Chapter 10 – Sidious

Author's Note: Warnings are at the end, as always. :)

~ Amina Gila

Obi-Wan was nearby when he hears Anakin calling him. He also sensed Sidious the moment he exited hyperspace. "I sense it, too," Obi-Wan replies, "We need to go. Now."

Anakin is midway putting his arm back on, looking none too happy about how he didn't have time to finish cleaning it. "What will we do?" Obi-Wan can clearly see his fear. Anakin is scared, and he doesn't know what it's for. What did Anakin see? Sidious is dangerous, but not as much as Vader was.

"We will fight."

"Master, you know what this could mean," Anakin says, fear burning in his eyes.

Obi-Wan's first thought is how he's afraid Anakin will... be lost again. Of how much he fears Vader will return and... He can't imagine losing Anakin again, even if part of his mind is whispering that he may already have. "I do."

"What if he is the only way to restore peace?" Anakin asks, expression pained.

"I can't believe that," Obi-Wan replies firmly, "You should know better than that, too."

Anakin looks away, nodding. He doesn't say anything, instead picking up his glove and pulling it back on.

They don't say anything else, instead heading back to their cave.

He knew this was coming, but Obi-Wan still isn't prepared for it. He knows Sidious will do everything possible to turn Anakin again, but he can't deny being afraid it might work. That could potentially doom the entire galaxy. Anakin reaches over, taking his hand. "I'm not going anywhere, Master," he says softly, "I promise. We won't be... taken apart again."

His heart twists painfully. There's nothing he can say to that. He wants to say he believes it, but he can't. He can't trust that, because he lost Anakin before and if he did again, it would shatter him entirely. But either way, this is still a battle that must be fought. And he doesn't trust that he knows where Anakin's loyalties lie.

He doesn't. He can't lie to himself about that anymore. None of this makes sense, and he'll need time to meditate on it later, assuming they both make it out of this alive.

"Don't make a promise you can't keep," he says instead, moving towards the entrance.

Anakin stops behind him, shifting on his feet. "I won't fail you again, Obi-Wan." He sounds hurt and desperate at once.

He doesn't really know what to say to that. How could he? "We should go elsewhere," he says instead, "If Sidious finds the twins..."

"He won't," Anakin replies, "I won't let him."

In some ways, it's that fire that scares him, because for all that it was always a part of Anakin, it's also what led to... where they are now. It makes him think of Vader again, but he tries to force it aside – he doesn't have time to get lost in thinking of the future. They have to kill Sidious. If they can. "We won't be able to stay here any longer regardless," Obi-Wan concedes. Hopefully, they won't need to.

He'd fought Sidious briefly with Windu, and he was powerful, though. He can only hope that with Anakin here, it will be enough. (He can only hope he knows where Anakin's loyalties lie. He doesn't know that, though. Not with certainty.) He tries to ignore the traitorous, ridiculous part of his mind that whispers maybe it was all a trick, because he should have sensed deception if there was any.

And he didn't.

Besides, Anakin could never pull off an act like that when Obi-Wan knows him so well – even if it has been a long time.

They head a distance off across the sand, safely away from their cave when Obi-Wan senses Sidious' approach. He's not even making an effort to hide himself, and Anakin's expression is screwed up into one of discomfort, but he's not said a word about what's wrong.

"He keeps trying to talk to me," Anakin says finally. "I'm blocking him, but he's persistent. He's not happy."

"Maybe you should have thought of that earlier," Obi-Wan shoots back; he doesn't mean to snap at him, but the stress is getting to him.

"I wasn't in a situation where I could think of anything," Anakin snaps back, "Stop doing this. Stop trying to make me angry when you know I can't react."

"That's your choice," Obi-Wan fire at him.

"Are we fighting Sidious, or each other?"

He doesn't have a comeback to that because his mind immediately jumps into a future that Anakin remembers none of, and that's unfair. They see the shuttle approaching next, effectively ending their argument.

