4. Chapter 4

Confession time. I literally had never seen the movies until a week before I began this fic. In the past month I have literally been trying to catch up on 39 years of canon and legend, but I can only do so much. Thank you all for pointing out where I have been wrong, because I do not know. I am currently attempting to fix the whole time thing because apparently episodes IV and VI are only four or so years apart, not nine as I thought. Continue to point out those things I don't know and I will fix them. Oh, and enjoy!

Chapter 4

Everyone remained silent for a moment, but finally Master Windu spoke to Anakin. "And is this true. Are you married to Senator Amidala? Did she reveal her pregnancy to you earlier this day?"

Anakin nodded slowly, looking as far away from Luke and Obi-Wan as possible. They were the only two whose judgement he couldn't face- the man he saw as a brother, and the man who claimed to be his son."Yes, everything Luke said is true. I don't know about the vision or anything after that though. The stuff that hasn't happened yet, it can't be true. The Chancellor is not a Sith Master."

"And yet he did urge you to kill Count Dooku?"

He had. Anakin knew he had. Dooku was harmless and Anakin killed him because Palpatine said to. But Palpatine wasn't a Sith! He was the only one who Anakin could always rely on. Obi-Wan was loyal to the Order before Anakin. Palpatine had always just wanted what was best for Anakin, right?

"It would explain how he's managed to keep his office, and this whole war really," Master Windu continued when Anakin's silence answered the question. He turned to Luke. "Just how strong is Palpatine? What would I have to do to make sure we can defeat him?"

Luke thought on that. Palpatine only died because he never expected Vader to turn back to the Light. Catching him by surprise would be hard for the Jedi. "He's insanely powerful. I think you'd probably have to bring every able Jedi in this Temple to guarantee victory. But he's cunning. He will bring out the hate, the fear, the anger in all those who fight him. It's quite possible that whoever kills him will become a Sith themselves from his influence."

"He couldn't turn me," Rey spoke up from where she'd been silent. "He was dead for a decade before I was even born. He never killed my friends or family, my master or apprentice. I could defeat him without emotion."

No one liked that idea. "Are you even trained? You don't seem to have any sort of Force mastery. And your lightsaber technique will get you killed against a Sith." Anakin had seen Rey fight. She had potential, but no skill yet. If Palpatine was truly what Anakin knew him to be, Rey would die.

"I have no formal training, but I defeated Kylo because I trusted the Force. But my ability won't matter so long as he is distracted enough not to fight back against me."

No one was convinced, but Yoda spoke. "Dangerous proposition, this is. Our only chance, it might be."

"Anakin cannot go though," Mace reminded them all, eyeing the knight. "Not after what we just heard. You've been under Sidious's thumb since you were a kid and never even knew it. He should be kept here under watch. I don't want to be losing any hands and getting electrocuted."

Anakin's anger flared up at that, but he controlled it quickly. He would not become this Darth Vader. He would not be who Luke said he was. "I will not be held prisoner. I shall return home to my wife, and there you will find me if you decide to expel me from the order."

"Expel you, we shall not," Grand Master Yoda interrupted daring anyone to object. "Rules on attachments, we must debate. To your wife and unborn children, you should go."

The more conservative members of the council didn't like the sound of the word 'debate', but they did not object to the Grand Master's decision. If Yoda thought the wise decision was to allow Anakin's penance be trying to balance his life's complications, they would not think themselves to know a wiser option.

Anakin bowed, and left, his eyes not leaving Luke's as he did. Luke wanted to run after him, apologize for spilling his secrets, figure out where they stood, but he did not. He was the only one of them who had ever actually fought Palpatine. He was needed in the Council chambers, and Anakin needed time to go home and talk to Padmé.

They planned for what seemed like hours, and in the end a hundred Jedi stormed the chancellor's apartment. They had agreed he was too dangerous to be taken prisoner, as his Force lightning made him never unarmed. The Jedi were responsible for keeping any clones away, and distracting Palpatine enough for Rey to get a clean shot.

No one liked the idea of Rey being the one sent to do the actual deed, but her logic made sense. There was no way Palpatine could turn her to the Dark Side. He was too displaced from everything she knew. If anything she was thankful to him for building nice, large AT-AT's for her to live in. She did not hate him for killing anyone, because she didn't know any of the dead.

In Luke's story they underestimated Palpatine. They did not now. The Chancellor fought viciously, and called many clones to his defense. They were so overwhelmed it ended up really being Yoda, Mace, Luke, Obi-Wan, and Rey fighting Palpatine himself. Rey knew she needed to end it quickly. Obi-Wan was so furious at the idea of Anakin being turned his thoughts projected, and Palpatine was using that hate to his advantage. Luke wasn't much better. He'd never hated his father, but he had always hated the Emperor. Mace feared that he would die, as in the story. Even Yoda, who had over eight hundred years of practice controlling his emotions found himself wanting the Sith dead. So many had died in the Clone Wars, and all because of Palpatine.

Palpatine threw Obi-Wan back, and struck out at Luke with lightning. It was just the distraction Rey needed. She brought down the lightsaber, Luke's lightsaber, Anakin's lightsaber, and Palpatine's head rolled to the floor, his body crumpling besides it. Rey felt nothing but relief that it was over.

A dozen Jedi were dead, and the city in chaos. News of the Chancellors death spread slower than news of him being a Sith. Half the planet seemed to think that all the Jedi must be dead for they were being led by a Sith. When the real story came out, no one but the Council knew how close to the truth that actually was.

"I've never seen someone die twice in a day before," Luke realized as he and Rey sat alone in the quarters assigned to Luke. Rey didn't feel like being along yet. She'd killed before, a stormtrooper someone stolen from their family just like Finn. She felt remorse over that death, but none over Palpatine. It made her wonder if she was wrong to think his death didn't lead her closer to the Dark Side. "Are you all right?"

Rey nodded, but knew the Force was betraying her true feelings. She wanted to go home. Not to Jakku perhaps, or even the Jedi Temple with old Luke, but to the Resistance base. To Finn and BB-8, and even Poe, who Rey knew would be a quick friend (and worthy co-pilot). "Why are we here? Why we be sent back in time? Was it to stop Palpatine and Darth Vader? Why are we still here then? Even if Anakin was still to turn he'd have no Master to learn from. He wouldn't be Darth Vader. I don't know why, but I feel like this is really just the beginning."

"I don't know why we are here Rey, but I don't think it was to stop Palpatine and save my Father. Those both would have happened eventually. Whatever we're actually here for, it's not that. It's something far greater. Something that wouldn't have been resolved in its proper time, and needs to be stopped before it even begins."

That was certainly not a comforting thought for Rey or Luke.