Heroes of Our Time

Chapter 2 - Revenge of the Sith

Author's Note: Ahem. So, this was supposed to be a one-shot. As you can now see, it's not anymore. :) I've added in four other one-shots (sort of; the last two are directly connected) to this universe. I hope y'all enjoy this continuation/prequel! :D

I'll admit that I never thought anything could be worse than what happened in ROTS. I was wrong. Dead wrong. This is worse. Like so much worse. So be prepared! :')

~ Amina Gila

"Obi-Wan was here. He was looking for you." Padme's words send a thrill of fear coursing through Anakin – Vader; he's Vader now, and he can't forget it – as the implications sink in. He's just returned from Mustafar, having executed the Separatist leaders at his new master's command.

"Some of the Jedi did survive, but don't worry, we'll find them," Anakin assures his wife, resting a hand on her shoulder. He spoke with the new Emperor upon his return, and Palpatine told him that Yoda had attempted to assassinate him, an attempt which failed. Most of the Jedi are now dead, and the survivors have scattered across the galaxy. It will take much work to hunt them down, so their treasonous ways don't spread, but it's something which Anakin is more than willing to do. All he's ever wanted is for the galaxy to be at peace.

He's not a fool. He knows that Palpatine only wants power and fame and glory. He knows that, for the galaxy to truly heal, Palpatine will have to be eliminated as well. It's not that he disagreed with the Jedi's actions, so much as he disagreed with how they went about doing it. Yes, Palpatine might need to die – he kept the war going for years – in order for there to be true peace, but illegally killing him is not the answer. It has to be done carefully and with cunning. Anakin imagines that he can succeed where the Jedi have failed, because after all, is it not his destiny? For so long he has born the title Chosen One, and there ought to be some benefits to being the most powerful Force-sensitive. He can't deny his bitterness at the thought. He's never wanted to be like this, to be different, to feel so much all the time, but such has been his fate.

Padme shakes her head, frowning up at him, even as she moves into his embrace. He holds her, relishing in the feel of her body against his. She's all he has left now, because he knows that Obi-Wan will never understand, just like he never has in the past. His former master would have preferred that Anakin let his wife and child die. He couldn't. If he could save them, why shouldn't he? All he had to do was pledge himself to Palpatine. He knows that he's turned his back on everything which he has been taught, but he was left without a choice. The Jedi betrayed him, betrayed the Republic. They had to be destroyed. He had no reason to side with them and their treachery, not when they committed treason so openly.

"I was worried about you," Padme whispers against his chest, pulling back to look up at him, fear and uncertainty in her brown eyes. She's afraid, and it hurts. She shouldn't have to live in fear, not anymore. "Obi-Wan told me terrible things."

His blood runs cold. Is this it then? Is this Obi-Wan's tactic? Turning Padme against him so that she'll leave him too? Was him leaving and betraying him not enough? Was losing Ahsoka not enough? Why is he fated to lose everyone he's ever loved? "What things?" he demands, tightening his grip on her as if that alone will be able to keep her with him. The fear that grips him is a welcome reprieve from the darkness and self-loathing that has become the crux of his new identity, but he only wishes that it wasn't so debilitating. His galactic nickname has never seemed like more of a mockery than it does now.

"He said you turned to the Dark Side," Padme tells him, "That you killed younglings."

Yes, he would, of course, emphasis how heinous a crime turning to the Dark Side is. It's not dangerous; it never was. It's like – it's like he's finally come home. I feel more like myself than I ever have, Ahsoka said on Mortis after the Son possessed her. It hadn't made sense then, but it does now. The Force is not as simple as the "Light" and "Dark" Sides. It is so much more, so much greater.