Chapter 8: To Washington DC! Part 2

Previously: With the news of the last characters announced, Rex and Claire share their last moments together, while Soltaria is left to watch the pair and wondered if their separation would deal a devastating blow to her mortal. But things get hectic when a trip to an airport ended up with a mad chase to find Plo Koon and rescue Dooku from the clutches of the security. With no time to loose, the gang soon head for Washington DC to find the notorious last character, before she tries a suicidal plan, much worse than Plo's own! But will the story (Along with Rex and Claire's relationship) come to a tragic end?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Well guy, I got good news and bad news. The good news is… that this would be the last chapter and you guys can finally take a break.

The Cast: YAY!

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: The bad news is… that there will be a sequel and you guys would have to work extra hard again.

The Cast: D'oh!

Plo Koon: And I just joined this show. T_T

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Don't worry Plo! You'll get your chance to shine in the sequel! ^^

Anakin: So Rex and Claire are like the Mary-sue couple that would get together?

Ahsoka: Like the girl next door gets the guy?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Gets the guy?

Soltaria: …She does get the guy in the end of this story, right?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Erm… Yes… No… Maybe?

Everyone: (stares) …

Anakin: (Gasps) Oh my god! You lied to me about the ending?

Ahsoka: How can you be so cruel?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: No- Anakin! Ahsoka! It's not like that!

Soltaria: That's it! Give me that script!

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: (Gets chased by Soltaria, Anakin and Ahsoka) Nooo! I'm the writer! I can do what I want with it!

Claire: You know what? Let's just get this over with.

Rex: 0_o You mean you don't want us to be together?

Claire: Eh?

Rex: But I thought you love me? T^T

Claire: Actually I was referring to the Disclaimer and then going for some ice cream.

Rex: O_O (Eyes sparkle in joy) So you do love me?

Claire: (sighs) Yes, Rex.

Rex: (Turns to Cody) In your face, Cody!

Cody: What the hell? -_-"

Claire: Alright people! All together now!

Everyone: xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx does not own anything from star wars clone wars and whatever star wars franchise that exists, except her OC in this story- Claire Aschlock. Soltaria Levin belongs to a friend of hers.

R2-D2: (Beeps happily)

Claire: That's right R2! Onto the story!

############

In a faraway dimension, an ethereal, tall being of blue watched the stars of thousands of galaxies from his balcony. Beside him, was an ethereal being of white, a golden cross was sewn grandly on his robe. Neither of their faces could be seen for now.

"It is almost time for her to know the truth. Isn't it?" The ethereal being of white asked.

The blue ethereal-being smiled. "Indeed it is… But for now, I shall only allow a small part of this truth to be told. And when she discovers her true self, then I shall tell her the rest of the story long forgotten."

The white ethereal-being chuckled heartily. "I'm sure she will make you proud. She is after all your descendant."

"Yes," The godly figure in blue stared at the skies. "She's saving others as we speak, this I can guarantee."

##########

I woke up with a sneeze, blinking hard and rubbing my itching nose.

"Who the heck is talking about me behind my back?" I muttered.

A loud snore came from the back and I turned around to glare at the snoring Anakin, whose mouth was wide open. For a minute I thought I saw drool dripping from his mouth. The van was parked at a gas station, where we have decided to make a pit stop. The characters grew bored very quickly, so Soltaria conjured up her laptop with a wireless connection token in her sleepy state. But she fell asleep right after that, leaving me to do all the teaching.

It's been a day since we left the airport and another day closer to catching our last character. Although I probably had a good feeling on whom it was, since Rex had always been tense about every mention of her. Which other female in Star Wars the Clone Wars was a Sith, wielding red light sabers and had a crazy psycho-assassin attitude? Hm?

After getting some breakfast from the gas station's convenience store, I climbed back into the van, only to find the guys huddled up at the back, staring at the laptop screen intensely.

"Erm guys… Breakfast is here," I announced.

There was still no response. Not even a twitching of an eye. I placed the bags on the seat next to me and walked over to them. "Seriously, enough of the computer alre-"

"Oh the Force!" Kit exclaimed.

Arching a brow, I turned to the screen and almost guffawed at their expressions while Kit read out aloud.

