darkforcerising | OPEN POST

No, this was not going to be like the Clone Wars.

A good deal of that certainly was that while he certainly killed people, it had been years and years since he'd killed anyone without at least offering them an alternative to death. When he did kill, it was a person - not a killing spree. It was who he was. He rarely even attacked offensively until attacked. It was philosophical, and moral, yes, but it wasn't abstract.

None of that was happening here today.

He also had doubts about this, here, that he'd never had then. He remembered Anakin's response to hurting him - and there was no way to know that Anakin wouldn't be thrown back to that incredible, all consuming rage and that frightened him far more than his own responses.
It wasn't as though they could simulate the force echo of someone dying, or the particular resistance of a lightsaber hitting and burning through bone, transmitted directly to their hands.

On the other hand he believed in the reason he was doing this, far more than he'd ever believed in the war.

None of it mattered, right now. They'd prepared and planned for what they could. The point where concern would help was past. Now there was nothing left but the waiting, the doing (or dying in the attempt), and the attempt to survive having done.

Awareness and acceptance of that was doing a pretty good job of keeping him pretty well centered.

He looked to Anakin at the remark and snorted, very softly but with an absolute lack of elegance. "I needed both my hands to defeat, Grievous, actually. Though I suppose since this Dark Side user only has two, and only one double bladed weapon instead of four single bladed ones, I could try to do it with one hand."

Edited 2020-01-14 14:06 (UTC)

"Don't let me stand in your way," Anakin bantered back. Though he would not leave Obi-Wan to handle the Grand Inquisitor alone. He'd prepared him as much as possible for the Dark Side user's style and manners, but he had actual memories of fighting and besting the user in fights. He and Obi-Wan were a team, and he would always keep that in mind.

Jumping to hyperspace was not a lurch, but it was still noticeable.

Anakin breathed, focusing on their goal.

"Alright," he said, moving towards the airlock. "Let's start saving this galaxy."

He let go of everything that was not their purpose on a breath, and went to the airlock with Anakin.

He gave Anakin a slight nod to tell him that he was ready and to open the door, and ignited his lightsaber.

He stepped out with Anakin, and fought with Anakin, because they were a team. They were an unbeatable team when they worked together like this, and this wasn't the sudden exception to the rule. They'd trained together for a month - and they'd trained together for years.

Anakin was, for him, the stable center at the eye of the storm.

Obi-Wan was... different during this. There was still a heavy need for defense, and he did his share of defense and deflection, but he also took every opening he found, whether disabling or deadly, and followed the disabling ones through with death quickly. It was what was necessary and he did it without hesitation. (He mostly beheaded people, because it was the quickest path to death.)

The strangest thing, though, probably, was Obi-Wan didn't say a word.

It was loud. The sound of blaster bolts being deflected - or not, and finding targets, in walls or against armor or even in flesh. The spitting sizzle and hiss of lightsabers connecting. The dull thud of bodies and their component parts hitting the ground. Other people shouting, yelling, or talking urgently.

Obi-Wan, however, was not a contributor to the din.

He was deadly, but aside from the occasional grunt and the sound of his breathing, he was silent.

There just wasn't any point in being anything else in this.

Edited (parts hitting Not part shitting, omfg, sorry.) 2020-01-14 18:41 (UTC)

The thing many didn't realize about Form V was that it did have a defensive side. It was the best at teaching a wielder how to deflect (and redirect) blaster fire. Anakin understood this - it wasn't the reason he'd settled on the Form when he was younger - but it was a benefit to his sanity now. Wherever he could, he blocked the blaster fire and redirected it back at the clones into the vulnerable parts of their armor. This made killing them less personal, he could pretend the blame originated with them. For now.

But with Obi-Wan at his side, he could do this. He could keep it together enough to do this. There would either be time after this to recover. Or there would be no after. Either way, this was now.

They continued to advance when the Clones were dispatch.

