Chapter Eleven

Saying Goodbye

          Ani lay in bed thinking of the many things that had happened over the course of the last twenty-four hours. His life had changed significantly in many ways. He had fought and killed his worst enemy. He had suffered great wounds and lost all contact with his previous self. He had cheated death by a breath it seemed like. For a while he had been technically dead to the others around him. All had changed because of one person. Anakin Skywalker.

            He was sad to think that he would only get to see his mentor one last time. What would it be like not to have Anakin there to turn to? He wondered fleetingly if he'd made the right decision in choosing to stay. He looked over at Gabe sleeping in the chair beside him, and banished the thought from his mind. Why did he even dare to doubt his decision? He shook his head and sighed.

He had only a few hours until he would say good-bye to Anakin. He had been lying staring at the ceiling with a fixed stare, letting the Force work in his body. He was slowly gathering strength to be able to go out and meet Anakin in the fields surrounding the Temple. He did not want his last moments with his mentor to be in this room. Besides he felt it had been ages since he'd been able to see the sky.

He could feel the Force healing the internal injuries that were causing him so much pain.  That was what had told him that he was alive when he came awake again. Pain was the one thing he'd known right off was real. It had flooded his senses, and even though he hurt so much he had been happy to experience it. He was fortunate to be to able to breath once more.

He closed his eyes for a moment. He saw brief flashes of his life and Anakin's still mingled together. Perhaps it would always be that way. They were bound to one another. Their lives were one. If it weren't for Anakin, he would not be alive. He sighed. Still he found it hard to sometimes tell the difference between the two lives. He still wished at moments that he really was Anakin, but then he looked at all that his mentor had suffered through and was glad that he was not.

He slowly drifted off to sleep, dreaming of many things. None of which he remembered later.

Ani felt a stirring in the Force. He was being called. He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. He knew it was time to go out and meet Anakin one last time. He sat up tentatively, using the Force to dampen the pain. Beside him Gabe stirred on her chair and woke up. She looked over at him, as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. She stood up and helped him to his feet.

Together they walked out of the infirmary to the waiting room. Ani leaned heavily on Gabe, he was still weak from his many wounds. In the waiting room the others had fallen asleep all over the couches and chairs. Why they had stayed Ani did not really know. Perhaps they had wanted to be there to when Anakin came to say good-bye. Luke shifted on one of the couches. Sensing Ani was there, Luke awoke with a start. He climbed to his feet, and stood on Ani's other side helping Gabe support him.

The little trio walked across the waiting room to the door. Around them the others were coming awake as well. Ani could feel the Force call becoming stronger. It sent ripples in the Force to the others. They all felt the effect of the call and come awake. Within moments they were following Ani, Gabe, and Luke down the halls of the Great Temple. They were making they're way toward the fields outside.

The sun was just rising over the tops of the Massassi trees when they stepped outside. The golden rays illuminated the jungles beyond in a beautiful array of glowing greens. Animals called to each other in the distance and birds sang in the early dawn. Everything was peaceful. Everything was in harmony with the Force

Ani urged them all out into the center of the field. They all stood in a small group awaiting Anakin's arrival. The Force felt like it was spiraling around them. They could sense the approaching new presence coming toward them. They could not however see anyone. Suddenly, there was a small glowing orb that appeared out of no where. It hung suspended in mid-air a few feet from the ground. As they watched it grew larger, glowing ever more brightly still. The orb grew in size quickly, it's light radiating out from it. The light became to intense and blinding to look at. In a bright flash it expanded, taking on the form of a man.

The light diminished about the man until it just wrapped around him like a warm, shimmering cloak. The features of the man were now recognizable. It was Anakin, dressed in old Jedi robes. He looked younger than when they had last seen him. He appeared to be only a few years older than Ani. His face had a wise, regal look to it. He smiled at them, folding his hands inside his robes, and walked forward.

Everyone watched Anakin anxiously. They did not know what to do or how to react to this. Ani shook off Luke's and Gabe's hands. He straightened up, ignoring the pain, and walked slowly out to meet Anakin. The two met a few paces from the others. Neither spoke or moved for a long moment.

