Chapter 26 - Knightfall

Author's Note: Things... get worse? Maybe. :)

~ Amina Gila

Anakin is standing on the bridge of the Star Destroyer, right after making the jump for hyperspace back to Coruscant, when he feels it.

It.

Something.

Something dark. Whatever it is he felt that's about to happen is happening right now, and he's far away, not where he's needed. The Force is crying out. Something is happening, changing. People are dying. People he knows – he can feel bonds breaking. Jedi.

And it's not from the war, because it's so many, so fast, and it's happening all at once. Anakin stumbles, hand pressed to his head, as the Force screams.

There's nothing he can do. Nothing, except try to stay upright and breathe through the chaos, but there's so, so much and he doesn't know what's happening.

Almost instinctive, Anakin finds himself reaching for the twins, for Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, the people who matter most to him. He senses... a heavy layer of fear and confusion from Obi-Wan. Hurt and betrayal and fear from Ahsoka. Leia is... scared. Luke just feels...

Different.

Dark and empty, but angry and determined at once, and all at once Anakin wishes he'd refused Palpatine's order and stayed on Coruscant with his children. They needed him, even if he was needed on the fronts, too. But something's happening back there, to the Jedi – it's happening everywhere. He can feel it as the Light blinks out, fading into darkness.

Anakin can feel it as darkness overtakes the galaxy, clenching it in an unyielding vice. And somehow, deep inside, he thinks he already knows their worst fears have been realized, that the Sith have won.

Focus. Think – he needs to contact Luke and Leia, find out what happened. Needs to make sure they're fine.

Something's happening to Rex and his boys, too. It's sudden, and he doesn't know what it is, but they feel empty, even emptier than Luke right now. Anakin forces himself steady, even if the screaming in the Force is numbing him through and through, and moves to the back.

Rex was in the briefing room. He still is, leaning on the holotable, just standing there.

"Rex?" Anakin asks, hesitantly, uncertain. He's freezing. He's going into shock, probably, because he feels numb, almost nothing at all about the fact that the galaxy as he knows it was just ripped to shreds in a blink. It shouldn't be possible, shouldn't have happened, but it did.

The Force is crying from it, from the death and darkness, but somehow, it feels like this was meant to happen, for as horrifying as Anakin might find it. It isn't something he understands, or can make sense of, but first, he needs to get clear answers on what, exactly, is happening.

"Sir," his captain replies, almost monotonously.

"Something's happening," Anakin tells him, and he knows he probably doesn't sound nearly as calm as he ought to, being their General and all. He's supposed to take care of them, protect them.

"Something's coming," Ahsoka had said right before they parted ways, and now Anakin can see it so well.

"I don't know what. There's a disturbance in the Force. Have you heard anything?" Maybe it's slightly ludicrous to go straight to Rex, as if he knows more than Anakin himself, but he doesn't know who else to turn to.

"By the directive Order 66, the Jedi have been declared traitors," Rex replies, which answers everything and absolutely nothing, "And are to be terminated."

What.

"They – what?" Anakin looks almost helplessly from Rex to the others, but they don't seem to hold any more... anything about it. That would explain it, though – the death. The hurting. The way the Light is dying. And he can't even say with certainty it's untrue, that the Jedi committed treason, but he can't imagine it either. "But..."

That's when Rex finally turns around to face him, but he looks too... empty. This isn't him. Something is wrong with them, and it reminds him terrifyingly of the Geonosian parasites, though it's not that. "The Chancellor told us you were the only Jedi who isn't to be executed for treason," Rex tells him, and Anakin stares.

He – what –

If the Jedi committed treason, that includes Obi-Wan. And Ahsoka. Force, no. They wouldn't do that.

And it – they –

But there's something wrong with Rex, and Anakin doesn't know what. When he's not being terribly forthcoming with information, it doesn't make sense. Maybe it's just that Anakin isn't entirely sure what he needs to know, but he heads off to find Domino Squad, feeling oddly disconnected from himself. Maybe it's partly the Force's doing, or his own by accident, so he doesn't have to feel the overwhelming screaming in the Force around him.

Reinforcing his shielding will only do so much when whatever's wrong is tearing through every cell in his body, demanding that he take action to stop it, but there's nothing he can do.

They're not far, either, and... whatever's wrong with Rex is wrong with them, too.

