Dark Emperor: Chapter 4

My hands rest on Padmé's cold, lifeless chest, my eyes closed, my attention riveted, focused, and the Dark Side of the Force sings all around me as time seems to stand still.

In the distance, I can hear the flat line beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep of the heart monitor, our twins crying, their pain and terror only feeding my own dark power and increasing my strength in the Force, and the whispered words between the medical staff keeping their distance from me, yet watching me closely, intrigued.

I ignore everything and everyone. Padmé is my only focus, and I need to concentrate everything on her, into her. I vaguely even notice the whole room, maybe the whole building shaking around us from my efforts, but I pay no heed to that. Nothing else matters to me at this precise moment than bringing Padmé back from the dead before it's too late, and that's what I try to do as I visualize her heart and try to find out exactly what's taking her from me.

So, I can repair the damage, because nothing is taking my wife away from me. And I mean, nothing.

In my mind's eye, I can visualize her heart, as if it was sitting right before my very eyes. It's not beating. There's no blood flowing through her heart, no blood flowing through her body...but the blood is flowing.

No, it's moving.

I concentrate and follow the trail and track it back to a tear in her aorta. I call upon the midichlorians in her body like I would call my lightsaber to the palm of my hand from across the room, and I order them to repair the tear that's claiming her life. I'm not about to allow anyone or anything to take her from me, like I said. She's mine, and she's not going to die because of some tear in her aorta. The microscopic organisms heed to my command and get to work as I continue to visualize the rest of her body to make sure that I don't miss anything else, including repairing the damage I did to her neck, her throat. Nothing else seems out of place, excluding the normal circumstances in a woman's body from giving birth, which I also repair as best I can, and then I refocus all of my attention back onto the strenuous repair of her aorta until it's complete, then I stop pouring my dark energy into her and come back to myself.

I'm drenched in sweat. I can feel it pouring down me and seeping into my clothes. And, the power of the Force running through me right now is unlike anything I've ever experienced before.

I can totally get used to the Dark Side of the Force if it has me feeling like this.

The room stops shaking around us, our twins seem to calm down, and I finally begin to notice the carnage around us. The whole room is in disarray. The glass of the sliding glass doors is shattered, the walls have fractures running all throughout them, the monitors have been thrown across the room and are lying on the floor in a heap of shredded metal, plastic, glass, and whatever else they're made of. The only thing in the room left unscathed are the two of us, Padmé and myself, who happens to look as angelic as she did on the day I met her.

She's still lying lifeless on the gurney, her head titled to the side. I take a deep breath and bring my left hand down to her chest, watch the electricity jump around my fingertips and then jolt into her chest. Her chest convulses. If I did everything right, then that electrical charge should've restarted her heart to a normal rhythm, and my repairs should hold.

If she'd told me about her condition sooner, maybe I could've prevented her from dying in the first place. But, what's done is done, and the only thing that matters now is her coming back to me, to us.

To Luke, Leia, and myself. Because there's no possible way she could ever think I could possibly raise them on my own, without her. I can't even fathom a life without her. I just know that life without her, isn't life at all.

"Ani?" Relief sweeps through me at the beautiful sound of her voice. Her voice is weak, but stronger and not as raspy as it was before I repaired her neck and throat from my vicious attack upon her. "I...didn't...bring him with me."

What the kriff is she talking about? Bring him with her? Who's him? I cup her face in my hand gently, brushing her damp, soft hair from the face I could never tire of seeing. "What are you talking about, Angel?" Is she dreaming? Hallucinating?

"Obi-Wan," she immediately replies. "I didn't know...he was on my ship. He must've followed me, hid away." She grabs my other hand in hers and squeezes, her voice growing stronger and eyes locking onto mine.

Her eyes take me back for a moment. They're not their beautiful dark brown anymore. They're amber, like my eyes now are with the Dark Side coursing through me. I hope this isn't permanent, though I could grow used to them if they are. I can get used to anything if it means continuing to have her in my life. "Oh," I say, because her eyes have really taken me back, and because it makes sense. I didn't sense any lies when she told me that she wouldn't bring Obi-Wan there with her to Mustafar. And she seemed convinced that he'd kill me, or at least try to, and I'll never believe she wanted or wants me dead. "Forget about that, Angel. He's dead now, and if it makes you feel any better, I forgive you."

