Vanargand
So tired.....
... It's not just Shade; you are all terrible people.
Despair is fun
I mean look at Japan
Love Dovey Mami-sempai who is not alone anymore?
NOM off with her head
Cue memes memes everywhere son!
I have a very strange Master (Star Wars/SI) EPI-EPII
- Thread starter shadenight123
- Start date
Despair is fun
I mean look at Japan
Love Dovey Mami-sempai who is not alone anymore?
NOM off with her head
Cue memes memes everywhere son!
Chapter Twenty
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Twenty
Ahsoka Tano looked at Knight Anakin Skywalker, and Knight Anakin Skywalker looked back at Padawan Ahsoka Tano. They stared at each other for a moment, and then the knight broke eye contact.
"Very well," Knight Skywalker said crisply. "You can come along. Try not to slow us down."
Ahsoka raised an eyebrow at the 'us', but otherwise bowed properly with her head. "I wouldn't ask if I wasn't sure, knight Skywalker."
"Overconfidence led to many a failure, but I'm impressed," Skywalker said as he began to walk towards the hangar, "Night really does a good job at pruning your snippy attitude."
Ahsoka gave back the most normal smile she could ever form. She had to keep her quips hidden until they were off-world, potentially on Florrum itself, before ripping down on Knight Skywalker about the head-pat counter and his jealousy issues. Until then, she had to hold it in. It was as she reached the hangar that she realized why Skywalker had used the 'Us'. Master Plo Koon was there together with Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and they were both seemingly waiting on Knight Skywalker.
"Masters," Anakin said with a stiff nod.
"Skywalker," Plo Koon spoke crisply through his respirator. "I see you are not alone? Ahsoka," Master Plo Koon said with a slightly warmer tone, "How fare you under the guide of Master Shade?"
Ahsoka grinned. "He's great, Master Plo." Master Plo had been the one to discover her on Shili, and then he had been the one to answer her initial worries about the order.
"She'll be following me for this mission," Anakin replied. "Being all cooped up in the temple waiting for Night made me feel sorry for her."
Ahsoka remained silent, even as Master Obi-Wan chuckled nervously. "Well, Anakin, let's go then. Criminals don't just apprehend themselves."
"Not yet at least," Anakin said as he climbed into the carrier, taking a spot next to Master Kenobi. Ahsoka ended up standing next to Master Plo Koon, but she didn't dislike it.
The Kel Dor master seemed at ease, but again, he was always at ease. Master Kenobi was smiling, but he hid a sort of anxiety. Knight Skywalker, on the other hand, felt anxious, and eager, and nervous. It was...Ahsoka blinked. Knight Skywalker was afraid of failure. This was supposed to be a simple mission however; merely head over to Florrun to deal with a few unruly pirates, nothing risky -especially not with two Jedi Masters and a Jedi Knight. Ahsoka's first instinct had been to ask him outright, but she stilled her tongue. This was what her master had just finished teaching her, wasn't it? 'Conquer curiosity'. It was none of her business.
She remained thus perfectly quiet, and that didn't go unnoticed.
"It appears you have learned the art of patience, Ahsoka," Master Plo Koon said, slight surprise in his voice. "Your Master must be impressed."
"I hope he is," Ahsoka replied. "I know he's very busy with missions from the High Council, yet he takes the time to teach me whenever he can. The least I can do is respect his teachings."
"Spoken wisely," Master Kenobi remarked. "Why weren't you like her at your age, Anakin?"
Anakin rolled his eyes. "Maybe because I had you as a master, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan laughed, and shook his head. "I walked into that one."
Ahsoka grinned. This was looking up to be a great mission, but she had to keep her calm and concentrate on finding the link between the dark armored man, the black robed old man, and Anakin. She wasn't going to intervene, of course. She was just going to watch and wait for the vision to come to pass and then she'd swoop in and save Knight Skywalker. In that way, she wouldn't have interfered with the vision coming true, would she?
As they reached the Resolute, and then the ship departed for Florrum, Ahsoka had a good feeling about it. That 'good feeling' lasted approximately ten minutes. It lasted the time it took for the Resolute to start preparing for hyperspace. As Ahsoka meditated in the room assigned to her, the door slid open very, very quietly. She tensed, reaching out with the Force to uncover the unknown visitor. When the Force probe returned empty however, she opened her eyes.
And then she quickly paled.
"M-Master," Ahsoka blurted out. "I-I can explain."
"Of course you can, padawan," her Master replied with a knowing nod. "I am all ears." Her master sat down in front of her, and beamed her a smile. It was a gentle smile. It was a smile that physically hurt to watch. It hurt to watch because the smile and the face did not match the waves she was getting from the man behind it.
"I was thinking of taking a mission outside of the Temple grounds for a while," Ahsoka acquiesced. "I-Just how did you arrive here from Mandalore so fast?"
Her Master blinked, and inclined his head to the side. "Do not change the argument, padawan. Continue with your explanation."
Ahsoka spluttered. "W-Well!" she looked away in shame, "I was thinking about it, and then I just so casually met with Knight Skywalker and he practically had pity on me giving him the most puppy-eyed look I could manage, so-"
Her Master snorted, and rolled his eyes. "I can totally do it!" Ahsoka exclaimed, fists clenched. "And-"
The force-flick to her forehead this time around hurt. It didn't just hurt in the same of 'mild discomfort', no. This one hurt in the sense that she found her head flung backwards, as her senses went haywire. She clutched her head and hissed, biting her lower lip.
"Padawan," her Master said firmly. "I find your inability to lie refreshing, but at the same time, you disobeyed me." Her Master hissed the last part out through clenched teeth. "I knew, of course, that you would. That is why a mere flick is what you get, but not only did you disobey me, you then lied to me about it. That is unacceptable behavior, padawan. A Jedi does not lie." But he did. He did all the time.
