Although He Smiles

Chapter 30: Wayfaring Stranger

It started in his left hand, a gentle niggle just enough to coax him from sleep. He batted it away, until the niggle became an incessant tug. His eyes flew open when it began to steadily crack its way up his arm, cold and empty. Anakin flinched, his bid to snap away from this sudden weight in him futile. It tightened, creaking and splintering its way through his… through his—

Anakin rolled. Somewhere in this strange realm between wake and sleep he knew he'd been wedged between Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. Perhaps if he could roll just far enough, he might roll into either of them — they'd know what to do.

Anakin flew backwards... and continued to pedal backwards until he was left with the suffocating conclusion that neither Ahsoka nor Obi-Wan were there. No warm arms encircled him, no groggy starts nor toasty bodies to press to. Had… had they left him?

That weight grew heavier in his chest, until he was near pinned to an elusive floor beneath him. Anakin blinked at the upside-down world around him — Gods, where was he? This wasn't— he wasn't—?

"Anakin, calm down."

A tempered voice reached his ears over the thrumming of his own heart and trembling breaths, and for a mere breath of a second, Anakin placed the voice to Obi-Wan Kenobi. A refined edge, with those sophisticated, flattened vowels that Obi-Wan's accent boasted — that's what he heard behind him now, admonishing him. But it wasn't Obi-Wan. The pitch was all wrong. This was a woman, a young woman too, judging by the sweet cadence of her voice.

"Don't struggle, Skyguy." Skyguy? Ahsoka? No, again, the voice was just wrong. "I'm sorry I had to do this again, but it was the only way."

Two hands flattened against his back, and before Anakin could contemplate the coldness there, he found himself back on his feet. The weight was gone, and precious air flooded his lungs in bountiful, gushing waves. It took him a few good seconds to situate himself, ensuring his head was still attached to his shoulders, and that his feet would work if he should need them — before he remembered where he stood, and what stood with him. With the all the bravery he could muster, Anakin eyed the creature looming over him in. An excess of oozing black cloth bled off her, prowling at his edges. Anakin shot back, trying to put space between himself and this thing that now seemed to be waiting for him to regather himself.

"You'll be alright, little one. The effects aren't long-lasting, but you might have a nasty migraine for a few hours. My apologies, but Master Jinn had placed considerable mental shielding around you. It's a bugger of a thing to break down if you're out of practice." She paused, that smooth accent giving way to a sympathetic chuckle. "You know, Master Tano should have something in her utility belt to deal with a headache, should you ask her."

The form shifted, the dark spell of her robes wavering as she stepped closer. She was too close now, close enough that the edges of her robes licked at his feet. "... Anakin Skywalker, the Force's Chosen One." There was a note of sheer marvel in her words, and it rocked Anakin more than the sudden title she'd bestowed upon him. "By the Light, they guard you well. You're a struggle to find, little one."

Anakin stumbled backwards, and she lingered for a breath, allowing him much the needed room to breathe.

"You're not frightened of me, are you? Skyguy — Anakin. You've forgotten what I told you. I couldn't hurt you even if I tried." She broke for air, perhaps… but Anakin could swear he felt the flicker of a smile on a face he just couldn't see. "Oh no, you're far too precious. And besides, I think the Force would rather have my head than ever let any harm come to you... Anakin… Have you made up your mind?"

What? The stranger stood stock still before him, waiting… seemingly as patient as she was deadly. Anakin tried to step backwards again, but this great mass of shadows refused to change shape or shrink in any way.

"Will you come with me, Chosen One?"

... Great.

Ahsoka, please.

Obi-Wan…?

Mister Qui-Gon!

… Mom. "You hurt my mom. You have to be crazy if you think I'm gonna go with you."

