Chapter 3 - The Argument

DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P

Author's Note: In which everyone leaves Mortis, and Anakin finally makes his choice. :')

Thank you all so, so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews! I really hope that you'll continue to enjoy this tale as it unfolds! :D

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~ Amina Gila

Vader is radiating anger at an alarming level, so Anakin is glad that he broke up the argument between him and Obi-Wan without anyone dying or being maimed. The Sith turns sharply, cape swirling as he stalks up the ramp onto the shuttle, only for Ahsoka to pop up beside Anakin, a scowl etched onto her face. "Master, are you serious?" she demands incredulously, planting her hands on her hips. "We can't take him from here! He's dangerous!"

Anakin feels more than hears Vader snarl as he flicks out a hand, shoving Ahsoka backwards. She stumbles, barely catching herself as Vader pushes back, marching towards the cockpit. "Vader," Anakin protests, not exactly happy by his treatment of Ahsoka. He glances at his Padawan before focusing on the emotions that he can feel all too acutely. The pain is strongest of all, potent enough to not only take Anakin's breath away, but also make him feel as if he was hurt by Ahsoka's comment.

As expected, Vader completely ignores him. "If you plan to leave Mortis, I suggest you strap yourselves in. We are leaving with or without you," he threatens. Though he doesn't look back, Anakin gets the feeling that he's talking to Obi-Wan, speaking of whom –

The Force flares, and Anakin springs to the side as Obi-Wan ignites his lightsaber, pointing it directly as Vader. "We are not leaving this planet with you," he states with finality.

"Obi-Wan!" yelps Anakin, glaring at him. "Put that weapon away."

Vader stiffens – unnoticeable to anyone but Anakin – as he turns around, suddenly feeling exactly as dangerous as he looks. He might be an older, more depressed and broken version of Anakin, but he is still a Sith. Ahsoka isn't exactly wrong about him being dangerous, but she forgot that Anakin is exactly as dangerous as Vader. Simply because he has chosen not to draw on the Dark Side for now, that doesn't change the fact that is more than willing to do so if the situation gets out of hand, not to mention that he's currently sworn himself to helping Vader.

Anakin nearly gasps at the wave of anger, pain, and betrayal that slams into him, and he takes a step backwards, staring wide-eyed at Vader. He's always felt emotions deeply, but this – this is something else entirely. He automatically reaches out, touching Vader's Force signature, wrapping his own around it as he sends a silent wave of caring and support. He won't let Vader kill Obi-Wan, but he won't let Obi-Wan fight Vader either.

"Put your lightsaber away, now," he practically orders, gathering himself together enough to step forwards, partially in front of Vader, staring Obi-Wan now.

His former master, who is as stupidly stubborn as ever, only raises the blade higher, eyes narrowing at Vader. And then, he springs. Vader side steps the strike easily, and just as Anakin is reaching for his own lightsaber – he never thought he would see the day that he had to raise his lightsaber against Obi-Wan, of all people, and it hurts him far more than he thought possible – Obi-Wan is sent flying backwards with a violent Force shove. He slams into the durasteel wall hard enough to leave a dent, and Anakin winces on his behalf. That must have hurt.

As he falls to the floor, he drops his lightsaber. Vader calls it to his hand, yanking Ahsoka's hilts off her belt in the same gesture and catching them all in his right fist. "If you are quite done playing around," he declares, "We are now leaving."

Obi-Wan scrambles to his feet, but Anakin blocks him physically, giving him a severe look before following Vader into the cockpit and taking the pilot's seat. He takes off into the air, wondering how Mortis will get rid of them. The next thing he knows, a blinding white light is filling his vision, and then there's nothing.

**w**

Awareness filters back in slowly for Vader. It's always a strange experience to go unconscious, not one which he's truly experienced for many years. He draws the Dark Side in around himself as he finally blinks himself back to reality, turning his head towards the pilot's seat. Skywalker is slumped on it, just beginning to awaken. Kenobi and Tano are in a similar situation in the back. He remembers, vaguely, this having happened before, though it was, of course different, since the Father had died too, and Mortis was slowly disintegrating.

