Chapter 21

The waiting was the worst.

It had been two weeks since her return to the Temple. Two weeks since her conversation with the Masters. Two weeks since Anakin's plan had been presented and then approved - or so he'd informed her. It also meant it was two weeks since she'd last seen him and her heart was heavy with worry.

Today was the day they'd set to confront the Chancellor and end the war one way or another.

Padmé had been confined to her bed by Lana that morning when pains across her abdomen began making themselves known. Lana checked in on her frequently and Cordé didn't leave her side as the contractions came and went throughout the afternoon. Lana, a knowing sparkle in her eye, informed her that soon, very soon, she was going to be a mother.

The twins were on the way.

A flash of blue and green light intermingled with red.

Padmé tossed her head, sweat having plastered the strands of her hair to her forehead as she bore down. She'd been in a labor for over sixteen hours and the twins were quickly rushing towards the world and an uncertain future.

But, beyond her babies, Padmé was only semi-conscious of the fact that her body was laboring to deliver them. Her mind was elsewhere, caught up in a by-play she neither knew nor cared where it came from. A by-play that had the potential to change the galaxy forever...

"You're a fool, Kenobi." The Chancellor's voice was a hiss. "And you're too late. Skywalker is mine."

Obi-Wan held his ground, staring at the man they'd come to identify as a Sith Lord. "It is you who are too late, Palpatine. Stand down. Release your hold on the Courts and the Senate, and we will ensure you get a fair trial."

The Chancellor's familiar features twisted into a mask of haughty arrogance even as he laughed manically. At Kenobi's feet lay Asajj Ventress, skillfully dispatched by the Jedi Master's hand. But, around them lay the bodies of several other Masters who had fallen prey to Asajj's quick blades and cunning skill.

And to treachery.

Asajj had lured and baited several of them close to her new Master, only to have the red blade of the Sith flash out and end the lives in the blink of an eye.

"You dream, Kenobi. Lay down your weapon and I won't have Anakin kill you."

Padmé shook her head in mute denial, feeling like a spectator at a professional opera - but one she didn't have the full script to. This isn't the plan! She wanted to scream. Obi-Wan was supposed to wait to confront the Chancellor with Anakin, not try and take him on his own!

Obi-Wan's shoulders straightened and he pulled himself to his full height. The door behind him hissed open and Mace, Yoda and Kit Fisto stepped in, their blades at the ready.

The Chancellor laughed. "Good! Good! You're all on schedule. Lord Vader."

A cloaked figure stepped from the shadows, burning yellow eyes the only visible portion of them and stopped at Palpatine's shoulder.

A figure that was as familiar to her as the swell of her pregnant belly. Padmé knew on some level she was having trouble breathing. That the breath had lodged in her throat and was making it difficult for her to breathe. Distantly she heard Lana's instruction, could feel the pain of stretching tendons and muscles, but didn't register. It was like a bad dream, but a dream she couldn't wake up from as the images, the drama, unfolded...

The Chancellor looked at each of the Jedi in his chamber. "Lord Vader will welcome you properly."

A blue blade flared to life in Vader's hand and he waded in. He traded blows with Obi-Wan and Kit, the Force lending him speed and agility that, even in the dream-like state, was impossible to follow. Yoda and Mace moved beyond him, towards the Emperor, but Vader was quicker, stepping between them, one of Asajj's blades leaping into his free hand as he spun, each hand moving independently as he traded blows with both Jedi Masters.

Palpatine's laughter was delighted as he watched his new apprentice work. "Use your anger! Use your hate, Lord Vader. It has made you strong. Made you powerful! Not even the best of the Jedi order can stand against you now."

Vader's hood, for all his movements, never slid from his head as he traded blows with the four Jedi who now encircled him. The black cloak flared, swirling about the newly minted Dark Lord like a shadow of things to come. Kit Fisto was thrown backward first, careening into the wall by the door. Mace went next, a speedy kick sending him crashing into the desk.

And then, as he regained his feet, Vader slipped.

"NO!"

The word was torn from Padmé's throat, but a whisper as she fought to keep breathing, her body contracting and heaving as she struggled to birth her children. Her heart was breaking as she finally understood what she was seeing. As the realization of Anakin's broken promise shattered her reality.

"Anakin, no!"

"Padmé?"

Padmé heard her voice being called distantly, felt the cool cloth being placed against her forehead, and heard Lana's delighted exclamation of, "It's a boy!" but none of it registered. The eyes she turned towards the friends at her bedside were blank, focused only on a vision they couldn't see...

Vader recovered quickly but was forced to give ground, backtracking towards Palpatine. The Sith Lord took up a defensive position in front of his Master. He didn't speak, hadn't spoken, and wouldn't. Palpatine was standing near one of the large bay windows, back lit by the artificial night, his expression menacing. "Give up, Master Yoda. You cannot hope to win. I will be merciful if you surrender your lightsabers now."

"Fair deals, the Sith do not make. Foolish to accept, it would be."

Obi-Wan lunged forward in that moment, catching the Chancellor off guard for a split second. Vader was there, intercepting him, his blade flashing in tandem with Obi-Wan's, blocking, striking and defending the man. Obi-Wan pushed forward, putting Vader off balance only to have a blind strike from the side sweep in.

Palpatine's lightsaber blazed a path directly towards Obi-Wan's exposed neck from a distance that no regular mortal would have been able to avoid. But Obi-Wan, a Jedi Knight in his prime, dodged at the last moment, dropping to his belly in a movement that left his back prone to attack.

And Vader took the opportunity.

Padmé screamed as the lightsabers flashed, the vision exploding from behind her eyes and popping blood vessels and then, mercifully, things went black.