"Your thoughts dwell on—? Spare me, Anakin. You don't need them. You have greatness within you, little one." A billow of dark cloth came to settle before him. So close now, Anakin could feel the faint brush of her breath over his nose, but he refused to shy away from the black tendrils that lay around him, waiting patiently to spring and snatch him up. An appendage from the aura revealed a head, and it turned as if in consideration… before smooth, elegant fingers extended from the flowing cloth. This time, when Anakin flinched, tiny feet remained planted. The plump curve of his cheek stung under the cold touch of the stranger.

"A tangible light of such enormity." Assertive fingers tilted his chin. "But a breathtaking Darkness that dictates your destiny. Time and fate converges around you, Ani."

She ran a hand along Anakin's cheek, and despite everything that screamed danger from this woman, the gentleness she offered brought to mind his mother… or perhaps even Ahsoka.

"You look so much like him." Her sudden gasp broke through his thoughts. Her almost panicked admission nearly slipped his notice, but it was her fingers now clenching around his chin that had him trying to shake loose. Her grip merely tightened. Anakin sucked in a breath, and was forced to follow her gasp into a sudden torrent of bright flashes.

Sunlight exploded over them, the righteous roar of life and joy swamped his senses. Gone was the biting cold and embittered rage of the woman who held him, instead Anakin stood in a strange, luxurious room. High vaulted ceilings, with columns of gentle bronzes and alabaster encircled him. Warmth washed this room and its occupants — a young girl and boy, dressed in the tunics of Jedi, ran the familiar patterns of the mosaic floor.

Anakin blinked at them as they went, ignorant of him as they stared upwards in open awe. Contagious laughter filled the air, and Anakin followed their gazes until he could see what held them so captivated.

A girl, older than the other two, levitated in collected ease at the centre of the room.

It was then that he felt it — that gentle tug pulling him, calling him as it filled every inch of his being. It rolled in languid, circling waves, pivoting around this girl, mingling with the sunlight as it did. Anakin nearly jumped as the two younglings left the ancient floor, swept off their feet and brought to join the older girl in mid air. A stark contrast came about as they hovered, all sprawled limbs and hysterical laughter, while the oldest remained in that graceful perch of meditative silence — that was until a smile tugged at the edges of her lips, and the younger two caught sight of it.

And just as quickly as it had started, Anakin was tumbling from the scene. His lungs emptied themselves of breath, as if it had all been punched from him. His feet were ripped out from beneath him. The ground gave way. The world swayed, and something threw him aside.

Oof!

Two hands clamped around his upper arms, holding him in place like a vice. His head swam, and he was almost thankful for that steadying grip. "Come with me, Anakin." She shook him, and his teeth nearly caught his tongue. "Under my guidance, this time you will right the wrong of the Galaxy."

"No," he stuttered, desperate to get away from her tightening fingers and mad promises. "I wanna stay with my mom, Qui-Gon and Ahsoka. And Obi-Wan!"

Her sudden rumble of laughter had him pause... there was no malice, no air of mockery, only bitterness. Only despair.

"The names of a forgotten era… they were noble creatures, but they cannot begin to imagine the magnitude of their actions. Tano is the harbinger of death, Skywalker." She shook him again, her teeth setting in a panicked line. "I know you want to trust her; to let her love you… But you cannot."

She spat the words like poison, the vehemence behind them startling him to silence. The pressure on his arms eased then. Perhaps she could see the frightened flicker of his eyes. "You are treading into dark times, little one. They will consume us if we do not stand together."

"I wanna go back." Anakin begged, now desperate to shake her loose. But that pressure was back, and so was her despair, assaulting him with its intensity.

"Master, please listen to me. You will bring balance to the Force, but Tano and Kenobi don't know what that entails. It'll break them… and I'm sorry, Anakin," she whispered, a note of defeat souring her words. Her hands slipped to a gentle hold on his elbows, until they were releasing him. Anakin watched the mouth below the cowl twist in pain. She tracked some unseen nightmare. Something ached, and Anakin swallowed back a sob.

So many questions raced through his head, but at the forefront of it all was this urgent bid to get away.

