A moon wasn't Obi-Wan's first choice for fighting terrain, but he supposed it would have to do.

At least it wasn't lava, the air was breathable, and it was much cooler than the last time he faced Vader. All these things he dryly reasoned as positive's when he landed the tiny ship and powered it down.

It wouldn't be long now. He could sense Vader's approach.

With grim resolve he shrugged off the robe he'd taken from Jabbiim, suddenly too fond of it to risk getting it beat up along with him. A cheerful little chirp rang out and for the first time Obi-Wan noticed a slight weight in one of his pockets.

LOLA fluttered in his hand as he extracted her, peeping and chirping at him as if saying, "Isn't my Leia so clever?"

Obi-Wan smiled, warmth driving away the biting cold that nipped at him.

Without a word he set the droid gently on the dash of the cockpit, unwilling to see any harm come to Leia's beloved friend.

Drawing a deep breath, he paused, gathering himself and bracing for whatever should come next.

It was time.

Vader exited his ship with all the drama and billowing intimidation that Obi-Wan had come to expect from his 'almost' former apprentice.

The Sith Lord stalked towards him a few feet before stopping, looming with all the dreadful pain and darkness of the Dark Side swirling around him.

"Have you come to destroy me, Obi-Wan?"

Igniting his saber, Obi-Wan raised his arm and leveled it near his ear, ready.

"I will do what I must." He stated grimly, for as of yet he could not fathom what the Force wished him to do.

"Then you will die." Vader told him, as if it were just that simple and his fate were already sealed.

"Promises, promises." Obi-Wan muttered, surprising himself with the sudden quip and sending a ripple of anger and shock through Vader. For a second it almost seemed he hesitated, then just as quickly he roared and they were clashing sabers.

It had begun.

Even with the help of the Force, Obi-Wan felt his muscles and ligaments protest under the strain of dodging, rolling over rocks (or in some cases being thrown) and the jarring damage saber meeting saber did to his arms and shoulders. Despite his lunges, counter strikes and using all the tricks he knew, the fight was starting out as a desperate and ominous venture.

Vader seemed to meet every attack effortlessly.

Still, as he stumbled back, readying his saber yet again, Obi-Wan had to admit he was doing better than he had mere days ago. Bleak encouragement, but he'd take it.

Determined, he jumped forwards to attack anew, driving Vader back among the rocks. If there was ever something The Clone Wars taught him, it was to make use of the terrain when fighting.

Unfortunately, Anakin had learnt that as well, and in turn Vader. But in such close quarters, Obi-Wan was heartened to note the Sith Lord's suit seemed to hamper his movements somewhat. He made use of the tight turns around the rocks, driving, stabbing and altering his styles to fit his needs. Vader remained stuck in his old ways and got hung up, striking stones and rock instead of the Jedi.

In the face of such a strong, angry and stagnant version of Anakin, Obi-Wan willed the Force around him and struck out with his undercut again, knocking Vader back and earning another roar. Immediately after he locked onto the stone pillar next to his opponent and pushed it with the Force, breaking it down so it would fall upon the Clone.

The Force creaked as Darkness crashed into it and Vader countered the movement of the pillar like it was nothing.

"Your strength has returned." Vader sounded almost gleeful about it. "But, the weakness still remains!"

Oh, that's not good . Obi-Wan thought blandly as he retreated.

Vader made a show of lifting huge rocks as if they were pebbles and flinging them at him. He cut through one that he couldn't dodge, jarring his wrists and smashing his knuckles rough as the fragments clinked against his saber hilt.

Unwilling to be driven further on the offensive, Obi-Wan leaped forward again, striking at Vader before he had another chance to toss more rocks at him.

A warning lurched through the Force and he barely blocked a blow to his back before Vader punched him in the nose and attacked again.

Things weren't looking good and they looked worse when Vader used a rock to knock his feet out from under him.

Somehow, he managed to roll and get up before the Sith sliced him in half.

