Chapter 2 – Struggles

Author's Note: In which Obi-Wan has to deal with his five sons. It's not easy. :')

~ Amina Gila

"What happens now?" the padawan asks, looking to Obi-Wan. Actually, everyone is looking at him. He doesn't know how old the Vaders are, but he suspects they may even be older than him. He couldn't be sure, but the way everyone is looking at him is just... odd. Anakin has always done that though – look to someone else to tell him what to do. (He always looked to Obi-Wan first and foremost, and he doesn't understand, but the 'does that make you my father?' plays in his mind and he wonders. Maybe. Anakin had told him that once, too, moments after when the padawan is from, and Obi-Wan had brushed him off because he didn't know what else to do. He really doesn't know what to do with that possibility, either.)

"We will return to the Temple," he decides. "With Dooku's death, the war will be over soon."

"Sidious is dead," the eldest says, looking at the younger Vader again. "The Empire will be no more."

"Empire?" echoes Padawan-Anakin, leaning forwards. "What Empire?!" His horror is an echo of Obi-Wan's own. The future already sounds worse than a nightmare, and he's hardly heard any of it.

"We have no one," the younger says, as if it's a realization, as if completely forgetting about those around him.

Obi-Wan stands, looking from the eldest to the younger. "That is not true," he replies, trying to ignore the sting he feels. He can't imagine why any version of Anakin would say something of that nature. He knows how deeply Obi-Wan cares for him... doesn't he? They're from different places and see everything differently, but Anakin does know. They never talked about it, but Obi-Wan is certain he does – though suddenly, he doesn't know, and he loathes that. "You may have lost those you know, but I am still here. Ahsoka is here."

"Who's Ahsoka?" asks Padawan-Anakin, and Obi-Wan thinks he hears the Knight turning to tell him while both Vaders slowly turn to look at him. The older feels doubtful and more hurt than anything, while the younger seems more... hopeful and confused.

"Do not lie to me," the oldest replies finally. "You never cared for us."

Obi-Wan jerks back, staring at him, because what? Anakin knew. He could have sworn he knew. Where is this coming from? "What?" he demands, in unison with the padawan and Knight. Ani is watching from the side, wide-eyed, and Obi-Wan really wishes he could take him somewhere that he didn't have to witness all this. He's already overwhelmed enough by hearing of Qui-Gon's death.

He doesn't understand the deep feeling of foreboding he feels when the Vaders look at each other again, and suddenly, unexpectedly, withdraw their lightsabers. They're standing identically across from one another, and they look every bit intent on attacking... each other?

What?

He thought being in the same room when the Anakins were fighting someone else was bad enough. It's worse when they're randomly attacking each other for no apparent reason. He didn't even have a warning. They were just walking around together like best friends and now they're trying to kill each other?! Anakin has always been... confusing, but not this confusing, Obi-Wan thinks hysterically. Or maybe it's that the Sith part of him has... completely lost it. As if that would be a surprise. The Dark Side does corrupt.

It doesn't even look like it's something to get out their suppressed emotions. They look like they're going for the kill, and while Obi-Wan could be wrong about that, considering how they seem to be disturbingly sloppy, he's not taking chances. He doesn't know if he wants to scream or cry more right now. "Stop!" he yells at them as one of them quite nearly takes off the other's head. "Anakin!"

"That name has no meaning to me," growls the older, not bothering to look his way. Not that Obi-Wan can blame him for that – his helmet gives him a very narrow field of vision.

"Then why are you so light?" Knight-Anakin asks, standing up and pulling out his own lightsaber, and oh Force, he better not be about to join this insane duel too. "I can feel it in you. You don't want to stay like this, but you don't know how to let it go."

Predictably, he is flung across the room into a nearby console for his efforts. Seeing his... boys get hurt is bad enough. It's worse when they're doing it to each other. They're all Anakin, and he loves them all more than he can ever say, but this is the one who he went through everything with. This is the one he raised and trained, and it's the one who he remembers everything with. Maybe he is a little more protective of this one than the others.

Obi-Wan thinks it's fair that it makes him angry to see and considering the sheer exhausting-ness of the entire scenario, he thinks it's fair that he's a bit short-tempered right now. He ignites his own lightsaber and moves forwards, blocking one blow that came a little too close to the younger Vader for his liking. "Stop this!" he orders sharply. "Both of you. Right now."

