Author Note: Sorry this one took so long to add, but I hope it was worth the wait. Little Luke is about to get his first experience of killing, and his first kill is a rather shocking one, especially for a five year old!
(-o-)
The three Jedi arrived at the temple a few minutes later thanks to the fact that Padme had managed to convince a taxi driver to lend them his air taxi, which Anakin had skillfully piloted through the centre of the busy rush hour.
Luke was the first to jump out, drawing his saber and looking up at the flames erupting from the top of the temple. Then he heard shouts and had to dive out of the way as several blasts came his way. However Padme was there in seconds to deflect each and every one back at the clones.
Luke was amazed at the fact that his mother was still able to fight despite the fact that she had only come out of hospital earlier that day. But then a grin spread across his face as Anakin lept down beside her and the two fought their way forwards towards the clones who were retreating back into the temple. Luke followed close behind his parents, occasiaonally knocking aside a blast that one of them had missed. He was slowly building up his confidence with the saber and was now getting better and better at blocking the bullets rather than having to dive out of the way.
They reached the top steps and found Yoda and Obi-Wan expertly taking care of the small group whom they had just been chasing.
"How bad is it?" Anakin called to Obi-Wan who looked up as he pulled his blade out of the chest of a clone at his feet.
"Terrible! Worse than last time!"
"Oh god!" Padme exclaimed, slapping one hand over her mouth as she saw what Obi-Wan meant. Clones were everywhere and the Jedi were having trouble even just defending themselves. Without waiting to be told twice, Anakin and Padme charged on in, ignoring Obi-Wan's warnings. Luke so desperately wanted to follow them, but a Clone had grabbed him round the neck and he had to fight it off.
"Luke stay here! It's too dangerous in there!" Obi-Wan warned him and Luke, although desperate to stay with his parents, couldn't disobey a Jedi Master, so he stayed outside and Obi-Wan helped him destroy the remaining clones on the steps.
"Get that one!" Obi-Wan encouraged him, pointing to a clone who was just getting back up, one arm missing. Luke swung his tiny blade, hoping to cut the clone across the chest. Instead he swung a little too high and the clone's head bounced back down the steps.
At first Luke looked horrified, but then he grinned at the fact that he had just killed his first person. Swinging his blade again he cut off another clone's arm and then his leg.
Then Luke decided to experiment and thrust his hand forwards. A burst of force rushed from it and threw Luke backwards into Obi-Wan. The clone, however wasn't so lucky and went bouncing back down the stairs after the other one's head.
"Good job!" Obi-Wan congratulated and Luke beamed with delight. His parents would be so proud!
(-o-o-)
Inside the temple, Padme and Anakin had made good progress, working as a team to drive the clones away from the surviving Jedi, allowing the Jedi to recover and join them. Their blue blades worked in unison, creating a deadly laser wall that the other Jedi were able to hide behind. It became perfectly clear to the knights and padawans now why these two were Jedi Masters. They were skilled, talented and experienced.
"Remind you of anything?" Anakin grinned as the group made their way down a smokey corridoor, Anakin looking with the Force for any clones waiting to ambush them.
"Don't remind me!" Padme hissed and it was clear that she was trying hard not to be reminded of that terrible time five years ago when it had been her and Anakin ganging up on the Jedi. She was obviously deeply ashamed of what she had done and the sooner she forgot about it, the better.
"Look out!" Anakin suddenly called and they dived apart as a missile launched down the corridor, leaving a cloud of smoke behind it. There was a huge explosion and part of the roof collapsed. Then there was silence for a few seconds before Anakin shook the rubble off himself and stood back up, coughing and choking in the smoke.
"Is everyone alright?" he called out.
"Yeah, I think so," Padme said, staggering beside him. She had a small cut on her head that was dripping blood into her collar, but it was nothing major. Anakin used the force to see in the smoke and saw the other Jedi pulling themselves out of the rubble and dusting themselves down. No-one looked seriously hurt.
"Come here," Padme said, pulling him towards her and wiping blood from his eye with her sleeve.
"Thanks," he muttered, then he pulled out his saber again. "Let's go!" he called to the group, so they set off again down the corridor.
It wasn't long before they had reached the cause of the collapse. Two clones were re-loading a huge cannon type gun with a rather large rocket. They saw the group coming and panicked, jamming it in further and further.
"I have a bad feeling about this!" Padme cried, sensing what might happen next.
"On the floor!" Anakin bellowed and everyone dived on the floor, covering their heads with their arms as the cannon exploded, throwing the clones away and bursting through the nearby walls. Anakin looked up to see huge chunks of ceiling falling all about them and knew they had to move.
"Everyone move, NOW!" he yelled, but the group didn't need telling twice. They dived through every available door, running down ever available tunnel to escape the collapse. Any clones they met knew what was happening and ran with them, not even bothering to try and put up a fight.
Anakin and Padme found that they were running amongst the middle of a pack of clone troopers.
"Oh this can't be good!" he muttered to her and she nodded in agreement, then stumbled and disappeared under the feet of several troopers.
"GET OFF HER! GET OFF HER!" Anakin screamed at them, rushing back and scoooping Padme into his powerful arms. She was still conscious and perfectly capable of running, but there was no time to much around now, so she just clung on round his neck as his long mechanical legs carried them to safety.
(-o-)
The remaining survivors flooded out of the front doors of the temple, fleeing down the steps. Luke and Obi-Wan stood to one side watching anxiously for any signs of Anakin or Padme. The roof began to collapse and still no sign of them.
"Where are they!" Luke cried. Obi-Wan couldn't answer because he was concentrating so hard on trying to find them through the force. Luke closed his eyes and tried to copy, although he hadn't a clue how to use the force for anything other than pushing clones down stairs.
"I don't know Luke," he said at last.
"Already come out, perhaps they have?" Yoda suggested, hobbling over, shielding his eyes from the dust.
"We would have seen them," Obi-Wan pointed out.
The temple gave a violent jerk, knocking the three of them to the ground, then it caved in completely, belching out a huge dust could that engulfed all onlookers and spread through the city.
Luke covered his mouth with his sleeve, coughing and choking, then he felt someone pull him up by his collar. Standing up again, he found that the dust was clearing. Then he realised it was Obi-Wan who had pulled him up.
"Look!" Yoda said, pointing one long claw at the debris of the temple. Luke looked hard, straining his eyes, and sure enough he saw a dark mass moving towards them. It was getting closer and closer and still he couldn't work out what it was.
And then the figure broke through the dust cloud and Luke saw that it was his father, carrying Padme towards them. As he got nearer he set Padme down on her feet and they walked hand in hand towards the crowd.
"Mummy! Daddy!" Luke cried with joy, tugging away from Obi-Wan's grip and dashing towards them.
"Hey big man!" Anakin said, scooping him up in his arms, whilst Padme went over to Obi-Wan. She smiled, brushing her sides down and sending huge clouds of dust towards him.
"Sorry," she appologised when she realised what she was doing, but Obi-Wan laughed at the fact that she looked like a ghost. The dust had turned her almost pure white and only the congealed mess of dried blood, dust and sweat on her forehead gave her any colour.
"You like making big entrances don't you! Getting everyone worried sick and then waltzing out asif nothing had happened!" Obi-Wan laughed, stepping back out of the dust cloud.
"Anakin's idea! You know how he watches far too many films on tv!" Padme laughed in response.
"Let's get you two cleaned up!" he smiled,seeing that Anakin wasn't much better than Padme.
Typical Anakin, always has to copy everyone else! Obi-Wan thought, silently grinning to himself. In truth he was glad that they were both safe.
