Welcome to book 2 in my series! I can't really believe I'm onto book 2 now but the ideas I have for this one came directly from writing Revelation of the Sith. Prior reading of that story won't be completely necessary as things will be explained but it is certainly recommended to enhance the reading of this one. As always feedback is appreciated even if that is constructive criticism :) Enjoy!

An adolescent boy stumbled step by step, fumbling and shivering as he grudgingly made progress along the winding encompassing path, a path travelled by countless generations gone by. A clouded mist swirled from the teen's lips as his warm breath met the icy chill in the caves and battled for dominance, the cold always emerging victorious. The boy wrapped trembling arms around his mid-riff in a vain attempt to ward off the frosty atmosphere, his teeth chattered insistently as only sheer force of will spurred him onwards towards his goal. Here in the present moment deep inside the ice caves of Ilum a seeker wrestled with demons in search of a most precious item, in search of the prize for this quest, a rightful saber crystal.

The boy tripped over a protruding rock his usual instincts and awareness dulled by hours of gruelling searching in below-freezing temperatures. No more than a grunt escaped his lips as the young Jedi Padawan made contact with the ground, none too softly either. His body was far too numb to feel the full effects of the collision, the force far too pure here to not aid in dampening the majority of anguish. He lay there with his cheek pressed against the sub-zero floor, breathing heavily and fighting ever so valiantly to keep his eyes from shutting. He was just so blasted tired, exhausted really.

Anakin Skywalker laid still for a few moments just about managing to remain awake as his addled brain yelled out to his conscious that falling asleep in such temperatures could very well be the end of him. He scrunched up his face into a grimace as the throbbing in his feet reached new levels of agony, it had been so long since he had left Obi-Wan at the entrance to the caves and started out on his journey, too long. Absently he wondered if Obi-Wan was alright at the other end, the thought only served to treble his level of guilt, here he was close to surrendering and poor old Obi-Wan was patiently waiting on his Padawan's success.

Determinedly Anakin drew on the force to sustain him, felt the gorgeous currents race through his nerves to revitalise dormant muscles. He started to feel his fingers once more and proceeded to lift himself up into a sitting position, taking stock of any injuries the last fall had produced. Other than sporting some new rather nasty looking bruises the only physical evidence of his carelessness was a shallow cut to his temple, he gingerly prodded the wound and winced when he felt the pain. It seemed the deathly temperatures weren't enough to numb all scrapes, he supposed that it was a good sign he could still feel things, hypothermia was a very real possibility in a climate such as this. Curiously though he could feel that whatever blood had escaped the wound had already been frozen to crust against his skin, another excellent reason to get up and keep the blood inside of him moving.

He shivered the terrible afterthought away and was just about to gain his footing again before a booming voice shattered all confidence, had him reaching for a non-existent weapon and had his heart nearly race out his chest simultaneously.

"Giving up already, Jedi?"

The voice echoed around the wide space, deafening in volume. Anakin squeezed his eyes tightly shut against the assault he could feel where that voice had originated from, it was the dark side. He had been warned about the caves of Ilum, of what could happen in this ancient place. So far however except for exhaustion he had not faced anything which would remotely justify Obi-Wan's worry for him, that would rationalise the fact that many Jedi were changed from this experience. It seemed the time of trial had finally come for him, he mused that his goal must be close by.

Anakin ignored the taunt and finished picking himself up, raising mental shields so high that the insistent voices were reduced to whispers. He looked around the walls in search for any crystal that called out to him, to any that felt right. Obi-Wan had told him he would know when he found the crystal meant for him, Anakin only knew that up to this point any crystal he had come across felt overwhelmingly wrong. He was beginning to wonder if there was such a thing as a crystal which suited him but after the sudden appearance of the dark he knew his was close, Jedi had to overcome their deepest fears to claim their treasure, that part of the tale remained true for every story he had heard.

