The Machinations of the Son - 6

A.N: Timeline setting: Both during the events of Mortis, and after 'To Take Down an Emperor'

Upon entering the central room of Fulcrum's apartment, three things stood out to Anakin. The first was Fulcrum herself, who stood off to the side, a long white staff in her hands. The elder Togruta woman was gently running her hands across the staff, her eyes closed, as if she was listening to something. Through the Force he could feel the light radiate outwards from Fulcrum. Was the staff perhaps some kind of Force sensitive relic?

Finding no answers in his speculation, Anakin shifted his attention to the second thing that had caught his attention. Ahsoka, or more specifically, his Ahsoka. She was no longer hiding away in a room upstairs. Instead she was seated comfortably on the floor, a small smile on her face, her signature in the Force much calmer than it had been before. He was glad that she was alright. He had been worried for a moment, and being unable to do anything without making it worse was something he hated.

And no doubt something he would have to get used to.

The third thing that caught his attention however was the most bizarre, and raised the most questions. Ahsoka wasn't alone on the floor. Instead, much to Anakin's surprise, she appeared to be accompanied by a small avian creature, one who was staring up at Ahsoka, hooting softly at the Togruta, who in turn reacted by gently fussing the creatures beak with her fingers.

Steeling himself just in case Ahsoka was still angry at him, Anakin stepped forward and cleared his throat.

Ahsoka's calm blue eyes shot up in an instant, locking onto his own ones. Her eyes seemed watery, as if she had been crying, or at very least trying to hold back tears, tears he had caused. He would never forgive himself if had been the cause of her tears.

"Master I… I didn't mean those things I said. I'm so sorry." The Togruta girl spoke softly, head drooping in shame, an act that caused the avian before her to gently nudge her with its face, a clear attempt to comfort her.

Anakin moved in an instant, coming to sit beside his Padawan, wrapping an arm round her and pulling her against his side.

"It's ok Snips. I don't and never will blame you. You're allowed to be angry with me. I know I am."

"But that's not the Jedi way. Anger leads to hate, and hate leads to the darkside." Ahsoka replied, her voice barely above a whimper. "I don't want that."

"You don't need to worry Ahsoka. Just look at who you become. You are going to grow up into a strong woman who saved the galaxy despite the odds. Never forget that, because I know I certainly won't." Anakin encouraged, pulling her closer as he spoke, squeezing her.

"Yes Master. I'll try."

Content with her words, Anakin shifted his focus to the strange bird that was before him now. It's small beady eyes stared directly at him, as if silently judging or analysing him. What was that about?

Believing it was simply because the creature was unfamiliar with him, Anakin gently held his flesh hand out the creature to smell. The avian leaned forward, beak lightly touching the tips of his fingers, the sounds of inhalation echoing from the creature.

"Good bird." Anakin spoke, his tone light and happy. He loved animals.

SNAP!

"Arghh, son of a nerfherder! It just bit me!"

The sound of Ahsoka giggling from beside it almost made the stinging pain in his fingers worth it. Almost. Looking down at the bird, who had backed away, Anakin would almost say that it was mocking him, judging by the way it was lightly flapping its wings and chirping.

"Morai! Apologise now!" The stern voice of Fulcrum interrupted the situation, a voice that the avian before him instantly responded to. The creature Fulcrum called 'Morai' bowed its head, hooting softly, before taking flight and hovering over to where Fulcrum was, landing atop the staff was she holding.

"Sorry about her." Fulcrum said, one hand holding the staff upright, the other gently rubbing Morai's wing. "She's not that great around new people."

"No problem. What's with the bird though? Didn't take you for a person who owned pets?" Anakin replied, questioning the presence of the avian directly. For all he knew she could very well belong to Kaeden and not Ahsoka.

"She's not a pet. To be truthful I'm not one hundred percent sure what she is. Morai has some sort of connection to The Daughter of Mortis. Ever since Mortis she seems to follow me around. I can only speculate that she is some sort of spirit guide sent by The Daughter to watch over things. For some reason she seems to have taken a liking to me." Fulcrum answered, seemingly nonchalant about the idea of a Force demigod sending a spirit guide to watch over her.

"Your life really has gotten crazy hasn't it?" Anakin couldn't help the comment, hoping that Fulcrum would find the humour in it.

