Anakin let's C5 hold the bucket of paint as they walk into the Lars home. Immediately, Beru greets him with a smile and a plate of food.
"Welcome back. We just finished lunch and Luke's taking a much needed nap." She says it with a light tone, but he can see a hint of frustration behind it.
Anakin sets his backpack down, his eyes going to Luke's room. "He wasn't causing you too much grief, was he?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. He wanted to wait outside for you when we spotted your starfighter. Of course, when Owen said no…"
There was a fit. Anakin nods, understanding that well. "I'll head to Mos Espa, then. I still have something to do." He doesn't elaborate past that. Can't. If they knew what's about to happen with the Hutts, it would spell danger for everyone.
And thankfully, Beru is kind enough not to push it. "I'll handle the paint until you get back. Though, I'm not sure if I can keep Luke from using it."
"That's fine." He wanted to be there when Luke started painting, but he'll make up for lost time soon.
There's a voice in the back of his head that says it's a lie, just like his secret relationship with Pa-
He shakes it away.
Anakin leaves Beru in the dining room, his lunch forgotten. He makes his way into Luke's bedroom and kneels beside him carefully, the prosthetic limbs grinding with the motion.
"My son." Anakin's voice comes out as a whisper, his gloved fingers running through the boy's hair. It's bleached blond, just like Anakin's was before he was taken by Qui-Gon.
If only she could've seen him. How bright he is, how perfect. Their little boy who's already growing up much too fast.
"I love you." Anakin whispers as he removes the vocoder to plant a real kiss on his son's forehead. "I'll get you away from this place someday. You, Owen, And Beru. You all deserve better than Tatooine."
Even with the Hutts gone and a new leader taking the role, Tatooine is no place for a boy to grow up. Luke belongs on Naboo, with the green fields and roaring oceans. He belongs on that lake house, where he would've grown up.
Anakin kisses him one more time before returning the vocoder over his mouth. He breathes deeply a few times, then rises from his kneeling position.
On his way out, Anakin takes the meal Beru left him, more out of curtesy than hunger, and eats it on his way to his speeder. From there, he heads to Mos Espa.
Anakin sits at the bar heavily, his limbs protesting the sand lodged between his circuits. Maybe he should've cleaned them out first.
"Good seeing you, Ani." The human bartender -and his childhood friend- Kitster, greets him. He sets about making a special drink, though, it isn't for Anakin.
"You're lucky I only come in here every so often. Any more and you'd become a drunk." Anakin gestures to the glass in Kitster's hand, something that started as a celebration for Anakin's return to Tatooine and eventually became tradition for every time he enters the bar.
Kitster shrugs, swallowing the whole drink in one go. It's impressive, if not slightly disgusting. "I'd say you don't come in here often enough."
Anakin turns the subject when he pulls a device from his pocket. "I need you for something. You serve at Jabba's palace every Saturday, right?"
The man nods. "A small price for freedom, I'd say. Though, I'm thinking Jabba's been advertising my services a little too much lately. I ran out of blue milk last time. Almost lost a hand for it."
The endless chatter is ignored. "Could you set these up?" Anakin lets Kitster take the device. "They're…"
He pauses to search the force for anyone listening in, but finds nothing. Even so, he builds a sound dampening circle around them. Better safe than sorry.
"It's a chip scanner. The one I started almost twenty years ago, actually." He catches the slight shock in Kitster's eyes.
"A scanner, huh?" The device is returned to Anakin's hand. "That's probably how that Elem girl got out."
Anakin thinks of correcting her name, but decides against it. He can't blow her cover just yet, even if this is Kitster. "And I made more of them. Detonators that will render all of the chips useless within a certain radious."
This time, Kitster stares straight at him. "No. No, there is no way-" Kitster grips the bar for a moment, his breaths coming out short. Then, just when Anakin's about to step in, Kitster laughs, pulling him into a too tight hug. "Twin suns, Ani! You're a God!"
