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.

Two Days Til Competition, Ahsoka Tano

Morning comes like a kick in the face. One moment I am peacefully sleeping without any dreams of any kind and the next I am woken by the sound of the most annoying thing in the universe. A chrono. With a tired groan, I reach out with my hand and turn it off. My eyelids are incredibly heavy and it takes a lot of effort on my part to keep my eyes open. Now, if I'd been woken up at a reasonable time like half seven then this might not be a problem but no; Jedi have to get up at six in the morning because otherwise we will become 'tardy' and 'lazy'.

Yawning, I turn around in bed and realise for the first time that I am laying on something hard and uncomfortable. My features twist into an expression of pain for the briefest of moments and I reach beneath me to yank the hard object out from it's unfortunate position. It's my datapad, and it's still on. Either that or it magically switched itself with that over-intelligent mechanical brain of its. The page that I was in the middle of reading the night before is still displayed and I have to tear my eyes away from it because I find it all incredibly interesting. I simply cannot wait to start reading about all of those other species. It's such a shame that none of these extra species can be Togruta's, maybe my species are just too remote and never bothered to venture out to planets like Anakin's.

I groan whilst rubbing the spot on my back which is aching (the part which was resting upon my datapad) and manage to throw back the covers and get out of bed. It's harder than you might think for a Jedi to get out of bed in the morning, we're not all powerful beings even though I know just one person who's all powerful and probably hates getting out of bed in the morning. Actually, hate might be the wrong word for that. Anakin would most likely kill the person, or thing, that dared to wake him in the mornings and I can only imagine how battered and bruised his chrono must be considering the fact that mine is in ruins.

Snatching up my clothes from where I placed them in the drawers, I drag myself into the 'fresher and get dressed at a snails pace. I'm not entirely sure why but I've been becoming increasingly tired each morning. I always go to sleep at a time between ten and eleven so this shouldn't actually be happening at all, which makes me wonder if my energy is going anywhere useful. It's probably just a side-effect of being around Anakin and doing all of that excercise and using the force in those advanced ways. Speaking of which, I wave my hand at the bed and smile as it makes itself. Oh, if only life were as simple as Anakin makes it look with the force.

Stuffing my datapad into my pocket and pausing for a moment to check up on my miniature planet, I walk out of the room whilst stifling repetitive yawns behind my hand. Already there are Jedi out and about, though there is an obvious lack of younglings wandering around, so I don't see the point in walking around quietly as I usually do if I wake up at an earlier time than usual. It's a rather sunny day for the winter which means that, sooner or later, there is going to be a lot of rain and hail following it.

I'm surprisingly hungry today, extremely hungry. I have no idea why but Master Yoda is always saying that the force works in mysterious ways so I'm willing to guess that it has something to do with that. Naturally, because of my hunger, I head for the mess hall just like I do every day. It's a routine that every Jedi youngling has. Get up, get dressed, get organized and go to the mess hall for breakfast. Honestly, it's like there isn't a war going on over our heads in space allowing the dark side to grow stronger with each passing second.

My musings abruptly halt when I realise that I have just reached the mess hall and I mentally scold my lack of insight as I walk inside. It's half full, as it usually is on a sunny day, but I can't see the twins or Barris anywhere. They must all be asleep since no other remaining members of my clan are visible. Luckily, none of the younglings who attacked me and the twins yesterday are here so at least I won't be badgered or forced to ward off some death threats or other. There isn't a queue at the counter so I go and retrieve some breakfast quickly before sitting alone at one of the unoccupied tables and eating in a rush.

Hunger is one of natures headaches and food is the painkiller (or paracetamol as some people prefer to call it). I try to slow down but don't do a particularly good job of it and am forced to result to taking larger bites so that I can't fit anything else into my mouth. That tactic does an effective job of slowing me down.

