Epilogue
Author's Note: This is the end! Thank you all so, so much for reading, favoriting, following, and/or reviewing! I never dreamed that it would get the kind of reception that it has, and we've been so happy to see how many have enjoyed it! :D
If you liked this story, you might like some of our other OC stories as well. ;) (Listen, I know this is self-promotion, but after finishing this story, I think we've earned some. Lol.)
Phantoms of Glory – OC (Ashla) is Anakin's childhood best friend, and she goes on to become a Jedi with him
Vision – OC (Vision) is a Force-sensitive clone of Omega with unusual abilities, and she joins the Bad Batch
Mosaic – Ahsoka/OC; OC (Jacen) is Anakin's younger brother
Domino Effect – OC (Ariana, Teagan, and Ramona) are from Earth, and they end up in SW during ROTS
The Chosen Twins series – OC (Aniya, though there are others) is Anakin's twin sister
To Guestices: No, we've never played any video games, actually, but we know Revan's story. Somewhat, at least. Lol. I don't think we included any KOTOR or SWTOR lore in here though. Even if you won't see this until the end (if you get this far? xP) I hope you enjoy the rest of the story! :D
~ Amina Gila
"You know, I never would have thought that someday, the base for the Jedi would be Mandalore," Marr comments, sitting on the steps outside of the new building, watching the small group of younglings playing in the grass surrounding it.
"No one would have expected it," Anakin agrees, smiling with faint amusement. It's something that never fails to warm something inside of him, for all those years he never thought he would see Anakin's smile again. His cheerfulness was something that always helped during the Clone Wars, and it's strange to see how much of is back in him now, that everything with Vader is in the past.
Sometimes, it's hard to believe how far they've all come. It's been ten years since that day they took down Sidious. Ten years since... Anakin re-claimed his name, and they finally left Vader and everything that meant in the past.
Anakin will never fully physically recover from his injuries – it's simply not possible with how badly he was injured that day on Mustafar, but after being in a literal torture device for almost twenty years, Marr thinks he doesn't even take this freedom for granted.
It's not as if Marr can ever fully heal either – he had some replacement organs from where his mother stabbed him, after all. It doesn't really affect anything; it's just a fact. Except the Force seems to flow weirdly through it. It's a sensation he's long grown used to, though. It doesn't hurt anymore, except in principle.
"They have been more accepting of it than I expected," Marr comments. There's been problems, of course, because many on Mandalore still consider all Force users enemies, but with the chaos of everything with the Empire, and knowing it was a Force user who helped free their planet, things have changed, at least a little.
"They have," Anakin agrees.
Marr stifles a quiet laugh as Grogu chases a frog around the yard, trying in vain to catch it.
Four-year-old Ben Organa-Skywalker-Solo (that's such a mouthful and no one will convince him otherwise) drops onto the grass next to Grogu, giggling. "It's too fast," he declares.
Grogu's face twists into the most adorable pout possible, and the frog suddenly levitates off the ground with the Force.
"I thought you were supposed to breaking him out of that... hobby?" Marr asks dryly. It's a completely improper use of the Force, something Obi-Wan has a fit about any time he sees it. Frankly, Marr just thinks it's cute, although it is something he needs to learn not to do when he's older.
Anakin is the... youngling instructor here. He was very reluctant about it at first, but they convinced him, and Marr thinks it's helped him a lot. After having destroyed the previous Order, Marr suspects the only thing that can help him make up for it and let go is to help build the new one.
"I am," Anakin replies, "But he is... stubborn."
Marr smirks. "Sounds familiar."
That word could probably describe nearly everyone in his family, which is why it was so hard to get them all to live together and sort things out – and why they kept trying in the end anyway. And he knows they'll never regret the efforts they put into that.
Ben shrieks in amused disgust as Grogu stuffs the frog into his mouth.
"How do you even swallow those things?" Jacen Jarrus-Syndulla asks, watching with a disturbing amount of fascination. He's eight now, and he looks human despite the fact that he's half Twi'lek, except that his hair is green.
Grogu makes an adorable noise, in answer, once he's finished swallowing the thing almost whole.
