FINALLY success had arisen on the planet Christophis. The generator had been demolished, the droid army had been taken down, and reinforcements had flown down now that it was safe. Ahsoka sulked away from Elia and Anakin, walking ahead of them.
"Anakin, I really think you owe Ahsoka an apology." Elia started softly, Anakin gave her a look as if to say are you kidding me? Ahsoka sat on a ledge, clearly sad.
"She's just so—"
"No, she's just as reckless as you were at her age. Don't deny it. I heard all about you when you were younger from Windu, you were a pain in the ass." Elia chuckled lightly, interrupting him.
"So you lied when you said you had heard all good things about me?" Anakin recalled their very first conversation.
"I've heard a lot about you, Anakin." Elia said to him, smirking mischievously. Anakin raised an eyebrow at her as he held out his hand for her to shake.
"All good things, I assume." Anakin replied back to her, Elia shook his large and firmly.
"Bold of you to assume." Elia quipped back, she could see him redden with anger from this as she followed Padme and Master Kenobi to the couches...
"No, you only assumed I meant all good things. Don't change the subject, my love." Elia smirked, giving his hand a squeeze. "Go talk to her." She pushed the man away. This was one of the many reasons Anakin loved Elia. She was always there to help him clean up whatever mess he had made. Anakin went Ahsoka, Elia went to Obi-Wan.
"I see they didn't tear each others throats out." Master Kenobi quipped, Elia laughed.
"At this rate, she's not just Anakin's Padawan, but also mine." Elia raised an eyebrow at the older man, who gave her a soft smile.
"Back in action, it is good to see you." Master Yoda spoke from below her.
" Thank you, Master Yoda. I'm glad to be back." Elia nodded to the Grand Jedi master.
"Master Obi-Wan. Master Yoda." Anakin now greeted the group, Ahsoka following in a happier mood. Elia caught her eye and gave her a friendly wink.
"Trouble, you have, with your new Padawan, I head." Yoda hummed, looking to Anakin then Ahsoka to confirm. "If not ready for a Padawan, you are, then perhaps, Elia, we can..." The green man began, Anakin stopped him.
"No, wait a minute. I admit Ahsoka is a little rough around the edges. But with a great deal of training and patience, she might amount to something." Anakin spoke about the Tano Padawan, Elia felt herself smile.
"Then go with you, she will, to the Teth system." Yoda explained, Anakin and Obi-Wan shared confused glances.
"Teth? That's Wild Space. The droid army isn't even in that sector." Anakin frowned, Elia moved forward.
"Jabba the Hutt's son was kidnapped. He contacted the Council for help from us." Elia went more into depth of the situation for them. "That's why I'm here, to go with." She added.
"They want us to rescue Jabba's son?"Anakin repeated in disbelief.
"We need the Hutt's allegiance to give us an advantage over Dooku." Obi-Wan told his Padawan, Elia shivered at the name of the Sith.
"But he's a war criminal." Anakin gave Obi-Wan a frustrated look.
"That's what I said." Elia told her husband.
"Negotiate the treaty with Jabba, Obi-Wan will." Yoda spoke. "Find the renegades that hold Jabba's son, your mission will be, Skywalker and Stormborn." He told the two Jedi Knights.
"Come on, Master. It doesn't sound that hard." Ahsoka said to Anakin. "I'll find Rex and get the troops organized." Then the Tano girl bounded away.
"Don't worry, Anakin. Just teach her everything I taught you and she'll turn out fine." Obi-Wan shrugged, Elia let a laugh slip from her lips.
"You got something to say, Stormborn?" Anakin quipped to the girl, giving her a playful glare.
"Not at all, Skywalker." Elia responded with the same demeanor. Obi-Wan watched the duo exit, and board a ship with Ahsoka. Hevy appeared at her side.
"You all right, General?" The clone asked Elia, the woman let out a content sigh, and smiled. Hevy had been checking up on her the last five months, the previous three had been hard for her without Anakin and Obi-Wan.
"Yes. I feel a lot better being around my friends again." Elia replied, Hevy gave her a nod.
Friend-zoning your own husband? That's cruel.
Anakin's voice entered her mind, the Stormborn girl shot him a mischievous glance.
The smaller ships boarded the mothership. Anakin, Elia, Ahsoka, and R2D2 waited for the arrival of the clones that had been spying on where Jabba's son was being hidden.
"Lieutenant, did the kidnappers see you?" Anakin approached the clone exiting the ship.
"No, sir. We're the best scouts in the regiment." He replied, his companion appearing beside him.
"And the bounty hunters? Are they still hanging around?" Elia chimed in.
"Don't think so. We haven't seen them in a while." The clone trooper said back, Anakin and Elia wore mirrored expressions of being in thought.
