Chapter 46
"Vader! Open up, we need to talk to you."
"Go away, Qui-Gon!"
The last week had been a failure in finding Anakin suffice to say, and it's doing damage to Vader's mental status. It turns out that Vader cared about Anakin more than he likes to admit, for he is beginning to close himself away. They have never seen Vader so vulnerable.
Obi-Wan watches Qui-Gon look slightly irritated but he speaks with as much boldness as he possibly could. "Vader, open up or I'm going to force this door open."
"Go ahead! You can try!"
Qui-Gon sighs exasperatedly as he rolls his eyes. "Any ideas?"
"You're not actually going to break the door down?" Obi-Wan asks, barely masking his own exasperation.
"Break it down? Obi-Wan, don't be ridiculous," Qui-Gon chides. "These doors are solid mahogany! They're way too precious to break down. That was an empty threat, straight and simple." He pauses and shakes his head in a self-deprecating motion. "Vader always had a knack to tell when someone is lying."
Obi-Wan snorts in agreement. "So, what now?" he asks. "Just wait until he comes out?"
"No," Qui-Gon responds, his face flashing as if he has suddenly gotten the best idea in the galaxy. "We just need a higher authority."
"A higher authority?" Obi-Wan repeats, perplexed.
Qui-Gon smirks mischievously. Obi-Wan is familiar with that smirk. It is that smirk when his old Master always got an idea that nearly got both of them killed on numerous occasions. It is that smirk Obi-Wan had witnessed back throughout his teenager years. It is that smirk that always made Obi-Wan have a headache.
"I'll be right back."
Obi-Wan blinks in confusion as he watches his former Master walk away and out of sight. Turning back toward the door to Vader's room, Obi-Wan instantly feels a flicker of agony pass through his whole body. Stunned more so than hurt, Obi-Wan gasps as he presses his hand against the wall to sustain himself.
What had that been? It's like he felt Anakin for a brief moment through their bond.
Or perhaps it is him accustomed to his robotic lungs? He is well aware that things within his body have changed, but Obi-Wan doesn't regret it.
Obi-Wan didn't have any more time to wonder about this strange sensation as his Master returns. Holding onto his arm is Shmi Skywalker, an all-too-familiar steely element evident in her eyes. Stepping aside, Obi-Wan watches as the mother of Anakin Skywalker pounds on Vader's door.
Obi-Wan would not ever satisfy the idea of being on the receiving end of Shmi Skywalker's anger. She is the only person in the galaxy Anakin or Vader would never question, something that once confused Obi-Wan, but now that amuses the man to no end. Vader might be extremely powerful but he won't ever refuse his mother's commands. He guesses old habits die hard.
"Vader Anakin Skywalker!" she shouts tersely. "Open this door now, or else."
Obi-Wan shares a stare with Qui-Gon when they hear no response. Surely Vader wouldn't be bold enough to defy his mother from another timeline. As far as Obi-Wan knows, Anakin never defined his mother and surely the older version of him would do so. Of all the people in the galaxy, Shmi is the only person whom Anakin Skywalker obeyed unequivocally, no matter which version of him.
After nearly a full minute, the door finally slid open to reveal the disheveled form of Vader. His eyes are puffy and red and his cheeks glisten from recently shed tears. Hunched forward slightly, he wraps his arms around his torso as he stares up at the three of them.
"Go away," he says hoarsely, grounding his teeth together. "I don't want to talk about it."
Shmi Skywalker frowns at the other man who had once been her son in a different timeline, her sharp hues glaring seemingly into his very soul. While some in her position may believe that he is crazy, she can tell the similarities between Vader and Anakin a mile away.
Perhaps it could be due to her pregnancy, but Shmi feels nausea in her chest. She misses Anakin. She knows he didn't take the news of being someone who committed as many deeds as Vader did well, but the woman cannot find it within herself to be angry with the other version of her son. That might be because he was her son in a past timeline and still is in a way, but it's more than that.
She wants Anakin - both of them - to have a big involvement with this child's life. She would reconnect both Anakin and Vader together, for he is still like his father in this timeline. Vader is still an older version of Anakin and has been passing off guidance to him for years. Surely there is something there.
"Well, that's too bad," Shmi replies unkindly as she pushes past her son from another timeline into the bedroom. Vader turns and watches as she passes, resignation overexerting his indignation at this rude entry. Sighing heavily, he rubs his eyes with the back of his hand before following Shmi back into his bedroom.
Following him, Obi-Wan turns on the light with a wave of his hand over the sensor. Blinking a few times as he adjusts to the bright fluorescent light, he sees Vader's bed in a state of dismay. Pillows are discarded on the floor and the sheets are tousled and askew. He didn't consider Vader to be that much of a messy individual. It did make him almost chuckle that someone who claims to be so wise and knowledgeable doesn't know how to keep a properly clean room.
