To all my dear readers, this chapter marks the end of our time in the Star Wars Universe. It's been a long run, but I'm glad to be finished with this saga in Nairbix's life. Even though the movies I used had terrible actors (namely the guy who sucked at playing Anakin in episodes 2 and 3) the story behind them was pretty good. So without further delay, I present the last Star Wars chapter of The Forging of the Key. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, anything Disney, Marvel or Lucasfilms.
In the vast void of space everything seemed to be in absolute chaos. An epic battle between the Republic and Separatist forces waged against each other as one side fought to rescue Chancellor Palpatine and the other to further keep him hostage. Through the gunfire and explosions, three Jedi maneuvered their way in each of their own ships. Natasha's being the largest was in the center with Anakin and Obi-Wan at her sides.
"Lock onto the one in front of us, Wall-E." Natasha calmly said to her droid.
"Masters," Anakin alerted, "General Grievous's ship is directly ahead-the one crawling with vulture droids."
"Oh, I see it." Obi-Wan responded, "Oh, this is going to be easy."
"Would we be here if it weren't?" Natasha playfully asked, "Oddball, do you copy?"
"Copy, Red Leader." the Clone replied.
"Mark my position. Form your squad up behind me."
"We're on your tail, General Romanoff."
"This is where the fun begins." commented Anakin.
"Let them pass between us." Obi-Wan advised as they engaged in the battle.
"Incoming missiles." Natasha warned, "Pull up."
"They over shot us."
"They're coming around." Anakin corrected as the missiles tailed them.
"Surge all power units, Wall-E. Stand by reverse thrusters." Natasha ordered as she began to spin her ship. As she did, the two missiles on her tail crashed into each other and exploded. "We got 'em, Wall-E." she smirked as the little droid gave his own version of chuckling.
"Flying is for droids." Obi-Wan grumbled as he struggled to evade his missiles. His, however, weren't explosives. No, his were filled with buzz droids no crawling over his ship attempting to dismantle it. "I'm hit. Guys?"
"I see them." Anakin copied, "Buzz droids."
While the little buggers took apart Obi-Wan's ship, one of them made its way to R4. "R4, be careful, you have a-" But it was too late, one of the buzz droids tore off R4's head. "Oh, dear. They're shutting down all the controls."
"Anakin, you take his right and get them off, I'll get his left." Natasha advised.
"The mission." Obi-Wan stressed, "Get to the command ship. Get the chancellor. I'm running out of tricks here." he said as his two friends fired at him. "Oh!" he cried, "In the name of-hold your fire! You're not helping here."
"I agree. Bad idea, Anakin, what were you thinking?" Natasha asked trying pass the blame.
"What?!"
"I can't see a thing. My cockpit's fogging."
"Hang on, we got you." Natasha reassured.
"Hold on, Natasha. You're gonna kill us all at this rate. Get out of here, both of you, there's nothing more you can do." Obi-Wan ordered.
"We're not leaving you behind, Master." Anakin refused.
"The general's command ship is dead ahead." Natasha alerted as Anakin knocked off the remaining buzz droids.
"Well, have you noticed the shields are still up?!" Obi-Wan asked panicking.
"…Oops. Don't worry, I'm on it." she replied as she took out the shield generators. But once she did, the blast doors began to quickly slide closed in place.
"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this." Obi-Wan whined.
"Have you ever noticed that you guys say that? Like a lot?" asked Natasha as they crashed into the ship, as their own skidded across the hangar floor, they each jumped out and made quick work of the droids around them.
"Artoo, Wall-E, locate the chancellor." ordered Obi-Wan as R2 pulled up Palpatine's location, "The chancellor's signal is coming from right there-the observation platform at the tip of that spire."
"I sense Count Dooku." Anakin informed.
"I sense a trap." Natasha added, "Next move?"
"Spring the trap." Obi-Wan grinned as the two droids called out to their masters.
"Artoo, go back. I need you to stay with the ship." Anakin said to his droid.
"Wall-E, do the same. Not a scratch, okay?" Natasha asked.
"Here," Obi-Wan said as he tossed them comlinks, though Wall-E fumbled his, "Wait for further orders."
The trio soon made their way to the nearest elevator down the corridor they were in but were ambushed by a group of destroyer droids. Thankfully, they had the elevator behind them and managed to get in; though it was filled with battle droids who were quickly cut down by the three Jedi.
"These guys are never any fun." Natasha complained as Anakin sent the elevator up; but a few moments later, it stoped.
"Did you press the stop button?" Obi-Wan asked.
"No, did either of you?"
"No."
"Well, there's more than one way out of here." Anakin pointed out as he began to cut a hole in the roof.
"We don't want to get out of here. We want to get moving. Artoo," Obi-Wan contacted, "Activate elevator 31174. Come in, Artoo. Artoo, do you copy?"
"Hang on, let me try Wall-E." Natasha intervened, "Wall-E, activate the elevator numbered 31174." no response, "Wall-E, activate elevator 3117-ahh!" Natasha yelped as the part of the elevator Anakin cut off almost hit her, "Watch where you're cutting next time!"
"Sorry." he apologized before jumping through the hole.
"Sigh, always on the move." Obi-Wan sighed, "Artoo, switch on the comlink. Artoo, can you hear me? Artoo?" Obi-Wan asked but this time, the elevator went down, rapidly.
"Artoo," Natasha said grabbing the comlink, "Artoo, stop. We need to be going up, not down." she said as the elevator abruptly stopped and shot back up. "Thank you." she said as Anakin jumped back in. "Welcome back."
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"Well, Artoo and Wall-E have been-"
"Hey, no loose wire jokes." Anakin interrupted.
"Did I say anything?" Obi-Wan asked on the defensive.
"They're trying." Natasha defended.
"I didn't say anything." Obi-Wan defended as the elevator reached the observation deck. As they walked out, they saw Palpatine restricted to a large chair on the other side of the room.
"Chancellor." Obi-Wan greeted.
"Are you alright?" Anakin asked.
"Count Dooku." muttered Palpatine as the Sith lord walked in.
"This time we will do it together." Obi-Wan advised reminding Anakin of what happened the last time the three of them confronted Dooku.
"I was about to say that." Anakin muttered.
"Get help." Palpatine advised, "You're no match for him. He's a Sith lord."
"Chancellor Palpatine, Sith lords are our speciality. Besides," Natasha grinned as she cracked her knuckles in anger, "We have a score to settle with this self-righteous old bastard for what he did to Nairbix."
"Your lightsabers please." said Dooku as he approached them, "We don't want to make a mess of things in front of the chancellor."
"You won't get away this time, Dooku." Obi-Wan countered as they all activated their lightsabers and began to attack one another.
"I've been looking forward to this." Dooku grinned evilly, "It's a pity young VanSull isn't here to join us."
"Shut up!" Natasha cried as she continued to attack the former Jedi gone rouge. Dooku, who was level headed, managed to fend off her attacks as Anakin helped her as he knocked Obi-Wan away. Once he got up, he quickly took down the two battle droids Dooku brought with him. As he went to join them, Dooku held both him and Natasha by the throats using the Force as he kicked Anakin away and tossed them aside. For good measure, Dooku also used the Force to pin them down with a platform.
Thankfully, Natasha wasn't unconscious like Obi-Wan and got out of the way with her friend in tow. She then rushed over to join Anakin in the fight.
"I sense great fear in you, Skywalker." Dooku taunted, "And much anger in Romanoff as well. You both have hate. You both have anger. But only one of you uses them."
"I learned how to control them." Natasha growled, "You know who taught me?" she asked as she caught Dooku off guard, "The man you impaled and left for dead."
Dooku then used the Force to knock her back against the wall leaving him to deal with Anakin. Thankfully, Dooku's age limited his maneuvering and allowed Anakin to gain the upper hand and cut off both of Dooku's as he caught his lightsaber in the air. With the defenseless Sith on his knees with both weapons at his neck, Palpatine began to chuckle and praise Anakin.
"Good, Anakin. Good. Kill him." he ordered flatly, "Kill him now."
"Wait, what?" Natasha asked as she picked herself and Obi-Wan up.
"I shouldn't." Anakin disagreed, though it was obvious he wanted to.
