"Padme?"
"Mmmm?"
She opened one eye to look at her husband, the other half of her face buried in her pillow. She was half afraid that he was going to ask her to get up and go with him to get food. Her stomach was rumbling, but she had flopped onto the bed and was just too tired to get up now. They had one more week left of their honeymoon, and then they would be flying home to California from Rome.
Currently, they were on a train moving through the Alpine Mountains headed towards Tuscany from Switzerland. They had spent the last few days skiing down the famous slopes around the country, and although Anakin had never been skiing before, he had picked it up very quickly and had even advanced past her own skills. He had even tried snowboarding and had quickly mastered that sport as well. As she predicted, Anakin had fallen in love with both sports, and he had vowed to get his own set of skis and snowboard when they got back home, which didn't surprise her in the least.
Still, as much fun as they had had, both on the slopes during the day and then with their passionate explorations at night, they were now both too exhausted to do anything else except crash on the bed. They had paid for a luxury car all to themselves with the expectation that they would want to do other marital things on this train ride, but after the skiing in Switzerland and all of the other activities they had done over the past three weeks in London, Spain, and various parts of France, Padme couldn't even gather the energy to even lean over and kiss him. From the look on her husband's face, she knew that he felt exactly the same way.
"I'm going to go get us some food." She held back a sigh of relief, and instantly felt a little guilty. If Anakin was just as tired as she was, it wasn't fair to have him carry his food and hers. "What do you want, Angel?"
She rolled onto her back so that she could turn to face him, trying to get the energy to get up and go with him. Like her, he was still wearing his street clothes, with a long sleeved white shirt and black jeans, but unlike her, he had his lightsaber strapped to his belt. He had started wearing it almost everywhere like he used to in their old galaxy shortly after Obi-Wan had given it to him, and since the majority of people on Earth had no idea what a lightsaber was, he was able to get through security checkpoints with only minimal questions. Usually, he took it off though when he was relaxing, so the fact that he hadn't bothered to remove it told her just how very tired he was. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" She asked, reaching up to rub light circles on his low back, causing him to groan a little.
"Yeah, I'm sure. You look like you're about to drop any minute." Anakin raised his eyebrow, an amused smile on his lips. If she could only get the energy, oh, she would sit up and kiss those lips and…
"Yeah, but you're tired too, though." She pointed out, trying not to get distracted by his lips. It was easier said than done when it came to Anakin, especially when she knew that their time was limited. When they got home, Padme would have to start working as a receptionist in her parent's office again, and Anakin would not only be working on droid plans for his and Obi-Wan's company, but he would also be sucked fully into the restoration of the Jedi Order. She knew that all of these things were important, and in her other life, she would have pushed for those things much sooner than this, but for the first time in both of their lives, she truly had a chance to be a wife to Anakin without literally having the fate of an entire planet or galaxy on her shoulders. She wanted to be selfish for just a little while, but now that needed to end, and she sort of didn't want it to.
Life had to move on, though; so for now, she would enjoy the time she had alone with her husband.
"Angel," Anakin leaned over, kissing her forehead, "I want you to rest." He met her eyes, saw the determination in them, and sighed, giving in with a shake of his head. "Okay. Fine. If you want to do something, why don't you contact Obi-Wan and confirm that he has all of the correct information in order to pick us up on Saturday from the airport?"
Well, it was something, something that did need to be done. And, better to do it now while they still had hours to go on their train ride than to do it in the middle of the week when they were busy trying to get from place to place in Italy. "Fine," she relented, "If you're sure that you don't need help carrying the food…"
"Angel, I'm not feeding an army. I think I can handle two meals. And, if I can't, I'll just use the Force to carry them." He grinned, showing that he was teasing, and she just rolled her eyes.
"Well, Master Jedi, if you do and you get caught, don't expect me to come rescue you." She said sarcastically, and Anakin laughed, clearly not believing her for a second.
"Oh, please! You'd come after me, just like I would come after you if that happened, and you know it. Which it won't, though."
"Such confidence, " She grinned back, as her stomach chose that moment to grumble loudly.
"Alright. Alright, I get it. You're hungry." He planted a quick kiss on her lips before he stood and made his way around the cramped room and to the door that would lead him to the hallway and doors connecting the train cars. He paused when he got to the door, looking back at Padme. "The food car is behind ours, right?"
"Yes," She laughed, "Maybe I should be more concerned about you getting lost."
Now, it was Anakin's turn to roll his eyes, and he winked at her before exiting the car without another word, leaving her alone to reach for her phone and call Obi-Wan.
He picked up on the second ring. "Nice to hear from you again, Padme." He greeted cheerfully.
"You, too, Ben," Padme frowned. Obi-Wan was usually a good natured fellow, but for some reason, he seemed so…so extra chipper today. "You certainly sound happy."
"Oh, I am. We haven't announced it yet, so don't mention it to anyone other than Anakin, but last night I proposed to Satine." She could practically hear theexuberant smile in his voice, "She said yes, and we're getting married in December!"
