A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Not being able to kill Kenobi had set Vader into a foul mood the entire trip home to Coruscant. He had sworn to Padmé and to the Emperor that he would've killed the bastard, just to have broken his promise. He had grievously wounded the bastard, but that wasn't enough. He had needed to spill his blood completely, taking his entire life force from him, making him pay for his sacrilegious and affronting torture of the one that he loved. Jinn had broken him down by using his given name, his true name. Broken him down by admitting that he had failed him by allowing him to be sent to the Agri Corps, just to be abducted by Dooku and subsequently tortured by Sidious until he was nothing but a mere shell of a human, until he was the embodiment of evil.

Then, there was Jinn's promise to aid him in the killing of Sidious. Where the hell had that come from? There was no way that Jinn would've been able to know about his intentions to kill the wretched old fool, but he had, and Vader fell for it. The Jedi were too weak to be able to confront Sidious, otherwise they would've done so years before. This wasn't something that all of the remaining masters would be able to accomplish, hell it wasn't even something that he could accomplish himself, not yet anyway. He would be a fool to conceive a notion that he would be able to trust the Jedi enough to conspire with them. Sidious had more spies than he did, and once the ruse was discovered, his life would be forfeit.

No, there would be no alliance, no cooperation. There would be only one thing, the death of all the Jedi. He would find a way to extinguish their miserable lives once and for all. But he did take some pleasure in knowing that he had taken Kenobi's arm from him, it would undoubtedly drive the perverse Jedi to madness, especially knowing that he had been truly bested by Vader. Mechanical limbs were seen as an affront to the galaxy, so if he wanted to wield a lightsaber again with any competency, he would have to be outfitted with one. He would have to be sullied with something unnatural, which would make him even deader on the inside, if such a thing was even possible.

Vader felt the Devastator slightly shake as it exited into real space in orbit around Coruscant and he eagerly grabbed his equipment bag to catch a transport down to his estate to see the love of his life. It had been a full damned week since he had seen her, he missed her terribly, and likely she missed him. Tossing his bag into the transport he shouted for the pilot to disengage and felt the ship drop from the massive hanger and begin its descent into the atmosphere of the planet. What would he tell Padmé? Would she be satiated that he was at least ablet to inflict such a terrible wound to Kenobi or would she be upset? Damn, he hated this.

As the transport neared his estate, he leapt to his feet and stood by the ramp. As soon as it lowered, he leapt out and jogged to the massive double doors of his domicile, throwing them open and tossing his gear bag to the floor.

"Padmé?", he called out. "Padmé, I'm back."

In a flash, the woman raced in from one of the living areas and leapt into his arms, kissing him tenderly before letting loose a sob of relief. He held her and whispered sweet nothings into her ear, feeling the absolute turmoil of emotions emitting from her. He felt horrid that she had been so worried about him, that he had to leave her in such a dire state, still recovering from Kenobi's rape of her mind, but he had to. It had been imperative that he struck when the moment was right, and while he may have not killed Kenobi, he had inflicted carnage amongst the Rebel fleet.

"I'm so happy you're home", Padmé whispered as she clung to him. Vader closed his eyes and swallowed, reveling in her tender touch.

"I'm happy I'm home as well, mainly I'm just happy to see you. I missed you terribly", he admitted. "I despised being away from you for so long, but there will hopefully be nothing keeping me from you for some time. I promise."

"You're a man of your word", she admitted. "You told me to keep the faith and you were right."

Vader swallowed again. "I may not be entirely a man of my word", he said as he sat her down. He took her hands in his and braced himself. "I was able to face Kenobi in single combat, but while I was able to take off his arm, I was unable to kill him. Master Jinn was there, and rescued him before I could land the killing blow. I'm sorry Padmé."

Padmé's face softened. "Don't apologize, Ani. You still were able to exact revenge against him. While I admittingly would have preferred for him to be dead after what he had done to me, I'll take what I can get, what you've given me. Mainly, I'm happy that the monster was unbale to wound you again. It would've killed me if he had struck you down a second time."

That made Vader feel a little relieved. "I'm glad to hear you say that, and yes, he most certainly wasn't able to even come close to that again. He was fearful of his life when I took his arm, and that fear will stick with him for the rest of his life. I doubt that he'll ever make an attempt against you again, he's finished. A broken man with a broken soul." But if the fool was stupid enough to come across him again, he would certainly kill him, damn whoever stood in his way again.