"Do it." spat the chancellor. Giving into the pressure, Anakin severed Dooku's head and watched it roll away. "You did well, Anakin." Palpatine praised, "He was too dangerous to be kept alive."
"Yes, but he was an unarmed prisoner." Anakin defended as he released him, "I shouldn't have done that. It's not the Jedi way."
"It was only natural." Palpatine reasoned, "He cut off your arm and nearly killed your friend, and you wanted revenge. It wasn't the first time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the Sand People? Now we must leave before more security droids arrive." he advised as Anakin looked over to Natasha and Obi-Wan.
"Anakin," Palpatine halted, "There's no time. We must get off this ship before it's too late. They'll only slow us down."
"Natasha can barely keep herself up let alone Obi-Wan." Anakin argued as he went over to them.
"Leave them, or we'll never make it."
"Their fate will be the same as ours." Anakin dismissed as he helped Natasha to her feet with Obi-Wan's arms around their shoulders. "You alright?" he asked the redhead.
"That son of a bitch broke two of my ribs." she hissed in pain before using her magic to heal herself as they trudged over to the elevator, "Damn, elevator's not working. Wall-E," she contacted, "Activate elevator 3224."
As she said this, the ship was hit with heavy fire and began to turn on its side. With no other option, they opened the door and began to run through the shaft like a hallway. Unfortunately, the ship began to return to its normal position causing them to slide down uncontrollably. To make matters worse, Obi-Wan decided then to wake up.
"Good morning," Natasha greeted as he clutched onto Anakin as they all dangled from the side, "As you can see, we're in a bit of a situation here."
"Did I miss something?" he asked as the elevator began to descend on them, "What is that?"
"Vot der'mo." Natasha cursed in Russian, "Wall-E. Wall-E! Shut down the elevator, please." she asked through her panicking.
"Too late. Jump!" Obi-Wan shouted as they all let go and slid down to an open door. "Let's see if we can find something flyable in the hangar bay."
"Wall-E, you and Artoo get down here." said Natasha as they began to run down the hallway only to be stopped by ray-shields.
"Wait a minute. How did this happen?" Obi-Wan asked, "We're smarter than this."
"Apparently not." Anakin said flatly, "I say patience."
"Patience?" Obi-Wan and Natasha asked. As most already know, that was not one of Anakin's strong suits.
"Yes." he nodded, "Artoo and Wall-E will be along in a few moments and then they'll release the ray-shields." Literally a second later, the door next to them opened and they all looked see both R2 and Wall-E squealing as they drove straight into the wall. "See? No problem." he said.
But not a moment later, they were surrounded by droids. "Don't move." one of them warned but R2 simply shocked him causing him to be kicked down humorously.
"Do you have a plan B?" Obi-Wan deadpanned.
Next thing they knew, they were being brought up to see General Grievous in the control room after the ship came out of hyperspace over Coruscant. "Ah, yes. The negotiator." Grievous greeted as they were brought up to him, "General Kenobi, we've been waiting for you. That wasn't much of a rescue." he taunted as a droid presented their lightsabers to him. "And General Romanoff, the reputation of your beauty doesn't seem to do you justice." he said as he stroked one of his claws against her cheek only to be shrugged away. "A shame that it is ruined by the mere fact of you being Republic filth."
"General Grievous," she observed, "Anakin was right, you are shorter than I expected. You may want to get that cough looked at too. Not very attractive."
"Jedi scum." he wheezed while glaring at them.
"We have a job to do, Natasha. Try not to upset him." Obi-Wan reminded.
"Your lightsabers will make a fine addition to my collection. I certainly need them after leaving my last set with VanSull on Cadonia." Grievous chuckled as Natasha and Anakin glared at him, "Who knows? The three of you may just experience the pain he endured before the day is out."
"Not this time." Obi-Wan disagreed, "And this time, you won't escape."
"R2." Anakin alerted.
"Wall-E." Natasha said causing both droids to unleash their weapons on the surrounding droids and allowing the three Jedi to take back their weapons.
"Crush them." Grievous ordered, "Make them suffer!" With their impressive skills, the trio quickly cut down all the attacking droids without so much as a scratch on them or the chancellor.
"You lose, Generals." Grievous informed as he shattered one of the windows sucking Grievous into space where he made his escape. After the blast doors sealed the windows, an alarm beeped indicating that all of the escape pods had been launched.
"Can either of you fly a cruiser like this?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Fly? Yes." Natasha replied as the ship rumbled as it began to tear apart from the rear. "Land? Not so much. You may want to strap yourselves in."
"Open all hatches." Anakin advised, "Extend all flaps and drag fins."
"Copy that." Natasha calmly replied. But, that plan backfired as they began to lose more of the ship.
"Uh-oh!" Wall-E and R2 beeped.
"We lost something." Anakin informed.
"Wall-E, please tell me you compacted my ship before you came to find us?" Natasha asked as she looked at her co-pilot. Wall-E then opened his torso compartment and revealed a small black and orange mechanical rectangle in his claw. "Good boy." she sighed in relief.
"Well, at least we are still flying half a ship." Obi-Wan said with optimism.
"Yeah, but now we're really picking up speed." Anakin retorted as the ship was covered in heat and heading towards the planet. "Now we're in the atmosphere."
"Obi-Wan, keep us level." Natasha ordered, "Steady." she mumbled as they exited the atmosphere.
"Fire ships on the left and the right." Obi-Wan informed.
"We'll take you in."
"Copy that." he said to one of the pilots. "Landing strip, straight ahead."
"We're coming in too hot." Anakin said as they slowly crash landed.
"Sigh…that ought to do it." Natasha sighed heavily, "Whoo!"
After being picked up and brought back to the Senate building, Palpatine and Anakin stepped put while Obi-Wan and Natasha stayed in the transport. "Aren't you coming, Master?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan.
"Oh, no. I'm not brave enough for politics. We need to report to the council." Obi-Wan replied.
"Yeah, and after that I'm going to go check on Nairbix." Natasha replied, "Besides, someone needs to be the poster boy." she teased.
"Hold on. This whole operation was your idea." Anakin countered with his own smirk.
"Let us not forget, Anakin, that you rescued me from the buzz droids. And you killed Count Dooku, and you rescued the chancellor carrying me unconscious on your back." Obi-Wan reminded with pride for his old student.
"That and I really don't want to deal with the Senate right now." Natasha added.
"All because of your training." Anakin gratefully reminded.
"Anakin, let's be fair." Obi-Wan continued, "Today you were the hero and you deserve you glorious day with the politicians."
"All right." conceded Anakin, "But you owe me one," he said to Obi-Wan, "And not for saving you skin for the tenth time."
"Ninth time." Obi-Wan corrected, "That business on Cato Neimoidia doesn't-doesn't count. We'll see you at the briefing."
As the celebrations commenced on Coruscant, Grievous flew his ship to one of the many planets the Separatists had under their control. Once it landed, the cyborg quickly made his way to the nearest holo-panel and contacted Darth Sidious.
"Yes, Lord Sidious?" Grievous asked as he bowed. To the cloaked Sith.
"General Grievous," he addressed, "I suggest you move the Separatist leaders to Mustafar."
"It will be done, my lord."
"The end of the war is near, General." Sidious informed.
"But the loss of Count Dooku-"
"His death was a necessary loss." Sidious replied unaffected by the death of his apprentice. "Soon I will have a new apprentice-one far younger and more powerful."
Back in Coruscant as night began to fall, Natasha was finally able to get away from everyone else and see Nairbix. Nothing had changed since the last time she was in the room; he hadn't even moved in the slightest. She exchanged the dying flowers she left with the fresh ones she brought and set them next to a second vase with more dying flowers. They were most likely from Padme.
"Hey, Nairbix." she greeted as she took a seat next to him, his face covered by an oxygen mask didn't even so much as twitch. "Good news, we rescued Palpatine and Anakin killed Dooku. I got to admit, it wasn't one of my best missions. The old fart threw me around like a rag doll along with Obi-Wan. But he's gone, and that just leaves Grievous left to deal with. And after we take him down and you wake up, we can finally go home." Natasha said softly as she gently cupped his cheek and stroked it.