The younger Vader turns around, straightening, but he seems no more inclined to stop fighting than he did before. "I know the code. I can shut it down for you. I can turn it off if you just say the word. It can be over."

"No," the oldest replies, backing away. Something in his presence flickers, and Obi-Wan can sense the first signs of a deep, cutting fear, though what he's afraid of, Obi-Wan couldn't say. He doesn't understand it, but he doesn't understand the younger's words, either. "Not like that. I have nearly died that way – before."

Oh Force. Horrified doesn't begin to cover what Obi-Wan feels over this – he's talking about his respirator, isn't he? Quite simply, Obi-Wan can't imagine the pain of what it would mean to lose everything, but he can't imagine taking it like this either. They are Sith, he reminds himself. The Dark Side does not make one rational. It takes it away.

Vader lashes out quite unexpectedly, throwing his older counterpart across the room into the wall. He shoves Obi-Wan out of his way with the Force – surely, he taught his padawan better manners than this – and moves forwards, anyway. They seem bent on killing each other, and Obi-Wan cannot for the life of him understand why.

Knight-Anakin is standing again, and he reaches out with the Force, dragging the younger Sith back. "Enough of this," he declares firmly. "I don't know what's wrong with you two, but this is insanity."

Obi-Wan could almost cry with relief that Anakin interjected there, because he was starting to find himself morbidly wondering if Anakin ever reached a point like this.

Both of them stop there, though neither seem particularly happy. Obi-Wan approaches the eldest, who's still attempting to drag himself to his feet. It's not easy, likely because of the way his armor was designed. It doesn't look comfortable in the least. Obi-Wan still doesn't know what to think about Vader, either of them, but he'll worry about that later. They could be dangerous, to be sure, but they are not enemies. That much has already been proven.

Obi-Wan senses a strange sort of... resignation from him. It morphs to confusion when Obi-Wan turns off his lightsaber and holds his hand out to him. It was meant as a simple courtesy, one Anakin would always do for Ahsoka and while he and Anakin haven't done that, usually because they didn't need to, he doesn't hesitate. If Anakin saw it as a sign of affection, he sees no reason that Vader won't, and he clearly needs something of that nature.

"There is no need for pretense," he says, his helmet tilted in a way that somehow perfectly conveys his expression – one that heavily implies he thinks Obi-Wan is trying to stab him instead of help him, which from how he's talking, is probably true.

Obi-Wan doesn't waver though. "You may not look like him," he replies, "But you are an Anakin at heart, or you would not be here."

Vader is still looking at him with something like confusion, but he lets Obi-Wan pull him to his feet anyway, conveying confusion and pain and something he can't name. "Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know what happened with you after this time," Obi-Wan answers, weighing his words carefully. This is a highly unstable Sith, and he doesn't want to accidently anger him. "Anakin was my friend. We did everything together. I cannot imagine any version of either of us where we aren't defined by that."

Vader stares at him for a full moment, finally touching him with the Force. Obi-Wan doesn't know why he thinks it's to make sure he's not lying. Why wouldn't he know that? He didn't consciously realize his touch was still lingering until the Sith moves forwards suddenly, and for the first time Obi-Wan is struck by how tall he is. He towers over Obi-Wan even more than Anakin himself does, and he wonders how that's possible, then quickly decides he doesn't want to know. His proportions are just... off, likely because of the armor. Not that he has much time to think about it, anyway, before the oldest of his Anakins is crushing him in a hug.

Almost literally, because his grip seems fierce and desperate and just... like he craves for more, even though Obi-Wan suspects he can't feel much through the thickness of his armor. Both his hands are prosthetics now (he doesn't even want to know) and that makes it... not uncomfortable, but they can't feel very well. Quite frankly, Obi-Wan can't imagine they can feel much of anything through the thickness of the gloves he's wearing.

Hesitantly, Obi-Wan returns it. He's not accustomed to gestures of physical affection, especially not this extreme and intimate, even if he doesn't mind. The only other people here are other Anakins, so why does that make him so uncomfortable?

Vader might be a Sith, and he might feel dark, but he's much lighter than the other. Obi-Wan can see that more clearly now, with him so close and their Force-signatures so deeply intertwined.