I reach out through the force to try and find out where the twins and my clan members are. It's rather surprising to sense that my fellow clan members are all stood still in a corridor in a group, probably due to something Pedro found out. The twins are near a turbo-lift which makes me a little concerned. The last time they were both alone next to a turbo-lift they almost destroyed it and nearly sent a rival clan of younglings to their untimely deaths. That was a bad week. A very, very, very, very, very bad week. Maybe being able to pinpoint the exact locations of people you form bonds with isn't as good as I first thought it was, all it does is make me worry and wonder.

Oh well, it's not as if I'm going to be seeing anything life threatening until I become a padawan. Scratch that, I won't be seeing anything life threatening for two days. I never bothered to realise how close the competition is now and there aren't any butterflies in my stomach for once. Then I remind myself that Jedi don't get scared or nervous and that the fact that I'm not nervous is a good sign, even though I'm going to be going up against giants and other things.

I take the last few bites of my food before standing up and leaving. There's nobody around for me to talk to and at least another hour before I can even consider going to Anakin's room so what should I do? A thought comes into my head and I start down a different corridor. The twins are busy being their usual selves and the few uninjured members of my clan are held up somewhere, but there is a place where I can visit the rest of my clan. After four right turns, seven left turns and walking up a bunch of stairs I find myself in the halls of healing.

"Hello, young one." One of the Jedi healers greets me. "Can I help you?"

I nod. "Yes, I'm looking for my friend Katooni, is she here?" That was a little bit of a stupid question considering how I know that anyone who gets attacked and is a Jedi ends up in the halls of healing.

The healer smiles at me. "Of course, she's in the room down there. Third door on the right."

"Thank you." I reply with a smile, quickly heading towards the room which was indicated.

I can't hear anything from inside, not that I expected to, and I open the door warily as I am expecting something horrific like what happened to Liam. To my surprise, I find that Katooni looks perfectly fine aside from the bacta bandages on her leg and arms. From what I can tell, the attack on her was not nearly as violent or disgusting as the attack on any of the other members of my clan.

"Hey, Ahsoka." Katooni greets with a smile. "I was wondering if anyone was going to visit me, everyone else has been too busy."

"How do you know they're busy if they haven't come up to see you?" I ask, walking over to her bed side.

Katooni shrugs her shoulders and winces. She probably forgot that shrugging your shoulders whilst your arms are injured hurts like the dark side itself. "I sensed it," She informs me. "Wait, don't you have to go to that 'secret mentor' of yours today?"

"Yes, but not before eight o'clock or he gets a little grouchy." I say. "He likes to sleep in."

Katooni smirks. "Lucky him," She says. "I don't really see much of you nowadays. You're always so busy with your new friend, did anyone say anything about the person who attacked me?"

I slowly shake my head. "No, they just mentioned that you were attacked. What happened? I thought that there was someone investigating all of these attacks and making sure that we were all safe."

Katooni snorts. "Tell that to my broken arms and leg." She mutters. "I'm not exactly sure what happened to me. I was on my way back to our room, not yours because... you know, and then the lights went out. There was a loud smashing noise and then I woke up in here with my arms and leg bandaged. They said that I was attacked and that the window nearest to me had been smashed."

"Why is it that there is always a window smashed?" I ask, speaking more to myself than to Katooni. "You'd think Slimo had better things to do than smash windows."

"Slimo?" Katooni repeats. "You think that he's behind all of this?"

I nod. "He has to be, he attacked me, Kay and Jay in the room of a thousand fountains yesterday because he wanted me out of the way. Who else could it be? I'm surprised he hasn't been punished yet."

"Ahsoka, just because he attacked you and those twins doesn't mean that he's responsible for all of this," She gestures around the room. "Besides, it must have been really humiliating for him if you're still okay. One against three doesn't sound at all like a fight worth picking."

"He had five other younglings with him," I explain. "So it was six against three, and I didn't even have a weapon!"

Katooni sighs. "We really should have gone through 'the gathering' already. None of this would be happening, most likely, since none of us would be old enough for corruption. We'd be being watched by hawks."

