Hello and May the Fourth be with you my friends!

Yes, yes I'm not original in posting a Star Wars fic on May 4th. Sue me XD

Many in this fandom do not know me and this is my first foray into the Star Wars universe. Now, I'll be straight up this is yet another Time Travel fic (God knows we haven't seen those before) but basically it's my own spin on it. I love Star Wars. There's so much going on interestingly enough and the original story remains as heart wrenching, intriguing, and captivating as it ever was.

So let's see how this one goes. I love feedback! Reviews are most welcome. Let's get started!

The Wasp1995 Presents: A Last Hope

"Our brokenness summons light into the deepest crevices of our hearts."- Shauna L Hoey

Chapter 1. Bitter Memories

In the far-off reaches of the galaxy in the Unknown Regions, a small, seemingly unremarkable planet twinkled like a blue pearl in the vast expanse of space.

Its name was as mysterious as the region in which it lay; Ahch-To. A world consisting mostly of ocean, but also containing many islands and archipelagos, though no continent or large landmass existed. A number of strange but lovable creatures dotted what little there was to avoid the waves of the sea. To any being that traveled far enough to visit such a place, one wouldn't think any intelligent life existed or had existed in all of its history.

They would be mistaken. For one man called this place home. A home where he would serve out the rest of his days, living with and regretting his ultimate shame. This man was Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, last of a once proud and powerful order of beings that served the galaxy with their incredible abilities.

Now he was nothing more than a bitter and broken middle-aged man.

It was an ironic twist that the last of the Jedi should land in a place such as Ahch-To. Far from being a random blue ball of nature, it was the alleged homeworld of the very first of the Jedi. Though there was no way to verify that claim (several other planets were among the contenders) there could be no mistaking the essence of the place. The Living Force surrounded it, so strong it was that the planet seemed to be interconnected as one breathing organism- every tree, every blade of grass, every fish, bird and animal that called it home. It only served to highlight a further irony that the only person not connected to this essence was Luke himself, the one who suffered the greatest turmoil.

Rising from his makeshift bed, the last of the Jedi slowly made his way from the center of the temple to witness the morning sun, one of the few things he could find a positive in. Certainly preferable to the effect of two suns on a place like Tatooine.

His days here were unremarkable. There was enough in the way of food that he kept himself from going hungry. A small underground creek beneath the temple carried fresh water within its banks. Beyond making meals and exploring the origins of this place, there was little in the way of activity. Which was exactly the way he wanted it.

Luke discovered the planet many years prior through the use of a Jedi star compass found in one of the dead Emperor's storerooms. He and his companion, Lor San Tekka, happened upon it using the specific points it was attuned to in hyperspace. At the time, it was a magical discovery and an exciting chance to learn more about the Order he was proud to carry on his shoulders, intent on making it grander, wiser, and stronger than ever before. He could never have imagined it would become the site of his self imposed exile.

In order to pass time he would meditate, attempting in vain to master his thoughts and inner turmoil but all too often those mediations turned into painful reflections- his failure, his weakness, and how things had come to this. He was Luke Skywalker, the great hope of the galaxy, defender of the Alliance, restorer of the Republic, the destroyer of the Death Star— among other things. It was not supposed to end up like this.

It was my hubris, came the bitter thoughts that were ever present. How arrogant was I to believe I could tame my own bloodline? To rebuild what was lost.

Images of his nephew, Ben, flooded his mind. He did not need the force to relive the pivotal moments that led to the boy's downfall. Like his grandfather before him, the dark side proved too strong a lure, too irresistible to turn away. The galaxy should flip a coin every time a Skywalker is born, yes that was really the only effective way to determine who would bring peace to civilization and which would leave it in shambles.

The teenager's eyes widened with shock as his uncle stood over him, emerald blade humming just above his head. Fear, anger, and betrayal surged through the youth as he raised his hand in self defense.

"Ben, no!"

It was too late. Such raw power could not be contained and it was then unleashed in a wave of raw fury he'd never seen before. Luke felt himself blasted backwards, tumbling through the air like a rag doll, unable to regain his bearings. When he landed everything went black.

By the time he awoke and used his metal hand to break through the pile of rubble, the situation was worse than he ever could have imagined. The temple he had worked so arduously to build, the new order he had handpicked… it was all gone. Through the force, he could feel that the students not already killed by his nephew were either captured or would be eliminated soon enough.

A single tear issued from his right eye. He barely registered R2-D2's sad beeping.

Ben Solo was no more, only Kylo Ren remained. And the Force was out of balance yet again.

"All because of me," came the rusty echo of his voice, one he barely used anymore.

Casting a downward glance, Luke exited the temple and went about his daily routine, one that afforded him the bare necessities to survive. After a day of eating his basic diet of fish, plants, and water to go along with further exploration of the island, he returned back to his small bed and slept.

Thus was the life of a Jedi Master. One who had given up completely.

There was no telling how long he had been here: days, months, years. It didn't matter all that much. Time seemed to blend together in an encompassing hell that served to remind him just how much he had screwed things up.

Wind blew through sandy blond hair, now darkened at age forty-eight. The last of the Jedi sat at the edge of a cliff in a zen pose, trying to close his eyes and meditate properly, but he may as well been trying to stop a wave with his bare hands. Pain and negative emotions rang through his head and crippled his heart. Though he still retained the ability to tap into the force, no part of him desired to despite its call. It was not darkness or evil he feared, it was shame and guilt.

Shame that his hope and promise proved nothing more than ashes.

Guilt that he had let his sister down. The trust placed in him that her son would become the first Jedi Knight of his new order.

Shame that he could not prevent the same arrogance that caused the original downfall of the Jedi to infect him.

He could not face Leia, Han, Chewbacca, or any of the people he loved and cared about. He could not face himself.

Feeling the warmth of the distant sun and inhaling the salty spray of the waves crashing below him, Luke suddenly did not care whether he lived or died. Such concepts were inconsequential. The ground beneath him could give way and let him fall to an unceremonious end. So coldly indifferent was he to his own theoretical demise, that the black pit of despair began to bubble with another kind of negative emotion: indignation. His mind began to go back further, to his younger days as a Jedi, as a rebel freedom fighter, to the very dawn of his existence on Tatooine. But no, that wasn't far enough. After all, the fight did not begin with the Empire and the Alliance, it was merely a byproduct of a much grander design, a conflict that occurred much earlier. Stories of the Clone Wars came to mind, stories of a Chancellor no one knew was secretly lying in wait to take control of the galaxy, and a Jedi Knight so in love, so passionate that he was led astray by the very thing he was destined to destroy.

