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Chapter 24 – Prodigal
Gulls caterwauled as the first rays of light hit the Great Western Sea that morning. They wobbled near the shore, leaving webbed footprints in winding patterns. Waves erased those tracks, receded, and soaked the sand dark again each minute.
Padmé stood watching the scene in a mild trance, mug of tea in hand. After seven weeks, she'd expected the view to become trite or boring. But it had become just the opposite. Not once had she found herself taking it for granted or glossing over it without appreciation. It was every bit as unique and stunning as the first day she'd seen it – if not more so.
Even though she wasn't viewing it alongside a unique and stunning companion.
That wasn't fair – Ainar was both those things. But she'd be lying if she said his company had been enough to keep her mind off their mutual relative.
Nor had the memory of their most recent visitor completely faded. Padmé's mind was on Giri when Ainar walked up behind her.
"Another beautiful sunrise," he sipped from his mug.
"Mm."
"Not impressed?"
Padmé blinked, coming back to the present. "Sorry, I'm not completely with it this morning."
Ainar studied her. "You're worrying again."
"I am not!" she blushed defensively, uncomfortable with his Jedi intuition. He'd been honing his skills and seemed to be getting sharper every day.
"Don't feel self-conscious. I'm worried too."
"You are?"
"How could I not? That woman was strange, no doubt about it," Ainar tucked an arm across his chest, frowning.
"And Force knows if she'll come back!"
"It's not Giri I'm afraid of returning. It's whomever she works for."
Padmé gripped her mug for dear life. "I have a bad feeling about this, Ainar."
"So do I," he said grimly. "Even with the new security patrol on the beach, I sense we're still vulnerable."
Though Padmé couldn't see them, several shadow troopers marched along the sand. Their boots left distinct impressions beside the gulls'.
"It's been well over a month… if they had something planned, wouldn't it have happened by now?" she postulated, trying to restore hope.
"I wish I could be sure. I don't feel the danger has fully passed."
Padmé dropped her head. "He needs to come back. Now."
Ainar wrapped a reassuring arm around her. "He will, very soon."
It was her turn to study him. "You're sounding more and more confident in your predictions. It must be an amazing talent to have."
"It is. Until he explained the potential power, I had no idea –"
Suddenly as pale as a ghost, Ainar stopped cold and almost dropped his mug. His hands shook slightly as he took one step away from the window, then another. Padmé feared he might be suffering a heart attack.
"He's here," he whispered, unable to focus his eyes. "Right now, walking down the path…"
Padmé didn't have to ask who. Father and daughter-in-law stumbled over each other in their race for the door. Somewhere along the way, they managed to shout Luke and Leia's names to summon them. The four housemates stood breathlessly in the front foyer. Even the twins respected the moment by not saying a word.
And what respect the moment commanded.
Low-hanging tree boughs blocked everything from view at first. Then a pair of black-booted feet appeared, slowly but steadily treading down the gravel slope. Two black-clad legs came into view next. Then a black belt, with two hands swinging to either side.
Hands covered in flesh, not Mandalorian glove armor.
It didn't register at first. Neither did the gray tunic tucked comfortably at his waist. And certainly not the fair-skinned neck and face atop it all.
Time stood still and collapsed in on itself. The world and the universe beyond shrank to a single point around Anakin Skywalker's fully human form.
Tears sprang to Ainar's eyes. Padmé's heart stopped beating altogether. The twins broke their silence with enough joy to fill an entire star system. And then, in the blink of an eye, they were all standing outside, breathing the same fresh air as Darth Vader. It felt like freefalling into a canyon with no parachute.
Luke and Leia's squeals fell on Padmé's deaf ears. Sight was the only sense working for her right now. Not even a sonic boom would have distracted her from his… her husband's… face.
A face that was smiling. Speaking. Laughing.
"Daddy! You look so different!" Leia's elated voice exclaimed.
"Where did you go?" pressed Luke, jockeying for room to hug his father's waist.
"Are you done wearing that suit forever?"
Vader beamed at them, thrilled to feel their warmth for the first time. "I went to a special hospital, and no, I won't need to wear the suit again."
"So you're all better?"
"Yes, Leia, I'm all better," he ran his fingers through her dark brown hair.
Her eyes twinkled in joy and wonder as she gazed up at his. "You look pretty, Daddy."
That earned a laugh from Vader and Ainar, who approached his son with no less awe than the twins. A hush fell over the universe when father and son met each other's blue eyes.
"Force…" Ainar breathed. "If your mother could see you now…"
"She can," Vader embraced him. Hard. Neither man's eyes were dry when they pulled apart.
