Revenge of the Sith: Prophecy Fulfilled
Chapter 1: Point of no Return
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Even sitting in the Jedi Council Chambers, with all the currents of the Force swirling around him, Anakin Skywalker could not find peace.
How could he when knew he had just condemned the love of his life to death?
His very soul twisted and contorted into such grotesque, agonizing shapes that Anakin was sure that he was going to die. The pain of his actions was more than his body could handle. His hands found his head and squeezed. The whole situation was infuriating! Palpatine was a Sith Lord, the very thing that Anakin had been taught his entire Jedi life were the very embodiment of evil! What was worse was that Palpatine was the Sith Lord who had orchestrated the Clone Wars! How many friends and allies had Anakin lost because of Palpatine? How many innocent people had been killed? Yet Palpatine had never been anything but a friend to Anakin. In fact, Palpatine had treated Anakin like family, like a nephew! What made things a thousand times worse was that Palpatine knew how to save Padme's life! When Palpatine died, so would Padme!
'But Palpatine is a Sith Lord!' Anakin screamed inside his head, 'He's got the blood of billions of innocent people on his hands! I had to turn him in!'
This thought did nothing to soothe the chaos inside his mind and Anakin practically threw himself out of his chair and walked over to the adjacent window. He gazed out over the Coruscanti horizon to where he knew 500 Republica to be. Somewhere on the top levels of that building, he knew Padme was waiting for him; carrying his unborn child. Anakin reached out with the Force and felt her. Felt the very truth of her. He felt the beat of her heart, the gentle rise and fall of her lungs as she breathed. Deeper still, Anakin could feel her love for him. Her true love for him. He felt that love pour into his own heart and fill him completely. It was warm, gentle, and powerful beyond any measure of the Force. It gently wrapped itself around Anakin and cradled him in a gentle embrace so like Padme had when he had awoken from his nightmare what felt like a lifetime ago. Anakin softly pressed his hand of flesh against the window and sent his love for Padme back to her through the Force. She may not be a Jedi, but she was Anakin's wife, and right now he wanted nothing more than for her to feel the truth of his love for her the way he had felt hers. Anakin sent it all, every once of love he had ever felt for her. From the time he was a nine-year old slave boy on Tatooine to now. Moments later, Anakin felt a surprising ripple through the Force connection he had unwittingly forged between him and his wife.
She was unconsciously sending him her love back.
The realization that Padme had not only felt what Anakin had done, but was returning in kind (even if she was unaware of it), was incredible. The fact that she truly loved him that much was more than Anakin could handle. He slumped against the window and slid down to the floor, silent tears streaming down his face. He couldn't let her die, he just couldn't! But accepting Palpatine's offer would mean abandoning the Jedi. What would Obi-Wan think? The magnitude of that thought threatened to send Anakin over the edge when suddenly, the chaos in his head, the chaos that had been driving him mad over the last several days, just disappeared. Obi-Wan, he needed to talk to Obi-Wan. All Anakin had to do was buy time for Obi-Wan to get back from Utapau! It was so absurdly simple that Anakin was stunned he hadn't thought of it earlier. Anakin could save everyone at once. He could save Palpatine and he could save Master Windu and the others who had gone to confront the Chancellor.
He could even save Padme.
All he needed was time.
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As Anakin rushed toward the hangers of the Jedi Temple, four Jedi Masters approached the private office of one Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. The soft burgundy carpet of the hall muffled their footfalls and the gray durasteel door to the office seemed to melt into the walls with a mechanical hiss as they approached.
Palpatine heard the noise, and turned his seat to see which Jedi had come to apprehend him.
"Ah, Master Windu, what a pleasant surprise!"
As he spoke, Palpatine sent a flicker of his will through the Force and triggered an audio only recording device within his desk.
"I take it General Grievous has been destroyed then?" he asked pleasantly.
"This isn't about Grievous," Master Windu replied stonily.
"It's not?" Palpatine queried innocently, "Master Fisto, hello. Master Kolar, I trust you're well. And Master Tiin! I see that your horn has re-grown nicely. You must forgive my ignorance Masters, but if it is not Grievous or the war, what has brought you to my office at such an hour?"
"We know who you are," Mace replied, "We know what you are. We're here to take you into custody."
"I beg your pardon Master Windu. What I am?" Palpatine said with obvious confusion, "And I sincerely hope I misunderstand what you mean by custody. It screams of treason."
"Then let me make my meaning plainer," Mace responded coldly, "You're under arrest Chancellor!"
At that pronouncement, Mace Windu ignited his lightsaber and was mirrored by his companions as they moved out in a semi-circle, cornering the Chancellor.
"And on what charges do you intend to arrest me under?"