Padmé smiled at him brightly. "Oh, I know there's someone else that wants to see you. She's out right now, but when she get's back she'll be glad to see that you managed to emerge unscathed from your latest adventure."

"Dormé? I'm sure she will be. She wasn't exactly fond to see me leave", Vader said, remembering how she merely embraced him and stalked off.

"No, she wasn't. I know she still feels responsible that you were wounded when the both of you rescued me, so do be a little tender with her when you see her", Padmé said.

"I will be", Vader promised. "Oh, while we're on the subject of the rescue attempt, I wanted to ask you if you'd spoken to your parents while I was away." He secretly hoped that she had, he still felt badly that she felt forced to cut ties with her parents, even if they were displeased with her relationship with him. He couldn't imagine cutting ties with his mother, the very thought of it saddened him.

Padmé's eyes fell to the floor. "No", she admitted. "They haven't reached out, nor I to them to be honest. I don't think that I'll hear from them in some time, which is just a damned shame. They should've been more understanding of you, of us. But they weren't. They simply viewed you as an evil man, even after they had spent time with you on Varykino. Maybe someday they'll change their minds, but I doubt it will be any time soon."

Vader didn't respond, he merely wrapped his lover up in a hug, holding her close and wishing that things had turned out differently. The Naberrie's were good people, they just couldn't look past what the galaxy saw him as. Hell, the moment that Padmé had figured out who he was after he had comforted her, she accepted him. It had taken some time for their relationship to blossom into love, but she still didn't automatically reject him because he was none other than Darth Vader.

"We'll get through it", he promised, "just one day at a time."

She looked up at him and smiled. "Yes, we will, as long as we have together." They shared a tender kiss.

"What happens now?", he asked.

Padmé cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what happens after this very moment", he said with a chuckle.

She gave him a sly grin. "I think you know."

Vader laughed and hefted her into his arms, carrying her upstairs while she laughed. He opened the door to his bedchambers with his foot and slammed it shut. He set her down and they both took the time to slowly undress on another, tossing their garments aside playfully. Once they were nude, Vader planted a sensual kiss on her lips, relishing the taste of her. It had been too long indeed.

Their hands roamed each other's bodies, refamiliarizing themselves with every inch of their skin. Padmé reached down and gave his member a solid tug, causing him to groan into her shoulder. "You tease", he whispered.

"You like to be teased", she whispered back.

"So do you", he growled as he spun her around, slipping two fingers into her warmth, causing the most blissful moan to escape her lips. He took his time, slowly pumping them in and out until she was soaking wet, while he kissed her neck.

He scooped her up and laid her on the bed, climbing on top of her taking the moment to gaze at her nude body before he slipped himself inside of her. She gasped at the sensation and bucked her hips up against him. Needing to feel him as deeply as possible as he began to thrust into her.

Vader bent down and sucked her earlobe, taking a moment to nip at it as well. "You feel amazing", he whispered, causing her to cry out.

"You feel so gods damned hard, Ani", she breathed. "Maybe I should send you away more often, you seem to be bigger than usual."

Vader chuckled. "No, no, no, my Angel; you're not going to get rid of me that easily."

"I thought not", she whimpered as she arched her back, thrusting her breasts into his chest. He continued to steadily pump himself in and out of her, until she was letting out short screams. His pelvic bone was grinding against her most sensitive of areas, bringing her closer to ecstasy.

"I'll never get tired of this", she managed to say.

"I figured you wouldn't", he growled. "Neither will I."

Padmé whimpered. "You could get a little rougher, Ani. I'm not fragile."

Knowing what she meant, he roughly grabbed her throat and squeezed, causing her eyes to roll back into her head at the possessive touch. Her supple throat felt amazing in his hand, and he kept the pinpointed pressure on the sides of her neck, cutting off blood flow while still allowing her to breathe.

"Yes", she rasped. "Harder."

He turned her head to the side and nipped her ear while he increased the pressure while continuing to pound her. Her face began to glow a bright red from the lack of oxygen, and all the sudden, he felt her climax hit her hard as her eyes were still rolled back into her head. Her body convulsed and he released his choke hold while he continued to rapidly thrust into her, needing to find his own release.

She coughed and then began screaming loudly, driving him wild with lust. He kept his attack up, not relenting one bit, until he began to feel extra sensitive, knowing that his own peak was closing in.