Judging by the smirk that came to Fulcrum's face, she did.

"You don't know the half of it."

Fulcrum's response generated a few chuckles from Kaeden, who was standing beside her now, petting Morai in the process. Unlike with Anakin the avian appeared to be receptive of Kaeden's attention.

'Guess the bird likes her more than me.' Anakin's conscience whispered in his head, tone full of humour.

Obi-Wan was the next to speak, moving to stand beside where Anakin and Ahsoka rested on the floor together, his blue eyes focused entirely on the white staff Fulcrum was holding.

"And what is this then?" Obi-Wan inquired, one hand coming up to stroke his facial hair, a sign that he was in deep thought. Anakin repressed the urge to mock his former Master for the gesture.

Fulcrum's eyes shifted away from those assembled before her, running down the length of the staff instead, before glancing up again at Morai, still perched on the staff's tip, who hooted aloud, wings spread.

"About a year ago a friend of mine came to me with a question. Who came first, the Jedi or the Sith? As you might expect we went in search of such answers and discovered many hidden secrets. This staff is a relic of a long forgotten past, from a time before Jedi and Sith, a time that coincides with the advent of the Force and its discovery. This staff belonged to one of the original three Force wielders, before what was referred to as 'The Great Divide.' It is one of three ancient artefacts that we recovered from the founders tombs. Suffice to say it holds great power, power we might very well need in order to return you home."

"So what you're saying is it isn't a walking stick for your posture?" Anakin quipped following Fulcrum's description of her journey, hoping to impart humour.

The dry look on Fulcrum's face as she stared back at him was the only real response he got, before she let loose a loud sigh, rolling her eyes in the process.

"No, it's not a walking stick."

Shrugging his shoulders at her, Anakin couldn't help but smirk as he watched Fulcrum move around the room, staff in hand. A small smile was also present on her face, perhaps the first one he had caused since he had arrived in the future. That alone was enough to fill him with some sort of semblance of hope.

"So… what's the plan then?" The younger Ahsoka questioned, pushing herself up off of the ground, pushing Anakin down onto his back in the process, eliciting a chuckle from him in the process as he struggled to stand up himself.

Fulcrum continued to move around the large living room of her apartment, lifting the long white staff in various directions, as if she was trying to find something with it. Morai sat perched on the end of the staff throughout, occasionally making soft sounds with her throat, as if she was directing Fulcrum. If what they had been told about Morai's connection to 'The Daughter' was real then Anakin's hypothesis could very well be true.

Anakin watched as the elder Togruta shifted her position once again, moving over to the large patio doors that overlooked the now setting sun, bathing Fulcrum in an ethereal orange glow. The staff was raised up once again, and this time Morai reacted with far greater enthusiasm. The avian hooted aloud, bouncing on the end of the staff, wings fluttering with what appeared to be excitement.

"Nice work Morai. You know what to do next right?" Fulcrum spoke softly to the bird, who Anakin could have sworn nodded in reply to Fulcrum's question.

"Good. Now I just need the rest of you to help." Fulcrum continued, turning her attention to the three time travelers, each of whom looked equally confused and intrigued.

"What can we do to help?" Obi-Wan spoke first, coming to stand before Fulcrum, his signature in the Force bright and ready for anything.

"The Son sent you to this time period through some manipulation of the Force. Anakin spoke of a portal of some description. Evidently only a being of great power could open or create such a thing. None of us, bar maybe Anakin himself, can reach that level of power, not unless we work in tandem. Maybe then we can open a portal and return you to the correct time with minimal damage. I was going to wait until my friends arrived to help us, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try now."

"Sounds like a 'Skywalker plan' to me?" Ahsoka spoke next, coming to stand before her elder self, a confident look on her face.

"Well she did learn from Anakin." Obi-Wan joined in the mockery next, shooting a smirk at Anakin, who only shook his head in response to the joke.

"Yeah yeah. All I learnt, I learnt from you my Master."

"Oh? The how come your hair looks like a dead loth-cat most of the time?"

"Hey! I wash and comb my hair everyday Obi-Wan!"

"In what substance? Engine grease?"

"No!"

