Chapter 29 - Lightsaber Lost

DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P

Author's Note: So, about the poll in the last chapter... we're gonna built up Anakin's relationship with a few of the people on that list, to see which one fits best, though we may not specifically state with whom he gets into a romantic relationship with. :)

Also, someone was asking about Anakin's thoughts and feelings about the war. I hope this answers everything you were wondering! ^-^

Many thanks to loldelegate here on ff. net who has been giving us advice and suggestions for this fic! We never could have made so many unique plans without you! :D Also, this is basically a collab between all of us at this point, because we're sharing detailed ideas and plans. Lol.

~ Amina Gila

"Hey Ahsoka," Anakin greets, desperately, "Do you... have a little time to spare?"

"Sure." The Togruta on the other end of the holotransmission raises an eye marking. "What's the matter?"

"I need help! Master Obi-Wan is gonna kill me."

"Why? What did you do?" If he just heard the faintest bit of amusement in her voice, he is most definitely not impressed. This isn't remotely funny!

"I lost my lightsaber!"

"Hey, don't take this wrong, but don't you think you're overreacting, just a little?" she asks.

"No!" Okay, maybe he is, but only a little. He has no desire to get in trouble for something else again, especially when it's something so easily avoidable and downright stupid on his part. Obi-Wan is... well, he's a good master, but he's terrifying when he's angry. Anakin would much rather face an entire droid battalion alone than deal with that. (Okay, he has before, but then, his master is mad about that too, so.)

"I mean I didn't lose it in a battle or something. Someone stole it from me, and I need to get it back before he finds out what happened."

"Oh. Well, I can see your reasoning," Ahsoka agrees, "Yes, I have time. You have some leads, I hope?"

"Yeah, maybe we can meet down by the Archives?" They'll have to if they're going to figure out who these people might be. Or at least presumably, because he doesn't know where else they would even start looking. All he knows is what the person who stole it looked like. He had been down in the Underworld trying to arrest a criminal by himself – his master was otherwise occupied – when someone had come by and snatched his lightsaber away before he could stop them. So yes, this is one of the most embarrassing ways he could lose it.

"Okay, I'll be there," she says, giving him a reassuring smile before cutting the connection.

"I don't mean to rush," Anakin says nervously when she arrives, "But I really, really don't want my master to find out about this."

"Then he doesn't have to," she replies with a casual shrug, and he has absolutely no idea how she can act so casual about this. "How are things with you and Obi-Wan?" she asks a few minutes later.

"He's a good master," Anakin responds automatically, but he knows that's not what she's asking him. It's... difficult to talk about his master this way, because he knows Obi-Wan is only trying to teach him to be a good Jedi. It's not his master's fault; it's Anakin's. "But... we fight a lot," he settles on. "He never listens to me, and it's like everything I do is always wrong. He's just so critical, and he's – ugh. Violent sometimes."

"Violent?" she repeats, raising eye marking at him.

"Not to me," he backtracks hastily. "When we're in battle sometimes it's like – like he likes it. It's not that I don't, but I hate killing. He doesn't. It just feels like sometimes he doesn't care, and he jokes about it afterwards. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive. I probably am." Anakin sighs quietly, pacing around behind her and back again as he tries to put his thoughts into words. "It's difficult to be with him sometimes," he adds. "I love him. I really, really do – maybe more than I should, but he's..."

He stops, looking at Ahsoka when he senses her gaze on him. "I've never noticed him being... violent, as you described it," she admits.

Maybe there is something wrong with him. Maybe he's simply not willing to go to the lengths that everyone else is, to do what must be done. A Jedi cannot always be merciful, he knows, but he can't help it. "Maybe no one ever looked," he suggests, looking away. He already wishes he hadn't brought this up. He doubts she'll take him seriously, anyway. Even if she does, he's not certain this isn't simply his imagination. "For how people talked about him, I thought he'd be..."

"Perfect?" Ahsoka asks. "He's human, just like you, Anakin. We all make mistakes. Including our master."

"Yeah," he agrees. It doesn't feel like that though. His master isn't wrong. There is nothing wrong with him – truthfully. It's just Anakin being overly sensitive. Obi-Wan is – he's good, and that's that. He needs to remember that.

