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hazza-bear-care · 1 year ago

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Demons

Anakin always knew he was special. He heard it from his mother, Qui-Gon Jin, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala, Senator Palpatine, Ashoka, and now from his apprentice as Darth Vader. However, with great power, comes great responsibility and self loathing.

non crispy Vader X Apprentice!Reader, inspired by Demons by Imagine Dragons.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8r8WFeq/

He stood rigidly across the room as he watched his newest apprentice swing her lightsaber aggressively, grunting with every swipe, slash, and stab she made. Once her form was completed, she sagged in exhaustion, lightsaber hanging loosely in her hand.

"Well done. Same time tomorrow, my apprentice. Dismissed." A bright smile lit up her face as she bowed before skipping out of the training room. Vader watched her go, the urge to smile bubbling up from deep inside him somewhere.

His apprentice, while impressive with her skills, was a little too bubbly for him. He was a tall, brooding beast of a man, capable of killing anyone and anything with just a thought and a squeeze of his hand, yet his trainee was the equivalent of a golden retriever puppy. She talked like the air around her would eventually been sucked out of her lungs, her chipper voice a grating tone to his ears. However annoying he may think she is, she reminded him a lot of Padme. Her carefree attitude, sunny disposition, and her quick wit and intelligence warmed his dead insides. Vader stomped down the hall to his private quarters, letting his mind wander to times when his wife was alive, a time when he was happy.

"Ani! Did you feel that?" Padme asked, cupping her swollen belly in one of her delicate hands, the other pressing Anakin's on top of where their baby had just moved.

"It was hard not to, my love. They're so strong already." Anakin stared down at his wife, memorizing her bright white smile for the next time they'd be apart. Another hard movement met his palm, causing Padme to chuckle. Anakin knelt on the floor at his wife's feet pressing his lips to her belly where he guessed the baby was currently doing backflips.

"Listen, little Jedi. Your mommy and I love you so much, and we can't wait to meet you. We have so many things to teach you, to show you. You are going to be the most powerful being in the entire galaxy when we're done with you." Anakin pressed another kiss to Padme's growing belly, staring up at her from where he was kneeling on the floor. She looked ethereal, content, happy with how her life had ended up. She looked beautiful as she carded her fingers through Anakin's wild curls. He sighed and leaned into her touch, closing his eyes in pleasure.

"I love you Anakin Skywalker."

The door to Vader's room hissed to a close behind him, leaving him alone to his thoughts. He stomped to his bathroom, removing his helmet and squinting at the bright lights enveloping the space around him. He placed his helmet on the counter and looked at himself, wincing at the man staring back at him. His once long hair was nonexistent, his bald head displaying all the scars he couldn't stand to see. His once beautiful blue eyes, the ones his mother used to praise on countless occasions, were now yellow and dull with rage. His fair skin was an ashy white, and he was disgusted with himself. Padme would be disgusted with him, more than she was before she had died with their baby still in her belly.

Anakin bottled his self-loathing, storing it deep inside himself so he could dwell on it at his disposal in the future. He punched the light switch as he exited the bathroom, stripping the rest of his uncomfortable clothes off in the process. Although they were now prosthetics, his legs ached. Hiking the area of his Star Destroyer was no easy feat, but he often left his apprentice in the dust as they swept through the corridors on the daily.

As Vader attempted to relax, his thoughts started to wander again, but this time towards his first young trainee; Ashoka Tano.

"You're going to have to try harder than that, Snips!" Anakin called over his shoulder as he sprinted away from his young Padawan, her tiny lightsaber held firm in his grasp.

"Master, that's not fair! I'm shorter than you!" Ashoka yelled back, attempting to use the Force to send a projectile rock in Anakin's direction. When she failed, she ran in the same direction as him, thinking of how she could somehow retrieve her weapon.

"I guess you'll just have to grow up faster, Snips! Come on, try again!" Anakin held her lightsaber over his head, arm extended to its full length as he smiled at his Padawan, determination covering her face. Anakin could see the wheels in her head turning as she thought of the best way to get her lightsaber back, smirking slightly when he noticed her eyes harden. She had an idea. In one swift movement, Ashoka jumped clean over Anakin, snatching her lightsaber back and landing on her feet behind him. Her smile was bright as she turned to look at Anakin, pride gracing her features.

"Well done, Snips. I knew you could do it!"

Moving to rub his eyes, Vader grunted with discomfort. His body screamed in pain every time he moved, even breathing was painful for him. Yes, the suit he wore was an effective scare tactic, and it did help him to breathe, but there were days he found himself wishing he was back to normal; handsome, young, and full of energy. Instead, he was a monster.

"I didn't just kill them. I slaughtered them like animals!" Anakin wailed, mourning the death of his mother, clinging to Padme as hot tears fell down his cheeks. It was the first time since he left Tatooine that he allowed rage to bubble up inside him, and it was the first time since training under Obi-Wan that he followed through with his anger.

"To be angry is human." Padme cooed, running her hands through Anakin's hair, her fingers wrapping gingerly around his Padawan braid behind his right ear.

"To control your anger is to be a Jedi." Anakin wept again, the anger inside him still boiling hot under his skin.

"Shh. You're human." Padme replied softly, wrapping her hands around Anakin in a comforting hug.

"No. I'm a Jedi. I know I'm better than this. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Padme rocked Anakin in an attempt to calm him, empathy roiling in her gut. She hated to see her Ani upset, and she hated that she couldn't help him.

Vader still believed that he was better, that he was doing everything in his power to better the galaxy, yet he still couldn't wrap his mind around his path to the Dark Side. He wished to save his wife, his child, and yet they both died at his hand. Darth Sidious had lied to him, manipulated him.

