To the Past

Summary: Post ESB AU. Vader and Luke got into a dogfight in their fighters. Both managing to shoot the other down. Both spun out of control. Both crashed. When they awaken they're both on Coruscant at the end of the Clone Wars. And to Vader's dismay, Luke has been taken to the Jedi Temple. Note: This is the original one-shot which would eventually become my multi-chapter fic, In the Past.

The speeder sped through the Coruscant traffic. Darth Vader looked over at his son, Luke. The boy was pale. He was pushed back into his seat. Vader wondered if he had fully recovered from the crash and whatever had brought the two of them here to the past. About twenty-four years in the past. It was the end of the Clone Wars, though those in this time were unaware of the upcoming conclusion to the war.

Vader still wasn't sure how he and his son were here, or why Vader was healed. He wasn't completely healed. All of his limbs were still prosthetic, but he no longer needed the suit. His lungs worked fine. In fact all of his internal systems appeared to be working just fine. He could breathe and eat. His eyes and skin had been healed too, though scars still lashed all along his body. Small stubbly hair was starting to grow back on his head.

Vader thought back to how this had happened. He had been chasing down his son in his X-Wing. Vader in his TIE Advance. The two had managed to hit the other's fighter. Both fighters spun out of control. Vader lost consciousness and when he awoke, he was here on Coruscant in this time. Luckily Vader's suit had protected him, but Luke had been injured and found by the CPF. It hadn't taken much for Vader to sneak into the hospital they had moved Luke into.

"The past . . ." Luke said softly. "I'm not even born yet."

"No," Vader said. He was unsure what else to say to his child. For now Vader was contempt that Luke was by his side. That he had willingly left the hospital with him.

"Is my mother . . . Is she still alive? Is she here? Somewhere?" Luke asked. Vader could sense the hopefulness and fear mixed inside the boy.

"Yes, she's alive," Vader replied. His eyes shot towards the direction of Padme's apartment. He had been tempted, very tempted, to go to her. To see her. But how could he? After what he had done to her? Plus she wouldn't even know him. He was a monster. Scarred. Aged. He didn't deserve to see her again.

"Does that mean that you- that Anakin Skywalker is here as well?" Luke asked. His sense of hope raising. Vader gripped the handles of the steering yokes harder as jealousy raged through him. He could sense his son's desire to know Anakin Skywalker.

Luke is my son, Vader thought to himself. He was born to me. Darth Vader. Not that fool Anakin Skywalker.

Vader would need to keep Luke and Anakin far apart. He would not be sharing his son with his past self.

"Anakin Skywalker should be in the outer rim fighting in the wars at this moment," Vader said. He felt Luke's hope dim a little bit, which only made a small bit of happiness flare up inside of Vader.

"Now what?" Luke asked. "Do we find a way back? To our time?"

"Ideally," Vader said.

"Do you know how to?"

"No."

Luke let out a sigh. The boy's anger and frustration were starting to build. Vader inwardly smiled at how easily the boy's emotions got the better of him. He still might be able to lure the boy to the dark side yet. But not right now. Now wasn't the time for that.

"So then what are we going to do?"

Vader looked over at Luke. Luke was looking at Vader. His blue eyes, the same blue eyes that Vader once had (he would not think of it as the same blue eyes as Anakin), were staring right at Vader.

"We-" Vader started, but never finished. The speeder violently rocked to the side. Vader had been distracted. His focus had been on his son. He hadn't felt the warning in the Force. Suddenly three CPF speeders swooped down behind Vader. Their sirens blaring and lights flashing.

"Land the speeder," came the voice of one of the CPF droids.

Vader cursed. Had the hospital noticed Luke's absence? Or was this due to Vader's stunt in the hospital hanger? Regardless, Vader gripped the steering handle and dove the speeder down. He dropped through several lanes of traffic. He swerved expertly pass speeders and shuttles. The CPF were having a hard time following. Vader aimed the speeder lower and lower. It would be easier to ditch the speeder and find a hiding place in the lower levels.

