Memories

Chapter 30.

Everyone deserves a second chance. I know I needed one. So why shouldn't I extend that mercy to others? But what about a third chance? Are they deserving of a third chance?

I cried out as pain dug into my back. A blade was slipped into the old wound from that dagger on Tatooine, and I knew immediately what had happened. Asajj had stabbed me in the back.

I collapsed to my knees as pain screamed in my head, and it took everything I had not to let the power escape. My vision blurred, but I managed to get a grip on myself and pulled Asajj's lightsaber to myself. In one movement, I had switched it on and flicked it around behind me, causing Asajj, who was standing close, to jump backwards. Pain again ripped through my body as she pulled the dagger out when she moved away, and this time some of the power did slip, exploding into a shallow crater around me.

Asajj was knocked off her feet, stumbling backwards before attempting to scramble back upright. She clutched a jagged knife in her hands, her eyes wide with fear as the realization of the immense power I was suppressing sank in.

I stood over her, pointing the red lightsaber at her chest. "I could kill you," I said in a low voice. "You aren't defenceless anymore." My arm was shaking from the effort and from the power that surged through my veins.

She changed her grip on the dagger, glancing around uneasily, knowing full well that the weapon in her hand would be no match for the one in mine. The Dark Side collected around her briefly before dissipating just as quickly. She was no match for the power bottled up inside me.

Obi-Wan's face flashed into my mind, the bruises and the pain burned into my memory, followed closely by Mother's face. I clenched my hand around the hilt of the lightsaber so tight that I nearly crushed it, and power welled up inside me greater than before. I could kill her. She was holding a weapon. I could make her pay. I could get revenge.

But my hand relaxed, and the power simmered down again. "But I won't," I said softly. "I won't do it."

Confusion and relief danced around Asajj, darting through the Force and through her eyes. The faintest of smiles flickered on her face, and touches of the Light Side pierced the blanket of darkness inside her.

I switched off the lightsaber, then held my hand down to her. She hesitated a long while, then took it very gingerly, fighting the urge to pull away the whole time I helped her to her feet. I offered her saber to her, hilt first. "Your weapon, my lady," I said quietly, keeping her gaze all the time.

She wrapped her fingers around it tentatively, and hints of greed coiled around her as her thumb rested on the button to ignite her saber. Dooku would be pleased.

I had to force myself to stand still and not to let rip the power that threatened to pour out of me. Both of us knew how easy it would be to kill the other in that instant. She could turn on her lightsaber and stab me; I could let go and blast her off the face of the earth. But both of us resisted. She moved her thumb off the button, and I could almost see a weight lifting off her shoulders. The Light Side was slowly, very slowly, glowing brighter in her, and I offered her a hand through the Force. She took it gratefully, accepting the power that flowed through to her and allowing it to pull her from the depths of bitterness and despair.

Then everything happened.

Dooku started shouting for us to be killed, the crowd exploded with noise and fluttered off their seats to flood us out, and guards rushed into the arena, spears levelled and faces fierce.

"Get Ahsoka out," I instructed Asajj, then dashed over to Obi-Wan, who was trying weakly to push himself onto his elbows. I knelt beside him, placing my hand on his good shoulder. "Stay there, my friend," I murmured. "Don't worry."

I was about to stand again when he touched my hand on his shoulder. I stopped, surprised by his touch, then realized he was watching me. He tried forming words, struggling against the pain that attempted to rob him of coherency. With great effort, he succeeded in pushing out one phrase, "I ... do care about you ... Anakin."

My breath caught in my throat as a memory sparked inside me.

"Do you even care about me?" I half-begged him, my sixteen-year-old self doubting even that fact.

But he was speechless.

"Now you don't even care about me?" I choked out, feeling my heart cracking just a little more. "I thought ...." 

I dragged myself back to the present, desperately fighting the tears that had crept into my eyes. I managed a small smile for him, but I couldn't hold back a quiet sob that escaped when he squeezed my hand. That he only had enough strength to speak a tiny sentence ignited a fresh wave of protectiveness in me, and I slammed up my mental shields as that protectiveness set the power burning ever brighter.

When I straightened up, I was shaking so much I could hardly think. My vision was blurring in and out, and I didn't dare take a single step for fear of stumbling. I vaguely acknowledged that Asajj was just finishing prying open Ahsoka's cuffs with the dagger, then barely recognized it as they came over to us. Hordes of Geonosians were swarming us, their yelling and noise turning into a deafening roar, and Asajj was shouting something to me, though her voice was swallowed up by the buzz that both surrounded me and yelled in my head.

"Get down!" Somehow, Ahsoka and Asajj heard my call in the thundering racket and obeyed instantly, dropping to the ground, flat on their stomachs.

I pulled in the Force, sucking in every ounce of strength and power, keeping it inside until the pressure was so intense that my mech hand started crumpling. I focused my entire attention on the three people closest to me, especially the one right beneath me, imagining a sphere around them. Protecting them came first.

I let go.

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Anakin gave Asajj a second chance, and ... she blew it. But then he gave her another one, and ... she didn't blow it! Yay Asajj!

So we've got a bunch of angsty feelings this chapter, but I love them anyways! XD

I know it's another cliffhanger ending, but there we go. ^o^ 

Thanks for reading, everybody!! We're over 400 reads, and my eyes nearly fell out of my head when I saw that!! XD Your reads, votes, and comments all mean heaps to me! :) Many thanks!