TFSFM, Chapter 2: Dark Destiny

Tenth Month, 968 ARR (32 BBY)

Darth Maul

With a savage smirk, Darth Maul withdrew his lightsaber from where he had gutted the proud Jedi Master.

Qui-Gon Jinn had been a worthy opponent. Tall, powerfully built, and skilled with his favored lightsaber form, Ataru. But his age had begun to show, his chosen lightsaber style had tired him and in the cramped room about the reactor shaft, the older Jedi Master had not had the room to move as much as his preferred form demanded.

Nonetheless Maul took pride in the kill, savoring it, enjoying the rush of adrenaline and elation as he once again asserted the power of the dark side over the light. He turned his gaze to where Jinn’s padawan, Kenobi, waited helplessly behind the red shields, powerless to save his master.

The look of seething anger and despair on his face amused Maul. He was a Jedi, trained in their weak ways to reject rage and all other emotions. He had only adopted the anger; Maul had been born in it, molded by it.

There was no doubt in his mind that he would hold the edge over this inexperienced Jedi Padawan. Unlike the Sith, Jedi were taught to suppress their anger, not draw strength from it, and that always made them clumsy whenever they did succumb to rage. He grinned at the thought of another easy kill, another hated Jedi cleansed from the galaxy the Sith were destined to rule.

With a hiss, the shields opened, and Kenobi came charging forward, his blue lightsaber swirling wildly, all full of bluster and belligerence.

Yet to his surprise, Maul found himself matched blow-by-blow, taken off-guard by the sheer speed in the padawan’s strikes. His dual red blades clashed against Kenobi’s blue at speeds faster than any untrained Forceful eye could see. The padawan’s sheer rage had given him a boost as he subconsciously tapped into the dark side.

To his shock, the saberstaff he had long been proud of was cleaved in two and Maul snarled in rage, remembering the days of blistering heat in that furnace and the work it had taken to craft this lightsaber. He would make Kenobi pay for that.

He withdrew a few paces to regain his bearings, anchoring his grip on the remaining lightsaber blade he had before goading him to strike again. He was not about to let a mere padawan best him, a Dark Lord of the Sith!

Their duel continued. What felt like an eternity to both of them was no doubt mere seconds as both of them honed their full attention on the here and now, using the Force to the fullest to enhance their every sense. That single-minded attention cost them dearly in a way neither of them could have ever expected.

The Force screamed at him in warning, an incessant deafening feeling that was immediately followed by a terrible earthquake that threw him off balance, disrupting his footing. A distraction that cost him dearly as Kenobi’s blue blade slipped through his guard and came straight for his torso, ready to stab him right in the middle as he had done to his master.

It took all Maul had to evade the attack with his own blade out of position, and even then, he was only just barely able to make the injury not fatal. Kenobi’s blue blade melted into his right lower right torso like a knife through butter, barely missing his spine and stomach and probably eviscerating his right kidney.

The pain was excruciating, but Kenobi was unable to make good on his blow as Maul’s left hand had gripped tightly onto his wrist, forcing the blade to stay in place he brought his own blade to bear using his right hand and cut Kenobi’s wretched head from his shoulders, decapitating him cleanly in a single cut.

Even as this was happening, the rumbling and shaking continued all around them and Maul lost his footing. Kenobi’s lightsaber powered off and his headless body fell to the ground of the reactor room even as Maul slipped and fell backwards into the reactor shaft.

With his mind fogged from the pain of the hole burned into his side, it took everything in him to focus just long enough to slow his descent before he hit the bottom and his world went black.

_____________________________

When he finally came to, his entire mind was consumed with pain. He took a deep breath, inhaling painfully as he used the dark side to focus his mind, using the pain to draw strength

He took stock of his situation, observing the filthy trash container he had found himself in, his hands wrapping around the remaining half of his saberstaff before he gingerly pulled himself up to his feet.

His mind was groggy and dazed, it hurt to breathe, his legs and arms weren’t moving right, and there was a lightsaber burn hole right where his right kidney should be. Maul wasn’t a doctor; he had trained for as long as he could remember how to kill people not save them. There was enough overlap in anatomical studies for him to somewhat self-diagnose his condition though.

If he had to guess, he would estimate that he had dislocated at least one of his shoulders, fractured several bones in his legs and arms, cracked his ribs and some of the vertebrae in his spine, and had a concussion just to top it all off. He shouldn’t even be moving.

But Maul had endured and survived worse injuries. The pain was nothing more than fuel for his power, as he drew more of the dark side into himself, letting it infuse his every cell. It would keep him going long enough to seek proper medical attention and do a healing trance.

Hopefully his Master would be understanding of his condition and not punish him too severely for this embarrassing failure, but he wasn’t expecting much in that aspect.

