a.n. Wow, another update. I'm on a roll! This may be the last one for awhile as school is consuming most of my time right now and I don't know when I'll have another chance to update. Check the disclaimer on Chapter 1, don't wana write it again. Read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 3: The Return

Images swam in his vision. Dark outlines could be seen a few meters in the distance, a blazing fire illuminating their happy, dancing figures. As his vision became clearer, he focused on one individual who stood apart from the rest, standing right in front of him. Blond hair and blue eyes met his own as he realized who he was staring at. It was Luke, his son, standing before him in his black Jedi garb. He watched with a sense of pride as a brilliant smile formed on his son's face as father and son stared at each other joyously. Soon, another figure came over to join his son. A figure that was the spitting image of his dearly departed beloved. It was Leia, his daughter, his little princess, the young girl he never got to know because he was already gone before she was born, consumed and taken by the darkness. He watched her as she put her arm around her brother and watched with him as he stared at the images of the Jedi Masters standing beside him. He knew Leia wouldn't be able to see him unless she wanted to and he knew that she wasn't ready for that. But she could sense him, of that he was sure. Even though she hadn't forgiven him yet, he wanted her to sense all the love he held for her and he wanted her to know how sorry he was for all the trouble he had caused her throughout her young life. He was rewarded with a bright smile, a smile just like the one he remembered from his angel.

Slowly, he realized he was starting to disappear, fading into the nether regions of the Force. He gave his children one last loving look full of gratitude and joy before he fully vanished from their sight and returned to the same place of whiteness that he had just departed from. He noticed Obi-Wan and Yoda had returned as well and turned to give them both a smile that showed just how grateful he was to them for giving him this opportunity to see his children one last time. He realized that now he was finally complete, and if all went well, he would be able to live their lives with them, watch them grow, hear their first words, see their first steps.

Anakin's eyes found Obi-Wan's and he found that they held a sympathetic gleam, as if the Jedi Master knew what he was thinking and was wishing the same thing for his former apprentice. A sad smile formed on the faces of both men before Yoda's gruff voice demanded their attention.

"Now young Skywalker, another matter we have to discuss." Anakin and Obi-Wan's faces then turned serious as they silently listened to the aged Jedi. "Prepare you for your journey, we must. Understand, you need to, what you must do. Sure, you must be, if you make this step. Uncharted territory, this will be. Uncertain of what lies ahead, I am. Cautious, you must be when embark on this journey you do. Upset history too much, you must not. Dangerous consequences, there could be, if alter the past too much you do."

Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged worrisome glances before the latter turned his face back towards the ancient Jedi. Though Obi-Wan knew the young man was troubled by the news and was a bit fearful of what may be awaiting him, he also sensed that Anakin was determined to go through with the task, to fix everything he had destroyed, to begin the healing process before damage could be done.

"I am ready, Master Yoda. I will fix the balance that I upset. I want the chance to make everything right. The chance to relive the past and correct my mistakes. The chance to relive my life the way I always dreamed, with Padmé, and my children, by my side."

Both Yoda and Obi-Wan smiled softly at Anakin as he finished his statement and their belief in his ability to do this was reaffirmed as they watched him passionately declare his readiness to accept the difficult task ahead of him.

Yoda gently nodded his head, accepting Anakin's determination to fulfill this duty and his willingness to do so. He looked Anakin in the eye and gave him a heartfelt smile.

"Very well then, young Skywalker. Back in time, you will go. Listen to me, you must, if to succeed you are." Anakin stared at Yoda attentively as the Jedi Master paused in his speech to highlight how serious the circumstances were. "Only change what is necessary, you must, nothing more. Change too much, and doomed, everything will be. Send you back, we will, to a pivotal time in your life. A time when threatened by the Dark Side you were. Manifested itself in you it did, though consumed by it, you were not. A troubled time it was for you, easily manipulated you were. Change that, you must. Save yourself from a dark future, you will, as well as those around you. Accept this task lightly, you must not. Still want to do this, do you?"

Anakin never hesitated in his response.

"Yes, Master Yoda. I accept this responsibility. The burden of what will happen is mine to bear and I fully accept it."

"Very well then, young Skywalker. Back to your past, you will go. A better future, we hope there will be."

The three of them stood there in silence for a moment, processing the momentous task they were to accomplish and the unprecedented journey they were about to embark on. Anakin's questioning voice broke through the silence as he addressed the old Master.

"What point in time, exactly, do you intend to send me back to?"

Obi-Wan answered the young man's question. "You will go back in time to a point approximately twenty-six years ago. A time when you were still my apprentice, not yet a Knight, and your future was still clouded and unclear." Obi-Wan noticed Anakin's contemplative expression as he was trying to think of exactly when in time Obi-Wan was referring to. Obi-Wan watched as Anakin's face changed from pensive to knowing as he figured out where he was going to be sent.

