They walked into the training room and Ahsoka's eyes flicked around the large space. It was a circle, and along the entire wall was a viewing wall that gave mostly a 360 degree view of Mustafar's molten environment. The ground was the same stone that ran throughout the rest of the castle, save for what seemed like to be a very thin and very useless mat that had markings on it. She looked up and took in the domed ceiling that provided little light, seeing as the lava covered expanse of the planet kept everything lit in a hellish glow.

"Charming."

Anakin shook his head at her. "Snippy, as always."

She narrowed her eyes. His endearing term for her no longer brought the comfort it always had provided. Instead it just brought an uncomfortable chill to her spine, every time he said it it felt as though a creature was wearing the mask of Anakin Skywalker and was trying to lure her into a false sense of security.

Ahsoka bit her cheek and looked away from him, turning her gaze to the fire that reigned constantly outside. "What am I going to duel with?"

He reached into his robes and pulled out the painful reminder of her failure, her lightsaber gleaming at her tauntingly. He held it out to her, letting Ahsoka approach him and she began to feel as though she were being treated like a wounded animal.

Reluctantly but also hastily, she took her saber from his grasp before putting some distance between them again. The weight of the metal both comforting and damning at the same time.

Anakin cleared his throat. "I wasn't able to find the second one."

"Good. It should stay buried." Part of her had died there like the rest of them, anyway.

It was quiet for a moment and she bit her cheek before deciding to ignite the blade and blue-white plasma leaked into the air. It was blinding and beautiful, one of the most well crafted weapons she had ever held and it hurt to acknowledge the fact that Anakin had built it. For her.

"What happened on the Tribunal?" Anakin's voice was rough but it was obvious he was trying to be gentle with her. A notion she wasn't sure she appreciated or hated. He kept extending olive branches out to her and she was hellbent on cutting them down before they reached her.

She raised a brow at him though kept her eyes on her blade. "I thought we weren't sharing stories."

He crossed his arms over his chest and scoffed. "Pardon my curiosity. I just find it curious how a whole cruiser goes down and the only thing left is corpses of clones but no sight of you or a certain prisoner."

Clenching her jaw, she spun her saber and tried to get used to the weight of it again since it had been nearly a year. "I had no choice but to let Maul escape."

Anakin blinked at her. "You let him go?"

"It was complicated."

"How'd he even get out of confinement?"

Ahsoka spared him a glance and cleared her throat.

Anakin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You freed him?"

"That part was also complicated. I needed a distraction, and I don't say this lightly but he had gained a very, very small portion of my trust. I knew he wouldn't kill me."

He looked at if she had just punched him. "And how exactly did that happen?"

Ahsoka sighed as she twirled her lightsaber, thinking back to the throne room on Mandalore and the battle that had unraveled outside of it. How ignorant she had been.

"He warned me about you, you know. Wanted to join forces with me to take down both Sidious and you. He said you were destined to destroy." Ahsoka then looked at Anakin, at his war worn face and the heavy burden of prophecy on his shoulders that he had misplaced. "I didn't believe him."

Anakin unhooked his saber from his belt and she flinched when he ignited it, the red light blinding her. He began to pace casually, not even bothering to look at her now even though since she's been here he couldn't seem to stop. "And why is that?" He asked.

"I thought his vision was flawed... clearly I was wrong."

He hummed and trepidation ate at her nerves. Fear's sharp teeth gnawed at her spine as it slowly inched up to the base of her skull and she shivered at his apparent indifference to her tale.

"If you knew what you know now, about me, would you have said yes?" He finally looked at her and she froze. His eyes held genuine curiosity yet she also sensed a foreboding sense of dread in them.

But as she thought, her own uncertainty grew tenfold. Her answer should be yes. That was the noble and right thing to do. The Jedi way. Even though he was her friend, her source of safety and comfort, would she change her mind?