"General Skywalker, come in!" calls an all-too-familiar voice, and if Vader's breathing could hitch, it would have. Seven years. It's been seven years since he's seen or heard from Rex, and he acutely remembers finding the graveyard on that forsaken planet. He wonders sometimes, in his darkest moments, if Rex tried to kill Tano, and if she, in turn, killed him to protect herself. He shakes his head slightly, dispelling the thoughts before they can take root and send his mind off on a path he doesn't wish it to go.

Vader lets his eyes linger on the small hologram of his old clone captain, suddenly realizing how much he'd missed the man. Skywalker sits up, shaking his head to presumably dispel any lingering fuzziness. "We read you, Rex. Can you hear me?" he replies, seeming completely unfazed by the prospect that Rex literally saw him sleeping on the shuttle's control panel.

"Yes, sir, standing by," the clone answers immediately. "We were worried. You were off the scopes there for a moment."

Skywalker laughs a bit incredulously, glancing over at Vader. "A moment?" he echoes. "We've been gone more than a moment, Rex."

"Sir, I don't understand," the clone responds. "You'll need to explain."

Something melancholic and bittersweet flashes through Skywalker's mind, and while Vader isn't privy to his younger self's thoughts, his emotions will always be an open book. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Skywalker says. "We're coming in now. Stand by."

Rex echoes his confirmation before the hologram disappears. As Skywalker flies the shuttle towards the Star Destroyer up ahead, he reaches out to Vader through their bond. "What now? What will we do? Where will we go?"

Vader feels a mirthless smile tug at his lips as he stares directly out the viewport in front of him. "We will take another shuttle and go to Serenno," he informs him. "Dooku is our next target. We must seize control of the Separatist Alliance if we have any hopes of ousting Sidious."

Skywalker radiates a flare of surprise mingled with uncertainty and determination. He responds with a nonverbal nudge of understanding as he lowers the shuttle into the hanger and shuts off the engines. Vader admittedly feels tense being around Kenobi right now, especially since he has no way of predicting what the Jedi might do when faced with their next move. Tano isn't nearly as big a threat, because she's no more than a child. She won't get in his way.

"Lightsabers?" Skywalker holds out his hand towards Vader, silently requesting that he turn over the three which he'd confiscated. Vader pauses deliberately before conceding, placing the three hilts in the younger's gloved hand. He hesitates only momentarily before returning them to their owners.

Kenobi descends first, expression a cold mask, though Vader can clearly sense his suppressed anger and antipathy. It surprises him how much that can still hurt after Mustafar. Tano follows her grandmaster, radiating confusion and uncertainty. Skywalker is third, face set with determination. Vader, of course, brings up the rear, taking his time as he descends from the shuttle. He can feel how all eyes turn towards him when he steps onto the floor of hanger.

"Sir?" Rex asks uncertainly, looking at Skywalker from beneath his helmet.

"This is Darth Vader," Skywalker informs him, and everyone else who is nearby. "He and I have reached an understanding. We have found a way to end the Clone Wars, but it's a journey we will be taking alone."

Vader knows exactly how intimidating his respirator makes him sound. He doesn't even need to talk for everyone to instinctively register how dangerous he is. Slowly and deliberately, he crosses his arms, turning his helmet as he takes in all the clones standing around. "We require a shuttle," he says at last. "A fast one with adequate weaponry."

Kenobi clenches his jaw, stepping forwards. "No," he interjects will cool authority. "Captain, order the ship to lock down. Vader is a Sith, and he cannot be permitted to leave. Anakin has, I'm afraid, fallen under his sway. Vader is a threat, and we cannot allow him to walk away."

