Chapter 6 - In The End

What they're about to do doesn't truly start to sink in until Anakin's following Yoda, Windu, Obi-Wan, and a couple other Jedi Masters into Palpatine's office. He's sitting behind his desk, the perfect picture of calm, the way he always has. Anakin wouldn't believe anything was amiss if he could get the recording out of his head.

Palpatine killed someone. He saw it with his own eyes but all he can remember is the times he took care of him, remembering the feel of his hand on his shoulder as helped him when no one else would. Was all of that fake? He thought Palpatine was the one person who wasn't using him but he was wrong, wasn't he?

"In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest," Windu says, igniting his lightsaber.

"Are you threatening me?" he asks mildly.

"Over, your reign is. Surrender now," Yoda warns.

Palpatine stands and for a moment Anakin thinks he's going to surrender but then a massive Force wave slams into them and Palpatine Force-leaps across the room, towards the door. He nearly makes it except Yoda flings him away from it with the Force, jumping in front of him.

Palpatine pulls lightsabers out of his sleeves, attacking them.

Anakin needs to join in too. That's what he's supposed to be doing. Not just standing here pathetically. Stopping the Sith is his purpose. It's the only reason the Jedi ever wanted him and now that he's here he doesn't know how he can do it.

He's angry that Palpatine betrayed everything and he can see clearly now that he's a Sith form how he's fighting. He tries to let himself focus on that instead of the betrayal and sheer lostness eating him out. It's not until Palpatine nearly takes Obi-Wan's head off that it snaps him into motion and he scrambles to join the others in the fight.

He can only fight with one arm considering that his left arm is still healing. Kix is going to kill him.

Assuming he gets out of this fight alive in the first place.

The fight is lost in a blur of lightsabers and falling bodies as Palpatine kills several of the other Jedi. Anakin knows that he has to stop him. Doesn't make it any easier to attack someone he cares for so much.

He still doesn't want him hurt.

Has no idea what that says about him.

Especially not because there's only four of them left standing now and he doesn't know how much longer they'll be able to hold out against the Sith. Sidious unleashes a blast of lightning on Yoda suddenly and he's thrown into Windu. A Force shove flings Anakin across the room into Obi-Wan before he turns away, for his communications.

No.

No.

He has to get up, has to stop him. Anakin tries to rip the device away with the Force but a sharp pressure snakes around his neck, cutting off his breathing.

He can't –

Breathe.

Can't anything.

He struggles to break free but the pressure is nearly tight enough to break his neck and he can't focus enough to stop Sidious even if that's pathetic and –

"Execute Order 66," filters in from far away.

Obi-Wan and Windu lunge for Sidious then as Anakin finally gathers the Force to him and hurls Sidious across the room, but it's already too late. Anakin falls to the floor, gasping for air.

Yoda's getting up now when he stumbles suddenly, pressing a hand to his heart.

And that's when Anakin feels it too.

Ripples of destruction and death running through the Force. The Force is screaming and it's getting worse and worse and it's not stopping and it's –

No. No.

They failed, didn't they? Sidious just gave the order and the clones –

Something else is shifting in the Force suddenly, even if it is still screaming. Anakin can't sense much about how much it physically hurts but it's enough to know that something just changed. The new deaths are stopping but the screaming and darkness are still there.

His boys did it. They did it so the order should be stopped but that won't change how many are already dead, gone.

He can't let himself think about it right now. They'll have to assess that situation later. Right now, all he can do is focus on the fight that they have to win.

Sidious leads the fight into the Senate chambers where it's much harder to fight since he can freely use the Force and lightning to defend himself. He relies far more on that than lightsabers, Anakin quickly realizes. And they're spending more time fending off his attacks and keeping him from running off than they are actually fighting him. This isn't working and he doesn't know what to do. Especially not when the sheer darkness in the Force, especially now, is very clearly fueling Sidious and making it much harder for them to counteract him.

Anakin jumps to the pod he's on as Sidious throws Yoda off, knocking him into Windu.

"Don't stand with the Jedi in what they're doing, my boy," Palpatine tells him.

The words give him a brief pause, betrayal and anger surging most strongly to the surface. He doesn't think it truly hits him until right now that Palpatine was involved in Fives' framing. He nearly got him killed. "I know what you are, what you've done," Anakin throws back, hand tight around his lightsaber.

So why doesn't he want to hurt him? Even if he is angry?

