A/N: Alternate ending to Revenge of the Sith. Covers the time between Episodes III and IV in non-linear flashbacks as well as slightly changing some events of the original trilogy. The main storyline will focus on the present day (post episode VII). Some references to The Clone Wars TV series, though you needn't have seen it to understand the story. Also borrows characters from the Young Jedi Knights book series.

Warnings: Major character deaths (mostly canon), original characters, frequent violence, occasional strong language

Part I: CHAPTER 1—All Hope Abandon

The hot wind assaulted his face, and Obi-Wan tasted blood and ash. Two paths stretched out before him, but either way was failure. He did not make his decision cognitively. He let his feelings guide him—feelings of pain and despair.

He knelt beside the writhing body that used to be his friend. Now, only the outer shell remained, and there was little left of that. Obi-Wan held down Anakin's good arm, his mechanical one. The steel fingers dug into Obi-Wan's wrist, and he felt bones cracking under the pressure.

"You were my brother, Anakin." Obi-Wan held his lightsaber hilt pointed downward. The next words choked him. "I loved you." He activated the blade, straight through the heart, ending a lifetime of suffering.

Obi-Wan felt as if his soul were being ripped from his body. Until the moment he sensed the life leave Anakin, he hadn't really understood. By ending his friend's life, Obi-Wan was also destroying himself. Any hope, any light that lived in him was now gone.

He cried out, but there was no one to hear him. He held what was left of Anakin's body, willing this all to be a horrible dream. As the molten river began to rise, Obi-Wan knew he had to move. He dragged Anakin with him, ignoring the jarring pain in his left arm every time he used it.

Back on the landing platform, Obi-Wan slumped down beside his friend again. The heat was only slightly less oppressive there. Not that it mattered now. Obi-Wan thought perhaps, if he closed his eyes, this would all be over. Maybe he would be fortunate enough to die here with Anakin and not have to go on one more agonizing moment knowing what he had done. In the end, he hadn't saved anyone, hadn't stopped the collapse of the Republic or the Jedi Order. It was all for nothing.

The distant noise of an incoming ship alerted Obi-Wan. He raised his head to see the chancellor's shuttle approaching. Perhaps he would get his wish. The dark lord would kill him, and Obi-Wan would join the Force.

The shuttle landed and Palpatine's guards came out first. Obi-Wan convinced himself to get to his feet. It wouldn't be very dignified to die sitting down. The chancellor—Obi-Wan still thought of him that way—followed after his guards. He wore a dark cloak, and Obi-Wan couldn't see his face, but he could feel the evil radiating from across the platform.

"You... killed him?" Palpatine said.

"You're Darth Sidious," Obi-Wan replied. "How could we not have seen?"

"Because you are weak. The Jedi are no more. And now you will die too."

Obi-Wan didn't even reach for his lightsaber. "I was hoping you would say that."

There was a flicker of uncertainty, only the slightest crack in Palpatine's facade before burning pain erupted all over Obi-Wan's body. Blinding light filled his vision, and his feet lifted off the platform. Without meaning to, Obi-Wan raised his hands toward the source of the crackling lightning. The pain faded, and his feet found solid ground again. As his sight returned, Obi-Wan saw an orb of energy swirling between his hands as Palpatine continued shooting electricity into it. The power of the Force surged through him, rendering his previous attempt to "lie down and die" moot.

Palpatine ceased his attack and dodged out of the way as the lightning blasted back toward him. As soon as it fizzled out, Obi-Wan dropped his arms, feeling dizzy. Palpatine took that opportunity to rush at Obi-Wan, drawing his red lightsaber. Obi-Wan raised his and Anakin's lightsabers in defense. That seemed to only further anger the chancellor. He beat Obi-Wan back toward the edge of the platform. The only thing between them and the river of lava below was Obi-Wan's ship. In spite of his welcoming thoughts toward imminent death, Obi-Wan couldn't seem to help defending himself. He positioned his back toward the ship, so that Palpatine's assault pushed him closer and closer. He would never win this fight. Yoda had been right about that. Though, if Palpatine were here, Obi-Wan feared that Yoda's fate had been the same as his was about to be.

