Chapter 4: Of Elders and Younglings
Previously: Soltaria sent Claire to a science exhibition, only to find that a Star Wars Convention is being held in the same venue. While Rex and Claire find themselves in awkward moments, the gang finds Cody and General Grievous on the loose and tracked them down. However, Claire remains unaware of a battle of jealousy beginning, upon the new characters arrival…
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: …Will blood be spilled onto the carpet? And will Claire ever get a happy ending? If she does who will it be?
Ahsoka: I bet 1000 credits that she'll pick Rex.
Anakin: Ditto.
Claire: Say WHAT?!
Obi Wan: Although Jedi usually don't gamble… I'll vote for Cody.
Claire: Nani?! O_o
Kit Fisto: Same here, and I can use my share of credits!
Claire: Hey, hey, HEY! I'm not going to be part of this bet!
Anakin: Grievous, do you have any credits?
Grievous: (Grumbles) Not much…
Anakin: Good! Snips, put in his credits for our bet.
Grievous: WHAT?!
Ahsoka: (Hands over Grievous' bag of credits to xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx)
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: First of all, I would like to thank all those who have reviewed! You guys really motivated me to update this chapter before I head overseas.
Everyone: (Cheers for the reviewers) YAAAYYY! WOOHOOO!
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx : Now, can someone do the disclaimer?
Kit Fisto: xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx does not own anything from star wars clone wars and whatever star wars franchise that exists. She owns nothing in her fanfics, but her OC, Claire Aschlock. Soltaria Levin belongs to a friend of hers.
Grievous: This is daylight robbery! I demand you to-
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: HIIIIYYAAAA! (Send Super Kick at Grievous, who was ) Now that the obstacle is out of the way… Onto the story!
############
"I got you now, Cody!" Rex gritted his teeth, his voice getting real edgy as his fingers slammed onto the buttons of his Xbox 360 controller.
"Damn," Cody muttered under his breath when Rex shot down Cody's player with an assault rifle in Halo 3.
Yup, that's right. Two clone commandos are actually playing Halo 3 on my Xbox 360. Soltaria got it for me as a Christmas gift last December. For some weird reason, Rex and Cody were having some kind of internal battle that I was unaware of. After teaching them how to play Halo 3, Rex and Cody had been trying to outwit and kill each other's player, mostly Rex, who was having the eager trigger-happy fingers. Cody on the other hand, was much calmer and was concentrating more on staying alive.
"Haha! I win!" Rex exclaimed in triumph as his player killed Cody's player.
But a few moments later, a plasma bomb suddenly exploded on the back of Rex's player. "What the Force?!"
I caught Cody silently smirking then. "Looks like it's a draw."
Rex shot a short glare at Cody, and I decided to interject, quickly sitting between them on the couch.
"Guys, you do realize this is Co-op mode right? So you're supposed to be fighting together…" I directed a stern gaze to both of them. "… Not killingeach other."
"I know that, but I just don't know what the Force is wrong with Rex," Cody huffed.
Rex glared. "You want a rematch?"
Cody glared even harder. "Bring it on."
As the two of them started battling again, I shook my head and sighed. Boys.
"I'll go get some snacks and drinks." I stood up from the couch and headed for the kitchen.
'What's up with Rex lately?' I wondered, walking towards the kitchen and filled up a bowl with potato chips from the cabinet. 'I never saw Rex being this aggressive, except while battling droids and giving commands to clones in Star Wars the Clone Wars.'
I blinked. Why was I even caring about him now! I should be concentrating on finding the other characters!
I sighed and closed my eyes in frustration. 'But then again. Maybe it's because I… really…'
"Gee, Claire, are you going to eat all of that?" Ahsoka asked, suddenly popping beside me.
It was then I snapped out of my train of thoughts, discovering that potato chips were overflowing from the bowl in front of me.
"ACK!" I cried out, scooping the extra potato chips away from the table.
Ahsoka kept a beaming smile on her face as I cleared the mess. "So how are Rex and Cody doing?"
I jabbed a thumb over to the two guys practically slaughtering each other at Halo 3.
"Oh," She said vaguely.
"I thought they were the best of friends," I replied sarcastically. " I guess I was wrong."