A sudden gust of wind billowed into them, gathering the stranger's robes and sweeping them into the air. Anakin battled with his tunics as she turned. Grey eyes shot away, and he saw the underside of her jaw beneath the hood.

"What have you brought me, old friend?" She whispered, moving to stand. Stretching to a towering height, that black cloth fell over him with the intent to consume. Everything fell dark.

The wind came again, now a veritable wave as it battered them over. It ruffled his fringe and tunics again, and lifted the robe that had swallowed him whole. Anakin fell backwards as the gust freed him, but the stranger paid him no heed. All he heard was a sharp gasp for breath.

"But why bring him? I don't need..."

Her words fell silent on swirling winds. Instead, she turned herself into the wave this new arrival brought, revelling in the benevolence it harboured.

Something came his way now, a spark of joy, actual Light… the first positive note Anakin had felt from her thus far.

But a swell of sadness was quick to crush it. Perhaps it was this that fuelled the turn of sharp teeth in an even sharper smile, now flashing his way. "… dear Master Anakin." Something deathly serious entered her words, and a coldness he wasn't familiar with crackled its way along the ghost of her touch. "What do we make of those who come knocking in the night? Does the thunderous banging awake the servants, or summon the weary Master from his complacent slumber?"

... What?

"Kenobi." The glint of sharp teeth caught the light in a vicious, sprawling smile. "What a pleasure to see you once again, now in a... less absurd manner. You still favour attacking from your right. Tst…" She waggled a finger at an empty void beyond them. "You're lucky Maul didn't pick up on that."

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin Skywalker's voice ventured timidly. No answer came — he couldn't see him, no matter how far he stretched up on his toes in this nowhere place.

"...It's alright, Anakin." Something feather-light whisked around him, encompassing his stiff shoulders, and Anakin just managed to stop himself from falling into it in relief. Eyes darted down to check if that was a hand on his shoulder, or just…

Something warm pressed to the front of his chest, and he was pulled to the gentle Light now whispering behind him.

"By the Force! How perfect." A harrowing cackle split the air, as if that alone could snatch him back. Anakin reached up for the arm anchored over him, definitely not lifting it over his eyes.

"Here enters the Great Master Kenobi!… merely a padawan learner. The saviour of worlds, now but a child. I see the old man didn't lie — you will still stand by Skywalker, no matter the cost. I suppose that is true, until the very Light becomes that cost. But alas!" A sudden hand thrown their way tossed them centre stage, and an audience of eager listeners awaited her final verdict from the dark. "The Hero with No Fear… and the Negotiator — a man who always favoured his words to his mastery of the 'saber. Always admirable, Master. Always so selfless…"

The manic glee in her voice died a quick death, and this mercurial stranger slammed into the Force a sudden, unchecked wave of sorrow. Obi-Wan sucked in a breath in this nowhere place at the glacial change. As if carried there by her shifting passions, the Sith took a rapid, halting step forward. Obi-Wan pulled the child tight, but found it wasn't Anakin she was angling for. A hand shot out from her robes, now reaching for him in earnest, before she caught herself.

Long fingers stayed outstretched, snagged by an unseen force — before they curled into a fist. Her eyes dropped, and were they imagining her mad ramblings? A silent warning to herself that had been spoken again and again for this very moment. "I'm so sorry, Master…" she finally croaked, "But she'll fail."

Anakin wanted to fold himself away in Obi-Wan's sleeves when her gaze fell on him once more. That sleeve shifted, and tugged him just that bit closer.

"Are you responsible for Ahsoka's fits? Why attack Anakin's mother? And why did you attack us, only to save us from Maul?"

Not now, Obi-Wan. Come on, let's go! Anakin thought back, only really hoping to silently will him to hurry up and get them out of there, wherever there was. He wasn't expecting the hand stationed across his chest to grip a handful of his tunic and squeeze... Anakin twisted his lips, but did as Obi-Wan wanted.

