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Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

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Anakin's POV
I snapped my eyes up and removed my hands from (y/n) to tightly clench the bed sheets, "You will fix whatever you did, and you will fix it now." I demanded as I stared down the blaster barrel she had aimed in my direction, "And you're stupid if you think a hunk of metal like that will work with me." I waved my hand and the gun immediately flew out of her grasp and into the wall where it sounded like it cracked.

She seemed unfazed, in fact, she looked amused, "No, that was actually for downstairs. I needed you out of there so Typho could be taken care of and now here you are, coddling your little padawan while a man bleeds out downstairs and Padme lies passed out behind me after trying to run up here for your help."

I was so distracted, I didn't even sense the hostile aura like I usually could, but now I felt it. I felt him and I was happy to feel that he was still alive, as was Padme, "Well you're a moron for coming up here Moteé, because if you think I'm going to let you walk away-"

"Oh but you will," She gestured to (y/n) and that's when I realized exactly why my padawan was stuck as collateral damage — leverage, "I'm the only one who knows what she needs to survive, and if she doesn't get it. I promise you, she will be dead in less than an hour, and that's another death you can blame on Padme." She chuckled, "Not that I blame you for blaming her, all she ever does is make false promises."

(Y/n) let out what sounded like a whine, and my eyes were instantly back on her, "Just tell me what I need." I snapped through a clenched jaw. I couldn't have another death on my head, I couldn't fail another person, especially her.

"You need to stay out of my way. I'll be taking the Senator from here and she will be answering for her failures." She said her words with a bitter tongue, evident hatred in her eyes, "Then when we're safely away from you. I'll send a hologram telling you where you can find the antidote you need."

I glanced behind her and saw Padme laying unconscious on the hallway floor. I may have a lot of anger towards her, but that doesn't mean that I want to see her get hurt or worse. So, letting Moteé run off with her was not something I could let happen, but I also couldn't let my padawan die.

I gripped the bed sheets again and squeezed out some of my frustration — why the hell does this have to happen?

"Why Moteé? Padme trusted you," I stood up after releasing my hold on the sheets. (Y/n) remained unconscious in the same position, but her breathing was starting to sound weaker. And beads of sweat formed on her forehead, damping her hair and sticking it to her face. I swear her just being my padawan alone is going to be the end of her. This is her second time being close to death and it hasn't even been a week.

But then again, as a padawan myself, I nearly lost my life more times than I could count, and obviously I'm still here.

She turned around and looked at Padme, "You're not the only person she deceived with a fairytale lie, promising peace," She scoffed, looking back to me, "So after I lost someone I cared for deeply, I and a band of others decided we wanted to take a stand against the lazy Senate who were doing nothing when it came to stopping the war. Starting with her." She nudged her head towards Padme, "Ever since this war started, many innocent citizens have fallen and no one is batting an eye. I lost my daughter," Her eyes watered, "She got caught in the cross-fire of one of these battles, and now I am a mother without a child." She pushed herself off the wall and turned towards Padme. She walked the small distance, before she started to pick her up.

"No," I used the force to make her efforts more difficult as I kept Padmé's body pinned to the floor, "I'm so sorry for your loss Moteé, but it's not her fault, she has only ever tried to do good." How hypocritical of me to say, but I was right, Padme has only ever tried to do the best she could — so maybe I shouldn't be holding a grudge either.

She snapped her head in my direction with a death glare, "Do you want your padawan to die? I know you two aren't exactly buddies, but I can't even fathom the thought of the courageous and admirable Anakin Skywalker selfishly allowing his padawan to die a very painful death." She smiled, and any sympathy I felt for her and her situation, was now gone.

"What did you say?" I raised my hand in her direction and in seconds, her own hands flew to her throat and she started to gasp for air. I used my hold to bring her to her feet and levitate her from the ground — an anger I only ever felt once before surfacing, "She's in pain?" I sneered. I assumed with her being unconscious she would be somewhat in a peaceful state. But it seems I was stupid for hoping for that, "Give me the antidote Moteé or this won't end well for you." I slowly closed my fist and choked her harder.

If anyone could see me right now, I would get the scolding of a lifetime, maybe worse. But desperate times call for desperate measures. My padawan was currently in pain, and I needed to end her suffering and fast. The color was already draining from her face and the blood dripping down the side of Padmé's face worried me as well. So I only had one option that would save both of them.

"You won't ki-" Moteé could hardly finish her words.

"Kill you?" I stepped closer while also levitating her towards me, "I have done far worse."

Not that I'm proud of it.

As soon as I met her in the middle of the room, I was about to grab her neck with the gloved hand I had raised to torment her further for an answer. But moments later, I was thrown aggressively into the wall, as was Moteé, and we both grunted in pain before falling to the floor next to each other.

I slowly tried to get up and I was positive my right shoulder was dislocated based on how bad it hurt when I moved, "Who the f-" My eyes landed on a figure dressed in all black, their face was completely hidden and they were hovering over my padawan. I instantly tried to stand up, adrenaline coursing through me once again "Get the hell away from-"

I wasn't able to finish my sentence when I saw the person raise a gloved hand, one similar to my own. He proceeded to use the force and slammed my head against the wall behind me, hard, in an effort silence me. My vision was now blurry, but I could still see their silhouette standing over her, their gloved hand cupping her cheek, "You're going to be okay," They whispered so low that I couldn't even guess which gender they were, "Just give the antidote some time M-"

She groaned, cutting of whatever else they were going to say and I heard her stir in the bed, "Anakin," She mumbled subconsciously. Just as she did the other night in her sleep, I wasn't lying when I said she mumbled my name.