They look towards him, expressions terrifyingly blank. Even Cutup, and that doesn't make sense. He's always cheerful, chaotic. It's the moment that he's so still that Anakin knows without a doubt that something is very, very wrong with his men. "What's wrong?" Anakin demands of them, fear gnawing at him.

"Nothing, sir," Hevy offers. What is wrong with them? What's happening to them? Why don't they know? There shouldn't be a connection between what's happening to them and what happened to the Jedi, so why...?

If it is, the Sith should know. Ventress would know, though Anakin can't imagine what that could be. He can't imagine why the clones would be willing to comply with such an order, either. The Sith couldn't have created some kind of galactic-wide mind-trick, either. That's insane.

He tries talking to them, but more and more, Anakin's getting the feeling they don't even know what's wrong. Finally, he heads for the prison area, because Ventress is aboard, and she should know. Anakin scans the room, loathing how helpless and confused he is. Whatever happened to the Jedi shouldn't have affected the clones, so... what? Someone has to know something.

Ventress is kneeling when Anakin enters, as if she's meditating. She probably is. "You've felt it?" she comments off-handedly when Anakin approaches the ray shield.

"Of course," Anakin replies, hands behind his back, "This is the Sith's plan, isn't it?"

Ventress stands, almost lazily, but there's a sharp, icy look in her blue eyes as she glares at him. "Which Sith's plan?" she snarks back.

"You fell out of odds with your master?" he asks, "Or was Maul lying to us?"

She hisses at the mention of his name – he shouldn't have mentioned it. He didn't mean to antagonize her; it was a genuine question, and Anakin isn't exactly in the right mindset to think his words through.

"Something's wrong with the clones," Anakin replies finally, "What happened to them? Why are they so distant? Is that Sidious's doing?"

She looks... thoughtful. "Well," Ventress snips, "It sounds like you're figuring it out on your own. You don't even need to ask me."

"Who is he?" Anakin asks, because he has to know. It has to be connected to what just happened, even though that makes little sense because if the Jedi committed treason against the Republic, then it would've been the Chancellor would've... given this kind of order. But that –

"It's truly incredible you're so blind," she scoffs. "You have all the answers right there, but you won't see it."

He has the sudden, sinking feeling that he knows what she's saying, but that doesn't... The only way to know anything more is to get back to Coruscant as fast as possible.

He waits until they've come out of hyperspace over the planet before taking a fighter on his own, but staying up in space so he's out of range of anyone trying to intercept communications, and tries calling the Jedi emergency channel.

No one answers for a long time, and the dread pooling inside of him only grows. All the Jedi can't be gone. They can't be, but then why is no one answering?

But then, finally, Bail answers the call. "Skywalker? It's good to see you're alive," he says, grimly.

"Who else is there?" Anakin demands, heart pounding. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka are still alive. He can feel it. But that doesn't stop his fear.

"Very few," he replies, grimly, "We've been getting everyone we can. Come to these coordinates as soon as possible."

He needs to go check on Padme and the twins, but they aren't Jedi so they should be fine. He'll be back soon. Anakin considers it a few moments longer, before he enters the coordinates to jump to that position. He has to find whoever else is alive.

**w**

Luke feels like he's shut down entirely, as he leads the clones to the Temple. He doesn't want to be here, doesn't want to be doing this, but he can't stop remembering Luminara about to kill his grandfather in front of him, either. That doesn't mean he has to want this. At least they're not... here to kill everyone. They're only here to put down the rebellion. That doesn't mean it really feels like it.

They block off all the exits, entering through the front entrance. The Jedi attack them immediately, and even when Luke tries to tell them that they need to stand down and choose to stand with either the falling Order that committed treason or the Republic, pretty much no one is listening to that.

And so... he has to fight. The Dark Side feels more reachable than ever now. The tendrils of the Light he could feel before are entirely gone, replaced with nothing but guilt and anger and...

He's Falling. He knows it, but it's too late to stop now.

That they're slaughtering the clones as though there's nothing to it is certainly motivation for him to fight back and defend them, even if it's somewhat understandable because the clones are the ones in their home. But they're also just following orders and the Jedi should know that, but they don't seem to care.

"You're choosing to stand in the way of peace you were always supposed to defend," Luke tries again, at the group of Knights closing in on him, "Master Luminara was trying to assassinate the Chancellor in cold blood. I can't believe this is what the Jedi are choosing to stand for."

