"I know that you are of my blood, because I made you take a test, just to
be sure. But in truth, I don't know where do you come from, from whom or what
you really descend."- Cosinga Palpatine Darth Plagueis novel.
Chapter Twelve
Coruscant
Republic 500
Tomorrow (Twelfth day after collapse)
Palpatine had ordered the construction of a new imperial palace, where he would now rule the entire galaxy.
Right now he was in his old rooms in República 500, his old rooms were now empty, only a few more things remained, a wooden box that was hidden behind one of the furniture.
Palpatine recognized her for a moment, and he took it in his hands and opened it and, for a moment he felt that something hit him in the soul, something that he had forgotten a long time ago.
In it were some things that Anakin had given her years ago, among some gifts and letters.
Palpatine couldn't help but feel something, which was choking him in his being, in his soul, a lump in his throat.
She saw first the letters that he had given her a few days after they met, and how Anakin had responded to her letters and giving her one or another gift for her friendship with him.
He took them and took them with him, leaving for the imperial palace.
Coruscant
Imperial Palace
Half a day (Tenth day after collapse)
Upon reaching his new chambers and locking himself in them, he could not help but read the letters once again.
It was so long ago that not even
He had returned to see where he left them, when the relationship between him and Anakin was one of friendship and trust on the part of the young man.
He took one and read it silently.
Chancellor...
I am only writing this to thank you for helping me all these years, it made me feel good that you
have heard, from what I lived on Tatooine
when I went to look for my mother.
It was something that helped me, that he left me
vent to you, I would never have
I was able to do it with my teacher Obi Wan.
You were like a father I never had,
Thank you Chancellor Palpatine, for everything.
I am sending you this as a gift, a book of the
galactic history of a thousand years ago
time when the republic was formed.
He once told me that he really liked the
story, so maybe you'll like it.
Anakin...
When Palpatine finished reading, he felt that sensation of love that caused him
pain and sadness that I couldn't avoidin his soul, but what caused those feelings the most was that there was that book that he had given him and even a Holo that they had taken from both of them when he had invited Anakin to a private event that was something like a party, where the two of them had had a really good time. Without realizing it, she shed a couple of tears onto his black robe.
He held his head in his hands trying to avoid feeling those emotions over and over again with a fury uncontrollable.
Don't be fooled... Palpatine... That was a voice. It was Darth Sidious's, his own but it was undoubtedly the dark side that spoke to him. Don't be fooled... love for that boy, even if you have seen him as your son, will not give you the immortality and power that you so desire. The voice of his alter ego Darth Sidious made him see reason, and his eyes, which for a moment were blue again, turned a sickly yellow. Feeding his anger and hatred he was filled with total darkness in his being, destroying the letters, the book and that Holo that was taken that time. Destroying all memories of his friendship with Anakin.
Tatooine
Jundland Wastes
Afternoon (Twelfth day after collapse)
In a meditation session. Anakin had achieved such deep control as he had never done before, he felt free on the one hand, but at the same time the Dark Side in his being grew and the pain continued.
Today Anakin was once again in a meditation session in total solitude, he was in total concentration.
But even so, Anakin only saw through the swirl of whiteness a colorless void that little by little emerged visual fragments, parts of a puzzle that gradually came together until defining something.
According to his master's teachings that meant that his actions were according to his will with the Force.
Anakin knew he was following right the instructions they had given him but I knew that there was still much more to go further.
Now he concentrated at an even greater intensity, in order to achieve even greater control but something happened that he never thought would happen, and it was the Dark Side that manifested itself to him through his concentration but this time it was different from all other situations, in This time it was through the Dyad he shared with Palpatine, causing the Dyad to open up in its entirety like it had never happened before.
Alarmed and frightened, Anakin tried to wake up, but it was impossible for him to do so, the Dark Side through the Dyad had taken him without him being able to free himself.
The Dyad was leading Anakin's mind to Palpatine's deepest memories, memories he had buried over the years.
He was in a trance from which he could not wake up, when his vision cleared, he was on Naboo. He was at an elegant and luxurious party, he had never seen anything like it, this party was simply for the nobility. But what surprised him the most It was a couple who were undoubtedly the hosts.
But the most important thing was that the woman She was pregnant, but Anakin felt in that baby... that the dark side surrounded him in such an intense way that he had rarely felt it.
Anakin continued watching this luxurious party, until a priest or rather a minister dressed in ceremonial clothing approaches the podium accompanied by the host couple, in front of everyone present.
"We have arrived at the naming ceremony of the new heir to House Palpatine," he shouted, surprising the stillness of the moment.
Anakin no matter how hard he tried to calm down, what the Force was showing him was impossible, now he understood, it was showing him Palpatine's past... but he felt that he wanted him to know or understand something more...
"We have heard of the next heir of Cosinga and Bremé, and we wish to see his fate," family and friends chanted in a rehearsed chorus, hands extended to receive the name.
The pontiff turned to the couple. "Are you ready to speak the name of your heir?"
Bremé stepped forward and extended his hand over the basket. It trembled there in the air until Cosinga covered it with his own rough hand. Together they said: "We are ready."
"Then speak and let fate hear you."
"My family and friends," Cosinga began in a low, tense voice, "we have spent a lot of time on our choice, searching the archives for a name worthy of the child. We know that he will live a great life, exceeding our expectations." grew stronger and stronger: "My son and heir will be known as Sheev Palpatine. He will be a palace of refuge for the house of my ancestors. He will build on the foundation I have laid and carry my work into the future. future!"
Bremé squeezed his hand and said in the silence that followed. "My son and my future will be known as Sheev Palpatine. It will be a palace of excellence and peace, of strength and glorious achievement. It will be a golden light in dark places."
The crowd seemed suitably amazed, quietly repeating: "Sheev Palpatine will be his name."
And the holy man intoned as he bent down and picked up the rattle: "Sheev Palpatine shall be your name, unborn son of Cosinga Palpatine. Bear him with all the noble majesty of your house."
Then the ceremony ended and the couple was surrounded by a tight circle of laughing and crying followers.
