Set during the new Clone Wars season (Unemployed so I don't have the money for Disney+, looking for work)
How did Anakin retain his consciousness after Death? Both Wookieepedia and Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded tell us that Yoda taught Anakin the ways of retaining one's identity after death and able to interact with the universe. But as of now February 2020, this has never been fully explained in canon. In Legends, the book The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader, after Anakin died, he found himself in the Netherworld of the Force. He heard Obi-Wan call out to him and tell him he had one last thing to teach him, the ability to return to corporeal space.
Unless some canon material comes out that tells us Yoda taught Anakin shortly after death, (similar to The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader), let's assume this is how Anakin Skywalker learned the ability to return from the land of the dead.
Anakin Skywalker stood in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Usually, this was a place where Jedi found peace. Tranquility. Good breezes. But the Chosen One's mind was racing. He was in turmoil. He hadn't had any visions of Jedi dying or anything like that. Anakin was questioning what he knew about the ways of the Force. Anakin thought about that conversation he had with Yoda, before the Grand Master had...disappeared...with his help, of course...
"Is everything okay?" Anakin asked.
"Encountered something...difficult, I have," Yoda answered.
Anakin found that hard to believe. "Difficult? For you, Master?"
"Spoke with Master Qui-Gon Jinn on Mortis, did you not?" Yoda asked.
"Yes," Anakin reluctantly said. "So did Obi-Wan. However, since he's dead, we don't think it was actually him. Rather an illusion. A mind trick formed out of our memories. That's what Obi-Wan believes. Why do you ask?"
"Perhaps nothing, it is," Yoda tried to dissuade.
"Everything that we know about the Force tells us that an individual retaining their identity after death is impossible," Anakin said. Though that was mostly what he was taught, not what he believed.
"Everything that we know, yes." Yoda finally turned to face him. "But what about what we know not? Hmm?"
"What we know not," Anakin repeated. The Jedi did actually say things like 'The Force works in mysterious ways'. Yet the Jedi Council constantly acted as though they had figured out everything they needed to know. But did they really? After 6,000 years, there were still things about the Force the Jedi didn't know about. The Jedi went a thousand years without knowing the Sith were still around and plotting.
Obi-Wan told Anakin about his interaction with "Qui-Gon", even how defensive Obi-Wan reacted, to the point of drawing his lightsaber. While Obi-Wan did converse with the spirit, afterwards he didn't believe it was actually the man who trained him as a Jedi. Anakin, however, was not so sure. If what Anakin saw was an illusion, how would this 'illusion' know about the Well that was strong with the dark side of the force? What happened after he went there had been erased from his mind by The Father, but he remembered arriving there. How could an illusion formed by memories know of such a place?
"What do we not know..." Anakin said, in his own dialect.
Even when Master Ki-Adi-Mundi claimed that Yoda speaking with the dead was impossible, even Anakin himself replied 'As far as we know'. Something just didn't add up. He knew what he had to do. He had to take the same journey as Master Yoda. Anakin had to find the answers he sought.
YODA'S CHAMBER
There was still a war going on, but Yoda had simply offered Anakin a place on one of the softly rounded pod seats and suggested they mediate together. He hadn't even asked for details.
After a time, Yoda's eyes had slowly opened and the deep furrows on his ancient brow had lightened.
"Tell me, young Skywalker," Yoda said. "What troubles you?"
"It's about what you said to me...about Master Qui-Gon?"
"Oh?" Yoda pondered.
"But mostly when you said what we don't know about the Force. Master, I know there are the things about the Force the Council aren't telling me. But I also know that there are things about the Force that they don't know."
Yoda stroked his chin. This young man was smarter than Mace Windu thought. Windu was hard on everybody, but especially Anakin. But lacking in intelligence, the boy was not. Patience, maybe. Maturity, definitely. But Windu underestimated Skywalker's potential.
"Did you speak to Qui-Gon after you left?" Anakin asked.
"Why interest you, does it?" Yoda asked without answering. "Why bother you, does this, hmm?"
"Master, I don't care about Obi-Wan says," Anakin stated. "I know what I say on Mortis."
Yoda raised his chin, waiting for Anakin to finish his declaration.
"I spoke with Qui-Gon Jinn. I know it. I... I want to understand how... how this is possible."
"Speak with Master Qui-Gon, do you wish?" Yoda asked. "Or learn what he could teach?"
Anakin shook his head in frustration.
"Understand, your frustration, I do," Yoda counseled the man. "Unaccepting of this knowledge, was the Council." Yoda shook his head. "Stuck in their ways, I'm afraid they are."
"Master, I know that was Master Qui-Gon I spoke with."
Yoda, he is ready.
Anakin's head shot up. Yoda nodded, confirming that Anakin wasn't losing his mind. Anakin let out a sigh of relief. He just heard Qui-Gon's voice.
"To communicate with those who have passed, learn a certain ability, you must," Yoda told him. "To do this, the same path I took, you must take."
"What must I do, Master Yoda?" Anakin asked.
"Find your droid, young one," Yoda advised. "Ask him about my journey, you will. Then, know what to do, you will."
