Beyond - Legends Life Among the Dead ~ Anakin/Tahiri post Rebirth AU *ON HOLD* (See author's note)

*takes a deep breath*

It's been a long time since I've written an Anakin/Tahiri story, but they were the reason I started writing fanfic, and they'll always be my fanfic sweeties. Hopefully this will be up to par. It takes place after Rebirth (the easy way out, since I haven't read all of the recent NJO novels ). You'll see what happened as it goes. I'm not completely sure where it will go--I have some plans, but usually Anakin and Tahiri end up taking on a life of their own despite all my plans and I'm left to frantically try to keep up with them.

It's been a while since I've had time to read a lot of the A/T stories that have been written, so I honestly don't know if or how this has been approached by other authors. If it seems similar to what others have written, I promise it's entirely coincidental.

Disclaimer: Star Wars and all characters therein are not mine. The stories that play out on my keyboard are products of my weird mind, but the universe belongs to George Lucas. Also, all song lyrics posted before each chapter are from Bring Me to Life by Evanescence, which the title of this fic comes from.

Author's Note: Please don't be upset if this isn't updated all the time. My time goes first to my husband Ryke and son Anakin, and I also have two other stories being posted right now.

~*~

How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb
Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home

*

Chapter One

"Please stop crying!" Tahiri begged, feeling like crying herself. "I'll do anything! I'll give you whatever you want. Milk, blankies...I'll even go buy you a stuffed Ewok! Just please don't cry."

The loud, piercing wail didn't lessen a single degree. Tahiri paced back and forth, holding two-week-old Ben Skywalker closer and jostling him in her arm in an attempt to calm him. His scrunched-up face was red from exertion.

"Tahiri?"

Tahiri barely heard the voice over the cries. She turned around, startled. "Anakin!" she said in relief.

Anakin Solo pushed his brown hair off of his forehead and raised his eyebrows. "What's going on?"

"What does it look like? Your cousin is louder than a roomful of angry Wookiees!" Frustrated, Tahiri shifted Ben to her other arm.

Anakin stepped forward and peered down at Ben. "Hey there, little guy," he said softly, touching Ben's hand with one finger.

Almost instantly, Ben's cries slowed and stopped. His gray eyes moved around and finally focused on Anakin's face. Tahiri watched in frustrated amazement as a tiny smile crossed Ben's face.

Mouth slightly open, Tahiri slowly looked up at Anakin. "He's been crying for an hour," she said, her voice deathly low. "I have tried everything to get him to stop...and you just waltz in here and he shuts up."

Anakin smiled and shrugged one shoulder. "Guess it's just the Solo touch."

"Urgh!" Tahiri held Ben out. "Here. You take him. I need a break."

"What?" Anakin held up his hands and took a step backward. "I can't hold him..."

"Uh-uh. You're not going to shirk out on this one. I know men tend to think babies are fragile little things and are afraid of them, but if Ben's crying is any indication, he's as far from fragile as it is possible to be." Tahiri pressed Ben into Anakin's arms. Once she was sure he had a good grip on him, she let go and sank onto the couch. "I'm never agreeing to babysit again," she muttered.

Anakin held Ben awkwardly, looking at Tahiri with a helpless expression.

Tahiri shook her head. "Sorry, Anakin. I have no sympathy for you right now. You can take care of him for a few minutes."

Anakin sighed. "Great. Cause I think he just messed his diaper."

Tahiri groaned and buried her face into the back of the couch. Her muffled voice was laced with exhaustion. "I'm never having kids."

*

"Luke, look at this," Mara said

 

YAY!!! Qwi is back on A/T!!!! Great God Almighty!!!

Seriously, this is really good, in other words,

POST MORE SOON

 

Wow, off to a nice start Qwi. Nice descriptions of Ben... have experience in that field? That last scene was creepy. Tahiri seems to be the subject of a lot of bad vibes, whether it be fanfic or profic. But good none-the-less!

Nice to see you back around the boards! Don't know if I've just missed you, or if you haven't been back before now. Anyways, welcome back!

 

Tahiri slowly headed to the 'fresher for a shower. She needed to wake up. It had been a long night. Nothing, she thought as she turned on the water, could possibly make this day any longer.

See, Tahiri now you've jinxed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's always great to see another Anakin and Tahiri story started...this has got some major potental.

nina

 

This is an awesome start. This story looks promising already. I loved the babysitting part! Well done!

 

Jek- Thank you! I'll try to have more as soon as I have time.

wompy-Hey! How are you doing? I have been around the boards, but haven't been on AIM very much--not much time to chat. Thanks for reading! Experience? Just a little. Yes, Tahiri is the subject of lots of bad vibes...and unfortunately for her, I usually end up with lots of angst in my stories.

jainafel-Ahh, characters are always jinxing things. Thanks!