I smile. "Yeah, that would probably have been better."

"You wouldn't happen to have anything for me to do, would you?" Katooni asks. "It's so boring just staying here and waiting for my bones to heal."

Do I have something for her to do? I frown and search my pockets. My datapad is in there, I can't very well let her have that, and a few scrap pieces of paper. In my other pocket is... the miniature planet? I take it out of my pocket hesitantly. I'm sure that I left that back in my room, I know I did, but it is a game... this should fit the bill. What better way than to occupy your time with a game?

"Here you go." I say, handing it to Katooni. "It's a simulation game where you are the force... sort of."

Katooni archs both her eyebrows. "Really?" She observes the game carefully. "How does it work?"

"Pull out the holo-tabs and there's an instructions list at the bottom." I inform her. "That should tell you everything you need to know, even I don't know all of it."

With a smile, she does exactly as I say and ten minutes later is happily making changes that appear to be doing the game a whole lot of good. Katooni always has been the best at games, even if it's the first time she's played one. I am curled up in one of the chairs reading more about the different kinds of species found on Anakin's planet and still disappointed to find that none of them are Togrutas. According to the book, each type of species is trained in what they were born to do from birth and can't leave the planet except for their jobs. On the bright side, there are apparently lots of force wielding Togruta's so at least my people have done some travelling in their life time.

As I finally reach a more informative part on force users, I glance at the chrono and do a double take at the time. Eight o'clock. How on earth is it eight o'clock? I've only been with Katooni for ten minutes... haven't I? Muttering a curse under my breath, quiet enough so that Katooni does not hear it, I stand up and stuff my datapad into my pocket.

"I have to go now, sorry." I explain to Katooni.

She smiles. "That's all right. Can I hold onto this until I leave? It's really boring in here."

"Yes, sure." I reply, heading to the door. "Bye."

"Bye." Katooni responds right before I exit her room and speed up my walking pace.

I have two hours to get to Anakin's room so it isn't really that bad, what made me freak out was the fact that the time had passed in the blink of an eye. Ten minutes had suddenly turned into more than an hour and I am still trying to figure out exactly how that happened. The information about the different types of species must make time fly faster than I initially realised. Oh well, it's not as if there's anything that could keep me busy for the next two hours anyway.

"Tano."

Oh, you have got to be kidding me.

"Slimo."

This piece of rancor dung just won't quit. He's stood in front of me now, a few feet away, blocking the path to the corridor with the vent which I use to reach Anakin's room. His training saber is at his belt, little thief, and the look in his eyes says quite clearly that he has a score to settle with me. Truthfully, I don't think I've ever been less scared of someone than I am now. I mean, Slimo can't conjure lightsabers out of thin air and hold them in the palm of his hand so why should I be afraid of him? That dark force wielder would probably wipe the floor with him given the chance, but what makes me feel completely safe is Anakin's promise. I just hope that vaporizing Slimo won't leave a stain on the floor.

"You got me into a lot of trouble with that trick in the room of a thousand fountains, Tano." He says through gritted teeth. "But luckily, I have enough intelligence to get out of these situations. The same cannot be said for you."

I snort, unable to prevent myself. "Intelligence? Please. I'd tell you how many ways in which you are most definitely not intelligent but I would like to actually get to sleep tonight."

His eyes flare in anger. "You think you're so high and mighty, don't you, Tano? Well I've got news for you, you're nothing but a little charity case who will never get a master. You will never be a jedi!"

I roll my eyes. "I hate to break it to you, Slimo, but I'm already a Jedi. There's a reason we're called 'Jedi initiates' you know."

Slimo looks like he's been hit by a speeder. Then again, he always looks like that so nothings changed. "Shut your mouth, Tano. I'm a way better Jedi than you ever will be." He ignites his training saber. "You should never have insulted me."

I sigh in exasperation. "This is like a stupid HoloDrama." I mutter. "Only with a stubborn shaak with a head injury."

