A/N: The descriptions in this chapter are from Troy Denning's Abyss, part of the Fate of the Jedi series with some creative embellishment from me.
Sixteen
"That's not entirely true," Anakin replied in the pregnant pause that followed the Son's profound revelation. His dry tone was rife with scorn, irreverence, and disbelief. "You weren't solely motivated by sentiment when you spared Abeloth. I know you much better than that. Love didn't compel you to leave her free after Dathomir. So, what was the real reason?"
The Son grunted in affront but his eyes gleamed with something else. "What a cynical creature you are."
"Stop being evasive! Tell me the truth. You left her free out of spite, didn't you…because you resented your father?"
"You are wrong. When she revealed your grieving, near catatonic widow to me, I was sure that it was one of her tricks. I was convinced that my fine, upstanding father would never mislead you so monstrously. But when I confronted him with the truth, he did not deny his actions. Far from it! He justified himself. 'For the good of the galaxy!' he said, and then expected that I would obediently go forth and detain her once more."
"You rebelled against him," Anakin discerned quietly, "You didn't confine her fully."
"I thought it would force his hand. Instead, he bridled me, and then had the galling audacity to die afterwards! The rest you already know."
"This is a complete mess," Anakin mumbled under his breath.
"A centuries' old mess indeed," the Son agreed grimly, "and now yours to contain. Consider it my personal gift to you. Enjoy."
"Thanks," Anakin replied, but there was not a modicum of gratitude in his tone when he uttered the word. The Son merely smiled in the enigmatic way he always did. "Can she be saved?" he queried with some reluctance, "Is that what you expect from me now?" The offer was largely perfunctory. Anakin would spare Abeloth for the greater good, if that was the thing required of him but, if he was honest with himself, he would much rather kill her.
The Son's crimson eyes brightened with knowing light. "Your thoughts betray you."
"It's nothing I won't admit to you outright. I want her dead."
"Will you allow your thirst for vengeance to drive you then?" Anakin's features flickered with guilty shame, as if suddenly recognizing that might be his underlying motivation. "It's not a judgment," the Son quickly reassured him, "You wish to kill her. She wronged you. She wronged your family."
"To seek vengeance is the path to the dark side."
"Are you truly quoting the Jedi code to me now?" the Son laughed, "Haven't you yet learned to embrace all aspects of the Force? Light cannot be fully appreciated until one has first been exposed to the dark. Why should you not have what you desire? Quite honestly, what prevents you from taking whatever you wish? You have the power. Everyone does it…even my righteous, honorable father."
"That is dark side reasoning."
The Son shrugged. "So it is. To be selfish is to be sentient."
"But we should aspire to be better, shouldn't we?"
"You sound like my sister," the Son sighed, "Always so unfailingly noble. It must be quite exhausting."
"We can't all be self-serving like you."
He shrugged again. "I am one of a kind," he said, "But I do admire your resolve, and hers. It is one of the many things that I adore about her."
"I think you're the curious one," Anakin told him, "I can't understand how you can admire something you so obviously want to corrupt."
"Ah, but that is the intoxicating wonder of it all," the Son replied, "I cannot truly corrupt it. Not ever. And that is what enthralls me."
"You want what you cannot have," Anakin discerned, "That's a little twisted."
"We all have our vices, Chosen One." He regarded Anakin with deeply speculative eyes before he asked, "If vengeance is not what drives you, then what is it?"
"Justice. Abeloth targeted my children," Anakin said, "She hurt my daughter. Luke and Leia are innocent in this. She needs to answer for that."
The Son nodded his acceptance of that declaration, his manner free of the recrimination and judgment that Anakin had come to expect from others whenever he was being arbitrary. "The conflict within our realm is what predicts and shapes the conflict within the galaxy. That has been the way for centuries of time. To bridle the galaxy, we must bridle ourselves. Mother once understood the importance of maintaining balance…of averting conflict and seeking peace. Now, she is the conflict. She is chaos personified." He squared his shoulders, his expression flinty when he added, "She cannot be saved."