"Obi-Wan was always too light for me," she admits. "He was different. He followed the Code blindly. I don't understand it. I knew I didn't need to do that anymore, but he'd tell me I did."

Anakin winces. He was a slave, and he'd been three when he was freed, but he still remembers enough of his past for it to haunt him. Ahsoka was nine. He'd much prefer not to imagine what it was like for her. "I have never been one for rules," he admits.

Ahsoka laughs, and he finds himself suddenly wishing he could hear that more often. She very rarely seems happy, and if she does, it never lasts. "Obi-Wan isn't, and neither are we," she agrees, smiling deviously. "If he wants to complain to us about not listening to rules and if he wants us to think first instead of jumping headlong into chaos, he should do it himself."

"I think his problem with you is that you do think first. I mean, sometimes," Anakin amends, smiling. "You think, and your ideas aren't ones he agrees with."

"We never saw eye-to-eye like a master and padawan should," Ahsoka replies, "He said he was the same with his own master, but as long as I made it to learn how to be a Jedi, that was what mattered."

"I suppose he's right," Anakin agrees quietly. He and Obi-Wan have... many difficulties, but they work through it, and they love each other, or at least Anakin thinks they do. He definitely loves his master, far more than he probably should, and he tries his best to do everything to make this easier. It's difficult in a war, and it's extremely stressful, but he still tries. His master is very busy, and they have very little time together, and sometimes it drives Anakin crazy, but he deals with it. He understands even if he doesn't like it.

There is little time to do anything, so he needs to choose carefully. It's exhausting to be attending lightsaber training plus regular classes while being the Commander of the 212th, which is one of the largest battalions. Obi-Wan is constantly swamped by Council work and the war effort, which means they are both very busy. It's only when they're working together on their Star Destroyer that they have time together.

He hates it, but he hates just as much how he has so many friends among the clones, friends he never knows will be alive the next day. He can't 'meditate away' the images and everything from battle to battle like all other Jedi seem able to. It haunts him instead, and he dreams all the time. It's always hard to see constant replays of his friends dying, but normally, he can shake it off and fall asleep just as quickly.

Some dreams feel more real than others, and he can sense a distinct difference between those that are replays of past events as his mind struggles to deal with it – really, it's not so bad, so Anakin has no idea why it affects him so much – and those that are... more and will take place at least in part. He's seen it many times before now, and he doesn't fully understand why him. Anakin will sometimes catch glimpses of battles weeks ahead of time, and not put the pieces together until afterwards. All he knows is that his visions are important, and he always tries to remember them.

His thought process is cut off when Ahsoka speaks up again. It's... fairly simple to narrow down the list of suspects, and Ahsoka immediately declares much too smugly that she knows how to find the thief. "I'll ask a couple people, get a location, and call you," she declares. "Stay calm and pretend nothing's wrong. Likely, he won't notice anything. You still have your other lightsaber, right? Say your adjusting the other while you're here if someone notices."

Anakin nods. "Thank you, Ahsoka."

"Anytime," she replies. "It's nice to be hunting common criminals instead of Separatists for once."

Anakin nods, but in truth, he doesn't really understand it. "I've been a padawan since the war broke out," he reminds. "What will happen when it's over? I mean, what will the Jedi do?"

Ahsoka immediately grows serious again. "Honestly, I don't know. I really don't know."

"We've always been peacekeepers," Anakin replies, "But what will we do when the war is over? It's all I've known, and... I don't think this will be ending for a while yet."

"We will do whatever is required of us," Ahsoka answers. "I... can't answer this question. I know what the Jedi should do, but I very much doubt it is what they'll choose."

Maybe he should ask Obi-Wan. It's a thing he frequently wonders, looking to the future to see something better that he can work towards. Sometimes he'll find himself spiraling into depression when he thinks of how many are lost and will be lost over the rest of the war. The clones are property of the Republic, just like he was once property of the Zygerrians, and it makes him sick. It's not his place to question the Council, and while he understands that it wasn't something they wanted to do but rather something they had to do, it still upsets him. He's not upset with the Council, per se, more like the Republic.

He wishes he knew what would happen afterwards, because sometimes it feels like they have no hope of winning the war. It's so... hard. Anakin tries to reassure himself that the Jedi will win, but in the end, he knows they have no guarantee. War is a losing game on both sides, and even if the Republic does pull out on top eventually, many lives will be lost.

