Four
The ship descended through thick layers of clouds and fog, blocking the view from the cockpit, but Anakin guided the ship with ease through the looming buildings and floating platforms. The clouds broke at last to reveal a woven swarm of speeding traffic in all directions, lines of vehicles overlapping each other endlessly until it was met by the street level far below, which was obscured by smog. Although buildings were constantly being constructed, torn down, or modified, the aesthetic of Coruscant never really changed, even from the time of the Empire, so it was a familiar sight to Anakin as he picked his way across the city. The most notable difference was perhaps the absence of the emperor's mighty statue, which had for so long been a prominent feature of the capitol, but then that suddenly paled when he saw the Jedi Temple in the distance.
He'd forgotten just how majestic it was, how beautiful it was in its simplicity, and he felt a pang of nostalgia and a renewal of all his fears. His fall to the dark side had not been a simple or easy matter and it was undeniable that the Jedi within that temple had contributed greatly to his fall, the distrust they felt for him coming back to them and culminating in Palpatine convincing him that they were the enemy. As much as the coming war would be against annihilating the Sith, an almost equal portion of it would be against the Jedi's hard-wired ways of thinking. The former task he'd at least accomplished once before, but the latter had destroyed him in a way far worse than death; he didn't honestly know if he could do it now, no matter how hard or earnestly he tried.
As the temple neared to the point that he would soon be unable to see it in its entirety, an image of the Jedi Temple smoking in ruins filled his mind, bringing with it the memory the countless Jedi he'd killed that day and an assault of tears that stung his eyes. Forcing them away before they were born, he averted his gaze and set his attention to the landing cycle.
SWSWSW
Anxiety gripped Anakin as he strode through the corridors of the Temple, hundreds of memories rushing him and battering him with a cacophony of emotions, and he breathed deeply and slowly, focusing on releasing his anxiety through the Force and be calm. Calm. There was no way he could possibly be comfortable right now, but he had to be collected and strong to his purpose or else his mission would suffer; he could deal with his feelings about returning to the Temple later.
The doors to the council room opened and, seeing the council seated in a semi-circle before him and Obi-Wan standing in the center waiting for him, Anakin swallowed hard and took another breath before entering. How many of these Jedi had he killed, or seen killed by the man he'd served? Looking around at the faces staring at him, he recalled the lives and deaths of each and, although some had died in the clone wars, all save Yoda had died by Palpatine's machinations, which he'd later aided. But, Anakin reminded himself, that was the past or, perhaps more accurately, another life, and the debts incurred in that other life would be settled in this one, even if the debt wasn't truly his and had already been paid for by his counterpart.
Bowing low, Anakin readied himself for the longest and most difficult council session in his life. "Greetings, masters. Thank you for granting me this audience and the chance to explain recent events." he began, willing his voice and demeanor to be perfectly even and calm, even though he was sure they could feel the agitation he couldn't entirely banish.
Obi-Wan, standing next to him, regarded him with clear relief to have his young padawan by his side again, but he forced himself to remain silent as the council replied. "Welcome back, Padawan Skywalker. Glad to see you in good health, we are." Yoda greeted. "Had your master worried, you did." he added with a hint of amusement, glancing at Obi-Wan with a tiny smile.
"Yes; I'm deeply sorry for that, but I'm afraid it couldn't be avoided." Anakin apologized, meeting Obi-Wan's eyes and warily searching for the stern rebuke he'd so often received from his old master. But, to his mild surprise and relief, there was none, only concern and uncertainty.
"I trust you left your mother in good health." Mace stated, endeavoring to embrace Master Yoda's attitude about the padawan's actions even if he didn't agree with them, but there was still a coldness to his voice.
Anakin nodded. "She'll recover well in time." he answered. "Thank you for granting my request to stay on Tatooine so that I might meditate. It's helped me a great deal to focus and decide what has to be done."
At last, Obi-Wan allowed himself to speak, unable to refrain from voicing the questions that ran through his mind. "Then you still believe you've traveled through time?" he prompted, his expression troubled as he looked at Anakin.
Hesitating briefly, Anakin drew another breath as he committed himself to the discourse that was about to unfold. "No, not exactly. As you can attest, I never left Ansion and was unconscious the entire time, but I believe that I experienced the life course of another version of myself, in a reality where time moves much faster." he clarified, unsure how his audience was going to respond and desperately needing them to believe him.