I shouldn't have, too. If anyone should be forgiving anyone, it's certainly not me. It'd be her forgiving me, but I don't know if she ever will. Even if I did bring her back from the dead.

She sighs, gripping my hand. "You really did learn how to save me, huh?"

I nod, bringing my lips down to her hand that's resting in mine, to kiss the soft skin that's growing warmer and livelier by the second. "I know you don't agree with what I did, Angel, and I don't expect you to." I take a deep breath and fall to my knees next to her gurney and beg her to understand, my own eyes glassy with unshed tears. She needs to see my reasoning. All of the power in the galaxy would be meaningless to me if it meant not having her here with me. "You're the only woman I've ever loved, Padmé. We married in secret, that's how much we love each other, and now we have kids, our very own family. I refused to lose everything we had, everything we created, everything we could have because of the Jedi. They took my mother from me by preventing me from saving her. They used me as a weapon to further their own ends and tied my hands behind my back to prevent me from becoming the man, the Force-sensitive being I was always meant to be. They told me I was supposed to destroy the Sith, yet when the time came to finally end them once and for all, Windu told me to stay behind, because not only didn't he trust me enough to fight beside him, but he didn't want me knowing the Jedi had wanted Palpatine dead.

"The Jedi have lost their way during this war, and I took it upon myself to fulfill my destiny and end the war at the same time." The memories of slaying the Separatist Leadership floods my mind, my azure blue blade slicing through them, dismembering and decapitating them, leaving them on the ground, dead. They all deserved what they got, so'd the Jedi. "The remaining Jedi must die. I'm the last of the Sith, Padmé, and the start of the new era of Force Sensitives in this galaxy. That's my destiny, I can feel it, and I only ask that you accept me, for me."

If she doesn't...I don't know what'll happen. I just know I won't let her go, not ever. We have a family now, and we're meant to be together, not apart. I believe that with all that I am. If the Force didn't agree with me, then I wouldn't be able to have this second chance with her.

"Ani?" I raise a brow for her to continue, "Hold me?" I comply with her wishes, standing up and walking around the gurney. I slide in behind her and wrap her up in my strong arms. She sighs happily, and I inhale her beautiful scent greedily. She grips my flesh hand in hers, rubs her thumb over the back of my hand. "I've always accepted you, Ani, even after you confessed to slaughtering that whole Tusken camp. And, I forgave you for choking me even when you were choking me. You brought me back from the dead, Ani. I'm not going to belittle you for your choices. I always knew who you were. You were an open book to me, and I always knew how far you would go to save those you loved, and now I get to raise the twins with you. I get to be by your side and be your wife. We get to be a family. That's all I want."

She tilts her head to the side, looks at me over her shoulder. I lean forward and bring my lips to hers in a loving caress. "No more Senator...no more Jedi. Just the four of us." She says against my lips, then turns her body around so she is facing me. The look on her face becoming serious. "What are you going to do now? You know the Emperor won't allow you to-"

I kiss her again, deeper this time until the only thing she's thinking about is how good our lips feel pressed together, how good I feel pressing my hard body up against her soft one. "He won't be bothering us anymore, Angel. He's dead, I killed him." Nobody else hears my whispered confession except for the beautiful woman wrapped up in my arms. The medical staff outside have given us room since I brought back my beloved wife from the dead, and the Troopers are doing their job of keeping it clear out there. I reach out with the Force, searching for the presence of our twins, and I find them quickly. They're in the nursery, down the hall. "I'm going to take control of the Empire, Angel. I'm going to be the new Emperor, and you..." I kiss her again, my lips caressing hers. "...Angel, are going to be my Empress."

Her eyes lock onto mine, widening as she absorbs the information I just told her. Amber locks onto amber, and I don't think her eyes have ever looked so sexy. If they do stay like this, I can definitely get used to it, because at least she'll be alive- at least she'll still be mine. "He's dead?" Her voice is low, shocked.

