Once again, I am speechless and blessed by your faith in my story; you guys keep me typing away furiously at my laptop and I cannot thank you enough.
On with the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Star Wars universe in any shape or form. It all belongs to George Lucas and now Disney too. The only things I own are any OC's or anything else my mind concocts as the story goes on.
CHAPTER THREE
A SHOCKING REVELATION
"Hello, 'my Master'."
"Hello, my 'old Padawan'," said Obi-Wan calmly. Silence reigned between them once again before he commented. "I am surprised to find you here. The last time I checked, you loathed your home planet."
"I was never planning on staying on this junk-pile, desert of a planet, old man," said Vader coolly. "It was my search for someone extremely important that led me here, so you can imagine my surprise when I discovered your existence in the Jundland Wastelands, and I know very well what the reason behind it is."
Obi-Wan's heart was beating frantically in his chest at Vader's words but he made answer lightly, "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Vader."
"Do not lie to me!" snarled Vader. "You may have entrapped me with your Jedi falsehoods before but you never will again. I am more powerful than you ever could be!"
"That's not how I recall our last meeting," said Obi-Wan evenly. "If I remember correctly, I left you burning on the lava bank at Mustafar after you believed that you could make that leap. You overestimated your power then, and you are overestimating it now. When will you learn the value of humility, my old Padawan?"
Snarling again, Vader pulled out his lightsaber but he did not ignite it. "You may have left me to die but you were the one who underestimated my power and the Dark Side of the Force. The Emperor found and saved me, reconfiguring my body into something far greater than it ever was."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think the Emperor saved you? Because he cares about you? He saved you because he needed an Apprentice and because your current situation suited his plans well." He studied the heavily armoured body before him. "He has done a very good job too, by the looks of it."
"What is that supposed to mean, Obi-Wan?" demanded Vader.
The exiled-Jedi shrugged. "Only that you are now physically impaired to overpower him. Look at yourself, Vader." He gestured at the Sith Lord's chest. "You are more man than machine now, unable to rely on what was once your incredible physical prowess and instead being forced to protect your life support systems. You cannot honestly tell me that you have taken to your new body easily. You must be in pain, in both the flesh and brain -"
"Shut up, Kenobi," hissed Vader.
"It is possible that your new body could have been reconfigured to be more comfortable and relatively pain-free, but it wasn't Palpatine's intention to save you the physical pain. He wanted you to be in agony so that it would further fuel your anger. Anger spurned by the pain in your body and the terrible actions you have taken since you took on your new Sith persona. Tell me, Vader; has the Emperor asked how you are adjusting to your new suit?"
"Shut UP!"
"Of course, he hasn't. Because he doesn't actually care." Obi-Wan shook his head sadly. "One day you will realise this, my old Padawan. But by then, it will be too late."
"SILENCE!" Vader roared. The truth behind Obi-Wan's words was too raw and painful to listen to. "I grow weary of your mind games, Kenobi. I just had to drop by and say hello to my old Master," Vader ignited his lightsaber, "and goodbye. Only this time it is I that shall watch you suffer in agony during your final moments."
Obi-Wan took out his own lightsaber and ignited it too. "We'll see about that." Former Master and Padawan gazed at each other before Vader lunged forward with a growl, this time determined to best the man who had betrayed him.
I...I
Beru was a woman who enjoyed the simple pleasures in life, and the one she enjoyed the most was singing her six-month-old nephew to sleep. Unfortunately, Luke had been particularly fussy that afternoon, and no song seemed to placate him.
"Sshh, it's OK," she murmured into his ear as she rubbed his back comfortingly. The young woman was certain that Luke's incessant screaming could be heard even in Anchorhead. She had never known another human being to be so vocal.
Luke, who had been crying nonstop for two hours straight, showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. It was unbelievable that a baby could produce so many tears; Owen had once joked that they should just give up harvesting moisture from the air and bottle their step-nephew's tears instead. At the rate Luke had been going for the past few months, they'd be able to live off the income for a solid twelve months.
Then again, they had to spend so much money on bantha milk to feed him that it would all be for nothing. Luke was, without a doubt, the greediest, most ravenous being in the entire galaxy.
"I am not giving you any more milk, you hungry little Eopie calf," she told the baby sternly. Luke's lip quivered and he continued to wail into her shoulder. She couldn't see Luke's arm reaching out behind her back, as though he was trying to grasp onto something that wasn't there.
Beru glanced at the door warily before looking down at her nephew. "How about I sing your favourite song? Just don't tell your Uncle, OK?" It might have been just her imagination but Luke seemed to quieten a tad at her question. She smiled before singing softly;
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high.
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
How I wonder what you are."
As she had hoped, Luke immediately settled down and fell into a deep sleep, his face snuggled into her neck as he drooled against the skin there.
"I really wish you would stop singing that song, I really do," said an irritated voice from the doorway. Owen was leaning against the frame with a disapproving expression on his face. "What if it gives him ideas?"
Beru resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "He's six-months-old, Owen. What do you think he's going to do; crawl into a spacecraft and jet off across the galaxy? He doesn't even know what his nose is!"
"I know," groaned Owen. He walked over to them and gave the baby a fond smile. "Still, surely there is a song that you can come up with that involves the planet we live on."
"I really don't think that a lullaby about womp-rats and sand-people is a good idea. What if it gives him ideas and he joins a Tusken Raider colony, or he develops an appetite for dirty Tatooine pests?" teased Beru, her mouth twitching.
"Ha, ha," grumbled Owen, before adding begrudgingly, "although I must say it is nice to have some peace and quiet for once. We might even get some sleep tonight." He smirked at his wife. "Or maybe none at all."
