For some reason, I can't get this thing to have scene breaks – if someone could tell me how to do it, I would be very grateful.
On with the story!
Anakin launched himself into a spectacular double front flip, letting the Force carry him thirty feet into the air, over Kenobi's head. He had cut it too close, had to cut it too close, for he intended this to be the last move of the fight, and Obi-Wan's blade sliced through the air like a scythe, coming for his legs.
But Anakin knew it was coming, saw it coming, counted on it coming. His own saber whipped around to encourage Kenobi's blow, and speeding his saber through the air an instant before his legs got there, so close that Anakin thought his clothes might have gotten singed. And then he was landing, using the momentum from his parry to reverse his grip, lightning fast, and stab behind him just as his weight came to rest fully on the ground.
For a moment they just stood there, two figures on a slope in hell, one facing up the hill, half crouched, the blue of his lightsaber disappearing behind him. The other facing the river of fire, blade outstretched as it finished some move against an invisible opponent. And a small cylinder of blue came out of his chest.
Obi-Wan's saber hit the ground with a soft thud and deactivated. Anakin straightened and pulled his lightsaber out of Obi-Wan's chest, then carelessly kicked him halfway down the slope. Only then did he turn around.
Darth Vader stared down at Obi-Wan's stricken, disbelieving face. Odd, how numb he felt. The burning rage and hate had turned cold and distant, now that their target's demise was certain, and Vader watched his former Master with a face of stone.
"I…loved…you…"
The plea summoned the rage back to fire. How dare he? After betraying him, betraying the Republic, and twisting Padme against him? All of the Jedi had lied, but Obi-Wan had lied the worst of all. Vader glared at the dying Obi-Wan Kenobi. "I hate you," he declared flatly, and Force-pushed him the rest of the way down the hill, into the lava flow. Kenobi disappeared without another word.
Vader stared out over the river, his eyes perfectly matching the glow from the lava, and gathered himself. He couldn't afford to let Padme see him like this, and couldn't afford to dwell on what he had done. Padme needed him now. He concentrated on his breathing, and the storm within him retreated achingly slowly. After about ten minutes, his eyes were blue again.
He turned around and stalked back towards Padme's ship.
Padme was not where he had left her - the droids had pulled her inside and given her some medical attention. Threepio worriedly asked about Obi-Wan, with Artoo inserting emphatic beeps at appropriate moments, but Anakin waved them off. They went, though not without a few oh dears and rebellious sounding beeps. He needed to reprogram them. They were much too disobedient.
After dealing with the droids, Anakin turned his attention back to Padme. She was beautiful. He knelt by her bed and took her hand, closed his eyes and reached out with the Force.
"Anakin?" Padme spoke as if from a great distance, and Vader opened his eyes to look down at her. The Force had told him that he hadn't hurt her too badly, and if she could talk, there should be time enough to get her to Coruscant, where Palpatine could share his knowledge of immortality and Vader could save her – "…Anakin? Is Obi-Wan alright?"
Vader's equilibrium shattered, and a red beast of rage clawed at him from the inside. He fought it for her. She was hurt; he couldn't lash out at her, not now, not yet. But…damn Obi-Wan! Padme is mine! He went back to the breath exercise, keeping his face a mask.
"…Anakin?" It was a labored whisper.
"Obi-Wan has been taken care of." She didn't need to know the details. "Rest, Padme, save your strength." She nodded, and relaxed. He thought he heard her murmur, "I love you," before she dropped off.
Fire had been too good for his old mentor.
He turned to the two droids. "Artoo, go back to my ship, fly it back to Coruscant. You know which landing pad." Artoo's beep didn't sound particularly cooperative, but he trundled off. Vader moved to the cockpit of Padme's ship, barely giving Artoo enough time to get off the boarding ramp, and took off for Coruscant at the silver ship's best speed, and not just for Padme's sake. There was a strange echo in the Force, now that he had time to listen, and he was almost certain something…Palpatine wasn't in danger, but something had happened.
Yoda stood in Senator Organa's communications room, watching asteroids drift, and knew. Obi-Wan's death had felt like the last light in the universe going out. They still waited for communication from him, for hope was a hard thing to let go of… but it seemed that Yoda had underestimated the power of both Sith. And Obi-Wan had not had the chance to run.
Yoda took in a breath, let it out. Old hope may be hard to let go of, but let go he must, so a new hope could be found. "Senator Organa?"
"Yes?" Bail Organa moved away from the console he was monitoring to stand behind Yoda.
"Obi-Wan, call us he will not. Failed…we both have."
Senator Bail Organa was speechless. That left one Jedi. One Jedi who dared not reveal himself, and two Sith who ruled the galaxy.
