Chapter Text
Obi-Wan Kenobi observes in the distance the figure of the Temple Guard who at first glance seems hidden behind one of the large pillars that are a few meters away, going unnoticed, only highlighting his figure from the shadows with his light clothing that makes him not completely lost while maintaining a relaxed pose with the naked eye, his arms behind his back and looking around from time to time but for the redhead (like the rest of the adults) they know that he is watching the place in search of using the space at his disposal favor.
When he guides the small group of children to take the next class they run to greet the guard, they make a small bow as the redhead has recently taught them with a “Good morning, Mr. Guardian” making him just bow his head and respond, “Good morning, little Jedi.” making the children laugh delightedly as they perceived the happy tone behind that expressionless mask.
“Good morning Master Kenobi.”
"Good day." The same greeting accompanied by the same question in a playful tone. “Guard…Michael?”
A snort is the response as he straightens his position to a more alert one. “Maybe next time you'll have a little luck.”
Now it's Obi-Wan's turn to snort. “Someday I will guess your last name.”
"...Maybe"
And with that exchange of words the small group of children follow their caretaker, the Guard putting himself back in his place while out of the corner of his eye he watches the small group leave and tries to ignore the small rapid flutter of his heart that that redhead causes.
He has been with that dynamic for just over two years now, a small game that both adults had created because of the little coexistence that had been established between them when they had assigned him this area of the Temple and the curiosity of the little ones when they had asked about personal things such as his species, age, his tastes and his name, something impossible to say since when accepting his position as of the Temple Guard he had to maintain anonymity in front of the rest in order to keep his head cool, avoiding impulsive actions due to emotions in order to carry out his mission. until the last day of his life as he had played it before the council.
He had already made the mistake of letting his emotions dominate him that day, where he had touched the dark side... A stain on his past, a burden that he would carry until the end of his days.
He had vowed to purge those feelings and focus on preventing anyone else from suffering the same fate.
But that oath went on vacation when he saw Master Obi-Wan with the little ones, the latter running to meet him to greet them and ask him the most curious questions that made him double over with laughter once he was in the safety of his room.
He decides to start walking through the hallways once he sees one of his classmates filling his position. If he's lucky, he might run into Master Kenobi with the children in the hallways before going to have a snack and rest. Maybe if he's a little lucky, he'll focus on one of his projects.
But there is something that stops him in the middle of the hallway, his heartbeat is the only thing he hears while the sounds around him are heard too far away.
He feels something cold settle in his bones that reminds him of the few visits he made to the planet Ilum; he feel as if his body suffered a slight electric shock and the air quickly became heavy, changing tranquility to uncertainty in less than a heartbeat.
The sound of laser guns breaking down the temple doors and screams is the welcome to the nightmare.
Drawing his double saber, he quickly reacts to help his brothers, deflecting the plasma bullets while seeing with horror that the clones are the ones causing that massacre; He doesn't mind at all maiming and using the force to throw the clones against the walls while he tries to prevent more deaths of his Jedi brothers and shouts orders to his brothers nearby to evacuate the younger ones out of the Temple.
There are bodies that increase dangerously and Anakin makes his way while wildly searching for Obi-Wan's group and ignoring seeing the bodies of his brothers behind; He barely manages to avoid the execution of several people and helps Master Cere Junda get up and can see what he assumes is his Padawan with a group of children nearby.
“Have you seen Master Kenobi?”
The woman just shakes her head as they all take shelter behind a wall and Anakin just feels suffocated to the point that he feels like he needs to take off his mask but he restrains himself in favor of trying to show calmness in the tone of his voice and think with a cool head as he searches his mind for safe routes to evacuate.
“The last time I saw them they were near the council chamber.” Trilla exclaims upon hearing the redhead's name. “They must be there.”
“I'll distract the clones so you can run to the emergency ships.” Anakin says in the calmest voice he can, pointing them to an improvised exit when he sees that there are no clones nearby. “I'll try to buy them time.”
“Thank you very much Guardian.”
“Skywalker.”
“We will see you soon Guardian Skywalker.” The woman tells him while giving him a small smile before addressing the small group. “Go!”
And with that signal Anakin comes out of his hiding place while attacking the clones nearby, launching some against his brothers who share the same face, advancing towards his goal and distracting them from the little ones who are running towards the exit.