"You're a Dark Sider," one of them retaliates, "You're Fallen. Why should we believe you?"

"How is this hatred and drive to destroy the Sith the Jedi way? This is what's been destroying the galaxy for years," Luke throws back. That's not entirely true, but it's what caused the problem now. They don't even know that Palpatine did anything treasonous – they're only assuming, because he's a Sith.

A black-haired Knight steps forwards after a moment. Luke recognizes her as Trilla Suduri. "You're right," she admits, reluctantly, "I've seen throughout the war, the Jedi are falling."

The other Knights promptly flip at that, without even giving her the chance to finish what she's saying, and Luke can definitely see even more now what Palpatine meant by "if they are not all destroyed, there will be civil war without end." Because there will be. But that doesn't mean...

This is for everyone in his family too, though, because he has to keep them safe. And this may be the only way. It's also the only way to finally free Anakin from the Jedi.

He refuses to believe all of this is for nothing. It – it has to be the only way.

It's not until late into the night that it's finally over. There... weren't very many that surrendered. He doesn't know exactly what happened to all the younger Jedi and doesn't really want to. Presumably, they were taken into custody as well.

The halls of the Temple are full of bodies now. It's the place that his father grew up, and it's... destroyed. The walls are covered in blaster shots and lightsaber marks, and –

He doesn't want to look anymore. He feels a gaping emptiness, for all the power flooding him now. Maybe the threat to everyone in his family is gone, but that doesn't mean he feels better about it. He just feels dirty and used in a way he can't explain, far worse than he did after killing Maul.

And then, he senses Palpatine coming. He's wearing dark robes now, hood pulled over his head, and he looks every bit the Sith that Luke knew he was, but didn't really want to believe. He doesn't even seem bothered by the death either, though he's not showing it outwardly. Luke can still sense it. He's... almost happy, if anything.

Which is understandable when they were about to kill him, but he still doesn't know how to feel about that.

Luke doesn't know what to make of the sharp surge of resentment and anger he feels, seeing him again, either. He never used to feel like this towards him and he doesn't like the change, but he doesn't know what to do either. Leia told him to talk to him about it, but he – he didn't and then this happened, and now he has no idea how he could. "You have done well," Palpatine assures him, "You are ending the war. This is the only way it could end without tearing apart the galaxy."

"But all this?" Luke asks. He – he can't believe it was for nothing, but he can't stop wondering how Anakin's going to feel, coming back to this. Or even Ahsoka and Obi-Wan.

"You will understand it in time," he assures, but he doesn't know that he can believe that voice anymore. He hates how it feels like everything with them is falling apart so suddenly, out of nowhere. Even if this was necessary, why did Palpatine have him do it? "I have one more mission for you, and then this will be over. The Separatist leaders have gathered on Mustafar, likely planning a counteroffensive. Go there and destroy them, then give out the order for all droid armies to shut down. And then, we shall have peace."

That, at least, is something he wants to do. Luke nods stiffly, moving for the hangar.

**w**

Leia has no idea what's happening, but she can feel the darkness and death across the galaxy, like voices crying out and being abruptly silenced all at once. She may not know much of the Force, but it's enough to know that something's happening to the Jedi. All the Light they always felt of is gone.

Something terrible is happening, and she has no idea what. But Luke –

Something's wrong with him, too.

"Is everything alright?" Padme asks, appearing next to her.

Leia shakes her head, leaning against the wall she's standing next to, to steady herself. "Something's wrong. I don't know what. But Luke is also..."

"Also what?" she demands.

"I don't know." He feels dark and lost and scared at once, and she has no idea why. But he's not answering when she tries reaching to him with the Force. She doesn't have a way to call him either.

But they don't have to wait long before they see something happening. There's gunships on the horizon, heading down for the Jedi Temple. And they're... attacking it?!

"I'm going to find out what's happening," Leia decides, with a certainty she doesn't truly feel.

"Wait," Padme objects, "It's going to be dangerous. I can send –"

"I've been in far worse positions before on Naboo," she replies. If the Republic is attacking the Jedi, she has to know why.

Even if, for all her determination, she wishes for a fleeting moment that Han were here as she fires up the speeder, flying towards the Temple. The ride is long, and by the time she gets there the building is already burning, smoke pouring up into the dark night sky. Why are they destroying it?

She lands on a platform away from any shooting, though there's Corsucant Guard holding the position as she climbs out.

