Chapter One

Anakin sat in the Council's Chamber with his eyes closed as he was bathed in the red light of the sunset. His face was full of the many emotions that raged war inside him. He let them rage, and for once revelled in them, allowing them to take over. It wasn't the Jedi way, but he no longer cared.

Only minutes ago, he'd told Mace Windu the truth. Palpatine was a Sith Lord. A Sith with the knowledge and power to save Padmé.

For the first time since Anakin had come to the Temple, Master Windu had given Anakin his respect, and his trust. He knew after revealing the Sith, and by doing so, rejecting the ways of the dark side, the rest of the Council would show similar feelings. That had been something the young Jedi had wanted from the very beginning, when he had still been young, and saw the Jedi as heroes. Now none of those possible acknowledgments mattered. In fact if Yoda himself offered the rank of Master to him, Anakin knew he would turn it down. It was with this realization, that he made a decision.

Whatever happened after this night, Anakin Skywalker would no longer be a Jedi. Regardless of this decision, there was still another choice he had to make.

After the defeat of General Grievous, the Jedi left on Coruscant would move quickly to eliminate the newly appointed Supreme Chancellor. This meant Anakin had very little time to act. There was still time for him to leave, and warn the Sith. There would still be time to save Padmé. He wanted to save her more than anything, even at the cost of himself. He couldn't imagine a life without her.

For the first time since Anakin had sat down, he opened his eyes. Slowly he stood, and he walked to one of the surrounding windows. Against the red sky, the Jedi appeared as a dark silhouette and his dark shadow stretched over the Council room. Across the city a beautiful skyscraper rose like a beacon. This is where Anakin knew Padmé was. He could almost feel her looking back at him. Her death was fast approaching. Every night now, the dreams were getting worse. Guilt plagued his mind every time he watched her die, every time he let her die. It had become difficult to look at his wife, every time he did so made him think of her terrified and dying dream self. He had already failed his mother, but he could not fail Padmé, or his unborn children.

He needed more power, even if it meant saving a Sith, even it meant using the Dark Side. HE WAS THE CHOSEN ONE!

His mind was in a haze and all the emotions he knew he shouldn't feel burned within him, stronger then they had ever before. The fear, anger, and hatred that he'd battled with everyday since he'd first stood before the council took hold of the Jedi's being. Ever since the small, newly freed, slave boy who had been rejected by what he thought had been saviours, he had never once been accepted. He'd constantly been reminded he was not good enough. Force knew he'd tired to prove them all wrong, despite the anger that he felt when that judgment had been cast upon him, despite being told to accept loss, to stand by as people died at the cost of his own righteousness and that of the order he served, despite the hatred at himself for not being the Jedi he thought he should be. It was all their fault. The Jedi. Fine. If they thought that falling to the darkness was his destiny, then so be it. He would no longer deny his true self. Anakin would become the monster the Jedi had always feared he would become. Let them suffer the result that they themselves had brought about.

Mad with the craving for power, mad with fear, and with darkness clouding his mind, Anakin was about to turn away from the window when he saw something that stopped him. At the same time the presence of the Force almost became physical as its power surged, and Anakin saw the vision the Force wanted him to see.

Outside, the setting sun touched the horizon, and lit up the sky as if the world was on fire. His reflection also seemed to catch fire. No, it actually began to burn. As it did, Anakin began to scream. He could actually feel the flames licking across his skin, each nerve in his body screamed in agony. The awareness that there was no fire anywhere on his actual body didn't stop him from dropping to his knees, unable to take the pain any longer.

Eventually the torment ended, or perhaps Anakin just got used to it. He looked up to the window to be met with the reflection of something else.

No longer did the window reflect the face of a 23 year old man, with messy blond hair, and blue eyes. There was something else. A black helmet and mask looked back instead. Nothing about it gave away who or what was looking back at Anakin. He didn't need to see behind the mask to know who it was though. He knew. Somehow this was how he would be in the future.

The dark reflection looked at Anakin stoically, and made no movement for a moment. A brilliant ray of sunlight shot through the sky, and it looked like the reflection was now wielding a red lightsaber. It was the colour of the Sith. In one move, the masked reflection swung the lightsaber, and Anakin was prepared to feel it cut through him as he had when Dooku had cut of his right arm. Instead, worse then the pain of being cut, worse then the feeling of being burned, was an incredible feeling of sadness, regret, and guilt. So vast the feelings were, they could not come from any one person. No, this was the feeling of uncountable lives cut short for nothing, nothing other then the blind pursuit of power. Anakin felt all of this suffering as if they were his own.

He closed his eyes, and hot tears stung his face. He wanted to deny the reflection that he would ever cause that much pain and suffering, to become that horror, but hadn't he been willing to leave moments ago, full of a power hungry madness. What unforgivable crimes would he commit in the name of his love? In his hate? What would be the consequences of those actions? Would Padmé have been able to forgive him? What about Obi-Wan? Could he even forgive himself?

The harsh sunset finally faded, and while not completely dark, a shadow fell over the planet. Anakin looked to his reflection once more, and watched a new reflection approach. It seemed to grow closer out of the darkening sky, as if was coming from distance, and Anakin saw himself once more, not as he was now, but as he had been as a child, unscarred and innocent. Eventually the younger Anakin stopped as if he was just on the other side of the glass. Then, the reflection held out its hand.

Anakin, who was still kneeling on the floor, hesitated, and then put his own hand out onto the glass matching his with that of his past self. He found he was pulling himself up and when he fully stood once more, his own reflection looked back at him. Beyond that, somewhere in that silver spiring building was Padmé.

