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General Skywalker has not been the same since Mortis. Certainly, she has not obviously changed, but Rex has perhaps been paying too much attention to her, and he is positive that something is different. Maybe it’s in the way she seems stronger, more powerful. Maybe it’s the more open flaunting of her abilities, when she doesn’t even seem to notice. But there is something… off.
It’s not bad, exactly, but it’s different. And Rex notices, the way he notices everything about his general, things that he probably – no, definitely – shouldn’t be noticing. Cody teases him about it, and sometimes, Rex really, really regrets confessing to his brother how much he cares for his general. But it’s still nice to have someone who knows, someone who he can talk to about when his general does one too many things that leave him terrified for her. Cody is sympathetic, of course, but he still teases him, as any brother would.
But it’s not until their mission to the Citadel that things really begin to become… weird.
The mission started out alright. It was normal, if difficult. They snuck into the facility to rescue General Piell and the others with him – the general is in possession of coordinates for the Nexus Route, a hyperspace route between the hearts of the Republic and Separatists. Whichever side gets that intel, could win the war.
Or so Rex can hope. It would be so relieving for the war to finally be over, so he so longer has to fear losing his brothers, so he can stop grieving after every single mission, so he can stop adding names to the never-ending list.
They get Piell, and they get to the landing platform. So far, so good. But the further they go, the more Rex gets the sinking feeling that they’re being watched. He doesn’t know why he thinks that, or what it even would be that could be watching them, but there’s something there, at any rate, and he doesn’t miss the way General Skywalker is scanning the area with far more wariness than normal.
But for some reason, it seems that she – and he – is the only one who notices. Or, at least no one else is betraying anything outwardly. Which only unsettles him even further.
And then, it happens.
Echo picks up a shield, running towards the shuttle, never noticing the droid cannon aiming at it. The blast strikes true, and the shuttle explodes, engulfing the area in flames. Fives screams his name, but it’s too late.
They pull back after that, and Rex slips into a numb haze, letting his instincts take over as he shoots the droids chasing them. It’s – it doesn’t even seem possible or real or –
But he pushes aside his grief for later, when he’s alone. For now, he has to focus, or all of them will die. And he will not let himself be killed and leave his general alone. Echo was a close friend of hers, and she will be mourning him as well. All of them have lost Echo, and –
Focus, he orders himself.
The tingling sensation doesn’t abate, though; it only seems to get worse, and when they reach a lava river that they need to cross to meet the rendezvous point where the Jedi’s extraction team will be picking them up, the feeling of wrongness is at an all-time high.
“Something is seriously wrong with this place,” General Skywalker says, grimacing. Rex can’t see her expression too well, because of the protective suit that she is wearing to protect her from the toxic gasses on the planet. Everyone is wearing one, actually, since the environment is not at all conducive to human habitation.
“I sense it, too,” General Kenobi murmurs after a brief pause, a strange look flickering across his face. “The Force is… unsettled.”
That really gets Rex’s attention, because that – it’s not something he hears often, and only right before something truly awful. A chill crawls up his spine, and instinctively, he shifts closer to his general; she’s the only one that makes him truly feel safe, especially now, when there are things happening that he cannot sense and does not understand.
And then, and then, a sinister voice hisses from the shadows, from all around them. It’s coming from everywhere, not just one identifiable place. “Chosen One.” There’s a promise violence in the purr, which sounds faintly feminine. “I will destroy you for what you did to me.”
From the unsettled, freaked out expressions on everyone else’s faces, Rex knows he isn’t the only one who heard it. Good. Because otherwise, he would be convinced he’s losing his sanity. General Skywalker’s hand tightens on her lightsaber hilt. “Who are you?” she demands sharply. “What do you want?”
“Your destruction,” hisses the voice.
Just like that, the oppressive air vanishes as though it was never there in the first place, leaving Rex – and probably everyone – feeling deeply shaken. What the kriff was that all about?
But no one has answers, Rex least of all.
***
The rest of the escape from the Citadel goes without a hitch, relatively speaking, that is, since the intel was successfully retrieved, even if General Piell was killed. And, of course, Echo. His death weighs heavily on all of them, Rex and Fives most of all, but they keep going, keep moving.
And Rex tries not to think too much about the strange voice that he – that they heard there. If there is someone or something after his general, he wants to protect her, but it was… strange. It was more like a strange Force thing that he could not hope to understand, so all he can do is stay close to his general and hope that everything will be alright, no matter how uncertain he is that it will be.
In the days after the mission, he feels restless and on-edge, far more so than is normal. He feels… watched, and he doesn’t like it. It reminds him of what he sensed while on Lola Sayu, even if the intensity isn’t marginally as strong. And at night, he dreams. He cannot remember them when he wakes, but he knows they are of darkness – whatever that means.
Rex often has nightmares during the war, of things that happened, either to him, but more often, to his brothers. He’s lost so many, many who he has been… close to, but none as close as Echo.
