Chapter 1 – Necromancy
Plot: Obi-Wan never asked what happened to Shmi, and Anakin never told him… until he did. He may or may not have added that he knows a way to bring his mother back to life using necromancy, even though it involves a deep use of the Dark Side. It's for a good cause, so it'll be fine. Right? Necromancy AU post AotC
Author's Note: Okay, so, I wrote this fic as a gift for my friend thephantompanther. Sorry about how late this is. I think you asked for it like… three months ago? Lol. It's finally done though, and it was supposed to be a one-shot, but it's actually like three chapters. :D I'll be releasing it every other Friday until it's done. :P
To thephantompanther: I hope you enjoy this story! :D And feel free to leave any and all comments which you might have. ^-^
~ Amina Gila
The silence in the room is broken by a sudden crack, and Obi-Wan's head jerks up from his datapad. Anakin curses, slamming a hydrospanner down on the low table in the middle of the room hard enough that Obi-Wan fears the wood might be dented. The Padawan glares furiously down at the half-reassembled droid in his hands as if it is at fault for breaking again. Growling, he suddenly hurls it across the room, and it crashed into the wall, falling to the floor and rolling away a few feet, a couple loose parts tumbling out.
Obi-Wan frowns. Ever since Geonosis which was scarcely a week ago, Anakin has been increasingly moody and irritable, and it's worrying him. He can't even begin to understand the way Anakin is struggling, having to readjust to a prosthetic limb, but he senses there is something else going on, something to which he is not privy. "Have you been sleeping?" Obi-Wan asks finally as Anakin's glower turns to his mechanical limb. He's still not used to the strength of it, and he keeps breaking things by accident. "You seem unusually stressed and irritable recently."
When it becomes clear that Anakin isn't planning to reply, Obi-Wan continues pushing. "Are you still having dreams about your mother?" Anakin twitches, expression turning stony, and Obi-Wan takes that as an affirmative. While his Padawan has never really spoken to him at-length about the dreams, Obi-Wan has assumed they were born as a result of Anakin's not-so-secret attachment to her. "You need to let her go," he says gently, and Anakin snaps.
In a flash, he's on his feet, anger flashing in his blue eyes and pouring into the Force around him as he whirls on Obi-Wan, flicking his right hand. Obi-Wan barely has a chance to duck as a stool from the kitchen counter comes hurtling at his head. "Padawan!" he exclaims in surprise and disbelief as the stool hits the wall with a deafening crash. "What has gotten ahold of you?!"
"She's dead!" Anakin screams at him, and only now does Obi-Wan notice the way he's shaking, Force signature a maelstrom of seething emotions. Pain. Anger. Guilt. Grief. Oh. Oh Force. So this is why Anakin was on Tatooine when Obi-Wan attempted to contact him from Geonosis right before his capture. Up until now, both he and Senator Amidala have been reticent about why exactly they were there – though Obi-Wan had guessed – and what happened while they were there.
"She died in my arms, and there was nothing I could do about it!"
Obi-Wan winces. He understands all too well the pain of losing a parent. Qui-Gon was like a father to him, even if he shouldn't have been, for such is not the way of the Jedi. "I'm sorry, Anakin," he tells him quietly. "I didn't know."
He can feel Anakin's pain as he slumps back on the couch, rubbing his hands over his face. It hurts. Anakin has long been prone to attachments; his biggest problem has always been holding on too tightly to the people he cares about, and Obi-Wan has no idea how he'll move past this. If he ever will, a voice in the back of his mind thinks bitterly. He wants to help Anakin, but he doesn't even know how. His Padawan has grown more and more distant as time has passed, becoming increasingly distant from him. It stings if he's being honest. He wants to help Anakin grow into the best Jedi possible, but he doesn't know how to do that if Anakin refuses to be open with him about anything. It feels like a struggle to get him to speak about anything of an emotional nature, and Obi-Wan doesn't know why.
