The Unchronicled Adventures of Ahsoka Tano, Book Eight

Chapter Sixty-Two: The Fate Of The Chosen One

ANAKIN SKYWALKER

Anakin felt heavy.

As Darth Vader withdrew his lightsaber from Anakin's stomach, his body weight pulled him to his knees on the frozen ground.

His lightsaber fell from his grasp, hitting the ice below him with a sharp click. His dark cloak and Jedi robes pooling around him, he took a deep breath. It came out ragged, and harsh, but somehow... lighter. Freer.

His communion with the Force, which he had been using to keep himself warm in the absence of a warm winter coat, was broken, and he suddenly found himself exposed to the freezing wind and biting snow. His hyper-alert senses picked up on his every breath, the shift of his cloak in the wind, the sound of the blood flowing through his veins...

"NO!" Vaguely, he heard Padme cry out. It was a strangled, hoarse thing, and it made him hurt and want to block out the sound. It reminded him of that time on Mustafar, which he wanted to erase from his mind forever...

And suddenly the memories were everywhere.

"NO! Anakin, please!"

"You were my brother, Anakin!"

"I truly... deeply... love you..."

"Anakin, you're breaking my heart!"

"You were the Chosen One!"

"And before I die I want you to know..."

"Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!"

Chosen One... Balance to the Force... I know what I must do.

And so, gathering every ounce of strength he had left, Anakin summoned his lightsaber to his hand. Before Vader could react, the Chosen One sent it straight through his abdomen.

The Sith Lord let out a mechanized gasp, before falling to the ground. A moment later, Anakin felt his twin's life force beginning to flicker out. He could only guess that he had punctured something vital. He hadn't really been directing his blade, and his vision was shifting in and out of focus.

He could hear Padme running towards him. A few immeasurably long seconds later, she was by his side. He collapsed into her lap, breathing heavily. Against his will, his eyelids began to close.

"No, Ani, don't you dare close your eyes!" she cried. "Don't do this! You're strong enough! You can make it through this!"

"Padme... Oh, Padme..." Anakin reached up, stroking her cheek with his good hand. He could feel the salty tears running over his fingertips. His prosthetic was holding his lightsaber and half-hiding the wound. Even now, he was doing everything in his power to protect her.

She chocked back a sob, holding onto his hand with all her might. "Ani..."

"Angel, don't cry. You have to promise me you won't cry."

"I don't think that I could keep that promise," she whispered.

Out of the blue, he remembered a little rhyme he had come up with back on Cialone. "The Chosen One has perished twice: in fire, and in ice."

"But you won't perish here! You'll be okay!" she protested.

"Angel..."

"Anakin, you're going down a path I can't follow! I won't let you go!"

"You have to, love," he said, using his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "Tell Ahsoka... Tell her that I love her, and that I'll be watching over her and her family. Always. Just like I'll be watching over you."

"I guess even the Angels need watching over sometimes," she said.

"Especially my Angel." Suddenly he became more serious. "Padme, there will come a time when Luke and Leia will hold the fate of the galaxy in their hands. You and Obi-Wan have to be there for them, you have guide them along their chosen path. And I want you to look out for the Rebels."

She smiled a heartbroken smile. "I will, Ani. I'll take care of them all."

"I go to my Father, to the Force... I love you, Padme Naberrie Amidala-Skywalker, my wife, my Angel, my Queen... And I will see you again. Whether it's in this life or the next, I will see you again."

And with that, Anakin felt it was time. He couldn't hold on any longer. He let the Force take him, pulling him where it wanted him to go. That happened to be back into Vader's body.

As the body of the resurrected Anakin Skywalker disappeared, leaving his lightsaber behind, and the shrieks of Padme Amidala faded, he heard words. They were strange and old, and they sounded like an ancient variation on the Jedi Code.

Emotion, yet peace.

Ignorance, yet knowledge.

Passion, yet serenity.

Chaos, yet harmony.

Death, yet the Force.

It stirred his soul to the very fibers of his being. He had never heard anything that better described him, the Chosen One, the dual Sides of the Light and the Dark and how they worked together to form harmony...

And then he felt utter nothingness. Sweet, blissful nothingness.

*Anakin Skywalker has passed on... But is he really gone forever? Or will he return in many years, to battle on a moon of metal and defeat the Empire that he unwittingly helped create? And will Ahsoka manage to defeat Maul, and save Lux? Or has the Force claimed another victim than the Chosen One on this grave day? You'll find out in the next thrilling chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano!

There! Another chapter, as promised! Oh, and I know I have developed a bad habit of killing characters and bringing them back from the dead when I feel I have generated a sufficient amount of feels from the audience, but this time, ANAKIN IS ACTUALLY DEAD. Well, sort of. He's gonna come back in Return of the Jedi, right? Right...? Okay, you're all probably going to kill me anyways...

Buuuuuut I'm still really happy with the way this turned out, and I hope that aside from the ruthless murdering of feels, you like it too. So... bye!

Redeem yourself and bring balance to the Force by slaying the Emperor and may the Force be with you,

Sharron