#this is the grit that we SHOULD have gotten with the kenobi show

[legobiwan]

Is that even allowed in Star Wars?

[ladydimitrescuspet]

În Viață Și În Moarte - In Life And In Death

ao3 link! you have every right to yell at me over on @homoo-wan-kenobi! I'm sorry for the sad fic, inspired by this ask by @schnuffel-puschel. tell me what you all thought, and please enjoy. mild violence and reader dies, I'm sorry. if it's any consolation, I cried writing this.

tu esti totul pentru mine - you're everything to me

***

Alcina had instructed you to stay in one of the rooms in the east wing of the castle, telling you not to open the door for anybody that was her, her daughters, or your handmaiden.

“I don’t care what commotion you hear outside this room, do not open this door for any reason. I need you to stay right here, draga mea, and I need you to take care of yourself and the baby.” Alcina said before she kissed your forehead.

“Come back to us, please.” You said softly as you squeezed her hand tightly, a move that she reciprocated.

That was four days ago. There wasn’t much commotion to be heard outside the door, just the wind howling outside your window. Your handmaiden brought you your meals whenever she could, often leaving you something to snack on just in case one of your meals was late. You’d often try to open the door, but soon realised that it was locked from the outside so despite Alcina’s words, you couldn’t let anybody in any way.

Pacing back and forth didn’t help with your anxiety over what was happening. What exactly was happening? Alcina didn’t tell you as she rushed you slightly to the other side of the castle. You jumped when the door to your room opened, hiding under the covers.

“Hello?” A voice called out. It definitely wasn’t Alcina. No, the voice was unfamiliar, but it sounded like a man’s voice. “Is anybody here?” The voice asked.

You slowly came up from under the covers, revealing your presence in the room. “Who are you?” You asked.

“My name’s Ethan Winters. What’s yours?” Ethan replied as he walked over to where you were on the bed.

"My name's Y/N. May I ask what you're doing here in the castle, Mr. Winters?" You asked.

"I'm looking for my daughter, Rose, they're keeping her here. Have you seen her?" Ethan asked. You shook your head. "I see you're having a baby too, right?" Ethan gestured to your protruding belly.

You smiled. "I am, she'll be born quite soon, actually." You replied.

Ethan nodded. "Well, we best get you out of this place. I'm sure the news of those monsters in this castle having my child worry you about them taking yours." Ethan replied as he grabbed your hand to pull you out of the bed, you resisted. "Y/N, what's wrong?" Ethan asked.

"The Lady of the castle has instructed me to stay here for my own safety." You replied. "She's taken very good care of me for well over a year, Mr. Winters."

Ethan scratched his head. "And you trust her?" You nodded your head. "Are you under a spell of some sort? Don't you see that she's just keeping you safe until she can get her hands on your child?" Ethan asked.

You slowly got out of the bed. "Alcina would never do anything to harm me or our child, Mr. Winters." You replied. "I'd really like it if you left the room or better yet, left the castle. Your daughter is not here, I'm afraid you've been misinformed." You explained.

"Maybe I have, but I can't just leave you here." Ethan said before grabbing your hand and pulling you out of the room.

You struggled against him. "Mr. Winters, please, I'm perfectly safe. I appreciate your concern." You tried tugging your arm free but his grip was too tight. "Mr. Winters, you're hurting me." You whimpered slightly.

He stopped and let go of your wrist. "Sorry." Ethan said before he started walking again. You followed after him. "How do you get out of this place?" He muttered to himself.

"I can help you find the way out." You replied. "The front door should actually be open and then you're good from there." The two of you walked down the stairs. A maniacal laugh rang out. "Just keep going. That's probably Daniela."

You'd been right. "Y/N?" Daniela asked.

"Hi, Dani. I was just showing Mr. Winters the way out. He won't be bothering us anymore." You replied. You tried to open the front door but it wouldn't budge. You frowned. "Dani, why does Alcina have the front door locked?" You asked, turning back around to face her.

"To keep him from going out. Why aren't you in the room, Y/N? Mother's going to be very crossed with you." Daniela replied. "Cass! Bela! Mr. Winters is by the front door, if you're around." Daniela called out before she went to grab your hand.

"Don't touch her." Ethan said as he pulled out his gun.

You gasped. "Mr. Winters, what are you doing? Put the gun down." You said. "Please."

"Y/N, you really shouldn't witness what I'm about to do." Ethan replied. "Take this key, it'll lead you to the Courtyard. Whatever you do, don't turn around for any noises that you hear." Ethan handed you the key.

You shook your head and dropped the key to the floor. "No, I won't leave you alone with her." You replied. "Everything's going to be fine, Dani, I'm just going to help him leave the castle grounds and then I'll be back." You said.

"No, Y/N, you're not allowed to leave the castle, not with the baby on the way. Just go back to the room before Mother finds it empty." You nodded your head and turned to leave, but then you heard Ethan fire his gun, the bullet missing Daniela. "You son of a bitch." Daniela gritted through her teeth as she lunged forward towards him. You heard another two shots fire and then you heard a ringing in your ear and the faint sound of someone saying your name "Y/N? Y/N? Hey, stay with me." Daniela held you in her lap.

"What hap-" You couldn't get the whole question out.

"Cass! Bela! Mother! Please, come quickly!" You heard Daniela yell as loudly as she could. "You monster. Why the fuck would you shoot her?!" Daniela screamed at Ethan.

"I'm sorry, she got in the way. It was for you, only or you." Ethan was paralysed with shock, realising what he'd done. He dropped his gun.

You could hear the faint sound of buzzing and then faint clicking and clacking of heels. "Da- Dani, the b-ba-baby," You croaked out.

Daniela spoke to you through tears. "Shh, Y/N, Mother's almost here. She'll help you. You'll be fine. And the baby will be fine." Daniela rambled as she held onto your body tightly.

"Daniela? What happened?" Alcina asked. Daniela looked up at her. Alcina's eyes came upon your body and she turned to Ethan. "You fucking rat! What have you done?!" Alcina was furious. She wanted that man dead. You could hear the sound of blood squelching as she impaled Ethan with her claws, not stopping until her dress was covered in his blood or one of her daughters pulled her off.

"Mother, Y/N's losing blood fast, and the baby..." Daniela trailed off.

"Call Mother Miranda. Have her and Heisenberg get here as quickly as they can. Take Y/N to the sitting room and put her in a comfortable position." Alcina instructed her daughters. Alcina picked up Ethan's bloody body. "By the time I'm done disposing of his body, they should be here." Alcina left the room without another word.

You always thought a gunshot would kill someone instantly. You'd gotten hit in the shoulder and the chest. The shot to your chest should've been fatal, but here you were being carried by Daniela to the sitting room and being put into a comfortable position as her Mother had instructed. True to her word Mother Miranda and Heisenberg had gotten to the castle a few short seconds before Alcina came back.

"Mother Miranda, Heisenberg, she's in the sitting room." Alcina said as she guided them to where you were. Your breathing was quite shallow and it hurt to breathe. "Relax, my dear, Mother Miranda will do what she can to help you." Alcina ran her over your cheek and pressed a kiss to your forehead.

"Alcina, my dear, I don't think this'll work." Mother Miranda replied.

Alcina's face hardened. "Alci, think about Y/N and the baby." Heisenberg said. "We might not be able to save both of them."

Alcina eyes filled with tears at the thought of only one of you living. "No. No, we must help them both." Alcina said. "We can, we can deliver the baby and then tend to Y/N's wounds. Yes, yes, we'll give her the virus if we must." Heisenberg let out a deep sigh, Alcina scowled at him.

"Oh, Alcina, I'm afraid Y/N's lost more blood than I can work with. The virus won't take with the lack of blood." Mother Miranda replied. Alcina opened her mouth to protest, but Mother Miranda raised her hand. "However, I can deliver the baby if we can keep Y/N awake long enough. It's too risky to have her push with the blood loss so I'll have to cut into her."

Alcina nodded her head, taking your hand in hers. "Do what you must." Alcina replied. "I'm so sorry, iubirea mea. I've failed to keep you and our child safe, I failed at the one thing I promised you when you first came here. I failed at protecting you." Alcina pressed a kiss to the hand that she was holding.

You let out a small groan. "Al?" You asked.

"Yes, draga mea?" Alcina replied.

"The baby. Take care of her." It took you a while to get the sentence out but you managed to say it.

Alcina nodded her head. "Of course, my darling. I will protect her with everything I have in me. I won't break my promise to you twice, I wouldn't dare." Alcina could feel the tears falling down her face as Heisenberg's hand came upon her shoulder.

"You'll have to say goodbye now, Alci. It's likely that she won't wake up after the procedure." Heisenberg's word left a bitter taste in his mouth. The thought of you dying hurt him. You were like family to all of them even Mother Miranda. Heisenberg gave the hand Alcina wasn't holding a light squeeze before he walked over to the other side of the room. He couldn't find it in himself to say goodbye to you.

You could see the blurry outlines of Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela as they kneeled down beside you. You tried to give them a small smile but you just ended up grunting in pain at the attempt, coughing a bit.

"We'll miss you." Bela said. She placed a kiss to your cheek before standing up, the wetness of her tears lingering on your cheek.

Cassandra sniffled. "Terribly so. But we'll look after the little one, promise." Cassandra stroked your arm before standing next to Bela.

Daniela picked up your hand and looked up at her Mother. "It should be me lying here. His shots were meant for me, not you, you stupid little human. Why would you do that? It's not fair, you were supposed to be with us forever." Daniela wiped at her tears. "You said forever and now you're leaving us. Like two peas in a pod, you and Mother broke your promises. You stupid, stupid human, it should've been me." Daniela muttered those last few words to herself.

You gave her hand the tightest squeeze you could muster. "S-s-sor-sorry." Daniela brought your hand up to her mouth, her tears hitting the back of your hand. "Sorry."

Daniela pressed a kiss to your hand and then your forehead. "You better come back to us. I don't care how, just come back." Daniela whispered in your ear before she pushed herself up and went to stand with Bela and Cassandra.

Now it was Alcina's turn to say goodbye. You were fading faster, as your body was succumbing to your wounds.

"Y/N, my dear, tu esti totul pentru mine. Your spirit will live on in our child, I'm sure. She'll have your humour, your wisdom, and she'll have all of the love I can give her as I gave to you." Alcina placed one more kiss upon your forehead. "Goodbye, my love, may we meet again someday." Alcina went to rise but you moved your hand around to find hers. You could see her eyebrow raise through your fuzzy eyesight.

"Anastasia." You said softly. Alcina frowned. "Baby." You wheezed out.

Alcina smiled. "Anastasia. She who will rise again." Alcina said. "Sleep well, my darling. Our Anastasia will be taken care of." Alcina caressed your cheek before moving out of Mother Miranda's way.

You felt your eyes flutter close and you felt your breathing start to hurt less and less. Feeling the faint coldness of something against you as your breathing started to slow down. You heard soft cries as your hearing started to diminish. You felt at peace knowing that you were surrounded by the ones you called your family, knowing that they'd take great care of Anastasia. You felt at peace as you took your last breathe, your world now dark and quiet. As Mother Miranda had said while she sat beside you, "In each loss there is a gain, as in every gain there is a loss. and with each new ending comes a new beginning."

[shatouto]

hi yes this is another installment in the raised-as-sith anakin x jedi obi-wan au i co-write with @obiwanobi. we’ve been putting what we got so far on ao3 for archiving/organizing purposes so before you read this pls check it out first if you haven’t bc there is some semblance of continuity, thank you :’) (this installment on ao3)

content note: past psychological and physical abuse, messy healing, please proceed with care

you love him dearly

You stand alone in a great dark hall. There’s no sound but your pulse jolting in bouts inside your ears. Like the footsteps of a scared bantha. And you feel like a scared bantha. You haven’t felt like this in a long time. You used to be worth less than a bantha, with your weak hands and your small body. All you were ever able to do was get yourself and your mom hurt. You felt so bad, so very bad, so bad that you were willing to beg your mom to let you go, when this man came and swept you up. This man who called you the Chosen One. This man who you now call...

“Master,” you say, and waits for your Master to acknowledge you.

Sometimes you think it’s strange, to trade one master for another. But this Master, your Master, is a different sort. Your Master taught you how to hate the right people, in the right way; gave you a crystal and let you forge your own lightsabers. Your Master told you you were special. No, no, it doesn’t matter that you were a slave, you are special, my boy. You know you are different, do you not? That you learn faster than children your age; that your reflexes are sharper, your intuition stronger. You see things before people do, know things before people see, and do things before people know. The future and the past are sometimes indistinguishable in your dreams. Clever child, golden child, you are certainly worth more than a bantha; oh, you are worth more than the population on that sandy speck combined. You are the Chosen One! You are destined for greatness.

You were weak and small and nothing. You deserve so much more, so much more. A pity that the universe has never given you and will never give you what you truly deserve. None of that is your fault, my poor boy; they are simply too blind and puny to appreciate your capacity and recognize your power. But worry not: Your Master will give it to you. Your Master is here to help you. You love him dearly, because you are nothing without him, because the universe is stupid and cruel and you hate it for making you feel like nothing. Your Master, on the other hand, must love you dearly, or else he would not have told you all about how special you are. Would not have trained you to be so strong. Would not have given you the respectable name of…

“Darth Vader.”

The greeting sounds more like a warning, because you deserve it. “I—I’m sorry. I wasn’t strong enough.” Even your voice comes out too small.

“Little need to apologize in words, my apprentice,” says your Master. “You know what must be done. You must learn your lesson.”

You love him, you love him, you love him. You love your Master, you chant in your heart, as you hang your head and tuck your tongue back and wait like the good apprentice you are.

The first blow is always the hardest. You convulse, feeling as if a thousand red-hot needles are exploding from within your sinews. Blinding pain crackles through your body, and you scream yourself…

Awake.

Anakin sits up in his sleeping bag, panting. He thinks he heard the tail end of a scream, his own, but it’s all silent now. He’s alone in the dark, the healed stump of his right arm tingling under the prosthetic cap. He searches his psyche for the tatters of a bond between him and the late Sith Lord; there's nothing left. Darth Sidious is truly dead. Two strides away from him, Obi-Wan Kenobi sleeps soundly in his bed.

His eyes soften. The sight of Obi-Wan soothes him, reminding him of where he is in time and in space. It has been a few months since he killed his Sith Master. He is in the Jedi Temple, in quarters belonging to Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padawan Ahsoka Tano. Nobody knows he is here.

Anakin turns away as one would turn away from a too-bright light. You can’t look at the sun for too long or it’ll burn your eyes; especially if you are used to darkness. He breathes in, and out, and shakily pulls off the cover of the sleeping bag. His new metal fingertips nearly tear through the fabric.

“Anakin?”

Anakin doesn’t flinch, but his stomach flips. Obi-Wan’s silhouette slowly sits up in bed, tousled and softly rumpled and Anakin feels frighteningly tender in the chest. He keeps his head down, not wanting to meet Obi-Wan’s eyes right now.

“Anakin, is everything alright?”

Anakin mumbles out something vaguely affirmative, and pushes himself to his feet. “Fresher,” he says, hurrying away. He doesn’t return to the bedroom afterwards, but goes straight to the kitchenette and begins to prepare a rather large breakfast. He knows Obi-Wan doesn’t go back to sleep either. He wills himself to ignore the circles under Obi-Wan’s eyes, come morning.

—

“Anakin, I have been thinking,” Obi-Wan begins, as he takes their empty plates to the kitchen, where a dishwashing droid stands await. “You don’t happen to have a habit of meditating, do you?”

Anakin almost tenses up at meditating, but he only lets out a huff of breath and opens the droid’s compartment doors. He’s glad Ahsoka is away for the night, staying in her friend’s quarters or some such. If she joins in with Obi-Wan it’ll only be harder for him to reject the request. Because that’s clearly a request, no matter how fancily Obi-Wan phrases his question.

I hate it teeters on the tip of his tongue, but Anakin just answers: “No, I don’t.” Obi-Wan likes meditation, as all Jedi do. It would feel bad, be bad, to say he hates something Obi-Wan likes.

Obi-Wan hums. Dishes clink as he sets them in one by one. “Would you be so opposed to it, then?”

Anakin pulls his shields higher so that none of the screaming No no no I hate it in his mind is going to bleed through to Obi-Wan in the Force. He makes the mistake of turning to look at Obi-Wan, because he can’t help it, and he's met with a hopeful smile and gentle, crinkled eyes. He can't bear to see that smile fall. “...Guess not,” he mutters.

“I would keep you company, if that’s fine,” Obi-Wan continues on merrily, like the good-natured Jedi he is. “I mean to invite you to join me for meditation before bedtime, in fact. Is that alright?”

Anakin stares down at his mismatched hands. If there is one thing he hates more than meditating, it’s meditating with someone watching. He tries very hard not to grit his teeth.

“Of course, you don’t have to,” Obi-Wan adds, fingers briefly brushing Anakin’s flesh wrist. The sensation shoots right into Anakin’s heart. That settles it; it’s not even a question. Obi-Wan will be disappointed if he doesn’t.

“It’s alright,” Anakin says, shutting the droid’s compartment door. The timer beeps, unhelpfully helping him count down to the dreaded session.

—

“So this is meditation?” Anakin blurts.

Obi-Wan sits cross-legged on his bed, in his soft robes and sleeping pants. He opens his eyes in a quizzical gaze as Anakin remains standing. Anakin curls his hands into fists and tries not to fiddle with the hem of his tunic. Obi-Wan frowns, unfurls from his position and comes up so near that Anakin wants to hold his breath. He smells like the cotton flower-scented fabric softener, like crisp, warm laundry - he smells like hard-earned safety. “You don’t need to lie to me, Anakin,” he says, a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “I will instruct you from the beginning if you need me to, and I promise to help you with any difficulty. Now tell me: Have you meditated before?”

Obi-Wan says so, but Anakin is not about to tell him about the Sphere; about the long hours spent in that terrible spheroid room with enough space for you to wish you could move from your spot, but the walls were too smooth and curved for you to scale; about how silent it was in there save for his Master’s voice in his mind. Anakin is not about to tell this Jedi about the splatter of blood in the Sphere where he once bashed his head against until he passed out because he could not take it. How Sidious had punished him for it afterwards. How he never dared to do it again.

“...No,” Anakin says. “Show me.”

Obi-Wan nods; his hand slips down his shoulder and runs gently down his arm. Anakin blinks. Obi-Wan's touch always feels so… nice. Unhurried and mellow and never really demanding anything back. “I see. Take a seat beside me. Make yourself comfortable, please.”

Anakin crosses his legs as Obi-Wan does. Nervousness winds his core tight, makes his back rigid and ramrod straight. Obi-Wan is near him, both in physical presence and in the Force, his signature pulsing with the light of sunrays through butterfly wings.

“Relax, Anakin. Loosen your muscles”—his warm hand traces across Anakin’s back from shoulder to shoulder, then down his spine—“and your jaws.” His fingertips brush the hinge of Anakin’s jaws just as he says so. Anakin nearly shivers. It takes him longer than he thought it would, to truly follow those orders.

“...There we go,” Obi-Wan says. He draws back, and Anakin should be glad that the distracting touch is gone, but he feels disappointed instead. “Now breathe in deep. Ah, wait. Do it again, breathe in, deeper, and try to hold it. Yes, like that…”

They spend the next quarter hour or so wrestling with his breathing pattern, keeping it both deep and steady. Anakin goes from counting the beats to counting the breaths to finally not needing to count at all. And then when he thinks he’s gotten the hang of it…

“Let go? You mean I shouldn’t focus on my breathing anymore?” he asks, puzzled, bordering on frustrated. “But you just told me to be mindful of it.”

