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oh-for-fic-sake-library · 1 year

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The Apprentice Hunt

Masterlist

Summary: Being force sensitive was tough in the empire, whether you were trained or untrained you had the inquisitors and storm troppers to worry about. But well the empires huge starfleet was also a great place find a job. And everyone needed one of those right? Sure you were slightly concerned when landing yourself a job on lord vaders flag ship. But luckily youd taught yourself to stay awake in restfull meditation. Everything was fine, untill one night you got a visitor sneaking into your peacfull meditation. And he was a stubborn asshole who wont leave you alone!

Warnings: swearing, power dynamics?, fear/anxiety, more platonic teasing than anything.

A/N: this was an idea i had for a while nd finally decided to write it. It comes from the thought of what happens when a force users abilities arent trained or tainted by jedi or sith? How would vader react to finding someone like tht in his ranks.

Vader stood quietly observing the structure infront of him. Dark, polished and iridescent. The flat surface seemed to go on for miles in either direction, and had to be a mile high atleast. It was the strangest sheilding he had ever seen in his medative exploration. And that was saying something his only rest was meditation.

Though he was also annoyed, who ever this was they had more control then most. Their inner sanctum sat in the middle of a desert, a sea of black sand, he'd scaled the rising and falling of the ever changing black dunes for quite some time. The constant shifting had been a nuisance, he'd even reaches a shore line at some point. Then had ti turn around and make his way back.

This had been weeks of work leading him here, figuring out the route that would let him pass through the constantly changing landscape. Each night he would retire to his chamber and enter the same meditation. Searching for the pull, and then following it untill he felt the sifting sand below his feet and began his journy searching for the life force pulsing from within.

With the eradication of most force sensitive beings within the empire it was rare to find another in meditation. He'd first thought that he had tracked a careless jedi, perhaps one of the masters that had escaped.

But he quickly disregarded that once he had wandered deeper, following the tugging and light airy feeling that came from this other being. Their force was more natural they felt organic? Not processed and refined. Sometimes in his search they werent around, yet each time he had felt them he had managed to get closer and closer. Finally tonight was the night. He had reached the barrier.

He hovered by the tall structure, pressing his hand to it only to hiss and pull back. It was freezing to the touch, painfull even. He subtly cursed the fact he had chose to appear as his own complete form in the hunt for this new user. He felt the need to hide himself, he wanted the anonymity his former self gave him.

The barrier flickered in an odd shimmering opalescent effect around where his hand had rested, and then slowly returned to the black iridescent once more. Odd, very odd indeed, this force user was skilled but not in the same way he was. No. But how does he get in? He could try to destroy the wall, but that would give himself away as a powerfull force user and chase them away.

Vader was interested in this new found oddity, he wanted to observe them, perhaps even claim them as an apprentice should they contimue to spark his intrest. Then he would have an extra set of hands to rid the galaxy of palpatine. And the newbie being so knew and untrained would mean it'd be longer befor they learned everything he knew and tried to kill him to become a master themselves.

"Can i help you?" Vader took a step back as a soft voice called out from the barrier. So they are female, that surprized him. Force sensitive women that are untrained were easy to find, their emotions revealed them quickly.

"You are self aware?" He uttered a little shocked that he had been approached. There was a pause, for a moment he doubted she had heard him through the black wall seperating them.

"So are you. You've been searching for me. Drawing closer each night, why?" The voice carried across the mental block easily. He was almost lost for words, it was an impeccable control. Something no one outside of a jedi or sith master should be able to achieve. The raw talent was unfathomable.

"I was curious. You dont see many force sensitives in meditation nowa days" he faltered, at first hesitating for a second but quickly found himself again. His mind was already weaving together excuses and schemes to claim you as his own apprentice. He just needed to find you.

"You never heard of curiosity and the cat? i could have been anyone. Approaching strangers in meditation is dangerous" she laughed almost chiding and teasing him all in one sentence. But there was a nervous chime. An overwhelming fear lacing the words. You were uneasy. Good, you were smart enough to be cautious of him.

"And yet your interacting with me" he quipped smugly chuckling, wanting to test you, poke and prod he new all he needed to about your ability. Now he wanted to explore your character, see if you had any hope of becoming sith. If not he wouldnt waste his time. He'd outright attack you and tear apart your defences before seeking you out in the real world and disposing of you. You were either an asset or potential threat.

"You won't leave me alone untill youve been acknowledged." She huffed out like speaking down to child. He bristled at that, noone spoke down to him! He ws a sith lord! Yet, there was a smile on his face. It was exciting, fun? Apart of him liked the sass this woman had. She wasnt a push over.

"Correct. I thought you were a jedi, but your force is... unique not something the order has tampered with"

"Ah well thatd be telling" he frowned at the giggled reply. Fuck. This woman wasn't going to give him answers with light prodding. And he hgot the feeling she was toying with him. He growled as the giggle escelated. He rolled his eyes turning away from the impressive defence and leant on the wall crossing his arms. Fuck

"You would be wise to give me my answers" his said flippantly, or atleast it would have been flippant had his aggravation hadnt krept into his words making them sharp.

"Maybe youll get an answer when you actually ask a question" the gentle voice trailed off with a giggle. Vader grunted. Technically the girl was right, he hadnt actually asked anything, was he so used to having people grovel and hnd him information that he forgot how to ask for it?

"Are you a jedi?" He huffed definitely not pouting, or sheepish about being called out. He could feel his cheeks flush in rare embarrassment, why was this girl getting to him? She was making him feel well? Normal. He was unsure if he liked it or not.

"Nope. Thank the stars for small mercies" the woman answered surpriseing him. He'd thought she would have tried her luck and refuse him. Perhaps she was just as curious as he was. Which would be a good thing in the long run, maybe he could lure her out easier.

"Trained?" His second question was out faster then he would have liked, he sounded somewhere between eager and desperate for information. He'd have to be mindfull, she was skittish and he didnt want her to bolt and lose a potentialy powerful asset.

"No, well i figured stuff out alone, practiced and stuff not sure if youd call it training though, it was nothing formal you know?" The woman explained. Vaders frown deepened, impossible it was unheard of! Force sensitive people needed the formal training to get anywhere! They needed a guide, mentor something to help them. There was no way this girl could have come so far alone.

"Thats impossible! How? People outside of the sith and jedi shouldn't even be self aware in meditation. Let alone have these types of defences" he snapped as he pressed on the wall, placing experimental pressure on it, slowly increasing his force wanting to truley test it, yet not wanting to break it completely. He was torn, he wanted to force through, but he also wanted you to submit willingly.

"The empires genocide has a way of kicking you up the arse. I had to learn to be awake to survive; could you stop fucking pushing!" The woman snarled striking the defence from the other side sending a rippled of power through it, interrupting his light attack making his own force stutter and flare around him.

Vader grunted pulling back as your own burst through the force shocked his finger tip lightly making them prickle and feel fizzy before going numb. He shook his hand and took a step back from the wall

"So you are inside of the empire?" He pressed trying to ignore the building irritation and small voice in the back of his mind telling him to turn the wall to rubble and clear a path to the girl on the other side. No, he wont attack, at least not yet.

"What does it matter?"

"As i said im curious, in all my years ive not felt this... freedom that dwells inside of you I would like to speak face to face, or enter your mind further to explore." He uttered finally making his intention clear. He felt a tremor, amusment, shock and fear all balled into one. His words had resounded with the woman.

"Why would i do something that stupid? You could be an inquisitor for all i know. Next thing i know i could be getting hunted or dragged to a plasma slice n dice" he shook his head amused by the way your worded your own potential demise. You had a dry sense of humour, something he hadnt enjoyed for a long time. But then again no one wanted to make jokes with him, he couldnt blame them but he does miss it occasionally.

"You can volunteer the answers i seek or i can tear them from you" vader threatened as his rage caught him, years of bnever being refused or questioned made him unable to curb himself when faced with out right rejection.

"See now thats just rude. Im out of here" vader barely registered the words as suddenly the womans presence was gone and he was alone. Within seconds the wall disappeared before his eyes and everything was gone. He cursed himself, she had slipped away because he couldnt control his arrogance. Fuck.

"Can you not?" You grunted as you made your way along your inner minds protective wall, towards the harsh thumps and heavy hits that ricocheted along the wall. He was back, and this time attacking. Well maybe less attacking and more knocking. Harshly. Youd been ignoring it for the best part of an hour now, but It was clear he wanted attention and wasnt leaving untill he got it.

"Oh so you can hear me?" The male chuckled smugly from the other side ceasing his incessant banging. You rolled your eyes, he was such a fucking child. You opted to take a seat on the floor picking at the grass lightly.

"Hard not to when your trying to blow a hole in my wall" your replied sarcastically, feigning bordem. You dont want him to think you were curious of him. Of gods forbid, wanted to chat to him.

"You know I wouldnt be if youd let me in" he quipped once again tryingnto wriggle his way past your defence. You huffed cursing under your breath. You couldnt help feelingnhe was far to used to getting his own way. And that in itself was a red flag.

"You realise I come here to relax? Not to be bugged" you hummed unimpressed.

"And I came here to talk." You could practically hear him trying to sound inconspicuous. He sucked at it, it was clear he was on some reconnaissance misson wantingnto find out as much as he could. He wasnt exactly subtle.

"No, you came here to investigate" you corrected making it clear you were no fool. You had him pinned.

"If it bothers you so much why not let me in and investigate? I'll be out of your hair quicker" ah again with the false casual attitude. My god one thing was for sure, he was not a spy. Well not a very good one. It was actually unsettling it meant he had no need to hide, no need to watch his back or think about consequences. It meant he was either powerfull or important, possibly both.

"No. I know nothing about you other then your a bit of a stalker" you shrugged and smiled when you heard an indignant sputter and snarl from him. Oh, he didnt lie that~

"I am not!" He hissed furiously, offended by the mere insinuation of stooping so low. You threw your head back and laughed out loud, tumbling back the lay in the grass. You calmed your laughter enough to tease him once more.

"mmhmm really? You did chase me down for a few weeks"

"Seeking a fellow force user out is so bad?" Oh so he was going to try the lonely wandering force user card? Unfortunately sympathy wasnt a strong suit for you. You cant afford sympathy in the empire. Sympathy, mercy and trust were the holy trinity to getting killed. No thank you.

"With a strength like yours? Yes. Im not thick, your someone powerfull, either a jedi sniffing out new padawan for some suicide mission. Or an inquisitor looking for new prey" you answered truthfully making it clear you weren't some stupid naive little idiot. You didnt survive this long in the empire without having your head screwed on. You knew who ever this guy was it was bad news for you.

"I assure you I'm neither, and like you said your not thick it was only a matter of time you drew someone in. Your different" you could hear the conviction, the words almost a chiding decree. Like he belived his word was absolute that no one could dispute him. It sent another little red falg in your mind. The more you heard the more uneasy you got.

"And theres my other issue. Your too confident for someone to be hiding from the empire, its disconcerting" you confessed to him, you needed to be careful. Hopefully if you called him out a few times he'd grow bored and leave, hunt for easier prey.

"I will not allow any harm to come to you, you have my word. Let me in and youll be under my protection." You shuddered at the eerie calm, the force laden words dripping with persuasion and temptation. This fucker was trying to manipulate you. You sat up with a growl.

"Oh? And you are in a position to promise that?" Your words a sarcastic malice as your got annoyed yourself. You began pulling back from him growing more definsive. You couldnt help feelingnvery stupid for interacting with him.

"Yes. I have the authority to make that promise" aha! Gotcha! You grinned, he'd fallen for that hook line and sinker.

"So you are a ranked officer in the empire? Thanks for the heads up" you muttered victoriously unable to hide the smug glee from your words. All previous rage now melting away into amusment.

"I? wait thats not what i meant- the empire wouldnt harm someone so unique."

"So not only high ranking but trusted enough to know what the empire would and wouldnt do with little old me" you verified quickly reading between the lines and figuring out the truth behind his panicked explanation.

You smirked waiting for another snippy remark or a desperate excuse. But intead tou were met with silence. The quiet dragged on for. Long few mineuts. He was collecting his thoughts, tryingnto find a way to twist his own words. But he couldnt, youd figured out too much.

"Your silence is telling inquisitor" you hummed playfully rising to stand, stretching your back out. Gettingnready to leave, it was almost time for your next shift.

"I am not an inquisitor" the harsh reply was accompanied with a hard thump on the wall seperating the both of you. Ooo someone was in a mood now. You smiled at that, good now he was just as annoyed as you were at being disturbed in your meditation.

"I beg to differ, You feel like a trained jedi~" you added desperately fighting your laughter not wanting to make him feel to annoyed. Afterall he was strong, and could easily tear down your defences and ravage your mind taking anything he wanted from your memory and thought.

"I am not an inquisitor. You would do well to remember that" he pounded once more on the wall making it shudder. A warning. You jumped back eyeing the black dense barrier. A shiver rzn up your spine. The force whispering warnings to you, coiling around your very soul with alarm and fear. It was clear what it was telling you to do. Run. Danger. Leave. Leave now, while you could. It was a primal fear, desperate and feirce and you werent going to ignor it.

"Anyway i hate to cut this short but i have work. Tata for now" you spoke a little louder as you backed up from the barrier, eyes locked onto where you knew your visitor stood waiting for him to break through. After a few steps you turned and ran, sprinted right out of your own meditation full of adrenaline and sickening fear. That was too close. You had to be carefull in future.

"You! Hey you! I can feel you hovering! Get over here and fucking explain that bullshit!" You shouted, jumping up racing towards the presence you felt on the other side of the wall. You'd been impatiently wating for him to arrive for almost half an hour, throwing fear and caution to the wind. You were far to angry to fear this unknown wielder.

"Oh my, and here i thought you were terrified of me~ you are a very angry girl today." he uttered with mischievous glee. You snarled at him sending a wave of fury towards him, wanting him to know just how upset you were about todays antics. Your going to kill him!

"You bet your ass i am! What the hell was that earlier!?" You screeched letting yourself give into the rage and fear. Today was a shit show, and in amongst all the terror and confusion your felt the last thing you needed was to discover the stranger that had been haunting your meditation calming your emotions. Intruding on your life force manipulating your feeling to sooth you. It was crossing so many lines!

"Our interactions have left an... imprint. We have a connection. A bond" he explained vaguely smirking to himself. Proud of his new scheme and the force bond he had uncovered.

"The hell we do! Destroy it!" You ordered panick seeping through you, this was bad. So bad. Disastrous! You cant form force bonds with people, it will get you caught! And you definitely shouldnt allow one with someone working for the empire especially someone high up. Fuck. This will be the death of you.

"Why would I do that?" Mirth and victory permeated the space. Rolling off of him in thick waves. He was pleased with himself. He was winning and you both knew it. You dont stand a chance.

"Because I dont need a force connection with you! And i certainly dont want you soothing me and shit! Im doing just fine! You need to stay the fuck out of my head! Stop co,ing here! Stop just ugh! Just fuck off before you get us both killed" You panted slapping both hands on the ever present wall that shielded your inner sanctuary. You felt asthough you were losing it. The peacefull safe escape youd always relied on, the space that held all of your prized memories and well kept secrets.

"You were deathly afraid. I dont see the harm in soothing you when you feel like your seconds way from a heart attack." The voice became stern. You could almost detect worry, as if he had truly felt alarmed by the terror hexd felt radiating off of you, screaming like a beacon. Not that youd admit to just how frightened youd been by todays announcements. If you acknowledged your fear youd succumb to it and make a silly mistake resulting in execution.

"I was not about to have a heart attack;"

"Yes yes. What happened? Are you hurt?" You faltered unable to be angry at his interruption. You just froze. What? He was clearly concerned that time. He didnt even try to hide it behind sarcasm or wit.

"No, no I'm not hurt, and nothing happened" you sighed inching yourself away from the wall between you. Closing your eyes trying to relax and take in the small safe haven you'd created for yourself. But before you could fully immerse yourself innthe calm quiet your guest tapped the wall sending a thrum of energy through it to draw your attention back to him.

"People do not experience that type of terror over nothing. Tell me what was it that spooked you?" You remained silent hoping he'd take a hint and leave. But this man was far to stubborn for his own good. Or perhaps just ignorant?

"No? Well let me hazard a guess then~ perhaps it has something to do with the announcement today?" You could hear the grin, the subtle smug victorious tone that he took on. Not to be confused with the usual smug smart ass.

"W-what are you talking bout?" Your words almost squeaked out as your mind began racing. What does he know? What has he done? Who is he? He cant be responsible can he? If he was, then he knew where you were. If he had a hand in the anouncment then that means you are being hunted. Hunted... he will kill you.

"The anouncment of random midi-chlorian tests for staff on the executor." You staggered back, quivering feeling ice flush through you. Your visioned blurred begind tears and your world spun, anxiety rendering you completely imobile. You couldnt even catch yourself s you knee buckled. You fell to your knees as if the weight of the entire empire was on your shoulders. And in a way it was. You were goingnto be found nd killed. A traitor, rebel, scum simply for being force sensitive. They would kill you. He would kill you, or even drag you before lord vader as a prize. A meal ticket to a promotion. All he had to do was call you amjedi, plant some evidence and that was it.

"Your silence is telling little one. I had my suspicions that we were both aboard the same ship. It was the only explanation to feeling you so often in deep space" you sat up snapping straight wide eyed recounting the words in your head deciphering them quietly. Fuck. How couldnt you have realised he was collecting information this whole time. You handt even thought of him realising you were on the same ship from interacting with you a when the executor drifted through space passing threw start systems hundreds of lightyears away from one nother.

Maybe he had been the one to advise the detours. Directing the entire ship; the entrie fleet! Around the galaxy to see if the connection severs or strengthens. Instead of either it had been consistent. Clearly you were close to him to have such constant stable meditation connections. All this was plnned, goihgn on secretly behinde the scenes and you were none the wiser to his search. Fuck. Youd done wht youd always swore you wouldnt do. Youd gotten complacent, and it may cost you your life.

"The same- wait your here! You? Fuck fuck!" Your panicked cries tore from you with little thought. Your knees bent, elbows resting on them as your head bowed, fingers digging through your hair fisting in the roots in frustration.

On the other side of the wall vader was smug. He had played this game carefully. Closed in around you without giving you a chance to react. A great game of chess played in the dark with an unknowing opponent. It was only here and now he could relish hin his victory. It was only a matter of time before he had you in the palm of his hand and could play with you. Prod at you, test your force.

Thats what all of this had been about. Finding you and examine the true abilities the force had to offer when untainted by jedi or sith. You were an anomally, and perhaps the only instinctual force user in the galaxy. The idea of having you at his mercy was thrilling. He wanted to observe you, encourage you to hone the force and see what was really capable for the natural organic wielder.

"You know had you been trained youd have been able to avoid being found out easily." He spoke finally breaking the tense silence. Fear and panic quickly morphed into anger. He could feel it. It was marvelous the way your life force swirled angrily. He could feel it, the tendrils coiling like dangerous vipers no hesitation or denile. Ypthe force wasnt regecting the emotional responses it was guided by them. Was this what it was meant to be like? Before people began to manipulate it into doctrines and add caveats and rules.

"Had i been trained id be fucking dead! You just? Fuck! What do you want from me? To have me killed? Is that it?" You yelled, panting as your chest became tight. Your throat felt blocked but nothing was there. Your mind quickly conjured images of the many times lord vader had killed by strangulation. This is what it would feel like. Nothing to claw at, your unable to breathe. Your going to die. Your going to die!

Vader faltered for a moment as you began to feel scared. Truely frightened. There was a distinct moment his smug victory lost its luster. You felt cold, incredibly cold, isolated and stuck. Tense in your own force as it become increasingly thick and aggressive. Anxiety and terror riseing to a suffocating manifestation of the force.

"No i just wish to find you, teach you help you unleash your potential" he wasnt sure what prompted him to try and reassure you. Perhaps he just wanted to keep you alive? Calm and safe. He did have plans for you. For some reason your force wasnt just reactive but almost uncontrolled in this highly anxious state. He could feel it almost turning in on itself. Trying to hide but couldnt quite recede inside of you. It was... harming you? He suddenly felt very guilty and very foolish for provoking you.

"You want to teach; do you have any idea what you have done? Has it occurred to you who is on this ship!? Lord vader himself- this is his fucking flag ship! He will kill me if he finds me!" You half shouted, half pleaded still trying to convince yourself this was just a bad dream. That when you wake up everything will be fine. There wouldnt be any tests being carried out. But he seemed to grow tired of the panicked wailing.

"Calm yourself"

"Fuck you!" The response was automatic, a hissed curse and snapping teeth. You were aggressive in your fear, feeling every bit a caged animal. Cornered and vulnerable but desperate.

"Enough woman" he snapped with a growl once again loosing his temper. He didnt appreciate your disrespect. Part of him wnted to reveal himself as your lord to quiet you down. But he feared youd do somthing dramatic. The lst thing he needed was to chase down a soldier whod stolen a tie fighters and was going rogue. And yes, thats what he thought you do if you found out you were curseing at vader himself.

"Dont you dare fucking 'woman' me! You've signed my death warrant! You might be some groveling jedi turned inquisitor and have skills to offer him in exchange to spare your life,but i fucking dont!" You finally screamed at him somehow managing a few deep breaths, tears flowing freely as you tried to regain control. But all you felt was an intense pressure within you. A thick syrupy feeling in your throat as if it were clogged.

"I have nothing and now... now i will be slaughtered like an animal for simply exsisting" you sobbed in defeat your deepest fear coming to light. You wouldnt simply be shot. No, youd be a traitor. On lord vaders ship no less. He was going to fucking gut you. And there was nothing you could do about it. Nowhere you could run or hide. With that final thought you turned walking away from the wall, there was nothing left to say or do. You simply had to wait for your number to be called.

"Your fear is going to be the death of you little one" you growled quietly hearing the concern tinted words reverberate through the wall. You maintained your position laying flat on your back in the soft grass, you hands clasped on your stomach eyes closed. You had been trying to ground yourself. Ever since your last encounter with your intruder things had gone from bad to worse. Life on the executor was exhausting, days filled with unending work and overall fear as the spontaneous midichorian tests were carried out across the ship.

So far just over three hundred tests had been carried out. Forteen personnel had not returned to their posts. There hadnt been any official executions but people were guessing. They talked, rumour had it they were being held in the cells waiting for... something. No one knew who or what? But something was coming.

"I thought you already had that covered" you huffed still laying down, focusing on the way your hands rose and fell with your breaths trying to find that all important numb open feeling. The blank freedom of true inner peace.

"Again with this? No one is going to kill you" he scoffed lightly pressing against the barrier seperating you. Not hard, or with the intent of breaking through. Instead it was like he was trying to comfort you. A light humm of his life force sizzled on the surface. But he wasnt pushy, just lightly grazing it.

He was trying to call you, coaxing you to interact with him and let him help ease your overall fear and exhaustion. Youd tried to avoid sleeping and meditating so you wouldnt have to encounter him. You knew he was dangerous now.

Can you blame me?" Your answer came in the form of a heavy sigh.

"Your fear is misplaced." He uttered before sitting in the sand leaning aginst the wall. Resting the back of his head against it lightly. He relly didnt want to fight today, he jut wanted to check in on you. You hadnt rested in meditation for over a week, he was... worried.

"Really? Explain that one to me again because i must have missed something" you snapped at him feeling yourself begin to grow angry with him. With the situation he'd put you in.

"I already told you that you wont be harmed. I wish to tutor you, to haven apprentice, explore your power and guide you" you rolled your eyes at that. He was haughty and almost seemed confused at your refusal. He must have felt he didnt need to be subtle about trying to use you. Clearly he thought himself so important that you should be greatfull he was even giving you the time of day.

"Oh yeah thats right your a big wig." You grunted unimpressed, more so out of spite. You wanted to get under his skin, which probably wasnt the best idea. But he laughed in response making you growl.

"Somthing like that" he chuckled shaking his head if you only knew. But as he sat in his own amusment, pondering your reaction. Youd been struck by a thought. This man was quite arrogant, so why not try to use that against him. Before you could really think over your plan you spoke out loud.

"Prove it" your words were quiet, calm and still unsure but you were taking the chance.

"And how would you like me to do that?" You swore he was teasing you, you heard the smirk. The light goading in his words. He seemed happy to just be speaking with you rather than you shouting at him.

"Call off the tests" you uttered without missing a beat. Eager to atleast try and coerce him into stopping the inevitable shit show coming your way.

