OH MY GOSH I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU GUYS TO READ THIS CHAPTER! (Yes, I know it's long haha) By the way, I think you guys know by now that when I say get the tissues, it means, GET THE TISSUES!
You might want those tissues possibly. I'm more confident you'll want those tissues for the next chapter, but some of you might want it for this one too hehehe, I'm so excited to finally get this chapter on here! Thank you for the reviews, I'm glad you've given Anakin's new tuk'ata friend a warm welcome, cause it's gonna show up a lot in this story hehe. Not excessively though! Please continue to review, I want to hear your opinion on this chapter! Enjoy!

(Altered Timeline)

"You're kidding me, right? You're joking?"

Luke scowled darkly at Galen. "No, I just said we were going to crash land to see if you were paying any attention. Now help me out with this, I'd prefer we don't die in this landing."

Galen shot him an equally dark look but sat in the co-pilot's chair. Ever since they had left Korriban's atmosphere, things had been tense between the two. Luke wanted to go back for his father, but Galen wouldn't let him.

Now, however, both of them were focused on the problem at hand.

"Why are we crashing?" Galen asked in a frustrated voice.

"Well, if someone had let me enter the coordinates and hadn't rushed me, I'm sure that we wouldn't be having this problem."

"Incorrect navi-computer coordinates. Who would have guessed," Galen grumbled.

"Grab that: try to keep us steady," Luke said sourly, hands flying over the controls as he ran through the list in his head of what to do. The red light flashed, serving to give him an unwelcome reminder that he was hard pressed to keep them both alive. If only he had more maneuvering room to fix the mistake before the worst could happen…

The planet appeared all too soon for Luke's liking, filling his view at a rapid pace as they punched through the atmosphere. Clouds blocked his view of the ground as he struggled to try and slow them down to ease the oncoming impact they couldn't avoid.

"Hold on!" he warned as the ground rushed towards them. Luke's mind registered prairies and mountains as he pulled the ship up to avoid a full on dive into the planet. Both boys were flown forward as the ship collided with the planet, and Luke yelped as his head slammed into something metal. Gradually the ship slowed to a stop, and Luke had the distant feeling that the ship was totaled as his vision blurred, his head swimming. He managed one last thought before he blacked out.

Well we just ended up in another lovely situation…

Anakin had no idea how much time had passed before he finally climbed out of the tuk'ata den.

"Nydri, come…" he hissed silently behind him once he was sure that the Terentatek was nowhere in sight.

The young tuk'ata slunk out of the den's entrance, coming to a silent stop at Anakin's side. To pass the time, Anakin had worked on getting the tuk'ata to understand Basic. So far, she (as he had also come to discover the young tuk'ata's gender and give her a name) understood his name, his son's name, his daughter's name, Galen's name, Padme's name, and Obi-Wan's name. She also knew Sidious' names and recognized him to be a bad person, someone to be connected with death and pain. He'd spent time describing each person that he had taught her so that she could recognize them. Lastly, he'd taught her some basic commands in Basic.

Thinking of how much Nydri knew now, Anakin had to admit that he had probably been in that den far longer than he might have first suspected.

"Good girl," he murmured in the Sith Language, stroking her head gently. Now that they were standing up outside of the den, Anakin could judge how grown she was. She came up to his waist; not nearly fully grown for a tuk'ata, but still rather large already.

He weaved a little, weary. He'd been sitting too long, and considering he also had several untreated wounds, he was also very weak. Still, he couldn't stay in that den forever.

Nydri wined softly, nudging his hand with her nose and peering up at him in worry. He smiled back at her.

"I'm alright Nydri, don't worry about me," he said gently.

She didn't seem to believe him, but stayed by his side as Anakin took ginger steps, sticking to the canyon wall to stay out of the open and in the shadows. Exhaustion weighed him down, but he kept walking, even though he stumbled here and there, walking wherever the Force took him. Nydri stayed beside him the entire time, her black eyes scanning the surrounding canyon walls.

There was a snarl above him and a large, fully grown tuk'ata pounced on him from above. As he hit the ground, he cursed himself for not paying more attention to his surroundings.

Teeth snapped at his neck, threatening to tear into the exposed flesh as the beasts claws dug into his sides, inflicting deep gouges all over his torso. However, Anakin heard a vicious snarl off to his left, and the fully grown tuk'ata suddenly disappeared.

Gasping for breath, Anakin turned his head to see Nydri and the other tuk'ata viciously fighting right next to him. He painfully rolled over and pushed himself up, staggering to the wall to lean on it for support.

