Anakin walked out of the intergalactic com unit with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. His youthful body and mind at work, and he found he didn't mind for once. He was thankful the Council had donated an old but perfectly functional intergalactic comm receiver to his mother. They still couldn't talk often, but every time they did, it lifted his spirits – exactly what he needed after the last couple of weeks. She always helped him feel lighter and more hopeful. Padmé made him feel the same. So had Luke.

Actually, now that he thought about it, most people he'd gravitated towards had projected that hope. Obi-wan, Ahsoka, the Clones, Siri… Perhaps that's why he liked and trusted Girth so much? Even Master Xio and Master Yoda to an extent.

He made a mental note to bring it up to his mind-healers. It was something about himself that he found positive at least, so—

"Initiate Skywalker," the voice of the master supervising his comm conversation, one Mace Windu again (why would he want to be the one supervising? Did he distrust Anakin that much? So badly that he wouldn't even trust another Council Member to oversee it?), sounded firm and unyielding, pausing Anakin in his tracks.

"Master Windu…" Anakin said slowly, before turning and bowing ever so slightly. "Thank, you for helping me today, sir." He made sure his voice sounded light and sincere, but wasn't surprised when the older man's visage didn't so much as twitch.

After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Windu shifted from his position leaning against the wall and stood up, arms falling by his side.

"Would you spar with me?"

Anakin could have sworn that the universe froze and started up again.

What?

It took him several seconds to even register what the man had asked, let alone manage a reply. Had he honestly heard that? Was Mace Windu – Mr.-defnition-of-stick-up-his-backside, actually asking an initiate, one he didn't trust to spar?! He didn't know what to think about that. Had such a shock happened in his past, as Vader, he would have likely just waited there until whoever had approached him with something so ridiculous explained… or he would have just destroyed the nuisance and gone on with his day. He couldn't imagine Mace approaching a teenaged Anakin and… he had no precedence for this. Not for a personal, one-on-one bout.

Finally he was able to formulate a response, mostly from asking himself what Obi-wan would do.

"Excuse me?"

Mace just studied him for several more seconds, then opened his mouth. "Would you spar with me? I know you have nothing on your schedule right now and you usually spend free-time in the training salles or with Knight Tachi, or both. I would like to spar with you."

Anakin blinked. Why would he want to spar with him? "I'm… an initiate."

"Yes," the older man replied, completely blank faced.

Anakin realized he couldn't turn the man down, if only because of curiosity. He still couldn't come up with a reason as to why Mace Windu would want to spar with him of all people. Unless…

Oh, Force, he wasn't thinking about taking Anakin as a padawan, was he?! It took every ounce of willpower not to jerk away in disgust.

Not.

Happening.

But…

No, that didn't make sense either.

Oh, this would drive him back to the dark if he let it go.

So he bowed, a little lower than before. "Of course, Master."

Windu nodded tersely and began to walk towards the training salles, leaving Anakin to fall into step behind him. It galled Anakin to do so, but he had a facade to keep up, so he swallowed his pride and did as was expected… for now.

Ten minutes later, they both stood in a private room off one of the main salles, bowing and drawing their purple lightsabers.

"Don't hold back," Mace said.

Anakin blinked, taken aback. Right about then he realized he'd walked into a trap, but before he could withdraw, he found himself parrying as Windu came at him full force. With Vapaad.

Anakin grit his teeth. He could keep up, but it took all of his concentration to do so.

And it was at a level far above that of an initiate.

Kriff.

"You know," Mace said as he fought, not slowing down once, "after our first conversation in Master Xio's office, I found myself wondering how a child could point out so many issues with the Jedi Order and the code." He went for a low sweep, but it turned out to be a feint as Anakin went to jump, only to almost run his body directly into an upper cut instead. Blast Vapaad and it's feints. At least Anakin had studied Juuyo and had seen it coming.

Mace went on, not acknowledging Anakin's impressive dodge. "You brought up some good points. It didn't take me long to conclude that your questions had stemmed from your darker lessons. Basically, I revisited the spy theory."

Anakin frowned. He wouldn't be saying anything about this if he'd come to a dangerous conclusion. Not unless this was an execution to be framed as a 'training mistake'. Anakin doubted it, though. He sensed no killing intent from the other man. This wasn't a real fight – even if it felt like it.

