Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Alone in the Chamber of the Jedi Council, Anakin Skywalker stood quietly, his emotions wild. There was no one with the young man at this time of turmoil and distraught building in his heart.

But he knew what he wanted. The Jedi had never trusted him the moment he came to Coruscant as a nine-year-old boy. They'd judged his attachment to his mother, refusing to allow him to save her-even when he'd borderline pleaded to go to Tatooine to do something, anything...

Palpatine, on the other hand, had never lied to him except for what he may have known. He had never led him astray. The man was a Sith Lord, but there was surely some sincerity between the two. He did sure as hell tell him some truths about the Jedi, some truths Anakin would have defended adamantly so long ago.

He couldn't go through the pain of losing someone else he'd cared about.

A part of him died with his mother. A part of him that would never be restored. It would have been one thing if she'd died of natural causes, but she was taken from him so cruelly by savages.

He had been selfless for so long, staying loyal to the Jedi Code, and what did that cost him? His mother, so many friends throughout the Clone Wars, parts of himself poisoned...

He couldn't do it anymore.

He just couldn't.

A new determination shot through him at that moment, and Anakin Skywalker turned, tears burning in his eyes. He had to go... stop Windu. He couldn't allow him to kill Palpatine.

To take the one who may hold the key to Anakin's dilemmas away from him.

'But what about Obi-Wan?'

That voice caused Anakin to stop and think once more.

How could he do that to Obi-Wan?

Betray him?

Betray what Qui-Gon warned him not to?

'Always remember, your focus determines your reality.'

Anakin's thoughts dwelt, as he paced around, hands flexing into fists as he stared out at the window, jaw trembling, tears shooting down his face as nightfall arrived, fully eclipsing the sun.

If his wife survived, would she hate him for what he had done?

He would have to burn a bridge; give himself over to the Sith and violate everything she'd believed in.

'To be angry is to be human.' Those were words she'd told him 3 years ago, and they had never been able to leave his mind. He'd killed an entire population of Tuskens, and it didn't bring his mother back. Padmé was able to forgive him that time. Surely, with the possibility of her and their children dying, she would...

She wouldn't.

Somewhere in him knew that she had her snapping points too.

He'd all but witnessed some of her former friends becoming political enemies of hers in the Senate.

If Padmé found out that he'd sacrifice his soul, then she would...

But he would...

But he couldn't...

But his...

But...

Anakin's head ached, and he reached up, grabbing it as he lurched forward.

Pain suddenly extended from afar. And the power of the Force... it all shot through him. Images flashed across his vision. Across the galaxy, thousands of screams reverberated, accompanied by the sounds of blaster bolts.

It ranged from those he'd known to others he had only met in passing.

And it all came back.

Back into the safety of the Jedi Temple, the home belonging to the ones who stood as defenders of peace and justice in the galaxy for thousands of generations.

Screams echoed all over the Academy.

'What the kark is happening?!'

Anakin charged through the Temple, his eyes wide as he eventually spotted a little boy being lifted by a Clone Trooper, clad in blue. The man's emotions were cold, focused on the objective of killing. His blaster rifle primed against the boy's head before the shot went off.

A possessive fury lit within him.

It was almost as strong as that night when his mother died.

Nothing in that moment could stop him.

The Hero With No Fear tossed his cerulean lightsaber through the chest of the trooper, dropping him onto the ground. Pulling the hilt back into his hand, the Jedi Knight was then bombarded with a volley of blaster bolts. Blue blaster bolts. And it was only then that part of him recognized who he was fighting. His own men were firing at him, their blasters unleashing what hell they could against him.

He'd recollected all of the Clones that have been stationed around Coruscant lately. It was obvious that this had been planned for some time.

One by one, every Clone Trooper collapsed onto the floor. Shouts and running Clones rushed through the corridors. He darted to the noise, only finding a squadron of Clones shooting down Padawans, their bodies collapsing at once. Younglings running around following suit.

Anakin yanked at them through the Force, the Dragon in his chest building as he lifted them up into the air, slamming them against the wall, crushing their bodies even with their molten armor. When one bolt flew at him, he deflected it back, dropping the trooper who fired. The rest turned their attention to their General, yet Anakin no longer relied on his defense, his anger having reached a snapping point at this mass betrayal.

He'd fought and trained them for hours, and they'd dared shoot at him!

'They will pay for it with their lives!'

Anakin attacked, slicing through them as if they were nothing, their arms and legs dropping onto the shiny floor of the Jedi Temple.

In that moment, his friendship with the Clones didn't matter. They were the enemy. The Dragon purred, tasting the death and suffering of everyone inside, indulging in the Clones who attempted to put up resistance.

Throughout it all, at one point, he raised his hood over his head.

Anakin made it to the Jedi beacon room and activated the recording, staring around anxiously as the device illuminated blue in front of him.

"This is Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. The Jedi Order is under attack. Clone Troopers have marched through the Temple intending to kill everyone in sight, from the oldest Master to the youngest one. They're no longer our reliable allies and must be treated as such.

Further, Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith Lord we've been looking for. Masters Windu, Tiin, Kolar, and Fisto attempted to arrest him, but the Chancellor seemed to have overpowered them. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi: do not return to the Temple. That time has passed. And our future remains uncertain. We will each be challenged, but one day, we will be able to fight back.

May the Force be with us all."

Anakin knew that he shouldn't mid-battle.

Ding.

Ding.

It wasn't right, and yet he had to reach the ones he loved. He'd tried a four-way communication at first. But Obi-Wan and Ahsoka didn't pick up.

But thankfully, Padmé did. His beautiful wife, smiling.

Anakin forced down the regret in his heart and shouted, "Padmé! The Jedi Temple is under attack by the Clones! The Chancellor is a Sith! You must leave immediately! Get off Coruscant!"

"Wha... Anakin?!" His wife startled.

"Now's not the time!" Anakin shouted. "Leave, Padmé, please leave. Take our child and go underground if you have to! Palpatine will target you first chance he gets to get to me!"

Would he?

Well, since Anakin hadn't joined him yet, it was likely...

"But Ani..." She gasped.

"You must leave Coruscant now, Padmé." If she were there in the flesh, Anakin would have kissed her, silencing any protest. "You and our child are at risk! I will try to make my way back to you, my love, but... please!"

He held her stare, her beautiful brown eyes staring at him, before she nodded. "Alright, Ani, but... stay safe for me. For the child." She rubbed her belly.

"I will," Anakin promised.

He heard the sound of lightsaber slicing, feeling a newfound dark presence. He dashed down to the direction of it, hearing screams and... betrayal.

His face sharpened, his eyes slowly dawning the pure, unadulterated hatred as he moved down into the direction of it. He'd felt the cold movements of the Clones down the halls, the crying of babies in their cribs as they were cruelly silenced, imagining his own child for a moment in a similar position.

Finally, a possibility that Anakin hadn't even thought about before struck him, almost stilling him.

'Would Palpatine do that to my children if I do indeed join him?'

Anakin had a food for thought, bringing a small rage inside of him. He'd wanted to so badly convince himself that things would be different between them. 'Palpatine loves me. He cares about me.'

He raised his hood over his head and continued moving in the First Knowledge Quarter, lightsaber prepared for the inevitable. He found decapitated Clones and troopers. His lightsaber was activated, prepared for the inevitable. A dozen dead Clone Troopers, along with lifeless Temple Guards and Jedi brutes, were about. But judging by the number of armored pieces that were scattered across the room, he could tell that this was a Jedi's handiwork.

He moved further and further into the damaged room and spotted more corpses of the 501st.

When he walked through the now-ruined communications center, a decapitated Clone Trooper helmet clattered across the room from out of nowhere.

Then, the sounds of swaying lightsabers caught his attention. Anakin looked up to see a human female Jedi jump into the doorway. She possessed two green lightsabers. She wore a tan skirt, with a rivaling tunic and leggings, while also wearing a burgundy armor that engulfed her supple bust, and the same pair of boots.

"Anakin?" Serra Keto asked, lowering her lightsabers at the sign of a comrade.

"Serra," Anakin nodded back. "It's good to see you alive."

"Same to you."

Anakin focused on the most important matter: "Have you found Master Drallig?"

"I have been looking for him," she said. "What's happening?"

"Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith Lord we've been looking for," Anakin answered, his teeth bared. "The Clones were his creation all along."

"Do you have a plan, Anakin?"

Anakin thought about it for a moment, "I'm going to do what I can to protect the Temple. Find Master Drallig."

Keto nodded. "May the Force be with you, Skywalker."

"And you."

'If the Temple was attacked, the Temple Guards would have already been seeking to stop it. Their inaction must mean something's up.' Anakin concluded. He knew that they took any threats seriously. Drills were the norm in his younger years.

As soon as Anakin entered the main room, usually storing most of the Temple Guards on standby, he spotted three yellow flashes. The form came in the presence of a Temple Guard, standing above corpses of others who were caught before they could even register what happened.

He struck out at both of his colleagues, dispatching both of them with ease. Impaling the first and decapitating the other, the lone Temple Guard turned to face him and preparing his yellow lightsaber.

He reached out through the Force, discovering who the interloper was.

'Palpatine had more allies than me?' An odd, jealous rage shot through Anakin.

He didn't want an explanation. He didn't care for one. Even if the traitorous Temple Guard could possibly explain his reasoning, in that moment, all he saw was an adversary. An enemy.

In that moment, nothing could stop him from advancing with his already activated lightsaber on the traitor of the Jedi. He leapt up in the air at an inhumane speed, slamming his lightsaber down upon him. Yellow energy spun up, catching the blue blade before it could have landed. There was no mercy. As soon as he'd landed and the Guard fell back, his lightsaber caught his mask. Anakin intended to aim for the neck. But that would suffice. At the very least, he'd managed to destroy it.

Anakin stared at the Temple Guard, or a disguised Temple Guard. He didn't know. The Guard was an ashen colored Pau'an, one with two distinct crimson lines underneath his eyes and a middle-aged face. His eyes were beaming golden.

His enemy tossed the corpse of a dead Temple Guard at him, followed by a yellow lightsaber that twirled in mid-air. Anakin avoided, allowing both body and lightsaber to fly past him. Coming back in with deadly, calculated precision, he battered through his defenses. The Pau'an recoiled, evidently surprised.

His arcs grew more and more powerful, relishing every moment of it, especially when he finally broke through the Pau'an's defense, completely eviscerating the Guard and allowing him to collapse with a thud, dead before he hit the floor.

'How disappointing,' the dark voice within his head echoed. He expected much more of a performance from a Temple Guard.

Anakin continued moving through the halls, encountering no resistance. He'd discovered the entire collective branch of the Temple Guard had been wiped out, leaving the Jedi Order's security all but immobile.

He didn't know why he was going back to the Council Chambers. Perhaps a feeble hope that there would be survivors.

He moved inside, only to find a scene that pierced his heart, feeling the tug of life within. Terrified. Helpless. The Younglings gathered up, hopeful. One approached him. "Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?"

Anakin's stare hardened as he looked at the innocent child before igniting his lightsaber. "We fight. Everyone get into a single-file line, oldest to youngest!"

"Yes, Master Skywalker!"

Their jubilation was clear.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Meters away. The Knight tensed up and motioned for them to hide. The Younglings followed their orders, fearful as Skywalker waited. As soon as the lone figure entered the room, Anakin lunged, blue lightsaber poised next to the throat of the individual, only to stop in shock.

"Always quick with the reaction time, Young Skywalker," a voice said, tinted with sarcasm. "Master Kenobi was right about that."

"Master Ti?"

The red and white Togruta Jedi became more evident within the light, causing Anakin to move back

"Master Ti, you have my apologies!" Anakin didn't stutter.

"It's alright, Anakin," she chuckled assuringly. "I was actually looking for you. I had a vision and saw you fending off the Clones."

Anakin released her and allowed her to move inside the Chambers, staring at the Younglings in relief, and then at him.

She had been more of a pragmatic Jedi on the Council, always believing in him, and was disappointed that the Council didn't elect him to be a Master.

"When the attack on the Temple began, a bunch of Jedi in the library was slaughtered. I'd feared the worst. Tera Sinbue is holding them off-"

"You have to get the Younglings out of here!" Anakin said urgently.

"Very well."

Anakin slapped his hands together, causing the Younglings to move faster. "Everyone, come on. You're going on a field trip with Master Ti."

