Part VII
Obi-Wan couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. For several days now there had been a strange sensation niggling in the back of his mind. It was familiar, but not enough for Obi-Wan to be able to pinpoint its source. In the end, all that it did was frustrate him and make him overly paranoid.
It was not yet to the point where he felt the need to leave the planet. Luck had kept them from being tracked on their journey from Roon to Endor. He wasn’t going to risk a second retreat until he was sure that there was something chasing them. Still, Obi-Wan could tell that something was amiss, so kept a closer eye on Luke. While he may not yet have known the source, he could sense that Luke was the focus of the increasingly dark energy. There was something near, or possibly already on, Endor that could sense Luke’s power and was focusing on him. Obi-Wan was grateful for the fact that Luke seemed unaware of it thus far. There was nothing unusual in the boy’s behavior.
Or so Obi-Wan believed until the night he woke up to the sound of Luke screaming.
When he was an infant, Luke may have cried out when he was hungry or in need of a change, but he had never screamed in such absolute terror. Obi-Wan was out of bed and on his feet in an instant, rushing towards Luke’s room with his lightsaber firmly in hand. Given the unease he’d been experiencing lately, Obi-Wan had taken to keeping his lightsaber close by when he slept. He didn’t want to waste the time it would take to retrieve it from its regular hiding place if Luke was in danger.
Expecting to see some henchman of Sidious’, Obi-Wan was almost relieved to see Luke sitting up in the middle of his bed sobbing.
“Daddy!” Luke hiccupped, reaching both hands towards Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan hadn’t managed to sit down before Luke launched himself into his arms. He was wound tight around Obi-Wan, arms and legs both, snuffling wetly into his shoulder.
“I’ve got you, Luke. I’ve got you,” Obi-Wan soothed, murmuring into the rumpled blonde hair. “Whatever it was, Luke, it was a just a dream. Nothing can hurt you now that you’re awake.”
“Didn’t wanna die. Didn’t wanna die,” Luke whimpered, pressing himself even closer to Obi-Wan. “Too scared.”
Having no idea what Luke was talking about, Obi-Wan gently probed his thoughts. What he saw stole his breath. Luke had seen Mustafar. Had seen the flames consume what was left on Anakin’s body. It was an image that that still haunted Obi-Wan himself. All Anakin would have had to have done was said his name and he would have saved him. Turning and walking away from his best friend who had literally been dying before him was the hardest thing Obi-Wan had ever had to do.
Yet it did not explain where Luke’s nightmare had come from.
“Who’s da sad man?” Luke sniffled against his shoulder once his tears had subsided.
Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut tight, wishing for all the galaxy that he didn’t have to answer the question. It was impossible for him to explain Anakin. They had been so much to each other over their thirteen year history. Rival siblings, father and son, brothers, enemies. Through it all, Obi-Wan had loved him. Even in those last few desperate moments he’d loved Anakin.
“The sad man’s name is Anakin Skywalker,” Obi-Wan said at last. “He was my best friend.”
“The Hero Wiff No Fear?”
Obi-Wan couldn’t help but grin at the awe he heard in Luke’s voice. “The Hero With No Fear.”
“How didja know him?” Luke murmured, snuggling closer.
“I fought beside him. On more planets than I can recall,” Obi-Wan mused, relieved to be telling Luke the truth even if it was likely that he wouldn’t remember in the morning. “He saved my life many times, but in the end I couldn’t save him.”
Standing just outside his son’s bedroom window, Vader seethed. Luke was supposed to be screaming to get away from Obi-Wan, not screaming for him. He had shown Luke Mustafar specifically to drive a wedge between them. Luke should not be so trusting of the man who had stolen him from his parents. Obi-Wan was hiding him away like a secret and would only use him as a weapon when he was older. He would use Luke to try and destroy the Sith.
Vader was startled when he felt a sudden pressure against his shields. It wasn’t Obi-Wan, though. Vader had learned to erect his shields in such a way that his former master couldn’t penetrate them. It had become a necessity when he’d married Padmé and had become so much a part of his natural shielding that in the end the exception had been for Anakin to not block Obi-Wan from his mind.
But the presence was there regardless.
Don’t be sad.
Vader startled at the voice. He knew the voice and, by extension, the presence poking at his shields. His son. Not even four and Luke was already strong enough to be aware of his presence. Even if Obi-Wan had been training him from birth it was unlikely that Luke would have been able to accomplish such a feat without incredible natural talent. Greater than his own.
He still loves you.