Putting aside those amused thoughts, Obi-Wan watches from the corner of the room as he sits down next to Vader at the foot of his bed. Closing the door behind him, Qui-Gon walks forward and begins speaking.
"You have to find him, Vader," he says to him. "You need to bring him home."
Vader shakes his head, tears still going down his eyes. He has always been so strong that Qui-Gon can never believe such a man that he would cry. "I failed him," he says morosely. "I failed everyone."
"Not yet you haven't," Qui-Gon replies fiercely for both of them. "Anakin's still out there, and there is a chance to do something right. You can still save him and the galaxy."
"How can I do that, Qui-Gon?" Vader inquires, his weary eyes staring up at him for the first time.
"You both are Skywalkers. You are strong." Qui-Gon replies.
Vader bows his head and purses his lips. "This is different," he replies. "I'm responsible. None of you were."
"You're not responsible, Vader," Shmi interjects.
"Aren't I?" Vader asks. "I allowed him to slip away. I allowed him to repeat my fate."
"You did," Qui-Gon agrees. "But there's still time to rectify that. You found redemption. Anakin can too."
"There's no fixing someone I can't find, Obi-Wan," Vader nearly snaps. "He hates me. He has every reason to hate me. I lied to him and committed an unforgivable act that might as well strained our relationship."
"That's not true."
The three of them look up at him, the shock obvious on their faces that he would benefit from the conversation.
"What do you mean, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asks.
Bristling only slightly, Obi-Wan decides to not back down. He would be the most confident voice here if someone else would not. They are a crew and have become like a family. They cannot bare to allow everything that they are working on to burn to flames.
"Anakin doesn't hate you, Vader," Obi-Wan tells him. "He adores you. He views you as his idol."
"He told you that?" Shmi asks expectedly.
"He did," Obi-Wan affirms. "And you know what else I know?" Vader didn't say anything, waiting for him to speak, something that surprises him. "You have a responsibility to find him."
Vader didn't say anything for a second, obviously taken aback by his uncharacteristic audacity. "Is that so?" He finally manages to speak in a small voice.
"Anakin views you as someone who would never give up," Obi-Wan replies, undeterred by Vader's withering glare. "He still interprets you as his father. That is something that Anakin would always believe because he loves and is attached. It is in his nature, and we all know it."
Vader swallows hard as he looks away from his father in another timeline, his chin starting to tremble once more. "I… I can't," he stammers for a response. "H-he gave me some purpose."
"He may have but you were always strong," Shmi persists, placing a hand on her son's knee.
"I am not!" He persists. "I attempted to help everyone but I failed all. I'm not a savior, I'm a destroyer."
Vexed by his perpetual intransigence, Obi-Wan snarls angrily and flails his hands in irritation. "What does that matter?" he asks loudly. "That's the past! Anakin needs you right now! Why can't you understand that? Keep trying. Stop with always feeling overwhelmed and feeling bad for yourself."
"You don't understand anything, Obi-Wan! At least not this version of you don't! I miss my father! I miss the Obi-Wan who was able to give me some advice instead of wearing his face and lacking the experience he has!" Vader replies angrily as he leaps up off the bed and points a finger at him. No matter, Obi-Wan can tell he would never hurt him. "You don't know what I've been through! How I've suffered!"
"Vader, calm down," Qui-Gon says as he quickly steps in between them.
"You can't tell me what I have to do, Qui-Gon," Vader replies, his vehemence enervating as he stares away. "Nobody… and I mean absolutely nobody tells me what to do," he growls weakly. "I'm not a slave."
"You're not a slave," Shmi agrees as she wraps her arms around her despondent son from another time. "Not anymore."
Bewildered by this development, Obi-Wan merely watches as Vader dissolves into tears while Shmi rocks him gently in her arms. Still seated on the bed, she stares up at them with a doleful expression. Anakin has always had occasional breakdowns throughout the years, but they never thought Vader would have.
"I'm not a slave," Vader continues to whimper, his voice muted as he looks down. "I'm not, I'm not, I'm not."
Never before had Obi-Wan noticed how broken Vader truly was until now. He was a dead man walking – utterly and completely incapacitated by the demons of his traumatic past.
And Obi-Wan felt so, so sorry for him.
He felt worse when he realized another version of himself gave up on him.
He won't on either of them...
Anakin Skywalker jolts awake at the sound of a pain filled scream of loss ripping through his mind, a nightmarish haze plaguing him. He blinks his eyes a few times, finding himself in utter darkness. He rises to a sitting position, reaching up to massage one of his wounds that has been left without treatment when his movement is halted.
The rattling of chains.
