Okay, last chapter up.This is a humm-dinger of a chapter too. The best of all three different endings...
Back to back, now outside of the Temple Archives, Scout and Whie fought with all they had, falling dozens of Clone Troopers at a time, their blades, Scout's blue combined with the emerald blade of Whie's lightsaber, formed a barrier of energy that no bolt nor clone could hope to penatrate.
Within ten minutes, the room they were in was void of clones. They deactivated their sabers, but kept the hilts in their hands as the walked off, intent to find more Jedi and mount a defense of the Jedi Temple.
However, they had barely started to walk when Whie brought his emerald blade back to life, swinging around just in time to clash with a blue lightsaber. Scout turned and came face-to-face with Anakin Skywalker. Scout brought her blade to life and started to help Whie fight Anakin. Together, they started to push Anakin back, and it did seem as though they would actually win.
But, Anakin Skywalker was the strongest Jedi the Force had ever spawned. His raw power outmatched the talents of both padawans combined. Even with Scout now fighting Anakin the way she always fought, tricky and at times hand-to-hand, they were beginning to loose.
Anakin pushed Whie out of he way, leaving Scout to face him alone. Her blue blade clashed against Anakin's blue blade, and they went on. Scout dropped her lightsaber and started doing her thing, fighting bare handed, and even at once grabbing Anakin's lightsaber to confuse him. Her gambit had worked. Though her right hand was now severly blistered, she put Anakin in an arm bar. Anakin pushed her off with the Force after several minutes of agony. Then, Anakin took pieces of broken glass and started to throw them with the Force, cutting her all over, causing blood to ooze out.
With another push of the Force, Anakin pushed Scout out of the way, just as Whie jumped back into the battle.
An hour later, they were still fighting, but the two padawans were beginning to weaken. Then everything changed...
Scout was trying to sit up staright. Whie was suspened in the air, Anakin about to move in for the kill. For what he thought to be the last time, Whie looked at Scout to see her looking much like she had on Vjun when captured by Ventress. Blood ran from cuts on her face, down her cheek and neck, forming small puddles in the laples of her Jedi Robes above her small breasts. Her red-hair was tinted with even redder blood coming from head cuts. Anakin laughed, bringing his lightsaber up as Whie fell to the ground.
"Say good bye to her small fry, because now you become one with the Force."
"Scout, I..."
Anakin angled his blue blade down and swung, only to be stopepd by the sound of Scout's crying. Anakin looked over to see blood-stained tears running down her face, staining her whole body, clothes and all, red.
"Anakin, please, I beg you, don't kill him."
"What..."
"I love him Anakin. I love him with every fiber of my being and soul. Tell me Skywalker, have you ever been in love? Have you ever loved someone so much you'd anything for them? Well?"
Whie watched and listened in amazement as Scout cried and sobbed. He had known her for a while, and he had never thought she'd ever cry, for anything. Yet here she was, tears flowing down her cheek.
Anakin thought about the young padawan's words. He did have a wife he loved very much, and he'd do anything for; that's why he was attacking the Temple.
"Please Anakin, I love him, don't take him from me. What happened to the Anakin Skywalker who saved Whie and me from Asajj Ventress on Vjun? Have you ever loved someone before?"
"I am a Sith, I don't care..."'
"Answer my question."
"Okay, it won't hurt me to tell you, for you will soon die. I am married to Padme Amidala, the Senator of Naboo, who is pregnant. I am doing this because I want to learn secrets to save her from the death I dream of everytime I close my eyes."
"I have dreams like that too Anakin. But Master Yoda told me this: the future is always in motion. Anakin, no one can stop death, not even the Sith. Anakin, you can still do the right thing."
"It is too late for me..."
"Young Skywalker, it is never too late."
Anakin and the two padawans turned to see Jedi Master Kitch Ventage watching, his emerald blade on his right and his blue blade on his left, both pointed down to his side.
