Saga A Final Breath - (Vader POV, flashbacks) Cover Art up!

Title: A Final Breath
Author: Nienna Narmolanya
Era: End of RotJ (my first OT fic)
Genre: Drama and angst, of course.
Characters: Mainly Vader, but also Luke, Palpatine, and Padmé.
Summary: Vader POV. As the Emperor prepares to kill Luke, Vader experiences sudden flashbacks of his past that cause him to question his devotion to the Dark Side.
Notes: I wrote this viggie at 1:00 in the morning after I had a ?eureka? moment involving some inter-Saga connections. Don?t worry; I?ve revised it since then. ?A Final Breath? is somewhat of a sequel to ?A Single Tear?, but not really. (Now did that make sense?) In other words, reading it independently is perfectly fine. I hope you like it!

Endless thanks to my two lovely padawans for their help!

Well, the malfunctioning picture program never stopped malfunctioning, but my brother found an even better program gathering dust in a forgotten box...

[image=http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/woadraider21/AFinalBreath2.jpg]

~^~^~^~

His eyes burn with hatred ? an intense, pure loathing. I should feel a sense of achievement. The well-laid plan of my master is finally coming to fruition. The boy will turn and fulfill his destiny. I?ve been waiting for this day ever since I learned of my son?s existence.

But any satisfaction I might feel has fled from me, for the cold hatred in those eyes ? my son?s eyes ? is aimed directly at me.

My cybernetic arm is gone, cut off by Skywalker. My automated breathing comes in short gasps as the circuits in my life-sustaining suit overload. My legs will not allow me to rise, so I?m forced to lie on the floor, at the mercy of my son. I see the flame in his eyes, and I know he has no thought of mercy in him. He holds the lightsaber to my neck, ready to end it all. I can feel its blazing heat inch closer?closer?

Fear. That is the name of this foreign feeling. I am afraid. I balk at the discovery and roughly push my anxiety aside. If I die today, I die. It will have been my destiny. A Sith Lord knows no fear.

The Hero with No Fear.

I inhale sharply at the strange disembodied voice that whispers from the recesses of my mind, but, with a quick mental slap, I silence it. Those memories are not my own, and I?ll have no part in them.

A sudden cackle from my master startles me. ?Good!? he croons to the boy, ?Your hate has made you powerful. Now fulfill your destiny and take your father?s place at my side.?

The Emperor wants me dead. I should?ve expected this betrayal. He?s ridding himself of another apprentice, making way for one far more powerful. He?s done it before?

?Kill him.?

Distant blaster fire sounds from the battle beyond, but inside, all is still as a man holds two crisscrossing lightsabers at the throat of another.

?Kill him now.?

An inner struggle. A dragon of evil vies for release.

?I shouldn?t.?

The battle is already lost. The dragon has won, and blades sink into flesh?

I start back to reality, my mechanized breathing coming in even shorter gasps.
What is happening to me? These visions, they are not mine! That part of me is dead! Dead!

Struggling to regain control of my emotions, I shut my mind off from the Emperor so he cannot hear my frantic thoughts. I focus my attention on Skywalker to keep my mind in the present.

The boy deactivates his lightsaber and throws it to the floor. The clatter echoes throughout the room.

?Never.?

Disappointment washes over me. Fool! He?s just made out his own death sentence. A more intelligent man would have given in, murdered the weak individual, and taken the power for himself. I would have. I did?

A decapitated body collapses to the cold, transparisteel floor?

?I'll never turn to the dark side. You've failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.?

?I am a Jedi.?

I can barely hear the boy now; that voice in my head is back, louder this time and more insistent.

Sand swirls a

 

That was beautiful, Nienna!

Bravo! Well done!

I love it!!

 

Great job. I loved it. That has got to be the best version of Anakin's dying thoughts that I've ever read. Kudos!

 

Oh my.

That was amazing. The flashbacks and the memories fit so perfectly. I choked up at several parts.

Thank you for the PM! I'm glad I got a chance to read this tonight. It seems so...appropriate for New Year's Eve. It's always a bit sad for me, having to let go of another year, but it's also happy, because there's a bright future ahead. And this story kind of makes me think of that. [/sentimental ramble]

Anyway, it really is a beautiful vignette, any day of the year. Excellent work, Nienna!

 

That was so beautiful!

The image at the end of Anakin being embraced by those he loved! Tears of joy!

Excellent job!

 

I'm so happy you posted it! Just wonderful, Master. Truly wonderful!

Save me? Does he not understand? I can hear the voice of my younger self from happier days whispering through my head, ?This baby is a blessing.? I knew it even then. With my final breath, I want him to know too?

My favorite part out of the whole thing! It touched me so deep!

Bravo, bravo and I can't wait to see the art!

