Okay, folks! This is the second to the last chapter in this part of the story. Thank you so much for your fantastic reviews! I wanted to address your comment, Rainy, about things being rushed and jumping quickly from one topic to another. I've said from the beginning of entering the ROTS timeframe, that you would have to fill in the blanks of the story with the novel (or the movie). I'm not going to rehash and rewrite all of the stuff covered in the ROTS novel. I am only including the stuff that has changed, and you are left to fill in the blanks. The second part of this story will be completely AU, so there will be no real blanks to fill in! But thank you all so much for your comments!
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Anakin could hardly believe his eyes. "Obi-Wan?" How did he survive? He turned his now-yellow eyes back to his wife. "You betrayed me! You brought him here to kill me!"
Padme continued backing away from the monster before her. "We came here to try and save you!"
"Liar! You're with HIM!" Anakin held out his fingers and started to move them together.
Padme felt pressure close in on her throat, cutting off her oxygen. Her hands flew to her throat in panic. Anakin was trying to kill her! Obi-Wan!
"Let her go, Anakin!" Obi-Wan released his panic into the Force. He had to remain calm for Padme's sake. He started down the ship's ramp. "Let. Her. Go."
Anakin did, but not before throwing her against a nearby wall like a rag doll. "You've turned her against me!"
"You've done that yourself!" Obi-Wan slowly circled Anakin, making his way over to Padme's still form. Please, let her be okay!
Anakin's eyes followed Obi-Wan's movement. "My master was right! You two betrayed me! You had an affair!"
Obi-Wan knelt down to check on Padme, never taking his eyes off of Anakin. Her pulse was weak, but she was alive. Hold on, Padme! He stood back up slowly – his resolve growing and his connection to the Force steady. "Everything Palpatine ever told you was a lie."
"No! Everything the Jedi ever told me was a lie!"
Obi-Wan shook his head sadly. "I never lied to you, Anakin."
Anakin stared at the man who only the day before had meant the world to him. What had changed? Everything has changed. Still, the little bit of him who was still Anakin Skywalker wanted to give Obi-Wan a chance to get away. "Leave, Obi-Wan. Go to a far away planet and spend your time in meditation. That's all you like to do anyway."
"I will not abandon my duty." Nor will I leave Padme in your clutches!
"You will never change, will you? The Jedi Order is gone, as is the Republic!" This almost felt like one of their arguments from the past. That made something inside Anakin hurt. He reached out his hand earnestly. "You could join me, Obi-Wan! We could have The Team back – better and more powerful than ever! We could rule the galaxy together!"
"You should know me better than that, Anakin."
Anakin balled up his fists. "I knew you would always choose duty over me."
"You are the one who forced that decision. It was a decision that I never wanted to have to make."
"I will ask you one more time, Obi-Wan. Will you join me?"
"I will never join the Sith and I will never support tyranny! My allegiance is to the Republic, Anakin – to democracy!"
Anakin turned his back to Obi-Wan and prepared himself. "If you are not with me, you are against me!"
"Spoken like a true Sith." Obi-Wan steadied his breathing and let the Force completely fill him. He pulled his lightsaber off of his belt and readied it. "I will do what I must."
Darth Vader consumed the last bit of Anakin Skywalker within. The serpent had won. "You will try." He turned and leapt at Obi-Wan – intent on killing this last vestige of his former life. For if there was one thing Darth Vader knew, he knew this…To kill Obi-Wan Kenobi was to kill Anakin Skywalker.
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Obi-Wan gazed at the hate-filled man on the droid, hovering over the lava below him. "I have the high ground, Anakin. It's over."
"You underestimate my power!"
"Don't do it!" Too late. Obi-Wan whirled his blade as Anakin twisted overhead. An arm and two legs hit the ground, followed closely by the rest of Anakin's body. Obi-Wan watched in horror as the limbs were quickly consumed by the lava flow. A screaming Anakin was quickly heading that direction. How did it come to this?
Obi-Wan felt his heart breaking as he watched Anakin slide towards the lava. "You were the Chosen One! You were supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!"
Red eyes looked up from a burning body. "I hate you!"