Anakin has a strangely thoughtful look on his face as he watches Ben. It's still strange, sometimes, to realize that he's a grandfather.
"What?" Marr asks, finally.
"Ben has a closer connection with the Dark Side than the others," Anakin replies. "He is young, but I can... already feel it." He doesn't ask how he knows so well. Anakin was the Sith, and he's the Chosen One. He better know what he's talking about.
"Then we'll have to make sure he learns to control it," Marr replies.
"Yes," Anakin agrees, "You may be best as a teacher, once he is a... padawan."
Marr raises an eyebrow. "Me?"
"You balanced both sides of the Force. Ben must learn the same."
"True," he concedes. Anakin has his hands more than fully anyway, and being with the younger children is probably always going to be better for him. It gives him a strange lightness that he doesn't always have otherwise. "I can, if that's what you want."
"I will speak with Leia," Anakin replies, "But I imagine she will agree."
Marr hums his agreement. He considered before, if he'd ever take another student of his own after Vizma. She's already twenty-four. Sometimes, he really misses it when she was little.
Marr is the official head of the Order, but they have a new, very small Council.
All the remaining Jedi across the galaxy who were interested have eventually started to resurface, joining in the new Order. But Marr still wanted to keep it much the same way he eventually learned.
They all still stay with their families, and except for having a few central Temples, they stay spread out across the galaxy. It will prevent them from losing touch with the people's needs as the last Order did. So far, he thinks the system is working. They don't have many new students yet, but it's gradually expanding.
"Jacen!" a voice calls, and Marr looks up to see Kanan approaching.
"Coming, Dad!" he calls, calling a goodbye to the other two before he runs over to Kanan.
"The others are waiting back the Ghost," Kanan tells him.
"You're leaving for Lothal?" Marr asks, standing and approaching him.
"We are," he replies, "We'll be gone for a couple weeks."
"I suppose we'll see you then," Marr replies. Kanan the rest of the Ghost crew go back and forth between Mandalore and Lothal a lot.
Kanan nods. "So, what's it like training Grogu?"
"He learns... slowly," Anakin replies.
"Yeah," Kanan agrees, "I remember when I first met him at the Temple. We all thought he was a frog."
Anakin smiles in faint amusement for a moment. "I wondered if he would speak like Mater Yoda or not."
"I still wonder that," Marr cuts in, "But I'm beginning to doubt we'll live long enough to find out."
Kanan nearly rolls his eyes. "He really should be learning to talk soon."
"You would think," Marr agrees. Grogu makes strange cooing noises that sound vaguely like words, but he has yet to actually say an understandable word, and thoughts are transmitted differently than words through the Force.
"I'll be going now," Kanan decides, sharing a look with them both before he heads away with Jacen. He and Anakin have rebuilt a strange sort of relationship. They aren't close, but they are... sort of friends. Maybe. He doesn't know what the term for it would be.
"It is growing late," Anakin comments, as they watch them go.
"We should go home," Marr agrees. Classes are over for the day, anyway.
"So nice to see someone else has eyes." Anastasia, always with dramatic entrances. It's one thing he's pretty sure is never going to change.
"We were just about to leave," Marr retorts.
"Really. I was about to send out a rescue crew to find you."
"We don't even have rescue crews around here."
Din ignores all of them, heading into the yard. Grogu squeals delightedly, running over to him, and lifting his tiny arms hopefully. Din immediately picks him up.
"Well, you should consider it. If you're going to be expanding an... animal shelter."
"Animal shelter?" Anakin and Marr echo, visibly confused.
"You know," she waves her hand, smirking, "Every species possible crammed in a tiny building, squabbling with each other and learning how to fight."
He gives her a dubious look. "That doesn't even describe an animal shelter."
"How would you know? You've never been to one."
"And you have?"
"Yes."
"Really."
"Where do you think we found Grogu?"
"We did not," Din interjects, "Find him at an animal shelter."
"Close enough! And there was this other time I did a million-credit bounty to find someone's missing tooka. Apparently, it was an extra special one because it had three ears."
"I might have believed you before you added that," Marr deadpans, "And anyway, your description of Jedi is abysmal."
