Conclusion
This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker as you walk towards the door of the Chancellor's office. You have just found out that the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, a Republic the Jedi have always been sworn to protect, has always been a Sith Lord.
And not just any Sith Lord, oh no. This is -the- Sith Lord that the Jedi have been searching for since Naboo and Qui-Gon's death. But he's also your friend. One of the closest people in your life, he knows secrets that your master does not. You are confused, and nothing seems to make sense anymore. That is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker, right now.
And than you find yourself stopping in the doorway, because suddenly, that's not who Anakin Skywalker is anymore. People can theorize how time travel, and going back to your past body works forever and ever, but until they experience it themselves, you know they could never understand.
Anakin Skywalker is in an instant over twenty years older. He knows what happens next, and none of it turns out good for him. He tortures his daughter and watches as her planet is blown up. He cuts off his son's hand and not five seconds later tries to make his son join him, while the poor boy clings to a damaged antenna.
Most importantly, he remembers remorse once he has time to look at his actions. He remembers seeking out the most brilliant scientist in the universe and forcing the poor man to build him a bloody time machine, just so he can go back. A specific type of time machine of course, one that will not transfer his body, but merely his soul, his mind.
Anakin Skywalker is in an instant, drenched in the dark side. This is what the Sith Lord behind him feels as he stops, this sudden clarity of darkness. But beneath it all, Anakin Skywalker is still deeply in love with Padme. Because Darth Vader, has never stopped being deeply in love with Padme.
And as Anakin turns back towards Darth Sidious, and begins walking towards him, Darth Vader feels the power coursing through him. His suit had limited his strength, but never his mind. He was all the raw power of the newly turned Darth Vader, with all of the knowledge and cunning of a Darth Vader who spent twenty years learning of the Dark Side.
Who spent twenty years living in a coffin. It is that thought that fuels Anakin's rage as he looks up upon reaching Palpatine's desk. It is that thought that makes Anakin go with a simple, yet brutal kill. His finger raises, and the force bows to him as it always has. He feels as if a connection has been put between the tip of his finger and this old man's heart.
And an instant later, he pulls on that connection as hard as he can. Palpatine flops forward dead, and Anakin breathes a sigh of relief that Padme is now on her way to be safe. Darth Vader, ever the cunning mind that he is moves around the desk and takes the small lightsaber Palpatine keeps in his sleeve.
He walks out the door without looking back, projecting calm to the secretary right outside. Once he is out of the building, he takes a right and ducks down an alley way for a moment. A flash of red, and Anakin places burns on his neck, his chest, and his arms.
Darth Vader is already planning how his conversation with Mace Windu will go this time around. Palpatine was always the Sith Lord. He had sought to turn Anakin, but Anakin would not be turned. In his anger, the Sith Lord had attacked.
It had been a hard fight, a close one. Anakin had no managed to land a single blow on the Sith Lord, and barely kept from being dismembered or decapitated more than once. In the end, Anakin had been forced to use his anger.
Palpatine had taunted him during the duel of course, and Anakin had never been the most levelheaded person. He had let his anger guide his actions, and in a moment Palpatine was dead. Anakin would confess to not even knowing how he'd done it. That would be the point he'd tender his resignation with the Jedi, stating that he needed to learn to control his feelings better.
He would say goodbye to Obi-Wan once the man returned to Coruscant after finishing off Grevious. He would tell Padme he was taking her up on her offer to leave the Republic behind.
As he walked towards the nearest air taxi looking a bit beat-up, he suddenly remembered something important. An instant later the Dark Side cloak Sidious had constructed for years to blind the Jedi to his plans was gone, all of it rushing into Anakin in an instant. Darth Vader knew that that would convince the Jedi most of all. Clarity always blinded people.
Scene Break
A/N: Quick Author's note, the type of story telling will now change to more of a third person and there will be more dialogue. I still may write little scenes to give an idea of what's going on in different heads though.
Jedi Master Mace Windu had felt it, and he was sure most of the order had as well. He was sure the Grand Master, even all the way on Kashyyk. The Force was suddenly incredibly clear, whatever having blocked it for over a decade now suddenly gone. It was exhilarating, and not until now did the Jedi master realize that the clouding of the Force had been hampering all of the Jedi's natural abilities.
