"Anakin...Anakin...ANAKIN..."

The voices seemed to be coming from all around him, but he couldn't see the source. He couldn't even tell whose voice it was. All he could see was black.

He was on top of the Temple looking out over Coruscant. Not Coruscant as he knew it, but lifeless and silent. No ships were flying by, no civilians were walking down the streets. The lights of the city were all on, but Anakin suspected he was the only living thing on the planet.

"What do you want to see?" A voice above him spoke. It took a moment, but Anakin thought he knew who he was hearing, now.

"The Father?" He asked. "Where are you?"

"I am not in a place you know. What do you want to see?"

I want to see Ahsoka, he thought, but the Father's voice interrupted him. "Choose wisely, I may not be able to give you this chance again."

Anakin contemplated his choices. This might be the first and only time he could see Ahsoka, but he might also get an edge on the Sith as well if he asked to.

What do I need to know? He thought, and he drew breath. Ahsoka would be okay, but the Chancellor was in danger. He had to see what lay in store for him.

"Do not seek to protect your Chancellor," the Father warned. "There are others who need protecting."

Anakin was getting a little frustrated. What was he supposed to ask to see?

"What will my biggest challenge be, in the next two months? What is the biggest danger I will face?" That was a good question. At least now, he would be ready for it.

Anakin blinked, and he was in the Chancellor's office. He wasn't standing in the middle of it, though, instead he was sitting, leaning against a wall next to the Chancellor. The Inquisitor was standing above them, holding one end of her lightsaber in front of them, trapping them. Obi-Wan, Windu, and Yoda were all at the door, preparing to face down Count Dooku in a lightsaber duel. The funny thing was, no one was moving. Everyone was frozen still except for Anakin.

"This day is coming, Anakin Skywalker, but I cannot tell you when." The Father's voice echoed around the spacious office. "You do not have long. Learn what you can about this danger while you can."

Anakin limboed under the Inquisitor's lightsaber and stood up, facing her to begin with. He studied her expression, and when he looked into her eyes, he saw that they were hard, cold, but deeper in them, he saw a hint, just a hint of fear. What was she afraid of?

He moved on, afraid that his time was running out. He turned to the Chancellor next, expecting him to be a bit scared, although trying to fight it off. That's not what he saw, though. Palpatine's face was just barely failing to hold off a grin. He was looking at Dooku, smiling in a kind of twisted way. It must be because the other Jedi have arrived to help.

Speaking of, Anakin stepped next to Dooku, not expecting his face to be so full of fury. Doubtless, because his plans to kill the Chancellor had been interrupted. He was probably dealing with the Jedi Masters while the Sister watched Anakin and Palpatine. He had every right to be furious.

Anakin wasn't very interested in the Jedi. They were stressed, startled, and preparing to fight. That wasn't news to Anakin, given the circumstances before him.

He turned back to the Inquisitor, who was still holding the Chancellor hostage. The Father said this was my greatest danger to come, he thought. Is she going to kill me?

"Your eyes deceive you, Anakin Skywalker," responded the Father, unprompted. "The danger to you comes not from the Inquisitor, it comes not even from Tyrannus, or Dooku, as you call him. The true danger is being held at bay by the Inquisitor."

The Chancellor? Anakin stared at him. What danger is the Chancellor to me?

"Not just the Chancellor. Remember, in your future, you are beside him."

"How am I a danger to myself?" I asked aloud, knowing it would not have made a difference if I had thought it instead. "What more can you tell me?

"Not much, not from here, not from now. What I can say is this: Be wary of the danger before you, Anakin. Beware of the danger."

"How can I be wary of a danger I don't understand? Please, you have to explain!"

"The people you see here are not who they appear to be."

"The Inquisitor?"

"Not just her. There is more to this than meets your eye, Skywalker. You will understand. In time, you will know. Be wary, Anakin Skywalker. Beware!"

"Wait!" He called out, but the room was already starting to brighten.

