A/N: Oh my goodness! Thank you, thank you for all the reviews! You make my heart soar!
Without further ado…the moment you have been waiting for! The reunion of master and apprentice.
Chapter 11
Nevah, Unknown regions
As his old eyes savored the view below him, Obi Wan was amazed by the planet Nevah; it's lush green rolling hills, expansive untouched snow capped mountains, and glistening clear blue lakes. Daring to venture out into the unknown territories had led him far away from the planet Lah'mu. Each new planet he encountered left him a little more weary with his prospects. In the back of his mind, whether it was the Force or his own fears, it beckoned him to return back to the Rebel base. Yet the idea of facing Master Yoda and Senator Organa's increasing pressure to stop searching, the last time in the form of an ultimatum, kept him moving forward.
Maybe it was the loneliness of being in space by himself but it was hard to tell heads from tails with his thoughts without another living being to temper them. They all jumbled and mixed with one another in an indistinguishable knotted mass. Each idea seemingly plausible and ridiculous at the same time. Someone who prided himself in his ability to plan and clearly define his motives, he was driven mad by his own thoughts and doubts.
After staring down at his shuttle's navigations for what seemed like hours, he made a split second decision. He tapped the red square icon that abruptly halted intentional navigation. Trusting the Force, he only kept the forward thrusters on, letting the invisible push and pull of space tug his shuttle's path. At least, he hoped the Force would guide him. Otherwise, he wasn't sure what he would do beyond the endless drifting in space he's committed himself to.
It came as a complete but welcomed surprise when his sensors picked up the fertile planet. At a quick glance, it seemed mostly uninhabited and so secluded that he briefly considered it a potential site for the Rebel's new base. That was until he found one tiny settlement on the entire planet. Settling his craft just on the outskirts of the farm, beyond the security perimeter, he carefully made his way in. From above, the farm seemed simple enough; a couple plots of various crops, a livestock enclosure, and a cozy home in the center. Under closer scrutiny, he saw the markings of a skilled individual from the numerous droids that maintained the field, the various sensors carefully monitoring the crops nutrients, and even the security fence he thought he carefully crossed over yet somehow unwittingly still triggered.
Silently cursing at himself, Obi Wan winced at the loss of the element of surprise. Biting back his irritation, he prepared himself for the inevitable meeting of this elaborate farm's owner and hoped for their mercy. Heading through the trees, he found the edge of the first field crop and followed along the border in hopes of a pathway towards the house while considering an embarrassing yet charming enough excuse to explain his intrusion.
Tentatively, he continued with each heavy, hesitant step forward with his shoulders ridged as his fingers twitched anxiously by his side, awaiting the appearance of his, most likely, aggravated host. Sure enough, he didn't have to wait long as he heard the definite click of a rifle's safety turned off and the shuffling of agitated footsteps. Immediately, he halted in his tracks, surrendering his hands above his head, confident the weapon was aimed at his head.
"I don't mean to cause any trouble." Obi Wan added quickly hope to save himself.
Playing the role of a lost old man, he slumped his shoulders forward and threw on a confused look as he peered intently into the dark field with only the pale moon above as light.
After a moment's silence, a voice from within the crops was slightly muffled and deep with warning. "You're trespassing on private property." The voice quickly added, "You need to leave now unless you want a hole through your head!"
Slightly unnerved by the response as there was no mercy in the hidden's voice tone. Of course, he couldn't blame him. What he stated was true. Curiously, Obi Wan squinted into the tall corn like vegetation, searching for the owner of the voice. Purposefully, he needed something more to characterize this person and appeal to their kinder side that wouldn't kill him. Violence was always the last resort in his book, but he had his lightsaber if needed, and he would rather not use it.
"I apologize for the intrusion. I just got lost and needed some direction." The Jedi stated meekly.
Anakin saw through his lies.
From the moment he saw the shape of the person, to their characteristic stride, and finally, the tattered and worn Jedi cloak the old man wore, and probably hasn't taken off in the last fives years, Anakin knew it was Obi Wan.
And he knew his tricks.
