The first thing to activate for him was his hearing. He couldn't remember when or why, but somehow he was able to hear a constant beeping noise, or were they noises? He didn't know, didn't really care. Where was he? He couldn't seem to smell much of anything. For some reason he was afraid to open his eyes. Was he afraid of what he might see? Why? Why would he unconsciously be afraid of what he might see with his eyes. Then it came back to him. Crashing on his brain like a giant wave. He had died. Been murdered. There was nothing honorable about it here. You weren't sent off into an important battle, or dying fighting for something. It wasn't even a battle or a fight that you died in. It was an ambush. One minute everything was going as smooth as normal, and the next minute, everything was going to hell. There was nothing glorious about it, nothing great, despite what some people would have you believe. 

It was unfair, most importantly, it was maddening. It angered him greatly. What an outrageous way to lose your life, despite the fact that it was him that decided to live this way in the first place. It was with this anger and this hatred for the way his life was coming to an end, he found focus through the force. All he could remember feeling was rage at this outcome. He didn't even belong here, all he wanted in the beginning when he got here was to get to his home, yet here he was, face down, dead from some unprovoked attack. Now with his return to consciousness he realized his situation had changed dramatically. 

He was still alive but things were different. Finally deciding to rip the band-aid off, he opened his eyes and realized he didn't quite see the same as he usually did. His vision was clear, yet hindered at the same time. He realized he was looking through something, behind lenses of some sort. Then as feeling returned to him he realized his whole body felt tight, like it was in a suit that was squeezing him. His lips were parted and he realized that inside of the helmet or mask, he had on his head and face, there was a breathing machine inside of it. He quickly tested it by not breathing through it and he realized that when he didn't he couldn't hear himself breathing. Trying to breathe through his nose was met with great difficulty, so he resumed breathing through his mouth into the machine. 

"Good, you're awake." A voice said randomly from his side. 

Anakin went to snap his head in the direction the voice came from, but found that to be difficult too. So he ended up slowly turning his head to face the voice, only to see Mario, the bartender he first ran into when he landed on this planet standing over him and looking him over. This brought him more confusion, but he relaxed a bit. That was until he tried to sit up and realized he was strapped down to this hard surface he was on. He began to try to move his arms to his body, but found that it wasn't possible as they too were strapped down. He tried to pull against the restraints with some success, before he was interrupted by the voice again. 

"Easy." He commanded calmly. His voice was gentle yet firm at the same time. "If you keep at it, you'll only cause more damage to yourself." 

It was then Anakin realized the pain shooting through his body at his own flailing. He let out a grunt as he tried to lay flat again, and he heard it through the same machine that his breathing was. It didn't sound like himself though, it sounded more mechanical. He decided to test his thoughts in his head, and also see if he could indeed speak through the breathing machine. 

"Where am I?" He asked simply, but he almost jumped back at the sound of the words coming from his mouth. 

It didn't sound like him at all but it did sound very mechanical and monotone at the same time. It didn't frighten him but it did shock him.

"You are safe. I can tell you that much. You're at a healing place. We found you, shot and on the verge of dying. You were strong though, your will to live kept you alive long enough for us to make the proper equipment to keep you alive, and further develop equipment to do the job permanently, or at least until you take too much damage, or the machines running through your body stop working." Mario explained.

Vader took a moment to try and digest everything that the man he'd met long ago was telling him, but he didn't have long before Mario continued. 

"Or at least that's the medical terms for everything down here, but we both know there's more to you than just medical equipment and such right?" Mario asked ominously. 

The way he framed the question, and with the knowing smirk on his face it seemed like there was more to what he was saying than he was letting on at the particular moment. Anakin had no choice but to bite.

"What do you mean?" He asked. 

This broadened the smirk on Mario's face. 

"There's more running through your body than just blood. A little something special called the force?" He responded. He phrased the end like a question or like he wasn't sure what he was talking about but the smirk on his face was more than telling enough for Anakin to not know any better. 

"What do you know of the force?" He asked, his voice sounding a bit more intimidating due to the uneven tone he now had and thanks to the machine altering his voice. His breathing also picked up a tad. 

