When Anakin finally opened his eyes again, the sun had moved. He bolted upright and saw the ground was a mere 10 feet below him. They were back at the bottom of the stairs! "What?!" he shouted, seething with rage.

Zaria bolted upright and asked, "What's wrong?" She saw it too and gasped. "No way!"

"How did we get all the way back down here?!" Anakin demanded, jumping to his feet. He looked up to the temple once again and saw all their progress was lost.

"We were way up there a few minutes ago!" she exclaimed, standing up beside him.

"That's it!" Anakin exclaimed, "I'm using the force to get up there!"

"Wait," she said, holding his arm, "maybe we're not supposed to take these stairs. Maybe the force is trying to tell us there's another way."

He replied, "You can go ahead and spend the rest of your life walking around this weird place, Zaria, I'm getting to the top right now no matter what it takes." He leapt up more than a dozen steps using the force, and then many dozens more. When he looked back, Zaria had taken off.

Using the power of the force, he did eventually manage to make it all the way to the top of the mountain. At the top, the temple was even more intimidating up close. Large double doors met him. He tried pushing and pulling on them, but nothing happened. He had to use the force to get them to open.

A dark high ceiling room awaited him. A circle with ancient inscriptions sat on the ground and pictographs of different peoples across the galaxy were scrolled out in every direction.

"Hello?" Anakin called out, "Weird voice guy? I made it here like you demanded I needed to the other night! Come on out and show yourself already! My patience is already worn thin!"

"Anakin?" Zaria called from the dark, coming up on his right.

"Zaria?" he asked, "How did you get here so fast?"

"There's a ladder on the side of the temple," she said, "I climbed up it and walked down this hallway." She pointed to it. "There really is more than one way to get here, like I mentioned there could be."

His jaw dropped. "Tell me you're joking."

She shook her head and innocently put her hands up. "I'm not, I swear."

The doors behind them suddenly slammed shut and revealed skylights to light up the room, and a throne on the other side. "Welcome my children," the voice said from the darkness above, "to Mortis."

"Who are you?" Anakin demanded, "And why did you want me to come here so bad?"

"I see I have tested your patience, my dear boy," the voice said, "do not fret, I haven't asked for your presence simply to trick you or waste your time as you believe." A man stepped out into the shadows to finally reveal himself. He was a tall older man who had dark blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and dressed in a long blue robe with long flowing sleeves. "You both separately found your way into this chamber. You must now realize there is more than one way to accomplish the same goal."

As Zaria nervously walked behind Anakin, she asked, "Did you ask us to come here just to give us sage-like wisdom?"

He shook his head, "There is much more to your journey than that, my dear girl."

"Who are you?" Anakin demanded.

He walked around them, examining them closely, he answered, "I am the force itself. The light, the dark, the breath of life, the colors of nature, the shadows, the wind, and the very reason there is life within the universe. You can call me 'Father.'"

Now they were both confused. "I don't believe this," Zaria said, stepping away from him off to the side, "the force itself is a regular looking middle-aged man?"

"I have taken this form for your eyes only because my true form is impossible for your minds to conceptualize, my children," he replied, "I believe you're both most comfortable with this look."

"Awesome," Anakin said, unamused by the charade, "why did you get inside my head and tell me I needed to be here in the middle of the night?"

Father turned and faced him. "Neither one of you have asked the question as to why the other is here," he said, "one male, one female, the same age, of similar backgrounds, and both force sensitive."

Anakin insisted, "Oh I noticed that stuff alright."

"We also look alike," Zaria said, glancing at him, "and we look like the form you've chosen for yourself."

"And you still haven't asked why," Father said.

Anakin rolled his eyes and said, "I know this isn't a coincidence. So, 'Father' as you said we should call you, why did you want both of us to be here right now, and why do we look like we're all related?"

He explained, "There was once a time a sith lord attempted to influence the midichlorians to create a perfect specimen to his liking."

"Midi-whats?" Zaria asked, "What's a sith lord?"

"Midichlorians are tiny lifeforms in everything," Anakin answered, "the more you have inside you the more force sensitive you are. A sith lord is like an evil version of a jedi master."

"Precisely, my dear boy," Father said, "you've been paying attention to your studies. This sith lord wanted to create a perfect sith youngling who would not be able to resist him or turn to the light side. Needless to say, I did not allow that to happen. However, he came very close to making his dream a reality. In order to combat this, I created the chosen two."

Zaria asked, "The chosen two?"

He continued, "There will be two born who will bring balance to the force."

"I thought there was a chosen one?" Anakin asked. He looked at Zaria and wondered if she was the one. The council had always been so opposed to him, maybe she was supposed to be the one to bring back balance.

"Collectively the jedi have failed," Father said coldly, "they have fallen far from where they need to be in order to see clearly."

