A few weeks later, Master Windu tracked Raphael down in the Temple Archives, where he was knee-deep in The Sith Chronicles.
"The Council wishes to see you," Windu said, his tone heavy. "It concerns Anakin Skywalker. We find ourselves at an impasse."
Raphael shut the book and followed the Jedi Master to the High Council Chamber.
The twelve Masters sat in their circular arrangement, the atmosphere thick with solemnity. Master Yoda gestured for Raphael to take the center floor.
"Young one," Master Ki-Adi-Mundi began, leaning his elongated head forward. "You have rewritten the fate of the galaxy, but in doing so, you have left us with a new dilemma: Anakin Skywalker. What are we to do with the Chosen One?"
Raphael raised an eyebrow. "I thought we fixed that. Palpatine's dead. Nobody's around to groom him for the Dark Side anymore."
"The temptation of the dark side is not the issue," Windu interjected, his voice stern. "The issue is the boy himself. We have observed him closely these past three months. His emotions run too hot. His attachment to Senator Amidala is severely compromising his training. The Jedi Code strictly forbids romantic attachment, but Anakin... he cannot let her go."
Raphael looked around the room. "So what's the holdup? Are you trying to decide whether to force him into a miserable box to make him a 'proper' Jedi, or let him off the leash to live his own life?"
Silence fell over the chamber.
"'You can't force a horse to drink,'" Raphael said, dropping an old Earth idiom. Seeing the blank stares from the Masters, he sighed and translated the sentiment into standard Basic. "Forcing him into the mold will only break him. Anakin Skywalker was never going to be your traditional, textbook Jedi. You either rewrite the Code to fit him, or you let him walk."
"The Jedi Code has stood the test of a thousand generations," Master Plo Koon said, shaking his head. "We cannot rewrite it for one man."
"Then let him go," Raphael said, holding his hands up. "Let him go to Naboo, marry Amidala, have some kids, and live a quiet life. The galaxy loses one Jedi, but gains a happy family. Sounds like a damn good trade to me."
Low murmurs rippled through the Council.
Master Yoda closed his eyes, deep in thought, the Force rippling gently around him.
"To a vote, this comes," Yoda finally announced. "Agree to let Anakin Skywalker willingly leave the Order, who does? Raise your hand."
Yoda raised his own hand first.
Master Windu hesitated for a fraction of a second before raising his.
Then another, and another... until all twelve Masters had their hands in the air.
Yoda pressed the comms button on his chair. "Obi-Wan. Bring your Padawan inside, you must."
A few minutes later, Obi-Wan and Anakin stepped into the center of the room. The young Padawan looked pale; he had clearly sensed the Council's decision through the Force.
"Anakin Skywalker," Master Yoda said slowly. "By unanimous decision of the Jedi Council... granted permission to voluntarily leave the Order, you are. Effective immediately. Keep your lightsaber, you may. A memento of your time here, let it be."
"No!" Obi-Wan blurted out, losing his composure. "This is too rash! Anakin has so much potential. He needs guidance, he needs—"
"Master," Anakin interrupted softly, his voice trembling slightly. "Thank you for fighting for me. But... maybe this is how it's supposed to be."
Obi-Wan stared at his apprentice in disbelief. Anakin avoided his gaze, looking down at the polished floor.
Yoda glanced at Raphael, silently passing him the baton.
Raphael cleared his throat. "Master Obi-Wan, Anakin... there's something you guys need to know."
Without pulling punches, Raphael laid out the "future" he knew—the timeline where Anakin fell to the Dark Side, took the name Darth Vader, orchestrated the near-extinction of the Jedi, and plunged the entire galaxy into decades of tyrannical darkness.
Anakin went entirely white, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his robes. Obi-Wan was too stunned to speak.
"...So, letting Anakin walk away is the best possible play here," Raphael concluded. "Without Palpatine poisoning his mind, and without the Jedi Code suffocating him, he gets to be a normal guy. He gets to grow old with the woman he loves. I'd call that a pretty massive win."
Anakin looked up, a storm of emotions swirling in his eyes—relief, a twinge of regret, but mostly, profound gratitude.
He took a deep breath, bowed deeply to the Council, and then turned to Obi-Wan. "I'm sorry, Master. And... thank you."
Obi-Wan's eyes were red-rimmed. He clapped a hand on Anakin's shoulder, letting out a heavy sigh that spoke volumes.
After the two departed, the chamber sat in silence.
"Avoided a great tragedy, we have. Worth celebrating, this is," Yoda suddenly remarked, breaking the tension.
Raphael smirked. "Exactly! Everyone gets a bright, shiny future. No need for the long faces."
For the rest of his time there, Raphael threw himself entirely into his studies.
He still couldn't pass a practical lightsaber exam to save his life, but his theoretical knowledge was becoming encyclopedic.
He learned the foundational vocabulary of ten major galactic languages. He memorized the coordinates of five hundred key star systems. He could even recite all seven revised editions of the Jedi Code from memory.
Occasionally, his mind drifted back to Anakin.
