Author's notes: At this point I'd like to come in and explain a few things to those of you who may have some trouble understanding some stuff. *coughJo-Jocough* :) First off….Ani has Anakin's memories for certain reasons which I will explain later in the story. Patience people! All in good time. Second, I realize that Ani would have to be in the cloning tank for ten years for him to reach the age of twenty. May I point out that his being cloned takes place during the Clone Wars, which would mean its been a good dozen years. Suffiently, long enough for him to grow and mature in there. Actually probably to long. But does everything have to be perfect!? Thank you. I'm sorry if I bored you with this. But I couldn't help it.
I would also like to again thank you all for all your support and reviews.
To JoJo: I hope that helped with your questions. Thank you for pointing those out. They were good points. Also I'm sorry but Ani's getting hooked with someone. I can't help it. I'm a bit of a romantic myself.
To Amy: You rule! I'm so glad you like this story. I couldn't keep posting this without you.
To Hopalong Beji: You are not superior! Just because you can drive doesn't make you better than me! I know more about SW than you do! So there! DBZ fan! And I know where you live! Oh, by the way I'm posting it a little at a time to annoy you. Ha ha ha!
To N.I.K.A.N.A: You rock, girl! Hayden Christensen forever! YEAH! Thanks for your great reviews! :)
Chapter Five
Training Days
Within a few days Ani began to be able to walk and talk normally, though he still couldn't run well yet. He was glad to be nearly back to his old self again. His mood was almost always happy now. He rarely ever grew angry or upset, unless he reminisced to much on the questions that kept plaguing him. He experimented with his new found freedom by testing his body's limits. It was time to get back in shape. All previous problems forgotten for the time being, he threw himself head on into training. Even so it was with great surprise Luke found him one morning doing a lightsaber work out.
Luke watched Ani's precise movements as the probe droids hovered around him. Ani had programmed two for this session, trying to see just how rusty he was. Soon as the Force began to flow through him and he began the lightsaber dance with the bolts, it all fell into place. The lightsaber felt like part of him. He felt such a profound connection with the Force that was awe inspiring and fearful at the same time. Luke watched Ani's precision with growing impression.
Wait a minute, Luke thought, those are blaster bolts!
No Jedi fresh off an injuries or paralyze should be doing such a crazy, rash thing like that. If Ani missed stepped or even failed to sense a bolt coming, he could be injured. Luke sighed to himself. Should he stop Ani or not? He was interested to see how good the young man really was with his 'saber, but not enough to get him hurt.
I suppose this is where Anakin and I got our brashness from, he thought with a thin smile, my father.
"Ani," Luke said.
Ani stopped at Luke's voice. "Stop program, 'saber dance'." Ani sighed, and then turned to Luke. "I know I shouldn't have been doing that Luke, but I had too."
"Ani, it is good that you want to test your limits, but not to the point of chancing being hurt. Do you want to be out of training again, because of a blaster wound?" Luke reprimanded, gently.
"No," Ani looked away.
"Good, don't let me catch you doing that again without my permission, alright?" Luke instructed.
"Yes, Master," Ani nodded.
"Anakin, don't do anything without first consulting either the Counsel or myself."
Obi-Wan's voice rang in his mind. He remembered his answering being a snippy, "Yes, Master". He couldn't help it then. He'd been falling in love with Padme. A forbidden love among the Jedi Code. Was it still forbidden now? Apparently not, if Luke was married to Mara Jade, Leia Organa Solo (whom he'd also found out was Luke's sister) was married to Han, and Kam Solusar married to Tionne. He sighed, heavily. Why couldn't things have been that way for him and Padme?
"Are you alright, Ani," Luke had felt the clone's conflicting emotions.
Ani shut down his lightsaber and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking of something my Master said to me sometime ago."
Luke did not press him. "I'm gonna go check on my other students. I think Jacen and Jaina were around here looking for you."
"Ok, I'll be sure to catch up with them." Ani said.
Luke smiled and left him there with his thoughts.