"You're a Sith Lord!" Mace said bluntly.
"I am? Even if that were true, I believe the Constitution of the Republic has very specific laws against persecution based on a philosophical or religious belief."
"We're not here to argue with you. Come with us. Now?"
"I will do no such thing, Master Windu!" Palpatine fired back, "I have committed no crime, and yet you Jedi traitors are here to imprison me, with your weapons drawn no less!"
"Don't try to resist."
"Resist!?" Palpatine cried shrilly, "How could I possibly resist you? This isn't an arrest at all. This is murder! How am I of any threat to the Jedi? Master Tiin, you're the telepath, what am I thinking right now?"
Jedi Master Saesee Tiin cocked his head curiously to one side, and ever so slightly lowered his emerald green blade. A blur of black shadow and red flame shot from behind Palpatine's desk and Saesee Tiin's head bounced as it hit the floor.
Both Mace Windu and Kit Fisto jumped back in alarm.
"It doesn't…" Agen Kolar half whispered.
His sky blue blade was sucked back into the hilt of his lightsaber and a crimson blade withdrew from his head.
"..hurt."
The Jedi Master was dead before he hit the floor.
Once again, Mace and Kit Fisto gave a start of shock as they stared at Palpatine, who was now standing in the doorway, a blood colored blade cocked high at his shoulder.
"Help! Help!" he cried, his voice high and panicky, "Security, someone, anyone! Help me!"
And then to the utter astonishment of Mace and Kit, Palpatine held a finger to his lips…
…and winked.
Palpatine lowered his blade and swept past the two Jedi, back to his desk. With a surgically precise stab, Palpatine drove his scarlet blade straight through the recording device.
"That's quite enough of that."
There was a pause where Palpatine looked over at the two Jedi, a sadistic grin spreading across his mouth, and the floodgates of will that held his dark power at bay collapsed.
It happened almost instantly. The softly glowing lampdisks that illuminated Palpatine's office seemed to flicker and fade as a shadow as dark as the space between galaxies and as old as the universe itself engulfed the room. The shadow clawed toward the two Jedi, slithering through the Force toward their hearts, and when Mace tried to trace this shadow back to it's source, he found that it led straight into the heart of the man standing before him.
Chancellor Palpatine.
And as he realized this, the man before him disappeared. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, dogged and brave leader of the Republic, savior of civilization, melted away into the shadow. In his place stood a timeless shadow, a black hole within the Force. The phantom menace that had been insidiously striking at the Jedi from within the darkness it's enemies dared not tread. Palpatine was no more.
There was only Sidious.
Darth Sidious.
The Lord of the Sith raised his blood-shine blade and stared at it as though it were a long lost lover. And then, perhaps to the Jedi, perhaps to himself, or perhaps even to the blade of crimson plasma before him; the shadow that was Sidious spoke.
"If only you know," the shadow's voice said, shaking with a perverse lust, "Just how long I've been waiting for this."
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Anakin's speeder screamed through the night sky as forked bolts of lightning sparked against the lightning rods of the Coruscanti skyline that surrounded him. Far off in the distance, he could feel an immense shadow consume the Chancellor's private office.
He needed to hurry!
Anakin shoved the speeder's engines to full and felt through the Force for the fastest route to the Chancellor. He found it almost instantly and dove right into the heart of Coruscanti air-traffic. Bobbing and weaving through air taxis and other speeders, Anakin prayed with all his heart that he wasn't too late.
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Kit Fisto never had a chance.
As soon as it had finished speaking, the living shadow that was Darth Sidious surged forward, powerful beyond measure, and consumed the Jedi Master utterly.
Now Mace Windu was alone against the physical manifestation of the Dark Side itself.
Alone, but not helpless.
Because Mace has a power too. He has Vaapad.
It is often touted at the seventh form of Lightsaber combat, but Vaapad is much more than that. Vaapad is a form of combat, a power, and a state of mind. To use Vaapad, one must give himself to the fight, to the thrill of combat, and the lust for victory. That is why it is such a dangerous form.
It leads through the outer fringes of the Dark Side.
Mace Windu created it, and he was its only living Master.
So when the shadow swung it's blade at Mace's neck, Mace released Vaapad from within his heart and answered in kind.
The shadow pressed on him, and Mace used Vaapad to push back. Every strike of his blade, every blow that was sidestepped, every whip crack of the Force that sent decorations hurtling through the air at the shadow, every one of them was Mace Windu fighting to save the Republic he loved so dearly. Darkness poured from the shadow and Mace let it flow through him and then reflect back out at the shadow.
