One Path Chapter 18--Even In Dreams
Title: Even In Dreams
Author: Lionchilde
Summary: I hope I don't need another rescue...
Rating: PG
Length: Around 2000 words
Category: Angst/Drama
Pairings/Charaters: Obidala
A/N: One Path Chapter 18. Anakin and Padme leave for Tatooine, set during an alternate AtoC.
Even in Dreams
Padme closed her eyes, inhaling deeply of the fragrant meadow. The sun was warm on her bare shoulders, and his head was in her lap. His eyes were closed, but she didn't think he was sleeping--not quite. Grinning mischievously, she plucked a flower and dangled it over his face, letting the petals touch just enough to tickle.
"You don't want to go ride a Shaak, do you?" he asked without opening his eyes.
"I should never have told you about that," she declared with an affectionate shake of her head.
"No, you really shouldn't have. I'll tease you forever," he replied.
She gave a deep, contented sigh. "The whole time I was here with Ani, I kept thinking of you. Wondering where you were, wishing…"
His eyes popped open, and he reached up to take her hand, suddenly serious. "I'm here now. And I'm not leaving. Ever."
"I know," she smiled, bending to kiss his lips. A moment later, she pulled back, giggling.
"What?" he asked with a puzzled look.
"Your beard tickles," she told him.
"Does it?" he broke into a grin. "I'm sorry."
"It's all right…" she started to say when a fat raindrop plunked down onto his forehead. Startled, she craned her neck to look up at the sky. "I don't believe it!"
He rolled over, scrambling to his feet. "That's always how it is," he said, grabbing her hands to pull her up with him. As he did, a torrential rain swept over them, drenching them in seconds. She caught sight of a landing platform nearby, where a young boy and a man in strange armor were boarding a ship.
"Padme, get in the ship!" Obi Wan ordered sharply. He broke away to run toward the platform, lightsaber suddenly in hand.
"What?" she looked around in confusion. "What ship? Obi Wan, what's going on?"
He didn't answer, and she stood watching in horror as he clashed with the armored man. They were punching and kicking, even throwing each other while she looked on, entirely unable to help him. Finally, he grabbed the man, who retaliated by engaging a rocket pack in the back of his armor, carrying them both up onto the hull of the ship.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the rain ended. The ship disappeared, and the air around them grew dry and red with volcanic heat. The stranger's armor changed too, becoming black and ominous. He moved with a menacing grace and wielded a red light saber, but beneath the black helmet she could still recognize him.
"Anakin!" she cried as blue and red lightsabers crackled against one another. "Anakin, stop! Please!"
"Run!" she heard, though Obi Wan hadn't spoken. "Run, Luke!"
"I'm not leaving you!" she insisted.
He turned to face her, shouting again, "Padme, get to the ship!" and the red blade struck--
"Ben!" she heard herself scream, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Anakin caught sight of her as the body vanished. He came toward her with a menacing stride, black cloak billowing behind him as he moved, but as he reached her, the lightsaber in his hand clicked off. He reached up casually to pull off the helmet and smiled.
"Don't worry, Padme. I'm here to rescue you. I am the Chosen One."
"You killed him, Anakin!" she screamed again, violently shaking her head. "You killed your father!"
"NO! No, Mom, no!" Padme heard as she came awake. She bolted upright, barely managing to stifle another scream, and raised her hands to her cheeks. As she touched them, she realized that she was crying. She was crying and she couldn't stop, the scalding tears continuing to pour down her face.
"I'm here now. And I'm not leaving. Ever."
She fell back against the pillow and pulled the blankets tighter around her. In the next room, she could still hear Anakin lost in his own nightmare and shuddered. Her hand slipped under the pillow for the comlink, and as her fingers curled around it, she tried again to stifle her sobs, longing for Obi Wan's arms around her the way they had been on the way back from Tatooine.
Anakin killed him. Anakin killed him because of me, she thought. But it was just a dream. It wasn't real.
She shook her head against the now tear stained pillow, listening to Anakin thrash and call out for Shmi. She had seen the way he looked at her, everyone had seen it. They would destroy themselves over her--both of them--and she couldn't let them.
