It was an awfully painful crash landing. I'd never piloted anything before, much less a military grade ship. But I wasn't going to wait for Obi-Wan to take me to Mustafar. This needed to end, and it needed to end now. Before I even know what I'm doing, my legs are pulling me up from my seat, out of the minor wreckage. For someone who's never landed before, let alone crash landed, I'd say I did a decent job, and I'm still in one piece so clearly I did something right. I see a figure in the distance, at first it's slow, then it's running towards me at full speed. Anakin.
I drag myself out of the wreckage of the still-sparking ship and as soon as I get my whole body free from the many cords and wires tangled near the entrance, I'm embraced by the same warm, comforting embrace that used to feel like home. Now, I just feel… misplaced. Out of sorts. This isn't where either of us belong. "Don't." He cuts me off before I can even get a word out. He can sense my fear, panic, racing heart, racing thoughts. He's seen it all before, known and heard it all before. "You're okay. I'm okay. We're safe. We're finally safe now." He consoles me. "Ani, please-" I start, trying to allot myself some speaking time.
"No. No more words, no more fighting, no more politics, no more war. You're here, I'm here, Obi-Wan is not here, and that's all that matters." Anakin interjects. The heat of the volcanic atmosphere singes my throat, drying any saliva I possibly had, silencing me without a moment's worth of mercy. "Anakin," I rasp, trying to force my mouth to keep working despite the growing itchiness and pain. "Shhh, don't talk. You're hurting yourself. Come with me, I'll get you something to drink. I'm sure there's some form of liquid around here, or else they wouldn't have survived." He soothes, his arm wrapping around my shoulder and guiding me away from the crash and closer into the Separatist Base, or whatever was left of it. "They?" I question weakly. "Don't worry about it." Anakin shuts down the question, undoubtedly because there's something in him that knows what he's done is vile.
I follow him through twisting and turning winding hallways and corridors until we finally come upon an office-like area, stained with blood and the bodies of the previous inhabitants of the base. "What the kriff?" I mutter under my breath. "I was obeying orders, you have to understand." Anakin states simply, as if he were merely turning in a finished homework assignment, not slaughtering dozens of not-exactly-innocent people who didn't need to meet such a cruel end quite yet. "Here, come sit. Drink." He ushers me to sit in one of the chairs available while handing me his own canteen, filled with water from an unknown but certainly clean source. I hope.
My lips meet the cool metal mouthpiece as I gulp down however many ounces were in the canteen, the cool water soothing the burning dryness within my mouth and throat. "Do you need more?" Anakin reaches his hand out, taking the empty canteen back after I've shaken my head. "What… happened here?" Are the first words to come out as I look up at him, then out across the room, then back up at his face. "The Jedi tried to overthrow the Senate. You were in danger, my love. I wouldn't do all of this without cause. You know me, you know I wouldn't. Don't you?" He tries to explain. "Hold on- The Jedi tried to overthrow the Senate?" I mumble, despite knowing the real truth. I wanted to know how he saw it, I wanted to hear it from his perspective. "Yes. I found Master Windu attempting to take the life of the Chancellor. I promptly took care of it, though." Anakin explains.
I know that's not the full truth, but I play along anyways, treading carefully with my next words. "I see. So, here's my question, I suppose. Tell me, my love, how does you 'protecting' the Chancellor lead to you slaughtering the Younglings within the Jedi Temple, then coming to a remote Volcanic planet and destroying the Separatists here? Where's the disconnect? What part of this am I missing?" I can see his face drop. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell it to you like this, but… The Chancellor is the Sith Lord we've been searching for since the beginning of the Clone Wars. You have to understand my love, I was doing all of this to protect you. He promised me that the Sith could bring loved ones back from the dead, and I couldn't resist the offer. I will not let you die, not like my mother. I won't. I'll protect you, even if it means I suffer."
I'm not exactly speechless, but definitely stunned. "So let me get this right, you'd rather turn to the Dark Side, than let the will of the force settle this? Anakin, have you lost your mind? Are you alright? Have you hit your head too hard again?" I answer sarcastically, reaching towards him and gently running my hand over his forehead and scalp. "I'm better than I've ever been, my love. I've had an epiphany. Everything is so much clearer to me now, now that you're out of harm's way." He responds, leaning forwards to place his hands on either side of my face, his gloves, the same ones that harbor the blood of children and civilians, rubbing ever-so-gently over the apples of my cheeks.