Obi-Wan could feel the ship behind him. He was running out of room. Palpatine struck a powerful blow, and Obi-Wan blocked with his lightsaber. With one hand, Palpatine pushed Obi-Wan back while using the other hand to grab hold of Obi-Wan's broken wrist, slamming it back against the hull of the ship.

Obi-Wan cried out in pain, but he didn't drop Anakin's lightsaber. If Palpatine wanted it, he would have to pry it from Obi-Wan's dead hand. As the red blade pressed closer to his face, Obi-Wan knew this was the end. He could feel the hate flowing from the chancellor, and once again wondered how he had missed it all this time. His hand had gone numb from the pain, and his arms ached from fighting. Just as he was sure his strength would give out, Obi-Wan heard a thunderous noise, and the whole platform shook. Palpatine fell back, giving Obi-Wan room to stumble away as more missiles rained from the sky.

A clone gunship hovered over the platform, firing on the chancellor's shuttle and scattering his guards. Captain Rex jumped from the open door to the platform, followed by Fives who covered him with constant automatic fire.

Rex reached Obi-Wan and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Time to go, General!" he said, barely audible over the sound of battle.

Obi-Wan tried to take a step toward the rescue ship and stumbled, dropping both lightsabers. Rex quickly picked them up and pulled Obi-Wan's arm over his shoulder to half carry him to the ship. Fives followed them, facing the enemy with his blaster cannon. As soon as they were on board, Fives jumped into the cockpit and they took off. By this time, the chancellor's cruiser had sent down reinforcements. Small ships attacked the clone vessel from every side. Obi-Wan didn't care. He collapsed to the floor, and though he remained conscious, he could not later recount what happened next.

~oOo~

"There went our last gun!" Fives shouted from the cockpit of the larty.

"Damn it!" Rex cared less about the guns, and more about the men firing them, but they could really use some firepower right now. "Get us out of here as fast as you can!"

Rex looked down at the floor where General Kenobi was lying on his side, conscious, but not responding. Rex turned his gaze to the two lightsabers in his hands, and he didn't blame the general at all.

The gunship shook from the impact of enemy fire. They wouldn't last long this way. Rex moved toward the cockpit to get a better view of things.

"We're running out of options, Sir," Fives said.

"Take evasive action."

"What about the general?"

Rex glanced back to the hold. He'd have to find some way of keeping them from flying around. This ship wasn't built for maneuvering.

"I'll take care of the general," Rex said. "Hold them off for another thirty seconds, and then lose them."

Rex hurriedly moved back to the hold. He used Obi-Wan's lightsaber to cut down the handhold straps in the ceiling. They were flexible enough he could tie them together and make a harness for the general. He had only just managed to secure Obi-Wan when Fives took the ship into a dive. Rex barely managed to grab the edge of the door to stop from falling into the cockpit.

Fives spun the larty, which it was definitely not meant to do. Rex feared the whole thing might come apart in the air. Somehow, Fives got the ship back upright again. On the upside, Rex hadn't felt any more blasts from their pursuers.

"Communications are down, Sir," Fives said. "No way Commander Wolffe is gonna know to help us."

"Wouldn't do much good anyway," Rex said through gritted teeth as Fives pulled into another spin.

He hoped they were getting closer to leaving the atmosphere. Once they were in sight of Wolffe's ship, they would be all right. A couple of small fighters were no match for a Republic attack cruiser, even if it was old and in various states of disrepair.

It seemed like a long time before the ship started flying in a straight line again. Fives looked back from the cockpit. "About to leave the atmosphere, Sir," he said. "No artificial gravity, so... hang on."

"What's it look like I'm doing, Fives?"

The ARC trooper didn't respond as he turned back to pilot the ship toward their comrades. Rex didn't get his hopes up that they would be safe any time soon. He wouldn't let his guard down until they made it to the rendezvous point with Senators Organa and Amidala.

The ship rocked again, and Rex's body slammed against the ceiling. He caught one of the remaining straps and held on tight.

"Wolffe's not gonna be happy about us destroying his ship," Fives said.

"Us?" Rex asked.

"Right, we'll blame the Imperial traitors."

"Will you shut up and get us out of here?"

It wasn't as if Fives could make the ship go any faster, but all the chatter was making Rex agitated.

There was a loud noise at the back of the ship, and the whole thing shook as it slowed down.

"Lost one of the engines," Fives said.

"Do you have a visual on the cruiser?"

