Author's Notes: You all are amazing with the feedback. Thank you. It's a new week, thus, hopefully, a new set of chapters for you. I'll be honest, I write this as I go along. I have the plot in my head, and all that it requires is jotting it down on Word, which can be difficult at times. Without further ado...
Chapter 12: Change
"You couldn't be."
Obi-Wan remained in a state of disbelief as the revelation of the young man he rescued began to sink in, and in reflex, gripped his lightsaber firmly in one hand. It was simply hard if not impossible for him to believe. He's studied Vader to the best of his ability the moment he revealed himself to the Republic several years ago. He's failed every time he's tried to track him down, and it was only that one time he had come to rescue Senator Amidala where they truly faced another for the first time. Yet nothing about the young man in front of him described Vader and yet here he was, claiming to be one of the two most dangerous people in the galaxy.
"You're just a boy."
Vader sighed and took a deep breath in before answering.
"So everyone keeps telling me."
Obi-Wan was taken aback by the sarcastic remark which made it obvious that the young man definitely doesn't hold Darth Vader's personality. Emotionless and stoic is what he distinctly remembered. When Obi-Wan moved a little closer and tried to probe his mind, his weakened state allowed him to see and feel shreds of darkness in him, but to his surprise, he also felt the light side trying to ease his thoughts.
He let loose his lightsaber, reattaching it to his belt. "Let me help you," Obi-Wan found himself saying, half by reflex and half by curiosity by what Darth Vader will do. He meant what he said earlier, he had no intention on harming him.
Vader was naturally wary and shook his head.
"I'm fine."
"You were gravely injured; you've been unconscious for a long time. Please, let me help you… Vader." It felt strange saying it aloud.
Vader stubbornly declined and shoved himself closer into the corner in a vain attempt for some control, but failed miserably. He could feel the force all around him but his thoughts were so jumbled up, he could barely think properly let alone use it.
"What happened to me?" he reluctantly asked.
Obi-Wan exhaled a deep breath, thankful that the young man wasn't acting out that would put them both in danger. While a part of him felt an overwhelming desire to arrest him and lock him up for all eternity for the injustices he's committed, it surprised him even more to find that he wasn't quite ready to think of him as Darth Vader fully yet.
"I found you unconscious a mile outside the Jedi Temple. I brought you someplace safe where we did what we could to help heal your injuries."
Vader looked at himself and felt the heavy pain from earlier slowly subsiding. He started to feel some feeling back in his legs. The bruises he knew should be all over him were gone. All that was left to show that he had been really hurt is a tiny red spot where the intravenous tube was attached to him.
"I barely feel anything wrong."
"That was the bacta; you've been submerged in the tank for nearly 30 hours." Obi-Wan kneed slowly in front of him, hoping that he didn't scare him away, or worse, get attacked by him. In a calm and gentle voice, the Jedi Master continued. "You are not what I expected to meet without the mask."
Vader didn't respond to his words, and for the life of him, he didn't know how. He was distrustful of everyone around him, especially a Jedi,so for the remainder of the journey even if he was in the company of only one person, he remained silent and completely unaware of what was happening around him. It took Obi-Wan a full hour to leave him alone, and when he did, Vader remained where he was.
The events of the last several years of his life began to replay in his mind, and it did so with such ferocity that he finally threw up, making a mess on the cold sterile floor of the small medical room.
His memories felt like a stranger to him. Images of nameless bloodied men, women and children plagued every moment he was conscious, and haunted him ever second he tried to close his eyes. It slowly ate away at his soul like a disease without a cure.
He didn't know if he could take much more of the pain that the dead seemed incumbent for him to see. To remember.
No longer did he feel the numbness that years serving under Master Sidious's hand had forced him to create.
Not only did he feel the pain, he felt everything. The massive losses throughout the galaxy, it's like he was attuned to every one of them. Even those who are alive, and felt the agony of their loss, grief and defeat against an Empire who didn't care for them.
"MAKE IT STOP!" he screamed, hiding his face in his arms as several monitors exploded and a mirror in the far wall cracked.
He was losing control.
In the cockpit, Obi-Wan felt the disturbance. He pressed on autopilot and immediately went in search of his former enemy. The knowledge that he was Darth Vader did little to sway his compassion for all living things.
He ran as quickly as he could when he came across R2D2 standing guard in front of the sealed medical bay.
"What's happening, R2?"
R2D2 explained as best as he could. Obi-Wan nodded, grasping his lightsaber and turning it on as he took the first tentative steps in unlocking the room and stepping in. Once he entered, the facility was in a state of duress. Broken pieces of equipment littered the floor as light flickered on and off.
"Make it stop," he heard a whisper.
Obi-Wan turned his head and found Vader where he had last left him, huddled in the corner. He looked so scared and for the first time since he discovered his true identity, he wondered what exactly it was that Palpatine has done to him. Looking down on him now, it's almost impossible to think of him as his enemy.
In a quick and possibly rash decision, Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and kneeled before him. He tried to reach out to him but Vader flinched away.
"No, don't!"
