He's Not Our Enemy

Disclaimer: I own nothing, all credit goes to George Lucas and Lucasarts.

Summary: After vanishing from the Jedi temple ten years ago, Anakin Skywalker is found. The Jedi imprison him until he decides to tell them what happened to him. After getting lost after fleeing from some of her abusive class mates, Ahsoka stumbles into Anakin's room and discovers a side to the force she never knew.

A Week Til Competition, Ahsoka Tano

The past week has been hell, for more than just me. Half of my class has been put into the medical ward because of an attack or incident or whatever the council decides to call it. All of these attacks only have one consistency, they're all from my class and that's it. Therefore, everyone who has not been attacked yet in my class has become a suspect, including me. The council were going to question me about what I knew - believe me, it was tense - but then a strange thing happened where a window was broken right beside me and that qualifies as an attack, so I'm off the hook. I don't know if they're right or not, there are so many protesters outside who could have done it, but Anakin has not been off of my back ever since it happened.

Anakin has taught me how to play chess like a pro, which is gratifying since I'm quite tired of being beaten by my datapad, and made me revise literally every strategy possible. Number one, take everyone on and get myself killed - we decided against that for a very obvious reason. Number two, stick to the shadows and stay out of people's way until most of them are gone - at this rate I'll be up against one person. Number three, run as far as I can and go from there. These strategies are the ones that I was told to consider but something tells me I won't be using any of them. I just... won't.

There's one thing that has been really bothering be throughout the past week. I have this strange feeling that I'm about to burst and it has been getting worse and worse as each day goes by. Anakin fixes it every time, but it always comes back and I don't know why - neither does he. To make matters worse, everyone now sees me as this all powerful force knows what. It happened after I recited all of the elements on the periodic table without fail and escalated to the point where I have ascended to the rank of geek. Plus, I'm always asked about what happened in the vents a week ago and I always give the same answer: go away. None of the Jedi knights or masters have asked me about it so I'm fairly happy.

However, due to the weird feeling that I'm regularly experiencing I tend to spend most of my time walking around and letting off some steam, as Anakin put it. I am thinking about how best to prove to Anakin that I don't need any more training about strategies when I catch sight of Slimo walking by. There is a glass in his hand that makes me frown, since when did he carry around glasses of squash?

"Tano," He greets, stopping in front of me so that I can't go any further. "Here, have some. I got it from the food replicator in the padawans kitchen."

Alarms go off in the back of my head and my conscience is practically screaming at me, I have never seen him act so nice and it is more than a little suspicious. Anakin taught me never to trust someone who's personality I know to be the opposite of what they're being right now, this fits the bill.

"No thanks," I say, trying to get around him and failing. "I'm not thirsty."

Slimo sighs in exasperation. "Look, I really don't want this so you can either drink it or have me pour it on your head."

I arch both eyemarks, did he just try to intimidate me? Without warning he thrusts the glass into my hand and stands completely still, arms crossed over his chest. I really want to punch this guy, but that would get me into trouble. Maybe they won't realise its me if I use the force? Sighing, I try to sense if there is anything wrong with the stuff in the glass - it comes back with the all clear and I shrug my shoulders and try to take a sip to see if its safe. I miss the glimmer of triumph in Slimo's eyes but I definitely do not miss what comes next.

Of its own accord, I am not lying, the glass flies out of my hand and smashes on the floor beside the wall. The squash that was inside of it begins to sizzle and evaporate into the air and that's when I smell it, a sort of metallic thing. Anakin prepared me for anything, and I mean anything, so not knowing what that was is a little unsettling. I look back at Slimo in confusion, who is looking from the shattered remains and back to me like I am mad.

"You're insane," He mutters, backing away slightly and glaring at me. "Winning this competition will be easier than taking candy from a baby with you in it." He snaps at me before turning around and walking away, leaving me glaring after him.

I stick my tongue out at his back before continuing down the corridor once he has disappeared. It's just past eight o'clock and, since it's monday, Anakin will probably have something for me to do. Be it chess or learning more about my upcoming competition I just want to find something to occupy my time – I can't help but feel bored whenever I'm not doing anything that doesn't involve having Anakin for company. Now that there are so many people in my class being put into the medical ward it has become really hard for me to disappear. The twins are like my elite bodyguards and Master Plo has been checking up on me every morning and night, one time when I got back late he gave me one of his famous lectures on 'danger'. It was more boring than learning the names of each individual type of grass, that was boring enough to kill me.

I climb into the vents without a thought of what happened with Slimo. Anakin told me never to over think things and that it would just make me upset; I agreed that this was the best idea. A glass that literally flies out of my hand, obviously Slimo's idea of a joke. The thought crosses my mind for a moment that he might be responsible for what has happened to half of my class, but they're his class mates too so he wouldn't do it. No Jedi would do something so awful.

Reaching Anakin's room easily – I have perfected the route here now – I knock on the door and wait for it to open. It doesn't take more than a few seconds for Anakin to open the door and let me inside.