The biggest question he refuses to ask anyone is 'is it worth it'? Is it?

Obi-Wan tells him to let it go, and that all things pass in time, but really? Because truthfully, Anakin has always been depressed. It's only worse now, and sorry, but he doesn't see that changing.

**w**

"I've found him," Ahsoka's voice says over his comm, cheerfully. "Ready for some action, Skykid?"

"After you, Snips. Where do we meet?"

"Get your speeder and do try to stay out of sight. We don't want attention. Sending coordinates now."

Anakin, thankfully, successfully sneaks out of his apartment and the mountain loads of homework and reports (he is not asking Artoo to do any of them. He is not. Why would anyone think that?) he and his master share and takes off to the hanger.

They enter a building, and Anakin immediately reaches out with the Force, trying to sense the criminal's location. Ahsoka stalks down the hall, looking so much like the predator she is, probably trying to use her montrals to pick up on movement.

As Anakin continues down the hall, he starts to pick up on a very strong feeling of anxiety coming from one of the rooms. "I think he's in here," Anakin declares, pausing outside.

Ahsoka nods, and he steps forwards, pushing the door open. The fish creature is sitting at a table, and looks up sharply, eyes widening in alarm. "Who are you?! What do you want?!" he demands, clearly panicking.

"What did you do with my lightsaber?" he demands, striding inside. He can sense the other's fear, and he knows it'll be easy enough to make him talk.

"Lightsaber?" he repeats, "What lightsaber?"

"I know you stole my lightsaber," he retorts, "Where is it?"

"I no have it!" he yelps. "I swear! I got rid of it! I almost killed myself with that thing!"

"Too bad you didn't," Anakin retaliates, stalking closer. Obi-Wan insists he's too young to look intimidating, but he's probably thrice the fish-man's size. "What did you do with it?" he throws the weight of the Force into his words.

"Movers. Nack Movers," he splutters.

"Do you know of him?" Anakin asks, glancing towards Ahsoka.

"He's well known in the Underworld," she confirms, "I know how to find him."

"Yes! Exactly!" exclaims the fish man desperately. "Yeah, I sell it to him. Yeah, yeah. You should be afraid. I got a good price. He was very, very motivated. You can find him with his girlfriend. She has a place on the upper east side of Happyland. I bet he's there now. He's always there."

"Good," Anakin replies, turning away. "We have what we need to know, and I would highly advise you not try stealing from a Jedi again."

He doesn't wait to hear the fish man's spluttered response as he hurries from the room. Whoever this person is, it's no one good, and he can't let anyone get hurt by his lightsaber. Whatever happens with it will be on him for not taking care of it properly.

Ahsoka's knowledge of the Underworld is invaluable and he's more than grateful for it now, even if he's not sure how he feels about how she learned it anymore. Obi-Wan is still unhappy with Anakin's involvement in the Malevolence incident, and the negative opinion of it seems to be shared by nearly everyone around.

Admiral Yularen asked to be transferred from his place as Ahsoka's Admiral, because the situation simply made him uncomfortable. Anakin doesn't blame him, but it's just another thing he needs to adjust to. Everything is constantly changing in war.

The entire situation with Ahsoka is uncomfortable for him too, because she recently asked him to help her with reprogramming some of the captured battle droids to use on the Malevolence. And of course, he had to report that to Obi-Wan, who had not been happy about it, even if he expected her to try something like that.

Ryloth was... not good. Ahsoka was recalled to the Temple afterwards, and the lack of air support made the battle unnecessarily difficult. Many innocents and civilians died in that battle – as often seems to happen in war.

Anakin and Ahsoka finally arrive outside the place where Movers is staying... only to see that the lock is broken. This does not look good. He steps forwards cautiously, pushing the door open. There's a body on the floor in the center of the room.

He darts over, kneeling next to the man. He's dead. "This is Movers, isn't it?" Anakin asks, looking up.

"I believe so," Ahsoka confirms, right as a sudden noise catches his attention.

Anakin looks up sharply to see a purple skinned woman peeking around the corner, eyes wide with terror. "Are they gone?" she asks, desperately. His girlfriend, probably.