And that’s how this one starts.
The surroundings are dark, much darker than they were at the Citadel, even out on the platform. He feels the same bone-chilling, horrified numbness as he saw Echo the first time, and he sees it again. Rex was grateful for the darkness on Lola Sayu, because it did well to hide the blood. It’s dark here, but somehow, Rex can see it all clearly, anyway.
Fives’ scream echoes in Rex’s ears, and he can only watch in a numbing sense of horror. That was Echo, that –
But something beside him shifts, changes, and Rex looks over to see General Skywalker, just a split second before the ground literally gives out beneath them and they fall. He lets out a startled yelp, but he’s used to falling even if he very much loathes that sensation. (Anika and the Commander do have a bad habit of throwing him off walls, after all.)
The general lands first and catches him with the Force before he can hit the ground many feet below. This doesn’t make sense. Rex has no idea what’s happening, but something is very, very wrong. It reminds him of what he felt on the Citadel, the same unnerving, wrong feeling. But down here, he can see more. It’s… dark, and the sky is a dark purple, though the ground is black. Still, something about the surroundings pulls at the edges of his memory, as if there’s something about this place he should know.
Like déjà vu, except Rex knows he has never seen a planet similar to this.
“Find me,” a voice calls, echoing across the landscape, ringing back a hundred times. Somehow, that fades into a distant clanking, the very familiar footsteps of battle droids. Except, if they were coming, Rex couldn’t even see.
“Are you okay?” General Skywalker asks, “I don’t know what’s happening.” That’s not what she’s like in reality – even if it is inside. Rex can see it when he looks. She’s… strong, unshakable. She’s passionate, determined, and she never shows any form of weakness in front of her men. Rex can see it anyway, because he’s a captain, and he has to be able to read his brothers. On Kamino, as soldiers, they were taught much of the same things Jedi were, even if for different reasons.
He can almost see Echo’s body in his mind, even if his brother isn’t here right now. “This isn’t real,” he realizes suddenly, even if that doesn’t stop him from reaching for his blasters. It feels like they’re about to be attacked by an unseen enemy.
“I know,” she says, stepping closer.
Rex is instantly overwhelmed by the surge of blinding… protectiveness he feels. The clones are soldiers of the Republic, first and foremost. That is what they owe their loyalty to, but the longer he knows his general, Rex has seen that shift and change. His loyalty is, first and foremost, to her. He would always put the Commander first too, of course, but it’s different with… her, with Anika. He loves her somehow deeper than all his brothers, perhaps because he has never been particularly close with any – save Echo and Fives.
But still, it stands. He would do anything for her. Anything to protect her, or just… for her to be happy.
“This feels the same as it did at the Citadel,” Rex says, trying to distract himself. He has talked to Cody about this. Neither of them knows what he could do about it.
“I think it’s the same… thing,” she answers, looking around.
“Do you know what it is?”
“I wish I could say I did. I’ve killed many people, but I can’t think of anyone who could have such control of the Force.”
Rex is about to point out that something happened, something changed on Mortis, but then, the ground trembles violently, and he’s almost entirely certain he’s about to get thrown again.
Instead, the world twists sideways, warping, shifting, and for a moment, it feels like he’s standing on the Geonosian wall again before the General and Commander blew it up, but then it looks too light and barren, and there are twin suns overhead. Tatooine?
A high-pitched sound rings in the background, sharp and loud, and Rex whirls around, drawing his blasters on instinct. A strange black cloud with glowing red eyes is rolling towards them across the sand. It looks… wrong, completely wrong and out of place.
Anika instantly moves forwards and ignites her lightsaber. “Hold your fire,” she cautious, standing defensively in front of him.
Rex hesitates, though he’s still tempted.
The cloud shifts, rolling forwards, a black, arm-like shape extending towards Anika. “Chosen One,” the voice hisses again, the same as he heard on Mortis.
And Rex reacts, instinctively, blaster raising and shooting the cloud through one of its eyes. The shot looks wrong somehow, though he doesn’t have time to place how, but the cloud twists away, as if that somehow hurt, but then that sound is back. It’s coming from every direction, a sort of haunted howling that scrambles his mind. And they’re abruptly jerked apart as if by a gravity well, the cloud somehow appearing half behind Rex now.
“Anika!” he yells, panicking as the cloud’s arms wrap around her and drag her back. He would try shooting at it, if he weren’t being shaken around so much himself that he’s certain he’d hit her instead of the cloud.
“Rex!” she calls back, and the fear in her voice scares him as much as it does make him angry.
The howling sound in the background dies out to a random assortment of numbers. Of all things the cloud could be telling them, Rex has no idea what this means, or what the point is. They sound like coordinates, and maybe Rex would be able to ask about that if he were in the right mind to do so.
He doesn’t know what the cloud is or what it’s doing, but it feels like he’s being crushed, and this thing is draining his life out, or something. The general lashes out with her lightsaber, but it falls from her hand, then straight into oblivion. It must be doing the same to her, and with that knowledge, he twists one of his arms free, firing at the cloud holding her.