"I'm sorry." Anakin found that he meant the words too, not out of some misplaced pity for Abeloth but because it was evident to him that the Son had lost something profound in coming to that realization.
He, of course, waved away Anakin's compassion. "Do not feel regret on my behalf. My inability to accept that truth is what led us here," he said, "Do not follow my example."
"Yes, I understand. She must be destroyed," Anakin replied somewhat irritably, "I will see to it."
"I was not speaking of Abeloth just now," the Son prefaced, "If it comes to pass that your children walk the same path that she chose for herself, then you must accept that they are lost to you for eternity, and you must destroy them without delay!"
"It won't come to that."
"For your sake, I hope it does not."
Anakin rolled to his feet. "You've been very insightful. I should go now. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka will be returning with the dagger soon. I don't want to waste any time once they arrive."
"You will return to Mortis soon, will you not?"
"Do I really have a choice?" Anakin asked, his mouth set in a grim line.
"As I told you when you first arrived…Mortis will always call you back."
When Anakin opened his eyes again, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan were standing before him. The dagger of Mortis was clutched tightly in Ahsoka's fist, its beveled blade crackling with Force energy. Anakin straightened at the sight of it, realizing belatedly that he had been half slumped over in his chair when they arrived. Obi-Wan smirked at him in amusement.
"Did you enjoy your nap?"
"I know where Luke and Leia are headed," Anakin announced without preamble.
Taken aback by his abruptness, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan traded a quick glance before she remarked, "That was some meditation session you had just now. Where are we going?"
"A place called Centerpoint Station," Anakin replied, shifting to his feet, "The stories were true. It does exist. We need to get there as quickly as possible."
Obi-Wan groaned aloud at his phrasing. "You're going to do that thing again, aren't you?" When Anakin didn't immediately deny his assumption, he added plaintively, "Blast it, Anakin! I'm not sure my stomach or my head has recovered from the last time."
"I can go alone," Anakin suggested, "It will be faster if I'm on my own anyway."
The unspoken implication that he didn't need their help, not to mention the minor inference that they might prove to be a hindrance to him, did not go unnoticed. Thankfully, Anakin had the grace not to voice that aloud…though he wanted to. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate their assistance, but Obi-Wan and Ahsoka also had an agenda. As much as they wanted to locate the children, they were simultaneously invested in solving the mystery of the missing Jedi. On that latter front and considering all that he had to contend with, Anakin cared very little about that particular agenda. Again, he didn't say that, but he wanted to. Ahsoka, however, with characteristic directness, decided to acknowledge his unspoken feelings anyway.
"Listen Skyguy, I realize we're only insignificant mortals to you and you're perfectly capable of doing this on your own but, we love Luke and Leia too! We want to help you."
"I never said you were 'insignificant mortals,'" Anakin sighed mournfully.
"You thought it!" Ahsoka accused.
"That's not true. All I want is to get to Luke and Leia as soon as possible."
Obi-Wan chose that moment to interject with his own argument. "And what happens when you do?" he asked quietly, "You must also remember that Ahsoka and I helped Padmé raise Luke and Leia. We know those children very well. They trust us. We can help you reason with them."
"Is that your not-so-subtle reminder to me that they don't trust me?" Anakin demanded, somewhat rankled, "That I don't know them as well as you do?"
"I meant to imply nothing of the sort," Obi-Wan replied smoothly, "I only wish to remind you that Ahsoka and I are here at your behest. It is true that I want to learn what became of Jedi Knight Tun and the others, but that is secondary. Luke and Leia are our first priority. Ahsoka and I have a stake in their welfare as well."
"I don't need you with me if you're going to be distracted. Secondary or not, you're determined to solve the mystery of your missing Jedi. I, quite frankly, don't care. I want my children back!"