Thousands of voices were snuffed out by a single act of betrayal, all by the swing of an azure blade, the clenching of a hand around a delicate, heartbroken throat. In the tiniest of moments, the force reached out to him, connecting him once more, the vision of a man in a jet black, mechanical suit flashing before him.

You don't know the power of the dark side!

Blue eyes fluttered open as Luke let out a fearful gasp. Looking down at his hands, he saw they were shaking with the torment of despair and fright. Try as he may, the force would not be denied its victim. It served to torture and remind the poor man what deadly mechinations were responsible for the present situation. A never ending curse.

Finally he could stand it no longer, the tension and inner anguish building to a point where the last of the Jedi let out a cry of pain and sorrow, clenching his still trembling hands in agony.

"I wish none of this had ever happened!" he yelled out to the heavens. "I wish that the very bloodline that bears my name never existed in the first place!"

The self-loathing speech continued as Luke stood up and threw a puny rock into the depths of the ocean.

"That's where all this began, isn't it?! With my family, my legacy, my father's legacy! The man who turned his back on me and everyone he cared about for his own selfishness! And because of it, the galaxy is tearing itself apart once more!"

Almost at the end of his diatribe, his throat raw from the shouting, a presence made itself known. One he had not felt for a very long time…

"Surely, you don't believe that."

Turning around, he saw the ghost of his father standing before him, as youthful and handsome as ever before. There was pity in those eyes, however, as he scanned his son up and down.

"Father," Luke whispered.

"Luke, you don't think you could tap into the force, curse my name and not expect some kind of appearance, do you?" There was some humor in his voice.

The blond man snorted.

"You never bothered to before."

"The Force does not always work in the ways we see as most logical."

The second snort was far louder than the first.

"Please. You of all people getting philosophical has to be the richest thing I've ever heard. If only you'd carried some of that wisdom when you were alive."

The words were designed to hurt and indeed there was some sadness on Anakin Skywalker's face though not from the personal insult. It reflected a deeper understanding which was not afforded to the living.

"Son, you can be angry with me all you want. But please spare yourself. You are the true victim of this tirade."

"I have enough self-loathing for a lifetime," Luke growled. "But I can give plenty to you, father. Is it not our bloodline that's caused so much destruction in the galaxy, and now, your grandson, my nephew? Does he not embrace the dark side? Does he not draw his inspiration from you, the man single-handedly responsible for the death of the order he once served and his wife?!"

It was against his better judgement and it wasn't strictly true. Anakin was not the sole reason for his mother's death in childbirth, but he was the reason for many other misfortunes. Including the one he found himself in now. The actions taken long ago still rippled into the present day. It gave him no pleasure to deliberately try and hurt his father but the pain was too great to hold back any more.

"Luke, no one regrets the choices I made more than I do," Anakin spoke sadly.

"Regret doesn't take back what's been done. I found out about what you did to Mace Windu, and the march on the Jedi Temple," the son countered. He then fell to his knees in a show of deep sorrow. "I don't understand. Why did you do it? Why did you betray the Jedi and join Sidious? What was there to gain?"

"Everything...and nothing," came the reply, as the ghost looked away in guilt. "You have to understand, the rise of the Empire and the fall of the Jedi isn't as simple as you make it out to be. The story is much more complicated."

"Help me understand," Luke pressed in desperation. He softened his stance slightly, and tried to control his breathing, willing himself to calm down. It had taken him years to figure out the truth of what occurred on that fateful night when his father turned to the dark side and the Jedi were wiped from existence. Even then, he did not know the entire story. Not from his father's point of view anyway.

"I've never asked you before," Luke added, "But I have to now. What happened?"

Anakin's ghost looked truly remorseful now as the memories no doubt came flooding back as a truly painful reminder of his transgressions.

"I loved your mother, Luke. More than anything in this world." He paused, gathered his thoughts, then began: "Towards the end of the war, I suddenly started having nightmares about her death, in childbirth. At the time, I didn't realize it was Palpatine producing those nightmares, how he was influencing me. I was so desperate for a way to save her from that fate, that I was willing to do anything, even join the Dark side."

Luke frowned, eyebrows furrowing in doubt.

"It can't be that simple. Mother would've never approved of you going to the Dark side."

"She didn't, but I thought it was the only way," Anakin explained. "Palpatine told me stories of how other Sith Lords discovered the secret of cheating death. I didn't figure out until much later on that he was lying to me. By that time, I was in too deep to pull back from what I had become. I believed you were dead and i was totally unaware of Leia's existence. There was nothing to hold onto until I found out otherwise."

"But to kill and betray the Jedi? Even if such a thing were possible, you were willing to cast aside everything you believed in to do it?"

His father's ghost straightened, eyes boring into his son's.

"As I said, it wasn't that simple. Many among the Jedi were growing disillusioned with the war and the very principles that bounded the order. As you know, Jedi are forbidden from marrying or anything that could be considered a potential attachment. If anyone found out about my relationship with Padme, I would have been expelled immediately.

"This will be a name you'll be unfamiliar with, but during the height of the Clone Wars, I had a padawan, Ahsoka Tano. I lost her when she left the order after being blamed for a crime she did not commit. I did not realize it then, but her departure played a bigger role in my turn to the Dark side than I cared to admit. She meant a great deal to me.

"But perhaps the incident that hurt the most was when the Council denied me the rank of Master. Palpatine appointed me to it as his personal representative which they accepted. However, they did not grant me the status I coveted. In my arrogance, I felt such a decision was unfair when I had proven myself in battle many times over."

Luke had not heard this aspect of the story yet. It was a fact that neither Obi-Wan nor Yoda ever told him about.

"I don't mean to use these incidents as excuses for what happened. Only to explain how it happened," Anakin explained. "It is something that still haunts me even as a ghost… no pun intended."

That managed to elicit a small chuckle from his son, but it was momentary.

"Death must be a great way to gain perspective in hindsight… fifty years too late."

"If I could take it back, I would, a thousand times over. But, I can't, Luke," his father said somberly. "The blood of millions will forever be stained upon my legacy as Darth Vader. Please do not saddle yourself with my poor decisions. It is my burden to bear, not yours."

Luke gave a pained smile. One that did not match the obvious suffering that plagued his bright, blue eyes. Those that he inherited from his father.

"I bear the consequences of my own decisions. But I live with the results of yours."

Anakin bowed his head slightly, the blueish tint of the glow surrounding him becoming more apparent even in the daylight. To see his son in such a state was disconcerting to say the least but there was nothing he could do to assuage it. Not at this rate anyway.

