Chapter 2 - Missions

Author's Note: This chapter... gets kinda dark. xP

WARNING: Creepy Sith possessiveness, slavery, non-consensual medical experimentation, blood drinking, and implied/threatened rape. (But nothing graphic or detailed, if that helps.)

~ Tirana Sorki


Anakin Skywalker

Sidious sent us back to Mustafar to bleed our crystals. I don't want to. I don't want to be here, but then again, I wanted nothing of any of this. I never did. I was just... But brooding won't help, even if that's literally what we have to do. That's what bleeding our crystals and embracing the Dark Side means. It means stop letting go.

We're kneeling together in the nexus of the Dark Side, and I delve into the Force, trying to let myself feel it instead of blocking out the darkness. Try to let it in instead of shying away from it as I always instinctively do. That's... all we have anymore. (Except each other.)

The kyber crystal I've had since Geonosis is hovering in my hand, and I can feel the way it feels like... me, like what I once used to be. Like what I tried pretending I could be, when I didn't know we were always meant to be dark and that we were creations of the Sith.

Slaves. Tools. Playthings. Whatever it is the Sith want us to be, and we have no say in any of it, because we have never had a say in any of it.

Anger isn't a normal emotion for me, but I can still find it, feel it, and it's burning inside me, a helpless rage that's far too familiar. It's like what we had when we were young, unable to stop people from hurting each other or our mother when it was all we wanted. When the only thing we wanted to do was – was help others, but we couldn't.

Like when I saw Krell cut off my sister's hand, when...

Everything.

So many times. This isn't foreign to me, and I'm furious we're back here again, even with all the power and skill we have.

We were made by the Sith, and we were always meant to go back to them. There's no way out.

I gather that to me, pouring it into my kyber crystal, feeling the Force swirl around me.

And... amidst it, as if watching from afar, I see myself standing, letting the deep, aching, hopeless rage flow into the Force as a Jedi should. It's vivid enough that I can feel it, even if I know it's not real, and it's just a vision, something that will never happen, I can feel myself leaving, an echo of what have I done ringing in my mind for the second time. Even now, it's hanging over me, drowning me.

It makes me remember how desperately I crave to leave everything, knowing that I'll never be able to. I see myself standing in front of Obi-Wan, on a world torn with war and chaos, but that does nothing to detract from the peacefulness. I've grown up in chaos. It may not feel soothing, but it feels of him.

Not the wild, dark, chaotic violence of when I last sensed him, but the calm, soothing rain that was so very grounding, that reminds me of every reason for which I love him. When he turns, his eyes are blue. They're soft, not the hard icy look I remember from Mustafar.

"Master," I hear myself saying, an echo of the unspoken promise I once thought I could always keep, that he is the only person I would ever serve.

"Anakin," he says, and for one desperate, fleeting moment, I let myself think it's real. Yet it shatters like glass, like all things do, when I pull back.

It's not real. It's not real.

It never could be real. I know Obi-Wan. He would never forgive me for what I've done. This, right here, is all there is – nothing, and with that, I find the depth of the anger and pain I've been searching for, pouring it into my crystal.

When I open my eyes, it's burned blood-red, the same color that I know will forever stain my hands.

**w**

Aniya Skywalker

Drawing in enough darkness is hardly difficult when that's pretty much all I can feel now. I let the Dark Side flood me, directing its currents into the crystal hovering in front of me. I know I'm twisting it, making it hurt the same way I am now, but it's almost fitting. The blue lightsaber belonged to someone who I no longer am, and who I never can be again. I'm Viola now.

The Force surges in response to my demand, the next thing I know, the scene in front of me is shifting, changing. I instinctively know I'm having a vision, watching from my own eyes though I can't control my body.

Lightning crackles over my head, from a strange structure in front of me, a strange, glowing, reddish hue illuminating my surroundings. It's a Sith Temple somewhere, from how the Dark Side flows so strongly around me.