"I..." she looked down at her feet and clenched her jaw. "I don't know." She was angry at herself for the conflict within her. She hated him. Though when she tried to summon the feelings of rage that accompanied the emotion she found it to be rather dim. Of course she was angry at him, but mostly she was just heartbroken. Guilt tore at her insides as well as regret. If she had just taken the time to talk to him like she had told Obi-Wan, she wondered if all of this could've been prevented. Though when she thought about it, it felt presumptuous. If the love of his life and the man who had raised him couldn't keep Anakin from the dark, why should she think she was capable? She knew she mattered to Anakin, but not nearly as much as they had.

"You're too much like me." Anakin said after a moment, his voice pulling her from her mental turmoil and she shook her head.

"I am nothing like you."

"Please, Ahsoka. It's one thing to lie to me, but don't lie to yourself. Just like me you found the Jedi code to be restricting. You care about people–"

"The Jedi are encouraged to be compassionate."

He pursed his lips and looked at her, his eyes too knowing and she looked away.

"The Jedi merely held a reverence for life. They didn't actually care." Anakin's voice was low and dark, the timbre of it like a well rosined bow and chills prickled over her skin at the sound of it. "But your emotions go beyond mere compassion, don't they, Ahsoka?"

She straightened her shoulders and tightened her grip on her lightsaber. "I didn't come here to have a heart to heart with you. Let's fight."

He bowed his head, "as you wish."

They began to circle each other, their steps matching in a rhythmic pace. They'd done this dance thousands of times and Ahsoka sometimes even swore she could feel Anakin's heart beating next to hers. Always calm and sure, never anxious like hers had been that first year as his Padawan. Frightened yet equally thrilled to be sparring with the Chosen One.

Their eyes were locked and she tried to picture him doing horrific, monstrous things. She knew he had committed them, yet he didn't look like the beast at all that lurked underneath the face of her friend. Then again, she had been backstabbed by people she had trusted before. So perhaps the true monsters didn't look like monsters at all.

Just as Ahsoka was about to make her starting move, Anakin lunged and the strength behind the attack nearly made her crumble to the floor but she just barely managed to keep his lightsaber from tearing through her shoulder. With gritted teeth, she was able to push his blade but before she could get her footing he came bearing down her again. Ahsoka scrambled to block the blow and her mind raced. He had never fought her like this before. The power rolling off of him was unnatural and she felt as though she could taste lightning in the air with each crack of his lightsaber against hers.

"You're cheating!" She shouted, dodging a hit of his and she swung her saber around her back to try to gain some momentum before she swung at him but he had easily side stepped her.

"How so?" His voice rang out loudly, her head pounding with the sound of her heart.

"You're using the Force to power your strikes, that isn't fair!"

Anakin tsk-d, "when is battle ever fair?" He swung for her again and she practically had to throw her body backward to avoid getting slashed across her chest.

"We aren't in battle–"

He aimed his lightsaber high, swinging down on her as if wanting to deliver her to a death sentence and her eyes widened at the glowing red plasma barreling down towards her face. She was about to block it when her lightsaber suddenly shut off and horror shot straight into her heart at the realization Anakin had used the Force to make her vulnerable. She managed to roll out of the way but the tip of his saber grazed her shoulder and she let out a hiss of pain.

She tightened her hold on the hilt, getting aggravated now which she knew wouldn't help her. Anytime she got frustrated when she fought, it made her sloppy and impatient. They began to circle each other again, any playfulness she was used to seeing on Anakin's face was gone. His sharp features were carved from jagged rock. His expression that of pain to some inner turmoil she was unaware of.

Ahsoka lifted her lightsaber into a balanced hold with two hands and took a steadying breath. Her blade crackled back into existence, making the air around them smell like plasma and metal. Anakin's eyes were settled on hers, his casual expression of arrogance dropping to something more dark. Suddenly looking menacing and Ahsoka tightened her hold on her saber.

Anakin adjusted his hold on his lightsaber with his black-gloved durasteel hand and cocked it high at his shoulder, the blade angled upward and away. He began to move toward her at a slow, almost hypnotic pace.

-

  His mind still screamed at the memory Ahsoka had yanked forth. Padme's heartbroken face flickering in his mind like a flame and the thunderstorm that was Anakin Skywalker made his presence in the Force boil with sudden rage. It was like his fury was anew, still fresh in his blood as if he was right in the middle of battle again.

