AN: So before you all read this epilogue, I want to make a few thanks. First, thanks to the readers and everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed. Even if all you did was read, thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it enough to get to the end. I read every single review and replied to the ones I could. Shout out to Ann who always gushes about how much she loves my stories and have been reading them since I started writing on this site. She comments as a guest reviewer, but I just want you to know that I read your reviews!

Second, thanks to this fandom. The Anisoka community (no matter how you ship it: OTP, BROTP, etc...) is a small one. And while this isn't my first rodeo writing Anisoka fiction and I was one of a much smaller community of writers back then, it's been a long time. Almost a decade. Before season 4... maybe even before the halfway point of season 3. Yeah... because I wrote and finished my dark Ahsoka fanfic before the Mortis arc. So definitely before the end of season 3.

Thus I not only went back and looked at some of the Clone Wars to get a feel for the characters but also went and read everything this site and ao3 had to offer in the way of Anisoka to see the different ways in which the community interpreted it. And I mean everything. The awesome and the not so awesome. Regardless, it all enlightened my own perspective on how both a friendship and a romantic relationship could develop in two alternate timelines. I thank all the ones who contributed to it, and who supported my own contribution. Okay, everything else can wait until afterward, but I wanted to get the thanks out the way. Enjoy!

Epilogue

"Mommy. Mommy. Mommy!"

Padmé looked up at and gazed across the room where Luke and Leia were sitting in front of the window, a bundle of excitement as they anxiously awaited their visitor. They'd probably sense her long before they ever saw her, but the two had insisted.

"Mom!" Leia said this time and turned to her with pretty brown eyes. "She's here."

That was all the warning Padmé got before the two jolted out the door, barefooted, to meet their guest. Padmé didn't even bother trying to catch up with them. There was no slowing the two down when they knew Ahsoka was coming to visit.

"Should we be jealous that Ahsoka gets much warmer of a welcoming when she comes home than we do if we have to be away?" Anakin joked, coming into the room as Padmé got to her feet.

Padmé laughed and kissed him lightly on the lips before grabbing his hand and leading them outside. By the time they got outside, Ahsoka was sitting in the grass not too far from the house with the twins sitting leaning against either side of her with a lek in hand as they looked up at her in clear adoration as she spoke to them quietly but excitedly. Mostly in basic but also with her native language, togruti, mixed in.

Upon either sensing or hearing (Padmé was never quite sure) Padmé and Anakin coming out to meet them, Ahsoka stood to her feet, lifting both children in either arm.

The young togruta woman had indeed hit her last growth spurt a couple of years ago, now standing near, if not at, Anakin's height. Still lithe and athletic as ever as demonstrated by her toned arms.

"I really do hope you're not telling them about another adventure that sparked yet another diplomatic incident," Padmé teased.

"An adventure, yes. Whether I sparked a diplomatic incident or not depends on how you look at it. The way I see it, I don't argue with slavers, no matter how they try to dress it up as punishment for criminals," Ahsoka replied.

"I'm with her on this one," Anakin agreed.

"And good thing you weren't actually with her on this one, or it would have been worse," Padmé said, though she didn't disagree with the two. She just didn't like dealing with the fallout of their adventures sometimes.

After Ahsoka and Anakin were cleared of any possible wrongdoing in Palpatine's death, Ahsoka got involved in transporting refugees and aiding those displaced by the Clone Wars, going places that escaped the notice of the Senate and that even the Jedi would not dare venture. More times than not, though, her adventures implicated powerful businessmen, bureaucrats, senators, and high ranking officials that were still finding ways to benefit from the fallout of the Clone Wars even four and a half years later. And just as many times, the young woman disregarded certain diplomatic customs in the pursuit of freeing the displaced from those who took advantage of them.

In the beginning, Padmé frequently found herself coaching Ahsoka through how to smooth over a diplomatic mess she'd gotten herself into. And more and more, Padmé was beginning to see how the woman's alternate self had managed to almost single-handedly raise a rebellion that turned an Empire against its emperor within a decade. But Ahsoka needed her counsel less and less as she gathered allies and gained finesse and subtly in her ventures.

