Chapter 7 - Assassins

DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P

Author's Note: More Anakin-Vader bonding time! :D

Thank you all so, so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews! I really hope that you'll continue to enjoy this tale as it unfolds! :D

To the guest who reviewed: You're absolutely right! Palpatine will not expect the outcome of any of this at all. ;) And yeah, I've read some of the Vader comics. :P

~ Amina Gila

The landscape is glowing red and orange, the oppressive heat from the lava rivers ever-present, even if Vader can't feel it through his armor. He knows it's there, just as he knows that he'll never be able to forget this planet. Mustafar is a living hell. It's where Jedi go to die. It's where he went to die. Movement catches his eye, and he turns. Anakin is standing right next to him, expression filled with uncertainty and uneasiness.

"I don't like this planet," Anakin comments with a shudder. There's a feel of foreboding in the air, and Vader doesn't like it. The Force is humming with wrongness, and it sets him on edge.

"Anakin!" They both start when they hear the voice that they'll never forget. Obi-Wan steps through the smoke and haze, a disapproving, disappointed look in his blue-gray eyes as he looks between the two. No, Vader realizes, this is not Obi-Wan, his Obi-Wan. This is Anakin's former master. "How could you?" Kenobi's voice is accusing, pained, and though it's not directed at him, the words are like a knife to the heart. Vader thinks he would have broken down and begged his master for forgiveness on his knees had Obi-Wan come to him with disappointment instead of anger so many years ago.

"I –" Anakin chokes, stumbling back as a small vibroblade hurdles through the air, embedding itself in his chest. He looks down at it blankly for a moment as his legs give out and he falls to the ground.

"No!" screams Vader, dropping to his knees, reaching out to touch Anakin, uncertain what he can even do for him. He doesn't – he can't – Anakin can't die. He can't lose him. It's too soon for both of them. They're so young still, and the galaxy needs them. "Anakin," he says pleadingly, reaching for the Force and pouring it into the body of the younger man as he lays dying on the edge of a lava river on Mustafar. No. Why is this happening? Not again. Are they, in every lifetime, destined to perish here?

"You cannot die." Vader doesn't care that he's begging. He strokes the younger man's curls, silently willing him to live as panic and fear begin to choke him.

"S'okie," Anakin whispers, reaching out to clasp one of Vader's hands, though his own betrayal is drowning him; Vader can feel it. Kenobi is the only other one here. He was the one who threw the vibroblade. There's no one else who could have.

"You were the Chosen One!" Kenobi yells, unmoving. He seems completely unfazed by the fact that his Padawan is dying. "It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them, bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness."

Vader flinches. Those are the words that have haunted his nightmares. They probably always will. He'd never felt like more of a failure than he did in that moment, and a small part of himself has desperately craved the ability to prove himself to Obi-Wan, even after everything. He hates it. He hates that he can still love the man who put him in this life-support suit even more. He hates himself for being so weak.

His pain echoes into the Force, and it's as if it's being magnified tenfold. Pain – emotional and physical – dulls his senses, and he can almost feel the flames consuming him devouring him once more. With a jolt, Vader wakes up, respirator cycling faster than normal as it attempts to keep up with his distress. This is why he doesn't like sleeping. When he sleeps, he dreams, and all he sees are nightmares and flashes of times long gone.

Anakin enters the room not even ten seconds later, face somewhat paler than normal, and if Vader could sigh, he would. Of course. He should have realized. Because of the strength of their bond, they are as prone to being trapped in a nightmare loop as they are in an emotional feedback loop. This nightmare was far more detailed and vivid – and terrifying, he doesn't add – than many of the ones he's had, even right after everything went down on Mustafar.

After Vader officially took over the Separatist Alliance – he is so proud that he was successful – he and Anakin had repaired his left prosthetic together before beginning to set up quarters for Vader in Dooku's castle, which involved even more tinkering as well as moving equipment with the Force. For Vader to be able to remove his helmet – and armor – the room needs to be pressured and completely sterile. It will take them several more hours of work before they're done, but seeing as night had come, Vader had insisted that Anakin get some rest. Apparently, Anakin wasn't the only one who was worn out.

Anakin doesn't ask, slipping over to Vader's side – he's leaning back on a couch, unable to properly lay down while in his life-support suit – and wrapping himself around him, curling against the hard, unyielding armor. Vader shifts slightly, bringing his arms up and holding Anakin next to him, wishing that he was actually able to feel the embrace. Anakin's emotions are in a turmoil, which is to be expected, and he's shaking. Fear is consuming him, trapping him in an internal spiral strong enough for Vader to sense it. It doesn't help that Vader is scared too, because the nightmare evoked so many of his deepest fears.

