Good day all,

As a fair warning before this chapter begins: a titanic shift happens here. I cannot allude to what it is, but I want to warn you that this is a heavy chapter and may be triggering to some. Please, continue with caution.

I will assure you that it is all part of the plan, that it all will come to fruition…. but the burning must come first.

Heavy hearted,

Eliana

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The grin on Anakin's face couldn't have been broader if he stretched it with cable clamps. It was a welcome distraction to him, and he hoped his fellow knight who stood to his right, as the day wore on. The day had started as they planned it to: Tombur and his padawan running their fully-geared laps around the camp walls, Anakin and Ahsoka sparring in the main courtyard as the clones packed up the camp, the three adult Togruta keeping themselves distracted with the youngling of the camp and organizing what medical supplies they had managed to salvage all wore away the early morning hours like a canine gnawing on an old bone.

The rains from the night before had paused their deluge after feeding the now-swollen river, the clouds slowly breaking away and letting tiny peaks of sunlight through their blanket to reflect off the puddle-laden earth.

Respectfully neither Anakin nor Ahsoka pressed their fellow Jedi about the energy they had been throwing in waves the night before, not that they would have gotten any answers. The pair had been incredibly active since before the sun had risen and only now found pause; and that was because Ahsoka was determined for that to be so. She had found her strength again and, when both Tombur and Djibourdi had come back from their quarters free of the weighted armor she had been quick to drag Djibourdi with her.

She was currently finishing a quick tour of the obstacle course the clones had arranged for her with her fellow padawan, her eyes bright with determination and excitement as they both walked to the edge of the field. She was going to do it today; she had promised her friend. She was going to do this course with him.

It wasn't as vast, or as laden, or as complex as the ones she had watched him navigate but it was a course regardless, and she was ready to prove that she was more than capable of hearing her way through.

Djibourdi, in all brutal honesty, was biting back the biggest full-tooth smile that demanded to be set free. He had no doubts. He had been waiting for this.

"Follow me," he reminded her when they reached their destination, snickering at her determined nod, "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready," she told him, grasping the shred of cloth she had in her hand and reaching to weave it around her eyes, "Let's do this."

Djibourdi did the same and, in the distance, Tombur gave a quick nod to his praetorian who pressed a command on his gauntlet. The wall of humming waves startled Ahsoka when they erupted and she tossed her head at the overwhelming sensation, taking a half step back before catching onto her friend's footsteps. He was leading her in a circle she realized, a circle to gather herself and her thoughts as the waves rippled and clashed and danced around them. Dutifully, she followed.

No outstretched hand to feel around her, no slipping or tripping on the ground beneath her. She only walked with purpose as she followed the steps that her friend led her in.

She had to pick a sound. Just one… and she chose the sound of Djibourdi's footsteps as they shifted the ground beneath his feet, one behind the other creating rhythmic puddles of sound for her to latch onto. It was the most amazing thing, she had to admit, going from seeing nothing but the shadow of the inside of her eyelids to watching the waves of sound from his boots splash color across her mind's eye. She could hear…and she could feel.

Fifteen seconds later the humming of the obstacles stopped. It didn't faze her. Her fixation was on Djibourdi who had turned them both to walk to the starting line then stopped, a couple calming hums erupting from his montrals though his breath calm. So was hers.

"Watch this, watch this, watch this, watch this!" she could barely hear Eddy in the distance calling to his fellow Togruta, but his summoning voice was a footnote to the tiny ripples of form that her montrals picked up in front of her.

Djibourdi was waiting, waiting for a call – the call that came in the form of two sharp whistles from the vantage point that their masters had chosen. He was off at that mark with a responding trill, making sure to slow himself to a speed that Ahsoka could trail. She did, her only guide through the course was his movements as he left a path for her. Like a set of twins, they ran the course.

Jump front.

Jump behind.

Turn left.

Under a log post.

Through the standing poles.

Then the straight away where she moved to run next to him, taking those last handful of obstacles in tandem with his moves, and without pause. She could feel them. By the Force, she could feel them!

Jump, jump, over the catwalk, then the long jump…. And when they both landed and turned to their right as a pair, Tombur's halting whistle prevailed over the cheers of the 501st, the Chargers who remained, and their guests.