Darth Sidious was many things. Merciful was not one of them.

As he made his way back into Theed from the filthy trash container he had woken in, Maul was able to ascertain a few things.

First, a few days had passed since he had fallen into the reactor shaft. Second, Nute Gunray, that pathetic insect, was the reason for the quake, as the idiot had panicked after his droid control ship had been destroyed and ordered an orbital bombardment. If his Master allowed it, he would flay Gunray alive for this stupidity.

Thirdly, the bombardment hadn’t even worked. The Naboo had won the battle and captured Gunray in the end, and now Theed was swarming with Jedi and Judicial Forces. Much to his disappointment, his ship, the Scimitar, had been seized by Republic security forces and was swarming with Jedi Masters inspecting every corner of the ship.

Sith Lords did not wince, but Maul could not help but wish he could allow himself that weakness; his Master would surely punish him dearly for risking their exposure like that. Even more now he hoped dearly that he would be allowed to teach Gunray the meaning of pain for causing all of this.

He withdrew his presence as deep into himself as he could, hiding and cloaking himself with the dark side, just as his Master had done all those years ago when they had watched the Jedi come and go on the steps of the Jedi Temple. The cloud of ambient darkness and death that had soaked into Theed’s stones since the bombardment made it even easier and his long years of training as an assassin allowed him to move stealthily through the city, even with his injuries.

Maul’s primary objective was to find a way to get off planet without being detected and find a way to contact his Master, but as he continued his journey through Theed, he soon realized that wasn’t necessary.

His Master was here on Naboo. It was only logical, he had been the Senator for the planet for many years and if things had gone according to plan, he would be Supreme Chancellor now. But far deeper than that mundane logic, Maul could feel his presence.

It had never ceased to make Maul wonder in awe how the Jedi could not detect him. They were truly so weak, so blinded by the veil the Sith had drawn over their eyes that they could not sense the black hole in their midst. Darth Sidious was like the event horizon of a singularity, a nexus that could darken the Force by his very existence.

Even with his Master cloaking himself, Maul could still sense him. They shared the gift of the dark side and a bond as Master and Apprentice, the rightful heirs of Bane. The only two Sith in the entire galaxy.

He doubted his Master had yet to sense him in turn though. If he had, he would have given him his orders already. This was most unusual of him, what was so occupying his attention that he would fail to sense his apprentice so nearby?

Maul made his way through the corridors of Theed Royal Palace, slinking into the shadows as he crept up to where he knew his Master was. He was on a ledge overlooking the room, careful to hide in the bushes in case his Master was speaking with someone who could not be trusted with their secret. What he saw made his hearts stop.

He was there in the room with the boy. The slave boy from Tatooine. The one Qui-Gon Jinn had found. The same boy that his Master had ordered him to capture and bring to him after killing Jinn and Kenobi.

Anakin Skywalker had seemed so insignificant and powerless when he had almost run him over with his speeder on that desert planet. Now he shone like a supernova, a light so bright it would almost burn if not for the fact that it had been tainted. Roiling thunderstorms and menacing clouds swirled all over his presence, darkening the once pure light of a star with the shadow of fury. Skywalker’s power was awe-inspiring to behold and the seeds of darkness had already been planted within his soul.

Maul could not help but imagine what a vision of power and might he could be if trained. In his mind’s eye, he could see a hulking black silhouette and a pair of gleaming golden eyes. The smell of fire burned as if it was right beneath his nose, the taste of ash bitter and heavy upon his tongue.

A cold pit of dread cut through his awe and settled in his stomach. His mind raced with a million anxious thoughts as he enhanced his hearing to try and listen in on the conversation.

The Dark Lord of the Sith was speaking to the boy with more kindness than he had ever given Maul. Offering him a place in his home, to make him his adopted son and heir, with a promising public identity of his own while Maul had always been forced to work in the shadows as a mere assassin, with little choice but to hope that his Master had a place for him in the Grand Plan.

Maul understood now why he had never had a public identity, an additional way to help bring about their revenge on the Jedi, as every other Sith in the past millennium had. He realized why his Master had tasked him to bring him this boy.

He had only ever been a means to an end. An apprentice in name alone. A tool to be discarded and replaced when something better appeared!

All his life his Master had taunted him with the idea of replacing him and finding another apprentice if he was weak. Maul had always taken it as a warning to be better, to improve in his training and missions, yet it had wormed its way into his heart nonetheless and become his greatest fear and now it was coming true before his eyes.

Barely even missing for a few days and his Master was already moving on to another apprentice. As if all his years of torturous training and impossible missions had been for nothing! As if everything he had sacrificed and endured for the Grand Plan had been in vain!

