Good evening everyone! I'll be honest, I was planning on posting this in the morning, but I was just too excited and I had to get it published. I'm now revisiting my story from five years ago to clean it up and give it a little more substance! I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!
Reviews would make my day. This rewrite has already been about four months in the making and I keep adding more to it everyday. Updates will most likely be a weekly thing, with a two week break every now and then.
Now, without further ado, read on!
Star Wars is not mine.
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Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi Starfighter zipped through the Coruscant skyline. The beautiful 500 Republica stood before him. Anxiety gnawed at Obi-Wan as he veered to the left sharply, then to the right. Disobeying a direct order was more Anakin's forte. But even Anakin would feel apprehensive about disobeying Grand Jedi Master Yoda himself.
Anakin. Anakin was the only thing on his mind at that moment. His dearest friend, his brother. His enemy. Obi-Wan still couldn't believe it, but the security holograms did not lie. Anakin killed younglings. Anakin destroyed the Temple. Anakin was a Dark Lord of the Sith.
Obi-Wan shook his head. No. Not yet. I can still save him.
Obi-Wan already knew there was no way he'd be able to kill Anakin. As soon as the words had slipped from Yoda's mouth, he knew it. He just had to bring Anakin back. He had no other choice.
"Padme!" Obi-Wan Kenobi exclaimed, rushing into Padme Amidala's apartment, pushing through her protocol droid See-Threepio. Padme looked up in shock.
"Obi-Wan! You're alive! Thank the Force you're alive!" she exclaimed, wobbling over to her good friend, embracing him. "I just got back from the emergency meeting at the Senate. Bail mentioned to me that you were on the planet."
"Can you believe this!?" she continued, letting him go. "'The First Galactic Empire!' The man is insane! A tyrant! Democracy is dead, and liberty along with it. Peace is no longer achievable. I can't believe I ever called this man a friend. And the Jedi! Obi-Wan, I am so sorry. The Jedi- their blood should not have been spilled over this. I see now that the deception in the senate ran deeper than I could ever have imagined."
"Padme, stop. Do not stress yourself out. There is still a way to fix this. But I need to find Anakin." Obi-Wan took a hold of Padme's forearm. Padme looked up, her brows furrowing in confusion.
"Why? Why do you need to find Anakin?" she asked. Obi-Wan huffed, looking sadly into her eyes.
"You might want to sit down for this." he replied, gesturing to the large couches on the apartment's veranda.
Obi-Wan quickly explained everything: the council's wishes for Anakin to spy on the Chancellor, the arguments, the emotional turmoils of both men, and the discovery of the Sith Lord as well as the Temple's security recordings. Padme gasped, tears streaming down her face.
"That's why he was so angry when you last came over here. That's why he's been so upset. But Obi-Wan, there's no way Anakin played a part in the destruction of the Temple. That's not who he is. He is your family. He would never-" she stopped. Force, no. Not my Ani.
"Padme." Obi-Wan said firmly. "I need to know where he is. I need to find him."
"You're going to kill him." Padme glared, standing up. "No. I won't let you!"
"Padme, please." Obi-Wan stood up. "I don't want to kill him. You said so yourself a few days ago. I love Anakin, probably not as much as you do, but he is my brother and I don't wish to see him go down this path. I can help him. We can help him." Padme still didn't look convinced.
"I don't hold Anakin accountable for all of this. Palpatine tricked him, lied to him. Palpatine lied to all of us. He has seduced Anakin to the Dark Side. I still don't know what started this downward slope, but I know the day after we returned from rescuing Palpatine, something changed in him." Padme scrunched her eyes closed, holding back more tears. Everything was clicking in her mind.
"It was me!" she exclaimed. "It's my fault!" It was Obi-Wan's turn to be confused.
"He had a dream. A dream where- where I died. I tried to tell him I was okay but he insisted on doing everything he could to help me! And the last time I saw him he said it was all for me! That he had found a way to save me!" Padme buried her face in her hands. Obi-Wan looked over the young senator sympathetically.
