Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I just created my own little AU sandbox to play in.
AN: Here's chapter 27! Thanks for all the great reviews. Six months have passed since the events in chapter 24. Here are notes to a few individuals who have been kind enough to review:
Harry2: Thanks for your review, however, Anakin won't intentionally reveal himself to Obi-Wan. Unfortunately, Obi-Wan is not ready for the reality that everything he knows isn't exactly what it seems. And Grievous will probably be around a while ;)
FateOfChaos: Glad you liked the chapter, sorry you didn't like that last sentence. I was trying to describe him from the character's point of view. This is the first time they've seen him so that's what I was trying to do with that sentence.
Hannah Jane: Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. :)
Annabel Willow: You'll be happy to know that Scout and Whie get a lot of focus in this chapter. ;) Hope you enjoy.
sexystarwarslover: Sorry about the cliffhanger, but you know I can't help myself sometimes. ;) Lots of action ahead so enjoy! :)
Mightym: Glad you enjoyed it. As for Forever Destined, I don't always know when new chapters will come, because I have several stories and I work on everything when I can, which is when my free time allows.
Skylanian Writer: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it!
cyclops1340: Glad you're enjoying the story.
Destiny Changer: Glad you're enjoying the story, however, I can't contact any other authors for you. If you create an account, it will allow you to PM those authors. Thanks! :)
Avalon West: Yep, it's getting good. Glad you're enjoying it! More Whie and Scout to come too. :)
Force Jumper
Chapter 27: Destruction of Malevolence
Whie, exhausted and hungry from searching the city, stepped inside a small diner. He sat down at the counter and ordered food and water, while casually observing his surroundings. The diner was mostly empty with the exception of a few other patrons. A pod race played on the Holoscreen and two customers seemed particularly interested in it. Gamblers, Whie deduced.
"Damn…I've got to win this race," one complained. His friend chuckled.
"Yeah, you're poor as a womp rat after last night," he teased.
"It isn't funny," he snapped. But the other only chuckled again.
"Actually you getting cleaned out in a Sabaac game by some little red headed tart is hilarious," he teased again.
"I still say she cheated! No little girl can play Sabaac like that!" he complained.
"Yeah, she better watch herself or some of the riff raff that we play with might decide to teach her a lesson," he replied.
"Yeah, the boys down at Sylver's will give her a lesson she won't soon forget. Pretty one like that in a place like Ol' Sylver's is asking for it if you ask me," the other said bitterly.
Whie couldn't believe the sudden turn in his luck. He had been asking the Force for guidance since he arrived on Ryloth and just when he thought he'd never find her, the Force had led him to the answers he needed.
The owner brought his food, as the two that had been talking left.
"Anything else for you, son?" the older man asked.
"Can I get directions to a place called Sylver's?" Whie asked. The man sighed.
"Son, I don't know why you'd want to go to a filthy place like that," the owner replied.
"Please sir, I have a friend that might be in trouble," Whie pleaded.
"Well, if you insist, you take main all the way down into the slums, about ten miles. The dive you're looking for will be on your right," he explained.
"Thank you Sir," Whie replied, as he ate quickly to fill his stomach and replenish his strength. When he was finished, he paid for his meal, left a very generous tip, and left quickly.
Obi-Wan found himself shadowboxing, as Grievous used his abilities to be anywhere around him in seconds.
"Are you too afraid to stay in one place and fight me?" Obi-Wan questioned. Grievous chuckled and appeared before him again. Obi-Wan parried the droid's blades with his, as they struggled for control.
"Oh no Master Kenobi, I assure you that I'm not afraid of you even for an instant. It is you that should be afraid of me!" Grievous rasped, as he jumped away, leaving Obi-Wan searching again. As he was about to appear and launch another surprise attack at the Jedi, Knightblade suddenly appeared in his path and parried his blade with his own shimmering sapphire weapon.
"Ah…the illustrious Knightblade, I presume?" Grievous rasped.
"That's right sleamo, how about fighting someone that can keep up with you?" Knightblade spat, as he Force jumped to the other side of the room.
"That is…if you think you can actually keep up with me," he taunted. Grievous coughed and Force jumped to the other side of the room, his blades slamming against the masked man's. While Knightblade and Grievous exchanged strikes and bounced all over the factory, Obi-Wan turned his attention to Padme, a man that vaguely recognized as her father, and the two boys with them.
"Senator, I need to get you and your children back to my ship safely," Obi-Wan insisted.
"We're not leaving without Knightblade," Padme protested. She gasped, as she watched Grievous embed his metal foot in Anakin's abdomen and then jump to them, while he was recovering from the blow.
