The Softest Touch

The trees flew past Anakin and Leia in a blur as they raced down the forest trail. The mountainside, their ultimate destination since the beginning of their journey, slowly inched closer towards them. Leia began to tire after running nonstop for nearly ten minutes. Rather than opt for the usual lecture or wait for her to call on the Force, Anakin grabbed her hand and dragged her after him.

"Wait!" Leia demanded. "I just needs a few seconds."

"That's a few seconds more than we can afford!" Anakin stole a glance over Leia's shoulder. A giant creature, several meters tall and heavy enough to cause earth tremors with each step, emerged from the forest. One of its three snakeheads turned to look their way and shrieked. The high pitch made Leia wince. The other two heads hissed at them as the creature's whole body pivoted. The black fur all over its feline body stood on end like porcupine quills. Giant claws scraped the ground as it charged.

"Sithspawn!" Anakin cursed. "Come on!"

He pushed Leia ahead before turning back to the creature. He seriously considered Force strangling one of its heads, but he wasn't sure of the spiritual consequences. Even if he could get away with it, there was no way he could concentrate on all three heads at the same time, which was exactly why it had three heads in the first place. Instead, Anakin Force grabbed several trees and launched them one after the other. As he walked backwards, trees ripped themselves from the ground in a domino effect. Most of them bashed the three heads just enough to stun the trio. The creature's forward half and all three of its heads fell to the ground. Anakin quickly turned and chased Leia towards the mountain. He easily caught up with her. She was too fatigued to continue running and too confused to draw strength from the Force.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"The Force wall is here," Leia said between pants, "but something is wrong."

Anakin could sense it, but the sounds of the creature returning to consciousness encouraged him to take a risk anyway. He reached out to touch the Force wall, but he felt something invisible push him away. "What the hell is this?"

The Force wall shimmered in the air without being touched. An image emerged from the center of the shimmering. It coalesced just enough to be visible like rippling water. A giant face pulled itself forward and opened its eyes.

Leia stepped back. "Is this supposed to happen?"

"I don't know," Anakin answered. "I've never seen this before."

The watery face opened its mouth. "This is the bridge of life and death. Who dares to cross it?" Its voice sent a deep vibration they could feel through their feet.

Leia took a deep breath. The words sounded ridiculous as she said them, but she didn't know what else to do. "I dare to do so. I am alive. I must return to the living."

"Are you worthy?" the face asked.

"Huh?" Leia looked back at Anakin. He was focused on the creature getting back to its feet, but he showed he was listening by twirling his finger at her as a signal to hurry up. Leia turned back to the watery image and held her head up. "Yes."

"Then enter, Jedi."

The face pulled itself back into the Force wall and dispersed until it completely disappeared. Before Leia's eyes, a plain wooden doorjamb and a door without a knob appeared where the face had previously been.

"Is this it?" Leia asked in confusion.

"I don't care!" Anakin said as he stood behind her and faced the creature. "Just go." He held his hands up as the creature stood and shook itself. All three heads shrieked again and charged at Anakin. He braced himself as he launched a powerful Force wave. The wave collided with the creature and caused it to slide backwards a short distance. The creature drove its claws into the ground and struggled against the wave. Anakin strained as he poured more energy into holding the creature back. Lightning flashed between them. A wind that grew stronger by the second blew through Anakin's hair. The energy of the struggle began to push him backwards.

"Go on!" he ordered. "I can't stand here forever!"

Leia nodded and ran to the door. She pushed it. The door didn't budge. "Oh no," Leia groaned as she pushed harder. The door remained closed. Leia slammed her shoulder against it. The door pushed back against her.

"What are you doing!" Anakin yelled over the lightning and wind.

"The door won't open! It's fighting back!"

"Well do something! I'm running low on fuel over here!"

The creature's leftmost head pushed itself through the Force wave. Anakin leaned to the side to avoid being snapped in half, but he compromised part of the Force wave. As the head drew back to attack again, Anakin threw his hands up again to reinforce the wave.

Leia continued pushing against the door, but the harder she pushed, the more the door resisted. One final push caused her to lose her footing and slide to the ground. She was too frustrated to get up again.

