TITLE: Fallen
AUTHOR: Joanne
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, never will be.
DISTROBUTION: Want. Take. Have. Just leave me the URL.
SPOILERS: RotS.
RATING: NC-17
SUMMARY: A different chain of events brings about
Anakin's fall.
A/N: The dialogue from the movie I used came from the
script found at this site:
http://scripts.cgispy.com/newsboard.cgi?action=view&num=2&user=script
Also, everything between these things *** is meant to
be in itallics and was inspired by the very hot pic by
the very talented BoDeeWan (to whom that little bit is
also dedicated) that I tried my best to recreate.
Part I
"Obi-Wan.... May the Force be with you."
"Goodbye, old friend. May the Force be with you."
That was all. Such a simple exchange. One that they'd parted with countless times in the thirteen years they'd known each other. It had gotten to the point where it was instinctual, words that slipped out without thought. The words had been a novelty when he was nine and able to say them for the first time as a padawan. A Jedi Knight now, Anakin wished that he had said something more profound that one time. Instead he had simply watched Obi-Wan walk down the ramp towards his starfighter, not knowing it would be the last time they would meet.
Originally, Anakin's frustration had been directed at the Jedi Council for not sending him after General Grievous. Of all the Jedi, he believed himself to be the strongest, the most able. He could not imagine how he would have had any difficulty defeating the durasteel monstrosity. Anakin was now enraged at them for sending Obi-Wan to Utapau alone. That decision had led to Obi-Wan's death. Even knowing how well the two men worked together, they had been split up. That they were the most effective team was not a fiction made up by the HoloNet. Anakin and Obi-Wan. Kenobi and Skywalker. The Negotiator and the Hero With No Fear. There had been a reason they were always sent on missions together, even after Anakin had been granted his knighthood. Each of reasonsaasons had been ignored in favour of Anakin's staying behind to spy on the Supreme Chancellor.
It was pure and utter madness. After all of the horrors that Obi-Wan had survived during the war, he was killed just when it was almost over. Because Anakin hadn't been with him.
"It is most unfortunate," Palpatine sighed as he crossed over to where Anakin was kneeling on the floor. The young Jedi Knight had fallen to his knees the instant he had seen the recording, unable to banish the image. Over and again in his mind he could only see Obi-Wan receiving a blaster bolt to the chest and falling down into a deep, water-filled crater. "That your dear friend should be betrayed in such a way...."
"Do not speak of Obi-Wan as though you knew him," Anakin growled, rising finally to his feet. "Not to me who knew him best."
There was something in Palpatine's eyes that didn't sit well with Anakin. A darkness that hadn't been there before. For the briefest of seconds the colour of Palpatine's eyes appeared to shift, perhaps a mere trick of the lighting as the sun set on the distant horizon. It was equally possible, though, that it had been a real phenomenon. However, it was gone so fast that Anakin couldn't be certain of what he saw.
"I assure you, Anakin, that I did not mean to offend," Palpatine was quiapologizelogize. "unfortunatetnuate, however, that the Council chose to send Master Kenobi after Grievous alone when you would have certainly been a better choice."
"The Council did what they thought was best," Anakin forced out, not having the energy to defend the Jedi Council to Palpatine.
Less than an hour before Obi-Wan had been fine. He had been alive. Anakin had witnessedtransmissionition from Utapau himself. Obi-Wan had fGeneralnearl Grievous and the two had just engaged. Yinconceivablyably, during the time between Master Windu ordering him to inform the Chancellor of these events and his arrival at Palpatine's office, Obi-Wan had been killed. Obi-Wan was an excellent swordsman, however, against a bewieldingding four lightsabers his talents had been pushed to their limits. And all that it had taken to bring him down was a stray blaster bolt. That someone so powerful, someone that Anakin loved so dearly, could be killed with such ease fueled Anakin's rage. It coiled tightly in the pit of his stomach begging to be released so that Obi-Wan could be avenged.
"It is a shame that the Council is so set on denying my opinions as out of hand," Palpatine said absently. "Had you been allowed to accompany your former master you could have snatched him from death. Instead the Council kept you behind to spy upon me. It hardly seems worth pGeneralearl Kenobi's life."
