Misread Prophecy
AUTHOR: Abigail
SUMMARY: What if the 'chosen one' wasn't Anakin Skywalker? What if the Jedi Council realized their mistake too late?
CHAPTER 9: Compassion
RATING: T
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that was created by George Lucas.
NOTE: Whew! That's all I have to say.
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No matter where you go
I will find you.
In the place with no frontiers.
No matter where you go
I will find you.
If it takes a thousand years...
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Anakin jumped from his speeder onto the platform, his painful headache throbbing with each movement. He quickly ran to Padme's speeder, easily recognizing it before he even landed at the Jedi Temple. To his despair, he found it unoccupied. After a brief moment, he could sense a presence. Without turning his back; he could feel them watching him. Anakin whipped out his saber, deftly blocking the fire from the four Clone Troopers that had begun to attack him. So this is how Palpatine plans on controlling the galaxy...
After several more minutes of fire, the four Clones lay in a heap at his feet. Anakin jumped over them, running up the steps that led into the Temple. His mind was racing, his heart pounding, his ears ringing...He knew Padme was here and he knew she was in trouble. Once he reached the entryway, thick smoke from the fire wrapped around him, stinging his eyes painfully. He had no choice but to close them, doing his best to feel his way around the walls that he was so familiar with.
After making his way down what he felt like was the main corridor, he could hear faint cries in the distance. They grew louder, and suddenly he heard the little patter of feet. He opened his eyes to find three small younglings, running towards him as his figure emerged from the smoke.
"Master Skywalker!" one of them cried. They grabbed at his hand, trying to pull him along, but he protested.
"You must come fast. Miss Amidala is hurt..." the young girl wept, tiny tears seeping from her bright green eyes. The other Padawans looked up at Anakin, their small heads nodding in agreement.
"Which way?" Anakin said hoarsely, the smoke now entering his lungs. He had to find her now...she was hurt and he could feel her pain.
"Follow us...we must hide from the Clones," the eldest said, leading the way through the smoke filled halls. Anakin squinted his eyes, struggling to follow the little children who were having an easier time with the smoke filled air, being as they were lower to the ground. After several twists and turns, they stopped at a room, quickly opening the door.
Anakin rushed to Padme's stoic body, scooping her up into his arms. He watched her chest, thankful to see it rise and fall...but she was unconscious...and he knew that the baby was coming soon. It was then that he noticed the large group of younglings in the corner.
"Master Skywalker...help us!" one wailed loudly.
"I'm frightened..." a little girl cried, her tear-streaked face looking familiar to Anakin. Her chocolate curls cascaded about her shoulders, complimented by lovely brown eyes. She looked like Padme...The passion for these weak, and defenseless children grew inside of his heart as he thought about his own unborn child.
"Follow me..." he coughed, grasping Padme close to his chest and stepping out of the room back into the smoke filled hallway. The younglings trailed after him, following his every step.
"Go down that hall!" they would cry. "Turn left!" "Go back that way!" Their directions helped Anakin immensely, his mind sucked dry from his emotional overload. He held Padme closer, trying to cover her face from the small sparks that began to fall from the ceiling. Anakin then heard a creaking sound above him, and realized that the floor above them could collapse any moment...
"HURRY!" he yelled to the children behind him, picking up his pace as he began to ran through each hallway. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a large crash behind him. Anakin turned around, straining to see through the smoke. He then heard a shrill cry pierce the silence of the hallway.
"Master Skywalker...help!" a boy said, tugging at his robe. Anakin hesitated, looking down at Padme's still face, then to her stomach. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to feel the force around him. If he didn't get Padme to a Medical Center in time, she would surely die...perhaps the baby as well. He couldn't even bear the thought of losing either of them. But the little boy incessantly tugged at his robe, and he was reminded of his own unborn child, who could easily grow up to look like this boy...with blonde hair and blue eyes...
Anakin pressed through the crowd of younglings, making his way to the back of the group where a large piece of wood lay atop the legs of the little girl that reminded him of Padme. She continued to cry, her shrieking sobs piercing his ears. The air around him was chaos. The heat penetrated his body, the smoke filled his lungs, and the rushed feeling stressed his mind to no end.
He knew that the board would be too heavy to lift with just one hand. So he struggled to hold on to Padme with his left hand, while outstretching the right. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the pandemonium and madness that ensued around him. Anakin reached out to the force, bending it to his will. Focus and Determination began to slowly lift the board from the girl's leg. Anakin strained until it was almost a foot off the ground, and quickly threw it down the hallway.
The girl stopped crying, tears still streaking down her face. "Can you walk?" Anakin yelled to the girl, who grasped at her leg.
"I'll try Master..." she whimpered, thriving to be brave in front of this Jedi Knight.
"Help her!" Anakin cried to the blonde haired boy, who rushed to the girl's side, helping her stand up. Anakin moved his way back to the front t of the group, sprinting forward with Padme still pressed close to his rapidly beating heart. They finally reached the end of the main hallway, each one of them stepping outside into the shockingly crisp, night air. Most of the younglings stopped, kneeling down, their tiny lungs inhaling the fresh air quicker than they could exhale it.
"We must keep going!" he cried, running down the flight of stairs. The obeyed, their diminutive feet pattering after him. Anakin reached the hangar, where a myriad of speeders, transports, and ships were scattered about. "This one!" he cried, running to a large transport that would feasibly fit all of them. He opened the landing platform, impatiently jumping onto it before it hit the ground.
He set Padme down on a small bed, quickly running to the main controls, flipping on the thrusters. "Hurry!" he yelled to the Padawans, as they scurried aboard the ship, many of them still crying over the whole ordeal. Once they had all filed in, Anakin started the ship, blasting it out of the hangar. The droid aboard quickly managed the controls, following the coordinates that Anakin had punched in.
He returned to Padme, who lay motionless on the bed, except for the inconsistent rise and fall of her chest. Anakin knelt down next to the bed, gently placing his hand upon her cold cheek. Padme's face was pale, her eyelashes dark against her alabaster skin. He leaned towards her face, softly placing his quivering lips upon her forehead. Anakin stayed there for an instant, inhaling her scent, the feel of her smooth skin, her presence. His meditation was quickly interrupted.
"She misses you, Master Skywalker..." The childish voice surprised Anakin, and he slowly turned around to find the blonde haired boy. Anakin's face flushed with humility, shameful that he was caught in such an act of love and devotion.
"How do you know?" he questioned softly, knowing that of all people, this youngling should know nothing of him and Padme's unconditional love for each other. The boy's eyes looked down at the ground, embarrassed as well to see this Master being affectionate towards a woman.
"Because she was crying your name earlier, sir..." the boy said softly...