Paradise Found
He felt excruciating pain, stabbing him all over his body with thousands of white-hot needles that far surpassed the pain he felt all those years ago when Anakin Skywalker had ceased to exist and Darth Vader was born in his place. Through the pain, he felt his body being dragged from the spot where he had fallen, and knew that his son was trying to save his life. It was hard for him to understand why, as Vader had tried numerous times to kill his own flesh and blood, succeeding in torturing him and severing his hand as his own had been. Yet after it all, Luke Skywalker was still trying to rescue him.
But Ani had already accepted his fate, come what may. He could only hope to be reunited with his beloved Padme, but he knew all too well that he would most likely never see her again, condemned to eternal torture as was what happened to servants of the Dark Side.
Padme...
Images of her lovely face, her warm brown eyes dancing with laughter filled his mind, soothing his troubled soul with her love. He knew that wherever he went, he would always have the love of his wife.
He quietly convinced his son to let go and save himself, and embraced his death with open arms. He was finally free of the opressive Emperor, of the Dark Side of the Force as his spirit began the journey to the hereafter. It was an odd, eerie journey, filled with the cries of the lost souls, the screams of the tortured dark servants. A long, winding road through a dark tunnel...his heart sank as he realized he must be travelling to the eternal purgatory. He could not be going anywhere else, not with a road such as this with a history like his.
Anakin Skywalker...
It whispered around him, winding through the air like a fresh breeze, the ones he knew on Naboo with Padme. He felt the rustle of long grass around his legs, but could not see them. It reminded him of the day he spent with Padme at her family's lake house when he was still a Padawan to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Memories came swirling back to him, of meeting the Queen Amidala as a child, seeing the Senator Padme as a young man, coming home to Padme Skywalker on his time off from the Clone Wars, feeling the stirring of life inside his wife's belly...choking the life from her with his newfound dark powers, seeing the nonexistent bond between her and his trusted mentor, the anguish that followed the knowledge that he had killed his wife, followed by his total immersion in the Dark Side, trying to murder his own children...sacrificing his own life for that of his son's, finally ridding the galaxy of the man he had unleashed upon them, his own redemption in the eyes of his children...
He fell to his knees, weeping openly and knowing that he did not deserve paradise. He did not deserve mercy, forgiveness, or any sort of happiness in the hereafter. He deserved nothing less than eternal torture for his transgressions.
Anakin...Ani...
It called to him again, a beckoning and familiar voice floating through the darkness to him. He quickly stood and began to run slowly in the direction from which the voice came. As he ran, his legs became less stiff, his breathing less labored, but he did not pay attention to any of it. All he could think of was getting to that voice before it disappeared. If anyone were to see him run by, they would see the scars slowly fading and the years melting from his form. But nobody was with him, and he could not see the changes for himself.
The further he ran, the faster he ran. He could just make out a speck of light in the distance and kept his eyes on it, watching it grow larger and larger until he came right up to it. It was a barrier of some sort, and he tentatively put a hand through it before taking a deep breath and walking through.
On the other side was a landscape familiar to him, but he could not place it. It was a bright, clear day, the wind blowing through the rustling grass as animals grazed in the distance. He looked around, and his eyes came to rest on a tiny figure sitting on a hilltop far away.
Ani...
It all came together for him just then, and his face broke into a large grin as he sprinted for the person on the hill. As he came into view, he could see the radiant form of his wife, still splendid in her senatorial gowns of old. She smiled sweetly up at him as she took his hand and led him to a blanket on the ground. Anakin was speechless as he drank in the sight of her. It had been over twenty years since he had seen her last, that last memory blurred by the haze of rage and hatred. Shaking that thought from his head, he leaned down and kissed her with a passion and love that he never knew still existed within him. As they parted, she looked at him with such love on her face it nearly broke his heart. He wanted to proclaim his undying love for the woman in front of him, but was rendered speechless by the sight of her.
She gave him a knowing smile that said everything he needed to know as she unpacked a picnic basked and began filling a plate with Naboo delicacies before handing it to him with a wink.
"I was wondering when you would finally join me, Ani."
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