Clenching prostheticetic hand into a tight fist, Anakin listened to the sound of the small gears grinding against each other. "The Council did what they thought was best."
"Even so, the Council holds you back. I can see this even if you cannot," Palpatine insisted as he came over to where Anakin sat slumped upon the floor. "They know that you could easily access powers far greater than their own and for that they fear you."
Still on the ground, Anakin tilted his head back so that he could look up at Palpatine's face. He attempted a glare at the much older man, but all expression dropped from his features as he noticed something behind the Chancellor's shoulder. Bolting to his feet, Anakin stalked towards the window wall that looked out over Coruscant. On the side of a large building across the way there was a silent HoloNet broadcast being shown.
Once again Anakin dropped to his knees as he witnessed his beloved master's death in large, vivid colour.
The HoloNet feed offered more details than the small hologram had. There had been a look of such concentration on Obi-Wan's face, his lips held in a tight line and his eyebrows furrowed slightly. A glancing blow he receito dto his left shoulder. The one he offered in return. The few longer strands of hair falling into his eyes. The light flaring as his nostrils when one of his attacks was blocked. And that look of utter shock when he was hit by a blaster bolt from a higher trajectory.
"Vile Sith-spawn reporters," Anakin growled, slamming the palm of his mechanical hand against the glass. "How could they get footage like that so soon? Or at all?"
"They are a unique breed," Palpatine confirmed, coming to stand next to Anakin.
Anakin watched as twice more Obi-Wan's death was displayed on the HoloNet bulletin. It was intercut with clips of the two of them on other missions. At the end, underneath a still frame of them laughing at some comment Anakin couldn't remember, was the caption, "Why were they separated?"
"Why indeed?" Palpatine murmured, turning away from the window.
Anakin remained where he was, only dropping back to sit on his heels, keeping his gaze on the image until it faded away. "I know there are things about the Force the Council isn't telling me."
"They see your future," the Chancellor said, his chair creaking slightly as he sat down. "They know your power will be too strong to control. I have sources that tell me they were displeased with Master Kenobi's refusal to keep your power in check."
"They would never do that!" Anakin shouted, rising to his feet as he whirled around on Palpatine. "They wouldn't kill Obi-Wan!"
"Yet the Council senses, as do many others, that there is more that lies between you than mere friendship. Master Kenobi himself once nearly succumbed to the Dark Side of the Force. It is likely they feared to loose one or both of you to the Dark Side if you were left unchecked."
"That is no reason to kill Obi-Wan."
Palpatine sighed deeply, linking his fingers together over his stomach. "Even now you cannot see through the fog of lies the Jedi have created around you. Let me help you know subtletiesties of the Force."
Anakin furrowed his brows. "How do you know the ways of the Force?"
Nothing had seemed real since he'd entered Palpatine's office. Anakin had tried reaching out through the Force to feel Obi-Wan and each time had found nothing. Where he beeneable ble to sense Obi-Wan for the past thirteen years there was only silence. It left Anakin feeling hollow. Obi-Wan had been the one constant thing in his life, a title even his wife could not hold claim to. Without Obi-Wan, Anakin felt lost. Completely adrift.
"Anakin, if one is to understand a great mystery, one must study all its aspects, not just the dogmatic, narrow view of the Jedi. If you wish to become a complete and wise leader, you must embrace a larger view of the Force. Do not be so quick to dismiss the Dark Side. Let me train you."
Anakin tensed, uncertain.
"Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any Jedi," Palpatine continued earnestly, rising from his seat to join Anakin in centerntre of the office. "Learn to know the Dark Side of the Force, Anakin, and you will be able to save your wife from certain death.... As you could not save your lover."
Anakin turned his head sharply towards Palpatine. "What did you say?"
"Use my knowledge, I beg you."
All at once everything clicked into place and Anakin took a step back, igniting his lightsaber. "You're the Sith Lord!"
He didn't hear anything that tumbled past Palpatine's lips then, his mind too consumed by chaos. Obi-Wan telling him what he'd learned on Geonosis all those years ago, his murder of Dooku, Grievous.... All along it had been Palpatine holding Grievous' leash and it was that durasteel monstrosity that had just killed Obi-Wan.
