9Palpatine had told him of a legend. It was about a Sith Lord so powerful he had learned to save others from death. To discover any more information would require Anakin be a Jedi Master. He was not. However in the research he could do he'd discovered a second option.
Throughout history many had tried to use this power. Soon it became clear no one would be able unless the owner of this miracle wanted something from them. Anakin was either incredibly lucky or unlucky, he really couldn't tell. Either way, the owner wanted something from him.
Anakin stood watching the traffic go by on Coruscant. Lots of speeders, too fast to see anything. It was still pretty early so there were plenty of people eating on the balconies of restaurants or dancing on the patios of Nightclubs.
This was where they told him to meet them, right? Anakin was on a walkway for parked speeders. He was pretty sure they'd wanted him there.
The cool night air was crisp. A soft breeze gently ruffled his hair. These were the types of evenings he loved to spend with Padmé.
Just the two of them looking out over the beautiful Coruscant lights. No matter the crazy urban legends of what happened in the shadows, that spread both hope and fear, they felt safe in each other's arms. All of this was for Padmé, he reminded himself.
Suddenly Anakin felt a jab in his neck. He looked to his right and saw the needle in his vain, the liquid quickly emptying out.
Anakin pulled it out. It was too late. Whatever had been injected into him would be staying for a while. There were witnesses. Horrified civilian observers, unfortunately they couldn't do a thing to help. Anakin turned around and saw the people who'd shot and drugged him.
Anakin's eyes grew heavy. "Pick him up" growled the assassin in charge. Her soldiers stormed towards him. He tried to resist. He tried to grab his lightsaber. But everything went dark. Then Anakin knew he was at their mercy.
Honestly, he kind of wished he'd just been sent to the Outer Rim with Obi Wan. But at the last minute the council decided to send just Obi Wan and keep Anakin on Coruscant.
At the time Anakin had been okay with that. Especially since right after Obi Wan left Padmé found out she was pregnant. Everything seemed to go well at first, until he started having those nightmares.
He couldn't let it happen. He refused. He would not let Padmé die like he did his mother. No matter what the cost.
Palpatine told him an odd legend when they were in the opera house. A Sith Lord who could save others from death, but not himself. If he could save Padmé that was all that mattered. If only information on Sith powers wasn't restricted for Jedi masters.
He did discover one man though. One man who could help him not only protect his family but possibly even bring them back. It would come with a price though. Wasn't any price worth to paying for Padmé? Anakin had expected that man to be dangerous. He just hadn't expected him to kidnap him.
When someone finally pulled the sack off of his head the room was empty. Even the guy who took the sack away and untied him quickly left answering no questions.
Someone had removed his cybernetic arm. As if he didn't have enough problems already.
Anakin had a few minutes alone not really sure what he was supposed to do. Then doors behind him creaked open. To his surprise, the only person who came through the door was a human 5 year old boy.
"Hello" said Anakin. He walked over to the child. Surprisingly the kid crossed his arms and disgustingly glared at him. It felt weird to be looked down on by someone so much smaller than him. The boy had to be some sort of royalty, Anakim figured. The child was also very strong in the force.
"Hello, Skywalker" said the child. He spoke with a thick accent. "Mother tells me I am to speak with you before you see Grandfather. Do not pretend you don't know who they are".
Anakin did know exactly whom the child spoke of. He crouched down to be at the child's eye level. "I didn't know he had a little grandson" he said in the friendliest voice he could find. That was a mistake.
"I am his heir and future ruler of the galaxy. I am Damian Al Guhl!" said the child sharply. He had really good language skills for such a young age, Anakin had to give him that.
"I didn't mean to insult you" said Anakin. He searched for a way to change the subject. "What planet would we happen to be on?"
"This is Ti'bet" said Damian.
"I take we're in Nanda Parbat?" asked Anakin. Damian nodded.
"You will meet the Demon's Head soon" said Damian. Then the 5 year old left the room. To say this day just kept getting stranger would be an understatement.
Anakin paced the large hall for a couple minutes. Perhaps these people were even more dangerous than he had believed. Did that 5 year old say something about ruling the galaxy?
"Anakin Skywalker" said an menacing voice from behind him. Sure enough at the opposite end of the room was the man Anakin had come to see.
Unlike his grandson, Anakin couldn't sense any force powers of the Demon's Head. But everything else about him, power and intimidation radiated off of him. Surrounding him were silent people with swords whose faces were hidden by masks and helmets. It also appeared he himself had several weapons under his cape, though it was kind of hard to tell.
