Prologue~

"Don't try it…" Obi-Wan's voice was desperate, pleading for his apprentice to listen, just this once. But like always, Anakin was never one to obey the rules. Leaping from the floating platform towards the rocky bank resting above the lava, Anakin in mid-air, swung his lightsaber down at Obi-Wan, and in turn, Obi-Wan swung his blade up. The lightsaber made searing contact with the right side of Obi-Wan's face, his skin being cut open and cauterized in an instant. He fell to the ground, falling down the hill slightly, as Anakin landed where Obi-Wan had been standing. "You've failed, Obi-Wan." Anakin taunted, his voice booming over the rushing lava river, "Your Republic, your jedi, will die with you."
Obi-Wan never screamed. His hands clutched at his face, part of his beard singed off, the skin on the right side of his face slashed and burnt, his eye, gone. "Anakin, please..."
Anakin switched his weapon off, storing it on his belt. The force pulled Obi-Wan's lightsaber from the earth, right into Anakin's hand. Trying to resist gazing down at it was impossible, and he found his eyes drawn to it. Something inside him, tugging at his soul, the force pulling, stemming from the weapon. Anakin's thumb hovered over the ignition, he noticed it was shaking slightly, his left hand of course, the only one to still have nerves. The thought of igniting the saber and plunging into Obi-Wan's chest was an overwhelming feeling. But, he couldn't help but notice his shaking thumb. Obi-Wan was still pleading from the riverbank. "Silence!" Anakin screamed, as his fist clenched around the hilt "You'll spend the rest of your life as a prisoner, Obi-Wan. You'll watch my Empire consume the Republic." Anakin looked down at the lightsaber then clipped it to his belt. Overhead he heard the familiar gliding roar of Palpatine's ship, it filled him with doubt. Why was he here? Did he not trust him? Frowning, Anakin leaned down and wrapped his metal hand around Obi-Wan's arm, dragging him up the hill.
Two shock clone troopers quickly marched toward Anakin, their weapons raised, which gave him pause. The red on their armour seemed a deeper, darker colour than normal in the dark haze of the riverbank. "Lord Vader, are you alright?" One of them asked, his voice muffled through the helmet.
"I'm fine. My master, why is he here?" Anakin asked firmly.
"He felt you were in anguish. He hurried here immediately." The clone said, and Anakin sharply inhaled, taking a firm grip on Obi-Wan, he said "Take me to him. Now."
"My Lord, the Jedi..." A clone muttered, issuing with its rifle. Anakin glanced down at him.
"It's none of your concern, trooper. Take me to my master. Now." Anakin's voice was teeming with anger, bubbling up inside him.
"Yes, My Lord." The clones said together, then turning to go back to the ship. Anakin followed behind them until they reached a landing point. There, Palpatine stood, his hands linked beneath his cloak. Anakin dropped Obi-Wan on the ground, and stood tall before his master for a moment, then dropped to a knee "Master, your presence is… unexpected." Anakin muttered. Palpatine tilted his head slightly, there was no wicked smile on his face, only a grimace "I felt you were in danger, Lord Vader. Perhaps… I was wrong. Kenobi is dead?" He asked, a slight hint of malice beneath his words.

