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.

The Competition, Ahsoka Tano

As is the case with most people when they have a big event coming up, the moment I wake up I feel nervous. I had hoped that sleep would give me time to relax and calm down so that I can get my head in the game, as the saying goes, but it seems that the force just won't let me forget even in my sleep. I sit up the moment I wake up because I am simply too nervous to just wait for my body to wake up alone with my mind and I turn off my alarm as I stand up. It's rather odd that in some cases I just wake up feeling full of energy and have the strangest feeling that I've never actually been asleep, just resting my eyes or something along those lines.

With butterflies in my stomach, though I'm sure moths would be a more appropriate animal, I take out a fresh set of my day wear and get changed in the 'fresher. After completing my morning rituals, I retrieve my datapad and walk out of my room so that I may go to the mess hall. Truth be told, nobody has yet said anything to me about what happened yesterday and I haven't heard any rumours because I was with Anakin the whole of yesterday revising everything for the competition.

It doesn't take long to reach the mess hall and when I do I find it just how it always is. No plates, cups and cutlery are on the floor and there is no sign that anything ever happened. I don't think much of it though. The cleaning droids would have dealt with the mess the moment they found out there was any. I get my breakfast with trepidation for I do not want a repeat of yesterday's rubbish. However, my luck appears to have paid off today for breakfast is as it usually is with toast and cereal all the way. Finding a seat isn't at all hard because the twins have already arrived and wave me over to their table to sit with them.

"What happened to you two?" I ask after taking my seat across from them.

Kay shrugs his shoulders. "I lost them after a minute or so and Jay lost them in less time than that. We just hid out in our class whilst we were practising our lightsaber techniques. What about you? We thought they'd caught you when we didn't see you again."

I shake my head. "They didn't catch me, I managed to lose them as easily as you did. I spent my day with my mentor and had an early night because of the competition."

"Good luck." Jay says. "Don't let Slimo get you, not that we expect him to. According to our sources he freaked out yesterday and hid in his room until the afternoon because he was afraid the plates were following him."

Both of the twins snicker whilst I roll my eyes.

"I wonder why he thought that," I muse out-loud.

"Hey, we are professionals." Kay points out with a smug smile. "Besides, he deserved it. What kind of people would we be if we did not defend our best mate? Huh?"

"We'd be Slimos." Jay says, grinning. "That should be the new insult."

"What? Everyone who's stupid are called 'Slimos'?"

"Exactly, my identical twin brother."

Rolling my eyes, again, I start to eat with the twins in a deep debate on how to introduce the new 'insult' whilst keeping all of the embarrassment on Slimo himself. Somehow I don't think anyone is going to pick up on their idea since the word 'slimo' is already a well known insult that was unfortunately, and ironically, given to that git. They continue their conversation for quite some time and I finish my breakfast slowly so as not to miss a word until they reach their decision.

I turn around to look at the chrono and find out that it is just after seven, meaning that I should start going to the hanger to await Master Yoda with the remnants of my clan. Now that I think about them, I haven't seen any of my clan members in the mess hall as much as I have these days other than those few times with Barris. Either they're getting their food from their mentors or they're going without food which I know, from experience, isn't the best way to win any sort of competition.

"I've got to go," I say. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck, 'Soka."

"Yeah, good luck 'Soka."

I was wrong about us being in a place near the Jedi temple. A few parsecs wrong if I'm honest. The moment I got into the hanger I met up with Barris and when the rest of our clan, the ones who weren't injured, arrived we got onto a ship and travelled to... Naboo. It turns out that the queen has agreed to allowing the Jedi order to train it's younglings in certain locations and our competition is being hosted in one of these locations. The ride on the ship was spent mostly in silence for me since I don't know of a thing to talk about when Pedro is glaring at me with ice cold eyes and I am returning the favour to the best of my abilities.

