Ben gingerly stepped over the rubble. The tower had been a hard climb up, but eventually Ben had come upon the room he was drawn to. Luke was long gone, that much was apparent to Ben. He could not sense his father's presence. But he could feel something calling to him. Something familiar.

Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka followed, the four Jedi carefully traversing the ruins with their lightsabers ignited for much needed light. Ben stopped and then suddenly moved forward, seeing a metallic glint on the floor ahead. There. Ben knelt down and retrieved the forgotten lightsaber.

"Luke's?" Anakin asked.

Ben nodded and stood up again, showing the lightsaber to his friends. "I don't feel him anywhere." Ben sighed as he placed the lightsaber on his belt. "Could he..."

Anakin shook his head. "Don't think like that. If we find the Son maybe we'll find him too."

"Doubt it." Ahsoka called. She had wandered a few yards deeper into the hall. She raised her lightsaber to the runt ceiling.

"Kriff." Ben muttered as they joined Ahsoka. Pinned to the ceiling by the dagger was the Son. His eyes a blank stare.

"What happened here?" Obi-Wan wondered aloud, stroking his beard.

"Maybe Luke?" Ahsoka guessed with a helpless raise of her hands. She glanced at Luke's lightsaber. "Or Abeloth."

"Why would Abeloth kill him?" Ben shook his head.

"Whatever the reason," Anakin began as he reached up, grasping the hilt of the dagger, "Luke is still lost and we don't have time to theorize." He pulled the dagger free and the Son's body fell to the ground. "What if we meditate together?"

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"What?"

Obi-Wan shrugged. "That's a rare thought process coming from you."

"Very funny." Anakin rolled his eyes. "I mean what if we use the Force as one? We might be able to find Luke, maybe help Ben to contact him."

"That could work." Obi-Wan agreed after a moment of appraising consideration. "What do you think, Ben?"