And maybe it was an hour or maybe five seconds, Anakin couldn't tell, but they were standing across from the Grand Inquisitor. The Pau'an former Jedi Temple Guard.

For a split second, he balked at the sight of Anakin.

"You're dead!"

The official report from the Empire was that Anakin Skywalker, hero of the Jedi, had died in the Temple razing. And in a way, he had.

Anakin couldn't help the cocky answer. "Oh, you were always a terrible student. Nothing in the Force ever dies." The fact that his Vader memories were right there at the surface was alarming in a way that he tried to control. Breathe. Focus on the Present. The past was the past, not now.

The Pau'an, unsure, finally settled on a sneer and ignited his ridiculous lightsaber.

"See," Anakin said to Obi-Wan. "I told you it was stupid... Together?"

His answer to Anakin was another of those single, slight, nods of affirmation.

Together and now.

He could feel Anakin struggling with memories, was concerned how this more intimate killing would impact Anakin - part of the reason 'follow through with death' was so mercilessly unhesitating in his own attacks; if he did it, Anakin didn't have to - but he also had his own struggle.

He recognized the guard.

He also very much recognized the feel of the dark side and it was... physically uncomfortable for him, at this point. Felt like it was crawling under his skin.

...In fairness he'd been feeling that since they started this.

The second Anakin moved, he did.

His strategy changed subtly, accommodated for Anakin without conscious thought, more actual defense and blocking, but overall he was still fighting to kill as quickly as he could. By either creating an opening for Anakin, or taking one created by Anakin.

It just needed to be over.

As was predicted about the Inquisitor’s lightsaber design flaw, it was too long to use in the corridors. It could not do its flashy spin, making it less of a shield. And after a few parries, it proved too long to use on the double bladed setting, forcing the Inquisitor to use just one blade.

This made the handle all the more vulnerable.

The Inquisitor was not a terrible duelist by any means, Obi-Wan and Anakin were just better, individually and together.

They pressed the Inquisitor back until they reached a T corridor intersection, and Anakin took the opportunity to maneuver himself so that he and Obi-Wan attacked from both sides.

When the Inquisitor was focused on a strike from Obi-Wan, Anakin swing at the Pau’an’s lightsaber hilt. Sparks flew as Anakin’s lightsaber sliced through the outer ring. And to give Obi-Wan the best chance to finish the duel, Anakin shoved at the Inquisitor with the Force, to throw him off balance.

He saw the opening Anakin had given him, and he took it.

There was no hesitation, and not anger. There was, however, possibly a bit more physical strength behind the end than there needed to be. The emotion behind that was mostly just... a need for this to be done. Now.

Up through the sword arm and then across the neck.

Obi-Wan's lightsaber was off and his eyes were closed before the Inquisitor's head stopped rolling.

"We need to find Luminara. And move the ship."

It took Anakin more than a second to remember to extinguish his blade after Obi-Wan finished the Inquisitor. It was only when Obi-Wan spoke that he realized: it’s over. And then his blade hissed shut.

Without thinking, he dropped his hilt. It felt like an eternity passed while it fell. The sound of it hitting the floor heavy.

He knew he needed something.

He checked his chronometer. They had time.

“Obi-Wan.”

He crossed the distance between them and silently asked his friend for a hug.

He watched Anakin's lightsaber fall and hit the deck with something like fascination. Like he couldn't have looked away if he'd tried.

The sound of his name had him looking up and back to Anakin.

He didn't need even the silent question. Once Anakin was in range he wrapped his arms tightly around Anakin. His lightsaber hilt was still held in the hand that landed between Anakin's shoulder blades.

He was still tense - staving off physical and emotional reaction by the skin of his teeth, but it didn't matter in that second.

"I've got you."

They weren’t finished yet. But this need for a moment to breathe would not be denied.

He knew naming five things right at that moment would be gruesome and defeat the purpose of getting beyond the memories they’d just named. Maybe once on the flight deck he could go through the exercise.

For now he’d rely on Obi-Wan.

