The wind whistled in Rey's ears, as she walked down narrow streets, doing her best to navigate her way back to the Jedi Temple. For in all honesty, Rey truly had no idea how to actually get back, but she supposed that as long as she kept the Jedi Temple in her sights, it couldn't be too hard.
Turning down yet another alleyway, Rey caught the flickering lights of a nightclub out of the corner of her vision. She watched, as a couple of drunk guys stumbled out, before catcalling her. Disgusted by the behavior, Rey quickened her pace and kept her hand close to her belt and thus her lightsaber, just in case.
Thirty minutes went by and the Temple grew larger and larger, meaning that she was on the right track. It was past midnight now and most of Coruscant was either sleeping or indulging in the nightlife at clubs and bars.
Almost everyone.
Rey turned down a quiet, darkened alleyway, but then gave pause when she heard a rustling noise coming from just overhead.
Her eyes instantly flew upward, searching for the perpetrator, but when no one appeared, she closed her eyes and reached into the force, searching for life forms.
Much to her chagrin, there were four nearby. Two above her and two closing in from both sides, hidden by the cover that the night provided and old trash that littered the streets.
Judging from the way that they seemed to be trying to sneak up on her, Rey guessed that their intentions were not friendly, but rather hostile instead.
A trickle of fear ran down her spine, before she forced herself to release it into the force. She could take on four assiliants. After all, she'd dealt with far worse before.
"I know you're there," she called out, as she unclipped her lightsaber from her belt, "leave now and this doesn't have to go any further."
A chuckle rang out, as a human woman appeared, dropping down from up above.
"Quite observant, aren't you?" She quipped. "Though, I do suppose that nothing lasts forever."
In her peripheral vision, Rey watched as a Rodian and a Twi'lek worked to block her escape from behind, while another human woman materialized out of the shadows to take her place next to the woman, who seemed to be their leader.
"You don't want to do this," Rey warned, while keeping a watchful gaze on the main woman. "Just like I said earlier, leave now and this doesn't have to go any further."
"Don't think you're in a position to be making threats," the woman's eyes narrowed, "you're encroaching on our land. So, we're gonna take what's ours."
Lightning fast, the woman whipped out a blaster and began firing at Rey, who just narrowly managed to dodge, before flicking on her lightsaber to try and block the rest of the onslaught of bolts.
"Jedi!" She heard one of them call out with hints of both fear and reproach. Despite that though, the gang didn't seem all too put off in the long term, as she continued to block bolts, while simultaneously dodging more physical assaults.
Still, she could only hold up against them for so long in such a tight space, when finally a lucky blaster bolt managed to hit her leg.
Suffice to say fighting in such tight quarters, while also having to defend both sides with one lightsaber, wasn't that easy.
With a cry of pain, Rey fell to her knees, dropping her lightsaber. She then watched with horror as the leading woman walked up to her and placed her blaster against her skull.
"Well, I was thinking about keeping you alive, but there is quite the bounty for the heads of Jedi scum like you," a calculated look, once more, overcame the woman's gaze, as she prepared to pull the trigger. However, just before she could, a white plasma blade dove straight into her heart, replacing her callous gaze with a look of horror.
"Kara!" The other human woman cried out and Rey listened with a mix of shock and confusion, as blaster bolts suddenly began to fly off in tandem. Then, almost as soon as it all began, it was over and everything was quiet except for the sound of her own pained breathing.
"Rey!" She heard a worried voice call out, before a tall man with a shock of black hair ran up to her, before helping her stand.
"Ben?" She murmured, as her brows knitted in a mask of confusion, "Ben, you should be sleeping... why- no, how are you here?"
Ben simply rose a brow and then, suddenly it all made sense. He'd used the bond, of course.
"The bond," he replied, affirming her theory and ignoring her chide about his need of rest, "but Rey that hardly matters... you're hurt. I felt it through the bond. We need to get you back quickly." His concerned gaze assessed her body.
Rey shook her head, "Ben, I'm fine. Trust me, it was just a graze."
Ben gave a slow nod, before stopping and helping her lower herself back to the ground, much to Rey's befuddlement. "Ben, what are you doing?"
He didn't answer her, as he gently laid his hand on her leg and closed his eyes, seeming to drift off into a meditative state. Slowly, the pain from the blaster burn began to lessen until it disappeared completely.
He'd healed her.
As soon as it was done, Ben woozily made his way back to his feet, with Rey quickly following.
"Ben! You shouldn't have done that," Rey scolded, "it was only a graze, like I literally just said! I wasn't going to die or anything like that and I mean, you were just shot! Literally just days ago from now." She eyed him with concern as he just shrugged.
"Rey, I'll be fine," he told her softly, as his image seemed to glitch in and out of focus, "but I don't think I can keep up this projection. So, hurry back and please try not to run into any more trouble," his eyes twinkled one last time, as they reflected the lights of Coruscant, before suddenly he began to fade until he was simply gone.
Anakin bent over Obi-Wan's broken body.
"An'kin… h-help me… please… don' wanna... d-die… help..." Blood rose up in his brother's throat, distorting the rest of his words.
Terror laced Anakin's spine, "Obi-Wan, no… don't… don't go, please. I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."
Anakin watched in horror as Obi-Wan's life slipped from his body and his chest stilled with his last breath. Blood poured from his brother's lips, adding to the pool that was already surrounding them, and his eyes became sightless and distant. Obi-Wan Kenobi was gone. He was dead.
"No," Anakin breathed, "no, no, no, no, no, no, NO !"
