Title: Rebirth
Author: Dendera
Rating: PG
Summary: Darth Vader awakens to a new world. Contains massive Episode III spoilers.
Disclaimer: Not my universe, not my characters, and certainly not my money. All belongs to George Lucas, that lucky bastard.
The world is all darkness and fire. His scorched limbs feel heavy, his skin burns. The angry glow of Mustafar's spewing volcanoes, the spark of dueling lightsabers are branded in his mind. Beneath closed eyelids, he can still make out Obi-Wan's anguished face, silhouetted against a backdrop of flame.
He opens his eyes, but the blackness does not leave him. It presses against him from all sides; a perpetual night, save for two lenses which let in the outside world.
Palpatine, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, observes him with interest. "Lord Vader, can you hear me?"
He hears the sound of his own breathing, mechanical and unnatural. It is only then that he begins to understand. "Yes, My Master." The thick, deep voice sounds foreign to him. His master seems pleased.
The platform slants, lowering him into a standing position. The suit is heavy at first, awkward. There is a moment of brief claustrophobia, and he feels as though he might suffocate in this armored shroud. But it quickly passes.
He looks around, still confused by his surroundings. "Where is Padme? Is she safe, is she all right?"
Palpatine's slow smile is almost reptilian. "I'm afraid she died," his voice carries a hollow sympathy. The Sith Lord's words are almost cavalier, yet he chooses them carefully. "It seems in your anger, you killed her."
Lies. They ooze from the decrepit flesh with an effortless guile. He wants to grab the walking corpse by the throat and squeeze the life from him. The promise of fate-altering powers…the ability to defy death; gone. All lies.
He opens his blistered and peeling lips in a wheezing gasp, and inside its dark sheath, his ruined body trembles. "I couldn't have! She was alive…I felt her!"
All that remains of his hope splinters; the dreams of an empire, a queen, and an heir, wither into nothingness.
"She was alive! It's impossible!"
She can't be dead, not before her time.
And yet, he knows it to be true. The knowledge is cutting, but the recognition far worse. He cannot feel her anymore. Her force presence, always so vibrant and clear, has been snuffed out. There exists no trace of the woman that was Padme Amidala, his once beloved wife.
His thoughts reel wildly. The slaughtered younglings watch him from the dark corners of his guilt, Padme's last stricken words ringing eerily from above their accusing stares. Anakin, you're breaking my heart!
The room begins to quake violently. His grief sends the medical droids flying. Vials shatter, their contents bleeding onto the cold floor. With a groan of despair, he snaps his bonds, stumbling blindly. "Nooo!"
His master's smile grows. Palpatine inhales deeply, his state one of intoxication. "Yes, my apprentice. Your anger and misery give you power. Learn to focus your hatred and there will be no limit to your greatness!"
For one fleeting moment, his resolve falters. He has betrayed her, betrayed their child..
The Emperor of the new Galactic Empire studies him closely, reading his thoughts. "Only I possess the secrets of the Dark Side. With them, I can lead you down the path of immortality," his serpent eyes narrow, "but first you must pledge yourself to me in complete obedience."
There is nothing left for him; no turning back. Everyone he has ever loved is dead. His former self must now join them. He submits to the numbing darkness, and inside his steadily hardening heart, Darth Vader murders the weakling Anakin Skywalker.
Dropping to one knee, he bows; a broken man. "Yes, Master."
Palpatine extends a withered, fleshy hand. With his help, Darth Vader rises; a god.
Fin