"Anakin, I heard the whole story about your wife, and to tell the truth, I'm married too. And there is still time to do the right thing. Right now only three Jedi have died by your blade. If you turn back, and defeat Palpatine now, then the Council will forgive you. And when they find out about your secret, I will stand beside you."
"And so will we."
As they kept talking to him, Anakin was confused. Palpatine had offered him the chance to learn how to stop death, yet Jedi were still willing to help him if only he turned back to the Light Side...
"Anakin, not even Sidious can stop death." Master Ventage said, picking up on Anakin's thoughts, a Force skill the Master was famous for.
"What..."
"If he can, then were you to fight him and strike him, he'll be able to survive and save himself. Come on Anakin, it doesn't have to go down like this."
Anakin thought about it. He could get everything he had wanted...and as he thought a squad of clones rushed up, their DC-15 rifles swinging up to fire on the two padawans and the Jedi Master... and Anakin's blue blade sank into the chest of the closest clone trooper. The others turned and looked in surprise, only to have Anakin's blade cut into them to.
Spurred on by Anakin's return, Scout, Whie, and Master Ventage joined in, and over the next several hours they banded together with the others and drove the clones from the Temple. Once that was over, Anakin left and went to see Palpatine.
Anakin walked into the office he had only left hours before.
"...has come; execute Order 66..."
Palpatine looked at Anakin as his young apprentice entered the room.
"I thought I told you to kill all of the Jedi in the Jedi Temple?"
"Chancellor Palpatine, you are under arrest. Lay your lightsaber on the floor and surrunder now."
"What are you doing Lord Vader?"
"I am not Darth Vader: I am Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, and you are under arrest."
"Get that non-sense out of your head my apprentice."
Anakin brought his lightsaber's blue blade screaming to life in attack position, ready to fight Palpatine. The Sith Lord snarled and he too brought his crimson lightsaber blade to life, and the final battle began.
Blue clashed against red as Anakin and Palpatine fought. Anakin had entered the office and demanded that the Emperor surrender, and when he realized his star apprentice had returned to the light side, he had attacked the redeemed Jedi relentlessly, but Anakin was holding his own. He swept his saber in from the left only to be blocked by the Dark Lord's blade. Then, a Force-push by Anakin threw the Sith Lord to the edge of the window, the same one Mace Windu had been thrown out of only hours earlier. Anakin felt a ton of remorse for what he had done, but now that he had seen the truth, he was going to set things right and keep Order 66 from taking effect.
Palpatine staggered, and then Anakin did it. He charged the Sith Lord head long, and then his blue lightsaber came up and under the blade of Sidious and cut a deep trench into Palpatine's abdomend; Darth Sidious fell to the ground in agony. Anakin shut his lightsaber off and looked at the injured man before him, anger flowing through his veins.
"Come on; you said you could stop death. If you can, then you should be able to stop yourself from dying. Come on Palpatine, save yourself." Anakin spat, wanting so much to bring his lightsaber to life and kill the last of the Sith once and for all..
The fallen emperor screamed in agony as he looked at Anakin.
"What are you doing Anakin? What have I done to you?"
"You manipulated me, you manipulated the Jedi Order and the Senate, as well as the Grand Army of the Republic, and it was you who almost killed Padme three times at least."
Anakin watched for several minutes as Palpatine slowly died. Then, when the Sith Lord had taken his last breath and died, Anakin shook his head.
"No one can stop death."
Anakin then walked over to the holocomn unit and activated it, and he began talking to all of the Clone Commanders spread across the Galaxy.
"Chancellor Palpatine refused arrest for what he did wrong and killed four very brave Jedi Masters, all of whom were members of the Jedi Council. As the highest ranking Jedi on Coruscant, I hereby order all troopers to ignore Order 66, repeat, IGNORE ORDER 66. Standby for further orders."
"Whie, do you think everything will be okay?"
"Yeah. We've cleared the entire Jedi Temple of Clone Troopers, and Anakin is now going to defeat Chancellor Palpatine."
"I'm not talking about that; I'm talking about what will happen to use when we go with him and Master Ventage to face the Jedi Council."
