Anakin Skywalker couldn't shake the feeling of dread that he got from the Force. Umbara was a hard planet, that was for sure, but something still felt... wrong. He couldn't describe it, but it felt like the Force was screaming at him. Warning him. He led the survivors back to their base camp, helping one of the wounded shinies. He felt bad for them. This was one of the hardest campaigns he had been on through the entire war. He deposited the shiny at Kix's Med Tent, and walked over to Rex.

"What's the status, Captain?" Rex answered him,

"There is an incoming gunship, sir. It's been cleared by Command, but they won't give me any details on who's in it." Anakin wasn't thrilled with this news. He didn't need a surprise in the middle of the battle.

"Why not?" he asked, confused and annoyed. Command knew that Rex was Anakin's second in command, and Anakin had given Rex the same security clearance that he had. Rex sighed.

"The only explanation I got was that whoever was on the ship wasn't in the mood to share." Anakin sighed.

"Wonderful." he muttered. "Rex, let me know when they're about to land. I need to go talk to the Force." Rex nodded.

"Yes sir." The captain had quickly become used to the strange ways in which Anakin talked about the Force. Anakin turned and left, heading to his tent. Ahsoka wasn't on the mission, having stayed back at the Temple for some sort of training. Quite honestly, he had no idea why, but he wasn't in the mood to fight the Council again.

He sat down, crossing his legs, and did his best to clear his mind. It didn't work. The harder he tried, the more thoughts he seemed to have. He sighed and gave up trying to clear his mind, and instead opened his shields up. The Force slammed into him like a tidal wave, and he let out a choked cry. The Force was screaming at him, wave after wave crashing into him. He could feel the darkness of Umbara surrounding him, but one area stood out. He stretched out, ignoring the smaller waves, chasing the large one the Force itself was sending him. It felt dark, darker than he had felt from anyone less than a Sith. That certainly wasn't good.

He kept stretching, and he felt the Darkness coming closer. He found that the Darkness appeared to be coming toward them. It must be on the gunship. He was concerned, and was trying to figure out more when he realized that he was shaking. No; someone else was shaking him. Rex. He shook himself out of his meditation, and looked up.

"Sir? Can you hear me? Sir?" Rex sounded worried.

"Sorry, I'm here. Sorry." he replied distractedly. Rex raised an eyebrow.

"No offense, sir, but you sounded like a tooka whose tail got stepped on. What's wrong?" Anakin had to laugh at that.

"A tooka? Really?" Rex nodded and Anakin sighed. "I'm sensing Darkness from the gunship. The Force is screaming at me. That's why I cried out. I wasn't prepared for how loud it was." Rex nodded slowly.

"How many life forms are on board?" Anakin closed his eyes, wincing as the Darkness got closer.

"I... I can't tell you, Rex. This is... ow!" The Force sent another wave, and he clutched his head.

"Sir?" Rex asked softly. "Sir. Look at me." The Force itself was screaming at him, while the approaching darkness roared. Between them, his head felt like it was splitting. He hadn't had this much trouble from the Force in a long time. The Force must really need to tell him something.

"Anakin." Rex said calmly. "Think about a wall. The strongest wall you can think of. Think about Commander Tano, and General Kenobi. Think about Senator Amidala. Build a brick out of them. Build your wall from them." Anakin slammed his shields up, and did his best to add another layer. The pain slowly stopped, the thicker the wall grew.

"I- thanks, Rex. Where did you learn that?" Rex shrugged.

"Around." Anakin raised his eyebrow.

"Rex, that's how they teach younglings to build their shields. Why do you know that?" Rex looked down.

"General Kenobi taught me after the last time you were having trouble with your shields. I wanted to know if I could help, so he taught me. He thought it would be a good idea." Anakin smiled. Obi-Wan was always thinking of things like that.

"Thanks, Rex. I know you've always got my back." Rex nodded and smiled.

"The gunship is about to land, sir. Are you alright now?" Anakin took a deep breath.