The argument wasn't a serious one, not like some of the disputes Anakin had had with Obi-Wan in the past, but it was one that was needed nonetheless, if only to break the tension that permeated around the two of them since the revelation of Anakin's future. Frankly, as long as he had Obi-Wan and Ahsoka's support, if only for now, he would be alright.

He very much doubted he'd still have Padmé's if she knew what he would end up doing.

"I'll never understand why humans are so obsessed with how their hair looks. It's just dead tissue. Does it offer some sort of secret power that I'm unaware of?" Ahsoka commented, the statement being aimed at everyone in the room, her tone also full of jest and humour, something that gained a laugh out of Kaeden, who was standing watching from a distance.

"It's kinda soft and cuddly. Feels nice to touch too, for both parties."

Fulcrum's comment caught everyone off guard, especially her younger self who was now staring at the taller Togruta with a scandalized look on her face. Fulcrum herself appeared to be in a euphoric state, eyes glazed over as if she was daydreaming about something. Anakin had a sneaky suspicion it had something to do with the other woman in the room with them, one who now had her face buried in the palms of her hands in embarrassment.

"What. The. Kriff."

Ahsoka's cursive seemed to draw Fulcrum out of her internal thoughts, her blue eyes locking onto Ahsoka's with confusion.

"What? What's wrong?"

Ahsoka's head shifted between her older self and Anakin, as if hoping for some sort of explanation from someone.

When it was clear to her that she wasn't going to get one, Ahsoka spoke again.

"How do you know that hair is 'Soft and cuddly and feels nice to touch?'"

Fulcrum seemed to momentarily confused by Ahsoka's words, a moment that quickly ended when her eyes widened in an almost comical way as she finally grasped the full extent of her words. In an instant Fulcrum's composure was broken, the woman descending into a series of sounds that were little more than grunts and sighs, as if she was trying to explain herself, but no words were able to be formed.

Anakin almost burst out laughing at the site of it all. If someone had told him that he'd be encountering his grown up Padawan when he had gotten out of bed this morning he would have never believed them, much less a grown up Padawan with a secret girlfriend. The interaction before him was almost too good to be true.

As quickly as Fulcrum lost her composure however she regained it, taking several deep breaths before turning her attention to Obi-Wan and Anakin, speaking only three words to her younger self in the process.

"It doesn't matter."

Ahsoka was clearly not content with the explanation, but having no way of arguing she simply huffed and accepted it for now. No doubt he'd have to explain it to her later. That would not be a fun conversation.

"Anyway, as I was saying we need to work in tandem to create a portal here. Anakin, I need you to focus and picture what the portal looked like in your mind. Then you must allow us past your mental shielding so that we too can see the image you remember." Fulcrum spoke, turning away from the three Jedi and focusing on Morai again, who was still perched atop the staff.

"So basically your going to probe my mind? Careful you don't see anything private in there." Anakin replied, stepping beside Fulcrum and reaching out with a hand towards the staff, grasping the hilt of it gently.

"Yes I'm sure there are many private memories in that empty head of yours Anakin. Believe me I don't want to see those!" Fulcrum replied, closing her eyes as she wrapped her own hands around the staff just above Anakin's. Through the Force he could feel her signature connecting with his, awaiting entry into his mind.

Chuckling at her response Anakin too closed his eyes and imagined, picturing the portal 'The Son' had shown him in his head, remembering the way it seemed to distort the air around it, as if it was a ripple of water in a puddle. Behind him he felt Obi-Wan and Ahsoka move up, hands grasping the staff as well, their own Force signatures patiently awaiting access to his mind.

Taking a deep breath, he lowered his defences, allowing entry. In that moment he felt four presences enter his mind. Two were familiar, his Master and Apprentice, another a distorted variation of a familiar signature, one no doubt belonging to Fulcrum. The fourth was a foreign entity completely, yet shone in radiant light all over him, threatening to engulf and overpower him.

"Focus on the image. Imagine it appearing before you. Morai will do the rest." Fulcrum spoke, her voice echoing through Anakin's head, followed by a gently hoot from Morai, as if she was encouraging them on.

Anakin was unsure how long had passed before he heard a loud gasp come from the only person who wasn't directly involved in the ongoing Force bond. In that moment Fulcrum pulled back gently, followed by Ahsoka and Obi-Wan, and lastly Morai. Opening his eyes, Anakin saw what had elicited the gasp from Kaeden.

