Balance

by Hieiko

Dark RotS AU. Even while consumed by his anger and hatred, Anakin Skywalker brings balance to the Force.

Title: Balance
Author: Hieiko
Fandom: Star Wars
Characters: Anakin, Obi-Wan, Sidious, etc.
Disclaimer: I don't Star Wars, or its characters.
Warnings: Violence, character death.
Notes: Written for the 31days' November 27 theme, "And the feeble brain scrambles desperately to translate".
Summary: Dark RotS AU. Even while consumed by his anger and hatred, Anakin Skywalker brings balance to the Force.

"You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! It was you who would bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!"

Obi-Wan's voice seemed to echo in Anakin's ears. The Chosen One. The Jedi's weapon against the Sith. That was all he was to them, wasn't it?

"I hate you!" Anakin shouted. He hated the Jedi. All of them.

"You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you," Obi-Wan cried out in despair.

Anakin wished that he'd heard those words long ago, because maybe back then he would have believed them.

Flames licked the edge of his tunic; the winds made the fire spread faster, burning easily through the cloth and scorching his skin. Anakin screamed. But the pain only served to intensify his anger. As he saw the man who had called him brother take his lightsaber and turn to walk away, Anakin lashed out without so much as a thought. Despite being weakened by his injuries, he could still wield the Force. It cracked like an invisible whip, and wrapped round the throat of its selected victim. There was only the barest of control, most of it was sheer power.

Anakin did not even see Obi-Wan drop the lightsaber. His eyes were closed, letting the power of the Dark Side wash over him.

Obi-Wan had raised both hands to his neck, in a futile attempt to free himself from the vice-like grip that was crushing his throat and cutting off his oxygen supply. But there was no physical presence to counteract, and he couldn't concentrate enough to use the Force. Mere seconds passed before his body dropped to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Anakin remained unaware. He let his consciousness sink deeper into the Force, where the pain could not touch him.

Then Sidious came, and Anakin knew pain once more. But he endured the surgery, and accepted the imprisonment in the dark armor. None of it mattered if he could save Padme... Padme! Anakin remembered what he had done. With increasing dread, he asked the question. Sidious gave him the answer.

The wrong answer. One that Anakin Skywalker simply could not accept. Not even the Sith Master could escape the maelstrom created by his rage, and as the Chosen One allowed the Force to take over, it guided his power toward the fulfillment of his destiny.