Her skin had a sickening grayish hue, the circles deep and dark under her eyes. Just an hour had passed since she was possessed by the dark and evil invasion and already she was a mere skeleton of the woman that Obi-Wan loved.
Her face was ashen, her cheeks sunken. Her deep dark eyes were open, but bore no sign of expression or emotion. Other than the slow rhythmic beep of the heart monitor attached to her finger, one would assume the young woman was dead, and had been for a while.
Her startling appearance did not deter the two Jedi whowere by her side -- one small one sat in a meditative trance at the foot of her bed, and the other hastily pressed a kiss to the delicate and cold knuckles of her hand.
Before leaving the room, Obi-Wan stopped at the door and turned back to Yoda.
The wise Master's voice gave him the reassurance that he needed. "Stay with her I will. Do all I can."
"Thank you Master Yoda."
"May the Force be with you."
Obi-Wan walked as in a trance. Unsure of where his steps were taking him or even who he was looking for, his mind was attuned to the Force completely. It was speaking to him, guiding him, clearer than ever before.
His awareness returned as he found himself standing outside of the large office doors of Chancellor Palpatine, the highest elected official in the Republic.
He questioned the Force, wanting to proceed without error, when his hearing picked up a familiar cackling laugh, confirming that his enemy was just beyond these doors.
With a deep breath, he pushed them open and steped inside.
The man who sat across the desk in a black leather chair was not the Sith Lord he had expected, but the elderly gentle-appearing Senator from Naboo. Only the cackling laugh that echoed throughout the room gave indication that the man before him was pure evil. It was the same laugh he heard in his nightmares.
Obi-Wan reached out to the Force and drew it to him, to prepare him for the battle that was sure to come.
"Kenobi. How nice to see you. Still a Jedi I see, and a Knight now I hear. How convenient." The voice hissed at him.
"Release her." He added just a bit of the Force to his demand.
He received a low chuckle in reply. "I don't think so young Knight. And when I am finished with her, it is you who will come to me."
Palpatine had risen from his chair and was slowly walking around the desk, moving toward him.
"You see Obi-Wan, you belong to the Dark Side now. You have felt its power. You cannot resist it."
"You're wrong, Chancellor." Obi-Wan still stood in the doorway, his hand upon the hilt of his lightsaber.
"It is you who are wrong Knight, about a great many things."
Obi-Wan watched with slight apprehension as Palpatine stopped in the center of the room and within seconds was transformed into the hideous and wrinkled form of Darth Sidious, Master of the Sith.
"Do you think a mere Jedi Knight can destroy me? And do you actually believe that if you did, it would save her?" Another evil cackle issued forth from the withered face. "It's too late, Jedi. She's already dead."
Obi-Wan immediately reached out through the Force. He knew that Sidious was taunting him, but he had to make sure. He stumbled backward into the doorjamb as great sorrow and regret slammed into his mind, the incessant beep of the heart monitor indicating that Sidious was telling the truth. He was too late. Padmé was dead.
The moment it took to gain this information had left him distracted enough for Sidious to take advantage. He came flying across the room toward Obi-Wan, red lightsaber blazing. Obi-Wan had just enough time to withdraw his own saber before it was knocked completely from his hand. He looked on in frustrated horror as Sidious called his lightsaber to the wrinkled grasp and with little effort, snapped it into.
"The Chosen One." Sidious added to his sarcasm with a laugh. "You fool. You are no match for the Dark Side."
Padmé...I'm sorry. I failed you, and I failed you Master. Forgive me. I'll be seeing you both soon.
The apology was quickly sent into the Force, but to his confusion and disappointment, the message was not accepted.
Padmé was dead, the Force was not recognizing his plea. He was truly alone. Chosen One or not, he knew he was going to die.
A blue bolt of Force lightning struck him once. He expected pain, but there was none.
Another bolt accompanied by evil laughter. Still no pain. His body seemed to be absorbing the energy. He could feel it flowing through him, so much so that it flowed in excess and he sent it out in waves, directing it straight toward the Jedi Temple.
Padmé's skin immediately flushed pink, a gasp was torn from her lips. The heart monitor beeped rapidly and then steady once more. A whisper of his name barely heard in the room by Yoda was heard loudly and clearly in the Chancellor's Office.
Padmé was alive. It was all he needed.
The next bolt of lightning was met by his outstretched hand. The Dark Force power did not ricochet nor was it reflected. It was, in fact being absorbed.
A concentrated and tremendous effort by Sidious sent an enormous amount of energy surging toward Obi-Wan.
Both hands raised, he simply accepted it, drew it into himself and became empowered by it.
Taking a deep breath, relishing in the enormous amount of power flowing through him and the equally enormous amount of peace he felt, Obi-Wan opened his eyes and saw what no one else had ever seen before. A look of absolute fear on Darth Sidious' face.
With a shrill scream, the red lightsaber was once more ignited and swinging at his head. Obi-Wan saw it moving toward him at half speed. He easily blocked the blow by grabbing the dark lord's arm and prying the weapon from his grasp.
One look from Obi-Wan and the lightsaber shattered into a thousand pieces.
Sidious stumbled back, a look of dread and horror on his face. He grimaced suddenly and his white withered hands clutched his chest.
Obi-Wan stood in the doorway, one hand held up, palm out, literally pulling the dark power from inside Darth Sidious and into himself.
The withered face crumpled, collapsed, and the body that was once Supreme Chancellor Palpatine imploded with a burst of Dark Force blue flame that shot out and at once was magnetized toward the Chosen One who claimed it and transformed it into a shimmer of silvery gray --the balance between the Dark and the Light.