Longer update time than I expected, but life is crazy sometimes. I read Lost Stars by Claudia Gray and I love it so much (to the extent that I read it in 2 days)! I HIGHLY recommend it. So, possible spoilers for that book in the future. Who knows, maybe I'll even include some of the characters...

Also, quick announcement: if you didn't already know, I'm responding to reviews through PM now, but if you don't have a PM, I'll respond to you in the chapter.

Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to Disney (the people who monetized SWT's Vader fan-film) and Lucasfilm (the people who saved SWT's Vader fan-film). Thanks you, Lucasfilm!

(Published 1.29.19)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Shroud of Darkness

3 BBY

After their first meeting with the crew of the Ghost, things had been relatively calm. Luke and Ezra had spoken when both of them had had free time, more about Ezra's adventures than anything else. One story about a pirate named Hondo thoroughly amused Luke. Since the last time they had met, which was now a few months later, they had helped a few space whales, gone on an adventure with Hera's dad, and Zeb went on a date with Agent Kallus on an ice moon, something that Luke found humorous, having met the ISB agent for himself.

And then of course, there was Darth Timora. Although the hologram was hard to read because of the static, he could always hear the genuine fear in Ezra's voice when he spoke of the monster who had nearly made the young Jedi slit his own throat.

The Sith Lord (Luke still wasn't sure what that was, because of Anakin's reluctance to speak of the past) had become worrisome to Senator Organa and the rebels. She, or it, was unstoppable and they had been lucky to escape with their lives.

Ezra usually left that topic pretty quickly.

Luke often told him of his father, and how he had named his new ship the Twilight II. Ben had rolled his eyes as the droid R2-D2 had whirred in delight at the new name.

Speaking of Artoo, Luke had mostly learned about his father's past in the Clone Wars from the droid. He had also been reintroduced to C-3P0, Luke's new personal least favorite droid, who could make even the most boring political debacle seem like a lengthy adventure. His father hadn't really delved into his past very much, only when mentioning a technique to Senator Organa or laughing with Ben about some inside joke from the war.

Ben and Padmé - his mother - both taught him as much as they could, but Organa had put Padmé on a busy schedule.

To put it simply, Luke was bored out of his mind. He hadn't seen Rex or Ahsoka to hear their war stories, his father didn't speak to him about the Jedi or the war, and his mother and Uncle Ben both were extremely busy. With no mission for over two months, Luke was left to meet the rebel pilots and soldiers. So far, they had taught him to efficiently fire a blaster pistol and shown him the inside of an A-wing, which Luke found absolutely fascinating. They had even allowed him to give one a test, giving him the nickname 'Rookie' among some of the pilots.

Of course, it was one day when Anakin came into Luke's quarters with a disturbed look on his face when he knew that something was wrong.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

Anakin only slightly scowled. "We're going to Lothal. Come on."

"I still don't understand why you're angry at me! What did I do?"

He shook his head. "I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at - " He sighed. "Ahsoka outranks me in this Rebellion. Technically, she can tell me what to do, so you're coming with us to the Jedi Temple on Lothal."

His eyes widened. "Really? Wait - I thought you didn't want me doing any Jedi stuff?"

"I don't. But apparently Ahsoka does."

"So… there's a Jedi Temple on Lothal?" asked Ben. "No one ever spoke of it."

"I assume that it was abandoned a while ago," said Kanan from the pilot's seat of the Phantom.

Ezra smiled. "Yeah, the first time we came here, it was more of an accident. And then I got my kyber crystal."

Anakin's brow furrowed. "How could you get a kyber crystal from a planet like Lothal? I wasn't aware there were any on this planet."

"The Force works in mysterious ways," muttered Ahsoka cynically, making Luke shudder. The only thing he knew about 'kyber crystals' was that they were used to power the lightsaber of a Jedi. Not that anyone was telling him anything, anyway…

Chopper landed the small shuttle in a sandy plain with a large rock (the definition of a mountain on Lothal) standing in the center. Ezra looked at Luke with an amused smile. "I guess we're going on another adventure."

"Better late than never," Luke said. "I've been craving something like this for the past two months." As he stepped out of the Phantom, he shuddered and stumbled a bit. He felt a firm hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Ben.

"Careful," said the older man with a smirk.

"Thanks," Luke breathed, realized that he hadn't walked on solid earth since Felucia, and that was two months ago. Suddenly, he shivered, his breath coming out in white wisps, sort of like smoke. "Whoa," he breathed, more air turning to ice. Snow lightly coated the ground. He didn't think any place could be so cold!

