Breathing Ashes

Chapter 7 - Remade

Author's Note: Some... progress is made? xP

~ Amina Gila

They're trying to follow a trail to find Padme and his children again, and Vader can only be grateful for that. He's keeping all his focus on that, and surprisingly, it seems that Obi-Wan is doing likewise. He's spoken very little to Vader since their fight.

He hadn't been expecting Obi-Wan to already be back at their ship when he showed up, and most of all, he hadn't been expecting the complete lack of response. He'd expected... something violent. Far too clearly, Vader remembers what Sidious did to him after he'd tried to kill him. Everything from that time right after Mustafar he remembers through nothing but haze of pain, but that sticks out the clearest.

The memory of the lightning burning across his already still charred skin was – he shies away from the memory just as quickly.

Vader doesn't know what to think of how Obi-Wan is acting, though. He's not being... overly threatening or anything else Vader might have expected, but he's not giving him much attention beyond necessity, unlike before.

He can't say he wants attention, but the sudden distance stings in a way he can't really explain.

They're a distance away from their ship when Vader suddenly senses the first inkling of danger in the Force.

"Master –"

"I sense it, too," Obi-Wan replies, eyes narrowing as he reaches for his lightsaber, scanning their surroundings. Vader shakes off the memory of how many times they've had similar exchanges a lifetime ago.

For an aching moment, he almost wishes that – that things hadn't had to change as they did, but there was nothing of that life that wasn't a lie, too. It's not as if he was ever truly... happy then either. He doesn't know if he's ever known what that word means.

A blaster shot suddenly rings out, and Vader deflects it with his hand – it would have hit his helmet if he was a moment slower – spinning to see a bounty hunter perched on a position a distance away.

They fire again, and Obi-Wan deflects the blast away with his lightsaber, as Vader draws his own. He reaches out with the Force as always, ready for a fight. A real fight, this time, because these bounty hunters were foolish for truly thinking they could defeat them. Tarkin must be giving them more attention than they'd suspected.

Nearby, Vader can sense several others approaching, and danger flares again as something comes flying towards them. He knows by how dangerous it feels that it must be a grenade of some kind, and he throws it off-course with the Force, back at its target. It explodes, tearing through the trees – and taking out two of the people hiding in them.

Several Trandoshans are closing in, and Vader lashes out with the Force, easily crushing their necks.

Obi-Wan cuts down a few who happened to be too close, but Vader can still sense several others coming. They must have been tracking them for a while – it explains those feelings he's been getting, even if he was never able to locate the source because of how much moving they were doing.

They hurl several more grenades through the trees. Vader deflects away the ones closest to him, but one of them hits the ground near Obi-Wan and explodes. He sees his master stumble, as the glow of fire from it starts to fade when the bounty hunter in a sniping position fires again.

Obi-Wan doesn't turn to block it quite fast enough, and the shot strikes his arm. His master stumbles, and for a moment, Vader nearly freezes, because Obi-Wan is hurt, and he's never had to deal with that before as Vader. Doesn't know how to.