Vader let out a strain sigh of relief as his body was dipped into the Kolto bath. While the bath was not as effective as a full tank submersion, it was a lot less claustrophobic while still allowing his lungs to breath on their own. On top of that, the chemicals within the bath caused Vader's necrotic flesh to slough off while allowing healthy flesh synth or otherwise to replace it. Still his master was impatient. He had no interest in having a husk as an apprentice and made it his top priority to find a more effective and instantaneous manner of healing. While Vader appreciated the determination, he was just as thankful to have any form of relief.

as he settled in, a holo-projector droid hovered in. "Lord Vader," the droid spoke in a deep almost gargled drone. "We have found intact high quality recordings of the duel on Mustafar between yourself and the Jedi known as Obi-Wan Kenobi. "We have been able to splice the recordings into a continuous chronologic timeline Do you still wish to observe it?"

"Proceed." Vader commanded. His voice came out in little more than a whisper.

The lights of the spa room began to dim as the droid's hologram projector began to activate. The quality of the holo was remarkably clear shot in such a way that one would be forgiven if they thought they were watching a holofilm. What shocked Vader more than the quality of the holo-recordings however, was the contents of it.

Vader had made it no secret to those closest to him that Mustafar had been a blur. Even the memories that were returning to him had about as much clarity to them as dreams. it wasn't until Obi-Wan entered the scene however, that Vader had felt his blood run cold.

"Liar!" Vader's holographic doppelganger shouted at his wife like some kind of drunkard abuser. "You're with him! you brought him here to kill me!"

"No!" Vader shouted at ironically the same time his wife did on the screen. As his cracked lips turned into a snarl, Vader found himself reaching out with the force almost as if some part of him thought he could stop the version of himself on the screen with a force choke of his own. Of course, nothing happened as it was in fact just a recording of things that had already happened. All he could do was watch helplessly as his wife gave a chocked out plea for her life. in an ironic twist of fate, Vader felt relief as Obi-Wan intervened.

"Let her go Anakin! Let her go!"

"You turned her against me!" the Holo-Vader screamed.

"No, you not bothering to explain the situation and making a monologue like a wannabe Dooku probably did that." Vader thought. it seemed as though Obi-Wan was in agreement.

"You will not take her from me!"

Now Vader was livid. "You're lucky your force crush didn't take her first. As it is she's going to miscarriage, because of you!" he then fell even more quiet"…because of me."

The holo-projector droid paused the disk, leaving Vader in silence for a brief moment.

"Are you alright Lord Vader? Shall I cease the recording?"

Vader shook his head. "No, You may continue."

Vader continued to watch the recording with increasingly more disbelief. The stuff he was hearing coming from his own mouth seemed alien. Even the tone in which the words were spoken seemed off, almost as if he was drunk, or some imposter like a droid was trying to imitate him. as the fight between himself and Obi-Wan began, Vader couldn't help but notice the way he had apparently fought. It was akin to his fighting style yes, but it was more erratic and berserk. it was as almost if a wild beast had taken over his mind .

Vader also couldn't help but find himself root for Obi-Wan during the fight, Probably on account that his opponent just strangled his wife, and found himself trying to backseat couch.

"Go for the legs…blast it Kenobi he's leaving a sloppy opening slash him across the back."

"I should have known the Jedi were trying to portray the Republic!"

"Anakin Chancellor Palpatine is evil!"

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

"Then you are Lost!"

Vader couldn't help but be amused by the conversation. this, along with the remark that only sith spoke in absolutes were good examples of Jedi hypocrisy, but he couldn't help but question Obi-Wan's sincerity in the remark. The tone of it spoke less of sincerity and more of fatigue hopelessness and desperation. Vader then watched as Obi-wan jumped to the hill above.

"it's over Anakin. I have the high ground."

"you underestimate my power."

"I wouldn't…." Vader thought.

"Don't try it."

"I didn't…."

Vader watched himself leap up into the air only to be unsurprisingly severed from the knees down by Kenobi.

"Clumsy and stupid." Vader cursed.

Vader listened to Obi-wan's speech when he heard himself shout "I hate you!" His jaw clenched a little bit in shame. Had he been in his right mind, he never would have said such a thing. True they had come to blows with each other on occasion, and yes they were on opposing sides of a conflicting, but even when raiding the temple, the one Jedi he hoped he would never have to fight was Obi-wan. He never hated him.

As the holovid cut off and the projector-droid flew away, Vader couldn't help but replay the whole scenario in his mind starting form when Padme first landed. Had he been in his right mind. How would he have handled it? For starters he would have explained why the chancellor ordered the attack on the temple. He would have shown her the recordings of the council members plotting to violently overthrown the chancellor if he refused to surrender his power, and then the later recordings of mace Windu and a squad of council members attempting to execute the chancellor.

Based on her earlier reactions, she would have likely been convinced. If at that point Obi-Wan had exited out of Padme's ship, then the three of them would go into the ship and have a philosophical discussion over a steak dinner and a cup of coffee. just as he would have done with Padme, he would have shown Obi-Wan the recordings and would tried to convince him to join the empire. If Obi-Wan refused, then he would plea with him to keep his nose clean, settle down somewhere, maybe even start a family. he would even offer to plea a case for amnesty so that he wouldn't have to fear being hunted. and based on what his master had already told him, it would have been granted.

If obi-wan still insisted on a fight, they would indeed fight. It wouldn't be the crazy berserker fight that he had just seen. No, this one would be slower and reserved. Each one would not want to kill the other. The fight would go on for a while, at some point Anakin would get the upper hand and pin Obi-Wan down. He'd slash off a piece of his robes and then tell him away to get off the planet. They would still part ways as enemies but with a more mutual respect.

