Luke shifted out of his meditation as he felt a shift in the Force. Cracking open an eye, he scanned his surroundings, wondering what had distracted him.

He reached for Leia in his mind to see if her part of the plan had succeeded and jerked back when he discovered she had been captured.

Maybe Anakin had been right. Maybe it was a stupid plan.

Speaking of Anakin...

Luke turned to see the man still slumped against the rock, out cold from whatever had shocked him enough to pass out.

Sighing, Luke rose to his feet, dusting the gritty sand off of his robes and staring at Anakin's unconscious form. Quickly, he tried shaking the man again, this time with a tad bit more violence.

Luke was relatively surprised when he managed to wake up Anakin in a matter of two minutes. But each second still counted in his plan...

He watched Anakin curiously as he woke up slowly, blinking and taking in his surroundings rather fuzzily.

"P-Padmé?" He croaked, obviously thinking he was somewhere else.

Luke smiled, not knowing who Padmé was and hating to rain on Anakin's parade that he was not with whoever that person was. "Nope. Just me."

Anakin blinked the crust out of his eyes and let his vision settle on the boy, Luke, the boy who also had the same last name as Anakin, therefore making him an ancestor of some sort.

Luke had mentioned his father's name being Anakin as well...maybe it had blossomed into the future generations of the Skywalker family, a name passed down through the years...but judging what year the boy said it was, Anakin had a fuzzy thought that it was probably just wishful thinking.

But this boy couldn't possibly be...

'Ani...I'm pregnant.'

Anakin's wife's voice echoed through his mind and he winced, remembering the memory all too well and the nightmare that had accompanied it. Padmé dying in childbirth...Anakin left alone to raise their child...most likely an expulsion from the Jedi Order...

Anakin shuddered visibly, much to Luke's worry. Something was definitely plaguing the man, he just wasn't sure what. Luke hesitated on his words, not knowing what to say, but knowing that he had to get inside Jabba's palace now. He couldn't wait for this stranger to get himself together and then save his friends.

"Oh." Anakin whispered silently, shakily getting to his feet. Luke moved forward to help, but Anakin pushed him away, bracing one hand on the rock he had been leaning against. "You...you said you had to rescue a friend of yours?"

Luke blinked, "Um...yes. And I offered you a ride if you helped me...but then you threatened me and passed out."

"I did?" Anakin asked, rubbing a small knot that was forming on the back of his head. His long, dark blonde hair was tangled with sweat and sand, and he found himself grimacing.

"Yes...look, I'm sure you're a great guy and all, but my friends are waiting on me." Luke said, looking nervously towards Jabba's palace.

Anakin sighed, not really knowing what was happening and if it was real or not. The Force was obviously trying to tell him something...something about his future. But if this Luke kid was really his son...

He stared at the boy, his golden locks shining in the dual suns of Tatooine. He did look eerily like him...and a little of Padmé as well if he really thought about it.

Luke seemed to be hesitant to talk about his past, making Anakin all the more curious...and worried. Why was the boy alone? And these friends of his...were they trustworthy? Anakin felt a whirl of protectiveness overcome him and he reminded himself to later find some sort of medcenter to confirm his suspicions of relation to Luke.

Since he suspected time-travel, he kept his identity a secret from the boy...for now at least.

"I'll help." Anakin blurted, catching Luke by surprise. Then the boy's youthful face blossomed into a wide smile.

"Alright, let me explain the plan one more time."

***

Luke and Anakin crouched outside the gate to Jabba's palace, their lightsabers gone and placed in the proper location for Luke's plan to go off without a hitch. Anakin was about to use the Force to open the door when Luke pulled his hand back. Anakin looked at him in confusion.

"I just wanted to know...I never got your last name." Luke whispered. Anakin scowled.

"That's important now!?" Anakin whispered back rather harshly. Luke blushed.

"I just...in case we don't make it out." Luke mumbled. Anakin rolled his eyes at the comment.