"Cum for me", she begged. That was all it took. He growled as he shot himself deep inside of her, continuing to thrust, albeit slower as he rode out his own orgasm inside of her slick warmth.

When it was over, he buried his face in her neck for comfort. She was the most amazing woman that he had ever been with, the most wonderful woman. She was perfect in every way, both inside the bedroom and out. He had to have her for the rest of his life, there was no doubt about it. He had to possess her and wanted her to possess him.

"I love you", he whispered into her neck.

"I love you too", she whispered back as she ran her hand through his long locks.

They got up and changed into comfortable clothes, feeling no need to dress anyway special and just held each other on the bed for a while, taking their time to simply enjoy being in one another's presence. Time away was hard but being together was easy.

"So, how did you fair at the Senate while I was away?", Vader asked.

Padmé chuckled. "I was largely left alone. The few senators that did come to my office acted as they should've, in fear. There are some wonderful perks to not sneaking around anymore."

"Good", Vader replied. "Any questions about how Clovis died?"

"Not a single one", Padmé said smugly. "Which I'm fine with, the bastard doesn't deserve to be spoken about. There's a special election on Scipio next month to replace him, but so far nothing in the holonet about his constituents being outraged at his passing. It was if the man was truly despised by all, which isn't surprising given what a snake he was."

That amused Vader greatly, it couldn't have happened to a better person. He kissed the top of her head affectionately.

"Any plans for you while you're back?", Padmé asked.

He had a few ideas, one of which was to buy a damned engagement ring, but he couldn't really say that. "Not much, there are a few projects that I need to check on, but mainly there's a certain senator that I'm aching to spend more time with."

"Really?", Padmé said with false indignation. "Anyone that I'm aware of?"

"I think you are", Vader chuckled as he squeezed his arm tighter around her. There wasn't much more to say than that.

…

The couple ventured back downstairs, with Vader changed back into full regalia. He figured that he would need to report to Sidious sooner than later, which was unfortunate. There was a strong possibility that he would be severely punished for his failure to kill Kenobi, but hoped that failure would be softened by the near eradication of the remainder of the Rebel fleet. Of the little over two dozen ships that they had assaulted, only ten had escaped, yielding an impressive victory to the Empire. But Vader could never tell what would be pleasing to his master, nor could he tell when he would fly into a blind rage.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was tackled into the wall.

"Ani!", Dormé exclaimed. "You're back!"

Vader laughed as he returned the embrace. "I am, Dormé. Unharmed as well."

He could hear the woman sniffle and suppressed the urge to groan. Why women had to be so emotional all the time was nearly baffling, but he figured that since he had nearly died on his last crusade to kill Kenobi, a little bit of emotion was warranted.

Dormé stepped back and wiped her eyes before smiling. "I was worried, but all is well now, I suppose. I'm happy that you're back home, as I'm sure Padmé is as well", she said as she turned to beam a smile at her best friend.

"Indeed, all is well", Vader agreed. "I told you both that I would be fine. The fool wasn't able to come close to inflicting a wound on me this time. But as much as I hate to cut this short, I must go to the Emperor and report to him on the outcome of the mission. I'll be back a little bit later."

Both women looked nervous about Vader going to see Sidious, and to be honest, Vader was nervous as well. It wasn't every day that he had to stand before his master and grovel for forgiveness for botching a mission to kill a Jedi.

…

Vader strode into the throne room, accepting whatever fate would befall him after he made his report. He never should have sworn he would kill Kenobi, it made things entirely more complicated than they should be.

He stopped ten paces away, but before he could kneel, his master held up his hand. "Well, Lord Vader. Where you successful in killing Kenobi as you swore you would do?"

Fuck, Sidious was going to hurt him in the most painful of ways.

"No, master. I had managed to sever his arm, when Jinn, the old fool, intervened and prevented me from killing him. They were both able to escape, but we inflicted heavy –"

Without warning lighting erupted from both of Sidious' hands, sending Vader flying back at least five meters.

"You promised me that you were going to slaughter Kenobi, just to be bested by an aging Jedi fool", Sidious snarled, sending another withering barrage of lightning against the Sith Lord. Vader screamed in agony as he felt his skin rupture from the intense heat of the lighting, unable to defend himself.

"Master", he began…

"Shut up you fool!", Sidious raged as he sent bolt after bolt of electricity into Vader's body.

