The climax of the action of "these battle scars". This fic has four main battles: the Senate chamber, Felucia, Utapau, and Mustafar. Content warnings: violence, severe injury, flashbacks, nightmares, PTSD, mind control (briefly), guilt/survivor's guilt, major character death, slavery, torture, less-brief mind control, manipulation, escapism, depression, anxiety/panic attacks, dependency, and a brief discussion of suicidal thoughts. Please stay safe while reading.
The Sith Lord known as Darth Sidious, formerly Chancellor of the Republic, sits in the corner of his cell as he has done for the last two months and makes plans.
The Jedi have taken his lightsaber, and the cell is cut off from the Force; they seem to believe him helpless, like they've conquered the mighty Sith Master by taking away his powers. They seem to have forgotten, Sidious muses, that his facade, Sheev Palpatine, was a politician.
His primary weapon has never been his lightsaber-though he is exceedingly skilled with the blade, of course-nor has it been the Force, as he prefers to use the Force subtly, to manipulate and hide and bend rather than straight-out attack. No, his favored weapon is words, and he needs no connection to the Force to use words.
He's spent weeks quietly manipulating the guard who brings him his meals, and finally, his manipulations have borne fruit; the guard will be here soon, and Sidious has convinced him to take Sidious to see the sunlight-in binders, of course, but the moment he leaves the Force-blocked cell the binders won't matter.
The guard comes right on time, as usual, and after Sidious eats it's time. The guard apologizes about the necessity of the binders, and Sidious almost absently reassures him, all the while concentrating on summoning all his hatred of the pathetic, weak Jedi Order. The guard makes the mistake of cuffing his hands in front of him, and Sidious can't quite hide a smirk.
Finally.
The cell door opens, and Sidious steps out; the moment he passes the threshold, power pours into him, and it's just a matter of a little concentration and lightning sparks blue from his fingers, crackles across the security camera, shutting it down. The guard spins back around to face him, frowns, says, "What was that?"
Sidious shrugs. "It must have been a malfunction," he says, puts a trace of the Force behind his words, and the guard nods, leads him forward. Sidious takes the time to carefully undo the binders, dropping them carelessly behind him, and then when the guard turns back to him he puts every ounce of Force-persuasion he has behind his words and says, "You will show me where my lightsaber is."
The clone guard hesitates.
And then his eyes go vacant and he nods. "I will show you where your lightsaber is."
Sidious smiles.
This is all-too-easy.
...
Rex shifts a little in his seat and Brii gives him a sharp look. "Sir, if you don't want me to mess up, you have to stop moving."
"I know," Rex grumbles, and ignores Ahsoka's smirk. Don't give me that , he thinks, feels her amusement surge in response. This wasn't my idea, remember.
You did agree, though.
Under extreme duress, he says, hisses a little. Ow.
I wouldn't call Brii asking you nicely and showing you a design he drew 'extreme duress.'
Rex rolls his eyes. Brii's pleading looks could be weaponized. And the jaig eyes had looked kriffing good . And Ahsoka had kept pestering him and, well, here he is.
Getting a kriffing tattoo .
Brii keeps saying he's almost done, but Rex is starting to think that's just a tactic to get him to be patient and he doesn't appreciate it.
His squad is sitting around, mostly making approving comments to Brii, suggesting he add more blue (and Rex wishes he hadn't permitted Brii to do color but the kid had been so determined ). They're being very supportive, especially Fives, who has brought him two cups of caf so far and seems utterly thrilled at the turn of events.
(He's been doing better lately, which Rex is grateful for.)
It looks good , Ahsoka hums, and Rex smiles at her, rolling his eyes.
Well I hope so, because I'm stuck with it now.
Brii isn't letting him see it until he's done, which Rex thinks is unfair, but Brii has proven to be like that with most things relating to his art - he doesn't like people seeing the process. Thankfully, it's only a few more minutes before Brii frowns thoughtfully, leans back, and nods. "I think I'm done," he says firmly, a nervous smile playing across his features.
Rex peers down at his chest to see, and it's not a good angle but what he sees is, he thinks, much better than he'd thought. Bri hasn't gone crazy with colors, like he'd feared, but kept to blue with just a few embellished hints of gold and orange. Ahsoka comes around in front of him next to Brii, nods approvingly with a tiny smirk on her face. "Good job, Brii."
"Thanks," Brii says happily, and Rex stands, nodding.
"Yeah kid, it's great. Really." He gives him a genuine smile and reaches for his shirt again. He has a lot of scars, most of them bad, and having them on display to his men is… not comfortable.
...
Ahsoka had honestly never thought she'd manage to convince Rex to get a tattoo-of course, Brii's extremely effective pleading looks had definitely helped, but still. She's rather proud of herself. You know, you're next, Rex tells her, and she makes a face at him.
Nope. Brii's pleading looks don't work on me, she says, smirks a little.
"When are you going to get a tattoo, Commander?" Brii asks, looking brightly up at her. "I have a few design ideas I've sketched out if you want to take a look?"
Kriff.
Rex is laughing at her, silently, and she sighs. "Sure," she says, gives Brii a smile. "I'd love to-"
The door to the barracks suddenly flies open, slams into the wall, and Anakin sprints in. His eyes are wide and wild and he looks utterly horrified."He escaped," he gasps out, stopping and leaning against one of the bunks.
"What?" Ahsoka frowns, not understanding. "Who? Master, I don't-"
"Palpatine," and Anakin holds out a handheld holoprojector. The holo plays, showing the former Chancellor being escorted from his cell by a guard, past the perimeter of the Force-block, and then there's a flash of lightning and the holo goes dark.
Ahsoka swears. "But that means-"
"We have to do something," and he looks so sick.
...
When Anakin bursts in, Rex automatically snatches one of his DCs off the table, curls his finger around the trigger because when Anakin gets like this it means something is very, very bad.
His hand only tightens around it when he hears why . Palpatine, the kriffing Chancellor, the Sith Lord , cannot escape . Rex wants to see him executed for his crimes, wants to know the people he loves are safe from him.
"Let's kriffing go after him, sir," he says, reaching for his armor and gun belt, sees his men all scrambling to their feet too, grabbing buckets, ready to leave and find the man (not even the man, the creature) who has been manipulating them all from the beginning, who ordered Rex reconditioned, who must have something to do with the voice in their heads and the nightmares.
But Anakin holds up a hand, forestalls them. "We need a plan. A real one. I don't even know where he is, and he's a Sith Lord ." They've all fought Sith and dar'jetii before, but something tells Rex that Anakin is more worried about this one than he had been the others - and it makes sense. If no one has noticed before that Palpatine is a Sith, he must be powerful, and patient.
Rex doesn't want to lose more of his men in a battle they aren't qualified to fight (he sees Grievous, Dooku, Ventress, and the worst, Krell, cutting down his vod'e as easily as if they were practice dummies), but he needs to have this, a chance at making Palpatine pay for everything he's caused. Rex is sure the Chancellor is responsible for more than they even know. "You're right, sir, but… We should hurry."
"Trust me, I know , Rex," Anakin growls, feral and fierce and frightened.
...
"Master, comm Obi-Wan," Ahsoka says. "We'll need his help. The hard part will be finding him, but I think I have an idea."
She doesn't tell Anakin what her idea is; if he knew, he'd never let her do it. But it's the best chance they have of finding Sidious-Palpatine-before it's too late.
What are you planning, Soka? Rex asks, and she swallows.
You need to shield yourself, hard. And don't reach for me, no matter what you feel. This is-safe, I promise, but not for you.
He does not feel convinced. Should I tell Anakin?
No! I'm fine, I know what I'm doing. Mostly. Probably. Just kriffing put the shields up, Rex. Please?
He sighs, glares at her, but she feels the shields go up and she smiles. He just glares harder.
Snips, what are you doing? Anakin asks, and she carefully brings up her strongest shields, blocking him out. Some things are not meant to be shared.
And then she closes her eyes and sinks into the Force, and calls.
Father!
You do not need to shout, the Father says with a sort of dry amusement. What is it, child?
You showed me the Sith Master once before, she says. I need to find him again, and to be able to follow him if he moves.
Are you sure? the Father asks. I cannot shield you from his Darkness. This is not safe for you, child.
It's the best option we have, Ahsoka argues. He's too dangerous, we have to find him. Do it.
Very well, and she's jerked out of the meditation by an overwhelming aura of Darkness, so thick and choking she feels like she's suffocating, and she reaches for Rex instinctively, tries not to be sick.
...
Rex doesn't know what Ahsoka is planning, only that he wants to grab her and shake her and stop her because it sounds dangerous , but instead he does as he's told and wraps himself in the toughest shields he has, pulls away from their bond because he remembers a hurricane tearing apart his mind and he doesn't want to feel that again - he knows it will kill him if he does.
He shoots Anakin a look and Anakin strides over. "What is she doing? " he hisses.
"I don't know, I- ah, gods ." Icy cold snaps across the bond, in the midst of it the feeling of Ahsoka's panic, and he realizes she's reaching for him which must mean it's alright to respond.
He grabs the bond and he feels nothing but cold , ice that burns, an ocean of anger and hate and chaos and he doesn't know what it is but he reaches into the waves to Ahsoka's desperate thoughts, grabs on tight. He senses she needs him so he tightens his shields, ignores the hate that's whispering in the back of his mind, and projects warmth and love like armor against the ice. Protection, duty, strength, love - all the things that have always helped him control his anger.
