As soon as Obi-wan found out what happened at the store, he lectured Padme for what felt like hours. Words like stupid, irresponsible and dangerous were thrown around. He paced without stopping as Padme sunk further into the worn chair with every passing word. The longer he chastised her, the more she began to feel like a stupid little girl. What had she been thinking?Obi-wan asked her over and over again without pausing to let her find an answer.
"I mean, I thought you were smarter than this, Padme!" He rubbed his face over his hands with a long sigh. "Don't you understand that by shooting Anakin, you've angered him and given him a reason to bring his – that thing over here!"
He didn't need to tell Padme that. It had been the only thought in her mind the entire walk back to the Coruscant. Every gust of wind, every little sound or movement in the corner of her eye had been the Imperials and the monster coming after them. She couldn't believe that she'd let the fear get the better of her back there. Padme could still see the sinister smile on Anakin's face in the store; he'd probably been looking for a reason to fight… Holding back a groan, she slid deeper down into the chair as Obi-wan raved on.
"Wait, wait! Hold on." Bail interrupted suddenly, standing up from his chair in the corner of the room. "I think we've all heard enough, Obi-wan." Diplomatically, he offered a tight smile to the auburn-haired man. "Skywalker was coming close and spitting venom… He threatened my life and Padme reacted, it's not her fault. I would have done the same in her position."
A moment passed and then Obi-wan sighed tiredly yet again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yes, I imagine we all would have…"
"Besides," Bail winced, "I don't think Skywalker was actually angered by Padme shooting him. He liked it." At that, Padme's gaze snapped up to the man just as Obi-wan's breath caught in his throat. Liked it? What kind of person liked being shot at? If her hands hadn't been shaking so much she could have killed him!
"What in God's name is that supposed to mean?" Obi-wan breathed.
"You should have seen his face, Obi-wan…" Bail threw Padme a guilty glance, "it was like… It was almost as if… As if he was aroused by it." He practically spluttered the words, flushing and flustered at saying them.
"What?" Padme cried, throwing herself out of the chair and laughing, "that's ridiculous! You must have misread the situation, Bail. I – he looked surprised, maybe a little curious by it but he probably wasn't expecting me to do anything. That's not… No." She stammered, shaking her head. Obi-wan sank into the seat she'd vacated, silent for several moments. She watched him stroke his beard – something he did while deep in thought, she'd learned – and tugged the end of her braid over her shoulder.
"This isn't good." He spoke at last and Bail hummed in agreement. "Honestly, I'd prefer it if he was angry and wanted revenge… It would certainly be easier to handle." Their eyes met and something in Padme's stomach sank at the resignation in his blue gaze. "If Bail is right, Padme, this situation is far more serious than I anticipated."
She shook her head again and squeezed her eyes shut tight for a moment, trying to find something coherent in her thoughts. Anakin didn't… He didn't want anything to do with her. Today's run-in was unfortunate but in a week or two or by the next run-in with some creatures it would be old news and forgotten about. He was the head of the Imperials; he probably had a hundred other things to think about every day. The idea that someone like Anakin Skywalker could actually want her in that way… Unthinkable. Impossible.
"I want you to stay inside for the next few days, Padme." Obi-wan declared, "Give things time to cool off… Maybe something else will catch his attention if you aren't around. If you absolutely must leave, then take two people with you."
"Rather safe than sorry." Bail agreed.
"Okay." She nodded. If it meant slipping under Anakin's radar and keeping him off her and the Rebel's backs, staying cooped up inside the building was a small price to pay. Still, glancing out the window to the buildings below, Padme felt a cool shudder coarse through her body at the thought of seeing the Imperial leader again.
Three weeks later, the residents of the Coruscant were woken by deafening thuds against the barred doorway and resounding cries of "code red! Code red!" The mysterious voice disturbed Padme from sleep, jolting her awake with a choked gasp. It only took one more yell of the words "code red" to knock any lingering sleepiness out of her mind. Kicking the covers away she swung her legs out of the bed and reached for the worn black jeans at the foot of the bed, pulling them on as quickly as she dared to without risking a fall.
As soon as she was decent, she pulled her long curls up into a twisted, messy knot and slipped out of the door. People were running down the long corridors toward the stairs, murmuring frantically amongst each other too quickly for her to make out. Confused, Padme followed them down the curved stairs and into the foyer until through the gathering cluster of people, she spotted the fiery red hair of Mon and pushed her way through to reach the woman.
"Mon!" She cried once close enough. The redhead seemed grim, wringing her hands together anxiously. What the hell was happening? "What's going on here? What does code red mean?"