"Sorry Master Kenobi, but the Senator and her brats are my hostages," Grievous spat, as he knocked Obi-Wan to the side. But both the droid General and the Jedi were surprised to see Hunter block Grievous' blades with his own. Obi-Wan was stunned and Grievous chuckled, as he shoved the boy back and prepared to end him with a furious swipe. But he was surprised yet again, as the boy hit him with Force lightning of all things, sending him flying back onto his back. The stunned droid flailed and quickly rolled over, scrambling on all fours, before finally managing to rise on his legs again. Obi-Wan was horrified.
"He…used Force lightning…" Obi-Wan said, as Knightblade intercepted Grievous again, before he could advance on the boy again, while Ruwee took the boys and Padme and led them off to the side, as the battle raged.
Quinlan peered through the vent cover, observing what he was up against on the bridge. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it was mostly manned by droids, which wouldn't be too difficult to pick off. He Force Jumped onto the bridge and immediately drew the attention of the droids.
"What?" one cried in surprise, as Quinlan cut him down.
"Hands up…drop your weapon…" another droid called, as it and several others fired on him. Quinlan deflected the blasts back at them, each hitting their mark and he took care of two more advancing from the doorway by Force pushing them into opposite walls. Once clear, he extinguished his blade and made his way to the controls.
"Okay…let's turn off that ion shield," Quinlan said, as his hands moved over the controls.
"What are you doing?" Ahsoka asked, as she entered through the doorway.
"Deactivating the shield, what does it look like? And what are you doing here?" Quinlan asked.
"I'm a Jedi…I think the more appropriate question is why are you here?" Ahsoka questioned.
"Well, it ain't by choice, kid. We were captured and set up. I'm sure Master Windu could tell you all about it. But right now, I suggest you get Kenobi and get off this thing, because I just activated the self-destruct," Quinlan said. Ahsoka's eyes widened.
"What?!" she exclaimed.
"Relax, we have five minutes or so," Quinlan replied. Before she could protest, he grabbed her arm and disappeared.
Scout's face betrayed no emotion, as she stared at the other players across the table. Two rough looking humans, a Dug, and a Rhodian. It was dangerous company to keep, but playing and winning at Sabaac was a quick and easy way to make a lot of money in a short amount of time. She needed to keep moving and she needed credits for that. She could almost hear Whie in her head chiding her for frequenting a place such as this.
"All right, what you got, girl?" one asked gruffly. Scout showed her hand.
"It looks like another winning round for me," Scout announced. The table's occupants cursed and angrily tossed their chips away.
"That's it, you little brat! I know you're cheating!" the Dug screamed.
"Or maybe you're just a sore loser," Scout spat back. Technically speaking they were right, as she was using the Force to feel out their emotions, but she needed the money and she figured this bunch knew what the risks were in playing this game.
"That's it girl, I think it's time we teach you a lesson about why pretty little whelps like you don't come to places like this," one of the human male's hissed.
"There are places you do belong…like warming someone's bed," the other leered, as they cornered her. Scout prepared to draw her lightsaber, but she knew that it would only make things worse, as would simply Force Jumping out of there, though she knew she might not have a choice now.
"This one isn't worth your trouble," a deep male voice said, a voice that she recognized instantly. She whipped around and saw a cloaked figure behind her.
"She'll be coming with me," he continued.
"She's not going anywhere, at least not until we teach her a good lesson!" the Dug yelled.
"Wrong choice," the cloaked figure said, as his emerald lightsaber blazed to life.
"Jedi!" someone cried. Scout ignited her own emerald blade and pressed her back against his.
"Whie…what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Looks like I'm saving your skin, Esterhazy," he retorted.
"I had everything under control," Scout insisted.
"If you have everything under control, then why don't you use your little trick to get us out of here?" he asked.
"Because it attracts too much attention," she replied, as they slashed their way to the exit and warded off any brave enough to take them on. They extinguished their blades and ran into the alleyway behind the dive.
"What do you mean it attracts too much attention?" Whie asked, as he dropped his hood.
"I'll tell you everything, but first, tell me how you found me?" she asked.
"I didn't believe the story you were dead…I just knew it couldn't be true," he replied, as they walked toward the city.
"You…didn't tell anyone you were coming?" she asked, fearing there were others, namely Mace Windu, waiting to pounce on her.
"No…I left the Order," he stated. Her eyes widened.
"You WHAT?!" she exclaimed.
"I left the order," he stated, almost nonchalantly.
"Are you crazy? It was your dream to be a Jedi," Scout exclaimed.
"Dreams change. Anyhow, I had to find you. I knew something was wrong and I got the feeling that there were very few I could trust. I was faced with a decision. You or the Jedi Order," he stated.
"And I was a little surprised when I realized that nothing came close to being more important than you," he continued.
"Whie…" she uttered.
