A/N: I apologize for the wait, and am going to keep this note short. I was a bit stuck on this, but it all came to me tonight and I typed out every single word tonight. This chapter is dark, like really, on the fence with M rated content for violence dark. If you can't handle that, then you may not want to read. I'm really proud of it and hope you are too, if you can handle some badass suitless Darth Vader action...and be warned, a lot happens here.

Without further ado...

Dark Emperor: Chapter 2

My first swing is parried to the side as Obi-Wan quickly ignites his own azure blue lightsaber and brings it up to defend himself. I'd expect nothing less from him, he was always a master at form III, he would just parry my blows until I begin to tire and then he would go on the offensive and lecture me about patience and lightsaber combat.

We've practiced together for thousands and thousands of hours. We know each other's lightsaber dueling abilities better than I know my own wife's body.

But I'm not the man he used to spend these thousands and thousands of hours dueling with.

That was Anakin Skywalker.

I'm Darth Vader.

And I'm not afraid of him.

He does nothing but block my strikes, parry my swings, this is all he can do, for I am in control of this duel and there's nothing he can do about that.

Blue clashes with blue.

White showers spark when our blades meet and I keep at it, not allowing him to breathe for even a moment.

He gives ground, something I'm used to him doing as he leads us back towards the control center where I've slain the whole Separtist leadership. He's trying to put space between us, trying to buy time to regroup and bring himself to do what's necessary.

We both know he doesn't have what it takes to kill me, whether he wants to admit it or not, he cares too much about me and that is a weakness of his that I'm more than willing to exploit.

Any combat, regardless of the kind, always has a mental component and a mental battle could have more of an affect than the physical battle itself.

Physically, we both know I'll win. Anakin was able to defeat him seven out of the last ten times in the last year of training between the Jedi Knight and Jedi Master.

But I'm not that same Knight, I'm a Sith now and Obi-Wan will learn the difference. I have new tools on my belt, so to speak and I'm not afraid to use them.

I'm not afraid of the dark side of the Force and that is something that he and the rest of the galaxy will discover.

The blast door slides open and Obi-Wan steps back into the control center. He doesn't even look down, his eyes stay locked on mine as he sidesteps and steps over the dismembered corpses as I force him through the doors and into the next room, a conference room.

I look around the room as I swing my saber at him, in every which way, up high, down low, at his midriff, overhead, one handed jabs aimed for his torso and he manages to perfectly deflect or parry every swing and jab.

The room is large, a durasteel table rests in the middle of the room, twelve chairs sit around it, datascreens rest on the walls with various data displayed on them, under the screens are various controls that must control the shields and various machines outside.

My saber keeps jabbing, stabbing, swinging, and slicing at Kenobi, he's not as young as he used to be and he doesn't have more energy than me. If I can wear him down, I'll be able to finish him off a lot sooner, and finally be able to slide my saber through his neck, decapitating him.

The thought doesn't even sicken me, it does the exact opposite actually. It excites me, it unlocks something inside of me that doesn't even shy away from thinking what I'm thinking. It just gives me more power and allows me to do what needs to be done without having any second thoughts.

Our blades keep swinging, and I see a gap in Obi-Wan's defense. His eyes may be alternating between myself and my lightsaber, but he's forgetting something and I remind him as I hold my saber one handed, and with my left hand, I send him flying backwards with a Force push.

He crashes into the wall, then slides down to the floor. His lightsaber clatters to the floor, falling from his grasp. I see him reach out for it, I do the same and beat him to the punch, sending his lightsaber flying behind me and through the doorway.

Obi-Wan pants, breathing heavily trying to regain his breath from the blow he took. He's already sweating, his auburn hair matting to his head and forehead. He runs his hand through his hair and makes a move to stand. I flick my wrist and send him falling back down, having pulled his feet out from under him.

"You've underestimated me," I keep my lightsaber ignited and let the tip of my blade burn into the floor. The acrid smell reaches my nostrils, I inhale deeply, not minding the smell in the least. "You should've stayed out of this. Now you'll die, and what have you accomplished?"

I know he won't give up this easy, it's not in his character to just surrender, not without a plan and I'm not accepting surrenders today. My guard is raised, just like the hairs on the back of my neck.

