Anakin and I land the ship by the Toydarian Palace with a loud thud. This is one of the few occasions in which we have landed on a planet without crashing. I dare say that is thanks to the addition of my piloting skills.
We group together near the door of the ship, prior to bursting into the darkness waiting for us.
"Now remember," Obi Wan starts, "Savage is dangerous. Don't do anything reckless."
"He's talking to you, Anakin." I add.
Teasing Anakin any chance I get is the only thing that keeps me sane during dangerous missions. I am not allowed to hug him upon reuniting with him. I am not allowed to hold hands with him when I feel uneasy. I am not allowed to kiss him before parting ways. This is a way for us to interact without seemingly breaking the rule against attachments.
"Some like diplomatic solutions. Personally, I prefer aggressive negotiations." He smirks.
Without wasting any more time, we sprint from the ship to the door of the castle. The sight we are greeted with is horrifying. Savage Opress is carrying an unconscious Katuunko– better known as the king of Toydaria.
"At last." Obi Wan announces.
We run forward to two lifts that will take us to Savage's position. Obi Wan takes the right one and Anakin and I share the left. It takes us to the same level as Savage, who immediately jumps to attack Obi Wan.
I jump onto a nearby lift and use it to launch my attack on Savage. We engage in a quick duel while Katuunko regains consciousness. Anakin and Obi Wan leap to my position, where we pile on top of Savage to keep him down.
Amidst the fighting, Katuunko begins to make his escape. I watch him as I do my best to help Anakin and Obi Wan detain Savage. He is strong. Far stronger than anyone else I've ever had the pleasure of fighting.
Savage unexpectedly elbows me in the face, knocking me off of the lift.
"(Y/N)!" I hear Anakin shout from above.
This is like Geonosis all over again. Only this time I lack the companionship of Fives.
I hit the ground below with a strong impact. The next thing I know, everything goes black.
My heavy eyes drift open and I am greeted with a splitting pain at the back of my head. I reach behind me to check for any sign of blood. I'm grateful when my hand returns clean. My left cheekbone is also throbbing from the collision of Savage's elbow with my face. I have no doubt there will be significant bruising.
As my eyes completely regain focus, I realise that I am no longer in the Palace of Toydaria. By the motion I am feeling, I believe I am on a ship. Only it isn't the Republic ship I arrived here on with Anakin and Obi Wan. I reach for my lightsaber that should be clipped to my belt. It isn't there.
I need to know what's going on, so I force myself out of the bunk I had been put in whilst unconscious. The pain in my head tells me to lay back down, but I need to know what's happening.
Just as I reach the doorway, I am greeted by Obi Wan.
"(Y/N), what are you doing up?" He asks. "You should be resting."
He guides me back to the bunk where I sit down. I won't be resting until I have answers.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" I ask.
He strokes his beard and looks off into the distance.
"Savage escaped. He destroyed our ship in the process and we were forced to borrow one from a couple of kind Toydarians." He explains.
"Escaped?" I gasp. "How is that possible?"
"As soon as you were knocked off the lift, Anakin neglected his mission and jumped to help you. Savage overpowered me very easily and knocked me down as well, only Anakin didn't care nearly as much about me." He says, still not meeting my eyes.
"And the King?" I ask, although I fear I know the answer.
He looks at the ground in disappointment. I already know the answer will not be good.
"The King is dead. Savage used the force to choke him once he overpowered me."
My heart sinks at this news. My inability to defend myself against an attack from Savage led to the death of the King of Toydaria.
I love how devoted Anakin is to me and I love that I am his priority, but it scares me at times. His judgement is constantly blinded by his love for me, as mine is by my love for him. The difference is, I can control my emotions a bit better than my husband. If pushed far enough, I fear the extent he may go to protect me.
"I am not going to make any accusations here regarding your personal feelings," Obi Wan starts "but I feel it is my duty to remind you that attachments are forbidden."
I flinch a little at these words. Every part of me wants to burst out with accusations surrounding his attachment to Duchess Satine, but I can't do that. It would be morally wrong.
"I know." I reply. "Anakin and I are co-generals and we've become good friends. His reaction to seeing me injured was simply the same as it would be if you or Ahsoka were in the same place."
My lie is incredibly flawed but it's the best I could come up with. I just hope Obi Wan trusts us enough to let it go.
"You're right." He sighs. "I apologise."
The fact that we're travelling in a ship is brought to the front of my mind again.
"Where are we going now?" I ask.
"To find Savage. Anakin has been flying around aimlessly for a long while now searching for Separatist reinforcements to lead us to him."
That explains why Anakin hasn't rushed in here yet. He's busy trying to find Savage so he can kill him.
"I should probably go see him." I say.
"You need rest, (Y/N)." He tries to stop me.
My entire body is aching, but I need to get over the pain. If we are to face Savage again, I will not let Anakin and Obi Wan fight him alone. I will be there alongside them.
"I don't need rest, Obi Wan. I'm fine." I lie.
He sighs but gives in to my request. Obi Wan guides me through the Toydarian ship until we reach the cockpit. Anakin senses me enter and quickly gets up from his chair. He walks over to me and places his hands on my shoulders. This is one of the few forms of physical contact we can get away with.
"(Y/N)." He smiles. "How do you feel? Are you alright? Is there anything I can do?"
I laugh a little at his response to seeing me. He is always asking questions regarding the safety and wellbeing of the people he loves.
"I feel fine. I am alright. And there's nothing you need to do." I reply to each of his questions.
"I hate to interrupt," Obi Wan starts, "but there seems to be a Separatist dreadnought up ahead."
I gaze out into the space before us. Sure enough, there is indeed a dreadnought.
"Savage must have fled there." I say.
Anakin sits back down in the pilot seat and proceeds toward the Separatists.
