"They entered light speed.", Ahsoka stated, glancing over to Obi Wan. They'll be here soon, only a few hours." Obi Wan nodded. "Then we'll see if she came with him voluntarily." Ahsoka sighed. "Did Anakin ever tell you why he turned?"
Obi Wan rolled his eyes. "From my point of view the jedi are evil.", he said while drawing air quotes with his fingers. "He wanted to save Padmé." Obi Wan frowned. "By choking her?", he challenged. Ahsoka sighed.
"There's nothing he regrets more than that.", she said. Obi Wan snorted. "Has he ever told you how his mother died?", she continued. Obi Wan shrugged. "Briefly. She was killed by tusken raiders, he was too late." Ahsoka nodded.
"Has he told you why he went to Tatooine in the first place?" Obi Wan shook his head. "He had dreams about her death. The visions got more and more unbearable. That's why he went to check for her." Obi Wan frowned.
"He never said anything about those visions. But so what? His mother died three years before mustafar." "I know. You see, he had similar visions about Padmé when she got closer to giving birth. He thought she would die."
Obi Wan raised his brows. "He never told me." Ahsoka nodded. "Palpatine promised him the power to save her life. "And he was foolish enough to believe that?" Ahsoka nodded.
"I assume Palpatine was winning his trust ever since Anakin came from Tatooine. You always tell me that sith are masters of trickery. Can you blame Anakin, being manipulated by Palpatine all his life?"
Obi Wan remained silent, digesting what Ahsoka had told him. "That doesn't make him innocent." "Of course it doesn't.", she called out. "I never said he was innocent. I just think that he deserves a second chance."
Obi Wan frowned. "Are you sure that he didn't lie to you?" Ahsoka nodded. "Absolutely." Obi Wan sat down, hiding his face behind his hands. "What are you thinking?", Ahsoka asked. "It's my fault.", Obi Wan murmured.
Ahsoka's eyes widened. "What?" "Even without considering what you just told me, it's all my fault. I should have been there for him. It was my task to protect him from the darkness, but I let him fall straight into it."
"Obi Wan, don't do this to yourself.", she began but he shook his head. "Anakin was like a little brother to me. Jedi aren't supposed to be attached but I loved him. Then there was mustafar. I had to fight him." His voice began to quiver.
"I had to fight my brother, and I only watched as he was screaming, set on fire. I could have done something. I should have at least given him a pleasant death." Ahsoka took Obi Wan's hand in her own.
"He survived. He's been through a lot but he's getting out of it. He has finally realized that Palpatine was only controlling him. Obi Wan, your brother is returning." Ahsoka looked into Obi Wan's eyes.
"Anakin has always been alive. Vader had almost defeated him, but the sith is dying now. You can help Anakin to fight him. He dropped into the darkness without you noticing, but you can help him out of it now." Obi Wan nodded.
"But what if he is fooling us, Ahsoka? I fear Vader. I fear that Anakin is dead. What if two years have been too long?" "You worry too much, Obi Wan. And Jedi don't believe in fear. Please just try to help me. Try to help him."
Vader watched silently as Padmé and Nuha fell into each other's arms. "I told you we would get out somehow.", Padmé said, laughing. Nuha nodded. "And I told you that Anakin is probably alive." Vader frowned. How would she know that?
"You seem sort of familiar.", he murmured, looking at Nuha. She nodded. "We've met a few times in the temple. I'm Nuha Kaleki, former padawan." Vader looked at her in surprise.
"Congratulations on your survival. Not many were able to keep their lives." Vader murmured, noticing that Padmé grew a little nervous. She looked at him, almost holding her breath. Was she expecting that he would kill Nuha?
Of course, it would be the reasonable thing to expect. Vader shook his head barely noticeable, so only Padmé understood what he meant. Her face relaxed in relief. Nuha was still eyeing Vader strangely. He felt what she thought.
She was terrified of him, but she couldn't quite grasp why. She felt the dark side deep within him, but she didn't know what the feeling meant. She truly was not very well educated in the ways of the force.
"Where are we flying?", Nuha finally asked, as her look wandered to the window. They were moving in hyper speed so the stars blurred until there were only lines left to see. "The outer rim. Mustafar.", Vader said. Nuha nodded.
Apparently Padmé hadn't told her about that part, or if she had, only briefly. Nuha stepped back again, gripping the hand of her human companion. He looked like a mandalorian, with his slender face and brown hair.
