I'm really excited about this idea! I'm going through it and expanding on some of the ideas I have for it. This was probably one of the weirdest ideas that came to me in a dream that I've ever had but it just has so much potential I'd be foolish to just dismiss it. I still have no idea where I'm going to go with this but I figured it's best to get something written up than have it get lost amongst the other ideas in my head. Let me know what you think! And if you have any ideas, feel free to PM them to me! With any luck that might help get the ideas flowing.

Happy Reading!

Chapter 1

Anger. Hate. Rage… he could feel the power coursing through him, raw and untamed like the volcanoes beneath the platform, he as though he could do anything! Make things the way he wanted them to be! Stop anyone who got in his way! And right now, the person in his way was Padme. She'd betrayed him! Brought the man who would sentence him to die! All the while begging him to run away with her, proclaiming her love for him. Any other time before this night, he would have believed her. He would have bent to her will and fell to his knees begging for forgiveness. But not now, not anymore. Anakin Skywalker was not in control anymore. Darth Vader had all the power. And with it, he would crush anyone who stood in his way, even his wife.

"Liar!" He shouted, turning his attention to the top of the ramp of her star skiff. Padme started to back away, "You were with him! You brought him here to kill me!" For once her voice failed her. Unable to find words to counter his accusation, and too slow to react, she was unable to stop him as he raised his hand towards her and started to squeeze. Her eyes widened in shock at realizing what he was doing. The Force obeyed him as he focused on her neck, constricting tightly around it as he willed.

Padme was silent as she choked in front of him, her eyes begging him to let her go, but he wouldn't! "Anakin!" His face contorted, hearing Padme's voice in his head. "Anakin please!" Her voice shouted without her even opening her mouth to speak. He ignored the plea. It wouldn't change anything. Her betrayal was unforgivable. "Wake up!" He shook his head as he tightened his grip. He could hear her gasp for breath and watched as tears started to trail down her face. Anakin hissed as a painful sensation tore into the flesh of his left arm, "Anakin, please wake up!" He tried to block out the voice, but it was persistent. "Anakin!"

The scream was louder than any of the others that came before. The volcanoes roared and the platform shook violently before the ground beneath him gave way and the world around him faded. The harsh red light of the volcanic planet and smell of sulfur cleared, replaced by the soft glow of the Coruscant skyline and the sweet perfume his wife wore. He was frozen, unable to move, and his vision a blur as confusion set in. He didn't know where he was or how he got here. He could feel a light trickle on his arm and a stinging persistent pain. Slowly his eyes sought out the source and saw red. Eight streaks of blood trailed from his bicep to his forearm and towards his hands which were wrapped tightly around the delicate neck of his heavily pregnant wife.

What has he done? Faster than he'd ever moved before, Anakin stumbled from the bed, tripping over the covers and landing on the floor with a loud thud, but it was still not far enough away. He crawled towards the farthest wall in the room where pressed his back against the wall and let the unyielding terror ripple through his entire body. He could hear Padme as she gasped and coughed as she regained her breath on the bed. What has he done? What has he done? Padme, his angel, his wife… the baby— their child! Part of him longed to crawl to the bedside table where his lightsaber was stored and slice off his hands for what he had done. But a more logical, yet still impractical part of him wanted to run and put as much distance from her as possible. He could go back to the front, take the 501st to hunt down Grievous where there was no possible way for him to bring any more harm to her.

In his peripheral vision, he could see Padme move on the bed. Her breath came out in sharp pants as she shifted slowly to bring herself to the edge of the bed and stand up. Being as pregnant as she is, even the simplest tasks proved difficult and earlier in the evening he had been more than happy to wait on her hand and foot to ease the discomfort in any way. She'd been annoyed by his "pampering" and thought he was treating her more like an invalid. But as he'd missed most of her pregnancy, she had allowed it seeing how happy it had made him.

But now he couldn't even bring himself to look at her.

"Anakin," Her voice called to him and he trembled as tears welled in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," He muttered, "I-I'm so sorry… My love…. My angel…" He strained to get the words out past the tears as he shook. With a sharp groan, he tucked his head into his chest, gripping his hair tightly and pulling on the thick locks until it hurt.

"Ani…" Slowly, she came to kneel in front of him just out of arms reach. "Anakin…" Her hand started to reach for his knee but he roughly jerked it away.

"Don't," He said, "I don't…" He didn't want to hurt her again.

Padme's hand dropped to the floor to help steady herself. "Please look at me," She said. He didn't want to. "Please," She pleaded. "I have to see your eyes."

"The baby," He demanded, "Are you— are you and the baby alright?" He asked, his eyes clenched tightly shut, terrified that she'd say no.

"I'm fine— we're fine," She said. Her answer did nothing to calm him. How could she know they were both fine? How long had he… he could have broken one of her bones, his actions might have caused some long-term developmental problem for their child, their child could be dead! He could see her lightly place her hand over her engorged belly where their child was. "Anakin, your eyes, please."

Slowly, he lifted his head and he was forced to look at the harm he had done to the one person he loved more than life itself. His breath caught in his throat seeing the trails left by the tears he'd caused. Her eyes were bloodshot and bloated and he could still see the fear lingering in how she stared at him. Her neck was already showing discoloration, taking on a darker pigment than her natural porcelain skin. And horrified shudder rippled through his back, unable to stand to look at her. "Why?" He asked, wondering why she hasn't run away from him yet, as anyone rightfully would.

"Ani, when you were…" She swallowed hard, unable to even say what he had done and eventually opted to omit the details they both knew and were too horrified to recount. "When it happened, your eyes were yellow."

Chapter 2