EPILOGUE

One year later

Obi-Wan and Leia stood near the deserted Imperial landing platform on the Forest Moon of Endor.

They were alone, having left the other members of their squad, Han and Chewbacca included, at the nearby Ewoks village, with the task to prepare a big celebration.

A little time before, the second Death Star had exploded, and it was confirmed news that both the Emperor and Darth Vader were on board.

The Emperor was dead and the news was travelling across the galaxy as fast as lightning. There would be many celebrations during the night that was sure.

Obi-Wan had felt Darth Sidious die, but not Vader, and that was the reason he and Leia were standing on the landing platform.

Luke was arriving—and he was not alone.

Obi-Wan and Leia were standing in silence, her back resting against his chest as he embraced her from behind and posed gentle kisses along her temple.

The Jedi Master was happy Sidious had been defeated, but he knew their battles there far from over.

Restoring the Galactic Republic was going to be a long and hard task, and the same went for the rebuilding of the Jedi Order. However Obi-Wan was confident about his and Luke's skills, and Leia's quite happiness as she rested in his arms filled him with great hopes for the future.

They would face whatever obstacle life threw at them together, as husband and wife.

Obi-Wan smiled, savouring those words, feeling a thrill when he thought of Leia as his wife.

They had been married only the day before this last offensive against the Empire had begun.

Some members of the Rebel Alliance had seen in their marriage the demonstration that their plan to defeat Palpatine was almost hopeless. They had thought the two lovers had married because they were afraid they would not survive. After all, were not they going to separated during the imminent battle, with Obi-Wan commanding the fleet along Admiral Ackbar and Leia leading the assault squad down on the moon?

Instead, Obi-Wan and Leia had married for the opposite reason. They were so confident about the outcome of the day they had decided to marry and to show in that way all the hope they harboured for the future.

"Are you sure he will land here?" Leia asked, entwining her fingers with his.

"Yes, I am sure, and if you close your eyes and concentrate, you will sense Luke coming closer."

"I can never concentrate when you whisper in my ear with that voice," she replied, her tone playful and suggestive.

Obi-Wan shifted his weight and squeezed her middle as he whispered playfully, "Wait until we are alone, wife, and then we will "not concentrate" together—all night long."

Leia turned her head and kissed his bearded cheek, "I cannot wait for that moment, husband."

Obi-Wan smiled down at his wife, as he mused about how much he loved her, and about how much good living at her side had done to his soul. He no longer felt old, both in his heart and in his spirit, but full of hope and expectations. It was like he had been born another time.

He felt a ripple in the Force and raised his eyes to look at the sky. "They are here," he said, as the air was filled with a sound of engines.

An Imperial shuttle with no identification lights landed gracefully on the huge platform, near the ship Obi-Wan had used to reach the moon.

The Jedi Master and his wife approached the ship as the ramp was lowered. Leia gasped aloud when the first thing she saw was Darth Vader's tall form, and her hand ran quickly to her blaster.

However she soon noticed Luke was supporting most of Vader's weight.

"Please Ben, help me, he needs medical care."

Obi-Wan wrapped his arm around Vader's back and helped Luke to carry his father down the ramp and to lower him on the landing platform, as Leia observed them, clearly shocked.

"Luke…" Vader raised an arm and Obi-Wan noticed his hand was missing. "Luke…"

"Don't tire yourself, Father. We are going to move you on Obi-Wan's shuttle and take you to the hospital ship…I could not fly directly there for my ship had been too damaged…" Luke said, as his eyes darted from the man laying on the ground to Obi-Wan, kneeling by his side.

"It's too late for me, my son…" Vader, no Anakin, replied, his mechanical voice sounding weak and raspy.

Obi-Wan felt his eyes blur at Luke's obvious pain and could not help but think back to the day Qui-Gon had died in his arms. The scene was so similar…

"Luke…help me take this mask off…"

"But you'll die," Luke protested, convulsively gripping one of Anakin's arms.

"Nothing can stop that now. Just for once... let me look on you with my own eyes."

Luke raised his sad, powerless eyes to Obi-Wan, searching for reassurance, but the Jedi Master could only shake his head. Anakin's Force signature was fading rapidly, he would not last long.

