Beyond the Surface
by Rose Aislin.
Summary: A sequel to Invisible Friends, Luke's grown up, his Aunt and Uncle are dead, and he's finally made it off Tatooine. But where does this leave his relationship with Ani?
Rating: PG / T (probably more of a G, really, but considering it deals with Star Wars, which is itself rated at least a PG....)
Warning/s: none
Disclaimer: Star Wars, it's characters and plotline belongs to George Lucas, and I'm pretty sure whoever else helped make the films may have some claim as well. I don't. This fic is written entirely for entertainment purposes. No money has, is, or will be gained from this fic.
Beyond the Surface
Nineteen - part two
When Luke felt Ani's presence wrap itself tightly around him, he smiled slightly. Hopefully whatever his father had been busy with was over now and he would be able to talk to him. He couldn't wait to tell his father that he was travelling with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Who had known his father. Perhaps Ani would want him to give a message to Ben.
But Ani wasn't talking to him. Rather, although he felt as close as he had ever been to Luke � closer even, his presence wasn't that of a friend moving over for a chat. It was tight, all-encompassing, in many ways smothering. Blocking out that sixth sense Luke had always seemed to have, and which Ani had always encouraged him to use, even as his connection to his father flared brighter than ever.
And then Ben was stumbling and sitting down, and Luke, not worried about what Ani was doing � even if he didn't understand it, Ani was, afterall, his father, rushed to help the older man.
A disturbance in the force.
But Luke had not felt it. Not really. Not anything like Ben had.
And then Ani was moving away again, leaving. Luke shivered slightly at the loss of contact.
Ani? he questioned.
Later, Luke.
Sighing internally, Luke returned his focus to the ship, to Ben, to trying to learn as much about this mysterious force as he could. He would have preferred to have been able to talk to Ani about it. Ben had said that his father was a jedi, in which case Ani would know all about what Ben was trying to teach him. Even if he'd never mentioned the force to Luke before.
Then they had come out of hyperspace, and Alderaan had been gone. Luke hadn't quite known what to think. He was shocked, and horrified, and he wanted Ani to comfort him. To tell him it was all right, just as he had when Luke had been out longer fixing a vaporator one night � when he was twelve � and had to walk back home in the dark.
Aunt Beru had always warned Luke about going out in the dark. Nights on Tatooine were dangerous. Days were dangerous, nights were even worse. And so he'd been scared � although too big by that stage to willingly admit to it.
But somehow Ani had known, without asking, without telling. The way he often seemed to know things. And his warm presence had wrapped around Luke on his walk back, brushing through his mind like a caress, distracting him from his fears.
Aunt Beru had run out of the homestead when she saw Luke approaching, tears running down her cheeks, scolding him for staying out so late. Abashed and uncomfortable at her display of emotion, Luke had ducked his head and endured her scolding � thankful that Uncle Owen wasn't there to add his (Owen had had to travel further afield to try and find some of the parts they needed and wouldn't be back until the next day). Not that Luke was afraid of Owen, but Owen always seemed to take matters of Luke's safety very seriously and was more likely to punish him for endangering himself than Beru was.
But it wasn't Beru's warm embrace as she sobbed over his return that Luke fell asleep to that night � but the feel of his father's presence in his mind. Still there. Still soothing.
Luke wanted that feeling now. At nineteen he was much too old to ask for comfort, but he longed for it anyway. Especially now that Ani was so close. Oh, not that Ani had ever been all that far away before, but up here in space, the further they travelled, the more Luke had felt like he was getting closer to Ani, as if the very act of flying was bringing him closer to his starpilot of a father than he had ever been.
He wasn't sure how that worked. Then again, he wasn't sure how Ani could even talk to him, seeing as he was dead. All Luke was sure of was that it was, and that, more than captured princesses or terrible plots or even the Rebellion he had sometimes secretly considered joining (well, apart from telling Biggs � he hadn't even told Ani, unsure that his father would that such an adventure would be as wizard as his son. Ani, like Owen, seemed to take Luke's well-being far too seriously at times), was what assured Luke that he had done the right thing in leaving Tatooine.
If nothing else, he was closer to Ani, and that had to count for something.
Hiding under the deck of the Falcon, traipsing through the corridors of the Death Star dressed as a Storm Trooper, these things had filled Luke with an incredible sense of excitement, a rush of adrenaline that raced through his veins and seemed to heighten that sixth sense of his.
The Force his mind whispered to him, subconsciously fixating on Ben's teachings, before his thoughts were drawn elsewhere.
