Categories > Movies > Star Wars > Keep Falling Down
Trying to Fly
0 reviewsAwakened in his past, Anakin must now confront his mistakes to prevent history from repeating itself.
0Unrated
PART 2 - Trying to Fly
Anakin spent hours turning around what he thought were his memories in his head. A whole life of pain stretched behind him, filled with sadness and regret. Force-dream? Hallucination? Or perhaps the whole thing was a Dark Force vision, caused by the attack against Sidious.... .Or was it Mace?
Anakin frowned. He couldn't quite put it together. Either way, the Chosen One had finally corrected the balance in the Force. Just a little sooner than he remembered.
Padmé had returned to the bedchamber and snuggled up beside him once her Jedi guests had all departed. All save the conquering hero who undoubtedly needed to gather his strength before returning to the Jedi Temple, or whatever diplomatic riffraff she came up with to keep him home with her.
Beloved Padmé.
Her soft, dark hair falling from her sweat-drenched face.
Her face twisted in pain.
Strange greyish-white creatures scrambling around her fragile frame.
A child placed in her weak arms.
She called out his name.
Her head bent back as the death-throws took her away.
He didn't come at her cry. He couldn't help her.
He wasn't strong enough to save her.
"NO!!!" Anakin howled as he sprang up from bed, his body drenched in sweat.
"Anakin!" Padmé woke with a terrifying start, worry marring her perfect face.
His head fell into his mechanical hand. Everything else had changed, but not this. The dream remained the same. The dream was still real.
Padmé stroked his bare back, trying to soothe him. "What is wrong, my love?" Although she tried to hide it, fear made her voice quiver. Her younger, more impudent self wanted to shake him, to get him to tell her the dream, to find a way to erase it from his mind. But she was older, now, and a soon-to-be mother. And with the secrets she held within her, she had learned when to hold back. She had learned to live the lie.
Anakin thought of the secretive paths they had walked together to this moment as he pulled his hand away and stared at it. A permanent reminder of a failed mistake. One of so many.
He thought again of the apparent Dark Force vision that had preyed upon his desire for power, his desperate need to keep those he loved from falling away from him. The Dark Force had twisted his need to become the greatest Jedi into a vision of a pitiful tortured shell, half a man encased in a machine. Was it a warning not to make another mistake?
Watching his metallic hand ball into a fist, Anakin spoke, "I must return to the Temple."
As Anakin threw the covers off to fumble for his clothes in the near-darkness, Padmé's shaded eyes fell.
The clouds from the previous night's rainfall were dissipating in the brightening skies over Coruscant. Dawn was just breaking over the surface of the Temple spires as Anakin approached in a borrowed 'scooter. It seemed strange to Anakin to see this sight again. Shivers ran along his back, still questioning his reality.
This is real, he reminded himself. Of course, the terror and horrors of the vision he lived encased in leather and durasteel felt just as genuine.
Anakin landed on a docking platform. He entered the Jedi Temple, a sense of déjà vu washing over him. It felt like a lifetime since he had been home. He wasn't even sure anymore which level his old master's apartments were.
Closing his eyes, Anakin allowed his mental shields to lower, sensing the life-energies of the Force of the Jedi around him. All at once, it was both comforting and terrifying. Part of him longed to feel this sense of belonging, of being home again. Disturbingly, another part of him would rather have seen this place turned to rubble.
With an exhale of breath to clear away the dark thoughts, Anakin centred his mind, focusing on the image of one man, his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Anakin received the clear vision of the Jedi Master in the training rooms several levels below.
When he entered the training arena, Anakin found Obi-Wan just as he had envisioned him-performing simple katas within a glass-encased room. Anakin pressed the entry panel, and the transparisteel slid back. Although he obviously sensed the approach of his former padawan, Obi-Wan continued his exercise without interruption.
Anakin removed his outer robe and placed it on the hook beside his master's, then moved beside the man, and with a single glance, determined Obi-Wan's position in the flow of movement. Anakin mimicked the kata positions with mirror precision.
