After meeting Rex at the hangar as planned, we take a ship to the coordinates Fives gave us. These coordinates happen to be in the lower levels of Coruscant. I've only had a few visits to these lower levels, and none have been pleasant trips. There's always something that goes horribly wrong. This is a trend I hope to break during this visit.
Upon reaching level 18, the location Fives gave us, we depart the comfort of our shuttle. I instantly have a bad feeling about what is to come, but I push it aside. I need to remain focused.
"Well, these are the coordinates Fives gave you. Let's hope he's inside." Anakin says.
"I hope he knows what he's doing." Rex sighs.
Nobody is giving Fives a fair chance. He's a good soldier and a good man and he deserves to be treated like it. Everyone just seems to be brushing him off as a crazy person.
"Stop doubting him. This is Fives we're talking about." I state.
We pass through the large, steel doors to enter the area he wishes to meet us in, knowing there's no turning back now. Inside are boxes and supplies among various other pieces of equipment. Given the strange items scattered throughout, I can assume it is a warehouse.
The space is seemingly massive, and to make matters worse, there is very little light inside. We're already tense enough without needing to worry about what is occurring within the surrounding shadows.
Anakin suddenly ignites his lightsaber, thus illuminating the area with its blue blade. This move would normally be seen as highly beneficial, but I know there's more to his choice.
"What are you doing?" I question, trying my hardest to determine what his ulterior motive could be.
"Relax, it's just so we can see where we're going." He replies.
Although he answers with confidence, I'm not sure I can believe his words. I want to believe him, but I need to be cautious with Fives's safety on the line. I don't want Anakin to make a rash decision.
We walk through the dark, led simply by the light of Anakin's blue blade. I begin to grow anxious about what has happened to my friend in the time that he has been missing, and decide there's only one way to progress from here.
"Fives?" I call. "We're here. It's only the three of us."
"Come on out. We just want to talk to you." Anakin adds.
I can feel his presence here, but I don't know where he is. He is, however, close enough for me to sense his emotions. He is anxious, and he is terrified.
"Generals." Fives's voice echoes from across the building. "Thank you. Thank you for trusting me. Now have you come without troops?"
I would never do anything to endanger Fives or anyone I love for that matter. If we brought other troopers with us, we would be endangering his life. Nothing could make me do that to him.
"Of course," I reply. "You can trust me, Fives, you know that."
Anakin and Rex stand defensively around me, as though they are trying to protect me from a threat. I don't know why they're doing this. Fives wouldn't try to hurt me, and if he did, I certainly wouldn't need protecting.
"Put down your weapons, then." Fives urges.
"I don't think so, Fives," Anakin replies.
Fives isn't the enemy, so I don't understand why they are acting like he is. If we put our weapons down and cooperate, things will go smoothly. I wish Anakin and Rex understood that.
"What are you doing?" I whisper-shout.
"I'm not going to let him hurt you!" Anakin replies.
"He's not going to hurt me!" I yell, matching my tone to his.
It isn't until after I say it that I realise how loud I was speaking. Fives would've heard me, which means he knows that Anakin and Rex no longer trust him. This isn't a burden he needs right now.
"Please, Sir!" Fives pleads. "Please, I'm unarmed."
Anakin deactivates his lightsaber and Rex takes a few steps away. It hurts my heart to know that it took this much begging for the two of them to trust Fives.
"Alright." Rex agrees. "I'm putting my pistols down."
Rex places his blasters on a surface nearby and backs away with his hands raised. Anakin and I, however, do not part with our lightsabers. I keep mine on me because I don't want anyone to use my weapon against Fives. Anakin, on the other hand, is keeping his for very different reasons.
"What are we here for, Fives?" Anakin calls to the distant trooper, not letting go of his hilt.
"I need your help." Fives says.
"I know you do. We know you're not well. It's been rough for you these past couple days." Anakin patronises.
