Synopsis: Resistance fighters meet on Tatooine and make plans to destroy Sidious's and subsequently restore the Republic. Anakin is reunited with surviving members of the Jedi Order to mixed emotions and reactions. General Organa arrives with Leia, and the Skywalker family is reunited for the first time. Anakin himself plans on challenging Sidious with Obi-Wan. Padme is worried for his safety.
"Are you nervous, Ani?" Padme asked him, gently stroking her fingers across his bare backside. It had been two weeks since Obi-Wan had called on anyone loyal to the Republic to gather their forces. General Organa had been to Dagobah, Jedha, Coruscant, and a handful of other planets picking up anyone they could find to fight. Today was the fleet's expected arrival date, and Anakin knew he would see many familiar faces again, some of whom he was anxious to see again. Ahsoka. Master Yoda. General Organa. Captain Rex. Saw Guerrera. It made his palms sweat anxiously.
On the other hand, there was one face he wanted to see more than anyone: Leia.
"Yes," he rasped. Padme cupped his cheek and kissed him gently.
"It will be okay. They might be angry with you, they might not trust you, but they will see that you've changed, that you'll defeat Sidious and restore the Republic," Padme murmured. Anakin only eyed her fretfully. She couldn't argue that she could be wrong, and that some of their former friends would not take kindly to Anakin, but all they had now was hope and a mission. Obi-Wan knocked lightly on the door so as not to wake Luke, interrupting them.
"They've arrived," he informed them quietly. Anakin nodded and finished dressing, although he did not put on his mask despite the difficulty breathing without it. He wanted to look everyone in the eyes when he apologized, for them to see that he truly had changed. Shortly afterwards, Anakin followed Obi-Wan reluctantly outside, where hundreds of ships had landed: models from the Republic, Imperial ships stolen alike, many marked with the symbol of the Galactic Republic. It was small in comparison to the Empire, but it would do. More importantly, possibly the last of the surviving Jedi strode towards them, led by General Organa, along with Saw Guerrera and Rex. Anakin felt Master Yoda's disapproving eyes bore into him, as well as the longing ones of his former Padawan.
"Skywalker, it's been some time," Bail Organa muttered coldly to him. Anakin only nodded silently, unsure of where to begin in making amends, if any were to be made. Luckily Obi-Wan filled in for him where he could not.
"It has been. We may have thought the days of fighting the Separatists were long behind us, but now I only see us side by side again against the Empire," Obi-Wan murmured, nodding respectfully to Master Yoda and General Organa. Yoda's eyes never left Anakin.
"Unnecessary fighting the Empire would be if not for Skywalker. Slayed like animals the Jedi were. Trusted him I did not before Order 66, trust him now I do not," Master Yoda said coldly.
"Master Yoda, I will not insult you by asking for your forgiveness. I only want to defeat Sidious and restore the Republic I helped destroy. For that I am sorry," Anakin said.
"Revenge you seek still, as was revenge you wished on the Jedi, for rank of master you never deserved. Anger, hate, now suffering, do you not see?" Yoda spat.
"You were right about me, master. I never deserved it, and I wish I heeded your warnings. Maybe I do want revenge on Sidious, but more than that I want peace. I want to restore the Republic, and I want to raise Luke and Leia with Padme. That's all I want anymore," Anakin murmured.
"Anyone that wants Sidious dead is a friend to me," Saw Guerrera piped up.
"He also fought for Sidious," General Organa reminded him.
"Some of us did unspeakable things when Order 66 was carried out. I tried to kill Ahsoka myself," Captain Rex pointed out.
"Did Skywalker have a chip in his head? Think not I do," Yoda muttered. Ahsoka felt her frustration boil over between the bickering leaders of the rebellion.
"No, this is all wrong! The Jedi were wrong, and you refuse to accept it, master Yoda! You took a boy from his mother and criticized him for grieving, for being fearful- what child wouldn't? You shame the Jedi for any attachment. Attachment doesn't lead to fear, or anger, or hate, or suffering, but restricting it does. You turned your back on me, on Anakin, in our times of need instead of helping when we most needed it, and it gave Sidious everything he needed to turn Anakin's insecurities into a weapon," she argued. Yoda only looked at her in stoic reflection and disapproval.
"Ahsoka, no, this was all my fault-" Anakin started before his padawan whirled around at him.
"Oh, you're not wrong there! I'm giving you an earful too. What the hell were you thinking? You murdered innocents, Anakin. No amount of frustration with the Order justifies that. Why? Why did you do it?" she cried angrily. Padme stepped between the quarreling bunch.
"He did it to save me- or thought he was saving me. Sidious put visions of me dying in his head, and lied to him about saving my life if he would aid in the destruction of the Republic. Anakin's not innocent, I know, but Sidious orchestrated everything. He planned the Clones turning, and he planned to kill the Jedi with or without Anakin. He manipulated him from his fear of losing me and his frustration with the Jedi Council. He's turned back to the light, don't you see? I don't care if you trust him or not, we need him and don't have any other choice. We can keep arguing about the past, or who was in the wrong while people are dying, or whether we like Anakin or not- or we can end this and restore the Republic and the Jedi Order," Padme proclaimed. Ahsoka and Master Yoda were in silent agreement.