"Well, what are we up against?" Anakin questioned, crossing his arms over his chest. Though he was in thick, protective clothing, Elia could see the way his clothes clung to his biceps. The Skywalker man looked down upon her, catching her eyes briefly with a smug grin, Elia turned away quickly.
"Looks like at least two droid battalions protecting the monastery." The Lieutenant responded, taking out his hologram map. It showed said monastery. "It's heavily fortified, sir, you won't be able to land there." Anakin and Elia analyzed the map swiftly, before the clone put it back in his pocket.
"Good work, gentlemen. Get some rest." Elia bowed her head gratefully to the clones, they left on command. The sound of laughter echoed in the landing bay, Anakin and Elia followed it to a group of clones surrounding Ahsoka.
"That sounds like a lot, even for a Jedi." A clone spoke from the group, listening to Ahsoka tell her first mission to them.
"I heard you were surrounded by droids. How did you ever get that shield down?" Another questioned eagerly.
"Okay, so there's a wall behind General Skywalker and Stormborn with a hole in the middle. They were doing their cool "tag-team" strategy, and then I pulled the wall down on top of the droids, destroying them and saving saving the General's." Ahsoka said proudly, her arms animating the story. Elia watched in entertainment. The clones all laughed.
"Is that true?" Rex addressed the General's at the back of the group. Anakin raised a playful eyebrow before shrugging.
"Well, most of it." Anakin admitted with a sigh.
"No, all of it. The Padawan saved us." Elia corrected him, the clones sniggered.
"All right, men, we still got a job to do." Anakin signaled to clones, telling them to get back to work.
"Yes, sir. You heard the General, move it!" Rex ordered his crew, they left quickly. Anakin and Elia approached the young girl.
"Would this be a good time to teach you that a Jedi is humble, my young Padawan?" Anakin said to Ahsoka, she shrugged.
"Sorry, just trying to keep the boys inspired, is all." Ahsoka replied, smirking. "I'm heading to the cantina for food, I'm starving. You guys coming with?" The teenager asked her Jedi mentors.
"Actually, I was hoping to catch up with Anakin, if that's all right? I haven't seen him in a few months." Elia said back, giving her husband a smile, he nodded in agreement.
"Not a problem, Elia. See you guys later." Ahsoka waved them goodbye before leaving. Elia followed Anakin to his small room on the mothership. Once inside, Anakin pulled his wife in by the waist into a kiss. A much long overdue kiss.
"Someone missed me." Elia murmured into the kiss, she felt his lips tug up in a smile.
"I miss you every second I am not with you." Anakin breathed out. Elia laughed softly, her finger tracing the scar running down his face.
"Tell me." Elia whispered, pulling away to sit on his bed. Anakin took his place next to her, hand intertwined with hers.
"It was Count Dooku's apprentice, Ventress. She's an aggressive little bitch, but not the smartest and easily exhausted." Anakin told her, Elia took notes in her head in case she were to ever encounter this woman. "Ventress was supposed to be guarding Christophis, but fled almost immediately after she lost to Obi-Wan and I." Elia's husband flashed her a triumphant smile.
"I wish I could've been there. Master Windu has been a complete ass hole since our last mission. Everything is apparently my fault. "Yes, Master, I intentionally got the bones in my leg shattered, almost got Obi-Wan killed, and purposely got Anakin's arm chopped off"..." Elia huffed, finally getting it all off her chest. "It's like I made one mistake and suddenly he feels the need to look at me with that-that glint of disappointment in his eyes." The Stormborn girl finished, sighing. Anakin gave her hands a light squeeze.
"It's not your fault—"
"I know it's not, Ani. But when all he does is tell me it is..." Elia trailed off.
"You start to believe it." Anakin finished for her, Elia nodded. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you." He frowned, feel anger towards himself rise.
"Don't be sorry, my love. You were out saving our galaxy, someone's gotta do it." Elia cupped his face with her hands.
"I'm proud of you. I love you." Anakin told her softly, bringing their foreheads to rest on each others. The married couple stayed like that for a moment, not wanting the moment to end.
"And I love you." Elia murmured back to him, Anakin planted a kiss on her forehead. A knock came at Anakin's door, the couple removed themselves from each other reluctantly. Anakin went the door, revealing Ahsoka now.
"Rex says we have the perfect opportunity to go if we leave right now." The young girl told the Generals, her eyes looking between Elia on his bed and Anakin in the doorway.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go." Elia swiftly brushed past her husband and his Padawan in the door way, heading to the docking bay. They loaded up into ships, with clones to back them up. A message from Obi-Wan came through once in the air.
