- - - Chapter Seven: The Betrayer - - -
Skywalker.
That was his name. But did it matter anymore?
Skywalker!
No, nothing mattered. Just like him rotting here on this table.
"Jesus, it is him! Skywalker! Can you hear us? Skywalker!"
"Wake up! Skywalker!"
There was a light. Multiple lights. They were in streams of blue and green that danced around him.
"He's waking up!"
"What did they do to him?"
"Jesus, look at his arm!"
"Didn't he lose that arm?"
"Skywalker. Can you hear me?"
"It's cold to the touch. Feels like metal."
"Skywalker!"
The lights were speaking. He closed his eyes. He just wanted this all to disappear. He wanted to sink back into the darkness.
Something slammed against his cheek. He gasped and his eyes snapped open. Someone was grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him.
"Skywalker! Wake up, man!"
Hands were pulling him up. How? Wasn't he confined to the table? He was sitting up. His head spun.
"Skywalker."
He looked to his left. Slowly his vision settled and focused. The streams of lights were holy swords, lightsabers, each one being carried by a Jedi Knight. The Order! The Holy Order had come!
"Master . . . Fisto?" Anakin asked. His voice was dry and cracked.
The large black man smiled. "We got your message," he said in a thick Caribbean accent. "Don't worry 'bout a thing. We will handle this." Anakin could only look at the knight. His thoughts were cartwheeling around in his head, but slowly things were coming back to him. But before he could say anything, Fisto was already giving out orders. "Siemel, Nixi'en, Teknukulllu, and Gamma. You four escort Skywalker out of here. We should have medics stationed . . ."
"No," Anakin croaked, but he was ignored. Hands grabbed him and pulled him off the table. He was weak and was unable to support himself. Knights pulled him back up. Anakin's arms were looped around necks. "No," he said again. "We can't. Have to . . . "
"It's all right, sir," one of the young knights said. "You're safe now."
"No. You don't . . . under . . . stand . . . We can't . . . You . . . vampires. Sidious. Waiting . . ."
"I think he's feverish," someone said softly to another.
They were moving. Slowly, but they were moving. Part of him wanted to relax. Soon he would be in the hands of the Jedi healers and medics. The Order would handle the vampires, but the other part of him was growing more and more on edge. He recalled what Palpatine had said. This was a trap. There weren't enough Jedi. They were going to be slaughtered . . .
No. The Jedi would prevail. The Lord was on their side. They would triumph. They would slay all the vampires-
Padmé!
Anakin gasped as he straightened up. The adrenaline rush gave him the strength to stand on his own.
"Skywalker? Can you walk?"
"Padmé!" he said. He turned to his left and grabbed the knight by the collar. "Padmé! I have to save her!"
"So the rumors were true," someone whispered behind him.
"We'll save any humans," the knight Anakin had grabbed said.
"No . . ." Anakin said. Padmé wasn't human! She was a vampire!
"Come on. You need to see a healer."
They were tugging on him, trying to get him to walk. He couldn't go with them. He had to get to Padmé! He had to make sure she was safe! Her and the baby! If the knights got to her . . . they would kill her! No!
He pushed away from the knights and staggered into a wall. He leaned heavily against it. The four knights were crowding around him and talking to each other. Anakin glanced around. Where was Padmé? Where would she be? Palpatine had said she would be commanding the troops as . . . as Lady Amidala. Lady Amidala! Vampire royalty! No way would the Order keep her alive! Oh God, he had to find her.
He snapped back into reality right as one of the young knights was bringing down the pummel of their sword down on Anakin's head. He had just enough time to dodge it. He grabbed the knight's head and slammed it down into his knee. It was a solid hit. The young knight shouted and stumbled back. Blood dripped from his nose.
"Skywalker! Calm down!"
"You were trying to knock me out!" Anakin shouted back.
"You're not acting rationally right now," someone said. "We were just going to knock you out to bring you up top. That's it. But you can walk up there with us."
"No . . . No. I can't. I have to go," he said.
The knights shared a look.
"You are no longer a knight," someone said in a slow voice. "You're not allowed to be down here. Our job is to secure and escort civilians to safety. Right now that would be you. Now, please, sir, we have to get you to the medics."
