Hiiii doods! :) I am so happy to be updating, la la la! Again, big apologies for those of you who are still waiting for that update on 'The Best Day', it's taking a little longer than I had hoped for it to be...-_- But yeah! It'll be up any day now, hopefully! :) So anyways, yeah, I know that I gave some of you a slight shock when I killed off Cadena, but YAY she's back in the game! :D Another thing, to answer a guest user's question if I'm making any more books-YES I want to make more books, and I've already started on the next one, and I've written only two and a half chapters on it, but if you guys want more books, then you'll have to say so that I can post it. :) Anyways, read on for the next chapter!

Chapter 10.

Cadena—

I was still curious and uneasy about Calanthe's ways when we reached the ravine.

"We'll just climb down now." Calanthe says lightly and my eyes popped open. "You're…you're kidding me, right?" I said slowly, looking down at the river that was raging below. "Cadena, I do not 'kid' around at such matters." Calanthe says seriously and lifts a leg over the cliff's edge, slowly making her way down.

"That is not safe…" I murmured and Anakin flashed me a smirk. "C'mon, Cadena, we'll be fine…" He says but looks down again. "Right." I said, rolling my eyes. "Be careful with your footing!" Calanthe calls over and I grimaced.

"Do we have a choice?" I asked Anakin. He shook his head. I sighed and slowly lowered myself over the cliff. "Master…" I whispered, my eyes wide. "Don't worry, Cadena, I got your back." Anakin says as he watches me slowly make my way down. I squeezed my eyes tight for a moment, hoping that my hands weren't as sweaty as they felt.

I saw Obi-wan and Ahsoka go down in the corner of my eye but I didn't dare look over them. My foot shakily reached over to a small ledge and I lowered myself down.

Anakin climbed down right after. "Are you okay back there, Cadena?" He asks worriedly and I tried hard not to look down. "Just…peachy." I said, panting a little.

"Careful up there!" Calanthe's voice says from below me and I nodded. I gripped onto the rocks tighter as I reached down for another ledge.

Then, Obi-wan shouts, "Everyone, quiet! Listen!"

We all paused, becoming much more intense than we already were.

After a quiet and tense second, we heard it. At first I had thought that it was just the rushing water, but now I could vaguely hear the shouts and thundering feet of the villagers running for us.

"They must know that we are here!" Calanthe cries and I flinched. "You must hurry!" Calanthe yells and I felt Ahsoka and Obi-wan climb down quicker.

"Master…" I whispered. "Don't worry, Cadena, just pick up the pace. Maybe they won't see us." Anakin says reassuringly, but the slight shake in his voice told me that he was just as nervous as I was.

I climbed down a little more and judging from the sounds of the villagers, they were practically on top of us.

I shifted my hand positions on the ledge that I was holding on to and dared to look up.

"There!" A villager screams and I flinched as the crowd roared for bloodshed.

"Cadena!" Anakin yells over his shoulder. "I got it!" I shouted back and I scrambled down as fast as I could.

I saw it before Anakin did.

"Master!" I screamed and Anakin turned around to look at me, but it was too late. A villager had grabbed a hold of a long pole and had shoved it at Anakin.

"What the…" Anakin mumbles and he toppled off the cliff. "No!" I screamed and reached out my hands to levitate him back.

What I forgot was that my hands were the only things that were allowing me to hold onto the cliff.

"Cadena! Anakin!" I heard Ahsoka scream and suddenly, the shouts were drowned out by water.

Water.

It was freezing and I was trying my best to kick back up to the surface. Anakin's body floated past me and I grabbed onto his arm, trying to get us both back up.

He was weighing me down, but I didn't care. I needed to get back up…the current was pulling me back.

Master, wake up! I screamed through the Force but it was no use.

Oxygen was quickly running out for me and my own limbs were becoming tired and exhausted. I felt my eyes slowly closing and everything faded back into the darkness.

•◊•

I woke up with a warm blanket wrapped around me and for a second, I thought I was dead and had actually joined the Force until I heard fire crackling and familiar voices speaking in hushed, worried tones.

I slowly cracked my eyes open and saw the blurry outlines of Obi-wan, Ahsoka and Calanthe sitting across from me with a fire between us.

I turned my slowly to see Anakin's own head resting on my shoulder. 'Well…that's a change.' I thought to myself and turned back to my other companions.

"You're awake." Ahsoka says, relieved and I rubbed my eyes as I sat up. "What happened?" I asked groggily, trying to get rid of the soreness in my head. "You fell with Anakin into the river, remember?" Ahsoka tells me. "We got you out, and we camped out in a cave that we all found." Obi-wan adds tiredly.

"Oh." I said shortly and then pointed at Anakin, who was still sleeping. "And…can you explain this?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Calanthe shrugged. "It was the only way to keep you two from having hypothermia." She says gently and I nodded.

