Chapter 3

                                    

                                          
For the first time over the long weeks, he leaves Mustafar and goes to Exegol to look for answers. There is a Sith Citadel, where Sidious brought him when he talked about the prophecy. He was not particularly imbued with Sudious's words back then, and he wasn't much interested in prophecies from the very beginning. After Sidious couldn't establish with him that bond that he literally raved about, Vader completely forgot to think about all of this. Until recent events.
Too many coincidences.
This bond just shouldn't have existed after everything that happened to them. But it is there, stronger than ever, even than when he was Obi-Wan's apprentice.
He spends long hours in the citadel. Finds the Doctrine of the Dyad carved on the walls, looks for a holocron with a recorded prophecy. He can't believe that Sidious's tales turned out to be true. But Obi-Wan isn't a Sith, how is that possible?
He remembers his own past, shots of their joint battles with Obi-Wan are flying by before his eyes. Back to back, they felt each other so well, so perfectly that they didn't even need to talk to each other in order to act harmoniously. They were called two halves of a single warrior, isn't that what the holocron says? But Anakin wasn't a Sith then either. He remembers how he could feel Obi-Wan's quiet and calm presence in the Force, even from the farthest corners of the Galaxy. It brought him peace. He didn't think then about why it still worked even after they had ceased to be a master and an apprentice. This bond was so right, so natural... it was just there, and he didn't know how it could be otherwise... Or did he?
Another memory pricks in the very heart with a sharp needle. Undercover mission. Rako-kriffing-Hardeen. Obi-Wan and his disgusting vile lies. The emptiness and pain that he felt at the moment of his "death" can only be compared with the pain of betrayal when the truth came out. He was so inconsolable in his grief that he couldn't understand that the bond was artificially blocked, and when he realized it, his anger was endless. He breathes noisily, and the ancient walls around him crack, raising gray clouds of dust into the air. His rage only grows. Obi-Wan lied to him. Betrayed him. Wounded him. Wounded more than anyone else could. He deserves no mercy, not after all he's done...
"Anakin?.."
No, not now. Go away, get out, it's all because of you.
"Forgive me, Anakin," he feels Obi-Wan's soft voice through the bond, the warmth and light envelop him from head to toe, he feels Obi-Wan's remorse – sincere, honest; he wants to be angry, he should be angry with Obi-Wan, it is Obi-Wan who is to blame for all the troubles that happened to him, but he can't resist the desire to hide behind this light, let all his worries dissolve in it and leave only this dear, so much needed presence, feeling nothing but him.
Then, many years ago, he also couldn't be angry for long – he felt happy knowing that Obi-Wan was alive, and this blocked all his anger, although this story left a deep wound, one of the many with which his soul is now dotted up and down.
He says nothing, just lowers his head, resting his helmet against the dirty stone wall, and closes his eyes. He stays like that without moving for several minutes. Or hours. He loses track of time, dissolving into Obi-Wan's presence in the Force. He literally feels Obi-Wan gently touching the top of his head, the back of his head, soothing, as if he was nine again and just had a bad dream.
"Did you manage to find something?" Obi-Wan askes quietly, cautiously, as if he is talking to a wild animal he is afraid of frightening or provoking. But he no longer has the strength to be angry. At least for now.
"I did."
"Then come back soon."
He doesn't want to argue either.