Note 1: Star Wars and its affiliates do not belong to me, only the contents of this Verse.

Note 2: Thank you to my betas LordAedan and Young at Heart21.

Chosen: Restoration

Chapter 26: The Yangau

By WrittinInStone

Anakin Skywalker was in a coma.

Padmé sat silent by her husband's bed, holding his hand, refusing to leave his side.

When he had fallen…

It was a moment Padmé knew she would never forget for the rest of her life, for time had slowed as she watched her husband's eyes roll back and his body descend to the floor.

Her world had turned black… and white too.

She could only look on, frozen in terror, as Obi-Wan flew in slow motion to her husband's side, immediately performing techniques to try and revive him.

Her heart became connected to Anakin's in that moment. No breath flowed through her; it was still, much like her husband's chest.

Then all of a sudden, Anakin was breathing and just like him, life flooded into her again.

Lightheaded, she had crumpled to the floor, feeling as though all the blood had drained from her. She had felt cold too, as though she would never be warm again.

Anakin… her husband… he had stopped breathing…

For a moment, her reason for living had died.

There was not a word to describe the way she had felt, the way she still felt. Was shattered the right word? Broken? Crazed? They were all accurate, but not quite right, could not capture the sheer hollowness that had touched every cell in her body.

Everything had lost meaning.

Was that what death was; a cessation of all things? Because in that moment, nothing else had mattered: not Palpatine, the Jedi or the Yangau. All that mattered was that her husband wasn't breathing.

But he was alive now, even if it was the sleeping death. At this moment, she would take it; it was much better than true death.

After it was clear that they could not completely revive him, they put him in what looked to be medical bay. Padmé was positive that there was something there that could help him, but they could not read the strange language on the items and pleas to the ship for help were met with no response, so, they did the only thing they could; wait.

Waited to reach the Yangau, waited for Anakin to wake up.

Waited for her husband to die.

She winced as she shifted, biting back a cry of agony as pain shot through her back. Her activities of the previous day were coming back to haunt her. Everything ached and she could only pray that her babies were well; breaking Anakin and Obi-Wan out of prison had been necessary even if it hadn't been the healthiest for her unborn children.

It was yet another problem to worry about.

Biting her lip, Padmé shook her head, trying to throw off her despair as she moved closer to her husband. He was so still, looked so incredibly vulnerable lying on the bed, that it made her want to weep.

Anakin could not die; he simply could not. She wouldn't survive without him; couldn't.

Ignoring her screaming back, she rose from the chair, leaning over him to press her forehead against his.

"Ani, I'm here," she told him softly, tears streaking down her cheeks. "I promise I won't leave you, so don't leave me, okay? We're going to the Yangau and they're going to help you, so just hold on. Please, please, Anakin."

But he simply lay here, silent and unmoving.

Padmé took a deep breath, trying to control her tears. She placed a hand over his heart, feeling the rise and fall of his chest. As long as he continued to breathe, there was hope; all he had to do was breathe.

She did not move as she felt a presence behind her knowing it was Obi-Wan coming to beg her to leave, to rest a little. But she couldn't, didn't he understand that?

Didn't he understand that if she left Anakin might…?

Padmé shook her head denying the very possiblity. He would not die; she had to believe that. With that thought in mind, she turned to the Jedi Master angrily.

"What is it, Obi-Wan?" she asked sharply, bitingly. "If you're going to ask me to leave him then go now because I won't."

But as she beheld his visage, guilt immediately hit her like a ton of durasteel. The Jedi Master looked haggard, as though he too hadn't slept since Anakin collapsed. It reminded her that Obi-Wan loved her husband too.

"I wasn't going to ask that of you," he responded quietly. "I just came to bring you some food."

It was then that she saw and smelt the tray of sustenance in his hands.

She sniffed as her eyes filled with tears of shame. "I'm so sorry Obi-Wan," she murmured in sorrow.

He smiled wearily at her. "You don't have to apologize, Padmé, I understand how you feel."

Wiping her eyes, she tried to return his smile, hoping it didn't look as pathetic as it felt.

"Do you know how close we are to the Yangau?" she asked, accepting the plate of food. She was not hungry in the least, but she had to think of her babies; they needed her to be healthy especially after the events on Coruscant.

"No," he responded, rubbing his chin. "I hope it's soon."

Padmé winced at his unspoken words—Obi-Wan hoped it was soon because Anakin wouldn't last much longer.