They began sneaking through the Temple, the faint sounds of gunshots already clear. Anakin manipulated the console's controls with the Force and finally broke into the nearby hangar, dealing with the Clones stationed around with ease.

Fortunately, there were several small shuttles within, including one big enough to help Anakin's charges. Although Anakin was tempted to go with them, he knew that he couldn't.

Anakin stared at the Togruta and said urgently, "Master, you have to go."

"What about you, Skywalker?"

"I have to stay here." Before she could open her mouth to argue, Anakin persisted. "The Younglings won't be safe with me."

It was true too.

Ti kept staring at him for a moment before nodding. "May the Force be with you, Master Skywalker."

It dawned on him. "But I'm not a Mast..."

"Not all of us made the choice to deny you the rank of Master. I have been on you and Obi-Wan's side since the beginning."

The respect and admiration for her strengthened.

"Anakin," she said warmly, before he'd left. "Thank you for what you have done. The Jedi Order is in your debt—the whole galaxy, as well. And I believe you should come with us."

"Master Windu failed, Master Ti. I won't. I'm the Chosen One. My place was..." his breathing roughened, and he looked as if he was getting even sicker. "I had to be there. That's the prophecy, isn't it? I have to be there—"

"The Masters were the best of the Order."

"I'm the Chosen One," he repeated stubbornly. "Prophecy can't be changed. I'll do—"

He looked at her with eyes that were dying, and a spasm of unendurable pain passed over his face. Shaak Ti reached for him, but he lurched away from her.

"Just go. I'll do what I'm supposed to do," he commanded, raising his voice.

Ti looked at him solemnly but obeyed, all of the Younglings following, some bidding farewell, including the one who approached him earlier.

"What's your name?" Anakin asked.

"Oh, uh," the boy looked like he was flushing, "Sors Bandeam, Master."

Anakin placed his hands on his shoulders. "Well, Sors, you took leadership and initiation. You will be an amazing Jedi."

"Thank you, Master Skywalker."

And Sors joined the rest, the ramp raising.

Seconds later, the shuttle disembarked.

All of a sudden, he heard the clicking of blasters, the familiar white-armored troopers almost sending Anakin into his old instincts.

"Anakin Skywalker, by order of the Chancellor, you are to be spared execution and be placed under arrest for treason against the Republic." Even without needing to turn around, Anakin knew it was Commander Appo. He always established a bond with all of his men, from the more talkative ones like Rex to the more distant ones like Appo.

He'd felt the shift with Appo's men after Umbara. While they'd trusted him and Ahsoka to lead them into the battlefield, the conviction wasn't as strong as it was before. There was always a silent whisper that they would be betrayed again by the Jedi. That said, this was Arrow Squadron; this ragtag group of soldiers was almost as effective as Torrent Company.

Anakin would have to be careful here.

Anakin's hand tightened over his lightsaber. Fighting the Clone Troopers was something he couldn't do lightly. He knew what was happening. Sheev Palpatine was a Sith Lord, the same who commissioned the army, now gunning for his head.

"Appo-" Anakin slowly turned to the Clone who had his weapon aimed at him. Appo could have easily shot him in the back. It would have been a blow delivered to make this betrayal complete. Yet, he didn't.

"That name is against regulation," the Commander firmly held his DC-15A blaster rifle, fingers on the trigger.

"That name solidifies what you became, who you were. You're more than a number or rank. You're Appo." Anakin said slowly, giving him his full attention. "You cannot deny what made you a person."

The Clone Commander sneered. "Good soldiers follow orders. Order 66 is lawful, and therefore, the Jedi must be eliminated at once. Please surrender, sir."

"I cannot do that," Anakin said solemnly. "I do not know if I trust the Chancellor anymore." Like I can't trust any of you, was unsaid.

"So you aren't going to surrender, sir..." the Clone spoke, but there was an underlying sadness.

"You're my friend, Appo, you and the entire 501st! I don't want to hurt any of you, but this is wrong, and you know it! Look inside of you!"

Appo was silent for a moment. Anakin hoped that he had gotten through, but finally, a blink behind the helmet, and the cold response came: "Traitor."

Danger flared in the Force.

Appo pulled the trigger, the rest of his formerly loyal men following suit. Anakin yanked his blue lightsaber up, deflecting the bolts back into the Clones. Guilt and frustration tearing at his heart, the Jedi Knight continued his march to one of the commanding officers of the 501st, raised his lightsaber over his head, and brought it down upon Appo, removing his head from his shoulders.

"The Commander's down!" Another Clone exclaimed.

The Clones scattered around, their shots becoming more and more discombobulated. Anakin continued parrying every shot away from his person, part of him wondering what would happen to the 501st now that their leadership was collapsing. It didn't matter now, he supposed.

The final trooper in the hall collapsed onto the ground from a slice in the abdomen. An entire company, one that Anakin had helped put together, was wiped out, taken out at the hands of the General whom they'd trusted to lead them into the battlefield.

He could feel a dark presence moving around the Temple, getting closer and closer...

"Skywalker!"

He turned to look at the one who called his name. His heart allowed a momentary sense of relief when he'd spotted the elder librarian woman, Jocasta Nu, her blue lightsaber activated.

All of a sudden, the woman was yanked down the hall. Skywalker chased on reflex, quickly running when he saw something he would never forget.

Clouded in dark black robes, the shadow stood, his hands at his sides, casually. Dark golden eyes stared at Anakin underneath the hood, his lips curled in a thin line. There was no sign of him holding the old woman in the air.

Anakin stilled, raising his blue lightsaber in front of him defiantly.

Darth Sidious was here.

Chapter Text

Anakin's hands clenched over his lightsaber hilt, momentarily taking notice of the stillness in the air. The Clones moved with the figure, their blasters clocked and raised towards him. They wouldn't fire without the order, though, he'd reflected bitterly.

It was the 501st, too, contributing to Anakin's grudge. Palpatine was the one who killed Anakin's men. Around the Temple, Jedi were fighting back against the ruthless efforts of the 501st and other units.

"Chancellor," Anakin said slowly.

It was a sudden recognition that Skywalker came to the clarity that the Chancellor had overwhelmed Master Windu and the task force he'd brought with him. The Dragon within him told him that he could use him. If he could take on the Master of the Order, surely he would have the power to save Padmé.

"Anakin..." the voice said softly. "I told you it would come to this. I was right. The Jedi are taking over."

Anakin's face contorted.

"No, Skywalker! You know that's not true." Jocasta Nu protested.

"It is," Sidious said.

The Chancellor started approaching him, the Clones standing back as if struck. "I expect this kind of treachery from the Jedi. But Anakin, Anakin Skywalker, you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?" Sidious said.

"Release her immediately," Anakin hissed.

"It's not too late for you, Anakin. You can still redeem yourself in the eyes of the people."

"The kind of power he offers is not for you," Jocasta Nu said.

"Why don't you let him decide, Master Nu? I need you, Anakin. I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Galactic History, and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have the power you want. You will have your family. You will have everything you want." Sidious tempted.

"Skywalker, I am begging you. Look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want." Jocasta Nu pleaded.

Anakin closed his eyes.

"The treacherous Jedi speaks sense!" Palpatine clapped. To the surprise of Anakin, he released Nu, moving to him and putting his hand on his shoulder, tentatively as always. She seemed to still be stuck in place. "You are free to choose, my boy."

"What must I do...?" Anakin asked in a choked whisper, sensing her eyes widen.

"Strike her down. Fulfill your destiny. Bow before me."

Anakin didn't want to kill the Jedi.

They may have held him back, but they were still needed in the galaxy.

But... if Padmé and his children died, all of it wouldn't be worth it.

Jocasta Nu's eyes bore into him, tearing at his conscience. Her pitiful eyes pleaded for him not to do this. Yet, what choice did he have? While a few Jedi made it out, he sensed they were dying by the numbers. The Clones were overwhelming the Jedi, gunning them down one by one.

Cin Drallig and other Jedi emerged from the shadows, swinging their weapons at the dark enforcer, lightsabers having cut down the Clones. But he effortlessly blocked the attack. Their sabers never even rose. Their lightsabers were held mere inches from the Dark Lord's throat by the power fueling. Throughout all of this, the Sith continued speaking, dark eyes now beaming in satisfaction and joy.

Anakin could only marvel at the power of this Dark Lord. By rights, Cin Drallig was a powerful battle master and had trained some of the most prestigious Jedi in history. But Darth Sidious put every ability, every one of those lessons that he ever imparted, to shame.

Only two could possibly rival this Sith: the Grandmaster and Master of the...

And yet, Windu was dead.

Yoda may have died as well.

In that moment, Anakin realized he would be no true equal to Sidious.

"You are being misled. The Jedi have betrayed the Republic, betrayed you." Palpatine purred. "Join me, and together, we can destroy them. I can give you the power that they would give you. The power to save Padmé. The life you want with your wife."

Anakin banished the thoughts of those who might have heard, feeling the phantom weight placed on his chest. His thoughts were muddled. As he stared at the lifeless Jedi and Clones around him, his mind drifted back to his memories of his comrades. His friends. Those who had fought side-by-side with him in the Clone Wars. Those who had sacrificed their lives all in the name of justice, in the name of the Republic.

And yet little did they ever know that they were simply pieces on a chessboard, played with and discarded when no longer needed. All because of the man right beside him.

But then he remembered Padmé. His nightmares about her death were almost certainly a warning from the Force, a premonition of the future. He couldn't afford to lose it all. Lose her as he lost his mother. She was everything to him; the same for his child. He needed to save Padmé, no matter the cost.

His lips trembled, hand tightening over his hilt.

Yet, in his haste, in a moment where Anakin would have perhaps followed his friend, Palpatine made one grave error: not killing the elder Jedi Librarian instantly.

In one last gambit, Nu attempted to appeal to Anakin...

"Skywalker! Think about Maul and Dooku! He used them both! He uses all who serve him and disregards them! He was behind the Clone Wars, likely tried to assassinate Senator Amidala, and was behind the death of Qui-Gon Jinn! The Sith manipulates! The Sith twists! It's because of him that some of your men are dead, killed by you! You must stop him or the galaxy wi-arrggh!" Before she could finish, Nu's neck was rotated in an unnatural direction, body going limp.

Anakin saw the Sith's eyes darkened.

"Anakin, you must choose now," Palpatine enforced, his voice all the more domineering.

Contention crossed Anakin's face. Truth be told, he had every reason to stand with Palpatine. Even being a Sith Lord, the past thirteen years couldn't be for some malicious intent. Palpatine claimed that he possessed an amazing gift; to save the one Anakin cared about, in contrast to letting Padmé go as the Jedi's doctrine deemed.

'But he was the Master of Maul and Dooku. And he used them, too.'

...Yet, the words of the dead Jedi Master rang true. Somewhere in him, a new sense of fury boiled. He'd thought about how Sidious used Maul and Dooku. He had been there from the very start, well before Naboo. He had to have been the one who puppeteered the Trade Federation into blockading Naboo. And then, later, he had recruited Count Dooku to gather the Separatist Movement, and splintered the Republic even further. Tried to assassinate Padmé just to take advantage of her being away, for him to gain his emergency powers without difficulty. Jocasta Nu was right. That was who Palpatine was: a manipulator who used his puppets to do his bidding and then cast them aside like garbage and move on to the rest.

If it weren't for Palpatine, so many people would have been alive.

The thought of Appo and the men he killed filled his veins, angering him.

Palpatine had to die.

He knew what he had to do.

Swinging his lightsaber at the shadowy figure, Anakin was sent back by a blast through the Force, momentarily paralyzed on the floor.

The Sith stared at him coldly.

"Stupid boy."

Anakin elevated his lightsaber in front of him, not yet fully grounded in reality, but his face set in stone. His hands shook over his lightsaber as every muscle within him convulsed.

"Years of plotting," the dark inferno snarled, his kindness completely evaporated. The storm of lightning engulfed the floating Jedi around them, incinerating them. "Scheming. Manipulation. Anticipating. All for you to join me," Palpatine hissed as he stepped forward, "and you'd dare to defile all of that in a moment of defiance, Anakin."

'You are not winning this battle, Anakin. You must run. Run.'

Anakin collapsed a nearby statue on the Clones and, hopefully, his former friend as well. All around the Temple, he felt the darkness filling in. Death was all that awaited him.

