Washed Away
AUTHOR: Abigail
SUMMARY: What if Padme was so worried about Anakin that she went looking for him at the Jedi Temple? The night of Anakin's turn to the Dark Side?
TIMELINE: During RotS, alternate universe.
CHAPTER 3: Seeing is Believing
RATING: T
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that was created by George Lucas.
NOTE: Sorry this is somewhat late. I wasn't happy with it so I kept editing it and editing it and... Hope you like it. Thanks for all of your reviews! Keep it up!
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"No..." she whispered, backing away form until she met the wall. "No..." Anakin remained motionless, his fiery eyes softening as he continued to stare at Padme. Her gaze madly scanned his face; searching for the reason...Sobs began to rack her body as she looked down at the little boy who lay frozen on the floor, his tiny arms spread out. Padme looked back at Anakin, her wide eyes not daring to venture near his. Anakin started to walk toward her, his hand gently reaching out towards her.
"Don't touch me!" she cried out, her hands flying up to her face. She covered her eyes as more tears spilled from them. "Please..."she sobbed, her body protectively clinging to the wall.
"Padme...what are you doing here?" he gently murmured, as he pulled the hood down from his face. Anakin stepped towards her again, cautiously reaching out to her. Padme turned around to face him...her wide eyes looking over him, staring at him, scrutinizing him...
"I was worried about you...I thought something was wrong but..." Padme couldn't finish her sentence, ass he began to cry, heavy tears pouring down her sweet face.
A moment of silence feel between them and everyone in the room as their eyes met. After seconds passed, Padme lightly gasped, her gaze intensifying. Padme was full of disbelief, her eyes blinking rapidly as she tried to take it all in. But somewhere, in the depths of her mind...she could remember hearing this all before...
"I have found a way to save you," he said slowly as he looked out the window, watching the sun set. Padme was confused.
"Save me?" she asked incredulously, watching the emotions play across his face.
"From my nightmares..." Anakin said, not moving a muscle. Padme suddenly realized why he had been so moody lately, so distant...
"Is that what's bothering you?" she asked him carefully, trying to look into his eyes. But he only gazed back at her, taking her tiny hands and placing them in his.
"I won't lose you, Padme..." he said sadly, staring into her beautiful brown eyes. He gripped her hands tightly, not wanting to let go...not wanting to lose her. Padme was frightened by his sudden confession, but didn't let it show in her voice.
"I'm not going to die in childbirth, Ani. I promise you," she said reassuringly, a faint smile forming on her lips. But Anakin wasn't reassured...
"No!" he said firmly, almost yelling. Padme winced at his harshness, looking away form him. Anakin's face softened as he pulled her back towards him. "I promise YOU, Padme. I am becoming so powerful with my new knowledge of the Force...I will be able to keep you from dying..." he said softly, looking into her eyes again. Padme watched him skeptically, confused by what he was telling her.
"You don't need more power, Anakin..." she said tenderly, wrapping herself in his embrace. "I believe you can protect me against anything...just as you are." Anakin encased his arms around her, inhaling her familiar scent as he pressed his lips against her head...
Padme released the memory, letting the words slowly sink in. There it had been, all along, lurking in his very words. How could I have not seen it...she asked herself. But she was ripped from her thoughts when Anakin suddenly spoke.
"Padme...please try to understand...I'm saving you..." Anakin said compassionately, as he watched Padme start to back away from him again.
"No..." she said steadily. "All I ever wanted was your love, Anakin. Not this!" Anakin stopped moving toward Padme. The air thickened with tension as his eyes narrowed, his hands clenching the sides of his robe. Padme watched him, her brown eyes passively noticing Anakin's rising anger.
Anakin lowered his head, clenching his teeth. "Love won't save you Padme. Only my new powers can do that..." he seethed suddenly, his eyes yellowing with hate and anger.