Anakin tries to pull away but the effort is only half there. He smiles under the vocoder.
But then people start to look. "Let up!" He snaps and Kitster releases him quickly.
"Sorry, sorry! I just…Bantha! This is…it feels unreal. But if anyone can do it, you can, Ani."
It's strange, seeing how much trust the man has in him, even so many years later. While Anakin was growing and changing at the Jedi temple, Kitster stayed the same.
"But I do need you if I want this to work. I can't show my face around Jabba right now. Not without Elem in custody. So, I need you to set these up around the palace. As many floors as you can."
Kitster makes a face. "You do know I'm not allowed outside of my booth, right?"
Anakin nods. "I'll give you a list of names to trust. They'll help distribute them, but you have to smuggle them in. Can you do that?"
There's a long moment of silence. Kitster looks at the device, then Anakin. His expression gives away very little and for a moment, he worries Kitster will refuse. But then the man smiles.
"Saturday, then? The day everything will change?"
"Saturday." Anakin agrees, handing over seven replicas of the original scanner. Kitster takes them quickly, hiding them under the bar somewhere. Out of sight.
Then, the man returns to his usual bartender appearance. "Still don't want a drink?" It's frightening how quickly he can switch roles.
"Can't. Have a date to catch." Anakin says it seriously, but he knows there's a spark in his eyes that Kitster can see. They've talked about Luke before. Many times.
Maybe once this is all over, he'll finally introduce them.
"It was worth a shot." Kitster shrugs. Anakin leaves a tip as he gets up, but he stops when a hand pulls at his shoulder. He turns back to Kitster, the man's face serious. "Take care, Ani."
Something cold washed over Anakin, but he recovers quickly and nods. The hand pulls away and as Anakin leaves, he feels a repulsion from a hooded Kubaz that walks past. A warning from the force.
The Kubaz doesn't acknowledge him, though. Doesn't even seem to know he's there as they pass. So, Anakin does the same. If he needs to draw his blaster, he'll be ready.
Anakin stays alert as he walks through Mos Espa, his hand inches from his gun as he walks. And when his comm starts to ring, he almost pulls it out.
Shifting into a secluded area, Anakin answers. He expects Jabba, or maybe Fiolla. Even Bail would be expected at this point. But when Anankin answers the call, he's shocked to see Owen.
"Anakin!" Owen looks slightly hunched, his eyes wide and angry. But also afraid. Anakin feels his heart stop.
"Owen!" He shouts back, just as scared now. "What-"
"Imperials! There's someone here looking for you! I don't know what she wants but-"
"Hold on! Don't engage, Owen!" Anakin uses the force to run to his speeder, his movements perfect as he turns the engine on and starts off into the desert before he's even seated. His fingers grip the handles until something cracks. His other clutches the comm.
When Owen speaks again, he's no longer looking at Anakin. "Get out! We don't have what you want, so just leave!"
There's the sound of Owen firing his blaster, then a painfully familiar swish. A lightsaber.
Anakin grits his teeth, kicking the speeder into a higher and higher gear until it's struggling to go fast enough. The dunes bump and rock the speeder, threatening to throw him to the ground, but he stays in place.
When the farm comes into view, Anakin uses the force to run to the entrance, his vocoder working hard to control his breathing. His heart spikes with the eerie silence and Anakin takes slow, quiet steps as he goes inside.
Nothing is in disarray. The table is as it should be, the herbs still hung above the oven. The only sign that something went wrong is a scorch mark above the hall's arch.
It looks like a blaster grazed it.
When he looks into Luke's room, he finds it empty. Pillows and blankets spread across the bed. Several unpainted toys on the floor. But not Luke.
Anakin follows the few scorch marks until he makes it to his own room, the chest of weapons knocked over and open. He kneels to check inside, seeing only two lightsabers left over. He grabs them both, their weight familiar but painful in his hands.
Ahsoka's lightsaber, a little too small for comfort. Vader's lightsaber, heavy and powerful.
