Chapter Title: Gravity Gets Us All

Author's Note: With all the wonderful new episodes of the Clone Wars currently airing and the proper, actual ending of the series draws nearer, my obsession with it has taken its hold again… And thus, my bunny has been ignited! Out hopped this little, hurt/comfort story that was written within 5 days… (Yay, corona!)
Story is already finished and will post every 3-4 days! This story is likewise posted on AO3.
Chapter titles are (modified) from "Maybe" by Lile Kershaw, story image is from Google, which led me to Renny08 from Deviantart - fantastic works!
Also, planet/moon names are 100 percent made up! If you recognize any of names (that are not obviously Star Wars owned) that is purely accidental. I just put letters together

I have no beta and English is not my first language – therefore any mistakes are my own and most likely made because sometimes one is just completely blind
Set around season 4, early season 5-ish, thereabouts.

Enjoy!

Crimescenelover out

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership or copyright of anything depicted or over anything you might recognize.

"Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely." – Edna St. Vincent Millay

Jahloo, 8th moon of the planet Morlag

Anakin Skywalker swung his lightsaber with practiced ease as he deflected yet another wave of blaster fire from the battle droids ahead of him.

They zinged off of his blue beam harmlessly while the Separatist droid army continued to send their merciless swarm of fire. Around his feet, dismantled droids lay scattered; some littered with blaster holes while others had been sliced clean from the burn of a lightsaber. The yell and clamor of battle echoed for miles, through the open fields and forested grass plains of the moon Jalhoo, as the Republic army viciously tried to force back the Separatists, the mechanical army losing ground little by little.

A red blaster bolt whizzed past his head from the right, scorching the trees in the distance, nearly singeing his hair.

"Watch it, Snips!" Anakin yelled over the rampage at his padawan to his right.

Ahsoka was busy fending off her own assault, her yellow and green 'sabers swinging expertly in her hands as she spun gracefully from droid to droid.

"Can't hear you, Master. Too busy beating you," she playfully replied as she cast a quick, confident look in his direction. With a snide smirk thrown his way, she catapulted herself into the air and landed amidst a group of droids where she rapidly began slicing through their mechanical armor, the edges left glowing with heat as they dimly clattered to the ground.

Not one to be outdone, Anakin quickly saw his opportunity. A self-assured smug pulled at his lips while he tore through the masses of droids, his eyes never leaving his target of the clunky tanker that advanced on the flank. He kept his lightsaber on as he let the Force boost his jump as he took off from the ground. He sailed and rolled through the air before nimbly landing on top of the tanker. He dismantled every single, shocked droid at the steering before they had a chance to process what had just occurred. On his way back to the ground, he ran his lightsaber down across the hull. As he hit the ground and rolled back onto his feet in one fluid motion, he heard the large tanker groan as it sailed into the dirt in a puff of smoke. It had been sliced almost in half, and the now-open, useless hull fizzed with small, blue sparks.

"I think you're a little behind on that front, Padawan," Anakin teased over the commotion and dived right back into the fray.

"Show off," Ahsoka muttered, keeping her voice loud enough for her master to overhear. She extended her hand and with the Force, sent a droid flying wildly off to the side that had been trying to sneak behind Captain Rex. Then she too moved forward with the advance.

The two Jedi along with their always present 501st battalion of clones had been sent to Jalhoo, to secure the moon before the Separatists arrived. The locals inhabiting the moon were not fighters and had requested the aid of the Republic, along with the other seven moons that surrounded Morlag, a planet which the Separatists had violently conquered. When it became clear, an attack on the moon was eminent, the locals had disgruntledly been temporarily evacuated and the Republic forces had moved in, in the nick of time. Anakin, Ahsoka and the 501st took up the front, by the largest temple on the moon where they predicted the Separatists would strike. It was placed on the edge of the forested plains where it opened up onto a grass field. Covering their flanks, amongst the many tall trees of the wood surrounding the temple, was Obi-Wan Kenobi with his 212th battalion. It had been a wise move as the forest off to Anakin's left resonated with the same explosive noises and shouts as the open battlefield before him, letting him know Obi-wan and his clones were just as occupied as he and Ahsoka were.

