Anakin bit his lip as the transport specially sent to take all of the Young Jedi Ambassadors back to the Temple began to slow on approach. He was already planning the route he would take to the healer's wing – one of the back ways that would have less traffic. He needed to talk to someone, preferably one of his mind healers or Master Yoda, about everything that had happened and they needed to rethink the plans for the Gala. Palpatine would be watching him, so he couldn't give away the data disks to the Senators. Master Yoda or one of the other visiting Masters would have to do the drop-offs… except they'd likely be watched too and he didn't like them taking that chance either. Which meant they'd have to change their plans altogether and bring someone else in to drop off the information – something he'd been wanting to avoid because he couldn't think of anyone who wouldn't raise at least a little red flag to Palpatine. They couldn't take that chance. If Sidious knew or could track the information back before it got out… Anakin did not want more lives on his conscience and—

The airbus finally pulled to a stop, drawing him out of his (all too desperate) thoughts. He quickly stood, as did all the others – none of which he knew at this point, apparently Tru and Darra had their Ambassadorial time later, and the children began to file off. Only a couple of seconds of waiting and Anakin had to stop himself from jumping out of the side and rushing up the steps.

His comm unit buzzed and he took it out, glancing past the text he'd gotten from Master Yoda saying that he had to manage the 'threat' and thus wouldn't be able to meet Anakin for a while. The next text, the one that had just come in, actually came from Master Xio. He quickly opened it and frowned. She was in an emergency session with a Padawan who had recently lost their master.

He still hadn't gotten anything from Healer Girth… which was unusual for him. He couldn't be too busy as he was there at the Temple specifically for Anakin.

He didn't bite his lip, or tap his foot… or anything else except squeeze his stress ball. He weighed the pros and cons of calling Siri again and only to realize, yet again, that it wouldn't be a good idea. And the thought of talking to Obi-wan about it just…

Not yet. Maybe some time in the future, when they'd addressed more of their baggage but right now the idea stressed him out more than it gave him relief.

Something about this all seemed familiar in an extremely uncomfortable way, but he brushed it aside and entered in the comm code for Healer Girth as he exited the airbus. The Jedi who had accompanied them asked them all to stay together as he led them up the steps and into the Temple.

"Hello? This is Healer Girth's comm."

That… wasn't Healer Girth.

"This is Initiate Anakin Skywalker… his patient."

"Oh, I am so sorry, but he is currently resting. He was admitted to the Healer's Wing with a minor ailment and should be better by the end of the week."

Wait… he was sick? But…

The world seemed to be closing around Anakin and it was getting hard to breathe.

No one was there… why wasn't anyone there? They'd known he'd be going to see Palpatine but… but Master Yoda was actually managing the situation for him, and it wasn't like Healer Girth wanted to get sick… but… then why?

And why did everything suddenly feel so out of his control?

It took several seconds of forced breathing before he figured it out. This… this was like that day, when he'd come back from Palpatine and needed to talk to someone from the Jedi Temple but no one was there.

"I… I need to speak with him," he tried, hating how strained his voice suddenly sounded.

"I'm afraid I can't let anyone disturb him," the healer on the comm said with a frown obvious even over the comm. "He needs his rest or the duration of the sickness will be prolonged."

He couldn't get enough air. His hand squeezed the stress ball in his pocket like his life depended on it. (It just might.)

He wanted to argue, but for some reason the only thing that came to mind was reaching out with the Force and making her do what he needed and that was not acceptable. Right? He was having a hard time remembering why. He'd done it before. It would be fairly simple to find her Force Signature and then her throat…

His breath hitched as he realized what he was thinking.

No! He needed to calm down.

(Easier said than done.)

Around him, the other initiates were giving him worried glances but he couldn't deal with that right now, so he ignored them.

"I can get you in to see another mind-healer," the Jedi said, probably doing her job and trying for a compromise but it wasn't helping.

"No, thank you," he said, more calmly than he felt… more devoid of emotion (he couldn't let any out right now, he didn't – couldn't – trust himself). Even in his current state, he knew his reaction wasn't great, but he didn't know what he could do about it. So he shut off the comm before the other Jedi could say anything else.

His hand fumbled through his pocket for the breath mints and he hurriedly poured several onto his palm, then almost slammed them into his mouth. Remember that he is here and now and that is on Coruscant, near the Jedi Temple… that was not sitting in ruins as some sort of monument or repurposed by the Emperor.

'What are five things you can see,' he heard Girth's voice in his head ask.

