Chapter 6 - Champions Are Born Right Now (TPM)

Author's Note: Goodbyes are said. :')

~ Amina Gila

"You! You swindled me!" Watto's angry yelling catches my attention, and I move over to the doorway of the area he's in. Qui-Gon walks inside, the perfect picture of calm. "You knew the boy was going to win! Somehow, you knew it! I lost everything."

This is definitely a conversation I am going to be watching. The crowd is starting to dissipate, and I'm impatient to go talk to Anakin about my dream, but the conversation about his freedom is probably more important right now. Besides, our friends are going to be leaving soon, and I want to see them some more. Which suddenly makes a worrisome thought cross my mind. If Anakin can become a Jedi, what's going to happen to me? Will he go with Qui-Gon, and leave me behind? No, he'd never do that to me. Would he?

"Whenever you gamble, my friend, eventually you'll lose. Bring the parts to the main hanger. I'll come by your shop later so we can release the boy."

"You can't have him!" rages Watto. "It wasn't a fair bet!"

"Would you like to discuss it with the Hutts? I'm sure they can settle this." Good comeback.

"No, no! I want no more of your tricks!" Watto exclaims, though he continues to glare furiously. "Take him!"

"Ashla?" Cotan's voice draws my attention from a distance away. He and our master are coming towards us. What do they want now? Today was supposed to be a day off! Cotan stops, but our master moves on into the shop. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over to the shop to help me with some things. We could get a head start for tomorrow."

I cross my arms, glaring at him for the suggestion. "No. Today off. No work!"

"You'll have more play time tomorrow," the Twi'lek shoots back, daring me to argue with his logic. I want to yell that I plainly don't care, but I understand his reasoning. He's right.

"Fine," I grumble, stalking past him. "Let me see Ani."

He's not hard to find. All my friends are gathered in the main hanger area, exchanging hugs. "...You have brought hope to those who have none. I'm so very proud of you," I hear Shmi saying.

"We owe you everything," agrees Padme.

"Just feeling this good was worth it," Anakin replies. I can see Qui-Gon getting the parts ready, so I pick up my pace. I have to say goodbye to our friends before they leave, just in case we don't see them again. I can't help but feel a sudden sadness at the realization. I'm going to miss Qui-Gon. And Padme. Even Jar Jar, though I don't like him as much as the others.

"Bye," I offer quietly, giving Padme a hug.

"Stay safe," she replies. When she lets go, I turn to Jar Jar. He scoops me off the ground, crushing me in a hug.

"Stay safe, mesa palo," he says, then sets me on the ground again when the Jedi calls for him and Padme.

"We've got to get these parts to the ship," he says. The two walk over to him, climbing onto the eopies Artoo rolls after. "I'll return the eopies by midday," Qui-Gon calls. Anakin and I wave, and I can't tear my eyes from the group until they disappear from sight. Everything still seems rather uncertain, but I can't help but wonder if he's been able to think of a way to free me. If he did, we're going to leave and become Jedi, like we were always meant to be.

"What did you dream of earlier?" Anakin finally asks, breaking through the silence that settled over us. Cotan has the decency to be waiting a distance away, though he's clearly frustrated. Good.

"Saw my sister," I blurt out finally.

"What?" Anakin exclaims.

"My dream," I mumble. "My sister. Her name's Ahsoka. We all Jedi. Together." Ahsoka. It sounds strangely right to say her name for the first time after so long.

He blinks a few times before giving me a one-armed hug. "We'll find her," he promises. Yes, we will. I just have absolutely no idea how we will do that.

**w**

Sure enough, it's nearly the middle of the afternoon when Qui-Gon shows up. I certainly was not expecting him to come to my master's shop where I'm working with Cotan, who disappeared out to the main room a while ago and I haven't seen him since. I don't even realize he's here until I hear him calling from outside.

"Bye," I yell at the Twi'lek running out the door before he can protest – it's long past time for me to be given a break anyway – only for me to realize he's not even here. Wait, so he left me here all alone? I feel a spark of annoyance, but it dissipates when I see the Jedi.

