After meeting with Count Dooku, Anakin met with Yoda who was currently teaching the younglings in lightsaber technique. "Younglings! A visitor we have." Ten younglings lifted their blast shields on their helmets and smiled at Anakin. "Good morning, Master Skywalker."
"Morning."
Keri who was only four approached Anakin and pulled on his right hand.
"Yes, young one?" Anakin crouched to the young girl. Keri whispered in his ear and Anakin gently hugged her.
"Go back to your place, Keri." Yoda gently scolded.
"Yes, master." Keri obeyed.
"Master Yoda, we need to talk." Anakin seriously stated.
"Mm, meet me in my quarters at 1100 hours you will."
"Thank you Master Yoda."
Anakin turned to leave, "Good bye Master Skywalker!" A chorus of younglings called after him. He smiled and sent his affection to them; they were so excited that Yoda had a hard time getting them to settle back into their lessons.
"Useless this is; Recess younglings." Yoda took them to the gardens.
"Keri?"
"Yes master?"
"What say you to Master Skywalker?"
Keri blushed and looked at the ground.
"Keri?" Yoda lifted her head so he could look into blue eyes. She was so incredibly shy.
Yoda linked his mind to Keri's and she whispered to Anakin that she wanted to him to teach her how to improve her lightsaber skill, she was afraid of it still; despite Yoda's reassurances that it was a tool that could be used for either good or evil. It really depends on the intent of the person. The younglings really adored Master Skywalker, and Keri was no different. Anakin was meditating on a boulder near the fountains when Keri approached him. She was playing hide-n-seek with the other younglings; she gently sat in his lap so as not to disturb him and pulled his black cloak around herself. Anakin of course felt Keri's presence and her weight in his lap. He smiled gently, why did this little girl get to him like this?
"Master Skywalker? Have you seen Keri?"
"No; go check near the lake."
"Okay, thank you."
Keri was so comfortable that she fell asleep in Anakin's lap.
"Secret admirer you have." Yoda stated as he jumped on a nearby rock.
"Yes. Most of the younglings are intimidated by me, why is Keri so different?"
Yoda shook his head; he didn't really understand it either.
"Still scared of her lightsaber, Keri is. Worried she will use it for evil purposes."
"What? She's only four, Master!"
"Shh, wake Keri you will. Work with her when you are in the temple, you should."
"Me? Master Yoda you are the best swordsman in our order and so is Master Windu."
"Intimidated by Master Windu she is."
"That's not surprising; even I'm still intimidated by Master Windu." Anakin admitted.
"Mace admires you Anakin and is very proud of you."
"Funny he never says that to me." Anakin laughed.
"Mace keeps his feelings inside. Very introspective he has become with his years."
"Mm, Master Yoda what about our situation with Count Dooku; if we are to go to Vjun he should accompany us as he knows all the secret passages and where the traps are located."
"Mediate on this I will; take Keri to the crèche and allow her to sleep. Meeting in Jedi council this afternoon, do not be late."
"Hey it's me!" Anakin smiled.
Yoda snapped his cane on Anakin's knee.
"Yeow!"
"Being impertinent you were; nine hundred years am I; treat me with respect you should." Anakin bowed, "Yes Master Yoda, as the eldest wisest Jedi Master of our order." Anakin stated, adding a tinge of sarcasm to his tone as he laughed.
"Maybe would like to scrub the council floors before our meeting you would like?"
"No, Master Yoda. I've done enough scrubbing in the council chambers to last ten lifetimes."
Anakin carried Keri to the crèche and put her on her bed.
"Master Skywalker?"
"Yes, Keri?"
"Thank you for staying on the light side of the Force." Keri murmured as sleep overtook her again. Anakin's heart beat in his chest very rapidly, he leaned over and gently kissed her cheek, "You are welcome, sweetie."
Mara Jade finished her report on the planet of Vjun and met Anakin in their quarters.
"Here you are master."
"Thank you Mara." He set the pad aside.
"Are you okay? You seem distracted."
"I have a lot on my mind; I have a council meeting in a few hours."
