"Apprentice, not a moment too late. I appreciate your punctuality." Sidious said, stretching his hand out towards Vader who knelt at the foot of his throne.
"What is it you require, my Master?" Vader asked in placid monotone, eyes flitting to the floor before he gazed up to the Dark One who reclined before him. Even in his lazed repose the man held an air of authority and commanded respect.
"Rise, Darth Vader. There is something we must discuss," the Dark Lord said as he seamlessly rose up from his place, languid in his movements though not at all decrepit in spite of his weathered appearance. "It is something that has gone long enough without being addressed."
"What is it, Master?" Vader asked, his pensive manner shaded by currents of worry and frustration, most of all his ever lacking patience getting the best of him. Though he wouldn't let such things take to the surface of his words and actions. Not towards his master, of all people. No, he would take out his aggression and pent up rage, every slight and irritation, on those subservients of his own.
If simply striking terror in a passing subordinate was not enough, he might casually murder a maid or butler, trooper or guard. Of course there was the matter of his house pet, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Though Vader very rarely took the time to visit him in person, he did task others with the man's torture. The feed from his cell in the dungeon of Vader's tower was linked directly to his communicator. Sometimes a brief glance at that was enough to soothe his need to hurt others. Sometimes it only made the need grow more.
"Walk with me." Sidious commanded as he took lead, crossing the short distance between the throne and the door that gave way to the Emperor's personal garden. Vader followed obediently only a step behind.
Once they had passed through, the door shut behind them leaving Master and apprentice alone away from prying eyes. For a little while Sidious meandered through the decadently arranged flora and greenery. Vader tolerated it as he was meant to please his Master. Though his near non-existent patience had begun to wear thin.
Sidious stopped before a glass encasement. Inside were beautiful white flowers, exotic and rare. "Do you know what these are?" He asked, turning to study Vader's face with interest and curiosity.
"No, Master," Vader answered curtly, stifling the urge to cross his arms in annoyance. Were he still a Jedi he would have absolutely expressed his displeasure. Obi-Wan had been no stranger to the fact that patience had been no virtue of his, it never had been. Though his newly taken Master would not have such things. He had made it known early in their relationship that he was to be obeyed and respected at all times, especially at times where he felt tested in such a way. It wasn't that the relationship between the two of them had been strained. It was only that in their new arrangement there was no room for the notes of kindness and friendship that he had once been privy to in his former life.
Sometimes in his weaker moments he missed it, the life he once lived as Anakin Skywalker. There were many things that the Jedi had, that the Sith Lord did not. But he had become so much more powerful now with the Dark Side as his ally. So much more than he could ever have dreamed of as a Jedi. It was a sacrifice, one among many he had been willing to take. After he had made the ultimate sacrifice already, such things were scant in comparison.
"Ilum Zinnia. They haven't been able to grow on the surface of Ilum for several thousand years. They date back to when the planet had been lush and green, before the death of its primary sun. The only place these can exist is in carefully crafted environments, such as this one. They require a specific mixture of nitrogen and helium to survive." Sidious explained, placing one gnarled hand to the glass of the terrarium.
"If it can't survive on its own it shouldn't be allowed to live," Vader declared, subconsciously balling his hands up into fists at his sides. Had his Master taken him here simply to teach such an elementary lesson in the ways of the Sith? If so, Vader's tolerance for being treated in such a way dissolved even more. His master turned to him, a look of amusement on his face.
"Ah, yes. That has been a long held view of the Sith for many hundreds of years. And perhaps, from a certain point of view it could be correct. Though sometimes, even weak things serve a purpose. They can serve us better while kept alive, rather than dead. And Sith serve themselves above all else, do they not?" Sidious chuckled before continuing.
"The Ilum Zinnia for example, produces a rare antitoxin that cures the C5H4 virus. The only known cure in the entire galaxy." He said in a semblance of awe as he studied the ornate structure of the delicate white flowers that hung in tufts of lattice woven petals from their spiraling vine like stems.
"What is this about, Master? Surely you didn't bring me here to lecture me on ancient exotic flora." Vader said as calmly as possible, though with tangible undertones of frustration.
Sidious chuckled again, turning to face Vader. "Indeed I did not, my young apprentice. I have a task for you." He said, turning more serious.
