The situation was conventional for the 21-year-old man.
Lightsaber spinning at frighteningly but elegant speeds, a mixture of adrenaline and blood pumping through his veins and sweat pouring from his forehead as the cold durasteel hand and the fleshy one mimicked his foot movements, the Force warning him of blaster bolts left and right and by his own proficiency sending them back to the damned clankers.
What was unconventional was how wretchedly the mission was going.
Gritting his teeth, Anakin surveyed the corridor ahead as his lungs worked overtime to function, his battle meditation folding just enough for him to turn to the several children behind him, all fearful and covered in soot and or coughing.
"Come on, we can't waste any time!" He made a hand motion for them to follow him and, almost tripping over each other, the children of distinction were moving on, jumping over or ignoring the debris and flames through the destroyed hallway, sirens echoing in the muffled background mingling with the sounds of their hearts beating in their ears as their hands forced their rugged shirts in front of their noses, preventing them from inhaling the putrid black smoke. Anakin did nothing of the sort, a Force technique already preventing his lungs from ingesting the acrid smoke. What he did do, however, was bring his wrist communicator to his mouth; "Ahsoka, report!"
"The entire northern complex is evacuated as you ordered, master! The clones are keeping the droids at bay, but it won't last—," a loud thudding sound and a curse in Shilli's native tongue and, easy as that, communication was cut short. Cursing in a low tone, he kept running along with the children, guiding himself through the Force towards the hangar where he would meet up with the 212th and Ahsoka and then leave this damned planet.
The mission was conventional; raid the Separatist base and rescue the slaves inside, destroy everything on the way out. Prioritize high-ranking targets and those with the most information about the clankers' activities.
What was unconventional was how everything, in less than two hours, went to hell.
But he couldn't be bothered to think about it; clankers ahead. It took everything from him to defend not only himself but the completely terrified children, all of 'em ducking in trembles at the sight of clankers. Hatred flowed through him as he felt their terror, the suffering they went through as they worked day and night in tight holes that adults couldn't reach... Wretches, so many damn robots, and can't they create some that will stop this plague from spreading?! If they are going to fight the Republic, then demonstrate any redeeming qualities, for the love of Force!
In his hot rage, the blond didn't realize that one of the clankers hadn't been destroyed when the blaster bolt came back at it and, like a darned insect that doesn't know the time to die, shot Anakin in his blind spot.
The overwhelming hot pain left him on his right knee, the hot hole in his shoulder hurting as much as his ears when the children behind him screamed in shock and fear...the children behind him! Wide-eyed and not giving himself the time to properly recover, Anakin clenched his saber hard and defended the next bolts, fortunately destroying the clanker on the ground and the other two still standing. Still, there would be more, there's no way it won't.
Gasping and feeling the sweat dripping from his forehead, Anakin let his right arm, the one holding the saber, fall to his side as he watched his burning left arm, a scorching hole near the neck joint. A little further down and to the right, and he would be entering the living Force... That was a bitter thought.
"A-are you okay?" One of the children asked, human and very concerned. Groaning in utter pain and muttering a huttese curse word, he quickly responded.
"... We have to keep going." He firmly stood. The children looked confused, but all it took was a shout and a piercing glance—We must keep going!—and they were running through the halls again, the siren getting louder and louder and the lights flashing, the ground now quaking. Anakin's arm dangled from his side like a frayed and unused control panel wire, a sight that made his stomach turn and his head heavy with so many thoughts; what if I have to retire early from the Order? Can I heal properly? What will Padmé say?
But, as with the rest of the war, he had no time to stop and think about his well-being.
From behind him the sounds of clanker heavy footsteps began to resound loudly just as the door ahead opened to reveal three plasma-shield carrying clones and a hellish view of the hangar; hundreds of clankers, explosions, and deafening thuds against the floor as assorted souls left this plane of existence and, there in the middle, a green saber spinning wildly with a hint of orange.
"General!" He recognized Cody by his Force signature.
"Commander Cody, why the hell have the bombs been destroyed with me and the children in there?!" The blond man inquired aggressively, the dry rage being due to stress and stabbing pain.
"Clankers, sir. One of the damned had a lucky shot and hit the thermodetonators that the unit sent to the reactor was carrying—total casualty, sir."
... And speaking of clankers.
"Get the kids to the starship now. You two, defend the position with me!" He shouted, making room for the children to pass as he spun his lightsaber and ignited it, positioning himself to face the army of scrap that had just turned the corner ahead and was already firing. Wordlessly beyond 'Yessir!', Cody led the children away and, along with the two unfamiliar clones, Anakin destroyed the small unit with increasing difficulty, sweat gathering more than anything on his entire body. His arms weighed more than a Mandalorian in full armor and his vision had black spots appearing continuously... And the pain...