He glanced around. Jedi Initiates, the Temple steps… just like when he'd – NO!

Here. And. Now.

The Coruscanti skyline. Speeders. The sky, just beginning to tint orange in the sunset of the polluted planet. The distant clouds.

Yes. There. Keep going.

'Now, four things you can touch.' His robes, the stress ball, the duracrete beneath his feet, the slight breeze.

'Three things you can hear.' Oh, he may have gotten four and three mixed up… but did it really matter? He hoped not. He could hear the distant traffic, the steps of the other children and the voice of their Jedi escort. He couldn't, for the life of him, remember the being's name.

'Two things you can smell,' the imaginary voice of his mind-healer continued. That was easy, he could smell the polluted Coruscanti air, now only mildly because they would filter the air around the Temple, but it was still there. He could also smell the mints in his mouth. Rather strongly.

That actually led to the last one. 'One thing you can taste.' Well.

He did feel a little calmer, but that didn't stop the fact that he wasn't liking how similar this all felt – like the entire universe had conspired against him to take away anyone who could support him. Again.

"No," he told himself, shaking his head. "It's not that dire. You're fine, Skywalker." If he said it firmly enough or often enough, he should start believing it, right?

Now that he felt calmer, he forced himself to think his situation out more logically. He didn't have to talk to someone right now or in the know… but he really would prefer it. If he—

"Excuse me, Knight Rab'to?" A familiar voice broke through his thoughts and addressed the Jedi who had come to escort the children back. Ah, so that was his name.

"Oh! Master Windu!" the yellow-skinned alien said, bowing to the council member.

"Congratulations on fulfilling your mission in bringing the younglings home safely," the tall Jedi Master said serenely.

"Of course! And thank you, Master."

The bald Jedi nodded, then glanced at Anakin before looking back at their escort.

"May I borrow Initiate Skywalker?"

Anakin blinked because what?

"Of course," Knight Rab'to said, turning and gesturing for Anakin to step forward. He did so, firmly, head held high.

"Thank you. I'll escort him back to his rooms when finished," Master Windu told the Jedi Knight.

"Thank you, Master," the yellow-skinned alien replied happily. "Farewell, Skywalker."

Anakin couldn't force a smile, but he could nod politely.

He followed the Council Member down the hallways away from his group of initiates and tried not to equate this to that day again. When he'd told Windu about Palpatine and it had all gone so wrong and…

Calm. Down. Skywalker. He told himself, only barely noticing that it sounded more like Vader in his head.

"Okay, what is going on?" Windu's voice broke through his small reverie again and he blinked, looking around. They were in a small, little-used hallway and Windu had stopped, looking very unimpressed.

Anakin blinked. What was Windu asking? What exactly did he know? What could Anakin tell him?

"Where's Master Yoda?" he returned as calmly as he could.

Windu snorted. "I'm pretty sure you know that he's taking care of this supposed threat we received."

Anakin frowned. "Supposed threat?"

If anything, the dark-skinned man looked even more unimpressed, and all the more intimidating for it. "Please. Master Yoda reporting a threat on the Temple? He hasn't taken the comm station duty for years."

The time traveler blinked. Oh.

That explained a lot.

"Someone could have told him," Anakin pointed out.

"Then he would have brought that person into the Council Meeting. This is utterly fake and I want to know why! What is the real threat against this Temple? I know you had something to do with this. The shatterpoint is unusually clear this time."

The initiate didn't wince, but it was a close thing. He looked down, wondering what he should say, regretting that his mints were almost gone. They went a long way to grounding him.

"It's your Sith Master, isn't it," Windu said quietly, surely, and most definitely not as a question.

A bolt of fear and anger shot through Anakin. "He is not my master!" he hissed, stepping forward in emphasis. Windu's eyebrows lifted in surprise at the visceral reaction and he held up his hands.

"Okay, okay, former master."

The concession didn't help much. Actually, it hurt more than he would have expected. Of course Mace 'Stubborn' Windu wouldn't accept Anakin as a Jedi or even as a non-Sith without someone practically prying it out of him.

"I'm not a Sith," he reiterated. Then the shame came to him and he looked away. "Not anymore."

The Korun Master didn't speak for several seconds. Anakin glanced up at him, ready to defend himself more, but found the man staring at him thoughtfully.

"No. You're not. We've been over this."

"Then why did you call him my Master?" Anakin asked dryly.

More contemplative silence. "Are you saying that as a former Sith, or as a former slave?"

