Chapter Six – It's Not Too Late
Vader approached the burnt out Lars' farm and noticed how much damage the fire had done. The farm was now charred black, and there were now two additional burial spots by it. There were two tomb stones, and two crosses made out of some cheap wood.
That's odd, Vader thought. The Tusken's would not have buried their bodies. And there was nobody living around here for miles. Who could have buried them?
Vader went down the steep stair case into the heart of the farm. Everything there was burnt, melted or broken. The floor had been left with marks from where the flames had stood. Vader moved through the house into what had been the spare bedroom when he had stayed here briefly, and the first thing he noticed was the bright colours the room had been decorated in. He then saw the cot, and the chest of toys.
Looks like he was well looked after.
Vader looked through the rest of them farm. Whoever had buried the bodies was long gone. Vader reached into the Force, and it told him to go east. It told him to travel over the countless hills and sand dunes and that he would find something there. There was something important there.
Vader made the decision to follow the Force and his instincts, and he started heading east. The sun beat down on him as he walked for what seemed like an age before he reached a small hut. He opened the door, and walked in. The first thing that hit him was the distinct smell of tea. Whoever had stayed here had liked their tea. The hut was very basic, with only the raw essentials in it.
Vader decided to look outside it for any evidence of whoever had lived here previously. The Force was telling him that something was here, something of significance and something that would help him find his son. He looked around, and on a section of slabs he found some burn marks. He bent down and dipped his index finger in the mark. Some of the charcoal like leftovers stuck to his finger. He sniffed it, and from the smell of it he could tell they were only a few days old.
There's something odd about this. Vader stared at the marks, deep in thought. He raised his eyebrows in mild surprise as it hit him. These are the marks of a lightsabre. He was sure of it. Not a lot of weapons left marks like these ones, and even those weapons would never have found their way to Tatooine. No, he was sure it was lightsabre marks. Which could mean only one thing.
A Jedi had lived here. Vader remembered the distinct smell of tea, and something clicked inside his brain. Only one Jedi he knew of that survived the Purge and liked tea as much as this person obviously did. Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Vader then came to the conclusion that he was the one who had buried Owen and Beru.
Yes, it all made sense to Vader. Obi-Wan must have come to Tatooine to watch over his son, in the hope that one day he could train him to become a Jedi Knight. But Obi-Wan was never that great when it came to looking after toddlers, so it was natural that he would find some trustworthy people to look after the boy. Those people would have to be the boy's distant but only living family left, the Lars. It all fit together perfectly.
The only question that remained was; where had they gone? Vader had no answer, and there was no clue as to where Obi-Wan and the boy had gone, and no clues as to when they would be back. Vader decided to have a look around the hut and before long he had found a little box under the bed.
Vader put the box on the bed, and lifted the lid off. Inside the box was his old lightsabre. Vader looked at it with sadness, for it was the weapon that he had tried so hard to destroy his former master with. H carefully picked it out of the box and ignited it. The blue blade hummed and lit up the hut. It felt comfortable in his hands, as if he had never lost it.
Vader extinguished the blade, and in the silence he heard a slight roar approaching. He walked at a fast pace outside and he could see a ship approaching the hut. Vader reached into the Force, and felt the presence of his former master. He looked up into the cockpit and there he was. Their eyes met, and Obi-Wan froze. Obi-Wan turned his head and muttered something to someone who was out of Vader's vision. The ship stopped its descent and it began to lower its ramp.
A few moments later and Obi-Wan was standing at the top of the ramp, just as he had done on Mustafar. He walked down the ramp and jumped the short distance to the ground when he reached the end. The ramp closed up and the ship began to rise once more. Vader watched as it flew out of the planet's atmosphere and out of sight. Then he turned to Obi-Wan, who was watching him carefully.
"What are you doing here Vader?" Obi-Wan said harshly. Vader felt a sting in his heart. It hurt him to know that even his master, his best friend for over thirteen years had not used his name. He looked down at the sand.
"Please don't call me Vader."
"Why? It is your name isn't it? Tell me what you're doing here."
"I was sent to get the boy. The Emperor says he is mine."
"Why?" There was a pause.
"The Emperor wants him… to become a Sith."
"If he is my child, no."
"Good. You can't have him. I cannot allow it. You and your master are far too dangerous to look after a small boy." Obi-Wan's words stung Vader again.
"Is he my son?" Obi-Wan said nothing. "Please Obi-Wan. I wanna know."
"Yes, he is your son. His name is Luke."
Luke. What a beautiful name, Vader thought.
"So, what now Vader? Do you plan on finishing the job you started on Mustafar?"
"Don't call me that. I- I don't want to be that... monster anymore."