It's clear this person meant her no harm, so I wasn't as quick to get up as I was before. And with Moteé knocked out on the floor next to me, I didn't need to worry about her either, "Who are you?" Judging by their clothes, this was the person from the forest. Who the hell are they and why are they here? And how do they know her?

Quick like a lothcat, they snapped their head in my direction, or I guess I should say he snapped his head in my direction. All I could make out was half of his face, so I only saw one of his piercing eyes glaring back at me. And I can't begin to put into words what I felt the moment we locked stares, it was impossible to describe. And also, he felt familiar, like I already knew him. Was he a Jedi from the temple?

He said nothing for a few moments as he looked me over, as if he was contemplating on something, "No one she should fear," He said low, "And she'll be okay," He waved two fingers and the blanket on the bed covered her more, she then turned on her side and nuzzled her face into the pillow without waking up.

"Thank you." I looked from her to him, grateful to this stranger for saving her life.

"I didn't do it for you," He snapped and waved his hand in my direction, slamming my head into the wall again. My vision became more blurry than it did the first time, "I'll be seeing you again F—Anakin." Again, my head was slammed into the wall, and this time, everything went black.

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"Anakin, Anakin wake up," I heard the sound of my (y/n)'s voice as she shook my body to try and wake me up. And I sort of was awake, I felt like I was partially conscious and that my body needed something stronger than a simple shake to fully- "Ani." She said sternly with a harsh slap to the face.

I shot my eyes open and hissed at the pain while bringing my hand up to nurse the stinging skin, that did it, "What the hell was that for?" I complained, locking eyes with my worried looking padawan.

She sighed with relief and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me into a hug - much too my surprise, "You scared me you idiot, you didn't look like you were breathing."

Maybe, just maybe if it were any other time I would hug her back — maybe. But since my shoulder was currently popped out of its socket, which she reminded me of right when she pulled into this right and painful hug, it was going to have to be a no.

I yelled in pain and she instantly let go and backed away, her eyes scanning my body, "What is it? What's hurting you?" She asked in a panic.

"My right shoulder," I groaned as I adjusted my position to relieve some of the pressure I had on it, "It's dislocated."

"Oh," She relaxed like what I said wasn't that big of a deal, which granted it wasn't. It was easily fixable and non-fatal, but it still hurt like a bitch, "Do you need me to pop it back in for you?" She asked calmly.

"No I can do it," I took a deep breath, knowing the immense amount of pain I was about to feel. Which only scared me into not wanting to do it, so I was sitting here trying to raise up my courage.

"Maste-"

"Give me a minute," I cut her off, taking a few more deep breaths.

But before I could do it, my padawan grabbed the wrist of my injured arm and pulled it straight-forward, guiding the shoulder back into its proper location. I shouted in pain when she went a little bit higher and I felt it pop into place, "Sorry, I figured we'd treat it like a band-aid." She shrugged innocently as she let go, "I thought it would help it be less painful."

I shot her an annoyed glare, but decided to let it it go instead of complain, I couldn't be mad at her right now. She nearly died and now she was sitting here looking better than ever, like it was just a dream, so all I was able to feel looking at her now was utter relief, "It didn't help," I started to massage the area that was now sore as I sat up. I looked around the room and saw Moteé still on the floor where I had last seen her, except her hands were now tied in front of her. And Padme was sitting next to her, looking down at her with mixed emotions of pain, anger, and confusion, "She blames you for her daughters death," I said sincerely to ease the pain of the unknown.

Padme snapped her gaze to me, the line of blood that I had seen before had now dried. And she looked perfectly fine other than that, "I guess I'm not making as much of a difference as I had hoped." She dropped her watered eyes down to the floor.

"But at least you're trying," (Y/n) spoke before I did, "Which is more than I can say about anyone else in the Senate."

"Hey, the Chancellor is a good and caring man as well." I defended my friend.

I sat up a little more before I attempted to fully stand up, whilst placing my hand on the wall for support. Captain Typho was still downstairs and I needed to make sure he was alright, and I also wanted to see if that man was around here somewhere still. I had so many questions with very little answers — one being how the hell he knew which antidote to have on-hand.

"If you say so," She mumbled as she stood up with me, and helped me not fall over, "So what exactly happened? One minute I lay down for a nap and the next I wake up to find Padme in the bed with blood on her face, and you and Moteé on the floor, completely unconscious."

A nap? I don't even think she's aware that she almost died.

I sighed, "It's a long story that I'll fill you all in on after I check on Captain Typho downstairs and make sure the house is secure of any unwanted visitors," I walked past her, but not without peaking my head into our bathroom to make sure no one was there, "And get Moteé downstairs, I have a lot of questions for her."

Starting with her impatience. I had heard her set up a date and time on when they'd make the grab on Padme, so why did she try today and alone? It doesn't make sense, none of what has been happening lately does.

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Hope you liked it and I know there are a lot of unanswered questions, but everything will make sense eventually(:
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