"That's wonderful news! Congratulations!" Padme exclaimed, truly happy for their dearest friends. "How did you propose?"
"Well, I got the ring," She resisted the urge to point out that that was obvious, "And, I asked her out for dinner at Osteria on Hamilton Avenue."
"Wow. That's a really swank Italian restaurant. Very nice choice, Ben. Obviously, she liked it," she said with a smile, knowing how much Satine loved Italian food.
She opened her mouth to ask for more details, but she knew that Obi-Wan wasn't the person to ask. Perhaps she would call Satine after she hung up with Obi-Wan and ask her for the details. Padme knew she'd be more forthcoming. "Well, congratulations again. I'm so very happy for both of you. I can't wait to tell Anakin the news." She meant it, too. She knew that if she, for some reason, was given the opportunity to communicate with her past life self, and she told herself that Obi-Wan, of all people, was getting married, her past self would have had a laughing fit.
"Thanks, Padme," Obi-Wan said, practically radiating joy through the phone connection. "Now, I assume you're calling to confirm details for Saturday?"
"Yes. Anakin went to get us some food, and since I was too tired to go with him, he suggested…"
"Hold on. Anakin suggested something productive?" Obi-Wan sounded shocked, but she knew he was only teasing. "Well, well. He really is full of surprises, isn't he?"
Padme couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "Oh, hush. Anyhow, we're going to board the plane in Rome, and assuming everything goes well and our flight is on time, we should arrive…"
Suddenly, there was a pounding on the door. Padme broke off, frowning. That hadn't taken Anakin too long. In fact, he was a little too quick about it. "Padme?" Obi-Wan's voice, concerned now, reached her ears, "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, it's just…" The pounding came again, louder and harder. Perhaps something had happened, and he had to turn around before he could get to the last few train cars that had the food on it. But, if that was the case, why wouldn't he just walk in?
She had a very bad feeling about this.
"Ben, I think I need to go..." She said, her voice more serious than she intended it to sound.
"Padme, what's happening?" Obi-Wan asked gravely, sensing there was something very wrong. It wasn't like he could actually do anything about it, though. He was on the other side of the world. She and Anakin would just have to deal with this on their own.
"I…" She began, but she never finished. The door suddenly blew inward with a loud bang, and two men in black turtle necks entered the room, guns drawn. They spotted her and pointed the guns at her.
"Put the phone down," one of them said in a heavy accent that sounded Russian to her. Slowly, ignoring Obi-Wan's frantic questions, she ended the call and turned the phone down on the bed.
"What do you want?" She asked, forcing her voice to stay calm. She reminded herself that she used to be a Queen and a senator who had been in far worse situations. She would handle this with poise until she could figure out what they wanted with her…or maybe what they wanted with all the passengers of the train.
"Get up!" The other one ordered in the same accent, ignoring her question. Slowly, she stood, keeping her hands where they could see them. "Step out of the room, quickly and quietly, and we will escort you." He sneered, showing off a row of very yellow teeth. "Comply, and this doesn't have to get ugly." She debated on pressing for more answers, but she had a feeling these men were just following orders. She doubted they would...or could...give her any answers.
So, standing slowly and carefully, so as not to startle them, she headed for the door. She would figure this out. She always had, and whether these men knew it or not, she had an advantage they probably did not.
She had a Jedi Master for a husband, and he would be really pissed off when he found out what was going on.
Anakin felt the warning through the Force as he finished ordering their food.
He had walked through multiple cars full of passengers riding economy before he had reached the food car, where it was surprisingly empty except for the couple of servers who were busy making preparations for the dinner rush they would likely get soon. He had ordered two different dishes that he hoped were good (a lot of the menu was in Italian, so it was pretty much guesswork for him) and also a bottle of wine for later when he and Padme were more rested. He couldn't help but grin at that thought. But, as he sat down on the bar stool to wait for his food order, the Force suddenly pulsed through him in warning, causing him to stand up in alarm.
Something was wrong.
He searched through the Force, trying to understand what, exactly, it could be, when a telephone rang behind him. At first he paid no mind, until one of the servers, a young man with an olive complexion and dark brown hair, began to agitatedly raise his voice in alarm. Anakin whirled around. "What's happening?!" He demanded. This was the same server who had taken his order, and he knew the man knew English.
The man hung up the phone, looking to Anakin with a pale, frightened expression. "Hide!" was all he said, before he turned and bolted towards the back where the kitchen was. Anakin frowned, watching him leave. He didn't know why the man thought he could hide. They were on a train. There wasn't very many places to effectively hide from anyone. Cautiously, he turned and headed back to the door he'd come from, sneaking a peek through the window into the other car.
He froze.
