No. 1—A Little Out of the Ordinary
Adverse Effects | Unconventional Restraints | "This wasn't supposed to happen."
A/N: I posted Whumptober 2022 in October on AO3, but I didn't have the mental energy to wrestle with 's formatting at the time. Now that my finals are over, though, I'm going to be flooding you with all my Whumptober fics. Get ready!
"No," Anakin said.
"No?" Palpatine raised one eyebrow. "No?"
"No. I'm not going to turn. And I'm not going to get the Council. And I'm not going to strike you down in anger," Anakin said, a sudden clarity of mind washing over him. "You're the one that tried to kill Padmé three years ago. You're the one that manipulated the entire war to get power. It's my duty to end you and bring balance to the Force."
"Well, this wasn't supposed to happen." A lightsaber snapped to Palpatine's hand. "So be it, then."
He flew at Anakin, faster than Anakin thought someone could move. It was all he could do to block the flashing red blade from his body.
Their blades locked. Palpatine pushed in on him, growling. Anakin's arms trembled. He hadn't eaten or slept in days, and it had been hours since his last drink of water. He should have taken care of himself more. Not let the visions get to him.
The visions. Padmé. Their baby. He had to live for their baby, to protect Padmé from the vision he hadn't told Palpatine about and yet somehow he knew.
Anakin pushed back, drawing inside from strength he didn't know was there. His lightsaber spun furiously. "Stay…away…from my…wife!"
Palpatine snaked out his other hand from his robes. Anakin braced for the appearance of a second lightsaber, but forked blue lightning shot at him.
He couldn't defend himself from both the lightsaber and the lightning. The crackling blue bolts overwhelmed him, shooting immense pains through his entire body. He fell to his knees, gritting his teeth against a scream. His muscles tensed from the awful pain and anger, fury curling in his stomach.
Anakin, hold on. Hold back. Don't lose yourself! Qui-Gon's voice warned.
Anakin wrestled the fury back through sheer determination. Even though he'd almost always lost this battle before, was about ready to give up fighting it altogether, he somehow sensed that if he gave in now, he'd die. He pushed past the seething emotions to the Force, opened himself up deeper than he'd ever been willing to go, because even in meditation, he felt, as he'd told Obi-Wan at twelve, "All blooey," not like a person and more cosmic, like he was the entire galaxy wheeling through space.
His lightsaber fell from his mechanical fingers. The blue lightning absorbed into his body. He shook. Green lightning shot out from his chest, stabbing into Palpatine. Some vague part of his mind recognized it as Electric Judgement, but the rest of his mind was already connecting to far away stars, planets teeming with life, the whirling and spinning of the galaxy and the present and the future, all the millions of futures stemming from one solid past.
Palpatine blasted back against his desk. With the drop in danger, Anakin collapsed on the floor, curling in on himself. Hot waves of pain wracked him, sending spasms through his muscles.
Palpatine climbed to his feet and stalked towards Anakin.
Anakin couldn't stand up, so he pulled his lightsaber to him and threw it.Force, guide my hand.
His lightsaber plunged into Palpatine's heart. The chancellor collapsed to the floor. A blast of the dark side washed over Anakin.
Anakin gasped for breath. That lightning had taken more out of him than it usually did. He fumbled for the comm on his belt and dialed automatically.
"Hello there," Obi-Wan said.
"Obi-Wan," Anakin gasped. Not the ideal person, since he wasn't on planet, but he would do. "I need help."
"Of course, whatever you need," Obi-Wan said. "What happened?"
"Palpatine's dead."
"Oh no, I'm so sorry," Obi-Wan said. "Did Sidious attack?"
"No. Obi-Wan, he was Sidious." Anakin panted hard. "I killed him. I think he wanted to kill Padmé."
"Anakin, I—"
"Obi-Wan, I need help," Anakin cut him off. "I don't feel very good." He let his arm fall to the floor. The strength drained out of him and his eyes slid closed.