He kills some of them who try to shoot the children and others, the luckier ones, just leaves them wounded enough so that they don't attack anyone else; He reminds himself that he can't allow himself to be seduced again by the negative emotions whispering in his ear as he gets rid of the clones one by one.
He races towards his destination while launching deadly attacks left and right, abusing his strength to move faster and get rid of his enemies. He runs into a young Togruta who can barely remain defensive and Anakin wastes no time getting rid of the clones that had cornered the teenager who looks at it in horror.
“You killed them!”
“It was them or it was you.” He tells her before running. "Let's go! Come on!"
And the teenager runs after him before reaching that large room where they enter and close the door behind them, running into the defensive figure of Obi-Wan who only lowers his guard a little when he sees the newcomers and the children leaving behind the council chairs.
Anakin can't help it and hugs the redhead before separating. “Come on, we need to get out of here.”
Obi-Wan only attends in silence before calling the little ones, who run behind while holding hands to avoid separating and give themselves a little comfort before leaving that room.
Anakin makes way for them as they head to the ships in the middle of that chaos, helped by Obi-Wan and the teenager; On their way they encounter 2 other padawans who join in (one of them has to be carried because he is injured) and the entire group is about to reach their destination when they run into Master Tapal who is helping the other Jedi get on the ships to escape.
They hear the footsteps of the soldiers nearby and Anakin does not hesitate to stand in front before launching the attack to buy more time and allow the rest to flee, but as he defeats one, three emerge in his place attacking with their weapons; One of them manages to hit him in one of his arms, causing him to almost drop his saber and getting hit near the side of his mask near the eye.
In a desperate attempt, he throws several clones into the air again before they collide with the walls and pillars, causing them to become unconscious, but his body complains about the pain of the wound and the fatigue that comes with using the force in that way. While he tries to keep a cool head, he does not realize that Master Tapal is next to him until it is too late and he throws him towards the entrance of the ship.
The lastar does not turn to look at him at all as he throws several clones away and moves to go to a smaller ship. “I hope the force allows us to meet again.”
And without further ado the ship begins its takeoff, seeing the purple figure get on his own ship before flying in the opposite direction. Anakin wastes no time and heads towards the flight deck to leave the planet, so when they are a considerable distance away from the planet he prepares the jump to get out of there.
Once the jump has been successfully made, he puts the ship on autopilot and ignoring the tiredness of his body, he heads with the rest where he can see Obi-Wan finishes healing the injured Padawan and the other children are hugging each other while giving each other comfort while trying to assimilate everything that has happened in just a few hours.
There is a glow on the ship's communicator announcing a new message and seeing Obi-Wan's serious look on it, he decides to open it causing it to play the message showing an all too familiar and popular figure inside and outside the Temple:
“I am Master Depa Billaba, I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen.
Do not return to the temple, that time has passed.
We will all be questioned; our trust, our faith, our friendships, but we must persevere.
And in time, a new hope will emerge… May the force be with you.”
Nobody says anything when the message ends, the children just look at each other with fear, the older ones try to process those words until one of the younger ones decides to break the silence.
“Masters, what will happen now?”
“We will find a way to move forward, don't worry.” They are the only words Obi-Wan can say in an attempt to give them comfort.
Closing his eyes, he lowered his hood, drawing the attention of his companions and silently brought his hands to his mask to show his face after so long.
“My name is Anakin Skywalker, Guardian of the Jedi Temple.” The man presented. “I promise you that I will continue with the mission of protecting you no matter what it takes… Although I feel hurt that you will never guess my name.”
That last one made the little ones laugh before the redhead finished helping them clean their faces dirty from tears and the brunette would follow his example if it weren't for the pain in his arm, making Obi-Wan turn his attention to his companion.
“Come on kids, go to sleep.” Obi-Wan orders them. “Tomorrow will be a very busy day. I will be with you in a moment.”
With a light murmur of “good night” the children go to the cabin where they had prepared the place to sleep with the help of the redhead while the brunette had established the route.
Both adults don't say anything during the night, the brunette only lets his injured shoulder heal from the shot he had received; He does not realize that he has a wound on his face that will leave bruises in the coming days or that there are light traces of blood on his white clothes, both from the clones and his own.
They can only hold hands while allowing themselves to cry in silence, forcibly praying for all those who had succumbed to that attack, feeling various signatures quickly fade throughout the galaxy.