Lixion barely remembered the events that transpired since he first woke up to see Xanatos, to the time they entered hyperspace. His eyelids drooped as he felt unconsciousness beckon to him. He was so tired.
Xanatos looked over to him from the copilot's seat and smiled when he saw Lixion begin to nod off. Unbuckling himself, Xanatos unbuckled Lixion and picked him up to carry him to bed.
"I can walk." Lixion mumbled drowsily.
"You were stumbling like a drunk person coming out of a cantina all the way to the ship. Now you're half asleep. I think it would be best if I carried you." Xanatos responded.
Lixion mumbled something under his breath, but didn't bother to resist. By the time Xanatos had tucked him into bed, Lixion was fast asleep.
The Force swirled around Anakin, embracing him in its comforting presence. Tenderly the Force comforted him, like a mother would a child.
Anakin picked the recording device back up, his hand trembling as he pressed the button to continue the recording.
"There is more that you need to know." Padme paused for a couple of seconds and then continued. "When Luke was two years old he was kidnapped by the Sumni and brought to the Emperor. Two long months passed before Master Windu found where Luke was and was able to rescue him. The rescue went bad and Master Windu was killed, but Master Yoda and I were able to get to Luke before the Sumnii could catch him. Luke was very quite after we rescued him, he would rarely talk, if at all. Master Yoda and I tried everything we could to help Luke, but I can't help but feel that hadn't been enough. When the twins were three years old, we went into hiding on Melida/Daan. Luke started to come out of his protective shell a little as he got older, but he was still very withdrawn. Leia told me once that she thought that Luke talked a lot more with Cerasi then with anyone else. Perhaps Cerasi can get through to him. There is still good in Luke. Save him, Anakin. I love you." Padme blinked away a tear and smiled before the recording ended.
Anakin turned the recording device off and stared at the waves that came crashing onto the beach. "I will, Padme. I promise. I will save our son."
He placed the recording device in the box, and slowly closed the lid, listening as the small lock clicked as it locked. He wiped his face with his hands, picked the hand carved box up, and walked back to the beach house.
Anakin slowly walked up the wooden steps and entered the beach house and then headed for the kitchen. The smell of a home cooked meal made him aware that he was hungry, but he made no move to go to the table, instead he stopped in the doorway and watched the others eat.
Sensing Anakin's presence, Obi-Wan turned his head to the left to see why Anakin wasn't coming to the table.
Anakin shook his head, but when Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed, Anakin simply sighed and went to sit down in an empty seat between Obi-Wan and Leia at the head of the table.
Avoiding Obi-Wan's gaze, Anakin looked down at the plate of food and then he looked at the others around the table. Mara, who was sitting next to Obi-Wan, was focused on her food and appeared cold and distant. Han had his arms around Leia shoulders, and Leia was resting her head on Han's shoulder.
Anakin couldn't help but smile at the sight. "Leia, why don't you go on to bed?"
Leia wrinkled her nose and then opened her eyes to look at her father. She thought about trying to get out of going to bed, but then decided to concede instead.
Han gently squeezed Leia's shoulder and kissed her on the forehead. "That sounds like a good idea."
Leia slowly nodded and stood up.
Anakin stood up too after placing the box on the table and gave Leia a hug. "You'll sleep well."
"Thank you father." Leia replied, giving him a smile that reminded Anakin of Padme.
Anakin watched her exit the kitchen and then sat back down. Picking up his fork, Anakin took a bite of some kind of green vegetable. He tried not to make a face when he realized that it was cold.
Han finished the last bite of his meal and then wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I'm going to go work on the Falcon." He announced and then cleared Leia's and his dishes from the table before leaving the kitchen. Mara also, got up, cleared away her dishes and left the kitchen.
Obi-Wan shook his head as he watched Anakin eat. "You know you could heat that up."
Anakin shrugged his shoulders as he chewed and swallowed. "It's fine." He cut a small piece of meat and put it into his mouth to illustrate his point.
Obi-Wan drank the last of his glass of water and then set it down before looking at Anakin again. "What's wrong Anakin?"