"He's the father, isn't he?" Obi-Wan whispered. Padme didn't look up, but she nodded.
"We can still help him, Padme. Tell me where he is. I'll bring him back to you."
"No." she frowned. "No, Obi-Wan. If we're going to do this, we'll do this together."
"So you'll take me to him?" he asked.
"Follow me."
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Darth Vader allowed a smile to spread across his face as he stood on the small balcony of the separatist base. Those Separatist pigs now all laid dead on the floor of the small base, strewn throughout the various conference rooms and offices. He just ended the war. He just brought peace. He just saved the lives of millions. At least that's what his master told him. Lord Sidious was quite pleased with him. This caused Vader to laugh inwardly. He is planting the seeds of his own demise. As soon as I learn to save Padme, Palpatine will die. Not too much longer with this play-acting and the galaxy will be ours. He couldn't wait to tell Padme.
But the thought of the deaths of all the children lingered in his mind. He didn't want to think of all the lives he had ended in just one evening. He hated to admit it, but he was disgusted with himself. He hated this new person he had become. Part of him dared to wish he could be Anakin Skywalker again.
But I can't. I must save Padme first. This is all for her. I can't lose her.
Padme justified the death of the Jedi. If children had to die so his love could live, so be it. As far as the old Anakin Skywalker was concerned, Darth Vader was Padme's only hope.
Vader was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts as a bright glare hit his eyes. It wasn't from the molten lava rivers below him, but from a Nubian skiff soaring above him. Padme! Vader wasn't even angry that Padme disobeyed his order to stay on Coruscant. He was just glad to see his angel again. He thought momentarily about how excited she would be when she heard about his accomplishments as well as his aspirations. He put his best trademarked Anakin Skywalker grin on and rushed down to the landing pad.
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Padme sniffed again, placing her hand on her forehead trying to calm herself down. Her eyes were raw from the steady flow of tears, which streaked her cheeks. She had let Obi-Wan fly the ship to Mustafar while she rested. The past few days had put so much stress on her, she worried about the baby. She put a hand on her swollen belly and cooed softly to the child that was inside.
"It's not true." she whispered, "It can't be. Not our Ani. We'll fix this. I won't let anything happen to this family."
"Padme." Obi-Wan said softly, standing in the doorway of her private bedchambers. Padme looked up, revealing the face of a woman who's fault lines ran deeper than those of Utapau. One small rumble and she would shatter. "Padme, we've entered the atmosphere."
"Good. Wonderful." she replied, her voice hollow.
"Do we want to even try to devise a plan?" Obi-Wan offered a smile, but Padme offered no response to it.
"In all honesty, I'm more worried about you. The way Anakin was talking, it seemed like he wanted you dead. We have to change his views against the Jedi. He has to see that you're not the real villain in all of this." she said, thoughtfully.
"How can we do that?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Well, leave your weapon up here for starters. And let me do the talking. I know you're the great 'Negotiator' but this is Anakin we're talking about. Just let me explain everything to him. He's been under a lot of stress and we need to take things easy." Padme replied.
"That should work. But Padme, I am worried. What if we can't bring him ba-"
"Don't even say it, Obi-Wan. Anakin needs us. Even the shadow of a doubt will be enough to bring this mission tumbling down. Now tell me: do you believe-truly believe!-that we can save Anakin?"
Obi-Wan could see a flame in Padme's eyes. One that burned with passion. She really loves him. he thought. And who am I kidding? I love him too. I love him far too much just to leave him in darkness. He looked down, but then back up. He took a deep breath and answered firmly, saying "Yes."
"Then let's go."
Darth Vader stood outside of Padme's ship, waiting eagerly as the landing ramp extended. His lips twitched into a smile as he watched her walk towards him. The smile faded almost immediately, though, as he saw Obi-Wan follow behind her. He scanned the two with his eyes, looking them up and down. Obi-Wan didn't have his lightsaber, which was unusual. Remember Anakin, his old master's voice echoed in his ear, This weapon is your life.
