Fourteen

"Are you two going to make it?"

Anakin wasn't being facetious. He watched with growing concern as Obi-Wan and Ahsoka violently spilled the remnants of their noonday meal onto the lush grass that had sprouted in the perimeter surrounding their ship. Shortly after his heart to heart with Ahsoka, Anakin had grown impatient with what felt to him like the crawling pace of traditional space travel. Even moving at hyperspeed, they had not been progressing quickly enough for his taste. He likened it to moving through sludge. Consequently, he decided to help them along by hastening the trip considerably. But while Anakin had become accustomed to moving at such inordinate speeds and the minimal effort it required, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka clearly were not. The experience had been more than a little disorienting for them.

Obi-Wan finally regained his bearings and straightened after several minutes of dry heaving. He swiped a trembling hand across his mouth as he did so. His features were pale.

"You couldn't give us some forewarning first?" he grunted irritably.

"Sorry," Anakin mumbled sheepishly, "I hadn't realized the experience would be so jarring for you."

His old mentor grimaced, his pallid features paling further as if he might become sick yet again. "Yes…apparently so. Never do that again, please."

"I will take it under advisement."

Anakin darted a doleful glance over at Ahsoka, who was no longer hunched over on her knees but had now rolled onto her back into the high grass and collapsed there. She was conscious but visibly winded and fatigued. He went to stand over her where she lay sprawled. She stared up thoughtfully at the cloudless blue sky above them, her lips pursed.

"You need another minute?" he asked.

Ahsoka flicked him with weary, blue eyes that were narrowed with displeasure and sarcasm. "Not all of us are in our element here, Anakin."

That was when he noticed it…the telltale ocher glow that had faded from his skin when he had first left Mortis more than six weeks ago. It had returned, bathing his skin in a golden hue. Anakin inspected the changes with a deepening frown as he tried to mentally pinpoint when they had begun. Probably shortly after they had entered Mortis' atmosphere, not that he had noticed.

He imagined that the other changes had taken place in his appearance as well if Ahsoka's disturbed expression right then was any indication. He looked away from her and surveyed the renewed planet with new eyes. That was yet another reason Anakin hadn't noticed the transformation in his own body. He had been too preoccupied with the changes taking place on the planet itself.

What had greeted them upon their initial landing had been a barren, formless tapestry of muted gray. The terrain could have been likened to a blank canvas before a skilled artist splashed it with shape and color. But the instant he disembarked from the ship and his booted step landed against the roughened terrain, greenery began to sprout. The ground rumbled faintly as the landscape shifted and rose. Valleys and mountains sprouted and split, creating giant fissures for rushing rivers of clear, clean water and vast canyons filled with dense forest. He had been so transfixed by the rapid metamorphosis that, initially, Anakin was only vaguely aware of Obi-Wan and Ahsoka staggering behind him for a nearby place to vomit after they had exited the ship behind him.

Everything around him was exquisitely pleasing to look at, his personal idea of paradise. It was almost as if the planet had reshaped itself to become what he subconsciously desired. The theory made sense too, especially when he considered how much the landscape reminded him of the lake country in Naboo. According to the Father, this was supposedly his domain now. This new Mortis exclusively reflected his own will. That it should resemble Naboo was a given. Some of his happiest and most enduring memories had been forged on that planet. And they had all been with Padmé.

Sighing at the realization, Anakin turned back towards Ahsoka and extended his hand. "Come on, Snips, you've lazed around long enough," he joked dryly, gingerly pulling her to her feet when she took hold of his hand, "Up and at 'em."

"You've picked a really strange time to sprout a good mood, Skyguy, or does seeing us so miserable really get you going?"

"That hurts my feelings."

"Oh? So, you still have those?"

He made a face at her, reminiscent of the childish smirks he used to throw at her when they ribbed each other mercilessly back in the early days of their friendship but, as had become usual of late, his smile disappeared quickly. "We should find the monastery," he said once Obi-Wan came to stand alongside them, "The sooner we get answers, the sooner we find Luke and Leia."

Obi-Wan regarded him quizzically. "How do you know for certain that the monastery will be there? Or the dagger, for that matter." He hitched his chin towards the still evolving terrain beyond them. "This place hasn't even finished terraforming."