It should have been impossible for him to miss, but then the cloud is gone, and the area is dark again, and…
And Rex is standing over Anika, her body still on the ground, a smoking blaster hole through her heart. And he just feels numb, empty, nothingness, and that’s more terrifying than seeing this. Anika dying has been so unthinkable, even if Rex still fears it.
“Die,” the voice snarls, disembodied again, “Or find me.”
And finally, Rex jolts awake, heart pounding. He – he killed her. His general. Anika. It wasn’t real, and he knew that, but even so, all thoughts of sleep are gone. He can’t even think about trying to go back to sleep after seeing all that. Rex still has no idea what it means, but instincts kick in, and he climbs from his bunk, instantly leaving in search of… his general. He was calling her by her name in his dream, though that’s not something he would do for real, even if… he wants to. Which he does – that would be improper. Inappropriate, though it’s not as if the 501st doesn’t often break protocol.
He finds her in the hangar, working on her ship where she always is when she can’t sleep. It’s not abnormal to see her here, though it is rare for her to be visibly upset. “Rex,” she greets him, sounding slightly relieved at his presence.
“General,” he replies, abruptly aware that he has no idea what to say.
Something about her expression looks almost disappointed before it disappears. It reminds him of how in his dream, everything felt so… free. “Is something wrong?”
Likely, Anika already senses the answer. He won’t even try to hide it. Besides, she needs to know. “I… had a dream,” he tells her, sitting on the edge of her fighter, setting his helmet on his knee.
She slides out from under the ship, and he doesn’t miss how she sits far closer to him than she normally does. “Hm. Me too.”
“The – the thing at the Citadel,” he ventures slowly, trying to put it into words. “It was there, I think.” Even now, the terror of it has been burned into him, and restlessness is crawling under his skin, making him ill-at-ease and jumpy. “I…” He doesn’t know how to explain it, or how to tell her what happened. It felt so real at the time, no matter how much his mind had told him it was nothing more than a dream.
Anika is studying him, carefully, and finally, she nods. “I think… I saw it, too,” she murmurs. “I think it was a shared dream of sorts. Whatever this creature is, it’s powerful.”
Rex can’t suppress the shudder that runs through him. “What will we do?”
“We find it,” she answers with a small, sad smile. “I do not think we have been given a choice.”
The thought of going to it, of trying to find a creature so powerful and evil, terrifies Rex more than he could ever say. He fears that, if they go, they will never return. It’s not unreasonable – if it could invade their minds in this manner, it could surely do so much worse to them. “When?” he manages, trying to keep his voice steady and emotions concealed, though he does not know how much he actually succeeds.
What he wants to do is to take his general and run. He wants to protect her from this – this creature that is after her. But he can’t. He can’t. He’s only a clone. He doesn’t have the same powers that she does. The helplessness of it all would be enough to drive him insane if he wasn’t so accustomed to it.
Anika reaches out, touching his shoulder. “We’ll tell Obi-Wan in the morning, and we’ll decide from there. I don’t know what this means, but… we will have to be ready for anything.”
“Of course,” Rex replies, meeting her eyes. His fingers twitch, and he wants to reach for his blasters, to make sure that they’re there – they are, of course – but it’s so stupid. They’re on their own Star Destroyer. It’s safe.
So why doesn’t it feel like it?
***
“That is a terrible idea,” Rex states flatly, trying his best not to glare at Cody while Generals Skywalker and Kenobi are both present. “If there’s really a danger like – well, we don’t even know, but you shouldn’t be there. It’s too risky.”
Cody, on the other hand, has no such reservations, and he glares at him. “Rex,” he replies, his tone giving off the overall impression that Rex is an idiot, “If you’re walking into danger like that, when you don’t even know what you’re getting into, and if both the generals are going, I am coming. This is not up for debate.”
“But – something could happen,” Rex protests, “And –”
His brother sighs, reaching out to clasp his shoulder. “I don’t want you to walk into something like that alone, vod,” he interrupts quietly. “That… thing has an interest in you, and it’ll be safer, for all of us, if I’m there, too.”
Rex wants to protest. He really, really wants to protest, but… he knows that Cody has a point, no matter how much he hates it. General Skywalker takes that moment to approach them, breaking away from her private conversation with General Kenobi. “Cody, are you certain this is what you want to do?” she asks, her concern obvious in both her voice and her bright blue eyes.
Cody nods. “Yes, ma’am,” he answers, not hesitating for even a second. “It’s best to be safe, and we don’t know what we’re up against.”
She gives him a small, half-smile. “Very well. Welcome aboard.”
Despite Rex’s reservations – and fears, which have, in no small measure, been provoked by what just happened with Echo – he grudgingly accepts Cody’s presence once they’ve set out.
