Chapter Text
He walked slowly through the jungle, hands folded behind his back. The fungal forests of Felucia teemed with life around him, and the Force was singing with it as he moved through the dense underbrush. A lesser Jedi might have been overwhelmed by all the songs of life flowing through the Force, but he had learned to tune it out, focus on the sound of a heartbeat to his left, a faint, nearly imperceptible rustle of the tree to his right, and finally, the fatal click of a rifle directly in front of him, several feet ahead.
He chuckled, stopping in place. Waited.
He could hear the exhale of the sniper as easily as he could hear his own breath, soft and smooth and punctuated by the cry of a blaster bolt ripping through the brush. He bent backwards, one palm touching the earth below him as the bolt soared through the area his torso had been. He shot back upwards, snatching a large stick off the ground and using it to block the knife of the Nautolan girl as she leapt from the trees and onto him. She bared her teeth even as he pushed her away, charging at him again as he blocked her easily, swiping her legs out from under her just as the Zygerrian charged out of the woods and grabbed him, picking him up from behind.
He grit his teeth, kicking his legs out towards the trees and running up the trunk, flipping backwards over the Zygerrian and pulling the much larger man over his shoulder, flipping him onto his back. The Zygerrian grunted in pain, starting to sit up again as the Nautolan jumped towards him again, and he Force pushed her back into the woods, making the girl yelp.
He took off running again before the Zygerrian or Nautolan could return to fight, zigzagging through the woods. He heard the click of the rifle again, and shot upwards into the trees, bounding from branch to branch, sliding along the translucent stems of the massive fungi. The rifle squeezed off another shot into the trees, missing him by several inches as he landed behind the Chiss. The Chiss was ready, and drew a long, curved sword, striking out towards him. He jumped backwards, the edge of the sword just barely grazing his tunic as he back flipped away, diving back again as the sword sliced through the air above him.
“Easy, easy!” he protested, ducking again.
“You told me to come at you like I was trying to kill you.” The Chiss replied. “I’m trying to kill you.”
“Unfair! Foul! I don’t have my lightsaber!”
“That was your choice. You wanted to show off.”
Fives ducked again under Fiske’s sword, leapt over a back swing aimed at his knees, and kicked Fiske in the face in midair, knocking him backwards.
“Fine.” Fives grunted. “Have it your way.”
Fiske chuckled, straightening up again with a split lip. “Better run, boy.”
“Ah, kriff.” Fives heard Rhokan charging through the brush before he saw him, and he took to the trees again, hearing Fiske prepping his rifle again behind him. Okay, so maybe doing the practice run without his lightsaber was poor judgement, but Fives wasn’t about to admit that now. Besides, he thought to himself as he leapt to another branch, it’s not like it’s a fair fight with his lightsaber. Not even Ahsoka could fight back without her -.
“Augh!” Fives was knocked from the tree with a hard blow to the back of the head, and he landed in a roll on the ground, steadying himself and rubbing the back of his head as Ahsoka Tano dropped down in front of him.
“You always do this.” She told him, swinging her unfairly huge tree branch towards him. Fives rolled away just in the nick of time. “You get so wrapped up in your own head that you forget to think about what you’re doing. Not to mention you were arrogant.”
“Was not!” Fives protested, popping to his feet again. “I just wanted to see if I could do it without my lightsaber, you never know what’ll happen out there.”
“Fives,” Ahsoka sighed, throwing the branch aside. “How many times do I have to tell you, this weapon is your life.” She took his lightsaber off her utility belt, holding it out to him. “You never willingly leave it behind.”
Fives frowned, but took it in hand. “Still feels weird, wielding a sword instead of my blasters.” He admitted, but attached it to his utility belt.
“I know.” Ahsoka said. “Believe me, it feels weird for me to have blasters instead of a lightsaber.” She chuckled. “But we adapt. We have to.” She looked over her shoulder. “You better get going, clock is still ticking, and I hear Rhokan and the others coming up behind me.”
Fives’ eyes widened. “Kriff. Kriff, how much time do I have left?” He asked, scrambling to look at the commlink on his wrist.
“Less than five minutes.”
“Kriff! You did that on purpose!” Fives shouted, already taking off into the woods again. Ahsoka just chuckled to herself, climbing back into the trees and continuing to give chase.
Fives finally burst out of the brush and into the clearing, where he knew Tallulah Chia would be waiting.
“Always you.” He hummed, smiling in spite of himself. Tallulah shrugged.
“What can I say? I like to be the final boss.”
“You’re hardly the final boss.” Fives drawled. “And this should make it easy.” He drew his lightsaber, the gorgeous blue blade crackling to life. Tallulah smirked.
