lucetilogs | Dad...you're a Sith Lord waiting to happen...

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Dad...you're a Sith Lord waiting to happen...

Who: Anakin, Luke, Obi-Wan, Leonardo, Ami, and Adele
What: Discussing Anakin's future
When: March 25th, Around 7:00 in the evening
Where: Community Building 5, Room 24
Summary: Trying to tell Anakin about Palpatine without him flipping out...
Rating: PG/PG-13 Possible strong language...

[Luke's been preparing this for some time now. He's taken time to talk to quite a few people a bout this and its been almost unanimously agreed that Anakin needs to know whats coming in his own future. Someone undoubtedly would tell him, and by all accounts it was best if the bad news came from Luke rather than a stranger.

Earlier in the day, he had sent messages to Anakin, Obi-Wan, Leonardo, Ami, and Adele, asking each of them to arrive around 7:00, and that they had something extremely important they needed to discuss. He'd laid out tea, cleaned up his droid-related mess, and had stashed his lightsabers in his bedroom. However, against one wall he had left his cortosis fiber staff, as a hopefully last resort if something went much worse than he expected. As another precaution, Luke's journal is open in an unobtrusive corner, set to an Unhackable filter to Lupin.

Settling in to wait, Luke sank heavily into a chair...hoping everything would go alright]

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[Anakin spares Ami a glance when she speaks up. He knows they are, which is another reason why he's so conflicted right now. There is no reason why they would lie about this, and he has no reason to even begin to think they're lying. It's just... it's hard.

He takes a deep breath.]

I know, I'm just... I don't even know how to begin taking this all in. He's like a father. If what you're saying is true it completely changes everything. [Which he's starting to realize probably isn't even half of it and might be a bit of an understatement.] So what does this mean?

[Luke carefully gauges Anakin's reaction. It does seem that, at least, he's able to believe it. Surely he had his doubts about Palpatine. Maybe, now, he'll listen]

It...changed a lot of things. Imagine what a Sith Lord in his position would be capable of doing. With control over the entire Republic military? And, thanks to his deception, dictatorial powers over the Senate?

[Luke actually shivers. Just remembering the films, thats a truly horrifying thought]

He...tricked everyone. His plan was flawless. Nobody saw it coming.

[Obi-Wan didn't have to see the films. He found the bodies.]

"Anakin, in the timeline I came from... Palpatine had gone a step farther. He confessed to you that he was a Sith Lord, and you reported it to Master Windu. When Master Windu attempted to arrest him, he attacked and killed Windu. He told the Senate it was an assassination attempt...

And he used the public sympathy to gain the approval he needed to reform the Republic into an Empire. He made himself an Emperor, Anakin."

[He still really, really does not want to believe any of this, but he's trying to keep an open mind as much as possible. He's at least giving into the possibility. If it were anyone else besides them that were telling him all this, he would have never believed it in a moment or even given it the slightest consideration. And at least for now that flare of anger has mostly subsided, though it is still there. It's just starting to become focused toward Chancellor Palpatine instead. And he's still very much upset, just holding it back to not show it much in front of their guests.]

...he's killed Master Windu. [That's a feat all in itself. What Obi-Wan says after really has him on edge, though.] There has to be a way to stop him and show the Senate the truth.

That...remains to be seen in your timeline. In mine, its far too late. The Republic became an Empire, and there was a civil war. We, the Rebellion, were victorious though even twelve years later we're still fighting the Imperial Remnants.

[He does genuinely hope that perhaps, maybe, there is a way Anakin learning this can make a difference. A chance, maybe, for them to find a way to share memories 'back home' and stop the threat of Palpatine once and for all, before he can even get started]

Its not quite written in stone. Perhaps there is a way to make a difference, but we cannot know.

[He can feel the rage inside of Anakin. It has been subdued, but not controlled, and that concerns him.]

"More important, Anakin, is that you must control your anger. The things we must tell you will be painful to hear. If you give into rage at Palpatine, it will lead you to a place as dark as him."