"Ezra, you're from Lothal?" asked Ahsoka curiously.

He faced the tall grasses. "Yeah. This place is my home." Luke had discovered this in his and Ezra's messages, when Ezra was telling him more about the Ghost crew's adventures. "Here it is," he spoke. "If two of you stand here, you can use the Force to open the temple."

Luke wasn't sure what the other boy meant. There was only grass, dirt, and a pointed rock in the center. But Ezra was gesturing at a ring of small circles, extending out into an array of more small circles.

"No, I'd like to see you try it. You've done it before," Anakin said, arms crossed.

Ezra and Kanan nodded, stepping into the main circle. Luke crossed over to see what they were doing, intrigued. They shut their eyes and, outstretching their hands, Luke felt something flow through him - the Force. They were using it to… unlock the temple?

Suddenly, the mountain began to lift out of the ground. Yes, Luke had moved little things with the help of Qui-Gon (who hadn't shown up in months), but never had he imagined that anyone could use the Force to move something as large as this. He stared in wonder as his father came over and placed his hands on Luke's shoulders.

"Are you ready," he said quietly, more of a statement than a question. "Because I'm not completely sure that I am."

Yes, Luke thought and, as though Anakin could hear his thoughts, he nodded.

Ezra opened his eyes as a crystal cavern passed by. "Hey, where's the door going?" The mountain kept ascending, seemingly never ending, until it stopped with a low rumbling noise. A new door appeared, this one more elaborate.

"This is new," said Ezra. "We didn't go through this one the first time we came here."

Kanan shrugged. "Well - new problem, new door." He turned to the Phantom. "Chop, stay here. Keep an eye out." The droid groaned, but fell into place. All six of them walked forward, into the new door, and what seemed to Luke to be a new life.

"So, let me get this straight… Master Yoda's living on an uninhabited planet doing nothing in particular?" Kanan asked curiously.

"Wel… not as you put it," Obi-Wan said. "Master Yoda has been trying to unlock the secrets of the Force - ones even the Jedi never discovered."

"Like what?" asked Ezra.

Anakin chuckled, recalling what Luke had told him and his own experiences. "Remember how Luke told you about Qui-Gon Jinn and how he had been training Luke?" They nodded, although confused. "Well, Master Qui-Gon really has found a way to communicate with us from beyond the grave. Yoda is trying to figure out how he did it and has even begun to teach me."

"Wow, that's… that's incredible," Kanan said, stumbling on his words. All six of them emerged into a circular cavern, paintings and words inscribed on the walls. Anakin saw ancient, faded drawings of wolves on the stone. He wanted to go over to them and touch the paintings, until he heard the door closing behind them. No one seemed startled, except for Luke, who winced as they closed.

"How did you contact Master Yoda here?" Ahsoka asked inquisitively.

Kanan shrugged awkwardly. "Well… he kind of contacted us."

"I thought I was dreaming when I first heard Master Yoda's voice," said Ezra.

"He certainly can sound like that," Anakin murmured, causing a grin from Ahsoka and Kanan and only a cocked head from Luke.

"And I was meditating," Kanan told them.

"Then perhaps that's a good place to start," Obi-Wan offered, and Ahsoka nodded. They sat in the center of the chamber, Luke looking to Anakin for guidance. Anakin gave Luke a reassuring look, and he copied the kneeling position.

They sat there, Anakin's mind on Leia and where she was right now. His eyes shifted to a new scene. Leia was in the Imperial Senate, not different from the Republic senate chamber, next to Bail Organa, who looked tired and overpowered. Leia's gaze took her to a figure that Anakin recognized as Mon Mothma of Chandrila. She gave an apologetic look to Leia as the crowd of diplomats emerged into a round of applause for Emperor Palpatine's new conquests to bring peace and order to the galaxy.

Anakin snapped out of his trance and he was not seeing his daughter, but he was back in the Temple, his five companions with him.

He felt the Force, and swiveled around only to see a bright light in the wall - right next to a painting of one of those wolves.

"Dad?" said Luke hesitantly and quietly, not exactly sure what to do. "What's wrong?"

"I..." he stuttered. "I'm going into the doorway."

Although the other four were merely meditating and didn't really notice, Luke said, "Uh, Dad, there's no doorway." But Anakin was already up, following the Force into the light and disappearing.

