The black sickness infects too many too fast for anyone, even the most celebrated doctors, med droids and even emdee droids to keep up with. Its sickly black touch seems to have developed overnight, non-existent one day, unstoppable the very next. The disease began as a trickle, with merely one or two reported cases far out in the Outer-rim-territories where the Senate could ignore its existence, but it did not stay that way for very long. Ten cases became one hundred, one hundred cases became ten thousand cases and after that… Entire systems fell prey to the sickness all at once. Padme had never seen something so fast acting, so deadly consume so many before. Not even the Republic's clones were safe. It was worse than Naboo's Blue Shadow Virus, and when the new epidemic found its way into the inner core and struck her beloved home world, it took so many more lives than the virus she'd worked so hard to keep contained ever could have.
Her people died by the thousands and there was nothing she could do. It broke her heart and infuriated the Senator all at once. She was fortunate… For a while, Padme considered herself lucky because her family were safe. Locked away in the Lake Country, the disease hadn't slithered into their bodies as it had so many others. But as all things do, Padme's luck eventually just ran out. It was Sola who contracted the sickness first, and then Darred and mercifully her parents were able to remove Padme's little nieces from the home before their little lives, too, were endangered. But her beloved sister and brother and law were whisked away to the best available medcenter on Naboo at the Senator's expense where she could not visit or bring them home comforts to ease their suffering.
With the possibility of death drawing nearer and nearer for two of the few people Padme loved endlessly, she grew desperate, funnelling credits by the thousands into research into the sickness. She used both public funded establishments and private. But not even Alderaan's physicians could find anything to stop the spread. Hopelessly grew across the Galaxy and not the Chancellor, the Senate or even the Jedi could do anything to make it better.
But then, it happened. Someone came forward with the much longed for cure. Someone who'd engineered one all by themselves here, on Coruscant without the help of any medical professional and all across the Galaxy, hope was reignited in so many beings. That was, until the mysterious being who'd found a way to save them all, to save Padme's family, took that hope and stamped it into the dirt beneath their boot. Their cure worked, they knew it because this person, this man who went by the name of Vader, had proven it. But he would not share it with those who needed it so desperately. Not for nothing. He gave out little of it to those who he believed had earned it. Whether through monetary bribes, favours, gifts and whatever else, the cure had a price. And Vader was smart about his despicableness . He gave out just enough for a single dosage per being… Not nearly enough to allow the cure to be shared or recreated and it sickened Padme to her very core.
So she took her donations from the research facilities and instead hired as many bounty hunters as she could afford to unmask this Vader. People needed the cure and by the Force, Padme Amidala was going to get it to them. Whatever the cost.
Still, nothing in the Galaxy could have ever prepared the Senator for the answer she received. At last, after almost a month of waiting, of praying to the Force, to all of the Goddesses or Naboo and any other deity available for Sola and Darred's health, one of the Bounty Hunters completed their mission. Aurra Sing returned to Padme with a name before any other could. And she made sure to pay the woman handsomely for her silence upon the reveal. Because, although the information was much sought after by everyone, both Republic and Separatist, there was one being who stood a chance of convincing Vader to release the cure. The Senate had tried. They ordered Vader to give the cure to licenced professionals or else be arrested as a traitor. But he'd merely moved his research facilities to the Outer-Rim, where this all began. Where the Senate couldn't touch him.
There was only one person who Vader might listen to, because upon reading the name given to her by the bounty hunter, after Padme had given the woman her credits and seen her out, she wept into her pillow for hours.
The only way to save the Galaxy from this terrible sickness, to save her sister and Darred, was to face the one man Padme had never believed she'd ever see again. For, the mysterious and cruel Vader was someone she'd once known so very well. Someone she'd always believed so much in. Someone, she'd even come close to marrying once.
Vader was Anakin Skywalker.
So long ago, when there'd been attempts upon her life, Anakin Skywalker had been her Jedi protector. They'd hidden away together in the summer heat of Naboo, and against all odds, fall in love with each other. In the short frame of time they were thrown together, they fought through so much more than most couples experience in a lifetime… The death of Anakin's mother, the drama of forbidden romance, almost losing their lives in Geonosis in the execution arena and a battle against a Sith which sparked the beginning of the Clone Wars. But none of that meant they could stay together, or that they could be together. And though it had broken Padme's heart and his own just as much, when Anakin asked her to marry him after escorting her home, she'd refused him.
There'd been shouting, and begging and so many tears from them both. And eventually, Anakin accepted her answer and left her, head hung low and shoulders slumped in defeat and to see the man she loved so utterly hurt by her had hurt worse than the Nexu's claws tearing the flesh off of her back.