In front of him were multiple men dressed all in dark clothes, holding rather large and lethal-looking guns that were pointed directly at the passengers. Even through the door, Anakin could hear the screams of the passengers as they were pulled out of their seats and herded towards the other end of the car. His hand immediately went to his lightsaber, unclipping it from his belt, but before he activated it, he stopped. He knew that he could easily jump in there and stop them with a few swings of his lightsaber, but then he would have to deal with the frightened passengers who would likely view his strange weapon as a new, more dangerous threat. Not to mention they would also likely tell the authorities, which would only bring unwanted questions from unwanted places, and he couldn't risk that. He considered mind tricking all of them, but he quickly pushed that option away. He could trick a few people, sure. But an entire group? No. That wouldn't work.
Anakin knew he had to find Padme. He felt a flash of worry, but quickly forced himself to calm down. He couldn't panic now. He had to stay clear minded and focused. Besides, Padme was more than capable of handling this situation. She had certainly handled much worse (like Geonosis), and with her full memory back, he had no doubts that she could probably handle this situation much better than he could.
Still. He had to try.
Determined to do something, he turned and headed back to the other door the server had gone through, but when he tried to open it, he found it to be blocked. With a sigh, he called upon the Force and reached out, using it to push the doors open. They swung open easily with the Force, and he stepped through…
And ducked as pots and pans were thrown at him from several directions.
"Hey!" He shouted, dodging the wayward cookware, "Hold your fire!" The pans stopped flying, and servers and cooks reluctantly emerged from their pathetically sorry hiding places.
"Scusa, Signore!" one of the cooks said in Italian, looking at the door fearfully, his hands trembling.
"English." Anakin pointed to himself as he closed the doors with his other hand. "Sorry to break your barricade here, but I have to find a way to save my wife."
"Impossible, Sir," the English-speaking server said, "All the passengers have been rounded up, and your wife likely is with them. There's too many, and none of us have guns…" The poor man, clearly frightened, gestured frantically at himself and the other kitchen staff.
"I'll be fine." Anakin said confidently as he headed to the very back door at the end of the kitchen car. "I'll figure it out."
"NO, Signore! Please, you'll get us killed! The authorities have been alerted…" the man began again, but Anakin cut him off with a shake of his head.
"The authorities are not on this train. I'm not going to leave my wife in the hands of those monsters." His voice was hard, leaving no room for argument, as his mind whirled with possibilities. "This is the last car, right?"
"Yes, Signore," the man reluctantly replied, "But, what does that have to do...?"
Anakin reached the back door of the train, stopped, and turned back. "I'm going up and over. I'll find the leader, take him out, and go from there."
"WHAT?!" the man yelped, and suddenly, there was pounding on the other door, causing all the men in the room to duck back into their meager hiding spots. "But…!"
"Don't tell them where I went, and we should all be fine." Anakin shot him a confident grin before he opened the back door and stepped out onto the small, metal rear platform, sealing the door shut behind him just before the men in black burst into the kitchen, forcing the men out of their hiding places.
Anakin moved away from the door window, pressing himself flat against the back wall of the train car, hoping that the servers would be alright. If the attackers found out that they knew Anakin was doing this, the attackers would likely kill them for being uncooperative. That's what Darth Vader would have done...but then again, Darth Vader had rarely taken prisoners. He couldn't dwell on that though. He had to move before he was found, before Padme and the other passengers were hurt.
He pushed away from the wall…and was immediately hit by a powerful blast of wind, throwing him against the rail of the platform. He hissed in pain, using the Force to steady him. The train was moving very fast, and the forest and mountain cliffs around them whizzed by in a blur. He would have to be very careful and move cautiously. So, using the Force to keep him in balance, he Force-leaped onto the top of the train and slowly began making his way up the top of the cars, his eyes squinting against the rushing cold wind.
They had been rounded up and forced at gunpoint into the luggage cars. These cars, designed for luggage instead of passengers, were freezing from the lack of heating, and the passengers huddled together to conserve warmth. Padme watched as some of the men who were not currently pointing guns at them were opening luggage randomly and rifling through them, looking for anything that might be of some value before they tossed them carelessly aside.
They still hadn't received answers as to who these men were or what they wanted, as they had refused to answer any questions and had ordered all of them to remain silent, but from what she could tell, they were simply train robbers. She had thought, foolishly apparently, that train robberies only existed in the days of the Old West. Yet, here they were, getting hijacked and robbed.
A mother with her young girl sat next to her on the cold floor, her blonde, curly-haired daughter curled up in her lap. She couldn't have looked more than four, and her little fists clutched her mother's shirt. Glancing around, Padme identified a few other, older children huddled near their parents. Feeling a flash of anger, Padme wondered how these men could be so selfish and endanger these children along with their adult parents. In this world, TV often made it seem that bad people would leave children alone, and even though she had grown up knowing that it wasn't true, she hadn't seen it in action in this world. Her past self certainly had, but not ever in this life.
Where are you, Anakin? She wondered, feeling a flash of worry for her husband's safety. He hadn't been brought in with the rest of the passengers and train staff. It could have meant one of two things: First, he had escaped and was currently working out a plan to rescue them all. As a Clone Wars general and a previous Sith Lord, he had plenty of experience that Padme was certain these men could never hope to have. This was, therefore, the more likely of the two reasons.
