Fanfic / running with lightning feet

running with lightning feet is a fanfic written by blackkat (from Blackkat's Reverse fame), hosted on Archive of Our Own.

This is about Feral Opress completely fumbling his sabotage mission by getting kidnapped by a Jedi Master with unfortunately overwhelming parental instincts and his clone squad. It's the best thing that ever happened to him.

If only Maul and Savage could see it this way, it would be perfect, but our two Zabrak Sith warriors have no intention whatsoever to let their baby brother get Sith-napped without trying to get him back.

Contains the following tropes

• Abusive Parents:
  • Mother Talzin. The woman willingly gave away, tortured, neglected, and is completely comfortable with murdering her sons. Even with the witches, she isn't that nice, having been willing to kill the few Nightsisters who tried to leave Dathomir. Later, it's revealed that the only Oppress brother who's actually her son is Savage, with Maul and Feral being his half-brothers.
  • Sidious technically counts due to his largely raising Maul. It's telling that, of all the threats he's faced and people he's killed, the very mention of Sidious' name is enough to scare him.
• Accidental Innuendo: Right after remembering Zabraks are a feline race, Comet jokingly asks Feral to purr for him. Poor Feral is so embarrassed that Wolffe has to upbraid his trooper for propositioning the prisoner.
• And I Must Scream: When Padme, Fox, and Maul are exploring an abandoned Sith palace, they come across an army of soldiers that a Sith Lord had frozen in carbonite, against their will, for centuries.
• Ascended Extra: It could be argued that the whole fic is centered about those.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Yes, Feral is kind of a wimp for a Sith. And yet he almost managed to sabotate the comm tower, held his own against the more experienced Commander Wolffe and would have successfully escaped if he had been ruthless enough to kill his opponents - because oh yeah, Feral was holding back.
• Big Brother Instinct: They don't show it, or couch it in terms of pragmatism, but Savage and Maul immediately drop everything they're currently busy with in order to find Feral's whereabouts.
• Big Entrance:
  • When trying to decide how to approach the communications tower, Feral notes that Maul would specifically wait for the right moment to make a dramatic entrance.
  • Koon notes that Jedi Master Agen Kolar and clone Commander Fil are both incredibly fond of these...often including explosions. While we don't see them make one, it's implied that they do it enough that the admiralty keeps sending them into enemy territory out of exasperation.
• Break the Cutie: The fic does a good job of setting Feral up to be the sweetest, kindest, and most innocent of the Oppress brothers...and then he's made to endure a Trauma Conga Line while trying to protect the clones and reunite with his brothers.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Feral, after Plo Koon and Wolffe get through to him, delivers one to Maul about how their actions are only hurting innocent people. Payback isn't shy about giving Wolffe these, either.
• The Cameo: Because the story focuses more on the Oppress brothers, the clones, and Padme, characters like Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka only have a few scenes.
• Character Development:
  • Wolffe starts as quite jerkish and paranoid regarding the Sith prisoner his Jedi and squad insist to treat with kindness. The more he's exposed to said prisoner, however, the more he progressively defrosts as it gradually dawns upon him that the "Sith" is nothing but a poor schmuck who got handed a truly crappy deal in life.
  • Feral is growing to realize that maybe, blindly following his brothers' path of blood and violence isn't the greatest thing for the galaxy... or even himself.
  • The other Oppress brothers get a decent amount of development, with Maul gaining a new respect for clones (specifically Fox) and Savage becoming close with Sinker.
• Chekhov's Gift: When they meet again in the market place, Savage (as a thank-you for her earlier gift) gives Padme a necklace with a traceable signal. Later, it turns out that the pendant of said necklace is actually the key to the ancient Sith palace that she, Maul, and Fox end up exploring.
• Crapsack World: Dathomir. Payback offhandedly mentions malnutrition such as what Feral suffered is commonplace, and if you're born male, you can be murdered or raped on a whim by a witch passing through.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Feral, Wolffe, and Kycina versus Darth Sidious. Feral notes very quickly that the Sith isn't giving it his all; to him, this is fun. They barely escape with their lives, and Feral later realizes that it's because he let them go.
• The Cutie: Feral is so kriffing polite and shy the Wolfpack cannot equate that with Sith warrior.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Savage is noticeably nicer to Sinker after the latter beat him in a fight.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Wolffe is convinced for the first quarter of the fic that Feral is a dangerous killing machine who should be locked up at all times. Once he gets to know him, though, he starts being nicer to him.
• Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Averted so hard it will give you whiplash. Savage was actually happy for Feral to be rather plain and shy as no Nightsister would be tempted to force herself on him, and is terrified when Mother Talzin suggests for his younger brother to serve as breeding stock if he cannot handle the Sith path.