He shook the memory away. Obi-Wan and his constant lectures meant nothing to him now. The two Jedi and the senator stood before each other, as if they were all standing before complete strangers. This war has truly torn us all apart, a voice whispered in Vader's mind. He knew that was the old him thinking. Everything would be fine once he had Padme.
"Padme! I saw your ship. Is everything alright? What is he doing here?" Vader exclaimed, pushing past Obi-Wan to embrace his wife. Padme held him close, refusing to let go.
"Ani! I'm so worried! The galaxy is in shambles! Palpatine has destroyed the Republic!" Padme exclaimed, shakily. Vader pulled away from Padme's embrace.
"I know. He has created the Empire to ensure peace. I just ended the war. There is no more confederacy and there is no more republic. We have all been reunited!" Vader smiled proudly.
"But Ani! The Jedi!" Padme frowned.
"They stood in the way of peace. Their ideals were beyond their time. It's time to begin again. Without the Jedi."
"So you did kill them. You killed all of them." Padme stepped back in shock, realizing the truth in Obi-Wan's words. Tears once again found themselves pooling in her eyes. Vader glared, looking past her shoulder to Obi-Wan.
"Is that what he told you?" he ground out.
"Anakin, please. Please, it's time to go. We can start over, run away. All I want is your love. All I want is you."
"But it's not enough to save you, Padme!" he exclaimed. Obi-Wan looked at his old friend, feeling the anger within Anakin fire up. He looked worriedly over to Padme, but stayed silent.
"And taking the lives of innocent children will help you with that!?"she replied. Vader was stunned into silence. "Anakin, I will be fine, as long as you are by my side."
"But my dream-" he started.
"Is exactly that. A dream. This dream is the reason we are here right now. This dream is the reason you're tip-toeing in the Dark Side. But all I need is for you to come back to me."
Vader looked away from Padme, reigning his frustration in. He couldn't be mad at her, not his angel. He still wasn't convinced. Even Palpatine knew that Padme was going to die. He looked over to Obi-Wan, a fire burning in his eyes. He expected to see the same anger and hatred coming from his old master, but was surprised to see warmth and sympathy behind his blue-gray eyes. Vader's expression hardened.
"Anakin, please." Padme said, pulling his eyes back to her. "Please, let's just leave. Let's just go somewhere where we won't be found. We can have this baby and it will grow up with two loving parents by its side."
"But we don't have to hide anymore! I plan to overthrow Palpatine, and the Empire will be ours! We won't have to worry about anything anymore!" Vader replied, smiling. "You and I will rule the galaxy together as we want."
"But that's not what I want. It's what you want. You once told me yourself that the way of the Sith was looking inwards, and thinking only about yourself. I'm starting to see proof of that. I can't live a life like that. I'm starting to believe that my Anakin is gone." Padme looked down, feeling defeated.
"Padme, stop! Let's just go back to Coruscant. I need to finish my training so I can save you and then- then we can leave." Vader said, desperately.
"No, Anakin. I will not be saved by a Sith Lord." she stated, firmly.
"But Palpatine can help!"
"Palpatine is evil!" Padme shouted. Tears sprang into her eyes. How could he be so blind!? "He has taken everything from me! Democracy, the Republic, and now he's going to take the man I love! Can't you see that he's the real villain here! Not Obi-Wan, not the Jedi, not anyone else in the galaxy but him."
There was another moment of silence, save for the sound of Padme sniffling.
"If you go down this path with Palpatine, don't expect me to follow you." Padme stated, frost lining her words, looking at her husband with a cold grimace. Vader looked up in shock.
"You- what?" his brows furrowed in slight confusion. She had to have been joking. She wouldn't leave him. She would never do that! His angel would always be by his side! Right?
