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 Opportunity, Ahsoka Tano
I didn't think that the whole 'Lightsaber Assembly Kit' thing was real until Anakin got bored of waiting for me to figure out how to begin building my lightsaber and used the force to summon it. Now I know that these things are all coming from somewhere because he wasn't carrying it around with him when he arrived back in the galaxy which means that he either has a great memory of how to build it or he has a friend who sends these things to him. Master Kenobi wasn't too happy about Anakin helping me out despite everything but said that as long as I was only following how to make the key components and not the ones that had to be personalised for me that it was fine. I don't think he'll be telling anyone else about it any time soon though.
Building a lightsaber is so complicated. Theres the blade shroud, focusing crystals, hand grips, insulators, cycling field energizers, ring tuning fladge, magnetic stabilizing ring and so much more. I can hardly understand why three weeks ago I was actually excited to be building my own lightsaber and getting my own crystal. Thank the force that Anakin keeps whispering things to me whenever it's Master Kenobi's turn at the game and he is concentrating far too much to hear us. I might actually get this done in the right way now. The casing is kind of hard to build but I've taken to using the force to assemble all of the pieces together very, very slowly. It's annoying because it seems to take just as long to get all of the different components built with the force as it does with me by hand.
"Forty men standing. Looks like I win this galaxy from you, Obi-Wan." Anakin says with a grin.
"You are the luckiest person alive, Anakin." Master Kenobi replies, rolling his eyes.
"You're just jealous because I'm the one who's winning." Anakin retorts. "There's someone at the door." He adds offhandedly right before the sound of knocking is heard at the doorway. Talk about your helpful predictions.
Master Kenobi just sighs at Anakin's comment and shouts "The doors open!" to whoever has disturbed our atmosphere of fun and games. Well, it's all fun and games for Anakin but I'm still trying to build my lightsaber and Master Kenobi is losing worse that I was at chess. I focus on my lightsaber again and smile when I see that I have successfully made the handgrips and stabilizing ring along with the blade shroud. I should have this done quickly if things keep going this way and if Anakin keeps whispering hints to me. However, my glee is short lived when I see Master Plo walk into the room with a large book in his hand that he drops in my lap. It reads: 'Studies For The Youngling Annual Tests'. I panic right away but with Anakin reading the title over my shoulder I can't exactly make a run for it.
"Oh, is it time for Ahsoka to continue studying already?" Master Kenobi asks with arched eyebrows. Something tells me that he knew this was going to happen sooner or later.
"I'm afraid it is." Master Plo confirms. "Since Master Yoda does not feel it is safe for Ahsoka to return to her classes for the next few days she must continue her studies here."
From his position looking over my shoulder, Anakin frowns at the book. "This looks an awful lot like something I had to do when I was twelve." He comments. "Really boring and really annoying."
"Anakin, anything that involves reading a large book is boring and annoying for you." Master Kenobi reminds him. "You can't give her any of the answers just like you can't help her with her lightsaber."
"Party pooper." Anakin says with a slight pout. "How am I supposed to beat her at this game if she's always studying?"
"I doubt there's anything in this world that could stop you from beating the first person who walked through your door at this game, Anakin." Master Kenobi replies. "Thank you for delivering it, Master Plo."
Master Plo nods. "Take care." He says before turning around and leaving the room and me with a sinking feeling in my stomach. This is just great. Anakin was supposed to be the person who could get me out of studying and now that the council know that we're friends they've taken that away from me. Stupid Jedi tests with their hard to learn answers and memory games.
Once the sound of the door closing is heard, Anakin plucks the book right out of my lap and starts to flip through it. "Yep, this is exactly the same as what I did when I was twelve. The answer key never changes. It's A,B,B,C,A,C,B every time and it rotates."
"Anakin!" Master Kenobi says in protest but it is too late. My brain immediately recognized that as information to get me out of my most hated task and stored the information in a place where I can get it at any time.
"What? Ahsoka would have had to study for a test and build her first lightsaber. Besides, just because she knows the answers doesn't mean you can't get her to read the book every once in a while." Anakin says, giving me the perfect excuse that I have dreamed about for years.
Sighing, Master Kenobi shakes his head and goes back to making his move in the game. "That is besides the point. Studying is what makes Jedi so smart and able to fight well."
"Obi-Wan, if studying made Jedi smart half of your council wouldn't have tried to break into my mind." Anakin reminds him. "I still don't know why I don't just break out of here. It would be so easy."
