A/N: Once again, I'm sorry for how short the last chapter was. Hopefully, this chapter will make up for it. I'll start trying to make them longer. As promised, this chapter will start to show why this story is titled "Commander Luke" but you guys have probably already guessed.
Continuing where we left off…
Obi-Wan was prevented from continuing their conversation due to the arrival of Master Windu, and the start of the briefing.
"Thank you all for being here. Skywalker, congratulations on actually being on time, for once," Master Windu began.
"No problem, Master!" Anakin joked.
"I disagree, Skywalker. You do have a problem," Windu shot back, making Anakin pout. "Anyway, Republic Intelligence received a strange beacon coming from a sector of space that does not have any activity that we can tell. The beacon is a Jedi code, but it is older than what we use now. I want Obi-Wan, Skywalker, Tano, and Luke to take a shuttle and rendezvous with a heavily armed Jedi cruiser near the coordinates of the beacon's origin." By this point, Anakin had dropped his act and sat up straighter, listening intently. "We know nothing of the signal's origin, or what it wants. That's why we need someone to investigate. Now, this could be a Separatist trap, so be mindful." Windu wrapped up his speech on this mission and the four Jedi assigned to it quickly left the room as ordered.
"I wonder what could possibly be sending that transmission," Obi-Wan started.
"I dunno," Anakin shrugged. "It must be small, though, if radar doesn't pick any activity up."
"That is a very true point. But for all we know, the Separatists could have developed new cloaking technology," Obi-Wan countered.
"Oh, but wouldn't that be fun to discover?" Ahsoka asked, trying to add a little fun to the dreary mood.
"Ha, yeah. It would be fun to uncover a new Seppie device before their ready," Luke replied.
"Yeah, that's just it," Anakin's tone of voice told them he disagreed. "Why would it be sending off a Jedi beacon if the Seppies don't want it to be found by Republic troops? If it is new Separatist tech, then it must be a trap," Anakin decided.
"What if it isn't, though?" Ahsoka asked. "What if it accidentally started sending signals?"
"That just so happened to be identical to old Jedi codes?" Obi-Wan inquired. "No, that is not likely."
Ahsoka slumped her shoulders, defeated. "I guess it is a trap."
"It might not be," Luke added. "It could be some really weird scenario where maybe a Jedi thought MIA or dead might have escaped a prison of some kind and found their way back."
"Explain the lack of activity in the sector, then," Anakin prompted, dubiously.
"If it is a Jedi that's escaped, their ship could be in bad shape. Maybe it's too old or an escape fried it, I don't know! But it might be that the transponder is the only thing still functional in that sector," Luke brainstormed.
"Hmm. That does make sense," Obi-Wan agreed, thoughtfully. "You might be onto something, Luke. However, we must keep an open mind and always be on guard. We do not know what we're walking in to."
"Whatever it is, right, Master Windu is," Yoda said, introducing his presence.
"Master Yoda," all four jedi bowed respectfully to the grandmaster.
"Meeting The Resolute you are. Fully armed, it is." Yoda nodded along, leading them to the hanger bay.
"Just The Resolute, master?" Anakin questioned.
"Yes, yes. Spare more, we could not; act without significant evidence, we could not." Yoda explained, knowing neither Kenobi nor Skywalker were happy with this.
"Very well, master. Hopefully we will not be needing anything other than the four of us, much less a complete fleet," Obi-Wan agreed, diplomatically.
"Rex—Rex, do you read me?" Anakin asked, making contact with The Resolute after dropping out of hyperspace, "We're at the rendezvous point, awaiting your arrival. Where are you?"
"Sir, we are at the rendezvous point, and there's no sign of you on our scanners." This sent a chill down Anakin's spine; something really wasn't right here.
"Aw, c'mon," Anakin scoffed, trying to act nonchalant, "That's impossible." He turned to Obi-Wan, "Something's wrong, we're at the exact coordinates where the distress signal originated, but there's nothing here! Rex is at the exact same coordinates, and he's not here."
Obi-Wan dropped his hand from its position stroking his beard. "This is getting interesting."
Rex's hologram started crackling, "…un—zzzz—able to f—nd you. Where –re you, sir?"
Ahsoka spoke up, "Something's blocking the signal."
