(4-25-16: Jeez, I hate the High School Senior Year craziness. I finally-finally-got enough down time to finish editing this chapter. You're welcome. hopefully I can finish editing this chapter, and then I might have found a beta reader who will be going back through these chapters and doing the editing for me. I hope. Anyway, fixed...a lot. Changed Luke's and Anakin's exchange a bit, changed events and descriptions some, basic grammar, you get the idea.)
The only thing I have to say about this chapter is prepare the tissues for all of you that are emotional...even those of you who aren't. Just saying. Writing this made me tear. Anyway...thank you for the reviews...please don't forget to review this chapter...and normally I would say enjoy, but this is a very sad chapter.
Luke struggled to register what had happened in the past few seconds. His father had been thrown back into the wall, and Luke had cried out for him. However, Sidious had seized him in a powerful Force Grip, strangling Luke to silence him. Then he'd been pulled forward...
Luke stared into Sidious' sickly yellow eyes, hardly registering his father's agonized cry as he fell unmoving to the floor.
Anakin gave a scream of fury and torment as he turned to see Luke held suspended in the air in a Force Grip while Sidious simultaneously strangled him. As he watched—before he could react—Anakin's worst nightmare unfolded.
In what seemed like slow motion, Anakin saw Sidious raise his glowing blood red blade, yank Luke forward, and impale his son. Luke's eyes were wide with shock as he stared at Sidious, apparently not registering the lightsaber that was shoved upwards through his chest. Sidious shoved the lightsaber in deeper and Luke made a strange noise, gaze never wavering. Then, Sidious pulled out the lightsaber, and Luke gave a small gasp for air before Sidious let him fall motionless to the floor.
Anakin lunged at Sidious in a blind rage, hardly realizing that Sidious had blocked his violent advance as he pushed forward with blow after blow, mercilessly attacking the Sith. Sidious merely cackled at Anakin's advances.
"Good, Anakin, Good! Use your aggressive feelings!"
Anakin glared at Sidious. "You are going to pay for that, Sidious," Anakin snarled in his furious tone, his voice trembling from how much rage he was in.
"If only you could see, Anakin: You will only be able to defeat me through your hate, and your anger. I can feel them in you now...but you are still not strong enough to defeat me. Only after you embrace the dark side will you be close to stopping me."
Sidious' voice was smooth—oily. Anakin's glare intensified as he simply growled at Sidious in reply.
Sidious cackled. "It seems you are almost there. Release your anger, Anakin! Use the dark side! It is your destiny to join with it, Anakin. You know it's true."
"I will never join you," Anakin spat.
Sidious cackled again. "It seems you've already embraced your dark side, Anakin. Surely you realize your son will not make it. Perhaps if you join me, I'll use my powers to save him," Sidious tempted.
Anakin felt his resolve waver at the offer, but quickly steeled himself once more. "I don't want your help! You wouldn't help anyway! You would let him die!"
"I grow tired of this, Anakin," Sidious sneered, pushing Anakin back with a Force Blast. Instead of stopping, though, Sidious kept the blast going, and Anakin was stuck pinned to the wall. Anakin groaned as Sidious came closer, and once Sidious was in range he dropped Anakin, holding his lightsaber at the Jedi's neck. "You're already kneeling; now pledge!"
Anakin panted, then took a risk and attempted to swipe Sidious' feet out from under him. The Sith jumped, and Anakin rolled onto his back, bringing up his lightsaber to stop Sidious' blade from cutting him in half. Slowly, with the blades locked, Anakin rose to his feet, his gaze hardened on Sidious as he steadily pushed the Sith back. His arm screamed at him to stop, but Anakin was too pent up on rage and adrenaline to truly register the pain. Immersing himself in the Force, Anakin shoved Sidious forward, sending the Sith flying. Sidious regained his balance on the window ledge, cackling like a mad man.
"You're going to have to try much harder than that to kill me, Anak—"
Sidious' words were cut off as he turned to face Anakin, shock filling his eyes. Anakin remained indifferent to the expression as Sidious slowly looked down at the lightsaber Anakin had pushed through his gut.
Anakin had tears streaming down his cheeks as Sidious' gaze returned to Anakin. "That...is for Luke."
Sidious' face started to twist into one of rage, and Anakin pulled his lightsaber out of his midriff, pushing Sidious out of the window with a simple Force Push. Stepping on the edge, Anakin watched him fall until he saw a blue flash of dark Force Energy being released as Sidious died. Anakin could feel the massive shift in the Force as Sidious' dark presence evaporated.
Anakin took a few deep breaths, gaining control of himself as he stepped away from the window, exhaustion and pain washing over him now that the adrenaline was passed and his fury had dissipated. His head and his shoulder screamed in pain, but all of that was still in the back of Anakin's mind.
His lightsaber clattered to the floor and he ran over to where Luke still lay, kneeling down and rolling his son over as he pulling Luke into his lap. "Luke, Luke, talk to me Luke—please!"
Luke moaned, grimacing as he moved weakly—he was still alive. "Father..."
