Disclaimed: I have never and most likely will never (but you know maybe in a dream) own Star Wars.

Chapter 2: The Executor

Obi-wan had been prepared to die. The bay door had closed behind him and the small ship Beru had found was taking off. The twins and their respective guardians were safe and they were on their way to the one person he knew could protect him. He thought that it was his time to join the Force. To be one with all the people he missed so dearly.

But when the stormtroopers finally arrived at his position they didn't blast him into oblivion. They forced him to his knees and allowed their Lord to cross the sea of white.

Again he was prepared. Darth Vader approached him, cold and menacing in the Force, so unlike the boy he had raised. He glared into the empty black sockets of his mask and tried to imagine his brother beneath it. It was almost impossible.

"Kenobi." Vader intoned. His voice was deep from the modulator. It added to the horrible illusion that this was a stranger and not the boy he had raised. "We meet again."

Obi-wan fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Always with the theatrics." He said, easily falling back into the cautious confidence he had worn during the Clone War. "It had been a long time...Vader." He tested out the name for the first time. It felt wrong on his tongue, like a lie. "Finally come to kill me, then?"

Vader didn't do anything, just stared at him with lifeless eyes.

"What? Nothing to say?" Obi-wan asked, fighting to keep a quiver out of his voice.

Shockingly, Obi-wan felt a crinkle in the Force. There was no other way to describe it. It was unlike anything else he had ever felt. It was like something wrinkled. He couldn't tell its origin but he knew it had something do with Vader.

He opened his mouth to mock him again, force him to get it over with, when everything went black.

But he woke up. He wasn't supposed to wake up. Everything he knew about death in the Force, even his studies about how to preserve your consciousness, told him he wouldn't wake up. If his training had been complete (it wasn't) he would slowly find consciousness over a matter of time, repiecing himself together in the Force.

Only...he was whole now. As whole as he had been since the Empire rose, since the Jedi died, since he lost Anakin.

Tentatively, Obi-wan pawed around in the Force for a moment, trying to create a picture of his surroundings. The structure reminded him of Republic cruisers, but he knew that those had been repurposed into Imperial star destroyers. He wasn't in a cell but he could sense that he was not welcome to leave.

Whatever bed he had been laid on was not uncomfortable if a bit stiff. He dragged himself up, testing one leg on the floor at the time. He was still in one piece. No broken bones or missing limbs to be seen. He rubbed his eyes, trying to regain focus.

"Karking sith's hell!" He jumped back, reaching for his lightsaber at his belt only to come up empty.

Darth Vader was standing in the corner of his not-cell, staring at him. Unmoving, unflinching.

"Kenobi." He said.

"Vader," Obi-wan began. "You didn't kill me."

"Yes."

"I've noticed this."

"Yes."

"And why the hell haven't you done it yet?" He shouted.

It might have been his imagination but he thought he sensed something brighten in the Force, like his former Padawan was smiling beneath his mask.

Vader didn't answer.

"Very forthcoming today, aren't we, Darth?"

"I'm...I'm not sure." Vader responded.

Obi-wan stared at him. "You're not sure." He repeated. "Not sure...why you haven't killed me yet?"

Vader nodded.

"Well...this is quite the dilemma. Would a pro/con list help?" He quirked an eyebrow.

Vader glared at him. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Are you trying to die?" He growled.

Obi-wan sighed, "There is no right answer to that."

"I suppose not."

They fell into tense silence.

Without warning Vader rose to his feet and started pacing. He rumbled aggressively and rounded on Obi-wan. "I know why I need you. I need you to get thing-" He pointed to his head. "Out of my head!"

"I'm...I'm sorry?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. It must be some Jedi trick. You put it there!" Vader said, growing more irritated with every word.

"Lord Vader, I assure you. I have no godly idea what you're talking about." Obi-wan deadpanned.

"Yes, you do. Don't lie to me, Kenobi! You put this is in my mind and now you must take it out."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't!"

"YES, YOU DO!" Vader yelled and pulled away, holding his head in his hands.

Obi-wan waited for the smoke to clear around Vader's presence before he spoke again. "Perhaps, if you told me exactly what's wrong...I may be able to help you."