"Cody/Obi Wan… Anakin/Ahsoka… Rex/Ahsoka… Obi Wan/Anakin?"

Obi Wan and Cody stared at each other, backing away with a shudder. Ahsoka and Rex blinked wildly while Anakin glared at the screen in disbelief. "What the heck? I'm not into him! That's just EWW!"

"Anakin/Padme… Grievous/Shaak Ti… Kit/Aayla… Ahsoka/Cad Bane?"

Anakin couldn't help but laugh at the random pairings, while Padme shot him a glare. Dooku was still asleep, and all Yoda could do was shake his head at the sheer stupidity.

"Eww! I hate Cad Bane!" Ahsoka stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"Aayla would kill me if she saw this…" Kit gulped.

"And I never shared such feelings for a Jedi!" Grievous coughed.

"Riiiiight…" I rolled my eyes at the general's snide remark.

"There isn't anything about me, is there?"

"Don't worry Master Plo! I'm sure no one would try anything like that!" Ahsoka grinned.

Kit tapped a button and silence filled the van, except for R2-D2 whistling at the words: Plo/Ahsoka.

"Errrr… You know, Plo Koon… Why not we go out for some fresh air?" Obi Wan suggested.

Before Plo could protest, Obi Wan shoved him out of the van, followed by Padme and R2-D2, who have decided to take a breather from the insanity.

"This, who did, Claire?" Yoda asked.

"Yoda, meet fan fiction, the place where many people like to pair up certain characters from a story, comic or movie for the fun of it. No offense."

"Who in the Force is Darth Vader?" Anakin asked dumbly. "And what the heck is an OC?"

I held back my laughter at the irony of Anakin's first question.

"Skywalker, why not you just click on the stories to find out?" Cody asked.

Anakin pushed Kit aside and took control of the laptop, forcing him to knock Dooku off his seat. Dooku's eyes shot wide open from the impact and began singing out loud another random song.

"Who SAID, who SAID! I won't be PRESIDENT?"

And that was how Dooku earned a hot-cross bun stuffed into his mouth by Rex. Grievous on the other hand, was preparing his multiple light sabers to slice and dice him.

"Can't I just shut him up for good? All I need is a few minutes and-"

"Grievous! SIT!" I ordered, shoving him back into his seat and strapping him to it with the seatbelt.

"What? Why you…"

In a flash, I wrenched one of his light sabers from his grasp and pointed it near his neck. Grievous stared at me in shock as I glared sternly.

"You got something else to say?" I threatened darkly.

Grievous immediately shook his head quickly, grunting even after handing him back his light saber. Rex gawked at me in somewhat awe.

"When did you learn to do that?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I took self-defense lessons from Soltaria. Besides, someone had to tell him."

"Now this story is cute," Ahsoka smirked, motioning to come over.

Puzzled, I did. But the moment I saw what was on the screen, I screamed.

"SOLTARIAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

#########

"I said I was sorry…" Soltaria said while focusing on the road.

I sulked, sitting next to Rex who was equally embarrassed. The other characters that were present at my humiliation snickered.

"Yeah, like putting up a fanfic about a Rex/me story was fun for you…" I griped.

"But it was so cute… and you two look so CUTE together!"

Everyone burst out laughing as usual. Rex was blushing madly behind his helmet, and I swore steam was emerging from my ears.

"You even put one of my toddler pictures as your profile pic…"

"What's done can't be undone."

The road cleared and the van was still moving slow due to Soltaria's tiredness.

"Are you sure you can still drive?" Padme asked.

"I'm fine. Damn… Maybe I should have gotten some more Mocha drinks…"

I was feeling slightly drowsy at the speed the van was going, not realizing that I was leaning my head onto Rex's shoulder. A long 'AAAAAAWWWWW' rudely awakened me and I blushed crimson red, avoiding the gaze of others. Rex sighed and brought his hand onto my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. My heart accelerated to the maximum when I felt him gently squeezing my shoulder and leaning his head on top of mine.

"You can sleep now," He whispered.

I blushed even more shyly. "Rex…"

Anakin sniffled, and then began wailing. Padme tried to comfort him while Cody paused when he heard a small sniff from his side.

"Grievous… are you crying?"

