For Nothing

It had all been for nothing.

While she lay there screaming in pain, the only thought that vaguely came through the fog surrounding his mind was that everything was for nothing. Padmé was still going to die.

And it was his fault. If only he had listened to Palpatine, instead of doing 'what was right'. So what if he were a Sith now? At least then he would have the power to save her. Now he could only hold her hand, waiting… He should have killed Windu. Well, maybe not killed, but at least stop him from killing the only one who could help him.

For where had that brought him? Here in Coruscants best Medical Center at his wife's dying bed.

The Force had warned him, months before anything had happened but he hadn't listened. Why didn't he listen? 'Because you chose for your own future and status,' a mocking voice in his head said. Was that true? Was he really so selfish that he would let his beloved die, only to be sure of a high position in the Order? For that's what he had now. He was a Jedi Master, had as the youngest in history received a permanent seat in the Council and everyone respected him for at last destroying the Sith and supposedly 'bringing Balance to the Force'.

And was there Balance right now? No. Because didn't Balance imply that there was as much of one as from the other? As much Dark as there was Light? Yes. And now the scales were tipped in favor of the Light. But the light here was harsh and cold.

Next to him Padmé cramped, and he immediately whispered nonsense in her ear, in the hope to soothe her pain. This was already during hours. Finally it was over and the room became silent, save or the cries of two babies. The medical droid brought her two children to their parents and Padmé opened her eyes ever so slowly.

With a hollow voice Anakin spoke. 'Padmé,' but no more words came.

With clearly much effort Padmé lifted her arm and stroked her children's cheeks. 'Luke… and Leia… you're both so… beautiful…' Her arm fell down to the hospital bed. 'Anakin… you-you were right… about me… and your dream… A-and I don't know… if I've said it often enough… but I love you, Anakin… I love… I love…'

Then the last of her life seemed to bleed away. Her eyes became lifeless, her skin grew a little bit colder every second that the clock mercilessly ticked away and to Anakin she never had been more beautiful. He slowly bent down to kiss her lips one last time. When he got up again, his eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Many hours he sat there, undisturbed, his grief reaching unknown measures. He had broken his promise. He had promised he would stop people from dying, and he had failed. Again. He would not do so yet another time.

If Palpatines Master had discovered the secret of immortality, then why couldn't he? He was the Chosen One after all. And once he knew… maybe he could wake Padmé from the land of the Dead… He would do anything to get Padmé back.

So this Darth Plagues was a Sith Lord, wasn't he? Then it would be wise to start searching for his data-pads in the Grand Sith Archives, about which he had read in his years as a Padawan. The location of the Archives was unknown, but he was sure he could find them. Because everything else he had done to save her wasn't enough, he would become the next Sith Lord. He had to. For Padmé.

Unknown to him, every Force-sensitive felt at that moment an immense wave of Dark energy exploding through the Force, clouding every clear insight after the few days of pure tranquility they had known.

And so the Force itself corrected the imbalance by creating a new source of Darkness that would equal the thousands of Jedi.