"You brought him here to kill me!" Vader's venomous accusation rings out, and Obi-Wan is shocked by the overwhelming darkness and hatred he feels pouring out of the newly minted Sith. It's suffocating. Oppressive. Almost as thick as the lava that's flowing below their feet. He doesn't even feel like the same man he used to know. Like he's a completely different person. A wholly different being.
"NO! Anakin, I swear. I—" Padme tries to reach him, but her words are cut off as her windpipe is squeezed closed by the Force.
"Let her go, Anakin," Obi-Wan commands, seeing this, but the Sith Lord wearing the face of his one-time brother doesn't even acknowledge him, let alone stop.
"Anakin…" Desperate to reach him, Padme forces out his name, but the Sith remains unmoved, so Obi-Wan moves closer and puts more emphasis behind his words. "Let. Her. Go."
This time, Vader seems to listen, glaring at him in annoyance before loosening his grip on Padme, but only enough so that she can breathe, and Obi-Wan relaxes a little bit. But then, the Force rings out a warning, and Vader flashes him a sinister smile before jerking Padme towards him with the Force and stabbing her in the abdomen with his lightsaber.
"NO!" Obi-Wan wakes up with a shout, subconsciously calling his lightsaber to his hand and igniting it. Though after looking around for a moment and realizing it was a dream, he deactivates it and lets it fall down to the bed.
He sighs and drops his head into his hands. "Not again."
This is the third night in a row he's dreamed about Padme's death. And while having dreams about Mustafar isn't exactly uncommon for him, this is the first time he's had them repeat like this, and it concerns him.
Running his hands over his face, he throws the covers off himself and clambers out of bed. He knows he won't be getting any more sleep after that dream, so he might as well get up.
He slips on a pair of Loth cat slippers and makes his way down to the kitchen to fix himself a cup of tea. When it's ready, he settles in at the kitchen table and closes his eyes. He knows the Force is probably trying to tell him something, but what? And why that moment? A lot of terrible things happened all over the galaxy that day, so for the Force to only show him that one moment… it must mean something.
He shakes his head and clears his mind before dropping into the Force. Maybe the answer he's searching for is right there in front of him… he just can't see it yet.
XXXXX
Dr. Sheel looks around in awe as he exits the small Imperial shuttle into the hangar of the Rebel flagship. To say that he's been impressed by what he's seen so far from the Rebellion would be an understatement. Not that he's never been on a ship this nice before or anything, it's just… based on the propaganda put out by the Empire, he imagined that the Rebels would have some sort of rinky-dink freighter or something, not a massive Mon Calamari Star Cruiser.
A beeping alarm behind him pulls him out of his thoughts, and he turns around to see one of the Rebel security officers assigned to watch him stepping away from Anakin's pod with an embarrassed look on his face. Knowing that this alarm signifies an impact to the pod, he marches up to the officer and gets in his face.
"If you don't know how to walk, stay away from the machines!"
The officer getting chewed out just looks at him blankly, stunned by the man's sudden outburst.
"Now come over here and help me take this pod to the medical bay," the doctor switches gears and instructs the bewildered officer, leading him to the back of the pod to show him how to control it.
At the side of the hangar, Bail just watches the whole interaction with an amused expression on his face. He knows that a security detail is probably overkill for the good doctor, as the man seems harmless enough. But after so many lessons learned the hard way, he's found that it's better to be safe than sorry.
"I know he roars like a gundark," Ahsoka's voice comes from behind him and he smiles. "But trust me, he's as harmless as a porg."
Bail turns to face her, and his smile grows. "It's good to have you back, Fulcrum."
She returns the friendly gesture. "It's good to be back."
He then goes back to watching the doctor work on the pod. "So, do you mind telling me just who or what is in that thing," he asks. "In your last transmission, you were very… vague."
Ahsoka smiles softly. "Hope, Senator. There's hope in that pod."