"There is no way for me to change how you feel. Just know that there were many reasons for the way things turned out. Be well, my son."

And just like that, the spirit of his father vanished, leaving Luke with more questions than answers. Though the bitterness still raged throughout his psyche, the last Jedi began to reflect on the conversation that just occurred.

In the gleam of the morning sun, the wheels of his mind began to turn.

All morning and all afternoon Luke Skywalker analyzed his father's words endlessly.

There was no lie in any of his assertions, that much was clear. After all, the manifestation he witnessed was of the light side and devoid of any remnant of Vader. But, even with the full story of Anakin Skywalker, that did not cover every angle of past ills. Questions burned like an eternal flame, namely how had the Jedi allowed this to happen? How could the wisest, most far seeing order of beings to ever exist fail to detect the treachery around them? The anger and fear consuming his father? The most evil being in a thousand years manipulating them every step of the way?

There was no clear answer and it irked Luke ever more. Upon discovering his true heritage as a youth, all he ever wanted and looked up to were the Jedi Knights. To find out his heroes were not only wiped out in a matter of hours without prior knowledge but acted against their own interests wasn't simply heartbreaking; it was maddening.

Sitting on the inside of his makeshift room within the ancient temple, another burst of indignation surged through him, more unanswerable questions coming to the forefront. Why train his father if the darkness was so apparent? What foolishness hampered them from being able to prevent their own downfall?

"Arrogance," came the bitter word that rolled off his tongue. "Corruption… failure. The Jedi Order, our order, lost the ability to see the walls closing in, and therefore the ability to exist."

The surge of emotions that unexpectedly blustered into the temple wasn't as strong as it was with his father, but it blew back his longish hair and temporarily impaired his ability to see. Yet again, the presence of an entity through the force became quite strong.

"Once upon a time, I would have bristled against such a statement. The way you say it is more reminiscent of poetic justice."

The voice was familiar once more, and yet again it was one he had not felt in a very long time. Yet it was unmistakable.

"Obi-Wan!"

"I do hope you weren't expecting someone else. You've already seen your father today."

His first master was just as he remembered: thinning silver hair atop a round head and a distinct nose. A matching white beard, as neat as the day he died by Vader's hand, along with the same Jedi tunic and hood. His expression was not wounded as his father's but it carried a strong hint of curiosity.

"Did everyone decide to show up the minute I came back into connection with the force?"

"The Force is a part of you and we are a part of the Force itself," Obi-Wan told him sagely. "Our connection cannot be broken so easily. What you feel is made apparent to us faster than light itself."

"I didn't wish to talk to anyone," Luke muttered grumpily.

"I sincerely doubt that. Were that the case we would not be speaking at the moment."

When a reply did not come, the former Jedi Master put on a bemused tone.

"Come now, Luke. At the time of my death I was a full decade older than you currently are and yet I doubt I was anywhere near as sour as you are now."

"Did you come here to offer advice or make fun of me? Either way I don't care."

The slight smirk Obi-Wan held vanished, understanding now was not the time to engage in teasing his old apprentice. His demeanor took on a more serious posture.

"Luke, I came here to explain more about the questions you have asked."

The middle-aged man could barely hide his disdain.

"What excuse do you give, Obi-Wan? If you're going to offer me a full scale defense of why the Jedi did nothing wrong you can save it for some other fool."

"On the contrary, I offer no defense. One of the main culprits for the fall of the Jedi Order was its complacency."

That, Luke had not expected. So much so, he raised his eyebrows to indicate his surprise.

"Don't look so shocked," his first master continued. "While it is true that I was a stickler in following the Council in my early years as a Jedi Master, over time I came to realize that its wisdom was often flawed. I suppose I have Anakin to partially thank for that, but it went beyond having a rebellious padawan."

"So you don't deny your role then?" Luke retorted in an accusatory manner. "That the Jedi played an active part in the creation of Darth Vader and by extension their own suicide."

Obi-Wan seemed to struggle in countering that assertion. As it was with his father, the last Skywalker did not revel in making his former master feel bad. By the same token, he would not accept the same vague, token answers he first had in the past. There was no 'point of view' that could fool him this time around.

"The fall of your father to the dark side and the destruction of the Jedi Order is not a simple problem to be solved in a textbook. What occurred was the result of several misfortunes converging all at once."

"Enlighten me," Luke spoke in a weary voice that was almost bored. "I've heard that line already today."

"No doubt your father must have explained to you his own experiences. He was merely a victim of the surrounding darkness, not the cause. For starters, you must understand that until Darth Maul revealed himself at Naboo, the Sith were assumed to be all but extinct. And even after I defeated him, there was reason to suspect that was the end of the affair."

"The Republic was rotting from the inside out. Surely you could not have been ignorant of this fact?"

"We were not," Obi-Wan nodded. "But Jedi are peacekeepers not soldiers. The politics surrounding the issue was not for us to involve ourselves. It wasn't until the Clone Wars drew us in we began to sense there was more to the conflict than a simple dust up between clones and battle droids."

"Yet you still did not have the wit to see the forest for the trees," Luke argued. "Even with all of that power and infinite wisdom the mystery of who was behind the war eluded you."

The blue eyes of the Force ghost betrayed no lie.

"Indeed, there is no part of me that can deny that. It is only now that I know Darth Sidious clouded our vision through his own extensive knowledge of the Force. He manipulated many people and pulled many strings to enable the war that eventually enabledhim to assume full power over the entire galaxy. By the time we realized that, it was too late."

"You keep speaking in broad strokes, Obi-Wan. Tell me in your own words why the Jedi allowed themselves to be wiped out in plain slight."

His patience had run out. There was no use for any empty platitudes or abstract reasons for the destruction of the Order he once loved and sought to rebuild. He wanted to understand, to discover the deepest secrets of where it had all gone wrong.

"I will attempt to explain it the best way I can," the ghost told him candidly. "Your father, in all honesty, was the last part of the equation. The main part of it was the war itself, or rather who was fighting in it. As guardians and servants of the Republic, the Jedi had immense powers but we were not a formal fighting force. To defeat the enemy at hand, a clone army was constructed on Kamino to aid us in our fight."

Luke knew this given that the clones were the forerunners and trainers of the Stormtroopers that were later to come.

"None of us detected the true purpose of their creation. Though we fought side by side for years in many campaigns, ultimately the clones were programmed to eliminate us when the time came. The plot was so deep, not even the clones themselves were aware of it. That's how clouded our knowledge was. When Order 66 came down, most of us were powerless and caught unawares as our own soldiers gunned their generals down."