Anakin paused for a moment. "No, my master." He kept his head down as he spoke "I thought, if Obi-Wan were kept alive, as the last Jedi, he could be seen as a symbol. Kept a prisoner to watch the Empire grow, and to show any possible rebels what happens if they choose to-"
"Silence!" Palpatine spat the word out with such venom that Anakin winced. "This Jedi is a relic of your former life, as Anakin Skywalker, a relic that must be destroyed."
Anakin shook his head, as he kept his gaze down "Master, I have no ties to Obi-Wan, I just think it best if-"
"And yet," Palpatine started, interrupting once again "you still call him Obi-Wan."
Those words hurt. Anakin flared his nostrils as he tended to do when he felt anger take a hold on him. "Master, if I may speak?"
"You may, but choose your words carefully, Lord Vader."
Anakin kept his head down "Kenobi should be forced to watch as the Empire grows, then… then when we are at our full strength, he kill him." Anakin waited, and waited. Before his master finally spoke. "You are questioning me, Lord Vader, and I will not stand for it. All ties to your former life, must be cut. Starting with Kenobi." Anakin turned his head to look at Obi-Wan, then frowned, quickly moving his head to look at his master. "All ties? What about Padme?"
Palpatine paused for a moment, and Anakin could see gears turning behind his masters sunken yellow eyes. "Yesss, Padme… Padme clings to the Republic. Naboo still stands firmly against the Empire."
Anakin didn't have to ask what his master meant. His robotic hand clenched. "You promised me you would teach me how to save her life. It's why I became your apprentice." His voice was shaky, rough.
"Yes, Lord Vader, but I did not foresee your dear wife becoming such a threat."
"A threat?" Anakin repeated, giving no time for Palpatine to continue. "A threat to your empire? Padme will be the mother of my children! She is not a threat to me!"
"It is not your Empire, Vader." Palpatine said with finality. Anakin looked down at the ground again, his anger had reached a boiling point, but, he pushed it down rather than lash out, let it fuel the dark side.
"Why not?" He muttered, and Palpatine scowled
"Vader, you will not-"
"Why is not my empire? I eliminated the Jedi at the temple. I saved your life from Windu. I came here and destroyed the last of the Separatists, I won us the war! Imprisoned the last Jedi!" Anakin could almost taste the tang of burning metal, force lightning was a wholly unique aspect, that caused a disruption in the force, and Anakin could feel it moments before it was to be used. Anakin pushed himself to his feet, and with a flick of his thumb, and a thrust of his wrist, he plunged his ignited lightsaber deep into Palpatine, "This is my Empire!" Anakin roared.
Palpatine's yellow eyes seemed to bulge out of his head. Anakin quickly turned, as he heard the familiar sound of blasters priming to fire. In two swift motions, the laser bolts deflected back into the shock troopers chest plates, and they fell to their deaths. Anakin felt the lingering presence of his master, so he turned to glare down at him.
Palpatine looked up him with pleading eyes. Anakin gripped the saber even tighter, and with a single swipe, remove his master's head from his neck. The Empire his master had spoken of, it was his now, it was truly all his.
Clutching at the ramp of the ship, Obi-Wan looked at his former apprentice with a scarred, wounded face. "Anakin, it's not too late. Palpatine is dead, you can still come back." Obi-Wan pleaded with his friend, the man he would have called brother once.
Anakin had almost forgotten he was there in the commotion, he didn't even notice him move to the ship. His voice snarled as he said, "Be quiet before I change my mind about you, Kenobi."
Obi-Wan was locked in a small room of the shuttle that Anakin made sure he could not escape from. Then, he dragged the body of Palpatine inside, along with his head. It seemed weak and frail under all the robes, as if the force was keeping him together. But the force had left his body, and now he was nothing. Anakin wasn't sure what to think about that as he sat down to pilot the shuttle, he couldn't decide on if it made him feel empty, or gave him satisfaction.
Anakin landed the craft on the platform Padme had arrived on, hoping that he was not too late. The force was strong in him, and he could feel the force as strong, inside her. She was still alive, as were his children. He could feel them, both of them. Anakin felt her soft hair between his fingers as he clutched her head. Softly, he kissed her forehead, hoisting her up into his arms. "I'm sorry, my love. I made a terrible mistake." His voice was but a whisper. "I will never hurt you again, as long as I live."
Placing her gently in the personal cabin, Anakin briskly strode into the cockpit, making a course for the nearest system to have Padme looked at. It was Naboo.
Padme regained consciousness as she entered the late stages of labour, she awoke to pain, but, she felt Anakin's soft hand in hers. She looked into his eyes and saw his remorse, his guilt and shame for what he had done to her. Softly, she nodded, then a pain shot through her, and her hand locked with his, as she first gave birth to a girl.
Anakin recalled the names they had spoken of, having never agreed on them however, he was reluctant, but thought it best if they were named what she wanted. The nurse held up the girl for a moment, for Anakin to see. "Leia." He said softly. She nodded, taking her into a nursing chamber, promptly coming back to assist. A few minutes later, she held up the second twin. "It's a boy." The nurse said softly. Anakin wasn't expecting a boy, two girls, that's what ran through his mind. "Luke." He spoke again, then watched as they too, took him away. The connection he felt with both was naturally, instantaneous, but the boy. Something was different about Luke, something special. And over the years, Anakin would learn that his son was quite special indeed.
As the children grew, as did Anakin's Empire, at first many systems were wary of joining with a young man. Even the Moffs of his very own Empire refused to trust him, but when Anakin presented them with what remained of Palpatine's body, they fell into line. Out of fear, and some even out of respect. Anakin was a charming personality, and his way of twisting the story of Palpatine attempting to murder Padme, seemed to work in his favour. All but one, fell into line under their new Emperor. Grand Moff Tarkin took issue, and placed his claim for resignation effective immediately, Tarkin took a Star Destroyer, and thousands of loyalists with him. Vader hunted him ever since.

Leia grew into the woman her mother wanted her to be. Her mind unparalleled in it's genius, everything she applied herself to, she excelled at like no other. Politics, and strategy seemed to be her calling, and so her father bestowed upon her, the rank of Grand Admiral; a role she slipped into, naturally. But the force alluded her, connections to her family were immense, and she often found herself reading emotions or thoughts. But that's where it ended. She never grasped it quite like her brother did. Luke was everything Anakin was, and more; or at least, he would be in time. At only 19 years old, Luke had led dozens of Imperial raids and large scale battles. He was not yet a Sith Lord, however, and that led him to reach even higher, fly closer to the sun, in an attempt to please his father. Anakin was so impressed by his son's war efforts, that after the Nightsisters were destroyed, he gifted him the ancient Mandalorian Darksaber. Luke felt a strong connection to his father, his desire to gain his father's adoration was a driving factor in his life. Growing up, Luke was never particularly close with his mother. She was often sick, and chose to stay confined to her room, the highest tower on Coruscant. The former Queen of Naboo looked older than her years, greying hair and wrinkles forming above and below her eyes. The smile had all but faded from her face.