   "This is the last time I can come to you," Anakin said, sadly.

   "What will I do with out your guidance?" Ani asked, bitterly.

Anakin smiled broadly, then began to laugh much to the surprise of them all. "You are the first to ever have wanted my guidance. The first I have ever gotten to mentor to. Ironic that such an amazing thing should happen to me only after my death."

Ani smiled back.

   "You will be alright, Ani. You have Luke and your friends to turn to for guidance," Anakin answered Ani's question, looking intently at his son for a long moment. "And don't forget you always have Gabe."

Gabe blushed as Anakin flashed a smile her way. Anakin's face became serious. "I will always be here. You can still ask me for advice. I will not be able to answer you, but look to the stars for a sign and you will know that I am listening."

   "I will miss you," Ani sighed.

   "You will see me again, but not for sometime," Anakin assured.

They stood quietly for another long moment.

   "Tell Luke my story, Ani," Anakin finally said.

Luke looked with surprise at his father.

   "You deserve to know, Luke. You and Leia deserve to understand," Anakin told him. "Tell the galaxy about me. Tell them my story, Luke, so they can understand too."

Luke nodded. "I will."

The Force stirred once more as another presence made itself known. Instead of slowing coming as Anakin did, this one simply materialized behind Anakin. They could make out the figure of a woman through the brilliant beams of light. Anakin held out his hand and woman walked forward to take it. Her features became more distinguishable with each step closer she took. They all knew her at once, as she came to stand beside Anakin. Her gentle brown eyes swept over all of them and a soft, sweet smile was upon her lips.

   "It is time to go," she spoke to Anakin, her voice quiet.

Anakin nodded, sadly. "I must leave now, Ani. The Force will watch over you and protect you. When all else seems to fail you rely on the Force."

The woman took a step toward Ani and touched his face. "Never give up on love, Ani. Never," her voice was full of conviction, as if she were willing him to believe her words.

Ani swallowed hard. "Never."

She smiled and kissed his check gently. Her eyes then turned to Luke and Leia. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at them both. Leia met her eyes, trying to fight her own tears that streamed down her face. Leia clung to Luke's arm like he was her anchor in her world of lost memories and visions. Luke could only stare, open mouthed at the beautiful woman. He did not know what to say or do. He just stood totally transfixed by her.

    "Mother," Leia choked out.

Padme reached out to Leia. "Leia, my beautiful grown up daughter." She touched Leia's face and the tears in her eyes spilled down her cheeks. "My daughter. You have done well for yourself. I am so proud of you."

Leia closed her eyes, as Padme caressed her face. She could not feel her mother's hand, but the sensation through the Force told her it was really there. Padme looked at Luke, who was still at a lose for words. She started to cry a little harder. The sadness on her face was like a sharp pain in his heart. Seeing such a beautiful creature cry seemed to torment his very soul.

   "I never got to know you, Luke. I never got to see you grow up. I never got to spend time with you. You were swept away from me so quickly," Padme cried, placing both hands on the sides of his face. "You are so much like your father. Same blue eyes, the same smile." She paused again. "I wish I could have been there for you both. I wish I could have seen you grow up. I wish I could have been there."

   "Mom," Luke murmured.

She smiled.

   "Padme," Anakin whispered, sorrowfully.

She turned to regard her husband. She knew they had to go. They could not linger here. She kissed both her children's faces before returning to Anakin's side.

   "Good-bye," Padme whispered to them all.

   "May the Force be with you, Ani, and grant you a long, happy life," Anakin said his final farewell.

Together, Anakin and Padme, turned and walked away toward the jungle. The Force swirled around them. A radiant glow surrounded them and little by little they faded away from view until they were gone entirely. Ani walked back to Gabe, who took his hand in hers. Slowly, everyone turned away from the last place Anakin and Padme had stood. Together, they all walked back to the Temple in silence.