The old man was never what he seemed. Without a doubt, his intentions were well masked and always hidden under half truths and hyperboles. Eyes narrowed skeptically as Anakin had no reason to trust the man before him. Obviously, he knew why the old man was here as he gritted his teeth in disgust. Obi Wan's intentions were clear and explicit in Anakin's troubled mind. He was sure of this as he was his love for his children. Once the Jedi realized he found Anakin, he would be out for his blood, and Anakin's sole thoughts landed on protecting his family at all cost.
Whatever it takes.
With frayed nerves, Anakin's heart pounded frantically in his chest in reluctance for the confrontation he hoped he never had to encounter. The apprehension and anxieties that had waned with time suddenly resurfaced at seeing his old Master. He shouldn't be so surprised the old man was, of course, too stubborn to die. And now he was here to make Anakin answer for all his sins.
Squaring his jaw defiantly, Anakin didn't survive the last five years just to have everything crash down around him now. Hoping for the best, if he fooled Obi Wan long enough and get him to leave, it'll buy him precious time to pack up his family and start over again somewhere else. Maybe they had been close once but now the man before him was just an obstacle between him and his family.
The Jedi didn't yet realize the farmer was Anakin and he intended to keep it that way and use that to his advantage. With the same deep, accented voice, Anakin responded, "Can't help you with that. You are far from any advanced civilizations and your best bet is to go back the same way you came. On your way, now." His intentions clear in his tone.
Obi-Wan was taken back by the rude, sharp comment and questioned the person's lack of civility before him. It was not without reason to be distrustful of strangers out here but the level of aggression was suspiciously high, and in Obi Wan's mind, making the person more intriguing. He scanned four live forms in the home he passed. Probably a family. Ignoring the warning in the farmer's tone, he pushed further as his curiosity overtook him, attempting to connect with the farmer to strike some sympathy and gain more insight.
"I might have hit a stray asteroid in this system. My communications system is down. Could I bother you to send a message to my family letting them know I'm safe? I've been out of touch with them for some time." The weariness and frailty coming across in his voice weren't hard as Obi Wan was indeed very tired from his travels.
Anakin bit back a snarl at the old man's insistence, a trait that hasn't lessen with time. He expected this but it didn't make it any easier with his hands sweaty on the riffle as he adjusted the weight. Conflicted, he frowned miserably, hesitating to kill his former Master, but if the old fool kept pressing, Anakin would do it without hesitation.
His dedication to his family trumped everything else.
Anakin hinted a little stronger this time. "We're simple farmers here and don't have any communications abilities. We're no help to you." Growled the farmer.
Obi Wan's instincts kicked in at the obvious and blatant lie. Before he landed, a quick scan of the farm revealed a robust relay system emanating from the house. The design was far more intricate than what a simple farmer capabilities were. The frequency had layers upon layers of complexity to scramble and even mislead the code underneath. It was deeply involved and hacking it would require a vast knowledge of communications and delicacies of manipulation through the various algorithms not uncommonly used during the Clone Wars. Whoever this person was, their history was heavily interlaced with the Republic and the galaxy at large. Which Obi Wan concluded was why they were hiding and so desperate not to be revealed. Even if it wasn't who he hoped, he still wanted to learn more about this person.
Obi Wan replied almost to himself, "I see."
An unsettling quiet lingered between them as they continued this slow, torturous dance. The farmer, holding tight to his privacy, shuffling cautiously behind the crops keeping out of sight. The Jedi circled curiously with the presence of a famished gundark who hadn't eaten in a month. All the while, the rolling clouds above bore witness to the event.
Hoping for more clues, the old man queried a discerning eye at the shadow in front of him, reaching out with the Force and puzzled with what he felt from the person. Usually, there was some ripple in the Force, even if it was subtle, that all living creatures emitted. Around this man was just a void, an emptiness that was blazingly conspicuous in its distinctive absence.
Still covered by the crops in front of him, Anakin grimaced solemnly; he didn't like this one bit. By the Jedi's concentrated expression, he knew it would only be a matter of time before Obi Wan had enough pieces to put the picture together. His trepidation peaked as he gripped his rifle firmly. Taking a deep breath, he gave one last warning.
"You need to leave. Now!" Thundered the farmer's voice.
His ears perked up as Obi Wan heard the rifle shift in the agitated farmer's arms. Sure enough, he was dangerously close to the point of no return, the shadow's patience coming to an end. Time of the essence, Obi Wan needed to think of something quickly. Considering the person before him, he decided to put his hands up in front of him, pleading against the unseen rifle pointed at him.