Elfsheen-Thank you!

 

Great beginning, Qwi! I can't wait to see how things turn out.

I liked how you discribed Anakin's protectiveness. He does try a little too hard sometimes.

 

i agree, i can't wait to see how this one turns out, great work

 

Lonewolf-Thanks for reading! You're right--Anakin does try too hard sometimes, but that's just part of what makes him Anakin.

forceaddict-Thanks!

Well, I would have had a post today, but my stupid hard drive crashed this afternoon, and I lost everything. I'll try to get it written again soon!

 

Simply put, this is how NJO needs to be. GREAT work, A/T forever!

::sets up camp::
and i will be stalking your post ^________^ it's what i do.

 

Well, this looks interesting.

I will be watching this.

 

Wow, Qwi! This is really neat!

 

This is great, Qwi!

I especially liked the part where Anakin walks in on a flustered Tahiri and relieves Ben instantaneously, so fitting.

Update soon!

 

herOic-Thank you!

Star-Glad you like it so far!

Satine-Thanks!

Soulwalker-Thank you! I had fun writing that part.

*tired sigh* You know, sometimes stories can be really irritating...like when you've been up all night because your baby was up a lot, and now you have time to nap because the baby's asleep, but the story is haunting you and you have to sit down and write. I'm so exhausted, but this would not leave me alone.

So here's your post! Hope you enjoy!

*The first part of this is dialogue taken from Greg Keyes' Edge of Victory II, Rebirth. But I'm sure you guys recognize it. I added to it to try to go in depth a little bit, for later use.

********

"I'm sorry!" Tahiri bawled. "I got you into this. Corran's right--I keep thinking I can be like you, and I'm not. You always win, and I always screw up. If it weren't for me, you'd be back on the Errant Venture right now." What had she been thinking? She wasn't Anakin. Why did she have to take things into her own hands? Look what she had gotten them into now! They were stuck in a pitch-black locker on an airless space station. Only you, Tahiri, she thought bitterly. Only you could get into this mess.

Anakin's voice came out of the darkness, and his words startled her. "But I'd rather be here with you."

Tahiri turned toward him sharply, her eyes widening. What did he mean by that? "Don't say things like that. I know you think I'm still a little kid. I--" She broke off abruptly when she felt his fingers touch her cold cheek. How could his hand be so warm? It was freezing in here. His fingers traced around her face. Then, without warning, she felt his lips on hers. More than a bit surprised, she jerked back. "Oh." It was all she could think to say. Oh? He just kissed you and all you can say is 'oh?' She was glad he couldn't see her face. She was sure it was completely red--and she wasn't usually one to blush.

"Oh?"

"That was a surprise." What an understatement.

"Sorry."

I'm not, Tahiri thought. "No--c'mere." Feeling where he was in the Force, she reached forward and put her hands on his face, pressing her mouth to his. "Your timing is perfect. Wait until we're doomed to give me my first kiss."

"Mine, too," Anakin sounded very unsure of himself, an occurrence that happened as often as See-Threepio shut up. "Umm..."

Tahiri answered the uncertain question she knew he wanted to ask. "How was it? Kind of weird." She kissed him again. "Nice." She took his hand and pressed her cheek against his. "If we survive, we'll have to figure this out, you know."

"Yeah."

Tahiri sighed, watching Anakin make his way through the hotel's huge dining hall toward her. It had been two weeks since they had been stuck in the locker on Yag'Dhul, and they still hadn't figured it out. It had been busy--as soon as they got back to the Errant Venture, Mara had given birth, and then she and Luke were arranging to go to Coruscant. Excuses, Tahiri, excuses.

The truth was, it was her fault. Normally, she was the kind of person who would have demanded to talk about it, now. In this case, though, after tiptoeing around each other for two days, Anakin had been ready to talk...but Tahiri hadn't. So Anakin agreed--as he had when he asked her the other day what was wrong--to wait until she was ready to talk about it. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk about it--she just had some things to think about first. Like, how could she possibly think about how she felt about Anakin when she still didn't know who she was? Who Tahiri really was?

"Morning, Tahiri." Anakin slid into the seat across from her and flagged down a server droid so they could order breakfast.

"Morning," Tahiri covered a yawn. She saw Anakin's brow crease in concern, and she knew that he realized she hadn't had a good night's sleep.

"Where are Luke and Mara? Weren't they going to meet us for

 

Great post!!!!!


Yuuzhan Vong note huh? Sounds cool!!!

 

O_O

Looks like Tahiri is going into full blown paranoia in the next update, poor Anakin's going to have himself a handful!

Very nice, hehe, but you can't keep us in suspense for too long!

 

A note in Yuuzhan Vong?

This is weird.

 

Good post, Qwi. I loved how you wrote Tahiri.