"Yeah. Let's go." Rex pulled Anakin up, and as they walked out of his tent, put his helmet back on. He wasn't sure who was on the gunship, but if it was a superior, it was always good to start out as respectful and formal as possible. Then you could forgo the formalities. Like with Anakin. he thought. He was glad that General Kenobi's training had proven helpful. He was very worried, though, because if it worried Anakin, it should definitely worry him.

"Rex? You there?" He snapped out of his thoughts.

"Yes sir." Anakin looked at him.

"Are you alright?" Rex nodded.

"I was just thinking about what this Darkness could be. All due respect, but if you are worried about it, its going to be worth worrying about." Anakin laughed slightly.

"I guess that's fair. Don't worry. I'll figure this out. I'll need you to focus on making sure the shinies are alright." Rex nodded.

"Understood."

He automatically straightened to attention as the gunship doors opened. A towering Besalisk male strode out.

"Skywalker. You've been reassigned." Anakin bit back a gasp, and Rex's head whipped to him. Anakin swayed on his feet, and Rex caught him before he could fall. He tossed a small salute to the Besalisk before turning to help Anakin to Kix's tent. The Besalisk called out,

"Clone! I did not allow you to turn your back. You are not dismissed." Rex stiffened. He could feel the danger radiating out from the towering alien.

"I'm sorry, sir. I am not under your command, and my General needs my assistance. He will be with you soon." He walked away as quickly as he could, mostly dragging Anakin to the Med Tent. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were all in danger. He quickly grabbed his comm, and entered a code. It broadcast to every clone's helmet.

"Code 96. General Skywalker and General Kenobi are the only safe natborns until further notice. If you are near a natborn, get away, and say that General Skywalker called you. Everyone meet at the backside of the Med Tent." He laid Anakin onto an empty cot, and Kix jumped up.

"Rex? What's happening?" Rex sighed and took his helmet off.

"Code 96." Kix sighed, and began looking Anakin over.

"Yes, Captain, I heard. Why? What happened to the General?" Rex shrugged helplessly.

"He just collapsed as soon as the gunship arrived. The Besalisk- the only one in the shuttle itself-" he cut himself off and accessed his recordings. His helmet recorded everything that his visor saw, and he already had several data cards full of them. He looked through the most recent recording, searching for- there. He saw the glint of metal strapped to the Besalisk's back, and gasped. The telltale metal cylinders strapped to his back meant that he was to be taking over command as their Jedi General. This wasn't good. Anakin had collapsed when the Jedi came near him, and that meant something was very wrong. A Jedi shouldn't make another Jedi collapse- unless it was Anakin. Rex had heard stories of how overwhelming Anakin's power was for Jedi. He shook himself out of his thoughts as he realized Kix was talking to him.

"Captain? Rex!" Rex looked up, quickly sending Kix the recording of what had happened before pulling his helmet off.

"Sorry. The Besalisk is our new General." Kix took a step back.

"What? Why? What about General Skywalker?" Rex shook his head.

"I don't know, Kix. As soon as the other General landed, General Skywalker collapsed. I caught him and brought him here. It's just- something was off about that Jedi. He was dangerous. Just... just watch the recording. It'll show you what happened."

Kix was silent as he watched the recording. He pulled his helmet off to look at Rex once it ended.

"You did the right thing. The Besalisk is what made General Skywalker collapse." Rex nodded.

"That's what I figured, and with my conversation with General Skywalker beforehand, something is wrong. I... I think we need back-up." Kix nodded.

"That would be good, but General Kenobi is busy with his own siege, and Commander Tano is on Coruscant. We don't have anyone to help."

"I can help!" Anakin protested, waking up. Kix and Rex immediately turned to him.

"Sir, you just collapsed because you got near that Besalisk." Anakin looked down.

"I know, but I just wasn't prepared. If you let me get my shields up, I can help. That Besalisk is definitely causing the Darkness I felt." he told Rex. Rex sighed.

"Well, that Besalisk is supposed to be your replacement. He's a Jedi. Or, at least, he has lightsabers." Anakin groaned.

"Kriff, kriff, kriff. I need to talk to him." He swayed as he tried to stand, and Kix pushed him down.

"Not right now, sir. You need to get your shields as strong as possible. We can't have you collapsing again." Anakin sighed.