Vader groaned. "I've been hearing...I've been hearing Master Qui-gon."

Well, that was...unexpected.

"Hearing? Not seeing?"

Vader shook his head. "Just in my head. At first I thought it was my imagination. I've heard...other people before. But this...this was different. It's like he's here. In my mind."

Obi-wan stared at him.

"You think I'm crazy!" Vader roared.

"Well...yes. But not because of this. I'm just confused...I didn't think there was anyway he could get in."

"Neither did I."

Both men, the revered Jedi and the feared Sith Lord, jumped a foot in the air.

"Now, really? Was that necessary?" The ghost of Qui-gon Jinn said to his former Padawan and grand-Padawan.

"Mas...master?" Vader said softly.

Qui-gon smiled gently. "Hello, Anakin. How about you take that ridiculous mask off?"

Vader sighed and went to undo the mechanisms. He pulled it off to reveal a full head of dirty blonde hair.

Obi-wan gaped at him. "I thought...I thought that you were burned by the lava on Mustafar and that's why you need the respirator suit."

Vader scowled. "I did for the first year to repair the damage to my lungs but my master thought I should keep wearing the suit to maintain the image. You know, terrifying Sith Lord and all." Vader snarked. "Since you were kind enough to leave me to die next to a burning river of fire with a massive hole in my stomach I had to make do."

Obi-wan flinched. "I never meant to...I didn't want to leave you."

"No, you intended to kill me. But you were too much of a coward." Vader sneered.

"Boys!" Qui-gon interrupted. "You are both at fault here, so, please, just listen to me."

"Fine by me, Master." Obi-wan said. "As long as Lord Vader here gives me back my lightsaber."

"No chance."

"Please, just listen." Qui-gon said, turning to Vader. "I am not a figment of your imagination, Ani."

"My name is not-"

"Let the man speak, Vader."

Vader growled at Obi-wan. "Listen here you-"

"I swear to the Force I will tie both of you up and gag you if you do not shut up!" Qui-gon said, reaching maximum level of annoyance.

Both men went quiet before erupting into noise at the exact same time.

"He started it!" "Well, you're a ghost so how are you going to-"

He facepalmed, dragging translucent hand down his face. "I just need a little exposition time, please. It's all I ask." Qui-gon turned to Vader again. "Anakin, Vader-whatever your name is, I came to you at a turning point. A time when, for the first time in a long time, the future was not set in stone. A few fate-altering events occurred at once, far too soon. When was the first time you heard me."

Vader paused for a moment, eyeing Obi-wan warying. "On Alderaan, just after I got there. You told me...you told me not to kill the Organas."

"I did, thank you for that, by the way, Vader."

Obi-wan's eyes widened. "Bail's alive."

Vader didn't move, his face uncharacteristically emotionless. "He was when I left him, but...I cannot vouch for his condition now."

"Bail and Breha Organa are...interesting pieces to the story. Their fate is uncertain, for now." Qui-gon explained cryptically.

"Master, you said that Alderaan was the first time the future was not set in stone, but Yoda says that the future is always in motion." Obi-wan asked.

Vader groaned.

Qui-gon tilted his head. "I suppose set in stone is the wrong metaphor. It is like the tide of the future has been set in place but something changed enough to loosen it. When it loosened, Palpatine's iron grip on your mind loosened enough for me to slip inside."

Vader's eyes flashed. "So you've been manipulating me?!"

"No, no," Qui-gon shook his absentmindedly, "More like providing an alternative solution to each problem. I guess...if you have a cordor on one shoulder and a rancor on the other, I've been acting as the condor, which has been mysteriously absent for about five years. That blasted rancor has been running the show and I'm about ready to scream." Qui-gon grinned like it was a private joke. "Your cordor used to how more power, you probably remember her, you know, your conscience."

Obi-wan snickered. Vader glared.

"What changed?" He growled.

"Every timeline has their own variations, that is, there are certain that can occur with will create the same result. Your battle on Mustafar, for example. No matter what happens, you will always wear that suit, one way or another. There is a monumental space battle in almost fourteen years. That will always occur. Another constant is Alderaan." Qui-gon's eyes became unfocused for a moment. "One of the worst events in the Force's eternity long history."

