Disclaimer: This fanfiction is a creative work of fiction based on the worlds crafted by J.K. Rowling, the Star Wars universe created by George Lucas, and the characters brought to life by Disney. All rights, characters, and original concepts belong to their respective creators, and this fanfiction is an homage to their imaginative brilliance.
Chapter 1: Shatterpoint
Mace Windu, the Master of the Jedi Order walked with purpose, his brown robes billowing behind him with flashes of his lightsaber hung on his waist. He had always been able to observe the telltale crisscross of lines and shapes that showed Shatterpoints - visions, pieces, glimpses of the future. Or a possible future at least. Even now, he cast his senses into the Force, trying in vain to pierce the veil of the Dark Side over Coruscant, filled with trillions of creatures, The lines spread and expanded in every direction like patterns of a fractal. Confusing to some, if they could see them, but Mace was well-versed in navigating the storm.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he senses a roiling maelstrom in the Force approach him, powerful waves of emotions buffeting him, forcing him to open his eyes and look up. "Skywalker, we just received word that Obi-Wan has destroyed General Grievous. We're on our way to ensure that the Chancellor returns emergency powers to the Senate."
"He won't give up his power. I've just learnt a terrible truth" spoke Anakin.
Windu stopped and looked at Anakin, observing him properly for the first time since he had been bestowed the title of 'The Hero Without Fear'. Anakin looked like he was a dead man standing. There were bags nested underneath his eyes, skin pale, taking deep breaths, as if he couldn't get enough air. However, Windu could feel the roiling maelstrom that was Skywalker, the beast that lay within him. The same one Mace always sensed and saw in his shatterpoints of Skywalker. The beast was still there...but it was different. Changed. It was afraid.
Windu opened himself up to the Force and truly looked. He could barely recognize what he was seeing … it was massive. It dwarfed every surrounding line and shard. Dwarfed every shatterpoint. It overwhelmed the senses. The most massive shatterpoint he had ever seen. And it all centered on young Anakin.
Anakin's voice was raw. "Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith Lord."
"What!?" he exclaimed.
"I— He's the Sith Lord. He knows the ways of the Force and he has been trained to use the Dark Side."
Mace's vision exploded as the shatterpoint, Anakin, seemed to split and fracture into infinite pieces before his eyes. He stopped looking into the force to save his eyes. Anakin Skywalker had found the Sith Lord. No, he corrected himself, the Sith Lord had found Anakin.
"Are you sure?" he queried.
Anakin's answered with conviction, "Absolutely"
"Then our worst fears have been realised. We must move quickly if the Jedi Order is to survive."
"Master, the Chancellor is very powerful. You'll need my help if you're going to arrest him."
Mace Windu hesitated, about to deny the young man, seeing the confusion rolling inside him, fear that clouded his judgment. But he saw it once again, not just a possible future. The future. All futures. This shatterpoint that decided all other shatterpoints. Windu opened himself up to the Force again, the uncountable numbers of shatterpoints emanating and ending on the young Jedi knight. The decisions he took now would have far reaching consequences on the Order, and perhaps the Galaxy itself.
And then he saw it. The singularity. The single decision that he would take that would determine the balance of the Force itself. He could sense the implications his choice would bear and he knew what he had to do.
"Come Skywalker, prove to me the truthfulness of your claims and you shall have my trust and support."
Anakin inclined his head at the Master Jedi, grateful that despite him seemingly not having trusted him previously, held enough trust in his words to allow him to join them.
The duo strode past artifacts and statues on the way to the Chancellor's chambers, paintings and tapestries depicting ancient battles, some with distinct reference to the wars between Jedi and Sith. The palpable presence of the Dark Side hung heavily in the air now, its presence unmistakable. While Palpatine's sharp intellect had always been apparent, a noxious hate now intertwined with his presence. It was a darkness so profound it bordered on non-existence—an abyss that consumed everything in its path, giving nothing back. The Sith Lord's very existence seemed to devour the Force itself.
