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.

Saying Goodbye To The Jedi, Ahsoka Tano

I wasn't exactly happy that Anakin had decided to send me on ahead so that I was out of the action. In fact, I was furious. I think I might have warped some of the durasteel walls because of how mad I was but Master Plo escorted me to my own room on the cruiser so I couldn't sneak off or anything. There was just under half of the Jedi order left and that meant there was enough room for everyone on the cruiser. Not enough rooms for us all to have one each but enough room for all of the younglings to get some sleep in as we made our way to Polis Massa to treat the wounded. The order had allies there who would help us and I was too tired and bothered to care.

Master Plo wanted me to go and stay with my clan at first but then I told him to remember Pedro and how Slimo was still lurking about somewhere so he put me in my own room. I could sense my friends looking for me and felt a little guilty that I had locked myself in my room but I just didn't want to talk to any of them. The Jedi order had been forced to go on the run because of a force wielder and I was half force wielder. None of them knew that yet and I wasn't keen to find out what their reactions would be when they did find out. They'd probably hate me forever. Make me an outcast. Tell everyone that I was evil.

To make matters worse, I had a really bad headache. You know why? Because everyone was trying to release their emotions to the force and I ended up sensing them all before they came right back to that person. I was having a really bad day and it was because Anakin had left me alone on a cruiser with a protection field that didn't defend against emotional trauma. This headache was really starting to get on my nerves before people finally started to fall asleep. All of the masters and knights stayed awake to pilot the cruiser but the padawans and younglings were literally forced to go to sleep. I even got a visit from a knight sent by Master Plo saying that I had to go to sleep too.

I slept for a long time and I don't really know why. Maybe it had something to do with exhaustion or the trauma of everything that has happened but I just slept like a log. My room would not open for anyone as I slept and not even those who had the code to unlock it could get through. I woke up every time someone came to my door and knew that it was probably just some knight that the council had sent to check that I was still in my room and not trying to sneak off anywhere. We were in hyperspace on a cruiser with thousands of Jedi that could sense wherever I went and they still had to check up on me. That was when I realized that to them I wasn't a normal Jedi youngling anymore. I was the force wielder in disguise who was going to die if they didn't make a decision soon. I'm not really a force wielder but you know what I mean.

When I woke up we had arrived at Polis Massa and the other Jedi who weren't still sleeping had gotten off the cruiser to get medical attention or talk to one another about what was going on in the galaxy. I was woken by Master Plo who told me once I had gotten out of bed to open the door that he had sent three Jedi before him to try and wake me but I slept too deeply. I apologized out of instinct and remembered directly afterwards how Anakin would tell me never to apologize for something that wasn't my fault. Master Plo led me off of the cruiser and I could see just how many people had been injured by the clones even when they had only just breached the temple.

There were younglings everywhere. If they were older that two then they weren't inside a room and they were sat out in the open looking scared and confused. I felt really sorry for them. The rest of the Jedi council were nowhere in sight but there were Jedi knights and masters doing their best to look after the other younglings. I looked around for a familiar face. Barris would do, or any one of the twins. But I couldn't see any of them. Not even Pedro who had started to be mean to me because of the competition rivalry, fear of what was going on and then fear of force wielders. I'm not going to say that I'm not angry at him because of his over reaction because I am. I seriously am. He's supposed to be a regular Jedi who can control his temper whereas I am not normal. Not anymore.

We walked through a few of the indoor corridors until we came to an open space where there were some really familiar faces. The twins were there looking glum and so were the rest of my clan. Somehow they had all survived. When we arrived the twins looked up and relief spread across their faces.

"Thank force," Jay said. "We thought the clones had got you."

"Nope. Still here." I replied.

"And all thanks to your force wielder friend," Pedro grumbled.

"Put a sock in it pouting Thomas." Kay snapped.

"Younglings, play nice." Master Plo said. "The council is reaching a decision on what our future will hold but until that happens there must be no violence. Ration bars are being handed out if you're hungry and restrooms are inside the facility."