Vader scoffed. "The attack on Alderaan was bad, sure, but it was certainly not the most violent battle I've taken part of." At Obi-wan scowl, Vader continued, "And that counts the Clone War, Kenobi, and the armies you commanded."

"No, you're right, Anakin." Qui-gon continued. "The recent attack on Alderaan was not as severe as some others, that's because it stopped the planet's destruction. As a demonstration of your Death Star."

The air in the room dropped ten degrees. Vader was straight as a pole, staring at Qui-gon. "That monstrosity was completed?"

He nodded, "And fully operational, for a time. One of its first targets was Alderaan, a moment laid out by the beings of the Force since Alderaan was created eons ago. Because of your attack that event never comes to pass. That created enough of a shift in the Force that I could slip in and try to counteract Palpatine's influence. I'm not forcing you to do anything, anymore than Sidious is. I'm just presenting another way and attempting to remind you what it feels like to be good."

Vader opened and closed his mouth. "I understand."

Qui-gon actually seemed surprised. "You do? I thought I didn't explain that very well." He turned to Obi-wan with a grin, "And you said he was a bad student."

Obi-wan just looked at him with wide eyes. Vader might be up to date on what the kriff just happened, but Obi-wan was not.

"Ummm, what's the Death Star?" Obi-wan asked.

This time, Vader answered him. "A horrible weapon commissioned by my Master. Theoretically, it has the power to destroy entire worlds," He shuddered, "And, apparently, it will." He looked hopefully at Qui-gon, "You said 'for a time.' Does someone find a way to destroy it?"

Qui-gon gazed at him. "Well...yes. But that's not important now."

"Qui-gon, you said 'a few time altering events'. Was there more than one?" Obi-wan asked

"Oh." Qui-gon quite looked dazed for a moment. "There have been several. Alderaan was not the first or the last but it was the most dramatic. There are quite a few I'm going to have to let you figure out on your own."

"Real helpful." Vader deadpanned.

The older Jedi sighed, "It's not me. I would like to tell you everything, but the beings of the Force...they don't like giving away too much too soon. I was barely allowed to tell you as much as I did. And to leave you a message. I asked you to not kill Obi-wan for a reason."

"Thank you."

"Of course, Padawan. Other than the obvious: friendship, loyalty, brotherhood, etc. You need him, Anakin. My connection to the physical realm is fading quickly. I cannot be the condor on your shoulder anymore. That is Obi-wan's job now." Qui-gon finished and regarded his former Padawan, "Obi-wan, be patient with him. He has been manipulated by the Dark Side, yes, but not everything he said about the Jedi was wrong. Their inability to compromise and see the other perspective caused their downfall. It is up to you to help Anakin back to where he belongs, to whom he belongs. I hope you find your own clarity along the way."

Qui-gon faded into nothingness.

Leaving two men standing alone in a room.

"Anakin." Obi-wan said.

"That's not my…"

"Anakin." He said again.

Vader sighed, "Yes Master?"

"That was real, right? Not a hallucination. I'm not dead or drugged or being interrogated?"

"Not unless I am too."

"Hmmm, how… irritating."

"Agreed."

Whatever room they were in was fairly well furnished, with the bed Obi-wan had woken up on, and the chair Vader had since fallen back into.

"Where exactly are we?" Obi-wan asked hesitantly.

"My apartment on the Executor." He answered honestly.

Obi-wan glanced around skeptically. "And this room is…"

"Just a room." Vader said.

"It's definitely not your room."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He said harshly.

"You were a packrat when you were a Jedi. You were always collecting random bits of metal and droid parts. Your room at the Temple was a mess. I cannot believe you wouldn't be one now that you aren't a Jedi."

"I've," Vader looked somewhat stricken for a moment. "I've apparently lost the habit."

"Hmmm...how unfortunate."

Vader uncharacteristically quirked an eyebrow. "You used to hate that about me. 'A Jedi does not have attachments to personal possessions, my very young apprentice.'" He mocked Obi-wan with a bad Coruscanti accent, rubbing an imaginary beard.

