Work Text:
During the war it was a rumor among the Guard.
There was no proof one way or another.
Not at first.
Just that bodies disappeared. Their corpses never made it to the incinerator or Kamino.
That’s all it was at first.
Then the ghost patrols appeared.
When lone Corries were separated from their squads or dragged off by attackers, there would be squads of Corries that seemingly appeared out of nowhere to shoot the attacker and get the downed trooper back to their HQ.
They never gave their names or numbers, but since everyone else was already accounted for and would check in whenever a new ghost squad sighting happened…there wasn’t anything else they could’ve been.
So the rumor began.
That Coruscant had decided it liked the Guard enough to keep them.
Perhaps not safe , because Coruscant was never a kind mistress.
Just keep them.
Even when they’d already fallen.
One day Thire came into Fox’s office shaking like a druggie suffering from spice withdrawals. Fox had straightened, immediately rising to his feet to ease the younger Commander onto the crappy, beaten to haran and back couch that they had managed to squeeze into his office.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
It took Thire a minute to speak and when he did, his voice was so quiet it might as well not have been spoken at all.
“I saw Thorn.”
As long as they were a Guard, or had been at one point or another, they would inevitably end up back on Coruscant. Even members they’d managed to transfer out back into the GAR ended up back on Coruscant when they fell in battle.
They were the most obvious, since their new colors and designs ended up resting beneath their old Corrie paint. It made it easier to confirm the presence of the ghost vode , though it seemed they only appeared to the Guard.
Then the end of the war hit.
Order 66.
Storming the temple.
Fox nearly died at Vader’s Skywalker’s hand. He had forgotten to inform his troops of the former Jedi’s new title, so Vader had seen fit to break his neck. However, the Chancellor demanded the Sith apprentice leave Fox for him to deal with.
For ‘old time’s sake’ .
Some members of the GAR ended up going rogue as they began to dispose of the clones, replacing them with natborns that weren’t even half as skilled.
Fox almost pitied the 501st, who Vader clung to with an iron fisted possessiveness.
Fox had seen a natborn strike one of them to ‘put the meat droid in it’s place’. Vader had broken every bone in his body so carefully and precisely that he managed to make it all the way up to the cranium before he finally killed the officer.
Mostly because he’d used his cybernetic arm and crushed his skull beneath his hand.
Then he’d turned and gently stroked the 501st troopers’ cheek as though comforting a child, or perhaps a prized pet. It was hard to describe as anything other than creepy .
Of course that was the point when Vader had detected Fox watching and had furiously banished the paralyzed Commander from the hangar. Commander Thire had assisted in removing Fox safely before the sith threw him out with the Force or something.
Of course, soon Thire wouldn’t be there to support him either.
Palpatine took great pleasure in making Fox watch as he took his brothers away one by one, torturing them to death in front of their helpless commander. Fox had forced himself to watch but refused to make any sound during the demonstrations.
Everyone in the room knew that he wanted nothing more than to save his brothers from the cruelty of the Sith Master. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do other than shout. He was paralyzed from the neck down thanks to Vader, and they all knew it.
And Fox refused to give Palpatine the satisfaction of making him beg.
Since they both knew it wouldn’t do anything.
Soon it was just Fox left.
Alone in his room.
No food, no water, no vod’e.
Palpatine dragged it out as long as he could before sending a squad of Purge Troopers to collect him and bring him to Palpatine's sith chambers of sithy-ness. Fox simply rolled his eyes when he was carried unceremoniously to the stone chambers carved with strange runes. They hurt his eyes to look at, so instead he focused on the bloody circle drawn on the floor.
A sacrificial circle.
How fitting, he supposed. In a strange way, it made sense that he would be sacrificed. He was ‘officially’ known as the most capable and cleverest of the Clone Commanders. He was ‘officially’ the most decorated clone in the GAR or Guard.
And he was the last of the Coruscant Guard.
“Ah, Commander, how good to see you,” Palpatine simpered, smiling cruelly as Fox glared at him. The Purge Troopers set him in the center of the circle, spreading his limbs out around him and chaining them in place.
As if he could actually move them.
“Are those even necessary?” he asked, not bothering to be polite. There was no reason. They both knew Palpatine had no plans of letting Fox survive whatever this ritual was.
“The body has natural survival instincts that may…cause your body to react without stimulus from the brain,” the Sith said with a smirk. Fox rolled his eyes and shut them, letting his head rest back.
“Well? What are you waiting for?”
He shouldn’t have asked.
The next few hours(?) days(?) minutes(?) Fox didn’t know how long it was that he lay there, his entire body feeling like it was being set on fire while stabbed and dipped in acid. His bones snapped; he could hear the sounds of them breaking just barely over the sound of his screams.
He hadn’t even felt anything beneath his neck since it was broken, but now he did.