I went to get some Coke as Ahsoka took a potato chip.
"I think they're just being competitive with each other for now."
She laughed. "About a game? Hardly. I think it's more than that."
I arched a brow. "Oh really?"
Ahsoka smiled. "Did you ever notice the way Rex looked at you?"
I blinked and Ahsoka smiled even wider.
"What exactly are you getting at?"
She motioned me to come closer and I leaned my ear next to her.
"I think he's jealous," Ahsoka whispered.
My face reddened to a shade of bright red. Realizing the true meaning of her words, I pulled away to face her.
"You're kidding."
"Nope."
"If I'm somehow added to the equation of his jealousy, I'm not going to ask any further."
I was about to walk out of the kitchen when Ahsoka groaned. "Oh come on! You can't just pretend to ignore the fact that he may like you."
"That's the thing. I don't think he would be interested in a girl with a small chest and zero percent sex appeal."
"You're not that ugly," She insisted.
"That's what they all say…" I paused, upon noticing that the house was much more quiet than before. "Where did Soltaria and the others go?"
"I'm not sure, Soltaria said something about practicing her spells. General Grouchy's locked himself in Sky Guy's room after kicking him out. Now, Sky Guy's upstairs with Master Kenobi and Master Fisto," She said.
Regardless, I went upstairs to check up on them. Don't ask me why, I just had this gut feeling that something smells rather fishy with Soltaria's 'silence'.
##########
"Ok guys, just hold still and it will be over before you know it."
Anakin and Kit gulped as Soltaria flexed her muscles and cracked her knuckles.
"I'm not sure if this is a good idea," Obi Wan spoke worriedly.
"Relax, Obi Wan. I just need to get a sample of their aura so that I can transfer it into the tracker device," Soltaria explained while showing him the silver pen like memory eraser/ tracker. "When we caught Grievous and Cody, the device didn't alert me of their presence like it was supposed to. Bailey told me that the tracker didn't alert me of Grievous' appearance before because I need a sample of the aura from the world you all originated from."
"Not because you left it off?" Kit asked.
"And that you didn't realize this problem and forgot about it until now?" Anakin added.
Soltaria's eye twitched at Kit and Anakin's further insults to the injury. She rolled up her sleeves and flexed her fingers. Oh this was going to hurt…
"Brace yourselves…" She warned. "…This may sting a little."
Anakin and Kit gulped simultaneously and squeezed their eyes shut. Soltaria smirked. 'Oh I'm going to do more than just sting…' She cackled in her mind.
############
I knocked on Anakin's room, only to be greeted by General Grievous' infamous roar. I shuddered. 'Know when not to provoke the tiger, unless you want to get eaten…'
Not wanting to provoke him further, I swiftly moved over to Soltaria's room. It was then I noticed a mysterious purple glow emitted from the door. 'This cannot be good!' Instinctively, I place my ear against the door.
"A spoonful of sugar! Mix up the batter!" Soltaria chanted.
"What the…" I muttered in surprise. "What on earth is she doing in there?"
"Strawberry Shortcakes! Chocolate cupcakes!"
An anime sweat drop formed on my forehead.
"Sweets galore! Come take them all!"
I almost did an anime fall. 'Is she having a desert party?'
"All together and what do you get?"
'Ok! That's it!' I twisted the doorknob and barged into the room. A purple luminous glow filled the whole room and Anakin and Kit were floating, covered in the same purple glow. Obi Wan, who was standing at the far corner of the room, let out a small gasp.
"What on earth is going on?!" I demanded.
Soltaria, who was floating right next to Anakin and Kit, turned to me, gasping upon my entrance. "Claire-Bear?"
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! KABOOM!!
##########
Upon hearing the large explosion, the other SW characters, except Grievous, rushed to Soltaria's room to find Soltaria on the wooden floor rubbing her fore head and Obi Wan on the floor with his butt in the air.
"What the Force just happened?" Rex asked.
"Ow…" Soltaria winced and paused, soon frantically searching for the memory eraser/ tracker device. Upon finding it, she held the now beeping device up in the air with a wide smile in the presence of Obi Wan.
"At last! It's a success!" She cried out in joy.