“We don’t even know where we’re going,” General Kenobi gripes as General Skywalker flies them from the hangar. “This is an unsanctioned mission, and the Council will not be happy that we left, giving them only a brief, cryptic message.”
“That was your decision, Master, not mine,” she replies, lips twitching.
“Well, you were going to go alone,” he protests.
She glances at him, briefly, and for a moment, Rex can see in her gaze the same fears that he himself is dealing with. Perhaps they are more similar than he thought. He knows how much his general cares, but it is still… strange for him to see her looking up to someone the way he looks up to Cody, sometimes. It’s different, of course, with General Kenobi, because he’s not her brother – more like her father, whatever that means – but… Well, the point still stands.
“You get into trouble enough on your own,” she snips, sounding faintly amused, and next to Rex, Cody snorts, muttering something unflattering under his breath about his general’s ability to attract trouble and plunge straight into the chaos without stopping to think.
“I resent that,” grumbles General Kenobi.
General Skywalker snickers, exchanging knowing, amused looks with Rex and Cody. Obviously, they won’t call the other general out on his words, but… well, Rex is very tempted. So is Cody, if his expression is anything to go by.
The rest of their journey is peaceful, and when they arrive at the coordinates, there is, in fact, a planet there. They land, of course, disembarking cautiously, hands close to their weapons.
The planet is peaceful. Too peaceful, to the point of being downright eerie. It’s forested, and there are some rivers running by, but especially when they step outside, everything looks too… green. “This place gives me the creeps,” Rex decides. Though whether that’s because of what it looks like or what he knows awaits them, he doesn’t know.
“I don’t like it either,” his general agrees, scanning the forest. “Something’s wrong.”
“If that… creature is here, we need to press forwards and find it,” General Kenobi orders.
It’s an unspoken agreement that no one wants to go forwards, but they do. They don’t have a choice.
Rex keeps an eye out, of course, but he doesn’t see anything overly suspicious. It’s more a deep, internal, gnawing sensation than anything else.
“I think it’s up ahead,” General Skywalker says finally after a short time of just… wandering through the forest. She moves to the front, but they stick close to the trees for cover, even if Rex highly doubts that will stop the creature from attacking them. He has no idea how to handle Force shenanigans. The clones were never trained for that, and even spending one and a half years serving beside his general, Rex still knows very little about it.
All he does know, without a doubt, is that this will go very badly… soon.
Probably very soon.
And that’s when Rex suddenly notices that the strange sensation of danger prickling at his senses is stronger than it was a moment ago, and that everything is quiet. There are no animals here, and everything looks even more wrong.
“What happened to all the animals?” Cody asks, looking around.
“They sense the danger here, and they don’t like it,” General Skywalker answers. “Animals avoid anything of the Dark Side, or something unnatural.”
“I don’t like it either,” Rex mutters. Not when he’s dealing with something way over his head.
“None of us do,” his general agrees, suddenly freezing.
“Chosen One,” the same disembodied voice says, echoing across the clearing. That shouldn’t be possible. They’re not in a cave, or a closed space, unless everything around them is an illusion. Instantly, all four of them draw their weapons. But still, there is nothing here. “I didn’t expect you to bring the other half of your soul here. But it is not unwelcome.” It sounds amused, though it’s… vaguely feminine still.
“What are you talking about?” General Skywalker asks, voicing the only thought on Rex’s mind. What does that even mean? Not as if he learned anything about souls or whatnot on Kamino.
Instead of answering, a vine suddenly detaches itself from where it was wrapped around a tree and winds itself around Cody, who lets out a startled yelp. Any other time, it would’ve been amusing. Shooting at plants is frankly ridiculous, but then, more and more of them start closing in, as if they’re somehow sentient. This doesn’t even seem real. Or possible. If it’s a nightmare – unfortunately, it’s not – it’s the strangest nightmare Rex has ever had.
“And your brother of choice?” the voice continues over the noise, “Foolish of you, when you know where it will end. You took my family. I will take yours.”
The vines are too narrow and fast to hit, though Rex does place a few shots before one of the vines grabs him.
“Rex!” his general yells, cutting through a few with her lightsaber and trying to move towards him, but a tree branch crashes down in front of her, separating them.
The vines throw Rex – actually throw him, even though that should definitely be impossible – away from the rest, deeper into the forest. Only his armor shields him from the landing, and he tries to roll to his feet, but more of the vines are already wrapping themselves around him. A lightsaber would be very helpful right about now, or a vibroblade. Oh, he’s only used his general’s lightsaber once before, and that was because Jar Jar borrowed it when she was injured.
“And mostly,” the voice continues, almost gleefully now, “You gave me your heart. I will take it, as you took mine.”
He’s a distance away, but he can still see them through the trees, and Rex sees it when General Skywalker looks at him. The being, whatever it is, must be being dramatic, because that’s not true – it couldn’t be calling him that. They might be… close, and Rex might question whether his… feelings are one-sided or not, but that doesn’t change what they are. Anika is his general, and regardless of his wants, they have to stay that way. And vice versa.