"I know. I think Ahsoka can help. Let me just..." he squinted as he concentrated, reaching out across space, following his bond with Ahsoka back to her. Snips. His voice sounded in her head.

I need your help. Ahsoka immediately responded.

Master? What's wrong? I felt something a few minutes ago. Are you okay? Anakin smiled slightly.

I need your help increasing my shields. This planet is dark. But I'm fine, Snips. Don't worry.

Alright. Are you ready now? she asked.

Give me a minute. he told her.

Okay.

Anakin looked up at Kix and Rex, who were watching him with worried expressions. "Ahsoka is going to help me max my shields." Rex relaxed slightly.

"Good. I'm going to talk to the General. Kix, what do I say?" Kix looked surprised.

"Sorry, what? Did we not just agree that the Besalisk made our General collapse, and is radiating Darkness? Why the kriff are you going to talk to him? Also, what do you need my help for? I'm a medic." Rex nodded.

"Yes, but we need more information. Why is General Skywalker leaving? How long? I need a reason for why General Skywalker collapsed, because I'm assuming you don't want me to tell him that the General collapsed because he's turning into a Sith?" Rex asked dryly. The two just looked at him.

"Yeah. Don't mention that." Kix said. "Tell him General Skywalker hadn't had a chance to eat in days, and that's why he collapsed." Anakin looked surprised.

"Wait, hunger can make you collapse?" Kix nodded. Anakin smiled sheepishly.

"That might explain some things. Obi-Wan says my shields get weaker when I don't eat." Kix face-palmed.

"General! You have all the rations you need. Why weren't you eating them?" Anakin shifted guiltily.

"Well, the march has been hard. I know the troop supplies have been running out." Kix groaned.

"Please don't tell me you gave us your food!" Anakin frowned.

"Well, the injured needed it more than I did!" Kix groaned loudly. Loudly enough that Fives came in.

"Kix? What are you groaning about? Oh. Hi, General!" Anakin waved. "What did he do this time?" Fives asked. Anakin looked offended.

"Excuse me? Why do you think it's my fault?" The all looked at him with raised eyebrows. Fives cheerfully told him,

"See, Kix has special exasperated looks for everyone. You've got one, I have one, the Commander has one, Rex has one, all of us. He has your look on his face. Besides, if you're in the Med, um, Tent, Kix probably has a decent reason to be upset." Anakin looked betrayed.

"You wound me, Fives." Fives smiled.

"Sorry. Anyway, what is going on? The others are gathered at the back like you said, Captain. Why are we on a Code 96 Alert right now?" Anakin looked questioningly at Rex, who answered,

"Code 96. That's the one that means that all natborns have been designated as dangerous. Currently, you and General Kenobi are the only exceptions, since Commander Tano is on Coruscant." Anakin winced.

"Oh, right. I forgot I left Snips waiting for me. Can you explain? I need to get my shields up. I'm kind of in the middle of drowning right now."

"Okay..." Kix trailed off and looked at Rex as Anakin slipped back to Ahsoka.

Sorry, Snips. Fives was distracting me.

Right. Fives's fault. she said dryly.

Yes, Fives's fault. he huffed. I need to get my shields back. Like, now. Are you ready?

Yes.

Great. Let's go.

Anakin led them through the maze that was his mind, until he got to his shields. He gasped slightly. The walls were much thinner than normal, and the Force was crashing against them, harder than before. He groaned. The pain was searing, flooding his mind, and he could barely think. He did his best to keep it away from Ahsoka. She took the lead, building his walls up as he slipped outside. He wanted to see if the Force would calm down if he talked to it. He instantly crashed to his knees, clutching his head, as the Force surrounded him, crashing against all sides. He was drowning in the Force.

Please. Stop, please. He begged the Force. The Force wavered slightly. He cried out as another wave of Darkness slammed into him.

STOP. He yelled, his anger briefly overwhelming him. The Darkness receded at his command, and he felt slight relief, until he realized that the Dark only obeyed him because he went Dark. Well, that wasn't good, but it would have to be a problem for another day. He looked to the Light, which had stopped its attack.

