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thefastestelementalmasteralive · 12 days

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procrastinating school work so let me talk about my starwars (Anakin) aus

There's that lion!Vader Au, if I named it I don't remember the name but basically, either Anakin doesn't tell Padme where he's going or she doesn't go to Mustafar. might actually have R2D2 with Padme as her bodyguard or Anakin just didn't want r2 to know what he did to the separatist leaders. anakin doesn't come back from Mustafar because when he leaves the planet, the force decides 'okay, enough atrocities for the next... two decades.' and transforms him into a lion and sends him to a green planet. Sidious finds him a year later and decides to just build a gladiator ring and throw him in there to execute the people he wants dead on television.

19 years later Luke, Leia, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Padme, Cody, and Rex all get captured and are sentenced to be executed as a group with some other non-important people. Anakin eats the non-important people and vaguely recognizes some but tries to kill Luke and Leia because he doesn't recognize them.

SITS au - sith in the senate au - me trying to explore my favorite arc (mortis) and what would have happened if Anakin left with the son (and the daughter) and the father let Ahsoka and Obi-wan go thirty minutes later but Anakin is nowhere in sight when they go back to the real world. this is also the au where the Tusken massacre is really addressed in this au, in others it didn't happen, obviously in lion!vader it did since it only changes in rots. i don't know if it's really a character study that I'm doing for this au but I'm actually writing an essay on Anakin for my writing class and I'm so using elements from this for that and from that for this.

(please- someone stop me from making Barriss run away from the Jedi and Anakin adopting Barriss after she ends up on Tatooine and Anakin gets over his initial feeling of 'YOU D:<')

14!au. i have no other name for it as of right now.

anakin gets found by Palpatine and Shimi (is that how you spell it? it doesn't look right) dies (i think) but surely its not you Pal Friendpatine's fault :0

Anyway, Palpatine finds Anakin at like... 5 and adopts him and brings him on his path to becoming chancellor and then the clone wars start at the Naboo blockade, Palpatine started cloning **early**. no, I have no idea how old Jango Fett is, why do you ask? anakin befriends some of the clones and takes an interest in politics because he thinks he can convince then senate to stop creating clones and just recruit normal civilians to the army.

this au is inspired by Hazbin Hotel song 'you didn't know' and some brave group of clones tries to plead their case to the senate, ankin watches in on it, nala se mentions the chips in the kaminoan rebuttal of clone rights and Anakin FREAKS. palpatine tries to calm him saying 'they are to control them, they're dangerous otherwise' and basically dooms himself. also, Anakin specifically has wings. see, I subscribe to the thinking of 'Anakin can shapeshift due to his unstable DNA' I read about in in a fanfic on a03 somewhere and despite me spending twenty minutes to try and find it using various tags, I could not. anakin leaves taking a majority of the coruscant guard with him and goes back to Tatooine and starts freeing a whole bunch of planets over the years. the meeting in the senate takes place when he is fourteen, the empire starts when he is seventeen. Anakin adopts Boba and Galen Marek. anakin and the freed outer rim either hide rebel bases or use their revolutions as distractions for the empire.

Retconned rebel Anakin Au. aka, Barriss is the same age as Anakin and befriends him and Ferus eventually befriends him, and Anakin is closer to those two and some others than Obi-wan and Ahsoka (who is Obi-wan's padawan) Barriss never bombs the temple, the empire rises but the original empire dies like a year into the reign and another emperor rises.... Emperor Obi-wan Kenobi and his daughter Ahsoka how are both overly attached to rebel leader Anakin Skywalker and are both trying to adopt him and turn him to their side... by kidnapping Anakin's family. (rexanidala). anakin adopts so many kids, most of them are force-sensitive and want to fight so he lets them reluctantly but those not young enough to choose or fight are sent to live with Rex, Padme, Luke, Leia, and their grandparents; Dooku and Plo.

Ventress and Anakin Swap au, sort of. anakin got nabbed from his mom by Dooku. Dooku never found Ventress, Obi-wan does instead. Obi does not train Ventress but they are friends forever after. ventress tries forcefully redeeming the seventeen-eighteen year old Sith lord and it only sort of works. he defects but really only after he finds out about the slavery in creating battle droids. Anakin isn't really a separatist general, he just has a specialized group of droids that he rebuilds after fights with Jedi. he never fights clones with droids.

after defecting Anakin plans with Ventress and decides to free the outer rim then take the former slaves that will join him and start up a third party to the war. inspired by 'blood oath' by the art of pleasing princes.

okay so for this next au, named Anakin Umakkar, The rain storm. sources are ADragonsFriend and @fialleril or fialleril on a03, and @clawedandcute or ClawedandCute (Adi_Fire) on a03. and songs this au is inspired by for this au is (and in order) Puppeteer, Done For, Hell is Forever, There are Other Ways, What Did I Miss? and Respectless.

Umakkar was a name I first read about in a book called 'Elder sisters' by ADragonsFriend. I first heard about Ekkreth in Fialleril's books. the concept of Anakin staying on Tatooine was inspired by ClawedandCute's book and au 'The Accidental Sith'

Anyway, Qui-gon and the queen's ship never stops on Tatooine, but the clone wars do not start early. a solid two months into the Clone Wars, it is revealed that Jabba the Hutt has been dead for a year, and Tatooine has freed itself from the huts. Senator Padme Amidala and Jedi Obi-wan Kenobi (and Padawan Ahsoka Tano) are sent to Tatooine to try to get Tatooine to align with the republic. now please listen to Puppeteer and Done For (no, Anakin does not turn any clones into pigs, just like any non-clone serving in the army ). once Obi-wan draws his lightsaber on Anakin, Anakin just swipes it away, unhurt, and has him and other... three (Cody, Padme, and Ahsoka)locked up until he decided to hear them out. (cue hell is forever, the last lines being, "the freed outer rim has found both the separatists and the republic to be the enemy" ya know due to their armies) then when it looks like Anakin is gonna do something to them to send a message to the republic, Obi-wan pleads with him and mentions the Sith Dooku mentioned and any evil smile on Anakin's face slips away into annoyance "Sidious, huh?" and in 'There are other ways' fashion tells obi-wan about Mortis and other wells in the force that might be better for the Jedi to focus at. when asked why he had that reaction to the 'Sidious' character, he implies that Sidious has reached out to him to join either side of the war, like once per side.

he sends Obi-Wan and the Clones that want to return on their way and a year later decides that enough is enough and heads to Coruscant under the pretense of negotiating. palpatine sets up a committee to welcome Tatooine to the republic only for 'respectless' to happen and Anakin starts arguing with Orn Free Taa, then Palpatine himself and once Palpatine leaves, turns to the Jedi in the room and says "yeah, you might want to look into that..." and leaves.

Detached Mortis god au: inspired by the ocean saga

switching up the timeline here, Rako Hardeen happens, the Wrong Jedi arc happens, *Then* mortis happens. Anakin is alone on Mortis, he decides to stay, Padme is pregnant, the empire rises, Padme survives and joins the rebellion, Ahsoka becomes Fulcrum. Obi-wan joins the rebellion to help train Luke and Leia. Luke, Leia, Han, Ezra and some others start on a mission, but it starts off rough. Ezra decides to pray to a Force Diety he or Ahsoka met once and the diety appears and decides to grant them safe passage to the actual start of the mission as long as they keep Ahsoka, who they meet up with later on the mission, safe. if they accept and fail, another god is going to have a really big problem with them. they accept and all goes well until the last day of the mission, everything falls apart and Ahsoka is separated from the group and captured. the gang decides they need to go back to base to think and plan. on their way back their ship is seemingly attacked but they cant tell by what, they crash land at base and get out of the ship, not the falcon, only to meet two dragon-like-creatures, and a portal opens and a very pissed Anakin steps out. he kidnaps a bunch of rebels and puts them in the world between worlds and tells them they only get their people back when Ahsoka is safe. Obi-Wan and Padme only make it to the hangar this goes down once Anakin has stepped back through the portal.