"Shmi told me you'd be here. I came to get you and Anakin."

"Ani? He free?" I can't help the hope in my expression.

"He is," Qui-Gon confirms.

A squeal of sheer excitement escapes me. "Can he be Jedi?" I ask. "Can we go with you? Can I come?"

"I'll ask him," Qui-Gon replies with a smile, interrupting the rest of the string of questions about to start pouring out. "Come. I came to get you both so we can talk about it."

We set out in search of Anakin, but it's not hard to find him. As we come around a corner fairly near his home, I spot a group of children gathered around. Amidst the group, I see Anakin fighting with a Rodian, who looks a lot like Wald though he's a fair amount older. At least at the moment, Anakin seems to be winning as he punches the other boy in face several times. I think it's Greedo, a very annoying Rodian who I've seen hanging around sometimes. Greedo starts squirming around, trying to shake Anakin off as some of the other children start scattering upon seeing an adult.

"Ani!" I call, running forwards. I hate it when he he's upset, but it happens a lot. He's easy to bully, because he rarely fights back.

He looks up, rolling off the other as he sees Qui-Gon and I approaching.

"What's this?" Qui-Gon asks, clearly displeased.

"He said I cheated," Anakin explains, eyes downcast. He's probably rather embarrassed being seen by our new friends in one of his rather frequent scuffles with other neighborhood children. It's not uncommon. They tend to get jealous and it's far more frequent than I care to admit for them to try to hurt him for it.

"Did you?" Qui-Gon asks.

"No!" Anakin cries, head snapping upwards and an incredulous look on his face.

"Do you still think he cheated?" Qui-Gon asks, looking at Greedo.

"Yes!" exclaims the other boy, nodding emphatically.

"You wrong!" I snap, glaring at him hard enough that it seems to make Anakin decide against seconding the gesture. The two stand up, Greedo backing away and Anakin moving over to me.

"Well, Ani, you know the truth. You will have to tolerate his opinion. Fighting won't change it," Qui-Gon replies, turning to head off.

We walk through the narrow streets, finally arrive at the one where Anakin's house is. Strangely enough, I spot Cotan standing outside the doorway of our house, as if waiting for something. It's strange, and it frustratingly reminds me again that he disappeared earlier, which is so unlike him. I am going to be talking to him about it later.

When we enter Anakin's home, I find myself wishing I could call this place home instead of Cotan's house. Shmi would have happily allowed me to fully live there, except there's only two bedrooms. It would be fine now, but eventually, we'd have to figure something out, and Cotan's house also has two rooms.

Shmi is sitting at a counter in the corner of the foyer area, working on something I can't see. She turns towards us upon hearing the door open.

"Anakin and Ashla have been freed," Qui-Gon announces.

There is a heartbeat of silence, then – "What?!" we shriek. Anakin, I knew, but me? What? How?

"You are no longer slaves." The words reverberate through my mind overwhelmingly. Free. I'm finally free, after so long. I can do what I want. I can choose to go back to my own family if I want to, even though I'm suddenly not sure I want to. Wherever I go, I'm going to follow Anakin's path. We were meant to be Jedi. If Ahsoka is really there... would she be waiting for us when we come? Or will we be waiting for her?

"Did you hear that, Mom?" Anakin cries finally, looking at Shmi. He spins around to look at Qui-Gon. "Was that part of the prize?"

"Let's just say Watto has learned an important lesson about gambling. And for Ashla, I had to exchange the Pod for her. Normally, it wouldn't have been enough, but her master didn't want her anymore." So apparently, annoying the life out of him was a good idea, after all. I'm forever indebted to Qui-Gon for this. If he hadn't been able to free me, I probably would have been stuck here alone.

"Now you can make your dreams come true, Ani and Ashla," Shmi says with a smile, then looks up at Qui-Gon. "Will you take them with you? Are they to become Jedi?"

"Our meeting was not a coincidence," Qui-Gon replies with certainty. "Nothing happens by accident. You are both strong with the Force, but you may not be accepted by the Council, especially Anakin."