"So you're going to kill me?" he asks, voice deceptively soft.

"...I would certainly like too." No, he wouldn't but he's supposed to want to, according to the Jedi who are only right below him. What else is he supposed to say? And he's so angry at how Sidious just literally mind-controlled the clones and just killed Force knows how many Jedi. He can't let himself think about that yet.

"After everything I did for you?"

His chest tightens sharply. "It wasn't for me, was it? You were – using me." He literally said so in that hologram of Salvo. Who's dead now because of him.

Dead. Gone. And he was the only one willing to help Fives when he needed it the most.

"I gave you what you needed when no one else did. I saw something in you no one else did and I wanted to help you, whether you see it or not."

He feels sick.

He already knew this but the true meaning of the words didn't sink in until right now. "You wanted me to Fall."

Of course that's all he wanted. He just wanted to use him, like everyone always has.

Why?

Why is it that that's all anyone ever wants with him?

"For your own good. Destroying me won't stop what's about to happen. The galaxy is unstable. My plans were the only thing that would hold it together. If you destroy that, everything will collapse. I didn't create the chaos in the galaxy. I only used what was already there to make something better."

Anakin wavers for only a moment. "How is any of this better?"

"Not yet but it will be. When the war is over."

He wants to believe him but –

He can't. Not anymore.

And if he doesn't stop Sidious, all the remaining Jedi including Obi-Wan are going to die here. He already killed several of them and he's certainly not holding back. Even if he is just trying to get out of this alive himself.

Anakin swings for Palpatine without waiting, even if it feels like running a lightsaber through himself. Probably would hurt less, actually.

He's expecting Sidious to counter him, not to unleash a blinding blast of lightning on him. He can't move fast enough to block it, and the lightning burns through him, sending him flying, ripping a strangled scream from him.

The barrage stops seconds later at the sound of a... blaster shot?

He draws in a strangled shaky breath, struggling to think past the pain spasming through him and how much everything is burning as his nerves burn from stimuli that are no longer there.

But that's when he senses –

Force, no.

Anakin pushes himself upright, to see a group of the 501st standing in one of the pods up above.

Fives is in the front and he's definitely the one who quite nearly shot off Palpatine's head.

His boys came. Of course they did, even if this is the last place he wants them to be.

Palpatine is turning around, lifting a hand – he feels the flux of the Force, knows the Sith is about to lash out and does the only thing he can think of, flinging his lightsaber at him. Sidious tries to duck it but it happens too fast, and the blade plunges through his chest.

He falls to the floor and Anakin feels it as their bond wrenches apart. He didn't know their bond was so strong. And now all he can feel is the gaping painful emptiness in his mind that it feels like he more than deserves.

Anakin drops back against the pod, panting from both the physical pain and the – what he just did. He just killed him. What is wrong with him how could he do that why did he have to do that –

He wants to cry. Or throw up. Or – or something. But most of all he just feels numb.

He can distantly hear someone or several someones calling him but he doesn't have the mental space to try responding right now, at least not until his boys and Obi-Wan approach.

Obi-Wan crouches on one side and Kix on the other.

Wait, Kix is here?

Fives and Rex are standing behind him, along with a few others.

None of them say anything right off. Anakin's grateful for that. His brain is frozen and he needs a moment or maybe a week to process.

"We need to get you to the medical bay," Kix tells him.

"Tried not to use my arm," Anakin rasps. He hasn't forgotten that lecture, okay?

Kix's amusement flares though it's strained. "Glad to hear that, sir," he replies dryly.

Obi-Wan's helps him stand, though his hand still lingers on Anakin's arm, like he doesn't quite want to pull back. Could just be to support him but Anakin appreciates the touch right now anyway. Even if it doesn't feel like he deserves it. Even if all he can remember are all the times Palpatine supported him when Obi-Wan didn't and now he's gone.

"How... are you?" Obi-Wan asks.

"Never been better," Anakin rasps.

Obi-Wan looks this close to swatting him. But honestly, what's he supposed to say? "Yes, like you're ready to fight another Sith before you've recovered from the last two times," he grumbles.

Doesn't want to think about what he just did at all.

"Who else would save your skin?"

"I wasn't the one who needed saving this time."

"You were down," Anakin retorts, trying to ignore how foggy his head feels from the lightning. And how much all he wants to do is curl up in a ball and cry. "I covered for you."

Obi-Wan huffs, turning to Kix. "Get him to the medical wing before he gets any more outlandish ideas."