"Is who gone?" Ahsoka demands. Anakin thinks she's trying to sound calming, but it comes out as sharp, anyway.

"The man who killed Nack," she whimpers, burying her face in her hands.

"Who are you?" Anakin asks gently.

"Lone Marcy," she answers, sinking onto the stairs, "I came home and found him like this." Her fear is radiating strongly into the Force.

That... doesn't make sense, but she is scared which makes sense – anyone would be in this situation. He doesn't know what happened, but what she says isn't terribly coherent.

"Did you call for help?" Ahsoka inquires. Anakin can sense her suspicion already. "Why were you hiding?"

"I – no," she stammers, "I was afraid."

Ahsoka's eyes narrow and she looks over at Anakin. "She does feel afraid," he offers quietly.

"Yes, but something isn't right here," the Togruta murmurs.

Anakin glances back at the woman again. He... is not sure what to think. Most of what he's dealt with are simple battles and occasional negotiations, not criminal investigations. Something doesn't seem right, but... these people have known each other for a long time. Why would she be involved with his murder? Of course, he knows it's possible, even here on Coruscant, but still. He knows how dark the galaxy can become, but he thought that was a thing from his past. Something on a far away distant planet that he would never have to encounter again.

Either way, hs can feel her turbulent emotions, and he wants to help her the same way he does everyone else. "I'll search the other rooms," he decides, slipping from the room. There's something else here, he can feel it, but he doesn't know what.

A sudden noise catches his attention, but he doesn't see anything. But someone else is here. He can feel their anxiety. He can feel – Anakin whirls around, to see a pale gray skinned woman trying to sneak up behind him, a familiar object in her hand.

"My lightsaber!" he exclaims.

"You're a Jedi?!" she yelps, eyes going wide. She spins away from him, leaping straight out the window, glass shattering everywhere behind her. Anakin races after, leaping out the window, sliding down the wall of the building.

She reaches the ledge first, jumping to the roof another and sprinting away. A Terellian Jango Jumper. He's seen them before, and they are extremely difficult to stop. If only Ahsoka were out here. It would be easier if they were able to corner her.

He calls her briefly to let her know what's happening, but isn't able to come because she's... seeing if she can find anything else back at the residence. He's pretty sure what she really means it that she suspects Lone may be involved, but won't say so in front of her. He still doesn't know what to think of that, and doesn't have the time to think, either. He needs to focus on the chase.

If Ahsoka won't be coming, he'll have to find a way to corner the woman himself. He reaches out with the Force as he runs, trying to ascertain where she might be going. She's going to keep running as long as she hears him behind her, but he can't afford to lose track of her.

Finally, he backs against a wall in the shadows as she jumps off to the ground, taking off down the street. He circles around on top, staying out of her sight, right until she's ready to race across the street.

He leaps off the edge, landing right in front of her before she can run. She jumps back in surprise, spinning to jump back up the side of the building, but he uses the Force to throw her into the wall. He ignites his other lightsaber, leveling it in front of her.

"Anakin?" Ahsoka suddenly calls through his comm. "I confirmed Marcy is involved and I have her under arrest now. What's your status?"

What?! He wondered briefly if the woman was involved, but he didn't want to believe it. Not for the first time, his constant concern for others' emotions blinded him to the truth. He always wants to think best about people. Obi-Wan has warned him about it time and again, and he knows the seriousness of it, but he can't help it. "I caught the other one," he replies, lifting a hand and pulling his second lightsaber to his other hand. Finally, he has it back.

Although, he still got someone killed in the process, even if it wasn't by his lightsaber. He'll never understand, though, why someone would kill their friend like that. There must have been something else, and he doesn't know what. The man was a criminal as well, and he had many enemies.

"I'll have the police stop by your position to pick her up," Ahsoka decides. He has to wonder, though, why she would do that. Her boyfriend was apparently notorious in the Underworld or Ahsoka wouldn't have known about him. There's no use speculating on why they wanted the lightsaber from him, but... he can't help thinking about it.

It's time to focus on getting back to the Temple, though, before Obi-Wan notices that he's mysteriously missing. He'll be in very big trouble, and until his master has to find out, Anakin is quite content to not breathe a word to anyone about this.

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