Obi-Wan reached out with his hand toward Leia, silently asking her to join him. She did, kneeling stiffly by his side, as he wrapped an arm around her waist in comfort.

Slowly, hesitantly, Luke removed the mask from his father's face. There was a hissing sound when the helmet was taken off and then Obi-Wan posed his eyes on Anakin's scarred face.

The first thing he noticed were Anakin's eyes: they had been yellow-red the last time he had seen them, but now they were again bright blue. The eyes Obi-Wan remembered filled with amusement, mischief, concentration, joy, determination… His Padawan's eyes.

Those blue eyes, after contemplating his son, were now looking at Obi-Wan, as Luke supported his head so Anakin did not have to strain himself.

"Master…forgive me…" he rasped.

"Shhh, Anakin," Obi-Wan murmured, forcing his words past the lump in his throat. "I forgive you, my brother…now be at peace and look who is here…"

Obi-Wan encouraged Leia to lean slightly forward and Anakin's eyes widened when he recognized her and realized who she really was.

"Daughter…you are my daughter…how couldn't see it before…you look so much like Padmé…"

Anakin coughed and blood appeared on his ashen lips.

"Don't strain yourself…Father," Leia murmured, posing a trembling hand on his scarred cheek.

"Leia…" Anakin smiled as he noticed the arm Obi-Wan had still wrapped around Leia's waist, and the way she leant against him.

The dying man's eyes sparkled for a brief moment, before a bout of pain wracked his body, making him grimace.

"Take care…of Leia…Master…she is…a…treasure…like...her mother."

Obi-Wan nodded wordlessly, not trusting his voice.

"And…you Luke…take care…of the…old man…here….He needs…a…Skywalker…to…save…his …skin…when…he…is…in…trouble…"

"Yes, Father," Luke whispered, as tears slid down his cheeks.

"Don't…cry. I am…happy now…I …love you…all...Padmé…I…am…coming…" Anakin's lips widened in a smile and then froze like that, as the light left his eyes and his Force signature was extinguished.

Obi-Wan reached out with his hand and gently closed Anakin's unseeing eyes, before he pulled Leia in his arms and comforted her as she sobbed.

"What should we do now?" Luke asked after a while, his voice low but under control.

"We will build a pyre and burn his body. He died as a Jedi and deserves a Jedi's funeral," Obi-Wan answered, and the twins nodded in approval.

-----

Two hours later, as darkness fell, Obi-Wan, Leia and Luke set torches to the logs stacked under a funeral pyre where Anakin Skywalker's body rested, watching sadly as flames leapt higher to consume it.

In the sky over their heads, fireworks exploded as the Rebel fighters passed above the forest, while several bonfires were lightened in the nearby Ewok village.

The party was already under way, but near the simple pyre, nobody felt like celebrating-- until the moment both Obi-Wan and Luke sensed a shift in the Force and two translucent, shimmering, blue-tinged figures appeared in front of them.

A young looking Anakin and Yoda, both dressed as Jedi. And near them, Obi-Wan could sense Qui-Gon's presence too.

Anakin and Yoda were smiling and some of their obvious happiness and cheerfulness transferred to the little group by the pyre.

Obi-Wan was the first one to react. He took Leia by her shoulders and kissed her deeply, as her arms surrounded him and her hands buried into his white hair.

Luke watched at them for a while, then he grinned, basking in his Master and sister's joy, until the couple stopped their kissing and gestured him to join them in a three-way embrace.

Behind their backs, Anakin exchanged a look with Yoda and the invisible Qui-Gon, before his eyes met Obi-Wan's once again.

The two men stared deeply at each other, and Anakin mouthed a "Thank you, Master," before he and Yoda disappeared.

The flames had died by the time Obi-Wan, Leia and Luke broke their embrace and looked at each other, smiling.

"So, what do you think if we return to the village before Han and Chewie eat all the food?" Leia suggested.

Obi-Wan rubbed his beard, feigning to ponder the matter, then grinned. "I think it's a wonderful idea. Luke?"

"I agree, Ben."

"Good. Then let's go!" Leia exclaimed, leading the way, followed closely by her husband and brother, as above their heads the stars seemed to be brighter than usual.

Love had triumphed.

The darkness had been defeated—and a new age would soon begin for the galaxy.

THE END