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I Would Rather Die

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Ahsoka's POV
"After you," The one known as Luke gestured to his ship after lowering the ramp for me. I was taken aback, not many Jedi have manners. He doesn't seem too bad, or maybe this is his kind act to lure me into a trap.

No, I'm being dramatic. Master Yoda wouldn't pair us with a crazy person...would he?

I put on a smile, "Thank you," I walked into the clean ship. It looked and smelt brand new inside, despite looking like a dump on the outside, "Clean freak?" I asked, eyeing him as he raised the ramp.

He nodded and I noticed a hidden smile, one I'd see more of if he would put his hood down, "The outside needs a lot of work done still, but I try to have my things look their best." He sat in the pilot seat and I followed him. I took no seat since there wasn't one for me and stood behind him to watch him roar the ship to life.

"Why don't I know you?" There are many Jedi, so it's not like I'm going to remember every single one. But I at least recognize the ones I do see in passing, we've all lived together our whole lives. Him though, he has a face I have never seen before — in a way. He felt familiar, he just didn't look it.

The room fell silent, the humming of the engine being the only sound and movement that vibrated the ship. Then he finally spoke without turning to face me, "Master Yoda had me on a special assignment off of Coruscant for the past few years."

"What kind of special assignment?" I pried further, confused on what kind of assignment would have him isolated from the rest of us. Unknowing of his existence.

"Hold on," He told me, ignoring my question.

I grabbed ahold of the back of his seat as he lifted the ship from the ground. He hit the acceleration harder than necessary and the ship flew forward, causing my grip on the chair to loosen.

I fell back with a light scream and I swear I heard him giggle.

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"How do you know where this place is? Or if the antidote will work?" Maybe these are some questions he will answer seeing as he's been ignoring most of mine this entire ride.

"I read," He answered, reminding me of someone else who is one hell of a bookworm, "And this particular natural remedy works for almost all venoms. Aside from a select few that we don't need to worry about right now since they're on Dathomir." He raised the ship higher. We were now heading into the mountains and it was a beautiful view. He flew between them and just below was a long river that looked like it went on for miles.

I guess it's a good thing we did get stuck with this guy, Master Skywalker may not have had a chance of survival otherwise, "Are you returning to the Temple after this? Or will you be sent on another special assignment that is too confidential for me to know about." I tilted my head.

He smiled with the right corner of his mouth, "I'll be returning to the Temple. Master Yoda has me paired with a Jedi and his Padawan for a few weeks until I adjust to being back and finding my place in the war."

"You mean Master Kenobi and I?" He's going to be paired with us for weeks?

'"No," He shook his head, "Master Skywalker and his Padawan."

"Oh," I blinked, "Good luck with them." He's going to need it. Those two can barely survive each other and now Master Yoda wants to add someone else to the mix? Especially a man when Skywalker is untrusting and is possessive—protective of (y/n)? It's a recipe for disaster.

For the first time he looked at me, and slowly lowered his hood, "Why do you say it like that? Should I be worried?" He tilted his head. Our eyes met and I had to take a brief pause. I feel like I've seen those very eyes before, I just couldn't place when or where.

I shook the strange feeling away and shrugged, giving him a light laugh as I did, "As long as you make smart choices on the field, not get in Skywalker's way, or hit on his Padawan as the clones do, you should be fine."

His face instantly twisted into one of disgust, or was he disturbed? "I can assure you, there will be no flirting with Padawan (y/l/n)." He grimaced and I almost felt insulted for my best friend. She was beautiful and he's acting like she's as repulsing as a Gundark, "Why would he care about such a thing anyway?"

"He doesn't like when others get distracted," I somewhat lied, but I can't tell this stranger my theory, he may run and tell Master Yoda or worse, Windu, "He's all work and no play." Now that wasn't a lie. From all the stories (y/n) has told me, he's such a tight ass sometimes.

He nodded slowly, "Got it. Well that won't be an issue. We're here by the way." It was then that I realized he had already landed the ship next to the stream. We got out and the sun that was shining was overcasted by clouds, plunging us in an ominous atmosphere, "I need you to get it." He pointed at the river.

I eyed him, confused, "Why does it have to be me?"

"You're a woman," He answered simply.

"And that means something because—" I fell silent when I heard some of the most beautiful singing I have ever bear-witness to. I turned to look at the water, noticing a glow underneath that swum down the river. It got further and further, until I no longer saw it or heard the singing.

"Have you ever heard of sirens?" He asked. I shook my head and he continued, "Harmless to women, deadly to men. If I so much as put the tip of my finger in that water, they'll smell me and know. Then they'll drown me if I don't move away before they come and they're fast swimmers."

So this is why he didn't put up a fight when I asked to come, he knew he'd need me to make it easier.

"You're positive they won't drown me?" I swallowed nervously as I approached the water.