The Senate had a love-hate relationship with her. Without the backing of the Order or any other policing authority, the girl was breaking every vigilante law on record, but she was fulfilling a need. She was doing a lot more help fixing the harm of the Clone Wars and Palpatine's plans—something Padmé had a feeling would take a lifetime to truly fix—than she was harm in her lack of diplomatic finesse.

Then, a couple of years ago—after Padmé and Anakin had rebuilt their marriage into something more stable and sustainable than what it had been during the Clone War, after a lot of self-reflection and mind healers and conversations and rebuilding other important relationships, and after figuring out that what he truly wanted to do was dedicate his life to the service of people who needed to be helped and that being a Jedi wasn't the only way to do that—Ahsoka had invited him to join her on her ventures.

And well… Padmé wasn't sure the galaxy had been prepared for that. And now she understood why Palpatine, in two timelines, hadn't stood a chance once those two set their minds to something. They were lucky the people of the Republic loved them so much.

Anakin didn't join her on every venture, though, what with fatherhood having tempered his need for adventure. This time was one of them.

"How's everything on Vjjil?" Anakin asked.

"Good. Rounded up three more Force-sensitives this time around. Ventress took them back for me so I could keep my promise to these two," Ahsoka said grinning at the twins who beamed up at her.

Anakin groaned at the mention of the former Sith assassin that Ahsoka had struck an unlikely accord with.

Not wanting to reignite that disagreement, Padmé asked, "Oh? They agreed to be trained then? With your other students?"

"I don't like to call them my students," Ahsoka said. "I just think it's more dangerous to leave them to themselves without training because they weren't discovered by the Jedi in time and risk that any lurking danger could get to them first. It's just a home for Force-sensitive beings who don't have a way and think they'd like to help me."

"So you say," Padmé said with a raised eyebrow. "Yet, you funnel quite a few of the donations you get from some of your sponsors there."

"And I heard from Obi-wan that you were not so subtly asking him questions on how the Order funds itself outside of donations and Republic funding," Anakin said with a smirk.

"I'm just expanding my refugee and outreach operations. There's only so much I can do by myself, and they want to help. And not everyone there is Force-sensitive. Some of the clones are there too," Ahsoka argued.

"Sure," Anakin said as they made their way back to the house.

"You're talking about starting a diplomatic incident. Starting a new Order of Force users would be the diplomatic incident. The Order let us go on good terms, but if they caught whiff of that, I'm sure it would be ruined." Ahsoka said.

"And yet you're doing things that would likely ruffle the Order anyway. Sure, Snips," Anakin teased, throwing his free arms around her shoulders.

"Well, good thing you and Padmé are going to be there soon, so she can help out with that," Ahsoka replied casually.

"You are not throwing me in between you and the Jedi and the Senate," Padmé replied wryly.

"I won't have to throw you between them. You're going to do it all on your own. You certainly don't plan on living out your retirement from the Senate just being a housewife. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's certainly not in your nature," Ahsoka pointed out.

Padmé sighed. The woman was right. No, that wasn't in her nature. Already, only a few months after finishing her two allowed Senate terms per Naboo's term limit laws, Padmé was finding herself growing bored. Besides, what Ahsoka was already doing wasn't something that she wouldn't have gotten involved with in the first place. And though Ahsoka was certainly managing well enough on her own, she was much like the alternate version of herself they'd met years ago, who dabbled in politics and diplomacy because her function required it but didn't particularly enjoy it. Anakin was already similarly involved, and moving to Vjjil would allow him to be more involved while not missing out on the twins growing up. The twins would also enjoy seeing their aunt more. And moving there also meant that Obi-wan wouldn't have to make two separate trips to see Anakin and Ahsoka when he wasn't occupied with Jedi duties…

"Don't be so sure about that," Padmé said, deciding not to encourage Ahsoka's smugness, which on a few occasions could be as bad as Anakin's when he knew he was right. "I told you. We'll think about it."

"Give me another month, Snips," Anakin assured.

"Good. I need that much time to finish getting space for you ready," Ahsoka replied.

Padmé rolled her eyes at them both.

They had just gotten to the steps of the house when both Anakin and his former student stopped. Padmé turned to look at them in confusion, even more so when she noticed the look on both their faces. Something in the Force…

"Mommy," Luke said, leaning towards her from Ahsoka's arms. "It feels weird."