Anakin knew what he had just experienced was a Force Vision. Normally he only ever had them when he was asleep, as that was when his mind was peaceful enough. The vision just now, had been a powerful warning. He knew whatever choice he made now, he would have to face the consequences.

He potentially could save Padmé by saving the Sith now, or he could save the Jedi and the galaxy from its dark future that would surely follow if a Sith was allowed to take power. And what of himself? He had no doubt in the likelihood of what he'd seen, in the monster he could future was not so easy to change. His mother's death had taught him that after he had been helpless to save her, regardless of the warnings he'd had. Anakin understood with a clearer mind then he had before, that if he let Palpatine live, thousands more would die. Perhaps at his own hand. So what mattered more, the many or the few? What mattered more to him?

Anakin looked out at the last of the fading light and a few slow tears fell from his eyes. If earlier his face had expressed the raging emotions with him, now a look of angry determination had settled on it. His eyes were sad though, as if he were a man who was about to lose everything.

Turning around, Anakin walked away from the window and the darkening sky. He did not look back.

As the doors to the council closed behind him, Anakin began to run. Now that he knew what he had to do, it was if he couldn't move fast Jedi temple blurred around him as he continued to run. Time seemed to pass slower then it should have and he only ran harder. Finally after what seemed like too long, he reached his speeder. Without hesitation he leapt aboard. He was barely aware of his actions as he started up the speeder, letting muscle memory do the work.

Even though the vision had opened his eyes to the results of the actions he had very nearly taken, and the monster he could still become, Anakin had not lost his desire to save Padmé. Although he knew he could not let Palpatine live, and as his last night as a Jedi, he would do what it took to save the republic from the power of the Sith, but he would not just let his wife die. He would try to save everyone. No, he would save everyone.

Knowing there was little time to spare, Anakin completely ignored the air traffic and sped directly towards the Senate building. Mace Windu and other masters of the council must have arrived there themselves by now. The young Jedi knew they were walking into a trap of some kind, as there was no way Palpatine hadn't at least expected this much when he'd revealed himself to be a Sith. There was something more going on. Around him, thickening the air was the power of the force, almost like the pressure before a thunderstorm, it was waiting to burst into a storm. Across the galaxy, every force sensitive was aware a confrontation between two great powers was about to begin.

The Senate building was just ahead, and Anakin barely let his speeder come to a full stop, before he had jumped out. The building itself seemed to be empty and silent, even Anakin's footsteps seemed muffled on the carpet as he rushed toward the Chancellor's Offices. He hadn't gone a few steps when an all to familiar voice called out.

"Ani? What are you doing here?"

Padmé looked out across the city planet of Coruscant, and in the distance the four pillars that marked the Jedi temple pierced the sky. Her thoughts were on Anakin. She wondered for a moment if he were somewhere in that temple, looking back at her. When he'd returned from the siege of the outer rim, she had been overjoyed. The defeat of the Count had signalled the end the war, and while that had been good news, it was nothing compared to the thoughts that Anakin might be finally allowed to stay near her. Her, and soon their child.

As he had embraced her in the shadows of the senate building, the true fear of their reality had hit her. She was pregnant, and Anakin was a Jedi. The galaxy was in turmoil, and she herself had begun to wonder if the Republic that she served even existed anymore. While Padmé had made the choice to live a lie and keep her marriage a secret, a choice she couldn't bring herself to regret, could she bring an innocent child into that kind of life as well? All the fear and doubt that the former queen had struggled to ignore overwhelmed her and regardless of the self control she had fought to maintain, she had begun to shake in Anakin's arms.

Her husband immediately knew something was wrong.

Anakin had always been able to tear down her walls, and wipe away the political mask she had become accustomed to wearing. It was one of the things that had made her fall in love with him. He'd ignored the teachings of the Jedi order, and had always been honest with his feelings for her. It was because of him she'd learned to be honest with herself of her own feelings and perhaps it was selfish of her but she was happy. Allowing herself to return his love had been a choice she'd made for herself. It had not been for Naboo, not for the Republic, and not for democracy. It was when she was with Anakin she could just be herself.

When he'd looked at her with concern in his eyes and asked, "Are you all right? You're trembling. Whats going on?" Padmé had almost decided not to tell him of her pregnancy, not yet, at least.

Her husband had changed. She knew war could do that to a person, even a Jedi could not fight a war and watch people die around them everyday without coming out of it mentally unscathed. This was why she had been so against a war. She didn't want to watch the man she loved suffer in such a way, but in the end even her influence as a senator could not prevent what seemed to be an inevitable conflict.

However Anakin's change seemed to go deeper than that. It was something Padmé couldn't quite understand. He'd become more reckless and easily frustrated when she had expressed her fear in overly displaying their relationship, especially where it was easy for anyone to see. Hiding themselves for the last years had been hard, but now it was if Anakin couldn't bring himself to care anymore, despite the consequences that would befall them both. While the senator had made the choice to disregard her better judgment and marry a Jedi, it did not mean she wanted to ignore her beliefs entirely. She still wanted to do the right thing, and fight for the democracy she had vowed to serve, especially now when the Republic was teetering on a very dangerous edge.

Keeping secrets would not help anyone, Padmé decided, and as Anakin gazed at her then, she could still see his love for her. That hadn't changed. She put her faith in that and told him something she knew would change their lives forever, in ways neither of them could even begin to predict.

"Something wonderful has happened. Anakin…I'm pregnant."