Fear bombarded him, trying to get in his heart as he backed away to regroup. He needed to trust in the Force. The Light would help him. It tugged at him and he tried to let it in, but something was in the way.

"And that is why," Vader snarled as he smashed his open palm into the ground. "You will always lose!"

Cracks flooded outward from Vader and the ground collapsed out from under Obi-Wan. He couldn't stop the cries as he fell, rock and stone battering him as he rolled down.

In the pit, Obi-Wan stared up at Vader as he walked to the edge of the cazum. The Jedi Master almost willed him to tell him he had the high ground. At least that would tell him if remnants of the real Anakin somehow survived in him. Anakin, Light or Dark, would never pass up an opportunity like this.

To his disappointment Vader said nothing, instead opting for tossing massive rocks at him and burying him alive.

Obi-Wan trembled as he created a bubble of the Force around himself to keep from being crushed. He truly didn't know how he was going to last.

"Did you truly think you could defeat me?"

Obi-Wan could only just make out the soft words. The hint of despair coming through the masked voice struck him harder than the rocks had.

Emotion in the tone twisted in the Force, squirming and raging at him with disappointment. Then they shifted to arrogant defeat.

"You have failed, master."

Aunt Beru had said everything would be ok.

Luke knew better.

The sick feeling in his stomach told him even if the sounds of his aunt and uncle fighting an unknown assailant didn't.

He'd said he wasn't afraid. Oh, how he wished that were true. He'd give anything not to feel like this.

The nausea deepened as the cold started to claw through him from the inside out.

Something was very very wrong.

"GO! GO!" Uncle Owen yelled over blaster fire.

Moments later Aunt Beru was dashing through the doors, rifle in her hands. She frantically motioned for Luke to hide near the hatch in the ceiling and he forced his feet to obey. He wanted nothing more than to go to her, but that crushing ice feeling in his gut was getting worse the closer the fighting got.

Uncle Owen yelled out in pain and Luke gasped as though it were his own. White heat flooded his senses, throbbing at the edges of his temples before fading back into the cold nausea.

"BERU! SHE'S COMING!"

"Get ready." Aunt Beru whispered, not taking her eyes off the door as she readied the end of her rifle. It was too dangerous to fire in here. Luke knew that and he climbed the ladder, pausing at the top when the big doors opened.

His Aunt let out a feral cry as she struck a woman with a blood red laser sword in the face.

"GO!" She screamed even as she was thrown to the flood.

Terror flooded his bones as Luke suddenly realized this was no tusken raid, and this woman was after him for some reason.

The hope they would come after him instead of further harming his Aunt and Uncle pushed him forward. He sprinted across the dark desert towards the cliffs. The frigid ice in his stomach told him the woman wasn't far behind, and her wild roar of pain confirmed it as it echoed into the night.

Luke pushed himself harder, gasping and trying not to cry.

He had to get away. This had to be a bad dream.

Despite the many years that had passed since he was last on this awful planet, Anakin's memory of Tatooine was never clearer as he flew the ship through the black skies of the lower atmosphere. He couldn't pinpoint exactly where the Lars farm was, but he could keenly feel his son and so he aimed for that instead.

The cliff's made it difficult to land, and had he been a lesser pilot, he might not have managed it.

Leia hopped up the second he made for the doors, obviously thinking she would come with him.

Weighing the options, and hating the cold, icy rage of the Darkside that was close by, Anakin crouched down and rested a hand on Leia's tiny shoulder.

"Leia, I need you to promise me something." He said seriously.

"What?"

"Don't leave this ship until I come back."

Leia looked like she wanted to argue with him, but instead asked with a well hidden worry, "But what if you don't come back?"

"I will. I promise." Anakin told her, wincing when renewed fear from Luke stabbed through his head. Leia scrunched up her eyes at the same time and rubbed her temple. "Stay here. Everything will be alright. Just breathe. I'll be back."

Rising to his full height, Anakin didn't wait for Leia to answer. He had no choice but to trust she would listen to him as he sprinted from the little ship.

Time was running out.