"I haven't had a nightmare that real since – since the nightmares about Mom," Anakin whispers into Vader's shoulder pauldron.

"It was a shared nightmare," Vader explains. "It makes sense that it would be extremely vivid as a result." He doesn't really believe that, but he refuses to let himself dwell on it any further. He won't stand by and watch as Anakin dies. No. Absolutely not. "I won't let anything happen to you," he adds fervently, running his fingers through Anakin's curls in a bid to help the younger man calm down.

"Obi-Wan is going to hate me." Anakin's voice is shaking; he's probably crying. It's a testament to how shaken up he is.

"He will not," Vader argues adamantly, though again, he doesn't know that. He's in denial, he recognizes, but he'd rather not contemplate anything relating to his – their nightmare or Kenobi right now. "I will make certain of it." It's a promise he'll never be able to keep, and they both know that. It's almost unnerving how much he loves this – this child, how far he would go to protect him. He'll never get the chance to raise his own children. He'll never return to his own reality, more than likely, but here, he has another chance. It's almost as if – as if he's adopting Anakin as his own child. It's something which he'll have to ponder later.

Anakin laughs mirthlessly. "You can't know that. You can't know that – that he won't..." His voice trails off, and a shudder runs through him. It hurts to feel his pain, to know that there's nothing he can do to take it away.

Vader slips the fingers of his right hand under Anakin's chin, pulling the younger's head back enough so he can look at him. "Anakin." He lets the seriousness and sincerity of his words echo into the Force, ensuring that Anakin can feel his emotions properly as he cups Anakin's face in his hands, wiping away a few tears with his thumb. "I will protect you," he vows. "I will not let anyone hurt you. I promise."

For some unfathomable reason, Anakin actually seems to accept his words, some of the tension bleeding out of his body. Neither of them says anything for a long moment. "Okay," Anakin murmurs finally. "Maybe we should find something to tinker with then. I won't be getting any more sleep, and I don't think you will either."

Vader couldn't agree more.

**w**

Tinkering with machines has long been calming for Anakin, helping him clear his mind when nothing else can. He can't meditate; the Force is too strong in him, and he feels too much all the time. Immersing himself in it makes him feel like he's drowning, like he'll disappear entirely and cease to exist. Moving meditation is the only way for him to find even a semblance of calm, so sparring, practicing lightsaber katas, or repairing machines or droids are the best option.

It takes at least an hour for him to calm down enough that he's not shaking anymore, even though the images from the nightmare are still haunting him. Anakin knows well that Vader isn't nearly as convinced as he's pretending that the intensity and vividness was a result of them being in the nightmare – or vision – together. The prospect of such a thing coming about is terrifying. It's not – it's not because Anakin died, because he's not afraid of death. He's afraid of loss, and he knows Vader is even more. The thought of him dying and leaving Vader behind, forever alone, is inconceivable.

"Try this," Vader suggests, a tool slamming into his gloved hand, pulled to him via the Force. He offers it to Anakin, who shifts looking up from where he's crouched on the floor, bent over Vader's legs. After setting up Vader's quarters – the rest will be finished in the morning when they have time – the two had decided to try to make adjustments to Vader's prosthetics, tweaking them so they're less painful on a regular basis.

Whether Vader likes it or not – he doesn't mind, Anakin can sense; he's somewhat relieved to have someone who knows what it's like for him – Anakin can feel Vader's physical pain to some degree. The stronger it is for Vader, the stronger Anakin can sense it, and he had known that Vader's legs were really troubling him.

"Perfect," Anakin declares with satisfaction, carefully reattaching a wire to the prosthetic base; they removed both legs, since it makes it easier to modify them. Now that Vader is no longer under Sidious' control, he can change his life-support suit and prosthetics however he wants.

Vader doesn't make a sound as the adjustments sends a stab of pain through his nerves, but Anakin winces on his behalf, forcing himself not to apologize again. After the first few times, Vader had asked him to stop since it's not his fault that these modifications are painful while being made. Still, Anakin doesn't like causing the elder any pain whatsoever.

The Force hums a warning, and Anakin jerks to his feet, lightsaber ignited in time to deflect the first volley of blaster bolts. Bounty hunters. Wonderful. This must be Sidious' doing. He holds out his hand, calling Vader's lightsaber to his hand and igniting it, the red blade humming differently in his hand, though not in a bad way necessarily. He holds both of them in front of him defensively. Vader can't move around right now since both of his legs have been detached, so it's up to Anakin to protect the both of them. No one will harm Vader, he vows silently as he warily scans the workshop. Force, he's so glad that they're not in Vader's quarters, because the last thing they need is to damage the delicate equipment and be forced to start all over.