Yoda was silent, letting the Senator gather himself together again.
"What …what do we do now?" he asked, fighting the horror of the situation.
"Give up we cannot, Senator Organa. If we despair, truly won the dark side will have."
Yoda paused, thinking. "Go into exile, I still must." He looked up at the dismayed Senator. "Show us a way, the Force will. But for that to happen, alive and thinking, fighting against this evil we must be."
The Senator swallowed his fear and nodded. He was still a Senator, and he could fight in that arena he knew best, despite the shackles the Supreme Chancellor – no, the Emperor – had placed on it.
Yoda turned away from the asteroids and went to find a place to meditate. Perhaps he and Qui Gon could find something of Obi-Wan.
Vader flew like a madman. Obi-Wan would have called it suicide, before he turned traitor. He flipped the ship on its side and banked at a speed that brought him within centimeters of clipping a building. His sense of urgency was growing – he needed Padme in a medical center now. He had already sent off a message to Darth Sidious, and another to the hospital – all he needed to do was to get there.
He saw the landing pad and went for it, braking so hard the engines damn near screamed. Well, the ship could be repaired. He gathered up Padme and ran down the ramp before it was fully open, reaching the ground before it did. Doors opened, and he saw the medical capsule. He was there with Padme before it had gotten a step beyond the doorway.
The nurses and medical droids started moving off with the capsule at a stately pace, but Vader was having none of that. One bruised throat later, they were jogging for the emergency room. Vader would have liked to run, but the nurse with the bruised throat had made a valid point about how much good it would do Padme if her capsule hit a wall.
They arrived at the emergency room, the nurses breathing hard and sweating. The doctor was already there, as was Emperor Palpatine. Vader turned to him and bowed, then looked over at Padme. "Master, there is no time. I need to know what you do, I need to know how to save her." He had said he didn't know the secret of creating life, but somewhere in Darth Plagueis's knowledge, somewhere in Sidious's knowledge, there had to be the key. He could not believe otherwise. And even if there wasn't, the Dark Side was so powerful, he was so powerful, he could not believe that he wouldn't find a way.
Sidious nodded. "Yes, of course my son." He walked over to the table, Darth Vader following like a shadow. "Now take all that hate you have gained, all the anger, all the power. It is not right that she die, is it? Not fair? Not just?"
Darth Vader closed his eyes and pictured Obi-Wan, who had been his friend, his brother. Who tried to turn her against him. Who had nearly tricked him into killing her.
He saw Yoda. The one he used to think was wise, offering him useless, wrong advice.
There was Mace Windu, the traitor who nearly killed his one chance to save Padme.
He saw the entire Jedi Council, who denied him Mastership, denied him the chance to find out how to save her, denied him the power to save her, denied him his mother, denied him everything he had ever loved. Denied him love itself.
When he opened his eyes again they were the color of fire and the Emperor was smiling. "Good, good," Darth Sidious said in a singsong that made him sound as if he were the Dark side itself given voice. "Now, touch her. Ride that connection. Find what is wrong and make it right."
Palpatine's voice faded out as Vader searched for what was wrong. And searched. And searched. And found nothing. She was dying, he could feel her slipping away and he could find nothing wrong with her.
The rage that he felt at his failure, the utter, space-deep fear he suddenly felt, fear that maybe she really would die, was enough. He suddenly saw. It was as though everything was crystal clear; even a feather would look sharp enough to cut. He saw, and with that seeing came two revelations. Padme was carrying twins. And she was not dying of something medical, she was dying because…he could see their bond now, what he had always known had been there, he could see it, tying their souls together. He'd once said "I'd die without her." He had known it was true, however melodramatic it may sound, and now he could see the truth of it, and another that had not occurred to him. She would die without him. Without the bond he saw, they would both die. And she…she was breaking it. She was killing herself, and him along with her.
Death had been too good for Obi-Wan. He wished for a moment that Obi Wan were still alive, so he could make him suffer as he should. He didn't deserve the clean death Vader had given him.
Vader had gone numb. He knew that he couldn't save Padme now; the only person he could save was himself. Himself, and…and the babies. His son and daughter. Obi-Wan would not have them. He turned toward the medical droid and snapped, "save the babies." Then he turned toward his lost Padme. He would keep her from dying, keep her from killing herself until the babies were born, and then he would sever the bond himself. He would burn it with rage. If he burned hot enough, if he was strong enough with the dark side, he would not die. Beside him, the Emperor smiled.
When the time came, Vader burned the bond between Padme and himself. Padme died, and the Dark side consumed the last visible vestiges of Anakin Skywalker. And the Emperor laughed.