He had been replaced as easily as a droid was traded in for a new model! A better model. Someone more powerful than he. Someone granted a place in his Master’s house and publicly called a son and heir as he had once dared to desire as a child himself.

Only two there could be. No more, no less. One to embody the power, the other to crave it.

Even if he revealed his survival to his Master now, it was too late. If this boy was to be trained, as his Master so clearly seemed interested in doing, what place then could there be for Maul in the Rule of Two? To be pitted against this new apprentice as little more than a test for his training? To be the stepping stone for someone else’s rise?

No! He refused!

Maul’s loyalty to Sidious shattered in an instant. He would not go quietly; he would not let himself be made obsolete so easily.

He was not powerful enough now to confront his former master and hope to win, but one day he would be. He would grow strong in the shadows. He would learn all the secrets his master had not deigned to teach him, and when the time was right, he would have his vengeance upon him and his new apprentice.

Treachery was the way of the Sith after all, and Maul meant to repay Sidious with interest.

_________________________

Fifth Month, 969 ARR (31 BBY)

Anakin

“Thank you for your time today, Mr. Skywalker. I’m very impressed at how well you are doing in your lessons, I’ll be sure to tell the Chancellor,” the tutor said as their class for the day concluded.

“Thanks!” Anakin replied with a smile.

He didn’t want to let Chancellor Palpatine down after everything he had done for him. He had taken him in when the Jedi had wanted to send him back to slavery and given him hope for a future where he would be reunited with his mother. The least he could do to repay him was be attentive in his studies.

Anakin had always been smart. Normal kids couldn’t exactly build droids and pods from salvaged scrap pieces on a desert planet after all, and with the right motivation, to make the man who had promised to free his mother from slavery happy, he was more than capable of applying himself.

He had studied diligently and patiently, paying rapt attention to everything the large host of personal tutors the Chancellor had hired for him had taught him in the past six months. There was a large gap in the education available to a slave kid on Tatooine and the kind of education and upbringing that would be expected from the elite ward and son of the Galactic Republic’s Supreme Chancellor after all.

For the past few months, Anakin had been catching up on the general education that would be expected from someone his age (and possibly even older given how advanced and prodigious his tutors claimed him to be) on Coruscant, mastering subjects like mathematics, Basic, Republic history, culture, law, etiquette, science, and more.

Rather special attention was given to subjects such as history, politics, philosophy, and the inner workings of how the Republic’s government worked. A lot of it went over Anakin’s head but he did his best to study and make sure he didn’t fall behind, intent on not disappointing the Chancellor. Palpatine had told him that he wanted him to carry on his family legacy and their prestigious role in politics so Anakin assumed all of these subjects must be important for him to know.

Unfortunately, and while he kept these opinions to himself, not wanting to offend the Chancellor, much of what he had learned had left him even more disappointed with both the Republic and the Jedi.

The ideals both claimed to uphold sounded amazing in theory but in practice, it was not lived up to. There was great corruption in the Republic, with many Senators bought out and bribed by criminal cartels and gangs, or not wanting to rock the boat and do what was right so that they could continue to get rich and not actually have to work difficult tasks to improve people’s lives.

That was one of the key reasons why the Republic had never truly acted against the Hutts and their slavery for millennia. Why they let them infest their underworld and even enslave Republic citizens beneath the Senate’s own nose such as the poor Twi’leks. It would ‘damage the economy’ if they did anything about it.

It had angered Anakin so much when he had learnt about that. All the years he and his mother and everyone else they had known had suffered simply because it didn’t suit the Republic’s interests to do anything about it and actually enforce their own laws.

The Jedi were hardly any better. They aided the Republic and the Senate in its complacency and worse yet, actively abetted in atrocities with the Republic either out of malice or arguably worse, sheer incompetence. The Mandalorian Excision, the Battle of Galidraan, even the invasion of the Old Sith Empire and the unjustified cleansing of its people after the Great Hyperspace War millennia ago, the list was long.

Anakin’s tutors had taught him much and more of the storied history of the Republic and the Jedi, and it was full of war, death, and destruction. The Jedi claimed to be peacekeepers, but they were little more than the Republic’s attack dogs and soldiers in truth. Enforcing the interests of a corrupt and ineffectual Senate while failing to actually protect and serve the people of the galaxy.

More than ever, Anakin was starting to become glad that he hadn’t been accepted to train as a Jedi. It had been his dream for so long, to become a Jedi and do good, to return to Tatooine one day and free all the slaves, but he wondered now if he would have ever been allowed to do that if he had become a Jedi. Would it have been deemed too risky? Too likely to start a war with the Hutts and upset the Senate?