Why? he asked. The Force responded with sorrow. He understood.

You needed to warn me. That Jedi is no Jedi. He's Dark, isn't he? The Force agreed.

What do I do? he asked, hoping it had an answer. The Force couldn't tell him. He sighed. He knew the Force couldn't always tell him all the answers, but he had hoped it would this time.

The Force became a gentle rain falling, wrapping him in a peaceful blanket for a moment before the Dark came back.

Anakin retreated back to behind his shields, and sighed in relief. His walls were mostly back up. He added his power to Ahsoka, and the walls instantly grew thicker. it felt easier, somehow, and he realized why when he saw that the Dark and the Light were clashing outside his walls. The Force had drawn the Dark away from him, giving him time to get his shields back.

Thank you. he whispered. The Force seemed to smile at him before continuing its fight. Ahsoka responded too.

Skyguy! Anakin, Anakin!

What?

You were freaking me out! I could feel the Darkness attacking. That can't be normal, even for Umbara. That was something else. Something alive.

I...

Skyguy.

Uh...

Anakin. Tell me what's happening. That's at least the fourth, if not the fifth, time you've fallen to the Force in the past hour. What is going on?

It's a long story. And we don't know all of it yet.

Good thing I'm skipping class, then.

I literally have no energy to scold you for that, and I did that all the time, so talk to Obi-Wan about it.

I think I'm concerned.

You think?

Yeah. Now, spill.

Spill? Really?

Stop stalling, Skyguy!

Fine. It started with...

Anakin explained everything that had happened so far to her, as outside of his mind, Rex explained the same thing to Fives.

"I'm sorry, what?! They're replacing General Skywalker!?" Rex motioned for him to calm down.

"Quiet! We don't need all of Umbara to know!" Fives quieted at that. "We don't know, Fives. I'm going to go talk to the General now, to find out what's happening." Fives stood up.

"I'm coming with you." Rex shook his head vehemently.

"No, you are not." Fives put his hands on his hips.

"Rex, you need backup. He made General Skywalker collapse just by standing in front of him!"

Kix broke in, "Well, you do have to account for the fact that General Skywalker has an abnormally high Force connection, while we are not even Force-sensitive, as well as the fact that his shields were down because the Force is apparently besieging him because something is wrong, and he's been giving his rations to the troops in the Medbay instead of eating them!" Fives nodded.

"Oh, that's why you were so annoyed at him." Rex sighed.

"Look, Fives, I need you and Kix here, keeping the others in line, and safe. I am going to talk to the General. Alone." Fives looked down.

"I don't like it. But yes sir." Rex gave them a quick salute.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Make sure the General is alright." He had been twitching, and at one point had pitched forward, grabbing his head.

Rex left the tent, helmet on, and headed over to where the Besalisk was standing.

"Sir." he stood at attention until the Besalisk addressed him.

"Clone." he sneered. "Where is Skywalker?" Rex answered,

"He's in the Medbay, sir." The Besalisk scoffed.

"Why? Jedi are not so weak as you clones are." Rex forced himself to calm down.

"He hasn't been able to eat in several days, sir. It's been a very difficult mission, and supplies are low." The alien towered over him.

"Do not lie to me, clone." Rex forced himself to stay there.

"I am not lying, sir. General Skywalker is in the Medbay because he has not been able to eat for several days. He sent me to ask you why he is being called back, sir." The Besalisk sneered again.

"He was requested to lead the space battle. I am in charge here. Take me to Skywalker." Rex asked,

"Sir, how am I to address you?" The alien swung one of his arms at Rex, and the force of the blow knocked Rex's helmet off.

"Clone, you will never address me. If I address you, however, you will respond with 'General Krell, sir.' Understood?" Rex nodded and saluted.

"Understood, General Krell, sir. I apologize for my disrespect, General Krell, sir." He forced himself to apologize, and the words were sour in his mouth. Krell nodded.

"See that your insubordination does not happen again, clone. What is your number?"

Rex did his best to not show his anger.

"CT-7567, General Krell, sir." Krell clasped one set of hands behind his back.

"Take me to Skywalker." Rex shook his head.