Padmé took her son from Ahsoka's arms, while Ahsoka sat Leia on the ground next to her and looked into the sky. Padmé followed her gaze just in time to see a bright blue flash and a sleek ship come into view. The last time Padmé had seen that ship, it was flying into a bright blue flash and back to an alternate timeline.

Not sure what they were about to encounter, Anakin and Ahsoka stood in front of Padmé and the twins hands on the hilts of lightsabers as the ship landed not too far from them. A lone figure departed the ship with a bag thrown over her shoulder as she made her way to them across the field.

Suddenly, both Anakin's and Ahsoka's stance relaxed, and Padmé wondered why until the figure, a girl, got close enough to them that Padmé could make out her features. That long white and blue hair, this time done up in two buns at the top of her head while the rest flowed loosely behind her; that red-orange tinted light brown skin; the lithe, athletic body; those red lips; those blue eyes. She was older than the first—and what Padmé had been sure would be the last—time Padmé had seen her, but she'd never forget the girl.

"Mé," all three of them said at once.

"Oh good," the girl said, dropping her back next to her. "You remember me. So I can skip the introduction."

Both Anakin and Ahsoka sputtered before Anakin managed, "What are you doing back here? In our timeline? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine except my attitude according to my parents. This was their idea. Obi-wan was even on my side trying to talk them out of this ridiculous idea," Mé grumbled.

"What idea?" Ahsoka asked.

"To come here. It's some lesson they're trying to teach me that's apparently not getting across in the Empire since I'm the Imperial darling of the people and they cater to my every whim. They figured I'd learn… I don't know. Something being here with you guys instead," Mé explained with a scowl and roll of her eyes identical to Vader's.

"Wait," Anakin said and somehow, without Padmé's notice, both her husband and Ahsoka were standing behind her now. "Your parents, Vader and the empress, sent you here?"

"The Amidala," Mé corrected. "And my dad goes by Anakin nowadays more times than not. Vader is mostly a ceremonial title associated with the office of the Emperor now. But yeah. They sent me."

Anakin and Ahsoka sputtered again before Anakin said, "Wait a minute. No!"

"You can't stay here? They can't want us to take care of you," Ahsoka added.

"I can take care of myself, which is why I don't like this any more than you two do. I don't know what younger, alternate versions of them are supposed to be able to teach me that they couldn't. But they insisted on this glorified grounding in preparation for me taking the Imperial throne when I come of ruling age. I couldn't talk them out of it." Mé then reached into the pocket of her cargo pants and tossed them a comm with an image receiver. "Here. That's an interdimensional time and space comm. You try talking to them. Frequency's already set."

While Anakin and Ahsoka frantically began the comm call, Padmé looked at Mé and asked, "How old are you now, dear?"

"Fifteen standard years," the teenager replied.

Ah. Padmé could just imagine why she was a handful for her parents. Padmé remembered the trouble Ahsoka had gotten into at that age. And according to Obi-wan, Anakin had been just as troublesome. More, in fact. The two were still trouble even as adults.

Finally, she asked the girl, "Was your journey long? Would you like something to eat?"

"Sure," Mé said slowly with her eyebrows raised, and her demeanor was so much like her mother's Padmé wanted to laugh. "This isn't weird for you? Considering I'm technically their daughter."

They both glanced over to where Anakin and Ahsoka were arguing with the small full-colored holograms of their counterparts through the comm. Anakin with a finger pointed sternly at the image of a calm, seemingly amused empress and an unimpressed looking emperor at her side while he spoke something in huttese. Next to him, Ahsoka stood with her arms crossed, a hip cocked, and lips pursed in displeasure.

"I've gotten used to weird when my husband is involved, Mé. Now, do you have a sweet tooth like your mother or like spicy foods like your dad?" Padmé asked.

"Both," Mé admitted with a smiled. "I guess while I'm here, I might as well take the opportunity to ask you about the Republic. There are remnants of it left in the Empire, but other than that, I don't know how it worked. I think understanding it, its flaws, and its benefits could help me better be able to spot flaws in our current Imperial structure and try to improve upon them when I'm Amidala."