All four jedi glanced up at the lights as the ship completely powered off. Obi-Wan immediately shifted his attention to the dashboard in front of him, trying to get the systems back online. "Not good," he muttered. Anakin looked away, trying to diagnose the issue from his spot in the pilot's chair.
Ahsoka stood up, blocking Luke's view of space. "Everything's dead, even life support," Ahsoka told them, trying not to sound panicked.
Anakin hummed in response. "This is really strange," he said, looking back up to Obi-Wan. Suddenly the ship powered back on, and once again the four jedi inspected the ceiling of the cockpit.
"There," Obi-Wan said, "See? Nothing to be concerned about after all."
Ahsoka and Luke noticed it at the same time. Luke gasped the same time Ahsoka pointed it out, asking "Then what's that?" Obi-Wan and Anakin looked shocked, as they all stared at the diamond-shaped object headed toward them. Before anyone could answer, the ship lurched, almost knocking Ahsoka over. Before they could react, the thing was pulling them toward itself, giving Luke flashbacks to his first encounter with a death star.
Ahsoka decided to point out the obvious, "It's pulling us towards it." As soon as the words left her mouth, the middle of it split open, revealing a blinding white light.
"Everyone strap yourselves in, Obi-Wan said. Ahsoka turned to get back to her seat. "Looks as though we're going for a ride." They tried to investigate their surroundings as they were brought in for as long as possible but eventually the light become too bright, and they all lifted their arms or turned away to shield their eyes.
The last thing Luke remembered was the sight of his father turning his head away from the viewport.
Anakin moaned as he sat up, his neck stiff from laying uncomfortably on the steering yolk of the shuttle. "I must have—blacked out."
Obi-Wan, having also woken up asked, "Then, who landed the shuttle?"
"Not me," Ahsoka answered, finally sitting up.
Luke stretched his body, stiff from the interesting position he had found himself in. "Me neither…" he trailed off, unwilling to admit he was feeling spooked.
Anakin moaned again, still waking up, before he realized something and sat up, looking out the viewport. "Where are we?"
Ahsoka tapped the panel next to her for answers, "Some kind of… organic mass? All of our readings indicate its bigger than an asteroid, but at least the atmosphere is breathable."
"Well," Obi-Wan spoke up, "this is getting more unusual by the minute." Obi-Wan shrugged, "I can't even lock down where in the galaxy we are—or if we are even in our own galaxy."
Anakin tried some buttons before sitting back in semi-defeat, semi-perplexity, "Well, the ship's systems seem fine, but for whatever reason, nothings working."
Ahsoka headed out of the cockpit; Luke shrugged and immediately followed, something about Anakin and Obi-Wan's concern freaked him out.
Obi-Wan followed Luke out and took out his binocs to scope the area. Ahsoka, Luke, and Anakin just looked about the area, taking it in.
"Hey!" Ahsoka called out, "I saw something." She pointed to the location of whatever she saw. "A reflection, up on the hill."
Obi-Wan turned to it, looking through the binocs. "I don't see anything."
Anakin suddenly turned his head, "What the—what? Uh—did you hear that?"
Luke turned concernedly toward his father, Ahsoka didn't even bother to glance over or offer a response, and Obi-Wan only tilted his gaze to offer "I didn't hear anything."
Anakin turned his head again, this time turning his body to follow. The other three jedi quickly moved to look where he was, all of them were shocked to see a tall, glowing lady with flowing green hair standing there.
"Hello," Obi-Wan offered.
"Who are you?" Anakin asked, putting his hands on his hips.
The glowing lady motioned to herself and answered, "I am daughter."
Anakin made a face.
The glowing lady—daughter—moved toward Anakin and asked, "Are you the one?"
"Uh," Anakin muttered, "The one what?"
Instead of answering, daughter said, "I will take you to him."
"Him who?" Ahsoka asked, a small amount of sass in her question.
"Uh," Obi-Wan interjected, "did you bring us here?"
"Only he can help you," was daughter's response. "There is little time, follow me. We must have shelter by nightfall." With that, daughter turned and began marching off.
Anakin laughed softly, "And we thought the planet was strange, how about this one?" he motioned with his eyes and a slight incline of his head to the glowing lady walking away.
"We'll be fine," Obi-Wan motioned with his arms, "as long as we stay together." All four of them then turned to follow daughter.
"Have you noticed the seasons seem to change with the time of day?" Obi-Wan started.