"Sir?" One of the clones called out, hiding behind the plasma shield that deflected the clankers shots, their lines being replenished by the second now that he observes correctly.
"I... I..." his blue saber sliced the air, and two seconds later a blaster shot cut the air with a hiss; this was all the clones needed, as well as the giant black hole in the general's arm, to understand the situation.
"Hell, the General's falling apart! Bite, get him out of here, I'll hold those bolt-sucking clankers!"
"Roger roger, come on sir!" Not sparing a second, the clone on the right placed himself in front of Anakin, his plasma shield protecting the blond-haired man who was only a breath of strong wind away from kissing the ground.
As he was being helped by the clone, Anakin felt his knees give way and almost took the clone with him down, the man in white managing to hold him before he slapped himself into the durasteel. It was getting ugly, and even in his lethargic state, Anakin knew it. Ahsoka was retreating along with the barrage of clones toward the ship, gunfire killing his men by the dozens; on both sides, the clankers were advancing, and because of an oversight, he was jeopardizing the mission.
"Master!" Ahsoka shouted as she got close enough to see the blond's condition, eyes shocked as she followed along with the clone, the ships' shields not holding up very well to the heavy blaster bombardment; that clone who stayed behind, by the way, had just entered the Force... eight others had taken the door corners and were killing the advancing clankers with voracity.
"The general took a full shot to the shoulder, all the bombs are detonating and the main reactor is going to blast tons of clankers into the sky, we have to get out of here as fast as possible, Commander Tano!" The clone informed the togruta as the green saber prevented varied blaster shots from hitting the trio.
"We can't take off, the blaster bolts will demolish the ship's belly within seconds!" She let out along with a bite of her lower lip. With increasing weakness, Anakin once again observed the state of the ship, black smoke pouring out of a dozen or more spots, especially in the area of the hyperdrive and thrusters. The clone let out a frustrated groan as he shot the pile of gray, cream, and black that was the ocean of droids.
This mission was being a disaster and if it kept going like this, everyone here was going to die; the children whose chance in life were denied, the clones that are just following orders, and his beloved padawan, desperation filling their bond as even she understood the gravity of this situation.
Someone had to do something.
"I... I have an idea." Anakin said, blue eyes falling wearily on Ahsoka who, almost breaking her neck, turned to face him.
"Speak then, master, we don't have all the time in the galaxy!"
Leaving the support of her shoulder, Anakin did not break eye contact at any point. Ahsoka stared back at him, her eyes large and puzzled and so full of life and despair, so much undeserving despair... and her back was facing the open door of the starship they would use to get out of here together with about 30 children and 10 high-ranking individuals. She searched for something inside his eyes, but Anakin couldn't bear to look at her anymore.
He... was never good with this kind of thing.
"Ahsoka..."
"Anakin?"
"I..." Sweaty and overcome with pain, he gave his best smile before pulling her with his metal hand, locking her in a hushed hug. She couldn't react properly nor say something and, when she finally managed to do the last one, he stepped back and, without further ceremony, threw his hand forward and sent Ahsoka flying through the door, the clone beside him startled by it after such a demonstration of affection. Anakin, meanwhile, punched hard at the console next to the door, muffling Ahsoka's cries of indignation as he locked the door with his high-ranking code.
Taking a deep breath and bringing his wrist communicator to his mouth, he connected to the ship's bridge.
"Take off, now."
"But... General, we—"
"I'll take care of it, go now!" The red beep showed that someone else was trying to connect with him.
"... All right,"
"..."
"It has been an honor serving alongside you, General Skywalker!"
"With you too, Cody." He took a moment of hesitation before moving on to the next call, his greeting being a loud shout from a hysterical togruta.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Anakin?! You have to open this door now and I'll not—"
"I'm just being myself, as usual, no need to worry." His laugh was dull, the blaster sound softening along with his other senses. "See you on the other side, Snips."
In the next moment, as the ship began to rise from the ground, shaking heavily as it was under heavy fire, Anakin's wrist communicator got smashed against the Jedi General's boot. His tired blue eyes landed on the clone next to him who, not hesitating for a damn second, saluted him.
"It was an honor, General!"
He could only smile.
Pulling the air into his throat and improving his voice with the Force, Anakin hung up his saber before shouting;
"Men!" His feet steadied themselves, blaster shots passing inches from him, the clone at his side shooting blindly forward. Ignoring his arm, Anakin centered himself. He forgot the pain, the despair, the terror. Everything that would get in his way.