The battle had dragged on for some time now and Anakin was starting to feel the pull of his muscles with every swing of his 'saber and the sweat gathering uncomfortably under his tunic the longer they fought. The rush of battle and war did drown out his weariness though, as it fueled his movements and drove him onwards. Every advancement sent his energy soaring.

They were winning. Slowly and steadily, they were pushing back. The shrill cries of blasters swirled around him as the shots from his troops darted past him. The distinct vibration of a lightsaber resounded as the glow from Ahsoka's weapons melted into his peripheral as she glided from one stance onto the next, never faltering.

Anakin let her youthful optimism and playful banter flow into his tiring limbs and push him forward. Though he knew they were on the last leg of this fight and enemy surrender seemed so close, he didn't let those thoughts cloud his mind. He didn't lower his guard, not for a minute, and kept a continuous watchful eye on his troops as well as the surroundings.

With everyone utterly occupied by the raging battle, he was the first one to figure out what would happen a second before anyone else.

Despite Obi-Wan's sarcastic remarks about it from time to time, Anakin really did pay attention to – most of - what he was told.

And as his sharp gaze spotted the almost-invisible, rumbling shutter of the ground beneath their feet, he remembered then what the natives had told them of their moon. How they had built ravish temples for politics, protection and worship alike. How they had carved into the rocky earth beneath to create luscious caverns and spacious tunnels, stretching many leagues outward from the center. How that same cave system had been used to evacuate said natives through, not many hours past. It didn't take long to understand what all that weight from the heavy machinery from both armies would do to such an elaborate, underground system just below their feet. A system that had supported little else but carts and native feet from the surface world.

That despairing, alarming conclusion dawned upon him a fraction before it actually transpired. Time slowed down, stopping almost altogether, as he looked ahead at Ahsoka and the 501st. He had only a moment to react. As the ground began to rumble and shake, he knew he didn't have time to select who to move and who to leave to their fate, so he focused on a general direction and hoped he didn't leave any behind.

He turned towards his squad and padawan and with a deep, calming breath he summoned the Force.

Then he pushed.

A massive invisible wave reverberated across the open battlefield. Ahsoka must have felt the sudden power that surged through the surrounding Force as she just managed to turn her head in the direction of her master. Then she, along with Rex and a mixed legion of Republic clones and battle droids, were lifted and tossed several yards by the unseen tide. As the masses of living flesh and mechanical beings alike landed in haphazard heaps, the inevitable happened.

Anakin's inattention to his own surroundings ended up costing him dearly. A nearby tanker, oblivious to its own impending demise, had seen its opportunity as the Jedi had turned his mind elsewhere. It managed to fire off a single blast before the earth broke up and swallowed it whole. Anakin felt the harsh impact hit his abdomen with enough force to send him staggering. He lost his focus. He would have had time to process what had just happened, to process the immense pain that came from the searing shot, had the ground beneath his boots not disintegrated as well.

The entire section of grass, dirt and rock collapsed in on itself. In a swirl of smoke and dust, the ground vanished into a large gaping hole and Anakin fell with it.

"Master!"

Anakin barely heard Ahsoka's scream, as he plummeted into the darkness. His side burned as he connected with something hard and sharp on his descent. The rocks bit into his clothes and skin as his body tumbled towards the bottom, intent on hitting every single protruding boulder on the way down. He hit another hard surface with a pained grunt, felt the air being forced out of his lungs, and he briefly wondered whether he was destined to hurdle through the dark forever.

Then his back struck the hard ground with a crash and whatever breath he had maintained left his lungs at the impact. He didn't have time to recover. His breathing hitched, as he saw an enormous rock sailing towards his head. He rolled instinctively and narrowly avoided being squashed underneath its massive weight. It landed with an echoing thump, the dust whirling around its edge. Several more came crashing around him. He had no chance to evade them all. He threw his hands into the air and drew on whatever strength he had left. The next rock stopped just above his head. They continued to rapidly drop from the sky and land around him, their mammoth sizes colliding heavily with the ground and sent the dirt sprawling into the air and choking his airways.

The boulders rained on and around him without mercy, his arms jerking every time another added to the weight. Little by little, the light disappeared until there was nothing left but smothering darkness and deafening silence.

TBC