Chapter Text
Kanan certainly didn't want to leave Ahsoka behind, but she made her point, no matter how he doesn't want to let her do it. All he and Ezra can do now is run.
He has no idea what the deal with Vader is now, but he's far beyond unsettled to see how obvious it was that the Sith... cares about people. People who were obviously his children, on top of that. And there's no doubt in his mind that this was once Anakin Skywalker, and he has no idea how to deal with that knowledge. Everyone looked up to Anakin. It doesn't make sense for him to have become this.
And what did Ahsoka mean, she created Vader?
His mind is whirling with so many questions, none of which he has the time to ask. He may never have a chance to get answers.
He heard that Sabine was captured from Ahsoka, and he can't deny his concern about what condition she'll be in. He... remembers too clearly what happened the last time he was near Mustafar, of all places in the galaxy, and he is not happy he ended up here again.
Hera and Zeb have already located Sabine, though, and they're already on the way out when Ezra and Kanan join up with them. The floor is trembling, quaking, and he has a very good idea what's happening; he really doesn't have time to stop and think. That's probably a good thing, though.
If he stops to think, he has no idea what'll happen. He... doesn't want to. Thinking would mean questioning everything he thought he knew about Vader, about the Sith, about everything. He didn't know Sith were capable of love, if Vader's obsession can truly be considered such.
"Are you alright?" Kanan asks, as soon as they make it clear of the castle, scrambling for the Ghost.
"Are you alright?" Hera replies, "We weren't sure what happened to you. We didn't know if you made it out okay."
"We're fine," Ezra promises, "What's this I heard about Sabine being captured?"
"He took me after I splattered his armor," she replies.
"Great job on that," Ezra cuts in.
"He wanted to know more about this World Between Worlds place, and I couldn't tell him anything. What is it?"
"It opens to the Multiverse," Kanan explains, looking her over. She seems okay, and he breaths a quiet sigh of relief. They all made it out again and... He has no idea what's going to happen to Ahsoka and Vader now. "We... accidentally ended up in another timeline."
"I don't even wanna know," Zeb declares.
"Another timeline," Hera repeats dubiously, "What was it like?"
"There was no Empire," he replies. The whole incident already feels like little more than a dream now – almost like it couldn't have really happened, with how far-fetched it was. "But we didn't know each other."
Hera frowns slightly at that.
"I never knew my parents," Ezra adds, "And I had a padawan braid."
"A braid?" Zeb repeats incredulously. "Now I want to see this."
Sabine snorts. "I can't imagine it either. But... are you sure we never met?"
"I don't know, but I never saw you, or any implications that you may have," he answers, "But either way, we didn't live together as we do now." He can't imagine that. He... can't ignore the part of his mind that thinks he's grateful everything happened as it is now, because he can't imagine living a life other than the one he is right now, with all of them.
"I imagine every timeline has its own... advantages," Hera comments finally, turning back to the front. The castle is starting to collapse now, and Kanan can't tear his eyes away from it. "We should go."
"How's Ahsoka gonna get out?" Ezra objects again, his fear obvious.
"I don't know." He doesn't want to add that he doesn't know if either of them are planning to. He can't begin to understand what happened between them – what could have happened to Anakin at all to lead to this – but now they can only do what Ahsoka told them to.
Leave.
And... if nothing else, all the Dark Siders hunting them should be gone.
That doesn't stop the empty feeling in him when he tries to imagine Ahsoka never coming back. (Or that the very person he's looked up to for years is a Sith.)
Once he often wondered how things would be with no Empire, without having to constantly fear losing someone else, but now he has the answer to that.
All they can do is make the most of what they have. At least they're together.
***
"Do you think he found what he's looking for?" Leia asks quietly.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Luke questions.
Truthfully, Anakin has no idea how long it's been since everything happened. Time is blurring together, and he feels... off still in some inexplicable way from whatever Vader did to him. "Yes," he answers, because somewhere deep inside, he does. And he knows, either way, it's what the twins need to hear, because they had... panicked when Vader showed up. They didn't mean to make him feel like they did, but they weren't thinking clearly, and the guilt of that... has not been easy.
That's when Anakin senses a very, very familiar presence that he hasn't felt since Vader took him – rather his body – to the Temple. He'd known something was happening, but he didn't know what, and he'd thought it would be Luke or Leia who reached for him. Instead, it was Obi-Wan, who he hasn't felt in years.
He has no idea what to think about the fact that his master is currently here.