They're about to see Sidious again. Sidious, the man who took Anakin from him in the first place. The one who started all of this. As a Jedi, it's his duty to stop Sidious, and he would do it gladly.

**w**

Anakin senses that Obi-Wan is angry but mostly that he wants this, and Anakin himself cannot say the same.

He doesn't want to see Sidious ever, ever again, not after starting to understand the full extent of what the Sith did to him.

He never trusted Sidious in the first place. He knows that Palpatine isn't the person Anakin wanted him to be, and it hurts but he's willing to put that pain aside and focus on the mission, even if it will hurt to put him down.

But Anakin still can't deny that he has questions. Obi-Wan never did explain what was really happening, and he wants to know the truth. He wants to know who was lying, or if they both were.

He suspects both because he could see the deception and betrayal on both sides.

Anakin cannot fault Obi-Wan for not trusting him – he doesn't trust himself, either, and he doesn't deserve his master's trust after everything he did. Even if he tries to remember better times with Obi-Wan, those moments always fade, replaced by... worse ones, filling him with the anger over arguments like the one they just had. And that is a large part of the problem, because Anakin can't just move on from these. He's tired of feeling so depressed and worthless.

People around him need help, and it feels like if he had stayed with the Empire, he would be able to help them instead of hiding.

And he fears what Sidious will do to him, and more importantly, to Obi-Wan. Anakin knows he's furious – he sensed it, and his... not-master has taken no effort to hide it.

He knew, from the start, that this was like selling himself back into slavery, and no matter how prepared he was to sacrifice himself for Padme and Luke and Leia, that doesn't stop the fear. And he still betrayed Sidious. The Sith Master, who orchestrated the war to give himself more power, and even if he gave Anakin a chance to restore peace, and even if that's what matters most, it doesn't do good to the lives already lost. If that doesn't say something as to Sidious' brutality, Anakin doesn't know what does.

His heart is pounding as the ramp lowers, and he struggles to let go of his fear and center himself, except it feels like all that has been ripped away. He can't find calm. He can only feel fear. There is so much at stake.

"Lord Vader." Sidious stands across from them now, at the bottom of the ramp. Anakin can sense more presences aboard – some clones and... other Dark Siders? "Your disappearance is most displeasing."

The name Vader nearly sends a shiver down his spine, despite the heat of the day – it is hot; it's Tatooine. "That is not my name," Anakin replies stonily. His lightsaber is hooked to his belt again – it feels better to have it here, but he's still not ready for a fight, even if he wants to – energy has been humming, burning under his skin since they came. He misses fighting constantly; it's all he's ever known.

"I offered you a chance to restore order to the galaxy," Sidious says, walking closer. A hood is mostly covering his face, somehow making him even more intimidating. "We could have brought peace."

"Your Empire will only bring war and death," Obi-Wan snaps back.

"Is this," Sidious asks motioning to Obi-Wan, "The traitor you would prefer to side with? Is your friendship with him truly worth more than the galaxy?"

He has a point, and that's the worst part. Anakin has done everything for the 'greater good' since becoming a Jedi. "He means more to me than you will ever know."

Sidious lets out an exaggerated sigh. "I had more faith in you than this," he chides, "I know your attachments weaken you, but now, you let it blind you entirely. You are siding with a traitor. I know you could have returned to me, had you truly tried."

"Enough talking," Obi-Wan hisses, igniting his lightsaber.

Sidious laughs. It's a cruel, dark, twisted sound that makes Anakin's skin crawl. "Inquisitors," he commands, "Deal with the traitor."

No. Anakin ignites his own lightsaber. "I won't let you," he replies, eyes narrowed.

"Come to your senses, my boy," he says in the same chiding tone he often speaks in. "You are much too good to be lost in something of this nature. The loyalty you wish to give him is one he will never return."