"This is insane." I state. I want to pull away. The man in front of me is a shadow of himself, a shadow of the man that I loved. But I don't. "You're insane." I speak up again. "Maybe I am. But I'm insane for you, about you, for us. Can't you see? I've done all of this to save you. I would, I will, destroy absolutely anything and everything that poses a threat to you, be it a paper cut or a battle wound. I'm never letting anyone touch you, hurt you, ever again. All you have to do is join me. I'm strong, I can overthrow him, I can kill Palpatine, and all of this will be over." Anakin pleads with me.
"This is wrong." I try, I want to cry but no tears cloud my vision, no wetness trickles from my tear ducts. "Don't say that. Everything will be alright. Have faith, my love." Anakin consoles me, his hands lowering from my face to my neck, the leather covering his thumbs traces delicate circles over my collarbone. "This isn't you. I don't know what you've become, and I don't know how long this has been in the works, but this is not the same man I fell in love with." I pause for a long while, every word coming out of me feeling like a needle through the roof of the mouth. "What are you saying?" Anakin questions before I finally speak up again, "This is wrong. And insane. And you're a monster. But I… I'd be lying if I said I didn't still love you. So what if people suffer? They've been suffering long before us and they'll suffer long after, so why not spend the blip that is our lives living the way we want to?"
My own words feel like poison. I feel sick with myself for agreeing with this, but I know the way it ends otherwise. I've had nightmares of my own. "Atta girl." Anakin flashes that charming smile at me, something I'm certain only I can see from now on. "I need to destroy Obi-Wan, and then Palpatine, and all of this will be over. You just stay here where it's safe." He instructs, already standing up to leave. "Wait!" The word rips from my lungs like a possession. "Don't do this! Why not… um… why not leave Obi-Wan to his own demise? I'm certain someone else will take care of him. Don't you want to be here with me to protect me if something goes wrong?" There's that painful throat-closing feeling again. The one accompanying guilt, dread, and anything in between.
"I'll have R2 watch over you then. I need to take care of Obi-Wan myself." Anakin states, leaving the room before I can stop him. Before I even know what I'm doing, the words "Don't force jump" rip up from my gut. Anakin gives me a wary look before exiting, and soon enough I hear the melancholic and panicked beeping of R2. "We have to stop him." I say as I look down at R2, getting up to follow Anakin. R2 beeps and releases a low tone. "I'm sorry. Just stay here, I'll take care of it. Trust me." I respond. As I go after Anakin, I can already hear Obi-Wan approaching. I take cover behind a rock, observing the tension between the two as they debate Anakin's choices in equally loud yelling. As soon as I hear "You will try", I leap into action.
"Don't do this!" I jump out from the rock. "What are you doing here? Go back inside where it's safe." Anakin orders in a low tone. "No! I won't let you do this! This is exactly what sets off the chain that leads you to your death!" That finally catches his attention. "My death? You've been having the nightmares too?" He stops, his lightsaber hung low. Knowing that I've given Obi-Wan an opening, I watch as he merely uses the hilt of his saber to render Anakin unconscious. "There's still something there, but we don't have much time. We need to get out of here and back to Coruscant if you want anything to change. And don't forget R2." Obi-Wan states matter-of-factly, carrying, well, dragging, Anakin to his own ship while I urge R2 to follow on board.
As soon as we reach Coruscant, Anakin comes to. Realizing where he is, his immediate reaction is to reach for his saber. "Take it easy." I give him a side eye while patting his shoulder. "You're all traitors! The Jedi are evil! Why can't you see that?" He shouts in an outcry of rage. "You can take that up with the Senate." I respond simply before checking in with Obi-Wan in the cockpit, before returning back to Anakin's side. "I call this passive aggressive negotiations. You know, negotiations without a lightsaber." I hum cheekily, much to Anakin's dismay. "You're ridiculous." He chides. "I am. I love you." I speak up again. "I know." He whispers back.