Chapter 2 - Running

Author's Note: No, the framing in here is not identical to what happened in the CW for a whole bunch of reasons. Also, it's more fun this way. :)

~ Amina Gila

Anakin sprints into the hall, turning a corner sharply to see... clones lying on the floor? They're dead. He can feel it. But what really catches his attention is that it looks like it was done with a lightsaber.

What?

The Dark Sider was just here, though why they were killing the clones right near Anakin's cell, he's not sure. Then again, this was where Letta was being held. Maybe they came back here for some reason. And maybe, if he can move fast enough, he'll catch them this time.

The Dark Sider is clearly here, considering the lightsaber wounds. Anakin stops only to get his own lightsaber – he doesn't want to, but he doesn't really have a choice, considering this is no doubt going to end in a fight – before taking off after.

They did a neat job, too, but he must be close on the trail. The wounds are fresh, and some of the clones are still dying, though their injuries are all fatal.

What Anakin suddenly isn't sure about, though, is how intentional this is. Is the Dark Sider intentionally leaving this trail right nearby him for something? Is this meant to be a trap? It's not as though Anakin has a choice but to follow it, though.

The Dark Sider is obviously carefully avoiding anywhere where the rioting is actually happening – Anakin can hear it close, and he wants to help the clones deal with it, but he needs to stay focused on this trail right now.

They're rapidly approaching the outside of the facility, and Anakin skids to a stop near the now open entrance. Clones are already everywhere outside, likely trying to control anyone who's already escaped the facility.

And he lost the trail. Again.

He can still sense traces of the Dark Side, though, so he sprints outside, trying to follow the elusive presence.

"There he is!" a voice yells from behind him, and Anakin turns sharply at the flare of danger in the Force, to see a group of clones preparing to fire at him.

"Wait –" he starts to protest, but they start shooting.

Live rounds.

He dodges out of the way, instinctively drawing his lightsaber to avoid being shot. And he can't very well talk to them over this level of noise, so all he can do is keep backing away as they keep shooting – to avoid being hit or hitting them.

This was not supposed to happen. Why does this keep happening?! He knows why they're attacking him, but that doesn't make it easy to be fighting the boys he would do anything for, even if these aren't his.

"He killed clones in the facility," he hears Fox calling to the others.

Wait, they think he did that?!

But –

Of course, they would, because he was following the trail of dead bodies, and no one else has seen the Dark Sider.

They would have no way to know what really happened, and he can't blame them for being angry. They have no reason to know that it wasn't him because they don't know him. They would have no way to know it wasn't him who did it.

He should surrender and explain now, except if he stops fighting for even a moment, he'll be hit. More shots – from above now – rain down on him and instincts kick in. Anakin lashes out with the Force, shoving the closest clones back, and takes off running.

That was probably a mistake, but now that he's running, he can't stop, either. And going back to his cell where no one is listening to his suspicions is not going to help them find the Dark Sider who actually did kill all those clones.

He can't stop running to even catch his breath, much less think anything over right now.

Running is – it's stupid, and a small part of Anakin knows that, understands that, but it's also instinctive. He has to. He can't surrender when they're trying to kill him. It's obvious now, that this was meant as a set-up. It was... was it intentional? He doesn't have time to think about that, though. Right now, Anakin needs to focus on getting out of here.

Thunder rumbles in the background as he runs, still deflecting the clones' shots away. Ships are flying in – he can see their spotlights on him – and he thinks he can feel Obi-Wan approaching.

His former master would know what to do, but he can't stop right now without being shot. All he can do is keep running, away from the prison and out into the industrial area where they'll hopefully lose him for a moment.

There are many narrow walkways and bridges everywhere, which makes it slightly easier for him to run, but the clones are spreading out, trying to surround him. He can't outrun them. He'll have to find a way to lose them. And he can't do that on the surface when they can see everything. He needs to go... down.

He spots a pipe that leads into the lower city levels and jumps onto it. Anakin stabs his lightsaber into it, cutting a hole big enough to fit through, and jumps down.

Somehow, that Obi-Wan is looking for him makes him feel even worse about it. He has to lose the clones, and the pipes have many twists and turns.

Anakin doesn't know his way around them, but he knows how to stay out of sight if he needs to. He had to learn that on Tatooine. On Tatooine, everything is about surviving.