"He is right here," Anakin interjects.

"Will do, sir," Kix promises.

Traitor.

Even if he does want to crash for a week and not move.

Obi-Wan's about to step back when he suddenly pauses. "You did well, Anakin. You defeated him when none of us could have."

The praise leaves him with no idea how to react. He's always wanted to hear that from Obi-Wan but then he doesn't hear it until it's about something that he's going to hate himself for, for the rest of his life. All he's ever wanted to do is please him but why is it only things that he can't do or doesn't even understand how to that actually make him proud of him?

Anakin just nods numbly as his boys lead him away.

"How did you get here?" he asks.

"Flew a shuttle," Fives snips.

Rex gives him a flat look. "Fives insisted on coming to find you and I figured we'd come along. And bring Kix while we were at it, in case something went wrong."

"Thank you for coming," Anakin tells them. He doesn't know how it would have ended if they hadn't. "But I am not encouraging you to help fighting Sith Lords ever again."

"Not even if I learn to use your lightsaber?" Fives objects.

Anakin lets out a strangled half-laugh, as much amusement as he can truly feel right now. "No."

"Don't worry, General. I'll keep him in line," Rex says.

Anakin snorts. "I don't doubt that you will try."

Fives snickers from behind him.

**w**

Anakin doesn't know how long it's been when he wakes up again but he's still exhausted. His body is tingling randomly from the electrocution, but it's hardly as bad as things he's had in the past.

But then the full reality of what happened comes crashing down on him and he doesn't want to move at all anymore. He killed Palpatine. His friend, his mentor, his –

He's gone and he's never coming back and that's all because of Anakin.

He was also a Sith who betrayed the Republic and he killed who knows how many Jedi and Anakin still has no idea what the situation with that is. The Force is still ringing with death and he's scared to know how many were lost. Because of Palpatine who also nearly got Fives killed and Anakin was doubting Fives all because of him and...

So why does it just hurt so much that he's gone, that he's never coming back? Ever? The gaping emptiness in his mind is still there and it's more than he can handle right now. Especially not with how cutting the betrayal is.

His eyes sting with tears and he lets them fall.

He hears movement next to him and gaze darting over he sees that Rex is sitting next to him. He sensed him close by, just didn't realize how close by.

Rex is radiating a distinct level of freaked-outness into the Force.

Not that Anakin blames him. The clones don't display emotions that openly because of how they were raised.

It doesn't really bother Anakin, though. This isn't the first time he's cried in front of Rex even if it's definitely one of the only times. He might be able to be himself around the clones more than he can be around anyone else but he still has to always be strong for his boys and even for Rex who's responsible for every single one of his brothers and Anakin knows very well how difficult that pressure is.

Rex shifts a little closer, awkwardly holding out a hand and Anakin slips his own into it gratefully, squeezing it back.

He's kind of glad that Rex isn't saying anything. Doesn't really want to talk about any of this right now. He gets himself back under control quickly enough though, even if it doesn't do much to take the edge off the gaping emptiness and guilt and bitterness in his heart.

"Are you alright, sir?" Rex asks uncertainly.

"I will be," he promises, sighing, "But it has been... a lot."

"I know he was your... friend," Rex begins hesitantly. He doesn't seem sure what to say beyond that but it's enough.

"I should have seen who he was long ago. I've known him since I was a child."

"That's more a reason for you to not have seen it. None of us did, sir. He was the one us clones were taught to respect the most. I can't believe he betrayed the Republic like this."

"I can't either." So why does it hurt so much that he's gone? Shouldn't Anakin just be relieved that the Sith behind everything is gone and the only one left is Dooku? That the person who nearly got Fives killed is gone?

Speaking of which –

"Where's Fives?"

"He was getting too antsy, so Kix kicked him out."

"Could you call him here?"

"You... sure you want him in here right now, sir?" Rex asks, almost awkwardly.

Was the fact that he was having a total breakdown still that obvious? Anakin smears his face off on his sleeve, ignoring Obi-Wan's voice squawking in his mind that this is such terrible manners.

"It's fine," Anakin assures.

Rex comms him and while he's waiting, Anakin reaches for the datapad Salvo gave him. He kept it near him but he never had the time to look at it in detail until now.

There's information about a number of Senators on there, including Om Free Taa.

