Starlight (A Reylo Story)

Chapter III: Revenge Of The Sith

The war took you away.
What came back wears your skin.
Sometimes, it still has your eyes.

Chapter III: Revenge Of The Sith

Three years after the beginning of the clone war, Obi-Wan and Anakin, as a Jedi knight, led a mission to rescue kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine from the cyborg separatist commander, General Grievous during a space battle over Coruscant. After infiltrating the General's flagship, the Jedi battled Count Dooku whom Anakin decapitated on Palpatine's command. Grivous managed to escape the battle torn ship in which the Jedi crash landed on Coruscant.

Anakin reunited with his beloved wife who enthralling news for her husband. She revealed her pregnancy and Ani could not contain his joy. But that joy was short lived as he began to get visions of Padmé dying in childbirth. It felt like his mother all over again. He couldn't allow that to happen. And as the days went by, he became more desperate to save her at any cost.

Palpatine appointed Anakin to the Jedi council as his representative and informant. The council allowed him in as a member, but decided not to appoint him as a Jedi master. To them, it was abundantly clear that Anakin was not stable. The more his desperation grew, the more his sanity slipped, the darker his sould became. But that didn't stop the council. In fact, it encouraged. They saw an insanely powerful young man and had to use it to their advantage. And so they assigned him the mission of spying on Palpatine as they suspected his involvement with the chaos that has been ongoing for years. That act diminished Anakin's confidence in the council.

Palpatine, aware of Anakin's demise, tempted him with his knowledge of the dark side of the force, including the power to avert death. And while the Chancellor played all the right cards and brainwashed Anakin, Obi-Wan traveled to Utapau and killed Grievous as Yoda made his way to wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk to defend it against the separatist invasion leaving Anakin in the clutches of Palpatine.

And those around the Jedi knight should've opened their eyes and should've seen that he was being manipulated by Palpatine. But instead they encouraged him to get closer to the Chancellor who revealed his identity as the sith lord Darth Sidious and promised to use his knowledge and help Anakin to save Padmé's life.

And so, unlike the council who did everything in their power to keep Anakin secluded from the council, Palpatine gave him everything he wanted- someone who believed in him, who didn't exclude him for no reason, who didn't disregard his feelings. But Anakin still clutching on to the bit of light left in him, he reported Palpatine's treachery to Mace Windu who confronted the Sith Lord in a lightsaber fight with three other Jedi masters. Palpatine quickly killed the three masters but was overwhelmed by Windu who used his lightsaber to reflect his opponent's force lightening which resulted in disfiguring the sith lord.

Fearing that he'd lose his only chance to save Padmé, Anakin intervened on the Chancellor's behalf and betrayed Windu by severing his hands allowing Palpatine the chance to push him out of the window to his death. And as he kneeled pondering the choice he had to make, he took a look at the grotesque features of the Chancellor. Upon the mask of corruption that stood before him, the revulsion he felt was real. It was powerful. Though horrified with what he'd done, he weighed Padmé's life against the Jedi order. There was no contest. And deep down, he knew it was wrong yet he still embraced the darkness.

Palpatine deliberately provided Anakin with countless moments where he could've made the right call. He stacked the odds in favour of the dark side but he left the choice to Anakin nevertheless. A smart strategy to see Anakin's true colours. And yet, despite the wrong decisions he made, Anakin Skywalker was not evil. He simply was not a bad person. His only mistake was possessing a heart that loved and cared too fiercely. And for him that bit of good justified all of the bad. And so Palpatine declared him as his apprentice, Darth Vader. But up to that point it was still Anakin. Padmé and Obi-Wan knew it. And despite their disbelief of Anakin's betrayel they rushed to his rescue. To save him from himself.