"I don't sound like that." Obi-wan said defensively. "I didn't hate that about you. It made you who you are. So I loved it. Well, tolerated it at least." He added in a light tone.

"Kenobi," Vader groaned and got to his feet. "Don't try this with me."

"I have no idea to what you were referring, Anakin."

"You're lying to me." Vader seemed pained, not exactly angry, but pained.

Obi-wan sighed. "No, I'm not. I'm...I'm just getting out what I should have said five years ago when you needed me. Force, why didn't I see it then. You needed someone to pull you back."

Vader scoffed, "No I didn't. I was where I was supposed to be. The Jedi destroyed the Republic and the Empire was created from its ashes. I was doing my duty to the Republic."

"I know you don't actually mean that." Obi-wan said wearily.

Vader stiffened, refusing to look at his former master. The throbbing in his head that had been a constant during the end of the war was back. He had experienced five years of relief from that dratted headache only for it to return, just like Kenobi.

"I assume you still fly?" The Jedi asked.

"Of course."

"Just combat missions or for fun, like you used to?" Obi-wan smiled as memory reached him. "I remember when we were on leave after the Battle of Christophsis, just after Ahsoka joined us. I mentioned that you should warn her about your...unique...flying style so we took her up, just the three of us. It was the first time in a while that you had gotten to fly not in battle. If I recall correctly that became a bit of a tradition after difficult battles for you two. Just flying for the sake of flying. Do you still do that?"

He didn't answer.

"I recognized some of the men in your unit on Tatooine. I thought most of the clones were decommissioned." Obi-wan continued.

"I maintained my battalion from the war. They are loyal to me and only me. Clone troopers are better soldiers than stormtroopers. I won't let their inexperience get in my way." He said shortly.

"Ahh, so the famed Vader's Fist is actually the remains of the 501st."

Vader pursed his lips and nodded tightly.

"And Captain Rex is still in command?"

"No." His face was unchanging but a small jostle through the Force alerted Obi-wan to his sudden intense emotion. "He died on Mandalore. He refused to follow Order 66 so he was executed for betraying the Republic."

"Understandable. He did refuse to murder the young commander he had fought alongside for three years and who had saved his life countless times. Oh, and who was not technically was Jedi but the Order targeted anyway."

"What are you getting at Kenobi?" Vader growled.

"I'm only attempting to get to understand you, Lord Vader. Do you still sneak off to watch podraces in the lower levels? I know you used to love that when you were young. If the random injuries were anything to go off of, you competed in quite a few as well."

Vader snorted. "I never got injured because I always won. Those injuries were from your half-baked disaster plans."

"No, you're getting us mixed up. My plans were always precisely planned out. Yours were the half-baked disasters." Obi-wan said lightly with dubious look on his face,

"They were planned out alright, but how often did they actually go to plan?" The glint in his eyes reminded him so deeply of Anakin that Obi-wan mentally kicked himself. Where was he going with this? What exactly did he intended to accomplish with bringing up these old memories? Ugh, he needed to make a plan. But Anakin was right, they so rarely stayed on course.

"Stop this useless gambit, Kenobi." Vader said, mirroring his thoughts about their momentary lapse into old habits. "You weren't alone on Tatooine."

Oh, so that was what this was about.

"I wondered when you would say something."

Vader paused, considering something. "I sensed her when she left Alderaan. She brought Organa's daughter to Tatooine, to you, for safety. The girl must have been on the ship but it was taking off when...she was getting on the ship so there was someone else."

No. Not yet. Not today.

"Anakin." He sighed, "That is a very long story."

"Her lightsabers were white." Vader noted, the idea of others briefly escaping his thoughts as he pictured his old Padawan in his mind.

"Yes, I had wondered about that myself."

"Does...does she know about me?"

Obi-wan rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "I believe she suspects but isn't sure. It is a thought too terrible to comprehend, even for me."

Vader rolled his eyes. "And you call me melodramatic."

"Vader slaughtered younglings. He destroyed the Temple and everything the Jedi held dear."