Epilogue

            Luke stood beside a holoprojector. He was in the one of the biggest Holocomm company buildings on Coruscant. He stood before an audience of thousands of sentient beings, and the Holocomm's broadcasting crew. Tonight, he had a special "program" to give to everyone. It would be transmitted everywhere in the galaxy, so that everyone could see it. He could sense their curiosity and their wonderment, maybe even a touch of fear at what he was going to tell them.

                      "Good evening to all of you from all over the galaxy," he began, "I am sure all of you know who I am, so I will just go directly to what I have to tell  you tonight."

            No special, grand opening that went on forever. He went straight to the point.

                      "Tonight, I have come before you to share the information that I have so recently acquired," he paused, smiling at some of the fearful looks that crossed people's faces. "No, it is not information of another great threat or of anything of that nature. It is, however, information about a person. A person who was, and is important to us in more ways than one. I am here tonight to tell his story, as he would have wanted it told."

            He switched the holoprojector on, and it immediately projected out a picture that had been enlarged for better viewing purposes. It was the picture of three children, dressed in large, rough clothing. The first was a bothan boy, in the center a blond haired, blue eyed boy, and last a dark haired, dark eyed boy. All of them were smiling, despite the fact that it was obvious they were slaves.

                     "By now I've probably baffled you all into extreme curiosity," Luke smiled once more, then pointed to the blond haired boy in the center of the picture. "That, my friends, is Anakin Skywalker."

            A hush fell over the audience. It was as though no one dared to breathe for fear missing even one word of what Luke would say. Luke clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at them all.

                     "It is his story I will tell tonight, and I hope you will listen to it with as much appreciation as I felt when I first heard it," he stated.

             Then he began Anakin's story. He told it all, little by little to the entire galaxy, who listened with rapt attention. Billions and trillions of sentient beings were fixed to their holoscreens. All over the galaxy sentient beings had hurriedly flipped on their holoscreens to record this. There were few out there who missed this program. Luke told them all of Anakin's life. Of his failings and his successes, of his hardships and joys, his sufferings and pain, of his one brilliant, true love that gave birth to the twins, Luke and Leia, of his seduction by the dark side after the death of his beloved, and of his downfall that would tear apart the last remnants of a once great Republic. With each part of the story he told he showed them all the images that Kitster had so willingly gave to him. Each one revealing a piece of Anakin's life. They could hardly believe that this was truly the man that Luke claimed, and yet they could not deny the truth and sincerity in his words. Luke told it all to the best of his knowledge and abilities. Luke told it with tears in his eyes, and emotion threatening to make his voice waver. He told this story of a man who had been forgotten by all, and was at last being remembered for what he had once truly been.

            When Luke had finished, he took a deep breath and gazed out into his audience. His eyes seemed to pierce them. Alien, humanoid, and humans alike were struck by the intensity in his eyes. Not a single on was left untouched by the profound emotions they saw lurking in the depths of his blue eyes

                      "Tonight, I gave you the story of a man who touched all our lives. A man that lived inside Darth Vader. The man that I pulled back from the depths of the dark side, and redeemed," he paused, then went on in a stronger, louder voice. "The man who defeated the Emperor. A man who gave his life for the sake of peace in our galaxy. A warrior with honor, dignity, and kindness. The Chosen one. The man who brought balance to the Force and the galaxy. The greatest, most powerful Jedi of them all…," again he paused. He flipped the 'projector to the last remaining image. An image of Anakin, in his early twenties, caught in the act of laughing. His joyful, handsome face was burned into their memories.

                     "This is the man I am proud to say is my father," tears threatened to overwhelm Luke. "This is Anakin Skywalker!"

            With that he nodded his thanks to them all. He picked up his projector, bowed a farewell, and walked away. For a long moment no one moved. Then a soft applause began that soon escalated to a grand scale. Everyone rose to their feet and cheered. They all finally understood, as Luke did, what Anakin had sacrificed for their sakes. Their cheering and applause lasted for a long time. No one would ever forget Anakin Skywalker ever again.