He finally makes it to a dead end in the pipe, an area overlooking the Underworld. It's raining heavily, bolts of lightning occasionally flashing in the sky, and Anakin twitches at the sight. He's seen lightning far too many times. Dooku – Anakin forces that from mind. It doesn't matter.

He needs to keep moving. If he gets onto one of those transports, the clones will lose him, but suddenly, he can't help wondering if this was really the right choice. With him gone, the efforts will be on finding him instead of the true killer.

"Anakin." It's Obi-Wan. He's a distance away, but he can hear his master's footsteps, echoing through the halls.

And Anakin waits. He can't continue running. If Obi-Wan is here, then... things might start making sense.

They always do.

"I'm here," he answers quietly, turning a bit away from the storm.

"Anakin, what are you doing?" Obi-Wan demands. He sounds upset. Frustrated. He – has a right to be, Anakin reminds himself. He doesn't know what's happening, either.

"It wasn't me," Anakin tries explaining. He's still slightly winded from moving so fast. "I don't know what happened."

"Then why are you running?"

Force. Does he honestly think Anakin could have done that? "I – I sensed a Dark Sider there, and I had to find them."

"Where are they?" Obi-Wan asks, frowning. "You are the only Force user the clones have reported seeing leave."

"I lost their trail," Anakin answers, breathlessly. He can't tell if Obi-Wan believes him or not. He thinks so, and he doesn't know how he couldn't, but he's certainly not showing it. "They killed everyone in their path." And it never stops making him sick to see how little regard so many people have for the clones. It's just – it's so wrong.

"Then you need to come back," Obi-Wan insists, "This is only making you look more guilty."

"You know nothing I do can change that now," Anakin replies, looking down over the city again. He needs to... go. Right now, he mostly just feels empty. Numb. Nothing. "They have a case, and if... if I keep following this trail, it might lead me back to whoever laid it."

"It's too dangerous," Obi-Wan argues.

"We've faced worse," Anakin reminds.

"Not like this, Anakin," he retorts, "We don't need the Republic thinking you are the one behind this. You need to come back."

He doesn't know what to say to that. It's hard to refuse, but Anakin can't really... just go back, can he? How could he? When he's already gone so far? "Master, I..." He should go back. Maybe. He doesn't know. "We need to focus on finding the person who really did this."

"Then come back," Obi-Wan says – orders, more accurately.

Anakin doesn't get the chance to respond, because he hears a splash from down the pipe – the clones are coming. They're catching up, and either he can... go back with Obi-Wan now or run while he has the chance.

And he doesn't know why, but the Force is urging him onwards, telling him to go. Even if he doesn't understand why. He needs to follow the trail. "I have to go," Anakin tells him. "There's a trail there. I have to follow it. This is my responsibility."

"Ahsoka and I can handle it," Obi-Wan argues.

"If I stay, more people will be hurt because of me," Anakin adds quietly, "I have to go." He senses the clones approaching. They're coming closer, and he needs to go. He hesitates only a moment longer before jumping off onto a passing ship.

He looks up at Obi-Wan, watching until his master disappears from his line of sight. He can only hope that this wasn't a mistake.

**w**

Obi-Wan doesn't remember the last time he was this frustrated with everything. 'Frustrated' is actually putting it mildly. First, the Temple's blown up, and then, Anakin's accused of murdering Letta, and now, this?

And he still doesn't understand why Anakin would do something so stupid as continuing to run when he's only making himself look more guilty. It doesn't make any sense. But his former padawan can be extremely stubborn sometimes. Still, now was hardly an ideal time to be dealing with it.

Most of all, Obi-Wan's concerned for what it's going to mean now. He knows Anakin would never have killed all the clones reported dead by a lightsaber, but none of this makes any sense. He's obviously right about a Dark Sider being on the loose... except the only person's word they really have is Anakin's, and he's also missing and a fugitive from the Republic.

In the middle of the war, this is the last thing they need to be dealing with right now.

"Nearly all footage in facility was destroyed during the riot," Tarkin says over a hologram, in the center of the Council chambers, "But as of now, there is little reason to doubt that it was General Skywalker who killed the clones, in an effort to escape the facility. Mouse droids were used to blow up the power generators, enabling his escape. These are the same type used at the Jedi Temple, which raises the question of if the explosion was intentional, to enable his escape."

Apparently, the accusations can get worse.