Her master blinked very slowly, and narrowed his eyes. "What are you implying, padawan?"
"I saw your memories, Master. You were willing to execute the duchess, and you changed your mind because I was watching, but it doesn't change the fact you would have done so if I hadn't been there!" Ahsoka blurted out. "And you lied to her. You were constantly debating-"
"And what did I do in the end, padawan?" her Master asked. "The problem, padawan, is twofold," her Master sighed. "The first thing wrong was to disobey me, but see, if you had disobeyed me out of concern for fellow Jedi Skywalker, I would not be angry. Understand this: to have concern is, I think, one of the best quality a Jedi could have. We are there to show concern for the galaxy's state, and to restore peace. You, however, weren't following Skywalker out of concern, were you?"
His eyes gazed at her with a twinkle, which however betrayed his inner turmoil. Ahsoka nearly recoiled as if struck, but bit her lip in the end and looked down. "I just wanted to show you how much I learned," Ahsoka whispered out in the end.
"And that is the sin of pride," her Master acquiesced. "You do not need to show me anything, Padawan. I have eyes. A Jedi is not a peacock, who goes around flaunting its tail for everyone to see and admire."
Ahsoka was about to open her mouth to ask what a peacock was, when an image flashed in her mind and she stopped. She snorted at the thought, and then looked at her Master's raised eyebrow. "Are-Are those things real?"
"Yes they are."
"But how do those birds fly?" Ahsoka asked, "Are they, like, genetically engineered to be dusters or something?"
"When you are strong, appear weak," her Master said, "And when you are weak, appear strong," he finished, clearly quoting someone. "The peacock is a weak animal, but by showing off its long, multi-colored feathers, it appears larger and more intimidating, scaring predators away."
Ahsoka brought a hand to her chin, lost in thought for a brief moment. Then, her Master groaned. "You're not getting out of the lecture by distracting me, padawan," he said, and Ahsoka hung her head in shame. She had tried.
"The second problem," her Master said, "Isn't just disobeying out of pride. It's thinking only about yourself," he looked at her. "When we do something, as Jedi, it reflects on everyone that sees us. When you act like that, knowing fully well how dangerous it can be, and don't take a moment to think about how others will react to it, you are only hurting yourself. The reason I am privately remarking your mistakes is because, while it would be, and should be, my right to do so during dinner, I have no love for public humiliations." He looked at her with a sad gaze. "You did not think about the hurt you'd generate by disobeying me, did you? You showed your lack of trust by acting against my orders, and with it, the lack of trust you had in my teachings."
"T-that's not true! I just-" Ahsoka faltered on her next words, and her Master waited patiently for her to explain herself. She-she kind of didn't have an explanation for that. "I just wanted to make you proud of me."
"If you had obeyed me, I would have. Nothing makes a teacher prouder than see their students learn their lessons." Her Master's voice was kind of sad now that she thought about it. "The question is, have you now learned from this?" he asked her, "Have you understood why what you did was wrong?"
Ahsoka looked downwards and sideways in shame. She had acted out of personal interest, out of pride, and out of turn. She had disobeyed, and hurt her master's feelings. She had spat on his trust, and she hadn't even realized it. Had she learnt from it, however? What did it mean to learn such a lesson anyway?
"It means, next time you see something you shouldn't and try to act on it, you won't," her Master acquiesced. "If I tell you not to."
Ahsoka clenched her fists, and nodded once, slowly. Her Master exhaled. "Good girl," and then he patted her forehead. "Now, we'll meet on Florrum."
Ahsoka brought both eyebrows up. "What? But-"
"I really couldn't get back from Mandalore that fast, Padawan," her Master chuckled, and stood back up. "Just remember: I am the Master, and you are the Apprentice. There is a lot I can teach you, so don't be that surprised. Do the impossible, see the invisible," her Master added as he walked towards the door, "Row Row, fight the powah."
The doors slid to a close behind him, and, in a brief impulse, Ahsoka watched as reality reasserted herself around her. She hadn't even felt the difference between the Force trance and the outside. There had been no Cheshire Cat, no Mister Fluffles -who was now present in the reflection of the mirror meowing softly- and no indication of anything different at all.
The strong appear weak, and the weak appear strong.
There was nothing else to it.
The strange thought that crossed Ahsoka's mind as she mulled the latest happenings and stood up from her cross-legged position however wasn't that inspiring. There was the nagging sensation in the back of her mind that her Master had known she'd disobey, and had prepared for such an occasion. She had to wonder, in the end, just how much of her character he actually knew because of the records in the datapad of the temple, and how much he knew because of the Bond and the time spent together.
Maybe...Maybe he had seen this happen in a vision, and decided to let it play out? Well, wondering over it wasn't going to solve her problems. She'd have time after they met on Florrum.
As Ahsoka stepped out of the room assigned to her and began to walk towards the mess hall -her stomach was grumbling from hunger- she ended up crossing paths with Knight Skywalker, probably headed the same way.
"Knight Skywalker," Ahsoka said, "May I ask you a question?"
"Of course, padawan," Anakin replied, surprisingly polite now that she thought of it. "Something worries you?"
"Did you ever fail your master?" Ahsoka asked hesitantly. Anakin frowned, scratching the underside of his chin as he looked down at the ground, thinking hard for a moment.
"All the times," Anakin said in the end. "But I learned from my mistakes, padawan. Why do you ask?"
"Because I feel I failed my master," Ahsoka murmured. "I," she looked down at her right hand. "I kind of lied on why I wanted to come along. It wasn't because I was getting bored on the temple."
Anakin raised an eyebrow. "I suspected as much," he said plainly, "You wouldn't have approached me to come for this mission otherwise, but Obi-Wan or Plo-Koon. You actually wanted to test yourself, didn't you? And your Master kept telling you that you weren't ready for it yet." The Togruta scratched the back of her head.
