Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

So, as I previously said, this will be the last chapter of this story. It will be relatively short, and will wrap everything up and set up a few points that need to be set up for the sequel.

Alright, let's get to it.

Chapter 18- A New Path

As the sun slowly rises over the landscape of Coruscant, Anakin Skywalker opens his eyes and looks around, seeing his wife asleep beside him. Not hearing the sounds of the twins crying, Anakin carefully slips out of bed, slips on a robe, and walks out into the living room of his and Padme's apartment.

As Anakin enters, his mind is heavily occupied. During the night, he had had a number of dreams that have him thinking heavily about his future going forward. With the war over, he is now realizing that his path ahead cannot be what he previously thought.

As he enters the living room, he sees their communicator is flashing, showing that somebody sent them a video message at some point after he went to bed. Anakin walks over and presses the button to activate the device and play the message. A second later, an image of Obi-Wan pops up.

"Good morning, I assume. I just wanted to remind you, Anakin, that not only do we have a meeting of the Council today, but Nute Gunray's execution is happening today. I know you and Padme had mentioned you were thinking of coming to witness, so I just wanted to remind you, as we both know you can be prone to forget," Obi-Wan says, ending with a smile. He then nods before saying, "I'll see you later, my friend."

Anakin stands there for a seconds, thinking about it. It's been weeks since he and Obi-Wan had captured the Separatist Council on Mustafar. Since then, the war had truly come to an end. The Separatists had surrendered and were being brought back into the Republic. The droid armies had been deactivated, and all fighting was done. The Separatist Council had been put on trial for their many crimes. Most had been sentenced to life imprisonment, but several, including Watt Tambor and Nute Gunray, had been sentenced to death for their many crimes.

Anakin had initially been very excited to hear Nute had been sentenced to death, and was planning on going to the execution. However, lately, he had begun to see things a little different as he spent more time meditating into the Force and diving into the Jedi's history.

As Anakin stands there, thinking and not really moving, he doesn't realize that he has company before he feels hands on his waist. He turns around and finds Padme standing behind him. "Hey," Padme says with a smile.

"Hey," Anakin responds, kissing her on the forehead.

"What's on your mind? I can tell something is bothering you," Padme says.

Anakin is quiet for a moment before he says, "Obi-Wan left us a message reminding me of the Council's meeting today, and of Gunray's execution today. The thing is…I don't think I'm going to go as we'd thought about."

"What's going on?" Padme asks.

"Padme…the reason I found Palpatine's hiding place is because I received a vision from one of the most famous Jedi of all time, who's been dead for over 3000 years. And some of the things he told me then, and in another vision I received from him last night, I just think that…I may be the Chosen One, and I may have killed Palpatine, but that's not the end of my role in the galaxy. I have a lot more to do. I think that it's my job to find out the secrets of the Force that have been lost to time, and even those that have never been discovered," Anakin says.

Padme smiles a bit. "Look at that. The famous Anakin Skywalker, the Hero with no Fear, the great Jedi general, wanting to become a scholar," she says.

Anakin smiles. "Yeah, I guess, a bit. There's still a lot I have to do in life, and there's no guarantee the galaxy will never be threatened again in our lifetime. I aim to become the greatest Jedi to ever live, and to help lead the Jedi to greater heights, and to learn what the Force truly is. I have a long journey ahead of me."

"I'm proud of you, Anakin. You're finally finding what I think it means to be a Jedi. I will be there to support you every step of the way," Padme says.

"I may be gone on long journeys, though. We may spend a lot of time separate from each other at times," Anakin says.

"Of course. That's how it's been since we got married, and you're a Jedi. Even in peacetime, you'll be busy," Padme says. She smiles a bit before she says, "I'll be behind you all the time. We can do anything together."

"I love you," Anakin says with a smile, kissing her passionately. However, his mind is also drifting across the galaxy, wondering where his journeys will take him.

And, I'll end there.

I really hope you liked this story, and my take on "what would happen if Anakin never turned". I hope I did it well.

Now, I already have the sequel story pretty well planned out. I'm not sure exactly when I'll start it, but I will say it will be sometime during March. Exactly when, I won't say. Anytime between March 1 and March 31.

Alright. We've come to the end. Please leave one last review, and stay tuned!