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"You were right."
Those were the last words Anakin- Vader- he spoke, the ghost of a smile on his lips as he looked at the young Jedi before him.
His boy.
His son.
Reviewing files of Luke Skywalker over and over had told him he had a close resemblance to Anakin Skywalker. The sandy hair, bleached under the cruel Tatooine suns, the blue eyes that still shined with hope, the same face, even the same nose.
How could someone like him have played a part in creating someone so wonderful? And how could he tried to kill his son only moments ago?
But his son had not cared. He still believed. He still insisted there was good in him.
How could he have bent the Force to his will for all these years, and still not understand?
Force... he still didn't understand...
The blackness swallowed his vision, and he closed his eyes, breathing his last...
Red lights hit his eyes like a thousand bolts, sending data to him far too quickly for him to analyze- heart rate, body temperatures, metal detection, ultraviolet and infrared readings in two different eyes showing the outline of a face.
Then a familiar sound of rattling breathing that he had long tuned out years ago echoing in his ears.
Stimuli that he spent years ignoring and fine tuning came crashing upon him like a sandstorm and he nearly dropped what he was holding.
Which happened to be a man.
By the neck.
And he was choking him.
...
On the whole, this part was not unfamiliar.
But still jarring.
"We received no transmissions!" the man forced out, legs kicking helplessly as he fought for breath. "This is a Consular ship! We're on- on a diplomatic mission!"
Those words.
He had heard those words before- in fact come to think of it he had seen this uniform before.
Khaki shirt, pants, and jacket, the white dome helmet...
An Alderaanian soldier.
But there hadn't been sightings of one since the destruction of Alderaan and the capture of the rebel princess.
What in the kriffing Bantha diseased hell was going on here?!
Before he could demand further answers, the man's flailing ceased as the life left his eyes and at least ten monitors confirmed loss of pulse, breathing, and decreased brain activity. He dropped the body in disgust, and turned to look around him.
Stormtroopers, unrecognizable to him even before this madness, stood vigilantly waiting for orders.
He could feel his heart pounding, his mind flooded with confusion- no more than confusion.
Rage. He was angry.
Again, not entirely unfamiliar but still not pleasant to feel when he had had peace for the first time in a lifetime.
He was on a ship. Not an imperial ship, with black walls and silver lights, but white walls.
He had died. He had breathed his last on the Death Star in the arms of his son-
His son. His boy.
Luke.
Where was Luke?!
"Tear this ship apart!" he roared. "Bring me any you find alive! I want answers!"
The day that Scarif fell.
He was back to the day that Scarif fell, the rebel alliance stole the plans to the Death Star, and the avalanche that would become the fall of the Empire began.
He looked down at the planet below him. Three years ago, he hadn't even cared to notice which planet it was. Perhaps if he had, he would have suspected something greater was at play.
Evidently, something greater was at play now.
For some reason, he had been sent back to this day.
The peace that his son so lovingly gifted him was long gone. In its place was confusion and fear, that he instinctively crushed with anger.
Hadn't he been through enough? Hadn't he had suffered enough already?
Was the Force so fickle that it would send him back in time, just for some cruel whim?
No!
He was still a Master of the Force. He bent it to his will. He was the one in control.
Below him was his old home. The damned planet where nothing good grew, where there was only sand and death. The place where his mother was buried, where he first learned that the galaxy was a cruel place that didn't care about those who were crushed underfoot.
Now it would be his fist that closed around those below. His will that choked the life out of any who would get in his way.
But most importantly, his son was down there. Luke was down there, uncorrupted by Obi-Wan-
He paused as the second realization came over him.
Obi-Wan was down there.
The old man was down there. His old master. His friend, his brother.
"I HATE YOU!"
"You will not take her from me!"
Oh yes, his old friend.
His teacher, who saw fit to hide his children from him! Who chose to have his son live on that barren wasteland of a planet, and hid his-
He stopped dead at the thought, just as a slim figure was escorted by four guards to him, head held high, her dark hair in twin buns, and her dark eyes shining defiantly.
The Princess. Leia.
"So you have a twin sister."
His daughter.
The young woman looked furious as she was stopped before him, eyes flashing with anger. He could feel the Force reacting to her frustration that brewed beneath the surface- how did he not sense it before?
"Darth Vader, only you could be so bold," she sighed, keeping a calm mask in place. "The Imperial Senate will not stand for this. When they hear you've attacked a diplomatic-"
Force... she looked just like Padme.
