Star Wars: Ashes and Hope
Jan. 7th, 2016 09:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He can see the flashes of a lightsaber fight floating along the river as he runs along the ridge, and Anakin skids down the slope when he sees Obi-Wan leap, though the vision intrudes for a moment more before he shakes it off.
"Don't!" Anakin meets Vader's gaze over the heated rock and lava between them. Trying to make him think about what will happen if he makes the leap Anakin saw in his vision. The pain and horror of it, at the least, and for all that Anakin has no fondness for this shattered being called Vader, he wants to see him dead even less.
Obi-Wan stiffens, and Anakin turns his attention to him as he turns, letting one hand drift to his lightsaber as he sees the shock on Obi-Wan's face. No one had mentioned Anakin's existance, then. It doesn't last long, and Anakin grimaces at the grief and pain that beats at him from Obi-Wan.
"I don't believe we've met." Obi-Wan's attention is fully on Anakin, and Anakin watches Vader drift away on the lava, though he doesn't go far. Keeping the platform near enough he can leap if he decides to take advantage of Obi-Wan's distraction.
"Not you and me, no." Anakin draws a deep breath, the heat of the air catching at his throat and lungs. Drawing on memories of Obi-Wan as he knows him. The beloved master, the irreverent Jedi as maverick in his own way as his own master. "The person I know whose face you wear would make a clean kill. Or he'd never have walked into the fight if he knew he could not."
Even Maul wouldn't leave an enemy to burn like Anakin's vision. He might make their death linger, but he'd be sure they were dead before he walked away.
Obi-Wan's saber is lit, and Anakin lights his own as he pulls it from his belt, blue blades crossing as he opens himself to the Force, light and dark. Shedding his disguising shielding in favor of more energy from the slow currents.
The fight isn't as evenly-matched as the one he'd seen between Obi-Wan and Vader, though Anakin doesn't feel quite as close to the edge as he had when facing Sidious before this nightmare began. He ducks another blow, and makes an awkward lunge upslope to try to draw the fight further from the broad river of lava.
MASTER!
A frantic call vibrates along the bond with Zett, a flood of fear following it that makes Anakin stumble in surprise, and he has to drop and roll to avoid being cut in half. Rolling back to his feet, he takes a step upslope, and lets Obi-Wan close with him.
Using his lit saber to shove Obi-Wan's aside, he takes another step, bringing his other saber up, and activating it. There's a shout behind him from Vader as the blood-red blade pierces Obi-Wan's chest, carving a neat hole through him, and leaving him stunned.
When Obi-Wan goes to his knees, and his lightsaber drops from a nerveless hand, Anakin deactivates his own, bolting back toward the facility as fast as he can push himself with a Force-enhanced run.
The ship is powered up when he darts back through the final door, Zett on the ramp waiting for him, beckoning him frantically. The fear from earlier hasn't abated, and Anakin doesn't stop, just darts up the ramp, Zett falling in behind him.
"What happened?" He can hear the ramp lifting as the engines are cycled up and they lift from the platform.
"Senetor Amidala isn't doing very well." Zett points Anakin toward what looks like a tiny medical suite, where Padmé is curled up on her side, face screwed up in pain. "I don't know what's wrong, and she just told Master Windu to get us off this planet."
Anakin kneels down next to the bed, reaching out to touch the side of Padmé's face. It's overheated, even to his touch, and he doubts that's just the blistering heat from the planet. "Padmé?"
She opens her eyes, studying him for a brief moment before she closes them again, letting out a hiss of pain. "Is my Anakin... is he all right?"
"Vader lives, but I don't know that you could call him all right." Anakin rests his hand on Padmé's shoulder, rubbing it gently. "Are you all right?"
"I will be fine." She sucks in another breath, a shiver going through her. "Obi-Wan?"
Anakin hesitates, before smiling sadly. "Dying, though I don't know if he will die, not with Vader there. He didn't sound happy that I'd harmed Obi-Wan."
Padmé flinches at his words, and Anakin lifts his hand away. He doesn't have a chance to pull back before Padmé grabs his hand, holding on tightly. "There's still good in him. He's not completely lost."
"I hope you're right. For Obi-Wan's sake, if nothing else." Anakin squeezes her fingers, feeling the tremble in them. "What happened?"
"I don't know." Padmé shivers, her grip on his hand tightening a moment. "It's not the baby. Not yet. I don't think."
Anakin has no idea how to check that, and he looks over his shoulder at Zett. "Tell Master Windu to find the nearest safe medical facility." Turning back to Padmé, he uses his free hand to stroke back sweat-dampened curls of her hair. "Even if it isn't the baby, it won't do any harm to make sure all is well with it."
Padmé nods without opening her eyes, pain still dominating her expression. "Is there any way to check before we get there?"
Not with the medical equipment, and Anakin hesitates. "Not yet. I don't want to be so close to Mustafar if I use the Force. I didn't train much with any healers, just enough to make sure I didn't bleed to death in the field."
He can look in the Force, and make sure nothing feels wrong, but that doesn't take healer's training, just a willingness to open himself up to another, and that person to open themselves to him.