Somewhere in this maze of cliffs, sand and innumerable dangers was his beautiful, terrified boy.

Grappling for Balance as he ran and following the whispering of the Force, Anakin steeled himself. It was going to take every inch of his control not to rip the skin from the bones of whomever or whatever was causing his child so much distress.

Dust poured into his eyes as the rocks inched closer to his body.

Despair crept in, just as Vader had intended.

Failed. Yes. It did seem he had failed. In too many ways, in fact.

Even if Vader was only a clone of Anakin, he had still been a perfect copy. No one had known the difference, except for Palpatine. Even in the Force he had felt the same, in so much as Obi-Wan had been able to feel Anakin in those last days. Had the cunning old Emperor not made a mistake the first time in trying to turn Anakin, it could have just as easily been the real Anakin up there right now.

There were too many mistakes and injustices by the Jedi themselves that Obi-Wan had been a part of. He'd stood by and let things he knew in his heart were wrong happen just because he was afraid and arrogantly believed in the infallibility of his Jedi Order.

Anakin, who had come from a troubled and traumatized past, had been burdened with an unreasonable amount of expectation from a young age. They'd told him that attachment was forbidden, left his mother in slavery and taken him from all he'd know and yet how could a child who had lost so much not struggle with attachment, or anger, or impulsiveness? And how had he gone so wrong in that he allowed Sideous to groom the boy from the start?

Oh yes. The ways in which he had a hand in Anakin's trials and struggles were innumerable.

The grief nearly crushed him more than these rocks ever could and all the Dark sides of Anakin that he'd faced over the years echoed around him, taunting and accusing him.

Promise you'll come back. Please.

The little voice broke through the rest of the heavy voices like the light of a star in the deeo of night.

Leia. Luke. Such strong, bright and brilliant souls. They shone in the abyss like pure, unquenchable supernovas.

Regardless of the past, they were the future. Had he not said that himself? And there was hope. Anakin lived. His children lived. He would need help and Obi-Wan could not bring himself to leave him alone, for that is what he would be doing if he died here. He couldn't fail him again, not when he loved his brother so deeply.

Closing his eyes, Obi-Wan released the voices into the Force and at last Peace flooded him with renewed determination and courage.

Joy, love and assurance gathered around him and with one final push, the Force blasted the rocks from his tomb and he sprang free.

Vader wasn't far and Obi-Wan used speed to his advantage in sneaking up on him. Clearly his arrogance blinded him into thinking Obi-Wan would never escape.

Red met Blue, crackling and squealing as Obi-Wan battered the other with renewed vigor.

With less effort than it took to breath, Obi-Wan opened his palm mid strike and sent Vader flying across the ground, smashing his back into a rock pillar. Then, because you should use the terrain to your advantage and definitely not because he had a slightly petty side himself, Obi-Wan lifted numerous rocks behind him and pummeled the other with them in a deadly barrage.

Beaten down, Vader managed to attack again and Obi-Wan could feel his fear coming off him in waves as he struggled to keep up with his former master. He blocked a swing, but Vader grabbed his arm in a lucky moment.

It was exactly what Obi-Wan needed. Taking the opening, Obi-Wan countered by grabbing Vader's arm in turn, switched his saber around in his hand and rammed the butt of his saber into the chest plate of Vader's suit multiple times.

Ragged, tortured breathing ripped from under the mask, and yet Vader still persisted in trying to kill him.

Obi-Wan sliced him across the back when he lunged clumsily and the enemy fell.

Again, and again Vader tried, and for reasons he couldn't yet face or accept, Obi-Wan let him get up each time rather than finishing him off.

At first he was telling himself he was showing mercy, and that he was willing the Sith Lord to come to his senses, but a deeper part of his heart knew that was only half the truth. The second half was drinking in some satisfaction in beating the monster that had haunted him for the last ten years. For that was all he could see in the mask. A monster.

It needed to end. All of it. He was done being broken.

Leaping forth after pushing Vader back again, Obi-Wan slashed at his head.