"It will be there because I want it to be," Anakin replied, as if that should be answer enough. He assumed that the explanation was satisfactory because both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka gave terse nods of understanding without further questioning. He started to turn aside to begin the journey when Obi-Wan held up his hand in preface before he could take a step. "What is it?" he asked.

"Not to sound like a traditionalist but…could we travel on foot this time?" Obi-Wan queried drolly, "I can't say that I'm very fond of your way."

"Agreed!" Ahsoka added emphatically.

Anakin turned away to conceal his amused smile. "You just have to build a tolerance for it."

As they walked along briskly, mostly in silence while Anakin led them along with curious confidence that seemed incongruent with a first-time visit, Ahsoka took note of their verdant surroundings. "This place reminds me of Naboo," she murmured. Anakin grunted at the observation but didn't elaborate further. Ahsoka wasn't discouraged by his silence, however.

"Is that your doing then?" she asked him softly.

"I didn't do it consciously, if that's what you mean," Anakin told her, "But I won't pretend that Naboo isn't my idea of the perfect planet."

"Is that due to the planet itself or the people?" Ahsoka pressed him with a knowing look.

For a second time, Anakin bit back his answering grin. "Perhaps both."

The sun, which had emerged from the thick clouds overhead, was nearly at its highest point in the sky when they finally reached the "monastery," but the structure was radically altered from the towering spire that had been situated there before when the Father had been there. This "monastery" more resembled a sprawling Nabooian estate situated atop a beautiful, green cliffside that overlooked a deep canyon. The shimmer of the pristine river flowing through the jagged valley below glistened in the beaming sun rays.

Obi-Wan surveyed the house ahead and then darted a laughing glance in Anakin's direction. "This looks very much like the lake country in Naboo," he remarked, "You're not very subtle."

"I'm not trying to be. It is the lake country in Naboo," Anakin replied, "In fact, that house is a replica of the one where Padmé and I were married…both times."

"I never realized you were so sentimental before, Anakin. It's very sweet."

Ahsoka nudged him playfully with her shoulder, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "I think it's quite ador—,"

"—Don't even think of finishing that sentence, Snips!" Anakin warned Ahsoka darkly, "I won't stand here and be insulted."

"And when you pout that way, it only makes things worse."

"This is not the time to tease me."

Ahsoka snickered at his baleful expression. However, Obi-Wan cleared his throat before Anakin could retort and they inevitably fell back into their typical habit of juvenile banter. As good as it was to have Anakin actively engaging in conversation again after so many hours of quiet detachment, Obi-Wan knew they couldn't afford to get sidetracked.

"Since you've obviously fashioned this planet according to your own desires," he said to Anakin, "I suppose that means you know where we can find the dagger then?"

"I do," Anakin replied, "If you follow the river, it will eventually lead you to a path that takes you to a deep cavern. Once you reach the lowest point there, you will find the sacred altar of Mortis."

"Please don't take this to mean that I'm questioning your sense of direction at all, Anakin, but those instructions are rather vague."

"You're Jedi. You'll find your way. I have other business to attend to."

"Aren't you going to accompany us?" Obi-Wan balked when he belatedly realized that Anakin meant to send him and Ahsoka off on their own. "This is your planet! At least pretend to be a good host!"

Anakin barely suppressed his reflexive eyeroll. "Forgive my woeful lack of etiquette, Obi-Wan, but I want to get answers first," he said, "I need to know where Abeloth is leading my children and what she wants with them."

"You're going to seek the Father's counsel then?" Obi-Wan concluded with a sage nod, "Good. I think that's a sound decision."

"I'm not going to seek out the Father for anything," Anakin refuted coldly, causing both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka to do an apprehensive doubletake, "I'm going to talk to someone who will tell me the unvarnished truth for once."

That nebulous declaration held an ominous undertone that neither Obi-Wan nor Ahsoka could entirely dismiss, and they traded uneasy glances. Their doubts roared at Anakin loudly through the Force but, surprisingly, neither of them voiced their misgivings aloud. Perhaps they both realized that arguing with him would be a futile waste of time and decided to forgo the attempt altogether. Or perhaps they were afraid to ask him to elaborate further. Whatever the reason for their lack of response, both Ahsoka and Obi-Wan nodded their silent agreement of the proposed plan, wished him well and started on their way.

