Five years ago, Anakin Skywalker might have destroyed Darth Sidious, but the loss of his wife was too much to bear and he ended up losing himself as well. He did not become Darth Vader due to some seductive trick from Sidious, but from his own despair. Without Padmé, Anakin Skywalker ceased to exist, burying himself under the guise of his Sith persona.
Although he had not thought of it at the time, with the death of the newly christened Emperor Palpatine, the galaxy either dissolved into chaos or another leader in one man or a collective body had to rule the various systems. Temporarily, Vader decided to seize control to maintain peace and order in the galaxy. He would figure out what to do with the systems once he had some of his own questions answered, but after decapitating the Sith Lord, Anakin's sole focus was on revenge.
Vader could not turn against the Jedi, for Sidious had already seen that they were killed. Since Vader himself had already killed Sidious there was only one enemy left, the Separatists who had destroyed his beloved wife. However, despite his need for revenge, Vader did feel a nagging sensation at the back of his mind that he needed proof before doling out justice. Although all the evidence seemed to point to Padmé's death, Vader was still unsure if he could trust Sidious' word. Therefore, leaving Sidious' decapitated body for others in the medical facility to deal with, Vader stole the fastest speeder he could find and sped towards the Jedi Temple. Smoke billowed out of the building, but Anakin did not seem to care. The young Sith even ignored the dead bodies of his former friends and colleagues that littered the usually pristine floor of the Temple. Vader's sole focus was on reaching the Temple's intelligence center which fed transmissions from across the galaxy including the news broadcasts. The Temple's computers automatically archived old transmissions for later analysis and it was this, the young Sith was eager to see. As a teenager Anakin had often snuck in that room and searched for any news on his beloved Angel. Now he was going to confirm Sidious' words and he hoped the Sith was wrong.
Unfortunately pictures did not lie, and although none of the archived news footage showed close-up shots of the dead. Anakin could not deny what he saw. In death, there was a slackness to Padmé's cheeks he was not familiar with, but other than that the body's bone structure matched that of his lover's. Someone, a handmaiden perhaps, had arranged Padmé's silken curls to fan out from her face. Small white flowers had been placed in her hair and Anakin could see that they were starting to wilt as the fire began to burn brighter. In a matter of moments, the deep blue gown that draped across her soft flesh was engulfed in flame as the fire consumed the body and released his beloved's soul into the Force.
Around the funeral pyre stood Padmé's security team as well as other Nubian dignitaries and members of the Republic Senate wishing to pay their last respects. There were small groups huddled around all the funeral pyres of the people who had died during the Separatist attack, but the largest was around Padmé's and the cameras seemed to be focused on hers alone. Anyone and everyone had their chance to say goodbye except for the man who needed the closure the most. Now, Darth Vader watched on a taped video feed as his wife's body was consumed by flames.
A choked sob escaped Vader's throat as he reached a hand out to the computer's display. "I love you. I… I…I'm sorry." Unable to stop them, tears fell from Anakin's eyes and he buried his face in his hands as his body convulsed with sobs.
"Such a waste." A reporter Vader had ignored when he spotted his wife's body on the screen interrupted the young Sith's mourning. "It is a shame that war leads to such losses, whether they be your average galactic citizen, or a leading member of the Galactic Senate. It is tragic. We can only pray that the new government can end this war soon so that these lives will not have been lost in vain."
Vader's head shot up at the reporter's words, his eyes focused on Padmé's funeral pyre that was now completely engulfed in flames. Although his heart was broken and his soul was filling with a deep rage at the Separatists, Vader knew Padmé would have wanted peace to reign over the galaxy once more. She would have wanted a safe, secure, and free society, as that was always her reason for serving in the Senate.
Unable to stop it, Vader's eyes gleamed a violent shade of yellow with the knowledge that Padmé never got a chance to see the end of the war. "I will fix this, my Angel." Vader murmured through deep gasping breaths as grief and anger fought against each other within him. "I promise you." Pressing his fingertips to his lips, Vader applied a kiss to them before transferring his hand to the computer screen and resting the kiss across the image of his wife's funeral pyre. "I promise you." He murmured one last time before turning on his heel to not only seek his revenge, but to bring peace in the memory of his wife.
With the Force as his guide, it did not take Vader long to find the leaders of the Separatist movement and destroy them. However, just like killing Sidious, avenging Padmé's death did not mask the pain he felt from her loss. However, he did not let that stop him from fulfilling his promise to his Angel. With the Separatists leaders gone, their droid army was dismantled and peace settled across the galaxy. To ensue peace continued, Vader took up control of the Republic as its Emperor. Knowing Padmé loved democracy and the Republic, Vader allowed the Senate to pass most of the legislation, but when disagreements threatened stability and security, Vader was always there to intercede.
As Emperor, Vader was a bit of a recluse. He sealed himself inside the former Jedi Temple, which became his personal palace to live out his lonely existence. Whenever he did make an appearance in public, he was always heavily cloaked to hide his face from those around him. Mystery clung around the Emperor for no one knew what Emperor Vader looked like, but no one questioned it in his presence. Many citizens of the galaxy hypothesized that Vader was horrifically scarred or disfigured as Emperor Palpatine had been. However, they would have been surprised to know that the handsome, Anakin Skywalker was hiding underneath those heavy cloaks. It was not disfigurement that drove the young Sith to hide his face from the galaxy, but the fact that he did not want the galaxy to see a weak leader who had a habit of shedding tears over a tragic Christmas day.