The Chosen One (II)
Anakin's gaze lifted as the figure descended through the shattered wall of the tower, his breath catching as Lelouch emerged. A powerful energy radiated from him, filling the air with an unmistakable darkness. Anakin felt a jolt of unease—the Force swirling around Lelouch wasn't like anything he'd felt before. It was more than raw power; it was cold, controlled, and purposeful, like the eye of a storm.
As Lelouch moved closer, Anakin instinctively took a step forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his lightsaber, ready to defend against any threat. But before he could speak, Obi-Wan, beside him, voiced the growing tension.
"You are the Sith Lord," Obi-Wan said, his voice firm and accusatory.
Lelouch's gaze flickered to him, a small, amused smile curving his lips. "Trained by one, yes. Attained the rank of one, also yes. Though I care little for their feud with the Jedi..." Lelouch's voice trailed off as his eyes narrowed on Kenobi, an almost playful glint in his purple eyes.
Obi-Wan, undeterred, took a step forward, raising his lightsaber. But just as he prepared to confront this new enemy, his weapon deactivated abruptly, the blade retracting into the hilt. Confusion flashed across his face as he attempted to re-ignite it, but before he could react further, Lelouch made a subtle gesture, and with a powerful flick of his hand, Kenobi's own weapon was thrust against his head with a force that sent him crumbling to the ground, unconscious.
Anakin's hand clenched his saber as he took a defensive stance, feeling an anger welling up inside him. Yet even with Obi-Wan down, Lelouch's composure remained unaffected, his gaze returning to Anakin. His words, however, were directed to the limp form of the Jedi Master lying beside them.
"Even then," Lelouch murmured thoughtfully, "one can certainly see their point, given this 'Jedi way or the highway' attitude."
Anakin's heart pounded, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. Obi-Wan was out cold, Ahsoka stood nearby, still gripped by the darkness the Son had cast over her.
"Well then, out of all of you, I didn't need him, at least not yet." Lelouch smiled as he shrugged towards Kenobi's unconscious body.
Then...
"I don't need you either..." Lelouch said as he gestured towards the daughter, a simple flick of a finger and she crumbled to the floor like a doll with its strings cut.
And his gaze fell on Ahsoka.
"And I most certainly do not need you... little Snips." The snarl didn't have time to form on her face as she also hit the ground almost immediately as Lelouch's words fell.
Anakin saw his lightsaber depower itself as Lelouch turned to him.
"No need for that, no one here is going to hurt you Anakin. Isn't that right?" Lelouch asked as he turned towards the Son.
A growl escaped him as Lelouch merely sighed.
"Come now, you know you didn't really wanted to kill him, merely keep him busy while you dealt with all the other obstacles."
Anakin looked suspiciously at the son at that as Lelouch continued on.
"Now that I have, why don't you show him what you intended since the beginning. The future you and I have seen through the force, what the force itself has in store for its chosen one..."
As Lelouch spoke Anakin's eyes widened gradually as he felt the force shift around him. It was instinctual, it was how he could tell when others were lying and how he could distinguish people from when he was but a boy on Tatooine. There was nothing that felt wrong with the current conversation or situation... and that disturbed Anakin more than he let show outwards.
As Lelouch's gaze shifted to the Son, his voice took on an edge of command that sent an almost imperceptible tremor through the dark being's stance. "Now," Lelouch murmured, his tone brokering no defiance, "why don't you show him what you intended from the beginning? Show him the future you and I have both glimpsed—the path the Force itself has set for him."
Anakin felt the subtle tremor in the Force as it shifted around him, resonating in the deep, ancient way he had always felt since he was a boy on Tatooine. And though he fought against it, he could feel the truth beneath Lelouch's words, like a dark current pulling him in. His heart pounded, but he remained silent, unwilling to admit the storm that had begun to swirl inside him.
With a slow, sly smile, the Son obeyed, raising his hand and allowing the Force to coalesce into images around Anakin, wrapping him in the truth of his destiny. Shadows twisted and took shape: the figure of a black-clad warrior, his features obscured by a mask, his voice a hollow rasp of power. Flickering scenes of death and betrayal filled Anakin's vision—scenes of a woman, his Padmé, falling in anguish, her life extinguished by his own actions. The specter of Vader loomed over the broken remnants of his former life, the chilling silence punctuated only by the clatter of his lightsaber hitting the ground.
"No… This isn't real," Anakin choked out, his voice cracking as he watched, the visions searing into his mind as if branded by the Force itself. Yet, even as he tried to deny them, a powerful undercurrent—a certainty—throbbed in the very fabric of his connection to the Force, whispering that it was truth. It felt right in a way he could not deny, a feeling that left him shaken and trapped.
'His powerful connection to the Force binds him, reinforcing the truth of these visions in his mind. For one so chosen, the Force is a blade; it carves out paths from which none escape. He cannot bend it to his will without the Force itself bending him to its purpose.' Lelouch remained silent but attentive, his expression unreadable as Tzeentch's words took root in Anakin's heart.
