Summary: This takes place following the movie. I saw it and loved it! I hate cliff hangers but you know, they unfortunately had to do it even though we all want to see Episode 8 already.
As some of you may know, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is my favorite and is the main character of the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy but there is speculation of him coming back in episode 8 which I would love to see. I don't know how he is going to come back but this mostly about the First Order, Kylo Ren and the Force Ghost (who may later come back to life... **SPOILER ALERT**) who is Darth Vader even though he appears as himself before having to wear the suit like the end of Episode 6 when he appears as Anakin Skywalker. They may say that only Jedi or the good/light side can become Force ghosts and Anakin returned to the good side by killing the Emperor but I disagree, he did it to save his son, he couldn't save Padme or his mother but he could save his son and did. Not to mention he is the Chosen One and did fulfilled his prophesy, I think he'd be immortal in the Force, regardless. Enough of me rambling, here is my take.
Resurgent-Class Star Destroyer Finalizer
First Order
Kylo Ren was furious, how could a little woman with no Force training defeat him? It was an embarrassment! Of course, he was already injured but that wasn't the point, the point was he wasn't able to capture or kill her like he was supposed too. Even more embarrassing was the fact that she got Anakin's lightsaber instead of him. Why her? Was it because she was stronger in the Force or because of her bloodline. Which Ren was all too aware of.
What was more outrageous was that they were able to destroy the Starkiller base. It appeared that they hadn't learned from the Death Star's mistakes, the Galactic Empire's mistakes, but Starkiller didn't belong to him, it belonged to General Hux, that was his fault not Kylo's.
There was no point in blaming himself or taking his anger out on defenseless consoles and various equipment but it was a stress reliever although it did hurt with his injuries still bothering him a bit. They were in hyperspace now, Supreme Leader Snoke wants to see him for final training, whatever that meant, he wasn't sure. His father was dead, so what now he needs to kill his mom? His Uncle Luke? Luke was the most wanted by the First Order and it was Kylo's duty to kill him like he killed the Jedi apprentices before, but Luke wasn't going to be so easy. He may be old and rusty when it comes to the Force but his grandfather wouldn't kill him and Kylo didn't think he could either.
His whole turn to the dark side was trying to live up to Darth Vader's legacy. His grandfathers legacy, he died after killing the Emperor and he couldn't help but think of what life may be like had he not died. He wished he could be trained by him, but he couldn't, he was dead and all he had of him was his helmet that was partially burned since he was burned on the funeral pyre while wearing his suit and mask. The only difference was that Darth Vader needed the suit and mask to live, Kylo did it because it makes him look more scary and fearful and because it made him feel closer to Darth Vader.
"Killing people isn't going to make the light side go away." A voice said and Kylo jumped up with his lightsaber ignited as he turned and saw a Force ghost... it was Vader... but he wasn't dressed like Vader but he knew what his grandfather looked like before the suit and mask, he worshipped the man. "Neither is breaking consoles or supply boxes with your lightsaber."
"Darth Vader?" Kylo asked without wearing his mask since he was inside a private room with no one else around.
"Grandson or Ben." Vader said with a smile. "I, of all people, know what you're going through and taking your anger out on everything and everyone isn't going to help."
"My name isn't Ben! He is dead, much like Anakin Skywalker!" Kylo shouted furious at that name.
"He isn't dead, he is in there still, that is why you are so upset." Anakin said. "And for the record, Anakin Skywalker is the one standing in front of you, not that monster that you seem to worship."
"He may have been a cyborg but he wasn't a monster. He was a Sith." Kylo said as he approached the ghost and deactivated his lightsaber, it wouldn't do him any good anyways.
"He was weak." Anakin corrected him. "Being Anakin Skywalker was harder than being Darth Vader."
"How?" Kylo asked, attitude unchanged.
"The Dark Side comes easier to people than the light side. The Dark Side consumes you, it owns you. It feeds off of you. The Light Side, now you work with that, you work together. It takes longer to learn but the Dark Side isn't stronger, neither side is stronger, they are both as strong just one is symbiotic and the other is parasitic." Anakin explained. "You won't ever be, who I was."
"You may have forgotten who you were, but I don't. Darth Vader was a great man and Anakin Skywalker was the weakling, why do you think he turned into Darth Vader?" Kylo asked talking like he isn't even talking to the very man.
"You're right. As Darth Vader, I forgot who I really was. I was Anakin Skywalker, a hero. The Hero with no Fear. Then I let my personal feelings get in the way and I gave in to the Dark Side." Anakin said sadly. "There is a reason why Jedi aren't supposed to have attachments. That is why we don't believe in revenge or anger or hatred or fear."
"So you are supposed to suppress all emotions?" Kylo asked not believing any of it.
"Absolutely not." Anakin said quickly. "You just aren't supposed to put one life above the many. You have to do the logical thing, the right thing. I dealt with it many times and chose what was right for me, at the end it all worked out. But once I was Vader I knew nothing but hatred and anger and of course being nearly killed by lava, that didn't help. I kept blaming Obi-Wan for doing it to me before I realized, I did it to myself. He tried to save me but I wasn't listening. I was blinded. I am responsible for the death of my wife, the death of the Jedi, the younglings, and all of those other lives I extinguished. I gave into the Dark Side, to the Emperor. He used me and I couldn't see it, not until I was dead."