She couldn't believe it – oh, she couldn't believe it, she internally celebrated when she and her friend slowly trotted themselves to a halt and she pulled the cloth from her eyes. The light was almost too overwhelming now, but it let her take in the smiling face of Djibourdi who looked at her with such pride that it made her want to burst. She had figured it out, just as he knew she would.

Anakin was pushing at her mind and she looked to the distance where he and Tombur stood, his arms crossed in front of his chest and that familiar half-smirk on his face, she could feel her heart become full. When the pair of padawans started making their way back to the gate, the knight addressed his friend.

"There's two of them now, Tom," he grunted out, the Echani chuckling in acknowledgement, "We should probably keep an eye on these two, make sure they don't get any ideas."

"You mean like that?" the white-haired man inquired at the same time as Djibourdi hopped by their faces on one of the jutting support beams, skipping and running blindly backward as he held his friend's sash in his hand.

He had swiped it from her in a determined effort to get her to follow him across the impromptu obstacle course without any preparation, and he wasn't disappointed that she had taken the bait and was even more enthusiastic at his teasing. She was quickly after him as she hollered and he turned around with a wide grin, leading her striding across the wide-gapped logs feet from the ground with the sash held away from his body to draw her further into the chase.

"Yup. Just like that," Anakin answered, watching them both tread without hesitation over the jutting beams.

"You know who she reminds me of?"

"No," he responded, taken aback by the amused look on the porcelain face next to him, "What? Who?"

"She's the revamped version of you, my fair-weather friend," Tombur laughed at him, nodding to the two padawans who neared the end of their journey. When they reached the next-to-last log Djibourdi lightly tossed the sash into the air, letting his friend catch it while she made the final few strides and landed with him on the opposite side of the camp wall. Her ecstatic whoop of victory carried across the camp, "With a tad more moxy added in for good measure. She's a fast learner."

"I wouldn't know."

He got a light smack on the shoulder at that quip. Anakin watched the two teenagers move to join their fellow Togruta by the medical tent when they were summoned and, after ensuring they were well-absorbed into conversation, he turned a concerned eye to his friend.

"Tom?"

The knight turned to look at him.

"You want to tell me what's going on?"

He almost didn't, the Echani admitted to himself. He almost didn't want to acknowledge what was stealing his breath from his lungs, what was haunting him with trepidation so thick that he feared he would not be able to break free. He almost didn't want to look back to steal a long look at his padawan who was giving that shy smile he had come to adore as the adults around him encouraged his friend's celebration. He almost didn't want to admit that the gentle humming of the heartstone against his wrist was the only thing grounding him in the moment.

He almost didn't want to admit that, despite all his training and preparation and experience and wisdom, he was afraid. He was afraid of the darkness that was growling at their door, the darkness that was ready to receive its demanded dues for the path that he had chosen to take in life. But, more than anything… he almost didn't want to admit that, as he watched his padawan in the distance, the tears were biting his eyes again because he knew what Djibourdi was about to go through. His padawan had followed him down this path and it led them both, unintentionally, right where Tombur had been trying to avoid.

He supposed the saying was right – the one that his padawan loved to quote to him when something would blow up in his face that he had tried to dodge.

'One often meets his destiny on the road that he takes to avoid it,' Djibourdi would remind him, and the trepidation of hearing it run through his mind in his own voice only escalated the emotions he was currently feeling.

It was almost like he was hearing a desperate scream from a far distance away. He didn't know who the scream belonged to, but he could tell by the sound that whatever was coming was going to be terrifying and incredibly painful… but he was helpless to stop it. The scream in his ears echoed around his mind, and the ache in his heart amplified. The pain was not for him. It was for Djibourdi.

With a tense swallow he forced his eyes away from his padawan and turned back to his friend, realizing that Anakin was quickly growing more and more concerned. For once, he didn't seek to dismiss it.

"I need a favor, Anakin."

"Name it."

There was no hesitation there. He was thankful.

"I need you to promise me that you will let Djibourdi make his choice. Don't interfere."

The human stared at him unblinkingly.

"What does that mean?"

"Please, just… promise me."

Anakin had the pleasure of knowing Tombur since he was thirteen… and never, in all the years they had been friends, did he ever hear his friend's voice break like it did right then. He could feel the emotional agony that his friend was shielding his padawan from, causing it to reverberate to his friend instead, and when there were suddenly tears glossing across the silver eyes he swore his heart stopped.