"Aren't you optimistic? I thought you said this was a good plan." Anakin said, his sarcasm leaking out.

"It is a good plan...but then you showed up and started doubting it. How'd you get here anyways?" Luke asked, his eyes twinkling with curiosity. Anakin sighed.

"I'm not sure. And it's...Naberrie. Anakin Naberrie." Anakin whispered back, using his wife's maiden name as an alias and preparing to open the large door with the Force. Luke already knew that Anakin was a Jedi and probably thought a few things about his mental health as well, so it was alright for Anakin to openly use the Force. Jowever, he found himself hesitant to us it because of how empty he felt. Even though Luke's Force signature was such a beacon of light, Anakin still felt a sort of void in his chest as if something was missing, something important.

Obi-Wan...Padmé...the Jedi Council...all their Force signatures....gone.

"Naberrie. Sounds familiar for some reason. Well, May the Force be With You Anakin Naberrie...and thank you." Luke said. Anakin turned to the boy and blinked, staring at the genuine trust in the boy's azure eyes. Anakin sighed, thinking back to those last few seconds before he had time-traveled.

Had he really been about to kill Master Windu? What had been thinking?

But Padmé...

"Anytime. I'm sure this will blossom into an interesting companionship, Luke." Anakin said, glad he could make the boy chuckle.

"Come on, we've got work to do." Luke said, closing his eyes and delving deep into the Force...Anakin's Force signature still not registering clearly in the boy's mind. There were several mind blocks in place around his signature...so who was he exactly?

Luke was beginning to think he'd never know. But as the giant iron door opened ominously above them and his friend's Force signatures shone in his mind, all his thoughts drifted to his task at hand.

He could not fail.

***

Noisily, the main gate lifted to flood the blackness of the hallway with blinding light,  revealing the silhouetted figures of Luke and Anakin. Both men were clad in their dark robes and strode purposefully and silently into the hallway. Two giant guards moved to block their path and the Jedi halted, staring down the Gamorreans. Anakin nodded at Luke and the boy raised his hand, pointing at the puzzled guards who immediately lowered their spears and fell back. Luke lowered his hand and moved on down the hallway, Anakin at his heels.

Bib Fortuna appeared out of the gloom. He attempted to speak to Luke and Anakin as they approached him, but neither man stopped and Bib reversed his direction. He hurried alongside the Jedi in order to carry on the one-sided conversation. Several other guards fell in behind them in the darkness.

"We must speak with Jabba." Luke said calmly, much to Anakin's surprise. He could sense the boy's nerves though, seeing the trembling of his shoulders. Obviously these friends of his were very important to him. Anakin wanted desperately to reassure Luke with a pat on the shoulder, but he couldn't reveal the boy's weakness to the enemy.

Bib answered in Huttese, shaking his head in denial. Luke stopped and glared at Bib; he raised his hand slightly. "You will take me to Jabba now!" He practically shouted. Anakin blinked at the sheer power behind the Force suggestion, staring at Luke rather warily. Was this how other Jedi responded to Anakin when he got angry? And was it really the dark side?

The Twi'lek's eyes glazed over and he turned in hypnotic response to Luke's command, Luke following and gesturing for Anakin to come.

"You serve your master well." Luke reassured Bib, still talking in a Force suggestion.

"I serve my Master well." Bib responded in Huttese, still a little glazed.

"And you will be rewarded." Luke whispered again.

"And I will be rewarded." Bib said, looking like he would collapse soon.

"Not too much, suggestions are rather harsh on the mind." Anakin said under his breath, looking directly at Luke. Luke glanced up and seemed to notice that he was still whispering things to the Twi'lek.

"Oh. Sorry. I'll let up." He said sheepishly, still looking nervous.

"Don't be so tight, I can sense your nerves." Anakin said again, pausing as they finally reached the throne room.