He focused on something he had learned to trust since that day Qui-gon brought him to the Jedi Temple. Not only that, but he brought from deep within his heart those so precious memories he held dear; Obi-wan, Padmé, Ahsoka, his mother, Palpatine...
And then the power flowed out;
Each arm was thrown to one side, and along with them, a wave of power in the Force echoed. Every clone felt it, everyone inside the slowly rising ship felt it, but it was the droids who were affected. Their weapons fell from their arms as their metal bodies reused hundreds of times rose into the air like puppets, the blaster fire from the backmost ranks hitting the scrap iron barrage more than the rising ship. His arm burned like the flames of a Corellian inferno and the Force began to crack under the pressure of his body, but he kept hundreds of droids in the air, a protective circle stopping almost every shot to hit their last functioning ship.
It was no surprise that, without a good view of the ship, the remaining droids turned to the two dozen clones and Anakin on the ground.
And, again, he could only smile;
"Protect the General at all cost, we all die before everyone else!" One of them shouted, and in a tactical efficiency he lauded in Obi-wan's battalion, the clones surrounded him and protected him with a barrage of fire.
"You are a mad man, General! For it was an honor, today we go to hell together!" One of the clones shouted, his voice filled with a resolution about what exactly was going to happen to him in the next few minutes.
"I wouldn't ask for a more honorable death, brothers! For the Republic!" And then a grenade was thrown, clankers exploding into fireballs. "Ha, look how they fly—" He could not complete himself, a precise shot silenced him and thus joined him to the Force.
"Die, clankers! Die!"
"We see you at the other side, General!"
"Hahahaha, may the Force be with you, bo—"
"Ging—"
"Hang on, they need mere seconds! Hang on!"
"My arm—"
"Gener—"
As the fire knocked down the clones around Anakin, more and more droids fell in the final dawn of all his power, a missed shot bringing him to his knees once again today as it destroyed his shin. Still, he continued to protect the ship with all of his, ignoring with a simmering heartache Ahsoka's attempt to connect to the Force bond... and, for her sake, he stayed away... It didn't stop him from sending a final sentiment of commitment to her that, as raw as he could produce given his condition, said the simple words; "It was an honor to be your master."
And then the ship shot through the huge hatch in the ceiling, skyward. His final string of strength drained away with it as he fell to the ground, more man than hero. The clones were being shattered around him and, when the last one of them fell, fire consumed him from all sides.
... And there was darkness, at the end of life.
There were no incessant blaster noises, no grenades, no screams, no explosions, no pain, no fear, the march of death as each clone joined the living Force finally silenced. There was only darkness and fullness.
'Is this what it feels like to be dead?' he thought to himself, trying to look at hands that didn't exist. He was like energy, everywhere and yet without a physical body. He tried even to connect to the Force, to look for anything around him that had any aspect other than darkness, but it was a fruitless search.
Death then was darkness and silence.
Interestingly, he didn't find much reason to complain about it. In fact, there is much that he left behind that, in what seems like endless time to think, he regrets. He regrets not raising a family with Padmé and not being there to see her ascend to the position of Supreme Chancellor, as he knows she would conquer with flying colors after Sheev leaves at the end of the war as he promised, and he never broke a promise before. Padmé is perfect to repair this war-damaged Republic and make it actually able to help people.
He feels sad that he did not become a Jedi Master. This was Qui-Gon's dream, that the boy he died to give a better life would reach a high rank in the Order and could change the galaxy for the better from there; he would have freed all the slaves when he achieved the full autonomy of a Jedi Master and this war but a mere memory.
Regrets not seeing Ahsoka become the great Jedi she was training to be. A hole in his metaphysical chest appeared as he thought about the implications of his last actions and how they might mark the young Togruta... So young and having to carry the burden of a dead master with her? He hoped it wouldn't hinder her too much in the future.
Anakin couldn't hold back a sigh as he sat in the darkness when an extremely painful thought crossed his mind: at the end of the war, he was going to announce that he and Padmé were married and would have an official wedding, not a quick, hidden meeting on Naboo. The part that hurt the most is that he would have asked Sheev to represent as his father at the ceremony, and no doubt the kindly old man would have accepted in a heartbeat, a warm smile to welcome him to his new life as an officially married man. They'd discuss points about gis wedding and what to expect, maybe he even would give hints and precise advice, as he always does.
... And Obi-wan.
He wanted to do so much more for his old master, his brother.