His height is even more disturbing now. (This is very much not okay. He needs to stay young and small forever, because... because.) Anakin's presence was always too brilliant for Obi-Wan to wrap it with his own, but it never stops him from trying. He wants it. He wants this – for Anakin to stay young a little longer, so Obi-Wan can take care of him and they can... he doesn't know. Then he remembers the "does that make you my father?" and wonders if it's true and it does, because truthfully, there is no other reason. Because for as much as he knows Anakin needs to grow older and grow up because that's the way of life, it doesn't stop him from wishing it didn't have to happen. It doesn't stop him from wanting Anakin to just be... his a little longer.

Anakin's lightness has always been addictive, and sometimes Obi-Wan wonders if it was just his light – but now that he feels the way Vader's presence burns like a star gone dark, he finds that he feels no different. This isn't his Anakin, but it's still Anakin, and that's not going to change. Maybe it should – both oldest two are Sith, but he loves them no less, even if he understands the threat they may pose.

He's also pretty sure the Sith has no intent of letting him go anytime soon.

"Alright, I think you can let me go now. I'm not going anywhere," he tries.

"I have waited for this for years," he argues.

"When was the last time we saw each other?" Obi-Wan asks, hoping he doesn't sound as strained as he feels, because while he can very much respect the fact that the Anakin in question can hardly feel this, it's starting to hurt.

"Four years ago," he answers. "I... may have killed you then."

He doesn't even want to know, and nor is he entirely certain it's true. It's even more outrageously impossible than the rest of what he's heard. But four years apart, for them, is a very long time. They spent years together. They did everything together, and Obi-Wan can't imagine a life without Anakin.

Obi-Wan truthfully expected to be interrupted at any moment, but he didn't quite expect the other Vader to be the one who did it.

And, leaking an overly extreme amount of absolute annoyance and jealousy into the Force, he pries his older self's grip off Obi-Wan, only to replace it with his own. By this point, Obi-Wan is quite thoroughly convinced that between the two of them, he'll have successfully been crushed to death by the time they make it off-board. The younger Vader is... he feels more like Anakin, far less broken, though he's dark instead of the light that Anakin's presence always shines with.

And yet, despite how deep the Dark Side runs in him, Obi-Wan can still feel the light, where he aligns so visibly with Anakin. It's not the same sort of pure darkness, void of light that he sensed on Maul and Sidious in the brief time he felt his presence. It's not the kind that has gone mad by rage and vengeance like Ventress. It's something more lost and fueled by pain, pain which Obi-Wan immediately wants to take away, to spare him from.

Light or Dark, this is Anakin, and nothing can stop him from helping him.

"What are we going to do now?" Knight-Anakin interrupts, pointedly ignoring the oldest Vader's seething. He's angry, and Obi-Wan reminds himself to try to sort out this strange possessiveness later. He doesn't have the time or patience right now. It's exhausting, and he has had a very long day.

"We will return to the Temple and speak with the Council," Obi-Wan answers. He's intent on asking the Sith – both of them – what time they came from, but he doesn't know if an answer would be very forthcoming. They have yet to say anything about their time, aside from that there was an Empire and... Sidious betrayed them, which must mean Sidious was their master. He doesn't want to think about it.

"What time are you two from?" the padawan asks. "You never said."

"Twenty-three years after now," the oldest answers. "He is from ten."

Knight-Anakin laughs. "Master, you'll have to get used to not being the oldest person around."

The oldest Anakin is almost forty-six. It took almost a full minute for him to process that. "I'm glad you are enjoying yourself," he grumbles. The time-travel makes this no less disturbing. His own Anakin is, technically, grown up, but he's still a child. Seeing a version of him who is undeniably an adult and knowing that this happened without him there to see it, is... unsettling. It hurts for some inexplicable reason. "I highly recommend we go to a less open space."

There's an echo of agreements from the others, and Vader (finally) lets him go. "The Jedi Council will not react kindly to our presences," he objects.

"The war is over, and you pose no threat to us," Obi-Wan replies. "You will be watched with... caution, but no action will be taken against you."

"And what of the galaxy?" the oldest inquires. "Now that the... Chancellor has been removed."

"That is a decision the Senate will make."

**w**

They go to Anakin's quarters after a long, long talk with the not-so-happy Council. They do not appreciate the time-travel shenanigans any more than the Anakins themselves do, and the Vaders are most uncooperative with answering anything at all. Obi-Wan suspects the second youngest is following the eldest, but there is no actual conversation between the two.

"This naming system confusing," Knight-Anakin declares, entering the room which now feels far too small. "Maybe we should call you Vaderkin."

The oldest Vader stops and turns around, moving in what Obi-Wan suspects is meant to be intimidating. Anakin doesn't even twitch. "What?"