Reeling back, Vader stared at the side of the cabin for a long moment before stalking into the wilderness. He had to leave before his temper got the better of him. He didn’t want to take his anger out on Luke. Not when it was really directed at Obi-Wan who was filling his son’s head with such lies. He would just have to try again and find some way to prove to Luke that Obi-Wan wasn’t worth his love.
The only bright spot Vader was able to focus on, aside from having found his son, was the fact that breathing was becoming easier. He was six hours without the mask and he wasn’t yet struggling to breathe. Vader knew that it would still be some time before he could do without it completely, but it was a start.
He would prove to Obi-Wan that he was the stronger of them.
Prove it to Luke as well.
The boy would know that he came from greater stuff than Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan would have been dead a thousand times over if Anakin hadn’t saved him. He had been foolishly loyal to the older man, though. An infatuation that had grown from when they had first been officially saddled with each other. At nine, all that had registered with Anakin was that he was to be the Padawan of the Sith Killer Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Only now he was the Sith.
Obi-Wan would not defeat him.
It took Obi-Wan well over an hour to get Luke back to sleep. Luke had been filled to the brim with questions, wanting to know everything he could about Anakin. It seemed odd to him that Luke appeared to be avoiding the terror that he had witnessed only a short while before. Either Luke hadn’t been fully able to comprehend what he had seen, or he was still young enough to be able to push such things aside.
What worried Obi-Wan most of all was just how Luke had been able to witness those last few minutes on Mustafar with such utter clarity. Obi-Wan himself kept those memories buried away deep in his mind, preferring to remember Anakin has he had been before and not the twisted creature he’d become. The only other beings that had been present were R2-D2, C-3PO and Padmé, yet none of them had been on the shores of the lava flow. The only other person was Anakin himself.
Stretching his mind out along the extremely tattered and frayed bond that Obi-Wan couldn’t bring himself to severe, he searched for some sign of Anakin. The fact that the bond remained at all meant that Vader had never consciously let go of their bond. And that gave Obi-Wan hope. Hope that something of his friend remained lost in the monster.
Not wanting to bring too much attention to himself and Luke, Obi-Wan didn’t press things when he came up against Vader’s shields. However, the mere fact that Vader’s shields were up so strong was worrisome. As Anakin he had only ever reinforced his shields so strongly when he was purposely hiding something or from someone. Given Luke’s nightmare, Obi-Wan was suddenly worried that his former apprentice was on Endor.
And that he knew about Luke.
The thought was only half-formed in his mind when Obi-Wan began to act. Slamming his own mental shields into place, Obi-Wan began to pack up only the most basic of necessities that he and Luke would require for them to disappear once again. He would not risk Luke to the Emperor’s intentions. Obi-Wan had promised to look after Luke and keep him safe and had every intention of following through on that vow.
Half way through his packing, Obi-Wan stopped. Vader knew where they were. More importantly, he knew about Luke. Obi-Wan would have expected Vader to come after Luke as soon as he sensed the boy’s presence. Anakin had never been known for his patience, a trait Obi-Wan doubted he would have learned as Vader. The fact that Vader hadn’t immediately attempted to abduct Luke gave him pause.
"What are you doing, Anakin?” Obi-Wan sighed as he slumped down onto his bed. “Why did you show Luke that?”
There was no answer forthcoming, not that Obi-Wan had expected one. Their bond was equally silent.
I’m here, Anakin. I’ve been keeping him safe for you.
“I have permitted his little tantrum of yours long enough, Lord Vader. It’s time that you return to Coruscant. You have five standard days.”
Vader had watched the message half a dozen times, but as yet had not responded. Foolish as it was to ignore Sidious, it was even worse to deny him. And Vader had every intention of denying him. If he went back to Coruscant, Sidious would find out about Luke somehow and Vader had no intention of putting his son in danger. Luke was all that he had left of Padmé.
Regardless, he only had five days to decide what he was going to do about Obi-Wan and Luke. The fact that there was no quick answer frustrated him. A lifetime ago he would have left Luke in Obi-Wan’s care without a second thought, believing that his son would be safer at his former master’s side than anywhere else in the galaxy. Except that the lifetime had changed and Vader no longer trusted Obi-Wan as he once had.
Shaking his head in frustration, Vader made his way towards the falls. He needed to clear his head and when he’d still been fully human standing in the shower had been a way to do that. Vader only hoped that the sound of the crashing water would have the same effect.
Tempted as he was to keep Luke with him at all times, Obi-Wan wanted to keep things as normal as possible for the little boy. With any luck Vader would come after Obi-Wan himself first. It was the most likely scenario given Anakin’s temper. Anakin was prone to taking out his frustrations on the source and at the moment that was him.