"What am I supposed to do?"
Anakin looked at Mara, "Are you bored?"
Mara saw the impish look in his bright blue eyes and knew that if she answered yes, he would just assign her chores.
"You know I really need to practice my lightsaber forms! I'll see you later."
"Okay, we will duel later. Make sure you really work on your blocking its getting sloppy."
"Yes, master." Mara bowed and ran out of the apartment. Obi-Wan and Luke were working together in one of the sparring rooms. Mara activated a remote and worked on her blocking, she kept getting shot in her behind though. She took a long cleansing breath and reactivated her lightsaber and this time she was able to block all the shots. After a long work out with the remote, she decided to go swimming. Kit Fitso was teaching a small class of younglings on how to swim; Mara noticed that they were in the shallow end. She dove off the diving board with a perfect splash.
"Wow! Master Fitso I wanna learn how to do that!" Brandon excitedly yelled.
"You must first learn how to swim, Brandon. That comes much later."
Brandon sighed deeply and worked harder on his swimming skills. Mara loved to swim, it's a good thing that Padmé taught her, Anakin was a decent swimmer but he wasn't as strong in the water as Padmé or now Mara was. She relaxed by the side of the pool when little Keri approached her.
"Are you Master Skywalker's padawan?" Mara sat up and saw the inquisitive four year old looking at her with big blue eyes.
"Yes, I am."
"You are very lucky." Keri replied.
"Mm, most of the time I would agree with that." Mara laughed.
"What do you mean most of the time?"
"Well, he can be very strict."
"Is that what a master supposes to be?"
"Yes, Keri."
"Is it all right with you if he teaches me lightsaber?"
"You don't need my permission, Keri. It's up to Master Skywalker."
Keri hugged Mara who was surprised by this youngling. "He loves you know." Keri replied before breaking free to join her class.
"Yes, I do Keri." Mara whispered to herself. Mara swam so more before returning to her apartment to meditate.
Obi-Wan and Anakin were two minutes late and Yoda admonished him, "Always late the Skywalker and Kenobi team is."
"Sorry Masters." Both Anakin and Obi-Wan bowed.
Mace Windu smiled and shook his head at the both of them. Anakin described the situation with Count Dooku; Master Gallia was still vehemently opposed to allowing Count Dooku leave the confines of his cell.
"Master Skywalker, I don't mean to bring this up, but how can you be so forgiving? He cut off your arm and very nearly killed Master Kenobi. Master Yoda, even you tried to reach the Sith Lord when you went to Vjun, he will never change."
"Master Yoda, do you think it's wise for me to bring up what happened seven years ago?"
"Yes, the council needs to hear this; continue, Master Skywalker."
Anakin took a deep breath sending all his doubt into the Force. He could almost hear Master Qui-Gon whispering him telling him that everything would be all right.
"Seven years ago, when Master Kenobi and I were sent to rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from General Grievous' clutches. I was sent forward in time by nearly twenty years."
"Time travel?" Mace Windu sat up intently listening.
"Yes. It was very strange; when my ship landed I was back on my home world of Tatooine. I met with my future son Luke and even an older Obi-Wan, but it was weird I couldn't feel any Jedi at all. The only presences I felt were Obi-Wan, Luke, Master Yoda, and two Sith Lords."
"Darth Sidious." Mace Windu rolled his eyes.
"Yes and Darth Vader."
"Darth Vader?" Master Gallia was shocked.
"Yes he was a turn-coat Jedi. Darth Vader was responsible for the entire annihilation of the Jedi Order and even murdered the Separatist leaders. He was dressed in black armor, stood over two meters tall and had a mask and a respirator to help him breathe. Apparently this Darth Vader fought Obi-Wan on a planet of Mustafar and lost not only his humanity but his soul as well. His legs and left arm were sliced off, defeated he fell onto the black lava beach and the fire nearly consumed him completely. Darth Sidious found him and 'rescued' him from death."
Anakin felt the presence of a youngling approaching the chambers, the doors opened and Leia was carrying a tray of juice and fruit.