He doesn't even try to stand, what's he going to try to go all Negotiator on me? Try to get me to see reason? To see what I did was wrong? To bring me back to the light? Well, if he is, he can save his breath. I'm doing what I have to do, what I want and need to do. "I'm a Jedi, Anakin-"

Nothing but rage floods through my veins at the word, at the name of my former self coming out of his mouth and without even knowing how I'm doing it, he screams as blue lightning crashes first into his chest, then surrounds him, penetrates him and sends him crashing back into the wall as the lightning continues to strike him.

I look down, wide eyed, and see the lightning coming from the fingertips of my left hand, my organic hand. I've known it was possible, I've known it was a Sith power, but I didn't know how to do it...and now I do.

The morbid fascination elates me, knowing that I'm capable of causing such pain and destruction on another being. Choking someone with the Force is one thing, electrocuting them with lightning? It's...electrifying, no pun intended.

Obi-Wan falls flat on his back, his whole body convulsing, writhing. I can feel the sweet coldness seep deep into my bones, chilling me to the core and I welcome the frozen tundra, the darkness. Over the screams and the sound of the lightning, I hear a slight whir and the familiar noise has me looking down at my right mechno-arm just in time for me to watch my hand open against my will and the lightsaber fall from my grasp and fly towards Obi-Wan.

His right hand is extended, and just as the lightsaber is about to reach him, I switch targets, shooting lightning at my lightsaber and sending it off course. I don't even watch to see where it goes, Obi-Wan does, and I use that time to run over to him and kick the life out of him with my boot colliding into his abdomen.

His breath leaves him in a whoosh and his body curls in around the pain. His hands locking around my legs, I let him think he actually has me trapped and fall forward, my knees landing right on his side. The sickening crunch of his bone shattering accompanies the fall and he screams as loud as I ever heard him scream before.

Good. He's beginning to feel the pain he endured on me by forcing me to see the horror on my wife's face as I wrapped the Force around her slender neck because of his actions. He made my wife betray me and he'll suffer for it, worse than he already is.

I slowly stand back to my feet, he looks up at me with his light blue eyes and I see pleading in them. He's asking me for mercy. Why should I give him anything less than the opposite? I can't think of a reason and shake my head, snarling down at him and land another sickening blow on him with my boot kicking right back into his rib cage where I hear more bones crunching.

He's coughing up blood now, his arms wrapped around his ribs, his legs laying flat out before him, completely unprotected and that's where I target next, stomping with all of my might right down on his left knee cap.

"Anakin! Please!"

That name again! "I'M NOT ANAKIN!" I roar, the whole room shaking under my turbulent emotions and the lights hanging from two poles connected to the ceiling above the conference room table, fall and crash onto the table. I pay them no mind, the blue electricity building up in my hand, the lightning visibly jumping between my fingertips before I direct it at Obi-Wan.

The lightning jumps onto it's directed target and I pour all of my dark emotions into the beam, watching as his skin appears to become transparent under my attack, showing off his skeleton. My lips curl into a sadistic smirk, and I'm so focused on my new power that I miss my lightsaber jumping from wherever it landed into Obi-Wan's palm, where he catches the Sith lightning on the ignited plasma.

I don't let up, instead I pour more of my anger, hatred, pain and outright rage into the lightning and I can see the effects it has on him. So long as I can keep this up for a little while longer, maybe thirty or so seconds, he'll be left defenseless. I can see the strain on his features from the toll my attack on him had, bloods pooling from his mouth, dripping down into his beard and onto the floor. His left leg is clearly broken at the knee cap from where I stomped on it, and several of his ribs are undoubtedly broken.

The fact that this man used to be the closest man I had to a brother, a father figure even, doesn't register in my mind. I classified him as an enemy, not only one of my own for what he did to me and my family, but also an enemy of the state. He has to die, there's no other way around that.

He's too strong to be left alive, if anyone can ever find a way to defeat me, it'd be him. He knew the old me too well, and he knows too much.

He's a liability that has to die. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Twenty second later, the lightsaber deactivates, falls out of his grasp and a nice dose of lightning hits him square in the chest. I stop my attack and call my lightsaber to me, it lands in the palm of my mechno-hand and I hold it there tight.

"You're pathetic," like earlier, I barely even recognize my own voice. It's menacing, low, cold, there's no other way to really describe it. "I was expecting a better fight, even the younglings fought better than you..."

