What Have You Done?
Slightly altered events of Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker has fallen to the Dark Side is wanted by the Jedi Order for killing Palpatine and the leaders of the CIS. But all Vader wants is to be reunited with his family. However, the Jedi are guarding his wife and children.
"Lady Amidala."
"Yes?" Padme replied as she carefully cradled her little baby boy in her arms.
Luke's eyes were open as he looked at her. She eyed her daughter asleep in the hover crib and wished her son would do the same.
"We must move you to a more secure location," the Jedi said, glancing around the nursery as if assessing for threats.
"Why?" she asked, holding her son a little tighter.
"The Council has cause for concern. Please, this is for your safety."
His eyes flicked to the babies.
She wondered what the Council priorities truly were. Were they on this family as a whole, or were they just on the babies?
"If you wish me to leave my well-secured home with my children, then I will want a good reason Master Jedi," she said coldly.
A tense silence fell across the room. Luke squirmed and his chubby little face scrunched up. She hoped he wouldn't start crying. Did her sweet boy sense her discomfort?
There was only one reason why the Jedi would her moved. Only one threat out there.
Anakin.
Padme leaned over and kissed Luke on the head. It didn't ease the little pout on his face that had formed.
Anakin . . .
She didn't want to believe what she had been told. That he had fallen to the Dark Side . . . That he had merciless slain the leaders of the CIS, Palpatine, Jedi . . .
Her emotions threatened to bubble up. She usually had a strong hold on them, but ever since giving birth she found herself much quicker to cry.
A second Jedi entered the room.
"My lady, we must go," they said.
"Where and why?" Padme asked as she placed Luke in the crib next to his sister. She looked up at her protectors expectantly.
"You and your family are to be escorted to the Jedi Temple. A suite of rooms has been prepared for you."
"Because of Anakin?" she asked.
The two Jedi shared an uncomfortable look with each other.
"You don't need to hide the truth me from," she said as she walked over to collect her baby bag. "I can think of no other reason why we might move so suddenly."
"Forgive us, my lady, we just didn't want to upset you. But yes, a person believed to be Skywalker has been spotted in the district," the second Jedi explained.
She grabbed a long hooded cloak and threw it around her shoulders. She knew the reason she and the twins hadn't been locked away in the Temple already. They were bait to lure out Anakin so he could be captured and put on trial for his crimes.
It hurt to think about. How had . . . Anakin . . . What had he done . . . What would happen to him? She tried not to dwell on that; she had her babies to focus on now.
A third Jedi rushed into the room holding the hilt of their lightsaber in their hand.
"We must go. Now," she said.
"Is Anakin here?" Padme asked.
"Now," barked the third Jedi.
She rushed over to the hover crib and closed the lid. One of the Jedi's comlink beeped. Before the Jedi could answer, the com let out the sounds of blasters, lightsabers, and shouts. It lasted only a second before it was cut off and the room fell into silence. The Jedi all looked at Padme as they held their lightsabers ready.
She took one step then paused as the room suddenly grew cold and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Everyone turned to the door and saw a figure in black standing there. When had they gotten there? No one had noticed. The Jedi snapped their hilts up ready to ignite them, but there never came the snap-hiss of the blades.
All three Jedi were lifted into the air. They let go of their lightsabers and their hands went to their throats. They were all just suspended in midair gasping and gagging. The figure in the doorway hadn't moved, but Padme saw the golden eyes glaring direct at her.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Vader stood on the roof of one of the many skyscrapers in the district looking at the penthouse of a nearby building. It was where Padme and their babies were. Babies. Twins. They had had twins. A boy and a girl. Luke and Leia. He wanted to be with them, to hold them, all of them. He already spent the first month of the twins' lives apart from them, and that was already too long.
He would do what he must to get his family. A few more lives did not bother him, after all, he had already paid a bloody price for Padme and the babies to live. He would pay double, no triple, that to have them.
He didn't want much. He just wanted his family. That's all he wanted. At one point he had wanted so much more. He wanted to help the weak, save people, be a Jedi, and stop the war. But he was tired. Tired of giving up every part of him to the Jedi and the galaxy for nothing in return. And when he thought he was going to lose Padme, only Palpatine offered to save her. How could he say no?
