117 Chapter 117 The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader

Chapter 117 The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader

As the second movie ended and Harry was starting the third, Padmé asked, "If this is the future, shouldn't Obi-Wan have contacted us by now?"

Harry answered, "Not really. I've accelerated time within the ship. It's only been a few minutes outside. We'll finish the whole marathon before Obi-Wan decides to contact us."

Anakin quickly looked out the ship's window to the dunes beyond the horizon and for the first time noticed that it was still night. There was no trace of the coming of Tatooine's unforgiving sun though it should have long chased away the light of the stars above them.

Anakin looked back to Harry and asked with uncertainty, "You can do that?"

"Oh yeah, but that's a parlor trick compared to some of the stuff I can do."

The scrolling for the third movie began again with, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."

Anakin asked, "Do they all begin like that?"

"Every single one."

As Anakin read the movie's intro, he asked, "Who is General Grievous?"

Harry considered the question before pausing the movie. "He was a part of a species not represented by the Republic. His home world was attacked by a race that were members of the Republic but they were not true warriors and this guy's race was able to beat them back, steal their ships, and even use them to launch a counter offensive on the attacker's home worlds. When the attackers figured they were losing, they contacted the Jedi, pleaded through the Senate for help, and lied their asses off that they were the victims. Because the Jedi are the dogs of the Senate and this guy's people had no representative, the Senate bought the lie and sent Jedi to stop the quote-unquote Invasion of vicious warmongers. Grievous was defeated and heavily wounded. Sidious, who knew of what was going on through the Dark Side, arranged for him to be made into an android and gave him the mission of killing Jedi. Considering the man's lover was killed during the invasion, he had no problem with leading an army to destroy the Republic and kill the Jedi."

Padmé asked, "And he kidnapped the Chancellor?"

"Yeah, this is about three years after the end of Episode Two, and wars are complicated. This is where the war ends though." Harry redirected their interests back to the movie and when he confirmed they were more interested in continuing than asking more questions, he hit Play once more.

When the scrolling narrative stated that two Jedi Knights were leading the Chancellor's rescue, Padmé sighed and stated with as much sarcasm as she could fit into a single breath, "I wonder who they could be."

Harry and Anakin both chuckled.

The scene opened with two star fighters navigating through a torrential battle over the skies of Coruscant. It closed in on Anakin who dourly described the threats they'd have to overcome to approach Grievous's ship.

Obi-Wan replied with, "Oh I see it. Oh, this is going to be easy."

The observing Anakin snorted in amusement and Harry commented, "War has made your master very, very sassy."

That made the observing Anakin outright chuckle and even Padmé couldn't hold back a giggle.

As the aerial dogfights began and the onscreen Anakin started smiling and enjoying the rush of danger, Padmé looked over to the observing Anakin and commented, "War doesn't seem to have changed you at all."

The scenes that followed showed the clear difference in piloting skills between Obi-Wan and Anakin, the main thing of course being that Anakin was smiling throughout the battle while Obi-Wan kept complaining. Though to be fair, some droids had landed on his ship and were dismantling it.

While watching, Padmé actually asked, "Can't you use the Force to push them off?"

The observing Anakin shook his head. "At least I can't. Multitasking with the Force isn't so simple and both of us are using the Force to make sure we don't fly into danger. If we concentrated enough to toss off those Buzz droids, we would lose our danger awareness which would cost us more in such an active battlefield."

The on-screen Anakin used his own ship to scrape off the little droids dismantling Obi-Wan's ship and the pair destroyed the ship's hanger shield and flew inside.

The pair made their way through the ship while R2-D2 was his usual little badass self.

When they arrived at the bound up Palpatine and Dooku appeared, Palpatine told them to get help as they were no match for a Sith Lord.

Obi-Wan replied with reassuring sass, "Chancellor Palpatine, Sith Lords are our specialty."

The duel was very fancy but Obi-Wan was soon tied down leaving Anakin to fight Dooku on his own.

Dooku taunted Anakin into using his emotions but Anakin calmly faced him down and moments later, severed both the former Jedi's hands and took Dooku's lightsaber from him.

Palpatine smiled and praised him before ordering Anakin to kill him.

Anakin replied that he shouldn't but Palpatine was insistent, causing Anakin to behead Dooku then and there.

The observing Anakin frowned but Padmé gasped. Harry could tell she had figured it out. The following conversation where Palpatine told him it was natural to seek revenge further cemented the idea in her mind.

Padmé slowly looked over to Harry who met her eyes and gave a small nod.

When Palpatine told Anakin to leave Obi-Wan, there wasn't any doubt in her mind. She slowly said aloud, "It's him. Palpatine is Sidious."

Anakin reflexively countered, "That's impossible."

