Chapter Text
The two stood above the river of lava, a master, and an apprentice. They both knew the other wouldn't make it out alive.
Anakin's eyes were yellow, filled with rage and seething anger. He caught his old master's eye, and looked at him with utter, pure wrath.
"It's all his fault".
It was his mantra. He repeated it over and over again in his head, knowing it to be true. It was his fault that he wasn't there to save his mother. It was his fault the Jedi hated him, always thought so little of him. It was his fault that even Padme now was against him. Because deep down Anakin knew that his master never wanted him, that it was only because of a promise from a dying friend that he even bothered with him. But now, none of that mattered now. All he knew, was he needed to win. For Padme, and for his family.
Obi Wan's eyes were filled with sadness and anger. Not half as much anger as his former apprentice had, but enough. He knew, deep down, that he failed Anakin from the very beginning. And now, the rest of the Jedi Order paid the price with their lives. It now fell on him to end his greatest mistake, before it was too late.
As the lightsabers of the two force-welders clashed with each other, the lava rose along the small platform both of them were on. Obi Wan knew he couldn't take on Anakin, not on this terrain.
After countering another rage-fueled strike from Anakin, Countering a quick strike from Anakin, he whipped his head, finding a small rock face diagonally behind him. He jumped, landing on it easily. His feet felt the stinging heat from his boots, but he paid no mind as he looked towards the newly appointed Sith with a look of reassurance, confident in his position.
"It's over Anakin!” Obi Wan said, his eyes on the former apprentice. “I have the high ground!”
Anakin sheathed with anger, even now his former master taunts him. “You underestimate my power!” He screamed.
Obi Wan's expression began to crack, a look of desperation was forecast on his face. He prayed that he would not have to do what Yoda had asked. He fist clenched his weapon and his feet planted firmly to the ground.
"Don't try it!" He begged, prepared to deliver the finishing blow.
Anakin's trap was set and with a flick of his fingers, the battle was sealed.
Obi Wan turned around quick enough to notice the makeshift projectile, cutting it in half with his blade before it made contact. But it didn't matter, in the short time that action took Anakin had already leaped from the perch above the sea off magma and landed only a few feet away from his opponent.
In a vain and desperate attempt, Obi Wan swung his lightsaber at his former protege only for it to be blocked by Anakin's own weapon. The beams of light were locked in place to each other, trying to overpower the opposing blade.
The struggle raged on until finally, Anakin managed to use his strength that was fueled by the dark side, to disarm Obi Wan with a swift flick off his wrist of his weapon causing the Jedi's lightsaber to fly out of his hand. Obi wan reached out, trying to call upon the force to bring it back to him but it was too late. With another strike of Anakin's lightsaber, the final blow is truly struck as the long blue flame burnt through the fabric of Jedi robes, quickly digging its way through the body, inflaming the insides of the taken aback Jedi masters chest.
Obi Wan stood frozen, looking down to see the lightsaber protruding through him. The air left his lungs as the sheering pain began to gather in the spot. Obi Wan dimly wondered, was this how Qui Gon felt in his final moments? And all the other Jedi who had died by the hands of the Sith and Separatists? In his mind, he laughed. It was absurd. He never thought he would die this way, killed by his own brother.
He looked up to see Anakin's face for the final time. His face branded with shame. He failed Anakin. He failed the Jedi Order. He failed everyone, Yoda, Ashoka, even Padme. Obi Wan’s mind, for just a moment, flickered back to Satine. He had failed her, too. The lives of all those he couldn't save would forever be his legacy.
As the last spark of life within him began to fade, all Obi Wan could manage was a whisper. "I'm sorry."
The words sank deep into Anakin's soul as the humming of his saber ceased and Obi Wan's body tumbled down across the ground. A small amount of droplets made their way out of Anakin's eyes, for he had so little left anymore.
"So am I."
All of his anger kept under for so many years suddenly vanished for a brief moment as he looked at his former friend's lifeless body. Even after everything he had done, he could not bear to look while it slowly became consumed by the flames of the lava world. As he looked away he saw Obi Wan's lightsaber, still intact from the battle. Anakin began to reach out to it, at the very least he wanted something to remember his friend, now turned foe.
But he stopped, putting his hand down with the lightsaber not even moving slightly from its position. His eyes turned back to their original blue color as they were locked onto the fallen Jedi's weapon. He left the weapon where it was as he began to walk away from site of the battle.
The man who he thought of as his brother was now dead, the only person Anakin knew he could still call family was the woman he scarified everything for... Padme. And he swore that he would make sure she wouldn't leave him.
_______________________________________
Making his way back, Anakin saw Padme's ship. A beacon to why he had gone down this path in the first place, after everything he has lost today, he promised himself that no matter what would happen that she would live.