“Yes, correct, Anakin.” Obi-Wan sounds unfazed. “Be mindful of the rhythm, and keep it up. You’ve done well so far. Now you must turn your focus inwards, and meet the Force within you.”

Anakin’s eyes slide open for a split second and then fall shut again. He doesn’t understand, but he could just try. This isn’t any difficulty that he needs to bother his instructor with. He nods, and begins again. He begins with his breathing. In, and out. Slow, and steady. And now he must not think about the breaths anymore. Now he must...

The Force within him is a well of ink. Ink that glisten from black to crimson like the blood on his hand. Ink that sloshes and laps against the walls and the echoes turn into screams. A bright white fracture crackles from one corner of his vision to the other. Centipede-like arches of incandescence skitter under his skin. Drip, drip, the blood, no, the ink, it drips and it trails and it tickles his skin. There’s the familiar taste of copper at the back of his tongue, flavors just waiting to burst. Cruel laughter echoes from the bottom of the inky well, and somewhere in the thick darkness there is the outline of a woman’s silhouette, of small but strong shoulders and—

Something warm brushes his psyche.

Warm, but too close. Anakin snatches that tendril without a thought and delves counter-current through Force-realm. He forces himself to the other side, even as something shatters around him. He knows the drill. *Your self-preservation can only come at the cost of others', my boy.* Colors begin to flash, gentle and muted, bearing the fuzzy quality of memories. Sunlight flickers, filigree wings flutter, landing on durasteel grounds. He feels tears on his face and tears in his throat and his forehead is pressed close to someone else’s, someone he loves so dearly—no, not him, someone that the person to whom this mind belongs loves so dearly.

“...proud of you. Carry on, Obi-Wan. Live brightly.”

“Yes, Master.”

There's no silence more thorough than a heartbeat evening out into nothingness. There's no solitude more poignant than the company of a vanishing light. Saying goodbye is never an easy feat, even for a Jedi, and the anger and sorrow he felt—

“Anakin! Stop!”

Anakin jolts awake. A thick, ferric drop trails from his nose, warm on his lips. He opens his eyes and finds Obi-Wan beneath him, wide-eyed. His hands are pressing Obi-Wan’s shoulders into the mattress. Obi-Wan, who was teaching him to meditate, who brushed his mental shields in the process of instruction. Obi-Wan, his teacher. And if all of those images belonged to Obi-Wan…

He just broke into Obi-Wan’s mind.

Anakin scrambles back. The ink, no, the blood, now drips down his chin. It tickles. His teeth clatter as shivers rake up inside him. He clenches his jaws and stares at the ground. The sheets rustle.

“I think that’s quite enough for tonight.” Obi-Wan doesn’t sound angry, just somewhat breathless. Even concerned. Anakin doesn’t believe it. “Anakin, you’re bleeding. Do you need—”

“No.” Anakin staggers to his feet and backs away. Nothing worse than asking for more and becoming even more of a burden because everything he takes is a debt and he will pay for it. His Master always made sure he paid. “No. I’ll—I’ll clean up. I’m sorry. I’ll clean up.”

He stands there just long enough for Obi-Wan to respond - with anything, words, blows, anything. In the end, Obi-Wan only says, “Alright. Please, take care.” Anakin’s eyes flick up to find a grimace. He turns away and all but runs to the fresher, more dismayed than relieved.

Because if the punishment doesn’t come right away, that only means he’s going to have to wait.

[hellowkatey]

Febuwhump Day 1

Prompt: Mind Control @febuwhump

read on ao3

A Magnet for Trouble

"This," Anakin kicks at a ball of dust, causing the particles to go flying everywhere. "blows,"

His Master coughs, and Anakin looks up to see he has kicked the dust directly into the face of Obi-Wan. He supposes he earned the disapproving scowl this time.

"Not every mission is going to be exciting, Padawan. Sometimes we receive tasks that are a little more on the mundane side."

Anakin examines his Master's face as he continues to brush dust out of his bearded face. Though he has the typical Obi-Wan Kenobi stoicism, Anakin has known him long enough to see that he too isn't exactly pleased about their task.

Some random Outer Rim planet claimed to have found some ancient Jedi artifact, so the council sent them to go fetch it. Literally, anyone could have done this, but they decided to send a Jedi knight? Master Nu would probably love this kind of thing, but Master Obi-Wan wouldn't let him suggest that to Master Windu.

So now they're searching through this dusty old house that smells like bantha poodoo and mildew because the local officials were too afraid to touch it. Apparently even too scared to get close enough to the artifact to get a decent holo. From the dark image, it looked like a deactivated Holocron, so Anakin isn't sure what all the fuss it about.

"Why would the Jedi leave something valuable in this kind of place?" he asks, crinkling his nose at a pile of something in the corner that seems to be a source of the horrible smell.

"This house is old, Anakin. I suspect long ago it was quite elegant and beautiful. During the Great Peace, Jedi Masters often opted to retire in their home worlds or places they liked. It is entirely possible this was the residence of a Jedi Master."

"I thought Jedi didn't like material things, though. This place is huge!" They'd spent the last hour or two making their way carefully through the three-story winding home.

Obi-Wan chuckles. "We are taught not to keep material things, but that does not mean some Jedi don't like them anyway. I'm sure you and that desk of projects you have can relate."

"Those are practical, Master."

"A bolt slingshot is practical?"

Anakin looks away from the wry gaze of his Master. He may or may not have broken a mug or two with that slingshot, but it was a prototype.

They go into the next room. It's the largest bedroom by far, with a canopied bed and large heavy furniture in various places. White sheets haphazardly cover the tables and paintings.

"Surprise, surprise. Another dusty bedroom." Anakin sighs, tugging down one of the sheets to look at the painting. In the dark, it is difficult to see, but he can tell it's a portrait of a woman.

"This is the main bedroom. Perhaps our artifact is somewhere in here."

"You'd think they'd tell us where they found it."

"I suspect they forgot which room it was."

Understandable, I suppose. There are literally over twenty different bedrooms that all look similar. While Master Obi-Wan looks through the drawers of the bedroom, Anakin continues to take interest in the painting. He pulls his lightsaber out, igniting it to get a better source of light.

"What are you doing?" Obi-Wan asks, his back still turned to him.

"Need more light." He waves the lightsaber close enough to the painting to see the face of the woman. Intense golden eyes stare back at him, almost like they are locking him into a gaze. He is entranced by her dark shiny curls that cascade down her shoulders and seem to fade into the elegant dark robes she is wearing. His eyes settle at the necklace that hangs from her neck, its dark metal forming a teardrop shape with a red gem in the center.

The woman is beautiful. Scarily beautiful. Were her eyes brown she might look a little bit like Padmé, or at least how Anakin remembers her. It's been nearly eight years since he's seen her, and he misses her sweet smile dearly.

"Anakin, what have I told you about gawking?" Obi-Wan teases, tugging at his padawan braid as he passes.

"I'm not-- oh nevermind," he groans, pulling his braid back in front of his shoulder.

"I'll check the closet, keep looking here."

"Yes, Master." He lowers his saber, about to turn it off when something catches his eye. The glow of his saber shows a space at the base of the wall. Anakin crouches down, placing his hand at the baseboard, and indeed feels a bit of a draft coming from underneath.

Interesting. He puts his saber away and stands, running his hands along the sides of the painting. To his excitement, he finds a seam in the wall, hidden well by the frame. He grins and reaches out with the Force. If this is the home of a Jedi, they undoubtedly would have a secret door that is Force activated! Maybe I can figure out how to put this in my room...

The section of the wall shutters and then slides backward, revealing a darkened room.

"Oh wizard," Anakin mutters to himself, pulling his saber out. He is about to walk into the room when he turns, looking to see if Obi-Wan is anywhere near. He probably should tell his master what he found, but maybe checking it out first would be a good idea. He would hate to take him away from his search for a dead-end...

He will call for him if he finds something. If this is where the artifact is, then he can say he found it all by himself!

Anakin steps into the room, using his lightsaber to light his path. It is larger than he expected, just a desk in the far corner and a bookshelf that is now empty and covered in cobwebs. He walks right up to the desk, giddiness running through him as he spots a cube in the center of the table. He picks it up, turning it around in his hands to examine it.

The holo they gave was dark, but this seems to be the artifact! It is a dark metalloid material with markings that do look like a Holocron, but it doesn't glow blue as the ones he has seen. In fact... it doesn't seem to be a Holocron at all. If it is a Jedi thing, maybe it too responds to the Force? He closes his eyes, trying to get some sort of signature from the object, but it is like it is just out of reach for him.

Strange. He decides to show Obi-Wan and walks out of the secret room. In the light of the main room, now Anakin can see there is a latch. Oh duh, it's a box!

"Hey Master, come look at this," he calls, as he undoes the latch.

"One moment, Anakin."

With the latch open, Anakin tugs at both ends, and the cube opens at the center, sending something from within rattling out and onto the floor under the bed. He cringes, hoping he didn't break whatever it is. He crouches down, feeling around the dusty floor until his hands lie on something cool and metalloid. He draws it out, his eyes widening when he realizes it's a necklace.

The necklace from the portrait. Its teardrop design is smooth in his hand as he examines it. Somehow, as old as it must be, it isn't tarnished.

Skywalker.

He looks over his shoulder, but there is no one there. Anakin could have sworn he heard his...

Skywalker, come to me.

He looks the other way. The voice is quiet, indistinguishable of gender though it is definitely speaking basic. When it whispers his name once more he looks down at the necklace, suddenly realizing that the voice is not coming from around him, but from it.

He flips it over, revealing the beautiful red stone. It shimmers as though it is its own light source, entrancing Anakin in its kaleidoscope of colors. He runs his thumb from the side of the necklace to the stone to feel the smooth-looking gem.

The moment he touches it, he is struck with an icy chill that runs from his fingertips down to his toes. Terror fills the Jedi Padawan, and he staggers backward, his mind telling him to drop it but his body not listening. He clenches the necklace in his freezing hands, and the world around him tunnels.

Obi-Wan is going to be so mad at me...

And then there is only darkness.

_______

A clatter and a thump resonate from the other room. Obi-Wan sighs. What has he done this time? He found nothing in the closet so he heads back to see what his padawan has gotten into this time. While he had hoped Anakin would outgrow his propensity to attract trouble, it seems the sixteen-year-old is still well endowed in finding mayhem.

"Anakin, if you managed to break something--" he trails off as a chill runs up his spine. A warning in the Force. Obi-Wan puts a hand on his lightsaber and reaches out through their bond.

On the other end, he feels nothing but static.

"Anakin!" he calls, now running into the bedroom. He skids to a stop at the sight of one of the walls caved in, an open box lying on the floor, and Anakin's body slumped to the side. Though he still senses danger, he doesn't see anything that could be causing it. He drops to his knees beside his padawan, rolling him so his head lies atop Obi-Wan's legs. He lays a hand on Anakin's cheek and pulls away in horror at how cold he is. "Anakin, wake up!" he orders, shaking him firmly.

Obi-Wan gets a sudden feeling like he's been here before. For a split second, his teenage padawan becomes his graying Master lying motionless in his arms on Naboo. Panic grips him, and he grits his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut. As quickly as he sees it, it is gone.

Freezing fingers enclose around his wrist and Obi-Wan's eyes snap open to see Anakin staring back at him, but there is something off about him. He opens his mouth to say something, but before he has time to process what is happening his body is being flung across the room with tremendous force. His back slams into the wall and he sags to the ground, vision spotting with black dots.

Anakin stands now with his lightsaber in hand, and Obi-Wan realizes what is wrong with his padawan is that his bright blue eyes now shine a dusty gold.

"Padawan," Obi-Wan says carefully as he pulls himself to his feet. He doesn't dare reach for his own lightsaber. "What happened?"

"I am no padawan," he says back, his ashen face devoid of any emotion. Though it is Anakin's voice it isn't Anakin. Obi-Wan has never heard him speak in such an inflection.

"Then do tell me who I am speaking to."

"Anakin Skywalker."

Obi-Wan shakes his head. "I'm afraid not."

"I am Anakin Skywalker, and you, Obi-Wan Kenobi, will die by my hand."

Anakin raises his saber, not in his usual starting position but in Form II-- Count Dooku's preferred form for its elegance and dueling superiority. Anakin has never once taken interest in the fluidity and discipline it takes to learn Makashi.

Obi-Wan still doesn't grab for his own weapon. Anakin lets out a guttural yelp and darts forward, jabbing his lightsaber aggressively. Obi-Wan twists out of the way much to the displeasure of whatever is controlling Anakin.

"Draw your weapon, coward," he hisses.

"What have you done to him?"

Anakin's face twists into a sinister smile that Obi-Wan has a feeling will likely give him nightmares in the weeks to come. "He is my vessel. A strong one, at that, for an apprentice. I have inserted my Life Force into him, and now we are one."

The boy lunges at him again, and Obi-Wan is able to evade him once again, but this time his shoulder is grazed by the tip of the lightsaber. He bites his lip at the red-hot pain igniting his upper body but swallows it back.

"So what is the plan then? What is your purpose?"

"Does there need be a purpose besides the chance to walk the galaxy once again?"

He stares at the boy, recognizing the tell-tale shadowing of him about to strike once again. If whatever is occupying his padawan is telling the truth, then Obi-Wan knows what he must do. He finally draws his lightsaber grimly, raising it above his head parallel to the floor in the opening move of Soresu. He points in Anakin's direction.

"You will not take over the soul of a boy for your selfish purposes," he says, and then Anakin's saber is crashing against his.

Obi-Wan has sparred with Anakin so many times throughout their training. The boy is a natural with a lightsaber, and one of the best padawan fighters among his age mates. He is quick and decisive, pouring every ounce of his endless supply of energy into each brutal strike. Even with another controlling his mind, his body still moves like Anakin. Thankfully, this is a feat Obi-Wan can easily accomplish. He blocks every strike, knowing exactly what he is planning before Anakin even knows it. Every one of his jabs is met with Obi-Wan's lightsaber waiting patiently for him to catch up. With every crackle of their blades striking another, he can see the fire in Anakin's eyes grow. His golden eyes are not unlike the piercing yellow of Darth Maul, filled with hatred and anger.

Through his anger and fatigue and many minutes of combat, Anakin becomes more and more sloppy. Obi-Wan takes this opportunity to lash out with a rapid kick to the center of his chest. He goes staggering backward in surprise, and Obi-Wan is quick to sweep his legs and cause him to go tumbling to the ground.

"I see you are not used to the awkward body of a teenager," Obi-Wan says, kicking the lightsaber out of Anakin's hand and using the Force to pin him to the ground. He thrashes against the hold, but Obi-Wan is tapping deep into his Force abilities to hold him still. He can already feel the tremendous headache blossoming in his temples.

"You know you will have to kill him to stop me," The thing says lowly. "There is no other way."

"No," Obi-Wan shakes his head. "There is always another way."

"The boy is kin to the darkness. It wraps around him and he accepts it with open arms," he grins. "Anakin Skywalker is a natural in the dark side, and so you must kill him to free him."

Obi-Wan kneels down beside the restrained boy, placing a hand on his forehead despite his attempts to pull away. He looks Anakin-who-is-not-really-Anakin in the eyes, reaching out once again through their bond.

Anakin. He calls against the distant sliver of his padawan's Force presence. Come back to me, my padawan. You are stronger than it is. Fight against it. Take hold of the light.

A girthy cackle. "You think the boy can fight me? A Master of the ancient Sith arts?"

Obi-Wan smiles. Through their bond, he hears the quiet voice of his padawan. Distant, but determined.

"And you think you can silence my padawan? I assure you, I have tried. Many times."

The darkness that taints the Force suddenly begins to flicker, and the Sith's prideful face flickers with sudden worry. "This is-- this is impossible," it says.

Master! Obi-Wan hears Anakin saying with great distress, and he lays his hands on either of his cheeks.

Anakin I am here! I am with you, keep trying! Obi-Wan is growing wearier and wearier by the moment trying to keep Anakin still.

"I will not be bested!" the Sith grunts and Obi-Wan is thrown back. He manages to stay on his feet, but his hold finally slips. The bedroom erupts in a whirlwind of raw power. Loose objects and a cloud of dust fly around at terminal velocity. Obi-Wan squints through the dust storm and sees Anakin now on his feet, his saber back in his hand and ignited in front of him. His eyes stare wildly at the blade as he rotates it in his hand before looking back up at Obi-Wan with a sinister look. "Not by you, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and certainly not by a padawan."

Obi-Wan's eyes widen, "No!" he yells, lunging forward as Anakin's wrist turns to point the tip of his blade toward his own heart. Naboo flashes before him once again, and Obi-Wan is filled with a burst of energy from the Force.

He will not watch the Sith take another from him.

Obi-Wan flips through the air and manages to jam his blade between Anakin and his own lightsaber, deflecting it away from his chest and smashing his wrist in the wall. Anakin's cry of pain rings out as his shoulder dislocates from the force Obi-Wan uses. It makes him feel like his heart is tearing in two, but a dislocated shoulder is worlds better than a lightsaber through the heart. Anakin's lightsaber drops and Obi-Wan summons it to his hand with the Force. Now he is restrained once again, this time physically rather than through the Force. He can feel the heave of his padawan's chest, and the feral thrashing of his body.

Obi-Wan blankets himself with the Force, allowing it to take control of his strength. He reaches through their bond once more, pushing past the barriers the Sith had placed. To his relief, he finds Anakin's Force presence shining brightly, just lost.

I am here, padawan. Come back to me.

__________

Anakin opens his eyes and immediately closes them. His head hurts.

As his grogginess begins to clear, a few questions prod at him. Why does my head hurt? Why am I on the floor? Where is Obi-Wan?

An exacerbated exhale beside him makes him realize maybe the answer to his last question is easily answered. Anakin rolls to his side, squinting through the pounding headache at his temples. Obi-Wan lies on his back next to him, head flopped to the side so Anakin can clearly see his face. Shock pangs through him and he ignores the pain and makes himself sit up.

Bad idea. His shoulder now erupts in shooting pain, and he looks down to see it is not in the correct position. He blinks back some tears that have formed and tries to focus on his master.

Blood drips down from Obi-Wan's nose, coloring the mustache of his beard a dark crimson. He spots a char mark across his left shoulder-- from a lightsaber?-- and dark circles so dark they look like two black eyes..

"Master!" Anakin yells, grabbing him by the lapels of his robes.

He doesn't remember what happened. How they ended up unconscious in the bedroom-- which looks war-torn with kicked up dust and broken objects. A glint of metalloid catches his eye and he picks up his own lightsaber that lies in Obi-Wan's other hand. His stomach drops. What could make Obi-Wan need to dual-wield? He isn't sure he's ever actually seen Obi-Wan fight with two sabers.

Anakin reaches out through their training bond, and his master winces in his sleep. He immediately withdraws, eyes wide. Their bond is strained. Obi-Wan's shields are simultaneously locked tight and clearly on the brink of collapse. Force exhaustion.

His master isn't the only one suffering from it, either. Anakin slumps himself forward to lay on Obi-Wan's chest, careful of his dislocated shoulder. He matches his master's even breaths to calm himself down and ease his own pain. He is nearly falling asleep when he feels movement below him and fingers carefully rifle through his hair.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan says stiffly. "Why are you on top of me?"

