See the Moon
Author's Note: This is a gift for Superstary56 on ao3. :) It's also for the Obikin 2023 bingo. Yes, it is a horror one-shot. :D
~ Amina Gila
Anakin doesn't know what woke him, but the first thing he notices before he's fully awake, is that something in the Force feels wrong. It feels like something tore through the fabric of the Force itself, something dark and twisted that shouldn't exit – it's not like the Dark Side. It's worse. It's... twisted, corrupted, and the sensation is only growing stronger.
Anakin blinks himself to wakefulness; it takes several seconds to reorient himself to his surroundings. Ahsoka is curled halfway on top of him, so he'd automatically expect to be on the battlefield, but he's... in Ahsoka's room at the Temple.
It's only been a couple weeks since Mortis, after all, and they were given a very short break to recover and restock supplies. She keeps waking up from nightmares, both of the war and things that happened there. Anakin offered to stay with her for the night. To be fair, he didn't want to be away from her either. Every time he closes his eyes, he keeps remembering Ahsoka's body lying dead and cold in front of him, even if it was so brief it hardly feels like it could've been real now.
That doesn't change that he's been constantly afraid that he is going to see that someday – that's why he's always done everything he can to teach her how to protect herself, because he knows it's something he won't always be able to do. Not forever.
But why is he sensing a disturbance like this on Coruscant? Anakin tries to push himself upright, scooting out from under Ahsoka. She rolls off him, stirring slightly, her hands tightening around his hand, tugging it back, her face twisting into something almost comically annoyed.
He can't help the fond smile that flits across his face, or the warmth that blooms in his chest, but he needs to get up. Something's wrong, and the disturbance is only spreading. He needs to know what. It feels like something is rewriting the Force backwards or – or something, and it – it scares him, because he has no idea what it could be.
"Ahsoka?" Anakin calls, quietly, trying and failing again to pry his grip out of hers, but she only clings tighter. "Ahsoka!"
She jerks awake, already moving to get up, before it presumably registers that she's not in any danger. (At least, Anakin hopes she isn't. Whatever's happening feels serious.) "What's going on, Master?" she asks, face scrunching in a frown, as she reaches into the Force, "What's – what's that?"
"I don't know," Anakin replies, shaking his head, "It's something... out of the Temple." Something beyond, but he can't tell what.
"Let's find a window?" Ahsoka proposes uncertainly, untangling herself from the blankets and moving for the door. There are so many individual quarters at the Temple, most of them can't have a window to the outside. They only have fake windows, with artificial lighting that resembles the outdoors. They make their way out into the hall, heading towards the nearest window a distance down the hall.
The Temple is still on its night cycle, even if out the window he can see the sky growing light, but there's something –
The Force is practically screaming at him, the closer he steps to the window. Moonlight from Coruscant's moon glints off the buildings. It's the only real space object they can see from the surface. The city itself has too many lights to see the stars.
"We shouldn't look out," Anakin interjects, catching Ahsoka's arm.
She pauses, frowning up at him. "Why not?"
"Something is... wrong out there."
"Then shouldn't we at least see what it is?" she demands, confused.
He would think so, too. He'd rather know, but he can't shake the feeling that he shouldn't get anywhere near that window, even if he has no idea why. It's not something he's going to ignore.
"The Force warns against it."
Ahsoka pauses uncertainly, which is when Anakin's comm suddenly beeps. Slipping out to check it, he sees a message from... Padme? That's normal enough, but she never sends the message from a traceable number in case someone sees, so this must be something political. Something he doesn't need to hide.
"Who is it?" Ahsoka asks.
"Senator Amidala," he supplies, motioning for Ahsoka to follow, back to her quarters, "Let's see what she wants." Hopefully, she's alright, because now that Anakin's reaching for her Force presence, he senses something... off. It feels strangely dim and hazed over. Either she's only half awake, or – Unease twists inside of him, as he dials her back.
Padme picks up the call moments later, a hologram of her appearing in front of them, but something's not right. She's awake, but it doesn't feel like it. She's smiling brightly, but her smile looks almost too big to fit on a human face. And her eyes –
Force.
Why are her eyes silver? It could just be the hologram lighting, but Anakin doesn't think so. It's not just light glinting off her irises. It's her entire eyes that are silver. What –?
"Senator?" Ahsoka asks, eyes widening the slightest bit as she glances anxiously to Anakin, obviously noticing the same thing.
"Is there a problem?" Anakin asks. She wouldn't call him publicly if there wasn't.
Padme's smile doesn't dim in the slightest, though. "Look at the moon. It's beautiful," she says.
What? Of all things she could call about...?
"The moon?" Anakin repeats.
"Does it look different than usual?" Ahsoka asks, dubiously, no less caught off-guard.
But then, Anakin remembers the glow of the moonlight across the buildings, remembers the unsettling feeling he had looking at it, and –
"Look at it," Padme insists, "It's never been so beautiful before."
"Alright... We'll do that on the way out. Is that all you need?" he asks, frowning. This doesn't make sense. Something's wrong with her, and he has no idea what. It feels almost like she's being possessed. It was the same hazed over way that Ahsoka felt on Mortis, except that was Dark from the Son's Force presence. This is twisted and wrong and dirty, and – The exact same way the disturbance in the Force feels, which also feels more and more like it's centered on the moon.