"Say it and it will be done, my Master," Vader said, feeling what might have been a wave of relief over his senses at the thought of being sent out to do something.
He hated being idle, he needed to be in action. Even at home in his tower on Coruscant there was no peace. Not because of the countless souls on the city-sprawl planet, not because of the senate or the endless politics. It was because within the silence of inaction, all he could hear was his own self hatred, his own damning thoughts. The voice of Anakin Skywalker crying and screaming, the man he once was horrified by who he had become. Anything was better than being idle, left alone with himself.
"You will go to Mustafar alone, meditate at the temple there. In the meantime you will send your first legion to me, I have a special task for them. I will call for you once their mission is complete. Then, I have someone for you to meet." Sidious explained rather methodically. It was clear he understood what vexation this caused his apprentice, as his words were careful and measured. Though being told to meditate was the least of what irked him.
"What's with all the secrecy? Just cut to it, Master. Tell me what this is all about." Vader nearly growled. "You test my patience too much, Master."
Sidious chucked again, darkly this time. "You test the bounds of my lenience too much, apprentice."
Vader sighed under his breath casting his eyes low in routine apology. "Forgive me, Master. It wasn't my place."
"Of course, of course," Sidious chided. "Perhaps now would be the best time to speak of this, anyhow."
Vader answered with measured silence as his vacant expression looked on at his Master, waiting. Sidious smiled, entertained by such thin restraint.
"At the start of our great Empire, we began a DNA archive of all humans from core to outer rim worlds. You remember?"
"Yes, I remember. It was one of the first edicts you enacted into law as Emperor." Vader answered back, confused by the direction of conversation.
"The purpose of the project had many, many applications. We are still processing data as we speak. It has been a very illuminating project. Very profitable by means of biological weaponry and medical advancements already."
"I would expect nothing less, Master."
"There has been one hidden purpose. Something I have kept from you, until now."
"Well, what is it then?" Vader spoke, no longer veiling his frustration.
Sidious paused, looking straight on into Vader's tainted yellow eyes with purpose before continuing. "Before every great ruler stands before them, their legacy. What they leave behind. As Sith, we strive to live as long as we can. Forever, if possible. Some have achieved such immortality through means other than flesh. But still, power from beyond this form… has its limits."
"I don't think I understand your meaning, Master," Vader said low, inclining his head.
"Oh, but you do. I know you do, apprentice. You must create your own legacy. The power of your bloodline is too valuable to go to waste. Just think of the power we will have, an immortal Empire kept alive by our own blood even as we pass on into our immortal forms." Sidious spoke, eyes looking far past Vader into his visions of greatness, things that awaited them beyond the physical realm.
"What do you mean our blood?" Vader asked incredulously.
"The DNA archives have selected two prime genetically compatible mates. I must carry on my line as well. It's our duty, to the Empire. We must protect everything we have worked so hard to build from the corruption that threatens to decay it from within." Sidious said emphatically, his gaze searing into Vader's with meaning.
"So let's get it over with, then. Surely there's a doctor you've selected to handle the harvesting process. With all the technology available-"
"There will be no harvesting. The technology exists, yes. However it has proven unreliable. Besides, we wish to foster the midi-chlorian counts as best we can. Numbers seem to plummet in humans grown in test tubes," Sidious said with distaste, clearly disliking of the notion on more than just a practical level.
"Then we have the subjects artificially inseminated, put them on a quiet planet some place where they can be left in peace during their pregnancy. I don't see why this has to be such an ordeal." Vader insisted.
"Perhaps. Though, artificial insemination can also weaken the product, which is hardly acceptable when we are talking about the future of our Empire. Our own children," Sidious countered, eyeing Vader skeptically. "I knew you would be resistant to this, which is why i've waited so long to tell you of it. But surely you must see the necessity of it."
"The subject deemed a suitable genetic match to you is in need of retrieval at the moment, missing as it would seem. This is the task to be assigned to your first legion." Sidious added in Vader's silence.
"...No. I won't do it. You can't be serious. How, how can you even ask me to do such a thing?" Vader said, regarding his master with disgust as his palms began to sweat. Just the thought of it made his stomach churn, touching too closely to traumas that had still yet to heal. Things that had always been complicated, things he didn't like to think about.