Anakin knew the answer to those questions, even though some part of him still hoped he was wrong.

‘Qui-Gon saved me from slavery. He wanted to train me against the wishes of the Council. He would have been different,’ a voice whispered inside his head, the last remnant of the naïve boy he had been before Naboo.

Perhaps it was even right, but what did it matter anymore? Qui-Gon was dead, and with him, all of the hopes and dreams he had once had of becoming a Jedi.

If Anakin was being completely honest, his studies of history had made him increasingly interested in the ancient rivals of the Jedi instead, the Sith. Compared to the Jedi, the Sith seemed to embrace their emotions. They could wield anger, fear, love, and so much more to do great deeds, both terrible and good.

Sure, many Sith were evil, and some of them had even practiced slavery, something that had made Anakin less inclined to like them, but not all of them had been like that. Palpatine had helped him acquire many manuscripts and texts for further reading and they had shown him that many Sith had had their own sense of honor, causes they believed in, and families they had loved. Even when the Sith had kept slaves, they would always give them a way to earn their freedom and join the ranks of the Sith if they proved strong enough. That was more than the Hutts would ever do, and more than the Jedi did most of the time, chained to the Republic as they were.

At the heart of their teachings, the Sith believed in choice. The pinnacle of their code was to break all chains binding them and pursue the power and freedom to do as they pleased, whether that was for good or for evil.

Anakin couldn’t help but imagine what he could do with the power the Sith had wielded. He could return to Tatooine and free all the slaves, but why stop there? Why not Nal Hutta or Nar Shaddaa? Klatooine, Vodran, and Kintan? Zygerria and Bootana Hutta? With that kind of power, he could free every last slave in the galaxy and make every single slaver face justice for what they had done to them for thousands of years. If he couldn’t be a Jedi, why not a Sith?

But his idle daydreams were just that. The Sith were extinct now and had been for a millennium. Few in the galaxy remembered them or what they had stood for anymore. To the average citizen of the Republic, the Sith were just some old relic of history, a legendary ancient religious order that had fought the Jedi long ago and were now nothing but useful swear words to cuss out their boss.

And even if they did exist, he doubted the Jedi would just stand by and let them train him to become a warrior that would free all the slaves and disturb the supposed peace they maintained in the Outer Rim by appeasing the Hutts.

Anakin shook off his thoughts. There was no use dwelling on a future that would never happen. It was unlikely he would ever be properly trained with the Force now and he would have to find a way to accept that eventually. He had already been lucky enough to have received so much in recent months and as the adopted son of the Supreme Chancellor, he might actually have a chance to bring about real change from within the Republic one day.

He just wished he could have Mom with him. Then everything would be perfect. He had promised Chancellor Palpatine that he would be understanding, and he didn’t want to be ungrateful. The man had given him so much when he didn’t need to and there was just so much he had to do both as the leader of the Republic and as a proud citizen of a devastated and recovering homeworld.

But Anakin couldn’t deny that he was becoming impatient. It had already been seven months since Palpatine had taken him in and there had been no updates about his mother. He hadn’t asked out of fear of offending or annoying, but he was becoming anxious.

As if he could read his mind, however, Palpatine brought it up that very night at dinner.

“I must apologize for taking so long to get around to this Anakin, I’m so very sorry, but I have finally been able to procure enough funds and clear my schedule for a quick trip to Tatooine for both of us to free your mother. Your tutors tell me that you’ve been progressing excellently in your studies, so there should be no worries that you’ll miss anything or fall behind there either,” he said with the grandfatherly smile Anakin had become accustomed to.

“Thank you so much sir. I didn’t want to be a bother and keep nagging about it, so I didn’t ask. But it’s a huge relief to me that you didn’t forget,” Anakin said truthfully.

Palpatine shook his head. “My dear boy, you should never feel that you are a bother to me, or that I’ll forget about you in any way. I want you to get whatever you want Anakin, and I’ll give you the tools you need to make sure of that, worry not about that. As for your mother, we shall leave on the morrow if that’s not too soon for you?”

“Nothing could be too soon if it means freeing my mother!” Anakin answered eagerly.

___________________________________

The journey through hyperspace to Tatooine wasn’t that long in truth, but to Anakin it felt like an eternity. It had already been more than seven months since he had last seen his mother and he couldn’t wait to reunite with her and tell her everything that had happened since they had seen each other last. He was sure his mom and Chancellor Palpatine would get along well, and he was eager to introduce them to each other.

In his mind he could see the perfect future just waiting for them all. His mom would come live with him in the Presidential Palace at the Republic or better yet Palpatine’s private suite in 500 Republica so she wouldn’t have to deal with all the politics. He’d continue learning from the best tutors Chancellor Palpatine could give him and when he grew up, he would do something meaningful to bring change to the Republic and the lives of many and both Palpatine and his mom would be proud of him and everything he accomplished!