Whatever that even means.
"You need to look at it," Padme repeats, stubbornly, and Anakin can suddenly see her moving in the hologram. He has a bad feeling about this. She turns it so it's showing out the window right at the –
He averts his gaze instinctively before he actually gets a good look at the moon, but the most he can tell is that something is very wrong with it. It looks exactly the same as it always does – it's a full moon tonight, but –
But there's a sudden, desperate part of him that wants to look back at the moon, just to... something. And he's fairly certain that overwhelming urge isn't him whatsoever. Anakin reaches forwards without looking, flipping off the hologram, hardly daring to breathe a sigh of relief when he sees Ahsoka pointedly looking away from it, too.
"What was that?!" she demands, "I think you're right about not looking outside. The moon is..."
"Something is not right about it," Anakin agrees, even though this is the most outlandish thing that's happened to them maybe ever. Fights on the battlefield make sense. This does not. "I'll call Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan does, in fact, feel alright when Anakin touches him with the Force, and he's never felt quite so relieved about that. He doesn't know what he would do if something was happening to him, too. He's already scared for what's happening to Padme, but at least if Obi-Wan is fine, there's something he can do about it.
He's still who Anakin always... falls back on if he wants to go to someone for comfort, even if he shouldn't need that according to the Jedi. He is already a Knight now. He shouldn't. But it's – it helps, knowing that at least in a situation like this, he can go to him if he needs help. And he does, because he has no idea what to do.
"Anakin?" Obi-Wan asks, answering the call almost immediately. He must already be awake – which used to be rare, because Anakin was always the one who got up early when he was a padawan. It drove his master crazy sometimes, and he grumbled about 'how did he always have so much energy'. He knew it was because of Tatooine, but Anakin doesn't think he ever fully knew it was because being late meant a beating, or without food that night, or having to eat, knowing his mother had nothing, knowing she'd refuse to take if he tried offering it to her. (The same thing has happened now with him and Ahsoka, just in reverse, the times they've been on the battlefield with almost no resources left, and he understands his mother better now than he... ever did.)
"This sounds crazy," Anakin supplies, "But something's wrong with the moon."
"Don't look at it," Obi-Wan orders.
"I know. I nearly did, and the Force... warned me not to. Do you know what's happening?"
"The Council is uncertain," Obi-Wan replies, "The shift in the Force began less than an hour ago. From what Master Yoda has sensed, it's as though a rift of some kind was ripped open in the Force itself. Something about the moon is... different. We're going to meditate together and see what we can determine."
"Is there anything I can do?" He doesn't want to wait around if something like this is... hanging over Coruscant. And what is it doing to Padme? Or has she been looking at the moon too long, and it will fade once the sun rises? He can hope, but for some reason, he doesn't think it will be that simple.
Obi-Wan seems to consider the question. Anakin doesn't mind getting to linger a moment longer, because it makes him feel... safer, even if generally when something goes wrong, it's usually him who ends up rescuing Obi-Wan. Still, he feels... safer. A little. But the more the seconds drag by, the more he thinks something's wrong. It's going to get worse, and he doesn't know what that means. "Not right now. Wait for our call," Obi-Wan instructs, looking at someone out of range of the holo.
Anakin flicks off the comm, unable to shake the foreboding feeling that something terrible is about to happen. At least, he'll be here with Ahsoka to protect her. That's what matters most.
**w**
Obi-Wan has to admit he hasn't been this unnerved about something in... a long time. He was called to an emergency Council meeting only an hour ago, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to not look up at the moon shining brightly into the room.
Once all Council members are mediating, Obi-Wan probes outwards, towards the moon. It's the source of the problem, from what they can sense, and they need to figure out what's happening to it.
It feels like touching something where the Force is running backwards, and most of all, it feels like something is watching them. Like somehow the moon has suddenly come to life, and it's – It feels far beyond malevolent.
Obi-Wan probes a little closer, and the Force suddenly flares in warning. It's warning him to stop, to turn back right now, and suddenly, he feels the moon is pulling him towards it. He jerks back purely instinctively, as the sound of screams suddenly floods the Council chambers.
He opens his eyes, in time to see all the other Council members in the room collapsing, except Yoda and Windu.
What was that? What just happened?!
"Pushed too far, they did," Yoda murmurs, gravely.
"The shatterpoints around them are shifting," Windu says, gravely, "As though the moon is... spreading to them."
Obi-Wan can sense that too, but he's wary to probe at it too much before it spreads to him too. Where is Anakin? Hopefully he's alright – there's no doubt that he'd be smart enough to stay away from the windows, but Obi-Wan's still worried, because they don't know what's happening. With how much this is overwhelming the Force, Anakin must be feeling it more strongly than anyone.
Obi-Wan crouches near Mundi, trying to wake him, but he doesn't stir. At least, not for a few moments, until they all start moving. Except, in the Force, their presences feel twisted and hazed over now. Fisto is the first to stand, his large eyes now entirely silver.
That's... true about every single one of them.
What?!
"Look at the moon," Plo says.
"It's beautiful," Shaak Ti agrees.
Force.
This is very bad. Did the moon just possess them? Almost the entire Council?
"You're being controlled," Obi-Wan replies, eyes narrowed, "Fight it."
"Look at it," demands Mundi, angrily.