"All right, here's the story. Jabba has given us only one planetary rotation to get his son back home to Tatooine safe and sound."
"It won't take us that long, Master." Anakin replied with determination.
"Take extreme care. We have no idea who's holding Jabba's son. When I finish negotiations with him, I will join you."
"Thank you, Master Kenobi." Elia said to the man, before his hologram disappeared. "I have a bad feeling about this." She sighed, bowing her head to apply the hood of her dark brown robe.
"Don't worry, Elia." Ahsoka reassured the older woman, who gave the youngling a soft smile.
"Stay close to me, if you can." Anakin spoke to both girls, leaving Elia to roll her eyes whilst smiling.
"It won't be a problem, Master." Ahsoka replied to Anakin.
"This isn't practice, Ahsoka." Anakin warned her.
"I know, and I'll try not to get you killed." Both Ahsoka and Anakin shared a mischievous smirk. Elia beginning to think having them paired up was a bad idea. The ship shook violently, Anakin steadied his wife with a hidden arm around the small of her back.
"Sir, we've taken heavy blast fire!" The pilot shouted from the front.
"Close the blast shields, Lieutenant! Get us under those guns!" Anakin ordered, letting Elia go once she regained balance. The clones prepared to exit the ship, feeling it lower in altitude.
"Here we go." Ahsoka murmured. They landed and exited swiftly. Droids fired down upon them, their aim missing just about every shot. Elia and Ahsoka followed after Anakin, who was running up the hill to the base of the Monastery.
"So, this is where the fun begins." Elia spoke, locking eyes with Anakin. Ahsoka let out a quiet laugh.
"Race you two to the top." Anakin raised a playful eyebrow.
"I'll give you guys a head start." Ahsoka replied, starting to take out her ascension cable.
"Your mistake." Anakin jumped back as the clones began to attach themselves to their cables. Anakin started first, followed by Ahsoka, and Elia pulling up the rear. The blonde woman used one arm to pull herself up, and the other to defend herself from the blasts from above.
Droids came flying in on speeders, targeting Ahsoka who had jumped from her cable to the walker. She hung off the ledge, struggling to get back up. Elia leapt from her own rope to land on the walker, taking Ahsoka's hand and bringing the young Jedi learner to safety. Anakin came into view, attacking the four droids on speeders before taking off on one. The Skywalker man cast a glance behind him.
"Gotta keep up!" He shouted over his shoulder.
"Hey! Not fair." Ahsoka pouted.
"Get used to it, he never plays by the rules. Come on!" Elia said back, jumping onto a speeder, followed by Ahsoka. They sped past the clones and onto the platform where Anakin was surrounded by droids. Elia dropped from the speeder and landed next to her husband. "Don't worry, I'll just save myself and your Padawan." She quipped as Ahsoka hovered from above.
"I believe you told me you could protect yourself." Anakin said back, before falling in back to back with his wife to fight the droids. Ahsoka attacked from above, enjoying the higher ground above her Master and the General(haha get it... high ground...) . Elia spun her sword with a sharp gracefulness, until there were no more droids. The clones joined them shortly after.
"All clear, General." Rex told Anakin and Elia.
"Good work, Rex. Have some men look after the wounded." Elia nodded to the man in charge. She eyes the area around them. "That was too many droids for the kidnappers to be renegades." The Stormborn Jedi pointed out, Anakin nodded.
"I sense Count Dooku's hand in this. Let's find Jabba's son and get the hell outta here." Anakin agreed with Elia.
"No problem. The hard part's over." Ahsoka replied with confidence, Elia sighed.
"I wish you wouldn't say that." Anakin shook his head now, beginning to move forward.
"Will they ever stop arguing?" Hevy appeared at Elia's side, the woman scoffed.
"Probably not." Elia muttered, following Anakin. A heavy metal door opened for the group of Jedi and Clones, they entered with hesitation.
"I don't like this place. Gives me the creeps." Rex said from behind the trio.
"It looks like one of those B'omarr monk monasteries that I read about in my studies at the Temple." Ahsoka spun in a circle to observe the building. Elia enjoyed how observant the Tano girl was.
"Smugglers take these monasteries over, turn them into their own personal retreats." Anakin explained, using a flashlight to light their path.
"And the monks just let them?" Ahsoka questioned, frowning.
"Smugglers usually get what they want one way or another." Elia added in, she had not noticed Anakin stop in front of her and bumped into him.
"Good job." Anakin teased, leaning down to her ear. In the dark, Elia placed her lips on his cheek before the sound of metal clanking entered their ears. Anakin and Elia ignited their lightsabers in unison, Ahsoka was baffled by the was they were always so in sync.