I can sense someone approaching behind me, and I spin around, to see Ahsoka and Alema standing there. They're wearing Jedi robes, not the same clothes they wore when we first saw them again. And their eyes are blue.

"Master?" Alema asks, almost warily, uncertainly.

"Our meeting has finally come," I hear myself say, moving towards them. I reach up, lifting off my helmet, looking them in the eye for the first time in... I don't know how long. "Join me willingly, and the Emperor will show you mercy."

"We're never joining the Dark Side. What are you saying, Aniya? What happened?" Ahsoka demands, almost incredulously.

"Come with us," Alema urges, "Maybe you're a Sith, but you can still let it go."

"You can come home," Ahsoka presses.

It's a choice between going to them or drawing my lightsaber, and... after a moment, I toss my helmet to the ground, walking closer. The flicker of hope on both their faces is the last thing I see before I jolt back to myself, holding my now red crystal in my palm.

What was that?

A vision of something – my deepest desire, most likely. Or something, but it's ridiculous. I don't even know what happened to them, other than that they're still alive.

And I can't let go of the Dark Side, no matter how much I want to. I could never let go of the guilt drowning me, and besides, the Jedi weren't right. Maybe they didn't deserve their fate, but they still betrayed all their principles. And – I don't know what to think when I actually start thinking about it.

Seeing Ahsoka and Alema like that ignited a nearly intolerable longing in me – all I want is to be with them again, but I know it's nothing but a dream. It won't happen. I'm here, a Sith, and that... it won't change.

Slowly, I reassemble my lightsaber, standing as Anakin does likewise. I can feel his turbulent emotions, and I can only imagine he had a... similar vision.

Trying to tear my mind away from them, I push the ignition on my lightsaber, the blood red blade hisses to life. "What did you see?" I ask, trying to keep my tone even.

Anakin looks down, clipping his lightsaber to his belt. "Obi-Wan."

My heart clenches sharply at the mere mention of that name. "I saw our padawans. But none of them will... It's not real." They won't just accept us back, will they? Obi-Wan certainly won't, if how angry he was on Mustafar speaks for anything. And... when he's like that, I don't want him anywhere near Anakin. I haven't forgotten my previous vision, even if it never happened. Even if it feels like my fear of seeing Obi-Wan hurt my twin is what drove it to almost happening.

"I know," he says, quietly.

The only thing we truly know we have now is each other, just like... what was once true, back on Tatooine. Why does it seem no matter how far we try to run from our past and what once was, we always end right back where we started?

**w**

It is a little unsettling, though, when Sidious decides he wants us to have armor when we go out in public, to conceal our identities. My helmet looks exactly the same as it did in my vision – it's black, and it was very obviously designed for intimidation, even if it's plainer than Anakin's. Other than that, I'm wearing completely black, with a long cape that nearly reaches the ground. I suppose it's... appropriate for what I am now.

What really throws me, though, is Anakin's armor. It's – almost exactly the same as I saw in my vision on Mortis, so long ago. I could never forget that, for how much it haunted me afterwards.

"Why did you leave me?" he asked, sounding so broken, and I silently vow here and now that I will never leave him, no matter what it costs. Nothing in the galaxy could be worth making him feel like that. (Not even going back with our padawans.)

We're leaving on our first mission, to kill a Jedi discovered in hiding on Al'doleem. They are traitors, and Sidious is right that there'll be civil war without end unless they're all dead. I won't deny the guilt and questions flickering through mind, but I ruthlessly crush them, keeping my focus on the mission. What Sidious is having me do now is truly no different than what the Jedi once had us do. We're bringing peace and order, helping people. Even if the sides are different now.

Anakin is quiet next to me, the Dark Side swirling heavily around me. I know he's feeling no better, if not worse, than I am.

But neither of us speak, except when it's to plan out the mission.

Anakin's cape swirls behind him as he strides up the hillside along with me to where we tracked the Jedi. I won't deny that his mask was designed to be very intimating, almost unnecessarily so, but it'll serve its purpose. It'll take some adjusting to get used to see him like this, though.