"You mean we get to go with you in your starship?" Anakin asks, excitement leaking from every syllable.

"Can we go?" I ask, looking up at him.

Qui-Gon kneels in front of him, and I move over to stand next to Anakin, excitement pulsing through every inch of my body. I know he's serious about whatever it is he's going to tell us, but I'm mentally bouncing off walls with excitement and far too much contained energy. "Training to be a Jedi will not be an easy challenge. And if you succeed, it will be a hard life."

"We meant to," I insist, not fully comprehending his words. Maybe I'm just too excited, or maybe it's that I don't fully understand the implications of the rest of my life being decided when I'm only five.

"It's what we want. It's what we've always dreamed about," Anakin insists, turning around to face his mother. "Can I go, Mom?"

"This path has been placed for you, Ani. The choice to take is yours alone," is Shmi's soft response.

"I stay with Ani," I decide. Whatever it is he chooses to do, I will be with him. If he stays, I'll stay with him. If he goes, he won't go alone.

"I want to go," Anakin concludes, glancing between all three of us. For some reason, I get a vague sensation that he might have been thinking about my dream when he said it. Anakin... he's always so quick to sacrifice everything for people he cares for. And going down that line of thought... a sudden, dark realization occurs to me. If the Pod was exchanged for me... that means... there's no way of freeing Shmi. Unless something else changed, only Anakin was supposed to be freed.

"Then, pack your things. We haven't much time," instructors Qui-Gon.

Anakin squeals, making a bolt for his room, only to stop when I call his name. He turns around, clearly finally coming to the same realization. "What about Mom? Is she free too?" he asks slowly, walking towards her. "You're coming with us, aren't you, Mom?" There's an almost pleading note in his voice as he reaches up to take her hand.

"I tried to free your mother, Ani, but Watto wouldn't have it." My stomach plummets. If we leave, we'll have to leave without Shmi. Anakin will be forced to spend the rest of his life without his mother, the only person he's had his entire life. And I'll be again forced to leave the only parental figure I have in my life. I bolt across the room to Shmi, throwing my arms around her. If we leave, we're never going to see her again.

With a soft sigh, she wraps one arm around me, holding Anakin's hand with the other. "My place is here. My future is here. It is time for you to let go. Let go of me. I cannot go with you."

Tears sting my eyes, and my grip tightens in a frantic attempt to deny what I know is the truth. I hate feeling so helpless, knowing that if we leave, we'll never see each other again. We'd practically be abandoning her, like I've always been afraid everyone would do to me.

"I want to stay with you. I don't want things to change," Anakin protests.

"Shmi," I choke out, hardly sure what it is I'm trying to say. There are too many emotions I'm trying to deal with and not let them all pour out, too many fears for me to handle alone. I need her, I need her. I can't let us be separated now.

"You can't stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting. Ashla," she adds on a second note, "You might find your family someday. You won't here."

"Already did," I insist, and I mean it. I love my Togruta family, and I always will, but Shmi and Anakin are just as much my family as they are. I'm nothing without them.

"You said you might be able to find your sister," she reminds. "She needs you more than anyone else." She's right. I'll do anything to find Ahsoka, if she's waiting for me. Anything. Seeing I've made up my mind, she turns her attention back to Anakin. "Listen to your feelings, Ani, you know what's right," she encourages her son.

I step back from Shmi, even though it kills me to do it. This will probably be the last time we ever hug each other. Now, we're going to go, probably never to return. We'll lose her, as we lost countless of our friends. "I'm going to miss you so much, Mom," my best friend finally says. She pulls him into a tight hug for a long moment, in a way which painfully reminds me of what things used to be like a lifetime ago. If I really find Ahsoka, maybe it'll be worth it.

"I love you, Ani. Now hurry," Shmi says. Anakin nods, running to his room, this time without any delay.

"You should pack your things, too, Ashla," Qui-Gon reminds me with a knowing expression. "And I'm sure you have a quick goodbye of your own to say." He's right. I do, even if I suddenly find myself dreading it. I don't know what Cotan's reaction to the news is going to be.