Astonished he could say such a thing, Anakin could only gasp in shock. "What?"

He stepped between them and explained, "I created the prophecy, and then two lifeforms to live in the far reaches of the galaxy to see if the jedi masters were up to the task of finding them. I sent a master to Isledbinyata first, and he failed to collect you, my daughter. I sent a different master to Tatooine collect you, my son, and he succeeded, although with great opposition to the ones who claim to be in charge." He grabbed them both gently by the chin.

They pulled away from him. Anakin demanded, "What are you saying? You created us and we're 'the chosen two?'"

"You now know neither one of you has a true father," he said, stepped forward and away from them, "I am the one who made your mothers pregnant. You are both born from the force itself. From me." He gestured to himself.

"You're our father?" Zaria asked, "We're half siblings?"

Anakin looked her over in shock, then back at Father and asked, "How have the jedi failed? Because they were supposed to find her too?"

"I've never met a jedi master," she said, "well, before meeting you."

Father said, "Those in charge do not recognize Anakin as a master despite showing greater prowess than any other jedi before him. I have sent several jedi masters to your home world over the years, Zaria, and they have all failed to train you. They disgracefully let others guide their paths now and insist on their rigid rules when the entire point of the jedi was to have them tap into the flexibility and resilience of nature itself. They have aligned themselves with one system of man-made governance. That is the only reason why they did not find you, Zaria. They have failed the both of you."

Anakin had never heard someone speak so disparagingly about the jedi before. He struggled to come up with a rebuttal. The jedi raised him, there was no way they could be complete and utter failures! "Well..." he hesitated, "the strict rules you just mentioned makes sure they don't fall to the dark side."

"Says the married man," Father said as he walked away from them.

"What was that!?" he scoffed, crossing his arms in defense.

"Married?" Zaria said, surprised, "I thought jedi weren't allowed to have a family, not even a girlfriend or a boyfriend."

He insisted, "We're not, so I don't."

Father turned to him and said, "Don't attempt to lie to me, my dear boy, you'll only embarrass yourself."

"Alright, fine," he confessed, glaring at him, "I'm married. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," he answered, "the rules the jedi have created for themselves are just that-rules they themselves invented out of fear of the dark side seeping in, when in truth, even the brightest light casts a shadow."

Anakin asked, "Did you really drag us all the way out here to tell us how disappointed you are with the jedi order? If you have such a problem with them, why not make the council come here and tell them directly yourself?"

"I cannot commune with those I have not personally created," he said, "only the two of you can see and hear me. But I did not ask you to come here so I could lecture you on my disappointments. The timing is finally right." He created two beautiful light shows in front of them in the form of near infinite bright branches reaching up to the ceiling. "These are the paths to all your possible futures, beginning at this very moment."

"Wow," Zaria marveled, "they're all so beautiful."

"You see many of them are in the light," he explained, "some are long, some are short, and some are in the dark."

"We can fall to the dark side?" Anakin asked, "But I thought you just said we were supposed to be 'the special chosen two who are supposed to bring balance to the force.' How can we fall to the dark side?"

Father said, "Anyone can fall into darkness." He made their pathways disappear. "I can tell you everything you need to know in order to fulfill your destinies with the Sword of Absolution." He used the force to open the double doors behind them. In the brightness of the sunlight, he pointed to a mountain off to his left in the distance. "There."

Anakin remarked, shielding his eyes, "Let me guess, you want us to walk all the way over there and bring you back that sword. Can't you use the force to bring it over here right now and get this over with?"

"It is not the destination or the object, young one," he replied, "it is the journey."

"You want us to learn some important life lessons along the way," Zaria said, "am I right?" He nodded.

Anakin snarked, "What are you going to do? Make us walk through another blizzard and move the stairs around on us again?"

"This quest is of the mind," Father said, pointing to his forehead, "not the body."

He stepped away from him and said, "Wait, you're not just sending us on some excursion, you're putting us through some sort of mental trials! Let me tell you something, Father, I can handle anything you throw at me, but she isn't a jedi or a fighter. You said so yourself, the jedi have failed her. Leave her out of this." He looked over to see how scared she was.

Father replied, "Yet without her, you would have perished in the blizzard earlier. Remember what your past arrogance has done to you!" He grabbed his right shoulder and ripped his sleeve and glove off before he could react.

"Hey!" he shouted, pulling away, "Get off of me!" He watched as Father instantly incinerated the sleeve and glove with fire in his hands, leaving Anakin's entire right arm exposed.

Father turned to Zaria and said, "And you, my dear, remember where your fear has led you." She violently pulled away from him.

Anakin lit his lightsaber. "Leave her alone!" He expected Father to move out of the way, but he didn't. The tip of the sword went through his body and did no damage, as if he were a ghost. He stared in shock.