"I'm deeply sorry. I promise I will leave you alone." Taking the ensuing silence as a good sign as he sensed a slight damping in the armed person's temperament. Cautiously, he continued, "Could you at least come out in the open so I can apologize to you properly?"
Again, Obi Wan bent over meekly, but this time he was gambling with the moon as his ally. He watched the figure shift between the crops as the last of the clouds quickly passed the moon's path, hoping to see more of the figure under the full power of the moon's revealing brilliance.
Anakin's countenance dropped as he gulped heavily. A part of him just wanted to shoot the old man and be done with this. His fingers concluded otherwise as they locked in place, refusing to move. The impasse was coming to an end. Warning shots wouldn't work on his old Master. Never the best negotiator, he couldn't seem to convince the old man to save his own life. He was backed into a corner. The rifle softly rumbled under his shaking hands. He was running out of options. At this point, the decision became more apparent in his mind, yet he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Not another death.
He squeezed his eyes shut against the protests of his conscience. The haunting screams of the younglings returning with fury to remind him of his past while the image of his children growing up without a father terrified him. Whatever it takes. He repeated to himself until he could believe it, building up his resolve. Unfortunately, he was so distracted with his internal conflict that he didn't notice his lightsaber slipping out from under his jacket and exposing itself by his side.
The last of the clouds left quickly and under the blaze of the exposing moon, a sharp flash and glint caught the keen eyes of the astute Jedi. All was revealed as the image of a recognizable and deeply familiar lightsaber came into view. Obi Wan's eyes harden with resolve as he immediately stopped pacing, stood up tall and erect, giving up the ruse. All the pieces falling into place.
"Anakin. I know it's you." The Jedi proclaimed.
The farmer knew his mistake the second it happened. Cursing at himself for being so distracted, Anakin retreated behind a thick stalk and out of the direct path of the traitorous moon while tucking his lightsaber away.
His mind was a chaotic disarray and his emotions frantic as it settled first on denial. Obi Wan hasn't seen Anakin's face, just the lightsaber. Yet, soon Anakin's mind warped around the truth of the situation as he muttered a string of Tatooine curses under his breath.
Obi Wan couldn't believe it! He was so close. This is it! His hands shook with excitement. With the revelation, he couldn't think of the broader implications at the moment. Astounded at his luck, he couldn't believe that Anakin was alive and in front of him, so close, right there, just beyond his reach.
Obi Wan pushed further, perplexed why he couldn't sense Anakin through the Force, yet he knew it was him in front of him; despite the deep muffled voice, he knew Anakin's voice as sure as he was his own voice. "I just want to talk, Anakin." He pleaded, the eagerness quivering in his voice.
Something snapped in Anakin at those words. The earnestness in the old Jedi's voice that came too little too late. A fit of deep anger he didn't know he had started to rise up. "Oh, now you want to talk?" Anakin whispered to himself. After all this time? Where was Obi Wan when Anakin needed someone to talk to five years ago?
That's right.
He abandoned him and went to Utapau.
The absurdity of Obi Wan's words sank in as his temper rose astoundingly quick. Anger and resentment flashed through Anakin as his patience wore thin. Consumed by rage, his eyes grew hard and he gritted his teeth. It was the last straw.
"You want to talk?" Anakin spat out, more as a statement than an actual question. Clenching his rifle with a death grip as a sneer covered his face. "Talk to this!"
At the same time, Obi Wan was on the other side of the field oblivious to Anakin's rising anger. At first, Obi Wan couldn't understand Anakin's muttering as he was still hidden away between the stalks of the crop. Concerned, he furrowed his eyebrows together while leaning forward.
"Anakin?" He questioned.
Suddenly, the Force flashed him a heady warning the same instant he heard the angry shouts. Seconds later, several blots flew towards him as he was barely able to grab and deflect the shots with his lightsaber. Startled by the abrupt act of aggression, he almost missed one that nearly sliced his cheek as he could still feel the heat from the blot he barely dodged in time.
Out of the crops, a visibly angry man fired several more rounds. This time Obi Wan more favorably deflecting them into the night's air. Still slightly shocked, he starred at the combative, angry humanoid male in front of him.
"Get off my property!" Growled the man.