He shrugs, completely unabashed. "You're lighter than the other."

"I am a Sith," he replies, angrily. Obi-Wan can't deny feeling a tiny surge of satisfaction seeing the others as worn out as he is; they're exhausting. It's good to know they see the same in each other.

"I can feel how light you are. You may be a Dark Sider, but you're not blinded or lost in it. You're on the point between Light and Dark."

"There is no coming back."

They're standing across from each other, a perfect mirror image of one another, just a few steps inside the doorway, both either too stupid or stubborn to give in.

Their argument is interrupted when the younger Vader unexpectedly moves forwards, pushing Knight-Anakin out of the way (though with far more gentleness than earlier). "You need to recharge," he says – the first considerate thing they've said to one another since leaving the Invisible Hand.

It makes his stomach churn, but, of course, that would be a problem. Even Anakin's arm needs to recharge sometimes. Of course, this is something the Vaders need to worry about on a regular basis. How they survived so long without Obi-Wan to watch over them, he has no idea.

"Alright," he says tiredly – quite honestly, the only reason he's in here instead of his own room is to make sure none of them will kill each other in his absence. "Do whatever it is you need to." He turns his attention to the Padawan next, who had been much too reluctant to take a much-needed trip to the medbay because it would draw too much attention. Vader and... Vaderkin can do whatever they need to. Obi-Wan will just not watch because Anakin was always touchy about that, and he imagines that would be even truer now.

Obi-Wan pointedly tries not to watch when they go to a corner and... start doing whatever it is they do. It's difficult seeing as he's not entirely convinced they won't try to kill each other again. Instead, he refocuses on the padawan.

"I can do it myself," he argues. "Really, Master."

"We have nothing else to do," Obi-Wan replies, "And the moment I leave the room, you'll be at each other's throats again." He dares spare another glance towards the Vaders and looks away again. There's something on the floor next to them now that looks disturbingly like an overturned version of Vaderkin's chest plate and it...

He'd rather not know what all that's for.

"Alright, alright, if you insist," Padawan-Anakin agrees reluctantly. Obi-Wan takes his wrist, pulling him over to sit down on the bed, since Knight-Anakin and Ani are busy with the crates up against the walls.

He feels even more exhausted now that he's sitting next to Anakin, but he still has something to focus on. They have had time to rest after their previous battle before coming to Coruscant, and Padawan-Anakin himself looks completely worn out.

They don't talk as he works, but Obi-Wan can see the padawan glancing at him from time to time, a lingering exhaustion and affection in his eyes. It's normal, but it still feels like he's been blind to it until now, or maybe it's that it was easier not to notice when he didn't have five of them here, four of which are constantly looking at him with the same lingering adoration.

He doesn't understand how it makes him feel to see so clearly in someone that he's the center of their world – but this is Anakin, and they have always been everything to each other.

For all that he loves them, it also leaves him feeling... oddly vulnerable and uncomfortable. He is a Jedi Master, and it's not easy to hurt him. Anakin is the only one who could, because of how deeply Obi-Wan loves him. That he's now surrounded by five instead of one makes it even more difficult.

"I imagine a lot has changed between us... now," Padawan-Anakin says finally, awkwardly.

Obi-Wan nods slightly. "I'm not his master anymore."

"I can't imagine you are," he replies.

"It wasn't easy," Obi-Wan replied, "But I think we both appreciated the transition."

"It didn't really change anything," Knight-Anakin replies, rounding them and sitting down on Obi-Wan's other side. Somehow, they all seem to be doing that – silently competing to see who can get closest to him. "Except we talked more freely."

"I really can't imagine that."

"We try to be friends first," Knight-Anakin answers. "We never really succeeded."

Didn't they? Obi-Wan thought they did. It's not as though he ever stopped to have a long conversation with Anakin about it, for however much he wanted to. They simply didn't have time with the war and all. After seeing how Vaderkin was acting, he finds himself wishing they had, anyway. It's not like it would have been hard or taken long. They just... didn't. It always seemed too chaotic to try talking and there was always something else, some other pressing mission, and the day Anakin puts some of his very important needs over a mission is the day the galaxy implodes itself.

"I thought we had," Obi-Wan replies.

"It's... complicated," Knight-Anakin answers, and Obi-Wan is certain everyone is listening, not as if it matters. They're all Anakins, anyway. Anakin seems uncomfortable about trying to explain though, and neither of the oldests are volunteering to help. "We will always... try to earn your approval, regardless of whether we are your padawan or not."