Anakin's breath hitched and he had to fight to not step back in defense. He… hadn't expected Mace Windu to put that together. The man was intelligent, but set in his ways and very much someone who based his world-view off of logic. He didn't often make intuitive connections like that.

The time-traveler suddenly felt naked – stripped bare in front of this man with nothing to hide behind. It was terrifying. Almost as terrifying as if it were Sidious instead.

Almost.

The thought crossed his mind – a little hysterically – that this… this was likely how he would feel when he told the Council everything… except worse. He was not looking forward to it.

Before he could find the words to answer, Windu sighed and waved his hand through the air. "Never mind. You don't have to answer that question if you do not wish to. I just want to know what the threat is. I could go to Yoda, but he'd just say this is your secret to tell, and he will only divulge it under the most dire of circumstances." He sounded frustrated, like he'd asked the Grandmaster before. Knowing that Master Yoda had kept his word and Anakin's secrets surprised him. He wasn't entirely sure why, except that he thought Yoda and Windu shared all their secrets. It was… actually kind of childish now that he thought about it. Of course that wouldn't necessarily be the case, and to be honest, he felt kind of touched at the grandmaster's thoughtfulness.

That begged the question, though; did he want to tell Mace Windu everything? Anything? Not that the man wouldn't know everything next week anyway, but… the idea of telling him made Anakin twinge. It was… just so similar to what had happened on the worst day of his life. And yet…

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, unsure of what answer he wanted from the man.

The Korun Master frowned. "To protect the Temple," he said as if it were obvious… and really, it was.

"You would… trust my word?"

He was stalling and he knew it, but… he also wanted that answer.

The bald man sighed again before fixing his gaze on Anakin. "I don't know what your… previous master has told you, or what kind of information you got on me, but I verify everything. Even if it comes from Master Yoda. Hence why I'm here."

Well… he had a point.

"So no, I won't just trust your word. But," Windu's voice softened a little and Anakin felt the older man's Force presence brush against his, hesitantly. Which was more than a little strange. Mace Windu was many things, but 'hesitant' wasn't one of them. "What I can promise is that I will listen, consider what you say, and take you seriously."

It felt a little childish but, it was the best Anakin would likely get and honestly, he was tired of carrying his secrets around. He had the information he needed, the verification and files… he had everything he possibly could get to make them believe him.

And he had to start trusting sometime. Maybe trying to trust someone right now, when he felt so weak, would be another step forward – prove that he can get better… and he really wanted to. Especially after his thoughts about killing and forcing other people's actions earlier.

(And maybe, just maybe, he could prove to himself that his life wouldn't fall apart like it had on that day.)

So he took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay, I'll… tell you everything, but not here." He looked around. They were still in a hallway and anyone could come up on them if they weren't paying attention. And the story he would tell would very likely take all of their attention.

"There's an unused meeting room back here," Windu said. "It's most often used for more private meetings with non-Jedi."

Anakin followed him down the hall and watched as the Jedi Master opened the door to a small room with a table in the center surrounded by chairs. Before they could enter, though, someone skidded around the corner of the hallway, practically a blur, drawing their attention.

"Anakin! There you are!" a familiar voice called.

The initiate blinked.

"Obi-wan?" he asked, almost in disbelief.

"I knew I sensed you over this way. You are not easy to find, but I could tell you weren't doing well so I—"

"Knight Kenobi!" Windu said sternly. The younger man froze in his tracks. "What are you wearing?"

Anakin blinked and finally registered Obi-wan's appearance. He was wearing a shift from the healer's wing under a blue robe that was obviously not his with how it practically drowned him. Both garments almost exactly matched what Siri had worn when she'd barged out of the healer's wing all those years ago to invade Anakin's mind-healing session when he'd confronted Master Yoda about his daughter.

Right. Obi-wan was still supposed to be under observation in the Healer's Wing.

Oh Force.

Anakin felt his jaw move but no sound came out as he tried to process that.

"Er… a… robe?" Obi-wan answered, both sheepish and defiant somehow, because Obi-wan.

"Can you explain to me why you aren't in the Healer's Wing?" the taller man asked, arms folded and his typical glare in place, thankfully fixed on the knight and not the initiate.

"I'm fine! I was merely there for observation!" the red-head protested.

Windu put a hand to his forehead and began to kneed it. "Obi-wan," he started, but cut off when a burst of laughter forced its way out of Anakin.

Both of the older men turned to look at him in unison and it just made everything funnier. He couldn't keep in another laugh. And that suddenly, he found himself doubled over, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. It felt… good.