Nydri, although smaller and younger, was winning the fight. She had used her size to her advantage, and was currently on her back under the other tuk'ata, her jaws clamped on the other tuk'ata's throat, snarling the entire time. The flipped it over so she was on top, and held it down until it was no longer moving.

Anakin slowly slid down the cavern wall, panting as he gingerly felt his wounds. His hands came back slick in blood. As if he hadn't already lost enough: if he didn't get treatment he was sure he would pass out and possibly die from blood loss at this rate.

Nydri slunk up to him, whimpering in concern and licking his face as if asking for him to get up. Anakin gave her a wan smile, gently scratching under her chin.

"It would probably be best if we found somewhere to stay until help arrives, wouldn't it Nydri? We probably shouldn't have left the den," he murmured to her, gathering his strength. She nuzzled under his arm as he slowly got up, seeming to attempt to help him up.

He sighed as he leaned against the wall, shaking his head for a moment. "I bet you're going to be keeping me safe while we're here, aren't you Nydri?"

In response, she walked right at his side, and he kept his hand on her head as he slowly trudged on through the canyon.

I am not having a good day.

This simple thought went around and around in Galen's head as he dragged his friend's limp form from the wreckage of the ship, muttering any curses that came to mind.

First it had been the memories of an oppressive life as a Sith Apprentice, complete with betrayal by his master and only seeing the light in the end. Then they'd learned that the infamous and extremely dangerous Darth Sidious had somehow returned. Then it had been leaving his best friend's father on Korriban. Now they had crash landed Force-knew-where and Luke was unconscious and injured.

I am not having a good day.

He paused to sling Luke over his shoulder, phasing from his curses in Basic to curses in the Sith Language he had just recently discovered he could speak with these new memories from the other timeline. He trudged through the tall prairie grass, ignoring the shooting pain in his side where he'd collided with the ship's controls as they'd crashed.

Maybe we'll be lucky, and find out that this is a populated planet. There's got to be someone here that can get us to Coruscant…

Galen sighed as he stopped at a small river not too far from where they'd crashed, lying Luke down on the ground right next to the running water. He had a nasty cut down the side of his head that was matted with drying blood.

At least the bleeding's already stopping.

With a small shake of his head, Galen started to carefully wash Luke's wound, praying that the damage wasn't anything serious. When he was sure that the wound wouldn't start bleeding again, he checked himself over to be sure he wasn't seriously hurt anywhere.

Once he was done, Galen propped his arm up on his knee, watching Luke closely while he tried to figure out where they were.

The navi-computer coordinates had been incorrect, so they could be anywhere. However the trip had been short, so they couldn't have gotten that far. Considering the vegetation and water source, the planet was probably populated. Surely someone would have seen their ship crash…

Luke groaned and Galen straightened up, sighing once more before he spoke, putting a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Luke, can you hear me?"

Luke's eyes fluttered open and focused on him. "What happened?" he mumbled, barely coherent.

"You hit your head pretty hard when we crashed. You'll be alright though."

Luke groaned and sat up, a hand on his head. "Do you know where we are?"

Galen shook his head. "No clue. Though I'm sure there's someone somewhere here. We just got to find them."

Luke groaned a little once more, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before he spoke again. "Well we better get going, shouldn't we?"

Galen frowned. "Don't you think you should rest a little first?"

Luke pushed himself up onto his feet, shooting Galen a brief glare. "I'd like to be able to get my father off of that kriffing planet as soon as possible, so no; I won't rest…not until he's safe."

Galen felt a pang of guilt go through him as Luke started trudging away, dragging himself to his feet as he watched Luke's retreated back wearily. He could sense the pain and worry under his friend's anger, but it still hurt that Luke was pinning the abandonment of Anakin on Korriban on Galen. All he'd done was followed orders; and he had also known that Anakin had stayed behind to give them a chance. Luke, however, seemed to be blind to that point because of the worry over his father.

I can't really blame him…I'd probably be worried too if it had been my father we left on that Force-forsaken planet…

With a sigh, Galen followed Luke through the prairie and away from the crash site. If they were lucky, they would stumble across something or someone that would tell them where they were.

"What's that up there?"

Luke glanced ahead of them at the city that was in the distance, smiling a little to himself. "Our ticket off of this planet," he told Galen.

Towering, glistening white buildings could be seen, as well as speeders actively going from place to place. "Well, apparently we're somewhere largely populated. Any guesses?" Galen asked.

