Synopsis: Anakin says goodbye to his family and Padme. The invasion commences. The Emperor duels with his old apprentice, and the fate of the galaxy is decided.
Despite his restless night of sleep, Anakin was determined, a fiery sense of duty burning just beneath his skin. That same sentiment hung heavily in the dawn air, one of resolution. Anakin kissed Padme's sleeping lips. I love you so much, he thought, but did not want to wake her. He did the same with the twins before preparing his armor for battle. Obi-Wan left to rally Anakin, but had already sensed that his apprentice was awake. Anakin met him at the door. The two men looked deeply into each other's eyes, a mix of pain and happiness in both of them.
"I'm honored to fight beside you as your master once again, Anakin," Obi-Wan murmured.
"I will not fail you this time."
"Whatever happens in this battle, whether we win or we lose, live or die, I want you to know that I am proud of you, and I love you."Obi-Wan hugged Anakin tightly. Suddenly a feminine voice interrupted them from behind.
"You can tell him when he comes back, Obi-Wan, because we're not going to lose this war today," Padme snapped fiercely behind the two of them.
"Padme, I thought you were sleeping," Anakin said in light surprise.
"I was. You didn't think to wake me? Come on, we need to get going. There's an Empire to defeat," she replied before storming determinedly past them both. Anakin tensed.
"We?"
"Yes, we. What?"
"You're not coming," Anakin replied firmly. Padme's brows furrowed, slightly hurt and angry.
"I've fought with you for hundreds of battles. I'm not missing this one," she replied haughtily, turning again to the ships. Anakin caught her arm tightly, and she lurched back in surprise to face him.
"I said you're not coming," Anakin growled firmly. Obi-Wan sensed the tension between the couple and bowed respectfully.
"I'll leave you two. Be ready by the ships in fifteen minutes," Obi-Wan murmured. Padme and Anakin's eyes never left one another, both firmly locked in a mutually defiant glare.
"You don't own me," she growled back at him.
"This battle isn't going to be like the others. Sidious knows you're alive and he's going to target you in any way he can to get to me. I refuse to let you come in any harm's way," he said firmly.
"What? You think I'm not capable of helping you fight Sidious?" she asked incredulously.
"Padme, in no way am I demeaning your abilities," he murmured, pulling her into a tight embrace. Padme fought petulantly against his touch, but Anakin crushed her into him anyways. He was trembling. "I just… thought you were dead, and now that you're alive, and the twins are alright, I will not lose you. I can't, I won't. I will protect you until my dying breath, and never let anyone or anything hurt you again," he vowed, his voice shaking.
"What if you need help? What if you don't come back? I can't…" Padme choked up. Anakin wrapped his arms tightly against her, wishing he could never let go. But he had to, and forced himself to.
"What if you come with and don't come back either? Who looks after Luke and Leia then? They need their mother, they never should have been away from you in the first place. You belong here. I have Obi-Wan, and Yoda, Ahsoka, Bail Organa, Saw, Rex, and the whole rebellion behind me. I promise I will return to you, Padme," he murmured. Anakin could tell Padme was distressed despite her reluctant nod. He bent his lips down and kissed her deeply, letting his lips linger on hers for as long as he could.
"I love you, Padme."
"I love you too," she whispered sadly..
"I must go now," Anakin murmured. Anakin kissed her briskly once more before heading off. Padme nodded, her sad eyes lingering on her husband as he trekked through the sands of his home planet he hated so much. She wondered if it would be the last time she'd see him, and savored every second of him until he disappeared over the dunes. Tears rolled down her face and wetted the sand below. The cry of a baby whimpered somewhere in the Lars hut. She turned and went back inside to wait for Anakin's return, if there was to be one.
xxx
"Five minutes until we're in the sentry's range," Anakin rasped over the intercom. He led hundreds of the motley crew of rebellion ships, Obi-Wan flying his Venator-class Star Destroyer beside him proudly displaying the Old Republic's sigil.
"Prepare for twenty TIE fighters as discussed," Obi-Wan ordered the generals.
"Bail Organa standing by."
"Ahsoka Tano standing by."