"Kind of," Ahsoka said. "But mostly, it's because I managed to peek on one of my master's visions."
Anakin's eyebrows now considerably rose. "You did? And it concerned this mission? I should warn Obi-Wan, then again Night might have already told him about it."
Ahsoka shook her head. "No, it wasn't about this mission. It was more of...of a personal nature. Look, Skyguy-"
"I was wondering when you'd stop addressing me formally," Anakin remarked dryly, earning a half-heated glare from Ahsoka.
"Anyway," Ahsoka snapped, "The vision didn't concern the mission, but you."
Anakin remained very, very still after she spoke. He took a quick breath, and shook his head. "No."
"No...what?"
"No, don't tell me what it's about," Anakin said plainly. "Visions can-Your master didn't teach you this?"
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "He somehow forgot."
"Well," Anakin said, "ignorance of a vision will not necessarily make the vision happen, but knowledge of it might just hasten it," he shook his head. "Whatever vision he had about me, he'll deal with it on his own. Don't tell me. And don't intervene in it. He made more than enough examples on prophecies and visions when we were young that I've grown accustomed to fearing any and all visions related to me." Here, Anakin shuddered. "Look, with all probability Night is already dealing with it, or has already dealt with it. Just in case, don't tell me."
Ahsoka frowned, "but it's about you, wouldn't you want to know anyway?"
"Living beings can live perfectly fine without knowing what will happen five minutes from now," Anakin said, and it was clear he was quoting her master with his words, "Let the matter drop."
Ahsoka blinked. "What. You can't be serious."
"Yes, I can." Anakin nodded. "Think about it; there's a reason I'm the knight and you're the padawan."
"Maybe it's just a matter of age," Ahsoka retorted.
"Your Master was already a Jedi Master at your age," Anakin pointed out. "I doubt age has anything to do with it."
Ahsoka groaned. She was backed into a corner. Why couldn't her Master have followed the steps normally, like all the other masters? Well, as much as she would have liked to keep the conversation going, her stomach rumbled, and so she had no choice but to shamefully concede defeat. But the purpose of a battle wasn't just to win or lose it. It was also to learn.
Ahsoka realized then that she had learned from the verbal exchange with Knight Skywalker. Master Shade had repeatedly talked to him about visions when he was young, as if expecting him to be the center of many. And he had dissuaded him from asking about them, because he knew they would be coming. Anakin Skywalker, furthermore, trusted her Master enough that he would be the one to solve the problem, rather than him. It was...even after Geonosis, Skywalker still trusted her master.
"You're being awfully quiet," Anakin pointed out as they ended up sitting one in front of the other in the mess hall. "A credit for your thoughts?"
"It's just," Ahsoka said, starting to play with her food, "I'm trying to apply my master's lessons, and he always asks me if I've learned something, so I was thinking back about our conversation, and what I learned from it."
"Oh, he did that when we were young too," Anakin said. "He used roleplay to make it stick."
"Role...play?" Ahsoka asked.
Anakin nodded. "I'm surprised he didn't rope you into playing. I remember we had little to look up at night but a game of Dungeons and Dragons," Anakin grinned next, "Paladin Kianna Lightwalker, level eighteen to nineteen." Ahsoka whistled at the level.
"Yeah, we did play," Ahsoka nodded. "Bard Shaoka Nota, level nine," she smiled brightly, "My master was surprised when I picked that class."
Anakin coughed. "Yeah, well," here he winced. "We were all paladins, except Darra. She liked to play the barbarian of Kord. I think she was compensating for something, but well, we had fun. He taught us a lot of things with the game. Like, when you're in a room with an imprisoned devil, it's for the best you don't use your real name in front of him, which translates in being careful when you're going somewhere shady, because there are always people listening. And then there was that time we were trapped, and about to die, and this evil demon offered me the chance to free them all in exchange for a favor later on. I...I didn't lose my paladin powers, so I thought, well-he's a very strong demon, he can save us, and maybe Heironeus isn't really against working with demons, but when we had just saved a village from a group of raiders." Anakin took a deep breath, sharply sucking air in. "He called the favor in, the demon that is," Anakin shook his head. "I refused to kill the villagers, so the Demon proclaimed he'd take our lives. We fought him, we fought him hard, but when in the end we defeated him...he exploded in fire and ashes. We barely survived, but the village was wiped out. 'Nothing but ashes, burned wood and skulls of charred black gaze back at you,' he said." Anakin shuddered. "And I couldn't even proclaim vengeance against the Demon, because it hadn't been his fault. It had been mine. I had refused, I had made a deal with the demon and that was why...it was my fault."
Anakin shook his head. "I think that what he wanted to tell me is that the Dark Side, it doesn't seem bad at first, but slowly it gets there. Or abruptly, you're there. I-I admit that wasn't the last time I made a deal with a devil, but," here he spluttered, "It was like Night took a perverted pleasure in throwing us in desperate situation, and giving us the way out only through dark, evil powers!"
Ahsoka furrowed. "That's...kind of strange," she acquiesced. "When I played, that...that wasn't pretty much the case. I played the bard, and he tested my knowledge, and wits, and cunning...the paladin...I think he was testing your loyalty, then?"
"But without showing a way out?" Anakin retorted.
"Why should he?" Ahsoka remarked. "You said it yourself that people are better off not knowing what will happen five minutes from now. Maybe, if you refused...five minutes from then you would have been saved?"
Anakin closed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
He reopened them with a smile. "Guess so. I never connected the dots. Master Plo Koon was right. You really are learning well under your master." He chuckled. "I think you already are making him proud."
Ahsoka grinned. "He does give me head pats," she said with a brighter mood. Anakin blinked.
"Oh?" he said, trying to sound disinterested, "And did you count them?"
"I think," Ahsoka remarked, "twenty-two," she said offhandedly.