"I am Ra's Al Guhl. Leader of the League of Assassins. And you have come to make a deal" he said.
"They told me you could help save my wife" said Anakin weakly.
"Oh, I can do much more than that" said Ra's "But let me demonstrate". The soldiers led Anakin into a room with a big pool of glowing green water.
"Dip your hand into the pool" said Ra's. Anakin raised his arm. "Your other hand" said Ra's. Anakin did not have another hand to dip into the pool.
"You mean my severed arm?" asked Anakin. Ra's nodded. That kind of explained why they removed the electric one. Anakin attempted to dip what was left of his arm into the green water. He found himself wishing Dooku had cut his arm a little lower to make this easier for him.
Finally Anakin lost his balance and slipped sideways into the green water. Whatever it was like to feel healing, this was it. The careful, complicated patterns of all the different tissues in his arm grew and arranged themselves in a few seconds.
Anakin stood and removed his arm from the water. He looked at himself and then at the pool of water in awe. He now had two working arms. He had back something he'd lost years ago.
"The Lazarus Pool is a very powerful thing, Anakin" said Ra's as he stepped over to him. "It can heal you, regrow your limbs, keep you young and healthy for centuries. It can even bring you back from the dead".
"You mean, people can actually be resurrected?" asked Anakin. He could barely breath enough to say the words.
"How do you think I survived nearly a thousand years? Throughout the universe I have used these pools to sustain my and my families lives. I will die eventually, someday. But in my extremely long life I have grown my League of Assassins into the center of power in the galaxy".
Anakin stumbled. Ra's kept talking.
"I have little time for what is not important. You, Anakin, are very important" he said with a menacing smirk.
"Just help me save Padmé's life" begged Anakin "I can't live without her".
"Which is why I'm going to offer you a deal" said Ra's. "I can allow you to use the Lazarus Pools to save you and your family, but you must give me access to something in return".
"What is it?" Anakin asked.
"You're DNA" said Ra's.
"My DNA!" said Anakin "What the Hell could you want with that?"
Ra's chuckled and began walking slow circles around the room. "Has been my mission for centuries to find my one true heir. When he refused I was a bit confused, until my daughter had Damian".
This had something to do with the 5 year old Anakin had met. The child hadn't made a great first impression, but he was still a child. He really hoped nothing bad was going to happen to the boy.
"Naturally I need to make sure my heir is fit to take on his responsibilities" said Ra's. Anakin didn't like the way that sounded. "So before he was born I set out to perfect his genetic make-up" explained Ra's.
"Wait you wanted to change his DNA?" asked Anakin. Ra's nodded. Now that worried Anakin. He knew how bad genetic issues could be and hated the idea of any child having them.
"Is something wrong?" asked Anakin. "Does he have defects or something?"
"No, he's fine" said Ra's. "He's doing great, but he should be better than great. He should be perfect".
Now that, that sounded sick. "Hey, I'm all for helping people with medical issues but there's no such thing as a perfect person. Biology or otherwise" said Anakin.
Ra's looked only annoyed. "Anyway, there's so much about life that we don't understand yet. So I let Damian's natural DNA stay and deemed it impossible to craft the perfect human being. That is, until I heard about you".
Anakin's shock nearly paralyzed him. "Wh-w-what d-do you mean?" he finally stuttered.
"You were a miracle virgin birth Anakin, you know that. Someone, somehow manipulated the force to create you. Now your father, it could be the Cosmic Force itself, a Sith Lord or a Jedi Master, really anyone or anything. That doesn't matter. What does matter is that whoever created you, designed you gene by gene. That is why I need you. Anakin Skywalker. The perfect child".
"Like I said, there's no such thing as a perfect human being and even if there was there's no way in Hell it's me" said Anakin.
"Well, maybe not 100% perfect, you are half human after all" said Ra's. "But you were a malnourished slave as a child. You're more than okay now. You've been injured very badly before. No lasting impact accept a few scars. Despite the terrible conditions you've dealt with, you've never had a deadly illness in your life".
"How did you know all that?" asked Anakin.
"I am Ra's Al Guhl" was all he bothered to answer with.
"Enough of this!" Ra's said. "I will allow you and your family to use the pools if you allow us to study your DNA. For the next month's you will stay here with us. You will master both sides of the Force and strike perfect balance between the two. We will give you the League's knowledge, power and protection. In turn you will fight for us. This is my offer, take it or not".
Anakin looked around. It was all for Padmé, he reminded himself. "I accept".
A/N I changed Lazarus Pit to Lazarus Pool because I thought pool sounded more elegant.
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