Saga Good for Evil (RotS AU, very dark) A (V)/P, Obi-Wan (update 7/21)

Author: Luthe
Title: Good for Evil
Genre: Dark AU
Timeframe: Post-RotS?
Characters: Anakin (Vader), Padme, Obi-Wan, Sidious
Summary: "Only a madman would give good for evil." -Euripides Anakin wins the duel, but lets Obi-Wan live. Can Obi-Wan stop the madness Anakin is slowly sinking into?
Notes: This is a *dark* AU. There will be no fluffy bunnies. The Anakin in this one scares even me, the author, so if you don't like 'em dark and creepy, leave now.

---

[b]Prologue:[/b]
He left his former Master lying on the black sands where he had fallen. Obi-Wan was no longer his concern. The Jedi had been neutralized, and so now he was free to concentrate on more important matters, such as his wife.

He reached the landing platform at a run. Padme lay as if sleeping, and he could feel her presence in the Force. It was weak, but she was alive. He knew she was alive. As her pregnancy had progressed his ability to sense her had grown, and he had been positive that she lived when he began his duel with Obi-Wan. The fact that she continued to do so was still a relief, however. He had just knelt to lift her from the ground when he felt the presence of his new Master approaching. Good. Together, they could ensure that Padme would live.

Holding his wife in his arms, he waited for his Master's shuttle. It touched down on the platform like a great bird of prey. Sidious emerged from it and hurried to his new apprentice.

"Lord Vader. I am glad to see you live."

He inclined his head. "Kenobi has been dealt with, my Master." Shifting Padme's weight in his arms, he unclipped Obi-Wan's lightsabre from his belt and handed it to Sidious. "He will trouble us no more."

Sidious smiled. "Good. Good. You have done well."

"Thank you, Master," he replied, looking at Padme. "My wife was injured in the fighting. We need to get her to a medcenter as quickly as possible."

Sidious narrowed his eyes slightly, but acquiesed. "Of course." He motioned to his guards. "Set a course for the Imperial Medical Center on Coruscant. We leave immediately."

The small party boarded the shuttle and it took off, carrying both the Dark Side of the Force and the last hopes of the galaxy with it.

[hr]

Obi-Wan awoke with a throbbing in his head and an ache in his right wrist. The smell of sulfur all around him reminded him of where he was, but what had happened? He remembered confronting Anakin, and dueling with him, but he could not recall how he had come to be lying prone on some sort of beach, his head and his wrist in pain.

He opened his eyes a crack. As he suspected, his right hand was gone below the wrist, and his lightsabre also. Why was he still alive? If Anakin had been able to disarm him, then why hadn't he killed him as well?

Obi-Wan didn't try to ponder that, because his skull ached too much. Instead, he called upon the Force to soothe the pain of his injuries and made himself stand. He did not know how long he had been unconscious, or what had happened during that time, but he had to find out. Padme had still been alive when the duel with Anakin began. If he was very lucky, she would still be there. If she was not, then it was his job to find out what had happened to her. She had been carrying Anakin's child, and that child could be the key to the future. He had to protect that future at all costs.

Staggering slightly, he made his way to the landing platform. Padme was gone, but her skiff and Anakin's starfighter remained on the platform. He wasn't sure if he would be able to fly either of them, but at least he had some hope of getting off this Force-benighted planet. He approached Padme's skiff wearily, looking forward to using it's medkit to wrap up his arm, if nothing else.

A beep from below one of the skiff's wings startled him. He looked up to see Anakin's astromech droid coming toward him, followed by Padme's protocol droid. "Master Obi-Wan!" the protocol droid exclaimed. "You're alive!"

Obi-Wan just blinked at the droid in confusion. He wasn't up for this, not right now.

"Master Anakin said th

 

This is wonderful. I love AU stories.

 

Oh...I like this story. It has so much potential. Please post another part soon.

 

I like it so far!

 

Ooohhhh! I love dark and creepy! This looks really good. If you get a chance PM me when you update. I don't want to loose this one!

 

more of this please.....what happened to OWK?

 

Intriguing premise. I like dark and creepy, and I'm up for anything you can throw at me. I find the AU's where Anakin suddenly becomes a remorseful fluffy bunny rabbit after he kills a temple full of children a bit unrealistic. Even though he does eventually come back to the light side, Anakin is a dangerous, formidable individual, whether good or evil. Please write again soon.

