#Anakin didn’t plan to involve Fox in his murder

[commanderfoxdeservesbetter]

Clone Wars Headcanon: Time Travel AU

Anakin, right after he dies, time travels back to the past and ends up right back in his old body which doesn’t end up so well as he’s becomes dysphoric after being in a mechanical body for 20+ years so he disappears.

Cue a whole search party going for him (with Obi-Wan stressing out because he can’t feel Anakin even through the bond; Ashoka left reeling and thinking it’s her fault because they had a small argument that day; and Palpatine angered because he just lost sight of his (one day) apprentice and his plans, while thorough, need Anakin to turn).

Alongside that, Force Ghost Yoda and Obi-Wan time travel back and stick with Anakin as he’s processing and since he can only see them, they can’t help much. (But really, they’re there to help him with changing the past and fixing the mistakes because while the Force did give him this chance to do so, sometimes it’s not always fair when you gotta do it alone and they believe in him).

After some time, Anakin comes back to meet with Palpatine and he’s not well (he stumbles quite a bit and his eyes...the anger inside him makes them turn from blue to yellow several times). Fox sees him on the way up (the only one who does because he sees past the Force hiding) and he follows Anakin (he has so many questions but he keeps quiet; now isn’t the time).

So when he reaches Palpatine’s office, Fox reveals himself and calls out. “General Skywalker.” Anakin turns slowly as Fox walks briskly towards him, but as he nears, he finds himself at loss for words. Anakin merely raises an eyebrow. “The Chancellor isn’t in right now,” Fox ends up saying.

Anakin sneers but replies, “I know. I’m waiting for him.” But Fox knows how much the General means to the 501st, to his brothers, his vod, to Rex, and offers to wait with him. (He might not talk to his brothers but regardless of what they think, he still cares!!) Anakin remembers him as the one who shot Fives and the one who arrested Ashoka (but FG!obi-wan whispers, this is before that. He hasn’t done that yet) and so he reluctantly agrees. Maybe, Anakin thinks, I can find out WHEN exactly am I.

So they sit (or stand in Fox’s case) in Palpatine’s office and wait there and the silence is definitely uncomfortable but Anakin (as Vader) has been through worse and Fox had to sit through Senator meetings so neither are willing to break the silence. (But Fox does start recording in his helmet as Rex, his vod’ika, would appreciate to see his General if General Skywalker decides to disappear again.)

It’s only after a couple of hours have passed that they move; Palpatine comes in through the office and, surprised by Anakin’s presence, welcomes him back.

“My boy, why you’ve appeared. We were so worried about you!” Palpatine’s glance towards Fox acknowledges the clone but nothing further. “There’s been a search party out looking for you.”

Anakin, standing up, has his head lowered and his fists clenched. His doesn’t speak for many moments before Palpatine asks, “Are you okay, my boy?”

Quick as a flash, Palpatine starts choking. Fox starts but his movements are stops and (he panics) he can’t move (he’s lost control). He knows it’s the Force (it hurts; will he lose time too) and it doesn’t hurt (but it does; he can’t control himself) and he feels fear creep up his spine (he’s not himself; he’s never himself) when Palpatine starts to gag, his face turning purple (help! Someone please! HELP!) and his breaths start coming in faster (where is he? WHERE IS HE?!) and his vision starts to blur (HELP ME!) and he vaguely sees a blue lightsaber turn on (he can’t breathe; oh Fett, he can’t breathe) and quick as lightning, it strikes down (he’s gonna die) and Palpatine’s head rolls over across the office (he’s gonna die! Help! HELP!) when he realizes he’s sitting down with his head (where is his helmet?) between his knees as Anakin speaks. “Breathe, one, two, three. In and out.”

Fox hungrily sucks air in and his lungs start cooperating and he can’t speak, not yet, but as he looks up, he sees (the Chancellor! He’s dead! NO!) Anakin and his eyes...they are blue. They’re blue (yellow) and he doesn’t understand but Anakin starts speaking again. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” His expression is stone cold but sounds at least a little apologetic and Fox works with Senators so he’ll take what he can get.