The Force crackled between them, anxious to be unleashed. Though Ahsoka had been struggling with it recently, he could feel gentle waves coming from her. As if the Force was testing its waters with her, regaining familiarity.

"Do you feel it, Ahsoka?"

She smiled slightly. "I do."

They moved at once.

He thrashed his saber down in an arc but Ahsoka quickly maneuvered around him and he hastily turned, looking up just in time to see Ahsoka's foot as it came down upon his face. The impact sent his head shooting to the side but he was able to find his footing before he tumbled to the ground, though pain began to bloom from his cheekbone and his head began to pound. Springing forward again, scarlet clashed against bright blue, the opposing colors flickering around the dim room like a lightning storm.

Ahsoka made a cut at his legs yet Anakin's blade met the cut as he passed and managed to sweep his lightsaber behind his head to slap aside the thrust Ahsoka had aimed at the back of his neck. He turned and watched as Ahsoka flipped away, trying to put some distance between them but he easily followed and when she righted herself she was met with red hot plasma slamming down upon her, his strike so hard that the shock of deflecting it buckled Ahsoka's elbows.

He didn't stop, his mind was in a frenzy and his nerves felt on fire. His vision was swimming in red and smog and he could hear Obi-Wan yelling at him somewhere in the distance. Begging him to stop this madness but it only made Anakin grit his teeth and his overhand chop bent Ahsoka's wrist. He lashed at her again and his blade forced hers so far to the inside that her lightsaber began to scorch her own shoulder and she was forced to give ground.

Anakin kept pushing, inexorable and impossibly powerful. A God with a weapon of lightning and each step and blow was devastating. He could barely even register Ahsoka in front of him, his body just kept screaming at him to fight and his mind was as rageful as the volcanoes that erupted in the distance. Ahsoka backed away as fast as she could but Anakin remained on top of her, she no longer tried to meet his strikes, now she was just desperately trying to slant them away from her.

The Force was leaking out of every pore of his body in mind numbingly powerful waves, yanking him along and dealing blows that made Ahsoka nearly crumble to the ground. In a quick attempt to get an upper hand, while Ahsoka was low enough she spun and aimed an ankle sweep which drove against Anakin's boots. He stumbled slightly as he lost his balance, but he let the Force correct his body, and just as Ahsoka stood up and faced him his blade was coming quickly toward her face.

His red lightsaber whirled and spat and every overhand chop crashed against the white-blue of Ahsoka's defense with the power of a seismic charge and as the fight continued Anakin was only getting stronger as he let his anger feed into the dark. His red blade was everywhere, flashing and whirling faster, to the point where the whole room looked as if it was engulfed in red fire.

Ahsoka tried to dodge, but he pulled a card from her book and spun. His boot collided with her face and she let out yell as he was sure white-hot pain erupted from where he had struck her. He should've felt bad but he felt beside himself, his heart now thermonuclear and it felt as though it was burning through his chest. So sure that if he looked down he would see the artery fall from his scorched ribs and roll out onto the floor, rotten and burnt.

He wielded his fury as a deadly weapon, but even still he found himself holding back by brick walls of sheer will, hardened by something he wasn't even sure he was aware of. Anakin's hand twisted, his lightsaber about to make a clean cut of Ahsoka's wrist of the hand that was holding her weapon. And in a moment of self preservation perhaps, she let go.

Reaching out into the Force, he summoned it to his hand and Ahsoka was on her knees looking up at him and as the blades crossed at her throat he suddenly saw Count Dooku looking beaten and broken. He could hear Palpatine whispering to him to do it. Anakin remembered his first cold blooded murder and how he had permission to murder. He remembered the feeling of the blades snipping like scissors and how all of him had become nothing at all.

-

  Ahsoka looked up at him, Anakin's chest was heaving and his eyes glowed a sickly yellow color. His face was contorted into barely tampered rage and it was like he wasn't even seeing her.

He had promised her he wouldn't hurt her, and despite herself a small portion of her heart had believed him. Sparring was one thing, but at that very moment... she genuinely wasn't sure if he was about to end her life.