This is so much, Rex, she thinks.
Hang on, Soka, he answers, although he doesn't know why she's doing this except that it will supposedly help them find the Chancellor. Focus on me .
...
Ahsoka can't breathe.
She clings to Rex's love and warmth, forces the burning ice of the Darkness into a small point, wraps it in her strongest shields-even then, she can still feel the hatred and raw evil whispering to her, and she shudders, sucks in a few desperate breaths, and then she forces her eyes open.
"Okay," she says, carefully, winces as the Dark tries to force its way out again. (It does not like being bound up. Hopefully this doesn't backfire on her the way it did on Sidious, although at least she's not covering the galaxy in a web.) "I-should be able to find him now."
"What the kriff did you do?" Anakin snaps, eyes wide and worried. "Snips, your mind-"
"I know," Ahsoka says, tries not to be sharp. "I asked nicely. That's what I did."
That doesn't explain anything, and she knows that, and from the look Anakin gives her, he knows she knows. "Ahsoka…"
She huffs, because all he has to do is say her name in that tone, with that look, and… "I. Asked the Force to show me Sidious like it did last time?"
"Last time?"
Oh, right, she hasn't actually told Anakin about that yet. "Uh, it's a long story. Also I may have saved his life." Anakin stares at her like he can't quite believe her, and she raises her hands in surrender (and then grits her teeth as another wave of hatred-fear- pain breaks through her shields). "It was-kind of an accident?"
"You never actually explained that," Fives says.
She gives him a withering stare. "Well, I was a bit busy keeping you guys from killing me!"
Fives recoils, and she swears silently, because she knows better and she didn't mean that and- "Kriff, I think it's affecting me," she mutters, closes her eyes. "I can- feel him. There's so much."
She reaches for Rex again, clings to his love. He's so strong, she sends. I can't-I can't keep him out.
...
Rex wraps his mind around Ahsoka's as best he can, projecting love and trying to make his armor hers, too. It's so cold and he remembers trying to drag Ahsoka back from the Son, only to be forced out of her mind, unable to help, and he clings to his own anger (anger at the way Fives' eyes flicker with guilt, the way Ahsoka feels frightened and lonely, the way he wants to see Palpatine burn ) and fills her with what strength he has to offer. Then he feels Anakin's mind too, and the shields his General puts up are far better and stronger than his own.
He feels Ahsoka focus, and then she smiles a little, nods. "Thank you," she says, and Rex nods because it still takes too much mental focus for him to keep shields up, so talking is hard.
He glances over at Fives and the rest of his squad, and smiles at them, trying to be reassuring because Fives looks withdrawn into himself and the rest of his men don't look much better. "You know she didn't mean it, vod ," he says quietly, stepping towards Fives, and the ARC trooper shrugs carelessly, with an effort at a smile in Ahsoka's direction.
"Yeah, I get it. No harm done, Commander," he says, but that's just not true and Rex sighs, wishes he could focus enough to fix this . Instead he just pushes more love and strength at Ahsoka because he knows she needs it.
...
Ahsoka grabs onto Rex's projection, holds tight-sends a brief thought of gratitude to Anakin for his shields (he responds with a burst of angry reprimand, and she winces a little because she definitely deserves that), takes a sharp breath. "Fives," she starts, but he shakes his head, cuts her off.
"You're fine, Commander, let's just get that slimy bastard dar'jetii," and she's going to have to have a conversation with him after this. For reasons she can barely understand (and they haven't exactly explained it to her, she's not vod'e even if she and Rex are-whatever they are), Fives has been the one who's struggled the most with Kamino, even though she's told him multiple times she doesn't blame him for what happened.
"Alright," she says, gets to her feet and checks to make sure her 'sabers are where they should be-both of them, including the new one she'd made just a couple weeks ago, are clipped securely to her belt, and she nods. "Let's go."
"We'll split into squads," Anakin says, raising his voice so the entire barracks can hear him. "As soon as we get a fix on Palpatine's position, form a secure perimeter, tight as you can, but once Ahsoka and I engage him do not fire."
"Remember Krell?" Ahsoka asks, sees how the troopers who'd been in the command center when she'd fought him nod, understanding dawning.
...
Rex nods, glances at his squad while he picks up the last of his armor from the table, buckling on his pauldrons and bracers with swift, practiced fingers. Remembering Krell puts a tightness in his chest that he has to breathe past because they had been as prepared as they could be, but Krell had still broken past them. But this time, this time they'll be ready, and Anakin and Ahsoka and Kenobi will all be there. That will be enough, won't it? (He doubts it, a little, but there's anger burning like coals in his gut and his instinct says it's time to fight.)
He puts on his helmet and unholsters his other DC-17, feels the comforting weight of both blaster pistols against his palms, and pulls away some of his shields from Ahsoka so he can actually focus . "Lead the way, Commander," he growls, and Ahsoka nods, and he senses her listening to the cold point of hatred she's struggling so hard to contain, and then suddenly she takes off running out of the mess. Anakin and Rex and the battalion form up behind her, running too, in a move as familiar as breathing, now.
"I'm going to comm Obi-Wan to get the 212th to meet us," Anakin says. "We're going to need them."
Rex lifts one hand slightly in acknowledgement. They'll need everyone they can get.
...
Ahsoka closes her eyes, falls deeper into the Darkness that is Sidious' presence, trying to divine where he's going; he's moving, she can tell that much, and she doesn't want to run around all of kriffing Coruscant on a wild-bantha chase.
It's hard, so hard. His mind is a whirlpool of turning cogs and plots and plans, seeds he's planted years ago and carefully nurtured, layers upon layers of contingency plans set just for this possibility. He's simultaneously gleeful about how easy this all is, how smoothly it's going, and frustrated that some of his seeds aren't ready yet. She gets a sense that he'd needed a few more months for the political climate to be ideal; try as she might, however, she can't find what his current plans are, not without alerting him to her presence.
She does, however, find his destination.
Clinging to her bonds, Ahsoka lets love and strength, anger and determination pull her out of the Dark, and she gasps faintly and swallows. "The Senate, he's going to the Senate," she says, and then she starts running again.
He has so many plans, plans within plans within plans, and she feels a heavy, choking despair settle leaden in her stomach. How can they even hope to defeat him?
Stop it, Snips, that's his influence, Anakin sends, and she feels him chasing out all the fear and despair. Focus on the here-and-now, and remember-the first thing anyone ever taught me about the Force is that your focus determines your reality.
She nods, breathes in, out. Your focus determines your reality. They can do this.
...
"Rex, Obi-Wan is with the Council but he's going to meet us," Anakin calls, and Rex nods, turns his own wristcomm to Cody's frequency as they turn the last corridor headed for the barracks hangar. He can tell Ahsoka is having trouble focusing but that isn't priority; priority is the Senate building, as fast as possible, which means they need transports.
"Cody," he snaps.
"Hey, vod , " Cody answers. "What do you need?"
"Get your battalion down to the hangar, now . The Chancellor escaped and he's headed for the Senate."
"Copy that."
"They're on their way, General," Rex says, and Anakin shoots him a tight smile and a nod.
"Great, Rex."
Whatever the Chancellor wants with the Senate building, it can't be good. Rex pushes himself to run faster because they have to have the transports up as soon as the 212th arrives, have to get there and fix this.
When his entire battalion bursts into the hangar like they have a whole droid army behind them, most of the flight technicians and pilots go dead still, then someone shouts "How many ships?"
"We're transporting two battalions," Rex answers, waves his hand and the 501st forms up into squads so they can get on their transports as efficiently as possible. Hurry up, Cody . Then he strides over to Ahsoka, grabs her arm. "You doing alright?"
She meets his eyes, takes a steady breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. Just… We need to get to him."
Rex nods, glances at his General. "We're working on it."
It feels longer than the ten minutes it is before Cody and the 212th march into the hangar, also split into squads, and Cody comes over to them, salutes to Anakin. "General. We're ready to go."
The pilots have the transports running and Rex helps Cody direct each squad to their transport as fast as possible - it's Rex's squad who moves fastest, understands the clearest what they're dealing with. Ahsoka goes with them, Anakin goes with Cody, and Rex lets himself put his arm around Ahsoka's shoulders as they take off, sends her another rush of strength and love. It's going to be alright, he thinks, grimly. He's more than ready to make the Chancellor pay for everything that's been done to his men since he authorized the creation of the GAR.
...
Commander Fox's troopers have always been loyal to the Chancellor, and that hasn't changed just because Sidious had the misfortune to be imprisoned. When Sidious borrows his guard-turned-escort's comm to contact the Commander, he's gratified by the instant response and assurance that the Commander would be waiting with a squad-and a pair of Sidious' Senatorial robes-at a safe rendezvous.
Sidious has always appreciated true loyalty.
"You and your men are to be commended for your loyalty in the face of such trials," he tells the clone Commander, smiles the grandfatherly smile he's perfected over the years he's been Sheev Palpatine.
"Thank you, Chancellor, sir," Commander Fox says, bowing his head. "The men and I all agreed there's no way you could be a Sith Lord or a traitor. How anyone could believe that we don't understand-you've dedicated so much of your life to working tirelessly for the good of the Republic, and this is your reward?"
Sidious does his best to suppress a triumphant smile. "Indeed, Commander-but we must not be angry at the Senate for their error. The Jedi have been plotting to take over the Republic, and the Senate has spent too long blindly putting faith in the Jedi Order to recognize the seeds of deception. That is why I must speak to them; I can see clearly through the web of lies so cleverly woven by Grand Master Yoda and the Jedi Council. As Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, it is my responsibility to aid the Republic when it begins to stray down the wrong path."