He then turned and walked away. We were all left alone out in the cold to think about what was going on around us. You could tell that if we spent more than five seconds thinking about our lives now that we would fall into pits of despair. I walked over to the twins and sat down beside Kay. Everyone was shivering and unable to stop themselves. I could feel the cold now and was certain that I was going to start shaking and have my teeth chattering together at any moment.

"Ration bars..." Jay snorted. "They're not exactly food, are they?"

"I can't believe we had to go to Polis Massa. It's so cold and there's no way to start a fire," Kay added. "Hey, 'Soka, were'd your friend go? The force wielder?"

"He stayed behind with Master Kenobi and Master Yoda to figure out what was going on," I replied. "And to make sure that nobody got left behind."

"When he gets back is he just going to take off or something?"

"No," I said. "He'll probably make sure that Master Kenobi is okay and then make sure I'm okay and then... I don't really know what he'll do. He likes to live life in his own way if you know what I mean. Sort of like you two do."

"But he can start a fire, right?" Katooni asked. "You can ask him to start one for us?"

I shifted around a little. "Well, uh, he thinks that fire starting is really easy to do." I said. "So he sort of taught me how to do it aswell."

"Well? What are you waiting for? Permission?" Kay asked sarcastically. "Go on! We're freezing! It'll be better for us all if we had a fire."

"I can't make a full blown fire, though." I protested. "Only one in the palm of my hand that I haven't really tried making into a large fire yet."

"There's a first time for everything, Ahsoka." Barris reminded me.

I sighed and concentrated really hard. And by hard I mean seriously hard. I put every happy memory I had in the front of my mind and most of them were about the time I spent playing games with Anakin or watching him and Master Kenobi have an argument over which rule in the Jedi code is the worst. That particular memory did it a little too well for me and both of my hands were on fire just like that. It wasn't a little fire either. It took up the whole space around my hands and spread down to just below my wrists. The twins jumped in surprise and I kept my hands a safe distance away from my body just in case my clothing got set on fire.

"Wow," Jay said in disbelief. "Talk about your advanced force techniques."

"Can you place it in the middle, Ahsoka?" Kay asked. "Or just make it warmer? I'll settle for either one."

I rolled my eyes. "Hold on. I haven't done this that many times before."

By this point I had no idea what I was doing so I just thought in my head. Don't set my friends on fire or burn anything down, just go in the middle. It was a really stupid thing to think but I got an idea in my head anyway. I aimed the fire at the spot directly in the middle of where we were all sat and thought about the fire shooting off my hands and landing there. It sort of worked. My hands weren't on fire anymore as the fire had shot away from them and stopped in mid air right in the middle of where we were all sat. It turned into a ball of fire like the stars in the galaxy but not as warm and not as bright. I could feel the heat since the fire wasn't that far away from any of us and I was really amazed by what I'd managed to do.

"Ahsoka, that was amazing!" Byph exclaimed.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah, why would you think otherwise?" Katooni questioned.

"Well, because Anakin can do that in his sleep." I said.

"He's a force wielder, Ahsoka. You're a Jedi youngling and years younger than he is. It's amazing and that is that." Jay said with finality in his voice.

"But -"

"That. Is. That." Jay repeated firmly but with a smile on his face. "Hey, what else can you do?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I can create light but that's it. We didn't really do much of the whole teaching new force techniques thing."

"Light..." Kay said dreamily. "That is so cool. Do you know how to teach other people?"

"I- I don't think so. No. I don't know how to teach it to other's." I replied, deliberately leaving out the part about them not being part force wielder so they couldn't do it. I didn't know for certain if they couldn't, though, so I made a mental note to question Anakin about it once he got here.

"That's so unfair," Jay complained. "You get the coolest friends in the galaxy. Hey, anyone want a ration bar?"

Several people said that they did but I didn't. In fact, everyone but me said that they wanted a ration bar. I didn't really want to eat a ration bar because they taste disgusting but I was really hungry so my hunger should have over ruled that. This time it didn't. I just felt too uncomfortable to eat right now and that wasn't about to change any time soon. Jay rushed off to the nearest Jedi knight who was offering them to other younglings who were hungry or upset. I was fully prepared to just sit and brood whilst everyone else discussed what we were going to do when a ship entered the atmosphere. A Nubian cruiser. You know who I could sense on that ship? Anakin. He only let me or Master Kenobi sense where he was.

