Author's Notes: This was such a difficult chapter to write, seriously, but seeing the response from all of you more than helped me. I think it's safe to say that we've reached past the halfway point. Thank you again, for the feedback. My head's all over the place when it comes to this story. I'm having a blast and I'm glad that you all are too.

Chapter 13: Identity

The throne room was littered with dead bodies of officers and storm troopers alike. Darth Sidious stood in the middle of the chaos dripping with anger and hatred. The sound of his mechanical limb was the only thing protruding the silence. Darkness raged inside of him with fury.

His goals for the Empire cannot be met with a lose end.

Darth Vader was that lose end.

He couldn't allow him to live; he had too much at stake to let an apprentice he created to take away all his plans. No, he was going to find him, and when he did, he will bring him back down to his knees and he'll wish that he never betrayed him.

Bail Organa was thrilled to find that his friend had arrived safely, but the moment of relief was quickly shattered when he introduced him to the last man he ever suspected to enter his home, let alone their sanctuary against the increasing Imperial forces.

Darth Vader.

With the exception of his black clothing, he didn't look like Vader at all. The mask in which the Galaxy had never seen him without was gone, and with it, most of the aura that made Lord Vader one of the most feared.

In its place was a young man, early to mid-twenties, with deep blues eyes that showed off more than it should, giving him a look of maturity far beyond his years, and that's what most unnerved him.

If people were afraid of him as the suited Darth Vader, he could only imagine what the galaxy would think of him now if they saw he was merely a young man with powers far beyond the average Jedi.

Bail and Obi-Wan continued to speak privately to another after they placed Vader inside a locked interrogation room.

"This is absurd, Obi-Wan. He's an enemy of the Republic."

"So long as Palpatine wields the command of the Senate, the Republic no longer exists. I don't sense any danger from him."

"It doesn't matter what you sense, if word gets out that Darth Vader is working alongside rebels against the Empire, our numbers would dwindle by fear alone. He is not to be trusted. You've said it yourself, once someone has fallen to the Dark Side, there's no return."

"I'm wrong," he admitted to Bail's surprise.

"This is not the time to be second-guessing ourselves, old friend. The alliance we're trying to build across the galaxy is the only sure way to ensure a future of any kind for us. Hysteria within our ranks is the last thing we need."

"I'll need to speak with Master Yoda about this first before we make any further decisions about him."

Bail nodded. "I understand." He fell silent but then spoke once more. "I'm afraid of him, Obi-Wan."

"I know," Obi-Wan replied knowingly.

On the way out, Bail ran into Padme, startling her. "Milady, is everything all right?"

"Yes. Of course," she replied quickly.

Bail stood before her with a curious gaze. "You're not thinking of speaking to him, are you?" Padme didn't answer at first. "Senator, if I may speak openly, that's absolutely mad," he added in a stern voice.

"I need to speak with him."

"You were his prisoner!" he reminded her.

"I agreed to marry him," she shot back.

"You had little choice."

"But I still agreed," she said, pointing out that there was no going around that fact. Padme sighed. "Don't think this isn't hard for me, Bail. I'm having a difficult time comprehending it all, but I do still need to speak with him."

Bail knew he was fighting a losing battle.

"He's dangerous," he expressed his concern genuinely.

"Bail, I know better than anyone else just how dangerous he can be," she acknowledged. "He won't harm me."

"And how are you sure?"

"He's had plenty of opportunities and yet he's never so much as lifted his voice at me. I know this is difficult for you, and I'm not saying that we shouldn't be cautious, but I am insisting that we give him a chance."

"I don't trust him, Senator." Padme nodded at his honesty before stepping aside and continued to walk to the direction of Anakin's cell. In a quiet whisper that nobody heard, she says, "I wish I didn't." She had a feeling that her fate was no longer in her hands.

"Captured, Lord Vader you have," said Master Yoda as he slowly approached Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"It was hardly a capture, Master. It was more like I intercepted him by mere coincidence."

Master Yoda gave a slight nod as Obi-Wan attempted to gather his thoughts. Too many variables were involved, too many risks. How many were they willing to take on behalf of a former enemy?

Obi-Wan knelt down in front of Master Yoda with pleading eyes.

"I need to know, Master. Is it possible for someone in the Dark Side to turn back into the light?"

Master Yoda closed his eyes to sense the force presence down the hall, feeling Obi-Wan's concern. "Much confusion, I sense in Vader. Understands very little of his life, he does. Served the Chancellor, a long time he has. Too much emptiness, I see in him."

"What does that mean exactly?"

"Unpredictable, his emotions will be. Keep a close eye, we shall."

At that moment, they heard footsteps drawing near. When Padme Amidala came into view, she bowed respectfully.

"Master Kenobi," she greeted with a relieved smile. "It is good to see you again." She turned to the other Jedi Master. "Master Yoda." He bowed in return as she continued. "Senator Organa just told me that we have Darth Vader in custody, is it possible to have a moment with him?" she asked with a leveled voice reserved only when she was acting as a politician or queen.

Her request surprised Obi-Wan if his wide-eyes had anything to say about it while Master Yoda didn't look the least bit shocked. He began to wonder what has transpired between the Sith Lord and Senator over the past few months.

"I don't think that's wise," Obi-Wan said mainly out of concern.

She's heard this argument before.

"Explain why."

To be honest, Obi-Wan didn't know what to say to forbid her from seeing him. At the moment, there was no real protocol involved in keeping Darth Vader prisoner in a galaxy where Imperialism exists with Darth Sidious as their leader.

Master Yoda took this moment to intercede.

"See him, you may. But be careful, you must be."

Padme nodded graciously.

"I always am, Master Yoda."

When she disappeared, Obi-Wan turned to Master Yoda with deep concern.