I nod, leaning forward to bring our foreheads together. "He is. Obi-Wan killed him," I shrug. "Or at least that's how it will go down in history, publicly. Even if he was already dead before the Emperor arrived." The Jedi survivors may not believe their beloved Master Kenobi could become a traitor to the Galactic Republic, but the people will believe it because the Jedi were branded as traitors, and because they were as sick and tired of the war as myself and my Angel are. "I'm going to call for an emergency session of the Senate and tell them the...sad news, then bring them up to date on what happened and my role in it. I'm still a hero to the Republic, to the Empire and I'll use that to our advantage, my Love. The Senate will elect me as their new Emperor-for-life, and then, as promised, we can make the galaxy the way we want it to be." I grin at my words and kiss my wife senseless, she melts against my lips, and I can feel the wheels turning in her mind through the Force as she processes my words.

She runs her hands through my long blond hair and fists my hair, letting the strands run through her fingers. "I'll be by your side, Ani. But, I don't want any public role...at least not for now. I've served in the public realm for most of my life. Right now, I just want to be a mom and raise the twins and be your wife. I want us to be a family, a real family."

I pull her body closer against mine. "You can have and do whatever you wish, Wife. I will need your help though. I'm not the politician of the family. You are. And, I don't want to be."

She gives me one of her smiles that never fails to take my breath away. "There are the blue eyes I love," she says, giving me a peck on the lips before turning so she's laying down on her back and cups my face, her face becoming serious once more. "Once you're Emperor, you don't have to be a politician. You just have to learn how to play the game, and I will teach you how to play, what the rules are. But enough about that, I want to-" her eyes open wide suddenly. "Leia?"

"Is fine. I scooped her up before she could fall." I kiss her on the lips, then unwrap my arms from around her. She lets my face go on a sigh, and I stand to my feet. "I'll go get them. You stay and relax, I'm sure you're still sore and hurting from giving birth..." not to mention, being revived from the dead, but I keep that to myself and just pray to the Force that my manipulation of the midichlorians holds.

She just nods, a relieved expression overtaking her features. I step out of the room and walk down the hall to the nursery. A squad of Troopers stand guard around it and salute me as I walk by them and enter inside the room where my two beautiful children lie in their own bassinets. Leia's sound asleep, her little hands on either side of her head, eyes closed, chest moving with every quick breath she takes. Luke's wide awake, making little noises and looking around with his big light blue eyes, a few shades lighter than my own.

I smile and step closer to him. His eyes lock onto mine, and I'm sure he's watching me closely. I know nothing about eyesight for infants or babies in general, for that matter, but I know he can see me, and hear me and maybe even feel me in the Force.

I scoop him up into my arms. "Hey there, my little guy." I smile down at him, offer him my organic forefinger, and he wraps his little hand around it, tries to bring it to his mouth. I let him and bend down and press a gentle kiss on his forehead. Being able to hold my son like this, see my daughter sleep peacefully in her bassinet, and to be able to talk to my wife and hold her in my arms makes everything I did in the last two days worth it.

If I didn't have them in my life, I don't know what I'd do. As it stands, I still don't know what I want to do, other than make the galaxy as safe as possible for them. If that means gripping the galaxy by the throat in the fist of my mechno-hand, then so be it. There's nothing, and I mean nothing, I won't do for my Angel and our kids, I think I proved that already by slaughtering all of the Jedi in the Temple and the Separatist Leadership.

Not to mention the two men that used to mean the world to me.

The war is almost totally over now, and the biggest battle took place just yesterday. Without the battle droids at their command, and without their leadership and Palpatine, who obviously led both sides, whatever remains of the Confederacy won't last much longer. I'll lead my forces and decimate any remnant forces that remain, and I'll use my political power to usurp control from the commerce guilds that stole from the Republic while serving as part of the leadership for the Separatists. I'll prove to the galaxy just what kind of man and leader I am, and I'll do that right after I'm elected as the Emperor, which is just a formality, really. In truth, I am Emperor already. The only thing that's preventing me from claiming that title publicly is just the technicality that is the Galactic- Imperial Senate.