“Let him go!” she yells, slashing through another vine. The terror in her voice is very real, and Rex can’t help but react to it, fighting even harder to free himself, to get back to her side.
The only response is when the vines continue pulling him deeper into the woods, away from his general, away from everyone. He doesn’t know where he’s being taken, as the vines crawl around his body, binding his arms to his sides, no matter how much he rips at him, trying to break free and shoot at them with his blasters. His panic slowly rises, the more time that passes while he’s restrained by plants of all things.
He’s so focused on trying to disentangle himself, that it’s a moment before he notices that the vines have stopped. Slowly, Rex lifts his head, scanning the clearing as best he can from his position on the ground. The ground here is… different. It’s not grass and brush like before. Instead, it’s stone. Cracked stone, which has deteriorated over the years, but stone nevertheless. It almost looks as though it belonged to a structure of sorts, perhaps a… shrine? If the arches and engravings are anything to go by, that is.
That alone sends a prickle of raw fear down Rex’s spine. “What do you want from me?” he demands sharply, hands clenching. Distantly, he can hear blaster fire as Cody and the generals war with the plants, but it’s too far away, and he knows with grim certainty that whatever will happen to him will happen before they get here.
“You are her heart,” purrs the female’s voice, cruel and mocking, “And I will destroy you as she destroyed mine.”
Kriff. This is – this is bad. He doesn’t know what this… creature thinks he means to his general, but it’s undoubtedly wrong, no matter how desperately he might wish, sometimes, otherwise. He loves his general. He loves Anika with an unbridled fierceness, with a deep unwavering respect and loyalty that he can never give to any other. Internally, but only internally, he can admit that he likes the sound of it, of being Anika’s heart. But… he does not want to be used against her.
“I think you mistake her protectiveness for something it isn’t,” he answers dryly. Maybe if he can stall for long enough…
A snarl answers his words, and the temperature around him seems to plummet. “Enough,” snarls the voice, anger dripping from every syllable. There’s a ripple, something cold and dark and wrong filling the air as the vines twitch and writhe, sending Rex tumbling across the stone. He lands on his hands and knees in the middle of an intricately carved circle, and all at once, he knows that it’s too late.
Frantically, he lunges to the side, trying to get out of it, but then –
Something dark and unfathomably evil crashes up against his mind, and Rex is drowning in darkness. He can still see, and he can still feel his surroundings, but something is… wrong. It is coming to him through a haze, as though it’s no longer real. His head turns, and he startles, because he didn’t turn it. Slowly, against his will, his body rises, standing poised in the center of the circle.
Oh Force, no. This cannot be happening to him. This – this creature cannot have possessed him it can’t have this can’t be happening can’t –
His blasters land in his hands again, though he dropped them somewhere in the forest. He can’t question it now. Of everything that’s happening, this is probably the least scary. He just – stands there, waiting and watching, seeing through senses that aren’t even his, so he can’t make sense of him.
Internally, he’s panicking, terrified, wanting nothing more than to make this nightmare end. He doesn’t want this to happen, doesn’t want to be here, doesn’t want to be used against Anika and Cody and General Kenobi. But it’s too late to stop it. He knows that much, but that doesn’t stop him from digging in and fighting, struggling fiercely against the primordial evil that’s possessing his body and mind.
It could be minutes or hours before brush rustles and the other three stumble into view, panting. His general has a small scratch on her face which is oozing blood, and Rex’s eyes rake over her, searching her visually to ensure that she’s fine. Seeing her hurt, even so minimally, hurts him, though he’s loathe to admit it.
“Rex?” she calls, hesitantly, voice uncertain.
I’m here, he wants to say, but instead, his hands raise his blasters towards her and fire. She spins aside, bringing up her lightsaber to deflect the blaster bolts aside, blue eyes widening with fear and disbelief.
“Let him go!” Anika demands sharply, something unseen swelling around Rex. He can feel her reaching for him, but it’s as though her invisible grip slides away, unable to penetrate the defensive wall that this creature has created when it – she? – grabbed ahold of Rex’s mind and body.
“Show mercy?” the voice mocks. “Dare you ask for that when you killed my family, showing them no mercy? I may have taken your heart, but you still have the other half of your soul.”
General Skywalker blinks, as if confused, some unfathomable emotion flickering through her eyes as her gaze flicks to General Kenobi.
“And your brother,” it adds smugly, as if an afterthought.
Oh.
Oh.
General Kenobi must be the ‘other half of her soul’, but Rex will parse that out later, much later, preferably when they’re away from this hellish nightmare. And Cody… is the brother, it speaks of, no doubt.
“I don’t –” Rex’s general – his love – begins slowly, haltingly. “I –” Realization and dread enter her gaze then. “Oh,” she whispers. “The Ones.”