"I'm glad my worry makes you laugh," Obi-wan snarked, pulling the robe around him (just like Siri had, for the same reason, which drew more laughter from the time traveler), but Anakin could tell he didn't mean it cruelly.

"You and Siri," he wheezed, "you're two of a kind. She did the exact same thing." Albeit to tear him a new one instead of out of sheer worry, but still…

Obi-wan blinked, and a little color came to his cheeks. "She did?" he asked, amused.

"And I'm sure they made her go back to the healer's wing too," Windu said sternly.

The red-head turned to look at the taller man. "Master," he started, but the Korun Master held up a hand.

"Skywalker is fine. I give you my word."

Obi-wan didn't look convinced and glanced over at a still chuckling Anakin.

The initate smiled, small but genuine. "I am fine. Thank you for coming, Obi-wan. Really." Anakin didn't think the man knew how much him coming running like that just to make sure the time-traveler was alright meant to him.

The red-head visibly relaxed. "Good."

"I was actually about to tell Master Windu everything," Anakin commented casually.

Obi-wan blinked, taken aback by that. "Oh… my."

"You know?" Windu asked, looking like he wanted to throw his hands in the air.

"In my defense, it was because of a shared vision in the Force," Obi-wan said hurriedly.

"True," Anakin said. "But I was going to tell you anyway."

Obi-wan looked touched. "Really?"

Anakin nodded. "I don't know how much I would have been able to actually say, but…"

The older man smiled. "Thank you, Anakin. I—"

"Need to get back to the healer's wing," Windu cut in firmly. "Now."

Obi-wan huffed. "Oh, very well." Then he glanced at Anakin. "Will you come visit me later?"

Anakin nodded again. He remembered why he hadn't wanted to talk to Obi-wan, but that baggage seemed far smaller than it had just a couple of minutes ago. Knowing everything, his brother had still come for him. That was not something he could overlook. Nor would he want to.

"I will see you then," Obi-wan said, then turned to walk away.

"Directly to the Healer's Wing!" Windu called after him. "No stops, no side trips… I will talk to Knight Eerin about it!"

The red-head looked highly offended. "You wouldn't!"

"Try me."

Anakin snickered again, wishing he had something he could snack on as he watched this interaction.

Obi-wan grumbled something they couldn't hear and turned to stalk off. After a couple of seconds (and another sigh), the Council Member gestured into the still open room and stepped inside. Anakin followed. The door closed behind them and Windu gestured for the initiate to sit as he did so himself. Anakin took the chair next to him and swiveled to face him, his mirth already, sadly, dissipating.

"Alright, what can you tell me about the Sith and their threat to the Temple?" Windu asked.

The time-traveler took a slow, deep breath, trying not to let it visibly show, before he fixed his gaze on the other man.

"First, there's something you need to know about me. I am not from the past as you suspected, I'm from the future."

xXx

Mace stared at the child in front of him almost unable to comprehend the words that had just come out of his mouth.

He blinked. "What."

The boy nodded solemnly. "I was born Anakin Skywalker. The only other name I have had was my Sith Name: Darth Vader." The boy actually shuddered a little when he said it. He either really didn't like associating with that name, or he was the best actor Mace had ever seen.

"You're… from the future…" he repeated, making sure he hadn't misunderstood.

Skywalker paused, looking thoughtful. "From a future."

And finally, Windu's mind began to work again. He put it all together – that last piece of the puzzle he needed to really understand Anakin Skywalker. The boy's wisdom and intelligence, but his attachment to his mother and ability to connect with his peers – a random adult stranger likely wouldn't have had those. His knowledge about Jedi in general despite his obvious dark side training. So many things started to make sense… but if that were the case, then…

The Sith in the Senate would be Skywalker's Master… which means the Sith didn't know about anything if he'd read the kid right and…

"You used to be a knight," he said. Or a master, but he'd bet on knight.

Skywalker nodded.

"You fell."

Again the boy nodded, although his mouth tightened and his fists clenched before he did.

"I never was a very good Jedi. Part of that was being groomed for years by my former master," he spit the last of that sentence out angrily. This kid had so much rage in him… and yet he was far better than when he'd first come…

So. Much. Sense.

"I married the love of my life in secret just before the Jedi went off to fight a war."

"You what? Wait, a what?" Mace interrupted because Jedi didn't fight wars… not as a whole. Not like the kid was implying.

The boy just raised an eyebrow on an otherwise deadpan face. "A war. Galactic wide. Set up by Sidious."