Edit: Love the cover art!

 

That was very pretty. I loved the flashbacks. They were like icing on the cake!

- Rachel

 

Wow! Look at all the replies!

Magenta - Thank you, padawan!

SakuraTsukikage - Thank you! That's quite a compliment! I hoped it would be unique enough.

amidalachick - I hadn't thought about it, but you're right. The story does reflect the start of a new year. I guess I just have perfect timing... Thanks so much for reading!

PadwanKayla - *hands out tissue* I'm glad you like it. Thanks for reading!

Katieelessar - Thank you, padawan! I like that part too. And the cover art is now up!

rb657062 - Thank you for reading!

 

Nienna_Narmolanya wrote: Those people are gone. They left me.

So like Anakin. *shakes head solemnly*

Very well done! All those memories came together so nicely, you stitched them together in a powerful way.

Very good!

EDIT: And I love the cover art too!

 

Thank you, Brentus! I'm so glad you liked it!

 

Nienna, so sad your fics always reduce me to tears. But in a good way! I love the way you combined the voices from the past with the present. Wonderfully written.
Well done.

 

Wow, Nienna! What a beautiful viggie! I've often wondered what Vader was thinking during that final scene - and you've done a wonderful job with it. I got teary several times - had to pause for a deep breath before I could continue reading. This part really got me:

?Father! Please! Help me!? he chokes out before the torturous bolts take away his ability to speak.

His voice overlaps with another, as if from a dream, the voice of an angel alone and in pain?

?Anakin, help me! Help, Anakin! Anakin, I love you. I love you.?

Hearing her like that rips at my heart and tears me apart, as it did so long ago. I feel myself rapidly losing control, and the walls I built up around the memories that fateful day on Mustafar start to crumble.

Simply gorgeous! I can't thank you enough for sharing!!

 

Wow...I *really* like this - and nice cover art, too!

 

This is a beautiful viggie! The flashbacks and memories made it so poignant, so powerful.

Well done!

 

Wow, Nienna! This is such a beautiful vig! Amazing work!

 

Kestrel_Kenobi - *proffers tissue* Thank you, Kes! I'm glad it touched you so. I was hoping it would have an emotional impact.

VA_Parky - Thank you so much!

QuiGonGal - Thank you! I'm glad you like them both.

Gina - Thanks bunches!

Idrelle_Miocovani - I'm glad you like it. Thanks for reading!

 

*lip trembles* How beautiful, Nienna! Absolutely breathtaking! You did an excellent job writing the last minutes of Anakin's life... Outstanding!

AQ

 

That was powerful and sad, yet uplifting at the same time. I loved the way you interlaced the Emperor's words with two meanings, Luke understood at the end, and yet so did Vader.

What a great story!

 

AngleQueen - Why thank you! For both your kind words and reading in the first place.

AnakinGirl05 - I loved the way you interlaced the Emperor's words with two meanings, Luke understood at the end, and yet so did Vader.

I'm glad you did! Thanks for reading!

 

*Peers in for a moment before poking her head in completely*

Wow, Nienna, how the heck did I miss this one? I'm sure you sent me a link to it, but it must've gotten lost in the whirlwind that has been my life lately. *shakes head silently*

Anyway, absolutely outstanding job here! (As usual of course ) Your writing is wonderful and I think you've nailed Vader. His introspection was great to see, and having him remember his past life while watching his son was perfect for the situation.

They didn't betray me. They loved me.

What have I done?

He finally gets it! RotS is the hardest one of all the SW movies for me to watch, just because I hate seeing Anakin so evil. I want to shake him and show him this, so to see him realize it is wonderful.

Again, lovely job, Nienna!

Stormqueen

EDIT: And I am SUCH a dork. I forgot to tell you how lovely the cover art is! Great job with it!

 

Stormqueen - *glances up to see head poking in*

*waves visitor in* How did I not reply to your message? Apparently as your life goes crazy, my head goes batty.

Thank you! Your opinion means a lot to me, so I'm especially glad you liked it. And I used a new and improved program for the cover art. *hugs MS Photodraw*

 

Stunning.

You've captured Vader/Anakin so well in this brief moment of his life. Confused, torn, and hopeless. Until the Emperor makes that decision to kill Luke.

My favorite line: ?So be it, Jedi,? he says finally, conveying the deepest hatred for all things light and good in that last word. It captures the core of what Palpatine is - Sith.

I love the cover art.

 

Beautiful take on Anakin's death. The flashbacks make it all the more powerful. Awesome job.

 

LadyLunas - Thank you! I'm thrilled that you felt my characterization of Vader worked. It's tough to burrow inside that head of his - even without the mask.

Sithspawn - Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

Long Live the Skywalkers!

Cheers_Cazza