He lunges at me and I side-step him, except there really isn't any need to. Once again I can only stare at what is going on in front of me. Actually, standing and staring might not be such a good idea considering what is going on right now. A loud bang is the only thing I hear before I am yanked backwards by someone and land flat on my back. To say that I am unhappy is an understatement, what would anyone else be feeling when they landed on their back? Pain? I can't argue with them on that one.

Shaking my head to rid myself of the dizziness I am feeling, I lift my head to look around and see that I am not in the corridor that I used to be in. No. Right in front of me, making me more confused than I have ever been in my life, is the door to Anakin Skywalker's room. I blink several times and rub my eyes to make sure that I am not hallucinating. When I open them again the door remains and I cannot help but gawp. I've moved the distance of one hour in a few seconds... what the hell?

Slowly, I stand up and look around. There's no one in sight and I can't sense anyone nearby except for Anakin. I cast one final look around me before turning and knocking on the door. This is far too confusing for me to understand and yet I am very calm. I can recall one of the Jedi healers explaining that in severe cases of confusion and stress the victim can become unnaturally calm until all hell breaks lose. Of course, those weren't the exact words used but that was the translation that entered my mind.

The door opens a few seconds later. Anakin has a frown on his face and his posture is enough to tell me that he is far from happy about something.

"Good morning." I say in greeting.

"You do remember what I said about Slimo, don't you?" Anakin asks.

I nod. "Yes. You said you'd vaporise him if he ever came near me again." A thought enters my mind that makes me cringe. "You didn't really vaporise him, did you?"

Anakin smirks and shakes his head. "Unfortunately not. I just made his training saber explode and teleported you here... last time I'm doing that. I've got a headache the size of Dantooine."

I frown. "Teleporting people gives you a headache?"

"Technically no-one's supposed to be able to do it on a non-force sensitive planet without nearly killing themselves, but I had a gift from a friend that I used to help me out. By the way, you're going to have a migraine from it in a few minutes so you should probably come inside." He informs me.

Migraines do not sound or feel like a good thing so I quickly rush past him and into the lounge. I've had a headache once before and it was far from pleasant, from what Barris has told me, I know that a migraine is ten times worse than a headache and that for Togruta's the effects are enhanced because of the strain on our lekkus. I once saw Pedro with a migraine and he was not a happy bunny. I had to dodge ten shirts, two pairs of shoes, some boots, a training saber and a paper weight before I got out of the room that day.

I sit down on the sofa and watch as Anakin comes in.

"I cannot believe you... not trying to defend yourself before he attacked... modesty doesn't do you any good on the battlefield you know." Anakin says, pacing in front of me.

"It was a corridor, not a battlefield." I remind him.

He rolls his yes. "Yes, I know that, Snips. My point is that you were supposed to attack him first when you sensed he was going to attack you."

"I didn't sense anything," I admit, not knowing how I had not realised this before. "I'm not sure why but I didn't."

Anakin sighs and waves his hand. A second later a type of pill lands in it along with a glass of water. "Take that," He says, handing both objects to me. "It will help you get in touch with the force again."

For a moment I just study the pill and try to work out exactly what it is, except I can't. The next second I simply put it into my mouth and take a drink of the water to help wash it down my throat. It doesn't taste like the nicest thing in the world, but nothing related to medicine actually tastes nice so it isn't much of a surprise. Anakin has resumed his pacing in front of me and I actually sigh because it is just so boring to watch. He keeps muttering under his breath and it isn't doing me much good when I can feel the migraine beginning to start.

"Are you going to stay annoyed over one little thing?" I ask. "It was just Slimo."

Stopping, he turns his head to look at me. "That is not what I'm worried about, what if he injures you in the competition? What if he kills you?" The last part of his sentence sounds as though it was forced out and not in the hard to say kind of way. It's like he knows I won't die, which is good because he's a force wielder and knows whether or not something is going to happen. That alone is enough to lift my spirits about the competition.