General Kenobi jerks, shifting forwards, as if to protect his former Padawan. On her other side, Cody steps closer, hand visibly tightening on his blaster, ready to defend Anika if he must. It relieves Rex to see it, even as he knows, deep inside, that this creature means to use him to kill her. If he has to die so she lives… he is alright with that.
“You remember.” The voice is cold, hard.
“I could never forget,” Anika murmurs. Even though her voice is quiet, Rex somehow hears her anyway. “But who are you? They never mentioned anyone else, and if they were the Light, the Dark, and the Balance… what are you?”
“I am Abeloth,” comes the answer, and the name itself sounds so evil that Rex shudders. Internally, of course. He still can’t control his body. “I am the Mother. I am all they were… and more.”
Anika’s face pales. “You are the imbalance,” she realizes, though her words make no sense to Rex. “That is why you are trapped here, isn’t it. They… imprisoned you, didn’t they? To keep you from destroying the galaxy.”
“You know nothing of what you speak!” screams Abeloth, and her fury is a living thing, rippling outward, making the ground beneath their feet tremble.
Rex has one second to realize that things are about to go badly when Abeloth puppets his body forward, sending him lunging towards Anika. Cody throws himself at him before he gets to her, and they crash into the ground, rolling across the rock and plants, both fighting for the upper hand. Distantly, he can hear his general talking to General Kenobi, and he focuses on the sound of her voice, of her words.
“Keep him busy,” Anika is saying. “I think I can get through to Rex and save him.”
Save yourself, Rex wants to tell her. He wants her to leave, to get away from here, so the darkness and evil of Abeloth can’t hurt or destroy her. He doesn’t know what he would do if something happened to her because of him; he could never forgive himself.
And then, General Kenobi joins in the fray, working with Cody to keep Rex pinned down. It’s not a fair fight by any means, not when the general can use the Force to push Rex backwards and keep him away from Anika while she steps into the center of the stone circle – an altar of some sort, Rex is beginning to suspect – and settles into a meditative position.
Something twists in the air around him, making it feel strangely staticky, and suddenly, the world around him spirals into darkness. Dimly, Rex is aware of his body, aware that it’s still moving, but his consciousness is… elsewhere. He’s standing in the darkness, and he knows that Anika is somewhere nearby, though he can’t see her. He can’t see much of anything, honestly, except faint, glowing strands of white-gold light that flicker in and out, almost appearing electric.
Tracing them with his eyes, he can see how they lead to two, bright purple eyes peering down at him, judging him. Compared to them, he feels like nothing, and suddenly, it feels like he can’t breathe anymore, so he tears his gaze away, looking further. The flickers of light lead further down, to a dim red ball of energy, interwoven with blackness, as well as higher up to a larger, glowing, white-gold ball of energy.
It all seems so terribly unreal that Rex is unsure if he’s dreaming or not.
It certainly feels as though it could be a dream. It almost feels like, if he steps too far, he’ll tumble over the edge into an abyss with no return.
“Chosen One,” hisses Abeloth, and Rex turns, instinctively, seeing Anika standing there, her body literally glowing with an otherworldly white light. He has never seen her like this before, and it’s awe-inspiring.
“Let. Him. Go,” she replies, cool and collected, blue eyes hard. Or no. They’re not blue. Slowly, the blue fades, being replaced with pure white, and Rex can feel her vibrating with sheer power. She looks like a goddess, and if he wasn’t trapped in place – connected to one of these strange currents of light – he might have fallen to his knees.
Anika steps closer, and Rex chokes as the darkness coils in on him, ready to tug him under into oblivion. He realizes that, if Abeloth was to pull him closer to her, he would die, his mind unable to comprehend the magnitude of what she is, because it’s only now that it dawns on him that Abeloth is a Force god. Or something like that.
And it seems that Anika has realized the same thing, because she looks at him, a flicker of fear on her otherwise serene face.
“General,” he calls out, a wave of relief crashing into him when he realizes that he’s capable of speech, that he can actually do something here. “Do whatever you must. Don’t worry about me.” Let me die if you must, he doesn’t say, because he could never say that to her, but her life is far more important to him than his own.
She searches his face for something before nodding, even if reluctantly, and then, she lifts her head, looking towards those unnatural purple eyes. “One more chance.”
Abeloth cackles, as if she was just told a joke. “I have your heart here,” she purrs. “Will you really take the chance that you will lose him?”
Rex senses, more than sees, the way Anika falters ever so slightly. “There is more at stake here than Rex,” she answers, not even denying the title Abeloth is using. It – Rex doesn’t know how that makes him feel, but it sends a dizzying, pleasant warmth coursing through his veins. If they ever get out of here – no, he corrects himself, when they get out of here, he has every intention of telling her how he feels, even if it can amount to nothing.
Anika does not hesitate as she throws out a hand in a distinctive gesture she uses to Force-shove something. Rex stumbles when the light and shadows binding him in place tremble, but he’s still trapped. And then, Anika herself lunges, flipping through the air, streaking towards the red ball of energy which he only now notices is pulsing like a heart. Creepy. Does that mean… they’re inside Abeloth???