Anakin can't deny how happy he is to see that someone else actually noticed the things about him. The way he seemed to literally have slaves of his own and everyone ignored that bothered Anakin constantly from the time he was a child but Obi-Wan had just told him that there was nothing they could do if they didn't have proof, especially since it was just speculation. But it wasn't speculation to Anakin, who knew exactly what the hopeless looks in the eyes of those other Twi'leks meant. He knew it because he'd once felt it himself, but no one had listened.

And now he finally has the chance to do something about it, because of Salvo. It means a lot. He wishes he could thank him personally but it's too late for that now.

But the least he can do is continue the man's legacy,, everything he put work into it. Maybe he can talk to Padme about it later. This isn't something the Jedi could personally get involved in but she probably could.

Or at least, he probably can do something about it once the worst of the aftermath of Palpatine's death and the Jedi's deaths has passed. "Do you know what the situation is?" Anakin inquires, "How bad did Order 66 get?"

Rex's expression grows grave immediately. "I haven't heard all the reports, sir, but it's... bad. Most of the generals who were in the middle of fighting were killed. We transmitted the signal immediately but we weren't able to do it fast enough. The Corsucant guard was trying to stop us."

Anakin winces. "Were there any... casualties?"

"No. Just minor injuries."

They don't have more than five seconds longer before Fives practically teleports in the door.

"You look – awful, sir," he blurts, "But better than earlier."

"I'm getting better all the time," he replies dryly. But he needs to address the serious reason he called Fives in here, something he still feels awful about. Doesn't think that's going to be going away for a long time either. "Fives, I... I'm sorry I didn't believe you about Palpatine."

Fives' expression falters. "It's fine, sir. I know I wasn't in my right mind then and I know you knew him well."

Anakin's pretty sure he's still hurt though he's not going to say anything about it.

"It's my job to protect you and you're my friend. I should have seen it. Stopping Palpatine was my duty."

"Duty isn't always easy," Rex points out quietly.

He knows that far too well. It's what his entire life has been about and sometimes he just wants to be with his family and not worry about it anymore, no matter how selfish that feels.

Fives touches his shoulder. He doesn't say anything more but the concern is obvious enough and Anakin appreciates it more than he could ever say.

They're understanding enough to accept that he's struggling with this and he knows that they are too, just in a totally different way. Palpatine being behind the war means that everything that happened to them really has been for nothing. It was just a game of the Sith and they were nothing but collateral damage in it. They didn't to be created to die and mourn their brothers, to be treated as slaves for a war that didn't even need to happen.

And when he thinks about that, he is so angry at Palpatine. Wishes it wasn't so hard to feel both anger and grief about his death.

"I assume you haven't heard anything about... Salvo's funeral," he comments.

It's not something the clones would have had much reason to pay attention too, but...

"I haven't," Rex concurs. "The only thing anyone is talking about is the Chancellor."

He needs to look into it, when he's out of here.

It... only feels right to attend. Salvo as the only person who did anything for the clones that Anakin knows of. Maybe it was more to stop Palpatine but he was still helping them. And he died because of it. It's the least last respect that Anakin can give him. The man may have only been an acquaintance but he was still important to him on some level.

"I know finding out the Chancellor was behind the war to begin with isn't easy for you either," Anakin says.

Rex and Fives' expressions both dim.

"I don't understand the point of all this. I mean why?" Rex asks.

"Were we really created for nothing but to die in the Chancellor's war when we were fighting for him?" Fives asks bitterly.

"And what's going to happen to us if the war is going to be over soon?" Rex adds. "We're soldiers. That's all we know how to be."

"I don't know," Anakin admits, "I'll do whatever I can for you so you can be made citizens of the Republic and have rights but I can't promise how the Senate will handle any of it. It's not fair to any of you. None of this has been. But you're more than the purpose anyone made you for. You don't belong to the Republic. I know that's all you've ever known and maybe that is what you really want to do, but it doesn't have to be. You deserve the right to make choices, to be free."

He pauses for a moment, wishing there was more he could do to help them with this but everything they believed about themselves has been entirely upended. Sort of like with him, but for them it's much worse. It's going to take time for them to process.

Anakin still doesn't understand the point of the war himself. He doesn't know if it's about to end either. He can't stop remembering the last things that Palpatine was saying to him.

Just because he's gone doesn't mean anything is going to get better. The Republic is on the verge of collapse and Dooku isn't going to surrender. Even if a peace agreement could theoretically be reached with the Separatists, that doesn't begin addressing all the internal problems he knows the Republic has and he still has the feeling that it's going to blow up in the worst way possible sooner or later. He's not looking forwards to it when it does.