"Of course not," Anakin mumbles, shaking his head. "I never told you." He looks so worn out suddenly, and Obi-Wan resists the urge to chide him for not taking care of himself. Given the situation, he can't even blame Anakin for being unable – or even unwilling – to sleep. "It doesn't – it doesn't matter though," Anakin continues, something desperate and fervent in his eyes which wasn't there a moment ago. It makes Obi-Wan uneasy to see it. "I know how to save her."
Obi-Wan blinks. "What?" he says stupidly, confused. "You said she's… dead. You can't save someone from death."
"There are legends on Tatooine of people who can… restore life to the deceased," Anakin argues, becoming more confident as he speaks.
"Legends and nothing more." Obi-Wan keeps his voice calm so as not to betray his rising horror. He knows what Anakin is talking about because he's heard of those stories as well. The Jedi warn against delving into the Dark Side for such purposes. Powerful Force users can, though the Dark Side, resurrect the deceased using an ancient form of necromancy.
Anakin's expression twists. "I know what I'm talking about…" He pauses, narrowing his eyes. "And I think you do too."
Obi-Wan feels his stomach drop somewhere down near his toes. "Anakin, you can't," he declares, trying to sound firm and unyielding, though he can't quite keep the worry from his tone. "That's the Dark Side you're talking about. Your mother wouldn't want you to do something like that!"
Anakin slams his prosthetic down on the table. "Leave her out of this," he snarls, shaking with suppressed fury. "Bringing her back is the lesser of two evils, and I'm not changing my mind about it!"
Obi-Wan puts down his datapad, fixing Anakin with a cool stare. "You will do no such thing, Padawan, and that is an order!" He tries very hard not to snap, but he doesn't think he fully succeeds.
A nasty smile appears on Anakin's face for a moment before he stands. "I guess this won't be the first order I've broken, now, will it?" With those words, he storms out of the room, leaving the droid parts and tools behind him. Obi-Wan doesn't try to follow him, deciding to give him space to cool off. Surely when he's calm, he'll be more reasonable. Except this is Anakin, and since when has he ever known his Padawan to give up on something to which his mind has been set?
Obi-Wan checks several times though their bond, and though Anakin has blocked off his end, he can still feel his Padawan's dark, turbulent emotions through the Force. He hopes that this will be the end of it, that in the morning, he'll be able to try and talk to Anakin about it again. He shouldn't have waited. In the morning – though he almost always wakes up long before his Padawan – Anakin is already gone.
**w**
The starfighter hums beneath Anakin's hands as if it was made for him. Maybe it was. Or maybe he was made to fly. There's nothing as freeing as flying, regardless of the kind of machine involved: pods, speeders, ships, etc. The ship jolts as it comes out of hyperspace, and Anakin swoops downwards towards Tatooine.
He snuck out of the Temple as soon as he knew Obi-Wan was sleeping, because he didn't want to wait around for the inevitable continuation of their argument. There's nothing worse than disappointing his master, and he knows that what he's about to do surely will, but – but this is his mother. She gave everything for him, and he failed her. If nothing else, Anakin can at least give her back the life that was stolen from her far too soon.
While he doesn't know exactly where the necromancer on Tatooine is located – all the legends say that she lives in the Jundland Wastes – he wants to visit his mother first. There is a part of him which is having doubts, doubts that he had even before he first confessed his desires to Padme. She hadn't fully understood the implications, but she had cautioned him to be careful. If he does this, he'll be going against every Jedi ideal which he's been taught. Can he even go back to them after such a betrayal, after embracing the Dark Side to such an extent?
But at the same time, he's the so-called Chosen One, right? With his level of power, he should be able to use the Dark Side as is necessary to bring back his mother before turning to the Temple as a Jedi. He's torn between opposing sides, and perhaps Obi-Wan could have talked him out of this if he hadn't snuck away. His master doesn't understand though; he doesn't – can't help Anakin the way he needs help most, because what Anakin needs is far more than anything Obi-Wan will be willing to give. Obi-Wan is a Jedi first and foremost. He would never indulge Anakin's emotions the way Anakin wishes he would.
