A/N: A one-shot fic! Yey! Well, all the people who read my other stories are happy because they know this mean they won't have to wait months for another update. Dedicated to Kerichi for getting my bottom in gear.
Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own Star Wars. The illustrious George Lucas does. All bow before his greatness. If I DID own Star Wars, I would keep a Darth Vader costume in my room…
Vader's Revenge
Darth Vader sat in the board room as the admirals and generals discussed amongst themselves. Politics had never interested him before and this meeting was no exception. If Governor Tarkin had not expressly ordered him to stay for the meeting, Vader would have left a long time ago. As he stood there observing, he suddenly felt something- a twinge in the force that he couldn't quite place, familiar as it seemed.
"We've captured a freighter entering the remains of the Alderaan system. Its markings match those of a ship that blasted its way out of Mos- Eisley." a voice reported over the intercom.
'This feeling- it must have something to do with that ship. That they come so close together cannot be a coincidence,' Vader thought to himself. "They must be trying to return the stolen plans to the princess. They maybe of some use to us yet," He replied. He had little doubt that this was the reason for a freighter to come as far as Alderaan from Tattoine, yet when he headed down to the docking bay, he was much more interested in the feeling in his gut.
As he approached the ship, it hit him- Obi- wan Kenobi was aboard the Death Star. 'So the time has finally come for me to repay him for what he made me' Darth mused. A surge of hatred flared through him.
"There's no one aboard, sir. According to the log, the crew abandoned ship right after take off. It must be a decoy, sir. Several of the escape pods have been jettisoned." The officer announced.
'So Obi- wan has chosen to hide from me. He must fear my power and vengeance. No matter- I will find him eventually. I have waited years; a few more hours will not make a difference.'
"Did you find any droids?' He questioned further.
"No sir. If there were any on board, they also must have jettisoned,"
"Send a scanning crew aboard. I want every part of that ship checked!" he ordered
"Yes sir"
"I sense something… a presence I have not felt since…" 'the night he left me to die on Mustafar, as he watched me writhe and burn.' Darth turned around and stormed out. He would need to save his anger and energy to fight Obi-wan, especially if this fight was to be anything like the last. 'This time HE will die!" He clenched his fist to keep form grabbing his light saber and tearing apart the ship until he had found and annihilated his former master.
(Flashback)
Anakin had never been more exhilarated in his life. Watching Obi-wan run from him, from his new found power made him feel as he had never felt before. They were now over a river of lava, Obi-wan on a hovering platform, Anakin balanced on op of a robot. Obi-wan headed towards shore and jumped up on a rocky outcrop.
"It's over Anakin. I have the high ground!" Obi-wan shouted above the din of rushing lava, poised confidently on the ledge. Below him, Anakin Skywalker balanced on a droid hovering over the molten river, a cocky expression plastered across his face. He could feel the power coursing through his veins, making him stronger than any Jedi.
"You underestimate my power!" he screamed in an almost animalistic way.
"Don't try it!" Obi-wan warned, reading the look in his former charge's eyes.
'How DARE he tell me my limits!' Anakin raged. Gathering all his strength, Anakin pushed off in a high arch over Obi-wan's head. His lightsaber neatly sliced off Anikin's left arm and both legs as he sailed over head. Anikin roared in pain as he landed hard on the gravel. His remaining mechanical limb grabbed desperately, in search of something to hold on to while he tried to push himself up with limbs that were no longer there.
'How can this be!' his raged.
(End flashback)
Lord Vader examined his black clad hands, hands that were nothing more than bits of cold steel and clenched them.
Darth sat in his globe, meditating. He felt most at peace when he could feel the air brush against his skin, away from his restricting helmet and suit. He thought back to the scene just taken place in the conference room
Vader had thought it fair to warn the governor of Obi-wan's presence on the ship. Where ever the man was, he was likely to crop up trouble. Also, the fact that a member of a race thought long gone still existed could mean serious trouble for the empire. Who was to say he had chanced to take on new apprentices? He stepped in to the room and made an announcement that should have mad the blood drain from the governor's face. "He is here," he stated in the grimmest voice the vocal machine could portray.
Instead the governor had merely raised a quizzical eye brow and asked "Obi-wan Kenobi? What makes you think so?"
"A tremor in the force. The last time I felt it was in the presence of my old master," Vader felt slightly annoyed. Who was Tarkin, who had no knowledge of the force to question him?
"Surely he must be dead by now," Tarkin replied in a dismissive tone.
"Don't underestimate the power of the Force," He replied, the annoyance he felt now evident in his tone.
"The Jedi are extinct, their fire has gone out of the universe. You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion." He sounded like someone explaining this for the umpteenth time to a petulant child. Darth had to fight the urge not to choke him. Instead he was rewarded with the buzz of the com link bearing bad news- a disturbance in the princess' cell.
"Obi-wan is here. The force is with him." Darth gloated. It wasn't as effective as he would have liked with the helmet on, however.
"If you're right, he must not be allowed to escape." Tarkin looked slightly worried now.
"Don't worry, escape is not his plan. I must face him alone," Darth reassured him. He would make sure that this was the case. Obi-wan would not leave the Death Star alive.