"I won't hurt you," Obi-Wan said gently.
Vader ignored the sincerity in his voice and tried to focus on other thoughts.
"Where are you taking me?" he asked in ragged breaths.
Obi-Wan took a moment to decide whether or not to allow the situation to be put on hold and reveal the location they were headed. He did not want to compromise the safety of the royal family as well as his friends and allies. But it seemed that he has no other choice if he were to take Darth Vader into their custody.
"Alderaan."
The young man's eyes went wide with recognition. "Padme," he whispered.
Obi-Wan looked at him quite speechlessly, intrigued yet concerned that the simple thought of the former Senator's name was enough to calm him down.
He wasn't quite sure what it meant.
Vader sat himself straighter by using the palm of his hands as leverage. "Is she all right?" he asked, his voice filled with concern while all his other emotions that gripped him so strongly just a moment ago suddenly took a backseat.
Obi-Wan opened his mouth but closed it soon after.
"Is she?" Vader pressed, his concern growing and his patience waning.
"Yes," the Jedi finally answered, swiping his hand through his hair with relative shock and confusion. "You knew she was on Alderaan?"
It took a few seconds before his question was answered with a nod.
"I left her on a transport to the planet before I headed to Coruscant," he explained. "Is she under Senator Organa's care?"
Obi-Wan remained shocked, his face clearly showing concern about how much Darth Vader knew. Nobody knew Padme Amidala's closest relations unless you were part of it.
For lack of anything to say, he nodded and he could practically feel the young man relax at the news.
"Will you protect her?" he asked of the Jedi suddenly, shocking the Jedi Master even more.
"I must say, Vader, you really are not the same man I fought several weeks ago."
"You'd be dead," he responded flatly. Vader couldn't help but tire of the same observation he'd been hearing.
"All right. You're not the same Vader I have come to learn about these last several years," Obi-Wan rephrased, amused that the young Sith Lord had a sense of humor. If they had met differently, they'd be fighting to the death, but now, their meeting seemed almost...casual. "I have some rations with me, are you hungry?"
Vader shook his head but his stomach expressed otherwise.
Obi-Wan smiled. He was far too calm about the situation to Vader's liking.
"I'll bring you something to eat just in case you change your mind." Obi-Wan knew they weren't friends but he felt he was in no danger from him and so he took the first steps in what he hopes would keep them from becoming enemies once more.
"Milady." Senator Bail approached Padme with quickness to his step. "I have news. Jedi Master Kenobi should be landing on the hills outside the city. He should be arriving in no less than a couple of hours."
Padme breathed out a sigh of relief at the news. It was good to hear that his mission to Coruscant didn't result in anything disastrous, she had lost enough good friends already, and she desperately needed to cling to whatever hope and friends she had left.
It was these times when she thought about Anakin. The last few nights left her restless, worried for his well-being. It was wrong for her to feel this way towards a man who's done nothing but contribute to the wrongs of the galaxy. His alliance to Palpatine should've been reason enough to stay away from him, but she couldn't.
She thought about him all the time, and hoped, despite their situation, that he made it out alive.
Obi-Wan opened the medical door and entered. Vader stood in front of the examination table with idle curiosity. His hands roamed the broken equipment but he never touched it. He concentrated on the force to try to read his mind, but as he suspected, with his strength returning, his shields were on alert and it left the Jedi unable to glimpse anything.
"Am I being arrested?" asked Vader in a low voice.
"I don't know yet," Obi-Wan answered as truthfully as he can. He's been meditating on these turn of events for the last several hours now, and he was no close to finding an answer then than he did now. He hoped Master Yoda could help with that. "But you were hurt, and that's why you're here. I've also sensed the power you wield - "
"I know," Vader interrupted.
"Is that why Palpatine used you?"
"He used me for a lot of things," Vader said, his voice lost and distant.
"Will you help us?"
If Vader could laugh right now, he could have. "Would you want my help?"
"That's entirely up to you."
"They'll kill me once I step foot in the city."
"I won't let them," Obi-Wan assured convincingly. "Especially not when you look like that," he also pointed out. It amazed him still that underneath the mask of such a hideous creature lived a young man no one has ever really seen. Except Palpatine, and more than likely, Amidala.
From beneath his robes, Obi-Wan took out a pair of mechanical cuffs.
Vader didn't look surprised at all.
"So I am under arrest?"
"In the eyes of the people, you're an enemy. I can't assure your safety if people are afraid of you."
"People are already afraid of me," Vader reminded him.
Obi-Wan nodded in truth of the statement.
"I will introduce you as Darth Vader to Senator Organa.If you want to getthrough this afternoon alive, you're going to have to tell him everything you know about Palpatine and the Empire's operations."
Vader stood before the Jedi, his enemy, or at least, he was an enemy. He couldn't describe what he was feeling. A part of him wanted to reach out and trust this person, but another beckoned that he keeps his guard up.
All he wanted to do now is find Padme, keep her near, and hope never to get lost in the darkness ever again.
Vader faced the Jedi with surprising resolve, and held out his wrists.
To be continued...