"Maybe you just aren't leaving a very good impression," she snips. Someone tell him why he still tolerates her after so many years. He still surprises himself sometimes.
"Maybe you are the one lacking eyes here," Marr retorts, smirking.
"We should go," Anakin interrupts, probably wisely before they spend the whole night here. "Ben?"
The four-year-old scampers over, holding onto one of Anakin's fingers as they start the short walk for their home.
It's close to sunset when they get back to their house – that and the directly neighboring ones are where everyone in his family stays when they're on Mandalore. The Ghost crew and Leia's family don't actually live here, even if they're here very frequently. Leia prefers staying on Alderaan, much of the time, though she's here on an extended visit right now. Marr can understand that. He wouldn't want to be away from Mandalore, either, and he's fortunate he doesn't have to be.
The Falcon is landing right outside when they get back to the house, Han stepping down the ramp. Personally, Marr thinks the amount of moving around the Solos do is what keeps Han sane, because he's just not the kind of person to sit still, even if he has a family.
Ben squeals eagerly, running over to Han. "You're back!"
"I brought something for you," Han says.
"What?" Ben asks, excitedly.
"Here," he replies, shuffling around in one of the bags he's holding, withdrawing a stuffed teddy bear. "Your mother said you'd like it."
Ben snatches it away gleefully, running back to Anakin, waving it around. (If the poor thing was alive, it would have a concussion from that.)
Marr doesn't bother to keep up with his babbled stream of excitement, but somehow Anakin always manages to. Maybe that's why he seems to be Ben's favorite... adult, period actually. Because Leia only has so much time with all her duties.
He's excitedly announcing how he'll name him 'Teddy Bear' – um boring, though Marr is pretty sure he'll change his mind in an hour– as they reach the house, and he runs inside.
"Hey Dad!" Vizma calls cheerfully from the kitchen. Sometimes, it's still jarring to think of how old she is, at twenty-four. And Force, she's already married.
"I was beginning to wonder if you were coming," Bo says lightly.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Marr complains.
"Because of how much it happens?" Vizma offers cheekily.
"Where's Luke?" Anakin asks, looking around.
"Giving the babies flying lessons," Vizma chirps.
"Seriously?" Marr asks, raising an eyebrow.
It's also jarring to think that he's newly a grandfather now. Luke and Vizma married, and they had twins a year ago.
Revan and Athea Kryze-Vizsla-Skywalker.
Truthfully, Marr doesn't think any name could fit better.
Athea already has very short blonde hair, and he wonders for a painful moment just how much she'll look like his mother when she's older. It still feels like it's making up for what was lost.
He's finally made as much peace with her fate as he could. It's just a part of his past that was forever taken from him, a loss that can never be repaired. And it wasn't all her fault either, which is what made it so hard for so long. But she's still there, and... Okay, he doesn't think much about dying or anything because he has no reason to, but he'll see her again someday. It's not the end.
Revan's hair is red, and personally, Marr doesn't think he's seen anything so disturbing in his life – his great, great-whatever-grandfather Revan had black, and that's all he can imagine, though he hopes his grandson will lead Mandalore to accept his family and their relationship with Revan.
"Actually, he was supposed to be babysitting them," Bo interjects.
"Let's go find them," Marr decides, and they head out for the way oversized garage.
"You know, this place is a nightmare," Marr says flatly, as he makes his way to the area where the Skywalkers keep their... mess.
"It is very orderly," Anakin argues stubbornly.
"All I see is disaster."
"A disaster that has order."
He rolls his eyes. "Whatever. As long as you can find what you're looking for..." Given that there's three Skywalkers here, it tends to mean mechanical chaos, especially when that's Marr's side job again anyway when he's not working on re-establishing the Order. He'd nearly forgotten how much he missed doing things like that with Anakin.
But he doesn't miss his strange organization system.
"We need to make some more modifications to this," Luke calls down to Anakin, from his perch half-way on top of the ship.
Marr hastily moves forwards to rescue a rolling screw from Athea. Leaving one-year-olds here unattended for even a moment is a serious hazard. Seeing that Leia is attempting to pull Revan out from under one of the speeders – apparently, it's small enough for him to fit? – maybe he can give them a momentary pass, though.