• Dramatic Irony: Feral bleakly muses his brothers are probably celebrating the fact his abduction rid them from a failure of a Sith warrior. It's rather painful when the reader can see Savage and Maul are terrified by their younger sibling's disappearance and desperate to have him back.
• Dude, Not Funny!: Wolffe shouts a variation of this when Comet accidentally propositions Feral.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Deconstructed by Savage and Maul. Yes, they care for each other and Feral, but Maul is so emotionally stunted he cannot go beyond a teacher-student relationship and Savage was so traumatized by Feral's death at his hands that he resorts to bully and terrify his younger brother to teach him strength. Ultimately, they are pushing the one they love away because they're unable to express their care in a healthy way.
• Evil Matriarch: Mother Talzin has no problem selling and later manipulating one of her sons, distorting another one into a blood-crazed berserker and threatening to make her youngest into a Breeding Slave. Her sons accordingly hate and fear her.
• Family of Choice: Sinker (along with Savage and, by extension, literally every clone in existence) become a part of Clan Wren while hiding out on a Mandalore colony after Ursa basically adopts him. Boba also chooses to reunite with his "little brother" (after earlier rejecting the other clones as his family) rather than continue to wander the galaxy alone.
• Fighter, Mage, Thief: The Oppress siblings. Savage is the Fighter - a raging berserker without any concept of subtility, Maul is the Mage - the fully-trained Sith who's trying to teach some finesse to his brothers, and Feral is the Thief - the stealth expert who flees or talks his way out.
• Good Feels Good: How Plo Koon hopes to convert Feral to the Light Side. It seems to work, as the Zabrak feels much more at ease after trying the Jedi way to meditate. This later happens to Savage when he starts a relationship with Sinker, aka the first truly healthy relationship he's had in a long time.
• Heel Realization: Feral has one when he learns from Wolffe just how many clones have been killed by Maul, Savage, and Ventress alone. Savage has one later when he realizes that it's his connection to the Dark Side that is making him a monster, and that this is why Feral is so scared of him (that and the neck snapping).
• Humanoid Aliens: Zabraks have horns, Facial Markings (often enhanced with tattoos), two hearts, can take blows that would normally kill other species, are mostly carnivorous, and can see in the dark (the two last points being caused by them having evolved from felines).
• I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: Master Jedi Plo Koon's reaction to the Sith warrior who almost blew their comm tower up, to Wolffe's utter despair. Justified in this case, as while Maul and Savage do care about Feral, their sibling relationship is toxic. Getting Feral away from Maul's influence and Sith "lessons" was the best thing Plo Koon could have done for him.
• Internal Reveal: Eventually, Maul tells Padme and Fox that Darth Sidious is Chancellor Palpatine, and that the whole war has been an elaborate Xanatos Gambit to make himself a galactic dictator. Due to all of the hints he's dropped to the two for the last week, it isn't too much of a shock, but they're still a little upset about it.
• Interspecies Romance: The Oppress brothers (all three Zabraks) find love with clones. Feral ends up with Wolffe, Savage is with Sinker, and Maul becomes pretty close with Fox and Padme (to everyone's surprise).
• It Runs in the Family: Outright name-dropped by Feral when Wolffe accuses him of being over-dramatic. Knowing Maul and Savage, it's hard to argue against him.
• It Tastes Like Feet: Ration bars are accused from tasting like cardboard. A particularly bad one is described as cardboard already chewed then regurgitated by someone else.
• The Kindnapper: With the notable exception of Wolffe, Plo Koon and his squadron are very gentle towards Feral.
• Lima Syndrome: The clones find themselves wanting to cheer their captive, because Feral is just so sweet and awkward it would feel like kicking a puppy to mistreat him.
• Love Makes You Evil: Feral actually has no interest in the Sith path, but his brothers are following it, and a sibling's duty is to support them in their endeavours. To Wolffe, it means becoming complicit to Savage and Maul's atrocities.
• Mama Bear:
  • Once it's revealed that Kycina is actually Feral's and Maul's mother, she does everything she can to protect her sons, even risking her life to heal his lover.
  • Ursa Wren also counts, as she is quick to take in Sinker and Savage, is their most trusted friend during their time in Mandalorian space, and adopts both of them (as well as literally every clone) into Clan Wren. In true Mandolorian fashion, she's more than willing to fight for anyone in her clan.
  • A villain version technically applies to Mother Talzin, as she is more than willing to fight to protect the members of her tribe...if they are useful to her. If not, she's couldn't care less. The Oppress brothers are well aware of this.
• Manipulative Bastard: Plo Koon is a well-intentioned, benign version — gently yet ruthlessly prodding at Feral's motives for being a Sith warrior, offering him alternative viewpoints and training, all with the explicit goal to recruit the young Zabrak into the Jedi Order.