There's movement behind the ventilation grate from which the first attack had come, and Vader reacts first, reaching out with the Force and ripping it away, revealing Aurra Sing on the other side. She starts shooting again, and Anakin focuses on deflecting the bolts, trying to angle them back at her, but she's too well protected. The door opens on the other side of the room, and someone throws a smoke bomb inside.

The smoke stings Anakin's eyes, making them water, and he coughs as the smoke irritates his lungs. This was a well-planned attack, and they're in a very vulnerable position. Anakin can't move away from Vader and leave him unprotected. Vader can certainly fend for himself, but Anakin refuses to leave his side when he's like this.

"Go," orders Vader, likely sensing his internal conflict. "I will be fine."

In the Force, Anakin senses two presences entering the room, and he lunges forwards, not a moment too soon, because the first individual starts shooting. Cad Bane. Even better. Not. Aurra and Bane are two of the most well-known and dangerous bounty hunters, especially since they both have a reputation for being able to kill Jedi – or probably Sith, he supposes. It's not surprising that Sidious hired them.

Bane dodges him, activating the jetpacks in his boots as he flies out of Anakin's reach, firing a cord which wraps around him. Anakin growls under his breath, reaching out to the Force, to the Dark Side and tapping into it, letting his anger – and fear – fill him with power. Vader is like a black hole in the Force next to him as he skillfully deflects blaster bolts with the Force alone, reaching out and crushing Aurra's neck, leaving her struggling against his invisible grip.

Anakin twists his wrist, igniting his own lightsaber and cutting through the cord, which is wrapped around him, flipping through the air as he tackles Bane to the floor. They roll across the floor, and Anakin ducks to the side as Bane tries to shoot him, the blast going wild and hitting the wall. "Skywalker," spits Bane, recognizing him.

Anakin grins coldly, sardonically. "Surprised?" he taunts, extending a hand and tossing the third bounty hunter backwards, slamming him into the wall hard enough to stun him. It's Embo; Anakin recognizes him from one of their brief encounters.

Bane draws a blaster, firing repeatedly in Vader's direction faster than Anakin can react. The Sith casually flicks a hand, deflecting the bolts. Anakin can only admire – and maybe envy slightly – Vader's skill and abilities, even after having been injured so badly. Vader's anger is like a tangible thing, and Anakin knows that he must feel similar in the Force right now. Even non-Force sensitives must be able to feel the weight of the Dark Side, these bounty hunters especially, but they're brave. And stupid.

Swinging the red blade in an arc, Anakin slices through the end of Bane's blasters, lunging forwards to stab the Duros in the same movement, but he sees it coming, rolling backwards to evade the lightsaber. While Vader deals with – strangles – Embo behind him, Anakin focuses on dealing with Bane. He's quick, moving around far too much for Anakin to use the Force against him the same way Vader is.

Instead, he resorts to listening to the Force, anticipating Bane's movements. Bane pulls another blaster on him, and Anakin backs him into a corner while he deflects the shots. When the bounty hunter tries to fly into the air to get to a more advantageous position, Anakin tackles him, bodily slamming him backwards into the wall, stabbing him with the red blade. Bane's body slumps to the floor as the life drains from him. Anakin is breathing heavily, watching to ensure that Bane is really dead, as his anger fades away.

The Force flares with warning, and Anakin whirls a second too slow. A burning pain spreads through his left shoulder as a blaster bolt slams into him, knocking him off balance. He stumbles, turning to see a fourth bounty hunter – dressed like a Mandalorian – near the opening of the ventilation shaft. Vader growls, his rage lashing out as he rips apart the ceiling, dragging the bounty hunter out of the shaft and dropping him on the floor. Never before has Anakin an anger of this magnitude, the Sith's thoughts whirling so chaotically that Anakin can't figure out exactly what it is about this unknown man that triggers Vader so much.

"Who hired you?" Vader snarls, reaching out with the Force and lifting the bounty hunter in a Force choke. Anakin extinguishes Vader's lightsaber, gingerly moving his left arm. The smallest movements hurt unbearably making him feel a bit nauseous and lightheaded. The blaster bolt must have damaged the nerve then, and he'd better get the injury wrapped before the cauterization fails, and it begins bleeding.

"Cad Bane," the bounty hunter gasps out, clawing at his neck as he tries in vain to free himself. "He – he contacted m-me."

