Gates of Hell

Chapter 4 - Reflection

We have finished a second tribute for Vader on our YT channel. Check it out if you're interested. :P No spaces in the link: youtu . be / TrRylvLR0fE

~ Amina Gila

In the Republic Star Destroyer, Obi-Wan doesn't move until he feels the jolt, indicating that Anakin is gone. He lets out a quiet breath, grief silently washing over him. He had hoped – foolishly – that Anakin would see the mistake he's making and turn back before going too far. It seems so surreal to think of him as an enemy, a traitor, but he is. He joined the Sith. He joined Darth Vader. Obi-Wan has never heard of a Sith by that name before, and now, he has to report to the Council that he failed, that Anakin may have just turned against them and the Republic.

For now, he'll hold onto the tentative hope that Anakin won't actually act against the Republic and Jedi, but if he does, he'll become an enemy, someone they have to deal with accordingly. Obi-Wan knows how powerful Anakin is; he's not even begun to grow into his full potential. If that power turns against them, the Republic will be lost and the Jedi Order with it. He doesn't understand what could have caused this, what could have led Anakin so far – without him even knowing – so that he feels the Jedi are the ones causing the problem.

How could Anakin have so readily forgotten that the Sith are behind the war? How could he possibly think that a Sith will actually work for the betterment of the galaxy? Why would he trust a Sith over his own master, over the Jedi? None of it makes any sense, and the more Obi-Wan thinks about it, the more confused and hurt he is. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined the most important person in his life would betray him – and their cause – in such a manner.

But he knows that he's missing something, something huge. Despite whatever Anakin said about Vader, there's a lot more which he isn't saying. Obi-Wan isn't a Jedi Master on the Council for nothing, and he could sense that Anakin and Vader have a much deeper bond, one through which he suspects they've been communicating privately. They act in sync to the point of it being unsettling. How can a Sith be so close to the child he raised? That's what doesn't make sense.

It takes years for a bond to form to the point where the parties can share thoughts and emotions with ease; it would be faster for Anakin, true, because of his strength in the Force, but Vader and Anakin haven't known one another for years. They couldn't have known each other for more than an hour at most.

"I need to update the Council," Obi-Wan declares finally, forcing his feet to move as he heads towards the communications room where he'll be able to establish a connection with Coruscant. The situation is extremely complex, and he's... confused. Even meditating won't bring him any answers. He needs to accept what Anakin did and adjust his priorities accordingly, but it's really not that easy. They shared – share, he refuses to believe that it's been completely destroyed – a special bond, one far closer than that between most masters and Padawans. It's a bond which remained strong even after Anakin was Knighted. Of everyone, Obi-Wan would unhesitatingly choose Anakin every time to be at his side, and the knowledge that he will probably never again have that privilege brings him a sense of profound loss.

"I don't understand any of this," Ahsoka confesses as they walk.

He pauses, looking down at the young teenage Togruta at his side. Her confusion is even greater than his own, and it's mingled with hurt and betrayal. She never knew Anakin the way Obi-Wan did, and if Obi-Wan can't even understand what came over Anakin, then there's no way Ahsoka could be able to rationalize it. A part of him can't believe that Anakin was willing to abandon her in such a way, especially given how close they've become in the months since they came together. But then again, nothing in this situation makes sense.