Grievous returned a pretending look of surprise, trying to hide his tears. "What? No! I'm not! I'm a warrior! I rather shed blood than tears!"

"That will be a problem since most of your body is made of… well… metal," Cody stated flatly.

"THAT'S IT! I DON'T CARE IF IT'S BREAKING THE RULES! I'M NOT GONNA JUST SIT HERE AND WATCH YOU TWO SUFFER!" Soltaria yelled out in frustration.

"Soltaria?" I stared in shock of her reaction.

"ONCE WE FIND THAT STUPID B****! I'M GONNA FIGHT AGAINST BAILEY AND THE ORDER FOR YOUR SAKE! CLAIRE-BEAR!"

"Soltaria… language-"

Soltaira shifted gear and press some button on the steering wheel. Before I knew it, the van was speeding away with rocket boosters that had somehow emerged from the van's boot. I held onto the edge of my seat for my dear life.

"Holy SPITZ! Where the hell did those come from?" I yelled.

"No idea! But I hope I don't throw up my breakfast again!"

"WE'RE GONNA DIE AGAAAAAIINNN!"

"WHEEEEEEEEEEE! THIS IS FUN!"

"FUN? KIT! ARE YOU MAAAAAAAAD?"

"OH THE FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRCCEE…"

#############

The bald woman in purple robes incapacitated the last guard in the vicinity, and moved on to find a ship in the NASA headquarters.

"I must hurry to assist Master Dooku immediately…" She said.

She had no idea how she landed in this atrocious strange world. Asking for help from the people was out of the option, since the last man she tried to question gawked at her like an idiot and tried to get a feel of her. She smirked at the memory of Force-Pushing the jerk into a trash bin and pounding him against a brick wall.

Then again, she isn't Asaji Ventress for nothing.

##############

"I'm never ever EVER going into that THING again!" Anakin yelled for the tenth time ever since we finally reached the Washington NASA HQ.

"Oh just stuff it, Anakin. We're here already anyway," I replied in an irritated tone.

Unlike what it was described in the brochures, the place was desolated with no sign of any security guards except for the one in the booth who had been knocked out. The gate was cut into half with black burnt ends at the edges. The burns were still fresh.

"Ventress," Obi Wan said.

We expected company as we proceeded into the main facility room of NASA HQ, but most of the guards were either missing or taken out.

"Security is quite lousy here," Rex remarked.

I agreed. "Yeah. Just like the movies…"

It was decided that we split up into three groups:

The First- Anakin, Grievous, Kit, Plo Koon and Cody

The Second- Soltaria, Obi Wan, Padme, Yoda and Dooku

And the Third- Rex, Ahsoka, R2-D2 and I

"If anyone spots Ventress, make sure she doesn't escape and meet us back here at the entrance," Soltaria said.

"That's gonna be tough. Ventress is a slippery one," Rex growled. "What's more loony over that was her teacher."

He jabbed a finger to Dooku who was blabbering nonsense in a daze. Grievous glowered. "You will not insult my lord, Clone!"

Before they can clash, I stepped in between them. As I held them away from each other, I gave the two enemies a warning glance.

"Will you guys for the last time stop trying to KILL each other and start WORKING together?"

Rex and Grievous continued to glare at each other.

"I would if this stupid Clone could shut his trap for once!" The droid general insisted.

"Only if this Clanker stops being such a whiner…" Rex muttered under his breath.

Both of them glared at each other harder, daring the other to make a move. I slapped my forehead. "And I thought Rex VS Cody in Halo wasn't enough…"

"The Force… May it be with us all…" Yoda sighed.

With a nod, we parted ways.

############

At the NASA Training facilities…

"What's up with you Grievous? You have been more grouchier than usual lately."

Grievous whipped around swiftly, glaring at Anakin. "You had better hold your tongue, Skywalker… before I slice it for you."

"Geez… I'm just curious…" Anakin mumbled while walking along the corridor with the others. He narrowed his eyes at Grievous.

"What are you staring at?"

He shrugged. "Nothing."

"Master Fisto, have they always been like this since before I came?" Plo asked Kit.

"As usual."

Anakin halted, and then smacked his fist in his palm at a sudden thought.

"I got it!" He smirked excitedly at Grievous. "You're jealous of Rex's relationship with Claire!"