He stood on the hillside and watched them scramble down into the lower valley towards the river until they finally became distant specks on the horizon. Anakin didn't have any doubts that they would find the dagger. He had already foreseen that conclusion. His certainty on that score made it possible for him to focus his attention on the thing that really mattered…bringing his children home. Only when Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were out of his sight completely did he turn away to begin his own trek towards the reconstructed monastery.

Despite the exterior being an exact replica of the lake house where he and Padmé had exchanged their vows in two different lifetimes, the interior was reminiscent of the former monastery. It had the same tomblike presence as before. The entrance was vast and dim, with high, vaulted ceilings and ancient, carved symbols embedded in the walls that seemed to glow with the living Force which matched the pulsing light emanating from his own flesh. A bridge-like pathway extended from the entrance to a large platform situated straight ahead of him. Just as it had been before, there was a throne situated in the very center of it and two smaller seats that were positioned on both sides of the center one.

Anakin found the trio of chairs a curious sight and wondered about it, especially because it was only him now. The three Celestials who had resided there before him had long since passed on into the Cosmic Force. He knew the center throne was destined to be his, but the purpose for the remaining two was shrouded from his view. No matter how deeply he tried to peer into the future where it pertained himself and his family, Anakin could never visualize it clearly. Their future was shifting, changing continuously. What had once plagued him like a curse was now an enigma to him. There was a strange sort of irony in having acquired so much power only to lose the very ability that had driven him to acquire it in the first place.

He had so many questions beating around in his brain, but the answers to them could wait. He'd have time enough to unravel those mysteries. An eternity of time. For now, his single, driving focus was finding his children and returning them safely to their mother. Everything else was secondary to him. Beset with that resolve, Anakin took his place on the center throne and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he discovered that he was no longer inside the monastery. Instead, he was seated on a tuft of high grass in the middle of what appeared to be a thick, overgrown jungle. There was dense foliage and hanging vines all around him. The terrain reminded him a little of Felucia but without the iridescent glow that characterized the plants there. He could detect the vague sounds of native creeping things in his general vicinity. Despite his foreign surroundings and the certainty that he was not alone, Anakin did not feel uneasy. He sensed that, just as Mortis was now a reflection of the place that had brought him the greatest joy, this place was also a reflection of someone else's ultimate joy…someone he knew.

Anakin recognized the distinguishing Force signatures of the Son and the Daughter long before he heard their muffled voices sounding in the distance. He deftly rolled to his feet and was surprised by the way the ground seemed to sway and bounce beneath his feet. The terrain had a vaguely spongy quality to it, as if it were a series of coiled springs overlaid with turf. He didn't so much take a step as he bounded forward. Further, the toughened vines that surrounded him gave way to his pulling hands as if they were little more than vapor. As tangible as his surroundings appeared, they were equally surreal, dream-like.

He pushed his way forward, batting away branches and vines as he followed the sound…low, melodic intonations that was almost reminiscent of…playful laughter. Moments later, Anakin burst into a small clearing and froze at the sight that greeted him. He might not have recognized either of them at all had it not been for their Force impressions. At a glance, the two resembled an ordinary humanoid couple splashing about lightheartedly in a flowing stream in between titillating giggles and searching kisses…a half-naked pair of young lovers clearly enamored with one another. Anakin knew, however, that they were much more than that. When they became aware of his presence, the façade quickly fell away, and their more familiar forms revealed themselves.

The Son regarded Anakin with his characteristic, reserved smirk while the Daughter concealed her face against his shoulder. "You certainly took your time returning here," he said.

"That could be because it was never my intention to return at all," Anakin replied.

"Ah, yes…but that is the way with Mortis. It always calls you back, doesn't it?" He surveyed Anakin with a thoughtful expression that was vaguely akin to fondness. "Welcome home."

"I almost believe you mean that."

"I am full of surprises."

"I need to talk to you," Anakin said, dispensing with pleasantries altogether, "I suspect you already know the reason I'm here."

"I do," the Son acknowledged, "I anticipated that you would come, Chosen One." He turned to his sister and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. "Leave us, please. I shall not be long, my love."

"Will you tell him everything?" she whispered.

"Yes. I will tell him everything."