“Careful what you wish for.”
She drew both her blasters, firing hard on him as he charged towards her, blocking the blasts with his lightsabers and vaulting over her head. Tallulah was ready for him, and switched to her wrist-mounted flamethrower, launching fire up onto the hills after him. Fives skidded across the rocky surface behind her, outrunning the flames and scrambling up the face to higher footing.
“That’s new!”
“Gotta keep you on your toes, Jedi!” Tallulah grinned.
Fives back flipped over her head again, and Tallulah drew her vibro-blade, slashing at him as he got close. Fives ducked around it, instead using the Force to push her back against the rocks, knocking her off-balance and forcing the vibro-blade out of her hand and into Fives’. He flicked it closed, pointing his lightsaber towards her.
“I win.”
He felt a blaster flush with the back of his head.
“Guess again, squirt.”
Fives sighed softly, powering off his lightsaber and turning to face Rhokan. He was flanked by Fiske, and Nanook was on his shoulders.
“Damn.” Fives muttered.
“How many times do I have to tell ya, double tap.” Rhokan lectured. “A good enemy is a dead enemy. At the very least, you should have incapacitated us so we couldn’t follow you.”
“It’s a drill.” Fives argued. “I’m not knocking you out.”
“You told us to shoot to kill. I figured we were beyond drills.” Rhokan said cheekily.
“If you're going to encourage them to attack you, you might as well defend yourself.” Ahsoka said, coming out of the woods to stand beside them. “Though, even I’ll admit, this run was a bit sloppy for you.” She smirked at him. “Shoulda kept your lightsaber on you.”
“I’ll be grateful down the line if something ever happens to it and I’m on my own.” Fives snarked. “Least I’ll know I can handle myself. At least, until a little Togrutan brat clocks me with a branch.”
Ahsoka grinned, and knocked him lightly in the arm. “Alright, that’s enough for today.” She said to the others.
“Man, I didn’t get to hit him this time.” Nanook complained.
“You should have aimed better when you came down from the tree.”
“Well maybe you should’ve held him still!”
Fives chuckled, listening to them bicker, and glanced over at Tallulah. “You heading back to camp?”
“Yeah, if I don’t start cooking, Fiske will do it himself, and you remember what happened last time.”
Fives scrunched his nose in disgust. “Yeah, better put a stop to that.”
“Fives, a word?” Ahsoka called. He glanced back at Tallulah, who nodded.
“I’ll save some for you. Go do your Jedi shit.”
Fives chuckled, and jogged back over to Ahsoka. “Got more training for me, ‘Soka?”
“Just a bit.” Ahsoka said. She motioned him forward, then hopped onto his back, her arms around his shoulders and legs around his torso. Fives groaned.
“This again?”
“Hush.” She said, holding on tight. “To the top of the mountain. You know the drill.”
Fives grumbled under his breath, and Ahsoka flicked his ear.
“No whining! Just go!”
Fives huffed, and ran towards the rocky surface, carrying Ahsoka on his back up the side of the cliff.
~
When they finally made it to the top of the cliff side, Fives was winded, but not exhausted like he had been at the beginning of is training, when Ahsoka first started making him train like that.
“You’re definitely stronger.” Ahsoka told him, climbing off his back and wandering to the grassy area of the cliff, overlooking the edge.
“Thanks.” Fives said proudly. “I feel a lot stronger. More powerful.”
Ahsoka smiled, sitting cross-legged in the grass. “You have certainly come a long way.”
Fives knew the drill. He sat down across from her, the two Jedi facing one another, hands on their knees. Ahsoka’s eyes were already closed, and Fives joined her.
“Take a moment.” She told him softly. “Reflect on how far you’ve come, reflect on everything you have learned.”
Fives smiled to himself, thinking back to how he’d triumphantly come out of the kyber caves, crystal in hand. He thought of Nanook proudly presenting him with the lightsaber hilt they’d found, which seemed like ages ago. Nanook had fashioned a band of leather that encircled the bottom of the hilt, the word “LEVIATHAN” stitched into it.
He remembered Ahsoka teaching him how to disassemble and then reassemble his lightsaber with the Force, remembered the feeling of powering it on for the first time to see the magnificent blue blade.
Fives also, of course, remembered the training. It began simply enough, just trying to navigate the Force, understand how to communicate with the world around him through the Living Force. Learning to trust his instinct, trust the Force, to guide him in all he did.