The way Anakin is talking to Fives is no better than how the Masters were speaking of him earlier. No one is willing to give him a chance to explain himself. If we listen, even for the briefest moment, we could uncover information of immeasurable value to the lives of everyone within the Republic.
"I'm not crazy!" Fives shouts. "Please, please, just...just hear what I have to say."
I know what Anakin and Rex are doing now. They're trying to find him by making him talk. I disagree with the use of such a tactic, but there's no use in trying to talk them out of it. They are as stubborn as each other.
"Fives, I know that you brought us here for a reason. Please just come out." I urge, not wanting this game to continue any longer.
"Come with us. Let us take you back to the Temple." Anakin says.
Suddenly, a whirring appears above our heads. I remember this sound from Grievous's ship. Before I can react, the three of us are trapped within the confines of a white ray shield.
"No!" Anakin shouts, slamming his fist against the shield.
"I just need you to listen to me. Please." Fives says desperately as he appears from his hiding place.
His hair is shaven and his skin is pale. I can tell by the frantic look in his eyes that something is not quite right with him. The thing is, it is nothing at all like what happened to Tup. Whatever is happening to Fives is unrelated.
"I'm not really sure we have any other choice." Anakin whines.
This is turning into a very different situation than what I had hoped for. All I wanted was for us to come in, listen to what he had to say, and leave together. At this rate, I have no idea how this is going to end.
"I was framed because I know the truth...the truth about a plot, a massive deception." Fives explains.
Fives spoke of this plot through our transmission earlier, however, it was only brief. I remember his urgency regarding the inhibitor chips implanted in l clones, but he never fully explained what the issue is with them.
"By whom?" Rex asks.
"Well, there's a sinister plot in the works against the Jedi. I have proof of it! I can prove that everything I know is true beyond a shadow of doubt!" He yells, putting his soul behind every word.
I believe him but I know the others do not. If I can convince Fives to show us some of this evidence now, their minds will be changed.
"I trust you, Fives, but we need the evidence." I say.
He begins to point aggressively at his head, likely to reference these inhibitor chips.
"The evidence is in here. It's...it's in here. It's in all of us, every clone." He says, referring to something in his head.
"What is it?" Rex asks.
"Organic chips built into our genetic code to make us do whatever someone wants, even kill the Jedi," Fives explains, beginning to point at his head again. "It's all in here."
When everything happened with Tup, the only thing he could talk about was "killing the Jedi". He had no recollection of the things he had said or done and seemed to have no control over what he was doing. If these inhibitor chips do what Fives claims, it would make sense.
Rex and Anakin share an unimpressed look, one that neither dares to share with me.
"Let's just get you some help first. Then we can review everything. It'll be okay, Fives. We'll sort this out." Anakin says, his tone seeming ingenuine.
I hate how he is speaking to him. Anakin's acting as though Fives is a scared youngling instead of taking him seriously. It's wrong. After all the things we've been through together, I thought my husband would know him well enough to understand how he is feeling.
"You don't believe me!" Fives screams.
"Fives, we are listening to you. We only want to help." Rex says.
"How do I know you're not tricking me? How do I know it won't be a trap?" He cries.
Fives focuses his gaze on me rather than Anakin or Rex. This tells me he has accepted that they will not believe anything he says. The only person he truly trusts right now is me.
"I won't let anyone hurt you, Fives. You know that." I assure him.
"The Chancellor will try to kill me. I promise you that!" Fives says, raising his voice out of fear.
At the mention of the Chancellor, I know things are only going to get worse. Anakin has this strange thing where he will defend Chancellor Palpatine no matter what. I can guarantee this will be evident again now.
"The Chancellor?" Anakin questions.
"He's in on it! I don't know to what extent. But I know he orchestrated much of this. He told me in the medical bay!" Fives explains.
The Chancellor was like a father figure in my life until I began to question his honesty. While I can see through the act he puts on, my husband is completely blind to it. He won't like where this conversation is going.