She'd never seen Anakin again. He'd appeared in many news holos over the course of the Clone Wars, until he didn't. Until there were rumours that the Jedi's Chosen One was fallen, that he'd turned to the Dark Side. Others whispered that he was dead. Padme hadn't been sure which was worse. Obi-wan confessed that he didn't know which was true… That he'd woken one day to find his former apprentice's lightsaber left behind and the boy he'd raised to adulthood gone without a word. No one had heard from him since.
Padme had always hoped that he was happy, wherever he was. Never believing the rumours of his turn to the dark side, one selfish part of her had always hoped that maybe, just maybe, now without the ties to the Jedi, he might come to her and ask her that life changing question again… But he never had. And she knew she was a fool for wishing so. There could very well be another woman who'd given him the comfort Padme could not throughout the war… Someone else could have held his heart instead and he had every right to give it. But still, his disappearance hurt.
And now, now her prestigious chrome star sciff looked terribly out of place in the darkness of Mustafar as it landed gracefully upon the landing pad. Every inch of the Senator trembled as her eyes took in the dark, looming towers of the black stone castle built into the rocks of the lava planet that looked nothing like the home of a former Jedi… It seemed like something built for a Sith. And the very thought only made her tremble harder. This was the home Anakin – or Vader – had built himself after the commands of the Senate… It looked wrong. Like something from one of her favourite holovids as a child, an evil castle for an evil villain…
Was that what he had become?
Tears sprung into Padme's eyes suddenly and she leant her forehead against her palm for a moment as the grief threatened to consume her whole. All around the ship, lava crashed against the rocky shores like waves and already the transparisteel of her ship's windows was beginning to fog in the heat. She dreaded leaving her ship, and one small part of her wanted to simply restart the engines and return home. But she couldn't. So many lives depended on her now. It was her duty.
Inside the castle, there seemed to be no life, no warmth despite the heat, and no beings of any race to fill the many rooms… It was silent. Save for the droids who walked from room to room fulfilling whatever jobs they'd been created for, there was nothing. Padme stepped further inside, her tan leggings sticking to her skin in the heat and suddenly regretted her choice in wearing boots. Despite the way things had ended between them, despite why she was here, and despite her fears, Padme's lips curled up into a small, wistful smile… Because no matter how he may have changed, it was just like her Ani to surround himself with droids of all things. At least some things remained the same about him. It meant she had a chance.
Eventually, she's met by familiar droid, one she'd gotten to know so well in their shamefully short time together, though now, he looked rather different. No more loose wires or exposed sockets. Anak – Vader treated his old friend to the very best golden plating available. Unspursing, given his history with the droid, but part of Padme still cringed at the expense… Just how much wealth had he amassed by playing God over the life and death of so many beings?
"Threepio!" She forced herself to smile because it was not the fault of the droid that this had happened. And, truthfully, Padme had missed his fussy personality. "You look different."
"Ah, yes." His arms rose proudly as if to further show off the plating. "Isn't it wonderful? Master Ani bought it just for me! I've been very useful lately." And at that, Padme couldn't not laugh, even a little. Suddenly, she wished she hadn't commanded Artoo to stay with the ship… Those two had always gotten along wonderfully. Perhaps, if all went well, there would be more time, another chance…
A very large if.
Threepio announced that his Master was waiting for her, and Padme followed the droid through the castle silently. It was dull… No possessions or decorations filled the vast hallway they walked through. Dark curtains blocked out what little light Mustafar had leaving only small lamps to provide the much-needed illumination. There was nothing of Anakin here… Nothing that told of his personality or humour. Nothing to show that someone of flesh and blood lived here. It was all rather… Saddening. She'd wanted him to be happy in what he did, but this was not a home that seemed anything more than miserable and isolated.
"Threepio, does anyone else stay here?" Padme had to know. Did he live here alone? Were there others who lived with him? Worked with him, even? Just a few steps ahead of her, Threepio gave a small sound of surprise, as if such a question was one he hadn't been expecting.
"Oh no. Master Ani is very specific about who comes here. Any visitors do not stay for long." The droid gave a forlorn sound, almost a sigh, and Padme felt for the poor thing. Threepio was so sociable. He would do well in a place more… Domesticated. But then, once she may have thought the same about Vader. However, the droid's words caught her attention. Vader saw his visitors here? There were always rumours about the placement of his facility, people were willing to spend their life savings to know where they could plead for the cure, but no one ever seemed to know just where to find him… Not even those who had been so lucky to be given the cure ever spoke up.
What did he do here?
It has been three years since Padme Amidala last saw Anakin Skywalker, and when Threepio takes her inside a large chamber full of scattered equipment, parts and strangely coloured liquids she'd rather not look at for too long, she finds he's nothing like she remembers. He's bigger than she remembered. Once lean but strong with wiry muscles lining his body, he was now thick with muscle from his efforts on the war front. And his hair… What was once bright blonde and cropped short to meet with the Jedi rules for human hair for their Padawans, was now long honey-blonde curls that reached the end of his neck… No longer was he a boy on the cusp of manhood. He was a man now. And the man watched her enter with blue eyes as cold as ice.