He stumbled forwards with more haste, ignoring the rising number of voices as he pushed onward. He could now use that alone as an indicator to his proximity to the crystal, the closer one got the more vicious the defence's became. Anakin now understood his Master's anxiety over this expedition, over his completing it alone. He had always had more fear within his heart for the dark to draw too, that much had been made clear on their first mission away together…

Anakin shook the memory clear as he caught flashes of the harrowing mission in his sightline, the more he thought about his fears the more realistic the hallucinations would appear to be. Anakin knew the dangers of being lost inside one's own mind, with the demons that currently lay there Anakin knew that was a place he never wanted to reside. The only reason why Obi-Wan had agreed to allow his Padawan to claim a saber crystal this way was because of tradition and a hard won debate, also a feeling that Anakin needed this chance and a fresh start. His old weapon of course had been lost to the enemy when they had battled the Sith emergence.

Anakin could remember the stern expression on his Master's face over the request as if it were yesterday, he had stubbornly refused for Anakin to travel to Ilum, his own fears clouding his judgement. They had argued fiercely for weeks over the matter until Obi-Wan was caught in a trap set by his own Master who had pointed out that Obi-Wan had requested the same right when he was a Padawan, and had won the chance to follow in the countless footsteps of other Jedi. Obi-Wan had remained aggrieved with Qui-Gon's interference for some time after that, Anakin did feel horrible for putting the two in such a position but he knew this was the path for him. As they meditated together the next evening Obi-Wan saw too that this was to be Anakin's path and cautiously gave the mission the go ahead. Of course Anakin had been wrung through the ringer since then in preparation for a task of this magnitude, rigorous training of both the mind and the body.

Now as he limped closer and closer towards his goal Anakin thought that perhaps even with all that preparation he was not truly ready, nothing could truly prepare him for this.

He gasped loudly as another mental assault crashed against his shields, desperately attempting to break through to plumage through his memories, through to his deepest fears. Head in his hands Anakin somehow found the focus to carry on, blind as he was with his eyes he relied solely on feeling the object he desired calling for him through the force.

The next wave of attack's had him on his knees in seconds, his screams echoed around the sparkling caves as the dark finally cracked through his desperate attempts of keeping them out. When he opened his eyes Anakin was no longer in a cave, he recognised the surroundings immediately however, Skepaf's ship.

"No, No…" He muttered as he desperately tried to end the dark's reign of power although the attempts were eventually in vain.

He watched his own arm rise to close around the Captain's neck, felt the raw power flowing through his veins as he enjoyed watching a man suffocate by his hand. Anakin shook the feeling's away knowing them not to be true anymore, not to be his. The memory now brought on a great sense of nausea as he watched Skepaf's struggles grow weaker, heard Obi-Wan's breathing turn shallower behind him. To Anakin's shock the vision did not stop, his arm did not lower. He continued to squeeze the life out of Skepaf until there was nothing left, until he saw the light leave the doomed Captain's eyes. The harder he tried to pull away the harder the pull he felt to continue squeezing, he heard the epic crack of a neck snapping and cried out in disgust over the barbaric actions, how could this be from his hand?

Anakin threw every trick he had at the invaders in his mind in any attempt to stop such an awful vision, this was not how things happened he knew that Obi-Wan had stopped him before anything had gotten so drastic. He accepted that perhaps without Obi-Wan's timely interruption this was exactly what would have happened, what the force was showing him was simply an alternate choice. He quickly threw up anything that was remaining in his stomach, a meagre amount in truth but enough to bring him out of the vision and back into the iciness of the caves.

The young Padawan gripped a nearby wall for support and blearily lifted his battered head to see ahead, instead of the now familiar ice walls he found himself in some sort of tent, a raging fire in the center causing shadows to dance on the surroundings. His gaze was drawn to the sole occupant as her moans of agony filtered through to his struggling mind, he knew this not to be real yet nothing had ever felt more real than what he was experiencing presently.

Anakin stumbled towards the strung up women his heart swelling as he felt the agony she was in, it wasn't until he got close that he recognised just who the person was.

"Mum?"

He felt his temper rage inside his body, his blood boiling at the sight. How could anyone do this to his mother? How cruel did they have to be?

Anakin undid the bindings with trembling hand's as he willed for his Mother to be alright, she felt cold to touch and Anakin could already feel most of her life force had left her. She was dying. Why was the force showing him this? Was this in his future? He could not allow it, would not allow it.

