Star Wars: Malignant Metamorphosis, Page 5

  The warriors proceeded through the plant’s hallways to the exterior ramps and bridges that splintered out from the control center like a gigantic spider’s web. The walkway they battled on was suddenly covered by an outburst of lava. The thick metal sagged and split away from its melting frame. It plunged into the magma that churned and seethed beneath it. The combatants plummeted down with the twisted alloy as it splashed into the molten river. The speeding, violent mass swirled towards a sheer drop that cascaded in front of them. They jumped from the searing metal onto production droids performing their routine tasks, not even noticing Mustafar’s rage. As their make-shift life rafts carried them along the swift current that spewed lava furiously around them, the warriors continued their frenzied battle.

  The intolerable heat and the length of their battle had begun to show on the elder warrior. Obi-Wan’s strength started to ebb as he deflected Anakin’s swift, vicious strokes. He knew that he couldn’t keep up with the physical exertion much longer. There was no way for him to beat his tireless foe. Obi-Wan’s expertise was no match against this much younger and stronger adversary.

  The Jedi Master knew that he had to find a way to gain the advantage. His raft neared a steep bank jutting out from the raging flow of lava. He jumped across and climbed the searing sand, taking higher ground. When Anakin floated over Obi-Wan begged him to cease, but it was pointless. His plea fell on deaf ears. In his anger, Anakin had let the Dark Side take over completely. That was Obi-Wan’s advantage. He could control his emotions while Anakin let his wrath control him. His rage seriously affected his ability to vanquish his former Master.

  Anakin’s extraordinary abilities within the Force had become much stronger through his use of the Dark Side, but in his blind fury, he’d forgotten one of his most important lessons while still a padawan learner. Obi-Wan told him time and time again, “When your adversary has the higher ground, make him come to you. Never try to get above him. You’ll expose yourself to your enemy.”

  Anakin told Kenobi not to underestimate his new powers, but he was the one who’d misjudged Obi-Wan’s ability to defeat him. The furious young man leapt above his hated foe leaving his limbs unprotected. The Jedi Master severed both of Anakin’s legs above the knees, as well as his left arm. Anakin slammed to the ground and tumbled down the embankment. He tried to claw his way up the steep hill with his remaining robotic arm, but the gravel was loose and he kept sliding back down.

  Obi-Wan deeply regretted what he’d done as he cried out, “You were my brother Anakin. I loved you. You were the Chosen One. You were supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them. Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness.”

  Anakin’s pride, as well as his body, had been seriously wounded. He shouted out his hate for Obi-Wan in an uncontrolled fury. His struggling caused him to slide to the very edge of the embankment. Lava leapt up from the flow and caught his tattered clothing on fire. He screamed out in pure agony as the unendurable heat and flames raced up his body.

  Obi-Wan turned away. He couldn’t bear to see his friend suffering so. No, this was no longer his trusted companion. Anakin Skywalker was already dead. That person had been completely absorbed by the Dark Side the minute he swore his allegiance to Darth Sidious. Anakin’s glowing, yellow eyes were proof of that. Obi-Wan felt completely at fault for his failure to recognize what was happening to Anakin through Palpatine’s treacherous influence. In his pride, he’d failed not only his best friend, but the Jedi Order as well. It was a guilt he’d have to carry within his soul for the rest of his life. It overwhelmed him.

  Obi-Wan bent down in his exhaustion of body and spirit and retrieved Anakin’s lightsaber lying close to his amputated limbs. This was the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Such a weapon belonged to the pure of heart. It was not to be misused by the evil of the Sith. He tried to hold back his tears as he turned and started up the hill, but paused to take one last look at the young man he’d once considered a good friend. His eyes opened wide in shock as Darth Vader’s malevolence reached out to him, penetrating to the very core of his soul.

  Even in Anakin’s excruciating anguish he screamed out in an exorbitant amount of hatred, but what issued from his throat was a barely audible croak. He found that he could no longer speak due to his vocal cords being severely damaged. Completely consumed by hate, he thrust his rage at his former Master telepathically.