"Everybody's probably pissed at us already for being gone so long." she joked, "Both our moms are probably going to kill us as soon as they see us. Can't forget your brothers either, they'll really be mad at me for hogging you all to myself for these past two years. You know, the last time you were like this, you looked more peaceful. You still felt as cold as you normally do, but at least it was comforting unlike now; now you just feel as cold as a corpse would.
"Ah, listen to me, getting all worked up." chided the redhead, "You're going to be fine." she said as she got up once she noticed how late it was getting. She then leaned down and kissed his forehead before whispering to him, "Just wake up soon, okay? I miss you."
As Natasha walked through the halls of the temple's hospital wing, she spotted Padme with a bouquet of flowers. "Hey, Padme!" she called out. Hearing this, Padme turned and smiled at her longtime friend and for some reason waddled over to her.
"Hi, Natasha." she greeted from behind a counter.
"Hey, girl, what's up-whoa!" Natasha exclaimed as she walked over and noticed that Padme was pregnant. About seven months from her estimate.
"Yeah," Padme giggled through her embarrassment, "I'm pregnant."
"…How?" she asked, "When-who?!"
"Well, um…" Padme carried off trying to be subtle and drop her friend a hint.
"Oh!" Natasha realized, "Padme…wow, I didn't take you to be that kind of girl."
Hearing this, Padme's face flushed redder than Natasha's hair. "…Well, you know…sometimes a women's got to be satisfied."
"I hear you there. I mean, you have no idea what I've done to Nairbix while he's slept over the years." Natasha remarked causing Padme to drop the flowers. Thankfully, Natasha managed to catch them and hand them back to the senator. "Kidding. Just kidding." she admitted.
"Oh, right." Padme nervously laughed, "Well, I'm just gonna switch these out for Nairbix and head on home."
"Okay. Bye!" Natasha waved as she walked away chuckling to herself, "Oh, that girl is fun to tease."
The next morning, Natasha was in one of the meditation rooms with Yoda in hopes of locating General Grievous through the Force. Just then, Anakin, who looked troubled, entered the room. "Good morning, Skywalker." Yoda greeted.
"Good morning, Masters." he greeted in return.
"Something troubling you, hmm?" Yoda asked.
"Yes, Master," he said as he took a seat before the two Jedi, "Last night I was given…premonitions in my sleep."
"Premonitions?" Yoda asked, "Premonitions. Hmm." he pondered, "These visions you have?
"They're of pain, suffering…death." Anakin replied with dread.
"Yourself, or someone you know?" Natasha asked.
"Someone." Anakin replied after slightly hesitating.
"Close to you?" Yoda asked.
"Yes." Anakin admitted knowing Yoda would disapprove.
"Careful you must be when sensing the future, Anakin." Yoda warned, "The fear of loss is a path to the dark side."
"I won't let these visons come true, Master Yoda." Anakin declared as his voice shook.
"Death is a natural part of life." Natasha reminded gently.
"Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force." Yoda soothed, "Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is."
"What must I do, Master Yoda?" Anakin asked.
"Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose." Yoda advised. Anakin then got up without a word, bowed to them, and left the room. Later that day, the council was informed that the chancellor appointed, without their consent or approval, Anakin to be his personal representative to the Republic on the council.
In the council room with Anakin before them, Yoda addressed what they deemed. "Allow this appointment lightly the council does not. Disturbing is this move by Chancellor Palpatine."
"I understand." Anakin replied.
"You are on this council," Windu informed, "But we do not grant you the rank of master."
"What?" Anakin asked. Truth be told, Natasha felt guilty seeing as she was appointed master and member of the council without even training at the temple let alone everything Anakin had done for them. It made her feel like a hypocrite.
"How can you do this?" Anakin asked feeling betrayed and cheated, "This is outrageous. It's unfair. How can you be on the council and not be a master?" he asked hotly.
"Take a seat, young Skywalker." Windu said with his own hardened glare.
"Forgive me, Master." Anakin apologized as he remembered his place; though he was clearly still unhappy. Master Mundi then gave his report on the war effort.
"We have surveyed all systems in the Republic but have found no sign of General Grievous."
"I'd bet my money on Grievous hiding out in the outer rim." spoke up Natasha, "I suggest we sweep the outlying systems."
"We do not have many ships to spare." Obi-Wan reminded.
"What about the droid attacks on the Wookies?" Mundi asked, "It is critical we send an attack group to them immediately."
"He's right." Obi-Wan agreed, "They're in a system we cannot afford to lose."
"Go I will." Yoda informed, "Good relations with the Wookies I have."
"It's settled then." Windu nodded, "Yoda will take a battalion of clones to reinforce the Wookies on Kashyyk. May the Force be with us all."
After the meeting was dismissed, Anakin vented his anger as he walked with Obi-Wan and Natasha. "What kind of nonsense is this?" he asked bitterly, "Put me on the council and not make me a master? It's never been done in the history of the Jedi. It's insulting."
"Oh, calm down, Anakin." Obi-Wan lectured, "You have been given a great honor. The fact of the matter is you are too close to the chancellor."
"The council doesn't like it when he interferes in Jedi affairs." Natasha pointed out.
"I swear to you both, I didn't ask to be put on the council."
"But it's what you wanted." Natasha reminded, "Your friendship with Chancellor Palpatine seems to have paid off."
"That has nothing to do with this." Anakin defended.
"The only reason the council has approved your appointment is because the chancellor trusts you." Obi-Wan said to him.
"And?"
"Anakin, we are on your side." Natasha reminded gently, "We didn't want to put you in this situation."
"What situation?" he asked.
"…The council wants you to report on all the chancellor's dealings." Obi-Wan replied with reluctance, "They want to know what he's up to."
"They want me to spy on the chancellor?" Anakin asked in shock.
"It's not all that surprising really." Natasha defended, "He's basically having you spy on the council for him.
"But that's treason." Anakin argued.
"We are at war, Anakin." Obi-Wan defended.
"Why didn't the council give me this assignment when we were in session?" he asked.
"This assignment is not to be on record." said Obi-Wan.
"The chancellor is not a bad man, Obi-Wan. He befriended me. He's watched out for me ever since I arrived here."
"That is why you must help us. Anakin, our allegiance is to the Senate, not to its leader who has managed to stay in office long after his term has expired." Obi-Wan reminded.
"The Senate demanded that he stay longer." defended Anakin.
"Yes, but use your feelings, Anakin." Natasha advised, "Something is out of place."
"Sigh…you're asking me to do something against the Jedi code, against the Republic, against a mentor and a friend. That's what out of place here. Why are you asking this of me?"
"The council is asking you." Obi-Wan softly replied.
Later that day, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Windu, and Natasha flew through the city in one of the gunships as they discussed Anakin. "Anakin did not take to his new assignment with much enthusiasm." Natasha informed the other masters.
"It's very dangerous, putting them together." Windu warned, "I don't think the boy can handle it. I don't trust him."
"Please, you hardly trust anyone, Windu." Natasha retorted.
"With all due respect, Master, is he not the Chosen One?" Obi-Wan asked, "Is he not to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force?"
"So the prophecy says."
"A prophecy that misread could have been." Yoda offered.
"He will not let me down. He never has." Obi-Wan reassured.
"I hope right you are." Yoda replied as they dropped him off to depart for Kashyyk. Two days later, the council met to hear what Anakin had to discuss about Palpatine.
"The chancellor believes General Grievous to be on Utapau." he informed, "A partial message was intercepted in a diplomatic packet from the chairman of the world."
"Hmm. Act on this we must." Yoda advised, "The capture of General Grievous will end this war. Quickly and decisively we should proceed."
"The chancellor has requested that I lead the campaign." Anakin informed.
"The council will make up its own mind who is to go, not the chancellor." Windu retorted.
"A master is needed, with more experience." Yoda recommended.
"I concur." said Master Mundi, "Master Kenobi should go. And Master Romanoff should aid him in this campaign."
"I agree." Yoda nodded.
"Very well. Council adjourned." Windu dismissed. At the loading platform for the Republic's Star Cruisers, the three friends walked to the ship that would take Natasha and Obi-Wan to Utapau.
