Legacy of the Sith

Chapter 17: The Cave

In the three months since their arrival on Dagobah, Obi-Wan had observed the rapid progress of his Padawan with relief. Once Yoda had gotten over his momentary annoyance at Obi-Wan's assumption of Luke's training, the eldest of all the Jedi Masters had become Luke's greatest champion. The thought that the Jedi Order was going to finally be restored got Yoda fired up more than even Luke had ever seen him. No doubt, Luke's enthusiasm for the monumental task propelled them forward. But hadn't it been the plan all along, ever since their last meeting with Bail Organa years before, to bring back the Jedi order when the time was right?

In truth, Obi-Wan was grateful to have something so huge to occupy his mind. Thinking of how he left things with Leia made him angry and saddened at the same time, and he could afford neither emotion to infect his soul. It was fragile enough as it was.

How would Vader react when he finds out about Luke's progress? Obi-Wan hadn't heard a thing from the Sith since that disturbing encounter on Tatooine. There was something amiss. Surely he would have tried to contact his son by now, but Luke told Obi-Wan he hadn't gotten any messages or emails either. Had Anakin possibly, by some miracle, changed his mind?

There had been some sort of correspondence from Leia, however. Luke handled it all (as Obi-Wan didn't dare even speak to her) and passed along anything important. She told Luke that there was some sort of rumor of a second Death Star being constructed. Bothan spies had gotten ahold of the plans. She sensed that it was a trap of some sort. When Luke reported that to Obi-Wan and Yoda, it made for a great debate.

"As Jedi, our responsibility it is to destroy such instruments of terror!" Yoda argued.

"Master, with all due respect, I don't beleive it wise to jump headfirst into this," Obi-Wan said.

"Surprised at your attitude, I am. What think you, Padawan Skywalker?"

"Masters, blowing up Death Stars happens to be something I'm really good at," Luke pointed out.

"I beleive Leia has the right of it. It's a trap, without a doubt. How convenient that we know the location of the station's construction, it's layout, it's specifications. In fact, it is my estimated guess that the first Death Star's plans had fallen into Leia's hands for the same reason these plans had fallen into the Bothans' hands. It was to lure the Rebel Alliance into doing something the Empire wanted. The first time, the Empire wanted to know the location of their secret base, remember? What better way to trick you into revealing it than to let you people escape with those plans? And this time, what? Lure the entire Alliance Fleet out to, Endor is it?" Obi-Wan asked.

"But Master, the station isn't fully built yet!" Luke had reminded him.

"My Padawan, search your feelings. This all feels a bit too much like a ploy. Master Yoda, trust me, it is never going to be as easy as it sounds," Obi-Wan had warned.

"Good points, you have raised, Master Kenobi. However, the Jedi cannot hide from this sort of danger. A plan, I propose. To send a small force to this Endor moon, we should. See what can be done from there, we can. But before we do this, something from Luke, we must have."

Luke had asked, "What is that?"

"Face the Trials, you must. A fully trained Jedi you must be before we leave for Endor. Yes, yes, to the cave, you must return."

Obi-Wan hadn't expected this. Obi-Wan watched Luke. He could tell his Padawan was trying to keep from whooping with joy, instead trying to approach the whole idea of the Trials as something far more trivial. It would have worked had Luke's blue eyes not grown twice as brilliant as they had been a mere moment ago!

"I thought that cave was a bad place!" Obi-Wan commented. "Why would you want to go back in there?"

"Master, I'm ready to face whatever that cave throws at me. I'm certain it will be different this time than last time. And it's just as well," he shrugged. "When do I go back, Master Yoda?"

"Soon, Padawan, very soon," Yoda assured him.

Yes, it had been three months since he'd last spoken to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader reflected as he watched Han Solo work on his levitation exercises. On one hand, he was curious about Luke's progress, but on the other hand, he found himself not wanting to know. After all, his son may very well be taking the Jedi Trials at any moment. Astonishing progress! It wounded Vader, to think that his son made such progress under Yoda's and Obi-Wan's tutelage! But despite his vast fury at the boy, Vader couldn't help but be proud of him. Anakin Skywalker had waited twelve years to take the Trials from the time he was taken into the Order. And that was considered rapid progress! Luke had done it in about a third of the time! What a difference when you didn't have the stodgy Jedi Council to deal with! Vader couldn't understand why in the world Luke would want to restore it! It was almost ironic, really. The Jedi Council had been completely dead set against rapid progress. Surely someone like Mace Windu would have choked on his own bile if he'd ever met Luke.

But if there was anybody who should be proud of himself, in Vader's view, it should be Han Solo! Mace Windu would have spontaneously combusted had he seen what a Wilder like the former smuggler had been able to accomplish!

And he would be the key to Vader's freedom, at last, from all his masters...

Obi-Wan meditated again on the same rock where he'd first had that terrible panic attack three months ago. It had been located near the very cave where the Jedi got tested. He himself had never gone in there. Would Luke really be ready to face what was inside? Anakin had gone in there, to get tested. He'd come out with no problem. And then look what had become of him! What if, all those years ago, the Jedi had promoted Obi-Wan the proper way, making him test instead of simply granting him the title of Jedi Knight because he'd destroyed Darth Maul? If he'd known what might face Ani in the cave, would he have been better able to prepare him? Sure, one could argue that it was all a moot point now, but what about Luke?

