Chapter Text
"You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister you were right."
"Father... I won't leave you."
So this was how it ended.
Darth Vad-no, Vader was already dead.
Anakin Skywalker lay there yet again, resurrected. This wasn't how he once expected to die. One scenario was the inevitable day that his son would fall to the Dark Side, golden eyes staring deeply into his soul, taking the finishing blow. Another was the Dark Side abandoning him at last and allowing him to die after his torturous existence.
He closed his eyes, the pain and agony from the Emperor's lightning mere seconds ago cutting into his physical body underneath the black mechanical suit.
That was why Darth Vader became so powerful. Because of his failure. Because of his injuries on Mustafar. Having lost all that he had turned to the Dark Side to preserve, and having no other path, he fully embraced the Dark Side and became, in the Emperor's words, a "true Sith." Consequently, he devoted himself fully to furthering his relationship with the Force and expanding his power. Both due to what Palpatine taught him about the relationship between Sith Master and Apprentice and his tendencies, Vader, in his early apprenticeship, was completely devoted to the Emperor-betraying another who was a son to him as well for his Master: Galen Marek. However, as his power increased, and particularly after learning of his son's existence, this devotion dwindled considerably.
Over the years, Vader developed a new, more hardened and disciplined persona. He became utterly ruthless, virtually devoid of mercy. Considered to be the Empire's first terror weapon and noted for employing antiquated diction, he was mucilaginous and unmovable and made most Imperial naval officers fearful. After his cybernetic reconstruction, Vader's connection to the Force strengthened considerably, to the point where Sidious once complimented his powers as being "unprecedented". Though his injuries had physically crippled him, Vader believed that the suffering he had experienced had both perfected his spirit and freed him from the needs of the flesh, allowing him to concentrate solely on his relationship with the Force.
Oh, what a stupid fool he had been.
And now he recognized the truth about the Force. It had taken this long for him to know it. His children. His son stood before him, and his daughter, whoever she was, as well. Overall, the Dark Side offered no solutions to problems, only death and destruction, an infectious disease that only helped spread to others, warping the mind and turning one into everything they've sworn to destroy. While some abilities were used and even advised, it didn't mean that they had anything that could be used to preserve connections and such. The Light Side didn't either. Only a person and their choices could do that. If Anakin had made better decisions when offered, everything could have been different.
The Jedi, for all their imperfections, were superior when it came to the Sith and their twisted views on morality and how the Force worked. The Force wasn't balanced with the Sith. One had to practice inner peace and control to become one with the Force. If only he realized that much sooner. How many lives had he ruined? Of all ages. The Dark Side had been coercing him on. He was morally corrupt and lost. If only Kenob... Obi-Wan had finished him on that lava bank years ago and stopped him before he could have killed all those people...
Death was inevitable in war.
But he'd acted with the power, grief, and all previous pain warping his mind and twisting him into a monster.
And he'd known he deserved a far more painful death.
The galaxy would think so.
He did as well.
His tough background provided no excuse for his actions. He had been a fool. A servant to the Dark Side. Lost in the monstrosity of his own making.
The Jedi were flawed — Anakin would be the first to admit that — but they didn't deserve extermination. Perhaps they should have been reformed. It was unlikely that all of them would have agreed to that, but at least some of them deserved a chance to rebuild into something better and stronger.
Yet, as Anakin transferred to from a existence far, it was like he was relearning how to breathe and walk all at once, time and time again. Eventually, he got the flow of it, though it was agonizingly slow. Likewise, his lungs were clear and rose and fell like a human all over again.
A familiar voice called out from afar, "Anakin."
Although Anakin no longer had a mouth, he gasped, able to speak, "Obi-Wan? Master, I'm so sorry. So very, very—"
"Anakin, listen carefully," Obi-Wan interrupted. "You are in the netherworld of the Force, but if you ever wish to revisit corporeal space, then I still have one thing left to teach you. A way to become one with the Force. If you choose this path to immortality, you must listen now, before your consciousness fades."
Confusion and remorse threatened to overwhelm Anakin's psyche even as he answered, "But Master ... why me?"
"Because you ended the horror, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "Because you fulfilled the prophesy. Because you were... and are... The Chosen One." A lengthy silence passed until Obi-Wan added, "Because I was wrong about you. And because I am your friend."