"Yeah…" Anakin answered. Luke also nodded his head.
"And there are no animals," Ahsoka pointed out.
"Can you sense it?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Mhm," Anakin answered. "Since we arrived. The Force is—very strong."
"An intersection unlike anything I've ever felt before," Obi-Wan stated. "Be wary."
Ahsoka and Luke shared a nervous glance.
"Excuse me," Anakin started, moving closer to daughter. "Who are you taking us to?"
"The Father, of course," she answered over her shoulder.
Ahsoka and Luke rolled their eyes, "Of course."
"And what exactly are you?" Obi-Wan questioned.
"We are the ones who guard the power. We are the middle, the beginning, and the end."
Anakin tossed his head back to look at the three other jedi. Smirking, he sarcastically commented, "Glad she cleared that up for us."
"The seasons are changing really fast," Luke pointed out.
"Woah," Ahsoka gasped.
They heard a rumbling. "Hey!" Anakin pointed to it, before lunging toward daughter. "Look out!" Luke lunged toward his father just in time to see him push daughter out from under the rockslide.
Anakin went over to daughter to make sure she was alright when she quickly turned around and growled, "It is forbidden for you to touch me."
"Sorry," Anakin replied, clearly not sorry, "I was just—saving your life."
Daughter looked up to the top of the rocks, making Luke notice that they had been separated from Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.
"That was my brother's work," daughter said. Looking back to Anakin, she continued, "You are in great danger. Wait for me. Do not leave this place." She turned around and continued in the direction they were headed originally.
"Hey! Wait!" Anakin called after her. Before he could continue trying to get her attention, his commlink went off.
"Anakin, are you there?" Obi-Wan asked, through the comm. "Are you alright? Luke?"
"Yeah," Anakin scoffed. "But our friend here has RUN OFF," Anakin looked toward daughter's retreating form as he shouted his final words. He turned back to his comm. "Go back to the ship and try sending another distress call. Luke and I'll follow her and find out how to get off this rock."
"And if this is a trap?"
"Then I'm not gonna wait around to find out," Anakin answered, reminding Luke sharply of Han.
"Anakin, stop. Wait for us to find another way around and meet you—" Anakin shut off the comm., effectively shutting Obi-Wan up.
"Master!" Luke exclaimed, wanting to hear what Obi-Wan had to say.
"What?" Anakin asked, obviously impatient.
"You should have let him finish!"
"Oh, c'mon!" Anakin rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "He was only gonna tell us that we should stay together. What's the worst that could happen? At least we're in pairs."
Luke sighed, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. He could already tell that trying to argue with Anakin, especially in "battle mode", was like fighting The Executor and everything in her with nothing but a toothpick.
The figure—daughter's brother, apparently—moved closer to Obi-Wan and asked, "Is it true that he is the Chosen One?"
Obi-Wan and Ahsoka both moved back, Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and Ahsoka ignited her second saber. "What do you know of such things?" Obi-Wan asked, an edge in his voice.
"What is about to happen shall occur whether you like it or not," the figure answered, making a swiping motion with his hand, which, to the surprise of both jedi, sheathed all three blades.
Obi-Wan stood up and pointed to the figure. "You are Sith." He accused.
The figure crossed his arms. "Sith," he chuckled darkly. "Yes, and no."
Obi-Wan and Ahsoka looked at each other curiously.
The figure turned to leave. "Storms here are quite lethal. If you want to live," he faced them again, "I suggest you find shelter." He finally turned and morphed into a leather-skinned beast and flew off.
"…What in the universe was that?" Ahsoka asked.
"I'm not quite sure," Obi-Wan admitted. Lightning struck in front of them, forcing them back. "Quick," Obi-Wan called, "there is a cave over there." They both ran to it for shelter.
Anakin and Luke quickly scampered up a hill, narrowly avoiding lightning. Anakin led them to a divot in the ground that served as shelter enough. There was a tower in the distance.
"Whatever we're looking for," Anakin broke the silence, "is in that monastery."
"You're sure?" Anakin only grunted in response. Luke sighed. "And we're going there in this weather?" Luke sighed again, not waiting for Anakin to respond. "Alright, let's go."