Within several days, Ani had gained back all of his normal self. His confidence was boosting, as he continued to train. The Solos and their friends had agreed to help him out. They wanted to get to know him better. Tenel Ka had offered for him to come on runs with her in the mornings. The two of them would get up near the crack of dawn and run through the forest several miles down a long trail before heading back. Tenel Ka was fast and had stamina. She was beginning to find her match in Ani. He could sprint like a run away spaceship, but had the stamina to stay the distance. He liked to run through the jungle with her. He got to know his surroundings and most of the trails in the area. He also liked to try and beat her. His competitive streak would pick up sometimes, when that happened there was no stopping him. He'd beaten here the 3 out of 6 races they'd down.
Lowie taught him the finer arts of climbing, camouflage, and outdoor survival. Most of what he already knew, but needed brushing up on. He taught Ani to find footholds and handholds where it looked like none existed. Pretty soon Ani could scale the tallest of trees as well as the ginger furred wookie. He'd even scaled the Great Temple. He showed Ani how to move fast, silently, and invisibly through the Massassi tree tops. This Ani had gotten so good at Lowie could only detect him with the Force, sometimes not even then. Ani had a strange ability of being able to block out peoples' awareness of him. He was excellent at it.
Jacen taught him of Yavin 4's creatures. The menagerie in Jacen's room was filled with every kind of living thing that roamed the jungle. He loved to learn about new creatures. It became a place of study for Ani in the late afternoon hours. He helped Jacen take care of the animals in return for what he taught Ani. Jaina, Lowie, Anakin, and he had become mechanic partners. There was almost nothing Ani couldn't fix. He had Lowie's skyhopper working like brand new in two days, while it would have taken them a week or two to do. He fixed most of the droids little problems with parts and functions. Even helped Han fix up the Falcon a little, getting to fly her some in payment. But what he had his eye on to fly was Luke's X-Wing. Now there was a pretty little fighter. He was just itching to fly it.
His true nature was coming out. His confidence was treading on arrogance at times. He was headstrong, impatient, and impulsive. It made it rough on the others sometimes, because this caused some problems with his studies. All to often his mind seemed to be focused on other things then what he was doing. The only time Luke never saw this was during lightsaber practice with the clone. Ani loved to use his lightsaber and was constantly trying to talk someone into dueling with him. His competitiveness had already gotten him in trouble several times. He'd only been at the Temple for about two and a half weeks and Luke had already had to lecture him several times about his competitiveness and recklessness. This sometimes perturbed Luke. Now Luke was beginning to find out why Obi-Wan had such problems training Anakin. Ani had told Luke that Obi-Wan always said that he'd drive him insane one day.
It was in his free time though that he had the best times. He was in the process of repairing an old skyhopper labeled unsalvageable. He was fixing it up hopefully to run races in. He couldn't help but love the speed and rush racing gave him. He felt at one with his 'hopper when he flew. The others didn't know yet, except for Gabe, but they'd know eventually. With Gabe he spent most of his off time. They were becoming fast friends. Gabe liked to talk to him, finding him to be a better conversationalist now. She made him relax, slow down, and take it easy for a few hours. He was very fond of their time together. He felt guilty though for feeling that way. He was in love with Padme.
The days past quickly, full of training and work, but the questions that needed answering burned in his mind. He would not feel completely content again until he knew the truth. For now they could wait a while.
*******
Ani was walking down the halls of the Temple one afternoon on his way to find Gabe. He heard several small pairs of feet coming up behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to find three six and seven year old children following him. He bit back a chuckle, and turned to face them. Two were boys and the other a girl. It was fairly obvious that they were all siblings. All of them looked up at him with big, frightened eyes.
"Hi," He smiled. "Can I help you?"
One of the little boys nodded, put on a brave face and said, "I'm Hadwin". This is my brother and sister."
Ani nodded to each in turn, politely. This seemed to satisfy them.
"Mr.Ani," the little girl started shyly. "We want to know if you will help fix our toy."
