Chapter 2: The Next Phase
Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi fell to his knees after being impaled by his former Padawan, the man once known as Anakin Skywalker. The wound was a fatal blow to his abdomen. Kenobi relinquished his lightsaber as he firmly grasped Vader's shoulders to stare into his apprentice's mortified face. Realizing what he had done, the Sith dropped his weapon conflicted with his quest for power and the love he held for his teacher.
The Jedi smiled weakly and pulled his tormented Padawan into his embrace with what little strength he had left. He was going to die. They both knew it. Obi-Wan's breathing was slow and labored, but there was one thing he had to know.
"What happened to us, Anakin…?"
Anakin stifled his sobs returning Obi-Wan's warm gesture. "Life isn't fair, Obi-Wan… You know that…" His body quivered as he held his brother tighter.
"I guess…fate is in your favor… You've made your choice and I can't stop you…" the Jedi's grip became weaker and his breathing became more sporadic. "Go forth…and fulfill your destiny, my old friend…"
Slowly the light left his blue eyes and his body fell limp. The great Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was no more. The Sith Lord was victorious, but he felt hollow. As he stood over the carcass of his fallen master, he felt regret clutching his heart. A single tear fell from Vader and landed on Kenobi's face, almost as if the Jedi was crying for his pupil's sake.
"You shouldn't have come here… You should've just stayed away!" the Darth shouted with tears welling up. The Dark Lord fell to his knees clutching Obi-Wan's lightsaber in his hands lamenting the loss of his brother. His cries of anguish were imbued by the Force which pierced the sounds of the roaring volcano.
After a moment of grieving, the Sith Lord strengthened his resolve and rose to his feet in preparation for the next phase. It was then he heard the applause of a mysterious onlooker who appeared to have witnessed his whole ordeal.
"Bravo!" the voice praised. "Another Jedi falls before the mighty Vader!"
Alerted by the dark presence, the Sith quickly faced it with his lightsaber drawn. The pale being merely raised his hands in defense aiming not to provoke his ire. "Easy, Darth Vader. I'm on your side." smirked the cryptic man.
"Son, what are you doing here?" Vader asked holstering his weapon with an annoyed tone.
"I interpret your visions remember? There's no way I was going to miss out on the duel of the century." The Son grinned placing his arm around the Sith. "Besides, I've come to report. The Emperor never intended to save your wife. He only agreed to help you so you could do his bidding."
Darth Vader's face was taut with rage, roaring a powerful Force Scream to the sky as if the stars could hear him. "I'LL KILL HIM!" His fury was palpable and his body fumed Dark Side energy which pleased the Son immensely.
"Don't fret my Dark Side friend, I've kept an eye on your master like you've requested. Turns out he has an archive of Sith holocrons full of lovely secrets he's been keeping from you." The Son turned to face his companion in order to fully read his reaction.
"Figures. Sidious always loved secrets." Vader said bitterly.
The Dark Side entity wagged his finger with a light tsk as he continued to report his findings. "The answer you seek maybe inside one of those holocrons, but to get inside, you'll need a key."
"A key?" the Dark Lord winged a brow.
"Indeed. The Emperor always carries it on his person. But…if something happened to him… He wouldn't need it anymore." The Son smirked.
"Then it would seem that my master has outlived his usefulness." the Sith answered.
"Say you kill the Emperor. Are you prepared for what comes after that?" the Son challenged.
Darth Vader clenched his fists with conviction while declaring a steeled response, "Of course."
The Son sported a devilish grin finding satisfaction in his ally's answer. He saw that the young lord had big plans and it was time to put them into action. "Excellent. I shall make the preparations, my lord." The Dark Side entity humbly bowed before taking on his gargoyle form.
"See that you do." the Dark Lord replied. The strange allies parted ways and began to initiate the next phase.
xxx
Vader pocketed Obi-Wan's lightsaber and made his way to his starship to make contact with Darth Sidious to report his success. "Artoo, connect me to Darth Sidious." The white and blue droid beeped in compliance to the order projecting the Emperor's image on the ship's holo.
