With each of his steps, though normally confident and measured, a sense of great determination seemed to resonate with the very weight of purpose that Count Dooku felt. It was the sort of determination to which the Force itself appeared to answer—a crimson determination to go with the crimson-hued halls of Sidious's secret lair deep under Coruscant. An eerie silence echoed, broken only by the sound of Count Dooku moving closer. A storm of power nestled beneath the façade of the old statesman—beneath it, determination and resolute will brewed.

When Dooku walked inside, he found Sidious waiting. In fact, the man in front of him seemed like a dark silhouette against the backdrop of the Coruscant, the endless cityscape—very ominous. The Sith Lord's cowled features remained in shadow, though his eyes had achieved a sickly shade of yellow.

"Ah, Lord Tyranus," hissed Sidious's silky voice. "I have been expecting you. You look—different today."

Dooku bowed his head respectfully. "Truly, Master. Perhaps it is the weight of our forthcoming victory that you sense."

Sidious sniggered once more, but it was such a humorless sound. "Victory? Yes, I suppose our machinations are finally coming to a head. But, my apprentice, what thoughts prey upon your mind, so filled with cunning?"

The Count's hand shifted almost infinitesimally closer to his lightsaber. "I have been contemplating the futurе, Mastеr. Thе shapе of things to come."

"How intriguing," purred Sidious, his own hand trailing along the armrest of his chair. "And what shape do you foresee, Lord Tyranus?"

Dooku narrowed his eyes. "One where the Sith rule is absolute, but perhaps… under different leadership."

The electricity in the air became tangible and a hush tickled around the room; a sense of battle about to come. Sidious rose from his seat, fluid and predatory.

"Ah, I see," the Sith Master said, ice glinting in his voice. "You think you are ready for the mantle of Master. How… predictable."

At a flick of his wrist, Sidious's own lightsaber flashed to life, the crimson blade burning the gloom around the two of them. "Then, my ambitious apprentice. Come. Prove yourself capable of the full measure of your power."

Dooku's own blade flashed forth, and for a moment, its unreasoning blue caught Sidious off guard despite his knowledge of Dooku's new blade. "With pleasure, my former master."

The air crackled with energy as the two Sith circled one another. Sidious narrowed his eyes at Dooku, taking in the changed appearance that he had seen so many times already, the new aura of unfamiliar confidence.

"You've long since changed, Tyranus." He hissed, "What secrets have you been keeping?"

A small smile played across Dooku's lips. "Let's just say I've had a... revelation. .. one that has opened my eyes to new possibilities."

Their blades clashed in a furious exchange, filling the room with the hum and sizzle of lightsabers. Sidious's face contorting with rage and surprise of actually being challenged for what felt like the first time in years.

"Impossible," the Sith Lord spat. "Your power… It's beyond what it should be!"

Dooku took his advantage, rather fluent and precise. "Mysterious ways the Force works, old friend. Perhaps it has chosen a new avatar for its will."

Their lightsaber combat intensified, weaving intricate patterns of light as they battled across the chamber. Sidious unleashed torrents of Force lightning, only to have them deflected by Dooku's blade with ease.

"You fool!" Sidious roared. "You believe you can overthrow me? I am the Sith'ari—the one who will show the universe the true power of the Sith through a thousand years of planning!"

Dooku was condescendingly serene in his reply. "Plans do change, Sidious. The galaxy is heading toward a new dawn, one which demands a new type of leadership."

As they dueled, he could feel the Attraction System in the background, analyzing Sidious's strikes, giving him tactical insight. With every moment that passed, the Count's control of the duel increased.

Sidious growled, his anger rising as he felt his advantage slipping away. "What sorcery is this, Tyranus? What have you tapped into?"

"One beyond your comprehension," Dooku answered before his blade reached a hair's breadth of Sidious's throat. "A power that will reshape the galaxy."