Anakin slowly chewed the food in his mouth and then swallowed. "It's nothing."
Obi-Wan caught Anakin's gaze drift to the box before becoming fixed on his food again. "It has something to do with the box doesn't it?"
Putting his fork down, Anakin took the box in his hands and traced the carvings with his fingers. "I carved this for Padme; I designed it so that no one but Padme and I could open it. She kept my padawan braid in here, as well as the japor pendant that I carved for her, and our wedding picture." Fresh tears brimmed in his eyes as he thought about the last object.
"And?" Obi-Wan questioned, sensing that there was something else that was in the box."
"We kept our secrets hidden in here. It's a box full of secrets, of memories." Anakin continued. Taking a deep breath, Anakin used the Force to make sure that they were alone. "There was a recorded message from her in the box. She recorded it with hope that I'll see it."
Anakin looked up into Obi-Wan's eyes. "The Sith apprentice that attacked me before I was able to get on the ship…" Anakin paused and swallowed as a lump formed in his throat. "He's my son." He finished in a low voice.
Stunned, Obi-Wan was unable to form a suitable reply and so remained silent and instead sent soothing waves of the Force to Anakin.
Anakin accepted them and they sat in silence.
After ten minutes had passed, Obi-Wan stood up and cleared the rest of the table and washed and dried the dishes. When he was done, Obi-Wan turned around to see Anakin still sitting at the table with the box on his lap. "Why don't we go for a walk?" Obi-wan suggested.
Setting the box on the table, Anakin stood up and followed Obi-Wan out of the beach house. They walked a couple of minutes along the beach before Obi-Wan spoke. "You believe he can be saved?"
"Padme believed he can be saved. I also believe that he can be saved." Anakin responded.
Obi-Wan pressed his lips together in a thin line. He looked out at the ocean and then back at the seemingly endless stretch of beach. "Do you truly believe that, Anakin? Once someone walks down the path of the darkside it will dominate their destiny."
Anakin stopped walking and looked at Obi-Wan. "You're sounding like Yoda and yes I do believe that there is hope for him."
Obi-Wan inwardly flinched at the hard look that Anakin sent him. "Forgive me, Anakin for sounding pessimistic. It's just that my past experience with darksiders has left me doubtful that there is hope for those immersed in the darkside."
"I would have thought that by now you would have recognized that anything is possible." Anakin replied and looked out at the ocean, a salty breeze ruffling his blond hair that now had a few streaks of gray in it.
"They say that the older a person is the more set they are in their ways and beliefs." Obi-Wan responded.
Anakin snorted in disbelief. "Whoever said that was not a Jedi and you're not old."
Obi-Wan raised an almost completely gray eyebrow. "What age do you have to be in order to be considered old then?"
Anakin smirked, "Oh, a couple hundred years old."
"Very funny." Obi-Wan said with a serious look on his face and then he laughed. "You could be right, but I would be careful about saying that to those who are able to live more then a hundred years."
Shaking his head as he laughed, Anakin continued to walk along the beach.
They continued walking for several minutes before Obi-Wan spoke. "Does this change our plans?"
Anakin shook his head. "No. I think we should still meet with the rebel leaders and then head to Ilum. We are going to need a base, so we might as well continue as we had planned."
Obi-Wan smiled. "When did you stop being reckless?"
"Should I be?" Anakin asked, a smile on his face.
Obi-Wan chuckled. "To bad Yoda can't see you now. His reaction would have been priceless."
"He would probably think that something was wrong with me." Anakin remarked, his blue eyes sparkling.
"Or he would say that you have matured." Obi-Wan added.
Anakin sat down on the sand, and Obi-Wan sat down across from him. "I feel so tired, drained."
"I'm not surprised. We have learned a lot of shocking things since our return." Obi-Wan responded. "We should meditate some more and then, I believe it's time that we polish up on our lightsaber skills."
Anakin grinned. "That sounds like a good idea." Closing his eyes, Anakin fell into a meditation trance.
Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan took in the smell of the salty sea air and then slowly followed Anakin into a meditation trance.