Vader eyed Padmé, still unable to believe that this was really her. And she looked back at him, her glance filled with beautiful compassion. Nuha tugged at her friends arm so he would leave the room with her.
Padmé made a few steps towards Vader until she was standing right before him. She lifted a hand, gently tracing his jawline with her thumb. "You have no idea how happy I am.", she whiffed. Vader put one hand around her waist.
"I didn't dare to hope that you would ever speak with me again. After what I did to you..." Padmé's thumb traveled across his chin, to rest on his lips. "Those were five seconds. Please don't make yourself crazy because of that."
Vader frowned. "I choked you, Padmé. How can you forgive me?" "Anakin. the two years I spent, thinking you were dead were horrible. I couldn't think about anything else, feeling awful for what happened to you."
"You felt bad about what happened to me? That's...ironic." "You were so obsessed with saving my life, I could have done better. I could have told you..." Vader shook his head.
"This is not your burden. Whatever you would have said, I wouldn't have listened. I would have kept going insane. None of what happened was your fault." Padmé looked down. "Did Obi Wan know that you were Darth Vader?" Vader frowned.
"He knows that I am. I guess he always knew." Padmé's face distorted in anger. "That liar! He told me you died! He told me he killed you." Vader snorted. "He came to the executor after that, knowing exactly who I was."
Padmé's eyes darkened. "What did he promise himself of that?" Vader shrugged. "He probably feared that you would mistake me for Anakin. He has very strong opinions on the topic." Padmé shook her head in disbelief.
"I can't believe he would lie to me like that. He shouldn't have made my decisions for me." Vader raised his brows. "And what is your decision now?" Padmé smirked at him.
"It's obvious. I know you, Anakin. And I have seen Vader before. Trust me, I can tell the difference." She stopped tracing his contours to wrap her arms around his neck. "Why did he come to the executor?", she asked.
"He was looking for Ahsoka. She was there with me. She insisted on coming after finding out who Darth Vader really was. Both are on Mustafar now. They couldn't really leave because we had to pretend that I killed them." Padmé frowned.
"Pretend that you killed them?" Vader nodded. "I met Ahsoka because the Emperor send me to kill her. So I told him I did. No one is allowed to see her, since she's officially dead. It's the same with Obi Wan."
Padmé nodded. "I begin to understand.", she said, leaning against Vader's chest. "Anakin, promise me something.", she mumbled. "Anything.", he replied. "Don't you ever die again." Vader chuckled a little. "I always try not to."
The door was slammed open. Nuha and Thral were standing in the frame. Thral was obviously angry, Nuha was so pale she looked like freshly cut grass. "This fell out of a storage union.", Thral announced and presented Vader's mask.
"Don't break that.", Vader said, staying calm. "It's important." "It makes sense, Padmé.", Nuha stammered. "You said he was burned, the breathing mechanism, it all adds up." Padmé stared at the mask with unreadable emotions.
"You!", Thral said, pointing at Vader and pushing Nuha behind himself in a protective gesture. "You are the one, wandering through the galaxy, killing all the jedi, and destroying everything, everything else in your path."
"I am.", Vader said, still calm. He summoned the mask, which flew across the room to land in Vader's hand. He threw it onto the bed Padmé lied on earlier. "I'll still need that later.", he explained.
"Get away from him!", Nuha called, addressing Padmé. Padmé only shoved her arm around Vader's. She shook her head looking down. "If who I am makes you uncomfortable, I am willing to drop you off whenever, wherever you want."
Thral's eyes sparkled in hatred. "Stop acting, sith. We're prisoners aren't we?" Vader snorted. "I clearly recall you insisting on coming here. I didn't want to take you in the first place." Thral exhaled angrily.
"Is this some sith trick? You're making yourself look like Anakin Skywalker?" Nuha grabbed his arm. "Thral..." Vader only rolled his eyes. "He's not brightest one, is he?", he asked addressing Nuha.
"Calm down.", Padmé said, looking straight into Nuha's eyes. "Padmé...he really is Vader." Padmé only pressed herself tighter to his side. "Padmé please. Think about it, it makes sense." Padmé nodded. "That's because it's true. He told me already."
Vader looked at her, not knowing what to do or say. "So what now? Do you want to leave?" Thral looked at Nuha, but she only kept staring at Padmé. "Only with Padmé.", she said. Padmé shook her head. "Never.", she said.