"You've destroyed so much, Ani. You've- you killed children and countless Jedi. I just- you've changed. You're not the man I saw come home to me on Coruscant. How can I be in love with you if I fear you?"
"But, but Padme! I do love you! You are everything to me! Please! Don't leave me. I don't mean to scare you! I'm doing this to save you!" Vader pleaded.
"Your fear has blinded you." Obi-Wan murmured. Vader had almost forgotten about his old master standing beside his wife.
"Excuse me?" Vader hissed. Obi-Wan glanced over to Padme, then stepped closer to Vader.
"The future is always in motion, even Palpatine has told you this. But you seem to have forgotten. You're acting as if this is the only way of helping Padme, when really, you're the one hurting her." Obi-Wan said, speaking louder now.
"How dare you!" Vader retorted indignantly. He subtly fingered his lightsaber, ready to ignite it at any second. "Don't tell me tha-!"
"Anakin, he's right!" Padme exclaimed, stepping between the men, holding Vader's arm. "What you're doing is wrong. So wrong that I don't want to get caught up in it. I really should go. Obi-Wan, get the ship ready. I'll be there in a moment."
Padme was surprised Obi-Wan complied. He nodded and walked back to the ship. She turned back to Vader. Not for the first time that night, Padme was surprised. Vader, her Anakin, was crying.
"Please. I- I can't lose you." he said, a tear falling down his cheek.
"Then come with me." Padme said, softening. She wrapped her arms around his neck, brushing some of his unruly hair out of his face.
"I have done terrible things. How can you ever forgive me?" he replied in a strained whisper.
"My love is unconditional. It is here to stay, so long as you accept it." she said softly into is ear. Padme cupped her hands around Vader's cheeks, smiling more than she had that entire day. Her smile was infectious. Vader-no, Anakin Skywalker- offered her a weak smile; his anger melting away, his furnace heart freezing over.
In that moment, husband and wife held each other tighter than ever before. They stood, Padme comforting Anakin-her Ani- as he wept softly. They did not know Obi-Wan watched them from the top of the ramp of the ship, tears in his eyes as well.
He could feel the darkness fleeting, he knew Anakin had been saved. He knew the galaxy had hope. He smiled. The Jedi were wrong. The darkness is not something to be feared, but to be embraced. Darkness surrounds everything. But it's not invincible, for like everything, it does have a flaw: one candle is enough to hold it at bay. Love, Obi-Wan thought, feeling as though his eyes were opening for the first time, Love is the answer. Love is more than a candle. Love can ignite the stars.
Obi-Wan walked down from the ships ramp. Padme and Anakin had let go of each other. Anakin looked over to his old friend, timidly. Obi-Wan ignored his apprehension though, and pulled Anakin into a tight embrace.
"Obi-Wan," Anakin started, pulling away from his old master. "How could you ever forgive me? The Jedi, they're all you've ever known and I've destroyed them."
"Anakin," Obi-Wan replied softly, "I should be apologizing to you. I shut you out. I should have helped you. I should have asked you what was wrong. I shouldn't have listened to everything the council told me. It was wrong to make you spy on Palpatine and it was wrong of me to scold you so often."
Anakin remained silent, shocked.
"I realize that you feel more deeply than any other Jedi I have ever known. And I've come to realize that I envy you for that. But you have shown me love, and I understand now that it is not an emotion to be ignored. The Jedi were wrong. I see that now."
"But-" Anakin began.
"No, Anakin. Not now. Now we must get off this Force forsaken planet." he looked over to Padme, then back to Anakin. "I'll go prep the ship."
"No." Anakin said, smiling. "No, I want to fly."
Obi-Wan and Padme shared a glance and laughed.
"Welcome back, old friend." Obi-Wan chuckled. "Welcome back."
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Emperor Palpatine frowned. Something was wrong with his new apprentice. No, Vader wasn't hurt. He just wasn't there. As if the supernova of darkness and hatred and anger had gone out. Palpatine dug deeper in to the Force, but he still couldn't feel him. He knew Vader wasn't dead, he would know. This was something different entirely. He dispatched a patrol to Mustafar. He decided he would not join them, he had yet to go through the wreckage that was the Jedi Temple.