"Now we both know i wont do that. How could i possibly find you if i called off the tests" he chided quietly, chuckleing lightly at the mere thought of suddenly ceasing all efforts to find you. And it was an effort, moreso because he was trying to keep it completely hidden from the emperor. For his plan to work he had to hide you, you cant be his ace in the hole if his master knew of you.

So he'd mentioned randomly testing the ranks but made sure not to know how or when they were implemented. Instead he got reports on the numbers and occupations of those that failed. Apart from that he knew nothing, and thats how it would stay.

"So you can call them off? You just wont" you werent sure how you felt at this realisation? Elated because youd managed to get more information about who this could be. But frightened as it became clear he really was high up in the chain of command. What if he wanted to find you to kill you, but punish you for all your insubordination first? Or worse, what if he was so high up that vader already knew about you? And thats why the tests were implemented so quickly, and its also why he wont stop them. Because it wasnt his decision to make, it was lord vaders.

"Maybe. Im closing in arent i? Today one of your colleagues were tested. I felt it, the terror. It was the moment we selected those from the eighth quadrant" his voice broke your train of though, and you were a little grateful for it. You didnt need another panick attack today.

"...Please stop, just stop. I want to live my life quietly" you begged quietly, rising to your knees gazing where you felt he was. Pressing your hands to the wall pushing through some of your life force gently, giving him a tiny sliver of what he'd wanted through out all of these meetings. A connection, you were frightened you knew you were playing a dangerous game but you had to give him somthing. The stacks had just became too great to ignore. If he was working with lord vader, you had to escape. Had to get out now. And unfortunately he was your only option for help in this moment.

You just wanted to live, to go to work and return to your fproom each night for a few more years before leaving the fleet and buying a small home somewhere. That all youd ever wanted.

"I will not stop. Not untill i have found you" he hummed in a bored tone. He was growing tired of this, the chase was loosing its appeal.

"Why? So you can deliver me like a lamb to slaughter?" You cursed, spat the words more in desperation than anger.

"You wont be harmed;"

"You dont know that for certain" you cut him off, growing tired of him repeating the same high horse bullshit. He didnt seem to understand the gravity of the situation he was putting you in.

"Yes i do."

"No you dont! No one knows what they will do... what he will do." In your panic youd let too much slip. You hadnt intended to let him know your thoughts, your true fear. This was the empire, fear were used against you just like every other weakness that was uncovered.

"He? You mean lord vader? Your scared of him. Is that why your so frightened?" You faltered at that just hearing it said out loud was enough to silence you.

"Oh course i am. He terrifies me. And if you had any sense he'd frighten you too. If vader finds out im hiding right under his nose? He will be so angry. Have you ever seen him angry? I wont just die. I will suffer for making him seem incompetent. Please, plese call off these tests and spare me that. I dont want to die" you pleaded with him, revealing the true consequence you feared. You didnt want to be found, you wanted to be left alone and safe.

The silence that followed dragged on, you were almost hopefull he was coming around to your wy of thinking. But no. Vader was hurt, he didnt understand why but your fear of him. The way you thought he'd kill you slowly for some pleasure of sport had unsettled him. And it never would normally, he didnt care for other peoples opinions but you were different.

He liked you, you were charming in your own irritatingly sarcastic way. He almost felt human with you, teasing back and forth, snippjng at one another like comrades. He hadnt had that in a long time. He just didnt feel so alone at night when he visited you. So to realise you were so scared of him, that you thought he was nothing more then a vicious killer was hard for him. But he couldnt blame you, you didnt know who he was. You didnt know he was who ou spent your nights talking to, that youd created this sort of companionship with him.

It was clear he had to put an end to this now, he had to force your hand. He needed you to see him, to come to him and help him end palpantine. Thats the only reason he ontinued to come to you. You were a secret weapon, with untamed power and he needed you to help kill palpantine so he could rule and make some changes to the empire. It had strayed from its purpose and vader was going to bring it back on course.

"I can see we are not going to agree, you do not trust me to come to me freely. So I will offer you a choice. Meet up with me outside of these meditations. Agree to become my apprentice and i will call off the tests, and release those with unacceptable results" he rose to his feet dusting off his bottoms as he spoke trying not to feel guilty for the sudden flare of fear and desperation he felt from the woman.

"If not then i will have every single one of you in the eighth quadrent tested and the undesirables will be relived of more than just their posts" he finally spoke offering you his ultimatum. You will reveal yourself or everyone whose counts were too high will die.

"Meet me in training hall b-5 at midnight, if you are not there you know what will happen. I am done chasing you little one, its time to come to me" he didnt pause for a response he didnt want to hear you crying and pleading. He didnt think he could bare it, he had grown attached to you. Convinced himself your were his apprentice, his soon to be student, so no. He didnt want to hear your panicked fearfull begging. Instead he left the meditation quickly, pulling himself back until he awakened in his pressurised chamber. Tonight was the night. He almost felt excited, he was looking forward to meetingnyou properly.

Rightly or wrongly you obeyed. Youd debated all day whether to call his bluff, but you wouldnt be able to live with yourself if you heard something had happened to everyone else. Plus you werent sure how much longer this man would be civil. He clearly had some say in the goings on on the executor;if not the entire fleet! So obeying him was probably for the best.

Not that you were fine with the prospect of revealing yourself. Honestly you werent. But that just how things went. You wandered the corridors, surprised by how quiet they were. Even this late you would have thought the ship would be buzzing. But no, it was quiet. The gentle humm of the ship and occasional patrol was all you could hear.

It didnt take long to reach the training room. It was one of the smaller ones used for sparring matches between the inquisitors. Somewhere they practice their force abilities in private. You felt very uncomfortable being in here, for you it was forbidden to enter this particular corridor. It was when you stepped inside a few more feet you felt eyes on you. The hair on the back of your neck stood on end. Your force tried to flare but you managed to relax it, purposefully pushing the energy back into the room so it wouldnt linger on you. Something you did without even thinking now.

"You are smaller than i anticipated" you yelped jumping, spinning around as you heard the modulated voice. For a split second you thought it was a trooper or something. And then you registered who was stood a few meters infront of you.

"O-oh shit" you scrambled back yelping as your tripped over your own feet before laying there for a few seconds staring up at lord vader. You quivered unsure what to do.

"Lord vader; im sorry my lord, i know its past curfew but;" you tried to apologise, praying he had only followed you out of curiosity. That he was going to give you a demerit for being in a restricted area.

"You have no reason to fear, i have told you time and again you are to be trained" Oh fuck.

"You; it was you all this time? Oh... oh maker i; im sorry i never meant to" you sat up, sublty shuffled back in terror as your worst nightmare was confirmed. Your dark lord; the sith lord and enforcer of the galactic empire and self proclaimed jedi killer had found you. And whats worse he knows your frightened of him.

You began hyperventilating still trying to shuffle back already knowing the out come. You couldnt even get up off the floor, your legs were like jelly and you felt sick to your stomach. Your mind fell into a shocked panic, screaming at you so many things it became and overwhelming mass of terror and instincts. Run, hide, cry? Fight? run, flee? Hide ,cry? Beg. You couldnt seeme to grasp a single thought long enough to act on it.

"Calm yourself young one. Your fear is... uncomfortable. I dislike it. Id much rather you stay the same infuriating yet honest self, calm down, thats it" with the simple raise of a hand and almost gently words the panic dissolved instantly. Your mind quietened and your body relaxed as if youd just been placed into a warm bath.

"You? D-did you do that?"

"Yes. You are a flighty thing. It'd do no good to have you so panicked and flee, a patrol could assume the worst and shoot. Then id be down a few troops and youll be in the infirmary unable to start your training" he explained, which surprised you. Honestly youd never heard of lord vader explaining himself to anyone before. Not even the far fetched stories about him had gone so far.

"Now come over here, let me get a look at you" you did as he ordered only hesitating for a second or so. Gasping slightly as you felt him use the force to prompt you into moving. A light shove to your shoulder and then pressure below you, helping you find your feet. You couldnt help feeling more and more insignificant as you approached him. He seemd so much bigger then youd ever realised. Larger than life even. Huge imposing and unreadable. But he didnt seem to be hostile. If anything youd have felt as though he was curious?

"My you are small, smaller then i had hoped. But no matter i suspect you will be agile. What you lack in physical strength you'll make up for in speed, youd suit shorter duel sabers" he began speaking out loud as he analysed you closely. Debating on what type of training would suit you. Looking for natural advantages youd have. Despite being so clinical in his assessment you didnt feel dehumanised, reduced to mere power and potential. You felt oddly proud?

"Your aura is tempered. You feel normal. How are you masking so well young one?" The genuine curiosity threw you a little, he sounded gentle? Well as gentle as his voice coder allowed. You felt an odd warmth from him, a delicate encouraging twinge from his force. He was trying to reassure you. And you didnt mind, in fact you were pleased. There was no protocol for this. Youd never been this close to lord vader before never had to learn how to mind yourself or try to anticipate his moods. So the way he was maintaining enough distance between you both to keep you comfortable was very much appreciated. He was cutting you some slack.

"I dont... i dont know i just do it..." you explained as best as you could whislt trying to figure out how much of this relaxed feeling was you, nd how much was a manipulation. But even as you prodded your lords intrusive force lightly he didnt press back. Infact he seemed to invite your curiosity. Not that you were really incontrol of the interaction. Not conciously anyway, the force was its own entity, you could only let it coil nd drift around the new sensation.

Vader relaxed It was only natural that youd try to get a feel for him. It was something all younglings did the first time a more refined user connected with them. And that is what he was doing, claiming your own force signature, smothering it with his own in an intimate bond. All mentors did this, its how they learned what type of jedi they were raising. What their force naturally gravitated towards, healing, offence or defence.

"Do you imagine something? Picture something in your mind to mould your life force and blend in?" He asked after a moment, realising you were still wary of him even though you were fixating on his life force. It made him smile below his mask, it reminded him of the last time he'd done this with ahsoka. Though she was younger and used to the experience of having someone elses force brushing against hers in her own mind. It was something the jedi did as you grew. The ability was used as a tool, subtly sweeping through the minds of younglings to calm them or help them overcome their emotions and eventually shun their undesirable feelings altogether.

"What? Oh Yes, I think of a stream sometimes" you replied still pulling faces subconciously investigating the changes in the force surrounding the both of you.

"A stream?" He uttered quietly before nodding slowly, quickly understanding what you were doing. It was quite impressive a type of masking without exerting yourself or trying to cut off fro. The force; which took alote of concentration and willpower.

"Yes, like a shallow body of water always moving? Its hard to explain and probably doesnt make sense" you waved it off feeling stupid. I mean he was asking for answers you didnt quite understand youself

"No, no it makes perfect sense. You are constantly flushing the force through you, letting it trickle away. Never letting it build up and become noticable its clever.Its why you are so..." his complement trailed off slowly, he couldnt find the word to describe the odd aura that surrounded you. The force gravitated to you, like any other force sensitive being. But it didnt linger like most, didnt hover around you in a dense pull. It dissipated.

"Weak?" You offered self depreciation drentching the word, underlaying humour and sarcasm. He could tell you were trying to lighten the mood. He understood the need to fill 5he silence. Many people felt the need to when interacting with him. He put them on edge and you cant discern anything from silence.

But that wasnt to say he necessarily liked the way your defaulted to crushing yourself. You needed confidence, needed to hve enough self respect to know your worth. To take what you are owed. Something he will be sure to encourage, you have to find pride and ambition.

"I was going to say unusual. What else can you do?" His words were chiding at first. He risked stepping closer well aware of how fidgety you were. But he had to push you throw this fear nonetheless. He cannot train you if you were to terrified to aprouch him, how would combat or lessons in the force ever work? No. Its best to break barriers now. He will be understanding, but he wont coddle you. Time is of the essence, he had plans and you had to be ready to play your part on time.

"Move things... and sometimes control people" you shrugged as if these werent a big deal. It was pretty standard stuff for force users. And vader agreed, they were usually what youd expect. For trained users. But you were untrained and raw, to have such refined ability without formal training was rare.

"So thats what you were trying to do in our meetings? Trying to manipulate me?" He chuckled lightly grinning below his mask, he had wondered what the tickleing sensation had been. And to think youd been trying to control him amused him. You really were a breath of fresh air, he was almost eager. Excited to see you blossom and grow into somthing both amusing and powerful. Youd definitely suit him as an apprentice.

"Only once or twice, i wanted you to leave me alone" you mumbled rubbing the back of your neck nervously.

"Is there anything else you can do?" He asked taking yet another step closer closing the distance unoticed by you. Or maybe you did notice but didnt feel the need to run. Either way he got the same result, managing to get within rms reach of you without you screaming and bolting for the door. Not that yous make it far, he'd simply use the force to pluck you from the floor.

"Well maybe? But i never figured out if it was a force thing or not. Sometimes i feel things? Like bad stuff. I get a feeling that something bad will happen nd then it does" though your explination was a little less then coherent he did get the message. The force was tricky to explain at the best of times, so he couldnt really expect you to articulate it like a expert. But your words did give him pause for thought. That was not a usual naturl force ability. The last jedi said to have such afinity was yoda himself, and the old master didnt weild it, instead let it fester and become useless.

"Like visions?" He asked trying not to sound so desperate, he wanted to be as nonchalant about it as he could. He didnt need you worrying over it. Force knows you had enough going through your head as it was.

"No, i never see what it is, i just have the feeling before hand? A deep dread. Its only after something happens i realise what it was about" he nodded thinking over the words and comparing them to things he had read in the thousands of jedi and sith texts he'd researched over the years. Thankfully he had heard of such and odd thing. It was rare, very rare.

"Empathic premonitions. A powerful ability that is the beginning of true foresight. If trained properly you could not only have visions of the future but decipher them correctly in the right context" he offered the information up easily, to withhold knowledge from an apprentice was not the sith way. Though technically you should outright ask him for the answers he would be lenient for the moment. You were unaware of such things as of now. You would have to learn how to become a sith apprentice, just as he would learn to become your master.

"Thats a frightening concept. It'd land me on few hitlists. And im not sure id want to see the future anyway" you giggled humourlessly before shrinking into yourself gazeing up at his mask; something youd been avoiding for the past few mineuts. He took that as a good sign.

"It could be useful. You might have realised who i was sooner" you smiled at his small chuckle. It was strange, he really was the same person. You were surprised how familiar he was beginning to feel. It was nice, in a daunting way.

"That is true...Soo what happens now?" You pondered quietly still adrift in some anxiety, force induced calm state of mind that honestly felt like some odd dream.

"Now the work begins. I will train you and we will help one another acheive our goals" his reply was short and direct. You appreciated it, you didn want to be frettingnover what if's for the next few weeks. He was going to train you. Then use you. It was all you needed to know.

"I dont have any... well apart from hiding from everyone but that failed pretty badly if you think about it." your voice dipped lower, shame lingering around you s you admitted outloud you had no ambition past the goal of stying hidden away from the world.

"Do not let that deter you. You did very well, you weren't easy to find. You certainly made me work to uncover you. Something rarely achieved by anyone" he watched with satisfaction as his praise perked you up. A flicker of pride igniting inside of you from the words, a sense of achievement rippled from you. You were responsive to praise, rather than punishment. Good, he had no time to be constantly rebuilding trust after punishing you and if you grew to trust and dmire him as your mentor there was less chance of you turning on him in the future. He may even beable to change the tide of the sith, remove the rule of two and instead create a real empire, a real dynasty of the darkside. He could create something never seen before.

"And I am sure we will uncover some ambition inside of you. Today we will start by embracing your life force" his encourageing words seemed to be all you needed to nod and you followed as he began to lead you fom the room. Motioning for you to step up beside him intent on heading to his own personal meditation cha,bers, that had undergone a little renovating now holding a second seat a few steps down from his own that was souly intended for you.

You walked beside him silently, unsure where you were going but understood he wasnt going to kill you, so you just did as he asked. There was no reason to fight. And no chance in winning against him. Though the quiet resignation wasnt enough to quell your rampant thoughts. Mostly revolving your future and things to come, occasionally the emperor crossed your mind accompanied with a healthy dose of fear.

"I sensed a spike of fear in you. What is wrong?" You almost jumped out of your skin when the siths voice broke through the low white noise of the corridor. For a second you debated lying to him, telling him nothing was wrong but that wouldnt be a good idea? Besides he would find out eventually so whats the point in putting effort into a lie?

"Wont the emperor be angry if he finds out about me?" You didnt know if it was meant to be a statment or question.

"No. We are far enough away and i will make sure to smother your own force with mine. I told you, i will see to your saftey. You re my apprentice now. That grants you some privileges including my protection"

"Sounds better then dying" you hummed cheering up at his words. You actually felt comfort knowing this powerful sith was not only going to train you, but protect you. It was a weight off you mind. Not that youd ever take it for granted. Hell no, that would be a foolish thing to do.

"I do believe its the more preferable outcome?" You laughed outright at that finding his sarcasm comfortable. He stepped into an open elevator, you paused gor a second still a little on edge. He hadnt told you where you were off to, or what you'll be doing.

"Come we will have a short session tonight, and tomorrow i will test your combat" he anounced tryingnto remind himself the more you knew the less flighty you would be. It was odd explaining himself, he hadnt had to in to long. At that you stepped inside the tiny space with him.

"Save yourself the trouble i suck with gun" you huffed not even sugar coating it. You couldnt aim for shit and had been retrained as a technician because of it.

"And a lightsaber?" That caught you off gaurd, you hadnt even considered youd be trained in saber combat. Suddenly this wasnt sounding like the best idea, not with your clumsiness.

"I wouldnt know, ive never even seen one; holy shit!" You jumped back cursing as you headbutted the side of the elevator turning to run full speed into it trying escape as the small space lit up red in a nanosecond. Vader chuckled but didnt move the saber, opting to just hold it still so you could see it in all of its glory. You placed a hand over your head rubbing it before turning to look a the saber. It was scary, oddly beautiful but scary nonetheless.

"Do a girl a favour and warn me before you whip that thing out! I almost pissed myself" you complained, completely forgetting who you were talking to in you panic. Your eyes locked on the plasma blade in a mix of awe and terror. But awe quickly outweighed the fear as you understood he was merely showing you the saber, not about to use it on you.

"You are frightened of them? Ah ah carful" he asked only to tilt the blade from you as curiosity got the better of you and your hand inched closer to the sabers heat. You flinched back slightly, you could feel the heat radiating from it a good few inches from it.

"In my defence... i think its a rationl fear, they are kind of dangerous... and that one in particular, its known for slicing and diceing" you defended yourself with a little snippy quip, hand drifting to the saber again as if drawn to it like a moth. He could see your fascination was somthing he'd have to watch out for, or you might hurt yourself, though on the other handnit was good. You were interested.

"Tomorrow will be exciting for you. And very entertaining for me" he uttered disengaging the light saber before your curiosity left a more lasting impression.

"Wait Tomorrow? Why? Whats tomorrow?" You quized confused frowing up at him. But he only tipped his head to the side in response.

"You'll see" he uttered before turning forward once more as the dorrs opened. He strode down the hall not waiting for you as you rolled your eyes before chasing him, jogging to catch up to him again.

"Brilliant, my masters a sadist" he halted, jerking to a stop snapping his head down at you. An icey feeling washed over you and you suddenly felt very small. And very stupid.

"What? W-was that right? I didn't know what to call you, if its wrong im sorry i can;" he silenced you with a hand gesture.

"No, no it was correct. It has just been a long time since ive been called master. It may take some getting used to" he admitted quietly, sounding lost in thought. It was like your words had truly brought the circumstances to life. This was happening. Vader was claiming you as an apprentice, he'd train you and youd be the secret weapon to help him defeat his master and claim the throne that had been promised to him.

"Well if it helps ive neve been anyones apprentice before. So how about we give each other a settleing in period and ease ourselves in?" You uttered with a shrug unsure if you were meant to try and reassure him or not. He didnt seem the type to need it, but... it felt polite.

"Plus I err dont want to be punished or anything if i make silly mistakes" you added cheekily whilst subtly tryingnto convince him not go easy on you. He eyed you for a moment before turning walking away with a subtle shake of his head. You scampered behind him quickly not wanting to get lost this deep in the ship.

"Punishments accrued will always be met out, but youve shown little indication of needing such harsh tutelage. Im here to teach you, not break you" he uttered once you fell into step with him. He sent you a final side glance. He felt oddly satisfied by the way you were quietly accepting your new situation. He could almost let himself become fond of you, form an attachment to you. Only time will tell, for now he was content to focus on your training. He could ponder companionship another time.

#oh for fic sake fics #darth vader x reader #anakin x reader #darth vader imagine #star wars anakin #star wars darth vader #anakin imagine

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thefastestelementalmasteralive · 7 months

Text

So i actually wrote something for the Lion!Vader Au lol

uh.. it's just a quick thing i wrote up and its not finished

uh.. yeh

This was not supposed to be happening. Well, a lot of things weren’t supposed to have happened in the past years of Padme’s life.

The Empire, the genocide of the Jedi, the clone wars, the Tusken massacre, the invasion of Naboo, and Anakin-..

A small squadron of rebels had been sent on a mission and thought they’d return to the base successfully. The Empire had tracked them, and been led back to the base.

Luckily, many had been able to escape from the empire’s clutches, Unfortunately, Padme’s ship was not one of the ones that were able to make the jump, and she and the others on board were captured by the starcruiser and brought to the heart of the empire for a sham trial.

The captured, unfortunately (has she mentioned how unfortunate this situation is?), consisted of herself, her son Luke, and her daughter Leia, Obi-wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano aka Fulcrum, and Ex-Clone-Captain Rex.

It was times like this that Padme missed how reassuring Anakin could be.. But she had to keep herself calm and carry on, trusting that they would figure a way out of this.

Before the trial Ahsoka, Luke, and Leia were all pulled aside individually, presumably to try and get them to join the empire or rat the others out for a lighter sentence or avoid a death penalty.

Everyone’s trials went by rather quickly and all resulted in the same sentence. The only wavering in time was for Luke and Leia’s trials to try and, unsuccessfully, find birth certificates for one, and two try them as adults, seeing as they were only 17. They had all been sentenced to execution and filed onto a ship. In other cases, they might have simply had a quiet death in prison somewhere, but it seemed Padme and Obi-wan were seen as too important to go quietly. They were being shipped off to an arena where Palpatine kept his favorite pet project. Pet in the literal sense. The planet used to be called Tee Ree bashatae, or in basic; ‘NOT VERY AGGRESSIVE’. The planet's occupants used to joyfully shout it whenever they were to talk about it, now all that was left was the arena and some villages meant to support the arena. The planet's new name is bahana see luobeokay, or Arena of Gladiators. The arena was typically meant for executing higher-up Rebels, or lower rebels stored away for ‘celebrations’ on empire day.

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kimageddon · 2 years

Text

Sins of the Father - 2:1

Maul x Nightsister OC (Zaiya Valessa) - Modern/Crime AU - Sins of the Father Masterlist

Word count: Approx 1800 Contains/Warnings: none Chapter Summary: Zaiya meets with Fives and one of his contacts. Notes: Oof, it's late… sorry about that, but! Sins is back! Chapter 2 BABEYYYYY.

Chapter 2 - Best Served Cold

The Devil sits on throne of gold

You'll take it all and leave him cold

Vicious, feral and unbound

You’ll burn his kingdom to the ground

Webs spun of a thousand lies

You know the truth behind those eyes

The spider of your nightmares waits

He wears the crown that tempts your fate

The fire burns and blazes bright

The sparks glow red against the night

You stand before the falling ashes

They settle on your eyelashes

Laugh as you stand to watch it burn

With sadistic grin, you turn

Rising smoke from toxic breath

There she stands, Angel of Death

══════════════════

Reluctant Allies

It had been a few days since she’d sent out messages, and the little snippets of information were coming in hot. Fives had been able to let her know about a suspected embezzlement scheme when it came to a few of the initiatives Palpatine had enacted over the last few years. She had also been put in touch with one of Five’s contacts. A very irritable cousin, so she was told.

He was apparently a detective, though not privately so. Zaiya hoped he would be able to have some information on her quarry, though she couldn’t just assume he wasn’t on Palpatine’s payroll just because Fives said so. She would just have to assess this ‘Detective Fox’ herself.

Saxon still occasionally was seen outside the bookshop while she worked, though she had noticed a second tail occasionally, the red haired woman was less friendly and more evasive. It was the same woman she had noticed in the bar the night she’d visited. This woman kept her distance though. And she was harder to lose as she too was on a bike and could weave through traffic with relative ease. There were certain things she would rather not share with Maul, and she was sure that the crimson Zabrak would call for her soon.