"And there was no inclination of any foul play? No suspicion at all?"

"We suspected the longer the war progressed," Obi-Wan clarified. "Several times we almost uncovered the true machinations of the Sith and their goals. Master Yoda and I were the ones who managed to discern the name 'Sidious'. There was no reason to suspect the clones carried any ill intentions or that the Jedi were in immediate danger."

"What about my father? What of his intentions?"

This was a question much harder to answer than any previously asked and Luke knew it. He had gotten one side of the story from the man who became Darth Vader; he wanted the other side from the man responsible for that failure.

"This is where I confess my own personal shortcomings Luke," Obi-Wan said to him. Despite being a ghost, the old man seemed to age a little, deflating at the thought of the events fifty years prior. "I never told you the full story, but I will now. To start, you should know I was not the one who initially discovered Anakin. That was my master, Qui-Gon Jinn. Had things played out as they were supposed to, he would have been the one to train him but as you're aware, it did not work out that way.

"The onus fell on me to pass on what I could and raise your father in the best way I knew how. I admit, I was not always successful in this endeavor. My methods involved rigid discipline and strict structure that he often eschewed. It didn't matter how many times I punished or reprimanded him, he always seemed to find trouble."

By this point in time, Luke had forgotten much of his anger and was listening intently to his former master's tale, eager to learn more. For a split second, he almost felt he was nineteen again, drinking in every drop of his father's exploits.

"Over the years, Anakin and I grew from our master and padawan relationship into friends and companions. He was even given a padawan of his own to train. During that time I was able to learn more about what made him tick. The thing you should know above all else, Luke, is that your father was loyal to people not principles. Those he cared about meant everything to him, even to the point of sacrificing his own well being."

"That included my mother, didn't it?"

Obi-Wan sighed in agreement.

"Indeed. Though I suspected he and Senator Amidala were involved, I turned a blind eye to their romance. Perhaps out of fear of seeing him expelled from the order, I buried that suspicion deep within myself in hoping somehow it wasn't true. Therein lies my greatest error."

The ghost drew closer to the point of sitting down next to his old apprentice, the lines on his face more pronounced than ever.

"I thought if I could instill enough discipline and influence in him, that Anakin would turn out as I did and put his devotion to the order above the attachments he still clung to. It was naivety on my part to think so. It was due to the belief that the Jedi would ostracize him just as they did Ahsoka that he did not reveal the truth to me or any of the other masters when his nightmares began. Instead of listening and becoming someone he could trust unconditionally, I symbolized the reason he kept his relationship secret. In the end, he placed his faith in a man bent on manipulating that fear and preying on his baser instincts."

Luke did not know if force ghosts could cry but there was no doubt Obi-Wan would have shed tears right about now were he alive.

"I failed your father, Luke. For those reasons, I consider myself complicit in his downfall. We were all complicit."

Swallowing a large lump in his throat, the middle aged man willed himself not to openly weep at these new details. What made the revelations worse was not the truth itself, but the knowledge such an outcome was entirely preventable.

"How can I continue the Jedi traditions with everything you've told me?" he asked Obi-Wan. "When it was those traditions that led to its destruction?"

"Do not mistake me, my former apprentice. I loved the Jedi Order and that love will never cease. But we are just as guilty for the state of the galaxy as anyone else. At the time of the Clone Wars, not a soul among us believed we were vulnerable to mass extermination. The Sith evolved and calculated their every move while we remained stale and content in our temple on Coruscant."

Luke realized the sun was beginning to set. It was quite fitting, now that he thought about the issue more deeply.

"The complacency you speak of was passed on to me and now... I too have lost everything because of it. Perhaps the time has come for the Jedi Order to end at last."

"That is not the Luke Skywalker I remember," Obi-Wan commented.

"The Luke Skywalker you remember no longer exists," he countered. "And furthermore, he didn't learn from the mistakes of the past. What further proof is needed that our way of life has outlived its usefulness?

The ghost didn't reply immediately, still disappointed in his former padawan's lack of faith, even amidst a dark hour in the world.

"If there is one more bit of wisdom I can impart on you it's this. Never allow yourself to give in to despair. For that is what separates those who can change a broken world, and those who choose to live in a broken world."

His spirit lifted himself from the bench and walked towards the open air exit but not before one last nugget of advice.

"Do not forget, Luke, where the true blame lies in the present situation. His name is Darth Sidious. For all the faults of the Jedi, he is the ultimate evil."

And just like that, Obi-Wan disappeared into thin air, leaving Luke once more alone with his thoughts. For the second time that day, he had a lot to ponder about.

A fire crackled and spit in the late evening, the last glimmering edges of the sun rapidly disappearing into the horizon. The planet, as far as Luke could tell, did not vary much in terms of seasons and was almost consistently warm. But the fire was not for the purpose of giving warmth to his bones The unremarkable ending to a remarkable religion.

In his biological hand were the ancient Jedi texts, discovered in a gnarled tree upon discovery of this place. At the time he thought them a boon, a gateway to the rebirth of the New Jedi Order and a foundation upon which to build. But now the words seemed as empty as his soul, lost in a sea of sorrow and regret. There was nothing to hold onto now, no comfort or stability these leather-bound tomes could give.

The Force is the light, the Force is the dark. Jedi choose the light, for all it reveals

Luke scoffed at the words. Evidently, it didn't reveal enough, or else they would still be alive. He marveled at his own use of past tense, did he even consider himself a Jedi anymore? Was there any point in continuing the charade?

"No," he growled deep into the coming darkness, the fire's light rapidly becoming the only source around. "No, I think not. It is time."

Standing over the flames, Luke prepared to burn the last relics of his former order. Upon completion, he would toss his lightsaber into the ocean— as well as Leia's— never to be discovered again, putting the final nail in the metaphorical coffin of the Jedi.

And yet, he hesitated. The flames themselves seem to push him away as though they were magnets pushing his arm back from the deed it intended to carry out.

He furrowed his brow and swallowed nervously. What was holding him back? He was once the most powerful man in the galaxy, and yet he couldn't toss a few scraps of paper into a fire?

"I have to do this," he reiterated to himself aloud. And yet, he did not.

For the third time in that remarkable day, a familiar presence made itself known, this one the most powerful yet.

"Hesitant, are we?" the gravelly, amused voice of his last and greatest master called out to him.

Luke heaved a heavy sigh and lowered his outstretched arm from the fire, setting the texts safely onto the ground.

"Master Yoda," he said sadly.

"Interrupt you, I will not," the little green imp chuckled. "Continue."