"It's over, Anakin! I have the high ground!" Obi-Wan yelled over the roaring ocean of lava. He was on solid ground, standing over Anakin who was floating on a piece of metal in that ocean.

"You underestimate my power!" Anakin yelled back, adjusting his stance as he prepared to meet his former master on solid ground to continue their fight. He was determined to win this.

"Don't try it," Obi-Wan warned, predicting Anakin's next move with ease. As his padawan jumped, Obi-Wan's lightsaber sliced through Anakin's legs and his one remaining arm, leaving him scarred on the shore.

"You were the Chosen One! It was said you'd destroy the Sith, not join them!" Obi-Wan desperately pleaded with Anakin, silently begging him to reconsider his siding with Emperor Palpatine.

A distraught Anakin wailed in pain as he tried to crawl further away from the stream of lava flowing behind him. For a split second, Obi-Wan saw the little slave boy from Tatooine, full of innocence and hope, desperate to save his mother from her life of slavery and abuse. His heart lurched, fiercely wishing to grab Anakin, to save him like his master Qui-Gon did so many years ago.

"I hate you!" Anakin screamed back, crushing any hope that Obi-Wan had of saving him.

"You were my brother Anakin! I loved you!"

Vader could still feel his skin sizzling, his clothing melting into his skin as it caught fire from the lava. He could still see the pain etched into Obi-Wan's face as his skin ignited, the smell of human flesh wafting around them. A roar of hatred and fury shook his chambers as he flew into a rage of emotions, igniting his lightsaber and slashing into the metal paneling of his walls. Suddenly, a knock interrupted his rampage.

"Master, are you alright?" The sound of his apprentice's voice caught him by surprise, although he was aware that she could feel what he was, similar to how he and Obi-Wan could feel each other's emotions.

"Fine, young one. What do you need?" Vader gritted back through clenched teeth.

"Nothing, Master. I felt your anger and wanted to make sure you were okay." Vader's heart skipped a beat. It had been years since someone wished to comfort him, even longer since he actually wanted to be comforted. After a beat of brief contemplation, Vader slid the door to his chambers open, silently allowing his apprentice access to his sanctuary with a twitch of his fingers.

As she slowly crept into her master's bedroom, her breath caught in her throat. She had spent years imagining what her master had looked like under the mask, and nothing in her wildest dreams could have prepared her for what she saw. Vader stared down at her, his yellow eyes aflame with an emotion she couldn't quite place, his posture sagging with exhaustion. He didn't sleep, nightmares and memories plaguing his mind every time he closed his eyes, and the bags under them were prominent. In a flash, she closed the space between them and wrapped her master in a hug, something he didn't know he needed until this moment. After freezing for a few seconds, the shock faded away and Vader returned her hug, the walls of his heart cracking at her affection.

"What troubles you, Master Vader?" She asked, her voice muffled slightly due to where she was pressed against Vader's chest.

"My demons, Young One." Vader answered shakily.

"Demons, Master? What demons?"

With a sigh, Vader removed himself from her grasp and sat on his bed, bringing his hands to his eyes and rubbing them aggressively.

"Have I ever told you the story of Darth Plagueis the Wise?" Vader started, only continuing when his apprentice shook her head no in response. "It is a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life … He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. He became so powerful … the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Plagueis never saw it coming. It's ironic he could save others from death, but not himself." Vader repeated the legend his master had told him, exactly as he heard it years ago.

"What does he have to do with this?" Vader's apprentice asked curiously.

"I tried to learn this power, harness it for my own selfish needs: to keep my wife and child alive. My switch to the Dark Side was too much for my wife, and she died of a broken heart with my child still inside of her. When I was a padawan, my mother, a slave, was murdered by Tusken Raiders, so I murdered them to avenge her. My own Padawan saw me as a monster before I even knew I was one. I think about them often: my beautiful wife and child, living happy and healthy lives as the little one learned the Jedi way. My mother visiting Naboo and meeting her grandchild. My Padawan following her own path of the Jedi. My old master protecting my family because I couldn't. These, my apprentice, are the demons that haunt me every waking moment."

"Master Vader, your demons don't define you. Your help to the galaxy does. I'm sorry you lost your family, your loved ones, but they did not die in vain. They died for a greater purpose, for your greater purpose. The Empire rules the galaxy, and that couldn't have happened without you." She reached out and grabbed Vader's hand, the cool metal of his prosthetic sending a chill down her spine.

"I let them down." Vader mumbled, running his thumb over her knuckles, the same way he held Padme's hand.

"No, Master. They live inside you to help further your greatness, not to hinder it. You are here for a bigger reason, through them, you have grown into someone amazingly powerful and created something worth fearing. I am honored to be your apprentice, Master Vader."

"Anakin, young one. My name is Anakin Skywalker, and I am a slave from Tatooine."

"Well, Anakin Skywalker of Tatooine, it is a pleasure to meet you." She responded with a smile, his name falling from her lips sounding more beautiful than it ever had in the past.

"You're still to call me Master Vader outside of this room, do you understand?" His voice, once small and meek with regret, was now stern and forceful.

"Yes, Anakin. I understand." She replied. A small smile finally graced Vader's face as he scooped his apprentice into another hug, thankful he had someone to talk to, someone on his side. He never once regretted his choice in the Dark Side, just the consequences of his actions. With this young girl beside him, hugging him so tightly he could feel his heart warming, Darth Vader was the most powerful being in the galaxy and no one was going to stop him this time.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you to my friend Robin for sending me that TikTok and inspiring this bit of fanfiction! I hope you guys liked it!

#star wars fanfiction #anakin x reader #anakin skywalker #star wars imagine #angst #fluff #the clone wars #revenge of the sith #darth vader #darth vader imagine

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