Disclaimer: See previous chapters

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Brother

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I will never forget the last time I saw him. It was just before I left to pursue General Grievous. I believe that was one of fondest memories of him. I told him that he was a great Jedi, that one day soon, he would be a Master. He seemed to listen to me and for once, the smile on his face was genuine, not the usual cocky smirk he always wears.

-"Twisted by the Dark side, young Skywalker has become."-

I saw the truth of this in Yoda's words, more so when he actually used his powers on Padme, an act I would have never thought he would have done. But now I knew for certain. This wasn't the boy I trained. This wasn't even the man that had become a brother to me. Anakin Skywalker was gone.

Buried in the hateful eyes of Darth Vader…

"Don't make me kill you."

"Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic! To democracy!" Neither of us was keen on diplomats, but I thought we at least fought for the Republic. His head turned slightly and then back to the burning embers of the lava.

"If you are not with me, then you are my enemy!"

That did it. Now I knew for certain. And it pained me all the more. This was why I didn't want to face him; to suggest even going after the newly crowned Emperor instead of Anakin. But Yoda chose that assignment, knowing that I wasn't strong enough and he was right. But that didn't make it any easier. And neither did this.

"Only a Sith deals in absolutes." I pulled out my lightsaber, knowing what would come with my next words. "I will do what I must."

"You will try."

He came at me with all his fury and power and I managed to defend against them. I knew how he fought, how he moved, even how he would react. But in retrospect, it was the same with him. We knew what we would do; we knew how we would fight. He may have been my student, but here, we were equals. I could not hold back; I couldn't afford to. The fight brought us to the control room where I witnessed again just how far Anakin had gone. Bodies of the Seperatists and battle droids alike were strewn all over the ground, slashed like the Younglings at the temple. I had to stop him. But could I? The fight continued to go back and forth between us. Even when we used the Force on each other, it was an even match. He was as skilled with his knowledge of the Force as he was with the lightsaber.

The fight left the control room and back outside where we ended up falling down further toward the lava. At this point, I began to fight more offensively, but that only served to increase his fury. As if things could not get would, the lava began to splash up, severing the platform and causing it to fall in the river of lava, with us still on it. But despite this, I had to continue to defend myself, for Anakin continued to attack me relentlessly. After deflecting another of his attacks, I saw the river coming to its end with a fall up ahead. Thinking quickly, I leaped toward and grabbed a flailing cord. As I swung back, I saw Anakin had done the same, swooping toward me with his lightsaber. I deflected the strike and jumped off toward a platform I had seen spied earlier. It seemed like a suicidal move, but for one who could control the Force, it was a simple, yet dangerous feat to propel myself onto it. Looking back, I saw the platform beginning to dive off into the fall, with Anakin still on it. But Anakin had always been resourceful and I watched as he dashed above the lava and jumped off as I did, landing on droid and hovering toward me. Again, his powers continued to surprise me, and with the Dark Side fueling his every move, he seemed to be getting stronger. Coming in close, our battle continued, amid the river of lava and I felt his strikes becoming fiercer. But I managed to break off the assault and we simply looked over at each other. It was in this moment when I realized a very important truth.

"I have failed you, Anakin. I have failed you."

It was true. I hadn't been as attentive to him as I should have been during his training. I had let overconfidence cloud my judgment in his teaching, thinking and believing that I could be a good a teacher as Yoda. But upon seeing the dark warrior before me, I knew how wrong I was.

"I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over."

This only hammered my shame further. To think, that this one man had been able to turn Anakin like this. Palpatine had made himself more of a father to Anakin than me. But such were the ways of the Dark Side. He had probably sensed Anakin's power before just as my master had. This coupled with Anakin's fears and desires allowed him to make my once close friend into a new lord of the Sith.

"Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!"

"From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!"

"Then you are lost!"

The trip through the lava flew on and he began to draw close to me. His eyes continued to glare at me and my hopes of seeing any part of the man I knew in them were fading away.

"This is the end for you, my master."

I finally decided that if I was to survive this, if the Jedi were to thrive once again, I would have to let go of everything. The Republic, my duty, Anakin, everything... I held my lightsaber high, readying for his attack. Swiftly he leaped overhead and landed on the opposite end of the platform. Turning around, our fight continued dangerously, being in close quarters with lava surrounding us. Our blades soon locked and I knew if I didn't do something soon, Anakin would win this. Looking over to the side, I saw my salvation and leaped off without a thought. Using the Force, I propelled myself to the ashy grounds above the lava. Turning back, I looked as Anakin floated near.

"It's over, Anakin. I have the high ground."

I knew Anakin knew the principals of Sokan. Even if I had obtained it by accident, the situation was there regardless. For an opponent who was on a lower terrain, that meant that they would have to come up to me if they wished to pursue. But that would put me in a position to strike and they would be vulnerable. Anakin simply glared back.

"You underestimate my power!"

"Don't try it." I truly wished he would listen to me. If there was ever a time, please let it be now. But I also knew that he was driven by the Dark Side, giving him a power that would exceed all other Jedi, but cloud his judgment at the same time. His reaction was almost instantaneous and he leaped high off the platform and over my head. But in doing so, he had made himself vulnerable.

'I'm so sorry…'

Fshhh!

My lightsaber flashed up and I heard the hiss of sliced flesh. I had been used to it through the Clone Wars. But I never would have believed that it would be against Anakin. His severed body rolled down near the lava and stopped. He lifted his head to me and scrambled to crawl up the soil with his sole remaining arm, the cybernetic one.

"Nrahh!"

Looking down at him, it was almost more than I could bear. I knew this would end horribly, but still... I almost wished that it were me that had been sliced. But I said I would do what I must and I have.

That didn't make it any easier in the least…

"You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!"

He continued to try and crawl his way up to me. A part of me wanted to go down to him and help him, despite all that he had done. He was still Anakin to me; still my brother and friend. But that was until he roared out at me.

"I HATE YOU!"

Seeing those eyes, hearing that rage, knowing that his crawling was just so he could reach me to kill me, the last part of me that believed that this was still Anakin Skywalker was shattered. I turned away and moved up the hill, picking up his fallen lightsaber as I did. I looked back to see him still trying in vain to crawl up the soil and ending up sliding further toward the lava.

"You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you."

Flames suddenly lit up on his clothing and quickly flew up upon him. Pained moans came from his lips and I turned away. I couldn't watch this. Enough death and pain had already come from this day. The Jedi were all but extinct and the Sith had gained their revenge for the most part. I couldn't look back now. There was only the present and the future now.

Anakin Skywalker, my best friend, had been killed. I just hoped that Darth Vader would cease to exist as well.