All nine move towards them, where they stand in the center of the room, and Obi-Wan can only guess what's about to happen. They're going to try getting them possessed, too. Yoda and Windu obviously realize the same thing, because the Grandmaster Force throws the others back unexpectedly, leaping for the door, Windu and Obi-Wan close behind.
Plo is on his feet first, drawing his lightsaber as he runs after.
They barely make it out, before he hears the others reaching the Council doors. They're giving chase, and they're not stopping. The lead members of the Order are compromised, and Obi-Wan has absolutely no idea what to do. They don't even know what this thing is. There has to be some way to stop it, but running through the halls to escape the Masters who are all more experienced than him, for the most part, is not ideal for thinking.
"We must sound the alarms of intruders in the Temple, and spread the word," Windu warns.
"We need to find a way to stop it," Obi-Wan says, breathlessly, as they dodge around another corner. He can still hear footsteps, rapidly pursuing them. They're not gaining ground yet, but if they slow down for even a second, they probably will be.
They need to collect some Temple guards and confront them. They have to stop them, before they get even further.
"Warn the others first, we must," Yoda replies.
That's... probably the truth, and he definitely needs to get word to Anakin, before some of the possessed Jedi Masters go after him, instead.
**w**
Anakin would really like to know what's going on when an alarm goes off indicating there's intruders in the Temple. Somehow, he doesn't think it's a simple bounty hunter like when Bane broke in a while back. It's something worse, and he needs to do something about it. But he doesn't know what, because they still have to avoid the moon, and the wrongness in the Force is only spreading, growing stronger.
He's still considering what to do when Obi-Wan quite literally runs up.
"What's wrong?" he demands, heart rate picking up. Obi-Wan doesn't usually look shaken by things – usually, he's just cranky, but he's not now.
"When the Council was meditating, the moon... possessed them. They're trying to possess everyone they come across."
Oh.
That is very bad.
"The entire Council? Even Master Plo?" Ahsoka asks, eyes wide with worry.
"Yes, I don't know where they are now, but we need to find a way to stop them. Master Windu and Yoda were confronting them."
Anakin has a very bad feeling about that. With each passing moment, the disturbance in the Force is getting worse, and they still don't know what they can do to stop it. Or if they can stop it. There has to be a way, right? Something must've made the moon come to life in the first place. "You said the moon seemed alive?" Anakin asks, scrambling to think. There has to be some semi-logical explanation for this, even if it's a Force phenomenon beyond their understanding.
"Yes?"
"Then... how do we know something isn't... possessing the moon as well? At least, using it as it's... base. The moon was not alive yesterday." There's not even a question about that.
"It's possible," Obi-Wan muses, "But that doesn't answer what we do about it."
"We would have to destroy it at the source, since... this connection can't be broken with the Force." He doesn't know what that would mean, though. It's not like they can destroy the moon.
"Maybe the hold would break if they were... unconscious," Anakin suggest, "It... should be easier after the sun rises." It's already close to sunrise, and the moon should be setting soon. Well, on this side of the planet. That just means it's going to start possessing more people and –
Force.
Does everyone who sees the moon get possessed? How many people out there are already possessed? Is that why the disturbance feels like it keeps on spreading and growing closer?
Which happens to be the very moment that Obi-Wan's comm beeps.
"What is it?" he asks, briskly.
"People are storming the entrance," a voice says, frantically – it must be a Temple guard – "Some of the guards are helping them."
"Seal everything off. Barricade the Temple," Obi-Wan orders.
It's the only thing they can do. If people are already trying to break into the Temple, what's happening on the rest of Coruscant?
Despite the risk, he moves a few more paces down the hall to where he can actually see out the window – just not the moon. The traffic is just as heavy as ever, but something is off. He can see whisps of smoke on several spots on the horizon, indicating... fights of some kinds. This madness is already covering half the planet. Their problems are much worse than just the Temple, and he realizes with even more sinking horror that he has no idea what they're going to do to stop it, but they can't wait. They have to take action.
"We could find everyone in the Temple who's possessed and stop them, right?" Ahsoka asks, tentatively.
"That's a start," Obi-Wan agrees, grimly.
But how they go about that is a different story.
The Force is humming with danger again; something's getting closer. Something very bad. The much too loud sound of laser firing suddenly fills the air suddenly, and the floor of the Temple trembles, faintly.
"What is that?" Obi-Wan asks, rhetorically. Anakin has no idea, but he could swear it sounds like the Temple is being attacked from space.
Wait.
The clones.
Force.
How many of them are possessed? His bond with Rex is weaker since he's not Force sensitive, but he can still sense him, sense that he's... not himself. How many of his boys have been possessed, too? "What now, Master?" Anakin asks, desperately. There has to be some way to stop this. There has to be. And this isn't something he has any idea how to deal with. He knows how they could slow it down, contain it maybe, but not stop it.
"We need to stop anyone else from getting into the Temple. Windu is already coordinating an effort to track down those inside who already have been possessed."
Anakin can only hope they're able to do it fast enough.
**w**
Anakin doesn't really want Ahsoka anywhere near the entrance where people are breaking inside, but nowhere in the Temple is safe right now. No matter where she is, this isn't something he can protect her from. That's true on the battlefield too, but this is different. It's something he doesn't even understand or know if it reversible, and he's... afraid, but that doesn't really matter. There's nothing he can do but keep moving.