Anakin bolted upright in his bed and took a few seconds to catch his breath. After his heartbeat slowed to a somewhat regular rate, he stood up and staggered to the window. Everything was normal again, if not for the time of day. It was still an hour or two before he normally woke up, but ships were already transporting people and cargo around the city. People were walking to work, or back from a late night at the bar.

He relaxed when he saw the world as it should be, but he heard the Father's voice one more time: "Beware!"

Maybe I should beware of falling asleep, Anakin thought.

Anakin didn't really have a choice, though. He had avoided falling asleep for the past two nights and he was exhausted. Even Obi-Wan had noticed something was off, although Anakin had waved it off at the time. He was so drained he knew Force Hibernation wouldn't suffice tonight, so he had chanced to dream again. At least he hadn't had to watch Ahsoka die this time.

But what had he seen? Anakin turned and saw the government building, where, according to the Father, the Inquisitor was supposed to hold him and Palpatine at her mercy and Dooku would fight three Jedi Masters in the Chancellor's office.

There is more to this than meets the eye, that's what the Father had told him. There was something that was happening in that room, something he couldn't know, just by looking at a still of the future. Was it something that was said that put the whole image into context? Did he know something in the future that changed his point of view?

There must be because the Father said that his greatest danger was Palpatine, and himself. Neither made sense to Anakin. Palpatine was a friend, almost like a father. He had looked out for him ever since he had come to Coruscant with Qui-Gon many years ago. What reason would the Chancellor have to hurt him?

And then there was the danger he, apparently, presented to himself. How was he supposed to hurt himself? He understood how the Sith and the Inquisitor might be dangerous, but himself? How?

He had said something else, something about the Inquisitor. "The people you see here are not who they appear to be," the Father had said that, too. About the Inquisitor, and someone else, maybe more than one person. Anakin didn't worry about the second part, since he didn't have a clue who else might be hiding something about themselves, but he did focus on the Inquisitor.

It was almost two months since he had first met the Inquisitor, and he still didn't know who she was, where she had come from, or why he felt a thread connecting them. If the Father had thought it was important for him to know, then there must be a reason. Could it be...no... could it? Was it possible?

Anakin sank to his knees and held his head in his hands. He didn't know, he didn't know anymore. He didn't know where Ahsoka was, he didn't know who the Sister was, he didn't know who was hiding what. Could he trust the Sister? Could he trust the Chancellor now, after what he had seen? Could he trust the Father, or was this all a trick? He had so many questions and he never seemed to get answers. Every time he thought he had figured one mystery out, another three arose. His frustration snaked about in his head, consuming his mind. Who could he trust, who could he trust, who could he trust? WHO COULD HE TRUST?

He slowed his breathing and tried to calm down. He could trust Padmé, he knew that much. He could always trust her. He could run to her, and he knew she would be there for him, he always could count on her.

Ahsoka. He could count on Ahsoka, wherever she was. He didn't know where to find her, but if he did, he knew that she would stand by him.

Would she? Would she still, after you let her go?

No, no, not again. Please.

Would she let you run to her for help? Would she help you?

She knows I tried to help her, she knows that!

Would she stand by you, after everything you've done?

She's always stood by me, she always has! She stood by me when no one else would, she followed me when anyone else would have run!

And did you stand by her, when she needed you most?

I did! I did! I stood by, her I did everything I could! I proved her innocent!

And was that enough?

She made it past the trial!

DID SHE STAY?

Anakin sobbed into his hands, the tears leaking between his fingers.

No.

No, she didn't. It might have been enough for the Senate, it might even have been enough for the Jedi, but it wasn't enough for her. She left you.

Please.

What makes you think she would stand with you, after all this time?

I knew her. I knew her.

Yes, you knew her. Knew, not know. You do not know her.

But I knew her.

I knew her.

I knew her.

Please. Please, Ahsoka, stand by me. Stand by me, I need you.

Where are you?