Anakin's denial dissolved into a scream, a raw, primal wail of a soul torn apart. He stumbled back, clutching his head as the visions crashed over him, unable to hold back the horrible truth that was unfolding before him. His hands trembled, fists clenching as he struggled to regain his composure.
The Son saw his opportunity. "It doesn't have to be this way. The future, by its very nature, it can change. You can change it." as he gestured to the images, urging Anakin to see hope, the hope he was offering, where only despair resided.
But Lelouch stepped forward, voice slicing through the Son's words. "The future can indeed be changed," he agreed, his gaze cold and steady, "but not for you, Anakin. Your destination is set, and nothing anyone can do will change it, not even you."
The entire tower exploded outwards as the plane of Mortis shook as Anakin exploded in anger, his eyes shining yellow as he made his way towards Lelouch, his dark robes and bigger physique a stark contrast to Lelouch pristine white armor and his slim physique.
"Try and stop me." Anakin.
"Do you think I need to?" Lelouch asked unhurriedly.
Anakin furrowed his brows.
"Do you think any single individual ever really had control over you? You were born by the will of the Force, you lived by its will and in the end, you died by it. Even as i stand here telling you this, there is only 1 true choice you can make."
"I can go right now and..."
"And what? Kill the Emperor? Bring balance... or take the throne? You and the Emperor are the massive counter balance to the numerous Jedi out there. Its why your existence is allowed. Do you really think you failed because you couldn't match Kenobi? You failed because the force knew that with you at the throne, another 1000 years of imbalance would follow, this time with the scale on the dark side."
Anakin was ready to explode... but he couldn't refute Lelouch's words. Were all his stray thoughts, all his instincts, just the occasional push from the force to drive him where he was designed to be... if so...
The vision of Padmé's death burned in his mind, and the faces of his children, lost to him for years. He could feel each heartbreak that awaited him, the misery carved into the future like scars. His heart thundered with fear and rage, and his blue eyes flared with a yellow gleam as his growing anger choked him, rising like a tidal wave.
"And just what am I supposed to do then?!"
Lelouch calmly looked at Anakin as his stoic expression melted into a small smile.
"The Force won't let you walk away from it... so, willingly, walk into it. For the moment, neither you nor I hold the power to change the direction of the Force. Balance must first be brought, before everything else slowly comes together..." Lelouch said as he turned his eyes to look directly behind Anakin.
Feeling a sudden chill, Anakin turned to look behind him, a massive container taller than him standing behind silently.
*HISS*
The container slowly unraveled itself, Anakin taking a deep breath at the sight. Perhaps his destination couldn't be changed... but he would try his best to alter the course it followed in his visions.
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As Anakin spoke with Lelouch the Son finally rose, having been flung from Anakin's outburst like a puppet. He saw both of them engulfed in their little confrontation as he positioned himself behind Anakin, hiding from Lelouch's view.
He couldn't just let the Chosen One slip from his fingers, and this was the perfect time, when none of them were focusing on him.
Sensing Anakin slipping from his grasp, the Son made a desperate attempt to seize him, reaching out to reclaim his influence over the Chosen One. But his hand was caught in a powerful, armored grip. The Son's form was flung backward, crashing into a force-wall with a bone-rattling impact that left him stunned.
Tzeentch, now towering in his monstrous, armored form, stepped forward, blue flames licking at the edges of his helm. The Son's gaze narrowed, defiance flickering as he attempted to summon the Force, but found it stifled by Tzeentch's oppressive, smothering presence. "Ah," Tzeentch mocked, tilting his head as he considered the dazed being. "I see why Khorne and his followers crave such destruction…"
Without another word he found a massive armored boot before his face. He attempted to pull at the Force, more out of habit than any actual thought but found nothing responding as he felt the force-wall behind him breaking slightly.
"You were so easily manipulated by a mortal," Tzeentch sneered. "Pathetic. You've been a puppet for days, a mere plaything. For an immortal being, that's almost sad." The Son could only stare, weakened under the grip of Tzeentch's power.
Through the dark abyss of Tzeentch's helm, behind the blue flames something glowed with cold malice, a small pink glint that appeared just as it vanished as the Son felt his body breaking down.
As he plummeted, his form fracturing into a cascade of light, he cast a final glance at the young man who had shattered everything. The Chosen One now stood at his side—towering over two meters, clad in imposing dark armor and heavy robes. He looked less like a man and more like a living fortress of the dark side itself, a force of pure darkness given form.
He only heard a light sound as his eyes closed permamently.
"Kuuuh Kerr"
A.N: Best way i could figure out Darth Vader breathing. I know he doesn't really need it but its iconic of his character, plus huge psych warfare value. Suit is also clearly fitted with a primitive exoskeleton to compensate since he has mostly all his limbs.
P.S: Couldn't write cause i was sick as fuck. First time i have ever passed out. Pretty cool, thankfullyit was at home after work. Dodged a bullet... or quite more possibly a car. Anyway hope u guys enjoyed.