Distracted from trying to understand what he said that could have angered the man in front of him so badly, Obi Wan moved back shot after shot, unconsciously stepping backward as, this time, he more successfully deflected the poorly aimed blots. Obi Wan's mind was confused with the person in front of him. The Force signature was off-actually it was completely missing. The face unrecognizable under the thick beard and long hair.
Had he misjudged the situation?
Was this really Anakin in front of him, or did he mistakenly enraged and incited an innocent farmer to attack him? But the way the man carried himself and his distinctive voice with the, now, clear Coruscant accent dotted with hints of Tatooine, it sounded like Anakin. The Tatooine accent became more prominent as the voice became angrier. Obi Wan remembered the sound of that angry voice extremely well. Either way, this was not what he wanted.
"Please!" The Jedi pleaded. "This isn't necessary. I won't harm you. I just want to talk to you!"
Won't harm you?
Anakin's temper flared further, triggered by the Jedi's condescending words. Wasn't it just like him? Typical Obi Wan always belittling him. Always thinking he was better than him. Anakin flung his rifle down. Force or not, he was going to teach this old man a lesson. Snarling with honed instincts that never left him, muscles moving instinctively, Anakin ignited his lightsaber, the familiar weight back in his hand, and the blue beam flashed brilliantly matching the voracity of its owner's anger.
"Like hell, you want to talk!" Anakin spat. He burst forward, lightsaber humming defiantly as he launched himself at his former Master.
Obi Wan repressed an exhausted sigh as curiosity overtook him while he steeled himself for the confrontation. Raising his lightsaber up, he chose to go on the defense not knowing what the person in front of him was capable of. Could he not feel Anakin's Force signature because he was a Sith? Or something else? Something just felt wrong about the affair and he realized he wouldn't understand why until this battle happened.
Something should have triggered in him with how slow Anakin was moving. Braced for the power he came to know from years of sparing with Anakin, he raised his lightsaber, holding his blade protectively in front of him as Anakin launched himself with an overhead strike. As their blade collided with a reverberating hiss, it was then that it clicked. The power behind the strike was missing. It was wrong.
He hoped Anakin was holding back.
But, it was something else. It was like sparing with a padawan or worse. The young man, he thought he knew, movements were so sluggish. This disturbed Obi Wan further. Fearing the worse, he couldn't rule out deceit. Wasn't that what the Sith were known for? Waiting for the perfect moment to throw his body into his moves? But his movements were also erratic and so emotionally drive it didn't seem at all calculating.
Pushing Anakin back with his blade, he just stood there with both his hands tightly gripping his lightsaber, watching the crazed gleam in the young man's blue eyes. Wearily, Obi Wan couldn't understand and his hesitation prevented him from openly striking Anakin. How could he when he didn't know the opponent in front of him?
The old Jedi wasn't given much time to ponder this as Anakin launched into a series of strikes: left, right, then an uppercut. Each time Obi Wan easily deflected them as he grew bolder that Anakin wouldn't unleash a terrible attack on him. Having seen enough, he decided to end this as he parried the next strike and quickly flicked the lightsaber out of Anakin's hand.
At that moment, as the lightsaber flew out of Anakin's hand, his sanity left him as his face flushed with the embarrassing defeat and utter humiliation. Anakin wasn't fighting in the present, barely aware of the old, worn Jedi in front of him, his demons materializing from the darkened depths of his tormenting nightmares. His mind was somewhere else; regrets for past mistakes mixed it intimately with fears for his family's future without him, causing deep dark veins of dread opacifying his awareness of the present.
Without thinking, Anakin hurled himself at Obi Wan, in the act of desperation, as he wasn't sure what he would accomplish by this action.
Before his logical mind could catch up to his body, the invisible hand of the Force gripped and paralyzed him before lifting him up. The cold wind whipped brutally from behind, wrapping forward around his face before he was harshly flung back against the trunk of a tree. The air quickly expelled from his lungs on impact as he grunted painfully before his head whipped backward with a loud crack against the hardwood.
Then everything went black.
Obi Wan stood dazed and confused still with his lightsaber lit but relaxed by his side in one hand while the other stretched out in front of him, staring at the unconscious form in front of him. Satisfied that Anakin was indeed knocked out, he slowly and cautiously stepped forward. All his senses told him that this was undoubtedly Anakin, in the flesh and bone, while the Force was eerily silent. As angry as the now subdued human was, it lacked the cold characteristic of the Dark side. Nothing seemed to make sense.