"Dooku sent his assassin to exact his revenge on the Toydarians. We'll make him pay for it." Anakin threatens.
"Anakin, need I remind you that revenge is not the Jedi way?" I say to my husband.
Anakin's face turns a shade of red and the usual kind glint of his eyes vanishes. He is angry.
"He murdered the King and he hurt you, (Y/N)!" He shouts.
I slightly tilt my head toward Obi Wan to hint for Anakin to shut up.
"She's right, Anakin." Obi Wan supports. "The goal is to apprehend Savage Opress. We do not need to give in to the anger we feel toward him."
Anakin doesn't say anything while he flies toward the docking bay of the Separatist ship. He lands us safely.
I walk to the ship's exit with Obi Wan where we wait for Anakin.
"If you're coming with us, you're going to need this." Obi Wan says.
He extends his hand to give me back my lightsaber.
"Thank you, Obi Wan." I respond.
Anakin enters the area just as I clip my lightsaber to my belt. His eyes trail from my lightsaber to my face. He's just figured out that I'm joining them on this mission.
"You're not coming." He says bluntly.
"Yeah, that's not you decision to make." I reply.
He opens his mouth to continue arguing but decides against it upon noticing the glare I am giving him. I love Anakin, I do, but I make my own decisions.
I open the hidden hatch on the floor of the ship and jump down to the ground below. Anakin and Obi Wan follow behind me, and we proceed to run to an automated door. Upon opening the door, we are greeted with three battle droids.
"Halt!" You are now pri–" One of them starts.
We each slice through a droid before continuing on our way.
It would normally take an extended period of time to find what we need in a ship this size. Today, we're in luck. The distinct sound of clashing lightsabers alerts us to their position. It wouldn't be more Jedi, so it must be Dooku and Savage.
The door before us opens, revealing the large figure of Savage with no sign of Count Dooku. He is holding a red double bladed lightsaber in his hands. His heavy breathing signals that our assumption of a duel was correct.
"We'll take him together." Obi Wan provides guidance.
"Got it." I say softly.
Savage grunts furiously as he storms toward us. We stand our ground with our lightsabers raised defensively but it is no match for the force push he musters. We are thrown out of the room and into the solid wall of the ship.
I swear the next person to push me into a wall is going to lose a limb.
We quickly regain our footing and engage in a lightsaber battle with Savage through the corridors of the ship. Even as a team of three, we are no match for the sheer power behind his strikes.
He leads us backwards until Anakin bumps into a battle droid. He grabs it and pushes it at Savage. This does nothing but fuel his rage.
The duel continues until we are led back to where we started. The hangar. This time, there are dozens of battle droids and droidekas already waiting for us. They begin to fire and we are forced to deflect rather than fight Savage. We take out a few droids before the reality of the situation hits me. They are not firing at us, but at Savage.
"Anakin! Obi Wan!" I call to gain their attention. "They're not firing at us."
"You're right. They're attacking that monster." Venom lines Anakin's voice as he utters the last word of his sentence.
Super battle droids enter the hangar. They and the already present droids surround Savage in a circle and fire from all directions. In a fit of rage, he unleashes a wave of force energy strong enough to knock down the droids and us.
Once again, my face is greeted by the hard ground.
Savage makes for his ship and wastes no time in getting away. Anakin helps me to my feet and we assess the situation at hand.
"You're not supposed to be here." A battle droid behind us points out.
Anakin slices through it, but not before the rest of them are alerted of our unwelcome presence.
"No sense in hanging around here." Anakin says.
"My thoughts exactly." Obi Wan agrees.
We hurry to the ship together. Anakin and I deflect the blaster fire while Obi Wan opens the hatch. He jumps inside.
"What'd you say we give these guys a little push?" Anakin smirks.
I quickly look up to the hatch. Obi Wan isn't actively watching.
I give Anakin a nod before we go back to back. We channel each other's power and push the droids all the way back into the walls behind them. If the walls didn't act as stoppers, I have no idea how far they would have gone.
"Not bad." I remark.
I jump through the hatch into the ship and Anakin follows.
We walk together to the cockpit, where a skeptical Obi Wan is waiting. Anakin quickly flies the ship out of the Separatist hangar and sets our course to Coruscant.
It looks like the Toydarians are never getting their ship back.
Once we are in hyperspace, Obi Wan strokes his beard, readying himself to speak.
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened there after I entered the ship." Obi Wan starts. "Before you play dumb, know that I saw droids get flown into the walls of the ship with more might than Savage's attack."
Anakin quickly gets out of the pilot seat and stands between Obi Wan and I.
"That's a great question that I am sure Anakin would love to answer." I reply.
Anakin widens his eyes in panic. I briefly look into his mind to see how badly he is going to mess this up. As predicted, he has nothing.
"Uh well, you know...I am the Chosen One." He stutters. "Yeah, I just used the uh...midichlorians."
Obi Wan's mouth opens as he furrows his eyebrows. The complete idiocy that came out of his mouth was too much for either of us. It probably would have been better to tell him the truth.
"The midichlorians?" Obi Wan repeats. "Anakin, have you any idea how absurd that sounded."
"It made sense to me." Anakin shrugs.
I begin to feel lightheaded again and collapse into Anakin, who is now standing beside me. He catches me before I can stumble to the ground. This is a good distraction from the previous conversation.
"Okay, time for you to rest." Anakin states.
"I think you're right." I agree.
"Did (Y/N) (Y/L/N) really just agree that she needs help?" Obi Wan says sarcastically.
"I never thought I'd see the day." Anakin teases.
Anakin guides me through the small ship to the bunk I was previously resting in. I lay down on the bunk as soon as I reach it. Anakin sits on a small space on it and calmly strokes the hair out of my face.
In the comfort of his touch, I drift off to sleep.