  Anakin’s thoughts echoed loudly inside Obi-Wan’s mind. “Damn your soul to hell Kenobi! You and all the Jedi! How dare any of you judge me? You constantly reminded me that I was the Chosen One, a title I neither wanted, nor claimed. Each and every one of you saddled me with the responsibility of restoring balance to the Force. I hated the task you expected me to achieve, but I would’ve done anything the Council asked. All I’ve ever wanted was your respect, but you all ignored me as you would a flitnat. I’ve given my life..., nay, my very soul to the Jedi Order, but that was never enough. None of you trusted me. I knew deep inside that the Council was never going to accept me.”

  “Yoda is fully aware of what I’m capable of. He knows the chaos I can bring upon the galaxy. That’s why he fears me. So does the Council, though I suspect you’d no knowledge just how much my abilities frightened them. You all think I lack discipline, but you don’t know how wrong you’ve been. I’ve more restraint than you ever gave me credit for Kenobi. You don’t realize how hard it’s been for me to contain the insurmountable energy I’ve kept locked inside all these years. You’ve no idea of the destructive power I possess. I learned to control my urges, but I struggled with the temptation to unleash this energy daily. That’s why Yoda sent you to kill me. He knows that I’ll use my powers to destroy the Jedi now that I’ve turned. How dare he attempt such folly?”

  “Palpatine was right all along. He told me that the Jedi would turn against me. I should’ve listened to him. He’s the only one who’s ever shown me trust. He’s given me what you and the Council denied me all my life, respect. Palpatine could sense my full powers and encouraged me to use them. He’s opened my eyes to the Jedi’s treachery. I owe him for my deepest gratitude. The Chancellor has granted me what the Jedi refused to do. He’s granted me the title of Master.”

  Kenobi was considerably shaken by the intensity of contempt hurled at him, but he couldn’t deny what Anakin claimed. He’d never trusted his apprentice without some reservation. Neither had the Council. Anakin had always been too eager to move up in rank before he was ready. He’d put his life in jeopardy in order to gain the Council’s trust. The young man was arrogant beyond endurance. Still, he hadn’t exaggerated the facts. Obi-Wan knew the reason why the Council hadn’t granted Anakin the rank of Master. It was because he was too immature and hadn’t the temperament to be given the rank. He hadn’t learned self-control, nor patience. His midi-chlorian count was higher than any Jedi’s. For that reason, Anakin felt he should’ve been dubbed Master. He couldn’t comprehend why the privilege was held back.

  Obi-Wan had been amazed that the young man had been able to block his true feelings for so long. He’d kept his anger at bay, just barely subdued below the surface. Like Mustafar’s violence had been released by their reckless destruction of the control center, Anakin’s rage had finally been released from its prison. Mustafar’s destructive power was nothing compared to the devastation Anakin’s fury could unleash upon mankind.

  Palpatine had seen the boy’s unending struggle and used Anakin’s weakness to free this malicious beast in order to achieve his own wicked goals. Obi-Wan wondered how he could’ve been so blind all these years. How could he have not seen this coming? He’d known that Anakin craved his respect and desperately wanted to become a Jedi Master, but the lad’s true lust for power had now become evident to Obi-Wan for the first time. When Anakin finally unsheathed his wrath, he’d been completely unhampered by restrictions of guilt. He’d willingly embraced the Dark Side and let damnation overtake his very soul the instant he became Darth Vader.

  Obi-Wan was comple
tely devastated. He’d always thought of Anakin as a brother. No, he’d been more like a son. He’d loved Anakin with all his heart. Now he was lost to the Dark Side. The man sighed deeply, full of regret. There was no real victor here. Neither Jedi or Sith.

  Kenobi turned away from Anakin in shame and utter disgust, not only with Anakin, but with himself as well. He knew he should kill the abomination that lay helplessly below, but he couldn’t bring himself to end Anakin’s life. The Jedi Master thought it best to let the young man ponder his foul deeds before he died and his soul burned in hell forever.

  “You may have ended my life on this level of existence Kenobi, but you cannot destroy my soul. I’ll continue to exist within the Force. I’ll never give in to defeat. I’ll find some way to make you pay for forsaking me. I swear it!”