"Alright Tom. I promise."

The Echani nodded.

"Thank you."

He turned to gaze out to the tree line and the river, his eyes far away from where they were standing.

"I have been made quite the stubborn fool, my friend… and Djibourdi will pay the price for that mistake. I just wanted to make sure that he will be free to choose his fate."

Anakin swore there was a rock lodged in his throat when he went to swallow his growing concern. He cautiously reached out to lay a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Would you like to go for a walk, Tom?"

"Yes, Anakin," was the hollow answer, "Yes, I would."

They made their way down the camp wall and out of the gate together, walking with an air of lamentation between them. Ahsoka didn't see them go. Her focus was on her friends that were around her and the one that had taken refuge in the tree behind her – she was surrounded by the people she aimed to protect, and for just a second everything seemed…right. The laughter of the adults that listened to her story and the babbling of the excited infant who toddled at full speed toward Rex at the gate stole her entire focus.

"Kachi, don't you go bumblin' off too far!" Eddy called past her to the youngling and Ahsoka shook her head with a grin, her arms crossing comfortably and her eyes sliding shut to take in the atmosphere of peace.

Until suddenly there was none.

With a start her eyes snapped wide open and her head popped up in alert, the three adults around her falling into hushed silence. The Force was screaming a blanket warning… but she felt no one approaching.

"What?" Donovan pressed but got no answer from the padawan.

Her attention had gone straight to the tree where Djibourdi had been lounged in the nearby, cradled in the glorious ancient branches. It had been his favorite place since they had gotten here, its snowy flowers a clashing contrast to the dark green of its leaves a perfectly abstract picture of nature and connection to the Living Force.

He had been lounging, lost in thought and meditation – 'had' was the correct tense of that word, because there was no more lounging to be had. He had caught the change just before she did and was now standing on the branch, the echoing thumps from his montrals knocking against Ahsoka's ribcage as he tested what they both had heard. The after-storm breeze rolled in over the wall and she watched him test the air with a couple sharp puffs as the rattling hisses came back to them with a vengeance.

It all happened so fast after that. The golden eyes dilated to black, and Djibourdi was out of the tree with a warning call before he even hit the ground, Ahsoka right on his heels as he sprinted toward the gate. They both slid to a stop right at the entrance, eyes demandingly tearing apart the scene in front of them.

Ahsoka saw them first.

The cluster of Outsiders seemingly manifested from thin air, eyes set and running head-long toward both Jedi Knights who were standing by the river. Ahsoka looked to him with a face of horror, her feet starting to move to carry her out to her master until her friend was in front of her.

The trill that left his montrals was met with one from hers – she didn't even know how she did that or what it meant – but when Djibourdi caught ahold of the terrified toddler that had run to them and heaved her into his friend's arms, she understood what he was telling her.

They had far less defenses this time around. She was going to protect them all.

She was shouting orders before she even started running back into the camp, Djibourdi leaping off in the other direction to intercept the charge of grey-skinned Outsiders that was bearing down on their masters. He had taken down one before he was slammed off his feet by another, his reactions sharp enough to use the momentum to activate his lightsaber and kill him before flipping them both to land with himself on top of the corpse.

The shouting and hollering and screaming of the clones within the camp was drowned out by the blaster fire that rang from the walls, the aim of Ahsoka and her men a defining guardian of the camp. She could handle it, Djibourdi had to get to their masters.

He was back to engaging their enraged foes, spotting the human and the Echani where they had been pressed further toward the rocky bank of the white-washing river. They were doing okay – they were okay, he was trying to calm himself as he executed another rattling Outsider.

Skywalker was no amateur, the demons slain one after the other without him seemingly breathing too hard… but internally his mind was sprinting and forcing his body to move as quickly as it could, dodging and striking and flipping himself over yet another opponent. He was doing well with those in front of him.

The glimmer of polished steel was what he failed to see fast enough, its sneer peaking out from the coverage of the foliage behind him, pointed directly at him. The Force called to him as it alerted him to the danger, and he turned himself around as the unmuffled blast rang out from the high-caliber weapon. For Anakin, Djibourdi, and Ahsoka, all frozen in motion right then….. every second passed by as though it were played as a slideshow.

The look of horrible realization on Anakin's face at the flash of the rifle barrel.