Side-by-side, Obi-Wan and Anakin fell into a routine well-worn into memory-the precise movements, the sound of breathing, the shuffling of feet as they each moved from one kata stance to another. The comforting familiarity relaxed Anakin.
Obi-Wan sensed Anakin's tension fall away, and reacted by moving to a more complicated kata. Anakin responded to it instantly, as if anticipating the change. The rhythm between them quickened, and Anakin felt himself begin to smile.
The katas progressed, Anakin challenging Obi-Wan who in turn challenged Anakin. Obi-Wan still moved with surprising ease in the jumps and tumbles that Anakin pushed him into. Anakin found Obi-Wan still capable of surprising him with new moves and tricks.
Like disappearing in his Jedi robe when the death-blow struck him.
Anakin found himself falter, if only slightly. The Jedi faced each other in the begin-end position, both breathing hard from the exertion. Slowly, each of the men lowered their arms, contemplating the other, but never really communicating in the moments that passed between them.
"Couldn't sleep?" Obi-Wan prodded with polite chit-chat.
"Neither could you," Anakin remarked as both men retrieved their cloaks, unconsciously still moving in sync with one another.
Obi-Wan continued as they exited the glass room into the larger arena, "The Council will be convening shortly. Unfortunate news has arisen about the clone troopers-"
"I know. They turned on you," Anakin said softly.
"You knew?" Obi-Wan was taken by surprise. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Anakin's piercing gaze locked on to Obi-Wan. Anger strove upward from his belly, like hot magma finding its way to the surface. The tone of the reprimand brought Anakin back to his days under Obi-Wan's tutelage. Why couldn't his old master see he was a Jedi now? Didn't Obi-Wan just say the night before he was no longer Anakin's master?
The reason why he was here floated up to the surface-Padmé. Her words spoken so often when he begrudged his tension-filled relationship with his former master echoed in his ears: "You might be a Jedi Knight now, but he will always be your master." Yes, Anakin realised, and he would always be Obi-Wan's padawan.
"Obi-Wan," Anakin's anger faded and he looked away. His eyes shifted over the training arena where a handful of other Jedi and padawans were making use of the facilities. "May we go...some place more private?"
Obi-Wan regarded his former pupil silently, sensing the urgency behind Anakin's veil of composure. With a nod, he led the way back to his apartment. Obi-Wan had been assigned to new quarters in the Temple spire leading to the Jedi Council chambers.
Out of reflex when going into a new place, Anakin looked over every detail of the room. Like all Jedi apartments, the rooms were designed for function and simplicity rather than recreation and comfort in mind. The small space seemed larger with an open view of outer Coruscant and its endless streams of traffic flowing like blood between the 'scrapers.
Anakin turned and faced his former master. In a voice barely above a whisper, he said, "I need your help."
Obi-Wan met his gaze, his eyebrows pressing together in a worried arch. His former padawan had never been one to ask for help; in fact, he resented it when offered, always trying to prove to everyone that he was the greatest, the strongest...the Chosen One. "What is it, Anakin?"
"I...don't remember defeating Sidious," Anakin began hesitantly, his iridescent blue eyes finding it more comfortable to contemplate the lines of furniture and scattered datapads on Obi-Wan's desk.
"I don't understand. Master Windu won't stop talking about how you joined him in the fight against Palpatine...Darth Sidious. He said he was fortunate you came along when you did. He even said you resisted the temptation to join Sidious-"
"But I didn't!" Anakin spat darkly. When his eyes met Obi-Wan's, his former master thought he saw a flash of another colour in the young Jedi's eyes, one that sent shivers down his spine.
Anakin dipped his head, struggling against the dark tide that suddenly stirred within him, threatening to overtake what was left of him. He felt the tenuous bond he once shared with Obi-Wan reach out to him with compassion and patience. At first Anakin thought to bat it away, but Padmé's angelic face swam above the swirling dark ocean. Anakin grabbed ahold of what was left of his bond with his master and held on tight, dragging himself out of the muddied waters.