The Clones were firing at him as they were chasing him. Absorbing the bolts of more of his former comrades, Anakin watched as the black robed figure hissed from the shadows.

An infuriated Sith Lord who threatened to bring down the entire Temple.

The Sith cackled as the two engaged, on a dancer's edge. Anakin twisted around, delivering what strikes he could against Sidious. But none seemed to be enough. Sidious blocked every strike, pulling back his blade to protect his form, and continued on a sharp edge. As fast as a striking serpent, Anakin got quicker. Despite this, his strength was slowly waning. The nights of exhaustion, added to the previous battles in the Temple alone, were doing a number on him.

And finally, the Sith managed to gain the upper hand, blinding Anakin temporarily long enough for his astonishment to be his downfall.

"I gave you a chance, Anakin," Sidious mocked, deactivating his lightsaber and placing it inside his robe.

Sidious raised his hand at his direction, and Skywalker was seized in the air. Electricity exited the recovered man's fingertips, slamming right against his chest, his entire body. He shrilled, the lightning from Dooku being nothing compared to Sidious. He slammed him against the nearby wall, back to the ground, back ahead, lightning still burning off of his entire body throughout the painful process.

Finally, after what felt like days, the Sith stopped, allowing Anakin to breathe. "Please..."

"There is no mercy," Sidious shook his head. "You didn't have to die along with the Jedi here. Well, there is another hope for me. Your child will have to suffice. Maybe I can kill your precious wife. Goodbye, Anakin."

Electricity exited his fingertips again, burning skin. Indescribable pain burned through Anakin's lower half upon impact. But Anakin barely felt it compared to what rage that went through his chest in that moment.

The Dragon begged itself to be released within Anakin. The dark creature coursed down his veins. Anakin no longer fought it. He'd allowed the lightning to extend his pain and agony, twisting into the inferno fury, and gave it one last candle.

'Not my wife and child. Not my wife child. NOT MY-'

"No!"

'WIFE AND CHILD!'

Anakin growled and shoved Palpatine back, the lightning still burning through his entire skin. Ignoring the pain going down his body, he summoned himself forward, mobilizing his prosthetic fist to shove right against Palpatine's chin. He used all of the power he could; telekinetic power, the glove obscuring his fingers broke, but landed true. His mechanical fist smashed on impact.

Such a blow should have broken the upper arm's muscle that was still human, but the Dragon protected him, if only partially, as he still felt his muscles strained and bones tightened.

That pulverizing attack alone would have given a normal human brain damage on the best of days. The Dark Side of the Force was still protecting Sidious, however. The telekinetic impact fractured Sidious's entire face. The momentum of the strike tossed him away from Anakin. A silent roar pulsated, and sent Anakin near the window in a similar force, shattering the window behind him with the eruption of the Force.

Breathing for a few seconds, Anakin called his lightsaber hilt over to his left hand and reactivated it, registering Palpatine's appearance. The Sith's jaw slackened, and he was unable to tell if the bones in it were fractured or broken. The right side of his face was ruined, with his eye closed and leaking moisture. It was nothing short of remarkable that he hadn't collapsed. Sidious held himself up, his left eye burning bright golden, reigniting his red lightsaber.

It was only then that Anakin recognized that he could taste blood going down his own face.

Both he and Palpatine were tired. The latter, of course, had just seemingly fought four Jedi and were likely injured by them. Likewise, Anakin hadn't slept in days. None of them was at the prime of their power.

"-Protect Lord Sidious!" A Clone's voice met Anakin's senses, a blue bolt sailing at his flank.

Peppers of blue bolts accompanied the man's blaster fire. Breaking away from his former friend, Anakin deflected each of the shots with his left hand. Whipping his blue lightsaber up, the Jedi Knight absorbed the shots back, but every time, a Clone collapsed, three more Clones seemed to take his place, unleashing their well-trained bolts on him.

Anakin was outnumbered, bolts piercing past his defenses, wounding him in several places that he would definitely feel in the morning. The disadvantage of a lack of body armor couldn't ever be clearer, and for a second, the Jedi Knight wished he'd argued more vehemently when the Jedi Council felt they made the morally right decision in establishing the Jedi as peacekeepers instead of soldiers.

Staring at the broken window behind him, Anakin got an idea. He raised his damaged prosthetic hand and released a blast through the Force, sending his main attackers away for a moment, and then he acted.

Anakin was given time to jump out of the window, deflecting the last few bolts as he fell.

Anakin felt reinforcements coming his way, recognizing that his former friend was protected now.

A squadron of men in blue came to him from all sides, aiming their blasters. Giving them his undivided attention, Anakin brought his lightsaber, left hand short of his cheek.

He didn't want to be another Krell, but they had turned against him. He was betrayed, betrayed as the Clones were on Umbara.

And what was worse was when different-looking Clones joined up with his former men. It was not the regular Clones either. The armor had two twin vibro-blades connected to the elbows, which expanded their reach and increased the lethality of their attacks. These blades were capable of spinning out from a neutral position.

Anakin poised to strike, knowing that whatever happened next, it would either be survival or death.

Obi-Wan was trying to think positive thoughts as he and Yoda stealthily made their way back to the Jedi Temple. Naturally, while his thoughts were on the Jedi, there was one amongst all that preoccupied them: Anakin Skywalker. He had discovered on the way back by Bail Organa that there was a beacon sent out by him, letting Jedi across the galaxy know that the Jedi Temple was lost, and the vicious cycle of what happened to the 212th was even happening in the Jedi's haven.

He sighed as he thought about his friend, eyeing his lightsaber hilt as he recalled what happened on Utapau.

It had all happened so quickly that Obi-Wan still couldn't wrap his brain around it. He'd needed the troopers moved to the higher levels, and his trusted Commander and friend was the one who he would have naturally gone to to do the job. Had Boga not veered when the Clones turned their blasters on him all of a sudden and taken most of the bolts for him, taking some of the Clones down through sheer will, he perhaps wouldn't have been able to recover his lightsaber, and would have been among the dead Jedi across the galaxy. It was not to be said that Obi-Wan didn't take it hard when it came to killing Commander Cody.

Ever since he'd walked up the final step, he couldn't help a cold feeling. The Dark Side of the Force surrounded the Jedi Temple, the once Nexus of the Light. But something burned brightly.

Something... familiar.

"Smoke ahead, I believe I can see," Yoda said next to him, snapping the younger Jedi Master out of his pondering.

"Well," Obi-Wan quipped in, hoping that a moment of jest would relieve them of their frustrations, "let's hope that whatever it is, won't try to leap out and try to kill us. Our luck seems to have run out."

Yoda made a sound that suggested a mixture of agreement and exasperation at once, but nodded.

They moved forward to the smoke, which turned out to be the entrance of the Temple.

Both of them froze when they'd heard the sounds of a swinging lightsaber and the fading blaster bolts, the shouts of Clone Troopers. It sent a chill down Obi-Wan's spine. The strikes sounded vicious and aggressive. His hand reflexively went down to his lightsaber hilt, clipped to his belt.

All of a sudden, it was still.

They'd gone further inside the Temple, offering brief nods at each other, as they drew their lightsabers and activated them, staring around at the corpses of dead Jedi and white-armored Clone Troopers, fresh lightsaber wounds clear on the latter.

Obi-Wan's hand tightened over his hilt. It was a good thing that these Clones were dead, but it was up in the air if the cause of these Clones' deaths was also a friend or foe. With how much darkness in the Temple, only now seeming to fade, the presence became only slightly clearer. The familiarity that Obi-Wan was feeling was unnerving.

And there was a... thing approaching them. From the outline of it, it seemed to be a helmeted Clone Trooper, but the body was like a man in different clothing, dragging something alongside him. Obi-Wan exchanged a wary glance with Yoda, whose gaze turned deeper.

"That's close enough!" Obi-Wan called out.

The air, seemingly out of nowhere, dropped, settling. Obi-Wan squinted as his vision became clearer, the figure becoming more recognizable.

And finally, face-to-face...

Anakin Skywalker stood atop what was in many ways a burial site, his hood still raised over his head, only a few wounds evident to suggest any signs of battle. His prosthetic hand, clearly damaged, was clutching a Clone's helmet. The robes around his body were tattered. His red scar on his eye worsened through a strenuous affair, now spreading from brow to chin.

It was difficult to tell how much was his own and how much may have belonged to the Clones.

"He's still alive," Obi-Wan spoke out in relief, a weeping feeling building in him at the fact that Anakin survived this onslaught.

"Coric was able to help me one final time," Anakin said grimly, motioning to the headless helmet. It was clear; killing the 501st broke a part of him. Unlike Obi-Wan, who had a professional relationship with his men, Anakin had a far deeper interpersonal one.

"Skywalker, a relief it is, to see that you have survived this," Yoda said after a moment. "Gone, much of the Jedi Order is."

"The Chancellor..." Anakin's teeth bared, a shot of new animosity and rage circulating him, "is the Sith Lord we were looking for."

Yoda nodded solemnly.

"Anakin, what happened to you?" Obi-Wan asked, worried.

Anakin exchanged a glance with his former Master. "I was able to do Palpatine in," he held up his prosthetic. "Clearly, he wasn't happy with that." His eyes flickered with something darker and deeper. "He'd left Clone Assassins for me to handle, along with the 501st. By the way, should be careful, Masters. There may be more around in the Temple."

Chapter Text

Anakin moved behind them, feeling Obi-Wan's concern for him. It wasn't long before it began to annoy him. The old man didn't seem to recognize that Anakin was not a Padawan anymore who needed protection sometimes, but a fully fledged Jedi Knight who single-handedly turned the tide of the war.

The condition of the temple was far from clear. A lot of Clones were slaughtered, even more than Jedi, but a fair number of them were dead. It was obvious which ones were killed by the Clones and which ones were killed by the Sith if the electrified and blaster-filled corpses were anything to go by.

Anakin noticed something odd...

"The Younglings are gone," Obi-Wan noticed regretfully, his face pained. "I see only a few bodies, but most of them are—"

"Take the vulnerable ones, Darth Sidious did," Yoda retorted shamefully.

"And some are with Shaak Ti," Anakin told them grimly. "I saved them. I didn't ask for a location in the case of captivity by the Chancellor."

Anakin lingered behind, staring away from the corpses of the endless amounts of Jedi, too full of shame to look at them, too full of utter failure to even process their deaths in his brain. He'd felt them die; watched some of them even. It was a terrible price to pay, being so close to the Temple, defending against his own men and other units he'd once believed to be Jedi allies, now recognizing the folly in that.

The Clones were instruments for the Sith, for Palpatine, like they all were. Like he was. The thought drove an unnatural amount of anger inside of Anakin. He was so close to relinquishing and giving up everything for him.

Anakin's stomach fell as he was forced to stare at the men who belonged specifically to the 501st. If it wasn't for the Dragon that power offered him and being aware, Anakin wouldn't have been able to stand against the Clones. The anger and betrayal fueled his power in stressful situations. It always has.

The even worse outcome would be the scenario where Ahsoka couldn't stand against such overwhelming firepower and was gunned down via Rex's orders.

Could it be possible?

Could Ahsoka be dead?

She wasn't even a Jedi anymore. The Chancellor shouldn't have targeted her. But if looks were anything to go by, the Chancellor wasn't going to allow any possible Force Adept to escape notice.

An icy chill shot down Anakin's spine. Ahsoka was his daughter in many ways, like a sister in others. And it would be the Jedi's doing again, he couldn't help but feel. Maybe, if she had remained in the Order, she would still be alive.

'The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.'

He reeled himself in. While he may have been a servant to the Sith, Anakin couldn't help but ponder whether it would have been enough to defend these innocents against the cold machinations of Sidious.

The corpse of Ahsoka wouldn't leave his mind. It made his throat tighten and encouraged his brain to go to very dark places.

The carnage could have been different if the Jedi were even more powerful and had a capable army that was enough to stand against the Sith.

There was no doubt about that.

Thoughts of him personally cutting Palpatine's head off continued to fill him time and time again. Anakin wanted it more than anything. He'd wanted to repay Palpatine for that compensation.

Their mission was to...

What?

Anakin honestly didn't know.

"The archives are sabotaged," Obi-Wan said, exiting the Holocron Vault as the two Jedi stood outside in the library. "Palpatine won't get what he wants."

