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Chapter 1

"You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister you were right."

"Father... I won't leave you."

So this was how it ended.

Darth Vad-no, Vader was already dead.

Anakin Skywalker lay there yet again, resurrected. This wasn't how he once expected to die. One scenario was the inevitable day that his son would fall to the Dark Side, golden eyes staring deeply into his soul, taking the finishing blow. Another was the Dark Side abandoning him at last and allowing him to die after his torturous existence.

He closed his eyes, the pain and agony from the Emperor's lightning mere seconds ago cutting into his physical body underneath the black mechanical suit.

That was why Darth Vader became so powerful. Because of his failure. Because of his injuries on Mustafar. Having lost all that he had turned to the Dark Side to preserve, and having no other path, he fully embraced the Dark Side and became, in the Emperor's words, a "true Sith." Consequently, he devoted himself fully to furthering his relationship with the Force and expanding his power. Both due to what Palpatine taught him about the relationship between Sith Master and Apprentice and his tendencies, Vader in his early apprenticeship was completely devoted to the Emperor-betraying another who was a son to him as well for his Master: Galen Marek. However, as his power increased, and particularly after learning of his son's existence, this devotion dwindled considerably.

Over the years, Vader developed a new, more hardened and disciplined persona. He became utterly ruthless, virtually devoid of mercy. Considered to be the Empire's first terror weapon and noted for employing antiquated diction, he was mucilaginous and unmovable and made most Imperial naval officers fearful. After his cybernetic reconstruction, Vader's connection to the Force strengthened considerably, to the point where his Master Sidious once complimented his powers as being "unparalleled". Though his injuries had physically crippled him, Vader believed that the suffering he had experienced had both perfected his spirit and freed him from the needs of the flesh, allowing him to concentrate solely on his relationship with the Force.

Oh, what a fool he had been.

And now he recognized the truth about the Force. It had taken this long for him to know it. His children. His son standing before him and his daughter, whoever she was, as well. The Dark Side offered no solutions to problems, only death and destruction, an infectious disease that only helped spread to others, warping the mind and turning one into everything they've sworn to destroy.

The Jedi, for all their imperfections, attempted to do the best they could with what they had. The Force was balanced in the Light. To avoid the siren call of the Dark Side, one had to practice inner balance. If only Skywalker recognized that. If only he realized killing Jedi spanning from the youngest in their cribs to the oldest who proudly wielded their lightsabers would result in nothing but death at the end.

How many lives had he ruined? Of all ages. The Dark Side had been coercing him on. He was morally corrupt and lost. If only Kenob... Obi-Wan had finished him on that lava bank years ago and stopped him before he could have killed all those people...

Death was inevitable in war.

But he'd acted without self-defense.

And he'd known he deserved a far more painful death.

The galaxy would think so.

He did as well.

His tough background provided no excuse for his actions. He had been a fool. A servant to the Dark Side. Lost in the monstrosity of his own making. He didn't deserve to see Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, or Padmé again. He had done this.

The Jedi were flawed — Anakin would be the first to admit that — but they didn't deserve to be exterminated. Perhaps they should have been reformed. It was unlikely that all of them would have agreed to that, but they deserved a chance.

Anakin caused this.

He should know pain...

And yet he felt none of that when he'd spotted her.

His mother.

Her arms waited for him, beckoning him in. In a way only his mother could. He'd missed her for so, so long. Knew he would have disappointed her. For a moment, he'd spotted his son and... the Princess of Alderaan. Organa's daughter. His daughter. He managed a small smile before his vision was dragged back.

Yet, the Force swam.

Something clicked into his side, and Anakin's vision blurred as he felt fire cutting into his body just like on Mustafar. The fire cut through him ever so deeply for a moment, passing and being submerged.

If he had eyes anymore, he would have blinked. If he had a mouth, it would have curved up into a frown. And then he recognized his breathing, feeling it travel through his body as he inhaled and exhaled. Was this how it felt to be One with the Force?

Merciless and turbulent, his form convulsed.

"Stop! Stop now! Come back! I love you!"

"Yes. I killed you. I killed you. I killed the child you carried. And I hate myself for all that I have done."

"I hate you!"

"You were my brother, Anakin, I loved you!"

"The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the Master."

"I've accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father."

"By now you must know that your father can never be turned from the Dark Side. So will it be with you."

"I am a Jedi like my father before me."

"You were right."

Abruptly, the Force washed over him, soothing him of the pain and allowing him to breathe.

A voice murmured in the corners of his senses, "This is your second chance. Take it."

On the consular ship in hyperspace, en route to the planet Coruscant, a young Jedi Padawan was resting after a taxing mission to Anison. He felt at peace with the Force, letting the emotions of calmness and serenity wash over him like a warm blanket over a young child.

Suddenly, he groaned in pain as a sudden wave of agony overtook his senses. He attempted to call out his son's name but only managed to utter a yelp of agony. Images of memories slowly flooded his mind; the Battle of Geonosis, the Clone Wars, Coruscant, Order 66, the Rise of the Empire, the Duel on Mustafar, his misdeeds as Darth Vader, the Death Star, haunting his son, and at last the events on the Second Death Star.

Anakin Skywalker opened his eyes for the first time in the past.

Author's note: My Luke Skywalker: Revived Hope has sparked a surprising amount of encouragement in me about writing into Anakin Skywalker time traveling yet again. I wanted to do one where he traveled to the beginning of ATOC and took it from there with many butterfly effects and changes to the timeline almost off the bat. I made stories like this multiple times in the past, but I was afraid of changing the timeline and adhering to the Original Timeline far too much, and it resulted in losing motivation very quickly. This time, I'm going all out.

While definitely possessing good moral character, Anakin affiliated too much to the Jedi and Sith when they were both arguably terrible outcomes and didn't stand up for himself, thus ruining his own life as well since Anakin and Padmé had to live a toxic relationship, and I don't even have to go into detail why secret relationships never work. Here's my hot take, Anakin is the Simba, Shadow, and Arthur Morgan of Star Wars but instead of rising to the challenge he fails to find his true self and thus falls into darkness until his son saved him. That aside, I grew with my stories and now at this time I realize that my older time travel stories also came from stories that write Vader post ROTJ completely in the wrong way or limit his abilities and what he can do. While Anakin would still struggle in my opinion, he wouldn't be dark when peaceful situations present themselves and wouldn't let his life be ruined a second time over.

May the Force be with you all always.