One of them approaches her immediately, blaster held to block her from entering. What...

"What's happening here?" Leia demands.

"There's been a rebellion," he replies, "Don't worry, ma'am. The situation is under control."

"A rebellion?" she repeats, incredulously. "The Jedi would never do that!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but no one is allowed to enter," he says unapologetically when she tries to take a step closer.

Which is the moment a Jedi who must be a padawan from how small they are runs out the entrance, attacking the guards. She doesn't know what floods her with horror most of all, how the Jedi child is just killing them like there's nothing to it, or that the clones all instantly fire on him, until he falls motionless.

It didn't truly seem real until this moment. The clones are here to kill the Jedi, and she has no idea what to do or why this is even happening. But she needs to get out of here, and figure it out. Somehow.

Force, someone tell her Luke is not at the Temple. He'd better be at the Senate, or – or –

At least Anakin isn't here at the Temple, so he can't be hurt, but things would probably make a lot more sense if he was. She's never wanted to cry quite so much as she does in that moment, as she scrambles back into her speeder, taking off.

This – this can't be happening. But it is, and she has no idea what to do.

**w**

It isn't until Luke finally goes back to his family's apartment that reality crashes in on him. The Jedi are gone – at least most of them, though there were an almost surprisingly large number willing to side with him – and Luke is the one who killed them.

They were traitors, and they deserved it, and he has never been able to respect them because of how they treat his father, but still.

Leia practically tackles him in a hug the moment he steps inside, burying her face in his shoulder and clinging to him.

Padme approaches, expression tense and worried. She looks like she was crying at some point. Leia still is. "Luke, are you alright?" his mother asks, pulling them both into a tight hug.

Luke leans against her, almost hating himself for being here, for being with them after... It had to be done but that doesn't mean he likes it, or that he doesn't feel sick with himself for it. "I'm okay," he promises.

"I saw what's happening at the Temple," Leia says, voice shaking. "They – what's happening? Why are they doing this?"

Force. How is he supposed to tell her that he was there? That he... was helping? "The Jedi committed treason," Luke explains, voice muffled against their mother's shoulder.

"I can't believe that!" Padme exclaims fiercely.

"Why would they ever do that?" Leia echoes, disbelieving.

Despite everything he just did, this is still something he's angry about. "They were going to kill Grandfather," Luke blurts out in a rush, his voice betraying all the horror he feels over it. He needs to get it out, but it's so, so hard to talk about. He's seen many of his friends – brothers, even – die, but that was different. Palpatine was the Chancellor, and Luke always thought that would mean he'd be safe. "Lumianra was going to – " He can't stop remembering that moment, and that is making him sick, too. It came so close. "I barely stopped her in time."

Leia pulls back a bit, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "They – what?" Her shock and horror are pouring into the Force in waves.

"Why would the Jedi ever do that?" Padme demands.

"They were trying to overthrow the Republic. Father... mentioned he thought something was going on. And because Grandfather is... a Force-user."

"What?!" Leia yelps.

"He's a Dark Side user, or a Sith, I don't know," Luke replies in a rush, "But somehow they found out. They were trying to kill him when I got there."

"Just for being a Force-user?" she echoes, horrified, "And why did we... never hear about that before?"

"He said he couldn't tell anyone. With how the Jedi reacted, I can see why." Even if it still stings. Even if, with what Palpatine had him do, Luke can't help wondering if – No, he can't believe that just because he's a Sith means he's actually... behind everything that's been happening.

"What will this mean?" Padme asks.

"I don't know," Luke replies, helplessly, "I'm not betraying the Republic."

"What about Father? Is he alright?" Leia demands. "Or Aunt 'Soka? And Uncle Obi-Wan?"

The shame washing over him is crushing, drowning. "I don't know," he admits, and Padme has moved back now, but she keeps a hand on his shoulder. "I hope they've made the right choices, but I – I don't know." He wants to cry, like Leia is. He wants to stay here with them, to just be with them and feel safe and comforted for a while, but the Jedi are gone. He killed them, and no matter how many times Luke tells himself he didn't have a choice, that doesn't make him feel better about it.

They mistreated his father, definitely, and Luke hates them for that, but Anakin still cared about them. Luke still killed them, destroyed the Order that his father had devoted his life to, even if the Jedi just as much brought it on themselves. He has no idea how to deal with the emotions crushing him.