"You mean after we returned from that mission to Ansion, don't you?" Anakin questioned, knowing that what he said was true. Obi-Wan nodded solemnly, knowing that it would be a difficult time for Anakin to be sent back too. He knew that many things happened at that point in Anakin's life: his first mission alone, coming to terms with his feelings for Padmé, Geonosis, the start of the Clone Wars, his marriage to the beautiful Senator from Naboo.

And the death of his mother.

It had been a dark time for Anakin, a time that he should never have to relive because it was too painful a time to experience again. He didn't think Anakin should ever have to return to that point in his life, but he knew that it was also a major steppingstone in Anakin's fall to the Dark Side and his journey towards that path needed to be stopped if possible. If Anakin returned and prevented himself from ever starting along that dark path, perhaps everything would turn out all right.

Anakin let out a shaky breath at the thought of having to go back to that period of his life, a period where he felt awkward and was often frustrated by Obi-Wan and the Council, believing that they were holding him back from achieving his full potential. The times were dark for him and he was reluctant to ever relive that experience again.

But no matter how dark it appeared, there was always that ray of light, of hope, that was his angel. Though this time was dark for him, it was also the first time he saw Padmé again after ten long years apart. He admitted his true feelings for her and, even though she was reluctant to reciprocate his feelings, in the end she had and their love for each other was sealed forever as they became husband and wife.

He felt a bit apprehensive about returning and seeing Padmé again for the first time since he had become a dark entity. But his apprehension diminished when he realized that by going back, he would be able to not only save himself from the path of destruction, but secure a safe future for his angel as well.

"I will go, Master. I know that times were tough for me and that it will be difficult for me to go back. But I have to try. I want the chance to make sure everything turns out differently, this time for the better."

Yoda nodded his head in acquiescence and he couldn't sense any hint of doubt or uncertainty in the young man. Anakin truly was ready to accept the arduous task before him, no matter how difficult it may prove to be.

"Well, young Skywalker, glad to see you are willing to accept this assignment we have for you. Depart soon, you will. But remember, you must, to be extremely careful with what you say and do once you are there. A great effect, the slightest change can have in the future. Tread carefully, you must, to ensure that things turn out better, not worse." Yoda cautioned Anakin, hoping to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. "Go now, I must. Wish you the best, I do. May the Force be with you, young Skywalker." With that, Yoda turned around and hobbled away into the fog, his gimmer stick clacking all the way, into the distance, until he disappeared and the sound faded.

Obi-Wan watched the Master depart and he knew that his time with Anakin was coming to a close as well before the Force would take Anakin back to the past. He turned to offer Anakin some words of encouragement as well.

"Anakin, I know this will be difficult for you to do, but I am very proud of you to have accepted such a thing. I just want you to know that no matter how it may have seemed to you, I always wished you success in all that you did. I never wanted you to feel like I was only holding you back or that I didn't think you were ready. The truth was far from it. I knew you were ready; I was just reluctant to let you go. You had been my Padawan for so many years and I just didn't want you to go. At first you were like a son to me, someone I felt like I had to look out for, someone who couldn't protect himself. But then as you grew up, I saw that you really didn't need me as a protector; you were perfectly capable of protecting yourself and those around you with your abilities. You didn't need me as a father figure in your life. What you wanted was a friend you could trust, someone to confide in. I am sorry I let you down in that aspect. But, eventually, I began to see you as you wanted to see me. You grew into a friend and brother, and I felt that if I let go, you would leave and I didn't want our camaraderie to end." By the end of his declaration, Obi-Wan was nearly in tears and he could see that Anakin was in the same state of mind. They stepped towards each other and Anakin gave Obi-Wan a friendly, brotherly hug, one that spoke of the respect they held for one another and the friendship that they shared.

"I know Obi-Wan, and I am grateful that we had the opportunity, what little there was of it anyway, to truly be friends, to be brothers. To be there for one another. By doing this, I hope to change that and I want to be able to put my faith and my trust in you from the start."

They exchanged joyful smiles before Obi-Wan felt the Force calling him, tugging him away from Anakin. Reluctantly, Obi-Wan stepped back and gave Anakin a friendly pat on the shoulder before retreating into the fog as Yoda had.

"Good luck Anakin. And may the Force be with you…friend."

Anakin smiled at Obi-Wan's disappearing form before he was left alone. He took in a few breaths to help calm his nerves as he awaited the Force to lead him into his journey. He could hear the Force calling to him, pulling him away from the direction where Obi-Wan and Yoda had gone and he stepped towards the urging. Very soon, he began to feel lightheaded and dizzy as the white environment around him grew darker. A few moments later, his surroundings darkened as his senses left him. The darkness overtook him and the last thing he saw was the enveloping night around him before he lost consciousness…