“Why-” Fox stops. He didn’t notice before but he can breathe (he doesn’t feel trapped) and he can think (he can think past his orders) and he starts over. “Who was he?”

Anakin grimaces. “The Sith Lord we’ve been searching for.” He pauses as Fox clings to his hand, needing something to ground him with. “Lord Sidious.”

And memories rush past Fox, of him speaking and following orders and committing (oh Fett, who did he kill?) atrocities and (he can’t breathe) he sees...the floor? Anakin speaks, “Breathe. In and out.”

Fox closes his eyes as tears run past his cheeks. He’s a horrible person (a good soldier); he’s killed his vod (he’s done his duty); he doesn’t deserve to be here (he’s only a clone).

Anakin’s talking but he can barely hear over his thoughts. Fox greedily breathes in before listening “-know when they’ll find the body but we need to leave now.”

“What?” Fox stares. Leave? Are they traitors? Have they...Are they committing treason? (Well, he thinks, General Skywalker did.)

Anakin lifts his head. “We need to leave. Are you coming with?”

And Fox...he can’t stay with the body. He’ll be decommissioned but he’s not a traitor. His eyes glance back and forth between General Skywalker and Palpatine’s corpse and he can’t...what can he...

“I’m going into shock,” Fox mutters and Anakin, for all his help, jolts back.

“Uhhh,” Skywalker stutters before Fox is laughing. “I’m going insane,” he chokes out, laughing madly at his predicament and Anakin...just stares before turning to the side.

Fox stops and realizes, he’s not the only one crazy. He listens to Anakin’s one-sided conversation (“-my problem?! I didn’t plan to bring him in this mess. I’m sorry not everyone is perfect like you but I couldn’t do nothing!”) and interrupts. “So what’s the plan, General?”

Skywalker turns and thins his lips. “We need to leave.”

Fox snorts. How we gonna do that? But as if he heard his thoughts, Anakin speaks, “I have a cruiser. We’ll need new identities but once we make it to...”

“And where will we be going?” Fox asks because if he’s gonna become a fugitive, he should know the whole plan. “Who will we become?” Why are we leaving, though that answer is pretty much a given.

Anakin just shrugs before helping him to his feet. “We’ll see when we get there, Commander.” Fox snorts and thinks, Of course he had no plan, but Anakin continues. “Don’t worry, Commander. It’ll be better this time.”

And Fox doesn’t want to think of what this time means but he mutters, “My name is Fox,” though if he’s becoming a fugitive, it will only be for a short time before he gets a new name.

It isn’t until they’re leaving the planet that Fox remembers, he forgot his helmet. His helmet, which is still recording the room.

[cafffine]

-Cody and obis relationship ramps up and cody is distracted while Rex snoops around and starts to translate padmes letters to the organas

-padmé was not writing about diamonds she was writing about a boy!!

-Cody finds a drawing of anakin in obis room, recognizes him but doesn’t put together that it’s the kid who hired him 5 years ago for the bank job.

-obi talks about anakin and how he was adopted at nine from quigon, cody notes that leia is also adopted??

-Rex and Cody grow apart and Rex follows through with padmes letters which are about falling in love (and possibly getting pregnant?)

-Obi finally opens up to cody and talks about anakin getting involved with a woman he had no social status to wed

-Maul finds Rex and delivers a letter from Palpatine stating the obvious: He’ll come for the Fett’s family if they don’t bring the Skywalkers back “alive and unharmed” (what?)

-Rex and Cody get into a big fight and Cody breaks in anger and tells Rex that he’d do anything to protect him, all he wants to do is protect his kids. Oh… Cody realizes, this is all about protecting kids, the Skywalkers are not diamonds, duh.