"I only wanted to save Padme, but now that I see the truth of Sidious's plans, I see how disgusting and wrong everything was, how evil I was, how evil Sidious is," Anakin choked. "I am sorry. It doesn't matter, but I am- more importantly, I know where Sidious is, I know the blueprints of the base, and I am the only one strong enough to kill him. I want to end this, and will accept every punishment you give me once the Republic is restored," he said passionately. General Organa interjected.
"There is truth in what Padme and Anakin say. We can sit here and argue and try to make sense of something senselessly evil, or we can prevent more evil from happening. General Kenobi, what do you propose?" he inquired. Everyone was relieved at changing the direction of the conversation.
"Well, for this mission, given the circumstances, I believe my apprentice will be more knowledgeable than myself. Anakin, please," Obi-Wan said, beckoning him to come forward. He did so, albeit uncomfortably.
"Sidious has a main base on Mustafar. Tarkin is currently in the process of building an army of stormtroopers as opposed to clones. They're retiring most clones as they replace them, but not at the same rate of replacing. Their army is weak, and currently is preoccupied with exchanging the credits of the Galactic Empire with Imperial credits, as well as executing former members of the Republic, resistance fighters, et cetera. If we strike the base now with our fleet, we can defeat the army. More importantly, Obi-Wan and I, along with Ahsoka and Captain Rex, will infiltrate the base to personally dispatch Sidious. He is weak without an apprentice, and between the handful of us, we can easily defeat him," Anakin explained.
"What if he's prepared for an attack?" General Organa asked.
"He may be, he may not be. Regardless, I know how to get into the base and kill him. More likely the throne room will be there for me with open doors. He needs me, and he knows it."
"And what of the army?"
"Their numbers are larger than ours, but they are mostly untrained. The only point in engaging them is to keep them from stopping us from interfering with Sidious," Anakin murmured. The leaders nodded quietly, contemplating the information.
"When do we attack?"
"The sooner, the better. Tomorrow?" Anakin replied.
"My men will be ready at dawn," General Organa said firmly.
"As will mine," said Saw Guerrera.
"Me too," Ahsoka chimed in. The rest nodded. Anakin spent a few hours with the leaders drawing out blueprints, discussing numbers of troops, and other semantics. Padme watched him proudly as he commanded their forces. His face was charred, his hair was gone, but he was Anakin again. The same charismatic, determined commander she fell in love with was there, in front of her again, leading the remnants of the Republic.
Eventually, the meeting concluded, and the leaders began to dissipate. Yoda and Saw had returned to their men, and General Organa followed suit, but not before Anakin called out to him.
"General, it's my understanding that my daughter is with you," Anakin asked. The General stopped and turned to him, sighing heavily.
"She is as much your daughter as she is mine, you know. I love Leia like my own, because she is my own," he murmured. It was unspoken for the Organa family, as well as the Lars family, that their adoptive children would be returned to their birth parents now that both were alive and fighting for the Republic. It irked Anakin, but moreover he was grateful.
"I understand. I am beyond grateful to you and your wife for taking her in and keeping her safe, but she is my daughter. Please," Anakin pleaded. General Organa nodded slowly.
"I'll bring her to you and Padme."
"Thank you."
With that, General Organa strode back to his ship to ready his men. All that remained were Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme, Ahsoka, and Rex. The old friends glanced back and forth at one another, all holding back their tears and joy at reuniting. Ahsoka broke the silence first and rushed to hug Padme.
"I went to your funeral, I saw you in a casket- I thought-" Ahsoka choked out, not being able to finish her sentence.
"Everyone thought. I'm sorry, we had to keep the twins safe- but it's alright now, everyone's alive" Padme murmured soothingly. Ahsoka wiped her tears before leaping into Obi-Wan's arms, hugging him tightly as well. Obi-Wan patted her back, happy to see the young Togruta again too. Rex clasped Anakin's shoulder in a brotherly way.
"I'm happy to be under your command again, General Skywalker," he saluted. Anakin smiled sadly, although he felt happy again to see him too.
"I'm sorry, about the clones, about you…"
"You may be at fault for many things, commander, but the clones turning was not your doing. There is no need to apologize for that," Rex said. He seemed to harbor no hatred for Anakin, which calmed him down. Despite Rex's seemingly obvious forgiveness, he still worried about what Ahsoka thought. She looked at him heartbrokenly, half of her wanting to embrace Anakin and the other half wanting to smack him.
"Ahsoka… I'm so sorry," he murmured, tears welling in his eyes. Ahsoka's lip quivered like a child. She was angry with him, but more than that she missed him. Ahsoka's arms clasped around her master, hugging him tightly.
"You're an idiot," she cried into his chest.
"I know," Anakin murmured.