Grievous began blubbering like a goldfish out of water. "That's absurd! Why should I be jealous of that buffoon and insolent girl? Isn't Cody the one interested in her!"

"For the record, we're just friends. And one thing, you didn't hurt her when she was transformed into a helpless kid," Cody said.

"And you even lowered your defenses against her back in the van," Kit added.

"It was a moment of folly! And why should I hurt a child who pose no threat to me?"

"Plain and simple." Anakin mouthed the words: You like her.

Grievous glowered. "That's it! I warned you, Skywalker!"

A light saber battle ensured between Grievous and Anakin. Laser blades clashed and sparks flew off. All of a sudden, a shadow emerged from above and clashed light sabers with the two battling enemies. Everyone's eyes widened at Ventress, who was taken by surprise from Grievous' presence.

"Grievous?"

"Ventress?"

The Sith assassin leaped back to the ground, readying her dual light sabers at the group who unsheathed their weapons.

"I see you need some help, Grievous…"

"Ventress, you have to come with us! If you try to use a ship here you won't be able to return back to our world," Plo urged.

"Hah! Like I had believe your Jedi lies!" Ventress spat.

"I told you she wouldn't believe us," Anakin said.

"Then should we take her down?" Cody asked.

"General! Why should you side with the Jedi, who are your very enemies? Why not take the chance to strike at them and get out of the useless planet?"

She waited for Grievous to strike, but he did not. Instead, he was pondering over something that nobody knew of.

A memory, that only he remembered so vividly.

###########

During the day when Claire was transformed into a child…

Grievous was dozing off in his room when he heard someone knock on the door.

"Grievy?" A tiny honey-sweet voice was heard.

He grunted, ignoring Claire's call. He didn't want to deal with the 'children' after the whole marker fiasco. Too bad he forgot to lock the door. Grievous muttered curses under his breath as the tiny girl pushed the door open and entered the room. She skipped over to him, inches away from touching him.

"Do not touch me, child," He hissed.

Obediently, she withdrew her hand and stood next to him. After a few moments of silence and staring from the girl, he finally gave up.

"What do you want?"

She smiled, revealing pearly white teeth. "Snack time. Don't you want to come down?"

Grievous growled. "I'm not hungry."

She tilted her head at the huge droid lying on the floor. His amber eyes were distant, along with his mind wandering away from reality.

"Do you miss someone you like?" Claire innocently asked.

Grievous bolted up and glared at the girl with shoulder length raven hair and curious opal eyes. "It is none of your concern, girl."

She paused, staring at his fierce amber reptilian eyes. He hated it when someone does that. It felt like someone staring right down into his soul. It made him felt weak.

"You have very sad and lonely eyes…"

Grievous' eyes widened at the child, who sat down next to him and placed her small hand gently down on his metal talons.

"I can feel it… so much pain…" She whispered.

He wrenched his hand away from hers. "I told you not to touch me!"

The girl flinched, but calmed down, showing no fear, but worry in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. Please don't be angry, Grievy."

"And quit calling me that!"

Saddened, she cast her eyes down to the floor. Grievous soon noticed the water droplets dripping down to the floor. She was crying.

Now normally, he wouldn't give a damn about that. But the guilt was tugging hard at his heart, making it impossible to ignore the crying girl. He didn't know why, but the girl reminded him of someone he once knew. Especially when she was her rambunctious teenage self. Grievous had never met anyone who was so rebellious, recklessly brave and yet caring in his life. In fact, that kind of disrespectful attitude usually puts him off.

And yet… this wild and carefree side of her was what reminded him of an old friend whom he once cherished.

Claire dried her tears, not wishing to let him see her cry. It was a pitiful attempt, but she donned her best smile for him.

"Never mind, I'll go first, Grievy," She said cheerfully.

Just before the girl could skip back to the door, Grievous stood up and walked towards her. Claire looked up at him with amazement as he opened the door with a grunt.

"I guess it won't hurt."

A warm smile formed on her face and she took Grievous' hand while leading him down. He shook her hand off numerous times in annoyance.

But she never gave up trying to hold his hand as they walked together.

###########

"What are you waiting for Grievous? Finish them!"

The droid general closed his eyes and pondered. Would he really betray an ally for her?