That brought an incredulous look from the last Skywalker.

"You… you're not going to try and stop me from burning the sacred Jedi texts?"

"Stop you?" Yoda hummed. "No, stop you, I could not. Alive no longer, I am."

Luke rolled his eyes. He always considered it strange that the Grand Master of the Jedi Order should have such a peculiar sense of humor. This was the same being who teased and laughed at him when they first met on Dagobah.

"And yet you're here," he countered. "For the same purpose as my father and Obi-Wan, I suspect."

Yoda's wrinkled features softened.

"Oh young, Skywalker. Missed you, I have. In great pain, you are."

Luke gave a half hearted shrug.

"Pain, suffering, indifference, enlightenment… call it what you want. It doesn't change anything. It doesn't change the fact that I failed… and that the Jedi need to end."

Yoda gave another whimsical smile as his hazel eyes began to twinkle.

"Failed, you did. Lost Ben Solo, you did. But the end? I think not. A Jedi does not always succeed."

'Do or do not. There is no try.' Those are your words, Master. One of the first things you taught me about being a Jedi."

Yoda sighed, measuring his next words.

"Many things I have said over the years. Not all of them wise, no… no," Yoda mused to himself. "Even the oldest and most learned of the Jedi… susceptible they are, to folly, arrogance, and failure… yes even failure."

The ghost slowly hobbled over and gestured for Luke to make space for him to share his seat.

"Even to me, this applies. Head of the Jedi Order, I was. A Grand Master. For centuries I trained many pupils and heroes of the Republic. But correct, Obi-Wan is. Complacent we became. Bloated with conceit the Council was. Able to look past our own noses... we were not."

"Sidious was hiding in plain sight," Luke commented whilst twiddling his fingers around blades of grass. "Even you couldn't detect him."

"Learned from failure, the Sith did," Yoda told him bluntly. "That is the lesson you must take as well. That is how the Jedi will return."

"But I didn't learn!" the former pupil protested. "If anything I was worse. My Temple, the New Order— my Order— barely lasted twelve years. And now the Skywalker bloodline has turned to darkness once more."

Yoda's demeanor now made an abrupt change to stern.

"Oh, given up have you? The first time a Skywalker has been led astray, it is not. Was it not you who managed to turn Darth Vader back to the Light? Did you not defeat the Emperor in his domain, hm? Learn from our mistakes, you did."

"Well I…"

"Oh, Skywalker, still looking to the horizon. Never here, now. The need in front of your nose." He punctuated the point with a light whap on his noggin.

Only Yoda could simultaneously scold him and yet calm his emotions, Luke thought to himself.

"I did turn my father back to the Light," he said quietly. "We did defeat the Empire. But I became unwise, foolish. The same weakness that plagued the original Jedi Order infected me too. Sidious is gone but he may as well have returned from the dead. It's his legacy, his memory that still hovers over the galaxy like a black cloud. And it took Ben from me."

"Evil incarnate, Sidious was," Yoda agreed. "The darkest and most powerful of the Sith, he became. Responsible for the corruption of your father, he is. Yet the victory of the Dark side was not inevitable, no indeed."

Using the Force, the ghost raised the texts into the air and landed them softly into Luke's lap.

"Look to books... you should not. Limited is dwelling on the past. Take your failures and use them as a guide for the future. The greatest teacher, failure is."

The words were uplifting yet doubt still lingered in the troubled heart of Luke Skywalker.

"Master, what future is left? I'm not the fresh faced Jedi I once was. My most powerful pupil is now a servant of Snoke. The First Order continues to grow in strength. I don't have the entirety of my youth to build another academy."

Yoda's eyes began to twinkle again.

"Through the force, all things are possible."

The vague answer did not solve any of his questions, if anything it raised more. How was he supposed to turn things around? How could he face his sister and Han with the fact that he ran away in their hour of need? It wasn't like he could just hop in an X-Wing, jump into First Order hyperspace, bring Ben back, and drop him off at Coruscant with an apology note. The task of rebuilding a fractured galaxy seemed so daunting, he didn't know where to begin.

At the very least, the present seemed compromised. Put into a state of dysfunction by the past.

The past.

It was as if a two-ton reek hit him square on the head. The idea was a long shot, so far fetched, he almost refused to consider the possibility it could work. But he had to ask the one being in the galaxy that might know. And he just happened to be sitting next to him.

Crossing his legs and shifting his position, Luke leaned in slightly to underscore just how big the question was he planned to ask.

"Master, through the force, you've transcended death."

"Observant, you are."

Shrugging off the sarcastic, humorous barb, Luke continued onward.

"You've found a way to transfer your essence from life to the world beyond. Would it not be possible to do the same with time?"

It didn't take long for the elderly Jedi Master's ghost to narrow his eyes in a dubious manner.

"Mysterious, time is. Better to leave untouched than risk unforeseen consequences."

"But is it possible? Can the Force be used to go into the past?"

Yoda's eyes were so narrow that Luke doubted they could come any closer without shutting. Evidently, he had touched upon something that was very sensitive and unexplored even by the Jedi themselves.

"Luke... dangerous subject, this is. Your focus, on the here and now it should be. Not what happened prior. Too late to change, it is."

"What if it wasn't?" the last Jedi insisted. "You're not telling me everything."

The little green being did not say anything more, clearly afraid that to go further would either bring false hope— at best— or madness at worst. So uncomfortable he looked, that he avoided his former pupil's gaze. But far from deterring Luke's appetite for knowledge, the silence only increased it.

"Master, please… if there is any chance that such a power exists you must tell me. I can't fix the here and now. But if this hellish fate the galaxy is currently experiencing can be avoided by fixing the ills of the past, is that not an option to at least consider?"

His desire for more was so great his blue eyes almost took a manic expression.

"Please…" he practically begged.

It was Yoda's turn to sigh heavily as he turned back to face his student, his willingness to unyield finally broken.

"Stories, I have heard. Legends, myths of those who sought to bring about a better future by replacing the past. Such a thing, I have never witnessed in nine hundred years. Unwise to follow such a path."

"Jedi? Sith?"

"Both."

Luke continued to press his case.

"There must be a record somewhere that documents this. The Jedi Temple had thousands of archives and hundreds of holocrons. Surely there must have been something about the relation of time through the Force."

By now the fire was almost dead and Yoda used his abilities to shift the embers and float more wood to the flames.

"Only one holocron existed. In the deepest, most ancient part of the temple, it was. Accessible only to Jedi Masters who sought to study such subjects. Highly abstract, yes, yes… highly difficult to understand even for the wise."

"So you've been down there before?"