The dark hair and eyes, the shape of her face. Her ability to keep on the face of an ambassador, trying to use her wits to get out of an impossible situation. The determination behind her eyes that told him she had no intention of failing her mission, no matter what he threatened her with-
Leia.
He had always wanted a daughter.
When Padme told him that she was pregnant, he had secretly hoped for a daughter. One who looked just like her mother, a little princess he could dote on and adore for every moment.
All this time, she had been right in front of him.
How many times had he seen the reels of her, passed by her at the Senate in Coruscant?
His daughter was right in front of him, and he was too blinded in self hatred and pity to see her.
Because Obi-Wan had hid her from him. Convinced him that she was gone with her mother.
Anger. He held onto the anger. Through anger, he found strength, and through strength, control.
Control. He had to remain in control.
Leia would be locked away and tortured before watching Alderaan be destroyed before her very eyes. He had felt her grief through the Force that day. Her pain echoed through the entire battle station, like a cry that could not be silenced.
He had thought nothing of it at the time. He had focused instead on finding out if the rebels were indeed on Dantooine and forcing himself not to strangle Tarkin who tugged at his leash.
Perhaps if he had listened to her cries, he would have realized-
But then, he had been distracted when he had sensed Obi-Wan's arrival. To distracted by his old master to realize the depths of his daughter's pain.
Not this time. This time she would not suffer. He would see to it.
"Take her away," he ordered. "See that she is treated comfortably."
There was a stunned silence. Even she looked taken aback at this order.
"My lord, you don't wish to interrogate her?" the commander spoke up. "She is one of the rebels. A traitor. She-"
Perhaps years ago he would have come up with a suitable excuse out of fear of the Emperor and what he would do if he learned of this act of mercy. But less than thirty minutes ago, he had thrown the man down the reactor shaft. Let Palpatine try to control him again. He was ready.
Instead he raised a hand, already feeling the Force close the airway around the commander's throat. The man instantly stood down, not even reaching for his collar.
A wise man. He deserved to live for this.
"I did not ask a question, commander, but gave an order," he reminded the man. "She is not to be harmed in any way."
Leia frowned, staring at him. He could feel her confusion. Her wariness. She suspected this was a trap to endear her to his side so she would give away her friends. While she hid her feelings behind a mask, much like her mother, she could not hide them through the Force.
Soon, little one. Soon you will understand everything.
The commander still appeared to be in doubt but after having the Force threaten to crush his throat once before, he was wise not to say anything else.
Control. He had to stay in control and focus on his priorities.
First, he had to get Leia out of here. He would not allow her to be tortured and suffer at the hands of the Empire.
Whatever trick this was by the Force he could at least ensure that. He could make sure his daughter was safe.
Next, he had to go down to Tatooine. He had to find Luke and Obi-Wan. Get his son off that forsaken ball of sand, and get both of his children to safety. Some place where Obi-Wan and Palpatine could never touch them, never find them. Never turn them against him.
And then... then he would kill Kenobi for taking them from him in the first place.
"Sir, one of the escape pods was launched," a lieutenant reported. "We did not shoot it as there were no life forms aboard."
Of course. That was how she had gotten the plans off the ship by the time she was captured. Trusting of all things, a familiar little R2 unit.
He had thought it mere coincidence that the droid that followed the rebel princess and Luke around had the same coloring as his old friend. But now he started to realize that the Force would not let such a thing be mere coincidence.
Even now, this was something that worked in his favor.
"The princess must have placed the plans in the escape pod and jettisoned it to the planet's surface," he mused aloud. "If there was some sort of droid aboard with instructions, it is likely only she will know how to disrupt the droid's programming and retrieve the plans in one piece."
Finally, something he could spin in his favor. Before he had been too proud. Too certain of his own power in getting her to talk, so convinced she'd break under the will of the Force, he had only sent a small search party down there.
Now he had a different plan.
"Ensure that everyone aboard this ship is arrested and in the detention cells," he ordered. "Have the Princess brought aboard my shuttle. I and a small search party will go down to the planet's surface to find where she stashed the plans."
That should be enough for whatever eyes and ears his old master had watching him. A reasonable plan to go down, but it would also get him closer to Luke while ensuring nothing happened to Leia.
"And what then, Anakin?" asked a kind, fatherly voice. A voice he had almost forgotten since that day on Naboo when he had ordered Anakin to stay hidden before going to face Maul with Kenobi. "What will you do when you have them both?"