And it was pure agony .
Up until his body ripped open from throat to navel without being touched. His organs burst like water balloons and finally Fox was granted rest. He would finally be able to march forward with his vod’e .
Fox felt someone nudging his shoulder, causing him to grumble and shift away. There was a chuckle and then someone spoke.
“Time to get up, vod .”
It was a brother.
An eerily familiar brother’s voice.
So Fox obediently opened his eyes. Thorn grinned at him, eyes gleaming mischievously as he clasped Fox’s arm and pulled him to his feet. Fox’s eyes widened and he felt tears bud before he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around the other Commander, letting them fall down his cheeks as he slumped to his knees against Thorn.
A new set of hands on his hips lifted him back on his feet as a new vod pressed against his back. He glanced back and Stone quirked his lips in what Fox had realized was Stone’s smile. The other hugged him more tightly, arms reaching around Fox to grab Thorn’s waist and tug them closer.
Fox let out a broken sob and let himself sink against the two of them, feeling his riduur pressed against him in a way he hadn’t felt for months . A hand slid into his and he glanced over, seeing Thire grinning at him. He pressed a kiss to Fox’s knuckles before dragging him out from between his riduur and into a cuddle pile waiting for him.
He happily allowed himself to sink into the waiting embrace of his ade and vod’ike. Thorn and Stone quickly followed after him, bracketing him on either side as his ade piled on top of him. He let out a joyous sob that faded into a relieved sigh before letting his eyes slide shut again.
Do you want revenge?
Fox blinked. Things were dark around him. He couldn’t tell who was speaking. It seemed like he was alone again. Before the grief could overwhelm him, he felt as though someone were rubbing the back of his neck, squeezing it gently the same way Thorn always did when Fox was stressed.
He relaxed slightly and focused, setting his emotions aside for a moment.
“Do you even have to ask? But it’s not like it’s possible to get revenge. I'm dead. Everyone I cared about is dead. This is just the beginning of my hell, right? I was sacrificed in a Sith ritual, there’s no way this is anything good .”
The feeling of someone flicking his forehead caused him to yelp and suddenly he was staring down the vague outline of a person. Looking at them was confusing.
Every blink Fox took caused them to change forms. First something human looking, then a Togruta. A Wookie, a Jawa, a Bothan, a Rodian, a Zabrack, continuing on and on. Some species he couldn’t even name, so Fox just kept his eyes on the Twi’lek looking figure.
They seemed to be covering themselves with a shroud or cloak. However, two glowing molten gold eyes stared out of the darkness at Fox.
It could be. All you have to do is want it and I will give it.
Fox paused, tilting his head consideringly at the creature.
“What are you?” he murmured. He swore their lips twitched in a smile before they responded.
Something ancient. Something large. I have had many names over the millennia, but you know me best by ‘Coruscant’.
Fox stiffened, eyes widening as he stared at them. “Are you saying…you’re a planet?”
They shrugged, spinning in place before beginning to circle around Fox. With every step they took, a street bloomed behind them. Fox recognized it as an alley that led towards the main Senate Plaza where Palpatine liked to make speeches and declarations.
Your brothers have been waiting for you to strike. They want to send a message. For the GAR. For the Guard. For you.
“Why help us? Why save us from…whatever afterlife awaited us?” Coruscant grinned, flashing teeth far too sharp to belong to a Twi’lek. They reminded him more of the fangs from the creatures dwelling in the lowest levels of Coruscant.
I have long been fought over by many people. The Sith and Jedi are just the two most notable and let’s just say they…left their mark. The Dark has given me the ability to feel…possessive of what I deem as mine. The Light gave me the ability to love and heal those I choose. I do not appreciate Palpatine and the things he has done to the Guard.
In the blink of an eye, they were in front of Fox, eyes glowing and twisting, a glimpse of the planet’s core- Fox realized, and they yanked him forward by his chest plate with a snarl.
You’re MINE . I will not tolerate some lowly, pathetic SITH taking you from me. I will not allow him to keep you even in death as his personal chew toy. I will do EVERYTHING in my power to ensure he suffers for what he did to you and your men.
They paused, releasing him and taking a step back, shutting their eyes and taking a moment to breathe before looking up at Fox with a dark smile.
Sorry…I…get possessive.
“I noticed,” Fox commented, studying the other. They grinned, sharp fangs revealed again.
Regardless, I have marked you as MINE. And that is why I wished to help you gain revenge. As you are now, Fox, you are in a state between life and death. After all, there’s not much use in sticking around if you can’t actively influence your surroundings, right?
Fox raised an eyebrow, considering Coruscant before speaking. “What are you suggesting?”
Simple. Kill the Sith. Kill whoever you want. SAVE whoever you want. I just want you to exist and be happy. After all, I care about what is MINE, so therefore I want you to be happy and cared for.