"Once," came the gravelly reply. "In my youth, it was. I witnessed an ancient Jedi Master who lived thousands of years ago describe its nature and effects. Dangerous and disturbing such power is. Best left untouched, sealed away."

"But this knowledge exists in you," Luke argued. "If you teach it to me… it could change everything!"

Yoda, however, refused.

"No young, Skywalker. This path is folly. Lead you to the outcome you seek, it most likely will not. Strange and terrible things have happened to those who meddle in the laws of time. Should you go back, no telling what might happen...no telling what you might find. Catastrophic, the outcome could be."

"The outcome could also prevent every bad thing that's ever happened. My father might never turn to the dark side, Order 66 may never come down, Sidious could be stopped! You must teach me!"

The final outburst raised the flames a few feet in the air, temporarily dimming Yoda's bluish glow. Another sigh escaped the mouth of the Old Master.

"Much discipline and spiritual mastery this requires. More patience you will need. At present, have it… you do not."

"So you'll show me?"

The question came a little too quickly as if to highlight to the point Yoda was trying to make; a grumble of disapproval escaped his lips.

"Dissuade you I cannot, but try I must, nonetheless. A guarantee of victory, of triumph, there is not. Better is the path forward then backwards. Learn from mistakes, you must."

"What better way to learn than to take what I know and prevent it from happening in the first place? Master, I respect your views but I cannot pass on this opportunity knowing that there's even the slightest chance it could work."

He drew himself up to his full height and for the first in what seemed like an eternity, a strong emotion bubbled up inside of his chest. Hope had lightened a fire inside of the last Skywalker.

"Master, I promised you many years ago I wouldn't fail you and I intend to keep that promise again. Teach me what you know so that I may better this world."

Immediately after this declaration, Luke knelt down in front of the Old Master, bowing his head in humility. After what seemed like an eternity, Yoda finally responded.

"Teach you, I will. But promise to heed me, you must. There is no rushing a process such as this. Avoid looking at the horizon, hm?"

The stick prodded him once more and he realized the little green being was teasing him. A real smile managed to grace his lips. It was an affirmation. And the start of something much greater.

"I'll do whatever it takes," came Lukes's simple, but determined, response.

"Good, very good," Yoda nodded. "Then it is time for one last training."

In the silent night of Ahch-To amidst the crackling fire, a new hope arose once more.

Yoda had not deceived him when he spoke of learning the method of time travel and how difficult it was. This was no lightsaber form to master or blaster bolts to block. The power to access the past lay entirely in the force and one's ability to tap and merge with it. For this to occur, one needed ultimate spiritual discipline.

According to his master, there was once a temple on Lothal that contained a painting of the Mortis gods: entities that symbolized the living force and its purest essence. Through the painting one could access the World Between Worlds, a mystical plane within the Force that connected time and space. However, this temple had been destroyed a long time ago and that method of accessing it proved impossible. However, there was another way.

Luke Skywalker was a legendary warrior who had overcome his fears and the anger that lay in his own heart in order to defeat Vader. The darkside did not tempt him in that way. However, that did not mean he was a spiritual master, far from it. If he was honest with himself, it was a subject his knowledge remained quite limited in and it required every ounce of Yoda's expertise and training to push him the extra mile.

The technique was also every bit as abstract and tricky as described. Those able to transcend time essentially had to give their very essence to the cosmic force. It required hours of meditation, breathing exercises, and internal analysis. When the time came and one completely immersed themselves in the force itself, all energy had to be directed towards the full fledged desire to return to the past. All memories of said past would willingly be given and the body transported back to the time period in question. At least that was the simple version of it. The truth was he had no idea if this was plausible or that even achieving "oneness" with the force would be enough to trigger such an event.

Trickier still there was one other problem: the time Luke desired to go back to was before he was born and thus he had no memory of it.

In came the brilliance of Obi-Wan Kenobi. He too was informed of the undertaking as well as his father, and both were much more supportive of the idea. But it was his first master that managed to solve the first big hole.

"Why not use our established connection to give him our memories of the war and its aftermath?" came the suggestion. "If our counterparts from the past are to believe him, he will need to carry the full knowledge of what happened."

"Agree, I do," Yoda concurred as they all sat together inside the ancient temple. "Share our memories, we shall in addition to the training."

"Well...maybe not all of them," Anakin said, failing to hide a shifty grin.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really want to witness the night you and your sister were conceived?"

That brought a roar of laughter from Obi-Wan and further chuckling from Master Yoda. Luke, feeling himself go red, tried to play it off as simply being nonplussed. Anakin on the other hand, looked very pleased with himself.

And so three times a day, one time from each ghost, Luke was played witness to visions of the past that each experienced over the course of the Clone Wars. This too, took a great deal of effort and though it was impossible to see everything, over time he grew familiar with the scene of events that played out. Some were mesmerizing and left him in awe such as the Battle of Coruscant or the exploits with the clones. Others were much harder to bear...particularly the scenes of his father's betrayal and the subsequent duel on Mustafar. He almost broke down in tears seeing Anakin screaming pure hatred at Obi-Wan, limbs cut off, his entire body engulfed in flames.

"Part of me wishes you didn't have to see that," Obi-Wan muttered to Luke as the ghost of Anakin looked away somberly. "But if this is to work, you must know the full truth of how we were all deceived."

"I understand," the last Jedi murmured back. "And I promise I will not allow that to happen a second time. My father will not live the remainder of his life in a black, mechanical suit."

Anakin turned back around, though he did not have the ability to weep, he would have if he were alive.

"See to it, my son. Don't allow me to become a monster. Not again."

As twisted as it sounded, seeing these awful recollections only motivated him that much more to perfect his craft at becoming one with the force. As weeks turned to months, the sessions with Yoda would last for hours. Usually they were outside on the temple cliff in the full face of the sun.

*Inhale

"Concentrate, Luke...let the force flow through you. Allow yourself to become one."

*Exhale

"One with the force you are, and the force is with you."

*Inhale

"Give yourself to it. Here and now, you are."

*Exhale

"Let go of your pain, you must. Redirect it towards your desire to change the past."

*Inhale

"Use your failure...our failure. A humble teacher, it is."

*Exhale

"One with the force you are, and the force is with you."

Luke repeated this mantra while allowing the cosmic energy to flow through like a cool liquid soothing the inside of his body.

"I am one with the force and the force is with me."

"I am one with the force and the force is with me."

"I am one with the force and the force is with me."

Slowly but surely, he could feel the statement becoming true, grounding himself in the here and now rather than the horizon as Yoda instructed. The energy surrounded him and gave a clarity never felt before.

