"Luke needs my help?" Anakin asked, echoing Qui-Gon's words. "What's wrong?"

"Someone close to him is turning toward the dark side," Obi-Wan replied. "Luke senses it, but love and loyalty keep him from acting."

"Who is it?"

"One of your grandchildren."

Qui-Gon stepped forward. "I'd take you to meet him, if you are willing."

Anakin was suddenly overcome with a sense of foreboding.

"It's better if I don't come," Obi-Wan cautioned. "I'd be too easy to recognize."

"May I ask where we are going?" Anakin asked, knitting his brow as Qui-Gon held out the gold rod.

"To the Jedi Temple."

"Again?"

"To the rebuilt Jedi Temple … decades after the death of Emperor Palpatine."

Reluctantly grasping the rod, Anakin was weighed down by a mounting sense of dread.

"We're there," Qui-Gon whispered, as if to avoid being heard.

Warily, Anakin looked about him. Robed figures walked purposefully through familiar halls, unaware of their presence. Nothing seemed amiss, but… suddenly he felt cold. They were in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. A few Jedi meditated in secluded spots within the vast greenhouse, amidst the rock ledges and tumbling waters. Yet he saw…no…There!

Sitting on a bench among the assari trees were two barely visible figures, a veiled figure in a dark tunic and pants, along with a man in modified Jedi garb. The tension between the pair was palpable. Anakin strained to hear their conversation over the water rushing past a huge boulder nearby. "Did you arrange for that bombing to happen?" the man asked.

"I don't need to create chaos, Jacen," his companion, clearly a woman, replied. "People are only too willing to do it for themselves."

Anakin trembled like a wolf scenting its quarry. He recognized that energy clearly now. This woman was a Sith. But how, here in the Jedi Temple? What was she after?

"Let's take a walk," her Jedi companion suggested. They rose and strolled toward the main lobby. Both the man and the woman were concentrating on creating a Force illusion around her, so that her presence as a Sith was not evident to the Jedi among whom she walked.

Anakin stretched out in the Force, focusing on the Sith. What was she doing here? Then he sensed the presence of his son Luke nearby. Suddenly, with absolute certainty, Anakin knew that the focus of this pair was on Luke. Helplessly, he hurried toward them, projecting his laser-like attention on the female Sith.

Luke was striding toward them, approaching through the passage that connected the main lobby to the high council chamber. Anakin stared, taking a moment to grasp what he saw. Even though Luke's energy was instantly recognizable, he was now decades older. As Luke came nearer, Anakin sensed the Sith come to full alert. Instinctively Anakin stepped between them, creating a confused middle ground, muddying the energy so that neither could get a clear sense of the other. Passing the couple, Luke merely acknowledged the man with a preoccupied nod.

"Good morning Uncle," the Sith's companion said.

"Hello, Jacen," Luke nodded, barely glancing at the veiled woman as he hurried by. "Morning, Ma'am."

"Who's that?!" Anakin asked, watching the pair preparing to follow Luke outside.

"You know the woman," Qui-Gon replied. "Clear your mind and you'll recognize her."

"Lumiya!" Anakin gasped.

"Yes," Qui-Gon affirmed.

"She survived?" Anakin asked, frowning. "Last time I saw her, she was more cyborg than human. Without the Emperor's medical facilities, I would have thought…."

"She managed to maintain control of some imperial forces after the Battle of Endor, enough to maintain herself and give her a base of operations. With Vader and the Emperor dead, she gave herself the title of Dark Lady of the Sith."

Involuntarily Anakin closed his fist, then opened it, remembering the feel of his own cybernetic hand. "So, what is she doing here?"

"Her companion, the one who called Luke 'Uncle', was formerly Luke's apprentice. He is Leia's son Jacen. Of your four grandchildren, he is the one who most resembles you."

"What is he doing with the Sith?"

"She has been trying to persuade him that he can use the dark side without being corrupted. Lumiya argues that he can use Sith teachings to bring peace to a war-torn galaxy."

"Why did they come here?"

"Jacen was testing Lumiya, to see if she could resist the chance to attack Luke, if she were given the chance to catch him off guard."

With a snort, Anakin turned aside. "Why didn't Luke sense her presence?"