Mace spoke sternly, "You can feel his presence ahead. Exercise extreme caution. There's no time for talk, no time for anything. If he trained both Maul and Dooku, he will be an equally formidable foe, if not more. There is little need to mention his expertise in mind-games and mastery of the Force. Show no mercy, do what needs to be done."
Anakin merely nodded, his grip tightening on his lightsaber.
Inside the Chancellor's chambers, Palpatine, seated in a high-backed chair, gazed out of the large, curved window overlooking Coruscant. He could almost taste victory, having felt the presence of his would-be-apprentice accompanied by one who could only be the Master of the Jedi Order, Mace Windu.
These final moments made Sidious smile. He could feel the anger dripping off the Jedi just as much as his righteous determination. He would make sure to thank Anakin after this is all over. A betrayal this early into their relationship was delicious. This, he thought, would be fun.
Mace swept into the office, his purple blade alight in his hand while Anakin stood back slightly, his blue blade slightly wavering.
Palpatine's chair swivelled around to meet them. There was no genial smile or mask of a wise, yet peaceful man. All they saw was a monster. This decrepit thing let off waves of dark energy into the Force.
The smile on his face filled with teeth.
"By the power vested in me as the Master of the Jedi Order, in accordance with the ancient Ruusan Reformations, we, the Republic, and the Jedi themselves, charge you with crimes against the galaxy. You, my Lord, are under arrest," declared Mace
The Chancellor seemed unconcerned. "Ah yes, I knew that I needed to push the Criminal Reorganization Act forward. Very strange that the Jedi have the power to arrest the Supreme Chancellor. May I ask whatever for?"
Mace was not in the mood for wordplay with a Sith.
"For being a Sith. For crimes against the Republic and for orchestration of war and treason. If you do not surrender yourself, we will be forced to act. "
Palpatine's smile turned decidedly sour. "Are you threatening me Master Jedi?"
"No. The Jedi Order still has the right and powers to apprehend Sith and deal with the appropriate punishment. This is a promise."
"Ah," something heavy and metallic dropped into the Chancellor's hand, "It's treason then."
Quick as lightning a crimson blade jetted from the Sith Lord's hand. Suddenly, a scream that was filled with dark energy and malice reverberated in the Force itself filled the room, concussing the Jedi Master.
Palpatine was a blur as he streaked through the air towards him and no sooner was Mace forced to raise his own purple blade to protect himself from the veritable whirlwind of blows lashed upon him.
He could do little to ascertain the status of any of Anakin, so focused on simply surviving this initial onslaught. A large, marble statue fell towards him, too heavy to attempt to block, he was about to leap back when he was suddenly pushed away, turning to see Anakin with his arm outstretched, about to be buried under a pile of rubble.
Before he could go ahead and help out him, Palpatine was already upon him, forcing him to raise his lightsaber to meet the challenge.
"You will pay for this, Chancellor," he said, his voice low and dangerous.
Mace Windu did not expect Palpatine, the Sith Lord, to be so powerful or fast. Darth Maul and Darth Tyranus did not even come close in skills to their master.
Windu had mastered Vaapad, a lightsaber form that allowed him to channel the dark side of the Force to his own advantage. He had also studied the Sith extensively, and he believed that he knew their weaknesses.
But Palpatine was unlike any Sith that Windu had ever faced before. He was faster, stronger, and more skilled than Windu had anticipated. As they fought, Windu could feel the dark side flowing through Palpatine. It was a power that Windu had never experienced before. He realized that he was outmatched. He needed to find a way to defeat Palpatine quickly, before it was too late.
Mace had seen many years as part of the Jedi Order. He knew, having been touched early by the Dark Side of the Force, that he must always keep his emotions in check. To never let them rule him. But he also knew he could never rid himself of them.
Yoda had said to many a youngling and initiate, "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
Yoda's words were true. Just not in the way many Jedi took it.
For Mace had started down the dark path many years ago. Since then, he had been plagued by hate, anger, and emotion at nearly all times. He grew stronger in spite of it. When they spread across his countenance and worried his fellow Jedi, he constructed a mask of impassiveness to bely is true feelings. When his emotions dipped into his lightsaber forms and he became unbalanced and faltering, he created his own lightsaber form. Vaapad. It took his negative emotions and funnelled them into combat. Raw emotion and aggression turned onto an enemy. Using the anger, never letting it use you.