Obi-Wan's expression was puzzled, but it was Ki Adi Mundi who first responded. "How is that possible?" he inquired, voicing the predominant question in the room.
"I was meditating when it happened and the other Anakin was, too, at the exact same place and time. Somehow, when that happened, my mind linked together with his through the Force, and I began to experience his life from that moment on." Anakin tried to explain his theory coherently, hoping that it made sense to the others. "I had no idea that it wasn't my life or that there was another mind I was connected to; we thought and felt as one, as seamlessly as I do now, and I lived over twenty years in his reality while here less than a week passed. It was only when he died that we separated and I awoke, on Ansion and in the body of my youth."
The council exchanged glances, silently communicating, and Anakin waited anxiously for their response. At last Mace regarded him, his brow furrowed heavily with scrutiny as he used the Force to peer into Anakin. "You're absolutely certain it was real?"
Anakin nodded empathically. "Yes, beyond a shadow of a doubt. This was no vision or fever-induced dream, although I wish I could say it was." he admitted.
"Riddled with war and suffering, the future you visited was." Yoda stated more than questioned in his typical manner that suggested he possessed supernatural knowledge, although Anakin knew that was far from being the case.
"You mentioned an emperor?" Obi-Wan added, prompting his apprentice. "Emperor of what?"
Anakin eyed Obi-Wan nervously but kept calm, reminding himself that he needed to stay in control of the conversation and that he had to direct the flow and amount of information. "The galaxy." he answered. "In a few years, the Republic will be overthrown by the dark lord of the Sith, who's even now manipulating both the Republic and Separatists. A civil war is set to break out very shortly, which the Sith lord uses to gain even more power and place himself in a position to take over the Republic without even having to fight for it." he detailed.
Mace was incredulous and he smiled at the absurdity being woven by the glory-hungry teenager before him. "That's not possible. No one could seize absolute control of the Republic without contest, especially not a Sith. We'd sense his presence."
Anakin couldn't refrain a scowl. "You haven't so far, and you don't until he reveals himself to you. But, by then, it's too late." he countered, angered by Mace's arrogance.
"This Sith is already in our presence?" Ki Adi Mundi asked, surprised by what was being inferred.
Redirecting his gaze from Mace, who still stared at him challengingly, he softened his expression and took an internal breath, letting his anger and irritation fade away through the Force. He'd already decided to divulge the Sith's identity, but there'd be no going back after he did and he knew he could be making things worse if the Jedi didn't believe him. However, it had to be risked.
"Chancellor Palpatine." Anakin stated, loudly and clearly, and he waited a moment for what he'd just divulged to sink in before saying more. "He's the Sith Lord, known as 'Darth Sidious'."
Regardless of the credibility of the information, the effect was instantaneous, a ripple of shock and consternation going through his audience, and Mace sat straighter in his seat in response while Obi-Wan turned directly to Anakin. "The chancellor?" Obi-Wan repeated in disbelief.
"That's a dangerous accusation," Mace warned, "treasonous, even."
Anakin was well aware of that and he nodded his understanding of the seriousness of his allegations. "Which is one reason I've waited until we were in the security of the Temple to divulge this information. Great care must be taken that no one outside of this room suspects what we believe the chancellor is guilty of until we are able to prove it." he stated, brokering no argument of their acceptance that it was the truth. Disbelief and inaction was not an option.
There was a long minute of silence as the council seemed to telepathically debate among themselves both the information and what was to be done about it before anyone spoke again. However, it was Obi-Wan who broke the silence. "Anakin, I have no doubt that you are certain of what you say, but perhaps it would be better if you told us from the beginning what happened in your other life?" he suggested, wanting a solid base to build the intel on.
It was the easiest and most likely way to convince them and, the notion mutely agreed upon by the council, Anakin gladly if apprehensively consented. However, he was going to have to condense and edit the story for the time being, once again reminding himself of the damage that could be done by revealing something prematurely.