"I'm sorry, General Krell, sir. I cannot." Krell punched him square in the face, and blood began flowing from his nose.

"What did you say to me, clone?" he snarled. Rex stayed standing at attention.

"I'm sorry, General Krell, sir. I cannot take you to General Skywalker." Krell punched him again, this time in the chest, and the armor did not stop the blow from throwing him back several feet.

"I am in charge, CT-7567. I said, take me to Skywalker." Rex straightened, wincing. Krell definitely bruised his ribs.

"General Skywalker is still my commanding officer, sir, and, respectfully, our medic Kix outranks you when it comes to the health of any member of the 501st." Krell straightened up.

"INSUBORDINATION!" he bellowed. "You are a useless, worthless, stupid clone." he said the word like it was foul. He towered over Rex, and raised his lightsaber. Rex forced himself to stand his ground. He never saw the hit coming. The lightsaber hilt blurred through the air, and hit above and to the left slightly of his left eye. He randomly thought that he would now match Cody. He flew back several feet, blood dripping from the cut. He thanked the Force that not even Krell would hit him with a lit lightsaber. He staggered to his feet, and Krell strode forward.

"I will ask you one last time. Take me to Skywalker, clone." Rex stared defiantly up at the giant, blood dripping through his eye.

"It's Captain. Sir." Krell Force-shoved him through the air, and he flew into the Medbay Tent, slamming into a box of supplies. He struggled to his feet, wincing and wiping blood out of his eyes. Kix and Fives started and gasped.

"Captain! What happened?" Fives practically yelled. Rex only groaned.

"Isn't it obvious? That Besalisk happened." Kix said darkly. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Rex groaned again, and forced himself to look. "Three. Five. Four. And the last one's a trick, you're making a fist." Kix nodded, satisfied.

"Alright, Captain. What did he do to you?" Rex sighed.

"You have five seconds. Stay away from him- he's dangerous. He punched me in the face. Stay awa- " Rex fell unconscious, five seconds later, like he had said, as Kix and Fives shared a worried, rage filled look. Anakin suddenly woke from his meditation with a gasp, at the same instant Rex fell backward. He carefully caught Rex with the Force, and lay him on a cot.

"Krell." Anakin snarled, rage burning in his eyes. "KRELL!" He turned to Fives and Kix. "Did he hurt you too?" They both shook their heads. He nodded. "Good. At least that's good. I'm sorry, I had to fight through the Dark. I tried to come back when I felt Rex get hit the first time, but Krell's Darkness kept pulling me away." Kix knelt at Rex's side, and began wiping the blood away.

"Yeah, that's going to scar." Anakin paused.

"Wait, where did Cody get his scar? That looks pretty similar." Kix nodded.

"Cody got his from a vibroblade. Got it from Jango himself, actually." Anakin looked at him.

"How did Rex get this? It almost looks like-" he cut himself off. "He wouldn't. He wouldn't!" Kix and Fives shared a look.

"Rex told us before he fell unconscious, 'You have five seconds. Stay away from him- he's dangerous. He punched me in the face. Stay awa-' He didn't mention this." Kix motioned to the cut he was cleaning, above Rex's left eye. Anakin growled.

"I know where he got it. Krell, that demagolka, hit him with his lightsaber hilt." Jesse ran into the tent just then, carrying Rex's helmet.

"Sir! I- I saw what happened. I grabbed his helmet." Kix gave Jesse a quick one-over.

"Did he get you?" Jesse shook his head and looked down.

"I was hiding. I saw the Captain leave, and I was behind him. I was trying to keep one of the shinies- Tup- away. I still should've gone to help. I'm sorry, sir." he told Anakin, visibly upset.

"Hey, Jesse, it's okay. Krell could've killed you. It's alright. Rex will be fine, right, Kix?" Kix nodded.

"He's going to be sore, and get quite a scar, but he'll be fine." Anakin smiled slightly.

"Good. Rex will be okay, Jesse, and I'm glad you kept Tup safe. You did a good job." Jesse relaxed slightly when he realized that Anakin was right, and that Rex would be okay.