So, that whole thing being well and truly buried, now I am standing on a floating wooden platform in a lake on Naboo. The platforms are chained to the bottom of the lake so that they don't drift off too far and are positioned in a semi-circle around the deepest part of the lake. Anakin's map might have been a tad out-dated because I don't remember this being here before... unless it was the reason for the different colour assigned to it. I'm just going to have to assume that's the reason because right now I have bigger things to be focused on, such as surveying my surroundings like Anakin suggested so I know exactly where in the forest I want to run to.

There's some speakers hidden in specific places around the landscape so that Master Yoda can wish us luck and say when the competition begins. We all found that out when we first heard his voice telling us of the many dangers involved in this competition and that it is a Jedi's write of passage to complete such a task and to retrieve our lightsaber crystals at 'the gathering'. I can't count how many younglings have dreamed of the day when 'the gathering' would come for them but I know that not many of them could have imagined this along with it.

I look to my right and spot a space the size of a doorway in between two hedges. Vaguely, I remember Anakin pointing this out to me and saying that it would close after thirty seconds because it was a shortcut of some kind that cut past the magma figures and giant scorpions. All I have to worry about is the nexus and acklays which does nothing to ease my mind but not having to fight massive scorpions that can paralyze you with one sting of their venom is a good enough reason for me to decide upon that direction being my best bet.

"Three... two... one..." Master Yoda's voice counts down and I brace myself before the sound of a claxon sounds out.

Why they decided upon a claxon I have no idea. All I know is that one moment we are all standing there ready to go, the next several people have dived into the water and the others have started to run off in the direction of the giants. I, on the other hand, run straight for the gap between the two hedges and have to slide underneath a metal grate which appears after the twenty second mark. Skidding to a stop on the other side, I jump to my feet in time to see the ends of the hedges grow closer and seal off the gap so that it seems like it was never there. I can tell that it wasn't done naturally because of the jerky movements off the leaves and the faint sounds of machinery. A lot of time and effort must have gone into this.

Turning back around, I spot a large field through some gaps in the hedge and cautiously walk around the edge so that I can get it all into full view. It's at times like this that I find I am able to truly appreciate the beauty of Naboo... wrong. I've never been to Naboo before and the fact that on the other half of the field is filled with nexus makes my opinion of the planet lessen dramatically. Pure reflex has me ducking down behind the small hill that outlines that entire field and puts the main clearing on a sort of platform where you can see everything on it aside from whatever is hidden in the small patches of tall grass around it.

I shift my body up just enough so that I can peak over the top of the hill to keep an eye on the prowling nexus before shrinking back down and rolling over onto my back whilst I think about ways to get around those beasts and to the pathway that leads to one of the training sabers. There has to be a way; Anakin told me that there are ways to solve every last one of the dangers without getting yourself killed and I intend to find the one that will get me out of trouble this time. I mentally rack my brain for answers... there has to be something, there always is... yes!

Out of the corner of my eye I spot a stone structure surrounded by tall trees and make my way towards it whilst deliberately remaining in a crouched position so the nexus won't see me and decide that my time to die has come a lot earlier than it should have. I silently reach the structure and discover that it is merely a pillar with some writing written on it. Oh well; any of the puzzles is good enough for me considering I have no idea what I am doing right now. All I know is where to go and then to look for the HoloFlag or to just stay alive and out of the way.

On the pillar, engraved on the stone, are the words: What does the brain see with?

I frown and stand still in silence as I read and re-read the words. This makes no sense whatsoever. What does the brain see with? How in the hell should I know? It's a brain it doesn't see anything at all. Well, luckily for me I have a datapad that can work this out for me. It takes far less time than I would have guessed for my datapad to give me an answer and I have no idea what to do with the information.

The eyes.