Anakin, still unable to believe everything that the Force showed him, on this occasion saw when this woman named Bremé had already given birth, and was holding her son in her arms... but as Anakin approached he saw something that suddenly alarmed him, as he Seeing the newborn wrapped in a white blanket, despite being a baby he had yellow eyes, was something that disturbed him inside.
It was incredible, even unthinkable, that just being a baby. Palpatine already manifested the dark side in his being... in his own eyes you could see the power of the dark side.
But Cosinga, furious, shouted "GET OUT THAT PHENOMENON! IT'S A MONSTER! "IT CAN'T BE MY SON!" The Mon Calamari nurse, scared by her reaction, took the baby from Breme's arms and took him to an incubator.
A brutal argument had started between him and his wife, Bremé, over the appearance of their baby.
Cosinga demanded over and over again, between screams and complaints, why he had given birth to a monster, a brutal abomination, and the argument was so extreme that Cosinga began to hit Breme, over and over again.
As soon as the door closed, the enraged nobleman turned on his wife, leaning over the bed and hissing, "Cheating woman! Prostitute! Maybe we should drown him and end it!"
"You're wrong Get. "I swear it's yours, I would never cheat on you with anyone," she told him between tears and fear of his reaction.
Cosinga slapped her without warning and Bremé's head snapped back. She gasped, eyes wide and terrified. "Jaundice, they said! That wasn't jaundice. I've seen jaundice!" He slapped her again and then leaned back with a loud gasp, almost a sob.
Bremé clutched her arm in desperation. "He's yours! He's yours! I haven't touched anyone else! I'm loyal to you, Cosinga."He lay back on the medical bed, feeling her hand twisting on his arm, feeling all the excitement of the past few months evaporate from his soul. "You swear," he moaned dully. "We'll see, my dear wife." She flinched but nodded.
Anakin doesn't like this man, his supreme arrogance, his smug superiority when in reality there is no such thing.
But the Force continued to show him more and more of that life from so many years ago.
Now it had only been a few years more, and Palpatine was a little more child big and saw how while playing, he was breaking his father's political agenda as if it were a game, Anakin couldn't help but smile at that, in those moments his friend and mentor, he was just an ordinary child playing... although he still felt that same darkness inside.
But Cosinga shouted furiously, "Why don't you do it?" Do you stop Bremé?! Why don't you give him discipline?!".
Bremé was scared once again and only responded with the same fear of always "He just needs love… he is ours son…. ".
Cosinga once again explodes full of fury "He DOES NOT NEED LOVE... HE NEEDS DISCIPLINE! A VERY HARD ONE FOR ME TO LEARN!" "But I guess that should be understood. You are a woman and he is your only son." He stood up and crossed the room to stand in front of her, taking her thin hands and placing them on his thick abdomen. "But this won't last. The children you have now will train you to be a better mother. They will be perfect where Sheev has failed us. I'm sorry it was the firstborn, but we can work it out." He watched her blink back the wetness and sighed. "Stop."
His lips hardened. "Yes, Cosinga. I'm sorry. I'll try to be a better wife and mother." As he held her in his arms, he missed the single tear that slid down a porcelain cheekbone.
More time had passed through the vision that the Force gave him, and now it showed him the birth of the brothers Palpatine's twins.
Anakin could feel the feelings of the newborn babies, as their mother held them in her arms, they exuded positive emotions of happiness and joy. But he could feel Palpatine's feelings, repulsion and dislike towards his two brothers.
The newborns were cleaned and placed side by side in a transparent incubator in the corner of the room, Bremé demanding to see their faces. He struggled to sit up as two medical droids introduced the children.
Bremé's relief was incomparable as he looked down. Two beautiful, normal human faces were reflected in her. He could see the rich brown of Cosinga's eyes, the soft curves of his own nose, the unfocused, newborn confusion as they yawned and lay contented in the warm blankets. Cosinga would have no cause for concern or complaint this time. The children were perfect. Perfect. "Perfect," he whispered.
Sheev looked at her confused. Bremé instantly felt the sting of guilt that swept away her joy. "You are perfect too, my son," he added hastily. "These are your brothers. Your father chose their names at the ceremony last month. Do you remember?"
It would have been beyond any other mother's hopes for such a small normal son, but Sheev nodded slowly. "Maree. Nadmé."
"Yes," he smiled at the two now sleeping forms. "Your father will be very happy."
Cosinga felt love for the newborn twins and not for Palpatine, and even Anakin began to understand why he fell to the dark side, he did not have even a bit of love and compassion for him.
Cosinga felt really pleased and his hawk-like face took on a glow of satisfaction. He even leaned down and passed his lips over Bremé's in a chaste and warm greeting. She felt the tension leave her and joy fill her at his acceptance. Maybe everything would be okay now. The noble crossed the room toward the children, crouched down, and reached for the male, Maree.
"Maree. 'Correction'. Yeah, right," he rumbled and laughed at the boy's blank stare. "My son." Bremé shuddered when she saw Sheev just below, staring coldly at the baby as Cosinga replaced him and took his new daughter. "Nadmé, 'beautiful heart'. You are aptly named, for your beauty could surpass that of your own mother." Her husband looked at Bremé and laughed again.
Bremé beamed with unusual happiness at her husband's teasing and blushed when he joined her in bed.
In Consiga's mind there was an idea of how to get rid of his first-born son, being a small child, maybe an accident, that kind of thing always happens to children, he told himself over and over again in his mind. Or maybe sell it to slavers on the mid-rim worlds.
Anakin was repulsed by the thoughts of Cosinga, who even wanted to choke him with force right there. But Bremé begged her husband not to do anything to her son, and Cosinga miraculously promised not to do anything to Sheev.
Anakin saw how Palpatine's fear of being replaced by his brothers was a constant fear. Her mother, who on different occasions told Palpatine over and over again that he would never be replaced by his brothers, but Bremé feared more and more for her husband, knew perfectly well that at any moment, she could do something against Sheev.
Sheev's face reflected an unusually frank and apprehensive fear. "Replace?" He touched his chest and looked at his mother. Bremé felt her mouth go dry in an instant. No! she wanted to cry. I will never replace you. But she feared her husband and that's why she kept silent.