What kind of question was that? He shook his head, forcing back Qui-Gon's presence. This was no place for ghosts.
"Aren't you also a ghost now?" Qui-Gon remarked. "You gave your life for your children. What will you do when you have them in your grasp again? Will you make things better?"
Yes. Things could be better this time.
This time he could take down Palpatine faster. He could teach both of them in the ways of the Force. Teach them what they needed to help him bring down the Emperor before either one of them got hurt-
"Father, please."
He almost flinched at the reminder of his son's broken cries of pain. Luke had cried out for him. Not for a monster, but for his father.
What would his son see this time when he approached him on that planet below? What would Leia see when she was reunited with her twin brother?
He didn't know.
All he knew was that he had to do three things:
Get to Tatooine. Find his son. Kill Obi-Wan for everything he had done.
He could sense Leia's confusion and fear as their shuttle entered the planet's atmosphere.
Despite his hatred of this damned mask, he felt the same.
That was his daughter sitting on the other side of him. She was nineteen. Was she really the same age he was when the Clone Wars started? When he fell in love with her mother?
He had thought himself mature and wise at that age. But just looking at how she held her head high, but her eyes darted around, marking exits, weapons, guards, he realized she was far more of a commander than he had been at this age.
Nineteen and she already knew the horrors of war. How could Kenobi have allowed this?
"Is it Obi-Wan's fault?" Qui-Gon wondered. "Who terrorized the galaxy at the Emperor's behest? Who made the world such an unsafe place that she had to harden herself at so young?"
But he had done it to make the Galaxy better! To end the leash of slavery that had choked him all his life. To make sure there were no children who had to be separated from his mother, as he was. To make sure there were no monsters like Jabba the Hutt or Darth Maul who saw people as mere pieces to be used and thrown away.
"Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?:
"Master Skywalker... what about us?"
The last voice was not Qui-Gon's. It was too young. Not frightened as it had once been. Not angry nor accusatory as it should have been.
It was simply curious with the kind of innocence only a child could have.
What about them? The younglings he had slaughtered? Did they have to die to make sure more children did not grow up in fear and pain?
Why were they different than this young woman before him, who he also had failed?
No, he would not ask himself that. He would not dive down that path.
He had to focus on saving her. On finding his son. He would make sure things were different this time. Better.
He would not fail them this time.
"And how are you going to do that?" Qui-Gon wondered. "She remains a prisoner still."
He shook his head, banishing the phantom from his thoughts. There was no good that a ghost could do to help him. There was no harm the ghosts of the children he killed could do to him or his daughter.
The shuttle landed with a shake, the superior technology of the Empire not enough to prepare for the unsteady sand dunes that they had landed on. He felt Leia's alarm and growing fear, as well as her mind racing for a plan as her guards forced her to her feet.
"We have landed at the site of the homing device in the escape pod, Lord Vader," the pilot reported. "If those droids are on board, they will be here."
"There are no such droids," Leia spoke up. "Every one of them was accounted for as a passenger on my ship, as always. Count your records, and you'll see there are none missing."
No doubt, he thought wryly. She likely made sure that little R2-D2 didn't appear on any official record for this exact scenario. Her mother might have done the same thing.
He was about to comment on it when the shuttle doors slid open and he looked on the endless sea of sand that had once made his home. The heat was so dry and suffocating, even beneath the protection of his suit he could feel it seep in and ignite his scarred tissue like fire.
And just by standing here, feet away from the sand, he felt tiny, course, rough grains blow into the joints and gears of his mecho arm and legs, under the neck of his mask, and a few irritating pieces even fought to get into his respirator.
Kriff.
He hated this place so much.
When he found Kenobi, he was going to make it ten times more painful for the man to have the audacity to choose this bantha pit of a planet as his hiding place!
Leia was trying to drag her feet, fighting against her guards and snapping him from his train of thought. He would endure. He had endured worse before without his children at stake. He could do this.
And now that they were on this desolate place, there was one crucial benefit that made this planet the safest place right now.
For the first time today, he was away from Palpatine's ever seeing spies. There was no way for his former master to pull at his leash and try to force him back under control. For the first time today, he was free.
And he intended to keep it that way.
None of the Stormtroopers knew what was happening. None of them had expected it. One moment, they saw the flash of red as he drew his light saber, the next they knew nothing as he slashed and cut, starting with the two that held his daughter.
