Hello again! I have come with another chapter! This would have been uploaded sooner, but alas I was on a trip with my school for an entire week and I haven't had the time. Also, thank you so so much for the lovely reviews, really. teaganlola9, you've been a trooper. Thank you for supporting this story so much and leaving so many nice reviews. Brievel, you have also left a lot and I'd just like to thank you for taking the time to leave a review on my story. As for all you other lovely readers and reviewers, I'd like to give my thanks as well, and I'm happy that you all liked the reunion. Your reviews literally mean the world, and I read every single one. Seriously. Also, I'm going to warn you guys, from now on, the plot thickens still. Ooooo, read on. You've been warned.
CHAPTER XII
Waldeinsamkeit
the feeling of being alone in the woods
or: amongst the crowd of rebels, Anakin and his ragtag family stick out, and amongst the many people of the galaxy, Obi-Wan feels like he's the last man alive.
Over his many weeks at the rebel base, Anakin worked out a routine. Well, not really. Force knows that Anakin could never stick to his plans. His 'routine' (if you could even call it that) was mainly to get up, have breakfast, mess about with Luke and Leia, help Mon and the other Alliance leaders on occasion (as while nobody wanted him there, they couldn't deny that his military expertise was much better that any of theirs), then hang around with his kids and the rest of his family (as in Rex, Cody, and Ahsoka) with stops at the cafeteria for lunch and dinner.
It was okay, he thought. It was okay, thought everyone else.
It would do.
But then, there were some things that made them stick out. Cody and Rex were clones, quite obviously. Anakin was avoided like he was some sort of monster (which, he was, if you really thought about it). Ahsoka was usually quiet, preferring to listen rather than talk, and to most, she was an enigma, the mysterious Togruta with two lightsabers at her belt. Luke and Leia were the only children at the base, so quite naturally they were destined to attract attention anywhere they went. But then, they were also Anakin's kids, so most left them be, still fearful of their father.
They were fearful of his ghost, for the man he was now could not be mistaken for Vader as a mynock could for a bantha.
Currently, Anakin, Luke, Leia, and Ahsoka sat on the floor of Anakin's quarters, taking apart the various pieces that 'Uncle Piett' had brought in the day before.
"Papa, look! There's a power cell in here!" Leia exclaimed, holding up the power cell that she had found moments before.
"Nice digging, squirt," Anakin replied, smiling. "That could come in useful."
Leia look up at him once more, proud of herself, before turning back to continue sifting through the machinery.
It was times like this when Anakin was at his best. He was truly happy, with his family. His children could see it, and they cherished the times when their father was happy. They knew who he used to be, and Luke could still remember that life-altering day on Tatooine when Darth Vader descended from his shuttle. He remembered the suit, and he remembered how the Dark clung to his father's aura, and he remembered how that darkness had fallen away to reveal the light.
Luke and Leia both knew that while their father was firmly planted in the Light, the Dark was still a part of him.
And so, they cherished the times when their father was happy, for when night fell, that all changed.
For when night fell, the nightmares returned.
Anakin would wake in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, the darkness suffocating, his dreams haunting. He would wake up screaming, the demons in his head threatening to choke him with their hands of fire. Luke and Leia would be there for him, holding him as his breaths became slower and slower until he fell back into sleep. They abandoned their own beds for his, for he needed them and they knew it.
His temper was always most fragile in the mornings. The mornings after a fresh bout of nightmares, especially so. If they got difficult or argued, he would sometimes snap and break something with the Force, but then just as suddenly he would crumple in upon himself and promptly leave the room.
Luke and Leia hated when their father was upset, but they gave him space. Anakin was a raging sandstorm, unpredictable. Luke and Leia were the eye of the storm in his mind.
They didn't argue in the mornings anymore. Mornings for the Skywalkers were usually a silent affair. There were, of course, those rare days when the Force blessed them. There were days when Anakin would wake up with his children at his side and feel happy. There were nights when he was given a dreamless sleep.
Those mornings were the happiest, for all of them. Anakin would get up smiling and go to the kitchen. When Luke and Leia woke up, delicious smells would waft through their living quarters. They would run to the kitchen, where Anakin would be leaning on a counter with a datapad in one hand and a cup of tea in the other, and in the dining room, the table would be set for three.
There were good days for Anakin, and then there were bad days. Through it all, he knew his children would be there, and that, for him, made life worth living.
Sometimes, in his worst moments, Anakin wondered if Obi-Wan would have been proud.
There were many places in the galaxy that Obi-Wan had been to. Almost all of those places had people. Anywhere Obi-Wan went now, he felt out of place. Anywhere Obi-Wan went now, he would be reminded of Anakin. He saw Anakin in the children that ran about the parks of Alderaan, he saw Anakin in the sands of Tatooine. He saw his brother anywhere he went.
Truthfully, he missed him. He missed Anakin.
Obi-Wan knew that Anakin had only pushed him away because he thought that he didn't deserve Obi-Wan's forgiveness. Obi-Wan would have had to be blind not to see that. He knew Anakin, practically raised him.
And now, he missed him.
Wandering the galaxy, Obi-Wan went unnoticed. His cloak protected his face from the eyes of curious strangers, and if anyone did notice him, a simple mind-trick usually worked for Obi-Wan. He'd travelled to many places by now. His Jedi Interceptor had been entrusted to Bail for safekeeping long ago. It would not do well for him if the Empire saw the ship. In return, Bail had given him a small Alderaani shuttle. Obi-Wan was fine with it. It was a ship, nothing more.
Every once in a while he'd imagine Anakin sitting grumpily in the co-pilot's seat, his hands itching to pilot the craft. It never failed to bring a small smile to Obi-Wan's face.
He'd wandered for weeks now, aimlessly drifting. He'd received few messages, and sent next to none.
And finally, he'd had enough. He'd had enough of being alone, enough of knowing that Anakin was probably blaming himself for everything. He'd had enough knowing that Anakin was taking the brunt of his own pain alone.
People who had lived in the Old Republic knew that wherever there's Kenobi, Skywalker was never far behind.
It will be that way again, Obi-Wan told himself.
Anakin will not suffer alone.
A lone figure sat in secluded quarters.
The room was dark. The figure sat at a desk, a datapad laid out in front of him. He wanted revenge, revenge on the man who killed his wife, and his children with her, before his very eyes. He hadn't known anything about the Rebellion back then, but Vader had apparently thought so. It was only after he started to seek them out, for he had nothing else to do. His family was gone.
The man sat at the desk, his thoughts of vengeance foremost in his mind.
Vader will pay, the man vowed to himself. He will pay for what he did to my family.
And so, he started to plan.