Those words cut Obi-Wan like a blade. "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!" He turned away and stooped to pick up Anakin's fallen lightsaber. He looked up as a ship passed overhead, coming in for a landing. Palpatine! There wasn't much time. He had to get Padme off this planet now!
When Obi-Wan looked down again, it was all he could do not be sick. The lava flow had consumed most of what was left of Anakin's body. All that was left now was a badly charred head and a mechanical hand, still grasping onto the sand.
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Obi-Wan raced back to Padme's ship. C3PO was waving at him from the top of the ramp.
"Master Kenobi, we have Miss Padme onboard. She needs medical attention!"
Obi-Wan rushed into the ship and to Padme's side. "Get us out of here, 3PO."
"Right away, Sir."
Obi-Wan sat down on the edge of the cot where Padme lay. As he gently stroked her cheek, her eyes fluttered open.
"Thank the Force you're okay," Padme said weakly.
"You took the words right out of my mouth."
"Anakin?"
Obi-Wan merely shook his, not trusting himself to speak.
Padme nodded her head in understanding. A single tear escaped from her eye as she slipped back into unconsciousness.
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Emperor Palpatine made his way down the incline where he had last sensed his new apprentice. The sight confirmed what he had felt through the Force. Darth Vader was dead. He picked up the charred mechanical arm and threw it into the river of lava with a snarl. "Obi-Wan Kenobi!" He looked up at the clone troopers waiting nearby. "Intercept Senator Amidala's ship! Don't let it leave the system!"
Palpatine watched the lead trooper talk into his comlink as he made his way up the incline. He could sense the trooper's nervousness as he turned to address him.
"My Lord, it was too late to stop the ship. They have already left the system and entered hyperspace."
The Emperor snarled again. "Find out what direction they were heading when they entered hyperspace! Plot all possible trajectories! Focus on locations with medical facilities. I want that ship found and the occupants taken alive!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
Palpatine made his way quickly back to his ship, seething. Obi-Wan Kenobi will pay for this! Two young, high-potential apprentices killed by that meddling, light-beacon of a Jedi! All that work put into wooing Anakin and corrupting his mind – gone, wasted! Here he was, finally in control of the galaxy, but without a powerful apprentice to enact Empirical justice and keep the systems in line!
Sidious pulled in the dark energies of the Force and calmed himself down. He never would have guessed that Obi-Wan would be able to defeat the Chosen One who was filled with the Dark Side! Yet Yoda had been confidant in saying during their confrontation, 'So easily slain, Obi-Wan is not.' That was apparently true. Whenever his plans were impeded or thrown off-course in the slightest way, Obi-Wan was inevitably involved. It had been that way for thirteen years!
The Emperor drummed his fingers on the ledge of the viewport he gazed through. It always seemed to come back to Obi-Wan. Perhaps he had been after the wrong man this whole time. He had actually been very interested in Obi-Wan after the Battle of Naboo. He had tried using the same subtle techniques he had used on Anakin, but to no avail. He had even snatched the young man and held him captive for a while, using much less subtle techniques to turn him to the Dark Side. But Obi-Wan had shown incredible endurance and strength, refusing to give into his anger and despair. Then that loathsome Mace Windu had managed to track down and rescue Obi-Wan.
Palpatine had then decided to go for an easy convert in Count Dooku, rather than continuing to pursue what looked to be a lost cause in Obi-Wan Kenobi. He could then focus on his ultimate project of wooing the Chosen One to his side. He had assumed that having the Chosen One would guarantee his absolute dominance of the galaxy. Perhaps his focus should have been on the one selected by the Force to train the Chosen One. The person the Chosen One had looked to for completion.
Perhaps it wasn't too late. Obi-Wan was still young and his strength in the Force was exceptional. Perhaps Sidious could have that keen mind and tenacious will, after all. He had time on his side now. He would find Obi-Wan and turn him to the Dark Side. It might take a while, but everyone had their breaking point, even the great General Kenobi. A hideous, feral smile crept up the disfigured face. Breaking Obi-Wan Kenobi would be a process that he would enjoy immensely.