What If The Father From Mortis DIDN’T Erase Anakin’s Memories?
In The Clone Wars, we saw Anakin Skywalker journey to Mortis, a realm where the Force itself took shape. He was tested, tempted, and shown visions of the dark future ahead, visions of betrayal, of fire, of the Jedi Temple burning. But the Father erased those memories. In one instant, everything changed. The truth was hidden. And Anakin’s fate was sealed.
But what if he didn’t? What if Anakin carried those visions back with him, every scream, every betrayal, every glimpse of the Emperor’s true face? In this version of the story, that’s exactly what happens. And nothing turns out the same.
Let’s begin.
Anakin sits in silence aboard the shuttle, watching the stars pass as Mortis fades behind him.
His eyes are shut, but there’s no peace. Instead, he sees the Jedi Temple in flames, children crying as they back away from him. He hears Obi-Wan shouting in anger, calling his name with venom. And over it all, a shadow, one man pulling the strings. The Dark Lord. His face hidden, but his presence was as familiar as a heartbeat.
Obi-Wan notices the tension.
“You’ve been rather quiet, Anakin. Something troubling you?”
Anakin hesitates, searching for the right words. Finally, he admits, “I saw things. Horrible things. The Temple burning. Me… with a saber in hand. The younglings, they were afraid of me. And you, Obi-Wan. You were my enemy.”
Obi-Wan frowns, brushing it off. “Visions meant to confuse you. Mortis played tricks on all of us. None of it was real.”
But Anakin shakes his head.
“It didn’t feel like tricks. It felt like the Force itself speaking. It spoke of a Dark Lord in the shadows. Someone within the Republic. I couldn’t see his face, but he’s there. Watching.”
That admission changes everything. Obi-Wan doesn’t argue. He remembers Count Dooku’s warning on Geonosis, the claim that a Sith Lord controlled the Senate. The Council dismissed it as deception. But now? With Anakin describing the same thing, doubt takes root.
When they return, Obi-Wan and Anakin report to the Jedi Council.
They keep it quiet, but Yoda and Mace listen closely. At last, the Council agrees: perhaps a Sith Lord really is hiding in plain sight. Quietly, they begin to investigate. Senators are watched. Generals scrutinized. The noose tightens, little by little, toward the Chancellor’s inner circle.
The war rages on. Battles flare across the galaxy. But inside the Republic, new cracks form.
When the Jedi Temple is bombed, suspicion turns inward. Ahsoka is accused, dragged through a humiliating trial. But instead of walking away in anger, she is proven innocent when Barriss Offee confesses the crime herself. Barriss declares that the Jedi have strayed, serving war instead of peace, blinded by Sith manipulation.
Most dismiss her as a traitor. But Anakin doesn’t.
He follows her down the corridors after her sentencing. Commander Stone and his troopers lead her away in binders. Anakin steps forward, voice calm but firm. “I’ll take her from here. The Council has asked me to oversee her interrogation.” The clones obey, leaving him alone with Barriss in the gunship.
The engines hum as the ship lifts off. Anakin sits across from her, eyes sharp. “Why, Barriss? Why turn on your own Order?”
She meets his gaze without flinching.
“Because someone had to. The Jedi have lost their way. We were supposed to be guardians of peace, not generals in a war we never should have fought. There’s something darker at work here, pulling all of us like puppets.”
Anakin leans forward, voice low. “You feel it too. That shadow in the Senate. In the Temple. It’s here, isn’t it?”
Barriss nods. “I’ve felt it for months. A presence just beyond reach, twisting the Force. If you’ve felt it too, then you know we can’t ignore it.”
Anakin studies her, the weight of Mortis still heavy in his thoughts. At last, he says quietly, “Don’t worry. You may have opened the Council’s eyes more than you realize.”
When the ship lands, Barriss is led into her cell.
But Anakin walks away, disturbed. Her words echo his own fears. And for the first time, he’s not alone in feeling them.
Not long after, another crisis emerges. A clone trooper murders a Jedi without warning. Fives uncovers the truth: the inhibitor chips buried inside every clone’s head. A secret control measure. He tries to warn the Jedi, but when he brings his evidence to the Chancellor, Palpatine declares him a traitor.
Soon, Fives is hunted.
Anakin and Rex track him down to a bar in the undercity.
They find him there, muttering into his drink, a blaster shaking in his hand. He leaps up when they enter. “Stay back! I know the truth now. The chips, they’re turning us into something we’re not. They’re using us!”
Rex tries to calm him. “If General Skywalker says he’s here to help, he means it.”
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