Both call to him.
Anakin activates them as he spins around, turning to the sudden darkness behind him. He sees a short, slim figure dressed in all black. Her helmet is sharp and the red glow of her lightsaber casts shadows against her face despite the suns shinning outside.
"Darth Vader." Her voice drips with smug victory.
Anakin holds the white plasma-blade up, keeping her far from him. His rage burns hotter than all three weapons combined. "Where are they?!" His voice is almost too much for the vocoder.
He hates that she doesn't seem bothered. "You mean your little family?" She doesn't laugh, but it's a near thing. "I have them right where I want them."
The dark side whispers, offering power that would be very useful in this situation, but he ignores it. He can't lose control right now.
Even so, Anakin doesn't hesitate to push the inquisitor with the force. He knocks her off balance and she does looks slightly surprised, but it's not as effective as he wanted.
Even so, it's enough for an opening. One Iwen seems to take as he jumps out from hiding, his blaster held high. He's about to shoot but then his eyes meet Anakin's.
"Ani." Anakin doesn't my dare look away from the inquisitor for a moment longer, but he waits for his brother's words. "She knows about him. I couldn't-"
Anakin steps forward, the darkness's whispers turning into screams as he thinks of nothing but his son. He points an accusing finger at the woman. "If you hurt him, I swear-"
"The boy?" She sounds confident once again, her blade out and ready to clash against his own. "I didn't know Sith had such attachments."
"I am no Sith!" Anakin hisses. Then, he lunges. The inquisitor meets his first strike and then his second. His left prosthetic isn't used to the speed required for dueling, but his right will make up for it.
She smiles as both ends of her lightsaber activate, similar to Maul's. He pressed hard against her, forcing her another step back. He still has to be conscious of Owen.
"Do not underestimate me, Vader." She runs, making him chase her into the dining room. "I may look like just another imperial, but I am the Seventh Sister. And soon, I will be even better, once I take you to Darth Sidious."
"Never!" Anakin fights her with increasing speed. Every second he fights is another second his muscles regain their memory. Before he fled the empire, he had not only beaten countless Jedi, but those who had trained him as a boy.
He murdered Count Dooku with hardly any effort. This Seventh Sister is nothing.
But the Seventh Sister is fast. She meets him blow for blow, twisting and turning just in time to avoid his every strike. He tries keeping her in place with one lightsaber while attacking with the other, but she always seems to see it.
With nothing else to do, Anakin drops Vader's lightsaber and force pushes her out of the Lars home, sand kicking up around her. She stumbles, then breathes heavily as she stares back at him like a predictor ready to strike.
"Is that all?! I expected more from someone so threatening to the empire!"
Anakin is about to follow her out, to teach her exactly what she's taunting, but then he sees two figures being pulled from behind her. Out of a small hiding place, set up in case of sand stormed, Beru and Luke are lifted into the air by the Seventh Sister.
Beru is choking, her hands clawing at her throat.
Luke is crying.
Luke is crying.
He pulls Vader's lightsaber back to his hand. The sand shifts around them, it's grains cutting at the Seventh Sister like small knives. The very ground seems to shake with his rage.
"Let. Them. Go." His voice rings intro the force. Seventh Sister does as he says, but whether it's due to his command or the increasing sand storm around them, he can't be sure.
It does not matter. Not when he pulls Beru and Luke toward him through the force, only stopping once they're safe. Owen runs to them then, his arms circling his wife and Luke.
When Anakin looks back, they stop. "Hide." Is all he can manage to say.
Owen nods once, understanding where to go. He grabs Beru and Luke, then pulls them away to the speeder Anakin left. As soon as they're away, he turns back to Seventh Sister.
He drops Ahsoka's lightsaber in the sand and steps forward. The dark side greets him like an old friend.
He smiles when the Seventh Sister begins to choke. "Now, You have nothing protecting you."
Sorry I haven't my updated! It's been a while since I got the chance to write anything! But another update should come sooner rather than later!