He perfected the lightsaber form with his apprentices as he took them. However, none had the strength and will he did; each fell to the Dark, one after the other. And yet he still grew stronger.
So, when sitting in the presence of a wound—a dark, malevolent entity that sucked all into its orbit—he did not weaken and falter as other Jedi would. The emotions, the anger, the hate, the darkness itself, all made him stronger. His will absolute. Palpatine was ready for a battle or for a duel.
Mace Windu stood alone. And Mace Windu brought war.
Mace Windu looked and he saw. He traced the cracks and weaves in the Force. He travelled the lines and looked into future outcomes. He saw Palpatine's moves before he made them, countered attacks before he saw them. Every bit of roiling emotion Palpatine let out, Mace drew in, funnelling it into his hands and his blade.
Soon, his purple blade became an extension of himself. His mind not worried about blocking the dozens of attacks made in a single second. The whirl of the sabers fading into the background.
Instead, he looked for a way to win. For while he matched every strike, every blow, he did not push back. He couldn't.
For while he gave up no ground, he received none in return either. It was a standstill. They moved past side-tables, now sliced in half, and over statues, thrown this way and that, streaking a violent path through the Chancellor's office. He lapped up Palpatine's frustration in the Force. There was no talk, no banter here. Mace had nothing to hear or say to a Sith Lord.
Palpatine fought for power and death.
Mace fought for peace.
"Master Jedi, surely you don't think you can win here? I am the man who has brought peace to the Republic," sickly yellow eyes widened and seemed to taunt Mace, "so even if you succeed...well...the Republic will never forgive an assassination of the Chancellor."
Mace tried his best not to respond to the monster before him, his parries, blocks, and strikes never slowing for a moment. Yet... "We are the Jedi Order. We've stood by the Republic for thousands of years. I'm certain we'll outlast one man."
Those words sparked rage in Palpatine, and talk was over for the moment. Their robes were equally sliced and gouged and seared from their hours-long duel. As they fought their way through the executive building, through the public offices, into the sitting area, and finally into Palpatine's inner sanctum.
Mace, upon second look, noticed much of the artwork and pieces seemed to be more...dark in nature. Not enough to raise alarm on their own. How were they so blind?
And yet, Mace was well aware that the last hope for the Jedi Order would be decided this night. He thought for just a moment, how this might have gone if he had decided to leave Anakin behind.
He hated to admit it, but he was unsure how a spar would last between himself and Skywalker. Palpatine was a master swordsman and practitioner of the Force...but Skywalker was powerful.
That was why Palpatine wanted him as an apprentice and ultimately why Anakin must stay far from what happened tonight.
If Mace died, Skywalker's convictions would be sure, and he would strike back against Palpatine.
Perhaps far too late, Mace admitted, if only to himself, Skywalker was trustworthy. Maybe things would have been different if the Council had more faith in him when he was just a Padawan. And he knew they were going to pay a price for their blindness.
Sidious could feel his apprentice—well, his future apprentice—heading towards them. The final cards were in play. He could feel the anguish, the anger, the hate, roiling within Skywalker. The boy was being eaten alive by the Dark Side.
Palpatine could see it now. A vision, just a glimpse in the force of a future that had happened before. Those who were not seers and visionaries in the Force held little understanding of Cosmic Force in any true way. Jedi and their weak ways could only understand the Unifying Force. That which bound all the life in the galaxy together. His master had studied this. Sidious knew better.
He knew that there was more out there. His visions of futures, glimpses into pasts, presents, and beyond were more than just failed visions and unclear prophecies. The Force had seen all things. It had seen this fight once before. Him and Mace Windu locked in battle when Anakin had arrived, running to protect his mentor. Then Mace had died.
So, when Sidious saw a glimpse of that future. Of Anakin falling to the Dark Side and becoming his apprentice. Well, it was going to happen.
After all, what had happened once before would surely happen again.
It was time to make the final play.