I love you. Always have…
No, Mom, no!
I'm not leaving.
But he had.
I'm not leaving. Ever.
***
Obi Wan stepped out of the tower into the continuing gale. He glanced back once to make sure that Lama Su had left, then moved to the ship. Pulling his robe tighter, he said quietly, "Arfour."
The droid came awake at his voice, beeping a greeting.
"Arfour, relay this, scramble code five, to Courscant: care of the old folks home," he instructed.
Arfour beeped again, and whistled an affirmative. The transmitter disk emerged from the top of the fighter, and the Jedi took a moment to collect his thoughts. Masters Yoda and Windu were in Yoda's quarters and took the call there.
"Masters, I have successfully made contact with the Prime Minister of Kamino," Obi Wan began.
"Ah, good it is that your planet you have found," Yoda said.
"Right where your students predicted," Obi-Wan told the elder. "These Kaminoans are cloners--best in the galaxy I've been told, and from what I've seen, I don't doubt the claims. They are using a bounty hunter named Jango Fett to create a clone army."
"An army?" Windu questioned.
"For the Republic," explained Obi Wan He paused for a second, considering his words carefully. He knew without doubt that Jango Fett was responsible for the threat to Padme. He also realized that he could not explain that knowledge fully to Master Windu. Not yet. "What's more, I have a strong feeling that this bounty hunter is behind the plot to assassinate Senator Amidala," he said finally.
"Do you think these cloners are involved in that, as well?" inquired Windu.
"No, Master, there appears to be no motive," replied Obi Wan without hesitation.
"Do not assume anything, Obi-Wan," Yoda advised suddenly, his words ringing with layers of unspoken meaning as he continued. "Clear, your mind must be if you are to discover the real villain behind this plot."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said. "Prime Minister Lama Su has informed me that the first battalion of clone troopers are ready for delivery. He also wanted me to remind you that if we require more--and they've another million well on the way to completion--it will take more time to grow them."
"A million clone warriors?" Windu asked incredulously.
"Yes, Master. They say Master Sifo-Dyas placed the order for the clone army almost ten years ago. I was under the impression he was killed before that. Did the Council ever authorize the creation of a clone army?"
"No," Mace answered without hesitation, and without even looking to Yoda. "Whoever placed that order did not have the authorization of the Jedi Council."
"Then how? And why?" asked Obi Wan.
"The mystery deepens," Windu said. "And it is one that needs unraveling, for more reasons than the safety of Senator Amidala."
"The clones are impressive, Master," Obi-Wan told him. "They have been created and trained for one purpose alone."
"Into custody, take this Jango Fett," Yoda instructed. "Bring him here. Question him, we will."
"Yes, Master. I will report back when I have him," Obi Wan said, glancing at Arfour to indicate an end to the transmission.
***
She found Anakin on the east balcony at sunrise, so deep in his morning meditations that he seemed not to notice her. He was utterly still, but there was an air of intensity around him, a palpable energy. Padme could almost feel it crackle through the air between them. The echo of lightsabers sounded in her ears and she took a breath, turning away.
"Don't go," he called.
"I don't want to disturb you," she said nervously.
"Your presence is soothing," he told her.
Padme paused, then looked at him again. She hadn't lied when she told him that she still cared. He may not have been the boy she knew, but he was still her friend, and obviously in need. It was silly to let a dream frighten her, silly to let a manifestation of private fears keep her from helping him. That was all it had been, she decided. She was afraid for Obi Wan, afraid of what a relationship with her would do to him, and Anakin had become her mind's incarnation of those fears. He was a Jedi; Obi Wan was his teacher and friend. They loved one another too deeply for petty jealousy to destroy their bond. She walked up to him, waiting for him to open his eyes.
"You had a nightmare again last night," she said when he did.
"Jedi don't have nightmares," he insisted.
"I heard you," she said flatly.
"I saw my mother," he admitted, lowering his gaze. "I saw her as clearly as I see you now. She is suffering, Padme. They're killing her! She is in pain!"
"Who?" she asked, putting a hesitant hand on his shoulder.
