Redemption

BONUS CHAPTER ONE: Terrors (They Lurk Behind My Eyes)

This bonus chapter ties in with the epilogue AFTER Opal gives birth to Emma.

Prompt: After the events of Episode III, Beru and Owen Lars go off planet for a week and ask Opal&Obi-Wan to watch over a two year old Luke, who is much more in tune with other peoples emotions then anyone has noticed.

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After the three hour return from Mos Eisley to their quaint little home deep within the deserts of Tatooine, Ben Kenobi pulled down the worn hood of his Jedi robes and peered inside the front entrance of his home. He was cradling the supplies from the market in his arms as he entered the house and laid it on the table in the front room. "Opal, Emma? I'm home!"

Uneasiness filled Ben. When he'd left in the earliest hours of the morning, Opal had been tucked in their bed with two year old Luke Skywalker and their young daughter Emma. Luke was rather energetic even at such a young age, and Emma was desperate to play so she was constantly following on his heels. Opal normally spent her time watching over them, her journal close by as she recorded the events of their history in the Jedi Order together for when their daughter was older and would most likely embark on the same journey herself. There was no Gathering to retrieve her Kyber crystals this time, no Master Yoda to train her, everything they'd gone through to become The Jedi they were now was dead.

And so was Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The fact that Opal had not responded to his call made his stomach clench. What if she or his daughter were injured? It wasn't as if his wife could not take care of herself. Her resilience and devotion was one of the things that made her an incredible warrior, but he had always been afraid it would be her downfall in the end.

As he padded through the house and checked every room within the house, the sound of a high pitched beeping caught his attention within their bedroom. Ben could feel his heart threatening to escape his chest, pounding erratically in his ear as he recognized the metallic smell wafting beneath the door. He removed his saber from its place on his belt as he entered.

There was a tall man dressed in a long black cape standing in front of him who appeared to be cradling an object in each arm. Ben realized the closer he became that the objects were children and they appeared to be asleep on the man's shoulders. Where are my wife and daughter? "Who are you?" He demanded, raising the blade to brush against the back of the masked strangers skull. Any threat Ben intended on making died when the figure turned around to face him. "Anakin?"

The thing in front of him definitely resembled Anakin. He was wearing a mask with a built-in respirator. Whatever had been done in the aftermath of Mustafar had left him confined to this armor, to this cage, as a prisoner inside of his own body for the rest of his life. The only difference was that the mask had a very clear tear in it, and only one eye was visible. One yellow eye.

The rest of the armor hid his other disfigurements. His cybernetic hands, the burns, the saber wounds.. all of it. The most intriguing thing was the fact that the children in his arms who were the spitting image of himself and Padme showed no fear in the sight of something truly terrible. In one arm was none other then Luke, sound asleep with his cheek pressed against a padded shoulder. The other arm held who he assumed to be Leia - But wasn't she supposed to be on Alderaan with Organa?

One of his biggest struggles since arriving on Tatooine was being able to let go of the man who had torn his mind in two. Knowing his past with Anakin and the man he had been before the darkness had overtaken him was excruciating, especially given the fact that he would not be where he was now if hadn't been for his influence over Opal. "It pains me to know that someone who claimed to care about me so deeply before leaving me to die would hide my children from me." Darth Vader remarked ominously. Ben froze at the voice. It sounded so robotic, so monotonous.. so not Anakin.
C"Not knowing Padme was carrying twins was unbearable. They help rid me of the grief I faced after her death." Ben's eyes pricked with tears. He suddenly felt smaller then he had ever been in his life. There was so much death and so much of it on his hands. The fact that he and Opal had dedicated their lives to keeping Luke safe and raising their daughter, and now this thing had let itself into his home and was threatening him. "I thought I'd only return the favor for all you caused me, traitor."