FORBIDDEN ATTACHMENTS ─ star wars

LXIX. Darth Vader

Chapter Sixty-Nine
Fallon

Mustafar is what I imagine hell looking like. From the moment we enter the atmosphere, we are clouded by black smoke, becoming dampened from sweat due to the blistering heat. Everywhere I look is fire and lava, everywhere I look there is a molten orange glow that covers every building, droid or person. Obi Wan stiffens as he sets our ship down on a landing pad in front of a fortress of some kind, built right next to a river of flowing lava.

"He's here." Obi Wan tells me, tightening his jaw. "I feel it."

I can too. As hard as it is for me to explain, as much as I don't understand it, I have this feeling spreading through me, this instinct. I can feel him here, too. I look down at my stomach, laying my hands on my unborn child, knowing that this unexplainable phenomenon must come from him or her. Hopefully I can save it's father before it's too late, hopefully they won't have to grow up with only one parent.

I glance out the window of the ship and see a cloaked figure standing behind a railing overlooking the lava river. The figure pulls their hood back, beginning to sprint towards the building the walkway connects to. I am too far away to see who it is, but I can feel that it's Anakin.

I get out of my chair and walk towards the exit, feeling Obi Wan following behind me. The heat is even worse once I'm actually outside the ship, as I wipe my forehead it's already dripping in sweat. Anakin appears from the entrance to the fortress, sprinting as he did before towards me. I run to him also, flinging my arms around his neck and holding him close, feeling tears sting my eyes again. Anakin holds me close to him, letting out a deep sigh, like my presence is calming him. I hope it is. I need him clam for what's about to transpire.

I pull back from him, bringing my hands up to his hair, running my fingers through the thick chestnut curls. As Anakin begins to open his mouth, he closes it as he lays eyes on Obi Wan a few feet from me, who stands there staring at us, looking lost.

Anakin looks back down at me. "You didn't say you were with Obi Wan."

I shake my head, trying to keep my tears back. "He helped Genevieve and I escape. I didn't say anything because I didn't know what was going on, I didn't want to put you in a tough position...is what he told me true? Were you responsible for the slaughter at the temple? Did you bow to the Sith Lord? Turn to the dark side?"

Anakin smiles down at me, the darkness that had once lied beneath the surface, now bursting out of him like a canon blast. He has the same twisted pleasure I've seen Dooku have, seen Grevious and Pre Vizsla have. It makes my stomach churn.

"The Jedi betrayed me and betrayed the republic," he tells me, truly believing what's coming out of his mouth. "Palpatine made me see that this is my path, this is the destiny that the council had deprived me of. I've always wanted to save the galaxy and keep the ones I love safe, and now I can do both, I can be all powerful. The dark side is unlike anything I have ever felt, it's strong enough to save you, and save the galaxy."

I feel a tear slip down my face, trying to convince myself that this must be a dream, that this person before me isn't Anakin, but some creature wearing his skin. "Do you even hear yourself? You think Palpatine wants peace? He will destroy the galaxy and wipe out everything good in it."

"Then I will overthrow him," he says, letting out a laugh, his beautiful blue eyes now a dark yellow, just like Grevious's eyes were. "I'm more powerful than he his, I can kill him and take his place. We can rule the galaxy together and make things the way we want them to be."

I close my eyes and let more of my tears fall, making my voice firm, squeezing his head in my hands as I try to convince him; "Let's leave. We'll run away, far away and never look back. Help me raise our child somewhere away from all this. Please, Ani, you are a good person, the best person I know. You've always wanted what's good for everyone, you have the largest heart, please, I beg you not to let Palpatine destroy it."