There, before them was a portal, similar to the one 'The Son' had shoved him through. The centre of the rip in space shimmered and rippled as the previous one had, and through he could see only darkness, illuminated by the occasional white light. Was that the path back to Mortis?

"Hey, we did it!" Ahsoka's joyful voice said, her enthusiasm being reciprocated by all other Force users in the room.

And then another voice spoke out, one dark and menacing, and one that had caused all this trouble to begin with.

"Yes, you did it. I must say I am surprised. I had assumed you would be trapped for all eternity. Guess there are some things about the Force that even I have yet to comprehend."

Anakin's hand instantly went to the vacant spot on his waist where his lightsaber would usually rest out of instinct. The image in the portal before them changed, a deep red hue almost pulsating out of it as The Son materialized in the centre of it, glowing eyes boring down upon him with feral malice. He was clearly not happy.

"Well, I am full of surprises." Anakin quipped back, having no other way to fight back against him aside from words.

"As I am oh great 'Chosen One'!" The Son snarled, his hands coming upwards, reaching through the portal in a familiar outstretched shape, one he had seen Count Dooku perform before.

Red lightning erupted from the fingertips, distorting everything it as it hurtled towards him with terrifying velocity. Anakin braced himself for the impact, knowing full well how much it was about to hurt.

That was until Fulcrum moved in front of him, her own palms facing outwards towards the lightning, catching it and forcing it around the assembled group, shielding them all from The Son's assault. She held for a for seconds, pushing back against the Force demi-god as best she could, before she began to falter.

Anakin ignored the way Kaeden screamed Ahsoka's name in despair, moving to help his former apprentice anyway he could. He reached out with the Force, blocking what he could of the lightning, trying as best he could to force The Son to give up. But even with the two of them it was a struggle, and even when both Ahsoka and Obi-Wan offered their support they were no match for the physical embodiment of the darkside of the Force.

It wasn't until Morai herself flew into the stream of lighting that The Son gave in, a dark smirk covering his face as he watched Fulcrum collapse onto her knees, Kaeden moving to her side in an instant. Anakin too was greatly concerned, but right now he had bigger issues to deal with.

The Son surveyed them all for a few moments, his expression showing nothing but contempt and glee at their suffering. It was clear he was enjoying this.

"Well Fulcrum, I must say you have done well for yourself. My sister was wize to spare you on Mortis. But not even you can solve this riddle." The Son spoke, directly addressing Fulcrum rather that Anakin, who was wheezing from her position on her knees.

"We.. near… nearly did. If you hadn… hadn't shown up they'd be through that portal and home by now!" Fulcrum exclaimed, climbing to her feet in defiance with the support of Kaeden, who shot a dirty look at The Son herself.

"Very true my dear. So let us see how you handle getting more than one group of people back to their correct time in space shall we?"

The Son's words sent a shiver down Anakin's spine, a shiver that only multiplied as he watched The Son reach behind himself, grabbing hold of something, before spinning around and throwing it through the portal towards them.

Anakin barely had time to evade to the side, crashing into both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka in the process as they avoided whatever had just been thrown through the portal by The Son. On the other side Anakin saw both Fulcrum and Kaeden lying together in a pile of flailing limbs, Morai hovering above them hooting in concern.

A sharp popping sound him Anakin's ears as his attention was drawn back to where the portal had previously been, watching in despair as it disappeared right before their eyes.

Their escape route was gone. Now they had to find a new way home.

"Is everyone ok?" Anakin called out, reaching a nod from Obi-Wan and Ahsoka in the process, as well as a thumbs up from Kaeden, who was stuck underneath Fulcrum, who groaned in response.

It was then that another sound distracted Anakin, this one emanating from whatever The Son had thrown through the portal at them. It sounded almost like heavy breathing, just distorted by some sort of modulator.

Glancing over, Anakin eyed what had been thrown through for the first time. A hulking mass of black was the best way to describe it, covered by a billowing cloak that too was black in colour. The sound continued to emanate from the black mass, even as it began to slowly move, pushing itself up in the process. As the figure began to rise he could make out more familiar shapes. Hands, arms, legs, feet, a torse covered by a panel of switches and lights.

And what looked like a back skull where the face should have been, a mask that would haunt the dreams of children.

