DISCLAIMER: If I owned anything related to Star Wars, I'd have enough money to go on agood vacation and not sit in front of my computer writing about the characters.
Currently UNTITLED - anytitle suggestions would be welcomed. Reviews would also be welcomed (especially if you want more to the story). This is my first attempt at Star Wars fan fiction. If I have facts/names/anything wrong, then please let me know so I can fix it. Constructive criticism is more than welcomed.
He could feel her pain, despite the time that had passed since the occurrence. It was fresh; it lay with him every night as he closed his eyes. Her suffering, both internal and external – the pain she went through as she gave birth to the children for whom she'd lost all hope of ever knowing the man that conceived them. The gentle man who lay with her all those nights, the man for whom her heart beat and was slowly stopping as she thought of his death. The death of a man who had been lured away from good and saw light lingering in the depths of the darkness. A man who was her husband, her lover, her friend. A man who no longer existed and who without life had no existence. He could feel the pain that washed through her till the very last moment when she took her final breath.
The Sith had control, the Jedi nearly extinct and scattered across the universe where they may hide. The emperor had taken control, unstoppable with only a small formed rebellion against him. His plan had been flawed when he found himself lacking the help of Darth Vader – a newfound apprentice who was short lived, but managed to do enough damage to help guarantee him power.
Anakin Skywalker was no more. Darth Vader was no more. All that existed was a shell of a man, filled only with confusion and remorse as he had lost everything that may have once mattered. His wife was dead, his children hidden from him in fear. His friend, master, mentor was gone – fighting for what he believed in. For what Anakin had, at one point, believed in too before the dark side corrupted his mind, twisting the thoughts of a vulnerable young man who wanted only what was best for his wife. The wife he wasn't supposed to have. The wife who died because of him. Left with nothing, he found himself a clocked figure, traveling across the galaxy and never staying in one place for too long. He never allowed himself the attachment that he had once knew and lost. The pain was with him still, jabbing at his heart whenever even the faintest hint of a smile threatened his lips. He would simply remind himself that he had nothing to smile about.
The ship landed; passengers ready to leave and step onto the planet. The hooded figure sitting alone remained there – not at all faltered by the enthusiasm of the other life forms that wanted to step off the ship that had offered them a not so smooth passage to their planet of choice. Their planet of choice. Why had he chosen this one? He hadn't returned here for a long time – years. Not since the death of his mother - the angry slaughter that had taken place after he watched his captive mother die in his arms. It took him a moment, but he stepped off the transport and slowly looked around from hooded eyes. Something had drawn him here – a presence that he did not know, that he could not understand, but that also held him prisoner. A gnawing curiosity, a feeling he could not ignore. It had subconsciously drawn him here and now hit him hard. His eyes closed a moment as he tried to concentrate, to think back on his training with his master.
This didn't work – for only a moment later he was bumped in the back of the shoulder, bringing him from his thoughts. His eyes flew open as he looked at the muttering creature that walked past him. He stayed quiet, controlling his urge to say something. He'd mastered that – not drawing attention to himself. It wasn't safe for him, he knew this. His name was known – he was a traitor to both sides and an ally would be impossible to find.
Careful to keep the hood down and his guard up, Anakin Skywalker made his way through the streets of his old home. Avoiding any contact with anyone, he simply attempted to blend into the background, to go forgotten. A simple blur in the peripheral vision and nothing more. It was how he went on with his life – how he managed to live his life. He had become a thing of the past – a blur for both the Jedi and Sith who had not heard from him after the battle on the lava planet those nine long years ago. Either he was dead, or joined with the other side. The confused man that had lingered in the middle of the battle had slid off – cowering away to live a life of regret and pain. It was no way to live, but he had no other choice.
He stood. He watched. He did for years, his presence going unknown by the child but suspected by his uncle. Hidden among rocks in the cliffs, former Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi watched as the young boy grew – playing with friends with a spark that he remembered seeing in Anakin's eyes. A spark that he knew feared the boy's uncle. Luke had passion, having taken to things much like his father had. Obi Wan was aware of the similarities – they even looked alike. It was hard not to miss the resemblance and he often found himself longing for his young padawan – the boy who he trained from too late of an age, but who grew in power greater than anyone could have imagined. The force had been strong with him – but the confusion also lay there. The confusion that turned the young man towards the dark side and thus corrupted the boys mind to the ways of the Sith. Or so he believed.