The Jedi – Kirak Infil'a – stands a distance above us, glaring down. "Was it you?" he demands, a sharp note of anger in his voice, "I felt the death of almost every Jedi I know. That darkness resonates within both of you. Did you kill them?"

The accusation in the question hits something deep within me, but I let it fuel the Dark Side. "Yes," I answer, bluntly. It's not entirely true, but it's the answer he wants. And we're well accustomed to giving people what they want.

"Are you here to kill me as well?"

We ignite our lightsabers in response.

He starts saying something about having taken a vow to stand aside, until his true path as a Jedi was found, but I pay it no mind, sprinting up the hill towards him.

Except I realize my mistake a moment too late, as the Force twists with danger, and something snaps free on the mountainside. It must be a trap of some kind, because it couldn't be natural, when a torrent of water comes pouring straight towards us.

It nearly throws me down the side as I scramble to get out of its path – but I'm not entirely used to fighting in this kind of armor yet. Anakin clearly isn't either, because he isn't faring much better, but we successfully struggle to safety a distance away. The water's flooding the valley below, but it's not our concern, as we keep climbing the slope.

Only for a group of creatures of some kind to promptly attack us. I can't help but remember what Plagueis was saying about my bond with Anakin, as I delve into the Force, throwing them back. We easily cut through any that come close again, before continuing our assent.

Kirak Infil'a is waiting for us at the top, green lightsaber raised. He lunges for us, the same moment a droid with an electric rod jumps us from the rocks. Anakin turns to deal with it, while I block the Jedi's blow, shoving his lightsaber back and swinging for him again.

He's skilled, unquestionably, but he's probably a Jedi Master by now, so it's to be expected.

"I'm going to end this," he warns, eyes narrowed with anger. Very un-Jedi like, not that it's a surprise given everything, but still.

And in the end, I question how much of what I once believed the Jedi were was merely an illusion.

Anakin crushes the droid in an instant, coming to join me. The duel doesn't last long, not when we're both fighting him.

It still leaves me with a strange sense of numbness, when his motionless body hits the rocky ground. He's dead, another Jedi's life on our hands. But seeing how he was acting, I can't say it isn't better that he's dead. He'd stop at nothing to destroy the Sith, even if meant tearing apart the galaxy in another war. That's exactly what we have to stop, to bring peace, whatever the cost.

**w**

Anakin Skywalker

No matter what we do, it seems like we'll always end up back here, back with Plagueis. There's no way to get out. We can't escape him without outright leaving the Sith, and that's not an option. We can't run away, especially when the entire galaxy needs stability. An Empire is needed – I just don't appreciate the means being used.

I'm able to at least maintain a sensation of numbness as we enter the building we were told to go to. At least we know the locations of one of Plagueis' labs now, though I don't know how much good it'll do when we can't fight him. (I just want to go home.)

The sensation of wrongness is making my skin crawl even from space, and it's much, much worse inside. How someone can do this, I can't even imagine. It's not feeding the Dark Side. This is pure depravity.

I have no idea what he's doing to us, and I don't ask either – I doubt he'd appreciate it.

There are some other people moving around, but none of them talk. Though one of them, especially, catches my eye. They feel... strangely bright in the Force, obviously Force-sensitive. A Jedi, maybe? One of the ones that surrendered? Except something about their presence screams of so much wrongness I pointedly put as much distance between us as possible. He felt like... something was taken out and rewritten into something else. That shouldn't even be possible.

Plagueis must've been experimenting on him, and I can't shake the feeling that something about this experiment, in particular, is important, even if I don't know how or why.

And I'm definitely not going to ask Plagueis why he's obsessing over our blood samples now, though I'm just grateful he hasn't taken to cutting us open or taking us apart or whatever in the galaxy he could think of... Yet.

But right now, we're just standing here, and he won't stop nudging at our presences with the Force. I'm not certain if I should reinforce my shielding or what, but it's growing increasingly difficult to think about anything other than how badly I want to run him through with my lightsaber.