Luke shrugged. "Well, we're not on Mandalore obviously, not Yavin, not Felucia...Taanab is a good possibility, but I don't think that's where we are…"

"Well, I'm sure we can ask someone in the city. Then we can figure out a way back to Coruscant."

Luke stiffened just a little. "Yeah…Coruscant…"

The two made their way into the city, eyes scanning their surroundings as they walked along. Galen lightly grasped the arm of a man passing by to get his attention.

"Could you tell us where we are? Our ship crashed a little ways out of town and we're trying to find a way to Coruscant."

The man chuckled a little. "You wouldn't be the first to crash on this planet. You're on Centares, right on the Hydian Way. In Muracie City more specifically, the capital of Centares. Finding passage to Coruscant shouldn't be much of a problem here, especially since Hydian Way goes right into Coruscant."

Galen nodded and released the man's arm. "Thank you," he muttered before turning to Luke. "At least we had some sort of luck. We'll be able to make it back to Coruscant in no time at all. We've just got to find a pilot who will be willing to take us there…"

Luke shrugged. "Why not check out the local cantinas? If this is a spot along a direct route to Coruscant, there's bound to be plenty of them making a pit stop for a drink."

Galen smirked. "I suppose you're right. At least we won't have to worry about being stuck on this planet longer than we want to be."

Luke smirked just slightly, not really too concerned about getting back to Coruscant. He had other things in mind. "Well first you have to find a pilot Galen."

"Of course…here, let's try the cantina down there," Galen said, pointing towards a cantina near the far end of the street.

"But we'll go by all of these ones! We could miss a good deal," Luke exclaimed with a frown.

Galen shook his head. "I've just got a feeling, how about that?"

Luke sighed, relenting and following after him. "If you say so…"

Galen's eyes scanned the cantina for a few minutes as he walked into the building. There were all sorts of people there, ranging from some rather shady looking characters to regal, commanding people as well. His eyes drifted from face to face, not entirely sure what he was looking for. All he knew was that he was looking for someone…and that he would know who he was looking for when he saw them.

"Well, are we going to start asking people or what?" Luke asked from behind him.

Galen rolled his eyes. Luke's attitude was already starting to get on his nerves. He'd never been one to necessarily have a good temper. "Relax Luke, I know what I'm doing, I just—"

Galen abruptly stopped talking as he finally spotted who he was looking for.

"Galen? Galen?" Luke was asking. Galen ignored him.

She sat in a corner, feet propped up on a chair as she sipped from her drink, eyes scanning the room around her. She had a nonchalant yet commanding air to her, a presence demanding respect. Without thinking Galen crossed the room, right up to her. Luke trailed after him, trying unsuccessfully to get a response on what was going on.

Her blonde hair fell to the side of her face as Galen approached, doing his best not to faulter as he was hit by her blue eyed gaze. Her eyes widened a little in shock when she saw him, and she didn't speak as he slid into the seat across from her.

"We're looking for passage to Coruscant, me and my friend. You wouldn't happen to know anyone we could ask, would you?" Galen said smoothly, holding her gaze.

She studied him for a moment before she slowly set her glass down. "Passage isn't a problem here. It's getting a good deal that's the problem."

Galen smiled a little. "Then who should we ask?"

"I can provide passage for the right price," she said with a small smile herself.

"Price isn't a problem," Galen said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

The woman shrugged. "Alright then. The names J—"

"Juno Eclipse…I know."

Juno froze, eyes flickering over Galen's face rapidly as she tried to figure out how he could possibly know. "How did you…"

Galen sat back in his chair, eyeing her closely for several moments. He weighed his words before he spoke in even tones. "The same way you know who I am."

Luke glanced between the two of them with a mildly amused look on his face. "I'll leave you two alone," he said with a shake of his head, walking to the other side of the cantina.

Juno studied Galen a few moments longer. "Galen Marek…code-name Starkiller?"

Galen waved his hand once again. "Not in this life, no. It's just Galen Marek here. I am no Sith."

Juno shook her head. "Another life? I thought it was all just one strange dream I couldn't get out of my head…I thought I was going insane…"

Galen sighed. "You're not the only one. Apparently things happened in the Republic years ago that no one knows about…it's difficult to explain, and even I only know so much."

Juno chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment, thinking. "If I give you passage, I want answers, no matter how confusing you think it will be. Alright? That's my price."

Galen smiled a little. "A price I'm willing to pay."