Harry turned to Padmé and explained, "While Anakin was at the Jedi Temple, Palpatine would often meet with the Jedi he tricked into trusting him and ensure they made Anakin's training as strict and heartless as possible. During his training he also arranged to meet with Anakin again and again, becoming a trusted confidant and friend. Because of the stark contrast, Anakin was conditioned for years and years to trust Palpatine more than he did the Jedi, which is why he obeyed when Palpatine ordered Dooku's death even though Anakin knew it to be wrong."

The observing Anakin asked, "Wait, it's really him? He's Sidious? But that doesn't make any sense."

Padmé shook her head, "No. It does. Palpatine became a Senator using the merits he gained from negotiating with the Trade Federation to mine Plasma from Naboo. The entire Blockade came from the problems that later arose from that deal. I thought it was just a mistake, but what if he arranged it on purpose? Who benefited the most from the Blockade? The Trade Federation? No, Palpatine was just a Senator, but when everything was over, he was the Supreme Chancellor. He.. He.. Remember what Harry said?! He wanted you to kill his apprentice and replace him!" She was breathing erratically as the pieces came together. All the things she knew and had never pieced together. The things she never wanted to be true.

Harry picked up where she left off, "Palpatine was born with an innate gift that allowed him to hide his presence in the Force. From Jedi at least. His own Master found him on Naboo and trained him. Sidious is an absolute prodigy in the Dark Side, stronger in the Force than even Yoda. To become a true Sith, you must kill someone you hold a deep connection to. Palpatine killed his own father with a smile. When Palpatine accepted Dooku as his apprentice, he made him kill Sifo-Dyas. On the day Palpatine was elected Chancellor, he killed his own Master. He is also very, very skilled at making people like him and trust him, so don't feel bad. He had years and years to manipulate and deceive you, making you ready."

Anakin still wasn't certain, but his attention was once again drawn toward the screen where the group was again caught by droids and brought before General Grievous.

Unsurprisingly, the pair managed to turn the situation back into their favor, free themselves, and then find themselves in an even more dire situation.

When the ship they were trying to land split down the middle, Obi-Wan helpfully added, "Don't worry, we're still flying half a ship."

And of course at the end of what amounted to a well controlled crash, Obi-Wan remarked, "Another happy landing."

The observing Anakin asked, "I'm not going to kill Obi-Wan am I? You said Sith kill someone close to them."

He could not imagine himself harming Padmé so he made the next most logical assumption.

Harry answered, "No, he's far too sassy to die."

Anakin smirked at that, happy that at least an evil version of him wouldn't be the end of his super sassy master.

When the on screen pair of Jedi were set to meet the Politicians, the Jedi Sass Master gracefully threw Anakin under the bus and told him to go be the hero and poster boy since Obi-Wan didn't want to be anywhere near the Politicians, despite Anakin's claim that the Chancellor Rescue plan was all Obi-Wan's idea.

The scenes continued with the on screen Padmé's revelation of being pregnant and the scene showing the meeting between Grievous and Sidious where Sidious claimed Dooku's death was necessary and that Sidious would soon have a younger and more powerful apprentice.

Then came the scene were Anakin experienced a Force vision, just like the one he experienced in episode 2 where he saw his mother die. This vision was that of Padmé dying in childbirth.

The on-screen Anakin went to the Temple to ask Yoda how to save someone who would die. Yoda's advice was the opposite of helpful.

Later, Palpatine appointed Anakin to be the Republic's representative on the Jedi Council. The on screen Anakin was happy of course. But when the meeting came where this was disclosed to the Jedi, they stated that although he was accepted into the Jedi Master High Council, he would not be appointed the rank of Jedi Master.

This visibly upset the on screen Anakin.

Harry commented on this to the observing Padmé, "If Anakin was appointed a Jedi Master, he'd have unrestricted access to the Jedi archives and would use them to look for a way to save you. By denying him something he thought should be rightfully his, he sees that the Jedi Master High Council is indirectly causing your death."

Things on screen didn't get better as Obi-Wan took Anakin to the side and stated that Anakin was being asked by the Council to spy on the Chancellor.

The observing Padmé frowned and said, "Oh Anakin, he must have known this would happen."

Anakin looked more than a little frustrated at how easily he was being manipulated on screen. From an observer's point of view it was clear he was being turned against the Jedi. He said, "I'm not sure I really want to watch this."

Harry replied, "This isn't your future if you don't want it to be, but it still has answers you'll need in order to decide what future you do want."

The movie continued with each scene more foreboding than the last. When Palpatine stated to the on screen Anakin that the Jedi and the Sith were very alike, the observing Anakin could only mutter, "Dammit," as the scene displayed another show of clear manipulation. That line and the line that followed left no more room for doubt. Palpatine was a Sith and he wanted Anakin as his apprentice.