He paces around us, but I don't miss how he keeps looking at Aniya. I don't like it. At all.

"Fascinating," he murmurs at last, "Have you sensed it?"

"Sensed... what?" Aniya asks, glaring at him. Then again, when her eyes are yellow like they are right now, she always looks like she's glaring.

"Ah, so you have not," he deduces, "Studying the development of a Skywalker will answer most of what I desire to know."

The... oh. I'm practically too stunned to speak, though I can't help throwing a glance towards Aniya and muttering a pointed, "talk about bad timing."

"This isn't funny," she snaps back, and I see her barely avoid using my name. We haven't called each other anything since... everything, and I don't even know what we should. I'm not really Anakin anymore, but I will never be Vader to her, just like, to me, she'll always be Aniya, not Viola.

"The timing was perfect," Plagueis interjects, as if someone even asked his opinion. I struggle with Sidious and his ability to slip everywhere I don't want him to, but Plagueis is so much worse. I've hardly even seen him, and he's already forcing his way into the most intimate parts of our lives. Nothing can cut in between Aniya and I, can try to separate us, except him, and I can't help moving closer, as if that would be enough to get the point across. "I may have found a way to make it, had it not."

Did he just...

That's question I'd rather not answer, because I know we're completely under the mercy of this hopelessly deranged maniac, but this is too far. He just threatened...

"If you hurt her –" I begin, not even bothering to keep my voice calm.

"I am a Sith. I will do whatever is necessary to achieve my goals," he replies smoothly, "You will learn the same."

Anger, I think, is an understatement to describe what's burning inside me. "Not this."

"Your attachment to one another is strong," he muses, "But you will not interfere. I will ensure Sidious teaches you better than this."

What, exactly, Plagueis means by that, I'm not quite sure. I'm terrified, truly, of making him angry, but I can't just take this, either. I cannot and will not allow him to hurt my sister. And certainly never like that.

I wish I knew what to do.

I don't know how to be a Sith at all, and I really don't know what Sidious would have us do in this situation. More than that, I hate I even have to want to know. I hate that I have to worry about that constantly.

"I will watch its development as it progresses," he decides, and I feel him nudging at us with the Force again.

Aniya and her child are not some thing to be studied, I want to yell, but I don't. It will only make this worse, and it will change nothing. Any other time, and I'd be elated that I'm going to be an uncle – I still don't know what happened to my child – but now... I don't think any time could be worse. (At least the child she's having now is by her own choice, my mind points out morbidly.)

Finally, he moves on, deciding that he needs more of our fresh blood for something.

I can only blink in thorough confusion when he... drinks it?

What?!

What does he think he's doing?!

Aniya exchanges an equally incredulous glance with me, and we just... stand there. It's not like there's anything else we can do when our clearly partly insane master's master is being completely, outrageously insane. Then again, I don't think that phase ever stops.

I have no idea what he's actually doing before – was he hoping that might temporarily give him some of our power? – but the Force suddenly twinges in warning. Except it's strangely centered around Plagueis.

I suddenly have the very distinct feeling that I know what's happening, when his limbs start twitching strangely before he collapses on the floor, convulsing.

What –

He's... having a seizure. From drinking our blood. Well, he's the one who thought that was a good idea, when we don't even know how different we are from humans in the first place.

But... are we supposed to do something, or –?

All I can do is stare at him dumbfoundedly before an almost visibly annoyed medical droid enters the room. It hovers next to him, ordering us to leave to give it room to work, and I only realize a moment later when we make it out of the room it actually that would have been a very good chance to kill him.

Which we lost now, but to be fair, I've never been quite so mind-blown and caught off-guard about anything in my entire life.

**w**

Aniya Skywalker

Somehow being in Plagueis' presence leaves me feeling dirty, and it doesn't fade even when we're alone again. I'm still thoroughly in shock that I'm pregnant. It's – how – I have no idea how Jaufre and I managed that.