He shakes away his tiredness and feels along his wrists, gritting his teeth as he tries to do anything, but he is helpless. The wound is shooting down his torso, and he grits his teeth as he tries to do something to the wound, his tears going down his eyes. It's not that the wound itself hurt, but the Sith Lord obviously intends to break him.
He is a prisoner.
And his skin feels paler than usual. He's not certain whether he would rather be a prisoner to the Jedi or the Sith right now, but this sure as hell is not accompanying.
Frustration and anger rip through him. What the kriff was going on? Everything is hazy. He can barely register what happened. He remembers fighting Vader, leaving behind his family...
A choked sob escapes his lips. He remembers his mother. Afterward, the fight against that murdering beast is a red haze in his memories. His eyebrows furrow in concentration.
He remembers... a crippled Sith Lord in all black and gray, sinister sickly black eyes... and that lightning. His body is likely to never heal from these wounds without proper treatment soon enough...
He snarls and yanks on the chains with exasperation. He had been a prisoner before as a slave, but this... this is different. As a slave, there was some freedom, but now he has been left in this cell for who knows how long. Left him angry and unsettled. Force, he feels... feel so angry. Something... something feels off, but he couldn't place what it was. Something feels different inside of him...
He is going to go crazy as those painful memories return. Anakin feels the pain of his wounds making him cry out once more but to be left unattended.
A strangled gasp escapes his lips as he feels his head starting to click, a sudden snap as if he has just snapped a bone. He tries to resist, fighting back against the invading darkness, not willing to allow anyone to gain control of him. He owes the dark side, not the other way around.
It is only then his hand moves without his consent. Anakin feels the first face coming to him, his lightsaber coming to life, the ever purple blade appearing familiar as he runs his blade through his mother's cheat, two beings dying at that moment. And then he walks around and chokes Qui-Gon's windpipe, snapping the man's throat. Obi-Wan is crying to him, having lost his other arm, when Anakin walks up and cut off Obi-Wan's head.
The fragment continues over and over again. For a moment, he is in darkness again, then, it begins up again. Only this time, it is somehow viler. It is growing crazier and crazier every time, vibrating in his head as he continues to see what must be a false memory every time, a whimper escaping his lips.
When it finishes, it restarts again. Anakin curls up tighter and places his hands over his eyes, trying to stop seeing what he knows he cannot. "Stop..."
It didn't stop, he suffers through it again, and not even covering his ears or eyes could shield him from the sound of those screams, from being forced to relive that memory. It continues on repeating, only the volume continues increasing.
"I said to stop it!" Anakin sobs.
It didn't. It got even worse. The fragment begins to show sightings of his children. Cutting down people without end as if he is a killing machine, cutting down his loved ones, people who he cares about.
Anakin sobs and shivers uncontrollably, "Stop it, stop it, stop it!"
"Only you can make it stop," come a cold voice from seeming his subconsciousness.
Anakin pulls upright and stares around terrifyingly, attempting, but failing, to stare at the voice that sounds far too close for comfort.
"Look at yourself," the voice murmurs, as the fragment begins to show him again running his blade through his mother's cheat painfully slow, "you are unworthy to everyone around you. Time for you to become my vessel in the common galaxy, to do my every bidding."
Anakin takes in a breath and stares away, new tears rapidly falling down his cheeks.
"You don't refuse it," the voice mocks.
Anakin feels like there is a toxin in his mouth. "No... I don't."
He flinches as Obi-Wan's grunting makes itself known as he severs every single limb in his body, more violent than the first.
"Now look," the voice whispers hungrily, "And watch, see the power that you wielded once you shatter your chains. You would serve no Jedi nor Sith but me. You would serve my ambitions."
Anakin didn't look, receiving a 'tsk' from the individual.
"Just make it end," Anakin couldn't help but plead, "Please."
"Please?" the voice taunts, "From what I've learned of you, browsing what I have watched you for decades, what is told about you in the galaxy, I would have thought begging beneath you. Where is your pride? Where is your headstrong and confident attitude young one?"
Anakin tries to bring up his barriers. "I would do something. Anything. Just make it all stop."
"Your weakness is unfortunate for you," the voice snaps, "I don't believe in mercy."
He whimpers uneasily at the poison he spit out that last word with.
"If you want it to stop, break your chains and make it stop," the voice hisses.
For a moment, his agony gives away to anger and annoyance, no longer wanting to take these words. "I'm done with you and your trickery! You would get out of my head!"
"If you don't wish to be chained, then liberate yourself," the voice demands, as if it is the simplest thing in the galaxy.
Anakin sucks in a breath, trying to find solace that he feels power returning to him slowly but surely as the chains begin to feel looser. These chains may have been Force Hindering, but nothing can stop the true power of the Chosen One. Absolutely nothing.