"We can discuss it later," Anakin decides, as Luke hops down from the top of the ship.
Marr picks up Athea, taking Revan from Leia. "Maybe next time find a better place to babysit them," he advises.
"That would be a good idea," Leia agrees, "But apparently, Athea is learning to eat paperwork. I brought them out here, so they didn't disintegrate anything important. What, precisely, have you and Vizma been teaching her, Luke?"
"That's not my fault," Luke protests.
"You know, Vizma used to do that, too," Marr interjects, "But with the chaos the galaxy was still in at the time, paper was pretty rare then, anyway."
Marr carries the twins inside, before going to collect Ben (and Teddy Bear) for the meal.
It's nice being here with all of them. His family. There are moments that all he can think of are those days when he literally missed the Clone Wars, if only because he wanted to be with his family again. But now, they're finally here and together, and this time, he knows nothing will take them apart again.
Vizma takes Athea and Revan upstairs to put to bed after they're done, before Ben, Marr, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan gather in the living room only because they have nothing of major importance to be doing that evening.
Ben puppy-eyed Leia into letting him stay awake longer, and he immediately runs over to Anakin, climbing into his lap.
"I located some more Force-sensitives," Ahsoka comments, from her seat next to Anakin.
"Are they interested?" Obi-Wan asks.
"One of their families is pretty convinced we're some kind of evil witches," Ahsoka replies dryly.
"Explain it but leave it up to them. We don't need to pressure anyone," Marr points out.
Ben drops Teddy Bear into Ahsoka's lap, shifting around to he's half-way facing Anakin, reaching up to touch his curls.
"Why do you have such a big, bad scar?" he asks, curiously.
Everyone stills.
It's – That –
It's not something he's ever asked before, and it hits Marr right then that someday they will have to explain all of this to the children. It's not something they need to know about right now, but...
Anakin exchanges a look with Obi-Wan, who just looks away, as though contemplating something else of extreme importance. Remembering all of that is still very touchy for them both, even if they've forgiven each other. At least Marr thinks they have. But it's still a very hard thing to remember.
"It was on a mission," Anakin answers finally.
"What happened?" Ben asks, shifting so he can look at the scar a little better.
Marr can distinctly feel how uncomfortable Anakin seems, but he doesn't know what to do. This is... not comfortable for anyone.
"I was trying to save Obi-Wan," Anakin blurts.
Everyone just blinks, except for Ben who just cocks his head interestedly. "How did you get hurt?"
"They were fighting a monster," Ahsoka interjects, "It looked like a chicken, but it had a human face, and huge claws."
Ben slides back into a normal seating position in Anakin's lap. "How does a chicken have a person face?" he asks.
"That's what we were all wondering," Ahsoka replies, "It was going to eat Obi-Wan."
Ben's eyes go wide.
Obi-Wan looks like he's trying very hard not to facepalm.
"He needed me to rescue him again," Anakin agrees.
"But then the monster tried to rip off Anakin's face," Ahsoka continues, and honestly, Marr has no idea where she's pulling this madness from off the top of her head. He'd be impressed if it wasn't so outrageous.
Ben looks up at Anakin with huge eyes. "Did that hurt?"
The look on his face is... somehow, Marr thinks he's thinking about what really happened that day. "Yes. But don't worry, little one."
"Did you kill it?" Ben asks hopefully.
"Yes," Ahsoka answers cheerfully. Honestly, did she really need to come up with a story like that? "But Obi-Wan still barely got out because he has the knack for getting himself captured."
Marr snickers, and Obi-Wan scowls.
"Come on, it's true, Master."
"Why?" Ben asks.
"I don't know. It seemed like an accident, but how many accidents can happen accidentally?"
"I do believe it's bedtime," Obi-Wan says grumpily.
"We're too old for you to send to bed, Master," Anakin teases. The mood is lightening again, and Marr can only be grateful for that.
"I didn't mean you," he huffs, "But yes, you should go, too. I think you've pulled enough all-nighters on those starships."
"Just this once, I agree," Marr says.