Obi-Wan's serene façade slipped enough for him to snap, "We want that too! So, stop being so kriffing self-righteous and let us help you for Star's sake!"
The abrupt flash of temper was enough to get Anakin's attention. "You're right," he murmured, immediately cowed by the sharpened edge in his old master's retort, "I apologize for my dismissive attitude. The truth is, I know that you're right. Even now, Leia's hatred for me is swelling. She won't let me near her. Luke is torn. He wants to trust me, but he can't. Above all, he wants to be loyal to his sister. If he has to make a choice between us, then he will choose Leia."
Ahsoka blinked at him in amazement. "You can perceive all of that through meditation?"
"I can perceive things period, Snips," he countered softly, "For instance, I know that you're terrified of returning to Padmé without the children. Your greatest fear is that losing them might break her in a way from which she will never recover. You don't want to be the one to deliver that blow. And you, Obi-Wan," he continued, turning to regard the seasoned Jedi master, "You're wondering if you will be able to do the unthinkable should Luke and Leia be lost to Abeloth's darkness." He regarded Obi-Wan with implacable blue eyes. "You won't. That responsibility will fall to me…as it should."
Understandably, his unshakeable resolve on that front caused Ahsoka to flinch and gasp in dismay. "You can't really mean that—,"
"—I won't allow them to become what I became…or what she became," he replied, "I'd rather see them dead first."
Ahsoka shuddered, grasping the hilt of the dagger reflexively as she did. "It won't come to that," she said, "You won't let it. I won't let it."
"You're right," Anakin agreed before directing a meaningful look over at Obi-Wan, "It won't happen. Not if we get to them quickly enough."
The older man sighed in disgusted resignation. "Fine," he grumbled, "Do what you must. I suppose it was an inevitable conclusion."
"Pretty much."
Ahsoka flicked Anakin with a brief onceover when he shifted to his feet and asked rather hedgingly, "You're not going to go after the children looking like that, are you?"
"Looking like what?"
Before he had even finished voicing the question, however, Anakin recalled the physical transformation that he had undergone upon entering Mortis' atmosphere. His skin still emanated the bronzy glow that signified the change. He had no doubts that his face reflected those physical changes as well. And while this version of himself was something both Luke and Leia had experienced before, Anakin had to concede Ahsoka's point that facing them in this form when his relationship with them was already so tenuous probably wouldn't be the wisest move.
Sighing in belated consternation, Anakin drew both hands down the length of his body, restoring his human form effortlessly as he made the descent. He didn't need to study his reflection to know the metamorphosis was complete. The consciousness was instinctive. Still, he inspected his hands and arms just to be certain the radiance had dissipated. When he was satisfied that his efforts had been successful, Anakin offered Ahsoka a wry smile.
"Is that better for you?"
She gawked at him in slack-jawed amazement, as did Obi-Wan. "I am never going to get used to that," she said in an awestruck whisper.
"You know what, Snips?" Anakin replied, an element of regret tempering his words, "Neither am I."
It felt like he was floating.
The complete disconnection from his body had been more effortless than he'd been anticipating. Before he could comprehend what was happening, Luke was hovering above his own body. The separation took only a few seconds. He was present in his physical body and then he wasn't. It happened in a blink. Or had it taken a lifetime? He didn't know. The environment below him seemed unchanged, but he had no real concept of how much time had actually passed. It was just as Charan had told him. Time was an illusion in the Maw.
He glanced around the meditation room, noting the skeletal figures just below him, slowly rotting away from the inside out, as they embarked on their own personal, meditative journey beyond shadows. Luke grimaced as he beheld them and the contrast that he and Leia presented with their youthful, fresh-faced and, albeit dirty and bedraggled, appearances. Their flesh was still fresh and supple, their cheeks suffused with vibrant color. How long would it take for them to become like the withered figures that surrounded them.
"Is that what's going to happen to us too?" he wondered aloud, and not for the first time.
