I ride my speeder through the heavy rain for an unknown amount of time. The feeling of the soft droplets against my skin is unusually calming. I'm almost saddened when my speeder passes by the stormy weather.
As I reach this new, drier terrain, I am hit by a sense of certainty. I don't know how to explain it, but I can feel where the Father is. It's like he wants me to find him.
Before me in this field of small hills illuminated by subtle lights is a small structure resting at the top of a lengthy staircase. I already know what it is– it's a tomb. The Father has just laid his daughter to rest inside.
I park the speeder at the base of the steps before progressing upward. The Father walks out as I continue on my way and uses the force to seal closed the doorway.
"You should have left by now." He announces.
I take a few more steps up the staircase to be closer to the Father. He is far taller than me as it is, and the added difference created by the stairs makes me feel more intimidated.
"Our ship needs repairs." I explain. "We won't be able to leave for a while."
"Do not underestimate my son." he warns. "He will seek your ship to escape our isolation and sow terror through the universe."
The Son has morphed into a powerful dark side user. If he leaves this planet, the universe will be in grave danger. Unchallenged power to that degree can only lead to pain and misery.
"What will you do, now that he's given himself over to the dark side?" I ask, possibly overstepping some boundaries.
"It is my actions that have unleashed great danger on the universe. I must kill him."
"But he's too powerful for you alone." I argue. "You need Anakin and I to help you."
I mentally slap myself in the face for my choice of words. The Father in a way did reveal my place in the prophecy when he used both Anakin and I to bring life to Ahsoka. However, I feel wrong for straight up announcing that I know.
"I see my Daughter told you the truth of the prophecy." He says without anger.
"Not the whole truth. She kept her word to you by not revealing everything." I assure him. "Please know that we can help you."
"The choice is no longer yours to make. Both of your destinies are now clouded, as is my own. This place is strong with the Force. Darkness has no hold here. Go. Ask, and you will know what to do."
I follow the Father's gaze to a path among the illuminated field. I give him a nod before proceeding down the staircase and near this path. I stroll along it for a few dozen metres. Whatever I need to know will be revealed someplace over here.
"You have grown strong and powerful, young one." A familiar, female voice says.
If I didn't know better, I would say it is my own voice.
I look around for the source and notice a female wearing Jedi robes appear in the pale moonlight. Upon looking closer, I notice it is...me, only older. My hair is much longer and out of its normal braid and my black robes are badly damaged.
"How is this possible? I ask.
A thousand thoughts fill my mind. If this is an accurate representation of what my future holds, it does not look good. My older self seems...damaged. Not just physically, but emotionally.
"You look happy. Is Anakin treating you well?" She asks.
A small smile creeps upon her face at the mention of Anakin...or is it my face? This is too confusing.
"What do you want?" I ask the obvious.
My older self sighs, "You are part of the Chosen One prophecy, (Y/N)."
"How can I know that?" I argue.
"I understand your hesitation, but you will do what is right."
I will do what is right. This seems like a lot of trust regarding such a huge area. I currently don't even trust myself enough to get out of bed on time each morning, let alone trust myself enough to do what is best for the galaxy.
All jokes aside, it seems this is what the Father wished for me to see. My older self. He wants me to ask my future for guidance concerning the present.
"Then tell me, what do I do about the Son? Do I leave, or do I stay and kill him?" I ask.
"Neither. Look deeper, young one. You will find another way."
"When did I become so confusing?" I sigh.
"Not far from here there is a place which is strong with the dark side. You must go there."
I nod to my older self and proceed back toward the Father. The sooner I get away from this confronting conversation, the better.
"If you wish to bring balance, you must face your demons by taking away any barriers." She calls out.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask defensively.
She turns her gaze to the ground. I'm very familiar with this mechanism I use. I...she... is struggling to find the right words to say.
"You must cut off your attachment to Anakin Skywalker." She announces.
My body becomes overwhelmed with anger toward this vision in front of me. How could she even suggest such a thing? She's me. She knows there is nothing I care about more than Anakin.
"Not a chance." I refute.
"Trust your instincts, young one. You know it to be true." She argues.
There are a thousand questions I wish to ask about what she is saying. While I'm struggling to think of which to ask first, my future self disappears.
"Come back!" I call.
She never comes.
