"It's over, Anakin! I have the high ground!" Obi-Wan shouted, over the sinister cackles of the molten lava below. Even with his high ground advantage, the Jedi Master could still feel the intense heat as if he were still on that platform, and his lengthy, brown hair had long since become matted to his forehead. Yet he maintained his focus, keeping his sights and attention on his now former apprentice, who never wavered even in the face of almost certain defeat.
"You underestimate my power!" Anakin countered, his voice deep with hatred and loathing for the man he had once called master, and friend. Right or wrong, from where he was standing, the Jedi Order, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, stood at the center of everything that was wrong with the galaxy. He wasn't sure why it had taken him so long to realize it, but now that he had, he intended on correcting those wrongs; a process that had already begun.
For a split second, Skywalker's thoughts flashed back to the charge he'd lead on the Jedi temple back on Coruscant. The familiar faces he'd struck down in cold blood, the younglings he'd slaugtered with only the slightest hesitation, the destruction he'd caused... And part of him had expected to find a sense of remorse, however small. Instead, his newfound convictions only grew stronger; as harsh as his methods might have seemed, he was doing what was right for the galaxy. One day, they'd thank him for it. Now, however, one last obstacle remained.
"Don't try it!" Obi-Wan shouted, sensing Anakin's intentions. Yet, in a final act of defiance, Skywalker leapt from the platform, drawing on the Force to close the gap between the barren land and the lava river. As he came to pass over Kenobi's head, the master swung, the blue blade of his lightsaber buzzing through the air, aimed directly at Anakin's legs.
But, whether it was Skywalker's skill, or luck, or his former master's mistake, Kenobi swung - and missed. Landing nimbly on his feet behind Obi-Wan, Anakin reacted quickly, lunging his own blade backwards to impale his former friend. Kenobi managed to spin away at the last moment, narrowly avoiding being stabbed in the back yet again by his former pupil - this time, literally. Not giving Anakin a second to think or breath, Obi-Wan goes on the offensive, charging in and bringing his saber down over Anakin's head with a powerful swing. Reacting in the nick of time, Skywalker swings his own saber around to block Kenobi's; locking blades with the Jedi Master as a shower of sparks erupt from the two, clashing sabers.
Reaching down deep, Anakin gathered his strength, finding just enough to forcefully shove Obi-Wan back, sending the master staggering. Both drenched in sweat and short of breath, due in equal parts to Mustafar's atmosphere and the intensity of their own battle, neither Anakin nor Obi-Wan are able to capitalize on the other's weariness to draw an end to this battle. Several moments pass as the two attempt to recover but several feet from each other, their lightsabers humming in their hands as the molten lava continues to cackle below.
Gathering his strength, Kenobi finds it in himself to make one, final bid to end this as he suddenly charges forward again, looking to catch his former padawan off-guard. And any other time, under any other circumstance, it might have worked. But as he stood on Mustafar's surface, brimming with anger and hatred, Anakin had a whole other source of power to draw upon; the power of the dark side.
It was fast, almost like instinct as the young Skywalker gathered his anger and hatred and lashed out with it, his hand flying into the air; a physical representation of the unseen hand that, at the very same time, clenched around Obi-Wan's throat. Caught off-guard, Kenobi had no time to prepare or defend for the assault; his lightsaber falling from his hands and landing on the ground, where it deactivated. His hands flew to his throat, as if he could pry away the hand he felt trying to choke the life out of him - but it was no use. All he could do now was look to his former padawan.
What he saw in Anakin Skywalker in that moment, however, was nothing like the young boy he'd met on Tatooine all those years ago, nor the Jedi he had trained. The dark side swelled within him now, corrupting his very physical appearance as his eyes had turned to a very unsettling yellow, with no small amount of fire burning behind them. Trembling with the power of the dark side, Anakin continued to choke the life out of his former master until he'd lost consciousness. Perhaps because he didn't have the heart, or perhaps because he figured the volcanic Mustafar would finish the job for him, Skywalker left Kenobi on the edge of life before carelessly tossing him aside. Deactivating his lightsaber and clipping it onto his belt, Anakin regarded the barely alive Jedi with a final look of contempt before walking away, leaving Obi-Wan Kenobi face down in the ash and dirt.
