The Machinations of the Son - 4

A.N: Timeline setting: Both during the events of Mortis, and after 'To Take Down an Emperor'

The Jedi were dead!

The Republic was dead!

He had murdered Padmé!

And Ahsoka had killed him!

Whoever his Padawan had become i the future, one thing was certain. She certainly had a flair for dropping rather massive bombshells with ease. In a way, these monumental revelations seemed to simply slip off of her tongue with little to no hesitation. The thought of that made Anakin feel sick to his stomach. How could everything have gone so wrong?

"I… I killed Padmé? But why… I mean, I wouldn't… she was...is…" Anakin stuttered, trying in vain to both explain and deny what Fulcrum had told him, even if he knew it was in vain.

"She was your wife… I know. And you loved her too… and that was your downfall." Fulcrum continued, her face stoic, betraying no emotion that Anakin could read. She had clearly accepted all of this a long time ago, long enough that it did not affect her the way it was him.

"What do you mean?" Anakin enquired, suddenly finding himself perched on the end of Ahsoka's bed. He didn't know when he had sat down, but it had clearly happened something after Fulcrum's reveal. No doubt the shock was what had caused it.

"You turned Anakin, turned and became a mass murdering Sith Lord. You massacred the temple, slaughtered the Jedi and when Padmé wouldn't see things your way, you choked her with the Force. Obi-Wan told me she passed away not long afterwards."

If it was possible, Anakin could have sworn that he felt his heart snap in two. Every muscle in his body tensed, fear and anger at himself running through his veins. He knew he could have one or two dark moments, knew that sometimes he pushed what it meant to be a Jedi.

But he never meant to hurt anyone, anyone that didn't deserve it at least. When he did submit to his darker tendencies, he did so to protect others, or to avenge them. Not to destroy everything he held dear.

"And you… killed me because of it?" Anakin was surprised by how sheepish his voice was. There had been many time in his life when he felt genuine fear, but he would never admit or show it.

Now however, all he felt was dread and terror, and he knew that Fulcrum could see that. He hoped she wouldn't judge him for it. The Ahsoka he knew wouldn't.

"Yes. We encountered one another years later in a Sith Temple. We fought and I managed to get lucky. I was faced with a choice. Let my best friend go, or save the galaxy from a psychopath." Fulcrum answered, her tone somber. Glancing up from where he was sat, Anakin saw Fulcrum's facial expression alter for a brief second, a look of somber longing in her eyes, as if she missed something dearly.

And then, just like that it vanished, face returning to the stoic expression of confidence that Fulcrum seemed to have on her face permanently. He couldn't help but wonder if this was her 'business' face, especially considering the comfortable expression he had seen on her face earlier when she was interacting with Kaeden.

"You did the right thing Ahsoka, for what it's worth." Anakin said, hoping to lock eyes with his former Padawan, hoping the encourage her, or at very least get her back on his side.

Fulcrum's blue eyes locked with his, staring deep into his own eyes as if she was analysing him, trying to find some hidden secret. In fact, it was almost as if she was trying to peer into his very soul. In a way, that unnerved him.

"I know I did the right thing, and I'd do it again." Fulcrum replied, breaking eye contact and moving away from Anakin in the process. She had evidently seen whatever it was she had been looking for in his eyes, but did not reveal exactly what it was.

"Was it me that did that to you?" Anakin stood now, his strength returning from the aftermath of the shock discovery of the fate of the galaxy as he gestured to Fulcrum's back, images of the scars that lined her back running through his mind. It was bad enough that he had killed Padmé and the Jedi Order, but if he had caused his student the immense pain that left her with such a ferocious scar he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

Not that he could anyways. No one in their right mind should ever be able to forgive him for such heinous crimes.

