Chapter 7: Darth Mére
In the industrial complex of Mustafar, Lady Mére stares out at the volcanic skyline. She had just eliminated the Separatist leaders, ensuring the rule of the Sith. Stepping back into the complex, she ignores the smell of the dead bodies to contact her Sith Master via hologram.
"The Separatists have been taken, my Master." She says.
"It is finished then. You have restored peace and justice to the galaxy." Sidious says, satisfied that there is one less thorn in his side. "Send a message to ships of the Trade Federation. All droid units must shut down immediately."
"Understood, my Lord." Mére ends the hologram, but before she sends the message, she feels a shift in the Force.
"Anakin!" She shouts out as she feels something terrible has happened to him and her babies. Running to the hangar, she jumps into her fighter and light speeds back to Coruscant. In the ship, she attempts to send out a message to Anakin's communicator, but to no avail.
"Anakin, if you're there, I'm going to come to you." She says to herself. "Nobody is going to take you away from me."
On Coruscant, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi feels a shift in the Force as he approaches the apartment of Senator Anakin Skywalker.
"Anakin? Are you…" He calls out to his friend when he sees the face of a pregnant Padmé Amidala and all the color drains from his face.
"Obi-Wan, please. I need your help." She pleads as she begins hyperventilating.
"Padmé, how could you turn to the Dark Side?" Obi-Wan asks. "You're a mother, and you butchered children!"
"What are you talking about?!" Padmé asks in shock at the accusation. "I haven't given birth yet! Why would I murder children?!"
Just then, the cries of two babies echo from another room. This causes great confusion for the two of them.
"Padmé, is Anakin here with the babies?" Obi-Wan asks, trying to calm down.
"I don't know what's going on Obi-Wan!" Padmé is shouting at this point. "I was sitting here just five minutes ago thinking about Anakin and the attack on the Temple, and suddenly I just feel a something strange and now I hear crying children, and you accusing me of murder!"
"Padmé, I saw the security footage. I saw you… slaughter Younglings." Obi-Wan says, but he feels a shift in the Force as he says this.
"How dare you?" Padmé asks with barely suppressed rage.
"I could ask him the same thing." The two turn around to see Darth Mére staring at them. Obi-Wan then recognizes that this is his former apprentice.
"Padmé?" Obi-Wan is in too much shock and disgust to make words at what is going on.
"What did you do with my Anakin, Obi-Wan?" Mere asks. "I can't sense his presence."
"I haven't done anything to Anakin, can you say the same?" Obi-Wan asks. "After all you allowed Darth Sidious to twist your mind until you have become the very thing you swore to destroy. And don't try to tell me how the Jedi have betrayed you and the Republic. I stuck by you after Dooku left you to join the Separatists, after everything that happened during the Clone Wars, and when you married Anakin. You are a mother, and you murder children. How dare you accuse me of doing anything to Anakin?!"
"Then why are you here?!" Mere asks. "Were you hoping to use my Anakin as bait to find me? Or… we're gonna replace this impostor over here to replace me and my babies. My Anakin isn't going to go for some good little wifey who's gonna stay home with the kids."
"You keep saying your Anakin." Padmé says, causing Mére to look at her in anger. "Are you suggesting you know that I have my own husband? If so, why would you think I'm replacing you?" After asking that, Mére lifts Padmé by the throat.
"Because Anakin… is… MINE!" Mére shouts. "Nobody is going to take him from me!" Not you, not the Jedi, not anybody! I've allowed my nightmares to become a reality in the past, not this time!" Padmé has an epiphany upon her those words from her Sith counterpart.
"Oh no." She says.
"Oh no, what?" Mére asks in a condescending tone.
"Anakin turned to the Dark Side." Padmé says to herself.
"What are you talking about?" A confused Obi-Wan asks. "Anakin is not Force-sensitive. I don't know what world you are from but here, Anakin is not a Jedi; he is a Senator from Tatooine."
"Wait… Tatooine is in the Republic here?" Padmé asks as Mére releases her.
"Yes it's been in the Republic ever since the Liberation. Where Qui-Gon and Shmi died, and Dooku decided to abandon me." Mére says with venom in her voice.
"Padmé, is your Anakin a Jedi?" Obi-Wan asks.
"He was, but I think he may have met the same fate as this monster." Padmé says with barely contained sadness. "I wouldn't want my babies growing up without a father, but I want them to have a good father."
"So you'd find some other man to pretend to be a father?" Mére scoffs. "What an unfaithful little tramp. At least I stay loyal to my Anakin. When that traitor Clovis to make a move on me, I used my lightsaber to take away his manhood and had him removed from the Republic."