A growl rumbled in his chest. "I didn't."

Prepared for a lie, Obi-wan was immensely surprised to sense the truth in his words. "But...the holovids. I saw the Temple's recordings!"

"Doctored. It's not difficult to manipulate recordings. They were kids, Kenobi. It wasn't their fault they had been taken by the Jedi and raised to be soldiers. I saved as many as I could and arranged for them to be returned to their families or adopted by new ones. I destroyed the adults that fought back. They were Jedi. They were traitors. But the kids, they didn't deserve to suffer for their teachers' crimes."

Obi-wan watched him incredulously. "How the hell did you manage to pull this off?"

Vader smirked. "I said the 501st was loyal. Even during Order 66 they trusted by judgement."

It was almost too good to hope. "So the Jedi aren't gone?"

"No, the Jedi are gone. I just chose not to murder dozens of innocent kids. I've kept them off the Empire's radar this long and I intend to keep it that way." He jabbed a finger at Obi-wan. "So don't get any ideas about collecting them. They're safer where they are."

He thought for a moment. "You may actually be right."

"Wow, how much did that hurt?"

Obi-wan shot him a look, "There is no way I could protect all of them. It's safer for them to be spread across the galaxy. I only wonder...you're sure there is no way the Emperor knows about them?"

"I command the Inquisitors and I have removed all trace of these children from the archives. Besides, my master believes they are all dead." Vader swallowed. "He does not believe there is any way I could have disobeyed him."

Obi-wan stood slowly and began to pace. He tested the waters carefully, unsure of what Vader's reaction to his movement would be. "And what about me? Does your master know you allowed me to live?"

"No. He does not."

For the first time Obi-wan allowed himself to take a good look at his former apprentice. His hair was darker and his skin paler, probably from spending so much time in his plastic and durasteel prison. His dirty blonde hair was also cut shorter than it had been since the beginning of the war, since his Padawan days. Anakin had despised getting his haircut, convincing Obi-wan to let him grow it out whenever he could. By the time the end war ended his hair was nearly to his shoulders but now it was cropped close. It reminded Obi-wan of the standard clone haircut, tight military style. Almost all of them deviated from it at some point in order to manufacture some degree of individuality.

The scar along his right eye was still as prominent as ever, now accompanied by a few others Obi-wan knew he had inflicted himself. The battle at Mustafar had been one of the most difficult fights of his life. He had been caught between trying to protect his friend and himself from the fire and still win the fight. Anakin was an extremely talented duelist but lacked the patience to battle on such a hostile world. Obi-wan knew he wouldn't have won if he hadn't known how to use his surroundings to his advantage. He also knew he would have died immediately if Anakin had been focused. He had never seen his brother as unbalanced as he was on Mustafar. Even now, as sunken in the Dark Side as he was, he seemed secure in his choices. All except for one choice...a secret Obi-wan intended to keep for now.

During the duel on Mustafar Anakin had attempted a rash move to vault over Obi-wan. He had reacted slower than he should of. There was a part of him that did not believe Anakin would be as foolish as to expose himself like that. The boy on Geonosis perhaps, but not the semi-rational Jedi knight he had become. It was in that instant that Obi-wan realized Anakin had lost himself, and not just to the Dark Side.

So he hesitated. He did not take the obvious move and dismember him. He waited until Anakin landed and was struggling to maintain his balance. He stabbed his lightsaber through his former Padawan, his best friend, his brother's stomach and left him there to die. Obi-wan allowed his emotions to get the better of him and did not take action. He did not finish the job like a sane Jedi would but he did not try to help him like a good older brother would. He just said his tearful goodbyes, fully expecting never to see the young man again, and collected Anakin's lightsaber and very pregnant wife.

If Anakin's brief confinement to the suit was any indication, he had suffered immense damage to his lungs by being exposed to the volcanic fumes for that long. Obi-wan and Padme had both been treated for oxygen-deprivation the moment they arrived on Polis Massa, but he did not know how long Anakin had festered next to the river of lava. His weakened state from the major lightsaber wound would not have helped. A few inches to the left and Anakin would not be walking. A few inches above and he probably would not be breathing. And he had done it himself.