There was still a possibility that all these movies were an elaborate Charade, but whenever Anakin doubted their authenticity, he'd just look outside to the sky that was clearly just as dark as it had been when they entered the ship many hours ago.

Then Palpatine started on the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise.

The observing Anakin complained, "Oh come on, really?"

He didn't like the fact that by the time he accepted the truth, Palpatine wasn't even trying to hide anymore.

He'd figured out a great secret only seconds before the man keeping the secret freely divulged it, showing it was too little, too late.

Padmé guessed the problem and patted his shoulder reassuringly, "I know Anakin, I know. I've been manipulated by him too."

Anakin just sighed and slouched into his chair. Palpatine had arranged it so that the on screen Anakin believed the Jedi were against him and would not help him save Padmé, but Palpatine himself had basically offered to teach Anakin how to save her if he accepted that he was a Sith.

There was no way out. Once the on screen Anakin figured it out, he'd have to choose between the Jedi who would not help him and the Sith who would.

The following scenes of Obi-Wan tracking and fighting Grievous were a welcome distraction so Anakin just dropped the problem for now and enjoyed his watching his master kick ass and be sassy. he even chuckled with the Sass Master dropped in and gave up any element of surprised by politely greeting his assassination target with a sassy, "Hello there."

Apparently even Grievous enjoyed the sass because he turned and replied back with a chuckle, "General Kenobi. You are a bold one" From their exchange you'd almost think they were friends who were happy to see each other.

Grievous and Obi-Wan fought until the Clone reinforcements arrived. Grievous stated that Obi-Wan was doomed but the latter counter with, "I don't think so," then blew him away with pure sass. Or the Force. Whichever.

Before Obi-Wan could conclude the fight, the scene shifted back to Coruscant where more scenes followed of Anakin being led down a dark path. The on screen Palpatine even directly stated that in order for Anakin to save his wife from certain death, Anakin must learn the Dark Side through him.

The observing Anakin carefully asked, "Is Palpatine the one who causes Padmé to die in childbirth?"

Since Anakin's last force vision of death was caused by Sidious's machinations, it was an obvious conclusion.

Harry answered, "Yes and no. He doesn't know she is pregnant. He doesn't know the death you saw was during her child birth. But he does intend to cause her death one way or another and he made sure that you could see her death through the Force so you'd have no choice but to come to him to prevent it. Sidious is an absolute master in some of the darkest Sith Sorcery spells imaginable and there are many things he can do given enough resources and preparations."

The scene returned to Obi-Wan hunting down Grievous while riding a lizard. both fought with different weapons since neither had a lightsaber having lost them during the previous fight and chase. Obi-Wan used some Force enhanced strength to pry open the panels around the General's heart, but his unarmed combat skills were far inferior to the android warrior's.

In a scene reminiscent of the 1st movie, Obi-Wan was once again dangling off a ledge, but this time instead of calling forth his lightsaber when Grievous approached, he called forth the General's own blaster and shot the android's exposed heart again and again until the android exploded.

When Obi-Wan sassily complained that the manner of death was "So uncivilized," even though he'd used it to win, Anakin just chuckled and shook his head. Obi-Wan had sassed Grievous to death.

The on screen Anakin had gone to Master Windu to inform him of the Chancellor's identity, but Windu insisted that Anakin stay away from the confrontation. This left Anakin to his thoughts, and the main thought was the echoing of Palpatine's voice. If Sidious died, the knowledge of how to save Padmé died with him. While thinking of Padmé, Anakin had made a choice. He rushed to save Palpatine.

In the next scene Palpatine of course showed how much saving he needed by dispatching the Jedi that Master Windu brought with him like they were untrained younglings. Moments after the fight started, it was only Palpatine and Windu.

Padmé gasped at Palpatine's ferocity and even Anakin leaned in to observe the man's skill.

Harry commented, "Master Windu will win. He trained in a formidable lightsaber form that takes the Dark Side used by his opponent and turns it against him. Master Windu is the only Master in the Galaxy who has perfected this form."

Windu was indeed winning. He had Palpatine on the ground and Anakin arrived in time to see the man's loss.

Palpatine tried to appeal to Anakin using what he'd told him earlier, but he also tried to use Sith Lightning on Master Windu. The latter didn't work out though. As Harry had explained earlier, Windu's lightsaber art could turn the Dark Side used to attack him against the attacker. The Sith Lightning was channeled into the lightsaber by Master Windu and then directed back at Palpatine.

Soon Palpatine showed that he was vulnerable and weak in order to get sympathy from Anakin. Windu decided to kill him then and there, but Anakin needed Palpatine's knowledge, so he tried to get Master Windu to spare him. When he refused and moved to deliver the finishing blow, Anakin severed his arm and Sidious Sith Lightning'd him out the window to his death.