"What's taking you so long?" Padmé's voice rings out, making me swing around to find her standing in the doorway. I'm about to scold her for getting out of bed when she holds up a hand to stop me. "I'm fine, better than fine really. A little sore, but I can walk, Ani."

I nod, trusting that she's telling me the truth. There's nothing I could say anyway that'll prevent her from coming in here and seeing our children. "They're so beautiful," she says, tears building up in her amber eyes, as she stands next to Leia's bassinet and softly runs the back of her hand down Leia's cheek.

Leia's still sound asleep, her head moving just slightly. Padmé's telling the truth. They are beautiful, something I already knew and have said time and time again. "They take right after their parents, as if there was any doubt that they'd be as good looking as us...at least from the moment that we found out that they were a they." I press another kiss to Luke's blond head, and he keeps that grip on my forefinger. "They both take right after me in the Force, too. I can feel it."

This both worries me and makes me swell with pride.

This worries me because of the threat they pose, not to me, but to the Jedi survivors out there and to those that will want to eliminate me and will try to eliminate me by going after my children. I'll have to make sure they're well protected whenever I'm not with them, same with their mother, and I'll have to train them starting from their early childhood, like every Jedi youngling, only difference will be they won't be trained as Jedi.

They'll be trained as Sith.

And this makes me swell with pride because of how powerful they can, and will, one day become. I'm strong enough as it is, the man who eliminated both Sith Lords and many Jedi, including two Jedi Masters, but I'm nowhere as close to my full potential as I can, and will, one day become.

I'm not on a leash anymore. I don't answer to anyone now, and I'm learning new things every day, like the Sith lightning and even manipulating midichlorians on my first try. Nothing is impossible when I set my mind to something, and with the knowledge I stole from Sidious and the knowledge locked inside the Sith and Jedi holochrons that Sidious possessed, I should be able to learn from them and become the most powerful Sith in history.

If I'm successful, not only will I be the most powerful man in the galaxy, but more importantly, I'll be able to keep my family safe from anything and anyone that may wish to harm a single hair on any of their heads.

I smile grimly at my thoughts and vow to do just that, as Padmé comes to stand before me and reaches her hands out to take custody of Luke, a loving smile on her face as she gazes at our son. I hand him over, and she holds him closely against her chest, cradling him, cooing at him as only a mother can. I look on with pride as our son responds with coos and gurgles to his mother's loving attention.

The three most important people in my life are here in this room, and there's nothing I won't do for any of them. And words can't possibly describe how glad I am to see Padmé on her feet already. I've never been good at meditating or healing using the Light Side of the Force, but using the Dark Side, I was able to do what the Light Side never could, and that's bringing people back from the dead, and healing the injuries my wife sustained from childbirth...and from my own hand.

I don't think I'll ever be able to forget the look of horror on her face or her collapsing to the ground, unconscious. I don't want to see her hurt again, especially not because of my own actions.

"Ani," she says pulling me away from my thoughts that made me feel a little uneasy, especially there at the end. Her amber eyes are looking at me with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I've been thinking... now that we don't need to hide our marriage anymore and now that I've given birth..." she bites her lip, averts her gaze to Luke's beautiful little face.

I wrap my arms around her and pull them both against me, making sure I don't crush Luke in-between us. When I was nineteen and went on my first solo mission as a Jedi, I got to meet the amazing people that would later become my in-laws. It didn't take a Jedi, or any Force-sensitive being to see and feel how strong a bond, a relationship her family has with one another. I'm truly surprised she didn't reach out to any of them and tell them all about us before now. I wouldn't have been upset with her if she did. But, she surprised me and managed to keep not only our marriage, but also her pregnancy from her family. I know it had to have hurt her to lie to them and not tell them all about me, all about the kids she was carrying within her, all about us. She's right though. Times have changed now, and we don't need to hide our relationship from the galaxy any longer. And I won't ask her to keep lying to her family. After all, if my mother was still alive...I would've told her a long time ago.

