Chapter 1

Obi-Wan Kenobi knew he was going to die. He had accepted that realisation long ago and he accepted it again now. Hadn't he always jested that his old Padawan would be the death of him? He had never truly expected it to come true and yet now it seemed like it had always been inevitable. Obi-Wan had never been as good at combat as his apprentice, not that he would be able to kill him even if he did win, as proven on Mustafar. He gazed sorrowfully at the black mask that was so different from the handsome face that had been given to his apprentice. A small part of him that he had pushed to the the very back of his mind wished to see a sign, however small, of the man he had loved as a son, as a brother, one last time. However he knew that was impossible. Anakin had been lost to him for a very long time. Pushing all of that aside and focusing on the here and now, he realised that Luke and the others were almost away. Obi-Wan also knew that he would never be joining them. He was suddenly so very, very tired. As much as he did not want to leave Luke with such little training, seeing his old apprentice had drained all of his remaining energy. He didn't want to fail yet another Skywalker but that seemed to be his fate. Trying to keep Vader's attention on himself just a bit longer, he taunted him and then he felt a brief flash of pain as the vibrant red lightsaber slashed through him. Everything went black.

As he drifted back to consciousness, he felt as if he were floating. Despite his eyes being screwed shut, he could tell he was somewhere bright. Maybe Vader had captured him? He couldn't feel bindings on his hands or ankles which surprised him. Forcing his eyes open, Obi-Wan squinted against the harsh whiteness. He didn't seem to be anywhere in particular, all he could make out was white. Gazing around, he saw nothing but the blank whiteness, nor did he feel any pain that he knew he should be feeling. Then, as if on a hologram, he saw flashes of Luke's life. He saw him fighting Vader and losing his hand, very much as his father had done on Geonosis. The memory made him flinch. He watched helplessly as Vader delivered the news that he was indeed Luke's father and the breakdown that followed. The Skywalkers really were a cursed lot he mused sadly. Scenes came and went in no particular order, Luke destroying the Death Star with the help of his friend. His piloting skills were definitely close to his father's. Some scenes were shown of his time on Tatooine that Obi-Wan had missed for some reason or another. He shook his head fondly as Luke left his training on Dagobah to rescue his friend. Another fact that showed how much he really was rather like his father, or at least the man his father had once been. Then it settled on an image of a place that looked like another Death Star. The Emperor was there with Luke and Vader. He watched in stunned silence as Vader saved Luke and finally, finally achieved his destiny of bringing balance to the force. It was with no small amount of sadness that he watched Vader...no, Anakin, lose the mask and draw his last breath in front of his son. Obi-Wan bowed his head as the images vanished. Then he heard a very familiar voice behind him and almost jumped out of his skin.

"Welcome, my young Padawan." Whirling around, he spotted Qui-Gon Jinn smiling at him from a few feet away.

"I'm hardly young anymore." Obi-Wan grumbled, settling on his knee-jerk reaction to seeing his long dead Master. Looking down, however, he saw he was in the body of his younger self, from when he was indeed, Qui-Gon's Padawan.

"To me you will always be my young Padawan." Qui-Gon laughed lightly. "Come, we have much to discuss." He gestured to a bench that Obi-Wan was quite sure had not been there a second ago. His body working on autopilot, he sat down and simply stared at the face he had not seen in far too many decades. There was a long silence.

"Where are we?" Obi-Wan finally asked, simply for something to say. He did not really care.

"We are in the Force." Qui-Gon answered simply. "I have watched your progress for many years."

"Could have used some advice." Obi-Wan sighed bitterly. "I don't know where I went so wrong with him." He did not particularly like the fact that his old Master had been privy to his failure as a Master himself.

"You did not go wrong."

"My Padawan turned to the Dark Side and destroyed the Jedi!" Obi-Wan exclaimed in despair. "How is that not a failure?"

"There was very little you could have done with the knowledge that you had. Palpatine groomed Anakin from the very day that he met him. He was his confidant on issues that he could not talk to you about, such as his relationship with Padme." Qui-Gon stated calmly. He knew that he was trying to reassure him but it wasn't working.

"He didn't feel like he could come to me." Obi-Wan sighed sadly. "I suppose I should not be surprised. Anakin probably thought I would turn him in to the Jedi Council."