In Anakin's greatest moment of weakness, of indecision, Sidious approached him and made the offer. Become my apprentice.

The observing Anakin slouched further into the chair. Having watched everything that had occurred, he could not even blame his on screen self. The manipulations ran too deeply.

Padmé took his hand and gently squeezed it, showing that she still loved and supported him.

The on-screen Palpatine further manipulated and lied to Anakin that all Jedi would now seek to kill them so they should kill the Jedi first.

The scene changed to that of Obi-Wan and clone commander Cody. Palpatine stated, "Execute Order 66." And the Clone then ordered the nearby clones to fire on Obi-Wan.

The scene changed again and again to clones on various planets killing the Jedi they had only moments prior been taking orders from.

The observing Anakin frowned, "Order 66?"

Harry paused again and answered, "Every clone has a computer chip in their brain and 151 orders are within it. Order 66 is to kill the Jedi. Order 151 is to kill Darth Vader. The program has been in every chip since the Clones were first released. The reason it is effective is that the Chip disengages the decision part of the clone's brain and basically turns them into a droid." Harry then turned to Padmé. "If someone intends to kill a Jedi, the Jedi can feel it, but that doesn't work on droids. So when the chip activates, the Jedi don't feel the danger. That's not even the scary part. When a large number of Jedi die, the Jedi across the Galaxy can feel it. This will distract them, make them easier to kill. The Clone Wars have dulled the Jedi's connection to the Force, weakened them. The Chancellor could have ended the war whenever he wanted to. The true purpose of the War is to weaken the Jedi and get himself an apprentice. Once both have been achieved, this war is no longer necessary."

Harry was about to unpause the movie, but remembered something. He turned back to Padmé and said, "You may not want to watch this part. Anakin has to but you don't. Sidious has convinced Anakin that in order to save you, he must give himself completely over to the Dark Side. And he has told him that he can only do so by killing everyone in the Temple. So Anakin is basically exchanging the lives of all within the Temple for the power to save you. The choice has been made and at this point he has been fully tricked into thinking it cannot be unmade."

The observing Anakin realized what Harry was referring to and softly exclaimed in horror, "Oh no." He knew that the temple did not just have Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters. He turned to Padmé and said, "Please, turn away. Please."

The pleading, almost begging look in his eyes convinced her. She turned away and Harry unpaused. The scene turned to Anakin in a room filled with younglings. Harry muted the movie but the subtitles showed up, clearly displaying the younglings asking Anakin for help. The observing Anakin couldn't stop the tears from flowing when he saw his on screen counterpart enable his lightsaber.

After a padawan was killed on screen and the scene shifted again, Harry unmuted the movie and Padmé turned back to see the scene of Obi-Wan escaping the clones. She then saw Anakin's tears and tried comforting him.

The movie continued. Palpatine convinced the Senate to dissolve the Republic into the Galactic Empire. Yoda and Obi-Wan made it to the Coruscant Temple and discovered Anakin's betrayal.

Yoda went to confront Palpatine and Obi-Wan went to Padmé to find Anakin. After hearing from Obi-Wan about Anakin's fall, Padmé went to find him. When the scene showed that Obi-Wan was stowed away on her ship, the pair observing the movie were equally pissed at the sassy Jedi's audacity. To actually scare Padmé into going to Anakin and using her as a ride.

Though that anger quickly faded when the on screen Anakin told Padmé he would overthrow the Chancellor and they could rule the Galaxy together.

His case for not being crazy was thrown out the window when Obi-Wan appeared and the on screen Anakin assumed that Padmé wanted to kill him with Obi-Wan and Force choked her.

The observing Anakin asked, "Do I have to watch this?"

Harry replied, "It's almost over. Just think of this guy as someone else and root for Obi-Wan."

Anakin raised his fist twice and gave an emotionless, "woo woo. Go Master go."

The fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin as well as the fight between Yoda and Sidious began and the scene shifted back and forth as the intensity of the fights grew and grew. Yoda showed he was a little green badass while Anakin showed he was an emotional goth whiner.

Yoda did well but a fall caused him to fracture his leg, taking away most of his fighting capabilities and forcing him to retreat. Anakin and Obi-Wan's fight continued and and both figuratively and literally grew hotter in intensity as they fought surrounded by streams of flowing lava.

Then Obi-Wan had the high ground which somehow meant he had won. When Anakin tried to call his BS declaration, his doubt was answered by the severing of both legs and his left arm.

Anakin then caught on fire but rather than finish him off, Obi-Wan left him, unable to deal the finishing blow.

Obi-Wan left the planet with Padmé but Sidious arrived and saved his apprentice. What was left of Anakin was taken to Palpatine's tower on Coruscant. The scene then shifted to Padmé, but a droid stating she was dying, "For reasons we can't explain."

