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Palpatine’s eyes were wide open in terror, breaths coming in short, quick, bursts.
Kark Skywalker and his homicidal tendencies!
Gripping the sides of his seat aboard the Invisible Hand, (though Palpatine doubted by the end of this flight it could even be called a ship ) the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, for the first time, was terrified for his life.
And the one scaring him was the very brat he had groomed for thirteen years!
All thoughts of rage, annoyance, and plotting flew out the window as Skywalker pulled another damaging maneuver and the ship began spiralling towards Coruscant with increasing speed.
Fear unlike anything Palpatine had ever known gripped his chest.
How was he to rule the world if he died like this?!
What was going to happen to his power?!
The cursed Jedi-- I’M GOING TO DIE!! Palpatine thought hysterically as another enormous chunk of the ship flew into the atmosphere.
Still frozen with fright after they had--miraculously--landed, Palpatine had only three thoughts wandering his mind.
If I take Skywalker as my apprentice, he’s really going to kill me.
Better leave him to murder Obi-Wan Kenobi instead.
If this is the price of galactic-wide domination, NO THANK YOU!
Anakin and Obi-Wan stared in bewilderment as Palpatine stumbled off the ship, incoherently muttering “talk… Separatists… get rid… chips… rather live, thank you…”
and walked off into his office without so much as a word to either Jedi.
Anakin shrugged, nonchalant, and asked Obi-Wan, “Hey, you wanna get some food? Dex’s? Oooh we can bring the clones with us too! I’m starving! Come on! ”
Dragged away to find food by his former padawan, Obi-Wan only shook his head in exasperation and smiled fondly.
Palpatine, witnessing this in the distance, was screaming hysterically in his mind. Swaying dangerously on his feet, the Chancellor turned away before he could faint from the sheer horror of being stuck with Anakin Skywalker for the rest of his life.
Honestly, what was he thinking, these past thirteen years!
Train that danger magnet?! He’d rather skin himself first!
Collapsing in his office chair, Palpatine numbly made some calls, and proceeded to scrap all his plans. If letting the Republic and the stupid Jedi live allowed him to live with a relatively un-traumatized, semi-sane mind, so be it.
**
A week later, the chips inside the brains of the clones were discovered, as a result of an anonymous tip.
Palpatine watched in disgust as the Jedi and Clones began to embrace, and it was almost enough for him to reconsider his plan for an Empire, but when he heard Skywalker proclaim that a celebratory flight was in order, he immediately discarded the thought.
One flight with Skywalker was enough for a thousand lifetimes, thank you very much. He would very much like to keep his life.
It was with a strained smile that Palpatine passed the Clone Rights Bill, and personally signed off on the papers to give the 501st, 212th, and the Wolfpack their respective Jedi Generals’ last names.
Anakin asked him to do it, as a favor, and Palpatine was quite willing to do anything to keep that wretched gremlin away from him, even if it meant betraying all his beliefs.
If signing off on ridiculous papers and stepping down as Chancellor, and perhaps faking his death let him quietly sneak away to a mid-rim planet, that was fine with him .
As long as it meant he didn’t have to be within a million-mile radius of that… that… abomination , anything was acceptable.
**
As for the Jedi, about two hours after Dooku had been killed, the darkness surrounding Coruscant and the world for so long abruptly disappeared, and they all for a moment, basked in the fresh, radiant light of the Force.
They reasoned that maybe another Sith had been killed in the fight, or maybe Dooku’s presence needed a while to be cleansed, but either way, the Sith had been eliminated, and balance was once again apparent in the Force (they had no way of knowing, of course, that this was the moment Sidious gave up his Sith name, and was instead crouching underneath his desk, trying to stop his trembling).
Anakin’s deeds became known, because for the first time, he could think without being so angry, and all the regret he had been hiding these past years overflowed and came spewing out of his mouth.
He told the Council about the Tuskens. He wept in Obi-Wan’s arms when he told them about his marriage. He stood defiantly when he spoke about his child. That was the one thing he would not regret, no matter what.
When all was said, Anakin was sent out while the Council made a decision, and before stepping into his room, the once-padawan grasped Obi-Wan’s hands.
“I-I know what I did was so wrong, and horrible , and I’ll understand if you never forgive me, Obi-Wan, but…”
Obi-Wan’s eyes grew sad here, because for all his faults, Anakin would always hold a special place in his heart, and it hurt him to see his brother friend so troubled.
“But never doubt that you were the best master I could possibly have had, and everything I did was my choice, and my fault, not a reflection of your teachings. You’re my brother, Obi-Wan, and as much as it disobeys the Jedi Code, I love you.”
Anakin wrung his hands together, and when he looked back into Obi-Wan’s eyes, he saw that they were suspiciously bright, and a wet sheen covered the blue-grey irises.
Obi-Wan wondered how Anakin, as emotionally stunted as he was, managed to know his own fears, that he had failed Anakin, and that everything could have been prevented had he just been better.
Pulling his former padawan into a hug, Obi-Wan smiled as the metal arm gripped him back, and squeezing Anakin’s shoulders one last time, the Jedi Master left the room, a happy tear streaking down his cheek as he walked down the hallway.
**
The Jedi, much to Anakin’s surprise, did not expel him, but rather, sent him to mind healers, and while this annoyed Anakin much at first, he couldn’t deny that he had felt so much more peaceful, and grounded after meeting them.
They also put him on probation, but did allow Padme to stay in the temple, especially when they heard of Anakin’s nightmares.
Maybe… Anakin thought, as he saw how gently Vokara Che was treating his wife, maybe I’ve misunderstood them all these years.
On their part, the Jedi also understood that they too, were not completely absolved of fault, and if there had been talks of rethinking the Code, the arrival of Luke and Leia Skywalker only sped up those talks.
After all, everyone agreed that anything that cute should definitely not be against the Code.
**
The Clones were horrified when the discovery of the chips was made, and after many attempts to escape the Jedi (who were keeping them around because hello, they were practically a part of the Order ) for their safety , the Jedi finally just stuck the Clones with the Initiates, who prevented them from running away because of the sole reason that when the Clones even tried to leave, the children would look at them, heartbroken, and completely guilt-trip them into staying.
After much prodding in the Senate, with help from senators like Padme, the Clones were finally recognized as citizens of the Republic, and a party unlike anything before was held in the Jedi Temple, where several clones may or may not have fainted after receiving the news.
Palpatine quivered in fear in his bed.
The Skywalker family grew by about 800 people that day.
Anakin could only grin at the thought of Leia finding a significant other . The 501st would show no mercy.
**
Luke became a Jedi, and after fervently pursuing Obi-Wan as his master, (with the help of his father, both declaring that it was the will of the Force!) Kenobi finally acquiesced to another decade-plus of Skywalker genes giving him grey hair.
Leia took the Senate by storm, and when she met a scruffy-looking smuggler by the name of Han in an obscure outer-rim planet, the 501st prepped their blasters, and polished their Clone Wars equipment.
Leia groaned into her hands.
The Jedi prospered for another hundred thousand years, and for the rest of his life, Palpatine woke each day thanking whatever entity was out there that Skywalker was not his problem anymore.