But I'm even more mind-blown about what in the world just happened. The Sith Master literally just... "I hope that kills him," I say flatly, throwing a quick glance around the room in the hopes there's no... security devices in here.

"Not likely," Anakin reminds, eyeing the door again.

"Wish I'd thought of it sooner." I still can't believe he seriously indicated he was going to – Technically it's what he did to our mother, too, going by what Sidious was telling us, but I just... I think I very much underestimated the full extent of his insanity, and our state of helplessness.

I feel dirty and used in some way I can't even describe, but it makes me want to – take a shower and scrub my skin off, just to get rid of the feeling.

"It's too late now."

Is it? Even if it weren't, I don't feel comfortable risking going back in there when I have no idea what's happening. Besides, I don't want to be anywhere near him. With how insane it was, it practically feels like we just dreamed up that madness in the first place.

What's worrying me most right now is my child. I'm going to be a mother, right here and now and I have no idea what to do. "What are we going to do?" I ask, almost rhetorically. It should be the happiest day of my life, like it was for Anakin when he heard the same about Padme, but it's not. I don't want my child to be born into an environment like this. Absolutely not.

Anakin reaches out, taking my flesh hand in his. "For now, there is nothing we can do. We won't worry about it right now."

"I don't want them born into this." Most of all, I'm terrified of what Plagueis might want with them. He already implied...

"When the time is closer, perhaps we can... do something," Anakin offers. I have no idea what, but we have to. I can't just do nothing, can I? It's not like I can keep it a secret, though. Everyone already knows.

"We'll have to tell Sidious," I point out, "How do we do that?"

"... I don't know."

A sudden noise catches my attention, and I look up to see that Force-sensitive from earlier who feels so wrong in the Force crossing through the room.

It's a blue, male Twi'lek, not someone I recognize if he really used to be a Jedi. Though if he was before, I certainly have no idea what he is now, because his very existence feels wrong somehow. Like something was ripped out and put back in all wrong, and just... I can't even describe what it feels like.

He pauses, eyeing us, a strange, dark, glint in his eyes. I have no idea what it is about that look that unsettles me so much. I don't even know who he is. But he feels angry – no, furious. Not at us, but... I can't place it, but it still feels like he has something personal against us.

Not like many people haven't in the past, so I don't know what's unsettling me so much. Maybe it's just that everything here feels so wrong, or maybe it's what Plagueis said to me earlier, and it's really ridiculous how much that shook me up. I'm a General already, and I've... done many things. It shouldn't have upset me that much.

Of course, if he were a former Jedi, I can see why he'd hate us so much.

"We should leave," Anakin says finally, and I gratefully slip from the room.

Asking Sidious if we can talk to him is... awkward. We occasionally did when he was Palpatine, but everything is different now. He's our master now, not... friend. He agrees, though, even if it's not until some hours later.

"What is it?" Sidious asks, when we enter. I'm still getting used to seeing his face so twisted and damaged, when Windu was technically torturing him. More and more, I question everything I once believed in about the Jedi, even if what the Sith are doing isn't all right either.

But right now, all I care about is that I'm going to have a child, and it's worse than the worst time ever. By the Force, why did this have to happen now? "Plagueis mentioned... something. When we were just with him," I blurt.

How am I supposed to explain this, even?

"What?" he asks. Something always darkens in his expression, whenever his master comes up. Not that that's a surprise. I can't imagine what it would be like to have had Plagueis as a master. He didn't obsess over studying Sidious, did he?

"Aniya's pregnant," Anakin gets straight to the point.

I'm not quite expecting the flare of anger I feel from him in response. "Is that Plagueis' doing?" he asks. I can't say why something about the way he says it sounds so... like there's something personal there I can't really make sense of. Honestly? I don't want to know. But – wait. Did he... already know there was a chance of that happening?! Or is it just a good guess, given he knows his master...

"No," I hastily correct, "It's... umm..."

