Chapter Text
“Master, are we sure this is a good idea?” piped a small voice, huddled close to the tall male using his lightsaber to light the corridor, they’re slowing exploring.
“I’m sure we’ll be fine, Snips,” the man said taking the time to rub the girl’s arm from where she was tucked into his side. “It’ not the first Sith artifact that we’ve gone after this war, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
“Yeah, but Master Jinn looked really worried over the Holo about us going to find it.” Ahsoka spoke softly.
“Alphas worry like that, Snips,” Anakin smiled. “I should tell you the gundark nest story.”
“What’s that?” Ahsoka asked.
“Oh, I fell into a nest once and he freaked out for like three hours and the mother sat there and groomed me,” Anakin smiled. “I was like ten.”
“Master, that sounds awful,” Ahsoka whispered.
“Not as awful as my childhood,” Anakin spoke lightly, trying to defuse the knot in his gut as the Force around them began to almost sing.
“Your childhood?” Ahsoka asked. “Master, you never talk about that.”
“With good reason,” Anakin sighed. “I don’t want to scare you with my trauma. Master Bant and I have been working on that.”
“Master Bant is really good,” Ahsoka smiled.
“She is, and she’s probably really glad to not be Mammalian, Anakin smiled. “I wanna get back to our nest too, Snips. As soon as we get that holocron, or whatever, Rex will pick us up and we’ll hunker down for a break.”
Anakin rubbed her arm again, as they kept moving deeper into the temple. Many of the walls were covered in gruesome details, but some felt much like the Jedi Murals. They spoke of many things, like the atrocities of the Sith, but there were other things that Anakin was frowning at. One mural showed many people standing behind a human covered in armor wielding a single blade.
“I wonder who that is?” Ahsoka whispered.
“Darth Revan,” Anakin answered. “They were a Jedi that fell to the Dark Side., but they came back. It’s a weird story. I half believe it was made up.”
“But didn’t the Jedi/Mandalorian wars happen?” Ahsoka asked.
“They did, but sometimes I’m not sure how,” Anakin started, but was cut off as the Force warned him too late about the trap. Anakin reached out just in time to pull Ahsoka to his chest as a cage formed around them.
“Well, well, well,” someone muttered. “Look what we got here? A couple of pretty omega Jedi.”
Anakin growled lowly in his throat, Ahsoka mimicking him as they were circled by their captures. Anakin frowned as he reached of his saber only for it, Ahsoka’s and himself to go flying in the cage. Anakin grunted as he hit the bars full force, his arm slipping through.
“Master!” Ahsoka yelled.
“Older one’s got a prosthetic!” someone else complained. “We can’t sell him for as much as the girl!”
“We would have gotten more for the girl anyway,” the first man spoke.
“You leave her alone,” Anakin growled again.
“Didn’t your mothers ever teach you that Omegas are scary around frightened children?”
The slavers turned around to see a red-haired human leaned against a stone wall, a few feet away from them. Anakin frowned at first catching the scent of a new alpha before the Force started to almost scream with excitement.
“What’s it to you, nerd?” the first slaver spoke.
“Well, considering that, you’ve disrespected sacred Force grounds and walked into a Sith Temple to capture two omegas means you two obviously don’t have a single brain cell between the two of you, much less understanding that you’ve captured, oh what is it the Holonet calls him? Ah Yes, the Hero with No Fear, I’m sure that High General Jinn, and his clone battalion, and well, General Skywalker’s own clone battalion would actively hunt you down.”
“That’s a lot of smart talk coming from a skinny human,” the second slaver growled.
“Oh, well, I guess this one-time a Sith can save a pretty Jedi and his padawan,” the Sith grinned and Anakin felt the air punch out of his longs as the Sith’s eyes, which had been a silver blue, bled into gold. “Now darlings, this is about to get ugly, so Sleep.”
Anakin felt his eyes grow heavy as the Force Suggestion clouded his mind, and the last thing he could acknowledge before sleep cam over him was that he was placed back on the floor, Ahsoka curled into his side. Anakin groaned as he came back to, sitting up quickly he gazed around the room, panicking until his eyes fell upon his sleeping padawan. Checking over her to make sure she wasn’t injured; Anakin felt the knot in his gut loosen just enough for him to look around the room.