"Ah," Anakin said with a triumphant voice, "Five thousand three hundred forty seven, you've got a long way to go to beat me, pada-not that I counted them or anything!"
And Ahsoka smiled like the tiger who had just found her prey.
"That," Ahsoka said, cherishing each word rolling off her tongue, "sounded," really, she was grinning like a loon, she was pretty sure this had something to do with her master being amused, but also, in part, because she was amused too, "positively," her amusement reached new heights as she watched with delight Anakin's face morph in sudden realization of what she was just about to say, "Tsundere."
Anankin's high pitched denial soon were drowned by Ahsoka's fits of giggles, while two Jedi Master just then arriving on the scene looked on with a mixture of amusement and, technically, doubtful reproach. A Jedi should be in control of his emotions, after all.
But kids would be kids.
Even Anakin, in the end, was nothing but a kid to Obi-Wan's eyes.
Ahsoka Tano looked at Knight Anakin Skywalker, and Knight Anakin Skywalker looked back at Padawan Ahsoka Tano. They stared at each other for a moment, and then the knight broke eye contact.
"Very well," Knight Skywalker said crisply. "You can come along. Try not to slow us down."
Ahsoka raised an eyebrow at the 'us', but otherwise bowed properly with her head. "I wouldn't ask if I wasn't sure, knight Skywalker."
"Overconfidence led to many a failure, but I'm impressed," Skywalker said as he began to walk towards the hangar, "Night really does a good job at pruning your snippy attitude."
Ahsoka gave back the most normal smile she could ever form. She had to keep her quips hidden until they were off-world, potentially on Florrum itself, before ripping down on Knight Skywalker about the head-pat counter and his jealousy issues. Until then, she had to hold it in. It was as she reached the hangar that she realized why Skywalker had used the 'Us'. Master Plo Koon was there together with Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and they were both seemingly waiting on Knight Skywalker.
"Masters," Anakin said with a stiff nod.
"Skywalker," Plo Koon spoke crisply through his respirator. "I see you are not alone? Ahsoka," Master Plo Koon said with a slightly warmer tone, "How fare you under the guide of Master Shade?"
Ahsoka grinned. "He's great, Master Plo." Master Plo had been the one to discover her on Shili, and then he had been the one to answer her initial worries about the order.
"She'll be following me for this mission," Anakin replied. "Being all cooped up in the temple waiting for Night made me feel sorry for her."
Ahsoka remained silent, even as Master Obi-Wan chuckled nervously. "Well, Anakin, let's go then. Criminals don't just apprehend themselves."
"Not yet at least," Anakin said as he climbed into the carrier, taking a spot next to Master Kenobi. Ahsoka ended up standing next to Master Plo Koon, but she didn't dislike it.
The Kel Dor master seemed at ease, but again, he was always at ease. Master Kenobi was smiling, but he hid a sort of anxiety. Knight Skywalker, on the other hand, felt anxious, and eager, and nervous. It was...Ahsoka blinked. Knight Skywalker was afraid of failure. This was supposed to be a simple mission however; merely head over to Florrun to deal with a few unruly pirates, nothing risky -especially not with two Jedi Masters and a Jedi Knight. Ahsoka's first instinct had been to ask him outright, but she stilled her tongue. This was what her master had just finished teaching her, wasn't it? 'Conquer curiosity'. It was none of her business.
She remained thus perfectly quiet, and that didn't go unnoticed.
"It appears you have learned the art of patience, Ahsoka," Master Plo Koon said, slight surprise in his voice. "Your Master must be impressed."
"I hope he is," Ahsoka replied. "I know he's very busy with missions from the High Council, yet he takes the time to teach me whenever he can. The least I can do is respect his teachings."
"Spoken wisely," Master Kenobi remarked. "Why weren't you like her at your age, Anakin?"
Anakin rolled his eyes. "Maybe because I had you as a master, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan laughed, and shook his head. "I walked into that one."
Ahsoka grinned. This was looking up to be a great mission, but she had to keep her calm and concentrate on finding the link between the dark armored man, the black robed old man, and Anakin. She wasn't going to intervene, of course. She was just going to watch and wait for the vision to come to pass and then she'd swoop in and save Knight Skywalker. In that way, she wouldn't have interfered with the vision coming true, would she?
As they reached the Resolute, and then the ship departed for Florrum, Ahsoka had a good feeling about it. That 'good feeling' lasted approximately ten minutes. It lasted the time it took for the Resolute to start preparing for hyperspace. As Ahsoka meditated in the room assigned to her, the door slid open very, very quietly. She tensed, reaching out with the Force to uncover the unknown visitor. When the Force probe returned empty however, she opened her eyes.
And then she quickly paled.
"M-Master," Ahsoka blurted out. "I-I can explain."
"Of course you can, padawan," her Master replied with a knowing nod. "I am all ears." Her master sat down in front of her, and beamed her a smile. It was a gentle smile. It was a smile that physically hurt to watch. It hurt to watch because the smile and the face did not match the waves she was getting from the man behind it.
"I was thinking of taking a mission outside of the Temple grounds for a while," Ahsoka acquiesced. "I-Just how did you arrive here from Mandalore so fast?"
Her Master blinked, and inclined his head to the side. "Do not change the argument, padawan. Continue with your explanation."
Ahsoka spluttered. "W-Well!" she looked away in shame, "I was thinking about it, and then I just so casually met with Knight Skywalker and he practically had pity on me giving him the most puppy-eyed look I could manage, so-"
Her Master snorted, and rolled his eyes. "I can totally do it!" Ahsoka exclaimed, fists clenched. "And-"
The force-flick to her forehead this time around hurt. It didn't just hurt in the same of 'mild discomfort', no. This one hurt in the sense that she found her head flung backwards, as her senses went haywire. She clutched her head and hissed, biting her lower lip.