The two combatants reached the pinnacle of the duel, releasing their best and most powerful arsenal of Force abilities yet. From their very somatic expressions of conflict, the building itself shook with every contact.

He forced Sidious back as Sidious's eyes widened with realization. "You… you're not just Tyranus anymore, are you?"

Dooku stopped, the lightsaber about to deliver the defeating blow. "No, I'm not. I am something new, something that transcends the limitations of Sith and Jedi alike."

With one last, decisive stroke, Dooku disarmed Sidious, sending the Sith Lord's lightsaber rattling across the floor. There, Dooku stood over his former master, the blue glow of his saber bathing both faces as the fate of the galaxy balanced on a razor's edge.

"And now," Dooku said, his voice slightly heavy with the weight of destiny, "the future takes a new path."

For an instant, Dooku seemed to have won, then the room filled with the most unlikely sound: laughter. Sidious's usual cackle began low, then swelled and raised up into a maniacal shout that raked Dooku with a sudden chill.

"Oh, my dear apprentice," wheezed Sidious between roars, "you are delightfully drunk on power."

Dooku's brow furrowed, and he gripped the hilt of the lightsaber tightly. "What game are you playing, Sidious?"

The yellow eyes of the Sith Master glowed with malevolent mirth. "Game? No, Lord Tyranus. This is no game. This is the outcome of the millennia of machinations of the Sith. Did you honestly think that your new strength would be able to challenge me?"

Sidious stood, his almost lack of concern for the lightsaber pressed against his throat, present. "Let me remind you of something, my ambitious apprentice, that you appear to have forgotten. I am the Sith'ari."

"The Sith'ari?" Dooku repeated, his voice edged with doubt.

"Yes," he hissed, satisfaction oozing from his voice. "The pinnacle of our order. The ultimate vessel of the dark. The most powerful Sith of all time, and forever after."

Another lightsaber ignited in his hand with a flick of his wrist, its red blade hissing with evil. "Now, let me show you the true meaning of power."

The duel re-engaged, only this time the tide had swung. Sidious flowed with impossible speed and grace, recovering his other blade for twin blades, intertwining a deadly web around Dooku. The count was put onto his back foot, enhanced abilities barely keeping him ahead of Sidious's onslaught.

"Impossible," Dooku gasped as he parried a particularly vicious strike. He couldn't help himself but say this next bit. "The Attraction System… It should have made me invincible."

Sidious's laugh echoed through the chamber. "Ah, so that's what you call it. How quaint. Did you really think such a trivial power could challenge the dark side itself?"

Blows after blows rained down on Dooku, knocking him farther and farther back. His new potential powers were now no more than heavy, unyielding armor. The strategic overview provided by the Attraction System turned into a confused blur, no longer able to keep track of Sidious's relentless assault.

"But… how?" Dooku panted, his movements growing slack.

Sidious now held the better ground, his blades chasing one another in a blur that the eye could not quite follow. "The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. Your 'Attraction System' is but a pale imitation of true power."

With a final series of devastating strikes, Sidious disarmed Dooku, sending the blue lightsaber spinning across the room. The Count fell to his knees, his armor scorched and smoking.

"Please… mercy," Dooku gasped, all of the bravado from earlier in this confrontation completely gone.

Sidious stood over him, a twisted visage on his face, as if amused. "Mercy? Oh, no no no, my dear Tyranus. You, sir, are far too valuable to me to just kill. But you do need a reminder of your place."

Blue lightning erupted from the cadre's fingers, engulfing Dooku in exquisite agony. The Count screamed; the sound reverberated off the chamber walls as Sidious began to slowly intensify the attack. Blue was becoming purple.

"You see, Tyranus," the Dark Lord continued in the same conversational tone he had with everyone, "ambition… the desire for power. These are things I cultivate in my apprentices. But… you must understand the folly of challenging me."