  Obi-Wan didn’t respond to the vow of revenge. He’d climbed the steep embankment without looking back. He let go of his feelings for Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan Kenobi left Darth Vader to die alone on that hellish planet.

  *

  Anakin suffered excruciating agony as he lay on the searing embankment pleading for his torture to come to a swift end, but his death didn’t come that night. Palpatine felt his danger and went to the forsaken planet to find him. Barely alive when found, the Sith Lord knelt down next to Vader’s incinerated body and lightly touched his forehead as the awful stench of burned flesh rose up to him. Even so close to death, Anakin still held a tremendous amount of power within the Force. Darth Sidious felt Vader’s uncontrolled fury flow through his veins as he said, “You are very powerful my friend. Very powerful indeed. Allied together our powers shall be greater than anyone has ever seen. Your hatred will serve me well Lord Vader. We’ll destroy all the Jedi and rule not only the galaxy, but beyond its limited borders. The Sith shall rule the entire universe!”

  Emperor Palpatine brought Anakin back to the medical center on Coruscant. His pain was beyond description. He screamed in torment as the med-droids peeled off the remnants of charred clothing and flesh that fused together, adhering to his body. His relentless torture continued as the surgical-droids affixed new robotic limbs to what was left of his mangled, writhing torso. The black, armored suit he was placed in enabled his severely, damaged organs to operate through tubes and wires connected to a control device that regulated all of his bodily functions.

  Those first deep, resounding breaths Anakin took as the black helmet was lowered over his head reverberated loudly his ears. This protective suit became Lord Vader’s personal prison for the remainder of his life. His rage trapped there, along with a venomous hatred against all the Jedi.

  Darth Sidious sucked in Vader’s hate as one would a fine, exotic wine to be savored. When he asked his apprentice if he was alright, Anakin replied and heard his first words spoken through the voice-box that replaced his cauterized vocal cords. The sound that escaped from him was completely foreign to his ears. The deep voice asked what had become of Padme.

  Sidious took extreme pleasure in revealing that, in his anger, Anakin had taken his wife’s life. The Dark Lord feasted on the young man’s complete misery as he screamed out in absolute grief and despair.

  This was the final blow to a soul that was just barely holding on. This was when the Dark Side devoured Anakin’s soul entirely. This was when Anakin ceased to exist and Darth Vader was truly born. Anakin Skywalker’s journey to the Dark Side was now complete.

  *

  Anakin had been right when he’d foreseen Padme’s death in childbirth. He’d been the contributing factor in her death. In a sudden rage, he’d used the Force to grab his wife around the throat and squeezed the breath from her. He’d come to his senses and released his hold before any real damage was done. That is not what caused her death, but it may as well have been.

  Padme hadn’t known that Obi-Wan hid on her ship when she followed Anakin to Mustafar. He’d told her that Anakin had turned to the Dark Side, but she’d refused to believe it. All she wanted to do was find her love and run away from all the madness. But when Anakin revealed his plans to overthrow Palpatine, she knew that Obi-Wan spoke the truth.

  Padme lost the will to live when she’d lost her love to such despicable evil. She couldn’t follow her husband down that unholy path, yet she could not live without him either. The trauma of losing Anakin’s trust and love brought on her labor. She lived long enough to give birth to twins.

  The young woman felt great sorrow that Luke and Leia would grow up never knowing their mother. Her children would never be held in her loving arms. They’d never know of her gentleness, nor the warmth of her smile. The twins would never feel her tender kisses. Luke and Leia would never hear her sweet voice declaring her undying love for them.

  Anakin Skywalker’s children would grow up never knowing their father. They’d never know the magnificent man Padme had fallen in love with. Luke and Leia would never know of Anakin’s complete devotion to her, nor his unwavering loyalty to his friends. They’d never know of his kindness, nor his selflessness. His children would never know full extent of love their father possessed within his soul. They’d only know the monster that Anakin Skywalker had become.

  These thoughts filled Padme with the greatest despair as she lay on the birthing table, weakened heart and soul. She wouldn’t allow herself to believe that her husband turned to the Dark Side completely. Padme told Obi-Wan that there was still good in Anakin’s soul before she finally yielded to death.

