Shadows of Tomorrow

Chapter 22 - Ghosts of Mortis

Anakin can't remember the last time he's felt so unbearably worn out. After watching Theseus walk off, he turns back and stumbles over to the ship, practically collapsing after he climbs the ramp. Obi-Wan comes forwards almost immediately, settling down next to him. "I – what are we going to do?" Anakin asks quietly. He feels lost. There's obviously been a problem for a while, but he was too taken up with the war and Ahsoka to take care of Theseus. The Council specifically asked him to help the boy control his darkness, and he failed.

"Truthfully, I don't know." It's jarring to hear Obi-Wan say that. "We have to take him back to Coruscant."

"What if he doesn't want to come? Then what? We can't fight him." Anakin leans against the wall, exhaustion nagging at him. He should rest, but he doesn't dare. He needs to stay on watch if something were to happen. Besides, he'll never be able to sleep.

"The Council will be able to help him," Obi-Wan reassures.

"Will they?" Anakin asks, looking away. He actually Fell. He didn't brush the Dark Side like Anakin has multiple times now. He fully embraced it. "Theseus may have had the best in mind, but he – he did what's not allowed."

"Anakin." Obi-Wan's sigh is about as exhausted as Anakin feels right now. "The Council may not always be able to help everyone, but we do our best. If Theseus needs help, then we'll give it to him."

"If?" Anakin snaps. "He does! He needed help a long time ago, or he never would've Fallen!"

"The Son twisted his mind."

"Perhaps, but he couldn't have convinced him of a problem where none previously existed."

"Then what do you want, Anakin?"

The question has him taken aback. He can't remember the last time someone asked him that. "I... I don't know." It feels like a weakness to admit it, something he's been having an increasingly difficult time showing to his former master. He wishes for the way things used to be, though when he looks back, there isn't really a point in time where they were as close as Anakin wanted. Shaking those thoughts from mind, he returns to the task at hand. "I'm not sure we're doing the right thing by leaving. The Son is consumed by the Dark Side."

"And if we stay," Obi-Wan objects, "We may be used to the Dark Side's advantage." That may be true, but they can't just leave. What if the Father isn't able to handle the Son anymore, with the Daughter gone? What then? The repercussions for the galaxy will be far worse than if they stay here and try to do something about it.

Ahsoka pokes her head out of the compartment. "Do you want the bad news or the really bad news?" she calls.

"Well, let's try the bad news laced with a little optimism," suggests Obi-Wan.

"We've got two cracked silo pins, a busted power converter, the engines should be fired twice to dump debris, the backup vents need charging," Ahsoka lists off.

"Sound terribly downbeat."

No kidding. Ahsoka picks up a few tools and jumps down again.

"Can it be fixed?" Anakin asks as he pulls out a speeder. If nothing else, he'll go talk to the Father himself and see if they're really making the right choice.

"Uh, I can re-route the primary initiator, weld the dampening vents, and that might give us enough power to leave the atmosphere. After that, I have no guarantees she'll hold together," Ahsoka replies.

"We'll take our chances," decides Obi-Wan, "Better than staying here." The Jedi Master turns, frowning when he sees Anakin climbing onto the speeder. "Where are you going?"