Well, now that I have the answer, I need to find out what to do with it. I look around me for any other clues but find nothing and so look back at the pillar to see if I missed anything. This doesn't make any sense at all. The brain sees with the eyes, I can understand that, but I don't know what to do with the information... wait a minute. My gaze is unconsciously drawn upwards to the statue sitting upon the pillar. It's of a nexu, surprise surprise, and it looks perfectly fine and not out of place if you don't count the fact that it is in the middle of plant life. I use the force to guide me and focus on it's eyes. There are so many of them that I don't know if what I am thinking would even work, but it is the only idea I've got.

Slowly, I lift up my hand to the two eyes in the centre of the stone nexu's head and carefully push them inwards. They both slide inwards with a small click and a small hatch on one of the trees opens to show some sort of meat. Meat that absolutely stinks. I'm not sure what to do with it. Do I use it to lure the nexus away or... I inwardly curse myself and jump up onto another of the trees so that I may hide. The meat smells that bad to me because I am a Togruta and my senses are more enhanced than most species. A nexu has even better senses when it comes to sight and smell so the first thing it will do when something like this is exposed is head straight for it. Right now I am seriously questioning the Jedi's teaching methods because this is what a Jedi master should be doing, not eleven year old younglings.

I move so that I am hidden behind the very large trunk of the tree just as the nexus come pouring into the small space like a herd of hyper-active shaaks. Without hesitation, I jump over the hedge and run as fast as I can towards the pathway which leads to one of the training sabers when I spot another youngling entering the field. It's Byph and she doesn't appear to have even noticed me so I just continue running until I have turned a corner and come to a long dirt path that curves around a cliff. There isn't that big of a drop at the bottom but it is far enough to tell me that I should avoid the possibility at all costs.

Sensing that there is no one nearby, I take my time to observe my surroundings whilst I walk along the path at a casual pace. The sky of Naboo is clear and peaceful, not at all filled with the many ships and speeders like the sky of Coruscant. The plants are greener than anything I have ever seen in the Jedi temple and the temperature is warm with a gentle breeze that cools me down when things get a little too warm. I've heard people say things about Naboo being one of the most beautiful planets in the galaxy but I don't think I've ever really believed them. Heck, I still don't believe them. Having only been on two planets, and Shilli which I can't remember, I don't really want to make any decisions until I've seen every single planet. I'm not sure if that ever will happen, though, because the Jedi masters say that nobody has ever seen every single planet and star out there.

I stop dead in my tracks when I hear a growling noise behind me and slowly, very slowly, turn my head to see what is behind me with growing dread. The dread, unfortunately, is well placed because one of the nexus is stood a fair distance away from me yet is clearly deciding on the best way to kill me and eat me for lunch.

"Oh no..." I say to myself. "Not good."

It's body curls up into an attack position and I weigh my options. Nexus are fast, naturally, as they are predators but I could make it to the gap on the pathway easily before it would reach me and then hide somewhere. There really is no contest here. Do I stay and get eaten or do I run and hide? It's pretty damn obvious which one I'm going to choose now, isn't it?

Without taking my eyes off the animal, I back away slowly and wait until I am relatively close to the junction in the path before turning on my heel and bolting. I can hear it chasing after me and curse rather fluently under my breath. Just as it nears me, I sprint around the sharp corner and crash into something else coming the other way. To be honest, it was actually someone else that I had forgotten I sensed when I was running for my life. Yes; I have landed on top of my best friend Barris Offee and she doesn't seem too happy about it, not that that's surprising.

"Ahsoka, what...?"

"No time. Get up and run; there's a nexu after me." I explain in one short breath.

I get up and pull Barris up to her feet before leading her towards a small crevice in the rock face that is hidden by some large branches. After shoving her inside and crawling inside myself, I pull the branches back and lean all the way back against the rough surface of the crevice whilst the nexu rushes past. Anakin must have messed up when he told me that nexus can smell their prey a mile away because it just went past us as if we didn't have any sort of distinct scent at all.

"Where did that come from?" Barris asks after a minute of silence. "There aren't any nexus in the field over there any more. Someone set off the trap that kept them all in an enclosed space fighting over that meat."

"I know," I reply. "That was me. One must have gotten out or not gone for the meat though I have no idea why they wouldn't."