"You're gonna need me on this one, guys." Anakin joked.
"Oh, yeah, who else would be there to cause all the chaos and fun?" Natasha teased, "Besides, you never know, it could just turn out to be a wild goose chase."
"…Master, Natasha." Anakin said dropping his joking attitude, "I've disappointed you." he admitted surprising them, "I haven't been very appreciative of your training or your friendship. I have been arrogant, and I apologize. I've just been so frustrated with the council, and the war, and everything that's happened lately what with Ahsoka and now Nairbix…I'm sorry."
Hearing the words of a man from the Jedi they first met as a small boy brought nothing but smiles and pride to the two Jedi. Obi-Wan placed his hands on Anakin's shoulders and looked him straight in the eye so he could see how proud he was. "You are strong and wise, Anakin, and we are very proud of you. I have trained you since you were a small boy. I have taught you everything I know. And you have become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be."
"But be patient, Anakin." Natasha soothed, "It won't be long before the council makes you a Jedi Master." she said before pulling him into a strong hug and making her way with Obi-Wan to the ship.
"Obi-Wan, Natasha." Anakin said gaining their attention, "May the Force be with you."
"Goodbye, old friend. May the Force be with you." Obi-Wan said back still proudly smiling while Natasha playfully bowed.
Little did they know, that would be the last time they truly ever saw Anakin Skywalker again.
In their ship, they met with their Clone commanders and listened to their battle strategy. After hearing it, they boarded Natasha's ship and made their way to Utapau after making the jump to hyperspace. Once they arrived at the planet, they met with the world's Prime Minister.
"Greetings, young Jedi." he said to them, "What brings you to our remote sanctuary?"
"Unfortunately, the war." replied Obi-Wan.
"There's no war here-unless you brought it with you."
"With your kind permission, we should like some fuel, and to use your city as a base as we search nearby systems for General Grievous." Natasha asked as he drew in close to whisper.
"He is here. We are being held hostage. They are watching us."
"We understand."
"Tenth level, thousands of battle droids." he warned.
"Tell your people to take shelter." Natasha advised, "If you have warriors, now is the time." she said as they all bowed to each other. She then turned to Wall-E to inform him of their next move. "Cloak the ship after you've told Cody and Wulfric we've made contact. Wait for us until it's time to leave. Stay close but keep out of sight and the blast range."
Wall-E saluted to her and boarded the ship to do as he was told. After they hitched a ride on some sort of yipping giant lizard, they found their target. "Howdy, y'all." Natasha greeted as she and Obi-Wan snuck behind Grievous and his droids.
"Generals Kenobi and Romanoff," Grievous sneered, "You are as bold as they say. I shall take pleasure in killing you Jedi slime."
"Your move." Obi-Wan offered.
"You fool." Grievous insulted, "I have been trained in your Jedi arts by Count Dooku. Even VanSull fell to my skills."
"Well, to be fair, you do have four arms and lightsabers, and you were fighting him along with three or four other guys; so really it wasn't much of a fair fight." argued Natasha over the technicalities while they and Grievous activated their weapons. After making quick work of two of Grievous's hands, the Jedi found themselves with some luck as the Clones came in with back up.
"Army or not, you must realize you are both doomed." Grievous said to them.
"You know, if I had a quarter for every time I heard that…I'd have a lot quarters." Natasha joked as she and Obi-Wan knocked Grievous away with a powerful Force Push. And like the coward he was, Grievous tried to escape on a one wheeled transport.
Obi-Wan then whistled for their ride and followed Grievous down the chasm past all the clones and droids; in the process, Obi-Wan dropped his lightsaber. As they caught up to him, Obi-Wan made a bold move and jumped onto Grievous's transport to try and throw him off.
After he did, Natasha jumped over and cut off his remaining arms and tore off his chest armor giving Obi-Wan the chance to pick up a nearby blaster and shoot Grievous's exposed organs. As they were set ablaze and the general laid dying, Obi-Wan said only two words.
"So uncivilized."
It was then that Natasha picked up another blaster and aimed it at Grievous's chest; before she fired and finished the deed, she said some words of her own, "This is for Nairbix." And thus, the last major threat of the Separatists was dead.
Back in Nairbix's hospital room at Coruscant, Anakin sat next to his friend hoping he would wake up and talk to him once again. "I feel so lost, Nairbix." he confessed, "I feel like everything I know is being twisted and perverted every day this war goes on. Ever since they expelled Ahsoka, I question the council's methods with each meeting I attend."
But Nairbix said nothing. He didn't even twitch.
"I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know if you can sense my pain right now or my conflict, but I need you, Nairbix." Anakin stressed on the verge of tears. "Please. Please, wake up." he begged, "Please, wake up, I need you." Still gaining no response, Anakin became frustrated, very frustrated. "Wake up." he repeated through his gritting teeth.
"Wake up." he now growled, "Wake up!" Anakin yelled as he grabbed Nairbix by the shoulders and shook him. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up, already!"
But Nairbix remained in his coma; no amount of yelling or shaking Anakin could do could pull him out of his state. Realizing that he was truly on his own, Anakin dropped Nairbix back onto his bed and stormed out, not knowing that on that very night, his life, his destiny, and everything in the entire galaxy would change with only three words spread throughout the ears of all Clones.
As the battle wagged on Utapau, Obi-Wan and Natasha came to meet up with Cody and Wulfric. "Commander, contact your troops." Obi-Wan said to Cody, "Tell them to move to the higher levels."
"Very good, sir." Cody replied, "Oh, by the way, I think you'll be needing this." he recommended Obi-Wan as he held his lightsaber.
"Thank you, Cody. Now let's get a move on. We've got a battle to win here." Obi-Wan encouraged.
"Keep them in line, Wulfric." Natasha reminded as they took off.
"With pleasure, General!" Wulfric called back. As soon as they left, Cody received as transmission from an unexpected individual, Chancellor Palpatine; or as he was also call, Darth Sidious!
"Commanders Cody and Wulfric, the time has come. Execute Order 66."
"…Yes, my lord." they humbly complied as the Jedi rode across the side of the chasm.
"Blast 'em!" Cody ordered the gunmen. He fired from his tank and hit them dead on sending them both plummeting into the pool at the chasm's base.
On another world, Master Mundi met the same fate as his Clones turned on him. As did Secura on Felucia, Plo Koon as he soared through Toydaria, and countless, if not all Jedi throughout the Galaxy. At the temple, all the Jedi, including the younglings were slaughtered as the Clones showed no mercy in killing them. Inside the council room, a small group of younglings hid behind the chairs until the doors opened. As they opened, they saw Anakin with his hood up enter the room.
"Master Skywalker," one of them asked, "There are too many of them. What are we going to do?"
But Anakin said nothing. He just stood there and stared at them all. A moment later, he activated not his usual blue lightsaber, but a new red one instead and moved in on the Padawans.
The cries of every last child in the temple rang throughout all the halls; most likely because every hall had a least one youngling and older Jedi in them as the Clones attacked. In the hospital wing, Nairbix laid still, but as the sound of gunfire and screaming filled the air, his heart monitor showed an increase in blood pressure.
It was as if as each of the Jedi, young and old alike, were killed, Nairbix began to stir; as if he could see each of them drop onto floor dead. His whole body soon began to shake and convulse until finally, his eye shot open blazing and all.
In the midst of all this chaos, Spades and the rest of Noise Maker squad managed to sneak into the hospital wing. Their mission: rescue Nairbix.
"All clear, sir." Dars informed Spades as they headed to Nairbix's room.
"Keep a look out." Spades ordered, "If you see anyone come in, question them and if they're here for the general, kill them."
"Yes, sir."
Inside the room, Nairbix pretended to still be in his coma while most of his troopers came in. When Spades had his back turned, Nairbix took the moment to strike. He used his chains to strangle Spades enough to the point of restricting him from fighting back.
"Unless you want to die, you better give me a damn good reason as to why you're here, Spades." Nairbix hissed in his ear.
"General," Spades choked, "Please, we're not here to kill you."
"Oh, really?" Nairbix asked thinking it was a lie, "Well, that's a relief. Say, did you happen to kill any younglings on your way here?" he asked.