"His duties as the Jedi Grand Master have weighed Luke down, distracting him. Even a Jedi can only focus on a limited number of things at once. Jacen has been able focus more on just developing his own skills as a Force user."

"I notice you said 'Force user' not 'Jedi'."

"Jacen has become restive. His desires go beyond what the Jedi Order allows."

"But what can I do?"

"Jacen's motivations grow out of feelings that are not much affected by logic. You may be able to sense what it is that Jacen needs … boost is ability to resist Lumiya."

"And if I can't?"

"You saw what Jacen did today, bringing Lumiya into the Jedi Temple, then hiding her presence from Luke… If Jacen continues on this path, the danger of violence will grow…"

Anakin winced. "I assume there is more you want to show me..."

Silently Qui-Gon held out the gold rod. This time the journey was brief. A moment later Anakin found himself standing in the empty Jedi Council chamber in the late evening. He looked questioningly at Qui-Gon, who point toward an area close by, where the air seemed thicker.

"What…?" Anakin began.

But, as he focused his attention, a ghost-like figure materialized. It was the same man they had seen earlier with Lumiya. Anakin now saw the family resemblance. So this was Leia's son…Jacen...

"Flow walking," Qui-Gon murmurred. "He's listening to a conversation that took place right here in this room, but in the past. If you clear your mind, you can hear what he is hearing."

With an effort, Anakin silenced his own emotional tumult and opened himself to the energies around him. With a jolt, he realized that the discussion Jacen had tuned into was about a young perspective Padawan … Anakin Skywalker. He recognized the voices.

"So is he the Chosen One?"

"Qui-Gon believes so."

"But what do we believe?"

"Skywalker is exceptional, but he is past the age of being trained."

"But is he the Chosen One?"

"If he is, then training him becomes irrelevant. He will either find his path or not."

"A logical argument you make, but direction is needed."

"Who would train him? Perhaps nobody can take on the challenge."

"But if we do not train him, regret it we may."

"None of us can take on a Padawan. We have more pressing problems to deal with."

With bitterness, Anakin recognized the last voice as that of Mace Windu. The Council was abdicating the responsibility for providing guidance to a gifted young Force-user, leaving the inexperienced Obi-Wan to struggle on as best he could.

Then the scene shifted. Jacen had apparently directed his attention elsewhere. This time, there were not only voices but also images from the past. Standing in the center of the chamber, was Anakin saw himself as a young man. He was arguing with Mace Windu and Yoda.

"Allow this appointment lightly, the Council does not. Disturbing is this move by Chancellor Palpatine. "

"You are on this council, but we do not grant you the rank of Master."

"What? How can you do this? This is outrageous! It's unfair! I'm more powerful than any of you. How can you be on the Council and not be a Master?"

The anger he had once felt seemed, again, to course through Anakin's veins. Helpless fury at being dismissed, barely tolerated, handicapped by lack of training… it all came rushing back. If the Chosen One had been able to perfect his powers under the tutelage of a Master other than the corrupt Palpatine…

With a jolt, Anakin realized that Jacen was reacting similarly to the scene they had both witnessed. A sense of kinship with Leia's son welled up in him. He had no idea why Jacen was investigating events long past, but sensed in him an echo of Anakin's own youthful aloneness. Yearningly, he watched Jacen leave the Council chamber, becoming clearly visible in the hall.

"What did he…?" Anakin asked in surprise.

"To avoid being seen while in the Council chamber, he withdrew his Force presence into himself. Even to us, he seemed ghost-like. But it took intense concentration to both hide his presence and walk backward through the flow of time. He could only do it for so long."

Anakin had the impulse to follow Jacen, but Qui-Gon held him back. "We need to talk," he insisted.

"About what?" Anakin asked impatiently.

"Jacen seems to be retracing your steps."

"Back then, you were my advocate!" Anakin growled, eyes flashing. He was reluctant to revisit events that still burned like fire whenever he allowed himself to recall them.

Qui-Gon's gaze was full of compassion. "I brought you here, aware that it could reawaken dangerous resentments. But my hope was that you could…."

"Read Jacen's mind?" Anakin asked impatiently. "He's curious. What of it?"