Cosinga stared before his lips pursed into a deep grimace. "Replace you? No. But listen to me. These are your brother and sister, and you will give them the respect they deserve, understand? Or you will want them to replace you."
The fear reflected on Aulus's face dissolved into stony indifference. Bremé looked at her son's empty face and despaired. I was afraid they had already replaced it. She feared that he would soon not care. And she feared... no, she knew he was too weak to help him.
Anakin, unable to help it, felt compassion for him, it was even a real pain for him, for his life with such a terrible family.
Now he could understand why Palpatine reacted when he asked him about his family. He was right when he told her that he and his family weren't close and now he knew why.
The Force was mysterious, especially the Dark Side, since it was the one that showed him all this without knowing the reason or why.
Now Anakin saw one of the worst things he ever thought he would see, and it was the brutal punishment that Cosinga gave to Palpatine when he was just a five-year-old child, the confinement. that hit him in the basement of the mansion where he couldn't escape, for something that was extremely absurd and was simply having laughed at one of his mistakes.
Palpatine screamed over and over again for his mother to save him, to get him out of that horrible place, but no one came for him. "Mother," he whispers in the dark and wonders why he does it because she never answers anymore. The Father has made sure of that. He curls up firmly on the floor and covers his mouth with his small hands with the tips of his bruised fingers so as not to call her again.
He cried for a long time until he fell asleep, in his mind he could hear, for the first time, the voice of the dark side.
It was a calming voice that He said that nothing could happen to him, that no one could have power over him and that one day I would be above his father and many more.
The darkness oppresses him. Let him in, the little voice encourages him, suddenly it comes back to him as if he had never left, and he shudders. The voice is always right, but this… this is too much. Can not.
You'll go crazy trying to stop it. Let him in, listen again. It is your destiny.
Anakin never believed that this was his first contact with the dark side such a different way. He desperately yelled at her to get away from the darkness, that she would never be his friend or anything, that she would be lost in it forever, but it was useless. Deep down, he knew that these were just memories, and that no one could see him. He kept seeing how. From that moment Palpatine sank into the Dark Side permanently as he laughed for the first time infected by the dark side.
He laughs, he is no longer afraid, and the voice laughs with him. The darkness can no longer harm him. Darkness is your friend. She knows him like no one else, and the shadows that once tried to strangle him now wrap protectively around his limbs. He was not afraid of anything.
The little voice returns with a soft, See? and smiles in the darkness with all the coldness of the ground. He sees, oh yes, he sees. The voice is like darkness, calm and infinitely strong. It's there for him.
His father opened the door and saw Palpatine, and he asked directly "Did you learn your lesson? or you need another punishment", but Palpatine smiled with normal calm as if he were a normal child, without seeming that the darkness had tempted him and only responded "Yes... I learned it, Father."
The memories kept happening more and more each time and this time it was something else, Palpatine was a 12-year-old boy, and it was like on other occasions, a scene of humiliation and conflict between that family.
"Why can't you be more like your brother?"
"I'm not my brother," his son replied, his tone as cold as the distant mountain tops framed behind him.
Cosinga looked down and spoke his next words with calculated precision. "It's a shame. You could become something if you were."
"If his father knew that he was now the Emperor of the entire galaxy, that he had almost exterminated all the Jedi... if that man were alive, Palpatine would give him a punishment worse than death" Was what Anakin said while I continued watching the scene, "The next great caretaker of Theed palace, father?" His teeth were clenched. "What a dynasty to be proud of. Almost as big as yours."
Twice in one day, Cosinga watched Sheev's cold eyes close in pain as his father's hand descended. "Don't you dare talk about my son like that," Cosinga hissed as Palpatine straightened from the blow. "And don't you ever talk to me like that again."
Palpatine's life at that time childhood was really strange, Anakin saw how he had a friendship with gungan and a zalaca at that age, which took him by surprise, he didn't seem like such a strange person, he seemed like a common child and ordinary like everyone else.
"Hello, Sheev!" Tarpas pushed his Kaadu towards the open path and smiled at the human boy. The Gungan seemed much less aggressive this time, carrying only a long stun spear and sling strapped to his thigh. "You are brave and come back like this."
Sheev shrugged. "Where is?"
Tarpas smiled. "All hissene so hasty? You, a colt, wants to see you. Come on, then, I'll take you to the corrals."
There were half a dozen of them, and each pen contained a small handful of Zalaaca puppies of different sizes and genders. Several Gungans walked between the pens, carrying buckets of food to the hungry animals.
A soft moan rose from the nearest corral, and Sheev knew instantly that it was his foal. Stumbling a little as he regained his legs, the young man made his way to the edge of the pen, gripping the smooth interlocking wood and staring.
Yes, it was his colt, as perfect as before and full of energy as he jumped up and down the other side of the pen. For a moment, she admired the dull parting of his side, the elegance of his muscles. Now Sheev wasn't sure what to do. Did you call him? If so, what should I say? Whistle? "Hey you!" He tried to scream, but it came out as a whisper.
The Zalaaca froze mid-step and spun on its hind legs, arching like a Gualama and landing on four rigid limbs as its broad, intelligent head swiveled to locate him. Sheev's eyes widened and he took a half step back. How had he heard it? Finally, the big red eyes searched for him and the colt instantly launched into a ragged gallop across the corral.
Tarpas laughed behind him as Sheev took another step back. The Gungan extended a hand and placed it on his shoulder. "Hesa is happy to be seen."
Because…. Sheev thought sadly, shaking the Gungan in irritated confusion. No one was ever happy to see him. He understood that and was comfortable with it. Why did this wild animal see it differently?
"Come on, Hesa wants you to pet him."
Encouraged by Tarpas, Sheev carefully returned to the edge of the pen and the Zalaaca chirped softly. Sheev took a deep breath, extended a trembling hand, and the Zalaaca pressed its nose against him once more, as gentle as before. Sheev suppressed a smile.
Tarpas didn't try to fight the silly smile that spread across his broad lips. "Hesa yousa foal, okay! Mesa has never seen any foals like this. What's his name?"
