Chapter Text
Looking up, feeling a stirring in the Force, something he had largely cut himself off from these last years despite training Luke, Obi-Wan Kenobi stopped what he was doing, attracting the attention of his wife.
Obi-Wan and Padme had gotten used to the unbearable heat of Tatooine, both of them having long since realised Anakin (they tried hard not to think about him, what he had become) wasn't exaggerating about the sand, never mind the heat, despite their past visits to this desert planet before returning here to hide from the Empire, and to train Luke.
"What is it?" Padme looked up from her chores.
"I felt something," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, voice low. "Someone's here, someone…no, two familiar people, I haven't felt since-," his eyes widened, and he took a step back. "No-."
"Obi-Wan?" Padme was getting scared now. She had known Obi-Wan for years, and she was good at reading his expressions. Right now, he looked beyond terrified.
"No, it can't be," Obi-Wan was shaking his head. "Not now, not so soon-!"
Padme had just about had enough.
"Obi-Wan, what is it?" She reached out and grabbed him, shook him.
Obi-Wan seemed to wake up, and as he did, they could both hear the sound of a ship landing. He turned to Padme, his voice full of fear and confusion.
"It's him, Padme," he said, voice shaking, without his usual calm, sagely, sometimes dry and sarcastic demeanour. "It's Vader. Anakin. He's here."
Obi-Wan was so frightened, especially after his recent battles with Darth Vader while he'd tried to get Leia back to Organa, while trying desperately hard to stop the naive little girl from getting them both killed, that he didn't realise the signature he remembered was lighter than darker, and that he was not alone. But Obi-Wan was so scared, frightened about what was going to come, and was preparing himself mentally for the fight ahead, despite coming to terms with his grief over Anakin's 'death', despite Padme and Yoda both telling him that Anakin had made his own choices, and he was absolved of them.
Padme felt as if her heart had gone cold. "H-Here? That monster's here?"
Like most wives who had come to hate their husbands for violent actions, it hadn't taken Padme Kenobi, formerly Padme Amidala Naberrie Skywalker, long to despise her husband's memory.
"Yes," Obi-Wan was already rushing to grab his lightsaber, hoping his hand didn't shake - it had been a long time since he had used his weapon, ever since he had largely cut himself off from the Force despite helping Luke develop his natural talent. "Make sure Luke's hidden."
But Padme was looking at him with terror.
"Where is Luke?" Padme demanded sharply, knowing the plan she, Bail, Yoda, and Windu had cooked up with Obi-Wan, to train the twins and prepare them to kill Vader and his precious Palpatine.
"You mean he's not around?"
"No!"
But before they could argue further, there was a knock on the door, startling Obi-Wan and Padme.
"Obi-Wan!" A muffled but familiar voice called from the other side.
Padme turned to Obi-Wan in confusion. "I thought you'd just sensed him," she spat, "what's Master Windu doing here?"
"I don't know, Padme," Obi-Wan replied, before he moved to the door.
"Wait, you're not letting him in, are you?" Padme protested quickly when she realised what he was doing.
"I've got no choice, Padme. Something is wrong," Obi-Wan cautiously opened the door to the homestead, but he kept his hand on the lightsaber, finger ready to ignite it at a moment's notice. But in that moment, he released his nervousness, his fear, his panic into the Force, and he stretched his senses out and realised something was wrong. It wasn't until he opened the door, saw who was on the other side that he found himself staring into a familiar pair of blue eyes.
"Hello, Obi-Wan," Anakin Skywalker said simply, his eyes darting from the lightsaber in Obi-Wan's hand to the man himself. Meanwhile, Mace Windu was standing, not exactly next to Anakin, but near enough, his scarred face showing clear distrust towards the younger man. Not that Obi-Wan blamed him. "Before you ignite that, I'm not Darth Vader. I really am Anakin Skywalker. I was sent into the future from the Clone Wars, from Mortis. The Father sent me here."