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He can see the flashes of a lightsaber fight floating along the river as he runs along the ridge, and Anakin skids down the slope when he sees Obi-Wan leap, though the vision intrudes for a moment more before he shakes it off.
"Don't!" Anakin meets Vader's gaze over the heated rock and lava between them. Trying to make him think about what will happen if he makes the leap Anakin saw in his vision. The pain and horror of it, at the least, and for all that Anakin has no fondness for this shattered being called Vader, he wants to see him dead even less.
Obi-Wan stiffens, and Anakin turns his attention to him as he turns, letting one hand drift to his lightsaber as he sees the shock on Obi-Wan's face. No one had mentioned Anakin's existance, then. It doesn't last long, and Anakin grimaces at the grief and pain that beats at him from Obi-Wan.
"I don't believe we've met." Obi-Wan's attention is fully on Anakin, and Anakin watches Vader drift away on the lava, though he doesn't go far. Keeping the platform near enough he can leap if he decides to take advantage of Obi-Wan's distraction.
"Not you and me, no." Anakin draws a deep breath, the heat of the air catching at his throat and lungs. Drawing on memories of Obi-Wan as he knows him. The beloved master, the irreverent Jedi as maverick in his own way as his own master. "The person I know whose face you wear would make a clean kill. Or he'd never have walked into the fight if he knew he could not."
Even Maul wouldn't leave an enemy to burn like Anakin's vision. He might make their death linger, but he'd be sure they were dead before he walked away.
Obi-Wan's saber is lit, and Anakin lights his own as he pulls it from his belt, blue blades crossing as he opens himself to the Force, light and dark. Shedding his disguising shielding in favor of more energy from the slow currents.
The fight isn't as evenly-matched as the one he'd seen between Obi-Wan and Vader, though Anakin doesn't feel quite as close to the edge as he had when facing Sidious before this nightmare began. He ducks another blow, and makes an awkward lunge upslope to try to draw the fight further from the broad river of lava.
MASTER!
A frantic call vibrates along the bond with Zett, a flood of fear following it that makes Anakin stumble in surprise, and he has to drop and roll to avoid being cut in half. Rolling back to his feet, he takes a step upslope, and lets Obi-Wan close with him.
Using his lit saber to shove Obi-Wan's aside, he takes another step, bringing his other saber up, and activating it. There's a shout behind him from Vader as the blood-red blade pierces Obi-Wan's chest, carving a neat hole through him, and leaving him stunned.
When Obi-Wan goes to his knees, and his lightsaber drops from a nerveless hand, Anakin deactivates his own, bolting back toward the facility as fast as he can push himself with a Force-enhanced run.
The ship is powered up when he darts back through the final door, Zett on the ramp waiting for him, beckoning him frantically. The fear from earlier hasn't abated, and Anakin doesn't stop, just darts up the ramp, Zett falling in behind him.
"What happened?" He can hear the ramp lifting as the engines are cycled up and they lift from the platform.
"Senetor Amidala isn't doing very well." Zett points Anakin toward what looks like a tiny medical suite, where Padmé is curled up on her side, face screwed up in pain. "I don't know what's wrong, and she just told Master Windu to get us off this planet."
Anakin kneels down next to the bed, reaching out to touch the side of Padmé's face. It's overheated, even to his touch, and he doubts that's just the blistering heat from the planet. "Padmé?"
She opens her eyes, studying him for a brief moment before she closes them again, letting out a hiss of pain. "Is my Anakin... is he all right?"
"Vader lives, but I don't know that you could call him all right." Anakin rests his hand on Padmé's shoulder, rubbing it gently. "Are you all right?"
"I will be fine." She sucks in another breath, a shiver going through her. "Obi-Wan?"
Anakin hesitates, before smiling sadly. "Dying, though I don't know if he will die, not with Vader there. He didn't sound happy that I'd harmed Obi-Wan."
Padmé flinches at his words, and Anakin lifts his hand away. He doesn't have a chance to pull back before Padmé grabs his hand, holding on tightly. "There's still good in him. He's not completely lost."
"I hope you're right. For Obi-Wan's sake, if nothing else." Anakin squeezes her fingers, feeling the tremble in them. "What happened?"
"I don't know." Padmé shivers, her grip on his hand tightening a moment. "It's not the baby. Not yet. I don't think."
Anakin has no idea how to check that, and he looks over his shoulder at Zett. "Tell Master Windu to find the nearest safe medical facility." Turning back to Padmé, he uses his free hand to stroke back sweat-dampened curls of her hair. "Even if it isn't the baby, it won't do any harm to make sure all is well with it."
Padmé nods without opening her eyes, pain still dominating her expression. "Is there any way to check before we get there?"
Not with the medical equipment, and Anakin hesitates. "Not yet. I don't want to be so close to Mustafar if I use the Force. I didn't train much with any healers, just enough to make sure I didn't bleed to death in the field."
He can look in the Force, and make sure nothing feels wrong, but that doesn't take healer's training, just a willingness to open himself up to another, and that person to open themselves to him.