Chapter Six:
Bail's ship jumped out of hyperspace. The ship approached to a landing platform near the ruins of the Jedi Temple. Clone troops were everywhere, guarding the Temple from unwelcome intruders.
"I'll leave this shuttle for you." Bail said. "I don't want to be here." Yoda nodded and he and the two Jedi ran outside Bail's ship, lightsabers blazing. The clones fired on the Jedi, but without their element of surprise, they were massacred.
"Master Yoda, we must get to the archives. They have all holocam footage on what has happened." Obi-wan said, deflecting laser-bolts back the clones. Soon, the group reached a quiet part of the Temple. Bodies of dead Jedi lay sprawled all over the place. Yoda went to inspect one of the dead.
"This one, killed not by a blaster, but a lightsaber." Yoda said darkly. Some other deceased had similar wounds. Once they reached the Archives, Obi-wan accessed a security holocam of the previous room. The security hologram activated, showing Anakin dueling and killing several Jedi at once.
"Oh Sith…" Siri whispered, shocked and distraught.
"W-Wha-What?" Obi-wan stammered. He stood there shell-shocked. Siri put her head on Obi-wan's shoulder and began to cry. Obi-wan leaned down and switched off the holorecording, unable to watch more. He rubbed Siri's back lightly, trying his best to comfort her.
"Hmm…To the Dark Side, The Chosen One has fallen. A Sith, he has become." Yoda said grimly. "Destroy him, we must. No choice, we have. Deal with Sidious, I will."
"But…I can't kill Anakin! He's like a brother to me. A son." Obi-wan choked. Siri looked up from Obi-wan's shoulder.
"We don't even know where he is." Siri said.
"Use your feelings, you must. Find him, you will." Yoda croaked. "Masters Kenobi and Tachi, too weak you are, against Sidious. Strong enough, you are against Anakin. Fight him, you must." Obi-wan slowly nodded. He must do what he must.
-o0o-
Obi-wan parked the airspeeder next to Padme's apartment. He and Siri climbed out, finding C3PO near the entrance.
"Hello Masters. How may I help you?" Threepio saked.
"We need to see Padme. It's about Anakin." Obi-wan said.
"Oh dear. Follow me please." Threepio continued. The protocol droid walked to the next room, Obi-wan and Siri not far behind. Padme gestured for Threepio to go away and approached Obi-wan and Siri.
"I see smoke from the Jedi Temple. What's going on?" Padme asked. Obi-wan hesitated for a moment, then explained what happened in the Temple. In the end, Padme was shocked and confused.
"But…But that's not the Ani I know." She said.
"When did you last see him?" Siri asked.
"Yesterday. He told me he found the Separatist Council and is now going to end the war." Padme said. She exhaled, relieved that the Jedi doesn't know which planet he was on. But Padme was horrified when Obi-wan and Siri looked at each other.
"He's on Mustafar."
-o0o-
Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker, stood on the balcony of the command center, overlooking Mustafar's hellish landscape. Inside, bodies of major Separatist leaders lay sprawled across the floor, just like the Jedi in the Temple. Hie yellow eyes, replacing Anakin's blue, watched as Mustafar's sun was eclipsed by the nearby gas giant.
-o0o-
"You're going to kill him, aren't you?" Padme asked. Obi-wan and Siri stayed silent. Padme realized they had no choice. She burst into tears and turned her back on the Jedi, twisting her robe in the process. Obi-wan noticed the bump on Padme's stomach. Too late, Padme tried to fix her robe.
"Anakin's the father, isn't he? Obi-wan said. Seeing no use to hide the truth, Padme nodded, continuing to cry to herself.
"I'm so sorry."
-o0o-
"You can't do this, Milady." Captain Typho said. "It's too dangerous."
"Don't worry, Captain. Where I'm going, there is no danger. Besides, the war is pretty much over and this is personal." Padme said.
"Well…You do have a point." Typho admitted, defeated. He turned and left Padme to her ship. Once Padme was inside, Obi-wan and Siri snuck in, ensuring that nobody was watching them. The entrance ramp closed behind them.
'Where are we going to hide?' Siri thought to Obi-wan.
'There's a small closet there. We can go there.' Obi-wan thought-replied. Siri giggled to herself as she stepped inside. She hadn't giggled like this since before their clones turned on them.
-o0o-
Vader went back inside the command center. He was about to make a transmission with his new Master when he noticed a screen that was tracking a familiar-looking ship. His hopes lifted. Padme was arriving. Vader ran to the landing pad, seeing Padme disembark her ship, and embraced her.
"Ani, I'm so worried for you. The Republic has been transformed into the Empire. I don't know what to do." Padme said, crying into Vader's chest.
"Don't worry. I'm here for you. You're safe from the Jedi." Vader said.
"Jedi? I was never in real danger from them." Padme said, slightly puzzled. "I don't want to live under an iron fist. We could run away. Far away! We can settle in the country and never worry about the outside galaxy! I want to forget what you did to the Jedi."
"I did what I had to do." Vader said shortly.
"But Ani, Obi-wan and Siri told me terrible things." Padme cried.
"What things?" Vader asked sternly. Something was amiss.
"They told me…that…that…that you were killing…younglings." Padme choked, unable to hold back her tears.
"They could've been a problem to the Republic. And I don't want to hear about Obi-wan or his whore of a girlfriend ever again." Vader growled. Siri, hearing this, fumed.
'I'm so going to kill him for saying that!' Siri thought angrily.
