The Path of a Jedi (The Bad Batch x Reader)

Chapter 25

You took a deep breath and began walking down the path looking into windows and seeing a great many different paths.

You stopped in front of one and looked in. It was back at the jedi temple on Coruscant, many masters and padawans were mingling and laughing, it must have been after the war ended. You located yourself in the throng of happy jedi, you were seated with Obi-Wan and Anakin sharing a drink and a laugh.

You smiled at the happiness that this would bring you. You had forced yourself to try not to think about the other jedi, especially Obi-Wan, but you were overjoyed to know that he had survived order 66. You pulled yourself out of the memory and back to the darkness of the space around you.

As you walked down the pathway, a darkened window caught your attention. You stepped over to it and looked inside. You saw yourself, dressed in darkened robes standing at the peak of a desolated city. Atop this building, you held high the darksaber, surrounded by hundreds of soldiers all in mandalorian gear. You knew that the desolated city below you must have been the capital of Mandalore.

You quickly moved past this window, as the darkness radiating from it made you uncomfortable. But you glanced back at it as you heard a battle cry and unique sound of the darksaber being ignited.

But you pushed this out of your mind as you moved on past a few other windows of happiness at the jedi temple, if they had not fallen. Soon after you stopped at a different window and looked through. You saw yourself and all of clone force 99, including crosshair, lounging in Cid's parlor with a drink in your hand. You looked happy as you sat hand in hand with Hunter, while the others trolled on and on about old war stories.

You smiled at this scene, leaning closer to the window, wanting desperately to feel the happiness you saw in it. Suddenly, a small child with dark hair and your eyes came running up to you and Hunter, "mommy!" the boy giggled. You scooped up the child and you and Hunter tickled him lightly causing his infectious giggle to ring through your ears.

A small tear fell down your cheek from where you stood watching the scene. Without thinking you lifted up your foot to step inside, but a desperate and sad scream spun you back to reality.

You recognized the scream, but could not locate it. You ran past the other windows, some full of happiness and others darkness. Your mind was now only focused on one thing, the painful screams and cries that rang through space and time.

You finally skidded to a halt in front of the last window, the cries were louder here. You looked inside, expecting to see a scene from the war, but as it focused a completely different scene materialized.

It was Hunter, knelt on the ground in a mess of rubble holding a lifeless body. As you looked more, you realized that he was holding you in his arms. This window pulled at your heart like none of the others did. There was something about this window that was different, you knew it had to be the reality, it had to be the doorway back to the real world. The image you were seeing now was not just an image, it was what was happening in the real world.

Hunter held onto your body tightly, "please don't leave me," he whispered, "there is so much I still have to tell you."

You held your hand to your heart in sadness. You reach out to comfort him, but can't reach him. You turn back to the other paths, the ones of carefree happiness.

You sighed, for you know you have to go back to the real world and fulfil your purpose, you have to go back for him.

But as you stepped up to the window, there was a flash and the life with your son, with Hunter and the others came side by side with reality. Something or someone really wanted you to know what you were missing by going back to reality.

You had resolved to go back to reality, but you snuck one last look at the life you saw as heaven. Something pulled you towards it, your heart, body and soul wanted desperately to follow the happiness, but Hunter pained cries still rang in your ears.

In this moment you had no idea what to do. Follow the happiness that wasn't real, or go back to the pain and frustrations of reality? You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, allowing the force to flow through you and guide you. Without opening your eyes, you followed your heart and stepped through the doorway.