As Shmi Skywalker passed away in his arms Anakin let out a roar of pure agony, of hatred to the force and everything that had caused this moment to come to pass. If he were a Jedi and he could not save his own Mother then what was the point in anything? Anakin absently noted picking up a light saber to his side, he stood still shaking from the growing rage and despair racing through his veins.

He didn't feel the slightest bit of remorse as his saber carved through the monsters that had butchered his mother as if she were an animal, the guilt which clung to his veins from Skepaf's death all but evaporated as he drew more and more on his hatred to obliterate each and every one of these monsters.

By the time Anakin felt the cool walls of Ilum beneath his feet again he was shaking violently, not out of coldness but out of shock, deep unsettling shock. Whatever that had been he couldn't shake the feeling of joy he had felt when he was hacking away at other sentient beings, the pleasure and power he drew on as he butchered each and every one of them. Anakin was promptly sick again.

He felt drained as he fell to his knees, not willing to find the strength to move onwards after experiencing something as real as that, as harrowing as that. When he did find the strength to look forwards he saw the very thing he had been searching for, a crystal so pure with light that he was sure it would burn him after what he had just done. The evils and atrocities he had just committed. A small part of him knew that this must be happening in his mind, that did not change his own choices however nor the overwhelming joy he felt murdering others.

Anakin's vision blurred as he felt more beings pry into his mind, ripping it open to let any and all horrors come tumbling out. Vision's started up all around him as he crawled slowly onwards, gaining ground agonisingly slowly on the reason he was in so much misery. Obi-Wan had not been kidding when he warned Anakin the true opponent he would face here was himself.

He desperately tried to ignore the growing number of visions even though he could still feel everything from them, feel the incredible loss of life and the pain from thousands if not millions of suffering sentients. War raged around him as the flames grew higher, ships and worlds exploded into extinction and he felt each loss as if it were ripping out a piece of his heart forever. Perhaps in some sense they were.

Anakin found himself screaming again, or perhaps he was imagining that too, as he watched Jedi fall around him, brutally slaughtered by men in white armour. As much as he tried to ignore the destruction raging he could not, the sheer realty of the images were enough to cause every muscle in his body to shake almost enough for him to give up entirely.

He collapsed to the floor as a whole planet exploded beside him, a whole planet and all it's people gone, obliterated. The loss of each life stabbed him until he was sure there was not one inch of his body that did not feel it, the force screamed in agony as so many innocents were slaughtered. He lay there panting and broken as the vision's finally ebbed away from existence, leaving him alone with the after effects of such brutality. He looked forwards into the caves and saw he was now within a meter of his target, just one final push…

Anakin made one last ditch attempt to leap for the crystal as the horrors of the latest vision's clung to him, the realty of it all stripping his lungs effectively of breath. As he leapt the caves fell away for the final time and he was thrust into a future far from now. This time Anakin was watching from the sidelines as two fighters duelled over perilous surroundings, over lava to be precise.

The two duellists were evidently Jedi from their light saber's, both were blue even though this did not seem to be training. Anakin could see from their saber play and body language that these two were attempting to kill one another. As he stumbled closer to the deadly flurry of clashing light the figures became less blurred. Anakin could see that they were both experienced Jedi, battle worn would be a better word. One was dressed in light tunics, the other in black. It was evident that either fighter was as skilled as the other, they knew each other's next move before they knew there own. They knew each other.

Just as he got close enough to see the fighter's faces the Jedi in dark tunics disarmed the Jedi in light, the elder man fell to his knees in a heap, defeated, exhausted. The dark Jedi's saber moved to the light's neck which served to shed some clarity on the situation.

"Master?" Anakin whispered in shock as he recognised the facial structure, the hair, the eyes.

Obi-Wan's usual bright eyes were drowned in such sorrow, such conflictions and horror that Anakin almost stumbled away from the defeated man. As he stared into Obi-Wan's eyes he couldn't help but shake the feeling that his Master had seen something which had worn him, something so terrible that his body's age would never match that of his eyes again.

