(A/N: Ok. The final chapter of this story. I finished it extra quick for you guys and want you to know there will be 2 sequels, one really short one-shot, and one long story that continues this. Hope you all enjoy, and once again, thanks to shorty McGee and Foxface! :))
Chapter 6: A Ghost?
Cody didn't notice Ahsoka until it was too late. She landed in front of Rex, her blue and green lightsabers deflecting the blaster bolts away with that Jedi-like grace he hadn't seen for so long.
"Cody!" She cried, almost pleadingly.
Cody swore and fired faster, slowly advancing as his attack grew more aggressive.
"Get her out of the way, Rex!" He shouted at the frozen clone. "This is our fight! I have no qualms with her, but she will die if she gets involved!"
Rex remained still for a moment, as if still trying to process what had happened before finally motioning Ahsoka away. The Jedi obeyed, stepping away from him reluctantly.
"Cody, why must this happen? What could I have done to make you hate me so much?" Rex pleaded sadly as his wife moved away. "Vod. Why?"
"Don't you dare call me that!" Cody shouted in anger. "You are no brother of mine!" He fired again, Rex dodging and reluctantly shooting back.
Rex's shot struck Cody's pistol just as his own shot connected with the Captain's right pistol, shattering both into oblivion. But Rex still had one more.
Cody jumped upon the captain, trying to gain control of the remaining pistol.
Rex fought back, kneeing Cody in the stomach and elbowing his face, but Cody refused to be daunted. Desperate, Rex kicked Cody in the knee, causing him to stumble, still maintaining his hold on the gun.
Cody tripped Rex, but was dragged down with him, grappling for the gun as they fell.
Annoyed, Cody punched his enemy in the jaw several times, a loud pop reaching his ears as pain passed through Rex's head and neck.
They kicked and punched, and Cody realized that he was slowly but surely gaining the upper hand, causing a smile to form on his face. Ahsoka decided to get involved at that moment, force pushing him, and sending both himself and Rex flying.
While Ahsoka used the Force to pad Rex's fall, Cody struck a tree.
Rex was back on his feet in seconds, albeit, his mind was in shock. Was this really happening? What had he done to deserve this? What had Cody seen during Order 66 that made him so bloodthirsty... unfeeling?
Rex was running on adrenaline and instincts that had been drilled into him on Kamino.
"You killed her! You killed them both!" Cody shouted, causing Rex to look up. What? Who!
Cody was getting up, and Rex pounced upon him, knocking the other clone back to the ground.
Where's the stupid gun?! Rex's mind screamed at him as he tried to pin Cody. Where the hell is that blaster?
The two clones were a mass of limbs, and Ahsoka didn't know what to do. She had to be careful not to hurt Rex, but another part of her was telling her not to hurt Cody either.
The Force seemed to be trying to tell her something... she just couldn't figure it out, and there was no time for meditation! Her husband was going to be murdered by his old friend!
Cody untangled himself from Rex and jumped for the gun, but Rex grabbed his ankles and jerked him backward, crawling across him in a desperate attempt to reach the gun first. Cody rolled Rex off of him and stretched out an arm for it.
Two things happened at once. Rex grabbed his wrist and reached for the gun, that was then pulled away from their grasp by some unseen force.
Cody swore and looked up, choking on his words. A small child, about eight years old, stood a few feet away. She held the blaster pistol in her small, fragile hands, innocent eyes wide with fear.
"Barricca?" Cody whispered, using his pet name for Barriss, but... it couldn't be... this girl was too young and looked different. Her skin was a pale green and dark freckles graced her nose like Barriss.. but her hair was a deep brown, her features chiseled... like a clone's.
Cody slowly stood to his feet. "Barricca?" He whispered again, taking a cautious step forward, afraid that the ghost would dissolve into nothingness.
Rex released his hold on Cody's wrist, watching as the other clone crouched low, making his way slowly and carefully toward the girl, who stared at him with her big, brown eyes. There was no fear in those eyes. They just watched him.
"Barricca?" Cody asked again, his voice a choked whisper. He knelt before the girl now, and slowly reached out a hand. The child didn't flinch or pull away. She just stood there, looking him up and down, confusion clouding her face.