"No!" Spades wheezed as the rest of the squad looked conflicted on what to do, "I swear we didn't kill any Jedi, sir! Just a few troopers on their way here to take you out."
"Hmm, and what makes you lot so anti-murder innocent children when your brothers are clearly having a whale of a time doing just that?!" Nairbix cried in anger as his eyes continued to blaze.
"General, please! I can't tell you unless you let me go; we're running out of time!" Spades pleaded, "Sir, I swear on Fives that I'm telling you the truth!"
Hearing the name of the deceased and beloved Clone they lost months ago, Nairbix considered the possibility of Spades' words and let him go. "This better be good or else you'll find more than just your head being at the mercy of my chains, Spades."
"Duly noted, General. Glad to see your strength hasn't left you." choked Spades, "The reason why we're not acting against the Jedi like the troopers out there is because we did as you suggested, sir." he said as they all took off their helmets to reveal identical surgical scars on their heads.
"You're theory was right, General, it was a biochip, not a tumor found in our brothers' heads. The Kaminoans had us programed since birth to turn against the Jedi and kill them on sight once we heard the words, 'execute Order 66.'" he explained, "They had us wired up like clankers from the start."
"And everyone on the squad had them removed?" Nairbix asked.
"Yes, sir. Got them out right after the incident with Fives."
"Where is Tear and Jackal?" he asked noticing two of his men missing.
"Right beneath your window, sir." Lou informed, "We have a ship ready to take us to the rendezvous point Senator Organa sent us."
"Organa?"
"Yes, sir." Kul replied, "He witnessed the first strike on the temple first hand and is doing everything in his power to help any surviving Jedi."
"…Any word on Natasha?"
"Not yet, General. The order was only given out less than an hour ago. But we're keeping our ears open for any word." Zach replied as he tried to hack into the other transitions. "Uh, sir, we've got trouble. Skywalker is on his way up here and…and they killed all the remaining Jedi in the temple."
Bowing his head in both anger and sadness, Nairbix formulated his next move. "Get to the ship and wait at the weapons depot down below." he ordered, "If anyone asks, say you're on ammunition detail and if they begin to ask too many questions, kill them."
"What about you, sir?" Spades asked.
"I'll meet up with you in five minutes. I want to have a little chat with the chancellor's new apprentice!" Nairbix hissed in rage.
After his squad made their escape, Nairbix met up with Anakin to confront him. "Well, well, well," he trailed, "A guy falls into a coma for a while and this is what he wakes up to: Hell."
"Nairbix," Anakin began gently, "You need to understand, I'm doing this to protect the Republic. The Jedi have been plotting to take over the Senate."
"Have they?" Nairbix asked as he slowly paced in front of Anakin, "Tell me, Anakin, were the innocent little children you slaughtered tonight also in on this so-called coup d'état? Because I find that hard to believe."
"They would have been brought up to obey the order without question, denied of feeling anything; I did those younglings a favor." Anakin argued.
"You keep telling yourself that." Nairbix retorted as he noticed Anakin's new lightsaber. "I see you have a new weapon. I'm guessing that was a gift from your new master?"
"Yes." Anakin replied proudly ready to defend Sidious, "He has given me a new weapon and a new name. Anakin Skywalker was my Jedi name, now I am Darth Vader." Ana-Vader declared.
"…It would seem that while I was in my coma…one of dear friends died as he killed Count Dooku." Nairbix said in sorrow.
"We don't have to be enemies," Vader offered, "You are not a Jedi, my master could use your strength; we can overthrow him and restore peace to this galaxy!" he offered in excitement.
"You want me to join forces with the bastard who literally stabbed me in the back and left for dead on a godforsaken world for three days all so you and I can kill him and take his place?" Nairbix asked dumbfounded at the offer, "Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds? I'd rather lose a thumb than do that!"
"Nairbix-"
"And another thing," Nairbix interjected, "Where would Natasha and Obi-Wan, our friends, fit in this grand scheme that you and your master have planned?"
"…They sopped being my friends when they betrayed the Republic." Vader spat.
Nairbix shook his head. "So this it? After all we've been through, you're just going to toss away the bonds you forged with them just like that?" he asked snapping his finger.
"I will not disobey my master." Vader replied giving Nairbix his answer, "I need his knowledge and power."
"Why?" Nairbix asked, "So you can 'save' Padme from dying in childbirth like your visions keep telling you?" he asked causing Vader to go silent. "I may I have been in a coma, Anakin, but my senses most certainly weren't. I know about everything you've been dealing with from the moment you got back from your mission to when you decided to throw away everyone and everything you knew and loved. And to be completely honest with you, I knew about you and Padme the whole time."
Vader said nothing as he seethed and breathed in anger; even his eyes changed from blue to a Sith's sulfuric yellow while his hair became sullen and his skin pale. "Any last words?" he asked as he activated both his lightsabers.
"Yeah," Nairbix nodded as he summoned Heartbreaker, "Ahsoka would be ashamed of you."
Vader then snarled as he charged at his former friend who easily held off his attacks. Fighting with emotions was new to Vader so his attacks were extremely sloppy and pathetic. So naturally, Nairbix was able to make quick work with him.
"Flux Wave!" he cried as he sent Vader and all of his troopers back inside the temple allowing him to escape with his squad.
On Utapau, Natasha and Obi-Wan, who managed to survive, snuck past the Clones and tried to make their way back to the top of the chasm where the ship and Wall-E were. At first, it seemed as though they were going to make it off-world without any problems, but then they were found by Cody, Wulfric and their troops.
"Wall-E, get to the ship!" Natasha shouted, but just as the little droid was about to do so, Wulfric fired his blaster and shot Wall-E five times. "NO!" Natasha cried as she ran over to try and save her little friend.
"Natasha, come on!" Obi-Wan shouted as he covered them and made his way to the ship. But Natasha just cradled Wall-E as he weakly moaned in pain. His circuits were fried, his right eye piece was destroyed, and the rest of him was covered holes from the blaster fire. With what little strength he had, Wall-E urged Natasha to get to the ship as he struggled to point to it; but she just stayed as she silently began to cry.
"It's over, Jedi!" Wulfric shouted over the gunfire. Suddenly, his weapon along with the others' flew out of their hands and gathered into a compressed spinning sphere in the air. Natasha then looked up from Wall-E and glared at the Clones as tears went down her face.
All of them, one by one, were pulled up into the air just like their weapons and slowly and painfully began to compress into a sphere; the sounds of their painful screams and cracking bones rang through her and Obi-Wan's ears. With her anger reaching levels she never thought possible, Natasha raised her trembling hands and clenched them into fists causing all of the Clones to burst.
Their blood and scattered body parts covered the area they were in, but Natasha didn't care; she didn't care that she was soaked in the blood of those she once called her comrades. All she cared about now was getting Wall-E someplace safe so she could repair him.
She hadn't noticed that Obi-Wan brought her and Wall-E onto the ship until she heard him try to make contact. "Emergency code 913. I have no contact on any frequency."
"Master Kenobi." Senator Organa addressed through a disoriented frequency.
"Senator Organa. General Romanoff's and my own troopers have turned on us. We need help."
"We just rescued Masters Yoda and VanSull."
"He's awake?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Yes, though for some reason, his squadron of Clones have not turned on us as the others did. It appears this ambush has happened everywhere. We're sending you our coordinates." Organa informed. Obi-Wan then made the jump to hyperspace.
"Did you hear that, Natasha?" Obi-Wan asked, "Nairbix is awake."
"…Good, that's good to hear." she replied as she wiped away her tears and steadied herself, "Sorry about that, I'm good now."
"I understand how much Wall-E means to you, Natasha." Obi-Wan reassured, "It's alright to act this way."
"Maybe so, but we still have a job to do." Natasha replied, "I'll worry more about Wall-E's condition when the time is right." she said as they came out of hyperspace and came aboard Senator Organa's ship.
"How many other Jedi have managed to survive?" Obi-Wan asked Yoda as they along with Senator Organa and Nairbix walked through the halls.
"Heard from no one we have." Yoda replied.