A little ways away from them, Padmé heard Ahsoka say to her other self, "I don't know what makes you think if you can't handle your teenage daughter that we can. Besides, I'm already playing with fire and a huge diplomatic incident with my refugee activities and starting a new era of Force users. This is the exact type of thing that could lead to an interdimensional time and space incident that the Jedi were worried about."

"I'm failing to see how this could lead to such an incident," Anakin's other self said.

"Because if anything happens to her while she's here, you'll both find a way to bring the full might of your Empire to this timeline," Anakin exclaimed. "I know that. It's exactly what I'd do."

"I don't see the problem then. You're just not going to let anything happen to my daughter," Anakin's other self replied.

"Vader," Anakin growled. "You can't be serious."

"I'll be happy to discuss it with you," Padmé said gesturing for Mé to follow her into the house with Luke and Leia, who were curiously looking at the newcomer. "Looks like they're going to be a while."

AN: It's over guys. Sort of. I've got a lot more to write, and I'll take requests so leave them in the comments and if it sparks my interests, I'll write it. That said, here's a bit of trivia about this story and some of my thought processes when writing it.

1) In the initial conception of this (in my head), the alternate future Ahsoka wasn't supposed to be Empress, but the more I thought about it the more the idea made sense.

2) Also, in the original conception of this, the Ghosts were after Ahsoka not just because they were trying to get rid of her, but also they were also trying to get rid of Luke and Leia with the assumption that she was actually their birth mother and their human side was simply dominant. But I scrapped that, even though there are many people in the Empire who aren't convinced she's not their birth mother.

3) Originally, Ahsoka being Empress was supposed to be the last surprise of the story but I had no clue how or why that wouldn't eventually have to be revealed sooner, especially when Vader's identity was revealed. It would be the natural assumption and while the alternate Ahsoka "lies" by omission, she doesn't ever outright lie in the story. So to stay consistent, it ended up being revealed, and Mé ended up being the last reveal of the story.

4) Speaking of Mé, it's a little shocking to me how easy it was to disguise that Vader and the alternate Ahsoka had a third child, one that was biologically theirs. Everyone kept asking who was the Empress even though I thought it was obvious, but maybe people wondering about that made people not ask who was the heir, because even after Ahsoka's revealed as empress, she never says Leia is the heir. Note that neither time traveler says "the twins" when referring to their children. It's always the children or some variation of it thereof.

5) Ahsoka jokes that their other selves gave Anakin visions of grandeur during his brief fall to the dark side. But in reality, it's Ahsoka who gets them from her other self. Not necessarily "grandeur" but that she's more capable than she's allowed herself to believe she is. Hence the hints of trouble on the horizon due to her refugee involvement and the diplomatic incidents she's caused. Not to mention that a lot of her "help" are Force-sensitive beings that are too old for the Jedi but that she thinks deserve the opportunity to be taught anyway. But that's another story that I'm not sure I want to or will write. Use your imagination.

6) This ended up being two redemption and coming to balance with the Force stories. One of an Anakin Skywalker who's about teetering on the edge of falling to the dark side and another about an Anakin Skywalker who fell, did terrible things, and thinks it's too late to turn back and truly undo the damage, though the latter is more subtle. Mé's line that her dad goes by Anakin mostly and that "Vader" is more ceremonial hints to that.

7) I think it's obvious that Anakin and Ahsoka end up unconsciously being taken under the wing of their other selves, the same is true in reverse. Vader figures out that maybe he's been way too hard on and unforgiving of himself. The older Ahsoka truly comes to peace with and accepts the Order's sins while acknowledging the good they did, and so does Vader in his own way when he says there may be hope for the Order yet; which allows him to finally be able to say that he has an idea about what to do with their "Force user" problem and lets Ahsoka be open to it when she's avoided doing anything about it for a decade.

8) Mé is totally going to repeat history and then some by falling head over heels for a Jedi-even though she tolerates the Jedi about as much as her dad does-except it's worse because he's from a different timeline than her. Luckily, he's much going to be the more practical one about their relationship. He also happens to be five years older than her to which her mother jokes that there must be something about Skywalkers and five year age differences. Neither version of her parents is ecstatic about it when they find out and Padmé is stuck in the middle. I'll let you imagine the drama that ensues.

Alright. Anything else you can ask me in a review or PM. Until next time, LadyDae is out and will be studying for law school finals for the next month. Peace.