Obi-Wan could sense the Dark Side thriving not even a hundred meters away. Slowly, he slid off the rock, and edged nearer to the cave. A copse of trees seemed to gate the place, barring it from intruders. A vague mist seeped forth. Obi-Wan's heart hastened as he approached them, slid his way between them, and descended into the mouth of the cave. The mist wrapped around him. Looking ahead, his eyes could only find endless darkness.

Or was there?

A flash of red light blazed through the darkness. It was unmistakably a lightsaber. Vader? But wait, it wasn't; the Force Signature Obi-Wan sensed was not his former Padawan's. It was unfamiliar to him. But in a few moments, as he drew ever closer to it, Obi-Wan could see a pair of yellow eyes glinting at him. A few meters closer, and the man's face was suddenly visible.

It was Han Solo!

"Sith! Obi-Wan spat like a curse.

Solo's eyes sparkled with malevolence as he answered, "That's right, Jedi!"

Without a second thought, Obi-Wan's lightsaber was in hand, blazing it's own blue light. His advance was much swifter now. Solo seemed unconcerned that he was about to die. It looked a bit alien to Obi-Wan, seeing that red lightsaber in the hand of someone like Solo. He'd never sensed the Force was with him before! How did this happen?

"And to think that Princess Leia fought so hard to free someone like you," Obi-Wan sneered. "Perhaps your Sith Master forgot to warn you that my specialty happens to be separating Sith Apprentices from their body parts."

"We'll see, won't we?" was all Solo said in response, and then, with dizzying speed, the duel was on! Deeper into the cave, Han and Obi-Wan persued their deadly clash.

And Obi-Wan had to admit that Han Solo was far better at lightsaber dueling than he'd ever suspected! But the Dark Side was definitely helping him, giving him an edge. Obi-Wan was determined that he would not give in to anger to gain that same edge! After ducking one of Solo's closer sweeps, Obi-Wan managed to say, "Rather good swordwork for someone who supposedly hates using 'hokey religions and ancient weapons!'"

Warily, Solo stayed his red blade and answered, "Yeah, well, part of my training at the Imperial Naval Academy was sparring with edge weapons. Much like lightsabers, those things were. Not really useful for much, though, not like these babies. I admit, I have found a new respect for them."

"Ah, that expains it, then. Your master could never have taught you to use a lightsaber so well. It's a pity you'll die before Luke gets to see you use your skills," Obi-Wan said grimly.

"It's a pity you're going to die before Luke, or Leia for that matter, finds out that I have them at all," Han countered, then raised the red lightsaber once again. Obi-Wan blocked this blow, then that one, but as the battle continued, sending them deeper into the cave, Obi-Wan found himself more and more on the defensive.

Obi-Wan could see that same fury in Solo's eyes that had been in Anakin's, once. That same surge of savagery that had driven Anakin to try and kill him with his bare hands. But Han sol was not Anakin, and surely Obi-Wan would find a way to prevail--

The hot red blade slid through Obi-Wan's midsection, effortlessly sapping all of his power. From the look in Han's eyes, Obi-Wan could tell that he was surprised that his thrust had landed so true. But the real surprise, and fear, was in Obi-Wan's own heart as he sunk to his knees. Han Solo's lightsaber retreated, but it's damage was done. Obi-Wan Kenobi was going to die again.

If only it was going to be so easy. The lightsaber thrust hadn't hurt nearly as much as he'd thought it would. It was the death itself that was going to be agony beyond agony. Why, oh, why had he been lured into this cave?

Solo watched him in silence for a few moments, gloating. But soon his yellow eyes dissolved back to their usual color, and his brows drew down. "What's going on with you? What is this?" he asked in slow shock and anger.

"Dead, but not dead," Obi-Wan murmured through his stiffening lips. Han Solo looked horrified. Yes, fool, your Sith Master is endlessly evil, and now, I have failed in my effort to keep Leia safe from you. That thought only increased Obi-Wan's agony. Now, he and Leia would never be... Only now, writhing in the dirt at a Sith Lord's feet, trapped in a dead carcass that shall surely begin it's decay any moment, did Obi-Wan realize he wanted desperately to live!

"Whatever this is, it ain't right, that's for sure! I'm taking you to the only one who might be able to fix this. I wasn't counting on this happening," Solo muttered angrily.

Just then, the ominous breath echoed through the cave. To Obi-Wan's cold ears, it was a mocking sound to remind him that life was just a breath away, if he could only take it. But he couldn't. "Leave him there, my Apprentice. You have done well, and I am sorry that this unfortunate business of Obi-Wan's curse has gotten in the way of your revenge on him. Now, you must leave us. I have unfinished business with my former master," Vader ordered Han.

Han began to retreat, but only after he said, "This...isn't right. You are going to fix it, aren't you?"

