The Approaching Dawn
He doesn't move. His mechanical limbs are locked in place. Eyes tried to see for themselves, to ignore the lenses that hid his face from the world. But it didn't work.
"Father… please…"
He knew it should sound pained, and that he should recognize the agony behind it. But there were too many filters, too many obstructions blocking out the emotion that he could feel there, that he could sense there. Emotion that he couldn't hear.
"Are you an angel?"
The thought comes unbidden, from the darkest depths of his mind that he has blocked out for so long. The lightning ceases, as do the screams, fading quickly.
"I've never heard of angels."
Its his own son lying before him on the cold lifeless steel. Its his own son writhing in pain, pleading for help, crying out in anguish through the force.
"You're a funny little boy. How do you know so much?"
The words strike quickly, each one carrying the weight of a thousand stars. He can hear them being spoken, without the filters impedance. He can hear them just as clearly as he could when they were spoken. His eyes travel from his master, back down to his own child, and he knows there should be something more inside him, that there is something missing. Something he desperately wants, something he lost and couldn't clearly remember having.
"I'm not afraid to die, I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life."
Everything is beginning to blur together. He can feel the weight of the words bearing down on him, as if he's drowning, and his mask isn't providing enough air for him to breathe. Massive stone pillars rise around him. A sea of red stone is all he can see, and he can't help but look about himself in awe.
"I love you."
And then he can see her. Her name escapes him, but everything is different when he sees her.
The weight is lifted. He can breathe freely, he can see and hear more clearly than ever before. It doesn't feel real, but every part of him wishes it did.
And then the red stones vanish. Only to be replaced by an ornate balcony overlooking a lake as the sun sets behind the distant hills and mountains. There is nothing but peace to be found here, nothing but calm, and beauty. Concepts that felt so foreign to him.
And she is there again. Dressed in a white gown, the light of the falling sun shimmering around her slender frame. Suddenly he knows just what he meant when he called her an angel. He can see her beauty, recognize that look in those deep brown eyes.
"Now young Skywalker, you will pay the price in full. You will die!"
The lightning is back. The screams echoing through the chamber without mercy. Still so very distant to his muffled ears.
"No, Anakin- no…"
His son's screams fade into nothing, replaced instead by another, clearer voice that echoes through his entire body. He can see the pain in her face, he can hear the distant cries of a newborn child. And she's dying. He tries to grab hold of her, but he misses, unable to reach her, unable to wipe those tears away.
"It seems that in your anger, you killed her."
And he can see his fist closing, tightening. He can see her eyes, filled with despair, and what he couldn't deny was a sliver of hope. Of love.
And then he's back, standing in his master's throne room. Watching his son screaming, the blue flames of lightning racing over his skin. He can see those eyes, so clearly, so perfectly.
He can see that hope, that love.
You killed her…
And he doesn't know what to do, doesn't know why his heart is racing when it should be automatically slowed by his suit, by the machines that have become a part of him.
"I made this for you. So you'd remember me. I carved it out of a japor snippet."
And without even knowing what his body was doing he can feel himself moving towards his master, his arms reaching out, not willing to fail.
"It's beautiful. But I don't need this to remember you."
And he's moving again. Arms wrapping around his master, raising him into the air. The bolts of his master's power course through his own body, pain searing every muscle he has left. The screams fade. The cold darkness fades, and just as he feels like he's going to collapse he can hear that voice echoing once more.
"I love you."
And without another moments hesitation he launches his arms forward, sending his own body perilously close to the ledge. His master's screams echo all around him, and just as they fade to nothing he can see her.
He can feel the warmth of her touch, the warmth of her love course through him. And he knows what he was missing. He knows exactly what that something was.
Then there are arms around him, pulling him away from the ledge. Pulling him through a maze of steel corridors. But everywhere they go he can still see her in front of them, as if she's guiding them to safety.
He can almost smell the dewy grass. Almost feel the soft sand in his hands, the gentle breeze as it blows through the fields, and the fresh air all around him. The roses on the balcony overhead are as dark and vivid as ever before.
And then he falls. Unable to do anything but to look up at the balcony above him, where he can see her waiting.
"Go my son. Leave me."
"No. You're coming with me. I'll not leave you here. I've got to save you."
"You already have, Luke."
There's another explosion, but it goes unnoticed by both. All they can see for the moment is each other, and the rest of the galaxy doesn't truly matter.
"Father, I won't leave you."
And he can see her face, so clearly as it replaces that of his son's. He can see her watching the sky, waiting patiently for the sun to rise. For the world to be illuminated once more.
"Luke, you were right… and you were right about me… Tell your sister… you were right."
And then its gone. His son fades from his vision, and he can feel the first rays of light fall over him. He looks down, and can almost smile when he realizes his suit is gone. He feels free, as if the weight that he had bore for so long was suddenly gone. And then he feels it. The soft touch of her hand. The sweet smell of her perfumes. The feel of her love igniting every last bit of his heart. She's there, standing with him once more, holding him, her lips so close, and so soft.
"I love you."
And then he sees the sun, and he feels as though it'll never set. It's what he's been waiting for.
He has her. He loves her, and nothing can take her away from him, not this time.
The End