"But you're my idiot. I missed you so much… When I heard what had happened… I just wish I could have been there for you, I shouldn't have abandoned you or the Order. I'm so sorry, I should have talked to you, maybe I could have changed your mind, or-or-or done something to-"
"Snips, no. This wasn't your fault. There's nothing you could've done," he consoled. Ahsoka reluctantly sighed, knowing he was probably right.
"I don't blame you," Ahsoka sniffled.
"You should."
"Maybe, but I don't. You did it to save Padme… I knew you weren't evil, I knew you'd turn back," she murmured. A heavy tear ran down Anakin's face, a small piece of his fragmented heart mending with her words.
"Thank you… I'm still so, so sorry."
"It's alright. I just want Sidious to be destroyed, every bit of him," Ahsoka cried angrily. Anakin nodded, as did the rest of the troop.
"We leave at dawn tomorrow, and will arrive by dusk. I suggest you spend your day preparing yourself for battle. It won't be an easy win," Obi-Wan warned Ahsoka. She nodded, but just as she was beginning to turn around, General Organa returned with a small bundle in his arms. Anakin's eyes softened, and his shoulders slumped with awe. The General gently handed her to Anakin, whose hands trembled slightly.
"She's sleeping," Bail Organa murmured.
"She's beautiful," Anakin breathed. Leia slept soundly in his arms. Padme quickly walked up to him to see her daughter again. Tears welled in her eyes. Rex's eyes widened, and he whispered quietly into Ahsoka's ear.
"General Skywalker and Senator Amidala-"
"Yep," Ahsoka whispered back at him. Rex's stunned face looked on at the couple before Padme turned around to them.
"Do you want to see her? And Luke?" Padme offered proudly. Ahsoka and Rex nodded, and she quickly led everyone into the downstairs of the Lars house. Luke was bouncing playfully in his crib before Padme snatched him up in her arms.
"He looks just like you Padme," Ahsoka noted cheerfully, making faces at the young child until he giggled with laughter. Anakin smiled widely, a joy filling him to the brim. His family, the one he chose and the one he made, sat all together again in the same room. It felt surreal. Ahsoka smiled and turned to Anakin.
"It's good to have you back, Sky Guy."
xxx
Night had fallen. Rex and Ahsoka had returned to their ships, as did Obi-Wan to his hut. The twins were sleeping soundly, Anakin and Padme dressed for bed. His eyes glazed over her, taking in every curve of her body, every lock of hair. Yet something else caught his attention. Her own eyes gazed forlornly ahead into nothingness, like she was deep in thought. He sensed distress in her.
"Padme? Is everything alright?" Anakin whispered. She jumped a bit at the sound of his voice, but turned and smiled sadly at him. Tears were welling in her eyes, and Anakin's eyebrows furrowed with worry.
"Padme, tell me what's on your mind, please," he asked gently.
"I'm just… worried about tomorrow. I just got you back, and I believe you'll defeat Sidious, but… I can't help but worry. What if something goes wrong, or you're hurt, or-" she whispered, wrapping her arms around him before breaking down into a panicked sob. Anakin hugged her back tightly, stroking her hair reassuringly.
"Look me in the eyes when I say this: I will return to you, alive. I will not lose to him under any circumstances, do you understand? There is nothing, no one, in the entire galaxy that could keep you and the twins from me. Nothing. Seeing you holding them, being a family… I will not lose that tomorrow. You and our family are all that matters to me. I love you, Padme. I don't want you worried about me because you don't have to be," he said passionately. Padme nodded into his chest before wiping her tears away.
"I love you, Ani. I hope you're right," she whispered. Anakin's lips bent down to meet hers, his powerful arms holding her tightly against him.
"When this is over, and if Master Yoda doesn't decide to execute me, how about you and I go back to Naboo? We can swim out to that island… Now that my toes are gone, I won't even be bothered by the sand getting in between them," he chuckled, trying to cheer her up. Padme's face only crumpled with sadness.
"Don't say that, I won't let them execute you," she whimpered. Anakin nodded.
"Is that going to be your first order of business as Supreme Chancellor when the Republic is reinstated? You might have a hard time keeping them from hanging me by my toes," he teased. Padme smacked him lightly.
"I'll be a dictator if I have to, and I'll force them not to touch you. I'm not losing you again," she snapped fiercely. Anakin smiled at her protectiveness over him.
"Alright, Empress Amidala. If you're not too busy becoming a tyrant after tomorrow, I'm planning on taking you on a date to Naboo. Does that please you, your highness? If not, feel free to chop off my head, or make me a jester-"
"Stop, you're not funny," Padme giggled, pushing him away playfully. Anakin only pulled her in closer, kissing her deeply. They made love and then laid down for bed. While Padme drifted off into sleep, Anakin was restless. He tried to sleep, but could not. Instead he tossed and turned, envisioning his life after the fall of the Empire. I will not lose her again, nor the twins, he vowed to himself. Only one thought consumed him: defeating his master.