None of those could come to fruition now because he is nothing more than a number below a KIA list. Padmé would go on with her life, raise a happy family with a lucky man that is not him, and would help her better the galaxy the way he always wanted for himself. Ahsoka would have another master, and in years, when she contemplated her journey, he would be nothing more than a stepping stone in all of this. The war would continue, the 501st would pass to Obi-wan, he hopes, and eventually, it would end as well. Nothing depends on him, after all.
So much that he can't witness, can't participate.
Running his hand figuratively through his blond curls, Anakin sighed with his eyes closed; what he wouldn't give to get a second chance...
And when he opened his eyes, all that graced him was his reflection in crystal clear water.
It took one, two, five, ten seconds before, overcome by an alien sensation, and with his eyes wide, Anakin brought his hand close to the water as if it were some mystical relic that would crumble in the wind—the icy wind that was swaying his hair at this very moment—and as the fingers of his left hand recognized the frigid sensation water, Anakin blinked.
His hand returned with speed and, like a madman, he began to feel himself;
The bruise on his left shoulder? It was gone, not even a trace on his Jedi armor! There was no soot on his body, his skin was warm to the touch, his metal arm cold and dead, even his lightsaber was in its usual place, attached to his belt. His breath was not drowned in blood and his head did not weigh thousands of tons, there was no hole in his body from the blaster rain that came over him.
And the Force was...
He didn't even know how to put it into words.
It was more satiating than a sip of ice water on a scorching day in the desert, so clean and pure from the darkness, not saturated with death as it had been in every corner the war reaches. There was not the black mud that he always felt outside the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.
Everything was so right, so good to feel. But also empty.
He tried and searched, but there wasn't that feeling in the back of his head, the one he had learned to recognize as the Jedi scattered across the galaxy. There were life forms, abundant so to speak in this... place, wherever here is. But there was no Force adept or powerful being connecting to it, or place of power; the planet itself was neutral, having mass darkness but, in equal measure, blinding light.
By the way, what planet was that?
Rising carefully from the edge of the lake where he was kneeling, Anakin attentively observed his surroundings. The landscape reminded him of Naboo, verdant plains covered with various trees, bushes, and greenery that painted the mountainous horizons with snowy peaks, an absolute blue over his head... And the sense of peace that the blue planet always had, of course. However, this place was not Naboo, he could recognize his wife's little greenish planet without even thinking about it.
There were no ships in the sky, which would be expected if the galaxy was not already at war; perhaps a primitive planet then?
Well, if the Force is telling him right, there is civilization a few kilometers to the north.
Getting down on his knees and joining both hands in a basin, Anakin took a long sip of the clear, clean water using the Force Purification. He didn't have much on him and he doesn't know the locals' reaction to Jedi or the Republic, so it's always good to be hydrated. As soon as he set off north, however, he raised his hand and pulled with the Force a... red, round fruit from one of the trees.
The rind was red and orange, bulbous on top and thinner underneath, a lot of pulp as far as he could understand. The Force didn't say danger either, so he just shrugged and hunched a chunk out of the thing. And for the two suns, it was delicious! Eating the delicious red fruit, his eyes twitching with pleasure, he followed the path to civilization.
Better than bugs, at least.
[Hello there]
His not very extensive vocabulary only allowed him one word as the forest became less and less dense and an earthy path appeared before him stamped on the ground; primitive.
Stonemasonry, wood, and maybe concrete painted a picturesque village with a hint of scattered technology. The common technology one would see in places like this strewed everywhere, of course; even Tatooine, the most uncivilized dust ball in this galaxy had technology in several sectors. What he didn't quite understand were the speeders. Wheels are understandable, but smoke production through fossil fuel? What the hell was that supposed to mean?! And, unlike flying through the skies, they were in lines demarcated on the ground, something he discovered while carelessly walking around eating the red fruit and, being alerted by the Force at the very last second, jumping out of the way of one of the ancient machines by little.
"Get out of the way, you nut! You don't know how to look sideways, do you?!" To say that the driver was pissed at him was an understatement. Anakin, however, paid more attention to the duck's beak than anything else about the 'man'. He had entered the city just over a few minutes ago and kept his eyes more on the buildings and architecture than the people... the people with animal parts.
"Eh... pardon me." He grumbled and watched frowning as the driver sped off, cursing him under his breath. Sighing loudly and observing his surroundings, the cue for the people who were watching him as if he had three heads to turn their gaze away. Most that he observed with the naked eye were, in fact, humans like him. Others were these bizarre combinations out of some book Ahsoka would read during their time in hyperspace.
Well, he had seen stranger things in his time. And by quick research, they all felt the same way in the Force, so this strangeness only solidified as a fact to be accepted as he walked back, now more aware of the world around him.