The Force screams a warning out to me and I duck on instinct, barely dodging a chair that nearly hit me square in the back. The next one hits me and I fall forward, landing on my knees and the fist of my gloved mechno-hand, the lightsaber securely in my grip.

I can feel more coming my way and knowing there are twelve of them, and two that already flew my way, I look back, turn and hold my left hand out to shield myself with a Force barrier.

The rest of the chairs bounce off the barrier surrounding me harmlessly, but in the process of holding them off, I had to take my eyes off of Obi-Wan. Turning to where he was, I find him gone and the door leading outside open.

I growl and jump to my feet, ignite my lightsaber and take off in pursuit of him. He couldn't have gotten far and he left a blood trail behind, small drops of blood lead out the door and as I run out it, my breath leaves me and I'm knocked down on my ass and back.

Obi-Wan's above me, a chair in his hand and the meanest look on his face that I've ever seen. He raises it above his head and drives it down on me, I roll out of the way, only the very top of the back of the chair hitting my side. I push myself up and my mechno-hand, once again opens and my lightsaber flies to him.

There's nothing I could do to send it in another direction this time, he's too close to me and he catches it, ignites it and swings it my way, trying to take my head off. I dodge it by ducking and we're so close, I run towards him and tackle him off his feet.

Whoosh is all I hear from him and we both go crashing down onto the rough, rocky surface. My lightsaber clatters out of his grasp and away from us, he tries to call it back, but I drive the forearm of my mechno-arm right into his face and a sickening thud sound accompanies my blow.

My arm will definitely need some work when this fight is over, but that'll have to wait. There'll be time for that later, now...I'm a little busy.

He's still bleeding from his mouth from my earlier assault, his face is beginning to swell and is bruised. I add to the damage by swinging my arm back and elbowing him in the side of the face, right in the cheek.

I'm sitting on him, legs on either side of him, holding him down to the ground. He tries to throw me off, tries to hit me with his good knee, and tries to throw a punch at me, but each time, I jab him in the ribs with my knees and he gives up on his attempts.

"I'm sorry it has to come to this, Obi-Wan, but I can't let you get in the way of my plans or intrude in my marital affairs again." I summon my lightsaber to my outstretched hand and just as it's about to land in my palm, Obi-Wan in a burst of energy, sends me flying backwards.

I land my ass on a rock and roll off, dangerously close to a cliff leading right down to the molten lava. I get to my feet and move away from the intense heat that even has me sweating now and I can feel my long, wavy blond hair sticking to my head and the sides of my face. I brush a strand out of my eye and tuck it behind my ear, then get back into the fight.

Obi-Wan has my lightsaber now and it's ignited in both of his hands, his hands out before him, and he's standing on his feet. I can tell he's trying not to show how much he's hurting, but I can feel it in the Force and see it in how he's holding himself up, favoring his right leg to keep off his left leg as much as he can. He's also leaning forward, hunching over in pain that he's trying to conceal.

I'm weaponless, but not completely defenseless as my earlier acts of aggression showed. I know he's expecting me to shoot lightning at him, knowing he wouldn't be able to withstand the intensity for long, but now he'd be expecting it and ready for it.

He thinks he knows me well and I play into that, let the lightning jump around my left hand, his eyes narrow down on my hand and I see him readying himself for the attack. Then I pinch my forefinger and thumb of my mechno-hand, directing the Force around his throat and close them closer together.

He shakes his head, the veins in his neck bulging out of his skin and his right hand goes to his throat. He's a Jedi Master, I obviously know this and know he's more than capable of defending himself against such an attack, but it caught him offguard and I use that to my advantage.

As he's wrapping the Force around his neck, trying to get under my Force grip, the lightning still dances on my fingertips and finds a new target- his chest. It hits him square in the chest and sends him staggering backwards. I pull my lightsaber from his grip, it flies where it belong, into my hand and I waste no time running to him, igniting my lightsaber, using the Force to enhance my speed and drill the lightsaber right into his chest.

He leans forward, his hand on my shoulder, trying to hold himself up. Blood lands on my vest, he coughs some up and I shut off my lightsaber. His knees give up on him, he falls to the ground and lands on his back.

His eyes are lighter, paler than ever, nearly lifeless, unfocused. I can feel the Force leaving his body, getting weaker and weaker by the second. The rocky surface is visible through the hole in his chest.