He accepted Palpatine's offer to become a Sith. He had gone to Mustafar and killed the Separatist leaders to prove himself, but when he was ordered to march on the Jedi Temple he said no. He wanted the knowledge to save Padme first. Palpatine grew angry and tried to teach Anakin a lesson. A lesson Anakin had been taught as a young child, and one he swore he would never suffer again.
It was good he had some control and didn't kill the Chancellor too quickly. The old man was able to tell him a few parting words before he finally died including the location of his secret Sith lair. That was when he began to truly understand what it was to be a Sith. That was when he truly took on the name Darth Vader.
His research was cut short when Padme went into premature labor, so he rushed to her side. But he did it. He saved her and the babies. They all survived.
But then Obi-Wan arrived. Accusations were thrown at him. The Order had been looking for Anakin. Had seen security holos of what he had done at Mustafar and at the Chancellor's office. Obi-Wan tried to subdue him. He had seen too much. He knew Vader had used the Dark Side of the Force to save Padme. Knew Anakin Skywalker was now a Sith.
And Sith were the enemies of the Jedi. They could not be allowed to roam the galaxy freely.
So Vader fought. Other Jedi arrived. Fools. Vader cut them down except for Obi-Wan, but that wasn't for lack of trying. In the end, he was forced to retreat and leave his wife and newborns behind.
But he would return for them.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Anakin?" Padme asked. Her voice trembled.
The three floating Jedi all jerked sharply one last time before their bodies fell limp to the floor. Her eyes burned as tears bubbled up.
The figure walked forward, and as he did, the features of her husband became clearer and clearer. It was Anakin, but he looked . . . different and tired. His eyes were yellow with a red rim. The skin around them was dark and grey.
"Padme," he said softly.
She walked forward and he spread his arms out. She couldn't stop herself as she wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her tightly.
"Anakin," she muttered into his black clothing that smelled of burnt ozone.
"You're trembling," he said softly.
She looked up at him with blurry eyes. She opened her mouth but no words came out. He had just killed three Jedi in front of her. How many more had he killed to get here? How many more would he kill?
She placed her hands on either side of his face, and he leaned greedily into her touch.
What were they going to do? How could they move forward?
"What have you done?" she asked.
He placed a hand on top of hers. "What I had to do," he responded.
She shook her head. "No. No, there had to be another way. You didn't have to-"
"Yes, I did. Palpatine was behind everything. He was a Sith lord controlling both the Separatists and the Republic. There are chips in the clones, Padme. When given an order, the clones would kill all the Jedi. He was too dangerous to be kept alive."
"Then why didn't you say something? Why didn't you tell the Order? Tell Obi-Wan? Tell me? You . . . You killed Jedi, Anakin. Your brothers and sisters-"
"They are not my family," he hissed. A chill ran through her hearing the venom in his voice. "You're my family. You and the babies."
He looked over her shoulder, and she knew he was looking at the crib.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
He looked back down at her. "I came to get you. All of you."
"And do what? Go where? Anakin . . . I can't leave. I can't go with you."
His face twisted into a scowl.
"I can't leave everything behind" she explained. "My family, my friends. Anakin, you're wanted across the galaxy. Both the Republic and the Separatists have a price on your head. There is nowhere for us to go."
"There is," he said as he grabbed her arms. "Don't worry. Just trust me, please Padme."
She wanted to believe him. She wanted to go with him. But what life would that be? Especially for their children? She shook her head as tears started to fall. She loved him and wanted nothing more than to be with him. She understood his plight far too well. She too wanted their family to be together, but not like this.
She stepped away from him and turned around. The tears continued to fall as she walked over to the crib and gently placed her head on the lid.
"I can't," she whispered. "I can't go with you, Anakin."
There was a long moment of silence. When she looked up he was standing right beside her. He looked so sad.
He reached out, gently cupped her face with one of his hands, and stroked her cheek with his thumb. She closed her eyes.
So this was goodbye. Who knew when they would see each other again. He leaned in; their lips met. But far too quickly the kiss ended as he pulled away.
"I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do," he whispered. He leaned in again and whispered into her ear, "Never let the Jedi take the twins. Don't trust them. They'll want to use them as weapons to kill me."
"What?" she asked breathlessly as he stepped away.
"Whenever you're ready," he said, "just give the word and I'll be there. I'll take you all away. I promise you'll be safe."
He gave one last long look at the crib and walked away. Padme sunk to the floor and sobbed.