[ he doesn't respond. that should be telling enough. anakin skywalker was animated in life and he is quick and rushed, as if some emergency, an unknown enemy was always on his heels. patience, waiting and observing was never his strength, much to the dismay of obi-wan kenobi and other masters and clones who had the pleasure of fighting along side him. but darth vader strolls, he takes calm steps around her as he watches ahsoka with an air of detachment. his pace is reminiscent of the careful steps they were trained to take when they practice their lightsaber forms. and anakin is never careful.
after a moment of pause, he finally speaks. his voice is deeper than it should, more tonal and the air seems to heat up at the sound. he doesn't answer her question, because they both know what the answer to that is. the bodies of brothers and sisters and the bloodless gash on them is answer enough. ]
You're still on Coruscant... I should have known.
[ his pacing stops. his footing sets in a sure form of his djem so. his hands remain at his side, and he finally raise his head. yellow irises rimmed red stare back at her. ]
The Jedi haven't just betrayed you, they have betrayed us all - the whole Republic. Come with me, Ahsoka.
[ he reaches a hand out. his black glove, incasing the durasteel hand underneath. once again, he's reaching for her to make the right decision, to be at his side. and the part of anakin skywalker that is still there, comfortably hidden but not vanquished completely, urges this on desperately. yes, she is a reminder of the failings of the jedi, and how it led his life to failure her. but she must understand that this is would be different. they would be out of the shadow of the jedi, their rules and their hypocritical politicking. they would be different. ]
[ togruta are natural predators. the prowling, the stalking, comes naturally to ahsoka, no matter how jedi training has tempered it. she's better at circling a sparring mate than he was, when they trained together, and as he circles her now, she can't remember ever feeling more like prey.
she stands still enough -- through his circling and the simmer of his words and the fire in his eyes -- that she's not sure herself if she's preparing to be the mouse that darts away or the feline that stands her ground. either way, anakin isn't safe and that is a terrifying realization to be coming to terms with. ]
The Jedi serve the Republic, Anakin. [ served, she realizes with a pang. she can't feel master plo any more. she's stepped over bodies in robes. ] The Jedi protect the Republic, protect everyone. What have you done?
I have done what I must. For this Republic, for peace and order. For the future of this galaxy.
[ a future where he and padme can raise their child without corruption, without war and slavery and restricted rules set by a unchanging council of "elders". he has never been more sure of himself at this moment. all the lies and petty politicking the jedi has enforced into this once righteous order is so clear to him now. his new master has lifted that veil for him with a few words of truth, exposing the jedi system as what it is - as corrupt as any separatist. he can do the same for her. there is no alternative. ]
Do you remember how the Jedi served you, Ahsoka Tano? They left you to rot in a prison - one of their own. You call them brothers and sister, and they abandoned you in your time of need! They know nothing of loyalty! Nothing of the so called compassion they only claim to have.
[ his words raises in volume and decreases an octave. the truth of it is it still hurts him. losing her was something that should never had happen and it was all the jedi's fault. her, barris, ferrus olin. none of them would have left if the jedi weren't running a faulty system ]
You are proof of how the Jedi turn against their own. How can the Republic trust them to keep the peace and order? [ he shouts, his eyes are blue once more but the anger and hurt pours out of him. ] Why do you still defend them?
[ he yells, so she yells back. she mirrors him without thinking, a padawan always trying to keep up with her master. ahsoka had been upset and hurt by her arrest, but somehow, she understood. if she were rotting in prison right now, barris would have still made her point. justice for all overlooks justice for one, sometimes.
she presses a hand to her chest like it's hurting her and her voice cracks when she continues, ] What future is there if everyone's dead?
[ master plo. the girls she shared a room with as a youngling. master nu. katooni and ganodi. faces she knew in the temple and faces she didn't. she defends them because her heart tells her to and because cancer can be treated with medicine and little cuts instead of slaughter. ]
What about Master Kenobi? Are you going to kill him, too?
[ he growls, teeth clenched and jaw set. the force around him is close to venomous. it's not his anger that fuels him right now. it's his determination. it has always been that. anger only makes him sure of his current convictions. ]
Only those that refuse to join us in peace will have to suffer the consequences. That is what we've always been fighting for - Peace and order. Peace must be held and order must be established. And the Jedi have tried, and they have failed.
[ master plo's ship and its owner is in pieces shot down by his own trusted wolf company. his lightsaber pieced master nu's heart too quickly and cleanly for her to feel physical pain. katooni and ganodi died in a shower of blaster fire. and anakin stands amongst them, calm and at peace. and when it comes down to his old master, a brother he once knew, a father he had for a time, he knew he would feel the same calm. he is gravely calm when he says the following words. the anger he feels about obi-wan holding him back, holding him at arm's length, being too much of a father and too much of a brother and not enough still are all there underneath the surface, saved for a better occasion. ]
Obi-Wan and his traditions do not belong in this new world.
it's not the inferno that claims peace that does it, but the embers that threaten to scorch the man she knows means so much to her master. she's afraid for obi-wan and, worse, afraid for herself, for everything she is and everyone she knows. anakin's made her feel a lot of things over the years but never this. ]
What choice did you give the younglings? [ her voice shakes and she hates herself for that, fists clenching and sorely missing her lightsabers as she exhales, letting her fear go into the force. (it'll be back, she knows. it's infected her now.) ahsoka tips her chin up in defiance. ] What choice are you giving me? When I tell you you're acting like a monster, you'll just cut me down, too. And then you'll do it to Obi-Wan and Senator Amidala and everyone who ever believed in you.
