temple. After that, go inform the healers to prepare for a possibility of a battle."

"Yes Master." Tohny-Qui replied and ran off to do as he was told. After he had finished talking to Cin Drallig and the Healers, he sat down in the corridor to take a few minutes to relax and center himself.

A sound drew his attention to his pocket, and Tohny-Qui remembered the comlink and took it out. He could hear voices, but they were very faint.

*"I will never join you, Palpatine."

"Then you will die along with the Jedi Order!"*

Tohny-Qui almost dropped the comlink in shock and quickly stood up. Seeing one of his crèche mates passing by, he ran over to him and shoved the comlink into his friend's hand. "Give this comlink to Shaak Ti, don't turn it off!" Then, leaving his baffled friend behind, Tohny-Qui ran down the corridor, down a set of stairs to a secret corridor he had found a year ago, that led outside of the Temple.

When he opened the door that would take him outside, Tohny-Qui felt a warning through the Force and quickly shut the door. The clones were trying to get into the Temple. He backed up a few steps and then began to look around for something to block the secret entrance, just in case the clones found it.

The footsteps sounded louder and he could hear the voices of the clones outside. The old corridor was bare and damp. There was nothing to block the door with, the door itself did not even have a lock.

"Oh, this is bad." Tohny-Qui muttered when an explosion sounded nearby. It had sounded like it came from the ground, so they must be using explosives. Tohny-Qui watched the door nervously, unsure how long it would hold out in the onslaught. If the clones were determined enough, they would set off explosives at every part of the walls of the Temple until they are able to find a weak spot and then exploit it. Hopefully the clones didn't have a map of the structure of the Temple.

An explosion sounded again, right at the door, and pieces of rock and dust fell, causing Tohny-Qui to cough. He didn't have a comlink handy, and the risk of going for help was to great. The clones must not be allowed to enter the Temple.

Drawing on the Force for calmness and strength, Tohny-Qui unhooked his lightsaber and ignited it. Standing in a defensive posture, Tohny-Qui waited as an explosion sounded again in the same spot. The clones had found the door.

Five minutes passed before the door gave way and as soon as the dust cleared the clone troopers began to fire on him. Tohny-Qui deflected every shot in smooth moves with his lightsaber and sent them back at the clones.

Dead clones began to fill up the entrance, but the clones were determined and continued coming at Tohny-Qui. He used the Force to help keep him going strong, but there were so many clones and he was beginning to tire. If one shot got passed him then he would be in trouble.

Tohny-Qui backed up until his back was at the door that led right into the Temple. "You will not pass!" He said in a loud, determined voice as the Force prompted him to swing his lightsaber at a spot on the ground and instantly a powerful spray of water clashed at the clones. The nicked pipe caused the plumbing in the rest of the passageway to go, and so rocks and water began to plummet at the troops.

Unfortunately the reaction caused Tohny-Qui to be distracted and one of the clones managed to get a shot at him. Tohny-Qui cried out and collapsed to his knees and then everything went dark.