"Saw Guerrera standing by." The rest of the fleet jumped out of hyperspace, waiting for Obi-Wan's ship to lure the sentries out so they could be destroyed. Space was eerily peaceful, the calm before the storm of laser fire and death that awaited them. Obi-Wan turned his intercom to reach only Anakin, and even though the two were separated by several meters of empty space, the bond between them was strong.
"Just like old times," Obi-Wan murmured fondly. Anakin smiled in his mask. Almost, he thought to himself sadly, which surely he knew Obi-Wan picked up on.
"This is where I depart. I'll meet you in the throne room," Anakin called out to Obi-Wan. His ship veered off before intercepting the sentries, navigating himself on the opposite end of Mustafar to infiltrate Sidious's base. Meanwhile, a foreign message beeped on Obi-Wan's intercom.
"Imperial Base No. 001 is off limits. Please send in your clearance codes and identify yourself," it said. Obi-Wan eyed the numerous TIE's pouring out of the base.
"My code is as follows: today marks the end of your Empire which has oppressed millions of innocent lives. With the code of the Jedi Order I, General Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Republic have come here to dispose of your Emperor, Lord Sidious," he mocked into the intercom. It only made a short static sound in reply. A few seconds passed before the wolfish scream of several TIE's howled out to them, their small orb-like vessels deploying like twenty baby spiders hatching from an egg sack. So it begins, Obi-Wan thought. As the sentry fleet made its way to destroy Obi-Wan's lone ship, he called out to the rebel fleet.
"Now." Suddenly, hundreds of rebel ships poured out into the open space behind him. The space was green and red with the blasts of lasers, the TIE's futilely firing back until every single one was blasted into burning metal pieces floating endlessly through space. Cheers were heard over the intercoms before the fleet continued on to Mustafar's surface. Several more battalions of TIE fighters fluttered out to greet the rebel fleet, but not enough to stop most of the rebel ships from landing. Ahsoka and master Yoda burst from their cockpit, leading the charge. Storm troopers and droids met them in open combat, the familiar sounds of war echoing throughout the lava-filled canyons. Obi-Wan steered his ship away from the distraction, following the tracking device on Anakin's ship. Soon, he would come face to face with the Emperor- and hopefully defeat him. The fate of the galaxy rested on this moment.
xxx
"Sir, there's too many of them- Jedi as well! The army will fall, our men are not trained enough yet. I highly recommend you to evacuate," a stormtrooper captain called out to Sidious's hologram. Just after the Emperor opened his mouth to respond, a laser shot itself through the captain's helmet with a muffled yelp. The hologram turned off shortly after. Sidious's nails gripped the sides of his chair until his knuckles turned white with rage.
"Shit…" he breathed. Over his ragged breathing, soft footsteps echoed down the far reaches of Sidious's stone throne room. His ears piqued with interest, the sound becoming louder and more familiar. Raspy breathing followed. Vader, he thought tentatively. Soon, Darth Vader entered, kneeling before his master.
"My apprentice… I've been wondering about your whereabouts," Sidious seethed, trying to conceal his anger and distrust.
"Master… Forgive my absence, and lack of communication, but you will find it most pardonable."
"I do suppose it has nothing to do with the invasion of this base! The destruction of this seedling of an Empire? What of the handmaiden?" Sidious roared sarcastically at him. Vader's raspy chuckle reached the Emperor's ears, and lightning tickled the ends of his fingers.
"Returned to Naboo, my Lord- forgive my disobedience to your orders of her execution- yet there on Naboo I found all of the surviving Jedi. You will be pleased to know I have manipulated them into believing I've rejoined their wretched cause, and have led them here for you to destroy. The Jedi will no more be a nuisance to us and our cause," he murmured. Sidious looked at him questioningly. Another set of footsteps echoed off into the shadows of the throne room, one Sidious was displeased by in its familiarity.
Obi-Wan strode slowly towards the throne where Sidious was perched. His saber thrummed, and lightning surged at Sidious's fingertips. Darth Vader stood and turned to face his master.
"I must congratulate you, Sidious, on your succession to power- but must apologize it will end so soon, and all on the account of my apprentice," Obi-Wan mocked, his eyes burning into the angry yellow ones of the Sith Lord. Sidious's eyes pierced Darth Vader's, who drew his saber.
"You'd be a fool to try, my apprentice," Sidious growled, although his voice shook. He knew Anakin could very well kill him, especially with the help of Obi-Wan. He was outnumbered.