"I took Tup back to the others. I have Appo watching over them." Fives nodded.

"Good call, Jesse. How about you head back to help Appo, and we'll stay with the Captain." Jesse saluted and headed to the spot behind the tent where all of the troopers had gathered.

Anakin, Kix, and Fives shared a look, before grabbing Rex's helmet. Anakin plugged it in to his datapad, and played the confrontation. Anakin's grip got tighter and tighter on the datapad until Kix grabbed it.

"General, you're crushing it." Anakin realized that his mechanical hand had clamped onto the datapad so hard it was breaking. He sighed, and did his best to release his anger into the Force. The Force welcomed him, soothing him.

Is this what you were warning me about? he demanded. The Force replied that it wasn't.

What were you talking about, then? The Force didn't answer.

Please! I need your help to save my men. The Force sucked him into a vision, showing him what would've happened if he had left, if the Force hadn't sent him warnings. It showed Krell getting hundreds of his men killed, Hardcase dying, and Krell's attempt at executing Fives and Jesse. It showed him Krell's betrayal, his game of pitting the clones against each other, and him slaughtering Anakin's men by his own blade. Anakin gasped and fell forward, catching himself on his hands.

"General!" Kix and Fives called in unison. It barely registered.

That's what would've happened if I had left? The Force seemed to sigh as it told him it would've.

It won't happen now, will it?

No, the Force replied, it wouldn't.

Thank you. Thank you. Anakin told the Force. The Force answered that as long as Krell was alive, his boys would be in danger. He immediately went to attack when the Force called out for him to wait. He knew the Force had kept his boys safe this far. He stopped, trusting the Force to show him what to do. He pulled himself back to where Kix and Fives were waiting.

"General! Stop doing that! What happened?" Fives asked. Anakin sighed.

"The Force showed me what would've happened if it hadn't stopped me from leaving. That's why it made me collapse. It couldn't let me leave."

Rex shifted on the cot behind them, and they all turned to him. He opened his eyes, blinking, as he carefully touched the bandage Kix had wrapped around his eye.

"General, are you alright?" Kix, Fives, and Anakin shared another look. Fives snorted.

"Rex, you just got a lightsaber hilt to the face, and you're asking the General if he is alright?" Rex nodded, wincing as he sat up.

"Well, there's no point in asking myself if I'm alright, given that I currently can't see out of one eye, and will end up looking like a better version of Cody, so, yeah." he retorted. Anakin looked relieved.

"Well, if Rex can be snarky and sarcastic, he can't be too injured." Rex smiled.

"Fair enough. What are we doing about Krell?" Anakin growled.

"It's not a 'we', Rex. I'm not risking letting any of you near that monster again."

Rex sighed when he saw his helmet.

"I take it you saw the recording?" He winced when they all nodded.

"Sorry." he muttered. Anakin knelt next to Rex.

"Sorry for what?" Rex looked away.

"I- well, you saw what happened." Anakin nodded.

"I did. Which is why I'm going to make sure that he never touches any of you ever again. He is a Jedi Master, at least in his level of power and skill. It wasn't your fault. Honestly, I'm glad you didn't stand up to him any more than you did. He would've done worse. You did everything you could. I'm proud of you." Rex looked surprised.

"Really?"

"Really." Anakin confirmed. "Now, its time for me to go deal with Krell."

Rex, Kix, and Fives shared a glance. "Can we come watch?" Fives asked.

Rex told Anakin, "It would be a good idea, sir. We can all record what happens, so you have a record of it. In case the Jedi try to get you in trouble." Anakin sighed.

"Fine, but stay back. I don't want any of you to get hurt." He helped Rex to his feet, and walked out of the tent. Rex wrapped one arm around his ribs and followed, still standing tall. Kix and Fives flanked him, partly out of respect and partly to catch him if he fell. They stopped near the beginning of a large circle in the middle of the camp, where the Generals had stopped. Anakin walked forward.

"Krell. What have you done?" Krell turned.

"What do you mean, Skywalker?" Anakin glared at him.

"Why did you attack Rex?" Krell responded,

"I punished CT-7567 for insubordination." Anakin growled.