Cody's hand trembled. Is this the force ghost of a younger Barriss? He asked inwardly. Could it be... His hand touched flesh, and he could feel tears begin to sting his eyes.
The pistol dropped from the girl's hands. "Buir?" She asked, causing Cody to freeze. Father? I have no child... my child had... But there was recognition in the girl's eyes, and he couldn't doubt it as he pulled her close to himself.
The small hands touched his face and ran through his hair. Hair just like her own.
Tears streamed down Cody's face now.
"Buir." The girl's own face was streaked in tears as she hugged him.
Cody embraced the girl, pulling her into his lap, much as he had done to her mother eight years ago.
Cody looked up at Rex and Ahsoka, eyes blurred with tears. Another young girl stood clutching Rex's leg, and he looked at her. She had large blue eyes like Ahsoka, and the stripes on her lekku were a bluish-black while her skin was a browny-orange, the markings as black as a dark, starless night. She was cute, but he had eyes only for his daughter.
"How did you know me?" He asked his daughter softly.
"I sensed you in the Force." She answered, a hiccup punctuating her sentence. "I remember what you felt like."
Cody's heart broke in two. She was force-sensitive, and there was no one left to train her... except. No. He shook his head as he stood up with the little girl in his arms, turning to Rex and Ahsoka.
"You had killed her." Cody said slowly. "How can Barricca be alive when you killed Barriss?"
Rex looked up at him in shock. "Barriss?! I never killed a Jedi!" He cried.
"I was told by Barriss that you had killed her." Cody snapped, his daughter looking at her guardian with wide eyes. "Her last words were your name." He added angrily. "Your soldiers were in the room!"
"Cody, I found Ahsoka then ran. I didn't do anything else." Rex responded.
"Then why do you have my child!" Cody demanded.
"Rex had taken me and we had run." Ahsoka began. "A close friend of Rex's, Kix, had been there when the clones shot Barriss. He couldn't shoot all three in time to save her." Ahsoka looked at Cody for a moment before continuing. "Both Kix and Barriss were wounded."
"Both were wounded fatally." Rex said softly, images of the time Kix had appeared at the landing pad, bleeding profusely from a chest wound, assaulted him.
*Memory*
"Rex!" The familiar voice shouted.
"Kix?!" Rex cried, turning to see a clone, white breastplate streaked with blood, running for the landing pad, other clones hurrying after him.
"Rex! Take Barriss' baby with you!" Kix shouted, holding out the bundle.
Rex reached down from the ship, snatching the baby and placing it behind him as the ship began to take off. Rex turned and reached for Kix. "Grab my hand!" He shouted.
Kix was ran behind the ship, reaching for him. Their fingers brushed just as Kix stumbled and fell, lying in a spreading pool of blood.
"NO! Kix!" Rex screamed as the ship took off.
*Memory Ends*
"Kix appeared at the landing pad just as we were taking off." Rex whispered, breaking from the memory. "He got the baby into my arms and said it was Barriss. The ship took off... I tried to get him, but Kix was left behind." He explained softly, looking up at Cody. "Kix stayed behind, and he died... Bled out on the landing pad." Rex finished, guilt and shame nesting in his tone.
"We didn't know who the father way." Ahsoka added. "Until now, that is." She said, forcing a small smile.
Cody opened his mouth to speak, but Rex cut him off. "Barriss told Kix that the baby's name was Barricca. We called her Orixix, after Order 66." He added.
"But Barriss had said..."
"Are you sure that Barriss wasn't trying to tell you that Rex had your daughter?" Ahsoka asked. "Did she mention Kix?"
It all clicked. It made sense! That's why Barriss had been telling him to live! For their daughter's sake. The last eight years of Cody's life had been for nothing...it had been a false quest for 'justice'.
Cody opened his mouth to speak, but Rex held up a hand. "Come inside, vod." He ordered, picking up the other little girl.
"That's Blit. Our daughter." Ahsoka said, smiling at him.
Cody realized that everything was forgotten... forgiven. And now that he was with his adi'ka and his vod, the hole in his heart was finally filled.
Cody looked up into the light of the twin suns and could've sworn that Barriss stood there, smiling down at him. He would've passed it as a trick of the light, but Barricca was upright in his arms, smiling as she looked at the place wehere her mother's ghost had appeared.
Yes. Cody thought. Everything turned out alright.