"He told you? When you tried to assassinate him? You have gone too far, Fives. The Chancellor isn't capable of what you claim." Anakin defends.
"Stand down, Skywalker." I growl.
I have never truly been angry with Anakin until today. I understand that he is simply acting out of his loyalty to the Chancellor, but he is doing so at the cost of his loyalty to a friend.
"I swear to you, General. You have no idea–"
"Stand down, soldier." Another clone calls from a few metres away.
As he comes closer, I recognise him as Commander Fox. He and multiple other men from the Coruscant Guard are here. I don't know how they figured out his location, and there is certainly no way of getting them to leave now.
"Stand down! Get on your knees!" Fox orders.
"No! No! No! Stay back!" Fives pleads.
Fives turns his gaze to Rex's blasters. I know what thoughts are going through his head and I can't let him go through with this plan he has. If he touches that blaster, there is no coming back from it.
"Fives, no!" I urge.
He stops where he is and turns his head toward me. The terror in his eyes vanishes momentarily, leaving the kind eyes of the man I consider to be family. This is the man I have grown close to, and the one I must save from persecution.
Almost as quickly as it had disappeared, the fear on his face again becomes evident. He turns away from me and again reaches for the blaster. I'm stuck behind a ray shield, and there's nothing I can do to stop it.
"Don't do it! Don't do it, soldier!" Fox commands.
"Get away from me!" Fives screams.
Fives continues to reach for the nearby blaster, unsure of any other option he may have. I hear the deafening sound of another blaster before I see it. It's delivered from Fox, and the strike is heading straight for one of my closest friends.
Time seemingly slows as I watch the event unfold before me. With my Jedi reflexes, I should be able to save him. Even without my powers, I would happily push him out of the way and take the hit instead. The problem is, I am trapped behind a shield with no hope of escape.
The blast shoots Fives through the heart. He drops the blaster to the floor and begins panting aggressively, desperate to stay alive. My own heart stops beating momentarily as I fully comprehend the event.
This injury is fatal.
"NO!" I scream.
He collapses onto the ground, his body becoming weaker with each passing second. I begin whacking my hands against the ray shield, trying my hardest to break through it. My logical self knows there is no point in even trying to get through, but my emotional side simply will not give up. I have to get to him.
My heart is racing faster than I thought possible and my lungs are struggling to gain any air. I have never felt so heightened by my emotions before. I feel as though my body is destined to shut down.
"Fives!" I cry, continuing to hit the shield surrounding me.
Adrenaline begins to take over my entire body. The fear I'm feeling regarding the state of Fives is sending me over the edge. If I don't get out of here soon, my body will succumb to my emotions. I don't know what that will mean for me.
"Get this ray shield off!" Anakin orders.
Fox shoots the source of the shield, causing it to deactivate. As soon as it is down, I throw myself onto the ground beside Fives and place my trembling hands on his chest. I need to do something, anything, to save him.
I can feel his breaths starting to become quick and shallow. If we don't act quickly, we will lose him. I can't let that happen. He is one of the few people in the galaxy I cannot lose.
"Get a medic! Now!" I scream, urgency filling my voice.
Although he is incredibly weak, Fives manages to lift his right hand onto his chest. He places this hand over one of mine as it trembles with the fear of losing him.
"(Y/N)..." He says, gasping for air.
This is the first time I have ever heard him call me by my first name. His loyalty to his service meant there was only ever room for him to call me "General" or "Sir". Only now, in the darkest of moments, do I get to hear such a sentimental thing.
"Fives...." I reply, tears spilling from my face and landing on his armour.
"This... It's bigger than any of us, than anything I could have imagined. I never meant to...I only wanted to do my duty."
He moves his hand to my shoulder and tries his hardest to lift himself. I aid him in the process and hold him close to me in a hug. I close my eyes and savour the moment, knowing it will be our last.