When I go back outside, Cotan has already entered our house. I quickly find him in his room, sifting through a pile of what appears to be junk in a corner. Or at least it looks like it to me, though to him, it's probably something of a fair amount of importance.

"Back already?" he asks, casting a glance over his shoulder and standing up. "I thought it would be longer."

"Back?" I repeat, confused.

He smiles, though for some reason, he looks almost sad. "I heard the news you were freed." He already knew? I gape at him, and he shrugs. "That's why I left a while ago. To get things ready for you."

I swallow. I've spent the past two years hating him, but right now, it seems I can't bring myself to.

"Come, you better get your things," Cotan ushers me out of the room. My clothes – which are really the only items I own – are stuffed in a small bag, sitting on my bed. So apparently, he wasn't lying about getting my things ready for me and knowing ahead of time.

"Thanks," I murmur, pulling to down and positioning it on my back where it should hopefully be easy to carry. Since it's just clothing, it's very light, but it won't be easy to make it all the way to the outskirts to the starship in this heat.

Cotan shrugs it off like it's no big deal. "I figured you'd like some help." Suddenly, he kneels next to me so we're more at eye level, though I still feel pathetically tiny compared to him. I jump slightly, startled by the action. He's never acts so... caring. He holds out a golden, diamond-shaped object to me. I reach out, taking it from him. It's some sort of carving, an extremely intricate object that I get the feeling as some sort of meaning I don't understand. It's attached to a string, like a necklace of sorts. It's plain, but beautiful.

"What?" I ask, turning it over gently. Both sides look the same.

Cotan's expression is almost wistful. "My mother gave it to me, being I was... her only child," he says finally. "It's been passed through our family for a few generators. She told me to pass it on the same way, but I promised myself I'd never give it to anyone, that I'd never let another child get born into a life like this. But then, I found you."

I slowly raise my head, blinking in a mixture of shock and confusion. Is he saying he thinks of me like his child?

"I asked her how I'd know who to pass it on to, and she told me I would know when I met the person. And I did. Keep it. It's yours."

I look back down at it, fingers slowly tracing across the intricate design. I can't quite comprehend everything he just said. It doesn't really make sense. Then why does he act so... cold to me all the time? If he really cares about me?

"I'll ask you the same," Cotan continues. "From what I've heard, Jedi can't have family either, but once you find the right person – you'll know when. Remember everything I taught you." And then something happened, something I thought a million times less likely than Tatooine spontaneously imploding in on itself. Cotan hugs me.

I impulsively wrap my arms around his neck, clinging to him tightly. A fresh wave of tears stings my eyes, but I stubbornly refuse to cry. I'm stronger than that. Crying wastes water, I've heard so many times. We don't do it here.

Don't show weakness.

I don't want to go. I don't want to leave them, but I need out of this place. I need to be with Anakin. I need to find Ahsoka.

"Go," Cotan says, pulling back and holding me at arm's length. He gestures towards the door. "And stay safe."

"I will," I promise.

"Be sure you do. It's – for luck, too," he adds, closing my hand over the necklace. "Keep it."

I nod wordlessly, not trusting myself to talk, as I turn and walk away. "Bye," I whisper aloud to the house I called my home for the past year. I'll miss it, but... it'll be good to be gone.

When I finally make it outside again, Anakin is heading out of his house. Shmi is standing in the doorway, and Qui-Gon is already a short distance off, patiently waiting for us to come. Kitster, apparently having already heard what's happening, runs up to Anakin. "There are so many of us who want you to stay, Ani. You're a hero."

"I have to go," Anakin insists. He reaches into his pocket, withdrawing a handful of coins and passing them to his friend.

"Well. Thanks for every moment you've been here. You're my best friend." The pair turn as I run up to join them.

"Bye," I murmur, a tinge of regret in my voice. "Good luck."

"I won't forget," Anakin assures him.