Well, she was relatively certain, though she knew it was better to be as boring as possible so he might lose interest… she could not say she didn’t partially hope he might call for her. At least for the sake of eye candy.

She was on her way to a coffee shop to meet with Fox and Fives, as the latter had insisted Fox would be able to help them in their endeavours. Zaiya hadn’t had the chance to beat them there this time, so as she walked into the shop itself, they were already waiting for her. She never liked to walk into a situation blind, and this felt like an ambush. Luckily she’d been told about Fox a little while ago. So she’d had time to dig up a little on him.

She ordered her drink and sashayed her way over, a smile on her black lips, she didn’t want to indicate to the two men that she had any form of apprehension. As Adaji had told her:

Don’t let anyone see all your cards, kid.

He was right, as usual, and so Fives and the stone-faced and very similar-looking man beside him whom she assumes was Fox were greeted with an unphased grin. Both of them were definitely handsome, and while Fives had a boyish charm and a goatee, Fox had a more authoritarian look and was greying in the temples. Silver Fox, perhaps?

“Waiting long?” she asked with a smile as she sank into the seat opposite the two men. Fives returned her smile and he seemed far less suspicious of her this time, whereas Fox seemed very unimpressed. He gave her a once over then turned to Fives.

“Are you serious?” he asked bluntly, then looked back at her with a frown, “What is this, some kind of dress up party?” He gestured to her dark outfit and makeup.

“I was raised very religious,” she replied, resting her chin on her hand.

“Come on, Fox, I wouldn’t mess around with something like this, would I?” Fives interjected with a nudge to the detective’s arm.

“How do we even know she is any sort of decent investigator?” Zaiya pulled up her phone.

“Fox, Kamino Apartments, Soldier for four years in the Republic Army, then a Detective with the Coruscant Police force…” she scrolled down the page, “began as beat cop, onto traffic, robberies and oh look homicide until a sudden demotion to archives… Ooh you must have really rubbed someone the wrong way,” she looked up with a closed smile. “You have a brother, currently overseas and you are looking after his cat… is that right?”

Fives’ grin had become so wide and his shoulders trembled with silent laughter, while Fox stared, his mouth open slightly, a second later his head whipped to Fives.

“You told her--?!” Fives held up his hands, in surrender.

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Give me more than 48 hours notice and I could have had your favourite brand of toothpaste,” Zaiya replied, then her smile faded, “so are we going to talk business or what?” It was that moment the barista stepped over with her order and Zaiya’s face changed again to a bright smile as she looked up at the woman and thanked her.

“You see it now, yeah?” Fives asked.

“Where did you even find her?” Fox shook his head.

“She found me, like an Angel falling from heaven,” Fives waved a hand in a flourish, a silly lovestruck look on his face. Zaiya rolled her eyes. Apparently their back and forth emails had warmed him up to her more than she’d thought, though she couldn’t say she minded, by all accounts Fives seemed like a good man, and she’d not spotted any red flags yet.

“So what do you get out of all this, the new information, taking him down… then what?” Fox’s eyes narrowed, as though trying to see through her. He was right to be suspicious, but still this was always the most tedious part.

“Would you believe; a sense of prevailing justice and victory over the corruption of this fine city?” she asked, meeting his eye and taking a sip.

“Not in the slightest,” Fox replied.

“You are very cynical for someone who is meant to be in the pursuit of justice,” Zaiya mused.

“You read my file… how did you even get that anyway…?”

“The odd favour to an underpaid clerk never goes astray,” she smiled, that same closed mouth smile again and Fox shook his head.

“I suppose that is a benefit of working independently,” Fox ran a hand over his cropped curls.

“So is this a blind date or have you got more to give me?” Zaiya looked at Fives who grinned.

“Oh I could give you plenty,” he wiggled his eyebrows at her and Fox let out an exasperated sigh.

“Sure… files?” she held out her hand. Fives reluctantly reached into his bag for a disappointingly thin manilla folder.

“This is it?” she frowned.

“Maybe if you come to dinner with me I can be motivated to find more?” Zaiya looked at him, then back to Fox.

“Is he always like this?”

“Usually only to the pretty ones,” Fox smirked and took a sip of his own drink.

“Woooow…” she shook her head. Working with these two was definitely going to be… interesting. “Fives mentioned you were looking into some of these gangs, were they your suspects for the murder case you were on?” Fox regarded her for a moment and leaned in.

“Yeah, it was some office girl. I found out she’d last been seen near that biker bar by the docks,” Zaiya said nothing but sipped her drink.

Interesting.

Fox continued; “something about it didn’t sit right with me, but I barely got the chance to ask many questions, someone higher up, and I don’t know who, wanted me out of their hair…”

“You knew what would happen after you outed another cop for corruption… once you’re labelled as a rat…” Fives shook his head.

“That bastard was shaking down store owners and covering up crimes and intimidating witnesses!” Fox hissed, “he was an insult to the badge!” Zaiya hadn’t been able to uncover that part, she wasn’t even surprised. If she could just get enough evidence to trace it back to the Mayor…

“What can you share about the case?”

“Only what I remember, the case files are classified and I am not allowed anywhere near them,” Fox sighed and leaned back in his seat. The amount of digging she would have to do was increasing.

“You have some friends in the force I assume?” she tilted her head.

“A couple,” he replied warily.

“Call in favours, I need copies of those files, suspicious deaths, especially unsolved ones or ones where the conviction doesn’t make much sense, Fives has the business dealings, I have my own angle, we need to get as much as we can,” she mused, glancing at the files, there were mentions of various initiatives, building projects and some underprivileged kids program that immediately rubbed her the wrong way.

“I had my eye on the owner of that bar, you may wanna look into him,” Fox muttered, “there’s something sinister about him.” Zaiya raised a brow as she looked over the rim of her cup.

“The zabrak?” she asked slowly.

“Yeah, I never had a good feeling about him,” Fox shook his head. Zaiya made a little ‘hm’ sound and his dark eyes snapped to hers. “You’ve spoken to him already?”

“Might’ve,” she shrugged, though even she knew it was unconvincing.

“Listen kid--”

“I am not a kid,” she snapped.

“Whatever, that doesn’t matter. What does matter is you need to be careful, this guy, these people-- they’re dangerous.” One thick finger tapped the table between them to emphasise his point, “You need to watch your back, don’t go looking for trouble. This whole world you’re looking into is no playground, you could wind up hurt or dead…” Fox looked at her in full seriousness and Zaiya met his gaze with a level one of her own.

“I assure you, Detective Fox. I am fully aware of what these people are capable of. I know what they can do and I have no illusions about it,” she told him and his frown only grew.

“I guess you really aren’t a kid,” he mused as he took in her serious demeanour. Fives eyes looked between the two of them.

“Are you gonna break into a dark and moody monologue…?” he asked, looking at Zaiya. Her blue eyes slid back to him then rolled dramatically.

“You just don’t understand me daaaaad,” she drawled.

“I don’t know about dad, but you can call me daddy,” he grinned and both Fox and Zaiya groaned. She knew enough to know Fives was harmless, but she still ran her hand over her face in exasperation.

“I walked into that one, didn’t I?” she asked with a sigh. Fives’ laughter seemed to confirm it, and she shook her head. Once again she was left with the thought of how interesting it would be to work with them going forward.

Notes: I would love to know your thoughts and your feedback, I am always keen for it. Comments always keep me going! This week we see a familiar face and delve further into the plot to get back and Palpy. Next week, Maul oversteps a boundary and Zaiya must confront him!

I hope you liked it, and if you are able. Please leave a comment, they really help!

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bsigafoos2005 · 6 months

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It’s finally time to talk/rant about what many consider to be the bad part of one of my favorite things to ever exist. The Sequel Trilogy (Episodes 7-9) in the Star Wars ‘Skywalker Saga.’ Not as to say I disagree about ALL these movies being bad.

These movies were released in December 2014, December 2017, and December 2019 respectively and were my first Star Wars movies seen in the theaters since I was born in September of 05, a couple months after Revenge of the Sith (the third movie in the prequel trilogy) had been released.

I remember there being a considerable amount of hype around Episode 7 “The Force Awakens” right about around the point of release. The trailers looked good, we were finally gonna see what happened to the galaxy, and more importantly characters like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia post-Battle of Endor all these years later. And everyone was just super pumped to have Star Wars back in the theaters at the time. The movie released, I, as a 10-year old at that point had my love for the franchise expanded endlessly now that I knew they were releasing new movies again. The Force Awakens I don’t remember doing terrible in the theaters, and in the end it was probably the most well-received movie in the Sequel Trilogy in regard to the fans. I personally loved the movie through and through as a kid. I thought seeing old Leia, Han and Luke thrown back into the mix with the newer, younger cast was the coolest thing at the time (and it holds up pretty well to this day). Only part I hated was when Ben Solo impaled his father with his lightsaber and let him fall into the pit below that bridge on Starkiller Base. There was a LOT of crying done over that scene. I thought Snoke replacing the Emperor as the villain was really cool, as to me at the time I didn’t realize just how good of a character Palpatine was yet. I think it’s almost common knowledge that Episode 7 was a reboot of Episode 4 for the younger kids who never got to experience the original. With the same plot-point of “hey, there’s someone who’s in danger of losing important documents with the life of this resistance to a tyrannical government at risk” and then later “hey we saved that person but in return there is now a giant, planet-sized space station with a planet-killing laser headed right for us.” And then finally “hey we destroyed the planet-killer with a small starfighter and a lucky shot, and one of the older, cooler characters died.” Although yes a reboot, I loved episode 7 at release and it’s still a good movie to me, even now.

Episode 8 on the other hand? Now that’s a different story.

Where do I begin about this dumpster fire of a sequel to Episode 7? Although Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi” had it’s cool and fun moments, the director made a lot of creative decisions that impacted the overarching plot of the sequel trilogy negatively, with the biggest negative decision being allowing Supreme Leader Snoke to be killed off midway through the film. This decision left no main villain to the sequel trilogy (I don’t count Ben Solo/Kylo Ren as a villain since he’s eventually redeemed.) and basically at that point the film had its head cut-off halfway through. After the killing of Snoke, the only other memorable part of that movie is the brief re-appearance of Jedi Grandmaster Yoda (one of my all-time favorite characters), who manifests as his force ghost to speak to the then-mentally defeated Luke Skywalker, who was ready to turn away from the Jedi Order forever, luckily, Luke’s old master had one last lesson for him and a bit of hope to go with it. The Battle of Crait at the end of the movie was the off-branded Battle of Hoth, with big walkers marching on a resistance base, while the resistance fighters try to evacuate and call for help. Luke manifests himself as a force ghost with all the power he has left in him at his old age to help out his sister and the resistance one last time, and confronts Ben Solo, who he proceeds to have a duel with to buy enough time for the resistance to get away, in what would also be his last move, as Luke Skywalker dies peacefully at the end of the movie, and we get a callback to the original Binary Sunset scene, with the original score playing, as the twin-suns appear one last time as if to say goodbye to Luke at the end of one of the greatest film characters’ lives of all time. I would also like to mention that the Finn/Rose romance that was tried in this movie was terribly set-up and had no right to exist, they could’ve developed it over the course of episodes 7, 8 and 9 but with director swaps it’s kinda impossible unless the two directors got the same ideas I guess.

And finally, the WORST movie of the sequels just purely for its shit plot: Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker…

Where do I even begin with this? There are very few good things about this movie, if any at all. Now I know a lot of fans will easily disagree with this, but I thought that resurrecting Palpatine was cool, and a good choice. Seeing as how they did it in legends (although yeah I know canon does it differently, christ and as of 2023 we still don’t know the whole story to that yet) I figured they could make their own thing but also I hoped going into it they would make it make sense. But being Disney, we got none of that. Palpatine’s re-emergence (in a clone body through essence transfer before death for all who are curious as to how) to re-conquer the galaxy which is at the time of this movie in utter chaos is perfect for someone like his character to do. Palpatine has always been the overarching villain, and I had a feeling even before the reveal trailer dropped they would bring him back to finish the saga’s then 9 mainline films off. Other, smaller things I liked were the Imperial Star Destroyers coming back (although I hated the planet-killer the Xyston-class ISD got, I’ve just always been really fond of the ISD itself.), Billy Dee Williams returning to the franchise for one last run as Lando Calrissian, the revelation that between episodes 6-7 that Princess Leia was trained as a Jedi, Ian McDiarmid also returning to play the reborn-Emperor Palpatine (I’ve always admired Ian for the way he plays Palpatine and I think he did spectacular in the movie), the aerial battle over Exegol at the end of the film, and I will always think revisiting the Second Death Star (crashed and falling apart in the middle of an ocean on a planet albeit) was super cool, as was that whole sequence inside it, and even the Rey/Ben Solo duel at the end of the previously mentioned sequence. Moving on.. the main issue I have with this film is the lack of plot, not as to say there was none, but it was very minimal. And when something cool happened or we got a touching moment, there was nothing there afterward to follow it up, and instead we’d get some stupid scene like the speeder chase on Passana to make up for whatever we could’ve had instead. This movie also ruined Anakin Skywalker’s original sacrifice from amply-named Return of the Jedi to save Luke from the emperor, all the while fulfilling the prophecy of ‘The Chosen One’ and bringing balance to the force by reviving the emperor (at the point of movie’s release we had no reason given as to why the emperor was revived, although I can assume had JJ Abrams been given Episode 8 instead of Rian Johnson, we would’ve gotten a good reason for it.) Another small thing I’ll say is this movie tries REALLY HARD to be Return of the Jedi for the modern-era. Disney (and specifically Kathleen Kennedy, who is responsible for the disaster of the sequel trilogy given her position as head of Lucasfilm) is in this remake-everything phase and it clearly hasn’t worked with everything, so I really hope Disney learns a lesson for the future, especially for Star Wars going forward, but really for all their franchises.

If you were to ask me to rate these movies, here’s where I’d put them on a scale of 1 (really bad) to 10 (holy shit this was so fucking good):

Episode 7: The Force Awakens - 7/10

Episode 8: The Last Jedi - 6/10

Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker - 4.5/10 (gets the half-point for the mad amount of fan-service this movie has to make up for the lack of story)

#star wars #star wars sequel trilogy

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passable-talent · 4 years

Note

How about something with suitless Vader? Honestly I find dark Anakin with yellow eyes very attractive (even more than Jedi Ani!)🚶‍♀️

ooooh girl me 2

gun to my head, it’s Jedi Ani. but holy shiiittt sith anakin,,,,

At nineteen, you married Anakin Skywalker. That’s where our story begins.

You were a Jedi, just like him. You were made a knight too early, so that you could fight in the Clone Wars, just like him. The two of you walked through life side by side, from the moment you met.

And so, you forged a bond in the Force.

It wasn’t strong. You couldn’t communicate thoughts, and certainly couldn’t transport matter. But you could feel each other’s presence, you could feel the other’s emotion.

It was a tool, and you used it, both in your marriage and on the battlefield. Like no other Jedi you were a team, rivalled by no one.

Such a bond allowed Anakin a disturbing vision.

He would wake up in the dead of night, hearing you scream. He felt the grief deep in his stomach, and even through the haze of sleep knew what it meant- he knew that you were meant to die.

He confided this fear to Chancellor Palpatine, who took advantage of it. You know the rest- his fall to the dark side in order to keep you safe.

The moment Anakin sliced off Mace Windu’s arm, you fell to the ground in the middle of a battle. Your legs couldn’t hold you- there was pain throughout your body, so intense, so deep, you could barely move. It forced all of your muscles to lock and tighten, as though you were subconsciously trying to force it away. You curled up, and when your will failed, you began to scream. You feared you’d never stop.

It was pain, anguish, horror. Grief and sadness and rage. All of them, so tangled up underneath your ribcage, and you held your fist against it. You didn’t know what it meant, it was too violent to make sense of, and you couldn’t much focus anyway.

Luckily, Obi-Wan was there. He got you to safety, and you curled up in a bed in a ship.

For weeks, you just tried to survive. The pain never ebbed, in fact, it got worse, but slowly you were going numb. You had escaped to Tatooine with Obi-Wan after the Clones turned on the Jedi, and he let you be. Your pain combined with your grief, for Anakin had been killed- you couldn’t imagine what had taken him down. You just had to hope it wasn’t Rex.

Not far from Anakin’s family’s home, you lumbered around with phantom pains, barely eating, never sleeping. The intensity of it had become your normal, eyelids always heavy, muscles always locked.

You trembled with every step, and your lips were constantly bleeding, from when you’d bitten and been unable to let go. There was a line of scar tissue bisecting each palm, where your nails had ripped them open, again and again. You lost weight, rarely eating, and so looking so sickly, your muscle still toned from constant tensing standing out underneath paled, tight skin. It wasn’t a good look, and so you’d stopped looking in the mirror, not wanting to see the ghost of a Jedi, the one who hadn’t even tried to help in the final days of the Clone Wars, the one whose skin had sunken in around their eyes and cheeks.

“Have you gotten any better?” Obi-Wan asked, bringing you a meal. You were watching the binary sunrise, trying to meditate- it was how you spent a lot of your time, now, fists clenched under your chin, biceps tight, but your mind as clear as it could be. You tried to reach out to Anakin through the Force, hoping your husband could give you even the slightest bit of encouragement, and to the Jedi who’d been lost, and even to Shmi. It never worked. You had to assume that the grief and rage coiling in your stomach kept you barred from the Force.

“No,” you replied dryly, opening your eyes. “I don’t think it’s ever going to let up. Not until I die.”

“Or Vader dies,” Obi-Wan said, a small smile on his face as though he was joking.

But what in the world did that mean?

“Why would Vader have anything to do with this?” You asked, and though you couldn’t see it, you suddenly sensed Obi-Wan begin to feel anxiety.

“I- He doesn’t. I meant that his death might bring you a little reprieve, him being a Sith and all.”

“No,” you said, slowly rising to your feet, your fists held at your side, but now there was suspicion in your voice to match them. “You meant, somehow, that all of this is connected to Vader. Like this is-” Your words dropped off, as you considered what it could have meant.

You had a Force connection with Anakin. Obi-Wan carelessly joked that this pain had to do with Vader, which would mean you had a connection with Vader.

Which would mean that Anakin was Vader.

“You told me Anakin was dead,” you growled, and now all of the rage in your stomach felt your own. “You told me you watched him die!”

It all made sense. Obi-Wan taking you away, never looking back. The time you spent on Mustafar, curled up on the floor of his ship, not knowing what he was doing. The way the pain got worse as time went on. His choice to bring you to Tatooine, where Anakin was born, where his mother died, where he would never willingly return to.

“He is!” Obi-Wan insisted, taking a step back. “Anakin Skywalker is dead!”

“No!” you shouted, and reached out, calling your saber to you. You hadn’t used the Force in so long. “He’s alive! And all this time, all this grief I’ve been feeling- he was grieving for me!” You shoved back Obi-Wan, to the door of his home. “How could you keep this from me?” The pain was familiar, and now, it was all your own.

“Y/N, wait!” By the time Obi-Wan caught you, you’d stolen his ship.

Now knowing exactly what you felt, you could open yourself to it. Sure, it hurt, it made the pain so much worse, but only by opening yourself to the anguish would you begin to feel Anakin behind it.

For the first time, you started to sort through it all.

Anger. Fear. Hatred. Grief. Sadness. And all of it- all of it was because Obi-Wan had kept you from him. Obi-Wan had known Anakin was alive, and he didn’t tell you. He didn’t trust you enough, didn’t trust Anakin enough, to let you meet. It was all Obi-Wan’s fault that you’d become so ill, that you’d been in this much pain for this long. He kept you weak. Anakin probably didn’t even know you were alive!

Returning to like Coruscant was like returning home. It had been so long since you’d seen the beautiful, sparkling skyline as it stretched on towards the horizon under a golden sky. You touched down your ship onto the Senate’s landing platform, and strapped your saber to your waist before stepping outside.

A droid was there to greet you.

“What’s your name?” The stupid tube of wires asked, and you turned your face toward it with a glare. Your head hung low, and your breaths were irregular, forced out with the tensing of your diaphragm as you moved through waves of anguish that haunted your every step.

“I’m (F/N) (L/N),” you said, “And you will tell Lord Vader that I am here to see him.”

“Uh, I don’t think I-” the droid got no further before you ignited your saber and bisected it with all the contempt of a General of the Clone Wars. You turned to the next droid, voice even more commanding, even more angry.

“You will tell Lord Vader that I am here to see him.” Thoroughly threatened, this droid did as you asked.

You stood on the landing platform, waiting, and the longer you waited, the more it hurt. The more it got to you. You started curling, as you always did, pressing your forearms into your stomach, your spine hunching over.

And then it disappeared.

It took you a moment to realize the way the pain vanished, your muscles so tight, so you slowly uncurled, more confused than relieved. You looked at your hands, and shifted your legs, not having felt this light, this free, since... since you’d seen Anakin last. Did that mean...?

You looked up to where the droid had disappeared to, and there he was.

“Anakin.” Your voice was soft, in a way you hadn’t heard it in a long time. Suddenly you had all of the grace and lightness you’d once been proud of, and you ran to him, jumping into his arms. He caught you, like he always does, and spun you as he lowered you, and the hug was so tight, you’d never let go. You curled your fingers into his robes, and he surrounded you in them, enveloped you, his flesh hand bringing his fingers into your hair. You held his neck like it held your life, keeping him as close to you as you could.

“You’re alive,” he whispered into your neck, sounding emotional. You probed into him and felt it, too, pure relief and happiness invading the Force anywhere near him. And after weeks of nothing but pain, it was sweet like nothing else in the galaxy.

“You’re alive,” you responded, pressing your whole body deeper into him. “I thought- Obi-Wan told me-”

“Obi-Wan wants to destroy us,” Anakin said, cutting you off. “He ambushed me on Mustafar and tried to kill me.” He pulled his chest away just far enough to press his forehead to yours. “I’m sorry you had to survive being with him. If I had known- I’m so sorry.”

“You couldn’t feel me?” You had felt his pain so clearly, even if you hadn’t known it was his. Why couldn’t he feel yours?

“No, I...” he lowered his head to kiss you, briefly, and you chased his mouth as he left. Like you were teenagers hiding in the hallway of the Jedi temple, you tried to speak in between the kisses, in the moments where you repositioned or pulled away to breathe. “I must’ve-” he lifted you up, holding you against him, hands pressing and holding all over you before moving on, as though he were checking that every bit of you was still there. “I must’ve been too focused on my own grief.” You pulled away for just a moment, cupping his face.

“It’s okay,” you breathed, “I’m here now. We’re here- we’re okay.” Only now did you notice the gold in his eyes, but it complemented the way he looked at you, and you sank back down into another kiss.

He took you inside, and you couldn’t be damned to notice anywhere he carried you. You just rested your body on top of him, pressing your lips to his neck every once in a while, feeling content like you hadn’t since... probably since you were married, before the Clone Wars began.

Wherever he’d taken you seemed to be his home, based on the way the bed was unmade. He always left the sheets scattered. He sat, setting you into his lap, and you once again let your hands come to his face, your fingers slipping into his hair, your thumb running over his scar, staring into golden eyes. You missed the blue- but the gold made you shiver. He cupped your face to match, and you pressed your cheekbone into his flesh hand.

“What happened to you?” He asked, rubbing his thumbs along the dark skin under your eyes.

“I haven’t been sleeping,” you admitted, letting out a breath.

“I don’t blame you,” he said with a small smile, “Obi-Wan hovering over you, and all. Luckily-” With a twist of his hips he tossed you onto the bed, and followed, crawling over you, caging you in with his arms. “We’ve got a bed right here.”

Laying on your back, you looked up at him, and this view was so familiar, it ached deep in you to see it again. The corner of your mouth turned up in a smirk.

“Are you actually going to let me sleep?” His eyes flicked over you for a moment, considering.