"Padme's been dead for four years now, Vader," Sidious ground out in a harsh voice. "It's time to put this aside. Just because Sith don't share the same Jedi mandate on attachments, doesn't mean they can't still be dangerous. Don't be foolish. You must remember our primary objective. The Empire always comes first. Especially when at our own detriment." Sidious said seriously, displeased by Vader's unchanging expression.
Vader snarled, reflexively resting his hand on his saber. "I won't do it. You can't make me."
"What do you think you're going to do, kill me?" Sidious laughed heartily for a moment before sending a lethal jolt of lightning crashing through Vader's body, sending the Dark Lord to his knees as he cried out in pain. "You will do as I command unless you wish to die a slow and painful death. There are still so many ways I could make you suffer, things that not even you could imagine."
Sidious ceased his assault on his apprentice who had now fallen to his hands and knees before his Master. Sidious spoke with what sounded like genuine concern laced with friendly encouragement. Although the meaning of his words were laden with menace and warning.
"I want nothing more than for the two of us to succeed, Darth Vader. You and I, as Master and apprentice. But you must set this foolishness aside. It would not please me to have to train up another in your place."
"Yes, Master," Vader gasped out, still on his hands and knees as his lungs only just began to work properly again. The echo of terrible pain still thrumming through his body.
"Good, good." Sidious said, seeming to be satisfied with Vader's change of heart. "I recognize this is difficult for you, so I appreciate your compliance. Now go, make your preparations. You will leave for Mustafar in the morning. Send Commander Appo to me so I may brief him on the mission at hand."
Vader craned his neck up against the muscles that still complained, not wanting to function properly, until he made eye contact with the Sith Lord who stood over him. "It will be done, Master."
….
The hour was late when Obi-Wan was awoken by the familiar sound of the stone wall of his cell sliding away to reveal the rayshield beyond it. Then the anticipated electric static crash sounded out as the shield was deactivated, the soft padding of footsteps moving closer against the duracrete floor.
He tried to act like he was still asleep but his body betrayed him, tensing every muscle in wait of something terrible. It had become commonplace anymore, being used by the soldiers that would stand guard. Though this night, it was not one of the same-faced clones that came to him. It was however, a familiar face.
Vader had tripped over his feet as he tiptoed into the cell, landing haphazardly on his knees and elbows before he tumbled. Obi-Wan could smell the pungent odor of liquor and spice on him from several feet away. Clearly, the Dark Lord had partaken more than his share for the evening.
Obi-Wan's heart sank as he thought of the reason his captor might have come down to visit him at this hour, in such a state no less. He tried to keep it out of mind, willed himself to act as if he were still sleeping. He had learned long ago that it was fruitless to try and defend himself. It only made everything so much worse. Without the force to defend himself, he was just a sad, sorry weakling. It was better just not to try.
"Obi-Wan," Vader groaned in his intoxicated state, fumbling his way back to his feet before crashing back down again only inches away from him.
Vader's voice sounded desperate, imploring. Obi-Wan's heart broke, thinking of the man who used to live inside the shell that was now Darth Vader. So he did the only think he knew how to do anymore, and ignored it, pushed everything away.
He was asleep. Yes, that's right. Asleep, where nothing bad had to exist, only the pure bliss of nothing. Unconsciousness. Very much what he had yearned for during the last few years. Especially now.
Only he wasn't asleep, and he could feel Vader's hand on his shoulder. His touch was gentle, somehow even worse than the clones that would handle him so roughly. Obi-Wan's body tensed even more, jerking away from the contact.
"Obi-Wan, wake up, please," Vader begged, pulling himself to sit up against the wall beside his former Master.
Part of Kenobi began to feel intrigued, but inside himself there were too many emotions to think clearly. Vader was down here, sitting beside him in the filth of his cell. It was cruel. Obi-Wan didn't trust it, didn't trust him. Surely there would be some ulterior motive, some kind of punishment lurking on the horizon.
Obi-Wan slowly pulled himself up as well, moving to rest against the wall a few feet away from Vader. He swallowed, composing himself. No matter what state he was really in, he never liked giving Vader the satisfaction of seeing him at his lowest point. He would be his usual quippish self. It was all he knew how to do.