"No, they may get close to you, but they won't harm you; women are royalty to a siren. So just go in and grab any rock on the bottom that glows blue." He was saying all of this like I was doing something as simple as a class project. Not diving into waters that are infested with something he claims has a habit of drowning people.

I breathed out a long exhale, "If I die, (y/n) will kill you." I kicked off my shoes and slowly dipped my foot into the cold water. I shivered, "Should I really—"

"You'll be fine," He said right before pushing me with full force forward. I screamed until I hit the water and went under — that little shit.

I popped up with a gasp and glared at him, "Seriously?" I took my aqua breather out and placed it over my mouth. He smiled with a small wave and the anger this man makes me feel reminds me of the way Skywalker makes me feel with his annoying antics. Something tells me they're going to best friends.

"Hurry up, clock is ticking," He tapped on his comlink.

Yeah they'll definitely be best friends, they even sound the same.

I gave him one last irritated glare before diving into the water. I swam straight down to the bottom which didn't take me long and I shifted through the rocks, looking for one that glows blue. I wasn't having any kind of luck and soon started to panic. If I didn't find this then Master Skywalker was going to die; that would break so many hearts and I would partially blame myself.

As more time passed, the more frustrated I became. I was now throwing rocks around me and was seconds from crying, but I froze and lost all sense of what I was doing when I noticed I was being watched.

How did I not notice her before? She was so close, barely a foot away from where I was. Her eyes were a piercing black that locked onto my soul, her lips a velvet pink that moved as she quietly sung. Her lashes reached high, until they touched her brow bone and her golden hair floated around her. She looked terrifying, but beautiful — perhaps angels aren't the most beautiful beings in the galaxy.

Then, she began to move closer and raised her closed fist in front of me while her captivating eyes held me in a trance. I thought I would be afraid if one approached me like he said they might, but I wasn't afraid at all. My eyes finally left hers and went to her hand when I saw her opening her fist. There in her palm was exactly what I was looking for, a rock with a blue glow.

The siren slowly reached her arm out to me, as if encouraging me to take it. I placed my hand on my chest, my way of asking if it was really okay for me to reach out for it and I wasn't just misreading the situation. She nodded, so I reluctantly took the rock from her hand and inspected it. It was like all the rest except it glowed from the inside through a crack on the exterior.

Before I could thank her, she swam away until I could no longer see her, but I did hear her.

(Y/n)'s POV
I gasped as I shot up from the ground, my heart beating fast. I looked around my surroundings and my eyes grew wide. The sand people, they were dead.

The men.
The women.
And the children too.

All of them. cut down, turning their home into a mass graveyard. It looks like I was still inside of Anakin's head. He must be too weak to permanently keep me out, and he's only getting weaker.

I slowly stood up and looked around for him, hoping it wasn't him who did this, that they were attacked by something else. But my hope was short lived when I heard crying, followed by water splashing around. I went after the sound and came to a stop when I found Anakin kneeling over a small pool of water, rigorously washing his hands.

"What did I do?" He whimpered to himself, "What did I just do?" I got close enough to see his hands were bright red. Not from blood, but from the amount of scrubbing he was doing. He was trying to wash the sins of what he did away, his heart so clearly full of regret. Tears fell down his cheeks and his eyes were the most bloodshot I had ever seen, he was wrecked, "I'm sorry." He continued to cry.

"What are you sorry for?" I asked low, placing my hand on his back and hoping I didn't go right though him — I didn't.

"Everything," He sniffled, "I'm sorry to everyone I hurt, everyone I fail." He went right back to washing his hands and I had to stand up and back away to give him room for his meltdown, "I can smell the blood, I can't get it off. Please help me get it off."

It broke my heart to see him so broken. He always has this tough exterior on display that I sometimes forget he's just as human and vulnerable as I am, "I wish I could." My eyes watered. I wish I could have been there when this happened, maybe I could have stopped him. Why didn't we come into each other's lives sooner?

After a few seconds, the splashing abruptly stopped and he turned his head to look me in the eyes, his were watered just like mine, "Are you afraid of me? Now that you've seen what I've done? What I'm capable of?"

"Should I be?" Being afraid of him never crossed my mind. I didn't even look at him differently, all I wanted to do was protect him. If he had felt no remorse then I would probably feel differently right about now, but it's his remorse that shows me he really does have a caring heart. He made a terrible mistake brought on my grief and a broken heart.

"Never," His voice cracked, "I would rather die than hurt you."

I bent down next to him again and wrapped my around his shoulder, he watched me, "Then why would I be afraid of you?" I spoke low, hoping my soft tone would bring him comfort, "I'm going to help you." Help him see he's still worthy of love and care. The more I learn about him, the more I really understand him.

He was looking at me with hesitancy at first, until he gave in to me and tilted his head to rest it on mine, "You're not going to tell the council what you've seen?" He whispered.

I closed my eyes, "I would rather die."

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Hope you liked it! And what did you think of the siren part? It was a last minute thing I added that I thought was a nice idea(:
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