"Get on with it," Obi-Wan spat, voice cracking as unwanted emotion seeped in.

No this can't be happening… Anakin thought, he couldn't handle seeing his Master's death and to be cut down so mercilessly?

"As you wish."

Anakin stopped, truly stopped as he heard the other fighter speak. He knew that voice well, it was his own.

He looked up into the eyes of Obi-Wan's attacker as he already felt hot tears stain his cheeks, he heard the thrumming of the saber rise dramatically in volume, almost to a deafening level. This man was undoubtedly Anakin Skywalker, or more accurately he had been. Anakin felt unbelievably sick as he looked into the eyes of his elder self, corrupted and hate-filled just like the rest of him. His worst fear, he had succumbed to the dark side.

Anakin screamed at his elder self to stop as the saber was raised high, actually ran forward to intercept the blade as it crashed down towards the defenceless Obi-Wan. He felt a huge part of him die as the saber crashed straight through him and continued downwards to Obi-Wan, killing the Jedi instantly as the weapon cut through the man's neck.

Anakin yelled and cried as he held Obi-Wan's lifeless body in his arms, as he saw the small smile grace his elder self's features. How could he? His own Master? His inhuman cries of anguish shook the very core of the vision and reverberated far into the force, his tortured soul lay bared open for any that wished to see.

Anakin bowed his head in a defeated posture, he was done this was too much for him. He felt a searing pain briefly as his elder self's saber crashed down upon him and then nothing, only darkness…

Obi-Wan gasped audibly as a great disturbance in the force brought him aggressively and rather too swiftly out of meditation. He brought up his hands in an attempt to stave off the dizzying feeling, being pulled forcibly out of such a deep trance so suddenly was not recommended and certainly did not help his already anxious feelings.

"Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon's querying voice drifted through to his conscious thoughts as he desperately attempted to dowse his growing concern's over Anakin's safety, that last feeling had not helped matters.

"Did you feel it?" Obi-Wan asked through gritted teeth, head still throbbing with the after effects of such a tremendous shockwave.

"Feel what?"

The negative answer was unexpected to Obi-Wan who was still suffering the full effects of the huge tremors tainting the force, in that moment he had felt such agony and pain stemming from one source, Anakin.

"A disturbance, he's in terrible pain, Master." Obi-Wan finally adjusted enough to open his eyes to the world, he directed his gaze towards the ghost of Qui-Gon who sat beside him on the ship's ramp.

He watched as Qui-Gon furrowed his brows in confusion, whatever Obi-Wan was sensing it seemed his Master did not concur. Perhaps Obi-Wan was more sensitive to Anakin's troubles; because of their training bond?

"Obi-Wan, I don't feel anything untoward, you know that the trials faced in these caves will cause Anakin to confront his fears."

Obi-Wan glanced back towards the cave entrance as snow continued to pelt down before he and Qui-Gon, what he had just sensed from his Padawan felt more than he had ever experienced, much more than facing one's fears. He couldn't help but shake the feeling that Anakin was in trouble.

"You're worried for him." It was a statement of fact rather than opinion, they both knew from Obi-Wan's body language that he could be seconds away from breaking all rules and racing in after his Padawan.

"Of course I am," Obi-Wan muttered as he attempted, albeit in vain to make contact with his young charge along their bond which Anakin had rather successfully until now kept blocked. "I should never have let him face this alone."

Qui-Gon chuckled lightly which caused Obi-Wan to whip his head towards him, what about this situation could possibly be funny? To Qui-Gon's credit he did sober when he acknowledged Obi-Wan's infuriated look.

"This reminds me of when you went into the caves." Qui-Gon clarified his source of his humour.

Obi-Wan's shocked face caused Qui-Gon to chuckle again.

"Yes, Padawan, even I was worried."

Obi-Wan sighed deeply, running calloused hands through his hair as exhaustion ebbed away at his mind. Anakin had certainly been searching for a long time, Obi-Wan of course had stayed alert ever since his apprentice had begun his journey.

"How did you refrain from rushing in?" The question was asked in a half comical half serious manner, Obi-Wan was struggling to find any reason to keep him grounded the longer the silence with Anakin reigned supreme.