This is the power of Vaapad. It is a channel for darkness. It creates a circuit within the Force, a never-ending loop of energy that allows Mace to turn darkness into light. The Force darkens and crackles around Mace and he draws it into himself before expelling it back out at the shadow. The shadow gives Mace it's hatred, and Mace returns it. Their blades flash and spark and spit lethal gouts of crimson and amethyst energy as they twirl and whirl and crash together. By using the power of Vaapad, Mace displays it's from.
As Mace continues to take in and reflect the shadow's dark power, he also uses it to power his fighting. Vaapad is named after the vicious predator of the same name found on the moons of Sarapin. A Vaapad attacks with tentacles that move so blindingly fast, they are impossible to see.
So does Mace Windu's blade.
The shadow's power fuels Mace's fighting and Mace's fighting fuels the shadow. The circuit was complete, the loop of energy was moving. While the shadow could no longer overpower Mace, neither could Mace overpower the shadow.
Stalemate.
Which could have gone on into eternity, if Vaapad were Mace's only skill. The fighting was effortless now, so Mace stretched out with his Force perceptions and stared the shadow in the face. Where previously Mace saw a number of shatterpoints upon which Palpatine might have broken, he saw the shadow had only one. Coiled and crystallized at the core of the shadow's heart, wasn't just the shatterpoint of the shadow.
It was the shatterpoint of the Dark Side itself.
Anakin Skywalker.
Mace searched even deeper and found that the Jedi this shatterpoint centered around was careening through Coruscanti air-traffic in one of the Temple speeders.
Headed straight for them!
Victory flooded throughout the Jedi Master's entire being and he threw it all at the shadow with thunderous force. Caught completely off guard, the shadow retreated backwards, toward the massive window at the rear of Palpatine's public office. Fear gripped the shadow's heart in an icy vice and try as it might to use it, the fear continually sapped at the shadow's strength. The Force hissed and spat all around the two combatants, and as their blades made contact, the window behind them shattered into a thousand pieces. Then the shadow's fear turned into hatred, a violent, vehement, hatred and the shadow turned it on the Jedi. The Jedi was unprepared and it cost him. The shadow's blade grazed the Jedi's forehead and seared a strip of his flesh as the Jedi bent back, half a second too late. The shadow returned with a thrust to the stomach and the Jedi caught the thrust and sent it away before whirling around and kicking the shadow in the stomach. As the shadow reeled, the Jedi's violet blade came down and neatly bisected the shadow's lightsaber shortly before a blast of the Force threw the shadow into the far side of the window frame.
And then the shadow's power broke; as if shattered by its impact against the window frame. It slithered away in defeat only to reveal a withered and shrunken Palpatine cowering in fear. Light flooded back into the office of the Chancellor and Mace's heart sang with joy. As if to celebrate this victory, Mace could feel Skywalker frantically run to his side.
The Sith had been defeated!
"You are under arrest, my lord."
Disdain coated Mace Windu's last words as he leveled the point of his blade at Palpatine's chin.
"Do you see this Anakin?" Palpatine half-shouted, "Do you? I told you it would come to this. The Jedi have betrayed the Republic!"
"Save your twisted words, my lord. There are no politicians in this room. You have lost. You have lost for the same reason the Sith always loose: defeated by your own fear."
Palpatine looked at Mace then, and was once again no longer Palpatine. Darkness swiftly slithered from the shadowed corners of the office and the shadow known as Sidious returned.
His poisonous yellow eyes smoked with hate.
"Fool."
He lifted his hands, and a rumble of thunder from the darkest corners of the galaxy echoed through to Sidious's voice.
"FOOL!!! You think the fear you feel is mine?"
There was a blast of thunder, and dark lightning forked from Sidious's hands.
Mace prepared to block it but was suddenly and inexplicably yanked out of the way. He tumbled through the air and with an effortless nudge of the Force, planted himself firmly on his feet. He looked up to see Anakin standing in front of him, braced for a fight.
"Sir please," he said, his voice wavering only slightly, "Please stop this."
"Stop this?!" Sidious barked, "Do you think the Jedi will stop this, now that they're so close?"
When Anakin spoke again, his voice did not waver.
"It doesn't matter what I think, they will stop."
"Skywalker…" Mace began, blown away by Anakin's statement.
"Master Windu, please!" Anakin said as he held out his hand to indicate silence, "Please just give me a little time."
At a loss for words, Mace peered into the Force at Anakin and found, to his amazement, that the chosen one was no longer afraid. When he had first approached Mace with the news of the Chancellor's true nature, Anakin was being eaten alive by fear. Now there was none. Now there was only firmness. Skywalker had a plan, but Mace didn't have a clue what it was.
So he simply stood back, and lowered his blade.