Vader found himself being drug towards Sidious with the Force, just to be attacked again and again. The pain was so great that he couldn't scream or even breath. All he could do was lay and endure the torment, unable to defend himself.

The torture continued and Vader began to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen to his brain. He could feel his skin crackle and knew that there was blood oozing from his open wounds. This might actually be his doom, his master quite possibly could kill him this time.

His mind felt like it was on fire, unable to be extinguished from the mental and physical torment. It was more painful of torture than he had ever inflicted upon another being in the galaxy, it caused every muscle to spasm, every bone to throb.

Sidious was invading his mind as well, tearing it apart. Vader felt like he was caught in the middle of a maelstrom, unable to right his course, constantly being shredded to pieces by the powerful force of nature.

He could vaguely hear Sidious' insane laughter, enjoying the torment of his apprentice in the most perverse of ways. It only added insult to injury. He had been a faithful servant to the despot for many years, and just because he couldn't kill a single Jedi he was being eviscerated by the stronger man's powers.

Vader tried to focus his thoughts on Padmé, but even that was difficult. Sidious was crushing his mind to the point where Vader was concerned if he would be able to remember anything of her at all after all was said and done.

There wasn't a single bit of torture he had endured in the past that was akin to the torture he was currently feeling. He felt his head be thrown back from a massive spasm in his neck, cracking his skull on the hard floor.

Nausea and crippling pain from the injury followed. He kept his eyes squeezed shut in hopes to avoid blindness from the dark energy that his master was hurling toward him.

The heat on his flesh was unbearable, as if it was as hot as a star, burning through him at an alarming speed. This was agonizing, it was terrible.

Vader tried to keep himself from convulsing any further, but it was impossible, there were simply too many electrical currents being thrusted into his body, too much rough pain.

As suddenly as the torment began, it ended. Vader fought to keep himself from shaking as he remained on the floor, bracing himself for another wave of punishment.

"Stand up, you fool", Sidious commanded.

Vader took several deep breaths and managed to slowly rise, horrified by the amount of blood he had lost. His skin crackled and he could smell his burned flesh, maybe too much to be able to heal, he didn't know. He had never been tortured in such a brutal way before.

"Explain your failure", Sidious sneered.

"As I said, master, Jinn showed up and prevented me from delivering the killing blow after I mortally wounded Kenobi. The man is now a cripple, unable to fight as he once did. He will be of no great threat to your Empire any longer", Vader said. Force, he felt like he was about to vomit.

"And why were you unable to slaughter Jinn? He is a weak old man, one that you should've been able to exact with vengeance, not someone that you should have dared to allow to escape. I find it reprehensible that your lackluster performance enabled not one, but two Jedi to escape.", Sidious said. "Why did you promise his death if it was uncertain?"

Vader continued to breathe normally but was left without the ability to continuously maintain control of his knees as they shook in fear. Fear that he was unaccustomed to, especially from a man that he loathed.

"My promise was arrogant, master. I will accept whatever punishment you see fit", he said as he tried to project his voice in a calm manner, but ultimately failed. That seemed to enrage Sidious even further, who sent another blast of lightning tearing through the Sith Lord. Vader had to sink his teeth into his lip to prevent from crying out any further as it would only enrage his master, making the torture never ending.

"I find your inability to keep your promises disturbing, Lord Vader. Perhaps you truly have grown soft. Perhaps I should end your miserable existence right here, right now", Sidious sneered. "Would that be acceptable to you? Would you willingly forfeit your life if I commanded it?"

No! Vader's mind screamed. Never. "I would lay down my life if you commanded it my master", Vader replied. "I'm yours to command, even if the command means that I die."

"You miserable fool!", Sidious screeched as he sent additional bolts lightning into Vader, who this time did cry out, unable to take it any further. He would beg for death, plead for it if only it meant that his torture would end. It was too excruciating, too much to tolerate. The only thing that kept him from doing so was his thoughts of Padmé, of how devastated he would become if she learned that he had taken the easy way out. There was simply no choice but to survive.

Again, the torture stopped. "There is only one thing keeping you alive, Lord Vader, and that is your near eradication of the Rebel fleet. Soon, you will make good on your promises and deliver Kenobi's head on a platter to me, if you do not, I'll kill you and the one that you hold dear to your heart."

That caused Vader to look up sharply as he laid on the floor.