Ainar shook his head in sheer amazement, taking in the flawless creature before him. "Do you feel as good as you look?"
Vader breathed in deeply. How he savored the taste and feel of air through his nostrils.
"Simply put, yes," he answered. "But I won't feel completely whole until I settle a few other things."
He leaned to see the figure standing behind Ainar. She stood half in the shade of a tree, unable to move any closer.
So he'd just have to be the one to move toward her.
"…Padmé?"
The twins broke their hold on him as he took one step, then another. A breeze rustled the leaves and shadows danced across their faces. Patches of sunlight jumped from his nose to her eyes and back again. Not a bird or squirrel rustled. Nature fell silent for this sacred moment.
Vader knew she saw him. Yet she seemed to be in some sort of trance.
"I did this for you," he stepped closer, palms facing outward in humility. "And I'd do it all over again."
Padmé's ears were working again, and the voice she heard made her catapult several years back. Suddenly she wasn't standing near the shores of the Great Western Sea anymore, but the shores of Varykino. Then she was on her balcony at 500 Republica, gazing into those eyes as he told her how beautiful she looked in her blue silk nightgown.
And then she returned to the present. As if the five gruesome years between then and now were simply eaten by time.
"Is it really you?" she whispered, afraid to speak louder for fear of making his ghost vanish.
Vader now stood within two feet of her, amazed she hadn't recoiled yet. That she was letting him get this close.
"See for yourself," he entreated.
She had no choice but to accept the invitation. Her hands rose on their own accord, pulled by unseen strings. Her fingertips hovered mere millimeters from his cheeks. She felt his steady puffs of breath on her wrists.
Both of them flinched when she laid her palms on his head. Exploring his skull, chin, and shoulders like a blind person mapping a stranger's appearance, Padmé felt the solid bone beneath the supple skin. There was, in fact, no armor. This wasn't a trick or Force illusion. All was as it appeared.
"How…?"
"There are some very skilled surgeons in the galaxy, if you know where to look," answered Vader, intoxicated by the aroma of her hair stirred by the breeze.
Padmé's mouth hung permanently open. "Of all that I imagined you doing while away… this… this is…"
"Literally the last thing you could imagine?"
She nodded dumbly.
"I thought it was impossible too. But seeing is believing… for both of us," he stated.
Something about his gaze was starting to make her uncomfortable, not unlike many years ago in her apartment. The unspoken solicitation in his eyes made her skin tingle and crawl at the same time. Instinctively drawing back ever so slowly, she tried to keep a neutral expression.
"Yes, it's remarkable. But what now? Do you plan to step back into our lives just like that?" having Ainar nearby gave Padmé the courage to speak thus. "Did you think absolution would be as easy as freshening up? That if you didn't look so frightening anymore, I wouldn't be frightened?"
He pressed his lips, face unreadable while she continued.
"I admire the effort you've made so far. Going through that procedure must have been painful and challenging. But to me, the face you've reconstructed is scarier than the mask you shed! Because it's the face I saw on Mustafar just before…" she choked on the memory, unable to say the rest. "Do you hear what I'm saying? This gift you went to so much trouble for… might not be something I necessarily appreciate."
She expected indignation. Inflamed pride. The usual Skywalker response. The one she'd seen countless times during their three years of living together. She dug both heels firmly into the dirt, bracing for it.
But all that buffeted her were salty wafts of ocean air.
Ainar read the situation and quickly took advantage of the lull. "Luke, Leia, let's go inside and leave your mom and dad alone for a few minutes. We'll have plenty of time to share with them later."
Sensing the mood around them as well, the twins made no argument and followed Ainar up toward the house. Padmé and Vader hardly noticed them leave.
A tsunami could've blown in from the coast and they might not have noticed.
"You might not appreciate it now. Not yet. But fortunately, this is a gift that's good indefinitely," he replied, baffling her with his smile. "Whether it's a month, a year, or a decade, it'll still be around, waiting for you. I'll still be around."
"And who are you exactly?" she pressed.
"Someone who'll do anything to prove myself as a new person."
Padmé wasn't impressed by his weasel word answer. "A new person on the outside, sure."
"And the inside," he said earnestly, stepping closer. "Padmé, believe me when I say the last seven weeks felt longer than the past five years! The things I've learned about myself, the change in perspective I've gained... ask any of Uli Divini's surgical staff. They can tell you!"
"Wait… Uli Divini? The same young man we knew years ago during the Clone Wars?" Padmé's eyes widened. "That's who operated on you?"
"Yes. He was among the first to see my inner transformation as well as the outer."