Sidious too, was affected by Anakin's change in demeanor. His mind was no longer troubled by the myriad problems that had plagued him for the last few days. It was solid and firm, resolute.
So Sidious decided to change his strategy once again.
He released the lion's share of his dark power, and let Palpatine's face flow back over his. He let Palpatine's frailty once again overtake his body, and let Palpatine's gentle voice mask his own.
"Anakin," he said, "Please understand that the Jedi cannot stop. And even if they could, if they arrest me, I will be unable to save Padme!"
There it was. A flicker in Anakin's eyes, the small shadow of doubt.
"You must not let the Jedi take me in, it will be the death of her!"
The effect these words had on Anakin was immediate and obvious; and it made Sidious cackle with glee behind his Palpatine mask. Yet something was amiss. While Anakin's doubt had increased significantly, his will to follow his own plan increased massively!
'I can't believe I'm about to say this!' Anakin thought as he opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry sir…" his voice was strained, "but that is a risk I am going to have to take."
The shock Sidious feels at these words is so great that his Palpatine mask almost failed. A furious snarl built up to an almost uncontrollable size within his throat and it took all of Sidious's will not to release it. Yet as Sidious stared through Palpatine's eyes past Anakin's shoulder, to the Jedi Master whose face was contorting itself into a look of stunned realization, Sidious's will failed him.
Darkness beyond darkness erupted from the core of Sidious's heart and shattered the mask of Palpatine as a purest rage filled every corner of his mind, body, and soul. A blast of this rage viciously hurls Anakin aside into the wall to his right and then Sidious thrusts his hands forward and turns the storm of his rage into a storm of lightning that burst forth from his fingertips.
Mace Windu was caught so thoroughly off-guard, that he can only stare in horror as Sidious's dark lightning chews it's way through the air toward him. Yet in the corner of his vision, obscured by the rapidly approaching lightning, the figure of a man hurtles toward him. Before Mace can react, a burst of the Force throws him backward and a blue beam of energy explodes into existence right before the man twists in the air and lands firmly between him and the lightning. It is only seconds later that Mace realizes this man is Anakin Skywalker.
Yet Anakin Skywalker is unprepared to face such a powerful onslaught of Force Lightning. It makes such violent contact with his blade that it is almost immediately forced back into his face. Only a desperate jerk of the head makes the blade sizzle against his left shoulder instead of his left eye. Anakin hissed in pain, but musters all of his strength, both physical and Force-born, to push back against Sidious's attack. A firm and immovable desire to hold back the lightning consumes Anakin's mind and he seizes on it. Suddenly, the dam between Anakin and his full potential is momentarily unlocked. A rush of power flows through Anakin's body and holding back the lightning goes from being almost impossible…
…To merely difficult.
Both Mace and Sidious feel this change, and it enrages Sidious beyond all reason. He ramps up the power behind his lightning and Mace only stares in wonder. Compared to Anakin now, the power of Darth Sidious, indeed even Master Yoda, almost pales in comparison. Yet even now, there is an uncertainty about him. An uncertainty that if removed, would erase the almost.
Anakin Skywalker has become a study in gray.
A light clicks on in Mace Windu's head. The immense fear of loss he had felt within Anakin as he denied Sidious now made sense. Mace again looks at Anakin through the Force and sees why Senator Amidala matters so much to him.
She is his wife.
Digging deeper, Mace finds an immeasurable love for her in Anakin's heart. He would do anything for her and then Mace discovers the nightmare. Padme screaming in pain, dying, and Anakin being unable to save her.
It is then that Mace realizes just how Sidious had been manipulating him; and just how fragile Anakin Skywalker truly is.
In time with this realization, Anakin's inner conflict comes to a screeching halt. He remembered exactly what he needed, and realized what he needed to do to get it. Amidst the crackling of the lightning against his blade, Anakin made his move. He gathered all of his power, took a slight step forward, leaned back, and then swung his lightsaber in a wide arc with all of his might.
There are no words to describe what followed.
As Anakin completed the swing of his blade, there was a resounding explosion of the Force that would've moved an entire galaxy with its power.
Would've, if it hadn't been directed singularly and completely at Sidious.
The Sith Lord's lightning is reflected back at him and slams into his chest and face mere instants before Anakin's Force blast. The enormity of the power behind Anakin's attack is so immense that Sidious's 150-odd pound body may as well have been a feather in a hurricane. Sidious is shot out of the office, through the window frame, and thousands of feet out into the Coruscanti night.
Yet as the Lord of the Sith flew into the night, Anakin crumpled to the floor.
He couldn't hold back his fear anymore.
When he spoke, his voice was a howl of purest anguish.
"WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"