"Don't be surprised, Lord Vader. I know of your true feelings for Senator Amidala. I tolerate them because it will grant you children. You will form a permanent union with her and deliver children for me to train for your eventual replacement. That is also my command to you, do you understand?"

Never! Vader's mind screamed. The sick bastard would never get his hands on his offspring, no matter how much he desired them. It would be too much for him to bear for them to be turned into Sith Lords, broken as he was. There was no way in all the hells that he would allow for that to happen, no way that he would possibly let the sick man twist someone pure into a twisted individual just as he had been. When he had been kidnapped as a child, he had been beaten, tortured, even molested. No child of his would ever be subjected to the same fate. He would rather die than have that happen. This escalated the timetable for his plans to unseat the evil bastard once and for all. As much as he despised it, he would need Jinn's help in overthrowing Sidious.

"Get out!", Sidious commanded.

Vader rose to his feet and gave a slight bow, limping toward the exit, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. He shakenly walked to his speeder, using every technique he knew to keep himself from passing out from the sheer blood loss and pain that he was in. It was agonizing, every step was horrendous. This was more difficult than any pain that he imagined, and knew that Padmé would be heartbroken to see him in such a state. It had broke her heart the first time she had seen him brutalized in such a fashion, but now they were bonded, now they were one, it would crush her.

Easing into his speeder, he carefully engaged the drive and shot into the sky towards his residence, focusing on his breathing to keep himself awake and alert. When he reached his establishments, he parked the speeder haphazardly, opening the door and tumbling out on the landing pad. He pulled himself to his feet and limped to the entrance, throwing the double doors open, staggering inside.

Padmé and Dormé rushed into the foyer and both women screamed.

"Ani!", Padmé exclaimed. "What happened to you?"

"I displeased the Emperor", he managed to say. "I need to get to my medical bay on the second floor."

Both women carefully supported him under his arms as they led him up the stairs, letting out cries of horror as he began coughing up blood. Once they reached the room, Vader sat on the medical bed and began stripping off his clothes carefully, lest he take burned skin with his garments. He unabashedly stripped nude and both women were horrified at the extent of the open sores and burns on his body.

"Ani, what do we need to do to help you?", Dormé asked as she pressed a bandage against a gaping wound on his thigh, trying to staunch the bleeding.

"Bacta cream, then anesthesia", he managed to say. "I'll use the Force to do the rest."

Padmé fumbled with the tube of bacta cream, carefully applying it to the burned areas and open sores. Dormé found the anesthesia and injected it into him.

Vader closed his eyes and placed himself into a trance, trying to heal himself. Both women stood in shock, looking at his badly injured body as the Sith Lord drifted away.

…

"That was horrible", Dormé said as she cried on the couch in the living area.

All Padmé could do was nod in agreement. She was scared, sad, and angry at the Emperor for daring to inflict such trauma to Vader. He had no right to treat his loyal servant in such a way, no right at all. It made her hate him with all her heart, more so than she could possibly realize. She had only seen Vader so injured once before, but even then he still had strength about him, enough strength to barely be able to attempt to kill Rush. This time, he barely had the strength to peel off his own clothes.

"There has to be something we can do", Dormé said as she sniffled. Vader's injuries had obviously caused the woman pain, especially given that she had been so elated at seeing him unharmed after he had returned from his mission mere hours before.

"I have no idea, Dormé. The Emperor is so strong, so powerful. I don't think we would be able to get within his throne room without him inflicting the same if not worse punishment against us. It seems impossible, but we obviously can't do this alone. We need powerful allies, strong ones that will be unafraid to stand up to the monster. I have no clue where we could turn to, but that would be the only way. I don't know how long Ani will be unconscious for, how long it will take him to recover, if he does. I've never seen sch injuries before in my life, but it has to remain a priority. The Republic cannot be trusted, they'll merely squabble amongst themselves as thy try and install themselves as the power that they wish for. I'm not certain of Vader's true intentions, not yet at least, but I know he wants to kill the Emperor. That much is clear", she said as she wiped her eyes, tears threatening to overtake her again.

"What if… what if we enlisted help from the Jedi?", Dormé ventured.

Padmé looked at her in alarm. "Dormé, you mustn't think like that. That would drive Ani insane, he hates them more than he hates the Emperor and rightfully so. I hate them still, especially Obi-Wan. I doubt that he would be open to it, so we shouldn't entertain those thoughts", she said.