Perhaps in the future they'd run into each other. While it was possible they'd still be on opposing sides, it'd most likely be a friendly rivalry. Like the stories his mother used to tell about the two bounty hunters. One dressed in red the other in blue.

He chuckled imagining it. "I've been waiting for you Obi-Wan we meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I was with you I was but the learner. Now I am the master."

But none of that mattered now. What was done was done. The only thing he could do now was accept things the way they were. If anything he should have been thankful. In spite of himself, thanks to Sidious's lifesaving intervention, he still had Padme.

Vader found himself looking over as the doors of the spa room opened with a loud hiss. Standing in front of them was Padme in the fanciest most beautiful dress he had ever seen. He couldn't help but let out a strained flirtatious whistle. Padme couldn't help but grin.

"Sidious said you couldn't join us for dinner. He said you'd be here. I wanted to check on you to make sure you were alright."

Vader would have lifted an eyebrow if he still had one. "Did you just call him Sidious?"

"That is his sith name." Padme affirmed.

"I mean I know. I'm just surprised you do."

Padme nodded. "He's told me everything, about the history of the sith and the conflict they had with the Jedi. He's even offered me to teach me some things. He said that while I'm not force sensitive, there are other paths to power, Magiks that existed long before the founding of the Jedi order or the Republic, powers that rival the force and the Jedi consider to be…unnatural."

Vader couldn't help but grin as she said the word unnatural, as it was with the exact same tone that Sidious gave when he told him the story of his own master, Darth Plagues the wise.

"So does this mean I will being referring to you as Darth someday."

Padme laughed. "I can never be a sith but…Grand Duchess Amidala Vader and Lady Vader both have nice rings to them."

Vader too smiled before looking downward slightly then looking back upward.

"Care to join me? Vader asked.

Padme gave her husband a flirtatious grin before promptly disrobing and jumping into the Kolto bath. The Kolto washed over her unclothed body like a warm blanket. the sensation of the kolto combined with the feeling of her overstuffed stomach gave her a feeling of ecstasy and bliss she had never experienced before, nor could she describe. Letting out an even deeper sigh, she waded over to her husband. her face was practically in a blissful trance.

"Are you alright?" Vader asked.

"I ate lot at dinner." Padme said giggling like a sorority girl at a prep school "Sidious was right." This is therapeutic. She then looked at Vader's chest and then to his eyes. "Does it hurt?"

Vader grinned. "For you, never. Just keep in mind I can't give you leverage. No legs."

Padme didn't care. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head down letting out another sigh.

"You know, we've been married three years, and we've only be intimate once. That was when I became pregnant.

Vader nods and gives his own sigh. "I know. Padme I'm sorry. On Mustafar I…"

Vader finds himself silenced as Padme puts a finger to his cracked lips.

"No more hiding." Padme whispered. "I want the whole galaxy to know that we are married. I want you to never have to leave my side again. Even if I never become pregnant again I want all those moments of intimacy that was robbed from us restored and multiplied ten thousand fold, I want whole galaxy to look at us with love and fear. I want us to be one flesh like a husband and wife are supposed to be. I want your body, your mind, your soul, every moment at my command, just as I want to give myself to you. "

Vader's eyes widen with both surprise and excitement. Everything she declared she wanted sexually physically and emotionally were his deepest fantasies that he wanted (but could not have ever since he had told her the words "I do." The fact that Padme wanted those same desires was something he found very amusing.

"I didn't realize you had such a appetite. " Vader said in a teasing manner. Padme however gave a look of deathly sincerity.

She then cast her face downward looking at her reflection in the kolto.

"Sidious told me how you were afraid I died on Mustafar. In a way I did die. But in that death I've been reborn. It feels as if I was blinded by a light brighter sun, and now when being shown my darkest desires, for the first time I can see. I see what I want to be. I want to be duchess whose insatiable appetite for food and pleasure, and luxury is only matched only by her capacity for charity, kindness, and fun. I want to be a ruler whose unbridled lust is unapologetically to her husband and no one else. I want to be a ruler whose tongue is a shield for the innocent and a sword for the wicked. I want to be a ruler whom the galaxy equally fears and loves. Those are my passions, and I want them to burn with an everlasting fire that is hot enough to consume the galaxy."

Vader let out a raspy laugh. "I didn't realize I married a female hutt trapped in a woman's body… and she actually cares about people."

Padme just gave Vader a stern look, unsure what he really meant by that. "What say you?"

Vader smiled and gave his wife a passionate kiss on the lips. "This ruler, this duchess you speak of, she sounds like she'd be way too much woman for Anakin Skywalker to handle…but she sounds like the perfect wife for Darth Vader. Just keep in mind it'll be a while before we can be intimate again for…obvious reasons."

Padme smiled and gave her husband a passionate kiss of her own." it'll be worth the wait."

For the first time in their life, the two of them felt like they had the galaxy in the palm of their hands. And this time there was nothing and no one would get in their way, and they would make the galaxy tremble in love and terror.

A/N:

1. this story isn't over not even close. with how many stories and ideas I have in my head, this may end up being less of a story and more like a timeline.

2. I try not to be too lewd, but I did mark this as M just in case. (Well that and dark themes.)

3. I'm taking the original EU approach to Magiks and sorcery and treating it as something separate from the force but equally as powerful. The way the Nightsisters and other orders use "force" magic just seems inconsistent with how the force works in all other representations both in the EU and TCW and it just makes more sense to me to separate the two. Plus I can totally buy that Palpatine would study mythical arts outside the force if it meant he could become more powerful."