Anakin expertly led them through the land, staying clear of any lightning. Luke was huffing and puffing trying to keep up with his father as they sprinted over the hills to the tower. When they got to the base of it, Luke was relieved to see the storm was passing by, meaning they wouldn't have to deal with lightning anymore. However, he was quickly discouraged when he watched Anakin start scaling the side of the very tall monastery.
When they reached the top, Anakin swung up to the ledge with shocking ease while Luke pulled himself up, gasping as he grasped the smooth surface of the top. Anakin didn't wait for Luke to get all the way up, however, and quickly started running to stairs. Luke groaned as he flopped onto the ground, realizing they weren't at the top.
"C'mon!" Anakin ushered, pausing to get Luke to hurry up.
"Coming!" Luke answered, slowly picking himself up.
Anakin skipped steps as Luke sprinted stairs. They finally—finally—reached the top and were greeted with the sight of a figure on a faraway meditation platform. Luke immediately decided the place was spooky, and probably would have turned around and walked away had his father not been there. Anakin, on the other hand, stepped right into the room and moved toward the figure on the far end.
Upon reaching the figure, Anakin sat cross-legged in front of the new figure. Luke copied.
The figure opened his eyes and greeted them. "Welcome, my friends."
"What is it you want from me? From us?" Anakin asked, getting straight to the point.
"To learn the truth about who you really are. One that maybe you have known all along," the figure answered, standing up. Anakin and Luke followed suit. "One you must believe, in order to fulfill your destiny."
Luke was beyond confused now. Apparently this guy was only speaking to Anakin.
Anakin wasn't having it, though, "Enough with the riddles, old man. Tell me what's going on here," he demanded.
"As you can see, there is nowhere else to go," the man said, referring to the storm outside, which had apparently changed direction again. "It is late," he continued. "You will be my guests tonight."
Luke stuck close to his father as they followed this mysterious person through his monastery.
Obi-Wan broke out of deep thought. He looked over to Ahsoka, checking to see if she had tried to get his attention. Seeing that she was asleep, he looked around the cave, wondering what could have drawn his attention.
"Obi-Wan." Obi-Wan turned his head toward the voice that called to him. "Have you done as I asked?" Obi-Wan turned to see a ghostly apparition of his long-deceased master. "Have you trained the boy?"
"Master Qui-Gon?" Obi-Wan stood up and drew his saber, "How are you here?"
"I am here because you are here," Qui-Gon answered.
"No, I—I don't understand. What is this place?" Obi-Wan gestured to the cave around them.
"Unlike any other," Qui-Gon answered, "A conduit through which the entire Force of the universe flows."
"Are we in danger?"
"This planet is both an amplifier and a magnet. Three are here who seek Skywalker. They, like me, believe him to be the Chosen One."
Obi-Wan sheathed his saber. "You were right," Obi-Wan admitted to the ghost of his master. "The Force within him is stronger than any known jedi. I've trained him as well as I could, but he's still willful, and balance eludes him."
"If he is the Chosen One, he will discover it here."
"And if not?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Then you must realize with his power, this is a very dangerous place for him to be."
Obi-Wan turned to ponder this for a moment. However, he looked back up as he noticed the cave darkening. Lookin around, he saw that his master had vanished.
"Luke."
"Mmmm, Father?"
"Luke, wake up." Luke opened his eyes to come face-to-mask with his father.
"Father!" He shot up. "But, I—you—you—but wait. Father, you died. On the second death star, you died saving me. And I—I traveled through time. You can't be here!"
"I am here, son." Vader stood up and crossed his arms, staring down at his son sitting on the mattress on the floor.
"This doesn't make any sense," Luke grumbled moving to rub his eyes.
"Sure, it does," Vader's voice was gone, replaced with an older-sounding Anakin. Luke glanced up and sure enough, Anakin stood there. However, this wasn't the Anakin that Luke had been recently assigned to train under. No, this was a middle-aged, healthy-looking Anakin Skywalker. He looked as he should have, had he never become Vader. "I am here, just in the other room."
"Father, that doesn't—that shouldn't make a true sentence."
"But it does." Anakin moved to lean on the wall and crossed his legs at the ankles.
"If Anakin is in the other room, why—how are you here, in this room? Looking different? And weren't you just Vader a second ago?"