"I saw thousands of troops attack the Jedi Temple." Organa informed, "That's why I went looking for Yoda and Nairbix."
"Have we had any contact from the temple?" Natasha asked.
"Received a coded retreat message we have." Yoda informed.
"Most likely a trap." Nairbix replied, "As I left, nearly everyone there was dead; they were most likely finished off within the hour. It requests all Jedi to return to the temple. Says the war is over."
"I suggest we head back and dismantle the coded signal." Obi-Wan suggested, "There is too much at stake."
"I agree." said Yoda.
"So do I." Natasha added.
"Same." Nairbix threw in, "We may yet receive a little more knowledge along the way."
"Though, I hope that it's that Vader has already been dealt with and there are more survivors than I think. But that seems unlikely." he thought.
As the ship began to approach Coruscant, the pilot informed them that they received a message from the chancellor's office. The message was the Senator Organa was to report to a special session of Congress. This certainly made things easier for the party to make their way into the temple.
At the same time on Mustafar, Vader made his way into the building where the Separatist leaders were in so to carry out his master's orders. As he walked inside with his hood up, he was greeted by Viceroy Gunray.
"Welcome, Lord Vader. We've been expecting you."
As soon as he said this, Vader used the Force to close all exits and began to carry out his mission. Kill all of the Separatists.
Back on Coruscant in the Senate building, Sidious, or rather at this moment Palpatine, was giving a speech to the senators regarding the Jedi. "The Jedi rebellion has been foiled. The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated!" he shouted in triumph.
Due to Windu's last stand against him, Sidious's face was now grotesque, pale, sullen, and wrinkled. A befitting appearance for a lord of the Sith.
At the temple, Nairbix and the others walked through the temple and past the countless dead bodies of clones and Jedi. "Not even the younglings survived." Natasha muttered in horror seeing the dead children at her feet.
"Killed not by Clones this Padawan." Yoda informed choking on his words, "By a lightsaber he was."
Obi-Wan then kneeled to close the child's eye and asked, "Who? Who could've done this?"
On Mustafar, Vader quickly and mercilessly cut down each of the Separatist leader in the room he was in before moving on to the next one to repeat the process.
At the Senate building, nearly all of the Senators were applauding at Sidious's words not even truly knowing what he had in store for the government they dedicated their lives to. "The attempt on my life has left scarred and deformed. But I assure you, my resolve has never been stronger!"
As he said this, Vader continued to kill the remaining Separatists, but as he looked down at their corpses, he looked at them in hatred with the yellow eyes of a Sith just as he did with Nairbix.
"In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire!" Sidious declared earning more applause than ever before, "For a safe and secure society."
"So this is how liberty dies." Padme said from her hovercraft shaking her head, "With thunderous applause."
Finally, Vader had his last target right before him, one Separatist he had been particularly saving for last. The very alien who had wanted the head of his wife brought to him on a silver platter twelve years ago, Viceroy Gunray.
"The war is over." he reasoned to Vader, "Lord Sidious promised us peace. We only want-" But Vader ended his excuses by swiftly cutting his throat before walking away, purposely stepping on each body in his way.
At the temple, Obi-Wan managed to recalibrate the signal code in order to warn and surviving Jedi not to return to the temple. After he did, Obi-Wan decided to look into who it truly was who led the slaughter on the temple.
"If you go into the security footage, Obi-Wan, you'll only find pain." Nairbix warned.
"I must know the truth, Nairbix." Obi-Wan replied as both he and Natasha looked at the holo-recordings. Nairbix looked down at Yoda who simply nodded, he undoubtedly sensed what happened and knew the truth.
As they searched through the recordings, they found who they were looking for. They found footage of Anakin-or rather Vader-killing the younglings. "It can't be." Obi-Wan denied as Natasha covered her mouth in shock, "It can't be."
"You have done well, my new apprentice." the recording of Sidious praised as Vader knelt before him, "Now, Lord Vader, go and bring peace to the Empire."
"Shut it off." Natasha demanded, "I can't watch anymore. Why didn't you tell us?" she asked Nairbix who looked just as heartbroken.
"I felt that it was something you needed to see with your own eyes." he replied, "…You know what we must do now."
"Hmm," Yoda nodded, "Destroy the Sith we must."
"Send me to kill the emperor." Obi-Wan pleaded knowing that Yoda was bound to send him after Vader, "I will not kill Anakin."
"To fight this Lord Sidious, strong enough you are not." Yoda reasoned as he paced in front of Obi-Wan.
"He is like my brother. I cannot do it." Obi-Wan said as his heart began to shatter even further than before.
"Anakin has become twisted by the dark side, Obi-Wan." Nairbix argued, "He tried to kill me simply because I refused to join him."
"The boy you trained, gone he is." Yoda continued, "Consumed by Darth Vader."
"I do not know where the emperor has sent him." Obi-Wan argued, "I don't know where to look."
"Use your feelings, Obi-Wan, and find him you will." Yoda replied.
"So," Natasha began, "What's our next plan of attack?" she asked.
"We're up against two powerful lords of the Sith." Nairbix reasoned, "It's not going to be easy. But we have our own advantage. There's four of us and only two of them. I say we use that against them. I'll go with Yoda, I have a score to settle with the emperor."
"Fine by me." Natasha nodded in approval as she slammed her fist into her hand, "I'd like to have a little chat with Lord Vader." she spat.
At Padme's apartment, Natasha and Obi-Wan tried to gain answers as to where Anakin's location was. "When was the last time you saw him?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Yesterday." Padme replied as she went over to sit down.
"Do you know where he is know?" Natasha asked.
"…No." Padme replied though it was obvious she was lying.
"Padme, we need your help." Natasha pleaded, "He's in grave danger.
"From the Sith?" she asked.
"From himself." Obi-Wan replied, "Padme, Anakin has turned to the dark side."
"You're wrong!" Padme exclaimed, "How could you even say that?"
"We have seen a security hologram of him…killing younglings." Obi-Wan choked the pain all too fresh.
"Not Anakin. He couldn't." Padme denied.
"He was deceived by a lie, Padme, we all were." Natasha explained, "The chancellor is behind everything, including the war. Palpatine is the Sith lord we've been looking for. After the death of Count Dooku, Anakin became his new apprentice. He even tried to kill Nairbix in cold blood when he refused his offer to join them."
"I don't believe you." Padme said to them after taking everything in, she was on the verge of heartbroken tears.
"Padme," Obi-Wan gently said, "We must find him."
Padme turned to them and realized what their intentions were. "You're going to kill him, aren't you?"
"…He has become a very great threat." Natasha replied giving Padme their answer. As they both stood up, Obi-Wan turned to ask Padme one last question.
"Anakin is the father isn't he?" Padme said nothing as she bowed her head, "We're so sorry." he said as they began to walk back to their transport.
"We need to be patient. She'll go to him once she thinks we've been gone long enough." Natasha advised as they hurriedly walked back to their ship.
"How long did you know?" Obi-Wan asked.
"From the start." she replied without the slightest hesitation.
On Mustafar, Vader, or rather Anakin looked out at the sea of lava before him and wept tears of despair over the monster he had become.
Not long after the two Jedi supposedly left, Padme had her ship readied to take her to Mustafar; little did she know, two cloaked Jedi managed to sneak onboard and hide out of sight.
It didn't take long for the ship to reach its destination and when it did, Padme got out as quickly as her pregnant body would let her once she saw her husband. As they ran towards each other, Anakin pulled her into a hug.
"I saw your ship. What are you doing out here?" he asked his frantic wife.
"I was so worried about you." Padme confessed, "Obi-Wan and Natasha told me terrible things."
"What things? What did they tell you?" Anakin asked.
"They said you turned the dark side. That you killed younglings and tried to kill Nairbix."
"…Obi-Wan and Natasha are trying to turn you against me." Anakin tried to reason.
"They care about us."
"…Us?" he asked as his temper began to grow.
"They know." she said, "They want to help you." she said, but Anakin scoffed and smirked at the thought of his enemies wanting to help him. "Anakin, all I want is your love."
"Love won't save you, Padme. Only my new powers can do that."
"At what cost?" she asked, "You're a good person, don't do this." she pleaded.