“How are you?”

He let go of absolutely zero of his physical tension, but he realized that he was being relied on and that served to make him at least be mindful of his own breathing - to slow it down, deepen it, and make sure it was steady.

He huffed out an amused breath of air.

"I want a shower." It was telling, actually, in ways Obi-Wan didn't really recognize. He hated being dirty in any regard but what he wanted right now went beyond a desire to wash. It had more to do with not feeling clean.

He did give Anakin a real answer that he recognized as a more sincere one, because... it was Anakin. "I'll be all right. I'll sort out the details of what and how that means when I'm done interacting with anyone but you."

And when the bodies were gotten rid of. That might help, some. At least out of sight.

Anakin couldn’t help but laugh. Of course Obi-Wan would want a shower.

But he also knew what Obi-Wan meant, and bolstered by the idea that they would process this later, Anakin was able to find the willpower to let go.

He stepped back, hands still on Obi-Wan’s shoulders.

“Okay, let’s go tell a Jedi what she’s won.”

He let go of Anakin when he started to let go, stepped back and took yet another deep breath and nodded.

Tell a Jedi what she's won. Drop out of Hyperspace. Dispose of bodies. Go to new coordinates. Meet Bail. Move themselves to a personal transport loaded with Anakin's astromech and candy.

He made sure to pick up Anakin's lightsaber before they left.

By the time they got through it, the willpower that was holding Obi-Wan together was wearing thin and he was so tired that his vision was actually starting to blur.

Being alone on the transport was a big enough relief that the moment they were underway he closed his eyes, just for a moment.

"We still need to get cleaned up."

Get cleaned up.

Anakin smiles softly. But he knew this wasn’t just about sweat.

In his hand he was playing with the set of kyber crystals they’d taken from the Inquisitor’s blade. Two unnaturally red crystals.

But he could change that.

“I know you’re seconds away from crawling out of your skin, but I think I can show you something that will help.” He held out one of the crystals for Obi-Wan to take. “Humor me for a moment.”

"I am not seconds away from crawling out of my skin." He actually managed to sound mildly irritated at that. Probably because he was exhausted, running out of willpower and... seconds away from crawling out of his skin.

It was pretty mild, though, and definitely short lived.

He nodded to Anakin, sat still, and humored him. He was curious, in spite of everything.

All Anakin “said” to that was a raised eyebrow.

He held the crystal he’d kept in the palm of his hand.

“To make the red Sith blade, you have to channel the Dark Side of the Force through the crystal until it’s red. It’s called bleeding the crystals. But,” he took a breath and reached for the Force, he started pulling it through the crystal. “You can cleanse and heal them by doing the same thing with the light side of the Force.”

The crystal started to glow, a tiny spark of red light in its center, but as the light intensified, the color changed, the deep red fading to white light. Anakin didn’t stop until the crystal in his hand shown with complete transparency.

“Can I have my lightsaber.” He only asked because he didn’t want Obi-Wan to jump out of his skin if he summoned it without warning.

He watched Anakin, and for all the term 'bleeding the crystal' made him grimace a bit, Anakin's continued explanation and the glow of white light and red fading away made him smile.

It wasn't incredibly profound, probably, but it was meaningful. It was good to see - heck, it was good to feel - after the past several hours.

He looked at the crystal in his hand and... didn't even try, at least yet. He did, however, keep the crystal in his hand.

He did, however, reach out and call Anakin's lightsaber to him and pass it to him.

No idea why Anakin hadn't done it himself, but he could certainly give it to Anakin.

Edited (fixing stuff, same content) 2020-01-14 23:32 (UTC)

Anakin didn’t push Obi-Wan to try now what he’d just done. But he hoped his friend would try some other time. Knowing what it felt like to do this, he was sure Obi-Wan would benefit from it.

Once he got his lightsaber, he opened it up and removed the crystals inside (those where the crystals that had called to him that umpteenth time to Iluim). His lightsaber was built for two crystals, but with a few small tweaks, it only needed the one. The one he’d just cleansed.