Beru giggled. "We'll see." Owen winked at her and leant down to kiss his wife. Neither of them noticed that the sleeping Luke was still reaching out behind his step-aunt's back, trying to clutch onto something that the baby couldn't see but could feel.
I…I
They fought as harshly and violently as they had on Mustafar. Only this time they weren't surrounded by rivers of molten lava, but the hot Tatooine suns still blistered Obi-Wan's skin and clouds of sand engulfed his eyes. Once again, Vader had the upper hand to start with and although his duelling style had changed due to his cumbersome new attire, he was just as furious and aggressive as he had been before he was suited. Obi-Wan's fighting style hadn't changed and Vader knew it, so he took advantage of that knowledge.
Unfortunately for Obi-Wan, he wasn't accustomed to his former Padawan's new duelling style and he had not considered this before Vader had launched at him. This meant that he was forced to constantly rethink his technique each time the Sith Lord struck at him. This problem, combined with the harsh Tatooine environment that he had yet to be fully accustomed to, made it exceedingly difficult for Obi-Wan to gain the upper hand that he had achieved on that lava bank during their last duel.
But he refused to back down and he continued to defend himself and to once again have the high ground. Not for himself but for the tiny baby he had sworn to protect and whom Vader had evidently discovered his existence. The Sith may have found out that he had a son, but he was not leaving this planet with Luke in tow so that he could corrupt the child with evil intentions and mould him into a second Vader.
Obi-Wan refused to lose the only hope that the galaxy had.
"Your defence is weak, Kenobi," said Vader coldly, swinging his lightsaber at his former Master's head. Obi-Wan quickly dodged the blade and thrust it towards Vader's shoulder. The Sith Lord grimaced in pain as the blade grazed his skin but his armour was too thick for the lightsaber to have much effect.
"It is YOU who is weak, Vader," said Obi-Wan. Their blades continued to clash together. "I notice that you brought your subordinates with you. Why is that? Do you wish for backup should you fail to best me?"
Vader laughed mockingly. "No, this is between you and me, 'Master'." He swung at Obi-Wan's arm but the Jedi dodged it. Obi-Wan flipped into the air, knowing very well that his former Padawan could no longer perform such acrobatics in his current physical situation. However, Vader had been practising his defences against such attacks and he dodged the blade that went to swipe across his head. As Obi-Wan readied himself to thrust his lightsaber at Vader again, the Sith Lord swooped his cloak roughly in the breeze, causing a wave of sand to blind Obi-Wan's vision. The Jedi barely had a chance to yelp in pain at the action before Vader swiftly plunged his lightsaber into Obi-Wan's stomach.
"This really is the end for you, my Master," he growled into Obi-Wan's ear.
The exiled-Jedi slumped to the ground, his eyes blown wide open in shock and pain. Vader leant over him, examining the dying Obi-Wan through blank eye sockets. The older man could sense the triumph and hatred in the Sith Lord's yellow pupils.
"He will never really be yours," Obi-Wan whispered. "He will not be your toy to destroy. And he will never become you. I will make sure of it."
"What are you talking about?" demanded Vader. Although no one could see it, there was a completely confused expression on his face beneath his helmet.
If Obi-Wan could have felt anything other than the agony in his stomach, it would have been the painful throbbing of his heart. So, Vader hadn't even known. His attempts to save Luke had been in vain. Obi-Wan had failed.
"I'm sorry, Luke," were his last words before he felt his life ebb away. The last thing he saw was his former Padawan's black helmet - the sunlight glinting off its edges - before he disappeared and entered another dimension.
I…I
Vader stood as though rooted to the ground as he stared at the spot that his now deceased former Master had vanished. Obi-Wan was dead. Killed by the Sith Lord's own blade.
Finally, he had gotten his revenge.
So why, beneath all of the triumph and cold satisfaction that he was feeling at that moment, was there a small undercurrent of regret?
He stood still for a while, reflecting on Obi-Wan's death before heading back to the shuttle. For once the sight of troopers and Imperial officers trembling in his wake did not conjure any enjoyment; he was too busy contemplating the Jedi's final words.
"He will never really be yours."
"He will not be your toy to destroy."
"He will never become you."
"I'm sorry, Luke."
It felt as though the pieces of an enormous and incredibly complex puzzle were being put together. As he began to solve the puzzle, Vader's hands clenched forcefully. It wasn't possible. There was no way it could be true. And yet…
"Sir?" a timid voice broke through the mental fog that was clouding his brain right now and was causing the shuttle windows to tremble ominously from his anger. Captain Leith stood behind him, looking incredibly nervous. Clearly, he was praying that he wouldn't be Force-choked again.
Vader made to respond but he couldn't bring himself to. He closed his eyes and searched his feelings. It seemed ridiculous but it still made sense. This was why Obi-Wan had been hiding out on this Force-forsaken planet; he was protecting someone from the Empire and that someone was also being protected by the people Vader had once known in a previous life…
"Shall we continue searching for G'Arthes again?" Captain Leith squeaked. The shuttle's occupants flinched as several objects shuddered around them, brought on by the Sith Lord's rage. Vader paused for a moment, unable to speak due to his fury, before finally shaking his head.
"No, not yet." He walked to the window, observing the slight cracks that his anger had inflicted on the glass and looked out towards the horizon. "There is someone that I need to catch up with first."
I…I
Noooo, Obi-Wan is dead! But perhaps he will still be a part of this story (though I can't give anything away yet). I hope you all enjoyed it and please let me know what you think!