"Dead ahead of us. Let's hope Wolffe has noticed."

"I guarantee you, he's noticed." Rex tightened his grip on the handles and hoped he was right.

Just as he spoke the words, the cruisers cannons lit up, firing on the small ships behind the larty. For the first time since the treacherous Order 66, Rex felt relieved. The bay of the old cruiser opened, and Fives landed the damaged gunship. As the artificial gravity kicked in, Rex dropped to the floor, managing to keep his balance though the ship listed to the right. He quickly untied the makeshift harness and tried to rouse the general. His eyes were still open, but he didn't seem to be looking at anything, and he made no response to Rex.

Fives came out of the cockpit and jerked one of the side doors open. A small group of men waited for them, including commander Wolffe. Fives jumped down from the ship and helped Rex move General Kenobi.

"I see you've destroyed my ship," Wolffe said dismissively, regarding the ruined vessel with his one good eye.

"Seeing as all your ships are stolen..." Rex shrugged. Then he became serious again. "The general needs medical attention."

"We've only got a skeleton crew. Make him comfortable until we reach Polis Massa."

"That might take a while, Sir," Fives said.

Wolffe glanced at Obi-Wan. "He's been through worse."

Rex shook his head. "All due respect, Sir, no—no he hasn't."

~oOo~

The medical bay of the decrepit ship was all but abandoned. There were crates of rations and ammunition stacked in the corners, and most of the beds were covered in guns. Fives cleared off the nearest bed and helped Rex lay the general down. Until now, Fives hadn't had time to really notice how bad the Jedi looked.

"Watch that arm," Rex said. "I think it's broken."

"What happened to their medical droids?" Fives asked as they looked around for supplies.

Rex was digging through some broken equipment on another bed when he found the torso of an unrecognizable mechanical. "I think I found one of them."

"Guess we know where the Commander's priorities are."

Rex didn't reply as he continued searching the room. Fives did his best to help, finding some bandages and something for the burns. Rex came back with a needle in his hand filled with clear liquid.

"What's that?" Fives asked.

"Sedative," Rex replied.

"Does he really need it?"

"Look at him."

Fives had been trying not to look. The general was staring in the sort of way that you knew he wasn't really seeing anything, but it was unnerving all the same.

"What's wrong with him?" Fives asked, finally giving voice to what he'd been wondering ever since they left Mustafar.

Rex looked at the general with a grim gaze. "He had to kill his brother."

Fives knew what it meant for Rex to say that. They had been there. The circumstances were different, but he imagined it felt the same.

Rex moved over to the edge of the bed with the syringe ready. As he brought it to the general's neck, Obi-Wan suddenly lashed out, knocking the sedative from Rex's hand.

"Fives!"

"On it, Captain." Fives moved back to the other side of the bed to hold the general down. He couldn't help putting pressure on the injured arm which caused Obi-Wan to struggle even more.

Rex retrieved the sedative and jabbed it into the closest body part, which happened to be the general's right arm. It took a moment for the drugs to kick in, but he finally stopped fighting and lost consciousness.

Fives thought he should feel relieved, but there was still a sense of uneasiness permeating everything. They weren't out of danger yet. They might never be.

~oOo~

The flight to Polis Massa took far longer than Rex would have liked. He stayed in the medical bay with General Kenobi and sent Fives up to the bridge, much to the ARC trooper's annoyance. They didn't both need to keep an eye on the Jedi, especially since the damaged hyperdrive in Wolffe's ship made for a boring few days. Communication with their allies was too dangerous, so they had no way of knowing if Senator Organa made it to Polis Massa or if the Empire had found him out.

The general slept for most of the trip, occasionally muttering unintelligible phrases. Rex didn't have to understand the words to know the meaning behind it. Just because he was asleep didn't mean Obi-Wan wasn't still in pain. There was nothing else Rex could do now, but he wished he wasn't so useless.

About a day into the trip, the general woke for real. Rex was sitting on the bed across from him, half asleep, so he didn't notice at first. It was only when the general spoke that Rex realized he was awake.

"Cody?" his voice sounded lost, echoing as if the room were far more empty than it was.

Rex slid off the bed and moved closer so Obi-Wan could see him. "No, Sir," he said. "It's Rex."

"Where is Cody?"

