"Master Anakin?" says a hesitant voice, wiping away the last traces of foggy sleep from my mind, "Master Anakin, can you hear me?"
"Yes--who is this? Threepio? What are you doing here?"
"I have been instructed to keep watch over you, and alert Mistress Padme and Master Kenobi when you awake," he answers politely.
"Well, I'm definitely awake. But why couldn't they just wait in here for me themselves?" I wonder aloud.
"I'm afraid I'm not quite sure. But my, you do look so much better. I must admit I was worried when I saw you, but this is really astounding!"
"What do you mean?" I look down at my body, amazed, and the burden is wiped from my mind as well.
Both of my hands look real. I move them, and they feel real too. The only thing that alerts me to the fact that these aren't flesh and blood it the faint whirring sound they make when I move them. The new skin, over the places where Obi-wan cut me, is paler than the rest, and softer. But I can hide that easily.
I sit up and look at my legs. They seem a little longer than before, and maybe stronger, but they are so much better than the clunky mechanical ones the Council would have issued me.
There isn't a mirror, so I reach up and touch my face. The skin is not longer scraped raw and burnt, though it feels very thin. I feel the top of my head and am delighted to feel short, wispy stalks of hair growing up to replace what was singed away.
My breathing is easy without an oxygen mask, and painless, as I ask Threepio, "How long have I been out of it?"
"Two weeks," is the answer.
"What? Two weeks? That can't be right."
"It seems there were some complications after the surgery, an infection or something of the sort," he responds calmly to my outraged voice as he presses a small button on a remote he's holding. "That will contact them; they have the other ones," he explains.
I sit back. There really isn't anything to do but wait.
It doesn't take long; Padme arrives within five minutes of Threepio's radio signal.
"Anakin, you look so wonderful. Are you feeling alright?" she questions in a guarded tone.
"I'm fine. How are you and the babies?" I ask, changing the subject so that she will not find out about my dreams.
"Oh...Anakin, the babies--" she breaks off into a choked sob.
"What's wrong?" I ask in a high pitched voice, completely unnerved.
"It's...nothing, I guess. They're both safe. But...I had to send them away. Oh, Anakin, I'm a horrible mother! I gave my babies away!"
"What happened?" I growl above her uncrontrolled weeping.
"The Chancellor's alive--and he knows I was pregnant. And he's put a bounty on their heads. But he didn't know it was twins, so he's only looking for one. So I had to separate them. Luke's on Naboo in the care of the queen and Leia's on Alderaan with Bail Organa and his wife. And I get messages and pictures everyday. But I miss them...so...much!" I stand up, distantly awed at the legs that have been created for me, and take her in my arms, running my hand through her hair as we embrace.
"Ani, I'm just so scared. He could find them despite everything. And they won't even remember me when they come back!" she cries desperately, "They won't even know their mother." She swallows, and says, as if trying to justify herself, "I wouldn't have done it, Ani, but they're so strong with the Force--all that raw power--he'd recognize it for sure if they were together. You and Obi-wan can at least mask it..."
"Padme, my love, don't worry. Everything will be right. I'll find him. I'll kill him!" I put my hands on either side of her face and look into her eyes. "I promise."
"Anakin--"
"No."
I turn away from her
I can't believe I ever thought Palpatine was my friend! He was plotting to destroy everything the entire time. The Jedi...the Republic... He made me kill younglings and my friends--
No. No one made you do that. You did that yourself.
A part of me still struggles against the idea that one of my most trusted friends for more than half of my life, one whom I'd maybe even trusted more than Obi-wan, could possibly be so totally evil.
Just because he's a sith, argues the stubborn voice, doesn't make him evil. He just...has a different worldview than you.
Okay. So maybe I could accept someone being a sith. The way you use the Force doesn't automatically make you good or evil, does it?
But so many of the things Palpatine has done are evil. Storming the Jedi Temple to make his new apprentice stronger, for one. It almost seems as if that apprentice is a different person, a differen life. Maybe it is. I've had so many lives. Slave. Padawan. Hero-Without-Fear. Darth Vader.
But now I am Father, and all I can see in my old friend is that he's caused my family to break up. Scattered across the galaxy.
And I will find him. And I will get revenge, for everything. I will kill him for taking my children. I will kill him for lying. For destroying democracy. For hurting Padme.
But most of all I will kill him for myself. For taking advantage of me when I considered him a friend; almost a second father.
I will kill him, and bring Order, and fulfill the Prophecy.
