Anakin carefully made his way around the starship headed for Coruscant and found the ventilation system that led directly to Orican's cell. He crawled through the ship as quietly as he possibly could and eventually found Orican's holding sell. Inside the room there were no guards.

Anakin used the force to open the vent up silently and dropped himself inside with ease before putting the vent cover off to the side.

"You defied orders just to talk to me, kid?" Orican asked.

"I can count the number of times I've actually obeyed orders on one hand," Anakin replied, careful that the guards outside wouldn't hear them, "why haven't you changed out of my body yet?" Was that really what he looked like to other people?

Orican didn't move from his reclined position when he asked bluntly, "Are you grateful to the jedi?"

The question caught Anakin off guard. "What?"

"Your mother loved you," he continued without hesitation, "that was very real, and although I barely made it passed your 5th year of memories, the jedi must have rescued you from that horrid slave life at some point. Are you grateful they did?"

Anakin turned around and nearly walked out the door before he remembered he wasn't supposed to be in that room to begin with. "It was a mistake to come in here."

"I was found by the jedi later in life too," Orican continued without keeping a beat, "I was 7. Most jedi masters considered me to be too old to be trained by them."

He turned around and asked, "Then why did they train you?"

He responded, "Before you, they thought I was the chosen one who was going to destroy the sith."

Anakin couldn't believe what he had just heard. He shook his head and insisted, "But the prophecy isn't real. You know that! Why else would you have left the order?"

Orican finally sat up and explained, "I don't know if it's real or not, I only know I'm not the chosen one. I did some research and found out I do in fact, have a father, he simply left my mom, and she was too embarrassed to confess to the others what happened. When the jedi found me, she insisted I was born without one and they believed her. I'll spare you the details but trust me when I say changeling reproduction is more complex than most species."

"After that the jedi got rid of you?" he asked anxiously, "Just like that?"

"No, I chose to leave," he replied, leaning back once again against the sterile cell's bench, "that's about the only personal choice I made while living in that temple."

Trying to keep on the subject, Anakin asked, "How did you know to transform into Ahsoka to get to me in the first place?"

Orican shrugged, "Some old man in a cloak sent me a message and told me you were the new chosen one. I simply had to see for myself if that were the case."

As Anakin turned to leave, he whispered to himself, "Dooku..." it was the only man he knew who could fit that description. He jumped back up in the vent and used the force to close it back up behind him.

Once they landed on Coruscant, Orican, still using Anakin's form, was taken off the ship by clones and immediately taken to a holding cell for jedi. On the way there, he attempted a jedi mind trick. "I'm not your prisoner," he said.

"You're not our prisoner," the clone said.

They let him go.

Now Orican knew he could finish what he started.

Meanwhile, inside the council chambers in the temple, the present councilmembers Mace, Obi-wan, and Yoda sat before Anakin. The rest of the councilmembers were too busy to attend.

"I broke into his holding cell on board and talked with him for a few minutes," Anakin confessed.

"Anakin, I specifically ordered you not to go near him," Obi-wan scolded, "a changeling jedi is a very dangerous prospect."

Mace explained, "He must be Orican Sahvah. A long time ago he was once part of the order."

Anakin said, "He told me the jedi council was once sure he was 'the true chosen one' in the prophecy. After he discovered he wasn't, he left on his own terms. He also mentioned some sort of rhyme that described the entire thing."

Mace glanced at Yoda cautiously before he said, "There was a time when the council did believe Orican could be the chosen one, that is correct. The poem that describes the prophecy likely isn't true."

"Why not?" Anakin asked.

Yoda explained, "1000 years ago, those words were written. By whom, we know not."

Mace warned, "Young Skywalker, it's more likely a past sith a long time ago created a trap rather than something a jedi would see in a vision."

"The sith would write about 1000 years of light?" Anakin asked skeptically.

Now curious for himself, Obi-wan asked, "What exactly was the poem?"

Yoda recited, "

A millenia of light will shine,

Across the galaxy in due time,

One born of a woman,

Not concieved with a man,

Considered lesser, and othered,

The chosen one is discovered,

To bring balance to the force,

But jedi could lose the course.

Only time itself will tell,

If the sith will have fell."

Obi-wan asked, "Why haven't I ever heard this?"

"Yeah," Anakin demanded, "why did I have to hear it from a jedi traitor instead of the council ourselves?"

Mace said, "I already told you, Young Skywalker, the source isn't credible. Anyone could have carved those words into a stone 1,000 years ago. That doesn't mean we should go to planets outside our borders and take in any slaves who might fit that description."

Anakin managed to turn his gaze away from him before he visibly cringed.

Yoda asked, "Orican is now where?"