“No, I don’t think so.”

~~~

With Anakin by your side again, you regained your strength. With you strength, you began training. With your training came anger, with anger came rage.

You’d been left to waste away for nearly a month, because Obi-Wan was too afraid of Anakin. Afraid of you! He feared what you could become if you returned to your husband, and he was right to. You, like Anakin, felt more powerful than you ever had before. With you alive, and by his side, he felt no anguish, you felt no pain, and so you could jump higher, strike faster, the Force flowed through you like wind, guiding you toward a mountaintop. Your saber skills were stronger than they’d ever been, you were faster, your focus clearer.

And your latest focus had been one Emperor Palpatine.

He was... a character, that’s for sure. You didn’t hold malice toward him, not the way you did Obi-Wan, but his choices in the past certainly were questionable. Maybe he needed to get into power, and maybe he needed to start a trade war to do it, but he certainly didn’t need to put Padme in danger.

You had a number of small grievances with him, but there was one major issue.

He sat in a throne clearly meant for Anakin.

Anakin was the chosen one, meant to bring balance, and he had. Anakin had ended the war when he destroyed the Separatists and he’d brought down the oppressive, misguided Jedi order. Anakin was the most powerful Force user in the galaxy, it was plain to see. Palpatine was just a manipulative politician who hadn’t realized the full extent of the Sith teachings- that the master was meant to die. The student was meant to kill. If anyone was meant to rule the galaxy, it was Anakin! He was meant to bring balance, and had learned from the dark and the light side of the Force. That was certainly more than Palpatine could claim!

You’d spent your time around politicians. You knew how they think. You’d spent time around Sith, and knew what they valued.

Which made Palpatine was easy to read.

“You want to kill me,” you stated, one night, when you’d gotten him alone.

“My friend-”

“You know that I’m the one thing that keeps you from controlling Anakin completely.” Sidious didn’t respond, knowing he was caught. “And you need to control him, because you know he could destroy you, if he wanted to.”

“That’s fine, I respect that,” you said, a nonchalant shrug to your shoulders. Anakin’s pain had been such a raw, burning feeling, for so long, that nothing affected you anymore. “Just know that if he knows you’re involved in my death at all, he’ll turn against you. Know that I won’t die without a fight- and the louder a fuss I make, the less he’ll trust you.” You turned from him without being excused, and approached the door, stopping within its frame to add one more thing.

“He’s smarter than you give him credit for,” you said, a threat in your tone.

Palpatine had told Anakin that you were dead, that day. So now, he knew that Sidious was willing to lie to him.

Anakin doesn’t take to deceit very nicely.

So, not long after the very nice conversation you had with Sidious, the throne and title of Emperor belonged to Anakin Skywalker, Emperor Vader.

The details of how such a change happened don’t matter to much. Palpatine was very old, you see, he’d lived quite a long and successful life...

The grandest achievement of it, of course, the Galactic Empire, was passed on to his once-pupil to rule as he saw fit.

And damn, did it look good on him.

-🦌 Roe

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let-love-run-red · 4 years

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Vengeance

Hey I have a request if you're willing to write it. How about one where reader is married to Kylo and they have a kid, and reader is angry at Rey for what happened to Kylo and decides to hunt her down for revenge?

-I’m not sure if this is what you had in mind Anon, but this was my take on this, hope you enjoy!

Contains TROS spoilers

General tag list: @keithseabrook27, @scarlettsoldier, @simonsbluee

Empress (y/n) Ren. The unseen second head of the First Order. Now Supreme Leader Mistress Ren, mother to Prince Lucdall Ren. You and his father had often called him Lucky, because that's what he was. He'd been born into the most powerful family. He was a gorgeous baby, and grew into a gorgeous child, with his father’s thick dark hair and strong nose. He had your attitude and your grace. He was already a strong force user and had been training with his father for the day he was to take over the First Order.

Until she came along.

Rey "Skywalker." You growled every time you heard that name uttered. As you walked through the marketplaces of the planets that had renewed hope. You gripped Lucdall's hand tightly, tugging him along behind you. He was scared, he was confused. His father was gone, he didn't understand death. He was only four years old, he didn't understand why his father wasn't going to come back, he didn't understand why the two of you had to exchange your sleek black clothing for the dusty rags of peasants and slink about the planets in search of hidden First Order bases to regain your following.

There were few things he did understand. He understood that you, his loving mother, cried herself to sleep every night. He understood he must stay quiet, keep his head down, not let anybody see his face. He had made that mistake on Coruscant, somebody had seen his face as they walked through an alley and tried to harm him. Luckily for him, you were a talented warrior that had managed to grab Kylo's recovered lightsaber as you escaped the burning First Order ship with your son.

He also understood the name Rey Skywalker, or Rey Palpatine as you called her, was one to be hated. He saw the way your jaw jumped when somebody said her name, the way your hand itched towards the lightsaber on your hip. If the way you tracked her across the galaxy wasn't enough of an indication the way the rest of the galaxy flew banners with her name etched on them was. Lucdall wasn’t a fan of her either.

As you piloted the small ship you'd stolen off Jakku you listened to Lucky play with a few small toys you'd purchased at one of the marketplaces. They were simple, nothing compared to the various things his father had brought him when he was alive, but they were enough to keep a four-year-old entertained.

Especially a four-year-old with the force you thought as one of the toys hovered around your head. It was a stuffed Nerf. You smiled and brushed it away from your face.

"Lucky, mommy has to fly. Please keep the toys with you?" You asked. You heard a quiet "ok mommy" as the nerf floated back to where Lucky was playing. You heard a sniffle and risked a glance behind you to see Lucky in the middle of the few toys with tears in his eyes. You turned the ship on autopilot before standing from your seat and walking towards your son. He looked so much like Kylo, it hurt you sometimes.

"Lucky, what's wrong?" Lucky stood form his place on the floor and held his arms out to you. You picked him up off the ground and held him against you. He wrapped his arms around your neck and buried his small face in your neck as his small body shook with sobs. You rubbed his back and smoothed his hair down. You sat on the small bed in the cramped ship, trying to hold back your own tears.

Lucdall finally pulled away, wiping his nose and eyes on the sleeve of his shirt. He looked at you, his bottom lip quivering. You felt a pang of sadness looking at your son. The shirt was too large for him, and you could tell it itched by the way he kept fidgeting. He was barefoot, he'd long outgrown his boots. He was growing so quickly; you knew in your heart he was going to be at least as tall as his father. You hadn't been able to find new shoes that you could afford, so you'd wrapped his feet in cloth in an attempt to at least provide some barrier between them and the ground.

"I miss daddy." He said. Those words were enough to re-light the fire that fueled the anger in your heart against the last Jedi. You pursed your lips and used the edge of your sleeve to wipe Lucky's tears from his eyes. You pulled him back into your chest and brushed over his hair once again. It was nearly as long as Kylo's was, and still soft.

"When will he find us?" Lucky asked quietly. You took a deep shaky breath, and let it out slowly.

You had to tell him.

"Lucky, baby." You said softly. He pulled away and looked at you expectantly. He had the eyes of Kylo Ren. There was no doubt he was the Supreme Leader's child, no doubt he was the heir to the throne of the broken remains of the First Order.

"Daddy's not," You paused as you looked at him. How were you supposed to tell a child his father, the man he loved and looked up to, the man who was supposed to protect him and teach him how to protect himself, wasn't going to find him.

"Daddy's not going to find us baby." You said. Lucky's eyebrows furrowed tightly.

"What do you mean? Daddy always finds us." He said. You could hear the familiar buzz in your ears that happened whenever Kylo went on a rampage or Lucky threw a fit. The sound of the force in your son becoming angry.

"Daddy can't find us. Daddy's not coming back." You said. He didn't know death; you didn't know how to explain it.

"Daddy always comes back." Lucky said, more seriously now. The buzz was growing louder, you didn't know if you could handle a force tantrum right now. Kylo was always the one to calm him when he had a force tantrum. But Kylo wasn't here anymore, you were.

"Lucdall Ren listen to me." You said sternly. Your sudden change in demeanor shocked him out of the beginning of his tantrum, but only slightly.

"Daddy is not coming back. Some very bad people hurt daddy, very badly." You said. The buzzing in your ears subsided slightly and you let out a breath.

"Daddy can get better, can't he?" Lucky asked as his bottom lip started quivering again.

"Not this time baby. They hurt him too bad." You said. Lucky took a breath again, before leaning against your chest. You rubbed his back again and pressed your lips to the top of his head. His hair was covered in grease and sand. You glanced out the front window to see the planet Tatooine floating before you.

"I want to hurt them." You heard Lucky mumble. You pulled him back. His eyes had taken on an angry gleam, one you had seen in his father many times.

"I want to hurt the people who hurt daddy." He said. You heard a crackle in your ears and watched the toys on the floor begin to vibrate.

"No Lucky." You said, resting your palm against his cheek and pressing your forehead to his own. You waited for him to do what he'd done since he was a baby, open his mind to you and allow you to take away his anger. You were his mother, and you were hellbent on making sure your baby never hurt. Finally, Lucky gave in, revealing the anger and sadness that had been brewing in his mind since the downfall of the First Order. Since the two of you had woken one morning with Kylo missing and the First Order in shreds after the emperor’s fleet had been destroyed. You held it with you as Lucky fell asleep in your arms. It always took his energy to release his emotions, he would sleep for now. Long enough for you to finish what you had come here for.

You landed the ship on Tatooine as close to the old home of Luke Skywalker as you could without alerting the Scavenger. The nobody. You stood from your seat, dropping the rags that draped over you like a shawl and leaving only the tightly wrapped fabric secured by one of Kylo's old belts. His lightsaber attached to your hip, along with the daggers you'd stolen and bought as backups. You walked to where Lucky lay on the scratchy mattress, bent down, and placed a soft kiss on his temple.

"Sleep my prince, I'll return soon." You exited the ship, closing the hatch and approaching the settlement. She was force sensitive; you knew she could sense you as you approached. You had enough knowledge of the force to know that she could sense you. You watched as she appeared from the settlement, squinting into the sun. Her lightsaber on her own hip. You walked with purpose, the tails of your knee-length outfit whipping behind you as you did.

She was the reason he was dead. The reason your son had to be raised without a father. The reason he was sleeping on a flat mattress on a junk ship rather than in his quarters on a star destroyer. She was the one that broke Kylo Ren, the one who killed Ben Solo, the one who destroyed your family. A smile broke her face as you approached.

"Hello, it’s been so long since I've had visitors. I'm Rey Skywalker, you are?" She said as you continued your approach. Her eyes flicked to the belt around your midsection, face falling as she recognized the lightsaber you drew and ignited.

"Allow me to introduce myself." You growled as you swung it at her. She ignited her own, blocking your rapid hits as you pushed her back further.

"I am (y/n) Ren, wife of Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader of the First Order." You said through gritted teeth. You pushed against her blade and lifted one leg, kicking her stomach and pushing her onto her back in the sand.

"Wife? I didn't think Ben was married." She said. There was that name, Ben. No. He was Kylo. You stood over her and raised Kylo's saber to drive it into her chest. She threw you off her with the force and you cursed as you landed and rolled to your feet, turning to face her and block her swing as your (h/c) hair whipped around your face. You used your other hand to grab one of the daggers on your other hip, preparing to throw it into her stomach when she used the force to throw the daggers from their place and bury them in the sand.

"He turned to the light on his own, he was good." She said. You growled and pushed back with Kylo's saber, catching her blade on the cross guard and pushing the tip into the ground. You kicked her in the head as she bent with her blade to avoid losing it and she stumbled backwards before lashing out with the force. She pinned your arms to your side as you thrashed against her hold.

"He was the strongest man in the galaxy, you ripped him away from me." You hissed. You could feel a crackling in your ears, and assumed it was from being pinned with the force. Rey stood form the ground, taking deep breaths.

"You're not force sensitive." She said breathlessly. You continued to struggle against her hold.

"(y/n), I don't want to kill you. Please, just go." Rey said. You could feel the force loosening its hold on you.

"I will not." You said as you broke free and charged her again. Rey lifted her saber to block your wild swings as you cried out in rage, stumbling when she pinned your red blade to the ground and threw an ill-timed kick to your back. You rolled over the lightsaber blades, landing down on one knee as Rey knocked the saber from your hand with the force.

"(y/n) I'm going to give you one last chance to run." Rey said. You lunged at her, dodging the saber blade and tackling her to the ground, knocking her own blade from her hand as you wrapped your arms around her midsection. She let out a groan as she connected with the ground.

"You ripped apart my family!" You yelled, pinning her to the ground with your knees on her hands and throwing hit after his to her face. She tried throwing you off, only for you to punch her harder.

"You are the reason we're alone!" You cried. Rey took a breath before throwing you off and rolling to her feet, spitting blood from her mouth.

"We?" She asked, using the force to summon her saber. You took a few deep breaths, scrabbling frantically for Kylo's saber. You couldn't lose it; you could not be unarmed.

"The First Order must die." She growled, wiping blood from her face and raising her saber.

"And it will die with you." She raised her saber, only to freeze with a gasp before dropping the saber.

"Mommy!" You heard Lucdall's voice. You turned to see him holding his fist towards the two of you, his hair flared around his head and his eyes a disturbing shade of yellow.

"Lucdall!" You cried, running towards him. He released his grip on Rey who fell to the ground clutching her throat and gasping.

"It's not possible," She breathed, looking to Lucdall in fear.

"He is, he can't be a force user." You scooped up your son in your arms, looking around frantically for Kylo's saber as you clutched Lucdall close. He wriggled in your grip as Rey stood and rubbed her throat. She retrieved the saber before approaching the two of you. You curled yourself around Lucky, holding him close while growling at Rey.

"If you come any closer, I'll kill you." You seethed. She looked on in pity, raising her saber to strike. You lowered your head and held Lucdall as he squirmed, before you heard two blades clashing. You looked up to see a glowing blue light holding Kylo's saber.

"Ben?" Rey asked. You looked up to see the shape of Kylo, as a force ghost, holding his own saber.

"You dare raise your hand to my wife?" He growled angrily. You looked on in disbelief as he pushed against Rey's saber harder.

"Dream of harming my child?" He shouted, swinging his blade and catching hers against the cross guard to twist it from her grip, he caught it in his other hand and flicked it on.

"To use my family name against one of my own blood!" He cried, swinging the sabers towards her. She ducked and rolled away from him, scrambling in the sand for something. She continued backing away from Kylo. He was all grace, light on his feet and dancing through the sand as she slipped on her own clothes.

"Ben you were good!" Rey cried, digging in the sand once again as he approached her.

"A moment of weakness." Kylo growled, raising his own saber when Rey finally produced a bundle of cloth, ripping it open to reveal Luke and Leia's sabers. She ignited them both, standing to face Kylo. You watched the two face off, still holding Lucdall close. He had been trying to struggle out of your grasp since the moment Kylo appeared, recognizing his father’s voice.

"I want to see Daddy!" Lucky finally cried, causing Kylo to turn and face the two of you. Rey swiped at his midsection with the saber, having no effect on the ghost. Kylo turned to face her with anger in his eyes. He finally raised both sabers he held, kicking Rey down into the sand.

"You can't touch me." He said, crossing the sabers across her throat. She breathed out heavily as Kylo pulled the blades together, finally ending the Palpatine line forever. He let out a huff, dropping the scavengers saber next to her lifeless form, sheathing his own saber and turning to you and Lucdall.

As he approached, Lucdall suddenly grew shy, burying his face within your robes. Kylo knelt in the sand in front of you, watching quietly from a short distance. You stroked Lucdall’s back, feeling tears in your eyes as you looked upon the face of the man you loved. You smoothed your hand over Lucdall’s hair and gently pulled him away from your body, turning him to face Kylo.

"Hello little one." Kylo said softly to Lucdall. Lucdall glanced up to Kylo's smiling face before looking back to where Kylo sat in the sand, nothing being displaced by the ghost.

"Daddy?" He asked, scooting forward slightly. Kylo grinned wider and nodded, sitting cross-legged in the sand. Lucdall stood from your lap, moving towards Kylo and reaching out a hand to touch his face. Lucdall hesitated before his hand connected with Kylo's face, and Kylo gently reached his hand to take his son's own. Lucdall looked down to see his hand through his father’s semi-transparent one.

"You've grown so big." Kylo said to Lucdall, voice wavering. Lucdall stepped closer to Kylo once more, leaning experimentally against his chest. Kylo wrapped his arms around his son, holding him close. You shuffled forward, running your hand over Kylo's bicep to feel fabric. You pulled back in surprise.

"How?" You asked. Force ghosts were not supposed to be able to touch things or interact with the world around them. Kylo opened one arm, pulling you against him and whispering in your ear.

"I don't have much time; I used the dark side to finish it. I won't be here much longer I just had to, I had to see you. To feel you, to hold him." He said, gripping the back of your outfit and burying his face in your neck as you brushed your fingers through his hair. You felt Kylo shaking and looked down to see him crying. Lucdall was crying as well, crying and clinging to his father's robes the way he would when he was young.

"Lucky," Kylo said softly when he pulled away from you. Lucdall looked up to meet his father’s eyes. Kylo lowered his forehead to press it against Lucdall's own before speaking. "my brave son. You are destined for greatness. Never forget your father loves you." He said, before releasing Lucdall from his grasp and guiding him towards you. He reached out to rest his hand against your cheek.

"And you, my beautiful beloved (y/n)," He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to your lips, "I will always protect you." Kylo said, before standing to his feet. He offered you his saber and you took it, reattaching it to your belt. You watched as Kylo turned his back to you walking into where the sun was setting before fading away with the dust. You felt tears slip from your eyes as you held Lucdall tighter.

"Come Lucky, it's time to go home."

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silvereddaye · 4 years

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When you find the time, would you please write more about Vader helping Luke adjust to becoming a vampire in Blood Red Love?

Luke heard the familiar thump of feet of approaching. He couldn’t help but smile a little. He knew those steps. Their beat was like that of his own heart. It was the march of his sister, who was angry and on the warpath. He had grown up hearing these steps storm down hallways in the Skywalker homes over the years, and now it was coming for him in the basement of his parent’s new American home. The door slammed open and Leia stood in the doorway full of anger and determination.

“Luke!” she shouted as she rushed over to him. She wore a nice dark green dress and her hair was carefully braided and pinned up. Luke was sitting on his bed, and Leia plopped herself down right next to him and tightly hugged him. He wrapped his own arms around her and held her tightly. “Is it true?” she whispered into his hair.

He didn’t reply, only just held her. She felt so warm, so alive. She pulled away slowly. Her eyes searched his, but Luke couldn’t keep her gaze. He looked down at his lap.

“Luke . . . I . . . It’s . . .”

“True,” he whispered. “What Mother and Father told you. It’s true.”

She bit her lower lip. She wanted to argue. She wanted to say that it was illogical and foolish and a million other things, but she didn’t.

“Vampires,” she said. She let out a small angry huff.

“Still don’t believe it?”

She gave him a pointed look that clearly said she did not. Ever since Luke’s . . . accident, as his parents were calling it, and his transformation into a vampire by his father to save his life, he had been living in the basement as he adjusted. His parents had told his siblings he had gotten a sudden and base case of the flu, which meant he needed to be quarantined and the others had to stay away. They still exchanged letters. Ayamé sent him colorful drawings mostly of flowers and animals. Jonin wrote about his day, but Leia’s letters were filled with angry fast scribbled words. She knew something was off. Something was wrong. She demanded to see Luke and knew something was wrong when her parents had told her no.

But Anakin and Padmé Skywalker could only keep their children apart for so long, especially the twins. Luke had told his parents there was no way he could keep a secret about being a vampire from Leia, and his parents agreed and decided they would be the one to tell their oldest daughter. Finally told the truth, Leia was permitted to see Luke.

“You don’t look any different,” she said.

Luke gave her a weak smile. “It must be all on the inside because I feel different. Completely different.”

“Yeah? Is it . . . hard?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

It was hard. The hunger was the worst. It couldn’t be stopped with regular food, though he luckily could still eat such things. The only cure for the gnawing hunger was blood. Thick, warm blood. He was surprised at how good it tasted. How he constantly thought of it. Constantly wanted it. He had only drunk blood from cups and pitchers given to him by his parents or their servants, who were clearly well informed of his parents’ dual identities. He had yet to bite and drink blood straight from a human.

A human like Leia. She wasn’t the first human he had seen since he had been turned. A few of his mother’s handmaidens were humans. But none of them had been this close to him. None of them had lingered around him. His eyes looked at his sister’s throat. He could feel the blood pumping through her veins. He could hear her heart beating strongly in her chest. His mouth salivated as her smell filled the air with promises of delicious blood. His fangs were starting to grow longer.

“Luke?” Leia asked. “Your eyes!”

No doubt they were turning gold as his vampiric side slowly revealed itself.

“Leia it’s time to go.”

Both twins looked up to see their mother. Neither one had heard Padmé enter, but she stood there and grabbed Leia’s arm. She pulled her daughter up and started to push her to the door.

“Wait! Mother!” Leia tried to wiggle free. She constantly looked over her shoulder at her brother.

“Luke needs to be alone right now,” Padmé said as she finally managed to get Leia out into the hallway. She gave Luke a knowing and comforting but sad look before she closed the door.

Tears instantly welled in his eyes. What was he thinking? Was he thinking of biting Leia and sucking her blood? How could he ever do such a thing? The door opened and Luke wiped the tears away with the sleeve of his shirt. He was ready to tell Leia or Mother to go away, but it wasn’t either of them.

It was his father who entered holding a small silver tray with a large pitcher filled with red liquid and a single glass. Anakin Skywalker said nothing as he closed the door then placed the tray on the bedside table. He poured the blood into the cup and held it out to his son. Luke took it without a word and instantly started to chug it down. Anakin sat down next to him sitting in the same spot Leia had occupied moments ago.

“Your mother and I were in the hallway,” Anakin said softly. “We knew it was your first real time being around a human. We wanted to be there just in case.”

“In case of what?” Luke asked. “That I attacked my own sister? That I drank her blood?”

He couldn’t look at his father. Shame and guilt burned through him. His father’s hand rested gently on his back.

“You wouldn’t have hurt her,” Anakin said.

“But I wanted to! I could smell her blood and it just smelled so good! I couldn’t stop myself. My fangs started to grow and my eyes changed and if Mother hadn’t come in . . .” He finally looked at his father. His vision was blurry as tears filled his eyes again.

“If Mother hadn’t come in, you still wouldn’t have hurt Leia,” Anakin said.

“Then why did she come in and whisk Leia if nothing was going to happen?”

Anakin closed his eyes and sighed. He rubbed Luke’s back in small circles.

“You weren’t going to hurt her, but you’re going through a rough time. You still haven’t gotten control over yourself yet. Most likely you have bottled yourself up and tried to return to being a human.”

That was what Luke was going to do. Anakin squeezed Luke’s shoulder.

“That isn’t the way to master your desires. It takes baby steps.”

Anakin took the empty cup from Luke’s hand, stood up, and refilled the cup with more blood. Luke took the cup and held it in his hands without drinking it.

“You don’t need to rush through this. It takes time,” Anakin said.

“You keep saying I wasn’t going to do anything, but I don’t believe it. I was so hungry all of a sudden. And . . . “ He looked at his father. “I don’t think I can be around Leia anymore. Be around anyone.”

“Luke,” Anakin said. He placed his hand under his chin. “I have been a vampire your whole life. Look at me. I have never thought about drinking your blood. Ever. The same goes for your sisters and brother. Your mother feels the same way. Neither one of us has ever had any desire to harm any of you regardless of how hungry we may be. We would rather starve than harm any of you.”

“But you-- you have more control! You’re used to it.”

Anakin let out a soft chuckle. “Exactly. Control you’ll learn. Control you’ll get used to.” He sat back down next to Luke. “It’s hard when you didn’t choose this life,” he said softly. “Though your mother and I didn’t freely choose to become vampires, we both still made a choice.”

Luke looked at his father questioningly.

Anakin sighed. “I am sure you remember Sheev Palpatine.”

Luke couldn’t stop the scowl of disgust from growing on his face. Duke Palpatine had died when he was four years old, but yes he remembered that foul man. Anakin laughed at Luke’s reaction.

“He was a vampire. In fact, he was the leader of the vampire underworld. He killed your mother’s family. He offered your mother a choice: die or become a vampire. Clearly, she picked the latter. He then captured me, plotted so Jedi knights would invade his home, and your mother, who was very pregnant with you and your sister, was kidnapped. I was desperate, Luke. I couldn’t let anything happen to your mother or the babies. So I accepted becoming a vampire. It was the only out I could see at the time. I wasn’t afraid of dying, but I was afraid of losing you and your mother and Leia.

“But because we choose to be vampires, though both in cruel ways, our transition perhaps wasn’t as hard as yours has been. We had already mentally accepted what we were becoming. But I don’t think you have yet. You haven’t completely wrapped your mind around what has happened to you and what you’ve become. Once you’ve accepted what you are, I think it will be easier. Do you know who you should talk to? Mr. Piett. He was also turned due to similar circumstances like your own.”

“Mr. Piett?”

He was his father’s assistant and had traveled with them to America. Luke was quite fond of the man. He had always been kind to Luke since he was a child and entertained him. Though Luke couldn’t believe he was a vampire. His parents he could believe. There was always this mysteriousness to them. They always had parties and meetings to go where they wouldn’t give details or allow the children to go to. But Piett was so normal. Luke never would have imagined it.