"Good guy or bad guy, Master?" Ahsoka asked her Master, waiting for the go.
"Who are you?" Anakin asked, the tone of his voice changing from the soft tone that had just whispered in her ear, to a more demanding voice.
"Merely the humble caretaker, O mighty sir." The service droid moved forward, stopping when the tip of Elia's saber rested inches from his face. "You have liberated me from those awful battle bots. I am most thankful." Anakin put his saber away, but Elia did not. She held no trust with the robot.
"Where is the Hutt?" Elia asked, her voice strong and unmoving. Ahsoka was caught off guard by how intimidating the woman looked in this moment.
"The battle bots kept their prisoners on the detention level. I must warn you, it is very dangerous down there, my friends." The droid said to them in warning, Elia was skeptical of his words. "Not a place for a servant girl." He turned to Ahsoka, who's jaw dropped.
"Do servant girls carry these?" Ahsoka whipped out her lightsaber in anger. "I am a Jedi Knight." Anakin scoffed from beside her, using one hand to lower Elia's saber and the other for Ahsoka. "or soon will be." Ahsoka added grumpily. Elia lowered her weapon, but did not put it away like Ahsoka.
"A thousand apologies, young one." Ahsoka sulked past the service droid, Elia stalking behind her.
"Captain, we'll get the Hutt. Stay here and keep your eyes open." Anakin ordered before going after the two girls.
He understood Elia's reasoning for not letting her guard down. Ever since the fight with Dooku, her emotions had become more unpredictable and she had built walls up around herself. Only ever allowing Anakin and Padme in. Even Obi-Wan occasionally. Anakin could feel how tense his wife was.
"How do we know we aren't walking right into a trap?" Ahsoka asked the Generals, watching them move forward with little caution.
"Oh, we know it is a trap." Elia told the young girl, noticing two droids watching them in the dark. Anakin exchanged a glance with his wife.
"We just passed two more droids." Ahsoka pointed out again, her tone was of disbelief and confusion.
"I know." Anakin replied with a dull voice. The Skywalker apparently had some sort of plan that he didn't tell Elia of, the blonde woman just went with the flow. She trusted Anakin.
"Well, I don't like this. Can I just take care of them?" Ahsoka complained feeling anxious. Elia heard the sound of the droids marching behind them.
"Well, if you feel so strongly inclined to, knock yourself out." Anakin shrugged, not looking back at his Padawan. Ahsoka ignited her saber and took out the four droids that have been following them. "Not bad. You remembered to destroy their weapons first." The Jedi Knight told Ahsoka, a smirk gracing his lips. Elia noticed a droid hiding in the shadows behind Anakin, one Ahsoka had missed.
"I'm improving your technique." The Tano Padawan shrugged, smiling. Elia lifted her arm to pul the droid into her grasp. It's thin neck enclosed by her dainty hands. Anakin illuminated the hallway with his blue lightsaber and stabbed it through the droid.
"I think you missed one." Elia teased the girl, letting the now dead droid fall to the floor.
"I did that on purpose." Ahsoka tried, following Anakin to a large metal door.
"I sense our kidnapped Hutt is in here." Anakin announced to the two females. Elia and Ahsoka's noses scrunched up in disgust.
"I can smell him, too." Elia quipped as she pressed the button to open the door. The small Hutt slithered across the floor making some noise.
"He's a lot younger than I thought he'd be." Anakin looked down in disgust. Sooner or later he'd have to get over his dislike of children, because eventually Elia did want kids. Not anytime soon, but at some point in her lifetime.
"Oh, he's just a baby." Ahsoka cooed, bending down to look at the creature. Elia smiled at the interaction, perhaps one day when Anakin and Elia have kids, Ahsoka could be something of an Aunt or babysitter for them. Elia shook her head to disperse the thoughts. "This will make our job a lot easier. He's so cute." Ahsoka glanced up at Anakin.
"Just wait until you see what he'll grow into." Anakin muttered, a look crossed his face. Half hate, half disgust.
"General Skywalker, the castle is secure, and it's nearly midday." Rex's voice came through.
"Thanks, Rex. We've got Jabba's son. Any sign of General Kenobi yet?" Anakin replied, speaking to the device on his wrist.
"No, sir." Rex answered. Anakin put his wrist down to look back at Ahsoka and Elia sitting near the baby Hutt.
"Master, my Jedi training didn't prepare me for this. What are we gonna do?" Ahsoka looked up at her Master, waiting for his wise words.
"Well, since you think that smelly larva is cute, you're gonna carry it." The Skywalker Jedi told Ahsoka, the Hutt whining obnoxiously.
gracis notes: i swear to go it took me way too long to write this chapter i am so sorry i've just been mega busy