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sleepingsun501 · 1 year

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Same Heart, Same Blood

Character(s): Fives, Rex, Kix, Hevy's ghost

Summary: Fives' near-death experience after getting shot.

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Character death, near-death experience, talking to dead people, coma, organ transplantation mention. (Lmk if I missed anything)

Word Count: 2k

Ao3 link

A/N: This goes along with my work Set to Stun, so if you haven't read that, I highly recommend you do!! This is all based on a late-night headcanon discussion, my being sick, and very little editing, so I hope it's not too rough. I also apologize for any medical inaccuracies. But hey, Star Wars medicine! Special thank you to @rexxdjarin for talking me through the organ transplant HC, and to @writingbylee for letting me use her bacta HCs!! You're both awesome!!

Same Heart, Same Blood

He was floating, oddly disconnected from his body but still trapped within its confines. His hearing was irritatingly muffled, and he could not tell up from down or left from right anymore. He was simply there.

Through the cottony filter, he could hear what sounded like Rex, but he could not tell what he was saying. The brash voice of General Skywalker was there, too, but it was quickly fading, replaced by another brother’s voice.

“Six… minu… nee… mo… him… ow…” said the distorted voice. “ves… kno…in…ther… Fi… ang… on.”

He barely felt a pinch in his neck before an ethereal coolness enveloped him, taking him deeper into the welcoming darkness. He let himself drift, unable to do anything to stop it, and was content that he had done all he could.

***

Fives opened his eyes but saw nothing. The inky blackness was all-consuming, but it did not cause him any alarm. There was no need for panic. The deep dark space was calm, tranquil, and welcoming in an odd way. He was no longer in any pain, and there was no danger, no war, and nothing left to fight for. Peace at last.

Was this where death had brought him?

Before he was done registering the question, he saw a wisp of the most beautiful blue glide in a ribbony trail past his vision. Another quickly followed on his other side, splitting through the dark like hyperspace trails. More and more streaked across his line of sight from all around him, and he tracked their movement until he realized they were leading him away from wherever he was.

Fives took an automatic step, not realizing he had been standing on anything at all, and joined the swirling colors in their dance to wherever they were headed. He could not tell how long he walked, for there seemed to be no concept of time at all, but the wisps soon blended and faded into a warm, misty glow. He had no name for the color of the space, but he could see movement in the distance beyond—a figure drawing closer.

“Hello?” he asked. His voice sounded like his own, but it was also more like an echo in his head.

The figure took shape and became more solid the closer it got, and Fives wondered why his heart was not beating through his chest. He knew them—the tattoo on his jaw was unmistakable.

“Hello, Vod.”

“Hevy!” Fives breathed, reaching out for his long-dead brother.

Hevy’s semi-corporeal form reached back, locking a hand around Fives’ neck and bringing their foreheads together. “You did good, Vod, but it’s not your time yet.”

“What?” Fives asked, feeling like he should have been shedding enough tears to fill Kamino’s oceans. The wisps around them started moving faster, becoming brighter, until they were whiter than Fives’ could bear to look at directly. “You’re dead. So, am… am I?”

Hevy released him and gave him a gentle, familiar smile. “There are many things you still need to do.”

“Hevy, I-I don’t u-understand,” Fives stuttered, but the hand on the back of his neck gripped him more firmly.

“You will. Just listen for the echo.” Hevy removed his hand and suddenly began to fade into the bright wisps around them.

“Echo?” It was only then that Fives felt a surge of panic. Echo was dead. But why had Hevy come to him instead? “Hevy, wait! Where’s Echo?!”

Fives felt a hard tug behind his navel, pulling him into the bright light. “Where’s Echo?!” he kept calling. “Hevy!”

***

Beep… beep… beep…

It was a sharp, repetitive sound ringing in his ears every few moments. It was downright annoying. It was too bright now, pain shooting through his head.

Pain.

Once part of him had registered it, he became aware of it all at once. Every muscle, every limb, every inch of him down to his toes ached. He felt like he had been hit head-on by the Resolute jumping to lightspeed. His throat was dry, his lips hurt, his bones ached, and his lungs felt raw. He squeezed his eyes shut harder against the bright light, and even that hurt.

“…aking up,” said an urgent voice somewhere in the distance. “Contac… Rex…”

Fives groaned, realizing there was some kind of obstruction in his throat. He coughed against it, and it was quickly, albeit painfully, removed. As he slowly came around, blinking his crusty eyes furiously, he realized it was Kix hovering over him.

“Welcome back, brother,” Kix nearly laughed, smiling down at him. “Hang on, this will make you feel better.” He picked up a line and injected a generous amount of myobacta into it. “Thought we lost you there for a while, Vod.”

Fives tried to form the words he wanted to say, but he ended up in a hoarse coughing fit instead. Even as the bacta spread through his body, everything still ached.

“Easy, easy,” Kix soothed, elevating him into a reclined sitting position and adjusting the overhead light so it was not directly in Fives’ eyes. “You’ve been out for a few weeks, and you’ve got a new heart. It’s gonna take some time for you to fully recover. Just try to relax for me. I promise you’ll be all right.”

A new heart? Fives wondered. He lifted a weak hand to move the medical gown aside and looked down at his chest. There was a long, new scar over his sternum and a blotchy burn scar that was still sealed under a bacta patch on his left pec. No wonder everything hurts.

His thoughts were still disconnected and sluggish, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he had known since he was a shiny that the bodies of fallen brothers were often recovered after battles, and their organs were harvested and put into stasis in case another clone needed a replacement organ. It had always made him feel like the Kaminoans had done that purposefully, just to reinforce how expendable they were. He had tried to own it all the same, recalling telling the cadets on Kamino they all had the “same heart, same blood.” It was one of his more poetically symbolic moments, and he remembered Echo saying it would make a good tattoo.

Even though the dark truth was hard to admit, and it made him angry that such a thing as harvesting organs from fallen clones would be necessary, he also knew it had probably saved hundreds, maybe thousands, of other clones’ lives over the years—now including his own.

“Hey, you listening to me?” Kix asked.

Fives nodded weakly, thankful that Kix had moved the unforgivingly bright light. He had to wonder what had happened to him, though, to warrant receiving another brother’s heart. Kix’s bedside manner was also never this good unless someone had really been through hell, but he did not have long to dwell on the thought before the door burst open.

Rex came surging through the door as if he had sprinted the length of the Military Complex parade deck at full speed without stopping. He looked a little worse for wear, sporting an expression that was somewhere between elation and relief, and a new pale scar on the side of his head.

“Fives!” he all but laughed. “You’re awake!”

Fives nodded again. Why did everyone keep saying that? He had never fallen asleep that he could remember. He was with Hevy, and before that…

It all came flooding back in a rush. He remembered the plot, warning Rex and the general, picking up his pistol and screaming in a panic, aiming it at the red-clad Corries sent to take him away. He had been shot. Commander Fox had shot him directly in the heart. He remembered the searing, burning pain as his heart had ceased to exist in his chest, reduced to carbon and ash from the plasma.

“Fives? Hey, talk to me,” Rex said, placing a gloved hand on his shoulder.

“He needs to rest up a bit. Here, drink a little of this if you can,” Kix said, bringing a straw to Fives’ chapped lips. When Fives did as he was told and made a scrunchy, disgusted face at the bitter taste, Kix chuckled. “Yeah, that’s the reaction I expected. He’ll be fine, Captain.”

***

Hours later, Rex had still not left Fives’ side, explaining at length what had happened. They had figured it out after all.

“You made me and Kix dig further into your warning, and we found out the truth about the chips in our heads,” Rex explained, pointing to the healing scar just past his right temple. “We uncovered a whole plot by the chancellor to destroy the Jedi Order, and we would’ve been his tools if you hadn’t tipped us off. The Jedi managed to remove him from power, and he was promptly executed.”