"It's your fault that Obi-Wan's dead," Anakin ground out, tears stinging his eyes.
Palpatine appeared instantly contrite. "Oh no, my dear boy, never. I would never hurt someone so close to you. No, Grievous was never supposed to kill Master Kenobi. Master Kenobi wasn't even supposed to be there."
"So it was me you meant to kill?"
"Anakin, my dear boy, I--"
"Stop calling me that!" Anakin shouted, jerking his lightsaber so that the tip was just under the politician's jaw. "How can I believe anything you say when you're the one who took Obi-Wan from me?"
"I am your friend, Anakin. I have always been your friend," Palpatine insisted, keeping completely still as Anakin refused to lower his blade.
Anakin deactivated his lightsaber, lowering it to his side. "I'm going to turn you over to the Jedi Council and let them decide what to dowithh you."
"Do you really trust the intentions of the Council?"
"More than I trust you," Anakin hissed, turning his back on Palpatine and stalking towards the door.
When he reached the door he heard Palpatine's voice once again. "The power of the Dark Side can save Padmé. Do not let her die as Obi-Wan did."
Anakin blocked out the words as best as he was able. Anakin didn't want to believe that Palpatine was capable of such an act. The Chancellor had been his friend since he had first come to Coruscant, always wiling to offer praise or act as a confessor for Anakin to unburden himself to. Never once had he thought that Palpatine would betray him.
As he navigated his way across the cityscape back towards the Jedi Temple, Anakin's mind drifted. It still did not seem entirely real that Obi-Wan could be dead. Anakin wasn't certain that it ever would. He could still feel Obi-Wan's touch upon his skin and the pleasant ache that accompanied their lovemaking.
***"Anakin? What are you doing here?" Obi-Wan inquired as the younger man entered his quarters shortly after the end of the Council meeting.
"They're sending you after Grievous without me."
Obi-Wan must have sensed something in his voice because he turned around then, leaving his packing behind for the moment. Crossing the small distance between them, Obi-Wan brought his hands up to frame Anakin's cheeks. "This is not the first time we've been separated Anakin, and I hardly doubt it will be the last. You are a Jedi Knight in your own right, and no longer require me to monitor your every move."
"That's not it," Anakin insisted, bowing his head to touch his forehead to Obi-Wan's.
"Then would you care to tell me what troubles you?" Obi-Wan prompted, his lips quirking in a teasing grin. "Contrary to what you would believe, I am not able to read your mind when you insist on keeping your shields in place."
In an instant, Anakin allowed his mental shields to drop, granting Obi-Wan full access to his current thoughts.
"Ah," Obi-Wan murmured, his smile losing some of its mirth. "I assure you, Anakin I will be quite protected. If it will make you feel better, I give you permission to give Cody another of the stern lectures regarding my safety that I'm not supposed to know about."
Despite himself, Anakin could feel his cheeks heating up.
"I have no intentions of dying any time soon," Obi-Wan assured him then kissed Anakin quite firmly.
Permission granted, Anakin wound his arms around Obi-Wan's middle, pulling the shorter man tighter against him as he sucked Obi-Wan's bottom lip between his own. Obi-Wan's teeth nibble at his top lip caused him to moan, his left hand snaking up to clutch a fistful of copper hair. Anakin's right hand fanned across Obi-Wan's cheek, the leather of the glove rasping against the older man's beard.
"You really should shave," Anakin murmured as he released Obi-Wan's lip.
Obi-Wan chuckled softly. "And just why should I do that?"
"I could show you why it is that I moan so much when you attack my throat. At the moment this damnable beard of yours gets in the way."
Obi-Wan's laughter was louder that time and while they quieted into soft chuckles Anakin divested his former master of his robe and tunics. Obi-Wan returned the favour immediately after, leaving the both of them clad only in their boots and trousers. Rather uncomfortable trousers on Anakin's end. Tease that he was, Obi-Wan took a step back from Anakin. Then a second and a third until the back of his knees hit the mattress. Anakin discovered why Obi-Wan was smirking when he tried to take a step forward to join him. Stuck in place, he could only watch as Obi-Wan removed first his boots then his trousers. A quick wave of his hand moved the satchel and clothing neatly to a table near the window and then Obi-Wan sat down, leaning back on his elbows.
