Chapter 1 - Of the Future

Plot: When Obi-Wan goes to see Padme before leaving for Utapau, he discovers a secret. She is pregnant with not one, but two, Skywalker children. The unborn Luke struggles to get his attention, and unintentionally shows the Jedi Master flashes of the impending dark future, one which Obi-Wan promises to avert. If only he knew how.

Author's Note: Welp, this is another ROTS fix-it, and I know that everything might not be 100% logical, but it's self-indulgent. ^-^ Enjoy! :D

~ Amina Gila

Obi-Wan is concerned. Actually, that would be an understatement, because in reality, he's extremely worried. Ever since they returned to Coruscant, Anakin seems to have become increasingly troubled by something, and Obi-Wan isn't sure what it is. He's been hoping that his best friend would confide in him, but he hasn't, which is why he's currently standing in Padme's apartment in 500 Republica, immediately after the Council meeting in which he was ordered to Utapau to apprehend General Grievous.

"Has Anakin been to see you?" Obi-Wan asks the Senator politely as they sit down on opposite ends of a couch, giving no indication as to his knowledge of the answer.

"Several times," she replies slowly, obviously trying to figure out why he's here. "I was so happy to hear that he was accepted on the Jedi Council."

This brings a small smile to Obi-Wan's lips. Anakin is the best thing that's ever happened to him, and he doesn't think anyone could have brought him as much happiness as his former Padawan has. "I know," he agrees. "He deserves it. He is impatient, strong willed, very opinionated, but truly gifted."

Padme laughs softly at his words before sobering. "You're not just here to say hello. Something is wrong, isn't it?" Leave it to her to get right down to business.

"You should be a Jedi, Padme," he replies dryly. He's certain that he's not being obvious about his concern, but even so, she can obviously sense his unease or read it in his posture.

"You're not very good at hiding your feelings," she retorts. Neither are you.

"It's Anakin..." he confesses, hoping that, for once, she'll be able to give him the enlightenment which he sorely needs. "He's becoming moody and detached. He's been put in a difficult position as the Chancellor's representative... but I think it's more than that. I was hoping he may have talked to you."

"Why would he talk to me about his work?" Padme asks, face a perfect mask of confusion.

I wonder, he thinks dryly as he studies her. If she doesn't give him answers, he doesn't know who can. He shouldn't be this worried, but he's departing from Coruscant later today, and he has a really bad feeling about leaving Anakin when he's in this state. He reaches out with the Force to steady himself when he senses it. Not one, but two, unfamiliar, yet brilliant, presences hit him, and he nearly staggers under the sheer power he can feel.

His thoughts scramble, and he searches for the source, blinking in confusion when it ends right next to him. Padme. She can tell something is off, because she has a slightly concerned look on her face, but Obi-Wan zeroes in on the two presences. Twins. Padme is carrying twins. Anakin's twins. Only Skywalkers could be so strong when still unborn.

Obi-Wan feels a slight tug, and one of the presences seems to reach out to him, silently demanding his attention. The Force is whispering the urgency around him, and he can feel the tension in the air.

"Obi-Wan...?" Padme gives him a confused, yet expectant look.

"A moment," he murmurs distracted, trying to see what this unborn child wants. He closes his eyes and is instantly sucked into the Force.

"Obi-Wan," he hears a young man's voice calling out to him. "Ben, please. Help my father."

There's darkness surrounding him, and the presence of the child which he'd felt is still here, but it's different now, shaped by the passage of time. Images and voices begin to intrude, flashing past so fast that he can hardly make them out.

"Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any Jedi. Learn to know the Dark Side of the Force, Anakin, and you will be able to save your wife from certain death." The voice sounds so much like that of Chancellor Palpatine, that Obi-Wan feels his blood run cold.

"You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!" His own voice echoes in the darkness, filled with unimaginable pain and sorrow.

Then, the images cement, and he can vaguely see a much older version of himself sitting somewhere, a young man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes sitting nearby. "You fought in the Clone Wars?" the boy is asking curiously.

"Yes, I was once a Jedi Knight, the same as your father," the elder Obi-Wan answers.

"I wish I'd known him," the boy murmurs wistfully.

"He was the best star-pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior," the older man comments, obviously lost in the memories. The voices begin fading, and Obi-Wan only catches the end of the words. "And he was a good friend."

A new place forms before Obi-Wan's eyes, and he sees a forest in the darkness, two shadowy figures standing together. One is the boy from before, and the other is a girl with chestnut hair and brown eyes who looks much like Padme. "I have no memory of my mother. I never knew her," the boy is saying sadly.

"Luke, tell me. What's troubling you?" The girl searches his face, expression troubled.

"Vader is here... now, on this moon," Luke whispers in reply.

"How to you know?" the girl demands fearfully.

"I felt his presence. He's come for me. He can feel when I'm near," Luke confesses. "That's why I have to go." He turns, facing her. "As long as I stay, I'm endangering the group and our mission here," he continues earnestly. "I have to face him."

Obi-Wan can clearly see the girl's pain as well as he can hear it in her desperate question. "Why?"

