Brotherhood

Chapter 66 - The Nexus

Author's Note: This might be chapter 66, but that doesn't mean it's dark and depressing. *evil grin*

PS. None of this was supposed to happen like this. Whatever. I gave up on planning anything when Anakin threw my long script into the trash many chapters ago. :'D

~ Amina Gila

The surface of Mustafar is fiery and red-orange, rampant with lava flows, not that Vader had expected any different after seeing the planet from space. It's gloomy, too, the gasses from the lava dimming the atmosphere, partially blocking out the sun. And, most of all, it's Dark. All in all, it seems very fitting that a planet of this nature be strong with the Dark Side.

Vader lands the shuttle at the coordinates that Sidious gives him, before they disembark. They're on the edge of a rocky outcropping, overlooking a lava river. Even at this distance, Vader can feel the heat of it on his face.

Sidious gestures to him, and together, they approach a crevice in the rock that leads into a cave. "This is it: the nexus," his master tells him, looking around. "Are you ready?"

From the moment Vader realized this was possible, he had wanted it, craved it with an unparalleled fierceness. And even now, he still wants it, but that desire is mingled with extreme nervousness, no matter how hard he tries to dispel it. "Yes, Master," he answers, because he is ready. He has to be ready. "What must I do?"

Instead of answering, Sidious steps forward, resting his palms on the rocky altar in the center of the cave. It's weathered with time, carved, as if it's been used many times in the past – and it probably has been, too, by other Sith in times long gone. Vader mirrors the gesture, reaching out to the Force, to the Dark, and he almost can't breathe at the sheer intensity of the power here. It's so much, so strong, far more intense than anything Vader has ever dreamed of.

"Reach out," Sidious tells him, "And the rest will become clear."

That... is not as descriptive as Vader hoped, but it will do.

He closes his eyes, sinking into the currents of the Force, delving outward, delving deeper, deeper than he would ever normally dare. Something is different here, and after a few moments, Vader can sense the gateway of which his master spoke. His heart pounds erratically at the realization that in a short time, he might actually have his mother back. He can still picture her clearly, can remember the affection in her brown eyes when she looked at him.

But he pushes aside those memories, lest his own fondness and love distract him from this path.

And then –

"Anakin."

He startles at the voice, at the familiarity of it, a voice he hasn't heard in years. When he opens his eyes, he's drifting in darkness, in the inner realms of the Force. Opposite him is a figure he hasn't seen since he was a child, and the first emotion that hits him is shame. Shame that the man who freed him from slavery should see him like that.

"Anakin," the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn says, staring at him, through him, looking at him as if he can truly see him. "What you are attempting is far too risky. It will damage the fabric of reality."

Vader clenches his jaw. "You're wrong," he argues. "This gateway would not even exist if it was meant to be impossible. I am the Chosen One. If anyone can do it, I can."

"Perhaps," Qui-Gon allows after a moment, "But that does not mean you should. No one should play with the powers of life and death."

He glares, feeling a traitorous hurt, that this man, one he had once respected and looked up to, is trying to stop him. "I must," he replies. "This is my fault. Her death is on me. I only want to right it. That is all."