He's worried about Obi-Wan too, but his former master should be more than capable of handling himself, though frankly with how many times Anakin's rescued him, it's hard to say.
A gaping, still smoking, hole is ripped through one of the Temple walls right up ahead of them, and a group of civilians are trying to force their way inside, past the Temple guards. But trying to stop them without killing them isn't easy.
They're swarming down the hall, trying to drag any Jedi they can get ahold of outside. Anakin moves forwards instantly, Force-shoving the closest towards the entrance, trying to help break free the Knight they're dragging towards the opening.
Obi-Wan instantly steps forwards, joining the efforts to force the people back. They're not nearly as good fighters but getting overrun is too easy when there's so many. And someone keeps comprising it when they put up barricades in the Temple itself – there's too many possessed in here too, and –
Moonlight glints off white armor, and moments later, a group of clones are pushing their way forwards, to the opening. It's... Force no.
The 501st are here, and that instantly floods Anakin with an overhwleming panic. Aside from that he has no idea if the possession can be reversed – he can't be about to lose all his boys like this; he can't be. They deserve so much more than what they've been given, and now, he doesn't even know if they'll ever be themselves again. And they could easily end up getting hurt out here. As much as Anakin doesn't want to think about it, the other Jedi won't have nearly as much restraint about hurting them as he does.
"Rex –" Anakin starts,
"General," Rex returns the greeting, "You need to come outside. See the moon." If he hears that one more time...
"This isn't you, Rex. Think about it. This isn't how you were thinking before you saw the moon, is it?"
"I don't think that's going to work, Anakin," Obi-Wan warns, but he has to at least try.
Rex hesitates, but only for a moment. "Before I realized how beautiful it was," he agrees. That is not how the boys talk. They're themselves, but also entirely not.
The clones jump at them then. Anakin tries to fight them off, shoving them back with the Force without actually hurting them, but they aren't stopping, and then, one of them starts firing stunblasts. He's able to duck most of them with ease, but there's people everywhere and when he's still being attacked at the same time, it's much harder. A blast partially hits him, sending a wave of dizziness running through him.
Ahsoka yelps loudly, a second later, and Anakin turns sharply to see Rex and several others dragging her towards the opening.
No.
"Ahsoka!" Anakin calls, lashing out half-wildly, sending everyone nearby tripping over each other as he scrambles after her.
"Anakin, wait!" Obi-Wan calls after him. But Ahsoka's already at the entrance, and he can't wait, even if it's dangerous. He sprints after anyway, and the people are more than happy to let him past if he's going outside. Except, there's so many more civilians and clones out here. He didn't realize just how many, until he's outside.
He doesn't want to fight his boys, but he doesn't have a choice. He tackles the ones holding onto Ahsoka, trying to break her free, but the moon is right overhead, and it's too late. He can feel his bond with her shifting, transforming, and when Ahsoka turns to face him again, her eyes are glowing silver.
Force, no.
He's too late. Ahsoka's possessed, too. His padawan, his... sister, child... he doesn't know what term he'd truly use to describe her, but he'd do anything to protect her, and he failed. Now it's her and Rex and Padme and – Obi-Wan is the only one who isn't.
And then Ahsoka jumps at him.
He lands on the ground on his back before he can stop himself, looking straight up at the moon. He only has a moment for overhwleming panic to hit him, and he knows he should close his eyes, look away or something, but – Padme was right. So was Rex. The moon is beautiful.
He's never seen anything quite like it before, and... the Jedi are being stupid for trying to hide from it. He needs to find Obi-Wan. At least he can show his former master that he doesn't need to be afraid of seeing the moon.
**w**
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan calls again, urgently, but it's already too late. There are too many people here for him to see anything clearly, but he doesn't need to, to feel it as his bond with Anakin shifts to something off and wrong, the exact same way the moon feels.
Anakin just got possessed, and there's nothing Obi-Wan can do about it. They don't even know if this is fixable. The mere thought floods him with an overhwleming fear. It has to be. There's no way Anakin could just have gotten possessed permanently. It's unthinkable, and he can't accept that. He can't.
He needs to get to him now. And he has to stop these people from getting into the Temple, whatever it takes.
His moment of distraction already lasted too long because several people are jumping him now. Igniting his lightsaber, Obi-Wan slashes through someone's arm. He's expecting them to go down from the injury, but instead, something silver and glittery forms at the end of the wound, rapidly spawning into a limb-length silvery tentacle and the person jumps at him again as though nothing happened.
What?! What is the moon doing to them?
Obi-Wan's shoving them off, trying to fight his way through the crowd when he senses something familiar, right before someone else tackles him.
He slams into the half-destroyed wall of the Temple behind him, nearly getting his breath knocked out, and looking up, he sees its Anakin, his eyes glowing silver. He wraps a hand around Obi-Wan's arm, trying to tug him towards the opening.
Force.
This is very bad.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan protests, desperately, "Stop. You're being controlled."
The look of annoyance on his face is so childish it would be endearing if not for the circumstances. "No, I'm not, Master. Come."
Obi-Wan shoves him away, trying to ignore how he instantly feels bad about it. When they're in this state, he's certain the people are past reasoning. It was obvious enough, from when Anakin tried it earlier, but this is Anakin,and he can't just – "You were just trying to stop it. Think, Anakin."