Their bond hums, dull from disuse over the past seventeen years. It had been far beyond hard to live it through, knowing that Obi-Wan was so far away, and they might never speak to one another again. He was the Grandmaster, and Anakin knew better than to press him for something he so clearly didn't want or have time for. Otherwise, he'd have gone back long ago.
"Obi-Wan," he breathes, standing and making for the door. This doesn't make any sense. Why would his master be coming here after so long? It's not as though he needs Anakin for anything. He... never has.
But it is his former master, quite obviously, and Anakin's first thought is how he looks so much older than he did when... Anakin left. It's been so long, and they've changed so much, but the one thing Anakin knows has never changed is how much he still cares for Obi-Wan.
It could never. Even Vader did, though Anakin suspects he's the only one who can see it.
"Anakin." Obi-Wan's expression is closed off, though, hidden beneath a strange iciness.
Anakin tries his best to find some sort of words to greet him with, but it's been seventeen years, and his emotions overwhelm him almost immediately. He steps forwards, pulling Obi-Wan into a near-crushing hug. Anakin can't remember the last time he and Obi-Wan hugged each other. He's not entirely certain they ever did, for as much as he always wanted to.
It catches him even more by surprise when Obi-Wan returns it. For a moment, at least, they do nothing except hold each other.
It's been so long and... he's still surprised Obi-Wan came.
"Why so long?" Anakin has to ask finally.
"I would have come before, but I thought you preferred to be away."
What?! "What?!" After all the time he thought Obi-Wan just didn't want to see him and was staying away because he was angry or disappointed or... which he should've been, seeing how Anakin broke the Code.
"What else could I have thought?" he grumbles, "You had a choice. You chose to leave."
"I didn't choose to leave," Anakin objects, pulling back just a bit.
"But you knew the consequence of what you chose," Obi-Wan accuses.
"I did, but that doesn't mean I didn't want to see you again." There's so much he wants to say, but he doesn't know where he could start. So much has happened since they were last with each other, and it's so wrong because Obi-Wan raised him and... "I... missed you." He suddenly feels unsteady as he stands in front of him, trying to resist the urge to touch him again – he has no idea if Obi-Wan would want him to do that. "Why?" he asks, "Why come now?"
"You heard of Vader, I imagine?"
"He was in my mind – I would hope I heard of him."
"I encountered him at the Temple."
"I heard," Anakin replies, and he has, because everyone is talking about it, though he can't entirely believe any of what he heard. But he knows Jedi died by his hand even if it was Vader doing it.
"I attempted to break his hold on your mind," Obi-Wan continues.
"I felt you reaching me," Anakin tells him. His hands feel unsteady, and he knows he should probably pull back now, but he doesn't want to.
"I hoped with your help, we could destroy him."
"You could have died," he can't help admonishing. Somehow, with their... age now, it makes it easier to talk to Obi-Wan. "I would have known you died there and..." Suddenly, he can't find it in himself to meet Obi-Wan's gaze.
"You would have answered me," he replies, "You always have."
The shame hits him then, full-force – he's used to it, after knowing that Obi-Wan was out there alone and could die because Anakin wasn't there to help, but it's different when he's being forced to again confront the fact that it was his own actions that lead to this.
Even if he never meant for them to.
"I'm sorry," he says, desperately, even if he knows it's pointless because it's not going to rewrite the past many years of their lives, "I did not mean for... everything to fall this far. I know I disappointed you and... I deserve that."
Obi-Wan himself seems not entirely certain how to handle it, but Anakin leans into his touch again the moment he offers it, wrapping his arms around him again. He needs this now more desperately than he has ever needed anything in his life. He winds his arms around Obi-Wan, just clinging to him. He would never want to be anywhere other than here right now.
"I missed you as well," Obi-Wan confesses quietly. "I... needed to see if you were alright after what Vader did."
"Are you?" Anakin queries. "It must have hurt you."
"I'm fine," he promises. Something about the sharp, iciness of his presence seems a little less cutting now, more like the rain it once felt of, even if it's still cold.
Anakin can only hope they both will be alright, now that they're together again. It's ironic how it took Vader to get them back together – it's where they always belonged, but it had been hard to... accept that, especially when they were apart. They're never whole unless they're together.
But Anakin can understand why Obi-Wan never tried talking to him again, and he doesn't blame him in the least for it. It would have been... hard, as the Grandmaster, to be willing to hold onto an attachment to someone who left him and betrayed the Code. It's not as though he'd even have time.
"How is it?" his former master inquires, "Out here?"
"It comes and goes." I've never been at peace without you.