Sidious unleashed a rapid series of fruitless attacks against Windu, and was driven back into the office by Windu's steady offensive strikes. Windu guided the battle across the office towards the bay window, shattering the transparisteel with missed strikes. As they moved out onto the wind-blown ledge, the duellists engaged in a brief flurry of bladework, but Windu managed to end the bout with a swift and precise kick to the Sith Lord's jaw. Sidious was thrown off balance, staggering back and dropping his lightsaber which flew out the window, flailing for balance before retreating against the window frame. Sidious was at Windu's mercy, who held his blade to the Sith Lord's throat.
And then, Anakin Skywalker burst into the room. The Shatterpoint had arrived. Anakin stood in the doorway, his lightsaber drawn. He looked at Windu, then at Palpatine lying on the ground below.
"You have lost, Sith."
Palpatine seemed to smile, shaking his head. "No. No, you have lost!"
Quick as a flash, purple and blue lightning came from the tips of Palpatine's fingers. It was heavy and dark and noxious, and Mace only just brought his blade up in time to avoid a lethal blast from the Sith. Palpatine staggered, snarling, but the blistering energy that poured from his hands only intensified.
He fed the power with his pain.
"Anakin!" Mace called. His voice sounded distant, blurred, as if it came from the bottom of a well. "Anakin, help me! This is your chance!"
He felt Anakin's leap from the office floor to the ledge, felt his approach behind him
And Palpatine was not afraid.
Mace could feel it: he wasn't worried at all.
"Destroy this traitor," the Chancellor said, his voice raised over the howl of writhing energy that joined his hands to Mace's blade. "This was never an arrest. It's an assassination!"
It was then that Mace finally understood. He had it. The key to final victory. Palpatine's shatterpoint. The absolute shatterpoint of the Sith.
The shatterpoint of the dark side itself.
Mace thought, blankly astonished, 'Palpatine trusts Anakin Skywalker…'
Now Anakin was at Mace's shoulder. Palpatine still made no move to defend himself from Skywalker; instead, he ramped up the lightning bursting from his hands, bending the fountain of Mace's blade back toward the Korun Master's face.
Palpatine's eyes glowed with power, casting a yellow glare that burned back the rain from around them. "He is a traitor, Anakin. Destroy him."
"You're the chosen one, Anakin," Mace said, his voice going thin with strain. This was beyond Vaapad; he had no strength left to fight against his own blade. "Take him. It's your destiny."
Skywalker echoed him faintly. "Destiny"
"Help me! I can't hold on any longer!" The yellow glare from Palpatine's eyes spread outward through his flesh. His skin flowed like oil, as though the muscle beneath was burning away, as though even the bones of his skull were softening, were bending and bulging, deforming from the heat and pressure of his electric hatred. "He is killing me, Anakin! Please, Aaaahhh !"
Mace's blade bent so close to his face that he was choking on ozone. "Anakin, he's too strong for me"
"Wait" Skywalker seized his lightsaber arm with desperate strength. "Don't kill him. You can't just kill him, Master"
"Yes, I can," Mace said, grim and certain. "I have to."
"You came to arrest him. He has to stand trial"
"A trial would be a joke. He controls the courts. He controls the Senate"
"So, are you going to kill all of them, too? Like he said you would?"
Mace yanked his arm free. "He's too dangerous to be left alive. If you could have taken Dooku alive, would you have?"
Skywalker's face swept itself clean of emotion. "That was different !"
Mace turned toward the cringing, beaten Sith Lord. "You can explain the difference after he's dead."
He raised his lightsaber.
"I need him alive!" Skywalker shouted. "I need him to save Padmé!"
Mace froze. His lightsaber lowered imperceptibly as he looked at Anakin Skywalker in the Force. His blood curled. His eyes widened in shock. Seething around The Chosen One were roiling waves of dark energy interspersed within the light side of the Force. It was unlike anything Mace had seen. It was conflict like nothing Mace had ever imagined. It was as if the dark side and light side of the Force were battling for the very soul of this young Jedi.