Fives had slowly regained his voice, but he still sounded like he had been screaming over blaster fire on the battlefield for too long. “Still can’t believe I got shot,” he snickered hoarsely. “Can’t say I blame Fox for doing his job, though.”

Rex’s lips pressed into a tight line and twitched at the corners into a tense smile. “It wasn’t his fault, Fives. He doesn't remember doing it.”

“What do you mean?”

“That was Palpatine, too. He’d been manipulating Fox’s chip like a test dummy for years. It caused him to have memory blackouts. Cody found records of it in a journal Palpatine kept while they were sorting through the intel after he was executed,” Rex explained.

Fives grimaced. Even fresh out of a coma, his blood boiled because of all the injustices and inhumanities every clone had endured, all for Palpatine's war. They were human, and they deserved to be treated like humans from the beginning, given rights and choices—not manipulated like programmed droids. “That’s fucked up.”

The captain nodded, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his clasped hands. “Actually, Fox said he wants to come visit you—as long as it’s all right with you. Says he wants to apologize and hopes you can forgive him. He’s been pretty beaten up over it.”

“Nothing to forgive. He can come anytime and I’ll tell him myself,” Fives said with a genuine smile. He could not help the wave of grief that swept over him, though. None of this should have happened to any of them. “I just wanted to do my duty, what was right.” Fives’ said sorrowfully. His already hoarse voice cracked. “For Tup, too. He didn’t deserve to die the way he did.”

Rex nodded solemnly in agreement. ��But you saved us all, and Tup’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain. With Palpatine dead, peace talks have started all over the galaxy with fracturing Seppie worlds. The CIS is falling apart, but there are a few holdouts that keep fighting. I’m headed to Anaxes with Cody tomorrow. They are proving difficult to counter. It’s like they know our moves before we make them.”

Fives gave a cheeky smile, one that still showed all of the inner fire he still possessed. “I wish I could be there with you, sir.”

Rex squeezed Fives’ atrophied bicep reassuringly. “Don’t worry, there will be plenty of fights left for you once you’re better. Kix might actually skin me alive if I try to sneak you out.” He stood and gathered his bucket, chuckling with his vod before making for the door.

Tell him. Fives thought. He should know. “Rex?” he asked, causing the captain to pause. “I… I know this sounds crazy, but while I was out, I saw Hevy.”

“Your batchmate? The one who died on Rishi Station?”

“Yeah, him. He told me that it wasn’t my time yet, and… he told me to listen for the echo. That’s when I realized… wherever I was, wherever Hevy came from, Echo wasn’t there.”

Rex looked skeptical, furrowing his brow and eyeing Fives curiously. He had his suspicions about an afterlife, but after spending enough time around the Jedi, he had long decided nothing was too farfetched. “You think Echo may still be alive?”

“I don’t expect you to believe me. I’m not sure I entirely believe it myself,” Fives sighed, shaking his head. “But I just have a gut feeling, you know? Just do me a favor and… listen for him, I guess.”

The captain offered him a confident smirk and a nod. “I’ll keep my ears open.”

#arc trooper fives #captain rex #clone trooper hevy #clone medic kix #fives lives au #they love their brothers #mentioned:#darth sidious #sheev palpatine #commander fox #arc trooper echo #commander cody #the clones deserved better #star wars #the clones wars #star wars fanfic #the clone wars fanfic #no order 66

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yana125 · 4 months

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Help! I'm writing a fic for a fandom I like but only know about the certain series and game I'm writing about as a casual 'I know this and that because I watched scenes and read the wiki but have never seen all of the episodes/never played with the game' and I've written nine pages of very thought provoking dialogue in the past two days so far that probably wouldn't slide well with the fandom because it contradicts many things in the established canon but I don't care because the cycle of nature doesn't have a good and evil side, Carl, the cycle of nature just cycles, don't blame nature when the people are the ones who use it for good or bad because they were never taught HOW to properly use it and how to deal with emotions in a HEALTHY way, and I abso-fucking-lutely LOVE writing this!!!!!! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

#will this post show up in the main tags if I write the fandom and characters inside a long ramble of tag or not?#let's tempt fate! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻#I'm watching sw the old republic gameplays and you can say I became obsessed with darth marr and lana #because they are sith but they are not like the sith I'm used to like sidious or maul and I'm intrigued to say the least #then there's ezra and I know I never got to finish rebels and I'm still at the clone wars season 3 with my chorological rewatch #but I know a huge part of his story was his temtation by the dark side and maul and the whole 'ohmygod ezra will be a sith when he returns!#then there was the post I reblogged the other day about the light and dark side of the force #and that the force is not good or bad it's just a force of nature and it's a part of everyone and everything #and that yin and yang are not about good and evil it's just opposite things that are in balance #and the daughter is called the winged goddess in legends and morai is a little owl sitting on her shoulder on the painting and #is connected to ahsoka #and the son is called the fanged god in legends and he had loth-wolves by his feet on the earlier mentioned painting #and they are connected to ezra #and there's this whole theory that if anakin takes the father's place to keep the balance in the force and if ahsoka takes the place of the #daughter as the representation of the light side then ezra may take the place of the son as the representation of the dark side #but the thing is that doesn't have to mean that he becomes evil or something!#on the contrary!#and my mind just went 'BANG! I need to write this!!!'#so I am writing it :D #please don't show up in the main tags :'D

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xinambercladx · 1 year

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"Figment" Ch1: Credits and Copper

Rating: T Characters: Cad Bane, Darth Sidious, Darth Maul (mentioned). Summary: Cad Bane waits for a Sith Lord's holocall, and a possible job. Little does he know the rabbit hole it will send him down. -------------------------------------------------------------- The promise of fame and fortune often leads to infamy and misfortune.

22 BBY

First year of the Clone Wars.

It was a living night on the cold streets of Coruscant. The central hub of the galaxy creaked from the rust and the rot, greased by blood and sweat of the lower classes to churn the cream of society to the top. And down, down below the underbelly growled from hunger and greed and bloodlust and ambition. The city dwellers who had dreams of leaving never left, and those that did always returned. The hum of neon signs and whistling air speeders was a sick tune of narcissism playing nursery rhymes with hope. The sky of stars was choked out by the air pollution and lights of the city, and those that dared to look up only saw the crushing thousand levels of concrete and durasteel above ever looming.

Cad Bane stared out the window, rolling a toothpick in his mouth. From the darkly lit room he stared out to the neon lit city, the underbelly of Corucant. Speeders zipped by pedestrians. Between him and the next skyscraper was undoubtedly an endless chasm reaching down to the 500 level, only crossable by bridge. He wasn’t in the most depraved levels of the city-wide planet, but not in a nice level either. The Hole was a seedy hotel that rented out an apartment to him whenever he visited the planet. The Hole was a favorite of bounty hunters for its discretion, and was a carefully guarded secret among them for that very reason, as they themselves often bounties on their own heads. The walls were stained, but thankfully free of mold and mildew. He stayed here because amenities were available for cooking if needed, washing if needed, a bed for sleeping, if he could fall asleep at all. There was even a computer with full access to the holonet and holoprojector to boot. The projector had ceased communication with a client with a potential assignment, much to his chagrin. The mysterious client had somehow gotten his direct line of communication some months before and had sent him to kill Jedi, secure bases of operations like Bilbringi Depo once belonging to a Hutt. Killing a Hutt was an offense that would have put an even larger bounty on his head than Bane already had. The client had asked for no evidence left behind, for which he was somewhat thankful for not bringing more heat to himself, but also rued the fact his reputation wouldn’t grow from boasting about it.

“Bilbringi Depot is secured,” Bane said when the job was completed. He brushed off his hat from the short lived skirmish. His battle droids loaded into his ship, theSleight of Hand.