"Ahsoka? Master Tano means well, and always will. But she is blind; so is Maul." She dipped her head, golden eyes flickering away for a beat. They ventured into an unseen world that neither of them wanted to follow her into. "My father defeated him many years ago, so did my mother once, in a forgotten time. But that isn't of importance, Master."

She took a sobering step back, and ran a final hand down Anakin's cheek. Anakin flung the fetid thing off, cussing at her in Huttesse as he did. She only smiled, and chanced another look at Obi-Wan, a glint of a familiar grey blinking at him. "She's calling you back, I best not keep you any longer. You have a long journey ahead of you. Be well, my friend. And Anakin," That grey flickered golden. "I'll be seeing you soon."

"Who are you?" Anakin was finally manoeuvred behind the great mass of Obi-Wan, this stranger of little mind to the action. Instead, the gloom of her gaze remained fixed on Kenobi.

"The question you should be asking is, what was I ever? I am of no importance, Master…" That jumbled wave of sadness came crawling back, snapping up their limbs and demanding attention. "I never was."

And as the already faint breath of smoke outlining a body began to fade, the two were left with only a pair of golden eyes gleaming their way.

"Anakin! Obi-Wan!"

Anakin flinched.

"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me. I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me. I am —" A gentle voice called him, but it was losing fast to the swell of shadows rolling over them.

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin gasped to the only thing that seemed to be sorting through the wave of grief. It wanted to push them down, wanted to show them a million things they shouldn't see, and Obi-Wan was the only thing standing between Anakin and giving into it. A soft call, the same lilt and cadence of his mother, beckoned him under. Anakin felt the gentle brush of fingers, saw the smile of a happier time — strong arms wrapped around him, and pulled him away.

"Anakin!"

"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me. I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."

With her fingers pressed to the warm temples of Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano wracked the Force for the edges of his consciousness. It didn't help her dismay that she couldn't seem to rouse Obi-Wan from his sleep either. Her grandmaster was as dead to the world as her own master, it seemed. She fumbled for his pulse point, like so many nights ago in this small sleep space, and again relief came when she felt his heart pulsing steadily against her fingertips. Good.

But Force forgive her, her priority would always be Anakin.

"I am one with the Force, and the Force is —"

Blue eyes snapped open, and plump, child-like lips parted with a gasp, "—with me."

"Anakin."

And beside them, just on cue, one Jedi padawan came bolting back into the land of the living. Sitting up in such a start, Kenobi managed to snag himself on the expanse of sheets over his head. She just caught his eye before the ceiling above them came tumbling down. Walls caved inwards, buttressed foundations toppled, and Ahsoka threw it all to one side. The cold air of the sleeping compartment met her skin, but both Anakin and Obi-Wan now sat beside her, breath laboured but alive.

"You've gotta stop doing that to me." Ahsoka sighed, before pulling her knees too and resting her elbows there.

"'Soka!" Anakin nearly slipped on the sheet as he all but dived across the space between them. Two arms latched themselves around her neck and squeezed, and perplexed beyond belief, Ahsoka found Kenobi's gaze when she settled two hands onto Anakin's shaking spine.

"I missed something fairly important, didn't I."

A huff passed through Obi-Wan's nose, and he seemed to be weighing his options before he was quickly collecting himself from the cluttered floor. "Indeed. It's best we find Qui-Gon before I start explaining in detail."

"That crazy woman thinks you're the har— harbi— bringer of death, 'Soka."

... What?

Obi-Wan refused to meet her gaze as Anakin dislodged himself long enough for Ahsoka to reach her feet. "Master?" she asked, and that brought about a flinch from the young Kenobi.

"As I said, I believe it would be best to find Master Qui-Gon before we discuss this any further."

Ahsoka swallowed, but let Anakin fit his hand into hers. Tiny fingers squished hers to the point that leather was creaking, but Ahsoka squished back.

A/N: Thank you for all your comments and love. Reviews are always welcome. Hope you enjoyed :)