The Force screamed, demanding to be heard, and at the last second Obi-Wan corrected his swing, taking off half the mask instead of the whole head.

Shaken, he backed off, confused at the shame he felt for almost killing the Sith.

Kneeling in the dirt and gasping, Vader slowly lifted his head so Obi-Wan could see the face beneath.

Scars marred his flesh, burnt beyond recognition and yet, despite the yellow of those eyes, Obi-Wan was rattled by whispers of Anakin he could suddenly feel within the clone.

A dreadful revelation finally took root.

This was still Anakin.

Clone or no Clone, he couldn't deny this had been Anakin, through and through. And, to the Sith Lord, Obi-Wan had been his brother, his friend and his master…and he had put him in that torturous suit. He had cut off his legs, he had let him burn. He had walked away, unable to at least put him out of his misery. And now here he stood, with despair raging around him. Betrayed and helplessness in the face of his slavery to the Dark Side.

Remorse flooded his bones, aching in every joint and with that undeniable truth and Obi-Wan uttered, "Anakin."

"Anakin's gone." Vader said with bitterness, lifting his head as he slowly stood. A single tear fell from his eye. "I am what remains."

Pain overpowered Obi-Wan as the same bond he had with his Anakin also picked up this Anakin.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Anakin. For all of it."

"I am not your failure, Obi-Wan," Vader/Anakin said, glaring at him with one yellow eye that twitched with emotion and pain, almost weakly trying to absolve him of guilt while still hating him. "You didn't kill Anakin Skywalker…"

Obi-Wan stopped breathing, waiting, hoping against hope the remnants of Anakin within the twisted Clone would break through.

"I did." Vader finished as he smiled cruelly. "The same way I will destroy you."

In a flash the smoldering of light trying to surface was gone, snuffed out like a dying ember by Vader's malice.

Resolve and acceptance wrapped around Obi-Wan's grief and he half nodded, saying, "Then my friend is truly dead. Had he been alive, I would have told him that Padme believed in him to the end. She believed there was still good in you. That Anakin remained and could be saved."

He gazed at the creature before him, measuring and weighing what needed to be done in the Force.

A hushed whisper rippled, bidding him to walk away. Now. Not in cowardice, but because it was what was needed.

"Good bye, Darth." He said blandly, blocking all connection he'd felt through the bond with the Sith Lord. Happily accepting the will of the Force and leaving Vader to whatever fate it chose, the Jedi walked away.

Even when Vader screamed his name, he never looked back.

It wasn't till he was flying from the surface that he allowed his walls to fall.

Instantly his senses were flooded with the terrified scream of a little boy, and the falling of rock and stone.

"Luke!"

Sneaking around and being quiet was always just a game, a means to an end which usually involved getting out of work and pretending he was a podracer.

Tonight it was no game.

Below him, on the ground, Luke spotted the scary woman prowling along.

He'd only just made it up the ledge before she'd caught up and now he was tiptoeing along, trying to find the little cave he'd found a few months ago.

A pebble scuffed under his toes and Luke gasped when it fell down the cliff side.

His heart leapt.

She'd seen him.

With hitching breaths, the boy broke into a run again, but he slipped. His feet yanked out from under him as though an invisible hand had grabbed them and he was dragged across the sand to the edge of the ledge.

He screamed as he tried to stop himself, grabbing uselessly at the stones and sand.

This was it. He was going to die.

Something impacted his torso before he could fall the whole way, wrapping around it. Suddenly instead of skidding down the ledge towards the scary woman, Luke was somersaulting sideways through the air and falling to the ground.

He expected it to hurt, but the pained exhale of air he heard wasn't his own.

Someone had tackled him midair during his wild descent and now held him tight against their heaving chest as their arms stayed locked around him.

At first he thought it was Uncle Owen, but his uncle didn't have a prosthetic arm and he could feel the metal hand against his torso.