I give Padmé a kiss on her forehead and bring my forehead down to hers, gently pressing them together. "I'll make the arrangements, my Love. I'll have them brought to our apartment at 500 Republica, and we can tell them there." She has tears in her eyes. I wipe them away and give her a kiss on the lips. "It'll probably take a couple of days, which means you should be discharged from here by then, but there's...something we should talk about before they get here."

A number of things really, but the one that jumps out at me most is her eyes. Has she even noticed them yet? We'll definitely need to get her some contacts to- I can't even finish that thought before she's molding her lips to mine, and all thoughts leave my mind as our lips become one. "I love you, Ani," she says against my lips.

How she can possibly love me after everything is beyond me, but I'm not going to question her. I'm just glad that she still does, and I won't do anything else ever again to make her question that love for me, or to question her faith or trust in me either. "I love you too, Angel," I smile against her lips.

Luke makes some noises and gains both of our attention. He seems content to be in his mother's arms and to be nearly squished between us. I lean down and kiss his little forehead again. How is it possible to only know someone for a few hours and have them steal your heart? I can't answer that question, but I know that Padmé stole mine at first sight, and now our twins have managed to do the same.

The resolve in me grows even more, and while I may not know what the future has in store for us, I do know that we're a family. We were always meant to be a family, and I won't let anything or anyone come between us. I know myself and my family will become targets when I become Emperor, my wife, Empress. But, I also know that I'll always be a target. The Jedi out there will try to get their revenge against me for slaughtering the Jedi, even if revenge is of the Dark Side, and I'm not about to hide on a remote world living in a state of constant paranoia.

My family deserves better than that. They deserve the best, and I'll see to it that they live the lives they deserve to live. The lives I always wished I had when I was growing up. I peer down between us and see Luke's eyes are closed, and I can feel him sleeping peacefully in the Force. Padmé sees this too, and she pulls out of my arms and goes to lower him back into his bassinet.

Our children have changed the way I see the world, the galaxy, and I've never felt as protective or complete in my life. I'd never thought of having kids before. As a Jedi, they were the furthest thing from my mind during the war, and Padmé never brought up the topic with me. I've always known how strong my feelings were for her from when I had a crush on her back when I was a boy and when we reunited and fell deeply in love. But the love I feel for the twins is more than that, and I can't explain it.

Padmé's a fighter. I may be overprotective of her, but I know when push comes to shove she could take care of herself in a fight. Our children obviously can't. They're helpless. They need us to care for them, to love them, to guide them into the galaxy they were just born into, and I won't let anything prevent me from doing just that.

As their father, it's my job, and it's a job that I'll cherish and do my best to excel at, because they deserve nothing but the best.

And, the best is exactly what they will have.

A/N: Well how about that?

I was debating on exactly the heart condition she could have, and decided an aortic tear would be best. I also went about mulling on how to bring her back. I've read Plageuis' book, but Anakin/Vader wouldn't know how to master midichlorian manipulation, since Sidious never know how to either.

Nevertheless, the way it's written is how I'd think it'd happen. Midichlorian manipulation, after all, is Sith alchemy. You'd need a lot of dark power to make it happen, at least that's what I'd think.

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I wanted this to be a family chapter, because they do deserve to have some happiness every now and again. I also think that Padmé's reaction here is in character. In the canon novelization of ROTS, she was apologizing to Anakin and saying she loved him, as he choked her. I think Padmé would always love him, and she really did know exactly who he was, even before she married him. What he did, turning on the Jedi, isn't exactly out of character, he would go to great lengths to save those he loved and he loved no one more than his beloved wife.

And those amber eyes are a side effect of all of the dark power Vader poured into her, to bring her back to life. Will they stay that way? Maybe, maybe not. But that's not going to change how Vader sees her. She'll always be an angel to him, his angel.

Next chapter is currently being written and will feature Vader speaking to the Senate to claim his title and place as the Second Emperor of the Galactic Empire. You already got a glimpse of what he's going to do with his power, and that's only a small taste. We'll also see Padmé's family coming up, though not until chapter 6 and that's when they'll learn the truth of Padmé, Anakin and the twins.

There's a lot to look forward too!

Please follow, favorite and review! Thanks!