"You would die when I break free. I would kill you, even if it is the last thing I ever do." Anakin snaps, knowing that the words sound colder than they should but he doesn't care as of now.
That cause an amused chuckle. "You are welcomed to."
Anakin did his best to beat down the horrific sadness and pain he feels crawling up again at his mind slowly breaking, summoning up his courage. "You won't be able to keep me here forever. Vader would find me."
There is yet another amused barking laughter. "Vader has been lying to you for so long. Do you honestly think he would want you back, knowing that he is losing control over you, apprentice?"
Anakin freeze for a moment, whispering, "Control?"
His rage spikes, the chains binding him rattling as the Force swirled around him. "Excuse me?! I am not fallen! I'm not dark!"
Anakin grasps the back of his head as his mind feels like it is going through a ton of explosions at that proclamation.
He didn't have a chance to begin to struggle or scream at whoever is toying with his body as if it is a toy. Because he sees it. When it comes to an end, he sees him fighting Vader, but this time he is knocking his mentor figure - the other version of himself back - fighting with no reservation. He only wants to kill.
Oh, Force...
He...
He chops off his robotic arm before extending a hand and sending a correct to him, his very screams of pain sending a chill down Anakin Skywalker's spine. How could he do that to his father figure? Let alone, another version of himself? He still cares about him.
"I... No what have I done...," He murmurs in terror.
A whisper, spoken from lips that hovers inches from his very ears, send tremors down his spine, "You did what had to be done, and it was excellent."
Anakin tries again to stop watching, tries to stare away, but his head is hold without any sort of control. "You managed to wipe out the Jedi Order in another lifetime. You are an amazing specimen, a tool that was wasted, but that would not happen with me. You have a natural call for the darkness, your powers would have been wasted as a Jedi. Vader is still a Jedi by the core, and that is why that man needs to die, and I would see it brought. Better yet, you would be the one who commit the deed."
"Never!" Anakin's face pales, noticing how simply he murdered the Jedi, fear shooting down his spine. "I. I must have been desperate if I ever became like you. That Skywalker was weak. He failed."
"Indeed. His limbs were chopped off by his former Master." The insidious voice taunts.
"Damn Darth Sidious," Anakin hisses furiously, "Damn that beast. It stole my Master... it stole my future..."
"Good," the voice murmurs, "allow your anger to swell."
Before he can respond, he flinches as it begins to replay itself in his thoughts. "Gah! Make it stop!"
"I told you, only your power can make it stop, Apprentice," the voice says mockingly.
He faintly hears the click of a button, and the memory begins shrinking in time again, taunting and painfully slow every single time. His anger intensifies with every passing moment. He is going to make him pay!
Shout
He needs...
Shout
It would stop...
Shout
Why is he doing this to him?
Shout
The Force boils, his tears coming down his eyes. "You would stop it..."
Shout
"I command you to stop!" Anakin shouts.
"Only you can make it stop," the voice repeats once more.
Shout
"THAT'S IT!" Anakin throws a chained hand toward the Sith Lord.
The Sith Lord is raised into the air, reaching for his throat, his eyes going wide with satisfaction. At last, he is breaking Anakin Skywalker to the dark side. The hours of endless torture and the strain that has been placed on his heart of not seeing those who he cares about is at last cracking within his hands. He learned emotional control from Vader a long time ago, but now the frantic emotions are churning up too much for him to deny.
All of his dreams and accomplishments are crashing down around him as actuality truly set in. Everyone has been using him because of his weakness, he had then disgraced everyone who he cares about and the entire Jedi Order in that timeline and used the dark side to kill, had... had fallen..., everyone within the Order of his former life is dead, and perhaps that's why Vader kept it hidden from his mind. His fragile mind isn't ready for such torture.
He couldn't help it; he cries deeply and bitterly.
The voice speaks with a false genuineness even though it is nothing but a farce, "Ah, my lost little student. Why is it that you cry?"
"I've lost everything," he murmurs.
"Have you?" the voice asks, "From my point of view, you've lost nothing. The dark side can help you get everything you could ever possibly want. Give into it completely, and you would get everything satisfied."
"The dark side has already granted me everything I ever wanted," he spits out.
"Doesn't it?" The voice says as his strand of hair is pushed backward by a false sense of comfort.
Anakin allows a small gasp as waves of pleasure spiral down his gut at the touch. He trembles and groans as his senses are overwhelmed, as a dark, addictive voice murmurs into his mind sweet nothings. Power fuels through him, images of Padmé, the woman of his dreams flooding through his mind.
At that moment, something changes, as a hand reaches out to his cheek, touching him with a false sense of care. Anakin is shocked to see the ever-familiar form of the Sith Lord who had ruined his life, clouded in a black robe, standing there as if he has been watching him the whole time.