But Luke barely heard him that time. His eyes were locked dead on a beautiful, young girl dressed in a skimpy costume of a dancing girl. A chain with a manacle attached ran from her throat to her sleeping Master, Jabba the Hutt, and Anakin winced in sympathy, knowing all too well what it was liked to be owned by someone. He couldn't help the anger that blossomed in him at the sight, but Luke's anger was far more profound.

"Leia." slipped out from under Luke's breath and Anakin realized that this girl was no mere slave. She must've been one of the friends Luke had come for. But for some reason...the woman looked scarily like Padmé. The thought unnerved him, and he reassured himself with the knowledge that his wife was safe at home...albeit 23 years in the past. However, that wasn't the only thing Anakin noticed.

A rather familiar golden protocol droid stood behind Jabba, looking strangely nervous for a droid, and constantly casting his gaze around the room.

Threepio? Anakin thought with unveiled shock.

"At last! Master Luke's come to rescue me. And...who is that?" Threepio exclaimed when he caught sight of the Jedi.

"Master." Bib whispered to Jabba, ignoring the droid.

Jabba awakened with a start and Bib continued, in Huttese. "...Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight. And he has a companion...although I'm not sure who. I assume another Jedi."

"I told you not to admit him." Jabba growled.

"I must be allowed to speak." Luke pressed, pressing his Force suggestion against Bib's mind again, not caring about the consequences. What they did to Leia...He locked eyes with the princess who was looking at him with questioning brown eyes. She jerked her head in Anakin's direction and Luke simply shrugged, the gesture telling her that he had no idea who Anakin was and to just go with it, that he's trustworthy.

"He must be allowed to speak." Bib repeated, his voice, even in Huttese, monotonous under the Force suggestion.

Jabba, furious, clobbered Bib and shoved him away. "You weak-minded fool! He's using an old Jedi mind trick."

Luke glared hard at the Hutt lord. He pulled his hood down rather dramatically as Anakin continued to remain silent behind him, his hood still up. Anakin wasn't really sure if his face was still recognizable by the public after 23 years, surely they would know he should have aged and get suspicious, however, these were a bunch of drunks with not much focus on their surroundings. He had encountered Jabba before though, remembering nostalgically that first mission he had had with Ahsoka, and he wasn't going to risk revealing his identity. The Force was silently telling him he was in this time period to learn and observe, helping only when needed. He did so without hesitation, interested in what was happening anyways. It was more action than he had gotten in a while at least...minus the Battle of Coruscant of course. And the boy was apparently his son...Padmé's and his creation! The idea still befuddled him. However, he would admit that he was slightly disappointed that Padmé had won the guessing game at the gender of the baby...he had been so sure it was going to be a girl.

"You will bring Captain Solo and the Wookiee to me." Luke's words brought Anakin out of his thoughts, and he focused back on the scene in front of him.

"Your mind powers will not work on me, boy." Jabba growled, glaring at Luke, and occasionally glancing at Anakin with a wary eye, as if the man would suddenly spring up and attack everyone on sight.

"Nevertheless, I'm taking Captain Solo and his friends. You can either profit by this... or be destroyed. It's your choice. But I warn you not to underestimate my powers." Luke said darkly, his blue eyes ablaze with anger at the treatment of the princess. She didn't deserve this, not to be in that terrible metal bikini and pressed against Jabba's slimy body like she was some doll. In fact, he was so engrossed in his anger, that he barely heard Jabba's rumbling laugh...nor Threepio's warning.

Anakin noticed it a split second before Threepio did, his senses blaring suddenly and the Force shrieking a warning.

"There will be no bargain, young Jedi. I shall enjoy watching you and your friend die." Jabba said, reaching for a button on his throne. Luke reached out suddenly, and a pistol jumped out of a guard's holster and flew into Luke's hand. The bewildered guard grabbed for it as Jabba pressed his hand down.