"You castrated a man to prove loyalty?" Padmé questions, though she immediately comes to the realization that it would make sense within this realm. Suddenly, the babies begin crying in the other room, drawing Mére's attention away.
"You're both lucky my babies need me." She says as she goes to attend to her little ones. "When I come back, you both better be gone from this world."
As soon as she is gone, Padmé collapses onto the couch and cries. Obi-Wan rushes over to console her.
"Padmé, I'm sorry I accused you." Obi-Wan says. "I don't know what's going on and I don't know why, but I will do everything to try and keep you safe.
"I'm afraid to go back." Padmé confesses. "I think Anakin may be just as bad as her where I am from."
"I can't speak for your Anakin, but wherever her Anakin is, he is probably just as afraid. But he too likely has someone to protect him." Obi-Wan reassures. Before he can say more, a yellow light flashes and a portal opens and through flies Anakin Skywalker.
"Ow!" He yells as he hits the wall in pain.
"Anakin!" A voice calls out from the portal, shocking Obi-Wan and Padmé. They look up to see another Obi-Wan walk through.
"I'm.. I'm fine Obi-Wan I just…" Anakin pauses when he sees two Obi-Wans and Padmé. "Am I home?" Which is all he can ask.
"Senator." The first Obi-Wan says, "Are you alright?"
"Which one of you followed me-"
"ANGEL!" They hear Mére yell out as she jumps on top of Anakin, dropping him to the ground and smothering him with kisses. "You're safe, thank the Force. Where were you?"
"He was taken from his home through a disturbance in the Force, Padmé. But he is-" The second Obi-Wan is cut off by the first one who holds him away. Mére looks at both of them in disgust.
"So? YOU tried to take my Anakin from me?!" Mére snaps.
"Not me." The second Obi-Wan says as he feels a shift in the Force coming from the portal.
"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THAT EASY OBI-WAN!" A voice shouts as Vader appears through the portal.
"He did." The second Obi-Wan says, as he and his doppleganger ignite their blades. Padmé looks at Vader in sadness as she backs away from him.
"Padmé, what are you doing here?" Vader asks.
"She's probably a lot like me." Anakin says, pulling away from Mére. "She essentially woke up in a different place, and the doppelganger probably went crazy."
"Anakin!" Mére snaps as she pulls him close. "How can you call me crazy?! All of what I've done is for you. You are my priority, keeping you safe. I've lost enough in my life, I'm not going to lose you too. The Jedi are traitors and the Republic is too far gone, I didn't hurt anyone that didn't have it coming."
"Then why is there a bruise on my wife's throat?" Vader asks demandingly. "Did you try to kill her?"
"Did you try to kill my husband?" Mére counters as the two fallen Jedi ignite their lightsabers. Sensing what is going to happen, both Obi-Wan's sneak away to assist the two Senators.
"Come, Anakin, Padmé. We need to get you out of here." The second Obi-Wan says.
"No, I just got back and I need to check on my babies." Anakin says as he runs to the nursery to check on his crying babies with Padmé following him.
"It's okay angels, daddy's here." Anakin says as he cradles the infants close. "Daddy loves you both." Padmé has a fear in her eye as she holds her pregnant belly tight.
"What did you name them?" Padmé asks.
"They're names are Luke and Leia." Anakin answers, Padmé lets out a smile knowing that that's what she wanted to name her babies. She looks lovingly at Anakin as he sings his children a lullaby.
Dentro es caldo liebe
Und es mai cadeau bisan asa
Und es mai cadeau bisan asa
Ce caldo liebe
"That's a beautiful song, Anakin." Padmé comments.
"My mother sang it to me when I was little." Anakin replies. "It's always stuck with me. I always wanted to pass it down to my children."
"That's a… oh no." Padmé suddenly feels uneasy and stumbles backwards. "No, it's too soon!"
"Are you going into labor?" Anakin asks, tucking his twins safely in their prams. "Let's get you on the bed. Do you want me to get someone?"
"No! Please don't leave me alone." Padmé begs. "I can't do this alone, and I don't know if Obi-Wan can help us."
"Don't you touch my wife!" They hear Vader shouts as a lightsaber cuts through the door. As Vader enters the room, Mére jumps on top of him.
"You're not going to take him from me!" She snaps at Vader. "Anakin, get away from here! She's not your wife, she's not your problem!" Padmé and Anakin cling close to each other, growing increasingly frightened of their Sith spouses.
End of the chapter. I hope you all enjoyed evil Padmé. I've been wanting to write this for a while now. No lie, at some point I may write a chapter that parodies "The Waterboy", because there's definitely something wrong with Anakin's medulla oblongata. Until the next chapter, happy reading.