I wonder what that masseage is all about

 

[face_shocked] And the plot thickens. This just keeps getting better and better!

It's nice to see Tahiri and Anakin getting equal time in a fic. Usually things are focused on one or the other of them.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to reading more. Great job!

 

Anakin, duck! Tahiri's gonna bite your head off!

Anyways..... nice scene.... A message written in Vong-esse, eh? "Hooked on Vongics worked for me. DIE, INFEDEL!"

 

great post, what's up with the vong message

 

Jek-Thanks!

Soulwalker-Maybe not quite paranoia...but Anakin certainly is going to have his hands full! More than he knows...

Star-Anakin and Tahiri think so, too.

Elfsheen-Thank you!

Lonewolf-Thanks! I'm trying to balance it out right now.

wompy-LOL! 'Hooked on Vongics?' I'm sure everyone would be buying that.

force-You shall see.


I know this update is short, but I'm going out of town tomorrow (Anakin gets his first plane ride!) and I'm busy doing a ton of things right now, so this is all I had time to write.

********

Anakin immediately sat up straight, his eyes widening in surprise. "What does it say?" he asked, leaning forward.

Tahiri's eyes flitted back and forth across the datacard. "This...doesn't make any sense," she muttered.

"What doesn't make any sense?"

"This datacard." Tahiri abruptly stood to her feet.

Anakin abandoned the remains of his breakfast and followed Tahiri as she headed out of the dining hall. "Tahiri," he said in an annoyed tone, "are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"In a minute. I need to check something."

Anakin rolled his eyes and sighed, but kept his mouth shut as he caught up with Tahiri as she stepped onto the turbolift. They exited on the floor where their rooms were. Tahiri stopped at her hotel door and keyed it open. Anakin stepped in after her without invitation. He crossed his arms and leaned against the desk in the room as Tahiri hooked the datacard up to the computer and punched a few keys.

Come on, come on. She tapped her fingers on the desk impatiently. Up until she had begun traveling on the Errant Venture, she hadn't known much about computers. Growing up on Tatooine, she hadn't had a way to access computers, and then training on Yavin 4, she hadn't had a reason. And while she wasn't the best at using them--electronics just weren't her thing--she had learned how to get her way around on them.

"Stang," she uttered one of Anakin's sister Jaina's favorite curses.

"What are you doing, Tahiri?" Anakin asked from over her shoulder.

"I was trying to see if there was anything that would trace it back to the computer it was downloaded from." Seeing him raise his eyebrows, she quickly explained, "Zekk has been showing me how information downloaded from a computer to a datacard leaves a code from the computer. I thought if I could get the code..." She shook her head. "It wasn't downloaded from a computer, though. There's no trace from it at all. There should be something."

"So what do you think it means?"

Tahiri hesitated. "I think it might have been downloaded from a villip." The fleshy ball-like contraptions were the Yuuzhan Vong's way of communicating--sort of like a comm. She detached the datacard and stared down at it. "It would make sense...someone sent it to me in secret. But why would a Yuuzhan Vong dirty themselves with using an 'abomination?'" She tapped the datacard.

"Tahiri, what does it say?" Anakin asked in exasperation.

"Oh, sorry. It says..." Tahiri took a deep breath. "It says--well, basically it's a message calling me 'the Jedi-who-was-shaped,' and asking for help."

"Help? Help with what? And who wants the help?"

"I don't know. Someone wants to meet me, though. Tonight."

Anakin blinked. "Wait. Someone--probably a Yuuzhan Vong--wrote you a message asking you to meet them tonight, and they actually expect you to go? The Yuuzhan Vong aren't that dense." Tahiri didn't say anything. "Tahiri?" When she still didn't answer, Anakin said, "Wait a minute. You're not actually thinking of meeting them, are you?"

"Well..."

"Uh-uh. No way. I'm sure the Yuuzhan Vong would be thrilled to get you back in their hands. They lost you, and they know that it was a huge mistake. They implanted so much of themselves into you--they probably see it as a weapon that you can use against them."

Of course the

 

Poor Anakin, getting manipulated into helping. I'm surprised Tahiri's willing to go, but I guess she's remembering that dream she had. I'm looking forward to more. Great job, Qwi!

I hope you and little Ani have a good time on your trip!

 

"And hope we don't get caught--or babysitting Ben will seem easy next to what they'll do to us."

Wahahaha! Trouble they are in, hmm?

I loved how Tahiri just switched "I" to "we" in the span of two sentences, and how Anakin just goes along with it; she has his poor self wrapped around her fingers.

Very nice update, Qwi! Hope your baby's not giving you too much of a hard time, btw.

 

I feel sorry for Anakin, getting roped into another suicide mission.

The boy really has to learn that eventually death is going to get very angry at being cheated so often.