Obi-Wan froze.
Mortis?
Obi-Wan had spent years trying to bury his memories of that strange experience, drown his memories of seeing both Ahsoka and Anakin turn to the Dark Side, but he had always had questions about the whole experience, and he had largely forgotten the part, the reality Qui-Gon had always known and claimed: Anakin Skywalker was the Chosen One.
It was a reality Obi-Wan, Yoda, Mace, and Padme had dismissed since the Chosen One was meant to be a Jedi who would destroy the Sith, not join them, bring balance to the Force instead of drowning it in darkness.
But this Anakin Skywalker was not the one he had encountered on Mustafar, the one he had seen slaughter those younglings in the Temple, because he had been so stupid he had not thought about the consequences, or the fact that Palpatine had been behind the wars, who had orchestrated so many assassination attempts against his own wife!
Then again, Anakin had always suffered from a problem of being thoughtless.
But if this Anakin was from the Clone Wars…
But it couldn't be. How was any of this possible?
Qui-Gon had told him, many, many times, during the years of his apprenticeship, that the Force was capable of many things; it was a point of view which had always been shared by every Jedi Master, and passed down to others over the years, especially when legends of Sith arts were discussed to warn the Jedi students of how unnatural the Sith's powers were, but when he had travelled to Mortis, he had witnessed for himself how powerful some beings were. So, time travel shouldn't be that strange, but it was.
And then he sensed Padme behind him; she had slowly come closer, listening to the conversation. Obi-Wan wondered if Anakin knew about him and Padme now. When he met his former apprentice and best friend's face, clearing his thoughts, Obi-Wan could see the way Anakin's eyes were darting over Obi-Wan's shoulder, and he saw the sadness there, but also the acceptance.
He knew, he knew…but he had accepted. Obi-Wan was puzzled by that.
"It's true, Obi-Wan," Mace's deep voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he turned to face his fellow Council Master.
"How can it be?" Obi-Wan demanded.
"I didn't want to believe it either; when I found him in Senator Organa's penthouse, I attacked him, if it was not for Qui-Gon's… ghost appearing, and telling us Anakin has been sent into the future because of the Force beings on Mortis," Mace went on.
Obi-Wan turned to Anakin in shock. "I-Is that true?"
"It is. I don't know why the Father sent me into the future; he never really said," Anakin's expression darkened slightly at the memory before he looked directly into Obi-Wan's face. "I've been in this future, seeing what happened."
"You mean, see the mess you caused?"
Obi-Wan closed his eyes when he heard the sound of his wife's voice, and he looked over his shoulder and saw her approaching, and he saw the expression on her face. She was furious.
Anakin licked his lips. "Hello, Padme," he greeted quietly, seeing the anger in his ex-wife's eyes, and he knew this was going to be unpleasant. But he knew he deserved it after everything Vader had done to them all.
-8-
Anakin Skywalker had never liked change because people tended to die, or move on, or because there was far more upheaval, and it was hard for him to adjust. His mother and so many people, including Jedi Masters, and even Padme herself, had told him that change was inevitable. When he had been a slave on this wretched planet, he had been passed over from one slave master to the next, and you never knew what was going to happen. It was the same with the Jedi; he had been brought before the Jedi Council, observed coldly, told he wouldn't be trained, although he wouldn't find out for a long time what they might have done to him if Yoda had had his way, before he'd relented despite his clear annoyance with Qui-Gon's wishes and the possibility of the Sith's return and the implications, before he allowed Obi-Wan to train him.
Palpatine had offered him a great deal of stability; a metaphorical shoulder to cry on, someone to listen to him, and someone who wasn't bound to the dogmatic Jedi. There had been a distance between himself and Obi-Wan during the first days, since Anakin knew only too well he hadn't thought having someone so dangerous in the Order was a good idea, but of course, Qui-Gon had gotten his way.