He’d finally be able to move on from his past as a slave; from the rejection of the Jedi and the terrible things that had happened at Naboo.

They landed their ship in the outskirts of Mos Espa. Much to Anakin’s surprise and thrill, Palpatine had been kind enough to let him help pilot the ship during their trip as it was just the two of them. On the Chancellor’s insistence, they had traveled in secret without any guards or anyone else knowing where they were going, as he had said that he worried that the Hutts or bounty hunters might try something if they knew the Chancellor of the Republic was on Tatooine. Anakin, having grown up on Tatooine, couldn’t help but agree, and the two of them made their way through Mos Espa wearing hoods to hide their identities.

Mos Espa hadn’t changed at all yet it felt different to him somehow. Maybe he was the one that had changed. He certainly saw the galaxy in a very different way now than he had before he’d left Tatooine.

As they walked the familiar path down to Watto’s shop, he thought of maybe checking in with Jira or Kitster but he decided against it. As much as he would like to see them again, they were here to free his mother and then leave as soon as possible. He couldn’t risk his and the Chancellor’s safety here. The thought of what would happen if Gardulla or Jabba and their minions found out the Chancellor was here made him wince. It would not be pleasant at all.

He was frankly amazed that Palpatine had even been willing to bring him in person instead of sending some agent or something to do it for them, but maybe he understood just how important it was for Anakin. It made him appreciate his friendship and support all the more. Anakin truly didn’t deserve such a friend, a man he was quickly starting to see as the father he’d never had.

When they finally arrived at Watto’s shop, Anakin frowned when he noticed the droid helper he had made for his mom, C-3PO, collecting dust in the corner of the shop. Had Watto found the droid in their house and taken it away from his mom? He’d be extremely upset if he did but it wouldn’t surprise him in the slightest.

Palpatine took off his hood and spoke to Watto. “We would like to buy your slave from you, Shmi Skywalker. Any price you name will be acceptable.”

“We’ll take the droid you stole from her too,” Anakin said angrily, gesturing to C-3PO.

Watto recognized his voice, it seemed, because instead of replying to their offer, he simply choked out, “Ani? Is that you?”

The Toydarian had clearly been drinking. His breath smelled of alcohol and his words were slurred. There was a strange mix of grief, joy, shock, amazement, and what felt to be the slightest traces of fear in Watto’s voice. For the entire time he had known him, Anakin had never known Watto to ever once have any kind of fear of him. He couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling though, liking the reversal of their once imbalanced relationship in his favor.

Feeling more than a little smug, Anakin took off his hood and proudly showed off his face to his former slave master. “Yes, it’s me. And I’ve come for my mother. Where is she? I would like to see her.”

“Who’s this? He’s not the person you left with last time. Is he one of the other Jedi?” Watto tried deflecting, pointing to Palpatine.

“Who he is doesn’t matter. I’m with him now, and we have more than enough funds to buy my mother from you and be on our way. We’ll never have to see each other again and that will be for the best for both of us,” Anakin replied.

Watto still looked hesitant and Anakin lost his patience.

“I’m being serious here Watto. Name the price for my mom. It could be as high as you want. We could even help you make this shop the junkyard empire you always wanted if that’s what it takes,” Anakin said firmly, before worrying that he overstepped. He looked up briefly to Palpatine and the man only nodded in agreement, restoring Anakin’s confidence.

His former master just looked nervous and disappointed. “Ahh, your offer is really generous Ani. I wish I could take it but I can’t. Your mom’s…dead, Ani. I really wish I didn’t have to but she must have lost her mind from loneliness and grief after you were gone because one day she just up and left Mos Espa.”

What?

Anakin’s world was falling apart around him. He couldn’t believe the words he was hearing. The cold awful feeling he remembered from Naboo was back, but this time it wasn’t coming from outside. It was growing inside him.

“You know the rules Ani,” Watto said sadly. “Your mom and you served me well for so many years… I wish I didn’t have to but I couldn’t look weak, and I didn’t want the Hutts breathing down my neck either for letting a slave escape. You know how they are; they don’t want slaves getting ideas, thinking of rebelling, thinking they could be free. You must understand right? I didn’t have any choice but to press that button.”

The worst part might have been how Watto even looked sincere. His wings were drooping, his face was downcast, and his voice was full of grief. None of his supposed remorse changed the fact that he had killed his mom! And he dared to mourn her when he was the reason she was dead?

The cold inside Anakin snapped. Everything that happened in the next few moments was like a blur to him. One moment Watto was hovering in place behind the shop counter and the next he was pinned against the wall, his hands grasping at his throat as he choked.