"Kill him, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. Blue streaks of lightning cast down on Darth Vader, who deflected it with some struggle. Only curiously, Darth Vader did not strike. Obi-Wan's smug smile fell to a crestfallen one.
"Anakin?" he asked softly in confusion.
"You were a fool to believe me, Obi-Wan," he rasped. Obi-Wan's shoulders slumped, his face turning to horror.
"No, no, you turned!"
"I merely wanted you to think I did. Anakin is dead, and my loyalty lies with the Empire. All your troops, all your Jedi, if there is anything left of them, will be personally destroyed by my hands when I am finished with you," Darth Vader rasped. A wicked smile cracked itself across Sidious's face, a throaty chuckle echoing throughout the stone walls.
"Oh, how rich. I hate to disturb your reunion, but it really is time for you to die," Sidious snarled at Obi-Wan. Lighting crackled through the air. Obi-Wan quickly lifted his saber to deflect it, but instead the blue sear of the lightning roped itself painfully up his arms and body. Obi-Wan let out a scream and dropped his weapon, writhing in agony on the ground. Darth Vader stood beside his master, his red saber still thrumming beside him. Sidious laughed maniacally as the lightning snaked around the Jedi, his eyes fixed intently on his opponent.
"Die! Die! Die- AHHH, no!" Sidious's laughing chant quickly turned into a scream of agony. Before he had realized what had happened, Anakin sliced through his arms in less than a second, the lightning stopping, his severed hands falling to the ground with a thud. He tried to run, but Anakin quickly slashed through his legs. The mutilated Sith Lord crumpled to the ground, rolling down the stairs like a dropped sack of potatoes.
"That was some good acting, Anakin. You were right though, that really does hurt," Obi-Wan panted, half-chuckling.
"Worth it for him to go out without a fight, no?" Anakin rasped.
"Easy for you to say, it's not like you volunteered for this part," Obi-Wan murmured humorously. Meanwhile Sidious's frightened eyes darted back and forth between Anakin and Obi-Wan, suddenly filling with rage at the realization he'd been duped.
"You… Ungrateful, lying, no good- ahhh," Sidious yelped as Anakin kicked a shoe into his severed leg.
"You manipulated me into trusting you. You put those images of Padme in my head. You knew she was alive. You tried to kill her and my children. You killed my friends, my family, the Jedi, the Republic; everything was because of you!" Anakin screamed at him. Obi-Wan watched curiously. Sidious smiled insidiously.
"Yes, yes, that's right my boy- and I enjoyed every step of it. Let the hate flow through you- deep down you know this was just as much because of your hand. You're no less wicked than me. Take your revenge. Kill me. Do it. Do it now," Sidious growled at him. Anakin's hands trembled, but not out of anger.
"I will kill you, but know this- I have let hate and anger into my heart, but I have just as much rejected it. I still have the Jedi, and Padme, and my twins- and the only reason I am going to kill you is to return the galaxy to the way it was, to restore the Republic and make it the best place for them to live. You've lost, Sidious," Anakin muttered. He raised his blade, and Sidious's eyes widened with horror.
"No, please, Anakin, my boy, let's talk, I-" his words cut off with the swift blow of Anakin's blade. His head rolled, and Anakin sighed deeply, like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Obi-Wan rested a hand on him.
"Come on, Anakin. You did well. I'm proud of you," he murmured. Anakin nodded, and threw his red saber to the ground beside Sidious. Together, they turned away from the throne room and walked outside where the battle was finishing. The last of the Imperial troops were being defeated. The eyes of the rebellion looked up at the two Jedi as they exited the base. Everyone stopped in their tracks, the raging battlefield suddenly growing silent. Anakin lifted off his helmet, his blue eyes gazing in awe at the rebellion before him: Ahsoka, master Yoda, Rex, and all of his men gazing back. He raised a fist into the air.
"Long live the Republic!" Anakin shouted over the masses. The army raised their fists into the air, the sound of cheers and laughs echoing through the magma canyons. The Empire was defeated. Balance was restored. Obi-Wan clapped Anakin on the back, and a smile formed across Anakin's face. The army cheered on, happiness and joy filling the air.
"Long live the Republic! Long live the Republic! Long live the Republic!"