Anakin and Yoda both nodded, moving forward once more as they started to make their way to the hangar. It was time to leave. There were clearly no stragglers.

"What are we going to do now?" Anakin asked his companions roughly as they continued their stroll through the Temple. "Kill Palpatine?"

A terse silence passed through the air for a moment. The ways of the Jedi grew so predictable recently that Anakin knew not to misunderstand them.

"No."

Vile threatened to rise up. "No?"

'Fearful of my abilities as always.'

"Strong enough to defeat Palpatine, either of you are not," Yoda said, casting him an almost disappointed look.

"So when we can stop him, we're going to do nothing?!" Anakin barked.

"Anakin..." Obi-Wan said, attempting to placate him.

It didn't work.

"No, together, the three of us can stop him!" Anakin hissed. "If we just stay back and do nothing, we're—"

"Anakin," Obi-Wan placed a hand on his shoulder, trying again. "Look at you. You're tired and injured. You should be in the infirmary or whatever substitutes for it, not going off in a savage battle."

"Have I never proved myself to you, Obi-Wan?!" Anakin sneered, wondering for a moment if the decision he made the previous night was the wrong one. "I fought him before. I was still able to hold my own independently. Together, we could destroy h—"

"Always prize yourself upon power and strength, you do, Skywalker," Yoda replied, a mixture of disappointment and resignation in his voice. "Escape due to the Force, you did. Either into a servant of evil or killed, you will be. A heavy sense of confusion lies in your heart."

"You sound just like Master Windu!" Anakin accused. "He'd thought I wasn't ready, and look how that turned out." A dark shadow fell over his face. "He was killed by the Chancellor."

"Anakin, it only proves the point," Obi-Wan remarked with a sigh. "Master Windu was far superior in saber technique and experience to both of us combined, and even he couldn't stand against the Chancellor. What makes you think you can?"

"Unlike Master Windu, I always adapt," Anakin spat, aggravated with the lack of trust. "Why can't I go?"

"The future of the Order, we cannot risk," Yoda replied sternly.

The words alone brought a bitter laugh out of Anakin. Master Yoda was so high on the lists of the Jedi who Anakin considered arrogant that he couldn't stop for one kriffing second and wonder why so many of the public have been turning against them, more now than ever.

"The future of the Order?" Anakin growled, fists clenching. "Master, look around you. There is no future for the Jedi. The Jedi are dead. The Sith have won. We lost. We were playing a game, and we lost. The Jedi Council is gone. We are all that remains." He glared. "Your ways failed."

He'd expected a reprimand. It always came whenever Anakin dared to speak out of turn. He was never allowed to express his true grievances. Sometimes, it was as if he was returned to Tatooine, playing the good little slave he was before the almighty Masters on the Council.

And even after all of this — threw Ahsoka to her execution, betrayed the Republic, told him to let go of Padmé — he still had stood alongside them.

The path of the Jedi had next to nothing to offer him, and yet he stood beside them in this treason.

"Yes. Yes. Correct, you are," Yoda looked down, full of loss that Anakin had seldom seen on the Jedi Master before.

Anakin couldn't just bring himself to feel saddened. He couldn't grieve the loss of the Jedi Order, the same Jedi Order who abandoned his mother to die, the same Jedi Order who faked Obi-Wan's death, the same Jedi Order who cast out Ahsoka, allowed slavery to thrive in the Outer Rim, and told him to let go of Padmé.

"Much anger rests in your heart, young Skywalker. Directed to the Jedi, a portion of it is." Yoda told him unjudgingly. "Tell me why, you will."

"None of you have ever listened to me. You had me spy on a mentor and friend!" Anakin snarled. "You had me commit treason all for what?! Just to exploit the connection between me and Palpatine?! You'd never trusted me! You'd told me to let go of Padm-" he stopped, realizing what he was about to say.

"You and Senator Amidala," Yoda finished, humming.

"You weren't ever a good liar, Anakin," Obi-Wan smiled. "I knew, and I didn't want to address it with you because I knew you weren't ready. I didn't want to make a situation difficult for you. You may think that I never cared, but I did."

"Wish you were more upfront, I do," Yoda said lowly.

Agitation burned inside of Anakin. His damaged prosthetic shook. "Well, it isn't like you didn't cast out Ahsoka for trumped-up charges!"

Yoda's ears fell. "Yes, many wrongdoings we have committed. Take a look at ourselves. For the Order to ever be rebuilt, we must."

Anakin found, within the deepest, dark depths of his heart, that he didn't want the Order to be rebuilt. The Jedi Order claimed to stand for the people of the galaxy; however, they continue turning a blind eye to those who suffer.

"As far as we're concerned, there are only two members of the Jedi Council that are left," Anakin countered bitterly, earning their stares.

"Anakin—"

"No, Obi-Wan. Let's be honest. You would have never appointed me if it wasn't for that mission of spying on the Chancellor."

"Many misconceptions, the Jedi Council has allowed, Young Skywalker. Out of place, out of order, you believe your place is among us." Yoda said sadly.

"I almost joined him," Anakin sneered. "And I doubt anyone would care about the fact that I resisted."

"Your stripes never went unnoticed, Anakin," Obi-Wan said sympathetically.

"Some way of showing it," Anakin scoffed, thoughts racing to Padmé and what her fate would be now.

"With Senator Organa, your senator is. Believe it's best to leave her waiting for you; it is not." Yoda commented. "The last hope of the Jedi Order, you and Obi-Wan are. Take her and the child far away, you must. Plan, we will ask as to the whereabouts of where we will go if I fail."

"Alright," Anakin accepted after a moment of hesitation, beginning to move once more. He had limited time with Padmé. After he'd rejected the offer of the only one who could have saved her...

"We're not finished, Anakin," Obi-Wan spoke up, causing him to turn around.

The news of Padmé waiting for him caused him to move quicker. It wasn't as if Anakin wanted to keep her waiting. Her pregnancy had caused several startling mood swings that Anakin would rather not be a victim of. But he felt the Force urging him to stay and hear what else they had to say.

"Anakin, I said this before. I am proud of you. I am proud because you stood against the Dark Side. I am proud because, when your loyalty was tested by someone you trusted, you did the right thing and opposed him. And I am proudest of all of your most legendary accomplishments." Obi-Wan paused. "You resisted the Dark Side."

Anakin swallowed. 'So? What does it mean now? Will you finally at least respect me the way you should?'

"Claim that we do not trust you, you have," Yoda echoed, causing Anakin to look at him once more with disgust. "All the masters we need at this time. Send a message to me before going to arrest the Chancellor, Master Windu has. Planned to promote you to the rank of Jedi Master when he'd returned, he had."

Anakin didn't know how to react to the knowledge of that... but it did make him look at Mace Windu differently. Was it possible he'd badly misjudged the man? He'd assumed that Master Windu viewed him with nothing short of animosity as his power started to grow and he'd gotten closer with the Chancellor.

"Stand vigilant against the armies of the Dark Side, you have. Remarkable. Disabled the greatest Jedi trap, warned so many, possibly saving several. Against all odds, stand alongside the Jedi, you had."

Anakin felt like he was missing something here. It sounded like Yoda was truly preparing for something. He'd felt the Force urging patience. Ghosts of the Jedi Order, those that were unsettling, stopped and stared at him. He felt the eyes of a thousand different generations looming, analyzing him.

It all resided within him.

"Honored, Master Windu's final wish will be." The words went over Anakin's head for a moment until it had dawned on him. Yoda nodded subtly. "Bow, you will."

Anakin didn't recognize what was happening until he found himself going onto his knees and Obi-Wan igniting his lightsaber alongside Anakin as he bowed before Yoda. Up until a few days ago, he'd needed this knowledge so desperately. He'd needed to become more powerful than any Jedi, to go into the Holocron Vault to discover the secrets of what would be needed to save his beloved.

"Anakin Skywalker, by the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, I do dub you..." Yoda placed his lightsaber above both shoulders before above his head. "Jedi Master of the Order."

Anakin stood up, keeping eye contact with Yoda, reminded of his Knight's ceremony a few years ago before Ahsoka became his Padawan. He didn't know how to feel now with this. Relief? Anger that it didn't happen sooner? What should he feel?

Hollow?

Yes, that was the word.

A few days ago, such a promotion would have lifted his spirits to no end. He would have had access to the restricted section of the Temple and would have been able to learn from the vast collections of all the Holocrons and scrolls contained over the centuries. His faith in the Council would have been a lot stronger, and though he would still have some doubts, he wouldn't have been able to get close to Palpatine so easily.

For a moment, two different thoughts warred within him. While his trust in the Order had been shattered and the views from him recently remained, the Jedi couldn't help but feel a sense of his validation at him being recognized as the way he should have been.

The knowledge that the Jedi did trust him and didn't say anything about his relationship with Padmé changed something within the Jedi Knight... Master. He was a Master now, promoted at the behest of a dead Jedi Master who he had a certain amount of contempt for.

Palpatine had always told him that the Jedi didn't recognize his valor. To him, it was proven true when they did that whole Rako Hardeen incident, heightened when they didn't even take into consideration that he had stopped Count Dooku and stood alongside them.

But it wasn't that Anakin was complaining at the present time.

Yoda deactivated the lightsaber, as did Obi-Wan, just as Master Skywalker rose to his feet, staring at the Grandmaster, waiting.

"But why?" Anakin had to know. More, why now? Why, after everything was destroyed and the Jedi Order was in a time of peril? Instead of a time of celebration, as his knighthood was, the young man couldn't find any levity in this.

It didn't come soon enough in Anakin's opinion. By Palpatine proving himself as unreliable as the Jedi and Anakin being unable to trust either side, it was likely Padmé's days were numbered.

'I won't allow her to die,' Anakin thought furiously.

"The only ones to disobey rules, you are not," Yoda responded. "Express this to you before, we did."

The words alone almost drew a strained laugh out of him. "Was this your plan all along?"

It was difficult, knowing what the circumstances surrounding the current stages of the Jedi Order were. Hell, this could very well be another inconvenience: Master Yoda clinging onto straws and hoping that he would have another Jedi Master to oppose the machinations of Palpatine.

"Unnoticed, your valor is not. Unrewarded, it never was." Yoda responded cryptically. "Failed you, we have. Hope you forgive us if not now, someday, we do."

The same conflict tore at Anakin's heart. He stared at the ground. 'If Master Yoda views you as a Jedi Master, he trusts you.'

Even Anakin couldn't argue the point. It may have been too late, but late was better than never.

'Master Windu did... too.'

"But Master," Obi-Wan persisted, breaking him out of his grim thoughts, "what about me? Would you need me to take down Darth Sidious?"

Yoda's ancient eyes analyzed them. "Go, you will, Jedi Masters. If make it back I do not, the last hope for the Order, you are."

"Need you more now than ever, I believe Skywalker does," Yoda remarked. "If I do not return, a new Grandmaster of the Jedi Order would have to be born."

The implication was clear.

For Anakin, it was an odd thought. It was possible that Palpatine was very paranoid, searching for a new Sith Apprentice and maybe knowing that Skywalker yet lived. There was a very real chance that Yoda wouldn't return from such an engagement, leaving the Jedi Order in Obi-Wan's hands.

The Senate Building was likely on tight lockdown, making life a lot more difficult for Yoda. But Anakin knew that if Yoda went down, it would indeed be an unsettling victory for Palpatine. There was more than enough time for Anakin and Obi-Wan to escape. More than that, there was more than enough time for him to meet up with Padmé and...

Well, what could Anakin do now?

He'd denied the only chance he had to save Padmé. It was waiting for the inevitable and her possibly passing away as well.

Such thoughts already left a giant hole in his heart.

After leaving the temple, the three Jedi Masters moved towards where Yoda and Obi-Wan parked their respective vehicles. It turned out that the Grandmaster had occupied a small pod.

He stopped one last time as Obi-Wan exchanged what could possibly be the final exchange between himself and Yoda.

'Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is.'

While the new Jedi Master found that advice to be absurd at best, he couldn't deny that he would miss Yoda terribly, knowing the unknown. He wanted to sincerely follow him, but Yoda had disallowed it, and besides, the knowledge of Padmé waiting had forced him to consider this moment.

"May the Force be with you," he copied Obi-Wan in saying, emptily.

Yoda patted Anakin on the shin with his favorite walking stick. "And with you, Masters. Never lose yourself, Skywalker."

