Long Past Dawn | Anakin x Reader

𝟐 𝟎 . 𝐏 𝐫 𝐨 𝐯 𝐞

I place my arm slightly on Anakin's shoulder, which makes him flinch.

"Relax, Anakin. They're fine," I try to say in a soothing voice.

Anakin takes a deep breathe as I try to reassure him that his Master is alive and well, but the truth is, I could be lying straight to his face. Hell, I'm not even the slightest bit relaxed right now.

After we landed on Dathomir, Master Yoda had sent Anakin his coordinates so that all of the troops could meet up and discuss a plan of action.

Once we made it to the group, it was obvious everyone had already arrived. All of the Jedi and clones stood together, hiding from the temple, ready to discuss the plan.

A clone had informed Anakin and I that that Obi-Wan and Windu were being held captured by General Grievous in the Dathomir temple, which stood intimidatingly tall in front of us (image above).

We were only a few miles away, but Grievous surly knew we were here. As a retired Sith, I knew how easy it was to sense a Jedi from miles away. They were like rotten food, and their stench could be traced for miles.

The only thing that has changed though is that the Jedi weren't rotten at all. It was all the Sith. Every last one of them.

Pangs of anxiety shot through my body as I realized Grievous probably knew about me leaving the Sith, and I know what betrayal can do to someone on the dark side. 

It angers them. They use their anger as their power.

It fuels them.

"Let's go over it one more time," Fives, a trusted clone trooper, spoke.

Anakin took it upon himself to explain the plan once more: "While the clones and the rest of the Jedi occupy the troops that will be inevitably sent out by Grievous, Master Yoda and I will sneak into the temple and locate Obi-Wan and Windu. Once we have found them, we will report back on their conditions. Assuming they are alright-"

I can see Anakin wince as he says that.

"...we will free them and make our way back here. The med ships will immediately take them back to Coruscant. No matter what happens, do NOT let Grievous' troops take down that ship. Once they are safely off Dathomir, we will all retreat and head back to Coruscant."

One of the clones speaks up, almost confused by the ending to this plan. "Sir, you mean to tell us that we aren't trying to take down General Grievous' army? We are retreating?"

Anakin gives the group of clones and Jedi a once-over, then speaks.

"It's just not worth it anymore. They're here, prepared, and although we have our troops, we have to pick our battles carefully. The truth is, we aren't fit to fight this one through."

Everyone shoots glances at one another as Yoda nods. And he's right, we aren't fit to fight this one at all. Honestly, we've been blindsided by this entire attack. Our priority is and should be to get Obi-Wan and Windu to safety, not to try and win this century old war that will, quite possibly, never see its conclusion.

Fives breaks the silence after Anakin's response. "Shouldn't y/n and Anakin go together? They're experienced in each other's training, they'll work the best together?"

"No," Yoda spoke sternly, and almost too quickly.

Anakin and I shot each other a look as my brows furrowed slightly. Yoda has never been one to show dislike in me, and especially not to Anakin, so this was out of character for him.

"Reason to why, they know."

Even as confusing as Yoda is to comprehend sometimes, Anakin and I knew instantly what he is referring to. To every else, nothing had changed between us. Though, it wasn't hard for a seasoned Jedi Master like Yoda to sense the new emerging feelings that had come between Anakin and I's relationship. As Jedi, we were forbidden to share a connection to anything or anyone, and that's exactly what we were doing.

I'm assuming that we'll get a stern talking to in future time by Yoda, but he seems to distracted with the current situation to care to explain any further to Fives.

Fives accepts his answer, not wanting to pry any further. "Alright, sir. Are we ready?" he asks Yoda, awaiting the "go" for the plan.

Yoda gives a nod, and Fives immediately goes over the comms to commence the plan.

In an instant, everyone is off and on the go. Jedi left and right are igniting their sabers, awaiting the inevitable army that will soon rush out of Dathomir's temple grounds.

As I ignite my own saber, it's yellow light illuminating the space around me, I feel another pang of anxiety fill my stomach.

I worry for Anakin, but it's not because I'm afraid he'll get hurt. I know he can hold his own.

What I am worried about is his inevitable response to whatever is laying inside that temple. Obi-Wan and Windu are in there, but whether they are in there dead or alive is a mystery. A mystery I don't think Anakin can handle to find out.

We never spoke about his nightmare that he had the other night, or why me asking him about it made him as upset as it did. Part of me doesn't want to ask, because not getting an answer led to that amazing kiss we shared.

But a part of me wants to know because whatever it is really hurt him badly. It's a hurt that leaves you with nightmares. 

I know the kind.

And this hurt has left him so scarred that I don't think he'll be able to handle the death of his master.

Whether it be by blood or mere association, Obi-Wan is his brother. That's the only family Anakin has.

I just hope whatever is in there doesn't kill his soul more than whatever has in his past.

"They're here," Master Plo Koon announces, halting my train of thoughts.

I look over at some of the Jedi as clones storm the army that can be seen emerging from the temple in the distance.

Master Kit Fisto stood near me, and when I looked at him, I see a dirty look shot my way. A scoff follows suit, and I'm immediately taken aback. That was a scoff I was used to hearing from the Jedi. 

A scoff a Sith would've heard.

It was the kind of scoff to show me how much the Jedi truly hated the Sith. How they are disgusted by them. But I wasn't apart of the Sith anymore. In fact, it had been almost a year since I was declared apart of that group.

I take a deep breath and try to mentally ease myself. You can't make everyone like you the second you decide to change, y/n. You were still apart of the Sith.

"You're not going to turn on us, now will you- Sith?" Fisto seethes at me.

I shoot him a side eye as I bite my inner cheek. 

"No, but wouldn't you feel stupid if I had managed to make it this far and did?" I retort back. Another Jedi lets out a slight laugh, which means my response came off correctly as sarcasm rather than a threat. Fisto shakes his head and scoffs again, now leaving the group to make his way towards the fight. 

As good as a witty retort can make me feel, I still feel guilt as I realize how much I've hurt the Jedi. Even though it wasn't entirely just me, I was apart of something awful. I just wish the Jedi knew how much I've changed, and how I feel the exact same way about the Sith as they do.

I've changed, and I know that. And Anakin knows that. That's all that matters to me.

Here I am. Fighting for the Jedi.

Risking my life for a few Jedi Masters that I once tried to kill. 

This was my chance to prove to the Jedi that I had really changed, a chance to prove it to myself...

and boy was I going to do just that.