"Luke!" Anakin cried, grabbing for the boy's arm as the floor fell away, but only managing to fall right along with Luke and the guard who had tried to grab his blaster from Luke's hand. In the guard's attempt to grab the blaster, Luke's finger instinctively squeezed the trigger and it blasted a burn mark in the ceiling as they fell.

Jabba laughed and his courtiers joined in. Leia started forward with worry but was restrained by a human guard--Lando, still in his diguise. She looked at him and he shook his head "no."

Anakin, Luke, and the guard fell all 25 feet through the chute and into the dungeon-like cage below. Luke and Anakin got to their feet as the guard yelled hysterically for help. A crowd gathered up around the edge of the pit as the door in the side of the pit started to rumble open. The guard screamed in panic.

"This should be interesting." Anakin muttered to himself, glad that his hood had decided to fall down after he fallen through the chute. The spectators weren't really getting much of a view through the grating they were looking through anyways. Luke, meanwhile, was looking rather frantically around, hoping to locate an escape of some sort.

"Oh, no! The Rancor!" Threepio exclaimed rather unhelpfully from above. At the side of the pit, an iron door rumbled upward and a giant, fanged Rancor emerged. The guard sprinted to the side of the pit, despite his plump figure, and tried futilely to scramble to the top. The hideous beast closed in on him, ignoring Anakin and Luke for the moment. But the Jedi weren't stupid. They knew as soon as the Rancor was finished with the Gamorrean, it would move straight for them.

The guard continued to scramble, but the Rancor picked him up effortlessly and popped him into its slavering jaws. A few screams were heard until they were silenced with a sickening crunch, and the guard was swallowed with a gulp. The audience above cheered and laughed at the guard's fate, now waiting for the Jedi to meet the same one.

The monster turned and started for Luke next. The young Jedi swore and dashed away just ahead of the monster's swipe at him. Anakin, noticing his son's dilemma, picked up a long arm bone of an earlier victim. The monster grabbed Luke and brought him up to his salivating mouth. Luke winced at the smell, struggling futilely. The boy was simply too small to break out of a grasp that strong. At the last moment, Anakin used the Force to jump higher and wedged the bone into the monster's mouth. The Rancor dropped Luke and bellowed in rage, flailing about and hitting the side of the pit, causing an avalanche. Luke hit the floor rather hard, and Anakin winced at the thump he heard as Luke's head connected with the solid floor.

Almost as soon as it was in his jaw, the Rancor crushed the bone and glared at Anakin, who cursed and dove towards a crevice in the pit wall. Luke sat up with a groan and looked past the monster to the holding cave beyond. On the far side of the holding cave, he saw a utility door--if only he could get to it. The Rancor spotted Anakin in his hiding place, and barely noticed the other Jedi. It reached into the crevice for Anakin, but Luke grabbed a large rock and threw it, smashing it down on the Rancor's finger.

The Rancor let out a loud howl as Luke made a run for the holding cave. Anakin quickly ran after the boy, ducking around the Rancor's arms as the creature was distracted by its pain. Luke reached the door and pushed a button to open it. When he succeeded, he saw a heavy barred gate between him and safety. Beyond the gate two guards looked up from their dinner. Luke turned to see Anakin heading for him, the monster behind him. Swearing, Luke pulled with all his might on the gate. The guards move to the gate and start poking at the young Jedi with spears, laughing. Anakin appeared behind the boy then, pushing back at the guards and helping Luke to pull against the grate.

Luke crouched against the wall as the monster started to reach for him and Anakin. Suddenly he noticed a main door control panel halfway up the wall. He pointed at it so Anakin would see, trying to calm his breathing as the Rancor moved in for the kill. Anakin picked up a skull from the cave floor and hurled it at the panel.

