Chapter II: A New Life

It has been several months since Anakin's initial arrival on Remnant, and it had been a rather eventful several months as well. Starting with his initial introduction to the sisters' home. Their father was an amicable fellow, though it was clear that his nonchalance and laid back attitude towards most things had left a very impressionable image on his eldest daughter. Not the least of which was his insufferable (especially for his youngest daughter) fondness for "Dad jokes", which only he, and to the surprise of everyone else, Anakin could appreciate. Maybe it was something that came with men of age.

Then there was his introduction to Qrow Branwen, the Uncle of the two sisters, a few weeks later. The man was, by Anakin's own estimation, a complete and utter trainwreck of a human being. From the story's he would tell of his journey's, coupled with the fact that he seemed to spend every other minute taking a sip from his whiskey canteen, Anakin had surmised Qrow as being a reckless alcoholic whose willful disregard for his own safety had miraculously not costed his life on account of his raw tactical and combat acumen. Yet for all of his character faults, it was clear the man had a very deep love and sense of commitment to his family, in particular for Taiyang's youngest daughter. Anakin had been suspicious as to why their bond seemed to resonate so strongly, but had ultimately chose not to press the subject. The family's history, as he had discovered early on in his stay, had been one laced in tragedy. Yang's mother had divorced Taiyang shortly after their daughter's birth, and Ruby's mother,... well she had suffered the same fate Padme only a couple of years later. Anakin knew better than perhaps anyone at that table how deeply those wounds run inside one's heart. He was not about to callously interject himself into a matter that was truly none of his business to speak on. Especially of those who were kind enough to provide him a home to stay in during his time in a new world.

As his stay extended, he had found himself bonding with the sisters on a surprisingly regular basis. Usually this meant joining them for their training and monitoring their sparring sessions, though he occasionally swapped places with one of them if they got tired. It served as a good excuse to test his new body's limits in any case. However his decades of combat experience, much less his own inherent precognition made such spars a pretty one-sided affair, even with their semblances on full-burn. As a result the girls had made it something of a competition between one another to see who would take down Anakin first. It was one he found himself surprisingly willing to oblige.

Then there was the time when Ruby had asked him to show her how his lightsaber operated. Initially he had refused, saying the thing was dangerous, but damn him that her puppy eyes technique was not effective on his recently unfrozen heart. The very second he had ignited it's sky-blue blade, Ruby's eyes were lit with wonder. No weapon on Remnant she had ever seen was as technologically advanced or sophisticated as his saber, which was truly saying a lot given the technology she had spent countless hours engineering into the design of Crescent Rose was as close to the cutting edge for small arms as you could get legally. After demonstrating a brief kata and deactivating the blade, Anakin was immediately met with a barrage of questions ranging from how he built it, to the materials used, to the complicated mechanism used to hold the plasma that formed the blade in place. It was at this point Anakin learned about Ruby's uncontrollable interest in the field of engineering, particularly weapon design. Having developed a passion for droid and starship mechanics at an early age himself, he couldn't help but see a small part of his younger self in the girl as they spent the next hour or so discussing each other's weapon's design in exhaustive detail.

It was towards the end of this conversation, that Ruby had asked him if he was going to become a hunter like she was training to be? Judging from the redhead's own description, the hunters were something of a decentralized militia. Men and women tasked with using their gifted talents called semblances to keep the peace and staving off the grim on the outside from encroaching on populated areas. It reminded him almost too much of the Jedi. Sure they may not have been as doctrinally rigid as his old order had been, but after the amount of blood he had spilled since joining the order and then leaving it for the Sith, he no longer wanted to participate in that sort of task. Skirting the more ethically dubious of his answer, and any discussion of the Force, Anakin told her of the Jedi, what it was life was like for those in the order, the temple, and it's fall. He also made it explicitly clear why he didn't want to return to that kind of lifestyle. Though Ruby was indeed disappointed by his refusal, she was thankfully understanding of his reluctance to do so.

That did bring the question, however, of what exactly he planned to do. To be truthful, Anakin was not sure. As charitable as Taiyang had been, he knew couldn't afford to be idling on the man's good graces. But what could he possibly do? He had been a warrior for nearly his entire existence, a life without a front to fight on had become almost unthinkable for him. What was a warrior to do, when there were no more wars to be fought?

