01 | AOTC

THEY HAD BROKEN away from each other just as the fully entered the arena, Padmé ahead of them, driving deeper into the arena, Pandora's mouth trying its hardest not to drop open from the sight of everyone in the stadium. "A live death we get," Pandora said, her eyes rolling as she witnessed everyone booing them. Clearly, Dooku had his claws deep into the people of the planet, which only caused her to be annoyed more than anything. The bright light blinded her momentarily, swarming her, causing her to struggle to truly see what was in front of her. They circled the arena, Pandora spotting Obi-Wan tied to a post, a small chuckle leaving her lips. "Seems you got tied up," she said, sending a wink to Anakin.

Obi-Wan looked at them with disappointment, annoyance even. They shouldn't have come to save him, that much was clear, nor should they have brought the senator. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd got my message," he snarked at the two Jedi.

"I retransmitted it just as you requested, Master," Anakin said, a smile playing at his lips. Pandora had no idea why he was smiling, he was going to get yelled at for disobeying orders. "Then we decided to come rescue you."

"Well, Padmé decided and we followed, though I was going to leave her and Anakin and come help you," Pandora said, "Wasn't gonna allow you to kill yourself, Obi."

"Good job," Obi-Wan said, sarcasm lacing his tone. He wondered where he went wrong with everything, especially with Anakin. Obi-Wan knew Anakin hated following orders, but the boy could very well cause him to die of stress, Pandora was just like Anakin, that stressed him out even more.

Pandora had zoned out, not even paying attention to what was going on around her, to focused on releasing her hands from the bonds. Her teeth caught her lower lip, cementing it into place. Pandora closed her eyes, focusing on the way the bobby pin felt inside the cuffs, using the force the smallest bit to align it perfectly. She felt the release of one of her hands, allowing her to repeat the process, releasing both of her hands, but keeping them raised. The last thing she needed was someone to notice that she was free before the show even started. She watched with bated breath as three gates opened, allowing creatures to file out, her eyes going slightly wide. An Acklays, Nexus, and a Reek. Well, they were potentially screwed if they didn't get their shit together.

"I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Don't be so negative. Did you lose your balls?"
"Haha. Very funny, Pandora."
"I for one agree with her. You do seem scared."
"Yeah, Anakin, channel that inner macho."

"Oh shut up, both of you." Pandora and Obi-Wan chuckled, thankful that teasing Anakin had brought them a moment of happiness before possibly dying. She craned her head to look at Padmé, who was already climbing up the pole, which she took as her turn to follow suit. She wrapped the chain around her hand, allowing it to be used to give her some more power, not wanting to use the force. Using the force would only cause them to pause the game, which in turn would cause her to be chained again, which is not something she wanted. "What about Padmé and Pandora?"

"They seem to be on top of things," Obi-Wan said, causing Anakin to look towards the girls who were on top of their pillars. He let out a soft smile at the sight of Pandora cracking her knuckles, ready for the fight below, as she sent a quick wink to the boy.

Pandora watched as Anakin found his way on top of the Reek, using his chains to control the animal. The Nexu had found its way, climbing up Padmé's pole, which caused Pandora to use to force to jump over, her own chain to try and help Padmé fight off the beast. His claws sliced across both girls back, their screams scaring it off slightly. Padmé used the chains to jump off, swinging slightly as she kicked the Nexu, causing it to go flying back. Pandora using the force to throw it slightly further, hoping that it would be deterred from coming back to them. She glanced over to see Anakin being dragged by the Reek, while Obi-Wan was trying his hardest not to get stabbed by a claw. Padmé and Pandora worked together to get their other cuff off of Padmé, while being slightly pressured at the renewed sense of murder coming from the Nexu.

Pandora cursed the beast, annoyed that this thing wouldn't stop trying to kill them. She was hoping that it would simply just go crying in the corner, but the thing was pushing through the pain, murder on the mind. They finally got the cuff off, only to see Anakin and the Reek barreling down the monster, knocking it out cold. "Jump!" Anakin yelled, causing Pandora to not even second guessing it, jumping down, Padmé right behind her. She landed, the force softening the blow, pressing a kiss to Anakin's cheek, the boys eyes closing slightly as he leaned back into her. Padmé's jump broke them from their bubble, pulling in front of Obi-Wan, who struggled to fit onto the animal. Pandora noted that four people was a struggle to fit on a Reek, trying her hardest not to look back at Obi-Wan struggling to hold on, knowing she would laugh at the man.

Pandora's heart stopped slightly as they were surrounded by destroyer droids, unable to move anywhere. She let out a breath, squeezing Anakin a little tighter than she normally would have, praying for a quick and easy death. Destroyer droids were hard to kill, but it could be done. Her eyes lit up when a color caught her eye, lightsabers. She watched as everyone started fighting, Mace Windu's robe slightly smoking, her eyes widening. She wanted to help, but she was useless without a lightsaber, her hands twitching at the need to fight. Anakin rushed forward, steering the Reek forward with the rest of the Jedi, pausing slightly, only for four light sabers to be thrown their way. Pandora was thankful that she was given two sabers, someone clearly mentioned something. Probably Windu, who knew that they would end up there, he knew his old padawan far too well.

