Chapter Text
The boy, his boy, quietly walked behind him. Vader was glad Luke had finally seen reason. There was no point in him staying with the Jedi. He would get nothing from this place. Only a headache, which Vader was already suffering from. He was ready to be gone from this place. He hated it no matter what time he was in. He hated it as the temple and as the palace.
Honestly, he was glad Luke had come willingly. Vader was willing to fight the whole Jedi Order to secure Luke, but he'd rather avoid it. He had to keep Luke safe. He didn't want a repeat of the speeder accident. Putting the Jedi on alert, would put the whole galaxy on alert. Right now they needed stealth. And if Vader had to use . . . words instead of action to get Luke out of the Temple. then so be it. He clenched his teeth together. He couldn't believe how open he had been with the boy. Why had he shared so much? Was it desperation? He just wanted Luke to leave with him and now.
The two walked through the dusty forgotten lower hallways of the temple. They were making their way back along the route Vader had used to enter the temple. Luke had said very little since getting dressed. He appeared to be deep in thought. Probably mulling over the conversation in his med room.
Honestly, Vader was too. It was the first real conversation he had with his son. It was the first time he experience Luke's personality. A little bit of a spitfire. Undaunted. Fearless. So much like his mother. Padme . . .
Luke had asked about her. Pointed out she would be pregnant. She would. Had Anakin Skywalker already used this same hallway to sneak away to visit her? Did she know that she was expecting? Would she share the news to him earlier than Vader had learned?
A feather soft voice drifted up from long locked up memories, "Something wonderful has happened. Ani, I'm pregnant."
"That's . . . that's wonderful."
"What are we going to do?"
"We're not going to worry about anything right now. This is a happy moment. The happiest moment of my life."
Vader scowled silently to himself. He was glad Luke was behind him and unable to see his expression. It mattered not. His Padme was dead. She had been for decades now. For now he had to focus on his son and a way to return them both back to their time. Hopefully Luke could help look through the Sith texts and holocrons. Perhaps Vader would be able to instruct Luke in ways of the Dark Side. Nothing too bold, as the bold approach didn't seem to work with the boy. Just subtle techniques and ideas. It could be just enough for Luke to taste the true power of the Dark Side.
The sound of boots on tile caused Vader to halt. He felt the soft rustle of his Jedi robes as Luke almost ran into him. Someone was approaching down the hall from where they had come. Vader stepped around Luke, so Vader now stood between who was approaching and Luke.
"I assume you are not a Jedi," came a voice thick with a Coruscanti accent.
At once Vader tensed up. He ground his teeth against each other. He tightly grabbed his lightsaber and pulled it from his belt. "Kenobi," he hissed between his teeth. He heard a soft gasp from Luke behind him.
Obi-Wan Kenobi stepped into the dull light. He was as Vader truly remembered him. Not that old man on the Death Star who had barely put up a fight. No, the man before him now was Kenobi. Ginger hair and beard. A cocky confidence. This was the image of the man Vader recalled over and over. The man who stood on the ashy rocky hill above the lava river. The one who claimed he had loved him.
"You seem to know who I am," Kenobi said. "But I'm afraid I do not know who you are."
"Your death," Vader said.
There was a small flinch in Kenobi as he took in Vader's words. No doubt he sensed the truth to them. For it was true. He was the death of Kenobi. A death that had already passed and yet at the same time had also not. There was a snap-hiss as Kenobi's lightsaber ignited.
"Death is it?" Kenobi said with a slight smile that only made Vader want to punch him in the face.
Vader trigger the ignition button on his own saber. The mix of red and blue light from the sabers casted the hallway in an eerie light.
"Ah Luke," Kenobi said as he side stepped to see Luke better. "Is this man Darth Vader you mentioned before?"
"Do not speak to him," Vader growled. He wasn't sure if he was speaking to Luke or to Kenobi. Perhaps to both. They did not need to speak to each other. Kenobi of the past had already infected Luke with plenty of his venomous lies. Chief amongst them was who his father is.
Kenobi paused. He eyed Vader for a moment. Then with a swirl of his hand, he brought his saber up into his opening stance. His blade arm was pulled back and bent so the blade ran straight pass his face. His other hand was held out straight with two fingers pointed forward. It was a clear invite to start the duel, and Vader needed no other invitation. He went into action straight away charging forward at Kenobi. His red saber coming in low and swinging up. Kenobi easily met Vader's red blade.