That's a lot easier said than done.

[He admits lightly. And it is. It's hard to control that compulsion inside of himself, but he can try. He takes another deep breath to remain calm.]

I'm almost afraid to ask what all happened. You said things were... bad.

Edited 2012-03-27 05:12 (UTC)

[And now, Luke has NO idea how to go on. Remembering Darth Vader was one thing, but...explaining it to, well, Darth Vader. That was something entirely different. This is something he cannot beat around the bush about. There isn't a delicate way to explain...being seduced by the Dark Side and spending decades scouring the Galaxy for Jedi and rebels...

But he's going to try.]

You really should prepare yourself for this, Anakin. Things were very bad. Only a few Jedi escaped the Emperor's initial attack. Fewer still survived the dark times that followed.

[He pauses, gulping, and looking around the room. His eyes start at Obi-wan, seeking affirmation that it must be done. Slowly, they move to Ami, asking for her calming support. Next Adele, this time drawing strength from her stoic nature. Finally Leonardo, to reinforce that if things went badly...he'd have an ally]

Anakin. You...were turned to the Dark Side. Emperor Palpatine. He...deceived you worst of all.

[There really is no way for you to prepare yourself for something like that. It's not something you can just shrug off and say "I did? Oh, well then." or even try to take is as calmly as possible. Especially not when your name is Anakin Skywalker.

Anakin is eerily silent for the first few moments, trying to let what Luke just said sink in. Though he's silent, it's probably easy for both Obi-Wan and Luke to sense the emotions stirring within him, and it's even starting to read on his face. It's not anger, at least, mostly a lot of pain and disbelief. He would never turn to the Dark Side, there's no way. And the other Jedi... Most of them were slaughtered? Is that what Luke is saying? How.

He swallows hard then looks to Obi-Wan and Luke.]

I wouldn't... How—[It's getting harder and harder for him to remain calm. He shakes his head in denial.]

Emperor Palpatine; Chancellor Palpatine, was...is a Sith Lord that hid in full view of the Jedi Council. [Adele keeps her voice level, but not without an undercurrent of gentleness. This could not be easy to hear, easy to bear, and she wasn't truly certain she had any right to offer commentary. But it needed to be said. More than anyone else involved in the movements of the Sith Lord, Anakin was the first and worst victim.]

He is powerful, Anakin. Charismatic. More than able to make himself appear trustworthy to anyone, and as you said. You looked to him as you would your father. He placed himself in a position where he would be able to influence you however he wished...and he wished for you to become that which Luke remembers. [That which Obi-wan faced, but that. That was not hers to tell.]

[Ami writhes in an absolute torment of uncertainty. How much should she say? What should she say? But if it might help... If it might help Anakin to understand the possibilities, to face them without crossing the line that horrifies him...

Her voice is very quiet when she speaks.]

It may not seem it now, but I was considered an enemy to the people here in Luceti - and my world - for some time.

What led to that, I'm not proud of. But I can't deny the possibilities. It might be best to face them here, too.

[She falls silent, half ready for them to hate her; few people know of it all, any more, or the things she did to earn that label.]

[Luke listened quietly, allowing everyone a chance to speak. Somehow, his friends revelation did not surprise him. Since he'd met her, he had felt a sort of lingering darkness, a small blemish on an otherwise shining soul. And, while he'd had suspicions that Ami had a darker past than she'd let on, but who was he to judge? He'd been just as guilty as her, or Anakin, of committing acts of villainy. He'd fallen into the exact same trap his father and probably Ami had. The Dark Side was seductive. It was powerful, and it was dangerous. He knew once someone had gone down that road it would linger, but it could be turned to creative ends.]

Anakin. Adele is correct. Emperor Palpatine deceived you, and manipulated not only you, but the entire Jedi Counsel into believing he had only the Republic's best wishes at heart. There is no shame in it.