"Let me go!" Luke cried hysterically, pushing at the arms as the stranger slowly sat up with him. Spying the scary lady as she ignited a red laser sword, Luke's terror redoubled when the arms didn't loosen. "Let go! Let me GO!"

"Hey, hey, hey. Shhh, it's alright, Luke. You're safe now." The strange hooded man had a kind and gentle timber when he spoke, setting Luke up on his feet, looking him over for any major injury. He seemed to ignore the woman stalking towards them. "I won't let her hurt you, I promise."

"S-She attacked my home! My Aunt and Uncle! S-She's trying to kill me!" Luke whimpered, shrinking back against the rock face behind him as he looked over the man's shoulder. In his fright it didn't even occur to him that this man knew his name already.

"It's ok, Luke. Stay behind me. I won't let her hurt you." The man rose to his full height, towering over Luke as he reached into his vest and drew a long tube into his hand as he faced the woman.

"You can't help him." The woman spat. "Get out of the way."

"You don't want to do this."

"Yes I do!"

"No. You want to hurt him , Reva, not a child." The man growled, clenching his fists and relaxing them again. "But, even hurting or killing Vader won't bring you peace. The path of revenge never leads anywhere but suffering. Trust me, I know."

The woman froze.

"Who are you?" She demanded, her voice shaking with something new.

The man dropped his hood with one hand, shaking out his shaggy hair a little as he did so and letting Luke catch a glimpse of his strong face. "You know who I am."

The woman, Reva, stared at him with something akin to horror on her face before choking, "You're going to pay for what you did! I'll make you suffer! And I'm going to start with the boy!"

"Leave him alone. He's got nothing to do with any of this," said the man quietly, a warning flickering around him like a flash of lightning. The after shock rumbled with anger that made the air taste thick and Luke's hair stood on end.

"I want you to suffer, just like I have!" Reva screamed as she stalked closer.

"I know, but I'm not him , Reva," The man answered calmly despite the storm brewing around him, "And killing that boy will not bring your family back, and it will only make you the monster you seek to destroy."

Reva swung at him with the sword and Luke gasped, certain his protector was going to be sliced in half.

A Yellow laser sword blazed to life like a pillar of fire in the night, clashing against red and the man deflected her attack.

"Reva. Stop and think about this for a moment. You know me."

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT US!" She yelled, attacking again. "YOU KILLED THEM ALL!"

The man stopped the attack again almost effortlessly before striking back, driving her away from Luke in the opposite direction with careful strokes. Power radiated around him, hanging in the air as rage and focus struggled for control.

"I wasn't there. I'm not him , Reva."

"YOU'RE LYING!"

"Search your feelings, and you will find the truth. I'm not him."

Reva roared and attacked again, darkness swirling around her as Luke watched. He felt icy and cold, warmed only by the occasional wave that he caught from the man. The feeling didn't exactly mean that the man wasn't dangerous, but Luke couldn't deny that he felt like a good person.

A hand touched his shoulder and Luke jumped violently.

Turning quickly, Luke was surprised to find himself looking down at a dark haired girl who was just about a head shorter than him.

"Sorry." She whispered, big eyes glancing at the fight. "We should get somewhere safer."

"But he said to stay behind him!"

"So we go further behind! There's a ship! I'll show you." The girl grabbed his hand and dragged him a fair distance from the fight, creeping along the shadows out of sight.

"Who are you!? And who is that?" Luke asked.

"I'm Leia! And that's Ani- Orden. That's Orden, my friend." Leia told him quickly, clinging to his hand as they stumbled further into the dark. "The ship is just up here! We'll be safe there. Come on!"

Leia dragged him through a series of turns in the maze of rock before slowing down and Luke could feel her hesitation.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing! Come on! This way!" Leia gripped his hand and tugged, making to go to the left.

"Wait!" Luke dug his feet in. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Of course I do! I just got a little turned around, that's all." Leia gave him a look that was trying to be offended, but he could see the worry in her big brown eyes.

"Hey," Luke stopped her again. "It's ok if you're lost, cause I'm not! Why don't we go back to my house. It's safer there than trying to find your ship in the dark."