He didn't answer the question, but turned to her with a look of both determination and regret. "I know I'm disobeying my mandate to protect you. I know I will be punished and possibly thrown out of the Jedi Order, but I have to go."
"Go?" she asked, confused.
"I have to help her! I'm sorry, Padme, I don't have a choice," he apologized.
"Of course you don't. Not if your mother is in trouble," she nodded in understanding. If it had been her family--her parents, or Sola, or her nieces, she knew that nothing could have kept her here.
He nodded appreciatively.
"I'll go with you," she decided impulsively.
His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to protest. With a disarming smile, she ended his objections before they started. She didn't really know if it would help keep him out of trouble or not, but she understood his commitment to his family. As far as she was concerned, that commitment was every bit as important as the one he had made to the Jedi Order.
"That way, you can continue to protect me," she said. "And you won't be disobeying your mandate."
"I don't think this is what the Jedi Council had in mind. I fear that I'm walking into danger, and to take you with me--"
"Walking into danger," Padme cut him off laughing. "A place I've never been before."
He stared at her in disbelief. "What about Master Obi Wan?" he asked.
"Well, I guess we won't tell him, will we?" she replied. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she knew that they had been a mistake. She had only meant that, knowing his attitude toward duty and the fact that he had distinctly ordered Anakin to stay on Naboo, there was no way that she would be able to convince Obi Wan not to discipline him. The Jedi were his family; he wouldn't understand the attachment that Anakin still had to his mother. She might be able to soften the punishment if Obi Wan discovered that they'd done this, but she certainly couldn't stop it, and so it would be best if he simply never found out. Anakin, though, began to look at her with rekindled hope.
"I guess I'd better change my clothes," she remarked, keeping her tone casual.
He nodded again, then added sincerely, "Thank you, Padme."
"You're welcome," she said, then quickly walked back to her room.
As soon as the door was closed behind her, she dashed for the bed, shoving her hand back under the pillow to take out the comlink. She stared down at it for a long moment, wondering just how far the little transmitter's range extended. Then she drew in a breath and let it out again.
"I hope I'm not going to need another rescue," she murmured.
Author: Lionchilde
Summary: I hope I don't need another rescue...
Rating: PG
Length: Around 2000 words
Category: Angst/Drama
Pairings/Charaters: Obidala
A/N: One Path Chapter 18. Anakin and Padme leave for Tatooine, set during an alternate AtoC.
Even in Dreams
Padme closed her eyes, inhaling deeply of the fragrant meadow. The sun was warm on her bare shoulders, and his head was in her lap. His eyes were closed, but she didn't think he was sleeping--not quite. Grinning mischievously, she plucked a flower and dangled it over his face, letting the petals touch just enough to tickle.
"You don't want to go ride a Shaak, do you?" he asked without opening his eyes.
"I should never have told you about that," she declared with an affectionate shake of her head.
"No, you really shouldn't have. I'll tease you forever," he replied.
She gave a deep, contented sigh. "The whole time I was here with Ani, I kept thinking of you. Wondering where you were, wishing…"
His eyes popped open, and he reached up to take her hand, suddenly serious. "I'm here now. And I'm not leaving. Ever."
"I know," she smiled, bending to kiss his lips. A moment later, she pulled back, giggling.
"What?" he asked with a puzzled look.
"Your beard tickles," she told him.
"Does it?" he broke into a grin. "I'm sorry."
"It's all right…" she started to say when a fat raindrop plunked down onto his forehead. Startled, she craned her neck to look up at the sky. "I don't believe it!"
He rolled over, scrambling to his feet. "That's always how it is," he said, grabbing her hands to pull her up with him. As he did, a torrential rain swept over them, drenching them in seconds. She caught sight of a landing platform nearby, where a young boy and a man in strange armor were boarding a ship.
"Padme, get in the ship!" Obi Wan ordered sharply. He broke away to run toward the platform, lightsaber suddenly in hand.
"What?" she looked around in confusion. "What ship? Obi Wan, what's going on?"