The shockwave of energy when Anika crashes herself into the red energy is enough to knock Rex off his feet and stun him. Abeloth’s hold is shaken, but that also means that the protection she must have wrapped around him is shaken as well. He can feel and see too much, and he stays where he fell, keeping his eyes closed, regulating his breathing, and trying to keep himself cut off from the unnatural world around him so he isn’t overwhelmed. It’s too easy to see how his mind can shatter from this if he isn’t careful.
But he can hear the sounds of the battle clearly enough, and he aches with desperation and helplessness, wanting nothing more than to go to Anika’s side and help her. But she doesn’t need his help.
He looks up, finally, braving a glance, in time to see her floating, pure white light radiating from her body as she pours a torrent of energy into the white-gold ball of Abeloth’s mind. Abeloth howls, fury and pain mixing as one, and Rex can dimly feel the physical pain of his body crashing into the ground, spasming, as she fights to keep her grip on him. Abeloth is powerful, but Anika is better. Rex has faith in her, unwavering, unshakable faith.
She glances at him, once, briefly, before upping the power she’s wielding. There’s an explosion, a shockwave, as the glowing electric power of Abeloth’s… body? – Is that what it is? – disappears, disbursing as glimmers of light, floating away into dust, and suddenly, instead of pure, unyielding blackness, they’re surrounded by starlight. It’s… incredible, and Rex pushes himself to his feet, looking around him. He’s been in space before, many times, obviously, but never like… this.
He blinks, and his general is suddenly standing in front of him, worried eyes scanning him. Her body is still glowing with an ethereal light, and Rex can’t help but stare, feeling far more emotional than he should, though he does his best to keep those emotions tucked away where Anika won’t feel them. Hopefully.
“Are you alright?” she asks, reaching out to touch his shoulder. It should be impossible for Rex to actually feel the touch, since he was wearing his armor, but this isn’t the physical world, so the laws here are apparently different. Because he can feel her touch, the warm weight of her only human hand on his shoulder.
“I’m fine, General,” he answers, nodding, “Thanks to you.”
She steps closer. “I was… so worried,” she admits, barely above a whisper. Terrified, Rex thinks she means, even if she can’t bring herself to say it.
“The – Abeloth. Is she gone?” he queries, and Anika nods.
“I destroyed her, rooted her out of this planet… and dimension. I hope.” She huffs out a strained, not-really, laugh. Her fingers twitch, and suddenly, Rex is pulled into her arms.
It takes his brain a moment to catch up to what’s happening, and when he does, he hugs her back just as fiercely and desperately. They would have died here, if not for the insane power that Anika has within her, a power Rex does not and cannot understand, a power he doesn’t even want to understand. It’s awe-inspiring and terrifying and…
For a few long seconds, they just hold each other, Rex’s heart pounding way too quickly as he savors this moment, being so close to his general. They’ve never been close like this before, and he hopes – secretly – that this won’t be the first and the last time. He shouldn’t hope though, shouldn’t even want. They’re – she’s a Jedi, and he’s a clone, and she’s his superior –
But he still wants and yearns, more than anything. Anika is special, and she loves him.
Maybe it’s that which gives him the courage he needs. “You’re my heart, too,” he whispers against her shoulder, because it needs to be said.
Anika’s breath catches, and she pulls back, just a little, pressing their foreheads together. “Rex,” she breathes, and he doesn’t know if it’s a request or a plea, but he closes the gap between them. Or maybe she does.
All he does know is that they’re kissing, and it’s nothing like he thought it could be. Her body is shining with light and warm against his own, and he can feel a trickle of electric power where her body touches his. Finally, though it still feels far too soon, Anika pulls back, a rueful smile on her lips. “We should go back,” she says, and Rex blinks at her, dazed, before his mind finally catches up with the present.
Yeah. That would be a good idea, actually.
She squeezes his hand, reassuringly. “We can talk about this once we’re somewhere safe.”
“Is there anything to talk about?” he asks dryly, and she smirks.
“Probably not. If we’re both on the same page and okay with this, then…” She shrugs one shoulder, and Rex can’t stop himself from leaning in and brushing a quick kiss to her lips just because he can. It’s thrilling, and he feels ridiculously happy right now, like he’s floating in the stars – well, he actually is, from a certain point of view, but the point still stands.
He can feel it as Anika wraps around him in the Force, and then, he’s falling, weightless.
Rex opens his eyes with a groan, blinking up at the too bright sun overhead, trying to piece together everything that happened while his head is pounding fiercely. Something feels… off. Different. It’s as though the intensity of everything around him has suddenly multiplied, and it hurts.
He reaches up, touching his helmet, and pushing himself upright.
“You okay?”
Cody is suddenly in front of him, offering him a hand, which Rex takes, letting his brother pull him to his feet.