The lightning reaction of Tombur who launched him away from the shot with the Force and right into the water of the river next to them.

The sudden, wholly unnatural jerk of the Echani's body back against his own force of motion…and right into the path of the shot.

And at that moment, that singular, mortifying, reality-shattering moment, the three Jedi whose eyes watched in horror felt their own chests get blown open just like Tombur's.

That sound, the mortal cry of a man desperately wounded, would echo in the darkest sides of Ahsoka's mind for the rest of her life. Its partner was the alarmed cry from his padawan as he watched his master, in slow motion, drop his hold on his lightsaber and plunge with the velocity of the bolt and his own staggering steps right into the roaring water of the river.

Motion was back alarmingly quickly after that as Djibourdi finally made it to the bank where both Jedi knights had stood moments before, just as the Outsider who found himself fortunately free of assault from the two turned his attention and his weapon to face the human who was clinging to the rocks of the shore. The realization lit up Anakin's expression again and he summoned the strength within himself to be ready to leap out of the line of fire.

One moment he stared down the sneering face of the grey-skinned Outsider, the next a hum of justifying green light turned the sneer into a falling pile of black blood and flesh that splattered harmlessly to the ground. Djibourdi only stopped for a moment to look at Anakin –

Before those green lightsabers were shut down and the Togruta was moving with everything he had down the rocky riverbank after the man who had been swept away. The enraged Reapers and other clones took over the field as Anakin clawed himself out of the roaring water, lightsaber in hand as he cut down those beasts and searched the Force for that rifle holder.

They were an afterthought for the padawan who was moving with every ounce of energy he could find, the fight and the camp falling out of sight as he bound and leapt and ate up ground with a desperate ferocity. He had to be faster, he had to move faster, he had to find Tombur faster!

His mind was alert as his body moved and all at once it paid off as he finally heard the gasping gurgle amongst the rage of the waves next to him. He was there, there he was – he had to get to him! Terrified eyes spotted the tree branch over the water ahead, and not a lick of thought tried to stop Djibourdi.

He kicked off the shore.

The tree limb was solid under his boots.

And then… he jumped.

He jumped right into the raging river that swallowed him up and drug him right down, hauling his body with a vengeance through the hissing waves. Somehow he got his head above water as he hacked and desperately sucked in oxygen, his montrals absolutely overwhelming his ability to think with all of the vibrations and sounds that slammed in from all directions at once – the one he looked for was behind him and he was immediately after it.

Djibourdi pressed and pushed and fought toward him through the merciless water, swimming the very last thought that was tangible to him when he finally reached the man. The Togruta pulled his master to him and kept his head above water while he desperately dug his boots into the sandy, rocky bottom of the river that he and Ahsoka had walked across together.

It had shown him mercy that day. Today, it drug both himself and his master, pitilessly, toward their penance. Without compassion, it pounded against the back of the teenager who was fighting against its flow and swept them both away from the daylight.

Djibourdi struggled with every drop of oxygen and energy he could find. He fought until his lungs threatened to burst. He resisted until his legs screamed in agony. He begged the Force until it was silent to his pleas, his eyes growing wide with fright at the sight of the roaring waterfall that they were brought straight to… and as they both went over, Djibourdi never stopping his attempts to resist, he let out an echoing cry of anguish.

The force of gravity and inertia ripped his master from his grasp as they fell and in a final, desperate attempt, Djibourdi reached out to slow the descent of the Jedi knight through the Force.

Suddenly the world went eerily quiet, the singing of the running water and its slowing flow trickling over the boulders and logs that marked the talus of the waterfall. That quiet was shattered by the desperate scream of the teenager who erupted from the water and clung for his life on one of the rough boulders, his lungs purging and burning and demanding the release of the fluid that didn't belong.

The next thing that registered was the absolute burning agony of his left arm that dyed the clarity of the rolling water a deep tinge of red, his blood flowing free from him where his arm had been shredded by the stones after he fell. His chest was heavy, he could barely breathe as he shook from the exertion and energy that he hadn't been ready to give. He couldn't protect himself and his master at the same –

HIS MASTER.

In a panic he rolled himself around. Finally, his eyes found him.