He perks up, turning around with glee at the sound of his Master's voice.

"Have a nice nap, Master?" he says, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Obi-Wan slowly pushes himself to a sitting position. He leans his head back against the wall. "Oh, a lovely one," he says dryly. Then his expression shifts to worry. "What do you remember, Anakin?"

Question of the year. "I remember finding the secret room. And opening a box that had a necklace in it. And then... I woke up here."

"Nothing else?"

He takes a slow, deep breath. "I kind of remember hearing you telling me to come back, or something," his eyes flicker up to meet Master Obi-Wan's. "Did I pass out? Were we attacked?"

The Jedi Knight stares at him for a long moment-- so long it begins to feel uncomfortable. Anakin can tell he is not saying something important, or at least debating whether or not to actually say it.

"It seems your snooping got you into trouble again, my padawan. That necklace... held the Force presence of an ancient Sith who managed to... control you for a small while. I suspect the request was forged to lure Jedi here."

Anakin blinks with confusion. He looks at the lightsaber mark on Obi-Wan's shoulder and the pieces start to fall together.

"We fought... I did this... and I hurt you," he says, shame filling him.

"To be fair," Obi-Wan shrugs. "I accidentally injured your shoulder so don't feel bad about something you didn't consciously do."

Still, Anakin bows his head and stares at the floor. He messed up and got them both hurt in the process. Probably lost the artifact as well. When will I stop being such a screw-up?

A finger taps at his chin, and Anakin looks up to see Obi-Wan looking at him with a comforting gaze. There is no anger or disappointment in his face or the Force that flows between them. "This was not your fault, Anakin. In fact, you did amazingly. You were the one who stopped the Sith, forced it from your body and sent it back into the Force where it cannot hurt anyone anymore. You were brave and strong and didn't give up."

Anakin smiles, the negative feelings melting away easily now. Obi-Wan slowly pulls himself to his feet and reaches his hand out to help Anakin up as well.

"Come, padawan. I've had quite enough of this mission."

They begin to stagger toward the door. Anakin looks over at the painting and feels his heart skip a beat. The woman is gone now, leaving only the simple background on the canvas. In the back of his mind, he can hear her now. Feel the darkness surround you, Skywalker. Embrace it. Use it. Fuel your power and extinguish the light.

But more clearly, he can hear Obi-Wan. You are stronger than it is. Fight against it. Take hold of the light.

Their commands echo through his mind, the Sith one becoming quieter and quieter until it is gone completely. Relief finally washes through him as the darkness fades away.

They walk back through the dusty halls, slowly and leaning on one another. Anakin remembers their conversation as they walked these corridors earlier and smiles.

"I suppose this wasn't a boring mission after all,"

Obi-Wan sighs. "I should really stop wishing for mundane missions. There seems to be no such thing. We could be farming and you would find a way to attract trouble."

[hopelikethemoon]

Ghosts (Javier x Reader) {MTMF}

Title: Ghosts Rating: PG-13 Length: 2000 Warnings: Potential triggers if you have toxic family members and/or family members or loved ones with addiction. Also very mild allusions to anxiety.  Notes: You can find everything about Maybe Today, Maybe Forever here. Set October 31st 1998. Summary: Halloween festivites are interrupted by a ghost. 

@grapemama @seawhisperer @huliabitch @pedropascalito @rogrsnbarnes @thewallpapergoesorido @twomoonstwosuns @gooddaykate @livasaurasrex @ham4arrow @plexflexico @readsalot73 @hdlynn @lokiaddicted @randomness501 @fioccodineveautunnale  @roxypeanut @snivellusim @lukesrighthand @historynerd04 @mrsparknuts @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @exrebelshocktrooper​ @awesomefandomsunited @ah-callie​ @swhiskeys​ @lady-tano​ @beskar-droids​ @space-floozy​ @cable-kenobi​ @cool-ultra-nerd @himbopoes​ @findhimfives​ @pedrosdoll​ @frietiemeloen​ @arrowswithwifi​ @random066 @uncomicalhumour​ @heather-lynn @domino-oh-damn​ @cyarikaaa​ @ahopelessromanticwritersworld​ @im-still-a-pieceofgarbage @ksgeekgirl​  @yabby-girl​ @xqueenofthecraziesx​ @punkass-potato​ @coredrive​ @pascalesque​ @theduchessofkirkcaldy​ @queenquazar @sabinemorans​ @buckstaposition​ @holkaskrosnou​ @yespolkadotkitty​ @fleetwoodmactshirt​ @seeking-a-great–perhaps

“Well, aren’t you the cutest little pumpkin I have ever seen.” You said with the put-on voice that always managed to make Sofía giggle. She clapped her hands together as she rocked back against Javier’s chest. She reached up and tried to pull off the headband that was made to look like the stem and leaves of a pumpkin. 

“You’ve gotta keep that on, sweetheart.” He told her, batting her hand away from the headband. “You still dressing up, baby?” Javier questioned, giving you a pointed look. 

You looked down, gesturing to your sweatpants with a grin, “What? You don’t know what Morticia wore when she was at home?” You leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips. “It should take me ten minutes tops.”  

“Mommy!” Josie cried out as she ran down the hallway. “I can’t find my candy basket! I looked everywhere!”

“It’s on the kitchen counter.” You told her, before looking back at Javier. “I don’t know how I feel about your slicked back hair.”

Javier arched a brow, “It was your idea.”

“I know.” You laughed, shaking your head. “Josie-Jo, can you sit with your father while I get ready?”

Josie ran past you with Stevie hot on her heels. You watched, in mild horror, as she climbed over the back of the sofa to get to Javier. 

“This isn’t a jungle gym.” Javier reminded her, before you even had a chance. 

Stevie started barking, ignoring her pursuit as she ran towards the front door a split second before someone rang the bell. 

“I’ll get it.” You told Javier as he corralled the children. “It’s a little bit early for trick-or-treaters.” You commented as you grabbed the dish of candy off the table in the kitchen and headed for the front door.

“Stevie. Hush.” You snapped your fingers, scolding the dog with a look. She took two steps back and sat down obediently. “That’s a good girl.” You gave her a head pat, before turning to the front door.

“Happy Hallo—“ Your enthusiasm was cut short as you pulled the door open. It wasn’t a gaggle of costumed children waiting beyond the door. But it was certainly frightening. 

A different kind of ghost. 

“What are you doing here?” You questioned, stepping out onto the front stoop and pulling the door shut behind you. 

How long had it been? Twenty years? And over the course of those twenty years you hadn’t once regretted leaving her in the past.

“It’s so good to see you, sweetie.” She clasped her hands together as she rocked on her heels. “I’ve missed you.”

“Let me ask again. What are you doing here?” You kept the bowl of candy in between the two of you, like it was a shield that would keep her from getting any closer. 

“I came to see you.” She edged closer, “I’m clean, sweetheart. You don’t have to worry about me anymore, I—“

“I didn’t.” You cut her off. “The only time you ever cross my mind is when I wonder how I managed to get through that part of my life.”

“I know.” She shook her head, before offering you a rather disarming smile. “I’m so proud of you. You’ve done so much. Who would’ve thought that my baby girl would amount to so much.”

“You have to leave.” You said without emotion, despite the storm of emotions you felt in the pit of your stomach. Even your chest felt tight as a wave of anxiety, one that had only ever been reserved for your mother, washed through you. 

She held up a hand, “I want to meet my grandbabies.”

“No.” You clenched her teeth together, “They don’t need to be brought into this same toxic cycle I was caught in. No.”

The front door cracked open and you turned to see Javier standing there, “Baby, you good?”

You bit down on your bottom lip, giving the faintest shake of your head as you caught his gaze. You tried to convey everything without words and he got it. 

“They’ve got the girls,” He assured you softly as he stepped out onto the stoop, pulling the door closed behind you. Javier took the bowl of candy from you, sitting it aside on the small bench that sat on the stoop. 

“Thank you.” You whispered, the chill that had settled into your veins quickly chased away by his warmth as he settled a hand on the small of your back. 

“Can I help you?” Javier questioned, fixing your mother with a look, his other hand resting at his hip as he stared her down. 

“Sweetheart, aren’t you going to introduce us?”

You swallowed thickly, a humorless laugh escaping you. “Javier, this is my mother.”

“Shit.” 

“It’s so nice to meet you,” She remarked as she extended a hand. Javier didn’t offer his, but your mother didn’t let that deter her. “I’m sure you’ve gotten an earful about me. I’m better. I promise.”

“Married again, I see.” You gritted out, catching the glint of the ring on her finger. 

“We met in rehab.” She explained, “He’s got a daughter about your age.” 

“Congrats.” You offered, leaning into Javier as he ran his hand over the small of your back. “I’m glad you’re alive I guess, but… we have plans.”

“I don’t mean to be a burden, sweetheart. It’s just… after I saw that article, I was just so proud of you. Look at you — you’re a mother.”

You scoffed, “That’s definitely the thing to be proud of.” You tilted your head to look at Javier. “I can’t do this. Please make her leave.”

Javier gave a short, “Whatever you need, baby.” He released his hold as you turned away, “I’ll be in, in a minute.”

You offered your mother a tight lipped smile. “Have a safe trip back to wherever. I hope you’re really clean this time, Becky.” 

What a fucking nightmare. 

Stevie barked as you stepped back inside, “Shh. It’s just me.” You said as you knelt down and gave her a scratch behind the ear. 

She kept close to you like she was your shadow as you headed back into the bedroom to get ready. Not that you felt particularly celebratory now. Somehow, after all those years — she could still manage to zap the life out of you. 

“It’s Monica.” She offered as she knocked at your bedroom door.

“It’s unlocked,” You told her, running a brush over your hair. 

“Hey,” Monica started. “Who’s the woman Javier’s talking to?”

You rolled your eyes, “The wicked witch of the west.” You gestured to the wig laying on the bed. “Do you still get Morticia vibes without it?”

“You look gorgeous,” Monica assured you, though her brows drew together with concern. “I’ve only ever heard you refer to one woman as a witch.”

“Yeah.” You folded your arms across your chest. “There’s a lot to unpack there and I just want the girls to have a good night.”

Monica sat down on the foot of your bed, smoothing her hand over the blue gingham skirt of her Dorothy costume. “Why is she here?”

“Regret? A bid for sympathy? She ran out of people to use?” You questioned bitterly. “Fuck, I hate this. It’s all because of that stupid article.” 

You sank down in the small chair in the corner,  and Stevie laid down directly at your feet. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

You made a face, “Yes. No.” You looked away, biting down on your bottom lip hard enough to taste blood alongside the taste of lipstick. “It’s been twenty years. I left and I never looked back, Monica. I had plans for my life and none of them would’ve happened if I stayed caught in her web.”

“I know the feeling.” Monica offered you a sympathetic smile, “Remember what you told me and Connie. It’s okay to cut out of toxic people.”

“Apparently she’s clean.” You blurted out, still actively processing everything that she’d said in that short window of time. “But I know how it goes. She married someone from rehab. I think the last one was too… twenty years ago.”

She arched a brow at you, “Is she why you’re so weird about marriage?”

“Yeah.” You rolled your eyes. Your mother would show up mere months after you figured out how to overcome that hang up. “My childhood was shit. The men she brought into my life were monsters. I don’t want that around my girls.”

Javier walked in then and his expression was heavy when he met your gaze, “I had to compromise to get her to leave, baby.”

You pushed your fingers through your hair, looking towards the window then. “What?”

“She’s gonna come back tomorrow. I’ll take the girls the Murphys—“

“You’re not leaving me alone.”

“— and come back.” Javier frowned at you. “Baby, we don’t have to go to this. There will be other Halloween parties at the school.”

“No.” You shook your head. “Josie only gets one kindergarten Halloween party. You stood up then, glancing at your reflection in the mirror. “This is good enough. Let’s just go.”

Javier looked towards Monica then, before looking back at you. “Are you sure you’re okay, baby?”

You pressed your thumb against the spot between your brows and sighed heavily. Taking account of how you actually felt. You could feel your pulse in your ears, a distinct twinge of pain in your ribs. “No. No, I’m not sure I’m okay.”

You sank back down in the chair, resting your head in your hands. “Monica, do you and Nadia mind taking them on to the school? Her class is supposed to be getting together for pictures beforehand.”

“Yeah, of course. Whatever you need.” Monica walked over and gave your shoulder a squeeze. “Nadia’s got so many Polaroid refills. We’ll take a bunch.”

“Thank you.” Javier offered as she headed out of the bedroom. 

You were both quiet for a long time before he moved to kneel down beside you, taking your hand into his. 

“Javi, don’t kneel like that. Your knees are going to kill you tomorrow.” You warned him, lifting your gaze but not quiet meeting his eyes. 

“Baby,” Javier started as he reached out and brushed his knuckles against your cheek. “We’ve gotta talk about this.”

You leaned into his touch, “I’ll meet with her tomorrow, if that’s all she wants.”

“I think it is.” Javier cupped your cheek, “Just say your piece and send her on her way. But I don’t want you to…” He pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek as he shook his head. “I don’t want you to regret this, baby.”

You chewed on the inside of your bottom lip, “I don’t want her anywhere near the girls. Their grandmother is dead.”

He nodded, “I know.”

“What did she say?”

Javier sighed heavily. “She had a whole bit about how she’s sober now and she’s just trying to make amends—“

“So she’s actually in NA again.” You shook your head, rubbing your hands together. “She’s been before. She gets sober, clings to someone new, and the cycle repeats.” 

“I know.” Javier rested his hand on your leg and gave it three short squeezes, “Look, I told her she could come over tomorrow. We can sit in the backyard and talk until you’re ready for her to leave.”

He reached for your hand, sliding his hand up to press two fingers against your pulse. 

“Javier.”

“How do you feel?”

“Like my blood pressure is through the roof.” You reported. “Trust me, I’m aware.”

He brought your hand to his lips, his breath hot against your skin. “I just want you to take care of yourself, baby. And let me take care of you.”

You smiled, “Thank you.”

“Querida Mia.” He drawled out, pressing kisses up your arm, just like Gomez did with Morticia.

You laughed, turning your hand to cup his cheek as you leaned in to kiss his lips. “I love you. I’m sorry you’ve gotten yourself dragged into this.”

“Don’t apologize, baby.” Javier’s brows furrowed together. “I’m in this together with you. Good, bad, or otherwise.”

“Those almost sound like vows,” You teased lightly, “Now stand up before you’re limping tomorrow.”

Javier snorted, chuckling as he pulled himself up off the floor. He dusted his knees off before offering you his hand, “Shall we?”

“Yes.” You stood, interlacing your fingers. “I don’t want to miss out on the festivities.” 

He squeezed your hand, “We won’t worry about tomorrow, until tomorrow. Alright?”

You agreed, “Tonight is about the girls.”

[koyacyi-vode]

Request by @tarnera-blog || Prompt from this post

Prompt 1 - "Are you drunk?"

Characters: Cody and Fox

Mando’a Translations at the bottom

---

22 BBY  6 months after the first Battle of Geonosis

Fox should have thought better than trying to hide from Cody when the 212th was stationed on Coruscant. His batchmate seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to finding him when he specifically didn't want to be found. 

But maybe he was giving Cody too much credit. If Fox really wanted to hide he would have left the military base. But he wasn't that much of a di'kut. 

Instead, he kept his gaze straight ahead on the First Battle Memorial as he heard Cody's cautious approach. His vod stopped a few feet away.

"What are you doing out here?" Cody asked quietly. 

"Getting some sunshine," Fox replied flatly, his eyes scanning the never-ending list of names and numbers engraved into the massive slab of Geonosian rock. He'd never been able to stay long enough to read them all. 

"It's 0200, ner vod," Cody pointed out, annoyed. Fox hummed thoughtfully and grabbed the nearly empty bottle of Merenzane Gold at his side. He'd gotten it as a gift from a senator for providing a protection detail that he didn’t quite remember doing. It was entirely possible the senator had mistaken him for his other Commanders. He hadn't opened it until tonight. It was smooth and warm, but it took a while to take any effect. He saw Cody stiffen in surprise in his peripheral. "Are you drunk?" 

"Very astute of you, Kot'ika. And you also know that I prefer to be drunk alone," Fox muttered, taking a long swig. He didn't drink often, because he didn't like to not be in control. He also wasn't a very pleasant drunk. 

"Shab, you're depressing," Cody groaned, but instead of leaving he sat down heavily at his side. They sat in silence for a few moments, Cody studying the memorial. Then he extended his hand to Fox, expectant. 

"I don't think you understand the meaning of the word 'alone'," Fox said icily. 

"Like I'm going to leave your miserable shebs here. But since I'm here I deserve to get something out of it," Cody retorted, flicking his fingers at Fox impatiently. Fox grudgingly handed over the bottle, glaring at the memorial in annoyed defeat. "Besides, someone has to drag you back to the barracks before the esteemed Commander of the Guard is found batnor on the ground outside," he reasoned with a smirk. Cody took a sip from the bottle. "That would put a dent into your reputation," he chuckled around the lip of the glass. 

Fox didn't respond. Normally if he heard a jab like that from Cody he would have smacked him on the shoulder. But that had hit a nerve and he didn't want to show it. He snatched the bottle from Cody's hand and drank more from it, feeling Cody's stare on the side of his face.

"What's going on, Fox’ika?" he asked, the concern clear in his tone. "Why are you haryc b'aalyc, alone, in the middle of the night, out in the cold?"

"How did you feel when you were promoted to Marshal Commander?" Fox asked, avoiding Cody's question. He fiddled with the neck of the bottle, turning it around in his hands and watching as the liquid sloshed back and forth. 

"Uh, hmm," Cody sounded surprised by the sudden question and took a moment to form his thoughts. "I was surprised. Honored, by General Kenobi's faith in me. I guess… I guess it made me feel proud," he said, looking up at the sky. The stars were hard to see on Coruscant because of the light pollution, but the hundreds of speeders that flew by in a steady flow in the skylanes were peaceful in their own kind of way. 

"I think I should have felt that," Fox mumbled, not taking his eyes off of the memorial. It had an imposing, ghostly presence at night when the spotlights shined on it. "Being assigned the Commander of the Guard. I think that's what my response should have been," he set the bottle between his feet. 

"It wasn't?" Cody asked carefully. Fox shook his head messily and it made the world spin a bit. 

"Nah. I think I was disappointed," he said, scratching at his chin. He needed to shave. "I only got to fight in Geonosis. To feel like I was really a part of - of everything. To fight with our brothers for what we were bred for," he blew out a long exhale. "We're so disconnected here. From the war, from our vode. We are closest to the Republic, but furthest from making a difference," Fox scrubbed a hand across his face in irritation. "And it makes me frustrated. And I know I shouldn't be. Did you know I have to read mission reports for the Chancellor? Every day. I read about all of my brothers who are killed on the front lines, while I'm stuck here. I send my men on diplomatic missions that they sometimes don't return from and all I can do is sign off on it. Protecting the homeworld of the Republic should feel like an honor. But it feels like a prison."

Cody was silent for a long time. Fox gritted his teeth and rocked back and forth a bit, anxiety thrumming in his veins. That wasn't something he was supposed to even think let alone say out loud. 

"Are you going to court-martial me, Marshal Commander? For my wavering loyalty to the Republic?" Fox asked, his voice hoarse and detached. 

"I don't see any evidence of wavering loyalty, vod'ika," Cody replied softly. Fox glanced at Cody and bounced his knee nervously, waiting for him to continue. "What I see is a man who takes the weight of the war on his shoulders. And who is not at fault for circumstances out of his control," Cody reached over and grasped Fox's hand in a firm grip. Fox squeezed back, the point of contact his only emotional anchor. 