 

Wow I'm getting chills up my spine already, and we're not even up to the creepy bits yet . This sounds really good. Can't wait for more.

 

Please continue soon

 

Great story.
AU stuff is always a good one.

Continue please

 

Very cool concept! Sad to see Obi-Wan delimbed, but the only way Anakin could have walked away was if he were sure his master could no longer fight. I'm also glad to see Padme is still alive--how will Sidious deal with her good influence on Anakin? Please continue!

 

Creepy? Dark? I love those things. *grins*

And very interesting as well. So Obi-Wan is alive, but Vader won and now he has Padme as well. Wonder what's going to happen with Padme. Anyway, very intriguing. I'm really looking forwards to this.

 

I agree; it's a very interesting concept! I wonder what Padme's going to think when she regains consciousness...

uppies!

jazz

 

He paced from the moment they boarded the shuttle. His concern for Padmé overrode everything, including attention to his Master. Sidious privately pondered whether he should have selected another apprentice. This one's concern for his wife was annoying to say the least. Especially since it meant that she couldn't be discreetly killed and the child taken; no, instead, she would have to be kept alive. It was a risk, but she was the best leverage he had over Lord Vader, and until the boy was completely his, he had to keep the boy's power in check. One false move and the boy could flatten him.

Sidious looked up at his anxious apprentice. The fear radiating from him was delicious, but it wasn't being used properly. "Lord Vader," he said, "calm down. Your wife is quite safe now."

The boy's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "How can you be sure?"

"It is simple," Sidious replied. "She is in the company of two lords of the Sith. If anything should happen to her, we will merely call upon the Dark Side and use it to keep her alive. Or do you doubt the power of the Dark Side?" His voice took on cruel and icy edge.

"No, my Master. I have seen the Dark Side's power. I have no doubts."

"Good." The word was sharp and was not praise. "Meditate on your fear. Let it make you strong. I will watch over your wife."

The boy nodded and sat, closing his eyes. Sidious looked again at the unconscious woman on the bed. Her breath hitched, and Sidious smiled. He had an idea.

---

Obi-Wan made contact with Master Yoda and Bail Organa on the asteroid colony of Polis Massa. He availed himself of the primitive medical facilities there while briefing them of the events on Mustafar. They had been waiting there for word ever since Master Yoda's defeat at the hands of the Emperor.

The medical droid had examined Obi-Wan's head and diagnosed a bad concussion and a hairline fracture of the skull. It had also managed to obtain a primitive, but useable, prosthetic hand that would suit for now. The droid was finishing the attachment of it as Obi-Wan ended his tale.

"The next thing I remember is waking up on the beach. From what Padmé?s droid told me, we can assume Sidious thinks I'm dead, but why? Why would Anakin lie? Why would he let me live?"

"Lies are the way of the Sith," Yoda said. "But strange his other actions are. Bearing watching, does he."

"And how are we going to do that?" Obi-Wan asked, more than a little annoyed. "Set up surveillance on Coruscant?"

"Exactly," said Senator Organa. "I'll handle that."

"Our thanks, you have," said Yoda. "Into exile we must go. Hidden we must be until act we can."

Obi-Wan glanced first at Bail, and then at Yoda. A gleam oddly like that of Anakin when he was about to argue with something was forming in Obi-Wan's eyes. "I don't like it. Anything could happen while we wait. Who knows what further horrors could be unleashed upon the galaxy?"

Yoda rapped his gimer stick sharply on the floor. "But wait we must! Not strong enough are we to defeat the Sith. Strength will be found in time, but in the meanwhile, wait we must."

Obi-Wan said nothing, but his face was stormy. He didn't like it, and wouldn't like it for a long time.

"Where will you hide?" Bail asked.

"To Dagobah, I will go," Yoda replied. "Master Obi-Wan's choice, his planet of exile is."

Obi-Wan continued to glare at Yoda. Finally, he snapped, "Tatooine. I'll go to Tatooine."

When asked later why he had said that, he couldn't honestly say. He blamed the concussion. It was really the Force.

Yoda nodded. "Settled it is. Informed Senator Organa will keep us. When right the time is, act we will."

Something occurred to Obi-Wan. "Master Yoda, Tatooine has comm equipment, but what of Dagobah? How will we reach you?"

