Who Are You?

The Chilling Truth

Padmé knew this was him, she could tell by the way the troopers attempted to straighten up, she could tell by the way Luke reflexively tensed at the sight of him...yet this being standing before her was unrecognizable. As he towered over everyone, Padmé felt an almost overwhelming urge to shrink away and hide. Despite encountering far more horrifying creatures and being in beyond desperate situations, nothing seemed to compare itself to this moment. It was as though all prior knowledge and common sense had been crushed beneath one of his enormous boots. A steady, robotic breathing filled the air, unnerving even the very troopers sworn to serve him.

His entire appearance was almost impossible to comprehend all at once. Ever since she had arrived in the future, Padmé had been envisioning what her husband could possibly look like. She assumed he most likely would have had a few more scars, a little less hair, but still look like her Anakin. This monstrosity standing before her didn't even FEEL like him, something Padmé couldn't have ever considered. She struggled to convince herself that there was even a human behind the remorseless mask, much less the love of her life. Despite everything being the same overwhelming color of black, Padmé found herself scanning the details of his attire. She noticed the impossibly stiff posture seemingly dictated by his outfit however, upon further inspection it was clear that the fabric bunched ever so slightly. So, it had to be natural. But then again, how does one correct years of slouching so perfectly?

A strange panel was made into the front of his clothes, multiple buttons and switches that must have served some type of function were all uniformly alined in the frame. Both his arms sported bulky gloves, an odd but understandable fashion choice. It makes sense to match, after all. A long dark cape dragged on the floor behind his boots, rather regal, yet Padmé couldn't help but think that wasn't its only purpose. Finally, her eyes landed on the mask.  Nothing about it looked even remotely like a true face...it was almost droid like in a way.  Large, bulbous "eyes" were the first thing she noticed.  It was impossible to see where he was looking, and she quietly wondered if he even knew.  A triangular shape covered his nose and mouth, suddenly the strange breathing made terrifying sense.  However, as long as she had known Anakin, Padmé could never fathom the idea that he would ever willingly wear something so restrictive that he couldn't breathe.

Desperately, she searched for something that could link this frightening Sith Lord to her dashing Jedi husband.  The radiant glow that always filled her with a joy beyond measure and made it known to the entire galaxy how deeply he cared was entirely missing, instead Padmé wanted to get as far away as possible.  A callous darkness seemed to envelop this creature, and nothing but a painful chill emanated from him.  Sadness filled Padmé's thoughts as she tried imagine how he could have possibly fallen so far.  She had been telling everyone that Anakin was still there, anger flowed through her very veins anytime someone tried to say different.  However, Padmé felt herself admitting the agonizing truth, Anakin had changed. 

No longer did it seem that he care for anyone other than himself, though it didn't look like he had much control over how he now perceived the galaxy.  Not one shred of his old self reflected in his appearance.  The laid back hero with no fear who'd gladly take the lead in any mission and lay down his own life for his friends, was utterly replaced with this selfish being who viewed everyone as expendable and reveled in their pain. However, despite it all, against every person telling her how hopeless it was to hold onto who he was versus who he had become, Padmé knew that Anakin still had to be there. Logic be damned! Luke hadn't given up, and she needed to stay strong for her husband as well. Somewhere, trapped beneath the decades of torture and loss, good still remained. Perhaps the Emperor had successfully convinced him that it didn't exist, but Padmé was absolutely certain it was there.

That's why she can't dare give up on him now.