"Father will be fine," Luke manages. He knows that at least.

Leia settles onto the couch, curling up against Padme's side. It's dark, but Luke can still see her tears, and he loathes how helpless he feels. He hates himself for being a part of causing them. He hates himself for just about everything, actually.

He moves towards Leia, settling down next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. They sit together in silence for a few moments.

"I can't believe the Jedi would do something like this," Padme says finally.

He just shrugs helplessly, because before, Luke would never have, either. He... doesn't really regret killing Luminara, but he doesn't know how else to describe what he feels. "I don't know," he murmurs miserably. "None of this makes sense. But Grandfather is sending me on a mission to finish the war."

Leia twitches, jolting. "You? Alone?" Her eyes are wide with alarm.

"I'll be going after the Separatist leaders on Mustafar," Luke tells her, "I'll be back soon, and... it'll be over." Whatever happens next, he doesn't know, but they'll be able to be together again. Maybe. Hopefully. If the war's over, Luke will... he wants to stay with Leia. He wants to stay with his sister. They were meant to be together, and he misses her.

"Be careful," Padme requests.

Luke nods. "Of course." It's not much of a promise, but he'll try.

**w**

Cody turned on her. He – Ahsoka has no idea what happened. All she knows is that they were fighting together, and then the next moment, Cody and the boys just turned on her and Jai. They ran, because they didn't know what else to do. They hid until Ahsoka could contact their droids to bring over their fighters so they could fly out.

She's still shaken up, both from the fact that Cody tried to kill her and how she sensed so many deaths at once. It's overwhelming, and her padawan looks just as overwhelmed.

And Ahsoka doesn't understand. Why would they do that? Cody was... he was her Commander, and they were close. He and Jai were close. They had a... brother-like relationship, and Ahsoka had cared for Cody much the same way she does her own padawan.

Ahsoka can understand now, much of how Anakin feels towards his own children. That's how she feels towards Cody, and he just tried to kill her. She can't understand why. They were close, and she trusted him. The same was true in reverse.

Was.

That's what hurts so much. They had orders, and just like that, Cody turned on her. As if all the time they bonded through the war meant absolutely nothing.

She meets Obi-Wan first – he escaped from Kashyyyk with help from some Wookies.

Anakin is next, and he comes in on his fighter. He looks... she can't read his expression, but she launches herself into his arms the moment she sees him, entirely uncaring that they're far older now than they used to be.

"Are you okay?" she asks, clinging to him.

"I know something's wrong with the clones," Anakin replies immediately, holding her tightly. "Rex didn't turn on me. He told me the Chancellor ordered that I be... an exception. Did Cody...?"

She wants to cry just hearing his name.

"Yes," Jai replies, arms crossed, and he sounds as hurt as he feels.

Anakin sighs, squeezing her a little tighter. "I don't understand either," he confesses. "I talked to Ventress about it. I think the Sith are doing something to them, though I don't know what."

They break apart, and Obi-Wan approaches.

Ahsoka returns to her padawan's side while the other two just... look at each other before they embrace each other tightly.

The Jedi are gone. The Order is gone, and Ahsoka can't even understand what that means. It's the only life she's ever known, and now, they're just gone. Why? How?

"Rex said the Jedi committed treason," Anakin says, stepping back. "What happened?"

From the tightness on Obi-Wan's face, he knows something he isn't saying. "It... happened after the Death Star," he explains slowly, "Merrin gave us some information. She told us the Chancellor was a Sith, that he was Sidious."

Anakin steps back, gaping at him. "He – what?!"

"We didn't know how to tell you," Obi-Wan replies, "I know you're close to him, Anakin, and hearing what he's done would not be... simple."

"What did you do?" Anakin asks, sounding vaguely desperate.

"He's Sidious," Obi-Wan explains, "We were going to execute him for treason. It sounds as though he turned it against us."

"You should have told me," Anakin whispers, shaking his head. "That – it – he..."

"The Chancellor is Sidious?" Ahsoka demands, eyes wide. She shouldn't be so surprised, but she is. He and Anakin were close. She met Palpatine a few times, and he was always so kind to her. He never seemed remotely malicious.

"It appears so," Obi-Wan confirms. "I did not want to believe it, either."

"What will we do?" Jai inquiries, stepping forwards.

"First, we need to go to the Temple," Obi-Wan replies, "And recalibrate the transmission message to keep all remaining Jedi away."

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