They weren't going to let him go. They were going to take him to the medics willingly or not. But he couldn't. He was wasting precious time! He had to get to Padmé! She was the one who needed to be taken out of here! The knights were slowly approaching him, ready to gang up on him, so he moved before they could.
He ducked down and barreled right into the closest knight. He slammed the knight against the wall and slammed his black hand against the knight's arm. There was a loud snap as the bones broke. He freed the green lightsaber from the broken hand and spun around just in time to meet a blue blade slashing down on him.
"Stand down, Skywalker!"
He knocked the blue blade aside and swung his leg up. The kick landed hard into the chest of the knight in front of them. That staggered back into the other two knights. Anakin dashed forward and brought the sword down. Blood splattered to the floor. The knight in front fell to his knees. His sword clattered to the floor as his hands grasped at the large cut across his chest.
Someone screamed and ran at Anakin. He slashed and stabbed. He kicked and punched. More blood splattered. Another sword fell to the floor. There were screams of frustration. Screams of anger. Of loss. Of fear. Of death. But slowly it became quiet except for Anakin's own deep panting. He looked around. The four swords illuminated the stone hallway. All four knights were dead by his hand. He had killed them.
Innocent humans. Holy Jedi Knights.
He hunched over and vomited.
Get a hold of yourself, Anakin, a voice inside of him said. This isn't the first time you've done this.
He wiped his mouth off with his sleeve. This was true. He had killed everyone involved with the Tusken Raider Coven. Vampires, servants, and innocent cattle. He had killed them all.
And you might have to kill more, the voice said, to save Padmé.
He steeled himself. He knew what he had to do. He gripped the stolen green blade and stepped over the cooling bodies. He had to find Padmé. He had to save her.
Why?
She lied to you. She's a vampire.
But she loves me, he answered back. And . . . And I love her. I need her!
He had left his old life behind for her. He wasn't apart of the Order anymore. Padmé was all he had. She and the baby.
I love you! I truly and deeply love you! We can still be together! As a family! None of that has to end!
Was that true? Could they still be together after this? He didn't know, but the thought of her dying . . . at the ends of the knights . . . it sent sharp cold fear through him. He couldn't let her die!
He continued through the tunnel. He could hear the sound of fighting echoing through the stone hallways. Sometimes he even saw the distant flicker of blue and green lightsabers. He ran into vampires twice. He didn't hesitate to cut them down and turn them into ash. He ran into two groups of knights. The first one just nodded as they ran by. The second one stopped him. He mumbled some excuse and gave them a fake name. They looked at him skeptically, but then they kept going.
Anakin continued his way deeper into the vampire's lair. He didn't know where he was headed, if he was even headed in the right direction, but he kept on moving down long dark hallways and down steep stairs. He had to keep moving. He had to find Padmé. She had to be safe. If she wasn't . . . if she wasn't . . .
"Well now," a thick rich voice said, "Looks like Sidious' new pet freed himself from his cage."
Anakin stopped. He was in a large tall room where the walls stretched up into the darkness about fifty feet. Three rings of balconies circled around the room. On the lowest balcony stood a vampire Anakin was all too familiar with.
"Darth Tyrannus," Anakin said.
The vampire nodded and smiled, which showed off his long fangs. He had once gone by the name of Count Dooku. He was an old man with white slicked-back hair. He was dressed in a finely tailored suit and cape. He reached behind his back then tossed a large object over the railing. It clattered to the floor.
"I believe that is yours," Tyrannus said.
The long skinny object had been wrapped in cloth, but a small bit of the cloth had come undone when it hit the floor. Soft blue light escaped from the opening. It was a lightsaber. Anakin slowly approached it. He kicked the wrapping off to reveal more of the sword. It was his sword. He let go of the borrowed green one and picked it up. He ripped off the fabric and weighed the sword in his hand. It felt right. Perfect.
Red light cut through Anakin's thoughts. He glanced up to see Tyrannus holding his own lightsaber, but this one emitted red light. Lightsabers could be corrupted. Their crystal blades could be made to bleed, as they called it. But it took a lot of skill and only powerful vampires could do that.
"Where's Padmé?" Anakin asked. His voice even and calm.