"I also knew something had to be terribly wrong if Master Windu was saying you were dead when I knew you weren't. I knew I had to find you, because…I love you," he confessed. Tears cascaded down the fair skin on her cheeks.
"I love you too Whie," she replied, as she collapsed against his chest, finally letting all her emotions out. He held her tightly and dropped a kiss on top of her head.
"I've missed you Tally…" he whispered, using the name that only he ever called her.
"I've missed you too," she replied.
"Tell me what's going on? Why are you running and why did Master Windu say you were killed in battle?" Whie asked.
"I'll tell you everything, just not here. I'm staying in a motel…but it's an icky place," she sniffed. He chuckled.
"The room I have is decent, let's go there," he replied. She nodded, as they joined hands and started off again.
Knightblade leapt at Grievous, furiously exchanging slashes with the droid General. Onlooker's heads darted around the structure of the room, as Grievous and Knightblade teleported all over, high and low, until they finally appeared on the conveyor belt, still exchanging blows. Grievous' metal elbow managed to make contact with Anakin's abdomen, knocking the wind from him and he felt himself begin to fall from the belt.
"Ani…" Padme said in the barest of whisper…but Obi-Wan heard her, or at least believed he did.
"Ani…no, it can't be," he thought to himself, his thoughts now absorbed by the possibility. Before he could further question her, Knightblade caught himself from falling, but that only allowed Grievous to land a kick to Anakin's gut. He went down hard on the conveyor belt and rolled away from Grievous' swiping blade. He Force Jumped away and Grievous followed him, as they once again crossed blades. Anakin saw Quinlan appear and knew that meant the shields were down.
"This place is gonna to blow…let's go!" Quinlan called, as he gathered Ruwee, Padme, the boys, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan.
"What do you mean it's gonna blow?" Knightblade called.
"I mean as in BOOM! I initiated the self-destruct, now let's move!" Quinlan called, as he jumped into the fight, slashing at Grievous, before kicking him away. Anakin Force jumped all of them to the bridge of the Republic cruiser to drop Obi-Wan and Ahsoka off, before preparing to jump them home to Yavin IV.
"Wait Senator…please allow us to transport you and your children home to Coruscant. The Chancellor is extremely worried about your well-being," Obi-Wan argued.
"You're a fool if you believe that," Knightblade spat.
"Thank you for your gracious offer, Master Kenobi, but my boys and I are safest with Knightblade. You may report to them that we are safe and we will return to Coruscant tomorrow," Padme responded. Before Obi-Wan could protest, they were gone. He sighed deeply, remembering what he had heard.
"Could it really be him?" Obi-Wan asked himself silently.
"Master…are you okay?" Ahsoka asked. Obi-Wan nodded and motioned to the Clone Commander.
"The Malevolence is set to self-destruct, Commander. Please move us to a clear distance," Kenobi ordered.
"Right away Sir," the Clone obeyed.
"I must report to the Council," Obi-Wan stated, as he left the bridge, leaving Ahsoka to wonder what her Master had on his mind.
Scout sighed in relief, as she sat down on the bed in Whie's room he had rented in what seemed like a clean and decent motel, compared to the one she had to settle for.
For now, she was safe and that brought her comfort, despite the raging torrent of emotions inside her at the moment.
"Tally…" he whispered, seeing the look of utter loss on her face.
"He never really wanted me," she sniffed.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Master Windu…he never really wanted me as his padawan. He wanted me dead, so that's why he took me as his student," she sobbed.
"Why would he want to kill you? That goes against everything the Jedi believe in," Whie responded. She sniffed.
"Well, the Jedi aren't the only Order he belongs to," Scout replied.
"I'm not sure I understand," he said in confusion.
"I don't remember what he called them, but he had other people with him. They weren't Jedi, but that had special weapons that they use to capture people that can do what I can do," she explained.
"You mean the Force jumping thing?" he asked. She nodded.
"They kill people that can do it, even if they haven't done anything wrong," Scout told him. Whie was stunned. How could someone who was supposed to protect and keep the peace try to kill one of their own?
"He tried to kill you?" he uttered. She nodded.
"I think it's why that Knightblade person wears a mask. Anyway, he wanted to kill me and then make it look like I perished on the battlefield. I escaped and I've been laying low since," Scout continued to explain.
"Tally, we have to go to the Council with this. Master Yoda has to know," Whie insisted.
"We can't Whie, we'd never make it. These people have equipment that they can use to follow me through my jump scars. That's why I haven't been using the power much; that and I'm not very good at it yet. Master Windu has people tracking Force Jumpers all over the galaxy from what I heard," Scout argued.