But, her irrational side thought, reason number two could have happened as well: He could have been killed.
These men spoke to one another in Russian. Surely they would have said something about killing someone, but Padme knew nothing of Russian. If they had, she would have missed it. Plus, these bullets were different than the guns from their home galaxy. She had listened to Anakin and Obi-Wan theorize what would happen if they blocked a bullet with a lightsaber, but they wouldn't know for sure unless they were actually shot at with a gun, something she had already not been keen on happening. What if their theories had been wrong and Anakin had been shot at and the bullet had passed through the lightsaber and killed or seriously hurt him?
Calm down, she told herself, taking deep breaths, forcing the images of her husband lying in a pool of his own blood out of her mind. Panic was what she would have done without her memories back. She had them back now, and these people needed her to stay calm, just as she would have done as a senator or a queen. She was Padme Amidala Skywalker, and she would not give into fear.
The door leading to the very front of the train burst open, causing all of the passengers to jump a little in surprise as a big man with gold eyes stomped through the door. He was massive, with muscles that made him look like he lifted cars as weights in his free time. His clothes squeezed tightly around his body, so tight that Padme wondered if he sometimes accidently ripped through them if he moved too fast, like the Hulk or something. In fact, he would probably make a fantastic Hulk if he weren't a train hijacker.
At least, Padme thought that until her eyes moved down to his belt, where he held not a gun, but the hilt of a lightsaber.
Her breath hitched, her mind racing with questions and new worries. Who exactly was this man? How did he obtain a lightsaber when it was hard enough for the Jedi to get one in this world? She squinted at the man's face, trying to see if she recognized him, but he didn't ring a bell. Obviously, with the gold eyes, he was either a Sith or associated with the Dark Side, but unless he lived after she had died in their old galaxy, he didn't seem to be from her old galaxy.
Either way, Anakin would have a harder battle than she originally thought.
He surveyed the passengers with narrowed eyes, a disdainful scowl tracing his lips. "Are you sure these are all of the passengers and staff?" He asked with a gruff voice, a voice that sent chills down her spine. Now that he had spoken, his voice seemed familiar, but again she couldn't come up with any specific identity.
"Yes, Sir," one of the men replied, standing at attention. Padme wondered why these men followed this man—the man didn't have any accent, and she wasn't sure if he even spoke Russian.
The man's scowl deepened, and he stepped forward, towering over the passengers in front of him who cowered away as much as they could, whimpering in fear. "If you do as we say, and the authorities give us what we've asked for in exchange for your lives, you will walk out of here alive." So, it was some sort of ransom. Again, it was something Padme had heard of in movies or occasionally on the news, but she didn't think it would ever actually happen to her. Whenever it did happen on TV though, usually the authorities did not give in to the terrorist's demands.
Not good.
The man's eyes scanned the frightened passengers, landing on her, where they paused and he frowned, eyebrows furrowing, almost as if he recognized her. Her breath hitched, and again she tried to remember if she ever knew this man. Still, no one came to mind.
But, he eventually drew his gaze away, addressing the passengers again. "The first thing that I ask you to do is to stay seated and quiet. We are running a very delicate operation here, and we don't need to be distracted by you scum." Scum? Padme couldn't help but think that was an interesting choice of words. "The second thing that I ask is for you to point out a certain passenger. A Ms. Padme Amidala."
Padme froze, hardly noticing that the other passengers were now glancing at one another in confusion as she stared at the man before her. How did he know she was on this train? He obviously didn't know her himself, because he had looked straight at her and hadn't called her out specifically. So, how…?
The man continued in his horribly familiar voice. "I know she's on this train. We were able to obtain a copy of the ticket records. Her name shows that she bought two tickets. So, don't bother hiding her. Give her up, or else."
Of course! She had purchased the tickets months ago before she had legally changed her name. She tried to remember if she had specifically put Anakin's name down when she was buying the second ticket, but she couldn't remember them asking for it on the website. Besides, the man wasn't asking for Anakin, just her…
Where are you, Anakin?
The man sighed. "So, that's how this is going to be." He began to stalk towards her, and her breathing quickened. So, he did remember her. But how? She didn't even know him. Her mind whirled as he approached, and she opened her mouth to demand answers when he reached down and…
Grabbed the little girl, ripping her from her mother's arms.
The girl screamed for her mother, and the mother began to beg in a language that sounded Italian, reaching for her daughter. One of the men quickly kicked her back down, leaving her in a sobbing heap next to Padme. The man stroked the girl's curls. "If you aren't going to offer information willingly," the man hissed, "Then, I will simply have to begin killing passengers, one by one. Starting with this one."
"NO!" Padme was on her feet before she had consciously decided what to do. She knew that if Anakin were there he would have scolded her for bringing attention to herself, but she wouldn't stand by and let other people, especially children, get hurt because of her. "I am Padme Amidala, now give her back to her mother, and don't you dare harm another hair on anyone else's head!" She commanded, her voice hard and unyielding, leaving no room for argument. It was the voice of a queen and senator of Naboo, not a frightened law student from Earth.