"No, it was from your Master, Darth Sidious. Don't worry though, he got what was coming to him shortly afterwards." Fulcrum answered in a much darker tone than Anakin had been expecting, one that almost bordered on smugness. In fact, it was almost as if she enjoyed the fact that the Sith Lord had been killed. Sure, it was a good thing that a Sith Lord had perished, but as a Jedi she should not celebrate the death, much less find any sort of enjoyment out of it.

But then he remembered her earlier words. She wasn't a Jedi, hadn't been one for over to decades.

So what was she exactly? Certainly not a Sith Lord herself… right?

"I am nothing but a person who can use the Force. Neither Jedi nor Sith, light nor dark. I operate on my own path, serving only the needs of others around me. I strive for peace and peace alone, especially after three decades of endless war."

The explanation Fulcrum delivered both answered his line of questioning, whilst giving him new ideas to ponder at the same time. She sounded so sure of herself, as if she knew exactly what she was in this world, knew exactly what her place was. Anakin admired that. He wished he could feel the same at times.

"But, why did you leave the Jedi to begin with? Was it because of what I did… what I will do?" Anakin questioned, his voice falling somber at the mention of his own grim future. He didn't really want to think about it to be honest. The thought of himself, killing everyone he had ever loved…

Anakin shuddered at the very thought.

"No, I left the Order at least a year before it all fell apart. The Temple was bombed by a friend who framed me for the crime and left me for dead. The Council turned me over to the Republic courts, who would have found me guilty and had me executed had you not found the true culprit. By that point I realised that I couldn't trust the Jedi Council anymore, so I sought my own path away from them."

Every word that came out of Fulcrum's mouth only deepened the mystery of what had happened to everything, how everything had fallen apart so suddenly. From the sounds of it Ahsoka had left long before the extermination of the Jedi, and his subsequent fall to the dark side. At least she had been safe from whatever cataclysmic event had befallen the Jedi Order powerful enough to eradicate it overnight.

And then Fulcrum continued, dropping another harrowing bombshell that made Anakin feel like he was about to vomit.

"It was the Clones in the end. They had a chip in their heads that could control them, planted by the Sith Lord himself. When the chips activated, our own troops turned on their Generals and Commanders and murdered them in cold blood. Most didn't even get a chance to fight back, and those that did stood little to no chance of surviving their entire legions simultaneously betraying them."

The sheer mental weight of each revelation forced Anakin back, his legs giving out underneath him in the process. Whether on instinct, or out of the kindness of her own heart, Fulcrum moved to support him, her hands gently grasping his arms, guiding him back to sit on the bed, allowing him to take in all of which she had told him.

Images began to flood his mind, of those he called his brothers, his friends turning and opening fire on him, on Obi-Wan, and on Ahsoka. Friends turned unwitting murderers.

Anakin shuddered at the image of as pair of blue Jaig Eyes adorned on a helmet, now more menacing than he had ever thought they would be.

He had to ask.

"Did Rex…?"

Both Anakin and Ahsoka had been fond of their Clone Captain, just as Obi-Wan had been of Cody, and for good reason. They were more than just simple comrades in arms, they were friends.

Or had been friends.

Looking up at Fulcrum, Anakin braced himself for the worst.

But rather than the grim downtrodden look he expected, Fulcrum's face instead adopted a small fond smile, one he would relate to happiness.

"No, he didn't. Rex took his chip out after he was warned by someone. He stayed loyal to the Jedi when his brothers were forced to betray them. He was part of the team I led to eliminate Sidious as well. We survived Order 66 together, when many others did not."

A wave of relief flooded through Anakin in that instant. The Rex he knew would never ever betray any of his friends, willingly or not. He would have fought it to the bitter end.

The knowledge that he was alive and well, and that he hadn't been forced to do what so many others had gave Anakin some sense of hope. Maybe things weren't so bad.

"Well, any more bombshells that you want to drop on me whilst were here?" Anakin quipped hoping to inject some humour into the ongoing dark discussion.

Fulcrum's eyes shifted away from his faced for a few moments, clearly mentally debating something, before she shook her head.