"You seem confused about something," Anakin observes as we walk into the lounge. "Is everything all right?"

"Everythings fine," I reply. "It's just... something really weird happened in the corridor after Slimo tried to give me a drink."

Anakin archs both eyebrows. "The worst kid in your class gave you a drink and you took it?" He sighs. "Okay, what happened?"

"Well, I was going to take a sip after I sensed that there was nothing wrong with it but the glass, sort of, flew out of my hand and smashed against the wall." I explain.

Frowning, Anakin regards me silently for a moment. "It flew out of your hand?" He repeated; I nod. Anakin is silent for a few more moments. "Then there must have been something wrong with it," He says finally. "Don't worry about it. Let's play a game, I know how you can never get things like that off of your mind."

"But... why did it happen?" I ask.

Anakin chuckles and shakes his head. "See what I mean?" He asks; I narrow my eyes in response. "Okay, pick a game, any game."

I frown and avert my eyes whilst I think of which game I would like to play. "Scrabble?"

"Scrabble?" Anakin repeats. "All right, whatever floats your boat. Sit down, I'll be back in a minute."

Complying, I sit on the sofa and wait for Anakin to return. It's obvious that he dislikes playing normal games but he did ask me so he'll just have to live with it. Most of the games that Anakin likes playing are either force sensitive or involve one of us getting hurt – since he is far more experienced than me I usually end up as the one who is hurt. Anakin's favourite game – given the limitations of the suite he has been imprisoned in – is called 'block'. You have to hide from the person who is on and get to a certain place and say 'safe one, two, three' before they get there and say 'block one, two, three' or you're out.

I always lose because he can sense where I am and is much faster – he calls it 'practice' for learning how to hide my force presence but I don't see how I can hide my force presence from a force wielder.

Anakin returns to the room, obviously still upset about such a boring game, and sits beside me. I don't see how this will be playing by the rules since he can see my tiles but we can both sense the letters anyway so I suppose it doesn't really make much of a difference. As we set up the board Anakin lets out an exasperated sigh.

"Are you sure you don't want to do anything more fun?" He asks.

"This is fun," I protest. "Much better than being beaten by you at every other game we play."

Anakin rolls his eyes. "You can't expect to win when you first play something."

"Says you," I say. "You can't stand losing."

Anakin doesn't dignify my statement with a response and deliberately makes the first move. It is my turn to roll my eyes and we play the game in silence for a few minutes until, finally, Anakin's patience snaps and he stands up.

"I can't play this," He says. "Let's play block."

I groan. "But there's hardly anywhere to hide," I protest. "And you're much faster than I am."

"Go and hide."

Sighing, I stand up and run into another room. The lounge is basically the centre of the entire suite so I have to choose where I hide carefully. I am moving towards the lone chair in the room when I stop and turn to look at a bookcase. There aren't any of the holographic books so I know that Anakin must have asked for actual books to be put there. Hearing Anakin counting in the lounge, I walk towards the bookcase and take out several of the books. There is a space between it and the wall that I could easily hide in, so I do. Hastily placing the books back where I found them, I crouch down into the small space and look out through the small gaps between the books and the shelves that they sit on.

The moment he finishes counting, Anakin walks into the room and I try my hardest to keep my force presence hidden from him. With a knowing smile, he walks towards the bookcase. It is obvious that he can sense me, because he is a force wielder, but he prefers to actually find me before rushing off and getting me out. He pulls away some of the books and I smile nervously at him. However, before either of us can do a thing someone knocks on the door.

With a flick of his wrist, Anakin puts the books back in place without a word to me and walks off. I groan inwardly; I am going to be in so much trouble. Pressing closer to the bookcase, or as close as I can without making it wobble, I can just about make out the voices of the people who are coming into Anakin's room.

"...ask you about something?"

"All right, go ahead." Anakin replies.

"Recently there was an attack on Alderaan and the separatist forces were led by a cloaked figure who we could sense was extremely powerful in the dark side." The voice of Master Windu explains. "He killed two Jedi knights and did so in an unusual way."

"What do you mean?" Anakin asks.

"Black smoke."

"Black...?" Anakin trails off and I can tell that he has just realised something. "Force wielder." He says.

"The attacker was a force wielder?" Master Plo asks. Since when did he and Master Windu ask Anakin about things?

"A dark force wielder," Anakin explains. "I could sense that he was in the galaxy but not where."

"How do we stop him?" Master Windu questions.

"You can't," Anakin says. "Force wielders are immortal and the only way to kill one is for another force wielder to do it."

"You mean if you do it?"

"I never said I'd kill him," Anakin reminds them. "I don't kill people just because I'm asked too. Besides, from what I can tell, he's not really that powerful."

"He may not seem that to you but to us he is very powerful," Master Plo says. "We need to stop him if we are to win this war."

Anakin sighs. "I won't attack a fellow force wielder without a good reason. The best I can do is promise you that if I sense him I'll tell you and if I see him I'll talk to him. I would be able to do more but I'm sort of imprisoned here, if you remember."