Since he'd taken the infant to his uncle's, Obi Wan lingered on the planet…but Obi Wan was only a distant memory. He went by Ben now. Ben Kenobi – a rather eccentric individual, a hermit of sorts, who lived on his own. Oh, most knew of Ben and had seen him before, but they knew little about of him. They knew little of the man he had been and the fact that he fought in the Clone Wars. It was better that way, it allowed him solitude and peace – which were most welcomed to him…at times. Other times he found himself longing for another to talk to – especially when he was left alone in thoughts of the young padawan he'd failed. He was not supposed to love, yet he did. He loved Anakin, they shared a bond no other master and padawan did. It may have been because of the unusual circumstances, or simply because there was something of himself in Anakin – something that he, unlike his young apprentice, had managed to suffocate. He knew the rules, he went by them, unlike Anakin. There was always emotion in Anakin's eyes – passion. He went on his feelings, what he believed rather than what he was told to believe. Obi Wan always sensed that it'd been because of Anakin's older age, but he, unlike other, didn't necessary consider it a weakness. To be passionate about what one was fighting for? It may have been selfish, but the feeling of satisfaction afterwards was not something to be belittled. He'd begun to admire the way Anakin fought…that is, until he saw how it brought an end to Anakin and a rise to Darth Vader…and ultimately his fall, as Obi Wan had heard nothing of either name in years.
The sound of dispersing brought Obi Wan out of his thoughts as he watched the young ones each run off in the direction of their homes. A blonde headed Luke waving as he attempted to run while turned to yell out goodbyes to his friends. Obi Wan couldn't help but smile, a hand coming up and gently stroking his beard as he studied the behavior of the young boy. He wondered how his sister was – how Leia was growing up. Did she look like her mother or did she, too, have an uncanny resemblance to their father?
When they were gone Obi Wan rose – ready to head to his small home and sleep for the night. His mind was free from the lingering thoughts of the past and the child that was to be the future of the force. Before he could take his first step, he felt it. A feeling he hadn't felt in…nine years. He had paused, his eyes closed momentarily as he sucked in a deep breath. It couldn't be… It'd been years since he felt the presence, yet it was as strong as it had been all that time ago. When his eyes opened, he looked around at the deserted landscape before him.
"Anakin," he whispered upon releasing the breath he'd been holding.
He could sense the Jedi – yet there was something off. No longer did he feel the anger and rage that had radiated upon him during their last meeting. That anger that had frightened him, that had been what he'd thought was the end of the young man. What he couldn't figure out was what it was that he sensed now. There was no hatred or evil in the being he sensed – but sadness. He was here – Obi Wan was sure of it…but how did he know? Was he in search of his children? Yoda. Yoda would know what to do. He should make his way home and make contact, to question the path of actions he should take.
However, Obi Wan, for once, didn't do what he should. He did what he felt he should do – he went off in search of his young padawan.
He hated this place. After his mother had died here, he had wanted to turn his back on the planet and never return. This was what confused him – he didn't know why he was here. What was he to do? Where was he to stay? Could he search for his step-brother? The man he'd met only once. Would he be granted shelter or turned in? Part of Anakin wanted to turn around and leave – to go off to some other planet for a few days till he was to move on. But he couldn't. He couldn't draw himself away from the feeling that being on this planet gave him. It was inexplicable, but here the feelings of his past seemed stronger. Especially one. Unable to figure it out, Anakin only knew that he felt the lingering presence of his former master. It was a feeling that he held onto, because it had most often been a sense of comfort. To know there was someone looking out for him. He preferred to feel that, rather than the desperation he'd remembered of Obi Wan when he'd begged Anakin to reconsider the dark side, to turn back to the good.
"I have failed you, Anakin."
No. He hadn't. It was he who had failed his master. It was he who had to be sorry for the mistakes he'd made – but Anakin was not stupid. He was aware that the Jedi council would surely not allow him an apology and he would more than likely be put on trial…if there even was a Jedi council anyway. He'd extracted himself from what was going on in the republic.
He continued to walk through the thinning streets – listening to the music that played from the various buildings, mostly bars. One door busted open and a person was thrown out in front of Anakin's feet. He was obviously drunk. With a look of disgust, the former Jedi knight and Sith lord walked around the wobbling body and continued on. A man started up to him, clearly tipsy from the way he walked.
"Heeey, y-you!" the man called, heading to Anakin.
Anakin brought his hand up, waving it gently before speaking quietly. "You have no business with me. Go home."
The man just stood there. "I have no business with you…I'm going home."
As if nothing had happened, he simply walked (or rather staggered) towards the direction that one could only assume home was. Anakin turned, watching him out of the corner of his eye as he stumbled away. He just shook his head slowly, keeping his eyes on the ground as he continued on. He'd need to find transport out to his step brother's before it got too late – there would be a few carrying drunken passengers. He could go on those – the people wouldn't even remember him the next morning. There were so many ways to fall between the cracks, and Anakin had mastered them all. He had it all thought out, what he would do, step by step…what he didn't know was what would happen when he got there. However, he wasn't able to take the plan very far – he had yet to even reach a transport when he felt it. It took his breath away, almost knocking him over for the simple fact that he wasn't expecting it. His eyes closed tightly, his head hanging as he tried to regain his composure, to calm himself and continue on. He didn't even have time to collect himself when he felt a hand on his shoulder.