"He died today," Fox choked out. "1123. He was the last of my platoon from Geonosis. Underground mine on Ryloth. I don't know if he ever even had a name," Fox fought back tears. The thirty-six men he had taken with him on a dangerous flank assault during Geonosis were some of the bravest men that Fox knew. Of the thirty-six, only twelve survived. Fox had been told that it was lucky any of them had survived at all, and that their assault had been vital for securing the region. He'd been commended for it. But he'd never considered losing two-thirds of his men a victory. After Geonosis, he was transferred to the newly formed Coruscant Guard, and his men were disbanded and placed in other battalions. One by one, he'd read out their numbers as they appeared on casualty reports. And each one was more painful than the last. "They're all gone."

Cody didn't say anything for a while. Then he reached over and wrapped an arm around Fox's shoulders. Fox momentarily stiffened. But the calming, steady presence of his vod soon melted the tension and he relaxed into the hold, his head dropping heavily on Cody's shoulder. 

"It's not any easier when you're there," Cody whispered. "The 'what ifs' and 'if onlys' are always present. Our men die, we are forced to move on, and we mourn together when we can," his batchmate's voice was quiet and calm, he was stating a fact even if it was painfully rooted in emotion. 

"I don't know what this city is going to do to me," Fox admitted, his gaze unfocused. "War is hard, but it's straightforward. The senate and the politics… they're not. I'm worried about what I'll become because of this place." That was a secret he hadn't told a single soul. Fox took it as the signal it was and decided to stop drinking for the night. He sighed and moved out of Cody's embrace. Cody let him, watching carefully as Fox wobbily staggered to his feet. Fox hooked a finger around the neck of the bottle of Merenzane Gold and offered it to Cody when his vod stood as well. Cody took it and raised an eyebrow and Fox shrugged it off lazily. 

"You deserve it for listening to me," he said, trying to lighten the somber mood. Cody frowned but nodded, picking up the cap from the ground and screwing it on. 

"You want to head inside now?" Cody asked, tilting his head towards the base entrance. Fox shrugged again, already closing himself off. They started walking slowly back. Fox felt the last bits of his vulnerability start to seal up. 

"Kot'ika," he said quietly to Cody's back. Cody looked back to him curiously. "Don't… tell anyone," he mumbled. Cody smiled, genuine and sad.

"You're safe with me, ner vod."

--

Mando’a Translations:

Di’kut - Idiot, fool (impolite) (lit. someone who forgets to put their pants on) Vod(e) - Brother(s) Ner vod - My brother (usually affectionate) (proper noun)’ika - affectionate or diminutive suffix Shab - contemptuous expletive Shebs - backside, rear, buttocks (can also mean rear of a building) Batnor - drunk (lit. on your back) Haryc b’aalyc - Tired and emotional (also another way to describe being drunk)

[jonathananubian]

Will of the Spark [SWs/Transformers Fanfic]

Synopsis: When a mysterious planet of unknown origins appears the 3rd Systems Army is sent to investigate.

While on the planet they are drawn toward a power source deep in a strangely advanced, yet completely abandoned, temple. As if possessed by some outside force General Kenobi is called to an ancient artifact. The moment his hands touched the artifact marked a turning point in the war.

The Galaxy would never be the same again.

Troopers, form up and move out!

Floating above the strangely advanced looking planet Obi-wan stood next to his former padawan on the bridge. With fingers pressed against his temple and forehead he let out a long suffering sigh as Anakin began to babble about some old myth or other from Tatooine. He had always tried to let Anakin hold on to some of his childhood, as he hadn’t wanted to strip the poor boy of his usual coping mechanisms, but the horror story he was spinning was making the younger of the vode quite nervous.

“Anakin, that’s enough.” The young man turned to give him a sour look and opened his mouth to argue. “You are scaring some of the men and in any case none of this is relevant as we don’t even know if this is the ‘mysterious’ planet of your myth or not. This is quite a ways from Tatooine after all.” He lowered his voice carefully, not wanting to make the men feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. Some of them were only shinies, new to the Negotiator, and didn’t yet realize that things like fear were emotions they were allowed to have and even show.

Standing next to him, looking over the preliminary scans they’d done on the planet, Cody leaned towards him slightly in a silent show of support. Obi-wan hid a smile and turned his attention to Ahsoka. “What do you think, padawan? What is the force telling you?” The young Togruta nibbled on her bottom lip, looking between he and Anakin for a moment before she answered.

“I don’t feel any hostility or any warnings in the force, master, but there is something… weird.” Anakin turned to regard his padawan carefully.

“What is it Ahsoka?” Closing her eyes Obi-wan could feel her reaching out to them and happily reached back. There was a faint sense of joy in the back of his mind that was not his own and he smiled.

‘This is what I feel.’ She sent along their bond. A wave of strange sensations along his head and down his back made him shudder slightly in surprise. It was not unpleasant but it was certainly surprising. ‘What about you Master Obi-wan, what do you feel?’ Shifting from foot to foot he let out a small huff. He really wasn’t sure if he wanted to share or not but it couldn’t hurt to get their impressions.

‘I will admit it is a little strange and might not translate over properly.’ He warned them before sending what he had been feeling since they entered the system. It was like hearing a song all the way to ones bones. A vibration that was filled with patience, promise, power, and fierce protectiveness. The sensation felt right, like the force brushing against his mind to comfort him when he needed it most.

‘Gah! What even is that?’ Anakin asked as he distanced himself slightly from the shared sensations. Obi-wan tried not to feel hurt at the sense of rejection and quickly withdrew his impression of the feeling.

‘I’m not sure, Anakin, what are you sensing?’ The young knight took a moment to breathe past his momentary discomfort and Obi-wan was quite proud of him for it. He knew his former padawan still had control issues but considering his strong connection with the force he did not begrudge him.

‘It’s like… like a storm.’ The sensation from Anakin felt like the crackle of lightning and the gentle humming of the hyperdrive at the same time. Both strong yet gentle and all over very warm.

‘What does it mean that we all feel something different, masters?’ Obi-wan withdrew from their mental exercise and blinked a few times to clear his mind.

“I’m not sure. It could be that we are sensing different parts of the planet or even echoes from a time long past. We will have to investigate if we want to know more.” Turning to Cody he smiled. “Have you found anything promising yet Commander?” The man inclined his head and motioned to the holotable.

“We’ve found what looks to be a temple of some sort. There is a large energy signal that appears to be in a dormant state. If we’re going to start anywhere it should probably be there.” Looking down at the strange building he slowly nodded.

“Hmm, we’ll have to be cautious with who we send. Obviously there is something strange going on in the force here so at the very least I will be coming along on any scouting missions.” Cody’s helmet tilted toward him in a manner that made Obi-wan feel sheepish. It was half incredulity and half chastisement.

“Sir, the last time you ‘felt something strange’ in the force and went down to the surface of a planet we had to put you in a bacta tank for two weeks.” Anakin scowled at the memory. It had not been a very good time for any of them.

“Even so, I insist.” The discussion went on for some time and eventually he got his wish. Even if it wasn’t quite how he wanted things to go.

“Cody, it would be inadvisable for you to come to the surface with us. You are the Marshal Commander. We can’t have three Generals, the good Captain, and yourself down on the surface. What would happen to the chain of command if something went wrong?” Of course when said Captain, Commander, and Anakin all disagreed with him he couldn’t exactly say no.

In the end both the alpha teams of Ghost and Torrent were sent along with Cody, Rex, Obi-wan, and Anakin. Ahsoka was ordered to stay on board just in case. Thankfully Anakin agreed with him on that much.

“We’ll be fine, Snips. Take care of everyone for us while we’re gone.” Ahsoka crossed her arms over her chest but relented. She gave them each a hug before they left and Obi-wan smiled warmly at her. She’d come such a long way in such a short amount of time. He was so proud of her.

Down on the planet’s surface they kept on their guard, lightsabers in hand and senses alert. They traversed the strange landscape, an odd mix of cold steel and organic life that was growing between the cracks. So far they had sensed no other lifeforms and it was eerily quiet, making the poor troopers jumpy.

The temple itself was, in a way, quite beautiful. Every inch of its surface had been carved with intricate designs that seemed to flicker with light if one stared long enough. It was almost like the temple was only sleeping and was just waiting to be awoken. There was a feeling of power thrumming through their feet as they approached, gaining in power the closer they came to the entrance. It was a good thing they’d left Ahsoka, he was certain that the sensation would have been too much for her adolescent montrals to handle. Hesitating a moment he turned to Anakin.

“I wonder if this is the sensation the force was warning your dear padawan about.” The blonde looked at him thoughtfully and nodded.

“It’s a good thing we left her on the Negotiator.”

“Indeed. I wonder if-” As they were talking the troopers who had taken point suddenly froze, guns up. They had passed what at first looked to be small embellishments on the sides of the wide thoroughfare and it appeared to have triggered some sort of defense mechanism. Large canons rose out of the ground and Obi-wn felt his heart stutter in his chest. Behind them he heard the same groan and hiss that preceded the guns and sure enough another set were rising from the ground behind them.

“Run! Toward the temple!” Turning he blocked a couple of shots with his lightsaber and grit his teeth at the strength of them. They were nothing short of heavy artillery and he knew if they remained out in the open they would all be killed. Somewhere behind him he could hear Anakin deflecting the bolts back at the guns and flinched when an explosion sent a wave of force into his back.

Thankfully the guns were old and slow, their shots going wide after years of disuse and the vines that had wound around them over however long they had been left to rust.

Plastering himself against the wall he looked over at Anakin who was frantically searching for something along a wall. “What are you doing?” He called over, ducking so the guns couldn’t get a bead on him.

“Trying to find some way to shut the door!” Obi-wan rolled his eyes and reached out with the force. The half open doors let out a low groan and his foolish former padawan finally got the point. Together they shut the large metal doors and felt relief pour off the troops.

“Kix, is anyone injured?” To everyone’s surprise no one was hurt more than a few nasty scrapes and bruises.

“Now we just have to find a way out of here.” Anakin supplied cheerfully. Obi-wan sighed, he felt a headache coming on.

“Sirs? I’m getting some strange energy readings.” One of Anakin’s ARCs said, holding up a datapad. Obi-wan recognized Echo and smiled.

“Have they changed from before?” Anakin leaned over the trooper’s shoulder, looking at the datapad with interest. The man held the datapad a little higher so his general could see and Anakin made a noise that was somewhere between ‘that looks interesting’ and ‘I’m a little worried about that.’ Obi-wan had gotten very good at interpreting the random noises his former padawan made, especially during his teenage years.

“I think the guns had their own secondary energy source, the temple itself still looks inactive. Although… that energy signal we were getting before has… moved.” Well that didn’t bode well at all.

“Moved where?” The trooper looked down at his datapad for a moment before taking off toward the far side of the enormous hall. He walked along the far wall for a moment before reaching above his head and pressing his hand against it. A panel lit up then went dormant again.

“There is energy gathered here but it seems to be on standby, cycling through different states. Almost like a pulse.” Curious Anakin walked up next to the ARC and reached out. The moment his hand touched the panel it lit up and changed from a dull yellow to a deep blue. A door about three times the size of a baseline human shot open and small lights flickered along the floor, as if encouraging them to move onward.

“I… okay I have no idea why that worked.” Echo and Anakin shared a confused look for a moment before the trooper began scanning the wall, the panel, Anakin, and the open hall. The man frowned as he tapped away at the pad, his tongue sticking out slightly in concentration.

“I have no idea either. Do you think it has something to do with the force, General?” Both of them looked at him and Obi-wan had to hide a small smile. Anakin was standing right there and yet…

“Perhaps. I didn’t feel Anakin use the force but it may be that this place can sense force sensitivity and only responds to someone powerful enough to meet some unknown parameter. Maybe I’ll give it a try next time. For all we know it will only respond to Anakin.” Everyone looked at the blonde and he felt curiosity, awe, and even a low-key suspicion. But the men had been through enough strange force happenings that he didn’t comment on their wariness.

“Want to see where this goes, Obi-wan?” Anakin gave him a mischievous smirk and he sighed.

“Well, I don’t see any other way forward, do you?” His former padawan held up his lightsaber in response and the grin widened when Obi-wan gave him the look.

They followed the halls carefully, Obi-wan and Anakin taking point. Echo occasionally mumbled something or other to himself before calling out directions or new information from his scans. They were getting close to the energy signature. Finally they came to another closed door and Echo quickly pointed out the panel. Anakin pressed his hand to the wall but nothing happened. He looked over at Echo who frowned and did another quick scan.

“That’s the correct spot alright, not sure why it’s no working now.” As the two of them were talking Obi-wan stepped closer to the door and placed his hand against it, trying to get a feel for what was behind it through the force. What met him was was the sensation of singing and he jerked back. Only Cody noticed as everyone’s attention was either on Anakin or watching the hall for possible danger.

“General?” Cody asked him quietly, cupping his elbow as if to steady him. He could feel the man’s concern for him and smiled reassuringly.

“It’s nothing, Cody. Just…” Something was calling out to him in the force. Stepping up to the wall he reached up and pressed his hand to the panel. Time slowed and he felt a shiver as something flowed through him. Whatever it was it felt intelligent, almost sapient, and it was judging him. There was a sound like a bell and the door shot open, making the men behind him jump and point their weapons at the opening. Obi-wan felt eyes on the back of his neck and tried to ignore it as he cleared his throat.

“Shall we?” Rex and Cody shared a look, their buckets only turning toward each other a fraction but it was enough.

They all piled into the room and marveled in awe at just how absolutely massive it was. Pillars went high into the ceiling and were lost in the murky darkness above them. On the ground the lights continued to pulse, as if drawing them further inside. All around him he could feel the song rising and falling in a slow rhythm he could feel in his bones. Anakin stood back, near the wall, and grimaced.

“What the kark is that shrieking sound!?” Rex, Oddball, and Wooley also winced and stayed back near the door, looking highly uncomfortable and possibly in pain.

“But… wait… you don’t hear the singing?” Echo asked, eyes wide as he and Cody fell into step behind Obi-wan. A moment later Tup scuttled forward, body language hesitant but also curious.

“Shrieking? Singing? What the hell Rex? Echo?” Fives barked. The rest of the troops looked between the two groups carefully, confused and not noticing anything out of the ordinary.

Like a man possessed Obi-wan felt a pull toward the center of the chamber. Something sparked in the air and lights began to slowly flicker to life. Echo looked at his datapad. “The power source is somewhere in this room… the energy levels are rising. I think it’s waking up.” There was a spike of wariness from Cody as he pulled his carbine up and pointed it past Obi-wan, determined to protect his general.

The middle of the chamber floor opened and Obi-wan paused, yet he did not sense an ounce of danger. Something slowly rose out of the hole in the floor and Obi-wan stepped forward into the abyss. “Gener-” Cody reached out to him but stopped, as if sensing the same thing Obi-wan could. A feeling of acceptance and safety enveloped him in the force and as he planted his foot a set of stairs rose to meet him.

Climbing the staircase he left the others behind him as the singing became louder, notes he could not hear before becoming clearer. Stepping onto the platform he looked to the golden object floating in what appeared to be some sort of stasis field. Before he realized it he had crossed to the center of the platform and was reaching out to grasp the golden thing, which sparked and glimmered as his fingers curled around it. The singing rose to a crescendo and without warning- stopped.

Whispers from foreign voices entered his mind but his body locked in place. He was unable to release the steadily glowing object nor could he walk away. There was a pressure behind his eyes and it felt as if someone was pressing against his mental shields, demanding he open himself to them. He begged the force for guidance and received a wave of comfort-reassurance-safety. Hesitantly Obi-wan Kenobi let out a shaky breath and just let go.

A thousand lights exploded behind his eyes and forced him to his knees. Tears ran down his cheeks as his mind filled with a burning light that scoured his every thought and deed. By the time it was finished he was left sprawled on the cool metal floor, mentally exhausted and feeling as if someone had forcefully separated his soul from his body.

‘We have seen the truth of your spark, the strength of your spirit and depth of your love. Long have we waited for a bearer such as you. Rise, Kenobi Prime, and reassure your people that you are safe.’ Twitching as the voice faded the world outside suddenly reasserted itself and he finally recognized the voices calling to him.

“Sir? General? Obi-wan!” Rising from the cold floor he stumbled to the edge of the platform and let out a low groan.

“I’m fine Cody, how are the men?” Blinking at the humanoid form that had rushed up the stairs to meet him he stalled in confusion.

The being before him certainly reminded him of his dear commander, at least the armor was mostly right and the goldenrod designs were all where they should have been… and yet at the same time the being standing before him was entirely foreign. Two amber lights shone from beneath a visor and he blinked at the familiar pattern of a scar curling down the left side of his commander’s face.

“I think we may have a problem, General.” Obi-wan let out a sigh as Anakin’s panicked voice reached him from the main floor.

“Yes, I believe we do.”

[nitewrighter]

May the Fourth be with you. (Gency Star Wars au please).

Also seeing as it’s May 4, I’m also going to plug my Star Wars OC fic “Wake” here if anyone’s interested in reading a story about a Jedi Healer and a Mandalorian trying to survive Post-Order 66. This fic however, is going to take place shortly after the fall of the Empire, back when Luke was establishing his own Jedi order.

—-

“Are you sure about this navigator?” Hanzo murmured as the two of them walked toward the cockpit.

“We’re past Hutt-charted space and with the feedback from the moons messing with our instruments this much, at this point, she’s our best bet if we’re going to find those caves,” said Genji, craning his neck slightly to see the willowy hooded figure a short ways ahead.

Hanzo pressed a hand to his forehead, “We’re dead,” he muttered.

“I thought we agreed we’d stay positive, brother,” said Genji.

“You’re positive, I’m realistic,” said Hanzo, “And of course you’re willing to bet our lives on a pretty face.”

Genji just huffed and elbowed him and they both shut up as they entered the earshot of their navigator. Hanzo was right. She was unnervingly pretty. A half-Diathim who towered about a head and a half taller than him, Mercy had a faint yellow-moonlike glow to her and large eerie ghost-blue eyes. two slits had been cut in the back of her cloak to accommodate her two membraneous wings that trailed only halfway down her back. She glanced over at him and smiled as he and his brother took their seats on either side of her to switch off of autopilot. He smiled back, felt Hanzo glaring at him, then turned his attention out the window of the cockpit.

“This is so exciting,” she said, looking at the fizzing and incomprehensible readings on the Ichimonji’s navigational monitor, “It’s an honor to help out the rebellion. It’s an honor to help real Jedi–”

“Not Jedi–” Genji quickly corrected her.

“Historians,” Hanzo peppered in.

“And it’s important to find alternatives to Ilum,” said Genji.

They were lying to her. They felt awful about it, but it wasn’t like her people were using all those Kyber crystals anyway. They could stand to part with a few handfuls.

“But you’re with the rebellion! You’re restoring the Jedi Order!” her voice was bright and Genji’s stomach twisted in knots, “You know, Masters Kenobi and Skywalker saved my people from the Confederacy years ago, and we still tell stories of them to this day.”

Yes we definitely care who those are, thought Genji, looking out the window. The thousand moons of Iego and their intersecting gravitational fields made the space around them a veritable minefield of debris, but she seemed to effortlessly chart their course through it. It was another couple hours before they reached their destination, though.

