Invisible Hand
Three Years into the Clone Wars
Blue saber flashed against red, as Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, and Count Dooku, Sith Lord, battled against one another, both pushed to their limit, but expending every ounce of ability and skill at their command.
Seated on a chair nearby, with his hands bound to the armrests, sat Chancellor Palpatine, currently leader of the Senate of the Republic. He was also the leader of the Separatists, and the master Sith Lord, but not too many people knew about that.
Dooku, originally entirely overconfident in his ability to destroy the young Jedi, was finding the going tougher than he had expected. Then, in one startling, agonizing moment, Skywalker managed to cut off both his hands in one graceful move. Dooku's red lightsaber flew up into the air and was caught by Skywalker, and the Sith Lord dropped to his knees, his mind a mixture of short term agony and long term fear. This had not been the plan! He could only hope that his master knew a way to get out of this with the various secrets intact.
"Good, Anakin, good!" Palpatine said with a pleased smile. "Kill him."
Dooku shot a horrified, unbelieving look at Sidious. What? What?
"Kill him now," Palpatine ordered.
"I shouldn't," Anakin said.
"Do it!"
Anakin hesitated, and then, just as he planned to chop off the Sith Lord's head, a very surprising thing happened. Both of the sabers were yanked out of his hands to sail behind him.
He spun around in shock, which quickly gave way to bewilderment. Three people stood a short distance away, one a dark blond man, one a dark haired woman, and one a red headed woman. All looked to be in their thirties.
"No, don't," the man said, taking a few steps closer. "When in doubt, always do the opposite of what the Sith Lord wants."
Anakin gaped and shot a bewildered look at Dooku, who was still on his knees, his eyes as wide as jogan fruit.
"What are you talking about?" Anakin demanded. "Dooku wants to be killed?"
"Not that Sith Lord," the dark haired woman said, wandering a little closer and pointed one elegant finger at Palpatine. "That one."
Anakin turned toward the Chancellor and saw in his mentor's face the same bewilderment that was, most assuredly, on his own.
"Look, I don't know who you are," he protested, "but you obviously are confused. Dooku was holding Chancellor Palpatine prisoner..."
"No, he wasn't," the man said, and then glanced at the redhead. "Mara, could you please go check on Obi-Wan?"
"You sure you are Ok?" 'Mara' asked, glaring at Palpatine.
"I think so; if things get hot you can jump back in, but poor Obi-Wan seems to be under a piece of metal which can't be comfortable."
"Ok," Mara replied, striding off briskly toward the fallen Jedi, who had been knocked out earlier and was, indeed, currently smushed under a metal panel. Anakin noted, belatedly, that she had a lightsaber hanging at her waist, as did the other two interlopers.
"Chancellor Palpatine is the master Sith Lord, Darth Sidious," the dark haired woman said, taking a few steps closer and glowering down at the old man. "He started the Clone Wars in order to take power over the Republic as Chancellor. In a short time, he will order the clones to kill the Jedi Knights through Order 66 and crown himself Emperor. Oh, he is also planning to turn you to the Dark Side, Anakin. Unfortunately for you, Palpatine, the Force decided to toss us here to stop you."
"This is ridiculous, Anakin!" Palpatine protested, pasting on his most innocent of expressions. "Absolutely absurd!"
"It is crazy," Anakin snapped. "I don't know who you are..."
"We are your twins," the woman said with a grin. "I am Leia and that is my twin brother Luke. We are your twins with Padme, who must be pregnant by now. Mara over there is Luke's wife. We are from thirty plus years in the future."
This, not surprisingly, flummoxed Anakin completely. Time travel? Children?
"That...that is impossible," he said weakly.
"Everyone says that," Luke responded cheerfully. "You have said it many, many times when we have intervened in other timelines. But for now, we are going to kill Palpatine because once he is dead, everything sorts itself out..."
"No!" Palpatine cried out, turning horrified eyes on Anakin. "Don't let them hurt me, please!"
"Chancellor Palpatine, Darth Sidious," Leia said gravely, turning on her lightsaber and holding it at the ready. "You have been found guilty of plotting against the Republic, her people, and the Jedi. You will now be executed under the auspices of Code 1056.324, Subsection 12.3. Do you have any final words?"
"Anakin, help me!" Palpatine yelped.
Anakin was very confused, but he admired, revered, and even loved the old Chancellor, and he wasn't going to let some weirdos kill him off!
He leaped forward, intent on battling Leia, only to have Luke produce his own green lightsaber. The older man blocked his charge with ease, and within seconds, Anakin found himself fighting a true master, seriously the best fighter he had ever battled, including Dooku! It was over for his mentor, it was...
He spun around in a frantic attempt to get an advantageous position with respect to Luke, and then froze in astonishment as Palpatine freed himself of his bonds, did a double twisting somersault over Leia, and came down with a red lightsaber suddenly in his hands.
"Luke, I might need a little help here!" Leia called.
"Convinced?" Luke demanded, leaping to the defense of his sister. Anakin stared, open mouthed to the point of drooling, as the twins battled Palpatine, whose face was now twisted in hate, and quite remarkably ugly. He didn't even look like the same man!