"I was, until I saw it. There's nothing dangerous about it, Master."
"If the moon is normal, then why is everyone trying to break into the Temple?" he points out, a little hysterically.
Anakin hesitates for a moment, and Obi-Wan almost dares to hope that he might be getting through to him. Maybe. "You don't understand, Master," he insists finally, catching his arm again, shoving him towards the door.
Anakin is, in fact, stronger than him, and he's going to have to fight him if he wants to avoid getting possessed too. Especially since Anakin can still use the Force as strongly as ever.
Obi-Wan jerks free, lashing out with the Force and throwing Anakin back, before he retreats several paces down the hall, yelling for the other Jedi to fall back and establish another barrier. They aren't going to be able to hold them off here. They need to establish a new position.
What they need is a solution, but Obi-Wan can think even less clearly now than before, with Anakin possessed. And by the Force, he should not be so attached him. He shouldn't let his attachment to anyone impede his ability to even try and carry out his mission, but he can't stop it. Anakin is... more important to him than he should be, and when he's facing the sudden, very real, possibility of losing him, he has to face just how much he's always feared that.
Obi-Wan and the other Jedi retreat down the hall, barely getting another barrier closed before Anakin gets through. A blue lightsaber stabs through the barrier moments later anyway, cutting deeper.
There's no way to make this stop, and Obi-Wan has no idea what to do.
**w**
"We may have to use more extreme measures to prevent anyone from advancing further into the Temple," Windu says grimly. There's a limited number of barriers they even can set up in the Temple, and it only holds off those storming it for so long. "Not lethal if we can avoid it, but we have to do whatever it takes to stop this." He gives Obi-Wan a meaningful look at the end.
He... knows what it means, even if he doesn't want to think about it. Anakin has been good at strategies, and apparently, that's no less true when he's possessed. Obi-Wan's fairly certain he's organized some of the possessed Jedi and clones, because their efforts to get inside are a bit more coordinated and effective now.
He never once had a reason to think Anakin's abilities would be used against them. They do need to stop him and primarily all the other Jedi who are possessed because they're the most dangerous, but Obi-Wan doesn't want to think about what that could mean. He needs to focus on what's best for those in the Order who aren't possessed, if there's some way they can be protected and evacuated – something they're already working on, getting the younger Jedi to the lower areas of the Temple where there are no windows – but he can't stop thinking about Anakin.
He can't hurt him. That's not even a question, and especially because it's not his fault. He can't imagine how Anakin would feel about what he's doing if he was in his right mind, and he'd probably be fine with them doing whatever they had to, to stop him, but that doesn't mean Obi-Wan can do that.
There has to be some way to break the connection, and in that moment of desperation, he thinks back to what Anakin was saying about what's wrong with the moon in the first place.
"There may be one chance we have at breaking the control entirely," Obi-Wan begins, finally.
It's a terrible risk, but if the entire planet is about to be possessed anyway, it's probably worth it. (Especially if it means there's a chance that he can rescue Anakin from the control.)
**w**
Anakin has no idea where Obi-Wan is now, but he's going to find him. His former master can't keep hiding forever. He's being unreasonably stubborn, but that's always been true about Obi-Wan. He just has to find a way of making him see the moon, and then, he'll understand.
**w**
The worst fighting is in the hangar, but if Obi-Wan and Windu are going to get out of the Temple to follow through with the plan, they'll have to make it through. Yoda comes too, though he's planning to stay behind to help coordinate things at the Temple.
The moon really ought to be mostly invisible thanks to the sun by now, but it must be almost unnaturally bright still, because the possessions aren't stopping.
Half the ships have been wrecked in the fighting, but at least something is still flyable. They haven't made it more than a few steps into the hangar when Obi-Wan hears the distinct crackling of lightning, and turning sharply, he sees a hooded figure electrocuting several of the Jedi trying to fight him off.
What?!
He feels of the Dark Side, but the presence of the moon is so much stronger on him that it's hard to even sense that. He and Windu draw their lightsabers instantly, running forwards.
The hooded figure turns towards them, and Obi-Wan nearly freezes for a moment when he sees his face.
It's... Palpatine?
"Sidious?" Windu demands, eyes narrowed. That must be who he is – Dooku said there was a Sith controlling the Senate, but Obi-Wan never imagined he could've meant this. This is... what?
The Chancellor is the Sith, the very person who Anakin goes to see all the time, who Obi-Wan agreed to let Anakin see when he was a padawan. All this time he was a Sith, and no one saw anything. Obi-Wan never liked the interest he had in Anakin, but he never thought it was for a far more sinister reason, like – something like this.
"See the moon, or die, Jedi," Sidious hisses, jumping at them.
Obi-Wan parries the Sith's blade, slashing at him. The duel catches Yoda's attention instantly, and he jumps at them, green blade moving almost in a blur as he attacks the Sith. With all three of them fighting, he doesn't even have a moment to breathe.
Sidious deflects their blows, backing across the hangar towards the totally blown open entrance. He's planning to lead them out there, isn't he? They have to end it before then.
It... would actually be a very ideal opportunity to deal with Sidious, because no one would ever know what happened to him for real. From the looks on Windu and Yoda's faces, Obi-Wan is fairly certain they have the same idea.