"Who are you?" Anakin wants to know.

"Rako Hardeen," the Mandalorian replies, and Anakin frowns. It's not a name he's familiar with.

"Who is he?" he asks of Vader through their bond.

"The bounty hunter the Council hired to help them once." Vader's voice is clipped, angry even mentally. He's vibrating with a barely suppressed fury, and it makes Anakin wonder what happened to hurt Vader so much. The Sith doesn't elaborate; Anakin isn't certain if he even wants to know, at least not right now.

Anakin glances at the three dead bodies on the floor, an idea suddenly coming to him. "What if we send them back to Sidious as a message?" he wonders.

He can almost feel Vader's savage grin at the thought. "I have a mission for you," Vader declares, dropping Hardeen. "Take these three and leave them at a location on Coruscant. I will give you the coordinates."

"Pay me what Bane promised, and I'll do it," Hardeen replies, rubbing his neck.

Sending the bounty hunter on his way is a simple matter, one which Vader takes care of, while Anakin surreptitiously leans against the wall, pretending that he can't feel the warm blood slowly beginning to trickle from the wound, wetting his robes. The second Hardeen – and the three dead bodies – are gone, Vader turns on him. "Your arm," he states flatly. "Let me look at it." So he can be fussed over incessantly? No thanks.

"I'll take care of it myself," Anakin reassures him, deciding not to think about how their roles have been reversed. Only hours ago, Vader was maintaining that his arm was fine, while Anakin insisted on helping him repair it.

"You cannot even move it," Vader points out, using the Force to bring a first-aid kit over to him. He opens it up, digging through as he pulls out some bandages and gauze. "Take off your robe."

They are both incredibly stubborn, and Anakin knows that Vader won't give in; more than likely, he'll start using the Force on Anakin, and he doesn't really care to get into an argument with Vader about something so incredibly unimportant. So, he gives in, shrugging off his outer robe and trying not to wince too noticeably as he slips out of his tunic, hissing in pain as he moves his left shoulder. It's going to ache for days while it heals.

"Do you still think you could have fixed it alone?" Vader inquires dryly as the extent of the injury becomes visible. The skin around the hole is blackened and blistered slightly from the heat of the bolt, and it's bleeding sluggishly, more rapidly now that he agitated it.

Anakin only gives him a sheepish smile, moving to sit down on the workbench next to him, his injured shoulder facing Vader. The Sith's hands are experienced and nimble – surprisingly – as he wipes off the excess blood, lightly pressing gauze against the wound to stem the bleeding. "It's... not that bad," Anakin protests, his voice slightly strained. He'll probably need a painkiller to get through the day efficiently, but it's not as if they have any of the special, high-concentration pain killers here anyways. He'll have to bear through the pain, working as if it's not there. It won't be the first time, and besides, Vader is dealing with worse on a far more regular basis.

"Perhaps not for us," Vader agrees, as he finishes treating the wound, wrapping it in a bandage to keep it clean and protected. "Done." He sits back, his satisfaction echoing softly into the Force.

"Thank you," Anakin murmurs as he puts his tunic and robes back on, securing them as well as he can with his injury. His range of motion isn't as great right now. He finds that he's grateful for Vader's help, far more than he would be for anyone else's. Vader didn't help because he thought he needed to – at least not in the same way others do. He did it because he wanted to, because he wants to offer Anakin the same aid that Anakin offered him. His gentleness was almost surprising, given that both his limbs are mechanical, but Anakin is grateful for it.

"It should not take long to heal," Vader tells him. Anakin comes back to his side without having to be asked, using the Force to siphon away the pain from his shoulder as he begins to work on finalizing the adjustments to Vader's prosthetics so they can be reattached. "It is in a bad location, but the injury itself is fairly minor."

They heal fast, and while for most people, it might take a couple weeks for them to move properly, Anakin knows that he'll be able to move normally – even though his shoulder will still ache – within a week. Lucky them. Their bodies can sustain far more damage than most people's, because of their high midichlorian count as well as the "Force" part of their genetic material. They are both half-energy.

"Sidious sent them, didn't he?" Anakin questions, already knowing the answer.

Vader inclines his helmet. "He meant to test us," he elaborates. "We will wait for his next move before we strike him directly. For now, we will focus on furthering our plans from here."

Anakin nods in acquiescence. Vader knows Sidious and how he operates better than Anakin ever will, and even if he didn't, Anakin would still trust his judgement. He's older and has more experience. "What now?"

He can nearly feel Vader's smile. "We attack the Republic."

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