Charan was against his ear then, her voice warm and soothing, oozing over him like Tatooine's morning sun rays. "That is a shell, my child," she whispered, "Crude matter only. It is not real. Beyond shadows is all that matters. You will see."
Luke flinched from her coaxing. He wasn't interested in her cryptic, spiritistic mumbo jumbo. He wanted to get his sister and then get the kriffing hell out of there. That was his primary objective…his only objective.
"Take me to Leia now," he urged her.
"Come. I will show you the truth."
Luke didn't bother to quibble with that detail and instead simply chose to do as she commanded. He started to take a step forward only to realize he was already moving without even being aware of it. His very being felt as if it were being drawn up by an invisible string. They floated upwards, higher and higher, towards a bright haven of immense white light that seemed to expand as they drew closer to it. As they were tugged inexorably into that wonderful, comforting light, Luke could feel his pain, conflict and confusion begin to ebb away. The loneliness and fear that had defined him for days and had robbed him of sleep gradually became distant. Foreign.
He was warm and safe, filled with peace and contentment beyond anything he had ever imagined. He didn't yearn for his mother. He wasn't in anguish over his father. Even finding his sister no longer felt like a priority. Luke was surrounded by bliss. He was home now. He was free.
"Yes, yes…" Charan commended him in a coercive whisper, "This is home. This is peace. This has always been your path, Luke Skywalker."
"It has?"
"Your destiny was decided long ago. No one can subvert it."
The pulsing beacon enveloped them fully, pulling them into its blissful embrace, obliterating the sight of the wasted bodies below them as they were drawn forth…deeper and deeper until nothing could be perceived beyond the light. When it cleared away in a sudden flash, Luke found himself standing on a well-worn dirt path alongside a surprisingly robust and restored Charan. Gone were her gaunt cheekbones and sunken eyes, replaced instead by supple magenta colored skin and a full, luxuriant lekku. Her smile was gleaming and bright and perfect as she regarded him.
A warm contentment settled over Luke. He surveyed Charan with new eyes, filled with avid interest, his gaze roaming over the full curves of her body in adolescent appreciation. "You're so beautiful…" he breathed out with infatuated wonder, "Have you always been so beautiful?"
Charan's polished smile widened. "Everything is beautiful here," she told him, gesturing to their surroundings. "I can show you much more."
"Yes. I want that."
Luke had a difficult time tearing his avid gaze away from her but once he did, he became aware that their surroundings had changed entirely. The meditation chamber had fallen away. They were in some unknown jungle now. Thick moss and flowering vines surrounded them on all sides. The air was fragrant with the wild blooms, the foliage of which was so dense that it was almost impossible to discern the path beneath their feet. Streams of light peeked through the canopy above their heads though it was much too thick for Luke to visualize an actual sun.
"What is this place?" he asked Charan.
"Your home," she replied, "Come. I will take you to her."
His step faltered and he cocked his head with a thoughtful frown. "Her?"
Charan turned a wry glance back at him. "Have you already forgotten why you've come here, young one?"
"I didn't come to be with you?"
Her smile practically gleamed at his answer. "Follow me."
Luke obediently followed her down the path, which she seemed to know quite well despite the overgrowth that concealed it. They walked for decades, or maybe only five parsecs. He wasn't sure, but when they emerged from the jungle they stood in a large, ancient courtyard filled with overgrown tree ferns and club mosses. The decorative, marble pillars found there were stained with age and encircled with the same thick, flowering vines that he had seen in the jungle. In the center of that courtyard was a towering marble fountain with a large, curved basin filled with clear, clean water that sparkled in the light. And kneeling beside that basin with a vigilant Gil'les leaned over her was Leia.
The sight of his sister jarred him, stirring up his natural protectiveness which abruptly shook him from the stupor that had taken hold. Luke suddenly remembered why he had chosen to follow Charan in the first place. He hadn't come to find a home. He had come for his sister.