Obi-Wan knew that, to a point, but it had lessened after Anakin's Knighting. "I knew, to a point," he admits, "But I have never been able to understand why."

The boys glance at each other, then look down at the floor. Obi-Wan can't quite make sense of their bond. It's formed fast and it runs deeper than anything he's ever shared. "I don't know how to tell you," Knight-Anakin answers finally. "I just..."

"Crave for an acceptance which you will never find," Vaderkin finishes. "It is a child's dream. It makes you weak."

"We're on opposite sides of the Force," Knight-Anakin replies, "Don't expect us to agree on anything."

"The Dark Side brings strength. You don't know its power."

"It takes strength to resist it," Obi-Wan replies, effectively cutting him off. He doesn't really understand because he doesn't sense any ill intent in the Force. He doesn't think the Sith is trying to argue or hurt them. It sounds like he's simply stating facts, at least in his own mind.

All of them, save Ani, still in the Force. The youngest is quiet, occupied with some sort of mechanics in the corner that Obi-Wan won't bother trying to figure out. "What?" he asks, looking between them. Everyone is pointedly avoiding his gaze.

It's Vader, oddly enough, who finally speaks up for the first time, still kneeling by his counterpart (who is currently plugged into the wall and everyone is nice enough to pretend they don't notice). "We have never been strong or fast enough for you," he replies bluntly. He feels... both hurt and angry, but mostly, strangely quiet.

What?

He doesn't think his mind can process anything more than that right now. He knows Anakin always tries to prove himself, often taking it way over the edge, but he has never been able to understand it. He has tried, but it never made sense. All Jedi do, at first, but it never changed with Anakin. It's something most padawans are able to move on and let go from quickly, but not Anakin.

And Obi-Wan has no idea why.

He looks to his own Anakin for answers, hoping for a denial, knowing that the padawan will never give him a straight answer. He doesn't get one. Anakin doesn't say anything at all.

"Why would you think that?" Obi-Wan asks faintly.

"How could we think anything else?" the padawan asks. "When you never tell us anything else?"

"I don't –" he begins, then cuts himself off, because, in truth, he knows Anakin is at least partly right. "That was never my intention."

"It's fine," Knight-Anakin answers, his voice hollow. "You're my master first."

Obi-Wan reaches over, gently laying a hand on his arm. For the first time in a while, he finds himself rendered speechless. "I didn't... know," he finishes lamely, knowing full well how this isn't nearly enough to make up for it. What else can he say? "We have never been able to understand each other."

"We don't need to," Knight-Anakin replies. He shifts closer, taking Obi-Wan's hand in his. All of them are like this – constantly craving for physical contact. "Our lives have... shaped us differently, and you will always choose the Code."

Obi-Wan looks up at him, wondering, not for the first time, how much his former padawan (his brother, his son, his everything) has seen through his mask, if anything. Obi-Wan is nothing like the good Jedi he tries to be or pretends to be. He thought Anakin knew that. Perhaps their relationship has been built too much on assumptions.

"Anakin," he says, turning to look the Knight in the eye. It's the easiest with him, because this is the one Obi-Wan knows best. They've waited too long, and there is nothing for them to wait for anymore. If they need to talk, it won't be Anakin who starts it. "You are strong and wise, and I am very proud of you. I have trained you since you were a small boy. I have taught you everything I know. And you have become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be."

Anakin smiles, one of those true, happy, genuine smiles that he so rarely has – it warms Obi-Wan's heart to see, and his presence fades from its normal fire to something gentler. He looks down, and Obi-Wan traces his thumb over the back of the boy's hand. He remembers a time it was so much smaller. Everything in his life for thirteen years has been about Anakin and Anakin alone.

"Thank you," he says, finally. "You – our... friendship means everything to me."

"I know," he says, squeezing his hand tightly, and he does. He can see it. Anakin is intense, overwhelmingly so, and it's not difficult to tell when he cares for someone. His fire stills whenever he's with those he cares for, morphing to something calmed and quieter.

Anakin feels... lighter somehow, and Obi-Wan can feel a sense of deep longing from the others – and quite simply, he has no idea how to be there for all five of them at once. Yes, they can help each other, but they want him, and Obi-Wan has no idea how to do that. He can hardly handle one as is.