"I'm sorry," he coughs, wheezing, his voice weak. "I let you down...should've seen what Palpatine was doing...to you. I'm sorry..."

His eyes don't close, they stay wide open and stay locked on me with their unfocused and now completely lifeless look. I can feel his presence fade, the place where he existed in my mind cut off, and he becomes one with the Force.

Mixed emotions run through me as I look down at him, what I keep reminding myself of though is that if I didn't kill him, Padmé would die and she can't die. Not after everything I did today, not after everything I sacrificed for her, for us.

I love her too much to let her go, she's all I have left and now we're going to be parents. I'll make damn sure she's there for our little girl, something that's been a debate between us, she thinks it's a boy and wants to name him Luke, I think- no I know, we're having a girl and her name will be Leia.

The darkness recedes from me just thinking about it and that's when I feel another darkness, a darkness that's so cold, I shiver for a moment then let it wash over me, comfort me and the presence is so dark that it's like looking down into a bottomless pit.

It's Palpatine or Sidious, I shake my head and bend down to Obi-Wan running my fingers over his eyes, closing them before raising his body with the Force and disposing of it in the molten lava.

He lost my respect, my trust, and I'm no longer a Jedi. I'm not about to give him a Jedi funeral, his body is nothing but an empty husk now anyway, with his presence having gone back into the Force.

His body sinks into the river of fire and disappears from view. Now he's really gone, and I can feel an emptiness for where he once resided within me. I shake my head, turn around and hook my lightsaber onto my belt as I walk back into the building, through the conference room where chairs are thrown all over, and into the control room where the dismembered corpses of the Separatist leadership lie, along with Obi-Wan's lightsaber.

I call it to my palm and look at it, turning it around in the palm of my hand and then hook it onto my belt as well. Call me sentimental or maybe this is me starting a collection of those Jedi I kill, keeping their lightsabers as trophies, as reminders of my victories. I don't know, I just know it feels right, maybe it's the Force?

Regardless, I leave the control room behind and make my way out to the landing pad, and retrieve my cloak on the way and throw it on. Threepio is standing guard at the bottom of the ramp, looking as nervous as a droid could possibly look. Even his voice sounds nervous as I reach him. "Oh, Master Anakin, I am so glad to see you, sir."

My teeth grind at that name again, but I let it slide. It's Threepio here, I'll just reprogram him later. He wouldn't possibly understand, and I know Obi-Wan was just calling me by birth name to mock me, to try and reach the man I once was, but am no more.

If he didn't believe it then, he definitely believed it when I drove my lightsaber into his chest, ending his life.

Padmé will be another problem entirely, but I'm not going to hurt her again. I can't even believe I hurt her in the first place, I just got so mad at seeing Obi-Wan standing there at the top of her skiff's landing ramp, how could she not know he was onboard? Did she know and lie to me, or did he sneak onboard knowing she'd lead him to me?

I seriously hope it's the former, if only because it would at least somewhat justify my reaction, but it would never make what I did, right. Not when she's my wife and carrying my child within her, how could I have let myself forget that?

The feelings within me only get more turbulent as I reach the medical bay of her skiff where she's lying on a medical bed and looks to be dead. Startled, I reach out with the Force and breathe, she's still alive. She may not be conscious at the moment, but her pulse is strong, I grip her hand and hold it in my mechno-hand, feel her pulse in her wrist with my organic hand.

It's still weak, but stronger than it was after I choked her. "Ani?" Her eyes flutter open, her pulse speeding up, "You're okay."

I nod, relieved to hear her voice and see her beautiful brown eyes. I bring her hand up to my lips and kiss the back of it, then drop it back to her side. "I'm fine," I assure her, "how are you?"

She shrugs. "Better now that I see you," she squeezes my hand, "and feel you."

Her voice isn't as strong as it normally is, it's more like a rasp and I know it's because of what I did to her and I can't help feeling guilty, sick to my stomach for what I did and could've done. "I'm so sorry, Angel, I never, ever meant to hurt you." I sink to my knees in overwhelming agony and lie my forehead down on her forearm.

Her hand sifts through my hair, she tugs on it gently, making me look up at her. "But you did, Anakin." There are tears in her eyes, it guts me, now that I realize what I've really done to her. "I'm pregnant, with your child." She rubs her belly, and I want to too, but don't feel like I have the right.