"Padawan," her Master said firmly. "I find your inability to lie refreshing, but at the same time, you disobeyed me." Her Master hissed the last part out through clenched teeth. "I knew, of course, that you would. That is why a mere flick is what you get, but not only did you disobey me, you then lied to me about it. That is unacceptable behavior, padawan. A Jedi does not lie." But he did. He did all the time.
Her master blinked very slowly, and narrowed his eyes. "What are you implying, padawan?"
"I saw your memories, Master. You were willing to execute the duchess, and you changed your mind because I was watching, but it doesn't change the fact you would have done so if I hadn't been there!" Ahsoka blurted out. "And you lied to her. You were constantly debating-"
"And what did I do in the end, padawan?" her Master asked. "The problem, padawan, is twofold," her Master sighed. "The first thing wrong was to disobey me, but see, if you had disobeyed me out of concern for fellow Jedi Skywalker, I would not be angry. Understand this: to have concern is, I think, one of the best quality a Jedi could have. We are there to show concern for the galaxy's state, and to restore peace. You, however, weren't following Skywalker out of concern, were you?"
His eyes gazed at her with a twinkle, which however betrayed his inner turmoil. Ahsoka nearly recoiled as if struck, but bit her lip in the end and looked down. "I just wanted to show you how much I learned," Ahsoka whispered out in the end.
"And that is the sin of pride," her Master acquiesced. "You do not need to show me anything, Padawan. I have eyes. A Jedi is not a peacock, who goes around flaunting its tail for everyone to see and admire."
Ahsoka was about to open her mouth to ask what a peacock was, when an image flashed in her mind and she stopped. She snorted at the thought, and then looked at her Master's raised eyebrow. "Are-Are those things real?"
"Yes they are."
"But how do those birds fly?" Ahsoka asked, "Are they, like, genetically engineered to be dusters or something?"
"When you are strong, appear weak," her Master said, "And when you are weak, appear strong," he finished, clearly quoting someone. "The peacock is a weak animal, but by showing off its long, multi-colored feathers, it appears larger and more intimidating, scaring predators away."
Ahsoka brought a hand to her chin, lost in thought for a brief moment. Then, her Master groaned. "You're not getting out of the lecture by distracting me, padawan," he said, and Ahsoka hung her head in shame. She had tried.
"The second problem," her Master said, "Isn't just disobeying out of pride. It's thinking only about yourself," he looked at her. "When we do something, as Jedi, it reflects on everyone that sees us. When you act like that, knowing fully well how dangerous it can be, and don't take a moment to think about how others will react to it, you are only hurting yourself. The reason I am privately remarking your mistakes is because, while it would be, and should be, my right to do so during dinner, I have no love for public humiliations." He looked at her with a sad gaze. "You did not think about the hurt you'd generate by disobeying me, did you? You showed your lack of trust by acting against my orders, and with it, the lack of trust you had in my teachings."
"T-that's not true! I just-" Ahsoka faltered on her next words, and her Master waited patiently for her to explain herself. She-she kind of didn't have an explanation for that. "I just wanted to make you proud of me."
"If you had obeyed me, I would have. Nothing makes a teacher prouder than see their students learn their lessons." Her Master's voice was kind of sad now that she thought about it. "The question is, have you now learned from this?" he asked her, "Have you understood why what you did was wrong?"
Ahsoka looked downwards and sideways in shame. She had acted out of personal interest, out of pride, and out of turn. She had disobeyed, and hurt her master's feelings. She had spat on his trust, and she hadn't even realized it. Had she learnt from it, however? What did it mean to learn such a lesson anyway?
"It means, next time you see something you shouldn't and try to act on it, you won't," her Master acquiesced. "If I tell you not to."
Ahsoka clenched her fists, and nodded once, slowly. Her Master exhaled. "Good girl," and then he patted her forehead. "Now, we'll meet on Florrum."
Ahsoka brought both eyebrows up. "What? But-"
"I really couldn't get back from Mandalore that fast, Padawan," her Master chuckled, and stood back up. "Just remember: I am the Master, and you are the Apprentice. There is a lot I can teach you, so don't be that surprised. Do the impossible, see the invisible," her Master added as he walked towards the door, "Row Row, fight the powah."
The doors slid to a close behind him, and, in a brief impulse, Ahsoka watched as reality reasserted herself around her. She hadn't even felt the difference between the Force trance and the outside. There had been no Cheshire Cat, no Mister Fluffles -who was now present in the reflection of the mirror meowing softly- and no indication of anything different at all.
The strong appear weak, and the weak appear strong.
There was nothing else to it.
The strange thought that crossed Ahsoka's mind as she mulled the latest happenings and stood up from her cross-legged position however wasn't that inspiring. There was the nagging sensation in the back of her mind that her Master had known she'd disobey, and had prepared for such an occasion. She had to wonder, in the end, just how much of her character he actually knew because of the records in the datapad of the temple, and how much he knew because of the Bond and the time spent together.
Maybe...Maybe he had seen this happen in a vision, and decided to let it play out? Well, wondering over it wasn't going to solve her problems. She'd have time after they met on Florrum.
As Ahsoka stepped out of the room assigned to her and began to walk towards the mess hall -her stomach was grumbling from hunger- she ended up crossing paths with Knight Skywalker, probably headed the same way.
"Knight Skywalker," Ahsoka said, "May I ask you a question?"
"Of course, padawan," Anakin replied, surprisingly polite now that she thought of it. "Something worries you?"
"Did you ever fail your master?" Ahsoka asked hesitantly. Anakin frowned, scratching the underside of his chin as he looked down at the ground, thinking hard for a moment.
"All the times," Anakin said in the end. "But I learned from my mistakes, padawan. Why do you ask?"
"Because I feel I failed my master," Ahsoka murmured. "I," she looked down at her right hand. "I kind of lied on why I wanted to come along. It wasn't because I was getting bored on the temple."