"Argh… But where's Anakin, Kit and Claire?" Obi Wan asked wearily.
Just then, someone hiccupped and everyone averted their gaze to the three kids in the room. A little dirty-blonde haired boy with ocean-blue eyes looked around his surroundings, a green-skinned nautolan child with dark hazel eyes stared curiously ahead and finally, a little girl with black wispy shoulder length hair and the most curious and big opal eyes and petite frame, hiccupped while she sat still in the presence of the crowd. There was a very awkward silence as Soltaria and the other SW characters just gaped at the somewhat cute sight.
"Skyguy… Master Fisto… Claire?" Ahsoka gaped in disbelief.
Within seconds, the kids, Anakin and Kit ran out of the room, laughing and squealing as they raced around the house. Meanwhile, Claire just sat on the floor and cocked her head to the side. "Heke?" She said, confused and oblivious to what just happened.
Soltaria's eyes beamed and she hugged chibi Claire, squealing as loud as she could, "KAWAII!! Oh you're so cute! You little sweetie, you!"
Cody turned to Obi Wan. "Erm, sir, what just happened?"
Rex and Ahsoka were on the other hand, just plain dumb founded about the fact that their superior had just turned into a five-year old hyperactive kid.
"It appears that when Claire came into the room, Soltaria messed up the spell used to extract their aura for the tracking device. They can't remember anything except what they had experienced as kids."
"And now they're little kids running around the house, with very dangerous minds?" Rex asked.
Crashes from downstairs alerted the group and Ahsoka, Rex and Cody raced down to find Kit standing beside a pile of broken plates.
"Master Fisto, please don't… Eek!" Ahsoka yelped as Anakin spanked her butt with a broom.
Anakin laughed impishly and ran off with Kit to terrorize another room.
"Why that little…" Ahsoka growled softly and chased after them.
Obi Wan sighed, lowering his shoulders. "This is going to take awhile. Cody go assist Ahsoka in catching Anakin and Master Fisto."
"Yes sir," He saluted and walked away.
Just then, Soltaria came down the stairs, holding Claire in her arms and tickling her.
"Who's the little cutie pie, eh?" Soltaria teased as she tickled Claire's waist, making her giggle. "Let's watch some TV, ok?"
Claire blinked and slowly mouthed the words, "O…K…"
Soltaria squealed again and snapped a photo of Claire with her shiny maroon hand phone. Everyone in the room had a sweat drop on their forehead each, while Soltaria sat on the couch and placed Claire on her lap. She turned on the TV and Claire fiddled with the remote control. Rex gazed over to the now harmless and innocent Claire.
"Is the spell permanent, Soltaria?"
"My spells are rusty, but they usually wear off after awhile, except for the device, it's meant to capture the sample aura until it is replaced."
Rex breathed a sigh of relief. Then, Kit ran out from the bathroom behind the kitchen and up the stairs with no sweat, leaving Ahsoka to follow him from behind, yelling at him to stop.
"How long?" Obi Wan asked.
Soltaria shrugged. "Give or take a few hours. Maybe a day… or a week…"
Rex's heart sank. 'But at that rate…'
"Solty! Solty!" Claire tugged Soltaria's sleeve and pointed to the TV screen. "Lookie! Who is that?"
Soltaria and Obi Wan gazed at the screen; a slightly shocked expression filled their faces as the female reporter went on with the news:
In today's news, an old man was arrested after somehow seriously injuring a teenager, who is currently sent to a hospital via ambulance. The assailant is now in prison and awaiting bail…
The screen flickered to show a picture of an old man with white hair and beard, dressed in a dark maroon robe, his face devoid of emotions. At that very moment, Soltaria's tracker beeped.
"Count Dooku," Obi Wan muttered angrily.
"Count Who?"
Obi Wan unfolded his crossed arms and headed for the door. "We must head over to retrieve him at once."
"But what about Claire-Bear, Anakin and Kit?" She gazed over at Claire's baby-cute eyes that stared back with curiosity.
"I think the others can manage them," He smiled.
Soltaria gave a look of great worry to Claire, who remained oblivious and smiled cheerfully with sparkly eyes. Soltaria whimpered, "Aw maaaaaan…"
She gave Claire one last squeeze on the cheek and told her firmly, "Be good, ok? I'm going to go out with Uncle Kenobi for awhile."