With that realization came blinding clarity. He looked at Charan again, seeing the wasted figure she truly was, little more than bone covered with sagging, peeling flesh. The beautiful garden courtyard was revealed as a dilapidated remnant, filled with the broken remains of dead and dying plants. The fountain's waters, which had appeared to him so translucent and pristine before, was now a dark, brown color that smelled strongly of sulfur and decay. He watched with horrified eyes as his sister started to dip her hand into that dreadful liquid with the intention of bringing it to her lips to drink under Gil'les' obvious encouragement.
"Leia, no!"
He was already propelling himself forward and tackling her to the ground even before his horrified scream could register and echo across the expanse. They tussled briefly once Leia recovered from the shock of being abruptly knocked to the ground while Charan and Gil'les stood over them and admonished Luke for being "reckless and selfish" in his efforts to thwart Leia from "becoming." Luke ignored them, concentrating instead on keeping his flailing sister pinned to the ground and as far away from that fountain as he could.
"What are you doing?" he cried out fiercely, only a millimeter from shaking her senseless right then.
"What are you doing?" she spat in return, "Why did you attack me?"
"To stop you from being an idiot!"
"Get off me! You're ruining everything!"
"How can you say that to me?" Luke flared, half infuriated, half anguished, "I can't let you do this! Don't you get it? You're all I have left!"
While nothing else had managed to penetrate the fog of Leia's determination for the past several weeks, the sight of her older brother's open tears of grief was enough to stun her into immobility. She stared up at him, the fight abruptly going out of her as he rolled away from her to rest on his knees and regain control of his emotions. As she watched him fight to bridle the sobs that tore from his chest, it dawned on Leia for the first time that he had followed her in spite of his misgivings.
"You came after me," she uttered in a stunned whisper.
"Of course, I did," Luke replied gruffly, looking at her with forlorn, "You're my sister. We're supposed to stick together no matter what!"
"You still believe that?"
"I'll always believe it," he choked, "But I think you're being crazy right now, and I can't take it anymore!"
"Why?" she asked him, genuinely confused, "This is the only way! I told you that!"
"You're not thinking straight! You haven't been for a long time now! But I was too scared to tell you."
"You're wrong! Can't you see that I'm protecting us?"
"I know that's what you believe."
"But Abeloth says—,"
"—I don't give a kriff what Abeloth says!" Luke flared hotly, "Look at where we are right now, Leia! Look who brought us here!" He flicked a scornful glance towards Charan and Gil'les, who stood curiously silent and watchful as they argued. "They keep saying that everything out there is an illusion, but it's this place that is the illusion! Everything here is a lie!"
"Luke, you don't understa—,"
"—Listen to me!" he ground out, abruptly taking hold of her for the fierce shaking he had been repressing for days, "You're more perceptive than this! Open your eyes and look! Really look! Look at that fountain over there! You were actually going to drink from that!"
He pointed over to the fountain and Leia followed his finger with her gaze. The Font of Power. That was what Gil'les had called it when they made their approach. He had told her that the waters were dynamic and strengthening and that they would imbue her with the power she needed to protect her family from the menacing, dark lord that had infiltrated their precious circle. One sip would help her to reach her fullest potential. She would become something incredible. She could shield everyone she loved from harm forever if only she were to take one small sip.
And that was exactly what she had seen when she stared down into those crystalline depths. Leia had visualized herself growing stronger, an invincible warrior powerful enough to stand against the dark man…against Vader as he called himself and protect everyone she loved from infinite harm. She saw herself standing as a champion, not just for them, but for the entire galaxy. She could save them all. She could bring true peace and order, and she could accomplish all of that with just a palmful of that sacred water.
But that illusion had been stripped away now, as had Gil'les' glowing, almost angelic-like appearance. The robust Duro who had guided her to that mythical place had been stripped away. When Leia looked at him now, he appeared to her as fragile and undernourished as he had been before, not at all transformed by this place as she had first believed.