Anakin closes his eyes, breathing in and out, trying to find his center. He knows it's the truth, and that's what makes it so hard. "I don't want anything from him," Anakin replies finally.

"Now, now, you and I both know that is not true."

Behind Sidious, six Dark Siders disembark the ship and ignite their lightsabers. It's a lot, even for them. Anakin doesn't know how they'll get out of this.

"If you surrender, Lord Vader, I will consider this a simple mistake," Sidious continues, "I have no desire to harm you."

Right. Anakin knows better than to believe that – he's seen that hunger in his master's eyes before. He knows what it means and that it will only be satisfied with pain. "No," he objects instead – he promised Obi-Wan, after all.

"Even if... I offer to leave him alive? I have never betrayed you, Vader."

"You lied to me," Anakin snaps.

"I concealed my identity out of necessity. I never lied to you like he did."

"Concealing identities and double-playing is something you both do well," Anakin responds, eyes narrowed. He tries his best to ignore the stinging hurt it insights; he never wants to think about Hardeen again. Ever, ever again, except it still haunts his dreams sometimes. It truly feels like a part of him died there.

"I will use more forceful means," Sidious replies, his voice taking a slightly ominous hint, "If you continue to be... difficult."

Anakin doesn't respond. He doesn't move, aside from scanning the Dark Siders, trying to gauge weaknesses simply by look. The Dark Siders themselves are slowly circling around, boxing them in.

"Very well," Sidious responds, a distinctly dangerous edge to his voice, "Begin."

Anakin shifts so he's standing back-to-back with Obi-Wan when the Dark Siders start spinning their lightsabers. It's deadly to fight lightsabers like that, though the hilts themselves are designed quite sloppily.

He lets himself sink into the Force as their blades start clashing. Moving so fast and so much hurts – he's not ready for it yet, but there's no choice, and he's had worse. Much worse.

It works, and probably would have worked, even if he's nearly overwhelmed, if Sidious hadn't come in. Anakin first feels the sharp, cutting pressure against his mental shields, and stumbles, letting out a faint, strangled gasp from the sudden sensation. Force, it hurts.

Sidious is trying to off-balance him, and it's working.

The last thing Anakin can afford is to get distracted during a lightsaber battle in which their numbers are already being overwhelmed. Both of them are trying to fight three people now, none of which are particularly skilled, but they have the numbers.

Anakin gives ground, backing away, trying to find a weak point. It's not easy, and he's only managed to slice one of their lightsabers in half – not one he recognizes – when Sidious wraps the Dark Side around his neck, crushing. Anakin fights it off, anyway.

Anakin shoves back against it, relentlessly – he can't afford to be knocked down now. The Sith Master's intervention makes it far harder than it needs to be. Anakin throws the other two attacking him back with the Force, focusing his efforts on the Pau'an – he was once a Temple Guard; Anakin can tell from how he's fighting. Their blades clash, and Anakin lets everything else fade away from mind, pressing forwards.

It's not easy, but it's not half what he dealt with when he... first came into the Temple. The Dark Sider doesn't have half Obi-Wan's skillset, either, and Anakin slashes through one half of his lightsaber, swinging around for the kill. He feels as numb about this as he always does – this may be a Dark Sider, but he still loathes killing. He always has, even if he's become numb to it by now. It doesn't help how it always hurts.

The Pau'an isn't able to counter his strike fast enough, and Anakin runs him through, pulling back right as Sidious sends a blast of lightning towards him. He hardly had a chance to see it coming and can only flick up his lightsaber hardly in time to deflect most of it. Some of it slips past, the sparks stinging his skin, but it's not enough to make him stop.

Two of the others are already coming at him again, and he spins aside to fight them off. He can feel Sidious' anger, though, can feel his ever-watching eyes, waiting for the next most inconvenient moment to strike. Obi-Wan disarms one of the others literally, throwing them aside and keeping his focus on the other two fighting him.