"What is going on?" a familiar voice called from his left, and Anakin turned glazed eyes on Obi-Wan, who had regained consciousness and was sidling toward him, though his face was fixed on the battle raging a few meters away.
"Uh, erm, uhhhh..."
"Palpatine is a Sith Lord, obviously," Mara said, striding up with Dooku at her side. That was not because Dooku was in any mood to hang out with the young man who was supposed to replace him as the junior Sith, but because the woman had a very strong grip on his left arm.
Kenobi shook his head in total bemusement and asked, "Who are you, exactly?"
"I am Mara Skywalker, wife of Luke Skywalker, who is the son of Anakin and Padme Skywalker. Obviously we come from a different timeline, and from the future."
Kenobi paled and felt an inclination to faint, but managed to stay conscious. "Obviously," he agreed weakly.
"It matters not that my true nature has been revealed!" Palpatine suddenly bellowed, drawing the attention of the foursome standing apart from the battle. The twins were on one side of him, and he had his back up against a half wall. "I am Darth Sidious, master Sith Lord, and I will prevail without Skywalker, without Dooku! You were fools to attack me directly."
Luke shook his head, his lightsaber held at the ready, and said, "On the contrary, Palpatine. You have fallen victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous of which is 'never steer at AT-AT through a sand dune', but only slightly less well known is this: 'never go up against the Skywalker twins when death is on the line!'"
The battle resumed, and for a full twenty-three seconds, Palpatine held his own, but his opponents were very gifted and skilled and powerful, and moved as one, and at the 24th second, Luke cut off his left hand, and the 25th second, Leia cut off his right hand, and then the twins simultaneously slashed him in the neck, perfectly so that the blades would not collide, and the aged Sith Lord's head bounced on the floor and rolled over next to the chair where he had been pretending to be prisoner.
Luke sighed and grinned at his sister, who grinned back, and the pair walked over to where Anakin and Kenobi were still drooling, and Dooku was looking very sulky.
"Nice job," Mara said, kissing her husband firmly on the lips.
"Any day we kill Palpatine is a good day," Luke said cheerfully, and turned his attention on Dooku. "Oddly enough, I have never met you, Count. Sucks to be the junior Sith Lord, doesn't it? The master is always looking to trade you in for a younger, fresher apprentice."
Dooku, who had been mulling over his life choices, surprised everyone by saying, "You are quite right, young man; life does suck. I had no idea he was going to tell Anakin to kill me. What a jerk!"
Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was staring at him in wonder, said, "So you admit that Palpatine is, was, Darth Sidious."
Dooku was in a lot of pain because he had lost both of his hands, but that didn't keep him from rolling his eyes dramatically. "What is wrong with you, Kenobi? You just saw Palpatine fight against two incredibly skilled Jedi masters, and he also admitted he was Sidious! Are you deaf?"
"No, no, I'm sorry," Kenobi said, shaking his head. "You are right. I just...I am stunned. I truly thought the Chancellor was a decent man, for a politician, anyway."
"Hey!" Leia protested, and Mara said, "Leia is kind of a politician, actually. Anyway, we may be leaving soon so here are a few pointers. One, people can turn back from the Dark Side, so don't count the Count out yet. Two, Anakin, you should leave the Jedi Order and settle on Naboo with Padme and your twins. You have major issues and have been pushing yourselves too far. Besides, trust me, your kids are going to be wild. Three..."
"Tingling toes!" Luke yelped, and jumped forward to give Anakin a quick embrace. "Don't be stupid, Father! Don't try to do too much, and tell Padme to relax a little too! You are too powerful to be pushing yourself to the limit!"
The threesome vanished abruptly, leaving Anakin and Kenobi behind with Dooku as their prisoner.
"Um," Anakin said. "Um."
Kenobi sighed deeply and looked over at the corpse of Palpatine. "Well, this wasn't quite the way I thought this day would go, but I guess things are better?"
"Definitely better," Anakin agreed, his expression a maelstrom of confusion, dread, and anticipation. Could it truly be that his dear Padme was pregnant?
"We still have Grievous to deal with," Kenobi remarked.
"I will help you take down the Separatists," Dooku said abruptly, which caused both men to turn to him in astonishment.
"Really?" Kenobi demanded skeptically.
"Really! I truly thought the Dark Side would bring peace to the galaxy but all the time, that jerk was just using me in his attempt to dominate the entire galaxy. Emperor. Phhfftt! I am so mad at myself for falling for Palpatine's oily suggestions and lies. I'm an idiot."
Skywalker and Kenobi exchanged glances, and Anakin shook his head. "This day is getting weirder and weirder, but let's get back to Coruscant. I need to find out if my wife is actually pregnant."
"Wait!" Obi-Wan yelped. "Wife?"
/
Coruscant
Behind a Random Pillar
A Couple Hours Later
"Something wonderful has happened. Ani, I'm pregnant," Padme said, her dark eyes hopeful.
Anakin took a step forward and swept her into his arms. "I know! That's awesome! And it is twins!"
"What?!"
Author Note: I am mostly in the Pride and Prejudice fandom these days so apologize for the long delays in updating this story. This is just a one shot.