Leia gave a shout of alarm as one of the Stormtrooper's heads was severed from his body, and instinctively she dropped to the ground to take cover from the fight.
Two of the others were too surprised to even draw their weapons, and were still struggling to draw their weapons when he came down on them, easily lifting one in the air with a rush of will, the other he slammed into the wall of the shuttle, the glowing red blade now cleanly cutting through his chest. There was the sound of gunfire and he quickly turned to the last two- the pilot and a corporal.
"Lord Vader, what are you-"
He found this man's voice annoying. For the second time today, he took an opponent by the throat, and lifted him into the air, choking the life out of him before the man even got the chance to pull the trigger again.
Without even blinking, he threw the man at the pilot, pinning the soldier below his superior's body, before driving the lightsaber down into his chest.
Then without pause, he went to the front of the ship and disabled any homing beacon or communication that could get back to The Executor and alert them that something had gone wrong.
There. Now there was no one to get in his way or alert the Emperor of his defiance. Now-
He turned to look at his daughter, only for his heart to plunge when he saw a pair of handcuffs lying open by the bodies of the men he had slain and no woman in sight.
Kriff!
He moved to the door of the shuttle in time to see his daughter sprinting across the sand dunes, arms free and one of the Storm Trooper's weapons in hand.
What was she doing? She'd die out here!
"Wait!" he shouted, rushing after her. "Leia, wait!"
As soon as he stepped outside, he could feel his mecho-arm and legs slowing due to the sand that was building up in his joints. His normally fast movements were almost halved as Leia continued to run, only turning back at his call to lift her gun and fire.
Her aim was better than his troopers, he'd give her that. But still, he was easily able to deflect each and every shot before she turned to take off once more. Turning to run. Turning to leave him.
Just like his Padme had left him.
No, not again! NOT AGAIN!
His anger bent the Force to bow to his will, and they became tendrils of something strong and unbreakable. Like a tractor beam pulling in a ship, the Force caught her around the middle and began to drag her back to the shuttle.
He heard her shout of dismay when she realized what was happening and tried again to fire on him. Again, he was easily able to deflect her shots, and he pulled the gun out of her hands when she was within arm's reach.
"LET GO!" she snarled, her fists flying out to hit his chest and arms. "You would turn on your own men?! They did nothing!"
"They were in my way, Leia," he replied. "And would have reported me to the Emperor."
She let out a mocking laugh as she thrashed and bucked against him, like a womp rat in a trap.
"So even his loyal attack dog is under watch?" she scoffed. "I should have known! The Emperor doesn't trust even you. How could he trust anyone who might take away his precious power?"
She was definitely right about that, but he was not about to tell her.
Her hand flew to the lightsaber, and he quickly caught her wrist, and twisted her arm around her back.
"Enough, Leia! We are both free of his eyes now, and that's what matters!"
She hesitated at this, finally seeming to realize that the man who had captured her was not following orders any longer.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice even despite her wariness in the Force. "Why are you betraying your master?"
Because there was someone more important. Because his son had believed in him, despite everything. Because there was still good in him, good that Luke had seen. Because he was not about to let his daughter suffer at his own hands.
So much he wanted to say, but he knew she'd never believe him. She would laugh in his face if he told her the truth. The idea of her laughing at him... of his daughter not believing him...
"I will explain once we are on our way," he answered. "There is a speeder on this ship. We'll use it to take us-"
But as soon as he released her arm, she took off like a shot again across the sand. This time, he was ready. He easily grabbed her by her long sleeves and yanked her back, and pulled the cuffs to his free hand with the Force.
She let out a string of curses that would make a pirate blush, calling him every dirty word in the galaxy as he locked the cuffs around her wrists.
Where on earth did she get this? Her mother was never this stub-
No, that was wrong. Padme was definitely this stubborn. Just in a different way.
Disguising herself as a handmaiden to stay close to her Jedi protectors. Going to rescue Obi-Wan when he was captured by Dooku. His wife had so many hidden weapons around their home, he'd find them in the kitchen or refresher!
Leia definitely had her mother's stubborness. It had to be Padme's because it certainly did not come from him.
As if just to prove him wrong, at that exact moment she tried to run a third time.
Several sets of restraints and a headache later, they were finally flying through the Dune Sea on the speeder, making the familiar trek to the Lars' moisture farm.
The sand was starting to build in the suit and breathing apparatus, bringing stinging pain to the stumps where his flesh met metal, and tickling his throat like worms were crawling up and down his airway.
