Chapter 1

Anakin could hardly draw his breath. Wide-eyed with disbelief, he lifted his mother to his breast and rocked her there for a long time. She couldn't be gone! She just couldn't! He pulled her back again, staring into her eyes, silently pleading with her to answer him. But there is no light there, no flicker of life. He hugs her close, rocking her.

Then he laid her back to the floor and gently closed her eyes. Anakin didn't know what to do. He sat motionless, staring at his dead mother, then looked up, his blue eyes blazing with hatred and rage. He replayed all of the recent events of his life in his head, wondering what he might have done differently, done better, to keep Shmi alive. He should never have left her here in the first place, he realized, should never have allowed Qui-Gon take him away from Tatooine without bringing his mother along, as well. She said she was proud of him, but how could he deserve her pride if he could not even save her?

He wanted Shmi to be proud of him, wants to tell his mom all about the things that had come into his life, his Jedi training, all the good work he had already done, and most of all, about Padmé. Oh how he had wanted his mom to get to know Padmé! She would have loved her. How could she not? And Padmé would have loved her.

Now what was he going to do?

The minutes slipped past and Anakin just sat there, immobilized by his confusion, by a budding rage and the most profound sense of emptiness he had ever known. Only when the pale light began to grow around him, making the low-burning candles seem even thinner, did he even remember where he was.

He looked about, wondering how he might get his mother's body out of there-for he certainly wasn't going to leave it to the Tusken Raiders. He could hardly move, though. There seemed to be a profound pointlessness to it all, a series of motions without meaning.

At that time, the only meaning, the only purpose, that Anakin could fathom was that of the rage building within him, an anger at losing someone he did not wish to give up.

Some small part of him warned him not to give in to that anger, warns him that such emotions were of the Dark Side. Then he looked at Shmi lying there, so still, seeming at peace but covered with the clear evidence of all the pain that had been inflicted upon her poor body these last days.

The Jedi Padawan climbed to his feet and took up his lightsaber, then boldly strides through the door. The two Tusken guards gave a yelp and lifted their staffs, rushing for him, but the blue-glowing blade ignited, and in a flash of killing light, Anakin took them down, left and right.

The rage was not sated.

The light blinked out as the darkness consumed its place. The dragon that have always been there now reered its ugly head as it begs to be freed, to find its liberation. To think, if only promptly, it was not a lust for power that corrupted a young conflicted soul that day. It was not for desire for oneself to rise. It was not out of greed or self...

It was out of a young boy wanting his mother.

And yet, at the end, there was still that light that tried to pierce the dragon, that tries to imprison it within before it was too late.

"Anakin! Anakin! Nooooo!"

Unfortunately, at the end, it doesn't matter. It was too late.

The lost soul had heard the voice of the lost Master that day, imploring him to restrain himself, to deny the rage. He hadn't recognized it, though, for he was too full of pain and anger. He spotted a Tusken woman to the side, in front of another of the tents, carrying a pail of dirty water, and sees a Tusken child in the shadows of another nearby hut, staring at him with an incredulous expression.

Then he was moving, though he was hardly aware of his actions. His blade flashed and he ran on. The Tusken woman screamed, and is impaled.

Now all the camp seemed in motion, Tuskens rushing out of every hut, many with weapons in hand. But Anakin was into the dance of death then, into the energy of the Force. He leaped far and long, clearing one hut and coming down before another, his 'saber flashing even before he lands, even before the two Tuskens recognizes that he has jumped between them.

A third come at him, thrusting forth a spear, but Anakin lifted an empty hand and set up a wall of Force energy as solid as stone. Then he shoved out with that hand, and the Tusken spearman flew away, fully thirty meters, smashing through the wall of yet another hut.

Anakin was off and running, off and leaping, his blade spinning left and right in a blur, every stab taking a Tusken down, writhing to the ground, every slash putting a piece of a Tusken on the ground.

Soon none were standing against him, all trying to flee, but Anakin would have none of that. He saw one group rush into a hut and reached out across the way, to a large boulder in the distance. It flew to his call, soaring across the sand, smashing one fleeing Tusken down and flying on.

Anakin dropped it on the hut full of Tuskens, crushing them all. And then he was running, his strides enhanced by the Force, overcoming the fleeing creatures, slaughtering them, every one.

He didn't feel empty any longer. He felt a surge of energy and strength beyond anything he had ever known, felt full of the Force, full of power, full of life.

And then it was over, suddenly, it seemed, and Anakin stood among the ruins of the encampment, dozens and dozens of dead Tusken Raiders all about him, and only a single hut still standing.

He put his lightsaber away and walked back to that hut, where he gently and reverently scooped his mother's body into his arms, and is about to walk off.

Suddenly, there was a light that blinded his vision, that light that prevented him from moving further.

More curious than he likes to admit, Anakin safely secured his mother's body on the ground before walking to the white light, feeling it became brighter...


At that moment, everything changed. Some would say it was the fleeing light begging for the conflicted soul to come back to reality. Others would call it mere Jedi tales to put younglings to bed at night.

Perhaps it was just a adventure to come by the twist of the Force trying to bring a conflicted soul back to reality before that soul would have been further twisted by the manipulators.

Regardless, Anakin Skywalker did not know at the time. Tatooine seemed to have vanished, all of his Force connections suddenly muted and cut off as if cruelly severed. Perhaps it was just all a dream and he was on another assignment with his Master. Perhaps seeing Padmé again didn't actually happen.

Perhaps his mother was still alive and well.