Leia was conflicted, silently looking for an argument before admitting defeat.

"I guess that's probably smarter than trying to find the ship." She agreed.

"Come on!" Luke tugged her hand now. "It's not too far and I want to make sure my Aunt and Uncle are ok!"

And with that the children took off into the cliffs, taking utterly the wrong path to either the ship or the Lars home.

Not skinning Reva alive was growing easier by the second, because every step of ground he gained, Anakin could see deep beneath the mask of hatred into the heart of the scared little girl beneath. She mirrored what he had been once and compassion overtook his rage after the first few minutes of fighting her.

Reva was one he remembered. She'd been one of the younglings he'd occasionally been put in charge of during his many medical recovery periods at the Temple. He always pretended to hate being in charge of the younglings but, especially after Snips became his padawan, he'd learned to love it. The tiny one's were always his favorite. Babies were simple, pure and trusting. The older children, like Reva, he spent less time with because Master Windu always complained he was a bad influence on them. Something about them pulling reckless stunts or something like that. Anakin couldn't possibly imagine where they would get all those amazing prank ideas and always swore up and down it wasn't him.

Sorrow stabbed through him, and Anakin was reminded that Reva had been terribly young when her family was ripped from her.

Now she was desperate, wounded and exhausted. Had he been Vader, Anakin could have killed her without so much as blinking. But he was not Vader, and so he carefully wore the young woman down until she was backed into a corner.

Reva tried to shove him with the Force, her terror screeching in the air around them as Anakin easily dissipated the blast with a wave of his hand. He crouched now, never taking his eyes off of her when her legs gave out and she sank shaking and gasping to the ground.

"I'm not him. I won't hurt you," Anakin told her, sensing the change in her as the terrified little girl surfaced fully before his eyes. "I'm sorry he wore my face. It wasn't me, Reva."

"Are you real?"

"Yes."

"But, you aren't him. You aren't Vader."

"No. It's a long story."

"Where were you?!" Reva cried, slumping back against the rocks and clinging to her side. "We needed you!"

"I was stuck. Imprisoned." Pain washed over Anakin as he shuffled closer to her. "I'm sorry, little sister. I should have been there. If I could go back and change it all, I would."

"Have I become him?"

The question was broken and small.

"No." Anakin shook his head, adamant. "No, you aren't him. You've walked a dark path, but you're coming home. It's time to let go, little one. Become something better than what they made you. Let me help. It's alright. Just let go."

Reva's breath hitched as he crept closer and closer, blood seeping between her fingers. She was conflicted and terrified, but when Anakin finally could reach out and touch her, taking her cloak and pressing it against the wound, the girl shattered into ragged sobs. He knew she could sense the reassurance and light he was projecting towards her along with the memories he had of her when she was small.

He hushed her, shifting a little as he got a better look at the wound. "A saber wound? That doesn't look fun. Let's see if we can't get this bleeding stopped."

Reva sobbed. "Why are you helping me? After all I did!?"

"Because. You're still my family. Just like every other Jedi who survived."

"But I hunted Jedi. I've KILLED them!"

"Reva." Anakin lifted a stern eyebrow. "I never said you didn't have a dark road or that it won't be a long, painful journey back. I said the opposite, in fact. But you have suffered enough. Don't linger there. Come home. Make something new. Be better. Prove them all wrong. Come back goodness."

Reva cried again, this time throwing her saber away from her and pulling at her hair.

"ANAKIN!"

Anakin jerked to the side, peering around the bolder. Genuine joy erupted in his chest when he saw that it was indeed Obi-Wan running towards him out of the darkness.

"You survived!" Anakin called, grinning from ear to ear. "Guess you aren't such an old man after all."

Obi-Wan bristled as he jogged the rest of the way. "We can talk about that later! Where is Luke? I felt his terror!"

"He's-" Anakin looked over his shoulder, smile fading instantly into a flat expression. "Gone."

"Gone?! What do you mean he's gone!?"