"I can't do it."

"Come on!" Anakin screamed. "You have to get through!"

"I can't. I can't do it." Leia bowed her head. A million thoughts rushed through her head as she tried desperately to figure out what to do.

"Don't tell me we went through all this for nothing!" Anakin demanded. A bolt of lightning flashed past Anakin's head. His boots left trails as he continued slowly sliding backwards. "I didn't go through all this just to see you give up at the end!"

"Give up?" Leia said too quietly to be heard. "I had to give up once before." She thought back to her lightsaber battle with Anakin earlier on the lava planet Mustafar. She had to completely submit herself to the Force to succeed. "Maybe that's the key."

Leia stood and pushed against the door again. The door pushed back as expected. Leia stepped away and held her hand up. She pushed against the door with the Force. It still did not budge. A sudden energy blast from Anakin's battle with the creature slammed Leia against the door. She stayed in this position as she continued searching for a solution. She pushed again with the Force, but the door refused to move.

"Now what?" she said to herself. "I need help."

"You can't do that," she heard someone else say.

Leia gasped when she realized it was her dead son's voice. "Anakin?" she whispered.

"You can't do that," Anakin Solo's voice repeated. "You cannot use the Force to impose your will upon others. That way leads to the Dark Side."

Leia shook her head in confusion. A second energy blast slammed her again.

"Hurry up!" her father called.

Leia stood back. She held her hand up as if to push the door with the Force again. As she did so, a new thought flashed through her mind. "I can't impose myself," she said. Suddenly inspired, Leia reached for the door. She lightly tapped it. It swung open.

Leia's mouth dropped open. "I did it!" she screamed. "I did it!"

The watery face reappeared above the door. It opened its mouth as two energy beams instantly shot from its eyes and a third from its mouth. Each beam impaled the creature's three heads. After the beams disappeared, each head slumped forward as the body crashed to the ground. Anakin stumbled as the Force wave flew over the corpse. He succeeded in maintaining his balance for only a few seconds.

Leia ran to his side, but he waved her off as he picked himself up. "I am so glad that's finally over," he said as he stood. "What did you do?"

"Easy," Leia said with a smile. "I asked it nicely. A certain someone reminded me that the softest touch is granted the most obedience."

Anakin furrowed his brow, but did not bother to ask for an explanation. They both turned towards the open door. There was pure dark emptiness behind it, but there was nothing threatening within it. They were sure that was Leia's way home.

"I never would have thought of that," Anakin finally confessed. "Now I've been bested by both of my children."

"Maybe that's the whole point of having children," Leia playfully suggested. She looked at Anakin as if to say something, only to find herself at a loss for words.

Anakin knew what she wanted to say anyway. "If you don't want to say goodbye, then don't. We'll see each other again soon enough."

"I was going to say thank you," Leia lied.

Anakin nodded. "Of course you were."

Leia bowed her head. "There is one last thing I wanted to clear up before I left."

"Uh huh?"

She tried to smile at his feigned indifference. "You said that my mother broke your heart."

"Stop right there," Anakin interrupted. "Let's get that bit of information correct. She died on me after promising that she wouldn't, but I betrayed the Jedi and everything she believed in because I was trying to stop it from happening. Does that help?"

Though she knew she shouldn't have, Leia felt a bit abashed for bringing up the topic. "Yeah. Sorry." Leia sighed. "Boy, this is awkward."

Anakin seized her arm and spun her around so she was facing him with her back to the open door. "If you really want to thank me, then do it by living the rest of your life to the utmost."

Leia shook her head. "I had no intention of doing otherwise."

"Then my work here is done." Before Leia could respond, Anakin pulled her close for an embrace. She cringed at first, then convinced herself to relax. "Give Luke and the others my love," he said.

"I can do that," Leia answered, "as long as you give mine to Mom and my son."

Anakin released her and stepped back. He gave her a smile that was reassuring while simultaneously clandestine. "Consider it done."

Still smiling, he pushed her backwards into the emptiness beyond the doorway. There was a falling sensation as she watched Anakin and the door grow smaller. She saw Anakin salute with two fingers before the door closed.