a/n: based off those same episodes, 'cause the Son does the thing here in the episode and I thought it was kind of a cool moment.
"You're weak. How disappointing." A smooth voice sounded near him, and Anakin groaned. His eyesight was blurry, but all around him was yellow and red. Why was it always yellow and red? "And you looked so promising in front of Father."
A feather touch on his cheek-Anakin lashed out with the Force. A satisfying thump sounded to his right. He blinked his eyes clear. He was in a cavern with magma pouring from the pillars holding up the ceiling and flowing around little islands of rock.
"That's more like it." The Son's voice was roughened, but his next statement came out evenly again. "Imagine what we could do, together. The galaxy would be ours for the taking."
Anakin rose and ignited his red lightsaber. "Your Father warned me about you."
The Son chuckled. "The fact that you needed a warning suggests it won't be heeded." Anakin kept his ready stance, and the Son frowned sympathetically. "You could leave, as you desire. Return to that Master of yours. He clearly has the best intentions."
Anakin gritted his teeth and the Son smiled. "Or you could do as Father asks," the Son started to pace, eyeing Anakin, "forever standing between me and my sister once he passes away," he moved closer as he rounded behind Anakin, "selflessly staying here, wasting away to maintain the balance of the Force." He halted in front of Anakin, expression dispassionate. "But we both know how that would turn out." He spoke softly, and Anakin let the lightsaber fall. "Why not skip all those years of torture and join me now?"
Anakin shook his head determinedly. "I will never join you!"
"Interesting. The embodiment of the Dark side is where you draw the line, but a Sith is fine. At least you recognize the importance of the dark." The Son's chuckles rolled through the room. "You are strange, Chosen one."
"Don't call me that!" Anakin readied his lightsaber again. He needed to focus. Although the Father wanted him to stay, Anakin had no desire to remain on this planet, or interact with any of its denizens more than necessary. The Father was the sanest of the three, as one might expect, but even he left Anakin nauseated and uneasy. "And stop wasting your time. There's nothing for me here."
"Oh, but there is." A blink, and the Son was behind Anakin, whispering in his ear, "Haven't you seen what your Master is preparing you for?"
Images arose before Anakin, blocking out the glow of the magma and the familiar stifling heat, robbing the reality he knew he existed in and replacing it with one in his head, one of screams and corpses, shocked faces going lifeless before his eyes, his hand outstretched. He tightened his grip on his lightsaber because he couldn't feel it in his hands anymore. Nothing was real except for the morbid parade. Pain seared through him as the blur of images focused on a man dueling him, slicing off his limbs. A new body, machine whirring, continued to wreak destruction throughout the galaxy, and all the while the Master's laugh filled his soul.
"If you leave, that is your destiny." The soft, pleasant voice was barely audible over the torment in his mind, but slowly his vision cleared and Anakin was one again with his body. He felt sick-he knew the people he was destined to kill. Not all of them, but did that matter? How was this bringing peace to the galaxy?
His eyes itched, but he forced them open against the hot acrid air and growled, "I make my own destiny."
"See anything, Master?" Ahsoka and Master Obi-Wan had located Lars's crashed ship, but he and the Son were nowhere to be found. However, his ship was looking worse for wear. Ahsoka poked at the jumble of wires which the Son must have ripped out during his attack.
Master Obi-Wan appeared from the cockpit. "Not yet. I can't sense anyone nearby, and I don't like the idea of facing the Son alone. I'm going to find the Father and ask for help."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "For all the help he's been."
Master Obi-Wan shook his head, though whether his disappointment was directed at her disparaging comment or at the obscure old man, Ahsoka didn't know. "Stay here and fix the ship."
"Fix his ship?" Ahsoka abandoned the bundle. "Master, he's a bad guy!"
"Isn't Lux Bonterri a Separatist as well?" His eyes twinkled while he goaded her, and Ahsoka groaned. Was he always going to tease her about Lux?
"Fine. Leave me here to fix the ship, where I definitely won't get attacked by some crazy gargoyle from the dark side of the force." She flicked her hand at the ruptures in the craft.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll be safe. None of them seem concerned with us. But do let me know if you sense anything." He headed towards the ship's ramp. "Once you finish, return to our ship and wait for me. Don't run off anywhere."
Ahsoka bit back a snarky retort. This planet was not a place to fool around on. "Yes, Master."
Master Obi-Wan smiled and exited, leaving Ahsoka to the craft. She couldn't fix the scratching and scoring, but she did know a thing or two about wiring and mechanics. A cursory glance of the cargo bay/entrance revealed that the Son hadn't focused on wrecking the ship, which meant that mostly superficial systems and wiring had been affected. The magna lock on the door would need to be adjusted, and the door bent back into shape. In the hallway she needed to fix the wiring, then run some tests to make sure Lars would have a safe journey home through space. She groaned, but located the ship's mechanics tools. She wanted to be ready to depart when Master Obi-Wan got back.
A few hours later the ship was serviceable. Not pretty, not high-performance, but given the circumstances Ahsoka was pleased with her work. Unfortunately, when she commed Master Obi-Wan he had found the Daughter instead, and was now searching for the Father.