They don't have time for this, wearing themselves out when they need to be ready to fight Sidious. Anakin takes down the second one as fast as he can, throwing the other one he's fighting back with the Force, and turning to help Obi-Wan. Together, it's a little easier to take down a second, but it's as far as they get before the last remaining two lunge for Anakin again.

He knew this had very little chance of ending well from the start, but he still didn't expect Sidious to intervene by drawing his own lightsabers. Two of them.

He jumps at Obi-Wan, literally – and Anakin's heart skips a beat. He Force-shoves the Dark Sider he's fighting backwards across the sand. He needs to help Obi-Wan. His master is barely holding his own as it is. Obi-Wan ducks Sidious' initial attack, backing away. Anakin moves forwards, intercepting Sidious' next strike.

The Sith cackles as their blades start clashing. He's fast, and Anakin can clearly sense the power he radiates. And he's afraid of it.

Sidious fights in a blur, and with Anakin's slightly slowed state, he's not strong enough for this. Walking hurts and fighting hurts even more.

Sidious must have noticed the weakness, because when Anakin's lightsaber is raised, he kicks him. Anakin stumbles back, gasping, a sharp, burning pain spearing through him. The wound was closed over, but Anakin is fairly certain Sidious just ripped it open.

He drops to one knee in the sand, a strangled sound escaping him.

Sidious raises his hands, and the Force flares in warning, jagged bolts of electricity shooting towards him.

His vision whites out from the pain, strangled screams escaping him.

"Lord Vader," Sidious says when it lets up, and Anakin forces his eyes open to look up, even if the vulnerability of the moment makes him feel even worse. "Are you aware of the consequences of betrayal and treason?"

A faint, strained sound escapes him, and he starts rolling over, trying to force himself back to his feet, one hand still holding his lightsaber. Everything hurts but he's not going to stop because of that – he can't afford to.

"I thought you would know better than to betray the only one who would stand by you."

"You're a traitor," Anakin hisses. His limbs are shaking, and he tries to force himself up again, but it's not working. The sand is swirling everywhere around him, itching and burning and stinging, and it reminds him of things he doesn't want to think about.

Sidious moves his lightsaber closer, pressing the blade against Anakin's neck, singeing his skin, forcing him back against the ground. "I offered you everything," he continues, "And yet, you were willing to remain with one you knew was a traitor. This would not be the first time he harmed you."

As if he wasn't currently holding Anakin at lightsaber-point.

"He betrayed you. He deceived you. Letting him live would take thousands of lives, but I was willing to delay his sentence at your request."

Anakin looks away briefly, then back up at him. He doesn't know what to say, because... everything Sidious is saying is the truth. Obi-Wan did betray him. He could, easily, bring death to thousands if not millions with his stubbornness as he continues fighting the Empire.

The Empire is a path to everything Anakin has wanted, though, and he's so, so tempted to take it, but he understands somewhat where that path will lead. He promised Obi-Wan, and he... can't break that. He saw what his master went through, and Anakin will never let himself be responsible for worsening that.

It's a relief that Sidious doesn't look like Palpatine, at least.

His former master's very undignified yelp draws Anakin's attention towards him – Obi-Wan is not having an easy time, and he needs help. Sidious obviously senses that desire. "And if I permit him to live?" the Sith Master prods, "You know he will betray you again, as all Jedi do."

It's tempting. It truly is, but Anakin doesn't know if he can do that to his master. Obi-Wan will be hurt and... all he can think of is how cold Obi-Wan had been with him at first, and he's somehow almost more afraid of handling that anger and disappointment again than he is of facing Sidious. But he can't bring himself to outright refuse either, not when he knows they're in a very tight place. "I..."

"This is your last chance, Lord Vader," he continues, warningly.

"You'll kill him," Anakin objects desperately, stalling for time more than anything.

"He is a traitor. He will cause untold damage to the galaxy, as the rest of the surviving Jedi already are."