That was strange, Anakin thought, how could Watto be screaming if he was choking? It was only then he realized that he had been the one screaming, his hand subconsciously outstretched and holding up Watto against the wall with the Force.

It was almost like watching someone else control his body as he stopped screaming and then calmly looked over to where Watto was choking against the wall as if he was just an insect. For the slightest moment Anakin thought of how he had been a kinder master to him than most would have been, of showing mercy and sparing him, and then he remembered his mother, his poor mother, grieving and desperate for a son who had abandoned her before she was blown up and killed by the pathetic bug in front of him.

The cold deepened even further inside him like a blizzard. His rage soared and for a few seconds Anakin felt a perfect clarity and focus. He knew what had to happen next. Watto had to pay.

With a twitch of his fingers, he pulled Watto’s wings right off his body as easily as one might pull legs from an ant. The Toydarian screamed in agony and Anakin found that annoying so he tightened the grip on his throat to silence him and unfortunately, he squeezed a little too tight as Watto expired before he could do anything else.

As quickly as the cold had come, it vanished. Like how the frigid desert nights of Tatooine nights gave way to the broiling heat of its days as the twin suns rose. The power left him; Anakin dropped his tired arm and Watto’s body plummeted to the floor.

Anakin followed suit, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion and grief. His mother was dead. She was dead because he had abandoned her and left her alone, running off to join a Jedi Order that hadn’t even wanted him.

On Tatooine they had always been taught not to cry, not to waste their water for the dead. Anakin didn’t care at all. He wept and his tears soaked the sandy floor beneath him.

He hated Tatooine. He hated the sand that had always gotten everywhere, itching and irritating his skin at every waking moment, reminding him just what he was at all times, a miserable slave on a forsaken desert planet. He hated Watto, the master who had been better than most and tricked them into having the slightest measure of fondness and trust for him before he had killed his mother anyway, blowing her up as if she was just some defective tool that needed to be destroyed.

But above all else, Anakin hated himself. For being a terrible son. For being so ungrateful and uncaring as to leave behind the mother who had given up so much for him. And it had led her right to her death when she couldn’t take it any longer. Driven to loneliness and despair with her only family and comfort, her only source of joy on this blasted planet, gone.

What was he going to do now? He felt adrift and lost, like he was stranded in the middle of the desert with nowhere to go. For so long, Anakin had based so much of his ambitions and dreams around his mother, around freeing her and giving her the life she’d always deserved to pay her back for everything she had sacrificed for him. Then when Qui-Gon came, it had changed slightly to becoming a Jedi and one day coming back to free her and all the slaves with her.

Neither was possible anymore now. Qui-Gon was dead. And so was his mom.

“Mom.”

Anakin sobbed his mother’s name, over and over again. He couldn’t get the image of what his mother’s last moments must have been like out of his mind. What she must have felt as she had walked out there into the desert to die. What had been going through her mind when Watto had finally pressed that button?

Had she blamed him for leaving? Was that truly why she had just given up on living any longer? Had his departure been the last Tusken on the bantha’s back? Was she scared when it happened? Or had she just been happy to finally be rid of all the pain and suffering she had endured ever since she had been first sold into slavery by pirates when she was barely six years old?

The grief sank into his spirit like a weight he couldn’t escape. Water was so scarce on Tatooine, people farmed for moisture out here, yet Anakin felt like he was drowning.

He felt like a failure. He couldn’t save anyone. Not his mother, not the people at Naboo. Everything he touched turned to ash; everyone and everything he cared about was dying or being hurt before his eyes and he was powerless to stop it. Why had he been born into this galaxy, just to suffer like this?

Then something pulled him out of the ocean of despair. A warm, comforting hand, resting gently on his shoulder. A reminder that he wasn’t alone in all of this. Somehow, some way, everything was going to be alright eventually. Ever so slightly, the cloud of misery cleared and Anakin opened his teary eyes.

The first thing he saw was Watto, dead on the floor. His face was twisted and contorted into an expression of agony, pain, and unheard pleas for mercy.

Anakin froze.

The cold focus of rage was long gone and the haze of grief was fast fading, at least for now. As his mind cleared, it dawned on Anakin just what he had done.

Murder.

Watto might have deserved it, but Anakin had never taken a life like this before. And something about the way he had done it felt… off. It wasn’t that it felt wrong, no, if anything it felt too right. He shouldn’t enjoy taking a life like that, as if he was a slave master blowing up his slaves for the fun of it.

With a swiftly growing unease, Anakin realized he wasn’t truly horrified that he’d killed Watto. He was disturbed by just how little he cared that he had. How much he had enjoyed it.

