Chapter 1 – Upheaval

Plot: It's been nine years since the formation of the Empire, and on a mission gone wrong, Vader and Ahsoka find themselves trapped. Prisoners of the Empire, their fate remains uncertain. Their only hope is that Custos, Obi-Wan, and Anakin will be able to find them before it's too late. But Sidious has long been waiting for this moment, and he has no intention of letting Vader go.


Author's Note: Welcome to the sequel to The Guardian's Path! I hope that you enjoy the continuation in this universe! Originally, I wasn't planning to write it, but then, the first couple sentences just popped into my head, and I couldn't not write it. Lol.

Enjoy! :D:D:D

PS. There is a scene which I think would be considered a graphic depiction of violence later on in this fic. I will include warnings before hand, so you needn't worry if you don't want to read something that like. :')

~ Amina Gila


Even on the other side of the galaxy, Anakin Skywalker hears his counterpart, Darth Vader, scream before their bond snaps into silence. He jolts upright, heat pounding, a chill running through him despite the suns beating down on his head. This is... bad. It's very bad.

"Dad?"

Anakin starts, looking down at his eight-year-old son, Luke, who is looking up at him, expression worried. He and his son had gone out early in the morning to make some repairs on the vaporators on the north side, while Owen had taken Leia to the south side. Obi-Wan and Custos had gone into the nearby town, Mos Eisley, to get some supplies, while Beru and Padme remained inside the homesteads.

Even if Anakin and his stepbrother technically live on separate lots of land, they work together, mutually helping each other out when needed. All of them are one large family now, and he's content with that. Vader and Ahsoka left a week ago on a mission to infiltrate an Imperial base to obtain information. They were accompanied by Rex and Fives, but something must have gone wrong. Nothing like this has ever happened before, not since Anakin and Obi-Wan went to Mandalore shortly after the twins' birth, and Anakin is scared, to be honest. He doesn't want anything to happen to his siblings.

He inhales a few times, reaching out to the Force and letting it calm him. There is nothing he can do by panicking. The best he can do is finish these vaporators and wait until Obi-Wan and Custos return from their trip this afternoon to tell them the news. He knows that because of his strong bond to Vader, he is the only one who sensed what happened so strongly, and so, he must remain level-headed.

"Don't worry," Anakin assures his son, attempting to lose himself back in the interior of the machine in front of him. Repairing things has long been his way of coping or dealing with stress, and that is something which even time has not changed. He has his own unofficial repair shop on the moisture farm, and neighbors and people from nearby towns come to his small workshop so he can work his magic on their machines.

Luke makes a face, indicating that he knows his father is lying, but he says nothing, obediently continuing to pass the necessary tools up to Anakin. "Did something happen to Uncle Vader?" he asks after a few more moments, and Anakin sighs, resigned.

His son – both of his children, actually – are extraordinarily strong with the Force, of course, especially after they began their training. They are extremely entuned to the feelings of those around them, and they can hear the Force in a way that Anakin himself never learned until after settling down on Tatooine. Perhaps, it's because they had a rested childhood and began their training at a young age. They didn't have the same worries and fears and traumas that Anakin and Vader did, and for that, Anakin is grateful.

He has done his best to give his children a good life, and he doesn't doubt that he's succeeded. Sure, it's not the life he'd ever imagined having, but it's a good one, and it's a simple and happy one. That, he supposes, is what matters most. Maybe someday they'll all be able to go to Naboo, but Anakin finds that he no longer misses the planet the way he once did. Time has made him more stable, more rested, more mature.

"Yes," he admits, "But I don't know what, and nor do I know if it's anything we need to worry about." Their connection had grown so strong that they have occasionally been caught in feedback loops with one another. It's uncomfortable and unsettling, but they've learned to live with it. Even Obi-Wan and Custos have experienced similar things when they are dealing with strong emotions while in close proximity to each other. Time has truly worked marvels on Obi-Wan and Custos' relationship; even Anakin never thought they could become as close as they are now. At times, they move and act like they're one person, which is creepy, to say the least, but it's not as if Anakin and Vader don't act like that.

Luke frowns. "Okay," he says, blue eyes worried, but he remains silent, his concern a faraway echo in the end of their bond.