"Name?" Sheev blinked in surprise. Well, of course, a foal needed a name. She stared at him for a long moment, until he nodded. "Gallic."
Tarpas bowed his strange head on his stilted neck. "Gallic?"
Sheev finally let out his smile as he scratched the colt's neck. "Yes, in Naboo it means 'he who sings'. He has a lot of sounds he makes. I like them."
There the three spent the afternoon without any worry about nothing in particular Palpatine, it was something that appealed to him extremely attention to Anakin because he realized that in those moments he was happy for a few moments after the terrible treatment of his father.
And so they did, leading Galo beyond the corrals into the swamps, and Sheev forgot for a moment that he was going to get into trouble, forgot that he had a mansion to return to. Here, time seemed to stop, and it wasn't until she was out of breath that she realized how much time they had spent running through the swamps, training Galo to come to their call and jump on command, and many more. other tricks. Tarpas was happy. to teach them both.
When at last Sheev knelt on the soft ground and Gallus contentedly lay on his back beside him and writhed in the grass, the sun had set halfway to the sky. Sheev reached out to touch its flank and noticed how mud had run down its sides, soaking the bright colors into a dull brown. As if Tarpas was thinking the same thing, the Gungan put a rough brush in his hand. "Strengthen the bond, your will. Take care of it, it is yours now."
Sheev straightened and Galo rolled against him, his long neck curved over his shoulder. The colt nudged him on the shoulder and he grimaced. Right against one of the deepest bruises. "Enough," he murmured, pushing the broad head away.
Gallus screamed and raised his broad head, grinding his thick molars.
They sat in pleasant silence as Sheev cleaned the mud from Galo's scaly sides. Tarpas leaned his back against a thick, gnarled tree and watched the human work, tilting his head when he noticed the determined gleam in the boy's eyes.
Tarpas smiled and his face was no longer as strange as before. "You're a serious guy, too much, tinkin' table."
Sheev sighed between strokes. "I have a lot to think about."
"You should have very good times, you're just a child."
"The Naboo live differently than the Gungans," he said. "Do you know that I will begin my mandatory service in four years in our government, unless my father wants me to start earlier? It's very rigorous."
Tarpas stared at him. Did the humanoid know what the word meant? Sheev sighed. "Of course you wouldn't understand. Do the Gungans even have a government?"
The tall alien laughed happily, the human's frank tactlessness rolling off his shoulders with practiced ease. "Oh, berry berry, we have government, although dissent is easier than yours. We are not so fussy. We like our young people smiling."
Sheev gave a slight smile as he stroked the rough brush over Galo's scaly left flank and conceded the point. "Humans must seem halfway to protocol droids to your kind."
Tarpas gave his strange laugh and then became more serious. "We're not that different, tinkin' table." Galo turned to him as the Gungan leaned forward and reluctantly accepted the dark gray moss from his long-fingered hand. "But Mesa also thinks that it is not the government that is making you so serious."
A thousand insects buzzed in the silence that followed his awkward statement. Sheev rubbed the dirt stain on Zalaaca's shoulder a little harder. Tarpas had no doubt seen the bruises on his arms. It was careless of him to roll up his sleeves to brush Galo. He surreptitiously lowered them again. "I have a lot to think about," he repeated stubbornly. It was not Tarpas's place to snoop on such things. It didn't belong to anyone.
Anakin analyzed everything he saw about what Palpatine's life had been like in his childhood and could not deny that there were reasons why he had fallen to the Dark Side and became a Sith, but even so there were many other things that he still did not know. he knew but he felt that the Force would reveal it to him.
Convergence was dark in nature, lit with both artificial and natural torches, stone walls covered with antique rugs and tapestries, as my father always appreciated tradition. Shadows flickered on the walls as he walked, as if mocking him with a silent, trembling laugh.
When he reached the wide arched entrance to the dining room, Sheev grimaced and lowered his head.
"Where were you?" Cosinga growled from his place at the head of the table. The whole family – why the whole family? – sitting around the table in dead silence, mom's head bowed and all her siblings looking at their full plates, except her closest brother who smiled mockingly at her.
Intruder, said that smile.
Cosinga snorted. "One of your teachers, he saw you taking a taxi to the outskirts of the city."
"I was exploring."
Cosinga's eyes narrowed in barely concealed rage. "Explore? When I confined you in the house? You deliberately disobeyed me."
Sheev hid his shudder with a haughty toss of his shaggy red hair. "I was getting bored."
The chair rocked back on the stones with a clatter as Cosinga jumped from his seat. Sheev's brother laughed as the eldest son stepped back as the father approached him from the end of the table.
Sheev's blood boiled at that laugh and she froze. You don't belong, his brother's eyes mocked. He hates you, you know? He knew.
Cosinga loomed over him. "Boring? You use a flimsy excuse like that to get your way?"
"Five days in one place is a long time, father," Sheev spat, glaring at his laughing brother with absolute hatred. "If it were up to you, I'd be stuck there forever, right? You don't care."
The slap hit his ear and sounded like thunder. Sheev flinched back, his ear ringing, he lost his balance and heard his mother gasp softly.
Cosinga reached down and grabbed his thin arm like a vise, then shook it hard until Sheev stopped resisting. "Stupid fool. You will learn your place, I promise. Look at you, looking like something a takea dragged. This is no way for a noble's son to behave. You embarrass me. In front of the guards. In front of my own family."
Sheev didn't respond for a moment. Wasn't he also part of the family?
Cosinga sighed and stepped forward, never letting go of Sheev's arm, and Sheev knew there would be a new line of bruises in the morning, but that was the least of his worries, because Cosinga leaned closer and hissed, "Go." "You don't understand me in quarters, I'll do it another way, Sheev. Come up."
Resisting the urge to look at his useless mother, Sheev lowered his head further. "I lost track of time, father, that's all. I wanted to come back sooner." That, at least, was true.
It didn't make much difference. Cosinga shook his head. "You failed. You always fail. At listening. At doing it right. At doing anything. I've been very kind to you, clearly." He lowered his deep voice to a whistle. "Get up. Go up. The stairs."
