Chapter Text
The galaxy did not fall.
It was scorched.
When the dust settled after Order 66, Anakin Skywalker stood alone at the heart of the storm. Not as Darth Vader, not as a pawn of Palpatine, but as a god. The moment he tore the Force from The Father, he changed. His eyes burned white with pure divine power. He killed Sidious with his own lightening, brought Yoda to his knees, beheading him, and stood over their corpses not with hate, but relief. He had become what the Jedi feared. What the Sith envied. What the galaxy would soon worship or perish under.
And Padmé lived.
Her breath returned with the life he ripped from Palpatine’s corpse, and with it came the Force, flowing through her like fire. She was so beautiful. So serene. She did not yet know of the nightmares that bought her peace. Luke and Leia were born healthy, strong, and humming with the Force.
Anakin kept them hidden. In their new castle on Naboo. In their new home on Varykino. Where they would always be safe. And his.
But he wasn’t done. Not yet.
His throne, forged in obsidian and hovering above the shattered ruins of Coruscant, overlooked a galaxy in mourning. The Jedi were gone. The Sith extinct. And any who still lingered, any who clung to outdated codes or whispered rebellion would be hunted by down.
Still, he was not fully satisfied. Because his family was not complete.
Not yet.
His Master, Obi-Wan, ran away like a coward.
Ahsoka ran away in confusion, heartbreak and fear.
Rex and Cody were nowhere to be found.
They were all lost. Confused. Scared. In pain.
And then there was the boy. The dark spark in the Force he could barely sense, not yet awakened. His Son, in the same way Ahsoka was his Daughter.
He will have them. No matter the cost. And the galaxy will be the crucible in which they would all be reborn.
The new royal palace groaned under the weight of silence, vast and endless. The stars twinkled beyond the ruin, tiny and meaningless. Like insects. Like the lives that once buzzed beneath him, defiant and full of noise. Now they were ashes. Just as they should be.
The chamber was warm with soft lighting. Quiet, except for the slow, even breathing his wife and the gentle, near-musical hum of Luke and Leia dreaming. Anakin turned his head slightly toward them, his features softening. The three of them lay on a bed surrounded by rich silks and mechanical caretakers, the children curled close to their mother, who remained in deep rest—a forced rest, one she never asked for.
But he had saved her. He brought her back. She wouldn't understand yet. The blood. The sacrifice. The truth. Not until she was ready. He stepped closer, almost reverently.
Padmé’s face was untouched by fear. She looked like an angel. Her skin smooth, her lips faintly parted, her hair woven with golden strands. She looked so peaceful. Like nothing had ever gone wrong. He reached down, brushing her cheek with a tenderness that would have startled even himself, had he still been a man.
“You don’t have to be afraid anymore, my love,” he whispered. “You don’t have to make choices. Or worry. Or think. That burden is mine now. I’ll keep it. I’ll keep all of you.”
He turned next to the children. Luke’s tiny hand twitched, and Leia made a small noise in her sleep. The embodiments of perfection. Anakin knelt beside them, eyes glimmering with something not entirely sane.
“My little stars,” he breathed. “You’ll grow strong. Stronger than I ever was. You won’t be poisoned by the Jedi or the... Sith.”
The word tasted bitter.
Palpatine.
The rage returned, uninvited. He clenched the sheets tight enough to tear them. The fabric gave with a soft rip, and Luke stirred slightly. He forced himself to relax. They were safe. They were his. No one would take them away. Not in this reality.
But the others... the ones still lost...
His eyes grew glassy.
Ahsoka. His bright flame. His little light. His Daughter. Who left him. Who ran away from. Who thought that her new unlocked power could hide her, protect her. She thought she was safe out there in the dark.
“You were my first child,” he murmured, rising to his feet and pacing slowly. His cape dragged behind him like a shadow made flesh. “I raised you. I taught you how to fight. Held you as you cried. Loved you as my own.” A hand ran through his hair, shaking now. “But you still ran. Thinking that I betrayed you. That I don't need you anymore. That I don’t... love you.” His voice broke at the last words.
He would bring her back. Because she was his. She belonged to him.
His thoughts shifted on the other members of his family.
Rex and Cody—his brothers. They belonged to him too. And they ran. Just like her. He would correct their mistake. They would learn obedience again. They would remember that they belong him.
And Obi-Wan...