Perhaps Luke should talk to him. If Piett could pull off being a normal human so well, then he could as well. Luke nodded to his father and smiled. Anakin smiled back as he pulled his son into a tight embrace.

“No matter what,” Anakin whispered into Luke’s hair, “I love you and am so proud of you.”

“I love you too, Father,” Luke whispered back.

#blood red love #my writing #ficlet #one-shot #ask silver #i have two vampire au's #that can be confusing #anakin skywalker #luke skywalker #vampires #Anonymous

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bkbricks · 3 years

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Rise & Fall of Jar Jar Binks (Updated)

Jar Jar Binks is often looked at as an additional character added into the Prequel Trilogy of Star Wars. This is mainly to add in the some humor and be for the kids, similarly to the ewoks in Episode 6. The online Star Wars community also enjoys teasing about “Darth Jar Jar”, which is quite humorous but not actually true. In my opinion, every character from Episodes 1-6 has a good place in the Star Wars Saga, including Jar Jar.

In this post, I want to discuss what really happened to him, including his life after Episode 3. How did Jar Jar go from being an outcast in his society to a war general for them? Then, he went to represent them in the Galactic Senate. But after the Senate collapsed and Palpatine took all power, what happen to him? Let’s take a look.

Banned From His Own Society

We begin Jar Jar’s story with his exclusion from his own race and society, the Gungans. Jar Jar is extremely clumsy, and not very bright. He was already on thin ice with the Gungans, and he was finally banned for crashing the submarine of Boss Nass (ruler of the Gungans). Jar Jar was arrested and told to never return. From there, he left his home city of Otoh Gunga and wandered around the nearby swamps, not really having a purpose.

The Invasion of Naboo

Luckily for Jar Jar, his planet, Naboo, was being invaded. This was fortunate for him because of the opportunities it gave him. First off, he ran into the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They were attempting to discover why the Trade Federation was invading Naboo. However, they both knew very little about Naboo’s geography, and had no idea how to get to the capital city from the swamps. But Jar Jar knew how, and thus presented himself with some usefulness.

Even though he had been banned not too long before, Jar Jar took the Jedi to Otoh Gunga to ask for help from Boss Nass. Of course, Boss Nass refused and warned Jar Jar of his unaccepted return. Jar Jar was immediately arrested and was to be punished for returning. However, fortunate for Jar Jar was the Jedi’s mind tricks, as Qui-Gon “persuaded” Boss Nass to not only allow them to use a submarine to travel to the capital, but to also free Jar Jar and use him as a navigator. In fact, when Qui-Gon met Jar Jar, he had actually saved his life from the initial invasion. Therefore, Jar Jar owed him a life debt, in which the Gungan was willing to repay.

Battle of Naboo

Before the invasion, the humans and Gungans of Naboo had never gotten along. They had always avoided each other and never really respected one another. However, the Trade Federation’s invasion made both sides rethink their relationship. Jar Jar was the one to seal the deal, after he met Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo. The Queen attempted to gain help from the Galactic Senate, but was unsuccess as the Republic refused to help Naboo. However, Jar Jar informed the Queen that the Gungans actually had a grand army, and would put up a fight before surrendering to the Trade Federation. Jar Jar then led the Queen back to the Gungans, where she begged for their aid and support. Boss Nass saw that the humans did not see themselves as superiors to the Gungans, liked this, and willfully decided to aid.

For his efforts to bring the humans and Gungans together, Boss Nass promoted Jar Jar to Bombad General (or simply war general) during the Battle of Naboo. General Binks led the Gungan forces against the Trade Federation’s army to create a diversion, while Naboo’s starfighters attempted to knock out the control ship above the planet. Due to his clumsiness, Jar Jar proved to be a horrible war general, and his forces lost the initial battle. However, once the control ship was destroyed, the Trade Federation’s droid army stopped working, resulting in an ultimate victory for the humans and Gungans of Naboo. They now made an official peace with each other, looking very good on Jar Jar’s behalf.

Representing Naboo

Ten years after the Battle of Naboo, Jar Jar had ascended to the title of Representative of Naboo in the Galactic Senate. He now went by the title “Representative Binks” and served faithfully next to Senator Padmé Amidala, the former Queen of Naboo. Amidala was a strong and wise politician, always standing for democracy and peace. However, during the Separatist Crisis, she voiced her opinions on how peace must be maintained. Because of this, there were many assassination attempts on her life. She was forced to leave Coruscant, the homeworld for the Galactic Senate, and appoint a member to replace her in her absence. She chose this replacement to be Representative Binks.

Unfortunately for Jar Jar, a few corrupt politicians (including Chancellor Palpatine and Mas Amedda) deceived and manipulated him to get their way. Since he represented Amidala, and he was surely not as strong or as wise as her, these politicians could manipulate and control Binks on Amidala’s behalf. She was the leading member against the Grand Army of the Republic and against giving the Chancellor more emergency powers. Binks, unknowingly, ruined all of this by allowing the Chancellor to have more power and to establish the Clone Army. In his manipulated mind, he was doing the right thing. However, he had just allowed for everything that Amidala was fighting against. Soon after, the Clone Wars began.

During The Clone Wars

Throughout the Clone Wars, Jar Jar remained a representative of Naboo, however Amidala had returned and took her place once again. In “The Clone Wars” tv show, Jar Jar can be seen going on multiple adventures. While these do not progress his story much, they are still interesting to watch and good for those who love Jar Jar. On one adventure he teamed up with Jedi Master Mace Windu. Many times, he worked with Padmé, and on one occasion he had to disguise as a Jedi to save her. His clumsiness and stupidity are surely shown throughout these episodes.

Fall of the Republic... and Jar Jar

By the end of the war, Jar Jar was still a representative in the Galactic Senate. However, things were drastically changing. Binks remained a representative for the final days of the Republic. Although, once it shifted into the Galactic Empire, his humiliation was truly revealed. Senator Amidala had died soon after the Republic fell, where Jar Jar and even Boss Nass attended her funeral. Padmé was Jar Jar’s main supporter to his political career, and now she was gone.

The people of Naboo (especially the Gungans) now looked at Jar Jar as a big reason for the creation of the Empire. He had allowed the Chancellor more power, to establish the Clone Army, and to begin the Clone Wars, all things that helped the Empire come to reality. Once again, as with in the beginning of his story, Jar Jar was banned from the Gungan society. He was now an outcast in Naboo, hardly anyone would even speak to him, and if they did it was nothing nice. He had no option for returning to politics, or any role with the Gungans. His only option was to become a street performer in Theed, the capital of Naboo. Even then, only children would watch his performances, as adults continued to despise him. He would live the rest of his days as an outcast and street performer on Naboo.

So, that is the rise and fall of Jar Jar Binks. From an outcast, to a navigator, to a general, to a representative, and back to an outcast, Jar Jar had a rough life. However, his clumsiness and lack of intelligence showed that he inevitably was to be nothing of importance. In my opinion, he was very lucky to have even become a war general, let alone an actual representative of his planet. Thanks for reading!

#starwars #jarjarbinks #thephantommenace #AttackOfTheClones #revengeofthesith #Galactic Senate #Clone Wars #prequel trilogy

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primasveraas-writing · 4 years

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Everyone Lives Prequel AU

Request: "Because fluff is my one true love and I enjoy beating the hell out of Star Wars with it can we get nothing bad happened ever in the galaxy far far away becasue the reader watched the movies,gets thrown into prequels despairs because these people are too pretty to be dead,crippled or depressed and is like well if no one else will save the hotties I will oh and others too"

Thanks for the request! I changed it a little so instead the reader is a member of the Rebellion, but still knows the prequel gang and what causes the fall of the Republic. I hope you enjoy!

All requests are open!

XXX

The galaxy falls into despair, and because you know nothing else to possibly do, you join the Rebellion alongside Bail Organa

You had been close to Padmé and consequently known Anakin and Obi-wan. Since Padmé’s tenure in the Senate, the four of you were inseparable, bonded by your wit, humor, and kindness

When everything is destroyed, you are left alone and devastated

It seems as if the darkness will never end, but then Ahsoka Tano saunters into your life and brings an opportunity to change everything

As it turns out, she is one of the few surviving Jedi, but her misadventures with the Rebellion efforts on Lothal brought her to a way of changing the past

She tells you about apparent portals in the Force discovered in an ancient Jedi Temple on the grassland planet

Few others remain who know your old friends as the two of you did, and Ahsoka feels as if you are the best candidate to travel through time

She tells you that if things go wrong in the current reality, she needs to be there to hold it together

So you are left to change the past. It takes some convincing- you know that the fate of your friends and millions of others would lie on your shoulders

But all-out war with the Empire is an ever-looming possibility, and this is a chance too great to let fall to cowardice and nerves

You accept the offer, pushing aside the doubts and every idea of what could go wrong, and stride into the Lothal temple at Ahsoka’s side

The journey through the Force is like nothing you’ve ever experienced, but you feel a dull pull from within you during the long, winding trek through the starry path. You are the one to lead Ahsoka to your mysterious destination in the world between worlds

The pull leads you to a door; in it, you see a circular picture of the halls of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, bustling with life, and pawadans and the Force, and so much light

Ahsoka peers in, and tells you with a shaking voice that this is the Jedi Temple as it was during the Clone Wars, before the Jedi and their home fell to ruin

There are no more doubts or hesitations: this is the way to bring everything and everyone back. Each innocent life will be returned if you succeed

Ahsoka hugs you, which is surprising at first, but when she looks at you, there are tears in her eyes

“May the Force be with you” is all she manages to say, but that is enough. No words could quite encapsulate what is at stake anyways, nor the danger and urgency of your mission

But you nod, take a deep breath, and step through the portal onto the stone floor of the Jedi Temple

Instantly, calm pervades you; the tension of your daily life dissipates as the steady hum of calm and order surrounds you

Since it is still war, albeit in a time of less chaos, you can only guess that Padmé will be on Coruscant, even if Obi-wan and Anakin aren’t

Luckily for you, your final days of the war were originally spent alongside the 501st, so there are few concerns over running into a past version of yourself as you resolve to change the future, and your plan is set into motion

Somewhat reluctantly, you leave the Temple behind. It fell with the Republic, and on your way to Padmé’s apartment, you fight an uneasy feeling from leaving what was once a great sanctuary

Padmé greets you with warmth, then surprise as you embrace her wordlessly and quickly upon seeing her. Between the tears in your eyes and the lump in your throat, you are too overwhelmed and inhibited from speaking

As you hugged, there was an unusual distance between you. Padmé is already pregnant; you felt her the large curve of her stomach against you

However strange your arrival is, not to mention your appearance and increased weariness, Padmé sits you down on her couch, comfortingly close, and asks what’s wrong

It’s so difficult not to pour your heart out to her; you have ached for years to update her on your life and the hardships you’ve faced. Every horror and injustice flashes before your eyes, but there is a carefully set plan it must be followed if everything is to be saved

Instead, you tell her you know. You say you know about her and Anakin and the baby, and you know in your heart that it will lead to disaster

She is stunned, then relieved. Padmé can’t deny it; her pregnancy is getting harder and harder to hide each day and her marriage is nearly obvious to anyone who has seen her and Anakin in the same room together

But finally, someone understands, and you offer an ultimatum: if she doesn’t tell Obi-wan, you will

Her hesitation is palpable, Although eased by your sympathy and understanding of the situation, as well as the consolation of having someone outside of her handmaidens to confide in, Padmé cannot betray the secret of her marriage without Anakin’s consent

But you also inform her that you know Anakin has been struggling with thoughts of the Dark Side, especially under Palpatine’s influence

You cannot quite reveal how you know all this, but your proximity to your friends is answer enough. Much of what you say has already been suspected by Padmé, yet her fear of the truth and the tumult it would bring prevented her from doing anything

The trust in you and your friendship seals the deal. She resolves to let Obi-wan in and begin an investigation into Palpatine, and with the seeds of securing victory successfully planted, you return to the Temple to caution the Jedi about Palpatine’s deeds and true identity

Getting an audience with high-ranking Jedi is exceedingly challenging. Most of the Jedi that you know are deployed throughout the galaxy

Yet luck brings you to Plo Koon on his leave, and he senses both your confusion and distress as a clear outsider, not only to the Temple, but to this time itself

There is little choice but to confess what you know about Palpatine, despite the suspicious amount of knowledge you have

However, the continued misgivings about the Chancellor added to your accusations are enough for Plo to call an emergency council meeting

When you explain your story, the Jedi do not wait to poke holes in your story, but Yoda stays curiously quiet for the majority of the meeting

Between Obi-wan vouching for you and the certainty of your claims, the Council resolves to investigate Palpatine despite any of their reservations

They say there isn’t enough evidence for an arrest, but a start is a start

A week trickles by, and you remain at Padmé’s side to help gather evidence into Palpatine’s corruption, becoming ever more nervous as the day the Empire will rise creeps closer

But at last, Anakin is called back to Coruscant, and instead of rescuing the Chancellor, he assists in his arrest

The Jedi’s investigation into his misdeeds, supplemented with Padmé’s own findings, amounts to a pile of corruption with the Trade Federation and endlessly shady dealings with the Separatists

Relieved from Obi-wan’s assurances that they will stand together and that he will vouch for Anakin and Padmé for whatever they will face when the baby is born, Anakin finds the strength to turn against his longtime mentor Palpatine

It still comes down to a duel, and Anakin still ends it, but this time, he kills the Sith and stomps out the evil in the galaxy

Further inquisition into Palpatine’s doings reveal his puppeteer-like control over the war, and the stringing along of both sides. Acting quickly, the Jedi manage to prevent Order 66 from happening and apprehend many of Palpatine’s allies in and outside of the Senate

Dooku is arrested and tried and Grievous is killed

Padmé gives birth to two healthy babies, and Anakin decides not to live in secrecy

The Jedi are upset and cautious about the whole affair, yet the Chosen One has just eliminated the last of the Sith. Additionally, Palpatine’s reign has shaken the foundations of the Jedi organization to its core, and the Council agrees that it might finally be time to rethink many of their policies

Anakin’s struggle with the dark has not been lost on them, and Yoda in particular senses that their future could have been much worse

Perhaps you encourage this line of thought as much as you can. After all, the blindness of the peacekeepers and leaders allowed Palpatine to take control in the first place

Yet at last, there is peace. Calm begins to settle over the galaxy; timelines converge and you exist only in the new, hopeful reality

There is still much to be fixed, many wrongs to be righted. But you have ensured that one day, all will be well and as it should be

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darth-void · 4 years

Text

On the Streets of Coruscant

Chapter 1

AN: Well, I guess there was actually interest in having me post this on tumblr!

I originally posted this to AO3 if you prefer to read it there (or want to give me comments & kudos, that would be much appreciated)

Rated: G; No warnings, just first encounter; pre-episode I

Words: 1,767

Chapter 2

You had decided to make a stop at a market for the last ingredients you needed for dinner that night. Work at the senate was as stressful as ever, with your motions for bills getting bogged down in petty squabbling. You definitely haven’t made many friends with your fellow senators trying to get the Jedi under more control under the Republic.

Wanting to put the day's events behind you, you told your security escort that you needed just a little while alone at the market, to let the noise of the public drown out your thoughts.

Finally heading out, you were ready to get back to your apartment and cook this indulgent meal. Luckily, you chose the market within a walkable distance from your place.

Not having your security detail, you were keeping an eye out for suspicious activity around you, trying to stay cautious as an unpopular senator. Looking over your shoulder, from the corner of your eye, you noticed a dark figure move quickly around a corner. You stepped a little faster, holding your bags tight, wishing you had taken the blaster your security captain offered while you were left alone, at least for some peace of mind for the both of you.

You glanced again over your shoulder to try and spot the figure again, not seeing anything until to your right, a fast-moving cloak swished behind a market stall. You started to run, turning down a street on your left, hoping to lose your apparent stalker. Taking quick turns around corners and down alleys, you tried to keep track of where you were going so you wouldn’t get lost. Only a few blocks from the apartment building, you found yourself accidentally turning down a dead end.

You turned around to try another way but found your path blocked by your shrouded pursuer. Fearing for your life, you didn’t know whether to call for help or attempt to fight off the potential attacker. Until another figure stepped out behind them. Somehow without any physical touch, this second mysterious being pushed the first to the wall with such force, they stumbled to the ground with a cry, but then they got up and pulled out a blaster, pointing it at the person. A red glow then emanated from something in the second person’s hand, it looked like a lightsaber. But Jedi only wielded blue or green as far as you knew. This person couldn’t be a Jedi, could they? Whatever they were, they made quick work of your pursuer and swiftly struck them down with a single blow, their body falling into a heap on the ground.

Your savior returned their lightsaber to their belt and turned to you, taking off their hood. Beckoning to you with an extended hand, you started to walk towards them, then faltered at noticing the horns protruding from their head. Hesitantly walking to them, you noticed he was a red and black-skinned Zabrak man, covered in black robes and with piercing yellow eyes.

“Thank you for helping me, I don’t know what to say,” you tell the man, a little awestruck at his overall presence. You couldn’t help yourself from staring, and the man looked away from you to the ground. Was he shy?

“It was nothing, my Lady,” he replied quietly. So reserved for someone seemingly so violent.

To break up the awkward silence, you finally piped up “I would like to repay you in some way, it really means a lot that you helped me. I was going to make some dinner when I got home, would you care to join me?”

He seemed surprised at your request.

“I do not know if I should.”

“What is your name?”

“I am Maul.”

You introduced yourself, extending your hand.

“Please, Maul, I would be happy to cook you dinner. It’s the least I can do after what you have done for me just now.” You don’t know why you were so insistent, but something about him intrigued you.

He thought for a moment, finally looking you in the eye and nodding. Apparently not a very loquacious person.

You looked down, disgusted by the body that lay there, stepping around it. You honestly didn’t feel like reporting it, and no one else seemed to be around to have seen what happened, so you decided to just walk away. Maybe not the best decision to make as a senator for the Republic, but you wanted the whole nasty affair behind you. Maul walked beside you, the two of you in silence as you led the way to your apartment.

Occasionally glancing over at Maul, you notice he seems to wear a perpetual scowl, making you wonder what he was thinking, and if he always looked so mean or if that was just his natural face.

After finishing the dinner in near silence, you attempting to make idle small talk and Maul not responding, you came back to the cleared table with some wine, pouring out first for your guest, and then yourself.

“Come, let’s sit in the lounge,” you said as you took your wine and walked away. Maul followed and sat on the sofa with you, keeping a little distance.

Taking a sip of the wine, he broke his silence and asked, “So, why do you believe this person was following you?”

“Because I’m a senator and not a very well-liked one, might be the reason. To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a bounty someone put on me,” you replied.

Thinking this only brought you apprehension as to whether you should be taking this more seriously right now, but some other force had you thinking of other, more present matters. You made a note to tell your security captain later.

“Why are you so unliked, to have someone want you killed?” Maul asked. “You seem like a decent and nice Lady.”

“Because of my politics. It is no secret amongst my colleagues and the populous that I am against the Jedi. They are too wild and need more control. I suggest they be contained by the Republic, given less room to run free.” You had to stop yourself from going on a tangent. You were becoming a bit too passionate and shouldn’t have said so much. It is likely that he is like the rest of them and disagrees with you.

Maul looked at you in interest, seeing a little bit of your anger seep through your face.

“I agree with you,” he finally replied.

You quickly looked at him in shock, which seemed to make him tense. “Excuse my surprise. It is not often that someone agrees with me on that subject.”

Looking into his face, you noticed that slowly throughout the evening, the scowl on his face had been softening. At that moment, he truly seemed earnest looking at you. But that moment passed, the scowl was back.

Relaxing a little into the couch, he began speaking again. “The Jedi are no friends of mine, I can assure you,” he nearly growled. “They are a corrupt cult that believes they are above every creature in the galaxy.” He sneered as he finished speaking, taking a gulp from his glass.

Enticed by his bold words, but also wanting to stay cautious, you asked, “if you are not a Jedi, then how is it you came across having a lightsaber?”

He glanced at you in surprise, then quickly looked away. Noticing his hesitation along with his absence of a response, you switched tactics.

“What do you do?”

Maul had a ponderous look on his face, deciding on the exact words he could use.

“I am… an apprentice. For a mechanic.”

You hummed at that. “I am sure. You must be quite accomplished then.” You knew by his response that he was not telling the whole truth, but you didn’t want to be so pushy when he was opening up to you a little.

“What kind of things do you work on? Speeders? Droids? Ships?” Your eyes flickered from his face to his belt and back.

“All kinds of things, Senator,” is all he replied with. He looked away, knowing what you were trying to get at. He was good. You began to wonder if maybe someday you would find out what he was hiding, but what was the likeliness of the two of you meeting again.

He tried again, calculating what to say. “I am learning to work on all types of machinery, but often find myself intrigued with building things from scratch. Speeders, droids, cybernetics. Anything that can challenge me.”

You imagine that meant the lightsaber and were satisfied with his answer. You hummed and took another drink of your wine, finishing off the glass.

“Are there no other senators that agree with you? Who also wants to put the Jedi on a leash?”

“There are only a few, really. I have a committee of just a handful of senators.l and we attempt to pass bills but they get shot down every time. Senator Palpatine from Naboo in private has said he has some hesitation for the Jedi and wants to support my bills, but he never supports me on the Senate floor. I feel I lose what few allies I have left every term.” You looked down at your lap a little defeated. “I don’t even know if it’s worth fighting for anymore.”

He turned to you and looked into your face with a fierceness, “no, do not give up. I believe it is a worthy fight, and you must continue.”

“I am afraid I do not have enough popular opinion from the common people as well. The damn holonews are always publishing slander about me, all false and all ways to try to discredit me at every turn. No, I do not believe that many, apart from you, understand.”

At some point in your deep conversation, the two of you had shifted closer together on the sofa. He looked at you pensively and took your hand, a gesture you were not expecting. “There are others who will side with you, I do believe that,” he told you, looking you straight in the eyes. “Continue your work, I am sure people will see your way one day.”

Once again you were staring at him with curiosity, but this time he was also looking deeply at you. You were all too aware of his warm hand holding yours, and for a bit longer than would have been usual. There was an intimacy stirring between the two of you, a slow simmer building up.

#Maul #Darth Maul #maul x reader #darth maul x reader #may become a series depending on response/motivation #also this is my first solo fic please be kind #personal #On the Streets of Coruscant

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benandreyship · 4 years

Text

Ben and Rey Ship- Chapter 1 - Exegol

The story picks up right after Rey has been given Ben’s life-force, and they share a kiss on Exegol.

Rey and Ben share a long awaited kiss. As their lips touch, their skin seems to burn, and the flames blaze throughout their bodies. Their connection through the force strengthens and sings, and a vision takes hold of them. They’re on an island. Ben and Rey are sleeping, wrapped in each other’s arms. Ben’s hands caress her growing belly. On the side of their bed lay a small raven haired girl sleeping on a trundle bed. Suddenly, the vision darkens and dissipates. They break away from the kiss, and smile at one another. Ben has finally cast away Kylo Ren and the darkness. Rey knew she would perish when she faced Palpatine, and was astonished to still be alive. She grinned at Ben, so incredibly happy that he had finally chosen the light. Suddenly, their force-bond connection falters, and goes black. Ben falls to the ground, his life-force has been completely drained. Rey stares at his lifeless body, uncomprehendingly. “Ben?!” She places her head on his chest, and hears only silence. “BEN! Ben what happened? Ben! Wake up!” She shakes him. “Ben…” Tears fill her eyes and spill over onto her dust smudged cheeks. “Ben, no….It can’t happen this way…We’re meant to be together…Ben…” She places her head back on his chest, and hugs him to her. Her tears fall onto his cold chest. She couldn’t bear to lose the man that meant the world to her. Was one kiss all that they would ever get a chance to share? Rey abruptly lifts her head and stares at Ben. Understanding fills her. She had died after she had defeated Palpatine, and Ben had brought her back. Both of them were so weak already, Ben had given her the last of himself. “And I can do the same…” She thought. She wiped back the tears from her face, and placed both hands on his stomach. She closed her eyes, and reached out with her feelings. She felt the force running through her, and what little life existed on this planet. She knew there was not much left for her to give in order to live herself, but she hoped it would be enough. She channeled the force into Ben. She felt her life-force draining into him, and felt weaker and weaker. Her heart skipped a beat. Then another. She knew if she gave anymore, that she would die. She removed her hands, as dizziness overcame her. She grasped Ben’s hand as her body swayed. She thought she still felt warmth in them. Her vision darkened, she didn’t feel herself fall, but she was suddenly staring at the falling final order ships burning in the sky. She kept hold of Ben’s hand, and her vision went black.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finn, Poe, and Chewie arrived back at base. Everyone was celebrating. As they left the ship they were met with cheers, and hugs. Finn began searching among the crowd, looking for her. He saw Commander Connix, and gave her a smile and a hug. “Hey, have you seen Rey? If she back yet?” Connix shook her head.