Yes, it was almost time. It was all Luke could do to retain his newfound patience.

It was bitter work, but at last the day came where Yoda declared him ready. There was one last gathering inside the ancient Jedi Temple in order to impart final warnings and advice.

"Trained well, you have," Yoda nodded. "Impressed by your dedication, I am."

"Thank you, Master," Luke bowed. "Though in my mind, there simply isn't another choice. Either I manage to pull this off, or the galaxy will remain a complete mess forever."

"Have faith in yourself, Luke," Obi-Wan told him kindly. "You are being given a chance to redeem what was. It is not an everyday occurrence."

"I can't help but think...I am the last of our kind, Obi-Wan. The burden is squarely upon my shoulders to put the state of the galaxy right. Once before, I thought I succeeded in doing so…"

He swallowed a lump in his throat.

"There's so much I've lost. Am I being selfish?"

"Son," Anakin interjected. "If anyone was selfish in life it was me. You're seeking to fix that. In all my time, I have never seen a more selfless act committed by a Jedi. This is not for yourself, but for billions of born and unborn yet to come."

"Doubt yourself, do not," Yoda affirmed. "Committed, you must be. But carefully, very carefully you must tread."

"Yoda is right, for more reasons than one," Obi-Wan advised. "When you return to the past, the burden of your travels must be kept secret. To reveal yourself right away would ruin any chance you had at changing anything."

"But they have to be warned," Luke argued. "It was the ignorance of Darth Sidious and his plot that caused the Jedi to be caught unawares."

"Remember, Luke, that is only one part of the story," Anakin reminded him. "To succeed, you have to address every aspect of what went on: Palpatine, Order 66, and my own path to the dark side….and a little luck wouldn't hurt either," he added with a humorous laugh.

"How many times must I tell you there's no such thing as luck?" Obi-Wan sighed which only caused Anakin to laugh harder.

"At least once more, my friend."

Yoda grunted in order to interrupt the camaraderie.

"Heed Obi-Wan, you must. Reveal your identity when the time is right. Until then, no one can know your true self. Remember, jeopardize your existence, it might."

Luke nodded. They had talked extensively about this. To say he needed to tread cautiously was an understatement.

"Knowing myself all those years ago I can safely say I probably wouldn't have believed it. Not without substantial proof at any rate," Obi-Wan admitted.

"Which is why you have our memories," Yoda continued. "Remember, through the force all connections are. Beyond death they remain, and likely time as well. Use this connection, you will. Save your father, it can. Save the Jedi, too."

Then the atmosphere seemed to darken somehow. An evil, northern wind surged through to rattle the bones of the only living person there. The temperature became unusually cold.

"Luke," Yoda told him quietly. "Said this to you, I have. But beware the powers of the Emperor. Defeat him a second time, you must."

"He will only be Chancellor at the time you arrive back in the past," Obi-Wan added. "But even by that time, he was amassing more and more power as the war progressed. His plan was already well in motion."

Anakin stepped forward now and placed a ghostly hand on his shoulder, a delightfully peaceful feeling emanating from it.

"You already know this, no doubt. But Palpatine knows how to sweet talk people, deluding them with visions of their innermost desires. He'll seem almost grandfatherly when you meet him instead of the monster you've battled against. Don't be fooled."

"He'll be looking a little less wrinkly this time around, I'm sure," came the dry monotone of Obi-Wan.

Had Luke been able to picture the Emperor as anything other than a hideous, demonic monster he might have been to appreciate the joke. His father sure did.

"Enough," Yoda cut across them. "Time it is for you to go."

Raising his little green claw, a small object suddenly whizzed through the temple, landing in front of the last Jedi: the lightsaber he had constructed all those years ago.

"Forget this, you cannot. After all, a Jedi's weapon is his life."

Luke had not touched this instrument in what seemed like a lifetime, and its condition reflected that. The ridges of the hilt had rusted slightly and there was a small amount of dust, but otherwise appeared adequate. Quickly wiping it off, he took in the exhilarating rush as he picked it up with his hands and ignited the blade.

Emerald green hummed throughout the temple. Even the despondent last Jedi could not deny he missed wielding his lightsaber. And Yoda was correct of course, he would need it before the end.

Turning it off, he slipped on his cloak and bowed to the three most influential people in his life.

"Thank you, for everything you've done for me."

"Luke, thank you for never ceasing to be the inspiration you are," Obi-Wan smiled.

"You saved me once," his father told him. "I have no doubt you'll do it again."

"To the tree you must go," Yoda explained. "Once there, meditate as instructed. Give yourself to the force, and let your essence drift into the cosmos. Guide you back, the memories will."

The Old Master gave one last wrinkled smile before giving his blessing.

"Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin Skywalker, Grandmaster of the Order of the Jedi Knights...may the force be with you."

Luke wasted no time in doing as Yoda instructed, leaving the temple and trekking his way up the hill and into the sacred tree. The texts were absent from his person, but as his master said, he would not be needing them. What they contained, he already carried.

Dark clouds gathered up ahead as if to symbolize the storm of his anxiousness. Spiritual mastery did not entail emotional mastery. On the latter, he was still quite volatile, wishing like never before to be able to move through spacetime, eager to alter so many dark outcomes that led to the very present he found himself in. What would he find? How would the past counterparts of his masters compare to versions he knew now? Would he be found out somehow? Could he achieve the balance the galaxy so desperately needed?

Calm yourself, he admonished himself. You must focus in order for this to work

Balance. That was the key. When one gave their life essence to the cosmic force, they were truly in tune with themselves and their surroundings.

All things are possible through the force

Luke sat down in a meditative pose and began to breathe in and out, slowly and softly.

*Inhale

I am one with the force and the force is with me

*Exhale

I am one with the force and the force is with me

*Inhale

I am one with the force and the force is with me

*Exhale

Through the force, all things are possible

With each successive breath, Luke strengthened his spiritual essence with the cosmic force, the experience overtaking his senses. As this happened, several things occurred at once: his presence in the living force amplified a thousandfold. On Ahch-To he could feel the scurrying of small rodents, the wings of many birds, the energy in the clouds above him swirling in a vast soup of water threatening to pour down.

But this presence didn't just stop there, his reach extended from the planet he was on to others in the surrounding system, to neighboring systems, to the outer rim, middle rim, core worlds and beyond. He could sense the ships, armies, peoples, creatures of all sorts, thousands civilizations all converging at once. Then those that were familiar to him- Leia, Han, Chewbacca, Lando- their signatures shone brightly in the fabric of space. Though he could not physically see them, the indication that they were alive was enough to satisfy his curiosity. For the sake of what he was about to do, he could not reach out to them mentally.