Fortunately for him, it was during this time of self reflection, that Yang was planning to send in her gauntlets, for which she had dubbed the pair as Ember Celica, for maintenance with the local weaponsmith. Normally custom weapons like hers costed a considerable premium for such maintenance, but it was a price the family had been willing to pay until that point. Anakin, seeing an opportunity to repay the family's charity, offered to do the maintenance work himself. Upon returning the gauntlets, not only were the gauntlet as good as new, The simplification of the weapon's firing mechanism he had performed had removed an awkward jamming quirk in the design that had made mobility assists from the weapon's firing an unreliable, and sometimes even risky proposition. The results had so thoroughly impressed the Xiao Long household that they had suggested to him that he might make a sizable profit as a weaponsmith in his own right. To be truthful, Anakin was somewhat hesitant at the idea, but upon thinking about it further he found the idea wasn't so unattractive. Tinkering, building, and creating new designs, be it for droids, weapons, or starships had always been a relaxing activity that helped to ground him during some of the more tumultuous periods of his life. Besides which, any weapon he would work on, would be unlikely to be used for warfare, merely for those attempting to keep the peace. In a way he could save lives, without ever having to pick up his own blade again. The very next day, he announced his intentions, and with the help of Taiyang and Qrow, he opened his first shop.

The eponymously named Skywalker Ranch became something of a runaway success. Since it's opening, By now he had been requested to repair and redesign 36 different hunters' weapon systems, 17 personal armor set overhauls, and (by strange request) 6 engine refits for the local air service company. All to stellar reviews praising his work for quality, affordability, and reliable and responsive communication with his clients. He wasn't alone in it either. Ruby, when not busy with school or her training with Qrow, would donate her time to helping Anakin manage his ever increasing workload. It was almost like having another apprentice with him again. Almost…

It hurt sometimes, thinking about his old life. No, Anakin did not miss the terror and fear he once inspired in his enemies as Darth Vader, he did not enjoy the lies and deceptions that he had to live with in being the emperor's enforcer, nor the harm he had caused so many. He wished so desperately that he could just forget the atrocities he had committed, both in the Emperor's name and his own ambitions. But he did miss what he had left behind; the things that he will never have the chance to see. He missed Luke, and the opportunity to see him develop into a wise and indeed powerful master as he restructured the Jedi Order for the better of not just itself but the galaxy as well. He missed his daughter, for whom he partially wished he had not seen as his enemy until but the very end of his life. He missed Ahsoka, and wished so desperately for the chance to beg for her forgiveness after failing her time and time again. A chance he now will never have. He missed Rex, and the banter they used to share as they charged through the hellzone that every battle of the Clone Wars had been. Hell he even missed Obi-Wan. For as much of a moralizing, selectively duplicitous son of a dug as his master had been, he had, contrary to his beliefs for years, been loyal up to him to the very end and had protected them from Palpatine's influence. Begrudging as it was to admit, he was grateful to his master for sparing them from such a fate. If only he could told the man he once called his brother that.

Most of all though, he missed Padme. Even now, there was not a day that goes by where her death has not haunted his waking existence. No matter how many years have passed, the memories of their final meeting on Mustafar continue to taunt him with the memories of his failure and his hubris. How much he would give to take it all back. To take up her offer leave everything behind. To tell her how deeply he was sorry for everything he had done before and after her death. Anakin miserably chuckled, no matter how much things have changed, the more they stayed the same.

Shaking his head, He redrew his focus back to his latest project. The client had been rather scrupulous about presenting their identity, leaving him with only an obvious pseudonym, the weapon needing service, an address to deliver the weapon back to, and a timeline to complete it under. Normally Anakin would just return such requests back to sender immediately, but the weapon's design had caught his eye. The general makeup of the weapon took the shape of a rapier, but there were some uncharacteristic design choices from a weapon that was usually left untouched by the aristocrats who wielded such weapons. Among which was the inclusion of the dust revolver that had been integrated at the base of the blade, and overlapped the section where the sword's tang would usually cross into the hilt. The sides where color coded, likely in an effort to minimize the chance for accidental dust contamination by the user. Initially Anakin's immediate concern was that the structural integrity of the blade had been compromised by the chamber's location, and indeed the blade had been significantly banged up and bent at several sections along its length. However several factors pointed against this theory. Upon testing stress testing samples of the alloy used in the blade, he had found that the blade had a little less strength then the metals Ruby had used for Crescent Rose, but they were lighter and more flexible, Allowing the blade to undergo severe stress without permanent damage. In addition, the weight and shape of the blade suggested that the user fought with a mentality that was far more Makashi than Ataru or Djem So. This suggested that the owner of the blade had to have been fighting something significantly outside the blades original design parameters for this kind of damage to have occurred.

However, the blade was only the first part of the issue he had with the project. After the blade had been reforged, the next issue on the list was the dust chamber. The original swing-out mechanism for the chamber had been damaged as well, and without it, the user would not be able to alternate cartridges much less reload the chamber. Ordinarily this would have been an easy replacement, had it not been for the fact that each part of the mechanism were controlled by an internal circuit board, which meant without a copy of the board he would have to redesign the control circuits from scratch . This would have taken time, and time was not something he had enough of.