“No, I haven’t seen her arrive. I hope she’s all right.” They both stared worryingly up at the sky, hoping to see her ship arrive any moment.

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Ben slowly opens his eyes. He stares up at the millions of stars above him, slightly obscured by the smoke from the burning final order ships. All was still and quiet around him. He felt so weak, he could barely move. He wondered how long he had been lying here, his muscles felt stiff and painful. Suddenly, he remembered, “Rey.” He whispered. He turned his head, and saw her lying next to him. Her hand was still in his, but there was no strength in the grip. “Rey?” When she didn’t respond, panic seized him. “No! Rey! I saved you! Please don’t be dead…Please don’t be dead…” He painfully rolled onto his side, grunting with the effort. Her eyes were closed, and a layer of dust lay upon both of them. They must have been lying here for days. He closed his eyes, and reached out with his feelings. He felt her. She was alive! But for how long? He felt her heart falter, and knew she didn’t have long. “What happened?” He thought. He knew he would die once he transferred all he had left to her, so how was he still here? Why was she so close to death? It didn’t matter now, he had to get her help before it was too late. He achingly got to his knees, and stood up. He swayed, and felt dizziness overcome him. He steadied himself with the force, and waited for it to pass. He glanced around at the ruins of the Sith throne room. Bodies of the Sith followers lay in the rubble. A sense of great pride in Rey touched his heart. She was so brave, and strong. She overcame one of the most powerful and evil beings in the galaxy. She paid for it with her life, but he knew she would do it again. And he would save her again. He glanced down at her, and warmth and happiness filled him. This feeling felt so foreign. He had not felt anything like this in so long, all he wanted to do was grasp this feeling and never let it go. This woman meant more to him than anything else he had ever known. He was too weak to carry her, and he needed something to get her out of here. He looked around the great broken cavern, and inspiration hit him. He stumbled over to where the fallen Sith followers lay. He took cloaks from two of them, and attached them together. He made his way back to her, and knelt down. He placed the cloaks on the ground, and slowly rolled her onto them. He grasped the arms of a cloak, and started pulling her towards the elevator. He prayed that the elevator was still functional. He fell several times, and saw black spots in front of his eyes. Sweat dripped down his face with the effort. He closed his eyes, and felt the force flowing through them both. There was so little left in her that the panic grew stronger. “Come on Rey…Hang on.” He made his way back to his feet, and channeled the force to help him drag her across the rocky, uneven floor. He finally made it to the elevator, and luckily it was mostly still intact. A few chunks had broken off of the edges, so Ben carefully placed her in the middle. The elevator didn’t respond. The power that Palpetine had channeled here must have been the power source. He closed his eyes and screamed in frustration. He wanted to destroy something. He honed in his anger, and took slow deep breaths. No, he thought. This anger does not belong to me, it belongs to Kylo Ren. He breathed deeply once more and let the anger go. He reached out to the force and channeled some power into the elevator. If this didn’t work, he didn’t know how he was going to get her out of here. He heard a hum coming from underneath them. It was working. The elevator feebly lifted a couple of feet off the ground. It could not go any further without more power. Ben surged more of the force into it. It slowly began ascending, and wobbled to and fro, threatening to fall at any moment. Ben got to his knees and placed his hands on the floor of the elevator. He shook with the effort, and was drenched in sweat. Finally, they reached the top floor. He knew that as soon as he stopped channeling the force energy into it, it would fall and crumble. His breathing was heavy, and the dizziness was overwhelming. He got back to his feet, and slowly dragged Rey off of the elevator platform. With a sigh of relief, he cut the elevator off from the force. He heard the giant piece of stone crash to the floor below. Suddenly, the spots before his eyes returned, and blackness took him.

Several hours later, Ben awoke from a nightmare. His heart was racing, his skin was damp, and his breaths were coming fast and hard. His surroundings were disorienting, until he remembered where he was. He glanced to his left, and saw Rey, still there on the Sith cloaks where he had left her. He reached out with the force, and felt her, she was still alive. He let out a breath of relief. He slowly and painfully rose to his feet, grasped the cloaks and continued to pull her back to the ship. He made it to the two ships that they had taken to come here. He gave his ship a look of pure disdain, and pulled Rey towards Luke’s X-Wing. There was only room enough for one, he would have to hold her. Ben climbed into the cockpit, and used the force to lift Rey into his arms. He stared at her beautiful face for a moment, and lightly placed his fingers on her cheek. He smiled, and a few tears of happiness escaped him. He then positioned her in a sitting position between his legs, and started up the engine. Her head lolled against his shoulder, and he placed a hand on her midsection to steady her. He then took flight, and they left the horrid planet of Exegol.

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klcthebookworm · 6 years

Text

Mission on Mimban 9 of 12

Previous Installments

Introduction, One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven,Eight,

What Happens in the Chapter

Chapter Nine opens with Luke and Leia's chat as they walk down the tunnel. Luke thinks of a new plan, but Leia dismisses Halla as a delusional old woman who wants the Kaiburr crystal to defeat Grammel. Luke brings up having to find it before Governor Essada and his people. Leia shudders, and Luke asks what could have happened on the Death Star to affect her so. Leia does not tell him. They find the linchen-fungi that glows in the dark, so they don't need to use their lumas. The underground is a wonderland of multicolored stalactites, an underground stream, a bottomless pond, a miniature forest of helicites, cantilevered mushrooms, and a tall stand of something resembling paralyzed bamboo encased in quartz that ring when struck.

Just when Leia's come around on her opinion of Mimban "If Mimban is ever settled formally, everyone should live underground," the ground shatters under her feet and Luke has to pull her out of the new pit. They pass on smooching, despite the obvious set-up for it. They continue on with the spelunking, testing the ground with the lightsaber and holding hands as they forge on. The path ends at the shore of a vast underground lake, so wide that they could not see the far shore.

We have a nice bit of problem solving as they figure out how to make a raft out of a leprous lily that grows where the underground steam meets this lake and paddles out of selenite crystals. With those preparations made, they make camp and both pass out from exhaustion.

They wake up after twelve hours of sleep and the concentrates for breakfast now taste good. They slide the pad-boat into the water and start paddling. They hug the wall on their left, where the path had vanished into the water. Eventually Luke's imagined terrors subside and he wonders about Leia if the experiences they'd gone through so far on Mimban had had a mellowing effect on her. Leia's common sense has not been affected as she shoots down Luke's offer to do all the paddling.

Several hours after lunch, Luke calls a halt to the paddling. He's nervous about a pop-plop sound, too erratic to be drip water from the ceiling. Everything goes quiet and they resume paddling. When Luke calls a second stop upon hearing the strange sound again, Leia sees and is rendered speechless by a trail of fat bubbles that was arrowing rapidly toward them.

Luke fights the lake monster with his lightsaber, and falls into the water. Leia gets into a tug-of-war with the lake monster with Luke as the rope. Finally the monster gets tired of lightsaber hits and leaves them alone. Leia has a nice screaming fit after Luke is safely onboard the pad-boat again.

After several more luckily uneventful hours paddling, the far shore finally comes into view.

An ancient dock protruded from the dry ground ahead. While no boats of any kind were in sight, the long finger of metal extending out into the water left no doubt as to its function, its alien design notwithstanding.

Luke had less luck identifying the purposes of the numerous structures clustered all along the shore. Many appeared raised from stone, others had metal walls, and some combinations of both materials. No matter what the compositions, every one displayed signs of considerable age.

The lake is not a new feature underground if the ancient and vanished Thrella built a dock. Leia refuses to get her feet wet when they reach waist-deep water, so Luke carries her the rest of the way. She apologizes for her behavior and reveals she can't swim. They hike through the abandoned city and Luke keeps having the something is watching me sensation. He turns around to follow movement he saw out of the corner of his eye and ends up cutting the Coway behind them in half. Five more block their path ahead. Leia arms herself with a broken stalactite and wields it like a dagger.

Despite the odds in numbers, this is such an uneven fight it's almost funny. Luke slices up two of their spears. Leia dodges the third spear, trips him with her legs, and then stabs him in the skull. One Coway switches to an axe and gets his legs cut off with the lightsaber. Another with a spear loses his spear hand at the wrist. The last one jabs at Luke with his spear so Luke cuts off the spear point. He throws the shaft at Luke and runs away. Leia's last opponent keeps her at bay with his spear and retreats when he sees Luke approaching. Luke takes him out by throwing his activated lightsaber in the Coway's back.

Meanwhile, the smartest of the Coway is running uphill and climbing over a huge pile of rubble from the ceiling. Leia upgrades her weapon choice to one of the axes of the dead Coway and flings it at the runner. She scores a hit on his right shoulder. He tumbles down the other side of the rocks and they climb after him, desperate to keep him from alerting others. The chapter ends with Luke and Leia staring down at what is on the other side.

What I Liked

The water [of the underground lake] was as black as the inside of the Emperor's mind. Yeah, a description that a) feels Star Wars and b) something that Luke would think of! And I do believe this is our first hint that the Emperor is the evil heart of the Empire. To double check my belief, I found the 1976 hardback of the first movie's novelization published by Del Rey Books in my library. I believe my father bought it and it found its way onto my shelves next to the paperback novelizations of the next two that I bought at used books stores. I replaced these copies with a 2015 Books-A-Million edition that put all three in one hardback, but I wondered if they had edited to reflect what we know from the prequels. Surprisingly, they did not change the Prologue between the two editions. Here's the passage that described the Emperor of the Galaxy:

Aided and abetted by restless, power-hungry individuals within the government, and the massive organs of commerce, the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic. He promised to reunite the disaffected among the people and to restore the remembered glory of the Republic.

Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor, shutting himself away from the populace. Soon he was controlled by the very assistants and boot-lickers he had appointed to high office, and the cries of the people for justice did not reach his ears.

Having exterminated through treachery and deception the Jedi Knights, guardians of justice in the galaxy, the Imperial governors and bureaucrats prepared to institute a reign of terror among the disheartened worlds of the galaxy. Many used the Imperial forces and the name of the increasingly isolated Emperor to further their own personal ambitions.

The Emperor we get in Empire Strike Back and Return of the Jedi is not this Palpatine described, and by the time we get to the prequels, the character is a Machiavellian devil. Don't get me wrong, I prefer my Palpatine as the Master of the Sith controlling the whole galaxy brought down low after twenty-ish years of complacency, miscalculating just how hard abused beings will fight back (including Anakin and the Rebellion in that), and failing to factor in the murderbears (Ewoks). I'm also tickled to find evidence of changes in motion, as it were.

No Virgin Alarms go off during this camping scene.

Crossing the lake has more of the in-character moments for me.

Out of excuses, he stared at the lake. "I hope this lake's not as wide as it looks. I don't like traveling on water."

"That's not surprising," soothed the Princess, knowing that on the desert world of Tatooine where Luke had been raised, an open body of water was as rare as an evergreen.

It took 194 pages in my paperback copy for Foster to finally remember Luke is from a damn desert! The resulting fears in Luke's mind are pretty good too, believable from someone who has never seen water like this before.

I like the lake monster encounter and its introduction.

It rose.

A pale amorphous form, shining with phosphorescence, in color it was not unlike the great wandrella. But compared to the lake-spirit the worm-thing was a familiar creature.

There was no face, nothing recognizable in that constantly altering form. It lifted short, thick pseudopods of a whitish substance clear of the surface. They gleamed brightly in the dim cavern light. Luke thought he could see partway through the creature, and strange shapes swirling about it internally.

I kind of hate that ILM didn't take a stab at this kind of monster. Nowadays it would be easiest to use CGI, so I'm curious as to what the old school approach for film would have tried instead.

What I Found Problematic

Given how Grammel treated you, Leia, I would think you'd be on board turning him into a frog. Sure, be skeptical that you can actually do that with the Force, but don't mock the old lady.

Luke asking about why Leia is freaking out over an Imperial interrogation and what happened to her on the Death Star doesn't bother me as much as his reaction. Leia charged out of her cell and took charge of her rescue and then he was thrown into the pilots' ready room. So it's perfectly reasonable that he missed her trauma until she fainted after Grammel told them about the Governor.

She turned memory-haunted eyes on him. "Maybe I'll tell you someday, Luke. Not now. I'm not... I haven't forgotten enough. If I told you I might remember too much."

"Don't you think I could take it," he asked tightly.

She hasten to correct him. "Oh not you, Luke, not you. It's me, my own reactions I'm worried about. Whenever I start trying to remember exactly what they did to me that time, I start to come apart."

And Luke immediately follows Leia's confession with a heartfelt apology for prying. No, that is not in the text at all. Leia changes the subject and they discover the lichen-fungi that glows underground. I'm torn about this characterization, because making the trauma survivor (typically a female) soothe who is prying into the trauma by making it all about themselves is such a common response. It's believable as written (shocker from Foster I know).

This dynamic needs to be drop-kicked into the sun.

So I want to rewrite this with an added apology from Luke. His empathy fueled by his Force Sensitivity should make it a lot easier for him to pick up on how badly Leia is still hurt by the Death Star events. He is in love with this woman, offer some damn comfort. But Leia won't be in my version.

This is the lamest just kiss I have ever seen written:

Rolling away from [the gaping blackness], the Princess caught him with a hand, her weight halting his slide. Now Luke rolled clear, came to a panting stop on her chest. For a long moment they lay like that, suspended in time. Then their eyes met with a gaze that could have penetrated light-years.

Err, is Luke on top or are they on their sides chest-to-chest? Not only am I having trouble visualizing them on the ground, this really needs Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher's expressive faces to make me feel it. Not that I really want to feel the twincest.

Wait a blooming second, where did all this equipment come from? After checking his timer he woke the Princess. You didn't have a time piece hiking to town. Luke checked his tracom. Okay, maybe you had that earlier when you were searching for the beacon, but why wasn't it named? Luke brought water from the stream in a collapsible cup. Why are we just now seeing this stuff when it should have been shown on the first hike in Chapter Two (Did they have incomplete survival packs because these things were not mentioned in the text there.) If they didn't have these things in Chapter Two, where is the text that says these items came from the swamp crawler? Who edited this work and never caught this inconsistency?

Why, Foster, why? I liked the battle with the lake monster, even if I think the lightsaber should have a bigger effect. But then you go and ruin it by making Leia scream after it's all over. Since when is Leia a screamer? Was it just a set up for this?

Her voice rose slightly. "I'm ready to get out."

"Believe me, Leia," he replied, taking her hand in his, "I'm in just as big a hurry as you."

This is Luke Skywalker, who hardly needs an excuse to give anyone comfort and would seize Leia's hand without her having hysterics. If anyone deserves to have hysterics it is HIM, our poor desert farmboy dragged underwater again by something trying to eat him. Hello PTSD flashback to the Death Star trash compactor.

Leia can't swim. This is information that should come up at the beginning of a journey over water not at the end. And even if she can't swim, stop being a wuss and get your feet wet. Because Leia is a lot of things but a wuss isn't one of them.

Interracial warfare, perhaps, or maybe sequential decadence ending in their being overwhelmed by aborigines like the greenies. I'm wondering about what happened to the ancient aliens of Mimban too, but damn the phrasing of this sentence just rubs me the wrong way.

That's not how lightsabers work! They have an automatic off switch. No throwing it at fleeing opponents and expecting it to remain on, unless you are using the Force to keep it on.

What Changes in My Fic

Showing better trauma victim support: Mara's trauma is so different from Leia and with the bond between her and Luke, I don't see this conversation even having the massive misstep of Luke making it all about him. What will they talk about during this hike?

Lumas will be changed to glow rods. And do a better job with explaining where the equipment comes from.

I want a line from Mara about how bad they are at keeping watch when they wake up.

The underground lake is a good opportunity to touch on what swimming lessons the Alliance has given Luke.

The lightsaber effects the lake monster. Unless it doesn't for the same reason lightsabers don't seem to boil water. Research this.

My revision of the after lake monster fight: Luke's clingy because oh-crap-I-could've-drowned! reaction has kicked in and Mara has pulled him back onboard. Mara discovers she's not opposed to clingy or more accurately hugging with Luke.

Plot events time. Helping Writers Become Authors further explains this breakdown. It probably hasn't escaped anyone's notice that the scenes in the past few chapters have not ended up on the outline. While thrilling obstacles to overcome, they have nothing to do with what I have identified as the plot: getting the Kaiburr crystal before Grammel does. When will we get back to that plot? I have no idea, but I decided to fill in these scenes under the Action section.

Hook 1% mark = Crashing onto Mimban

Set-up 1% - 12%

Inciting Event 12% mark = Finding the Imperial mining outpost

Build-up 12% - 25%

1st Plot Point 25% mark = Luke and Leia agree to find the Kaiburr crystal with Halla

Reaction to 1st Plot Point 25% - 37%

1st Pinch Point 37% mark = Meeting with Grammel

Realization 37% - 50%

Midpoint or 2nd Plot Point 50% mark = Prison break

Action 50% - 62% = Wandrella chase, Lake monster fight, Coway attack

2nd Pinch Point 62% mark

Renewed Push 62% - 75%

#rescue the farmboy au #star wars legends #splinter of the mind's eye #literary analysis #reference notes #mission on mimban

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stonefreeak · 7 years

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I just found your Chancellor Kenobi verse and I love it. Especially how Obi-wan and Anakin are fixing their relationship while Palpatine keeps trying to tear it apart. Howewver, I can't help but wonder how Anakin, Ahsoka, Cody, Rex, and the 501st and the 212th Battalions will react when they hear about the bombing of the Senate.

Anonymous said:Please I must know how Anakin reacted to being told about Obi-Wan I love this story so much

HERE WE GO! Here we go! I’ve done edits and research, and tried hard and I sure as fuck hope that my portrayal of a panic attack is okay, and respectful. If I’ve fucked up, just let me know and I’ll do my best to fix it!

Thanks to @dendral for helping me look it over!

I could likely have filed even more on it, but at some point you kinda need to stop. Also, my birthday’s coming up and I don’t want to stress about this too when it hits, hahaha.

So here we go, anons, and everyone else! Anakin gets the news!

WARNING: a character has a panic attack, so descriptions thereof will be found within. Said character also has trouble breathing.

“General Skywalker, we have an incoming transmission from Coruscant,” Rex says, standing straight and with his arms crossed behind his back—stiff and formal. Anakin’s eyes narrow; that kind of posture generally means a transmission from the Council…

There’s a churning in the pit of Anakin’s stomach and he still feels the echoes of the Force screaming. He’s tried not to think about it, but now he can’t help the thought that keeps spinning in his mind: has something happened?

“I’ll come immediately, Captain.” He nods to Rex and turns to his Padawan. “Ahsoka, you take over the attack-coordination. I should be back soon.”

“Yes, Master,” she says and nods in return before she turns back to the holomaps of the star system and closest planets.

Anakin sets a fast pace toward the communication centre, but Rex, as always, keeps up.

“Rex, who can I expect?” Might as well have as much information as possible before he takes the comm. Preparation is key, as Obi-Wan likes to say.

“It’s General Windu, Sir. From how he looked it appears to be both very urgent and extremely important.”

Anakin blinks, and his stomach drops. Well, that doesn’t sound good. Master Windu being wound up enough to not be the picture of—sometimes grumpy—stoicism? Something must be very wrong. Could it actually be something to do with the Force crying out?

The walk to the communication hub isn’t long and it barely takes them a minute to get there. The door slides open and Anakin immediately sees Master Windu’s holo, arms crossed and with a grave expression on his face; there seems to be an almost grim edge to his facial expression that Anakin has very rarely seen before—and only in the most serious situations.

“Master Windu, I came as fast as I could,” Anakin says with a nod as soon as he steps within holocam range. “Captain Rex said it was urgent.” He tilts his head slightly towards Rex on his right.

“Knight Skywalker,” Master Windu says, inclining his head. “The Captain is correct. We could not delay this comm and risk you hearing these news from any other source.”

Anakin’s stomach drops further. That… that can’t be good at all.

“Has something happened?” Anakin crosses his arms behind his back to make sure Master Windu can’t see the way his fingers clench on his arms, a nervous tic.

Master Windu’s eyes close and he nods. “Several bombs went off in the office of Senator Biwa of the moon Illi-hian.” He looks, if possible, even grimmer.

“There was an attack on the Senate? When—” Before Anakin can continue, Master Windu cuts him off—swiftly, but not rudely.

“It happen just about one standard hour ago. So far, the only confirmed casualties are Senator Biwa himself and Senator Himesh of Cyllian III, beyond them, six people were injured. However…” Master Windu pauses briefly—Anakin’s thoughts are already running wild. What about Padmé? Is she safe? Has she been hurt? And what about Obi-Wan? He’s there too, is he safe?

Master Windu seems to almost steel himself. “Master Kenobi—Obi-Wan—was in that office,” he says softly, gently.

Anakin’s thoughts grind to a halt. What?

No. No, he can’t have… he can’t be—! Only two confirmed casualties, neither of them Obi-Wan, he reminds himself.

“Is he… is he okay?” Anakin tries to keep the urgency out of his voice, tries to keep calm, but he can feel his heartbeat pick up. Obi-Wan is on Coruscant, he should be safe there.

“His condition is critical.” Master Windu’s words hits Anakin like a sledgehammer to the head. “The healers don’t know if he will make it or not yet, but they got to him quickly, thanks to the troopers he brought with him to the meeting.”

Breathe.

Anakin tries to keep it together, tries to remind himself to breathe, but it suddenly feels almost impossibly hard. He has to breathe. He has to calm down and breathe.

He gets jolted out of his fixating thoughts by Rex’s shoulder suddenly connecting with his, and he manages to draw a deep, shuddering breath in through his nose. He glances to his captain slightly, and nods his thanks. The panic is not gone, but it has abated slightly. He is not alone.

He quickly realises that Master Windu has been waiting—silent—while Anakin collected himself.

“What… what are my orders?” he chokes out. He wants to rush back to Coruscant immediately, he needs to be with Obi-Wan. He can’t lose him like this. He can’t. Not now.

But Obi-Wan… Obi-Wan would want him to at least ask what his orders are first. And what if they want him to investigate the attempt? And he fucks it up by rushing ahead and they never find out who did this? He can’t. He can’t.

“If you think you can keep your mind on the battle ahead of you without distraction, stay where you are and complete your mission. However, if you do not think you can do so, withdraw your troops and return to Coruscant. Either path is open to you.” Master Windu’s eyes open and stare into Anakin’s. “The only thing you absolutely may not do, is leave your troops behind and return to Coruscant alone.”

Is… is this a test?

“And… it’s… my choice?” If he returns to Coruscant, will he fail whatever test this is? Are they lying about what happened to test him? Is that what this is? Some form of test to see if he will let his attachments interfere with his missions? Palpatine has always said the Council doesn’t trust Anakin as they should…. have they decided to test him?

“The mission you’re on is not time sensitive enough that re-routing a different part of the army would be unfeasible. We would lose more if you fail because you pushed yourself than if you retreat and let someone else take over. Master Unduli and her troops are in a nearby system awaiting orders, moving them to your position would not cause a significant delay.”

Anakin nods slowly. That… that makes sense. But… What should he do? If Obi-Wan is… Is… Then Anakin should be there, shouldn’t he?

As if sensing Anakin’s hesitation, despite the incredible distance between them, Master Windu speaks up again, “You do not have to answer immediately. Take a few hours to gather your thoughts, and discuss the situation with your Padawan and Captain.” He pauses and sighs. “If there’s any change in the situation, we’ll get in contact with you again.”

Anakin nods mutely. Take time to think. Yes. Good.

“And… Anakin.” Master Windu’s tone is gentle, his face worried. “Consider your feelings and your state of mind carefully, but don’t forget to consider your Padawan’s situations as well.”

Anakin blinks. Breathes. Tries to remember the last time Master Windu called him by his first name.

The silence stretches, and Anakin realises with a twitch that Master Windu might be waiting for a vocal confirmation.

“I’ll get back to you within three hours, Master Windu,” he croaks and clears his throat. “May the Force be with you.”

Master Windu’s eyes look a million stars away. “May the Force be with us all, Knight Skywalker.”

His holo disappears, and Anakin stands there, staring where the hologram once was and tries to keep breathing.

Without Master Windu’s holo in front of him, Anakin finds himself anchorless. Obi-Wan might die. Anakin could lose him.

It’s not fair. He can’t lose Obi-Wan now. Not now when Anakin finally knows for sure that Obi-Wan cares, has always cared. If he didn’t know… he’d take it better. But now… now…

The air seems thick, hard to breathe. He recognises the feeling from another time he received news that turned everything upside down.

The sounds of the hub seem far away, or distorted, as if Anakin were underwater.

He clutches at his face and gasps for breath.

He feels uncountably vulnerable, with his back bare as it is. There’s no Obi-Wan to have his back, no Master to place a warm palm on his back and give a small smile. There’s no best friend-brother-father-everything to help him this time.

His back hits the wall, and he slides down to a sitting position.

He can’t breathe.

Obi-Wan isn’t here.

Obi-Wan can’t help.

Anakin can’t breathe.