He had no doubt, that across countless worlds right now, Jedi were suddenly finding themselves with a power boost. He himself felt like he could take on twice the number of droids he'd seen on Geonosis singlehandedly. It was then that Anakin Skywalker staggered into the docking bay looking rather worse for wear. Windu hurried over to him and helped support him even as he asked.
"Knight Skywalker, what happened to you?" Anakin grunted and looked up into Mace's eyes even as he removed something from his belt and held it out.
"Palpatine. He was the Sith Lord we've been looking for." He pushed the small sith lightsaber into Mace's hands.
The Jedi Master couldn't believe it, he looked down at the small saber he knew Anakin had not ever built and faced it away from the two of them. An instant later the red beam split the air, humming almost sinisterly. Mace Windu was shocked, even as he saw what Anakin had done. The boy had been a shatterpoint, on which the entire galaxy had hinged. And somehow, even if Mace didn't fully understand it yet, the boy had saved them all.
It was then that Anakin pulled out a datapad and flipped through a page. When he showed it to Mace, the Master saw that it was a list of the special contingency orders the Senate had rushed through only a month ago. As he read the Order that Anakin directed him to, his insides ran cold.
Order Sixty-six. It was becoming clearer by the second that someone had been plotting to destroy the Jedi using their own troops. Anakin nodded as he saw the understanding in the Korun's eyes.
"This was his plan. He was going to destroy the Jedi in one fell swoop, and then institute a Galatic Empire while proclaiming the Jedi traitors. He wanted me to join him, tried to use that connection you and the council have been so concerned about. But I'm not willing to kill innocents."
Mace Windu was struggling to process all of this, when he suddenly realized how Anakin had come to be injured. He began dragging the man deeper into the temple, looking for a Healer.
"You are injured. You can tell me more as we look for someone to heal you. How did you survive? How did you finish him?"
Anakin grimaced and began his spiel, "I angered him with my rejection I suppose. He attacked me, and I fond myself barely able to defend. I couldn't land a single strike on him, and it was all I could do to keep him from landing a mortal blow. In the end, I failed the Jedi, Master. I gave into my anger to finish the Sith Lord."
Mace looked completely shocked to hear this, and they stood stock still for a moment before he remembered what they were doing and hurried Anakin along. As he looked at the man closer though, he could see the darkness within him. It was writhing and swirling, but oddly enough seemed completely contained. He had never seen this control from Anakin before. He almost missed Anakin's next words as he studied this phenomenon.
"That is why I think it best I resign from the Order Master. I do not feel I can continue to operate as a Jedi Knight."
Mace blinked, even more stunned. Anakin, leave the Order? The Order was his life. He was the Chosen One and he'd just restored balance to the kriffing Force!
"That will not be necessary. I can see the darkness within you Skywalker, and you have it tightly reigned. In point of fact, you remind me of myself."
Anakin looked honestly surprised as he blinked owlishly at the man, hoping for more of an explanation. Mace eventually gave him one.
"As I'm sure you know, I am the only living Master of Vaapad. I am also it's creator. I created it out of necessity, as a way to control -my- inner darkness. So you see, you do not need to leave the order because of one minor slip while being goaded by a Sith Lord. Learning to control the darkness is something you're supposed to do as a Jedi."
Anakin was silent as they finally found a healer, and the self-inflicted injuries began to disappear under skilled hands. He had not expected his whole darkness excuse to fail. It brought Mace Windu into a whole new light though. Still, he did not want to stick around! He could not become a Jedi again, not after over twenty years of being a Sith.
At this point, he felt as if his only option was to proclaim he was married. That would get him expelled he hoped. But he would talk to Padme first, and make sure she was understanding of the idea. He had made decisions without consulting her before, and he knew where that ended him up.
Mace Windu just assumed Anakin's silence meant he was relieved to know he'd not be forced to leave the Order. In reality, Darth Vader was already busy planning his escape.
A/N: So yeah, many of you will finish this and still feel it's not very complete. Kinda because it isn't. If I continue getting people telling me they enjoy it and want more though, I shall definitely keep writing.