"We completed the mission on Ansion together and returned to the capitol, where we quickly received another assignment to protect Senator Amidala from an assassin." he started summarizing the events leading up to the civil war between the Republic and the separatists. "I remained with Senator Amidala while Obi-Wan followed the assassin's trail, which led to the discovery of a clone army for the Republic on Kamino, commissioned by Master Sifo Dias in secret. Meanwhile, I went to Tatooine to rescue my mother, but it was too late and she died in my arms. Afterwards, I relayed a message from Obi-Wan to the council, who'd followed a bounty hunter to Geonosis and was subsequently captured by the separatists.
"Chancellor Palpatine was granted emergency powers and employed the clone army, which was used on Geonosis in the first battle that began the Clone Wars. The civil war continued for three years and ended only when Palpatine declared himself emperor and commissioned his newest apprentice to destroy both the Separatist leaders and the Jedi, who he made enemies of the republic. The Jedi were cut down by the very solders they'd battled beside, many without any forewarning, and the few that survived went into hiding.
"A rebellion against the empire was formed and it slowly gained strength over the course of twenty years, igniting another long war that eventually culminated in the death of the emperor and his apprentice. I died as a result of the final battle, looking at the very last of the Jedi- a young man named Luke- who had contributed greatly to our victory and would thenceforth be responsible for recreating the Jedi Order from scratch." he finished, deliberately growing vaguer with the details later on in the timeline, as it was less important how the conflict ended than conveying how the current state of things changed to the one to come. After a moment, he felt compelled to add, "I know this is a lot to take in, but it is the truth and it's critical that you accept it if we are to circumvent that future from occurring."
Mace, who bore a contemplative expression, leaned forward in his seat and propped his elbows on his knees, rubbing his palms together as he pushed aside his prejudicial misgivings of the source of the information and considered what he was being told. "If what you say is indeed true, then we can expect to be presented with evidence shortly by way of the events you've described." he concluded.
Yoda nodded eagerly. "To Kamino, a Master we shall send." he decided.
"If I may," Anakin objected, "I don't believe that to be wise. If the Sith suspects we have come into sudden knowledge of his plans, he may deviate and we'll lose our advantage. Therefore, I suggest we act covertly and let the natural course of events lead Master Kenobi to Kamino while you take steps to insure that the chancellor doesn't receive emergency powers."
"A course of patience, you suggest." Yoda surmised approvingly. Closing his eyes, he reached into the Force for guidance and, after a moment, he released a heavy sigh and regarded the Chosen One again. "Very well. Wait we will, and examine the chancellor more closely in the meantime."
Pleased with the outcome and how the council session overall had gone, Anakin bowed low with Obi-Wan to the assembled Masters, aware that they had much to discuss amongst themselves before they were ready to hear anything more.
SWSWSW
Anakin slowly wandered around his old quarters, which adjoined Obi-Wan's, touching the nightstand next to the bed and the small round table situated near his window, feeling like a child returning the home he'd grown up in with the mixture of nostalgia and regret. Obi-Wan stood in the center of the room, watching him patiently and refraining from the urge to immediately engage his padawan in conversation, and he noted the way Anakin examined his room. No matter how much the vision- if it had been genuine- might benefit the Jedi or even Anakin, Obi-Wan couldn't remove his dislike in the obvious change in his padawan and friend.
"Is it nice to be back?" he asked genially at last, trying to show support in the far-fetched and deeply disturbing report.
Anakin took a moment before replying and, when he did, it was hesitant and guarded. "Yes, it's a blessing. But this is not a good time- for the Jedi or the Republic. I can't help but worry that, even with all that I know, I still won't be able to prevent the destruction of the Temple and the fruitition of the tragedies I witnessed... and caused." As he finished, his eyes met Obi-Wan's for a brief instant and then he turned away, riddled with pain and apprehension. He didn't know if this was the right time to tell Obi-Wan the full truth about what had become of him, but waiting too long might only make it seem like he was deliberately deceiving the Jedi and was thus unworthy of their trust. He just didn't know.
Obi-Wan shifted, his brow furrowed at the comment. "War is riddled with tragedies, many which can't be predicted or prevented," he counseled, ignoring the dread that tightened his chest, "but we learn from our mistakes. I have complete confidence in you, my- my friend." Obi-Wan finished, catching himself when he was about to refer to Anakin as his young apprentice.