Claire nodded. "Hai (Yes)! Solty!"
Soltaria sighed blissfully and hugged her tightly before grabbing her silver jacket and purse, and headed for the door. At the doorstep, Soltaria gave one last glance at Claire, whose beaming smile never faded. She took out her hand phone and snapped another photo of Claire. As Soltaria and Obi Wan boarded the van and drove off, Claire ran to the doorstep and yelled, "See you later, Solty!"
#########
Rex stared at the little girl who stood and watched the van drive away. She closed the door carefully and turned around to meet Rex's gaze. She smiled timidly. "Hello."
Rex's heart jumped at her honey-sweet and soft voice. Claire slowly walked towards him as he knelt down to her level. She stopped in front of him and stared into the visor of his helmet. Rex ruffled her hair affectionately and she giggled.
"Hey Claire," He chuckled.
"Hello," She greeted back politely. "What's your name?"
Her words slightly pained him and he remembered Obi Wan's words.
'They can't remember anything except what they had experienced as kids.'
So she had forgotten him too… He felt saddened by this fact. Claire stared back curiously at Rex's silent gaze. "What's wrong?" She asked.
He remained silent and Claire gently placed her hand on his chest, where his heart is. "Are you hurt?"
Rex smiled behind his helmet and ruffled her hair again. "No, and my name is Rex."
She cocked her head to the side. "Rexy?"
"No, Rex. R-E-X."
Claire giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug.
"Rexy!" She exclaimed.
Completely shocked, all Rex could do was awkwardly hug her back. Her warmth radiated against his body, while the scent of her hair drifted to his nose, oddly comforting him.
"Aww…"
Rex turned around sharply to find Cody plainly staring at both them, while Ahsoka grinned. She was about to open her mouth, but Rex cut in, "Don't even think about it."
Ahsoka closed her mouth and her lips formed a satisfied smirk.
"So where is General Skywalker and Commander Fisto?" Rex asked.
An ear-shattering roar exploded from upstairs and Anakin and Kit rushed down the steps, hiding behind Cody and Ahsoka as General Grievous stomped down the stairs angrily. But the minute he appeared visible to everyone, they started roaring with laughter. Grievous' faceplate and armor were vandalized with marker doodles and words. There was a huge 'Anakin waz here' was written boldly across Grievous' chest plate, along with 'KIT RULEZ' written messily down Grievous' leg armor. Dark messy eyelashes and a bushy moustache were drawn untidily on his faceplate.
"What's so funny?" Grievous growled menacingly.
They didn't answer his question and just kept on laughing, until Claire ran to tug Grievous' hand and led him to the nearest bathroom. A few moments later, Grievous let out a scream of terror and Claire skipped out of the bathroom behind the kitchen, running back to hold Rex's hand.
"Oh the FORCE!" Grievous blurted out a cry of woe.
Anakin sniggered and grabbed a broom, smacking the butts of Ahsoka, Cody, Rex and Kit. They yelped, especially Kit (Now, AKA Anakin's partner-in-crime for chaos) and chased after Anakin, who held the broom in the air in victory as he ran off.
"BWAHAHAHA! Spanky strikes again!" Anakin laughed.
Cody grunted and rubbed his sore butt. "Are you sure your General hasn't turned to the Dark Side?"
"Hey! Don't insult-"
Before Rex could finish his sentence, Anakin ran back to them and smacked Claire's butt. Her eyes widened in shock at the impact, and she blushed scarlet. As Anakin stuck out his tongue at her, Claire's body trembled and she began to whimper, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Oh no! No, please don't cry!" Ahsoka begged.
But alas, she did, wailing like a siren and tears poured from her eyes like a water fountain. Rex glared angrily at the fear-stricken Anakin, who sped away upon meeting Rex's angry glare of DOOM. For once, he didn't give a damn if the puny runt was his commanding officer.
"Come back here! You PUNK!" Rex yelled, chasing the screaming boy around the house.
Cody picked up the sobbing Claire and cradled her in his arms, patting her shaking back. "There, there. It's alright now."