"The... Force brought us to this point even if I don't understand the reason for it or why any of this happened. But I know there was a reason and none of your brothers died for nothing. Not even if it was the Sith who created you in the first place. What you went through still matters, even if no one else in the Republic sees it or is willing to give you the rights and freedom you deserve. Whatever happens, I'm going to stay with you through it."

"Thank you, sir," Fives says quietly.

"I know you will, General," Rex adds, his own gratitude obvious. "You're the only one I've known who... does any of this for us."

"I know what it's like. To be... a slave. To have a duty you don't want to walk away from. And you're like my brothers. I would do anything for you."

He's pretty sure he's going to be making both of them cry pretty soon.

"I would for you too, sir," Fives supplies. "And I'd be happy to adopt you as my new brother."

Maybe he said it half as a joke – the truth is, the clones are more than just his brothers. They're his responsibility not like the same way Ahsoka was but it's close enough and they look up to him to take care of them in a way that is distinctly not brotherly – but Anakin doesn't think the clones are comfortable saying anything more emotional than that anyway.

He's half expecting Rex to give Fives that look again but he doesn't. "I can say the same," Rex offers instead.

It means more than anything else ever could to hear someone accepting him.

He wants to linger in the moment longer, but he doesn't think he has the time for that quite yet. First, he needs to see what happened with the Jedi.

**w**

Kix isn't very happy about letting him out of the medbay already but he definitely understands Anakin's insistence at going back to the Temple. The place feels like a graveyard somehow when he steps in the door, even though the Temple itself wasn't hit with anything.

Maybe it's just that it's the only real Light left in the galaxy right now and that he can strongly feel the raging grief and anger among the surviving Jedi.

He runs into Obi-Wan and a group of Council members first.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan exclaims, practically teleporting over to his side.

"I'm alright," Anakin waves him off before he can start fussing. Doesn't want him to start fussing in front of an audience, even if he probably wouldn't do that. "What... happened?"

"We're still gathering reports," Windu replies grimly, "But it appears the majority of the padawans and Knights who were with the clones were lost in the battle."

"Isn't that... thousands?"

"Yes," comes the curt reply.

They lost thousands. It doesn't feel real. No wonder the Force feels so dark, so empty. How many Jedi are even left? There are hundreds of younglings, yes, but for the older Jedi... He has no idea what this is going to mean for future.

"Expected that lose the war, we would," Yoda speaks up, ears drooping. Anakin's heart sort of lurches at the words. He did? "But realize how many Jedi would be lost, I did not."

"What will we do?" Obi-Wan asks.

Anakin doesn't know why the question jars him so badly, but it does. Maybe it's just that he sounds as lost as Anakin himself is feeling and he's used to his former master always knowing those things. But he doesn't think anyone knows the answers for how to deal with this.

"We'll have to see," Windu replies, "We need to ensure the public understands what happened and a safe transition of power back to how it was before the war."

"Too involved with politics we have already been," Yoda counters, "This close connection to the Senate, caused this it did."

"What are you saying, Master?" Obi-Wan queries.

They seem content to discuss this with Anakin as a background audience like they often do, so he stays out of it to just listen. He wants answers about all these things too.

"Assess our role of following the Senate, we may need to. If not followed this Sith Lord into his war, had we, alive our members would still be," Yoda replies.

That's true though Anakin can't believe he's hearing Yoda question things long accepted about the way the Order has always been.

"Are you saying the Order may be too centralized?" Windu inquires.

"Mm, perhaps. Meditate on this, I must, before lose the younger of our Order to the Dark Side, we do. Dangerous, these times still are."

There's no doubt about that. Anakin's mind jumps to Ahsoka unwittingly. How is she doing out there? Does she know what happened? Is she alright? She couldn't have been near any clones but he's still worried about her.

For some reason when he thinks of her this time, aside from the nearly unbearable longing that floods him, he feels a sliver of... hope. That maybe, despite the darkness the Force carries now, there's a chance that they aren't going to be separate forever. Or maybe even for much longer.

Maybe things are far from alright and he doesn't know when they ever will be again with Palpatine gone forever and the Jedi Order in ruin the way it is, but he still has Rex and Fives and the rest of his boys and Obi-Wan and Padme and maybe he will see Ahsoka again. He'll find a way to survive with it, like he always has.

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