Fox nods. "Sir, what about the Jedi? What do we do about them?"
"They have committed treason against the Republic, Fox," Sidious says, dropping his voice and stepping towards the clone, as though he's imparting some grave secret. "And they must be dealt with accordingly. Justice will be swift."
"But-the younglings, the children, what about them?" another trooper asks, and Sidious internally rolls his eyes.
"I am afraid the taint of treachery and Darkness has spread even to the younglings," he says, somber with a hint of sorrow, as though he regrets it. "It grieves me deeply to say this, but the entire Order must be wiped out, exterminated like the plague upon society it has become." He puts just enough of the Force behind his words to makes the troopers agree, without being enough for them to notice his influence. "But enough of this talk! I must hurry-I have to speak to the Senate before the Jedi move to silence me."
Sidious has his lightsaber secure in the hidden pocket within his sleeve, and a holoprojector with executive codes that will transport to the in-helmet comms of every clone trooper when he gives the order: he expects the Jedi to challenge him while he's in the Senate, of course, and he will easily be able to turn that move against them.
The Senate chamber is full of Senators, of course, and Sidious even spies Duchess Satine Kryze, the speaker for the Alliance of Neutral Systems and Duchess of Mandalore, standing with Senators Amidala and Organa in one of the repulsorpods. That is an interesting alliance, he thinks; Senator Mothma of Chandrila is almost certainly also a part of that group, too. He'll have to keep an eye on them, perhaps have them disposed of.
Sidious strides into the the chamber, makes for the center, where the Speaker is, his troops escorting him. His entrances causes an instant stir in the gathered Senators, of course; he smiles privately, testing the ambient Force of the huge auditorium, finding the emotional climate to be nearly perfect for what he intends to do. He ascends to the central podium, speaks into the microphone, already beginning to subtly influence the emotional state of the Senators to the most useful state.
"Honored delegates of Republic-allied worlds, I apologize for my interruption, but I am the bearer of urgent news. As you all are aware, some two months ago I, former Supreme Chancellor of this grand Republic, was wrongfully imprisoned by the Jedi, accused of crimes against this establishment. I have managed to win my freedom for long enough to bring you the dreadful news that the Jedi have betrayed the Republic! The Jedi Council is planning to take over the Republic, and when I discovered this nefarious plot, they manufactured evidence accusing me of dreadful treachery, in order to silence me before I could warn you, honored delegates! I come before you today, not as your Supreme Chancellor, but as a humble fugitive; my standing in society may have changed drastically, but I have not lost the burning desire to protect the freedom of the thousands of systems who look to the Republic for protection, and this is why I risk my life to come before you. It is likely the Jedi already know I am here, and are on their way here even now, that they might silence me. But I say this to you, honored delegates: I will not be silenced! Justice cannot be muted, and she cries out for the blood of the treasonous Jedi Order! For speaking out against the tyranny of Grand Master Yoda and his Council, I fully expect I will lose my life, but that is a sacrifice I make willingly, yes, eagerly, that my words might live on in your voices, that the Republic might yet retain its freedom!"
A repulsorpod zips out into the open space, and the Senator on it shouts, "What are you proposing we do? We are no match for the power of the Jedi!"
Sidious nudges the Force a bit more, lightly tugs on the fear, the desire for vengeance, bringing it to the forefront. "Fear not, Senator-the Jedi are powerful, but they are not immortal, and I swear to you the Grand Army of the Republic is standing by, prepared to extinguish this treacherous flame before the fire burns the entire Republic to ashes. They only await my orders."
Another repulsorpod moves out. Amidala. "Senators, I beg you, do not make an immature decision! We have yet to see evidence of this supposed treason! Have you forgotten how the Jedi have lost the most in this war, more than anyone else besides the clones? The Jedi have always been staunch allies and supporters of the Republic and our commitment to the ideals of freedom and peace. Honored delegates, members of the Senate, if we allow this atrocity, this genocide, to occur, we are betraying our own Constitution! This is not justice, this is a massacre!"
"I concur with Senator Amidala," calls Mon Mothma, toggling her own repulsorpod out into the floor. "Where is this evidence? Senators, listen to me: this is not freedom. This is fear!"
The floor dissolves into chaos, arguing, some applause, and Sidious tests the Force again. There are Force-signatures approaching at high speed, and he smiles. Excellent-all the threads are coming together. "Senators, please!" he shouts, Forcing them to listen to him. "The Senators from Chandrila and Naboo are well within right and reason to request evidence. If it is evidence you wish for, Senator Amidala, Senator Mothma, I give you evidence!"
He gestures to the main entrance to the Senate chamber just as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano sprint in, lightsabers ignited, followed by Captain Rex and Commander Cody and other clones. There are cries of horror, fear, panic around the chamber as what appears to be the entire 212th and 501st battalions enter the chamber from different points, blasters up, forming a perimeter.
"Do you believe me now, Senators?" Sidious shouts, spreading his arms wide. "See how the Jedi seek to cover up their tracks-but it is too late!"
"Execute the traitors!" someone shouts, and they are echoed by cries from all around the Senate chamber. "Kill the Jedi!"
"Sheev Palpatine," Kenobi shouts, his voice Force-amplified, and he, Skywalker, Tano, and Rex take over a repulsorpod and move out into the air, "by the authority invested in me as a member of the High Council of the Jedi Order, I, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, place you under arrest for charges of treason, resisting arrest, conspiring with the enemy, possession of unsanctioned weapons, breaking the Constitution of the Republic, and being a Sith Lord actively in use of the Dark Side of the Force. Know that anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law-"
Sidious just sighs, shakes his head. "So it's treason, then," he says softly, though the microphone picks up his voice and makes it echo all around the chamber. And he pulls out the holoprojector, activates it, and when he speaks he makes certain he's also speaking into the microphone. "Clone troopers of the GAR, the time has come," and he feels the padawan, Tano, scream a warning into the Force, so loud and strong anyone with a shred of Force-sensitivity will hear, but she is too late, and he smiles quietly. "Execute Order Sixty-Six."
...
Rex can't move , he can't , won't, is afraid if he does it will be to turn his blasters on his Jedi, afraid if he breaks the stillness he'll hear good soldiers follow orders again and he can only reach desperately for Ahsoka's thoughts so if it happens she can pull him back; his whole squad is frozen too but.
But Cody isn't, his ori'vod isn't, and he moves swiftly, easily, with all his usual control, bringing his blaster pistol to bear on General Kenobi and no one has time to stop his finger from tightening around the trigger, the blaster bolt from shining blue for a harsh second before it sears into Kenobi's back, perfectly between his shoulder blades and for a moment. Rex doesn't. Move .
And then the ice cracks and the fear solidifies into horrible certainty and Rex's squad, most of his battalion, moves because the 212th has their blasters turned on their Jedi and Kenobi has crumpled to the floor and someone is screaming, too many people are screaming, and Ahsoka and Anakin aren't going to be fast enough to block all the blaster bolts so his battalion bursts into motion, forms a guard around them, and Rex sets his blaster to stun to shoot Cody because his vod shows no signs of snapping out of it and Rex yanks off his own helmet (tactically unwise but perhaps it will help).
"Get out of the way," Cody growls, and Rex gives a hand signal for more of his squad to help him cover his Jedi.
He knows they all have their blasters set to stun already, so he holds up two fingers from his DC-17, prepares to give the order to fire. Cody doesn't wait for him, fires at Anakin, but Fives lunges into the path of the bolt, takes it in the collarbone with a cry, and Rex drops his fingers.
His squad fires as one, and Cody drops to the floor in a clatter of armor.
"Protect the Jedi at all costs," Rex says to his battalion, knows he hardly has to. "But shoot to stun."
Anakin drags General Kenobi into the middle of their squad, eyes wild. "Where's Kix?"
Kix switches his saber off (Rex hadn't even noticed him get it out but he's glad he did) and rushes over to crouch by Kenobi, and Rex thinks he looks lost and out of his depth. "Protect him, Kix, help him if you can," Anakin says fiercely. "I'm going after the Chancellor."
"Yes, sir."
Rex doesn't have time to reassure Kix like he wants to because his men all around the Senate chambers are shooting each other, and the ones who didn't obey the order are being killed, and that is his priority now - that and protecting civvies. He doesn't give himself space to be afraid for his Jedi, he can't.
He grabs Fives' arm, says, "Can you fight?"
"Yeah, vod ."
"Alright." That has to be enough. "I'm leaving you and the rest of my squad to protect Kix and Kenobi, and watch their backs," he gestures to Anakin and Ahsoka rushing towards the Chancellor's podium. Fives nods. "The rest of you, with me!" he shouts, and breaks into a run, knows they'll follow. They have to protect their vod'e , have to subdue them all as fast as they can so they can focus on the Sith .
There is no alternative.
...
Caleb Dume, Jedi Padawan, is thoroughly tired of fighting. For one, they go to all these different planets-like this one, Kaller-and all they ever do is blast droids, which is easy and also boring and he really just wants to learn everything he can about the planets. Who cares about a war?
Master Billaba, he thinks, feels the same way, but she's told him, very sternly, that this is their mandate right now, and they have to obey it. And then she scolds him when he sulks about it. He can't help sulking, though-even if Commander Grey and Captain Styles find it funny.