And then Mace saw it. As clearly as he had seen that Anakin Skywalker was the shatterpoint for the galaxy earlier, now he saw Anakin Skywalker's shatterpoint. The fault lines that connected him to Palpatine ran out of the Chancellor's office, across the massive divide and straight into the balcony with a heavily pregnant woman standing, framed in the moonlight. The home of Padmé Amidala, the Senator of Naboo.
Wife of Anakin Skywalker !
"How could you keep this from us!" Mace roared. He didn't even recognize his own voice. The fire burgeoned inside him. Skywalker should never have been trained. Twenty-five thousand years of Jedi history rode on the shoulders of this 'Chosen One'. Skywalker was never really a Jedi. A man of power, to be sure. But a man who refused to be anything more than just a man. A man who refused to accept the Jedi as his family. A man built for betrayal! How could the Council have been so blind?
He delved deeper and deeper into Vaapad, his anger burgeoning, pushing past choices made and unmade, weaving through a field of glass, he could feel the final turn approaching. He now understood why the Force had given him this choice, and why he was sent here at that moment. If to destroy the Dark Side, the payment was to be his life, Mace Windu would gladly pay the price thrice over.
"Anakin!" The Chancellor rasped. He looked weak. The energy spewing from his hands seemed to be draining him and his horrific visage continued to morph. The transformation was extending beyond his face and Anakin's eyes went wide as the Sith Lord's entire body seemed to be consuming itself...withering away slowly but surely. "You must kill him. To save Padmé, you must choose! I cannot finish him myself. Choose now!"
Anakin was tired. He had not slept in days. Windu appeared to be gaining on Palpatine by the second. His breath growing short and his muscles aching, terror gripped Anakin's chest in a vice. As if to torture him more, the vision erupted in his mind as it had so many times before. He saw Padmé screaming for him and he was helpless to save her.
With Padmé's screams echoing in his ears, Anakin blindly swung his saber, feeling it cut through flesh and bone. Windu screamed, holding his hand cut off at the wrist while bleeding from his left eye. He staggered back, and at that moment Palpatine, seemingly defeated, let out a large burst of Force Lightning, pushing the Master of the Jedi Order outside of the window and into the chaos below.
Palpatine turned to Anakin.
"The Master of your Order. The One responsible for the safety of your order. And defeated by little old me. You see, Anakin. The Jedi are weak. Their understanding of the Force is flawed. Only the Sith have the power to save your wife"
"Help me," Anakin begged, "Help me save Padmé."
Palpatine smiled. "Of course," he said. "I'll do anything for you, Anakin. But before that, you must pass a small test for me. You see, I cannot just name you my apprentice. You will have to do me a very small favour. Lead your battalion and clear out the Jedi Temple. Kill everyone in it and pledge your allegiance to the dark side. And I will give you the power to save Padmé"
Anakin Skywalker's heart pounded in his chest as he marched with the 501st Legion towards the Jedi Temple. He had just left the Chancellor's office, where he had witnessed Mace Windu almost strike down Palpatine. But then, Master Windu had trusted him. Trusted in him to do the right thing but in the end, Anakin had betrayed him, choosing to trust Palpatine. He had turned his back on the Jedi and the Light Side of the Force for one singular purpose: to save Padmé.
With the declaration of Order 66, the Republic had declared all Jedi as traitors and Anakin had been given the responsibility to bring down the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the bastion of their power. With his march on the Jedi temple, soon the Jedi Order would be a relic of the past, and the new Empire would rise from its ashes, one wherein he would be allowed to be with Padmé without any fear.
As the Clone Troopers spread out, ambushing the Temple Guards as well as engaging the Jedi present in the temple, Anakin headed directly towards the Council Chamber - one of the safest places in the Temple and one where the Younglings were instructed to hide if ever the Temple was attacked.
Spotting him, the kids emerged from behind the seats with one blond haired human child approaching him, "Master Skywalker, there are too many of them ! What are we going to do?"
As Anakin raised his lightsaber, prepared to carry out his Master's orders, a vision unfolded before him- a tapestry of destiny painted by the Force. He saw Padmé lying alone, dying because he was not strong enough to do what needed to be done. Anakin fought back tears as the vision continued to play in his mind, realizing he couldn't stop it even if he tried. Padmé's screams echoed as they had so many times before.