He turns to look at the padawan, who's clearly trying not to stare and – he's reacting much like Vader did earlier, only minus the violently possessive Sithly part. Obi-Wan reaches over, laying a hand on his shoulder. He doesn't really know how to show physical affection – Jedi never do it. He almost envies how freely Anakin can do it.

"You may have been... tiring," he continues, "And you still are, but you are..." he pauses, trying to phrase it right. "My best friend." My child. My star, my light, my everything, he doesn't add, but he thinks it's felt enough not to voice. "We need each other," Obi-Wan continues. He had wanted to tell Anakin all this, once, but he never did. "We balance each other. You need me to hold you back, and I need you to keep us moving forwards."

He wonders, briefly, what happened to the Vaders versions of him, and then remembers – Vaderkin had said his version of Obi-Wan is dead. Is that why he feels so lost and broken?

"Master," Padawan-Anakin says – the same way he said it all throughout the war and still does now. It never changed for Anakin, did it? "You're the closest thing I have to a father." He remembers that, with clarity – Anakin had told him that before at the same age. "I love you. I – I would do anything for you."

It's the sheer emotion and truthfulness that throws him off-balance, and for the first time in a while, Obi-Wan finds that he can't bring himself to argue with it. Ani had asked him something about that earlier, as if it were so simple, but it's not. (Yes, it is.) It was easier to blind himself with one, but now there's four of them, looking at him in the exact same way. He grew up being told this was wrong, but he can't... deny this, especially when he knows it's the truth. If a name were to be put on their relationship, the most he can say of it is that Anakin is his child. He did raise him, after all.

He can still see the Vaders even if his current focus is on the padawan – they're waiting to see how he'll react. They want, are demanding, a positive response, and Obi-Wan doesn't think he can turn that down.

Obi-Wan sighs softly. There is only one true answer, and he doesn't know how to voice it. He never has. It feels too much like admitting weakness, but it's not fair for him to deny Anakin this. "I... don't understand that. Sometimes, I wish I did. I remember... very little before I was brought to the Temple." Maybe on this he needs to let Anakin be the judge of what exactly the nature of their relationship is. It was always Anakin who wanted more, who kept coming back, no matter how Obi-Wan tried to push him away. Anakin is stubborn that way – he doesn't give ground. "Regardless of what, exactly, this is, I do care for you. All of you." He looks up, meeting his own Anakin's gaze.

The boy's eyes are wet with tears. "Why didn't you tell me? I spent so long wondering. I wanted – it's all I wanted to know."

"It was easier to lie to myself," he answers, honestly. "We are Jedi first." And he doesn't know how to make sense of how he feels.

His Anakin (who was fortunate enough not to get misplaced from his time) leans closer, touching their shoulders together. "I don't understand this – you..."

He wishes he had an answer to everything that went down between them. "I don't either. For all that I've tried to push you away, you always come back." He's afraid to love, more because he fears being hurt and losing again like he lost his master than anything. Anakin is much the same, but it's different. Everything is different with him.

"Well," he replies teasingly, likely an effort to lighten the mood. "Someone has to watch over you, old man."

Obi-Wan makes a half-disbelieving, half-annoyed sound. "I am perfectly capable of doing so myself."

"You wouldn't have gotten aboard if I hadn't come back to rescue you – again."

"I concede your point, but I am not that old. The eldest here is forty-six or so, I believe."

Vaderkin's head slowly turns to look at him again. "Yes," he answers the unspoken question.

"What was happening with you?" Knight-Anakin inquires. "I think I heard something about an Empire, and why would I be a Sith?"

"The Jedi were destroyed for treason," Vader answers. "I became Sidious' apprentice."

"He used us," Vaderkin adds. He's angry, but his presence is still, a clear sign that he's more resigned than anything. "Until we no longer suited him. He intended to replace me with my son."

"What?!" the other five chorus, equal parts horrified and confused.

"How?" Vader demands sharply.

"I... do not know," he answers.

"When was he born?" Padawan-Anakin asks, suddenly wary.

Their conversation is predictably interrupted again when Obi-Wan's comm beeps. He ignores how all the Anakins seem instantly annoyed, and answers – apparently, Ahsoka called from Mandalore asking to talk to Anakin, and they are not all going to talk to her. Obi-Wan is not happy about leaving, even for a few minutes, but it has to be done and he'll be right back, so he does it anyway. Being away will give him a few minutes of breathing room, if nothing else.

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