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Mace's children have been acting shifty all day. Focused and on high alert.
"Dey is here." Crys reports
"How many?" Cody asks, shoulders set and gaze sharp.
"Fiwve. Vwizla, and some we don't know, an Pwiest."
At the last name, a wash of predatory intent, focused determination, and an undercurrent of instinctive fear, flows through his children. Whoever Priest was, he'd hurt them.
"Who is coming?" Mace asks. He needs to know who he has to kill.
"Mangos." Wooley tells him.
Mace pauses and blinks. Brutally eliminating fruit had not been on his schedule for today, but he can add it in.
"Mangolorians." Obi-wan clarifies for him. "Bad mangolorians. Callin demselves death watch. Bin nidnappin an hurtin an brainwashin ade."
Ah, that makes more sense.
"Needin to be goin outside." Cody tells him. Which doesn't seem like the best idea if there are bad Mandalorians hunting them.
"Layin der twap." Boil elaborates.
"S good twap." Longshot adds, appearing behind them with a rifle strung over his shoulder. "Der watermaster is givin me niper wifle." He explains in response to Mace's raised eyebrow. "Is wantin novver after action weport in eggschange."
The sniper rifle in question is significantly bigger than longshot. It is... not the usual weapon someone would give a child.
"Is your current hand-eye coordination suitable?" Mace asks.
His children all glance up at him.
"Knowin how to be bein safe." Longshot assures him. "Only hitting der bad mangos."
Mace nods, accepting that. He trusts his children to know their own capabilities.
They've hardly left the temple when five mandalorians lower themselves from the sky on jetpacks, shooting at his children. Mace leaps into action, reflecting blaster fire back, Obi-wan doing a remarkable job at the same, with a well executed if slightly shaky form of soresu. Between them and longshot, who'd hidden himself up on a balcony somewhere, the Mandolorians are brought to the ground. Jetpacks are apparently a nice, big, target. Only one of them explodes, and from the wash of vicious satisfaction in the force, it was the one called Priest.
One of the Mandalorians pulls out a saber, and Mace's first instinct is to worry which of his children he took it from, before he remembers about the darksaber. Tarre Vizsla's saber that somehow became some sort of holy relic that's only welded by the Mand'alor.
Cody ducks under a violent swing - and Mace really doesn't like beskar, he's too far away and can't use the force to help - dives between the Mandalorian's legs, punching upwards as he goes, jumps off the man's back as he crumples, and brings his own saber out with a flash of orange tinted darkness.
The remaining Mandalorians kneel, a fist to their hearts, and Mace breathes. All his children are still alive. And unhurt.
Cody stares down at the decapitated body at his feet and huffs.
"What am I doin wiv laser sword?" Cody grouches. "Already havin a laser sword!"
"More laser swords is good laser swords!" Waxer pipes up.
"Turnin into Gweevus." Boil points out with a sly grin. Mace does not know who or what a Grievous is, but from the 'Oooh!s' of the rest of his children, it's not a flattering comparison.
"Dat one's called Gewald." Obi-wan informs them, nodding at the darksaber.
"Told you Cowdy was der best." Obi-wan reminds him. "Now he's bein Mand'alor'ika."
"Cod'ika," Mace says, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I'm sure I remember asking you not to take over Mandalore until I was no longer legally responsible for your datawork."
"Sowwy Master Wimdu."
"Be telling dat to der stoopid dar'manda." Obi-wan pipes up in Cody's defence.
Crys humphs. "Stoopid anyways." He mutters darkly. "Fightin for shiny laser swords sno basis for system nof governenment. Supweme eggsecutive power dewives fwom a mandate fwom der masses, not fwom some farcycle mistical sword fight."
Wooley reaches up to pat the top of Cry's helmet.
"Dare, dare."
"Not eggspectin to wield supweme eggsecutive power just cos winnin a magic glow sword!"
Cody narrows his eyes, clearly plotting, and exchanges a look with Obi-wan, who grins, sly and slow.
"Farsicle miffical sword fight." Obi-wan muses, slow and trouble.
"Needin to com Jasper." Cody says. "Den datawork an additionwal laser sword goin way."
"Sucuy'gar Jasper." Cody says when the com is answered. Mace hides a smile at the casually deliberate mangling of the name. It comes with none of the affectionate warmth that 'Wimdu' does.