My hands are stained in blood, maybe not literally, but figuratively, and that's not something that's going to go away or something I actually feel guilty about. I only feel guilty for doing what I did to her.

My wife, my angel, my everything.

I wipe away my tears. "How is she?"

She smiles, sadly. "He's fine."

I may have changed rather drastically, and literally overnight, but my love for her has never changed and never will. Jedi say Sith can't love and maybe Sith say that too, but I've never been defined as a textbook case of anything, I've never been an ordinary Jedi and I won't be an ordinary Sith.

I'm one of a kind, I'm the Chosen One. "Good," I place my organic hand on hers, over her belly but don't let my skin touch her belly. "Get some rest for me, we're going to go back to Coruscant, and get you looked at."

She nods, her eyes closing and I can feel her go right to sleep. This time she's conscious, just sleeping and I feel better, then feel the gentle mind probe from my Master and reach out to him. He's landing, I turn to leave my wife in the safety of the medical bay and just as I'm about to leave, she surprises me by saying, "what happened to Obi-Wan?"

I don't even look back, but can feel a weak gaze on my back. I shake my head and walk out, knowing she'll know what that means and I close the door behind me, leave the skiff and make my way over to the Sentinel-class landing craft that's landing on the other side of the landing pad, on the other side of my starfighter.

Clones dressed in the white and red armor of Coruscant Shock Troopers disembark as soon as the landing ramp descends and touches the durasteel surface of the landing pad. They take up their positions on either side of the ramp and hold their blaster rifles against the chest plates of their armor.

My Master descends, his oversized black cloak enshrouding him in darkness. His cowl covers his head and face, only his acidic yellow eyes being visible.

I kneel down on one knee like a respectful Apprentice and bow my head, as I say, "My Master."

He pulls his cowl back and his hawkish eyes take me in and I can feel him examine me through the Force for injuries. "Lord Vader," that name! That's what I want to hear people call me for the rest of my life. "What happened?" He motions for me to rise.

I do, and tell him everything. I tell him about my fight with Obi-Wan that resulted in his death, but choose to keep the Sith lightning to myself, I even tell him what I did to Padmé. If he's going to help me save her from my nightmares then he has to know everything, about her at least.

When I'm done, I can't help but feel glee radiating off of him, along with approval. I even felt the glee and approval when I told him about choking my wife, why would he do that?

"I need your help," his eyes bore into mine, at my plea. "You promised me you would help me save her, I held up my end."

His presence in the Force gives away nothing, neither does his features, but he hesitates and that catches my attention. He better not be thinking of betraying me.

May the Force help him if he does...

He extends his gnarly old hand. "Bring me to her," I nod and lead the way. He follows behind me and despite not being able to see him, I can feel his disappointment and can feel him reaching out to her in the Force, probing her and...her belly. Whatever he senses, surprises him and I can feel a simmering anger, he hates her.

It's more than that though, it's not only because she opposes him in politics, but because of me...my veins chill at the realization and everything I did, at his command, suggestion, suddenly makes sense.

He knows my wife well enough and he tried to drive a wedge between us, insinuating an affair between her and Obi-Wan, even using me against her in politics when she came into his office with some of the delegates of the Delegation of 2000. She was furious at me for taking his side, we always stood on different sides when it came to politics and that's because we grew up completely different.

She was born into a privileged family, on a beautiful democratic planet while I was born into slavery on a desolate planet that didn't have any laws other than those that the Hutts instituted to support their slave-based culture.

Something that'll change when I'm Emperor, you can count on that.

Palpatine had the same opportunities as Padmé, born on the same planet, and had much of the same life in politics.

Yet...his life parallels mine more than it does hers. We're two peas in a pod, and he used that knowledge to start trouble between us. Unfortunately for him, there can only be one Sith Master and I've been a slave, an Apprentice for too long, and his betrayal is finally coming to light.

It's time for me to be the Master, to take my rightful place in the galaxy as it's Emperor. It's my birthright, my destiny and I can see that now.

Just like I can see Palpatine being the cause of Padmé's death, she's the only one that can keep a wedge between us and he won't accept me being with her.

He never had any intention of helping me save her, he even told me he didn't know how. Maybe his Master did know and maybe he knows too, and just won't help me.

