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“You wanted to see me, Master Windu?” you prompted expectantly, watching him gaze out the window over Coruscant.
He turned around to face you with mistrustful eyes. Typical.
“I have heard troubling things about you, padawan.”
You prickled at the title. After all these years, resentment festered at the insult of not being made a Jedi Knight.
Betraying no emotion, you raised a cool brow at his words. “Such as?”
Hands crossed behind his back, he took a step forward. “Master Kenobi has informed me that in battle, you used the Force to manipulate your opponents’ emotions.”
“Jedi have manipulated minds so often that there is a colloquialism for it. Certainly you’ve heard the Hutts refer to it as our ‘mind trick’?” you replied, unimpressed by the accusation.
Windu’s face hardened at your blase response. “We use it to persuade; you used it to instill fear.”
“And yet we still reached the desired outcome.”
“The ends do not justify the means!” he finally snapped. Taking a calming breath, he continued. “I sense a darkness in you, young one. Rage and apathy and sadism. That is not the Jedi way.”
You paused, cocking your head to the side and smiling slowly. “Then it is lucky that I am no longer a Jedi.”
As his eyes flashed with realization, you threw Windu across the room. Agile as he was, he managed to channel his momentum into a roll and land on his feet.
“You have been seduced by the dark side,” he snarled as the two of you circled each other.
“No,” you spit back.
You activated your lightsaber, and a scarlet beam flared out.
“I have been rejected by the light.”
You surged forward and slashed downward at Windu, but he quickly activated his own saber and blocked your attack.
Spinning away, he swiped his blade toward your knees. You managed to jump just in time to dodge it, but could feel the heat even through your shoes.
“The Council will sentence you for treason against the Republic.”
“The Republic is obsolete, as is your precious council,” you sneered, thrusting forward once more.
Windu parried your attack and flipped behind you. You threw your arm backwards to block his saber, but it was a miscalculation.
Instead of slashing at you, he kicked the back of your knees so your legs gave out from under you.
Taking advantage of this momentary weakness, he jabbed your exposed wrist with the hilt of his lightsaber, causing you to drop your own.
Using the Force, he flung yours across the room. Enraged, you threw up your hands and shot lightning at him.
Inexperienced with the use of Force lightning, you only managed a brief blast that he quickly evaded. The only evidence of your attack was the singed edge of his cloak.
Windu was too fast, too adept. Before you could react, he curled his fingers and began to choke you with the Force. He raised you from the ground, your toes only barely brushing the floor.
“You’re too dangerous to be left alive!” he barked out.
Though you tried desperately to propel your lightsaber back into your hand, you were unable in your weakened state. Your vision began to fade and darken, and you knew you had lost the battle.
You weren’t sure if it was the lack of oxygen, but you could swear someone was moving behind Windu…
In quick succession, three things happened:
First, the sound of a lightsaber activating blared in your ears.
Second, Windu released his grasp on your throat, and you greedily sucked in air.
Third, you looked up to see Anakin standing over a now-handless Windu.
He kicked Windu’s saber to the side (though without arms, the Jedi could clearly not use it).
“Skywalker,” Mace rasped out, face contorting with agony. “I should have known.”
Anakin did not answer, but looked upon Windu with disdain and resentment. In a flash, he slashed his lightsaber through Windu’s neck, decapitating him.
The room fell silent apart from the humming of Anakin’s saber and your wheezing breaths. When he deactivated his blade, the latter sound became more apparent.
Anakin looked at you, startled, as if only just then realizing you were there despite having killed Windu to save you.
Rushing over to you, he began to inspect you for any sign of harm.
“My love, are you alright?” he asked, worry marring his beautiful features.
You nodded slowly, though tears leaked from your eyes. When you caught your breath, you spoke.
“I thought I was going to die,” you whispered. Both the strangling and fear had taken your voice from you.
“He can’t hurt you now,” Anakin murmured, taking your face in his hands. “No one can. No one ever will again.”
You took a few seconds to settle your breath before giving a sharp nod and rising. Cocking your head in curiosity, you strode over to Windu’s body.
“Ironic, isn’t it? The Jedi fight dirtily and then criticize us for doing the same.”
Anakin didn’t answer, regarding you with concerned eyes.
You looked over, sensing his turmoil.
“Do you regret killing him, Ani?”
“He would have killed you.”
You did not miss the deflection.
“But do you regret it?”
This time, he hesitated before answering.
“No,” he finally said, setting determined eyes on you. “I don’t.”
Satisfied, you crossed the distance between the two of you.
“Good,” you smiled, pressing your forehead against his. “The Jedi do not love, and so they do not understand. They would take you away from me if they could.”
“I would never let that happen,” he assured you quickly, taking your hands in his own and squeezing them for emphasis. “I would destroy planets for you. I would burn worlds.”
“As I would for you,” you vowed, pressing your lips against his. “We are going to rule the galaxy together, Anakin. And if we cannot, we will tear it apart together.”