The memory of the look in her lover's eyes then, bothered Padmé still. It hadn't been a look of joy or happiness, but a look of fear, as he processed the information and its impact. The very same things that Padmé had been worrying about since she'd found out about her condition, had been clearly written on his face. He'd been quick to comfort her though, as she'd spoken those thoughts aloud. His smile, although it was slow coming, she felt was genuine. That smile brought her hope, that perhaps they would get through this, and be stronger together because of it.

That ray of hope had soon dimmed as Anakin and Padmé both were swallowed in the repercussions of war once more. Padmé watched in horror as the senate slowly gave up its power without even realizing, and Anakin watched the Jedi loose sight of ideals, and allowed itself to be sucked into the ever-growing struggle for power, all in the name of peace.

Looking back now, Padmé realized she had been unfair to her husband. He had been clearly struggling to uphold the principles that he and the Jedi and had been slowly loosing sight of, and perhaps a conflict within himself as well, but she had been selfish. All she could see was the corruption slowly spreading around her like a disease. Asking Anakin, no begging Anakin to use his friendship with the Chancellor had been wrong, no matter how well meaning she had meant it to be. As a politician, she had dealt with her fair share of scheming, and she had a sneaking suspicion the Jedi has asked Anakin to do something he felt was wrong. Perhaps, so had Palpatine, which had put Anakin in a delicate situation.

As much as Padmé had to respect Palpatine as a politician, she did not agree with his policies, even if they did call the same planet home. He had let the situation go to far, and should have given up his emergency powers long ago. Couldn't he see that the diplomacy he had promised was slowly becoming a thing of the past? As long as he held as much power as he did, the Separatists would feel threatened, and continue to fight back. Count Dooku their leader was gone, and General Grievous could not maintain leadership of an army that was falling apart. Now was the time for a diplomatic solution, now was the time to negotiate and find mutual understanding. As long as someone was willing to listen to the other from both sides, the sacrifices made throughout the war from Loyalists and Separatists alike, would not have been made for nothing.

Padmé blinked, slowly coming out of her thoughts. Without realizing it, the sun had set on Coruscant. She felt as if there was a great tension in the air around her, as if this was a night that whatever happened, it would change the course of the future.

"Miss Padmé? Are you quite all right? You have been standing there for a very long time, perhaps you should sit down." C-3PO asked as he came shuffling toward her, sounding concerned.

"No, it's okay 3PO. I'm fine." Padmé replied softly, looking towards the Jedi temple once more.

She could hear Anakin's voice from earlier, "Make a motion in the senate where that kind of request belongs."

He had been right, she realized. Just because he was close with the Chancellor didn't mean he was the only one who could make a difference. She had let herself become a spectator, and become complacent in her pregnancy. Anakin was not the only one who had changed in the war. She had as well. Regardless, she had been a Queen, and a then a Senator and she would no longer sit on the sidelines and let the actions of others dictate the future of everything she held dear.

"3PO, prepare a transport."

C-3PO hesitated, taking a moment to process her words. "A…A transport milady? At this of night? Where could you possibly want to go? Surely it can wait."

Padmé remained determined. "I need to go to the senate. Please hurry. This is something that I have to do now."

"Oh, I um…very well." C-3PO reluctantly agreed and shuffled off to make the arrangements. Padmé also began to prepare, changing out of her long dress, into something simpler. When she was done, her transport was ready.

The trip to the senate building was a short one, as her suite was not far. Yet for the short journey, the feeling of an immense pressure never left her, and although she would never admit it, a sliver of doubt crept into her mind. While she fully intended to confront Chancellor Palpatine and do her best to persuade him to end the war, what would she do if he disagreed? As of now, she held very little power, but as the former queen of Naboo, she fully intended on returning power to the senate, and bringing back the democracy she believed in, one way or the other. But could she actually do it? How far was she willing to go? Hopefully, Palpatine was the politician he claimed to be, and would listen to her request with an open mind. If not, well she would call for an emergency meeting of the senate, and enter aggressive negations.

A smile touched her lips at that thought, and Anakin popped into her mind. There would be no lightsaber in these negotiations though. She would do whatever it took within the law to ensure peace.

The senate building was just ahead, and Padmé was surprised to see a familiar speeder come to an abrupt stop and the figure of her husband all but leap out of it. Her own transport came to a stop and with more grace then was typical of a pregnant woman, she disembarked.

Anakin was just ahead, and it seemed as if he were moving with a purpose that suggested he knew he had very little time. His Jedi robes swept behind him, and his strides where long and confident. From behind, Padmé saw him as she never had before, and she doubted that it was really the man she knew for a moment. In that moment she saw him as a Jedi.

Of course he's been a Jedi almost as long as Padmé had known him. But to her, even then, he had always just been her Anakin. She's also known other Jedi, like Qui-Gon, and Obi-wan. Even Mace Windu and Yoda, but the way she saw Anakin now was like none of them. This was a different kind of Jedi. He was now something powerful, and unknowable.

For a moment, Padmé could only watch, before finally she found her voice and called out.

"Ani, what are you doing here?"

Anakin felt ice run through his veins when he heard Padmé's voice.

He turned and looked at the face of his wife. She stood there on the threshold of the senate, looking like a regal angel, full of power and grace. The same determination was in her eyes as there had been when he had first met her, when she'd been the Queen of Naboo fighting to save her people. When she'd decided to go save Obi-Wan on Geonosis.

His body started to move towards her without him even making the conscious decision to do so. The next thing he knew he was holding her in his arms. "Forget what I'm doing here, what are you doing here? It's dangerous." Out of all the places she could be, why had she come here? She was putting herself in danger, putting herself closer to the death Anakin was trying to save her from.