Xanatos sensed Lixion beginning to wake up and took the cup of tea off the warming unit and headed to the cabin Lixion was in. He entered the cabin just as Lixion was sitting up in bed. "Are you feeling better?"
Lixion massaged the sides of his head with his fingers and then closed his eyes as the light suddenly turned on. "Turn off the light." He groaned and laid back down, letting his head hit the plush pillow.
"Here, drink some of this tea, it will make your headache go away." Xanatos responded instead, standing at the side of the bed with the cup of tea in his hand.
Lixion slowly reopened his eyes and then studied the man warily before sitting up and accepting the tea. He grimaced at the bitter taste, but drank about half of it before handing it back to Xanatos.
Smiling, Xanatos took the half empty cup and put it on the nightstand. "Zeth, my son, would have thrown a fit before drinking it."
"Why did you do it?" Lixion asked.
The smile disappeared from Xanatos' face and he walked to the far end of the room. "There's…" He paused, took a deep breath and turned around to face Lixion. "It's a long story."
"I'm listening." Lixion told him.
"My father was once a Jedi Padawan under the tutelage of Master Qui-Gon Jinn. My father left the Jedi Order after his own father was killed by his master. My mother met my father while on a trading run and they later got married. It wasn't a healthy marriage and so when I was two years old my mother filed for a divorce. My father died about a year or two later.
When I was fifteen years old the ship we were on was boarded by pirates. I narrowly escaped, but not before seeing my mother shot. I wasn't sure what happened to my sister, but I could feel that she was still alive. A week later, after I had found a new place to sleep on the world I had landed on, I had a visitor. The spirit of Master Qui-Gon Jinn. He helped me to survive on my own and he also instructed me in the Jedi arts.
Every time I was on a different planet, I would try to sense my sister's presence, but I was not successful in my attempts. I finally located her almost eighteen years ago, but when I found her she was dieing. There was nothing I could do. Before she died she told me that she had bore a son two days ago, but Palpatine stole him away. Palpatine had sent his guards to dispose of her, but she managed to barely escape. She also told me who the father was just before she passed on. Palpatine's guards and a squad of troops found us only minutes after my sister died and I was forced to run, but not before destroying half of them in anger.
Not long afterwards a bounty was put on my head, and Darth Magnus himself was on the hunt for me. I went into hiding and a few years later met my future wife. Once the search died down, my wife and I settled on a planet in the outer rim where I continued to improve my skills in the Force and made plans to rescue my sister's son."
Realization slowly began to dawn on Lixion's face as he figured out where this was leading to. "I'm your sister's son." A mass of emotions bubbled up in Lixion before one emerged. "Eighteen years!" Lixion exploded angrily. "It took you eighteen years!"
Xanatos' face was a mask of calm at Lixion's outburst. "Lixion, rescuing someone takes time, and depends on a lot of factors. I do regret that it took so long, but it wasn't easy."
"Yeah, you got a family." Lixion sneered in disgust.
Xanatos frowned and looked Lixion directly in the eyes and took a step forward. "I'll have you know that I have not seen my family in three years. Finding you was still a high objective for me."
Lixion snorted and turned away from Xanatos' gaze. "Sure it was."
Taking a deep calming breath, Xanatos attempted to release his irritation into the Force. "Look, I know that your still…"
Lixion turned around on the bed, his face red with anger, with unshed tears in his eyes. "You don't know!" Lixion interrupted. "You don't know what it feels like to be helpless as you hear about your impending death. To sense the danger, but be unable to move, shout, or open your eyes. You don't know the torture I have been through!" Angry hot tears roiled down Lixion's red cheeks and he turned away. "Leave me alone!"
Xanatos slowly nodded his head and complied. "I'll be in the cockpit if you need anything."
Lixion heard the door slide shut as Xanatos departed and then punched the pillow with his fist and threw it across the room. He clenched his teeth and curled his hands into fists as he struggled not to break down and cry. He would not be weak.