The Force sent a shrill warning. Vader moved the speeder hard to the left, but still the shot hit left side. Luke's side. The engine had been hit and was losing power. Vader aimed the speeder towards an open roof. It would be a hard landing. Again another warning in the Force. This time Vader couldn't steer the speeder out of the way of the shot.

The shot hit the speeder. Vader was thrown out of the speeder. He used the Force to land softly on the rooftop. His eyes immediately snapped up at the burning speeder. It crashed into the roof. Instantly pain flooded Vader's senses.

"Luke!" Vader shouted as he started to run across the roof towards the crash. Luke was in there. He was in pain. Two shadows dropped from above and landed between Vader and the crash. At once a green and blue lightsaber shot from the two figures. Two Jedi stood between Vader and his son. His injured son.

"Don't move, Sith!" shouted one Jedi. He was near-human but Vader didn't care to figure out what race he was. He merely unclipped his own lightsaber and ignited the red blade.

"Leave," Vader growled at them. His robes whipped in the wind. Vader was tired of this stand-off. He had to get to Luke. He had to help his son.

He rushed at the Jedi holding the green saber. The near-human one. Of course the second Jedi, a female human, lunged into the fight at once. Vader could feel their confidence. They thought the two of them were enough to take on one Sith. Fools. These two weak Jedi would be no match for Vader. He had personally killed hundreds of Jedi before. Possibly these very two Jedi for all he knew.

The duel was short lived. With the two Jedi disposed of, Vader's attention went at once to Luke. The pain Luke had been throwing into the Force bond with Vader had dimmed. The boy most likely had fallen unconscious.

A cold shot of fear raced through Vader as he saw a figure at the crash sight pulling Luke's body out of the wreckage. Another Jedi. When had this third Jedi arrived? This Jedi had his hands on his son. He was hauling the boy away from the speeder. Vader was going to lose his son, again, to the Jedi.

"No!" Vader shouted. His hand shot out. It was all too easy to summon the Force around the Jedi's throat.

Anakin Skywalker stood in a briefing room in the Jedi Temple. He had been called from the frontlines back to Coruscant. It must have been important for them to call him back from his current mission. Anakin hated leaving in the middle, but hopefully Rex and his men would be able to manage without him.

In the middle of the briefing room sat a large holotable. Standing around the table were Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master Yoda, Mace Windu, and Luminara Unduli. Obi-Wan nodded at Anakin in greeting. A small smile on his lips.

"Good you're here, Skywalker," Mace said.

"Masters," Anakin said with a slight bob of his head. "What's going on? Why have I been summoned back here?"

Mace clicked a button on the holotable. The table projected a blue hologram of a young human man. About Anakin's age, if not younger. He could tell his hair was light colored. He didn't look happy. It appeared to Anakin he was sitting in a bed.

"Recognize this face, do you?" Master Yoda asked. All four masters were staring at Anakin intently.

"No," Anakin replied honestly. The masters exchanged a look with each other. "Should I?"

Again Mace clicked a button and this time a the projector showed a hologram of a lightsaber. "And this lightsaber?" Mace asked. "Have you seen it before?"

"No," Anakin answered again. "What is this about?"

"We believe a Sith is here on Coruscant," Obi-Wan said. "A new one. One we haven't encountered before."

"The Sith master?" Anakin asked hopefully. Could the mastermind behind Dooku have finally slipped up?

"We aren't sure," Mace replied. "But it is possible."

Anakin thought back at the youth in the hologram. No way that kid was Dooku's Sith master. "So what is with the kid then?" Anakin asked.

"We don't know that either," Obi-Wan said. "Two days ago a strange fighter crashed in the Industrial District. That man was inside it. He was taken to a local hospital."

"While he was still healing, he kept calling out a name." Mace paused here as he looked over at Anakin. "Your name."

"My name?" Anakin asked.

Mace clicked a button and the hologram changed. It showed the kid laying down in the hospital bed. His eyes were open, but he was clearly out of it. He kept tossing his head from side to side.

"Skywalker," he murmured in his dazed and fevered state. "Skywalker. Skywalker."