Gently she pushed herself away from Anakin, enough to be able to look up into his eyes. "Danger?" Padmé searched his face, and must have seen something there that made her realize there was something going on. More than she knew. "Anakin whats going on? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Anakin pulled away. "You shouldn't be here." Seeing her made him let out a shaky breath. His fear for her rose like a tidal wave within him. He could feel his resolution waver, all he wanted to do, was take Padmé and as far from the republic and Palpatine as possible. Let the galaxy fall into ruin, as long as she was safe, that was all that mattered. But that was a fleeting thought. Anakin knew she would never abandon the republic or innocent people, and as much as he sometimes wished he could, he would not abandon the Jedi. As much as he disagreed with them, even hated them, he could not abandon and betray them.

"Anakin?" Padmé's uncertain voice calling his name nearly broke him. He could not hide the truth from her, he never could. She was the person he trusted most, even more than himself. If he gave up in that faith in her, then he was not worthy of her.

Slowly the Jedi met her gaze, "Obi-Wan's defeated General Grievous. The Jedi Council is on its way to arrest the Chancellor, and intend on taking control of the senate."

A heavy silence hung between the two lovers and it seemed as if the weight of the entire galaxy had just dropped on their shoulders as the awareness of the consequences of those words hit them.

Finally Padmé found her voice and she breathed out, "Why? On what grounds are the arresting the Chancellor? And if they take over the senate, they may as well be starting another war. It'll look like a forced takeover, and the everything we've been fighting for will have been for nothing."

Anakin could see her mind swirling with fear, but already, he knew she was working to find a solution. Respect and pride filled him and he was reminded how smart, powerful, and brave his wife could be when she put her mind to something. That didn't mean he wanted her anywhere near the conflict that was about to take place.

"Palpatine is a Sith Lord. The one we've been looking for, ever since the blockade on Naboo. He was probably behind it all." Although Anakin had no evidence of that, he knew that it was true. All the Chancellor's actions had been calculated to bring them to this moment. How much more had the man he'd considered a friend been behind? The Clone Wars? Count Dooku? The full horror of the man that Anakin was about to face hit him, and anger flashed through him. He would make Palpatine pay for the suffering he had caused. If he was behind everything as Anakin suspected he was, millions had died because of him. How many more lives would it take to appease the man's hunger for power. Anakin was going to kill him.

Again Padmé brought his attention back to the here and the now. "A Sith? Then we can't let the Jedi take over the Senate! Don't you see, he wants this to happen! If the Jedi forcibly take over, he can accuse you as traitors."

That was something that hadn't even crossed Anakin's mind, and he doubted the Jedi who'd gone to arrest him had either. They were to blinded by the darkness, and their desperation to restore order. So that was the trap he'd felt that Jedi walking into, although there was something else that was he was missing, more to the situation then could be seen. There was no guarantee that Palpatine knew he would survive, so what was the point in luring the Jedi to him? What had been the point in revealing himself to Anakin? A cold dread seeped into Anakin as he suddenly thought of that dark reflection of himself he'd seen in the temple, and the misery he'd felt from the cut of that red lightsaber.

The Jedi clenched his fists, and then turned to Padmé. "You have to go. I can't… I can't promise I can protect you from him. He's powerful, and even I'm not sure if the Jedi can defeat him. Please." He knew he sounded like he was begging. He knew he sounded weak, and a twinge of self loathing crept into his voice. "I won't be able to forgive myself if anything happens to you."

"No." Padmé's voice was stern and she put her hands on either side of is face. "Anakin, I know this is dangerous, I know you are scared of loosing me. But please, trust me. If you arrest the Chancellor, a representative from the senate should be there as witness and someone has to take charge and calm the senate, and it can't be the Jedi. We have to lead by example if our democracy is to be saved. And…I trust you. Lets do this together." There was that aura about her that burned stronger then it ever had before. The kind that made Anakin know she was being stubborn, and no matter what he said would make her change her mind.

Force, he loved her.

"You never change," he said in a low voice. "always putting yourself in danger for others."

"Ani, you were doing the same thing. Just like when I first met you."

"I love you."

"I know."

Despite the gravity of their situation Padmé looked up at him with a slight smile on her face. "Now don't we have a Republic to save, and a war to end?"

For a moment nothing else mattered, and Anakin felt like everything would be all right, as long as his guardian angel remained by his side. He would trust her, just like all those times he had before, and whatever they would face in the next few minutes, they would face it together.

Anakin found himself smiling at his wife, the first real smile he'd had in ages. He felt lighter then he had since his return to Coruscant, more at peace with himself. "Can you run?" He asked.

"I'm pregnant, not disabled. I think I can manage to get to the Chancellor's Offices without falling over."

The two took off through the red carpeted halls, and past the towering white pillars, and towards the ever growing presence of the darkness. A great surge of the force, much like that of what he'd felt when he'd had his vision earlier, made Anakin falter a few steps and he felt the air around him ripple. He gasped at the feeling of so much power, as if the force was not only a physical presence, but sentient and aware. Again it was trying to show him something. But what? And why?

Anakin blinked and ahead of him, he saw the back of another Jedi quickly moving, almost running. It was transparent, and wavered in and out of sight, but it was enough to recognize who it was. It was him. An alternate him and it was heading in the same direction of the Sith, although it was alone unlike the real Anakin. It certainly wasn't trying to lead them, as it progressed unaware of the presence of Anakin and Padmé. This wasn't a normal vision showing the potential futures like the ones in Anakin's dreams, but more like he was glancing into another realm of possibility.

Although Padmé could not sense it as acutely as Anakin, she could still sense the tension in the air as they made their way further into the domed senate building. She noticed Anakin stumble a few steps his eyes on something she couldn't see, but after rounding a corner he seemed to recover, but his eyes still flickered around as if looking for something.