Nevertheless, he'll only ever pose a danger to my wife, my angel, my child and I can't allow him to harm them. I won't allow him to harm them, I could still feel him probing my wife, focusing most of his attention on her belly, his concentration isn't on me.

Now may be the only time I can do this, and I need to do it. Fingering my lightsaber, I wrap my hands around it and before he can see where my hand is or feel my intentions through the Force, I turn around facing him, jab my lightsaber hilt into his gut and ignite my blade.

The azure blue plasma cuts right through his cloak, his garments and his flesh and I see it sticking out from the otherside of his body. His face contorts in pain, and disbelief.

He didn't see it coming. "Why?" He croaks.

I raise the blade through his flesh just a little bit and then deactivate my blade. "Betrayal is the way of the Sith, isn't it Master?" He falls to the durasteel ground much like Obi-Wan did earlier, but I don't look down.

The clones saw what happened and now they're a liability, even if they swore loyalty to me, they saw what I just did to Palpatine and can tell others. I can't allow that to happen, they raise their blaster rifles and start to fire.

I ignite my blade and deflect the bolts, sending them back to whence they came. Clones fall to the ground, dead. More bolts come my way, and I send them back to where they came too, some hit their targets and some miss. Half of them are dead, I keep moving their way, not slowing down or stopping. Two clones charge at me, trying to whip me with their rifles, I slice right through their blaster rifles and then I slice right through them.

They fall down, dead.

Three more left.

One removes a thermal detonator from their utility belts, activates it and throws it at me. I don't even flinch, just wave my hand and send it back in his direction. He tries to dodge it, but I lock my grip on it and make sure it blows him up.

It does.

Two left.

One of them fires at me, he's horrified, but determined. I send the bolt right back at him, it hits him square in the helmet and burns through the plastoid helmet and right into the flesh of his face.

He falls to the ground, dead.

One left.

He drops his blaster rifle and surrenders, knowing he obviously can't kill me. "I surrender!" I walk closer to him and deactivate my blade.

Once I'm before him, I nod. "Kneel," he does. "Do you swear loyalty to the Sith, and to me, in particular?"

I can feel his emotions, he's practically screaming them into the Force. "Yes, General Skywalker."

The ice cold mountain top seeps back into my bones. "It's Lord Vader."

Confusion sweeps through him. "Yes...Lord Vader."

Giving him the appearance of satisfaction, I raise my hand, motioning for him to stand. "Then, welcome to the club." I wrap my arm around his shoulder and pull him into a tight one-armed embrace, I raise my other hand towards his neck and press the hilt of my lightsaber against the soft materials there. "It's called, you saw too much and are a liability." I thumb the activation button and the plasma tears through his neck and at an upward angle going right through his head.

His body slumps, only being held up by me. I press the button again and the lightsaber deactivates, then I let him fall down, dead like everyone else on this Force forsaken planet besides myself, Padmé...and Palpatine, but that'll be rectified very, very soon.

Making my way back to him, I see his slumped form. He hasn't even moved, his eyes are still open and I can feel his emotions through the Force. I revel in them, letting his dark emotions feed mine.

"You fool," he growls, sensing my approach. "With my death, you only assure Padmé's. I hope you can live without her." He quickly raises his hand, blue lightning shoots out from his fingertips, I raise my lightsaber, ignite it and absorb the energy.

His other hand is raised too, and he fires a double dose my way. I've seen him shoot lightning earlier today, and this is a much weaker attempt than it was against Windu. I'm sure all of that fighting took a toll on his old form, when's the last time he really had to fight?

Me, I'm a different story, altogether.

I've been doing nothing but fighting nonstop for the last three years, and the only thing it does for me is give me an adrenaline rush and make me want more.

His feeble attempt at killing me, fails. Big time. I deactivate my blade once again, and stand beside him, looking down his old, haggard form. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're no match for me." If looks could kill, I'd be dead like he's going to be shortly, but they can't and I smile down at him, enjoying the overwhelming darkness he's enshrouding us in.

"You know," I say, in a sing-song voice. "When I told you about what happened, I told you everything...well, everything except for the new trick I learned on accident." Lightning jumps from my fingertips, he looks up in horror and shakes in agony as the lightning jumps from my fingertips and engulfs him.

