Here it is! Chapter 4! Hope you like it!
And PLEASE share any opinions/plot ideas/suggestions in a review! I live for them!
Things are really heating up!
Chapter 4
"Anakin!"
When the Chosen One hit the water, the Force shattered. His presence pulsating and warping as he disappeared beneath the surface.
Deeper and deeper he sank, the energies of the pool surrounding him. Tugging at his mind, as if it were pulling at the seams that tethered the soul to his body. Dimly, he could see the light above. And even stranger, another form sinking with him.
"Starkiller!"
The young clone barely managed to find cover before the Dark Lord struck the water, as a terrible explosion shook the chamber, the monstrous blight on the Force that was Vader's presence vanishing along with the glow of his life support panel in the shadowy depths.
What is this?
I can feel the energies of the pool penetrating my very being. Like acid, it is eating away at my consciousness, all the while pulling it somewhere else. Somewhere brighter.
Is this what death feels like?
Finally, I cease fighting the alluring pull of the Force. Let it take me where it will.
Touching the bottom of the mysterious pool, the young Jedi could feel his consciousness ebbing away. Seemingly sucked into a darker place in the Force,he had no choice but to release the death grip his mind had on his body.
His spirit, freed of bodily constraints, swirled throughout the strange ebb and flow of energies found here. Briefly, he could feel the essence of another soul. Dark and twisted, yet still familiar somehow, it collided with his.
Inky tendrils grasping, it reached into his own milky form. Searching it seemed. Finally, it found the very center of his being, a dark stain in the otherwise pure expanse of life energy.
Watch yourself young one. The older, darker soul, communicated through its touch as well as the Force. The darkness is powerful and deceptive. Be wary of the words of men. Remember your Jedi training. For you will need it.
As quickly as the spirit had come, it whisked past the younger soul towards the other side of the pool.
"Apparently Sith Lords aren't waterproof," Starkiller commented, leaping down to the edge of the water, his sabers once again hanging at his hip."How long has he been down there?"
"About ten to fifteen minutes I'd say," Kota affirmed, coming up beside him, "And judging from the sudden brightening in the Force, I'm thinking he may have done himself in this time..." After a while of gazing into the water for any sign of black armor surging to the surface, he added, "Looks like the Dark Lord's infamous luck finally ran out on him..."
"You could say that again," Starkiller stepped away, patting his friend on the shoulder before turning to leave, "C'mon, we need to get back to High Command and let them know that our mission was a success."
"Alright, but I can't shake the feeling that Vader's death has a bigger meaning. Something big is about to happen."
Why do I feel so heavy all of a sudden?
Anakin's thoughts surfaced normally, his conscious solidifying once again into a physical form at the bottom of the pool.
Must be the water pressure.
Dizzily, he slowly brought himself to a standing position. Now that he thought about it, his arms and legs felt odd too.
I'll check it out once I get out of here.
His thoughts and movements still disjointed, he clambered awkwardly towards the light glimmering above the surface of the water. About halfway up he realized he could still breathe.
"You sure he's alright General?" The clone captain looked doubtfully at the now still water. Every droid had been destroyed in the fight after Anakin had fallen into the depths of the pool, and the pair now watched in silence. Waiting for the Chosen One to surface. "I could dive down and get him."
"No Rex," Obi-Wan affirmed, turning back to the strange pool, "The Force doesn't feel stable around here... Something tells me we should avoid contact with this liquid. Anakin will surface, I know that."
Not even a minute after the words left his mouth, a familiar black gloved hand broke the surface grasping for a hold on the slick ice and stone.
Excitedly, Obi-Wan took hold of the mechanical arm, and began to pull the sodden form out of the pool. As soon as the body broke the surface, both Rex and the Jedi Master let out a scream.
"Holy Sith!"
Utterly shocked, they released their hold on the immense ebony form and leapt back as the masked figure hauled himself the rest of the way out of the pool. On his hands and knees, the figure kept his head bowed, it's death rattle breathing echoing throughout the chamber.
"Who are you, and what have you done with Anakin?" Obi-Wan's blade hissed to life, nearly touching the chin of the creature. A few more breaths. "Answer me!"
Finally, the monstrosity stirred, lifting its skull-like mask to meet the Jedi's icy gaze, the last of the strange water running off the edges of a flared helmet and splashing softly on the floor.
"It's me Obi-Wan," a mechanical bass voice uttered from the triangular vent that approximated a mouth, "It's Anakin."
Can't... Breathe...
For the first time in nearly twenty years, I find myself breathless when I regained consciousness, and vigorously, I swim to the top.
Lungs burning, I shatter the surface of the pond as I claw out, gasping and sucking for air. Trying to remember how to breathe.
Wait...
Finally catching my breath, I slither to the edge of the pool. And for the first time, I can feel the frozen ground beneath me, the cold slowly seeping through my soft leather tunic and chilling my abdomen.
I shouldn't be able to feel that.
Disturbed by this new development, I risk a look into the water.
Now, instead of a young Anakin Skywalker, fresh from the fields of battle during the Clone Wars, I see a middle aged man with shoulder length hair, a soft highlight of silver starting at his temples contrasting with the light brown of the rest. What shock me the most however, are the eyes I see staring back at me in amazement.
They are the most brilliant blue I have ever seen.
Blue.
A color I have not truly seen in over two decades.