"Let's go catch you up with your senator," Obi-Wan smiled, though it was clearly strained.

Anakin sighed as he sat behind him. "Obi-Wan, try not to crash when we're in the air. I know that flying isn't your expertise."

"Please, Anakin, considering that my flying skills are an equivalent to yours, I take that as a compliment." Obi-Wan said as he started up his Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor, preparing to take off.

Anakin laughed for the first time in days. It was not a fake or bitter one, but a real, genuine laugh. The Starfighter ascended, bringing them into the black void of space.

And Coruscant was behind them now.

Anakin knew that it would be a long time before either of them would ever return to Coruscant.

Chapter Text

Yoda walked slowly in the halls of the Senate Building, only just managing successfully to bypass a huge number of Clone Patrols and squadrons that surrounded the building. It would appear that the Dark Lord of the Sith acknowledged the threat that the Chosen One, along with the Jedi, could provide. The Clone Commander Thire was at the head of these patrols, greatly saddening the Grandmaster as he'd recalled the friendship and camaraderie founded on Toydaria, replaced by an instrument to kill for the Sith.

Inside the Galactic Senate Chamber Holding Office of the Senate Building, the Grandmaster waited, concealing himself in the Force, channeling his energy for the latest confrontation.

'In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire! For a safe and secure society.'

Yoda grimaced, closing out the rest of the new Emperor's words, as well as the applause of so many local governments and bodies of the Senate. Not too long ago, the Grandmaster had believed them to be allies of the Jedi Order and would stand behind them in dark times that may have come due to Dooku.

Now, Yoda recognized how far and wide Palpatine's control went. It was likely that the Sith had contingencies in place in the case of his death, therefore covering all tracks.

It didn't matter, Yoda supposed. He was robbed of the Chosen One. That had been the reason why the Grandmaster had promoted Anakin to the rank of Master, hadn't it? To ensure that Skywalker wouldn't seek the Sith out on a later date and abandon the Jedi in their time of need.

'A skilled Jedi Master, Skywalker will now be.'

Yoda had made the right decision in showing that his valor was noted by the Council, allowing him to get off Coruscant with Obi-Wan and away from the jaws of the Sith. His love and attachment were his salvation.

The Emperor scrolled in, followed closely by a squad of Clones and Mas Amedda.

It was then that the Grandmaster revealed himself, stopping short of Palpatine's desk as he approached at a leisurely pace.

"Robbed of your Apprentice, I heard, Emperor, or should I call you, Darth Sidious?"

The Clones instantly turned their blasters on him. As did the Red Guards with their electrostaffs. As Yoda got closer, he noticed that there was something different about Sidious.

He was wearing a large metal prosthesis cover over where a jaw should be, suggesting an injury far deeper. Added to his physical deformities, his face now marked with scars, it was a sign of what happened when one went down the path of the Dark Side.

"Master Yoda," Sidious croaked in barely veiled displeasure. A vocoder allowed Sidious to speak, but his voice was now synthesized with a gruff mechanical tone: "You've survived."

"Surprised?" Yoda returned. Hmm, that was an odd one, even from him. Perhaps Skywalker and Kenobi were rubbing off on him more than the Grandmaster had believed.

"Your arrogance blinds you, Master Yoda," the Emperor returned. "Now, you will experience the full power of the Dark Side." As he said this, the Emperor looked around him, raising his hands. "Commander Fox, I trust with your men will not allow this second insurrection."

"Yes, sir," the Commander nodded eagerly. "Blast him!"

The lightning came flying at Yoda's direction, and at the same time, the Clones fired. The Grandmaster avoided the series of blue bursts, pulling and activating his tiny green lightsaber. The red-armored figures were the first to fall in the unfortunate circumstances that Yoda blocked the shots, hitting them squarely in the chest.

Mas Amedda crouched, horrified by the display, trembling. Yoda twirled between their tiny forms, dispatching them without hesitation. His lightsaber stopped short of Sidious's frame.

"At an end, your rule is," Yoda said sharply. "And not short enough it was..."

Tendrils of lightning, webbed and twisted, came to him from the Emperor. Yoda leapt away from the table, unleashing a blast through the Force right into Sidious's chest.

The Emperor's eyes boiled, and he could tell that if he could, he would have been grinning maliciously. "The galaxy is behind me, Jedi. Your credibility just keeps crumbling deeper and deeper."

"Stand strong, the Jedi will. Survive past you, we shall. Fall to darkness, never!" Yoda rebuked fearlessly.

Another burst of lightning came at him. Yoda evaded, causing it to catch the pod, before seizing the attack with the Force and tossing it back at Sidious. The Emperor recoiled, caught in the chest, and flew backwards. The Grandmaster lunged forward, green lightsaber prepped for a finishing attack. A flurry of lightning sparks came. Yoda dodged every attack, moving to the right, to the left, diagonally again.

"If so powerful you are," he stated intensely, "why leave?"

"You will not stop me," the Emperor glowered, "I am already the Master of the Dark Side and the ruler of the galaxy!" He activated his red lightsaber and angled it down. "Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin; so many Jedi, slayed by me! I have already won!"

"Resisted the Dark Side, Anakin Skywalker has," Yoda scowled, twirling his lightsaber in the direction of Sidious. "Return, the Chosen One will. More powerful than either of us, he will be."

Sidious stared coldly, "The faith in your Chosen One is misplaced, as is your faith in the Light Side of the Force."

"We shall see..."

Sidious raised his saber above his head, ready for an attack. Yoda leapt up and rolled over Sidious's head, briefly locking blades before landing on the side of the pod. He then followed back down from the Chancellor's platform with a descent, locking lightsabers once more. They exchanged a series of assaults, the fierceness of Yoda and the rage of Sidious driving them to no end.

Before they'd even registered it, they were on top of Sidious's pod, one of their attacks catching the controls and causing the pod to rise into the Senate Chamber. The light of green and red continued in tandem, blinking through. The halls of the Senate were cleared out after the previous hours of the new Emperor giving his speech.

Half a jump and a flicker of barely deflected lightning, Yoda missed the pod Sidious was standing on. The Dark Lord extinguished his lightsaber. The cackling of the Emperor came next. He started to seize the platforms Master Yoda was running on, then tossing them back at him, attempting to knock him off.

Yoda stopped running only for a second, then tossed his lightsaber in an arching spin, forcing Sidious to leap from the center platform, all the while pulling one of the floating podiums to him. He pulled his lightsaber back into his hand, just in time for Sidious to send a barrage of podiums in his direction, causing the small Jedi Master to jump and evade with all the agility he could muster.

After dodging several more of the projectile platforms, Yoda maintained his footing, placing his lightsaber on his belt. The Grandmaster found himself growing tired really quickly. More than that, he sensed the various Clones closing in. Sidious launched another at the Jedi, only for Yoda to catch it. As Sidious laughed above him, Yoda used all his strength to rotate the platform. Once it had gained a strong momentum, he launched it in the direction of the Dark Lord. Sidious ceased his cackling and growled as he was forced from his ledge, leaping many platforms down. Once he landed, he searched around for the green Jedi.

Doors opening, reinforcement Clones filled the chambers, a well-trained battalion of soldiers landed their jetpacks to surround the newly appointed Emperor and started tossing grenades and other bombers. Yoda had no choice but to leap onto the platform in front of the Emperor, saber lit once more for another engagement.

Taken by surprise and instinct, Sidious unleashed a volley of lightning at Yoda, successfully disarming him. Yoda steadied himself before he fell, absorbing the energy into his hands. He had no time to intercept the first bolt that slammed against him. The others as well. The Light Side of the Force boiled inside of his essence, allowing their bolts to do little to deter him. A distant part of the Jedi's mind lamented what would happen to the Jedi. They were doing their jobs, but failed to recognize what evil they were serving. It was tragic, really, yet another web of destruction because of the Sith.

As the energy built between them, it extended beyond and exploded, causing them both to fly away, and a massive wave of electricity to shoot into the air, claiming the screaming soldiers in the blast. As Yoda recovered, he saw that the Emperor was clinging onto a pod, pulling himself up as he cackled, staring down at him.

Broken bones and internal injuries suggested that time was up. Yoda was unable to move. Despite that, he was resolved about what was to come. Even if history frowned at him, Yoda, at the very least, was able to get Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi off-world. The offspring of Skywalker lived. The Jedi Order still had hope.

The Sith Emperor drew a spare lightsaber from his robe as he leapt down in front of the defeated Grandmaster.

"Did you really believe you would win? Pathetic!"

"No," Yoda said, allowing peace to pass into his body as he fell into a serene state. "Fight to win, I do not. Already won, I did. Hope, still strong, in the galaxy. Too old, am I. Set in my ways. Adapt to the times, I cannot. The last of the old, I may be. Not the first of the new." A light fell over Yoda's face. "And the new followers of the Force shall stop you."

"New followers?" Sidious huffed. "They won't be able to stand against my power. The Dark Side has won."

"Power and delusion, you are blinded by. Your failure, that is." Yoda closed his eyes serenely. "If strike me down, you do, more powerful than you can possibly imagine, I will become."

For a moment, nothing happened.

Yoda reached into the Force one last time, not to his opponent, but to beyond; halfway across the galaxy, to Senator Amidala. To the child... children inside her womb. He'd spotted two children, a boy and a girl of equal strength, rising to stand untainted. He'd allowed his depleted energy to transform into their mother, knowing that she would be paramount to Skywalker's fate now.

Catching the Emperor's stunned look, Yoda smiled slowly at him. With a savage roar, the Sith swung his lightsaber over Yoda's body. Just as the lightsaber made contact with the ancient Master, going through what should have been flesh itself, the diminutive form disappeared. His cloak remained upright for the longest moment as if it was still clothing the one who wore it, before falling at the Sith's feet.

Grandmaster Yoda was no more.

It turned out that Obi-Wan and the Jedi had very reliable friends in the form of Senator Organa. Of course, mere days ago, Anakin had stood alongside the Chancellor when Padmé and the Delegation of 2000 approached Palpatine with what he'd thought to be an outrageous bill and proposed treason.

As soon as they'd made it inside the Tantive IV, Anakin couldn't help but feel a sudden sense of security. Bail Organa and a well-armed security detail stood alongside him, his eyes shining in relief when he'd spotted Skywalker, despite his injuries.

"Master Skywalker!" A young figure, with a bounce in their step, moved over to him and wrapped their arms around his legs. "I'm Shia Letap. You saved us in the Temple. Remember?"

"I remember," Anakin patted her back awkwardly.

"Master Skywalker, it's good to see you alive," Whie Malreaux said with a nod, accompanied by another young Jedi named Bene.

Drallig's Padawans made it, then?

"Yes," Bail nodded. "Padmé was wearing holes on the floor."

"Master Ti?" Obi-Wan's mouth dropped as he spotted the familiar Togruta. "Thank the Force..."

Shaak Ti looked at Bail, who happily explained, "I was able to recover Master Ti soon after you've left, Master Kenobi, with this group of Younglings. Serra Keto as well. Some are resting, but they'll be fine."

"We owe it to Anakin," Ti nodded. "Were it not for him, I don't think we would have been able to escape with even this much. He's a hero."

After being able to get the Younglings out of the way without hurt feelings involved, Anakin looked at the Senator.

"Padmé," Anakin said to his friend curtly, discarding any titles. It was not like he would have to live that life anymore, given Obi-Wan and Yoda knew. And it just no longer mattered. "Where is she?"

"This way," Bail responded, a knowing glint passing through his eyes. Was it possible that he'd also known as well? Or perhaps Anakin was just overthinking things again.

Nevertheless, he followed Bail down the halls quite eagerly, Obi-Wan, Shaak Ti, and the security at his side.

Anakin entered the room where his pregnant wife was sitting down on a bed, Moteé at her side. Her clear anxiety and stress had gotten to the Jedi Knight in more ways than one.

Anakin could see Padmé was watching a Holo. Not just any Holo but one within the Senate Building. It was different. Palpatine was at the head of it, hooded. He'd just watched, sensing that she hadn't noticed him yet.

"The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated! Any collaborators will suffer the same fate. These have been trying times, but we have passed the test. The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed, but I assure you my resolve has never been stronger. The war is over. The Separatists have been defeated, and the Jedi rebellion has been foiled. We stand on the threshold of a new beginning."