The man stared at her in surprise for a moment before a satisfied smirk crossed his thin lips. "Well, well. You took long enough to speak up, Ms. Amidala." He threw the girl back, where she was caught by her sobbing mother. One of his men made to grab Padme's arm, but she quickly stepped out of his reach.
"I will go where you ask me to go. I'm not an idiot. I know not to try anything stupid." She snapped at the man. "Call your men off. Now."
This only caused the man to laugh. "Feisty, aren't you?" She glared in reply. "I suppose that answers my question." He nodded at his men, and they backed away from her. The man stepped to the side, motioning towards the door he had come through. "After you, Ms. Amidala."
Hurry Up, Anakin, Padme thought as she took a deep breath and began to walk towards the door…
And, heard a very large THUMP! from above them, a noise that caused everyone to look up in surprise. Padme felt a rush of hope, her suspicions forming. Could it be…?
The man frowned, staring at the spot the noise had come from, listening for other noise. There was none. "Perhaps it was a falling rock," one of his thugs suggested in their thick accent. "These things happen here."
"Perhaps," The man agreed, though his eyes narrowed at the ceiling like he didn't fully believe that. Please believe it, Padme prayed silently, keeping her features neutral. Finally, the man turned his attention back to her. "As I said," He motioned towards the door, "After you."
It had to be Anakin. It wasn't like he hadn't tried something like that before. If anyone could pull it off, he could. She just had to stall the man, maybe figure out who he was and why he wanted her, until Anakin could get back in and help her. The thought calmed her some, and with her head held high, she headed into the front car.
She had never been inside of a control car before. Like the cockpit of an airplane, it was crowded with instruments and machines that she didn't know the name of. The conductor was at the front of the car at the controls, his back stiff with tension due to the gun that was pointed at his back by yet another thug. He didn't bother to glance back when Padme entered, followed by the man and two more of his thugs. Padme glanced out one of the windows to find that they were in the middle of a tunnel, probably through one of the mountains.
The door slammed shut behind her, almost making her jump a little in surprise—a reaction she forced herself not to make. She would not show fear. She would not show fear. She would not…
The man circled around her, looking her up and down, a frown on his face. "You're just a little slip of a thing," he muttered under his breath, "What would he want with you…?"
"He?" Padme questioned with a raise of her eyebrow. "Who is this he?"
Her question seemed to snap him back into reality, and he shook his head. She thought he would answer her, even if to tell her "never mind," but instead he turned around and picked up an IPad, quickly opening what looked to her to be some sort of calling app…not Skype, something she had never seen before. She didn't have long to think about it though, because soon she heard the sound of a very bone-chillingly familiar voice on the other end.
"Well? Did you find her?"
Palpatine. Sidious.
Her heart stopped.
"I did, My Lord." The man said, his voice reverent, "I have her here."
"Good," Palpatine said, "Turn the screen around."
She hardly breathed as the man turned the screen so that she was facing the man who had ruined the lives of an entire galaxy of people, including her own. The man who was now being fervently hunted worldwide for trying to do the same thing on this planet.
After months of hearing nothing, of finding nothing, about him, there he was. Sitting smugly behind a screen, with a fancy office with rows and rows of books behind him, as if being on the run had not affected his life in the slightest, sat Palpatine, his stupid, fake, serene smile gracing his pale lips. She wanted to punch him. Scream at him. Hunt him down and kill him herself. The wave of anger…of violence…that she felt was like nothing she had ever felt before. Ever.
"Hello, Padme," He said through that fake, grandfatherly smile. He sounded so genuine, but she knew he wasn't. "It's been a long time, hasn't it, my dear?"
"Screw you," Padme hissed through numb lips. She wanted to scream at him, but she couldn't make her voice work properly.
"Now, now...That's not very polite." He didn't seem the least bit bothered by it, but instead, rather pleased. It made her want to hit him even more. "By the way, I wanted to extend my condolences on the loss of your child. It must be so hard to lose your first child…"
"FUCK YOU." She was shaking now. She rarely cursed like that, but how dare he talk about her unborn child like that?! Especially when it was his fault for killing it in the first place...and he knew it.
"Such language, my dear." He tsked, leaning back in his comfortable-looking leather chair. "No matter. What I need to know is who exactly was the second train ticket for?" Padme glared at him, silent, refusing to answer. "I know you bought two tickets, Padme. Obviously, one was for you. Who was the other one for?"
"My friend." The lie came easily from her lips. She said it with confidence: She was sure even Anakin wouldn't have been able to tell that she was lying. "Mindy. But, she couldn't come last minute. So, I'm alone."
Palpatine just smiled, and she couldn't tell if he bought the lie or not. "It's interesting that you would invite your friend to come with you and not the man you just married."
Padme felt like the world was tilting underneath her. How did he know? How did he know? How did he know? "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, her voice sounding far away to her.