Master Kenobi frowns. "Anakin, if you've been able to break out of here this whole time why don't you?"
"Because there's a fifty percent chance that blowing a hole in the wall will destroy the support beam nearby and crush this quarter of the Jedi temple."
"Oh. I see."
Anakin sighed dramatically. "I'm bored. Beating you is too easy."
"You haven't beaten me yet, Anakin." Master Kenobi reminds him, crossing his arms over his chest. "However, if you are bored, there is always something else you could be doing."
"Really? What?"
"Help us beat Starkiller."
"No." Anakin replies without pause. "I've already told you that I am not going to fight him unless I have to."
"Anakin you do have to. He attacked Ahsoka didn't he?" Master Kenobi points out.
"The protection field looked after her. I don't need to find him just because of that."
That is the most obvious sign of not caring I have ever seen. Honestly, Anakin gives off these really strong signs when he actually thinks something completely different. That might be why the Jedi council decided to 'imprison' him in here. Oh, the protection field will look after sweet little eleven year old Ahsoka I don't have to do anything! Yeah right! He told me himself that I could still get knocked out and get some of the minor injuries and after what happened during the competition I don't have a lot of faith in this whole protection field thing. It can protect me from death but not from getting myself blown up and breaking my arm. Some protection.
"Anakin, she's still in the room." Master Kenobi says, rubbing his eyes. It's a bit late to be reminding him of that if you ask me. "Plus, the amount of injuries she received from that competition tell me that your protection field isn't very good."
"It just needs time to strengthen up," Anakin gives an excuse. "Within that week she was unconscious it strengthened enough to block Starkillers weakest attack."
"And what about his strongest? Anakin, if he comes back and goes for Ahsoka, resulting in him kidnapping her, what will you do then?"
"Hunt him down. Find her. Kill him. What's your point?"
I roll my eyes and put even more focus into building my lightsaber. That has to be a new record for the most contradicting answer in the galaxy. First, he says that the protection field will protect me as an excuse before dropping the bombshell that it needs time to get more powerful to block any of the attacks that Starkiller means to be powerful. Blocking the weakest attacks... ha! They hardly seemed weak to me and a force wielder using the dark side to get what he wants is something that I consider a threat. I need a shield that is powerful enough to block any and all of his attacks. Master Kenobi must have not gotten this point into Anakin's head because he said the answer to his last question so calmly. 'Hunt him down. Find her. Kill him.' How much simpler can you put it?
"Fine, if you won't listen to me then maybe you will listen to her. The council have assigned her the mission of convincing you as of yesterday." Master Kenobi says unexpectedly.
Now, if I had a drink or some food in my mouth I would have choked on it but since I don't the only thing that my reaction caused was for the many parts of my 'lightsaber' to clatter to the ground when I lose my concentration. Anakin is so shocked that he accidentally uses his turn to rest his troops and Master Kenobi's galaxy kills twenty of the forty that he has left. The council want me to do... what? Okay, let me set the record straight. When I first met Anakin he got all suspicious about the council sending me to convince him to sell all of his secrets and so on. I basically vowed never to do anything for them that would make him uncomfortable. This is entirely unexpected and stupid.
"Say what?"
"I don't remember being told about that." I say with a frown.
"We thought it best not to keep any secrets from Anakin since he'll figure it out rather quickly." Master Kenobi explains.
I nod slowly, understanding on some level what he is talking about. Anakin, on the other hand, seems rather annoyed. "Why can't they just accept the fact that I am not going to help the people who betrayed my trust? It's not happening, Obi-Wan. Sorry, but it's not."
"Do I have to remind you that had you two not caused that disturbance in the force I would be dead right now? Starkiller is a threat that needs to be neutralised as quickly as possible."
"Yep, and that involves killing two birds with one stone. The council want me to do this because they think there's a chance that we'll both kill each other and that they can forget about this whole mess. I've never had to wonder why the Jedi order tried to wipe out force wielders millions of years ago." Anakin says with narrowed eyes.
"The Jedi order tried to wipe out all force wielders?" I ask in surprise. That's something I hadn't known.
Anakin nods. "Yes. The key word being 'try'. The force wielders were completely peaceful and then one of them became dark so the Jedi thought that they had to wipe out the entire race. Obviously they failed and the order still exists only because of the fact that the force wielders are peaceful. Any person who could fall down a dark path is either sequestered or cast off planet. That might be how Starkiller got here, actually. He was neutral but never picked any of the four sides of the force."