"You need to practice with a saber more," Anakin says as he finally stops pacing once more. "Or you could just do more excercise, your choice."

"Saber practice." I say without a moments hesitation. "Lots and lots of saber practice."

It has been thirteen hours, fifty-six minutes and thirty-four seconds since I started practicing with a saber against the training droid in Anakin's room. Not exactly the best choice I could have made but tons better than doing that torture that Anakin calls 'exercise'. However, doing saber practice for this long is a just down-right tiring and it's no wonder that the moment Anakin says it is nearly ten o'clock and that I should stop that I would drop the training saber and flop down on the sofa. When people talk about the skill of a Jedi they just assume that it is because of their natural force ability. Wrong. I just wish that it were true and that the truth wasn't that we have to exercise till dusk and practice and study like our lives depend on it.

"You need a drink?" Anakin asks from his seat beside me.

I nod. "Yes, please."

He gets up and disappears into the kitchenette. Taking a deep breath, I push myself into a sitting position using my elbows and lean back into the cushions of the sofa. The other members of my clan are going to think that I've seen a ghost or something because I can tell how pale I am. I declined most of Anakin's offers for food and my stomach is grumbling rather loudly. Oh well, I can just get some dinner from the mess hall... but it's ten o'clock now and I'd get back to my room at eleven so I probably wouldn't be able to eat anything truthfully. The winter air sends a chill down my spine, something which has not yet happened this year, and I can tell that the temperature has just plummeted outside.

Anakin reappears a few moments later with a drink of squash and a plate of dinner... force bless this force wielder, he knew that I was hungry. He sets the drink down on the table and hands the plate to me before sitting down and spreading out his legs in front of him, something he does often.

"Thanks." I say.

"Your welcome," Anakin replies. "Now, when you finish eating you have to go to your room and go straight to sleep. I am not going easy on you tomorrow."

I cannot help but snort. "Have you ever gone easy on me?"

Anakin rolls his eyes and leans back on the sofa. "No, but I haven't tried my hardest for obvious reasons."

He's got a point there. I quickly eat my food as neatly as I can, which is nothing to be proud of, and when I finish Anakin is giving me one of those looks. Anakin takes the plate from me and I gulp down my drink quickly. It's not exactly a good thing for me to show up late at my room, not that anyone else sleeps inside it, and with all of the accusations being thrown around I could become the target at the drop of a hat. It would be like what happened to Pedro, accusing little rancor. I still cannot believe that he would accuse one of his friends of attacking members from our own clan. Since when have I ever shown violence towards them?

"Good night, Snips." Anakin says as I head for the door.

"Good night, Anakin." I reply, closing the door behind me when I walk out.

The walk back to my room makes me wish I had the ability to teleport or something. It was a rather nice break to have Anakin teleport me to his room. Well, to the door of his room. Then again, the migraine afterwards nearly made me topple over several times so there is quite obviously room for improvement and I'm not entirely sure you can improve teleporting judging by Anakin's explanation of how it isn't something force wielders normally do. Although, another reason that he might not like teleporting people is that others could find out about it. I mean, teleporting me to right outside his room in front of Slimo? That's the easiest way for someone to find out that something strange is going on, other than what happened in the vents and the room of a thousand fountains.

The moment I get into my room I take my datapad out of my pocket and place it on my bedside table before walking into the 'fresher to get changed. Today has been a really long, not to mention confusing, day and it is mostly because of the teleporting experience. I still have a small headache because of that and I managed to curse Anakin numerous times under my breath because of it before he heard me and gave me a lecture. Honestly, the nerve of the man, lecturing me when he curses like there isn't an eleven year old stood in the same room as him.

I stifle a yawn behind my hand as I re-enter my room and climb under the covers of my bed. Today may have been confusing and annoying in its own way but it will be nothing compared to what will happen in two days. I have a competition where I might die and half of my clan is in the halls of healing from a mysterious attacker who I just know is Slimo. With that final thought in my head, I yawn once more, rest my head upon the pillow and fall asleep.