"Anakin?" She said his name like a question.

Immediately Anakin slowed, and gave her a concerned glance. "Are you okay?"

She waved a hand. "I'm fine. I saw you stumble."

Anakin wondered if he should tell her what he'd seen, but shook his head. It would take to long to describe, and they were in a hurry. Besides that, he didn't even know if he could explain what had just happened. It didn't matter. He had a job to do. "I thought I saw something." Was all he said.

No need in adding to her worries. There were already enough of them, and despite what she had said about being able to run, the light sheen of sweat showed her fatigue. Although he had to admit, she was doing well for what he had expected of a pregnant woman, but maybe it would be best to stop and rest. She was risking her health, and that of their unborn child.

Something must have shown on his face, and she huffed, "I'm fine, and so is the baby. I promise I'll stop if I feel anything, but we can't waste time. If the Jedi who are already here need help, we can't stop, we can't let them fall into Palpatine's trap."

Anakin nodded. "I trust you."

They were nearly to the Chancellor's suite and just before they reached it, Anakin once again saw his alternate self ahead of them, and wave open the doors to where he knew the Chancellor and some of the Jedi council members were. What was his alternate self doing? Why was he seeing this? His mental brief questioning ended when he heard the shattering of glass.

Things must have gone poorly when the rest of the Jedi had confronted the Sith Lord, and if he listened closely he could hear the clash of lightsabers. So, it had come to a fight after all. Anakin hoped he wasn't to late.

"Hurry!" Padmé exclaimed. "I'll be right behind you!" She had clearly heard the sounds of the fight as well.

Anakin didn't bother to argue with her. "Stay safe!" The words came out almost panicky, but he didn't care. As he bolted forward, the clash of lightsabers could be heard once more. He approached the doors of the suite the same as his alternate self had moments before. Barely, slowing he waved his hand at the doors, almost blowing them apart rather than sliding them open. His fear and anger making him reckless with his power. He didn't care. He had given up being the Jedi everyone thought he should be.

The sight Anakin saw as he entered the Chancellor's private area almost made those emotions take over entirely. Laying dead on the floor were the Jedi Council members that Mace had taken with him to arrest the false leader of the republic. Kolar, Tiin, and Fisto now where lifeless, mercilessly butchered by a man they had all trusted. With little time to mourn their deaths, Anakin stepped over their bodies feeling sick with a mix of emotions. They hadn't deserved to die. If he had been there with them, perhaps he could have saved them. If only he hadn't been so conflicted, none of this would have happened.

He shook his head to focus. While he hadn't been able to save them, he was going to make sure no one else suffered the same fate.

Anakin could feel the presences of Master Windu, and Chancellor Palpatine not far from him, and he headed in that direction. The scene he entered upon was an impressive one. The long window which stretched the width of the room had been smashed out, and bits of glass littered the floor, reflecting bits of the night sky, and the lights of Coruscant in a broken image. The two force wielders had just concluded their fight, and hunched in defeat against the corner of the window ledge was Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine. He looked small and weak, but still defiant as he sneered up at Mace Windu. The latter stood in a fighting pose, unwilling to let his guard down in front of the man who had cut down his comrades in mere moments. His purple lightsaber hummed steadily as it pointed itself at the Sith's throat.

The other Anakin's apparition was nowhere to be seen.

"You are under arrest my Lord," Mace said the last word full of sarcasm. Noticing Anakin's approach, he glanced up, not looking surprised. Obi-Wan's apprentice had a knack for not listening to orders.

Palpatine also cast Anakin a sideways glance, not daring to move with a lightsaber threatening his life. His hands were held up in surrender.

"Anakin, I told you it would come to this. I was right… The Jedi are taking over!" Palpatine wheezed.

That was when Padmé caught up. She strode in fearlessly and with her head held high, and when she spoke the authority in her gentle voice was undeniable. "No," she said. "The Jedi will not being taking control of the Senate or the Republic. It is time that diplomacy returns."

The Sith looked surprised by her arrival but he quickly tried to take advantage of the situation. "Senator Amidala, please help me. The Jedi have attacked and now they are accusing me of terrible things, of…of … starting the war! If they are not trying to take over, what is the point of in casting blame on an old innocent man? And if I'm gone who will lead the senate? You can't bring peace alone! You'll need my help, or it will be chaos and the people we've tried to protect will suffer."

Padmé never even wavered as she looked down on the begging man. One she had once trusted and respected. "Your facade does not fool me Chancellor. You are under arrest for crimes against the Republic and its people. The Senate will decide your fate."

The Sith tried to crawl towards Anakin, but was stopped by Mace's lightsaber. He could only reach out to him. "Anakin, my friend, you can't let this happen. Don't let them fool you Anakin. I…I have the power to save the one you love! Please don't let them arrest me! I'll be killed! You must choose! Please… don't let me die!"

The Sith sounded pitiful, old and scared as he begged for his life, but he still looked like the kindly man whom Anakin has always known. The one he had trusted and confided in. Looking at him now, Anakin could barely believe he was evil. But his head was clearer then it had been in a long time. Only now did the young Jedi knight realize it was as if he had been thinking in a fog for years. But the vision the force had shown him, and Padmé's faith in him, plus her own determination had finally allowed him to break free from that fog which had clouded his mind. While still conflicted in his heart on how to save Padmé, and full of emotions that he had denied for to long, Anakin could still see the truth in what was happening around him.

"I won't let you manipulate me!" Anakin shouted, "I see you for what you are. You lied to me! To everyone! You are a Sith, and thats all you will ever be!"

