Chapter 2 – Now what?

Chancellor's Suite - Anakin

She jumped, she fucking jumped! Why did she do this, couldn't she hear him, didn't she trust him? The cold wind burst through the window, the rain dripping from his face as he looked into the vast beyond. He wife was dead; he could see no way in which she could've survived the fall. What was she thinking?

The cackling sound of the Palpatine resonated behind him, "It's time to act my boy, the Jedi must be wiped from existence."

He stepped back from the platform as a metal blind fell to cover the window, the sound of the city dispersed as the window was sealed shut. He didn't care enough to listen to Palpatine's words. Why should he? The love of his life just fell to her death.

Palpatine rose from his throne, "Take the troops and head to the temple." He took the lightsaber from Mace Windu's cold grasp and turned towards Anakin. "Wipe out all the remaining Jedi, leave no survivors." he said as he threw the device towards his student."

He tried to speak but found no words would leave his throat, he couldn't bring himself to speak in this moment.

"Take the weapon," he said, the impatience and irritation tangled within Palpatine's words.

Summoning his voice, he managed to grasp at enough words to form what could be a semblance of a sentence. "The...The Padawans are at the temple... Surely you don't mean..."

"Did you not understand my words?" the Palpatine said fury leaking from his voice. "You will obey my command." He orders leaving no room for interpretation.

"They're just children, you can't ask me to this." He said finding his courage to fight back "My wife just jumped and you don't even care, I need to go find her... Maybe she's not gone, maybe it's not too late!" He began to tremble as the thought of his own words caught up with him.

"You can find another," he said stepping closer to the trembling man. "She was too stubborn for my liking; we would've dealt with her sooner or later."

"How dare you!" Anakin spoke, as his anger rose. He leapt to strike Palpatine but was suddenly blown backwards against the sealed window. His sudden strength evaporating as he tried to regain his breath.

The Palpatine stretched out his hand, engulfing the man in streaks of blue lightning. "Learn your place," he said as Anakin writhed in pain on the ground. "The Jedi are the ones at fault and you know it." he said ending his punishment. "Release your anger...go to the temple, finish the Jedi." the finality off his voice left nothing to be questioned as he threw the lightsaber down on the ground towards the man and departed to take care off further business.

It took a minute to gain his strength before Anakin was able to stand again. His mind in tatters from too many unanswered questions and a plethora of unwanted emotions. A clone trooper came through the archway of the room, passing the broken doors which had been ripped off the hinges. "Commander," he spoke "Palpatine informed us, we're ready to head to the temple."

"Of course, let's go." Anakin said picking up the lightsaber at his feet "prepare the shuttle, I'll be down after you." He stood tall trying to regain his strength which had been knocked out of him as he responded.

The clone nodded at the command and turned on his feet towards the shuttle leaving Anakin alone finally to his thoughts. Although he quickly banished them as he remembered Palpatine's commands. He couldn't kill the children, he never thought he would be part of something like this. He had always admired Palpatine, defended him against others who thought less of him. He had believed his loyalty to the man was unwavering... But now?

As he walked towards the exit he began to formulate a plan. Picking up a communicator from a fallen Jedi's pocket he sent out a message before crushing the device in his grasp. He passed through the archway heading along the empty corridors. Had everyone left because it was late or had they left because of what had just transpired? How would the citizens take to the information that the noble Jedi had been eradicated? Would they rebel or cower and fall into place like obedient sheep pretending nothing had happened, indoctrinated by the words of the chancellor. Anakin himself had never been a long term thinking man when it came to plans. his wife was usually the one who thought ahead. He assumed Palpatine had planned ahead likewise.

True, he held the man in high esteem but despite this he was beginning to realize that maybe Palpatine was more manipulative than he'd been led to believe. He had always trusted the man; he'd been taken under his wing as a boy. Palpatine was the man who'd gotten him the job. He was a Red Guard after all, held in high esteem within the ranks of the republic army. A noble guard dedicated to protecting the chancellor.

He was doing his Job; the Jedi came to arrest the chancellor. He was just defending the man. How had his wife gotten tangled up in this? He had reached the shuttle where the clones waited, forcing him to focus on the task at hand. Once he stepped onto the platform the door behind him sealed and the shuttle departed to the temple.

"What orders did Palpatine give you?" Anakin asked trying to get a grip on the situation at hand.

The clone commander turned towards Anakin "He told us to initiate order 66 and follow your command once we reach the temple."

"Order 66?" Anakin questioned "What's order 66?"

"Terminate the Jedi and eliminate the order," the command spoke his voice wary "We've been prepared for this, I thought you knew?"

"Knew what? It just happened, how can this order exist?" He spoke exasperated as the puzzle became more scrambled in his mind.