His inner turmoil soon gave way to a true, genuine, horror as he remembered the hand still on his shoulder. What had once felt comforting now felt like an omen of his end. His crime had been witnessed!

Panicked, he quickly shrugged the hand off and got to his feet. He turned around nervously, afraid of seeing the fear and judgement in the eyes of the man he looked up to so much, the man who had taken him in and given him everything.

Anakin looked up and found none of those things in Palpatine’s eyes. Instead, he saw… pride?

“You… you don’t think I’m a murderer? A monster?” he asked warily.

“Many would say you are,” Palpatine said calmly. Too calmly.

Anakin winced.

“What I am wondering is why in the world you think I care? Anakin, my boy, no crime could ever make me turn against you. I am on your side,” Palpatine assured him before he looked over to Watto’s corpse with disdain.

“This bug killed your mother. You wanted revenge, so you took it and killed him in turn. It is only natural. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It is the way all sentient life has acted ever since it first evolved, don’t you agree?”

“I… I suppose.” Anakin was still hesitant.

“Ahh, I understand now. You struggle for a different reason. It’s not because you killed him, but because you enjoyed it, isn’t it?”

Palpatine’s words struck far too true and Anakin closed his eyes in anguish. “I… I shouldn’t.”

“Why?” Palpatine’s response was quick and uncharacteristically harsh. “Because the Jedi say so? Because the Republic’s laws forbid it? Why should you listen to them Anakin? They’re the reason your mother is dead. They’re the reason my homeworld was butchered,” he spat out vehemently, his voice full of a rage and grief Anakin knew all too well.

Palpatine’s words struck a chord within him. The Chancellor was right. Anakin would always blame himself for not being here for his mom, but the Jedi had been the ones to lead him away from her in the first place, promising him a dream and a future they could not deliver. They had been the ones who had left her and everyone else here to squalor in slavery at the whims of a corrupt Republic. The same Republic that couldn’t even protect its own people, leaving Palpatine and Padmé’s people at the mercy of beings as cruel and heartless as slavers!

The ember of sorrow within Anakin’s heart stoked into a blaze of righteous anger and determination. He hadn’t known he had it in him to feel rage like this until today, but now that he had discovered it, he would never give it up for as long as he lived. Anger made him stronger, made him focused.

Somehow, he knew it was his destiny to do something about all of this. To fix the galaxy and make it a better place, to make everything the way he wanted it to be and ensure that he never had to lose a single person he cared about ever again.

He knew he had the power within him. He had felt it. Watto had died because of it. And if his power could kill, why couldn’t it save too? Yet it was locked away from him, inaccessible save at the moments of greatest distress and need. If he only had the training he needed…

Yet his new dream felt as impossible as the old. The Jedi would never train him. Palpatine was right. All of this really was their fault.

“You’re right,” he said finally. “It’s the Jedi’s fault I wasn’t here. It’s their fault my mother is dead. It’s the Jedi who won’t train me and give me the power to make sure this never happens again!”

“Do you truly believe the Jedi have power, Anakin? Those old fools with their sanctimonious code and their high temple? They are blind. They wear the chains of morality like a noose around their neck. You can’t wait around for power to simply fall into your lap, Anakin. You have to break your chains and take it with your own hands. Only then will you be able to save everyone you love. Only then will you truly be free.”

Something about Palpatine’s words felt familiar to Anakin but he couldn’t pin down exactly what it was. The certainty in his voice made it sound like he had achieved what he spoke of though, and Anakin couldn’t help but feel jealous. He wanted that power; he wanted that freedom.

“Is it possible for me to learn how to do this? As you have?” he asked, desperate to know.

Anakin could almost see the split-second calculation in Palpatine’s eyes, as if he was deciding what to do, before he answered in a way Anakin could never have expected.

“Yes,” he said before flicking his finger and lifting the cash register on Watto’s counter into the air before dropping it with contemptuous ease. It clattered on the ground loudly as it fell.

Anakin’s eyes instantly flicked over to Palpatine, stunned, and the Chancellor smiled welcomingly before he stopped hiding his power.

In an instant, Anakin almost fell to his knees in disbelief. Even with his barely awakened senses, he could feel Palpatine’s presence in the Force. It was colder, darker, and heavier than anything he had ever felt in his whole life. A weight around which everything revolved until it was consumed.

“Who…what are you?” Anakin choked out in awe and a little fear, the kind of fear an insect might have of a boot.

“You know what I am. You’ve been studying it far too long not to.” There was a satisfied thrum in Palpatine’s voice.

The answer came to him in an instant. He knew it in his heart. He felt it in his whole being. There was a reason everything Palpatine had been saying had felt so familiar.