"Good, good," the voice whispers, a chuckle escaping it, "all you have to do is bow before me, and I would show you the power of the darkness yet again. You kneeled before me before, and you could do it now."
"You are supposed to be dead," Anakin hisses, his voice coming out as venom. "You were killed by your Master in this timeline, not the other way around."
"You are correct, but the dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities, some considered to be unnatural. My true Master tied my essence back to him, and in turn, I have begun serving him to the point where I can eventually return to my full potential. Serve as your quiet enforcer and provoke you in making the correct decisions in events. Don't continue to be Vader's slave. All you have to do is kneel at my feet, pledge yourself to me, and call me...," says the voice as it draws closer to his ear, sounding slick and cold, "Master."
A flash rips through his mind, of his mother with him, wrapping her arms around him, whispering words of comfort to him. "N... no..."
"You wanted to appease your family," the voice continues, attempting a different approach, "only through me can you achieve a power even greater than any Jedi, Anakin. Not even death can prevent me from preaching you, my boy."
"I don't... want to be... like you," he manages to spit out, that memory of himself addictive with power coming back.
A crackling laugh fills the air, and the temperature starts to plummet as a dark chill consumes the air. "Oh, you foolish little boy, you are only denying the inevitable at not allowing yourself to see the dark side as a whole."
He grimaces as a hand toughly seizes his head and yanks him up, and the voice whispers into his ear, "you are already prepared to be a Sith."
Surprise hit him, killing off the lingering sensation's the touch had left on him, and then unbridled fear rips through him. "I would never be a Sith! I'm not a creature of darkness!"
The chill in the room thickens and starts to seep into his skin, his bones, and his very heart. "You have passions! Come on! Stop denying the truth! Start seeing the power of the dark side and only then you can finish what you started!"
"You would not break me!" he yells.
The creature from darkness seizes him fully up and turns him around, in the dark, he can see deep malevolent burning golden eyes, all-consuming, glaring into his eyes, into his soul. "You would crack. You are gonna break under the power of the darkness. It is not your choice."
He attempts to deny the awful truth he could feel in the Force, the ROAR of the dark side ringing through the Force around them. But HE couldn't, those sickly yellow eyes, that cackling laughter, that presence so dark and so foul...
He is in the imprisonment of pure evil itself.
And it craves to have him in its control.
It knows he is snapping. Anakin can tell that being in a cell that limits his power would cause anyone to snap. He is going to lose control if something doesn't change soon.
"I... I will never fall to the dark side!" He attempts to speak as bravely as possible but only manages to squeak out, growing more and more fearful by the second. Force it is so cold...
He is without the proper guardian like Vader or his mother to keep him in check. His bond with them has been muffled, and he cannot feel them, even now. He is unsure if he's gonna ever see them again, let alone be able to meet his sibling. That angers him more than ever.
"You forget, you already have," the Sith mocks, "As the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order preach, 'once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny'. The darkness awaits you, and you would forever linger with the scars. Submit now. Don't force me to make you."
"I... won't become a Sith...," he says, clenching his jaw and trying to keep himself under control.
"It is inevitable," the Sith says, sending another flash of electricity towards him, causing him to collapse onto the ground, "It is your destiny."
He attempts to refuse it, but nothing comes out of her mouth.
"Now, will you pledge?" The Sith questions. "Will you pledge yourself to me and my teachings?"
He shakes without any control as darkness starts to overwhelm every sense he has. The blackness of the unlit room turns into an even darker void, corrupting everything as it snakes it way to him. It latches onto his body, his mind, and his soul, and begins to invade...
And then, in the back of his mind, flashes a light. It is one of those bitter moments where Vader confessed that he cared about him. Perhaps it was a lie. "You were like my father. I would do anything for you, even after you lied to me."
Anakin sucks in a breath, latches onto that light, draws all of the strength he could from it and his inner will, and beat back the darkness. "I would never join you!"
There is silence for a moment, before an indifferent, "pathetic," sound out, "I suppose we'll have to this differently, Master."
That same voice from earlier chuckles. "Now, now, Sidious, I managed to pull you from the land of the death. Come now, Skywalker would fall, and be our very essence. We need not worry about him not falling. Give him more time."
Anakin is pulled roughly upwards, and then is slammed face first into the hard floor, breaking his nose and emanating blood out of it, before his jaw. He shrieks in pain and then starts yelling as the room lit up with blue electricity and crazy laughter. Just before he could pass out to the pain, it comes to a stop. He is left there gasping in agony for a second. He shouts out when a boot buries itself into his stomach, kicking him backward and breaking something.