"Anakin would never do that," Obi-Wan argues, fiercely. It's not even a question, but he can't deny that the evidence looks incriminating. And what they're going to do about it, he has no idea. Anakin's put himself in a very bad situation by running. What was he thinking?! A crime like this is considered treason, and –

"I find it surprising as well, but we are dealing strictly with facts and evidence," the Admiral replies, curtly, "And all the evidence points in the same direction." His hologram flickers out, leaving them alone.

"Was there no way to stop Skywalker before he escaped?" Windu asks, clearly unhappy.

"No," Obi-Wan replies, "He escaped to the edge of the pipeline. But even so, I believe we're focusing on the wrong aspect of this situation. We must find the real killer, not Anakin." Even if what he wants most is to bring Anakin back here to somewhere that Obi-Wan will know with certainty Anakin will be safe. It's almost ridiculous how worried about that he is, even now. Anakin is a General and has fought in a war. He knows how to take care of himself. He's – he's rescued Obi-Wan many times, after all. It's not like he can't do this, but Obi-Wan can't help being worried, either way.

"We have no leads on the killer, except that it was likely a Jedi," Mundi reminds, and the implications are... clear enough.

Obi-Wan doesn't know that anyone on the Council actually believes it, but it still looks... bad.

"Anakin said he was following the trail of a Dark Sider," Obi-Wan asserts.

"Something we have no way to verify," Windu reminds.

"Clear, our minds must be, if unravel this mystery, we will," Yoda declares.

"If Skywalker knows something more, finding him will aid in our search," Plo points out.

"Why would he have run, with no questionable motives?" Tiin inquires.

"He was determined to find the real killer," Obi-Wan explains. Although, he doesn't understand himself why his former padawan was being so stubborn. Though to be fair, that's what Anakin is most of the time.

"We must consider all possibilities," Windu declares, "Obi-Wan, you may be the best to search for Skywalker. You know him best. We will search the Temple for any further evidence on this matter."

"I will leave immediately," Obi-Wan replies, rising. He heads from the Council chambers, contacting the 212th to send some forces down to the surface to begin searching. The police everywhere are already on alert, but Obi-Wan knows it won't be enough if Anakin really wants to stay hidden.

Obi-Wan hasn't even made it out of the hangar yet when he gets a call from Master Windu. He looks unusually grave, which is... saying something. "Someone searched Skywalker's room," he says, "We recovered a reprogrammed mouse droid, of the same type that was present in the bombing."

What?!

That – that doesn't make sense. Unless this entire thing was done intentionally to make it appear that Anakin did it, because Obi-Wan knows without a doubt that his padawan would never do something like this. Yes, Anakin has struggles with the Council, but he takes his duty seriously. He cares about people, and he would never go so far as hurting the clones. He would never go so far as bombing the Temple, either, no matter how angry he was.

And if he was having doubts, Obi-Wan would know. Anakin would have talked to him. This doesn't – it doesn't make sense.

"Anakin would never be that sloppy," he says, firmly. Even if his loyalties were in question, which they definitely are not. Anakin is... almost disturbingly brilliant sometimes. He would never make such a stupid mistake. Anakin won a pod race when he was nine. He won a space battle when he was nine, with no training. That wasn't sheer luck. That was brilliance. And Anakin hasn't earned the name the Hero With no Fear for no reason. He's by far one of the best Generals the Jedi has.

"I find it unlikely as well," Windu responds, grimly, "But as of now, we have little evidence in support of him. Find Skywalker as soon as possible."

"I will," he promises. They have to.

**w**

Something just feels... off. Wrong. Rex can't entirely place what it is, but after Ahsoka called him earlier to tell him that their General was arrested, he's been... restless. He can't help it. The Jedi Council, no doubt, will ensure his General is fine, and it's almost ridiculous that Rex is as worried as he is, because Anakin has been through some of the worst odds and come out without a scratch.

Literally.

So, no, he has no reason to be as worried as he is. Maybe it's just that instincts tell him that there's something far more major going on.

That's when his comm beeps – it's Cody. "Rex, there's something I thought you should know," his brother tells him. He sounds worried. Uncertain, maybe. Unhappy. "The boys and I are being deployed to track down General Skywalker. He... escaped the prison, and the General tracked him to the Underworld."

What? He feels numb. There is definitely something more going on, and Rex doesn't like this. His General was arrested by the Republic that they all serve, and that alone is a reason to make him... edgy.