When the lightning finally subsided, Dooku lay on the floor, trembling; his armor, which had been terrifying before, was now reduced to a charred ruin. Sidious knelt beside him, his voice a venomous whisper.

"Now, tell me about this 'Attraction System' of yours. How did you come by such an... interesting ability?"

Dooku clung to the last shreds of his defiance by staying silent. Sidious narrowed his eyes, his mind probing the dark chasms of Dooku.

"Fascinating. A merging of consciousnesses? A power from beyond our reality? How delightfully unexpected."

The Sith Master rose, stepping toward his broken apprentice with a mix of disdain and curiosity. "You've given me an interesting new branch for investigation, Lord Tyranus. Perhaps you weren't wholly without merit, after all, in your… little… rebellion."

But as Dooku fought to stand, there feigned solicitude in Sidious's voice. "Lie now, my apprentice. We have much work to do, and I am most eager to explore the full potential of your…gift."

The chamber was silent but for Dooku's labored breathing and the low hum of Coruscant's distant traffic. The Count of Serenno had so shortly before been sure of his new power. Now he faced the bitter truth: within the greater game of the Sith, he remained but a pawn to Sidious.

* * *

This sleek, silver craft slid noiselessly through the inky void of space, its destination the sprawling headquarters on Tion. Within its confines, Count Dooku sat motionless, his once-imposing armor now a testament to his recent defeat at Sidious's hands. The mechanical whir of his suit's respirator punctuated the silence, a rhythm that had begun to mock rather than intimidate.

As the ship began its descent, Dooku's mind strayed back to his confrontation with Sidious. The bitter taste of failure lingered fresh within him, along with the searing memory of Force lightning coursing through his body. He had gone into that duel with a plan—incautious risk. Win, and he would ascend to true power. Lose…

"And now he knows everything," Dooku muttered, his voice altered by the mechanical timbre, echoing in an otherwise empty cabin. "The element of surprise, gone. Like sand through an hourglass."

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The ship touched down with a gentle thud, and Dooku rose to his feet, stiff and deliberate. As he disembarked, his strategic overview of the CIS headquarters flickered to life in his vision—an invidious reminder of the power he thought he'd mastered.

Inside his personal chambers, Dooku stood before a large window that looked out upon the busy activity of the Separatist stronghold. He raised a hand, willing The Attraction System into being. The now familiar interface appeared, though now it seemed hollow, a pale imitation of true power.

"Computer," he spoke, his voice tinged with frustration, "analyze the recent confrontation with Darth Sidious. Identify weaknesses and potential improvements."

The system roared to life, data scrolling across his vision. But the more that Dooku read of the analysis, the more a creeping realization began to take hold.

"This... this is meaningless," he murmured, waving the interface away. "All this power, all this knowledge, and yet I understand nothing."

Turning to pace, the cape fluttered behind Dooku. "The Force," he mused aloud, "studied it these many decades, mastered its intricacies, or so I thought. And yet, in the face of Sidious's power, I was nothing more than a novice."

He turned to the reflection in the polished durasteel wall; his mask had been destroyed in the fight with Sidious. The face that stared back was young and handsome, framed by that signature silver beard, though the eyes… the eyes were weary, an exhaustion that did not belong with such an ageless appearance.

"And this system," Dooku went on, his voice rising further in frustration. "This 'Attraction System' that just showed up out of nowhere. I've bent it to my will, used it to reshape myself, to gain power beyond imagination. But do I truly understand its nature? Its origin?"

He hit his fist against the wall, and the sound resounded across the room. "No," he growled. "I don't. I'm feeling blind, working with powers I can't begin to understand."

A soft chime cut through his mood. "Count Dooku," the voice of a droid staticked across the comm system, "the Separatist Council wishes to meet with you to discuss strategy."

Dooku straightened and squared his shoulders; his face composed once more. "Tell them I shall arrive shortly," he responded, with a cool, sure voice that was expected of a leader. Seeking new armor, replacing the old one, destroyed.