Releasing a deep sigh, I lean back on my knees, feeling every cold patch of ice beneath my leggings. Fearing this is yet another illusion, I lift my hands to my face. As expected, my right hand is cold and hard against my forehead as I struggle to control the jumble of emotions at these long forgotten sensations returning.
Cautiously, I raise my left hand. Hidden in a loose sleeve, I nearly begin to weep at the sight of a calloused hand.
A human hand.
Giddy with relief and amazement, I stagger to my unstable legs of flesh and bone.
I. Am. Alive.
The realization strikes me all at once. All these years, I had never been truly alive. Merely kept from death by outdated machinery and Sith Alchemy.
Now, I am free.
Obi-Wan's lightsaber clattered to the floor in the deadly silence that followed the dark one's proclamation.
"That's n-not possible!" He stumbled back, falling heavily onto his knees.
"I wish it wasn't... Look." The mysterious being claiming to be his brother held out his leather clad right hand. Removing the glove revealed a metallic forearm, the slight whine of aged servo motors belying its age. Despite its obvious aging, it was well maintained as only Anakin would do, the brass colored pistons and joints giving it away as his personally built prosthetic.
"Oh Anakin..." You could've the Master's heart shatter as he soaked in the evidence of the truth.
The black monstrosity in his friend's dreams, the ebony demon in the pool that spoke of things that once were... That was him.
This twisted combination of man and machine was what had become of his greatest friend. In another time, another place, this was the reality of their situation.
Sickened by this realization, he looked away from the stiffly huddled creat-
No, it is Anakin inside that awful suit, and I refuse to let this transformation allow me to dissociate his humanity from the man I know.
"What are we going to do?" The artificial voice sounded harsh and commanding, even when the speaker was obviously distraught.
"I-I don't know young one... I truly don't know..."
It is not long before I make my way out of the caves and back to my ship. The air is cold, and even after my lifetime away from the blistering heat of Tatooine, I still find the cold horrendous.
With my restored body, I nimbly leap onto the top of my TIE and swing into the large cockpit. Settling into a slightly too large pilot's chair, I lift off, eager to return and report to the Emperor.
The Executor finally in sight, I soar into the abandoned hangar. The ship was late into the sleep cycle, and even the earliest risers were dead asleep.
The lights all shut off, I use the Force to land in the same spot I'd taken off from two days earlier. Hoping to evade detection, I slide down to the floor as quietly as possible before making my way to the far exit.
"Hey guy! You supposed to be down here?"
So close!
Cringing towards the door, I risk a glance behind me.
Nothing.
Turning back, I am met with the caf fed leer of a green eyed mechanic.
"Gah!" Leaping away, I state defensively, "Clancy! Don't do that to me!"
"Apologies," the mechanic dips his head, obviously slightly delirious from the amount of caf he'd undoubtedly been drinking today. "Just making sure no unauthorized personnel get their mitts on the Dark Lord's stuff ya see."
He always does that when I leave.
"Ah, I see..." I am at somewhat at a loss for words, I've grown too used to being instantly recognized as Darth Vader to really be good at a normal conversation anymore. "I was just leaving, to... Report to Lord Vader."
That's true... From a certain point of view I guess...
I'd always hated liars, and lying was something I was reluctant to do even in my darkest moments, but with my dramatic change in appearance, I wouldn't be taken seriously if I did tell the entire truth. Before I report to the Emperor anyway...
"Okay, sounds cool..." Clancy bobbed his head in a nonchalant way, "Let Vman know I tuned up Angel earlier this week will ya? I haven't seen him in a while..." Distractedly, the young mechanic wandered off, once again sipping from a dilapidated mug of caf.
That was awkward to say the least...
Trying not to dwell on that odd encounter, I rushed to my quarters.
Contacting the Emperor would just have to wait until morning.
"You can't be serious..." Rex gawked up at the full height of the cyborg that once was Anakin Skywalker, "Your Force did this?!"
"I am afraid so Rex," Obi-Wan confirmed, Anakin had closed himself off, unwilling to speak with the vocabulator. "We believe that it might have something to do with the prophecy..."
"You mean that Chosen One stuff they're always talking about?" The clone captain looked over skeptically at the Jedi Master.
"Precisely Rex. Now, we need to return to the Jedi Temple. Hopefully Yoda can help us figure out what exactly has happened here."
"Oh boy..." Rex put a gloved hand to his head, "Just our luck... Coruscant's a week's flight from here."
"Lord Vader! Urgent news!" The excited voice of an officer disturbs my rest inside my open hyperbaric chamber. Having only been asleep for approximately forty-five minutes, I didn't appreciate it.
"What is it?" I reply groggily, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
"We've picked up some Rebel intelligence, and sir, you've left a standing order that all Rebel dealings be forwarded immediately to you."
Chuba!
It is then I realize, that if anyone were to see me like this, I'd be arrested for sure. The bounty on a Jedi's head is astronomical, and if someone found Anakin Skywalker, the Hero With No Fear, the Chosen One of the Jedi...
I swallow thickly.
I should've never let Palpatine put a bounty out on my alter ego...
"Sir? Your medic is here as well. He says you requested a piston alignment a few days ago, and hasn't been able to find you since."
My heart begins to race. There's nowhere to hide, I always have dealt with my men face to mask...
"Sir, are you alright?"
"Yeah..." I reply weakly, the Force slipping from my grasp like an oily snake. No voice changing or mind tricks this time.
"You certainly don't sound okay!" This voice was the medic's, "I'm coming in!"
Kreth!
The doors hiss open, and at this point, only one thought goes through my mind.
Run.