She hiccupped as Cody wiped away the tears from her eyes. Ahsoka came over to Claire and smiled at her. "Don't worry, Claire. You'll get back to normal soon! In the mean time, why not we get something to eat?"
Claire slowly stopped sobbing and Cody took it as a good sign to let her down. Just as the two characters began making their way to the kitchen, Claire ran towards Cody and grabbed hold of his hand. He looked down towards her crystal clear eyes, taken by surprise as she smiled meekly at him.
##########
"For the last hundredth time, I'm Soltaria Levin and I'm here to bail you out of jail!" Soltaria exasperated.
"But how did you know me?" The man behind the glass panel decked in orange prisons wears asked.
Her lips twitched nervously and she held her temple. "I'm supposed to be… your … grand daughter," She hissed through the phone, while casting a glare at Obi Wan, who couldn't help but smile secretly.
Upon reaching the jail, Soltaria and Obi Wan devised a plan to bail Dooku out of jail without causing too much suspicion among the police officers. In order to do that, they would need to converse with Dooku and explain to him the predicament of the SW characters stuck on earth, getting him to agree to their to return everyone back home. Despite the fact that Dooku was working for the Sith Empire and betrayed the Jedi, Soltaria convinced Obi Wan that it was best that they at least bring him back to the SW world, where the Jedi can deal with him. Apparently, Obi Wan and Dooku had a 'history' in the past. Obi Wan agreed, but with the condition that Soltaria had to play the role of his 'relative' to bail him out.
"I see..." Count Dooku muttered, still keeping a severe look on his face as his eyes met with Obi Wan's own. He was having some doubts in their plan of course, especially with the part that he would be returned to the Jedi to be dealt with. Then again, he had to return to his world to carry out the plans bestowed upon him by the Sith Emperor. Otherwise, he would be easily replaced. Dooku would have to think of an escape plan when they return back to his world.
"So do you agree with our plan?" Obi Wan asked.
Count Dooku nodded. He would have to leave his fate in their hands for now.
A knock on the door was heard from behind and a police officer emerged. Soltaria turned to him. "How much is the bail?"
The young police officer scanned the paper on his clipboard. "Not much…"
"Phew, thank goodness," Soltaria sighed.
"… Only $120 850."
Soltaria's jaws dropped. "Just for injuring one dude?!"
"Apparently, that's not the only thing he did," The police officer continued. "Your 'Grandpa' also committed theft, vandalism and an assault on an old lady."
Soltaria and Obi Wan turned to Count Dooku, who was equally dumbstruck.
"That's preposterous. I don't remember doing any of that!" He said.
"Guess again Old man. We have witnesses and camera footages of your crimes sent by them this afternoon, so don't try acting innocent just because you're old."
He opened the door and sneered at the trio. "If you can't pay the bail, get ready to be in court and your comfy prison cell for 2 years."
With that, the officer left them and Obi Wan remarked crossly, "He certainly wasn't polite as the officers you spoke of, Soltaria."
"Aw man! I don't have that kind of cash now! Why did you have to do all those stupid crimes, Count Dooku?"
"I swear I had nothing to do with those crimes," Dooku replied passively.
Just then a thought rose in Soltaria's mind. "Hey Dooku, you're a sith right? Don't you have any of those Force powers to use?"
"I do indeed."
"Then why can't you just use them to bust out of this prison?"
Dooku remained silent, and Obi Wan's face turned into one of surprise. "You mean you have never thought of that?"
Dooku furrowed his eyebrows together. "I'll give it a try now."
He turned to the police officer behind him and raised his hand at him.
"What are you doing?" The officer demanded.
"You'll let me out of this prison."
"What?!"
Dooku concentrated harder. "You will let me out of this prison."
As if pain had shot his head, the officer held his head, struggling to keep his mind in control. "Argh! No, I won't!"
Dooku's eyes widened with such fierceness, bellowing, "YOU WILL!"
"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!"
Soltaria stared at the horrendous sight of the officer howling in pain, eventually becoming a mindless slave under Dooku's mind control.
"I will… let you out of this prison…" He slurred.
The officer mindlessly went to unlock the door and led Dooku outside to the room where Soltaria and Obi Wan were in. Soltaria was quite shaken by what happened. "I will never complain about old people again," She mumbled nervously to Obi Wan.