"I suppose I'll give you time to think on it," the Sith says, his voice coming out smooth, "Resist as long as you are capable, but in the end, for all your struggles, you will become mine."
With that, the Sith leaves, the slamming of a door echoing through the room.
Anakin needs to reach Vader, Obi-Wan, or Qui-Gon. Reaching one of them would lead them to him. He should have used that moment to touch the Force. Although the name of the planet he is on escapes him aside from the crowding darkness, Anakin would have to find a way to reach them, so they could come here by their senses.
He begins fighting, feeling an immediate fire burning up in his arm, and causing him to groan. Escape, for now, is not allowed. He would have to find a way to reach his allies. There has to be. Why did he react as he did? Vader is the man who raised him in this timeline - his father - and he just left him as if he didn't mean anything to him. He should have talked it out with him.
Upon recognizing that he could not escape, Anakin lies there, alone, in complete seclusion. There is no source of survival, no one to help him.
"Please, Vader, help me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
But in that cell, there is no response.
"There are bunch of innocent slaves down there."
The figure regards the woman in question wearing her helmet.
"Trade Federation?" The figure asks, the voice clearly a woman.
The woman in turn clicks on her helmet before replying.
"Yep, but unfortunately no sign of Gunray, Padmé."
Padmé clenches her jaw behind her helmet. Damn it. Another lost hunt.
"Very well."
"Padmé, those slaves down there are innocent," Sabé replies, her hands shifting to her blaster. "We have to save them."
Padmé is not blinded to mortality. No matter whatever happened to her, no matter how her innocence was shattered nearly a decade ago, she would never abandon slaves to her calling.
After all, Anakin Skywalker was a slave, and something within her would always have a soft spot for that little boy back on Tatooine, the one who referred to her as an angel. Padmé is almost weak at the memory of that innocent girl, the one who had big brown eyes, and believed that the good guys could always triumph over evil.
She once believed those fanciful tales that fate could cause good to win.
"Surviving is winning, everything else is bullshit. Fairy tales spun by people too afraid to look life in the eye."Padmé says in her mind, responding to her conflicting mind as emotions of old come up once more.
"Come on, we have those innocents to save. Yané, Saché, go down there and lead the slaves out. The rest of us would handle the Droids." Padmé responds coldly.
"We would need a distraction," Yané replies.
"They aren't our business if you ask me," Dané shoots back coldly, her eyes glistening with rage. "We should be going after Gunray. Wasting our time with low lives who may get themselves capture would solve none of our problems."
"I decide what we do here, and I demand that we free those slaves," Padmé snaps back sharply, remembering that boy and his mother, the one who has been failed by the Republic yet so willing to help.
"How long would it take you to free those slaves?" Padmé asks gruffly.
"About two minutes. We have to rally them up and ensure the casualties are short." Yané responds.
Padmé aims her sniper at one of the Droid Guards and fires, the bullet tearing against its head. The rest open fire, making short work of the Guards, and surrounding the captured prisoners. Her soldiers are taking care of the Droids before they know what hit them.
"Padmé, we have a problem; reinforcements are arriving," Moteé says.
"Can you all get rid of all of them in ninety seconds?" Typho adds, coming to his own calculations.
"I only need sixty," Padmé responds, activating a shield around her.
The Droids unleashes a barrage of blaster bolts toward Padmé. She dodges, sprinting toward the wall, leaping into the air, her boots magnetizing, shooting the rifle all the while mowing down her enemies.
Continuing her momentum, Padmé jumps off of the wall, overhead of the Droids. They fire at her into the air, and she activates a spinning disk of red energy out of an emitter of her right arm; a light shield.
Deflecting the blast midair with her light shield, Padmé lands, pausing only for a second, before rushing to the crowd of Droids. Now at close range, their weapons are much less effective. She mows them down with ease, slicing with abandon and deflecting the bolts back to whoever fires them. She is receiving assistance from her fellows every so often, but they don't fire a lot out of the risk of hitting her.
Once the last Droid falls onto the ground, Padmé scoffs. "Droid scum."
"That was incredible, sir," one of the youngest men says, probably 18 at most.
"It almost was. Took me 66 seconds." Padmé responds curtly.
"You are probably the best fighter in the galaxy," the youthful man continues in awe, only to be touched on the shoulder by Typho.
"We'll see about that soon enough. How many slaves were collected?" Padmé inquires, knowing that they wouldn't fail her.
"There are a lot of prisoner slaves in a cell. We have failed to break them out. Maybe you can." Sabé responds, almost expectedly.
Padmé walks up to the door, before igniting her light shield and cutting the bars down, allowing the slaves to rally up together and come out. There are many males, females, and children, and Padmé could not believe that such innocent people could suffer like this. How many innocents had to deal with this in the Outer Rim?