Vader pressed on. He didn't allow a moment of respite. He used the anger boiling inside of him to power his blows. He would not lose this time. He would get his revenge.
Kenobi shifted his feet, signaling he was coming for an offense. He jabbed his saber forward once, then twice towards Vader's center. Vader blocked and brushed each blow aside. But Kenobi kept his momentum going. Keeping with the angle his blade had knocked off to, he swung the blade around in a graceful circle bringing it back around and down on Vader. He was using the new momentum to power the blade down.
Vader blocked, but Kenobi swung his blue lightsaber around again and again. A blue circle of light that slammed against Vader, causing him to lose ground and retreat a few steps. Vader shifted his stance and ducked low to avoid the predictable pattern Kenobi was in. He ducked inside the blue circle's path and stabbed his red saber forward towards Kenobi's vital center. At once the Jedi jumped back, but Vader was prepared. He moved forward and kept stabbing and slashing at Kenobi.
The Jedi was showing signs of a struggle. He would attempt to break away or attempt a parry, but Vader foresaw the moves. It wasn't because of the Force, he just knew Kenobi's attacks that well. Naturally Kenobi was a master of defense with his use of Soresu, but this Kenobi had yet to learn any new tricks. Vader recognized each move, each parry, each trick. He had recounted that fateful duel on Mustafar a million times. Each time burned into his already blacked and ashy heart.
The lightsabers clashed and danced through the hallway. Vader kept pressing on Kenobi. He did a series of fast jabs and short slashes. Kenobi was parrying and blocking them, but he was having a hard time keeping up. He was losing ground and was quickly pushed into a wall. Vader brought down his red lightsaber with a heavy and powerful blow downwards. Kenobi managed to get his saber up across his chest to stop the deadly blow.
It then became a contest of strength. Vader pushed his blade down, while Kenobi struggled to push his up and away from his body. Vader scowled to himself as he saw Kenobi slip his free hand under the blue saber and use the Force to push both blades away from him. At least away enough that he was able to spin away. Vader growled and pushed all his weight forward attempting to catch Kenobi's side, but his blade only went through the wall as the Jedi slipped away.
And Kenobi was right there on the attack again. He brought his blade up towards Vader, hoping to catch him while the red lightsaber was still slashing through the wall. But Vader was able to swing his saber around in time to bounce the blue attack off. The rebound caused Kenobi to lose balance and fall to one knee. Instantly Vader was bringing his blade against the Jedi. Kenobi dropped to both knees and knelt back, allowing Vader's own power to knock him off balance. Kenobi slashed his blade up to catch Vader. Instead of falling into the waiting blade, Vader used the Force to flip over the Jedi. It was a trick he hadn't used . . . since Mustafar. Since before the suit.
But no longer was he weighed down by the blasted suit. Kenobi lashed out with his blade, hoping to catch Vader's backside while he flipped. But it failed, just as Kenobi would. For eventually Vader would win. He would savor his blade ripping into Kenobi's heart. No longer would he have to deal with the lies and betrayals of Kenobi . . .
It wouldn't be just him. It would be Luke as well. Not just this Luke, but the future Luke. The one currently growing inside his mother's womb. If Vader killed Kenobi now, than the Jedi could never poison Padme's mind causing her to betray her husband. There would be no Kenobi to steal Luke and keep him away from his father. There would have been no duel on Mustafar . . . No injuries. No suit.
"Why not?" Luke's words from earlier echoed up. "So you had no plans to kill the future Emperor? Before he became the Emperor?"
Vader had honestly not thought about changing the past. The events of old were the only path forward. The Republic had to die. The Empire had to rise. Sidious would become Emperor. Vader had only broken into his master's hideout for money and resources. There was also a bit of petty revenge against his master. But he hadn't honestly thought of truly changing the past to alter the future.
But he could. Right now.
He could stop it. All the pain. The heartache. Padme could possibly . . . She could possibly live. They could be together. Her, Luke, and him.
But it wouldn't be you, a dark thought hissed. It would be the young Anakin Skywalker.
True. And that weak fool deserved none of it, but Padme and Luke . . . She deserved to live. To raise her baby. For her baby Luke to know his mother, or at least for him to know his father. Truly know him. To be raised with his family. His real family. And the obstacle to that happening was right here in front of Vader's blade.
Vader gripped his red lightsaber tighter as he brought it down hard against Kenobi's blue lightsaber.