Using the force, he put out the laser of Anakin's lightsaber and pulled the hilt into his hand. "What would you tell Obi-wan if I broke this?" he asked.

"Who's Obi-wan?" Zaria whispered to him.

"My master," he answered, "and I have a feeling he wouldn't believe me if I told him the force itself broke it. Can I have it back?" He extended his right hand and Father returned it.

He stepped back and sat on his throne. Zaria asked, "Do we really have to go all the way to that mountain right now? I mean, you didn't give us a time limit. We could spend the rest of the day right here if we really wanted to." She crossed her arms anxiously.

Father answered, "If you don't leave the temple of your own will, I shall force you to."

"How?"

"Don't answer that!" Anakin pleaded, jumping in front of her, "We're leaving!" Too late, the floor from under them shook violently and cracked under the pressure Father was using the force to destroy the entire building. The ceiling began to break apart. Zaria screamed in terror. Anakin grabbed her and tried to pull her toward the steps.

"No," she said, "no, over there! To the ladder! Hurry!" She turned and ran down the hallway where she came in. He chased after her.

Around a dark corner was an open doorway leading to a small ladder and down to the ground. Anakin couldn't believe his eyes, there wasn't a mountain in sight on this side. There was no need for him to climb all those stairs twice. Instead of dwelling on it he jumped down to the ground and turned to see Zaria petrified with fear.

"It's okay," he tried to assure her, "it's like 8 feet to the ground, you'll be fine even without using the force."

She shook her head. "It's so far down."

"Use the ladder."

"I can't move my feet."

"Jump and I'll catch you," he said. He watched as the roof began cracking over her head. "Hurry, Zaria, jump now!" He outstretched her arms. If she didn't move fast the whole building was about to fall on top of her.

She inhaled a deep breath and took the leap. Anakin moved his body under her and catch her like he said, but instead of using the force to make herself lighter, she pushed down on him hard and they both hit the ground with an unceremonious thud.

"Ow!" she cried, rolling away, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, we made it," he said, taking in a breath and rolling away from her.

When they stood up, they moved out of the way of the collapsing building and turned to look out onto their objective, the mountain in the distance. "Well," Zaria said awkwardly, "what do you think of Father?"

Anakin explained, "It didn't feel like he was lying, but I still don't trust him. Come on, we better get moving before we make him mad again." He turned and took the lead toward the mountain.

Unlike before, the scenery didn't shift around them or clear them a path. At some points Anakin had to take out his lightsaber and cut down the brush in front of them to keep to a linear path and make sure they got to their destination swiftly.

In order to break the silence, Zaria said, "I've never had a brother before." She paused. "But you knew that already. I'm assuming you're also an only child."

"In a way I am," he replied, "my mom got remarried a while ago, so I have an older stepbrother I barely know. I also have a padawan learner, and she's like a little sister."

"What's a padawan learner?"

"A jedi apprentice," he answered, "her name is Ahsoka Tano. She's Togruta." He brought out a holograph picture on his wrist and and showed her.

Zaria's eyes went wide. "Oh she's so adorable!" she exclaimed, "I've always wondered if head-tails are soft to the touch, are they?"

Anakin paused and realized he had never thought to ask nor touch Ahsoka to see if that were the case. "I have no idea."

"I just want to squeeze her," she said, "she's so cute." She stopped herself. "Sorry, I've hardly ever left home, and we don't get a whole lot of visitors on Isledbinyata. You must understand what I mean."

"Actually," he said, "traders and smugglers visit Tatooine frequently. I met deep space pilots all the time when I was little." He paused. "Do you want to become a jedi knight, Zaria?" He remembered standing before the council for the first time at 9-years-old and how he was questioned and tested relentlessly.

She scoffed. "Me? No way! I'm not brave enough for anything like that! You should have seen me on my way over here. I can't go into a war zone."

He explained, "Being a jedi isn't about fighting."

"Oh really?" she snarked, "You could have fooled me. Aren't the jedi knights fighting on behalf of the republic as we speak?"

"We're fighting for peace."

"Yeah, that still involves fighting, Anakin," she replied, "and I know you can tell by now I'm no good at that."

He sighed and muttered to himself under his breath, "Maybe Father was right, maybe the jedi really have lost their way, but what am I supposed to do about that?"

She cut through his thoughts. "So, what's your wife's name?"

Anakin turned around to face her and insisted, "You can't tell anyone about her, Zaria, I'm serious. If the council finds out I'm married I'll be kicked out of the order for sure, and while I don't get along with some of their rules, I'd still rather be a jedi knight than not."

"Okay," she said nervously, "I don't know anyone on the council, and I've never been to Coruscant and probably never will, so your secret is safe with me."