~~~~

The news hit like a blaster bolt to the chest, and Rex can see his general’s face drain of blood and turn almost ashen. Rex keeps a close eye on him the rest of the holocall, but luckily he only needs to get his mind back to the present with a gentle shoulder nudge once.

Cody.

Rex grits his teeth and tries to keep calm, but his thoughts keep turning to his brother, his brother who had to leave his Jedi behind and go into the field alone… and now said Jedi might die. Cody will be devastated, he’ll blame himself…

Rex closes his eyes and breathes deeply. He wishes he could be there when Cody gets the news, if only to be a shoulder for him to lean on, a grounding familiar presence.

Rex has seen many brothers lose their Jedi over the course of this war, has seen them get crushed in a way Rex can’t really explain. It’s as if they see their Jedi’s death as their personal failure and crack like the dry earth under the heat of an unforgiving sun.

But there’s more than just Cody, that weighs on Rex’s mind. It’s the knowledge that General Kenobi’s state will have far spread consequences on the troops, not just in the 212th, but throughout the whole army, and on Rex’s own General and Commander.

If General Kenobi dies…

Rex doesn’t want to consider it.

Cody isn’t here. Rex cannot be there for his brother. But he can be there for his General and his Commander… And knowing his General, he will need it. If only as a calming influence to keep him from flying off the handle to go hunting for whoever planted those bombs.

The call ends, and Rex awaits orders. No doubt will General Skywalker leap into action, either to find the Commander to tell her the news or to tell Rex about his decision…

To Rex’s surprise, however, the General doesn’t move at first. Instead, he stands still, his hands slowly creeping up toward his face—until they clutch at it with a grip so harsh the skin around his fingers turn white—as his breathing grows heavy and ragged.

Rex watches as he staggers backwards until his back hits the wall of the command centre, and he slides down to the floor.

What in all the Core Worlds…?

Rex has seen this behaviour before, in some brothers who suddenly couldn’t cope with the battle field before. It has been whispered through the army, because telling someone other than clone medics is unthinkable. If the Kaminoans ever heard of it… Well… Those brothers would be considered defective, and that’s something no other trooper wants to even think about.

Rex moves slowly to his general’s side, unwilling to startle him. He glances around the room, but the command centre had been mostly empty before Rex took his post, and none of the brothers working are looking this way, so at least the General has some privacy.

“General. Is there anything I can do to help?” he says, speaking softly enough that the words shouldn’t carry across the room. Rex is pretty sure that the last thing General Skywalker needs is to be crowded right now.

General Skywalker shakes his head jerkily, almost as if he barely has control of the motion.

“Obi-Wan is… Obi-Wan is…” he gasps, breath hitching.

While Rex would have expected the news to hit hard, he hadn’t expected this. He’d expected his general’s anger to search for a fitting target. He’d expected his general’s fierce determination to search for whoever was responsible.

But he hadn’t expected a panic attack.

“Is there anything I can do, General?” Rex murmurs, deliberately keeping his face smooth to avoid wincing in sympathy for his general’s harsh, fitful breaths. Rex wishes Kix was here; the medic would probably know what to do, how to help.

“B-breathe,” the General gasps, one hand now clawing at his chest, the other still clutching at his face with a white-knuckled grip.

Breathe? Rex isn’t sure what that means. He can tell that the general’s breathing is harsh and erratic, that much is obvious, but in the context of if there’s something Rex can do for him…?

“Yes, General, I can see you’re having trouble breathing,” Rex says, creeping slightly closer to his General.

For a brief moment, Rex wishes the Commander was here. Maybe she would know what to do, and maybe she’s seen the General like this before—!

His train of thought is cut off as General Skywalker’s hand, the one that isn’t clutching at his face, reaches out and almost slaps against his chestplate in a movement so fast Rex’s eyes can’t track it. He looks down at the hand lying flat against his chest—fingers splayed—as it twitches slightly, before he looks back at General Skywalker.

However… he isn’t looking at Rex at all. In fact, his eyes seem fixed on his own hand. Rex frowns and makes an aborted attempt to scratch his head, deciding instead that perhaps it’s best if he remains still and exactly where he is.

The general’s breathing starts slowing down, and the whites around his eyes become less prominent. Slowly his fingers relax and stop gouging into his cheek.

That’s when it clicks. Rex looks down at the hand on his chest again, and the slight way it moves with Rex’s own breathing. Is the general using his hand as a focus to match his breathing to Rex’s own?

Deciding to test his theory, Rex allows his own breathing to slow and deepen—making the slight movement of his chestplate more pronounced. The general’s breathing patterns start to follow.

So that was what he was trying to ask of Rex when he said “breathe” before. He wanted to create a focus to help him calm his breathing—which makes Rex wonder if the General has previous experience with this… And why he hasn’t told Rex about it.

While he respects his general’s need for privacy, this is the kind of important information that could be the difference between life and death on a battlefield.

Rex purses his lips and decides he’ll talk to General Skywalker about it later. Right now, there are other things that require their immediate attention.

However, as soon as General Skywalker has calmed down and made his decision regarding the mission…

—

(Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi masterpost)

#Supreme Chancellor Obi Wan Kenobi #here we go #an update #Anakin Skywalker #Captain Rex #panic attack #this has been long coming #star wars #my writing #I got an ask!#Anonymous

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passable-talent · 4 years

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ok roe hear me out. dragon!anakin Au. reader is a knight sent to kill him but when their helmet gets knocked of, Anakin changes to his human form and it’s like love at first sight or w/e. and then when the knight fails to kill the dragon, the village offers them as a sacrifice to the dragon, so Anakin comes and picks them up and it’s tense and idk what my point is but have fun!

OOOOOHOOHOHO HERE WE GO

we are combining the selki myth with a dragon myth because i. wanted to

do u ever not realize how much you need something in your life until you have it

The governing Council of Coruscant, a small village, was facing a problem, in the form of a dragon. A dragon which lived on the edge of their town and preyed on its people, or did, until they began offering it tribute. They offered the dragon, which they’d named Vader, food or gold, earning its favor so that it wouldn’t destroy the village or its people. It was tradition to name a dragon, in order to easier call it for battle or tribute, a tradition started many years ago by the little village of Tatooine shortly before the death of their dragon, Maul.

Maul had been destroyed by a young knight of the Jedi Order, Obi-Wan Kenobi, which made the Council of Coruscant turn to the Jedi Order. But Obi-Wan had grown older, and was doing more important things for the kingdom, and so the Order sent another young, talented knight, eager to do service to the realm.

You.

You rode to the village nearest to the dragon’s lair and continued on foot from there, your blade hanging at your hip. You carried a mystical weapon called a ‘lightsaber’- a magical blade which was made of solid light. It was the mark of a Jedi Knight, and the mark of your skill. No enemy could stand to you, not even a dragon.

You had been directed through the woods, to a large cavern that was enclosed by a mountain. It was said that the lair of the dragon could be seen easily from far away, but as you grew closer, and the trees thickened, it would become harder to find. Luckily, you had a good sense of direction, and when forest gave way to grasslands that lead up to a gaping mouth of stone, you knew you had found Vader’s lair.

You stalked toward it, silent in the light of the setting sun, hoping that the dragon would yet be asleep and its death would be quick. You only let your eyes come overtop of the stone ledge, your helmet blending in with the grey. You weren’t yet noticed, and so looked for the dragon, and saw it curled up around one of multiple piles of gold within the cavern.

It was a deep shade of oaky brown, almost grey, horns curling over its forehead. Thin wisps of smoke curled from its nostrils as it slept, and you knew now was the best time to strike. You would follow in the footsteps of Obi-Wan Kenobi and cleave this dragon’s head from its body, putting your name into history.

You heaved yourself over the stone ledge, gathering yourself to your feet. You padded silently toward the dragon until you stood overtop of it, nervous now, not to strike, but to stand so close.

“With me,” you whispered to your saber, the incantation that its magical bond with you responded to. It ignited for you and you held it high- but the sound had woken the dragon.

Its eyes were a piercing blue, chilling like nothing else you had ever seen. You meant to swung the saber down before the dragon could fully wake, but a great foot knocked you sideways, and you snuffed the blade so that it wouldn’t be in your way as you fell. Collecting yourself to your feet you found yourself face to face with a dragon, sparking its back teeth together, preparing to flame- and so you ran, knowing a fall from the short ledge was better than being broiled in your armor.

You tumbled down the hillside and came to rest at the line of trees, your helmet knocked from your head in the fall. You breathed hard, trying to right yourself through your dizziness, and looked up to the ledge, where you could see the dragon approaching, and tried to find your helmet before it attacked.

The roar of a dragon stilled you, and you ignited your saber again, holding it beside you while glaring upward. If you would have to fight it without your helmet, that you could do.

But then, something began to happen.

You could describe it almost like... molting? The dragon quickly lost size, and it brought its head back to its body, its scales shifting and moving until instead of a dragon it was a man, wearing a dragon’s skin cloak.

You paused, and stared, because that was a dragon a minute ago, and now it’s a guy.

“You’re not only a dragon, you’re a witch!” You shouted, running up the hill again, meaning to take him down now that he certainly had much less fire in his throat.

“A witch? Funny word.” You’d never heard a dragon talk before, and his voice was smooth, and it startled you. The closer you were to him, the more startled you became, as he wasn’t just any human, he was possibly the most handsome you had ever seen. He was tall, with broad shoulders, and those bright blue eyes had retained into his human form. Though there were fangs in his smile, they didn’t make the smile any less radiant, and he seemed to sense your hesitation as you approached.

“Be not afraid of being startled by my beauty,” he called down to you, making you stop dead in your tracks. “For I am enthralled by yours.” You snuffed your saber and hung it at your hip, looking at him. He clearly meant not to harm you, and so you raised your chin.

“Are you the dragon they call Vader?” You called up to him, just making sure, and he laughed, his expression bright and lovely.

“Yes, but my name is Anakin.” You tilted your head at him and gave him a small smile.

“Well, Anakin, my name is (Y/N), I’m a knight of the Jedi Order. I came here to kill you, as I’m sure you noticed.” Anakin laughed, lifting a hand from his cloak and laying it over the back of his neck, where your saber had almost been. From the motion you saw black claws where human fingertips would be, and darkened skin bordering scales on his forearm the color of his cloak.

“I did. You’ve changed your mind?” You looked at him for a moment with a laugh, then reached to your side to tug at one of the ties that held your armor in place.

“Yes, I think I have.”