But now it was all just emulation of the Jedi master he had once been, none of it real anymore. He was just an outcast of a dead order, a lone apostle with nothing to preach, no brothers or sisters of faith to share with. He tried not to dwell on it too much as he studied Vader's silhouette against the dim light of the hall behind him.
"Darth Vader," Obi-Wan announced. "What brings you to my humble abode this time?"
Over the last several years, Vader had only ever visited on the anniversary of Padme's death. Though he felt it too soon for that to be passing already. No, this felt different. Besides, it was unusual for the Dark Lord to be given to use substances. Even in his past life he detested the thought of using such things.
"No… Don't, don't call me that," Vader insisted groggily, slurring his words slightly.
"What might you prefer? Lord Vader, instead?" Obi-Wan shot back, holding every bit of raw and terrible emotion behind his breaking dam of self restraint and composure.
"No," the Dark One whined, "My name, say my name," Vader begged, completely devoid of any poise or self respect he might have carried while sober. The Sith crawled closer, leaning forward to lay his head on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "I haven't heard my own name… in years…" he mumbled sadly as Obi-wan took to quickly retreating back again, repulsed by any physical contact.
Obi-Wan felt a knife twist in his heart at the Dark One's entreaty as his soul ripped in half. That cursed name falling off of his tortured lips. "Anakin," Obi-Wan whispered, aghast, nearly unable to hear his own voice over the sound of his heart pounding loudly in his ears.
"Master," Anakin started, voice cracking and breaking as he wiped the tears that began to fall from his eyes.
His eyes.
They no longer held the molten glow of the Dark Side. Only the jewel blue eyes of Anakin Skywalker stared back at him. "I'm so lost, I don't know what to do. I'm scared," Anakin cried freely, completely breaking free of all social restraints that might have held him back.
"Don't call me Master," Obi-Wan said under his breath though loud enough for the Dark Lord to hear. Obi-Wan cursed the sob that clenched around his throat, tainting his words as he fought in futility against it.
Hearing such an accusation, Vader calling him his Master, made Obi-Wan's skin crawl. He knew the truth, and this was the most dangerous thing of all. Anakin didn't exist any more. Only Vader remained. No matter what tricks Obi-Wan's heart might try to play on him, it didn't change the facts. Anakin was long gone.
"Obi-Wan, I need your help, please," Vader cried out, reaching another hand out to touch his shoulder. Obi-Wan retreated yet again.
"Don't touch me," Kenobi said, cursing himself for how weak and pathetic the words sounded. How easily scared he was. And it was true, he was absolutely terrified. Not only for what Vader might do to him now, but for the consequences of witnessing Vader's drunken state. Surely for every bit of Anakin he let out, Vader would make him suffer ten times over when he sobered up.
"Come away with me, Obi-Wan. Let's leave now, tonight," Vader begged on his hands and knees.
Obi-Wan's stomach wrenched and heaved. "You can't be serious."
"I am. I can't take this any more. Being someone i'm not. I can't do it. I can't be Darth Vader any more. I hate myself. It's the only way I survive, the only thing that keeps me going. But I can't live like this, all the hate, the suffering. Please Obi-Wan," Vader gasped out between sobbs, head buried between his shoulders, forehead pressed to the dirty floor of the cell.
"I am. I can't take this any more, being someone i'm not. I can't do it. I can't be Darth Vader any more. I hate myself. It's the only way I survive, the only thing that's kept me going. I can't live like this any more, please Obi-Wan," Vader said between sobbs, head buried between his shoulders, pressed against the dirty floor of the cell.
"You're just drunk, you don't know what you're saying," Obi-Wan said, trying as best he could to rationalize the situation, to tell himself that it was all pointless. There was no hope for either of them. Their fates had been sealed long ago. Obi-Wan wouldn't be able to live believing Anakin was still there, waiting to be rescued from the clutches of Darth Vader.
"No, please Obi-Wan, listen to me. I'm begging you. I love you," Vader confessed open endedly as Obi-Wan's heart filled with acid, eating his chest from the inside out.
"No, don't you dare say that," Obi-Wan growled, feeling breathless. "You don't get to say that! Not after everything you've put me through!" He yelled down at Vader who still knelt before him oddly submissive.