"Now I really think that wasn't wise."

"Know the situation between them, we do not. Faith in the Senator, I have."

Vader sat alone in the empty room, with nothing but the chair he sat on and a table to keep him company. He was afraid to close his eyes in fear the images would return. The last several hours have proved to him that meditation was completely out of the question.

It's brought him nothing but more waking nightmares.

Earlier, when Obi-Wan introduced him to Senator Bail, he felt his fear and disgust without having to see it in his face. He could tell by the sudden shift in the Senator's emotions that the knowledge that he was but a man sent him going on the defensive.

He honestly didn't hold it against him.

Now he was alone once more until he felt the light of a familiar presence drawing near.

Oddly enough, he knew who it was right away.

Padme.

The door opened slightly before it opened all the way. The action displayed that of hesitance, something else he couldn't hold someone, especially her, against. When she finally stepped in, an overwhelming sense of relief washed over him at the sight of her unharmed and well-nourished.

"You look well," he found himself saying before he could even stop to think about it. Even if it was only a moment, he forgot about everything else.

She weakly smiled in return, initially avoiding eye contact, and when she finally did lift her head to face him, her mouth fell slight agape, and she was left speechless at the sight before her.

He didn't understand the reaction even when she tried to point it out.

"You look different," she said.

He was still confused by her observation, knowing that she had been around him more than any other in the galaxy.

"I don't – "

She moved closer, an arms length away from where he sat. She held out her hand, her fingers softly touching the area next to his eyes, and while she kept her distance from him even with the contact, she didn't move away.

His head turned sideways to look at what she was pointing at, and when he faced the mirror on the opposite wall, he found himself staring at himself for the first time since they left Coruscant. He hadn't once thought about what he looked like until he found his eyes staring back at him.

They were a different color than what he last remembered.

"They're blue," he said with surprise.

Padme retrieved her hand back as if she did something wrong. The warmth from her touch dissipated immediately and he held back the desire to take back her hand. Whatever this feeling was, he wished it wasn't there.

"What happened?" she asked, and he could tell she was trying to put on a brave face.

He swallowed with difficulty, not knowing where to begin. Too many things to sort out in his head that it left him practically incapacitated.

"We had a fight," he answered vaguely.

"I heard you were hurt."

That sickening feeling in his stomach started happening again as he closed his eyes and remembered what had occurred between him and Sidious, and the overwhelming flood of emotions that penetrated him when he woke up in sick bay afterwards.

"It's gone now," he said simply, his eyes fell downwards.

Padme knew he was lying. She saw the distant look in his eyes when he answered her. He looked and sounded so broken, and seeing him in chains, even when her mind tried to rationalize that he deserved to wear it, she still felt… compassion for him.

"I don't believe you."

"Why are you here, Senator?" he asked abruptly.

"I…" when she had no reason to give, she said, "I don't know."

He looked at her, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"I… don't know what's happening to me," he expressed with so much confusion raging inside of him. "I feel… I feel things… but… I don't know what they are."

Padme felt for the struggle he was fighting in himself. There were so many wonderful things about life that was taken from him, and now that the chains that his master has longed tied him in were finally broken; he wears another set of chains, and it seems that no matter what, he will always be somebody's prisoner.

"Everything will be okay," she attempted to comfort, but fell a few feet short.

Master Obi-Wan Kenobi waited outside Darth Vader's cell alongsideMaster Yoda. Out of respect for the Senator, they withheld any recording or security devices from the room. The average being would no doubt think that they were crazy to leave them alone, but Master Yoda felt that it would helpd the former Sith Lord to speak with the woman he had a feeling he's grown connected to.

"What's taking them so long?" Obi-Wan inquired with nervous impatience.

"Calm you thoughts, you must," says the wise Jedi.

Obi-Wan sighed lightly, knowing that Master Yoda was right. This war has torn everybody apart, even the Jedi. Most are dead, and the few who survived the initial purges were forced to scatter and hide from the Palpatine. Even if they made it through this, and rebuilt the Jedi, Obi-Wan knew nothing would ever be the same.

They sat in front of one another for what seemed like ages. Noticing his paling skin and shaking hands, she took the initiative to speak. "Anakin, you're freezing," she said, her expression cleared showed that she was concerned for his health.

He lifted his head and faced her at the sound of his name coming from her lips.

"May I tell you something?"

"I don't know," she responded hesitantly.

"Then how can I tell you?"

"Perhaps you should use your force intuition," she said in an attempt to evade the incoming conversation.

"It doesn't work around you," he replied honestly. "My mind is always... confused. I can only think of you."

Padme took a deep breath at his open admission. Something, until now, she wasn't ready to hear.

"Anakin, don't..."

"From the moment I met you, there was something about you I couldn't describe. I thought after we parted, that would be it. Everything was gone, and all I could think about was facing my Master. And now that I'm close to you again, I'm in agony. The thought of not being with you... I can't breathe. And I don't understand why I feel this way. You're apart of me, but I know I don't deserve you. What can I do? Please. I will do anything you ask..."

Padme stood up from her seat and moved away, his words echoed in her head so clearly that it confused her own emotions even more than it already had been. She was not prepared for this. Any of it. But she couldn't ignore his genuine proclamation, and his struggle to understand the world in an entirely different point of view.

Yet she was afraid.

Afraid of losing herself from the very thing that she's fought her entire life against.

"I'm sorry," she said as she headed to the room's only exit. "I just... can't," she said softly before disappearing to the otherside, leaving the former Sith Lord alone in the room once more.

He covered his face with his hands, stifling the tears and emotions threatening to reveal itself.

Unknowingly, the pain he felt inside of him was his own heart breaking.

To be continued...