Anakin rose. "I will leave at once, Master Yoda."
"Best kept between us, this should be," Yoda stressed, rising from his seat. "Barely let my go of my adventure, the Council did. Your hide, the Council would have."
"I understand," Anakin bowed his head. "What should I tell Obi-Wan if I run into him or Master Windu?"
"The truth you shall tell them," Yoda said with a wink and smile. "On special assignment from me, you are." He laughed.
Anakin smiled and bowed his head again. "Thank you, Master Yoda. I owe you."
"May the Force be with you, young Skywalker."
"And with you, Master." And with that, Anakin made his leave.
Anakin left Yoda's chamber with a sense of accomplish. Obi-Wan would've told him that vision of Qui-Gon was an illusion. Mace Windu would've just been a dick to him as usual. By the Force, Windu is always such a know-it-all prick. Ahsoka would've supported him but she wasn't here anymore...
Anakin thumbed his comlink.
"Artoo," Anakin said. "Where are you?"
Artoo uttered a response.
"Well, meet me in the hanger," Anakin said. Artoo asked a question. "We'll talk about it when we meet."
Half an hour later, Anakin heard the typical beeping and wheel rolling of The Droid, The Myth, The Legend: R2-D2. (movie theater fans cheer, confetti)
Anakin knelt to met his buddy's dome. "Hey, buddy. I have a special mission for us."
Artoo inquired what this was about.
"You remember where you went with Master Yoda a few weeks ago?" Anakin asked.
R2 beeped again.
"I know, buddy," Anakin assured him. "Remember, I was the one who sent you with Yoda. Yoda has given me permission to seek the same journey. Where did you go?"
Artoo hesitated, but complied and gave an answer to his best human friend.
"Dago-?" Anakin almost said. But a beep from Artoo and some quick thinking made him realize that this wasn't the place. "Let's get to my ship."
Artoo agreed.
A few minutes later, they were preparing Anakin's new Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor. A definite upgrade from the Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor he had previously used. Thank the Force no one inquired on his whereabouts. Save for the big wig Masters, the Jedi at the Temple usually left the "Chosen One" to his own devices. Anakin himself still thought the Chosen One was a myth and he himself was no one special, save his power. Anakin had a hard time believing prophecies. His messed up visions? Yes. Ancient prophecies? Eh...
But if Qui-Gon was able to come back, even if still dead, Anakin would take the chance to speak his old master. Even if absolutely none of his questions were answered, he wanted so badly to see him again. If only his mother had that power. But he never wanted to see her the way he did on Mortis. That wasn't even her, the Father suspected. That Son of his. What a messed up way to try to influence somebody.
"Whatever lies ahead," Anakin said as he put in the coordinates. "I hope we finding what I'm looking for."
R2-D2 questioned him.
"I'll know what I'm looking for when I find it, Artoo," Anakin answered. He was sort of convinced it wasn't a what, but a who. He pushed the throttle forward and the stars thinned back into lines and launched into the blueness of hyperspace.
DAGOBAH SYSTEM
A tiny Aethersprite in a ring was approaching the atmosphere of the Dagobah planet.
As he neared the planet, Anakin Skywalker was able to glimpse a portion of its curved surface through the heavy cover of thick clouds. The planet was uncharted and virtually unknown. Somehow Anakin had made his way there, though he wasn't certain whether it was his hand alone that guided his ship into this unexplored sector of space.
"Welcome back to Dagobah, Artoo," Anakin said. Artoo beeped. "Looks just as grim as the last time you were here, doesn't it?"
Artoo beeped. Anakin checked his ships monitors and began to feel a wee nervous. "I'm not picking up any cities or technology. Massive life-form readings, though. What ever's there, there isn't nothing."
The scanners wouldn't be able to detect spirits, though, Anakin thought. After thousands of years of advancement, technology was still unable to detect the Force. The best they could do was video record instances of telekinetic uses of it, etc. If it wasn't for abilities like telekinesis, lightning and others, people wouldn't believe the Force existed as whole and disregard it as a myth. Some did, but that was only people on planets who had no interactions with Force-sensitives. And mentally-ill people who thought it was a government-conspiracy using gravity-manipulators to "control the masses". Or narcissists who couldn't accept there was a higher power than them.
The Aethersprite sailed through the twilight halo separating pitch black space from the planet's surface. Trusting in the Force, Anakin plunged his craft into the white blanket of mist.
He couldn't see a thing. His vision was entirely obstructed by the dense whiteness pressing against his canopy windows of his ship. The scopes weren't registering anything, even as Anakin flew ever nearer to the planet. Desperately he worked his controls, no longer able to discern even so much as his altitude.
Use the Force, Ani.
When an alarm began to buzz, Artoo joined its clarion call with his own frantic series of whistles and beeps. Anakin's only option was to trust in the Force.
Your eyes can deceive you, Anakin. Don't trust them, a wise Jedi Master once told him.
Anakin closed his eyes and delved deeper into the Force. His senses engulfed all around him. The drips of water hitting his cockpit damn near slowed to a stand still.