He pushes the thought firmly aside, landing the starfighter on the Lars homestead, not far from the family graveyard there. It's still early. Dawn hasn't even broken yet, and the horizon is only now beginning to turn a majestic shade of pink orange. Anakin opens the hatch on the starfighter, leaping out to the sand and slowly stepping towards his mother's grave. Being here hurts; it's like a knife to the chest to see the place where her body is lying. It's wrong. She shouldn't be dead, but she is, and it's all Anakin's fault. He wasn't good enough, fast enough to save her.
"Mom," he whispers, falling to his knees in the sand, feeling tears flood his eyes. He blinks them away, bowing his head and letting the particles of sand trickle through his fingers. It's coarse, just the way he remembers, and the feel of it sends a chill of fear down his spine. He ruthlessly crushes it, forcefully turning his mind solely onto his mother. He doesn't have time to be distracted by other concerns. "Mom, I'm going to save you," he murmurs to the empty air. "I'm going to bring you back. I can't – I can't let you stay dead. I can't."
His voice breaks, more tears flowing down his cheeks as grief overwhelms him. He has to fix this. He has to make this right.
Anakin kneels next to his mother's grave, silently asking the Force for guidance. Finally, as the first sun peeks up over the horizon, the Force gives him a nudge. He obeys it as he always does, rising to his feet and drying his face before he climbs back into the starfighter and flies away towards the Jundland Wastes.
He feels the first stirrings of the Dark Side not even ten minutes later as he skims low over the surface of the ground. When he killed the camp of Tusken Raiders, he touched it briefly then, so he is well acquainted with how it feels. Anakin lands the starfighter again and slips out to the ground, looking around warily. The chill of the Dark Side is clinging to everything here, and he is about to find the source. His determination outweighs his cautiousness, spurring him onwards.
"Are you looking for me, child?" The weakened voice of an older woman reaches his ears, and he jumps, spinning around to see her standing in the shadows of what initially appeared to be a cave of some sort. She is elderly, her frail appearance belied by the confidence and strength with which she moves towards him. Her skin is quite tanned from living out here in the desert, her hair graying.
"I –" Anakin nearly chokes on his words as he feels the Dark Side radiating from her. She isn't dangerous though, and she means him no harm; he can sense it. If anything, she is looking at him with a kindness and compassion that seems so familiar. It reminds him of his mother for some reason. "Yes, you are the necromancer," he states.
She laughs. "Most call me a witch," she replies, gesturing to him. "Come, child. Tell me what you are doing so far out here. It is highly irregular to see Jedi all the way out here – except, wait. You are a child of the desert, are you not?"
Anakin stills at the question, wondering how she knew. He shouldn't be so surprised, he supposes bitterly, because slaves – whether freed or not – always seem to know who else is, or has been, like them. It's something instinctive in a way, and it's also a result of the fact that slaves change. He doesn't like to think about it much; he doesn't like to think about how he has been shaped by his past.
The necromancer reaches out, patting his shoulder, and Anakin can sense her genuine understanding and concern for him through the Force. Stiffly, he follows her into the opening of the cavern. A concealed door slides shut behind him, nearly making him jump in surprise. So, that's why he didn't notice her dwelling place until she spoke. It's been so long since he has interacted with anyone who understands his culture, the place he came from, and for some reason, it's making him feel more awkward than anything else.
The witch drops to the floor, cross-legged, and after a moment of hesitation, Anakin sits opposite her. "I remember you." It's the first thing she says, and it takes Anakin by surprise.
"What?" he blurts out, surprised. "How – how could you remember me?" I don't remember seeing you, he doesn't say.