"Although it was hard I knew you would not have forgiven me for breaking tradition, just as Anakin would find it hard to forgive you, Obi-Wan. The trial must be taken alone, you know this as well as I do even if it causes us pain to watch the ones we love suffer."

Obi-Wan knew his Master's words to be true as soon as they left his lips, Qui-Gon had always been a masterful diplomat and this was just one example of his brilliance. Anakin would most likely see Obi-Wan's interference as a breach of trust, a sacred promise broken. The Padawan would end up feeling unworthy and that would be completely Obi-Wan's fault, as hard as it was Obi-Wan knew then and there he would have to trust that Anakin would come out of the caves victorious, just as Qui-Gon once had with him.

"I understand, Master." Obi-Wan locked eyes with Qui-Gon again. "It's just Anakin has been different lately, we argue more than ever before and sometimes I can't help but see fire behind his eyes."

He saw Qui-Gon's mood darken before him, worse he saw something akin to disappointment flash across the Jedi Master's face before it was expertly eradicated.

"These feelings stem from the visions don't they? You're blaming him for things that haven't happened yet, Obi-Wan, will not happen. You know that is not fair." Qui-Gon admonished his former Padawan with practised ease, there had been many times in their apprenticeship when Master and apprentice had not agreed.

"We don't know it won't happen, Master…" Obi-Wan began before stopping in his tracks, if he carried on thinking this way then he was in fact sealing Anakin to a horrifying fate. Qui-Gon was right it was not fair to judge the boy on actions which could never happen, that did not help to abate the sickening feeling he carried however.

"It frightens me how much potential he has for darkness, it is why I debated against Ilum for so long. Even for someone so young he has already faced far too much, so many tainting experiences which could cause undue misery inside these caves."

Qui-Gon nodded in understanding, judgement over his Padawan's previous words all but eradicated as he felt first and foremost Obi-Wan's concern for Anakin's future, it was clear the Jedi did not want history to repeat itself.

"Whilst that is true, Obi-Wan, you have to trust that Anakin will move past his own fears, he has already accomplished so much. The future you saw has been altered."

Obi-Wan had to agree with his Master on that point, he and Anakin had faced the evil dark side, the Sith and come through the other side. Perhaps not in one piece however. They had spent the last few months healing, physically and mentally. Whilst all of their physical ailments had been treated and eradicated Obi-Wan knew there to be scars running deeply within the pair of them, scars which had caused arguments between the two and regrettably a rift to open. Obi-Wan hated being at odds with his apprentice, it felt so unnatural. In ways the mission had brought them closer than they had ever been but in others they could not be more distant, it was a conundrum and one which he hoped to solve soon. From what he had learnt of the visions the future was clearer, together they could accomplish the impossible but when the duo were apart thousands suffered, whole worlds suffered. Ever since Obi-Wan had seen those harrowing visions he had promised himself he would not make the same mistakes with Anakin, he would not allow a future even remotely like that to come to pass.

"I just worry about him, he doesn't come to me with problems as much as he used to." Obi-Wan moved to his feet attempting to shake off the restlessness that had occurred.

"You worry too much, Padawan, when you were that age we had our fair share of disagreements. Teenagers go through this stage, it is only natural to rebel." Qui-Gon moved to join Obi-Wan outside of the ship.

Obi-Wan shivered as the biting air caused his tunics to whip in the wind and caused goosebumps to adorn his skin. It was so blasted cold here. He wished Qui-Gon to be right, perhaps this was just a phase in Anakin's teen life. Something however was telling him that this was not the case, of course he did not tell Qui-Gon of such things. The Jedi Master would say as he always had, the future was always in motion and it was best to keep one's mind in the present moment. Obi-Wan always had an affinity with the future, he trusted his bad feeling's and he was getting one about the future now, the source however remained a secret to him.

Before Obi-Wan's musings became too self-destructive he caught sight of movement at the cave's entrance. He squinted through the flurrying of snow and smiled as he caught sight of Anakin. His smile soon turned to a frown however as he saw how the boy was limping and spied dried blood on his apprentice's forehead, so much for no danger.