"Well, you married him three weeks ago, my dear. My sources say that you two went on your honeymoon, but I couldn't find out where…until my men happened to send me the passenger list and, well, here we are." He gestured to her. "So. Where's your Jedi husband, Padme?"
Her mind went blank. She couldn't come up with a lie, but she certainly wasn't going to tell him where she suspected her husband might be. So, she remained silent, glaring at the screen. Palpatine sighed. "So, it's going to be that way, is it? Still so stubborn," he tsked, shaking his head ever so slightly. "Grievous."
"Yes, My Lord?" The man with the golden eyes, the leader, the man whose voice had seemed so familiar to her, said, turning the screen back towards him.
Of course, Padme sarcastically thought, naturally, I would have to run into one of the greatest villains ever of my galaxy ...on my honeymoon! Just perfect. How could this day get any worse?
"Use whatever methods necessary to get the information out of her. Find her husband, and then dispose of her. I want her husband alive." His voice changed, and there was a menacing edge to it.
She knew she shouldn't have asked herself that question.
"Yes, My Lord." The screen disconnected, and the man, Grievous, one of her oldest enemies, reached for his lightsaber…
And the window suddenly smashed in.
"KRIFF!" Anakin hissed, as he saw the tunnel coming up. He had been using the Force to hop quietly from the tops of each train car, using it to extend out and find the presences in the train beneath him. So far, he had only found a few unfamiliar presences, thugs searching through the now empty passenger cars. Anakin didn't have much hope by the time he reached the car Padme had been in, and sure enough, he had felt the emptiness of it when he stretched out with the Force.
But now, crouched next to the baggage car, he felt a mass of frightened presences huddled together, along with the more aggressive presences of the thugs. In the midst of it, he felt two very familiar forces…
The first, light and brave and determined. Padme. He let out a sigh of relief. She was alive, and he couldn't sense any pain coming from her. Only confusion and determination.
The second, dark and menacing and aggressive, almost blindingly aggressive. At first, Anakin frowned in confusion—he had felt this presence before, and after focusing on it for a moment, he figured it out.
Grievous.
Quickly, he made sure the Force was shielding his own Force signature from Grievous. He hadn't expected any sort of Force wielder, much less an actual war general. Anakin knew that compared to other foes he had faced, Grievous's strength did not rely on the Force, but on his own, albeit extremely impressive skills. What little Force ability Grievous did possess was immersed fully in the Dark Side, even without being a Sith apprentice. That didn't mean that Grievous wouldn't recognize Anakin, if Anakin wasn't careful.
No sooner had he cloaked his presence when he saw the train quickly approaching a tunnel through one of the mountains. So, with a curse, Anakin leaped blindly onto the top of the baggage car with a loud THUMP that made him cringe, as he threw himself tight against the top of the baggage car just as the train entered the tunnel, plunging him into darkness.
He gritted his teeth, feeling the top of the tunnel not five inches from the top of his head. He hardly dared to breathe the moist, cool air of the tunnel, afraid that his body would hit rock, and he'd be crushed. Beneath him, he could feel Grievous and Padme leaving the baggage car to go into the very front of the train.
Kriff, kriffing, KRIFF! Anakin mentally shouted. He couldn't move to follow. If Grievous was taking her away from the other passengers, it wasn't good. Perhaps he remembered her. Perhaps she had done something to call attention to herself. Perhaps…
Suddenly, he felt a wave of fear that turned to a white-hot pulsating anger coming from Padme. Pure, raging fury that he had never, ever felt come from her. He had never felt her lose it like that…and anything that made his Angel feel like that was not something Anakin wanted her around. When will this stupid tunnel be over? He wondered anxiously, every nerve screaming at him to get up and go to her and get rid of whatever was causing her so much anger.
He laid there in the freezing darkness for what seemed like hours before finally the tunnel widened, light filtering in, and then he was again out in the open, fresh air. In just that moment, Padme's anger turned to alarm, and Anakin leapt to his feet, using the Force to keep him balanced, and began to run towards the front of the train.
I'm coming, Padme, he thought, as he leapt onto the front of the car, raced to the side, found a window, and jumped down and through it, feet first, glass flying everywhere.
He didn't wait. As soon as he landed inside the car, rolling to a stand, he whipped his lightsaber out, igniting it. He charged Grievous before the man, oddly human-looking in a scary Hulk-way (Padme had shown him those movies), could recover from the surprise of Anakin bursting through his window.
But, he wasn't surprised enough not to defend himself. Right as Anakin reached him, a lightsaber was in his hand, ignited in a green hue, and blocked Anakin's swing. Vaguely, Anakin heard a scuffle behind him, but with Grievous moving for an offensive attack, Anakin hardly noticed. Instead, he blocked the swing, and then moved again into the aggressive lightsaber technique he had grown accustomed to using since his battle with Darth Maul.
Anakin swung hard and fast, Grievous madly moving to block as Anakin pushed him back towards the controls of the train. A few times, their lightsabers hit various instruments, cutting through them like warm butter, and Anakin hoped they hadn't hit anything of major importance (like what had happened on Mustafar when he and Obi-Wan had fought in the control room). Still, he did not give his attack up.