Bail looks at her with an eyebrow raised, making Ahsoka chuckle. "Don't worry," she pats him on the shoulder. "I'll explain everything once the rest of the council arrive."
Bail nods. "I can tell you that it's a 'who' though," Ahsoka finishes.
"Well, whoever it is. I just hope that they're on our side," Bail adds. "We could really use a win."
Ahsoka is quiet for a moment, then she turns to him. "While I don't want to give you false hope. I truly believe that if the person inside that pod decides to help our cause, we'll be able to completely take down the Empire within three years… maybe four."
Bail's eyes open wide in shock. He's rarely ever heard her sound so hopeful about something before. Not since the Jedi fell, anyway. Looking back at the pod, he wonders who it could be. Whoever it is must be someone extremely powerful for Ahsoka to be so confident about their future.
"Well then," he gives her a smile. "I look forward to hearing more about our mysterious savior when the others arrive."
Ahsoka just smiles for a reply and walks away. Bail watches her go, but soon after she leaves, a concerned expression appears on his face. He's not sure why, but this whole situation feels… dangerous, somehow. As if the entire future of not only the Rebellion, but the galaxy as a whole is dependent on whoever is in that pod.
Shaking his head, he sighs and turns to go back to his office. There's no need for him to worry about it right now. Everything will be revealed in time.
XXXXX
Once in the medical bay, Ahsoka finds a spot out of the way and watches as Dr. Sheel carefully hooks Anakin's pod up to several machines, making a mental note of how each machine connects and operates, just in case she ever needs to step in.
After he's done, the doctor does a quick check of Anakin's vitals and starts him on a vitamin drip to get his nutrients up. Then, seeing that his patient is all set up and stable for the night, Dr. Sheel excuses himself to go get some sleep. Neither he nor Ahsoka were able to get much sleep on the way here, so he's exhausted.
After he leaves, Ahsoka walks over to the pod and places a hand on the small transparisteel window over Anakin's face, looking at his peaceful expression through the glass.
"Hey Skyguy." A small smile appears on her lips, saying his nickname for the first time in years. "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but… you're safe now."
She begins to lightly trace her fingers on the glass over his face, following the contours of his jaw.
"I've missed you so much," she says after a moment, her emotions already starting to build. "Things are really bad in the galaxy right now, and the Jedi—"
She pauses and closes her eyes as the pain rips through her. "The Jedi are all but gone… wiped out by Palpatine at the end of the war."
Continuing to stroke the glass, tears begin to well up in her eyes. "I'm so tired, Master," she croaks out eventually, suddenly sounding more like a padawan than the bright, brilliant, and strong woman she's grown into. "Tired of fighting. Tired of running. Tired of—"
A sob escapes her lips, interrupting her, and she presses her palm flat against the glass, desperately searching for Anakin's comforting Force presence.
"Tired of being alone," she finishes, through her tears. And while she knows there are probably a few people out there who would drop everything if she asked, and come help her feel not so alone, it's not them who she wants. It's him.
Anakin.
"So, I'm going to need you to wake up soon, okay? Please! The galaxy needs you." Another sob escapes her lips. "I need you."
Ahsoka continues to cry, letting her tears fall freely. It's something that she never lets anyone see her do, but this is Anakin. And despite the fact that he is unconscious right now, he's her person. The one she cares for the most.
Suddenly, one of Anakin's machines begins to beep, and Ahsoka looks up at it with hopeful eyes. But shortly after it beeps, it goes back to being silent and nothing else happens, much to her disappointment.
Feeling exhausted all of a sudden from the sudden burst of emotion, Ahsoka yawns and decides that she better go get some sleep as well. "Well, I'm going to get some rest," she tells him. "But if you need anything, I'm not far away."
Then, taking one more long last look at him, she presses a kiss to her fingers and places them on the glass over his face. Then she walks out of the medical bay and goes to her room.