"At least we accomplished the mission, sort of."
Count Dooku's eyes darted around the room and he sharply turned to Soltaria and Obi Wan. His action caused Soltaria to gasp in fear, but his face melted into one of confusion.
"Where… Am I?" Dooku asked out of the blue.
Obi Wan and Soltaria stared at the once formidable Sith who peered closer at their faces.
"Do I… know you?"
Soltaria and Obi Wan turned to each other, an expression of worry and confusion appeared on their faces. Obi Wan averted his gaze to Dooku.
"Dooku, don't you recognize us?" He asked warily.
"Of course not! I never seen you two in my whole entire life!"
Soltaria's jaw dropped as Dooku laughed heartily. "Have you seen my robes? I can't afford to walk around in this pathetic strange orange costume."
Obi wan felt dumbfounded, while Soltaria blinked uncontrollably.
And so one problem, led to another.
##########
Claire scooped a spoonful of chocolate chip ice cream and tenderly ate it. She licked the ice cream around her mouth and giggled happily, taking another bite. Ahsoka and Cody, who had placed his helmet on the table, enjoyed ice cream together with her as they talked.
"I never knew Earth had such wonderful desserts!' Ahsoka commented joyfully, taking another bite of her strawberry ice cream.
"It's sweet…" Cody tasted a spoonful of vanilla ice cream, shuddering. "… And cold."
"Why does she have to sit on my lap?" Grievous grunted, while the little girl on his lap offered him a spoonful of her ice cream, which he rejected. Thankfully, the marker that Anakin and Kit used were filled with washable ink, and Claire helped cleaned them off Grievous. He had refused her many offers to help, but the girl was quite stubborn and scrubbed the markings off him without complaining. She was different from the others.
"Because she's too short to reach the table."
"Well then why doesn't she sit on your laps?"
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Who asked you not to eat, Mr. Grouchy?"
"I beg you pardon?" He growled.
"Grievy, you not hungry?" Claire asked innocently.
"I don't eat," He grumbled.
Claire cocked her head to the side. "Why not?"
Grievous was about to give her the scolding of a lifetime, but when his fierce amber eyes met with her curious opal sparkly eyes, he couldn't bring himself to raise his voice at the child. He grunted. "Because I can't."
Claire replied with an 'Oh', then turned to Cody and she giggled. Cody stared at her with an unfazed expression. "What?"
She giggled even more and pointed at his face. "Ice cream on your face."
Ahsoka laughed as Cody touched his cheek to find vanilla ice cream dripping from his fingertips. Claire leaned next to Cody and kissed his ice-cream covered cheek. Cody blushed scarlet red while the others gaped at the scene.
"Thank you," She said timidly to Cody, who touched his cheek in a daze.
Rex, who had came down the stairs at that time, saw the scene and clenched his fists. "I thought you were supposed to help keep an eye on General Skywalker and Fisto…" His voice was hinted with anger and jealousy.
Cody finally noticed Rex and waved his hands in defense. "Rex, buddy, it's not what you think."
Rex gritted his teeth. "Ya, but I'm supposed to be looking after her. You, on other hand just left General Fisto swimming in a tub overflowing with water, while General Skywalker is running amok as a spanking machine."
"Say what?"
"Ooh… Rivalry at hand…" Grievous rolled his eyes.
Rex cracked his knuckles and bent his head side to side, making his way to Claire and snatched her away from Grievous' lap.
"My turn to take care of her."
Cody stood up and took a step forward at Rex. "Rex, I don't know what's up with you lately…"
He snatched Claire away from Rex's grasp. "…But I don't think it's wise to leave you with Claire now."
"But you already have her for the last two hours!"
"So? It's my responsibility to ensure her safety! She can come with me while I deal with the other two kids."
Ahsoka tried to intervene, freeing Claire from Cody's grasp and onto the floor. "Erm… guys?"
"It's always about you, isn't it?"
"No, Rex, listen-"
"I'm tired of listening to you and all of your rules! Blah, blah, blah!"
"It's not that, it's just…"
"Can't I just spend time with someone I care about?" Rex blurted out in anger.
