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Chapter 46:
Padme watched in stunned silence as Anakin walked away from her. His shoulders were hunched as though he was carrying the world, his movements sluggish, defeated. Her forehead tingled where he'd kissed her. Had that been goodbye? What happened to the plan? Was Anakin making up his own plan or was this a part of the plan she didn't know?
The anger that had overwhelmed her only moments ago was nowhere to be seen, replaced by confusion. No, confusion wasn't the right word – she was dumbfounded. They had been following the plan, well mostly. She hadn't expected her anger and hatred of the Emperor to spiral out of control so quickly nor had they foreseen Anakin's near immediate submission. Maybe he hadn't been ready for this.
When Anakin was directly in front of the Emperor, he dropped to his knees and waited. Palpatine had watched everything with a smirk. His overconfidence grated on Padme's nerves, snapping her from a dazed state.
"Ani?"
After a full minute of silence, Padme sighed. Hatred bubbled into her throat, making her want to lash out at something, anything. But she swallowed it down and forced her eyes to meet the Emperor's.
"It's almost too easy," he laughed. "I've enjoyed taking everything from you Padme. While that may not have been my original intention, it does seem to be a fun benefit."
Padme gritted her teeth but she couldn't hold it in for long. With a feral scream, she ran at him, murder in her eyes. She didn't get far.
Barely five steps from where she started Padme was forced to a halt. A glowing red blade hummed mere centimetres from her belly.
"Move another step and you will force your son to commit fratricide," Palpatine paused, looking thoughtful. "Or sororicide. Do you know which it would be?"
Padme glared at him. "The gender of my child is none of your concern," she snapped.
She looked down at Luke, standing so strong and fierce despite his young years. The weapon he wielded complimented his size but Padme had no doubt it was just as lethal as the Emperor's own. His eyes, once a bright blue like his father's, were a sickly yellow that broke Padme's heart.
"How could you do this to him?" she cried. "He's just a child!"
She looked imploringly at Anakin but his head was down, his eyes closed. Turning back to Luke, she dropped onto her knees so they were a similar height. The boy's eyes followed her closely.
"Luke honey, it's mum."
Luke continued to stare at her in silence, his face giving nothing away.
"I'm sorry we took so long to find you but we're here now."
Padme saw his eyes flicker to Anakin's still form and back again. His grip tightened on the hilt of the lightsaber.
Padme swallowed, slowly extending her hand. "Can you hand me the lightsaber Luke?"
His eyes narrowed, again flicking to his father and back. A feral snarl escaped his lips.
"When will you realise that both of your boys are now mine?" the Emperor mocked. He sounded amused but Padme ignored him. She kept her eyes locked with Luke's, wiggling her fingers in an expectant way.
"The sooner you hand over the lightsaber, the sooner we can leave," Padme didn't mean to slip into parent-mode, it just happened. "Leia has been asking about you." Luke's eyes momentarily flashed blue before returning to yellow. Her heart beat faster.
Emperor Palpatine must have noticed a change in the young boy too. Padme saw him quickly gesture to the two Mandalorians, who started towards them. The younger one, Aleema, made her way over to the Emperor and Anakin, slipping her blaster into the hip holster. The male was approaching Padme and Luke but he didn't draw his weapon. He kept his eyes on her as he walked, his fingers tapping against his leg. She faced Luke, desperation seeping into her.
"Leia misses you, we all do," Padme told him, trying to keep her voice calm. "If you hand me the lightsaber we can go home and you can see everyone again."
Luke's eyes were changing blue to yellow and back again now. He frowned at her, slowly lowering the weapon so it was pointed downwards. He didn't deactivate it though.
"Leia's safe?" he asked. His voice was hoarse as though he hadn't spoken in a long time. Knowing Palpatine's techniques, he probably hadn't.
Padme nodded frantically. The Mandalorian was almost within reach of Luke, causing Padme's panic levels to skyrocket. She couldn't lose him again. "Yes Leia is fine. She wanted to come and see you today."
He tilted his head, watching Padme thoughtfully. His eyes continued to flicker between colours until the Mandalorian placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. Luke didn't even flinch, instead he straightened and Padme's heart sunk as his eyes settled on yellow once more. Her hand dropped to her side in defeat and she sunk back onto her haunches. She watched dispassionately as the man led Luke away from her, towards the Emperor.
She'd lost. She had been so close to saving Luke. Padme had sensed his conflict in the way only a mother can, had tried to reach out to him, to help him, but it hadn't been enough. She had failed him. A tear slid down her cheek.
While Padme had been distracted with her son, Aleema had been attending to her husband. Anakin had barely moved while Padme had been talking, his eyes firmly closed. His hands were balled into tight fists but his face appeared serene. Aleema wondered if he'd accepted his defeat and was attempting to embrace his failure.
Palpatine motioned to the still man. "Get that cuff and collar back on him. I don't want any surprises."
Aleema nodded, reaching around her belt to unclip the special cuff and collar combination the Emperor had handed her back in their meeting on Coruscant. They were already unhinged, open and waiting to embrace Anakin's neck and wrist. She squatted down next to the young man, reaching out for his wrist first. A smile tugged at her lips as she noticed he was shaking.
As her thin fingers wrapped around his wrist, Anakin tugged it away, his eyes flying open. Aleema met his gaze, noting the fear that dulled his blue eyes. She reached out again, taking his wrist more forcefully. She grinned maliciously at him as she closed the steel circle, delight dancing in her eyes as she saw him flinch.
Aleema stood up and walked behind Anakin. She latched the collar closed and stepped back. The young man at the Emperor's feet shuddered, his whole body convulsing as he fell forward into the earth. Luke and Maxim stopped beside Anakin, all three watching in morbid fascination as Anakin writhed in pain. Behind them, Padme sobbed quietly.