Anakin laughed, a true smile coming to his face, making Luke realize that he'd never seen a true, unforced smile from his father until just now. "Silly. I am here, but only because you want me to be." Anakin moved to sit across from Luke on the floor. "I appeared as Vader first, because that was the version of me you recognized as your true father, from your true timeline. However, you've already changed our future. This," Anakin gestured to himself, "is one form of me that could result from the ripples you're making in time."
"One form?"
"One form. Until you're done here, or once the Force says you're done, we won't know the outcome you'll cause," Anakin explained. "I hope it's this one. I get the best of both worlds here."
"How do you mean?"
"I'm a Jedi master! And, I get to raise my two beautiful children, alongside my gorgeous wife."
"And the others? Tell me I'm not making things worse."
"I can't answer that, Luke."
"You can't, or you won't?"
"Both. I don't know all the answers, and answering what I can, could inadvertently cause a future you're trying to avoid. I learned that the hard way."
"The hard way? What do you mean?"
Anakin sighed, then smiled slightly. "I suppose I can tell you what happened in my time, so at the very least you can prevent that," Anakin started explaining to Luke the events of those fateful days that occurred after he found out Padmé was pregnant.
Anakin was tossing and turning restlessly. Something was off, and it was preventing him from falling into a true sleep. Then, he heard it.
"Wake up, my son," something brushed his cheek. "I must tell you a secret."
Anakin sat up. "Who's there?" he asked, defensively. "Who's there, I said."
A shadow fell over him, he turned around to see. "It is me, Ani." Anakin's eyes widened in shock. "You're mother."
She loomed closer and Anakin somersaulted away. Getting into a defensive pose, he asked, "What kind of black arts is this? You're… dead."
"Nothing ever really dies, my son. I have a secret to tell you," she repeated.
They started circling. "Then tell me," Anakin spat.
"Everything you have done, everything you have learned has led you here."
"Whatever you are," Anakin shook his head, "my mother is… is dead."
"And you blame yourself," she replied. "But your jedi training has served you well, Ani. But you are more than a Jedi."
Anakin looked down, considering, almost unwilling to consider how this… apparition of his mother was right.
"Tell me," she started, "where is your pain? So, I might take it away." She placed her hands over her heart, as his mom often did when she was trying to make him feel better as a boy.
"I was.. too late to save you," Anakin admitted. "I—I failed as a Jedi, and I failed you."
"How so?"
"I tasted only vengeance when I slaughtered so many to avenge your death."
"It is time you realized that your guilt does not define you, my son. You define your guilt." She moved closer, leaning into him.
"The only love I feel in my heart is haunted by what would happen should I let go," Anakin muttered.
Shmi picked her head up from where it had previously rested on Anakin's shoulder. "Then it is not love, it is a prison."
Anakin looked down, hurt and confused. "But, I—I have a wife. You've met her. She's everything to me."
"She's not your destiny," Shmi shook her head.
"But I love her!" Anakin argued.
"NO!" Shmi's voice changed; it deepened, sharply. "She is a poisoner." Shmi pulled away sharply, turning toward him.
Anakin hurried away. "What are you?" His mind was whirring. What did he just admit his deepest secrets do, if not his mother?
The lightning flashed and he swore the figure of his mother changed into some grotesque winged monster.
"Your fate!" the creature—that was decidedly not his mother—answered before vanishing. Anakin reached out a hand to stop it so he could have more answers, but it was already gone.
"Are you happy, child?"
Ahsoka shot awake; that definitely wasn't Master Obi-Wan's voice. She looked around the cave to see who spoke. Strange, Master Obi-Wan was not inside.
"Your master, does he treat you well?" the voice asked. Ahsoka looked back toward the fire after scanning the room again. That is where she heard the voice coming from. The fire. Low and behold, there was a figure there. Ahsoka squinted her eyes, not believing them. It looked like… an older version of herself? She stood up, reaching for her sabers.
"What concern of it is yours?" She asked, suspiciously.
"I am your future, your potential," the figure answered.
Ahsoka ignited both of her sabers and crouched defensively, "This is a trick."
The figure raised her hands, showing she meant no harm. "There is a wildness to you, young one. Seeds of the dark side planted by your master." She lowered her arms, standing neutrally. "Do you feel it?"
"No," Ahsoka answered flatly. "He is like no other Jedi. Passionate, impulsive, but I trust him with my life."
The older Ahsoka turned away, toward the fire. "There are many contradictions in you…" she turned back around, "and in him."
