Chapter Twenty

Speeders whizzed past as Anakin raced towards the Senate building. The sense of urgency he felt when he'd left returned to him now, but not for the same reasons. At that time he'd been anxious to save Palpatine; he believed that he was the only way to save Padmé. Now he knew better. Now he knew that Palpatine was using him, lying to him and the Dark Side was not the way to save Padmé. Darth Vader himself had shown him that, and it was a lesson he'd not see go to waste.

Upon reaching his destination, Anakin landed his speeder, jumped out, and ran down a long corridor toward the Chancellor's office. The sight that met his eyes upon entering the office caused him to stand still in his tracks for a moment.

Mace Windu and the Chancellor were in the thick of a battle, fighting on the ledge of the window which, for some reason, has been broken. The wind whipped around the room, flapping Mace's cloak wildly as he struggled against the Dark Lord, a look of grim determination on his face. Finally Mace forced Palpatine to lose his weapon, and took a step towards him, the tip of his purple blade at the Sith's throat.

"You are under arrest, My Lord!" Windu shouted above the wind. Palpatine turned and noticed Anakin, a look of utter relief on his ancient visage.

"Anakin! I told you it would come to this!" he cried. "I was right. The Jedi are taking over!"

"You old fool," Windu snapped. "The oppression of the Sith will never return. Your plot to regain control of the Republic is over. You have lost, Chancellor."

Palpatine's face twisted with maniacal rage. "No! No! You will die!" he screamed, raising his hands and shooting out blue energy. Windu blocked them with his lightsaber, pushing Palpatine back against the window sill.

"He is a traitor, Anakin," Palpatine cried. "Kill him! You know what you have to do!"

Windu grew furious, his strength starting to give way as he held the Sith at bay. "He's the traitor. Stop him!" he shouted at Anakin.

Anakin approached the two combatants, his heart pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears.

"You are not one of them, Anakin," Palpatine continued, sensing that the young Jedi was weighing his options. "Don't let him kill me! I am your pathway to power. I have the power to save the one you love. You must choose. You must stop him!"

Anakin took a step closer, igniting his lightsaber as he did so.

"Don't listen to him, Anakin!" Windu cried.

"If you let him kill me, your wife will surely die," Palpatine told Anakin. "I'm the only hope you have!"

Anakin ignored the look of shock that Windu was giving him. He shook his head. "No, you're lying," he said at last. "You have no power to save, only to destroy!"

Palpatine began to grow fearful as he saw the look in Anakin's eyes. "You're wrong! Only through the Dark Side will you save her, Anakin! If you let me die, then her life will be on her head!"

Anakin shook his head, remembering what Darth Vader had told him. He had lied to Vader in the most horrific manner possible, telling him that he himself had killed his beloved wife. The audacity, the utter shamelessness of the Sith sickened Anakin, and he took another step closer to Palpatine.

"I've seen the future, Chancellor," he told Palpatine. "I've seen what happens when you are left alive, I've seen the atrocities you commit, and I've seen myself helping you commit them. But not this time," he concluded, bringing his lightsaber to Palpatine's chest. "This time I'm setting things right. This time you don't win, Chancellor."

Palpatine was puzzled by Anakin's statement, but could see that the young man was serious. With one last surge of dark power, he sent Windu across the room, where the Jedi crashed against the far wall.

"You think you don't need me, do you young Skywalker?" Palpatine hissed as he rose to his feet. "Padmé is as good as dead," he continued, lifting his hands to blast Anakin with Sith lightning. "And you're to blame!"

Anakin held his saber high to deflect the energy blast as Palpatine called his own discarded lightsaber to his hand. He brought it to meet Anakin's, the two blades crashing against one another in an explosion of raw energy.

"You young fool," Palpatine taunted. "You have no idea what you are passing up, what you have lost with your treacherous betrayal!"

Anakin smiled grimly. "On the contrary, I know exactly what I've lost," he countered, repelling the old man's lunge easily. Palpatine's fear increased when he realized that there would be no convincing Anakin. The young man before him was not the same one he had known since he was a boy; he was not the same insecure, terrified youth who only that morning had discovered Palpatine's secret. No, this man was sure of himself, and calm. And most terrifying of all, Palpatine sensed no darkness in him at all. It was as though something had purged it from him, leaving behind the Jedi that Anakin Skywalker was always meant to be.

Anakin read the thoughts of his one time master easily and smiled. "You won't win this time," he told Palpatine again. "I will not turn to the Dark Side, Sidious. I am a Jedi, as the Force intended me to be."

