Shadows Prove the Sunshine

Birthday gift fic for Candace Marie

A body descended into the rainswept depths of the gloomy night sky of Coruscant.

The body of the Jedi Master.

The body of one who would have destroyed the only friend left to Anakin.

The body of one who would have ended the one life with the power to save Padme.

All that remained now of Mace Windu was the hilt of a lightsaber that glittered sullenly on the permacrete window ledge. A remnant that brought with it the guilt for the murder Anakin had just brought to pass.

Without another thought, Anakin kicked it into the rain after its owner. The death of Mace Windu had been no murder. No, it had been the foiling of an assassination attempt on the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. An attempt on the life of the one whose power Anakin needed desperately.

"Now come inside," said the familiar, gently prodding, voice.

Anakin turned away from the window, into the red-hued office that had been wrecked by the battle that had just taken place within it. Between traitorous Jedi Master Mace Windu, and...Darth Sidious.

His face...how it had been so hideously marred by the untempered power of the Dark Side that had been reversed upon it. Careworn wrinkles had been replaced by sallow ripples. And his eyes, once a kind blue, now glowed a sinister yellow, gleaming with something Anakin had never before seen in them...something he was not sure he liked.

"I shall miss the face of Palpatine, I think," said the Chancellor, studying his own transformation in what remained of a broad wall mirror. "But for our purpose, the face of Sidious will serve. Yes, it will serve."

"Our...purpose?"

"Yes, Anakin. Killing one traitor will not end treason. Do you think the Jedi will ever stop until I am dead?"

"I..."

"You must choose. It is either them or me. Them...or Padme. I have tried working with the Jedi, but to no avail. Now the Order has finally snapped, and will stop at nothing to bring an end to me, even if it means ripping apart the Republic itself. But you, you can bring a stop to it. Pledge yourself to the Sith. Become my apprentice. Only then can we bring peace. Only then can you gain the power necessary to save Padme."

Palpatine's eyes glowed, a stark contrast to the ever kind smile on his lips, and the calm, inviting demeanor of his body language. The decision seemed so laid out for Anakin...bring an end to the traitors and save Padme. Yet, something held him back, silently pleading with him not to take this course. But what other option was there?

"Yessss," purred Palpatine, his smile widening, "You know what must be done." Anakin found himself taking a step back. Palpatine no longer seemed to be entirely the man Anakin trusted.

"I hope you are not having second thoughts, my boy," said Palpatine, softly. "I assure you, you are doing the right thing. Your place is here by my side. The Jedi do not trust you, they never did. They will surely never accept you, not after the demise of Master Windu."

"But...Obi-Wan...he trusts me..."

"Really? I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I believe that. After all, wasn't Obi-Wan the one who told you to spy on me, against your better judgment. And what of the many times he has held you back from meeting your potential? You know why he did that? He was afraid of you, afraid you would become more powerful than him, or even Master Yoda. In other words, he didn't trust you."

Palpatine...was right. Yes...he was right about Obi-Wan. Not even he trusted Anakin anymore. There was no reason to distrust Palpatine, to not follow him. It was the way. The only way.

Anakin knelt before Palpatine. "I...am ready. I want the power to stop death. I pledge myself to your teachings."

"Very good. You are now one with the Order of the Sith Lords. Henceforth you shall be known as Darth...Vader. Now rise, my new Apprentice. The power you seek was only truly achieved by my master, but together we will find it. The Force is strong with you, my boy. You can do anything."

"Thank you, my Master," said Anakin, though he hesitated. The revelation that Palpatine did not actually possess the power Anakin so deeply craved was unsettling.

"There is no need to thank me," assured the Sith Lord. "Now, there is work to be done. Every single Jedi, even your friend Obi-Wan Kenobi, have been revealed as enemies of the Republic, and they are relentless. If every single one of them is not destroyed, it shall be civil war without end. You know what must be done. Do not hesitate, show no mercy. Only then will you be strong enough in the Dark Side to save Padme."

"But what of the other Jedi, the ones scattered across the galaxy?"

"Leave them to me. Once the Jedi have been eliminated, the Sith will rule the galaxy once more, and we shall have peace. Forever. Go, do what must be done, Lord Vader."

"I always have," murmured Anakin as he rose and turned from Palpatine. Exiting the chancellor's apartments, Anakin saw a legion of clone troopers before him. Waiting to be set on the Jedi Temple. The Jedi Temple...Anakin saw it in the distance, its five spires towering over the expanse of Coruscant. The representation of peace...justice...the Light Side of the Force. A place Anakin had never truly called home...yet did it deserve to be destroyed? Palpatine had said that every Jedi was a threat to him, that every last one had to be slain for there to be peace. Yet...who in the Jedi Temple posed such a threat. The masters were either spread across the galaxy, or dead...to a war that Palpatine had lead, or slaughtered by his hand. All that remained at the Temple were teachers and Jedi students. Younglings. Mere children that Anakin had been commanded to murder. The Temple was defenseless, for who there could threaten him? Shaak Ti, the Jedi who had offered kindness to Anakin in a time that he could not receive it? Jocasta Nu, the feeble librarian? These Jedi were not warriors. In fact, most of them were practically civilians.