Unlike automated dumpsters that destroyed organic components and turned them into energy immediately, this place had... just regular dumpsters. The kind where you throw your garbage and it waits for someone to pick it up. Obi-wan would hate this place, no doubt about it. If not for the lack of cleansing around the streets, the heavy black smoke that every single speeder produced would do it.
Watching carefully and using the people as examples, he saw that most folk only crossed the speeder lane when the light signals stuck on posts showed red, mindful of the yellow and red means the speeders can pass and the white stripes painted on the ground is the preferred path to cross. Again, primitive, but functional at least.
After some time wandering about, he noticed that in a crowd he was the odd one out that seemed to stand out too much. Normally this was already the case with him being a Jedi and all, but on Coruscant people didn't give him a second glance when he passed. Here, a girl with black hair with red tips and gray eyes looked at him as if he were a cartoon character... But that was the problem, everyone else looks like clowns! Wearing all these vibrant and different colors, sweetened hair in so many different shades from each other, and eyes in this same pattern, what wizardry happens to someone's genes for them to be born with haze-purple eyes?! How was he the odd one out in all this?
Things started to get worse when he approached a girl serenely breastfeeding her child and, trying to be kind and hide his strange look at her neon blue hair, he asked softly so as not to annoy the child.
"Miss, can I ask you what planet are we on?"
She looked him up and down with a confused look and, in a voice that didn't say whether she was sure of her own words, said;
"I believe it is... Remnant, sir."
He had no idea where that is. Shit.
"Is it Republic or Separatist territory?" He dreaded the answer, but her silence as she looked around, as if seeking help, confused him greatly.
"Um... Sir... Are you feeling well?" Oh, she was just worried then.
"Yes, I'm sorry if I seem too lost. I had some trouble on a Separatist droid industry during a campaign in the Outer Rim, Jedi business aside. But you still don't— wait, where are you going? You didn't answer me…" When he turned to the woman, she was hurriedly gathering her things so that in the next second she would start walking away from him as if he had been infected with the Blue virus, muttering something about being married. Scratching his head at this reaction from her, Anakin took a seat on the bench and sank on thinking, his eyebrows frowning.
He thought that since he was in this strange place, he hadn't actually died. He was captured by the Separatists and somehow got lost and ended up here... He scratched his hair as he realized how idiotic such a theory sounds now that he put it into coherent thought, at least he half-smiles at the image of Obi-wan facepalming. With a wheeze, he inspected a detail that was bothering him at far, eyes focused on one of the many store windows in this business district, dreading one more detail that he dismissed as primitiveness of this planet in question; they didn't use credits. Their coin looked as if the credit sign had been inverted to look like a 90° angle, the two-strokes still there, however.
No one seemed to recognize him as a Jedi, either...
He didn't see a datapad, holocomm, speeder, droid, and, by the Force, not even a blaster! However, there were all those things, but they looked so, but so damned primitive.
There wasn't a symbol of the Republic or the Separatists anywhere, not even galactic currency or words in basic—he did, however, understand people's speech.
What was this place? What place was Remnant?
With slight desperation rising in his belly, Anakin tried to ask a bunch of other people several more questions, elaborate questions this time. He didn't want to scare anyone else or look like a crazy psycho, not at least no more than he had done already.
He asked, first, the name of this place. Patch. That was a good start. The answer of the country, he guesses it's the right definition here, came in sequence, Vale. To the east was Vacuo and to the north Atlas.
No one seemed to know about the Force and the Jedi, one of the hardest things to gulp down; he even purposely dropped his lightsaber to use as an excuse to show the weapon more clearly, not turning it on, of course, that was probably going to scare anyone else from talking to him. But no one recognized the iconic weapon.
After those few answers, everything began to spiral down to oblivion. Questions were going nowhere and no answers that he considered good, the lack of progress stressing him deeply. Hours later, as the sun began to disappear over the horizon, he returned to that bench from before, sitting down with high notes of defeat. He walked for hours and ended up with more questions than answers, he was thirsty and hungry, there was nowhere he could sleep, and anger was almost overflowing alongside his frustration.
These circumstances were not strange to him, of course. He is used to being deprived of sleep, food, water, and all the rights of an ordinary human being... But this situation was draining him like an open drain, especially coming from the fact that, with no concrete response, his mind is trying to create its own answers, which only produced anxiety by the buck loads, the bane of his existence. He is lost on this strange planet with demoralizing technology, alone in the Galactic Force and with no answers to his mountainous questions. Letting a moment of weakness get the best of him, Anakin sank his face into his hands, the cold leather and flesh squeezing his battle-hardened skin while his brain worked overtime to come up with any ideas of how to proceed.
