Chapter Text
He woke up.
After giving his life to save his son - after sacrificing himself to burning, screaming arcs of lightning that tore through skin and armor alike, that stopped his mechanical breath and human heart - after dying -
Anakin Skywalker woke up.
Well, his mind did, at least. He could not feel his body, and all he could see was a strange, blurred light.
“Hello, Anakin.” Was that…?
“Obi-Wan?”
“Yes, Anakin. It’s me.” There was a pause, and then - “I’ve missed you.”
Anakin’s very soul trembled, and he nearly sobbed. “Oh - oh, Obi-Wan, I’m - I’m so sorry - Obi-Wan I’m so sorry, I - “
“Shh, Anakin.“ A warm feeling of peace came over him, like a gentle wave. Oh, it had been so long since he’d been soothed through the Force like this. Since he had felt the brush of his old friend’s mind against his.
Slowly, he became calm, and Obi-Wan continued. “It’s alright, Anakin. It’s alright. It’s over. You have defeated Palpatine, and brought balance to the Force. You saved the galaxy. You saved Luke.”
He almost began crying again. Luke, his son, his child; he was safe now. Safe. Safe from the Emperor, safe from the Dark Side, safe from him.
“He’s safe…”
“Yes, Anakin. He’s safe,” Obi-Wan said gently. Then, with a hint of amusement, "And your daughter is, too; we mustn’t forget about her now.”
His daughter.
The daughter he had never known, the girl he had learned of only in his last minutes of life, through the tumultuous thoughts of his son as they dueled on the Death Star II.
“I never even knew her…”
He sensed a sadness from Obi-Wan. “You did, actually.”
“What?” He had met her? When? Who was she?
Before he could ask, Obi-Wan answered. “The Princess of Alderaan,” he said softly. “Leia Organa.”
Princess Organa? The woman he had tortured, kidnapped, the woman who’s planet he had allowed to be destroyed before her very eyes?
He was a monster. He had hurt both of his children, in ways that could never be fixed.
Obi-Wan sent another soothing wave of calm to him. “Be at peace, Anakin,” he murmured. "You have been the Chosen One. You have fulfilled the prophecy. Now, you have the choice to live a different life.”
“What… What do you mean?”
“You can go back, Anakin. As an animal companion to your children. You can be with them, if you choose. Or you can become one with the Force now, and watch over them, and see them again when their time comes. The choice is yours.”
Live again, as an animal? Be with his children as a pet, the way he couldn’t as a person?
The choice was his. And the choice was clear.
“I want to go back.”
He felt a shift in the Force, and the soft light began to fade. “I will be with you, Anakin,” Obi-Wan promised. “In this life, I will not leave you.”
Anakin heard a quiet sound; distant, but drawing near, healthy and strong. A heartbeat.
He fell asleep to the noise.