"I know of the force, have knew about it even before you started working for me. Now I'm not sensitive to it like you might be thinking, that's why you didn't sense any of it in me, but I do know of it. Like you, I am not originally of this place, but unlike you, I have been here for much longer. I'm much more used to the ways of this planet and it's people, and much more capable of fitting into this place than you are it seems." Mario answered. 

This piqued Anakin's curiosity. In any other circumstance he'd be asking question after question, but finding himself strapped to a medical table of some sort, he had more pressing issues. He forced himself to calm down and relax, he squashed down his curiosity for the time being. Him being helpless in this situation reminded him of all the helplessness he felt since he'd arrived here as Anakin. He truly was helpless then, and he was even more helpless now. He should be dead, what business did he have being alive. He let out a long exhale through the machine, that was like a sigh but didn't sound like it due to the machine. 

Mario picked up on this. He stepped up to the medical table and begun undoing the straps that held Anakin down to the table. 

"That sounds like despair, or depression. Sure the machine makes your breathing sound a bit different, but anyone who's been around for as long as I have, picks up a thing or two when it comes to reading body language." Mario pointed out. 

"Why am I even here? What purpose do I serve being brought back here. I couldn't stop anything. I couldn't save anyone, I couldn't get back home, I couldn't even save myself." Anakin complained.

It sounded funny with his voice being the way it was and him running off complaint after complaint, and if it were any other time Mario would've made joke after joke about it, but there was a purpose behind him saving this man. 

"There is great purpose for you and in you. You weren't saved by some accident or some random act of kindness. You were selected. Your will to live is what cinched it, but you were always a prospect, a great prospect." Mario replied. 

"A prospect of what?" Anakin asked disbelieving. 

He didn't believe that at all. He failed as a Jedi, getting lost and already trying to battle off his own darkness. Near the end, it was all mostly him relying on other people to keep the light in his life. He'd done things he was sure the council wouldn't have approved of. He got lost in the first place and ended up on this planet or universe or wherever he was, abandoning his post and leaving behind his friends and family, and the war. He came here to meet new people he cared about and watched them all die and or not be able to protect any of them either. What the hell could he possibly be a prospect of failure? That was a cruel joke, and it didn't sit well with him. 

"A prospect to someone of great importance where we come from, a prospect to a fallen order, a prospect, of the Sith empire." Mario answered. 

Anakin's eyes widened behind the mask. His breath skipped and it was heard aloud. He was really beginning to hate this thing. 

"What?" He asked dumbfounded. 

He had done some very bad, very questionable things, but even he didn't think he'd fallen that far. The Sith were the Jedi's natural enemy. He'd been taught all his life to fight the Sith, how could he be apart of them? Why would he? 

"You want a purpose. You have it, just not as you are now. You've lived a life as Anakin Skywalker. You watched how it went, saw how it turned out. You were left for dead, unable to do anything you wanted to, unable to accomplish any of your dreams, any of your goals or ambitions, unable to save the ones you loved or the ones you cared about. But, when it came time for you to die, when you took your last breath, you gave into your anger, gave into your hatred. You hated what had happened to you, hated how useless you felt, hated the unfairness of your situation. 

That anger, that hatred, THAT is what kept you alive until we got to you. You're right. Right in the fact that you should be dead, for all intents and purposes, Anakin Skywalker IS dead. They had a funeral for you and everything. You have been given a chance to do it over, do it differently, to change your course of things this time around. Anger, hatred, those are traits of the dark side, traits of the Sith. Turn yourself over, create yourself anew, and this time... This time, you can have everything and then some." Mario said emphatically. 

Anakin thought over his words. He was right, right in damn near every aspect of what he was saying. Anakin was a failure, Anakin was trained to be a Jedi and he failed at it. He knew he should've been dead, he remembered dying. He didn't owe the order anything anymore, he'd left them behind pretty much when he landed in this place with no way to get home. Maybe there was promise in Mario's promise of using the darker side of the force. He didn't know anything about it. The only thing he knew about it, was that he was to stay away from it and what to look out for in people using it. It's why he knew when he used it to choke others, that wasn't a power he should've been capable of. It's why he was shocked to know that it was anger and hatred that had kept him alive. If all this were true then maybe this was the way to go. 