A strange feeling in the Force made him lift his face slightly, realizing that he was being watched from afar for an unknown amount of time. The girl who gave him the strange look from earlier was watching him, and when they crossed eyes, she quickly tried to hide.
Huh, she was probably watching him as if he was some kind of intruder or even a zoo animal... He had seen several humans with animal characteristics here, so that's an odd comparison.
It wasn't a feeling he liked, though.
Getting up and ignoring the painful creaking of his legs, Anakin took a deep breath and, with his hands together with the way his master always did when he was thoughtful, he walked off in the direction he came from. Sleeping under the stars in the wilderness was going to be better than being mistaken for a beggar and waking up being stoned by badly raised children.
Trying to get his thoughts in line and understand what the hell was going on with his life, Anakin turned his gaze to the sky in search of the same solemnity he always felt when he did this in his childhood. The sight of a broken and shattered moon painting a cold black sky was not very pleasant, and yet it was soothing even so. Breathing in the cold air that made the sweat on his skin dry, Anakin ignored as best he could the ashen stares of the girl following him, hiding in the shadows of the lampposts and not even thinking how contrasting her red cape was, giving her away even to the untrained eye.
Cute, but he really wasn't in the mood to deal with kids.
She hesitated when he finally crossed the tree line, the density of the forest hiding and consuming his body within the darkness. A few seconds later, the girl's signature Force actually dared to follow him into a dark forest through the deepening of night. The people in this place must not be the smartest... Well, if she's adamant about following him, he can make it at least a challenge.
Speeding his pace and using Force techniques to muffle his footsteps, Anakin faked paths and used unusual passageways so she couldn't keep up... But the little brat actually managed to do it! Silently she followed, quick on her feet and strong as hell if jumping from the ground to the top of a tree means something. For all ten minutes, she never got lost nor lost his track, which is quite the achievement for what he thinks is a ten-year-old.
When the Jedi reached the clearing from before and slowed his pace, not even sweating, he innocently bent down to start to gather sticks and fiber, carefully taking the right angle and, when the Force appeared right, he spun towards her general direction...
Only to throw a rock at the girl.
"OUCH—AAHHHH!" A loud 'thud' was the physical proof of her fall from the tree top she was on.
The blond just shook his head in denial, snorting cheerfully as he gathered the last dried sticks from the ground.
"Your discretion is similar to a rabid gundark." The lack of malicious intent and the abundant curiosity emanating from her was reason enough for him to act so relaxedly, forming a circle of stones around all the collected wood and burnable fiber, just the way Ahsoka had taught him. It was still funny to remember how passionate she was in wanting to teach him these little things about surviving in nature, even though he already knew in theory. You hardly make a fire in Tatooine.
"Aww, man, I'm so sorry! I don't even know what a gundark is, but I just thought you were pretty cool and all, but then I saw you all feeling bad and sad back at Patch and I didn't know why, and then I was going to buy you some cookies to cheer you up but you started walking and coming here to the forest and I—"
"You've managed to give me more of a headache than actual information, that's for sure." With a wave of his hand in front of the pile of sticks, a flame started and quickly grew.
"Ah... Eh... Well, I-I didn't mean to..." She was suddenly silent, the light from the fire showing that she was fiddling with her cloak as she looked down at the ground all embarrassed. It took a while and there were a few good stutters, but she finally managed to say something. "I... may I sit by the fire? I'm kind of freezing here, you know?" The dry giggle that came from her reminded him of Ahsoka.
"Make yourself comfortable, stealthy one." He wasn't going to admit it, but the speed with which she came and sat in front of the flames, moaning a "brrrr..." as she rubbed her arms brought a small smile to his face. The blond, however, moved to the small river that had been his first sight in this strange world, and without much effort lifted a few unsuspecting fish with the Force. The girl let out a low "oooh...", excitement of some sort filling her Force signature.
"Telekinesis is such a cool, cool semblance! There are so many ways to use it in battle, and oh, the plethora of weapons that can be built around that kind of ability!" She stared at Anakin with eyes so big and so full of brightness that if the fire had gone out, he wouldn't have known. He didn't understand this 'Semblance' talk and just kept it in the back of his mind as he pulled his vibroknife from his belt and began to flake one of the four fishes. "Sorry if this is a dumb question, but are you a hunter?"
A Bounty Hunter? Was his appearance that bad? Although seeing how this place doesn't follow the same compass as the Republic, maybe Hunter means something else. Something, however, he is not.