Meeting the Princess, he had felt a slight tingle at first, which was soon ignored due to the more pressing matter of escaping, but lay buried in his subconscious. A tingle that was not altogether foreign.
Getting trapped in the waste disposal unit hadn't been particularly fun, and when he'd been dragged under, into that fetid water, Luke had cried out in his mind for Ani.
It was one of those surreal moments in life which seem to take years and yet no time at all. Trapped under the water, Luke had called for Ani, feeling the start as his father wrenched his attention away from wherever it had been, focusing on Luke.
Father!�he cried.
Luke? What's wrong?
And then Han had grabbed him, hauling him up, and the relief which had swept through Luke had been easily picked up by Ani, who sighed, and withdrew once more.
Luke hadn't tried calling again after that. He got the impression that Ani thought he'd called him for nothing � or at least for something trivial. His father never really got mad at him � angry sometimes, if he did something 'stupid', but never really mad. But there had been a slight tinge to Ani's presence that had made Luke think he was furious about something.
Knowing how Ani always tried to stay away from Luke when he was mad like that, Luke did not want to test his father's patience by calling out again. Besides, what could Ani really do? He was merely a presence in Luke's mind � and yes, he often had good ideas or could show Luke how to do things, but it wasn't like he could simply turn up and save them.
As Luke ran for the Falcon, he felt a surge of anger, and fear, and sadness so profound it almost made him stumble, before it was cut off, and with it, Ani's presence dimmed the way it always did when Ani moved away to protect Luke from his anger.
And so it was that, as Luke saw Obi-Wan get cut down, and felt as though his world was crashing down around him, Ani's presence was only very dim within his mind, and there was no comforting warmth or soothing caress.
Stumbling into the Falcon, Luke had ended up curled into a ball, crying- feeling young and stupid for reacting in such a way, but unable to stop it. For a time he had been slightly mad at Ani for not comforting him � it was the first time in his life that Ani had not been there, even before he asked, when he was hurting so much.
It was only later that Luke realised that Ani had kept his presence dimmed for quite some time � long enough that Luke had been able to control his distress, and so mustn't have known about it.
Luke had wanted to apologise to his father then, but couldn't figure out how without alerting his father that he had been mad at him in the first place, and so he kept silent.
And then they were rushing to try and bring down the Death Star. And Luke's focus had been on what he was doing.
He'd joked about shooting womprats, but in reality Luke wasn't nearly so sure that they'd be able to do this. To shoot that thing down.
And as he launched out into the darkness of space, flying on his own in space for the first time, Luke felt Ani draw nearer once more, even as he knew that Ani was pre-occupied with something else.
A thrill had gone through Luke at that, as though his father was somehow there, watching him take his first flight, cheering him on.
And as he'd flown down into the trenches of the Death Star, and approached the target, and heard Ben telling him to use the force � it wasn't Ben's voice which convinced Luke to shut down his targeting computer.
It was a memory. Of Ani.
Luke had been racing Biggs, in their skyhoppers, when they'd decided to try flying through Beggars Canyon for the first time. Excited, and yet slightly nervous, he'd called out to Ani, pleased when he responded immediately.
We're going to fly through Beggar's Canyon, he had told him hurriedly, even as he turned his skyhopper around to approach the entrance to the canyon. It'll be lots of fun.
Ani had laughed then � a sound which was rare and therefore worth all the more when he heard it. Of course it will, he said.
Luke had waited for Ani to say something about it being juvenile (he now knew what that word meant) or stupid, but he didn't.
Seeming to sense his thoughts, or perhaps his nervousness, Ani had filled his mind with warmth. You'll be fine, he said, trust in your instincts. Feel. You're a good pilot, Luke, you have nothing to worry about.
Slightly embarassed, Luke had briefly considered muttering something about not being worried, but he knew that Ani already knew he was. Ani seemed to always know what he was feeling.
Ani had been right, of course, Luke had listened to his instincts, to that sixth sense Ani had always called instinct. He had felt that six sense as he flew through the canyon, and his flight had been sure and easy.
Now, trusting in that advice once more, Luke shut down his targeting computer, focused his mind, reaching out with his feelings, and let that familiar instinct guide him.
It wasn't until later, once all the celebrations were over, that Luke wondered why Ani had been so distant lately, why he hadn't been there to guide Luke through this part of his life like he had all the rest.
But his father was very busy � Luke knew this, and the sense of urgency and frustration which seemed to be permanently clinging to Ani let him know that his father was not ignoring him out of choice.
Besides, Luke thought as he stretched out on his bunk, Ani was still with him, helping him, even if he couldn't be there in the way he had in the past � his destruction of the Death Star was proof of that.