The door burst open and Sheev raised his head. Cosinga stood silhouetted in the doorway, a long leather belt coiled in his large hands, his bushy eyebrows arching in burning anger.
Sheev rested his small hands against the cold floor.
"Get up," Cosinga growled.
This would hurt. He swallowed the moan deep in his throat. And he got up.
Anakin, with fury and indignation, screamed for this to stop, for that man to stop hurting him.
Anakin felt something very different from everyone else. the visions that the force had shown him why he now felt how the Dark Side was maximizing within him, in a brutal way.
Now he felt that he would see when Palpatine, He fell to the dark side and was initiated into the Sith order. Until now I had seen what his life had been like as a young man and as a child, How his difficult life since childhood simply led him to that path but not what would make his fall definitive and it was now what he would see through the Force.
It seemed that the Force created a fog that little by little dissipated before his vision and he saw Palpatine, who was approximately 17 years old and looked like a teenager. Anakin couldn't help but smile and thought for a moment that if he had met him, maybe they really would have been friends in some way.
He saw him at a kind of party or rather a meeting that was taking place in Convergence, where many guests were arriving and from what Anakin saw the guests were rather rich businessmen rather than politicians and nobles.
There were several tables where it was Get and others, but there was one that caught his attention and an alien from the Muun species that had something very strange.
Anakin watched as the event began, and what they mentioned most were Naboo's economic issues of allowing the planet's plasma to be sold. It was something that Muun discussed with Cosinga but what caught your attention, It was what he had called him, he named him Hego Damask.
At that party or gathering, Anakin ended up seeing the same detestable attitude from He got to Palpatine, but that Hego Damask couldn't take his eyes off him.
But the vision changed more profoundly until it took him to a very different place. He saw how Hego Damask was at the university on Naboo which was on the other side of Theed city.
"I'm looking for a student named Palpatine," she nodded immediately. "Ahh... I do know him," the young woman responded kindly.
"Do you know where I could find it right now? Maybe he's in a class now." Hego Damask asked once again to which the girl only exclaimed with frustration instantly "He comes and goes, maybe I saw him in the youth program", but Damask only showed an annoyed expression and asked directly again "Could you at least tell me where where is miss? "I just need to talk to him as soon as possible" the girl showed him a plasticine map that he immediately took in his hands.
With him, Damask toured the entire campus until reaching the youth legislative program where Palpatine was supposed to be.
Anakin was more than confused and sees the visions with more interest.
That Hego Damask, who Anakin didn't know who he was or what he wanted with Palpatine, but without a doubt the Dark Side was in him. The Muun searched from room to room for Palpatine without being able to find him until he found him in the library.
When he saw that Palpatine was alone, Hego Damask approached him and said, "Young human, a little of your time."
Palpatine turned around and couldn't recognize him until a few moments later, "ahh... I remember, it's Hego Damask who wants to sell the Naboo Plasma. but, what do you know?Do you offer Mr. Damask?" Palpatine calmly to which Hego immediately smiled at his reaction.
But before Damask could say anything Palpatine interrupted him, "You must certainly want me to convince my father to agree to sell the Naboo Plasma to the intergalactic Banking Clan, but I would be the last person who would listen, he and I have never had a good relationship".
"It's funny that you mention that, Palpatine, but he comes looking for you, there's something interesting about you... in your whole person." Hego Damask responded with a perversity in his words.
"and... tell me what do you want with me?"
We don't know each other or anything, I just know that you are from the intergalactic Banking Clan but nothing, are you looking for…?"
But the Muun only smiled at that question "And I tell you that you have potential in you... one that your father has never seen, what would you tell me?" Palpatine? The other day I went to that meeting I saw you and I felt something in you… but also something else, one even more important in a way, what would you say?" Palpatine made an expression without understanding what exactly this strange Muun that he had never seen before was referring to.
"Potential...? Tell me something I don't already know. "I know I have a lot and my father had never seen it in me."
"Do you hate your family Palpatine?"
The vision changed at that moment, he didn't know where he was, but he could see Hego Damask along with Palpatine.
"My name is Hego Damask, but I have another name and I think you should know it. "My real name is Darth Plagueis."
Anakin felt a chill that he had never felt before, it was the name that Palpatine had told him that day at the Star Opera when they were attacked by Sly Moore.
Once again Anakin saw that same whirlwind of whiteness that clouded everything he showed of Palpatine and Plagueis, until it changed to an intense Darkness where there was nothing but loneliness. Where Anakin didn't know what to do.
He screamed to get out but it was impossible. until everything turned completely red intense as if it were blood and it was in that moment that Anakin felt the Dyad maximum power while the side dark inside him, it hurt.
And he was finally able to see the day when he saw Palpatine's fall... his union with the Dark Side, commemorating the birth of Sidious.
Palpatine on his knees before the feet of Darth Plagueis gave him the name by Darth Sidious.
"Then it is done, your truth now and forever, will be Sidious."
But seeing that, the Dyad linked directly to Palpatine, causing the two to find themselves directly in the middle of the chaos of the Force in the middle of everything Anakin had seen.
"What are you doing here Anakin…!?" Sidious said with a fury looking at each other.
But Anakin no longer wanted to fight him anymore, he was tired with everything he had seen. "Palpatine...I don't know what this is or what It's what happens, but it's part of what The Force has revealed to me, I saw your whole life, your relationship with your father and everything… even how your meeting with Plagueis was." He said it with some pain for everything he saw, regretting everything he had to go through.
But Sidious felt fury in his entire soul for his daring, how could Anakin dare to see his memories... memories that he had even already buried but that now emerge in his mind with displeasure. "How dare you invade my mind?".
But Anakin flatly denied with compassion and pain for everything "No... it's not that, I feel compassion for your whole life, for your terrible family, now I understand why you have fallen into darkness." Sidious felt a rage sicken his stomach but Anakin continued saying. "Can return to the Luminous side... you don't have to What to be a Sith, can you do the right thing, please... I forgive you for everything, but come back" Anakin offered his hand through the Dyad.