"What happened to you?" Kylo asked sounding disappointed. "You are not the same man that I read about, that I heard stories about-"
"What about Anakin Skywalker? Did you learn anything about him?" Anakin interrupted.
"Sure, I did. But I have none of him in me. I only have Darth Vader in me." Kylo replied.
"That is a pity." Anakin said saddened.
"Imagine how I feel. I looked up to you and now I learn you're a pushover. Weaker than I thought, I don't know what happened to you." He said and Anakin laughed, it only enraged Kylo.
"I am thinking the same thing. You were great, you were on your way to becoming a Jedi, then you let some old alien being corrupt your mind and pull you to the Dark Side. Not because you are any good but because you are a Skywalker. He used me to pull you in and you allowed him too. That is what I call weak, just as I have been." Anakin said losing the laugh and smile.
"I am stronger now than I ever was." Kylo said and Anakin started laughing again.
"Is that why you lost to a girl? A girl ten years younger than you? Someone who never even used the Force before?" Anakin continued to laugh and Kylo wanted to kill him but as he used the lightsaber to gut him, it went right through, it was ineffective.
"You know, just as well as I do, why I lost." Kylo rebutted.
"Why because she is my granddaughter? The daughter of the great Luke Skywalker? Maybe. But she beat you and slashed up your face pretty good. For a new Force user, I would say she is already better than you and she used the Light Side." Anakin said trying to make a point and Kylo went back to destroying consoles and various equipment in his room, even his bed. "You aren't doing this because I am making you mad, you are doing this because you know I am right. There is light in you just as there was me and Luke opened my eyes to it. If anyone could save you, it is me. Luke tried and look what happened to him. Your parents tried and your father died because of it. I never liked the man myself but that isn't the point. All I wanted was a family, my own real family and I never had one. You have one and all you want to do is kill them. You definitely aren't a Skywalker."
"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!" Kylo screamed as loud as he could and everyone heard it and no doubt there was a disturbance in the Force.
"I want to talk to Ben Solo. Not the weakling in front of me." Anakin challenged. "You obviously aren't very good at being a Sith and obviously aren't very good at being a Knight of Ren unless they lose to girls, like you did."
"YOU ARE LUCKY YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD OR I WOULD KILL YOU NOW!" Kylo said coldly.
"Oh yes, like you killed your cousin." Anakin pointed out, to which he obviously lost. "Or your father, a defenseless old man that tried to bring you home. But no, like me you were clouded by the Dark Side and still are. Let go of it, if you don't then I assure you, you won't survive long and if you do, you won't even want to look yourself in the mirror. You'll be just like Darth Vader, without the disfigurement. At least I had a reason to do what I did, you have no reason."
"It's too late for me. My mother wouldn't want to see me. I killed her lover. Uncle Luke wouldn't want to see me. I killed his wife, I killed the youngling's like you and the Padawan's." Kylo pointed out and Anakin walked closer and got in his face.
"It isn't too late." Anakin said calmly. "Your mother loves you more than you know. As for Luke, he thinks he failed you, like how Obi-Wan felt when I turned on him. But it isn't too late, not for you. You didn't do what I did. I couldn't redeem myself, but you could."
"Yeah and what die at the hands of the Resistance? No thanks." Kylo said dismissing that idea.
"Who said that you had to go to them?" Anakin asked. "All you have to do is reach out to your mom and she will come. Same with Luke. If she could forgive me then she could forgive you."
"She forgave you?" He asked surprised.
"Oh, yes. I haven't spoken with her but I do stop by and she does talk to me, to Anakin Skywalker not Darth Vader. Your Uncle Luke forgave me long ago but he didn't go through what your mother did at my hands." Anakin said sickened to know he almost killed his daughter, how didn't he know?
"I am sorry." He muttered.
"For what?" Anakin asked.
"For letting you down." Kylo said as he sat down and looked at the Darth Vader mask. "I wanted to finish what he started."
"So are you coming back, Ben?" Anakin asked not really sure where he was going.
"Ben is no more. I can't go back. That is what I am sorry for." Kylo muttered, tears flowing down his face. "I am not strong enough to give up the Dark Side."
"That is how I felt. Then I died, so I couldn't really do anything then except look upon my son and tell him to leave me before we both died." Anakin said remembering that day like it was yesterday. "Fortunately, he listened."
"Well, I am not you, as you felt it so necessary to remind me." Kylo said sarcastically.
"No you're right, you aren't." Anakin said deciding to try a different approach. "I never felt sorry for myself, I believed in myself and although I may have been in turmoil, I knew what I could and couldn't do. You think you are weak on the inside but you aren't you are just failing to see that. The reason why you take your anger out on everyone is because you feel like you're letting down Darth Vader. Like you're letting me down. But if you go down this dark path, where I have been and extremely good at, then you are letting me down. You're letting down your whole family tree. It isn't too late and if you're scared that the First Order will mark you for death, don't worry, if you come with me then you won't have to worry about them. I will train you with your Uncle Luke and you'll be glad you did."