• Minion with an F in Evil: Seriously, Feral couldn't fail more at being a Sith warrior if he actively tried. He actually fails so much that Plo Koon thinks he has good potential as a Jedi.
• Mind Meld: Sinker and Savage form one to better protect him from the control of the Nightsisters. It's right after this that the two become boyfriends.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
  • Feral goes out of his way to not kill any of the clones at the communications tower. This gets him captured.
  • Padme, noticing that the large man (Savage) shopping near her seems to be on the brink of a panic attack, so she talks to him and manages to calm him down (even buying him a gift). She also agrees to meet him later, hoping to help him more...and walks right into a kidnapping attempt set up by Maul.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Feral happily comments on the similarities between a clone squadron and the Nightbrothers village - names picked by the leader, marking yourself to establish your individuality. It becomes more poignant with the dawning understanding that both Separatists and Republicans have ordinary people who are just trying to protect their lives and loved ones.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Comet tends to say precisely what he ought to keep quiet. It's mainly used for comic relief, but he almost reduced Feral to tears the first time.
• Polyamory: Maul ends up in a polycule with Fox and Padme after growing closer to them.
• Rags to Riches: Sinker, a clone foot soldier (aka one of the most looked-down-on beings in the galaxy) defeats Vizla and becomes the holder of the Darksaber, thus making him the leader of the Mandaloreans.
• Relationship Upgrade:
  • Subverted with Anakin and Padme, big time. Early in the fic, Padme has finally had it with Anakin's overprotectiveness and controlling nature, and divorces him. It's implied that he does NOT take it well...
  • Played straight in an enemies-to-lovers fashion with Sinker and Savage. While they start as enemies due to one contributing to the capture of the other's brother, after a fight with Ventress the two slowly start to trust each other and eventually become a couple.
• Running Gag: People complaining about ration bars being awful.
• Sarcasm Mode: A LOT of characters qualify here, but Sinker and Payback have the most moments.
• She Will Come for Me: Type 2 — Feral somberly believes his brothers won't even bother to look for him because he's too much of a burden and a failure. Unbeknownst to him, Savage and Maul are currently tracking Plo Koon's ship down because they're desperate to have him back.
• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Nightsisters enjoy the Hunk type, which Savage unfortunately possesses. He was forced into sex at least once and feels very grateful for his younger brother's plainer, runty looks as it ensured he wouldn't be attractive enough to be picked for breeding.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Feral in canon got killed in his first and only episode. Here, Mother Talzin decided to resurrect him for unknown reasons.
• Spotting the Thread:
  • So, a Sith warrior just appeared on the battlefield... yet he doesn't even try to kill his opponents, even when they blatantly are in his way. Plo Koon feels it's weird enough to justify taking Feral away in his ship.
  • The Witches of Dathomir claim no male Zabrak can use the Force. Since Feral is the third Force-Sensitive male Zabrak the Wolfpack stumbled upon, Plo Koon concludes the Witches are lying their asses off.
  • Feral calls Plo Koon to tell him about facing Darth Sidious, and how Wolffe clawed at the Sith's hands to try and escape. Later, when Chancellor Palpatine informs the Jedi Council that he'll be absent for a few more days, Plo Koon notices that he has deep scratches on his hands, which the Chancellor blames on a "dog". The two quickly put two-and-two together, and realize that Chancellor Palpatine is Darth Sidious.
• Square Race, Round Class: Any Force-Sensitive born within the Nighbrothers or Nightsisters will naturally learn the Dark Side. It makes Feral an oddity as his passive, sweet temperament makes him a natural fit for the Jedi Order.
• Stockholm Syndrome: Despite initially being scared when he wakes up a prisoner of Plo Koon, Feral quickly warms up to the Jedi and the clones (especially those who are nice to him), to the point that he worries for their safety, and is horrified when the Nightsisters take control of him and make him attack the clones and Plo Koon, to the point where he asks to be sedated.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: When the Oppress brothers and clones are made to flee in separate directions (Feral with Wolffe, Savage with Sinker, Maul with Fox and Padme), this is basically how the latter two groups start out.
• Trauma Button: Feral's presence drives Wolffe to acute paranoia for being a Dathomirian and a Dark Side-user — just like Asajj Ventress was.
• Villains Out Shopping: Inverted. Savage searches a planet's marketplace when Feral first goes missing. While he isn't enjoying himself (as he's worried about Feral, and is trying not to let his negative emotions cause a killing spree), he runs into a disguised Padme by accident, and the two have a friendly conversation (she even buys him some fabric when he remarks that he likes the color).
• War Is Hell: Progressively emerges as a theme. War will kill people by scores and scores, it will force you to pick a side, and it will drag innocent people into blood and misery.

---