Skywalker scowls at his old master, turning to Rex. "Don't listen to him, Rex. He doesn't understand the situation the way I do."

Vader nearly feels bad for the clone; his apprehension can be keenly felt, as he looks between Kenobi and Skywalker. Even Tano seems to feel out of place, backing away slowly. She's not the only one. Some of the other clones appear to be on the verge of disappearing from the hanger should the need arise. It probably will. Vader can remember precious few true arguments between himself and his former master, but judging from Skywalker's current emotional state, this will become one of them, even if they do have an audience.

"Anakin..." Kenobi begins disapprovingly, and oh, how Vader knows that tone. He hates it, loathes it so deeply that he could kill his former master in cold-blood for daring to use it. He hates how that tone always made him feel small and unworthy, incapable of doing anything right. It hurt. It was a hurt that he always hid, and no one ever knew, ever suspected that he wasn't nearly as alright as he pretended to be.

"No!" Skywalker interrupts furiously, and Vader can't quite help or hide his surge of pride, because he would never have stood up for himself like that. Skywalker only is now, because not only does he now have an older version of himself to lean on, but also since he rightfully believes that joining Vader is the only way to end the conflict.

He steps forwards, face flushed with anger. "I will not stand here and listen to your lectures," he snarls. Vader feels gratified when Kenobi's eyes widen slightly. Never before has Skywalker taken that tone with him, and he doesn't know how to react to it. In fact, now that he thinks about it, his counterpart's voice sounds dangerously similar to the way his own would have when he's going all-out Sith Lord on somebody.

The Dark Side swells, surging forwards as Skywalker calls on it. "You," he hisses, poking his former master's chest for emphasis, "Do not understand. You did not see what I saw. You did not hear what I heard. You have no right to tell me that I do not know what I'm doing, or that I'm being controlled by a Sith." He glares at his former master, breathing heavily from his outburst.

Vader can feel the tension in the room – it's thick enough that he could probably cut it with his lightsaber – and he knows that everyone else probably wants to be elsewhere. Sure enough, a few of the clones who are furthest away are slowly backing away, pretending to busy themselves with something else in the hanger. It must be uncomfortable for them to see their general arguing with someone who has always been his friend, at least as far as appearances go.

When Kenobi replies, his voice is pure ice. "You are literally drawing on the Dark Side right now, Anakin! It's clouding your judgement. We cannot trust the Sith; you know this. How can you know that Vader isn't lying to you? Manipulating you? How can you be certain that he's not planning to kill you? Use you to get what he wants? How do you know that he isn't the Sith behind this whole conflict?"

His words hang heavily in the air, and Vader can see Tano's hands slowly reaching towards her lightsabers as she anticipates violence. Skywalker seems totally taken aback by his former master's reply, too angry to even properly formulate an answer. In fact, now that Vader actually feels, he realizes that his counterpart feels much like he used to in the beginning.

But, Vader doesn't give him a chance to gather himself, instead igniting his lightsaber, leveling the red blade at Kenobi's throat. The words might have been directed at Skywalker, but he still took them personally. Very personally. He's so very tempted to kill the Jedi right here and now, but Skywalker did ask him not to. Though he is well aware that everyone else in the hanger bay is reaching for their weapons, he's not concerned. He could kill them all in an instant if he truly wanted to.

Vader turns his head towards his younger self, raising an eyebrow a bit mockingly, even if no one can see it. "Are you not planning to beg me to spare him?" he asks, amused. He would have thought that the threat of imminent death would snap Kenobi and Skywalker out of their argument. He hadn't expected his counterpart to simply stand there staring... with a hint of malicious glee flickering through the yellow lurking in his eyes. Well, that's unexpected.

Skywalker's eyes widen in surprise, and he sucks in a startled breath. "No!" he blurts out, panic flaring within him. "Don't. Vader, please. You said that you wouldn't."