"So that's why I was summoned here?" Anakin asked a bit skeptical. "You couldn't just ask me about some kid over a holocall?"

"The kid's missing," Mace continued.

"Took him, this new Sith did," Yoda added.

"Took him?" Anakin asked.

The hologram changed yet again. It showed a hanger of a hospital. Medical speeders were parked neatly. There a few droids rolling about. One pilot leaned against a speeder. Suddenly the pilot became alert. It appeared he shouted something, he started to move, but then he was levitated off the floor. His hands grabbing at his throat. Then his head turned sharply to the side and the body fell to the floor.

A second pilot ran onto the scene. He dropped next to the fallen pilot. He pulled out a blaster and fired a few shots. Anakin could see the shots had been deflected. Then a man wearing a long robe with a hood confidently strode into view. He held a lightsaber, which Anakin could tell was red despite the blue of the holograph. Without hesitation, the man cut down the other pilot.

Then the robed man disappeared, only to shortly reappear. He was hunched over as he helped the kid from the holo before to a speeder. The kid was still clearly injured and the man moved with care. Once they were both in the speeder, they were gone.

Mace again changed the holographic image. It appeared to be from a security camera. It was of a rooftop. Near one edge was a burning wreckage of a speeder. On the other side of the roof stood three figures. Two quickly ignited their blades, followed the third whose blade was red. The Sith. Anakin leaned in close. The security holo didn't provide a good detail shot of the Sith. He looked human, but his back was mostly to the camera.

Anakin watched the security holo play out. It wasn't much of a fight. The Sith fought very well. The two Jedi were quickly cut down. The third Jedi, who was helping the mystery kid out of the speeder, had his head snapped around like the pilot from the hospital. There was no sound, but Anakin could easily imagine the sound of bones breaking as the third Jedi's head was snapped at an awkward angle.

Anakin watched intently as the Sith ran over to the unconscious and clearly injured kid. The Sith gently ( gently?) cradled the boy to him. Anakin could just make out the Sith bring up a gloved hand to the boy's face and caress his cheek.

"That was almost a loving gesture," Anakin pointed out. "As if the Sith cared about this boy."

"Love, Sith do not," Yoda said.

"But Anakin is right," Obi-Wan said. "I would say that from an appearance standpoint, the Sith did seem to care about this boy."

"He also took great care getting the kid into the speeder. What else do we know about this mystery boy?" Anakin asked.

"We've gone over the medical report," Luminara said. "We ran his blood through the system. No known matches. The hospital said the boy never gave a name. He was possibly in shock. When the hospital sent us his records, it including a blood sample. We did run a midichlorian count on it. It was 15,000."

"15,000?" Anakin asked with clear shock on his face. Sure it didn't beat Anakin's count of 27,000, but Anakin's count was unnaturally high. Unheard of. Yoda's count was 17,000, which was also considered extremely high. The highest in history until Anakin. Obi-Wan was at 13,500, and even that count was considered high. For a kid to have a higher count than Obi-Wan . . . what kind of power did that kid have?

"You understand the dilemma, Skywalker," Luminara said dragging Anakin from his thoughts.

Obi-Wan spoke up. "It's easy to see why a Sith Lord would have gone out of their way to get the boy."

"Find this Sith and this boy we must," Yoda said. "Fall to the dark side, the boy must not. If the boy falls too powerful the Dark Side will become."

Anakin hoped the boy hadn't fallen already.

Anakin made his way through the dark streets of the lower levels of Coruscant. Luckily, the Council had allowed Anakin to hunt for this supposed Sith lord. Anakin guessed the Sith had not gotten very far with the boy. The boy was clearly injured. Anakin assumed the two were still nearby and hiding while the Sith treated the boy's injuries.

Anakin made sure he was shielding himself properly. He didn't want the Sith lord or even the boy to know he was coming. Anakin's thoughts kept going back to the boy more than the Sith lord. The boy was a mystery. Anakin had gone over the data collected on the kid. The fighter the boy had first been found in was a mystery too. It matched no known designs. Anakin had glanced over the holos of the pieces. He had never seen anything quite like it.