But something was suddenly different. The room she was in was different. Her eyes were different. She wasn't weeping as she called his name. She was in pain, yes-but she wasn't dying! Anakin watched, astonished as he saw the child-a boy-placed in his mother's arms and she was smiling!
The image vanished as suddenly as it appeared.
"How…?" Anakin couldn't breathe. His confusion rose exponentially. "How is this possible?"
And then the vision changed once again.
Amidst the chaos of battle, he witnessed the Jedi Temple in flames, a mere prelude to the broader revelation. The vision extended beyond the immediate battleground, revealing the consequences of his choices on a galactic scale.
Anakin saw the rise of a dark empire, built on the ashes of the Republic. He saw the fall of the Jedi Order, once the guardians of peace and justice. He saw the enslavement of the galaxy, trillions of beings subjected to the whims of a tyrannical regime.
His gaze reached beyond the stars, revealing the tragic fate of his love, Padmé. He saw her die in childbirth, her final breaths filled with sorrow and despair. He saw his innocent children, Luke and Leia, torn apart by the war he had unleashed.
The vision became a cosmic panorama, a universe torn apart by the repercussions of Anakin's decisions. Planets burned, stars faded, and the very fabric of existence unravelled. In a moment of respite, Anakin grappled with the weight of destiny. His face was obscured by shadows cast by the burning temple, while his eyes burned with anguish and despair.
Although the vision of the future was shrouded in darkness, it still held a glimmer of hope. Anakin saw a path to his redemption and a galaxy finally at peace.
He knew that he had to stop Palpatine and the Sith, regardless of the cost. He had to find a way to redeem himself and save the galaxy from the darkness he had helped create. Right now, His first priority, however, was to reach Padmé, the mother of his children, whom he had left alone while foolishly pursuing what he believed was the only path to save her.
As the vision faded, Anakin took a deep breath and steeled his resolve. He turned and ran out of the Jedi Temple, leaving the Clone Troopers behind. He would find a way to redeem himself, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.
As Anakin sprinted toward the hangar, thoughts of reaching Padmé consumed him. Oddly, the usual voices in his mind had quietened, replaced by a singular focus. He dashed past ships, desperation building as none seemed fit for a swift journey to Naboo. Hope dwindled until a familiar symphony of beeps reached his ears. Whirling around, he spotted R2-D2 atop a white and red freighter, rolling around it, various cables connected to parts of the ship.
"Artoo, you think this relic can even lift off?" Anakin questioned, scepticism colouring his tone. R2-D2 responded with defiant beeps, its welder sparking threateningly.
With no better option, Anakin, trusting his droid's judgment, boarded the relic of days past. Despite a thick layer of dust, the vessel appeared surprisingly intact. Anakin, driven by an innate connection with machinery, was easily able to start it up, his fingers dancing across the console.
"Strap in, Artoo! Naboo's our destination. What kind of hyperdrive does this thing have, anyway?" Anakin queried.
Excitement emanated from R2-D2 in a cascade of beeps and whistles. Anakin grinned, "Fast enough, huh? Let's see."
Just as the ship's engines hummed to life, C-3PO, golden and flustered, hurried into the hangar. "Master Anakin, wait! Please do not leave me behind!"
Anakin, not willing to let his protocol droid face abandonment, extended his hand, and with a flick of the Force, pulled C-3PO aboard. The metallic companion stumbled but found his footing.
"Thank the maker! I could not bear to be left behind," C-3PO exclaimed, his programming forcing him to complain, "Master Anakin, must you always resort to such undignified methods of boarding? It is simply not befitting a protocol droid such as myself!"
Anakin, now with both droids in tow, lifted off, flying past the clone trooper controlled ships. The ship rattled, almost as it would break apart the moment it entered hyperspace. With a last glance at the burning Jedi Temple, Anakin punched in the hyperdrive and the Ebon Hawk streaked past, the Force guiding their journey, while the stars awaited their arrival on the distant world of Naboo.