She spoke very, very softly. "Master?"

He stared back at her for a moment longer before he finally blinked and a few tears shed from his irritated eyes, trailing down his tanned cheeks and dripping to the floor between them. Slowly, he stood up straight and stepped back, both lightsabers falling to his sides and the blades retreated into their hilts. His breathing began to slow and he squeezed his eyes shut. Anakin twitched slightly, as if he was seeing a nightmare behind his eyelids before he finally went still. When he looked at her again, his eyes were a dark blue yet lacked their usual warmth.

Ahsoka found him terrifying.

He cleared his throat, but his voice remained rough as he spoke. "That will be all for today."

Before she could do anything, he dropped her saber into her lap and left the room. Ahsoka sat there for a moment dumbfounded, the room now being eerily silent as she stared at where Anakin had stood.

She really had no idea who she was dealing with.

-

  Anakin felt as though he couldn't breathe, his feet feeling heavy and dragging as he hurried down the hall. Though with each step and each scream of his lungs, it was as if the hallway kept stretching into an abyss, his room got further and further with each thump of his boots and his heart was beating mockingly in his ears. Reminding him that yes, he was still alive, and he was suffering for it.

The moment his hands collided with his door it slid open and he stumbled forth, his back slamming into the stone wall as soon as it shut and he sucked in a gasping breath. He clawed at his robes, wanting them off. The fabric felt coarse and rough, reminding him of the blistering sands of Tatooine and it felt as though his skin would boil if he didn't rid himself of them. His skin was damp with sweat and where his real arm met the machine itched with a fire that could never be abated. He tugged his gloves off with his teeth and he was half expecting to see the durasteel glowing with searing heat but it looked as it always did. Cold and a mockery of what he had been robbed of.

He tried to walk over to his desk, but his legs caught on nothing and he nearly fell forward. His hands caught on the edge of the stone and his chest was heaving. Anakin slowly turned himself around so he was sat on the edge as he tried to catch his breath. He could hear Padme screaming, crying out for him but he couldn't tell if it was in anguish or in anger. Perhaps it was both. His head fell into his hands, both flesh and metal gripping at his hair tightly and pulling at the roots. Begging for quiet, just this once, give him some peace.

The fight hadn't helped at all, it had actually only made it worse as his head rang mercilessly with torments of his past, present, and future. He still felt as though he was fighting, his muscles twitching and nerves screaming at him for daring to be still. Anakin's throat felt raw with past screams of rage. Padme... how she had looked at him that night.

His rage coiled around his heart like the dragon of the dying star he had seen as a younger boy. Frightened at the fact that even stars can die and he began to fear what could happen to him and his loved ones. Not that that mattered now.

Anakin's chest caved and his fists clenched, making the scattered bits of machines and droid parts crumble up as if they were paper. He let out a scream of frustration and pushed away from the desk, pacing and he continued to tug at his hair. He knew he needed to calm down before he did something stupidly reckless. Such as blowing this entire castle up because he was sick of the view. He missed the grassy fields and open waters of Naboo where the breeze would gently kiss his skin. Instead he traded one wasteland of heat for another.

Dropping to the floor he shut his eyes, trying to calm his breathing. He hadn't mediated in almost a year, not that it had even been a frequent hobby of his in the first place. Anakin had never been able to fully reach that quiet place the other Jedi seemed to prance into. His mind was never calm enough for the task, always being plagued by nightmares and dreams he shouldn't have been having in the first place.

There was a beep on his nightstand and he summoned the commlink to his hand with a mere twitch of his fingers. His eyes were still screwed shut as he clicked the button and he could see blue light from behind his eyelids.

"My Lord... are you alright?"

Anakin clenched his jaw. "What is it, La'vena?" His eyes flicked open and there she was, a small projection in his palm and he had the thought of crushing her between his fingers.

She cleared her throat and bowed her head before she continued. "We ran into some unexpected tribulations. The Fourth Sister is dead. We have reasonable suspicion it's the rebellion, they're growing in numbers and we believe we've tracked a Jedi to a small city here." She flicked out of view and a planet appeared before it zoomed in on a small scale city.