“You have done well, Bounty Hunter. I trust you left no evidence of your work,” the hooded man said, hands oddly hovering in front of him as if ready to grasp the air.

“I never leave a mess unless I’m paid to leave a mess. I’m a professional,” Bane assured, giving the Durosian equivalent to a wink.

The hooded man had seemed pleased, a wry grin curling over not quite perfect, human teeth. “Payment has been transferred to your account. I shall contact you when I next require your services.”

Bane had begun to make clients jump through several hoops little more than ten years ago. A new client, who went by the simple name “Maul”, had hired him to help kidnap a Jedi Padawan from an auction house on Nar Shadaa, another city planet with a less admirable reputation. Bane, Aurra Sing, and their teammate were hired for little more than being patsies, a distraction as this Maul snuck a peek at the asset. They all ended up being hunted by the very auctioneers their were steeling the Padawan from and in the end the job was barely worth saving the Zabrak’s hide, with the Jedi nowhere to be seen. “The Jedi has met her fate,” was all Maul uttered on the matter as they flew away from Nal Hutta’s moon.Dead, Bane assumed. Maul paid Bane’s crew their fees. Bane decided if he had to jump through hoops to get paid, his services were worth more and worth protecting from nonsensical clients. Clients now had to be referred by previous clients. Perhaps more hoops were needed.

Normally Bane didn’t care who the client was as long as he got paid. This hooded client had proven to be a lucrative one, with tasks of particularly tricky goals. He had to admit, they were rather fun. When this Darth Sidious contacted him again as promised Bane couldn’t help but be curious what the job would entail next. Before the hooded man could begin explaining, he said, “Just a moment” and the feed was cut short. Bane scoffed, his curiosity left hanging. A title like Darth meant he was a Sith Lord. The Jedi were obsessed with finding Dooku and his dark partner. Here Bane was simply minding his own business and the Sith had contacted him for help. He wondered what the job was. There was a familiarfeelto this man. It was a lurking sense of danger that got under the skin. Cad Bane lazily walked to the window. He adjusted the wide brimmed hat he was still wearing after returning. He leaned on the sill, staring off into the distance, waiting.

Bane fiddled with the toothpick, cleaning a bit of sinew that had gotten stuck between his fang and side incisor. The nerf kebabs had hit the spot. The meat had been perfectly grilled and drenched in a delicious, peppery sauce. He had gotten it in celebration of job he had completed not six hours ago. The Bengal Barbecue kiosk had opened recently and quickly developed a fan following. There had been a massive line, sometimes trailing around the street corner most days of the week. He had wanted to try it after smelling the sizzling meat stand several times on previous visits, but never had the time to wait in line. The comfortable weight in his stomach sac confirmed it was well worth it. Bane could see the stand across the street. The line was gone as the kiosk closed for the night. The lights flicked off and the Weequay pit master walked home. Bane silently wished the entrepreneur success. He liked the kebabs, and fully intended on giving the Weequay more of his credits.

Soon the pit master was lost in the distance and passing crowds. Bane’s large eyes focused on a new sign above where the pit master disappeared. The display, easily four times the size of a speeder, morphed between greens and blues, switching from trees to ocean. Words scrolled along the bottom, advertising Alderaan and several other vacation planets. It was subtle though. The footage replayed and he watched, wondering why he liked it. The shapes of trees waving in the wind somehow morphed into seaweed, which morphed into waves, which morphed into rolling clouds. The nature scenes starkly contrasted with the constructed buildings around it, so no wonder his red eyes seemed to be transfixed by it. Whoever had edited the footage was gifted. The footage replayed. Water pattered on rooftops, rivers swirled, and waves crashed on black cliffs. Trees stretched across a blue sky. Seaweed waved in shallow pools morphed into fields of grass waving in the wind. A stream of long hair shined in the sun, and there was a smile warmer than the sun could ever…

A dim blue light lit up behind him. The old voice of the hooded man croaked, “Excuse the interruption.” Bane was snapped out the daydream, the voice grating his ears. “As I was saying, Bounty Hunter, I am in need of your services.”

Bane returned to the here and now, the recurring client, potentialjob. “I’mlistenin’,” Bane spoke curtly, half thinking the job better be worth the wait like the kebabs had been. He flicked his toothpick into the corner rubbish bin.

“I need a Jedi… Holocron.”

“To get a Holocron I’ll need to break in to de Jedi Temple. It’s impossible… not to mention,deadly,” Bane explained, not missing a beat. He had considered breaking in before, but had always treated it like a puzzle to solve merely to pass the time between jobs. Over the decades, he had collected various diagrams, pass codes, and other intel some would deem useless about the fortress. Half of it had been simply from researching how to take down Jedi or better defend himself from them. The oldest records he had acquired were from a Jedi artifact collector while undercover for an unrelated heist. The records were over a millennia old, before the pyramid like walls had been erected to protect the inner sanctum. He had never thought a client would be daft enough to hire him for such a venture. Perhaps this silly pass time of his hadn’t been so outlandish after all. It would be a huge risk, but the reward would be-

“Perhaps your reputation has been exaggerated,” Darth Sidious sneered flatly, hitting the bounty hunter’s pride.

Bane leaned on the desk chair and pounced at the jab with a list of demands, “I want a Rogue class starfighter with elite weapons, cloaking device, dewerks.” It was everything he would need for the getaway if things went south. “Oh, and,” he sprinkled the sting of pocketbooks as he slipped into the chair and put his feet up, “triple my usual rate.”

The Sith Lord flicked the jab away as if it were a crumb on his plate, “Your price is of no concern. I will also provide you with the means to getinsidethe temple.” Sidious’ offer was so casual the bounty hunter could only be amused.

Bane smiled with pleasure, “You’ve gotta deal.”

“Excellent,” Darth Sidious replied. “I’ll see the item you requested is manufactured and delivered beforehand. In the meantime, there is a smaller task I have for you. There is a Jedi I need taken care of.”

“Another Jedi and another job? You know my fees, Sith. What more does dis entail?”

“Master Ord Enisence. I need him eliminated. Once he is dead, and the Holocron retrieved, you will need to recover a crystal from Jedi Master Bolla Ropal. The Holocron cannot be unlocked without the crystal he possesses. Collect the information inside the Holocron for me.” Darth Sidious said, then added, “You have proven yourself capable enough so far, bounty hunter. Continue to do so and I shall employ you further.”

“I’m at your service,” replied Bane, giving a mock bow while still seated. “I must admit, I’m enjoying dis tango, but I can’t help but wonder who gave you my contact? It wouldn’t have been your associate, Maul, now would it? You Sith types like your mystery and intrigue, so I can’t un-see the resemblance, with both of you havin’ a penchant for hooded cloaks and messin’ wit Jedi business.”

Darth Sidious didn’t answer immediately, impressed with the bounty hunter’s deduction. “The incident with the Padawan on Nar Shadaa was a necessary lesson for my... former apprentice to learn patience, a quality in which he lacked, unlike yourself.”

“An important virtue, dat one,” Bane said.

“Indeed.”

“Is that all den?”

“It is.” Sidious concluded their business and sent Cad Bane an encrypted file with instructions on where to pick up a data chip. The holoprojector shut off and the room was free of that unsettling feeling under the skin. The feeling was replaced with anticipation, and Cad Bane immediately got up to leave. He was tired, but sleep could wait until after he retrieved the chip. The Sith had complemented his patience compared to Maul, however there was nothing wrong with being proactive. Sidious wasn’t the only one eager to get the ball rolling. Curiosity on several thoughts had finally been sated. Maul had indeed been connected to Darth Sidious. Maul was his “former” apprentice, meaning he was dead, which meant Count Dooku was Maul’s replacement. The Galactic Republic believed Dooku was the mastermind behind the war, but Bane now believed it was the unseen Sidious pulling the strings.

