Internally, Palpatine seethed on hearing the Muun teen's name. Plagueis had not deigned to contact him back during the trip to Sojourn. Worse, every time he had contacted Plagueis, the same horrid little nonentity had answered, and Palpatine had been forced each time to give an equally vague response.

Still, he had finally reached Sojourn itself and received a private audience with his Master, far away from the worthless scrap of a child who took his messages.

"Yes, Master," he responded.

"What secrets have you retrieved from the witches?"

"Only this," Sidious said, presenting the flask to Plagueis. The Muun Sith took the item and opened it, staring down at the contents.

"It is extremely dangerous," Sidious warned him.

"A poison?" Plagueis said, eyeing it with interest. "I can sense the Dark Side emanations from it. Most intriguing."

"No, my lord, not a poison. But-"

At that, Plagueis upended the flask's contents into his mouth.

"No! Stop!" Sidious said, but it was too late. Darth Plagueis had already consumed the entire flask to the last drop.

"Pity you didn't collect more," Plagueis said. "It was imbued with considerable Dark Side power. Power that is now mine."

Even now, Sidious felt a strange envy. He had actually planned to volunteer to drink the remaining liquid himself. He had thought it might help his Master understand the process through which it worked. And he still felt some strange desire for it, even as he despised and loathed it. "Yes, Master. I know. I myself drank some of the liquid already," he said slowly, trying not to panic. "But it also has an unacceptable side effect, which I was about to explain."

"You seem to be in good health, Sidious," Plagueis said. "What side effect could possibly be worth forgoing additional power?"

Sidious grimaced. "Love, Master. It compels you to feel love."

"Oh." Then Plagueis said something long and emphatic in the Muun language.

Sidious tilted his head. Had that been something about where someone could go cancel their inequalities? "I'm not familiar with that terminology, Master."

"Really? I thought you would know all the Muun curses by now."

Sidious felt relief. "So you understand the gravity of the situation, then."

Plagueis curled his lower lip in disgust and threw the flask behind him. "Yes, and I will resolve this-setback."

Sidious looked up at him hopefully. "So you know how to reverse it?"

"No," Plagueis said. "But I'm sure I can figure it out. If you bring me some more samples of the material to run the necessary experiments."

"As you wish, my lord." Sidious said, and rose. He allowed himself to feel optimism at his Master's confidence, though it mingled with his suspicion that the 'necessary experiments' Plagueis mentioned might involve the Sith Master consuming more of the accursed liquid.

Sidious looked at the small nav computer he held in his hand. It told him that the Dark Side nexus was close now. Closer...closer...and walking past the tall grass, there it was.  A small clearing containing a pond full of black water. But another knelt before the pond in front of him already.

"Talzin," he rasped.

She finished drinking the liquid cupped in her hands and turned to face him. "Back again so soon?" she asked, giving him an amused smile.

"So you sabotage yourself, too?"

"I'd hardly call it sabotage. Surely you can sense the power of this place?"

"Yes, the power to ruin my life," Sidious responded derisively.

"If you hate it so much, why did you return?"

"I merely require additional samples so their properties can be fully researched," Sidious said, kneeling at the pond and removing five flasks from the belt under his robes. "And reversed."

Talzin adjusted her position so she was seated cross-legged now at the edge of the pond. "Ah. Of course. Must be an awful lot of research if you require so many vials."

"How often do you subject yourself to this thing?" Sidious asked casually.

"About once a year. It won't let me drink from it more often than that."

"Hmmm," Sidious murmured, frowning. This could be a problem. "So all of you can only drink from this thing once a year?"

"Oh, no," Talzin said. "The timing depends on when the pond chooses."

"The pond chooses. The pond."

"Yes, I thought that was clear."

"I don't think I've ever articulated how much I hate Dathomir," Sidious said as he scooped up the black liquid in the flasks. After that he did his best to ignore Talzin. He did not want to test himself in battle just now, not when she had turned his own mind against him. He had to admit, if only to himself, that it had been a clever attack. Perhaps he would even use it himself some day, if the opportunity presented itself.

When he returned to his ship, a Naboo cruiser vessel, he entered and set the flasks inside of a secure box. He checked the living space and small sleeping area to ensure everything was as he'd left it, and that there were no stowaways. Then he settled himself at the pilot's controls and entered the coordinates for his return to Sojourn.

Plagueis would fix this. Everything was under control.

He hoped.