They're sitting around their camp on Kaller, after finally ending the battle, and Master Billaba is telling some story about him as a youngling, and he groans, because why does she always have to do that? It's embarrassing.
And then the Force screams with warning, so loud Caleb instinctively claps his hands over his ears, though he knows that won't help.
Master Billaba looks terrified, and also… accepting? He doesn't understand. "Master, what's wrong-"
And then Commander Grey starts swearing. "General, the order-"
"I know," she says calmly, and she stands, ignites her slim green lightsaber blade. "Take your vod'e who are free and run, Commander. That is an order. Protect Caleb."
"I can protect myself!" Caleb protests, standing and igniting his blue lightsaber. "What's wrong?"
And then the Force twists, inverting upon itself in utter turmoil, and Caleb is drowning in screams and pain, so so much pain, someone-many someones-dying-Jedi dying-and there's pain stabbing into is chest, his head, his back, his whole body, and someone's screaming (it's him) and-and-
Caleb!
He reaches for his Master's voice, terror and screams and anguish flowing through him like blood. Master! Master, help, help, help me please-
Caleb, run!
He can't. I won't leave you, Master! Please, I don't understand, don't make me go-
The battalion is advancing, blasters firing, and his Master is blocking the bolts but she can't do this for long and-and-
"Commander, come on," Grey shouts, and Caleb shakes his head.
"I can't, I can't, she needs me-"
"I'm sorry for this, Commander," Captain Styles says, and before Caleb has time to react a stun pulse slams into him, and the last thing Caleb feels is endless agony as his Master dies, riddled with blaster bolts, and the bond between them snaps and leaves behind a gaping hole in his mind, jagged-edged and bleeding.
And the Force just keeps screaming.
...
All Kix feels is pain and screaming, so much that he can't see for the images flashing across his field of vision and the pressure behind his eyes, and he doesn't know what it means except that there's so much loss and he was supposed to- supposed to- he doesn't know and then there's another wave of agony so intense he retches, doubles over and shuts his eyes against an onslaught of images, his vod'e lost and dying and so many wounds that his mind clings to, tries to categorize, and it's like the whole galaxy is burning and shattering and the Force is wailing in his head because this isn't right .
He grabs onto something, somebody's hand, he thinks, feels his nails digging into skin and some tiny part of him is trying to tell him to breathe slower, to find a rhythm and get his breath back but, but it all hurts and he can barely breathe at all, much less try to calm himself, and he doesn't even know where he is and he feels like his heart is stopping, like he's been shot, he thinks, but he can't have been, he would have noticed, and still part of him is saying he should slow down and put his head between his knees and breathe .
The Force doesn't answer him when he reaches for it, it's just full of screaming, and he's alone in the middle of all this pain- but the hand he's clinging to is an anchor, just enough, holds him connected to something other than the images. (His vod'e shooting to kill, crying, panic in their thoughts, only to be cut down themselves and the Jedi they were trying to defend standing alone, as good as helpless. A vod's thoughts full of good soldiers follow orders while something stifling and lost and alone screams please no not this . Cody reaching desperately to hang onto himself, but he just can't and he shoots Kenobi and he's screaming and crying and incoherent because he's killed his Jedi but it doesn't matter because he's served his purpose.) Kix can't do anything to help them, can only cling onto the hand he's holding (Jesse, it's Jesse) and swallow back sick and bile.
Kenobi. He… Cody shot Kenobi. He was supposed to- a padawan screaming for his Master, who's lying dead on the ground - he was supposed to help Kenobi. Protect him. He tightens his hand around Jesse's, so hard he feels bones grinding and that's too much, he should let go because he's carving into Jesse's hand and he, he doesn't… He has to help.
He reaches for the Force again, and it's not listening to him, not answering, so he just latches onto the power and draws it into himself (and something reminds him not too much ), forces his eyes open, tries to drive away all the images. (He feels a stab of pain and terror and it belongs to the Duchess, icy and terrified and not him, please, don't take him from me, and loss and horror and he wants to tell her he's not dead .) He reaches out, finds Kenobi's wrist and feels for a pulse, struggles to stay focused on this, on healing, on protecting , on not drowning in all the screaming. The General is alive, like he thought, but the Force tells him not long so he focuses on the power and the injury and starts knitting things back together, shifting muscle and tissue where it needs to be, and he doesn't know how to do this, this is so bad , but it's a surgery and it brings him focus, surety, a way to shield against the pain. He can finally ease his grip on Jesse's hand.
...
When Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan finally come sprinting into the Senate chamber, lightsabers glowing in their hands, backed by the entire 501st and 212th, Satine feels nothing but sweet, heady relief, because now this nightmare will be over. A few troopers-two in 501st blue, two in 212th orange-take up a position just outside the repulsorpod she's sharing with Padmè and Bail Organa, and she nods at them, grateful. They nod back, train their blasters on the Chancellor-
And then the Chancellor says, the words echoing around the cavernous chamber with a strange, heavy weight, like the ponderousness of inevitability, like gravity, "Execute Order Sixty-Six."
All around the room, clone troopers freeze, and then-
And then-
Satine has a perfect view of the three Jedi, a perfect front-row seat (just far enough away she cannot do a thing to help) to watch as Commander Cody raises his blaster like he's done this his whole life (he has) and in one fluid motion he takes aim and fires, before Anakin or Ahsoka or Obi-Wan realize, and she flings her hand out as though she could do something, but she can't-she can't stop it as the trigger depresses and the blaster barks and the bolt flies blue-white and embeds itself in Obi-Wan's back, directly between his shoulder blades.
Satine screams.
He falls.
Cody is firing at Anakin now, and the ARC trooper, Fives, jumps in the way, and she sees, vaguely, Rex's squad stunning Cody, but she cannot take her eyes off the prone form lying unmoving on the floor, and she can't even tell if he's still breathing.
She thinks she might still be screaming.
Around the room, the carefully-constructed perimeter is falling apart as clones fire on each other, some with blasters set to stun, the majority with blasters set to kill, and-and-and she can't let the Jedi die, she has to stop this, so she spins to face the four troopers, sees one of the 212th with his blaster firing killshots, his back to her, and she lunges, drives her heel into the back of his knee, grabs his blaster arm as he tries to turn and fire at her-forces his arm to twist and aim the blaster at the other 212th trooper, who is also killing, and she's sobbing because the clone she's fighting fires and she twists the blaster and the bolt slams home into the other one's chest and she can't breathe, she can't, she can't, she drives an elbow into the gap between his helmet and collarbone, feels something snap as the strike connects, and he goes limp in her hands and she's shaking as she pulls the blaster from his hand, tosses it at Padme, and she runs to the other dead clone (she did this, she killed him) and grabs his blaster and sets it to stun (it doesn't matter, she's killed) and starts to run (one of the two 501st troopers is dead, the other nursing an injured arm, but he falls in behind her and Padme), because she has to get to Obi-Wan.
She aims and fires on the run, falling back on years of combat training from her early childhood, and stun pulses aren't very effective over long distances and she knows how to snipe and so she flicks the switch back to kill and starts hitting knees, hands, shoulders, and there are tears pouring down her cheeks and she can barely see, barely breathe, and she's dizzy and trembling but her hands are steady and for a minute she's back on Mandalore during the war and she can't-she doesn't-she's not sure where she is, her aim slips and a blaster bolt flies true and hits between the eyes and she's screaming silently (the moment we commit to fighting, we have already lost).
She-
Someone tackles her, knocks the blaster from her hands, and she instinctively kicks out, feels her booted heel smash into a helmet, feels the helmet snap back, the hands around her ankles loosening, and she rolls, grabs her blaster and leaps to her feet and fires and she's not thinkingand it takes a moment to register that she'd killed him without even knowing if he's friendly or not and his armor is 501st blue and she retches, dry-heaving, her breaths coming quick and short and panting, and Padmè is there somewhere shooting with precision as perfect as her hairdo, and-and she can't do this but she can't stop herself, her body reacting on instinct and training and they're dying and she thinks she might faint but her body doesn't even let her do that, and she sobs and kills and prays to the Force or whatever is listening that Obi-Wan will survive.
...
The bond is thrumming with a pain so intense that Rex can't focus - he needs to be thinking about his men and the fight (and he stuns another squad of brothers, dives behind a column to avoid blasterfire) but Ahsoka is in pain and he doesn't understand because when he looks at her he doesn't see injury and she's moving fine. But her mind is full of distant screaming and he's so afraid for her and that can't be priority right now.
He sees Senator Amidala and Duchess Kryze and Senator Organa and some of the other Senators fighting and that should be good, but he can see most of them are killing his vod'e and he understands but they're his brothers and this isn't their fault . He's still stunning them and that's slower going, more dangerous, but that means they'll all wake up.
"Work your way around toward the Senators!" he orders. The only goal here is subduing his brothers, but if they have somewhere to push toward, it will be easier for them to stay focused and not be overwhelmed by how many of their vod'e they have to fight.
Their perimeter is in shambles because every vod that still has a chip is trying to get to Anakin and Ahsoka in the center of the chamber and they're shooting to kill. But that does mean they aren't paying enough attention to Rex's men, so it's easier to flank them and take them out and Rex knows they're distracted, that this is all so that the Chancellor is safe and secure and his vod'e are suffering because of him.
And he's the voice in their nightmares.
Him and the Senate, shouting kill the Jedi and execute Order Sixty-Six .