Nothing else seemed to make any sense. Nothing at all seemed to make much sense to him at this time. He knew he didn't want to live this life as a failure any longer, he knew he was tired of coming up short. He knew that he was tired of failing and letting people down, he was tired of letting himself down. He already seemed to be going in this direction, it seemed to provide him some good things in life, hell it saved his life, so why should he hold himself back? What logical reason did he have any longer to try and not learn something that could help him achieve the things he wanted. In his biggest moment of doubt, he had no reason to remain strong in his Jedi teachings. He had failed them, and they had failed him. 

"Fine, if you can help me to learn the dark side of the force then I will learn." Anakin answered simply but there was a strong resolve in his voice.

This brought out a genuine smile on Mario's face. He relaxed his posture some and looked approvingly at the younger man. 

"Good choice son. Good choice. If you are to go down this path and be completely reborn, it is best if you pick out a new name for yourself. You're going to want to cut all ties to your former life. In order for you to do that, you shouldn't be Anakin Skywalker, I guess it's perfect that Anakin Skywalker is considered dead. From this day forward you should be called something else. Usually Sith are given names by their Sith masters, but seeing as I am not a Sith myself, I will not give you a name. How about you choose one for yourself." Mario proposed. 

The man who was known as Anakin Skywalker all his life was now being asked to give himself a new name. It would be a complete restart, he'd be making himself anew. He closed his eyes to think clearly. Inside his mind there was a name that seemed to keep repeating itself in his head for some reason. He didn't know why, he didn't know where it came from. It was almost like destiny itself put it in his head. Maybe this whole thing was destiny? If so, who was he to fight it. He wouldn't do so any longer. He spoke it as simply as it said itself in his head. 

"Vader. From now on I shall be known as Vader."

The first thing Vader mastered was movement and mobility. The thing that made that the most complicated was the suit he now had to wear. The suit was purposely made too small for him, so that it'd be very tight and constricting on his body. The purpose behind it was the pain that it would cause him and constant irritation would keep him angry all the time. Mario had explained that it was his anger that gave him focus, that made him powerful, so if he was naturally angry then he would be naturally strong.  The plan made sense in theory, but it didn't provide any comfort to Vader. The suit was clunky in parts and tight in others which made moving very difficult, but given enough time, he was able to master it. The next thing he was set to master would be his combat ability. 

Again, the suit made this more difficult to master, his lack of energy and the fact that he now had to be careful of how winded he got didn't help either. The machines inside of the suit, helped to make Vader's breathing easier, which was crucial to keeping him alive, but they could only do so much. Vader was essentially living with a bullet in his lung. It was punctured and the shortness of breath came from that in itself. The breathing machine, along with the force being focused on healing him is what kept him alive and conscious, but it also caused him great pain. Too much exertion and even the machines attached to the suit may not be enough to sustain his life anymore. 

He found that his lightsaber had been taken and deconstructed. Mario told him it was for studying to understand the weapon. At first this greatly angered Vader, but he soon figured that they wouldn't know what to do with it. The technology was too far ahead for this planet. He wondered how they could even build these machines with their limited technology, and Mario explained that it was he that had recovered the ship Anakin had crashed into the planet when he first landed here. He idly wondered where Artoo had gone to if that was the case, and if he had been recovered by these people as well, but he didn't ask. If they hadn't known about the droid, he didn't want to be the person to bring it to their attention. 

Vader was currently in the training ground of the underground facility he was brought to, practicing sword swings and trying to preform his former feats. It was practically impossible, as all the forms he had been taught before required a lot of free movement. With his new suit and constrictions, he found that he couldn't perform the same feats as he was formerly able to. This frustrated Vader greatly and he begun to swing his sword with great anger and frustration. 

"It would seem you're doing well at learning a new heavy handed sword style, Vader." Mario spoke up from some place behind him. 

Vader was caught off guard and turned his head as quickly as he could in the direction the voice had come from. He was too angry and focused on working out his frustrations on the air that he didn't notice the man's approach. It didn't help that he was good at approaching without being noticed, but if Vader wasn't so focused on his sword swinging, he would've been able to sense the man approaching at least. Mario was only partially correct, in the fact that he was training in a more heavy handed style of swordsmanship, to add more power to his blows. His former form or style was to mix power, speed, and athletic ability all together in a heavily offensive style of combat. 

