Prologue: The Fire in the Night

"They really are amazing, aren't they?"

Obi-Wan watched Anakin stare at the party. The look on his face was one of complete adoration, a look Obi-Wan had only seen from his Padawan in the company of Padme Amidala previously. Now Anakin was directing the look at his children. The older Jedi smiled fondly.

He'd waited for so many years, hoping beyond reason and hating himself for it, and now here he was, standing with his Anakin again.

It was a pity they were both dead, but that was a minor detail.

"A large shift in the Force, there has been," Yoda announced.

"We know that, Master," Obi-Wan said, slightly testy. "No-one has ever escaped from the pull of the Dark Side before."

"And much that once could not be done, now possible, is," Yoda continued. "Things once dreamed of, now can come to pass."

"And is that the will of the Force?" Anakin asked, jaded and beaten down from years of suppressing his desires, either for the sake of the Jedi or by the Emperor's command.

"Young you are, and foolish I have been," Yoda admitted. "What has been, has been, but may yet now change."

Obi-Wan stared at the diminutive master, half-formed theories long discarded as not possible springing to mind. "What are you saying?"

"Another chance, given, may be," Yoda said. "Serve the Force, we have done, and no more can we do here. But serve again, elsewhere, you may yet." Yoda's sepulchral form started to fade. "Mistakes made, have been. Learn from them, we must. Fail, you must not."

"What did he mean, Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked, confused.

Obi-Wan looked over at Anakin. His Padawan had been his greatest pride and his greatest failure. He was a strong knight, a brilliant fighter, a loyal companion, and unfortunately an emotional mess. Obi-Wan had guided him into being an astounding knight, but a terrible Jedi. And worst of all, he'd given up Anakin for dead at the hands of Vader.

From what Yoda was implying, he might have a chance to redeem himself.

"Anakin…I know I don't have the right to ask this, but…will you trust me?"

Anakin tore his eyes from his son, his Luke, a bright beacon in the Force, and the more subtle hum of Leia, his daughter, who he'd once tortured. And the smuggler with an arm around his baby girl. Take a hike, Solo.

Obi-Wan was watching him, patient and sad and so worn down. They'd been together for thirteen years, and in that time they'd so rarely been completely and openly honest with each other. Maybe if they had been, it would have been different. "No, I don't trust you," Anakin said bluntly. "After everything…I want to, but I don't understand. Where did it all go wrong?" If anything of their friendship was to be salvaged, there would have to be no more lies, evasions or deceptions, just truth.

"I failed you, Anakin," Obi-Wan admitted. "We became attached to each other, and rather than confront the attachment, I chose to deny it. I blinded myself to our emotions and pushed you away when you needed my support. I know that you didn't completely trust me, and I know why; I never gave you any reason to believe I would help you against the Jedi Code. I am not…pleased with your relationship with Senator Amidala, but you should not have felt you had to hide it from me." The ghost sighed. "I can only ask that you forgive me my stiff-necked adherence to the Order's rulings where leniency should have been more appropriate."

Anakin mulled over Obi-Wan's words. He'd had twenty-five years to consider the issue – they both had – and inevitably there were similarities and differences in their conclusions. "I trusted the wrong person, put my pride above reason, and let my fear lead to destruction." He sank down on a fallen log, hugging his knees to his chest – a defensive posture his cyborg form had never allowed. "You know I know slavery from my childhood, but the Dark – you don't even realise how far you've gone, you can't see the chains because they're all in your mind. We talk about being instrument of the Force, but the Light cherishes us. The Dark consumes all that makes you you, until there's just a power-hungry shell. All I wanted was the power to save Padme, but when I got a taste of the power, I just wanted more."

Obi-Wan sat next to him. "But you gave it up. You came back."

"He relaxed his hold on me to focus on Luke," Anakin whispered. "Luke was reaching out – to me, to Leia, maybe to you and Yoda. I'd lost everything to the Dark, except him. It was only that that freed me."

Obi-Wan was studying him closely. "Are you going to be at risk of slipping back into the Dark?" he asked frankly.

Anakin scoffed. "I'm dead, Obi-Wan. I can't do much of anything."

"Humour me?" the older Jedi asked.

"I will never give myself over to the Dark Side," Anakin said vehemently. Then he deflated. "But I might…slip. From time to time. A little more each time…" he trailed off.

"Until you were back in its power," Obi-Wan whispered. "Would you trust me if I warned you of it?"

Anakin frowned. This line of questioning made no sense. Old paranoia, the belief that he was being played, rose in his chest. "Not if you're going to insist on keeping things from me," he growled.

Obi-Wan frowned, then blinked. "My apologies. I did not intend to appear so. There is a theory Qui-Gon and I discussed, and I was trying to determine if it was wise."

"What theory? I can't take any more deceptions or omissions."

"Of course, of course. I quite agree. We were discussing, and Master Yoda seems to think we now can achieve…time travel."