"Oh? Lady Amidala? She's down that way." Tyrannus waved at a black hallway to Anakin's right. "A group of knights led by Mace Windu were headed that way."
Anakin's heart jumped into his throat. No! He turned to leave but heard a loud thump behind him. He looked over his shoulder. Tyrannus had jumped over the railing and down onto the ground floor.
"Leaving so soon, Skywalker?" the old man asked.
"I don't have time for you," Anakin growled. He glanced back at the hallway.
"I was not giving you a choice!"
The red blade swung down on Anakin. Anakin snapped up his blade just in time to block it. Tyrannus snarled.
"It will be my pleasure to finally end you," he said. "I do not care what plans Sidious has for you."
"Well at least we agree with one thing," Anakin shouted as he threw red blade off.
Anakin slashed as he stepped forward. Each time the lightsabers clashed, sparks flew and there was a hissing sound. Tyrannus bounced Anakin's saber around as he spun around as if mocking him. As if to say he could afford to do such a fancy trick since Anakin was not a threat. Anakin grabbed his sword with both hands and slashed furiously at the vampire.
Tyrannus ducked as Anakin came in with a headshot, but the two continued to trade blows. Anakin continued to push forward, while Tyrannus continued to step back. Their blades spun wildly about them as sparks and hisses filled the air. Slash and block. Slash and stab and parry. Strike and dodge.
Their blades locked as each pushed their weight towards the other. The blue and red blades created a glowing X between them.
"I sense great fear in you, Skywalker," Tyrannus taunted. "You have hate. You have anger, but you don't use them."
Finally, there was a slip. The swords separated. Anakin pressed forward. He brought his sword back and above his head then brought it down in a powerful strike. This started off a series of fast and strong strikes. The swords were never apart for more than a few seconds before they were clashing against each other again and again.
Tyrannus switched to offensive footing as he finally started to push forward causing Anakin to backstep. The blows continued. Tyrannus was trying to end the duel. To kill Anakin. He stepped forward with a jab. Anakin swung his arm around Tryannus' sword arm, effectively capturing it. He didn't spare a second as he slashed his own sword through Tryannus' arms. Both arms fell off and disintegrated into a pile of ash on the floor. The red sword clattered to the floor as the old man fell to his knees in a shout of pain.
Anakin picked up the fallen red lightsaber. Slowly he walked over to the vampire and crossed the two blades in front of his throat. He glared down at Tyrannus. For the first time, there was a look of fear on the old man's face. There was a dark sense of joy curling inside of Anakin from seeing that. He only lingered a moment later before he slashed with both swords and beheaded the former count. The body crumpled into a pile of ash at Anakin's feet. He threw the red blade on top of it.
Without another look, he ran down the hallway that would hopefully bring him to Padmé.
As he headed down the tunnel he heard the sound of fighting. The hissing of lightsabers. Padmé! He pushed himself on. His body was getting tired and weak. He wasn't sure how much more he could keep going, but he wasn't going to stop. Not yet.
He almost tripped on himself as he entered another large room. This one appeared to be a large gathering room. There was a rich red rug on the floor. Banners hung on the wall. There were two large fireplaces with roaring fires on either end with blazing fires. Fine couches were arranged tastefully, though several of them were overturned. A few had piles of ashes while others had streaks of blood and the bodies of knights.
Anakin ran past them. His eyes only on the scene on the far end. He recognized Mace Windu's purple lightsaber. The large black man was fighting off a vampire, and as Anakin approached he realized it was Palpatine. Mace managed to knock Palpatine's sword aside. The old man fell against the wall. His hand up in a plea of mercy, but as he did so his eyes slid off Windu and on to Anakin.
"Anakin!" he cried. "Help me!"
Windu briefly looked over his shoulder at Anakin but ignored him as he looked back at Palpatine.
"You old fool!" Windu shouted. "The oppression of vampires will never rise! Your plot to overthrow the Order is over! You have lost!"
"No! No!" Palpatine cried. "You will die!"
Lightning poured out of Palpatine's clawed hands and zapped towards Windu, who managed to get his sword up and block the attack. However, the lightning kept coming. Windu was struggling to keep his sword up.
"Anakin!" Windu shouted. "He is a vampire! Finish him!"
"Come to your senses, boy!" Palpatine shouted. "Remember what I told you! The Jedi will betray you!"