Meditating had been the hardest part for Fives to master. Fighting, of course, came naturally to him, being bred as a soldier. He was quick and agile, but also strong and powerful, and learning to wield the lightsaber came as easily to him as holding a blaster. Meditating, however, and learning to quiet his mind and become attuned with the Force, is where he struggled the most. It had taken months for him to be able to get to this state, and even as he opened his eyes, he knew both he and Ahsoka had ascended slightly off the grass, at peace with the Force.
“I’ve learned a lot.” Fives murmured. “Thanks to you.”
Ahsoka smiled. “In another life, perhaps I would’ve made a fine Master.”
“You’re already a fine Master.” Fives replied. “I just don’t have to call you that.”
Ahsoka chuckled. “Maybe so.” She uncrossed her legs, touching the ground gracefully again and folding her hands behind her back. “Do you think of them?”
Fives did the same, though he tripped slightly as his feet hit the ground again, but stepped up beside her. “Every day.” He murmured. “Don’t you?”
Ahsoka nodded, keeping her eyes on the horizon. “They’re here, you know. Can you sense them?”
Fives hummed. He had certainly felt a new presence on Felucia the previous day, though it took him until now to pinpoint what it was. The Republic was here.
“There will be fighting before too much longer.” Fives murmured. “An invasion. A blockade around the planet. It’ll be hard for us to leave.” He looked to Ahsoka. “We should move on soon.”
“Perhaps we should.” She looked at him. “And perhaps it is time we go our separate ways.”
“What?” Fives asked, the serenity in the air around them blowing out like a candle. “Why? What do you mean?”
“You’ve learned about all I can teach you.” Ahsoka said with a shrug. “I think… It’s time we moved on, Fives. You’re being called elsewhere.” She nodded to his commlink, and Fives covered it self-consciously, frowning.
“I’m not going back there. I can’t believe you, of all people, think I should.”
“You could go back, Fives.” Ahsoka murmured. “Nothing is stopping you. Don’t you miss them? Your family, your people?” A pause. “Rex?”
Fives flinched slightly at Rex’s name, and tried to quell the emotions that bubbled up inside him. Ahsoka continued.
“What of your visions?” She asked.
“What of them?”
“The Force is speaking to you, Fives.” Ahsoka told him. “It’s our responsibility as Jedi to listen to what it has to say. And your visions seem to be calling you back to the Temple.”
“They also warn of some great impending threat… and my own role in it.” Fives murmured, looking away from her and back over the horizon. “If I stay away from the Temple, then I won’t risk whatever it is the Force is warning me about.” He frowned. “Besides. I thought we weren’t Jedi, ‘Soka. Not anymore.”
Ahsoka hummed softly, crossing her arms. “Perhaps we aren’t.”
The pair fell silent for a beat before Ahsoka continued.
“Avoiding the future won’t change what is to come.” Ahsoka told him. “You must face your destiny, Fives.”
“My destiny,” Fives spat, turning on her at last. “Is to slaughter the Jedi, and my people.” He crossed his arms. “I see it over and over again, Ahsoka. In my dreams, in my visions, I can’t meditate without envisioning these two paths before me.”
“With the Sith and the wounded man?”
“They’re both me.” Fives told her, like he’d told her a thousand times whenever he recounted his visions to her. “On one path, it’s me but… dark, twisted, corrupted.” He shuddered. “And on the other path, I’m mortally wounded, and everyone around me is dead.”
He chuckled humorlessly. “You didn’t tell me being a Jedi would be so bleak.”
“I… really can’t explain to you what these visions mean.” Ahsoka admitted. “Truthfully, I’ve never known a Jedi to have such graphic premonitions. Except maybe Master Skywalker.” She murmured, and Fives felt the note of pain coloring the Force. “Master Yoda can help you though. I’m sure of it. He can help you get to the bottom of what these visions mean and put a stop to it.”
Fives was still apprehensive, and didn’t answer Ahsoka any further. “What will you do?” He asked instead. “And the crew, if I were to leave?”
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll manage.” Ahsoka chuckled. “And I’m certain our paths will all cross again, as well.”
“How would I even get back to the Jedi Temple?”
Ahsoka nodded towards the horizon, towards the middle distance where the two Jedi could sense the clone army gathering. “Seems like you could hitch a ride home easily.”
Fives just scoffed, shaking his head to himself.
“Perhaps I’ll find my way back to Coruscant as well.” Ahsoka mused, turning away from the cliff, and heading back towards the decline. “And as for the Crew, I’m sure wherever you go they’ll follow, one way or another.”
“You? Back to Coruscant?” Fives asked, turning to face her. “What for?”
She paused, her back still to him. “You aren’t the only one who has been having visions of the future, Fives.”
She descended the side of the cliff, leaving Fives to ponder her words on his own.