Bane descended down the steps of The Hole, a façade bar and restaurant, in truth. He crossed the street and passed the Bengal Barbecue kiosk. The faint scent of charred meat and charcoal still lingered in the air. He walked for some ways, waking up from the post meal sleepiness. Bane watched as passers by step in puddles ahead of him. A leak spilled from an apartment's air conditioner line. Blue and green lights reflected on the rippled surface. His red eyes were drawn up to the Star Tours vacation advertisement on the large screen overhead. He stopped to admire the morphing landscapes. It truly was a masterful edit. The fields appeared and grass swayed, but something was missing. He watched the ad replay. Again, something was missing.

“You fancy a vacation to Alderaan, Duros? I can take you to the spaceport if you like,” a young voice asked. Cad Bane turned to find a young human taxi driver, bundled up in a fur collared leather jacket. “Nice new ad, though, huh? I wonder how they get the seafoam to turn into clouds like that?”

“Sure it is,” Bane replied. “I like de version with de woman.”

“Woman?”

“Yess. Long locks, smilin’ at you.”

The taxi driver shrugged, “I’d like to see that version! Maybe they’d sell more spots on the Tour with a pretty girl in it. I’ve been staring at this ad for the last hour though. No girl. When did they play that version?”

Bane hesitated. The conversation with Sidious had begun only twenty minutes earlier. He shook his head. “Doen't matter. Take me to dese coordinates. I gotta job to do.”

The night was hustling and so should he. ----------------------- Chapter Links: Next Chapter

#cad bane #star wars #fanfiction #chapter 1 #Figment #cad bane x oc #suspense thriller #bounty hunting stories #with a dash of romance #cad bane is a foodie #darth sidious #weequay bbq #mention of darth maul #bounty hunter #coruscant #The Hole apartment

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flowervolcano · 1 year

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It’s his day today. 💚 oh- I guess there’s other Star Wars characters too!

#obviously we cannot forget about Luke and Lando #I guess Obi and Padmé too #oh yeah and all of Rogue One #and Chewie #oh wait Jar Jar too #overhated guy #anakin skywalker #star wars #star wars fanart #Darth Vader #darth vader fanart #I forgot to mention cool people like Mace and Sidious whoops #of course there is Leia if I forgot to write her down with her brother!!#happy star wars day

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mercurydancer · 2 years

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An Unexpected Chance pt 17

Ghosts

Savage had learned several things about his Brother in the ensuing weeks of working with the Holocron. The first was that while that Holocron of Maul was a hard teacher – and he was, expecting results that seemed nearly unattainable in those first few days –he was also patient. He worked with them again and again to attain those results that had seemed so out of their depth, and often filtered through with enough explanation and demonstration that Savage no longer viewed the feats that Maul expected them to perform with anything but excitement.

Savage would achieve them, they were not insurmountable, he was capable…

And this led to the second thing – Maul was gentle.

It was an odd sort of thing to realize, particularly given the nature of what Maul was teaching, and even the man himself, but there was a gentleness to it.

A gentleness to the teaching of pain.

But it was not a pain that was inflicted.

Savage had started thinking of the Holocron as Teacher, and it was much easier as Maul, his brother, took and helped focus Savage’s pain, helped him understand how to gather it.

And that was the moment when Savage looked at his younger brother, and a further understanding grew – because in those moments Savage could see how much Maul hurt.

Savage could see, could feel what felt like a bottomless well of pain lapping at his soul whenever Maul guided him, as well as something else, a burning deep resolve that was so bright it was almost blinding. Savage wondered idly what his brother would be like. His brother in flesh and in spirit standing before him, the one that was not rescued, who had grown up with this…

Feral had wept.

Savage had held him, and even as he held him he mourned… Savage mourned his brother, mourned what had happened to him, the devastating question of what had happened to him…

Maul would not speak of it.

Savage had tried to ask, tried to understand, had offered his hands and his arms and someone to hold him, but his brother refused.

It hurt in his chest to know that Maul did not want to talk to him… But there was someone who did, and indeed had.

Healer Tiq had been…good.

Savage had not understood precisely what a Mind Healer was for, even with the explanation, until he had sat before him and the Rodian had softly and gently started unspooling the tangled-up weight within Savage’s heart that Savage had not even realized was there. He had lived with it for so long it had merely become a part of his being. And that brought Savage to what Tiq had told him…

All Maul had known was pain.

Savage had not known what that meant until that moment holding Maul’s hands, feeling the gate that opened up in his little brother…

Savage was not a stranger to pain. Savage was not a stranger to training, or to slavery. He had grown up in it, with others under the same bondage, in the same…

Maul did not act like a regular Zabrak.

There were some small…some things that he had difficulty with.

Even as Tiq helped him unspool his hearts, Savage found another tightening within him, staring at a small boy, who…

“Was my brother alone?”

The question was soft, whispered out, staring at Tiq who blinked.

Tiq hesitated for a moment and then, quietly, “there is only so much that I can…tell you,” he said finally.

Savage nodded, it was one of the first things that they had discussed before they had started this, before Feral had asked if he could come and Tiq had told them about the fact that they could do it separate or together. They had eventually decided to go with separate, with the promise that all of the things they talked about with Tiq could be talked about together. It had been driven deep that the two of them could absolutely speak to each other once they felt comfortable, and similarly that if they did not want to discuss something with each other that Tiq would not be the one that told them.

Savage had not wanted his brother to know about the Choosing. Savage had not wanted his brother to know about…

Tiq had listened.

Tiq had listened to his brother.

Tiq had listened to both of his brothers, and the knowledge that all of those conversations, all of those secrets lived in that reptilian head.

Savage was both thankful and hurting.

Savage also remembered the way Tiq had spoken about how his brother had not recognized affection. Maul had confessed to having asked for them to tell something, as sometimes it was too difficult, too much…

Savage closed his eyes.

“I know you cannot tell me much,” Savage said softly. “I know that…I know that if my brother…if he does come back… I would not want you to betray that trust. But I want…I want to know…was my brother always alone?”

“Not…always,” Tiq said.

“…No,” Savage said softly, “he wouldn’t be, would he, he had his Master…but…” Savage rubbed his face. “His Master is dead?”

“We…believe so,” Tiq said.

“You are…uncertain?”

Tiq paused for a moment.

“There is a certain simplicity in the way that he died that I do not, and have never liked,” Tiq said. “There is a fact that Maul was a loose end to a man who…I do not believe ever liked loose ends. Particularly when he was within the hands of the Jedi who…we treated him with kindness, Savage, and he was so parched for it…” Tiq shook his head. “Leaving Maul with the ability to identify him would be beyond risky it would be insanity. The fact that he stripped Maul’s memories of him leaves him a constant unknown, but…” Tiq was quiet for a moment, “I have a feeling…that Maul’s Master takes great risks. He sent Maul out when he was sixteen. Maul is highly skilled and very dangerous, and had killed Masters before, but there is an inherent risk. This…puts some of his other attempts into perspective, including the potential that he was trying to make us bring Maul into the heart of the Temple under the assumption that Maul would remain loyal. I do not believe that when he attacked the Prisons he was looking to harm Maul, which suggests that something else was the goal, and putting Maul in our Temple where he could be a knife in the dark…” Tiq shrugged.

“However…and this is something that I believe needs to be noted – once we shot his ship down, once he died the Force became clearer than it has in years. We have…visions more, the connection is greater. There was one hiccup that also could be connected towards him, but it was one your brother solved, and we never found any evidence that it was caused by something outside of the Temple, and we looked long.” Tiq frowned, “on one hand he is a Sith, and a Sith that is good at hiding, that twisted your brother inside out. On the other hand…” Tiq was quiet for a moment, “in a way we won’t know. Maul was…and this is record, you could find this if you looked, but Maul’s memories were torn from him by his Master before he blew up half the prison block as mentioned. I do not believe Maul got lucky…”

“No,” Savage agreed quietly, “Maul does not seem the sort that has luck to spare.”