'I am going to agree with you. The real Anakin would never say that! Let's go.' Obi-wan thought to Siri. The conversation outside continued.
"Anakin, please!? You're going down a path I can't follow. I…I don't know you anymore." Padme cried.
"I'm sorry, but my decision is final."
"Please! I love you!"
Vader's face suddenly contorted into fury and rage.
"LIAR!" He shouted. Padme noticed that Vader was looking at something behind her. She turned around. Standing on the ramp, was a livid Siri and a disappointed Obi-wan.
"Ani, please! It's not what you think!" Padme said, trembling in fear.
"LIAR! You brought them here to kill me!" Vader shouted again.
"No! No! Please! I—" Padme started, but Vader held out a hand and started choking Padme with the Force. She started clutching her throat, gasping for air.
"Release her now!" Obi-wan thundered, going from disappointed to outright furious. Vader released the Force-choke and Padme crumpled on the ground, unconscious.
"YOU TURNED HER AGAINST ME!" Vader screamed.
"You did that yourself, Sithshit!" Siri shouted back. "Now you hurt your wife and possibly your child!"
"You corrupted her! You made her confused and turn on me!" Vader yelled.
"We did no such thing." Obi-wan shouted.
"Don't make me kill you." Vader sneered, the hate and fury rising in his yellow eyes. The words struck through Obi-wan like a knife through butter. His brother, his son, his friend, and his student said those words and meant it. Obi-wan looked at Siri.
"Then we must do what we must." Obi-wan said reluctantly. He and Siri unclipped their lightsabers off their belt and ignited them, once again showing the brilliant blades of blue and violet. Vader took out his own blade, and another blue beam of energy emerged from the hilt. Vader lunged at the Jedi, furiously striking them with as much force as he could muster. Years of sparring sessions with Anakin had made Obi-wan all too familiar to Anakin's moves, equally matching them. But with Siri on his side, Obi-wan didn't give as much ground as he could have. The two Jedi were backed into a corrider, lightsabers moving everywhere. The corridor sparked as lightsabers hit the sides. Then, they entered the command center. Obi-wan and Siri noticed the dead Separatists, but paid no heed. Their lives were on the line. Obi-wan and Vader thrust their hands out in an attempt to Force-push each other backwards. Their hands stood a couple of centimeters apart. Siri took advantage of the distraction and started to slash Vader's side. But both men were thrown on the sides of the room, causing Siri to miss. She cursed herself for being slow. Vader landed on the shield controls. The shields protecting the facility and its equipment disappeared, exposing them to the elements. Soon, the Jedi, dueling Vader again, were pushed out onto the balcony. Before continuing the duel, the Jedi and their evil counterpart took cover as a shower of hot lava rocks bombarded the balcony. Once it stopped, Vader forced the Jedi on the thin pipes behind. Obi-wan went first, then Siri, then Vader. Siri and Vader continued dueling, but with great care. Seeing a small walkway below, Obi-wan jumped to it. Siri and Vader followed, continuing the duel at earnest. This time though, Vader was giving ground, the Jedi inched with him. They got out of the way just in time for a lava spray to land on the section of walkway behind. The walkway groaned, and then lurched forward. The three Force-users stopped fighting and grabbed on the sides of the failing walkway, just as it snapped off and fell to the lava river below. Siri noticed a mini-platform, so she jumped to it. With the aid of her Jedi reflexes, she landed lightly on it. The platform wobbled, but held her weight. Obi-wan spied another platform and jumped on it. Vader meanwhile, jumped on top of a worker droid, causing it to drop the bucket it was holding into the lava river. Vader use the Force to guide the droid to the Jedi, then the duel recommenced. They drifted up the river, swinging and slashing and striking at each other to their hardest. Siri saw that the trio was nearing a river bank with a steep slope. She somersaulted over the dueling men and landed on the bank.
"Obi-wan! Jump on the slope!" Siri shouted. Obi-wan understood and back flipped right next to Siri's side. Vader stood on the droid, hatred still strong in his eyes.
"It's all over, Anakin. It's all over." Obi-wan said.
"We have the high ground, Skywalker. Don't try to get us. You'll only get yourself killed." Siri shouted.
"You took my Padme away! You turned her against me and now she'll never be with me again!" Vader yelled back.
"Your actions took your wife away! If you never listened to Palpatine, your wife would have never disagreed with you." Obi-wan shouted, tears forming in his eyes.
"I hate you both!"
"Don't do it!"
But Vader didn't listen. He leaped from the droid's head, but as he flew, Siri sliced his legs off, while Obi-wan took his remaining arm. Vader screamed as he fell hard on the ground and rolled precariously close to the lava river. Obi-wan picked up Anakin's lightsaber from the ground. Vader didn't have a lightsaber. In Obi-wan's view, Vader stole it from his now-dead brother.
"You were my brother, Anakin! I had loved you! But look what you gotten yourself in now!" Obi-wan shouted. Vader was still groaning and moaning, trying to climb up the slope with his mechanical arm. But then, his clothes got too close the lava, causing them to burst into flames. Obi-wan and Siri deactivated their lightsabers and watched Vader scream as he burned from the fire.
"Let's go, Obi-wan." Siri said solemnly. Her anger has subsided.
"Yes. I can't bear to stay here any longer." Obi-wan replied. He kissed Siri on the cheek, and then they made their way to Padme's ship. Threepio and Artoo had already got Padme on board. They took off, carrying Padme to the nearest medical center.
TBC…