Surprising them all, Luke bent down beside Anakin. Aleema expected Maxim to drag him away, however the man did nothing. She glanced over at the Emperor. He looked livid but he didn't motion for her to interfere. So she rested her hand on her blaster and waited patiently.
Luke dropped his lightsaber on the ground and crawled the short distance to his father. He placed a hand on Anakin's cheek, closing his eyes. Aleema wasn't sure what was happening. Instinct told her to be ready for anything, despite both males being unarmed. However, after a few moments, Luke sat back and opened his eyes just as Anakin's body stilled. Aleema narrowed her eyes, studying the boy silently. What was going on?
Ahsoka sucked in a deep breath, eyes wide as she watched the events unfold in the clearing. Her chest still heaved from racing through the forest but she could easily ignore that. Beside her, Pieter looked unfazed by his sprint. His eyes were focused solely on the small group in the middle of the field, hand resting on his blaster.
Ahsoka raised her comm. link to her lips, whispering into it. She wasn't sure whispering was necessary but she was erring on the side of caution. "They have both Anakin and Luke. One of the Mandalorians just put that collar back on Anakin. We need to do something."
"Where is Padme? Is she safe?" Ferus' hushed reply had Ahsoka turning her attention to Padme. The woman was just sitting behind the small group, seemingly forgotten and ignored. Padme wasn't using this to her advantage though. She was barely moving.
Ahsoka frowned. "They're ignoring her for the moment in favour of Anakin but that could change any second."
There was silence from the other end, then, "We're moving in. Hold back until we arrive."
As Ahsoka ended the call, she glanced at Pieter. He nodded to her, pulling his blaster from its holster. She pulled the hilt of her double-ended lightsaber from her belt and held it tight. The moment they saw Obi Wan and Ferus' craft, they would be in that field, ready for anything.
Anakin turned his head to the side and slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the harsh sunlight. The pain was slowly fading but he could still feel it lingering in his muscles like bad cramps. Luke was kneeling beside his head, his young face impassive. Slowly, Anakin rolled onto his side, pushing himself up onto his elbow so he could better see his son.
"Luke?" his words sent ripples of pain through him but he rode them out. He could handle the pain.
Luke stood up and turned his back to Anakin. But as he took the last couple of steps to the Emperor, Anakin felt his son's presence in his mind.
'I'll help you Daddy.'
Hope exploded through Anakin but he was careful not to think too much about what that meant. With the collar and cuff back on he would not be able to consider escaping or defying Palpatine.
At least now he knew that Luke wasn't beyond saving. He didn't know whether it was Padme's words and motherly tone or his own efforts that had reached Luke but at the moment he didn't care. If he needed to keep sending calming waves of his own Force presence to his son then that's what he'd do. For that was what he had been doing while Padme talked. He had reached out to Luke through their father son Force bond, flooding the boy with nothing but his love. Anakin had whispered words of encouragement in his mind as Padme talked, convincing him that his parents could be trusted. When Leia had been mentioned, something inside Luke had opened up and Anakin had taken the opportunity to dive deeper. He didn't want to control his son, like the Emperor was doing, but Anakin needed him to know how much he meant to them. But then Aleema had broken his concentration and Anakin had been dragged back to the present, where he was once again robbed of his freedom.
Now Anakin was almost sorry he'd deviated from the plan. He had chosen to distract the Emperor by handing himself over, giving Padme time to help Luke. And while she had unknowingly succeeded, Anakin was back at square one.
"On your feet," the Emperor commanded.
Anakin stood up quickly, falling into step behind Palpatine as he started towards the spacecraft. Luke and the two Mandalorians bought up the rear. Having not been commanded otherwise, Anakin risked looking back for Padme. She looked so broken, kneeling in the thick grass where they had left her. Anakin's heart tore in two as he saw her tear-stained face and if it hadn't been for months of conditioning, he probably would have been sprinting back to her. As it was, his legs wouldn't stop from following his Master as he crossed the clearing. He turned back around before the Emperor caught him.
The Force was almost a palpable thing as it crackled between the small group. Anakin tried not to bring attention to the open connection he and Luke currently shared, lest Palpatine command him to release his hold on the Force. He couldn't afford to break the connection. Both he and Luke depended on it.
Anakin felt them before he saw them. The small group was halfway to the Emperor's ship before the X-Wing fighter shot overhead. Obi Wan and Ferus' Force signatures blazing like the sun, both a warning and a distraction. They landed perpendicular to the Emperor's ship and jumped out. Both men already had their lightsabers lit as they ran.
Anakin felt the Emperor's frustration turn to anger.
"I told you we should have kept it brief," Aleema stated.
The Emperor kept his eye on the two approaching Jedi. "Maxim, Aleema, get the boy back to the facility. I'll deal with you two later."
Aleema narrowed her eyes, scowling. Still, she grabbed Luke's upper arm and started up the ship's ramp. Maxim jogged after them.
'Luke!' Anakin frantically reached out to his son.
Luke glanced over his shoulder. 'Don't worry Dad. I'm going to help.'
He seemed so sure of himself. Anakin swallowed the dry lump in his throat and nodded. Luke had to know that he would support him, no matter what.
Anakin moved in front of the Emperor, his muscles tensing as they readied for a fight. Obi Wan and Ferus came to a stop, the humming of their lightsabers the only sound in the field. He kept a cautious eye on both of them but neither was paying him any attention.
"You are too late Kenobi," Palpatine laughed. "You have always been one step behind me and now you have allowed the most powerful weapon of this galaxy to fall back into my hands. I have won."
"Not yet, you haven't."