Tiq gave a quiet huff of a laugh that did not seem as amused as it was almost rueful. “I wish he had more luck,” Tiq said softly. “But…he is impossibly stubborn, resourceful to a fault, and he is usually more than capable of taking care of himself. Not to mention he comes up with things that I have never seen or heard of. Savage, he is at most six years old right now???” Savage felt the grin spread over his face, taking in the way Tiq leaned forward, the absolute bafflement in the Rodian’s eyes bright. “Think about this, think about this, he finds a Holocron that is not only a product of Sith Alchemy, but Nightsister Magick and he figures out how to use it. He has never touched Nightsister Magicks, he has never stepped foot on Dathomir since he was taken as an infant and he still figures it out…” Savage laughed quietly, smiling as Tiq spread his hands out, “and then! To top it off it not only makes him six years old, but it also frees all of his Brothers. You are here, Savage, and you and your brothers are all safe. Maul is the most inventive individuals I know, and he is stubborn. He does not need luck.”

“No,” Savage agreed with a smile. “He does not.”

“But,” Tiq said leaning close with a grin, “some extra luck from his brothers wouldn’t be amiss either.”

“It would not be,” Savage agreed his smile widening. “Thank you Healer…” he paused. “I am grateful that he found you. I understand that you cannot tell me all that has happened…and I wonder sometimes how hard that must be. You know Maul’s secrets in the same way that you know all the people that have given you their trust and their voices. Thank you for honoring that. I do not know if you find it a burden…but I hope dearly that it is one you carry well.”

Tiq fell silent for a moment, taking that in, before the grin gentled, soft and warm. “Thank you,” Tiq said. “If…if we discover that there is no hope…if there is nothing we can do, and he is beyond saving…beyond coming back… I will tell you more about him, Savage. But I do not believe it is impossible, and I know that they are words Maul would rather gift himself. Thank you for your patience.”

Savage bowed low and was almost immediately treated to Tiq bowing as well, the Rodian grinning at him.

“Did…you have anything else you wished to discuss?” Tiq asked when they had risen, tilting his head in question.

Savage paused for a moment, thinking of all that he knew, all that had been said… Savage thought of secrets kept and a trust that was kept even when all else had shifted… Savage took a breath and laced his fingers together, before looking up to Tiq. “Yes,” he said finally. “I…I would like you to keep from discussing this with Feral, but… I want to speak about the Choosing.”

Tiq took in the request for a moment, his expression very still and then he laced his own fingers and tilted his head in a gesture that… Savage felt his hearts leap in his chest at the recognition of an invitation, of an offer… And he leaned forward, pressing his horns to Tiq’s forehead, and Tiq quietly, gently, “Your secrets are kept always, and I shall not speak of what you want to keep quiet, but remember that you can always speak to your brother. Nothing said here needs to be secret unless you wish it to be. Now please. Talk to me of what you wish.”

Savage did.

Feral watched quietly from his place lodged in the rafters as Maul finally came out of the hall that led to the crèche, taking in the way Maul stood, the stiffness to his form. There was something else, too, something about the way his shoulders were held tight to his body, the way his fists clenched…

Maul was angry, and Feral watched as Yaddle - a female Jedi that Feral knew was one of the heads of the crèche – took a step out of the hallway to watch Maul closely for a moment, and then make a comm. She had to stay with the other children, but there was apparently no reason she could not call for backup.

Maul kept walking down the hall, Feral following, wondering who…

And then he spotted Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Jedi was walking down the hall, a casual air about him that, if Feral was not aware of the fact that he had likely been called to help, would make him appear as though he happened to be strolling that way. Obi-Wan looked to Maul, his face blooming into a gentle smile.

“Hello there,” Obi-Wan called out cheerfully, Maul looking up at him sharply. “How are you, then?”

Maul paused for a moment, but his expression hadn’t cleared, his mouth pulling down at the corners. Feral could see the way his shoulders had loosened, though, not much, but they had, and he tilted his chin up a bit more, instinctively minimizing the threat of his horns. Maul was not mad at Obi-Wan, and indeed seemed to like him, but he was still angry.

Obi-Wan took in that softening, too, Feral could see, had relaxed himself as well, and the knowledge that the human knew the tells was…nice. “Hmm,” Obi-Wan hummed, “tooka cat got your tongue?” he asked, ducking down.

“What is all this, then?” another voice, and Feral knew this one as Qui-Gon, coming down the hall. “A youngling out of the crèche?” he asked softly, also crouching down.

Maul’s expression closed, and Feral had to wonder whether or not Qui-Gon knew what had happened, whether he had been aware that Maul was in the crèche. Obi-Wan, though, rolled his eyes, “he doesn’t need to be in the crèche, does he?” he asked, looking to Maul. “You don’t want to go back in there, do you?” he asked. Maul shook his head. “There you go, Master, you see? He doesn’t want to go back, and really he shouldn’t have to. Not when he could spend some time with us. It’s been a while since we’ve talked, hasn’t it, do you want some…lunch?” And as he said it there was a mischievous grin on his face, one that Maul was narrowing his eyes at, something in his face slowly sliding towards recognition.

“I definitely am quite hungry,” Qui-Gon noted softly, nodding.

“Oh, I definitely agree,” Obi-Wan said, smiling, “hungry enough that I could eat just about anything, even…”

Maul’s expression broke for one moment to something like delight and realization, taking a step back, only to be caught by Obi-Wan’s arms, bringing him high in the air, a “YOU!” being called aloud, even as he pulled Maul’s tunic back just enough to blow a massive raspberry on his stomach. Feral was delighted, and immediately amused at Maul’s loud cry of amusement, the shriek of laughter that he could not help. Maul then shook his head, holding his hands out towards Obi-Wan in a way to push him back.

“No, no,” he said, “please put me down, Obi-Wan,” he said, and Obi-Wan immediately did so, gently helping to straighten out Maul’s tunic, hook one of his temple horns gently.

“I’m sorry, little Mauler, I should have asked first, do you forgive me?”

“Yes,” Maul said, nodding, and his expression was closing again, his fists once again forming.

“Hmm,” Qui-Gon said softly, “are you sure you forgive him? That was awfully rude, was it not? Someone should have taught you better manners,” he said blithely, raising his eyebrows at Obi-Wan. This must be some sort of inside joke, Feral thought, because Maul’s face broke into a brief grin, even as Obi-Wan rolled his eyes heavily.

But then Maul shook his head, putting his hands to his chest, “please,” he said, “I know what you’re doing. I know you’re trying to make me feel better but…but I don’t want to feel better right now. I want…I want to be angry. Can I be angry?”

“Of course,” Qui-Gon’s voice was low and soothing and both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon sat down. “I am sorry, little one, I should have asked whether or not you wished to remain angry. Will you tell me why you are angry? Perhaps I shall be angry with you. It is sometimes better to be angry with someone than alone.”

Maul took that in for a moment, and then looked back…he looked back towards the crèche and his expression did something funny. For a moment it looked like his expression tightened to something like grief, and then firmed, and softly, “I don’t…I don’t want to talk where they might hear.”

“You don’t…want them to know you dislike them?” Obi-Wan offered softly.

Maul shook his head, “I don’t…I don’t want them to think that I’m mad at them. It’s not their fault,” he said, and it was such… It was such a grown-up thing to say. One of those things that made Feral’s hearts twist because there was a maturity and an understanding behind it that hurt. It should not be there yet…not yet…

“I see,” Obi-Wan said gently. “Well, shall we go down the hall, further?”

“There is a room that used to be a banquet hall,” Qui-Gon said, “it is quite old now, and rarely used, but it would be a good place to talk.”