'But he also had doubts,' Anakin mused to himself sadly.
Padme had been one of the few good things in his life, one of the few things which had kept him going. The Jedi didn't tolerate outside friendships; they didn't let him contact, let alone visit, his mother on Tatooine, so he had little idea of her life. When he had gone to save her life from the Tuskens, Anakin hadn't even known she'd been freed, never mind married someone.
But looking at her face now, Anakin could see how much she had changed. Living on Tatooine full time in hiding from the Empire, from her family, her friends, had left their mark on her.
Gone were the beautiful, extravagant dresses; now she was dressed in the coarse woollen clothes of the typical Tatooine dweller. Her skin was darker in tone, worn by sand, her long dark brown hair was still long, beautiful, but it was entwined with more silver hairs, and there were premature lines around her face, but right now her expression was dark with fury as she stared at him.
Anakin knew he wasn't going to enjoy this, any of it, but he knew he deserved it, even if he hadn't personally lived through the latter mess with Rush Clovis, never mind the Jedi Purge, and the formation of the Empire.
Padme stared coldly at him, her chest rising and falling slowly, and he could feel her anger in the Force. But Anakin was unsure what he could and should say to her. What could he say to her so it didn't make things worse? Anakin knew he shouldn't expect Mace or Obi-Wan to help, so he was on his own.
Anakin took a deep breath, biting his lip as he stared at his ex-wife. "Whatever you have to say to me, just say it," he said with the air of a man who was resigned to his fate.
"You destroyed everyone's life," Padme replied quietly.
Anakin closed his eyes, nodding. "I know," he whispered. "I've seen what Palpatine did when I found myself on Naboo."
"Naboo? You were the Jedi?" Obi-Wan interrupted, looking thoughtful all of a sudden.
"Yes."
"What happened?"
Anakin wondered if Obi-Wan was trying to save him from Padme's anger, or if he was just trying to satisfy his own curiosity, but he decided he didn't care.
"I'd found myself in your tomb on Naboo," Anakin said, eyes turning towards Padme, "and I walked around Theed, and saw the stormtroopers, the flags, everything. I found out enough to know about the Empire, but I couldn't find all the answers there. Anyway, I boarded a transport to take me to Coruscant when the ship was suddenly grounded, and troopers escorting a Force-sensitive armed with a red lightsaber boarded, looking for a Jedi."
"They were looking for you?"
"No. It was someone else, someone I didn't know. The darksider began threatening to kill some of the passengers, and I felt his terror and his resolve to protect everyone, so I stood up before the darksider could start. I felt his shock, but I didn't signal to him that it would be okay. Once I was off the ship, I attacked the darksider," Anakin explained.
"You took on one of the Inquisitors?" Obi-Wan asked, but he didn't seem that surprised.
"I didn't know what they were called at the time," Anakin replied, "but it took me longer to reach Coruscant, and I used the time to learn more about what was going on. It wasn't until I reached the capital and saw the Jedi Temple that I could feel what Palpatine's done. After that, I found Bail Organa, and he filled in the blanks," Anakin turned his gaze fully to Padme, ignoring the two Jedi Masters without any effort. "Master Windu attacked, and it took the appearance of Qui-Gon's Force ghost to stop him from cleaving me in two."
"Pity it didn't happen," Padme spat spitefully.
"Qui-Gon shared what I'd done in this future," Anakin tried hard to appear…unaffected by Padme's sharp words, but he knew more and much worse was to come. "I saw everything. I'm sorry, Padme. Is that what you want to hear?"
"Sorry?" Padme had had enough, and that was it as far as she was concerned. "Sorry?" She howled with rage. "You destroyed everything! You say you know everything, so that means you know about the nightmares you had of me dying in childbirth, and you were so thoughtless and stupid, you would listen to Palpatine?" Padme shrieked.