[ he said after a pause. he doesn't say please, ahsoka, please come with me because that's not who he is anymore. anakin skywalker would have begged for his former padawan, appealed to her ties to him - that bond between master and padawan that is beyond that of brothers and sisters and more intimate than lovers. it is the same bond he shares with obi-wan, though theirs is stronger through time and experience.
darth vader does not beg; he demands. ]
That is the path I give you. The same path Padme will be taking.
[ and obi-wan? obi-wan will be joining his precious jedi order. ]
[ begging might have done something. it might have reminded her of just why she'd protect anakin through anything, defend his actions even while the council frowned at them. but he doesn't beg and there isn't a council to frown, now, so this path isn't one that ahsoka can follow anakin down. ]
You're not acting like a monster, you trying to become one.
[ how did that happen? is it because she left? she doesn't know what triggered this but she can't ignore the feeling that she would have been able to prevent it if only she'd been at his side. ]
The senator isn't going to follow this path any more than I am. [ ahsoka shakes her head, knowing that his bond with padme is the stronger one, but having spent more than enough time with the senator to believe, fully, in the depth of her goodness. seeing anakin like this is going to hurt her, ahsoka's sure of it. ]
[ a long time ago, a life time ago, he was a child on tatooine. he listened to stories of monsters lurking underneath the sand, of beasts with glowing eyes and a howl that can be heard across stretches of sand, he heard of the monsters that would hide underneath bandages and bandages, never revealing themselves to the twin suns nor the cool nights. a long time ago, he believed in such things as monsters - he believed there was a difference between monsters and men.
the council's disapproving stare, the fear that surrounds him when he stares at them as a boy of ten.
his mother and the tuskans.
jabiim and the seperatists.
palpatine and the jedi.
he has been a monster for far longer than ahsoka believes. it's nothing he deems noteworthy. he neither confirms or deny her words. what's more important is his former padawan is failing again. she is failing to understand the necessity of his action and strength of him and padme's love. and he will make sure she won't fail again, not this time. ]
You don't know her like I do, my former Padawan. She will follow me because I am her husband and she is my wife. And our children will be safe in the new government.
[ children. she knew the longing that anakin had always had for the senator, but she never knew it extended this far. she's afraid for them now, too, these children she has never met and who may not even exist yet. she can't imagine that padme will be able to look at anakin like this and not see the monster that ahsoka does, but she can't fathom what anakin will do to his most precious thing if she tries to deny him.
obi-wan is unmoving and dependably jedi, so anakin is going to kill him. padme is headstrong and good, full of justice. is he going to kill her, too? ]
You're delusional, Anakin. [ ahsoka shakes her head, still frozen on her spot. ] Do you think she's going to follow you when you've cut down younglings, when the Temple is on fire, and our men our shooting at our friends? Do you really think she's just going to look the other way when you murder your best friend?
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no subject
after a moment of pause, he finally speaks. his voice is deeper than it should, more tonal and the air seems to heat up at the sound. he doesn't answer her question, because they both know what the answer to that is. the bodies of brothers and sisters and the bloodless gash on them is answer enough. ]
You're still on Coruscant... I should have known.
[ his pacing stops. his footing sets in a sure form of his djem so. his hands remain at his side, and he finally raise his head. yellow irises rimmed red stare back at her. ]
The Jedi haven't just betrayed you, they have betrayed us all - the whole Republic. Come with me, Ahsoka.
[ he reaches a hand out. his black glove, incasing the durasteel hand underneath. once again, he's reaching for her to make the right decision, to be at his side. and the part of anakin skywalker that is still there, comfortably hidden but not vanquished completely, urges this on desperately. yes, she is a reminder of the failings of the jedi, and how it led his life to failure her. but she must understand that this is would be different. they would be out of the shadow of the jedi, their rules and their hypocritical politicking. they would be different. ]
Come with me.
no subject
she stands still enough -- through his circling and the simmer of his words and the fire in his eyes -- that she's not sure herself if she's preparing to be the mouse that darts away or the feline that stands her ground. either way, anakin isn't safe and that is a terrifying realization to be coming to terms with. ]
The Jedi serve the Republic, Anakin. [ served, she realizes with a pang. she can't feel master plo any more. she's stepped over bodies in robes. ] The Jedi protect the Republic, protect everyone. What have you done?
no subject
[ a future where he and padme can raise their child without corruption, without war and slavery and restricted rules set by a unchanging council of "elders". he has never been more sure of himself at this moment. all the lies and petty politicking the jedi has enforced into this once righteous order is so clear to him now. his new master has lifted that veil for him with a few words of truth, exposing the jedi system as what it is - as corrupt as any separatist. he can do the same for her. there is no alternative. ]
Do you remember how the Jedi served you, Ahsoka Tano? They left you to rot in a prison - one of their own. You call them brothers and sister, and they abandoned you in your time of need! They know nothing of loyalty! Nothing of the so called compassion they only claim to have.
