Explosions: anakin skywalker

chapter 18

but will the light of the moon ever be enough to satisfy the sun? or will the sun look for other paths, other sources, because the moon can never brighten the world the way the sun does?

This has happened before.

Elara can see the images vividly as she peers into Anakin's mind when they are awoken by screams the next morning.

They had almost lost Padmé before to the venom of two kouhuns, arthropods that wrapped their long, slithering bodies around the Senator and almost succeeded in killing her before Anakin destroyed them with a slice of his lightsaber.

Elara feels his heart beating as she sits within his mind for a moment longer, beating fast and hard to the time of her own. The two Jedi face Padmé's doors, scrambling to their feet and unleashing their lightsabers.

Obi Wan speeds down the hall and stands between the two of them. "How come you aren't in there already?" he shouts at them, his eyes wild as he gets his own lightsaber ready. They both had fallen asleep, foolishly. Neither have the courage to answer.

Anakin steps forward and slices through the door which would not budge earlier. The three run in with their lightsabers glowing in the darkness of Padmé's room.

Coruscant feels deafeningly silent outside as the three survey the scene. Padmé is sitting up on her bed, eyes wide, brown hair wild, breathing ragged. Beside her kneels a man on her bed, one hand covering her mouth and the other holding a gun to her head. Elara can feel Anakin ready to strike, but the assassin's grin beams in the darkness as the gun clicks, ready to fire.

"One more move from any of you and the Senator will die," his voice is low and rough, and his smile does not waver as he speaks and Padmé whimpers. Anakin is not breathing.

Light begins to come in from outside as the sun begins to rise, and slowly, the assassin's face becomes visible. Elara's heart falls as she recognizes him.

"Fitzroy Keenan," she says his name, slowly putting her lightsaber back in its hilt. Fitzroy's smile only grows wider. When Elara had known him, he had just been a pilot for criminals. He never did any of the dirty work. She sees that has changed as he sits before them.

"Margosa?" the slightest bit of happiness is emulated in his voice, causing Elara to wince. Anakin senses a history between the two, only causing his heart to catch in his throat even more.

"We thought you had died in that fire, or died in imprisonment," he continues, "I never would have guessed you had become one of them." His voice drips with venom at the last word.

"After all you did to escape the first time, this is where I find you. If only I had known it would have been that easy to find you. Once I take care of my job here, Elara, I can take you from all this," Fitzroy tells her, and Anakin's breath hitches.

"Don't," Elara's plea catches Fitzroy off guard. He looks at her incredulously, amused. The man she had once known him to be has been replaced.

No one was ever good in the business of criminals, but Fitzroy had at one point been as close to it as one could get. He was helpful and loyal and asked for small prices in exchange for his help.

He had kept Elara safe in her first few months in a world apart from her own, a world of crime. Now, that world has completely infiltrated him. Not only did she see a monster, she saw a reflection.

"Do you care for these people, Elara?" he laughs, an evil, throaty laugh, "Jedi, what have you done to the most untamed beast of the galaxy?"

His finger is on the trigger. Without another hesitation, Elara enters his mind.

She shatters it.