Bringing Him Back to the Light

The Destruction Begins

Prologue
Anakin

Anakin looked out at the lava-filled river, gazing upon the blistering planet of Mustafar. He had been there once before, with his padawan, Ahsoka, to rescue force-sensitive younglings from the clutches of an unknown evil, or at least it was unknown at the time. A lone tear escaped his eyes as he pushed the memory away, that person was gone. Anakin Skywalker is dead, and Darth Vader has taken over his spirit.

Hours earlier he had pledged himself to both a new master and the dark side of the force. After Anakin had discovered the secret behind Palpatine's identity, he informed Jedi Master Mace Windu that Palpatine was the Sith Lord that the Jedi had been looking for throughout the Clone Wars. Despite Anakin's crucial discovery, Master Windu refused to include Anakin in the arrest of the chancellor. Anakin was sent to the Jedi Temple, to wait for Palpatine's arrest to be secured.

While waiting in the Temple, Palpatine's words repeated in Anakin's head, "learn to use the dark side of the force and you will be able to save your wife from certain death. Know the power of the dark side, the power to save Padmé".

He couldn't bear the helpless feeling of not being able to save her. He couldn't live without her. She was as vital to his life as the oxygen he breathed, Padmé was everything to him, and he couldn't let her slip through his fingers as his mother had. The fear of losing his beloved wife and their unborn child drove him to turn and run to his ship. He had to get the senate building, he had to save Padmé.

Once Mace Windu was dead and Anakin had succumbed to the dark side, Darth Sidious tasked his newly appointed apprentice with unspeakable tasks. He had murdered Jedi younglings, along with many other lives. He could sense the lives of countless Jedi around the galaxy being silenced, Order 66 was in full effect. He thought briefly of Ahsoka and Obi-Wan, wondering if they had survived, but he brushed the thought off quickly and gave in to the numbness, allowing Vader to take over once again. Anakin was buried underneath all of the anger, all of the hate that he allowed to take over his soul. The witty, passionate, empathetic hero was gone, and in his place was an unrecognizable cold-hearted murderer.

Chapter 1
Padmé

Padmé paced around anxiously in her apartment in Corsaunt, a hand placed on her swollen belly. She didn't know exactly what was happening, but Anakin had told her that the Jedi had betrayed the chancellor and that there was an attack on the Jedi Temple. The last time she saw him, Anakin was not himself. She sensed a darkness in him that she knew had always been there, but it was amplified severely. She hoped that her husband would soon return, to see him safe would allow her to fully breathe again. She wanted him to hold her, to reassure her that everything was going to be okay, that their baby would be safe and loved, and that their family would overcome the many obstacles that stand in their way.

"My lady are you sure there is nothing I may do?" C3P0 asks politely.

"No thank you, Threepio" she responds quietly.

Moments later, Obi Wan Kenobi walks through the entrance of the apartment, and Padmé feels a rush of relief at his presence. Her relief is quickly replaced with panic when she notices the look upon his face. He looked absolutely heartbroken, it was the most solemn expression that she had ever seen the brave and kind Jedi wear.

"Obi-Wan, what is it? What's wrong?" Padmé asks in a concerned tone.

"It's Anakin, we need to talk. When was the last time you saw him?"

"Yesterday" she replies.

"Do you know where he is now?"

"No".

"Padmé I need your help, he is in grave danger", claims Obi Wan.

"From the Sith?"

"From himself. Padmé, Anakin has turned to the dark side" he states.

Padmé feels her heart clench and her breathing hitch.

"You're wrong", she says, "how could you even say that?"

Obi-Wan walks away from where she was standing, he couldn't bear to watch her face as she finds out what Anakin had done.

"I have seen a security hologram of him...killing younglings."

Padme couldn't believe what she was hearing. It couldn't be true, her husband would never. He was the most compassionate Jedi within the order, he cared deeply for others, he could never kill younglings. He had been so good with Ahsoka. She had no doubt that Anakin would do anything for her, Ahsoka, and their unborn child.

"Not Anakin, he couldn't" she cries.

Obi went on to explain how Palpatine was the Sith Lord that they had been looking for all this time, and that Anakin was now his new apprentice. Padme's mouth opens in shock and she turns away. She suddenly found it hard to breathe. It felt as if her heart was shattering into a million pieces and the pain was almost unbearable.

"I don't believe you", she states wearily as she sits down, "I can't".

She feels Obi-Wan take a seat beside her.

"Padmé, I must find him".

She looks upon his face for a moment before saying, "You're going to kill him aren't you?"

Obi-Wan looks down for a minute before meeting her eyes again, "I love him as if he were my brother Padmé, and I want to help him, but he has become a very great threat".

Padmé puts her face in her hands and tries her hardest to breathe calmly, but she finds it to be harder and harder each time she tries to gasp for air. She places her hands on her belly and begins to panic even more.

"Anakin is the father, isn't he" Obi Wan asks in in a solemn tone.

Padmé looks up to meet his eyes but remains silent, however, her look told Obi-Wan everything.

"I am so sorry" he sadly states and rises to leave.

Padme couldn't hold it in any longer. As soon as Obi-Wan left the room she breaks down in tears. How could he do this? She thinks of their family, of how she had hoped to raise their baby back home on Naboo. They would have been safe and happy, and she and Anakin could have lived the life they'd always dreamed of. A life with no war. No politics. Just their love and each other. She couldn't just sit there, she had to help him. To make him see his mistakes and come back to the light, with her and their child. She couldn't do it alone, she needed help. She needed someone who knew him as much as she did, who cared about him deeply. Ahsoka. She needed to find Ahsoka.