"I see," he muses, some of his anger fading, to somewhere below the surface.

"It's – I know it will be – inconvenient later on. I –" Have no idea what I'm trying to say. I sound stupid. But like how do you tell your master – ugh, whatever.

"It is of little concern right now," replies Sidious. He's radiating enough discomfort for me to find it amusing if I didn't feel the exact same way myself. "What has he wanted with you?"

"He's... interested in our Force-bond. And midi-chlorians," Anakin replies, hesitantly. For some reason, Sidious' anger flares stronger into the Force.

"And drank our blood. And almost killed himself. I think," I interject. I hope,I don't add.

The look he gives me borders on incredulousness. For a moment, it reminds me of... of before, when we didn't know he was a Sith, when he wasn't our master, when he was our friend. "Did he," he repeats dubiously.

"He... appeared to have a seizure," Anakin says.

I can very clearly feel Sidious' dark amusement, even if it shows little. "He mentioned nothing of it when he spoke to me." I can't help but stiffen at that, remembering Plagueis' complaints of our bond interfering with being a Sith. Ironic how the Jedi always said the same thing once. I distinctly remember how he once promised us that we'd be free of that if we became Sith.

Anakin inhales sharply, but he doesn't otherwise outwardly react, though I sense his flare of alarm as acutely as my own. The one thing we have never had to fear was being separated from each other. That's not true anymore.

"I do not view your bond as a weakness," Sidious assures immediately. It's... strange how he's acting, after what he did to us on Mustafar. He couldn't possibly regret that, could he? It's what Sith do. But still, I... wonder. I don't know why. "Not as he does. I see the strength it gives you."

I loathe how I'm torn between a blinding hate and betrayal and a strange amount of loyalty. I don't understand it. "Thank you, Master," I offer quietly.

"And," Sidious continues, "Do not defend yourself again him. Resistance will bring you more pain."

I try hard not to think about how it sounds like he's saying something from personal experience.

I'm only grateful Plagueis hadn't instantly lashed out at us the way Sidious did. That, I think, is mostly what stopped me from killing him when I had the chance. There was nothing like the moment I looked up, vision hazed over by pain, to see Sidious's lightsaber pressed against my brother's neck.

There is nothing like knowing he would do it again.

Sith are... unpredictable. Every moment, I can only wish for the family we had and lost. But like we told Maul, there's no real chance of ever getting them back. It's just a fantasy, really. Maybe after we no longer have Plagueis to worry about... But with how possessive Sidious is of us, I find it unlikely that he'd permit us to even be around them.

Though considering they're all traitors to the Empire, that's not surprising, either.

"And let him?" Anakin asks quietly, "What if he..." He trails off, not finishing, and that's not a question either of us can ask.

Force, we haven't had to worry about these things since Tatooine. I never thought that would change.

"Your hate will give you power," he replies, as if that helps something.

All it means is that there's no way out of this. At least not now, so all I can do is hate, and grow steadily angrier, until... something. If our plans for killing Plagueis come to fruition any time soon. I can only hope.

But I don't know that I feel that optimistic anymore. I thought it would be simple from the start, for some reason, and then... Everything fell into this. I don't know how it couldn't continue spiraling downwards from here on out.

Final Notes: If you want to join our Discord to receive updates or just hang out, here's the invite link, and please delete the spaces! :) discord . gg / nqSxuz2

You can find us on tumblr at fanfictasia (which is our more serious blog which does have controversial posts on it; I won't be offended if you choose to block it, promise), and disastertriowriting (which is our fun blog with crack posts or incorrect SW quotes; we also advertise our SW gift exchanges on there)

And! We have a YT channel for tributes! Please delete the spaces in the link. :D youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA

Finally, if you're interested, you can submit a SW gift fic request via the following form (delete the spaces): forms . gle / rmXWtRomMMaULuPa6

NEW: We've just opened a SW Anakin-clones fic request form as well. :) (delete the spaces): forms . gle / SC5gBdwhXpTNJidr7