This changed things. Before being drafted into the Imperial Surgical Corps, Uli Divini was among one of Padmé's many respected comrades. She trusted his judgment and character implicitly. If, as Vader claimed, Divini could vouch for him, that was certainly worth something.
But she wasn't about to interrupt this conversation to contact Divini. She shouldn't have to. There should be more tangible, immediate evidence if the transformation was so stunning.
"That's all well and good, but I want proof now. Right here, right now," she demanded.
Vader's eyes twinkled, as if waiting to hear this all along. "Fine."
From his pocket he withdrew two handfuls of what appeared to be scrap metal. Between his fingers he jingled misshapen black and silver pieces Padmé couldn't identify.
"Do you know what these pieces are?" he inquired.
Padmé shook her head.
"Look closely. See these tiny shards of crystal?"
Peering forward, she nodded vaguely.
"That was once the crystal that powered my lightsaber."
She blinked, seeing the heap of junk anew. Those were the remnants of his lightsaber. Though she was no expert on the Force, she was fairly sure there'd be no reconstructing it now. Its components were mutilated beyond recognition.
"You… destroyed it?" she asked in confused awe.
"Just this morning. It's another gift for you."
Beckoning her to hold out her hands, Vader gently poured the scraps into her palms. She stared in shock as a few loose bolts and screws fell to the ground.
"Why?" Padmé prayed she already knew the answer, but had to confirm it.
He locked his eyes on hers. "If I'm going to overthrow Sidious, it will have to be without that weapon."
His words struck her completely dumb. She could only breathe and listen.
"Not only was it a quick channel for anger and wrath, but a symbol of what I was. I decided I want no temptations or hindrances from now on. So I pulverized it," he explained. "My best weapon is now my mind, which with your help and my father's, I hope to sharpen even more."
"To… overthrow Palpatine?" Padmé couldn't believe the words coming from her own mouth.
"As astonishing as it must sound, yes."
"How can you… when did you… what made you want…"
"I can answer all your questions easily. He lied to me, Padmé. He told me you and the twins died five years ago. There's no way he was fooled by your fake funeral. He did it to break and control me. And he had me believing that the suit prosthetics he gave me were my only chance at survival. Bullshit! Limb and organ regeneration have been around since the Kaminoans perfected cloning! But he kept it from me all these years!" he paced back and forth. "Force knows things would've been different had I known the truth! I'd never have sworn myself to him if I knew you were alive! I wouldn't have sold my soul if I'd known you were still around to share it with!"
Fissures were slowly forming in Padmé's stone heart. She watched passion overtake him and spill into the surrounding forest.
"At first I thought it was too late, all just a lost cause. But a good man planted a lot of sensible thoughts in my head, though I tried to resist them. He didn't give up on me. So I chose not to give up on myself."
Despite her best efforts, Padmé felt tears quivering along her eyelids. His speech was simple, heartfelt, and solid. Yet without a trace of his signature pride. In its place were very human, very humble emotions.
And that's when she knew she could rejoice.
The wetness of her joyful sobs poured down her cheeks and moistened the collar of his shirt. Five years of pain, betrayal, fear, and sorrow exploded from her petite frame, and his arms absorbed it all.
"Oh Anakin! Thank the Force!" the words tumbled out between sobs. "I… I was so afraid you were trying to take Luke and Leia away from me! I thought you must have had some sinister motive! But I was wrong, and you've returned at last… stars… I have my husband back!"
He held her as tightly as he dared. "Yes, yes my love. We can all be a family now. On my mother's life, I swear I'll never hurt any of you again!"
Observing from a window on the main floor, Ainar felt the soothing wave of blissful reunification hit him. In seeing Anakin and Padmé embrace, he swore he felt Shmi's arms around him as well.
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The amber glow of a fireplace warmed the sheets in which the two lovers lay, inseparable and entwined in each other's arms. An hour had passed without a word being spoken by either. Crackling embers and the synchronized beating of their hearts was conversation enough.
Padmé lazily traced a finger down Anakin's bare chest, sighing to break the sweet silence. "I don't see any scars."
"Divini is a god. But you know that already – you experienced his best work tonight," he purred.
"Mm, remind me to send him a very expensive thank-you gift."
"I'll send him one too, as long as he keeps his end of the bargain."
"What bargain?"
"He swore to uphold medical privacy ethics and not share my surgery with anyone."
Padmé tilted her chin up toward his face. "How long are you going to keep it a secret?"
"I don't know," he sighed. "For the time being, I'll have to keep wearing the suit around Imperial City. Nobody can know yet, especially Palpatine. If he discovers what I've done, things could get very ugly very fast."