It took a moment for Mon's apprehensive gaze to turn to meet Padme's eye. She shook her head distantly. "Oh, that's right… You've never been here for one of these before. It means there's been an alarming influx of monsters in the area, enough to worry both Obi-wan and the Imperials." Her already pale face paled further, "the shouting was one of the imperials – Skywalker must have sent them…"
"So, he's warning us that it's dangerous?" Padme asked, frowning. Why would Anakin send one of his followers over to warn the Rebels about creatures in the area if they were enemies? He called them scum in the store that day; his opinion of the people inside these walls obviously wasn't very high… Why would someone cruel and dangerous decide to help people he disliked so much?
"It's less of a warning and more… Well, under the circumstances of a code red a truce between the Rebels and Imperials is called immediately. The enemy of my enemy is my friend after all." Mon shrugged. "Obi-wan is gathering people willing to go out and help the Imperials cull the monsters downstairs in the armoury."
Padme's head spun. Two factions hell-bent on being against each other could be friends under the right circumstances? That just didn't make any sense! If the Imperials and the Rebels could get along sometimes then why not swallow their pride and band together for the betterment of everyone? It was like two children refusing to play together after a petty falling out! She couldn't make sense of it.
"I'm going." She declared.
"What?" Mon laughed mirthlessly, "don't be ridiculous, Padme. A code red is a serious matter! It's too dangerous."
"Which is exactly why I'm going." Taking a few steps forward, she looked at the other woman over her shoulder, "if everyone had that attitude those creatures would have killed us all by now."
Down in the armoury, a converted basement filled with almost every weapon Padme could imagine, Obi-wan knew better than to try to talk her out of joining the group. Still, he threw her a disapproving glance as he placed two guns and a long jagged blade into her waiting palms. Behind her, Rush Clovis loaded a black Glock into a holster strapped to his waist with trembling fingers. She'd never seen him handle a weapon before.
"Are you alright?" She asked quietly.
He paused for a moment and then smiled nervously. "As alright as one can be in these situations, I suppose. You're coming along I see?"
Tucking the blade into the slot on her belt, Padme nodded. "I just want to do my part." Her guns fit perfectly into the shabby brown leather holster harness around her hips and she tightened it around each of her legs with a firm tug.
"Me too." Rush said quietly, "let's look out for each other today… I know I'd feel safer with someone like you keeping an eye on me…" He laughed nervously and looked away, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck. Something about his words bought a note of sadness into the building anxiety inside of Padme. In the old world, a comment like that would have been a joke, something to be laughed at… It might even have been a silly attempt at flirting…
Now it was a small assurance in a deadly situation.
The Imperial, a tanned, Australian man lead Obi-wan and the seven Rebel volunteers to what used to be a car park where Padme immediately spotted a band of people deep in battle with a creature hoard. There was no time for hesitation or second thoughts… Do or die.
The Rebels rushed into battle with cries of adrenaline and fear beneath a shower of gunshots and blood. Through the chaos, she briefly spotted Anakin as he stabbed a yellow scaled creature in the chest sending blood, red like wine, splattering everywhere and ruining the pale green t-shirt he wore. For a moment, Padme was frozen, entranced by the sheer savagery on his face… As if all this, the killing, the brutality felt like release. It only lasted for a second before she was knocked into by a stumbling woman and her mind refocused.
Side by side the Rebels and Imperials fought together, united as human beings against the greater threat. There was a sense of comradery, kinship almost, in the air. To the left, Obi-wan and Rush partnered up with two Imperials to cut down a fleshy blue and red lizard-like creature whose claws were as long as Padme's forearm. Despite the comradery, most Rebels purposely avoided the battle on the right, where a purple and green beast stood on four legs and was leashed to the palm of the woman from the store… Aphra, she recalled. It roared and bucked up onto its hind legs, hissing and grabbing at any man or monster that came close enough, tearing them apart with blood-stained teeth.
From behind an abandoned car, Padme aimed her gun and shot down any monsters who gave her a clear shot. Headshots were the cleanest kills, the things died instantly but she took whatever target she could see, legs, backs, even tails if it meant distracting it long enough for someone else to kill.
Two shots into the face of a blue monster and its snouted face exploded, sending blood and gore spraying onto the people around. It fell dead to the ground soundlessly and revealed the fight behind it. Rush had separated from Obi-wan and taken on a yellow two-headed monster alone with only a blade in his hand. What happened to his gun? She wondered. The blade cut and wounded it with every swing and thrust of his arm but it wasn't enough, the two heads were beginning to overpower him.
Wide-eyed, Padme could only watch as one of the creature's heads shot forward to sink its sharp teeth into the flesh of Rush's shoulder. He cried out loudly enough that she was able to hear the sound from across the parking lot as he fell to his knees.
