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MASTER WINDU AND ESTEL FOLLOWED Freia's pointed finger to one of the highest floor of the Senate building. They sensed it too now; the grey metal-like plate appeared as if it was made from the Zillo Beast but it wasn't.

Estel put his hands in his side, giving the female Jedi Knight a sideways smirk. 'Your eyes aren't only beautiful, master Freia, they're keen as well.'

Freia awkwardly cleared her throat, dropping her finger and being all too aware of Windu's presence. Why couldn't Estel at least try to be a respectable Jedi?

'Please focus,' she said in a poor attempt to scold him.

Estel nodded. 'Right. What's the plan, masters?' he asked while cracking his knuckles.

Windu let out a deep breath while observing the weak spot once more. 'Freia and I will scout ahead. You will wait here for Master Yoda, Aramis, and padawan Astaldo, and follow later with them.'

Estel's face dropped in disappointment for a moment, but then he nodded again. 'Very well,' he said, and the other two crossed eyes.

A part of them had expected Estel to go against it, but maybe he realized he wasn't really cut out for scouting; he had a large vocabulary but subtlety wasn't in it.

Freia returned her attention back to the building, searching for a spot she could jump to. Her eyes lingered on the protruding stones of the architecture before closing her eyelids and attuning herself with the presence of the Force all around them.

Her heartbeat slowed down, the rays of the afternoon sun warmed her body through her robes, and the Force awakened her very core -- they were one, with no beginning and no end.

She opened her eyes again and leaped towards the building, her body strengthened and feeling weightless. Without making a sound, she landed upon the building and she ignited her two lightsabers; the green colour mixing with the blue one.

She waited if the building in lock down had another defence than the Zillo scales, but nothing happened. No lasers blasted towards her and no alarm sounded.

She hung the hilts back on her belt and jumped farther upward until she stood in front of the fake plate. Estel who was far below her was no bigger than an ant and the wind around her seemed stronger, the current tugging at her clothes and blowing the loose streaks of her braid in different directions.

When Windu landed next to her on the narrow stones, Freia stabbed her two sabers through the metal. It sizzled violently and turned into a bright yellow-orange as it heated up; the thick liquid dripping downwards while Freia created an opening big enough for them to get through.

They stepped inside the dimly lit hall and Windu ignited his purple lightsaber to use it as a light source as well.

'To the Chancellor?' Freia asked him, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Windu hummed in agreement and Freia dashed of, taking the lead since she knew exactly where they were and knew the inside of the Senate building as well as the life lines on the palm of her hands.

The halls were eerily silent as the Jedi made their way down to Palpatine's office. The lights above them were still no more than a faint glow, the generators probably used most of the electricity to keep the air vents running now that every window was closed.

Though Freia and Windu tried to make no sound at all, the sound of their leather boots on the carpeted floor still echoed flatly against the walls as the humming sound of their sabers seemed to grow in volume in the suffocating silence all around them.

They ran past a side exit of the Galactic Chamber but both stopped dead in their tracks when the door -- now behind them -- slid open with a hiss.

With one saber raised above her and one in front of her, Freia turned around on her heels.

In the door opening stood master Miko Palmaran and a relieved smile made its way onto her face until she saw the red lightsaber in his hand.

Everything fell into place, like a jigsaw which only missed a few last remaining pieces: Miko never stopped being a Sith, he had joined the Separatists and forced the Senate building in lock down to overthrow the Republic.

'Freia. . .' Miko tried, raising his scarlet saber in a defensive way while Freia's expression became one of anger and she tightened her grip on her own lightsabers.

'Traitor,' Windu shouted in fury and the moment Miko's brown eyes left Freia's, she leaped towards him.

With one clean cut she cut off Miko's hand holding the saber and before he could scream in surprise and pain, she stabbed her other lightsaber through his throat.

Miko's eyes grew wide but then they became dull as the light left them, and he fell lifelessly on the floor. . .

✧✧

GOLDIE HIT BLINDLY AROUND HER when she came back to her senses. It felt as if there was a fire storm raging inside her veins, burning everything relentlessly on its path and scorching her veins until they existed as only solely black rivers.

She couldn't see anything, so maybe she got caught in an actual fire, meaning she had to get out of here. Something around her waist and legs held her back though, and she continued to strike empty air with flying arms.

'Goldie, sssh, it's alright,' a soothing male voice said while one of her hands got taken between two other larger, cool hands.

Still without seeing anything, Goldie stopped moving and clasped her other free hand around Anakin's; taking in the cold of his hands to extinguish the raging fire within herself.

'It's alright,' Anakin repeated, his thumb softly striking over her feverish skin. 'The Jedi Order came for us, we're safe. We're all safe. Us, the younglings, and Ahsoka.'

Goldie took a shaky, deep breath and shivered when the memories of recent events returned to her. She remembered duelling with Ventress inside the ice temple, being burned by her lightsaber, but she also still felt the cold marble stone against her back as she slid down a column before losing consciousness.

'What happened?' she asked and she felt the creaks of her dry lips splitting as she did so, but she also finally managed to open her eyes.

Anakin sat next to her on the bed, his dark blond curls lit up from above by the cold light of the emergency room of the Star Destroyer.

'You got poisoned by Ventress,' Anakin answered, faintly smiling when he noticed her eyes were open but then he averted his attention back to their intertwined hands.

'I tried to Force heal you,' he continued, his expression saddening, 'but I wasn't strong enough. Ahsoka and I barely managed to contain the poison, but Master Bluelv healed you when the Order arrived on Ilum.'

Goldie made a sound in the back of throat, to indicate that she understood, followed along. She wanted just to blink but as she closed her eyes, she felt herself drift back into the darkness clogging her mind. Her body still burned, but not as agonizing as first. Anakin would watch over her, they were safe.

'Next time I will be strong enough.'

The whispered words reached her long after she drifted off in a dreamless sleep, making her unable to determine if Anakin had really said them or it was just her fevered mind playing tricks on her.

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A/N:

yay, chapter twenty-two! my lucky number!

please let me know your thoughts, spam as much as you like, really. I live off comments, no shame. ;)

also, I'm thinking about creating another Star Wars apply fic when I finish this one (because yes, this one is nearing its end) but I'm not yet sure when I want it to take place. during the prequels, original trilogy or sequels? what would you prefer?

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