Anakin's breath catches – realizing that really, he has no idea what the surviving Jedi have been doing.

Sidious' glee at catching his attention is instantly obvious. "We could have had peace," he continues, "Yet you failed at the Temple, and this led to the disaster. The galaxy will crumble. But there may still be a chance if you come with me. We can restore peace to the galaxy together."

He tries not to think of what Sidious is saying, but it's true. It's – the Jedi won't allow an Empire. They may be what is standing in the way of peace. He doesn't know. Obi-Wan saw the future and what the Empire became, but... It doesn't have to be that way, does it? It will be if Sidious is controlling it, though, he reminds himself. They still have to stop him. But it would be easier if this wasn't all so confusing.

He doesn't know what to do. It's... what he told Obi-Wan earlier, but his master wasn't listening to him.

Anakin doesn't have a moment longer to consider it, either. Obi-Wan takes down one of the other two Dark Siders, throwing the other aside before lunging at Sidious. Anakin rolls out of the way of his lightsaber in the same move – he doesn't care to find out if the Sith would actually injure him seriously – scrambling to his feet. Everything hurts, but he needs to keep moving.

Sidious unleashes a blast of lightning on Obi-Wan, who instantly blocks it with his lightsaber. The other Dark Sider throws his spinning blade at Obi-Wan, and Anakin deflects it with his own.

Anakin can't deny the fear still burning inside him, even if he continues fighting. It feels like he's dooming himself and Obi-Wan to... he doesn't know what, and he doesn't really want to, but Sidious already told him that it's his last chance. But – but he's always acted for the greater good, and that's what the Empire is.

Desperately, he wants what he's done to not have been for nothing, except Anakin can't trust himself to make the right choice. He doesn't trust anyone anymore.

He doesn't trust that both Obi-Wan and Palpatine aren't lying to him for something, or that Padme won't... betray him. She has every reason to. And Ahsoka left him already – she's not even a part of his life anymore, no matter how badly he wants her back. When he had Ahsoka, his life seemed to make sense. Not anymore.

Anakin finally takes down the last Dark Sider, turning right as Sidious lifts Obi-Wan in a Force-choke. Blinding desperation and fear hit him, and he lunges for Sidious, despite his exhaustion. Despite everything, he can't let Obi-Wan die. He can't –

And Sidious is going to kill him. He won't spare him again, and maybe he shouldn't – legally he shouldn't – but Anakin can't just... let that happen.

A blast of lightning throws Anakin to the ground before Sidious turns the attack on Obi-Wan instead. His former master's screams drag Anakin back from the stars dancing in front of his eyes, as he struggles to catch his breath past the pain. He needs to get up, but –

Sidious finally throws Obi-Wan aside, crossing the sand towards Anakin. His heart is practically in his throat as he tries to force himself up, but it'll never be enough. A dark icy presence presses sharply against his shields, and he tries to shake it off, but Sidious only presses harder.

"I tire of this," he says lowly, and the Force wraps around Anakin, holding him firmly in place. He could, and would, have fought against it, except Sidious doesn't give him that chance. "You were once always loyal, my boy. I see your loyalties have changed as fast as those of your master's."

Anakin's breath catches, memories rising unwanted to the surface. Of Obi-Wan stabbing him at the Temple. Of... those first few weeks in the cave. Of – Hardeen, and everything Obi-Wan did to him then.

"I gave you a chance," Sidious continues, yellow eyes boring into him, as the presence still claws at his shields, "A chance to be with your family, to live a life of significance beyond the lies of the Jedi. But instead, you chose betrayal. You chose to become what you always resented your master for."

"Stop it," he chokes out, trying to ignore how much the words are tearing him apart.

"I never thought you this ungrateful," Sidious continues, anyway. "I gave you constant, unwavering support when you had none. Now I see I wasted it on someone as traitorous as you."

