Chapter 25 – 24 Hours

It took less than 24 hours for the lackeys of Raven Dread to track down Anakin. It only took them another four hours to find him out without him noticing. As if he didn't seem to care that the Emperor's henchmen were hot on his heels.

His senses were no escape for him. They had let him down. And when he finally faced danger, he realized he had failed.

But he was a Jedi Knight. And a Jedi didn't go down without a fight. Anakin hadn't gotten his emotional chaos under control yet. Incredible anger seethed in his chest. Fury so powerful it could have destroyed an entire army. In the dark hour, surrounded by overwhelming enemies, he did what any other Jedi in his place would have avoided. He decided to fight. To the death if he had to.

It was the dead of night. But the conditions were different than usual. It was dead quiet. Very unusual for Coruscant. And as the first warriors dared to emerge from the shadows, he was prepared. A dozen against one. For everyone else hopeless. But he wasn't just anyone. He was Anakin Skywalker, the chosen one. And so he tempted his fate.

When the first laser salvos were fired at him, he was ready to risk his life. Insane. Frivolous. It was like a game. A game he would emerge from either as a winner or a loser. But he would have to pay a great price for losing. The chance of losing his life today was greater than ever before. However, the young man was not deterred by this. Almost in high spirits, he threw himself into battle.

Every punch was strength. Every breath was freedom. Every death was power.

He almost seemed thirsty for it. He wanted to see their blood on the floor, their lifeless bodies twitch and the startled eyes to see his silhouette before they died. He wanted them dead. Them all. Without knowing their motives. Without knowing who they even were. It was a need in his chest he had never felt before. It burned hotter than a flame, growing larger, stronger, and more powerful with each inanimate body.

He punched into the darkness and realized far too late that they were all gone. Dead, a voice whispered in his head. But he didn't care. He didn't even care about the woman watching him from the lighted rooftops. Probably had been watching all along.

And when she suddenly stood at the foot of the house and looked up at him, he looked into her eyes for the first time and shuddered. They were completely foreign to him, and he was sure that this was the demon from his nightmares that visited him every night anew. Now it had come to fetch him.

But he didn't want to surrender. He wanted to go. Away from her. His feet, which had been so perfectly in tune with him, failed him. He stood there frozen in place and didn't even flinch when she reached out for him. Almost friendly.

He was completely insecure. Didn't know what the gesture meant and didn't bother to see the real meaning. Only when the blue bolts of lightning hurled from her fingers to torture him, did he wake up from his rigid state. The scales fell from his eyes.

But it was too late. Too late to defend himself. Too late to waste one last thought on his beloved. Too late to stop for a moment.

Even before his lids closed, he felt the icy cold creeping up his chest. Unable to close his eyes, fainting, he watched as another figure stepped out from behind her.

Then he was finally redeemed.

oOo

It took less than 24 hours for the lackeys of Raven Dread to track down the rebel camp. It took them only another four hours to occupy the entire building in an army of Clones. Anyone who crossed their path was instantly knocked down by a hail of bullets. They spared no one. No children, no teenagers. Nobody.

Ahsoka saw the many lifeless bodies in the hallways and knew immediately what must have happened. With one hand over her mouth, she struggled to save Padmé and Asajj. She couldn't – mustn't – let them down.

And she was very lucky. Both were unharmed. Padmé had tears in his eyes and could hardly believe what was happening around her. To her, all the dead children were just a waste of shining lives. And of course she was right. Each of these children had been gifted with the Force, full of hope and full of joy for a perhaps glorious future.

The Stormtroopers had no mercy. They continued their massacre mercilessly and killed more and more innocent people. The last breathless and terrified screams echoed off the walls and echoed back like a wave down the corridor. Screams of children.

Ahsoka knew those screams would take root in her brain, haunting her every night. They would wake her from her sleep and remind her every night that she should have done something. Should have done more.

When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she thought at first that one of the Clones had found her. But as she turned her head, she looked into the dark eyes of Asajj. And if she hadn't dug her nails into her shoulder, she might have jumped backwards. Her eyes seemed flooded with emotion. Ahsoka saw the anger seething beneath her skin. Almost threatened to explode. But there was more. Fear. Fear that grew with each of those screams.

Before she could even tell her they had to get out of here, the former assassin was dragging her down the halls. Padmé followed them silently. Of course, Asajj knew her way around here a thousand times better than they did. Hideouts, bunkers and possibly a secret escape route.