The Daughter nodded and leaned forward to kiss him again, as if she could not bear even the brief prospect of being physically parted from him. Her affection for him was evident in the tender way she touched his face. Anakin tried not to squirm in discomfort over the unabashed display. The Daughter darted a cordial glance at him in greeting but thankfully did not attempt to engage him in any sort of conversation before she disappeared into the dense jungle without another word. The Son watched her departure with avid, adoring eyes and Anakin watched him. When he became aware of Anakin's scrutiny, he turned back and smiled, noting the mildly repulsed expression on the other man's face.

"You do not approve."

Anakin shrugged. "It is not for me to approve or disapprove," he said, "Doesn't change the fact that you're sleeping with your sister."

"We are all related in one way or another, are we not?"

"Whatever you need to tell yourself to justify creating a world where you can pretend that your lover isn't also your sibling."

"Who says she cannot be both?" the Son challenged, "My lover and my sister. One does not necessarily need to cancel the other. I can and do love and desire her as both. Your foolish social constructs have very little meaning here."

"I didn't come all this way to give you a lesson in morality."

"Yes. I know." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "So, she has escaped once again, has she?"

"More like you failed to confine her the last time she did," Anakin retorted accusingly, "Was that deliberate?"

The Son's sly grin widened. "Is that what the Father told you?"

"The Father has told me many things. Not all of them are true. That is why you and I are talking now."

"Ah, you are finally learning, youngling," the Son commended, bringing his hands together in mock applause, "What is that quaint saying you mortals have? 'Better late than never.'"

Anakin ignored the obvious jibe and soldiered on. "Your father told me that Abeloth was an evil force entity that had committed what was forbidden and for that he had her confined to an eternal prison," he recounted stiffly, "But who is she really? Tell me the truth."

The Son met his eyes in an unknowable, crimson stare. "My mother."

"Where are you taking us?"

Luke was pretty sure that they had just drifted past the largest space station that he had ever seen in his life. At least, he assumed it was a space station. He had few options except to guess about the structure because Abeloth wasn't being entirely forthcoming regarding her plans. After leaving Corellia on a spaceship that he was almost certain had been stolen, Abeloth had taken him and Leia far beyond the planet's atmosphere and further still past Talus and Tralus and the mysterious, unnamed space station. They were now approaching Selonia, but Luke suspected that they would eventually leave that planet behind as well. If they kept on the same trajectory, they would soon be drifting deeper and deeper into what seemed like an endless abyss of space. What Abeloth expected to find out there in that unexplored cosmos was anyone's guess.

The suspicious, thinking part of Luke had an inherently bad feeling about it all. For reasons he still didn't understand, his sister trusted Abeloth with unswerving devotion. Luke, on the other hand, remained leery. It was true that Abeloth had done nothing thus far to incur his mistrust. She had treated them both with kindness, with a near motherly concern that Luke found mildly creepy. And that was the thing that unsettled him…that she would so readily assume a role that he had not consented for her to fill.

There was also a sinister aura that seemed to surround Abeloth like a poisonous cloud. He couldn't articulate why he felt that way beyond chalking it up to pure instinct. He simply felt that she was bad, and the longer he was in her presence, the stronger that feeling became.

Then again, Leia felt the same way about their father. And the difference between them was that Leia had the proof to back her feelings. The evil that Luke suspected in Abeloth was the evil Anakin Skywalker had actually committed. That much had been confirmed by his own mother. Anakin Skywalker had maimed and murdered and pillaged all in the name of power. He had betrayed his staunchest ideals and everyone who had ever loved him. Luke knew that. He believed that. But strangely he could not hate his father for it. Not truly. Not when the question still remained…why did he turn back at all?

Of all the things that Leia had seen from Anakin's disgraceful past, and she had witnessed atrocities too numerous to count, she had never seen that moment. She hadn't been granted foresight into what had caused him to denounce that bloody life course. Luke found that glaring oversight telling. After all, if the truth was being revealed to her why wasn't all of it being revealed? Why did she see only the things that reinforced her belief that their father was an unrepentant monster?

He didn't have the answers. He suspected that Abeloth knew the answers but that she would never tell him. That lack of disclosure was telling as well. He wondered why she would pick and choose the truths she had deigned to reveal. It must benefit her somehow to drive a wedge between Anakin Skywalker and his children. But why and how?