"I don't know about that; we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it."
Later on, Yoda, Obi-Wan, and most other Jedi spread across the galaxy had returned to the Temple. Jedi Masters Plo Koon, Luminara Unduli, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Stass Alie had gone to Mustafar to arrest the other separatist leaders, information the had found after raiding the late chancellor's records.
One week later, Anakin stood before what remained of the Jedi Council.
"Betrayed the Jedi Order, you did young Skywalker."
"I know Master Yoda, and I am sorry..."
"Sorry you may be, but good enough, it is not."
"And furthermore Anakin, you married in secret, lying to the Council as well as the entire Jedi Order." Obi-Wan said, an apologetic look on his face.
"And this is enough to get you expelled from the Jedi Ord..." Ki-Adi-Mundi, just having arrived from Mustafar, added, being interuppted at the end.
The door opened and Master Ventage walked in.
"Masters, you can not kick him out for following his heart. By forbidding marriage, you are keeping Anakin and the rest of the Jedi we have from being truly living beings. Love is a major part of any species life."
"The Code, clear it is Master Ventage."
"I know Master Yoda, and I am sorry, but I must confess."
The Council looked at him, waiting for him to talk.
"I too have fallen in love with a very beautiful woman from Corellia and we are married. And I have someone I would like for you to meet." He used the Force to open the door and a little girl, five years old, walked in to stand next to the Jedi Master.
"This is my daughter, Sarah Ventage. She is very beautiful, and in case you haven't noticed, very sensitive to the Force. Now Masters, how can you tell me such a beatiful creation of the Force is a bad thing, that it is forbidden..."
"But there is a reason attachment is forbidden. Being attached will force Jedi to choose between a mission and those they love, thus enters the possibilty that a Jedi could put his or her emotions before the good of the galaxy. After all, Anakin attacked Master Windu to save Palpatine because he wanted to save one person close to him."
"I understand that Master Kenobi, but were Jedi allowed to wed then Anakin could have told Master Yoda about the dreams truthfully and then would not have been swayed by the Dark Side, and Master Windu and maybe even Masters Fisto, Tiin, and Kolar would be alive as well. Not to mention we have lost too many Jedi just because the Jedi Code kept them from living like true sentinent beings. Right now, I'd say there may be 1,000 Jedi Knights who can currently be sent on missions plus the two hundred younglings, apprentices, and padawans in the Temple. We cannot afford to loose any more knights just because the Jedi Code, which was written over 10,000 years ago forbids falling in love. Masters, maybe falling in love will force some Jedi to choose between the mission and their loved ones; so what? Let them make that choice on their own..."
Just then, the doors opened again and this time it was Scout and Whie who entered.
"Masters, please, for once just change the code. I think that is why the Sith Lord almost one this fight. The Jedi Code has remained the same over the past thousands of years, training us to fight the last war against the Sith, while the Sith adapted and changed their tactics. Maybe it's time we change too." Whie said, causing all of the Masters to look at them.
"Enough talk about this for today, it is. For one week, discuss your fate as well as the code, the Council will. When finished we are, summon you we will to learn of our decision."
Over the next week, Scout and Whie stayed in their quarters, going out only to eat and go to their classes. Scout was so frustrated that she had to unleash that energy, which got to be so much that Master Iron Hand herself had started to spar with the yong padawan, and she actually had to fight to defend herself.
Then, out of the ashes of death, a miracle occured. Obi-Wan Kenobi had just finished a talk with Anakin about what had happened with Mace Windu and was now walking towards the Council Chambers when his comn beeped. He opened the line to discover it was an old friend of his, Dexter Jettster.
"Dex, what's up?"
"Obi-Wan my old friend, I have something for you."
"What?"
"A few days ago while I was riding around a Koruuni Jedi Master landed in the seat next to me; he fell out of thin air. I helped him heal and had one of my contacts fit him with a prosthetic arm. I was wondering if you guys still wanted him, and if it was safe for him to return."