"And?" was all Anakin could force himself to say as he ducked and rolled, thankful for his recent incorporation of form IV into his typically form V style. He was keeping up with the other man, if barely.

"Then I saw you with your mother," Windu said.

Anakin almost faltered.

Almost.

He actually had to jump away to avoid the next strike as the Council Member continued. "Either you're an amazing actor," he went for another strike, and Anakin knew he didn't have the stance to jump how he needed to just then, so he countered, matching blade for blade. Windu smiled as if having something confirmed. Then he struck, hard and faster than before, knocking Anakin's blade out of his hand. He cursed silently and froze as Windu's blade stopped an inch away from his neck.

Anakin still wasn't good enough. And that rankled. But he was more focused on what the Council Member had just said.

"Either I'm an amazing actor… or?"

Mace smirked. "Or you are not a typical darksider."

Anakin felt his heart rate spike, but he just narrowed his eyes. "Darksider?" he asked.

The dark-skinned man scoffed. "The only counters to that particular Vapaad strike you just countered would come from Soresu, Vapaad or Juuyo. You didn't use Soresu and I know I haven't taught you Vapaad."

Anakin felt his face fall into something mostly blank, but vaguely threatening. He hoped it covered his panic. "And Juuyo is a dark form."

Windu didn't lower his lightsaber, but he did raise his eyebrows expectantly.

"You know I was trained in the dark," Anakin started.

"I know you were far deeper into it than you let on," Windu countered. Then, much to Anakin's surprise, he flicked his lightsaber off. The time traveler blinked. He'd expected to be marched straight before the Council, and likely to a holding cell.

"Let's be real, kid," the Korun Master said, folding his arms. Anakin noticed he hadn't put his lightsaber away, so Anakin didn't call his own back to him. The last thing he needed to do at the moment was antagonize this man. "Most of the Council can't see it – either because they don't have the knowledge to put it all together or because they don't want to – but I know the dark side. I had to study it to develop my fighting style. I know you studied with the Sith, and I know you're more than just an amateur when it comes to their ways."

Anakin didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say, to be honest.

Windu sighed, deflating just a little when the initiate didn't defend himself. "If I wasn't positive you hadn't told Master Yoda more or less everything, this would likely be a very different conversation. But I'm also convinced that you really do want to change. Your questions may have come from a dark view point, but that doesn't make them less valid."

The former Sith felt his eyebrows approach his hairline.

What?!

Had Mace Windu, of all people, admitted that a darksider had a point?

Anakin slowly moved his hand to his other arm and pinched. No, that hurt… this wasn't a dream or hallucination and it had been too focused to be a Force vision.

"The Order is about to go through some major changes, thanks mostly to you," and if he said that a little grudgingly, well, it was Mace Windu. "We were stagnating, as an Order, and we hadn't even noticed."

No, Anakin had to be dreaming. He hadn't heard about any changes before this. Well, he had heard that the field leaders of the different corps were coming to the Temple, but he hadn't expected anything remotely close to what Windu had eluded to. What changes?

Windu must have read his incredulity because he shook his head. "And that, right there, is what I can't figure out. You want the order to change – to be better. Is that why you came here to begin with?"

Anakin saw little point in trying to keep up the facade. He still felt uncomfortable and vulnerable without his lightsaber. So he walked calmly and carefully, broadcasting his every move, over to his weapon to pick it up.

"No. I did not come here to change the Jedi. It is… merely a happy side effect."

"But you still want us to change."

'Us'. So Windu was sure enough to label Anakin as 'not' a Jedi. Well, he couldn't say he particularly minded, in all truth.

Anakin very obviously clipped his lightsaber to his belt.

"Yes."

"For the better?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Anakin wanted to scoff. Why did he want the Order to change? Where could he even start with that? He had a list a parsec long.

"Because you need to," he finally decided on. "For your own survival and the betterment of the Universe. As you are now, you will do neither."

Mace's eyes narrowed. "Are you helping us to spite your Sith Master?"

Anakin almost snorted in amusement. Of course Mace Windu would jump to that (entirely too correct) conclusion.

"That… is a large part of it."

The older man sighed. "I should have known."

Anakin shrugged. Nexu couldn't change their stripes.

"How old are you, really?" Windu suddenly asked.

The former Sith stiffened. "Clarify that…"

The Korun Master seemed to be studying Anakin deeply. "My theory is that you got tired of your life – tired of the darkness – and used a Sith technique to transfer your consciousness to a child's body. I know we have records of at least one technique that has worked before, even if it has an astronomically low success rate and incredible complications.