"Right…so how much closer are we to the ship again?" I asked. "We just need to follow a couple of tunnels, and we'll be on our way again." Ahsoka tells me and I nodded.

I shifted my body position and then felt the warm wind touch my skin for the first time. I blinked and looked down at myself, biting back a scream.

I pulled the blanket tighter around me and then whispered, "Who…who undressed me? Give me back my clothes…now!"

Obi-wan managed to keep his face clean of expression, but I knew that he would have burst out laughing any minute.

Ahsoka gave me a small smile and she passed me my undershirt and leggings and…unfortunately, underwear in front of Master Kenobi. "Sorry, but we had to do it." She says gently. "It was the only way to keep you from becoming ill."

I shuddered slightly as I took the clothes and then whispered, "So…is Anakin…?" I slowly turned to look at him. Thankfully, the blanket was wrapped up too tight for me to see anything, but I could already tell that he didn't have any proper garments on, either.

"Remind me to have my memory wiped of this when we get back home." I muttered and went in a corner to change. I returned back to my seat, feeling better with clothes on and then asked, "What's the plan?"

Calanthe sits forward and replied, "We just need to travel a couple more feet and then we'll find the tunnel system that will need us back to surface." I sighed and leaned back. "Well…I'm sorry to bring this up now, but this officially stinks." I muttered.

Obi-wan sighs. "Patience, young one." He says calmly.

I blew out some more air and watched the night sky from inside and then I heard Anakin letting out a low moan as he awoke.

I turned around slowly and Anakin's eyes fluttered open. He sees me and mumbles, "'Sup, Cadena?" I managed to give him a half smile and then whispered, "Don't move." Anakin's eyes widened and he sat up. "What? Is there something…" His voice drifted off as he looked down at himself and I looked away.

"What the hell?!" He shouts. I cringed and kept my eyes covered. "Anakin, relax." Obi-wan says flatly. "Ahsoka, Calanthe, Cadena, your eyes must be closed."

"I am a healer." Was Calanthe's stiff reply. "Seeing undressed men is not abnormal in my eyes."

I snorted but kept my eyes closed as I felt Anakin moving around to the corner. It wasn't until he finally tapped my shoulder that I actually allowed my eyes to open up.

"Uh…are you decent?" I muttered and Anakin sits down next to me. "Yeah, I am." He said shortly and I finally turned to face him.

It might have been just the fire, but his face looked flushed and I couldn't help but to pity him. Not being properly dressed in front of his Padawan twice within the same mission…well, I would be pretty embarrassed, too.

"I'll take watch." Anakin declares and Obi-wan nodded. Within a couple seconds, almost everyone was passed out, sleeping.

I chuckled lightly under my breath. They must have been exhausted.

"Thanks for doing that back there." Anakin says quietly and I shrugged. "You would have done the same for me." I replied. Anakin looks down at me and grins, poking me teasingly on the shoulder. "We got each other's backs, remember that, Cadena." He says.

I laughed and replied, "Don't worry, Master. Let's just try to get back in one piece when we return home." Anakin nods and said, "This place is disturbing." I snorted, shaking my head. "Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Master." I muttered.

Anakin shrugged in his endearing way and asks, "Don't you want to get some rest?" I shook my head. "I'm not tired at all." I replied. Anakin smirks and leans against the cave wall. "Then you can give me some company while I watch." He says.

I rolled my eyes but sat across from him and we listened to the water rushing a couple feet away from us. The sky was dotted with stars and I couldn't help but to admire them, Of course, I was a little TOO close to stars at some occasions, so I have grown bored of being around them, but from down here, the view really was magnificent.

However, a different part of my brain says that out there, there are probably some Republic cruisers trying to shoot down some Separatist frigates as we speak.

Well, that definitely ruined the picture.

War was inevitable, and for the millionth time, I begin wondering if we were really doing the right thing. As in 'we', I meant the Jedi.

We were peacekeepers, not warriors, and we all knew that…then why bother fighting in this war? I have been told it was to protect the galaxy, but sometimes, I just thought that we made it all so much worse…

I didn't know if I had revealed my thoughts by facial expressions or that Anakin just picked up on my discomfort and anxiety, but he broke the silence.

"Don't worry, Cadena, we'll get out of here soon." Anakin whispers reassuringly to me. "I know, Master." I replied, still keeping my eyes on the stars.

Anakin sits down next to me and then nudges me gently on the shoulder. "Come on, Cadena. I know you…you're not telling me something." He says quietly.

I sighed and then said, "I was just wondering about the war…I mean, it's so awful that I can't even look at the freaking STARS without thinking about it…war corrupts everything I see now."

For a minute, we're both silent, mulling this over, and then Anakin says, "I know what you mean."