"Of course it will be fixed. Now, get back to the Falcon, and remain there until I return," Vader said. Han left then, and Vader began pacing around Obi-Wan's supine form. "It appears that he still has a few things to learn about the Dark Side yet. It's alright; I have years to teach him the lessons you taught me..."

"Anakin, please," Obi-Wan gasped.

"Oh, you must have overheard me saying to my apprentice that I'd fix this for you, didn't you?" Vader's breath of a laugh made Obi-Wan's slightest hope dissolve like a puff of smoke. "As much as he hates you, and let me tell you, he despises you, even he can't stand seeing what's becoming of you. His concern for you is just a reminder that the Dark Side has not changed him as much as he'd thought it would. Just as the Dark Side of the Force has not really changed me as much as you and everyone else had thought it would. It just makes us more powerful, that's all. Nothing scary about it, nothing nearly so horrible as you'd been taught, Obi-Wan. If only you would recognize it's power, you would not be in this humiliating predicament now."

Obi-Wan saw the toe of Vader's boot set before him. Reaching with his dead limbs, he touched it. He wanted to sob, but dead tears are dry ones. Vader saw the gesture, quelled the urge to react to it. But Vader did reach down, take Obi-Wan's hand into his, and knelt down next to his dying former master. Obi-Wan's blue eyes were starting to blend in more and more with the rest of his face.

Vader's helmet shook. "Look at you. Look at me. Look at what we've done to eachother. And for what? What was so important that we had to hurt eachother like this?" Vader's voice sounded agonized to Obi-Wan's ears.

"Palpatine," Obi-Wan rasped.

Vader's voice turned cold. "He will soon find himself One with the Force, be assured of that. Now that I have my Apprentice, his death is only a matter of time. And then, my children will finally be safe. Do you want to hear a dirty secret, Obi-Wan?" Vader asked as he smoothed Obi-Wan's red hair back. "Palpatine is the one who told me I could actually bring people back from death. Save them from dying. He couldn't do it himself, and my greatest regret now is that I never learned in time to save Padmé. Don't you see, this is why I joined him. He said we'd be able to discover the secret. I started to doubt him, but when I began really experimenting, I found out he'd been telling the truth all along. But I won't be using this power to save him from death. Does that make me a bad person, Master?"

"You are still so confused," Obi-Wan managed to eke from his blue lips.

"I am not confused. I was confused, but not anymore. Right now, you are the one who is confused, Obi-Wan. The power of the mind is so vast, it still amazes me sometimes. It can make things seem so real if you know that they are the way your mind thinks they are. For example, for five years, I had just known that I'd killed my wife. If you hadn't kept my children from me, I would have known all along that she didn't die by my hand. But because I didn't know that my children had survived, I thought, deep down, that I deserved what you did to me. Not because I'd helped destroy your precious Jedi Order, but because I had killed the most precious things that had ever been in my life. All because of my anger with you. Yes, I actually thought that my limbs, my skin, my lungs had been an even trade off for my sins.

"But then, to find out that Bail Organa was raising my daughter, it changed everything for me. I no longer had the guilt that I once had. The Jedi Order was destroyed, but as I have said, I have no remorse over that. Padmé had died just as I'd known she would all along. And what you did to me became much more unjust in my mind than it had been. The need for revenge, true revenge against you, began to consume my thoughts. When you popped up on the Death Star four years ago, I still hadn't done what I should have done. And do you know why I still didn't, even then? It was for the same pathetic reason I hadn't finished you off on Mustafar."

Vader rose from the ground, peered down at Obi-Wan, and announced, "Until today, I never really thought I could bring myself to leave you writhing in agony as you did to me. But now, right this second, you see me at my absolute worst. Because I'm turning my back on you, the same way you turned your back on me." And with that, Vader swept away, and Obi-Wan saw only the endless black of his cape blending into the cave's darkness.

Surely he hadn't been this cruel! Obi-Wan Kenobi was a Jedi Master! What had made him do this to his Padawan? He recalled that awful day. Anakin's blazing yellow eyes, bellowing his hatred toward Obi-Wan, even as he clawed his way upward with his only remaining mechanical limb...

That was the same person who had reached his hand down into Gundark nests to pull his beloved master from certain death. The same young boy whose blue eyes glinted with teasing mischief as he purposely botched his Force exercises, just to get Obi-Wan to laugh along with his giggles. The same person who had emerged from this very cave, with that grin on his face, making Obi-Wan Kenobi possibly the proudest man in the entire galaxy that day. And this person was the same one that Qui-Gon Jinn had died while extracting a promise from Obi-Wan to train. His unquestioning belief in the Chosen One had made those final words come forth.

The Chosen One. Able to bring people back from the dead, his power being so great. And Obi-Wan had nearly destroyed him. But he wasn't gone. He couldn't be gone! This belief made Obi-Wan's final words come forth, at last.

"Anakin, I'm sorry."

Guess what, I'm back to updating! Also, I'm going to try an experiment. I'm starting a Forum for this story, because I've been noticing in some of the reviews that Very Strong feelings are being expressed about Certain Pairings and other things, so I thought, hey, maybe a Forum should be started so people could discuss their Feelings. I'm hoping that the forum will be up and running as you read this. Let me know what you think!