It was a nice room, light in color, furnished with a dresser, a large mirror, and a bed. The bed they were on was large and soft, a perfect place for a nest his mind supplied. Shaking that thought, Anakin got out of the bed and frowned. His boots and socks were gone. So were his saber and outer robes. Ahsoka’s boots and socks were also gone, and so were her gloves. Just has he was getting out of the bed, light hit something silver in his eye, and he turned to the dresser to see his saber and both of Ahsoka’s. Now he was confused. Anakin was sure that the Sith that had saved them from the slavers had kidnapped them, but why leave their sabers in reach?
“Ah, I thought I sensed you were awake,” a soft voice came from the other side of the room.
Anakin spun around to see the Sith, eyes once again blue, smiling at him from the door. The mas was dressed in a light three quarter sleeve shirt, dark pants and boots, his red hair was slightly messy, and Anakin moved until he was blocking Ahsoka.
“Now, Dear One, I have no intention of hurting you or your padawan,” the Sith smiled softly under his beard. “I just came to see if you’re hungry. I can’t imagine you’ve eaten anything healthy for a while living on a star destroyer.”
“I’m not telling you anything,” Anakin growled. “What does the Sith Lord want with us, apprentice?”
“Sith apprentice?” the Sith repeated before smacking his fist into a palm. “Ah! You mean those idiots that are tearing up the galaxy from both sides.”
“What?” Anakin screeched.”
“You didn’t know that your war is just a puppet show?” the Sith asked with a frown. “I’m sorry I though the Jedi knew that they were being used as puppets for the Sith.”
“What?!” Anakin yelled. “No, no! Who? How do you know?”
“Calm yourself, Dear One, I thought it was obvious,” the Sith spoke softly. “As for who, I haven’t the foggiest. I’ve been doing my Force damnedest to avoid the other Sith in the Galaxy. I read up on what Bane’s line believes and well it’s all Banta shit. Always two a Master and an Apprentice, but that doesn’t mean there has to only be two Sith. It’s why your mother sent you to the mortal realm.”
“Please don’t give me that Chosen One Poodoo,” Anakin growled. “I’ve heard enough of it from my master to last me a lifetime, and my stupid grandmaster who’s all ‘Come with me and with Qui Gon, we’ll rule the Negaverse together’, ugh! Seriously what is it with him?”
“Did you say Qui Gon?” the Sith frowned. “As in Qui Gon Jinn was your actual Jedi Master?”
“Yes, he’s my master,” Anakin frowned. “He found me when I was nine and brought me home.”
“Well then, I must be the luckiest alpha in all the galaxy,” the Sith grinned. “You smelt like you were mine, and now I have proof.”
“I belong to no one, much less some pouncy alpha Sith,” Anakin growled low in his throat.
“Oh Darling, you’ll see soon enough,” Sith grinned. “I think I’ll grant you the knowledge of my birth name, a fair trade for keeping Qui Gon from spiraling. My name is Obi Wan Kenobi.”
Anakin felt like the floor opened underneath his feet. Obi Wan Kenobi had disappeared from the temple almost twenty years ago, and most thought he was dead. Anakin had been trying to live up to a ghost for most of his years as a padawan, a ghost that was very much alive. He looked nothing like what Anakin thought he would, from the grey just beginning to dust his temples, to the way he held himself so loosely, nothing like the holos of the ever-immaculate padawan that Anakin felt he would never be enough to compete with, until he learned that his own spot in his master’s heart was just as cherished and loved.
“Obi Wan Kenobi is dead,” Anakin frowned. “Claiming to be my master’s dead padawan is low, Sith.”
“Dead?” Obi Wan repeated. “No, I’m not dead. I’ve been doing research.”
“Okay, if you’re really Obi Wan Kenobi,” Anakin challenged. “what’s the least known fact about him?”
“How is Qui Gon? Still pining over Master Windu?” Obi Wan asked.
“Sure, he’s pining over his husband….” Anakin caught himself and jumped back onto the bed and started making a distressed high-pitched noise.
“You sound like a frog, cute,” Obi Wan frowned. “I’ll be back with some food. Do try to calm down.”