Yoda smiled enigmatically. "Discover that, you will."

[hr]

The shuttle had barely landed when the stretcher bearing the injured woman emerged from it. During the latter half of the flight, Padmé?s breathing had become more labored. It was vital she be treated immediately, and he knew it. T

 

Excellent post. I can see Anakin leaving Obi-wan alive had he won the duel and been able to keep him from following him. He did ask him to leave several times so they wouldn't have to duel, after all.

 

Very intersting concept! It's quite plausible. And good idea, not really naming Anakin/Vader, we'll get to decide what he's like at the moment.

 

Interesting developments! So, instead of Anakin wearing the apparatus, it will be Padme? It will certainly be interesting to read the next post!

uppies!

jazz

 

*is evil author* Yes, Padme is the one on the respirator. The Emperor couldn't let her get off scot-free, could he? Not when she's the key to controlling his apprentice, anyway.

---

As the droid disappeared back into the treatment room to begin inducing labor, he turned to his Master.

"Master, will you stay? In case anything happens?"

Sidious suppressed a sneer. The boy was so tiresome in his concern for his little family. "Do you think I need to, apprentice? Think on your visions; do they seem to be coming true?"

The boy's brow knitted. "No, Master. I'm sorry."

Sidious forced himself to smile. "It is all right. I have duties I must attend to, however."

The boy nodded. Sidious began to walk away, and then stopped and turned. "Lord Vader," he called, "I will have apartments in the Palace prepared for you and your...[i]family[/i]." The last word had the slightest edge of ice on it.

"Thank you, Master," the boy said simply. He didn't realize that he had just put himself completely under Sidious's thumb.

[hr]

He entered the room and appraised the situation. Padmé was still unconscious, and the droid was doing mysterious things under a sterile sheet. Deciding he was not interested in the details, he took a seat near his wife's head and held her hand. Her breathing was steady, accompanied by the whoosh-hiss of the respirator that was helping her breath. He stroked her hair and renewed his vow to be strong enough to free her from the cursed machine.

Some minutes later, the droid spoke. "Sir, it's a boy." The droid held out a small, bloody infant, wrapped in a blanket. The infant blinked at his father for a moment, and then began to wail. He smiled and accepted the squalling child.

"Luke," he said. "Your name is Luke." Touching the Force, he used it to soothe the child's cries. A moment later, the droid spoke again.

"Sir, it's a girl."

He looked up, startled. The droid held another child. He smiled again and took her. "Leia. You are Leia."

Leia made a face at him and waved her fists weakly. He just rocked her.

Finishing whatever task he had been doing, the droid wheeled away from Padmé. "Sir, would you like me to lift the sedation now? It would be best if your wife fed the children as soon as possible."

He nodded. "Do it."

[hr]

Padmé awoke to the sounds of a medcenter. A respirator hissed from somewhere, and she felt oddly groggy. Opening her eyes, she saw Anakin sitting next her bed, two infants in his arms.

"Ani?" she said.

"Padmé," he replied, and smiled. "These are our children."

She blinked, and moved a hand to her stomach. It was flat again. "What happened, Ani?" Her breath whistled strangely. She tried to sigh, and couldn't. Something was wrong.

"You were hurt, Padmé, but I saved you. And then you had the children, and now you're awake."

She dimly remembered Anakin standing on the landing platform on Mustafar, his arm extended towards her. There had been an invisible hand at her throat, and then blackness.

"Where's Obi-Wan?" Obi-Wan had been at Mustafar; he had snuck on her ship and followed her. Where was he?

"He's gone, love. He'll never come between us again. No one will. We're a family now."

The words were innocuous, but something in how he said them scared her.

"Here," he said, smiling again. "Take the children. The boy is Luke, and the girl is Leia, just like we said. They're hungry, and they want their mother."

She forced herself to smile, and nodded. He handed her the children, carefully, very carefully. "They're beautiful," she said.

"They should be," he replied. "They're ours." He paused for a moment. "Are you happy, Padmé?"

She wanted to say she wasn't, that she was scared, that he wasn't her husband, but a stranger wearing her husband's face and voice, but she couldn't. Something heavy seemed to push on her mind, and she found herself saying, "Yes, Ani, I'm happy. We're a family now."

The words made her want to scream.