“Head hurts,” he mutters, picking up his blasters and sliding them into their holsters, watching as Cody goes to give Anika a hand as well.
“Given that you were possessed,” points out General Kenobi, “I would be more worried if it didn’t.” But he has a strange look on his face that can’t mean anything good.
Rex looks to Anika, feeling his heart flip when he meets her gaze. Her eyes soften, a hint of something – affection; he can feel it – flickering through them, before she, too, frowns. “What is it?” he questions. Strangely, he feels exposed, and he doesn’t like it.
“I don’t…” her voice trails off, and she approaches him, studying him intently. “Something about you seems… different. Brighter.”
He – what? What does that even mean? “Me?” he echoes, surprised. She was the one who had been glowing. If anything, she seems different. … Brighter. Huh. All three of them do, and he tilts his head, trying to figure out what to make of that.
“If I didn’t know better,” General Kenobi says flatly, “I would think you’re Force sensitive.”
A stunned silence greets his words. “Sir, that’s impossible,” Cody objects. “Clones have never been sensitive to the Force in the past, and if Rex was, we would have known.”
“Actually,” Anika interjects softly, “Obi-Wan has a point.” Rex can’t really explain what happened, but suddenly, he can somehow… sense her. Poking at him. At his mind, that is, and he instinctively reacts to the intrusion, pushing back the way he wished he could have earlier against Abeloth. She jerks back a step, visibly stunned. “Ah,” she says, her voice going unnaturally high, “Yes, Obi-Wan is right. You are Force-sensitive. Somehow.” From her expression, or maybe this strange, new intuition that Rex has, he can tell that there’s something more that she’s thinking, which she doesn’t want to say.
“We’ll deal with it when we return to the Cruiser,” General Kenobi decides. “Let’s move out before something else happens.”
No one objects, and they begin the trek back through the forest. But as they go, Rex can’t help noticing how everything feels much lighter now, as if a cloud of evil has been banished. And really, it’s the truth.
***
Anika doesn’t say anything to him until after they’ve returned to the Star Destroyer and gone to the medbay to do a checkup. According to the results, Rex, somehow, inexplicably, has a much elevated midi-chlorian count, one which is more than strong enough to make him Force-sensitive.
And he has no idea what to do with that information.
General Kenobi leaves to report to the Council, while Anika pulls him aside, to her quarters, once they’re free to leave the medbay. “I’m sorry,” she blurts out as soon as the door closes behind them. “I think this is my fault.”
Rex stares at her, uncertain. “How?” he questions finally. His feelings about being Force-sensitive are mixed – it’s more than a little overwhelming to suddenly be able to feel life all around him, and he knows it will be a big change to get used to, but mostly, he thinks it could help, especially if he’s allowed to remain with the 501st, and maybe even get some preliminary training. Maybe. He’ll think about that later, though.
Anika hesitates, visibly uncertain, cheeks flushing. “It… I think it happened when – when I… kissed you,” she manages, sounding strangled.
“I don’t mind,” Rex replies, “Being Force-sensitive, I mean. It’ll be different, something to get used to, but I’m not… upset.”
Her relief crashes against his mind so strongly that he winces. She winces, too, when she sees it. “Sorry. I’ll need to help you work on shielding, especially against me. Obi-Wan says that being bonded to me is very… intense.”
“We have a bond?” he queries, intrigued, and she offers him a small, genuine smile.
“Yes. It formed at the same time I, somehow, made you Force-sensitive, I think.”
There’s a slightly awkward pause while they stare at each other, before Rex reaches out to take her hand. “It gives us a reason to spend time together privately,” he tells her dryly.
Anika laughs at that, expression fond and warm. “I guess it does. Maybe I can even get you your own lightsaber.” She loops her arms around him, drawing him close.
He lets her, wishing that he didn’t remember the knowing, teasing, suggestive smirk that Cody had given him when Anika asked him to come to her quarters so they could speak in private. “I would like that,” he answers, smiling, leaning in to kiss her. He feels a thrill rush through him when she responds, pulling him closer. This is all so new, and it will take some getting used to, but Rex is very content with how things have ended up.
For as terrifying as his time under Abeloth’s possession was, for as certain as he is that he will have nightmares about it for a long time, at least something good has come of it. Or maybe more than one something.
Being Force-sensitive, being able to – to be a Jedi, in training, even if not in name, isn’t something he ever thought he could have – or want – until he can have it.
And more importantly, he never thought that he and his general – his heart – could ever be anything more than friends. If not for Abeloth, it wouldn’t have happened. They would have stayed apart as their duty bid them.
“Abeloth was right about one thing,” Anika murmurs, as if reading his thoughts – and she very well might be. Once that might have unsettled Rex, but now, it only makes him feel seen. “You are my heart.” Her fingers trail down his chest before she slides her arm around his waist, tugging them together.
Rex’s heart somersaults at those words, and he couldn’t stop the smile even if he tried. “And you are mine, Anika,” he replies, leaning in to kiss her again.