I crouch down to the ground and contemplate everything I have heard. If any part of that is true, Anakin and I cannot be together.
"Who were you talking to?" A familiar voice asks.
"No one." I reply.
It isn't until after I answer that I realise who the voice belongs to. I quickly stand up and cover up any sign of sadness or distress before turning to the person sitting on their speeder.
"I told you to stay with the ship." I groan.
"Doing what you say is one thing, how I go about it is another." Anakin smirks.
I remember using this quote with him during our Naboo mission when he was worried about Obi Wan. Only I never thought he would end up using my own words against me.
"Master Qui-Gon spoke to me." Anakin explains. "He said I need to go to the part of the planet where the dark side is strong."
My older self said the same thing. Whatever the Father or Son is trying to achieve involves us both. I want to tell Anakin the truth about my vision, but wouldn't that be going against what the Daughter had said? Telling him the truth about some things will only bring forth the truths I am trying to conceal.
"How do we get there?" I ask, not speaking of my own vision.
Anakin raises his eyebrow smugly.
"I'm sorry, but I have to do this alone." He teases.
Anakin has a real habit of using my own words against me when the situation suits him. It is charming, but boy is it annoying.
"Surely you know better by now than to try and stop me." I muse.
I climb onto my speeder which is parked beside his and go to start it while keeping my smug expression focused on him. My victorious moment is destroyed when the speeder doesn't start.
Anakin sits on his own speeder and starts it with no trouble.
"Sorry, love, but I'm not letting you get in the middle of this." He states.
I look up and he gives me a two finger salute before riding away. He has done something to my speeder to temporarily disable it. I truly should have seen this coming.
I have no choice but to watch him ride away. I don't have the slightest idea how to get to where he is heading nor do I know where the Father is. This is only made worse by the fact that I do not have an operating speeder.
I groan aloud in sheer frustration before beginning to pull apart the speeder. Anakin didn't have any tools on him, so whatever he did could not have been that hard. I push the broken speeder nearer to one of the luminous objects to have a little more light.
Upon looking a little harder, I notice Anakin cut a wire in the engine. I smirk a little at his choice but quickly brush away those thoughts. Within a minute or two, I successfully hotwire the speeder and get the engine running.
Just as I sit on it and prepare to leave, the large figure of the Father appears a few metres before me. I hurry off the speeder and approach him.
"Where's Anakin?" I ask the Father.
The Father is all knowing within the realms of this planet. If Anakin has gone to a beacon of the dark side as my future self had described it, the Father will surely know where it is.
"The Force is his guide now." The Father states.
I understand and admire his deep trust and commitment to the force, but it gets to a point where it becomes really irritating.
"Perhaps you didn't understand my question. Where is Anakin?" I repeat, only more sternly.
The Father doesn't show any sign of emotion but I can tell he wants to smile at least a little bit.
"He has gone to the Well of the Dark Side."
The very name of this place gives me chills. Nothing good could possibly come from a place harbouring such a dangerous and negative title.
"The what?" I ask.
"Deep within this planet exists a place where all that is dark is channeled."
Great. My husband is running blindly into a place that harbours all that is evil in this place. I wish the Daughter were still alive. Her guidance right about now would make things far easier.
"And you didn't think to warn me sooner?" I reply angrily.
"The Force is his path. You cannot interfere."
"You forget that I am part of your oh-so-precious prophecy. If I were not meant to interfere, I would not be part of it." I retaliate.
I don't bother waiting around to hear what more the Father has to say. Any guilt I have been feeling regarding the death of the Daughter has vanished. Now, my only goal is protect the one I love most from the evil lurking within the Well.
I sit back on the speeder that I managed to start and begin on my way to Anakin. I focus on his force signature to ensure I am travelling in the right direction before increasing my speed.
Pain begins to consume me as I get closer to this 'Well of the Dark Side'. I pull up my speeder to avoid crashing as the pain grows stronger. Anakin's intense distress from whatever is happening with the Son takes over me. I collapse to the ground in distress when something more horrifying happens. The chilling, mechanical breathing from my dream enters my head. Whatever is happening has something to do with that Sith.
The fear I am feeling from Anakin fades into guilt. I get back on my speeder and go as fast as the machine will allow. I follow the path I am on until I reach a hole in the earth leading to a pit of lava. From the feeling of this place, I know it to be the Well of the Dark Side.