"I don't wanna go to bed!" Ben whines.
"It's late," Anakin declares, picking him up as he stands, "And you need to be up early in the morning."
Ben pouts. "I want a bedtime story."
"What do you want to hear about?" he asks, mildly amused.
"All the times you saved Obi-Wan!"
Marr snorts. "That will be a long list."
"Yes, we can start there," Anakin agrees, much too smugly.
"Then I'm coming," Obi-Wan huffs, "I don't need you filling his head with imagined tales of your... heroics."
"Oh, I don't think he'd have to just imagine them," Marr smirks.
"Leia was better behaved than both of you," Obi-Wan complains.
"You said otherwise only a few years ago," Anakin objects cheerfully.
"Perhaps I simply forgot how frequently you left me with headaches."
"Wait, your memory is failing you? Did you just admit that you are an old man?" Marr asks, unable to suppress a smile.
Obi-Wan glares at him. "I am not that old."
"All your hair is white," Anakin points out.
"That means nothing."
"I think all of human biology would beg to differ with that, not that I know much about it," Ahsoka snips.
"Such heinous treatment I get from all of you," he complains.
"You're right," Marr says, in feigned contemplation, "We should probably be more respectful to our elders."
"You're being a bad influence on Ben," Obi-Wan huffs.
"We know," Ahsoka replies gleefully.
"How about I tell you of the time I saved Obi-Wan on Cato Neimoidia?" Anakin asks Ben.
"Caty-what?" Ben echoes, giggles.
"Cato Neimoidia," Anakin repeats.
"He did not save me there." Obi-Wan interjects loudly. "He ruined my escape plan."
"A plan that would have been thwarted had those bombs gone off," Anakin reminds cheerfully.
"How many years are you going to be arguing about this?" Marr groans.
"Until Leia comes to find Ben for sure," Ahsoka offers.
Which promptly reminds everyone of what they're supposed to be doing, and Anakin disappears towards Ben's room, with Obi-Wan following.
Maybe he should go to bed, too, but he's still feeling a little too awake for that. He heads for the back of the house, instead, for the back porch. "Are you coming upstairs?" Bo asks, approaching.
"I thought you were sleeping already," he says dryly.
"I couldn't, with all the commotion you were making down there," she shoots back.
Marr snorts. "Fair enough. I'll be there shortly."
She nods, and he catches her arm, pulling her closer to kiss her. She returns it instantly, arms slipping around him. "You know, if you want this so much, we can just go upstairs now," she says, pulling back from him for a moment.
He makes an incredulous noise. "I believe that comment was unnecessary, carrot locks."
"You seemed in need of a reminder," she teases.
"I just... want a moment outside," he replies.
She eyes him, searchingly. "Why? Is everything alright?"
"Yeah. More than alright." He gives her a warm smile. Once, he never dreamed he could feel this at peace with things, even if there will always be... struggles.
"Good," she says, "You know, it's almost our anniversary."
"How could I forget?" He's been thinking about that a bit, too. That's one of the main reasons for his mood right now, actually, just remembering how different things were when they married so many years ago.
He still remembers that night; it was the first time he'd been truly happy for a moment since everything fell apart. He remembers their first dance – Satine had insisted they tried and seeing that dancing isn't that different from some of the moves they do while fighting, it wasn't as much of a disaster as he was afraid it would be.
Still, to think how much things have changed since then.
Marr hears a sudden movement in the doorway, and they pull apart as Vizma steps into the room, holding Revan.
"Won't sleep again?" Marr asks.
"No," Vizma replies, "I don't know what to do. I don't think Force-suggesting him to sleep is a good idea."
Marr laughs. "Not unless you want him up for the next thirty-six hours, no."
"Maybe try Force-suggesting him even harder then?" Bo advises, amused.
"I think that would make it worse. I don't advise trying it," he objects.
"I think he's gonna join Luke in staying all night on those ships the moment he's old enough," Vizma sighs. Sometimes, it's really weird hearing her talk this responsibly.
"I'm sure he will. He is a Skywalker," Marr points out.
"Yeah," Vizma agrees, smiling for a moment as she looks down at Revan again, who gurgles happily in her arms. "I'll take him somewhere to use up some of this energy."