"I won't lose you the way I lost my mother." Anakin declared as he began to show his anger, "I am becoming more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of. And I'm doing it for you. To protect you."
"Come away with me." Padme pleaded for probably for the last time, "Help me raise our child. Leave everything behind while we still can."
"Don't you see?" he asked showing that he was drunk on his own power and lost in his own world. "We don't have to run away anymore. I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the chancellor. I can overthrow him. And together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be!" he offered in excitement thinking she would agree. But Padme backed away in fear and shock, shaking her head at Anakin.
"I don't believe what I'm hearing." she said through her shaking voice, "Obi-Wan and Natasha were right. You've changed."
"I don't to hear any more about Obi-Wan, or Natasha, or even Nairbix." Anakin sternly told, "Nairbix and the Jedi turned against me. Don't you turn against me." he warned.
"I don't know you anymore." Padme said as she began to cry, "Anakin, you're breaking my heart! You're going down a path I can't follow."
"…Because of Obi-Wan?" he asked getting the wrong idea.
"Because of what you've done! What you plan to do." Padme replied, "Stop. Stop now. Come back." she pleaded, but Anakin wasn't paying attention to her. His attention was caught by Natasha and Obi-Wan standing in the ship, glaring at him. "I love you."
"Liar!" Vader cried. Padme then turned and saw the two Jedi as they came down from the ship.
"No. No!" Padme said trying to defend herself and explain.
"You're with him!" Vader accused pointing at Obi-Wan, "You brought them here to kill me." he accused as he began to choke Padme with the Force.
"Let her go, Anakin." Natasha ordered.
"Anakin." Padme pleaded.
"Let her go." Obi-Wan ordered with more force in his voice. Vader did so, but Padme had lost too much air; she collapsed onto the ground unconscious.
"You turned her against me!" Vader cried as he glared back at them.
"You have done that yourself." Obi-Wan shot back.
"You will not take her from me!" shouted Vader.
"Your anger and your lust for power have already done that." Natasha retorted, "You have allowed this dark lord to twist your mind until now…until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy."
"Don't lecture me, Natasha." Vader dismissed, "I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the dark side as you do. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new empire." Vader declared as though they justified his actions.
"You're new empire?" Obi-Wan asked not believing the nonsense coming from his former student.
"…Don't make me kill you." he warned.
"Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic, to democracy!" Obi-Wan shouted.
"If you're not with me, then you're my enemies!" Vader warned them as he turned his back to them.
"Only a Sith deals in absolutes." Natasha said shaking her head as they readied their lightsabers, "We will do what we must."
"You will try." Vader taunted as he jumped back as he lit his two lightsabers and the Jedi defended themselves with their own. As it was Qui-Gon who taught Obi-Wan everything he knew and in turn Obi-Wan did the same to Anakin, the three of them were equals in terms of skills and fighting styles. This battle was not going to be easily decided.
In the chancellor's office in the Senate building beneath the congress room, Yoda and Nairbix made their way to confront Sidious. "We hear a new apprentice you have, Emperor." Yoda greeted, "Or should we call you Darth Sidious?"
"Masters Yoda and VanSull. You survived." Sidious growled clearly displeased.
"Are you surprised?" Nairbix asked, "You should know better than anyone how hard it is to kill me." he teased.
"Your arrogance blinds the both of you." Sidious warned, "Now you will experience the full power of the dark side." He then sent a blast of Force Lightning at them only for it to be deflected by Nairbix's quickly summoned barrier.
"Hmm, I'm still not impressed." he spat in disapproval.
On Mustafar, Vader showed his former comrades no mercy as he furiously unleashed his onslaught. As they fought, they unconsciously made their way into the station. When Vader had his back Obi-Wan, he and Natasha tried to slam their lightsabers onto Vader but he quickly shrugged them off before continuing his attempts to kill them.
"I have waited a long time for this moment, my foolish friends." Sidious cackled as Nairbix and Yoda stood their ground. "At last the Jedi are no more."
"Not if anything to say about it we have." Yoda declared as he used the Force to send Sidious flying back into his chair with the help of Nairbix's Flux Wave.
"Your rule is at an end." Nairbix said to the Sith lord, "And it wasn't short enough."
Sidious then attempted to flee but was blocked by his two opponents. "If so powerful you are, why leave?" Yoda asked as he activated his lightsaber and Nairbix summoned his Keyblade.
"You will not stop me." Sidious denied, "Darth Vader will become more powerful than any of us." he declared as he whipped out both of his own lightsabers.
"Faith in your new apprentice misplaced may be. As is your faith in the dark side of the Force." Yoda retorted as they all took their stances. Nairbix went in for the first strike with Yoda following, but Sidious deflected both attacks, cackling the whole time.
When Vader seemed to be getting overpowered, he kicked away Natasha onto one of the control panels in the room they were in while he slowly pinned Obi-Wan backwards with his iron grip around his throat.
Seeing her friend in distress, Natasha jumped back over and swatted Vader onto the holo-table next to them knocking his weapons away. She and Obi-Wan stood above him with their lightsabers read to take his head, but as they swung down, Vader used the Force to grab his lightsabers and activate them as they were crossed inches in front of his neck.
As this happened, the other three fighters swung their weapons at their opponent(s) faster than the others. Yoda leaping and twirling around as he deflected Sidious's attacks and Nairbix doing his own version of that as the chair they were fighting on rose into the congress room. For a moment, Nairbix and Yoda managed to pin down Sidious's weapons before taking the chance to be on the offensive side.
Vader, Natasha, and Obi-Wan were now rapidly striking their blades without even taking their eyes off each other. They then twirled their lightsabers around them before slamming them against each other and using powerful Force Pushes against the one(s) they were trying to kill.
With so much power from all three sides, each of them were sent flying. Vader, however, was the first to get up and tried the strike them. Unfortunately, he missed and instead destroyed the shield generator system protecting the station from the surrounding lava; though it was obvious he didn't care. Ironically, they managed to carry their fight outside and out towards the lava.
From above Yoda and Nairbix, Sidious cackled as he threw down the hovercrafts at them one by one. Yoda struggled to keep up with the flying projectiles, but Nairbix easily avoided them as he kicked them away while climbing up to confront his enemy.
As he and Yoda flew up to where Sidious was, the Sith lord immediately sent his Force Lightning at them again. This time, instead of using a barrier, Nairbix countered with his black lightning and Yoda with the Force to protect him. Sidious believed that he was gaining the upper hand, but he quickly realized that he was being overpowered by the two before him.
In an instant, they were all sent flying due to their power being too great. Yoda lost his lightsaber and plummeted to the floor leaving him no other option but to flee. Nairbix, however stayed behind to finish what was started on Cadonia.
He flew back over to continue his fight; thankfully with Yoda out of the way, he didn't have to worry about the old Jedi getting caught in the cross fire anymore. His attacks were wilder now but were still in his control. He then knocked one of Sidious's lightsabers away and sent him flying through the wall with a powerful punch backed up with a Flux Wave.
Once he saw Nairbix come closer to him in the hall, Sidious became so afraid that he began to run away like a coward with the Force giving him speed. "Get back here!" Nairbix snarled as he chased after the Sith.
As Sidious ran, he soon found himself held at gunpoint by Noise Maker Squad. "Sorry, Your Majesty," Spades apologized, "You're not going anywhere."
"You insolent cl-"
"Blast him!" Spades ordered his squad. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to stop the emperor, not even wound him, but they all knew this. This squad had devoted themselves to bringing peace back to the galaxy as well as to serve and die for their general. They were happy to make such a sacrifice.
The first to be cut down was Dars, following him were Zach, Lou and Kul. To avenge to fallen their brothers, Lor and Keres charged at Sidious; they had their heads cut off in a single cut. Wool actually managed to get in a few quick shots on Sidious's arm before he was electrocuted to death along with L, Vince and Tails. All that was left of the proud squad was Jackal and Spades; thankfully, Nairbix finally caught up to them.
"It's been an honor fighting alongside you, gentlemen." Nairbix said as they kept their eyes on Sidious.