"If I understand correctly, no."
"I figured, no guns or anything, hahaha... But you were so quick out there, and you hit me with a stone so far away— ey, you have to excuse yourself! It hurt!" Anakin raised one of his eyebrows as she crossed her arms and pouted, systematically crippling him of answering any other thing besides;
"Sorry for that."
"It's a-okay!" she smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Can I help you?"
"Have you ever flaked a fish?"
"No, but I can learn with ease!"
"And do you have a knife with you?"
"... Well, no."
"Humpf." With a sly smile, Anakin stuck the first peeled fish on a toothpick, pinning it to the ground beside him. "By the way, Anakin Skywalker."
"What?"
"My name. It's not customary to introduce yourself around here, or are you just uneducated?" Seeing her face change to a crimson hue similar to the cape on her back in a period of half a second was an interesting thing to see.
"Oh my dust, sorry, I totally forgot! No, no, I swear I'm totally educated! Rose, I'm Ruby Rose, that's my name, a thousand pleasures!" She held out her hand over the fire, and with his metallic one, Anakin returned the squeeze. Her eyes were exasperated as she pulled her hand away "You are really strong... cool."
"It's not something I hear little of. But why did you follow me, anyway, kid? I didn't catch the reason during the storm of words earlier." She turned even redder at that.
"You just... seemed so lost and different to everyone I've met. I felt like I had to go help you or some part of me would wither if that makes any sense." For a moment, Anakin stopped peeling the fish in his hand and looked longingly at Ruby. It may have been just silly, or the girl is so shy she can't even organize her thoughts to give a non-abstract answer, but a good Jedi never ignores when they 'feel' something. She cringed under his gaze more and more, which forced him to clear his throat before he went back to peeling the fish.
"And how was that feeling of yours?"
"Uh?"
"Define what you felt to make you do everything you did, preferably in a straightforward way."
"Okay, fine, I can do that... It was kind of, as soon as I saw you, I knew there was something there for me to search. Like when you look at something and instantly have to try it; you dunno if it's good, bad, healthy. I tried to push it away, but it kind of stuck with me all day and it's still there. It's such a weird feeling, sorry if I'm not making any sense, again." She groaned as she scratched her hair, Anakin having already finished peeling all the fish that were now cooking over the coals. It was pretty spartan, no seasoning or anything, but it would satisfy the hunger.
"Interesting. Does the word 'Force' mean anything to you?" Putting away his vibroknife, he gave her his full attention.
"Like Force in Newton?" she tilted her head, curious.
Who? Before he could quench his curiosity, however, a dark feeling made his spine freeze and the hairs on his arm stand erect. Dark whispers pierced his head as, with a fierce look, Anakin rose from the ground with the brutality of a seasoned warrior, the Force bringing his lightsaber to hand, keeping it off as he watched the darkness of the forest. Ruby was already going to inquire of him, stopping herself cold, whether it was from hearing the almost inaudible paw noises against the ground or the wet breathing of various creatures or even sensing their darkness, he doesn't know, but she stood up in a trained and firm pose.
"Beowolves..." She whispered.
Before Anakin could ask about this creature of which she was aware, his eyes widened as he watched her pull out what he imagined before to be a pouch and transform it into a... giant, bizarre red scythe. Obi-wan, always so old-fashioned when it came to weapons, would be having a heart attack watching this freak of nature disassembling itself before his own eyes. He was forced out of his stupor when she continued to speak.
"That's a lot of them... Can you defend yourself?"
In fact, he let out a half indignant chuckle at this question. This child asking if he could defend himself. The child with the 7ft tall pocket scyther.
... Well, this world was bizarre enough for him, why not show some of his own bizarreness then?
"You'll see."
And with a twirl, the navy blue blade illuminated more than the measly fire ever could. In the aqua bright light of his lightsaber, Anakin got a better view of these lurking foes, bile rising in his throat at the sight of the sheer darkness of the beasts, both hands squeezing the grip. Sithspawns, from end to end. Their white masks with red stripes framed vivid red eyes, white bone plates, and spines rising through their body of darkness, quadrupedal and with intentions of pure evil.
Ruby seemed more than dazzled by the lightsaber in his hand and he is sure she said something but whatever it was, it fell on deaf ears.
For Anakin was livid at the existence of these creatures.
Hatred, mockery, sadness, greed: all blended into one monstrous, blood-drooling aberration. But none of these atrocities would have a drop of it, while he would do his best to make them pulp on the ground.