But Sidious rejected her with all his might. "You've lost your mind... this is what I am, Anakin, a true Sith!" His yellow eyes shone with intensity through the Dyad. "I am like this and like this I was born and I will never return... I will find you and I will end you and all the Jedi forever." connection was permanently broken and Anakin felt even more pain for his final rejection.
It seemed that the Force was now returning Anakin to reality. There at his side was Obi Wan trying to wake him up, but he couldn't do anything. Anakin's eyes were in such a deep trance and with a manifestation of the Force that he couldn't do anything. "Anakin... please react, you must wake up." Obi-wan was holding him in his arms when suddenly the Force manifested itself in Anakin, causing him to wake up suddenly.
I looked everywhere with confusion and intense fear, but I knew I was safe.
"Anakin.. What happened to you? you were in a trance" Obi Wan helped Anakin to stop. But Anakin was trying to recover... to understand everything that had happened but he already knew what he had to do. He explained to Obi Wan what he had seen; Palpatine's life, until his fall to the Dark Side, how his entire life had been so terrible that little by little it led him to the Sith.
How the Sith who had been his master he found, and he showed him the dark side.
"What are you thinking Anakin? Why did the Force show you that? What could be the reason?"
Anakin stood calmly and looked directly at him. "When… when I saw all that." Master, I felt true compassion for Palpatine, believe me, seeing that man called Cosinga, mistreat him with such brutality and disgust was horrible. Through the Dyad I spoke again with Palpatine, I tried to bring him back but he rejected it…" He took a moment to speak and said with complete confidence. "But... no more teacher, I realized that there is nothing more to do, we must end all this. I will seek out Palpatine, just to balance the Force and put an end to the Sith."
Obi Wan hugs him and knew that now Anakin was truly safe from everything and there was no more danger of any kind... but Obi-wan could feel Anakin collapsing in his arms... The darkness consumed him, he doesn't have much time left... it's a matter of days, Obi-wan thought, worried for Anakin.
Coruscant
Imperial Palace
Night (Twelfth day after collapse)
Darth Sidious was in his chambers, after the surprising encounter he had with Anakin through the Dyad.
He couldn't believe Anakin's audacity, he had seen his memories... memories that he had already buried years ago.
Events that caused him repulsion "I can't believe he saw all that... he thought I really felt some kind of remorse for my actions." "I never... did what I did out of desire, out of power and I DO NOT REGRET ANYTHING!" He said it with so much hatred and frustration, while walking from side to side. "I don't feel anything... I never knew love, and now you think I can change... EVER... What I did to my family was what they asked for... they deserved it." He once said to himself with a choking fury, as he remembered everything he had buried in his mind decades ago.
He sighed for a moment and remembered what it was like, how he killed each of them. To his parents and his brothers and sisters.
"I was born mature, father, already grown up, and you hated me for that, because you felt that I was everything you could never be."
"I hated you more than you know," Cosinga said, allowing his anger to return. grow. "Enough to kill you from the first moment."
Palpatine stood firm. "Well, you better do it now."
Cosinga took a step toward Palpatine, but was thrown against the bulkhead that It separated the communications room from the main cabin. A female voice on the other side of the closed hatch asked uneasily. "What was that, that?"
Clutching a damaged shoulder, Cosinga suddenly looked like a trapped animal, with eyes wide open in surprise and fear. He made a move to touch the handle that opened the hatch, but Palpatine thwarted his efforts without lifting a finger. Spinning violently, Cosinga fell onto one of the acceleration chairs. His face bled after hitting the armrest.
Knocking began to be heard on the hatch. "Guards!" Cosinga shouted, but he had barely uttered the word when the bulkhead on which he was leaning collapsed inward, throwing him face-first to the ground and cutting off his breathing. Palpatine was still standing in the same place, his hands trembling in front of him and his face stricken. affliction.
Something stirred behind his incandescent eyes. He heard the banging on the hatch and turned around. "Do not enter! Get away from me!"
"What have you done?" It was his mother's voice, panicked. "What have you done?"...
Cosinga managed to get to his knees and began a terrified retreat, leaving traces of blood on the cover. But Palpatine was advancing towards him. "If the Force begot you, I curse it!" Cosinga said. "I curse her!"
"Me too," Palpatine growled.
The hatch began to open and he heard the voice of the guard who had escorted him: "Stop!"
"Cosinga!" his mother shouted.
Palpatine pressed his head with the palms of his hands and then calmly creepy, ran to the hatch, grabbed the guard at the threshold and threw him into the other cabin tip Raising his face to the ceiling, he shouted, "Now we're all in on this!" "I will no longer tolerate anything from you... and even less from you...".
He turned before the guards and with just his bare hands tore them to pieces. With his hands like claws, with the Force he went directly to their necks... but it was with such intensity that they were decapitated, in full view of everyone, causing his mother to scream in horror, while Cosinga opened her eyes in shock.
The luxurious cabin they were in was filled with blood everywhere, while Palpatine looked at them all with a hatred that he could no longer contain in his being.
A panic attack ran through Cosinga, while Bremé and her children did not know what to do or how to react.
Bremé, scared, tried to reason with her son in a desperate attempt: "Palpatine... please. We love you, don't do anything you'll regret."
But Palpatine only walked with a beast on the prowl for prey. "Stop lying... I know that's false, it's never been like that and you know it, you're just as guilty as him or even more for allowing everything he's done to me." through the years... but be finished forever."
Maree, in a desperate attempt to save his parents, tries to attack Palpatine, but is paralyzed by the Force. He falls to the ground and drowns before the eyes of Cosinga, Bremé and Nadmé, Maree's twin sister and the other pair of twin brothers. But he killed him, he wasn't going to make it that easy, it was going to be more than just that in front of everyone.
Cosinga, in his attempt to save him, ends up being paralyzed by the Force. Instinctively unleashing the powers hidden within him, Palpatine launched Force lightning, causing Maree to roll on the ground.
"How about? Tell me... don't I seem special to you now?" I don't think this is You can do... Hahahaha" Palpatine's voice was sinister, full of evil, to the fear of everyone.
"Please don't do it... Son" His mother spoke but Palpatine lifted her a few meters until he let her fall to the ground, turning his gaze to his brother Maree and Cosinga.