“In that case,” he said, sitting down on the ledge, tossing his legs over it, “want to come up for tea?”

~~~

You returned the next day to Coruscant with scorched armor and smudges of dirt and bloody scrapes all over. You vowed that you had failed to kill the dragon after an epic battle, but you would return to Vader’s lair after you had healed, and you would try again.

Returned you did, and once again, you dredged home to Coruscant, Vader still alive. So you tried again- again, and again.

“Anakin?” You called as you reached the trees, climbing onto his ledge and shedding your armor at the entrance of the cavern, as you always did. He wasn’t there- but sometimes this happened, and he always returned soon after you arrived. You wandered the expanse of the cavern and investigated his hoard, but mostly you were entranced by the space where he lived: a loft-life area above the golden treasures that had been carved by dragon claws from the mountain. Within it were human luxuries- a bed, couches, a carpet, a fireplace like none you’d ever seen before. It was so comfortable, especially to you, after spending time on those couches with him. He brewed the most delicious tea.

When he still hadn’t returned you grew disinterested in waiting on the couches and went to his hoard again, looking over it. You wondered if there was more than gold within it, and dug down with the tip of your foot, curious if even in your casual digging you’d uncover a gem. The stones were the most interesting to you- you’d fashioned a small sunstone into the hilt of your saber, and yet it had been the only precious stone you’d ever seen.

You’d only been standing there for a moment when arms wrapped around your waist and lifted you from the floor. Caught off guard you grabbed onto the wrists, but you knew who was spinning you and placing you back down.

“Anakin!” you laughed, and accusing tone gracing his name.

“For a Jedi Knight, you sure do scare easily.” You shook your head, your smile fond, and with one hand shoved him gently, pushing him back from you.

“Where have you been?” You asked, letting him lead you up to his loft, his cloak almost billowing behind him as he walked. He had only gotten more attractive to you- the curl of his hair around his horns, horns admittedly smaller in human form, but still wicked and dark. His figure was exceptional, his smile was bright, his hands strong and kind.

“Visiting my mother,” he said, putting on a pot of water to boil. You were always colder than he was, so often he made you a hot drink when you arrived. “She gave me some advice.”

“Advice?” you repeated, sitting down on one of the couches. “About what?”

“Dragon stuff,” he said, turning to you with a playful sneer, “you wouldn’t understand.” You scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Oh yeah? Try me, Sparker.” His eyebrows raised as though you had caught him off guard, and his pupils narrowed into vertical slits briefly, a reaction you knew to be of self-defense. Was he embarrassed?

“Nothing, (Y/N), honestly. Don’t worry about it.” You indulged him with your silence, laying your head back into the cushion of the couch.

“I think Palpatine’s getting upset with me,” you said, steering the conversation away for his sake.

“Palpatine? You mean the head of the Council?”

“Yeah. I think he’s getting tired of me failing to kill you.”

“Oh yeah?” Anakin asked, pouring hot water into a mug to let the tea leaves steep within it. “Thinking about actually killing me to get him off your back?” You looked up, startled, at him.

“What? Of course not.”

“That’s good to hear,” he said, carrying over the mug and placing it on a table next to the couch, then taking a seat next to you. “Though I wouldn’t mind having you be the last thing I see.” You rolled your eyes and let your shoulder rest against his, nudging him softly.

“Charmer.”

“You know,” Anakin said, repositioning. He often sat so close to you like this so that he could wrap you in his dragon cloak. You hadn’t quite figured out why he liked to do it so much, but you allowed him anyway- it wasn’t like you’d complain about the warmth you felt from him and the way he put his arms around you. “I could always drop your charred armor and clothes onto his doorstep. You’d be able to stay, and they wouldn’t be upset with you.” You lifted yourself up enough to look him in the eye.

“You’d do that?” You asked him, and he tilted his head.

“Why not?”

“I just...” you trailed off, silent while he repositioned so that his left leg laid lengthwise onto the couch, and you sat between it and his other. “I didn’t realize you’d let me stay.” You felt him press a kiss down onto your head, and a smile grew onto your face. You pulled the cloak over your shoulder to cover more of your body.

“Of course I would,” he said, his claws lightly tracing your wrist down until he found your hand, and curled his fingers into yours.

“But no,” you said, turning your head to rest your cheek onto his chest. “I wouldn’t want them to think you’ve killed me. I’m a better knight than that.”

“True,” he said, pulling more of his cloak over you when he noticed how you bent your knees against the cold. “Then maybe, you could say you’re leaving, to come back with reinforcements, or better weapons, and instead stay here.”

“That doesn’t solve anything, Ani,” you whispered, reaching over your shoulder to run your fingers through his hair. “Then they’d still be blaming me for the fact that you’re still alive. And I could never kill you.” He turned his head up to kiss your palm, then resting his head back down into your hand.

“You’ll think of something,” he said, and in the comfort of the moment, you believed him.

As the sun rose you entered the outer limits of Coruscant, exhausted. Anakin’s nocturnal nature made these meetings easy to schedule but quite hard on your sleep cycle. You usually made it back only to have the older women of the village fawn over you, tending your wounds while you slept. You always returned burnt and bruised, though these wounds were self inflicted, to make it seem as though there was a battle. Anakin never hurt you- save for today, when you had insisted that you get a scratch across your jaw.

“I can’t, (Y/N),” he had insisted, holding his hands to his chest so that he didn’t even bring his claws close to you. “I can’t.”

“It’s alright,” you promised, “I’m asking you to. I know you’d never hurt me. I’d do it myself with a stone, but these people know what dragon claws look like.”

“Love, I can’t hurt you.” You reached forward with a gentle smile, lightly taking his hand into yours.

“Close your eyes, then,” you whispered, bringing his hand up to cup your jaw. You leaned into his palm, your fingers resting overtop his, and when you felt him relax, you pressed down hard onto his first finger, dragging it in a swift motion down your jawline and toward your chin. He gasped, opening his eyes, but you held his hand away, making sure that your blood dripped down your neck uninterrupted. You’d kissed him goodbye, promising him that the women of the village would treat the wound.

This morning, though, Palpatine himself was there to see you arrive.

“(Y/N), my dear!” he said, approaching you. “It’s so good you made it home alive.” You thanked him, knowing what he would ask next. “And our dragon? Have you vanquished it?”

“No, sir,” you answered, looking to the ground, feigning shame. “I did not succeed tonight. But I will return to try again.” Palpatine sighed, and before you could react, he had the guards of the council surround you. Shocked, you whirled, but did not ignite your blade. The sheer number of them overpowered you, chaining your hands in front of you.

“(Y/N) of the Jedi Order,” Palpatine said, standing in front of you on a platform in the center of the village, “You have failed to rid us of our dragon, and so will serve your final duty to Coruscant on this, the sixty-sixth day of spring- you will be a sacrifice to Vader, and with your death, will keep him from harming this village.”

“What?” you snarled, trying to take a step forward, but the guards stopped you. Your armor was torn from you until only your fabric clothing remained, and you struggled against every moment. “This is how you treat the people who are sent to help you?”

“As a mercy, you will be keeping your magic blade,” Palpatine said, tossing the hilt of your lightsaber toward you. “If you kill the dragon before he kills you, you are free to return.” You glared in Palpatine’s direction as the guards fashioned your saber to your waist, then as they lead you to the platform Palpatine had emptied. Here they had piled the sacrifices of gold and food for Anakin, and here they placed you now, looping your chains through a hoop in the center of the platform.

There was a trumpet that had become the sound of dread in the village. It caused all to run to their homes, in fear, because the trumpet called the dragon.

What would Anakin do when he was arrived? Would he recognize that you were the sacrifice, and spare you? Surely he would, he would recognize you- he had to!

How the people of Coruscant, who had loved you, who had put their faith in you, could do this to you- it was evil. You collected yourself to your knees, your arms held in your lap, chained down.

“I curse this town,” you said, softly at first, as the sound of the trumpet echoed throughout the valley. “I curse Coruscant and all who live within it. I curse you to the fire and death I sought to protect you from!” Everyone hushed as they saw a dragon, on the horizon. Everyone but you.

“I curse you to be torn, limb from body and flesh from bone, I curse you to the same end of pain and suffering that I will be given!” The dragon grew closer, its wingspan wider than the streets of the town, its nostrils exhaling smoke.

“I curse the Force from this place, may its kindness never guide you again!”

You trusted Anakin. You did. With your whole body.

Still, those slitted blue eyes studying you from behind scales, the massive form of the dragon approaching like a hunter with its eyes only on you, it was terrifying. You had tears rolling down your face, and you didn’t even know why. Anakin would never hurt you- he’d made that very clear, this morning.

But you saw his back teeth spark.

His fire, red and yellow and orange, shot forward, consuming the wooden platform you sat upon.

Your curse had worked, the townspeople would whisper. The dragon’s fire ate up the platform and left nothing behind, spreading to the nearest homes and buildings. As for you, though, there was nothing left- and everyone had been too concerned with the flames to notice how it happened.

Except for one old woman, who had known of dragons longer than most in Coruscant. She had kept her eye on the town of Coruscant and its dragon scourge, and its new knight. She was the first to open her home to you.

Shmi Skywalker watched as the dragon lumbered into the flames, and disappeared. And she watched as two figures hurried from it, wrapped in a fireproof cloak of dragon skin. She’d keep their secret.

-🦌 Roe

| part 2 | part 3 | part 4 |

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secretagentspydetectiveninja · 7 years

Text

The Misadventures of Prince Kim - chapter 44

I have a lot of new followers recently, so I guess I’ll reintroduce this fic - it’s basically a royalty AU where most of the characters are members of royalty or nobility and at a boarding school that teaches them how to rule.

So if you ever have a bit of spare time and want to read it so far, be prepared for 155k+ words of: Prince Kim being an idiot, Prince Max also being an idiot, lots of fluff, lots of angst, lots of crack, timey-wimey nonsense, geography lessons, assassination attempts, civil wars, a venomous snake that’s a surprisingly good lacrosse player, starcrossed Adrienette, too many unrequited crushes, Pharaoh Alix being the coolest person alive (but also an idiot), and the slowest burn Kimax you will ever read!!

Also on AO3 as always, where you can read the whole thing.

The new gym opened early the very next morning. Kim had made a pact to be the first one there, but he arrived only to look through the glass to see someone familiar already inside, little black pigtails tied up in red ribbons, tapping buttons on the panel of a treadmill–

“MARINETTE!” he yelled, bursting through the door.

“Kim?” She looked up at him, surprised, then smiled and waved. “I’m so glad you’re here too!”

He strode up to her and put his hands on his hips. “How dare you get here before me?!”

Her smile fell immediately. “I couldn’t sleep, and I needed some way to get my thoughts away from… well…”

Oh, of course. She was probably missing Adrien again.

“You were thinking about your pet cat, were you?” he asked. That was the code that people seemed to have been using for Adrien recently.

“Yeah, I was.” She looked around a little, but there were no guards nearby to overhear. She leaned in closer and whispered, “I think I might send him a letter later.”

“But won’t they check the mail?”

“I could just do it secretly. Write a letter to my parents asking them to give my regards to my pet cat Felix, something like that, I’m sure they’d understand what I mean…”

“Yeah, maybe that’ll work then…”

“Anyway!” she said more loudly now, standing back. “Ready for some exercise?”

Kim nodded. “Of course I am! Remember when we were little kids and we used to go for runs together?”

Marinette giggled. “How could I forget? Those were so fun. Our caretakers were always losing us in the woods and getting so stressed out.”

“And you were always getting so annoyed that I could run faster than you. Which is still true, by the way.”

Marinette stepped up onto the treadmill’s conveyer belt and pressed a few buttons. It started moving slowly, and she walked along on it. “Are you sure? Because I’ve been doing a lot of training these recent holidays, while you and Max were busy having loosely defined lacrosse matches and slow-dancing with each other at the Peace Ball.”

Kim felt the heat creeping up his face. “Did Alya tell you about that?”

“Yep. She and Nino told me about lots of things. Like you getting a new nickname thanks to a cheeky servant from Max’s kingdom. Emperor Palpatine, was it?”

“Everyone else has got tired of calling me that, so don’t you start now!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t!” Marinette increased the speed on the treadmill slightly. “And I was told in lots of detail about the lacrosse match too. It sounded fun!”

“Yeah, it was.” Kim hopped onto a nearby treadmill himself and pressed a few of the buttons, not really knowing how to work these machines. It started up with a jolt, knocking him off balance slightly, though he quickly righted himself and began walking. “I’m so good at lacrosse now.”

“Indeed. I’m sure Max thinks so, anyway.”

Kim didn’t say anything. He looked away and hoped Marinette would assume that his red face was from the exercise – despite the fact that the treadmill was still only going at walking pace and he didn’t know how to change it.

“Apparently you also did some responsible royalty things, like going to International Alliance meetings and making allies with some of the most powerful countries in the world.”

“Yeah, I totally did that,” Kim said, running a hand through his hair and ignoring that most of the International Alliance members seemed to be have been treating him like some lost little kid that they were taking pity on, rather than a future leader who needed their assistance.

“Good! Hopefully with their help, things will be sorted out soon. And then… Adrien…”

She didn’t finish, but she didn’t need to. If the Agreste Empire lost power somehow, or Emperor Gabriel calmed down somewhat, then Adrien might be able to return to school freely without fear of house arrest. And Kim would be able to go home too.

“How do you make this thing go faster?” Kim asked, changing the subject. He pressed a few buttons but all it did was increase the incline of the slope slightly.

“Here,” Marinette said, leaning over and showing him.

“Ah, thanks…”

He pressed the button again and again until the machine was going fast enough for him to need to jog. There, that was better!

“I also heard about you getting stuck in that lift with Alix for several hours,” Marinette continued. “Even Alya says she doesn’t know exactly what happened there.”

“It’s a secret,” Kim said, trying not to laugh. “No one will ever guess. But you’re welcome to try.”

“Hmm… fist fight?”

“Nope.”

“A, um, repeat of the winter party incident?”

“Still nope.”

“Did you tell her about your crush on Max then?”

“Pfffff, she already knew about that, I told her ages ago…”

“So you DO have a crush on Max!” Marinette yelled, far too loud.

“What?! I – NO, I mean… I never said anything about… I…”

“You just admitted it!”

“No I didn’t!” Kim said quickly, silently cursing himself.

“I knew it, I knew it! I figured it out even quicker than Alya did–”

“Well don’t tell anyone!” Kim quickly looked around but luckily there still wasn’t anyone else in here. Of course he had guessed that Marinette already knew, but at least she hadn’t properly said anything about it. Until now, anyway.

“I won’t tell a soul, don’t worry,” she said, laughing a little, “though to be honest, it’s obvious enough that I don’t need to tell anyone.”

Kim just didn’t say anything. If that was the case, then did Max himself know? Or would he be the last person to figure it out? And why was that always the case with people Kim had crushes on?!

Marinette turned her treadmill up faster, to the point where she was running at a slightly higher speed than Kim. He could have sworn she had the tiniest of smirks on her face. The kind that she would do on purpose a lot when they were much younger, when she won tennis matches against him in the scorching summer heat, or pulled off a particularly successful prank. He remembered how annoyingly charming he had always found it, though he had never quite fallen for her in a way other than friendship. Then again, he was fairly certain that Chloé’s haughty smirk at a certain birthday banquet several years ago was what managed to capture his heart back then, and he knew for a fact that Alix’s competitive smirks were at least 90% of the reason he had ever been interested in her.

Huh… maybe he had a type when it came to girls?

But for now, there was no girl who he was into. Imagining Max cheering him on, he put on his own smirk and turned the treadmill up so that he was running faster than Marinette again.

“I can still run faster,” he muttered.

Rather than saying anything, she just raised her eyebrows and increased the speed of her treadmill again, overtaking him. Well, Kim certainly wasn’t having that. He turned his speed up by several notches. She turned hers up even more, looking like she was starting to tire out a little. Good! Kim carried on increasing his speed, wondering how fast these machines could even go.

They carried on trying to outdo each other for the next few minutes, Marinette now huffing and puffing as she tried her best to keep up despite her much shorter strides. Kim couldn’t help chuckling a little. There was no way she would ever be able to beat him, no matter what! Alright, she was very determined, he could admit that much. But it was no real challenge.

“Just give up and slow down before you fall over,” Kim said, grinning, tiring out himself somewhat now – though surely nowhere near as much as Marinette.

“Never!” she managed to gasp out, before turning up the speed to the point where she was practically sprinting.

“Hah, you’ll never beat me!” Kim taunted, increasing his speed well beyond hers, knowing she would never be able to catch up. “I’m the fastest runner for my age group in my entire kingdom, and probably faster than anyone at this school, I bet I could even outrun a panther, that’s how fast I–”

His foot slipped. The next thing he knew, he had been flung backwards off the treadmill and was lying on the floor.

“Kim! Are you okay?”

Marinette pressed a button that slowed her treadmill to a stop, then jumped off and ran over to him, still sounding so tired out that she could hardly speak. Kim sat up, rubbing the back of his head. It didn’t even hurt that much – he was just embarrassed.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” he said, standing back up and trying to look casual. “I’ve decided I don’t like treadmills.”

Marinette managed to let out a little laugh through her heavy breaths. “Because you fell off?”

“No, psshhh, I just prefer running outdoors on actual real life ground. Yeah. And I’m still faster than you. And don’t even think about telling anyone what just happened.”

“Of course I won’t.”

“Thanks, Mari.”

Maybe it was a better idea to try out some of the other equipment instead, and perhaps this time not accidentally get into a competition with Marinette. Thank goodness Alix wasn’t here, since she was probably the one person who would make Kim feel even more competitive than that. And thank goodness Max wasn’t here either – what if he had seen Kim fall off the treadmill like some kind of idiot? That would just be the worst thing ever. But Max hadn’t wanted to come to the gym, preferring to get ahead with some homework in peace during these early hours of the day. Phew.

Kim turned around to see someone tapping on the glass outside the gym, holding up a water bottle–

Not just anyone! Max!

Kim quickly wheeled back around, holding his hand up to the side of his face to shield it from view. “Marinette… please tell me that’s not Max standing outside…”

“That’s Max,” Marinette sighed.

“Do you think he saw me just now?”

She shrugged. “Ask him.”

He heard the door of the gym opening, followed by Max’s voice.

“Kim? You forgot your water bottle! I don’t want you to get dehydrated, so I brought it to you – make sure your fluid intake is adequate, alright? Oh hello Marinette, good to see you too…”

Kim took a deep breath, then went over to Max to take the water bottle. He was still in his pyjamas, his springy hair somewhat scruffy, a sleepy grin on his face. It was so oddly… cute. And when Max stifled a yawn, and pushed a few fingers under his glasses to rub the sleep dust out of his scrunched-up eyes, Kim had to hold back a gasp. How was Max just so… so effortlessly… perfect?

“I’m assuming you aren’t injured?” Max asked.

“Ahahaha, w-why would I be injured?” Kim asked, taking a quick sip from the water bottle.

“It looked like you had a bit of an accident with the treadmill.”

“You saw that?” Kim was sure he was blushing, so he looked away and hoped the bright yellow lights in here would make it less noticeable. He would fight that stupid treadmill if he could.

Max put a hand on Kim’s shoulder. “It didn’t look very serious, and such accidents are very common with treadmills, so I’m not worried. But if you notice any unusual pain or differences in movement then make sure you go to the medical centre and get it checked up, just in case.”

How was Max such a sweet person? It was unfair, that was what it was. Unfair that it made Kim’s heart beat so much faster than any exercise ever could.

“I will, thanks Max,” he said. “And thanks for bringing me my water bottle.”

“It’s no problem. Keep up the exercise, both of you – you’re doing an amazing job! Anyway, I’ve got work to be getting back to, so I’ll leave you now…”

Flashing them another precious smile, Max waved and walked off out of the room again. Kim immediately put down the water bottle and pulled the top of his shirt up so far it was covering his entire face, feeling too flustered to function. Max was just so cute, so sweet, so wonderful, so amazing – Kim was going to go crazy if he didn’t do something about it soon!!!

“You are a mess,” he heard Marinette saying.

“Like you were with Adrien?” he mumbled, still hiding his face in his shirt.

“I was probably worse, I couldn’t even talk to Adrien. But Kim – I want you to remember something.”

He felt her pulling the shirt back down from his face to reveal her looking at him somewhat more seriously than before.

“Max is your best friend,” she said. “Don’t let this crush on him change that. Yeah, you were embarrassed about falling off a treadmill in front of him, I would be the same with Adrien! But would you have been so embarrassed about it before you fell in love with Max? Or would you have not minded, since he’s your best friend and you know he won’t judge you for things like that?”

She was right. Or at least… kind of.

“I think it’s just when other people are around,” he admitted. “Not that I’m annoyed that you were here, or anything! It’s just… when I’m with him, and it’s just the two of us, it’s so comforting, and I don’t feel like an idiot. But when there are other people around, that’s when I get… kinda… self-conscious, I guess…”

He hated saying this kind of thing, being introspective, all of that stuff. But this was Marinette. He’d known her longer than anyone else, even longer than Max. If there was anyone he could tell absolutely anything, it was her. (Except for what happened in that lift, of course.)

“Fair enough,” she said. “Hey, are you going to give him a Cupid sticker on the Cupid Festival day?”

He looked at her sudden bright, excited smile. Everyone seemed so keen to get the two of them together. It was so nice to know how supportive people were.

“Probably,” he said, shrugging. “I’ll do something, at least. I have to tell him.”

“Yes, you so do! I’m sure it’ll go really well! I’m rooting for you!”

Kim gave the top of her hair a quick ruffle. “Thanks, Mari. You’re the best. Well, except at sports, because I’m the best, and I’m gonna prove it. What’s next?”

Marinette looked around. “We could go for the spinning cycles next, but don’t fall off this time!”

Kim laughed. “I won’t, I promise you!”

The two of them headed over to the other side of the room and continued their gym session, as a few more student began to trickle in now that it was slightly later in the morning.

14th February was not too far away now. Not far away at all. The month of February had already started, and time was running out to make preparations in order to ensure that Operation: Kimax would be a success. Alix had sort of been procrastinating on it. She knew she had to do it without Alya’s help, but who else to ask? Sure, she had other friends in the class, but still. It was pretty obvious that most of these “friends” found her a bit intimidating, despite her best efforts not to be.

Oh well, there wasn’t enough time left to wait any longer. She had to get going now.

“Mylène!” she called from the library entrance, waving, earning her glares and shushes from the rest of the students in here who were trying to work – at least until they saw that it was Pharaoh Alix, and they quickly looked back down without complaining further.

Mylène looked up and saw her, returning the wave along with a sweet smile. Thank goodness Mylène was nice and friendly. She would definitely help.

Alix went over and sat beside her, taking her pet snake off her neck and putting it down on the table to wander around freely. Mylène wasn’t afraid of it anymore, it was fine. “I need your help with something.”

“Of course!” Mylène said. “What is it?”

Now how to put this? Technically speaking, she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about Kim and Max both being stupidly head-over-heels for each other. She really hadn’t thought this through.

“I need to set someone up on the day of the Cupid Festival,” she said.

“Kim and Max?”

“Uhhh… maybe. Anyway, I don’t know what to do. I’m guessing they’ll go to that one fountain in the school grounds, you know the one, so I was thinking… I might decorate it or something? Is that a sufficiently romantic thing to do?”

“Sounds good to me!”

“Okay… so how do I do that? Put flower petals in it or something? I don’t even know where to get those from, I can’t just go picking them off flowers in the school grounds, or Mendeleiev’s gonna give me a detention…”

Mylène began writing something on a scrap of paper. “I have some ideas, but it’s going to involve getting help from some of the others too for things that aren’t my area of expertise.”

“I guess I’ll try,” Alix said, feeling her heart sinking at the prospect of having to talk to the others too. Hopefully those “diplomacy” lessons she’d been forced to attend when younger would help her now. “Oh, and by the way, how’s your kingdom doing? At the conferences in the holidays I heard there were landslides and stuff, so…”

“Not great,” Mylène said, still writing. “I wanted to stay back and help with the relief efforts, but my father told me I’d be better off at school. But things are improving.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“And thank you for asking. You and Ivan are the only ones who did.”

Really? Well… maybe most of the others didn’t know. Mylène’s kingdom was small and comparatively insignificant with many other countries.

“Here you go,” Mylène said, giving the piece of paper to Alix. “Some suggestions about who to go to for help with setting up these people who are probably Kim and Max.”

Alix looked down at the list.

-Rose and Juleka: which flowers/decorations to get -Chloé and Sabrina: nearby flower vendors -Nath: sketch out best arrangements -Ivan: tall enough to reach top of fountain -Nino: distract Kim and Max -Marinette: keep Aurore and Mireille in a good mood!

“Thanks,” she said, trying not to sound as annoyed as she felt about having to speak to all these people.

“Not a problem! Let me know if you need any more help.”

“I will.”

Alix picked up the snake and took the piece of paper with her as she left the library. Right. Rose and Juleka were first on the list – they would know what sort of flowers to use. Where would they be? Hmm, it was a Saturday morning, right? Rose worked in the gardens. She would be there. Maybe with Juleka, too. It didn’t matter, as long as one of them was around.

Sure enough, going into the school grounds, Alix spotted Rose and Juleka giggling and spilling bits of water over each other with their watering cans. It was cold out here, with their breaths swirling into mist, and the plants were mostly barren, but they didn’t care. Those two were the most romantic kids in the class. If anyone would be able to get Kim and Max together, it was those two. But then again, that wasn’t their job. It was Alix’s.

“Uh… hi,” she said, feeling awkward about interrupting them.

“Hi!” Rose said, smiling so very cheerfully at her. “What’s up?”

“I need your help with something. I’m decorating the fountain for my friends on the Cupid Festival and I don’t know which flowers and stuff to use.”

“Use black roses,” Juleka said. “They look cool. And they also symbolize death, which is even cooler.”

“Um…”

“No death? Okay, sorry. Use red roses then. They symbolize love.”

“Red roses,” Alix repeated, wishing she had a pen to write it down with. She turned to her snake. “You got that? Red roses.”

The snake nodded. Juleka stepped forwards and gave it a little stroke on the hood. “I hear this little guy won a lacrosse match in the holidays. That is so cool.”

“Actually, we lost the lacrosse match.”

“Even cooler. I want a lacrosse snake too now.”

“Carnations!” Rose said. “Those symbolize love too, which would be perfect for the Cupid Festival! Red and white carnations especially. I learnt that in my flower arrangement class back home once. Oh Juleka, I should take you there sometime, you’d love it!”

“Flowers are rad,” Juleka said.

“They are, they really are! Oh, and don’t forget red chrysanthemums. Those mean love too. Lots of flowers mean love!”

Love, sure… but what kind of love? This was why Alix always hated the Cupid Festival. Didn’t friendship count as love too? Because this was the one day of the year when apparently, it didn’t. Or was inferior to romance somehow. No one ever gave any value to the yellow friendship stickers – no, if it wasn’t a red, heart-shaped Cupid sticker then no one cared. As if friendship meant nothing.

“I don’t think they’ll care what the flowers mean as long as they look nice,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound bitter.

“In that case the roses and carnations would be the best,” Rose said. “And I’m not just suggesting the roses because of my name, I promise!”

“Thanks,” Alix said. “That’s all, I guess. Gotta go do some other stuff.”

“Already? Alright, well have fun! And I hope our suggestions were helpful!”

“Bye snake,” Juleka said, blowing a kiss at the little reptile.

Alix took another look at the piece of paper as she left those two alone to carry on flirting or whatever they were doing.

-Chloé and Sabrina: nearby flower vendors

Right, apparently these two would know exactly where to buy flowers. The market in the merchant square had grown so much over the past year (except for the quarantine period, of course) that it would be impossible for her to find what she was looking for quickly, especially since she never really went there and wouldn’t know her way around. At least Chloé and Sabrina, who were constantly shopping, would know where to get things from. And she had managed to make fairly good friends with Chloé while they were both protecting Adrien several months ago. It wouldn’t be too bad.

It took quite a while of searching and interrogating random passing nobles before she managed to track them down. Chloé was getting her hair done at the school saloon while Sabrina sat in the corner with a magazine.

“Hello, Your Majesty, would you like an appointment?” one of the staff members said as soon as she came in.

“No thanks,” Alix replied, feeling rather protective of her messy pink hair all of a sudden. “I just wanted to talk to Chloé.”

“Did I hear someone say my name?” Chloé called, turning around in her chair. “Alix! Lovely to see you! What are you doing here? Finally decided to turn that dreadful hair into something respectable?”

Ignoring that entirely, she said, “Where in the merchant square can I buy flowers?”

“Flowers? Oh, I know the best place! Why, were you thinking of giving some to someone during the Cupid Festival? Because no offence darling, but something like that would seem very fake coming from a person like you.”

“I’m not giving flowers to anyone, ew. This is for something else. So where do I get them?”

“I’m a little busy right now but Sabrina could show you on the map.”

“Cool, thanks.”

Alix went over to where Sabrina was sitting. She had already got a map of the school out of her bag and was opening it up.

“It’s here in the north-east quadrant of the merchant square,” Sabrina said, pointing at an area of the map. “You can’t miss it once you’re nearby. If you want flowers for the Cupid Festival, I would suggest going there the previous day so that they’re not out-of-stock. Don’t worry about reserving an order in advance – you’re the highest ranked student at this school, so they won’t refuse you service.”

“Thank you.”

“If I may ask – what do you need flowers for if you’re not going to give them to anyone?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Chloé said. “She’s making some sort of plan to help Kim and Max get together. You should have seen those two at the dance the other night. They’re certainly going to be a couple sooner or later.”

“I’m just gonna leave now,” Alix said quickly. How was everyone figuring it out? Maybe Kim and Max really were just that obvious. But then why didn’t they notice themselves?!

Anyway, the flowers could be ordered later once she was sure exactly how many she needed. Next up on the list: Prince Nathaniel.

Drat. She had never even spoken to him once in her life, she was sure. He went out of his way to avoid people. Would he even answer if she knocked on his door?

Well, she had to at least try. She left the saloon, went back to the dorms, then knocked on the door to his room. Surprisingly enough, he did open it.

“I need your help with something,” she said.

“Um.. okay… come in…”

He wasn’t even looking at her, he was looking at the snake and seeming slightly terrified. Was he afraid of snakes? So many people here seemed to be. In any case, she entered the room to see that it was even messier than her own, with scrunched up pieces of paper and piles of laundry everywhere.

“You know that fountain in the school grounds?” she said. “I have to decorate it for the Cupid Festival, don’t ask. The decorations are probably gonna be flowers and stuff. Mylène suggested I ask you to sketch out some possible arrangements, because I have no idea what I’m doing.”

He looked a little more at ease. “What kind of flowers?”

Alix tried to remember. “Red roses… white and red carnations… yeah, those.”

“Those flowers symbolize love. And that fountain is the one that Kim and Max always hang out at. So you’re trying to set them up.”

His voice was quiet, but his tone and words so matter-of-fact. He almost looked slightly smug.

“Whether that’s true or not is none of your business,” she said.

“So it’s true. Okay. I’ll sketch something.”

He opened up a sketchbook lying on the desk and grabbed a pencil out of many that were lying around, then he sat there and began drawing. It was honestly a marvel that he could see through his hair, considering it covered most of his face, but he really was a very good artist. Even the tiniest of lines, the quickest of sketches, managed to convey senses of details and shadows. Everyone always said that his kingdom produced the greatest artists and sculptors. But Alix had always assumed that was just a stereotype or something. Apparently in Nath’s case, it was actually true.

“You’re nervous,” he said, quiet as ever.

“What?”

“Nervous.” He was still drawing, not having even lifted his head to look at her. “Because if your friends get together, they might stop paying attention to you.”

It was like a sudden punch to the gut.

“I said it’s none of your business,” she snapped.

“Sorry, just an observation. Though for the record, I’m sure they wouldn’t stop hanging out with you just because they got together.”

For a few seconds she held her tongue, refusing to say anything, before her emotions were too strong and she gave way.

“What if they do?” she said.

“They wouldn’t. They care about you.”

Her fists were already clenched without her realizing. “Platonically. Which seems to matter to people less. And these days all they ever talk to me about is each other.”

“How does this look?” Nath said suddenly, holding up the sketchbook. There was a ring of roses around the top of the fountain, and the carnations were in bunches lower down.

“Looks nice,” Alix said.

“Good. I’ll colour it too, and then you can keep it for reference.”

“Thanks.”

“Anyway,” Nath continued, pulling a box of imported markers out of a drawer, “I get the feeling you’re worried about your friends abandoning you. I know what it’s like to not be good at making friends, or being a loner. But Kim and Max won’t abandon you.”

“How do you know that?”

“Just a gut feeling.”

Gut feelings were certainly not good enough to go on. Anyway, Nath didn’t even know anything about her. He was just some random kid in their class. None of this even mattered to him – he was probably just trying to amuse himself.

“Have a little faith in your friends,” he said. “They care about you. I can tell.”

“Why are you even talking to me about all this?”

He shrugged. “On the off-chance that I’m wrong, you’ll probably want a back-up friend to actually be there for you.”

“You… want to be my friend?”

Nath just nodded, carrying on the colouring.

“Jeez, and all this time I thought you were shy…”

“Being shy and being quiet isn’t the same thing. Though, uh, yeah. I am shy.” He lowered his head a little further towards the desk, practically hunched over his sketchbook.

“Well sure you can be my friend. But you’ve got to stop… you know… doing that thing.”

“What thing?”

How could she describe it? Somehow figuring out my inner thoughts and fears and talking about them as if they’re nothing?

“Stop acting like a therapist or something,” she said finally.

“Why? I want to help.”

“Well you can’t help, okay?! Just trust me. Cupid Festival is the worst. People are the worst. Once they get a significant other they throw everyone else away. I see it happen all the time, and I don’t want it to happen to me, because I can hardly ever make friends anyway and I can’t lose the ones I have. But I will! And I know I will! And I’ll be helping them do it, because they’re my friends, and I want them to be happy!”

“Not everyone’s like that though, you don’t know if–”

“But I do know!”

For quite a while now Alix had been refusing to think about the stupid, cursed, other timelines – especially since she was the only one of them still left at school, so it didn’t matter anyway. But now she just couldn’t help it.

“I know because it’s happened before,” she said. “Kind of. Other timelines. You know, that power thing Fu told me about, you must have heard about it by now. Because in the other timelines, in those stupid spring holidays last year, when Kim got together with m– uh, someone, he was such an obsessive hopeless romantic he didn’t care about anything or anyone else, just casting everything else aside like it didn’t even matter! And Max actually likes him back, so if they get together now they’ll just – no one else will matter to them–”

“Spring holidays, you say?” Nath’s tone hadn’t even changed at all. “That was a long time ago.”

“Less than a year, actually.”

“But so much has happened since then. Quarantine, the stuff with Adrien, Kim’s grandfather dying, all those things. If you’d have asked me last year during the spring holidays, I would have said that someone like Kim was not ready for a relationship. Even with Max. But now? He’s grown up a fair amount. Everything is different.”

Was that true? Was Kim more sensible now? And would that make a difference?

Well… maybe it would. Hopefully it would.

“So you think this time he’s going to be more sensible about things,” she said.

“Yes, exactly.”

“Okay. I’m… I’m gonna believe you. So you’d better not be wrong.”

Through his hair, she saw him smile. “I’m sure I won’t be.” Then he quickly sat up and tore the page out of the sketchbook, handing it to her. “Done!”

She took a look at it. How had he done something so detailed so fast? It really was very good.

“This is awesome,” she said. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’ll see you in class, I guess.”

“Yep. See you. Oh wait – one last thing! What happened in that lift?”

Seriously, did everyone know about the lift thing? And why did they care?

“I’m not telling you,” she said.

“Alright, but quick question. Was it anything stupid?”

“Surprisingly, no.”

Nath smiled again. “In that case, Kim definitely has grown up a lot since last year. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“Huh, I guess you’re right.” Alix couldn’t help but smile a little too. Nath was way smarter than she had realized. Maybe being so quiet had given him ample opportunity to observe everyone until he knew them all really well. Having him as a friend would probably actually be a good idea.

And best of all, he wasn’t afraid of her. The shyest, quietest classmate, the one who never spoke to anyone at all – and he wasn’t afraid of her. Thank goodness.

Leaving the room, she took another look at Mylène’s list.

-Ivan: tall enough to reach top of fountain -Nino: distract Kim and Max -Marinette: keep Aurore and Mireille in a good mood!

Right. Those three would have to be sorted out on the day before the Cupid Festival, 13th February, as well as actually going and buying the flowers. She still had a while. At least for today, she had done a good job. Phew! Operation: Kimax was going well.

#i can't believe i'm still going with this #miraculous ladybug #le chien kim #max kante #kimax #hmm who else is in this chapter #marinette dupain cheng #alix kubdel #and Emo McTomato makes his debut finally #nathaniel kurtzberg #royalty au #random stuff #the misadventures of prince kim #aish writes

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