"At what cost Anakin? You are a good person...You would never kill a child! An innocent child!" she gasped loudly, her tear-stained face watching him with horror. Her eyes darted over to the lifeless body of the little boy that still lay on the ground. "An innocent child..." she repeated quietly, her hands trembling with fear. Padme then looked back at Anakin, who remained rooted to the ground, his eyes full of contempt and spite.
"I won't loose you the way I lost my mother...I'm more powerful than any Jedi could ever dreamed of becoming!" he hissed sneeringly. "And I did it all for you. To save you..." he added softly. Padme watched with terror, as his eyes fiery eyes pierced through her soul, burning every last sympathetic feeling in her heart. She turned away from him, unable to let his burning gaze penetrate her any longer. An empty silence filled the room...even the whimpering of the younglings died away. Then, suddenly, a large crash resounded throughout the room. Padme looked up to see that opposite of the room, where pieces of the ceiling had given way. The large tiles crashed to the ground, and the large opening that appeared in the ceiling now allowed new smoke to pour into the room. The younglings screamed, many of them running towards the door as they coughed and cried.
Anakin turned around and tried to trail towards them, but Padme gripped onto his hand, keeping him from going any further. He turned around to look at her, and was met by her firm gaze. "Let them go..." she said rigidly, her eyes gazing into his. He hesitated, but Padme soon let go of his hand. The younglings quickly left the room, their tiny feet running down the hallway as the fled for safety. Padme watched quietly as the eldest Padawan knelt down next to the dead body of the boy. The Padawan lifted the boy into his arms and quickly left the room, not letting his eyes rest upon the twisted version of the Master who had so ruthlessly taken the little boy's life.
The door remained open as the last of them ran out, allowing more smoke to pour in. Padme began to cough as the acrid smoke entered her lungs. Anakin turned back to watch her. She eyed him sadly, her hands trembling as she held them against her mouth, preventing the smoke from escaping into her lungs. "Please..." she begged suddenly, turning towards him. "Come away with me. Help me raise our child. Leave this behind while you still can..." she pleaded.
"We don't have to go anywhere..." Anakin said hatefully, his eyes watching Padme closely. "I am so powerful that I could overthrow the Chancellor. We could rule the Galaxy together!" he said passionately. Her eyes lowered as she looked down at the ground, another tear slipping past her cheek.
"I don't believe what I'm hearing..." she said mournfully, her eyes glistening with tears as she studied her tremulous hands. "You're breaking my heart..." she added, looking up at Anakin once more. He continued to gaze back with anger so powerful that she could feel it licking at her skin. Padme suddenly ran from the room, but stopped at the entrance when she heard the icy tone of Anakin's voice.
"Don't you leave me...like the Jedi did..." he said, as she opened the door.
"I don't know you anymore..." she said, another tear leaving her swollen eyes, pausing as the door opened with a hiss.
"You are my wife...and you will do as I say..." he said slowly, every word accented with the fury present in his voice.
"No...you're wrong..." Padme said quietly, her sad eyes watching him closely. "The man I married is gone..." And with that, she left the room. Once Padme stepped out into the hallway, she felt as if she has walked straight into the depths of hell. Smoke was everywhere and the heat swarmed at her with such intensity that she could barely breath. Padme began to run down the hallway, gaining speed as the emotion in her body overcame her.
She turned at each juncture, unsure of where she was. Padme madly continued on though, conviction beating firmly in her heart as she struggled through the thickening smoke. Within every part of her being, she wanted to escape. From the hell that she was trapped inside, lost inside, consumed inside...And most of all...she wanted to escaped the nightmare...the image of what Anakin had become...her Anakin. Padme floated deeper and deeper into her thoughts as she mindlessly ran through the hallways, panting from the exertion and heat.
Padme then felt herself collide into someone, almost sending her tumbling to the ground. But luckily she was caught before she could hit the ground. "Padme!" Her whole body sighed with relief as she recognized the voice.
"Obi-Wan?" she said...her eyes squinting through the smoke. She could only see the outline of his figure in front of her.