"Well, under one condition." He smiled, at their worried looks. "I get to play with them to when I've fixed them."
Hadwin grinned. "Deal."
"Alright, what are your brother and sister's names?" He asked.
"That's Sadie," Hadwin pointed at the girl. "And that be Hunter."
"Nice to meet all of you." Ani's smile grew. "What kind of toy needs my attention?"
Hadwin held up a remote control hover car. The small repulsor was broken making it impossible for the car to hover at all. It could be easily fixed. Ani beckoned for all of them to follow him. He led them to his room where he had the proper tools to fix it. The children paused in the doorway. The room was a complete wreck. Tools, parts, mechanical equipment, and junk was scattered everywhere. There was even a half built droid in there. It looked much like Jaina Solo's room, only hers was organized more or less. If the elder Jedi had found their rooms like that they would have gotten in big trouble. Ani beckoned them in. They stepped, gingerly, over the mounds of junk, trying not to step on anything. Ani sat down at his work bench in the corner of his room. The children gathered around him, as he dug through first one pile of parts, then another before finding the part he wanted. Within moments their hover car was fixed and working even better than when they'd gotten it.
"Thank you, Mr.Ani!" Hunter smiled, broadly.
"Your very welcome. Would you like to go test it outside?" Ani asked.
Hadwin sighed, "We're not allowed to go outside without someone watching us."
"I'll be there. If you get in trouble you can blame it on me. Come on, let's go!" Ani grinned.
Ani was out the door even before the others. They followed after Ani like three shadows, skipping and bouncing along excitedly, hardly able to contain their enthusiasm. Ani looked as excited as them, but more composed. Everyone that passed them in the hallways had to smile at their antics. Once outside they had the little hover car speeding over the grass as fast as it could go. Ani showed them all kinds of fun tricks to do without. They were completely delighted with their toy. Sadie gave Ani a hug as a thank you for fixing the little car. Ani couldn't help feeling slightly embarrassed.
Gabe found Ani there playing with Hadwin, Hunter, and Sadie. She watched for a few minutes, smiling at Ani. If there was one thing she knew about men, it was that they were just boys grown bigger. And Ani was a particularly odd boy. Ani caught sight of her, said his good-byes and promised to play with them again soon.
*******
Ani paced his room that night, unable to settle down. He was exhausted after such a long day, but couldn't stifle the sense of something being wrong. Something just didn't feel right. It tickled at his sense like an irritating bug. He stretched out his feelings in the Force, trying to figure out what was causing his uneasy. A foreboding spread through him as caught the feeling of evil surrounding him. Before he could explore it farther he was interrupted by a knock on his door. Through the Force he could tell it was Luke. He opened the door allowing Luke to come in.
"Felt you're uneasy. I came to see what the trouble was," Luke explained his arrival.
"I'm not quite sure what the problem is," He said.
Luke waited for him to say more. Ani sighed to himself. "I had a bad feeling about something. Something elusive, but evil."
"Could you sense where this was coming from?" Luke asked.
Ani shook his head. "Only that it felt like it was coming this way. Coming for me, I think."
"If it bothers you anymore come and tell me. Don't worry about it to much. Until then try and get some rest, Ani," Luke advised him.
Ani nodded and showed Luke out. He smirked to himself. Don't worry, right, he grumbled to himself in his head. He flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Luke had sounded exactly like Master Kenobi for a moment. He had nearly forgotten he wasn't. He forced his mind to go blank and his body to relax. He used a jedi calming technique to calm himself down. He let all the stress of the day wear off. Within minutes he was sound asleep.
Ani felt himself hanging suspended. It was dark all around him, making him feel very much alone. He felt the fluid bubble around him and over him. He suddenly knew where he was. He felt fear and desperation run through him. The tank, his prison for what had felt like eternity. He hated it! He had to get out! He banged against the glass to no avail. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. He kicked and thrashed, becoming more desperate by the moment.
Let me out! He screamed though the Force, hoping to be heard.