Sidious Force-jumps away from them, and Yoda leaps after immediately, except an unexpected blast of lightning catches him, hurling him straight towards the opening. The Grandmaster lands on his back, robes smoking, right outside the Temple entrance, and the sinking feeling inside of Obi-Wan drops lower than ever before.
Sidious cackles as Yoda stands up, his eyes now glowing silver.
The Grandmaster of the Order is possessed too, and he is far more dangerous than anyone else ever could be.
Sidious is momentarily distracted with his glee over the victory, and Obi-Wan lunges forwards without waiting. It's not exactly the Jedi way, but he's too desperate and angry to care right now, when he slashes cleanly through the Sith's neck.
Except... the body doesn't fall?
The headless body turns to face them, a silver shaped orb sprouting in its place.
... Possessed people can't die?
After how many ridiculous things Obi-Wan's seen today he shouldn't even be surprised, but he's by far the most taken aback by this.
It means they really don't have a choice about their plan, because there might not be any other way to break the control. And he can't accept that. He can't. (Anakin can't have just been lost forever.)
"See the moon, you must," Yoda says, as Obi-Wan runs for a ship.
"Obi-Wan!" a voice calls from behind him, and he sees Anakin running into the hangar from a different direction.
With both Yoda and Anakin closing in on him now, getting out will be nearly impossible. He scrambles for the pilot's seat, firing up the engines and blasting out.
Except, an unseen force promptly latches onto the ship, dragging it back towards the hangar. No. He can't –
He has to get out of here no matter what the cost, like Windu said, if there's any hope of ending this.
Obi-Wan wavers for a moment, hand hovering over the gun control button. If he does this –
It could cause untold destruction, or he could end up hurting or killing another Jedi, but if he doesn't do it, he's going to be possessed in moments, and there may be no hope of ending this. He fires, the laser shots tearing through the Temple hangar. Several Jedi whip out lightsabers to deflect the shots, and while still shooting, he throws the rest of the power full force into getting out of there.
The hold on the ship gives after a second, and he streaks away into the sky before anyone can stop him.
**w**
Finding a cruiser that isn't swarming with possessed clones would be impossible at this point. Obi-Wan heads for the area where cruisers are being repaired instead, taking those into space.
He can't go onto the bridge to do anything without seeing the moon, so he collects whatever droids he can, to help pilot the cruisers.
"Fire," he orders, watching the moon on the scanner, ignoring the annoying urge it's giving him to see it for real.
He knows full well how much damage this could be about to cause. What if... what if the control doesn't break even after the moon is gone? What if it kills –
No, he can't believe that. There has to be a way to undo this. Even if they're risking everyone on the surface of the planet like this, everyone is at risk anyway. It's worth it, but that doesn't stop his anxiety. He has no idea how many people could die from this. (He doesn't know if Anakin will be alright, or –)
All the cruisers fire on the moon's surface. Obi-Wan's half expecting it to be able to deflect the shots away or something, but they all hit the surface, leaving gaping craters in their wake.
"It's going to take a lot more fire power than this to severely damage a moon. Fire at full power," he orders.
The minutes drag by almost agonizingly. He doesn't know how long it's been, but from the scanners, the surface of the moon is nothing but a cloud of dust and flying rock now. He feels the first flicker of something then, almost like the slightest diminishment in its control, but maybe that's just what he's hoping to feel.
The scanners start beeping wildly suddenly, before several other incoming cruisers register.
"Stand down," a clone's voice orders over the comms, "Or we will engage."
Right.
He never thought about that part. All the other cruisers up here are full of mind-controlled minions, and they won't hesitate to shoot at him. And he can't stop firing on the moon.
All he can do now is try stalling for time. He really wishes Anakin was here. (Hopefully, he didn't hurt him back in the hangar, even if that's unlikely.)
He opens the comm channels, and tries to reason with them. Mostly, it's just to give more time. It works... until it doesn't.
The floor of the cruiser suddenly jerks violently. It's being fired on, and there's nothing they can do. They can't risk raising shields, because they need to destroy the moon.
He'll have to take an escape pod out of here. He waits a little longer, until the cruiser is shaking constantly from the ceaseless firing, and the cloud of rock debris from the moon is so much the scanners hardly are picking up the surface anymore, before he makes a run for it.
The cruiser is already starting to go out of orbit, and he gives the final order to the droids to put full power to the engines, so it crashes into what's left of the moon, before he gets off the ship.
If this doesn't work, then... he doesn't know if anything will. It's their only chance, and it has to. But he's about to find out in moments if all of this was for nothing.
Debris from the battle are raining down all around him, as he struggles to pilot the escape pod through the atmosphere.
For a brief moment, out the window, he catches a glimpse of the cloud of smoke that is the moon, and it –
Nothing happens.
Except, there's a brilliant flash of light, presumably as several crashing cruisers slam into what's left of the moon.
There's a moment of nothing, and then –
Obi-Wan feels it as the Force starts shifting, the oppressive wrongness that's been smothering it this whole time starting to lift.
It... it worked. Right?
At least, whatever was causing it is gone. But he has no idea what's going on down on the surface.
**w**
Anakin blinks, the smoking remains of the Temple hangar slowly coming into focus around him. He doesn't remember losing consciousness, but he must have.
Seconds ago, he was just trying to –
What.