He shoots and his brothers fall and in the press of soldiers in blue in orange, the only thing that separates friend from foe is whether or not their vod'e are trying to kill them.
This is Umbara and Kamino again, this is everything he has always promised he couldn't allow to happen, and he is failing to protect his brothers and barely protecting his Jedi and he knows at least every clone on Coruscant had to have heard the orders through the comms in their helmets and he can't help them and they'll be slaughtered for something they can't control and if he'd only made sure the chips had been removed sooner maybe this wouldn't be happening- but he can't think about that now, he just can't.
They're going to be able to do this, he thinks - it's the aftermath he's afraid of, it's the Chancellor and how many of his vod'e will be dead and the pain he still feels tearing at his mind through the bond. Still, he pushes forward with his squad and shoots to stun, not to kill, because he's not killing more vod'e today . Enough of them are dying here already.
...
Ahsoka can't think.
Somewhere in front of her is a cluster of vod'e led by Commander Fox, and she knows she and Anakin need to take them out, have to get to Sidious before he slips out, but the Force is screaming and there's so much pain and she's drowning in tears. Even with her good shielding, she can't block out the sensations-
(A young padawan screams as his bond with his Master shatters into a thousand fragments; a Master struggles to block blaster shots from her battalion, tears streaming down her face as her loyal troopers fall one-by-one trying to protect her; a Knight she knows is shot down in midair by the men he thought were watching his six.)
There's so much.
(She feels every death, the Force twisting inside-out and turning in knots, shouting wrong wrong wrong at her, and she can't get away.)
Snips, focus! Anakin snaps, and she shudders, tries to draw away from the pain drenching the Force, but she can't block it out completely, just somewhat muffle it, and it's exhausting. Still, she has to focus; she draws in a shaky breath, focuses on deflecting blaster bolts and not killing brothers, even though it'd be easier, simpler, to just kill them.
"Fives!" she shouts, barely recognizes her own voice; the ARC trooper jogs up near her right side, and she deflects a blast away from him. "Get these troopers down, now!"
"Yes, sir!" he says, and gestures at the rest of the squad (except Kix, who's with Obi-Wan, and Jesse, who refused to leave Kix's side), and it takes time but these are the best of the best and Commander Fox's troops have never even been off Coruscant, and Fives is an ARC trooper.
Soon enough, only Fox himself is still protecting Sidious, and he's good at dodging the stun blasts. Ahsoka decides this is taking too long, and she flings one hand out and shoves and Fox goes flying off the podium, hits the floor somewhere else, she doesn't pay attention.
Anakin launches himself from where he's been fighting more vod'e, and with a Force-augmented jump he lands on the podium next to Sidious, his blue 'saber raised high-
The Force screams a warning.
Master, watch out!
Anakin twists to one side, narrowly avoiding a lurid red lightsaber that would've gutted him had she not warned him-Ahsoka snarls and leaps onto the top of the podium, brings her two silver 'sabers crashing down towards Sidious' head, but his 'saber flashes and blocks her and she doesn't even see his hand move but she's suddenly flying through the air, and she hits-something, something cracks, stars flashing in front of her eyes, and oh kriff that hurts.
SNIPS!
I'm alright, she tries to reassure Anakin, and she drags herself to her feet, slowly, calls her 'sabers back to her hands. Anakin and Sidious are dueling, their lightsabers just a blur of motion, and then Sidious leaps back onto a repulsorpod. Anakin does the same, finds another pod and directs it towards Sidious-and then the Sith Lord gestures and one of the occupied pods slams into Anakin's. Ahsoka growls, throws out her hand, because the Senator in the pod is about to fall (Anakin can handle himself), and then she Force-jumps back up, lands on Sidious' pod, throws herself into her attack again.
He's so strong.
There's a constant heavy, oppressing Dark surrounding her, anger and hatred and fear weighing her down, and that combined with the way the Force is still choking with pain makes it hard to focus, to concentrate on blocking and trading blows, but he's so fast and she can barely keep up, even pulling on the Force as hard as she can to keep up, to give her more speed, more strength, more balance. Master, I need you! she calls, desperate, fending off another series of complex blows, a form she's never seen before.
Coming, Snips, Anakin says, and then suddenly he's flipping up onto the pod with them, raining down blows, but Sidious doesn't even falter and he's laughing and she doesn't understand why because it's two-on-one and he should at least be worried but he isn't even winded, isn't even fazed, and then suddenly he extends one hand at her-she instinctively moves to counter a Force-push-
And then there's just pain.
(She's on her knees on rock and dirt, screaming until her voice gives out, pain like nothing she's ever felt before stabbing through her, and she wants Rex and she wants out and she can't breathe around the collar and the whip hisses through the air and she cowers, sobs, please don't, Master, please don't, begging and coughing and huddled in a tiny ball, sparks dancing across her skin, she can't breathe, can't breathe, Rex please please make it stop it hurts I can't-)
...
The fighting around Senator Amidala and the others is intense , but the rest of the chamber is secured and that means this is the last push before Rex can think about Ahsoka and the Chancellor. His battalion and the 212th, what's left of them, are engaging their vod'e on both sides and if they can just break through to the Senators, his men can worry about subduing their vod'e and he and his squad can worry about their Jedi.
He twists out of the way of an errant blaster bolt, although it singes his pauldron, and fires back at the shooter with both DCs (and the Senators are killing his brothers and it shouldn't matter so much right now). He sees his squad running along the length of the terrace towards them and that's good, he wants their backup.
He snaps his attention back to the battle and shoves a vod out of the way of a series of killshots and- and he feels a flash of pain, horribly familiar, and Ahsoka is reaching for him desperately, aching,begging him to please help Rex I can't, please, and he whirls in place, barely notices his men closing in around him because this is too familiar , he remembers this, and above the sounds of battle and blasterfire he hears her screaming and for a moment he's back in the pit, seeing her writhing in the ground with a whip curled around her headtail.
Ahsoka! He reaches back across their bond for her mind and he finds her, collapsed against the side of a pod and there's blue lightning arcing from the Chancellor's fingers and Anakin looks like a madman but he can't get past the Chancellor's guard and Rex can't reach her and it's all happening again and he can't move , can't breathe because, because-
They've pinned him to the ground, a staff digging into the small of his back and it all hurts and his body won't respond and she's screaming and he's failing her-
Rex drags himself out of the memory with a harsh effort, lifts his blasters again, not sure what he's going to do, only that he has to help , but then Ahsoka's pain subsides fast, the relief almost as intense as the agony, and Rex looks up to see that Anakin has managed to get between the Chancellor and Ahsoka, his saber up, blocking the electricity, and he nudges Ahsoka's mind and feels her respond.
That has to be good enough, he has to fight. Has to. He shrugs off one of his brothers' hand and straightens, pushes back to the front of their line. They're so close, they just need to do this. Please be safe, Soka , he thinks, tastes electricity on his tongue and feels a twinge of pain in old scars. Please .
...
Kato freezes, when the order first sounds; only about half of the 327th has had their chips out, but General Secura had taken the mission to Felucia anyway, even though Commander Bly still has his chip in and really they should wait until their Commander at least is free.
But the Council had asked, and General Secura had accepted, and honestly, the 327th is plenty good for this mission-
At least, until the order comes over their helmet comms.
Kato isn't new to the battalion, but he's not ranking at all; still, when he starts motioning at his vod'e without chips, they all form up on him without question. "What do we do, Kato?" one of the shinies asks, and Kato swallows, because how is he supposed to know the answer to that question?
But he has to answer, so… "We find the General," he says shortly, and the shiny nods.
"Right, Kato, let's go."
Kato jogs through the thick Felucia underbrush (seriously, all this plant life is ridiculous, both their own battalion and the Separatist droids are having trouble in it, why the kriff does anyone even want this stupid planet), blasters out; he motions his squad forward, ducks around the edge of one of those stupid frilly tree-things, and-almost slams into his General. Her lightsaber is out and her eyes are wild and she almost cuts him in half before he raises his hands quickly. "Woah there, General, we're clean!"
"I can't do this for long," she says, and she's shaky and scared and Kato has never seen General Secura like this before.
"Blasters set to stun, everybody," he calls, adjusting his own. "We'll help, General, we've got your six, just get to a ship. We need to abandon this mission and get the kriff off this rock if we're going to survive-"
"I know that, Kato, thank you," and Secura's blue lightsaber snaps up and deflects another blaster bolt into the trooper that'd fired it. "We must hurry."
Kato tries not to focus on the fact that his General has just killed vod'e, because you can't set a lightsaber to stun and she's got to protect herself somehow, but those are his brothers and it's not their fault they've still got a chip in their heads, kriffing Council didn't give them enough time! He takes a careful breath, fires a stun pulse at one of the vod'e following them-
"Kato, you do realize that leaving them here unconscious on a Separatist-occupied world is a death sentence, right?" Secura glances back at him, her face mostly unreadable, though her lekku are writhing in complicated patterns and he really wishes he could understand what they're communicating.
"I know that," he snaps out, too tense to bother with protocol, "but what choice do we have, General?"
She nods, looks away. "I know."
They round another one of those tree-things, and Kato jerks his blasters up because there's vod'e there, but Secura is faster, deflecting every single bolt shot at them back into his brothers, and-and he swears, because this isn't good, they're dying and he can't-
Suddenly, Secura staggers and falls to her knees, her 'saber falling from her hands as she raises them to her temples, curling over herself. Kato jams his blasters into their holsters, orders his men to form a perimeter with hand signals, and he crouches down beside her because if they don't have their Jedi they'll never get out of here. "General? What's wrong?"