The three left the cantina together, though Luke lagged behind a little. Apparently this Juno Eclipse was someone from Galen's other life, and the two had hit it off really well. Luke couldn't help but feel a little left out, though at the same time he really didn't mind. As he ambled after them, his mind wandered back to his father, still on Korriban. He prayed to the Force that his father was still alive.

Hang in there father, I'll come back for you, I promise.

"Come on Luke."

Luke snapped out of his thoughts as Galen called to him from the ramp of a ship on the landing pad. He gave Galen a thin smile, not moving any closer to the ship. "I'm not going to Coruscant."

Galen stared at him for a few moments, and Luke saw Juno pause from where she was in the ship. "What do you mean you're not going?" Galen asked. "How hard did you hit your head Luke?"

"I'm not going with you to Coruscant. You can deliver the message to the Council, whatever it is, yourself. I'm going back for my father," Luke said smoothly. He'd made up his mind a long time ago.

Galen was only silent for a few moments as he processed what Luke had said. "No, you're coming with me to Coruscant. You are not going back to Korriban on your own. Besides, you don't have a way there Luke."

Luke shook his head. "I got my own transport to Korriban while you were talking to Juno. I'm going back Galen. You go on ahead and get that important message to the Council. I am going back for my father."

Galen swiftly descended the ramp as Luke turned away from him, already walking away. "Luke, you are not going! I will pull rank if I have to! You are still a Padawan and I'm a Knight: you're not going!" he nearly shouted, grasping Luke's arm.

Luke yanked his arm out of Galen's grip. "You might be a Knight, but you are not my Master. My Master is my father, the same person that is stranded on Korriban right now. I'm going Galen, and you're not going to stop me!"

Before Galen could come up with another argument, Luke tore away, his anger shimmering in the air around him as he left Galen behind.

The shifty fellow he'd spotted in the cantina nodded to Luke as Luke boarded his ship.

I will not leave my father on that planet a moment longer.

Anakin weakly dragged along the canyon wall, barely holding himself up as he stumbled along. His head pounded, his throat was dry, and he ached in several different places. He didn't know if he'd stopped bleeding by now; he'd stopped keeping track after a while.

Nydri whined once more and Anakin shook his head. "I know Nydri…I…I need to stop and rest…I just don't…want to stop out in the open…" he panted.

The Valley of the Dark Lords came back into view on the next turn and Anakin grimaced. Of course I would end up back here, he thought darkly. But I don't think I can make a trip to shelter anywhere else.

Nydri growled low in her throat and Anakin gently stroked the top of her head, his eyes falling on a crumbling tomb that he didn't sense any tuk'ata roaming in. "Come on Nydri…" he muttered in Basic.

With every step he grew wearier, his vision swimming, and by the time he had ducked through the half-collapsed door he was stumbling. He took a one last step, and his leg collapsed underneath him. With a gasp, Anakin gathered his breath, his head pounding. He tried to push up into a kneeling position at the least, but a hiss right in front of him caused him to freeze, raising his eyes slowly.

He was face to face with a tense, ready to strike Hssiss.

Anakin's breathing came short and fast. He tried to get up slowly and away from the creature, but it only served to agitate it, and it threatened to bite him, its hissing intensifying. Anakin could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He could not get bit by this thing; he could not let himself become poisoned by Sith Poison.

The Hssiss tensed even more, and Anakin prepared himself in case the entire thing went sour. "Nydri!"

Nydri pounced the same time that the Hssiss shot out at Anakin, and Anakin rolled away with the little strength he still possessed, coming to a stop with his back against the wall. He watched Nydri hold the Hssiss in her jaws until it stopped moving. She trotted over to Anakin, dropping the Hssiss at his feet.

"Good girl," he rasped, pushing himself up into a sitting position against the wall. Nydri whined once more, lying down with her head in his lap, gazing at him in worry. She had bonded rather well with him in such a short amount of time. Perhaps she knew that her parents were dead…

Anakin sighed, leaning his head against the wall and fighting off unconsciousness as waves of exhaustion rolled over him. If he fell asleep, he didn't know if he would ever wake up. Nydri's gentle whimpering served to keep him awake, though he hated hearing the sound, knowing she was concerned for him.

Surprisingly, it was Nydri's sudden ferocious growling that alarmed Anakin that he was not alone, not his own sensitivity to the Force.

He remained in his sitting position, knowing that despite the danger, he did not possess the strength to get away. As the footsteps came closer with a seemingly deadly precision in their steps, Anakin let his eyelids slowly flutter open to fall on the man approaching him.