Ahsoka looked away, before remembering this was a potential threat and she was alone. She immediately looked back up.
"Be warned, you may never see your future if you remain his student. Leave this planet!" She crossed her arms and the fire roared. When it settled back down, the figure was gone.
"Ahsoka?" Ahsoka shot up, strangely from the same position she had fallen asleep in. She turned to look at Master Obi-Wan, who was kneeling beside her.
"I had a vision," she looked away. "I think," she looked back up, "Anakin may be in trouble."
"And Luke?"
Ahsoka looked back down. "I didn't see anything about Luke."
Anakin marched out to where he knew the mysterious man would be. Seeing he was right he moved over and ignited his lightsaber, pointing it directly at the man's face.
"Cannot sleep?" the man asked. "To strike an unarmed man is hardly the Jedi way."
"You're a Sith Lord," Anakin growled.
"You have a very simple view of the universe," the man responded. "I am neither Sith nor Jedi. I am much more… and so are you."
"I see through your spells and visions, old man. Tell me what is going on here," Anakin demanded.
The old man merely reached up and grabbed the lightsaber pointed now at his chest. He, much to Anakin's surprise, pushed it away from himself and back into the hilt.
"Some call us Force wielders." He completely deactivated the lightsaber.
Anakin looked up from his sheathed weapon. "The Jedi have never spoken of this."
The man hummed. "Few still know of our existence."
Anakin pointed to the hallway he had come from. "In that room, my mother came to me. But it was not her. It was something else."
"Ah," the man said. "My son, I suspect. We can take many forms. The shapes we embody are merely a reflection of the life force around us. You carry a great sadness in your heart. My children and I can manipulate the Force like no other. Therefore, it was necessary to withdraw from the temporal world and live here as anchorites."
"As a sanctuary?" Anakin asked.
"And a prison," the man answered. "You cannot imagine what pain it is to have such love for your children and realize that they could tear the very fabric of our universe."
"I don't understand."
"It is only here that I can control them. A family in balance, the light and the dark, day with night, destruction replaced by creation," he explained.
"Why reveal yourselves to us?" Anakin asked.
"There are some who would like to exploit our power. The Sith are but one. Too much dark or light would be the undoing of life as you understand it. When news reached me that the Chosen One had been found, I needed to see for myself."
"The Chosen One is a myth," Anakin immediately replied.
"Is it?" The old man smiled in a way that sent a chill down Anakin's spine. "I should very much like to know. Why don't we find out together? Pass one test, and I shall know the truth. Then, you and your friends may leave."
Ahsoka and Obi-Wan were walking through the lands headed in the direction they sensed both Anakin and Luke to be. Ahsoka noticed the season changing from dead winter to lively spring.
"The longer we stay here, the stranger this place gets."
"It appears the planet is renewing herself," Obi-Wan pointed out.
"What about Master Skywalker?" Ahsoka asked, worry coloring her voice.
"Anakin will not be easy to deceive," Obi-Wan reassured.
They continued walking, unaware of the two flying creatures headed toward them until their shadows fell upon them. They both turned as the leathery creature from the night before screeched and grabbed Ahsoka. Obi-Wan didn't have any time to draw his lightsaber before the new feathered creature snatched him off the ground.
Luke woke up feeling strangely relaxed. Although, something, the Force most likely, was telling him to leave his room. He got dressed and headed out, wondering if he was being led to food. To his surprise, he was led into an open courtyard with a strange balance symbol etched into the ground. He noticed the strange man from the previous night and his father in the center of the symbol. He moved to join them, but something told him to wait.
Luke looked in shock as he saw two monsters flying in with two familiar figures in their clutches.
"It is time to face your guilt," the man said, "and know the truth."
They turned at the sound of screeching and beheld the same creature that had impersonated Anakin's mother holding Ahsoka by the arm and a different creature holding Obi-Wan.
"Whatever he wants," Ahsoka cried, reaching a hand toward Anakin, "don't do it, Master!"
Anakin analyzed the shape Ahsoka was in before he turned to Obi-Wan, checking to see if he was alright.
"Let them go," Anakin demanded. "I will not play your games."
"Oh," the old man chuckled, "but I think you will." He began walking in a circle around Anakin. "I have ordered my children to kill your friends. The question is…" the old man vanished before appearing beside Luke, "which one will you choose to save? Your master? Or your apprentice?"