BAM! BAM!
Anakin flinched at the sound of the gunshots, and Grievous used that brief second to begin pushing back, his lightsaber moving just as fast as Anakin's, their skills seemingly evenly matched.
Almost.
Again, Anakin felt Grievous using, comparatively, very little of the Force, relying purely on physical skill. But, Anakin was exceptionally skilled in the Force, and with only one lightsaber to use, Grievous was not as formidable as he used to be. Without his cyborg skeleton, he seemed to be much more vulnerable, even with his immense size. Anakin needed to end this before anyone else was hurt, before Padme was hurt.
So, as Grievous made his advance, Anakin gathered up the Force around him, blocking one more parry before reaching out with his free hand to Force-push him away.
He hadn't meant for it to happen. He and Obi-Wan had recently been working to test and control the new extent of Anakin's powers, but so far, Anakin had been good at proving the extent of them rather than controlling them. Instead of pushing him against the wall and restraining him, as he had planned, Grievous instead was pushed out the same window Anakin had crashed through, disappearing with a yell of fury.
Anakin groaned as he deactivated his lightsaber, staring out the window that he had just thrown Grievous out of. He could have tried to get information out of him—he was sure Grievous had been working for Palpatine. Currently, he had no leads, and…
Padme!
Momentarily forgetting what he had done, realizing he'd need to think about it later, he whirled, searching for Padme. He found her easily. One of the thugs who had followed her in was unconscious on the floor, while the other one was also sprawled out on the floor with Padme's foot firmly planted on his chest while she pointed a gun directly at him. "Padme," he breathed in relief, approaching her, "Angel, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Ani," She sounded fine, and reaching out through the Force, he confirmed that she was now indeed calm and collected. "Are you okay?" She kept her eyes firmly on the thug beneath her, but her voice was full of relief.
"Of course I'm fine," He couldn't help but grin a little, and even from this angle he could see her roll her eyes at his cockiness.
"I'm glad but…umm...not to ruin the moment here, but the conductor is dead."
"Wait, what? " Anakin whirled, and sure enough, the conductor lay slumped across the controls, dead, with the other thug lying crumpled on the floor beside him, also dead. Anakin cursed, immediately going to the controls and pulling the dead man off and looking over the instruments, his mind working quickly to see if he could figure it out. "I think I can drive this thing, but I have to apprehend the other thugs. Do you think you could…?"
"Drive a train?" Padme asked incredulously, "I've never driven anything remotely like a train, in either life!"
"It's easy…I think." He worked the controls until he was sure that it was on something similar to cruise control. "We have plenty of track. I'll be back to take over before any problems arise, Angel."
Padme sighed, and he heard the sound of her knocking out the man she had been pointing the gun at. A moment later, she was by his side. "Okay. Show me what to do."
He quickly kissed the top of her forehead gratefully before he showed her what he figured was the essential things she needed to keep the train from plunging off of a cliff. "I'll be back soon, and we'll contact the authorities and figure out a good place to stop the train."
"Okay." She sat down in the leather seat, taking care to avoid the dead men near her feet. She glanced up at him. "Be careful, my husband."
"Always, Angel." He quickly stooped down and kissed her firmly on the mouth before he turned and headed to take care of the other thugs.
"I never want to get on a train ever again." Padme grumbled, leaning against Anakin's arm, as they lazily strolled hand-in-hand down the cobbled streets of Milan the next morning, enjoying the sunny weather and sights of the city, despite their obvious exhaustion.
"We have to get on another one tomorrow to get to Rome, Angel." Anakin pointed out and smirked a little when Padme groaned. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
It hadn't been hard for Anakin to apprehend the rest of the thugs on the train. He had simply burst through the door and used the Force to smash the thugs against the walls of the luggage car before they had a chance to realize what was going on, and he had held them there while he made sure the passengers left safely. Later, when some of the passengers questioned him about how he'd done that, he'd given them confused looks and told them it was the wind. With no proof, they couldn't pin anything on him.
After the passengers had left, he had disarmed the men, and then, after the staff had made sure that all of the thugs were out of the other passenger cars, he had locked them inside of the luggage car, where they stayed for the remainder of the trip. He had then spent the rest of the trip with Padme keeping the train from derailing, but as he'd predicted, it wasn't hard for him to control it. Space ships were way harder, and the only problem he had was with stopping it at the station that morning. Some of the brake equipment had been damaged in his fight against Grievous, so he'd had to use the Force to help him bring the train to a complete stop safely.
Now, after being questioned over and over again by international authorities, Anakin and Padme strolled through the busy streets of Milan. Originally, they had wanted to go check out some of the famous artworks the city had to offer (okay, Padme had wanted to do that, he just wanted to go along and make her happy), but after everything that had happened during the last few hours, and everything else they had not had a chance to rest from, they were already practically stumbling along like they were drunk, barely able to hold onto their luggage.