All of the slaves would need assistance from the others. Yané and Saché are monitoring them, their hands tending to their wounds.
Padmé commands. "Rabé, give me that asshole. I would deal with him myself."
Rabé goes in and comes out in mere seconds, the respective individual in tow. The Neimoidian is extremely overweight, most likely due to the consequences of eating a lot. She shakes off the moment of humor. All these Neimoidians are the same, no matter their genders, appearances, or whatever else.
Yes, it is racism probably, but she doesn't care.
"What is your name?" Padmé asks, glaring at the Neimoidian instead of just killing him off of the bat. She best figures out what he knows before deciding what she would do with him.
No response causes Rabé to kick him onto the ground.
"Your name, or you would die," Padmé snarls.
"Lok Durd," the Neimoidian says, his hands going to his stomach at being kicked to the ground so roughly, and the twinge of fear in his tone is so pleasurable for something dark pouring inside of Padmé.
"And why were you collecting slaves?" Padmé asks, her voice getting darker. This one would have probably been living in grace on her planet, along with the rest of those Neimoidian scum, if they had won in the Trade Federation battle.
"I was given commands by San Hill," Durd responds pathetically.
Padmé feels her entire body going stiff. San Hill? Isn't he in charge of the Intergalactic Banking Clan? At least, he was, before Hego Damask had taken over.
"Where is Gunray?" Padmé presses, hoping for some information on the one Neimoidian that she had wanted to break more than any other. "We know that he has something to do with this, and now you would give me all you know about him."
"Gunray's location escapes me. He never meets with me in person." Durd replies.
Padmé scowls. Any chance of finding that slime is indeed cold, and so Padmé would have to live yet another day knowing that her revenge has not yet been amused.
"Good, you have served your usage."
'Now, kill him.' There it is That darkness that had been burned that day, the traumatized part of herself who never wants to be hurt again. 'If this slime escape, he would do the same as Gunray did."
"Yes, there are all alike," Padmé replies to the voice in her head.
'You could save the entire galaxy. You don't have to worry about the complications that come with dealing with the Trade Federation. No need to worry that there would be consequences when you could paint this as him giving you no choice."
Padmé walks up to the Neimoidian, ignites her light shield, swings it down, and chops his head clear off. The sound as well as the sight sends a swirl down Padmé's spine.
"Padmé!" Sabé shouts, her horror obvious.
"It has to be done," Padmé responds calmly, deactivating her light shield. "If he escaped, he would have caused unfathomable damage to the galaxy and probably our homeworld. I don't know about you, Sabé, but I don't want to have to bury any more of my people."
"But you can't kill people just because you damn well feel like it! He could have been brought to one of our prisons! Maybe we could have had the slaves speak to the Republic and inform them of his crimes! I'm afraid of who is in there sometimes, Padmé!" Sabé growls.
"What do you mean?!" Padmé demands, flipping around to her.
"I tolerated your means for so long, but then you do this. Every time I think you are getting better; you slip back into the manners of violence. You are becoming the very thing that makes you hate Gunray." Sabé responds. She didn't mean for that last part to come out but she finds herself caring.
Padmé storms forward and stands face to face with her. Despite how taller she is to her friend, she couldn't help but feel afraid.
Sabé has never in her life been intimidated by Padmé. Sure, they argued before and had disagreements, but they were always like siblings who bicker with one another. Their relationship is closer to even Padmé's relationship with Sola, and the thought that something like this could break their relationship is something that sickens Sabé.
While she had to suffer Padmé's glare many times before, this is different. Her face is completely blank, her eyes with no small amount of contempt. Now, as she stands in front of her, glaring at her, she feels a pit growing in her stomach, not that she would ever admit it.
Rabé and Eirtaé insert themselves in the middle of what can be a very bad confrontation, their own forms breaking the tension.
"Let's save the arguments for later. We have bigger problems right now. There appears to be some Droids still stationed around, and we have to get these people off safely." Rabé declares.
Padmé gives her one final glare before taking off, all of the rage at that moment seems to evaporate.
Something has changed. Something has shattered.
There is a strain on their relationship, something that Sabé never thought would happen in any outcome.
"Hey, you okay, kid?" Typho asks, his hand falling onto her shoulder.
"Padmé. She needs help. I need to find a way to help her because she is driving herself to destruction. She continues to say that she found acceptance in what happened, but I think she's only saying that as an excuse." Sabé responds.
"I think you are too paranoid, Sabé, once we get our revenge on Gunray, everything would be fine." Dané replies.
"I think your influence is rubbing off of her," Sabé replies tightly. "You were one of the first who loved Padmé's transformation, and you embraced it."