Lifting his head, Anakin looked at Obi-Wan, azure eyes meeting the misty sea. "Please," Anakin's gruff voice pleaded, "help me save...my wife."
Anakin spent hours turning around what he thought were his memories in his head. A whole life of pain stretched behind him, filled with sadness and regret. Force-dream? Hallucination? Or perhaps the whole thing was a Dark Force vision, caused by the attack against Sidious.... .Or was it Mace?
Anakin frowned. He couldn't quite put it together. Either way, the Chosen One had finally corrected the balance in the Force. Just a little sooner than he remembered.
Padmé had returned to the bedchamber and snuggled up beside him once her Jedi guests had all departed. All save the conquering hero who undoubtedly needed to gather his strength before returning to the Jedi Temple, or whatever diplomatic riffraff she came up with to keep him home with her.
Beloved Padmé.
Her soft, dark hair falling from her sweat-drenched face.
Her face twisted in pain.
Strange greyish-white creatures scrambling around her fragile frame.
A child placed in her weak arms.
She called out his name.
Her head bent back as the death-throws took her away.
He didn't come at her cry. He couldn't help her.
He wasn't strong enough to save her.
"NO!!!" Anakin howled as he sprang up from bed, his body drenched in sweat.
"Anakin!" Padmé woke with a terrifying start, worry marring her perfect face.
His head fell into his mechanical hand. Everything else had changed, but not this. The dream remained the same. The dream was still real.
Padmé stroked his bare back, trying to soothe him. "What is wrong, my love?" Although she tried to hide it, fear made her voice quiver. Her younger, more impudent self wanted to shake him, to get him to tell her the dream, to find a way to erase it from his mind. But she was older, now, and a soon-to-be mother. And with the secrets she held within her, she had learned when to hold back. She had learned to live the lie.
Anakin thought of the secretive paths they had walked together to this moment as he pulled his hand away and stared at it. A permanent reminder of a failed mistake. One of so many.
He thought again of the apparent Dark Force vision that had preyed upon his desire for power, his desperate need to keep those he loved from falling away from him. The Dark Force had twisted his need to become the greatest Jedi into a vision of a pitiful tortured shell, half a man encased in a machine. Was it a warning not to make another mistake?
Watching his metallic hand ball into a fist, Anakin spoke, "I must return to the Temple."
As Anakin threw the covers off to fumble for his clothes in the near-darkness, Padmé's shaded eyes fell.
The clouds from the previous night's rainfall were dissipating in the brightening skies over Coruscant. Dawn was just breaking over the surface of the Temple spires as Anakin approached in a borrowed 'scooter. It seemed strange to Anakin to see this sight again. Shivers ran along his back, still questioning his reality.
This is real, he reminded himself. Of course, the terror and horrors of the vision he lived encased in leather and durasteel felt just as genuine.
Anakin landed on a docking platform. He entered the Jedi Temple, a sense of déjà vu washing over him. It felt like a lifetime since he had been home. He wasn't even sure anymore which level his old master's apartments were.
Closing his eyes, Anakin allowed his mental shields to lower, sensing the life-energies of the Force of the Jedi around him. All at once, it was both comforting and terrifying. Part of him longed to feel this sense of belonging, of being home again. Disturbingly, another part of him would rather have seen this place turned to rubble.
With an exhale of breath to clear away the dark thoughts, Anakin centred his mind, focusing on the image of one man, his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Anakin received the clear vision of the Jedi Master in the training rooms several levels below.
When he entered the training arena, Anakin found Obi-Wan just as he had envisioned him-performing simple katas within a glass-encased room. Anakin pressed the entry panel, and the transparisteel slid back. Although he obviously sensed the approach of his former padawan, Obi-Wan continued his exercise without interruption.
Anakin removed his outer robe and placed it on the hook beside his master's, then moved beside the man, and with a single glance, determined Obi-Wan's position in the flow of movement. Anakin mimicked the kata positions with mirror precision.
Side-by-side, Obi-Wan and Anakin fell into a routine well-worn into memory-the precise movements, the sound of breathing, the shuffling of feet as they each moved from one kata stance to another. The comforting familiarity relaxed Anakin.