Magnus stormed into his quarters in a full blown rage. Someone had helped Lixion escape and no one had been able to offer a piece of useful information. "Someone is going to pay for this." Magnus snarled and stormed over to the pits that he had installed. Magnus opened the cover of the pit Zanthis was in and Force pulled Zanthis' unconscious body out of the hole and dropped him onto the floor.
Pleased that his little pets had done the job, Magnus through some meat pellets into both of the holes and then closed them. Looking down at Zanthis, Magnus gestured with his hand and Force dragged Zanthis behind him to the special chamber of the ship where Magnus could continue to break Zanthis.
The room was furnished with various computers, chemicals, needles and other devices that would help Magnus complete his task.
After laying Zanthis down on the metal table with the Force, Magnus then locked Zanthis' wrists and ankles to the table. Next he administered the antidote, followed by an injection of a powerful drug that would cause Zanthis to hallucinate and be unable to use the Force effectively.
"You are a hard one to break young one. Oh but you will soon. It is useless to resist." Magnus stood behind Zanthis head and placed his cold fingers on Zanthis' forehead. Closing his eyes, Magnus drew on the darkside and then began to make a crack in Zanthis' mental shields so that he could slip into Zanthis' mind.
Magnus heard Zanthis' mental screams as he broke though the layers of shielding. Magnus mentally smirked in satisfaction. /Boy, if you would just remove the block you have placed in front of your true potential then you would be able to resist me. But no, you would rather be weak./ Magnus found the block he was searching for and threw the darkside at it, attempting to break open the block.
Even through the constant barrage of the darkside, the block remained strong. How Zanthis had managed to block his true potential and still be able to maintain the block, Magnus had no idea and that just infuriated him further. Not only was the block keeping Zanthis from using his true potential, but it was keeping him from being fully immersed in the darkside.
He had told Palpatine that Zanthis' capture was to easy and it turned out that he was right. Zanthis had it almost perfectly planned for a ten year old. What else had the boy done that they were not aware of? This question only enraged Magnus further and he poured more of the darkside into Zanthis' mind and to the very core of Zanthis' being.
The swirling mass of light and darkness appeared before Magnus' mental vision and then his vision momentarily went blank as his essence was thrown backwards by a strong surge of power. Even the boy's body and mind was weakened by the drug and the toxin, the boy's spirit was still strong, and was still filled with light. The darkness was expelled by the light, but the darkness formed a shield around the light.
The sight was fascinating, but Magnus was to angry to see that, and to see that somehow the darkness and the light were working together. He poured the darkside at the boy's spirit, but it merely made the shield of the darkside thicker instead of the darkness squeezing the light out.
After endless hours had past, Magnus changed his objective and worked on making the shield stronger so that the light could never escape. Once he completed that task, Magnus traveled back to the block in Zanthis' mind and once again attempted to remove it, but it was even stronger then ever.
A feeling of dread uncoiled inside Magnus' stomach as he felt a shifting in the Force. Zanthis was waking up.
Magnus removed himself quickly from Zanthis' mind just in time to see Zanthis' eyes open. A fiery orange color had replaced the blue in Zanthis' eyes and was so bright that Magnus took a step back before walking to the side of the table, watching Zanthis carefully.
Something was not right. Whatever it was, Magnus couldn't pinpoint it. He looked at Zanthis who was staring back at him and again Magnus felt a feeling of dread.
Zanthis closed his eyes, and when he opened them a minute later, they were a hard, cold, blue. "What happened?" Zanthis rasped out.
Quickly regaining his composure, although still shaken, Magnus responded. "Lixion attempted to kill you by injecting large amounts of a drug into your body after you both returned to the ship. I found you just in time, but Lixion escaped, you're lucky to be alive."
Zanthis frowned as he attempted to remember what had happen, but his mind felt clouded. "I can only remember our return to the ship."
Giving a sympathetic smile, Magnus laid his hand on Zanthis' shoulder. The drugs must have caused mild amnesia. I wouldn't worry to much about it. What matters now is that you're alive. Now rest."
Closing his eyes, Zanthis took a deep breath and slowly let it out and let sleep claim him.
Satisfied, Magnus left the room to go contact the Emperor.