"Ah, there's my prized apprentice! I feared that the Separatists may have gotten the better of you." said the hooded man with his hands diabolically rubbing together.
"You know the power of the Dark Side is strong within me, my Master." Vader replied with a respectful bow. "The Separatists are dead just like you requested."
The wrinkles of the Emperor's lips curled into a pleased smile as he lifted his hand to bid his apprentice to rise. "Good, good my apprentice, but your face is telling me you have more to say." The Galactic Emperor knew Vader well. "Speak."
"Master, I had a run-in with Obi-Wan. That's why I couldn't get in contact with you." reported the apprentice.
Sidious' face quickly shifted from praise to fury at the mention of the late Jedi's name. "Kenobi!? What happened!? What became of him!?" He was seething. Obi-Wan Kenobi had been thwarting his plans for years and now he was growing impatient at Vader's silence. "Answer me, apprentice!"
"…Obi-Wan Kenobi is no more, master. He was slain by my hand." the Sith Lord answered coldly to mask his grief.
Darth Sidious' holographic image portrayed his malicious cackle. "Haha! Excellent! You've done well Darth Vader!"
"Service is its own reward, master." Vader bowed once more.
"Such loyalty does not go unrewarded my young apprentice! I'll be arriving shortly with a little surprise for you." The Emperor's shriveled face was beaming with joy.
"I look forward to it, master." replied the apprentice with a smile of his own.
Within moments the Emperor's starship landed on the spaceport across Vader's Starfighter. The ship's hatch opened, lowering a stairway followed by a Stormtrooper squadron and the Emperor himself. Seeing his fake smile made Vader's hatred boiled, but he kept it suppressed and made his way to greet his master with another bow.
"You needn't come all this way, master." said the Sith Lord.
"Nonsense! I wanted to hear about Kenobi's death personally!" Darth Sidious cackled. "Tell me how he died."
Every fiber of his being wanted to tell the Emperor of his valiance, but dared not to arouse his suspicion. Instead, he swallowed his pain and developed a convincing, bloodthirsty smile. "Like a coward."
The Dark Lord's words pleased his master greatly as he released a bellowing cackle. Darth Sidious then placed his hand on Vader's shoulder with a proud smile on his wrinkled lips. "Rise, my loyal apprentice. You are by far a true Dark Lord of the Sith!" He then reached into his sleeve to pull out the hilt of a custom lightsaber and handed it to his apprentice. "And a Dark Lord needs a proper weapon."
Vader rose and took the hilt in his hand. He slowly curled his fingers around the grip to get a feel for its heft. The Emperor gave an approving nod to let him test his new weapon. With a press of the switch, a crimson blade unsheathed and hummed beautifully in his grasp. The apprentice gave a few practice swings with his Djem So variant until it felt natural in his hands.
Darth Sidious rubbed his hands together and cackled as he watched the Dark Jedi swing his new toy around. "With Kenobi gone, there's no one else who would dare to stand in our way! The galaxy belongs to us!"
Suddenly, Vader unleashed his rage dashing toward his master with the celerity of Force Dash to pierce the heart of the Galactic Emperor with his new lightsaber. Reality quickly unfolded before Darth Sidious' eyes as he painfully gasped for air with betrayal written on his face. "Y-you…!"
"No, Sidious… The galaxy belongs to me!" Darth Vader then proceeded to remove his blade from the Emperor's chest and swiftly swung it to separate his head from his shoulders. The head rolled in front of the Stormtroopers with its mouth still agape with surprise. The soldiers were confused whether or not to follow Darth Vader or open fire until the Dark Lord began to speak.
"Any of you who wish to strike me down, do it now at your own peril!" Vader challenged. Instead of fighting the Darth, the troopers lowered their weapons and recognized him as the new Emperor. "Good. Let's go home men." The Imperial soldiers obliged with a salute as the returned to the Emperor's ship waiting for their new master to follow.
He was searching his master's remains until he found the archive key the Son mentioned on his person. One small victory for Darth Vader. The grim images of his wife's future are starting to look bright. With this key, he was one step closer to reaching his goal. It was time for the next phase.