Hearing the encouragement he'd been so want to receive from his master in his youth, Anakin was stabbed once again with guilt and grief, nodding in acknowledgment to Obi-Wan as he fought to keep his emotions from rising to the surface. "I've been so angry at the Jedi for so long, for everything they did and everything they didn't do," he found himself suddenly confessing nonetheless, "for never trusting me or once giving me approval. I wasn't made for the conservative and passionless lifestyle they enforce, but I felt so strongly that I was born to be a Jedi that I wasn't honest, and I never made the decision I needed to. Everyone called me "the Chosen One;" how could I have left? I was let down by them and I felt betrayed, but I betrayed them far worse." he reeled out, remaining elusive as to the source of his guilt but making it clear that his relationship with the Order was far more complicated than Obi-Wan had previously imagined.
"You fulfilled your destiny; you said so yourself." Obi-Wan countered, unsettled by what he was hearing. "No matter what happened in that other reality, you did ultimately do right by the Jedi in restoring balance to the Force and bringing peace."
Anakin closed his eyes, reminding himself that beating himself up about what he- or the other Anakin- had done in the alternate reality wasn't going to help matters here, and he struggled to calm the agitation and anguish the old surroundings incited. But, he realized, if he was going to succeed in correcting the future and avoid the calamity that had claimed his soul, he couldn't do it alone.
"Obi-Wan," Anakin addressed evenly, turning to lock eyes with his old master with momentary calm and resoluteness, "I have to tell you something, something that I need you to keep between us until I deem it to be the right time to reveal it to the council. Can you do that?" he asked gravely.
It was not the practice of the Jedi to keep information from the leading council and the idea was disturbing to Obi-Wan but, sensing the seriousness of the situation and knowing that Anakin would remain silent if he didn't agree, Obi-Wan nodded and took a step towards his apprentice, closing the space between them to less than two feet. "Yes; you have my full confidence, Anakin, I swear."
They stared deeply into each other's eyes, Obi-Wan asserting his earnestness and Anakin searching to be sure of it, before the answer was accepted. Taking a breath, Anakin swallowed and mustered the insane courage it would take to get through the next five seconds.
"I turned to the Dark Side."
It was said, the plunge taken, and it was too late to go back, no way to unmake the confession even if he'd wanted to. As difficult as it had been to say, even worse was the anticipation that followed as Anakin waited for a response, searching Obi-Wan's shocked and horrified expression for clues to what he was thinking and what he was feeling and what he might do now. Despite the promise Obi-Wan made to Anakin, he could easily decide it was too much to risk or was something that could not be kept secret from the council and go running to Mace Windu and Yoda.
"What?" Obi-Wan repeated in disbelief, hoping his young padawan was exaggerating an offense but somehow knowing that wasn't the case.
Anakin knew he had to tell him more. "The council always distrusted me and Palpatine used that to drive a wedge between me and the Jedi, continually giving me advice counter to the Jedi teachings. He preyed upon my fear of losing those I loved, promising me the power to save them, and he convinced me that the Jedi were evil, that they'd been hoarding their knowledge and that they were secretly planning on taking over the Republic." he explained, recalling the torment he'd suffered as his mind had bent and broken under the strain of so many wars within and without being waged at the same time and the unspeakable agony and self-loathing that had enveloped him as he'd given himself over to the lies.
"I slaughtered countless Jedi and innocents, leading the assault on the Temple. I fought you," Anakin went on, his voice rising with emotion, "in the fires of Mustafar. I tried to kill you, swearing my hatred when you defeated me and left me to burn- no more than a stump left of me. Then you went into hiding and I spent more than twenty years as the emperor's apprentice, consumed all the more with darkness when I lost the one I loved despite my sacrifices."
Obi-Wan was beyond horrified, unable to speak as the grotesque, heartbreaking scenes unfolded in his mind. He couldn't imagine it- couldn't imagine how it could happen, that someone so dear to him and someone he knew to be so good from the very core could do or become what he said, and the idea of fighting Anakin- fighting him with the intention of killing him- was utterly unthinkable. How could he raise his blade to Anakin, no matter what he'd done? And leaving Anakin butchered and burning was... it was simply impossible and pained him to even imagine Anakin suffering so.
But Anakin wasn't done.