"Her name is Padme Amidala."

"She has the same name as the senator of Naboo?" she asked, then gasped, "It's her! Oh, that's so sweet. I'm happy for you, really."

He asked, "You know about her?"

"Just because I'm not part of the republic doesn't mean I don't pay attention to the news," she replied.

To change the subject away from himself, as he walked on, Anakin asked, "Is it true what they say about licking cold metal?"

"That your tongue will stick to it?" she said, "Oh yeah. I know people who have lost parts of their tongue for trying. What about quicksand? Is that real? It sounds made up."

"It's real but it's rare and only shows up after it rains," he answered, "you'd have to try really hard to get it to kill you."

As they carried on toward the mountain, for some reason the sun didn't seem to move as quickly as it had the day before. The landscape was rougher as well. Sure, this time there weren't any random blizzards to stop them, but they kept going up and down and around different plants and rolling hills. Anakin helped Zaria keep her feet under her a few times along the way.

Eventually they came across a massive crevasse in the ground wide enough to have to jump across. As soon as Anakin did gracefully, he turned and saw Zaria was absolutely paralyzed with fear.

"Oh no!" she said, stepping backwards, "I'm not jumping across that."

"It's a few feet wide," he said.

She shook her head and shut her eyes. "I can't even look!"

Anakin took a large step to have both feet on either side of the crack. He was quite a bit taller than her, so he knew she couldn't do the same, but maybe it would help ease her mind. "Here," he said, "see, it's not so bad. Look."

Zaria pried her eyes open and suddenly the crack didn't seem so wide. She took a deep breath. "I don't think I can do this; you can go on without me."

"He said we'll do this together. You can make it."

"You don't know what I can and can't do!"

"Zaria, it's not even 4 feet wide," he said, "I can help you. Come here." He motioned for her to come closer, but she stepped away from him. He used the force to pull her in.

"Hey!" she said, "Stop it!" She squeezed her eyes shut as he grabbed her by the arms.

Anakin said, "You're almost there. All you have to do is lean and then put your feet out." He used the force to guide her as she grabbed on to him tight. "See! It's already over!"

She opened her eyes and saw she was on the other side. "Oh," she huffed, "I made it! Good, thank you."

"How come you're so afraid of everything?" he asked as they continued walking.

She hesitated. It had been years since she spoke about it. "I guess I can tell you," she said sadly, "I was out with my cousin when I was 10 years old, she was only 7. We were playing together on a ledge, and I used the force without meaning to and broke the ground out from under her. It wasn't very far down, maybe 10 feet, but I guess she landed on the rocks below just right because..." she paused, "I didn't even have to look. The force told me she was gone on impact."

"Zaria..." he didn't know what to say, "I'm so sorry."

"I've been avoiding using these...abilities...ever since," she said, "I didn't know much about jedi back then, and definitely didn't understand what it meant to be force sensitive. I was just the weird kid who sometimes knew when stuff was going to happen, you know?"

Anakin said, "I get it, I do. If you were trained properly that never would have happened."

She asked, "You really think a jedi master could have stopped me from doing that?"

"I'm sure of it," he insisted.

"Then maybe I should become a jedi," she said tentatively, "can you train me, Anakin? Please? I don't want to have to fight anyone, but maybe I'll be good at the other things jedi do." She paused anxiously. "I have to make sure I never do anything like that ever again."

He said, "I'm sorry but I already have a padawan. It's against the jedi code to have two."

"So is being married."

He turned and glared at her and said, "That I can keep a secret! Having a second padawan following me around everywhere, I cannot. You'll need to have a different master. Maybe Obi-wan would be up to the task. He's the one who taught me everything I know."

Zaria asked, "Could he teach me to be brave like you?"

Flattered, Anakin smiled at her and asked, "You want to be like me?"

"Well sure," she explained, "look at you, you've barely stumbled since we've met but I've been afraid of everything left and right since I got here." She ducked under a branch in the path. "How hard is it to be a jedi?"

He said, "The hardest part would probably be convincing the council to let you train to become one. When Master Qui-gon brought me to them when I was 9 years old, and they were sure I was too old."

"At 9?" she asked, "What will they say about me?" She gestured to herself, clearly a grown woman.

"I don't know," he said, "but maybe being 'one of the chosen two' will help persuade them. We'll have to find out for ourselves once we leave this place."

Zaria asked, "If I do become a jedi, will I have to dress like you?"

Pretending to be offended, he asked, "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

"Not going to lie it is a bit dreary," she replied, "and those proper jedi robes the masters wear are even uglier." She giggled at him, and he smiled at her.

Anakin said, "You won't have to wear anything like a robe. They're not as strict about what women wear. You'll be fine." The base of the mountain finally came into their view. They had made it.