“Welcome to Thysoi,” she smiled as she brought them through the moon’s atmosphere. Thysoi was a craggy volcanic tundra of glassy violet-colored rock formations with steaming fissures and sulfrous-smelling multicolored pools. Contrasting against the violet of the environment though, were veins of bright blue wildflowers.

“So your people just… keep caves of Kyber crystals hidden away?” said Hanzo, gingerly stepping around a steaming fissure.

“We did not want further conflicts arising over Iego after the Clone Wars,” said Mercy, “We found our best means of protecting ourselves was keeping our resources secret.”

“Including the mountain of Kyber hidden on one of your moons.” 

“We mostly kept to Millius Prime,” said Mercy, “Empires and rebellions have come and conquered my people so many times, many different Diathim civilizations scattered among our moons were born and lost with the wars,” she gestured at a ruin that had to be hundreds of years old, “Including Thysoi. For a time, whole chapters of our history were lost among these moons as we focused on survival… My people, of Millius Prime, actually weren’t aware of these caves until after the battle of Endor. They started… singing to us.”

Hanzo rolled his eyes but Genji was fascinated by this.

“That’s how you know your way through all the debris fields,” said Genji.

“Yes!” said Mercy, excitedly, “Oh! You must have read Jovdan Saareti’s dissertation on the Journals of the Whills!”

“…yes, that is… definitely a thing I have read…” said Genji.

Hanzo dragged his hand down his face.

“Oh this is so exciting!” said Mercy, “Helping real Guardians of the Whills! You must take me with you when all this is done!”

“What?!” Genji and Hanzo spoke at the same time.

Mercy’s face dropped. “I–I won’t get in your way. My people have feared getting entangled with the Rebellion, but I can’t simply sit and let us be conquered by whoever’s in charge over and over again. When I get you these crystals, I want to come with you–And see the rebellion,” her eyes sparkled, “And meet Jedi!” 

“I…” Genji started, having a lot of trouble saying no to those big eyes.

“Absolutely not,” said Hanzo.

Genji looked over at Hanzo with some indignation but Hanzo gave him that steady glare. “It’s too dangerous,” said Hanzo, turning his attention back to the half-diathim, “You’re risking too much just showing us where these caves are.” 

“But the rebellion could use healers, couldn’t they?” said Mercy, “I’m pretty accomplished in my town, but I feel like I could do more…” 

“Oh–well–Healers…are… needed everywhere!” said Genji, “You’re just as useful around Iego as you would be in the rebellion!”

Mercy pursed her lips as they reached the mouth of the cave. “So you don’t want me to come?”

“We would love if you came,” said Genji as the three of them walked in. Her diathim glow became even more apparent in the darkness of the cave. 

“Genji,” Hanzo said his name through gritted teeth.

“But it’s far too dangerous–especially transporting something like Kyber across the outer rim,” Genji took her hand, “If anything happened to you–”

“Genji,” Hanzo said again with a huff and Genji released Mercy’s hand. 

“We should find and stow some of this kyber first, shouldn’t we?” said Genji, smiling and lighting up a couple of glowrods and handing one to her. She smiled as well.

The cave dipped deep, deep, into the surface of the moon. In certain chambers they could feel the sweaty warmth of nearby lava tubes. They would reach a fork in the cave’s path, and Mercy would easily say, “This way,” and they would continue on their way. 

Mercy, it seemed had no shortage of questions about the rebellion. She didn’t seem to have gotten that far beyond the Quarren-run spaceport Genji had found her. Thankfully the Galaxy was large enough for him to fudge up some answers for her. No, he was nowhere near Coruscant. He and his brother were Chandrilan. And he found the Jovdan Saareti dissertation on the Journal of the Whills so utterly moving that he simply couldn’t bring himself to describe them. She seemed very impressed by this. Hanzo stayed quiet for the continuation of their journey into the cave. Though there came a point in listening to Genji and Mercy talk, that Genji wondered if it was possible for Hanzo to hurt himself from rolling his eyes too hard. It was easy to lose track of time in the caves though, and they took a break and became quickly aware of how long they had been walking.

Mercy wandered off to look around the rock formations, leaving Genji and Hanzo to talk.

“I don’t like this,” Hanzo muttered.

“I know,” Genji said quietly, “She’s too nice. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.”

“You’re the one who keeps digging himself into a deeper hole in that regard,” said Hanzo.

“Oh and staying completely silent isn’t suspect at all,” said Genji, folding his arms.

“You’re just trying to impress her. Besides, that’s not what I mean. I don’t like putting all of our faith in some backwater moony when the stakes are this high.” 

“She’s not a backwater moony!” said Genji, offended, “Were you listening to her? She’s read Jovdan…Sarter’s dissertation on the… Willy thing.”

“You don’t even know what that means,” said Hanzo flatly.

“Neither do you,” said Genji, he straightened up a little, “Besides, I think she likes me.”

“She doesn’t like you, she thinks she likes adventure and Jedi and everything beyond the sad pile of floating rocks she grew up on, when the truth is there’s nothing but horror and death out there.”

“Well aren’t you cheerful,” huffed Genji. They both quickly shut up as Mercy re-entered the chamber, filling it with even more light between her own bioluminescence and the glow-rods.

“Where to next?” asked Genji.

Mercy’s lips were pursed. “I–I’m trying to figure it out but…” she pressed her fingertips to her forehead, “It’s like an echo chamber. It’s like we’re too close for me to find them.”

“It’s okay,” said Genji, “We’ll just take our time, let you re-center yourself.”

“I’m sorry,” said Mercy, “I knew where we were going before…”

“You can at least get us out so we don’t die down here?” asked Hanzo flatly.

“I–yes…” Mercy looked down, fidgeting with her hair slightly and looking crestfallen. Genji shot a glare at Hanzo. “I… I really did want to help the rebellion, but…I just can’t pinpoint the source.” 

Genji suddenly grunted.

“Are you all right?” she perked up.

Genji shook his head. “I’m fine, just… got an awful ringing in my ears for a–” he grunted, “Oh that’s bad–” he said, covering his right ear. 

“You aren’t hearing anything,” muttered Hanzo, “Stop getting her hopes up–”

Genji grunted again.

Mercy suddenly touched Genji’s forehead with three fingers and the ringing in his ear suddenly evened out to the hum of a tuning fork.

“You hear the singing too,” she said quietly.

“That’s singing?” managed Genji, only barely recovering from the migraine of the previous ringing.

“If it’s weaker for you, you might be able to pinpoint its source better,” said Mercy.

Genji pointed down a narrow cavern corridor, “That way,” he said.

It was another 20 minutes of descent into the cave when the ringing in Genji’s ear stopped.

“Don’t tell me you lost it as well,” said Hanzo, but Genji gave a glance down to the glowrod in his hand and turned it off. Mercy did the same. They both looked at Hanzo.

“We need to be able to see in case there’s a cave in,” said Hanzo, flatly.

Both Mercy and Genji continued staring at him. He huffed and turned his glowrod off as well.

As the orange light of the glowrods dimmed out, the entire chamber lit up in green and light blue.

“…Oh,” said Hanzo.

“It’s beautiful…” said Genji, looking around. He heard the noise again, not the ringing, but the tune, and he turned his head to see a single crystal jutting out just so from a lumpy volcanic formation. He walked over and took ahold of it, and it snapped off easily, practically jumping into his hand. It felt warm in his palm.

“The Shimada brothers have outdone themselves once again,” A sharp voice bounced off the walls of the crystalline chamber and both Genji and Hanzo turned on their heels to see a white-haired woman clad in black and gold standing with one hand on her hip at the chamber’s entrance. Instinctively, Genji stuffed the Kyber crystal in his hand into his jacket.

“Come on, you didn’t think I’d let you two wander into nigh-uncharted space alone, did you?” said Ashe.

“Wh–” Mercy looked at Genji, and then at Ashe, “Who is this?” She looked at Ashe, “Are you with the rebellion?”

“The Rebe–” Ash sputtered and then broke into a high raucous laugh. “Is that–” she broke down into giggles looking at Genji and Hanzo, “Is that what you told her?!” She looked back at Mercy, “Oh sweetheart…”

In the soft glow of those crystals, Mercy’s face was stunned. She looked at Genji.

“We’re with the Crimson Dawn,” said Genji.

“No–” she started.

“We didn’t set out to be with them–!” Genji started.

“Genji,” Hanzo spoke and Genji caught himself.

“It’s nothing personal,” said Ashe, shouldering her blaster rifle, “It’s just the way these things shake out. Sooner or later, everyone gets played. Now,” she looked at Genji and Hanzo, “My associates and I can take it from here. Hanzo. head back to my ship, grab me a crate and some hover-dollies—”

“No,” said Mercy.

“Come again?” said Ashe.

“No!” said Mercy, “I set out to give these crystals to the order that saved my people! I’m not going to give them to you!”

Ashe huffed and drew her blaster from her side, “Goddamn bleeding hearts—” she muttered, pointing it at Mercy.

“No!” Genji lunged forward.

“Genji!” Hanzo moved to stop him. 

In retrospect it was very stupid even pulling a blaster out in a kyber crystal-filled chamber to begin with. Ashe fired, but Genji seized her wrist and shoved it upward. The shot hit a kyber vein in the ceiling, instantly resulting in a white hot blast that shook the whole chamber. Mercy saw the blast hit the ceiling, seized Genji around the waist and yanked him back from the explosion. Ashe and Hanzo were knocked toward the entrance to the chamber by the blast, Genji and Mercy were knocked back. There were a few beats where the entire chamber was rumbling as they were all groaning and trying to regain orientation.

“You just blew up 30,000 credits, you idiot!” said Ashe, stumbling up to her knees. She drew her blaster again but Hanzo seized her wrist.

“Are you insane?! You’re going to shoot again!? Look where we are!” he shouted in her face.

There was another rumble. 

“We need to get out of here,” said Hanzo, looking up at the ceiling, “The whole area is volcanic–if that blast means a vein of lava is headed for these crystals-”

“I’m not walking away from this empty handed!” snapped Ashe.

There was a pause. Still gripping her wrist, Hanzo head-butted her, knocking her out in an instant.. He didn’t have time to argue. He slung her over his shoulder. As it stood with the Crimson Dawn, Ashe dead meant a whole lot more problems for them than Ashe alive.

“Genji,” he looked back at his brother but saw Mercy clasping him in her arms.

“Go,” said Mercy, “I’ll get him ou–”

Another blazing white blast suddenly exploded behind her and she screamed. There was a beat where Hanzo stood in horror at the sight of them both consumed by the blast, but then instinct drove him to run. 

“I’m sorry,” was all he could think, “I’m sorry.”

He didn’t look back. He wasn’t sure what guided him out of that cave, perhaps it was the combination of short-term memory and sheer panic, but he and Ashe made it back to her Crimson Dawn barge and took off as more white-hot blasts and spurts of lava spilled out from Thysoi’s surface. He slumped Ashe’s unconscious form into the co-pilot’s seat, buckled her in, and took off. He watched the surface of the planet below, bursting and bleeding in white and orange-red, before taking a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, Genji,” he said, softly.

—

Genji’s eyes blearily opened and he groaned in pain. Mercy perked up next to him. He wasn’t in the cave, not anymore. Where he was was almost blindingly white. His eyes trailed to Mercy.

“You’re… you’re alive?” he managed to say.

She held up her arms, wrapped in mummy-like bandages. Several bandages blocked off sections of her face as well, mostly a large section of her cheek and under her jawline. “Diathim can survive the vacuum of space,” she said, a little ruefully, “Turns out we’re tougher than we look.”

Genji almost chuckled but it hurt to laugh. He glanced down at that Bacta-filled suit encasing his whole body, and then noticed that the legs were a lot shorter than they were supposed to be. He shut his eyes and took in a shuddering breath.

“Where are we?” he said, trying to take his mind off of what he had just seen.

“I got us back to the ship…back to your ship… but you were…” Mercy’s voice cracked, “I was losing you. I activated a beacon and… they found us.” 

Mercy looked over her shoulder to a young woman with spiky dark hair and freckles. The woman smiled and walked over.

“You’re on the Med-Bay Ship Breha 2,” said the woman, “Welcome to the Rebel Alliance.”

[fireflyfish]

battlefront matchup anon again, i'm now very excited to read the Local Force Users Anonymous meeting fic, thank you for this hilarity

Hello again, Nony! Ask and Fishy shall deliver… some of the time… when I don’t have a season to work on… or Rex to poke. 

This ask and the insanity below was inspired by this lovely gifset. 

***

Don’t Bring a Blaster to a Lightsaber Fight

A.K.A A Weekly Meetup for Local Force Users

***

Han Solo, known scoundrel, smuggler and the only person to make the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs, if you rounded down, found himself in a strange place. He had somehow ended up, of course through no fault of his own, in an industrial part of… somewhere that was wrapped in blue fog and was, for reasons unknown to him, standing in a puddle, even though he was pretty sure it hadn’t rained that day.

Walking forward, Han could see that he was not alone in the mysterious blue place with incongruous puddles and machinery that looked like it would explode if you looked at it too long.

As he walked, Han could see a row of dark-robed figures lining up in front of him, a few meters away. They stood in a line like a holo boy band and Han was going to tell them that until he realized that he was standing in front of Darth Vader, the bastard who had tortured him to lure his good friend Luke into a trap. And then cut off Luke’s hand because symbolism? Who knows but it was a bad move, Anakin. A very bad move.

Sarcastic comment now dead on his lips, Han Solo pulled out his blaster and aimed it straight at Darth Vader’s heart, ignoring the fact that the last time he had tried to shoot Darth Vader it had gone over about as well as the first time he tried to win the Falcon from Lando in a game of sabaac. Although in Han’s defense Lando cheated and I suppose one could argue that secretly having the Chosen One be the Empire’s ruthless and brutal enforcer is kind of cheating too.

But we digress.

While Vader waited next to what Han could only assume was the Emperor, flanked by some old dude posing dramatically and a guy who looked he got an awesome buy-one-get-one deal at a tattoo shop, three other people strode up towards Han. One was an attractive young woman in a quilted vest with brown hair and a lightsaber as well as a handsome gentleman with hair that could only be described as “swooshy” in white armor and his own lightsaber.

Han Solo was starting to worry that he had somehow ended up in some kind of strange Jedi street fight when his best friend Luke showed up, swinging around his new green lightsaber like he actually knew what he was doing.

Which he did. Right?

“Kid,” Han hissed to Luke, trying to keep a level and intimidating gaze as the face off continued. “Who are these people?”

Luke shrugged a little in his defensive stance. “Besides Vader and the Emperor, I’m not really sure.”

“Who are you people?” the young woman next to Han asked, looking like she was ready to go toe to toe with some seriously bad motherkriffers who probably had at least 150 years of experience on her and her awesome looking vest. She also, inexplicably, had a crisp Coruscanti accent that has never been explained to either Han or the author’s knowledge.

“I’m Luke Skywalker and this is my friend, Han Solo,” Luke said as the villians continued to stand there, looking evil, foreboding and black. These guys really liked black and red.

“You’re Han Solo?” the girl to Han’s right gasped in shocked delight. “You’re alive?!”

“Am I not supposed to be?” Han asked in reply, looking over at Luke very confused. “Is this more of your hokey Force religion, Luke?”

“Skywalker, did you say?” the really disarmingly-attractive man in the white armor asked, peering all the way around to frown at Luke. “Did I hear you correctly? Your name is Luke Skywalker?”

“Yes, that’s my name. Do I know you?” Luke replied.

“My name is Rey and… well… the last time I saw you, you were… a lot older and…” Rey frowned, still talking to Han, and looked away, as if carrying a heavy burden before cheering up. “But this is wonderful! You’re alive! The Force is amazing! I have to tell General Organa!”

“You wouldn’t happen to be related to someone named Anakin Skywalker, would you?” asked the ginger haired man with the armor and sexy accent.

“Leia is a general?” Han gaped, confused.

“That’s my father,” Luke said, also confused because there are a lot of people talking at the same time and it’s getting hard to keep track of them. “Why? Do you know him?”

“Yes, she’s leading the resistance against the First Order,” Rey explained with a stars in her eyes as she beheld her hero in his younger, sexier form. Poor girl. Your author hopes she never watches Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade because that has ruined your author for all other Harrison Ford movies.

“Know him? He’s my former padawan,” the man at the end of the line up of heroes said with a charming, toothy smile and a jaunty laugh. “I don’t know where he is at this moment but once I take care of this, I’m going to go find him and save him from whatever nonsense he’s gotten himself into.”

***

Meanwhile, a few meters away.

Darth Vader grit his teeth and vowed vengeance against the young, handsome, charming, attractive– had he always been that sexy in armor?– Obi-Wan Kenobi talking to his son like he didn’t even know that he, the fallen Anakin Skywalker, was right there. He was right there and Obi-Wan wasn’t even paying attention to him. The utter gall of that man!

How dare Obi-Wan show up now, looking so… so… hot and young and beautiful? And wasn’t he supposed to be dead? Vader was pretty sure he had killed Obi-Wan and immediately regretted it but that’s how Anakin rolls, gentle readers on the Death Star.

“Allow me to rid this galaxy of Kenobi’s infuriating presence once and for all, my master,” Vader rumbled in that terrifying voice that sounded nothing like his real voice but that’s okay because we have that traumatizing Rebels episode for that particular heartbreak.

“No,” Count Dooku intoned, his ominous voice rumbling through the area like thunder because his best buddy Gandalf helpfully volunteered to do the sound effects for this battle. “I will be the one to bring Kenobi to the Dark Side once and for all. He could be a powerful ally and it’s what Qui-Gon would have wanted.”

“If anyone is going to kill KENOBAEAUGUHGHA it is going to be me!” Maul snarled and paced around because that’s what he does when he’s being evil. He snarls, paces and says KENOBAEAUGUHGHA over and over again. Honestly, it gets kind of weird after a while.

Palpatine just covered his face with his hand and muttered to himself. “I should have killed that sexy ginger myself.”

***

“Padawan? What’s a padawan?” Luke asked because, again, he had like a weeks worth of training in the Jedi arts and the author is pretty sure Yoda had more important things to do than to go into the naming nomenclature of the Jedi order. “Wait… Obi-Wan? Are you Obi-Wan Kenobi?!”

Obi-Wan gave Luke that charming, sexy grin of his and nodded. “Yes, I am. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Luke. And you two as well, Han and Rey.”

“Uh… Hi,” Han said, waving his hand a little as Rey peered around him to gasp at Luke.

“Luke Skywalker?!” Rey almost squealed with delight because let’s be honest here, Gareth Pugh Couture Jumpsuit Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker is PEAK Luke. “I have your lightsaber! I need you to teach me how to be a Jedi!”

Han Solo took a step back while the lightsaber wielding crazies, as a wise man once called them, talked to and over each other. Or rather, while Rey and Luke tried to have a three-way conversation that Obi-Wan was occasionally roped into when someone needed to be gently corrected as to how the Force and the Jedi Order worked.

“No, we don’t mind control people like that, Rey.”

“Luke, that is nothing like what a defensive Soresu stance should look like. Who taught you that?”

“Yes, I agree, that lightsaber sounds most immature and poorly built. Who did you say made it? Kylie Ren?”

Han, being the clever and observant type, noticed that the Dark Side users, that was what Luke called them, were all glaring over at Obi-Wan and since Han wasn’t in the mood to get stabbed or lose a hand like Luke, he decided to interrupt the impromptu Light Side pow-wow. “Hey… so… Vader, I know, and I’m pretty sure that guy in the hooded robe is Emperor Palpatine but does anybody know what’s up with Grampa and Pointy over there? Are they a part of your Fist Order, Rey?”