[And now a bit of good news, that would hopefully assuage some of the anger he could feel mounting in his father.]

Ultimately, he failed. In the end, you turned back to the Light and destroyed him. By doing so, you saved me and my sister, yourself, and the entire Galaxy.

[And...as far as Luke is concerned, thats all Anakin needs to know concerning Palpatine during his timeline. His clones, Luke's own fall and redemption at Leia and Han's hands. Those were things not even Obi-Wan knew.]

[He wants to feel relief, that they've told him the worst of it, but... they had not been specific. They had avoided details. Left them for him, and he feels almost certain that hearing them now will bring forth that torrent of anger.

Yet he had to hear it.]

"... Anakin, it is important to note that none of us blame you. Everybody here is here because they wish to help you. To help you deal with the pain, and the betrayal. To accept what has been done and make peace with it."

[All of them speaking up gives Anakin a moment to stop and think, to try and process it all. Even with all of their kind words to try and deflect all the blame on Palpatine, there was still the fact this man, the one Anakin was so close to, was going to manipulate him and the Republic so terribly. There was shame in it, and it hurt.

This wasn't part of the prophecy. He's supposed to be the Chosen One, not... this, what they're telling him he becomes. He failed them. He failed the other Jedi, he failed Obi-Wan... He failed himself. He can't look at Obi-Wan anymore when the man speaks. He turns his attention down to his lap, trying to ignore all the eyes watching him.

If it's one thing, though, it's that Luke seems to have a way of keeping Anakin's emotions in check. Because despite how distraught Anakin feels right now, Luke knows how to say the right things and is keeping this from getting a whole lot worse than it could have for the moment. He's staying calm. Well, as calm as he can be anyway. He's managed to keep from lashing out in anger so far.]

I know, and I am thankful. I just... I want to know everything—how it all happens, what all happens. If this is my future I have to know, even... even if there's terrible things I've done. [Because if he turns to the Dark Side, he probably has done some things he's not going to be proud of. But he has to know. He looks up at Luke again.] Wait... you said sister.

[There she goes again, Leia bailing him out of a really sticky situation]

Yes. I have a twin sister. You have a daughter. She's not here, though...maybe someday if we're lucky and she's terribly unlucky, she'll wind up in Luceti. Her name is Leia. Leia Organa Solo. After the Emperor took over the Republic, she was adopted by Bail Organa of Alderaan, as a means to hide her from Palpatine. He treated her as his own daughter, and raised to be an extremely skilled diplomat.

[He pauses, letting that sink in]

She fought in the Rebellion, and was extremely brave. Without her, I'd be dead a hundred times over. Now, in my timeline, she is married to a dear compatriot of ours, Han Solo. And...yes, in my timeline you are a grandfather. To the twins Jacen and Jaina, and...most suitably, their third child is named Anakin.

[He honestly smiles now. Hopefully, at least some of this will give Anakin the fortitude to accept that he did leave a good legacy, and not bad]

[It does. Anakin was already quite proud of Luke, and to now know he has a daughter as well. Twins. Padmé has twins. And he's going to have grandchildren, one of which is named after him. That's... astounding. Anakin can't hide the smile that creeps up on his face with that news. It even eases the pain of everything else.

Luke and Leia. He bets she looks just like Padmé.

...Padmé. Why wasn't it her that raised Leia? Leia being put into the hands of Bail Organa didn't concern him, it was the reason why. Was that something Padmé wanted? That doesn't make sense. He wants to just stay in that moment, forget all the bad things, but unfortunately it has to be short-lived. This is concerning him. He starts to frown.]

That's great. More than great, but... I have to ask, why was it Senator Organa that adopted her? You said it was to keep her hidden from Palpatine, was that something myself or Padmé decided?

Due to the situation, you and Padmé were not involved in the decision. It was done between Yoda, Obi-wan and Bail. You were not there when it was made.

[He glances at Luke and then Obi-wan before he looks back to Anakin and keeps going. He's keeping his voice even and calm, though he's watching Anakin's reactions to everything he's being told.]