"His name is Rex!" Krell sighed.

"He is merely a tool. He has no name. He only has a number for ease. He is our slave, Skywalker, and you allowed him to grow too rebellious. I simply put him in his place."

Anakin's eyes were dark with rage, and he held his unlit lightsaber in his hand.

"His. Name. Is. Rex." He ground out. Krell pulled out his own lightsabers.

"Skywalker, it seems you need your own lesson on rebellion. Slaves have no freedom. They only live to serve us. But it seems, you have become to close to them. You are a slave too, Skywalker. A Jedi slave. I have broken free of my chains. The Dark Side is far stronger than the Light. I will kill you and your precious slaves, and when I turn Umbara over to Count Dooku, he will take me on as his apprentice. I will become more powerful than any Jedi."

Anakin's blood was boiling, and the Force grew in flames inside of him. A gentle rain fell on him, and he felt the Light whisper to him.

Ani. The Dark is weaker than the Light. You must let go of your anger. You are becoming a slave to the Dark. Do not let your emotions rule you. You must rule your emotions. Find balance, my child. You are more powerful than he, if you surrender to the Light.

Anakin gasped. He had never heard the Force talk to him like that. He could hear each word. They reminded him of his mother. He released his emotions to the Force, letting his anger turn into justice, and his fear turn into caution. He straightened, feeling the Force flow through him like never before. He felt his Flames and his Waves mix, swirling into pure Force. He drew it from deep within, and it sang to him.

"Krell, turn back. The Dark Side will never be stronger." Krell scoffed.

"Jedi fool. I will show you." He lit his lightsabers, and moved to attack Anakin. Anakin let the Force simply flow, not trying to rule it, not letting it rule him, and he ran forward, so fast that the clones saw only a blur. Anakin pulled Krell's lightsabers out of his hands, and crushed them. They fell to the ground, sparking in pieces. Krell swung at him wildly with his fists, and Anakin's hand shot up to block. He easily turned away each of Krell's blows, as Krell became angrier and more desperate.

Anakin slide between the Besalisk's legs, running a short distance away before spinning and running at Krell. He jumped at Krell, kicking him square in the chest with enough power to knock him down, before unleashing a series of punches that Cody would've been proud of. Krell struggled through, refusing to succumb to unconsciousness. Anakin thrust out a hand, and the former Jedi slumped to the ground, asleep. Anakin let out a deep breath, and the Force helped him let go of his anger. He turned around to see the clones gaping at him.

The rest of the 501st had come out when the fight had started, and every clone, helmet on or off was staring, completely awed, at Anakin. Fives whistled.

"General, that was the coolest kriffing thing you've ever done." Anakin laughed as the other clones nodded their agreement. Rex carefully walked forward, stopping in front of Anakin.

"Sir... I...thank you." Rex didn't know what else to say, but Anakin gently pulled him into a hug. As Anakin pulled him in, Rex gasped slightly as the power radiating off of Anakin healed his ribs, and he hugged Anakin back tighter. "Thank you, vod." Anakin teared up slightly. It was the first time Rex had called him brother.

"You can call me Anakin." he whispered. "That's what brothers do." Rex grinned.

"Thank you, Anakin." Anakin grinned back at Rex before pausing as Kix came up.

"General, what did you do? I felt that from here." Anakin was confused.

"Sorry, what did I do?" Kix gestured to Rex.

"You just healed his ribs. And I think..." he carefully undid Rex's bandage, and underneath was a scar. It was there, but it was much smaller than it would've been, and Kix was shocked. "That looks like it's been healing for months!" Anakin shrugged.

"Sorry? I have no clue what happened." Rex smiled.

"I don't really care how it happened, because I don't feel awful. But I think it was when you hugged me." Anakin nodded slowly.

"Okay. Well, I have no clue what that means, but that's good?" Kix laughed.

"It's good, General." Anakin sighed.

"Well, we do still have the Umbara attack to finish, but that shouldn't take too long. I'm pretty sure the Force showed me how to take care of this."

Rex nodded and straightened, smiling slightly when it didn't hurt.

"Well, General, let's go take Umbara."