"What's this? We are in the middle of a meeting, Padawan Skywalker."
"Yes, but it's been going on for so long I thought you would want something to eat." Leia shyly admitted.
"Thank you Padawan Skywalker, now return to our quarters." Gallia said as she took the tray from her.
Anakin sent her a hug through the Force showing his gratitude. Leia bowed and sent a warm presence to her father.
"Love you, daddy."
"Love you too, sweetheart."
Leia bowed once again and skipped down the hall.
Anakin took a sip of his juice and continued the tale.
"The princess of Alderaan sent Obi-Wan the plans for a Death Star through Threepio and we went to rescue her from Darth Vader. However it was too late to save Alderaan, it was destroyed by the super weapon. Over a billion people died, it was horrible feeling all those deaths in the Force, it actually sickened both Obi-Wan and I. Once we rescued the Princess, Luke and I left the space station, but Darth Vader and Obi-Wan dueled to the death and Obi-Wan was killed but there wasn't a body. He had literally become one with the Force. Luke managed to get a lucky shot off and destroyed the Death Star completely. However, Darth Vader survived. Luke and I went off to Dagobah to meet with Master Yoda. He trained Luke in the force and I worked with him on his lightsaber abilities. Darth Vader managed to get a hold of his friends was torturing them to bring Luke to him."
"Why would a Dark Lord of the Sith be interested in a Force-sensitive child with no apparent abilities?"
"I'll be getting to that. Luke left both Yoda and I, however I was told to follow Luke. Darth Vader nearly killed the boy, but only sliced off his right hand, I managed to get a hold of him, but it was too late for one of his friends, he was frozen in carbonite. We managed to get him away from Jabba the Hutt, we had another battle on Endor and another Death Star was almost completed, it was fully armed. As Luke was being overwhelmed with Dark Force lightning, Darth Vader felt the boy's pain and brought balance to the Force by throwing the Sith Lord down a reactor core."
"Why would Darth Vader save Luke?" Master Gallia asked.
"Yes and why would he put himself in mortal danger like that? Metal and lightning don't mix." Kit Fitso replied.
"Wait a minute did you say that Darth Vader brought balance to the force?" Master Tiin replied.
"Yes."
"How can a Sith Lord be the Chosen One?"
"I always knew that you would be the death of me, Anakin." Obi-Wan laughed.
"Darth Vader was you!" Master Gallia was shocked.
"Yes."
Master Windu sighed and sat back contemplating, "Mm, it's a good thing you chose wisely this time."
"What do you mean, Master Windu?"
"Because, I wouldn't last five seconds with you in a duel."
"That's not true Master Windu. You and Yoda are the best swordsmen in our order."
"So what does this tale have to do with Count Dooku?"
"In the other time line, I murdered him, he was defenseless and I killed him in cold blood. I sought revenge for him taking my arm. It was all a part of Darth Sidious' plan to get me to be his new apprentice. I wanted the power to stop death to save Padmé, ironic it was that I actually killed her myself by force choking her on Mustafar before Obi-Wan's and my battle. I did it all to save her, to only lose her anyway. Darth Vader was not aware that he had a son, Obi-Wan and Yoda had hidden him from himself and the Emperor. Love is what brought Anakin Skywalker back, love of a child. A child that loved him unconditionally, even when Darth Vader brought him before the Emperor; Luke didn't want to fight his father and certainly didn't want to give in to the Dark Side. The princess of Alderaan was also my daughter; Leia Organa was adopted by Senator Organa. Like Darth Vader, Count Dooku wants to make amends to not only to our order but to the galaxy as well."
"An admirable goal, Master Skywalker." Master Gallia admitted.
"Meditate on this we should before reaching a decision." Yoda replied.
"Meeting adjourned."
Author's Note:Thank you for all your reviews; I hope you are enjoying the direction that this story is headed.—DarthGladiator45
PS: I'm sure I don't have to keep saying this, but none of the characters of Star Wars belong to me so don't sue me; you'd only get a handful of Star Wars novels anyway.