Anakin answered quietly, "Thank you, Master."
Shame boiled inside of him. His friendship with Obi-Wan sometimes felt like it transcended lifetimes back when he was a Jedi, and yet, it hadn't stopped their bond from straining as much as it did. But now, for Anakin to be given this small request, he would be grateful forevermore.
Something clicked into what must be his entire body, and Anakin's vision blurred as he felt fire cutting into his body just like on Mustafar, but it was a tranquil type of fire, hardly painful at all.
When the sensation passed, Anakin blinked, and his mouth curved up into a half-frown. And then he recognized his breathing, feeling it travel through his body as he inhaled and exhaled. He analyzed himself and saw that he was now in brown robes, truly centered in the Force in this sincerity.
And he'd spotted her.
His mother.
Her arms waited for him, beckoning him in. In a way only his mother could. He'd missed her for so, so long. Knew he would have disappointed her. He saw Obi-Wan and Yoda, and then registered Luke smiling at him, until... the Princess of Alderaan. Senator Organa's daughter. His daughter. Came up and wrapped her arms around him.
As the celebration died down throughout the night, Anakin watched Luke from afar, recognizing how much the boy carried himself with the respect and honor that his mother left behind, and then Leia, seeing much of himself in her. They were happy, but scarred.
'I'm so proud of them,' Anakin thought to himself. For all of their accomplishments...
He had Padmé's smile, Anakin noticed.
Luke walked away, joining his friends.
Anakin knew he didn't deserve to be here, seeing this. The shadow of his past deeds still hung over him. Depression, anger, and sadness burned through his entire being, even at this place of warmth. It clawed at him, knowing the fact that he'd allowed his love to be converted into possessiveness, and then twisting into a fit of unnatural anger.
The galaxy was inherently a corrupt place. Thousands of star systems and people stood behind the Sith gleefully, their greed and selfish desires contorting them into doing the unthinkable, even before the rise of the Empire.
Anakin was little better than them.
He'd slaughtered the entire Jedi Order, butchered thousands of children, and was offered a power that the Sith Lord himself very well told him didn't exist. His thoughtless tendency broke him down, and he became a monster.
A monster who would later hunt down, torture, and murder innocent Jedi and civilians across the galaxy.
What was worse was that Anakin knew that the galaxy was rampant with corruption. While the Rebellion's goal was valid, they had a simplistic view at most. They didn't plan to address the problems with the Old Republic. No, they'd wanted to bring back the old and assume that would restore order. The Empire did bring stability to the galaxy for the first few years, begrudgingly now, as Anakin was to admit it. And were it not for Palpatine and his followers, there very well could have been a new golden age that the Old Republic would have never had again.
It was true that the Republic did bring an unparalleled age of prosperity to many of its citizens. However, that came with a consequence, and many among those who suffered because they later joined the Separatists Alliance, where even a universally "moral" government and power reinforced maniacs dominated. Given thousands of years of oppression, they had little choice. The Republic had problems, many of which were a component of the system, and there would be no way for it to reform itself peacefully, because too many people gained from the system as it was. Those who continued suffering would be on the backbone as always, or retaliate eventually.
The galaxy could improve, but for that to happen, the galactic order surrounding the Core, especially, would have to be broken. And that wouldn't be a bloodless affair. The Jedi could have solved it all, until it reached the stage of no return, due to a war being the only choice for many, especially in the Outer Rim planets, who suffered from the Republic.
At best, the status quo would remain as so, instead of getting the whole system reviewed in a way that wouldn't lead to another galactic conflict in the future. And in no small part, that was because of the Jedi who kept the Republic on its feet, if just barely, instead of letting it fall more naturally in the hope that something better could emerge in the future. An understandable goal. They were beside the Republic since the beginning, and they'd needed a state to fall back on, but still, a grave mistake to attach themselves to the Republic.
Adaptability was a common feature of the galaxy. It was necessary. The nature of the galaxy wasn't adapting. It was a mess. Unless something changed, the New Republic was likely to go down the same path as the old in only a matter of time because the core issues surrounding the galaxy wouldn't have been solved after he'd killed Palpatine.