"Would you have done so?" Qui-Gon asked him evenly. Obi-Wan squirmed slightly under the calm gaze as he searched his feelings and realised he did not have an answer. He had no idea what he would have done had his Padawan come to him with such news. The two of them had never exactly been subtle about their feelings towards each other but he had had no idea they were actually in a relationship, let alone married and expecting children. He felt like more of a failure than ever before. A Master was supposed to guide and teach their Padawan and yet he had failed to notice some very large changes in his apprentice. Qui-Gon let him stew in silence for a while before speaking again.

"The Force wishes to offer you the choice to go back and try again." Obi-Wan gaped at him, not fully understanding. "With the knowledge you have now, you could change what happened, potentially even stop Anakin falling to the Dark Side."

"Master…" He began, at a complete loss for words. "I don't...I don't even know where I truly went wrong."

"I'm not certain myself, despite watching the pair of you. There was no single event or thing that went wrong. Palpatine certainly had a lot to do with it. One thing to consider is that you, and the Council, treated Anakin as if he were a Padawan who had been training at the Temple his whole life. Sometimes I think you forgot he already had a previous attachment to his mother and that he spent nine years of his life living normally and not by the Jedi code. Of course you were dealing with your own grief and I cannot express how sorry I am that I left you to train him on your own." Qui-Gon's expression briefly showed the depth of sorrow and grief that he felt before returning to its calm mask.

"I…" Obi-Wan swallowed painfully. Emotions he had long thought dead and released to the Force whirled up within him. "Your last words to me were to request that I train Anakin. I felt like you wanted to replace me with him." He admitted after a few moments. He regretted it immediately. It was not the Jedi way to feel jealousy. However, Qui-Gon seemed unsurprised by his confession. He felt like a lowly Padawan again, not an experienced Jedi Master.

"I am sorry I did not have more time to express how proud I was, how proud I still am, of you. Having watched you over the years, you truly became more wise than I could ever be." Some deeply buried, part of Obi-Wan was delighted by the words of his former Master. Yet part of him felt like it had come far too late, he wanted to lash out and scream. Releasing his emotions to the Force, he reminded himself it was not the Jedi way to feel like this. Somehow that didn't have much impact. The Jedi way hadn't exactly done them much good lately. "No other Master would have managed Anakin as well as you did. He would probably have been expelled from the Order with any other Master. Anakin's choices were his own and no reflection upon your teachings." Qui-Gon reiterated, determined that his old Padawan understood this important fact.

"If I go back, how do I stop Anakin turning again? I could not live through that twice." Obi-Wan pleaded for his Master to have the answers.

"There is no guarantee. However, the Force would not offer you this opportunity if you could not succeed." This did not comfort him very much. He mulled over the choice in his head. He could finally rest, after so much anguish and pain he could become one with the Force and rest forever. Or, he could go back and try to prevent so much pain and suffering. Obi-Wan felt exhausted just from the choice provided and he did not understand why it had to be him. If Qui-Gon could go back and stop Maul from killing him, he would make a much better Master for Anakin. They had the same rebellious nature that was for certain. But could he wish for his failure to fall upon Qui-Gon to fix? This was his burden. It was then that he knew his mind was made up. No matter the cost, he would go back and he would save Anakin.

"I will accept the offer." He said with more serenity than he felt. Qui-Gon smiled and that reaffirmed that he had made the correct choice.

"Before you leave, do not, under any circumstance, tell Anakin what his future holds if you fail." Qui-Gon warned him. "He cannot know that you are from the future."

"What about the others?" He asked.

"Tell them only if completely necessary. The Council I knew would only take your news as evidence that Anakin should not be trained or be thrown out of the Order." Qui-Gon told him, grim faced. Obi-Wan nodded, it was the answer he had expected. He knew that accepting this mission would mean he wouldn't see Qui-Gon again for a very long time and part of him was loath to accept that.

"I will go." He stated again, as if to convince himself.

"I never suspected otherwise." His former Master gave him a cheeky smile that he knew all too well. "Good luck, my Padawan. I have complete faith in you. And I will be there if you truly need me." He stated. Obi-Wan stared at him. Before he could question the statement, the world around him dissolved and once again, the darkness took him.