“You’re a Sith Lord.”

“Indeed. Palpatine is the family name I was born with, one I later adopted as a sole cognomen. Beneath that, however, I have a secret, deeper, identity. One that fits me far more than the mask of Chancellor Palpatine ever could. That is the truth of Darth Sidious.”

The moment Palpatine said his true name, his voice changed, becoming darker and deeper with an ancient power that reverberated across the entire room.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Anakin felt betrayed. Why hadn’t the Chancellor trusted him?

Palpatine’s expression became contrite and earnest. “I am sorry Anakin. I wanted to. So very much. But I was afraid. I didn’t know where you stood. You’ve studied your histories. You know if the Jedi found out, they would kill me simply for having a different understanding of the Force than them.”

“You never needed to worry about that, sir,” Anakin assured him. “I know you’re not evil. Just because you’re a Sith doesn’t change that. Plenty of Sith were good people too.”

Palpatine shook his head. “I’m honored by your faith in me, Anakin, but you’ve ignored everything I was trying to teach you earlier. Good and evil are simply different points of view. History has proven that it is written by the victors, that might is right. A scholar might therefore correctly argue that there is no such thing as good and evil, only power, and those too weak to seek it. The question now is, which are you?”

Anakin hesitated. He looked over at the corpse of Watto, at the pleading look in his eyes, and wavered for the slightest moment before he remembered his poor mother being blown to pieces in the desert. Remembered the way the turbolaser impacts on Naboo had glowed red. That awful, cold, squirming, feeling. The same feeling he had felt within him when he had killed Watto. The feeling of death and darkness. Death he could bring to the slavers with one hand and keep away from those he loved with the other. A darkness he could master if he only had the will.

He turned back to Palpatine, his decision made. “I want power. I want freedom from the Jedi and anyone else who tries to hold me back. I want to make sure the ones I care about are never hurt again. I want it all!”

There was a gleeful and pleased expression on Palpatine’s face. “When we first met, I told you that I wanted you to carry on the Palpatine legacy. Why not the legacy of the Sith as well? Join me. Pledge yourself to the Sith. Become my apprentice, and you will have all the power you could ever imagine.”

This wasn’t an offer he could afford to turn down. He had wanted the power for so long, dreamed of what he could do with it, and now that the opportunity had fallen into his lap, Anakin would be a fool to refuse it.

“Yes,” he said eagerly, and he could almost feel fate changing forever, darkening and twisting.

“Yes to what, my boy?”

“Yes, I pledge myself to your teachings. Teach me how to break my chains and achieve the power that you have. The power to do anything.”

“Kneel before me, Anakin Skywalker.”

It was not a request. Anakin sank to his knees and crushed the small voice of protest in his mind that had sworn he would never again kneel to another master. He looked up and saw a pair of sickly yellow eyes and a sinister smile. A face of darkness eager to make him just like it.

“It is your will to join your destiny forever with the Order of the Sith Lords?” the darkness asked.

There was no longer any hesitation. “Yes.”

“Good,” the darkness rasped with triumph, drawing out the word as it savored its victory. It placed a pale hand upon his brow as if to anoint him with the shadows.

Sidious breathed in deeply, his voice more powerful than ever before. “The Force is strong with you, young Skywalker. A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth…”

A pause filled the air as the dark side itself answered Sidious’ search for a name with a title darker than the void.

“Vader.”

Old instincts taught Anakin exactly how he was supposed to answer that. “Thank you, my Master,” he said as he bowed his head.

“Rise.”

Anakin rose to his feet, his head bowed as he waited for the first orders he would receive from his new Master.

“Come my apprentice. Take whatever you wish from this place before we depart. We must leave quickly before your crime is discovered,” Sidious commanded.

Anakin could see the wisdom in his words and obeyed, taking C-3PO from where he had sat collecting dust in the corner before he followed his Master out of the shop.

He was determined to never return to this stinking planet ever again. His mother was dead and with her the last remnants of the boy he had once been. His future at the side of his new Master awaited him, his destiny as a Dark Lord of the Sith.

As Darth Vader.

________________________________________

Author’s Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you guys had fun reading it too!

Is Maul correct that he was only ever a tool for Sidious instead of a true apprentice? Perhaps, perhaps not. There are different interpretations suggesting either is the case. Maybe the truth is, as always, somewhere in between. Is Sidious at all being genuine with Anakin in wanting him to be his true heir to the Sith? Once again, perhaps! Stay tuned to see how the journey of Maul and Vader plays out in the rest of the story!

Credit where due, strong inspirations and even some lines were taken from The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith, both movie and novel, for this chapter!

Please let me know your thoughts, suggestions, and questions in the comments below or over on Discord!