A moment of silence followed in the room.

"In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic..." Anakin knew what was coming even before the next words were spoken, "Empire, for a safe and secure society, which I assure you will last for ten thousand years."

Applause echoed throughout the galaxy. Coruscant did not blink even as the pillar of the system that had stood for thousands of years burned.

Obi-Wan recoiled. "We've failed..."

Padmé's voice was resigned and defeated as she looked away from Moteé, "So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause."

Despite everyone's grief, that pillar of the corrupt system, Anakin just couldn't mourn. The Republic had failed for decades. It was unlikely that the Empire was going to be any better, but if the Jedi Knight knew anything, it was that the same leaders who stood for the Republic were now heralding an Empire.

"Padmé..." Anakin's voice broke.

Upon seeing him, Padmé stood up, her tears fading, as she approached Anakin, giving him a furiously tight hug. Although such an action induced pain in his ribs, Anakin ignored it. His injuries were of no importance. His priorities were always his beloved.

"Ani!" Padmé shouted. "Are you okay?!"

His trepidation was clear as he regarded, "I'm fine. I'm fine. I have to know if you and the baby are okay."

"Yes, we're fine," Padmé gave him a painstakingly charming smile. "I told you that everything will be alright." She had been evidently concerned with Anakin's lack of sleep in the past few nights, something that had bothered the husband and added to his stress, for her concerns weren't meant to be.

Anakin broke their embrace after holding her for a few seconds. "Master Yoda had went to deal with the Chancellor. We are hoping to hear back from him soon."

"There was nothing you could have done, Ani," she rubbed his blond locks in the way that always assuaged Anakin.

"Master Yoda promoted me to the rank of Jedi Master, following the deaths of half of the Council," Anakin announced. "It seems that it was Master Windu's idea."

Padmé gave a small quip, throwing his own words back at him. "I thought he didn't like you very much."

A pained grimace crossed Anakin's face, despite a small smile. "It turns out that he did. Master Windu had planned to surprise me after dealing with the Sith. I am now a Jedi Master." He looked down. "It feels undeserved. I almost joined him, Padmé."

"Almost?" Padmé repeated the word, narrowing her eyes. "Almost joined...?"

"Yes. He told me he had the power to save you, and all I had to do was go to the Chancellor's Office an-" he started.

Padmé interrupted him, "Anakin, unless the Chancellor can transform himself into me and shoulder the process of giving birth, I doubt that would be a concern."

"You don't understand, Padmé. I saw you in my dreams. I saw you as clearly as I saw my mother before she d-" he caught himself and stared at Obi-Wan and Shaak Ti, who were still in the room, studying him, "-and the Jedi told me to let her go."

Shaak Ti closed her eyes.

"We made many mistakes, Anakin," Obi-Wan was the one who responded. "We never wanted for any harm to come to your mother, but we believed your attachment to be your downfall."

"That's not it, isn't it, Obi-Wan?" Anakin retorted. "I gave everything for the Jedi. I didn't leave with Ahsoka when she'd left. I didn't leave before the Clone Wars. I didn't stay with Padmé. I have been trying. I have been trying really hard, and all the Jedi saw in me was a threat due to my power!"

Obi-Wan lowered his head, resigned. "We genuinely wanted the best for you, Anakin. But you have to understand the Council isn't always right."

"Isn't always right?" Anakin scoffed. "Except when they made decisions deciding my future, they were perfectly in the right."

"No, I never said that-"

In that moment, Bail Organa cleared his throat, stopping a would-be escalation to an argument. "Masters Kenobi, Skywalker, Ti, Senator Amidala, we're going to Polis Massa. They are the best doctors in the galaxy." His words suggested that he was directing his sentence to each of them, but his eyes were locked independently on Anakin's. "If anything is to happen, your wife will be in safe hands."

Although meant to be reassuring, Anakin couldn't just bring himself to feel too uplifted. "Thank you."

Anakin felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, earning a sharp gasp as he lurched forward, trying not to show her how injured he was. But he'd failed. Padmé gasped and pulled away from her husband, terrified. The fear in the room rose when Obi-Wan and Master Ti had a similar reaction, having felt it as well.

"What is it now?" Organa asked, worried.

"Master Yoda is dead," Obi-Wan announced.

Ti, her eyes closed deeply, responded. "We are the last of the Jedi."

Anakin leaned on the wall for support, his legs finally giving in. He didn't know what to do, how to react. Kriff, Yoda was dead. He didn't know what he should have done. What could have been done to save the Grandmaster here and now? He was another person Anakin failed to save. Kark, kark, kark, first his mother, so many Clones-including the ones he'd slaughtered, Ahsoka, and now...

'Yoda?'

The death of the Grandmaster left a darkening void in his spirit.

That moment, the Force screamed, and Anakin recoiled. Injured, exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. The pain within him was too unbearable. So many suffered. If Anakin had killed Palpatine, everything could have been different. A great tremor occurred in the Force, shaking the very reality as the greatest light who ever wielded it blinked out of existence.

The last bit of hope that had been there was ripped away. Padmé would likely soon be with Yoda. Padmé. Outside of Sidious, Yoda was possibly his only chance to save her, and now that he'd turned one down and the other was gone, leaving him hopelessly waiting for the inevitable.

His mind was broken.

Hope drained from him.

There was no winning for Anakin Skywalker.

None at all.

Padmé gasped once more, earning everyone's attention. Her hand trembled over her stomach, and she eyed all of the people there.

"Padmé, what's the matter?" Bail asked.

Breathlessly, she spoke the words Anakin was sullen to hear. "I think my water just broke."

And everything went into pandemonium.

Chapter Text

Padmé Amidala never felt the unbearable pain that she did now.

This was what she'd been waiting for for nine months. During that time, Padmé had many contractions that only her handmaidens helped her with and dealt with the stress of Palpatine and his followers gaining more power. And now her husband... Thankfully, Senator Organa made it clear that he needed to get checked out for his injuries.

Anakin, being the stubborn clow fish, attempted to refuse and shrug him off. To the shock of everyone, Bail raised his voice at the Jedi Knight and demanded if he didn't get checked out that it would not help anyone, especially the woman. And that was why Anakin was moodily handled within the halls of Polis Massa in the room next to her. It was relatively quick. They repaired his prosthetic arm and checked for his other various injuries that he'd thought Padmé didn't know about.

'We will have words about his injuries and him hiding things from me later,' Padmé thought furiously.

Of course, it took women over 18 hours to give birth.

The operating room was where the midwife droids were working. Padmé had heard of them before. They were a type of droid developed to assist obstetricians of varying species in delivering infants. These droids were most often constructed in the image of a female of the species and had calming attitudes, a peaceful aspect, and soothing voices. The limbs of the droid were engineered to help ease the mother's discomfort and pain and provide support for the newborn. The main body of the midwife droid was engulfed in specialized materials that could be heated to comfort the baby.

While not the ideal place where she'd wanted to deliver her child — no, that would be Naboo — Padmé wasn't in the mood to be complaining right now.

"Just a little further," the voice of Anakin said lowly, his eyes downcast. Padmé never saw so much depression emanating around her husband. He was so sleep-deprived.

It was as if he was waiting for something.

She couldn't give much thought to it, for screams welled from her throat. And finally, another wailing accompanied hers. The senator looked over, spotting the midwife droid handing her husband a newborn. Her heart instantly melted in joy and heartache.

The droid said something that Padmé couldn't understand with the pain still crawling up her lower half, but Anakin could have.

"He's a boy..." Anakin whispered, his fixed prosthetic hand crawling alongside his head.

Padmé's eyes light with joy and happiness. Upon seeing him, she knew what his name was going to be instantly. He was her flesh. A blood of her blood. He was going to be everything that their family would have in these dark times and much more. So much awaited them.

"Luke..." Padmé said, her hand reaching out to touch the sobbing infant.

The boy calmed as soon as his mother's hand made contact.

"He likes me... more than you," Padmé teased breathlessly.

Anakin hummed sadly.

Padmé didn't know why. She'd felt complete. While Anakin wanted a daughter and believed they would have one, her mood changed with the wind. She'd vowed to love and protect her child with everything she had. While Anakin's eyes shot over her anxiously, he continued looking down at their son, falling into a seat. Padmé sighed, laying back, feeling...

Terrible pain!

Another ache shot through her stomach, and Padmé was screaming once more.

"Padmé!" Anakin shouted, causing Luke to cry. He'd at least had the good manner to look guilty, but the crime of making her child cry because he couldn't control himself pissed Padmé off.

'I'm going to kill him!' Due to being more tired than the first time, Padmé knew that she couldn't afford threatening to cut off Anakin's prosthetic and bash his head over with it for now.

The midwife droid offered soothing comfort for her, but the unbearable pain came and passed once more, and again, another wailing joined hers. Her heart stopped, recognizing the midwife collecting another baby and bringing them up to her.

The droid spoke once more, addressing Anakin, who gave Luke over to Senator Organa as he moved over to his wife with the new baby in hand.

"She's a girl," he informed her.

"Leia..." Padmé spoke softly, managing with all of her willpower to push herself up and reaching out for her too.

Once her little bundle of joys arrived and screamed their first scream, she was so overwhelmed with love that none of the previous agony mattered.

Consoling Leia for a bit, Padmé finally calmed her down enough that she felt like it was time for her family to be together.

"Anakin, please bring Luke over here. I want them to meet each other." Padmé said.

Anakin collected Luke from the senator and moved over, who bowed and left with the few men inside. And they were four. There was no more contraption to be made. They were a united family. Even though Padmé wanted more children in the future, her heart was sated with only two. There would probably only be the only two they would ever have with these dark times.

"My children. My... angels." Anakin spoke in relief, tears of joy filling his eyes. His worry grew within his chest. "Padmé, how do you feel?"

"I'm... I'm..."

"Yes?" Anakin prompted.

"I'm exhausted," Padmé confessed, yawning.

Anakin pushed his remaining hand against the top of her forehead. His eyes closed, and Padmé felt a warm, bubbling feeling as she took the resting infant in her arms. Unbeknownst to her, Anakin was checking for her life force. Upon finding it still functional and stronger, his heart beat with happiness, and his eyes flashed.

"You're... alive," Anakin said, as if coming to a realization. "Your vitals are... you're perfectly fine!"

"Not perfectly." A sarcastic note entered the woman's voice. "I feel like I'm going to collapse over any minute now. Why can't men give birth?!"

She had no doubt that the joke would have caused Anakin to roll his eyes on a normal day. This was anything but. A hollow laugh spilled from his throat, one that filled Padmé with even bigger joy. So long had Anakin been worried in the past few days that she'd wondered if he was ever going to be alright again. The blackness under his eyes suggested that he needed some sleep as well, but his heart was moved enough by the sight of his children that it passed him for now.

"We're all alive. We are all safe and happy." Anakin breathed.

Everything was going to be okay.

"Now, you go get some sleep." She gave him the best pointed look she could. "We're going to have a long talk about your mental health once this is all over, my love!"

Anakin followed his wife's orders gladly.

That was the best sleep Anakin had in years.

Looking at the chrono, naturally, before going to sleep, Anakin realized how exhausted he was. For the past few nights, due to the nightmares, and finally, what happened in the Jedi Temple with fending off his own men.

He slept for 17 hours.

17 hours!

Was he that sleep deprived?!

'And I'm still tired as hell.'

Oh, Anakin was starting to think he'd deserved that lecture that Padmé was going to give him. For the first time since he'd returned to Coruscant, he didn't have the nightmares that accompanied him in the Temple. The droids were tending to the two, relieving the Jedi Knight even further.

Rising from the bed, Anakin kissed his wife, who was located there when he was sleeping, on the forehead softly.

"I'm going to go check on the Jedi."

Padmé said nothing, still snoring lightly. Standing above the cribs where the two children were sleeping peacefully, Anakin ensured that they were both alright. He'd trusted the nurses here now, though one could never be too thorough. He could imagine what the Jedi, and especially the Sith, would want to do with two powerful children. He'd realized that Obi-Wan would likely want to train them as Jedi.

Quietly, he scoffed at the idea. 'Look at what being a Jedi had done for the galaxy, for Ahsoka, for me even...'

Luke moved his hands around and jostled his sibling, nearly stirring Leia to cry. He recognized that they were likely about to sob for their mother. In that moment, Anakin sedated them with the Force.