Palpatine's face twisted in rage as he pushed forward, doing his utmost to best the young man. But Anakin was simply too strong, and had the advantage of youth on his side. He flipped over the old man easily, forcing Palpatine to move quickly to defend himself against Anakin's assault.

On the other side of the room, Mace Windu was slowly coming around. He squinted his eyes in pain as he beheld the spectacle before him. Anakin's blade was slashing furiously against the red blade of the Dark Lord, forcing Palpatine to back up in a defensive posture. Rising to his feet, Windu called his lightsaber to his hand in order to help Anakin defeat Palpatine.

"We've got him now, Anakin!" Windu shouted as he moved to join the fight. His sudden appearance distracted Anakin for a moment, which was all Palpatine needed to gain an advantage. Force pushing Anakin with one hand, Palpatine advanced upon the young Jedi, who had stumbled backwards.

"Not so fast, Lord Sidious," Mace warned as he stole up upon the Sith. "This ends now, you Sith disease."

Palpatine smiled. "You know, I've never liked you, Master Windu," he said, summoning the large paper weight from his desk and hurling it in his direction. Windu ducked and the paperweight smashed against the wall, leaving a large hole in it. While Palpatine was busy firing objects at Mace Windu, Anakin regained his footing and advanced upon the old man once more. He raised his lightsaber high above his head, preparing to decapitate the evil Sith.

Palpatine saw Anakin's movements from the corner of his eye, and lunged towards him, sending the tip of his lightsaber into Anakin's midsection.

Anakin shouted in pain, but held his lightsaber aloft, his hands trembling from the exertion and pain. With the last ounce of strength he had he pushed Palpatine backwards, impaling the Sith upon the purple blade of Mace Windu. Palpatine's eyes bulged, and then he fell face down on the floor, dead.

"Anakin!" Mace shouted as Anakin dropped to his knees.

"He's dead," Anakin panted, "right? He's gone?"

Windu nodded. "Yes, you did it, Anakin," he assured the young man. "We did it together. The Sith is no more."

Anakin smiled weakly as the room grew dim. Losing consciousness at last, the Chosen One collapsed into the arms of a very humbled and awed Jedi Master.

500 Republica Boulevard

Padmé Amidala Skywalker held up the knitting that she's been working on and examined it. For all her good intentions, she could not seem to get the hang of it, and each attempt turned out more lop sided than the last. Anakin liked to tease her about it; secretly he was happy that there was at least one thing she didn't do perfectly. Padmé's brow furrowed now as she thought of her husband. He had been going through a personal crisis lately, one that had created great changes in him. Padmé knew that he was afraid that his dreams would come true, despite all her assurances that it was highly unlikely. Coruscant had the best medical facilities in the sector after all; in the improbable event that should something happen, there would be plenty of medical experts to look after her.

Yet, there was more to Anakin's recent transformation than simply the dreams he'd been having. There was an edge to him now, far more evident than it had ever been. He had begun to question the very principles he had henceforth held so dear, and Padmé was beginning to grow frightened.

Setting the knitting down in frustration, Padmé ran a hand over her large belly which had become impossible to hide. She'd told no one, not even Anakin, that she was carrying twins. She smiled as she thought of how surprised Anakin would be when she gave birth to not one but two babies in another few weeks.

"Milady, there's a Mace Windu here to see you."

Padmé looked up at Dormé, startled by her sudden appearance. "Master Windu?" she asked.

Dormé nodded. "Should I show him in?"

"Yes, please do so at once," Padmé replied. She gathered the folds of her cloak around her in a vain attempt to hide her belly as Mace Windu entered the room.

"Senator Amidala," he began, sitting down beside her. "I'm sorry to intrude upon you at home."

Padmé noticed his eyes as they looked at her obviously pregnant belly and then back up at her. "Not at all, Master Windu," she replied. "What can I do for you?"

"It's Anakin, Milady," Windu told her without preamble. "He's been injured."

Padmé was unable to hide the panic in her expression or her voice. "Anakin? Hurt? How badly? Where is he?? Is he alright?"

Windu nodded. "He's at the medical center right now," he told her. "I came over here as soon as he was checked in." He stopped, feeling awkward all of a sudden. "I…I know about your marriage, Senator," he told her, looking down at his hands which rested upon his knees. "I know you and Anakin are married."

Padmé didn't know how to respond. They had kept their secret so well for three years now, she was almost afraid to admit it. "How? How do you know?"

"That's not important right now," Windu said standing up.

"You're right," she replied, pushing herself up from the sofa, revealing her swollen belly to the Jedi Master. She put a hand on her abdomen as she faced him. "Please take me to him," she asked.

Windu nodded. "Let's go," he said, leading the way out of the apartment.