And then perhaps my burden will be lifted and I will have peace.
I jerk suddenly back to the present, to Padme. "Where are we?" I ask, gesturing vaguely around the strange room. It's completely white, except for a hard silver box in each corner with electric currents running through.
"A system called Harrulop. This is one of the rooms in the medcenter. They moved you here after you caught an infection--probably saved your life. This room is special because it can mask some Force signals, with magnets and things, so Palpatine won't find you," she says in a shaky voice, "Obi-wan's in the other one. I would have hidden the twins, but the magnets aren't nearly strong enough. They can only hide so much on their own, the rest has to be masked manually by the person. And the babies can't do that yet...so it wouldn't do any good," she says, as though trying to convince herself. "It's worked for you the past while because you've been so close to dead, and they're okay for Obi-wan because he can use a mask. But the babies...they would have shown right through, and brought Palpatine here to kill us all, or take them to train."
"You did the right thing," I assure her gently, "I'll find the Chancellor, and then we can all be together again. He may have defeated Yoda, but he'll be no match for me," I declare confidently, "But first, I need to talk to Obi-wan to see if he had any plan in mind; where is he?"
"He's next door, in another room just like this. But you'll have to communicate by commlink. I'm told that even with the strongest masks a little of your presence will still still leak through without the manufactured masks. And if the Chancellor finds out you're alive, Ani, that will make it that much harder to win. And if you and Master Obi-wan are in the same one of...these," she says, waving her hand helplessly, "then your presence will leak through. It's just not strong enough. Speaking of which, I should go. I know I'm not strong with the Force, but you are, so much that even I might be enough to push through the shields and give us away."
I bow down and kiss her hungrily. It's been so many lifetimes since I've tasted your soft lips...so many eons.
She breaks away tenderly, and retreats out the door.
A few minutes later I find myself speaking to a hologram Obi-wan. "Anakin!" he says warmly, "you look so much better. How are you feeling?"
I frown. "Actually Master, I had another dream."
He looks stricken; I suppose I can understand that, my dreams have cost him a lot.
"It wasn't one of those," I reassure him, "but it confused me. Mace Windu, and some of the Padawans and youngling were there, and they talked to me."
"That sounds like an ordinary dream," he says, bewildered.
"No. It was different. They were really there, in the Force. They spoke to me."
"It's supposed to be impossible to retain a sense of self after becoming one with the Force."
"I know, that's what confused me. They were definitely dead, but they hadn't really become one with the Force, they were just parted from their bodies." Exactly, says a voice (that sounds suspiciously like Qui-Gon Jinn), I couldn't put it better myself.
Obi-wan frowns. "I don't understand any better than you do. But I'm sure the Force will make things clear to us in time. For now, I believe we have things to discuss."
"Yes. Do you have any idea where Sidious is hiding?"
"That's the thing; he isn't hiding at all. We've been in contact with Bail Organa, and he tells us that Palpatine has continued running things like nothing ever happened. We have no clue as to what his motives may be, but he surely has something up his sleeve."
"This is tricky," I agree, "What are we going to do?"
He gives a wry grin. "Wait until he's fairly certain we're both dead--and then attack."
"Good in theory," I allow, "but he must be planning something. I think we're going to be forced to action sooner than we'd like."
"I do hope not," he murmurs.
By unspoken mutual assent, we agree that the conversation is over and turn off the links.
I mess with Threepio's proggramming for a while, trying to help him be a better fighter. It was something I'd never thought to do, and it kept me relatively amused until a while later. Padme walks in. "It's time for the transmissions on the twins, and I thought you might want to watch," she explains.
I nod, and wait to see my children.
There is my son, sleeping, eating, crying. All the things I'm missing are sent to me in pictures. A poor excuse.
Then should come my daughter. But instead of the angelic face I remember, Bail Organa appears on the screen. "Padme," he says in a low vioce full of just hidden panic, "the Chancellor brought a battalion of clones here today. He killed over five hundred people, we couldn't stop him. And...he took Leia."
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A/N:
Hey people, let me inform you why I didn't update. First, my birthday was the thirteenth. Second, a rather major literary event occured. If you were not aware of that, then I won't even try to guess what galaxy you're from. Personally I didn't like it much. I'd say three out of ten. It was okay, but the characters felt so flat--well I'm not here to deliver a review. I am speaking of course of the new HARRY POTTER BOOK. Third is the arrival of our new puppy.
So yeah, please rview, whether you loved it hated it or somewhere in between.