I pulled my legs to my chest and whispered, "I just want this all over now…I understand that it's our duty as Jedi to protect the galaxy…but if the Jedi weren't involved in this…would the war be over by now? I mean, if Force-users weren't involved in this…wouldn't it be done?"

Anakin took in a sharp intake of breath and then says warningly, "Cadena…"

But I shrugged him off. "Think about it…I mean, sometimes the Separatist get the upper hand in this war because of the Sith controlling them…and you know what they say, Master…it's easier to do the wrong thing rather than the right." I said.

"Cadena, look at me." Anakin says sharply but I glared at the ground. "Even this place is completely dark…Master, if being a Force user is always like this, then…"

Anakin clamped his hand over my mouth and I looked up at him, shocked to find almost anger and pain shining through his eyes in a way they have never been shown to me before.

"Cadena, don't be so reckless with your words." Anakin tells me. "Don't ever think like that, do you hear me?!"

I blinked, surprised by his outburst but clenched my teeth and asked, "Why? You and I both know it's true. Without the Sith, and maybe even without the Jedi, the war wouldn't have been so violent. We're just making it worse…this place made me see that."

Anakin shook his head. "Cadena, I know how you feel…but we're also trying to fight this war because it's our duty." He says quietly.

I sneered and said bitterly, "So that's our duty? To become fighters and generals in war? We're peacekeepers, Master, and yet because of our abilities, we have become sucked into this madness."

Anakin sighs and slowly dropped his hand. He just stared at me for a couple minutes, which began to make me feel uncomfortable. Something about his stare made me feel as though he knew exactly what was running around my head. Or he knew what I was talking about.

"I can't force you to think differently, Cadena…but just know that I understand your thoughts and feelings about this war…so don't feel too upset by it, okay?" He says softly and I nodded reluctantly. Anakin gave me a small smile and I went back to leaning against the cave wall.

•◊•

Someone whapped me on the head and I woke up, ready to blow that person to bits.

Anakin was smirking at me as I sat up and I glared at him. "What was that for?" I whined. Anakin shrugged. "You always do that to me, I was wondering how you would feel if I did it to you." He says playfully and I growled at him.

"Come on, are you two ready?" Obi-wan asks and I looked around. Daylight was filtering through our cave and I inwardly cursed. I grabbed my pack and Calanthe led us into the tunnels.

A/N: Yeah, yeah, playful Anakin and Cadena broter/sisterly love. :) It's funny, though, last night I was feeling nostalgic so I did NOT STOP WATCHING THE CLONE WARS. It was just episode after episode after episode of Anakin, Ahsoka, Padmé, Obi-wan, Satine, etc. I mean, I've been having those little bursts of nostalgia lately...can you blame me? Especially since the Clone Wars won't be going on anymore...I mean, the Rebels will be a new series after the Clone Wars, and I heard that Ahsoka was going to be in it, but I really really don't want to see Anakin as the Dark Side...not yet, anyways.

Cadena: What will happen to me when Anakin turns to the Dark Side?

Me: I have a different plan for you...! :)

Cadena: Will you be revealing it soon, though?

Me: Well, that's the thing...so I've been thinking of yes, I'll try to continue the Cadena and Anakin series up to FIVE books, 'cause Ahsoka was only around for five seasons...I feel as though I've explained this already but if I did, I apologize, I'm doing it again. But yeah...so hold onto your horses and tell me if you want the books to come out soon. :)

Cadena: Please...

Me: Yes, a definite please. :)

Anakin: *crosses arms* I already know what you have planned, Caroline...and how do you guys say it in your generation? NOT COOL.

Me: I'm sorry, Anakin, but it makes sense! Plus, it's gonna be super emotional. :')

Anakin: Again...NOT COOL.

Me: Sorry. *shrug* Do the review notice.

Anakin: How is it that you act so nonchalant saying that?

Me: It's a gift.

Anakin: I can see that. -_- Please review, give feedback, no hater comments please.

Cadena: *going through my laptop history* Wow...you've watched a LOT of Clone Wars episodes...

Me: I told you. :)

Cadena: And...you've been watching a lot of...MASTER, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!

Anakin: Er...what's what, Cadena?

Cadena: *points at the screen of Anakin and Padmé kissing* WHAT THE HELL?!

Anakin: *quickly shuts the laptop and turns to me* CAROLINE!

Me: What? It's a random episode!

Anakin: WHY DID YOU-WHY ARE YOU WATCHING THAT!

Me: I WASN'T WATCHING THAT! I WAS JUST FLIPPING THROUGH RANDOM SCENES...and I paused at that scene! BY ACCIDENT!

Anakin: Well, NOW CADENA KNOWS!

Me: SHE KINDA ALREADY KNEW!

Anakin: GAH! YOU TWO ARE IMPOSSIBLE! *runs out of the room*

Cadena: YOU CALL ME A TEENAGER?!