"Well I don't know, Obi-Wan!" Anakin's previous calm nearly snapped in the face of worry for his child, but Reva stiffened at the hint of his anger and he curbed it. "I saved him from falling down a cliff, told him to stay put and then I was a little busy winning over Reva!"

Obi-Wan came around the boulder and slowed, staring at Reva's tear stained face and Anakin's hand pressed to her side.

"Trade with me," Anakin ordered. "I need to go find Luke."

"I can help-"

"Help her. She needs it." Anakin rose as Obi-Wan took his place. "I can find him quickly enough. Trust me."

Without another word, Anakin ran off, saber in hand and suddenly feeling older than his years. With one child missing, he reached out in the Force to reassure himself that Leia was still on the ship.

She wasn't.

Swearing none too quietly. Anakin pressed his palms into his eyes and stood still for a moment, concentrating on the bonds he had with each child.

To his relief, they were the brightest they had ever been and he headed towards the beacons of their light.

Somehow, they'd ended up together and heading in the wrong direction for, well, anything. Not that he should really be surprised. They were his children, after all.

He found them a short while later talking in hushed voices.

"Do you think he's alright?" Luke was saying, the anxiety clear.

"He'll be alright." Leia said confidently. "He's stronger than he looks. Here, give me your other hand, this one is done."

The sweet scent of bacta filled the air and Anakin rounded the corner to see Leia tending the many scraps and cuts on Luke's hands as they sat side by side on the cold sand. Somehow, the girl had brought a little med kit from the ship. It was strapped over her shoulder.

He slowed his approach, drinking in the sweet sight of his children and wondering how he could ever give them up, yet knowing he had no choice.

"Don't you think we should try to find the way out of here?" Leia asked as she put the last bandage on his hand.

"Well…we got pretty turned around," Luke said in a small voice. "It's not a good idea to be any more lost out here than we already are. If we stay put, maybe my Uncle will be able to find us, or your friend…Orden? Wasn't that his name?"

"Yeah!" Leia got up and put her hands on her hips, staring up at the dark sky. "It's just...we should really get back to my ship. Orden might be wondering where I am."

"Oh, Orden was wondering where you were." Anakin snorted and finally revealed himself, making both children jump. He regretted it the second both sets of frightened, stressed faces turned to him.

Luke stepped forwards, as though to protect Leia, but the moment he saw Anakin, he tucked back behind her shoulder shyly.

Anakin came to a stop in front of them, leveling Leia with his sternest look because in truth he was very angry with her. "You left the ship. Again."

Leia winced. "I know you told me to stay but-"

"You promised me you would stay."

"No, I didn't."

"Leia!" Anakin's voice lifted a notch and he barely held back the wave of worried fury that rolled through him. "This is just like on Antal! Did you even stop to think how dangerous it is here?!"

"Well maybe I would have known if you had told me more about this place and what was going on!" Leia shot back, defensiveness making her cross her arms.

Exhaustion caught up with him and Anakin's temper flared. He grit his teeth, drawing a long breath and glaring at Leia as she glared back at him.

Another breath in. Another out. Oh stars, he was going to need an hour of meditation, maybe two to calm down. She was too much like him. How was he going to keep her safe if she was just like him?!

"Wait!" Luke jumped forward, shaken and painfully shy of him, but determined to defend Leia. "She just wanted to help me. She was going to show me to the ship, where we'd both be safer, but then she got turned around which isn't her fault cause it's so dark out and it's hard to find your way in here if you don't know where you're going so then we were going to go back to my house but then I got turned around too and-"

"And then we waited for someone to find us." Leia finished.

Anakin swore his eye twitched as he stared down at the two faces peering up at him. One utterly earnest, sweet and sincere while the other was etched with all the bold, sassy challenge and unimpressed exasperation of a little queen.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Anakin closed his eyes and counted to ten.

"Come on. Let's get you both home." He said finally, his tone deadly quiet as he turned to lead them back through the labyrinth of rock.