When the Sun Sets

Epilogue

Author's Note: Thank y'all so much for reading, voting, and/or commenting on this story! :D I hope to see you on the sequel (and final book in the series), Rising From Ashes, which we have just started posting today as well. ^-^

~ Amina Gila

Anakin Skywalker

I hate everything. Well, that's what Sith do, but still. I hate myself for getting myself and Aniya in this situation, but mostly, I just hate Sidious for putting us here, and the fact that he has to train us. I do not want to learn the Dark Side, but it's not as if we can just opt out of being his apprentices. If resignation was possible for Sith, I would have already.

Obsessing over all the things I hate is not something I like doing, but that's essentially what Sith meditation is. I would find it stupid if it weren't so effective, though I have no idea how this is supposed to teach us control. All I know right now is that I want a very, very good reason that I shouldn't pull my lightsaber on Sidious again for daring to hurt my sister. For making us do... everything and for controlling the clones and bringing so much death to the galaxy, but it's not as if Aniya and I aren't responsible for massive death tolls, too.

Except I clearly remember our last attempt, and I have no desire to go through that again.

I'll never forget the agony of that Force lightning. I could never, ever forget that, and I don't want Aniya to become a victim of that again either, so my fear overpowers me, but I hate myself for letting it, because I know better than this. We know best how to hide and avoid being hurt, and those instincts are overtaking our desire to help.

It doesn't help how I find myself questioning the need to kill Sidious. If the prophecy was never real, nothing about our previous lives matters. Not anymore.

I can't accept that so easily though. Over half my life has been built solely on that.

And I miss Obi-Wan so, so badly. The one good thing about when we were on the fronts together is that we were together, and now that we're so suddenly apart, it's... almost maddening.

But I simply can't believe we were created by the Sith. It's impossible. Unfathomable. We're not... actually, it explains so much about us. It explains why we were so drawn towards the Dark Side, and I don't want to think about it, because I don't want to believe that.

I want to see our families again. I miss everyone. Being away from them hurts and I don't want to be here with Sidious. I loathe how much control he has over us. I haven't had to deal with this since we were very little. Not since Qui-Gon freed us, and I know the Jedi still controlled us, but I forgot how hard everything was until we're back in the very same place where we started. And I know this time Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan won't be coming to rescue us. Obi-Wan left. He's not coming back.

"There is someone who has been waiting to see you for a long time," Sidious says. It's the first time he seems genuinely... unhappy? I don't like it. If he's upset, I have no doubt he'll take it out on us. And he's already made it apparent what defending ourselves will lead to.

"What does he want?" Aniya demands.

"That is his choice," our master replies, visibly unappreciative. He doesn't like that he's not the one solely in control of us, does he?

"When you say he wants to... study us, what do you mean?" I have to ask, because I need to know that. I've seen some of what Plagueis does to the beings he works on. I know Sidious wouldn't want our abilities damaged, but I can't say the same for his master, and I still haven't dared to ask how we can be apprentices when Sidious himself is one.

"He will not cause permanent damage," Sidious replies, which does absolutely nothing to relieve me, but at least he's being honest, "But no matter what he says, you are still mine."

Maybe once, I would have liked to see that possessiveness, but not now, and certainly not by the person offering it. Please no. I don't want to be a slave again, but I know that's what we are. There's no denying it.

And if I'm being completely honest with myself, even using this to fuel the Dark Side, or perhaps especially if I use it to fuel the Dark Side, I have no idea how long I'll be able to last without snapping entirely. I just can't tolerate being treated as inferior. Not when I can actually do something about it. (Not when I think it's true. Not when I know we were made by the Sith.)

I miss Obi-Wan. His calm, his grounding, his light. He feels like water – it's so calming. I miss that. I want that. But right now, I can only burn, seethe, like fire – I want out, but there is no out. Sidious won't risk himself to protect us, and I hate even more that it feels like we need protection.

"I would have thought you already... dealt with him," I can't help saying.

If anything, Sidious's scowl deepens. "I would have, only when you arrived on Coruscant and Maul was not victorious, I was... unprepared. I have rarely spoken to him over the years since."

"How did Dooku fit into it then?" So much for not having this conversation right now, but I'm glad Aniya is willing to ask. I want to know, too.

"A temporary, expendable ally, as was Krell. They held important roles in the grand plan."

"What of Maul and... us?" I inquire. "What are we, if you have a master?"

"My apprentices," he replies, "I knew better than to separate you. Your attachment and your... bond make you dependent on one another. A Sith may only betray the master when the master shows weakness."

It's an unspoken statement; we're going to destroy his master once he shows signs of weakness. Which I don't know. I want to, but... it won't mean we're free.

That's when I feel the very, very familiar presence – I could never forget it. He's coming. And I am so very much not ready for this.

Sidious seemed content with us before, but now he seems... angry. I know it's not at us, but still, the mere fact that he is, is enough to keep me on edge. I just don't like it. But Plagueis is coming closer, and he feels dark and twisted in a way that's as bad as Sidious, but instead of permeating everything like Sidious, it's a sort of utterly inhuman coldness. It's no wonder I was as terrified of him as I was when I was young. I can feel Aniya edging closer, her own darkness looping back to feed mine.

My heart is hammering when the door finally hisses open. I look up and almost wish I hadn't. He's exactly as I remember. He's clothed in black, hooded, and all I can see is his yellow eyes boring into us. Studying us. As if we're not even human. (Maybe we're not.)

"You requested them," Sidious says, and I'm nearly caught off-guard by the sheer level of loathing in his voice, "And they are here."

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