"What do you mean four sides?"
"Well, there's the light side and the dark side, as you know, but there's also the Unifying force where there is no light or dark and only power and there's the Living force with all living things. I find that the force wielders who are dedicated to the Living force are the most amusing of the lot. The Unifying force is souly focused on power so you can guess how those lot are."
"How come we don't get taught about the Unifying force and the Living force in classes?" I question out of curiosity.
"It is generally believed that they promote paths to the dark side." Master Kenobi replies.
"The dark side? Please!" Anakin snorts. "First of all, the Living force is focused on animals and plant life which the force flows through and promotes the caring sort of personality and the Unifying force teaches of both the light and the dark but ensures that you cannot pick either one which makes the force sensitive neutral. I hardly see a threat with either of them and it would be easier if you just taught the younglings about this so they know to avoid the 'dark path'."
Wow. Talk about your great explanations.
Master Kenobi is practically gaping from half way through Anakin's speech up until he finishes and a minute afterwards. "That's... more than enough to convince me that they don't lead to the dark side." He says finally and slowly. "How do you know all of this?"
Anakin shrugs his shoulders. "Lessons, books, lectures... whatever you call things that give you information. Your Jedi archives are nothing compared to the libraries that I've been to."
"You've been in a library?" I ask in disbelief.
"I had to study for a test and they'd locked the door." Anakin explains.
"Anakin, if those who believe in the Unifying force are neutral then how do you explain all of the dictators that have used their power to force obedience in the galaxy?" Master Kenobi asks and I can tell that he's trying to prove that the Jedi have had it right all along. I gave up trying that weeks ago.
"Those who practice the Unifying force may be able to get extreme amounts of power but if you teach those who are interested in it of the dangers and don't give them the restrictions that the Jedi order give their younglings with the Jedi code then they won't become ruthless or power-hungry. Both are aspects of the dark side and the dark can be over powered by both the light and the Unifying force." Anakin replies without pause. "Therefore, having practitioners of the Unifying force in your order will make dealing with anything that you deem a threat quick and easy."
There's the bombshell. I know that it might not have seemed obvious but for those who know him it is clear that the underlying message in that speech was that the Jedi code is the reason for Jedi to go rogue or turn to the dark side. There are many Jedi in the temple who believe this but not more than a quarter and anyone who comes forward is suspected of being on the dark path and an investigation is launched. I find this to be really unfair since you are allowed to express your beliefs. In the opinion of the public, the Jedi code was made by the grandmaster at the time who had their heart broken and wanted to justify a way to get back at that person by banning love for all Jedi. Adding the fear and hate thing would have made it seem foolproof for any Jedi but not for anyone else. Sometimes I think that the people who aren't Jedi are able to see our faults better than we are.
"You should come to a council meeting sometime," Master Kenobi says after a few minutes of stunned silence. "It would be interesting to see you argue with Master Yoda."
"An argument which I would win, by the way." Anakin adds with that usual cocky attitude of his.
"I'm not so sure about that, Anakin. He always seems to come up with a good reason to counter any arguments against how the Jedi order is today."
"What? Like the one where using the example of one person who went astray to justify losing generations of wasted opportunities? I swear this is the reason why the sith are always one step ahead of you. They adapt and the order doesn't. Anyway, I have had enough of arguing with people who are going on the 'principals' of those who lived millions of years ago. There is a very big chance that the Jedi code wasn't even like this when the order was first made."
"I hardly think that is true."
"And yet there is every possibility that it is. So, I am not going to kill Starkiller for the council because they don't deserve it. I can quite honestly say that so long as Starkiller does not come here and provoke me then I am not going to get involved." Anakin says with finality in his voice.
"Isn't Starkiller the reason that I was in unimaginable pain yesterday?" I ask, breaking the silence.
Anakin looks at me with wide eyes before sighing and putting a hand over his eyes. "He's on Serenno training with Count Dooku and their master Darth Sidious. You go there at night and you might be able to capture him. I will make sure that he doesn't sense you but that is all I am doing since this is not my business... yet. That's the best your gonna get Obi-Wan."
I smile in triumph and go back to building my lightsaber. That was the easiest thing I've ever done. Ahsoka: one. Anakin: zero. Take that you full of yourself force wielding maniac!