"I am sure you understand.", she added. She let go of Vader, to walk over to where the mask was lying. She picked it up, to lift it front of her face. She kept looking at it wordlessly. Nuha was taking a few steps towards her.
By doing so, she also advanced in the direction of Vader, but it seemed like she became oblivious of his presence. "Don't get funny ideas, sith.", Thral hissed and raised his fists. Vader had to keep himself from chuckling.
He only lifted a finger, and pushed Thral's arms down through the force. "Not now.", he said. Thral's face began turning red, but he didn't do anything stupid. "What happens to the Emperor?", Padmé whispered.
Vader frowned. "What do you mean?" "What will happen to the man who put you in this thing? Are you still obeying him?" Vader shrugged. "Not really. I lied to him a lot recently." Nuha's glance turned to Vader. "You lie to your master?"
Padmé's expression changed. She looked at Nuha sourly. "Of course I do. You don't know of the rule of two?" Nuha shook her head. "Yoda mentioned it once, but didn't explain.", she said. Vader nodded.
"A sith master searches for stronger and stronger apprentices, until one of them is stronger than himself. Then it repeats. There is no trust or loyalty." "You're what I felt the whole time, aren't you?", she whispered. "I assume.", he answered.
"I don't know what you have been feeling earlier, but if it was what you are feeling right now, then yes." Nuha began shaking again. "You know what I'm sensing." Vader nodded slowly. "You feel the dark side."
Nuha whimpered. "It's everywhere, it's overwhelming." Vader snorted. "You have never felt the darkness in Sidious. It's barely comparable." Vader closed his eyes and concentrated on veiling himself of Nuha.
Her force sensitivity was curious and she had no control over it at all. She wouldn't be able to ignore what she received from Vader, so he did it for her. She exhaled in relief. "What?" She looked up to Vader. "What did you do?", she asked.
"I veiled my force signature. You obviously are relieved not to sense it anymore." Nuha nodded. "It's... warm again." Thral was looking at Nuha in confusion. "He didn't do anything, Nuha. What do you mean?"
Vader sighed. "Ever heard of the force? You couldn't understand." Thral frowned. "The force is when jedi move things around with their minds. You didn't do anything just now." Vader raised one brow. "Your ignorance is impressive."
Padmé looked out of the window again. "We're losing speed.", she said. Vader nodded. "We should be on mustafar soon. Now, will you come with us or not?" Nuha frowned. "I will stay with Padmé." "And I will stay with you.", Thral said.
Obi Wan stared at the tiny holo of Vader's fighter, entering mustafar's orbit. They would be here soon. Padmé would finally be with her husband and children again. Obi Wan wondered, what it would do to Vader.
He had achieved what he had wanted to achieve, maybe he would go back to what he had been doing before his surgery. Or maybe Ahsoka was right and Padmé's absence was what had kept him in the darkness.
Did Padmé already know what had become of Anakin? And how had the weeks she had spent with out her freedom changed her? Again, there were far too many questions in Obi Wan's head that screamed for answering.
Time would respond to all of them, Obi Wan only had to remain patient. Ever since he had come to Vader, it was like he forgot everything about the jedi teachings. He had become short tempered, impulsive and emotional.
He exited the room to look for Ahsoka. He found her, playing with both of the twins in the hall. "They've entered the atmosphere.", he informed her. She stood up in a hurry. "Really? Oh, finally!"
She held out her hands, for each of the twins to grab one of them. "Where we go?", Leia asked as Ahsoka and Obi Wan guided them towards the entrance. "That's a surprise.", Ahsoka smiled.
Both of their parents were returning, Obi Wan felt happy for the twins. He wasn't sure what to think of Padmé's fate, but this was certainly better for the children. "Do you think he told her?", Obi Wan asked Ahsoka.
She frowned. "Told her what?" "You know. Who he is.", he mumbled. "Probably.", Ahsoka said. "Why would he keep that from her?", she added. Obi Wan shrugged. "Who knows what's going on in that man's head.", he murmured.
"He was the most impatient, disobedient, hotheaded person I knew back then." Ahsoka grinned. "He was good at improvising.", she said. Obi Wan snorted. "He sure wasn't easy to handle as a padawan."
"He wasn't the easiest master either.", Ahsoka sighed. "But he was a good one.", she added. Obi Wan smiled. "When you were assigned to him, I only feared having two of the sort now." Ahsoka chuckled.