Everyone stared at Rex, whose sudden confession left everyone shocked. Claire tugged Rex and Cody's hand gently, a worried expression on her face. "Don't fight…" She pleaded.
The two clones gazed at her, before averting their gazes to each other.
"I swear the two of you make a wonderful couple."
Rex and Cody glared at Grievous' sarcastic remark. Just then, Anakin smacked everyone's butts again with his infamous broom and everyone turned to Anakin, who laughed maniacally as he ran into the kitchen.
Rex turned to Cody. "Truce?"
Cody nodded. "Truce."
They followed Anakin, who turned the stove on and lighted up a lighter.
"Sir! Get away from that!" Rex warned.
Anakin smiled impishly and lighted the stove. Fire burst out from the stove, dancing in the air maliciously.
Ahsoka used her force powers to lift Anakin off the ground and towards them. Anakin was sent hurling towards Cody, who grabbed him. "Got'cha!"
"Rex, we'll take care of Claire and Anakin, you put out the fire!" Ahsoka said.
"I'm on it."
But just then, Claire began to tremble and her body shook terribly.
"Claire?"
Without hesitation, Claire ran away, up the stairs and slammed the door to her room.
"Claire!" Ahsoka yelled.
But she didn't answer, all she did was ran and ran and ran…
… Just to escape the fire that had haunted her for so long.
########
"We're home!" Soltaria called out.
Obi Wan accompanied the confused Dooku, who asked him for the millionth time. "Who are you again?"
Obi Wan controlled his urge to shut him up for good and spoke as patiently as he could, "Obi Wan, Dooku. Obi Wan Kenobi."
"Ah, I see, I see…" Dooku paused and then asked again. "Who are you?"
Grey smoke floated in the air and Soltaria's eyes widened. She rushed to the kitchen to see Rex attempting to put out the fire with water and Grievous, Ahsoka and Cody holding Anakin and Kit, who had just came out of the bathroom.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Trying to put out the fire, Soltaria."
Soltaria pushed him aside turned off the stove and grabbed the extinguisher, putting out the flame within seconds. She sternly glared at Rex.
"You idiot! You can't use water on electrical fires! You'll make it worse!" She scolded.
"Sorry," He apologized.
Soltaria's eyes darted around. "Where's Claire?"
"She ran up to her room, after the fire broke out," Ahsoka replied.
"You mean she saw the fire?!"
"Erm… yeah…"
Soltaria grew furious and flared up. "You idiots! Claire is afraid of fire, especially big ones!"
Everyone stared back in shock at her revelation.
"But… why?" Ahsoka asked.
"She was the sole survivor trapped in a burning building that was about to collapse when she was only 2. Some accident caused a fire to break out and Claire was trapped in some rubble in a burning room. If it weren't for her Dad, she would have been burned to death in there…"
Rex stayed silent after learning about the truth. He had no idea.
"But that's not important now. Obi Wan, keep an eye on Dooku, I need to go look for Claire now."
Just then, Rex placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "I'll go," He said.
"But-"
Ahsoka shook her head at Soltaria and Rex walked up the stairs to Claire's room. Soltaria stared back at group of SW characters.
"Did I miss something?" She asked, completely surprised by the turn of events.
Cody patted the heads of Anakin and Kit. "Nothing much except that these runts tore the place apart."
Dooku stared hard at Grievous and asked, "You look very familiar…"
Grievous grunted. "Welcome to hell… my lord."
Dooku's eyes lit up. "Oh I remember! You're that servant I ordered from the Slave market in Tatooine!"
"WHAT SERVANT?!" Grievous flared up at the insult.
Cody and Ahsoka glanced back to Obi Wan, who shrugged. "Dooku is kind of suffering from some memory loss after taking out a prison guard and a couple of guards at the exit."
"We have a name for that kind of illness in this world: Alzheimer's Disease." Soltaria scoffed. "He even forgot about your name like ten times!"
"And he forgot yours eleven times."
"Oh hush."
Dooku looked at the kids with a wary eye. "I don't recall having any grandchildren…"
###########
Rex opened the door of Claire's room and found her huddled into a ball at a dark and far corner of the room. She was shivering and sobbing, her face hidden from him. She was in such a wretched state.