"I can feel it," she whispers, and her voice is so faint and he swallows back more swearing. "They're dying, Kato, so much pain, I can't-"
He hesitantly puts his hands on her shoulders, squeezes a bit. "What is it you always tell us, General, about staying focused on the present?"
"We must-remain in the here-and-now," she manages, and he nods.
"Yeah, that. Look, General, the here-and-now is that we're all going to die if we don't stay focused, and we can fall apart once we survive this, right?" He's really kriffing bad at this comforting thing. "Can't you… I don't know, put up shields or something?"
She nods hesitantly, looks up at him with a spark of strength in her eyes again. "Yes, of course, you're right-"
That's when the screams begin.
Kato spins, pulls his blasters out as fast as he can, but he's still too slow: it's Commander Bly and his squad, and Secura is on the ground and her 'saber is still away and his men are dying and-and (he's failing her, his General, he has to protect her, has to keep her alive, but he's not good enough and he can't do it)-
Kato fires, again and again, but he's only one man against the best of his battalion; the first blaster bolt hits his knee, and he stumbles, but keeps firing anyway, presses his back to his General's and tries to stay upright because he has to protect her, and it hurts but he's had worse, he'll be alright.
The second shot slams home into his stomach and this time he can't quite keep his feet, and he staggers and he's falling and a lightsaber hisses over his head, deflects another shot, and he's trying to get to his feet but there's another impact in his right shoulder and he can't breathe, his lungs won't work, but he can still shoot and so he does, he flips his blaster off stun and starts firing, one-two-three-four, and then there's more pain somewhere in his left hand and his fingers are screaming but he clenches the mangled remains of his gauntlet around his blaster anyway and keeps firing, keeps firing, protect the General, and he can't quite see through the spots in his vision and so he reaches up with his better hand (his shoulder is agony) and pulls off his helmet, and that helps a little but not much, and the General needs his help so he somehow jams his right hand into the ground and forces himself upright, shoots a clone between their eyes-
"Kato, down!"
He drops on instinct (some distant part of him thinks there was more than a little Force-suggestion in that order, but he can't quite block it out right now), and dizziness makes the world spin but he can still see the General taking the shot meant for him in the chest and he screams, drags himself halfway-sitting up, fires again and again and again, and his General is on one knee barely able to keep deflecting bolts and he's failing herand he can't-he can't do this.
"General!" He means the word to be a shout, but a bolt buries itself in the leg he's kneeling on and it's more a whimpering scream of raw paintearing itself out of his throat.
"You've done well, Kato," she says, soft, and blocks another bolt, and he fires again and his aim is wildly off and kriff this! "Very-well," and he thinks another shot must make it past her guard because she sucks in a sharp, awful breath and he swears and tries to take out Commander Bly but he can't because there's another shot that brushes so close to his head he feels the heat on his ear and then he can't hear and there's a yelp of pain and-
No!
It should've killed him, but instead it slammed into the General's spine and now she falls, her 'saber hits the ground with an audible thunk and he tries to raise his hand to fire but there's another bolt and another and another and so much pain and the last thing he knows is that he's failed.
...
Brii hadn't been there on Kamino when the chips activated the first time. He's been grateful for that many times, when his vod'e talk about it. He never wanted to see those chips in action, never wanted to have to face that.
He never wanted to fight his brothers again either, but he is today. And this is worse than he'd ever thought - he's never seen vod'e with such blank eyes, so little expression, and it feels like a nightmare come to life, like the dream he has where Stiff and his other dead brothers come for him because it's his fault and he's the one who killed them.
But today he isn't killing, and he has to remember that. He isn't killing his brothers.
He's sticking close to Fives, because Fives is injured and Brii isn't, so he has to watch his back, and they've almost gotten through to Rex and the others. He's been told before that he hyperfocuses too much when he's fighting, and he can't help falling into that a little, all his senses concentrated on the blaster in his hands and the decision of enemy or friend . Staying close to Fives also means he doesn't have to think about where to go; he just follows his squad and shoots with an artist's precision, smooth and direct and as practiced as if he's done this for years (although he hasn't).
Tup grabs his elbow and yanks him out of it, snaps his fingers by his face. "Brii, you gotta pay attention. Come on."
There's a break in the line of opponents, and Brii realizes they can get through to the group of Senators, who are… who… "They're killing us," Brii says softly, and Tup scowls but pushes him forward.
"I know, vod ."
"Tup, they can't ," Brii says, and he knows his ori'vod knows, but nobody's stopping them and the troopers around them are dying and it isn't right.
"I know , kid," Tup growls, but he's just falling into position around the Senators with the rest of the squad and Brii knows he's supposed to do the same but when he does he looks out at his vod'e , attacking them, and a blaster bolt slams into a vod in 212th orange and he falls and Brii feels sick . These are his brothers, he can't just stand here and let them be killed - and another trooper takes aim at their little group but is shot between the eyes before he can fire.
And Brii knows these troopers will kill them and he knows they have to protect the Senators and their Jedi, but they don't deserve this, they don't even know what they're doing, and he recognizes the armor paint of Whistle, a vod he's done tattoos for, and he can't let them hurt him or any of the others.
He's too impulsive, he always has been - that's his only excuse for spinning around, turning his back on the enemy and facing the Senators (people he's not qualified to speak with, at all), and shouting at them . "Stop firing! You have to stop firing, please!"
"The kriff , vod! " Tup shouts, shoves him into the circle towards the Senators so he doesn't get killed. Brii ignores whatever his friend says next, runs to a Rodian senator and grabs his arm even though he knows that's too familiar but it doesn't matter because they're killing his vod'e .
"You need to set your blaster to stun, please, you can't kill them!"
The Senator shakes off his hand, shoots him a look . "That's not an option, clone. They're trying to kill us."
Brii staggers a little, shakes his head. "You have to !"
The Senator ignores him, keeps shooting, and Brii shakes his head, stumbles back, searching frantically for someone who'll listen to him. There's Senator Amidala, he's at least seen her before- but then he sees familiar bright blond hair and he recognizes the Duchess Satine. She'd fixed up his wounds in the med bay, he knows her, she'll listen to him, and he runs to her, ignores Tup shouting at him to get back to his squad .
"Duchess!" He's shouting long before he even gets to her, and she doesn't even seem to notice him, she's just aiming and firing and he reaches for her arm, grabs her elbow and she yanks away from him, flinching, and she's crying . "Duchess, please, you can't shoot my brothers."
For a moment he doesn't even think she recognizes he's not an enemy, so he yanks off his helmet and drops it on the floor, reaching automatically for her blaster. She pulls it out of his reach and lifts it, fires at a vod from the 212th and the bolt destroys his blaster. He keeps coming anyway and Brii goes for the blaster again because she'll kill him and she isn't listening .
"Please!" he says, desperately, and she finally actually looks at him, and she looks lost and scared and her eyes are a little unfocused and he just has to convince someone , anyone.
"I'm not fast enough on stun," she says softly, and it scares him how hoarse her voice is, how much she's crying. He's choking on his own tears and he just wants them to stop, wants to save his vod'e and end this nightmare and that means making her listen . "I'm sorry, I don't want to, but I have to ."
"They don't know what they're doing, Duchess, please . You can't kill them, this isn't their fault!"
"I know ," she says, and she takes aim at the trooper whose blaster she destroyed and Brii barely stops himself from tackling her.
"Please," he says, desperate, pleading. "Please, you can't , they're my brothers ."
She's breathing too fast and he doesn't know what he's doing but he has to fix this .
"I can't let them kill anyone else." She's almost whispering. "They already killed Obi, I can't-"
"We can stop them without killing, just stop , just…" Brii doesn't have the right words and his vod is still advancing on them, all their attackers are, and the Duchess looks so lost but then she seems to focus on something, realize something, and her hands shake a little and she seems to shrink, her shoulders curling forward, and breathes a name, choked.
" Click. "
Brii takes the moment to pivot, tries to hold his hand as steady on his blaster as he can, and fires three pulses at his vod ; two of them connect and he pitches to the ground. Then Brii reaches for the Duchess again, grabs her arm. " Please, please, Duchess, enough , please."
And she finally seems to listen ; she swallows convulsively once, takes a few heaving breaths, and when she raises her blaster again for a moment he's panicked because it hasn't worked, he's failed, she hasn't set it to stun and-
She shoots the blasters out of three of his brothers' hands before he can even open his mouth , and he almost forgets to fight himself because it's… it's incredible , and she's hardly even pausing, just destroying their blasters and hardly needing to move, just turning on the balls of her feet and twisting her wrist and Brii has seen only a few soldiers with that level of precision.
She's not killing his vod'e anymore. She listened to him and some of them are still shooting to kill but he did this, he saved these brothers. He raises his own blaster and falls in next to her, shoots his vod'e , doesn't kill them. Not today, not again.
...
Padmè is screaming terror in the back of Anakin's mind, bloody and sharp-edged and entirely relegated to one small corner of her consciousness; she's alive, though, that fear means she's still breathing, and Anakin clings to that knowledge and tries to breathe through the rage pouring through him.