This wasn't good. The longer he stayed on this forsaken planet, the more vulnerable he became. It was not as bad as the lightning that had run through him mere hours ago, but if confronted with several enemies, he would be slower and weaker.
Still, he thought smugly. Not as slow and weak as Kenobi is now. Age has taken a toll on the old man.
"Has it?" Mace Windu's voice echoed. "From the way it looked to me, he knew what he was doing."
That was impossible. He killed the weak man. Time had made his master slow and feeble-
"I was on the receiving end of your blade, Skywalker. You got me because I was focused on something much more dangerous and important than you. Your strike against Kenobi was one that could be easily blocked. He only allowed you to win."
He shut out the smug voice of the Jedi. He already dealt with the pain, the guilt, the anger and fear for what he did to his wife and family. He did not need to be cajoled further by a corpse like Mace Windu.
Especially when he had bigger goals before him.
It was all too easy to find the Lars Farm.
Even Leia quieted as they approached it. The Force hummed with a sense of serenity here. There was a quiet calm, a warmth that reminded him of coming home to hot meals, to gentle hugs, the soft voice of his mother greeting him...
Home. It was a home to his son. And the Force reflected Luke's love of home.
He wanted to scoff. It was a moisture farm. A place of labor and sweat and nonstop struggles against this planet to scrape a living.
It was no place for his son to live.
Seeing it before him... only grown a little since he had been here nearly thirty years ago-
Rage bubbled in him.
How dare they.
This place had not been safe when his mother was taken. His mother had been stolen from here by the raiders, tortured to death. And they kept his son, her grandchild, in the same place where she had been taken.
Had they learned nothing? Did they care so little that they would not protect his son from the same monsters that took his mother?
Leia shuddered beside him, sensing the anger that rolled off of him like the sand in the wind. He ignored her as he reached out, searching for his son. The sooner he got the boy out of this place and to safety, the better.
He felt... nothing.
The speeder lurched to a halt as he reached out further.
What? How-
He sensed that Luke used to be here. But it was like coming home to an empty residence while the owner had stepped out. He could feel Luke's handprints in the Force all over this place, but Luke himself was gone.
"What is it?" Leia asked softly, sensing the growing danger but not yet realizing the reason. "Vader? What's going on?"
Before he could answer, a figure emerged. An older man who still stood tall and proud. Vaguely familiar in his memories, from an encounter long ago.
Owen Lars.
His stepbrother.
He had never considered the man his brother, and yet now he couldn't help but recall a child's fantasy, spun in those exhausted nights after long days of working with his mother.
An older brother who could come and defend him and his mother from those who had enslaved them. Who could stand up to Sibulba and Watto and the Hutts, and assure him he was not alone. Or perhaps a younger brother that he could also protect and teach how to fly in a pod race...
He had secretly hoped that when he met Obi-Wan Kenobi- a proud Jedi and still a young man- that this would be that brother he had wanted. But after everything... Obi Wan was no big brother. He was his Master.
"You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you."
And when he had met Owen for the first time, he had no longer cared about having a brother. He had cared about finding his mother, about bringing her home. And when he found her, found her tortured and barely clinging onto life...
He could only blame Owen for not protecting her.
And now he saw the man again. The man who had helped raise Luke. Made his son the man he was today.
Owen felt eyes on him and he turned to see the two people in the Speeder. He felt the farmer's fear through the Force. A father's fear for his child, a husband's fear for his wife and home.
"BERU! Beru, it's him! Run! Get out of here!"
His stepbrother knew without hesitation that he was in danger. He was preparing to fight, not caring that this was once his stepbrother, the son of Shmi.
He wanted to see Luke. To raise him as his own. But-
"Deny Owen and Beru's influence, you cannot, hm?" Yoda's voice echoed. "Would compassion your son have shown without them to teach him?"
No, it did not matter. Luke was not here. That was what mattered.
He needed to see his son! And if he wasn't here, they would tell him where Luke had gone! Or they would feel the same pain that the Sand People suffered for Shmi's death!
He reached out, hand outstretched and the Force extended from his arm, closing itself around Owen's throat. The farmer's scream was snuffed into a choking gasp. He felt the man's fear echo all around him, ruining the feeling of home and comfort with the fear and anger-
"His anger, Vader?" Yoda asked. "Or yours?"
"STOP!"
Leia dove against him, her entire weight enough to make him stumble and lose focus. Owen dropped to the ground like a puppet whose strings were cut, coughing and gasping for breath.