"Where's Padme? I haven't seen her." It must be awkward for Obi-Wan to talk about her, Anakin suspects – she's the one who... took Anakin from him, after all.
"She's visiting Sola. The children and I are staying here." Settling down had been hard for them. Anakin was accustomed to war, and Padme was accustomed to constant stress. Living without it was extremely difficult for a long time. Anakin had to get used to not constantly watching his back, and it took Padme even longer to finally accept that she couldn't control everything anymore, that it was a part of her past and she needed to let go of it. She'd been in politics for longer than Anakin was a Jedi.
They... had a difficult time reestablishing their relationship on such close ground, hence why Anakin spent a while off dealing with... the Hutt clans and everything else he wanted to do as a Jedi, but eventually, he was able to. The Republic, well, that's a different story. Anakin knows it'll shatter entirely any day, and it's hard to sit back and watch, knowing what's about to happen and trying to turn a blind eye to it, because there is simply nothing more he can do without getting Luke and Leia endangered. Padme has the same struggle.
He can only imagine how awkward it must be for Obi-Wan now, seeing as they've lived a lifetime without each other – at least it certainly feels like it – and Anakin has his own children now, who aren't exactly... that young anymore, and Obi-Wan never met them.
He doesn't even know their names. (It's only the twins, because after... what happened, after Padme nearly died, they didn't dare risking having more, knowing how easily it could tear their family apart.)
He never asked, and amidst the chaos, Anakin was expelled before... Obi-Wan could have time to see them.
"Luke, Leia," Anakin calls, just to save them all the awkwardness. "It's Obi-Wan."
"Obi-Wan?" they echo in unison, audibly stunned, and sprint into the foyer, their shock radiating into the Force.
"I thought you weren't on talking terms?" Luke asks, and Leia elbows him.
"He's here now," Anakin replies, turning back to face them. He blinks back the sudden tears stinging his eyes. Seeing Obi-Wan again is bringing back all the emotions that are easier not to dwell on. "Come inside," he says finally, "There's a lot to catch up on."
***
He was... supposed to die here. He doesn't know why he's still alive, still breathing, or why the debris is farther above him than they should be. When it fell down, it was stopped above them by a beam of some sort.
"Anakin," Ahsoka's voice calls, sounding muffled and echoing at once. He hears her shuffling towards him.
"What did you do?" Vader demands sharply.
"I saved your life," she replies bluntly, "Are you alright?"
She saved him. She did, and he has no idea why. It doesn't make any sense. She should have had no reason to do that. "Why?" he snaps.
"Why?" she echoes in disbelief. "I cannot believe you are asking me that."
"I would have found peace," he snarls.
"You're welcome," Ahsoka grumbles, "Now, help me move this."
"There is no way out," Vader replies stubbornly. He knows they'll run out of air eventually, or at least Ahsoka will. His suit will probably shut down before that happens.
"I think at least half the building went over the edge into the lava," she informs him, "I sense a path right above us. If we can move it over, we can climb out."
"I cannot climb," Vader snaps back.
"Either we can sit here and die for no reason, or we can do the galaxy some good. It's your choice."
He wants to continue refusing, because it's so much easier to do nothing and simply remain here, but Ahsoka is standing across from him, and she was his padawan, and he can't... be responsible for her death.
No matter how angry at her he is.
But he doesn't know where they'll go from here anyway. Or yes, he does. Anakin had said... but he doesn't know where he could start looking. Obi-Wan disappeared without any traces, and where could he start?
And if he did find him, what then? That would be up to Obi-Wan, though, and Vader already knows what he'll probably want. But it's not as if he has any objections to dying. It would be a relief, especially when it still feels like Ahsoka just robbed him of that chance.
When he looks at her, he has one choice – either do to her what Obi-Wan did to him, or help her stay alive. Help her not... feel the same crushing emptiness that he's had every second of his life after Jabiim.
It's not even a question.
He reaches out with the Force, feeling for the path she mentioned and nudges the debris aside enough that she, at least, can make it up. It's a start. It'll take an enormous amount of digging, but...
There is eventually a way out.
He feels mostly numb when they finally reach outside. He didn't expect to make it past this, and he doesn't even know how to get started. He's running from the things he accused Ahsoka of doing not long prior, but...
But he doesn't know what else to do.
He can't go back to Sidious, to the Empire, pretending nothing is wrong.
Now that they're together again in the light of the sun, Ahsoka sees him clearly for what he suspects is the first time. Her amusement flows into the Force in waves. "You look ridiculous."