The words cut him sharper than a knife, especially with how true they feel. Obi-Wan had said the same thing, and he loathes himself for it. He's only ever a disappointment, for as much as he tries to be more.

Somewhere at the edge of his awareness, he registers a faint tremor in the ground below him. He can feel something, danger – Something's coming. He doesn't have time to think past that, before Sidious digs deeper into his mind, clawing his way through his shields.

It hurts, but more than that, it's the feel of someone else being in his head. Sidious hasn't fully broken through his shields but it's still – He struggles to force past the pain, trying to shove Sidious back out, but the Sith isn't tired out at all, and Anakin is frankly exhausted. And everything hurts.

He can feel Sidious clawing his way deeper into his mind – the only thing that's always been his, and –

He can feel Sidious' anger so clearly now, seeing that it's a sensation practically coming from inside of him now. Darkness is flooding his mind, ripping memories to the surface.

Obi-Wan stabbing him at the Temple replays through his mind again, and he roughly forces it back, past the emotions and pain choking him.

He needs to make Sidious stop, but he's – it's –

Obi-Wan's presence touches his mind suddenly, and – Anakin wants to pull away from both of them, because this is all too much.

He can feel Obi-Wan pressing closer, in an effort to shake Sidious' grip, but it's difficult when Sidious is already inside his mind. And the darkness keeps pulling up memories that are throwing him off, distracting him, things he never wants to remember again.

Sidious is doing this intentionally he knows, and he needs to fight it off, but he can't. Maybe it's also having Obi-Wan's presence pressed so close that it's memories of him that keep surface.

He can feel Obi-Wan's mind too, perhaps because his own shielding is so weak right now, and Obi-Wan is more focused on trying to fight off Sidious than anything else.

And – somewhere he registers that the Force is humming with danger but he's not sure why. Not that he can think of anything but the presence in his head, or the memories that rise, uncalled for, to the surface.

Of when Obi-Wan stabbed him at the Temple, of his own desperation and fear when he'd Fallen in the first place.

Of Hardeen and how much that had destroyed him.

Of – some time – he doesn't remember when, specifically, it could have been any time for how frequently it happened – Obi-Wan yelling at him for something. Sometime when it had been especially bad, and he'd never felt so worthless and unwanted.

Of talking to Palpatine afterwards, and he was actually being supportive, and –

Palpatine is doing this on purpose. Anakin tries as hard as he can, to force him away again, but it's not working. His grip is loosening but it's not enough yet.

He senses Obi-Wan obvious flare of guilt – he must've picked up on some of what Anakin's remembering. He can also feel his former master's anger with Sidious, his fear that Anakin was going to betray him again...

That –

He catches a flash of a dark planet somewhere, rock structures surrounding them, and – that armored cyborg, but his mask is broken. His face is so horribly scarred Anakin can barely recognize it as his own. He picks up on a fraction of what Obi-Wan was feeling then – horror and anger and... he doesn't quite know.

He catches a flash of a lava planet somewhere, himself lying on the bank and – he's glad it disappears too quickly, because suddenly he has a very bad feeling on what Obi-Wan meant by 'I thought he was dead' there, as his former master turns to walk away, to leave him there. They were fighting right before – he sees a little of it briefly too – mostly Obi-Wan's own emotions, his anger and betrayal and pain and his desire to hurt him

And his regret afterwards, even if... a part of him questioned if he had made the right choice.

But most of all he can feel Obi-Wan's caring for him, how afraid he is that he'll lose him here. Something Anakin himself mirrors right now.

But the memories are distracting him, and that's – probably what Sidious wants. He tries to block it out, throwing everything he has against the Sith, and suddenly, he starts to pull back.

Danger is suddenly screaming through the Force, and Anakin pries his eyes open, gasping for air past the pain pounding through his skill – the sunlight is way too bright – right as an enormous creature starts rising from the sand.

A Krayt dragon.

Oh no.

WARNING: Mental invasions and torture

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