Luke steps closer. "He's my father," he explains gently, voice calm.

The scene begins fading, and Obi-Wan struggles to hold on, catching the end of Luke's words. "The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it... and my sister has it." The girl stares into his eyes, expression apprehensive. "Yes, it's you, Leia," Luke murmurs, smiling sadly.

"I know. Somehow... I've always known," Leia breathes tearfully.

Then, it vanishes, another taking its place. Obi-Wan can make out little besides the now familiar figure of Luke and another, much taller, figure who is dressed in black armor. The sound of unceasing mechanical breathing fills the air. "So, you have accepted the truth." Obi-Wan is certain that must be Vader.

"I've accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father," Luke replies unflinchingly, and Obi-Wan's heart breaks. How can that be Anakin? How can this be the future, any future?

"That name no longer has any meaning for me," Vader replies ominously.

"It is the name of your true self. You've only forgotten. I know there is good in you. The Emperor hasn't driven it from you fully," Luke asserts confidently as everything begins to blur. Obi-Wan's mind whirls with the information overload. Emperor? The Sith took over? And Anakin... Is – is Vader a Sith too?

"Search your feelings, Father," pleads Luke. "You can't do this. I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate."

"It is too late for me, son," Vader answers quietly. There's so much resignation in the words, and Obi-Wan wants to scream. Why? Why Anakin? Why not some other Jedi?

As he struggles to come to terms with the realization that his brother, his best friend, his Padawan became a Sith, the scene shifts yet again. This one is the faintest of all, and Obi-Wan can barely see Luke kneeling next to... Vader? His helmet is off, and Obi-Wan is horrified at how old he appears. He's smiling faintly up at Luke. "Now... go, my son. Leave me."

"No. You're coming with me. I can't leave you here. I've got to save you," Luke protests desperately, on the verge of tears.

"You already have, Luke," Anakin whispers faintly, struggling for the air to speak. "You were right about me. Tell your sister... you were right." His body goes limp as he dies, and Obi-Wan feels the pain searing through him.

"Help him, Obi-Wan Kenobi," Luke's voice echoes as Obi-Wan's surroundings begin to come back into focus. "You're his only hope."

As his vision begins to fade back to his surroundings, he's surprised to realize that he's shaking. Well, seeing as he just witnessed a nightmarish future, it's to be expected. He badly wishes he could let himself fall apart but draws on his training to keep himself together. If nothing else, he can't let go, because it would worry Padme. All he knows is that the Force wants him to stay. He'll have to tell the Council. Now, if only his body would cooperate.

"Obi-Wan?" Padme's voice comes as if at a distance, and he shakes his head, forcing himself to focus on her. He can see the barely contained fear and worry on her face. How long was he unresponsive? It must have been several minutes at the very least. "What – what happened?" she asks, voice wavering.

He wants to answer, but his words seem to be stuck in his throat. "Call Anakin," he finally whispers, looking away and squeezing his eyes shut. No matter how hard he tries, he can't get the words, the images to stop bouncing around in his head. He had wanted Anakin to come to him when he was ready, but the entire future is in the balance, and Luke – Anakin's unborn son – had begged him to help. So, he will, whether Anakin wants it or not.

"Anakin?" Padme echoes, even as she reaches for her comm. "Why?"

"I saw..." His voice trails off as he chokes on the words, unable to express the things he'd seen to her. "I saw the galaxy fall," he finally whispers. That's probably an understatement – or an overstatement – considering that much of what he knows he's been piecing together from what he saw, heard, and can guess.

Padme pales, and she rises, stepping across the room to make the call. Obi-Wan can't be bothered to move, instead leaning forward to rest his head in his hands. Where did he go wrong if Anakin doesn't trust him to the point that he'd become a Sith? Why would his – his brother go to such lengths anyways? Was he – no. Whatever happens will be happening within the next few weeks, or even days. Obi-Wan has to get to the bottom of this now. There's no time to wait, and if he's not going to Utapau, he needs to notify the Council as soon as possible.

"Anakin's on his way," Padme informs him, sitting down again, expression concerned. "I have a meeting with a few other Senators here in an hour, so you'll have to leave before then, but we still have time to discuss whatever this is."

"Thank you, Padme," murmurs Obi-Wan, giving her a grateful smile, suddenly feeling much older than he is. "I appreciate it."

If Anakin could Fall is there any Jedi who is truly safe? Learn to know the Dark Side of the Force, Anakin, and you will be able to save your wife from certain death. As the Sith Lord's words echo through his mind, he wonders if he's right. If Palpatine is Sidious, that would answer a number of questions which the Council has been trying to resolve. In fact, it would answer everything they'd ever wanted to know except for how the Jedi were destroyed, because Obi-Wan knows that the Order would never accept a Sith as Emperor, or any emperor at all.

The second part of the statement isn't a surprise. Leave it to Anakin to go and get married, even in the middle of a war. There will be plenty of time to discuss that part of it later, when the galaxy isn't in mortal peril, not to mention Anakin, who is obviously far closer to the Dark Side than anyone wants to admit.

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