Kanan cracked open his eyes, his mind on Depa Billaba, and Hera, and the Jedi. Smoke was curling out of a bright light, almost like a doorway.

"I see a doorway," he said, earning confused glances from Ezra and Ahsoka, but not Master Kenobi, who looked deep in thought.

"Where? I - I don't see anything," said Ezra.

"Neither do I."

Kanan stood up. "Last time we spoke with Master Yoda, we were separated. Maybe this is my path alone." He began to walk to the mesmerizing white light, knowing he would find answers on the other side.

Ezra barked out a warning. "Be careful!"

"Don't worry. I wouldn't do anything you would do." He last saw Ezra's confused face before stepping through the doorway.

Obi-Wan heard her voice calling out to him. And then he pictured her eyes, her hair, her figure.

He heard the others speaking of something, but he had no time to concentrate. Suddenly, he was back in the throne room of Sundari, kneeling in front of Satine Kryze.

"Where did he go?" Ezra asked after Kanan walked through his pathway.

"He just - disappeared. Like Dad," said Luke in awe.

"As you know, these temples can be tricky," Ahsoka stated, causing Luke again to wince in fear.

They all turned back to speak to Obi-Wan, but he had vanished as well.

"Ugh, this gets weirder and weirder," Luke groaned.

Ezra changed the subject. "You knew Master Yoda?" he asked Ahsoka, and she nodded.

"Yes. He taught almost all of the younglings in the Temple, at one point or another."

"Kanan described him to me," Ezra continued. "Small, green, and wrinkly with pointy ears."

Ahsoka smiled fondly and Luke laughed, "Seriously?"

He returned the laugh and said, "That was my reaction too. But Kanan didn't know what he was really like."

"I'm not sure anyone did," explained Ahsoka. "He was wise, kind, but when I was young, he seemed happier. As the Clone War dragged on, he carried a great burden, a deep sorrow, as if he knew before anyone else that one time was ending and another beginning.

Suddenly, Luke closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he was in an unfamiliar room.

Kanan left the bright light behind and emerged into a very familiar room. It was a training room, much resembling one from the Temple where he grew up.

"I wondered when you would return," said the figure. Sitting there in the center, double-bladed lightsaber next to him, was -

"A Temple guard," he said in astonishment, then remembering his purpose said, "I've come for knowledge. I need to know how to defeat Timora and her Inquisitors."

The guard stood, picking up his lightsaber. "Try to fight, and you will fail. The Rebellion will be destroyed, you will die, your apprentice will become a servant of evil."

Perplexed, and almost angry, Kanan asked, "What are you talking about?"

"The Dark Side," said the Temple Guard. "It pulls at him. It calls to him. Eventually, he will be consumed by it." He ignited the yellow-bladed lightsaber with a flourish of his hand. Closing his eyes, Kanan decided - he would protect Ezra. He ignited his own lightsaber. The guard spoke. "Step aside. The boy must be eliminated before he embraces the darkness."

He got into position for a fight. "I won't let that happen." The Temple guard charged, and their blades clashed. Kanan briefly managed to push him back, but the guard recovered quickly.

Breathing heavily, Kanan swung sloppily at him, knowing that Ezra would die if he didn't.

As soon as Ezra opened his eyes again, he was in the mysterious void, kneeling as he had just been doing in the Temple. His eyes widened at how vast it was; it was possible that it could go on forever. He stood up.

"Whoa," he breathed. "I know this place."

"Special it is to you, hmm?" said an old, familiar voice, and Ezra jerked around. The Jedi Master sat on a log, with no other clues to his location.

"Master Yoda?" he asked, chuckling at Kanan's spot-on description. "You're here!"

He pointed his staff at Ezra. "Or here you are, hmm?"

Ezra sat again. "Last time I couldn't see you."

"Ah, growing your abilities are. And with them, danger."

He pondered on this, realizing that their threats had only multiplied since he had begun to train as a Jedi…

Anakin watched as a clearly younger version of himself ran after a younger version of Ahsoka. It was twilight on Coruscant, and they were clearly leaving the Jedi Temple… except something was wrong. Ahsoka looked as if she had been crying, and the look on Past Anakin's face was stressed. He was sprinting towards her.

"Ahsoka, wait!" he yelled. "Ahsoka, I need to talk to you!" She stopped, though begrudgingly, and turned around. Past Anakin sighed. "Why are you doing this?"