Ben shrugged. "At this point I'll try anything."

~~~

The Jedi went out to a grand balcony on the tower. It seemed sturdy enough and more importantly less oppressive than inside. Anakin directed Ben to sit down. He had Ahsoka sit across from him and then took up Ben's right side. Obi-Wan sat on the boy's left. Gently Anakin pressed his finger tips to Ben's temple, then did the same to Ahsoka. His friends followed suit and laid their fingers against eachother's temples.

"We'll follow Ben." Anakin said, looking to the nervous boy. "It'll be okay."

Ben nodded slightly, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Together the Jedi called on the Force, an easy feat in and of itself. But on Mortis, it was a much more intimate experience. Ben was a powerful beacon beside Anakin. He leapt into the Force, Anakin holding on tight. Thanks to the three Jedi Ben was given a greater sense to seek out his father. Anakin stood right beside him, lending the boy his strength, feeding it into Ben's own. But as he did Anakin oddly began to lose touch with himself. The more he poured into Ben the less he could distinguish between himself and Ben as individuals. It was mind bending, surreal, and it was a closeness he had never felt before.

And suddenly, Anakin was not Anakin. He was in a dark room, crowded with children. He felt scared. Petrified. In anguish as terrible war ravaged the galaxy and he was scared to touch the Force again. To feel the pain and horror again. It was too much for Anakin. No... too much for Ben. But there were other comforts. A woman with fair skin and red-gold hair, a laughing smile and a tight hug. A boy with dark hair, a hand reaching out to him, encouraging him. That same boy warping into a man with bloodied yellow eyes, watching with a wicked smirk while a terrible pain wracked through Anakin's- Ben's body and mind. Even worse was the betrayal... he trusted this boy... this boy who taught him, who guided him, who loved him. Who killed his mother, tried to kill his father and tortured him in a sadistic attempt to turn him to the Dark Side.

"Father!"

Anakin was Anakin again. Something- someone else was here. Anakin wrapped his presence over his grandson. The presence was dark and weak, melding with a different, lighter presence. Screaming, he could hear screams. Above the screaming Anakin could recognize the sound of crackling lightning. Lightning was everywhere, Anakin held Ben's presence as close as he was able, wanting to shield the boy from the insidious power. Then a voice, a voice ancient and wicked spoke above it all.

"You shall be known as Darth... Vader."

"Go to the Jedi Temple. Do not hesitate, show no mercy."

Anakin was in the Jedi temple. His lightsaber blazed. Clone troopers marching at his side. Anakin frowned as he spotted Ahsoka running towards him. She appeared much older, her face twisted as she looked to him in agony.

"What are you doing?!" Ahsoka cried.

Anakin opened his mouth. But before words could escape him Anakin's sword arm raised over his head as if possessed. Ahsoka screamed his name, screamed at him to stop. But Anakin had no control. His heart stopped beating as his lightsaber cleaved his dear friend in two. Anakin could not breathe. His vision blurred with hot tears. Why? Why? Had he done that? His body turned away from the gruesome sight. "I didn't- I didn't!" But Anakin had no control over this. He had no control over himself. Other Jedi raced towards him. They were either gunned down by the clones or killed by Anakin himself. "Stop! Stop!" Anakin screamed but no one listened to him. Not the clones, not the Jedi, not even his own body paid him any mind. He was stuck, watching himself murder the very people who had raised and taught him. Who had nurtured and trusted him. Even those he had taught, those had looked up to him. He felt sick as he slashed aside helpless padawans and younglings. He wanted to vomit. But he had no control.

The once beautiful, peaceful home of the Jedi was now covered with the bodies of Jedi masters, knights, padawans and younglings. They were all dead. All except for Obi-Wan. Anakin spotted him kneeling over a small child... a child that looked suspiciously similar to Ben. Obi-Wan looked up to him. "Why?" He asked, his voice was breaking.

Anakin shook his head. "I don't know. Obi-Wan I don't know! Help me!"

Obi-Wan stood, his silvery blue eyes filled with tears. Blood began to stain his robes. "Why did you chose this?" He asked. Padmé appeared beside him, holding her pregnant belly, tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Anakin, you're breaking my heart."

"Padmé, Obi-Wan... it's not me, please it's not-" Anakin reached out to his wife, found himself able to move again. He took several steps towards them. But Padmé began to choke. Her agony was replaced with fear. Fear of him... Anakin sucked in a horrified breath. His hand was outstretched, the Force wrapped itself around Padmé's neck in a vice like grip. "Padmé-" Suddenly Padmé and Obi-Wan fell away into darkness.

"There is still good in him."

Anakin turned sharply. A very young Luke stood there, starring at him. He was dressed in a grey jumpsuit that was ripped and stained with dark red. His face was lined, bruised and cut, his hair matted with sweat and blood, his right hand was gone. There was a terrible despair in his teary eyes.

"Luke?" Anakin asked hesitantly, feeling an inkling of hope that this terrible vision of some twisted future would stop for just a moment. "Luke... is it really you?"

Luke blinked at him as if awakened from a daydream. "They wanted me to kill you." He whispered.

Anakin shook his head. "What? What do you mean?"

Luke swayed slightly. Anakin reached out and caught Luke before he could possibly collapse into the nothingness. Luke gripped him back and sighed. "She wants to trap you here." He murmured. "You're going to do terrible things."

"Luke, what are you talking about?" Anakin asked, gently shaking the youth. "You gotta help me out here, I don't understand."

Luke coughed, blood stained his lips. "You're going to do this to me." He said, giving a dark humored grin as Luke gestured to himself. "You're going to kill Obi-Wan. You'll hurt me... hurt and use my friends-" Luke's knees buckled and he collapsed.

Anakin quickly adjusted his hold, cradling Luke to his chest and going on his knees to accommodate the injured Jedi. "Luke stay with me." He called urgently. Luke blinked up at him. "I would never do this to you. Never" Anakin said softly. "I- I'd never kill my friends. I'd never hurt Padmé. Please Luke, I don't understand!"

Luke chuckled bitterly. "You did all that and more." Luke accused before he took several labored breaths. "You're Darth Vader-"

Suddenly an invisible hand grabbed Luke, tearing him from Anakin's hold and dragging him into the darkness. "Luke!" Anakin shouted. But as suddenly as Luke disappeared a new evil came from the darkness. Anakin scrambled away as a man- no, a monster stood before him. The Dark Side so potent it threatened to drown Anakin in its depths. A mechanical breathing pattern sent chills upon chills down Anakin's spine. An innate terror froze Anakin to the spot. A red lightsaber ignited at the monster's side.

"You are weak." The monster's voice was so baritone it shook Anakin's insides. "I am what will remain when you are gone. You cannot escape your destiny." The monster raised his lightsaber and brought it down.

Suddenly Anakin was back on Mortis. Ben was standing over him, a hand on his shoulder. "Anakin?" He asked. "What happened?"

Anakin swallowed. He was shaking, he could not stop. Ahsoka took notice and came closer, taking his quivering hands in her own. "Master?"

Anakin inhaled deeply. "I saw Luke." He said softly, thinking hard, because that had to have somehow been the real Luke. "He told me... 'she wants to trap you here'."

Obi-Wan had knelt in front of Anakin, gently pressing the back of his hand to Anakin's drenched forehead. "What else did you see?"

Anakin trembled. The images of the Jedi slaughter fresh and wretched in his mind's eye. He looked to Ben, but felt it unfitting to speak of the glimpses into his grandson's life. "It was just Luke... he was younger and hurt bad. What he said... he sounded conflicted about it."

Obi-Wan frowned. He clearly did not believe Anakin. But he dropped it for now. "Perhaps it was his way of warning us of Abeloth's plans."

Ben nodded his head. "Dad gets pretty vague through Force bond we have. But I saw where he was. We've got to go!"

Anakin nodded and with Ahsoka's help got to his feet. "We should hurry."