He didn't answer, and she stood watching in horror as he clashed with the armored man. They were punching and kicking, even throwing each other while she looked on, entirely unable to help him. Finally, he grabbed the man, who retaliated by engaging a rocket pack in the back of his armor, carrying them both up onto the hull of the ship.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the rain ended. The ship disappeared, and the air around them grew dry and red with volcanic heat. The stranger's armor changed too, becoming black and ominous. He moved with a menacing grace and wielded a red light saber, but beneath the black helmet she could still recognize him.
"Anakin!" she cried as blue and red lightsabers crackled against one another. "Anakin, stop! Please!"
"Run!" she heard, though Obi Wan hadn't spoken. "Run, Luke!"
"I'm not leaving you!" she insisted.
He turned to face her, shouting again, "Padme, get to the ship!" and the red blade struck--
"Ben!" she heard herself scream, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Anakin caught sight of her as the body vanished. He came toward her with a menacing stride, black cloak billowing behind him as he moved, but as he reached her, the lightsaber in his hand clicked off. He reached up casually to pull off the helmet and smiled.
"Don't worry, Padme. I'm here to rescue you. I am the Chosen One."
"You killed him, Anakin!" she screamed again, violently shaking her head. "You killed your father!"
"NO! No, Mom, no!" Padme heard as she came awake. She bolted upright, barely managing to stifle another scream, and raised her hands to her cheeks. As she touched them, she realized that she was crying. She was crying and she couldn't stop, the scalding tears continuing to pour down her face.
"I'm here now. And I'm not leaving. Ever."
She fell back against the pillow and pulled the blankets tighter around her. In the next room, she could still hear Anakin lost in his own nightmare and shuddered. Her hand slipped under the pillow for the comlink, and as her fingers curled around it, she tried again to stifle her sobs, longing for Obi Wan's arms around her the way they had been on the way back from Tatooine.
Anakin killed him. Anakin killed him because of me, she thought. But it was just a dream. It wasn't real.
She shook her head against the now tear stained pillow, listening to Anakin thrash and call out for Shmi. She had seen the way he looked at her, everyone had seen it. They would destroy themselves over her--both of them--and she couldn't let them.
I love you. Always have…
No, Mom, no!
I'm not leaving.
But he had.
I'm not leaving. Ever.
***
Obi Wan stepped out of the tower into the continuing gale. He glanced back once to make sure that Lama Su had left, then moved to the ship. Pulling his robe tighter, he said quietly, "Arfour."
The droid came awake at his voice, beeping a greeting.
"Arfour, relay this, scramble code five, to Courscant: care of the old folks home," he instructed.
Arfour beeped again, and whistled an affirmative. The transmitter disk emerged from the top of the fighter, and the Jedi took a moment to collect his thoughts. Masters Yoda and Windu were in Yoda's quarters and took the call there.
"Masters, I have successfully made contact with the Prime Minister of Kamino," Obi Wan began.
"Ah, good it is that your planet you have found," Yoda said.
"Right where your students predicted," Obi-Wan told the elder. "These Kaminoans are cloners--best in the galaxy I've been told, and from what I've seen, I don't doubt the claims. They are using a bounty hunter named Jango Fett to create a clone army."
"An army?" Windu questioned.
"For the Republic," explained Obi Wan He paused for a second, considering his words carefully. He knew without doubt that Jango Fett was responsible for the threat to Padme. He also realized that he could not explain that knowledge fully to Master Windu. Not yet. "What's more, I have a strong feeling that this bounty hunter is behind the plot to assassinate Senator Amidala," he said finally.
"Do you think these cloners are involved in that, as well?" inquired Windu.
"No, Master, there appears to be no motive," replied Obi Wan without hesitation.
"Do not assume anything, Obi-Wan," Yoda advised suddenly, his words ringing with layers of unspoken meaning as he continued. "Clear, your mind must be if you are to discover the real villain behind this plot."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said. "Prime Minister Lama Su has informed me that the first battalion of clone troopers are ready for delivery. He also wanted me to remind you that if we require more--and they've another million well on the way to completion--it will take more time to grow them."
"A million clone warriors?" Windu asked incredulously.
