The story before this one, A Fire Inside, was meant to be written in two parts. However, I know realize there is no way I can possibly write this in only two parts. I know suspect it will be three or four parts. And to those of you who have reviewed, um......the two of you, thank you very much.
A Fire Inside pt. 2
One Dark Flame
There was cold, and dark. Then there was fire, and pain. There was strength, and fragility. There was Anakin Skywalker.
His walk was purposeful and direct, like an automaton bent on only one purpose. He knew his task and embraced it, wanting only to staunch the flow of hate, warm as blood, that poured from him. It was never ending, burning through him till he felt drained by its loss. Oh to fill that bottomless pit he called his heart. His eyes burned menacingly. Yes, he would fill it, with the tortured dying screams of his once-friends, now enemies. They would block out the pain of his existence and make his past nothing but the hollow shell of a memory.
He'd made no attempt to mask his entrance. They would surely be ready for him. He grinned hatefully at the thought. The pristine hallways would soon be painted red with flame and blood. Too long had the Jedi Temple been kept a place of near-worship. Now, it would become a tomb, a mortuary. He felt no remorse at the thought, only a sense of readiness and determination.
His black robes swished around him as he rounded a corner in the gleaming hallways. Up ahead, the luminous blue of holo screens marked his destination. The Jedi Archives. The Jedi there would be complacent, intent on their tasks. They would never know what hit them.
Silently, he approached the room from the rear, hiding amidst the labyrinthine collection of data reels. There, he waited for his first victim to walk by. He didn't have to wait long. In moments, the Jedi librarian, Jocasta Nu strolled over to his hiding place searching for some bit of data for an inquisitive Jedi. Her face registered surprise for only a moment before it was replaced with a facade of absolute terror and pain. In an outpouring of strength, Anakin snatched her from the ground in a vise-grip around her neck. His hands stayed at his sides, balled into fists of concentration. She gasped under his mental choke-hold, but was silent as her vocal cords were crushed. In moments, her eyes rolled back and her head lolled forward. He dropped her, disgusted at her weakness. She'd not even attempted to defend herself.
He stepped over the body, careful to keep his robes from touching her withered form. "And with this one death, they all fall," he whispered as he moved further down the rows of information.
He stifled a sigh of disappointment. The Archives were mostly empty and he'd been anticipating a blood bath. Although, he had to admit to himself that this was probably better. A few deaths here would mean less of an alarm raised. Of course, some Jedi would feel the loss and come running, but he could deal with them. He could deal with all of them.
He walked swiftly to the end of the row he was currently standing in and ignited his lightsaber, hoping the distance would mask the familiar snap-hiss. Turning his body to mask the deep crimson glow, he ran forward, augmenting his speed with the Force until he was upon the Jedi sitting at the glowing terminal. She sensed him and turned around just in time to face the throbbing blade. Her countenance froze into a mask of horror, even when her head rolled onto the lushly carpeted floor.
By this time, the rest of the Jedi in the room had heard, as well as felt, the disturbance and come running, lightsabers blazing in a riot of color. Anakin could only smile at their bravado as he raised a hand, fingers spread. They stopped suddenly as if they'd just slammed into a permacrete wall, and fell backward. The first to stand rushed toward Anakin, but he easily deflected the Gran's pitiful attack and dispatched him with a casual swipe across his middle. The remaining three stood together and approached more slowly in a defensive half-circle. This, again, brought a smile to his face as he lazily pointed one gloved finger toward the Jedi at the left of the formation, a Quarren and pointed toward the Jedi at the middle, a Bothan. The Quarren jerked as if on invisible strings and stabbed his companion at the knees before arcing up to slice a deep gash through the Bothan's ribcage. He then turned the lightsaber on himself and impaled himself on it. The third and only remaining Jedi turned to run but not before Anakin snatched the lightsaber from her hand and sent it flying to spear through her back.
He turned slowly, surveying the carnage he'd already wrought on the institute. Not nearly enough, but a start. Soon, the blood he spilled would be the blood of those who'd always tried to hinder him. Those who would be hardest to kill. Soon would fall the Council.
Hopefully more will come shortly.