Obi-Wan rushed across the clearing to reach his Padawan in no time and pulled his own cloak around the positively shivering boy, his skin held an unhealthy blue tinge which also sparked Obi-Wan's worry, he should never have left him out here so long. Anakin's teeth chattered as he led him back towards the inviting ship where Qui-Gon remained waiting, as soon as they were all on board Obi-Wan cranked up the heating and piled thermo blankets on top of Anakin.

"Are you alright, Padawan?"

Anakin's reaction's were sluggish, he acted as if he hadn't even heard the question until many seconds later. His confused eyes met Obi-Wan's and his mind seemed to catch up with the fact that he was out of the caves, on the ship and safe. Anakin managed a weak nod before opening up his clasped hands to show Obi-Wan just what he had accomplished.

Obi-Wan almost stumbled at the light. In Anakin's trembling hands lay a perfect azure saber crystal, so pure that it almost burned to look at it. He looked into Anakin's face proudly as they both felt this crystal was rightly his, Anakin had done well to find a fitting so right.

"Well done, Anakin." Obi-Wan smiled warmly.

Anakin too managed a meek smile underneath all of the shivering, that was until however a memory corrupted the happiness, a rather harrowing one judging by the shadows in the Padawan's gaze.

"Padawan?" He gripped his apprentice's shoulders as impossibly his skin turned an even paler colour, as his eyes clouded over and distantly horrors played out in the young boy's mind. "What did you see in there?"

The question snapped the Padawan out of the trance immediately, he was on the defensive in the next second.

"Nothing!" He wrenched his wrist out of Obi-Wan's steady hold, none too kindly either, which had Obi-Wan's anxiety levels rocketing. This was a prime example of what he had been explaining to Qui-Gon, Anakin no longer shared things with him.

"Anakin, you can't keep what happened in there bottled up, everybody faces things which change them."

His words were meant to give some sort of comfort but from the stark horror spreading across Anakin's face he knew they were having the opposite effect now, what in the blazes could his Padawan have seen in there?

Anakin hung his head low before mumbling his desperate plea, "I know, Master, I just need some time to sort through things… can we just get out of here please?"

The boy's teeth chattered as he pleaded with Obi-Wan, the image effectively softened Obi-Wan's resolve and had him table any discussions for later. It was only fair that Anakin had a chance to make heads or tails of what he had just experienced, Obi-Wan could wait for answers if it was meant to be. In all fairness his Padawan could very well be suffering from a concussion, not to mention hypothermia.

He nodded in agreement which brought a genuine smile to Anakin's face, Obi-Wan understood the sentiment it was exceedingly cold on Ilum. He wistfully watched as Anakin moved to get changed into some dry clothes, calling after him to fetch the medical kit on his way back to the cockpit which of course was met with a groan. Obi-Wan hadn't missed the cut on his forehead and wouldn't let the wound go untreated, Anakin should have known that by now. He supposed the Padawan had rather a lot on his mind…

Obi-Wan sighed deeply before making his own way to the cockpit, leaving Ilum behind for hopefully at least another handful of years. He never liked making the trip here, facing oneself after all was the same as facing one's worst enemy.

He caught Qui-Gon's eye as he prepared the ship for take-off and couldn't help but catch the faintest look of alarm, of anxiety. Of course as soon as Obi-Wan noticed the emotion it was gone, that didn't fool him as to it's existence however he knew what he saw. Perhaps his own worries earlier had sunk in somewhat for the Jedi Master, he had now seen first hand what Obi-Wan meant about Anakin's unusual behaviour.

Perhaps though he was just feeling what Obi-Wan had witnessed in the force. Distantly on the edge of awareness Obi-Wan had felt on more than one occasion an oncoming storm, a wave of darkness and despair with one sole destination. Anakin.

So that's book 2 well and truly underway! I can't say for sure when the next part will be up as I'm currently starting uni again so very hectic atm! Hopefully when things calm down I can get back to my schedule of 1 chapter every week. Hope you all enjoyed the start!

Until next time...