Anakin saw Luke trying to raise his hand to reach out to him, and he grabbed on to that hand tightly, holding it close to his chest. "I'm here Luke; just stay with me, all right? You're going to...going to be fine. You're going to make it..."
Luke smiled feebly, eyes still closed. "You're...going to be fine."
Anakin pulled him closer, the tears still falling freely down his cheeks. "No Luke, we're both going to be fine, okay? You have to live, you have to. You said it yourself, you're needed back home, your friends need you, your sister needs you..."
"Father, please...I'm not...going to live through t-this. Let's—let's be realistic."
Anakin's heart throbbed as he looked down at Luke. "Luke...I can't lose you, not like this."
"Anakin. You're not going to lose me...Padmé's pregnant, remember? I'm n-not from this time. I don't...don't belong."
Anakin gave a sour laugh. "How can you say everything's going to be all right...you're dying Luke."
"Yes, I-I am...but now...the past, it's different now. You...didn't turn. Anakin—Father—you have a chance. It...i-its w...worth it."
It was getting harder for Luke to speak, and Anakin barely heard the sound of the doors opening as someone—or several people—came in. Anakin paid them no heed, his eyes trained on his son.
"Luke, please...don't do this to me, I can't lose you, I can't, just hold on..." Anakin said. "Everything..."
Just like that day in the camp with his mother, Anakin couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. The pain had proven too much for him.
Luke's eyes slowly cracked open, searching for Anakin's face. When they found Anakin's eyes, they held his gaze firmly, unwavering. Anakin squeezed Luke's hand tighter in response.
"Father, please...p-promise me...you won't fall. Not—not now. Not in...the future...not ever. D-don't waste...the chance you've been...given. You cherish...y-your kids. Give...give them the best f-f-father...they could hope for. A-and do...what y-you know is...is right—" Luke curled up in agony for a moment, and a sob broke through Anakin's tight control. Luke gripped Anakin's hand a little tighter. "Promise me," he rasped, his breathing ragged.
"I will, Luke; I promise you," Anakin said, forcing his words out through the tears.
Luke nodded, letting out a relieved sigh. "Good...t-that's...good...Father?"
Anakin's eyes hadn't left his son's face. "Yes, Luke?"
"I-I'm...I'm p-proud...proud to call you...call you my...father."
Anakin smiled even though Luke had closed his eyes. "And I'm proud to call you my son," he whispered.
But as he spoke, Luke's head started to fall back, and Luke seemed heavier in Anakin's arms.
"Luke..."
There was no response, and Luke's hand started to go lax in Anakin's.
"Luke."
All the pleading in the world couldn't stop what was happening. Slowly, Luke's hand slipped out of Anakin's, and the quiet thud it made as it hit the floor caused Anakin's whole world to shatter.
As if everything had gone numb, Anakin slowly moved without really feeling himself shift, repositioning Luke's limp body and holding him up with both arms. Distantly, Anakin felt the people who had entered the room approach him. He heard voices, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.
He was officially in shock.
Faintly, Anakin's brain registered how one of the people there was Master Windu. He looked battered, but he was relatively unharmed. There were people trying to tell him something, but he couldn't hear them. He didn't want to hear them. He was too busy staring down at his son, his eyes unable to tear away from Luke's lifeless form.
Someone put their hands on Anakin's shoulders, trying to pull him gently away from Luke, but Anakin held firm. When the one was unsuccessful, other pairs of hands latched onto him, trying to pull him away, but he fought it. Eventually, he didn't know when, the sheer number was able to break his hold on Luke, and they took the opportunity to pull him away, someone else taking Luke's body away from him.
It was like they had set off a bomb, and Anakin suddenly started struggling against the many hands that held him back. He felt like he was screaming—probably screaming Luke's name—but his head was rushing, everything slow and blurred and nothing making sense. Nothing except Luke.
He's dead. He's dead, he's gone, and he's not coming back.
Eventually the hands pulled him out of the room, and Luke was no longer in his line of sight. Anakin slowly stopped struggling, slumping over from the pain he was suddenly overwhelmed by. His shoulder was on fire, his head pulsed with pain, and he felt as if he'd been stabbed right through the heart.
Those voices from earlier continued to drift towards him in his daze, but he didn't register them entirely, and especially not their words. What could they possibly offer him?
Vaguely, Anakin took note that he was put on a ship. Since he'd stopped fighting, the hands moved him with great ease from place to place until at last they got him to lie down on a cot. Anakin simply stared at the wall as a pair of hands fluttered over him, looking at and treating his shoulder and head.
Words floated to him through the fog.
"...missed anything vital...shock from the loss of...some head damage..."
Disinterested, Anakin stared up at the blurry ceiling above him.
His mind decided to torture him, playing back Luke's pain and death over and over in his head.
I'm proud to call you my father.
Tears leaked out of Anakin's eyes once again, and he took a breath. He'd made Luke a promise—his son couldn't die in vain.
But for now...for now, Anakin needed time to recover. His suffering was too great for him to jump right back into life. He would need time to heal from this loss...if he ever did.
Obi-Wan had survived the attempt on his life by his own men.
He still couldn't believe it had happened. Cody, the man who had fought beside him and with him through so much...