It was a random thought, but as they sat in uncomfortable silence at Vader's unanticipated declaration that he was keeping Obi-wan a secret from his master, Obi-wan felt his mind diverge. There had been much wrong about Anakin in the Force when they met on Mustafar. He had been conflicted and broken even before Padme had arrived. When she did that confusion multiplied tenfold. The memory of the confrontation had haunted Obi-wan for five years, filling his nightmares and corrupting his dreams. Sometimes, in the few good dreams he had, he would be with Anakin. They would be doing something mundane like flying or eating or laughing and he would look up to see Vader staring back at him. Sometimes it was Anakin's face or Vader's mask but something would always remain consistent, the image that disturbed him to this day. Anakin's once bright blue eyes, the same color as Tatooine's sky, and, incidentally, the same color as his own lightsaber crystal, would be a sickly yellow.

But now, he realized as he regarded Vader closely, they were a shimmering blue again. He had exact shade of blue in his eyes as the boy he had helped escape only hours (or was it days, he had no idea how long he had been captured) ago had. Vader's eyes weren't a sinister, painful yellow, they were as clear as they had been when they had met almost twenty years ago.

"Oh, Anakin," He said finally. "I'm so sorry."

Vader looked affronted, his face contorting into something between a scowl and a pout. "I-wh-Obi-I...what?" His automatic response was confusion but then it dissolved, like he was trying to decide whether he was offended or touched.

"I am so sorry I wasn't there for you." Obi-wan's voice cracked. "You were my responsibility and I abandoned you." His eyes clenched shut. "I failed you."

Just like I failed the twins. I should not be around others. All I do is destroy them. Anakin, Satine, Qui-gon, Bail, Luke, even Padme. They were all gone or broken because he failed.

He turned around, unwilling to look Vader in the eye for fear he would see a glint of yellow there. He also feared that the tears welling in his own eyes would start to flow.

"Obi-wan," Vader sounded resigned. "You didn't...I mean...It wasn't just you."

"I could have done better. I should have done better."

"You were so young when I became your padawan." He sounded uncertain, like he wasn't sure he wanted to go down this path yet. Obi-wan too was questioning his sanity for approaching the subject. But it had been all he could think about for five years.

Obi-wan shook his head defiantly. "You were much younger than I when you took Ahsoka on and it was in the middle of a war."

"Yeah but...I was completely new to the Force. You didn't just have to be my Master, you had to teach me everything I would have learned as a youngling. I at least had some time to enjoy being an independent knight before I met Ahsoka but you went from padawan to master on the same day. And I was forced on you. If I had chosen to not take Ahsoka as an apprentice someone else would have. But Qui-gon made you promise with his dying breath to train me. You didn't really have a choice. I was just a burden you didn't deserve."

Obi-wan's words choked in his throat. Is that what he really thought?

"Anakin, you were never a burden," He said softly, trying to expel as much reassurance into the Force between them as possible. Their bond was nearly destroyed, even if it seemed far more vibrant than it had in years, so he was forced to spread the feeling wide instead of directly into him. "You were at times a difficult student, but no more than any other at your age. And that did not make me value you any less. Your eagerness and brashness makes you who you are and I could never resent that. I could never resent you. You are the only reason I made it through the time after Qui-gon's death. You were always there for me, even as you mourned him yourself and missed your mother. You insisted on taking care of me when I was supposed to be caring for you. And I loved the moments I could return the favor."

They both remembered that time vividly. The months after the Trade Federation Blockade of Naboo were spent attempting to understand each other. Anakin was struggling to grasp how quickly his world had changed in a matter of days and Obi-wan, in a way, was going through the same experience. Every night for weeks he dreamed about Qui-gon's death, over analyzing every move he made and trying to figure out if and when he could have saved him. Anakin, still such a small boy, suffered his nightmares and homesickness, the latter a concept the Jedi were not familiar with. But he was such a kind child that he would do everything he could for Obi-wan. He would make sure his favorite tea was always stocked. He would get up early on particularly difficult nights and make breakfast. He would make sure Obi-wan childhood friends were nearby when it seemed like he might have a flashback.