"Nothing else you need to know about, not that it does much good anyways. What happened in the past happened. It cannot be changed. But you at least deserved to know why I treated you the way I did, and why I cannot trust you."

Regaining his strength, Anakin stood again, coming face to face with Fulcrum.

She was tall now, as tall as he was, if one included the montrals. And from everything she had told him, all of the adventures and trials she had evidently struggled through, it was clear to him that she had become far stronger than he had ever imagined she would.

He was so proud of her.

"I understand why you don't trust me Ahsoka. You have every right to hate me. I hate myself right now. But for whatever reason the Force has brought us together, and it's clear that the Son will probably use this to escape Mortis, just as you theorized. We need to stop him."

Fulcrum listened to his words, her eyes studying his again, searching for something.

The she nodded her head, offering a hand out in the process.

"Agreed. We'll stop him and find a way to return the three of you to the right time and place."

For the first time since entering Fulcrum's room, Anakin allowed a wide smile to overtake his face as he grasped Fulcrum's hand in his own, shaking it gently.

It felt good to be working alongside her again, even if she was a fair bit older now.

Fulcrum did not reveal anything else to him, at least nothing that she wished to share in private alone, but he could tell there was something else, something she was hiding away from him, either for his own good, or for someone else's.

He wouldn't pry though… he didn't have the right to, not after what he had done, what he would do.

He was a monster, and he was eternally grateful that Ahsoka had ended him, even if it had been hard for her. He had seen the look in her eyes when she had detailed their confrontation, how her eyes had gained a far away look in them, one that was close to what he would call haunted. Was she traumatised by her own actions? He'd understood if she was… but she shouldn't be! She had saved the galaxy from a monster. People across all star systems should have been heralding her as a hero as they did to him in the Clone War.

Frankly she should of had a statue built on her honour.

Shaking the idea out of his head, Anakin moved down the final steps of the apartments stairs, Fulcrum behind him, now once again dressed in her various pieces of armour, lightsaber hilts attached in their place. He wanted to ask about them, about where they had come from, but again, he didn't. Fulcrum deserved her privacy.

Moving into the central living room he spotted his Master conversing with Kaeden over the kitchen worktop, discussing something about her medical training and what she had learned. The younger Ahsoka was sat by Obi-Wan's side on a stool listening intently, her eyes moving back and forth between the two adults. If there was one thing that Ahsoka had always been good at it was being perceptive and picking things up. She was a fast learner when she didn't let her pride take over.

As if she had sensed his arrival, which she most likely had, Ahsoka turned her head towards him, greeting him with a small smile. Anakin could tell that his Padawan was still very nervous, and no doubt in a mixture of awe and fear at the sight of her future self.

"Ah, Anakin, we wondered where you had disappeared off too. Getting yourself in trouble no doubt?" Obi-Wan commented as he too turned to look at his former pupil, a smirk on his face. It was clear that the Jedi Master was enjoying this perplexing visit so far. Anakin doubted it would last if he found out what his own pupil had become.

Opening his mouth to reply in negative to Obi-Wan's statement, Anakin found himself beaten to an answer as Fulcrum moved up from behind him, a devious smirk on her own face, one that spelled trouble.

"Oh you don't know the half of it Master Kenobi. Anakin here just decided it would be a good idea to walk into my room… whilst I was in the middle of drying myself after a quick shower."

Anakin couldn't help but cringe at how the statement sounded, worded in a way that would no doubt get him in deep trouble with everyone in the room.

From the look on Fulcrum's face he could tell that was exactly the point.

"SKYGUY! WHAT THE KRIFF!"

"ANAKIN! THAT IS INCREDIBLY INAPPROPRIATE!"

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

Anakin had expected the outraged responses from his Master and student, but it was the expression on Kaeden's face that terrified him the most. Her's was a mixture of serene calmness covering boiling rage. Frankly, from what he had seen so far, she had every right to be angry at him.