He turned to the Princess who was now on her knees, struggling to get up with her restraints.
"Do not interfere, Leia!" he roared.
She didn't back down. She met his eyes without fear, dark eyes like her mother's sparking with determination and anger.
"I won't let you hurt them!" she snarled. "I won't let another person die here today!"
What was she doing? She had no reason to defend these people! They were nobody to her. Why would she defend them from him? Stubborn child, she would not get in his way!
He lunged for her and fear entered those eyes once more.
He froze.
Fear in those eyes. Tears spilling out.
"You're breaking my heart. You're going down a path that I can't follow. Ani, please."
No. No, not again. He couldn't hurt his family again. Couldn't hurt her again.
He felt his legs give out- just the sand, it had to be the sand- and his mind went blank.
Couldn't hurt her again. Couldn't do this again.
Force, why was he here? Why was this happening? Hadn't he suffered enough?
Why was he still here after everything he had done?
Luke. He needed to see Luke.
See Luke. Kill Kenobi. He had to find Luke and kill Obi-Wan. Then everything would be alright again.
Without a word, he secured Leia in her spot in the speeder, and took off. He didn't stay in this haunted place any longer. There was nothing for him here.
He blindly began to follow the faint traces of the Force left behind by his son. Footprints fading in the sand. Had to find him. Had to see him. Had to make sure things were different. Had to find Kenobi and-
He glanced at his daughter. The child he almost hurt again. He had nearly killed her in the womb. In his last life... the horrors he had inflicted on her.
And he almost killed her again. For what?
She was silent beside him. She was no longer fighting to be free but watching him curiously. Somehow, she was less afraid of him than she had been earlier. How? He had almost hurt her. She should be so afraid. Should be wanting to run and leave as her mother had.
So why-
Was it because he had listened to her? Because he stopped hurting Owen on her request?
Come to think of it... why had he stopped?
He had every reason to choke the life out of the man. He had hid Luke from him. Kept Luke on this rock. And yet he had stopped.
"Father PLEASE!"
He had stopped because she had asked him too. Because his daughter wanted him to stop hurting someone.
And he could no more deny that request than he could Luke's.
In silence, they made their way through a familiar canyon. How many times had he flown through here while practicing pod races. And Obi-Wan chose here to hide? Too close to the Sand People. Too isolated. But it was close enough to Owen's farm to keep an eye on Luke, he supposed.
There!
He sensed Luke!
The rusty speeder was sitting outside a small hovel, and he sensed the familiar brightness in the Force. A light that outshone the sun.
Luke!
And beside him...
Kenobi.
Perhaps it was the sand in his joints, or perhaps it was how surreal and impossible this moment should have been. But everything seemed to move in slow motion to him.
He could see the figure of the old man emerging, hand on his weapon. He could hear Leia shouting in recognition, and she tried to throw herself at him once more.
"BEN! Ben, it's him! It's Vader! BEN!"
So that was why she had come to Tatooine to begin with. She had come searching for Kenobi. The Force was indeed fickle. Whether it was through Leia or Luke, it had led Kenobi to him, and to his end.
Obi-Wan did not look surprised or even angry. If anything, he looked solemn. The face of a guardian called to his post. But when he saw Leia, his eyes widened. He realized what this meant.
That he knew. He knew who Luke and Leia were.
And now his Master would pay for hiding them from him.
"Ani, is that truly what you want? To kill him?"
"Master Skywalker, your daughter is afraid. Like we were."
"You know you can't win this battle, Skywalker!"
"Feel the Force, Skywalker. Speaking to you, it is. Here to kill your old teacher, you are not."
But he had to die! It was the only thing that made sense!
Obi-Wan hid his children and-
"Ben? What is it?"
He froze.
All eyes turned to the young man who walked out of the hovel. A young boy in farmer's clothing, his eyes bright and innocent still. Curious but wary, which quickly became confusion and fear as he recognized both passengers in the speeder.
His son.
Luke.
Luke was here.
Luke was before him, Leia beside him.
He was here... in the past. Why? Why was he here? To kill Kenobi? To kill Palpatine?
"Does it matter, my love? Our children are here. Will that be enough for you this time?"
It had not been before. Before it had been about control. Ruling the Empire so nobody could take his family from him again.
But how could he want that now? All he wanted were his children.
Slowly, Obi-Wan smiled. His old master sensed something in him. The change that not even he could make out himself.
"Hello there... Anakin."