He hasn't heard someone say that in years. For a moment, he can see the child his padawan once was, hear her laughter and the Skyguy, you look ridiculous about some outrageous stunt they pulled or one of the times she tried and failed miserably to braid his hair because she was obsessed with hair for a long time.
But the tan walls of what was once Anakin Skywalker's bedroom are gone in a flash, rewritten by the grey and black landscape of Mustafar, the eerie red glows of lava being the only lighting. And his padawan's childish face is replaced by that of a grown Togruta, one he should have seen every step of.
One he lost, just as he lost everything with his children.
He doesn't stop to cry. He doesn't even know if he could – some pain is far too deep, but he knows this was the final resting place of the Skywalker dynasty.
"Where will you go?" he asks instead.
"Where are you going?" she replies.
"I will search for... someone," he answers.
Ahsoka tilts her head, considering. "Obi-Wan?" she guesses.
He wouldn't even ask how she knows. "Yes."
"What did he do this time?" she asks almost exhaustedly. Likely, she can sense his anger at the mention of his master's name.
Vader opts for ignoring the question altogether. He has no idea how to explain to Ahsoka what happened. He doesn't even know what he's doing anymore. All he knows is that he has to find Obi-Wan, because then something in his life might start making sense.
Right now, it feels like he doesn't even have a purpose anymore – he had that before this all began, at least, with the Empire. Now, he lost it. He has... nothing. And he's never had to deal with that before, though he feels too empty to find it in himself to care.
"Where will we start?" Ahsoka asks.
"I do not know," he answers, honestly, because he has no idea.
"I'll try to find something, then," she decides. "I have a few ideas on where to start."
***
It takes longer than Vader expected, but it could also have been far longer than that before they finally track it to Tatooine. It wasn't his first guess, but it certainly wasn't his last – of course, his master would be hiding in the last place Vader would want to look.
It's not until he touches down that he suddenly senses a very, very familiar presence in all it's blinding light.
Luke.
But... Luke was dead. Sidious said he was dead.
If Vader killed Padme, there is no way his child – children – could have survived.
But Luke is here, and this time, completely unshielded, and Vader reaches out again, almost desperately touching his presence. His son is here. And that means Leia must be alive, too, somewhere.
They're alive.
His children are alive.
His children, not those of another version of himself. And that...
They only just rejected him in the other universe, but... if he was the only father they had, it may be... different. He's too afraid to hope again that they won't reject him, but they're his children,and he won't lose that opportunity. (He won't let himself think about what would happen if they did. He can't... face that again.)
Obi-Wan is obviously shielding well, but Vader senses him immediately, as he crosses the Dune Sea together with Ahsoka. He hasn't seen him since Jabiim and... He has no idea how Obi-Wan will react. Vader is still... hardly opposed to dying, but he wants to at least see his children. Maybe his former master will at least grant him that first.
"You're quite the sight in that," Ahsoka snips, as they stop right near a hut.
He ignores the comment – he's quite aware and unconcerned with it. It's not as if he needs his armor to look intimidating right now.
"How can you see?"
"With the Force," he replies flatly.
She snorts, about to approach the hut when the door opens, Obi-Wan himself stepping out.
Vader can hardly see him, but he looks... far older than he did last time. And his presence in the Force is icy, far sharper than it was the last time they fought. He doesn't... know what to think about that. He doesn't know how to feel about any of this. Either way, his wariness flares instantly – every time he confronts Obi-Wan, it brings him nothing but pain.
He can feel the way Obi-Wan's anger and wariness instantly flare with shock and incredulity.
"I told him to wash it off," Ahsoka greets snippily, breaking the silence.
"You did not."
Obi-Wan continues to stare at them for a few long moments. "What are you doing here, Darth?" he asks, icily, at length.
And... he finds suddenly he hardly knows how to answer that question. "Ask him what he would have you do." Even if he's totally... lost, at least he can feel grateful to his other self for giving him some sense of direction.
Slowly, Vader moves forwards, kneeling in the sand in front of his former master. Despite how... painful it is, there is little better way to convey his true intentions. "I am... here to face to whatever fate you choose to bestow on me."
There's a very long moment of nothing but his respirator cycling.
"I think a simple 'I'm surrendering' would have... sufficed," Ahsoka offers finally.
"Why?" Obi-Wan demands, "Why would you? What are you doing with him, Ahsoka?"
"I may have convinced him to join me." She pauses. "Technically, it was actually his... children of another time who did that."
Obi-Wan's presence coils with a sudden fear. "What?" he demands, sharply.
"It's a long story."
"Then begin by explaining why he has... paint on his armor?"