Tombur had crawled himself free of the lapping water and rested himself back against the roots of an ancient tree, his blood pooling on the smooth river rocks below him. Djibourdi pushed himself up, only momentarily yelping and clutching at his shredded arm, before he was tripping and falling over himself to get through the water and over to the man who didn't move.

When Djibourdi hit his knees next to him Tombur's eyes fluttered open. A tiny smile formed across the pale lips when he took in his padawan's face, his voice laced with pride despite how weak it sounded.

"You jumped."

It made Djibourdi want to smile, but the flash of calm was shredded by horror when his master sputtered his breath, fresh blood making itself known as it painted Tombur's teeth and rolled down his chin. Frantic red hands immediately flashed to his own belt to retrieve his herbs –

There were none.

The only container that the river had spared were the seeds of the death plant, still clipped with that ancient marking on his waist. The terror was immediate. He leaned himself over, his own dripping blood falling to mix with Tombur's as his hands hovered over what was clearly a fatal wound - filled with every intent on using the little bits of energy he had left to try against fate.

He was fighting so hard to not let the tears fall from his eyes when the shaking white hands (they were cold…they shouldn't be so cold…) delicately grasped his own to stop him. His master knew he didn't have the energy to spare.

"No, Red…" Tombur whispered to him. Djibourdi couldn't stop the tears anymore.

"Master, please."

He couldn't do this. No, oh Force no, he couldn't do this. This couldn't be happening; this wasn't really happening. He wasn't ready for this.

A trembling, cold hand (why was it so cold) rose to cup his cheek. A tender smile, doused in comforting intention, passed over his master's lips as he gave the soft order.

"Let me go."

He couldn't do this.

Fat tears rolled over the porcelain fingers as his padawan defiantly shook his head.

"No," his answer was barked out. It was supposed to sound strong but emerged broken. Terrified. Grief-stricken.

This wasn't really happening.

"Shh, Red," Tombur soothed him (his master was comforting HIM), finding within his ever-weakening energy to grab his padawan's face with his other hand as well, "It's okay."

His padawan let him pull his head down to his own, his lips pressed softly to the trembling scarlet forehead as he pressed a chaste kiss there. He moved him to push their foreheads together… and they stayed that way for a long moment as he shushed his young friend's mourning. When Djibourdi finally did pull away again, his eyes were shadowed.

"Tell me, Djibourdi: do you remember the way to our legions?"

The younger gave a shallow nod. He wasn't ready for this.

"Yes, master."

Tombur pressed out a weak smile. This wasn't real.

"That's my boy…I've run my race. Now you run yours."

Djibourdi swallowed hard. This couldn't be happening.

"…you are smarter than the dark…be wise and run them, Dji. They will follow you."

He wasn't ready for this.

"We will be with you, brother. …Just… follow the rabbit, Red…"

Oh, Force he couldn't do this. He wasn't ready for this. This couldn't be happening.

Tombur's energy was fast draining and at some point in his daze, he realized that his padawan had crawled behind him and cradled him, his back to Djibourdi's chest and Djibourdi's legs bent at the knees to support him, in his arms. He was grateful for the warmth and the security of his friend's embrace as he lay back, Djibourdi's head nestled onto his shoulder, breathing in that scent of white tear and chai for the last time. The tree that watched over them rustled in the breeze, some of its tiny red, purple, white smudged flowers raining down on their drenched skin as it mourned with them.

In this embrace, the pain wasn't so bad. Suddenly, Tombur wasn't so afraid.

Djibourdi just held him then… hoping, praying, and pleading that the Force and to the Spirits intervene and spare this both this agony.

But when the sun had come to rest on the opposite horizon and Sam, Bones, and the Reapers came screaming down to them, they would find that the heartstones carried between master and apprentice had grown silent. Still Djibourdi held Tombur's body to his chest, his dried eyes glued to something on the ridgeline that no one else had seen… his gaze clouded, watching for something far away from here.

IOIOIOIOIOI

…I knew writing this would be hard. I knew it from the day I realized what had to happen, but I will be honest: I have never, in all of my years of writing, ever felt an emotional reaction from an event in my story before. Writing this broke me down, if for nothing else for the empathy that I feel for Red.

I mean to do justice for Tombur, Warren, and Djibourdi…but the burning had to come first.

Blessed be, Tombur my friend. You have graced me with years of imagination... and your boy is in good hands. On to the Force.

With nothing but loving respects,

Eliana