Anakin made his way to what turned out to be the Conference Room, where Obi-Wan, Shaak Ti, and Bail Organa were sitting. The older Jedi's Force signature was distant, cloudy, and broken. More now than ever. Yoda's death had finally broken something in Anakin.

"Master Skywalker, we were waiting for you to wake up before we began," Bail greeted.

"What's going on?" Anakin asked, nodding in appreciation.

"We have been discussing what we can do now," Bail answered as Anakin moved over and took a seat.

Anakin raised an eyebrow at the only two other Council Members who were confirmed to be survivors so far.

Shaak Ti provided, "We are planning to go somewhere remote." She shot Obi-Wan a sad look. "Unfortunately, your master doesn't seem to agree."

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan sighed and looked away. "Something needs to change, and I believe reflection is required."

Ti nodded solemnly. "There was something wrong with the Order."

Obi-Wan looked at his oldest friend and nodded with a distinct, pained smile, "We'll fix it, Grandmaster Ti."

Shaak Ti couldn't help a sigh and roll of the eyes. "Don't remind me. Skywalker, given your recent outburst about not being granted the rank of Master, would you like to switch places?" She was smiling slightly.

"I don't envy your position, Master Ti," Anakin said with a pained smile. "I realize I may have been too young for this promotion. My outburst was a sign that I wasn't ready." Now that Anakin's mind was clearer for the first time in days, he understood that much.

"But thousands of systems have thrown themselves behind Palpatine, calling the Jedi traitors." Obi-Wan mentioned, gripping his forehead. "We are in desperate times. And something went wrong. I want to see if I can find out what it is."

"...There's also the Clone Wars..." Anakin started.

"Not anymore," Organa interrupted.

"Not anymore?" Anakin arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, yesterday, it was reported on the HoloNet that the Separatists were gathered on the Mustafar system. Tarkin took the 401st to handle the Separatists, having apparently found their location through anonymous means."

"Anonymous means" leading to most likely the Chancellor being involved, but no one wanted to express it.

The blow that Tarkin was part of Palpatine's madness went over Anakin's head at the moment, but it made sense given how close he also was to the Chancellor.

Anakin couldn't blame the Jedi no matter what. It was all on Sidious. The tyrannical madman aimed for one of the deepest wounds that he could have ever gone for. He'd aimed for Anakin's family. In the Temple and the following days before Padmé's successful birth, the young Jedi Knight had been haunted by that terrible vision of Padmé going lifeless on a medical bed from afar, Obi-Wan at her side.

Rage engulfed him. Sidious had isolated him, feeding him false promises and a story of a Sith Lord keeping the ones he'd cared about from dying. And Anakin was so close to joining him. He was close. If it wasn't for Jocasta Nu giving Anakin food for thought, he would have been in the Temple.

He knew it.

The knowledge of what he'd almost done tore at Anakin. If Palpatine had had his way, he would have had no idea how it would have ended. Anger threatened to tear at his vision even now. The knowledge of Palpatine manipulating and twisting his mind against the Jedi aggravated Anakin.

"You're saying...?" Anakin began slowly.

"Yes, Nute Gunray, Passel Argente, San Hill, Shu Mai, Wat Tambor, Poggle the Lesser, and Senators Po Nudo and Tikkes were all gathered up. Tarkin didn't believe that it was just them and had the Shock Troopers be on the lookoutfor any traitors. Gizor Dellso attempted to hide, but he was located as well. Once they did an analysis live on HoloNet, Tarkin made an example of them all and brutally executed them, finally ending the war. It was live on the feed." Bail winced. "Many of the civilian populace are cheering, viewing this as a rise to peace and the Republic as a failure."

"So the Clone Wars is over?" Anakin was shocked by those words leaving his lips. He especially expected the climax of the war to occur differently: with the Republic whole and them walking off in the sunset.

Obi-Wan sighed. "We have been fighting a meaningless battle after meaningless battle. And the public accomplished what they'd wanted, but not with the Jedi, but behind the Sith."

Kriff, they would have to go into hiding somewhere else from Naboo. There was absolutely no choice for them. Darth Sidious would find them with ease and kill Padmé, likely his twins as well, just so Anakin could come to lash out in rage and fall. Or worse, train them as a replacement for their father, who refused to join him. He'd threatened to do so before in the Temple. Anakin won't let it happen.

"What's going on, Obi-Wan?" Anakin was almost afraid to ask.

"Yesterday," Obi-Wan looked at him now, "I had a vision of Masters Qui-Gon and Yoda. Yoda told me he had training for me. And Qui-Gon explained that he had learned the path to immortality. On Dagobah, they could teach me how to communicate with them far more effectively."

Anakin didn't know how to digest this information. He could sense no lie from his old master. But a familiar anger was burning up.

"You are already leaving," Anakin seethed slowly.

"Yes," Obi-Wan confirmed, standing up, Anakin and Organa copying his movements, while Ti remained sitting, her eyes sealed shut.

The three traveled through the halls. Anakin didn't know where he was going, but it seemed like Obi-Wan had it in mind.

It wasn't surprising when they'd made it to the ships.

"Obi-Wan..." "Anakin," she said, voice pained. "Please. Please don't do this."

"Anakin. I am tired," Obi-Wan said, wearily. "The Jedi's ways failed. The galaxy is backing a dictatorship, and... we are broken. The Jedi didn't survive."

"Obi-Wan... I need you," Anakin pleaded.

Obi-Wan locked eyes for a brief moment with Anakin, and guilt tugged at him for feeling angry in the first place before the older man spoke, "I'll be there when I'm ready, Anakin, but not now. You have your wife and children. You need to protect them. I have to find my own way with the Force."

Obi-Wan moved inside of the ship, his hands manipulating the panel next to it, priming it for launch to the planet of choice.

And the ship took off, leaving both Anakin and Organa with a gaping hole.

At first, Anakin felt a pang of loss in his heart. He didn't know how he could continue on without Obi-Wan. That wasn't the old man he'd known. Obi-Wan lost so much amongst the Jedi: Cerasi, Qui-Gon, Siri, Satine, Ahsoka, Yoda, the entire Jedi Order...

"This is just..." Organa started, staring after with pain and agony himself.

His thoughts went to his babies, and he almost saw both of them staring up at him, their innocent eyes sending a drive through Anakin's heart. They'd cleared out most of his bitter thoughts.

"What about the Jedi out there who are still alive?" Organa spoke what was on Anakin's mind.

And like that, determination leaked in. He'd refused to allow the unthinkable to happen. While Anakin wanted to leave it all behind and raise his children, he wasn't going to put his family at risk of being found and killed. Padmé would want him to fight as well.

He doesn't have the best feelings for the Jedi, but they were enemies to Sidious and were allies to Anakin. The alternative was running and running until their legs gave in and they couldn't run anymore. He and Ti were still here.

Anakin looked out at the now black abyss of space as the ship disappeared for the longest moment before turning and addressing

"We have to fight," Anakin voiced honestly.

"Anakin, you have children—" Organa started, surprised. "I was only discreetly able to transfer your wife's family away successfully because Palpatine hadn't focused on them yet."

"And my children deserve a chance to grow old into something that they could be happy in." He wasn't going to kick over and allow Palpatine's regime to be peaceful. He would have to put his lightsaber in his gut and stop this madness.

"You've fought a long battle in the Clone Wars, Skywalker."

"I feel like because I can fight, I have to for those who cannot." Anakin responded. "You and Padmé had a committee," he reminded.

"Indeed," Organa nodded. "The Delegation of 2,000. We were supposed to oppose Palpatine's control in the Senate, and no doubt he would be moving in to arrest them."

"There's no way the entire galaxy would agree to this," Anakin retorted. "I will join you in speaking for your cause."

"In the meantime..." Organa started.

"We need to go into hiding... And I have several ideas as to where."

"We will find a place for you to raise your children, Anakin. We will provide them with a normal childhood, able to go to school, able to live with you and Padmé as any regular household. You have my word, Anakin. For now, you should spend as much time with your twins."

Anakin nodded as he went back into the room. Padmé was up before long, in a wheelchair with Luke and Leia cradled in her arms. Taking Leia, Anakin vowed Sidious would never get his sick hands on them.

Chapter Text

Personal discussions had been made about their respective locations, even unknown to Senator Organa, in case of captivity. Tython was a natural first thought for relocation as the first Jedi Temple. But at last, there were risks. Aside from the fact that it tended to change locations quickly, there was also a dark taint on the planet that the compromised and traumatized children didn't need to witness. Dantooine was also a choice, but it may be tracked down. Subsequently, Ossus became the next option.

Bail Organa was a man of trustworthiness, leaking funds and starting a confidential bank account not only for the Skywalker family but also as a way the Jedi could settle and make a new temple on top of the whole.

Following Order 66, all of the Younglings and teenagers were struggling, most having seen Jedi and friends be gunned down by opposing Clone Troopers. It was through sheer luck that they'd met up with Scerra Horn and the Green Jedi, Nejaa Halcyon. The woman was a mind healer who was helping them transition, and took on the task of having her work cut out for them.

Along with them, Dass Jennir and K'Krukh soon followed, though that was largely in part due to Shaak Ti reaching out through encrypted databases.

They didn't have a Council yet. Throughout that time, the five Jedi discussed what the changes could be to the Hidden Jedi Order. Since Obi-Wan's seclusion, he didn't attend the meeting.

What was more surprising was that Anakin had a voice at these meetings. As someone who had saved the Jedi in the Temple at a dark time, all respected what he had to offer, even those who were his seniors. He'd pointed out why he didn't go to the Jedi for his visions of his wife dying, mentioning that he had a fear of what could happen to him and his Jedi career. To his surprise, each of the Jedi agreed. None should fear the consequences. The fear of a Jedi being tossed to the streets and forgotten about like Ahsoka all had been was addressed.

Changes had been made:

The no-attachment rule was barred, except in extreme circumstances where emotions became unhealthy, in which case treatment and counseling came into play, and if neither of those worked, mandatory therapy was considered.

Love and marriage were also welcomed in the Order. Therefore, Anakin and Padmé all but publicized their marriage with legal documents. It was a lovely affair for both Skywalkers, now with official wedding rings to make up for it.

And finally, negative emotions were to be addressed, not suppressed. This was all but guaranteed by the fact that the stragglers still showed heavy signs of PTSD. Jennir had also agreed that the Jedi needed to find themselves and reconnect with the Force. They would continue their training of the new generation, but on a later date, allowing a recovery time to proceed, where the children could grieve.

Overall, after that meeting, Anakin came out of it a new man with faith regained in the Order.

It took a bit of time, but Padmé started to heal and was, as always, a picture of health.

Now, Anakin was stuck with the most difficult job in the galaxy, even harder than dealing with a fallen Order: being a parent to a child who wouldn't stop crying.

Luke was always the quieter one out of the two, the less vocal and softer one. Leia, however, was always the most rambunctious one. And when she'd started crying, her twin would follow suit, and it would all be history from there.

His wife walked into her room, a small smile on her lips. "Alright, you know the routine. I take care of little me. You take care of little you."

"You did most of the speaking in the Senate," Anakin laughed as she collected Luke, the baby's cries notably softening when his mother's hands reached him. "He doesn't act like that when I do it."

Anakin grabbed his daughter and rubbed her back with his fingers, allowing her to bury herself against his neck. She was much harder to calm down, even with her mother's comfort, whereas Luke seemed drawn to his mother already.

"You're jealous?" Padmé teased. "I'm already challenging you over your super parent status, my Knight. Best parent in the galaxy."

"Sorry to tell you this, your highness," Anakin quipped, stroking Leia's back until she burped and softly deflated against him. "But I'm afraid that I and Leia would cause the most fun, isn't that right, daughter of mine?"

Anakin nudged his daughter through the Force. Leia giggled.

Padmé rolled her eyes, with Luke snuggling against her. "I'm still Luke's favorite, no matter your half-hearted attempts to replace me."

"I will win him over when he gets older. He will see who the better parent is." Anakin quipped. "We might need to have another one and another one after that."

"Absolutely not," his wife shot down. "Holding any child of yours is harder than fighting against the Empire!"

He smiled mischievously. "More like, you're fearful that they will all end up like me."

After a few minutes of humming consolation, Luke and Leia were quieted down once more, in a sleeping abyss. They gently lowered them back to their cribs.