Ahsoka is still trembling from the aftereffects of that much lightning in her system, though she's wielding her silver blades with nearly as much strength and speed as usual. She's dazed, though, something unfocused in her blue eyes, and that would terrify him if he let himself think about it. Instead, he focuses on his anger, stokes it, commands the Force to give him more, more speed, more strength, more energy, more balance, and he leaps from repulsorpod to repulsorpod after Palpatine, snarling, his lightsaber bright blue in his hands, the centerpoint of his power.
(This weapon is your life.)
Palpatine is so good it's insane; Anakin knows he's one of the best lightsaber duelists in the Order, and he's still barely keeping up alone-he thinks most of the other Jedi would be dead by now, wishes he had backup in the form of Master Windu or Obi-Wan (and he cannot think about his Master right now) or kriffing Yoda, as annoying as the little green troll is. Someone. Someone who isn't his young, fierce, anguished padawan. (Ex-padawan?)
Ahsoka flips over the edge of another pod, shoves the edge of it into the pod that he and Palpatine are fighting on, and she twirls her 'sabers and slashes out and Anakin strikes at the same time and Palpatine only has one 'saber, he can't block them both at the same time-
And suddenly, Anakin's lightsaber is crashing into Ahsoka's 'sabers, and Palpatine is driving his red blade towards Ahsoka's side, and Anakin swears, disengages from his padawan and desperately blocks the lightsaber. How the kriff can one man be this kriffing good?
"I feel the hatred within you," Palpatine says. "Use it, Anakin, use its power!"
And for a moment, just for a moment, Anakin considers it. (He's not strong enough this way, the Light isn't enough-)
Ani, no!
And his wife screams in his head, fills him to the brim with love and strength and warmth and compassion, kindness, and it's like she's smiling at him in that way that makes him melt every time, and the hatred's grasp on his mind is broken, blown away like it's nothing, and Anakin takes a deep breath and he smiles. "I'm not Falling, you kriffing di'kut!"
He doesn't think Palpatine actually knows what the Mando'a word means.
Anakin lunges again, and the anger still rages through his veins but he can think, now, he can move with grace instead of raw force, can twist and turn and flip through the moves of Ataru and Djem So mixed together, and he throws in some random twists and maneuvers from the other forms too, and suddenly he can hold his own. He can't overpower Palpatine, of course not, he doesn't think anyone could by themselves, but the Sith Lord is-not quite struggling, but…
And Palpatine knows it.
A wave of raw Force slams into Anakin, knocks him off his pod, and he barely manages to Force-pull another pod underneath him to catch his fall-but he's quite a bit lower now, almost even with the low terrace where his men have reached the Senators and are stunning the last of the vod'ewith chips. He hits the pod hard, hard enough he sees stars, and something cracks in his chest-kriff, probably ribs, Kix is going to be so annoyed- and he can't quite catch his breath; he manages to drag himself to his feet, glances at his men again-Rex is watching him, and Anakin tosses him a halfhearted, sloppy salute, sways a little because his head hurts and he's kriffing dizzy and this is so stupid.
And then Ahsoka's screaming in his mind again, and he swears, Forces the pod upwards, because Palpatine has Ahsoka precariously balanced on the very edge of his pod, and she's screaming aloud too, lightning coursing over her body, and it takes all Anakin's self-control not to just let the hatred take over because he wants Palpatine dead.
Ahsoka stays poised on the edge for a long moment, and then he sees her waver and suddenly she's falling in slow motion, and Anakin shouts and throws his hand out, commands the Force to bring her to him, and at the same time he gestures with the hand holding his lightsaber and throws another pod into Palpatine. The Sith Lord leaps out of his pod, casually lands a little ways below Anakin, and Anakin deactivates his lightsaber long enough to catch Ahsoka as she tumbles into his arms.
She's trembling and he doesn't want to let her go, but he has to. "You should stay here," he rasps out, setting her down carefully on her feet and igniting his lightsaber again.
She shakes her head, like he'd known she'd do, and her silver 'sabers hiss to life again. "No way, Skyguy."
He takes a breath, counts to ten in Mando'a and then Huttese, nods once. "Don't let him hit you again, block the lightning on your lightsaber instead."
And then he jumps.
A part of him notices that his men have finished cleaning up the last of the vod'e, and that the Senators are safe now, but that doesn't matter; what matters is that Palpatine is sending a torrent of lightning at him and Anakin grits his teeth, yanks his 'saber up to block it, even though it's hard. Hurry up, Snips, I can't hold him for long!
I'm coming, Master, and then Ahsoka lands (too heavily) on the other side of Palpatine and she cuts at him with both her 'sabers and the lightning doesn't even slow down as Palpatine reverses his lightsaber and blocks her, easy, effortless. Anakin snarls out a desperate shout, wordless, his arms trembling (there's so much Force coming at him, so much Dark, and he can't-he can't-), and then he shoves and the Force answers his call and Palpatine actually staggers.
The lightning stops.
"Do I have to do everything myself?" he snaps out, only half-joking. "This is not as easy as it looks, Snips!"
Ahsoka's smile is taut and strained, and she swears in his head as Palpatine nearly shoves her off the edge of the pod. I never expected to have to fight a Sith Lord on these things floats across the bond, a stray thought, and he can't help but snort.
Neither did I. And then Palpatine is leaping at him again and he puts all his energy and focus into parrying, tries a few strikes of his own, but he's getting tired and the pace is brutal and the Sith isn't even slowing and this is kriffing insane. "Kriff you," he growls out, blocking a stroke with a staggering amount of sheer power behind it. "I trusted you!"
"Of course you did," Palpatine says gently. "Everyone did, Anakin. That was your downfall."
He's goading you, Ani, don't lose control, Padmè tells him, and Anakin tightens his grip on his 'saber and grits his teeth.
I'm trying.
"Good, good," Palpatine says suddenly, and he's smiling. "Let your anger give you strength, Anakin. Use it."
"Master, don't," Ahsoka says, and then Palpatine lifts his left hand and clenches his fingers and suddenly Ahsoka's lifted up in the air, clawing desperately at her throat, her eyes bugging out, her 'sabers forgotten on the pod's floor.
"Do it, Skywalker," and suddenly Palpatine's voice is so so sharp, "or your apprentice dies."
"No, Anakin!" But Ahsoka's choking and she can barely get the words past her lips and she's struggling and her eyes are going unfocused and he-he-
He can't do this.
...
When he'd felt Ahsoka's pain flare sharp and electric for a second time, Rex had almost screamed for her. His voice had stuck in his throat and he couldn't breathe at all, felt it aching in his chest, and all he could think was not again, please, no, no, no and he couldn't do this ; he'd rushed to the edge of the terrace, half-planning to commandeer a pod and go to her because he would not be helpless again, would not waste time here while his Jedi needed him. He'd reached desperately for her thoughts, found them in confusion, and then he'd felt and saw her fall . And he wasn't going to be fast enough, he wasn't going to be able to help-
But the General had caught her.
So now he's trying to focus on his men, on reforming some kind of secure perimeter and maintaining a guard around the Senators, all while controlling a mounting panic. He tells his men what to do if their vod'e wake up ("give them a blaster or something to do"), comms Jesse. "How's Kix? You both alright?" He deliberately doesn't yet focus on Anakin and Ahsoka because her movements are heavy and clumsy and her thoughts still hum with pain, and Anakin is so angry - which would be fine except angry fighters make mistakes and they can't afford that.
"We're okay - I don't know, Kix is concentrating really hard but I don't know if we can save him, Rex - you know Cody knows what he's doing."
Rex taps off the comm because he looks up and sees Duchess Satine staring at him hollowly - she doesn't look good, at all, and Rex remembers she's a pacifist. Today is not a good day for her to be here.
Senator Amidala approaches him, eyes bright with terror and he can't help but glance over at the duel again because he knows she feels the same fear he does. "I can be part of the guard, Captain," she says, holds up her blasters (one a small, sleek thing she must carry with her and one that belonged to a vod ).
Rex just shoves her back behind his line of men, knows that shocks the other Senators. "Senator, you're staying here. " Lowering his voice, he adds, "I need Anakin to know you're safe."
Senator Amidala glares at him, but he doesn't pay attention because she's staying put, and that's enough. He can hear Anakin and the Chancellor talking, something about trust and anger and Rex wants to help .
But he doesn't really know how (because tactically, everything he wants to try is a serious risk), but then that stops mattering because he feels sudden pain and terror and he spins around, sprints to the edge of the terrace because his breath catches with hers but when he breathes out, she still can't. The Chancellor stands, arm lifted, fingers curled as if he's grasping for something he needs, and Rex's Jedi is hanging suspended, fingers scrabbling at her scarred neck but there's nothing to fight and Rex isn't even thinking when he leaps over the terrace edge onto a pod, waves his hand and growls, "Squad, with me!" and they follow. He can feel a blur of white noise cutting off the edges of her thoughts and he has to get to her, now . Rex scrambles with the controls of the pod because he doesn't kriffing know how to work it but he has to get to Ahsoka; thankfully Fives pushes him out of the way and hits a button that moves them out into the air.
Rex jumps up onto the edge of the pod, finds his footing and his balance (although Fives is pushing their pod so fast it's hard to stay steady) and gets a sightline on the Chancellor. Anakin seems afraid to move, and the Chancellor turns his head and gives Rex an ironic smile, curls his fingers.
Rex's smile is a shark's smile, all teeth, and he raises his blasters and shoots without even pausing. He knows his aim is good as the Chancellor flinches, yanks his arm back, and one of Rex's shots still grazes his forearm. But it doesn't matter if it connected because he's dropped Ahsoka and she hits the floor and Rex can feel awareness returning, can feel her scrambling to pull it together and he drops back down into his pod, sends her strength.