With a quick step at the frightening affronts to nature direction, Anakin full-fledged the form of the aggressive in its most expressive way, his own Ataru-style, a powerful slash meeting the open mouth of one of the creatures that were at the beginning of a war cry. The lightsaber cut it from the beginning to the end of its spine, splitting the monster in two. But it was not enough.
Anakin had just thrown himself into the crowd of darkness, his sword shining like a beacon in the night, and hell, he wanted to kill these beasts.
The monsters seemed to realize this, for the priority of all of them was Anakin, completely ignoring the black-haired girl.
With fierce tenacity and no trace of the pain that was upon him, doubts forgotten completely, Anakin focused completely on ducking under claws of an impressive width, capable of sinking into his face and tearing it apart in one motion, but the same worked to his lightsaber. Raising his hand and pulling the monster that tried to cut him, a spin on his shaft ripping the creature's jaw open and, not even waiting, the lightsaber was already descending on the body of another unsuspecting one in a spectacle of blue, the monsters as impatience as him to jump to their deaths. Using the Force, Anakin had to make a dome around him, powerfully sending the monsters away from him, lunging forward and tearing the heads off of those who fell stunned at close to his feet.
Ruby, who until then had been frozen watching the display, finally moved with grace when one of the monsters flew toward her, the scythe slicing diagonally and separating the beastly shaped sin into two parts.
More and more came running, brain-dead and lusting for soul and blood. One was foolish enough to try and hold him with its monstrous arms, but the blond lunged forward once more and, holding the beast by its throat, slammed it against the ground and Force Hammered its head with one powerful boot on the mouth. But there were no seconds to rest as more beowolves were circling him, blue eyes following each one of them, awaiting their moves.
The third of the bunch tried to slash off one of his legs and a down cut in the jaw did the job, Anakin quickly dodging to the side and Force pushing one of the creatures to the sky and beyond, his knees already flexed so the white claws missed by miles his torso, not mirrored by his lightsaber burning through the beast heart. He knew of the two lungings at his back, but he took more than he expected to release the lightsaber, so the next swing accompanied with a rapid spun just killed one of the beowolves, the left one crossing enough distance for its massive claws to rip Anakin's side, a superficial three-way cut with thin lines of blood, no worries.
He worried about, however, when three other beowolves joined the one who had made him bleed and, seeing their 'prey' dripping the liquid of life, anew boldness in form of constant front attacks were the response the animals had. They were dying by his blade, but more and more the beasts were dodging his attacks as dozen of them came from the night.
When he jumped over one of them and landed on its back, saber ripping its skull in two, two more were clawing their way to the top as to tear Anakin flesh... And one would have done it, but an echoing sound of metal against metal followed by metal against meat in the forest happened and the beowulf's head practically opened up and blood exploded out of it in a show of horrors.
Somehow, Ruby's scythe could shoot... bullets?
Obi-wan would really hate this place.
Giving Ruby a quick thumbs-up, Anakin retraced back to the killing spree, now with occasional support from a friendly cloaked kid with a big gun scythe.
And together, in the middle of the night lit by the shattered moon and a blade of blue fire, Anakin tore apart every creature that came his way, be it piercing through their non-thinking brains or smashing their heads with the Force; as for Ruby, she was experiencing her first blood-pumping-adrenaline-oozing beast senseless killing spree at night as almost fifty beowolves lunged out of the woods at their direction, Anakin's opinion on the girl rising notches as he saw she killing three of the demons with one single bullet; head, heart and another head.
But all this lasted only twelve minutes.
Black dust rose as if the clearing were an active volcano, the dead silence that came after Anakin dropped his lightsaber like a hammer on the head of the last beowulf almost absolute, cut only by the soft hiss of the lightsaber and the fish skin simmering in its own oil.
Taking a deep breath, Anakin's lightsaber switched off, the Force silent on any danger, and he slowly made his way to the fire where the fish was cooking.
Every moment of this was accompanied by giant gray eyes staring at him with a multitude of feelings, so clustered and conflicting that he could barely understand them in the whirling of Force that circulated the kid. It was only when he sat down and picked up one of the fish, blowing it and biting into it, that the silence was broken.
"Do you want some?"
"You... The beowolves... The sword and... You don't have Aura..." She swallowed dryly, noting the various conflicting tangents in her mind, trying her best to put everything in order and ask questions as an ordinary human being would, her curiosity practically bloated by now. She looked at the dust that rose endlessly in the air, the strange and wonderful weapon on Anakin's belt, and then at Anakin himself... But when her stomach rumbled loudly, she knew the question of real importance. "Is it edible?"
"Yes, it is."
"I'll have one... thank you."
"Anytime."