Barris nods. "So, where were you headed?"

"Training saber. You?"

"Training saber."

I nod slowly in acknowledgement and remove the branches from in front of the abnormally large crevice to see if there is anything out there that I have not sensed. Thankfully, there is nothing else around and both me and Barris crawl out of the confined space to have a proper look around. I cannot sense any dangers and I cannot see any so my conclusion is that we are safe... for now. So, if my memory is anything to go by, we're close to a large forest area and waterfall with a few animals dotted around the area that aren't harmful. That is the place where I want to be right now, far away from anything even remotely dangerous.

"Maybe, unless we're the last ones left, we should work together?" I suggest. "We don't want to get turned into food for those animals, do we?"

Barris thinks about it for a moment. "That's probably the best idea." She agrees. "Which way should we go?"

"To the forest." I say. "There shouldn't be any dangerous creatures in there. I can't sense any."

"I can't sense any either," Barris comments. "Okay. We'll go into the forest."

Now that that's been decided, we both walk into the forest with a few glances behind us to check for any other possible dangers. The forest is what makes me realise how people could think of Naboo as the most beautiful planet in the galaxy. The sunlight comes shimmering through the leaves with a warm glow and the floor is not a dirty mess of mud but a calm mixture of dirt, twigs and leaves. In the trees are birds and other wonderful animals that make me question the rule of younglings not being allowed out of the temple except for training missions. Should any of these animals be on Coruscant we should be able to go out and see them for ourselves instead of having to make do with HoloImages and holograms.

I can hear the soothing sound of the waterfall from somewhere nearby and the waterfall itself is just about visible through the leaves and branches of the trees to our right. There might be a training saber around here. Anakin wasn't very specific the last time we went over things and he just said that it was in an area around here, maybe in one of the trees or hidden somewhere on the forest floor. Just to make sure, I look around and stretch out my senses through the force. When I don't find anything even remotely useful I sigh and give up. There's no point in wasting my time looking for something that isn't here.

"Any ideas?" I ask Barris.

She looks around for a moment. "Maybe we should try and find a training saber?"

"Or maybe the training saber's already been found." A snide voice from behind us says and we whirl around simultaneously.

I have to prevent myself from swearing at the top of my voice when I see who it is. Why does he always manage to just pop up at every turn? Anakin had better be able to use his force wielding powers long range because I'm not sure how long I am going to be able to put up this dunder head piece of poodoo.

"Slimo." I say coldly.

He smirks at us at makes a point of twirling the already ignited training saber in his hand. "No precious twins to save you now, Tano. This is a free-for-all, after all."

I would have made a very rude retort had it not been for one thing that chose this exact moment to appear. "Yeah," I agree. "Or you could be focusing on the acklay behind you."

"Acklay?" He repeats stupidly and turns around.

The distraction is enough for me to grab Barris and run. There wasn't actually and acklay behind him, it was just an animal that resembled an acklay in colour. From experience I know that Slimo is stupid enough to actually believe that the animal is a weird mutation of an acklay and that he needs to stun it with the training saber or run. We both run, with me leading, towards the waterfall and skid to a stop when we reach a sheer drop at the edge. The waterfall is right beside us and I spot a small, rickety old bridge on the other side of it a good ways down from where we are. I'm not sure how to reach it but I do know that Anakin said it was like the pathway to the training saber which Slimo now has. At least, I think he has that training saber.

I turn around when the force warns me of danger to see a rather humiliated looking Slimo with a look of sheer anger on his face. It could easily rival hatred but I doubt the observation would do me much good at the moment. He doesn't waste any time in raising his hand and using the force to shove us both over the edge of the cliff. We've been trained about what to do in these situations so I reach out with one hand to grab the edge of the rocks and the over shoots out to grab Barris' hand before she falls and, most likely, dies since there is a massive drop beneath us. I've probably thought about this a lot of times but my mind can't help but go over it again. The Jedi order really needs to re-think it's training exercises because this is not training, it's death-defyingly real.