"Thank you, Anakin." Master Kenobi says with a sigh of relief. I know exactly how he feels. Anakin is stubborn and if their conversation hadn't gone that way I have no idea how I would have been able to even consider trying to get him to take on Starkiller for the republic. I guess this is just a step in the right direction. "I will go and tell the council now. No building the lightsaber for Ahsoka." He says sternly with a warning tone in his voice.
"I wont," Anakin assures him as he gets up and leaves the room. "But I will build enough so that he doesn't realise."
"Won't he notice that I don't know how to build a lightsaber if mine breaks at some point?" I question.
"That's what instructions are for, Snips." Anakin says with a grin as he hands me a book with lots of pictures of lightsabers on it. "Read that until you know it by heart, mostly, and then Obi-Wan won't know a thing. Remember, everything stays between us."
"How can you go from admitting you know where Starkiller is to all happy again in a split second?" I ask, confused.
Anakin shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. It could be the fact that I have no concept of common sense these days, it could be because I'm not using my powers enough and it's creating an overload or it could be that I want to kill someone and I can't."
I arch both of my eye marks. "Your having an overload?"
"Should I not get to do anything to use up this spare force power then yes, by the end of the week there will be a massive hole in the ground wherever I am standing. Do you think I should have told Obi-Wan that?"
I had better be dreaming. 'Oh, my name is Anakin Skywalker and I'm about to have a massive power overload and I don't think I should have told anyone about it!' I can see it now. With all of the fluttering eyes and high pitched voice like he's a little girl. There is one question on my mind and I think it's a rather good one. How stupid do you have to be not to mention to anyone that you are in serious trouble? Better yet, how stupid do you have to be not to mention that you are about to do something that will blow a massive whole in the Jedi temple? He said himself that blowing a hole in the wall would destroy the nearby support beam and bring this section of the temple down.
"Maybe a few hints or something," I suggest, trying to remain calm. "A massive hole in the ground won't exactly be a good thing."
"It would for me," Anakin grumbles, rubbing his eyes. "This hurts like hell itself."
"Wait, it hurts when you don't have things to do to get rid of all of that excess power?" I ask. "Why don't you just find things to do?"
"There is only so much to do in a suite, Ahsoka. I can think of a million things to do that doesn't involve me being in here that would cure this in an instant. There's always making things grow on Naboo, causing a huge blizzard on Hoth or a sandstorm on Tattoine... actually, no, I promised never to go back to that hell hole... I could make another section of the temple from scratch."
"The blizzard and sandstorm sound like normal things to do but if you need someway to get rid of some of your built up power then why not ask Master Kenobi if you could go outside for a few minutes? I'm sure no-one would mind since you did tell them where to find Starkiller." I reason.
Anakin scoffs. "They went through enough effort building a place to keep me in the temple, Snips. Even though the only reason I stay is because I don't want to kill about a hundred younglings. Besides, when I get out of this room it will not be only for a few minutes. A day at the very least, Snips. At the very least."
I roll my eyes. "Okay, okay, drama queen."
"Hey! Who's helping you make your lightsaber?"
"No-one at the moment. It's in pieces on the floor."
With a glare, Anakin waves his hand and the pieces flow through the air to come to levitate in front of him and he starts to wave his hand multiple times to assemble them all into the various bits and pieces that can only be attached together when I have my lightsaber crystal. He does a much better job of it than I was doing ten minutes ago and I don't care whether it is because he's done this more times than I have or because he knows the instructions by heart but I do care about making sure that if I ever have to build another one I will get Anakin to do it. I'm just thinking of the time that I could spend doing other things when people think that I'm building a lightsaber.
"Here you go," Anakin says once all of the pieces have been assembled and the bottom half of the lightsaber has been constructed. "When you get your crystal you can finish it then."
I smile and take the half constructed lightsaber and the remaining parts that can't be fitted yet. It looks quite nice actually. I'm rather happy that I chose the pieces that I did and so on because I doubt that it would look the same when made out of anything else. The focusing crystals are in place but I don't know how he got those since I was having trouble thinking about how to get them myself. It fits perfectly in my hand with a small amount of room for when I grow so that it won't be uncomfortable or force me to make a new one and is more suited for the reverse grip than the normal grip that Anakin keeps trying to get me to use when fighting so I guess that I won that battle with him.
"What are we going to do now?" I ask curiously.
"Give me a moment," Anakin says before flicking his wrist. I watch as the game packs itself away and then soars out of the room back to where it came from. "Okay. I'm thinking snacks and a movie. Is that alright?"
I nod. "Yes, that sounds fun."