The observing Anakin asked, practically outraged, "How?! How is she still dying?"

As the scene shifted to what was left of Anakin on the operating table, Harry answered, "Palpatine's being ironic. He loves being ironic. He is using one of the many forbidden Sith Magics to transfer Padmé's lifeforce to you in order to save your life through the bond you two share. He was always going to kill her, but now he is using the resources he intended to use to kill her to save you. So he is having you indirectly kill her."

The on screen Padmé died still believing there was good in Anakin as Darth Vader was placed into a life support system. When he was fully installed, the first thing he asked was Padmé's condition, but was told by Sidious that Vader had killed her. His cry of despair marked the death of Anakin Skywalker. The death of his heart.

The observing Padmé and Anakin were grateful that Padmé's friend volunteered to love and raise their daughter, but when Yoda stated that Luke should be raised on Tatooine, the observing Anakin scoffed.

Harry remarked, "What? Dark Side or not, if your mother was dead, do you imagine yourself ever returning to this planet?"

Anakin grumbled but didn't reply.

Yoda then told Obi-Wan he would teach him how to communicate with the long dead Qui-Gon Jinn who had learned the secrets of immortality and returned from the netherworld of the Force.

Harry spoke up, "Qui-Gon's journey hasn't ended with his death, it's why I didn't save him. He's doing fine."

As the scene shifted to Padmé's funeral and the construction of the Death Star, the observing Padmé asked, "So Sidious won? He still won in the end."

Harry shook his head, "Not exactly. In the end, Sidious didn't get what he wanted either. Sidious has a way to take over the body of the person who kills him if he is killed with hate. It was his plan for Anakin to kill him then he would take over the younger, more powerful body. Anakin being weakened and defeated like that was not a part of what he foresaw and even if he learned about Padmé's pregnancy, he would assume the children had not survived his spell."

Anakin visibly paled at that. Privately, he could imagine himself turning to the Dark Side and justifying it that he'd just kill Palpatine and replace him. The movie him thought the same. But doing so would be completely falling into the Sith Lord's plans. He never stood a chance.

The movie ended with Leia and Luke being taken to their new families and moments later, Episode 4 began.

The rolling lines however brought up more questions than they answered. Padmé was the first to ask, "How many years have passed since Episode 3?"

Harry quickly answered, "19."

The scene then changed over to C3PO and R2-D2, though the observing pair were not sure it was them until C3PO started whining and declaring their own Doom.

The ship was boarded by clone trooper look-alikes and Darth Vader appeared in all his menacing glory.

Someone then gave R2 something and he headed over to an escape pod and left the ship, apparently with the secret plans to the Death Star.

The observing Anakin asked, "Why is it always R2?"

Harry answered, "The Story of the Skywalkers was told by several people, including you, Obi-Wan, and Luke. Some time after Luke Skywalker dies, some beings called the Whills find the spirits of Obi-Wan, yourself, and Luke in the Force and get the story from you and write it down. However there were still missing pieces, so one of the Whills directly manifested before R2-D2 and asked him to fill in the blanks. Because of this, much of the story was actually written from the perspective of R2."

Anakin looked back over to the astrodroid and asked with a bit of humor, "Is that why half the story is basically R2 saving everyone? Is it possible he embellished a few things?"

The observing astrodroid whirred and beeped aggressively causing Anakin to smile, "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. You wouldn't lie."

Once Princess Leia was confronted and captured by Vader, the observing Anakin asked, "I'm not, I mean Vader's not going to torture and kill her is he?"

Harry shook his head, "Don't worry, this is the story of the Skywalkers and she'll show off how much she inherited from her parents later."

The droids landed, wandered through the desert, were captured by Jawas, and were sold to Luke of course. Luke took the droids to 'Ben Kenobi,' and R2 showed the mission to get to Alderaan. Luke hesitated, but the decision was made for him when his aunt and uncle were killed by Storm Troopers.

Finding a ride off the planet with the scruffy looking nerf herder and his walking carpet was followed by the destruction of Alderaan and the Millennium Falcon's capture by the Death Star.

Luke and Han Solo rescued Princess Leia who showed she was even sassier than Obi-Wan, much to Padmé's delight and Anakin's chagrin.

When Obi-Wan 'was struck down and became more powerful than you could possibly imagine,' the observing Anakin asked, "So he's a part of the Force now?"

Harry answered, "Pretty much."

The group escaped the Death Star but Leia correctly inferred that they were allowed to leave and were being tracked.

Padmé asked, "If they're being tracked, why not go to another planet? Why go to the hidden rebel base if she knows they are going to follow her?"

Anakin answered, "It's a trap but one they must walk into. If they go directly to the rebel base, they reveal its location to be destroyed. However if they have those plans then they can use the ships at the Rebel base to destroy the Death Star before the Death Star destroys them. They could go elsewhere, but they need the Death Star to come to them if they want a chance to destroy it."