"Barris," I say, holding onto her hand tightly. "Barris... just... hold on, okay?"

"I don't think the fall is what you should be worried about, Ahsoka." Barris says, nodding her head towards something above me.

Turning my head, I snarl when I see that it is Slimo with a look of triumph on his face and bare my predator teeth at him. I'm not a Togruta for nothing. He hasn't looked this happy about winning in years. The only other time I can remember Slimo actually being 'happy' was when he finally defeated the only person in the class who opposed him. Unfortunately, that person is now me.

"Something wrong, Tano?" Slimo says mockingly as he raises his training saber over his head.

I close my eyes tight, turn my head away and brace myself for the impact that... never came. Confused, I open my eyes again and look back to where Slimo is standing. Correction, where Slimo was standing. Yes, of all the weird and wacky things that happen around me this has to hit spot number one. One moment he looks like the evil rancor he is, the next he looks like a frightened little two year old. Why does he look like a frightened little two year old? I can't even believe what I see myself, not to mention the fact that I can sense Barris' pure shock through the force and the way her hand tightens around mine.

It's the water... again. I'm beginning to think that me and water don't mix well, or the water and Slimo, because the waterfall has literally just decided that it doesn't want it's water to fall. No, no. It wants its water to shoot out straight towards all of us in a tidal wave. Slimo is knocked clean off his feet whilst me and Barris get completely drenched from the water that goes over the edge. When the water finally does stop, I use my arm to lift myself and Barris up just enough so that I can get her hand onto the ledge for her to pull herself up.

We both get up at the same time and just stand there in silence for several long, tense moments. Slimo is gone, obviously, and I have no idea as to whether he is alive or not. The ground is dry for some unknown and miraculous reason and there are large puddles forming on the spots where both of us are standing. Now, I've seen my fair share of strange things going on but this coupled with what happened in the vents and the room of a thousand fountains is enough to tell me that Anakin has something to do with this. He said he would be watching over me in the competition so this was quite obviously him, meaning that he knows about those things that happened in the temple. I am going to absolutely kill him when I get back.

"What was that?" Barris asks, breaking the silence.

I can only shake my head in response. "I don't know," I say truthfully. "But, whatever it was, it stopped us both from becoming splatters on the ground."

Silence resumes for a few more seconds and I find myself constantly staring at the spot where Slimo most likely fell off of the cliff.

"We should go," Barris says. "Being around here if another of those waves comes around wouldn't be a good idea."

"You're right, we should go, but where? We can either go back the way we came or take our chances with the waterfall. Besides, it's not like there's anything to gain from going back the way we came."

Barris sighs. "Then we will have to go through the waterfall, it seems."

Our decision made, we begin the difficult task of climbing down the slippery and soaked rock face beside the waterfall. It's harder than people make it out to be just to climb on a few rocks when the possibility of you slipping and falling are around one hundred and fifty-six to one. We get to the rocks just before the clear pathway leading to the wooden bridge when the force warns me of danger and I turn just in time to see Barris lose her grip and fall over the edge.

"Barris!" I shout but it is already too late.

I rush to the edge in time to see her fall onto a grassy ledge and become very, very still. Dread rushes over me but I don't have any time to help her since I just found out the real reason that the force sent me the warning. A very drenched and very angry looking Slimo is standing at the top of the rocky hill with a snarl on his face. I throw myself to the floor in order to avoid his saber throw and press myself further into the ground to avoid the saber as it comes back around and returns to his hand.

Getting to my feet, I jump down the last few rocks and run at full speed towards the wooden bridge. I may not be able to fight back without a training saber, though if I was at full strength I would be able to give it by best shot, but I can definitely make sure Slimo has to take his precious time to find me. Unable to stop myself, I skid on the wet floor and collide with the rocky cliff face at a sharp turn and curse out loud at the pain. My arms have cuts and scraps on them and my side hurts from the way it hit the jagged surface.