Anakin's foreboding words made Padmé's stomach turn. "Where does he think you've been all this time?"
"Hunting Jedi."
"And if he finds out you haven't killed a single one?"
"That won't enrage him half as much as my deceiving him. But come to think of it, he let himself be duped. He's been too interested in his new pet Xizor to care one way or the other," Anakin snorted.
"Xizor? Prince Xizor?"
"The one and only."
Padmé's brow furrowed. "He's incredibly dangerous."
"Please. He poses no threat."
"Maybe not by himself, detached from his network. But he has powerful, lethal allies in every system, Anakin! Surely you know that!"
"Padmé, I've been acquainted with that piece of Falleen trash for several years. His most 'lethal' weapon is his sharp tongue. He may have connections, but all the connections in the galaxy can't replace the Force running through your veins."
His overconfidence concerned her. "I don't like that Palpatine's joined forces with him. Not one bit. When you said you'd overthrow Palpatine, I was impressed. But Palpatine and Xizor?"
"As long as I act before they dissolve the Senate, it should work."
Padmé shot straight up in bed, clutching the sheets against her bare skin. "They're going to dissolve the Senate?! When were you going to tell me that?"
"Right now, I suppose," Anakin pursed his lips. "I guess I hadn't mentioned it since I'm sure they won't succeed."
"Well I'm glad you're so certain, but we need to alert them!" she fumbled with a robe and grabbed a comlink from the dresser. Punching in Bail Organa's coordinates, her hands shook as she waited for him to answer. It became clear after five minutes that he wasn't going to.
"This isn't good… he's not answering!"
"Padmé, calm down! It's the middle of the night on Alderaan. It can wait until morning."
Sitting back down on the edge of the bed, Padmé took a few deep breaths. "Sorry, today's just been intense. My emotions got away from me."
"I understand. It's all right," Anakin acknowledged. "Get back in bed so we can finish where we left off."
"Just tell me you won't try to take Palpatine and Xizor alone."
"Of course not. I have my father."
"That's it? No offense to Ainar, but you could use a few political minds on your side."
Anakin knew exactly what she was suggesting. "Organa and his cohorts?"
"For starters."
He laughed sardonically. "You think they'd actually trust and want to help me?"
"If I assured them, yes."
Anakin cocked an eyebrow. "I'll consider it."
"Good. Someone with lightsaber skills might be useful too. You have good reasons for not wielding one, but I'd feel a lot better if someone had your back."
"You want me to train Ainar?"
"No… I was thinking of someone already well trained."
Again, he caught her meaning within seconds. He dropped eye contact with her instantly. It was one thing to ask him to ally with Organa. What she was asking now was... He'd only just recently derailed his plan to kill the man. To go straight from that to reestablishing their partnership would be quite the leap.
"You know who I'm talking about," Padmé pressed.
"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"
She was tempted to smile but didn't. "No, I'm not."
Anakin leaned forward and massaged his forehead, feeling a massive headache coming on. "What makes you think he'd want anything to do with me again?"
"Just tell him what you told me this morning. If it was enough to win me over, he won't be far behind," Padmé encouraged.
"I guarantee it won't be that easy."
"It's worth a try, isn't it? Nothing ventured, nothing gained… and having Obi-Wan at your side would a tremendous gain when you take on Palpatine and Xizor."
Anakin sighed deeply. "That it would be. But he'll take one look at me and brandish his lightsaber before I can say a word."
"And when he sees you're not defending yourself with one, he'll pause to listen."
Her points were valid yet still Anakin hesitated. He wanted to have faith in Padmé's judge of character, yet she had fallen in love with him during his turbulent years, after all. What if she was off with her judgment now as well? Would her optimism be enough to salvage his relationship with Obi-Wan?
Maybe her optimism wasn't the key. Besides, she'd been plenty pessimistic when he came back into her life several weeks ago. Something greater than the two of them mended their rift. It had to be the Force. Why would it patch one hole but not another? Padmé was right – his conversion of heart held just as much merit for her as it would for Obi-Wan. It had to. Besides, what was one more colossal leap of faith on top of all the rest? Accepting Ainar, Padmé and the twins, the surgery, committing to defeat Palpatine… speaking to Obi-Wan seemed relatively minor compared to all that.
"Where can I find him?"
"In the Gallo Mountains on Naboo. I'll show you on a map."
At some point while Padmé showed him the route, the last flecks of yellow vanished from Anakin's eyes.
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Now that's what I call a homecoming. Hope it didn't feel too contrived... I just figured it was time for things to take a positive turn and relieve some of the tension/suspense. Not that there won't be more to come...
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