"It is time to finish off your beloved son, father…" Using the power of the dark side of the force, he tore all his limbs apart, causing blood to fall on Cosinga's body.
Seeing his mother he reversed the power of the dark side but only used the power of the force, to strangle Bremé to death.
His three brothers were mutilated, using force to dismember their bodies, and being thrown towards Cosinga.
But he couldn't believe and react to what Palpatine just did, to all his children... they were all dead.
Palpatine walked slowly to stood in front of his father, and looked at him with his yellow eyes... the same eyes that Cosinga looked at with contempt when he was born, now he only saw his wife and children, especially the ones he loved the most, Maree and Nadmé, which had been his smile of joy, as much as his twin brother.
"Do you see it now Father?" "It no longer seems right to you to have mistreated me over the years...Does it?"
But Cosinga shook his head emphatically, trying to process everything that had just happened.
"What's the matter? Won't you answer my question?"
"I should have killed you when you were born... I really should have Palpatine." Cosinga somewhat calmly with a look of total repudiation towards Palpatine at that moment.
"Yes.. you should have done it.. No father, I am worse than you… I am darkness in person. Don't forget it!" He answered with a sinister and manic voice, and without anything else the pure power of the dark side blooms in his being. , tore his father to pieces, delighting in his cries of pain... ''How does hell feel, father? Horrible! Well, that's how horrible my life was when I met you, good trip Cosinga Palpatine'' member by member, piece by piece. Until there will be nothing left but a simple piece of meat on the ground.
Having remembered everything he had done, with great satisfaction in his being. From that moment on, nothing else mattered to him, he only cared about unlimited power.
Sidious reflects for a few moments and thought. He had realized... he never felt any kind of affection or love for Anakin.
It was a feeling that he had never felt in his life, and even less was he going to feel it now... after everything he had done, over the years in his life... On his path and his destiny is to be the Emperor of the galaxy and the Most powerful Sith Lord in history. I can't love anyone... I can't love anyone because they dried me up inside. Love is good for the weak. But I have a beast in here, a beast that roars, every time it wants to feel love. Because I don't know what love feels like, I don't know how to do it, I can't! He said to himself in the solitude of his chambers.
Coruscant
Imperial Palace
Early morning (Thirteenth day after the collapse)
The evening hours loom over the urban sprawl of the planet Coruscant. Normally the weather is calm and quiet, thanks to the planet's controlled weather stations spread all over the planet. However, tonight, this is not the case. A power surge has left several of the stations out of service. This lack of control has created several storm cells that have covered endless miles of the core world.
Understandably, this bad weather has prevented some Coruscanters from getting some sleep. This cannot be said for Emperor Palpatine, who is fast asleep in his bedroom. Or at least it was...
The emperor begins to spin around a bit as something begins to resonate in his mind. Feel the tremor in the Force. It is distant, almost hidden. Palpatine's pale, decrepit hands slowly tighten on the sheet as the echo grows louder in his mind. "What is this?" He asks. The sounds are not familiar to be kind. As your movements on the bed become more pronounced, objects such as sculptures, vases, and paintings begin to shake in your room. The more you move, the more they tremble The faint sounds of screams are now part of the echo.
He writhed on one side of the bed and on the sheets with intense sweating and erratic breathing; he did not understand what was happening to him.
Palpatine realized that the connection that had been opened yesterday had affected part of his mind... part of his memories that he had forgotten, but now they had emerged in his being... deep down.
A stormy night on Naboo. Palpatine saw his mother knitting for the couple twins that she was going to have soon, she sat on her mother's knee chewing on a small stuffed toy, Tooke, and rested her head on Bremé's chest. He was pressed against his little brothers, who were curled up inside their mother's swollen belly.
Bremé covered him with a blanket and said, "Why are you up so late, little one?" "Did you have nightmares again Sheev?" "Tell me... did you have them again?"
Palpatine blinked and then buried his face in her shoulder, biting harder on the Tooke stuffed animal's ear. "It's the same dream... in all of them an old man always appears with a black tunic and hood... and yellow eyes...".
"It was a bad dream," Bremé said, running her fingers through her curls.
When Palpatine didn't move, he felt the slow rocking of the chair begin and his mother's soft voice began to sing.
"Silence now my son
my own little
Sleep in the moonlight
The sun will return soon
And when it dawns
My sweet baby, you will wake up
Year after year
I'll be right here
One day you will be a man
Firm, solid and free
And even if the cradle falls
"I will stay here by your side."
Palpatine's eyes were growing heavy and he felt himself being lifted into the air and carried down the hallway to his room, which he would soon share with his brother who would take his place, something Cosinga had made clear.
He began to moan, even as his head hit the pillow. Bremé covered herself with the blankets and sat on his cheek, placing her toy next to him.
"Silence now my son,
My gift from above
My little love."
Bremé stayed with his son until he fell asleep, until he felt safe, until he felt… loved. That was before she grew weak, before she became a pawn, before Cosinga sucked the light out of her, leaving her trembling, before she died alive.
That was before... before...
The love that Palpatine felt for his mother faded when she became weak and unable to do anything about it, and became a submissive creature before her father.
Palpatine, no matter how much he tried to sleep in his bed, he couldn't, the memories made it impossible.
When he was 16 years old he had asked to now be called only Palpatine, in an act of rebellion against his father.
But as usual, not everything went well with his family. His father was extremely furious and even his mother did not take his decision in the best way.
Virtually everyone who knows me has given up calling me that. They know that they should not persist. Well, almost all of them. My mother seems quite persistent in holding on to the remnants of the past. She's that stupid, apparently.
"Sheev please open the door, I want to talk to you." Bremé continues pounding on the door, her voice becoming increasingly shrill as her fist hits the door faster. He will inevitably get tired and leave. Sure enough she stops and walks away. Finally, some peace and quiet.
Unfortunately for me, it seems that luck is not smiling on me today, because within five minutes she has returned and I hear the sound of her removing the control panel from the lock. It appears he is fiddling with the wires and circuits that make up the locking mechanism. The sound of her rattling with the lock continues for another twenty minutes until she finally manages to override the lock and force the door open.
