The Power to Save Her

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.

TIE fighters screamed over the skies of planet Naboo, a dark and hazy fog settling in the air. The Executor orbited the planet, its ominous presence felt by all. The people who had homes there, lived in relative peace with the Empire, though that peace was thin and could be torn on any given day. Behind the city of Theed, remained a burial ground for all past rulers of the once sovereign planet. Though the current queen, just a figurehead these days, watched the Empire's presence with a wary eye, she could not deny them access to these locations, however strange they appeared. Though there was nothing strange about the Empire's presence, as this was in fact the Emperor's own home planet, it was a mystery as to why his right-hand himself chose to visit the site of the dead from long ago.

He'd been there many times over the years, a dark specter over burial site of an angel. Within the mausoleum was a mural depicting the throne that resided currently in Theed, and upon that throne was a woman with red painted lips that matched the red regality of her gown. Vader, having already ordered the guards to leave, knelt before the stone tomb, lowering himself more than he ever did for the Emperor himself. Before him was a stone casing which had a carving upon its surface. The very same woman in the mural was immortalized here in stone, her closed eyes carrying an otherworldly sadness. His gloved hand traced the edges of the tomb, just barely touching it. Almost as if Vader felt unworthy.

If only I could've been strong enough.

Vader curled his hand into a fist against his armored chest and rose to his feet slowly. He stood still for a few moments before moving. He backed towards the entrance, his gaze taking in the same place he'd visited many times in the last twenty-two years. The columns, though mossy with time, bore the ceiling where another mural was displayed. Upon it was a painting of the lake country of Naboo. The sweet song of the native birds filled his ears and whispers of the past teased his mind. All at once, there was a white dress, brown eyes, and the feeling of her warm hand in his. He could see her now. The tender smile she gave him on the day they'd said their vows. Her gaze had been filled with nothing but love for him before the seemingly endless days of the Clone Wars. He cast his gaze aside, a cold feeling settling over him as he forced those visions away. His presence, he knew, tainted this sacred place. A different image, one where she'd pleaded with him, came unbidden to his mind. Her eyes were misted with longing, even as the molten lava spewed around them. This woman had given everything to him, despite her horror at what he'd done. And how had he repaid her? By killing her and their child.

If only I could've controlled myself.

No, he decided, it wasn't his lack of power that caused her to die, it was his lack of control. He should've known from the beginning that the Emperor was filled with empty promises and lies meant to manipulate him. The old man, only after he'd pledged himself, admitted to not knowing this secret. A power to save others from death? After all this time searching, he didn't think it was possible. Even if the dark side of the force was a pathway to unnatural abilities, this power wasn't one of them. Yes, he'd seen the dark side's great power, it's alluring call, though only through great suffering did he achieve it.

The suffering included Padme's life, which was too high a cost.

The Force is powerful, he mused bitterly, casting one last look at her grave before turning. But not that powerful.

If only he'd just loved her.

Something in the Force shifted at the Chosen One's silent declaration. Some of the energy from the him that had been drained from this young woman by another powerful Dark Side user was returned to her body encased in stone. This was done, not through the knowledge of the Chosen One, but his will in the Force. Though this energy initially attempted to ebb away into nothingness, something willed it to spark a new life in this being. A heart that lay dormant, started to beat again. Flesh that had long since dissipated, began repairing itself without human intervention. A semblance of consciousness glowed in the long dead mind. New life was blooming.

All this was happening as the Force had willed it.

Because it was the nature of the Dark side to only take, it was for that reason that this woman's original fate was to die. The Dark side cannot create, it can only destroy. But because the Light side of the Force's nature was to give, so fate changed this woman's destiny. Those who believed in the Unifying Force would say it knew she would be instrumental to helping the Chosen One bring balance to it, as would the rest of his family. The Light was meant to create after all.

And this Light side energy was coming from none other than the Chosen One himself, almost as if the Force willed it.

She gasped a desperate breath in, lungs filling with cold air for the first time in many years. For a time, she just laid there, breathing in and out, as if she'd been holding her breath. A moment later, her eyes fluttered open, only to see pure darkness and feel a foreign stiffness in her bones. Her whole body ached, as if she hadn't moved in some time. She raised her shaking hands above her body, placing her palms gently upon a surface that was both smooth and cold. Her hands slowly traced the edges of the stone surface, feeling all corners of the casing. Then, with more urgency, she felt all sides of the box once more. Suddenly, it dawned on her disoriented mind that she was somewhere dark and cold, and that she was utterly alone, and very trapped.