"What are we going to do, Obi-Wan?" she spoke softly, gazing down at her husband.

"We wait," the Jedi Master said, sinking into the chair on the opposite side of Anakin's bed. "We wait."

#*#*#*#*#

As soon as she woke, she knew something was different. Rising from her place next to Anakin's bed, Padmé moved to the window where Obi-Wan already stood.

"I think we're here," Obi-Wan said in awe.

Eyes wide, Padmé could only stare, nodding vigorously in agreement. They were in space and yet, instead of blackness, everything was purple; a deep, dark, purple and the stars shone a bright green, much like the veins in the ship.

"Where are we?" Padmé whispered softly, fearfully.

"I… I don't know," the Jedi Master replied, unable to hide his trepidation. "I've never seen or heard of anything like this."

It was then that the ship came to a stop.

Expression hardening, Obi-Wan turned to Padmé. "I'm going outside."

"Obi-Wan," Padmé began in protest, shaking her head.

"I know what you're going to say, but I have to. You stay here with Anakin," the Jedi Master insisted quietly. "If they're not friendly, if anything happens, leave me behind."

She opened her mouth and then closed it, a plethora of emotions chasing across her face. "Please be careful," she said finally, eyes filled with emotion.

Nodding, the Jedi Master swept out of the room to meet destiny and the Yangau.

#*#*#*#*#

Obi-Wan stood at the entrance of Célosige, staring at the lowering hatch. This was it; this meeting was the culmination of months of investigation and research.

Please, Force, Obi-Wan prayed furiously, closing his eyes for a moment. Please let them be friendly, please let them help Anakin.

He covered his eyes with his hands as a bright light began to shine through, blinding him to everything but the forms of the four figures before him. They stood on a platform that shone with the gleam of a thousand diamonds; it was beautiful and the Jedi Master had never seen anything like it before in his life.

Taking a deep breath, he descended, shoulders squared.

As soon as his foot hit the diamond platform, a masculine voice spoke, gentle and soft. "Welcome, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am Lvet and we have been expecting you and your friends for some time."

Expecting them? Obi-Wan thought, aghast.

"Do not worry for your safety, you will not be harmed know that your friend, Anakin Skywalker is unwell. We have the cure to what ails him. Please, allow us to treat him."

"But," Obi-Wan began in confusion, squinting as he tried unsuccessfully to make out some defining feature of the beings in front of him.

"All of your questions will be answered soon, but Skywalker must be tended to at once. His condition is grave," Lvet cautioned quietly.

Nodding, Obi-Wan backed away slightly as two of the four figures began to move forward to board the ship. It was then that he saw them.

They were humanoid with skin the color the burned wood and eyes the color of rainbows, being green and purple and gold and every color that the Knight had ever seen. Their ears were long, narrowing considerably at the ends. They were about the same size as humans, being a little taller. They were beautiful.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said, bowing to them, proud of that fact that he was able to speak without stammering.

The Yangau who passed him nodded as they continued into the ship. Blinking, the Jedi Master turned to follow them.

"That is unnecessary, Master Jedi," Lvet spoke again. "They will meet us at medical bay."

Obi-Wan frowned.

"We have developed technology to transport the ill to hospice immediately. Do not fear, Master Kenobi, your friends are safe. Come, I will take you to them."

Nodding, but feeling as though he had little choice, Obi-Wan followed.

#*#*#*#*#

Their world was incredible.

It was clearly a highly advanced civilization, but it was equally clear that they shunned the very technology they used.

It resembled Naboo very much, but the colors were all wrong. The water was pink and the sky, a pastel green. Animals milled around, stopping to stare at Obi-Wan curiously as though they were aware of who he was. It made him wonder if even their fauna was more intelligent than normal.

Every citizen that saw the Jedi Master stopped short and stared, only to start talking animatedly in a tongue that Obi-Wan did not understand. It was then that he realized that Lvet had spoken in Basic; yet another confusing piece in an increasingly perplexing puzzle.

Obi-Wan glanced at his guide. Lvet was tall and dark, sporting the same multicolored eyes and sleek, sturdy build as the rest of the people he had seen. "You have many questions," the Yangau said in response to Obi-Wan's unspoken question, amusement in his voice. "You are wondering how I can speak your language."

"Yes," Obi-Wan admitted. "Among others things."

"Ours is a very old civilization, Master Jedi," Lvet replied as they continued toward their destination. "We have developed ways to understand those around us. You will understand everything soon."