It was then that he felt a sharp stinging pain flesh arm, drawing his attention to the small Togruta who was now standing right before him, arm reared back in threat.

"Did you just hit me?" Anakin questioned, glancing down at his arm, feeling an ache build up from the no doubt forming bruise.

"Damn straight I did Skyguy! Imagine if I walked in on you when you were…Urghh… Gross!" Ahsoka replied, her eyes going wide as she reached the end of her sentence, shuddering in the process. No doubt she was picturing some mental image of him now.

"Believe me Snips, it was a complete accident, and that was my exact reaction to seeing you like that." Anakin answered, a sheepish and horrified look on his face as she answered.

His comment seemed to calm Ahsoka down, who looked up at him with mirth in her eyes, before she took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Good, I mean great. Don't do it again you pervert!"

"I'm not a pervert Snips!"

"You walked in on me when I was…"

Their argument was cut off by the sound of Fulcrum chuckling aloud as she moved past them to join Kaeden in the kitchen, opening a cupboard and extracting a mug in the process.

"It was an honest mistake. No harm done. Besides, I'm sure he's seen such things before." Fulcrum intervened, shooting another smirk at Anakin in the process.

"He's certainly not ever gonna see me like that!" The younger Ahsoka spat, eyes full of harmless fury as she turned back to Anakin, shoving him lightly on the shoulder before moving to retake her seat next to Obi-Wan, who was watching from the side lines.

"Good, cause I don't want to!" Anakin called out in response, his tone light and full of humour, before he turned to face Fulcrum, taking note of the ever growing smirk on her face at the chaos she had just created.

Well… two could play at that game.

"Besides, I'm sure Fulcrum has seen plenty of that sort of stuff herself these days." Anakin quipped, allowed a wide teasing smile to come to his face as he directly the look at Fulcrum.

Beside the Togruta woman Anakin saw Kaeden blush slightly, looking down in an attempt to hide her face from the view of others in the room. Clearly she was embarrassed about something, and Anakin knew exactly what it was.

However, it was Fulcrum's reaction that he truly wanted. Hopefully it didn't piss her off to much. The last thing he wanted was for her to come after him again, especially after the discussion they had had in private.

"So what if I have?" Was Fulcrum's response, her face casual and nonchalant, surprising Anakin. He had half hoped she too would be embarrassed by his statement, and that he could have effectively exacted revenge on her teasing of him.

But Fulcrum didn't seem phased by his comment at all. If anything, she seemed mildly proud of herself.

She really was a grown woman now. Despite his attempt to tease her, he was again reminded of how proud he was of who she had become.

"Wait? What?" Came the shocked voice of the younger Ahsoka, whose head was shifting between him and her grown self, confusion and what looked like horror on her face. Perhaps she was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that she had grown up in more ways than one.

"Don't worry about it Snips. You'll find out in about… actually, how old are you now Fulcrum?" Anakin answered, directing the last statement towards the taller Togruta, who was busy with a small knife in her hand, slicing up some thin chunks of meat of some kind. It occurred to him that he didn't know exactly how far into the future this was. How long did he have before everything fell apart?

Anakin's questioned caused Fulcrum to halt, her eyes darting around the room in thought, her mind clearly hard at work. Was it possible that she didn't remember her own age?

"I… I don't know. I lost track when everything fell apart. Thirty something I think. Could very well be forty for all I know."

"You're thirty eight. Came Kaeden's voice, face now free of the blush she had earlier as she looked over at Fulcrum, a warm smile on her face. "Good thing I remember now isn't it?"

Fulcrum too smiled at the woman's comment, reaching across the gap between them to squeeze her hand that was resting on the worktop.

"What would I do without you?" Fulcrum asked, her tone light and joyful.

"Probably go on more suicide missions. Someone's gotta keep you grounded. Just my luck that I got the job hey?"

"You were the only one that wanted it Kaeden."