"Who's ship is that?" Kay asked.

"I don't know," I said. "But Anakin's on that ship."

"The force wielder?"

I nodded.

"That means Master Yoda and Master Kenobi are on that ship too," Barris said. "They can finally help make a decision with the council."

"Something's wrong..." I said as this strange feeling crept over me. Then something like pain from Master Kenobi but it was so faint I could barely sense it. "I think something happened to Master Kenobi."

"How can you tell?" Pedro asked me a question for the first time.

"Because Anakin told me that when you sense little things in the force you should never ignore them," I explained. "You can make it look as if you are so you catch whatever it is off guard by being prepared but never really ignore them. Master Kenobi is in pain. I know he is."

"And there are other people on that ship too," Katooni said. "Can anyone else sense them? There are three other people apart from Master Kenobi and Master Yoda... I can't sense your force wielder friend."

"He doesn't like people being able to sense him." I said. "Only people he trusts."

"You mean like you?"

"Yeah. And Master Kenobi too."

The ship landed on the space of the landing pad that was left and the ramp descended. Three of the senators that you saw on the HoloNet walked out and Master Yoda came out using his walking stick. Then the bad part came. Anakin walked out with his hand on something and I realized that it was a stretcher. On that stretcher was Master Kenobi and he did not look good. It was as if his health was slowly deteriorating. The Jedi council appeared out of nowhere on that area of Polis Massa and ran towards them. They all looked at Master Kenobi first before asking questions. You couldn't make out what they were saying because they were all saying it at once. Anakin tried to stop them several times but they wouldn't listen. Then he used the force to enhance his voice.

"WHERE is Ahsoka?" He asked them and they all stopped their questions. Everyone around me turned to give me the raised eyebrows look and I just lifted my shoulders in the 'who knew?' gesture. "Thank you," Anakin said to them before disappearing into the Polis Massa facility. The Jedi council started listening to Master Yoda as he answered each of their questions in his usual voice.

I sighed. This was going to be a very long day if everyone kept asking questions about things when they should have been making up their minds.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin called as he reappeared coming out of the Polis Massa facility and walked towards me. "Where have you been and why is there a fire floating in the middle of your group of friends?"

I gave him an innocent look. "I was... Trying out new things?"

He looked from me to the ball of fire and back again. "Well, Snips, first of all you shouldn't be playing with fire and second... I'm so proud." He said with a smirk. "But don't tell Obi-Wan, okay? He'll kill me if he wakes up and finds out."

"What's wrong with Master Kenobi?" Kay asked.

"Poisonous fluid in his blood system," Anakin replied.

"Can't you just heal it?" I questioned.

"I healed up his body when it got torn in half, Snips. I think I deserve a little break here," He said. "Besides, I don't do fluids in blood systems. I can keep him alive for a while but, ultimately, if your Jedi council don't make a decision soon he's going to die."

"A decision about what?" Katooni asked.

"About whether I can take him and Ahsoka back to my planet or not," Anakin replied and everyone's eyes went wide with the exception of mine. "Unless they want them both to suffer a painful death that is."

"Why? Is there something wrong with Ahsoka?"

"No. Just a little complication," Anakin said offhandedly. "Snips, have you eaten?"

"No," I replied. "Jay went to get ration bars but I couldn't eat so I didn't ask for one."

"I'm not surprised when ration bars is your only option." Anakin tutted. "You want take away?"

I blinked. "How are you going to get take away when we're all the way out here?"

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Force wielder," He pointed out. With a snap of his fingers there were boxes of take away from one of the best shops on Coruscant floating about and they all positioned themselves so that there was one in front of each of us, one in the space where Jay would sit once he got back and one for him. Everyone's jaws dropped as they stared at what was in front of them and proceeded to gape.