Anakin felt his stomach churn as he walked up the ramp of the ship. It flashed in his head what he had done to Padmé. He hoped she would forgive him for what he had done. Even if Padmé sold him out to Obi Wan, he would let everything he had given up to save her be for nothing. The two of them now have a second chance and Anakin was not going to waste it.
Peeking into the medbay off the ship, Anakin saw R2-D2 and C-3PO hard at work treating his wife. Even during this chaos they still made themselves useful, that's why they were always close after all. Anakin was grateful, despite the circumstances.
R2 noticed him first and almost by instinct pulled out his Electro-shock prod. Shouting in binary as he blocked Anakin from getting to Padme, lunging forward at him to prove that he was serious.
Anakin stepped back, surprised at the outburst his little companion. His head was so clouded that he couldn't even find it in himself to translate what R2 was saying. His eyes quickly shifted from their normal blue color, to a fiery yellow. His fists clenched, he had been betrayed one too many times.
Threepio stepped in front of his counterpart, pushing him away as best he could. "R2! What is the meaning of this!? This behavior is unacceptable even for you!"
The small astromech's head spun around to face the protocol droid and quickly spit out a series of beeping noises at such a speed even Threepio had trouble understanding it. But he soon realized what his friend was trying to say.
"He tried to kill her! I saw it!"
"What are you talking about!? Master Skywalker would never do such a thing! Have you busted a logic circuit!?" C-3PO said, utterly baffled at the accusation. Never... not a million years would his master, his maker, do something so horrid. He simply refused to believe it.
While the two droids shouted at each other, Anakin stood silent. His head racing, thinking of what he should do, he was tempted to grab his lightsaber and force the two in line. But he knew that wouldn't work on R2, that crafty little droid that got out of worse situations on his own. He prayed that he wouldn't have to harm them and that Threepio would at least buy him enough time to get Padme back Coruscant.
At the height of the droids bickering, R2 had finally had enough of Threepio's ignorance. He wouldn't allow this foolish protocol droid to let Padme fall into the hands of the man who had just tried to hurt her. As much as it hurt R2, he could not deny what he saw. The astromech's holo-projector turns on, revealing the truth for all to see.
"Stop-" Anakin commanded, but it was too late.
Threepio watched as he saw Anakin, more angry than he had ever seen him, reach out with his hand and force-choke his defenseless wife. As the footage ended, Threepio was silent, unable to put his shock into words. He looked back at Anakin, whose look of shame at the recording all but confirmed its authenticity.
"M-master Skywalker?" Threepio stammered, his civilized demeanor gone, replaced by a state of horror and disbelief.
Anakin ignored the protocol droid. His attention was fully on his astromech, although it had no face, Anakin knew that he sported a look of defiance and anger at his master. Anakin sighed with disappointment.
"You shouldn't have done that." Anakin snarled at the astromech.
He reached out with the force and in a matter of a second, a blaster pistol laid in his hand.
R2 attempted to fight back but it was a futile effort. For Anakin had already hit him with a stun blast. The little droid let out a screech before he fell to the ground, temporarily powered down, his last thoughts of Padme, Obi Wan and Threepio, wondering if he would let them again if he ever woke up.
With that done, Anakin moved the pistol towards a frightened C-3PO.
"N-no! Master Ani, please! This has gone too far!" The droid begged, as he had many times before. But never would he think he'd be begging his own master to spare him.
Anakin paused for a brief moment. He received a flash of memories to his time as a young boy on Tatooine, to him building what would become one of his first friends. Back when everything was simple, when he was ignorant to the suffering of the galaxy. As he stared into the eyes of the droid in front of him, more and more memories flooded his mind. The day he met Qui Gon, his mother's death, he desperately wanted it all to go away. He wanted it all to be better.
"Sorry Threepio, but I have to do this. You'll see, everything will be alright." He pulled the trigger.
Threepio fell over right next to his little friend. His own last thoughts before shutting down were far less coherent, a mix of fear, panic and desperation sweat across his circuits. He wished for all this to have all been a glitch in his system, that in reality he was undergoing maintenance back on Coruscant with Padme waiting for him. But he knew, deep in his circuits, that it wasn't true. His thoughts then went dark.
Padme’s breathing, Anakin noted, was still gasping and scared as if she was still being choked by the force. He moved over to her, slowly, and gently placed his hand on her forehead, calming her thoughts. Her breathing steadied, becoming a normal pace, which was good enough for now. Anakin kissed his wife’s forehead, and walked back into the cockpit.
The cockpit was dark, but with a few pushes of the controls, it lit up as Anakin set the coordinates for Coruscant. His new master was waiting for him.