Two columns of Clone troopers stood on Mustafar's surface; six on either side, their blaster rifles at the ready. Still and quiet, they stared ahead, ready and alert for any sign of trouble. They were here for one reason and one reason only; as Chancellor Palpatine's personal escort. Not that the Dark Lord of the Sith, the mastermind behind all recent events, needed their protection; he was more than capable of defending himself, if need be. No, it was a sign of power; a reminder of his importance, even on the barren wasteland of Mustafar, where he had arrived not long ago to determine the progress of his new apprentice's mission. Stood in the shade granted by the shuttle he'd arrived on, Palpatine had drawn his black hood over his head, casting an eerie shadow over his sunken face.
Volcanoes erupted somewhere in the distance, the sound of the lava crackling as it flowed, and for the longest time, this was the only sound to be heard. But sometime later - minutes, maybe hours - the Clone troopers suddenly raised their blasters as another sound became audible; the sound of footsteps on Mustafar's ashen surface. The troopers stood at the ready, their fingers on the triggers of their rifles; ready to fire in a heartbeat. But as the source of the footsteps appeared, the troops lowered their weapons, and Palpatine - Darth Sidious - smirked.
"Good... Very good, my apprentice." Sidious remarked as his newfound apprentice, the fallen Anakin Skywalker, drew near. The Sith's praise fell on deaf ears, however, as young Skywalker had only one thing - one person - in mind.
"Where's Padme? Is she alright?" Anakin questioned as he approached Sidious, staring at the Sith Lord as he awaited an answer. Further spinning his web of lies, Sidious feigned remorse as he turned his gaze to the ashen floor and gave Skywalker his answer.
"She's gone." The Sith stated, and despite his attempts to sound genuinely remorseful and sympathetic, the words came out cold and harsh - and their meaning didn't quite set in with Anakin.
"Gone? What do you mean, gone? Where is she?!" Skywalker demanded, his voice growing louder as fear began to swell in his chest. He had done this, all of this, for Padme - to save her. They were supposed to have a family, to rule the galaxy, right the wrongs of the Republic and the Jedi and finally bring peace together.
"She is dead, Anakin. It seems that, in your anger, you killed her." Sidious remarked, his words cold and lacking even a forced sense of remorse. Vigorously shaking his head, Skywalker turned away, not believing what he was hearing. His breaths coming fast and heavy, Anakin wrestled with his emotions; a battle he ultimately lost as he spun around to face Darth Sidious once again.
"No, I... I couldn't have! She was ALIVE when I left her, I felt it!" Anakin argued, though with each passing moment the truth became clearer and clearer. Sidious was right. In his anger, Anakin had lashed out... He'd killed her. The woman he loved, the woman he'd vowed to protect and save... What had he done?
"I'm sorry you could not save her, Anakin, but today is a proud day nevertheless. The Jedi are all but extinct, and the Republic has fallen - all thanks to you... Lord Vader." Reaching into his black robes, Sidious drew a lightsaber from within, holding it out before Anakin. "And to mark this occasion, your new lightsaber." He stated, watching as Anakin did his best to contain his emotions before he reached out, claiming his new lightsaber.
"I... Thank you, master." Anakin stated, his voice trembling with sorrow and remorse even as he weighed his new weapon in his hand.
"This is the beginning of a new day; we are now in a position to rebuild the galaxy as we see fit. Do you understand, Lord Vader? The galaxy is ours!" Sidious exclaims, his voice filled with a sinister sense of excitement. Anakin, meanwhile, has once more turned away from the Sith Lord, staring down at the weapon in his hand before shutting his eyes tight.
"No..." He muttered, and before it had even registered with Sidious or the clones around them, Anakin spun around; igniting the crimson blade of his new lightsaber and plunging it into the heart of his "master". A storm of emotions brewed behind his yellow eyes as he stared into the shocked face of the former Chancellor before retracting his saber, leaving Sidious to fall to the ashen floor. Turning to the clones, who hadn't had the time to react to save the Dark Lord, Anakin glanced to the troopers on both sides of him; keeping his lightsaber ignited and ready as he spoke.
"The galaxy belongs to me!" Anakin declared, boldly claiming the throne for himself. But with Sidious dead by Skywalker's hand, there was no one to say otherwise... And so the clones buried the barrels of their rifles into the ground, and kneeled before their new master.