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Anakin Skywalker is on the path to become one of the greatest figures on the galactic scene. If you want to read an original story of greatness, you can check my story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
Double post today in honor of releasing more than twenty chapters of Arrival : Ruptures, along with the pilot chapter.
—
Tatooine
Sanctum Sanctorum
He unscrewed the hilt, being gentle while taking the mechanical parts apart. He pulled the power cell out first, then the emitter matrix and the remaining parts. Right in the middle was a blood red crystal.
He reached for it.
The second his finger touched the crystal, he recoiled. He brought his finger closer, examining it for any wounds. There was nothing, even though he had felt a sharp pain. He touched it again. The agony was there, but no wound again.
He tilted his head. There was something to the crystal, deeper than what appeared on the surface. He leaned back on his chair, closing his eyes. He had a hunch the wound was more spiritual than physical. He felt light as air and left his physical body. He recoiled away, raising his arms in defense.
The crystal was in pain.
It was filled with rage, hatred, and pain. The weird part was that it wasn't the crystal's own but something that was torturing it. There, in the depths of the crystal, was a small light, drowned out by the rest. It was a blimp that he wouldn't notice if he weren't looking carefully.
He reached for the crystal, and the whole world swirled.
—
When his vision returned to normal, Anakin didn't know where he was. He was in an ethereal space. There were no boundaries, only an endless plane of crimson. He turned around, not seeing anything different. There was a scream, a howl that approached closer. On instinct, he flew down, feeling something scalding hot go over his head.
He found himself surrounded. Red-skinned aliens with no lower bodies floated around him, searching for an opening. He did not know enough to fight these things and did the logical thing, no matter how much it burned him.
His eyes snapped open.
He opened the drawer, pulling out a small box. Taking a pair of tweezers, he put the crystal inside and locked it in the lowest drawer. He took deep breaths, laying his palm over his heart. Once his heartbeat returned to normal, he squeezed his hands.
He barely understood what was happening, but having to run away made him angry.
—
"You seem distracted," Strange asked, holding his staff out. Anakin took it, pulling himself up.
"It's nothing," he said, avoiding eye contact. His teacher was too good at telling what was wrong.
"Then you should have no problem telling what happened," Strange said, smiling.
He hung his head down, muttering. "There is a crystal in the lightsaber. It was alive, I think, and in great pain."
"It is possible. The Cloak of Levitation too is alive after all," he said, chuckling at the memory of Shmi and Anakin meeting the cloak.
"I think it was that alien we found. He must have done something to the crystal." The pain and hatred he felt from the remains were the same as the creatures inside the crystal made him feel.
"It is possible that the Sith have a way to corrupt those crystals."
"I could have saved the crystal if I knew how to fight."
He raised an eyebrow. "Or you could have gotten hurt. Why don't you tell me what exactly happened and we go on from there?"
—
Strange stroked his beard, pacing in front of his apprentice. Wraiths inside a crystal, torturing its spirit, were not something he could claim to have seen before. It was intriguing.
"Come on, I believe today's lesson could be more impactful," he said, walking towards the shed.
Anakin blinked, watching his teacher walk. He ran after him quickly. "Wait, are we going to fight those things?"
"I am going to fight them while you watch and learn," he said, pointing at himself.
"But…"
"But you can help?" Strange tilted his head, nodding. "Perhaps if it were in the physical world, I would have allowed it. But fighting in astral form is different. There is no sorcery there, only the martial arts."
Even if he could have helped, Anakin was still too young to be fighting. He could handle some wraiths without a problem.
"Okay."
—
"Interesting," Strange muttered, examining the surrounding area. It was an endless sea of red with the barest ray of a green light on the far end.
And the howlings.
Three shades assaulted him. They were uncoordinated and emotion-driven, with no thought behind their actions. He ducked under the swing of one, kicking it away. He continued with the movement, spin-kicking another, and struck the last one in its chest with both fists.
All three rushed back at him.
He weaved through the wild swings, waiting for an opportunity. When one of the wraiths abandoned rank and flew at him with both arms stretched, Strange smiled. He dodged to the left at the last second, grabbing the left arm. He brought it down on his knee, shattering the bone and severing the limb in half. He used the remaining half like a knife, stabbing through the wraith's mouth, causing it to dispel with a scream.
The other two were on him immediately.
One managed to land a punch. Strange dodged the next attack, catching the second wraith by the arm, throwing it to the other. He flew forward, raining a flurry of punches on the wraith, pushing both of them back. Reaching for its arms, Strange put his feet on the wraith's back, pushing as he pulled the limbs back.
The vessel beneath him cracked, the personification of hate and rage groaning. With two cracks, the limbs were torn off the shoulders. Strange slammed both limbs on its head twice, caving the head in, leaving only one wraith behind.
It hesitated for a moment, growling and snapping before launching forward. Strange spun once, launching a kick that snapped its head back. He flew behind it, bringing down a double hammerfist, bending its neck ninety degrees with a crack.
Anakin watched the entire battle with shining eyes and an open mouth.
Strange dusted his hands, winking at his apprentice. He flew back, standing in front of the boy as he heard a crack. The single ray of green light became two, then three, quickly cutting through the red.
"Time to go," Strange said, waiting for Anakin to leave before doing the same himself.
—
They approached the table, watching as a small dot inside the red crystal grew until it turned green. Anakin shuddered while Strange felt nothing. "Did something happen?"
"Yeah. I felt something was over me," he said, his whole body shuddering again.
"Must be the Force," Strange commented. It was frustrating to assume so much without any way to obtain definitive proof.
—
Across the galaxy, two beings shuddered. One felt a lost song, which he wasn't even aware of, return to the Force. A wrong has been righted, but he could not say what it was.
So close to him, another being gritted his teeth. Something had just caused a disturbance in the Force. It was nothing grand, not enough to cause him any pain, but it was new. It screamed defiance as if chains of the dark side were broken from something.
—
"Do you feel anything from the crystal now?" Strange asked, turning the crystal over his hand. It was not reacting to the Mystic Arts in any way, just like the lumps Anakin had gathered.
"Not really," he shook his head. "The scream is gone, though."
"Good enough."
"Will I be able to fight like you?" he said, eyes shining again.
Strange smiled, ruffling Anakin's head. "That is entirely up to you. Let's get lunch first and then continue training."
—
From that day forward, Strange saw a noticeable improvement in their lessons. Anakin was even more eager to learn. His complaints about only learning defense had ceased. He continued to teach him defense, eventually leaving the staves for mandalas.
They also experimented on how to use the Force. Their only reference point was the moments Anakin had sensed the Force. It didn't give them much to work on, but his apprentice was tenacious. He did not yield from the challenge.
His mother did not like him overworking so much. She put strict guidelines in place, ones that he was all too quick to break. He was caught studying past his bedtime more than once. When it failed, he did something that sent him into a laughing fit.
He began to study in his astral form.
While he was impressed with the parallels, he also knew the importance of sleep for mental health. He barred him from using that method unless for an extremely important reason.
His apprentice had great success in the Mystic Arts but not so much in the Force.
—
"Nothing?" Strange asked as his apprentice stood with arms outstretched, trying to lift the pebble without the Mystic Arts.
"No," Anakin growled. He dropped his hands with a scowl, glaring at the rock. Sorcery was easy for him, so why not this? His fingers dug into his palms. He felt something well up inside.
"You are getting angry again," he said. The lack of peers made Anakin's successes and failures weigh more heavily on the boy.
"No, I am not."
"Anakin, there is no harm in admitting you are feeling something."
"I am not angry," he screamed, letting his frustration bleed into his fury. Something emerged from him, taking the anger along with it. Strange got goosebumps and raised a shield on instinct. A force, invisible to his eye and senses, slammed into his shield, ruffling his robes.
He stumbled, feeling dizzy.
"Anakin, are you alright?" he asked, voice tight, hand outstretched to stabilize his apprentice should he need it.
He didn't need it, shaking his head. "What just happened?"
"I think you used the Force," Strange said. It certainly wasn't the Mystic Arts, leaving only one option.
He knelt, examining Anakin's face. "It appears your emotions play a part in it. What did you feel when the blast left you?" He seemed a bit pale, as if emotionally drained, but appeared to be fine.
"Like it was coming out of my whole body," he said after a moment, trying to recall the feeling.
"Try to repeat it if you can. Focus on your emotions."
He nodded, standing before the pedestal, hand outstretched once more. As instructed, he focused on his emotions, starting with his frustration over his failures so far. But it wasn't the only thing he felt.
He was happy to finally succeed in using the Force and delighted with how his studies on the Mystic Arts were progressing and being free, and he hated slavery and slave owners of all kinds. He loved his mother, greatly respected his teacher, and found 3PO both great and annoying.
He yearned to end slavery and make the Hutts pay.
All his emotions and feelings fueled the Force. The pebble, which was sitting on the pedestal for days without the slightest disruption, levitated. It was shaking as it rose to the air and slowly approached Anakin. He strained to hold it, gritting his teeth.
Halfway between, the pebble fell, clanking on the ground.
"Well done," Strange praised, patting the boy on the shoulder.
Anakin, though, wasn't pleased with it, choosing to scowl. "I couldn't even keep it long enough."
"Anakin, it took me days to open a portal, and only because my teacher stranded me at the top of a mountain where I would have frozen to death in minutes. You are doing fine," he said.
He crossed his arms, glaring at the pebble. "It doesn't feel like it."
He put an arm on the boy's shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes with a look Anakin wasn't used to seeing. "If you are afraid to fail, if you expect everything to work at one try, you will be disappointed."
"How do you know?" he asked. His teacher was the Sorcerer Supreme; he defeated entities like Dormammu.
He couldn't even lift a pebble.
"Because I was like that too. I was so afraid to fail, I refused to treat patients. Sure, the chances that the treatment would work were low, but I was one of the best in my field. Perhaps I could have done something. Maybe one or two would have healed and continued to have normal lives, while the others would still be the same," he explained. His fear of failing was what kept him from reaching his full potential, something he only realized after his time in Kamar-Taj.
"It never happened because I didn't want a failure on my record."
"Don't be afraid to fail. You will never learn to be better otherwise," he said, lips tight.
Anakin looked at him, blinking. He slowly nodded, and Strange could only hope his words got through.
—
"Happy birthday to you!" Shmi sang the song Stephen had taught her, while he accompanied her.
"Look at you, already eleven years old," Strange said, moving aside so 3PO could put the cake on the table. Thankfully, this galaxy had chocolate and cocoa. While finding it on Mos Espa was rare, it wasn't impossible as long as you had the money.
"Thanks, Mom, Master," he said, hugging them. Strange had gotten used to the physical show of affection, though he made sure it was only for rare moments like these. It wouldn't do if he were lax on training the boy when he wanted to fight against an intergalactic crime empire to end slavery.
"Here, a big slice for a growing boy," Shmi said, cutting Anakin a larger-than-usual slice. The cake was small since it was only the three of them who could eat, so it would be fine.
"You know, we never celebrate either of your birthdays," he said, taking a bite.
Strange shrugged, taking his plate from Shmi. "Honestly, I don't remember the last time I celebrated my birthday either. Even as a doctor, I was too busy."
Anakin deserved to have these moments to live his childhood.
"Same. I was so young when the pirates took us, I don't even remember my birthday," Shmi said. That day still wasn't clear in her memories, just like the rest of her life before Tatooine.
"Oh," Anakin said, looking down. His chewing slowed, and the mood turned somber.
"Why don't we make it the day you were freed? It was a new life for you after all," Strange suggested. Shmi smiled, helping break the dreary atmosphere.
"Sure, but I am just happy to celebrate your birthday," she said, pinching her son's cheeks.
"Mom," Anakin groaned, feeling his cheeks burn. It was embarrassing to be treated like a kid in front of his teacher.
"Eat and rest for today. We are going to start your training on offense tomorrow."
"Yes!" he exclaimed, accidentally throwing his plate up. The half-eaten slice flew up, but he managed to catch it with the Force in mid-air.
He grinned sheepishly, bringing the cake back with a quick sorry.
Both adults burst out laughing, much to Anakin's chagrin.
—
In the next chapter:
He returned to his body, leaving his bed and dressing. He sneaked into the artifact room, standing before the glass casing. "Hey, I need your help," he said. Whenever his master didn't wear the Cloak of Levitation, the sentient cloth was left hanging in the artifact room.
The cloak did not respond, swishing even though there was no wind. "We are going to free slaves."
It stirred, leaving the wooden stand standing before him. Anakin didn't know what it was thinking, or even if it was intelligent enough to weigh his words like a human. They stood still in the silence, waiting.
The Cloak moved, wrapping itself around his shoulders, folding to fit his small frame and creating a hood. He grinned in the darkness, opening a portal.
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