"It's not got any of those cheap prawn crackers in it, has it?" I asked.

"Not in yours it doesn't." Anakin answered and he sat down beside me in a space that no-one had sat in before. "But no-one else seems to mind that much so there you are." He waved his hand at the ball of fire and it got bigger which meant it got warmer. "That's much better."

"How did it go? Did you find out anything?"

"Yep. Turns out your dear Chancellor Palpatine is a sith lord. He just turned the republic into the first galactic empire since the time of the sith empire. But I guess it's the same thing."

"Does that mean Starkiller has control of the galaxy?"

"In some form of another he does. But you never know. He might end up killing Palpatine for the throne and then the Jedi order has one less thing to worry about."

"You mean aside from being on the run from everyone?" Barris asked.

Anakin sighed. "I guess so. But this thing is never going to stick. An empire with a force wielder backing it? That's going to be hard to deal with but not impossible. You should already be on your way to another planet if your council would just hurry up and make a decision. They take forever to make up their minds."

"Can't you just, you know... Go?" Kay asked. "They don't have any jurisdiction over you. You could just leave. Why do you stay?"

"Eh, because I care a lot more than some people," Anakin replied. "And because it's not in my nature to leave friends behind. Plus, my mother is still out there. Somewhere in this galaxy."

"You said you were going to find her," I pointed out. "Once we get off Polis Massa are you going to look?"

"Maybe," Anakin said. "But if I waste too much time Obi-Wan will die so I'll have to get him and you back to my planet first. Then I'll look for her."

We all started eating then. Me and the other younglings because we were starving and Anakin because he was obviously worried about Obi-Wan. We all just sat there and talked. The others eventually got used to Anakin's presence there and just started talking as if it was natural. It was like we were all back in the temple again but with the added bonus of Anakin being there too. I liked it more than I could say and it made me forget about everything that was going on around us. We spent a good few hours just sat there and when we started to get sore from sitting on the floor Anakin just waved his hand and suddenly we were all sat on cushions.

Jay came back and looked a little miffed that we'd started eating without him but soon got over it. Food always made people feel better when it came from the right person or the right place. I wasn't sure if appearing out of thin air was a place but I didn't ask any questions. It was better to go with the flow. Then just as we finished eating and Anakin had made the fire glow golden so that there was more light for us to see Master Windu came towards us with Master Fisto. They said that the council had reached a decision and that the senators had helped them come to it. They also said that I had to come to listen to their decision too.

The Jedi council were staying in a room with the ones who ran Polis Massa but they had left to give us some privacy. Master Kenobi was still on his stretcher in the corner and had machines monitoring his health. I recognized the three senators now that I was closer. Senator Organa, Senator Mothma and Senator Amidala. You know, I could have sworn I saw Anakin give her one to many glances when we walked inside but I decided not to say anything. It was ammunition for another time.

"The council has reached a decision."

I could see the words floating in Anakin's brain right now. You don't say?

"To save the lives of Master Kenobi and Youngling Tano you will be allowed to take them back to your planet," Master Windu said. "But there are some conditions."

"Fire away." Anakin said.

"There must be a place for the order to stay where Starkiller cannot sense us. What remains of the Jedi will be wiped out if he finds us."

"I can get that done in less than an hour."

"Master Kenobi must be allowed to return if he wishes."

"Of course."

"And we need the basis of a plan to bring down the empire."

"Well that's easy. Just make an alliance." Anakin said.

"An alliance?"

"Yes. There were lots of senators in the Delegation of the 2000. They must be able to help you and you can make an alliance with them then try to bring the empire down from the inside. Is that enough for you to start on?"

"Plenty." Master Windu replied. "The order is leaving for Yavin 4 in the next hour so we advise that you, the youngling and Master Kenobi leave at once."

Anakin nodded. "We'll go then. When you get to your old temple it'll already be protected against dark force wielders but that's not to say that I can't sense you. So if you get into big trouble then I'll know about and find a way to get you out of it."

Master Windu nodded. "Thank you, Skywalker."

"Don't mention it." Anakin turned to me. "Let's get out of here, Snips."