Obi-Wan shook himself. Dwelling on the thought wouldn't help. Right now, he needed to focus on piloting his ship. He'd received the message from Master Windu for the Jedi to follow through with the plans Luke had come up with, and he was on his way to Tython. It took him a while, but he was able to navigate safely into the planet and locate the Jedi Temple there. As he got out of his fighter, several other Jedi hurried to meet him.
"Master Kenobi..."
"You're all right..."
"Windu's talking to the Senate..."
"...trying to get the clones to stand down..."
"We're lucky your old apprentice was able to..."
"...heard he hasn't left the medical wing, or said a word since he left Coruscant..."
Obi-Wan gave a start, turning to the last person that had spoken about Anakin. "Anakin's here? Is he okay?"
The Jedi hesitated, and Obi-Wan felt a feeling of dread settle over him. "He's all right...in a sense."
"What do you mean, in a sense?" Obi-Wan asked sharply.
Yet again the Jedi hesitated, and they were slow to answer. "It's something you should see for yourself. He's in the medical wing."
Before they could tell him anything more, Obi-Wan set off at a brisk walk towards the medical wing, anxiety rolling off of him for his closest friend. Reaching out with his senses, Obi-Wan searched for Anakin's Force Signature.
He was alarmed when he found that Anakin was wallowing in misery and deep emotional agony. What had happened?
Obi-Wan could tell when he reached the hall that Anakin's room was located in, because there was a cluster of Jedi outside of one of the rooms, one of the said Jedi being Master Windu. As Obi-Wan approached, Windu seemed to fix him with a penetrating stare.
"Obi-Wan; I see you've made it."
Obi-Wan decided he was going to skip formalities. "Where's Anakin?"
Windu seemed to stand a little straighter. "Master Kenobi, some things have come to light concerning your former Padawan, and I think we need to have a long discussion about—"
"Yes, yes, Master Windu, both Master Yoda and I were well aware of Anakin's infractions. May I see him?" Obi-Wan asked, deciding it was best to hear what happened from Anakin himself.
Windu frowned. "What do you mean both you and Master Yoda knew? Why would you let such a thing happen?"
Obi-Wan held up a hand. "Now is not the time for questions, Master Windu, Master Yoda is the one with all of the answers. So, may I see Anakin?"
Windu shook his head. "There's no point: he won't talk to anyone. He hasn't made a sound since they got him on the ship headed here from Coruscant."
"Do you know what happened?"
Windu shook his head. "Not really. I was only there for...well, I'm sure Anakin will tell you when he's ready."
Obi-Wan didn't like the tone in Windu's voice. He frowned, cautiously walking into the room his former apprentice was apparently in.
Anakin sat upon the bed, staring blankly at the wall beside him. Silently, Obi-Wan took in the fact that Anakin's shoulder and head was patched up as he walked up to the bed.
"Anakin."
For a moment, it didn't seem like the young man had heard him. "Anakin?" he asked again, a little louder this time.
Anakin jumped slightly, his head turning at an agonizingly slow rate, almost like he was coming back to reality. Obi-Wan cringed when he saw the suffering in his former Padawan's eyes. "Obi-Wan...you're all right."
Obi-Wan nodded, trying to ignore the fact Anakin's tone was flat and emotionless. "Yes, I am. Anakin...what happened?" Another thought struck Obi-Wan, and he started stretching out his senses in search of someone else who should have been there, now that he thought of them. "Where's Luke?"
Anakin took in a sharp breath, his head swiveling away as his gaze returning to the wall. Obi-Wan stilled, his mind starting to form the worst of conclusions from Anakin's reaction.
No...oh no...
"He's dead," Anakin finally forced out. It seemed every syllable caused Anakin physical pain. "Sidious killed him."
Anakin turned his head back to Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan was startled to see the tears flowing forth from Anakin's eyes. "He died in my arms, Obi-Wan...just like my mother. I couldn't save him."
Obi-Wan seemed to have slipped into shock. However, the tears coming at a rapid rate from Anakin seemed to spur him to action. He understood that very same pain that shimmered in Anakin's gaze: Qui-Gon had died in Obi-Wan's arms as well. Though the mother bit confused him; when had Anakin's mother died? When had Anakin even seen his mother since he'd started training to be a Jedi?
Obi-Wan pushed the thoughts aside: now wasn't the time for such thoughts.
He reached out, clutching Anakin's arm. "I'm sorry, Anakin," Obi-Wan said quietly. "But...that's no reason to stop living. You still have a family to look after."
Anakin looked away once again, trying to control himself. "I just...I can't believe...he can't really..."
Somewhat awkwardly, Obi-Wan shifted in his seat and put an arm around Anakin, giving Anakin some support he felt the man probably desperately needed right now. Sure enough, Anakin leaned into him, sobbing heavily but quietly into Obi-Wan's shoulder.
"You'll be all right Anakin...just hang in there," Obi-Wan said quietly, keeping his own grief at Luke's demise to himself.
Why did he have to die? Obi-Wan asked the Force silently as Anakin cried into Obi-Wan's shoulder.