Leia turned her attention back to the fountain. Only moments before, it had been a pristine spring, beautiful and inviting. Its babbling waters had harkened to her on a primal level. But those waters were murky now, dank, and thick and emanating with intense dark energy.
How had she not sensed it before, the dark side Force energy that exuded so heavily from this place? The foreboding evil was so strong that it strangled the air. It choked away the fragrant, floral notes that had wafted about before. Now the atmosphere was blanketed with the smell of sulfur, so strong and acrid that it might have burned her lungs with each breath if it had been possible for her to feel pain or discomfort in the strange realm. She glared at Gil'les in condemnation.
"You tried to trick me. Why?"
"My only desire is that you become," Gil'les replied, "That you reach your full potential."
Luke placed his hand against her shoulder. "It's not his trick, Leia," he whispered gently, "It's hers. This is Abeloth's doing."
Leia glanced back at him, a fretful, confused frown knitting her brow. "But why would she trick me? I don't understand."
"She's not your friend. She never was."
"That's not true! She listened to me when no one else would!"
"Because she knew you were alone and vulnerable…and she used that against you."
"No! She wanted to help me!"
"She didn't lead you here to help you! She wants to help herself!"
"But she showed me the truth," Leia argued, but the response was weak and uncertain.
"Not the whole truth," Luke said, "I don't know if Dad is really a threat to us or not, but I do know that he doesn't want to be! You didn't see his face when he found out you knew. I did."
He waited for her to explode, to angrily reject his every word and go stomping off with the Duro. Luke made up his mind then and there that he would die trying to stop her. But she didn't move. Leia just sat there, staring at him with those wide, frightful eyes, the way she used to do when she was smaller when she believed that he could protect her from anything. In many ways, she still believed that. Luke was determined to live up to her expectations.
"Our father has done terrible things," he acknowledged softly, "And I don't know how I'm going to get over that or if I'll ever look at him the same way. But I don't think he's that same person now."
"I don't know what to believe anymore," Leia wept, "I only wanted to belong."
"You do belong," Luke insisted, "With me. And with Mom and Ben and Ahsoka." He paused before adding tentatively, "And Dad too. He wants to be your family."
"He's going to take all of you from me. I've seen it."
"He won't! I will never let happen!" Luke told her, "I will never leave you. You know that. You have to trust me now." After what felt like eternity, Leia bobbed her head in an agreeable nod. Luke looked over at Charan and Gil'les. "No more games. You will take us to Abeloth now," he commanded.
Leia caught hold of his forearm when he started to shift to his feet. "Why are we going to Abeloth?" she whispered, "I thought you didn't trust her."
"I don't."
"Then why are we going?"
"Because she brought us here for a reason, and I want to know what that is."
"Maybe that's not a good idea," Leia reasoned, suddenly unsure of herself, "Maybe she wants to hurt us."
"That's not it. If that was true, she would have done that already. I think she wants to change us, but we won't let that won't happen." He reached over to squeeze Leia's hand, hoping to soothe her agitation with his reassuring gesture. "We came all this way to learn the truth," he reminded her softly, "Let's do that. We just have to stick together and nothing bad will happen."
Though it took a few seconds, Leia finally nodded. "Alright."
Luke glanced over at their guides. "We're ready now."
An unspoken look passed between Gil'les and Charan before the former said, "The journey will be perilous. To reach the queen's haven, you will be faced with many challenges but, if you overcome them successfully, you will gain more power than you can even imagine."
"I don't care what we 'challenges' you throw at us!" Luke grated angrily, "I want to see Abeloth! She owes us answers! Take us to her now!"
"As you wish," Gil'les demurred, turning aside, and motioning for them to follow.
Luke and Leia fell into step behind him and Charan, both so intent on keeping a watchful eye trained on the two that neither of them took notice of the sinister figure that slowly rose from the churning depths of the fountain behind them, her gruesome, gaping mouth stretched even wider in a satisfied smile.