~
It wasn’t until late that night that Fives returned to the cliff to meditate. He couldn’t sleep, Ahsoka’s words too fresh, and his thoughts too loud. This high, he could see the Republic’s encampment in the far distance, the dim lights of the LAAT/is adding an extra glow to the bioluminescent wildlife of the Felucian jungles. He could sense their approach. He knew there was an old Separatist base several klicks away, but he didn’t think it was active. At least, not until the Republic turned up.
The whole thing made Fives’ stomach turn. Something didn’t feel right.
He settled into the grass, looking down at the commlink in his hands. The last time he’d seen Rex was the night he’d left Coruscant, months ago. Since then, Rex had been leaving him messages on the communicator whenever he could. At first, they’d managed to catch one another at the same time and talk for a bit. Then they’d gotten in an argument after Rex had tried to convince Fives to return to Coruscant, and since then, Fives hadn’t been picking up the commlink as often.
He turned his face towards the breeze, the wind lifting his hair a bit, and he rubbed his thumb over the communicator, powering it on and beginning his usual routine.
“It’s me. I ah – I must’ve missed you. I just wanted to check in with you. I’m sorry for – for how we left things.” Rex’s voice echoed over the small speaker, and Fives closed his eyes. “I know you’re… hesitant, to come back. Hells, I don’t even know if you should come back. But General Yoda has a point, Fives. If the Separatists find out about this – about you – I just… I’d feel a whole lot better if you were somewhere we could protect you.”
Fives pressed a button, skipping on to the next message.
“Did you know Tup and Tallulah have kept in contact? I hear him talking to her when he thinks nobody else is listening. I liked Tallulah, when I met her. And Tup seems happier after talking to her. Think maybe you could convince her to come with you, if you ever come back? I’m sure he’d love to see her.”
Fives smiled to himself, but kept his eyes closed and pressed the button again.
“We didn’t have a chance to talk about this when I saw you last, but Jesse’s an ARC Trooper now, did you know? He’s good, Fives. Real good. Takes after you a lot. I think he looked up to you, wants to make you proud. It’s not the same, without you here, but I’m glad Jesse has my back.”
Again.
“Commander Tano’s with you, right? Will you tell her… Will you tell her sorry for me? And that I miss her? Skywalker does too. We all do.”
Again.
“Things are changing here. I can’t really explain how, or why, but things just feel different. Skywalker hasn’t been the same since Commander Tano left, and I suppose I haven’t been the same since you left either. He’s angry, Fives. Angry all the time. If I didn’t know better, I almost – no. No, it’s foolish of me.”
Again.
“I get it if you’re still angry. You’ve always been hard-headed. But please, just let me know you’re okay when you get a chance, yeah? Feels like I’m talking to dead air here, mate.”
Perhaps it had been cruel of him to ignore Rex’s messages, and a pang of guilt bled into his chest. Hadn’t he already put his Captain through enough?
“Good soldiers follow orders.”
Fives jumped, eyes flying open. That was new. And that wasn’t Rex’s voice.
“Good soldiers follow orders.”
Fives pressed the stop button on the commlink, but it kept going, repeating that same phrase over and over and over again, until Fives was no longer on the cliff side. Instead, he was in some kind of hangar, it was difficult to tell what was going on. There were two Jedi. The 501st. He could see Rex. Skywalker.
A soldier, running up behind one of the Jedi. Sisters. Lifted his gun.
“Good soldiers follow orders.”
The words echoed in his head and found their way past his own lips, and he jolted backwards, hearing the blaster fire rattle in his brain as the trooper shot the Jedi.
“Fives?”
He jumped again, spinning around and withdrawing his lightsaber quickly, too disoriented to register it was Tallulah until she dropped the bowl she’d been holding, hands going up.
“Hey! Easy, it’s me! It’s just me!” She gasped, taking three quick steps back as he spun on her.
“Kriff, sorry.” Fives whispered, his voice shaking as he deactivated his lightsaber. “Was that for me?” he asked, nodding to the overturned bowl of what looked like soup.
“Don’t worry about it now, what’s going on?” Tallulah asked, hurrying over to him quickly and touching his bicep. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
Fives swallowed roughly, trying to re-center himself. “I saw… something.”
“Another vision? The same one?”
“No, different.” Fives shook his head. “A… a premonition, I think. Something bad is going to happen.” He looked back out towards the horizon, where the Republic camp was set.
“Kriff.” He breathed, scrubbing a hand down his face and shaking his head. “It’s happening.”
“What’s happening?” Tallulah pressed. “Fives, talk to me.”
He looked down at his lightsaber.
“The beginning of the end.”