Walking into the council chambers, the air was alive with the working of Dooku's mind. The defeat at Sidious' hands had shaken him to his very foundations, but it had also kindled a new resolve within.

"I may not fully understand the Force," he thought to himself, "and I may never know the true nature of this Attraction System, but I will learn. I will adapt. And next time."

He paused at the entrance to the council chamber, his resolve hardening.

"Next time, Sidious, you'll face an opponent who truly understands the power he wields."

The air seemed to crackle with tension as Count Dooku swept into the expansive war room on Tion. His armor gleamed under the harsh lights, reflecting the CIS insignia on his cape to meet every eye. Behind him trotted his faithful droid companion, R3-TZ, beeping softly.

"Gentlemen, my lady," Dooku's voice, mechanically altered but still suave, addressed the assembled Separatist Council. "I trust you've all reviewed the reports I sent ahead?"

General Grievous, hunched over the central holotable, fixed Dooku with his reptilian gaze. "We have, Count. But I must say, this seems... excessive. Our forces are already pushing the Republic back on multiple fronts."

Sev'rance Tann, the Chiss tactician, stepped forward. Her red eyes flashed. "I concur with the General. Our current strategy is sound. Why risk overextending ourselves for a weapon that may not even—"

Dooku rose a hand, and the murmurs that had begun to ripple through the room were stilled. "Ah, but therein lies our advantage, does it not? The Republic believes us content with our current gains. They do not expect us to reach for more."

He gestured to R3-TZ, which threw up an image of an ancient and sinister weapon. "The Dark Reaper," Dooku announced, his voice carrying a mix of reverence and anticipation.

Ever-skeptical, Nute Gunray leaned forward. "And what, pray tell, makes this weapon so special, Count?"

"The Dark Reaper," Dooku explained, pacing around the hologram, "is an ancient Sith weapon capable of draining the Force itself from living beings. With it, we could end this war in a matter of days."

Durge, the Gen'Dai bounty hunter, leaned his considerable mass to one side. "And where is this wonder weapon, Dooku? Hidden away in some Sith tomb, no doubt?"

"Hardly," Dooku said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "A crucial component needed to construct the Dark Reaper, the Force Harvester, lies buried on Raxus Prime."

A Chiss general, the blue of his skin a jarring note among the drab tones of the war room, spoke up. "Raxus Prime? That junkyard world? How can you be certain?"

Dooku tapped the side of his helmet. "I have my ways, General. Ways that have yet to fail me." The Attraction System flickered to life in his vision, confirming the location with pinpoint accuracy.

"I will supervise the excavation personally," Dooku went on. "Grievous, I want you to raise a task force to provide cover. The Republic must not interfere."

Grievous nodded, his eyes narrowing in anticipation. "It will be done, my lord."

Sev'rance Tann examined the hologram intently. "And once we have secured the Force Harvester, then what? Even the Dark Reaper itself is still a mystery."

Dooku faced her, his expression thoughtful and pleased with her foresight. "An excellent question. The Force Harvester will not only power the Dark Reaper but also guide us to the rest of its components."

Wat Tambor of the Techno Union interrupted, his vocabulator awkward as he tried to express his concern. "But Count, even with our current advantages. Such a weapon… it could upset the balance of the entire galaxy. Are we prepared for that responsibility?"

Dooku responded immediately, his tone quite firm. "The galaxy is out of balance already, Tambor. Corruption within the Republic has seen to that. We're just providing the means to restore order… permanently."

As he spoke, Dooku felt a flicker of unease. His college student part stirred with ethical concerns, but he pushed these thoughts aside, focusing on the task at hand.

"Prepare your forces," he ordered. "We move on to Raxus Prime within the day. Victory is within our grasp, but true peace… that requires more than merely winning battles."

The meeting adjourned, and as the leaders filed out, R3-TZ rolled up to Dooku, beeping inquisitively.