Vader tilted his head up at him, eyes full of pain from his wounded soul that had become trodden by Darkness. "I'm sorry, you're right. Please forgive me…" Vader plead. Obi-Wan had no words to answer with. He couldn't even acknowledge what he had just said, it was outrageous. Forgiveness? For a so-called Jedi it shouldn't have been such a difficult thing, but he found it next to impossible.
Obi-Wan began to tremble as his gut wrenched, mouth hanging agape in his conflict. Vader retracted his gaze back down to the soiled floor on which he bowed. "No, I don't deserve your forgiveness. I'm a monster. I've done terrible things, unforgivable things," Vader said, turning sheet white.
In a slow shaky motion, Vader pulled his saber from his belt and presented it to his former Master. "Take it." Vader said in a plea. "Use it, kill me. You should be the one to do it."
Obi-Wan looked down in disbelief at the saber, the one that was being offered to him by the hands of a Sith Lord. For a moment, he thought of it. He should do it, kill the one who had killed so many, who would only kill countless others if allowed to live.
"No… I-I can't," Obi-wan said to his own surprise. Even after all the pain, everything that had been done to him, the murder of the entire Jedi order, so many other innocents, he might not be able to forgive him, but he couldn't raise a hand to hurt him, either. He might have justified the reaction as part of the Jedi code that had been hardwired into him, but he knew better. This was the residue of attachment, the love he had once had for his former Padawan. Even after all this time, after all the atrocities and horrors. The seed of his love remained, a curse on his tortured heart.
"Please," Vader begged again, this time handing the saber over to him.
"No, stop asking, I won't do it." Obi-Wan said firmly with finality as his mind and heart began to feel numb from the overload of emotional stress that was flooding his senses.
Besides, killing Vader wouldn't end the hell that he had been cast into. It wouldn't bring the light back to the galaxy. It wouldn't bring the dead back to life. All in all, it would be a fruitless action.
Vader clumsily holstered his saber and lurched forwards towards Obi-Wan who retreated only as far as he could before he was cornered. His skin crawled with disgust, hating the feeling of hands on him as Vader pressed on, leaning in close yet again. It made his stomach churn with nausea.
"I told you not to touch me," Obi-Wan said again, this time trying to bolster his voice with more firmness and aggression for all the good it did him.
"I love you, Master," Vader said warmly, slurring his words still as he rested his head on Obi-Wan's shoulder, brushing his lips against his neck.
Obi-Wan shuddered, trying to quell the desperate panic that tried to take him over. "Stop it," Obi-Wan shouted, pushing up against Vader as hard as he could to no avail. He had grown weak in captivity, especially since his force powers had so diminished.
"I"m sorry, please just hold me, please," Vader whined, throwing his hands around Obi-Wan's torso.
"No, get off me," Obi-Wan said, trying to wriggle his way out from under Vader's bodyweight.
"Please," Vader said again, trapping him in even more, his still-blue eyes gazing down into Obi-wan's terrified stare.
Freeing his hand from the unwanted embrace, Obi-Wan pulled his hand back and slapped Vader across the face as hard as he could. It wasn't much, but it was more than enough to sting. In an instant, Vader's hand was coiled around his throat as he pinned his once called Master up against the wall.
Obi-Wan smiled grimly against the sobb that tried to break out, tears blurring his vision. "See? There it is. I knew Vader was in there, just waiting to come out."
Vader stared him down threateningly, eyes dimly lit with gold tones at the inner edge. "Now you can take what you came here for," Obi-wan said, his voice breaking by a sob that tore from his throat. "Just take what you want like everyone else does."
Vader's face turned a few shades remorseful, though the yellow in his eyes didn't fade even as they glossed over. "Do you think there was ever a time where we might have been happy together?" He asked, loosening the grip he had on Obi-Wan's throat, now simply resting his hand above his collar bone.
Obi-Wan couldn't answer with anything other than a string of tears that fell down the sides of his face.
"If you would have accepted me when I told you how I felt, we could have been happy. We would have been, right?" Vader asked again, in desperate want of an answer.
"I don't… I don't know," Obi-Wan replied, heart heavy with regret.
"I loved you. I loved you so much, when you rejected me you broke my heart," Anakin said, blinking away the tears that welled in his eyes. "I was so lonely, so was Padme, so we fell in love. But I never stopped loving you, even when she was pregnant…" he said, face contorting with self disgust as tears continued to fall in steady streams.