With the new suit being so constricting and loss of full mobility, not to mention his lack of stamina, it didn't Vader very long to figure out that wouldn't work in his current predicament. He could no longer compensate for so many extra unnecessary movements. He needed to find or compose a form that would allow his new build, and also get him straight to more lethal blows in a shorter time. He couldn't endure a long drawn out battle any longer. He also needed to learn more defensive techniques to protect both himself and his suit. It was a walking weakness that he couldn't do anything about, and even though it seemed like it would protect him, it actually offered very little in the form of protection. 

Vader would train certain techniques in secret, and even some in visualization training and put them to test when there weren't so many eyes around. As far as Mario knew, he was just training to be more heavy handed with the sword, but if the two would ever cross each other, Vader would have a few tricks up his sleeve. He often thought about killing Mario, but he realized that for the moment he needed him. The man interested Vader, if only for the fact it would seem there is a hidden force user or servant here on this planet that Mario seemed to answer to, and Vader wanted that information. Mario was also at least knowledgeable in some of the ways of the force and both the Jedi and dark side. Learning a thing or two from him, was helpful for Vader's own studies. 

"It is what must be done given my current situation." Vader said flatly. 

He resisted the urge to indicate what he was talking about. He knew it was a move his former self wouldn't have been able to turn down. Mario seemed to also realize the same if the slight smile on his face was anything to go by. The man was always watching him, always smirking, like he was always testing him, or looking for something that Vader often seemed to give him. It greatly irritated Vader and he felt like that pleased Mario as well. He fought down his rising anger before he do something he regret. The man was either one of three things if he drew pleasure from irritating someone as capable as Vader. He had hidden abilities and power that Vader didn't know about or couldn't predict, he had a hidden ace somewhere up his sleeve, or the man was stupid. Vader couldn't be 100% sure it was the last one, so until he was, this was another thing that kept Vader from making his move on him. 

"So I see. And I take it your OTHER training is progressing positively as well?" Mario asked. 

He was referring to Vader's training in controlling his force techniques and meditation. He was always reluctant to lie about this, because he doubted the man had much first hand knowledge about the force but he didn't know who was informing him about the ways of it. Vader instead preferred to keep his cards close to his chest on the subject. 

"It's progressing as much as possible." Vader vaguely replied. 

This was truth to a point. The more he focused on training his force power the faster they grew. The more he meditated and focused on harnessing his strength when calling on it, it further progressed. There was no real measuring stick, especially since Mario couldn't sense how strong he was in the first place. Anakin Skywalker hated to meditate, thoughts of darkness scared him, being reminded of failure tortured him, and brought him great feelings of anger and anguish. For Vader, it brought him strength. He drew his power off his anger and anguish, it all turned to hate and rage and did wonders for his force techniques. He kept that to himself, but since Mario was the one who was somewhat educating him in the ways of the dark side, he figured he would already know. Mario seemed to accept the answer and be ready to move on. 

"How long until you'll be ready to put those powers to the test out in the field?" Mario asked. 

Vader didn't flinch or bat an eyelash at all. If anything he stared at Mario with a flat expression, not that he could see it behind the mask. 

"Soon." Vader responded flatly. "How long until my weapon will be properly fixed?" He asked in return. 

Mario smirked once more in response to that question. Vader had a feeling he wouldn't like what was about to come out of the man's mouth. 

"Soon." He answered back, before turning on his heels to head back inside the facility. 

'Soon indeed.' Vader thought to himself. 

He found himself clenching his fist tightly and his vision turning slightly red. It took all of his willpower to keep himself from calling on the force and choking an actual answer out of the man. He would wait. He would wait and find out all he could about the former simple bartender. He would let him welcome Vader in on all of his secrets and Vader would learn them all before he allowed himself the satisfaction of killing him, and oh how satisfying it would be. Soon, soon could mean days, weeks, maybe even months, but one of the new thing Vader was trying to learn was patience, and how to play the long game. Something else Skywalker failed at. He'd go meditate and increase his powers, focusing on that glorious day that would come soon enough. 

Those were his final thoughts as he left the training grounds for the day, making his way to his room inside the facility to reflect and plan. 