Mace watched the exchange, and felt like there was something going on between the Sith and Anakin Skywalker that he couldn't fathom. In the moment, it didn't matter. Anakin had come to help, and while Mace could still sense some conflict within the young Knight, he found himself trusting in the boy. Even in spite of the raging emotions that Anakin wasn't even bothering to try and control, there was a resoluteness that hadn't been there before, and it had found its way into Anakin's eyes.

Windu turned his attention back to the Sith, lying prone before him in time to see an angry snarl form on the man's face. It was time to deal with him. "The oppression of the Sith will never return. You have lost." Mace Windu said it with confidence, factually as if just by saying it, he would make it true. Such was his determination to bring things to an end.

The sound of Anakin's lightsaber igniting, made Mace glance back at young Skywalker in confusion. "Skywalker? What are you doing?"

The boy who was supposed to be the Chosen One approached the Sith who was now trembling on the floor. He held his own blue sabre tightly in his grip and brought his weapon to bear in front of the man he had once thought of as a confidant and mentor. The man who's hands where red with the blood of countless innocents, and the blood of the Jedi who lay dead on the floor just outside. The man who had fooled an entire galaxy into seeing what he had wanted them to see. "I am going to end this once and for all."

"You can't." A sad and gentle voice said. Anakin had almost forgotten about Padmé who still stood in the middle of the room. "He must stand trial."

For once Mace actually agreed fully with Anakin. "Senator Amidala, this man has control of the senate and the courts. He may manipulate his way out of a trial altogether, and we cannot let him go." While the Jedi had to respect the woman for wanting to end things peacefully, she could not fully understand just how dangerous a Sith could be.

Anakin voiced those very thoughts, his blue eyes were staring intently and the yellow ones of the Sith. "He's to dangerous to be left alive Padmé. I've seen things that might happen if he is allowed to live."

"Don't kill me, please." Moaned the Chancellor false fear laced in his voice.

"Anakin, please. It's not the Jedi way. He must live. You know this is wrong." Padmé's voice was calm, and she focused entirely on Anakin. "If we want to change things for the better we have to let him live. We are better than him. Lets bring peace together. If you don't believe in the Republic or the Senate, then believe in me. We can change the future together."

Although the small speech had not been directed at Windu, the experienced Jedi found himself agreeing that Amidala was right. Although he did have to wonder what she was doing here in the first place. "She's right Anakin."

Anakin spared a glance in his wife's direction. Her face was pleading for him to listen to her, to lower his lightsaber and put aside his hate and fear, all his anger, and believe in her.

Uncertainty flickered over Anakin's face and for a moment it looked like he really would lower his weapon. He looked back at his enemy and tried to ignore the apparition of himself that had appeared again. But there were other apparitions as well. There was one for Mace and the Chancellor as well. They were over lapping their counterparts, but there was enough differences to tell them apart. The force apparitions were in slightly different positions, and in horror Anakin could almost hear them having a conversation very similar to the one that had just happened, although there was still no apparition of Padmé. Once again he was seeing what might have been in another reality, although he didn't know for sure what had changed for his other self to create this divergence.

In horror Anakin saw his other self move forward and scream "I need him!" The alternate Mace made a movement to deal a finishing blow to a much more scarred and deformed Palpatine then the one that was really before him now. His other self moved to intervene and dread formed in Anakin as he knew what was about to happen before he saw it. His other self made a sweeping motion with his ignited lightsaber and cut of Mace Windu's hands. The other Palpatine smiled as if everything had finally come together and cast a blue lighting at the crippled Jedi, and threw him from the window.

But Mace stood next to him now, both hands intact, and the Chancellor looked the same as he always had, and Anakin had not just betrayed the Jedi for the Sith. This was something that could have been, a vision and nothing more. What mattered was the here and the now.

However, that didn't change how he felt. When he spoke he sounded broken and sad even to himself. No, he hadn't betrayed the Jedi yet in this reality, but he was about to, in a different way. And Anakin was about to do something much worse. He was about to betray Padmé. He was going to betray her trust in him.

"I do trust you Padmé. Believe me. But I don't trust him…And if I'm no longer a Jedi, so be it." He raised his lightsaber.

"No… no…" Palpatine snarled. His voice was no longer that of a normal man, it came twisted and dark, full of evil and malice.

It was if the dark side of the force condensed around the man, and Anakin and Mace flinched away from it in surprise. They both raised their lightsabers in defence. Mace knew that the Sith had been likely to try something else, and had hoped he would be ready for it when it came. He had hoped Anakin would be ready for it as well. Still the darkness gathered and the air in the room almost began to crackle.

To late, did Anakin realize what was about to happen. He moved quickly, but not quickly enough. The blue lightening that he'd seen moments ago in the shadow of another reality bolted forth, but not toward either Jedi who had been prepared for some kind of attack, but to the only one unable to defend herself. Padmé was struck an instant before Anakin intercepted the dark power of the Sith.

Mad cackling mixed together with his own scream as he continued to block the crackling lighting which sounded as if was laughing too. It did not take long for the attack to end, as the damage was already done.

Redirecting the terrifying lightning, the Sith attacked Mace Windu who was caught off guard, and was unable to fully block the attack. The potent strike threw the Senior Jedi across the room and into the wall. With a sickening sound, he crashed into the wall and crumpled to the floor. Not waiting to see if the Peacekeeper would recover and rise again, the Sith made his escape. Moving with more agility than was expected of a man approaching his seventieth cycle, he leapt from the window and disappeared.