His presence moved from the lightest of light to the darkest of dark: a torrent of unspeakable evil, blacker than the night and then something far more intriguing- a signature he recognized as his nephew. Far from being consumed, a battle raged ever on and on inside, the purest light pitted against a whirlwind of anger, hate...and confusion. So much confusion.

Leia, Han, Chewy, Threepio, R2...Ben. I failed you. But I will not fail you again. This time, the future will bring brighter days

Strengthening his connection further, Luke sunk deeper and deeper into the cosmic force, fully giving himself to it. He could feel the midichlorians dance and intertwine around him, the life giving energy that comprised the universe and the very heart of a Jedi's power. He was close, very close. There was but one final step.

Surrendering his physical form and merging with the force itself, Luke's vision suddenly went black. For a moment, there was nothing. There was no sense of anything: neither matter, light, dark, or even the laws of nature.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and indeed found himself within a strange place. Looking around, it was by far the most bizarre and most surreal he'd ever found himself in. An inky blackness covered the entirety of the space like a canopy and above tiny stars dotted as though it were a nighttime sky. Except in his heart, the last Jedi knew this was no standard picture of the universe. This realm did not seem to be rooted within the realm of the physical but stemmed from something else entirely. As an example, the stars above did not stay lit but flicked in and out, reappearing at different points, as though they were candles slowly dimming and roaring back to life.

"The World Between Worlds," Luke breathed. "Vergence Scatter."

He took in more of his surroundings and saw that he stood on an illuminated, translucent pathway, outlined in white. Taking a small step, a small ripple issued forth, as though a tiny pebble were dropped within a pond. The pathway itself weaved and looped around for what seemed like miles, intersecting into an inextricable web with no end or reason against a backdrop of black spacetime.

At first there was nothing, only silence, not even a hint of any other creature or phenomenon, not even a soft wind. Then, so quiet he could barely hear them at first, a chorus of whispers began to echo out like a fine tuned radio struggling for a signal. Whoever they belonged to remained unknown to him at first until they grew steadily clearer.

You're a little short for a stormtrooper

Good luck kid...you're going to need it

An elegant weapon for a more civilized age...before the dark times...before the Empire

It is too late for me my son

"Vader," Luke spoke back quietly. "My father."

He began to walk along the path and looked a bit closer at his overall surroundings. This mystical plane had the feel of something ancient, perhaps before the existence of the galaxy itself, and yet it seemed to defy human comprehension or any other organizing system of measurement. It brought no despair yet no peace. Nothing sinister and nothing joyous. An all encompassing inertia, however, a place of constant movement. The true center of the universe and the origin of time itself: past, present and future.

This can't be real, he thought to himself.

And yet his presence here was unmistakable. Luke began noticing that all the whispers were not simply people he knew or once knew, but memories, things of old that occurred over the course of his lifetime: a farm boy, a rebel pilot, a Jedi Master, etc. But that wouldn't do. His own lifespan wasn't the target.

"I need to find the time before my birth. The last days of the Old Republic during the Clone Wars. But how do I find them?" he asked aloud.

As though this strange place actually listened to him an answer sprang almost immediately. Turning around he noticed something odd at the end of one of the intersections. A kind of triangular shaped doorway with a circle fitting perfectly inside like a kind of mirror. Except dimensionally it appeared as flat as a piece of paper, slimmer than the tiniest piece of glass. They scattered throughout the infinite realm in equally infinite numbers, representing something Luke couldn't exactly put a finger on at the moment. However, this particular one practically called to him.

Slowly moving forward, the whispering again began coming and going which only served to intrigue him further.

...pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural….

...why do I get the feeling you're going to be the death of me?

...clouded the force is...impossible to see...

Luke licked his lips, sensing he was close to the answers that he sought, while at the same attempting to keep his center. Finally he stopped in front of the doorway and looked up at the fascinating mirage.

A criss cross of runes stretched above in a semi circle, a language Luke didn't understand. He considered perhaps only a higher entity could, certainly no one alive or dead. Blue eyes soon flickered to the center; a crystalline black surface which appeared fragile yet as strong as diamonds.

At first there was nothing and the last of the Skywalkers frowned. What did this place want from him? How could he encounter a past he physically did not exist in?

Yoda's voice, whether by memory or otherwise, came back to him once.

Guide you back, the memories will

"Of course."

Luke took a leap of faith, pressed his hand against the gateway, cool to the touch and released all of the experiences passed to him by his father and mentors.

An explosion of energy emulated from his organic hand as the memories channeled through in a rapid succession of flashbacks: a little blond haired boy meeting a twenty five year old redhead for the first time, a mentor being struck down by a double crimson blade, a chase with a bounty hunter, a treasured kiss from a forbidden love, the sound of gunfire and bombs shaking the ground, victory, defeat, the erosion of a once proud democratic institution, an unforgivable betrayal, a blue lightsaber eliminating children as young as six, thousands of white armor clad men forced to gun down their generals, a fiery duel fought over hell itself, a dying, broken hearted woman crying out in pain as two children emerged from the womb, mad cackling laughter from a deformed, red cloaked despot, and the image of tall, terrifying, seven foot monster in a black mechanical suit, cold, heavy breathing echoing out in a familiar pattern.

Luke opened his eyes and saw the image of Darth Vader staring down at him through the gateway, a red blade arched overhead ready to strike. But the Jedi Master did not move, steeling his resolve and resisting all evil in the face of the overwhelming pain and suffering.

"I wish to prevent this future," he breathed out, still channeling energy into the mirror. "I wish to prevent the galaxy from falling under the thumb of the most powerful dark sorcerer in history...and I will save a good man from destroying himself."

The image of Vader faded and all at once the energy completely surrounded the doorway, snaking their way through the black crystalline before forming an image of the afternoon Coruscanti skyline.

Losing energy fast and knowing he had only seconds before he lost the strength to keep going, Luke once more took a calming breath while directing all his focus on the image in front of him, that of Coruscant and the Republic before the Age of the Empire.

The Force is with me and I am one with the Force

Letting go of all memories, past and present, Luke at last fell through the gateway, losing all strength. For a split second, all he could see were a quick succession of shapes, colors, among a chorus of voices that became so overwhelming he thought he might go mad.

But just as it came, the insanity vanished, everything went black and Luke Skywalker knew no more.

*glances around nervously.

Alright...how's the opener? Leave those reviews! Story will be updated regularly.

~The Wasp