  *

  His mother had been right, Luke thought. The good buried deep inside Darth Vader’s soul finally emerged to save his son’s life. Luke felt his father’s love, as well as his pride. Anakin was extremely proud of Luke for doing what he was never able do. Anakin had never been strong enough to turn away from Darth Sidious and the lure of the Dark Side, but Luke managed to resist the overwhelming temptation.

  All of these thoughts passed between father and son as Luke held Anakin Skywalker in his arms in those final moments aboard the Death Star. He was grateful he’d learned this from Anakin before he died. Luke felt as if a deep wound had been miraculously healed. It left him feeling whole and complete at last.

  Luke was no longer shamed by the vengeful monster who was known throughout the Empire as Darth Vader. He put aside all the horrendous acts his father committed while under Palpatine’s control. Luke finally allowed himself to forgive this weak and forsaken soul who’d been just as much a victim as all who’d suffered under him.

  Darth Vader was dead. Luke’s father was a Jedi Knight. He’d been a defender of the Old Republic, a fearless hero. He’d been respected by all who knew him, and of him. Anakin Skywalker was a man who was capable of bravery, honor and great compassion. Luke thought of his father now with enormous pride and a deep, fulfilling love.

  Luke wanted to pass all this information on to his niece and nephew. He wanted young Ben and Padmay to understand that the dreaded name of Vader was just that, a name. That name was just the title of a lost soul who could threaten, nor harm anyone ever again. Darth Vader was no longer to be feared or ashamed of. He’d redeemed himself. Anakin Skywalker was still the Chosen One, no matter what name was spoken. He did bring balance to the Force. That was something to be very, very proud of.

  Chapter Five

  - Time To Let Go -

  Young Benjamin Solo was asleep in the chair next to his uncle’s bedside when his sister entered the room early the next morning. She silently walked up to the pair and looked down at Luke. She was very worried about him. Her brother woke when he felt her presence next to him. “How is he?” she whispered.

  “He’s been very restless and seemed to be dreaming most of the night. He was speaking with someone. At first I thought he was trying to talk to me. He said the name Ben, but I think he must have been dreaming of Ben Kenobi,” Ben quietly answered.

  “Your namesake?”

  “Yes. He mentioned Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader too.”

  “I wonder what he could be dreaming about
. It’s almost as if Uncle Luke’s reliving his whole life.”

  “I know. I hope that’s a good sign,” Ben said, assuming it wasn’t very likely.

  “So do I.” Padmay sighed before changing the subject. “You should go to bed. I wouldn’t be able to move if I slept in that chair all night. I don’t know how you do it. I’ll look after Uncle Luke. I feel quite refreshed now that I’ve had some undisturbed sleep.”

  “I’m fine. I want to be here when he wakes up, but would you mind watching him while I clean up a bit? I imagine that I have a rather pungent odor by now.”

  “Whew! You can say that again.” Padmay waved a hand under her nose in mock offense while giggling. “You know I’m just kidding, but you could use bath.”

  Benjamin frowned, but then laughed in spite of himself. He couldn’t help but notice that his sister stood a healthy distance away as she continued.

  “Though the indoor climate is controlled, we aren’t used to this continuous heat. So yes,

  please do bathe. And get some proper rest afterwards. I don’t think you’ve slept in your own bed since we arrived here.”

  “I’m okay. Really. I’ve gotten used to little sleep in all sorts of odd places and positions. It’s all part of my training.”

  “Then I’d never want to be a starpilot. I’m used to working regular hours and getting a full night’s sleep in a proper bed.”

  “Yeah. You’re a spoiled brat. Mom always did overindulge you. She loved you more than me,” Ben teased.

  “You are such a liar Benjamin Bail Solo! You know that isn’t true.” Padmay playfully slapped her brother on the arm while scolding him.

  Ben laughed, but his smile quickly faded as he left his uncle’s room and walked down the corridor towards his chambers. As he entered the fresher and disrobed, he thought of how nice it was to bathe in real water for a change, limited as it was on Tatooine. Back at the Academy the cadets were only allowed access to the sonic-showers. Trainees soon learned that water was a precious commodity in space.