Windu screamed as he took a step back.
"You are not one of them, Anakin," Palpatine pleaded. His voice growing weak. "Don't let him kill me!"
"Anakin! Kill him now!" Windu shouted.
"They will never let you be with her!" Palpatine shouted. "They have taken her!"
"What?" Anakin asked.
"The knights took her Anakin! Only I can help you save her! They will never let her live! But you must stop him!"
"Don't listen to him, Anakin," Windu shouted.
"Help me!" Palpatine pleaded. "Don't let him kill me! I can't hold on any longer!"
Windu started to step forward. The lightning bolts crashed all around him and Palpatine. A few bolts arched back into Palpatine's body. The old man screamed as his face started to twist and distort.
"I can't . . ." Palpatine muttered. "I give up . . ." The lightning finally faded away. He heaved deeply. "Help me," he wheezed. "I am weak . . . I am too weak. Don't kill me. I give up. I'm dying."
"You damned vampire blight!" Windu hissed. "I am going to end this once and for all."
"You can't, master!" Anakin shouted taking a step forward.
Windu gave Anakin an odd look. "He must die," he said. "He is too powerful. His control over the vampires is too strong. We kill him and this war ends!"
"He must live!" Anakin shouted.
Windu scowled. "I see they've poisoned you. Do not worry. We will clear your mind when this is all over." He raised his purple sword.
"Please don't . . ." Palpatine begged.
"I need him!" Anakin shouted as Windu started to swing his sword down. "No!"
Anakin stepped forward and brought his sword down. It slashed through Windu's arms. Unlike Tyrannus' arms, which turned into ash, Windu's fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Windu stared at Anakin in shock, a look Anakin could only reflect.
What had he done?
But before he could move or say anything, blue lightning bolts erupt from Palpatine's hands and blast straight into Windu. The knight was lifted off his feet and thrown against a wall.
Palpatine stood up. No longer was he the weak mewling man he was a moment before. Now he stood proud and strong and laughing. The lightning was moving Windu across the wall until finally he was thrown into the large fire. Windu screamed as lightning and fire consumed him. Palpatine's laughter continued until Windu's screams ended. Then there was only the sound of the roaring flames and the pounding of Anakin's heart in his chest.
"What have I done?" Anakin asked as he fell to his knees. His sword fell out of his hand.
"You are fulfilling your destiny, Anakin," Palpatine said as he walked over to him. "Become a vampire. A Sith! Learn to use the dark powers and we can find and save Padmé."
Anakin looked up at him. "I . . . I . . ."
"Anakin, they took her. They are most likely bringing her back to London to the Temple as we speak. Do you know what they will do to her there? Why they haven't killed her yet?" He paused, but Anakin didn't answer. "They are going to carve her baby, your baby, out of her stomach. Then they will kill her. They get a new knight and another bloodsucker is dead."
"No- no!" Anakin cried. "Help me save her! I can't live without her. I won't let her die!"
Palpatine's twisted and deformed face fell into a sad expression. "I'm afraid even I am not powerful enough to storm the Holy Temple in London, my boy. Even if I did, I would not know the way. But . . . you . . . If you accept your destiny, become a Sith, a being more powerful than I, you will be able to bring them to their knees and save your wife and child."
Anakin hesitated. He weighed his choices, but he knew he was just going through the motions. He already knew what he would choose. He had made the choice the moment he attacked the four knights who were just trying to help him. The moment he had stepped forward and stopped Windu. He already knew what he was going to say.
"I will do whatever you ask," Anakin said as he looked at Palpatine.
"Good," Palpatine said with a smile. His fangs glistening in the firelight.
"I pledge myself to the darkness," Anakin muttered. "To the ways of the vampires. I cast aside God and his teachings. I throw my soul into eternal damnation."
"Good. Good. With my help, you will become the most powerful being in this world. You shall be known as Darth Vader."
"Thank you, my master."
He felt numb. The words coming out of his mouth didn't feel like he had said it. It felt like someone else. As if he was reading a book or watching a play about himself. He felt disconnected.
"Now rise, Darth Vader," Darth Sidious said. "We must start the ceremony of your turning. We don't have much time if we wish to save Padmé."