The giant overhead door came crashing down on the beast's head, squashing it like a sledgehammer on an egg. A startled gasp was heard from the stunned court. Heads looked to Jabba, who was turning red with fuming anger. Leia sighed in relief, glad to see Luke and his companion were alright. Jabba scowled at the princess' happiness and jerked rather harshly on her chain. She choked as she fell back, casting a long glare at the Hutt. Jabba ignored the woman's glare and uttered harsh commands to his guards who quickly scurried off. "Bring me Solo and the Wookiee. They will all suffer for this outrage."

Down below, the Rancor keepers came into the cage and were examining their dead beast. One of them broke down and wept. The other glared menacingly at Luke and Anakin, who were unworried. Several guards rushed into the holding tunnel and took both Jedi away, but not before Anakin quickly threw his hood back over his head, concealing his face once again.

***

The crowd of creepy courtiers parted as Han and Chewie were brought into the throne room, and other guards dragged Luke and Anakin up the steps. Luke noticed Han and smiled in relief. "Han!"

Han looked up at the familiar voice and looked around, still unable to see. "Luke!"

"Are you all right?" Luke asked, wondering why Han wasn't looking directly at him, the man's hazel eyes scanning more around Luke's general direction than his actual face.

"Fine. Together again, huh?" Han said with a faint smirk. Anakin quirked an eyebrow in confusion, wondering how the man, who was obviously Corellian based off his faint accent, could be so optimistic. He also wondered how the man, Han, as Luke had said, knew his son in the first place.

"Wouldn't miss it." Luke said in response to Han's quip.

"How are we doing?" Han asked.

"The same as always." Luke said. "By the way, this is Anakin. He's helping us."

Han cast his blind gaze around, and just barely made out a fuzzy figure standing next to the other fuzzy figure with Luke's voice. "Oh well, nice of you to join us. According to Luke, I guess we're in a bit of a snag."

"Just a bit." Anakin replied.

"Where's Leia?" Han asked Luke, thoroughly concerned for the princess. Jabba could be doing anything to her...

Luke looked to Leia still sitting on the dais, and she spoke up after hearing her name. "I'm here."

Threepio was standing behind the grotesque gangster as he stroked Leia like a pet cat. Several of the guards, including Lando, brought Luke and Anakin from the other side of the room. Boba was standing behind Jabba, watching the scene calculatingly. Threepio stepped forward hesitantly and translated for the captives.

"Oh, dear. His High Exaltedness, the great Jabba the Hutt, has decreed that you are to be terminated immediately." Threepio said.

"Good, I hate long waits." Han said with a roll of his eyes. Anakin chuckled lightly.

"You will therefore be taken to the Dune Sea and cast into the pit of Carkoon, the nesting place of the all-powerful Sarlacc." Threepio continued.

"Doesn't sound so bad." Han murmured. Obviously this Han character hasn't been on Tatooine much, Anakin thought.

"In his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering, as you are slowly digested over a thousand years." Threepio finished. Eyes fell on Han as he slowly took back his previous comment.

"On second thought, let's pass on that, huh?" Han said sheepishly. Chewbacca barked in agreement.

"You should have bargained, Jabba. That's the last mistake you'll ever make." Luke snapped at Jabba, hoping that his plan would still work after all these setbacks. As long as Artoo still had the hidden lightsabers...wherever that blasted droid was...

He glanced over at Anakin, who gave him a reassuring smile. Luke sighed...there was something about the strange man he just couldn't put his finger on.

Jabba's evil cackle interrupted his thoughts and he groaned as more guards grabbed his arms and led him and his friends from the throne room. A loud cheer rose from the crowd and he caught Anakin rolling his eyes. Leia and Chewbacca exchanged concerned glances as the three human men walked forward, the Wookiee right behind them.

They could only hope the plan would work.

***

A/N

SOOOO sorry for the wait.

BTW, I did end up meeting Peter Mayhew, which was AWESOME.

But yeah, I'm trying to get faster updates, I promise.

Skiff scene next, yay!

PS - THANKS FOR 5K ON REDEMPTION!!!

May the Force be with You,
- lucky_ducky_123