[hr]

Obi-Wan squinted into the harsh glare of the Tatooine sunlight and wondered once agai

 

hi everyone! i'm new so please be kind!! i just have to say i am loving this story. please post more very soon!! btw i love it dark

 

This is the chapter that would not die. There is a ton of other stuff I wanted to put in, but I think I'll put it all in the next part, because otherwise, I would have never gotten around to posting. Enjoy!

---

The hospital wouldn't release Padmé or the children for three days. The medics said they wanted to ensure they all were healthy before they released them. He bit back the observation that Padmé would not be fully healthy until she was free of the accursed machine that helped her breath.

He spent the three days he was forced to wait productively. He examined every inch of the suite his Master had assigned them for security breaches, and rewired the doors so that they would be impassable to anyone but himself and Padmé. He purchased two nanny droids to assist Padmé, and put them to work ordering furnishings and supplies for the nursery. By the time his wife was finally ready to leave the hospital, everything was prepared for her.

[hr]

Padmé wandered through the rooms of her new home in a daze. Anakin had brought her late last night, telling her that his Master, the Emperor, had granted them rooms in his new palace. Padmé had been less than impressed, but she made encouraging noises. Anakin assumed she was tired and had let her rest, not pressing her to express happiness at her new fortune. He had been doing that often in the past few days, seeming to need her approval for all that had happened. She had tried to please him, but usually her words were accompanied by a strange pressure in her head and the desire to scream.

The suite was grand, she had to admit. Luxurious, too. The furnishings and art were richer than those of her old apartment in 500 Republica. But it was too somber and stifling for her. It felt like there was no life in it.

The rooms were decorated in reds, blacks, and somber greens. Accents of dull gold and muted silver shone through in places, but they were rare. The windows were large and overlooked a good portion of the Coruscant skyline, but they did not open and there was no balcony for her to get fresh air on. She felt oppressed by the ceiling, which seemed to be trying to squeeze the life from her.

The twins' nursery was the only relief from the monotony of the rest of the suite. The walls were a blazing white, and the cribs and dressers were made of a good solid wood polished in a simple brown. Educational toys and baby paraphernalia occupied most of the free space in the room. With the twins and their nanny droids in residence, the room actually felt alive, unlike the rest of her new home.

Padmé wandered back to the bedroom and lay down. She wished she could go back to 500 Republica and have her old life back. All she wanted was her husband and her children, not a suite in the Imperial Palace and the soft noise of respirator accompanying her everywhere. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to sleep before the twins woke her up, demanding to be fed.

[hr]

"Lord Vader," the Emperor said. "Do you not believe that the security of the Palace is adequate?"

He looked up from where he had been kneeling at his Master's feet. "I believe it is sufficient, my Master," he equivocated.

"I ask because you have made significant changes to your rooms and your locks. I feared you had doubts about the safety of the Palace."

"No, Master." He could sense the danger in the air. "I was merely trying to protect my family."

"How [i]noble[/i]," the Emperor sneered. "I have an assignment for you."

He meekly said nothing. For now, he was to play the part of the obedient slave. Until Padmé was healed, he could not rise up and strike his Master down. And so he was quiet. His Master was upset with him, and he had to appear frightened.

"You are to go to the Abego system. There have been reports of two Jedi in the area. They are to be eliminated."

"Yes, Master."

The Emperor's voice was deceptively soft. "Do not fail me, Lord Vader."

[hr]

Anakin had told her he had an assignment from the Emperor, and that he would be gone for a few days. Padmé had just nodded. It

 

Wow! You have been active since I last checked in. Nice twist having Padme wear the respirator. Does she really need it or is it just a way for Palpy to twist the knife?

Sidious privately pondered whether he should have selected another apprentice.

I loved this line! Just imagine how much easier his life would have been getting someone without so much baggage.

Great job with this!

 

Interesting that she wants to turn a blind eye, but I can also understand that. And seeing her in the respirator just makes me hurt. Poor Padme- I hope that Anakin can gain the power/ knowledge to free her from that. Palpatine...there are no words to describe him. But hopefully Vader/Anakin will come to his senses and get rid of him...

 

Oh I hope Anakin gets back soon, 'cause you know you can't trust Palpy! I like that you have Anakin(Vader) planning to get rid of his master, let's just hope it's sooner rather than later. Come on Anakin, let the love in!!!

 

InLoveWithLordVader

Does she really need it or is it just a way for Palpy to twist the knife?