"What would it take for you to help us find him?" Master Windu asks.

"A reason," Anakin replies. "Goodbye."

The sound of the door closing and locking makes me smile; Anakin has locked them both out. But I can't help but shake the feeling that something should be done – I mean, two Jedi knights were killed on Alderaan and a dark force wielder is running around the galaxy with enough power to kill every Jedi, maybe Anakin should help them out. Clambering out from behind the bookcase, careful not to knock anything over, I walk into the lounge just as Anakin returns from the entrance way. He doesn't look the slightest bit worried.

"You should help them," I say.

Anakin sighs. "I can't." He replies, sitting on the sofa.

"But... why?" I ask, sitting beside him. "Surely you can do something better than telling them if you sense him?"

"No, I can't. It's not allowed."

I frown. That was not the answer I was expecting. "What do you mean 'it's not allowed'?"

"Ahsoka," Anakin turns to look at me fully. "Force wielders have not killed other force wielders for a hundred years now. It is literally against the law to kill unless your opponent does something that is grounds for you to kill them or to defend yourself."

I arch both eye marks. "You... you're not allowed to kill him? But surely you are allowed, he's killed two Jedi and all of the republic forces on Alderaan. How is that not grounds for you to attack him?"

"Remind me to get you a book on force wielder law sometime," Anakin comments. "Let's not worry about it. I'll get us some lunch."

Watching him go into the kitchenette - I know it is a sort of retreat - I wonder why a law like that was made. A hundred years of peace, that's something which the galaxy could use, would mean that a few lessons had been learned wouldn't it? If a law like that was passed in the republic then we'd have to wait for an entire planet to be invaded before being able to go and fight against the separatists. Sighing, I sink low on the couch. If the dark force wielder is helping the separatists then the war for the republic is surely lost but if Anakin was helping -

I shake my head thoroughly. Anakin obeys the laws from wherever it is he comes from, this other force wielder clearly does not. A smile creeps onto my face when I realise that the council had actually come to the decision to ask Anakin for help, maybe they could come to the decision to let him go - even if it does take forever for them to decide. When Anakin walks back into the room I cannot sense a thing from him, meaning that he has put up those firm barriers around his mind again. I hate it when he does that, I never know what's going on in his head.

"What are we going to do after lunch?" I ask, taking the plate of food that Anakin has handed to me.

Anakin sits down beside me. "Excercise." He answers simply.

I frown and turn my head to look at him. "What do you mean 'excercise'?"

I need to stop listening to Anakin.

I really do.

There is no one else in the galaxy like Anakin and for that I am glad. It is sometime late in the evening now, I am far too tired to see what time it is, and all of the training that Master Yoda makes me do put together does not even come close to how much Anakin managed to pack into one day. When he finally said I could stop I sat right on the floor and laid down, which is where I am now. I can hear my pulse and heart beat and my mouth has a stale taste, sweat is dripping down my face and I have been laying here for almost five minutes now, if anything like this is ever suggested again I will make Anakin's life a living hell.

My head is resting on a cushion, at least Anakin isn't completely ruthless, and there is a glass of water on the coffee table for me. Exhausted doesn't cover how I feel but I can tell how amused Anakin is by the whole thing, he's been sat watching me try to regain my breath from the sofa ever since I first collapsed - almost.

"Shut up," I grumble as he smiles in amusement. "This is all your fault."

Anakin chuckles. "I expected a Jedi to be able to handle that sort of thing." He says with a wider smile.

"Jedi masters, maybe," I reply. "But younglings can't do things like that, nowhere near it."

"I think you managed quite well."

"It nearly killed me,"

"Figuratively speaking." Anakin comments. "You should have a drink."

"I can't move my arms," I say truthfully.

Anakin chuckles, again, and I shoot him a glare. "If you think this is bad you should see what it's like to do it once every two days."

I frown when I look back at him. What on earth is he talking about now? Probably something about his past that I will never understand unless he tells me everything, Anakin has a way of making me more confused than I've ever been and I'm including all of those strange things that Master Yoda has said to me. Sometimes I wonder if Master Yoda is that confusing on purpose, he probably tries not to be, but with Anakin I know that he likes confusing me. It's amusing to him and gives me the urge to slug him in the gut - even force wielders can get hit at some point in their lives.

Sucking in a deep breath, I push myself into a seating position and regret it instantly. My vision turns blurry and my arms and legs start to feel like lead, which is concerning since my weight if being supported by my arms. Anakin frowns and moves over to me - maybe he actually regrets making me do excercise. Unfortunately, he simple heals me so that I can see and pulls me to my feet. Still my legs feel heavy and I sit on the couch - collapse would be a better word for it actually.

"Do you want to go back to your room and get some sleep?" Anakin asks.

I nod my head sleepily. "Unless you want me to fall asleep in here."

Anakin chuckles. "Come on, Snips. The sooner you get to your room the sooner you can fall asleep."