[ his words raises in volume and decreases an octave. the truth of it is it still hurts him. losing her was something that should never had happen and it was all the jedi's fault. her, barris, ferrus olin. none of them would have left if the jedi weren't running a faulty system ]
You are proof of how the Jedi turn against their own. How can the Republic trust them to keep the peace and order? [ he shouts, his eyes are blue once more but the anger and hurt pours out of him. ] Why do you still defend them?
no subject
[ he yells, so she yells back. she mirrors him without thinking, a padawan always trying to keep up with her master. ahsoka had been upset and hurt by her arrest, but somehow, she understood. if she were rotting in prison right now, barris would have still made her point. justice for all overlooks justice for one, sometimes.
she presses a hand to her chest like it's hurting her and her voice cracks when she continues, ] What future is there if everyone's dead?
[ master plo. the girls she shared a room with as a youngling. master nu. katooni and ganodi. faces she knew in the temple and faces she didn't. she defends them because her heart tells her to and because cancer can be treated with medicine and little cuts instead of slaughter. ]
What about Master Kenobi? Are you going to kill him, too?
no subject
[ he growls, teeth clenched and jaw set. the force around him is close to venomous. it's not his anger that fuels him right now. it's his determination. it has always been that. anger only makes him sure of his current convictions. ]
Only those that refuse to join us in peace will have to suffer the consequences. That is what we've always been fighting for - Peace and order. Peace must be held and order must be established. And the Jedi have tried, and they have failed.
[ master plo's ship and its owner is in pieces shot down by his own trusted wolf company. his lightsaber pieced master nu's heart too quickly and cleanly for her to feel physical pain. katooni and ganodi died in a shower of blaster fire. and anakin stands amongst them, calm and at peace. and when it comes down to his old master, a brother he once knew, a father he had for a time, he knew he would feel the same calm. he is gravely calm when he says the following words. the anger he feels about obi-wan holding him back, holding him at arm's length, being too much of a father and too much of a brother and not enough still are all there underneath the surface, saved for a better occasion. ]
Obi-Wan and his traditions do not belong in this new world.
no subject
it's not the inferno that claims peace that does it, but the embers that threaten to scorch the man she knows means so much to her master. she's afraid for obi-wan and, worse, afraid for herself, for everything she is and everyone she knows. anakin's made her feel a lot of things over the years but never this. ]
What choice did you give the younglings? [ her voice shakes and she hates herself for that, fists clenching and sorely missing her lightsabers as she exhales, letting her fear go into the force. (it'll be back, she knows. it's infected her now.) ahsoka tips her chin up in defiance. ] What choice are you giving me? When I tell you you're acting like a monster, you'll just cut me down, too. And then you'll do it to Obi-Wan and Senator Amidala and everyone who ever believed in you.
This isn't peace.
no subject
[ he said after a pause. he doesn't say please, ahsoka, please come with me because that's not who he is anymore. anakin skywalker would have begged for his former padawan, appealed to her ties to him - that bond between master and padawan that is beyond that of brothers and sisters and more intimate than lovers. it is the same bond he shares with obi-wan, though theirs is stronger through time and experience.
darth vader does not beg; he demands. ]
That is the path I give you. The same path Padme will be taking.
[ and obi-wan? obi-wan will be joining his precious jedi order. ]
no subject
You're not acting like a monster, you trying to become one.
[ how did that happen? is it because she left? she doesn't know what triggered this but she can't ignore the feeling that she would have been able to prevent it if only she'd been at his side. ]
The senator isn't going to follow this path any more than I am. [ ahsoka shakes her head, knowing that his bond with padme is the stronger one, but having spent more than enough time with the senator to believe, fully, in the depth of her goodness. seeing anakin like this is going to hurt her, ahsoka's sure of it. ]
omg i lost this tag
the council's disapproving stare, the fear that surrounds him when he stares at them as a boy of ten.
his mother and the tuskans.
jabiim and the seperatists.
palpatine and the jedi.
he has been a monster for far longer than ahsoka believes. it's nothing he deems noteworthy. he neither confirms or deny her words. what's more important is his former padawan is failing again. she is failing to understand the necessity of his action and strength of him and padme's love. and he will make sure she won't fail again, not this time. ]
You don't know her like I do, my former Padawan. She will follow me because I am her husband and she is my wife. And our children will be safe in the new government.
BRINGS THIS BACK FROM THE DEAD 2 RUIN U INSIDE
obi-wan is unmoving and dependably jedi, so anakin is going to kill him. padme is headstrong and good, full of justice. is he going to kill her, too? ]
You're delusional, Anakin. [ ahsoka shakes her head, still frozen on her spot. ] Do you think she's going to follow you when you've cut down younglings, when the Temple is on fire, and our men our shooting at our friends? Do you really think she's just going to look the other way when you murder your best friend?