She does actually need it. Palpy realized that if she alive and whole, his apprentice would be impossible to control. So he went for the weak spot. Hence, a Padme who is dependant on a respirator. As long as she needs to be healed, Palpy has a way of keeping his apprentice on a leash. At least, for now...

Alethia

Interesting that she wants to turn a blind eye, but I can also understand that.

She's not completely in denial, but she also wanted to have at little time when she was free of dark, oppressive thing looming over her. She'll admit what's going on, just not at that moment.

I hope that Anakin can gain the power/ knowledge to free her from that. Palpatine...there are no words to describe him. But hopefully Vader/Anakin will come to his senses and get rid of him...

I'm not sure you want him to get that powerful. Mostly because that much Dark power would require a lot death and destruction and general badness.

You know, like Palpy is causing. I can promise you, you'll hate him a lot more before the end. ::sporks her Palpy muse, who is always one step ahead and scheming::

There will be Palpy smushing, I promise, but the ends might not justify the means...

 

Short update, as I am going away for the weekend, but I didn't want to leave without posting a bit. I promise more when I get back, because what better to do on vacation than write fic?

---

Bail arranged to have business again in the Palace two days after his initial encounter with Padmé. He had to make sure she was all right; that she wasn't an unwilling thrall in the clutches of a monster, but the brilliant, passionate woman he was proud to call friend.

He found her on the balcony once again, in a simple white dress. She was staring out at the garden, the look on her face almost wistful.

"Milady," he said.

She turned to him with a smile. "Bail! You missed the twins. It was so beautiful yesterday, I brought them out here. They were so happy."

He smiled in return, not wanting to ruin her good mood just yet. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I couldn't get away. I had other business to attend to."

She waved her hand. "I know. The galaxy does not stop for one mother and her children, no matter what that mother thinks."

Bail grew serious. "No, it doesn't. Terrible things are happening, Padmé. The war is barely over, and yet, the suffering goes on."

"I wish I could be out there, helping," Padmé said. "But the twins need me. Ani needs me."

Bail just looked at her. He didn't want to shatter her illusions about her husband, but he had to, if there would be any hope for her and her children. Masters Yoda and Kenobi had told him the fate of the galaxy depended on the twins, and he believed them. He had to make Padmé see that she had to leave her husband.

"Padmé, you do realize what Va-" he cut himself off, "Anakin has become, right? What he has done? What he is doing?"

Padmé looked at him with a deep, deep pain in her eyes. She knew what was going on. She watched the holonews every day, looking for news of her husband. It was just like during the War, but now, instead of fearing Ani would be killed, she feared that Ani would have killed, instead. "I...I think I know. And I think- I think he's doing to things to me. To my mind. But I can't just leave. He needs me, Bail, more than he ever has before. He thinks...he thinks he's doing the *right* thing. And if I left, he would just do worse things, because he would try so hard to get me back.

"Without me, he's lost. He told me once that I was soothing. That by being near him, I calmed him. Whatever he's done, it would be worse, much worse, without me here. When he's home, when he's with the children, he tries to be a good man. It doesn't work, but he tries. Because of me. Because of us.

"I have to stay. For the galaxy, and for him. There's still good in him, Bail, I know it. I just have to reach it. Let me try."

Bail studied her for a long minute. Then he nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "All right. You're braver than any of us know, Padmé."

"I have to be."

***

In his throne room, Emperor Palpatine watched the exchange between Padmé and Senator Organa via holocam. He called up the recording of their previous meeting, and noted the affectionate behavior between the two. Edited correctly, the footage would be damning. He would have to be careful not to stoke his apprentice's rage toward Organa too much; the man was probably disloyal, but for now, he played the role of loyal opposition well, and Palpatine understood the need for leadership to appear to be challenged, in order to win the public's sympathies. His apprentice's wife, on the other hand, was a different matter. If he could get the boy to kill her, his control over him would be far, far greater. Also, he would be free of a niggling problem. Padmé made an effective bit of leverage over the boy, but her children would suit equally well, and they were not in the habit of thinking for themselves.

Yes, it was vital that Padmé be destroyed and the twins steeped in the Dark Side. If he began early enough, he would have two promising potential apprentices just as their father passed his prime.

Palpatine smiled. Everything was proceeding as he had foreseen.

***

H