He stepped over the petite body of a young twi'lek, slightly smiling. His plan had worked. He was now the ruler of the universe, and with or without the so-called "Chosen One" he was going to continue to rule it. Skywalker could be dealt with later. For now, he would enjoy his new Empire.
Palpatine stopped, suddenly. Something felt... off. Someone, somewhere in the temple was angry. Palpatine could feel the rage. He loved it.
"Sir?" a clone trooper approached him.
"I wish to see something. Follow me." he replied.
The small group walked through the hallways. Scorch marks lined the walls, bodies of Jedi old and young littered the floor. Palpatine followed the darkness to a long hallway filled with quarters, mostly of Master/Padawan teams. Palpatine turned to a door that had been blasted open. A plaque sat beside the door frame, blackened by rubble. It simply read "Skywalker/Tano". As Palpatine entered, he was surprised to find a small Togruta girl, still alive. She was in rough shape: she was barely breathing. Hatred pulsed through her body. She was enraged. Palpatine closed his eyes, feeling through the Dark Side to see just what had happened here.
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The setting around changed around Palpatine. He was in the same spot, but everything looked cleaner and less blackened. Before him stood Darth Vader and a few clone troopers.
"She's barricaded herself in the room, sir!" a clone sergeant exclaimed. Darth Vader huffed, exasperated.
"Jedi coward!" he mumbled. "Blast it open!"
The clone sergeant threw a small detonator against the door, which immediately blew the door away. Vader and several clone troopers stepped through the debris. The young togruta stood in a doorway to a bedroom. Vader could tell she was clearly hiding more younglings in the room.
"You get the others," Vader commanded, turning to the clones. "I'll take care of her."
Vader jumped forward, igniting his lightsaber. The togruta parried Vader's strike, pushing him aside with surprising strength. It got the girl distracted enough that the clones slipped through the doorway and into the other room. The girl cringed as shots echoed from the other room.
"What have you done!?" she yelled, barely blocking a stab at her abdomen. "How could you do this!"
"You don't understand, Ahsoka." Vader grunted, trying to overpower the young girl. "This is necessary. You're defending these traitors, which makes you a traitor yourself."
"How dare you! Anakin, I trusted you!" Ahsoka cried
"The Jedi were wrong! They know nothing about the Force! They've brainwashed you! I'm sorry Ahsoka. I was too late to save you. You're too set in their ways. I must destroy you."
"You're kriffing insane!" She shook her head, frowning.
The two continued to fight fiercely. Ahsoka backed into Anakin's old room, and began to use the Force to throw various objects at him. Vader used the Force to throw the objects back, catching Ahsoka off guard. She jumped back behind his cot, and Vader jumped on top of it. Ahsoka had cut herself off from the exit, and she knew it. Her eyes narrowed into slits, tears pooling in her eyes.
"I can't believe this!" She cried. "You were my friend! Is this how it really has to be?"
Anakin simply raised his lightsaber in response. Ahsoka huffed, frustrated. She lifted a large crate from behind her, and threw it at Vader, taking the opportunity to get him off of the high ground. She jumped over the bed and their lightsabers connected, energy almost pushing them apart. Ahsoka grimaced as Vader pushed away. Before she could jump back further, Vader slashed sloppily at Ahsoka, who immediately responded with a cry of anguish as both of her hands fell to the ground, her lightsabers still grasped in each severed limb. Vader caught her in a chokehold before she had a chance to say something else. He threw her out of the bedroom where she landed with a loud thud and a grunt. She moaned softly.
Vader walked into the living area where Ahsoka now laid. He looked her over, frowning. He found that the Anakin Skywalker part of him just couldn't finish it. Vader was enraged by Anakin's cowardice, but nonetheless, he turned to one of the clones.