"Well?"

Clenching the light sabers in his talons, he opened his eyes and slowly turned to face Ventress.

"They're speaking the truth, Ventress."

A shocked expression swept over everyone's faces.

"We're here to find you and so that everyone can return to the world we belong to."

Cody blinked. "Well that was… unexpectedly calm from someone like him."

Ventress snarled and leapt towards them.

"TRAITOR!"

Grievous blocked the attack, grunting at the sheer power of her blades. The others striked, but Ventress dodged their attacks while protecting herself. The assassin made a run for the left hallway and barged into a room.

"Come on! She's not too far ahead!" Anakin yelled, entering the room.

Kit, Plo Koon and Grievous followed from behind, but Cody halted outside. The sign beside the door on the right read: Training Simulation Room.

"Erm… Sir…"

In the next moments, screams and the sound of a rocket engine firing up were distinctively heard. Cody rushed into the room, but found no one in the room, except a huge spaceship jerking in several motions while being rooted to one spot. What's more, Ventress was nowhere to be found. Cody looked up to the air vent, and just as he had thought, the cover was cleanly sliced off. Much as he would like to go after Ventress, the present situation was not looking good.

"GET US OUT OF HERE!" Anakin cried as the rocket shook violently.

"Brace yourselves!"

The rocket tilted upwards and made a sound resembling a take-off.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WE'RE GOING TO DIE IN SPACE!"

"THIS IS FUUUUUUN!"

Cody went to the controls and tried to stop the simulation. However, every button he pressed was just making it worse.

"ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH! I WANNA GO HOOOOOOME!"

############

NASA HQ Hallway, near security bridge…

Obi wan slowed down on his tracks, sensing a great disturbance in the Force.

"I sense Anakin, Kit and Plo are in danger," He said.

"Ventress, they must have met up with," Yoda replied.

"Or worse…" Soltaria muttered.

Padme dragged the dazed Dooku forward, who would helpless as a toddler if it weren't for her. "Come on, Dooku. The sooner with find your disciple, the sooner we can go home."

"I have a student?"

"Yes, you do. And you can enjoy your hot-cross buns in prison with her," Padme said.

"Yipee! Hot cross buns!" Dooku giggled like a 3-year boy.

Soltaria stared blankly at the stupefied Dooku. "And Claire told me that he was the Sith Lord on par with Obi Wan and Anakin combined."

The tracker in Soltaria's pocket began beeping wildly and Soltaria's eyes widened. "Oh shoot! She's here!"

The air vent above them broke into half and Ventress came falling with her light sabers ready to plunge into Soltaria's head.

"SOLTARIA!"

#########

NASA Rocket launch site…

Something wasn't right. At least, that's what I thought.

Rex and I wandered around the launch site with Ahsoka and R2-D2 scouting the area. I was beginning to worry for Soltaria, for once. She hasn't picked up her phone since we parted ways and I was now worried for the person who always drives me up to the wall. Then again, she does care for me… in a motherly protective way. I mean, Soltaria always said that I was so innocent and kind in nature that people around me are driven to protect me. Was that true?

"Rex?"

The clone captain turned to me, as we stopped walking.

"Am I… too innocent?" I asked.

Rex stared at me, pondering about the question.

"Err… No, I mean… yes, in a way. But err…" Rex's voice trailed off and he slapped his forehead. "Damn it."

I laughed softly and he ruffled my hair playfully.

"What made you ask that any way?" He asked.

I placed a finger at my lips, giving it a deep thought.

"I don't know, I guess I feel that people are way too over protective of me. Soltaria always said that it's because I'm actually very innocent deep inside…"

I turned to face Rex with curious big eyes. "Is that possible?"

He was spaced out for so long that I had to snap my fingers in front of him five times to wake him up.

"Sorry… I just can't bear to forget that look on your face," He chuckled.

And then I remembered. Sadly, I cast my eyes to the floor.

"I don't want to forget you…"

He heard my whisper, and wrapped his arms around me. My eyes shot wide open as his helmet fell to the ground and his lips met mine.

"Rex- Mmph!"

He cut me off again with another surprise kiss on the lips. I remained motionless in his embrace, and my eyelids grew heavy and weary.