"A wise decision," Bo muses.
They slip out of the room, and Marr finally heads outside, into the moonlight lighting the houses. It's always beautiful out here at night, though he's also biased because it's Mandalore. Mandalore never feels peaceful by nature, though, so it's only times like this that the Force feels a little... calmer.
"Are you having a picnic out here at this hour?" Ahsoka asks snippily, appearing behind him.
He gives her an incredulous look. "You sound like Anastasia."
She laughs, stepping out to join him at the railing. "Maybe I've been spending too much time around her."
"Maybe," Marr agrees, almost impulsively reaching over to take the Togruta's hand. She squeezes it back instantly.
"She tends to get on your nerves a lot."
"I'm sure she'd like to be invited to this picnic. Should I call her?"
"No thanks. And where'd you pull 'picnic' from anyway?"
Ahsoka shrugs, smirking. "You know, the day we first met, I never thought you'd end up as the head of the Order."
He still remembers that day – it's one of his first memories. "I know. Or that you'd be one of the heads of the Rebellion."
"Technically, you were, too."
"True," he concedes, "And I still remember you pulling my hair."
"What can I say? It felt cool," Ahsoka protests, "I never felt anything so stringy before that was attached to someone."
"Stringy," Marr repeats, "That's some way to describe hair."
"What else would you like to me to call it?"
"I don't know, but hair isn't stringy."
She reaches up, yanking a few strands and he swats her hand away. "You know, I always thought our paths would... always be together, and maybe we were right after all."
"Maybe," Ahsoka agrees, eyeing him a little oddly, "What's with you being so nostalgic tonight?"
"Maybe it just started with your tall tales of Anakin getting his face ripped off by a chicken with claws."
She laughs. "What else was I was supposed to tell him?"
He shrugs. "Maybe something that wasn't a horror story?"
"At least I didn't add in gruesome details!"
"I believe your story was more accurate than the details Anakin was just giving Ben," Obi-Wan announces, stepping out onto the balcony.
"You're the one who picked that story, Master. You didn't want me to finish Cato Neimoidia remember?" Anakin shoots back.
"You were exaggerating."
Anakin and Obi-Wan are standing a little closer to each other than normal, though, and Marr thinks maybe it's because they were thinking too much of the time when they were separate, and fighting.
"I am not," Anakin insists stubbornly.
"Do I even want to know what you're arguing about this time?" Marr asks with mild amusement.
"No," Obi-Wan answers immediately.
"Now I almost do," Ahsoka says smugly.
"Another time, maybe," Anakin replies, exchanging a look with his former master. There's a look of fondness in both their eyes, and it warms something in Marr, to see that. To see all of them together, so at peace. Of course, there's always going to be things they miss and the bad days where they can only dwell on the time they spent apart and everything they endured, but those aren't that often.
Marr breathes in the fresh night air – he'll never understand how Din can stand wearing his helmet all the time – looking up at the star-covered sky. There are few enough lights here that he can actually see the stars, and he spots it when a shooting star streaks across the sky.
Something about seeing it now feels... appropriate somehow.
Especially with Anakin's presence burning brightly like a star next to him, but somehow, it still carries a strange softness to it. Much like the light of the stars at night, he supposes. It's... strangely appropriate.
Even more so that they're all out here together right now. When he first met Obi-Wan and later Anakin, he never would have guessed that, one day, they would be so important to him. That one day he could never imagine a world without them at his side. That he would be forced to live in a world without them at his side for years, and it wasn't until afterwards that he realized how much they truly meant to him.
And it wasn't until he lost Ahsoka that he realized how intertwined their paths would always be. In truth, he thinks all of their paths are intertwined forever. They always have been.
He can't explain why, but the Force works in ways he could never have hoped to understand. A destiny of sorts, he supposes.
But all he knows is that if he were destined to be around anyone for the rest of his life, he could never have asked for anyone else. They're his family, and they mean the world to him. He knows they could all say the same, to him and each other.
The galaxy can burn around them once more, but this time, he's certain nothing will ever tear them apart. They're stronger together, and they always will be.
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