What happened to him?
A light and delicate flint of the Force came rushing to him as he spun promptly to the source at the ready, both hands on his lightsaber. His eyes bulged dramatically.
Nothing could have prepared him for the sight he saw in front of him.
"Stop! Don't hurt my father!"
A young boy with sun kissed blond hair and piercing blue eyes threw his tiny body on top of Anakin's helpless form. Obi Wan's jaw dropped, agape in utter shock.
A series of memories flashed through his vision: the dealer at the shipyard retelling of a man hurrying a pregnant woman through Lothal, the receptionist at the medical facility discussing a young married couple that had given birth to twins, and the shopkeeper disclosing the mysterious mechanic's family.
Right in front of him stood the irrefutable proof. Until that moment, he didn't really believe it. Gazing down at the limp form of an older Anakin, he compared to the two; the blond hair blue eyed child crouched vigilantly over him was the spitting image of him, his son. The child's youthful eyes were full of fierce determination and protective loyalty reminiscent of a younger version of his former Padawan as he hovered over his father dutifully and sacrificially.
A tender smile graced Obi Wan's weathered face. Stepping back to show his intent, he powered down his lightsaber as it made a muted hiss before extinguishing. "I'm not going to hurt your father. I promise."
The little boy eyed him with the same cautious, weary look his father would flash Obi Wan countless times in the past, and the old man chuckled despite himself at the resemblance.
"Luke, you shouldn't be here!"
A mumbled voice cut through the delicate moment as the man slumped over by the tree began to awake. His arm protectively reached around, holding his son tightly. Obi Wan, instinctively, took another step back as he watched Anakin's eyes painfully winch open slowly, no doubt, from a splitting headache as a result of his head trauma.
As Anakin's foggy mind cleared, his consciousness rudely awakened with his entire body burning. Sharp pains of electricity coursed through his body as he attempted to stand up, grunting miserably and achingly in the process. His flesh arm wrapped protectively around his disobedient son, who helped him up as much as a little boy could do to help a grown man stand. As if the young boy knew, Luke refused to meet his father's disapproving stare in the process. Though Anakin was upset that Luke was here, his hand on his son and feeling Luke's warm and alive body helped center him. His son's presence calmed his mind in the combination of, literally, getting some sense physically knocked into him. With his sanity returning, the previous anger he felt towards the old man dissipated.
Standing up tall, Anakin's vision slowly cleared as he squinted to focus. What he saw slightly stunned him; he finally saw Obi Wan as he was. The drawn look on his countenance, the dark circles under his eyes, the pale, sickly color of his face, and the tattered appearance of his Jedi robes. He was a shadow of the proud Jedi Anakin had remembered.
Anakin gazed at Obi Wan with fresh eyes and it caused the old man to briefly look away under his discriminating stare. After a moment's consideration, Anakin grimaced and reluctantly sighed before he offered, "So, you want to talk?" He held Luke close to his body, his left arm draped around the boy, as Luke clung to his father's leg, watching Obi Wan with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
Obi Wan swallowed thickly, tempering down the barrage of questions going through his mind and simply answered, "I do."
With a decisive nod, Anakin directed him to the house, "Then, let's talk."
—-
A/N: Just a reminder, this Anakin is much darker and more emotionally unbalanced than my other story. He's been carrying the guilt and shame of what he did at the Jedi Temple with him. So facing Obi Wan was like facing his past and he did not react well to it and wasn't of sound mind. In addition, I wanted to show how poor their communication was leading up to ROTS which was as much a tragedy of their lack of understanding of each other that worsened the entire situation.
I designed their confrontation to be more of a psychological battle than a physical one and I'll go more into the ramifications in the next chapter. I played around with the idea that this is a very different variation of the Mustafar's battle in Canon.
I always loved the dynamic between Darth Vader and Luke in ROTJ. Luke's unconditional, powerful love for his father was so inspiring! So I wanted to shadow that here with Luke running to protect his daddy because that's just Luke's nature.
Next update will be for DNE and hopefully, if I can finish in time, a little surprise.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! (if you don't celebrate Christmas!)