Anakin’s jaw clenched so hard it creaked. The very air warped subtly around him, the Force thrumming louder as his emotions swelled like a coming storm.
That man.
That damn man.
Anakin loved him. Hated him. Wanted to crush him and hold him and break him into something new. Something his. He was one of the wounds that never healed. The voice that still whispered in Anakin's head in the silence between dreams.
“You left me too." His voice cracked. Rage surged like molten lava through his spine. An old culpture exploded across the room, shards ricocheting off reinforced walls. Still, Padmé did not stir. He turned to look at her again, breath heavy.
“But I forgive you,” he whispered to the silence. “All of you.” His footsteps echoed as he returned to her bedside. “And when you’re home… when you're back with me… it’ll all be over. No more hiding. No more pain.” He knelt beside Padmé and placed one hand on her stomach, the other on her temple. The Force coiled around his fingers—gentle, predatory and eternal.
“We’ll be one. A family. Together. Forever.” His tone turned dreamy. “You’ll understand eventually. Once I fix you. Fix your memories. Strip away the fear. You’ll thank me.” He kissed her forehead. Slowly, lingering.
“And you won’t ever leave. None of you will. Because I’ll carve the escape out of your minds if I have to.” He stood again, towering, divine. “You won’t be able to run. Because I’ll be inside you. In every breath. Every thought.”
The room dimmed around him, as if reality itself pulled away. He lifted his arms, and the Force answered. Images of distant star systems projected into the air, like galaxies suspended in time. “I’ll scour every moon. Burn every sky. Until I find them.” A pause. "And once you’re all home…”
He turned back toward his family, watching them sleep—unaware, unafraid. “I will make you perfect. You will forget what freedom tasted like. You will love me. Because you won’t remember how not to.”
A low, terrifying smile curled across his lips. “And you’ll never leave me again.”
The lights dimmed. His children murmured softly. Padmé shifted in sleep. Anakin watched them all, radiant and silent. A god, watching his creations. A father, building a cage. A monster, whispering lullabies to the family he would never let go, no matter what it costs.
He sighed softly.
He had a big announcement to make.
[HOLO-NET TRANSMISSION — BROADCASTED SIMULTANEOUSLY ACROSS THE GALAXY]
Static hums for a moment. Then silence. The screen flickers to life. A figure stands tall in the center of a massive obsidian chamber, backlit by cold light. He wears no armor, only flowing black and crimson robes trimmed in gold. His eyes are molten, burning twin suns. Divine. Terrifying. The galaxy looks upon him and knows.
Anakin Skywalker speaks.
“This message is for everyone.”
His voice is calm. Cold. Each word echoes like judgment.
“You may have known me as a Jedi once. A general. A hero. But those titles are dead. The Jedi Order is no more. The Sith are ashes. I ended them both.”
A pause. He lets that sink in.
“I am no longer bound by their lies. I have claimed the power of the Force itself. I am Anakin Skywalker and from this day on, your new Emporer. The first and final sovereign of this galaxy.”
The camera slowly zooms in. His expression sharpens.
“There will be no more war between fading ideologies. No more chaos from rebellion. No more pretending that the old ways kept you safe.”
A soft breath. Then—
“Order begins now.”
Suddenly, the image behind him shifts: a display of devastation. The Jedi Temple in ruin. Sith tombs shattered. Fleet after fleet kneeling before a black imperial standard marked with a burning star.
“But not all is complete. Some pieces of my family are still... missing.”
His voice turns gentle, for a moment. Too gentle.
“A teenager. Her name is Ahsoka Tano. You may know her as a former Jedi. She is more than that. She is my little sister. My daughter. Two soldiers. Rex and Cody. My friends. My brothers. And finally, Obi-Wan Kenobi. My master. My brother. The man who teached me. Who raised me."
His smile grows sadder.
“I want them returned to me. Alive. They are not fugitives. They are my family.”
A beat of silence.
“If you see them. If you hear them. If you suspect them— report immediately to the nearest Imperial officer. No questions. No hesitation. Do this, and you will be rewarded beyond your imagination. Fail... and I will know.”
He steps closer.
“To my family, if you’re watching— I love you. I will bring you home. The galaxy can burn if it must... but I will not live without you.”
The screen begins to dim. His final words are soft. Nearly whispered.
“This is not a threat. It’s a promise.”
[THE TRANSMISSION CUTS]