Anakin had lost track of how much time he had spent inside of the shop, and the effects had begun to take his toll. He had studied kinetic weapon designs during the Clone Wars, but the mechanisms that enabled the rapier's chamber to function was completely bewildering. Fifteen prototypes to replicate the revolver's original mechanism, and everyone of them had failed to live up to his expectations. With only 6 days left to complete the build, everything was a race against the clock, and Anakin was failing to meet his deadline. He hated failing. He was so frustrated by the lack of progress, he nearly tossed his blueprints at the wall when Ruby came into the room.

"You okay Anakin? You've been down here for like two days." She asked as she entered the room, a plate of warm choclate chip cookies in one hand and a glass of cold creamy milk. As a courtesy she offered the plate of treats to the former knight.

In an effort to save face, he loosened his grip on the papers, and accepted one of the sugary snacks from her plate before dipping it into the milk and taking a bite. The milk really did compliment the flavors of the treat.

"I'm fine Ruby. just frustrated…"

"Any reason in particular?"

Anakin sighed from exhaustion.

"It's this damned slider mechanism. The entire thing is integrated into the chamber' revolver, but the integrated circuits controlling the thing are completely fried."

"Have you tried just hot wiring it?" She asked.

"Tried it, but there is no way to fit the wires into the blade without compromising the blades integrity even further."

Ruby remained quiet, as she watched Anakin continue to tinker around at his desk. The young girl watched as her mentor used the heat to bend a nearby coat hanger to help him vent his stress. That was when inspiration struck.

"THAT'S IT!" She screamed out, startling the former knight, and nearly causing him to stab the sodder in the process.

"What's it, Ruby?"

"We can hinge the chamber at the base of the blade. Then we don't even to deal with the circuits; the whole thing can operate mechanically!"

Anakin was surprised at Ruby's insight, but it did sound like a feasible solution. Still…

"What about the integrity of the blade? wouldn't the hinge compromise the weapon's safety?"

Ruby shook her head.

"Not if you design a good locking system. See?"

She lugged Crescent Rose onto the design table in it's rifle configuration, disengaging the automated hinges so that she could manually demonstrate the locking mechanism on her weapon.

"I did the same thing on my girl here, see? As long as you reinforce the locations where it'd have to withstand the most stress, it should be fine."

Anakin looked it over for several minutes, examining Crescent Rose, and examining the hand guard which housed the swords chamber. Finally, he smiled proudly at her. This project may have been saved yet.

"You know what I think you might have got something here."

After several revisions of the locking mechanism design, they modified the hand guard to implement the new hinge mechanism into the rapier, and returned the dust chamber back into its original housing. To ensure the weapon's quality they ran a series of trials with the weapon, each more demanding than the last last, and each time the rapier passed with flying colors. Having completed the last of their trials now completed, the last step they had to take was to get the sword polished, and ready to ship. As it was, Anakin just wanted to take a final look at the final polish he had done for the build before shipping it back.

"You think they'll like it, Anakin?" Ruby asked. It wasn't so much that she had a lack of confidence in her skill building weapons, but this project had been the most demanding project they had completed to date, and it had taken a considerable toll on Anakin in the process.

For his part, Anakin gave a confident smirk to her. In his eyes, this had been one of their finest works yet.

"I think someone would have to be pretty dumb to say we did a bad job."

Ruby couldn't help but smile at that reassurance. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what sort of person would use a weapon like this. Was it was some kind of aristocrat or royal family type? If What kind of person were they like? Were they bad people, who'd say and do cruel things to those who'd get in there way? Were they like the characters from her favorite childhood tales: honorable and chivalrous; ready to fight to the bitter end for those who needed their protection? Ruby wondered indeed. Soon enough though, Anakin brought her out of her thoughts as he placed his hand on her shoulder; The rapier slung directly over his shoulder.

"Come on then let's go and get this thing sent out."

Perhaps his new and simple life was going to work out alright for him after all.

Greetings Everyone! Temple here. I forgot to say this last time, but welcome to my latest narrative adventure. I hope you all have enjoyed what you have read so far. I know this chapter is both significantly smaller, and significantly less plott heavy than the last chapter, but as I was rewriting this chapter after losing the original version, I thought it would be a good idea to ground where Anakin's life had normalize to when we first see our cast in Volume 1, as well as to provide additional justification for some of his behavior later on in the story. Anakin at this point does not wish to return to a warrior's lifestyle, and though he's happy to leverage his experience to help Ruby and Yang prepare for their own journey towards becoming one. He's not looking to become one again. However I think we all know, that simply is not going to last forever will it? ;) Until the next chapter, please leave a comment tell me what you've liked and don't like. Every review helps me to improve and perfect my craft!

See you all soon!