"Not true, but I am forever grateful that you welcomed me in."

The small interaction between the two filled Anakin with some degree of warmth. After everything that had gone wrong, he was happy to see that there was some light still left in the universe. If Ahsoka was to grow up into the woman he saw before him now, then he couldn't be more happy for her.

"Anyway, I think it's time we discussed the plan a bit more. There are things you all need to know if we are to succeed in stopping the Son." Fulcrum turned her attention to both Obi-Wan and her younger self, her face becoming one of business again.

He knew what she was about to tell them, and he knew it would hurt. But if they stood any chance whatsoever, they needed to know, no matter how painful the truth was.

Author's thoughts

So yeah, been a bit of a while. Sorry about that. I became ill and stuff and really didn't feel like writing. Still, I got it done in the end, so yay.

There were so many different things that Anakin and Fulcrum could discuss together in private, and I would have added more in but if felt like it was dragging on as it was, thus I kept it as short as possible. Hopefully the information they did share is enough to be realistic. I doubt that Fulcrum really trusts him enough to tell him everything (like the existence of his children for example), but she had to tell him something.

Also, hope you liked the added humour at the end. Fulcrum just wants to watch the world burn in snark and teasing at times. XD

Anyway, next part of this will be a while off whilst I write it up. This is turning into a mini series within a series. Whoops. XD

Next time round the team begins to try and find some more information out about the Son and what he is up to with the help of a feathery friend of Fulcrums.

As usual, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:

Travis Middleton: No problem. My pace is still slow so you've not really missed too much to be honest.
Glad you are enjoying how Fulcrum has become a wise figure in comparison to Ahsoka's naivete at times. Its a great contrast when you think about it, and no doubted stemmed from the pain and suffering she had been forced to endure for years.
Glad you also liked the Son's perspective. His reaction when he accidentally kills the Daughter is very telling of his true character, and thus I wanted it to be clear that he did care for her somewhat. The Father on the other hand he deplores.
Hope you like where the cliffhanger went. :)

SWGoji2001: No worries... I've been dead too recently. Not fun in hindsight.
Glad you liked Anakin's awkwardness regarding the situation he is in. It's not everyday one time travels into the future to be greeted by his angry former Padawan.
Lets hope he can control any internal anger he has... not that he stands a chance against Fulcrum really. XD

Mysterious Guest one: You want some Maul... guess you'll have to wait and see if he shows up. ;)

Maliwan: Oh no... please don't faint. I'm sorry for the shock.
The Son's goals are probably what you'd expect them to be. As for more of the future being seen by the trio... this chapter should answer some of that.

Mysterious Guest two: Glad you liked the cliffhanger. It was fun to have Fulcrum just drop the bombshell like it meant nothing to her. Anakin is in for a world of hurt now.
As for who else might appear on in this mini series... wait and see. :)
Hope this chapter was worth the wait for you.

Cranky Paws: Wow... thanks for the compliment. I try to keep the characters as similar to their canon counterparts as I can whilst trying to change some things here of there to make them interesting. (such as the whole creepy obsessive Vader). The fact that you are enjoying them and can clearly picture them means a lot to me, so thanks.
Everything our clone war era trio is learning is dangerous to both themselves and their futures, but they needed to understand how dire things had become. Now Anakin knows the truth, think of what he could do.
Then again, think of what else might happen. Time travel is weird, and I think I have sorted what happens in this mini series. Hopefully you will like it in the end.
Barriss better show up one day and not as some sort of super evil villain. It doesn't suit her even after her bombing of the temple.
And yes, the Inquisitors have been pretty much wasted in everything they had appeared in (minus the Grand Inquisitor). Guess it's up to us fanfic writers to do some stuff for our favourite group of red blades. Luckily, I have something in mind. XD

jojobinks01: Ahsoka's already killed him once (and suffered massive psychological trauma from it) but if push came to shove she could and would do it again, but only if there were no other options.