For a long time it was impossible to think of that time positively, but at some point Obi-wan had started remembering it fondly. During those months he had agonized over caring for Anakin and worried that they were becoming too dependent on each other. Of course, years to come would prove that concern absolutely rights but they learned to use it to their advantage. He was constantly fretting that Anakin seemed to be doing more of the comforting. But at some point Obi-wan began to miss the small, loving boy Anakin had been even as much as he loved the brave, selfish young man he had become.

"Really?" Vader...or Anakin said softly. Obi-wan was pretty sure he was Anakin now. He sounded impossible small.

Obi-wan smiled internally. This was his son. His brother. "I haven't had much to do for the last five years except think. And I've realized that Qui-gon didn't just ask me to train you for you sake, I think he did it for me too. I needed you as much as, even more than, you needed me. I'm sorry if I never made sure you knew that. You were my favorite person, Anakin, as pig-headed and reckless as you are at times. I give anything for you to remain you."

He allowed himself to look at Anakin again. Whereas minutes before the dark suit of armor seemed to be perfect for him, now he looked out of place. There were tears slipping down his pale cheeks but he did not make a sound.

"M-master." Anakin croaked out. "I'm scared."

His heart broke.

"I'm scared I've lost myself. I thought...I thought that the Dark Side would show me who I was meant to be, but all its shown me is death. After Padme-" He choked on his words, "I thought there was nothing left...nothing left to come back to. I thought…" He shook his head. "I'm sorry Master."

"Oh dear one," The childhood nickname was smooth on his tongue, "It is me who should be sorry. I couldn't see you were in pain. I was too…" Too good of a Jedi, but it was too soon for that confession. "Too proud to see what you needed. I should have been there for you. I should have…" Stopped Palpatine from digging his claws into you. "I should have protected you. I was so certain..." so clouded by the war, by Satine's death, by the constant danger he was placing the 212th in, "I suppose I lost some of myself as well."

Anakin didn't speak for a while after that, self-consciously rubbing away tears and sniffling.

"Obi-wan, I've killed a lot of people. I tried to save them...sometimes...but most of the time I let it happen. How could you possibly forgive me for that?"

Obi-wan stopped for a moment, racking his brain for the right thing to say. "Honestly, I'm not sure how, but I can. I sense...I will always forgive you, Anakin. I thought I lost you completely on Mustafar. I thought that the boy I raised was gone forever, but I can see it now. You weren't gone, you had just lost your way." He took a seat next to Anakin. "I've lost you before, I won't do it again. So, in short, I guess there is nothing you could possibly do that would make me hate you. There is nothing you could do that I couldn't forgive, most likely against my better judgment," He chuckled slightly before another thought crossed his mind. "Trust, on the other hand, that is something to be earned back."

"I know."

Anakin stilled like he was trying to decide what to say next. Obi-wan could almost hear his thoughts moving a kilometer a minute, overwhelmed by the sudden change in his personality.

"What can I do?"

"Oh...I…" Obi-wan was unsure of what to say. Should he reassure the obviously distraught man or should he fall into old patterns? Anakin had often only responded to his scolding but now he worried that those moments had done more harm than good. "I suppose you must try to make it right."

"But how?"

"Well, you can start by figuring out whether Bail and Breha are alive…"

NOTE: So the originals were written before the prequels, obviously. That meant while Lucas had a lot of freedom with how they could look, a couple of things absoutely had to happen. The Clone Wars, Luke and Leia being born, Anakin going dark side, etc. In this iteration I kind of explored that philosophy and what exactly the implications of his writing process could be. It has been well-established that just because a notable prequel, Clone Wars, Rebels, or EU characters doesn't show up in the originals, that doesn't mean they're dead, just absent for the course of those movies. So here comes the idea that the prequels/destiny could have gone a number of ways as long as certain events stay in stone. The premature attack on Alderaan changed the story so drastically that fate is all screwy, which gave Qui-gon the chance to break through the barrier between life and death for a bit to try to help fix the universe. Make sense?

I mean, definitely not, but this is my story and I make the rules.

Cross posted on AO3