-Now that they know, the brothers go first to Maul who says he didn’t know they were after kids the whole time, he delivers messages and only came bc he wanted to see Obi again

-Rex leaves, and Cody, using the fact that he and Maul have feelings for Obi-wan, convinces Maul to leave for london immediately with the information that the Fetts have the twins and will be ready to hand them over

-Back at the house Rex and Cody talk about how they’re not gonna kidnap anyone, no way

-Feeling bad for the way their relationship has deteriorated, Rex confesses that it was actually Jango who got Codys prison sentence shortened but didn’t want to tell him cause their family’s not great at talking.

-Point is though, Codys family loves him, and they’re who he’s always going to choose

-Cody finds Obiwan and confesses point blank. He’s honest about why he’s there: Boba is sick. And what he wanted: diamonds, absolutely not any kids

-Obiwan doesn’t immediately freak out, he’s just hurt that everything’s been a lie. He is upset though, and doesn’t return the sentiment when Cody tells him he loves him, Cody doesn’t really mean this, he says it as a reaction.

-It’s also explained that ObiWan has only been hiding in his house this whole time to keep up the myth of the diamonds, word got out that padme gave something called the skywalkers to him after she died, but not /what/

-They turned the rumor into valuable diamonds and Luke and Leia were split up for safekeeping, ObiWans been doing his part to keep the story as is.

-Without laying out his plan yet, Cody goes to sleep and is woken in the middle of the night by Obiwan who gets in bed with him and spends the night, they don’t talk, and in the morning there’s a letter and two diamonds on Codys bedside, Obiwans long gone

-Fetts return to London!

-Codys got two diamonds, and does not underestimate Jango in the way Palpatine has

-They go to their dad and tell him to get ready because they’re about to piss of the biggest politician in London

-Codys plan is still unknown but he wants to meet with Palpatine alone, he says goodbye to Rex in an ominous way and tells him to take care of the family, then brings a gun with him

-Palpatine is clearly one of the only people who knows the skywalkers are the queens children, this information can’t really be proven without the kids to ransome off (the palace probably knows and would be willing to pay)

-When Cody arrives Palpatine is flanked by Maul and a man in all black

-Once Palpatine realizes that Cody and Maul lied he threatens to wipe out the Fetts and tells the man in black to kill Cody, Cody also gets his gun knocked out of his hand

-The man in black in Anakin and Cody tells him that he remembers him (from the bank heist) which gets Anakin to pause

-Cody tells him he’s sorry that he never got to be a father and talks about how wonderful Luke and Leia are

-Anakin is conflicted and can’t quite pull the trigger while Cody is talking about his kids

-Palpatine gets angry and says he’ll do it himself only-

-Maul shoots Palpatine dead and tells Cody to run, he’s taken all the blame for this whole mess and now Anakin watched him murder Palpatine, why he does this is unclear, but his unrequited love for Obi-Wan might have had something to do with it

-Cody takes the two diamonds and runs, he makes it back to his family and they escape London

-There was a subplot about Fives being accused of a crime he didn’t commit and being missing ever since his brothers broke him out of jail

-While Palpatine was threatening the Fetts he says something like “And don’t think the little one in Paris is safe either” meaning Fives is likely in Paris

-Rex heads off to Paris and before he leaves he talks to Cody about his sexuality and makes sure he knows that he doesn’t care, he loves him no matter what

-Cody ends up finding Fox and joining up with him as a partner at the law firm where he makes forgeries and fake marriage documents, some even for gay couples.

-Jango and Boba move out to the country which the money from the two diamonds, and Bobas lungs are cured, he grows up happy with his father

-Fourteen years later Luke finds Cody, still working with Fox and thanks him for saving his life

-He wants Cody to come back with him because Obi-Wan still talks about Cody and Luke has been trying to reunite them ever since he got old enough to travel on his own

-Cody is doubtful, but after some convincing from Rex, follows Luke back to Saltcoats where he also meets Leia

-The final scene is Cody walking up some stairs to Obi-Wans study

-Obiwan thinks it’s Luke and asks, back turned, if Luke likes the arrangement of the bouquet of pink roses on his windowsill

-Cody says they look beautiful