Anakin almost didn't recognize him. He was younger than when he'd last laid eyes on him; much younger than when he'd first laid eyes on him. His hair was firey red and smoothed down, sticking close to his scalp. Few wrinkles showed on his face as he was young and agile. It was the vivid, shimmering yellow eyes that had once been pale blue, the dark, suffocating air all around him, and the regal way that the man walked that gave him away. As well as his voice.

"Thought you'd seen the last of me long ago Anakin, didn't you?"

"Sidious," Anakin spat. At the name, Nydri rose to her feet, bristling and hissing at the Sith Lord as Sidious slowly crept closer, taking his time.

Sidious grinned. "Funny how I find you here…weak…alone…powerless…completely at my mercy…"

Anakin narrowed his eyes at Sidious. "If you're going to kill me Sidious you might as well get on with it. I'm in no mood for your games." Nydri coiled, ready to pounce on the Sith Lord, but Anakin placed a hand on her back. "Nydri, no…stay out of this…stay over there."

Anakin nodded over towards a corner away from Sidious and him, and Nydri whimpered, slinking reluctantly over to the corner at Anakin's stern gaze. Sidious was cackling as Anakin turned his attention back to him.

"I see you've embraced your Sith nature recently Anakin! And to think, you were once so adamant to have nothing to do with the Sith!"

Anakin scowled. "I've accepted that I was a Sith in another time, with another choice, in another life: I am not a Sith in this life Sidious; and I never will be. Now as I said: if you plan on killing me, go ahead and do it, there's no point in wasting my time."

Sidious' face changed into a snarl. "I have no wish to kill you Anakin…not yet, not now." He paused, his sinister smile dancing across his face. "This recent merging in the time zones has been most fortunate for me…I know how pathetic of an apprentice you would make now; how much of a failure and how weak you truly are. But it's also given me some very valuable insight…"

Anakin's eyes narrowed from his seat on the floor. "What are you saying?"

Sidious chuckled. "I know a fate worse than death for you Anakin, though death does come into play down the road. And this merge has given me certain keys to allow me to carry out my plan for you. For instance, you stuck here right now! It's just what I need…"

Anakin braced himself, somehow knowing—probably from his life as Vader—what was coming a split moment before Sidious lifted his hand. The lightning crackled to life in his hands before it shot out, snaking the length of the floor before swallowing Anakin in its agony. He screamed despite himself, unable to stand the raw pain when his body was already so injured and weak as he found himself flat on his stomach from the pain. His voice cracked and Sidious paused to relish in Anakin's anguish, giving him a moment to gather his breath. But only a moment.

The lightning sprung to life again, and once more Anakin's screams echoed around the room, joined with Sidious' mad laughter and Nydri's whimpering from the corner.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!" Anakin screamed out.

The lightning ended, and Anakin went limp, panting for air. Sidious grabbed him in a brief Force choke, cutting off his air completely for a moment as he threw Anakin into the wall. He heard a sickening crack as his skull collided with the thick stone of the wall, slumping weakly to the floor. Sidious rolled him over on his back before stamping hard on the wound on his arm where the tuk'ata had bit him not that long ago. Anakin screamed again in agony, gritting his teeth in an attempt to stop the sound.

"Revenge Skywalker. Not just for this life, but for the other as well. Twice your family has thwarted me. Twice you have been the cause of my death. If I had not taken the precaution to have my own clones developed over time when your wonderful son appeared twenty-three years ago I would not have this chance to make you pay. That's why my return has taken so long. I've been lying in wait, first for the proper technology to arise that would allow my servants to create my new body, then for that same body to mature to the appropriate age. Now it's only been a matter of when you come to me. I will not be stopped this time, especially not when I have my new apprentice."

"If you still think I'd join you—" Anakin cut off as Sidious constricted his throat once more.

"Foolish boy! I do not want you! I know how miserable of a failure you truly are! What I want from you is your pain, your suffering, your death!"

Anakin tried to struggle away from Sidious as he brought out a syringe full of who knew what from deep within the folds of his cloak, slamming him against the wall in front of him. "You will know true pain Skywalker…I will make you beg for death, for mercy, for release from your endless suffering…and do you know how I'm going to do it?"

Anakin felt the sharp pain lace through him as Sidious jammed the needle deep in his neck unremorsefully, injecting the mysterious substance into Anakin's bloodstream. As he pulled out the needle, Sidious leaned in close.