No one knows the details because Admiral Tarkin is preventing everyone from seeing him. Rex doesn't believe it. He could never. Yes, his General was... impulsive sometimes, and driven by his emotions, but he would never do something like this. None of this makes sense, and he doesn't like it. "What happened?" Rex asks tightly.

"I don't know," Cody replies, "I'm not sure anyone really does. There was an explosion at the prison, and the power went out. The reports say... he's been killing clones."

"They're wrong," Rex replies fiercely, "I know General Skywalker. He would never do that." He wouldn't. Rex knows him. They were close. Anakin always cared far more for the clones than a General ought to. He'd often go out of his way for them. They always had to put success first, of course, but there still has been times that they deterred if it meant saving lives.

That's how Anakin has always been.

"I don't want to believe it either," Cody replies. "Keep the boys from doing anything rash."

This is the 501st. That's a real challenge.

And they, of course, take it as well as can be expected.

"He's in the Underworld?" Jesse demands incredulously.

"It's clearly a set up," Fives says firmly, arms crossed, "We have to help him."

"There's nothing we can do," Rex replies, "We have to wait for the Commander to come through." What if it's not fast enough, no one asks. They have faith in the kid. Ahsoka's watched their backs, too, despite her age. She'll come through, no matter how long it takes.

"What if he needs our help?" Fives points out.

"Our General has faced far worse odds," Rex argues.

"Oh, I'm not questioning his ability," Kix replies, shifting his helmet from one knee to the other. He's sitting next to Jesse, of course. "I'm just concerned with his health. He just had a mild concussion on Cato Neimoidia, which he hasn't recovered from."

He has a legitimate point, and Rex just as much wants to know what's going on for real as he is worried, though that's not their... skillset. It's not their job. They're soldiers, not... "He'll have it well handled," Rex replies.

"After everything he's done for us," Jesse insists stubbornly, "We should do something for him."

"Getting ourselves dragged into this mess isn't what he would want."

"Someone is framing our General, and I would like to know who and why," Jesse insists. He's being stubborn about this, and Rex knows why. After Umbara, they all learned to act more on instinct than orders. It had taken a long time before they were able to trust anyone other than their General and Commander.

Anakin and Ahsoka would never do that to them. They would never hurt them.

"And as I said, the Commander is handling the investigation," Rex replies, "We will get answers." He starts turning to the door, only to suddenly realize Fives is gone. Vaguely, he registers he was so focused on Jesse and Kix that he hardly registered Fives skirting out of his line of sight.

He should have seen that coming. (Suddenly, he misses Echo. Echo might've had a hard time adapting to the 501st's manner, but he learned when to push it with rules, so much the way their General does.)

Rex doesn't even need to ask to know where he went, but he comms him, anyway.

"You can't prove anything," Fives informs him immediately. And he's an ARC trooper.

"Where are you?" Rex demands.

"Finding answers."

"Against direct orders."

"It's not the first time." He sounds way too flippant about it.

"Stand down," Rex tells him firmly.

"Sorry, sir, but, no," Fives replies, much too cheerfully, and hangs up.

Rex spins around, leveling a glare at the others. "Track his comm," he orders, "And I'll accept it as a formal apology."

"Could be worse," Kix says, nudging Jesse's arm.

"You're right," Rex answers, "It could be. I'll head out, and when I come back, we're going to talk about this."

They just look at each other and shrug without a shred of regret. Well, really, Rex can't entirely blame them either. He wants to get involved himself, also, but as Captain, as the oldest, he can't act purely based on that. It's dangerous. It could get his brothers killed. It's... harder for the younger ones to understand.

Now, somehow, he has to find both his General, and his idiot brother on Coruscant. On a planet of over five thousand layers, that's not easy. May the Force help him.

**w**

Ahsoka... can't sleep. At all. Something is wrong, but no one has contacted her about it. She heard a distant explosion though, and she doesn't like it. More than likely, it revolves around Anakin. Something is happening to him, and this is why she didn't want to leave him alone in the prison there.

It was just so wrong.

Ahsoka wishes she could talk to him, figure out what's happening, and end this. She aches to find the person who did this to the Temple, to her home, and put the matter to rest forever.

There was a disturbance in the Force a while ago. It had worried her master gravely, though now that she looks back, Ahsoka is starting to suspect it had something to do with the beginning of... this.

Ahsoka finally gives up sleeping altogether and starts pacing the Temple halls. She can still go places, but she's not entirely certain she can try continuing the investigation. Not at this time. Not when she's supposed to have gone to bed. Anakin would be nagging her to death if he was here.

