Gates of Hell

Chapter 12 - Coruscant

When Anakin brings himself back under control, Vader spares only a moment to ensure that their prisoners are secured before leaving the facility with Anakin at his side. Neither of them speaks as they take a shuttle to Admiral Trench's fleet which is orbiting around the planet while waiting for them, before making the jump to hyperspace, taking the Nexus Route to arrive at Coruscant. The attack will be sudden and unexpected, and with the sudden chaos in the wake of Palpatine's death, it should be relatively easy to take control.

Anakin knows and accepts that there is no chance of restoring peace in the galaxy without far more drastic measures, especially being as the Republic Senate will likely never agree to open peace talks. The war will only drag on, and even if it ends, the Republic is still teetering on the brink of collapse. What Vader is planning will allow them to reshape and restore the Republic while eliminating the corruption. It will keep the entire system from shattering into thousands of pieces in a completely uncontrolled collapse.

No one else will see it that way, Anakin knows, at least very few will, and he is not at all looking forwards to it. Once the fleet has made the jump to hyperspace, Vader joins Anakin in the cabin he's been hiding in since arriving on the Star Cruiser. Maybe he's not actively falling apart, but he still feels very... fragile, as if he might collapse again any moment. He still needs to ask Vader more about his own past, but he's not ready for the emotional ramifications of that yet.

The respirator cycles rhythmically as Vader stands inside the door, staring at Anakin's back. He finally turns away from the viewport and the swirling blue and white to look at the elder. "I... apologize," Vader says, his uncertainty and awkwardness echoing through their bond. "I was not thinking when I tried to make you embrace the Dark Side the way I learned it."

Anakin is – well, taken aback would be an understatement. "I thought I needed to learn to embrace it," he points out, somewhat confused.

"I thought so too," Vader answers, sounding strained somehow, even with the vocoder, "But I – I cannot... do that to you. I thought it would be... easier for you if you accepted the power that I have... but it is wrong. I see that now. I apologize for the harm it caused you."

Anakin blinks at Vader in a confused stupefaction. This was literally the last thing he expected to hear from the Sith Lord. Truthfully, he no longer knows if he wants to embrace the Dark Side, at least to the extent that Vader has been talking about, but he gets the feeling that even if he did want to become a full Sith, Vader would object and refuse to teach him. Maybe that's not a bad thing, because Anakin doesn't think that it can be normal for Sith to learn to use the Dark Side through such a deep, intense self-loathing. Is that normal? Or is it simply something that Sidious did to Vader because it was easier?

Maybe that isn't a question he wants answered anyways. "It's okay," Anakin replies, knowing he needs to say something to reassure Vader. "We learn from mistakes, and if I hadn't... done that... well, it taught us something." There's a brief flare of hatred directed inwards, but Vader doesn't react visibly, though he does take a few steps closer.

"I – I am sorry about everything which I have done to you," Vader says, and Anakin mentally braces himself for what is probably going to be a long discussion of him reassuring Vader that he's fine. "I know you are struggling. I took you away from your family."

"They're your family too," Anakin murmurs, feeling tears sting his eyes. He wishes that Obi-Wan could be half this considerate and worry about his feelings the way Vader is. They wouldn't have had nearly as many problems if he did. Oh, Anakin knows that he never meant to hurt him most of the time, but he did. And is. More than that, it hurts to feel Vader's pain, to know that he's suffering the loss of his own family, whatever happened to them. He's here now, in the past, and these are not the people he knew. They never will be.