"The Supreme Leader is expecting me, I can't just leave." Kylo said tempted to go with his grandfather.
"Sure you can, do you know how many times I disobeyed direct orders?" Anakin asked, he didn't know how many times though, it was too much.
"A lot, I take it?" Kylo said and Anakin smiled and nodded. "Will you help me?"
"I told you I would, but getting off this ship, you can handle it on your own." Anakin promised and knew he could.
"Its not going to be easy." Kylo said as he put on his mask and grabbed his lightsaber.
"You are Ben Solo, you can do it." Anakin said encouragingly.
"I still don't like that name." Kylo said with his mechanical voice.
"And I don't like that voice, it reminds me of him..." Anakin said looking at his old mask. "You should get rid of it."
"Why? Its history, family and galactic." Kylo said with a smile and Anakin saw it but Kylo didn't know.
"It is a constant reminder of my mistakes. Of my failures." Anakin said as he looked away and looked at his grandson who appeared to be older than he was.
"You may not like me for saying it, but he was pretty cool." Kylo said entering the hall as some Storm Troopers walked by but they didn't respond, they looked at him like he was crazy since they couldn't see Anakin.
"Not really." Anakin replied. "I was only like that because of my disfigurement. Not exactly something I like to remember. The constant pain and suffering and the reminder. I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror or even take a shower. The only time I could it off was in my meditation chamber where it was created specifically for me."
"I am talking about the appearance not the reason why you needed it. You didn't even have to talk just looking at you with the suit and mask was enough to scare anyone." Kylo said as Anakin agreed, but still didn't like it.
"True, but I preferred my appearance before. I had the perfect body and the perfect face and hair. Then I became a monster all in one day." Anakin said trying to change the topic.
"Good point." Kylo agreed. "We going to my shuttle?"
"You have to exit hyperspace first." Anakin reminded him and they changed directions heading to the bridge.
"Right." Kylo said. "So you regret being him?"
"Yes and no." Anakin said and sighed. "I liked being me but being Darth Vader, the pain of losing those I loved was behind me. Anakin suffered more than Vader. Anakin lost everyone, well Vader technically lost Padme and Obi-Wan but I was both people that day. As Vader, I took out my rage and problems on unsuspecting Officers and Rebels, I would've killed the Rebels regardless, it was my job. But the Officers, they didn't deserve it. But I killed them anyways because I was suffering and they failed. I never did that as a Jedi, but that part of me was dead and could never be brought back even when I was dying. Only when I became a ghost was I able to become Anakin Skywalker again, thus my appearance as Anakin Skywalker."
"You liked being you more than him?" Kylo asked curiously and because he never thought he could ask his grandfather anything.
"I did and do. I was someone that I could be proud of. As Darth Vader, I was a cruel angry man and being with the Emperor, that didn't help." Anakin said not wanting to talk about Darth Vader or the Emperor but he had too, he had to get him to let go of the Dark Side before he followed in his footsteps, permanently.
"I see." Kylo said as they reached the bridge and the General was there. "General drop out of hyperspace, I need to go somewhere."
"I am sorry, Kylo. But I have orders from the Supreme Leader to bring you to him. If I don't then I am dead, if he doesn't kill me anyway for losing the Starkiller." General Hux replied, he wasn't really sorry he hated Kylo.
"I don't care. Drop out of hyperspace now or I will kill you." Kylo said igniting his saber and drawing it closer to the General's neck.
"You don't scare me." Hux said looking Kylo in the mask.
"Go ahead, do it, if you want too." Anakin allowed, it didn't look like had any other choice.
Kylo smiled and killed the General, beheading him and smiled as the head fell to the ground with the eyes open wide. "NOW DROP OUT OF HYPERSPACE OR MORE SHALL DIE." Kylo warned.
"Dropping out of hyperspace." Someone said and Kylo and Anakin headed for the hangar where Kylo's personal shuttle awaited.
"Easy enough." Anakin said not angry or happy, it was necessary.
"I've been waiting for that for a very long time." Kylo said laughing but it was distorted by the mask.
"I know you have." Anakin said.
"You've been watching me?" He asked.
"Sure have, all of you. I never had a family, Luke and Leia sure but they didn't know me and I didn't know them. I never got to raise them." Anakin said and Kylo knew he regretted that as he wondered what life would've been like had he raised them, how would life be different?
"Do you know where to go?" Kylo asked and Anakin nodded.
"Of course, I'll just need to clear it with Luke first, but we could do that on the way there." Anakin explained and Kylo didn't bother asking how seeing as how he is a ghost.
"Do you really think they'll forgive me?" Kylo asked and Anakin could hear the sadness in his voice.
"I do. If they could forgive me for what I did then yes they'll forgive you, all they want is for you to not be like I was." Anakin said.
"Okay, let's go." Kylo said as they boarded his shuttle and got ready for take-off.
That is my short story! If you want me to continue it and follow Kylo and see where it takes us, I will. But only if requested. The others will be in here as well, the next chapter, if you want one will include Luke and Rey.
Thanks for reading!