"You wanted to start over."

Anakin blinked. That was… surprisingly not far off from the truth.

He sighed. "I did not ask for this, nor did I seek it out. I also did not use any dark technique to come here. This is the body I was born with. Otherwise… you're not wrong."

"A clone?"

Anakin sighed and didn't answer. He really didn't want to get into it right now. Especially not with a Jedi he still didn't trust. "Are you going to detain me?" he asked, trying to keep the challenge out of his voice.

Windu didn't say anything for several seconds. Then:

"No."

Anakin blinked. "Why not?"

Windu put his lightsaber away, then walked slowly forward and held out his hand. "Your lightsaber. May I see it?"

Suspicion stole over Anakin's face, but he eventually decided to humor the man. Maybe begin to build some sort of trust between them. Stranger things had happened to him, after all.

He put the hilt in the other man's hand. Windu turned it on, purple light washing over them both.

"This isn't red."

Anakin furrowed his brow, wondering what the Korun Master was getting at.

"This isn't bled and it isn't synthetic. This color represents both the light and the dark, even if it is masterfully built," he flipped the switch again and watched as the blade gained length. An old trick that using different kyber crystals in one hilt allowed.

Windu shut the blade down and then tossed it back to Anakin, who caught it easily, still watching the other man warily.

"You sneak out at night, sometimes, but while you seem to put yourself in danger, you don't seem to put the temple at risk. Actually, you take great pains to make sure the Temple is still secure when you leave."

Anakin put a hand to the bridge of his nose. "Does everyone know about that?"

Windu didn't answer with anything more than a shrug. "I don't like it, but if I told you to stop, would you?"

The former Sith snorted and shook his head.

The Council Member nodded as if he'd expected that. "As long as you continue to take Tachi with you, I'll allow it. However, we will continue to watch you. If you do anything to put the Temple at risk, we will have problems, understand?"

Anakin nodded. He was getting off very easily here.

"Good," the bald man said firmly. "So when are you going to tell us about this Sith Master you're so against that you'd actively team up with Jedi?"

The smaller figure scowled. "You won't believe me. I was trying to get proof."

Windu frowned. "Is that what you're sneaking out to do?"

Anakin didn't answer, his eyes narrowing. If he said he'd been sneaking out to get information on Sidious, that would definitely qualify as 'putting the Temple at risk'.

"No," he finally said.

The frown on the other man's face deepened. "Then when would you be able to—" he cut himself off and his eyes widened.

"He's in the Senate."

Anakin couldn't help the small, impressed smile that tugged at the side of his mouth. "Yes."

Windu looked like he'd fallen into a daze, although only someone who knew him pretty well would be able to tell.

"Do you see why I haven't come before the Council now?" the former Sith asked. "Do you think they'd believe me without proof?"

"Probably," Windu said, still distracted and thinking.

Anakin blinked, surprised. "Really?"

The man refocused his gaze on the boy in front of him. "We've been waiting for you to come to us. We know you have information we need to hear."

The irony of that statement…

The former Sith remained silent for several seconds, contemplating. Should he go before the Council? Should he tell them about Palpatine?

"What if," he started slowly, suspiciously, "I told you he was in a position of power over the Senate?"

Mace became very still. "How much power?" he asked carefully.

Anakin repressed a scoff. "A lot."

More silence. "I'll have to look into it."

This time, the time-traveler didn't bother trying to hold his scoff in. Just as he'd figured, Windu didn't believe him. Disappointing, but not surprising.

"Until then," Windu gave him a respectful nod, "thank you for the spar."

"You're welcome," Anakin replied as neutrally as he could. Then Windu turned and walked away. Well, at least he trusted Anakin enough to turn his back on him.

The former Sith's fists clenched hard and he had to take several deep breaths, focusing on releasing his emotions to the Force. Funny how quickly disappointment can become anger. He hated how he could still get so angry so easily.

As he followed Mace Windu out at a far slower pace, he couldn't help but be grateful that that night would be a racing night.

xXx

Anakin breathed deeply. The smell of grease and metal and the fuel residue always calmed him. Yes, he could also smell the unwashed bodies and the decades of built-up grime too, but the former scents brought a sense of safety he couldn't get anywhere else.