Luke blanched. His father had to choose Obi-Wan because Luke knew Obi-Wan was alive in the future. He didn't know about Ahsoka. But Anakin clearly loved Ahsoka like a little sister, surely this wouldn't end with a dead Jedi. Luke geared himself to join the fight, but the man reached an arm out to prevent any intrusion on Luke's part.
"You must now release the guilt and free yourself by choosing," the man stated.
Anakin shook his head defiantly, "No!" He looked to Obi-Wan.
"There powers are too strong for us, Anakin. Save Ahsoka!"
Anakin turned to look at Ahsoka who was struggling to try to release her arm from the clutches of the leathery beast holding her.
"Let. Them. Go," Anakin demanded under his breath, knowing the old man would still hear him.
"Only you can make my children release them."
"Anakin," Obi-Wan called, "the planet is the Force. Use it."
Anakin bowed his head and took a deep breath.
Luke noticed a breeze encircling his father, blowing his robes and hair.
"You will let them go!" Anakin ordered, a second tone in his voice, making Luke shiver. Anakin thrust out his hands, one in the direction of either creature. Both creatures were sent staggering back from the force of the push Anakin had sent flying their ways. Anakin shifted his hands to point up, and he drug the beasts into the air simultaneously.
Luke noticed the sky shifted from cloudy sky to starry night in seconds, with his father as the turning point. The symbol of balance in the ground started glowing. It was only then that Luke noticed his father standing in the dead center. Anakin motioned with his hands a pulling down motion, and both Ahsoka and Obi-Wan dropped out of the clutches of both beasts. After making sure both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were free, Anakin pulled both creatures toward him briefly before blasting them into the walls behind them. Both creatures got up and tried to fly toward their respective quarries, both of whom drew a saber. Anakin reached out his hands to stop them.
"Down!" Anakin's had a dark echo under it, making it sound incredibly menacing. As he spoke his command, he drew the leathery creature past himself, away from his padawan. He pulled the feathered creature to be near the other one. "On your knees!" Anakin commanded, forcing them down. The creatures, amidst their struggle to resist Anakin, began shifting back into their humanoid forms.
Upon realization that the shift signaled their defeat, Anakin relaxed his posture.
"And now you see who you truly are," the old man stated, revealing himself behind Anakin. "Only the Chosen One could tame both my children." The children looked up in mild surprise at the realization that Anakin was, in fact, the Chosen One.
"I have taken your test," Anakin declared through pants. "Now fulfill your promise and let us go," Anakin ordered, turning to see that Obi-Wan and both his padawans had joined him near the old man.
"Ah, but first, you must understand the truth," the old man remarked. "Now, all of you, leave us."
Anakin turned to face his group. Ahsoka, who happened to be the closest, leaned closer to her master. "Do not trust him," she warned, gravely. Luke decided he didn't like that tone in Ahsoka's voice.
"You think?" Anakin asked, sarcastically.
"I said, leave us," the old man repeated. All five figures moved out of the courtyard, leaving Anakin alone with the old man.
"Do you feel your destiny?" the man asked. "You must see it now. I am dying, and you must replace me," the man stated.
"Replace you?" Anakin scoffed. "I can't stay here."
"But this is yours," the man gestured to the area surrounding them. "It has been foretold. The Chosen One will remain to keep my children in balance."
Anakin backed away. "No," he said, simply.
"I," the old man sighed, "cannot force you to do this. The choice must be yours. But leave, and your selfishness shall haunt you and the galaxy." Anakin merely looked down, before walking away.
Luke and Obi-Wan looked down at Anakin as he arrived at the end of the ramp. He stopped and looked back out toward the strange planet they had been trapped on.
"Ready to get out of here?" Obi-Wan asked.
Anakin looked up briefly before turning back around. He seemed to come to a conclusion and quickly marched up the ramp. Obi-Wan started the engines and took off.
A/N: Whew! Big chapter finished! So sorry this took forever to update. I finished copying old writings and had to come up with some new stuff! I hope the writing shift isn't to sharp. Hopefully, I'll be able to get more of Luke in the next several story arcs, but I don't know yet how well he'll fit into the Mortis arc. I want him there though to experience everything that happens there so he can see how much he can fix in the past. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully it won't be too long before I post the next one.