Chapter 17

Sealing Fate

Anakin strode along the outskirts of the Sytar camp on Tatooine. After rescuing the captives, the Sytars had immediately returned to their camp in order to recover. During that time Anakin spent a month in the Sytar version of bacta, only it smelled faintly of seawater.

Despite his healthy state, Anakin hardly felt recovered. He couldn't stay near the Sytars for very long and got chills whenever Synthor came near Anakin or spoke to him. He was completely aware of his actions and that he could have killed Synthor. What bothered him the most was that the only thing that had stopped him from strangling the Sytar with the force was the wound on Anakin's hand. The wound he'd gotten from punching the mirror.

No matter how many times he tried to avoid the similarities between himself and his grandfather, Anakin couldn't run from the fact that Anakin Skywalker had also coldly and often angrily killed people. There was no telling if Anakin Solo would do the same. So Anakin hid from everyone. Inwardly he felt cowardly but it was the only option he had left. Anything could set him off. Anakin felt like a ticking time bomb, so when he went off, the only person he wanted to hurt was himself. He hid himself from everyone and anyone.

Everyone, that is, except for Zekk. The long haired teen couldn't not find where Anakin had run off to every time Anakin disappeared.

Finally after a week of trying to keep away from the older JedI, Anakin decided to walk on the outskirts of the camp and sit down on a rock. Zekk came to find him.

"You've done a pretty good job of avoiding me, Anakin." He said, coming to sit down on the rock next to Anakin's. The younger Jedi raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you have to follow me?"

"Usually when someone avoids everyone it means they want to talk about something important. And with all these Sytars around, there aren't too many good listeners out there." Zekk said, his face kind and understanding as he clasped his hands on his knees, "What's on your mind?"

"You wouldn't understand." He muttered. Anakin turned away and Zekk arched an eyebrow.

"You think I wouldn't understand, but I do. I've had a run in with the dark side, too, Anakin."

"Yeah? Did you almost strangle someone to death?"

Zekk smiled wryly, "Nope." He shook his head, "But I cut someone in half with my lightsaber and killed plenty of other people."

Anakin's stunned expression turned to sympathy, "Did you ever tell Jaina that?"

Zekk sighed, "No." He looked up at the twin suns above their heads. "I get the feeling she'd probably never look at me the same way if I did." He glanced over at Anakin, "You feel the same, right?"

Anakin nodded. "At least being evil isn't written in your DNA."

"It's not written in yours either." Zekk countered. "Look, Anakin. You might have screwed up a little before but your hands aren't stained with blood." Zekk looked at his own palms. "I've got a lot of things to atone for."

Anakin smiled, "I've never done anything right. Jaina and Jacen have it easy because they've got different names from their grandfather. I'm the living memory of a person that killed off all the Jedi in the galaxy without a second thought. I'm the reason that my parents can't get a day's rest, because they're worried I'll end up like my grandfather!" He stood up and paced. Zekk watched Anakin for a few minutes then got up and lay on the sand, staring up at the sky.

"Lie down over here." He said. Anakin stared at Zekk with suspicion. "Come on, Anakin. I want to show you something."

Anakin did as he was bidden and looked over to where Zekk was pointing. The two twin suns were together, but there was one spot where they crossed over.

"See that? There are two suns but sometimes there's a spot where you can't tell which one is more powerful."

Anakin sighed, "Zekk, I know where you're going with this. I've already seen in the cave on Dagobah that there are two forces fighting within me and it isn't clear which one will win out."

"So, you still think that?" Zekk turned his head slightly. Anakin shrugged.

"I'm not entirely sure." He rubbed his arms. It was starting to get chilly as was common in the desert at night. They would have to go inside soon.

For the longest time, Anakin had thought he was going to cross over to the dark side, then he'd gotten over it by going to Dagobah. Now the same problem had come up again. There was probably something new that Anakin would see in the cave.

"I think I'll go to Dagobah." Anakin said, sitting up. Zekk sat up and stared at Anakin.

"To Dagobah? You mean that old swamp planet where Yoda lived?"

"Yeah. It's been a while since I've been to the cave there."

"Cave?"

Now it was Anakin's turn to make a face at Zekk. "What? You've never heard about the cave on Dagobah?"

"Nope. Not a thing." Zekk shrugged, "I'd never even heard of the planet until Master Skywalker mentioned it."

Anakin thought for a moment. "You should come with me, Zekk. We've both got some answers to get."

Zekk shifted his weight so he was leaning back on his arms. "You're probably right." He stood up and held out his hand to Anakin, who took it, then Zekk hauled Anakin to his feet.

Tomorrow they would go to Dagobah and find out what was inside the cave. Whatever they brought inside their minds would be what they would see inside. The though frightened Anakin because he already knew what his mind was like.