Moments after she leaves, though, the machines connected to Anakin's pod start to go crazy, and the loose tools around the room begin to rise in the air.
XXXXX
On Imperial Center, Vader lowers his hand, and the lifeless body of the Imperial officer sent to inform him and Sidious about the destruction of the cloning lab, falls to the floor, and Vader signals for one of the stormtroopers near the door to remove the body.
"It must be a Jedi," he says, returning to Sidious's side. "No one else would have been able to break into the Sith Temple."
Sidious looks at him in disgust. "Well if you would have killed them all when you were supposed to, we wouldn't be in the mess. Now, would we?"
Vader doesn't say anything but seethes quietly, as memories of the fire that ravaged his body play in his mind. "I will find them and make them pay for their insolence."
Feeling the hatred and darkness boil within his apprentice, Sidious smiles. "Good. Good. But for now, I need you to go to Mount Tantiss and get Nala Se. With the loss of the cloning facility, as well as the theft of Skywalker, we need to come up with new a way of creating another clone."
Vader frowns under his mask. "But with Skywalker gone, how can we do that?"
A wicked grin splits Sidious's face. "I have taken steps to ensure the continuation of the program," he says mysteriously. "Just go get Nala Se and bring her here."
Vader bows. "As you wish, Master."
XXXXX
A warm breeze blows across Anakin's face, and he slowly opens his eyes to see a grey, stone ceiling above him. Confused, he sits up and looks around at the small room he's in. It's mostly empty, with just a bed and a small dresser, but it feels… familiar, somehow. Like he's been here before.
"Ah, you're finally awake." A voice from the other side of the room brings him out of his thoughts, and Anakin turns his head to see the visage of Qui-Gon Jinn materialize right in front of him.
"Master?!" Anakin gapes.
The old Jedi Master smiles warmly. "Hello, Ani. It's been a while."
"What- What happened, Master? Where am I?"
Qui-Gon smiles. "Have you already forgotten where we were the last time we spoke?"
Anakin thinks for a minute, then his face pales. "Mortis!"
Qui-Gon nods.
"How did I get here?"
"The Force brought you here."
Anakin blinks in confusion. "The Force?"
Qui-Gon nods. "You're lost, Anakin. Disconnected from yourself, in more ways than one. And we need to find a way to get you back." He pauses for a moment, then asks. "What's the last thing you remember?"
Anakin's brow creases as he tries to come to terms with this information, but figures he has to trust Qui-Gon.
"I was in Palpatine's office," he answers after a moment. "I went there to tell him that Obi-Wan had engaged Grievous on Utapau." He frowns, finding it hard to recall the memories. "Then, Palpatine told me how disappointed he was that I didn't kill Count Dooku on the 'Invisible Hand'."
Anakin's expression twists as the memories come flooding back, then his eyes fly open wide. "Palpatine is the Sith Lord!"
Qui-Gon just nods, seemingly already aware of the Chancellor's identity. "What else?"
"I— I drew my lightsaber and went to arrest him, but… something happened, and I was attacked from behind. I didn't sense it until it was too late."
"And after that? Anything?"
Anakin closes his eyes and tries to think back, but it's hard. Shaking his head, she says, "No, I don't think there was—" But his words suddenly stop, and his face contorts. "Wait. Yes. There is something else." His face continues to twist, and his breathing becomes labored. He grimaces. "There was pain," he says after a moment. "Cold, darkness, and pain."
Seeing him struggle, Qui-Gon places a hand on his shoulder, bringing him out of it, and Anakin opens his eyes, gasping for breath. The last thing he heard when coming out of the vision was the cackle of Sidious's laugh. Anakin looks up at Qui-Gon with a frightened expression. "Who was that, Master?"
Qui-Gon sighs. "A lot has happened since you went to confront Palpatine, Anakin. The galaxy is not as you remember it."
"What do you mean?"
Qui-Gon shakes his head. "All will be revealed in time. But for now, we need to work on getting you back."