He wanted everyone to see the moon like him, and it all made sense, and now it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. He – he got possessed, and he just gave into it, and he was fighting the other Jedi, and he –
How many of them did he get possessed too? That smothering feel of wrongness in the Force is entirely gone now, and he's never been quite so relieved to sense the Force normallyagain, but he still... Every bit of that still felt like him, even if he knows he wasn't thinking whatsoever because it didn't feel like he neededto, which is what has him so confused and sick. He was hurting people, and he –
What is wrong with him? He's supposed to be the strongest Force sensitive, and for all his strength, he couldn't even stop himself from getting possessed. Couldn't even thinkthat something was wrong. It wasn't something any of them could understand, but he was fighting Obi-Wan, and...
He's always been useful, worthsomething, because of his strength in the Force, because it lets him do things no one else can, and instead, he was using that strength against everyone.
Anakin scrambles to his feet, ignoring the swimming in his head. Where are Ahsoka and Obi-Wan? Or Rex?
He spots Ahsoka first, slowly sitting up near the hangar doors. "Ahsoka," Anakin calls, sprinting to her side, "Are you alright?"
She sags in almost instant relief. "Master?" she asks, "I didn't mean to get you possessed too. I don't understand what happened –"
He touches her shoulder, reassuringly. "It's not your fault, Ahsoka. It wasn't something you could control."
"It felt like me," Ahsoka says, face scrunching, "Except what I was thinking didn't make any sense."
"I know. I –" Anakin starts to reply, cutting off mid-sentence when he sees a shadow suddenly cross over the sun. It's not a traffic shadow either. It's something far more massive and the sun is just getting dimmer, and suddenly, he has a very bad feeling about this.
Anakin sprints for the opening, Ahsoka close behind, to see an enormous asteroid passing right over the sun. Now that he's looking, he can see hundreds of them, spotting the sky.
But those are –
Force.
"Master," Ahsoka breaths, eyes wide, her hand finding his. He squeezes it back, as he watches the slowly falling meteors.
A small burning rock is streaking right for the top of a nearby building – most of it probably burned up in the planetary shields, but this is what got through.
"It's the moon," Anakin realizes. So that's how the control was broken. Somehow, they found a way to destroy the moon, but now it's crashing right onto Coruscant. They can try to deflect most of the debris away, but there's far too much. What he can see now is only what's come close enough to the planet to see. There must be far more still in space.
"What are we gonna do?" she asks, the grip on his hand nearly crushing.
It would be one thing if this was a place they could evacuate easily, but it's not. People live everywhere on Coruscant. There's nowhere safe they can go.
Suddenly, Anakin spots an escape podflying towards the hangar, though it crashes very poorly before reaching anywhere close. He senses who it is, seconds before Obi-Wan pushes it open, clambering out.
"Obi-Wan." Anakin practically teleports to his side, guilt rising instantly. "Are you alright? What... happened?"
"Anakin," Obi-Wan breathes, and he doesn't think he's ever seen him looking quite so relieved before. He steps forwards, lightly resting a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Yes, I'm fine. And you?"
"We're okay," he promises, as Ahsoka appears on his other side. "The control was... entirely broken."
Obi-Wan nods. "We had to destroy the moon. It was the only way. Nothing else we were doing would stop it."
Anakin already figured as much, but that doesn't stop the sinking feeling inside of him. "It's going to crash onto Coruscant."
"I know," Obi-Wan replies, expression tight, "The Council deemed it a risk worth taking. We'll have to evacuate."
"The entire planet?" Ahsoka asks, incredulously.
That will be... Anakin doesn't even want to think about what that's going to mean. The entire planet isn't going to be safe until this settles, and the amount of damage that will be caused when the meteors hit... It's going to be devastating, because all the buildings are connected together, and once one of them starts collapsing, it's going to spread.
They need to try getting all several trillion beings – or however many there are – off-planet, before the damage gets any worse. They're already running out of time.
Anakin doubts they even have enough transports on-planet to get so many people out. And... they'll have to evacuate the Temple. Anakin can't even fathom such a thing. He can't imagine the Jedi Temple being damaged from anything, but he doesn't know how much of it's going to be left by the time this is over. It's one of the tallest structures on planet, and one of the most likely to be hit. It's also least likely to be severely damaged since it doesn't connect to other buildings in the upper levels, but still. The building damage they'll have to worry about later. Right now, they need to focus on the people, even if it's hard to imagine that they're about to leave the one place that's... been his home ever since leaving Tatooine. It's defined everything of his life as a Jedi – and everything about the Jedi and Republic for millennia.
"Then we need to move," he says.
"We do," Obi-Wan agrees, and they scramble.
It's not until some hours later, that he and Obi-Wan actually have a moment to breathe, as they're helping with the evacuation from inside the Temple.
"I'm sorry about... earlier," Anakin begins, forcing himself to hold his former master's gaze. He attacked him, and he'd been so unreasonably angry when he did it, that Obi-Wan wasn't listening to him for once, that he hadn't even cared, and he – He can't shake that moment from mind.
Obi-Wan meets his gaze, expression softening. "I know it wasn't something you could control, Anakin."
"I got so many other people possessed too. And I could have hurt you." He didn't, but he nearly did, and the mere knowledge that something could control him like that is terrifying. His mind is the only thing that's always been his, ever since he was a child. It was the one thing nobody could take away from him, even if they could take everything else.
