Well, thank you for your reviews! They are greatly appreciated!
Black's Phoenix: Good idea, I was going to go for purple, because I like that color, it's kinda a cross between red for Dark and blue for Light. But the honoring Qui-Gon is an excellent idea. Thank you!
Angel Sanada: Thank you for reviewing, I love getting reviews! Here's the next chapter!
ShortOfDaybreak: Woo hoo! I love reviews like that! I wasn't at sure first how the mutant thing was going to be liked, but now that I've gotten your review, I feel much better! Thank you so much! Hope you like this chapter!
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Chapter 10
Obi-Wan slowly made his way through the busy streets of Coruscant until his spotted Vader's house. Or palace, rather. He quietly used the Force to distract the guards and strode up the steps before entering the palace. He looked around him and hurriedly tiptoed towards Elena's room, where she was quietly sleeping.
The sound of a lightsaber being ignited stopped him in his tracks. He turned around to see Vader standing there, his lightsaber ready.
"Darth Vader," Obi-Wan said worriedly, "I expected your palace to be a little more guarded. But I have to admit, it is a rather nice place."
"Obi-Wan," Vader said, angry, "You should not have come back. I know why you're here."
"Why?"
"You want to take my daughter away from me," Vader spat.
Obi-Wan glared at him. "She is not safe in the hands of a Sith lord," he returned, "You will turn her into a Sith! And what do you think the Emperor will do once he discovers her amazing Force abilities? He will order you to kill her immediately!"
"That will not happen," Vader retorted, his voice raising.
"You know that it will, Vader, whether you like it or not. Elena will die if she stays here," Obi-Wan yelled furiously.
"NO!" Vader bellowed, taking a step towards him, "She will not!"
Before either of them could say anything more, a large group of stormtroopers ran up behind Obi-Wan and put their guns in attack position. Vader tried to tell them to stop, but they shot the Jedi down, firing until he lay unmoving on the ground.
"Stop!" Vader cried, holding up a hand. The stormtroopers were thrown back against the wall and did not move. Vader knelt down and turned Obi-Wan over.
To his astonishment, his old master's eyes slowly opened. "Anakin," he gasped, "Take... care... of her. Do not... let her... die... innocent.."
"She will not," Vader replied, strangely touched by Obi-Wan's words.
The older Jedi smiled weakly. "She... loves... you... Anakin..." he said hoarsely, and his head rolled to one side, eyes closed. Obi-Wan was dead.
Vader knelt there for a moment, too troubled to move. His old master had finally died, and now he did not know what to think. He slowly rose to his feet and strode away from the body, which disappeared.
Suddenly Vader glanced back, quickly put out his hand, and called Obi-Wan's lightsaber to him. It was the latest addition to his collection. He held it in his hands as he walked back into the training room, and studied it before placing it on one of the empty racks. Vader whisked around and quickly marched out of the room, not once looking back.
----
"Yo, M. J.," Elena called to Mara from across the hall.
Mara turned around to face her. "What's up, Lana?" she shouted back, waving.
"Not much," Elena replied, "Come on, we're gonna be late for Math class if we don't hurry up."
"I'm right there," Mara answered, and slammed her locker shut before running after her friend. Elena had not the slightest idea of what had happened with Obi-Wan and Vader, she didn't even know that Obi-Wan existed.
Vader did not want to tell Elena what had transpired, he felt that he would tell her when she was older. He prayed that she would not notice the new lightsaber in the training room, but with her sharp senses, he greatly doubted that it would get past her notice.
Elena had finally finished most of her grueling classes, and now it was time for gym, which was one of her favorite classes. Today, they were doing gymnastics, and she was ecstatic about it. "This is gonna be so much fun!" she whispered excitedly to M. J., who was right in front of her.
"The Emperor taught me a little bit about this kinda stuff, but not much," Mara replied worriedly, "I hope I do okay."
"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Elena reassured, patting her on the shoulder.
When it was Mara's turn to go, she nervously got up on the balance beam and did a couple of stunning flips in the air, causing everyone to ooh and ahhh with astonishment. Mostly everybody clapped, and Mara was quite happy with her performance.
Next it was Elena's turn. She easily lifted herself onto the beam and got herself ready to do some flips. But just as she was about to jump into the air, the beam cracked and broke in two, sending Elena crashing to the ground, with the broken pieces of the beam falling right onto her.
The teacher and the students gasped in shock, and the teacher ran over to her, calling, "Miss Skywalker! Miss Skywalker, are you all right?"
What do you think, you idiot! Elena retorted crossly, I'm buried under two really heavy pieces of balance beam!
You're WHAT! Vader's voice rang out in her head, sounding shocked and concerned.
Elena groaned mentally. Hi Dad, how we doin' today, she said weakly.
Elena, what is going on? Are you all right? Vader questioned worriedly.
Never better, she grumbled. Oh boy, here comes the teacher. I.. uh... ow! She winced, I'm in a lot of pain right now, so maybe I'll see you down at the med center or something like that, she continued.
I shall send a medical speeder right away, Vader responded, And be careful! I don't want to lose you right after I found you.
Elena felt touched by his words. Thanks Dad, she replied happily, That makes me feel a lot better.
"Miss Skywalker!" the teacher's voice called out, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"I, I'm under here, Mr. Langston," she replied rather weakly, "It hurts to move at all."
"Don't worry, we'll get you out," he answered, and tried to move the beams. Eventually he had to get some help from the med helpers, who arrived and took Elena to the Medical Center. She was diagnosed with a broken arm and a broken leg. But the doctor was surprised that she didn't have any other serious injuries.
"This is very confusing," Doc Scanter went on, "You should have come out with a lot more injuries than this, since those beams were not made of rubber, but you didn't."
Elena shrugged. "Maybe I'm immune," she grinned, and winced when her leg moved.
Vader at that moment entered the room. "Elena, what have you done to yourself now?" he questioned in concern, hurrying up to her. "Nothing serious, I hope?"
The Doctor smiled at Vader's unusual thoughtfulness. Maybe being a parent was good for him.
"Eh, I'll be fine," Elena replied, "Thanks for coming down. I hope these breaks will hurry up and get better soon, because it'll be annoying to have to go around in a wheelchair or something like that."
"Or maybe we'll amputate them and give you droid limbs," Vader returned dryly, ruffling her hair again.
She glared at him. "Ha ha ha, oh that's so hilarious," she retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
Vader looked at her before turning to Doctor Scanter. "Do you know how she became injured, Doctor?" he questioned him.
Scanter nodded. "Yes, she fell and was crushed by two large beams. She actually should have been knocked out, or maybe even killed by the impact, but all she suffered was a mild break in her arm and a small fracture in her knee. They should heal within the next few weeks or so."
"Thank you," Vader acknowledged, nodding shortly. "Elena, come now, it is time we went home now."
"All right," she sighed, "Thanks again, doc."
Scanter smiled. "No problem," he replied, "Take care, Elena."
Vader helped Elena get down off the table and held her up as she limped to the wheelchair. He then pushed her out of the doors and out into the hall, with the doc watching them, amused. It wasn't everyday one saw the Dark Lord of the Sith pushing a young girl in a wheelchair out of a doctor's office.
People in the waiting room and passer-bys stared at the pair as they passed. Elena grinned at the shocked looks they were giving them, and Vader was undisguisedly amused. "It appears they have not seen something like this before, have they," he spoke up as they continued down the hall.
"I guess not," Elena laughed.
Well, that's that chapter. The Question about Padme will be coming up in the next chapter, since I got a question about that. I ONCE AGAIN DOTH COMMANDE YE TO... never mind. But, reviews are GREATLY appreciated! Hint hint.