"To what do I owe this sudden and might I say unwanted interruption of my studies, Mother?"
"I've been calling you for over half an hour, son." She responds with an exasperated tone of voice.
"Actually?" Asked.
"You know I was calling you, son." She says.
"Last time I checked I didn't respond to that name, Mother." I respond rather coldly.
"That's your name, son. How long are you going to continue with this rebellion?"
"I have laid out the reasons why I have renounced that name Mother, and I have neither the time nor the inclination to repeat them with you. This is not teenage angst. This is not a rebellious phase that I will inevitably grow out of. . This "This is not a temporary adjustment. THIS IS PERMANENT." I put special emphasis on these words to get your silly head across. I hope it's necessary for once. "Everyone else has accepted this and yet it seems that you still stubbornly persist in calling me that. Please know that it is very reckless, mother, to continue to pressure me like this."
"Are you threatening me?" she says. That same timid tone has reappeared. How sad.
"No, I'm warning you. Stay out of my way." I head towards the exit. "Well, this has been a complete waste of my valuable time, mother, and I won't be back anytime soon. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something to do that's really important."
I leave the room and walk halfway down the hallway before I hear her say anything.
"Why do you hate me son?" I look at my stopwatch again. I'll have to do this quickly. I turn around and go back to the room. My mother is now sitting in my chair next to my bed. Oh joy, it seems like she's going to start crying. That's just what I need, more human doormat waterworks. "I loved you. I loved you because you were my son. But all I got in return is your contempt and hatred. Why do you hate me? What did I do wrong?"
"Why do I hate you? Why do I hate you? Look at you, woman; you are a miserable and cowardly person. You have no backbone, no ambition, no real goals in life. You are the weakest, the most despicable person I have ever seen." I have had the displeasure of knowing."
"I, I am your mother." She responds meekly. "I deserve your respect."
"You don't deserve anything." I respond coldly. "My respect is earned, not handed out freely like candy to children. And you have done nothing with your miserable life to earn my respect. You are so easily intimidated it would be hilarious if it weren't so pitiful. You have no drive and no determination, You have no firm desires or goals, you have nothing original to feel or contribute to this life, you have no real opinions about anything and you are incapable of disagreeing with anyone. You are nothing more than a mindless drone, the servant of a pathetic old man. with delusions of grandeur."
"Your father is a great man." She says shyly.
"Father is a low-level hack." I answer him. "And you are his reckless supporter. If he really is nothing, and he is, what does that make you your personal bootlicker? Less than nothing. I admire strength and independence, and you, dear mother, have no neither of the two.
As I leave that broken shell of a woman behind, I say over my shoulder. "You think that because you gave birth to me you have power over me. But you don't. You never have and you never will. So please give up this unfortunate illusion that you have any influence on my life."
Bremé's soul was hurt by her son's harsh words.
The memories continued in his head over and over again that did not stop and Palpatine could no longer tolerate what he saw now.
He heard the knocking on the hatch and turned. "Don't come in! Stay away from me!"
"What have you done?" It was his mother's voice, panicked. "What have you done?" "Cosinga!" his mother shouted.
But how she saw her mother running to where her husband was and shouting his name in a way that repulsed her. He felt that the Dark Side was emerging like an uncontrollable beast.
The memories continued, until... The confinement in the basement... the cruel punishment that his father gave him, a dark place... he felt cold and couldn't breathe, refusing to spend much time in the dark. He was in a place where he couldn't escape. Crying, he screamed over and over again for his mother, to save him... to get him out of that horrible place but no one came for him.
"Mother! mother! mother! MOTHER!" He cried for a long time until he fell asleep, forcing himself to dry his tears,
Suddenly he could feel a darkness that suffocated him, he felt very cold... he couldn't move...
It all reaches a crescendo when Palpatine rises from his bed, wide awake, and objects fall to the floor. He woke up so abruptly that he felt like he was going to die, he had never before felt something like that in his entire life. "Mom…mom! MOTHER!". Calling his mother as if he were a child again, for a moment he thought she was at his side. He couldn't help but cry for the first time in decades for her... the strangest thing was that the Light Side that was in him, because of Anakin, the light swirled in his being, like a storm.
Take a few deep breaths to bring your heartbeat back to normal. As he slowly wipes the sweat from his forehead, the bedroom door opens and a servant droid enters.
"My Lord, is everything in order... what happened?" As the droid observes the scattered mess, a pair of members of the Emperor's Royal Guard rush in. However, with the raising of Palpatine's hand, the guards don't come any closer and the droid doesn't say anything else.
"Guards, leave me" Then he looks at the droid. "Come back with some help in an hour to clean up this mess." The droid tilts its head and rolls out of the room, slowly closing the door behind it.
The pale and disfigured leader of the Galactic Empire observes the mess that litters his room; broken expensive art pieces, vases. A slight growl appears on the side of his mouth, this incident doing what the Jedi Order and his political rivals in the Senate couldn't do, making him feel unfocused.
It doesn't take him long to change his clothes and leave his room. The stormy weather continues outside as Palpatine slowly makes his way to his throne room. As four members of his Imperial Guard follow him, his mind begins to unravel what just happened. His concentration is so focused that everything around him falls silent. Even the occasional enjoyment of walking through the building that once belonged to the destroyed Jedi Order, thanks to its Order 66, has lost that sweet flavor. Palpatine arrives at the throne room. He slowly walks up the stairs and sits in his chair. The powerful Sith lord turns his chair and looks towards the large circular window. He doesn't pay attention to what's happening outside. Instead he closes his eyes and, through the dark side of the Force, reaches out. As he has done many times in the past, he lets the dark side take over. Some time passes when Palpatine listens again to feel the light side within him, his presence in the force no longer felt as dark as before, in fact it felt warm and bright like light, all around him in the Force he could see. luminous butterflies fluttering around his presence extinguishing all the darkness within.
"I haven't dreamed anything like this in years...what is happening to me? "This is worse than I first thought." The darkness once again enveloped him with intensity but at the same time the Light extinguished the call of the Darkness in his soul.