Anakin raised an eyebrow. "I suspected as much," he said plainly, "You wouldn't have approached me to come for this mission otherwise, but Obi-Wan or Plo-Koon. You actually wanted to test yourself, didn't you? And your Master kept telling you that you weren't ready for it yet." The Togruta scratched the back of her head.
"Kind of," Ahsoka said. "But mostly, it's because I managed to peek on one of my master's visions."
Anakin's eyebrows now considerably rose. "You did? And it concerned this mission? I should warn Obi-Wan, then again Night might have already told him about it."
Ahsoka shook her head. "No, it wasn't about this mission. It was more of...of a personal nature. Look, Skyguy-"
"I was wondering when you'd stop addressing me formally," Anakin remarked dryly, earning a half-heated glare from Ahsoka.
"Anyway," Ahsoka snapped, "The vision didn't concern the mission, but you."
Anakin remained very, very still after she spoke. He took a quick breath, and shook his head. "No."
"No...what?"
"No, don't tell me what it's about," Anakin said plainly. "Visions can-Your master didn't teach you this?"
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "He somehow forgot."
"Well," Anakin said, "ignorance of a vision will not necessarily make the vision happen, but knowledge of it might just hasten it," he shook his head. "Whatever vision he had about me, he'll deal with it on his own. Don't tell me. And don't intervene in it. He made more than enough examples on prophecies and visions when we were young that I've grown accustomed to fearing any and all visions related to me." Here, Anakin shuddered. "Look, with all probability Night is already dealing with it, or has already dealt with it. Just in case, don't tell me."
Ahsoka frowned, "but it's about you, wouldn't you want to know anyway?"
"Living beings can live perfectly fine without knowing what will happen five minutes from now," Anakin said, and it was clear he was quoting her master with his words, "Let the matter drop."
Ahsoka blinked. "What. You can't be serious."
"Yes, I can." Anakin nodded. "Think about it; there's a reason I'm the knight and you're the padawan."
"Maybe it's just a matter of age," Ahsoka retorted.
"Your Master was already a Jedi Master at your age," Anakin pointed out. "I doubt age has anything to do with it."
Ahsoka groaned. She was backed into a corner. Why couldn't her Master have followed the steps normally, like all the other masters? Well, as much as she would have liked to keep the conversation going, her stomach rumbled, and so she had no choice but to shamefully concede defeat. But the purpose of a battle wasn't just to win or lose it. It was also to learn.
Ahsoka realized then that she had learned from the verbal exchange with Knight Skywalker. Master Shade had repeatedly talked to him about visions when he was young, as if expecting him to be the center of many. And he had dissuaded him from asking about them, because he knew they would be coming. Anakin Skywalker, furthermore, trusted her Master enough that he would be the one to solve the problem, rather than him. It was...even after Geonosis, Skywalker still trusted her master.
"You're being awfully quiet," Anakin pointed out as they ended up sitting one in front of the other in the mess hall. "A credit for your thoughts?"
"It's just," Ahsoka said, starting to play with her food, "I'm trying to apply my master's lessons, and he always asks me if I've learned something, so I was thinking back about our conversation, and what I learned from it."
"Oh, he did that when we were young too," Anakin said. "He used roleplay to make it stick."
"Role...play?" Ahsoka asked.
Anakin nodded. "I'm surprised he didn't rope you into playing. I remember we had little to look up at night but a game of Dungeons and Dragons," Anakin grinned next, "Paladin Kianna Lightwalker, level eighteen to nineteen." Ahsoka whistled at the level.
"Yeah, we did play," Ahsoka nodded. "Bard Shaoka Nota, level nine," she smiled brightly, "My master was surprised when I picked that class."
Anakin coughed. "Yeah, well," here he winced. "We were all paladins, except Darra. She liked to play the barbarian of Kord. I think she was compensating for something, but well, we had fun. He taught us a lot of things with the game. Like, when you're in a room with an imprisoned devil, it's for the best you don't use your real name in front of him, which translates in being careful when you're going somewhere shady, because there are always people listening. And then there was that time we were trapped, and about to die, and this evil demon offered me the chance to free them all in exchange for a favor later on. I...I didn't lose my paladin powers, so I thought, well-he's a very strong demon, he can save us, and maybe Heironeus isn't really against working with demons, but when we had just saved a village from a group of raiders." Anakin took a deep breath, sharply sucking air in. "He called the favor in, the demon that is," Anakin shook his head. "I refused to kill the villagers, so the Demon proclaimed he'd take our lives. We fought him, we fought him hard, but when in the end we defeated him...he exploded in fire and ashes. We barely survived, but the village was wiped out. 'Nothing but ashes, burned wood and skulls of charred black gaze back at you,' he said." Anakin shuddered. "And I couldn't even proclaim vengeance against the Demon, because it hadn't been his fault. It had been mine. I had refused, I had made a deal with the demon and that was why...it was my fault."
Anakin shook his head. "I think that what he wanted to tell me is that the Dark Side, it doesn't seem bad at first, but slowly it gets there. Or abruptly, you're there. I-I admit that wasn't the last time I made a deal with a devil, but," here he spluttered, "It was like Night took a perverted pleasure in throwing us in desperate situation, and giving us the way out only through dark, evil powers!"
Ahsoka furrowed. "That's...kind of strange," she acquiesced. "When I played, that...that wasn't pretty much the case. I played the bard, and he tested my knowledge, and wits, and cunning...the paladin...I think he was testing your loyalty, then?"
"But without showing a way out?" Anakin retorted.
"Why should he?" Ahsoka remarked. "You said it yourself that people are better off not knowing what will happen five minutes from now. Maybe, if you refused...five minutes from then you would have been saved?"
Anakin closed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
He reopened them with a smile. "Guess so. I never connected the dots. Master Plo Koon was right. You really are learning well under your master." He chuckled. "I think you already are making him proud."