'Rex…'

A soft moan escaped my lips as he delved deeper into the kiss, winding his arms around my waist. My fingers scrapped at the back of his armor, clinging onto him as if he was my life source. My oxygen.

"Mmm…" He moaned softly upon feeling me kiss back and wrapped my arms around his neck. Once we parted lips, he smirked and left a trail of butterfly kisses along my neck. I was taken by surprise as his lips met contact with my skin for the first time.

"R-R-Rex!" I flustered, blushing a million shades of crimson.

He laughed as I gave him a mock punch at his shoulder, sweeping me off my feet and spinning around. I laughed and giggled, so carried away by the rush of energy and emotions.

"How disgusting…"

The both of us froze, turning around to meet Ventress face to face. She smirked darkly. Ahsoka came rushing in, limping actually with a sprain on her right leg. R2-D2 beeped wildly as he sped towards us.

"Time to finish you off, once and for all."

She wielded her light saber in the air.

"Claire! Rex! Get out of there!" Ahsoka tried to use her Force power, but tripped and fell to the ground, losing concentration.

Rex fired his blasters at the assassin, but she easily force pulled them away from him. We were defenseless and in danger. I stood rooted to the ground, trembling as she smiled evily in triumph.

"Now, die. Useless trash," She cackled.

It all happened so fast then. The minute one of her red light sabers was thrown towards us as a deadly boomerang, I saw it heading towards Rex. With one final push, I shoved Rex out of the way. A searing pain burned on my left side.

"CLAIRE! NOOO!" I heard Rex scream.

Dazed and disoriented, my body fell onto the ground in pain. The darkness clouded my vision as I heard the clashing of light sabers and the screams of familiar voices.

Rex…

Soltaria…

Ahsoka...

Everyone…

I gave a weak smile as I recognized their faces. Rex's face loomed over mine, his eyes full of tears and pain.

"Don't go…" I heard him plead.

And then the world went black. I found myself floating in limbo, a galaxy of stars with streaks of black, purple, blue and white. My eyes wandered around this new world I was in.

"Am I… dead?"

"Not exactly."

An ethereal figure in blue appeared in front of me. I gawked in awe of his majestic presence. He had no face, only a pair of white glowing eyes and a long robe that covered even his toes.

"Who… are you?" I asked.

"I am a Traveler and a Watcher over the many worlds and dimensions. You may call me Vigil."

"Vigil…"

He continued, " There is not much time, but I'll tell you what you need to know for now."

I followed, or rather floated towards Vigil as he spoke. "As you know the characters of Star Wars the Clone Wars need to return to their home. Although it pained the both of us that you must part with the one whom you have grown attached to…"

"Rex."

"Yes, the clone captain, Rex. Your relationship with him is quite strange. Clearly, I have never witnessed such devotion between people from different dimensions," He chuckled.

I blushed hysterically.

"But you know that such love between them is usually forbidden. Don't you, Claire?" Vigil spoke in a solemn tone.

A pang of pain entered my heart, and sadly I nodded.

"Are you willing to let him go?" He asked.

I paused, before speaking up. "At first… I didn't want him to leave. I know that he has to help the others fight the war… and I didn't want him to die…"

I clutched the fabric of my shirt over my heart.

"It pains me to see him go, but I know… that he would always be here with me…" I patted the area on my chest, where my heart was. "In here."

Vigil nodded sagely.

"Very well then. But before you go, let me offer you a proposition. All you need to do is listen carefully…"

As Vigil whispered to me, I couldn't help but smile. "Thank you."

##########

My eyes fluttered and the light shone into my eyes. I rubbed them crazily and was greeted by a massive hug.

"CLAAAAAAIIIREEEE! You're alive!" Soltaria exclaimed in joy.

"Soltaria! Bone crushing! Argh!"

Soltaria helped me after to my feet and everyone was relieved to find me alright. Although I still felt a tingling burn on my side.

"Luckily Ahsoka managed to Force push that light saber away to only burn you a little," Obi Wan said.

I grinned at Ahsoka, offering a smile of gratitude.

"Claire."

Rex caught me in a massive rib-crushing hug and I winced.

"Thank the Force… You're alright," He muttered.

"I'm just glad you're safe," I replied.