After arriving at the rebel base, Han Solo took the money for rescuing the Princess and left while Luke went to destroy the Death Star. And then Han returned to save Luke from Vader and Luke successfully blew up the Death Star, ending Episode 4 and starting Episode 5.

Episode 5 began with a recon drone landing on the ice planet with the hidden rebel base while randomly wandering around on a weird local animal. He then got ambushed by a yeti looking monster and kidnapped. He eventually escaped and had a Force vision from Obi-Wan before he was rescued by Han Solo.

The recon droid reported the location of the Rebel base leading to a large battle. Most of the rebels escaped, but when Luke left the planet, he charted a course for Dagobah, the place he heard about from the Force Vision. There he met Yoda who had easily degraded into a crazy swamp hermit who had abandoned all sense of shame.

After pretending to be crazy for a while, Yoda was eventually convinced by Obi-Wan to train Luke.

Leia and Han were eventually captured and tortured to cause Luke Force visions to draw him into a trap where he faced Vader. Han was made into modern art and confronted his son.

The group watched as Vader tried to convince Luke to kill the Emperor with him and rule the Galaxy as father and son, the same offer he once made to Padmé.

The observing Anakin flatly observed, "He's being manipulated again. Sidious led him to think of this plan to have Luke kill him. But Harry said if someone kills Sidious in anger, he can take over their body. He wants Vader to convince Luke to kill him so he can take over Luke's body since Vader's body isn't suitable anymore."

Harry commented, "Correct. As he has always been, this Vader is still being led around by his Master."

Luke lost his hand, a thing for Skywalkers apparently, before he was rescued thanks to the Force connection he had to Leia. They escaped and the movie ended.

Harry loaded up Episode 6 and claimed, "Last one," as it started and the now familiar introduction scrolled up through the screen.

A new, bigger Death Star was being built and Luke was on his way to rescue Han.

Padmé asked, "Where are they getting the money for these things?"

Harry chuckled. "Palpatine has been taking the best of everything and leaving only leftovers for the rest of the Galaxy. He hires all the best and brightest into his Imperial forces leaving the planetary systems with only the incompetent dregs. Any system foolish enough to stop paying the heavy taxes towards the Empire will quickly be eradicated and replaced. Same thing for anyone who complains. The poor fools who actually enlist are then squeezed dry of their potential and made to do the impossible over and over or else."

The on screen scene of Vader telling the commander of the Battle Station that the Emperor's unreasonable demands must be met went to prove Harry's point. Even if a brilliant genius joined the Empire's forces, his fate would not be pleasant.

The scene shifted to the droids gifting themselves to Jabba the Hutt and Leia showing up to try and rescue Han before being forced into a slave girl outfit. Luke then showed up and threatened the massive slug before being forced to kill a Rancor. When they tried to kill him again by tossing him into a Sarlacc pit, Luke told him once again to surrender or die.

R2 then gave Luke his lightsaber, allowing him to kill everyone and Leia used the moment to strangle Jabba to death.

Luke returned to Dagobah to complete his training, but Yoda decided that he'd rather die than train another Skywalker. For several minutes Luke just kept asking for training and Yoda replied with, 'Nope, I'm sick. Not gonna happen, I'm too old. Don't even think about it, my time has come. Nuh-uh, I'm tired, time for the forever sleep. Stop bothering me, I'm gonna die now. Stop asking for training, you probably don't need anymore training, just let me die already.'

And of course after wasting so much time refusing to train Luke, he then said, "There is another Skywalker," right before dying, unhelpfully giving Luke more questions than answers. Luke then went to grill said answers from the Force Ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was possibly even more unhelpful, leaving Luke to figure out most of what he wanted on his own.

Luke returned to the rebel command center and together with Han and Leia, took off to the forest moon of Endor. And were promptly captured by teddy bears who proceeded to cook them for dinner. Luke used the Force to trick them into becoming allies and went to see Vader.

Luke tried to convince Vader to turn, but Vader directly told him it was too late for him and took him to the Death Star, to the Emperor.

Once Luke arrived, the Emperor proceeded to monologue and gloat. He claimed everything was his doing and that the Rebel's plan was created by the Emperor himself. That they were walking into a trap of his design. That everyone Luke cared about was going to die.

The observing Anakin remarked, "He's doing it again. He thinks Luke won't be able to overcome them both without giving into the Dark Side. He plans for Luke to despair, give into the Dark Side, kill Vader, and then either kill or submit to the Emperor. If what Harry said was right, then Luke would then be possessed by the Emperor."

Harry replied, "I am right. If Luke kills the Emperor, he loses, plain and simple. Sidious has been waiting for this for over twenty years and there are no miscalculations in the Sith Sorcery he has arranged to activate once he is killed by someone using hate."