Panicked, she smacked the cold slab above her with both palms, feeling a tightness in her chest begin to grow. The boundary didn't move. Though she did her best to control herself, the air came rushing in and out of her lungs with rapid wheezes. When the realization came that the stone wouldn't budge, her beating heart increased to a gallop. She hit the surface above her once more with more ferocity, then again with a wildness that she'd never in her life felt before. The darkness started closing in around her and she continued to fight at the cold boundary that was keeping her trapped. Then without meaning to she began weeping as she attempted to break free, her fight was becoming more desperate and weaker by the minute. As she grew frantic, she ended up crying out the only name that came to mind as she struggled against this horrible prison.

"Anakin!"

Vader now on the bottom steps of the mausoleum titled his head at the sound. He was faced forward, body still, almost calm. His mind however, raced at having heard this. That almost sounded like her. Quickly and dejectedly however, his mind dismissed the sound as a trick of the wind or the Force mocking him in the same way it always had. Stiffly he turned away, continuing down the steps, reminiscing. He'd had so many visions of the past in the almost twenty years serving the Empire. Though these visions offered a short reprieve from the horrors of his waking life, none of them yielded lasting happiness.

"Anakin!", it sounded again, still quiet, and distant, but loud enough for him to be sure.

That time he did turn, witnessing as stormtroopers raced towards him, hurrying down the marble steps. These were the same guards supposed to be positioned at her burial site. Upon turning completely, he heard the distinct sound of something muffled and thumping coming from the building behind them. The troopers were before him now, out of breath.

"Sir, something's alive in there!", announced a trooper, but Vader was already marching past them, taking two steps at a time back to the chamber. The sound was growing louder now and becoming no less gut wrenching. It was clearly a woman. A woman crying desperately for something, for someone to help her.

Vader's first instinct was to grab his red blade and raise it to slice open the grave but before his crimson saber could come down, he hesitated. He never wanted to defile the grave of his angel, and he would mutilate any who attempted to do so. Though this vision tempted him sorely to destroy the crypt box, he held the humming saber steadily above. For a moment, it was just his saber humming, and the thumping filled his ears. The troopers around him looked at each other and then at the grave with some confusion. He could feel their bewilderment in the Force, as well as the pure fear raiding off the being within the tomb. He reached out with his feelings towards the presence, trying to determine her identity. He gasped through his respirator. How could this be? Her presence was identical to that his angel! Then this mystery woman said something that solidified the realization he'd quietly made in the back of his mind.

"Anakin, help me!"

With a swift, yet careful, precision, he cut the top of the stone casing. After this, with considerable effort, he placed both his hands on the stone, and pushed it off the edge. The lid with the beautiful carving of her crashed onto the marble floor, cracking across the polished masonry. Its pieces slid towards the feet of the stormtroopers positioned around the room.

Vader snapped his gaze downwards, seeing someone he'd never believed could live again. Her eyes, the same warm brown ones, were watching him through wetted lashes, her face blotchy. She furrowed her brows and raised two shaking arms to either side of the coffin, eyes watching him closely. She lifted herself up and out of the confinement, sitting on the edge. Vader watched on numbly. Her funeral attire reached the ground first, before her unsteady legs did and he stepped back, allowing her room. She put one foot on the floor and then the other, before her knees buckled under her own weight. Vader was there, catching her before she could fall, and she braced her hands on his biceps. For a moment, she stared at his mechanical chest before raising her gaze to his masked face. Vader held her, looking down, staring deeply into her eyes through the red tint of his mask. He noticed that a sudden drowsiness was clouding her gaze, and then her eyelids fluttered closed. With a weary sigh, she slumped in his arms, and he held her, her sleeping head resting against his armored chest. With some shock he felt her life glowing in the Force, though it was slightly dampened by the touch of death.

He didn't know for how long he'd held her, surrounded by bewildered stormtroopers.

A/N: Hey guys! This is actually a fiction inspired by Vader Ep 1: Shards of the Past by Star Wars Theory on YouTube! It's an incredible fan film that digs into what happens to Vader around 8 months after the events of Revenge of the Sith. I fully recommend the video, as it's clearly made with passion for Star Wars and its fans.

I've also based this story off of the assumption that Palpatine was draining her life force to create Vader, so hopefully I can represent it well. I hope you all enjoyed this and review if you did! :) Thanks for reading!