"Well, you look happy," Siri said from beside him.

"I'm here and we've been racing," he said.

Siri snorted through a smile. "I'm kind of surprised it's so easy to bring your spirits up."

Anakin shrugged. "When I'm not breaking under the weight of my life or trying to keep myself angry, I am a man of simple pleasures."

Another snort and a shake of her head, the blond pony-tail whipping around her. She'd decided to come as herself today, although she usually did when going racing. They'd both added a fairly significant amount to their winnings tonight. Not that Anakin had much he was using it for recently anyway. He'd have to tie up some loose ends when it came to that, and find a way to restart his little campaign, but it really wasn't something he could take care of at the moment.

"One final race." Bleersh drew their attention as his gelatinous form more or less rolled up to them. In one approximate of an appendage with a glove on the end, he held up a speeder key. "Who's takin' it?"

Anakin and Siri exchanged glances. He'd taken most of the races that night and she hadn't said a word seeing as he'd really needed the distraction, and it had helped. However, he knew she liked racing almost as much as he did. Oh, she'd never said as much as it wasn't exactly good Jedi behavior, but she had a bit of an adrenaline addiction and enjoyed it more than she'd admit. He almost felt bad for taking all of the good races tonight. Almost.

She raised her eyebrow at him, humor behind the gaze. Anakin just rolled his eyes, although he couldn't suppress his own grin. Funny that he wouldn't have been able to have this kind of easy camaraderie with her even a couple of months before. Two years ago, he'd have barely been able to smile. Perhaps he had come a decent way towards healing like Girth and Xio insisted.

"Go on," he finally said, waving his hand nonchalantly.

She emphasized her eyebrow raising. He just returned her stare a little wryly. Finally she shook her head, still smiling, and grabbed the key.

"You rest here, old man," she yelled over her shoulder.

"I'm still younger than you!" he called after her. He counted the years she'd been dead because it was still experience she remembered.

"Ha!" she said before disappearing around one grimy corner that would lead her to the racing circuit.

"I don't think I'll ever get you Jedi," Bleersh said after a couple of seconds.

It was Anakin's turn to snort in amusement. "We aren't typical. At all."

"Uh-huh," Bleersh responded then shook his head… or at least, that's what the former Sith figured the shuddering of his body meant. "I'll see you in the stands once I finish entering your partner there."

Anakin blinked at that. Partner, huh? He supposed she sort of was… in an older-sister kind of way. He'd never had an older sister before. What a strange concept. He wasn't sure if he was entirely comfortable with that thought (he'd had bad experiences with older-sibling-figures before) but it was a far cry better than the barely functional relationship right after they'd come back in time.

Shaking his head, Anakin made his way to the make-shift stands before the holoscreen where the race would be broadcast. He grabbed a seat next to where he knew Bleersh would want to sit and waited. The stands were half-hazard, grimy constructs at best and it honestly surprised Anakin when they held as many sapients as they did without giving way. He sat down, although he regarded the dirty bench with disdain. He'd have to take a shower when he got back to the Temple.

The dim lighting overhead fizzled and glitched as it tended to do this far under Coruscant's surface and several small groups of suspicious people gathered together in pockets all over the stands.

Anakin watched them curiously. He hadn't had much of a problem with anyone targeting him in a while, but he knew it would only be a matter of time before someone did again. Gamblers tended to not like 'the wrong' people winning.

It was his usual paranoia that had him paying attention to a twinge on the edge of his senses. He frowned, closing his eyes and focusing on the feeling more. It wasn't malicious, per se, but it wasn't benign either… and it was coming up right behind him.

His hand fingered the blaster he held under the large coat he wore to the races. It was set to stun. If someone started something, he'd finish it.

The person stopped when they stood directly behind him… Who?

Wait… he knew that signature.

His eyes flew wide.

"Well, well, well… if it isn't Anakin Skywalker… or should I say, Luke Lars?"

He whipped around and came face to face with the last person he thought he'd see there.

"Jango Fett…"

xXx

AN: *Runs away cackling*

What? People wanted to know where Jango was. *evil grin here*

Well, in all actuality, I didn't expect Mace Windu to come in like that. He just did... kind of demanding everything that happened.

Thanks again to Khalthar, Carradee and Quathis for your help on this, as always!

Come yell at me on Discord: discord (period) gg (backslash aka /) BtZFtvX without spaces.