Asking her outright would be a futile endeavor, but that didn't stop Luke from persisting in his questions. He had no intention of stopping either, even if his chances of receiving an answer were minimal. Someone had to be the reasonable one and clearly, Leia had lost that ability to act with discernment where Abeloth was concerned. If anything, he hoped that his unanswered questions might make Leia more skeptical of Abeloth's unwillingness to reveal the details of her plan and prompt her to start asking her own questions.

"So…what is this place that you're taking us?" he asked, this question delivered with more force than his first one had, "Where are we going?"

Duro-Abeloth finally turned a glance back at him from her place in the pilot's seat. "It is called the Maw."

"The Maw?" Luke echoed, "What is that?"

He was surprised when she answered him. "The Maw is a series of black holes created by the space station we just passed. It has existed for hundreds of years."

"So, that was a space station," Luke murmured to himself, "How can a space station create a black hole? That's impossible!"

"Centerpoint Station has been appropriated dubbed the world puller," she explained, "According to legend, the station was used to transport Corellia, Drall, and Selonia from separate parts of the galaxy and situate them around the star of Corell along with Talus and Tralus to form the Corellian star system."

"That's only a myth," Luke scoffed, "No one except Corellians believe that story!"

Duro-Abeloth's eyes gleamed. "Is it truly a myth, boy?"

"I'm asking you to tell me something real!"

"You wish to be told only what you want to hear," Duro-Abeloth countered, "You are like Anakin Skywalker in that regard."

"You don't know anything about me or my father!" Luke practically snarled in response.

"I know more than you can imagine, my child."

"Alright. I'll bite. Who would be powerful enough to design a space station that could create black holes and why would they need such a thing?"

"To form my prison," she replied.

"That's right. Someone locked you away. Though you haven't told us why. I'll bet it was for a good reason!"

"I was abandoned and betrayed, youngling."

"Isn't what everyone says when they do something bad, and they want to justify it?" Luke scoffed.

"In my case, it is true."

"And who, supposedly, betrayed you?"

"My children."

Luke swallowed spasmodically, his own guilt welling up with her flat response. It didn't seem that she was accusing him of anything, but he felt accused by his own conscience, nonetheless. Hadn't he, in essence, done the same thing to his own father? And wasn't Luke contemplating the possibility of having to lock him away as well? Luke didn't like to think that there were any commonalities between Abeloth and Anakin Skywalker. The possibility weakened his justification for hating and mistrusting her while absolving his father.

"Maybe…maybe your children had a good reason," he posited a little wildly, though the statement was borne more from self-justification than actual theorizing. "How can we be sure that you didn't give them cause for locking you away?"

"My only crime was loving them far too well!" Abeloth bit back sharply, "Far more than they deserved!"

Recognizing that being pulled into a debate about the veracity of her declaration would hardly prove fruitful and also because he didn't want to scrutinize his own feelings on the matter, Luke wisely changed the subject. "Are you saying that your children are the ones who built that station we passed earlier?" he asked, "That they created the black holes that make up your prison? How would they have the power to do something like that?"

"My children were very special. They called themselves Celestials," Abeloth said, "The Celestials have existed since the beginning of time, and they will continue to exist when time finally ceases."

"Is that what you are?"

"I am many things that are beyond your comprehension, boy," she replied enigmatically, "But you will understand soon enough."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

This time, it was Leia who answered his question, speaking for the first time since his conversation with Abeloth began. "Haven't you figured it out yet?" she whispered, "That's what he is now."

Luke blinked at her in dismay. "You mean Dad? Are you saying that he's a Celestial?"

"That man is not my father," Leia intoned stonily.

"He is your father, Leia," Luke insisted softly, "Whether you want to admit that to yourself or not. You can hate him all you want, but you can't deny that you come from him!"

"That's not the point, Luke!"

"Then what is the point?" he countered, "Tell me! Why are we here?"

"Don't you get it? He could destroy the galaxy now!" she hissed, "He will destroy it…if we let him."

"And how are we supposed to stop him, Leia?" Luke cried, "If a Celestial can move an entire planet, then how are we supposed to stand against him?"

Duro-Abeloth bestowed him with a reserved smile that was anything but comforting before she turned back towards the transparisteel viewshield and the endless cosmos that stretched out in front of them. "You will have those answers soon enough, young one," she promised, "Very soon."