"We've been prepared for years" He said "You must have known off this?"

Realizing the impression, he was beginning to give off he decided to drop the issue. "Oh…Of course, I forgot."

Accepting this answer the clone trooper stepped back into place preparing as the shuttle began to descend upon the entrance of the temple.

Jedi Temple - Anakin

Silence echoed through the halls of temple, not a single soul in sight. Anakin led the troops through the corridors. "Where are the Jedi" Anakin spoke using a false bravado "Search this place and find them." he issued to the surrounding troops as they spread out looking for the Jedi.

"They appear to have disappeared" the trooper stated reporting the obvious. "They must have been warned by the other Jedi." The trooper spoke providing his own theory.

"They can't all have escaped, it isn't possible!" he roared "Find someone or it'll be you on the chopping block." He ordered giving off the impression of rage and anger.

He stormed off further into the temple unable to maintain the facade, he didn't know how much longer he could last. His emotions catching up with him, this day just wouldn't end. He hoped the Jedi had go his message and decided to run.

As he walked into the council room he found it empty. "What a surprise," he muttered. The room looked different at night, it was creepy how empty and disserted it was. He was thankful for this however as it meant he wouldn't have to fight any more Jedi. He was fed up off killing. With a sigh of relief, he turned around beginning to head out the room.

A voice echoed in behind him freezing him in his place "How could you!"

"What are you doing here" Anakin whispered turning to face the man.

Kit Fisto stood before him, his face expressing a mixture of sadness and anger. Anakin himself barely knew the man but held him in high respect from the stories he'd heard.

"I refused to flee, I choose to fight" Kit Fisto said calmly readying himself "If you were smart you'd give up and surrender yourself now."

"Don't do this" Anakin whispered his voice conveying a sudden urge off dread "No more bloodshed tonight."

"You're no match for a Jedi, you're a mere bodyguard." he said taunting Anakin "Palpatine's no longer here to fight for you."

"Don't make me do this" Anakin urged moving his hand to lightsaber at his side. Preparing himself to fight once more this night. They both knew he couldn't be talked out of this.

Noticing Mace Windu's lightsaber dangling from the man's hip Kit Fisto charged. Kit fist leapt forward to strike. Anakin drew his blade defending the action and the following strikes as Kit pressed on in anger "How could you kill the man!" he shouted in frustration as the purple and green lightsaber clashed together. Kit Fisto was shocked by the fluid movement and skill possessed by this man. Anakin easily evaded the man and continued in a defensive manner. "You're a traitor to the republic" He spoke as they stepped apart taking a short break to regain their strength

Kit charged forward once more on the offensive. This caused him to leap backwards evading the attack before continuing to defend himself. At this point he switched to a more fighting style in an attempt to disarm the man. Too no luck however, this wasn't an easy fight. Kit Fisto took the advantage and managed to get in an attack, cutting him on the edge of his arm. Despite this they both pushed forward, neither willing to relinquish the fight. The advantage continued to switch between both men with no clear winner in site.

After a short time of fighting they stepped back, taking another moment to rest. He watched the man carefully, preparing for any attack he might try. Kit Fisto continued to berate him in his angered state. "You're a disgrace to your family." He spat starring at the man.

Anger spiked in him at this statement. He leapt forward suddenly in anger taking a final swing, cleaving Kit Fisto's hand from his wrist and submitting the man to surrender. "How dare you!" he spoke in disgust.

Kit Fisto thoughts seemed to have passed on however as he looked at his cauterized stumps in despair and denial while the anger left his system. "How did you beat me?" He mumbled to himself "You're not a Jedi, how did you fight like that?" he spoke looking up at Anakin in wonder. The man seemed in despair, unable to understand how he'd lost a fight to a Red Guard.

Anakin was lost in his anger however, unable to get a grasp on his emotions and maintain any form of constraint. He silenced Kit Fisto in one fowl swipe ending the Jedi's life. Once the blade passed his sense came rushing back to him... what had he done, he was better than this. Deactivating his blade, he dropped it to the ground struggling to form a concise thought. He'd just killed another, he just couldn't hold his anger in. How had he let it come to this once more?

What will Padmé think of him he thought in remorse as sadness engulfed him. A sombre moment passed over him 'would', she was gone. His wife was dead and it was all his fault. Nothing would bring her back. His life was over. In several hours he'd gone from being happy to eternally miserable.

He finally yielded to his emotions, his exhaustion was just too much. He'd exerted so much energy today and now he couldn't find any reason to carry on. He could feel the weight from the day's events on his shoulders. Too much to bear, he couldn't continue any longer. He collapsed to the ground as his vision slowly left him, struggling to hold himself any longer, he fell into the darkness.