"Why can't we just be at the hotel already?" Padme grumbled as they turned the corner and found themselves in yet another crowded square. This one was full of brightly decorated market stalls with merchants selling their wares. Most of them were extremely touristy, so they did their best to keep their distance from those. Still, Anakin noticed Padme glancing at some of the more artistic stalls, so he slowed his stride whenever they passed near one.
"We could have called a cab." He pointed out the obvious.
"I know...I guess…the hotel just didn't look that far away on the map." It probably wasn't either, it just seemed that way because they were both so exhausted. "And, now I want to just sleep forever, but I also want to go look at some of those paintings over there, too." She pointed toward a stall across from them that had caught her eye.
"So, let's go look." He began to steer them towards it. He really didn't care about the paintings, but Padme had expressed her desire about wanting to make the walls of their home not so "bare." So, she had often stopped to look at paintings throughout their trip. They all looked the same to him, though he didn't tell her that, but he didn't mind indulging his beloved wife in this.
He was just glad to be here with her, together.
Sure enough, just as he suspected, the paintings all looked the same to him again, as they approached. This particular painter seemed to specialize in painting intricate architecture, which…held absolutely no interest for Anakin whatsoever. So, while his wife began to look around the various paintings displayed, Anakin himself began to look at other nearby stalls.
And that's when he saw them.
Lightsaber crystals.
He was moving forward before he had consciously thought about moving, heading towards the stall tucked into the far corner of the market. There were no other customers, just a tiny, skinny man who sat bored at his stall. There was a small sign on the counter that read "Handmade Jewelry," and as Anakin approached, he did notice that the crystals were crudely shoved into necklace pieces with what looked to be hot glue. It was a sight that made Anakin cringe—the man clearly did not understand the value of what he had on his table.
"Excuse me." Anakin said as he approached, hoping that the man knew English, "Do you mind if I look?" He motioned to the necklaces.
The man raised his eyebrows in surprise, but nodded. "Go ahead." Anakin eagerly and gently picked up each of the necklaces, looking at them closely, running his fingers over the rough surfaces of each one.
He had broken his lightsaber many times throughout his life. He was well acquainted with what a lightsaber crystal looked like, and this was one of them. In fact, inspecting all of them, they were all real, and all of them were priced for less than the equivalent of $5 U.S. dollars, when they would have sold for fortunes on the black market back in his home galaxy.
"Where did you get these?" Anakin asked in wonder, looking at the merchant.
The merchant frowned, clearly not expecting that question. "I found them a while back."
"But, where? WHERE did you find them?" Anakin questioned again, getting more serious this time. He had to know. If there was a place where lightsaber crystals could be found on this planet, he needed to know. He and Obi-Wan would need to secure it before anyone else found them and tried to sell them for cheap.
The merchant grew suspicious, crossing his arms over his chest. "No. These are my crystals. I won't be handing out information to tourists."
Anakin sighed, too tired to put up with this in that moment. He was exhausted, and he and his wife had just gone through a horrible ordeal. He just wanted to find out, pay for what the man had, go gather his wife and get to their hotel and sleep. So, raising his hand, Anakin said, "You will tell me where you found the crystals."
Anakin watched as the man's eyes hooded and he repeated, "I will tell you where I found the crystals" before he reached down and pulled out a rolled up parchment, opening it up to show Anakin a map of the country of Nepal. Already there were pen markings showing a trail along the mountains. "Here. There is an old cave with strange ancient structures built inside of them. The crystals can be found there."
Structures? It sounded like it could possibly be some sort of temple…
With excitement, Anakin pulled out his money. "I'll buy everything you have of these."
The merchant smiled widely, believing, probably, that he was ripping Anakin off. "Great!" Anakin quickly paid for the necklaces and put them all into his travel bag just as the merchant began to put the map away.
"Hold on," Again, Anakin reached out with the Force, stopping the merchant. "You will give me that map, and you will forget about these crystals." He couldn't have the merchant, or any others like him, going up to that location again. Who knew how many crystals were left? He almost couldn't wait to call Obi-Wan and give him the news.
The merchant hesitated, but after a brief moment, he obeyed. "I will give you the map and forget about the crystals." He repeated.
Satisfied, Anakin gathered all the crystals and the map and turned, excited to show his wife his amazing find and begin planning the next steps for the new Jedi Order.
BEFORE anyone asks, NO I did NOT kill Grievous off that fast. He's WAY too cool of a character to kill off quick...I have my reasons for what I did, so you'll just have to see, but he is not dead. Sorry if that's a spoiler, but I'd rather not get a bunch of upset reviews when I'm not killing him as of this moment.
This chapter was super fun to write, and it was also SUPER exhausting. Fight scenes always are exhausting though, and this wasn't even as coordinated as other fight scenes already written and soon to come.
But lightsaber crystals have been found! What will happen? What familiar faces will we meet? Will the Jedi Order be successfully established again? Wait and FIND OUT! :D
Review!
Love,
Sarah
