Obi-Wan faced a man that he had not seen in almost twenty years. Though it was hard to believe that this man before in the suit of black was ever a man he had called son and brother.
Anakin had been one of the gentlest and caring man Obi-Wan had known, but now all Obi-Wan could feel from his fallen apprentice was anger and hate, and it was all directed at him.
A small part of Obi-Wan agreed with the anger Vader was directing towards him. Obi-Wan never had the strength to do what had needed to be done, kill his former student. Instead of ending his suffering on Mustafar, he had left the young man to burn. A decision that haunted him every day since.
The Jedi Master knew this day would come, as Vader activated his red lightsaber. He knew that this was nothing but a continuation of what happened that dreadful day. Obi-Wan activated his own blue lightsaber and forced his tired old boy into position.
The years exiled on Tatooine had been rough for Obi-Wan. He had been near the prime of his life when had delivered Luke to his Aunt and Uncle. But the twin suns had sucked the virility from his body.
But Obi-Wan forced away the discomforts of his body, focusing on the Force. He was able to meet Vader's blade stroke for stroke as they fought in the room. Anakin was always a formable foe, but time, age, and the suit hampered his abilities slightly. It was no shame that Obi-Wan admitted to himself that if Anakin was not bound to the suit he was wearing, that the old Master probably would be dead by now.
"Ben?"
Obi-Wan heard Luke call, and a deep fear filled Obi-Wan as he gazed over Vader's shoulder and saw not just Luke, but Leia as well. Obi-Wan knew he only had a few minutes before Vader felt their Force signatures.
Though Leia's signature was faint, being next to her brother had strengthened it. Like the twin sun's of Tatooine, the two youths were beginning to shine bright. Obi-Wan did not want to see those twin suns dim from the Dark Side, because he allowed Vader to take them, that is what would happen. He would turn his children, Padme's children to the dark side.
And Obi-Wan could not allow that to happen. He promised Padme that he would protect her children, and Obi-Wan was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to make sure that happened. Breaking eye contact with Luke he raised his saber in salute and waited for the final blow. Vader seemed to hesitant for a moment, seeming not to understand why Obi-Wan had stopped fighting and raised his saber in the traditional salute that was used to begin the fight, not end it.
Obi-Wan's only regret was that he had been unable to train Luke, to not be able to reveal the truth behind his words and actions to both Skywalker twins. Obi-Wan would have to trust in the Force that he had gotten his old Master's teachings right, so maybe he would be able to appear to Luke and explain what had happened.
Obi-Wan saw Vader swing his blade back, over coming his moment of confusion. Vader was fully prepared to stick down his old Master. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and waited. He prayed that his passage in the Force would be a great enough disturbance to distract Vader from the growing strength of the two Force sensitives behind him.
He heard the blade drawling closer, felt the bite of the blade enter his neck. Obi-Wan threw himself into the Force's mercy, allowing his physical body to meld into the mystical plane.
The Force swelled in the acceptance of Obi-Wan to the mystical plane, so much that Darth Vader could only stare at the brown cloak that his Master had worn and the lightsaber that was resting upon it. It was only the sound of blaster firer that drew his attention to the escaping ship behind him.
Vader looked back at the cloak and then the retreating ship. A small part that once was Anakin Skywalker wondered why his Master gave up so easily, who on the escaping ship was important enough to die for? Anakin kneeled down and slowly picked up the cloak he knew was a deep brown and the lightsaber. It was the same one that his Master had wielded during the Clone Wars. The same lightsaber that had turned him into the machine he was today.
Anger flashed in Vader, and he gripped it hard, fully preparing to destroy it.
Anakin, don't.
Vader whipped his head around expecting to see his Master, but the only thing he saw was Stormtroopers running about and climbing into TIE fighters to pursue the old ship. Turning back to the matter at hand he looked at the saber in his hand. The small feeling of sadness returned.
Shoving it aside, Vader wrapped the saber in the brown cloak and convinced himself he was keeping it for a trophy. It had nothing to do with the fact that it had nothing to do with the memories of his younger years when the two items in his hand met safety and comfort. Of countless times in the field when he awoke to find a dark brown cloak covering him in his sleep, with the sight of his Master holding a lightsaber, protecting him as he slept.
Obi-Wan watched as his former Padawan carried away his cloak. He had fully expected Vader to crush his lightsaber, he had felt his intentions through the Force. But it seemed that Vader had heard him call out and stopped himself from destroying it. For a moment Obi-Wan had felt the sadness in Vader, the sadness of his death he felt.
It made him think of Padme's last words, "I know that there is still goodness in him."
Perhaps there was still a small bit of Anakin Skywalker still left in the machine that called himself Darth Vader. But the jaded view of a man that had lost everything by a man he had trusted with his life warned the Jedi Master believing such things.
He turned his eyes to the Millennium Falcon as it escaped the clutches of the Empire. He let himself feel joy at the sight of a very much alive Luke and Leia. Though they all were mourning his death, Obi-Wan knew they would move on from it. They were the new hope he had spoken about so long ago and he would continue his promise of watching out for them during the trials that soon would appear.
They were worth the ultimate sacrifice.
Hoped you enjoyed this one shot, please let me know what you thought!