The Jedi Master nodded, forcing himself to be patient.

Moments later they paused in front a building that looked to be more advanced than any he had seen. Entering, Obi-Wan's mouth opened as he realized that it was made of the same material as Célosige, the walls being a translucent black with green veins running through them.

"Your friends are here," Lvet said as they finally stopped in front of a door, gesturing that Obi-Wan should enter. "It is important that you take this time to rest as you will meet with the Elders soon."

Nodding, Obi-Wan moved forward. As soon as he entered, he shivered at the temperature of the room. He had only taken a few steps before he stopped, his heart nearly failing at the sight in front of him; a grinning and very happy Padmé sat in a chair of black and silver next to a very awake and very healthy looking Anakin Skywalker.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, rushing to his friend's side, uncaring that his joy was less than dignified. "You're awake! You're… you're fine."

"Yeah," the Knight beamed at him, white teeth shining in the light of the room. "Apparently this illness is old news here. It's similar to the ancient polio virus that we learned about as Padawans. Polio was devastating until the creation of a vaccine eradicated it, but everyone received the treatment until it disappeared completely. The illness that I had is similar, and everyone gets vaccinated at birth to avoid catching it. It only took one incredibly painful shot before I started to feel better. I'm going to need a few more procecures because it took so long to treat, but the physician said I should be good as new in no time. After everything we went through to get rid of it, it seems surreal that it would be this easy. "

Obi-Wan said nothing, could only stand and smile like an idiot at his friend. "Thank the Force," he said with heartfelt vigor.

Padmé grinned, moving close to Anakin and nuzzling his hair.

There was a knock at the door.

"Enter," Anakin called, returning his wife's embrace.

"I'm very sorry to interrupt. I am Lvet, your guide for the duration of your stay on Yangau. I thought you would have more time to recover from your journey, but the Elders would like to meet the Sith'ari as soon as he is able," Lvet said apologetically as he entered the room silently.

"The Sith'ari?" Padmé echoed, eyebrows rising. "I'm sorry but there's no one by that name here."

"It is not a name but a title, or it will be his title when he has reclaimed his throne," Lvet's brows were furrowed in confusion. "Is that not the principle reason you came here?"

"You have the wrong people and the wrong time frame," Anakin said uneasily, glancing furtively at Padmé and Obi-Wan.

Lvet stared at them for a moment, his eyes wide before beginning to back away, murmuring, "…he doesn't know."

"Can you please explain what's going on?" Padmé asked gently.

Lvet hesitated and then shook his head. "It's not my place."

"Please," Padmé implored him. "We need to know why you think we're here."

Lvet paused for a moment, torn. Then, he took a deep breath, "You'll need to know anyway, so I will tell you. The Yangau, as you know, is a very ancient civilization. Each and every one of us is born with a strong affinity to the Light Side of the Force. Our counterparts, the Sith, have a strong affinity to the Dark Side of the Force."

"So, the Sith exist here too?" Obi-Wan asked with a groan.

"Yes," Lvet nodded. "Indeed, they originated here, as did all Force users. Our legends say that at first, there was only the Yangau, but like all who are capable of sensing and using the Force's energy, some fell to the side that is without light. At one time, so many fell that they broke off, no longer believing in the teachings of peace and restraint, but taking their violence and creating an entirely new society. For a long time, the two were apart and the Yangau believed that the Sith had died out. But that was until they established contact about 30,000 years after they left."

"Oh!" Padmé exclaimed suddenly. "Speaking of time, what is a trec?"

"One trec would equal two of your months,"

"What?" the three of them exclaimed in unison, shocked to their very core.

"Time moves differently here," the Yangau explained. "And the ship in which you travelled can transverse the natural laws of space travel. It is truly a special vessel."

"Wow," Obi-Wan murmured, shaking his head. "That's mind-boggling."

"Everything about the ship will be revealed in time," Lvet promised with a small smile before continuing. "Now the Sith, as they called themselves, established their own empire. It was a heartless one that followed the rule of might; the strongest clan controlled the rest, the strongest being determined in an all-out death match called the Proelium. In this competition, each clan that vied for rule was required to put forth their most cunning member. The winner ruled all of the Sith.

"After re-establishing contact with them, we watched them for a long time and could not understand how they did not destroy themselves; it was a world full of backstabbing and death, one completely void of honor.