It didn't take long for Zekk to convince Synthor to let them both go to the isolated planet of Dagobah, the place was probably too ugly for Yuuzhan Vong to invade, Zekk thought. The two young men then borrowed a Sytar ship and got ready to go to Dagobah.

Anakin remembered the feeling he had when he first visited Dagobah. He was older now. Six years ago he was a scared little boy who didn't even have a lightsaber and now Anakin had to worry about facial hair. He even sported a small stubble now because he hadn't shaved in a month because of his self inflicted coma. That was something else that had Anakin on hot coals, the fact that he had tried to kill himself, with his own lightsaber. All of the recent events had occurred because Anakin had lost control and attacked his father.

Now he was going to find out if he should go away from everyone for good. Because if he really was leaning, even slightly, towards the dark side, Anakin was going to leave everyone behind. He couldn't risk hurting them.

"Ready, short stuff?" Zekk asked. Anakin frowned at the 'Short stuff' comment but nodded wordlessly.

"Alright, then let's hit the stars, shall we?" Zekk flicked the switches above his head and soon the ship was in the air and a few minutes later was shooting through space. Zekk continually checked their monitors to make sure there weren't any ships behind them or near them. Synthor's only rule about their trip was that they had to remain unseen. Otherwise they could be captured and the Sytar's base could be found out.

Sometimes Zekk thought Synthor was a tad paranoid. He wondered if the Sytar even intended to fight the Vong because the strange creature was so uptight. Fighting the Vong couldn't be done stiffly, they were trained killers, immune to most kinds of pain.

The small planet of Dagobah loomed in the mirror. Anakin stiffened. Zekk felt his tension through the force and smiled at him. "Hang in there, kid. We're not even there yet." He slapped Anakin's shoulder and flew them into the planet's misty atmosphere.

As they flew lower to the ground, the dark murky swamp came into the front viewport. Zekk could hardly see through the fog and after a few minutes Anakin pointed out the most solid place to land. There weren't many on Dagobah.

Zekk stepped out onto the land, glancing around, immediately his boot sunk into the mud. "I'm definitely not coming here for a party."

Anakin laughed. The first time he had done so since he'd been taken in by the Sytars. "I wouldn't either." He lead the way, using the force to find the cave. Even though Anakin wasn't entirely sure where it was on the planet, he could find it easily because the cave was so strong in the force.

He felt a twinge and stepped over a tree vine and into a thick puddle. Ignoring the fact that his pants were now soaked through to his skin, Anakin trudged on, with Zekk muttering behind him.

"Even the underground of Coruscant isn't this nasty!" Zekk exclaimed. Anakin merely shook his head and kept moving.

Despite his initial bad attitude towards the place, Zekk was intrigued. Dagobah had a certain quality about it, that it was surging with energy, with life. There was so much of it, Zekk couldn't even pin point where Anakin was, even though he saw the younger Jedi in front of him.

"We're here." Anakin said, stopping in front of a dark entrance with vines, roots, and critters crawling all over it. Zekk made another face.

"You know, this place feels really…"

"Energy filled? It's filled with the force." Anakin replied, running his hand over the side of the entrance. Then he bit his lip. Zekk felt Anakin's fear.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know if I can go in there."

Zekk wasn't about to let Anakin back down. Not after dragging Zekk here to look inside the cave himself.

"You're going in, Anakin. That's why you're here. Don't worry. All you'll find in there is a bunch of lizards." He chuckled.

Anakin shook his head. "All I'll find is what I bring inside. This cave shows you what you are in the eyes of the force." He shivered. Zekk pushed him aside.

"I'll go in first then." He handed Anakin his belt and lightsaber. "What I bring in, huh?" He stepped inside the cave and kept going until he saw someone in the shadows. He reached for his lightsaber then realized he'd left it with Anakin.

"Who's there!" Zekk narrowed his eyes and glared as the person stepped out of the darkness. It was Jaina.

"Jaina?" Zekk looked at the person in front of him. Jaina hadn't come into the cave with him, but here she was, in front of him. She moved quickly through the cave then her expression became pained. She ignited her lightsaber and charged at Zekk. He leapt aside.

"Wait, Jaina, what are you doing?" He asked as she took another slice at his arm. The blade passed right through his arm like it wasn't even there. Zekk looked up at her. She faded into the mist. Zekk felt his insides turn over. He had no idea why Jaina, even a visionary Jaina, would attack him.

Zekk rubbed his head and stepped out of the dark cave to find Anakin pacing again, his head in his hands. He looked up as Zekk approached. Zekk took his belt from Anakin's outstretched hand and sighed.

"You see something?"

"Yeah." Zekk pushed his hair back. "I think I need to think a lot about what's going on in my head."

Anakin nodded then made his way over to the cave's entrance. He took one glance backwards at Zekk then went completely into the darkness.

Once inside, Anakin immediately noticed that the cave felt stifled, like it was pushing in on him. The air was so thick, that Anakin could have sworn someone let loose some kind of toxic gas.