I can feel Slimo's stupid smirk through the force more than I can see it and I run out onto the wooden bridge before coming to a very abrupt stop when I see that there is already someone on the other side... with the other training saber. Well, this is just perfect. I've been cornered by Slimo and Pedro who I am positive still has a mountain sized grudge against me because apparently I was the one who attacked those members from our clan. I can picture the ones surveying the competition now, all feeling sorry for me for getting cornered by probably the only two people left. It is rather easy to tell that they are the only ones left for otherwise the others would have sensed us and come running for a fight.

Jump!

A voice in my head shouts. A voice that, suspiciously, sounds exactly like Anakin. Jump? I look over the side of the bridge at what is below. There is a thick, white fog blocking my view and the force isn't being very precise about telling me what's down there. To make matters worse, the feeling in my chest that makes me feel like I'm about to burst has come back and is making me feel even worse than I already do.

I look from one opponent to the other and see that they are both preparing to throw their training sabers at me. Right now I have two choices. Jump and get myself killed or stay and get myself killed in the most humiliating way possible. Then again, training sabers only stun so what's the harm in me staying and then waiting to see who the winner of the competition is?

Jump now!

Gulping in nervousness, I vault the rope on the wooden bridge and pause to take a few breaths. This gives them both time to throw their sabers before I jump off of the bridge. The force then sends me a warning and if I wasn't falling I would have rolled my eyes. It chooses now to send me a warning? Where was it five minutes ago! A loud bang startles me but there's not much I can do about it when I'm in mid air. Without me there, the training sabers collide in mid air and explode. It's not just a 'oh dear they exploded' kind of explosion. It's a 'run like hell and don't look back' kind of explosion.

The next things that happen go by in a blur. The shockwave of the explosion send me towards the ground even faster than the first time and I am too dazed to slow my descent with the force. I hit a rock first and grunt in pain as I roll down on the floor with the white fog above me. There is blood, my blood, and I feel more dizzy than when I ran around in circles for hours when I was six. It's like my bodies about to go into shutdown mode and I have to fight to stay awake.

I lift my head and see none other than the HoloFlag. My sensible side tells me to just get the flag and end the competition whilst my normal, more usually used side tells me to curse the people who put the flag down here into oblivion. It isn't even a flag, it's just a hologram shaped like a flag that, when you touch it, signals that the game is over and... I don't really know what happens after that. Slowly, I get to my feet and clutch my side as pain lances through my body with the instant effect of making me legs weaken and shake with the effort of keeping my body up.

With every intent of ending the game, I stumble forwards towards the flag and think that things might be looking up when I am force pushed forwards to the spot right in front of the flag. My eyelids become heavy and begin to droop when I prop myself up on my elbows and turn my body to see who is behind me. It's Slimo. He looks like he got the safer side of the explosion since he just has a cut on his cheek and his face is covered in soot. The feeling like I'm going to burst returns again and intensifies to such a degree that I have to clench my fists so as not to cry out in pain. What is wrong with me?

He stalks closer to me with eyes that spit fire and nothing but his hands for weapons. The force alerts me at once to the fact that he is going to strangle me, or worse, beat me to within an inch of my life. I have no idea what to do and no idea how I am going to escape as he stops just a few feet in front of me when my body takes on a mind of it's own.

My left arm comes up of it's own accord so that my palm is outstretched and facing Slimo. My eyes half-close as a stream of pure white light erupts from it and goes straight towards him. It hits him square in the chest and his cry of pain and shock makes me think right away of one thing. Don't kill him. That's all I can think about, not killing him. Slimo doesn't deserve this and probably needs to have a good near death experience but I'm not in control of what is happening right now.

The last thing that I know of in my conscious thought is my arms dropping, the darkness closing in and me dropping down from my one elbow to the floor. I hear a loud beeping sound before all thought ends and I am submerged in the pull of the force.