Obi-Wan sensed Anakin's tension fall away, and reacted by moving to a more complicated kata. Anakin responded to it instantly, as if anticipating the change. The rhythm between them quickened, and Anakin felt himself begin to smile.
The katas progressed, Anakin challenging Obi-Wan who in turn challenged Anakin. Obi-Wan still moved with surprising ease in the jumps and tumbles that Anakin pushed him into. Anakin found Obi-Wan still capable of surprising him with new moves and tricks.
Like disappearing in his Jedi robe when the death-blow struck him.
Anakin found himself falter, if only slightly. The Jedi faced each other in the begin-end position, both breathing hard from the exertion. Slowly, each of the men lowered their arms, contemplating the other, but never really communicating in the moments that passed between them.
"Couldn't sleep?" Obi-Wan prodded with polite chit-chat.
"Neither could you," Anakin remarked as both men retrieved their cloaks, unconsciously still moving in sync with one another.
Obi-Wan continued as they exited the glass room into the larger arena, "The Council will be convening shortly. Unfortunate news has arisen about the clone troopers-"
"I know. They turned on you," Anakin said softly.
"You knew?" Obi-Wan was taken by surprise. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Anakin's piercing gaze locked on to Obi-Wan. Anger strove upward from his belly, like hot magma finding its way to the surface. The tone of the reprimand brought Anakin back to his days under Obi-Wan's tutelage. Why couldn't his old master see he was a Jedi now? Didn't Obi-Wan just say the night before he was no longer Anakin's master?
The reason why he was here floated up to the surface-Padmé. Her words spoken so often when he begrudged his tension-filled relationship with his former master echoed in his ears: "You might be a Jedi Knight now, but he will always be your master." Yes, Anakin realised, and he would always be Obi-Wan's padawan.
"Obi-Wan," Anakin's anger faded and he looked away. His eyes shifted over the training arena where a handful of other Jedi and padawans were making use of the facilities. "May we go...some place more private?"
Obi-Wan regarded his former pupil silently, sensing the urgency behind Anakin's veil of composure. With a nod, he led the way back to his apartment. Obi-Wan had been assigned to new quarters in the Temple spire leading to the Jedi Council chambers.
Out of reflex when going into a new place, Anakin looked over every detail of the room. Like all Jedi apartments, the rooms were designed for function and simplicity rather than recreation and comfort in mind. The small space seemed larger with an open view of outer Coruscant and its endless streams of traffic flowing like blood between the 'scrapers.
Anakin turned and faced his former master. In a voice barely above a whisper, he said, "I need your help."
Obi-Wan met his gaze, his eyebrows pressing together in a worried arch. His former padawan had never been one to ask for help; in fact, he resented it when offered, always trying to prove to everyone that he was the greatest, the strongest...the Chosen One. "What is it, Anakin?"
"I...don't remember defeating Sidious," Anakin began hesitantly, his iridescent blue eyes finding it more comfortable to contemplate the lines of furniture and scattered datapads on Obi-Wan's desk.
"I don't understand. Master Windu won't stop talking about how you joined him in the fight against Palpatine...Darth Sidious. He said he was fortunate you came along when you did. He even said you resisted the temptation to join Sidious-"
"But I didn't!" Anakin spat darkly. When his eyes met Obi-Wan's, his former master thought he saw a flash of another colour in the young Jedi's eyes, one that sent shivers down his spine.
Anakin dipped his head, struggling against the dark tide that suddenly stirred within him, threatening to overtake what was left of him. He felt the tenuous bond he once shared with Obi-Wan reach out to him with compassion and patience. At first Anakin thought to bat it away, but Padmé's angelic face swam above the swirling dark ocean. Anakin grabbed ahold of what was left of his bond with his master and held on tight, dragging himself out of the muddied waters.
Lifting his head, Anakin looked at Obi-Wan, azure eyes meeting the misty sea. "Please," Anakin's gruff voice pleaded, "help me save...my wife."
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