"Master Windu! Hang on Dex, I'll be right there."
Sure enough, Mace Windu, by some wierd stroke of the Force, had survived the fall from Palpatine's office. He now had a mechanical right hand, but other than that he was in perfect health, thanks in large to Dexter Jettster's help. The Koruuni Master had even located his lightsaber where it had fallen out of 500 Republica's window that horrible night. Every master on the Jedi Council was relieved, happy, and surprised to see Mace back and to his old self. He was quickly given his position as Senior Member of the Jedi Council back as well as brought up to speed on the current debate over the Jedi Code and Anakin Skywalker's fate.
A week later
Anakin, Scout, Whie, and Master Ventage walked into the Council Chambers, shock washing over them as they saw Mace Windu in his normal chair, an emotionless expression on his face. The four Jedi stood in the circle and listened as they were told of the Jedi Council's decision.
"Young Skywalker, you attacked me, cost me my right hand, and nearly killed me. You also attacked Madame Jocasta Nu and a padawan. However, only the padawan was killed. One of the padawan healers took Madame Jocasta Nu to the infirmary and just barely saved her life. She will be back to 100 in a couple of weeks, and thanks to a bystander, I too was saved from death. You betrayed the Jedi Order and almost made the Jedi become extinct. You also went against the Jedi Code and married one of your charges you were ordered to protect, three years ago. You lied to your Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, as well as the Jedi Council about what you did. This alone is more than enough to get you expelled from the Jedi Order." Mace Windu said with a heavy expression. However, before Anakin could object, Obi-Wan continued from where Mace Windu had left off.
"But, you returned to the Light Side and defeated the Dark Lord of the Sith, making you one of the only two Jedi to defeat a Sith Lord since they returned. You also helped defend the Jedi Temple and those inside from the 501st Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic."
"Decided your fate young one, we have. Expelled from the Jedi Order, you are not. Though wrong you did, your reasons were pure, therefore, you are not expelled from the Order."
"Young Skywalker, you are not the only one who went against the Jedi Code that night; I let my anger take over and get the better of me, and you were right; I should not have tried to kill Sidious: I should have arrested him like you said, so for that I apologize."
Scout and Whie listened to Mace Windu apologize, something he was not known for doing. Then Master Yoda took over the talk.
"Decided on the Code, we have. Stays the same, the Code does. Except for forbidding attachment. Taken into training, older children will. Allow them to have ties to their families, we will. And promoted to the rank of Jedi Master and given a seat on this Council, Skywalker and Ventage are. Take your children into training we will, if you wish it."
Scout and Whie stood outside of the Temple alone, watching the sun set. As darkness fell, Whie bent over and kissed Scout gently on the lips. Now they could be allowed to show their love and that was what they would do. To make things better, Whie had been taken as the padawan to Anakin Skywalker while "The Negotiator" Obi-Wan Kenobi had taken Scout has his padawan. The General had been impressed by her fighting of Anakin.
It would take a decade for the Jedi Order to be back to pre Naboo War numbers, but they would. Anakin would be the father or Leia and Luke Skywalker, who would grow up to become fine Jedi themselves, Leia being a diplomat just like her mother. By some weird twist of fate, she would still marry Han Solo and Luke would still marry Mara Jade. Leia would have three children: Anakin, Jacen, and Jaina Solo, the latter two being twins. Luke would also have a son named Ben Skywalker, and the Jedi Order would flourish, never to be near the point of extinction it had been during the Clone Wars, while the Sith died out, never to been seen or heard from again. Master Yoda lived to be almost 2000 years old. He had been right in what he had told Whie:
"ALWAYS IN MOTION, THE FUTURE IS."
I know it has been a while since I last updated, but like I said, this was a humm-dinger of a chapter. What did you guys think? R&R you will, hmm? ha-ha-ha
Seriously though R&R Also check out my new Star Wars forum (the address is on my profile) It may look small now but when enough people join it will be great. "May the Force be With you, always..."
-Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi