The Unseen

Chapter 3 - Vader's Fate

A feeling of wrongness pervades the air, making Obi-Wan squirm uncomfortably as they step out of the turbolift on the top floor. It's not only the closeness of Vader. There's something else too, something which isn't the Dark Side, but he can't pinpoint what it is. They stop outside a set of doors which have been completely sealed. Ahsoka steps up to the control panel, a frown on her face as she plays with the security codes, finally managing to open it.

Obi-Wan carefully scans the room beyond, which also has a sealed door. It's not only plain, but completely empty and devoid of anything. "Can you open that one too?" he asks.

The Togruta shrugs. "Probably," she replies. "It's a good thing we have the Force, or we would never have gotten this far. Everything about the security here is confusing me," she admits. "It seems too... unsecure for the options I saw in the control room. I'm mildly surprised we're still alive."

Obi-Wan agrees, even if he won't say so. "Well get that door open so we can see what's going on," he sighs quietly.

"I can't," she grumbles, frustration in her words. "It won't open unless we close that door first." She motions to the door behind them. "I don't understand why, but it's something about the pressure or something."

A thought tries to worm its way to the front of his mind, but he firmly squashes it. He feels enough guilt as it is; he doesn't need to know the reasoning behind what Ahsoka just said. "I don't like this," he states flatly, turning to close the door behind them.

"Nor do I," she murmurs, clicking more options on the control panel, finally getting it to open. Together, they step into the room beyond. Obi-Wan nearly jumps when the door behind them closes automatically once they pass. Scanning the room, he can see what appears to be Vader's armor laying around. He can't hear anything at all. It's almost as though the entire place is dead, though he can clearly feel Vader somewhere in here.

Ahsoka moves forward, wariness radiating from her posture. A quick glance tells him that the doorway on one side leads to a medbay of some sort, at least he assumes so from the medical equipment around the area. The door to the other room is mostly closed, but he assumes that Vader must be inside. "Be careful," he whispers, hand inching towards his lightsaber hilt as he moves towards the door.

He cautiously nudges it open and glances inside. It's a bedroom and workspace area. Mechanical parts and tools are laying around. It seems that Vader spends time building things in there. A bed is positioned on the other side of the room, and the man on it is Vader. Obi-Wan is rooted to the spot. He's not ready for this. He can't face Vader now, not when he's devoid of his armor. He can't –

Ahsoka moves forward, slipping past him. "Something's wrong," she states decisively.

The concern in her tone, forces him to fully enter the room. He scans it, eyes falling on a strange object resting on a nearby table which is practically pulsing with dark energy. It's an ancient Sith relic, at least he assumes so. That's not where she's looking though, she's clearly aware of its presence. Instead, her blue eyes are locked on something across the room. When he looks closer, he sees the dark, ghost-like image of a red-skinned Twilek. It feels like an anomaly in the Force.

"Do you think you will succeed where Sidious failed?" a taunting female voice echoes around the room, and the outline coalesces into a mist-like form. The Twilek's smile is cold as she looks at them with piercing yellow eyes. A Sith.

"What are you doing?" demands Ahsoka, voice hardening, fingers twitching towards her lightsaber.

"It is none of your concern," she replies, extending her hand towards the bed. The Dark Side thickens, and there's a faint moan from the bed.

Obi-Wan's head whips towards it, and for the first time, he gets a better look at Vader. He's laying on his back, eyes closed, clearly in a coma-like state. His mechanical limbs are visible from inside his dark robes. He's bald now, his head unnaturally pale and extremely scarred, a multitude of unhealed wounds visible. Ahsoka sucks in a startled breath next to him. That's – no, it's not Anakin. It's Vader, a cruel mockery of the boy Obi-Wan raised.

"Oh, Force," Ahsoka whispers faintly. "What happened to him?"

Obi-Wan finds that he can't even speak. The Twilek cackles from nearby. "He will be unable to resist," she brags. "In the end, he will be mine."

"He's already a Sith," Obi-Wan replies, turning towards her and raising an eyebrow.

She smirks. "Oh, you have no idea what's happening with him," she mocks, crossing her arms deliberately. "You see that relic? My spirit has been waiting for thousands of years to find someone to possess. I want to finish what I started before I was killed, and I need a Sith do to it. Look at him." She extends an arm towards Vader's prone body. He looks so helpless, though Obi-Wan knows he's anything but.

"He found that relic and tried to create an alternate reality, a paradise, if you will," she explains, "But I'm not going to let him do it. One way or another I will break his spirit until he accepts me and lets me rule his body."

"A – a paradise?" Obi-Wan repeats incredulously. "Why would he do that?"

She laughs again, her dark glee echoing around the room and into the Force itself. "He's a Sith, you know, and the Sith frown on suicide. It's never really been an accepted custom, but that? It's not real suicide. Eventually, his body will shut down while his mind remains in the world which he created for himself. He'll die. His life will be over."

"He wants to die?" demands Ahsoka disbelievingly, gaping at the Sith spirit.

The Twilek hums quietly. "You can feel it, can't you not? Touch him. He's given up trying to fight. You can feel it in his Force signature. He's weakening." She twists her hand, and Vader thrashes around, caught in whatever nightmare she's creating in his mind. Obi-Wan blanches. He might not see him as Anakin anymore, but that doesn't mean he's willing to watch someone – anyone – be tortured.

"Stop!" yells Ahsoka, expression horrified. She turns towards Obi-Wan. "We have to stop her!"

The Twilek chuckles. "You can't stop me," she croons. "Only he can, since he's the one who let me out of the relic."

Obi-Wan bites his lip, staring at Vader. The man's face slowly becomes peaceful again, as he returns to whatever world he's created in his mind. "There's only one way we can," he murmurs, looking at Ahsoka gravely. "We have to enter his mind."

He reaches out hesitantly, brushing against Vader's mind. He can sense the echoes of pain and fear, which are now being pushed back under the happiness and peace filling him. It feels so wrong for those emotions to be in the mind of a Sith, but after all, he supposes that since Vader is creating his own paradise, it shouldn't be too surprising. He's not sure he wants to know what that paradise is. What could be better than the life he already has? What illusion is so blissful it's worth dying for? Obi-Wan definitely doesn't want to know, but he has no choice but to find out.

"Then let's do it," Ahsoka replies, sitting down on the floor in a meditative position. Obi-Wan suddenly has a very improper urge to laugh. It's almost, but not quite, funny that they're trying to rescue a Sith, but he supposes the consequences would be far more pleasant than letting this mad Sith spirit possess his body and wreak even more havoc on the galaxy.

"What if we kill him?" Obi-Wan queries, looking back at the spirit.

"Then I would have to thank you," she says, lips twisting into a smirk. "It would spare me the trouble of breaking him, and his life force will be powerful enough that I can break my bonds to the relic. So, by all means, go right ahead."

Her words decide their path. For the sake of the galaxy, Obi-Wan must bring Vader back to the present. He seats himself opposite Ahsoka, keeping a careful distance from the bed. If Vader suddenly awakens, he'd hate to be taken off guard. Reaching out towards Ahsoka, he grasps onto her Force signature before reaching towards Vader's mind again. Surprisingly, there's little resistance, and he won't let himself question why they were allowed entrance so easily, especially since he may not like the answer he'll find.