Yet, Anakin felt it. The moment when she'd died...

Reaching for his head, he recalled that bright light before nothingness. He recalled what he has done.

He could hear it from deceptively far away, even though it was right up close. There was a intertwine emotion of rage and anger surrounding him, but it was even worse than his, far more darker...

He could feel the muted calls of the Dark Side, yet somehow something about is blindingly familiar.

In front of him stood two individuals, one human and another...what is that? Who was it? What was it? A droid?

That constant breathing sent a shiver down his very core. It was worse than anything that he has ever seen before, than Darth Maul ten years ago.

Passing off a glance off to his opponent, Anakin frowned.

The boy's eyes glisten with familiar fear and anger to the immoveable object standing there. Anakin's hand instinctively fell over his lightsaber, even though something told him that he couldn't stand against this...whoever this was. Force, he would have to get to Coruscant and warn the Jedi Council...

Even though he'd rather not see them right now.

He looked at the young man who now held out his ignited lightsaber at the half droid. Sithspit, what is he doing? His stance was all wrong. Had Anakin held out his lightsaber like that in a training segment, Obi-Wan would have drilled hours of training into him he wouldn't have been able to sleep that next day. Kark, Master Yoda and Master Windu would have been even worse.

Whoever this man's Master was would have a lot of explaining to do to the Council when they see how he was holding the lightsaber.

"You hold that weapon like an untrained child," the voice said, and Anakin couldn't help but denying that he does have a point. "You have no right to it. You, boy, are no Jedi." The man asked. "Who are you?"

"You killed my father," the boy replied sharply.

Wait, he knows his father? He'd thought he was one of the only ones at the Temple who knew his parent! That only increased his anger: remembering her beaten form.

The weird droid simply dismissed this. "I've killed very many fathers, you'll have to be more specific."

Anakin's rage increased tenfold as he tried to get a closer look to the half droid.

The young man too seemed to has a vengeful ire about him as he lunged forward. The two locked blades briefly, though the young man was unsurprisingly overwhelm within seconds that Anakin almost grimace. The Council would have a fit about this...

Was that a scoff from the weird droid? "This is most pathetic. You are not worth the seconds it would take to finish you. Who sent you here to die like this?"

"I was there on the Death Star. I saw what you did to him." The man's anger is ever blinding. Anakin had never saw another Jedi outside of him to show such emotion even during the death of their Masters, and even now he didn't want to entertain what would have happened had they witness such display against any of their opponent. "You killed Master Kenobi!"

Master Kenobi? Wait, did Obi-Wan have a relative that he didn't know about or something?

"And now I'm here to make sure you- NO!"

In a move that Anakin doesn't even seen coming, the man's lightsaber was pulled out of his hands to the weird droid. Seriously, Anakin didn't know what a more preferable title would be.

"So Obi-Wan Kenobi gave you this lightsaber."

Obi-Wan! Where was he?!

"A shame he did not teach you how to wield it." The weird droid said coldly. "He never did make for such a master."

He... wasn't exactly wrong, a big part of him decided he hates Obi-Wan right now for not allowing him to save his mother. Yet, why was he being referred to in the past tense? No, no, this had to be a dream. A test. Yes, that sounds about right. A way for the Council to test him.

"How did you..." the boy asked. Regardless, Anakin would have to get involved.

"The Force will never be with you, boy, your Master has fallen. What hope have you?" Ah, well that explained things. The man was untrained. So an Agri-Corps member or something?

Anakin didn't have time to muse as the weird droid raised both lightsabers in front of him.

"If you wish to live, you will tell me all you know of the Rebellion. Including the nature of this attack. And then you will lead me to the rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star. And watch as I strike him down."

Wait, what? Rebellion? What in the name of the Force is the Death Star? Ah, kriff, this was Obi-Wan's expertize of thinking! He was just a Padawan!

What was Anakin supposed to do anyhow?

"Speak quickly, or join your father."

The man straightened, determined even though there is a bit of fear in his big blue eyes. "I'd rather die than yield to you."

The darkness was almost blinding yet again. The weird droid crossed his arms, raising both lightsabers in front of himself. Anakin recognized the move after training from Master Drallig. The beginning of a Sai Cha strike...

"So be it."

Deciding to intervene before it is too late, the Jedi Padawan charged forward, igniting his lightsaber and swinging it.

Both of them tilted their heads to him in the last second, and Anakin didn't realize that such a seemingly small decision would change his fate forever.

Arthur's note: One or two years back, I wrote a fic where Anakin time traveled to the future called A Twist in the Force so this could be considered a rewrite (I told my friendly writers I would do this eventually lmao). I have been planning a premise for where he would be apart of the Galactic Civil War. In my opinion, my writing has improved much since then and with ideas being swapped around this would be much more original.

Most time travel fics are where he is late Clone Wars/ROTS and already an experienced fighter but I wanted to do something unique. I didn't really ever see a fic where ATOC Anakin time traveled to the future so this fic was born. Anakin would be very dark in this first segment, given this is after the Tusken massacre. Speaking of which, that ATOC segment is from the ATOC novel, a very powerful moment imo. An inexperienced in war Anakin would be fun to write as he would basically mature like he did in the Clone Wars but in a different war in a different era. While this first part is apart of a Disney Canon comic, Skywalker Strikes, yet more EU material would be mentioned as that would always be my Canon.

My priority would be the Echoesverse because that's a fic I poured hours into, but this would be updated monthly at the very most.

May the Force be with you all always.