"It remained that way for many years until one clan, the Caeli Ambulavi, stepped forward, insisting that the Force had chosen them. They declared that one of their seers had foreseen that a leader, called the Sith'ari, would come out of their house and establish a rule that would make the Sith greater than they had ever been before.

"They even managed to identify which subfamily the child would come from, thus naming them the first family, and heirs to the throne. You might be familiar with the legend of the Sith'ari…" Lvet paused as he called the words of the ancient prophecy to mind. "The Sith'ari will be free of limits, the Sith'ari will lead the Sith and destroy them, the Sith'ari will raise the Sith from death and make them stronger than before."

"I knew I recognized the title, Sith'ari," Obi-Wan exclaimed, rubbing his chin. "According to the Sith that we know, the Sith'ari has already come. It was Darth Bane, right?"

"We've heard of this Darth Bane," Lvet replied distastefully, his elegant features twisting into a frown. "He is no Sith'ari, merely a man who was persuasive enough to make others believe his sad delusions. The Sith that live in your plane are merely offshoots of the Sith in this plane; none but an original Sith can be the Sith'ari."

"You said plane," Padmé stated curiously.

"Yes," the darker sentient paused as though looking for a way to explain it. "Think of a building that has many levels; the planes of existence are levels with the top and bottom levels being the Force and the Land of Weeping and Sorrow, respectively. The Force would be your heaven, the Land of Weeping and Sorrow, your hell."

Padmé's eyes widened and the Yangau laughed at the look on her face. "Do not worry, milady. One cannot reach the Force plane and the Sorrow plane until death or unless they wish for death, for as soon as you pass into it, your body is no more."

"I thought there was nothing but the Force after death," Anakin responded with a frown.

"This is correct," Lvet agreed. "The Land of Weeping and Sorrow is part of the Force; it's simply the place where the bad guys go to receive punishment for their horrible deeds in life. After they have been sufficiently purged of their evil, they are able to rejoin the Force."

"But back to the matter at hand. The other Sith clans did not welcome the Caeli Ambulavi's prophecy, but mocked them and ignored their words. But that did not stop the House of Caeli Ambulavi. Through sheer might and force of will, they established themselves as Sith royalty by winning the Proelium for generation after generation."

"It made the Sith wonder, but it made the Yangau do so as well. It was then that we began to investigate their claims through our own seers. What we found shocked and confounded us. The Caeli Ambulavi were right."

"Really?" Padmé replied, eyebrows rising.

"Yes," Lvet confirmed. "We were surprised as well. Our seers received the same prophecy as the Caeli Ambuvali; a ruler would come from that house and completely restructure their society, but in the end, would bring them prosperity the likes of which they had never experienced."

"Why do I have a feeling that the other Sith clans did not accept this lying down?" Anakin murmured uneasily.

"They didn't," Lvet confirmed flatly. "Tragedy struck the Caeli Ambuvali as one of the clans finally decided to end their rule. A disease came that touched only that family. It devastated them and as their numbers dwindled, the House of Caeli Ambuvali sought to protect the only heir of the first family; her name was Ebya T'dell.

"Desperate to save their heir, the Caeli Ambuvalis sent Ebya T'dell to a different plane hoping to keep her safe. She traveled on a living ship meant to obey and listen to her commands and carry her to a safe haven until such time as the Caeli Ambuvali replenished their numbers and were able to protect her from the rest of the clans."

"But Ebya T'dell, as well as her protectors, disappeared off of the living ship and was lost. There are only four such ships in existence that can transverse the planes and Célosige was the only vessel that the Sith possessed, so there was no way for them to search for her. The Caeli Ambuvali did replenish their numbers, but with the rightful heir was gone, it caused dissension within the clan and once again threw the whole world into chaos.

"Although the Sith were unable to find her, we have powerful seers here and so were able to glean what had happened to her."

Lvet paused for a moment to look at the three of them, his gaze resting and staying on Anakin. "The ship was attacked and she was captured, losing her memory in the resulting skirmish. Both she and the ship were sold, the ship to the government of the plane and the heir, to a planet that had little water."

Padmé's heart nearly failed her as something about the story clicked in her mind. She began to shake her head in denial. "That's impossible," she whispered, turning to stare at her husband. "Isn't that impossible?"

"But it makes sense, doesn't it?" Lvet asked her, knowing that the perceptive woman had figured out the truth.

"What are you two talking about?" Anakin demanded, annoyance beginning to filter into his voice. "If you would enlighten the rest of us?"