"The Padmé you know is dead. She died because she was weak and it caused our planet to be doomed. This Padmé is the new one and quite frankly I love this one who takes action instead of allowing for us to be destroyed. You would have to accept it."
Sabé feels aghast at not finding any sort of a response to that comment. She should naturally punch her in the face, but the statement she just said left her speechless. It is more than anything a blaster wound has ever done to her or being a fake Queen facing what could be certain life or death. Padmé and Sabé's relationship is being torn apart.
Yet, something about Dané's words rings true. The Padmé she loved is now replaced by someone who wants revenge. This obsession is not healthy, because all Padmé would be set is being focused on getting revenge on Gunray. She should have dragged her off to therapy once the changes became evident.
It was a slow agonizing thing. It was unexpected that such a girl would have ever become an impassive monster. They were... they were like soulmates. Not romantically of course but platonically.
Sabé closes her eyes and feels...
Padmé is sitting, her blurry eyes barely focused on the work. She has been feeling less like following politics and more into learning how to shoot a blaster or give into aggressive negotiations. She failed everyone. She failed people who were like her family. She hoped there was something she could have done.
Hoped that Panaka would have at least survived, along with some guards.
But it was no use. All who survived were her handmaidens. Not for the first time, Padmé is unknowingly debating to end it all, but sh-she couldn't. She couldn't let Sabé suffer like that, and it would only prove that she's more of a coward than she already is.
'Oh Sabé,' Padmé says, still wiping at her tears. 'It should have been me. I failed to save my friends - I failed Naboo.'
'No, Padmé, you didn't,' Sabé replies, wrapping her arms around her best friend. 'You were helpless, and you shouldn't blame yourself. No one blames you for what happened.'
'That's the point. They should. I am scared, Sabé. What if Sola's next? My parents? Or Rabé, Eirtaé, Yané, or Saché?' Padmé chokes on something, a slight gulp making itself known. 'Or you? I-I can't fail you. I can't.'
'You never failed anyone, Padmé,' Sabé replies, walking up to her and rubbing her hands through her hair.
Both girls are aware that they are falling onto the ground, and that this is definitely not something the handmaiden and queen should do, but this is not Queen Amidala and the Queen's Shadow. This is Padmé and Sabé. Best friends. Sisters. Where one goes, the other follows. There is a bond between them, one which always shall lead the other, and even death itself could not part them.
'I-I did. A true Queen would have saved everyone, but knowing the coward I am, I probably would have signed that blasted treaty if I was captured.' Padmé says, her tears going down Sabé's chest. 'I won't fail everyone again. I would be the true leader you all need from me.'
'You never did fail anyone. Things like this are uncontrollable, Padmé.'
Padmé wraps her arms around her in return.
'Just hold me, sis.'
The unfortunate face she comes back to is Dané, her cold eyes still glaring. Sabé stares down, unable to not take staring into that bitch's eyes without snapping. What is going to happen now?
Dané appears satisfied at Sabé's lack of response.
Sabé turns her stare on all the ladies, namely Rabé. She is good at spying.
"Keep an eye on that one. I don't like her influence on Padmé."
"Right," Rabé agrees, obviously sharing her distaste. "I have no idea how she had become a handmaiden. She's always been like that. Rash, and I can tell that she would probably sacrifice lives for Naboo."
Rabé is absolutely right, and so Sabé would have to find a way to get Padmé some kriffing help. Maybe speaking to Padmé's family could work.
Sabé would bring her sister back.
Even if she is never the same again, Sabé would find some way to help her.
That moral Padmé would come back.
And that's all that matters.
So, with determination and conviction, Sabé says, inspiring hope within all that present, including herself.
"The Padmé we all love and care about isn't dead. She's just misguided and buried, but we could bring her back. It is possible. I don't care what I have to do. I would save her. Padmé - the once Queen - would come back."
And Sabé means it, even if it is the last thing she ever does.
Arthur's note: I hate torturing Anakin; I want to show that Anakin is far from a Mary Sue despite being Vader's protege. Vader would find him eventually, but would he be able to arrive in time, or would it be too late?
The light shield? That is a concept in the expanded Universe but it was never explored properly. To be short, it is basically Captain America shield, but instead of it disabling things or knocking them out, it is to be able to eviscerate threats. I decided to add it to make Padmé more of a badass and actually give her an arc in this story.
Sabé's beginning to doubt Padmé is something that I have had planned. The truth is Padmé is beginning to go too far, and she's straining the relationships with all of the other people she cares about. Padmé is a victim but she's also a sign of someone who went into war too early and has developed PTSD from that. Sabé isn't as worse as Padmé because she was able to accept what happened, unlike Padmé who is paranoid about failing people. Eventually, Sabé's gonna snap, but is it going to help Padmé or hurt her remains to be seen?
May the Force be with you all always.