Then he turned it on.

The blade was white. Not red. Not blue. White.

He thought, maybe he could keep his weapon like this a while. Fix his old crystals someday when he felt like he’d earned the right to help them.

He gave Obi-Wan a soft smile and then turned off the lightsaber.

He smiled back at Anakin.

"It looks like the blade wielded by some kind of avenging god. Appropriate." His voice was very soft.

Because it was appropriate but it also hurt for some reason he couldn't quite identify at the moment. He stood up slowly, touching Anakin's shoulder just for the contact as he did. "If I know Bail we're well outfitted. I'm going to go shower and change into clean clothes. Come find me when you want me."

It was personal transport. It wouldn't be hard.

Anakin waited until he couldn’t hear the shower anymore. And then he sang to himself a few songs he knew the lyrics to - to help him gushed the passage of time without going through the annoying process of looking at his chronometer all the time only to discover a singular minute had passed, or a whole hour.

After the last song he got up in search of Obi-Wan. It didn’t take him long, the ship was well outfitted, but not a palace.

He found Obi-Wan sitting in the edge of a bed. He looked ... blank.

He walked to him, compassion had him dropping to his knees in front of him, his left hand seeking out Obi-Wan’s hands.

What lines had they just crossed? What terrible new, necessary path had they embarked?

“Hey, Old Man... What do you need?”

When Anakin took his hand, he returned his grip and dropped his forehead straight down against the top of Anakin's head and closed his eyes.

"A time machine," he said, snarkily.

The truth was, the path they'd set themselves on was a hard one to walk, but it was right. He accepted that, the same way he was accepting that his life was... this was what his life was, now. Not just the slaughter and fighting, but bouts of intense grief when he least expected them, now that he'd... un-numbed from the loss of absolutely everything.

Like seeing Anakin's lightsaber turned white. It was appropriate. It fit the new man wielding it, and it needed to happen.

This weapon is your life. New life. New crystal. It was beautiful.

But the loss of that guardian blue.... It was the loss of 'his' Anakin, and loss of the guardians themselves. That kind of thing kept tripping him, even among everything else.

He didn't leave the snark, though, because the snark was just a soft, slight, means of decompressing a tiny bit.

"Sleep, food, and you to realize that you're allowed to touch me with your right hand."

“We have at least ten different kinds of candy.”

Actually more. He’d asked for it as kind of a joke, but it had been worth it to see Obi-Wan’s expression at the request. Plus, candy was awesome.

He turned contemplative. “It’s habit. People don’t like prosthetics.” He still didn’t move his right hand to grip Obi-Wan’s like he was doing with his left.

“Better to not give someone the chance to recoil from you than to fell it happen.” He’d felt that so much in his life - a slave, from the Jedi, his prosthetic... he was tired of it, so didn’t chance it.

He still had his forehead down on the top of Anakin's head. That meant they absolutely could not look one another in the eye - a desirable thing for Obi-Wan at the moment, given that at some in there he started crying again.

No change in his breathing, no clear idea why, and no resistance to doing so, either. He wasn't even actually aware that he was crying.

"Oh, well in that case-" He reached down with his other hand and actually gripped onto Anakin's hand - the one he had built - very similarly to how he was holding Anakin's left hand.

"You're right handed, Anakin."

Anakin was aware, but he didn’t mind. As long as Obi-Wan wasn’t in distress, he was fine with this.

“I’d like to think that by now I’m competently ambidextrous.”

He squeezed Obi-Wan’s hand and tried not to visibly react to Obi-Wan grabbing his hand. People just didn’t treat him like that.

He was not in distress. He was just... bleeding out stress and grief. In a quietly understated, and profoundly Obi-Wan way. He didn't have any real coping skills or even emotional awareness. He could let himself bleed, though.

He tightened both his hands around Anakin's, both equally gentle.

"How long has it been since you lost your arm, again?"

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