Anakin said nothing; he knew he deserved it, but he knew Padme well enough to know she wasn't finished. Oh, she'd just gotten started. The two Jedi Masters said nothing, both thinking he deserved this, even if he wasn't the Anakin who had made that fateful decision to turn.
But Padme was only just getting into her stride. She had waited years for this moment, and she wasn't going to let go of the opportunity.
"Do you know how unlikely that was? We were living on the most advanced planet in the galaxy, and the chances of me dying in childbirth were a hundred to one! But no, of course, your damn dreams overruled your common sense!" Padme took a deep breath. She had clearly wanted to say this for a long time; now was the perfect chance.
"It's a shame you're not Vader, because I'd have loved nothing more than to unload every last scrap of pain I'd felt these last 10 years on him! You destroyed everything! Everything! The Republic, the Jedi, they're all gone, because of your selfishness, all because you couldn't think, and didn't think twice about joining a man who was responsible for the Clone Wars in the first place, and for nearly getting me killed a dozen times over!" Padme's voice had been growing louder and louder until she was shrieking into Anakin's face. "Did you ever stop to think about that?"
But its effect was half lost on Anakin. Thanks to Shmi's Force ghost visiting him, Anakin had been confronted with dozens of truths, and his mother had always had a way Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and even Padme had lacked about getting the message across into his brain. Shmi had been blunt and direct, telling him Palpatine had tried to kill Padme, directly or indirectly, for years, so why would he change his mind all of a sudden to save her from childbirth, but Anakin now knew Palpatine had never planned on helping him, never mind the twins.
All he wanted was a servant, and he had gotten him. But he let Padme shout and scream in his face, knowing he deserved it after everything he'd done to her.
The look of disgust on Padme's face made his insides twist. 'What now?' Anakin wondered to himself, already dreading what was going to come out of Padme's mouth this time, 'What's she got in mind this time?'
"I finally understood the hold Palpatine had over you when you strangled me on Mustafar," Padme said, her amber eyes dark with loathing, and Anakin's dread grew. "The things you said, the things you accused me of, the way you kept going on about being more powerful now because of him…I was shaken, horrified by what you'd done; slaughtering younglings, killing Jedi, all for a man who's stroked your ego for years, but you are always loyal to someone who strokes your ego, telling you how you're a great Jedi," she went on mockingly, waving her arms in a mocking way, "how powerful you are, aren't you?
"You don't care what they're really like behind closed doors, what they say, and what they do. There were hundreds of signs of Palpatine's actions throughout the Clone Wars, but you blissfully ignored them, telling me Palpatine was a great man and that he had the best interests of everyone at heart. But believe it or not," Padme surprised everyone when she lowered her voice to its more trademark soft lilt, and Anakin studied her, and he realised she had the mother of all gut punches left, "that wasn't the worst of it. Oh, no, Anakin, it wasn't. What's worse is how much you must have wanted to return to slavery because of how quickly you knelt before that bastard. You are a slave, and you were never free."
Anakin actually took a step back, barely able to speak. He couldn't believe she would stoop as low as that, mocking his past like that…but at the same time, what hurt the most was….how true it was.
Padme smiled when she saw how much she had hurt him. But she wasn't finished.
"I have lost 10 years of my life because of you," Padme whispered harshly. "I have been stuck on this miserable….rock," she spat after spending a moment trying to find the best word to describe Tatooine, but came up short, "forced to hide, while my family, my friends…they all think I'm dead. My daughter is being raised by another man! I haven't seen her for a decade. Do you know how that feels? No, of course not, because you only think about yourself, and how things affect only you, you disgusting, worthless animal."
Anakin wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and cry his eyes out, but he didn't; he just stared at the ground.
"I hate you, Anakin Skywalker," Padme said in a tired way that spoke volumes, that she was tired of this, "I hate you."
With that, Padme turned and walked back into the homestead, proving she wanted nothing to do with him, and Anakin just watched her go, knowing she was absolutely right in her words.