An acrid odor invades my nostrils, this time it's human flesh and that doesn't smell as good as the burning durasteel from the conference room floor. It makes me scowl, and I stop. Smoke rises from his body, he's wheezing.

Shaking my head at him, I kneel down and reach my hand out, gripping his forehead in a tight grip. "Now, I'll take what you promised me, and if I don't find it, I'll tear your mind apart until you're a vegetable and then I'll put you out of your misery and send you back to whatever hell you rose from."

I close my eyes and reach out with the Force, burrowing it into his mind. His high pitched scream fills the air, I keep my digging and find exactly what he was talking about. He told me the story of Darth Plagueis and how he could save others from dying, it was midichlorian manipulation. I take everything he knew about it from his mind, and keep digging and taking everything related to his knowledge of the Force, the Sith and recent events.

That's all I need to know, since no one else can teach me about the dark side or the Sith after I kill him. And wouldn't you know, what Padmé said earlier makes sense, about Palpatine and myself killing the Republic. He reorganized it into the Empire, making himself the Emperor for life, no shock there.

That should make things easier for me when I stand before the Senate, spin a colorful tale about what happened here and tell them that their beloved Emperor was murdered by a Jedi and that I'll be taking his place. I'm not sure how well that'll be received, but I'm a well respected man and...Jedi, the people love me and I was kept off the Jedi hit list. I'll use all of that to my advantage, as well as my new and old abilities.

Standing back to my feet in satisfaction, I smirk and decide to finish the job. The lightning jumps from my fingertips in such a rush and with such intensity that it kills him instantly and burns his flesh even more.

The smell is even worse, but I'll have to deal with it. I still need him to play the role of dead Emperor, and then my plans can go into motion.

Lifting him up in the Force, he floats to Padmé's skiff and I lower him onto the floor of the cargo bay and lock him inside. He's dead, and can't cause any harm locked away in there.

"Oh, Master Anakin." Threepio says, sounding relieved to see me. "May we leave this forsaken planet behind, now, sir?"

I pat his gold plated shoulder. "That's the plan, where's Artoo?"

He nods happily and then turns to look around. "Why, I believe he's in with Mistress Padmé."

I nod and walk up to the medical bay, seeing the door open and Artoo standing beside her bed. He twirps and beeps sadly, his dome camera facing me and then Padmé.

"I know buddy," I cross my arms, lean against the door. "I need you to fly my starfighter back to Coruscant, we need to go to the med center in the Federal District." That's the best med center on the planet with the best medical staff and most modern technology, she'll be best off there.

Artoo beeps in the affirmative and goes to carry out his orders. Once he's gone, I walk closer to Padmé, lean down and kiss her on the forehead. She's asleep, and I have no intention of disturbing her. I leave her be and make my way to the cockpit, firing her up and checking the weapons controls.

I raise the ship into the air and turn it to the right, forty-five degrees so I see the control center and the facility. There's a surveillance camera system within, and it shows what happened. I can't allow the footage to be seen, so I fire and fire and fire some more until the facility is obliterated.

Satisfied that I covered my tracks, I plot a hyperspace course, fly out of orbit of the ashy, volcanic planet and towards the hyperspace lane and pull back the hyperspace lever, we hop into hyperspace and I know that I'm not the same man as I was when I arrived.

When I arrived here, I was still mostly Anakin Skywalker. But I was forged into the flames and came out a different man- a Sith, Lord Vader.

Darth Vader.

My amber eyes reflect off the transparisteel, and I grin. Yes, this is who I was always destined to be.

A/N: Well how'd you like that?

I told you a lot happens and I hope it was worth the wait. Some of you may think that duel was a little one sided and that Obi-Wan's stronger than that, but the whole fight scene in ROTS was always meant for Anakin's arrogance to be his downfall. It was bad writing in my opinion, but he had to lose or slip into the lava or something to explain the OT. This story, however, is completely AU and Vader wasn't destined to sentenced to life imprisonment in that suit or to lose the people he sacrificed everything for, in this story.

If you have any ideas or want to see anything/anyone, don't hesitate to shoot me a PM or leave it as a review. Just remember this is a dark family story, a story that's in Darth Vader's sole POV and this family will obviously be a Sith family, this isn't a redemption story.

If you enjoyed this chapter and haven't already, please follow, favorite and review! Thanks!