"It is ready, my lord." The old voice said.

The older voice was then joined by a loud breathing Vader, whose breath was actual a bit faster paced than usual. It was slightly out of excitement. He was pleased at this progress that he saw. His weapon was ready, perfectly crafted, they had somehow found a way to make a separate crystal for the blade based off the material from his own crystal, or Skywalker's crystal to be exact. What the humans here could do with technology that was not from their own place, was actually astounding. In the right hands, he was sure it could be used for a great many things, Mario and the people he was working for seemed to have their own intentions for it however. Vader had used the recreated crystal and even put his own finishing touches on it to make it his own, just like how he was taught as a Jedi. Only this one was different. This time he had bled into the crystal, instead of making it how he made it like a Jedi, and unlike when Skywalker made his, Vader's came out red in color.

It was the color that would fill his vision when he grew angry, very angry. Vader felt like it suited him. It pleased him greatly, but it must be tested against the finest of steels and other weapons of this planet. That's what the old swordsmith had been doing. Not only was he working on his traditional "earth sword" as Vader had taken to calling it, but he'd been testing his newly created lightsaber against some of the other finest, and most modernized swords that he and others like him have created.

"Have the results proved satisfactory?" Vader asked calmly.

He made sure to keep the excitement out of his voice. Vader was happy to that the man who seemed to be able to tell he was at the very least interested, seemed to keep his sense of knowing so to himself. The man held the saber out to Vader, and Vader took it.

"They have done so indeed, lord Vader." The smith replied.

Vader was also pleased at the amount of respect the man showed. Vader clipped the lightsaber to the side of his belt. The weight felt natural to his waist, like it always belonged, and in a sense it did. Even though he wasn't a Jedi, he was indeed a force user. He had been trained to fight with a lightsaber and the force, the sword was a suitable substitute, but nothing could compare to the familiar feel of his original weapon.

"You have done well, swordsmith. I will be sure to see you rewarded as the soonest convenience." Vader said.

Those might have been the nicest words to come out his mouth since he had been around. This also might have been the most pleased he has felt since then as well. The smith just nodded his thanks and Vader took it as acceptance. He wasted no more words with the man, as he didn't see the need to. He turned on his heel and headed to the training grounds. He had the desire to test his weapon himself. He let his thoughts drift to all the possibilities he'd be able to pull off with his new weapon and his new powers. He was distracted so he almost didn't notice the man who was approaching him, attempting to get his attention. Vader looked directly at the man and came to a halt in front of him. 

"Vader...sir. Mario would like to see you. He sent me to find you, he's in the observation room." The man said. 

Vader could feel his nervousness and tell that he was quite unsettled. It didn't take the force to tell him, he was doing all he could to keep it under control, but years of observation as a warrior and just general knowledge told Vader everything he needed to know. Vader just continued to stare at the man and breathe aloud from behind the mask. It would seem he was waiting for some kind of acknowledgement, Vader refused to give it. Eventually the man figured he'd better move things along instead of continuing the stalemate. He swallowed hard and turned around. 

"Right. If you would follow me this way." He said nervously over his shoulder. 

This time the man didn't wait for a response. He began walking in the direction he wanted to lead Vader, and Vader followed behind slowly. If he had it his way, he would've stashed the saber before going to see Mario, but it seems he wouldn't have the time to do such a thing. The one taking him to Mario, looked over his shoulder from time to time to make sure Vader was still indeed following. Vader could tell the man was walking slower and taking slower steps so Vader could keep up. The man probably thought it was due to the suit that Vader wasn't able to match his speed, and he would be partially correct. The other reason behind it was because Vader didn't see the need to rush to follow the man. He also didn't see the need to rush to go see Mario either. They both could wait, but he figured he'd better go and get this over with so his time could be his own. 

It didn't take very long before they arrived at a door that said observation on it. The man pulled out a key and inserted it into a lock, turning it to the right he then twisted the knob and opened the door. Holding it open for Vader to also step through. Vader looked around the room once he was in it. It was a room that had many monitors and could see in just about every room inside of the building. Mario was standing in front of a large looking monitor that split up into different views of different rooms. Upon further inspection, the rooms Mario seemed to be looking at were all training rooms. On many of the rooms different people could be seen training the way that they train, whether it be through fighting, some sort of meditation or image training, or others were working on using whatever kind of special gifts they had that kept them from being exactly normal. 