Ahsoka grinned. "He does give me head pats," she said with a brighter mood. Anakin blinked.
"Oh?" he said, trying to sound disinterested, "And did you count them?"
"I think," Ahsoka remarked, "twenty-two," she said offhandedly.
"Ah," Anakin said with a triumphant voice, "Five thousand three hundred forty seven, you've got a long way to go to beat me, pada-not that I counted them or anything!"
And Ahsoka smiled like the tiger who had just found her prey.
"That," Ahsoka said, cherishing each word rolling off her tongue, "sounded," really, she was grinning like a loon, she was pretty sure this had something to do with her master being amused, but also, in part, because she was amused too, "positively," her amusement reached new heights as she watched with delight Anakin's face morph in sudden realization of what she was just about to say, "Tsundere."
Anankin's high pitched denial soon were drowned by Ahsoka's fits of giggles, while two Jedi Master just then arriving on the scene looked on with a mixture of amusement and, technically, doubtful reproach. A Jedi should be in control of his emotions, after all.
But kids would be kids.
Even Anakin, in the end, was nothing but a kid to Obi-Wan's eyes.
okais
Tech Arthur
- Location
- Brunei
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Dragonskyt
Ashen one, hearest thou my voice, still?
- Location
- Kiln of the First Flame
Argh!
My heart!
My veins... filled with... fluff!
My heart!
My veins... filled with... fluff!
Fabula Amanti
I want a Grimoire, but I got books.
- Location
- Singapore
Hah. Lessons through D&D, when games teach better than 'proper' jedi education. If only school was like that.
I don't post much, but I did want to throw in a little chime about how interesting this little series is.
Besides the unique 'second person' narrative, I like the unique look at the psyche of the Jedi order. Most 'fix the Old Order' fics portray the 'no attachments' rule as something very negative: Shade on the other hand, portrays that this rule has VERY good reasons for existing: That Jedi feel the bonds they make much more intensely, and that makes the bonds dangerous. It's true, and fitting. On the other hand... Shade is mad, and he still works well with the few bonds he's made.
Now, I'm all for happy endings and I admit, I haven't read much of this mister Shade's stuff, but all the commentary I've been seeing between the story posts makes me really nervous, as he seems to be a writer who revels in the mood whiplash. To be honest, that's part of what made the new 'Clone Wars' so enthralling to old and new fans: the knowledge that 'everything good you see is going to fail.' Everything dark about 'Strange Master' keeps a similar tension: even with 'visions' and a strong new jedi Master... everything is REALLY uncertain: things could go really bad. heck, Shade's.... last bond problem was a big 'BAD THING' already. And Ahsoka is coming LATE to the game: there's no telling how much Shade has been talking to Yoda or the council about 'SPOILER' stuff of the future, things like Order 66 and Palpatine.
The future is still very clouded.
Master Nightshade is used wonderfully in a literary fashion: representing things we know and don't know, love and fear all at once. (I seriously felt my heart strings twisting when I learned that his blowup drove his young jedi friends away from him: not just loosing a DnD group, but people that liked each other and hanging out. Things changed and they learned more personal things about each other, and that really ended or changed their friendship as they Grew older. I've been going through similar things with loosing friends just because we no longer really get along, despite our great past, so maybe that's affecting more than usual. But still... it's a really tragic story.
I'd love to see Shade make some more friends, or Bonds again with good things. I like how Yoda is still SEEN as this powerful, wise mentor figure, even with Shade around: Yoda made sure his student got a padawan, didn't he? That he learned about bonds, and actually isn't totally against Shade forming bonds. Yoda knows they can be good things, and Shade knows too. He did say that Padawan's form bonds with thier masters to Ahsoka, didn't he... and hell, she saved him! For all the drama... happy endings can happen.)
On the other hand... I loved the little personal moments with Ahsoka. her lessons and victories are palpable ones: the reader really both sympathizes with her youth and frustration, and really roots for her when she learns things, and when she's having fun. I mean... tsundere. ah biggest grin at that comment.
anyway... lovely story. I do NOT regret following it. Ahsoka is one of my Fave chars, and I love this young look at her, and all the details. I hope she keeps learning, and living through good times and bad. Maybe forming bonds with others like Bariss, her master, and Anakin, and having things work out better than in canon. I know things can always get worse, it's easy to make things worse on the internet... the triumphs can be all the stronger for it.
Watching on, later!
Besides the unique 'second person' narrative, I like the unique look at the psyche of the Jedi order. Most 'fix the Old Order' fics portray the 'no attachments' rule as something very negative: Shade on the other hand, portrays that this rule has VERY good reasons for existing: That Jedi feel the bonds they make much more intensely, and that makes the bonds dangerous. It's true, and fitting. On the other hand... Shade is mad, and he still works well with the few bonds he's made.
Now, I'm all for happy endings and I admit, I haven't read much of this mister Shade's stuff, but all the commentary I've been seeing between the story posts makes me really nervous, as he seems to be a writer who revels in the mood whiplash. To be honest, that's part of what made the new 'Clone Wars' so enthralling to old and new fans: the knowledge that 'everything good you see is going to fail.' Everything dark about 'Strange Master' keeps a similar tension: even with 'visions' and a strong new jedi Master... everything is REALLY uncertain: things could go really bad. heck, Shade's.... last bond problem was a big 'BAD THING' already. And Ahsoka is coming LATE to the game: there's no telling how much Shade has been talking to Yoda or the council about 'SPOILER' stuff of the future, things like Order 66 and Palpatine.
The future is still very clouded.
Master Nightshade is used wonderfully in a literary fashion: representing things we know and don't know, love and fear all at once. (I seriously felt my heart strings twisting when I learned that his blowup drove his young jedi friends away from him: not just loosing a DnD group, but people that liked each other and hanging out. Things changed and they learned more personal things about each other, and that really ended or changed their friendship as they Grew older. I've been going through similar things with loosing friends just because we no longer really get along, despite our great past, so maybe that's affecting more than usual. But still... it's a really tragic story.