"Rush!" His name flew from her lips without prompting. She didn't think, didn't plan, just moved frantically around the car. She'd promised to look out for him and no one was near enough to help. Obi-wan had his hands full with a hissing green monster, Bail was to the right helping an Imperial man Padme didn't recognise take down a snake-like beast and the twins Dorme and Sabe were back to back shooting down creatures with wild abandon. She was the only one who could save him!
She lunged forward and toward the fray, abandoning her hiding spot and bolted as fast as her legs could carry her through the battle. In the blink of an eye, all her fear vanished, replaced by a sudden, choking need to get to Rush as quickly as possible. She was halfway through her ammunition but it didn't matter. If need be she'd tear through the beast with her knife and hands if it kept her friend safe. She focused her gaze on him even as her chest began to burn from the running and she felt the warm spray of blood shower over her – human or monster, she didn't dare look – Padme only saw Rush as the second head of the creature sank down and bit his arm as he held it up defensively.
With his unwounded arm, Rush found the strength to slash though the scaly neck of one of the twin heads and it fell to the ground with a heavy thump but the other head still lived, screeching furiously at the sight of the stump where its sibling had once been. Padme slid to a halt ten meters away by a street light and aimed at the remaining head. She was so fixated on taking it down before it could cause further damage, she didn't hear the approach of a black-feathered beast until it was too late. She only had time to turn and be greeted by a pair of hungry golden eyes and brace herself for its attack before a long, thin-edged knife flew through the air and slashed through the creature's head from between the eyes.
It fell to the concrete, head ripped in two and Padme watched as its corpse twitched and leaked blood and brains out beside her feet. Once upon a time something like this might have made her throw up… Now, all she felt was relief. Turning toward the direction the knife flew from she was greeted by the approach of Anakin, blood-spattered across his face and clothes like war paint. He stopped before her and grinned. "Watch your back," he reached up to chuck her under the chin and then breezed past and back into the battle as if it had never happened.
There was only a second or two to process it, that he saved her, smiled at her and touched her so affectionately… As if they were friends or lovers or – Rush gave a pained cry and snapped Padme's thoughts back to the moment. Pushing Anakin Skywalker to the back of her mind, she didn't hesitate this time when she raised the gun, aimed and shot the creature in the face.
She'd never shot better. The thing fell backwards and she raced forward to help Rush stand. He was wounded and bleeding but he'd live. Twenty or so minutes later, the last of the creatures in the area were slaughtered and it was over. The only survivor of its race was the beast on a leash which Aphra passed to Anakin with a sly smirk.
Padme held Rush's arm over her shoulders to help carry his weight as they moved across the battlefield to reconvene with Obi-wan and the others. The auburn-haired leader of the Rebels had an angry slash across his chest that would need stitches and a small cut on his forehead but was otherwise okay. Bail and Sabe had fared better and bore no injuries she could see and Dorme's leg was bleeding… The same couldn't be said for others. Bodies of Rebels and Imperials lay torn up and dead across the ground, pieces scattered and limbless and it made Padme ache. The days of funerals and burials were behind humanity now; these people would never have that peace.
Despite his pain, Obi-wan moved around the group to account for the living and count the lost. Slowly, the two factions began to separate, slipping back into the roles of Rebels and Imperials as Anakin walked out into the growing space between the two. Seeing this, Obi-wan followed and the two leaders met each other on level ground. The creature leashed to Anakin's arm had been muzzled tightly and unhappily so judging by its angry growling and head shaking. Both men ignored it, though Padme saw Obi-wan's eyes flicker to the monster every few seconds.
"I think everything around here has been cleared." Anakin declared, wiping blood from his face with his free hand.
"So it would seem." Obi-wan agreed, "I just hope that whatever lured them all here today is long gone… Too many have been lost."
There was no disagreeing with that.
"My people are wounded," Anakin said, "We should get back to our turfs to recover."
"Yes, I think that's for the best." The two men shared a begrudging nod and parted ways. Obi-wan made his way back toward where Padme stood with Rush, looking relieved despite the death of the comradery the two groups had shared. She felt exhausted, filthy and wanted nothing more than a shower and to collapse into bed and sleep for a week. They were lucky, there were people who'd been doctors living in Coruscant who could make sure everyone was patched up safely when they got back. The only downside was that pain killers were hard to find these days… The wounded had to make do without more often than not.
"Oh, and Obi-wan!" Anakin called out suddenly, drawing everyone's attention back to him.
The man in question drew in a deep breath, calling upon all his patience before turning back to look at the younger man. "Yes?"
"We'll have to talk soon…" Anakin's eyes sought out and found Padme's gaze in the crowd for a moment before looking back to Obi-wan. "You have something I want." His blazing stare worked its way back to Padme again while smiling knowingly. "And I don't want to wait much longer."