Padmé asked, "Then how can Luke win?"

Harry didn't answer, instead he motioned to the movie, implying that Luke would win and they could just wait and see.

Han and Leia were captured, but the Teddy bears attacked. The flesh eating teddy bears who outright showed their willingness to capture and bake their enemies alive. Despite their cuddliness, they were monsters.

Back on the Death Star, Sidious had arranged for the Rebellion to be slowly slaughtered in front of Luke, allowing him to grow more and more desperate. Sidious continued to egg him on and Luke eventually tried to kill him, but was stopped by Vader, showing that he first needed to kill his father before he could kill the Emperor.

Han and Leia got the upper hand on the forest moon and in the Death Star, the fight between Luke and his father started while Sidious watched and coached Luke in the Dark Side. As Vader pushed him back, Sidious got up for a better view and looked like he wanted some popcorn. Luke tried to hide, but Vader grasped at his thoughts and learned of Leia. he taunted Luke and stated that if Luke did not join them, he would take Leia instead.

This provocation got a rise out of the young Jedi. Luke struck out and forced Vader back and then forced him down. Moments later, Vader was defeated, his hand severed and lightsaber gone.

Sidious approached and applauded Luke for his use of hatred to overcome his father. He ordered Luke to strike him down and take Vader's place at his side.

Luke refused. He tossed away his lightsaber. He refused to kill either Vader or the Emperor. This made the observing Anakin and Padmé let out a breath of relief. Sidious's plan had failed. Luke would not kill him in anger.

The Death Star's shield was then taken down, but Sidious unleashed his Sith Lightning on Luke, slowly killing him and savoring every moment of it.

Vader looked on from the side as his son was slowly tortured to death. Like the moment two decades prior where he had watched Palpatine against Master Windu, he had another choice. This time, he said, "No."

Vader picked up the Emperor and the Sith Lightning started channeling through Vader's armor and life support system. Vader used the last of his strength and tossed the Emperor into the engine.

After some quality screaming on his way down, Sidious died and a massive surge of Dark Side energies emerged from his body, but then retracted.

Padmé asked, "Was he possessed?"

Anakin smiled for the first time in a while, "No. He didn't kill him with hate. He killed him with love to protect his son. And Vader's body was not compatible with being possessed in the first place, that was why he needed Luke. All his plans came for nothing."

Harry added with a bit of sarcasm, "Yep. He's dead. As the prophecy foretold, the Chosen One has brought Balance to the Force by ending the Sith."

Luke dragged Vader's heavy body to the Imperial Shuttle. Without working life support, he would die, so Vader asked to see Luke with his own eyes before his time came.

Luke didn't want him to die, he wanted to save him. But Vader, no, Anakin Skywalker told him that he already had, that he was right about him. He died but Luke still dragged his body into the shuttle Luke piloted out as the Death Star exploded.

Planets all over the Galaxy celebrated the death of the Emperor and the destruction of the Death Star. Luke had Anakin's funeral in the way of the Jedi among the flesh eating Teddy bears who doubtlessly had a very filling meal for the next several weeks. Anakin's Force Ghost showed up as the movie ended and Harry turned off the Projection.

Harry offered the pair a drink which was easily accepted and asked, "So, I should probably mention that I'm going to destroy the Republic."

The pair responded with a magnificent duel spit take.

Padmé was the first to recover and ask, "What, why?"

"Because even without Sidious, the Republic has long reached its expiration date. My wife is able to directly communicate with the Force and the Force is already fed up with the Jedi. The current Jedi order and the Republic as a whole must end."

Anakin, having literally seen his life pass before his eyes, was a bit more calm about the declaration and asked, "Why show us all of this then? Why tell us if you're just going to destroy everything?"

Harry easily answered, "Well, the Force wanted us to help you out first. I was going to transport you, Padmé, your mother, and her new family, to Naboo. Then I will shut down the Galaxy. You won't need to worry about the Force, the Jedi, the galaxy, or any wars. You both can live your life in peace and no one will come to bother you ever again. But before starting, I wanted to ask if you had any ideas or even wanted to help. Don't worry about death, my resources are enough to take this galaxy a part without killing a single person. I'm here on behalf of the Force remember, and the Force doesn't want anyone dead, it wants the Republic and the Jedi Order to end."

Padmé asked, "And you won't make things worse? You won't make an Empire for yourself?"

Harry laughed, "I'm here on vacation and will be leaving in a few weeks. Though I can travel into the future so a few weeks for me may be a bit longer for you. For me, the Pod Race was only yesterday. I'm fully willing to explain my entire plan to the both of you. You can point out anything that you don't like and we can adjust it. I showed you this because right here and now, we're going to decide the fate of the Galaxy. I showed you this so that you know what will happen if we do nothing, to convince you that something must be done so you would be willing to give some useful feedback when you hear my plans besides just telling me not to do it."