"And even if we did, what if they don't believe us? It's our word against the great Master Windu and I think he has other Jedi involved in this cause. We would be dismissed and then he'd find a way to get to us. He'd make it look like an accident," Scout continued. Whie sighed, knowing she was right. Master Windu's word to any Jedi was law, except maybe Master Yoda. But even the small Grand Master would find it hard to believe that Mace Windu would actually do something so devious as to try and kill a young padawan. It sounded insane to him so he knew what it would sound like to other Jedi.
"Then I guess we keep moving…together," he replied, smiling at her.
"You believe me?" she asked. He smiled.
"Of course I believe you…I love you and I'd do anything for you," he confessed. She smiled through her tears and hugged him tightly. As she pulled away, they noticed their faces were only inches apart. Whie took a chance and closed the distance, finally doing what he had wanted to do for so long and pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened in surprise at first, but slowly closed, as she kissed him back.
"I love you," she told him. He smiled and pulled her closer, squelching any daylight between them, as their lips met again passionately.
Grievous coughed and rasped, as he made his way to an escape pod, before jettisoning into open space. He watched as his magnificent ship exploded and he glared at the wreckage.
"You'll pay for this…" Grievous growled. His Master would be most displeased.
They appeared inside their home Temple on Yavin IV, drawing Sifo-Dyas from his meditation.
"It's okay baby…we're safe now," Padme assured Blake, as he continued to cling to her. The little boy relaxed, as he recognized his surroundings as one of the places he called home. Comfortable now, he allowed Padme to put him down, as he and Hunter hugged Sifo-Dyas, who smiled fondly at the boys.
"Well, I take it negotiations were a farce," he mentioned.
"More like a monumental trap," Quinlan responded.
"That had Dooku's stench all over it," Anakin added, as he removed his mask.
"Who was that droid? I've never seen one like that before," Ruwee questioned.
"Droid?" Sifo-Dyas asked.
"Yep, a Force Jumping droid, obviously a work of Dooku himself as well," Quinlan replied.
"Ah, that must be General Grievous. The chatter underground is that he was once a Kaleesh General whose body was so badly damaged that he shouldn't have survived. His organs were spliced with droid technology and it created the monstrosity that you saw," Sifo-Dyas explained. Quinlan raised his eyebrow.
"And you know that how?" he asked.
"Why do you think he captured me on Geonosis?" Sifo-Dyas questioned back.
"I don't know, because he's gone off the deep end? Count Dooku…more like Count Cuckoo," Quinlan joked, making the rest of them snicker in amusement.
"I won't deny that, but the project he was working on needed a source of organic DNA, such as blood and plasma. It's clear now that I was supposed to be a convenient source," Sifo stated.
"But he obviously didn't get you to supply that," Ruwee said.
"Yeah and that still doesn't explain how he can do what we can," Quinlan added, referring to their Force Jumping abilities.
"He found another source…perhaps from a random Force Jumper. Somehow he succeeded, no doubt with the help of the Kaminoans," Sifo-Dyas responded.
"Great, so we have a Force Jumper leading the Separatist army. Like we didn't have enough people that think Force Jumpers are all bad. Mace must secretly be loving this. If he ever was exposed, what better defense?" Quinlan scoffed.
"They may see me as a vigilante, but with me continuing my work freeing slaves and even cleaning up some of the crime on Coruscant that the Jedi neglect could still help our image," Anakin suggested.
"Maybe, I guess the important thing is that we're safe for the time being," Quinlan replied. Padme nodded and Anakin hugged her close.
"I'm going to find out who was behind this, though I have a pretty good idea," he told her. She nodded.
"I know, but Master Quin is right. We're safe, thanks to you, and that's the important thing," she replied, as their lips met in a tender kiss.
"Come on, we were cooped up in the ship for a long time. Let's take the boys for a walk," she suggested. He smiled.
"Sounds perfect," he agreed, as they went out to enjoy the fresh air and nature that Yavin IV had to offer.
"Then safe, the Senator and her children are?" Yoda asked.
"It appears that way, Master. I insisted that she and the children come with me, but she would have none of it," Obi-Wan reported. On the outside, Mace Windu remained calm and stoic, but on the inside he was seething. He carefully released his anger into the Force. His plans had once again failed completely. This Knightblade always seemed to escape…no matter what he tried.
Depa Billaba sat in her star fighter, watching the destruction of Grievous' flag ship. They had escaped and her Master would be most displeased. Her subordinates had escaped as well and she pressed a button on her console to accept a hail from their ship.
"We believe we may have a lead on the Malreaux boy," one of them said.
"Where?" she asked.
"We tracked him to Ryloth this time and he has been there more than twenty-four hours. It's possible she is there too," he reported.
"Relay this to Master Windu and inform him that I've set course for Ryloth," she responded, as she input her course into the navigation computer and jumped to hyperspace…