Maul took that in before nodding, following the two of them as they walked. Feral stalked them, keeping his presence masked, his hunter’s reflexes honed… And then he was aware of Savage, Savage who was coming from the other direction.

Feral blinked his presence towards Savage immediately, catching his attention, watching as his brother recognized where he was and what he was doing and also leapt to the rafters. They both followed Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan into the banquet hall, sliding in after Maul, still Masking.

The hall was so big and so beautiful, even in the dust, that Feral almost lost his hold on his presence, but then he shut it down, taking in the carvings that depicted the stars.

It was the first time in a while that he had looked at them, even carved as they were.

“Now,” Qui-Gon said, having picked up his brother around the waist when he held his arms up, placing him on a table so he was closer to eye level and not having to look up as high, and stepped back a pace, Obi-Wan joining him. “What are you angry about?”

Maul was quiet for a moment, seeming to gather everything up and then he looked up at them. “I’m angry…” he paused, trailing off as though suddenly aware of what he was going to say.

“Maul?” Qui-Gon questioned softly. “What is it?”

Maul hesitated and then in the face of their quiet curiosity, the complete lack of judgement, Maul’s entire face crumpled. “I’m angry at me,” he breathed softly and Feral’s heart lurched.

“Well, if that’s the case I don’t know that I’ll be joining you in your anger,” Qui-Gon said softly.

Maul ducked his head and continued, almost doggedly, the words in a breathless rush, “but I know I shouldn’t be, and I don’t want to be. It’s my…it’s my Master’s fault, and I know it is, I know it is! But he’s…” Maul’s voice cracked, frustration and something like despair there, “he’s not here, and I can’t…be angry at him…” he wiped his eyes. “I can’t do anything about the anger towards him, he’s too…even if he wasn’t dead he is too strong for me, and he’d just hurt me… But it’s his fault, I know it is, and he did it to me, and I can’t…” He swallowed, “I don’t understand the younglings,” he said, “I know they’re my age and you all want me to be friends, but they don’t want to be friends with me. They don’t like me. They think I’m…” his voice broke then, and he gave a frustrated sound, rubbing at his face again.

“It’s alright, Maul,” Obi-Wan’s voice was soft, “you can cry, no one is going to hurt you for it. You might even find you feel better.”

“But I don’t want to,” Maul said, voice stubborn. “I don’t want to give him the satisfaction.”

“You can give the satisfaction to yourself,” Qui-Gon countered gently.

Maul blinked, surprise in his expression, and Feral watched as his face finally crumpled, and Maul began to weep.

For a moment Feral felt the urge to swoop in, to pick up his brother, to hold him tight, recognizing the feel in Savage, but Qui-Gon gave a quiet sound, ducking down to be better at eye-level and quietly, “do you want me to hold you?”

Maul took in the question between sobs, before finally holding his arms out. Qui-Gon immediately scooping him up, holding him tight and pressing a hand to his back, rubbing it up and down gently.

“That’s it,” Qui-Gon said softly, “that’s it, just let it out.”

Obi-Wan patted Maul’s back gently, the two of them offering soothing words as Maul finally sobbed everything out, and then finally, his voice a little burst of fury, “It’s not fair!” his voice cracked. “It’s not fair, they think I’m weird and I’m…” he hiccupped, “they’re scar~ed of me! I don’t…I don’t pla~y like they do, and I can’t, and I…I almost hit Juun, I almost hit her, she just wanted to get my attention, and she touch~ed my shoul~der when I didn’t see her and I almost hit her!” Maul wailed, rubbing his eyes, “they told them not to touch me, but they forget, they’re little, they don’t remember. And I…” he collapsed against Qui-Gon, burying his little face in his shoulder, horns sweeping above, “I don’t want to hurt them…I don’t wanna… They’re so loud and I don’t understand them, and I can’t tell what they’re gonna do, and they… It’s not fair…”

“Shh, shh,” Qui-Gon shushed him, rubbing his hand up and down his back. “It’s alright. It’s alright…I will talk to…” he sighed, “I am so sorry, Maul. Did you tell Yaddle you felt this way? Did you tell Mace?”

“No,” Maul managed softly, “I know…I know why they wanted me to go, that I should…that they’re my own age and I should…play with people my own age, but…” he swallowed, and even that made Qui-Gon close his eyes.

“Listen,” Obi-Wan said softly, “now that we know that you feel this way, now that we know that there is something wrong, let’s take some steps to fix it, okay?” Obi-Wan took a breath, looking to his Master briefly, his brows pinched. “Ahsoka is older than you, as is Anakin, but you have fun with them, don’t you? They are ones that do not make you uncomfortable?”

Maul nodded, looking up at Obi-Wan over Qui-Gon’s shoulder.

“Perhaps we can put you with some of the older kids. You are right that we wanted you to spend some time with kids your own age,” Qui-Gon said, “it is good for your development, but this has clearly not been good for you at all.” Qui-Gon sighed. “I do wish…that we had known about the problem earlier.”

“It was not as bad before,” Maul breathed softly, “but…” he paused, “it’s been getting worse, and…and I think they’re just…getting used to me…and I just…”

“Shh,” Qui-Gon said softly, “do you remember what Tiq says?”

“Trauma sticks,” Maul said softly, “and I have a lot of trauma.” The words were serious but there was a slight bit of a smile curling at his mouth, though it was weak.

“You do,” and the smile that was on Obi-Wan’s face was broader. “Listen,” he said, “other people might get used to things faster than you can, but that’s not a bad thing. We’ll just work together on making it so your nerves aren’t getting absolutely pummeled. It’s not right that something that’s supposed to help you just winds up hurting you. We’ll help, Maul, it’ll be alright.”

Maul reached out to Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon laughing and shifting the small boy over to take hold of Obi-Wan’s neck, Obi-Wan pulling him into a tight hug.

“Thank you,” Maul breathed and Obi-Wan’s expression briefly tightened.

“Of course,” he said, “you’re under our care, ours’ and your brothers’, we’re going to do our best. We might not always get it right, but we are going to try.”

Maul nodded against his neck.

“Now, come on,” Obi-Wan said, “maybe we can find Feral, and Savage and we can all go to lunch. Try the refectory this time, yeah?”

“Okay,” Maul breathed softly.

“Do you mind if I stay here for a moment,” Maul asked.

“Not at all,” Obi-Wan said, putting him down. “Do you want to meet us down there? See if you can find Savage and Feral?”

“Yes, please,” Maul said.

“Do you have your map?” Qui-Gon asked, and Maul immediately held out the little device. “Good,” he said, and hooked Maul’s horns gently between his fingers, giving him a brief little shake. “Take some time to compose yourself. There’s no shame in any of it, little Mauler.”

“Thank you,” Maul breathed one last time, and the two of them left. Maul wiped his face, and then finally looked up at Savage and Feral, his focus unwavering. “You’re sneaking,” he said, and there was something like…discomfort on his face, something almost like fear. “Am…did I do something wrong?” he breathed.

Feral was on the ground before he could help himself, Savage on his heels. “No,” Feral said immediately. “Not at all,” he said.

“You are allowed to cry,” Savage said, kneeling down before him. “And you are right, we were sneaking.”

“It was my doing,” Feral said. “I have been watching…I did not enter the actual crèche, Yaddle keeps a very tight ship…” he paused. “It is alright,” he said softly, sitting next to Savage. “Your Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were both right.”

“And so was Tiq,” Savage said, his low voice serious. “It is nothing to be ashamed of…”

“Many…” Feral worked his mouth, thinking of what to say. “Many of our Brothers often struggled with such a thing,” he said finally. “I…have struggled with it.”

“As have I,” Savage said. “There is no shame. You did not hit that girl, even when you were afraid you were able to keep from lashing out. You are alright.”