But yeah, he's not here.

Because he's in prison.

For no reason.

And he's probably not sleeping either, because Anakin hates closed spaces, and Ahsoka knows he struggles with... having nothing to do.

Anakin can't sit still. After Zygerria, Ahsoka discovered that was just something caused by his past. So much about Anakin started making sense only after that.

Ahsoka wants to talk to him again. She wants to make sure he's alright.

Except she wasn't even allowed that, and they still haven't gotten permission from Tarkin to see him. Maybe the Admiral's intentionally ignoring them. She doubts it, but she can't help being cynical right now.

The halls of the Temple are on their night cycle right now, and only an occasionally nocturnal species is moving about. It's too quiet, and she really wants to see her master.

She's rounding another corner when she trips into someone almost literally. They're only half her height and stumble back with a startled yelp.

And it's... a youngling?

Or a very young padawan.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Ahsoka asks, dryly.

The girl scrambles backwards, looking – and feeling – decidedly nervous. Considering that she ran into Ahsoka while being somewhere she shouldn't have been, it's not surprising. "Yes," she says after a few moments, "Probably."

"Go on," Ahsoka urges, waving a hand, "I can't sleep, either, but staying up won't help anything. Dreams?" She has to ask, because she struggled with that, too. The war was... hard.

"I... suppose," she offers, taking off down the hall at the sound of approaching footsteps. Ahsoka watches the dark-skinned youngling go, shrugging to herself. She wouldn't much want to get caught in a place she ought not to be years ago, either.

But she really should be getting to bed herself. She just wishes she had answers as to why she feels so unsettled right now. About literally everything.

And if she does go to sleep, how can Ahsoka know that something else won't happen when she is sleeping? She can't. And she doesn't like it.

**w**

Anakin is used to the feeling of being alone. He's gone on missions alone before, infiltrated Separatist bases with no one but Artoo. That doesn't mean he likes it. He doesn't. He never has. He was often alone on Tatooine, and at the Temple, and it's just become an integral part of Anakin's life.

Still, he wishes he wasn't alone down here in the Underworld.

Anakin remembers coming down here the first time. Palpatine had taken him down here to show him the corruption in the Republic. Anakin still wonders what would have happened if he had left the Order, but he's... where he needs to be right now. As a Jedi, he can help people he never could otherwise.

Not as if that's helped his mother. Not as if it's helped... many of the people that Anakin should have helped but failed.

He's fallen short so many times, in so many ways. He's failed Ahsoka many times.

Shmi had done a far better job at shielding Anakin then Anakin has with Ahsoka, and she wasn't even free. She wasn't... a Jedi Knight, or a General in the Grand Army of the Republic like Anakin is. And somehow, he still needs Ahsoka to pull him out of trouble now and then, and he hasn't been able to keep her from getting hurt so many times over. To a degree, he can finally understand why Obi-Wan finds it so shameful that Anakin is constantly rescuing him.

And for all his mother did for him, Anakin still failed to save her. Nothing he does about that will change it. Nothing will bring her back. It's impossible, but now that Anakin is down here in the Underworld, surrounded by an environment so similar to what he remembers so clearly from Tatooine – even if the planet and circumstances are totally different – Anakin can't help remembering her.

He misses her. So much.

And he's... failed his men many times over, too. Umbara was the most glaring example. Umbara was... hard for everyone, and it's a topic everyone carefully avoids. (And, of course, there was Echo. There's always Echo – and that's another topic no one ever mentions, and even months later, Anakin can still see the look of haunted emptiness on Fives' face sometimes.)

Brooding about all of it, he knows, is not going to change anything. It's not going to bring his mother back; it's not going to bring anyone back. It's only going to distract him, but Anakin knows how to disappear. And that's what he's trying to do right now, though the largest concern is that – that he doesn't know where to go now.

His whole life, he's had... well, orders. But this mission – it's one he gave himself, and Anakin doesn't even know where to start looking. That's where he needs to go, start figuring out where to go.

Letta had to have left some sort of lead, a connection to the real criminal. The trick is going to be finding it.

They obviously got all the nano droids into the mouse droids somewhere, and it would've been a big operation. Not something Jackar could've done on site at the Temple.

There must be some sort of connection, likely there. And on that note, Anakin remembers something about a warehouse that Letta had been to at some point. He can start there.

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