Padme wondered if he was anything like the boy she'd fallen in love with at all.
She found him sitting by a large fire – why he needed one in the heat of Mustafar, she didn't understand – on an expensive wingback chair, the first furniture she'd seen since arriving and swallowed down her nervousness. This was it. There was no turning back now. An old habit sprung back to life suddenly, and she itched to make use of her fingers by playing with her hair… But by some mercy, Dorme had braided it this morning, so her long locks were beyond her reach. To deal with his, there could be no distractions. She needed this cure.
Honestly, part of Padme was surprised that he'd gone as far as to build himself this grand palace atop the corpses of those he'd let die, and hadn't carved himself out a throne to perch himself upon.
He always had a flair for the dramatics after all.
"Anakin," She begins, with the hope that his name, his true name from her lips may soften him to her appeal. It does not work.
"That name no longer has any meaning for me!" He snapped and Padme stumbled backwards slightly, from the surprise of it.
"Please… Many people need your help." Padme pleads, eyes wide and desperate. "Countless beings are dying all across the Galaxy and no one else knows how to end the senseless loss and suffering… They need you to help them." She pauses to gather herself against the burning tears that blurred her vision as she imagines her poor nieces missing their parents. "I need you."
Once upon a time, he told her she was in his very soul… And now Padme wasn't sure he still had one. But if there was a chance it was still there, that there was a shred of the man she loved left… She had to appeal to that side of him, to the man who'd believed that compassion was the truest form of love. He wanted to help people. Not leave them to suffer. The man who looked at her now… Were they even the same person?
In his silence, it's Vader's eyes that frighten Padme more than anything. She remembered them as warm, and kind and loving despite the hardships life had dealt him from such a tender age… But now… Now they were colder, duller. No sign of the life they'd once shone with. He looks older despite only being twenty-three years old, and whether that was due to this dangerous greed that had settled onto him, or fighting in a war, Padme couldn't know.
The quiet stretches on and on until finally, her desperation gets the better of her. "Please, Ani. My sister is sick… So is her husband. They can't die… They can't." Two unwanted tears slip from her eye and along her cheeks and it's almost impossible to stop others from following their wet trails. She was so afraid he was going to say no, that her decision to break both their hearts and place duty above love would drive him to send her away empty-handed. Padme wasn't sure she could survive such a disappointment.
At last, it is Vader – or Anakin, Padme can't be sure which – who breaks the silence between them. "Sit down, Padme." It is not a question, and yet, it isn't a command either. There is neither warmth nor anger in his voice, so it was impossible to guess his feelings toward her plea. Regardless, she does as he says and sinks stiffly into the matching chair opposite his. At once, he rose and stepped past her and Padme watched the sensual dance of the flames as from behind her, she heard a clinking. Another tear fell from her eyes, but she was able to rid her skin of the evidence before he returned, settling down once more with an outstretched arm. With a jolt, she realised he was offering her a drink.
Blossomwine.
Her favourite.
Padme took it gladly and gave herself a generous sip. If it were anyone else in the Galaxy, she'd be wearier… But no matter what had happened, he would never hurt her. She trusted in that. The sweet taste slipped down her throat without the usual burn of that most alcohol created and for that, she was glad. Something told her she'd need the numbing for what was to come.
Finally, he spoke again. "I'll give you the cure."
The glass almost fell from her hand with the shock. He – he would share it with her? For one blissful moment, sheer relief fell upon Padme so heavily that laughter bubbled its way up, into her throat and almost escaped her mouth. Almost. Sola and Darred were going to be alright! She wasn't going to lose them! Oh, she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry! Maybe what they said about him was wrong? Maybe the Anakin Padme had loved was still in there?
"But, there's something I want in return."
At once, Padme's every hope deflated so rapidly that her body sagged slightly. Oh. Well, she should have known that would come… No one received the cure from Vader for nothing. There was always a price and not even Padme, his angel, could be exempt. There was a fairness to it, she supposed.
"I'll give you as many credits as you want." She sighed, and sipped at her wine again, avoiding his eye. But then it happened, so unexpected that her gaze snapped up so quickly that she found him smirking into his own glass.
He laughed.
"I don't want your money, angel." Was it terribly wrong that, despite it all, Padme's heart leapt in her chest at the sound of the special nickname he'd gifted her with over a decade ago? She hadn't heard it in so long and it just… No, it was wrong. What relationship that existed between them was over. This was strictly business. An exchange of sorts, the cure for whatever he desired of her. Something about that sent a shudder of anticipation along the Senator's spine. That was the question, wasn't it? What did he want?
"Then what?" Padme whispered.
"Marry me."