Disclaimer: Dude, I'm a teenager, how on Earth could I own Star Wars? That was, like, over a decade before I was born!

Summary: Okay, officially I'm not a huge Star Wars fanatic like my dear, dear friend Professor Authordude, but I do adore the story just the same. I also love Animorphs, to an insane level, and it was only a matter of time before I stumbled upon a similarity that entwines the two. In all honesty, any decent Animorphs fan knows the effect of having a Yeerk (evil alien slug with a superiority complex) hugging your brain. For those of you who don't know, it's essentially being a prisoner in your own mind. In this story, we (that's me and you, the readers) explore my idea of what exactly happened to Anakin when Darth Vader took over. I figured that he and a Controller (Yeerk slave) must be very similar. So, here it is. Enjoy.

Anakin was screaming. At times, it seemed he had been screaming for the last twenty years. Sometimes he was barely aware of it, but it was always there. He could barely remember a time before the never-ending scream, but he did remember the exact moment that it began.

He could see the cold metal all around him as though he were there again, on that deck. He could recall every star formation visible through the windows as though he were looking through them once more. And he heard the hum of the lightsabers, menacing and serene all at once. He saw Count Dooku's head, lighted unevenly by the mismatching colors, as he trembled between the glowing beams, begging silently for his life.

And he remembered the sickening thrum as he, Anakin Skywalker, Padawan to Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, ended a defenseless life out of anger. That was when he had betrayed the Jedi, and that was when the screaming had started.

He hadn't really noticed it then, he had been full of fury and vindication, but some small, fortified part of his mind had seen what he had done and protested in the only way it could, by screaming with all of its might.

Back then; Anakin had ignored that part of his mind. Now, it was his salvation. For the moment Palpatine had won the use of his mind, body and power, the last part of him that was Anakin Skywalker had followed the sound of that scream to the only remaining safe haven he possessed.

From that moment on, he had behaved as his Jedi training had taught him. He used what Force Ability he still had to fortify his mental sanctuary, shielding it from Vader's overwhelming presence. It became a stronghold for him, a place of strategy for attack, and a source of defense, and the one thing that kept him from falling to Vader's power was that scream. It was a scream full of anger, of righteous fury, of fear, sorrow and regret. But most of all it was a scream of Defiance. Defiance, he liked to think, that was nearly worthy of Qui-Gon Jinn.

It was from this fortress that Anakin proceeded to fight Darth Vader. For years he estimated to be around twenty, he was subjected to the torture of watching Darth Vader perform unspeakable acts of cruelty and evil with his body and his Force Ability. He was forced to listen to his own distorted voice pledging loyalty and subservience to the disfigured monster that was the Emperor. And each new injustice and sickening proclamation brought a new wave of resistance from the True Anakin. He used everything in his power to unsettle, anger, and simply annoy the Sith in his body.

Look at you, Vader. He would say, disdain dripping from his thoughts. General Grievous had more humanity than you. Look at those legs, those arms. You're no more than a cripple. Let's see you try your hand at podracing now.

It wasn't much, but it worked a little. Vader's oily, distorted thoughts would flare in annoyance much like one would find from a human batting away some insect. But insects, Anakin recalled, could be maddeningly annoying.

So he kept at it, using whatever sad, indignant memory he could dredge up. He took advantage of Vader's connection to his own past and personality, and eventually found his greatest weapon.

If she could see you now, our mother, my, oh my, the things she'd say. Do you honestly think she would love you now? Do you think she'll call you "little Ani" and hold you in her arms? HA! She'd spit on you; she'd toss you into a sandstorm and say "Good Riddance." You're no son of Shmi Skywalker. You're an embarrassment to her.

The insults hurt Anakin, too, but he couldn't let his emotions distract him from battle. And the digs about Shmi did the job perfectly. Vader's anger would flare and he'd shake Anakin's haven with his resounding roars. SILENCE! He would cry. Insolent worm! I shall crush you as I did the Jedi!

For a time, that had worked against Anakin. The memories of the slaughtered younglings, the ambushed Jedi, and the devastated temple would tear at his heart. But he soon became guarded against it. He would keep fighting, and though he rarely ever gained ground, he took heart in the fact that not once in so many years, had Vader ever won. He, Anakin Skywalker, had stood time after time against a Sith in his own head.

Anakin was not always fighting. There were lengths of time in which he was too drained to do battle. These moments were spent in grief and remorse. For years he listened to the scream that had become his home and meditated. Mostly, he apologized. He apologized to his mother, whom he was unable to free. He regretted having shamed her memory and destroyed her legacy as he had done.

He apologized to Padme, his beloved wife. He begged her forgiveness for breaking her heart and ending her life. He apologized to his unborn child, whom he knew must have perished with his lost soul mate.

He apologized to Yoda, who had known from the beginning. He wished he had listened, all those years ago, to the lessons that the venerable Jedi had to teach.

He apologized more times than any being could count to his Master, Obi-Wan. He knew in his heart that he had failed Obi-Wan greatly, and could not bear the pain he knew he had to have caused the warm-hearted Jedi. He often looked back on all of his memories with Obi-Wan Kenobi, and in his dreams he saw them side-by-side once more, brothers in arms and partners in life.

But most of his apologies went to the last person he had expected: Qui-Gon Jinn. It had been so long, and he had been so young since he had last seen the respected Jedi Master, but it was to him that Anakin owed his very existence.

I am so sorry, Qui-Gon. He had said, over and over. You have given me freedom, and power over my destiny. You put yourself on the line for me to the Jedi Council, and I failed you. I failed to be the Chosen One you saw in me. I failed to bring honor to your legacy, and I have failed your Padawan, who you must have loved as a son. I have brought shame to your memory and I cannot undo it.

Still, Anakin fought. He was undeterred and relentless in his battle. However, after so many years he began to feel his resolve start to wane. He had fought so hard for so long and had almost nothing to show for it. Every day he gave all he had against Darth Vader, and every day he watched helplessly as the body and voice that had once been his cause misery and suffering throughout the galaxy. There came a time, when it seemed the only thing Anakin had left was surrender.

But then, just as Anakin was overwhelmed, a miracle gave him the strength and hope he needed to wage war anew. A new source of strength brought him back into the fight with more will and ferocity than ever before. And this breakthrough came to him in the form of a reunion: it was the very last time in his life that he looked into the eyes of Obi-Wan Kenobi.