So that was the name of the Sith.

Right, that was what Mace had come for. Something had happened and he needed to know who could attack so he could defend the Temple. (That included the kid in front of him – in both capacities – whether said kid wanted to acknowledge that or not.)

"Who is the Sith," he asked after a couple of calming breaths. "Will you tell me?"

The boy hesitated, not necessarily out of fear, but definitely out of wariness. He still didn't trust Mace… and the Korun Master couldn't say he really blamed the kid.

After several seconds of silence, though, the boy nodded and licked his lips. "Palpatine."

Mace must have heard wrong because he thought Skywalker said that a Sith was currently the Chancellor of the Republic.

What.

"As in Sheeve Palpatine?" He prayed the kid had misspoken, but the boy simply nodded and suddenly Mace Windu's day went from 'surprising and annoying' to 'universe exploding if we don't fix this'.

"Don't go after him – not without the entire Council's knowledge," Skywalker stated firmly.

That took Mace back. "Why would I do that?" he asked, shocked. Did the kid not know him at all in the future?

"That's what you did the last time I told you," the boy said softly, practically whispering, as if more to himself than to Mace.

"I what?" Mace asked because that made no sense.

"To be fair, there weren't many other masters on planet," Skywalker continued, although his eyes looked distant, as if he wasn't in that room with Mace at all. "And we'd been through a three and a half year galactic war… so many people died, all because one man wanted power." Then his eyes focused on Mace again. "We'd known there was a Sith for a long time at that point, but we couldn't find him. He's that good. And a more than competent fighter. I do not know when he finds the time to practice.

"In any case, I told you, you took four masters over to arrest him, but I had to follow. I had to see. He'd convinced me he had a way to save my wife from dying in childbirth. I wanted to make sure you arrested him, but walked in to find the three other masters dead and you standing above him, ready to kill him right then and there."

His eyes had gone distant again and Mace wasn't sure he should interrupt, even if he saw so many problems with the boy's story he didn't know where to start. What had that war done to him? To them?

"He'd convinced me you wouldn't help me save my wife… so I chose him. By doing so, I chose to fall… and that night, I helped him completely destroy the temple."

His voice had gone completely devoid of emotion, the distance accompanied by a sort of emptiness that worried Mace.

"Destroyed the temple?" he asked slowly, carefully.

"I took the armies we'd been leading to war, brainwashed by Palpatine's manipulations, and overwhelmed the bare amount of Jedi left in the temple. The ones in the field were killed by their own troops. And I actively helped; killed men, women… children. Anyone in my way."

"To… save your wife?"

The boy took a deep breath, smiling in self recrimination. "I realized why Jedi aren't supposed to have attachments not long after I fell. Or perhaps I knew all along but just didn't want to admit it, or thought myself above it. Or perhaps I was simply so desperate for love I didn't care." He looked up. "Don't change that rule. Or do, if you wish – perhaps there should be more exceptions than there are now, but I should not have been one of them. Not with my selfish need to be loved and supported in ways the Jedi couldn't… and I didn't know the difference. I didn't think I could possibly be a danger." He looked down and shook his head. "I was a fool."

They fell into silence again as Mace processed everything he'd been told. He wasn't sure what to think of Skywalker's confession. The temple… destroyed? The very idea just… didn't compute. The Sith won?

Skywalker was here for redemption, he realized suddenly, and more of the puzzle made so much sense.

He wasn't entirely sure how he should feel about that. In his experience, darksiders didn't try for redemption.

"How far in the future are you from?" he asked, voice more strained than he would have liked.

The boy snorted quietly. "Thirty-five years, give or take."

Mace could only nod as he tried to grasp all of the implications now open to him. Funny, it had never occurred to him to not believe Skywalker. It just made too much sense – not perfect sense though, which was why he found himself believing the boy.

No, the man…

From the future.

(He'd still verify it with Yoda. And perhaps the boy's mind-healers. And Knight Kenobi. This was too unusual to not follow up on.)

"So, what now?" Skywalker asked, slumping tiredly in his seat. For a moment, he didn't look like a child, but an old man in a child's body… which made sense. That's what he literally was.

"Now… we wait for Yoda," Mace said, sending off a text message to the Grandmaster. "And we discuss plans."

The boy looked surprised for a second, but then he smiled, albeit wanly. "That… is a good idea."

Mace nodded. "I'm glad we agree."

And they sat back to wait.

xXx

AN: Thanks to Quathis, Hidden50 and Khalthar for their help on this!

Thank you for reading!

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