A face appeared outside the tank. For a moment he thought he was staring at himself. His hopes started to dissolve, until he looked closer. That was not him. That was the twin he'd seen before outside his tank long ago. What was he doing here? He tried to reach him through the Force.
Please, get me out of here! He begged silently.
"Ani, he's coming for you. He wants to destroy you," the other warned.
Who?
"Don't give in to your hate. His destiny is not yours," the other answered.
His twin began to fade away.
Don't go!
"Ani."
A chilling, evil voice cut through the dark like a 'saber. He felt growing dread as felt this evil drawing nearer to him. He backed away from the glass, afraid of what was out there. Another face appeared through the glass, but it was vague and unfocused like a bad holo image, yet familiar somehow.
"Ani. You're mine!"
No!
"Mine!" The face laughed.
Get away from me! Terror grasped at him. He thrashed about trying to get away from this malicious figure. Who are you!? What do you want from me!?
"I want you, Ani. You're mine."
Who are you?
"Mine." the voice hissed.
Leave me alone!
"Mine." It hissed once more then was gone.
He felt as though he were drowning. The tank was drawing in closer. Trapped! He couldn't get out. He tried to swim upward, but the tank kept closing in on him. He couldn't get out!
Please, somebody-!
He was going to die. Despair filled him. He started to scream.
"Ani!"
He sat up with a jerk, gasping down a huge lungful of air. He was drenched in sweat, feeling cold and damp. His ragged breathing filled the darkness with its loud rasp. The fear from the nightmare didn't wear off. He sat there trembling, hardly hearing the banging on his door.
"Ani!"
His head came up, as the banging on the door finally cut into his senses. He stumbled to his feet, making his way to the door. He unlocked it, opened it, and found himself staring into a pair of frightened pale blue eyes. Gabe stood in the darkened hallway, looking very upset. He could feel her concern through the Force and could see it in her eyes. He felt her trying to read him through the Force and closed her off. He did not need her to see what had scared him so much. His brain was still not functioning from the aftermath of the nightmare. He felt that he was still dreaming, and that she would disappear any second.
"Ani, are you alright? I heard you cry out and felt your terror," She blurted out.
"I-," He could not get his mind to focus.
She touched his arm, gently. He looked down at her hand, then back up at her. He could feel the warmth from her hand chasing away a bit of the chill that he felt. She was real, no mistakes about that. His mind clicked back into a gear.
"What happened?" She asked. "Are you ok?"
"I was having nightmares. I'm fine now though." He told her.
"Nightmares?"
He nodded.
"So you're sure you are alright?" She asked again.
He smiled, wanly. "Yeah, it just shook me up pretty bad. That's all."
She studied, as though evaluating the truth of what he told. He found himself thinking that she looked rather beautiful. He shook his head. What about Padme? To his utter surprise he found no guilt in having thought about Gabe like that.
"Ani?" She gave him an odd look.
"Huh?"
"I'm gonna go back to my room. Good night," She said.
"Sure. Good night," He replied, as she walked away.
He slipped back into his room, shutting the door and leaned his back against the door. What had just happened? He drew on the Force, searching inward on himself. He felt as if a part of him was missing. He went to the special place in his memory where he kept everything about Padme. He touched on these memories, then felt it or rather what he hadn't felt. He knew now what was wrong. All feelings, emotions, and desires about her were gone. As though never there. He no longer felt any love for Padme, except that of affection toward a character one has read many times in a story. All that remained now were the memories of her, as though from another person's point of view. He felt a profound sense of loss.
Something horrible was happening to him. He felt the foreboding cloud his senses. Something had done this to him. He felt evil coming his way. Something was coming to get him. For a moment he again felt the choking feeling of despair creep up his throat. He took a deep breath and let out. He slumped down, wishing for someone to unload the weight that seemed to have settled on his heart. He felt suddenly very tired. He went back to his bed. He lay down, staring up at the ceiling. Before he even realized it, he was asleep.