"Coordinates?"

"Already sent."

He sighed and nodded, thankful for the distraction and he stood up. "Keep the peace until I get there."

La'vena flicked into view again and she smiled, the sight looking sinister. "Always, my Lord."

Ending the call, he stood in his room for a moment longer and looked around at the mangled metal and the mess of his scattered robes. Perhaps he wasn't good at keeping his temper at bay, his restraint weakening over the years the more the Council pushed him.

If there was one thing he excelled at however, it was killing Jedi.

Once he was aboard his ship, he got himself situated in the pilot's seat but paused when took hold of the controls. He hadn't planned on leaving Ahsoka alone here so soon. Sure, droids were tinkering about the castle but other than that the only souls who frequented its halls before her arrival was himself and La'vena. The rest of the Inquisitorial squad was typically moving in and out of the place, staying busy with bringing order to the galaxy.

Stay put, he called out to Ahsoka before lifting off.

  His hood was drawn low over his face as he walked through the town, his boots hitting the damp cobblestone streets in a lethargic rhythm. Thunder clouds erupted in a crescendo above his head and lightning reflected in his eyes.

The town was quiet, more so than it should be and he knew it was because of his presence. A phantom looming over their lives and promising destruction. Of course they could've avoided this fate, harboring a Jedi would never get you far in this new reality. They probably thought this Knight would bring protection and safety, peace even. Instead it brought Darth Vader to their doors.

As he walked towards the location of La'vena's beacon, he could see shadows moving in the dark. The flickering lights of the storm above made them look picturesque but he could feel them clearly through the Force. Anakin could feel every beat of their hearts and every malicious intent of their minds and could sense whether their bodies would follow these wicked deeds. For a moment no one dared until he sensed it, a young boy not of sixteen about to draw his blaster and aim right for the Sith Lord's head.

Anakin tilted his chin as he walked by and the boy's neck snapped before his body fell in a heavy thump to the ground.

Screaming followed shortly after but he kept moving, feeling tired all the sudden and he wished he could just sleep for once without hearing the cries of those he failed and those who failed him.

Nearing the building La'vena was in, he walked through the door and was greeted by two of his Inquisitors and his apprentice, as well as a man in his mid-thirties. The latter of which was currently bound to a chair and looked rather beaten up. His eyes flicked to the Fifth Brother, surely it was his handy work but all the man did was bow his head.

Anakin walked up to the man and knelt down so they were at eye level and he cocked his head to the side as he observed him.

"Hello, Senator."

The man stiffened at the sound of Anakin's voice, the bravado of it sending a cold chill into the air and he felt the man's heart begin to race.

"I-I've done n-nothing wrong."

"Really?" Anakin raised a brow at him, though his expression was still hidden in shadow. "Because I have a rather sound reason to believe you've provided illegal asylum to a Jedi."

"The Jedi are gone, I've n-no idea what you're talking about."

He sighed, not seeing why they thought lying to him was ever a good idea. He could always tell whether they were telling the truth or not both by their heartbeat as well as the truth being whispered by the Force.

"Where are they?"

"I don't-"

Reaching his hand out, Anakin held his palm in front of the Senator's face and began to dig through his mind like a beast who hadn't eaten in a while and latched onto a scent of blood. The man began to scream but it fell on deaf ears. Anakin always heard screaming so it had warped into white noise at this point.

"Found him." He let the man so and he slumped against his restraints, panting and sweating and his face was red with broken blood vessels. Anakin stood and fixed his gloves, rolling his shoulders as he prepared for a possible fight. "Kill him," he threw over his shoulder as he began to walk away.

The Senator paled. "You- I'm unarmed! I'm a Senator, you can't just kill me!"

Anakin stopped and turned around, looking at the man as if he was nothing. "Can't I?"

His head then fell to the floor and he heard the crunch of bone in the man's nose. The Eighth Brother twisted his lightsaber before the plasma shrunk back into its hilt.

"He's hiding in the hospital, find him and bring him to me. Keep it quiet."

The three nodded, muttering their respective Yes, My Lord before departing out the door.