Obi-Wan was far away on Utapau, unable to take part in whatever was about to transpire on Coruscant. Master Yoda, too, was absent, leading the battle on Kashyyyk. Ki-Adi-Mundi? Plo Koon? Also absent. Agen Kolar? Saesee Tiin? Kit Fisto? They had all fallen to Palpatine. And Mace Windu...his life has been ended by none other than Anakin himself. There was no one left to defend the Temple. And no one left to turn Anakin away from Palpatine and the Sith.

What have I done?

What would Padme think?

She had seen something, hadn't she? The petition against Palpatine, the suggestions that Anakin confide in Obi-Wan. Perhaps she hadn't known how bad everything would become, how bad it had become, but she had suspected. This was not the path she wanted Anakin to take.

But what else could he do? As revolted as he was by the orders he had been given, Anakin could not live without Padme. And he had seen her death. He had to save her. And Palpatine was the only way to do that.

Or...was he? When he had first revealed himself as Darth Sidious, Palpatine had promised that he could save Padme. But after, and only after Anakin had saved his life and pledged himself to the Sith, Palpatine had admitted that he did not actually possess that power. And the only way he said it could be gotten was of Anakin wiped out the Jedi. If Anakin followed the will of the Sith Lord.

It was all a lie.

For Palpatine was both the Sith Lord, master of Count Dooku, and Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, chief commander of its war effort. This was all a plot. A plot against the Jedi. Not just the Jedi, but the Republic itself. He has set himself up so well, so well that Anakin had not seen it until now. The Jedi had been right. He was the traitor. And he was about to bring an end to the Jedi all over the galaxy. Including Obi-Wan.

Without a word, Anakin turned from the sight of the Jedi Temple and strode back into the Chancellor's office. Purposeful, determined. Palpatine's friendship, that thing Anakin had so highly valued for so much of his life, it had all been a deception. Just a part of Sidious's schemes.

Entering the crimson office, Anakin saw the Chancellor seated at his desk, speaking to the holographic image of a clone trooper.

"Commander Cody, the time has come-"

No.

"Anakin?" questioned Sidious, his gleeful expression faltering, and an instant later replaced by terror. He knew what was coming, and was powerless to stop it.

Without hesitation, Anakin gathered together all of his energy and harnessed it into an unstoppable wave that blasted the helpless Sith Lord off his feet and sent him soaring out of the smashed window. Moments later, the well of darkness that had polluted the office dispensed.

Anakin fell to his knees, his mind reeling. Palpatine...was dead. The Sith were no more. The Chosen One had brought balance, just as the Jedi had predicted.

But what to do next? Anakin could not simply return to the Jedi, not anymore. Not after nearly succumbing to the Dark Side...after nearly destroying them.

"Chancellor? Sir, are you alright?" questioned the voice of Clone Commander Cody through the commlink.

"Everything is fine, Commander," assured Anakin. "We had a bit of a situation but it is under control now. But I need to speak to Obi-Wan."

"I'll let him know, but the battle is not yet over here, so you might have to wait a bit."

"That's alright. Just tell him to call me as soon as the fighting has subsided."

"Yes, General Skywalker."

Anakin would need to speak to Obi-Wan soon, but there was someone even more important he needed to speak to. Anakin opened up his comm and called a certain, very special, room in the senate apartments.

"Master Anakin, what may I do to help you?" came the familiar voice of Padme's droid, C-3PO.

"Is Padme there?"

"Yes she is. Mistress Padme-"

"Thank you, threepio," said Padme, coming into view of the comm's visual receptors. "Ani, what is it? You look stressed."

"You were right. The Chancellor was not all he seemed to be. Padme...he was a Sith Lord."

"A Sith? I can hardly believe it. Anakin, what happened?"

"He said he had the power to save your life. Master Windu was about to kill him and I..."

"Whatever you did, we can get through this. You can get through this."

"I know. Palpatine, he told me to go to the Jedi Temple, he said they all had to be eliminated. And I couldn't do it, I knew it wasn't right. And when I returned to his office, he was about to order Obi-Wan's death."

"Oh Ani. I knew there was something off about Palpatine, but I never thought it was this bad. I don't think anyone could have. But what are we going to do now? And what of the Sith?"

"I killed him. And with Dooku dead as well, the Sith are gone, Forever. But I don't think I can remain a Jedi. After what happened, I don't know if they would even allow me back in."

Padme didn't question him, didn't prod for details. She was so accepting. Just like on Tatooine, when Anakin had confessed to her his murder of the Tusken Raiders. One of so many reasons Anakin loved her, and why he would pick her over the Jedi. Why he would always choose Padme.

"If you feel you cannot remain with the Jedi then don't. The war is nearly over and you have done your part, and even more than that. I can retire from the Senate, and we can raise our child together on Naboo."

"But, with all that has happened, the Senate needs you, Padme."

"Maybe, but you need me more. There are others in the Senate who can set things right. I may be a senator, but I am first and foremost a wife...and a mother."

"Thank you, Padme...for doing this, for always being here for me, despite everything that's happened."

"I do it because I love you...more than anything else."

"I love you too. I will be home soon. But first I think Obi-Wan needs to be informed of a few things."

Padme smiled. "That he does."

A/N: Happy birthday Candace! Hope you enjoyed :)

Same goes for everyone else reading this.

And don't forget to review and let me know what you guys think of this, and whether I should write more of this sort of thing instead of my original characters and alternate universes all the time.

Thanks for reading.