Thanks to Anakin, the Umbara offensive was very short, and the Republic took the day and the planet. Anakin led Rex, Fives, Kix, and the rest of the 501st back to Obi-Wan, with Pong Krell in Force-binders. Anakin relegated the duty to Fives and Jesse, because being near the Force-binders made him sick. He walked up to Obi-Wan.

"Trash delivery." Obi-Wan looked startled.

"Anakin! What is this? Why is Master Krell in... Force binders?! Anakin, what did you do?" Anakin tossed Obi-Wan a datapad.

"Video's on that, Krell's your job now, I'm hungry." he called over his shoulder, taking off down the hall of the Resolute.

"Krell, what happened?" he asked, confused. Krell angrily told him,

"Your worthless slave, Skywalker, attacked me for no reason!" Obi-Wan got very angry at that.

"You will not talk about my padawan, best friend, and brother that way." he took a deep breath, releasing his anger into the Force. "Anakin is not a slave. He is a Jedi, and one of the greatest I've ever met. He would not have attacked you for no reason. I suppose that is why he left the video."

Obi-Wan watched the video, glaring at Krell, until his mouth dropped open. "I've never seen anyone move that fast!" he whispered to himself. He led Krell to the brig, locking him in, and telling him coldly, "Anakin is a far better Jedi than you could ever hope to be. And you will never harm or talk about the troops or Anakin ever again. Am I understood?" Krell scowled, and Obi-Wan turned on his heel, leaving the room. He took deep breaths as he searched for Anakin.

He found Anakin talking with Rex, Cody, Kix, and Fives in one of the hallways. Anakin brightened as he saw Obi-Wan, and the others turned, waving. Obi-Wan lifted his hand in a wave before coming up to them.

"Anakin, I've locked Krell in the brig. I saw the video. How- how did you move that fast?" Anakin shrugged.

"I don't know. I just listened to the Force. It was telling me what to do." Obi-Wan looked at him strangely.

"How did it tell you what to do?" Anakin smiled.

"Um, it told me that I was being a slave to the Dark Side and my emotions, and that I had to rule them instead of letting them rule me, and then that I would be really powerful if I let the Force in. I did that, so I guess that's what happened?" Everyone was staring at him now.

"Anakin- I- what? How?" Obi-Wan said. Fives asked,

"Wait, the Force has a voice?" Obi-Wan shook his head.

"Not in the way that Anakin is saying. I've never heard of the Force talking like it was a person." Anakin shrugged again.

"It was pretty new for me too. It actually reminded me of Mortis." Obi-Wan smiled and sighed.

"I think I've just given up at this point." Rex walked over and shrugged.

"When he has to go meditate or something, he just tells us he has to go 'talk to the Force' or 'comm the Force'. We're just used to it by now." Obi-Wan shook his head and laughed.

"Anakin, you will never cease to surprise me. However you did it, good job. Thank you for exposing Krell." Obi-Wan looked closely at Rex and gasped slightly.

"Captain, what- Anakin, why does Rex have a lightsaber scar on his eye!?" Anakin didn't say anything. Obi-Wan growled. "Oh, Force, Krell did that too? I can't believe him." He took a deep breath. Rex shrugged and grinned.

"I don't mind too much. Anakin fixed it. Besides, I look like a better version of Cody now." Cody huffed,

"Hey!" and the others snorted. Obi-Wan paused.

"Wait, Anakin fixed it? What does that mean?" Fives helpfully put in,

"It means Anakin gave him a hug and healed him by accident." Obi-Wan face-palmed.

"Anakin, that takes years of practice! You did that by accident?" He pointed to the scar on Rex's face that looked like it had been months since it happened. Anakin nodded.

"I think I also fixed his ribs too?" Obi-Wan laughed.

"You are a mystery." Kix nodded.

"I told you it wasn't normal, Anakin!" Obi-Wan noticed that the clones were all calling Anakin by his first name. He smiled, knowing that Anakin had wanted that.

"Well, I am sure the Council will want to hear about Krell's betrayal when we make it to Coruscant. We're headed back to drop him off, and pick Ahsoka up."