Then he saw another figure in the room. The person was wearing a loose tunic and pants like Anakin's, only he was carrying a lightsaber. A violet lightsaber. He was looking at himself.

The second Anakin moved swiftly, swinging his blade at an unseen enemy. The real Anakin watched the vision change before his eyes. Soon other figures entered the vision, all of them people Anakin knew. Then he saw Sytars, all of them fighting an unseen enemy. Then the second Anakin shouted something inaudible and a flash of light shot through the cave, and the real Anakin couldn't see anything for a while. Then he stared at the vision.

He saw himself on the floor, unmoving.

When Anakin emerged, Zekk came over, handing Anakin his belt back. "So what happened in there. You were inside for a long time."

"I- it's nothing. I didn't see the dark side." Anakin said, his voice shaking. Zekk slapped Anakin on the back.

"Well, that's good isn't it?" He started back towards the direction of the ship. "Come on, let's go back to Tatooine, I'm starving." Zekk strode lightly on ahead while Anakin lingered behind.

Just how much of the vision was true? And if it was true, how long did he have until it came to full fruition?

Anakin felt himself in a cold sweat as he slept that night. He kept having relapses of the vision he had in the cave. Each time, no matter which way he turned, he was there on the ground, unmoving.

Then he slipped into another dream. This time Anakin sat in the Great Massasi temple. The only two people who knew where it was besides Master Ikrit, were Anakin and Tahiri, so it was an ideal place for him to sit and think. He had slipped off, deciding that it was better not to worry Tahiri. It worried him how real it had been, the feeling of wanting to hide from her and at the same time, knowing she'd find out later, even though it was only in his dream that this was happening. He wanted to hide the vision from Tahiri even though he knew that there was no way that he could possibly share it with her now.

He leaned against one of the boulders knocked loose from when he and Tahiri had been there a long time ago.

"Ah, Young Anakin." Master Ikrit said, coming over. "I imagine you're wondering how I found you here."

"Actually," Anakin replied with a smile, "I wasn't. I sensed you coming and you're one of the few who knows about this temple or how to get inside."

"True that." The Master replied with a nod.

"Master, I have something I need to tell you."

The furry Jedi Master inclined his head, indicating that he was listening.

"I had a vision. When I went to Dagobah. It was about an event that happens later on in the Yuuzhan Vong war. It was so real, it was hard to believe I wasn't actually experiencing it."

"I've been to the cave many times myself, Anakin. So I know that whatever happens in that cave is purely of your own creation."

"So I'm creating that future?"

Master Ikrit nodded. "Yes, you are always forming your future. There is never a time when you're not building it. When you step into that cave, it can show you where your future will end up because of what you are doing, have done, or will do."

Anakin drew a long breath and hugged his knees. "I'm scared, Master."

"Scared?" Ikrit's eyes scrutinized Anakin carefully.

"Can I control what I saw?"

Ikrit took a deep breath and closed his eyes, searching through the force. "Master Yoda told me when I came out of the cave that the vision I had of living through many years of strife was not inaccurate, but at the same time it wasn't my own doing."

"Master, my vision had me as the central conflict and solution." Anakin added, his voice nearly cracking with the fear in the back of his mind.

Ikrit's eyes widened with interest and his ears perked, "Ah, now that is intriguing."

"What does it mean?"

"That you can be either one you wish to be. The solution, the conflict or both."

"I don't get a choice? There's no way around the vision?"

"If that vision is something that you build yourself into, then no there is not any way around it." He looked at Anakin, his eyes now hardened, "You are afraid of not being able to control this vision. But the fear you have now may in fact be the cause of the decision to embrace the vision." He softened, "Tell me, did someone die in the vision?"

Anakin shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not sure."

Master Ikrit didn't take his eyes off his student and repeated the question, "Who died, Anakin?" He searched the force then nodded, his expression sober.

"I see. Then perhaps it is time you embraced whatever fear is lurking in the back of your mind and for you to accept that which may be your future."

"How can I?" Anakin asked. "I don't want that to happen, it can't happen!"

"In time you will come to understand that the cave does not predict your future, but it simply portrays that which your mind already knows is a part of you."

"That means I can change it?" Anakin's energy perked but his Master did not share his joy at the prospect.

"If your mind wants to, yes." He stared at Anakin. "Your mind is hiding itself. So neither of us can know for sure. Not even the cave."

Anakin sat bolt up, his chest throbbing where the poison had been removed. The dream had been so real. The conversation with Master Ikrit was much like the others Anakin had had with the Master. Anakin knew his teacher well enough to envision the answer to a question he would have posed to the Master if Anakin had been at the Academy right now.

Even if he had not really talked to Master Ikrit, he felt like he had his answer. He knew what had to happen. What happened in the cave had to happen.

Otherwise Anakin would always be dogged by the other vision of himself as Darth Vader until it became a reality.