With the ship now cruising towards Naboo in hyperspace, Anakin was finally able to take a moment of peace. A lot had happened in a very short span of time. He had forsaken the Light for the Dark, only to betray the Dark when the moment had come. Now, he was not sure who he was - A Jedi, A Sith or something completely else.
"Master, you should lie down. I shall wake you up when we arrive near Naboo." As a series of beeps and whistles sounded behind him, C3PO bristled, "Why, I never! I would never leave to recharge when Master Anakin has need of me."
"Alright, Alright. Artoo, make sure we stay on course. Threepio, just stay out of Artoo's way." Anakin walked off, leaving behind a sulking protocol droid.
As he walked around the ship, he came across what seemed like the Captain's quarters. Not even having the energy to take off his boots, Anakin collapsed onto the bed, but sleep was the last thing on his mind. His thoughts racing over what he had seen, not able to distinguish reality from imagination. He was just about to close his eyes, when his attention was caught by the tiniest glimpse of light from what seemed to be a crack in the wall.
Lighting his saber, Anakin gingerly approached the wall, placing his palm on it, and trying to sense if there was anything hidden behind it. The light suddenly shined brighter, and started to blink in conjunction with his heart. He tried to remove his hand from the wall, but something seemingly kept it stuck there, pulling in more and more energy from his tired body.
The more he struggled, the faster the light seemed to blink, with a strange pressure building up in his body and behind his head. He was on the verge of falling unconscious, when with a strange high pitched noise, the wall suddenly vanished, leaving behind what seemed to be a shelf full of junk. He saw what seemed to be parts of a blaster, crystals which resembled the common blue and green khyber crystals, and even the head of a droid.
But what really caught his attention was an old brass compass, which was seemingly the source of the light. Guided by some unseen force, he reached over and picked it up, turning it around to see a pure white khyber crystal suspended in the middle.
The compass pointed in a seemingly random direction, turning around wildly every few seconds.
"What a useless waste of time!" He was about to fling it away but suddenly felt a burst of energy leave the ancient device, with the khyber crystal now pointing in one straight direction. He tried moving around, but the crystal stubbornly stayed aligned. "I wonder what this points to"
While he was wondering where the compass was pointing, the ship's intercom beeped with R2D2's voice ringing through the room. Anakin ran to the cockpit, wherein he saw R2D2 rolling around the cockpit seemingly working at every station at once.
"What happened?" he queried
"Master Anakin, the ship suddenly dropped out of hyperspace. It is now moving to an unexplored zone. All attempts to recalibrate have failed. We are no longer in control of the ship!" C3PO cried.
Anakin's eyes widened as he gazed out of the viewport, where a colossal black hole loomed like a hungry void, ready to devour everything in its gravitational grasp.
A glimpse at the compass still in his hand showed the crystal pointing straight at the center of the black hole. He rushed to the controls, trying to take control of the ship's navigation. However, the black hole seemingly had them in its grasp, with no escape in sight.
Inevitably, despite their fierce struggle, the ship was inevitably drawn ever closer to the ominous event horizon. Even the Force, Anakin's stalwart ally, seemed feeble in the face of this cosmic maelstrom; if anything, it conspired to propel them closer.
"Strap in tightly, both of you!" Anakin's voice echoed with urgency. "It's been a great journey with both of you. Thank you for watching over Padmé for me."
As he spoke, Anakin's mind raced back to his pregnant wife, his unborn children, and his Master—those he had failed, those he had let down.
Approaching the perilous event horizon, a haunting whisper, a familiar guide throughout the years, resonated in his ears, "Find her Chosen". And with that, Anakin Skywalker, 'The Hero with No Fear' and the Chosen One, was engulfed by the malevolent pull of the black hole. The question of survival now hung in the balance, determined solely by the unfathomable will of the Force.
AN: We would like to credit EldritchLyric for his story "Making of a Sith I: Fall of a Jedi" and Souderwan for his story "Fall of The Sith". While the two stories are completely different in scope, we have adapted some parts of their story as a launching base for this chapter. The story diverges on from the death of Master Windu, and we hope to explore regions "no man has gone before".
Cue: Sheldon's head exploding. After all, the Death Star is from Star Trek!