"Come this way..." he said quickly, leading her by the hand as he walked down the hallway she had just come running through. He quickly activated the nearby door and led her inside, rapidly shutting it behind him. The room had been unmarred by the fire and was devoid of any lingering smoke. Padme inhaled the air deeply as she leaned back against the wall, her body still shaking from fear.
"What are you doing here?" Obi-Wan questioned, his hand resting on her shoulder. "I went to your apartment to find you but your droid told me that you were here..." he said, his eyes scanning her face. Padme looked at him, another tear slipping from her cheek. She was unsure if she should tell Obi-Wan everything that had just occurred. From what she had collected, Obi-Wan didn't even know about her and Anakin's relationship yet, let alone the child that she was bearing.
"I came to look for Anakin..." she murmured quietly.
"Padme...I need to tell you something. The Republic had fallen, and the Jedi Order is no more..." he said astutely. Padme gasped at this. "The Sith are now ruling the Galaxy, like they did before. It's all been a plot...one that had been a hundred years in the making." Padme remained speechless, letting his words sink in. "Did you find Anakin?" he asked, after a moment of silence passed. She looked up at him and started to sob, her eyes closing from the emotions that washed over her again. His eyes searched her face deeply, as he watched the tears spill from her eyes.
"I saw him...kill a youngling..." she sobbed, bring her hand up to her mouth. "What's happened to him...?" she asked, her eyes looking up to Obi-Wan, searching for an answer to the chaos that was surrounding her.
"He turned to the Dark Side, Padme. It appears that the Chancellor is behind everything, including the war. Palpatine is the Sith Lord we've been looking for. After the death of Count Dooku, Anakin became his new apprentice..." he said slowly. "Do you understand what I'm telling you, Padme?" he asked, letting his other hand rest on her shoulder.
"You're going to kill him...aren't you?" she posed suddenly, her wide eyes staring at nothing. Obi-Wan hesitated before he answered, choosing his words wisely.
"He has become a very great threat," he replied sullenly. Padme felt her body going numb, as the words continued to make more sense...the tiny web of thought now fully spun, revealing its entire splendor. Anakin has turned to the Dark side. Padme cried out, in pain and sadness...the emotions that racked her body forcing the hoarse cry out from her lungs. Her body went limp, but Obi-Wan quickly wrapped his arms around her. He tried to comfort and soothe her, but Padme was overwrought with the sensation that pounded her heart like a drum.
It was at this moment that Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel the round, swollenness of Padme's stomach. He felt his heart pour out for this woman...this pillar of strength that was crumbling to pieces by the actions of the one that owned her heart. Somehow...Obi-Wan knew all along...
"Anakin's the father, isn't he?" he asked despondently. Padme quickly pulled herself away from Obi-Wan, her hands instinctively flying to her stomach. "I'm so sorry..." Obi-Wan said as more tears slipped down her face.
"What am I going to do..." she whispered, her hands caressing the swollen flesh that protected and held her unborn child. Obi-Wan reached you and grabbed her hand, his eyes looking deeply into hers.
"Padme...you need to realize this. Anakin is gone. He's been replaced by the Dark Side of the Force...twisted by the evil mind of the Sith...But I will do everything to make sure you and the baby are safe..." he said acutely, his eyes searching deep within hers. Padme cried out once again, wrapping herself in the comfort of the man's embrace. Obi-Wan did his best to comfort her, saddened by the despair that Padme was feeling.
But he started to sense a familiar presence...he sensed it with recognition as it trickled through the Force. Before he could even prepare himself, the door to the room hissed open, allowing smoke to pour in from the fiery hell of the hallway. And a dark figure descended into the room, only his yellow eyes visible from underneath the hood of his cloak. Padme quickly pulled herself away from Obi-Wan's arms, turning around to see Anakin standing in front of her and Obi-Wan. Padme gasped, as Anakin's searing gaze bore upon Obi-Wan's rigid face.
"What are you doing with him?" the voice hissed, not resembling the once passionate and caring voice of the man Padme once knew so well. No...this voice belonged to the roots of evil...anger...hate...jealousy...Darth Vader...