The three women had just arrived in front of the door when a wailing sound broke the silence. Asajj stopped moving. She just stood there for a moment, frozen with shock. Then she finally broke her rigidity, turned and saw him.

let Ipak.

A terrified scream escaped Padmé's throat. But to her it sounded like a croak.

Asajj stretched out her hand to him, forming his name. At that moment, a salvo of lasers pierced his head. He fell to the ground, his eyes on her. But they no longer radiated emotion. No last farewell.

She felt the grips on her shoulders, forcing her to turn around. Stranger's hands led her out of hell. It burned. Everything was suddenly blurry, and she didn't see the Clones catching up with them a block away. Taking them into custody.

But they would not die. No, this salvation was not given to them. They would only incur greater suffering. They arrested them and took them away. There was greater suffering than even facing death. Because the greatest sorrow was watching your loved ones die.

oOo

The first thing Anakin felt upon waking was the cold floor. Still, he was sure it wasn't the same one he'd been knocked out on. It was quiet. There was no wind, so he assumed he wasn't outside anymore. But he didn't want to open his eyes, he was too afraid of what he might see.

Then he heard footsteps, light footsteps. A woman. They got closer and that's when he knew that she had noticed his awakening. However she had noticed that. An imperious voice ordered him to sit up.

He flinched, but did as she asked of him. He squinted at her. Furious. She was pretty, no question. But he didn't let that blind him. She had medium length jet black hair. Every strand was where it should be. She could have been really pretty. If it weren't for the menacing red eyes that sparkled like two freshly cut rubies. She looked like she came from another planet. Another being. A demon.

Her laughter sounded amused and yet her voice radiated something evil at the same time. How could you have two such split personalities?

Only now did he look around. They were in a magnificent room, more like a hall. Big and powerful. In front of him was a huge throne. He had to be here, he suddenly realized that.

Not a moment too late, because at that moment the huge golden door at the end of the room opened and a line of bodyguards entered. He stood between them and peered over their shoulders to get a good look at him. When the guards stopped, he walked between them and stopped not a meter in front of him. Then he smiled.

And Anakin automatically got sick. How many years had he blindly trusted this person? What secrets had he shared with him? He had told him things he hadn't even told Padmé.

He was not dressed like an emperor, but wore a tailored black suit that was padded in the chest with extra fabric. He was also wearing a long black cape, which had to be made of a solid material. His gray hair was slicked back, but if he had hoped to look younger, his stylists had failed miserably.

Anakin started to lean forward, but then he noticed the chains on his arms. Of course, what was he thinking? The thought of being chained like a lap dog made him shudder.

"Anakin, how nice of you to join us," Palpatine said, and it was the first time Anakin had looked at him directly. "Raven has already told me how easy it must have been for her to turn you off."

Palpatine motioned to Raven and she hurried out of the room.

"Did she also tell you how I killed a dozen of her people before that?" Anakin asked, making him chuckle.

Palpatine simply ignored the question and sat on the throne. He seemed to feel at ease. You could see how little he cared that he had come to the throne illegally. How many had lost their lives for his greed? Civilians. Familys. Jedi. Children.

"Anakin, I'll be honest with you. You really let me down I had expected more from you, had imagined our next encounter differently. Sometimes I wished you'd show up here with your ridiculous bunch of civilians you call warriors and try to take me down," he said, looking down at his fingernails for a moment as if he ever cared what they looked like and then continued, "I've waited a long time. But you didn't come. And my patience eventually ran out."

A growl escaped the young man as he unconsciously struggled against the bonds. "Don't make me laugh," he snapped.

"Believe me, you're about to stop laughing soon." A smile graced Palpatine's face. "After all, I don't just waste my time like that. Well, have you heard of Obi-Wan yet? He wanted to go to Naboo, didn't he?"

Anakin tried to get up. He felt the fire in his chest begin to burn. "What have you done to him?" His voice sounded like thunder rising over a valley.

"To be honest, nothing yet, he's out of my reach," Palpatine stated, seeming to think. "But I'm sure you'll be just as pleased since I can assure you that some of your other friends are in my power too."

"Who?" That was all he could say, he was too afraid of the answer. He should have known. He shouldn't have left her.

At that moment the door behind them opened and the guards came in again. In front of them were two slumped people. Anakin gasped when he saw them. He wanted to call out her name, but no sound matched his throat. Arrived in front of the throne, the two fell to the ground and now seemed to recognize the young Jedi, who was crouching in front of Palpatine.