"Ah, Vader. Good you're finally here." Mario said without turning from the screen he was facing. 

Vader took this as his invitation to approach him and he did just that. He walked up next to him to both show his own presence and also to get a closer look at the screens. It was interesting, very interesting to see the amount of talented people Mario had amassed, yet he worked with fools like Jimmy, or maybe he used fools like Jimmy. Vader was sure that somewhere along the lines, Mario thought he was using Vader as well, either Mario or the person Mario answered to. Vader clenched his fist, vowing he would find out what exactly was going on, and who was pulling the strings on all this, but for now he needed patience. He unclenched his fist and instead carefully folded his arms over his chest. 

"What is this?" Vader asked. 

He made sure to keep the curiosity out of his voice, and ask it in a flat tone. It didn't matter, Mario was just as excited as he would've been if Vader had shown his curiosity. If Vader had to guess, the man was probably waiting for him to ask that question. He finally took his eyes off the screen for the first time since Vader had entered the room, and faced him with a wide grin on his face. 

"This Lord Vader, is my eyes into everything in this facility. There's nothing I can't see, nothing I don't know." He explained knowingly. 

If Vader had to guess, he was mockingly calling him a lord, to let it be known he knew all along about Vader secretly rebuilding his lightsaber. Maybe he had expected it, or maybe he just found out by using the systems in this room. He was the paranoid sort, so it didn't surprise him at all that he liked to know everything that was going on around him. Vader made a mental note he'd have to be even more careful in the future. 

"But THIS." He began as he pointed to the screens in front of them showing that's what he was talking about now. 

"This is our collection of potential, our army of talent for when the time is right, and when you come into your own Vader, you will be able to control them. These will be your soldiers to help you defeat those who stand in your way. Once you have gone out and proven without a shadow of a doubt to the one who put this all together, that you are the strongest of all these people who we have brought to our cause, then you will be the one to control them all." Mario explained animatedly. 

Vader just looked at him and observed him. He searched the force, looking for signs of deceit, trying to find a lie or some kind of hidden backhanded meaning or message in the man's words. He could find none. Vader turned his head back to the screen. He didn't fear any of these people, or their abilities. He knew how to handle himself, and while he wasn't the most arrogant of people, that was something Skywalker would've been, he could recognize that this group of people all working together would be a very formidable force. Why would they just give it to him? There had to be some kind of motive behind it. 

"Why me? You could do all this yourself then why would you give me these resources?" Vader plainly asked, unable to keep the disbelief from fully creeping into his voice, even through the modulator. 

Mario didn't miss a beat, he didn't even flinch, or look away. He continued to look straight into Vader's eyes even behind the mask. The man was good Vader had to give him that. 

"Because, my mast-" He started before he cut himself off. "OUR master said it is our destiny to create this, all of this, and use it to create an empire we will rule together! With your power, with my resources, with his plans, all together the world could be ours Vader. You were the missing piece, but now that you're here we could move forward to the next part." Mario exclaimed. 

Vader didn't sense anything deceitful coming from the man, so he completely believed what he was saying. Vader didn't know if this master had brainwashed him or if there was something else in play here. From what Vader could gather, he just seemed to believe in the dream he was sold. 

"Who is this master you keep speaking of?" Vader asked directly. 

Vader couldn't help but be curious to who this person was that could coerce Mario into servitude if he had all of these resources behind him. These things greatly confused Vader. Mario then looked away, back to the screens. 

"All in due time Vader. For now we need to focus on our next part of the mission. An empire doesn't build itself on just power alone. We have resources and connections, but there are still many more that we need, and more importantly, you will need some of your own." Mario said turning back to Vader. 

"We have a few interesting prospects in mind. Let's go to my office, we can talk more directly in there." Mario said. 

He then stepped away from the screens, and made his way toward the door preparing to leave. Vader took one last long look at the screens, trying to burn the pictures of the many individuals training in his brain. Once he was satisfied he then turned and followed Mario out the room, leaving behind the images of the many people perfecting their skill sets in their own way.