Now, all he had to do was find him. He reached out with his feelings. It took him ten minutes to sense his former master. He was getting weak, Vader noted. He was near a central power area, no doubt turning off the tractor beam. It would make no difference whether the bean was up or down in the long run. The spies would never make it to the ship. Obi-wan's effort was moot.
A claw reached down and fitted the mask over his face while another fitted the sleek helmet over it. He left his globe and headed toward the docking bay, which was sure to be Obi-wan's next destination. He didn't even bother to tell the head of security to leave Obi-wan alone. If he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be. He had always been able to make things as he wanted.
(Flashback)
"Anikin, you were the chosen one! It was said you would destroy the Sith, not join them!" Obi-wan was close to tears now. Anikin could feel the guilt burning inside him. He met Obi-wan's eyes.
'Maybe it's not too late to walk away from Palpatine. The Jedi would forgive me…" He looked away, angry at himself for falling into Obi-wan's trap. 'I will not go back to being your lap dog! I am too powerful for that! There is nothing there for me, not even Padme!' He writhed on the ground.
"It was you who you bring back balance to the force, not leave it in darkness!"
(End flashback)
Darth Vader stood, waiting for his former master to appear. Had Obi-wan grown so weak that he couldn't escape ordinary storm troopers? Had he found a way to avoid Vader? He cleared his mind to rid himself of these plaguing questions. Obi-wan would avoid him- he couldn't. He would no doubt feel the same compelling force that Vader was feeling to finish what he started that day in the Mostafar system. 'Only this time, he'll be the one writhing in pain' Vader thought grimly.
The sensation of Obi-wan's presence grew stronger as he stepped into the open hallway, back to Darth. " I've been waiting for you Obi-wan." Obi-wan Kenobi, a much aged version of what Vader had remembered, turned around looking irritatingly calm.
"We meet again, at last. Now the circle is complete. When I left, I was but the learner. Now I am the master!" he could no longer keep the excitement out of his voice.
"Only a master of evil, Darth," the old man returned with cool poise. Obi-wan out with his lightsaber, but not with the same force he'd once had. He had grown weak indeed, spending too much time on a god-forsaken planet alone. Darth easily parried the blow and felt a surge of disappointment. This would be too easy, destroying the shadow of a man once great, one of the few people he'd been unable to kill, who haunted his nightmares.
As the lightsabers cracked and sizzled blow after blow, Darth Vader felt more uneasy. Something wasn't right. He felt a powerful presence in the force, that of one who clearly wasn't Obi-wan, who stranger than he had originally appeared, already had a thin film of sweat covering his face. But in the heat of battle, he paid it no heed.
"Your powers are weak old man!" he taunted.
Suddenly Obi-wan stopped fighting. 'He's given up! He knows I'm too powerful for him! My hatred is far stronger than his grip of the force!" Still, Vader couldn't help but be a little bit shocked at Obi-wan quitting.
"You can't win Darth. If you strike me down, I shall only become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Obi-wan cautioned. But, as in the days of his apprenticeship, Vader paid him no heed. He struck out again. The mysterious presence had come closer, but Darth didn't notice.
Suddenly, Obi-wan disengaged again, holding his light saber vertical towards the ceiling in front of him.
(Flashback)
As Obi-wan stood watching, Anikin could feel the stubs of his legs getting hotter. With a sigh, Obi-wan picked up Anikin's lightsaber and began to walk away.
"I HATE YOU!" Vader roared, a look of animal rage plaster across his formerly handsome features. He screamed those words from the bottom of the pain in his heart- for losing everything he had trusted up until this point, the world of the Jedi, for losing Padme's love, for losing his body and for Obi-wan for causing all this to happen. Why couldn't he just have left him on Tatooine with his mother? If he had been whole, or even had one more limb, he would have thrown himself at Obi-wan again.
He struggled with his metal hand to pull himself higher on the bank. Obi-wan turned back to him. Darth could feel his legs start to singe. "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!" Tears were now streaming openly down Obi-wan's face. He turned and began to walk away
A piece of Vader's pant leg caught fire, quickly spreading up his body, causing unbearable pain. He screamed but Obi-wan ignored his cries of pain.
(End flashback)
All of Darth Vader's built up anger and hatred was unleashed as his last blow slice Obi-wan down the middle. Instead the satisfying sight of Obi-wan's dead body, however, there was just two halves of a cloak laying in a puddle on the floor.
"NO!" a voice screamed as Darth prodded the remains of the cloak. A quick glance to the right revealed a crowd watching his every move. A boy, maybe in his early twenties was now being dragged away to the ship Obi- Wan had been trying to reach. The boy- he felt it acutely now. The boy had been who he'd sensed.
He felt himself move to stop them rom reaching the ship. His mind however, was in a different world. Obi-wan was gone. He felt hollow, rid of the anger he'd harbored for so many years- for taking Padme from him, for destroying his body and forcing him to wear this suit… He had avenged himself, and while he was no longer angry, he still felt the pain.
Determined not to think of his inner turmoil, the elder Skywalker half-heartedly turned his focus to his new foe…
Fine
A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed my character sketch, so to speak, on Darth Vader. Hopefully you all picked up the subtlties. If not, I hope you enjoyed the story! I know it's a one-shot, but please make me happy and review. It's what I live for…
-Moonglow