Anakin tries reaching out to Vader a few more times, but their bond remains distant, and at some point, he gives up hope entirely. He had felt the momentary fear, the panic, and he knows of few things which could upset Vader so much unless something happened to his family. Ahsoka, then. Vader never regains consciousness, or if he does, he's been restrained in such a way so as to distance him from the Force.

Neither prospect bodes well. Why did this have to happen now? Why couldn't this mission have been the same as all the others? Anakin can't help but feel guilty. If he had watched over his little brother and sister better, this would never have happened. Maybe he should have taken the mission. He's been wanting to leave the planet for a while, but there's never been anything which he's felt he needs to actually go on. If he and Obi-Wan had gone, they could have completed it and evaded whatever trap has taken both Ahsoka and Vader. Probably.

Despite how troubled he is, Anakin doesn't let it stop him from completing his repair work. When the suns reach their height in the sky, he and Luke head back to the homestead for lunch and a break. Owen and Leia meet them halfway, and the twins immediately go to each other, communicating in the strange combination of words, gestures, and thoughts which they have long used.

"How'd it go?" Owen asks him.

"Well," Anakin answers. "We finished all the vaporators on the north ridge." He hesitates, before continuing, voice somber. "Something happened to Vader. I'll try to contact one of them before the meal and before worrying anyone else. Luke already knows... and I'm sure Leia does too, now." Despite himself, he can't help but smile at that. The twins are... well, they're twins, and they have no better friend than each other.

Owen glances at the twins for a moment before looking back at Anakin. "Call them," he says. "I'll keep everyone else distracted until you return. You can break the news."

Anakin leaves without another word, hurrying to his workshop which has a long-distance untraceable commlink installed there. He enters Vader's frequency first. Then he tries Ahsoka's. And Rex's. And Fives'. None of them answer. Fear rising, he tries Sabe, the one who had given them the mission in the first place.

"Anakin," she greets him, surprise flickering across her face, "Did something happen?" They, or he anyways, rarely contacts her. Usually, it's her who contacts them.

"I think Vader is in trouble," he answers without preamble, "And all of them probably. Can you get any confirmation of their status? I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't so certain." It's not just their silent bond; it's the Force, every instinct Anakin has which is screaming at him that his family is in trouble. He's too far away to get to them, and the helplessness is driving him crazy.

"I'll figure something out immediately," Sabe promises, "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry, Anakin. I knew that this mission would be higher stakes than some, but I thought they could do it without getting into trouble."

Anakin presses his lips together, shaking his head. "It's not your fault," he assures her. "This is dangerous for all of us. We're taking risks every day to bring down the Empire. I know they won't regret it." Though he hates himself for even having to say it, he does. "If worst comes to worst, get the intel out of there and leave them. We'll figure something out. Send me everything you can."

"I will," she replies, disconnecting.

Anakin blows out a breath, rising and heading back to join everyone. Telling Padme will be easier than telling Custos. Force, telling Obi-Wan will be easier than telling Custos. Who knows how the Sith will take the news? Anakin hopes that he won't do anything rash which will get him in trouble too.

When he enters the homestead where a meal is laid out, everyone is already there. He cleans off his hands and face as best he can before sitting down at the table. The only thing he doesn't miss about living on Tatooine is feeling so dirty all the time. They don't have enough water to take baths, so the most they can do is wash themselves with a damp cloth occasionally.

"What happened?" Padme asks, catching his eye with a worried look.

"I don't know anything for certain," Anakin admits, "But Vader – and Ahsoka – are in trouble. I contacted Sabe, and she'll call us back with news when she has something to report."

Padme pales. This, Anakin knows, has been one of her greatest fears. Somehow, she finds it easier to risk people when she's risking herself as well. She hasn't left Tatooine since they came here, mainly because she refuses to leave her children, but Anakin knows that she regrets not going out to help the growing Rebellion. "When do you think we'll hear from her?"

"I don't know," Anakin answers helplessly.

"I can tell Custos for you, if you want," offers Beru, expression stricken. Anakin knows that she is unable to have children of her own, and as such, had mothered Vader as much as she could when they first arrived. She did – and still does – the same with Luke and Leia.