"Anakin, you chose your path by your own free will. You chose your path and by doing so murdered hundreds of innocent Jedi. Old Jedi, young Padawans and even the younglings. The younglings Anakin! They were no threat to you and yet you slaughtered them like they were animals!" A tear rolled down Vader's cheek. "You destroyed the Jedi Order! You destroyed everything we fought to preserve! You destroyed us, just as you destroyed your wife Anakin."
Vader's eyes welled up so much that he could hardly see, and tear after tear rolled down his face. Obi-Wan's words had wounded him deeper than any lightsabre wound could ever do. His words hurt Vader more than the pain Vader felt when his mother died or when Dooku sliced off his right arm at the elbow.
"S-Sidious used me. He, he manipulated me a-and told me things he knew I wanted to hear, and I wanted to hear them so much that I-I believed him. Please Obi-Wan, you have to believe me. I never wanted this! I never wanted this to happen. I just wanted to save Padme and my baby!"
"It's too late to put right all your wrongs Anakin. You can't bring back the dead, I can't and Sidious can't. You chose to become Darth Vader, you chose the path of the Dark Side and you chose to murder all those innocent Jedi. That will be on your conscience forever. There's nothing you can do to fix it."
"No, you're right. But I can end it." Anakin ignited his lightsabre, his hands trembling as he did so. Obi-Wan looked at him with wide eyes. Anakin closed his eyes, and stretched out his arms with the lightsabre facing towards his chest.
"Anakin put the lightsabre down. Please, put it down on the ground. This is not what you want." He began to sprint towards Anakin in the hope that he might stop him in time.
"Goodbye, my Master. I will always love you." Obi-Wan was almost there. Just a couple of seconds longer. Anakin braced himself. He began to move the blade towards his chest. Obi-Wan grabbed his wrists and stopped him. Anakin opened his eyes and saw that he was a second away from death. Had Obi-Wan been one second late, Anakin would have plunged the blade into his heart, and he would have died.
Obi-Wan grabbed the hilt of the lightsabre and practically ripped it from Anakin's hands. He deactivated it and clipped it to his belt. Anakin fell to his knees and sobbed into his hands.
"I'm such a failure! I can't even manage to commit suicide properly!"
It hurt Obi-Wan to see his former apprentice in so much pain. He bent his knees so he was down to Anakin's level.
"Anakin, look at me" he said softly. Anakin removed his hands from his face slowly. Obi-Wan looked into his blue eyes. In them he saw pain, suffering and remorse. He saw a frightened, lost, exhausted and broken man. He couldn't cause him any more pain than he was feeling right now.
"Anakin, committing suicide is not the way to end your suffering. It's not as simple as that. If you really want to make up for what you've done, there's only one way to go about it. If it is forgiveness or redemption you seek, then you need to do the thing you know is right." He stressed the word 'know' as he spoke. "You will need to rid yourself of the Dark Side and destroy Vader before you can do anything else."
"I don't think I can Obi-Wan."
"You are the Chosen One, you can do it. I… believe in you."
"Even after all I've done?"
"Yes. If you are serious about redemption, then I will support you. I'll be there for you if you need somebody to give you that belief to go forward. I will be there if you need a shoulder to cry on. I will be there always. The Force will be with you, always." Anakin looked up at Obi-Wan and managed a weak smile.
"You look tired Anakin. You should rest. Come back to the hut. You can sleep in my bed."
"Yes Master." Obi-Wan and Anakin walked side by side to the hut. Neither man said another word to each other for the rest of the evening. Anakin obediently climbed into Obi-Wan's bed, and for the first time in nearly a year, Anakin had a good sleep. He knew his Master was there, and that was comfort in itself for him.
Authors Note: With this chapter up, I suppose you could say that 'phase one' of the story is almost complete. Anakin has succeeded in finding Obi-Wan. However, the road ahead will be a bumpy one and a massive test for the Chosen One. We shall see whether Anakin can put his inner devil Vader to rest forever, and if he can fulfil the prophecy. That is no easy task though, and there is always the possibility of failure.
Anyway, enough about the rest of the story. I have to thank everyone who has read and keeps reading Redemption. I must also thank everyone who has submitted a review; your comments are really appreciated. Please, please, please keep the reviews coming in. It really gives me a boost to know that people are enjoying my writing. So, keep reading, submitting your reviews, adding this story to your alert lists and most of all, enjoy Redemption.
To aliceandjasper; Your criticism is appreciated really, I just wanted to explain my reasons for putting a cross there instead of a tombstone. In the story Obi-Wan is quite poor, and so can't buy a proper memorial for the Lars' and he really doesn't have the time to be hanging around what with Luke to look after. He chooses to craft a cross because it's quick, cheap, easy to craft and while it is a symbol of Christianity, it is also quite a common choice for tombstones, so it is fitting in a way. But thank you for your criticism and please don't shy away from pointing stuff out that you don't like.