"Finish her." He ordered, motioning his head in her direction. Behind him, he heard her grunt louder. He turned to her.
"You coward! You selfish scug!" She snarled.
Vader turned away and started to head for the door. Ahsoka came round from her daze, her eyes tinting as anger welled within her. It was then that dark energy suddenly surrounded the young girl, as tears of rage ran down her face.
"ARGH! I- I HATE YOU!" She shrieked. Vader only paused for a moment in the doorway, his frown deepening. He then shook his head and walked out of the door, not even looking back as he heard the shot ring through the ominously silent hallways.
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Palpatine opened his eyes, allowing himself a malicious grin.
"You!" he called to a near by officer, "Get a medical capsule immediately. We'll take her to my personal MedCenter." The officer ran off in search of a capsule.
Palpatine walked over to the girl, sitting beside her. She gasped for air, but found she was able to speak.
"He's- trait'r." she coughed, "Chanc'lor! No- mm- no."
"Hush, child," Palpatine chided. "Skywalker will be stopped. You can help me hunt him down. I shall not rest until he is brought back to me. He can't hide forever."
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Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan were already long gone, on Onderon where they were able to meet with Senator Bail Organa and Master Yoda, who had narrowly escaped a duel with the new Emperor. Somber smiles were passed between old friends.
Meanwhile, Ahsoka Tano was buckled to an uncomfortable metal table as various droids poked and prodded around her cauterized lightsaber wounds.
Anakin spent time in meditation with Master Yoda, both visited with a premonition: Anakin would defeat Palpatine and the galaxy would once again be at peace. But it wouldn't be for years. Anakin came to the conclusion that he would wait until the time was right, because all that mattered to him now was his family.
Ahsoka stood by the Emperor, testing her new prosthetic hands. The Emperor informed her of Skywalker's escape. She had come to believe the Jedi were wrong, and that, in order to keep from getting hurt, the only person one should look out for was themselves. It was then Ahsoka decided to become Palpatine's new apprentice, to gain more power to eventually crush the very man who had crushed her.
Ahsoka was then put in charge of the Emperor's league of Force-using assassins known throughout the galaxy as Inquisitors. They had just begun their search for the Skywalker family. The last of the Jedi continued to be picked off one by one.
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As the old friends bid each other farewell on Onderon, Anakin approached Obi-Wan, who was packing up a small shuttle that Bail had given him.
"Obi-Wan?" Anakin said, somewhat timidly. Obi-Wan looked up at his old friend and smiled.
"Yes Anakin? What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Well, where are you going? I mean, Bail's staying on Alderaan, Yoda's going to Dagobah, and we're going to Iego? What about you?"
"Hm." Obi-Wan shrugged. "I'm not quite sure yet."
"Why don't you come with Padme and I? We'll be pretty busy once the kid shows up, and we'll need all the help we can get, just until you figure out where you want to go." Anakin suggested, trying to suppress a smile. Obi-Wan chuckled.
"I should like that very much, Anakin. Besides, exile and meditation is more Yoda's style than mine." he replied. Anakin laughed.
"Then let's get going!" Anakin said, slapping a hand on Obi-Wan's back as the two moved towards the Nubian yacht they knew they'd have to ditch as soon as they got off-world.
"Yes. But Anakin?" Obi-Wan stopped. Anakin looked back at his friend, his brother.
"Yeah, Master?"
"Why don't you let me fly this time?"
Anakin, for the first time that week, genuinely grinned at his old master. He laughed, shaking his head, and continued walking towards the ship. Obi-Wan still stood there looking confused.
"What? I wasn't joking!" he called out to his friend, breaking into a jog to catch up. The two men boarded the ship, where Padme had already been waiting, and they took off.
They took off into the galaxy, one that had now become more dangerous than ever before. But they were not afraid, because they had each other to cling to when things got frightening. They had love for one another, giving each other strength to fight for another day.
That was the true power of the Force.