Anakin pulled back on the stick. The Aethersprite pulled up a second from hitting the ground. With Artoo screaming his circuits off, Skywalker pulled a vertical S than dived. Anakin switched down the landing gear mid-dive and prepared for a improvised landing. But he decided to keep his fighter intact. Obi-Wan wasn't hear to see his theatrics so he landed safely. A few bumps and the fighter was holding still on solid ground. Artoo was going through the droid equivalent of dizziness. Anakin hopped out of the canopy and dusted himself off. Artoo uttered beeps and whistles of complaint.
"Oh come on, Artoo. We've been through crazier stunts. Remember Vanqor?"
This place was foggy indeed. He was completely surrounded by mists, the lights of his nimble starfighter not illuminating more than a few feet in front of it. Anakin could make out some twisted trunks and roots of grotesque-looking trees. The enormous gray trees had gnarled and intertwining roots that rose far above Anakin before they joined to form trunks. He titled back his head and could see the branches, high above, that seemed to form a canopy with the low-hanging clouds.
"Stay here, Artoo," Anakin told his friend. He expected a protest beep of sorts, but he remembered that this wasn't Artoo's first time here. "If Master Yoda can get through this, then so can I. I will be back."
Anakin walked into the forest. For a while, no one came out to greet, or attack, him.
Anakin.
Anakin didn't respond at first. He didn't reach for his lightsaber either. He looked around for the source of the voice.
Anakin.
"Master," Anakin finally responded. Was it actually him? Or was he just losing his mind again? Anakin had seen and heard things that weren't there before. Perhaps those Dathomirians were fucking with him.
Anakin, my young friend. You've come.
"Master Qui-Gon, is it really you?" Anakin called. His heart leapt. Before Mortis, Anakin hadn't seen Qui-Gon since he uttered the words 'Stay in that cockpit' to him. Qui-Gon never returned alive, thanks to that Sith. Obi-Wan had taken care of him... or so he thought. Maul was still out there. "Master!"
Yes. It is I. Qui-Gon Jinn.
"How is this possible?"
I am part of the Living Force. Remember, anything is possible with the Force.
"Obi-Wan said you were a mind trick on Mortis," Anakin said. He heard Qui-Gon chuckle.
Obi-Wan, always the skeptic. I always said he had much to learn of the Living Force but he was capable. When I taught him about the prophecies, he was also one to ignore them.
"Why do you show yourself now? Why didn't you appear to me after you..."
Anakin stopped himself short before he could say what both men were thinking.
You were not ready...
"How can you know that?" Anakin sighed. "I should've stopped Maul. I could've..."
Anakin, you were strong in the Force even then but there was nothing you could've done.
Anakin tried to tell himself that a lot, but with all this "Chosen One" malarkey thrown on him, it didn't help his conscience. "Have you been watching over me all this time?"
I've kept a close eye on you. Anakin, I saw what you did on Tatooine. I screamed at you to stop.
In the three years since his mother's death, Anakin had convinced himself that he had temporarily lost his mind that night at the Tusken camp. It remained his darkest secret, something he'd never even told Obi-Wan because he knew he'd be banished from the Jedi Order. For some damn reason, he told Palpatine. But now the memory haunted him. Whether or not he had lost his mind, Anakin knew what he had done was wrong.
"I'm sorry, Master. It was wrong and I know it. I knew it. I have no excuse."
Follow the light.
Anakin was surprised their was a change of subject. But for once, he followed orders. During the short time Anakin knew him as a small boy, Anakin never dared disobey Qui-Gon.
"Can you appear where I see you, Master?"
No. My training was incomplete. The reason I was able to appear before you on Mortis was because that planet was stronger in the Force like no other.
"Master, I don't understand," Anakin said as he continued to navigate through the trees. "How is this possible?"
All energy from the Living Force from all things that have ever lived, feeds into the Cosmic Force, binding everything and communicating to us through the midi-chlorians. Because of this I can speak to you now. Anakin, my student, with my help, you can learn to join with the Force, yet retain consciousness. You can join your light to it forever. Perhaps, in time, even your physical life.
Anakin actually had to physically pause to process what he just heard. "Master... Are you... talking about... eternal life?"
The ultimate goal of the Sith is eternal life, yet they can never achieve it; it comes only by the release of self, not the exaltation of self. It comes through compassion, not greed. Love is the answer to the darkness...
Such as your love for Padmé.
So he knew...
Anakin, you are right when you say we are encouraged to love. Jedi should not be emotionless drones of the Senate. I am happy for you, Anakin. But it's important as a Jedi to not let your attachments cloud your judgement or control your actions. Only the Force should control.
"If you know about Padmé, then you know I've thought of leaving the Order."
Anakin, I know exactly how you feel. I was offered a seat on the Council, but I turned it down because I couldn't handle the politics. I serve the Light and only the Light. I don't turn towards the light because it means someday I'll "win" some sort of cosmic gain. I turn toward it because it is the light.
Follow me.
Anakin continued to follow, saving that quote about the Light for a later date.
I haven't really been doing FanFiction stories lately because I've been focusing on Youtube, work, my relationship with my lady and the Bernie Sanders campaign.
Bernie 2020.