"I'm going to take your precious son from you," he hissed in Anakin's ear.

Sidious dropped Anakin to the floor, smirking at Anakin as he tried and failed to do more than pull his arm to him. He couldn't move, and he fought the unconsciousness that threatened to take him for Force knew how long.

The last thing Anakin heard was the sound of tumbling rocks before something struck his already throbbing head and the world went black.

(Original Timeline)

"Luke! Luke! Kriff kid, speak to me!"

Luke clutched at his head, teeth grit, tears streaming down his face. Han had caught him when he had collapsed from the sudden brutally vivid vision that fell over him, and was currently holding up his limp form. Every now and then Luke would take in a rattling gasp for air, what sounded like a sob fighting its way through his clenched teeth. Leia stood nervously beside her brother, anxious for him to open his eyes and tell them what was happening.

Finally, Luke's eyes cracked open, and he slowly came back to the world around him. He took shakey breathes, tears still streaming down from his eyes.

"Luke, are you alright?" Han asked in exasperation.

Luke shook his head no in response, unable to speak.

"What's wrong kid? You got to open your mouth and tell me, you can't just shake your head, you've got to tell me what's going on."

Luke braced himself against the floor, taking deep breaths, feeling as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He leaned over, taking deep breaths. He wasn't going to throw up this time, he wouldn't. He shook his head frantically, hoping that Han would understand he couldn't speak right now.

Han sighed, rubbing Luke's back gently. "Just breathe kid, take your time if you need it…"

Leia crouched beside Luke, tilting his head back so she could look him in his eyes. The pain she saw there was more than she would like to see, he knew it was. "Luke…please tell us what's going on."

Luke let out a shaky breath, more tears leaking out. "Sidious—the Emperor—has…he has F-father, and he was torturing him…he wants to turn me to the dark side for revenge and to make him suffer…" Luke couldn't help the wave of anger that washed through him for a moment and he clenched his fists. "And I don't know why I'm the one getting these visions when I can't do anything because we're all still in this time!" he cried out in exasperation. He could tell he'd startled both of them with the intensity of his emotion: he hadn't been this unhinged in a long time. Usually he had so much more control!

Luke pushed himself up, shaking off Han's hand when Han tried to set him back down. "I need…I need to go meditate…I need to focus…get control again…"

"You need to rest kid: you're shaking and you look like you're about to be sick."

Luke shook his head, leaning against the wall only momentarily to gather himself before he pushed himself forward. "I need to figure out if there really is anything I can do…I can't just sit here and do nothing!"

With that he pushed on down the hall straight for his room without looking back.

The door slid shut behind him, and he collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. He lay there for a few moments, taking several breaths as he tried to get control of himself once more. He tried to dispel everything he had seen from his mind.

Unfortunately, Luke had seen everything from when his bloodied and worn father had stumbled into the tomb to when Sidious had dropped him to the floor after revealing his plans. It killed him to know he couldn't do anything, that he was stuck here while the other him wandered into a trap.

Don't think about that now Luke…right now you need to clear your mind and focus. See if you can get in contact with Ben and Yoda.

He wearily pushed himself up from the bed, running a hand through his hair before he assumed the familiar meditational pose, taking the deep soothing breaths to clear his mind. He shakily stretched out his senses, prodding at the Force as he searched for guidance.

You're deeply troubled Luke…it seems your emotions are betraying you.

Luke couldn't help but smile just slightly at the familiar voice. There's…a lot going on Ben…

You're worried about your father in the other time?

Luke grimaced but nodded. Yes…Obi-Wan, why am I getting these visions if I can't do anything about it?

I believe that the merge is coming a lot sooner than you think Luke.

Luke felt his hopes soar for a moment before he tempered them, trying to avoid getting ahead of himself. You mean I might be able to stop this from happening? Whatever it is that Sidious is planning…

I'm sure that you will have some sort of effect on what is to happen…but I cannot be sure, you must know that. The dark side is clouding everything going on right now, making it hard to tell…but I do know that there is hope. Patience Luke: take your time, don't rush into anything. I have the feeling that this might be a harder challenge for you than when you went back to save your father.

Luke sighed and nodded. Yes Ben…do you know when the times will merge Ben?

When you least expect it Luke. Though you must be prepared. I sense things will be different with you than with everyone else…I sense Sidious plans on tampering with your merge. Be careful, and be ready.

May the Force be with you Luke…may the Force be with us all…