"Yes, Master. They say Master Sifo-Dyas placed the order for the clone army almost ten years ago. I was under the impression he was killed before that. Did the Council ever authorize the creation of a clone army?"
"No," Mace answered without hesitation, and without even looking to Yoda. "Whoever placed that order did not have the authorization of the Jedi Council."
"Then how? And why?" asked Obi Wan.
"The mystery deepens," Windu said. "And it is one that needs unraveling, for more reasons than the safety of Senator Amidala."
"The clones are impressive, Master," Obi-Wan told him. "They have been created and trained for one purpose alone."
"Into custody, take this Jango Fett," Yoda instructed. "Bring him here. Question him, we will."
"Yes, Master. I will report back when I have him," Obi Wan said, glancing at Arfour to indicate an end to the transmission.
***
She found Anakin on the east balcony at sunrise, so deep in his morning meditations that he seemed not to notice her. He was utterly still, but there was an air of intensity around him, a palpable energy. Padme could almost feel it crackle through the air between them. The echo of lightsabers sounded in her ears and she took a breath, turning away.
"Don't go," he called.
"I don't want to disturb you," she said nervously.
"Your presence is soothing," he told her.
Padme paused, then looked at him again. She hadn't lied when she told him that she still cared. He may not have been the boy she knew, but he was still her friend, and obviously in need. It was silly to let a dream frighten her, silly to let a manifestation of private fears keep her from helping him. That was all it had been, she decided. She was afraid for Obi Wan, afraid of what a relationship with her would do to him, and Anakin had become her mind's incarnation of those fears. He was a Jedi; Obi Wan was his teacher and friend. They loved one another too deeply for petty jealousy to destroy their bond. She walked up to him, waiting for him to open his eyes.
"You had a nightmare again last night," she said when he did.
"Jedi don't have nightmares," he insisted.
"I heard you," she said flatly.
"I saw my mother," he admitted, lowering his gaze. "I saw her as clearly as I see you now. She is suffering, Padme. They're killing her! She is in pain!"
"Who?" she asked, putting a hesitant hand on his shoulder.
He didn't answer the question, but turned to her with a look of both determination and regret. "I know I'm disobeying my mandate to protect you. I know I will be punished and possibly thrown out of the Jedi Order, but I have to go."
"Go?" she asked, confused.
"I have to help her! I'm sorry, Padme, I don't have a choice," he apologized.
"Of course you don't. Not if your mother is in trouble," she nodded in understanding. If it had been her family--her parents, or Sola, or her nieces, she knew that nothing could have kept her here.
He nodded appreciatively.
"I'll go with you," she decided impulsively.
His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to protest. With a disarming smile, she ended his objections before they started. She didn't really know if it would help keep him out of trouble or not, but she understood his commitment to his family. As far as she was concerned, that commitment was every bit as important as the one he had made to the Jedi Order.
"That way, you can continue to protect me," she said. "And you won't be disobeying your mandate."
"I don't think this is what the Jedi Council had in mind. I fear that I'm walking into danger, and to take you with me--"
"Walking into danger," Padme cut him off laughing. "A place I've never been before."
He stared at her in disbelief. "What about Master Obi Wan?" he asked.
"Well, I guess we won't tell him, will we?" she replied. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she knew that they had been a mistake. She had only meant that, knowing his attitude toward duty and the fact that he had distinctly ordered Anakin to stay on Naboo, there was no way that she would be able to convince Obi Wan not to discipline him. The Jedi were his family; he wouldn't understand the attachment that Anakin still had to his mother. She might be able to soften the punishment if Obi Wan discovered that they'd done this, but she certainly couldn't stop it, and so it would be best if he simply never found out. Anakin, though, began to look at her with rekindled hope.
"I guess I'd better change my clothes," she remarked, keeping her tone casual.
He nodded again, then added sincerely, "Thank you, Padme."
"You're welcome," she said, then quickly walked back to her room.
As soon as the door was closed behind her, she dashed for the bed, shoving her hand back under the pillow to take out the comlink. She stared down at it for a long moment, wondering just how far the little transmitter's range extended. Then she drew in a breath and let it out again.
"I hope I'm not going to need another rescue," she murmured.