She ignited them, relishing in the feeling of the power in her hands, trying her hardest to grow accustomed to them. They weren't her purple sabers, but the green and blue lights complimented everyone around her. She was praying her sabers were found, they were the only thing she held onto in this world. Pandora cut Anakin's hands free, leaving him to focus on freeing Obi-Wan, jumping off their rice and starting to fight. Her sabers crashed against the blaster shots, firing them back at the droids. She was slowly taking them down, body turning in every direction as she continued to fight, hands moving at an alarming pace. She would be forever thankful for her Master, who had taught her everything he knew, while spars with Anakin had taught her how to be on the defensive.

A smile broke out on her face as her and Anakin stood back to back, both of them matching each others paces. One attacked while one covered, each of their tactics working in perfect harmony as they floated around each other. If an outsider was to look in, they would see two sides of the same coin, struggling with their own mind, pushing apart the bad and embracing the good, swallowing it whole. Having such a deep connection in the force, only allowed Anakin to engulf Pandora in his feelings. Some would say it was divine intervention, bringing the two of them together, but it was of their own will, pushing apart only to fall back together, picking up the peace's of their broken sanities. They watched as Padmé took control of one of the carriages, Anakin rushing forward to cover the Senator as she blasted her way through the arena.

Pandora let out a small smirk, Padmé was something else. She dressed elegantly, all while embracing the feminine side, but had no problems whipping out a blaster and shooting things. Pandora envied the life she lived, but being a Jedi was embedded in her DNA. It brought purpose and the ability to meet people and bring a sense a joy to her life, but it had brought her Anakin. She forced her mind to think away from the boy, and focus of the fact that she was getting shot at from every angle. Her mind cleared, the force running through her, down her spine, out her fingertips, and through her legs. She was one with the force, enclosed in its celestial being, rooted within her core. They were one and it allowed her to slice through all the droids that continued to close in on her, her green and blue lightsabers slicing through the air, bringing down everything in her path.

Mace Windu watched from the corner of his eye as his old Padawan, ( his daughter, but if you asked him he would deny it) root herself to the force and use it for her own survival. He was proud of the Jedi and the woman she had become, slicing her way through the droids and barely even breaking a sweat. He watched as she threw her lightsaber like a sword, slicing it down the middle of multiple droids, only to reach her hand out and clasp around the saber once again. He was filled with pride at that, she had been trying her hardest to perfect that move for years, and the one time she did, her life was hanging in the balance. He made a note to have special hand crafted sabers for her, ones that were molded to fit her hands, yet special for each one. Mace knew she preferred one in a specific hand, so allowing himself to focus onto the idea of that, he had his mind made up, he was going to dedicate months to perfecting the perfect sabers for the girl.

She sent a quick wink to her Master, rushing off in the opposite direction, trying to cover Obi-Wan, who was seemingly drowning in droids. "Struggling there, Kenobi?"

"No. Just a bit out of breath. Being chased by a creature trying to eat you will do that to you," he snarked, secretly grateful that she had come to cover him. They moved like a well oiled machine, yet it would never come close to the way Anakin and Pandora moved. But having been on enough missions with the Jedi Master, she had grown used to his customs and how to balance her own moves with his. She managed to pull Obi-Wan out of the way of the Reek, who was barreling through the arena, taking out anything that stood in the way of it. "Thanks. Don't tell Anakin, but you are definitely my favorite."

"Now why would you tell me that, I'm just going to use it against him, you should know that. One wrong move from that boy and it will slip out of my mouth," Pandora said, causing Kenobi to let out a sigh, knowing that she was right. He would never understand the dynamic between them, one second she hated him and the next she looked at him like he was made for her. He just hoped that if they didn't tell him anything, he couldn't say anything to the council about them, no matter the suspicions that he had. They were his family, and they would always come before the order. "Well, you seem to have things covered here. Off to go save someone else."

Obi-Wan didn't even get a chance to reply before she took off at lightening speed, rushing across the arena. She noticed Anakin and Padmé backed into a corner, while everyone else was fighting perfectly fine, causing her to switch directions at once. She sliced through droids as she ran, their silent screams bringing slight joy to her, as she had no love for them. If they looked like R2 though, that would have been a different story. She quickly slid across the ground, both sabers up, impaling through the droids that were shooting at Padmé and Anakin. She walked over to them, her sabers moving constantly as she deflected blaster shots, all while never removing her eyes from the pair. "Glad you could join the party," Anakin said, grateful for the girl to be covering what they couldn't.

It was hard to protect someone who didn't have the same training as them, especially when wielding a blaster, to which both Obi-Wan and Pandora found completely uncivilized. "You call this a diplomatic solution?" Anakin asked Padmé, causing Pandora to snort as she reflected blasters back onto the droids that were shooting.

"No, I call it aggressive negotiations."
"See, this is why I like you, Padmé."

— authors note

me rn actively as we come up on the final chapter(s) ??? of act one. guys im actually flying through writing this book. but IM IN LOVE WITH THIS MAN. but i'm on season 7 of the clone wars (which this picture also represents) bc i know it's almost over and im so sad. like what am i supposed to do without ani baby and ahsoka. guess im off to watch rebels and ashoka after this. but pandora is the badass we all know and love !!!