Chapter 2

Anakin awoke with a gasp and wondered where he was. The last thing he remembered was being with Luke as his life support failed and then, nothing. Oh, Luke! He hoped he had escaped in time.

So this is what it's like to be dead he thought sadly as he looked around. He was lying on his back in a dimly lit void. The pain from his numerous injuries still took his breath away and the heavy bulk of his useless life support suit tormented his severed limbs. Thick mist filled the air. There was nothing else to see so he tried for a moment to reach out with the Force, but could sense nothing. It was very disconcerting.

"Hello?" He called out. "Is anybody there?" Stoney silence was his only reply. He willed himself not to panic as a terrible sense of dread washed over him. Whatever this place was, no matter what horrors awaited him in the swirling fog, it was nothing less than he deserved for the life he had lived. For the first time he was glad his mother hadn't lived to see the monster he had become.

One by one the terrible things he had done ran through his mind. In memory he experienced again Mace Windu's screams as he tumbled out the window of Palpatine's office, the look of betrayal on Madame Jocasta Nu's face when he ran her through with his lightsaber, the terrified screams of the younglings in the Temple as he cut them down without mercy.

Agonizing as it was, he forced himself to relive every despicable thing Vader had ever done until he was physically sick with grief and regret. Finally there were only two people left to remember. The two people he had cared about most in the galaxy.

He closed his eyes and saw Obi-Wan again standing above him after the horrific battle on Mustafar. "You were my brother Anakin! I loved you." he had cried in anguish. At the time all Anakin had felt was hate at those words, but looking back Obi-Wan was the closest and most loyal friend Anakin had ever had. Even after he fell to the dark side Obi-Wan selflessly watched over Luke on Tatooine because Anakin wasn't there to do it himself. A brother by blood couldn't have done anything more.

Last and most painful of all were the memories of his angel Padme. She had tried to stop him from continuing down the destructive path he had chosen and convince him to come away with her. If only he had listened! In his minds eye he saw her again, her small hand resting protectively on the swell of her belly, pleading with him to leave everything behind and come with her. He would give anything in the galaxy to stop what had happened next.

"Stop! Stop now. Come back! I love you!" she had said just before he saw Obi-Wan coming down the ramp and anger had overwhelmed him. Anger that she had betrayed him. That she and Obi-Wan had gone behind his back and…he visibly cringed. Looking back now even the suggestion that there had been anything more than friendship between them was too preposterous to believe. But he had believed it, and had choked his beautiful wife almost to death in response.

Once years ago he had heard that the eyes were the windows to the soul. At the time he had been a child and written the idea off as sentimental romantic nonsense, but after he met Padme, he realized it was true. All he had to do was look into her soft brown eyes to find the warmth of her love for him shining there. The last time he had seen them, they brimmed with terror as she clutched at her throat, desperate for air.

This last memory was his undoing. "I'm sorry!" he cried bitterly. Even though no one was listening he needed to say it anyway. "I'm so very sorry!" he sobbed brokenly crying because there was nothing he could do to ever make amends for his wrongs.

Finally, after an extraordinarily long time, an empty calmness began to settle over him. There was something wet on his face and without thinking, he reached up to wipe it away. Tears. He was crying actual tears! Then he realized that the fingers he had wiped them away with were made of flesh. He gasped and held both hands before his face to look at them. As he did so, he suddenly realized that he was no longer wearing the life support suit. He leap up and experimentally bounced from one foot to the other. His body what whole again!

There was no time to wonder at these developments. A large circle of light suddenly appeared a few yards away from him. It glowed, growing steadily larger and brighter as the fog around him began to swirl and disappear and an irresistible urge to move pushed him forward. Fear gripped him. There was no telling what might be on the other side, but he reminded himself that he had brought it completely on himself. He deserved whatever punishment the Force would give him and more for the life he had led, and he would accept it willingly. It was all he could do now. He closed his eyes and silently made peace with what was to come and then Anakin Skywalker squared his shoulders, stilled the quaking of his heart, and walked purposefully into the light.