Did the kid leave Coruscant? Was he with Amidala? Was he actually happy?
But Raphael quickly pushed those thoughts aside. He wasn't this universe's savior; he was just a tourist passing through. He was here to farm resources, not play God.
On his 123rd day in the Temple, Raphael began studying the basic theories of ancient Sith alchemy—purely out of academic curiosity, of course.
By day 150, he was helping Master Jocasta organize a batch of lost, ancient Jedi holocrons.
On day 180, he finally managed to block five consecutive blaster bolts from a training droid. He did it purely on raw physical reflexes and technical memorization, completely blind to the Force.
Instructor Serin was legitimately shocked. "If you had even a drop of Force sensitivity, you'd be a legend," she told him.
On day 200, Raphael found a text written in ancient Sith tucked away in a dusty corner of the Archives. He spent three days translating the opening pages, only to realize it was a forbidden manual on "Force Essence Transfer." He immediately handed it over to the Masters—that kind of dark magic had no business sitting on a public shelf.
Time flew by in a blur of training and reading.
Raphael almost forgot he was in a dream.
The sunrises and sunsets over Coruscant, the tolling bells of the Temple, the physical ache in his muscles after the dojo, the quiet hum of the Archives... it all felt far too real.
Until day 365.
That morning, Raphael got up, ready for his daily meditation. He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and tried to recall chapter three of Introduction to Force Philosophy.
Suddenly, a wave of intense dizziness hit him.
When he opened his eyes, he was staring at a very familiar ceiling.
The ceiling of his Los Angeles apartment.
Raphael lay there, completely paralyzed for a long moment. A full year's worth of memories from the Star Wars universe surged through his brain. It was so vivid. The rumble of Yoda's voice, the iconic hum of a lightsaber, the glow of holographic star maps, the endless sea of lights covering Coruscant...
He slowly sat up and summoned his system panel.
[Raphael Lee : Constitution 1.5 → 1.6, Spirit 1.1 → 1.3.]
[Skills: ... (New) Lightsaber Combat Theory Lvl 4, Force Theory Lvl 4, Galactic History Lvl 4, Sith Language Lvl 2...]
[Dream World: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Core Plot Altered)]
[Available for Purchase: Anakin Skywalker's Force Affinity (Midi-chlorian Count: 20,700) — Price: $10,000,000 (99% discount applied due to massive plot alteration)]
[Available for Purchase: Complete Jedi Knight Training Memories (Includes 7 Lightsaber Forms, Force Application Theory, Galactic Knowledge, etc.) — Price: $500,000 (99% discount applied as Host has systematically studied the material)]
[Available for Purchase: Lightsaber (Customizable Kyber Crystal Color) — Price: $8,000,000 / each]
Why is it only showing Jedi stuff? The second the thought crossed Raphael's mind, the holographic panel scrolled down.
New items materialized—powers he hadn't directly encountered in the dream, but had read about in the ancient texts. The Dark Side.
[Available for Purchase: Force Lightning — Price: $100,000,000]
[Description: Discharges high-voltage arcs of Force energy to attack targets. Capable of devastating explosive damage within atmospheric conditions. Requires an adequate Midi-chlorian count (minimum 5,000 recommended) for full effect. Warning: Frequent use breeds negative emotions and pulls the user toward the Dark Side.]
[Available for Purchase: Force Choke — Price: $1,000,000]
[Description: Telekinetically crush a target's trachea. Highly effective against non-Force-sensitive humans. Warning: High risk of inducing megalomania and violent tendencies.]
[Available for Purchase: Basic Sith Alchemy — Price: $4,000,000]
[Description: Includes foundational techniques for creating Sith golems, brewing elixirs, and enchanting artifacts. Requires the Force to execute. Warning: The alchemical process relies on sacrifice and suffering; long-term study will heavily distort the user's psyche.]
[Available for Purchase: Dark Side Meditation — Price: $18,000,000]
[Description: Channels rage, hatred, and pain to rapidly amplify Force connection. Yields results 2-3x faster than Light Side meditation, but actively corrodes the soul. Warning: Highly addictive. Psychological damage is largely irreversible.]
[Available for Purchase: Fear Instillation (Mental Manipulation) — Price: $2,200,000]
[Description: Projects the user's own terror into a target's mind via the Force, triggering panic, confusion, or complete mental collapse. Highly effective against weak-willed individuals. Warning: Prolonged use eradicates the user's capacity for empathy.]
[Available for Purchase: Sith Holocron (Knowledge Base) — Price: $1,500,000 / each]
[Description: Holographic storage device containing ancient Sith lore (e.g., lightsaber forms, political manipulation, bio-engineering). Purchase grants immediate memory implantation of the Holocron's contents. Warning: The knowledge itself carries Dark Side corruption.]
[Available for Purchase: Synthetic Sith Kyber Crystal — Price: $7,500,000 / each]
[Description: Artificial Kyber crystal forged through Dark Side alchemy, typically blood-red. Once purchased, it can be manifested in the real world, though it requires a compatible hilt to function.]