Anakin had lost all concentration on the Sith after the lightening stopped, barely noticing Windu get thrown into a wall, or Palpatine's escape. All he cared about was his beloved wife. He rushed to her side. "Padmé! Padmé! No, please be all right." She lay collapsed on the floor, still as death. He flung himself on the floor next to her, and carefully lifted her into his arms. Tears blurred his vision as he swept a stray hair away from her face. As he did so, a small breath tickled the hair on his arm. She was alive, thank the stars she was still alive. He had to get her help.

"Help me!" He yelled, although he did not know who he was shouting for. Mace was lying on the floor, unmoving, and the only noise was that of the air traffic blowing in on the wind through the shattered window. Anakin was alone with the dead and the dying.

Not wanting to leave his wife, but knowing he had to help Master Windu if he could, he raised his prothetic arm and tried to concentrate. Slowly the body of Mace rose from where he had fallen and the force carried him to lay next to Anakin. Struggling to calm his emotions the younger Jedi tried to reach out with his mind and sense the presence of Windu in the force. It was there, still strong, although muted. He was badly hurt and was not likely to awaken anytime soon.

They had to get help quickly. While Anakin felt sure Master Windu would recover, Padmé was in danger. The dreams of Padmé in pain, screaming and begging for his help had burned into Anakin's memory. He had to save her. He'd promised himself he would.

Before he could get a hold of himself, and make a plan to get help, he heard voices, almost muffled. They sounded life they were coming from the very room he was sitting in, but it was if they were coming from a long distance away. Anakin looked around and something caught his attention. The force apparitions he had been seeing appeared one again.

Time seemed to slow, and the illusions became more solid, and their voices became clearer. It was if Anakin were there with these other beings who were himself and the disfigured Palpatine. They seemed oblivious to their new spectator. There was something the force was trying to show him, and he found himself unable to look away.

"What have I done?" Exclaimed Force Anakin. He sat upon the nearest thing he could, as if he no longer had the power to stand. Tears fell from his face, and he looked much like the real Anakin did now. Full of horror, fear, anger, hatred, all the things a Jedi shouldn't feel.

The Force Palpatine stood and approached the Force Anakin, no longer wearing the facade of the weak pathetic cripple he had pretended to be moments ago. "You're fulfilling your destiny Anakin. Become my apprentice. Learn to use the dark side of the force." His voice sounded like a snake, and Anakin wanted to call out to his other self, to tell him to ignore the snake in politician robes, but found he couldn't.

At the moment he was merely a spectator, and there was nothing he could do to change the words that came out of his other self.

"I will do whatever you ask."

Anakin wanted to be sick. How could he fall like that, to a man like that? But he knew. Deep down in his soul, he knew why his other self said those words. It was not just to save Padmé. He wanted power.

Even sitting there, on the floor watching a different, but not worse reality play out, Anakin couldn't say, if he could go back even an hour ago, he wouldn't have done the exact same thing. The force knew he hated himself for it, but it made him understand all the more. Padmé lay dying in his arms at that very moment, and if Palpatine had offered the same thing to him now, he would have given up everything he believed in then and there if it had meant saving his wife from death. Even if it meant Padmé, even Obi-Wan, would never forgive him. He would live with not forgiving himself.

Anakin didn't want to see anymore, but still he continued to watch the terrible scene play out in front him.

"Good." Hissed the Sith Master.

"Just help me save Padmé's life…I can't live without her." His darker self pleaded, even as he looked away from the Sith, trying to hide the weakness in his eyes.

There it was, the very thought's Anakin was to afraid to voice, even now. His heart ached in sorrow as he watched himself fall into the lure of the darkness.

"To cheat death is a power only one has achieved, but if we work together I know we can discover the secret." His dark self didn't notice, since he'd bowed his head, but the real Anakin did. There was a lie in the Sith's words. He could see it in the way the Sith smiled, the way his lips curled sadistically, and the malicious look in his eyes.

"I pledge myself to your teachings." Said Dark Anakin. Blinded and desperate, his other self sold himself to the devil.

"Good," the dark lord hissed again. His breath rattled, and his eyes nearly closed as he let himself bathe in the success of his manipulation to get Anakin to fall under his power so easily. "Strong are you. A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth… Vader." The Sith slumped down as if naming his new apprentice had drained him of his energy.

"Thank you, my Master."

"Noooo!" Anakin wanted to scream. Dread filled his soul, and once more he thought back to that black armoured self that had carried the red lightsaber. To the suffering it had inflicted on Anakin then. He had made up his mind in that temple bathed in the faltering light of sunset, that he would do what had to be done to prevent all that suffering, even if it meant he had to bear it all himself.

Still the vision would not end. What more was the force trying to tell Anakin. He understood he could not fall to Palpatine, but what else? What more did it want him to learn?

"Rise, Lord Vader"

Slowly Darth Vader did, as his Master donned a black cloak and raised its hood, hiding his features from sight.

"Because the Council did not trust you, my young Apprentice, I believe you are the only Jedi with no knowledge of this plot. When the Jedi learn what has transpired here they will kill us, along with all the Senators."

Oh, Anakin did not like where this was going.

Darth Vader's voice had calmed when he spoken again, resigned to his fate. "I agree. The councils next move will be against the Senate."

Idiot! That was only because Palpatine had given them no other choice! It was a setup. But there was no Padmé there to see through this and come up with an alternative solution this time. No one was there to save Anakin from himself.

"Every single Jedi, including your friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi is now an enemy of the Republic." The Sith said suggestively.

"I understand." The dark apprentice replied.

So did Anakin. He'd thought this reality hadn't been much worse then the real one. He'd been wrong. So wrong.