"Claire…" Rex whispered softly.
Her ears perked up at Rex's voice. She looked up to him, tears still flowing from her watery and reddened eyes. Rex felt his heart stabbed painfully at the sight, but he knew that he wasn't the only one feeling such pain. He walked towards Claire, knelt down and caressed her cheek. With one finger, he wiped away the tears from her eyes and she ran towards him, hugging him by the waist and cried her heart out. Rex patted her back as Claire wailed and cried at the fresh memory of the fire that scarred her for life. He noticed a tear on the side of her pants and saw the scar the fire left on her right leg. His eyes softened and he embraced the shaken girl in his arms.
So many things flashed in her mind then.
The smell of smoke… The burning of wallpaper…
The crumbling ceiling… The crackling of the red-hot fire surrounding her…
The choking and screaming of poor unfortunate souls trapped alongside her…
The searing and burning pain that her leg felt…
And then, the voice of her father…
"It's all my… fault…" She sobbed.
"It wasn't."
"D-D-Daddy… sob… told me… sob… to stay with mummy… sniff, sob, sob… But I got lost… then… then, the smelly and scaring hot monster came…"
Rex pondered over her words, realizing she was referring to the fire Soltaria was talking about.
"It tried to eat me… and t-t-touch me… it hurt me when it did that… sob… It was so painful… So painful…" She hiccupped and sobbed. "And there were s-s-scary noises from next door… i-i-it sounded like… someone was in p-p-pain…"
She clutched onto Rex's armor.
"I was …sob… so scared…" She cried.
Rex comforted the trembling girl in his arms. Never did he expect the headstrong and cheerful girl to hide such a traumatic part of her past from others so easily. Right now, what he was holding in his arms was probably the last shred of innocence and fear locked away in Claire's heart.
He caressed the locks of her raven black hair and laid her ear next to his heart, soon wrapping his strong and muscular arms protectively around the frail girl's body.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you, I promise," He whispered to her softly and lovingly.
Claire was briefly stunned and gazed up to his visor.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
A breath-taking smile formed on her lips and Rex was left speechless. She relaxed, closing her eyes and listened to the beating of his heart. Rex carried Claire to her bed and laid her on it gently. He pulled the blanket under her chin and she held his hand tenderly. Rex smiled behind the helmet and sat next to her, signaling to Claire that he will stay by her side. Her eyes slowly closed as she pressed her cheek against his hand.
"Rexy?"
Rex turned to her. "Hm?"
A warm smile formed on her lips. "Thank you."
Rex paused as she murmured something inaudible in her sleep. He stared at the peaceful sleeping form of the girl and sighed.
"… I love you too, Claire."
########
A few hours later… At night…
When I woke up, I was very surprised to find Rex asleep beside my bed. But I was even more surprised to find my fingers intertwined with his.
It was then I found myself back as my normal teenage self.
Deciding to deal with Soltaria tomorrow, I cast my eyes to Rex, who was snoring softly. I giggled as he shifted in his sleep, but gasped as he turned over and laid his head on the bed right next to me. My face blushed scarlet as he muttered in his sleep.
"Mmm… Claire…"
I stared at him in shock. 'Oh my God! What on earth is he dreaming about!'
Yet, my heart dreamily fluttered as he mentioned my name over and over again in his sleep. I smacked my chibi inner self mentally for thinking dirty thoughts. But for some reason, I couldn't help but smile.
Maybe I do like him after all…
###########
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Sigh… what a sweet scene…
Claire: (blushes madly and punches author)
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Ow! (Rubs cheek)
Claire: Sorry, but there was a fly on your face.
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: What kind of excuse is that?! Well anyway, what about you, Rex? Rex?
Rex: (Still in a daze after what happened)
Cody: If you don't pay attention, you might lose your girlfriend.
Rex: (Snaps out of daze) WHAT? Who? Where?!
Cody: Just kidding.
Rex: (Growls) I'm gonna throttle you…
Ahsoka: And let the Rex Vs Cody battles continue!
Grievous: (Snorts) The sight of those two lover birds makes me want to puke!
xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: That's all folks! See you in the next chap! Cheers, and remember to review! No flames! :)