“It’s First Order, not Fist Order and, no, I’ve never seen them before,” Rey said, frowning. “Although I have heard of Darth Vader, mostly in passing. He died on the second Death Star over Endor. Him and the Emperor.”

“There’s another Death Star?” Han and Luke groaned at the same time. And a third one too but the author did not have time to go into all of that.

“Gramps and Pointy,” Obi-Wan explained, enjoying a good chuckle at Maul’s expense like we all should, pointing to each man in turn. “Are Sith Lords. Count Dooku was my master’s master, a fallen Jedi who now goes by the name of Darth Tyranus. He tried to recruit me to the Dark Side and cut off my padawan’s arm. And Pointy is Darth Maul, who murdered my master. I cut him in half and kicked him down a plasma shaft but apparently he shook that off somehow.”

Luke gaped in horror. “You cut him in HALF and he LIVED?”

“Next time I’ll aim for his neck,” Obi-Wan shrugged.

“KENOBAEAUGUHGHA!” Maul bellowed from a few meters away where the Sith Lords were standing in place because authorial intent is stronger than the Dark Side. “At last I will have my revenge!”

“Fool,” Dooku bellowed with a dramatic flourish of his cape. “You are but a mad dog, a tool my master used to bring himself to power. Kenobi will be a great ally to the Sith once turned.”

“Silence!” Vader said in that lovely James Earl Jones bass, clenching his fist as if he could squeeze the life out of Obi-Wan like he did to Admiral Ozzel, Captain Needa and others who out of an abundance of tact the author will not name. “I am going to be the one to finally destroy Obi-Wan Kenobi and then the Jedi Order’s failures will be complete.”

Luke and Rey exchanged a glance and turned to Obi-Wan, horrified at the narrative arc of his life.

Obi-Wan sighed. “Oh, is it Tuesday again?”

Emperor Palpatine muttered to himself under his breath. “You had one job, Commander Cody. Just one! But, no! You couldn’t even do that right! Why did I even order a Clone Army? They spent most of their time getting cool-looking tattoos and painting their armor! Hell! Captain Rex was more concerned about getting airtime and being cast in Return of the Jedi than carrying out my master plan!”

Now Han Solo, for all the grief the author has given him in this story that has gone on longer than they wanted, is a smart man. One does not smuggle spice, coaxium, or whatever in the age of the Empire unless one is clever and quick on his feet and Han Solo is pretty quick on his feet.

Especially when running away from a bunch of stormtroopers on the Death Star. The author thinks he might have broken a record or something in that scene.

Anyway, Han Solo realized that a few things about the situation he found himself it.

Number one, he didn’t want to fight Vader and get his blaster stolen again.

Number two, everyone at the informal Force Users of Star Wars meetup seemed oddly obsessed with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Number three, there was a way out of this if he just played his cards right. And as Han would tell you, he is very good at cards.

Clearing his throat, Han Solo announced in a loud voice that just barely managed to pierce the din of Force users talking about Obi-Wan Kenobi. “None of you love Obi-Wan Kenobi as much as I do.”

“What?!” Vader barked, looking around for the person who dared to lay claim to the mantle of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Number One Fan and Nemesis. “Who said that?”

“Just his biggest fan,” Han Solo said again, smirking at Vader. “I even got an official certificate from the Jedi Order in here somewhere.”

“You do not!” Vader protested angrily. “I made them stop giving those out after they tried to give Ahsoka one!”

“What?!” Obi-Wan gaped, stunned. “What official certificate?”

“Nonsense! Kenobi is my life’s goal! My mission and obsession! I am his greatest fan!” Maul snarled, shoving his way forward into the crowd that was slowly starting to form not so much around Obi-Wan but more like in front of him, so that his adoring crowd could all show off how much they loved him and were willing to kill everyone in the galaxy to prove it. Because that’s healthy.

Well, Palpatine just wanted to kill Obi-Wan once and for all but even he had to admit the man was nice on the eyes.

“Maybe that’s why Commander Cody missed,” Palpatine muttered in an aside as he tried to hobble around the bickering crowd.

“Kenobi is my grandpadawan!” Dooku insisted, refusing to let the younger Sith steal away his prize. “If anyone has that right, it should be me!”

“Listen, I didn’t want to have to throw my weight around like this but I am the main character of this story,” Luke insisted, almost elbowing Maul in the face as he tried to get a word in. “And Obi-Wan did spend eighteen years on Tatooine AND I am a Skywalker so if anybody is going to be Obi-Wan’s biggest fan, I think it should be me.”

“TATOOINE?!” Vader exploded. “You were on Tatooine all this time?! You made my poor, sexy master waste away on Tatooine?!”

“Excuse me, Lord Vader,” Palpatine interjected. “But I am your master, remember?’

“Yeah, yeah, whatever Sheev,” Vader muttered, rolling his eyes behind his mask. “Listen, Luke, son, kid, I know you’re new to this whole ‘Jedi business’ but let me straighten you out. As Obi-Wan Kenobi’s former padawan learner, I get first dibs on him, okay? Me, not you, not Grumpy Grandpa over here and definitely not Rage-Face Robo-Legs over here.”

“But you’re a Sith Lord!”

“Does that look like it’s stopping any of the rest of Obi-Wan’s fanboys? Hell! I bet even Palpatine has a few sexy pictures of his from the Clone Wars.”

“I knew I never should have told you about my secret thirst tumblr, Vader!”

“See what I mean?”

While this heated battle of words, fannish desire and single minded obsession devotion continued on apace, Han Solo took his opportunity to make his escape. He was going to try to get Luke’s attention but it was clear that Luke had fallen under the sway of Kenobi and wouldn’t be leaving any time soon. Rey also looked like she wanted to elbow her way into the squabble of McQueen black robes and knee high Chanel boots but Han reached out to stop her. “C’mon, kid, we’re getting out of here.”

“But we can’t just leave them!” Rey insisted in that way that reminded Han of Leia but also Luke. He wondered if perhaps Rey was related to them somehow because it seemed like everyone was related to a Skywalker these days but quickly forgot it in the heat of the moment.

“They’ll be fine,” Han insisted, seeing a break in the blue fog encircling the nonsense he found himself in. “Besides, what are we going to do against four bad guys with lightsabers?”

Rey opened her mouth to insist that she had somehow managed to download Kylo Ren’s ability to wield a lightsaber but then she realized she would have to explain Kylo Ren to Han Solo and she just didn’t have the heart to tell him about that because your author is STILL salty about that, gentle reader. STILL SALTY. “All right let’s go. Obi-Wan? We’re leaving. Are you coming with us?”

Obi-Wan was leaning against a pile of old rubble, watching the Luke and the Sith Lords squabble over him. He looked over at Rey and Han, waving them off. “Oh, no, thank you, my dear. I’m quite used to this by now. I’m sure Ahsoka and Captain Rex will be along in a minute to pick me and Luke up. You two go on and may the Force be with you both.”

Rey looked at Han Solo, who shrugged, and with that they both ran for the fog.

“That isn’t even your real voice, Skywalker! How can you truly do credit to the name of KENOBAEAUGUHGHA if you have to rely on James Earl Jones to sound intimidating?”

“What are you even saying? That sounds nothing like my grandpadawan’s name! It must be said with deep, solemn and regretful feeling. You have to project. Like this. Kenobi.”

“Why are all my apprentices obsessed with this Kenobi? He’s not even that attractive. Now Qui-Gon Jinn? That was a man!”

Obi-Wan groaned and buried his face in his hands.

Yup, this was just another Tuesday.

[swhurtcomfort]

“M’okay,” Anakin tried to shout, but it came out weaker than he’d intended. He drew in a ragged breath and tried again.

From the bottom of the crevasse, Anakin could not see the sky. The curvature of the ice he’d slipped down blocked his view of the ledge where he could hear the troopers calling his name.

He knew that Rex and the squad had not heard him. He needed to be louder, if only his lungs would fill up all the way. If only his vision wasn’t blurring in and out.

He tried to roll his shoulders forward, only to be pulled back down by his pack which was trapped under him. He huffed, feeling somewhat like an awkward turtle. It was grey and dark, and he could barely see his own gloved hands in front of him.

The gloves were too stiff and padded to undo the straps of his pack. He used his teeth to pull the glove off of his flesh hand and extricated himself.

By the time Anakin had wriggled his arms free of the straps, the rush of adrenaline was wearing off, and he was becoming cognizant of a horrendous pain blossoming in his hip. There was a dull ache deep in his chest with each breath, and he knew from experience that that meant a cracked rib or two. But that was nothing compared to the agony in his leg. When he pushed into a sitting position, the whole world seemed to pitch forward.

He laid a hand over the injury, pressing experimentally. He had broken something. Possibly multiple somethings. His heart was thumping erratically in his ears.

Something was moving against the chasm wall – a cable. Anakin grit his teeth and scooted towards it. Fresh pain erupted all through his torso with every millimeter. He reached the cable and gave it a quick tug, earning him a smattering of enthusiastic cheers from above.

Anakin knew what they wanted him to do. Perhaps he could make the climb by bracing his good leg against the ice. The spikes on his boots held fast and helped him keep his balance. He wrapped the cable around his hands a few times and yanked upwards, bracing his good leg beneath him. For a moment, he believed they would actually pull this off.

When Anakin was nearly standing upright, he twisted his pelvis at a particular angle and sent a terrible jolt up his spine. He yelped and instinctively put his foot down for balance. That was an even worse mistake. The leg buckled beneath him and he howled. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

The team heard Skywalker’s cry of pain and Rex felt the cable go slack.

“General, are you hurt?” Rex demanded. There was no reply.

“Captain, let me lower myself down to him,” Kix volunteered. “He could be severely injured.”

“No,” said Rex immediately. If Skywalker could get himself stuck down there, Force-blessed as he was, his vods had even less chance of getting out again.

Rex felt the whole team looking at him. Looking to him. If he appeared panicked now, they would all start to panic.

“Fives,” Rex ordered. “Take the rest of the men up to the checkpoint. Tell General Kenobi where we are, he’ll know what to do. Kix,” Rex sighed. “You stay, in case we need your expertise. He’s not going to be able to climb it but we’ll do what we can while he waits.”

There were disconcerted murmurs from the group, and Fives looked absolutely torn, so Rex forced a smile. “It’s Skywalker,” he pointed out. “He’ll be fine. Go quickly, brother.”

Fives shepherded the rest of the Torrent company back to the path. Rex watched them leave. They still had a few miles to climb, and they were already exhausted. Everyone was bundled up in all the layers they owned, simultaneously freezing and soaked with sweat.

It was fatigue and low morale that had gotten them into this scrape – it had been growing dark and it was hard to judge the footing in the freshly fallen snow. Without discussing it, Rex and Fives had both fallen to the back of the group to keep a careful watch. Tup had lost his balance twice, and might have plummeted to his death if Fives hadn’t grabbed him by the elbow to steady him. Rex had been keeping an eye on Hardcase, who was also showing signs of exhaustion.

The only one they hadn’t been watching was Skywalker.

It happened so quickly. Skywalker had made a sound like a strangled animal as he fell. It had echoed off the mountain in Rex’s ears. Fives and Tup had both cried out and lunged for the General’s hand, nearly slipping down into the crevasse after him.

And of course their communications were completely useless at this altitude. That was typical, right?

Skywalker finally gave a muffled response to Kix’s entreaties. They weren’t sure what he had said, but it was something.

“We’ll get you out of there,” Rex assured him. “Try not to move if you’re hurt.”

“How long do you think they’ll take?” Kix asked.

Rex took a deep breath. “We don’t have anything that can fly under these conditions, but I’m sure Kenobi does. There must be rescue equipment and working comms at the checkpoint…maybe an hour? Two?”

Kix shook his head. “We better hope it’s closer to one,” he said grimly.

Rex clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s Skywalker,” he repeated. “Just because he likes the warm doesn’t mean he can’t handle this.”

Kix allowed himself an unsteady chuckle. Their general had been born on a desert planet, and had a tendency to whine and complain about any assignment that took them to below temperate climes.

“I’ll feel better as long as we can keep him talking, Captain.”

So they continued to call down to Skywalker and received another inaudible reply. As long as he was alive and awake down there.

Anakin was forced to admit that the cold was getting to him. The pain was a faraway, numb feeling that only really came to the front of his mind when he moved, so he lied as still as he could. He would obviously need some bone knitters when he got out of here, but he couldn’t see any blood, so he figured he wasn’t too badly off. The only blood was on his tongue, which his chattering teeth had bitten and torn. What an annoying physical reaction.

For the first hour or so, he had shivered and shook in misery and prayed for rescue, but now he lay still. And he felt pretty okay, all things considered.

On some level, Anakin knew that that was a serious problem, but all he felt was an overwhelming lack of concern. Rex and Kix periodically shouted indecipherable words at him, and sometimes he would try to answer but it was so much effort.

Whenever he didn’t answer for too long, the voices got louder and more anxious. That was mildly irritating. He was fine, obviously. And shouting back was hell on his sore ribcage. So much effort.

Come to think of it, holding his eyes open was growing tedious as well. It felt nice to close them for a while.

Once he’d tried that, he didn’t really want to open them again. He was sleepy, and unconsciousness felt like a welcome change from the debilitating cold. He heard Rex and Kix straining their vocal cords above, but he couldn’t remember why he was supposed to care.

Slipping into sleep was like stepping into a warm bath. And for a moment, there was nothing else Anakin cared about in the world.

Helix watched the Torrent Company flit about like an agitated herd of bantha and shook his head. They had all been pushed to near exhaustion, and yet half of them were outraged that they hadn’t been dispatched on the rescue mission. Cody had headed up the team, and taken only two of his own soldiers with him. They were well-rested and ready to perform; the 501st were not. It was only logical. Regardless, Fives had very nearly caused a scene.

They had evidently left their own medic behind to help General Skywalker, so it fell to Helix to wrap and ice Hardcase’s twisted knee, reassure a panicky Tup, and order them both to bed. Yet for some reason, he spotted both parties sitting around the great fireplace at the center of the checkpoint with the rest of the lot. Helix sighed again.

Fives had settled uncomfortably to the head of the group. He was speaking quietly to the others, who huddled together sharing lukewarm caf and troubled looks. They had hoped to hear from Cody by now. They knew that with every passing minute, the sun sank lower and the outside temperature dropped.

Helix knew his exasperation was hypocritical. To them, Skywalker was not like the other Jedi. He was theirs, a brother, one of their own. Helix could not deny that he and his comrades felt the same for General Kenobi.

But still.

General Kenobi, for his part, had returned from his patrol too late to join Cody and the others, and he obviously felt that he should have accompanied the rescue team as well. But as it couldn’t be helped, he busied himself by pacing around the checkpoint with a purposeful stride that fooled everyone who didn’t know him well. He wanted Skywalker home as badly as anyone, but he was too “Jedi” to show it.

The emergency receiver at the medic’s station crackled. “Helix?” said a broken voice.

“Here, Captain.” Helix replied. He assumed it was Cody, but truthfully the reception was too staticky to tell.

“It’s Kix. We have the General.”

Helix stood up straighter. “What’s his condition?”

Kix paused for a long moment. “You’re going to want to prep one of the surgical bays.”

That caught Helix by surprise. The Jedi took care of their own, and whenever possible they preferred to return to the Temple for any major procedures. Helix certainly wasn’t capable of inducing a healing trance or any of that Force stuff, but at least he knew how to adjust medication dosage for an elevated midi-chlorian count.

“He’s hypovolemic and we need to get his temp up. I think it’s a spiral fracture to his femur with mild arterial bleeding,” Kix continued. “Some bruised ribs as well but I think it’s the shock that’s depressing his breathing. Pressure’s all over the place. I need you to be ready for us when we land, Helix.”

“You got it, brother,” said Helix at once. He decided that once he had prepped everything he would pull Fives aside and let him know the seriousness of the situation, because Rex had left him in charge, but the fewer troopers he could involve, the better.

Helix left the receiver and turned around to find a dozen pairs of identical eyes staring at him. They had heard everything.

“We want to help,” Fives pleaded. The rest of the crew nodded solemnly.

Helix sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time.

“Someone go track down Kenobi. A few of you can be ready at the landing dock—not you.” Hardcase had perked up as though about to volunteer. “One of you can escort Hardcase to the barracks and make sure he keeps his knee elevated.”

There were murmurs of mild protest as Helix shooed them away. Only Fives lingered behind.

“Brother,” Fives stammered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “Take care of him.”

“Like he were one of our own.” Helix promised.

Part 1 of 2! Took a break from Nano to finally answer these. This is more or less a prompt fill for the first ask, and part 2 will address the second ask, so stay tuned! And thanks for your patience while we worked on these!

Update: Part 2 is here!

[letitrainathousandflames-archive]

Hello! I just read your post and I'm so sorry! I can't think of anything for you to draw, but do you mind maybe writing me a minific like the star wars ones you've been making? I just donated some cash for your ko-fi account (sorry for not being able to donate more than that! ;-;) and I wanted you to write me something with "that’s it, that’s it. get it all out. shh" and Codex? Thank you, and I hope everything gets better soon!

(Hey there! Thank you! I haven’t even thought of comissioning fanfics, but I’m glad you did! :D I hope you like it, I made this with all my heart despite being new to the ship. More after the cut.)

When they came back to Coruscantfrom Umbara, both Rex’s and Cody’s men were much quieter than usual. It had hitthem hard, the whole deal. Being betrayed by their general, by a jedi, and bytheir own obedience to the hierarchy. None of them was to blame, that was whatRex would think most of the time, but at the same time, they were all to blame,and that particular thought would hit him late at night while he struggled toclose his eyes and go to sleep.

Cody didn’t seem to be muchaffected. He kept doing his job, taking care of his duties and answering togeneral Kenobi’s calls to new missions. Thisis how it was, Rex had thought, therewas no time to sit and wallow in guilt. There was a job to be done, a war to bewon, orders to follow. Move on, you kriffing sod, even Fives seems to be backto his old self. It was a lie and he knew it, but it had to be enough.

One particular night, Rex woke up tothe sound of low voices whispering in the dorms. He was about to groan anannoyed “shuddup”, for this had been one of his few successful attempts atsleeping when he recognized Jesse’s voice.

“C’mon, Kix, snap out of it.”

Then he heard Kix’s out-of-breathmurmuring in the pitch-black room.

“All that blood… Was like I was backthere again… Trying to fix what was left of him… Trying to stop the bleeding…”

“C’mon, man, it was a nightmare… Goback to sleep, you’ll wake up the captain.”

Rex got up silently, climbing down his top bunkbed. As he got his feet on the ground, he heard Five’s voice in the dark, fromthe lower bed.

“Don’t go too hard on Kix, sir. I’m sure he didn’t mean to wake you up.”

Rex frowned. So Fives wasn’tsleeping either.

“I won’t. Just need some fresh air.Go to sleep, soldier, we have assignments in the early morning.”

“Yessir.”, Fives had answered in atired voice, and only he could make the phrase sound like a fuck off so effortlessly.

Rex waked softly between the bunkbeds, listening to the sounds he knew so well and noticing the absence of somehe knew he’d never hear again. Hardcase’s snoring was amiss, as well as Dogma’ssoft sleep-talking. Rex had had a request placed for Dogma’s release fromCoruscant’s custody, and general Skywalker’s personal friend, senator Amidalahad promised to aid in his trial. Despite the whole thing looking like treason,Dogma had killed an enemy, not a jedi general. That… that sleemo, Krell, he wasa separatist or a Sith, or whatever the kriff the Jedi would address theirdark counterparts. Dogma merely had the guts to do what Rex couldn’t, and Rex was proud of him in the same measure that he was ashamed of himself.