And he lost that. He was doing things, and he couldn't stop it. It still felt like him, but it wasn't, and that's what's most disturbing. If it happened again, it's not something he could reason through or fight back against it.
"But you didn't," Obi-Wan assures, "And the control is gone now. We'll be alright."
Usually, it's Obi-Wan who's being incredibly pessimistic about things, constantly griping about them, but hearing the reassurance right now... helps. Even if Anakin knows it's not true. The planet is on the verge of destruction. Maybe they'll be fine, but there's so many who won't be, and they still don't understand what caused this in the first place.
Maybe he could have done more, if he wasn't possessed at the time. If he hadn't... something. But none of that will change the present reality of the situation, and that's what they need to focus on.
Anakin lingers near Obi-Wan just a moment longer anyway, soaking up whatever reassurance and comfort he can get from him, before he has to go, to keep directing the evacuation.
**w**
"It's too late to go down again," Obi-Wan says, standing on the bridge of the cruiser next to Anakin.
Anakin feels mostly numb, as he stares out at Coruscant's surface. It's been three days since this happened, three days where they've been evacuating the surface as fast as they can, trying to make it to and from the planet's surface repeatedly without being hit by the ceaselessly falling debris. With each passing hour it gets worse, larger and larger pieces of the moon burning their way through the atmosphere, hitting the buildings.
Now, it's nearly impossible to get through the atmosphere at all without being hit.
They were taking Star Destroyers down to the planet's surface, having as many people as possible get on board, but now they're out of time.
The biggest piece of the moon that they weren't able to direct away from the surface is about to hit. There's nothing more they can do.
He still doesn't know how to feel that Palpatine is gone. He noticed something... missing when he'd first awaken, but it wasn't until he heard the news later that he realized it was his bond with Palpatine. He's gone, one of so many people lost to this.
The Council didn't give clear answers on what happened, and Anakin can't shake the feeling there's more than they're saying, but he has to focus on getting off Coruscant right now. At least his boys and Padme are safe, even if the gaping emptiness inside of him at the knowledge that Palpatine is gone isn't fading.
He's standing on the bridge next to Obi-Wan, still watching, as the asteroid hits the surface. It happens in seconds, before there's a rapidly expanding glowing blur across the surface, the same way it looked when the Malevolence crashed into that moon, except here, it's much worse.
Power across the entire half the planet almost simultaneously shuts down, and Anakin can feel the faintest ripple in the Force, of many lives disappearing at once. There can't be many people left now but still enough are dying that he can feel it. All those people who they failed to get to safety.
Coruscant has been the center of the galaxy for millennia and now it's just... gone.
"Where are we going to go?" he asks finally, turning to Obi-Wan. The Jedi have stayed in that Temple for millennia. There was never a reason to imagine they'd have to leave someday, and now, they don't know what's even left of the Temple anymore. He's almost glad they aren't close enough to the surface to see, yet.
"There's other, smaller Temples across the galaxy," Obi-Wan says, slowly turning away from the view, to look at him. He seems equally in shock from what's happening, "We don't have one large enough to accommodate everyone, so we will likely have to split up, though the Council will still operate out of one of the larger Temples."
Anakin can't even imagine what this will be like. "Won't that make it easier for the Separatists to attack us?" Having their forces less centralized will help, but it'll also be easier to attack them when there isn't the deterrent of thousands of Jedi in the same place.
"The Republic doesn't have a government, Anakin," Obi-Wan replies, bluntly, "From the rumors I've heard, the Separatists are already declaring a victory. By the time the Senate is able to get itself in order again, the war will... already be over."
He... has no idea how to feel about that. At least the fighting will be done, but that means they're right back to where they started before the war even broke out, except the Separatists will probably have claimed many more systems.
Maybe this will give the Republic a chance to reorganize for the better, at least. Anakin can hope.
"You should get some rest," Obi-Wan tells him, "There's nothing more we can do."
With so much on his mind, he can hardly imagine sleeping at all, but Obi-Wan is right. He hasn't really slept in days. Ahsoka needs rest, too, and the best way of making sure she goes to bed is going there himself.
Which is how Anakin finds himself curled up next to Ahsoka on his bunk, so much like they were when this whole mess started.
Except now, they're living in an entirely different world.
At least, he still has most of his family intact. That's what matters most to him right now, knowing how close all of them came to dying.
He stirs at the slightest movement during the night, waking to see Obi-Wan silently coming in to join them.
It's... unexpected, but for some reason, it doesn't really surprise him. Not right now, at least. (Maybe, his former master feels a little like how Anakin does too now, even if the Code will always be important to him.)
Even if they have nothing else, even if the war is probably lost, at least they still have each other.
Final Notes: Reviews are always appreciated! ^-^
Come hang out on Discord (delete spaces), discord . gg / nqSxuz2 or find us on tumblr at fanfictasia (our more serious blog which does have controversial posts on it; I won't be offended if you choose to block it, promise), and disastertriowriting (which is our fun blog with crack posts or incorrect SW quotes)
We've got a YT channel for tributes! (delete the spaces) youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA
ALSO: We have SW gift request forms for General, Anakin-Clones-centric, and Bad Batch fics. :D (delete spaces) bit . ly / CourtesyTrefflinFicRequests