"Couldn't agree more, General." Spades nodded as they charged. With Nairbix's speed, he was actually fast enough to slide in and break Sidious's left knee as Spades and Jackal sucker punched him in the gut. Out of adrenaline, Sidious managed toss Jackal aside which broke his back in the process; he died from shock. Knowing they didn't have time to stop, Nairbix and Spades continued to beat the Sith as best they could.
Spades managed to break four ribs, fracture a shoulder and knock out three teeth. Nairbix broke three ribs, his nose, and shattered Sidious's bad arm. But Sidious still managed to use the Force and knock them back. With as broken and bended as his body was, Nairbix guessed Sidious was using the Force to either support his body or dull the pain; either way, he was still standing.
"This is it isn't it, sir?" Spades asked.
"Maybe. But let's make sure it's his end not ours." Nairbix encouraged. Spades looked at the emperor with only one thought in mind: the ultimate sacrifice.
"…Sorry to disappoint you, General, but you're going to have to do that on your own." Spades confessed as he ran towards Sidious and revealed that he had numerous explosives around his waist that he activated. "Because this old war dog has no other choice but to offer his retirement!" he cried shocking both Nairbix and Sidious.
"Spades!" Nairbix cried as his top Clone jumped and grabbed Sidious' head.
"I'm taking you straight to hell with me, Palpatine! You bastard!" Spades yelled. But the sound of a lightsaber being swung filled the air instead of an explosion. Sidious had swiftly managed to cut the explosives in half rendering them useless along with Spades torso.
"Even while sacrificing my life, I still couldn't kill him." he thought bitterly in shame as he looked at his fallen brothers. "Brothers, please forgive my pathetic death."
As he thought this, Spades felt something puncture through his gut where it also stabbed Sidious's waist. It was Nairbix's Keyblade! "The dark side may have given you the power to sense anything in the galaxy," he grunted in pain to Sidious, "But even you can't dodge an attack if you can't see it coming!"
Sidious grunted in pain as his blood began to spill from the wound. "Alright, Spades, you may be going to hell, but you aren't going alone." Nairbix reassured, "I'll make sure this bastard keeps you company on the way down."
"Oh," Spades groaned as death began to take him, "You have my gratitude. Thank you, General." Spades thanked with his last breath before joining his brothers in the next life.
In anger at being stabbed, Sidious Force Pushed them away and used his lightning to make the lights surge giving him the chance to escape while Nairbix was blinded. Once he regained his bearings, Nairbix saw that the Sith was gone and he had no idea where he went.
He hadn't lost this fight, but certainly didn't feel as though he won either. So, he gathered his squad members helmets as mementos and got out of the building as fast as he could before more troopers could arrive. As he stood outside, Nairbix clutched his head in frustration and gave out the most painful yell of his life.
On Mustafar, Obi-Wan and Natasha watched as Vader came closer to them; they were currently zooming across the lava on platforms of their own. "I have failed you, Anakin." Obi-Wan admitted, "I have failed you."
"I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over." Vader shouted.
"Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!" Natasha cried.
"From my point of view the Jedi are evil!"
"Well, then you are lost!" they both cried as they continued to zoom past the molten magma.
"This is the end for you, my masters." Vader solemnly said to them. Vader then charged at them once again and wildly attacked them. After they all made their own strikes, they slammed their lightsabers together just before Obi-Wan and Natasha jumped to safety.
"It's over, Anakin!" Obi-Wan declared, "We have the high ground."
"You underestimate my power." Vader warned.
"Don't try it." Natasha pleaded knowing what he was about to do. Sure enough, Vader tried to jump over them; but Obi-Wan took the opportunity and sliced off all but his mechanical arm in one strike. The man they once knew and called friend was now a pathetic shell of who he once was, limbless and trying to pull himself up from the fire.
"You were the Chosen One!" Obi-Wan cried in heartbreak, "It was said you would destroy the Sith, not join them!" he shouted as Vader's eyes completely changed to yellow, "Bring balance to the Force! Not leave it in darkness!"
Natasha said nothing, she only looked at Vader and pitied him as she took his red lightsaber and as Obi-Wan took his blue one. He still kept on trying to pull himself up, but he was too close to the edge.
"I hate you!" he cried through his pain.
They turned to look back at him probably for the last time in their lives. Still Natasha said nothing, she had nothing to say to the traitor; Obi-Wan, however, had one last thing to say. "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!"
It was at that point that the fires from the lava caught Vader's blood stained clothes on fire which traveled all over his body, engulfing him in flames as he cried out in pain. Obi-Wan looked away, Natasha continued to look at him; she wanted to watch the traitor burn.
With his flesh scorched and singed, Vader, or Anakin, wailed in pain as he held out his robotic limb to them, probably hoping they would save him. Having seen and heard enough, the two Jedi left their fallen friend to his fate and left.
After they retrieved Padme and met up at Organa's secret base, they learned of what transpired at Coruscant, and of Padme's condition. The pain of losing Anakin to the monster he had become was too much for her condition, Padme had lost the will to live. The medical droids had to quickly operate on her in order to save her children.
Padme was in fact carrying twins.
It was painful for her, but Padme's last act of good was bringing in two healthy beautiful babies into their new lives. Her son she named Luke, her daughter, Leia. Sadly, she never even got to hold them. Her last words were her saying that she believed that there was still good left in Anakin.
Her death finally broke them, Natasha and Nairbix were sobbing as they saw their friend's head go limp. Even though they weren't originally from the galaxy they were in, they lost so much more than anyone else in the two years they wasted fighting in a pointless war.
To make matters worse, the empire was already searching for them and the remaining Jedi so they were unable to attend Padme's funeral. Their last act in that galaxy was to help decided what was to be done with the twins.
"Hidden, safe the children must be kept." Yoda advised.
"We must take them somewhere where the Sith will not sense their presence." Obi-Wan added.
"So you want them to be split up, then." Nairbix stated.
"My wife and I will take the girl." Senator Organa offered, "We've always talked of adopting a baby girl. She will be loved with us."
"And what of the boy?" Natasha asked.
"To Tatooine with his family." Yoda replied.
"I will take the child and watch over him." Obi-Wan informed.
"Until the time is right, disappear we will." Yoda said to them all.
"I'm afraid that's just it." Nairbix said gaining all but Natasha's attention, "We're not coming back."
"We've lost too much these past two years." Natasha added, "This place, this galaxy…there's nothing but pain for us here."
"Hmm, understand we do." Yoda nodded, "Your own home you have been away from for too long. Go back there you must. Miss you, we will."
Natasha then went over to hug the little Jedi who sorrowfully accepted and returned. Both Nairbix and Natasha did the same to Obi-Wan before they made their way outside. In the cart she was pulling, Natasha had Wall-E who shut down during all the fighting and her compacted ship; she even had Vader's lightsaber on her belt along with her own.
With sad looks on both of their faces, Nairbix opened the corridor home and walked through, leaving behind the galaxy they spent so long in behind; forever.
As they left, Palpatine, now using a cane to support himself due to his injuries, and Vader, now wearing a black, frightening life support suit, looked out from the Star Destroyer battle ship they were in and saw as imperial workers began construction on the largest most dangerous weapon the galaxy would come to know. The very thing Nairbix received a sneak preview of on Geonosis two years prior.
And that's it. As you can tell, I dropped a lot of my own bombs in this one. Spades and the rest of Noise Maker squad are dead, each of them managed to outlast a war only to be killed off one by one by the one who caused it all. And yes, I did base the end of that fight off of the fight between Greed(Ling), Fuu, and Buckaneer against Bradley from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.
The reason why Nairbix and Natasha knew about Anakin and Padme was simply because they actually understood how their friends loved each other since the beginning and left them alone because they wanted them to be happy together.
As for Wall-E's "death" I thought it would be a nice tragic twist for Natasha, losing her little friend she loved so much for twelve years. I wish I could have done more with him, but he was hard to add into a lot of these scenes. In any case, it added more to Nairbix and Natasha's sorrow after the war.
And yes, she now has Vader's red lightsaber. I gave him that one so he would have the true weapon of a Sith; plus he would've needed it in his fight against her and Obi-Wan.
Stay tuned for the next chapter to see what happened to our dear Narnian and his beloved Princess of Heart after they come home from the war.