"Master," Ahsoka gasped, her voice hoarse. Her body was covered in cuts, as was Asajj's next to her. Each breath seemed to be difficult for them. "They separated us, Padmé was with us too, but they separated us. I don't know–" She jumped with a cry of pain as one of the guards rammed his blaster into her back.

Anakin could do nothing but watch the two of them helplessly. His heart was beating faster and faster. The anger kept growing.

"Well," Palpatine began. "I don't know where to begin, Anakin. You must know that I had a great future planned for you. Unfortunately, you took the wrong path, which is why I had to replace you." He glanced at Raven.

Asajj, who had been silent until now, let him know with a snort how she felt about that. She too had been replaced. She would never forgive him for that. Dooku was dead, Anakin had murdered him with his own hands.

Palpatine ignored her and snapped once instead. "I inform you that execution of all of you is now imminent," he said, almost bored. "I have no further use for you, and while I do not consider you a direct enemy, Anakin, I must assume that you are a threat to our regime, so unfortunately I can't spare you either."

Everything in him strove to rise up against Papalatine at once. Instead, he delayed his death. "What regime? You alone are the regime!"

"I have my advisors, too, Anakin." No room for argument. "Well, the assassin first."

A click went through the ranks of the guards as they unsecured their guns. Before either of them could move towards Ahsoka and Asajj, Anakin tugged at his bonds. Within seconds, his chains exploded, shattered into pieces using the Force. Then he lunged at the guards, took the blaster from one of them and killed them, every one of them.

Again he fell into a kind of trance while he inflicted life-threatening injuries on his opponents, from which they would not succumb immediately, but slowly and painfully.

They were all down far too quickly and he turned to Palpatine. "Too bad it'll never come to that," he whispered menacingly, raising his weapon to level with his forehead. Ahsoka and Assaj scrambled up beside him and waited for Anakin's killing shot.

Palpatine looked into his eyes without any fear. Then he looked past him.

And then the unbelievable happened.

They heard the familiar clicking of a gun. "Drop it," said a voice behind them. It sounded completely calm and mostly quite familiar.

Anakin turned around slowly. The second it took him felt like an eternity.

And there she was, perfectly healthy and in excellent shape. Dressed in a dark blue coat. Her brown curls fell slightly over her shoulders. Her face was serious and her mouth set in a line. Both hands clutched a blaster. Her blaster. It was aimed at his head.

Anakin didn't even notice the astonished exclamations next to him. For him the world seemed to disappear. Everything receded into the background and except for her, his vision was bewilderingly blurry.

He knew something was wrong. His brain was working overtime, but he couldn't explain it. What important piece of the puzzle was he missed?

His fingers released the blaster before he could stop them. He stood completely defenseless in front of her. But she still had her sights set on him. Then, finally, he found his voice again. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to do my duty," she said calmly. How could she be calm?

He didn't understand. "You realize you're aiming at the wrong person, right?"

"I know what I am doing."

"No, you don't. Stop doing that."

"Not a step closer."

He stopped and put his hands up. "How long have you been playing this game?"

"This is not a game. It's the reality," she tried to distract.

"Stop beating around the bush," he snapped at her. "How long?

"Ever since I joined the Senate."

"You lied to me," he said. "You used me."

She didn't answer, but the look in her eyes was enough.

"Your feelings, they were never real, were they?"

She lowered her eyes to the floor in embarrassment.

"Tell me. Immediately. Have you ever felt about me like I felt about you?"

"I'm sorry."

She was sorry. He nodded and took another step towards her. Then, he thought of all the things they had done. Of all the days they had spent together.

Their wedding. Pain.

Their kisses. Ice.

Their secrets.

One last look at her face. "I'm sorry too."

The two subsequent shots were not dedicated to him, as Ahsoka Tano and Asajj Ventress also lost their lives that night. No one would ever know what had happened to them. They had been the sole survivors of the massacre. No other had escaped from the rebel camp.

It was less than 24 hours before the Clones were able to enter the Jedi Temple. It only took them another four hours to kill every single one of them. No survivors.

It took less than 24 hours to track down Obi-Wan on his mission to the distant planet of Naboo, which had turned out to be the Empire's deadly trap. It only took them another four hours to get on his heels. Despite all attempts, he managed to escape from the planet. Master Yoda had also been missing since leaving for a mission.

-

So this is it guys. This is the end. Definitely not what you expected huh? Maybe the story would have been different if my 16-year-old self had had the motivation to keep up. I wrote this over 6 years ago, so my writing style and inspirations are very different today. Still, I hope you liked this fanfiction. Please let me know! :)

Skyllen