"We must move quickly. The Jedi are relentless. If they are not all destroyed it will be civil war without end. First I want you to go to the Jedi Temple."

There was a heavy silence as the Dark Lord of the Sith let the implications sink into his apprentice. Murder. Genocide of a culture. That was what he was proposing. Anakin understood as well, that this was also a test. If he went through with killing everyone he'd ever had attachments to, there would be no going back. This was an offer to withdraw, to really make his choice. To prove just how far he was willing to go.

After the pause was long enough, the Sith continued, "We will catch them off balance. Do what must be done Lord Vader. Do not hesitate, show no mercy. Only then will you be strong enough with the dark side to save Padmé."

"Lies!" Anakin internally howled.

"What about the other Jedi across the galaxy?" Vader asked as he approached his master.

Anakin focused on this. What happened from this point onwards was what the force had been trying to show him. He could feel the importance of this particular question ring through him, and Anakin did his best to focus.

"Their betrayal will be dealt with." Said Palpatine almost spitting as he settled into his chair. "After you have killed all the Jedi in the temple, go to the Mustafar System. Wipe out Viceroy Gunray and the other Separatist leaders. Once more the Sith will rule the galaxy and…we shall have peace." The last word was almost a whisper, and Anakin watched as his other self exited the room, not even sparing a glance at the bodies of his former Jedi mentors.

After the Anakin's dark self left, the hooded Chancellor reached into his desk and drew out a comm device. He activated it, and to Anakin's surprise the familiar armour of the clone, Commander Cody flickered into view.

"The time has come. Execute order 66."

Without question all the Clone said was, "Yes my lord." His image flickered out, and as he did, so did the rest of the vision, until not even a faint waver in the air was left.

All of Anakin's presence of mind returned to reality, and it seemed as if no time had passed since he'd stared seeing the vision. Padmé was still cradled in his arms, and Mace still lay on the floor next to him. Part of his mind was a crazed mess, overwhelmed with fear for his wife, anger at the Sith for everything he'd done, worry for the Jedi, and how he was supposed to stop the disaster he knew was fast approaching. New information and a mass of unintelligible emotions that Anakin couldn't even begin the deal with swirled in his mind. It was only because of his experiences in the clone wars, having to deal with pressure and overwhelming odds, that another part of his mind was able to focus and he pulled out a comm device.

He dialled in the frequency for emergency services, and listened as he told the operator his location and his situation. It was like he was hearing himself from a distance and he vaguely realized him was going into shock. He didn't care. All that mattered was Padmé and their child. They had to survive. If they didn't Anakin didn't know if he could bear it. He didn't know if he could still remain good, and would not turn into the monster the force warned him he could become.

After the operator disconnected with assurances that help was on the way, Anakin found himself sitting in the quiet of the mess of the senate suite, alone with his thoughts.

He couldn't do it. It felt like he was losing himself to the shadows that had crept into his mind. All the 'what ifs,' 'maybe if I had,' and 'what will I do's' overtook his mind like a plague. Unaware of it, the shattered glass on the floor began to tremble as Anakin's raging emotions transformed into raw and uncontrolled power. The desk and chair that sat at the head of the room crumpled in on itself and turned into a broken heap. The walls seemed to buckle at the force of the power that expanded in the room.

Anakin fought with himself as he felt a darkness creeping into him. Somehow seductive, and sickening all at once it offered him power. He could be strong, strong enough to never have to fear for his loved ones again, to take revenge on the Chancellor for the lives that had been lost, to put the corrupt who abused their power in their place, to rule the galaxy as he wanted and mold into something stronger, better, as he wanted. He could save everyone.

Save everyone. Thats right, he had to tell Obi-Wan and the Jedi what was going on. Something was going to happen involving the clones. While Anakin had no idea what exactly, he had to warn the Jedi. Mace was unconscious and that left it up to him. It was his responsibility.

For the second time Anakin picked up his comm, and hoped Obi-Wan would respond. After what seemed like to long, his old Master's form wavered in front of him.

"Anakin, whats going on? Why have you called me?" Obi-Wan's stern voice was like a calming breeze to Anakin. While he sounded strict, there was concern in his voice, and his eyes crinkled with worry.

"I'm sorry Master, but something's happened. Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord. Some Council members went to arrest him but were killed. Only Master Windu and I are alive, but the Chancellor escaped." Summarized Anakin.

There was silence as Obi-Wan was left speechless at the surprising information. Finally he responded. "Are you all right? I'm coming back to Coruscant immediately. We need to capture the Sith. Don't do anything until I get there."

How typical of Obi-Wan to want to rush to tell Anakin to wait for him. The younger Jedi would have normally felt insulted and more than a little hurt when he was told to wait and not act on his own. Now he felt a well of relief and appreciation at his old Master's words. However this time he really couldn't do as Obi-Wan instructed. "Theres more Master, I have information that the clones are involved in the Sith's plot somehow. I don't know to what extent, but I think they are likely to betray you and the other Jedi Generals across the Galaxy. You need to watch you back."

"How do you know this Anakin? Did Palpatine tell you?"

"No, Master. Trust me. You have to let the other Jedi know they could be in danger,"

Sounds of sirens could be approaching. It seemed like the MediCorps had finally arrived. "I have to go Master. Be careful."

He was about to shut of the comm, but Obi-Wan's voice stopped him. "Anakin…May the Force be with you."

"May the force be with you as well Obi-wan."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

So its been a very long time since I wrote anything, and this story started as a bit of practice, but I figured I would share it with anyone who cared to read it. Any writing advice is welcome. I have started the next chapter, but have yet to acctually write anything I like. Anyway, I hope this chapter was entertaining enough.