They grinned sharply before gesturing to the Plaza behind them, where Fox could see Palpatine ascending the steps to give a speech of some kind.
You even have the perfect opportunity right here. It’ll be public and brutal. You could conquer his Empire through Sith rules, and they would be entirely helpless to stop you.
“What do I have to do?” Fox asked, eyes narrowed darkly at the figure of the Chancellor-no, the Emperor . Coruscant grinned, teeth shining in the dark as they extended his helmet and vibroblade.
The weapon was more like a sword than anything else, it had been one of the few things Fox had personally cared for. It wasn’t standard issue, but he didn’t particularly care about that. He reached out, taking it into his hand and feeling the blade hum beneath his grip. Then he took the helmet and pulled it on, watching his visor light up with a bright red target icon hovering over Palpatine’s head.
Have fun hunting, Fox.
Fox stepped out into the daylight, smoothly merging into the crowd as he stalked closer to the podium with a hidden fanged grin of his own.
Sideous looked out over the crowd of ignorant civilians and smirked to himself. They were all so easily twisted to his will, he thought, scanning his eyes over the crowd. A flash of white and red caught his eye, causing him to glance at it and freeze.
Because-
There was
A clone trooper.
A clone trooper in extremely recognizable Coruscant Guard armor.
Commander Fox tilted his head to the side in what Sideous recognized as an almost amused gesture.
He smoothly glided through the crowd as though they didn’t even realize he was there. Sideous stiffened, realizing that he could feel Commander Fox’s presence, but it was entirely closed off to him.
“Guards!” he called, pointing at the Commander. “Remove the clone!”
As though just noticing him, the crowd around him leaped away from the Commander, giving the other the space he needed to draw a vibroblade from where it rested on his hip. It lit up with the sharp glow of a plasma blade as the other stalked closer.
“Guards!” Sideous turned to look and see why none of the Guards were doing anything. He froze, eyes wide in shock as he realized that in place of his standard clone troopers and Red Guard were the Coruscant Guard.
The four Red Guard that had been behind him were missing, replaced by the three other Commanders of the Guard. Every other trooper or soldier was replaced with a member of the Guard, as though he hadn’t personally killed them. He knew he’d tracked down and killed every member of the Guard before sacrificing Fox, so there was no way they could be here.
The Dark side laughed and immediately Palpatine turned, drawing his sabers from his sleeves as Fox lunged. He grunted and fell back slightly beneath the weight of the clone’s strike. Before he could react, Fox was spinning, leg flashing out and kicking Sideous in the side, sending him flying back.
Using the Force, Sideous corrected himself, landing on his feet and looking back at the clone commander. However, in the moment he’d been distracted landing properly, Fox was on top of him again. His blade raised above his head and slashed down, slicing an arm cleanly off Sideous’ shoulder.
Sideous howled with rage and thrust his hands out, lightning flashing from his fingertips. However, rather than strike the commander, the commander simply vanished and reappeared to the side of him.
Sideous screamed as his other arm was sliced off, leaving him completely helpless in front of the Commander. He tried to push away from the other as the Commander pulled his helmet off his head, flipping his hair to the side as he did so. Then he looked down and grinned, revealing sharp fangs that the Kaminoans had somehow missed.
But most strange were his eyes .
Because one was the familiar brown of the clone troopers.
But the other…it looked like a mass of swirling molten metal. It seemed to glow and shift. There was no pupil, no iris, just the glowing mass of metal and rock.
“I henceforth claim your Empire as per the old rites of the Sith Empire,” Fox purred, grinning darkly at Sideous as he lifted his sword again.
“How is this possible? This isn’t-this isn’t possible! You’re dead ! I killed you!” he shrieked furiously. Fox grinned, smirking viciously as he used the sword to tilt Palpatine’s chin up.
“So you did. And now I get to return the favor !”
An explosion rocked Coruscant the moment a dead clone Commander cut the head off the Emperor. On Mustafar Vader was being hunted by the clones who had fallen during the Temple siege, led by one with a familiar blue and red Rishi eel on his helmet. The admirals were being executed in their offices as Coruscant seemed to roil and boil with the fury and vengeance of the fallen brothers it had welcomed as its own.
Fox took a moment to breathe as the Empire’s population stared at the closest screen to them. They had just expected a regular Empire Day speech and instead they watched the Emperor get slaughtered on live stream and his murderer declare he was taking over the Empire. Not to mention that the murderer in question was one of the deceased members of the Coruscant Guard.
Fox turned to the cameras and the few reporters that had stayed through the fight, most of them having fled during the time. He grinned at them, feeling the way the long scar curling down the right side of his face pulled the skin as he did.
“Welcome to the new Empire, bitches. ”