"Yes, my friend," Dooku murmured, his voice dropping to its natural timbre. "I understand the risks. However, if we are to truly change the galaxy, then we must be prepared to wield power that others fear."

With a swirl of his cape, Dooku turned and strode from the war room as R3 followed him from behind, the weight of his decisions settling heavily upon his armored shoulders.

Soon reaching the obscure chamber buried deep in the personal quarters of Dooku on Tion. The quarters hummed with an ominous, electric energy as a hologram of Darth Sidious flickered alive. Dooku, his imposing armor glowing in the dim light, dropped to one knee, his cape pooling around him like a sea of darkness.

"My master," he intoned, his mechanically-altered voice reverberating around the room.

Sidious's cowled face was oversized, his yellow eyes piercing through the blue-tinted hologram. "Rise, Lord Tyranus," he commanded, his voice a sibilant whisper. "I trust your meeting with the Separatist Council was… productive?"

Dooku stood, his posture rigid. "Indeed, my lord. They have agreed to pursue the Dark Reaper project. We will move on Raxus Prime shortly."

A thin smile crawled across Sidious's face, making Dooku feel a shiver run down his spine. "Excellent. Your ambition serves you well, my apprentice. However…"

Dooku felt a flicker of unease. "My lord?"

Sidious's smile grew, showing teeth that seemed unnaturally sharp. "The Dark Reaper, Lord Tyranus, is nothing more than a carefully crafted distraction. A shiny bauble to keep your Separatist allies… occupied."

The words hit Dooku like a physical blow. He struggled for composure, grateful for the helmet that masked the shock and rapidly growing anger washing across his face. "A diversion?" he managed to ask, his voice betraying nothing.

"Oh, yes," Palpatine purred. The very sound of his voice indicated that he was savoring the moment. "We can't have the Separatists winning too easily, now can we? The war must be... prolonged. Balanced. The galaxy must be brought to the brink before our final victory."

Enraged, Dooku felt the surge of his blood. That part of him that remained the idealistic college student recoiled against this callousness, this waste of life and resources. His strategic part of the mind, tempered by years of experience and sharpened by the Attraction System, did see the cruel logic of it all.

"I… understand, my master," Dooku ground out, fists clenched at his sides.

Sidious's eyes sparkled with malevolent delight. "Do you now? I wonder, Lord Tyranus. I sense… conflict in you. Anger. Resentment, perhaps?"

Dooku said nothing, aware that to make any reply was to damn himself further.

"Good, good," Sidious cackled. "Let it fuel you, my apprentice. But remember your place. You are a tool, nothing more. A powerful one, to be sure, but a tool nonetheless."

The Attraction System flared to life in his vision, unbidden. A cascade of information flooded his mind: power levels, strategic possibilities, potential paths to victory against Sidious. All of it felt hollow, insufficient. He wanted more. He wanted to be stronger.

"Yes, my master," Dooku replied, forcing the subservience into his voice. "Your wisdom guides us all."

In the room, the sound of Sidious's laughter echoed. "Indeed it does. Now go, Lord Tyranus. Play your part. Let the galaxy burn, so that from its ashes, our new order may rise."

The hologram flickered out, and Dooku was left alone in darkness. A long moment, he stood there, heavy breathing, as if the mechanical respiration of the suit mocked his inner turmoil.

"R3-TZ," he called, his voice tight with emotion not allowed to come forth.

The loyal droid rolled into the chamber, beeping inquisitively.

"Begin a deep scan of all available data on Force amplification techniques," Dooku ordered. "Focus on ancient Sith rituals, forgotten Jedi practices, anything that might... augment one's power."

R3-TZ whistled an affirmative, but there was a note of concern in his electronic tones.

Dooku rested a hand upon the droid's domed head. "I know, my friend. But we have no choice. Sidious must be stopped, and to do that, I need to become stronger. Much stronger."