"Good luck, both of you," Kitster replies, giving us a quick hug. "We'll all miss you." Somehow, I doubt that, but I don't mention it. After a final round of goodbyes, he hurries off between the houses. I don't miss the sight of Cotan standing in the doorway of our former house, waiting for us to leave. I turn sideways, trying not to look. I don't understand him – probably never will – but it hurts knowing I'll be leaving him here alone. We have to go, though. It's our purpose. It's what we were always meant to be.

Anakin and I follow Qui-Gon towards the exit of the slave housing area, but Anakin stops, unable to tear his eyes from Shmi where she stands alone in the doorway. I pause as well, emotions from earlier rising again. We're going to go – we have to – but why does it have to be so hard? We're going to leave her, and we'll probably never, ever see her again. The person who practically raised me like her own daughter ever since I met her.

Finally, Anakin takes off across the sand, coming to a stop in front of Shmi who kneels so they're at eye-level. I follow, reaching a few moments later. "I can't do it, Mom. I just can't do it," Anakin cries, tears running down his cheeks. Shmi pulls him tightly into a hug, and I can't help but feel tears stinging my own eyes. I want to cry, for me having to leave Shmi, and even Cotan. For Anakin having to leave his mother, the only person who really cares for him other than me. For being torn away from my own parents and little sister so long ago. And if we go, I know there's no turning back. We'll be in a place we know nothing about, all alone without anyone to help and guide us.

"Ani," Shmi says gently, resting one hand on his shoulder. I move closer, and she turns to let me hug her also. "Remember when you climbed the great dune in order to chase the Banthas away so they wouldn't be shot? Remember how you collapsed several times, exhausted thinking you couldn't do it?" Anakin shakes his head. I lower my gaze, hugging her tighter. I remember that, vaguely. I just want Shmi to come with us.

My place is here. My future is here. It is time for you to let go. How? How can I just let go of her? I have no one else, only Anakin. I know what I have to do, but I don't think I have the strength to do it.

"This is one of those times when you have to do something you don't think you can do. I know how strong you are, Ani. I know you can do this."

I'm about to argue that we can't but an image suddenly flits before my eyes. Ahsoka. She's waiting for me. If I don't go... she'll be waiting forever. I can't let that happen. She needs me. I can't deny her my help, no matter what it costs me. "I go," I decide finally, even though my voice is shaking, and I feel like I'm cutting off any chance of return – not that I exactly want to but leaving is painful all the same. "Ahsoka waiting. I know."

"Will I ever see you again?" Anakin asks. I manage to force myself to let go of Shmi, though I somehow know this will be the last time. Or maybe it won't be, I don't really know. Regardless, if we ever see her again, I know it won't be for a long time.

"What does your heart tell you?"

"I hope so. Yes, I guess."

"Then we will see each other again." Her voice is soft, encouraging, though I can sense her sadness.

"I will become a Jedi, and we will come back and free you, Mom. I promise." Anakin has somehow managed to stop crying, though he looks like he's about to start again any moment. I don't even bother trying to stop myself. It's pointless.

"No matter where you are, my love will be with you. Both of you. Be strong, Ashla," she adds, looking down at me where I stand, somehow still managing to be way shorter than her. "Now, be brave, and don't look back." Standing, she turns us around. I take in a deep, shaky breath and adjust my grip on the bag. This will be the last time I see Shmi, who I love as much as my own mother, for a long time. "Don't look back."

We walk away, side by side, not taking our gazes off Qui-Gon as he starts walking again. I refuse to look away for a while after we've rounded the corner, and all the way, I can't help but feel both hers and Cotan's gazes on us.

Final Notes: Reviews are always appreciated! ^-^

Come hang out on Discord (delete spaces), discord . gg / nqSxuz2 or find us on tumblr at fanfictasia (our more serious blog which does have controversial posts on it; I won't be offended if you choose to block it, promise), and disastertriowriting (which is our fun blog with crack posts or incorrect SW quotes)

We've got a YT channel for tributes! (delete the spaces) youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA

ALSO: We have SW gift request forms for General, Anakin-Clones-centric, and Bad Batch fics. :D (delete spaces) bit . ly / CourtesyTrefflinFicRequests