Padmé...she died shortly after having Luke and Leia.

Edited 2012-03-28 01:20 (UTC)

[And suddenly it's like ice running through his veins. He can't process Leo's words.]

...w-what?

[He looks at Obi-Wan. Please, say that's not true. Please.]

[The easy way. He wasn't ready yet.

He wasn't ready.]

"She... she died in childbirth. There were complications. She lived long enough to name the children."

[... Long enough to tell me there was good in you. Long enough to give me a piece of her that I was too blind to understand the significance of.]

[He can't breathe. It can't be true. He would have saved her somehow, had to have saved her somehow. He'd never let her down like that. He wouldn't lose her like he lost his mother.

No. Nononono. He... failed. Again. Why could he never be powerful enough to save them?

He can feel himself start to break and for that moment, the Dark Side starting to rise within him is a welcome feeling. He can't live without Padmé. It's too devastating to even comprehend and there's a piece of Anakin that dies with those words. He cradles his head in his hands, choking on a sob. He wants to scream and to rage and to reach through the Force to break things in a tantrum. And it's starting to build within him to do just that. All the emotions begin to burn inside him, causing a few objects in the apartment to being to shake.]

[And there. It had happened, as Obi-Wan had feared it would. Anakin had lost control.]

"Anakin."

[He calmly reaches over and rests a hand on Anakin's shoulder, meeting his eyes, stern yet even, calm.]

"Listen to me. I know it hurts, but you can control your rage. You are better than this."

[The room! Ami's head snaps towards a few of the shaking objects, then back to Anakin, hurriedly. Her voice is still mild, but very firm, somehow able to carry through the room easily despite not seeming to use force.]

Listen to me. It's painful to hear this. But your chance of stopping it isn't this way. Your chance of stopping it, is to change something. And you can only change your own decisions.

[You can't save her by breaking this room and going into the Darkness that contributed to the tragedy in the first place. You can only stop it by a new path.]

You can't walk the path they told you about, if you want to stop the tragedy.

Edited 2012-03-28 04:05 (UTC)

Merde.

[It doesn't matter what is said now. No matter what changes Anakin makes, no matter his choices? It will play out as it already has, as it must. But telling him that would not keep him calm, and telling him to be calm will not make him calm. Forcing control? Will not help. He wishes to vent, he wants a target and considering who is closest? It would be Ben.

Shit. And this wasn't helping. Fear begets fear, anxiety reinforces paranoia. Death here lasts only a week.]

For you, she yet lives.

[Better to focus on when he would return, rather than what would happen. Especially since he would remember none of it.] When you leave this place? You return to her. And you might be happy for some time.

[He hears Ami and Adele speaking, but their words barely register. Happy for sometime? How can you be happy if when you go back home you'll be waiting for the woman you love more than anything to die. The future may not be set in stone, but knowing that that is the path it's going to go down is difficult. He's still going to try to do everything to stop it, but what will be the cost?

Anakin slowly lifts his head, turning his attention to Obi-Wan. Maybe he wasn't better than this, Master. You know he turns to the Dark Side—is that why you avoided him all these weeks? Will you just up and leave him again once they're done here? Maybe he doesn't want to control his anger.]

Am I? [It's like the hand on his shoulder almost burns. A distraught yell is the only warning given before Anakin lashes out at Obi-Wan, shoving the man away harshly with his mechanical arm and also the aid of the Force.]

[Obi-Wan is not a master of Soresu for nothing, but the blow catches him completely off guard nevertheless. He reels back, but manages to absorb the bulk of the blow, taking a step back but keeping his footing, torso turning to redirect the momentum.

His expression does not change. He turns to face Anakin, still serious, but still calm.]

"Yes. You always have been."

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If this is too much, let me know and I'll edit

nah, you're good!

Ohohoho, man.

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ohhhhhhhdear and we take the downward turn

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