Maul took that in, his lip stiff, and softly, “it’s alright to cry,” Feral said, gentle, and Maul nodded, the tears slipping. “May I hug you?” he asked, following the example Qui-Gon had given, Maul nodding and holding his arms out. Feral took Maul into his embrace, Savage also holding him, the both of them holding their brother that Feral… Feral sometimes still could not believe it.

He could not believe that he was here. He could not believe that he was safe, that the Sisters had been pushed back, and the reason for that… The reason for that was in his arms.

Feral smiled, locking his horns with Maul’s, feeling the way Maul’s nose pressed to his cheek. He was so small.

“It’s alright,” Feral said. “You are alright, brother. You are alright, Maul. Thank you for not outing us to the Jedi.”

Maul gave a surprised laugh, pulling back and wiping his face. “I wanted to see why you were hiding,” Maul said.

“I wanted to check on you,” Feral smiled. “I knew you were with the other kids and…” he paused, “I like working with younglings,” he said finally. “I was curious to see where the Jedi take care of theirs.”

“Would you want to work with them?” Maul asked, “you could probably ask Yaddle, I think she’d welcome help.”

Feral froze for a moment, thinking of asking… “I do not…”

“Trauma sticks,” Maul said softly, taking his hand in his own, squeezing. “It’s okay.”

“It does,” Feral smiled at him, squeezing back. “Thank you.”

“Do you both want lunch?”

“Yes,” Feral and Savage both agreed and Maul smiled.

“Come on,” he said, and led the way out.

Savage was following Maul to the Senate, Feral alongside him.

They were accompanying a small party of Jedi Councilors who were going to be meeting with the Chancellor. Apparently some sort of meeting that they did periodically to keep the Republic updated. Savage did not fully understand what this meant or even what it was for precisely, why the Republic needed to know about Jedi Business, but Maul was excited for it provided the perfect opportunity to introduce Feral and Savage to – as he put it – his best friend.

A female that had once been the Queen of Naboo and now worked as a Senator for the planet…Padmé Amidala.

Savage was uncertain, but the sincerity of Maul’s statement, the way he spoke of her… Savage hoped.

Savage had already met more women than he had in his entire lifetime and every one…every one Savage had felt that spark of fear, that moment of worry…and all had been kind. They kept their distance, spoke to him respectfully, were genuinely interested in what he had to say and nothing like what Savage had experienced.

The grief in his hearts was always strong in those moments…all of the things that they were denied, all of the pain that they had caused to their own people. And Savage still did not understand that.

Savage knew the stories, he knew…he knew the Legends… But why should they still be punished for that? Why should they still be paying the price for so long ago when they could be living alongside their women, when they could be in a partnership?

But there was no point now.

Not now when they were finally out… If they had contract from a Sister, if they too spoke of peace, then it was something that they may discuss, but if they did not… Savage was free. His Brothers were free.

He would take none of them back unless they remained so.

Savage’s thoughts were interrupted by a brief call from a bright clear voice, his attention immediately turning up to see a human woman. As he had often started doing, Savage immediately began taking in her physical appearance – the flush to her skin, the brown of her hair pulled in a high and intricate bun that was caged in some sort of metal, the deep blue of her sweeping garments that seemed to both hide and highlight her form – all things that were different to the Sisters, all things that would never be seen amongst them… And then he was drawn to Maul, who had lowered his center of gravity, shifting to his toes, tapping… The woman that he had to assume was Padmé lowered her own center, her eyes narrowed, the look on her face full of concentration.

And then she beamed, and brought her arms out wide.

Maul bolted.

Padmé braced herself lower, and when Maul leapt she caught him, swinging him back behind her and then bringing him up in the air above her, Maul giggling brightly as she spun down and around, the dress she was wearing apparently less constricting than it looked. She laughed aloud as she held him, finally bringing him up to tap his horns against the caged bun. Maul had yet to stop laughing.

Savage had initially feared that his brother had been some form of consort, now he found that he wasn’t entirely certain that would have been a bad thing.

But Maul had assured him that she had always simply been his best friend.

Savage watched and he thought he might believe it.

“Padmé,” Maul said then, “Padmé come, you have to meet my brothers!”

“Your brothers?” she repeated, and then Savage watched as brown eyes - large and warm in a way that he had never seen – focused right on him and his brother. “Oh!” she called out, and Savage watched as those eyes seemed to not only grow in warmth, but squinted in a wide smile, her expression nothing but the most amazing… She walked towards them then, and Savage held so still, aware of Feral beside him, the way he took a step closer.

To Savage’s shock, Padmé seemed to catch that, her expression gentling, and she stopped a good bit out of their personal space, that smile still there, still warm, still towards them.

“Hello,” she said, “my name is Padmé Amidala.”

“Savage Opress,” Savage introduced.

“Feral,” his brother said.

Padmé’s smile widened, but there was no comment about the names being strange, or even anything about how it seemed to be a theme, she merely bowed low… And Savage did not know how to take that, what to…

“It is very good to meet you,” she said. “Maul has always been a very dear and trusted friend and it is…” she paused. “I am so sorry…that it took us so long to free you. I am a Senator of the Republic and if you have anything that you think will help your brothers, will help you acclimate to being in the wider Galaxy, please talk to me about it. We will be able to hook you up with all sorts of resources, I am certain. And on a more…a great deal more personal note… I would be honored if we, too, could be friends. Would you wish to be friends with me?”

And the question buzzed in Savage’s ears and in his mind.

Would you wish to be friends with me.

Not we shall be friends, not a declaration or a statement or an order…a request.

She had asked.

She had offered help.

The warmth that swelled in Savage’s chest was… “Please,” he said, just as Feral said,

“Yes.”

Padmé beamed.

“Down, please,” Maul said and Padmé immediately put him down, that bright smile turning towards him. Maul took her hand then and dragged her over towards Savage and Feral, Padmé laughing the entire way. Savage thought that he could like her a good deal…

“Hello, Padmé,” Mace’s voice was warm, and Savage turned to look at the other man. The Jedi was smiling along with the other Councilor’s, fondness in their gazes. “Do you think we could leave them with you for a while as we meet with the Chancellor, provided no one has any objections?” Mace looked at Feral and Savage while the question was asked, and with a smile, “if you would like one of us to remain we do not all have to make a report.”

Savage and Feral looked at each other, before turning their attention to Maul and Padmé.

Padmé smiled, her expression warm and open. “I will not be offended either way,” she said.

“We will stay with Padmé,” Savage said after exchanging a look with Feral, catching the relief in his brother’s own eyes. It was all to give them freedom. Savage would have never believed…

“Good this is,” Yoda said, his voice full of warmth, and he tapped Savage’s foot with his stick. “With you we shall stay until the Chancellor has come.”

“Who is the Chancellor?” Feral asked. “We…understand that they are some sort of figurehead?”

“Yes,” Padmé said, nodding, “he is an elected representative of the Senate, our governing body. He helps mediate conversations and has the power to turn new bills into laws.”

“It is not quite like a Mother then,” Savage said with a frown. “They are not elected.”

“How is a Mother chosen?” Padmé asked.

There was a pause, Feral and Savage both falling quiet, and Savage found himself looking to Maul…

“Well,” came a voice, unfamiliar, but somehow…somehow…

Savage looked up, and slowly turned, and found his gaze frozen on the man that stood there, surrounded by what had to be aides, by guards…

But Savage could not tear his eyes away from the man standing there.

A man that he had seen before.

The hitching panicked gasps at his elbow drew his gaze once again down to his brother. To his brother that had been stolen.

To Maul.

Maul stared at the man standing there, his eyes wide and wild, nostrils flared, his ears pinned close to his head as his hands rose in something like a ward. Terror.

Pure and overwhelming terror…

“You said he was dead,” the words were whispered, broken, desperate, and Savage turned.

And stared into the eyes of the man who had stolen his brother.

And watched as the Chancellor stared at Maul with a shock that could not be hidden.

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