The realization that he had no answer hit Rex harder than he would have thought. "I don't know," he said quietly. "Since the order went out..."

"Order..." Obi-Wan seemed as if he weren't entirely sure what that word meant.

"General, do you remember... did the 212th turn on you?"

Obi-Wan didn't reply but merely stared at the ceiling, which Rex took as an answer in itself.

"Are you hungry?" Rex asked, trying to focus on something immediate and simple so he didn't have to think about what his brother might have done.

"No," Obi-Wan replied distantly.

"When's the last time you ate?"

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A day."

"Then about two and a half days." There was no emotion, not even a bit of the general's old humor. It was as if he didn't care about what he was saying.

"I'll find you some rations," Rex said.

Obi-Wan didn't answer, but Rex busied himself finding something edible in mess of supplies stacked in the corners of the room. By the time he returned, the general was unresponsive again, still awake, but not really there. Rex gave him some more pain medication and checked his burns. It wasn't long before Obi-Wan was asleep again. Or pretending to be.

Rex realized he should probably eat something too, so he found a ration bar that didn't look too stale and resumed his post on the opposite bed. The long trip only got longer.

~oOo~

It was just shy of three days since they left Mustafar when Commander Wolffe's ship achieved orbit at Polis Massa. Fives was glad to be getting off that bucket of bolts. The occasionally working hyperdrive and all the mysterious rattles and clanks made for a nerve-wracking journey. Not to mention the thought of the general going without medical attention for so long.

Senator Amidala met their shuttle at the landing bay, running toward them in spite of how difficult it was for her now. Her eyes held a mix of emotions: fear and anxiety, worry, and even a little hope.

"Obi-Wan?" Her breathless voice quavered as she leaned over the gurney.

"I'm sure he'll live," Rex said. "He's too stubborn to die now."

Fives heard the uncertainty in the captain's voice, but the senator didn't seem to notice. It wasn't as if broken arms and burns usually killed anyone, but if he wasn't that bad off, why did the general spend most of the trip sleeping?

"Go with them," Rex told Fives as the senator and several droids began taking the general away. "I have to meet with Senator Organa."

Fives nodded stiffly and went along with Senator Amidala. She seemed upset about something more than just her friend's injuries. Maybe she knew what happened to General Skywalker. Fives had a sudden thought that he simultaneously found ridiculous and obvious. Skywalker and Amidala had always been close. Everyone knew this. Who else would be the father of her child?

~oOo~

Rex stood at ease in one of the long corridors of the Polis Massa base. Through the window he could see the landing bay with a few small ships and Organa's cruiser The Sundered Heart. It seemed like a fitting name at the moment.

All this waiting around was starting to grate on Rex. He knew they were safe here, but he was itching to get back in action. But he got the feeling he wouldn't be seeing much action any time soon. They were hiding now.

Finally, Senator Organa came down the corridor and met Rex. He stood next to the captain looking out the window.

"Any trouble?" he asked.

"It was a little rough getting the general off Mustafar, but Commander Wolffe helped us there," Rex replied.

"We picked up one of your colleagues when we stopped for fuel on the way here." Senator Organa smirked as if remembering something funny. "He told us he wanted to surrender."

Rex couldn't help raising his eyebrows and casting an incredulous look at Organa. "Surrender? To who?"

"Us, I suppose. Whomever is still loyal to the Jedi."

Rex felt a surge of of hope. "So there's more? All the other clones didn't go through with the order?"

"I'll let you sort it out, Captain. I trust your judgment on the matter."

"Where is he?"

Rex soon found himself standing outside a small holding cell. Two guards flanked the door, and another watched through a window.

"Why is he in there?" Rex asked.

The guard looked sheepish. "Well, Sir, he... sort of told us to lock him in."

Rex looked through the window to see the man cuffed to a chair. He recognized the markings on the armor and the telltale scars around his left eye.

"Open this cell," Rex ordered.

The guards quickly obliged, and Rex rushed in. He reached to remove the restraints, but Cody jerked away as much as he could.

"Commander?" Rex asked.

"You shouldn't call me that anymore," Cody said.

"All due respect, but what the hell is this?"

"I confess to everything. I will accept whatever sentence you give me."

"Confess to what?"

Cody looked at the floor. "I gave the order to kill General Kenobi."