"The next time we met, you were an old man and I was more machine than man." he went on, his voice calmer even though his pain was still just as evident. "You'd finally come out of hiding with Luke, who you'd just begun training, but your ship was tractor-beamed into an imperial space station. I engaged you in battle but, when you saw Luke and the rebels he was with on the verge of escaping, you sacrificed yourself to protect them, letting me kill you. I killed you." he repeated in emphasis, his teeth gritting as he regarded his old master and dearest friend.
"But-" Obi-Wan shook his head, fighting what he was hearing, "but you brought balance to the Force. You said you killed the emperor!" he objected.
It wasn't to be had. "Yes, but only after I'd served him half my life." Anakin replied, his tone self-injuring. "Luke brought me back to the good side. You and Master Yoda had instructed him to kill me, but he refused out of love."
Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Love?"
Anakin hadn't planned on revealing this much, but he supposed it couldn't really hurt now and, in any case, it was too late to go back, and he nodded. "Yes. He turned himself over to the emperor, knowing that if he failed to bring me back from the Dark Side, he'd either be turned to the Dark Side himself or killed. His faith and love saved me- saved everyone." Anakin extolled, wondering if anyone in that reality had ever come to realize the full value of what Luke had done.
"Why?" Obi-Wan asked, shaking his head, still trying to find a hole in Anakin's story to make it untrue. "Why risk himself and the future of the Jedi to help a Sith?"
A small smile of pride and love gently curved Anakin's lips and lit up his eyes. "Because he's my son." Anakin replied, the answer hanging in the air for a minute as Obi-Wan absorbed the shocking information. "Like me, he wasn't very good at doing what you told him to." Anakin added with a hint of humor.
Ignoring the hundreds of objections launching through his mind- such as the fact that Jedi didn't have children and it was unheard of for anyone to return from the Dark Side, at least to his knowledge- Obi-Wan began pacing, his mind ruefully knowing that it was true but his heart heavy with denial that Anakin was capable of such evil. Yet a traitorous part of his mind reminded him that he had once berated Qui-Gon and himself said that the boy was dangerous, and he adamantly reversed his past position, silently scolding his younger self that being powerful wasn't the same as being dangerous and, moreover, whether a person was dangerous depended on whether you were in opposition to that person or not. It was narrow-minded and cowardly to dismiss anyone as dangerous simply because they were innately endowed with power, and Anakin had certainly deserved better from the Jedi when he was a boy.
If Anakin had turned to the Dark Side, Obi-Wan concluded, then it wasn't because he was destined to, and the fact that he'd come back proved the inclination of his character. A still more comforting thought eased Obi-Wan's agitation but he needed to reinforce it by saying it out loud, and he stopped pacing. "You said yourself that it wasn't you, wasn't your life or actions, but another Anakin's." he pointed out, testing his information and understanding, needing to hear it confirmed.
"Yes," Anakin began but, with an air of slight frustration to be repeating something so difficult to him, he added, "but it felt like me. I shared his thoughts and experiences, and those experiences have come back with me, changing me forever. You can't separate what he did from who I am, no matter how much easier it would be."
Reluctantly, Obi-Wan admitted that Anakin was right and slowly nodded his understanding. "I don't sense the Dark Side in you, though, even if you do carry its memory. And, to overcome the Dark Side," Obi-Wan stated, looking directly in Anakin's eyes and stepping closer to him, "requires an inner-strength and goodness greater than that of any Jedi I've known of before. I'm proud of you," he earnestly declared, placing a hand on Anakin's shoulder, "and my trust is still yours."
Anakin, glancing at the hand on his shoulder and feeling Obi-Wan's sincerity, could scarcely believe that this was Obi-Wan's reaction to his dark revelation, that- instead of recoiling from him or lecturing him or treating him with harsh distrust- Obi-Wan was putting faith in him and promising his loyalty and confidence in him. Anakin's heart squeezed in gratitude and relief, remembering all the times he'd longed to confide in Obi-Wan about his marriage to Padmé, his fears about becoming a father, and slaughtering the Tuskens, but how he'd always held back, certain of an unsupportive and unfavorable reception. Was this what it could have been like? Or were things really so different in this world?
For now, the answers didn't matter.
Placing his hand on top of Obi-Wan's on his shoulder, Anakin again locked eyes with him. "Thank you, old master."
SWSWSW