"Try not to snore too much, Jedi Knight. The first week after they were born, whenever they wouldn't wake up crying, you were snoring," Padmé sniped with a smile.

"I don't snore!" Anakin scoffed, also smiling. "You were the doing most of the talking when complaining about your poor ankles and wanted me to massage them."

The next morning, the Younglings gathered up. Anakin couldn't say he'd remembered much of his earlier years in the Temple. It was quicker once Obi-Wan got the hang of it, but he swore that Ti grew attached to the Younglings after the fallout of Order 66. The future of the Jedi Order remained to be seen, but Anakin could tell that she was finding the light in her universe with the children.

This morning, however, Ti seemed to be focused, her eyes flickering to Anakin every so often, as the rest of the Padawans sat down in the makeshift refectory of the Temple.

"What is it?" Anakin asked, eventually, after both had finished up with their breakfast, away from the children.

"Palpatine has been dispatching the Inquisitors to Kashyyyk," Ti responded after a moment. "According to Senator Organa's agents, two Jedi Knights, Siadem Forte and Iwo Kulka, have been confirmed to have been found but executed. The Jedi with them followed a similar fate." She sobered. "We want to know if there are any other Jedi on the planet."

"Are you sure that this isn't just a wild goose chase?" Anakin inquired. They'd gotten their hopes up before, but it ended up being for nothing.

"It may have been. We have managed to get some agents in that Palpatine hasn't had the time to catch since your... presence is still on every hit list in the galaxy." Anakin may have once smirked at this, but being a parent meant that he had to take this seriously.

"I'm trusting you in this," Anakin said, knowing that Padmé was listening and wouldn't be too pleased at his selfishness. Despite that, the Jedi Master wanted to be active in his children's lives and not leave them for a matter of days, only to return with nothing to show for it.

"If you don't want to go, I can..." The Grandmaster offered. "You have been through a lot, young Skywalker."

"I want to check with Padmé..." Anakin saw that Padmé was standing in front of them both now, staring straight into his eyes.

She nodded. "Go."

And that was all of the invitation he'd needed. After changing out of his nightgown and putting on his standard dark robes, cloak included, and having a working breakfast, Anakin grasped his lightsaber hilt and placed it on his belt.

Approaching the black and sleek Nubian outside of the abandoned residence - Organa had given the Jedi all means of transportation a week after — Anakin felt Padmé moving up. "Be careful, my love."

She kissed him once more, causing the Jedi Master to smile and nod as he boarded the Nubian and started up the controls. Anakin triggered the ship and lifted off, disappearing into the black abyss of space.

In that moment, Kento Marek learned why parenthood was frowned upon by the Jedi Order.

Ever since Mallie birthed their beloved son, Galen Marek, and following the Clones' betrayal of the Jedi that spread across the galaxy, Kashyyyk has come under watch. Of course, with Luminara Unduli, Quinlan Vos, and Master Yoda's presence here, that was to be expected.

That said, Kento vowed as the remaining parent here that he would protect his son as the boy's father. The arms of the Dark Side must not reach his son!

"Hide, Galen; don't come out unless I return," Kento pleaded, grabbing his shoulders tightly.

Galen looked afraid but nodded and whimpered, hiding behind the nearest corner. Kento looked at him one last time, and the boy stared back before he exited the place of establishment, finding a squadron of well-armed troopers, along with a dark figure.

The man was a black-haired one with dark eyes and black robes.

"Dark enforcer!" Kento called out. "Whatever you want, you won't find it here!"

"I am the Grand Inquisitor, Jedi. Pleasant to meet your acquaintance."

"Turn back!" Kento unleashed a blast through the Force at him. The Stormtroopers were knocked to the ground, but the dark figure remained standing, drawing his red lightsaber and holding it in front of him.

Kento watched as the Grand Inquisitor approached him and met him halfway. Lightsabers engaging fiercely, Kento found himself constantly moving on the back pedal. The Grand Inquisitor's strikes were harsh and brutal, and Marek continued to fall backwards. Protectiveness guided Kento's saber forward, breaking his entourage and thrusting his lightsaber up. The Grand Inquisitor blocked each of the assaults, maliciously slamming against the blue lightsaber. Kento pulled back his lightsaber, barely able to avoid a strike at his side, allowing the red lightsaber to make contact with the tree.

"I sense someone far more powerful nearby," the Grand Inquisitor intoned coldly, aiming his red lightsaber at him. He brought his blue lightsaber in front of his face. "Where is your master?"

"The Dark Side corrupted your mind. My Master died years ago."

"Then now you shall join him!"

The Grand Inquisitor jabbed his lightsaber forward. Kento swung his lightsaber in front of his flank, fending off the assault. The Grand Inquisitor brought up his fist and slammed it right into his face, introducing a fresh brand of agony, temporarily blinding him. Recovering from the attack as well as he could, Kento felt a bursting of agony light up from his arm and pulled back, seeing that half of his left arm was gone.

Terror settled in his being. Kento raised his lightsaber, now using his right arm only as a flank. Try as he might, fear entered his heart. He'd loved Galen the day he was born. But he couldn't hold off Malorum for long!

Summoning the Force around him, Kento gripped an Imperial fighter in the air and tossed it at the charging Grand Inquisitor, who ducked a second before it landed and raised a shield over himself, shielding himself from the debris. The Grand Inquisitor charged forward and ground his lightsaber down onto Kento's own over and over again, rapidly breaking through his defenses.

Kento's teeth clattered, taking a few steps back, right hand clutching his lightsaber as he'd continued to block. It was an understatement to say that he was getting completely overwhelmed here. The Grand Inquisitor maneuvered around, lightsaber inching toward his spine. Too slow, Kento had known he'd failed. He gasped, frozen, and then his lightsaber hilt fell out of his hand, landing onto the ground. He'd struggled and fallen back, breathing.

The Grand Inquisitor smirked sardonically as he looked at him in the eyes. Kento attempted with his entire being to fight against the fire that was paralyzing his movements. He'd tried, but he couldn't. Finally, Kento felt his eyes close.

Yet, before he breathed his last, through the shadows of his senses, he felt a different presence.

A presence that promised warmth.

There was hope yet for his son...

Safely concealing his Nubian fighter and grabbing his lightsaber hilt, Anakin disembarked from the Nubian and traveled down to the forest. Hooded and concealed, Anakin continued moving alongside the locals before drawing his lightsaber. He'd attacked the first round of Stormtroopers before they'd even recognized what was coming down on them. By the time they had registered his presence, it was already too late; the second-to-last trooper was taken down, and the last one accompanied him through a swift stab through the armored chest.

The Wookiees roared in acknowledgment and thanks, but Anakin paid them little heed. He was here for one thing and one thing only. He could feel a powerful presence; despair, fearful, but nearly there. Nodding once and continuing to move past them through his stroll in the Wookiee village, Anakin dealt with the Stormtroopers who crossed his path with ease.

It wasn't long before the Imperial Stormtroopers recognized that they were a Jedi on the battlefield.

"Jedi in the proximity! Trition Squad, take them down!" A Trooper's voice barked, sounding like that of a Clone Trooper.

Anakin deflected the bolts, causing their shots to slam into the troopers' chest plates. Halfway there, Anakin outstretched his mechanical hand and knocked a platoon off a shaking bridge.

Feeling the Jedi through the Force, Anakin could sense the desperation and fear increasing. The darkness was swelling now. It was clear that the Jedi couldn't hold out much longer.

Finally making it to what he'd soon discovered to be the house, Anakin saw the Jedi getting impaled and froze, hands tightening over his hilt. The Grand Inquisitor's eyes stayed on the Jedi he'd just slain, and at last he found Anakin.

"Who are you?" Anakin demanded, closing off the pang that he was too late as the Jedi collapsed onto the ground.

"Grand Inquisitor Malorum at your service. I know who you are. The Emperor would be pleased to know that I have captured the Hero with No Fear. Oh, and with the hefty trouble he fears you causing, I may be his new Apprentice."

The Jedi Master positioned his lightsaber in front of him and stared, "We shall see!"

The fight ended in seconds. Anakin launched into the air and crashed into Malorum. The Grand Inquisitor blocked his attacks, his teeth clattering against one another as Anakin struck, blue lightsaber interlocking with the red and pulling upwards. For all of his agility and tact, it was painfully easy to batter through the Grand Inquisitor's movements. He continued to brutalize his defense over and over until he finally cleaved him in two and decapitated him. Without so much as breaking a sweat, the Jedi Master stared down at the corpse for a second before recognizing that the Jedi was still breathing.

He moved over and grasped the fallen Jedi, attempting to do whatever he could for the man. Unfortunately, his wounds were too extensive.

"Mast...er Skywalker..." the Jedi slurred, one stump reaching up. "Don't let the Empire harm my..."

Anakin watched as he struggled for his final words before he let out a final gasp and went limp. He grabbed his chest and closed his eyes, gently laying the corpse to rest.

He'd felt the presence of someone behind him.

"A son?" Anakin voiced, feeling a strange sort of power emanating from the young boy.

"There's the Jedi! Blast him!" Anakin deflected the next volley of shots away from himself and the young boy, positioning himself in front of him. The Jedi Master dispatched them without struggle.

The boy looked up with trepidation as Anakin approached, blue lightsaber angled in front of him protectively. "Come with me. More will be here soon."

Anakin ran through the swampy forest, his blue lightsaber intercepting the siren of red blaster bolts of the newly modified blasters that they were granted. He didn't know any of these troopers. It was likely that they had been freshly decided. The Jedi Master had to be careful as he gripped the boy in his arms, using his one hand to fight off the Clone Troopers.

He'd felt the Wookiees dropping dead around him, feebly holding their ground. It was unlikely that they were going to cling to their ground for long. Either they would submit or be destroyed. But Anakin recognized that there was nothing he could do. Malorum wasn't the only "Inquisitor" on the planet. There were others, and they were going to make his life much more difficult if Anakin didn't make it back to his ship on time.

Still, Anakin mowed through his former allies, not taking time to recognize them. Just like in the Temple, he was fighting a losing battle. The troopers fired a simultaneous amount of blaster bolts, coming strikingly close to disabling him. Anakin raised his hand, forming into a claw that knocked them either off the ledge or away.

The Jedi Master absorbed the few bolts and leaped away, finally having made his way to the ship. He could feel the troopers on his heels, but Anakin went up to the cockpit and started igniting the pilot controls. The Jedi Master lifted the ship from the sky. The troopers did their part to shoot at the ship, but Anakin retaliated with his own turret shots, dealing with them and a few unfortunate trees that were in their way.

Galen gasped and buried his head against his side, but Anakin stayed focused, as much as the child's pain leaked into the Force. He took off into the sky, shooting past the Star Destroyers, avoiding their TIE fighters and retaliating with his own.

Anakin pressed a button, and the ship slowed temporarily before dashing off into the blue light of lightspeed.

He contacted the Alderaanian Senator. "Senator Organa, please transmit to Shaak Ti."

The senator nodded, and after a few seconds of doing just that, the form of Shaak Ti came into vision.

"Skywalker, your mission is done?"

"Yes, but I have located a powerful Force prodigy, Master Ti."

Ti's face became contemplative.

"Hello, little one, may I ask what your name is?" Shaak Ti asked gently, bowing before Galen, who was behind Anakin for warmth. Dass Jennir and K'Krukh were also present but stood respectfully behind the Togruta Jedi.

Returned home, Anakin couldn't help but feel safe.

"These are Masters Shaak Ti, Dass Jennir, and K'Krukh," Anakin introduced, full of empathy as he remembered being filled with the same fear that came with meeting the Jedi 14 years ago. If anything, the boy's position was worse. At least, his mother had still been alive when he'd left Coruscant. "You don't have to be afraid of her. She will not hurt you, I promise."

Anakin had taken a sample of blood and sent it off to Ti in a similar fashion to Qui-Gon Jinn. 22000 was a high count. The boy was nothing short of a Force Prodigy. It was a good thing that the Jedi had reached him first before the Emperor could have.

"Galen Marek," the boy finally said, burying his head against Anakin's leg and drawing a nervous line with his index finger.

"You're safe now, Galen," she promised softly. "Come on, let's get you fed, showered, and sleep."

Anakin smiled as he was led in, hoping that Galen's recovery was a smooth one.