"Master, please...." Anakin moaned as Obi-Wan slowly began to stroke his hardening cock.
A shudder racked Obi-Wan's body as he ran his fingertips along the thick vein that ran along the underside of his shaft. He fondled himself slowly, holding Anakin's gaze all the while. Obi-Wan's silence was a taunt, a rather cruel one in Anakin's opinion as he was allowed no relief for his own passions.
"Obi-Wan...."
Anakin stumbled forward when Obi-Wan suddenly released his hold on him. Wasting no time at all he lunged forward, dropping to his knees between Obi-Wan's spread thighs. He battled Obi-Wan's hand away as he leaned forward to nuzzle the musky flesh where thigh met groin. Anakin lapped at the skin with his tongue, turning his head so that lave the heavy balls before sucking them one at a time into his mouth. By this time he had Obi-Wan moaning almost continually, his fingers sunk into Anakin's unruly curls, caressing his scalp.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan groaned, using his grip on the younger man's hair to lift his head. "We do not have time for games. I leave in under an hour."
"Plenty of time," Anakin contradicted, lowering his head to take the tip of Obi-Wan's erection between his lips. He wiggled his tongue against the slit causing more precum to leak from the hole and Obi-Wan to gasp loudly.
Holding out his right hand, Anakin called the small bottle of massage oil from its usual hiding spot and into his palm. Anakin reluctantly allowed Obi-Wan's shaft to slip from his lips as he lifted his head. He sat back on his heels and uncorked the bottle dribbling some of the oil onto the head of Obi-Wan's cock. Obi-Wan's body was practically vibrating as Anakin spread the oil along his dick, slicking him.
Obi-Wan took the bottle from him, nodding for Anakin to stand. One hand on Anakin's hip, Obi-Wan pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to the hollow at the base of Anakin's throat as he poured oil onto his fingers. Obi-Wan's right hand slid down to grip Anakin's thickly muscled thigh while his left slipped around his body. He trailed his fingers along the crack of Anakin's ass, up and down several times, nudging his hole on each pass. On the fourth pass, Anakin tilted his hips back, whimpering quietly. Obi-Wan took pity on him, slipping his middle finger into Anakin's hole. Thrusting his hips in time with Obi-Wan's fingers, Anakin was stretched by first one, then two and finally three fingers. Both he and Obi-Wan were panting heavily by then, so Obi-Wan removed his fingers as Anakin climbed onto the bed, his knees on either side of Obi-Wan's hips.
Anakin's mouth opened in a silent gasp as the thick head of Obi-Wan's cock pressed past the stretched ring of muscle guarding his opening. He slowly lowered himself onto Obi-Wan completely.
"Force," Obi-Wan gasped, clutching at Anakin's hips as the younger man began to raise and lower himself along his cock.
With a rhythm gained from many nights seeking comfort in each other's arms, the two men began to thrust against one another, Obi-Wan lifting his hips as Anakin lowered his own. With each movement, Anakin could feel a great tension coiling in the pit of his stomach. It only became tighter as Obi-Wan's right hand moved to circle his cock, jerking it in time with their thrusts. Their cries were lost in one another's mouths, pledges of love and devotion exchanged exchanged as their orgasms built.
It was Obi-Wan who came first, his body arching up sharply as he shot his load into Anakin. The feel of the hot liquid filling his bowels, and the utter peace that suffused Obi-Wan's features brought on Anakin's own orgasm, the evidence of it splattering against their stomachs.
Obi-Wan collapsed backwards, drawing Anakin with him. Obi-Wan held him close, pressing sloppy, wet kisses against his forehead as they waited for their breathing to calm.***
Anakin swiped at the few tears that dripped past his lashes, scowling at his weakness. Palpatine had betrayed him. He had caused Obi-Wan's death and needed to suffer the consequences. Anakin meant to bring hell down upon his head to pay him back for taking Obi-Wan from him.