"Go back to the ship," was all he directed.
"I will, Master." The mini holo fizzled and disappeared, and Ahsoka sighed. It wasn't that she wanted to abandon Lars on the planet (the thought had crossed her mind, and who could blame her for wanting to abandon an enemy on a dangerous planet?), but she hoped that Master Obi-Wan found him soon. No one deserved to be stranded on this creepy planet, not even Separatist scum. The sooner they all got off, the better.
Ahsoka packed the tools away and exited the ship. Twilight was approaching. If she wanted to reach the ship before night she'd have to run for it. She started jogging through the slumbering jungle, enjoying the plants' lethargy but wary of the oncoming darkness.
It seemed that all the Force Beings' interest revolved around Lars. Why would the Son kidnap Lars, by all accounts an average person? She didn't know, and it bothered her. She could understand disinterest in her, as she was just a padawan. It would be years before she became a full Jedi, and who knows how long before she had Master Obi-Wan's or Master Yoda's wisdom, but that made it weirder that they weren't interested in Master Obi-Wan. She slowed to duck under some branches, then resumed her pacing. Master Obi-Wan had been warned about a Sith lord controlling the Senate, but she doubted Lars was a Sith. That should be obvious. He was just average bad, not ultimate evil. Moreover, why would the Force Beings call someone evil to help with whatever it was. Maybe we're all their counterparts, Ahsoka mused. Lars would be the Son in that case, obviously.
The ground rippled beneath her feet. Ahsoka fell, and was caught by suddenly vivacious plants. Overhead light blazed. "What the-"
It was fully day again. She scrambled up to not get swallowed by the grasping plant life. She flicked on her comlink. "Master? Come in, Master."
When he didn't answer, she broke into a jog again, the fastest she could go with the flora. Once she got to the ship she could use the scanners to locate Master Obi-Wan, and Lars, and they could all get off this demented place. She checked her position, and angled to the right a little.
"Ahsoka?"
She put her arm with the comlink up to talk but kept running. "Master? I'm almost to the ship. Is everything okay?"
"No." In the holo she could see the Father with him, breathing heavily and laying himself down while Master Obi-Wan talked. "We need to get out of here, now. As soon as you get to the ship, come to my location."
"Acknowledged." She turned it off. Ahsoka was nearing her target, finally recognizing some of the landmarks around her. Within minutes she was on the ship and powering it up.
"Come on, come on," she urged the ship. The Jedi council could stand to invest in some better ships, she griped inwardly, but in reality the ship powered up as fast as could be expected for a somewhat military organization. The war had certainly provided them a chance for better equipment. "Here we go."
The ship lifted through the canopy under her direction, though she had to yank the controls to break off some vines and branches. She smirked. "Not today, sleemos."
Flying higher than usual above the roiling trees, Ahsoka piloted the ship towards Master Obi-Wan's signal, located in a tall structure that the Father inhabited. Master Obi-Wan didn't comm anything else, so only the sounds of her harsh breaths and the ship's keening, thrumming engine were audible. She wondered what the emergency was. It was rare for them to be threatened by something other than clankers, and Ahsoka felt a thrill at the uncertainty. She could hear Master Yoda's voice admonishing her in her head, stating Jedi ideals of not feeling anything. Maybe that came from being 900 years old, that stoicism. She didn't want that. Right now, she felt alive.
Something dashed across her vision, a dark shape beyond the tower. She squinted, but couldn't make out what it was. Probably the Son. She grimaced.
A flat area that might as well be a landing pad was at the base of the structure. She angled down to land, just as Master Obi-Wan rushed out. Ahsoka waved and lowered the ramp, trusting Master Obi-Wan to jump the distance required. A quick, "Hello there," came from the comlink, and she took off.
The door to the cockpit hissed behind her, and a disheveled Master Obi-Wan plopped down. "Lars?" she asked.
His face was pale. "He's fine. He-" But Master Obi-Wan trailed off, fingers fiercely stroking his facial hair. "Just fly. I'll explain later."
They were flying out to space, but still near the tower. Ahsoka saw it start to vibrate, pieces breaking off and falling. A couple thunks against the hull, but she increased the distance between them and the tower and the thunks stopped. What didn't stop was a frantic energy pulsing through her, so strong she felt her stomach preparing to hurl. She managed to gasp out, "Master, what's going on?"
He shook his head, holding onto the ship.
With a suddenness that felt like a hit to the head, the sensation stopped. Ahsoka sat dazed, hoping her stomach and head would stop aching soon. It was only when she opened her eyes that she noticed the planet had gone dark, a perpetual twilight below them. Then everything went black.
The Father gently raised himself from his resting place. There was little time, and he needed to speak with the Chosen One.
The halls had stopped shaking. Dust covered everything, his robes leaving a trail between the piles of rubble, soft scraping sounds with each step. This hall had always been a somber place, peopled by a somber family. His Son had raged, but even he had possessed a solemnity unusual for one of such passion.
At the entrance a dark figure stood framed by the doorway. Time to meet his destiny.