By the time Rex snapped out of hisconjectures, he noticed that his legs had carried him to the 212th quarters, more precisely totheir break room, where he’d occasionally meet up with Cody and even Bly – theyall agreed that the only decent coffee in the whole Coruscant base was the212th, and Bly himself suspected that maybe general Kenobi was the one behind the mysterious brew. Apparently, the jedi were fond of brewing hot drinks and had the whole patienceit demanded. General Skywalker had made coffee for Rex once. Only once. Tookhim a month to get the taste off his mouth, so strong it was. Hardcase was almost vibrating in the same spot after he drank the thing.

The break room is as it should beat… Rex checks his wrist screen. Kriff, almost three in the morning. No wonderall the lights are out, except… he squinted at the pale blue light coming fromthe corner table, which source was a holo-vid being watched by a clone dressedin the plain black undergarments they would wear under their armors, the sameones Rex was wearing. He recognized his scar.

“Cody?”

Cody clamped his hand over theholo-projector on the table, muffling the voice that came out of it and clearing his throat.

“Rex?”

Rex flicked just one of the lightswitches, enough to turn only two light panels and bathe Cody in the softyellow light. He walked inside.

“Still up?”

Cody still had his hand on the tableblocking the holo-projector.

“Yeah. Looks like you are too.”

“Yeah.” Rex nodded at theholo-projector “Late night assignment?”

Cody looked at his own hand beforepressing it against the object, turning it off.

“Something like that.” he pulled hishand away and looked at the thing as if it was a bomb about to go off “And whatbrings you to the 212th building? Did general Skywalker brew your coffeeagain?”

Rex let a soft laugh out of hisnose.

“I wish bad coffee was the thing keeping me up.”

Cody nodded grimly.

“Me too.”

Rex walked to Cody, sitting besidehim instead of in front of him across the table. Sometimes you just don’t wantanybody looking at your face while you were wrestling your demons, but having awarm shoulder against your own could help. Rex could do that. Sometimes he feltlike he could do anything for Cody, and that very thought scared the kriff outof him most of the time.

Cody, however supported his elbowson the table and cradled his head in his hands, letting out a sigh. Rex kepthis eyes straight ahead in order to allow him some space and not make thingsawkward.

“You okay, Cody?”

“Fine.” Cody groaned “Perfect. Justkriffin’ peachy.”

Rex didn’t say anything. They allshared the same snarky sarcasm, some of them more then others. Kamino knows howmuch Dogma likes his witty remarks. Sometimes Rex thinks about how it would probably be better for them ifthey had someone to talk to. The senators had their advisors, the jedi hadtheir masters, their council. But the clones had no one to talk to. No one toask for advice or guidance in dark times like this one. They had to get up andmake it on their own. Everyone wanted advice from commanders like Cody, Bly,Fox, Wolffe or even Rex himself, and they were happy to provide guidance totheir men, from the highest ARCs to the lowest shinies. But nobody would giveadvice to Rex and the others. They were expected to just know everything. Rexglanced at Cody without turning his head to him. Well, maybe if they could helpone another…

“What happened? Can I help?”

“No.” Cody answered sharply

“Maybe General Kenobi could…”

“There’s nothing the general can doabout this.”

“Well, there must be something…”

“Will you shut the hell up already?”

Cody had lifted his face up again,closing his hands in fists. Rex try to act unimpressed, despite his knowledgeof how difficult it was to get on Cody’s bad side, so his short temper at thismoment was odd at best. He lowered his voice.

“Look, I know you must be feelingbad over what happened in Umbara.”

Cody slammed his fists on the table,not too hard to give out anger, but a calculated nuisance.

“I told you I’m okay.”

“As okay as I am.” Rex replied,finally turning to face him “Talk to me, Cody, tell me what’s going on.”

Cody turned to look at Rex, baringhis gritted teeth and snarling.

“That kriffin seppie, that… that…” it waslike Cody couldn’t find a cursing bad enough to describe who Rex already knewhe referred to “Krell. What he did. I can’t understand it.”

Rex looked deep into Cody’s browneyes that were filled with anger and sighed.

“I can’t either. I don’t think weever will.”

Cody half-shook his head, his facetwisting in revulsion.

“We use to joke about how many of ourmen would survive if we ever were to have them fight against each other.”

Rex closed his eyes and it was as ifhe had been punched in the gut.

“Cody…”

“We used to joke about it, Rex.”

Therewas a raw horror in Cody’s voice that made Rex feel like cradling the commander in his arms, but he tried to keep his tone cool and even.

“We never meant it. Huh?” Rex saidas he placed his arm on the table “We never did. It was a joke. It’s not ourfault.”

Cody grabbed Rex’s arm in a tightgrip, speaking between clenched teeth:

“Then whose fault it was?! We ledour men there, Rex. We let it happen. I… I got Krell’s orders for shooting tokill at men with the 501st armor and I just sent my men out there to blasttheir brothers dead. I… I shot some of my brothers dead. If you hadn’t found it out… It could’ve been you or me.”

Rex didn’t particularly like todwell in any thoughts regarding how close they’ve gotten to killing each otherin Umbara. He didn’t know how Cody would feel about killing him, but Rexthought that if he were to find Cody dead by his blaster fire, he’d shoothimself dead right then and there.

“Cody…”

“And then” Cody let go of Rex’s arm,reaching for the holo-projector “then I get this…!”

He clicked the thing and a blue-huedprojection of Cham Syndulla showed up in front of them. It was clearly arecording, playing on loop. The general’s voice said:

“…to thank you for your continuoussupport to the people of Ryloth. As a parting question, I must ask where is theclone trooper known as ‘Waxer’. A little girl to whom your troops provided aid during yourfirst time in Ryloth misses him terribly, and her parents yould like to see himagain too. This should be all, commander. We will speak again soon.”

The projection began repeatingitself again and Cody clicked it off. His hand was shaking on top of the table.

“My men” he said, and his breathingwas hitched “said that you witnessed his death. That you were there with him.”

“Cody…”

“How was it?”

“His death? How do you think? Likeany other kriffing casualty, quick and horrible and meaningless.”

Cody still held Rex by his arm sotight Rex thought it would bruise but he couldn’t care less about it.He reached for Cody with his free hand, grabbing his other arm as Cody now wore an anguished expression on his features.

“Meaningless. That’s what we are forthem, we don’t mean anything, we’re pawns, war fodders, disposable tools, and I’m supposed to puta smile on my face and tell my shinies to march forward to their deaths,fifteen year olds, I think Kamino is pulling them outta their tubes earlier andearlier each day.” Cody’s eyes were welling up with tears and he lowered his face “Andnow I have to tell a kid that the trooper she used to call ‘brother’ is dead, killed by hisown brothers’ blaster fire, and I’m sick of losing men, sick of training them andwatching them grow and make me proud to then be cut in half by some maniac’slightsaber or something like that, I’ve had enough, Rex, when is this nightmaregonna be over…!”

Rex pulled Cody into his arms, andCody wrestled him for a few instants before giving in and hugging the captaintight and sniffling. For a man big as he was, Cody now felt small like a young recruit.

“That’s it, that’s it. get it allout. Shh.” Rex cooed, caressing the back of Cody’s head. Cody’s shoulders werejumping very softly in small sobs, and it made Rex want to cry. It was so weirdseeing Cody allowing himself to have emotions, the mighty commander of the 212th that would never lose his temper on anything. “I’m here for you. I’ll alwaysbe here for you. I love you, Cody.”

Cody’s voice was muffled againstRex’s shoulder.

“I love you too. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.”

Cody pulled away from Rex justenough to look at him and there, so up close to him, red-eyed and exhausted,with his eyelashes wet with tears and the arabesque scar Cody had never seemedso beautiful to Rex. Before he could understand what he was doing, Rex closedhis eyes and pulled Cody into a kiss. Cody had gone rigid for a moment to thenwrap his hands around the back of Rex’s neck, smashing his lips harder againstthe captain’s. It felt like the world was spinning around for Rex, and he onlypulled back when he was positively breathless. While still trying to catch hisbreath, he pressed his forehead to Cody’s. The commander of the 212th still hadhis eyes closed, and Rex whispered softly:

“You don’t have to endure this onyour own. We don’t have to.” He ran a thumb over Cody’s cheek “I’ll be here foryou, Cody. That’s all I want, if that’s okay with you.”

Cody opened his eyes, lifting themup and looking at Rex through his dark eyelashes.

“Yeah…” he muttered to then swallowhard “That’s okay with me.”

“We’ll be okay. We’ll find our wayout of all of this.”

Cody nodded and, for a moment right then and there in that dimly-lit room, that almost sounded true.

[sithlordintraining]

Starring Marygold Donadieu

A/N: So this chapter was extremely long so I split it up into two parts. This is part one and we will meet Mommy Dearest. I should make that the title, but whateves. Also, Rey’s back. Also for the character Monty it’s Dacre Montgomery that played Billy in Stranger Things.

masterlist

Summary: Greaser Kylo Ren fell in love with good girl Rey Kenobi over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance? OF COURSE, with a little help from their friends and some singing. But that was Junior year, can their love really stand the course of Senior year, college applications, and other teenage problems?

It was the Monday of Thanksgiving break, Kylo and the rest of the students were very happy for there three day weekend. The Knights, Finn, and a few other boys were lounging about on the bleachers. Kylo, as usual, looked like he smelled something foul. Everyone was so impressed with Juney making it onto the wrestling team. Kylo opted to look at his happy, glowing girlfriend that had just returned from jolly ole England. Something churned in the pit of his stomach as he felt nothing for her return and to be quite honest wouldn’t have noticed if she didn’t run straight to him. A nudge on his side had him returning to reality. “Do you believe this man?” Sonny asked. Kylo caught up with the conversation about sexual encounters. “Tell us a story Kylo, come on, you always got the goods!” Sonny pressured and soon Putzie, Doody, and others jumped in. “No, no, no,” Kylo began. “Leave the man, he doesn’t want you guys knowing what he and Rey do.” Juney jumped in. Kylo shot him a look; a mixture of thankfulness and hate washed over him as Juney saved him. “Don’t give me that look man, I was only doing it so Finn here wouldn’t suffer.” Juney joked and all the guys, even Finn laughed at the in poor taste of a joke. “So tell us a story about someone who isn’t Rey.”

And the first person he thought about was you. He thought about telling them one of the dreams he had, but why when he could tell a more believable story. “Well, there was this girl...I was, well we weren’t really anything but, we hung out one day.” Kylo lightly laughed as he thought about his birthday. “Oh, you can’t stop there!” One of the boys yelled. “Well, we went to the lake and things got a little wet.” He exaggerated. A string of oh’s escaped from the listeners. “I took her to my place, the parents weren’t home. And I undressed her before the shower.” He quickly said the last sentence. “THE SHOWER!” Sonny yelled. All the boys ran up to him asking for information. “How long ago was this?” Kenickie asked. Kylo shrugged. “Just like a few, you know before Rey.”  “And you’re just now telling me!” Kenickie yelled. Juney sat back silently as listened. It didn’t sound right. It sounded oddly familiar to how Y/N told him how they spent his birthday, minus the sexual implications. Finn noticed Juney’s hard stare and quietly asked him if he was ok. Juney just nodded before leaving the bleachers.

Kylo strolled down the hall, only to stop when he heard loud voices. “Why didn’t you tell me this?” A boy yelled. “Because I was scared, I didn’t want to think about it!” The girl replied, the girl was you. Kylo peering behind the wall to see the two standing off in front of each other. Kylo felt his breath quicken as the two continued arguing. He didn’t believe that Juney would hit you, but he wasn’t going to just leave you in the middle of a heated argument. “This was a bad idea.” Juney sighed as you wrapped your arms around yourself. Kylo saw Juney say something lowly and you came back in full force. “No, I can’t do that! Daddy already said yes. I don’t want him to be alone without his parents.” Kylo furrowed his brows, he was so confused with this conversation. Before anyone could say anything, the bell rang. Juney stood in front of you as you avoided his gaze. “I gotta to go to class, I’ll see you later,” Juney said softly, to which you didn’t reply. Craning his neck, his lips pressed against your cheek. Still in that position, his eyes looked over to you still avoiding him. He looked sad, eyes tearing up. He sighed before leaving.

You didn’t come to English that day, nor did you return to school the following days after. Kylo sat there sharing a milkshake with Rey as she caught up with everything she missed while in London. “Yeah, Juney pulled a knife on Poe and tried to stab him.” Rose said. Kylo rolled his eyes at the inaccuracy of her story. “No, You’re lying! Poor Poe; see I told you he was bad.” Rey told Kylo. He grunted and continued playing with the straw, churning the milkshake that was far too chalky and thick for his taste. “But then, Ryan told me that Sarah told him that Johanna caught Juney and Y/N in the hallway arguing.” Rose leaned closer, making sure she was quiet enough for Kylo not to hear the gossip of his best friend. “What about?” Rey asked. “She’s pregnant.” Kylo knocked over the milkshake. The girls looked at him as he tried to catch the liquid with his bare hands instead of using napkins. The girls continued talking as he tried to remember back to the argument.

‘Pregnant?’ He thought. ‘That couldn’t be she would’ve told me. Wouldn’t she?’ He examined the argument once more and he didn’t want to admit but you not telling Juney, you being scared, not wanting him to be alone without his parents. “Well, it does make sense especially since she went home early on Monday and hasn’t been to school since.” Rose agreed with whatever Rey said. “Well, both of them seem like they move very fast.” Rey folded her arms. “Wouldn’t be surprised, well her yes, she seems to have this whole facade going on. This all just so sloppy, they only met a few months ago and she’ll be having a baby by graduation.” Both girls giggled. “If even, she might be shipped to her grandmother’s.” Rose chimed. “T-That’s enough, both of you.” Kylo’s voice boomed. “Don’t talk about what you don’t know, especially as personal as that. You wouldn’t like it if it was you in this situation.” Rey turned to look him in his eye. “Well, they shouldn’t put their business out there like that. Besides, no would ever do that to me, because unlike her, I have respect.” She said matter-of-factly grinning. Smart ass. “No sweetheart, it’s because everybody knows you don’t fucking do anything.” The smile dropped from Rey’s face as Kylo exited the booth leaving the two girls astounded.

Kylo lugged his bag of clothes in one hand as he made his way to your door. Three days, he would be staying with you for three days. He hadn’t seen you since his party, well the argument, and he had hoped that the pregnancy rumor hadn’t gotten to you. And it had gotten to him so, that he would be aware of every little thing you did, even though Kylo knew nothing about that stuff. He knocked on the large door and soon enough, Mary was right there greeting him. The house was quiet, with only the sound of pots boiling and simmering. Mary showed him to his room, which was the farthest down the hall. Stepping inside he quickly noticed the small worn out bear placed on his bedspread. “Beara.” The corner of his lips tugged up as the pads of his finger brushed on the bear’s matted fur. Kylo and Mary made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen were he saw Y/N and her beautiful soft (y/h/c) curls hiding her face as she meticulously snapped string beans. “She’s been like that for almost an hour, Mr. Benji,” Mary whispered to the tall boy. His brows furrowed as he walked towards you. You continued your actions as Kylo stood behind you. Taking a seat next to you, he brushed the strands behind your ear. “Hi,” Kylo whispered. You didn’t answer him but continued your gaze in front of you. He followed it and saw a couple laughing and playing in the pool. “Okay, that’s enough.” Kylo removed the bowl of string beans away from you. “What’s the matter?” He held both of your hands in his.

“Pearl, dear. Introduce your friend!” The woman called out from the pool. You rolled your eyes as you grabbed Kylo’s hand and dragged him outside. A blush crept up his neck and he wanted to hit himself from blushing at you holding his hand. They reached the edge of the pool having the lady leaning against the tile edges. “My, my, who is this handsome tall glass of water?” The lady cocked her head to the side looking the boy up and down. “Marygold.” Kylo heard his friend say through gritted teeth. He was shocked that he didn’t notice it sooner. They looked the same with those large eyes boring into his soul like that. “What?! I just want to know who he is, Pearl.” She cooed. “It’s Benji,” You said expressionless, only to gain a squeal from your mother. “Little Benji Solo? My, my what a lady killer. My daughter is really lucky.” Marygold looked between Y/N and Kylo. “But, it was only a matter of time. I’m pretty sure if we stayed in one place you two would’ve been married by now.” Your eyes widened as Kylo fell into a deep blush. “Mother, he is not my boyfriend. Stop it.” Clenching your jaw. “Marygold.” Your mother corrected. “Honestly, Pearl you aren’t getting any younger you should start looking. But I guess, you have my good looks so you should be fine.” Your mother rolled her eyes. Kylo couldn’t believe how she was talking to you like that! He knew the relationship you had with her, but how things had changed drastically since the last time he had seen the pair.

Marygold was soon lifted out of the air and a yelp hit their ears. Marygold turned to scold the young man behind her, a very young man who seemed closer to their age than hers. “Who is this?” The guy’s blue eyes sparkled under the reflection of the sun. “This is Pearl’s little friend Benji, well he’s little no more.” Marygold purred. “Oh, I see I have a little competition.” The guy looked up at Kylo and then at you. A chill when up your spine before you left Kylo to stand alone. He learned that his name was Monty, they’ve been dating for almost four months, and he was the one that got your car. To say that he left a sour taste in his mouth was an understatement. And it was verified when the couple went to shower and was left alone with you as Mary had left to be with her family. “I didn’t know she was bringing her friend.” Kylo sat, watching you check on the pie. “Me neither.” You gritted turning off the stove. “Where’s your dad?” Kylo inquired. She set the pie on the stove and turned to look at him with a pout. “He had to work, he’s in Vegas until tomorrow. Now I’m stuck here with them.” Your voice strained as you felt the tears trying to prick your eyes. “I’m just trying because Juney tells me I should at least try.” Kylo made his way towards you and wrapped his arms around you.  

“Not a couple.” A voice scoffed and Y/N was wiggling out of Kylo’s arm. “Is the food finished Pearl, I’m starved.” Her mother sauntered in with her satin heels lighting her cigarette. Kylo starred at the woman’s platinum do. If it wasn’t the nose, the hair color would really set the mother-daughter duo apart.“Daddy doesn’t allow smoking in the house.” Your voice sounded so fragile. “Well, he isn’t here, is he?”Your fist clenched at your side. “Set the table I’m hungry,” Marygold commanded. “I’ll help.” Monty rushed to her side. “Dear, we are guest sit down.” She prompted for him to sit. Kylo watched as you carried out her command; your head was low and you tried to make yourself invisible and that wasn’t you at all. Kylo began to help you bring the dishes to the dining room before Marygold directed her attention towards him. “You don’t have to help, honey.” She smiled. “No, no, I don’t mind.” Kylo placed the dish on the table. As he turned he heard her mom mumble. “Still following like a puppy.” Kylo’s jaw clenched as he returned to the kitchen and helped you putting out more. After everything was set, you returned gaze heavy on Monty. “You can’t sit in that chair. It’s Daddy’s.” You winced. “Oh, Y/N it’s just a chair.” “It’s Daddy’s!” You held your ground against your mother. Before her mother could reply, Monty was getting out. “It’s ok sweetie, I’ll just sit next to you.” Y/N smoothed her hair and sat in her seat. Kylo followed suit sitting in the chair perpendicular to you. Your hands outstretched in front of you and everyone gave you a puzzling look. “Let’s say grace.” Tentatively they all reached out as you began to speak.