Vader looks at him for a moment before acquiescing, extinguishing his blade and clipping the hilt back to his belt, even if his every instinct is screaming at him to fight the Jedi Master in front of him. "What is wrong?" he questions, feeling the tumult within the younger.

He turns away, shamefaced. "For a moment, I – I wanted you to kill him. I don't know what's wrong with me," he admits, his desperation and horror tangible enough that they almost feel as if they belong to Vader.

"We are in a feedback loop," Vader realizes, stepping away from Skywalker. "We are the same, and our emotions are feeding into one another."

Skywalker meets his gaze through the mask, nodding. "We need a moment of distance then," he understands, before practically stomping off across the hanger.

Kenobi watches them warily. "What was all that about?" He sounds as if he doesn't want to know the answer.

It wouldn't have mattered if he had, because Vader has no intention of answering him. He's still furious, though it's not as irrational and all-consuming as it was when Skywalker was close to him. He feels as if he might be able to regain the iron control which he's mastered over the past few years for which he's grateful. There will be no second chances, and Vader refuses to make a mess of things again.

He saunters off across the hanger as if he owns it, studying the shuttles around and trying to determine which would be the best one for them to take. They'll need to get onto Serenno as quickly and expeditiously as possible so they can eliminate Dooku and seize control of the Separatist Alliance together. While Vader is unsure what they will do from there, he is keeping the clones as a backup option. If he issues one particular order – Order 65 – the clones will try and fail to arrest the Chancellor, which will mean his death. It's perfect. It's brilliant, if he does say so himself. He can turn Sidious' army against him.

Vader tries not to let himself feel and analyze Skywalker's emotions, but he can keenly sense the self-doubt that has been such an integral part of both their lives. "Please tell me you are not having second thoughts," he sends to the younger while trailing a hand gently over the side of a small Nu-class attack shuttle. It's small, but it will have to do. It's probably their best option anyways. They can modify it later if they find it necessary.

Skywalker replies with the equivalent of a mental sigh. "No," he reassures him quickly. "No, I'm not." Perhaps, but something is clearly troubling him. His doubt is far too acute for it to simply be nothing.

"Then what is troubling you?" Vader manages to finally bring his temper down to a simmer from the outright boil it had been at before.

The younger hesitates, the hesitation itself making Vader feel unsettled. "It's just... what Obi-Wan said. I – I know you're not like most Sith, but how can I know you won't manipulate or hurt me?"

It stings. Badly. But, it's also a fair question, Vader will grant him that. He turns, staring at Skywalker where he's pacing on the opposite side of the hanger and tries to ignore the way Kenobi is studying them. It probably wouldn't be surprising if the Jedi Master has realized that they share a close bond which they're currently using to communicate telepathically.

"Fair," he concedes, even though it grates on him to say so. "Hurting you would be counterproductive, because I need you if we will successfully take down Sidious and end the war," he points out, careful to choose words which won't antagonize the younger and which will, more importantly, make him agree. "And as for manipulating you, I would never do anything which was not strictly necessary. I have experience with the Dark Side, and you will have to trust my judgement if we are to work together."

Skywalker mulls over his words for a while, before facing him. "Fine, but I'm flying."

Vader rolls his eyes. He can't help it. That was such a childish thing to say. "This shuttle will suffice," he says aloud, expectantly looking at his counterpart as he waits for him to join him. Vader can't help but note that Rex did not follow Kenobi's order to close the hanger. It's still open, ready for them to depart.

"I'm sorry," Skywalker tells Kenobi and Tano, looking at them both for a long moment before crossing the hanger to stand by Vader. "I have to do this. I hope you'll understand someday. May the Force be with you."

Neither of them respond, and that silent rebuff is like a knife to the heart for Skywalker. Vader can feel his pain as he boards the shuttle, jaw clenched tightly. He says nothing to try and console him. There's nothing to say anyways. No one stops them as they fly away from the Star Destroyer and make the jump to hyperspace.