Leaving Luke in the care of one of the women in the village, Obi-Wan ventured towards the waterfall. He needed to figure out just what he was going to do now that he knew the source of the dark presence he’d been sensing. Disappearing again would have been the easiest choice. It would have ensured that Luke was safe. But it would have only been a temporary fix. Vader would track them down. They would just be running from one planet to another and Obi-Wan didn’t want that for Luke. He wanted to be able to stay in one place while Luke grew up.
So focused on his own thoughts, Obi-Wan almost didn’t see the figure sitting near the base of the waterfall. It took him another moment to realize just who it was seated on the large boulder just beyond the fall’s spray. Squaring his shoulders, Obi-Wan stepped out of the foliage and towards the visitor.
“I’d tell you that I’m glad to see you well, but I doubt you’d believe me.”
Vader whirled around, his eyes instantly locking on Obi-Wan. “You left me to die.”
“Had you asked, I would not have,” Obi-Wan said as he strode towards the man who had once been his best friend. “Even in the end I would have helped you, Anakin.”
“My name is Vader,” the scarred man ground out, rising to his feet and turning to face Obi-Wan completely. “Anakin Skywalker is the name of a dead man.”
Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest, remaining where he was. “Murdered by you and your Emperor. Yes, I saw the footage on the security holofiles. But if Anakin is dead, what are you doing here?”
“You know why I’m here.”
“Then kill me.”
Obi-Wan stretched his arms out, the gesture made less dramatic than it would have been four years ago since he no longer wore his Jedi robes. He was genuinely surprised that Vader didn’t reach for his lightsaber.
“You took my son from me!” Vader shouted, nostrils flaring and had his eyebrows still been present they would have been furrowed. “You took my son and you took Padmé!”
“I wish it were that simple,” Obi-Wan sighed, his arms dropping. “Till her dying breath, Padmé believed that there was still good in you. But what happened on Mustafar… it broke something inside of her. She lived long enough to give birth to Luke and name him. She was even able to touch him once. So however briefly, Luke did know his mother. And he knows about the man you once were. The man who should have been his father.”
Obi-Wan could feel the air around him rippling with dark energy.
“I am his father.”
“Anakin Skywalker is his father,” Obi-Wan corrected him.
“Anakin Skywalker is dead.”
Obi-Wan shook his head sadly. “So you proved last night.”
As he’d expected, that got Vader’s attention. He stalked across the small distance that separated them, ending up only a few feet away from Obi-Wan. Close enough that Obi-Wan could hear the grinding of gears from Vader’s mechanical limbs. That, and the scars on Vader’s face were the only signs of the trauma he had undergone on Mustafar. The fearsome suit Obi-Wan remembered from the HoloNet footage had been replaced by a simple pair of black trousers and a black tunic. And just like Anakin, Vader wore the same leather gauntlets that Anakin had modified to feel the sensations that flesh would.
“I wanted Luke to know the truth about you,” Vader informed him, bowing his head.
“Luke knows the truth. You did not need to terrify him because you were having a tantrum,” Obi-Wan ground out. “Luke knows about Anakin, but he’s too young to understand that I’m not his father. He’s three and a half. All that he knows is that I’m the one who’s been there his entire life. When he was older he would have learned the truth. Then it would have been up to him to decide. My only concern has always been keeping him safe from the Emperor.”
Vader began to pace about, his expression closed off. “You kept him away from me. He’s my son. He’s all that I have left of Padmé.”
“And if I’d arrived on Tatooine a day earlier Luke would either be dead or locked away somewhere at your new master’s orders.”
It was as close as Obi-Wan had come to giving into his temper thus far. He loved both Luke and Anakin and the thought of either the Emperor or Vader harming them brought out the anger that he’d always tried his best to release into the Force. After what had happened on Naboo with that demon Maul, Obi-Wan had taken special care to control his emotions to the best of his abilities. He didn’t want to slip.
"I wouldn’t have let him hurt Luke,” Vader insisted, stopping to glare at Obi-Wan. “I love my son.”
“Love him enough to show him that horror?! He’s a child and you forced him to witness his father’s death and what was the worst moment of my life!” Obi-Wan shouted, his anger sneaking to the forefront. “I never wanted to hurt you! I begged Yoda to send me up against Sidious so that I wouldn’t have to face you. You murdered my best friend!”
Vader stared at him with those frightening reptilian eyes, features clenched.
“One word,” Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head sadly. “One word from you and I would have doused those flames. I never wanted it to come to this. If you believe nothing else, believe that.”
The two men continued to stare at one another for several long minutes. Just like that day on Mustafar, Obi-Wan could see the conflict in Vader. He could only hope that this time Vader wouldn’t swallow that scream.
“Daddy!”