Hey, people! *Sighs* so this is the final chapter to Love and War. Its been a long journey, hey? Well, the journey continues as the story continues with its sequel which will be up in a few weeks when I have figured more about its plot and how the first few chapters will be typed out. I can give you the name, however, which is "To The Brink." It'll be more emotional and more darker, with plenty of swaps between Obi-Wan and Satine and Anakin and Ahsoka. And as of the result of my poll on my profile, two votes to one on merging the sequel into the same document as this story won, so "To The Brink" shall be merged with this story. The first chapter titles for Obi centered chapters will be recognised as "Recovery" and followed by the chapter title, whilst Anakin and Ahsoka centered will be dubbed "Pursuit" and then the chapter title. Okay, long A/N, phew. I hope you've enjoyed Love and War as I have been writing it. Its been over a year now but we are finally at the end of the first segment. I hope you will enjoy this chapter, despite its size, and continue this wonderfully enjoyable journey with me.
Chapter 26. Aftermath.
It had been four days since the gruelling battle against the Death Watch mercenaries and Vizsla inside Satine's monastery. The palace was in shambles; debris such as broken glass and marble pillars scattered in shards across the terrain. Bodies were being carried out and the floor was being renovated, as well as the walls due to all the charcoal blaster wounds and explosions from grenades.
After Obi-Wan had healed Satine everyone had moved onto carry Vizsla to a cell. However, the tricky Death Watch commander had dropped a concealed smoke bomb before breaking loose from Commander Cody and Coates' iron grasp and ignited his lurid viroblade. Once the smoke had finally dissipated the wary Jedi and rebels had found a cauterized orange slash stretching across Coates entire torso, barely breathing and Cody who had suffered two slashes to two different areas of his body – his left thigh and one stretching along the length of his right arm which had slightly dragged across his ribs on the same side. Both Clone troopers were now in intensive care, healer's frantically working over Coates who they had barely managed to stabilise after the two times he had stopped breathing.
Now the victorious Jedi and rebels were gathered in the courtyard, the rebels sitting cross-legged on the grass field near the bushes and discussing the recent events, Ducard brooding on what could have been different for the learning Ahsoka to gently tell him that it was better not to dwell on the past for too long.
Anakin and Ahsoka were with Obi-Wan and the newly restored and rightful Duchess of Mandalore next to the bench, Obi-Wan and Satine both sitting side by side on the bench with Anakin standing by and Ahsoka lying on the grass next to the stone bench, one arm slung tiredly over her crystal orbs.
"So…" the togrutan padawan drawled, "do we now pursue Vizsla?"
"Yes, padawan," Obi-Wan nodded slowly, leaning forwards and planting his elbows on his knees and propping his head on his balled fists. Satine placed a hand on his back in silent comfort. They all knew that Obi-Wan was silently punishing himself for his dark actions in the past few days, and no matter how much they each tried to console him that he was in a difficult situation and that he was only human, he continued to punish himself and chastise about how he could have been a much better Jedi.
"Ahsoka and I will gather Rex and my men and take the rebels with us to track him down and crush the Death Watch organisation," Anakin said after the contemplative silence had settled between them. "Master, stay here and rest."
"Oh, so now you are the one giving me orders?" Obi-Wan chuckled, amusement dancing in his stormy eyes.
Anakin nodded, eyes and face in stoic seriousness but voice tinged with amusement. "I would hope that you would listen to me, " he chuckled, "but we know that is not going to happen."
Obi-Wan smiled in genuine gratitude. 'For once, Anakin I will stay safe so you don't have to rescue me.'
Then all the amusement was quickly swiped away from Anakin as he turned completely serious. "But you need to come to terms with everything that has happened and regain your energy."
"I have come forward with what has happened," Obi-Wan retorted bluntly.
"No you haven't," the Jedi Knight shook his head. "If you had you would not continue punishing yourself in this way. Master, whatever you did is over. Your actions were caused by a chain of events, like all of ours are. You are only a man, not a superhero. And you have made so much better decisions than anyone I know, especially me. These few undesirable decisions you made over the past few weeks do not define who you are."
Obi-Wan's smile grew once more by an inch. "Thank you, Anakin."
The younger Jedi nodded curtly, a gentle smile gracing his lips.
"What about the drills?" Satine questioned, leaning to the side away from Obi-Wan to catch sight of Anakin's piercing gaze.
"They were destroyed," he answered, nodding again.
"Blew up every last one of them," Ahsoka said cheerily, beaming as the sun drifted from behind a cloud and shone over her and the remaining three in its golden light.
"And the clones are recovering well I hear," Obi-Wan commented, relief showing present signs in his body language as his shoulders slackened slightly and he heaved a long, slow sigh out of his mouth. "At least we can all have a little bit of solitude before we all face what must be done by each of us."
Anakin smiled once more, relieved Obi-Wan was happy, even if for one small moment. He knew Obi-Wan would again be happy someday, whether it was sooner or later. He knew that eventually his former master would come to terms with everything, his captivity and his actions over the weeks. Only time would tell how much Obi-Wan would recover from all of this and what effects it could have on the resembling man before him.
The Jedi Knight swore that no matter what, whether it was in his presence or through their brotherly bond and through these times, he would be there to help his Master every step of the way.
And there we go! There's the aftermath of Love and War! I hope it wasn't bad or seen as a pointless filler. That thought has plagued me throughout the entire time I was typing this out. So, the first chapter to "To The Brink" shall be up in a few weeks, give about two or three weeks. Ideas are swimming in my head. I just have to choose the one I favour most. ;) Hope you enjoyed this, and as I said before, I hope you continue this journey with me and our favourite Jedi. I want to thank you for being with me throughout this fic, especially those of you who have been with me and this story every step of the way. You know who you are ;) You are all wonderfully magnificent. :D