Anakin shakes his head. "I appreciate that, but I need to do it myself. It's my responsibility."

They eat the rest of the meal in a subdued silence. Even the twins, who are often bursting with exuberance are quiet, going to attend to their schoolwork under Padme's supervision without having to be asked. Anakin makes his way back to his workshop and begins trying to focus on repairing an old speeder which someone left with him. It's mostly junk, but he thought he might be able to salvage and rebuilt it, a task which he's been attempting for a couple weeks now.

He's working on welding part of the engine, when the commset beeps. Dropping his tools, he scrambles across the floor, pushing the button to make the connection. It's not Sabe who's comming him; it's Rex.

"Rex!" Anakin exclaims, both surprised and relieved. "I'm so glad to hear from you."

"General," the old clone captain nods. He looks upset. "Fives and I are alright. We got the information and managed to leave without being pursued, but it was a trap. It wasn't set for Rebels; it was set for Force sensitives." He pauses, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, Anakin. They got Ahsoka and Vader."

Anakin's breath catches at the confirmation, pain washing through him. It's been so long since he's had to worry so deeply about losing someone he loves. And it's worse if they've been captured. Who knows what's happening to them? They could be being tortured or worse, and it's not something he wants to think about. The imprisonment is probably triggering Vader's past traumas, even if it's been almost ten years since he was in the hands of the Sith. He's only twenty, the same age Anakin himself was when he became a general in the Clone Wars.

They need to get Vader out as fast as they can.

"It's not your fault," Anakin assures him. "Get Sabe the intel you obtained and tell her what happened. She has more resources, so she can hopefully locate them in the event they're moved."

Really, Anakin doubts it will be that simple. A trap for Force sensitives wouldn't be an easy one to craft, mainly because stormtroopers aren't effective against Jedi – or Sith, in Vader's case.

"I will, sir," Rex vows, turning to something or someone out of the transmission field. "I should probably tell you that there was a Force user there. I don't think it was a Sith, but the blade was red. It wasn't Dooku."

"Naturally." Anakin nearly rolls his eyes. The last they heard of Dooku, he had spoken out against Sidious claiming the Empire, vowing to bring him down. Then, he had disappeared. Presumably, he has organized and is leading a group of Rebels somewhere, but Anakin doesn't know any details and nor does he care to. He doesn't like Dooku – hates him, actually, irrespective of how the Dooku of Custos' time helped them – and that isn't going to change.

"If you had a holoimage of the Dark Sider that would help us though," Anakin tells Rex. "If the Emperor has an apprentice, we need to know." Thankfully, he is not the apprentice. He came far too close to comfort to getting that... dubious honor, and he doesn't know what Sidious is planning, but he suspects that the Sith is still hunting for him. There had been a manhunt for him, especially after his involvement in helping Satine escape the Empire on Mandalore. He's good at hiding though, so they had never been found.

It's likely that Sidious never sent anyone here to Tatooine, because he never thought that Anakin would ever willingly return to the place where he suffered so much and where his mother died. Well, it's true that he would never come here willingly, but it's not as though he'd had a choice. If anyone came searching, Anakin never heard of it. It's actually quite possible that someone did come, but they were never able to track him – and his family – down.

Tatooine is a place where people go to hide. It's not really that difficult either. Besides, all of them have been shielding their Force signatures, so Sidious, even using the Dark Side, would never be able to locate them. If they have to confront him soon, Anakin knows that he's more than ready. He – with much help from Obi-Wan, Padme, and Custos, of course – has worked through many of the issues in his past, the things and traumas which have haunted him. Surprisingly, being on Tatooine actually made talking easier. Perhaps it's because he is surrounded by the visible proof of suffering and misery which most people endure here.

Be that as it may, he has shaken free Sidious' grip on him. If they can find a viable window to launch an attack on Sidious himself, they'll take it. Anakin simply hadn't wanted to make such a move without having adequate information, and, of course, until the twins were older. If he dies, he doesn't want to orphan them when they're so young. He wants to stay in their lives as long as he can.

Rex hesitates for a moment before nodding. "I'll do what I can." Then, he disconnects, leaving Anakin sitting there, feeling more stressed than he has before, even when the twins were both newborn babies who never slept through the night.

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