Anakin continued to make his distressed noises until he felt Obi Wan’s force signature drift away. Anakin sighed and frowned, before starting to rearrange the bed into a more comfortable nest. He frowned as he thought of his nest back in his apartments in the Temple. Wishing to be there. It had one of Qui Gon’s cloaks and a blanket Ashoka had gifted him upon her being assigned to him. One of Yoda’s old cloaks had been converted into one of his favorite pillows, their Force signatures comforting and calming. He frowned at the lack of feeling his lineage in this temporary nest, even his nest on the Resolute had bits and pieces from his main nest.
“Master?” Ahsoka finally woke up looking a bit rested, but Anakin soothed his organic hand over her montrals trying to stave off her fears. “Where are we?”
“We’ve been saved and taken prisoner by a Sith,” Anakin frowned fluffing a pillow. “Scoot, I don’t know what he’s plaining on doing or what he wants from us, but we’re going to figure out what he’s up too and then try to escape.”
“A Sith?” Ahsoka inhaled sharply. “Master, we can barely deal with Dooku. How are we going to fight him?”
“I don’t think we have too,” Anakin frowned as he finished moving what was on the bed and moved off to see if the closet had anything else to add. “We were out for a long time. He had every opportunity to kill us. He’s even left us our sabers.”
‘You smelt like you were mine.’
Anakin shivered as his mind replayed part of his conversation with the Sith. Why, why was his mind replaying bits and pieces of it?
‘It’s why your Mother sent you to the mortal realm.’
Anakin froze at this. Most people didn’t believe Anakin when he speaks of only his mother. Most people had looked at Shmi Skywalker with barely disguised pity when she spoke of one day just waking up pregnant. Most people didn’t feel the air tense around them as they asked if Shmi remembered which master it had been. Obi Wan Kenobi was the second person to openly admit that Anakin was more than he appeared. Was the second person to understand that the Force had given him to his mother. He looked in the mirror and saw the faint out line of additional eyes and wings, gifts from the Force. Shaking his head, Anakin started to pull the sheets and blankets out of the dresser. He threw them onto the bed, before going to the closet and pulling out several comforters and going back to the bed to finish the nest.
“Ah a stress nest,” Anakin heard and spun around to see two small older women, chuckling at him.
Ahsoka whimpered but crawled into the nest to hide. These women didn’t feel right.
“Seems our lad finally brought home an Omega, Demos”
“Quite the handsome one too, Phobos,” the one in red replied to the one in blue. “But he’s so skinny.”
“Hey!” Anakin hissed. “I’m not that skinny!”
“But I can see your hip bones,” Demos, the blue one said whacking his hip, making him yelp. “Don’t the Jedi feed their omegas anymore?”
“It’s this Force forsaken war,” Phobos, the red one sighed. “Seen too many skinny omegas. It’s all that Bane’s fault. Revenge for revenge’s sake. Immortality for what? To rule? Bah, turn the whole galaxy into a desert that line will.”
“Bane’s Line?” Ahsoka asked peaking around Anakin.
“Ha, those children don’t understand the Dark side as much as they wish,” Demos spoke hobbling closer to the jedi. “Those of us who sacrifice to the Dark for power have to understand, it will take it’s pound of flesh, it’s not always a disfigurement. For myself it was my mortality. I have watched over this galaxy since before the Second Schism, child, and I will be around for longer still.”
“What then that would mean, you’re at least seven thousand years old,” Anakin scoffed. “Immortality is an illusion.”
“Well spoken, Forceling,” Phobos chuckled. “I’m actually a little over ten thousand. I sense my little Moon has brought you food.”
“Granny, stop teasing them,” Obi Wan frowned as he walked into the room holding a tray loaded with fruits, cheeses and meats.
Ahsoka’s nose twitched at the smell of meat and Anakin clamped his hand down on her shoulder to keep her from tearing off after the tray Obi Wan had. Anakin did not like everything that was happening around him. There were three Sith now, two of which claimed to be so old that they remembered when the Sith Empire started. “Anakin, everything is fine, you’re safe here,” Obi Wan spoke softly. “You and Ahsoka both.”
“I never told you her name,” Anakin growled. “How did you get it? Padawan names aren’t allowed to be published.”
“Oh, he’s been obsessed with you since you came to the Temple,” Phobos spoke taking a piece of fruit off the tray dodging Obi Wan’s slapping hands. “Come eat, brother Jedi, eat and rest, let your siblings in the Force watch over you.”
“What?” Anakin frowned. “What do you mean, you’ve been following me?”