"I sent him to a holding cell for jedi," Obi-wan answered, "I assume the council would like to convene with him. And you should know, he apparently likes Anakin's form enough to stick with it."

"Hey," Anakin snarked, gesturing to himself, "I have a good-looking form."

"This meeting is over," Mace said coldly, "thank you, Master Kenobi and young Skywalker."

Unbeknownst to them however, Orican had escaped and kept his Anakin disguise while he marched directly into the jedi temple. No one could tell he wasn't actually Anakin Skywalker. There wasn't a second glance when he walked into the jedi library archives.

"Hello Madam Jocasta," Orican said at her desk, "how have you been?" It had been a long time since he had seen his old master. Although she looked older than she was over 30 years earlier, he still instantly recognized her. But she was none the wiser as to who he really was.

"It's a beautiful day, young Skywalker," she replied, unsuspecting, "I'm surprised to see you away from the warfront. I know you like being in the middle of all the action."

"This is only temporary," he said, "but while I'm here, I'd actually like to look through my file."

She asked, slightly confused, "You'd like to look through your own jedi file?"

Orican said, "Yes, of course, if it's no trouble."

As she guided him away from her desk and over to the jedi archive files for knights, Orican discretely took her lightsaber away from her and put it on his own empty hip. They kept up her with pace and followed her. It had been so long since he had been in the library he had completely forgotten where they were kept.

Meanwhile, the real Anakin stepped out of temple and hoped to sneak away and meet with Padme since he was suddenly and unexpectantly back on Coruscant. Instead, he got an urgent message from Obi-wan.

"Anakin, the changeling escaped!" he exclaimed, "Where are you?"

"I'm on the steps of the temple," he answered.

Obi-wan said, "Keep our connection, I'm sending clone troopers to your location and then we're locking down the temple."

"He could have transformed into anyone by now," Anakin said as he turned around and saw the guards moving in for him, "wouldn't it be better if I'm not locked in there with him?" It was too late. They took him and brought him inside, then quickly locked down the doors behind him.

"We have him on surveillance leaving the jail after performing a mind trick on the clones," Obi-wan explained, "he's kept your form from what we can tell."

Anakin sighed, "Great."

Orican had just finished reading the file on Anakin when he sensed Obi-wan's presence enter the room. He knew the gig was up, Jocasta must have told him he was spotted. The clones and Anakin moved in.

"Put the file down, Orican," Obi-wan commanded, "step away from the shelf and return to your proper form."

Instead of obeying, he activated Jocasta's green lightsaber and readied himself for a fight. Anakin saw the digital file in his hand. "What are you holding?!" he demanded.

"Your jedi file," he replied nonchalantly.

Anakin glared at him.

Obi-wan said, "Master Sahvah, I understand Count Dooku sent you to test Anakin, but I still don't understand why."

"Master Dooku didn't send me," he corrected, "I would have recognized him. It was a different man in a black cloak who told me about him. From what I can tell, Anakin seems to be the real deal." He waved the file.

Anakin activated his lightsaber and commanded, "Put that down!"

Obi-wan tried to hold him back. He warned, "He's trying to anger you, Anakin, control yourself. Orican! You're under arrest!" The clones readied their stunners.

"Fighting a jedi isn't illegal, master," he replied, "now, Anakin, is this the life you've always wanted?"

"What are you going on about now?" he demanded.

"They stole you from your mother," Orican said, "was it worth it?"

Unable to help himself, Anakin lunged for him. Now the fight was on once again. Obi-wan tried to physically hold Anakin back, but he was too ready for it. Once again library files and shelves flew around. The matched each other blow for blow, swing for swing.

Anakin warned, "One wrong move Orican, and the clones will kill you."

"It'll be worth it," he explained, "I can say that. Can you? Was it worth growing up without your mom? Was it worth watching her die in your arms?"

"Enough!" Anakin was still unnerved at fighting himself.

Orican said, "You can always leave, Anakin, remember that. The jedi don't owe you anything. The prophecy probably isn't real, so you can walk away from this fake war whenever you want."

"Fake?" Anakin asked, "We're trying to keep the republic together!"

Obi-wan said, "Troopers, set your blasters to kill. I've had enough of this traitor. Don't listen to him, Anakin!"

Anakin demanded, "Do you really want to die for this?!"

Orican nodded, then asked, "Do you?"

BANG!

A blaster bullet cut through his chest. Anakin had to turn away. It was too odd to see himself die before his eyes. Obi-wan pulled his former padawan away. "Don't look, Anakin," he warned gently, "he was an extremist."

Anakin glanced over at him one last time and watched him transform back into a changeling. For the first time, he wondered if becoming a jedi really was worth being separated from his mother. In the moment he decided to shake it off, but it was the thought that followed him for the rest of his life.