Behind the rising figure Anakin saw Fulcrum stand, a look of terror on her face, her Force signature trembling.

"No, it can't be! Please, not here!" Fulcrum's voice was a gentle whisper, but it was loud enough to draw the attention of the figure before them all. The black figure rose, and turned to face her, a dark sense of foreboding striking Anakin quickly as he felt the rush of the darkside hit him.

And then the figure spoke. It was only three words, but it was enough to make Fulcrum back away in terror, something that unnerved Anakin far more than the figure casting it's darkness throughout the room.

"The apprentice lives."

Author's thoughts

Well... talk about a plot twist hey? How many of you saw that one coming? Be honest. XD

Bringing in Vader opens up yet another can of worms as you can imagine, but it made sense for Anakin to encounter his future self as well as Ahsoka. Obi-Wan will receive the same treatment shortly as well so no worries on that end.

In regards to Vader, you'll learn when in the timeline he is from in the next chapter (whenever I get round to it). Suffice to say I do kind of hint when he's from in this chapter, but details will be revealed in time.

Hopefully you guys like the small bit of humour in this chapter with Fulcrum confusing Ahsoka about how hair is nice to touch. Let's see how long it takes Ahsoka to figure out the truth of what it means. XD

As for the Son showing up, hopefully he was menacing and powerful enough for you all. This was only a mere taste of what he can do. More to come in the future.

Next time round the group deals with the unexpected dangerous new arrival. I wonder who Vader will try to kill first?

As usual, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:

Jojobinks01: Guess you'll have to wait and see. :)

Mysterious guest one: Glad you liked Obi-Wan and Ahsoka's reactions. Hopefully they felt natural enough to their characters. Neither would want to believe it, but they would both do what was necessary if they had to.

jamese765: Thanks, glad you approve. I'll get through it slowly if that's ok? Want to take my time. :)

Lola 931940: Thanks for the praise. I really appreciate it. It keeps me coming back knowing that people want to see more.
Glad you are enjoying the humour in these chapters. Gotta have a bit of a laugh every now and then right?
As for how younger Ahsoka is acting, yeah she is a bit more mature at this point in canon, but in this instance she has literally just met her future self. She's kind of in awe at the moment and has regressed to her more childlike behaviour at times. People forget that despite being a Commander in a galactic war she is still just a teenager. I wanted to show that aspect of her a bit more.
Hope you like the direction this goes in.

Erukat: Glad you enjoyed the reactions, as well as Anakin and Kaeden's interaction. If he'd pf been in a better state of mind he might have gone 'over-protective dad mode' on Kaeden for Ahsoka, but alas it didn't feel right this time around. Plus Fulcrum would have absolutely chased him down with sabers ignited.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)

Mysterious guest two: As if I'm not going to have them meet Maul. Too good of an opportunity to turn down. He'll show up soon. I promise. :)

SWGoji2001: If Anakin would have gone full interrogation mode I imagine he'd be needing a second robot arm. Fulcrum would not take it well.
Anyway, glad you enjoyed the reactions. I wanted them to be different but true to their characters. Obi-Wan would just sort of shut off and be in disbelief, as he is in canon. Ahsoka meanwhile is utterly broken by the news of what he mentor has done. Plus she is scared of what he might do to her because of it.
Hope you liked the Son's brief appearance, as well as Morai pushing him back. More from both of them soon. :)
No worries about going on about Revan. He's a pretty cool character. :)
And yeah, this has kind of exploded into a mini story, and I'm glad. Nice to have something to jump over to when I need a break from Agent of the Chancellor. :)
Hope you like what is to come.

mystery writer5775: Thanks for your opinion. To be fair when I wrote that review Rebels had just finished strong and I was in a good mood with the show, hence the sheer amount of praise I gave it. Looking back a year later now it's clear there are problems with the show, and that episodes like Blood Sisters and Wings of the Master have no real long term impact and are considered fillers, but I still enjoyed them nonetheless. The show is as good as Clone Wars, better in some parts and worse in others, but overall it's just a fun ride with excellent characters and story. No show is perfect, and it's really hard to end a good show well, but Rebels pulled it off, hence the praise.
So yeah, I do agree with you in hindsight, but the episodes being fillers doesn't mean I didn't enjoy them. (Except for Iron Squadron. That episode bored me a bit)