"I'll show you." Qui-Gon held out the gold rod. For a moment, Anakin stood frozen. Stiffly he touched the rod. Moments later he was, once again, staring at his grandson's ghost-like form as Jacen silently viewed a scene from Anakin's own life. They were still inside the Jedi Temple. However, the unfolding scene was one of unparalleled horror.

A young blond Jedi was marching into the temple with his light saber drawn, flanked by troops in white armor. The muscles in the Jedi's jaw twitched with a dread and determination that Anakin could viscerally feel. As he watched, Anakin's whole being seemed to emit a silent shriek: "No!" But, his former self marched on, leading clones who continually raised weapons, fired, turned and fired again. Nearby, Jacen's ghost-like form watched, transfixed.

Overcome with loathing, Anakin felt a desperate, terrified sense of loss. How could he ever have imagined that Padmé's love would survive this? In agony, he watched younglings approach his former self, scared but clutching their training light sabers, telling the young Jedi that there were too many soldiers for them to drive off. Staring down at them, Anakin felt the absolute desolation, mixed with shame and grief, that had filled him as he drew his light saber.

Had he ever really believed that he could bring peace to the galaxy in this way? In agony, Anakin turned away. Oddly, he sense in Jacen an outpouring of love, a sense of identification with the desolation Anakin felt. Then the vision faded and Jacen withdrew.

Anakin stood rooted to the spot, despair throbbing through him. "How could I ever have…?" he gasped in a broken voice.

"By hugging to you all the insults you'd suffered, your anger and resentment. Your desperate fear of losing Padmé was the match that ignited all that fuel, sparking an inferno."

Although Qui-Gon's voice was gentle the, words cut deep. Anakin remembered the intense frustration of having to adjust to the disciplined Jedi way of life, the loneliness of leaving his mother, the doubts he had hidden behind a posture of supreme confidence.

"Of course, I played my part," Qui-Gon continued ruefully, "I bought into the old myth about the 'Chosen One'. That gave the Jedi an excuse to treat you differently. That gave you a reason to believe that age-ole spiritual laws did not apply to you."

"What laws?" Anakin demanded, desperate to change the subject.

"What we see is determined by where we turn out attention. Our reactions to what we see are given power by the emotional energy we pump into them. Palpatine misled you but, in the end, it was you who hypnotized yourself into believing the actions you took were necessary."

"Hypnotized?" Anakin snorted.

"By focusing so profoundly on avoiding one possible future, you lost the ability to see anying else. Just like Jacen is beginning to do now."

"So what is it that Jacen fears?"

"He grew up surrounded by war. So he thirsts for peace."

"Sounds like an admirable goal."

"Except he thinks that he, personally, will bring it about."

"So?" Anakin queried, feeling protective of his grandson.

"Spurts of violence burst out, much like spontaneous combustion in the physical world. External conditions may exacerbate it, but conflict is generated by the simmering emotions of sentients, by the projection of their subjective perceptions onto the galaxy. Jacen can't stop that."

"You're saying war is inevitable?"

"I'm saying that, although external conditions can be improved, war can be stopped only when sentients evolve to where they don't see lashing out as a way of solving problems."

"That's not going to happen any time soon!"

"Yes. That's what made the myth of the Chosen One so dangerous. It encouraged us to believe that there might be a short cut… an easy answer."

"I'm surprised to hear you saying 'us'."

"I also yearned for an end to the insanity of never-ending war. That's why I reacted as I did when I thought I had found the Chosen One. But insanity can only be cured from within."

"And that's where you hope I will help Jacen."

"Yes. Luke has tried. Just as Obi-Wan earlier struggled to connect with you. In both cases, the difference in life experience was too great. Jacen feels Luke just doesn't understand."

Woodenly, Anakin nodded. "I no idea what I can do, but … I can try…"

The sudden warmth of Qui-Gon's smile caught Anakin by surprise. "There is one bit of news I did not share earlier," his old mentor added. "Obi-Wan's mother reports that Padmé is no longer in seclusion. She is working with the same younglings you just observed."

"But…?!?"

Qui-Gon shook his head. "Padmé understands that, before you can heal your relationship, you both need to reach out to those who were hurt your past actions."