Sobs wracked Anakin's body, as his grief-ridden blue gaze starred in shock at his fallen Master. This wasn't supposed to be happening. This was wrong, this was unjust and this just shouldn't be happening.
He wasn't prepared to face yet another death.
Anakin closed his eyes tightly, as if that would hide him from reality, but as he felt something, or rather someone grab at his tunics, he opened them back up in a flash to meet Obi-Wan's blues that were now staring up at him, distant but alive.
"Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked, as hope began to fill his increasingly brightening gaze. It had worked… what exactly, Anakin couldn't remember, but all that mattered was that now Obi-Wan was here. He was back, alive and safe.
But then, Anakin suddenly recoiled in horror as Obi-Wan's features morphed into Ahsoka's, who now stared up at him with Sith yellow eyes and a bloody grin.
"This was your doing."
Anakin awoke with a shout and jolted upwards in bed. Almost instantly, he felt two presences at his side, asking him if he was alright.
The dream burned painfully in his memory, but he pushed it off to the side for now. He needed to find Obi-Wan, he needed to know that his plan had worked.
"Obi-Wan… wh-where's Obi-Wan," he demanded in a hoarse whisper, as his eyes frantically darted to and fro, but not really taking anything in.
"Anakin," a soft placating voice sounded from above, "I'm right here, I'm alright."
Relief flooded through Anakin's senses, as his gaze darted upwards to see Obi-Wan's familiar shock of red hair and calm features.
"Obi-Wan," he breathed out a sigh of relief to see that he was safe and no longer dead in a pool of his own blood, before suddenly, his gaze turned more playful, "six" he whispered causing Obi-Wan's gaze to turn even more concerned than it had been before.
"Ahsoka, go get Healer Che and tell her, he's awake" Obi-Wan ordered, before turning his full attention back to Anakin. "Six what?"
Anakin rolled his eyes and took a breath, before hoarsely replying, "that makes six times I've saved your life."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.
"I don't think that's quite accurate," he grumbled in retort, but with no real malice underlining his words. Then, his whole stance turned back to his much more serious one from before, as he took a seat at Anakin's bedside.
"Anakin, what you did today was commendable," he paused, "but I died Anakin… the will of The Force was that I was to die and maybe… maybe you shouldn't have broughten me back."
Shock registered in Anakin's bright blue gaze, as he stared in horror at his Master, while trying to process what he was saying. "Wh-what? What are you saying, Obi-Wan? That you wanted to die?"
"No," Obi-Wan paused with a sigh, "that's not what I mean, but Anakin, you could've died saving me like you did… in fact you almost did, and I don't think… I don't think that I could live with myself, knowing that I'm the one who led to your death," he sighed, "of course, I'm grateful for the sacrifice, you made for me Anakin, but it was risky… too risky. So, while I hope we never run into a situation like that again, if something like that does happen in the future, I need you to be able to let go of me," his gaze starred unfalteringly into Anakin's own, "promise me that you'll leave me."
Instead of making such a dark promise, Anakin's eyes narrowed, "you would've done the exact same thing."
Obi-Wan was silent, denoting that Anakin was right.
Just as he saw Obi-Wan open his mouth to further his point, despite Anakin's strong rebuttal, Anakin quickly cut in, in order to avoid having a conversation that would only end in them at each other's throats, because Anakin sure as hell wasn't going to change his mind and he doubted that Obi-Wan would either. Suffice to say, they were both very stubborn.
In his attempt to change the subject from its current course, Anakin's eyes turned a bit more thoughtful as he spoke, "you said I was like a brother to you," he murmured, making Obi-Wan's gaze soften at the statement, their previous conversation now forgotten for the moment, "I never thought that you felt like that towards me, because of course while I've always felt that way about you, especially since you're the closest thing that I've ever had to a father, you've just always seemed too wrapped up in the Code to feel such things and I just… I never realized that… that maybe-"
Obi-Wan cut him off with a nod, "I know," he sighed with a sad look in his eyes, "and I know that sometimes I can be a bit harder to read, but I guess that I just hoped that it would still show through my actions. Yet, when I was laying there and realized that death was imminent, it made me second-guess myself about that and a lot of other things," Obi-Wan paused, "I know that you prefer verbal confirmations about things, especially due to how your upbringing was very different than my own. So… I'm sorry I never told you sooner Anakin, because you are like a brother to me. Truly, you are, no matter what the Code says."
"Thank you," Anakin breathed, happy that they'd finally managed to reach this point of understanding. Yet, soon enough that outlook was overshadowed, as he remembered his previous promise to himself, right before he'd brought Obi-Wan back into the land of the living.
Anakin shifted uncomfortably, as he prepared to tell Obi-Wan everything. Life was so short and now that they were having their first real conversation in years, Anakin knew that he needed to tell Obi-Wan and he needed to tell him now.
Anakin's brows furrowed, "Obi-Wan, there's… there's something that I need to tell you."
Obi-Wan nodded, as if urging his former Padawan to continue.
"Obi-Wan, I'm," Anakin stopped short, as fear coursed through his body. He'd promised himself that he'd do this. So, why did he have to be chickening out now at the very last second? Anakin took a deep breath, "Obi-Wan… I'm… I'm m-"
Anakin was cut off, as the door to his room slammed open and Healer Che made her way to his bedside with Ahsoka following suit.
Her critical gaze flickered over Anakin's body, as she worked to assess him.
"Anakin Skywalker, it's only by the will of The Force that you're still alive."