Dinner was extremely uncomfortable. The teenagers ate quietly as the couple giggled all over each other. Dinner was followed by dessert with a side of a quarrel between the two females. Resulting in you storming upstairs to your room. Kylo felt so out of place; he wanted to check on you but he didn’t know if he could control his anger if your mother threw another little nasty comment his way. So he opted to take all the dishes to the kitchen and clean it. When he climbed the stairs he saw your light off and he didn’t want to disturb you. He took a shower and threw on a fresh pair of boxers and a tee. Sliding into bed, he placed Beara on the nightstand before drifting off into a deep sleep under the moonlight. He heard a rustle against his sheet and his body tensed when he felt something cold against his cheek. Opening his eyes he saw yours, darker than usually against the blue moonlight. “Y-Y/N, what are you doing here?” He sat up to see Y/N at the side of his bed wearing long sleeve black dress with a plunging neckline. He sucked in a breath as it revealed a lot of things he fantasized about.

“We are going out. I don’t want to be here. So get dressed.” She got up and handed him a stack of clothes. “They’re Daddy’s, you’re slightly bigger but I don’t think it will be bad.” He accepted the clothes and watched her disappear into the dark hallway. After shuffling into her father’s clothes he exits to see the back of the blonde woman. He froze as he was going to get caught by her mother. Turning around, he saw it was just Y/N in a wig. “I-I” He breathed. “It’s just me.” You said grabbing his hand as the pair tiptoed down the stairs. “You didn’t think that was her real hair, did you?” You scoffed. He didn’t respond just followed you down the stairs. He couldn’t stop staring at you as you began rummaging through her purse before pulling out an ID. “Why do you keep looking at me like that?” You snapped quietly. “You-you look really beautiful.” He managed to stay, only to gain an evil look from you. “Come, we need to fix your hair.” Once again, you were dragging him down the hall to a small half bathroom. Cramped in their, she ran her wet fingers through his raven waves. It took everything in him not to moan as she concentrated on perfecting it. “Alright, done.” He looked in the mirror his dark hair parted and slicked like Errol Flynn exposing his large ears. His hands flew up to cover them, only to be tugged down by your small hands. “Just for tonight, please.” You begged and he was going with it, just for you.

The club was called ‘Cantina’ and the red glow reflected onto the sidewalk that had a red carpet with a hoard of people waiting to get inside. Kylo had never been to one of these places in his life so he thought it would be better to just stay quiet and follow you. That was until he saw you walking straight towards the door. “Y/N, what are you doing?” He whispered. “Don’t call me that.” You turned around with a bite so strong he jumped at your words. You sauntered to the bouncer. “How’s the club tonight? Hope the holiday didn’t ruin the swing?” Her voice was low and sultry. The bouncer looking her over, before asking for her ID. “I should be offended that you don’t know who I am, but if you think I’m a young dish, well that’s not to bad.” You winked at him. “Oh, Ms. Donadieu, apologies.” He opened the door. Fingers tugged at the tie that around Kylo’s neck. “This squidy is with me.” You sent him a sly smile.

Once the two was in, Kylo finally exhaled the breath he had been holding. “Y-Y/N, what was that?” Once again you were turning back to with fire in your eyes. “I told you don’t call me that! I’m not her.” Kylo looked between both of your (y/e/c) eyes and tried to decipher what emotion they were portraying because something did not feel right. “Ms. Donadieu, we have a table just for you.” A waiter said. “Oh, thank you!” You pulled Kylo along. Kylo sat uncomfortably at the position he was in with you right now. “You need to relax.” You snapped at him. Turning back to the waiter you smiled charmingly. “We’ll take the finest champagne, Piper-Heidsieck, you do have Piper-Heidsieck, don’t you?” Your large eyes bore into the man. “Ah, yes, of course, Ms. Donadieu. Would you like a bottle or just a glass?” Without hesitation, you answered. “A bottle, continuously, and please put it on the tab of my proprietor, please.” The man nodded and he left. “What are you doing?” Kylo grabbed your arm and you pulled away with a snarl. “What did I say about you touching me like that?” The ferocious look in your eye made Kylo gulped. He was ashamed, scared, but above all, very turned on. The waiter returned popping the bottle and pouring it into a glass. You raised yours to make a toast. “We will drink, till we forget!” You clinked and chugged it down.

Kylo didn’t know why he didn’t take the toast as a warning, he also couldn’t remember when he got drunk. Was it after the third bottle of champagne or when the conga line started or when the belly dancer pulled him on stage, but all he knew was that he was having a blast! Definitely, a bash he would like to remember so he tried to sober up for the most part while indulging in grown-up activities. You indulge in him and everyone having a good time, cracking jokes, singing songs, participating in ridiculous games that gave away the most ridiculous prizes. A smile seemed to be a permanent staple of your look tonight. “I LOVE THIS SONG!” You yelled as the golden liquid spilled from your glass. Kylo stood playing an imaginary piano with glasses he had won from one of the games. “Tu vuoi vivere alla moda, Ma se bevi whisky and soda, Po' te sente 'e disturbà.” You dance around singing with the others. Kylo chimed in with the wrongs words. “No, no, it’s ‘Tu vuò fa l'americano.’ Two-vwa-fa-l’americano.” You laughed. “What? What does that even mean?!” He shook his head. “You’d like to be an American! It’s Italian.” He shook his head. “You can speak Italian too?” A bubbly laugh escaped your liquored-lips. “No!” You grabbed your large hand and spun him around. He danced with him as you snag the song with a beautiful smile “Chi te li dà? La borsetta di mammà, Tu vuò fa l'americano, Mericano! Mericano, Ma sì nato in Italy.” The two danced unaware of the crowd forming around them, everyone super surprised at the moves Marygold had kept hidden from the public.

The song ended with a round of applause for the both you and Y/N waving like Queen Elizabeth herself. A man approached the two, taller than Kylo, which no one thought was possible. He glowed in the smoky dim lit club. “May I have this dance?” His deep Caribbean accent hypnotized you; your grip on Kylo’s jacket loosened as you went to the tall gentleman next to you. Without taking his eyes off of you, Kylo watched like a hawk as he sat at their table that was know full of a whole bunch of characters. His eyes darkened every time the man made you laugh, smile, basically every second they continued to dance. “Hey, you and Marygold were really knockin’ it out.” A voice spoke to him. “Yeah, thanks.” Kylo still focused on the dancers. “So...is she your dame?” Kylo scrunched his face at the old term. “What? Um... no, she’s just my friend.” A laugh came from beside him. “Doesn’t seem like it the way you’re staring at her.” Kylo finally turned to the right to see who was bugging him. An older man in an ink blue suit with sweated down hair drink dark liquor.

He poured some in the glass in front of Kylo. “Drink up, you’ll get some color.” He said before drinking again. Kylo sighed picking up the glass. “No offense, you’re just as pale as a ghost. You can’t compete with that.” He nodded to the guy. “Well, I guess if you’re into that tall, dark, and handsome, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte look.” Kylo sulked only to realize you were since you dated Juney. He chugged the dark liquor only to regret as the man ordered more. “So do you have another girl? We all know you aren’t the only guy.” He said positively. Kylo sighed. “I-I have a girlfriend.” The man laughed. “You act like that’s bad! I wish when I was your age, I could pull that off.” Kylo shook his drunk head. “No, it’s not like that. I-I love her, I think I’m in love with her.” The man put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “And that’s okay, you’re young, your heart can bounce back from that.” Before Kylo could speak, you were sliding yourself in. “What are you drinking?” Your polished fingers traced the rim of the glass. “RUM!” The man beat his chest like King Kong which gained a very loud laugh from you.

You and a few others participated in drinking the amber liquid until you were telling rather personal and embarrassing stories of yourself, well Marygold. “Yes and then she tried to show me up in front of everyone!” They laughed. “Children will drain everything out of you.” You sighed. “I always thought your daughter was cute!” A woman chimed and Y/N groaned. “Anything but, she grows more horrible with age.” You continued. “She’s a teenager now and she acts like my mother.” Laughter filled the air once more. “She’s bad news with a pretty face.” A grimace look fell upon your face as you saw yourself in the reflection of the liquid in front of you. “She’s beautiful and talented and too smart for her own good and she’s out there wasting it. She’s ungrateful and blind to how lucky she has it. She thinks she’s above all, pampered in that castle getting anything she wants.” Kylo turned to see your reddening eyes gloss up. The somber twist in your story had everyone sobering up. “If I have to spend another day with her, I’ll kill myself!” You hiccuped. “We can’t even have a family dinner without her throwing a fit. She ruins everything. Everything.” You glared at yourself in the drink. “You ruin everything Y/N, it would’ve been better if you were never born.”

Kylo knew this didn't pretend, you were being for real, this was really you letting your feelings out. The feeling of hurt burned more than all the liquor he consumed that night. It was only by the grace of God, he was able to get you guys home that night, well morning. He never drove drunk before, but he knew he would never do it again. He was scared as shit because he couldn’t keep his eyes open or control his movements to do the simplest actions. Getting you in the house and up the stairs was hard too. You didn’t want to walk or be quiet. He could barely carry himself up the stairs let alone the both of you. He was so thankful that your bedroom wasn’t too far. The two stumbled in and Kylo scooped you up and dropped you on your bed. You started singing before Kylo covered your mouth. “You have to be quiet.” He thought he whispered. You mumbled against his large hand. He removed it. “I don’t wanna.” You smiled.  “I don’t want tonight to end, I want to keep going!” You tried to sit up only for his strong arms to pin you down. “I want to sing songs, dance all night and kiss somebody handsome.” You hummed.

He gulped looking at you with hazy eyes. His chest was pressed against yours, dark hair tickling your cheeks. Your lips looked so full and so swollen, just calling for him to kiss him. “Non ce sta' niente a fa Okay, napolitan Tu vuò fa l'americano!” You began to sing. He growled in annoyance that you were going to get caught. “Stop it! We-we’re going to get caught.” His words slightly slurred. “No, we aren’t fish.” Your answer just proved how far gone you were. “You’re drunk,” Kylo said. “I’m not drunk.” You closed your eyes and Kylo found his eyes staring at your lips again. “I’m just sad.” He felt a tug at his heart from your words. He didn’t want you to feel this way, he wanted to take it all way. Kiss the pain away. With whatever liquid courage was left, he mustered it up to finally press his lips to yours. Slowly he leaned forward, feeling your hot breath hit his face. Before he could do it, your voice was almost lost in the silence. “Don’t tell Juney.” You whispered eyes shut tightly. “Don’t tell Juney about tonight or about the argument with my mother or how terrible it went, please.” Even though you couldn’t see, he nodded and went off the sleep beside you.

P.S.: GO READ THE SECOND PART!!

[hellowkatey]

Febuwhump Day 20

Prompt: Betrayal

Read on AO3

Shattered... (from a Certain Point of View)

Never in Rex's short life did he think he would ever betray his Jedi. None of them. Not General Kenobi or Skywalker. Certainly not Commander Tano. To follow orders was part of his programming, but not only that. He would follow his leaders to hell and back if they asked him-- if he considers Umbara or Zygerria and Kadavo hell, then he truly did. The Jedi have become honorary brothers in his mind. They put their lives on the line right next to him and the others, most of the time more-so. They've saved his life more times than he can count, only to be rivaled by the number of times they've gotten him into trouble.

They earned his respect. His friendship. And the respect and friendship of the other men.

Which is why, when the hooded figure shows up on the holo and utters a phrase Rex has never heard before, but suddenly just knows what to do...

"Execute Order 66"

He feels a part of him snap into place, and another part of him shatter into pieces.

"Yes, Lord Sidious," he replies, a surge of adrenaline and anger coursing through him. The door behind him opens, and Rex tightens the grip on his blaster.

But when he hears her voice...

"Rex!"

So familiar, tugging at memories so fond.

"It's Anakin."

Another name he knows too well. Too closely. The hand holding his helmet begins to quiver.

"I feel like something terrible has happened."

Something terrible is about to happen. It's the strangest sensation. Like his mind has been split into two and both sides are fighting for dominance. One side is telling him to draw his blaster and shoot Ahsoka Tano before she has a chance to do a thing. He's a quick shot, and if he misses there are guards at the door.

Good soldiers follow orders.

The other side is screaming at him. Pleading him. No! This is wrong! You can't do this!

His helmet slips from his grip and clatters to the floor. She's still standing behind him, and he can hear the confusion in her voice as the commlink tones of the other troopers begin to chime in.

"Rex?"

He knows the sound of blasters being aimed far too well. The two guards have received their orders. In a moment Ahsoka Tano will be dead. Rex draws in a breath. The mere thought of that as a truth, makes his entire body feel numb.

"No," he says firmly, but the shake in his voice is undeniable. He turns around, taking in the sight of the two troopers with orange and white painted helmets ready to fire. "I'll do it,"

"Rex? What's happening?"

He doesn't even remember picking up both his blasters before he's raising them, both pointed straight at her head. Staring down barrels, Rex finally looks at her. Looks her in the eye. All he can see in her big blue eyes and young face is the look of utter confusion and alarm. A kid! She's only a kid!

"Stay back!" he yells. His hands have never shaken like this before but now they won't stop. He's taken countless lives in this--this war for the Republic. Or for the Separatists? Who is winning now? Was anyone ever winning? He has no idea. What he does know is his hands have never shaken and he hardly ever misses a shot, but right now it is looking like both of these things are his reality. A part of him is frustrated and a part of him is praying to whatever higher power that may be listening that he misses this shot, please. "Find him," he says, feeling that his free will is quickly being overtaken. Like a parasite invading his brain, the good memories of Tano, Skywalker, and Kenobi are being pushed out by force. "Find him. Fives."

He can't take it anymore.

"Find him!" he screams and then fires his blaster wildly in the wrong direction. It's all the warning she needs. Ahsoka bolts into action, moving faster than his eyes can even perceive. Faster than he can react to her body slamming into his and cracking the back of his head into the console. White-hot pain flashes through him and he crumbles to the ground with black spots dancing before his eyes.

Execute Order 66, the shrill voice echos in his mind. Kill the Jedi. Good soldiers follow orders.

He groans, pushing through the haze of pain and blaster shots to get back on his feet. He hears his name being called, sounding faraway, but he can feel that it's near.

Rex starts to fire again. And again. Not really knowing where he's aiming, just knowing that he needs to kill the Jedi.

And when she disappears, the urge only grows.

__________

They search the ship. Tirelessly. Frantically. Like nothing else has mattered this much the entire war.

Except it has. Everything has been an uphill battle and we have done it every time with the help and guidance of the Jedi.

He grits his teeth. Nearly slams his fist into the wall of the lift he's in. Their orders are to execute her.

When have the orders of this Lord Sidious ever mattered before?

Rex's shoulder slams into a doorframe he wasn't paying attention to. He hisses at the blunt pain, shakes it off. A squad of troopers passes him in a steady jog.  Headed to their sector. They will find her if they have to tear this ship apart.

He starts to run, but is caught by troublesome droids blocking his path. He slams into one, taking an opportunity to kick it.

"Hey! Hey, out of the way." The droid seems to laugh at him, and he has half a mind to run his blaster through it instead. Then the blast doors shut around him, locking him in the hallway. "Are you cross-wired?"

A holographic Commander Tano appears from within the droid. "Rex. I think I know what's happening. I saw your report on Fives,"

Fives. Rex's entire body shutters at the remembrance of his death. How he fell limp in his arms.

"It isn't your fault." There's a surprising amount of sympathy in her eyes to be looking at the man who just tried to murder her. "You were programmed. Your mind was altered to do this when you were very young. I can help you."

Good soldiers follow orders.

You were programmed.

The hologram dissipates. His eyebrows slant. Another surge of anger from a place deep with him. He points the blaster at the droid as if it could tell him anything of use. "Where is she?"

"I'm right here," as he turns, a burst of electricity shoots through him, and the world goes black.

__________

The sound of battle wakes Rex up better than any alarm. His heart is already pounding with adrenaline, but when he opens his eyes he finds he is much less prepared for battle than his body seems to be.

His head is pounding. Lights too bright. He tries to process what's going on around him.

Medbay. Lights in medbay. Blasters. Stretcher. Injured? Lightsaber.

Lightsaber. Ahsoka.

Rex pushes through the wave of nausea and finds himself on the receiving end of an endless stream of blaster shots. He'd be more blaster wounds than man if it weren't for Commander Tano crouched at the end of his bed, the bright blue of her lightsabers moving at an impossible speed. She blocks every single blast with perfect precision, but Rex realizes none are being aimed back at the troopers.

The troopers are trying to kill her. He reaches for his guns as a blast manages to strike her shoulder and she staggers back. He aims them as she screams for the droid to respond, her energy obviously waning.

Rex remembers the last time he picked up both his blasters. They were pointed at his Jedi. Armed to kill. But the feeling is suddenly gone from his system. The voice no longer echos in his mind.

He aims. He shoots. This time, he doesn't miss.

Four brothers cry out as his shots hit as they always do, their bodies falling as the door finally shuts. In the sudden silence of immediate ceasefire, Commander Tano turns around and looks at him with those big blue eyes. Her young face is full of confusion and alarm..,. but also hope.

And to see her look at him with hope is the worst possible way she could have looked at him because. when he looks at her all he can see is the reflection of his own betrayal. She shouldn't be staring at him with such concern, moving toward him instead of running away.

His hands start to shake again. He's still pointing his pistols at her, but his fingers aren't even on the triggers. He is just too shellshocked to know what to even do right now. If she ignited her sabers and took him out, he wouldn't blame her in the slightest.

She should hate him. She should kill him. She has every right to that.

Instead, she asks if he is okay.

No, I am not okay... but hearing her voice calms him. Snaps him out of the haze of waking up to such a shock, and he slowly lowers the blasters.

"Yeah. Yeah, kid, I'm okay."

The pounding in his head begs to differ. He reaches up to the source, feeling a thick bandage on the side of his head. You were programmed.

They put a chip in his head to control him when they needed him. To control all of the clones.

"I was framed because I know the truth... the truth about a plot. A massive deception... A sinister plot in the works against the Jedi!"

Shame courses through him at the judgment he cast upon his friend. The disbelief at what he was saying. Fives knew. Fives was right.

"It's in all of us. Every clone."

Every clone.

It sounded crazy at the time. He thought Fives had lost it the way he'd seen countless other brothers descend into madness.

"It's bigger than any of us. Than anything I could have imagined."

Now Rex sees it. The entire plan in action with no way of stopping it. The clones have their orders to kill their Jedi, and he knows for a fact that on their own, the Jedi don't stand a chance against their battalions of thousands.

"I just wanted to do my duty... The mission... the nightmares... they're finally... over"

Fives' last words hit him like a speeder to the stomach. All this time they were put here not to fight and die for the Republic, but to act as sleeper agents until they were needed. Mere pawns created for Lord Sidious's master plan that Rex doesn't even fully understand. What scenario constitutes a purging of an entire religion? It's a war crime at the very least. Their duty was always what they were told to do... but no more. He is tired of being a pawn. He doesn't have anything forcing him into obedience hidden within his mind.

Now, he has a new duty. To stay by Commander Tano's side, and try to stand by those who fought alongside them the last few years. Good soldiers follow orders, but better soldiers do what's right.