Anakin had examined the clothing the boy was first found in. It was a bright orange jumpsuit. The helmet had a red signal on it, which reminded Anakin of the Jedi symbol but it looked more like a bird. Even odder than the fighter, was the boy's right arm. It was prosthetic, but like the fighter it matched no known prosthetics. In fact the healers hadn't even known it was prosthetic until they did a scan. The skin over the fake arm was extremely life like.

Anakin wished they had gotten a better scan of the mechanics of the hand. He would have liked to seen it. From what little they did have, the technology was more advanced than Anakin's own hand. Which was an impressive feat.

A mystery boy crashed on to Coruscant in a mystery fighter with a mystery symbol on the helmet. The boy had a prosthetic hand more advanced than any current model. The boy also has an insanely high midichlorian count. He carried a lightsaber, but was not in any Jedi records. The kid called out the name Skywalker in his sleep. Then the kid was taken by a Sith lord. A Sith lord who was gentle with the kid?

None of it was adding up, and Anakin hated it. But he did agree with the Council. Whoever this kid was, he needed to be found. Along with this mystery Sith. Anakin couldn't help but wonder if this was the Sith mastermind. What if they did catch him? What if they could finally end the war? All this bloodshed could finally stop.

. . . father . . .

Anakin stopped. He had heard a call in the Force. At least he thought he had.

. . . father . . .

There it was again. Anakin reached out towards the source. He felt pain. Confusion. Anakin started to move towards it. Why was he hearing this voice? To be able to speak telepathically to another Force user, one must have an established bond. Anakin could just barely sense whoever it was. It wasn't Obi-Wan. It wasn't Ahsoka either . . .

Father . . .

Anakin followed the pull of the Force to a shady rundown apartment building. He felt no danger lurking inside, so Anakin carefully made his way in. He followed the pull up several flights of stairs to a door. A simple flick of the Force unlocked the door and Anakin was inside. The apartment was filthy, but mostly empty. In the main room Anakin found a large bed with someone sleeping in it.

Father.

This was the person talking to Anakin in the Force. Anakin approached very carefully. His hand was right above his lightsaber. Then he paused as he made out the blonde hair on the pillow. He edged closer to the bed. With a small wave of his hand, he used the Force to pull down the covers. It was the boy! The mystery boy. He laid on his side. His face was plastered with sweat. He was shirtless, but his left side was covered in wrappings but blood was staining through. Cuts and bruises covered the kid.

Father, the kid called out again through the Force.

Anakin was on his comm unit at once with the Jedi Temple telling them he had found the kid. Anakin stretched out his senses with the Force, but still didn't feel the icy coldness of the Dark Side nearby. Granted the Sith could always been shielding himself. Anakin looked back down at the kid. Why did he keep calling out for his father? Was the Sith . . . the Sith his father? Surely not. Sith didn't love . . . and yet Anakin recalled the security holo of the roof. How the Sith had gently caressed the kid's cheek. Was it possible this kid was the Sith's child? And if that was the case, why hadn't he fallen to the dark side?

Vader watched from several rooftops over as Luke was loaded onto a Jedi shuttle inside a medical capsule. Vader was tempted to go down there and retrieve his son. It wouldn't take much. A powerful pull to the shuttle's engines would disable them. He could easily take down whatever Jedi and clone troopers they had down there. But . . .

Luke needed medical attention. A dip in a bacta tank preferably. Vader did not have access to any of that, and the Jedi did. The Jedi would see that Luke was healed. Vader was just going to have to . . . trust Luke to the Jedi for now. Plus Vader needed to get himself more secure in this time. He had no money. No resources. Vader knew Luke would return to him, regardless of the boy's foolish longing to know Vader's past self. The only way for Luke to return to his proper time was with Vader.

Vader already knew all the weaknesses of the Order. He knew exactly how to manipulate them to freely handing Luke over if need be. The only thing that worried Vader was Sidious. Hopefully Vader's wayward reckless child would be wise enough to avoid the future Emperor. But that didn't mean Sidious was going to avoid Luke. Vader needed to act quickly.