"You needin to be comin to der temple an fightin me pwease. An if I be dwoppin weapons in der fight, you needs to be pwomising to pick dem up."
The stun bolt whistles vaguely in Cody's direction, missing him by a mile, and Cody slowly and deliberately raises the darksaber then opens his hand, dropping the saber to the ground.
"Oh no." He says loudly and clearly and utterly deadpan. "I hav lost der laser sword."
Then Cody tips forwards, body rigid, and lands face first on the ground with a small thump.
That would explain why all his children were stuffing extra padding into Cody's armour last night.
Mereel steps forwards, radiating bemusement, and picks up the darksaber.
"Oya Mand'alor!" Cody calls, from where he's still lying face-down, still as a statue, on the floor.
Mace's children lose it, dissolving into fits of giggles.
Mereel pauses, eyes flicking between the prone Cody and the saber on his hip, and the lightsaber he's currently holding.
"Wait," he says, "is this the actual darksaber?"
Cody remains utterly still, but his force presence is a perfectly executed eye roll.
"Is called Gewald!" Obi-wan calls from the sidelines. "An yes! You're bein wewwy der Mand'alor now!"
"What?" The poor man looks confused at this turn of events. He's clearly not a suitable guardian for Mace's children if he can't roll with being suddenly and unexpectedly made officially the ruler of a people he was already considered the ruler of. Mace is fairly sure this is just a normal Taungsday for his kids.
"Why is it covered in glitter?"
"Gewald wanted to be feelin pwetty." Obi-wan explains.
"And the googley eyes?" There's a definite trace of amusement in his tone, and Mace's children snicker.
"So now dey has a face." Waxer replies earnestly.
"Wiggly face!" Wooley whispers, voice vibrating with mischief and poorly suppressed laughter.
None of this seems to be clearing up the Mand'alor's confusion.
"Where did you even get it?" He asks.
"Por Vizla's tryin to be killin us. So Cod'ika's killin him istead. So he's getting der magic laser sword. But Mace'buir not wantin to be legally wesponsibubble for wuling Mandalor, so you fightin Cod'ika and winnin and takin Gewald der Darksaber fwom him." Wooley explains patiently.
Jaster just blinks at them in confusion.
Artery tuts loudly, impatient, and stalks forwards to drag the still unmoving Cody up by the scruff of his neck until he's sitting. Then he extends one finger and gently pokes Cody's chest. Cody topples over backwards. The snickering intensifies.
"Cod'ika is bein gwavely injured." Artery pronounces solemnly. He reaches forwards to drag Cody upright again, and Boil comes running to his side.
"Here!" He says desperately, actually putting some effort into his acting, unlike the other two. "I hav blankey to helps wiv shock!"
Artery takes one look at the offered blanket, and pauses, force presence flaring with evil glee. He fishes around in his belt, and takes out a sheet of ...stickers? He carefully peels one off and sticks it on the chest plate of Boil's armour. It's a gold star.
"Good work, Boil'ika." He says, taking the blanket and shaking it out before tucking it around Cody's shoulders. It's the blanket with smiling suns on.
Beside Mace, Obi-wan is gasping for air he's laughing so hard.
Cody remains stoically unresponsive, but his scowl in the force is an entertaining contrast to the smiley, sunny blanket he's cocooned in.
"Thank you, Cod'ika." Mace says, as they walk back to their quarters. He has absolutely no doubt that Cody could rule Mand'alor if he wanted to, but considering he's a ward of the Jedi Order and thus a republic citizen and also technically a very small child, that's a political clusterkriff he's extremely glad to have missed.
"You're welcom, Master Wimdu. Nobody is likin der datawork. Or dealin wiv der pollyticians."
Mace nods, then blinks. He looks back down at Cody. Who is wearing the smiley sunshine blanket knotted around his neck and flowing down his back like a cape. He blinks innocently up at Mace.
"Likin der extwa authowity cape is givin me." He explains, mischief curling deep.
Mace bites back a smile.
"Why do you think Jedi wear robes?" He asks conspiratorially.
"More layers is better for stwip sabacc." Cody answers immediately.
Mace freezes and turns slowly.
Cody repeats his innocent blink, force presence curling with a smirk that doesn't touch his face, before marching off, sunshine cape flaring out behind him.
He keeps forgetting Cody is just as much trouble as the rest of his children.