R2 whirred and beeped. Harry had no idea what it meant but could understand him through technopathy. He turned back to the Astrodroid and replied, "Yes, you can help if you want." R2 beeped excitedly at that.

Padmé asked, "Are you sure you're not crazy?"

Harry shrugged, "I never said that, but I am logical. It is possible that my plan is crazy, so I need you two for some feedback and criticism. After I explain my plan, if you really think it wont work or will have problems in the long run due to things I have not thought of, you can bring it up. If my entire plan is too crazy, you can just point out the problems and as long as they are logical and I can't fix them, I may even give up the entire plan. But the plan really is pretty good. Like I said, there are no deaths involved."

Anakin asked, "Then why am I here? Padmé knows more about politics, the Galaxy, and the Senate than I do. I don't see a problem with her deciding everything, so you really don't need me."

Harry shook his head, "The Force wants you to choose the fate of the Galaxy or at least be a part of it, so your attendance is mandatory."

The young Skywalker sighed and said, "Alright fine. So what's the plan?"

Harry smiled. Soon the fun would begin.

A few hours after the group's meeting, Obi-Wan found himself on Coruscant. He had tried to send a communication to Anakin so he could relay it to the Jedi Temple, but the moment he tried a portal of some kind had formed below him. Moments before he could locate Anakin's ship to send a transmission, Obi-Wan fell through the portal and found himself before the Jedi council.

The strangeness of his arrival did not take away from the importance of his message. No one had any idea how he had gotten there, but it was a fact that Count Dooku had arranged for a large group of systems to separate from the Republic and the Cloners on Kamino had created an army on the orders of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas.

Jar Jar was once again tricked into suggesting to the Senate that the Supreme Chancellor be granted Emergency powers so he could authorize the creation of a Clone Army, but after the request had been made, something strange happened.

All the lights in the senate started flickering and darkness encompassed the massive gathering. Suddenly, an enormous hologram of a cloaked figure emerged in the air above the Supreme Chancellor.

With the lights dimmed, everyone could do nothing but look over to the robe wearing figure. His face was well hidden beneath his hood and his posture was ominous.

The figure in the hologram spoke. "I am Darth Sidious. Lord of the Sith. And I now declare war on the Republic and the Jedi."

The Chancellor standing below the Hologram was unable to hide his shock or outrage. His face distorted into a fearsome visage scary enough to make any who saw it shit themselves. Luckily for him, no one was paying attention to his face at that moment.

The hologram of Darth Sidious had everyone's attention. He continued, "A thousand years ago, the Jedi's war on the Sith reached the point of absolute obliteration, leaving only a single Sith alive in the Galaxy. He ventured into the unexplored regions of space to look for powers formidable enough to take revenge on the Jedi. His mission was succeeded by his apprentice and afterwards by his apprentice's apprentice, and so on until I inherited that mission. On this day I have wonderful news for the Citizens of the Old Republic. I have succeeded."

Though you could not see the face beneath the man's hood, you could practically hear his cruel smile. Below the hologram, Palpatine was practically foaming at the mouth. How dare someone use his name to declare war on the Republic. How dare someone use his name to declare war on the Jedi. That was his right! No one could take it from him, but it was happening here and now. Someone claimed his name, his destiny, and there was nothing he could do to stop this without giving himself away.

The Hologram continued, "I have found an ally beyond your comprehension. He is far older than the Republic. He is far older than the Force. He is older than time and even older than death. Here, let me introduce you to my master. His name is Cthulhu."

The hologram gestured to the white wall behind him, but no one stood there. For a few moments, no one had any idea what was going on. Then the scene of the Hologram started zooming out. The robed Lord of the Sith sat alone in front of the massive white wall but as the scene zoomed further and further out, a sudden realization dawned on the observers of the Senate. The white wall was not a wall. It was a claw. Specifically, a toe claw.

The picture zoomed further and further out. The toe claw came into view with others around it as a towering green foot came into view. The picture continued to zoom out as a leg taller than any building came into focus along with the second leg and a chair it was crouched upon. The scene zoomed further and further out until a creature taller than any known mountain in the galaxy came into view. Once its figure was clearly visible, those who witnessed it wished they hadn't.

Sitting upon a throne was a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers. It had a scaly body that shimmered with an unearthly greenish glow. The thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence, and squatted on a throne covered with eerie, indecipherable characters.

Though the camera observing the figure was clearly many tens of kilometers away, the figure's maddeningly yellow eyes were clearly visible. Once the whole of the senate understood the stature of this figure, the honored representatives for the planets of the Republic collectively shat themselves.

*Author's Note*

Bet you didn't see that coming.