“I’m not obsessed,” Obi Wan frowned looking down at Phobos and Demos. “I just wanted to make sure. Qui Gon was okay.”
“Always checking in on your father,” Demos spoke taking some cheese. “Too bad Master Windu couldn’t teach you to cook. Omega’s love an Alpha that can keep them fed.”
“You speak like the desert,” Anakin frowned. “You speak like you know the desert.”
“I do, though it’s been years since I left it,” Phobos spoke. “Come now, he brought you food.”
“Master, I don’t think it’s poisoned,” Ahsoka all but whined.
“Okay,” Anakin said and plucked one of the fruits off the tray.
Obi Wan’s face lit up as Anakin nibbled on his snack. Ahsoka stood between them, trying not to purr at the combined scents of her master and the Sith. She almost felt like she was back at the Temple on the rare days that she her master and grandmaster were there together. She nibbled on some of the slice meat as Anakin took the tray, leading her back to the nest. Anakin looked back at Obi Wan as he crawled back into his nest. He looked content, almost happy as Anakin ate the food he provided. The Force around Anakin was practically singing as he felt himself relax. Ahsoka was cuddled next to him, giving off contentedness in the Force, but Anakin felt like prey, all the same.
“How long are you going to keep us here?” Anakin frowned. “You have no intention of hurting us.”
“I also have no intention of letting you go, Darling,” Obi Wan spoke and Anakin felt a chill run down his spine. “Now, rest up, I’ll show you around the castle and the hamlet in the morn.”
With that Obi Wan, Phobos and Demos left the room and Anakin truly felt trapped. Ever since he was sixteen and presented fully, people had been vying for his hand. This was the first Alpha that had actually cornered him.
“Master, you look worried,” Ahsoka frowned. “Why are you so scared?”
“Because I think I think I’m not going to make it to my next birthday without a mate,” Anakin, whimpered. “I think I’ve finally been caught.”
“Master Windu is going to be so upset that it isn’t Padmé,” Ahsoka smiled tightly.
“I’m upset it isn’t Padmé ,” Anakin whimpered.
“We have to leave,” Ahsoka muttered.
“I’m working on that,” Anakin frowned, and started to look for his comm. Once he found it, Anakin tried to think of who to call first and who would be able to get him and Ahsoka. Qui Gon calling was absolutely out, he had been worried about the mission to begin with. Quin as out as well, his alpha friend would have a field day teasing him, that also left out one of Anakin’s closest friends away well. He mourned for a bit about not calling Aalya. She would be the least likely of all his friends to tease him about getting captured by a strange alpha. He was not calling Mace, even under pain of death. The last time he called Mace for help, he’d gotten a three-hour lecture on the absolute mess he’d made of his mission to protect Padmé and that he was lucky he didn’t end up pregnant. It hit him in that second: Padmé. She would come to their rescue and help him lie to the council for long enough to avoid Yoda’s disappointment and Depa’s mother hening.
“Padmé, Padmé, come on pick up, pick up,” Anakin muttered.
“Anakin?” Padmé frowned as she picked up. “Oh, thank the Force! I swear if I had to deal with the 501st, or the 212th for half a second longer looking for you, I would have shot you. Where are you?”
“I don’t know, Snips and I were trying to retrieve a Sith Holocron, and there were slavers and a new Sith showed up and kidnapped us!” Anakin whined. “Padmé, please come get us!”
“I locked onto your tracker, you’re on Stewjon?” Padmé frowned. “I’m coming to get you. Can you get to an open field? Give me a few hours.”
“Thank you, Padmé,” Anakin sighed. “That leaves us enough time to get out of here.”
Anakin wrangled himself and Ahsoka out of the castle, using the vines to escape, and Anakin whispered pleas of silence into the plants as they descended. The flowers around him seemed to sing and whispered where to go and Anakin almost jumped out of his skin as a large yellow bear ambled into their path before a small pink piglet waved them to follow, muttering oh dear as they made their way to a clearing. Anakin almost wept for joy as the hours trek led them to Padmé’s sleek Nabooian yacht touching down before them and Anakin all but carried Ahsoka onto the ship. Once they were out of atmo, Padmé frowned. Anakin was not making a stress nest, like he’d done hundreds of times before when they were on the same ship. Anakin did not feel safe around her.