"AWWWWW MAAANNN! That's so touching!" Soltaria began wailing fountains of tears, while Kit offered her a hanky.

"Thanks," She said, and blew her nose.

"What about Ventress?" I asked.

Rex jerked his head to Dooku, who was berating Ventress solemnly.

"I'm most disappointed in you. How could you try and force-choke me? Your Master and teacher?"

"Master… I had no idea! I thought you were brain-washed by the Jedi to trick me!"

"Enough of your nonsense! When this is over, you will be doubling your training and cleaning up the droids as punishment."

I glanced at Ahsoka, who shrugged. "Apparently, Dooku got his memories back."

And so, Bailey decided to drop by to assist Soltaria in preparing a portal (which was guaranteed safe by God himself, through SMS). It was a sad moment, but most of the characters were prepared to bid farewell.

"It was an honor fighting alongside with you, Soltaria," Obi Wan said.

Soltaria blushed. "Well, I errr… Wait a minute! Are you hitting on me?"

Ahsoka hugged me and we smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Claire."

"Same here," I grinned back.

Rex was the most reluctant to go, remaining silent throughout everything. It was then I remembered something important.

"Rex, take this."

I took out my gift to him from my pocket and placed it in his hand. He stared at the keychain with a feather and a four-leaf clover imprinted on the Silver Star on the other end. "What is this?" He asked.

"It's a good luck charm. Just something for you to remember me by."

Rex looked ready to tear up, his eyes softening as he gazed into mine.

"Claire…" I placed a finger on his lips and grinned mischievously.

"Ah, ah, ah! It's mine you know, so you'll have to give it back when we meet again."

"But Claire, I-"

I cut him off by planting a kiss on his lips, leaving Rex stunned when I pulled away from him. Almost everyone gawked at the scene.

"We'll meet again, I promise," I told him firmly.

With that, I turned away walking over to Soltaria.

"Claire!"

I turned around, only to be swept into a long and passionate kiss by Rex. My eyes widened in surprise, only to close slowly as we indulged into the kiss further.

"Oh come on! We gotta go already!" Bailey whined.

"Bailey, just shut up," Soltaria groaned.

"Hey! You ain't the boss of me!" Then, her phone rang and she picked it up to receive a message. "Sweet mother of God! You gotta be kidding me!"

"What?"

"I just got a message from God to Shut up and let them have their moment."

Soltaria guffawed. "Well, you heard the man. Now shut up."

Rex and I pulled away from each other and smiled lovingly.

"I love you."

I love you too."

After once last hug from everyone, I stood beside Soltaria and Bailey who opened a portal of swirling purple. The characters all jumped into the portal one by one. Rex, who stood at the entrance of the portal, turned to me with smile.

"I'll never forget you," He promised.

The clone captain put on his helmet, and dove into the portal. With a whiff, the portal closed and disappeared, along with the SW characters.

"Saaaaaay… what was that about you and Rex meeting again?" Soltaria asked.

I smiled to myself. "Just a secret between me and a guardian from another dimension."

"What?"

I walked away, heading for the van. "Come on, Soltaira. The van is not going to drive here on it's own!"

"Hey! Spill me the details, Claire-Bear!"

"That's t!" Bailey griped. "I'm going to transfer myself to another section of the Guardians and get a vacation!"

In a flash, Bailey poofed away and I was left with Soltaria chasing me from behind.

"Please? Just a tiny hint?" She begged.

"Sorry, no can do!"

"CLAAAAAAAAIIREEEEE!"

Yup, there's still hope for us to meet again. I'm sure of it!

#########

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: And with that, I end this story! Hurray! Please review and look out for the sequel: Here we go again… SW style!

Soltaria: So will you and Rex get together? And if so, how are you guys going to do that?

Claire: For the last time, I'm not telling! You'll have to wait for the sequel.

Soltaria: Which will be when?"

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Give or take by the end of January or next month.

Soltaria: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…! T^T

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: I'm kidding! Sheesh! If I get inspiration, I can get it started early. But I got other work to do! Along with school coming up.

Soltaria: So how will you update?

Claire: knowing her, she'll do it bi-weekly or monthly.

Soltaria: Curse yoooooooooouuuu!

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: LoL. Please review! ^^