She almost seemed to sneer. "The Council didn't trust me. So how can I trust myself?"

"What about me? I believed in you, I stood by you!" he stated angrily, and Present Anakin was even more confused. What's going on? This never happened…

"I know you believe in me, Anakin, and I'm grateful for that, but this isn't about you," she said sadly. "I can't stay here any longer. Not now." She turned away, her arms folded across her chest.

Past Anakin reached out to her. "The Jedi Order is her life. You can't just throw it away like this! Ahsoka, you are making a mistake."

"Maybe," she said boldly. "But I have to sort this out on my own. Without the Council, and without you."

He said this with earnesty: "I understand. More than you realize, I understand wanting to walk away from the Order."

Past Ahsoka's head cocked back to him for a moment. "I know."

Past Anakin's head jerked up in surprise, but Ahsoka was already walking away, across the entrance which she was now exiting through, down the tall staircase, and into Coruscant's neverending city.

And she cried as she went.

Past Anakin was seemed just as clueless as Present Anakin as it went on. This never happened, said Anakin to himself. Ahsoka never left the Jedi Order. What is this?

You will see, said a voice that sounded suspiciously like the Father's from Mortis.

The scene faded to black, as well as Anakin's vision.

Luke sat in an enclosed room, kneeling on a cushioned chair. He let out a groan.

"How can it get any worse? First the disappearing, then - "

Sitting criss-crossed on another cushion was Qui-Gon, but he wasn't blue-tinted like he usually was. Now, he had the full features of an aged man, warm yet cunning.

"Master," Luke said, bowing his head, then sat criss-crossed as his master was doing.

He nodded. "You have discovered the truth now. You have met your family and accepted their roles in the Clone Wars, yes?"

"Y-yes," said Luke, then stopped. "Master, how do I become a Jedi? My father won't help me. I'm sure of that. But… why?"

"Your father doesn't feel that he is worthy of being a Jedi any longer," Qui-Gon explained, but Luke still was confused. "Anakin thinks that he betrayed them by not being able to save them. Even though his love for your mother overrided his dedication to the Order, he believes that Sidious was able to wipe them out while he wasn't watching."

Luke considered this. "So… Dad thinks that it's his fault that the Jedi were wiped out?"

"He simply feels guilt, more than he ever did during his time in the Jedi Order," Qui-Gon said. "As for you, I have trained you for over a year now, and I am going to pass down your training."

Luke's eyes widened. "Wait, why? Why can't you teach me anymore?"

"You must learn how to better control the Force before I can share the secrets that I have discovered with you."

"Then… who will continue my training?" Luke asked quietly.

"S-Satine," stuttered Obi-Wan. After this, he was struck speechless.

"Obi," she said, her soft voice sending chills down his spine. She got up from her elaborate throne, and she genuinely smiled, and ran down to him.

From there, everything seemed to go in slow motion. He embraced Satine, loving every second of it.

When they finally pulled apart, her face was no longer of kindness, but of immense anxiety. She stressed, "Obi. They're everywhere. This mysterious figure and his minions - they're following me."

"What do you mean?" he asked, cradling her face. And suddenly, it came flooding back to him. "Maul." He grimaced. "What is this? Satine, you're… you're dead."

"Obi-Wan, they want to kill me! They're going to kill - "

Suddenly, a black-tipped blade impaled her stomach, and there was that gut-wrenching groan that Obi-Wan had only ever heard one other time in his life. That was when Satine had died in real life.

And as he held Satine's head as she fell, he looked up only to see a black and red tattooed face.

This chapter is a bit crazy, I know. Force visions can get pretty weird sometimes! Hopefully by next chapter everything will be cleared up for you guys. Speaking of which, I've found a few inconsistencies in the story. So please, if you spot an inconsistency, please tell me about it so I can fix it as soon a possible.

Thanks to all my reviewers, Just A Crazy-Man, CloneWarsNerd, donutstar123, Darth Drachonus, dragonfox123, Guest, and AlaskanAppaloosa. For those who I didn't PM, here are my responses:

donutstar123: Thank you so much! That's a great idea, and I'll definitely try to add it in.

Guest: Yeah, I can see why you say that. But don't worry, Timora's character will have a LOT more to do with the story in future chapters, so don't worry about it.

There were a lot of songs for this chapter, so I'll just list them at the end of next chapter. Please remember to follow, favorite, and review. In two weeks is Shroud of Darkness Part II.

May the Force be with you and God bless!

-HH