"You're right", Dormé mumbled. "It was just a thought. I wish Ani was strong enough to do it himself, but something tells me that if he was, he would've done it already."

"Exactly. We need to allow him time to heal, then we need to have him try and be as supportive as possible. He'll need us, more so than ever before. He needs those who love him more than anything", she said as her voice broke. "If only my damned parents were supportive that could've given him hope that he would've been more susceptible to learning to rely on others to help him."

Then, she had a wonderful thought. "Maybe Captain Piett would be able to help? He has tremendous support in the Imperial military. If they could organize a coup, then maybe Ani would have a chance at overthrowing the Emperor", she suggested. "He seems like a loyal man to Ani as do the soldiers and sailors under his command. I don't doubt for an instant that he would be unwilling to help, but we still need to ask him first of course."

"Padmé", Dormé said quietly. "You are aware that would mean the end of the Rebellion forever don't you? I have no love for them, not after their ambush of Ani, I just wanted to make certain that you realize that."

Padmé looked at her friend with an evil smirk. "Not only do I realize that, I crave for it", she whispered. They can't get away with their terroristic attacks any longer, I don't care who they kill. It would be a damned shame."

"Okay, my friend. You have my full support as does Ani", Dormé swallowed.

…

A full day later, Vader woke from his trance sore as hell. He was nude with only a thin sheet covering him to maintain his modesty. He stood and took a look at himself in a full length mirror. Aside from several new scars that littered his toro, he was still intact. Thank the Force, he thought. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that had Padmé and Dormé had not helped him, he would've died from severe shock from his wounds. They had been awful, the worst he had sustained in his entire life. What a bitch, he thought.

He didn't forget his master's command to bring Kenobi's head to him on a platter, but he had no where to look for him. He should've killed the damned Jedi when he had the chance, he had been so close, he was merely surprised when Jinn had referred to him by his given name. He supposed it was that which had made him so weak, but he deserved it. He let his emotions get the better of him and wouldn't make that same mistake again.

Donning a robe, he left the medical bay to find Padmé. She must've been terribly worried about him, more so than he possibly realized. Why oh why had he allowed himself to allow himself to be put himself in such a predicament. It wasn't right, he was a fucking Sith Lord, he was stronger than that, stronger than most could remember.

He went downstairs and heard the two women talking, as they spoke of him in hushed tone, worried sick about him. He had to put their minds to ease. He stood by the door frame and cleared his throat. Both women looked up at him in shock, they hadn't realized that he had been standing there.

"Ani", Padmé choked out as she raced to embrace him tenderly. "You're alright."

"It's alright, Padmé. I managed to heal myself aside from a few new scars. I don't think I would've been able to do it without the two of you, so I owe an immense amount of gratitude", he said as he nuzzled her hair, kissing the top of her head. "I am alright, I'm not going anywhere."

"We thought that we had lost you", she sniffled.

"Keep the faith, Padmé", he said. "Keep the faith."

Dormé rose and nervously walked up to him. Padmé allowed herself to disengage from him, trading place with Dormé allowing her to embrace him just as she had, There was something wonderful about having a friend that cared, in addition to Padmé.

The handmaiden let out a sob, and failed to keep her compose. "I'm very glad you're alright, Anakin.", she said as she clung to Vader. Vader in turn sighed and rubbed her back.

"Me too, Dormé", he said. "Everything will be just fine. I promise."

Dormé released him and rushed out of the room. Vader went to follow her, but Padmé placed a hand on his arm. "She'll be alright, Ani. She just got shook up. We both did."

Vader nodded. "I can understand why", he admitted. "It's never been that bad before." The bastard Sidious had pushed him to his breaking point, all because he didn't land a killing blow to Kenobi. A mistake that nearly cost him his life.

"What will you do now?", Padmé asked.

"I don't know. I may have to hunt Kenobi down again and kill him, but I don't know where to look", he replied. "I should've killed him when I had the chance, but I can't undo the damned past."

Padmé gently rubbed his shoulder. "No one is expecting you to change the past, Ani. We'll just have to move on from here", she said. "There must be a way to track him down, he isn't a damned ghost. With how erratic he was acting, he's probably even more so now that you've taken his arm."

Vader nodded mutely. "We'll see."

A/N: This chapter was a tad shorter than I would've liked, but I really wanted to show the Emperor's wrath and the reactions of Padmé and Dormé. Things will get a touch darker.