"When you confessed to me on the way back form Zygerria, that was the only time I was ever unfaithful to her," Anakin said, brows furrowed with regret. "She deserved more than that, someone who wasn't torn in half over someone else."
Anakin took a pause, visibly pained as he forced himself to continue. "After that, I couldn't live with myself. With what we did… It wasn't the same… Even when I was with her, when I closed my eyes… I thought of you," he cried out, his blackened heart tearing in half over old regrets.
Obi-Wan's mind was reeling, his body trembling. "Why are you telling me this?" Obi-Wan asked in a terrified whisper. He couldn't trust him. Everything he was hearing, he would pay for it all in one way or another. Vader would demand it.
"I-I don't know," Vader answered, still visibly inebriated. "I miss you," he said, leaning in close again, his tainted breath still wreaking of the too many drinks he had ingested.
Obi-Wan stared him down as best he could in his fear. "You've locked me in a cell for the past, who knows how many years to be tortured, and raped," he said, struggling to find each word as it all seemed to make his personal hell that much more horrible.
"I beg for death every day, because it's the only place where there won't be any more pain," Obi-Wan said as his voice broke, failing him as rogue tears escaped his eyes. He was exposing a sliver of his soul to the Dark Lord, already more than he was comfortable with. "But you tell me that you love me? That you miss me?"
Obi-Wan took a breath, steadying himself and calling on every last bit of resolve as he pooled up enough courage within himself to say what had gone too long unsaid.
"You say I was the one who killed Padme, but we both know the truth. You killed her and you blame me, but deep down you blame yourself. You take it out on me so that someone else will feel your pain. Because I see you for what you really are. That's why you keep me locked away down here, a toy for your guards, a test subject for all your new torture devices. All because I know who you are."
Worst of all, the only one to blame for your darkness is myself.
"Maybe it's true," Vader said emptily, raw pain filling his now fully yellow eyes. Any trace of Anakin that had lingered was all gone now, just as Obi-Wan had expected. He had never really been there at all. Vader had consumed all of him, a long time ago. A bit of drink and spice wasn't going to change that. "You do know who I am," Vader spoke a shade darker, pushing a sense of terror and fear onto Obi-Wan's senses.
With it came pictures of younglings being slain by Vader's hand, causing Obi-Wan to gasp and shiver. The memory of it made him physically ill whenever he wasn't strong enough to keep it out of mind. It had been something he actively avoided ever since he first laid eyes on that wretched recording.
The sight of young lives being taken, dying so violently. By the hand of the man he once had loved. He didn't want to imagine the horrible things Vader must have done since then. It was enough that Obi-Wan could feel death all across the galaxy, like so many knife wounds to the heart of the light, making it dwindle and cry out. He didn't want to know anything more.
"You're repulsed by me," Vader said, a dark sounding satisfaction taking hold in his voice as his gold eyes shone with darkness. "You should be. You're right to fear me."
"I"m not afraid of you," Obi-Wan spat back hastily, as harshly as he could muster. If only it had been true. He wished it were so.
"You are." Vader spoke softly, leaning in close, his lips grazing the edge of Obi-Wan's ear. His wicked words played on every bit of the man he couldn't touch, hurting him in ways that only he was capable of. Because only the words of the one who used to be Anakin Skywalker could cut so deeply. "You're afraid of everything. You're broken, Obi-Wan."
It hurt because Obi-Wan knew it was the truth. He was indeed broken, he had been for some time. Maybe even before all of this, there must have been some fatal flaw. Something that had led to all the pain and suffering that had ensued. But if there had ever been a question before, now he was certain.
He was nothing, just a shattered thing of a man who had once been so sure of himself, so strong and brave. Now? He was afraid. Every hour of his existence he cowered, fearful and waiting for what next horrid thing he would be made to suffer through.
"Just like you, Anakin was weak. I've become better. My Master was right, too long i've let myself be tainted by a jedi's sentimentality," Vader muttered at himself, rising up from the ground still a tad unsteady as Obi-Wan cowered.
"I won't let it hold me back any longer. I'm going to build an eternal Empire, nothing will stop me, certainly not the ghost of Anakin Skywalker."