He had trailed behind them, letting them do heavy handed work though he could only hope those who worked at the hospital were sensible and let the Inquisitors go by peacefully. Though, perhaps they weren't smart when deciding to hide a Jedi amongst their patients.

His commlink buzzed and he pressed the button, the static sound of La'vena's voice echoed in the hallway he walked down. We're on the third floor, we collected a group of individuals who might be the Jedi.

Making his way to where they were, when he entered the room he saw five men on their knees with their hands restrained behind their backs, heads hung low. He reached out into the Force and immediately knew who it was.

"So, I'll give you one opportunity to make yourself known and step forward." He looked at them all but none moved. "I may have patience but it's already worn thin, you have three seconds."

One Two Three...

He sighed, playing the part of a worn out General who wanted the day to be over. "Alright then, kill them all." He then turned his back, beginning to walk away. Part of him didn't care if all of them did end up dying. They were a means to an end, as unfortunate as it was. But he wouldn't be surprised. The Jedi were always disappointing, but they were also brainwashed by their self-righteousness and as expected a cry shortly rang out and Anakin paused.

"Wait!" He cried. Anakin turned, looking at the pathetic excuse of a man and Jedi. They seemed to be around the same age but Anakin didn't know him, so he was probably unremarkable. The man would surely know him.

Everyone in the Order knew Anakin Skywalker, few saw what he had become.

"I'm the Jedi. Spare these men, they've done nothing wrong but bare resemblance to me."

"Alright." His voice was soft as he pulled his hands from out of his robes and he flexed his fingers. His bones aching and the metal creaking from how hard he had had them clenched. "Kill them."

"No!" But he was too late. By the time the Jedi had turned around, the other men lay limp on the ground with gaping wounds in various parts of their bodies, the smell of sizzling flesh wafting into the air. The man then lunged for Anakin, but the Sith didn't move a muscle as he suddenly froze in the air.

Anakin slowly reached up and lowered the hood of his robes, lifting his head and the shadows danced across his carved features as if he were a statue being revealed for the first time at the Temple. The Jedi paled, all blood draining from his features and he already looked like a corpse.

"G-General Skywalker?" He gasped out. "It can't be. You're dead!"

Anakin held out his arms wide and smiled. "Yet here I am."

The Jedi's eyes then narrowed, anger warping his features and Anakin tsk-d as he stepped closer to the man. "Careful. Anger isn't the way of the Jedi, is it?"

"You have murdered thousands-"

Sighing, Anakin reached out through the Force and stole the air right from his lungs. "I'll make this short. You pledge your loyalty to the Empire and survive. Or I kill you now, as you are. Take your place at my side and I can teach you what the Jedi were too afraid of even acknowledging."

"I will never join you."

Anakin clenched his jaw and lowered his head so they were at eye level. "Is that your final answer?"

Before the man could even speak, his body was then yanked back by the Force as if a rope was tied around him and the red hot plasma of La'vena's saber ate through his chest as the blade impaled him. The room was filled with silence, death filling the air with its stench that was all too familiar to him now. La'vena let his body drop and her saber retreated back into the hilt.

"He would've been weak." She spat, kicking his body away with her foot and his body rolled heavily away.

Anakin remained quiet as he looked at all the bodies and the blood spilt. Destruction seemed to be all he was fit for, all he was good at. The nonsense of being the Chosen One shoved down his throat and he could taste bile at the thought of the prophecy. Truth be told, he wasn't sure he actually ever believed it. Prophecies felt like children's stories and to have one be about him just seemed outlandish. Especially due to the fact he never felt like the Chosen One. The Council never trusted him, Obi-Wan didn't know how to handle him, and Anakin didn't know how to control his impulses.

He was never balanced himself, how was he supposed to bring balance to the Force itself?

Anakin bit the inside of his cheek and tried to push these thoughts away, but lately he had found it difficult. With Ahsoka being around now, it was almost impossible to ignore the past he had been trying so hard to bury. Lifting his hood again, he left the mess of bodies behind him. He wanted to get back to Mustafar as quickly as he could, getting the sudden feeling that leaving Ahsoka there alone might not have been the smartest idea.