She smiles, a bit sadly. "You wouldn't remember me," she tells him, answering his unspoken question, "But I never forgot you, Anakin Skywalker." He twitches when she uses his full name, remaining silent, letting her speak her mind. She is an elder, after all, and he respects her for that. "You are strong, young one, so strong, and I sensed it when you were but a toddler. I spoke to your mother about it – Shmi was a wonderful woman. She did not want me to teach you what I knew, because she feared the costs you would have to pay for delving into the type of dark magic which I use."
Anakin lowers his gaze to the stone floor. "She's dead," he whispers, "And I want to bring her back." It feels more real now, far more so than it did when he was still at the Temple. The witch is here in front of him, and Anakin can't help but think that she's not nearly as evil and dangerous as the Jedi would make her out to be. She's a Dark Sider – self-taught possibly – but she still uses it; it's tainted her, of course, though she doesn't seem to have lost what makes her a… good person.
He feels her nod, her sorrow whispering out into the Force. "Yes, I had heard," she murmurs. "I am deeply sorry for your loss, child. I am growing older now, and what you ask is more than I am capable of giving. When I was young, I would have been able to make the sacrifice necessary to bring back your mother the way she was, but now, I can do no more than create a mimicry of her body; her soul will not return."
For a moment, it's as if he can't even breath. "Please, there has to be something you can do." He can't have come all this way, risked his master's disappointment and anger, for nothing.
The witch tilts her head, a half-smile on her lips. "I cannot… but you can." She reaches out, taking Anakin's hand, his right hand – she has to be able to feel the prosthetic – and squeezes it, not showing any signs of surprise when she feels the hardness of it. "You are very powerful and gifted. You are the only one who has the ability to bring her back, if that is what you truly want."
Anakin swallows, meeting her dark hazel eyes. Is there even anything to consider? He massacred the entire camp of Tusken Raiders which captured and tortured his mother to death. Why would he not be willing to embrace the Dark Side too if it means she'll be alive again? "Tell me what to do," he says at last, and she smiles gently at him, rising to her feet in one fluid motion.
**w**
Obi-Wan is – not frantic, because that would be very unbefitting of a Jedi – concerned about Anakin, to say the least. He tried comming Anakin numerous times after awakening, but his Padawan never answered. He's not at the Temple either; Obi-Wan would know if he was, because he would be able to sense him. Their bond is still there, a faint tendril of light disappearing off into the darkness, and Obi-Wan suddenly has a very bad feeling that Anakin might have left Coruscant entirely.
"There are legends on Tatooine of people who can… restore life to the deceased."
Where else would Anakin have gone, if not to Tatooine? Still, that's a great distance away, and if Obi-Wan is wrong, he could be aimlessly chasing all over the galaxy, trying to reach his Padawan before he does something incredibly ill-advised. He has a deadline, though he doesn't know when it is which makes this so much harder. He wishes suddenly, fervently, that he had responded different to Anakin, but he had been so surprised by the revelation that he had spoken without taking the time to think properly about how Anakin might react.
He should have known that Anakin would never be willing to listen to him, especially when he had so clearly made up his mind. But the Dark Side? What is he thinking? He'll be expelled from the Order at the very least, for engaging in black magic practices such as that. Death is a natural part of life, and he must have failed Anakin exceedingly for him to think that performing necromancy to bring back his mother is alright. But who is he trying to fool? This is Anakin. He doesn't let go. He doesn't even seem to know how, for all that Obi-Wan has tried to teach it to him. But that is a concern for later.
Now, Obi-Wan needs to find Anakin. He probably should speak to someone, ask for help, but doing so will require him to tell another Jedi what happened. If everything goes well, no harm will be done, and Obi-Wan will change Anakin's mind before he actually does anything. In that case, it's probably time for him to make a trip to Tatooine. The Force will have to guide him because he has no idea where he's headed.
With that thought in mind, Obi-Wan hurries to the Temple hanger to locate a suitable shuttle. Time is of the essence.
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