The Yangau took a deep breath as he prepared to drop the proverbial bomb, "Without any memory of herself or her power, Ebya T'dell subconsciously took on that plane's version of her real name."

Lvet paused and took a deep breath, "In Basic, Caeli Ambulavi means to walk the heavens, or to walk the skies. She took the name surname, 'Skywalker'."

The resulting silence at that revelation could have felled every tree on Endor.

"No," Anakin began emphatically, shaking his head. "No! You don't mean, you can't mean—"

"Haven't you ever wondered why you couldn't control your rage?" Lvet asked softly, staring at Anakin intently. "Why it was so difficult to turn from the Dark Side when your mother seemed to have not a violent bone in her body?"

Obi-Wan merely stared at Anakin with a mouth that could have comfortably housed a gundark.

"You feel different from all the Jedi around you; you don't fear or dread the Dark Side as they do and you have even used it on occasion right along side the Light Side," Lvet said solemnly, his eyes shinning a solid blue for a moment before regaining its many colors. "That's because you, Anakin Skywalker, are the Chosen One, the son of Ebya T'dell, the heir to the House of Caeli Ambulavi. You are the true and rightful heir to the throne of the Sith. You, my lord, are the Sith'ari."

Padmé and Obi-Wan turned to look at Anakin, the man who they had met as a slave, who had risen through the ranks of the Jedi to become one the most decorated soldiers in the Order, but had suddenly taken on a completely new dimension to his character.

In turn, Anakin Skywalker stared at them, unable to process what Lvet had just revealed about him, his mind going completely blank. Never in his wildest dreams could he have even imagined…

He honestly wanted nothing more than to stare into nothingness and pretend that what Lvet had said was about a completely different person, but his comrades were obviously expecting something, so he said the only thing that he could. "Oh. Hell."

End of Chosen: Restoration

A/N: Okay! This is the end of the first part of the "Chosen" series. I hoped you enjoyed it. It is up to you guys, of course, if I will be continuing with the rest of the series (review… hint, hint). There are some exciting developments ahead, so please add me on twitter, or follow me on my website as updates will be announced there.

I do want to let you know that I will not be posting chapters for the next part of this fic, Chosen: Proelium, on this siteuntil it is completely finished, so it won't be up for a long while. Updates on its status will be given periodically on my other fics.

I really, really want to thank everyone who reviewed for these fics; you guys are amazing and I cannot even begin to tell you how much I appreciate the effort you made to be encouraging. Since I am a review banshee, I never would have finished this fic without you guys' determination to be supportive.

I did not have one person who reviewed every chapter, but I had several who did a great deal. They are as follows:

Glee Plane, frenchfan78, Rachie81, Skatious, IDLV, padawanlearner123, Young at Heart 21, sodorland, LynnO.o, kkan, Zireael07, IDLV, TACAitsH, Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay, Anakin-Jason-Skywalker-Kenobi, IDLV, O..verP..owered, chucknotsteve, dragonball 256, Grow-to-be, Painted Orchid, Serina Tsuki, JourneyRocks13, Mo Angel, BANE19, ebonyXivory777.

The biggest reviewers were Jedi-Master Misty Sman-Easy, angie, Young at Heart 21 and Anakin-Jason-Skywalker-Kenobi. These wonderful people reviewed nearly every single chapter.

You guys get top honors. I wanted to find some way to really thank you, so I've decided to post chapters of Chosen: Prolieum on my website: The Word Chisel, as I finish them, much like I did for Chosen: Restoration. It will be password protected, so those of you who are on the lists above can PM me and I will provide it to you if you wish to get a head start and read it soon as the chapters are finished, instead of having to wait for the whole fic to be completed.

If I missed your name in the above lists and you think you should be there, please PM me. I apologize in advance; charge it to my head, not my heart.

All of you guys can be my beta readers and give me a little feedback on the story's progression. I know you'll do it there because you do it here! So, thank you guys again; I hope this effort on my part is sufficient in showing my appreciation.

WrittinInStone

***Acknowledgements***

Thank you to all the betas who helped me on this project: LordAedan, authorwithissues, Young at Heart21 and TACAitsH. I could not have done this without your red pens and support.

I would also like to thank Anakin-Jason-Skywalker-Kenobi. She is so amazing I can hardly stand it, lol. Thank you for your conversations, encouragement and determination to make me smile.