"Good job, Captain," Fives says, tense, and Rex nods.
"Kriffing get us over there now ."
...
Ahsoka curls on the floor of the pod, gasping, sucking in all the oxygen she can and trying to still her shaking muscles. Her 'sabers are there, near her, and she focuses on just picking them up, one thing at a time, and it's hard but she manages, clings to Rex's mind. He's sending her strength, and she can feel his fear and she has to get up.
Anakin is fighting Sidious again, and she's grateful for that, because that means the Sith's attention is not on her, and she's shaking, and she knows she shouldn't feel like that but she almost can't make herself attack again because she just wants to hide, to escape his notice. There's so much lingering pain and she can't quite catch her breath, keep the rhythm even; her heart is pounding and she's dizzy and scared and this is too much, she's not ready for this, and-
Something in the room shifts.
She lifts her head, focuses with an effort on the terrace-sees the entire Council storming in with lightsabers alight, finally, and Sidious notices it too because she sees his free hand angle changing and something in her screams and cowers and-
Don't let him hit you again, block the lightning on your lightsaber instead.
Ahsoka jerks to her feet and snaps her 'sabers out just in time to catch the lightning as it crackles through the air; it feels like trying to hold back an explosion, like blocking fire, and she shouts and leans into her 'sabers, gritting her teeth and straining against the power. (There are bruises around her neck and her throat aches and she can't breathe but it doesn't matter.)
Anakin's 'saber is a blur, and yet Sidious is keeping up with him so easily, red blade flashing in lurid crimson lines across her vision, and somehow he's still keeping up the lightning and she doesn't understand it, because he's only one man, how can he be so strong? "Master," she calls, warningly, hopes he'll be able to do something, but he can't and then-
And then there's sudden blasterfire, and another repulsorpod knocks into theirs; Ahsoka screams out a warning, "Get down!" and her men obey without question and the deflected bolts sear into the empty space where they had just been standing. And that's hardly accomplished anything,but at least the lightning's stopped and she can breathe a little and she focuses on attacking again, but she's too slow and Sidious keeps twisting out of the way and causing her to hit Anakin's 'saber, which is not helpful and she doesn't know what to do and-
And suddenly Sidious throws his free hand out, and a wave of Force slams into her squad's pod, and Ahsoka snarls and flings herself at the Sith Lord again because he will not hurt her men, not them, not any of them, and she can't let herself look for the Council again but she hopes desperately they're on their way.
...
This time when Rex's men fire on the Chancellor, they know to wait till he has his guard down, know they can't let him deflect the bolts at their Jedi like with Krell. Rex thinks they've badly damaged their pod but that will have to wait; as long as they're in the air and can reach their Jedi it'll have to do.
They drop down on Ahsoka's shout with an ease that comes from years under her command, and Rex hears Fives groan a little as he hits the floor of the pod. "Be careful , Fives."
"I know, sir."
Ahsoka is much lighter on her feet than she should be and Rex recognizes that fluid strength and the power flowing through her mind that's enabling it, can't help but appreciate the dangerous light in her eyes - but it's not enough , she and Anakin are the best duelists he's seen, at least, but the Chancellor doesn't even seem bothered by his heavy robes, and it's just one saber against two but Rex can tell he's an intelligent fighter, a calculating one. He curls his fingers in a hand signal and his squad gets back to their feet, aims at the Chancellor, and they just need one opening because unlike Krell, the Chancellor only has one saber and Anakin and Ahsoka are keeping him plenty busy.
Then there's a flash of a glance at them, and Rex sees the Chancellor's hand move suddenly in a familiar gesture, and he just has time to brace himself before a wave of force, like a wall of water, knocks into him and his squad and slams some of them into the back of the pod, he and the rest to the floor like felled trees. He keeps a death grip around his blasters, struggles to force himself back to his feet, knows his men are doing the same. Ahsoka feels angry and he sees her redoubling her attack on the Chancellor with a speed and grace he's only seen a few times before. He grits his teeth and presses his hands against the floor of the pod, shoves himself to his hands and knees and then upright, bringing up his blasters again. He knows he's out of his depth and he shouldn't be here but they need to defend their Jedi.
Rex keeps his focus on the Chancellor, although he glances to his left and sees General Windu and Master Yoda headed for them on a pod of their own, and he can't help a small sigh of relief because there's no way the Chancellor can take on all four of them. His squad forms up behind him again and he thinks he sees an opening, maybe, the Chancellor is focused on Ahsoka and her attack and Fives has a good line on him - "Fives!"
The ARC trooper sees what he sees, of course he does, and his friend fires twice, fast, and strikes the Chancellor in the hip, making him stagger. The Sith recovers faster than he should, strikes harder against Ahsoka's guard and twists out of the way of a thrust from Anakin and Rex swears ; the injury should have slowed him down but it just seems to have annoyed him.
Rex takes a shot himself, almost hits the Sith in the back but he manages to move so it deflects off Ahsoka's saber instead, and then he actually looks at them, eyes narrowing like he's trying to decide whether they're worth his effort.
It's Brii who decides it, shoots and the bolt doesn't connect but it does sear the sleeves of the Chancellor's robe and clearly they've been enough of a nuisance, because the Chancellor twists his lips in an animal sneer and reaches out, pushes again and Rex swears but he just can't hold his feet, is thrown back into Tup and they hit the floor together, his head slamming hard into Tup's pauldron. He can't see for a second, and he suddenly feels Ahsoka shout in his head, a warning that echoes across their bond to move. He does, grabs Tup's armor and yanks both of them to one side on instinct, feels more than sees a saber slashing into the floor where he'd just been.
He twists, fires automatically towards where he knows the Chancellor is, trying to drag himself back to his feet, and it's hard but he blinks, focuses, has his blasters trained on the Chancellor before he even knows what's happening.
Fives is shooting already, up on his feet, eyes dangerous, and Rex tries to fire at the Chancellor's back so he isn't too focused on any one of them, but it doesn't work because the Chancellor just slashes his saber through Fives' blasters and in the same sweep of his weapon deflects Rex's bolts, twists around and slams his saber through Fives' chest while flinging out a hand, pushing Dogma off the pod and Rex feels his heart slam painfully in his chest once, twice, no no no no no , and he's choking but Brii is too close to the Chancellor so he pushes himself to swallow the horror and run, to get between them, but his men are all here and the space is too small and so what if he's in front of Brii, he's no match for the Chancellor either and Fives is lying on floor and the Chancellor reaches out again, curls his fingers into claws, and electricity arcs from them to Tup, who still hasn't managed to stand. Rex roars , hears Brii screaming, and it's too much, he can't let the bastard hurt any more of his men, and at this point he's just shooting blindly and he thinks he's reaching for Ahsoka.
The Chancellor's lightning stops and he waves his hand, and their pod grinds free from Anakin and Ahsoka's and Rex catches Ahsoka's eyes for a second, can't help thinking please , and their pod lists a little to one side and drops a few feet in the air. Rex hardly knows what the Chancellor's doing with the pod, though, because he's turning on Tuck and Rex can't let him , not Tuck - he launches himself at the Sith, knows it's stupid but he can't see another of his vod'e killed by that saber. He grabs his saber arm, jams his blaster into the Chancellor's back, starts to pull the trigger but his arm is thrown to one side and the bolt flies uselessly into an empty pod.
The Chancellor doesn't try to get his arm free, just twirls his saber in his hand and stabs it down into Rex's thigh and he howls, lets go and falls back to try to get some distance from that red blade - he stumbles over Fives' body and he can't , can't do this.
They're coming, Rex, you just have to stay out of his way , Ahsoka thinks, desperate but quiet enough that it doesn't distract him, but it doesn't matter because he doesn't have enough space to retreat and his heel finds the wall of the pod and he sees Brii moving, blaster in hand, and the kid cannot attack the Chancellor, it's not an option , so Rex shoots past the Chancellor's side, hits Brii's knee and the kid stumbles, and he hopes he can hold the Chancellor's attention long enough for someone to get there but Brii is trying to get back to his feet and Rex needs him to stay downand his leg burns and he should be paying more attention to the Chancellor, not that it will do him any good - he fires fast with both blasters, one-two-three-four, and the Chancellor deflects his bolts, one of them into his shin and he shouts because it hurts and he's not prepared for this and
The saber moves fast, smooth, brutal, and Rex can't even register for a moment, there's no pain right away and he doesn't quite understand except the vibrant red blade is sticking out of his stomach and then it feels like his insides ignite , and the world turns ashen around the edges and he can't hold onto his blasters anymore, reaches for Palpatine's wrist, the hilt of the saber, to get it out , but he doesn't have the strength and there's screaming in the back of his mind and he doesn't know where her pain ends and his begins but he can't get enough breath to make a sound. Then the red blade pulls free of his stomach with a twist and he gasps and it burns , he can't even think , and he collapses on himself like he's breaking in half, doesn't even know when he hits the floor because it already hurts so much and he's dimly aware of Palpatine looking down at him with disdain , shaking his head, of a voice (it's Palpatine's voice, he thinks, his mouth is moving) saying, "What a waste" and he doesn't know, he thinks he has to get up , someone needs him , but he can't kriffing move and he's choking and he can't , it's all vague and fuzzy and lost.
His hand finds something, someone's arm, he thinks, and he grabs on, clings to that anchor point as the world turns white.