As I hold him in my arms, flashbacks of some of our most memorable moments together come flooding into my mind. From our first time meeting after I fell out of the gunship on Geonosis, to him admitting that he knows about Anakin and I. We have had moments of triumph and moments of loss, but through it all, he has been my biggest support.
We have been inseparable during missions since the start of the Clone Wars, and I truly can't remember a time in my life without having him as a friend.
"Please don't leave me." I murmur, the flashbacks only making this harder.
I clutch onto one of his hands again and hold it as tightly as possible. I can't lose him. He needs to be here to see the end of the war. He needs to know that his sacrifices and the sacrifices of his brothers were not in vain.
"I'll... I'll always be...with you." Fives comforts.
His body starts to become limp and he falls back a little. My tear filled eyes meet his once again, and I see that they've lost any sign of fear. He is no longer afraid of what he was involved in and finally seems to be at peace.
"Fives." I croak.
"The mission...the nightmares...they're...finally...over."
His body falls back and his head turns to the side. I feel the life force leave his body as he dies in my arms.
"No. No. Fives, wake up. Please, don't give up. Fives! Stay with me!" I plead, shaking his body. "Fives! Fives! No..."
In that one, simple moment, my entire world collapsed. The small amount of light around me becomes consumed by the shadows, and the pain throbbing in my heart hits me in a wave of emotion.
He's gone and there's nothing I can do to change that.
The warmth of my best friend's presence in the Force is no longer existent. The entire galaxy just feels darker, for it has lost one of its brightest lights. There's no coming back from what just happened, and that is the sad truth I must accept.
I bury my head in his shoulder as the tears well in my eyes. I cry and cry until my body can no longer produce tears. My throat becomes dry, my head feels dizzy, and my body aches. My heart is overwhelmed by the most pained, agonising feeling I could possibly describe.
Suddenly, everything within a few metres of me starts to shake violently. Boxes topple over and pieces of the ceiling fall to the ground. The occurrence causes me to look around to make sure that the others are okay. That's when I notice that Fox and his men are gone, and Anakin and Rex look terrified.
"(Y/N), we have to go." Anakin urges, his face full of worry.
That's when I understand what's happening. The destruction of this place isn't random, it has a source. That source is me. My emotions are unstable, and that instability is moving to the Force in the external environment.
Unlike Anakin, I was never taught how to control the excessive power I was burdened with. Now that I'm in a state of grief, I have no idea what to do. It'd be hard enough with my own strength, but I just know I'm drawing off Anakin's power too.
"I... I can't." I stutter, feeling terrified of my own power. "I can't leave him."
Before I can argue, Anakin puts his arms around me and lifts me away from Fives. The action is not to comfort me, but to stop me from unintentionally bringing this place down on top of us. I hit at his arms and thrash uncontrollably, but he refuses to let go.
"Rex, get out of here!" Anakin orders.
I don't bother to look to see if Rex is gone, but I'm sure he is. No one would want to stay through this. I'm out of control.
Dozens of emotions run through me. Grief. Anger. Fury. Regret. Loss. It feels as though my heart has been physically torn from my chest. A man I have come to see as my own brother has died, and there was nothing I could do to save him.
"Why did he...Fox...how could he..." I stutter.
Admitting my defeat and my failure, I fall weakly into Anakin and cry. He gently lowers himself, and me, to the floor and holds me close to him while I sob into his chest.
While in the comfort of his embrace, the shaking of the world around me finally stops. My emotions on the outside are contained, but on the inside is still a war zone.
I just lost the closest person I had to a sibling when I should have been able to save him. If I had been stronger, I could have broken through the ray shield. I could have saved his life.
While remaining in the comfort of Anakin's embrace, I look again at the lifeless body of my friend. This is an image I will never forget, and I will always wear it as a reminder of my failure.
I need to be stronger to prevent the loss of anyone else I love.