In many ways, Luke and Leia's efforts would be for nothing, because at the end of it all, the Empire was merely the Republic with the corruption under a different name and the dictatorship on full display. Palpatine had not introduced corruption in the Senate. The Sith didn't either.
They'd only made it clearer.
'If only I could do so and heal the galaxy...'
Suddenly, merciless and turbulent, Anakin's mind convulsed.
"Stop! Stop now! Come back! I love you!"
"Yes. I killed you. I killed you. I killed the child you carried. And I hate myself for all that I have done."
"I hate you!"
"You were my brother, Anakin, I loved you!"
"The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the Master."
"I've accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father."
"By now you must know that your father can never be turned from the Dark Side. So will it be with you."
"I am a Jedi like my father before me. "
"You were right."
Memories from the past filled his mind. He was supposed to be at peace. He was supposed to be balanced at long last. And in many ways, he was. He'd managed to forgive, to open his heart, to regain his humanity, even with being One with the Force.
The Force had always been his sole companion, even when the unforgiving nature of the Dark Side so deeply corrupted him. It attempted to give him true freedom for so long, yet Anakin Skywalker and even Darth Vader ignored its attempts. What had been on his mind was either remaining obedient to the Jedi's ways to rise through the ranks or finding a twisted sort of freedom in the Sith ways, only for Darth Sidious and his own self to prohibit genuine freedom.
For so long, Anakin had been a slave to his own emotions, showering others with sacrifices of his own. That was fair enough. It was just that it was destructive to be codependent on anyone. Letting go was a natural part of life. Yoda was right about that.
The Force, like his son, encouraged freedom, and Anakin was free. He was his own Master.
'If only I could be given a chance to fix it...' Anakin thought with a sigh as he turned away from the remaining celebration. 'If only I could at least give some happy endings to those who have fallen.'
And like it had heard his call, the Force burned like a star around him. He saw a young man from afar, his appearance not with the brunette he'd later grown it out to be, but with short hair and his old Padawan braid.
He looked like Luke, but there were a few... discrepancies, appearance-wise, as well as mentally.
Alas, Anakin recognized him.
It was a young Anakin Skywalker, a week before the Clone Wars began.
The young man hadn't seen him, sleeping restlessly, his control unraveled, thoughts still on the mother he'd left behind on Tatooine.
"Live your freedom, Anakin Skywalker. Heed the warnings of us: the Force. But most of all, follow yourself. No longer be defined by the wants and needs of others." A voice murmured in the corners of his senses. "This is your second chance. We don't offer this much. It's rather indiscreet, but we are feeling generous. Take it."
And the Chosen One was compelled by the urge to reach out through the Force, outstretched his right arm at the Force's instruction...
On the consular ship in hyperspace, en route to the planet Coruscant, a young Jedi Padawan was resting after a taxing mission to Anison. He felt uncontrolled amounts of anxiety, his thoughts dwelling on his mother, on the reportedly new assignment that they were already tasked with when they arrived back to Coruscant.
Suddenly, the young Anakin groaned as a Storm of the Force enveloped his senses, leading him to scream soundlessly. He attempted to call out his Master's name, but only managed to utter a yelp of agony. Images of memories slowly flooded his mind: the Battle of Geonosis, the Clone Wars, Coruscant, Order 66, the Rise of the Empire, the Duel on Mustafar, his misdeeds as Darth Vader, the Death Star, haunting his son, and at last the events on the Second Death Star.
A conflicted soul merged with a matured mindset from afar.
A new star was molded with the ashes of the old, combining attributes and powers from both.
All at once, he felt himself merging with another from afar. He'd spotted the twisted helmet belonging to a figure of black metal staring down at him, and then a much lighter man with brunette hair doing likewise. A culmination of the two slammed into him all at once that which took the young man aback. The knowledge that he shouldn't have from both the Jedi and Sith was now embedded in his mind.
When his body stopped twitching and his head stopped pounding, he was at a pause for a moment, his closed eyes staring upwards as his body mellowed out in peace.
The Force coiled through his limbs, coursing down his entire body. A silent roar echoed through the galaxy. Despite his shimmering energy, the Force clouded over him, not wanting both the Jedi and Sith to sense this disturbance. Anakin allowed it, having never felt something so... magnificent.
The Reborn Anakin Skywalker opened his eyes for the first time in the past.