I'd love to see Shade make some more friends, or Bonds again with good things. I like how Yoda is still SEEN as this powerful, wise mentor figure, even with Shade around: Yoda made sure his student got a padawan, didn't he? That he learned about bonds, and actually isn't totally against Shade forming bonds. Yoda knows they can be good things, and Shade knows too. He did say that Padawan's form bonds with thier masters to Ahsoka, didn't he... and hell, she saved him! For all the drama... happy endings can happen.)
On the other hand... I loved the little personal moments with Ahsoka. her lessons and victories are palpable ones: the reader really both sympathizes with her youth and frustration, and really roots for her when she learns things, and when she's having fun. I mean... tsundere. ah biggest grin at that comment.
anyway... lovely story. I do NOT regret following it. Ahsoka is one of my Fave chars, and I love this young look at her, and all the details. I hope she keeps learning, and living through good times and bad. Maybe forming bonds with others like Bariss, her master, and Anakin, and having things work out better than in canon. I know things can always get worse, it's easy to make things worse on the internet... the triumphs can be all the stronger for it.
Watching on, later!
LD1449
To the last; Kill them all
- Location
- The other side of the labyrinth.
You mean its not? I learned one of the most important rules of life from DnD.
1) The bigger they are the more LOOT!!! (And XP)
At any rate, I've enjoyed the story, and I normally hate self inserts. It helps *immensely* that this isn't done from Shade's POV but from Ahsoka
One thing I would like to see more of though is some of his other old aquaintances. And I would especially like to see at least one of them that does hold a bit of a grudge. I mean, unwilling or no he basically mind raped them, took away their agency, made them commit, essentially, war crimes and genocide on unborn geonosians. Sure you can have him choose to pull away of his own free will but someone actually feeling (justifiably tbh) violated by what he made them do. Otherwise it just seems too convenient/self aggrandizing to have him 'nobly' choose to give up his bonds rather than some of his friends actually feeling betrayed (Show don't tell)
Chapter Twenty-One
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Twenty-One
Florrum was a positively dull world. There was grey colored sand, dust, more sand of more shades of grey, and it all compounded together to form one of the dullest backdrops Ahsoka had ever seen. What surprised her was a lone star-fighter being kept religiously in peace by the local scum of the place. It was a pirate haven.
They had landed right into a pirate haven -Ahsoka didn't need to see them hoisting a flag to realize these were pirates. However, they all appeared subdued. No, more than subdued. They all appeared to have been knocked unconscious.
"He's in battle mode," Knight Skywalker said to Master Kenobi, who nodded back. They both lit their lightsabers, soon followed by Master Plo Koon and herself.
The inside of the bar was quiet, eerily so, and Ahsoka tensed, clutching her lightsaber. The soft meowing of Mister Fluffles from the reflection of broken bottles seemed to guide her towards the back of the bar. She began to walk towards the backdoor, when Knight Skywalker's voice reached her.
"Never split the party," he said. "Stick close."
"I think he's in the back," Ahsoka replied. "I can feel it."
"Good for us," Master Plo Koon remarked. "This silence is unnatural."
"It feels wrong," Master Kenobi acquiesced, walking over a sleeping pirate. "Did he knock them all out at the same time?"
"A Master in the Force he may be, but all these people at the same time? That is stretching it, Obi-Wan," Plo Koon said. "I would not put it past him to have recovered another ancient Jedi technique however, so for now, let us assume that is the case."
Knight Skywalker moved to the side of the door leading to the back and physically stopped Ahsoka from barging through. "Didn't he teach you anything?" Anakin whispered harshly. "Check for traps before crossing a door, and check harder if there's nothing."
"Unfounded paranoia," Master Plo-Koon said, "Is not a Jedi trait, young Skywalker."
"Pride and blind trust in one's safety neither, Master," Anakin replied.
Ahsoka had meanwhile knelt, and carefully moved her montrals against the metal of the backdoor. There was a low thrumming from the other side, as the reverberation gave her the clear sense of a ticking, buzzing, electronic thing attached to the handle.
She disliked having to give reason to Knight Skywalker, especially when he was arguing with Master Plo Koon, but the knight was right. There was a trap on the back of the door.
The Jedi Knight slammed his lightsaber around the handle of the door, giving it a wide berth as he worked on 'picking the lock' and 'disarming the trap' in the brutish way. With the Force, Ahsoka moved the door gingerly aside, avoiding the detonator that was primed to explode if the door had been opened by pushing down on the handle.
"So we know he didn't pass by here," Anakin said. "Or he'd have disarmed it. It means he must have gone outside."
"Shouldn't we still check what's inside anyway?" Ahsoka queried. Mister Fluffles wasn't present in there, but again, there were no mirrors for her to-she grabbed a broken bottle from the ground and looked into her reflection. Mister Fluffles was right there, meowing at the end of the long corridor.
"Now isn't the time to admire your looks," Anakin said.
"Cool it, Skyguy, this is part of...well, something my master taught me to find him. We have to go to the end of the hallway and turn right."
Anakin narrowed his eyes. "You're sure?"
"Yes, of course I'm sure," Ahsoka replied.
"Then you know what this means, right?" Anakin hazarded, this time in a whisper.
Ahsoka blinked. No, well, it meant that her master hadn't disarmed the trap because-no. It meant that her master was the trap. It meant that they had captured her master. It meant that her master might be in danger. It explained why the trap hadn't been disarmed. Mister Fluffles meowed. If her Master had been captured, it meant that whatever was ahead was stronger than her master.
Master Kenobi and Master Plo Koon subtly shifted forward, their faces serious. "Stand back," Obi-Wan said. They began to walk forward, side by side, senses alert. Ahsoka swallowed and took a step forward, but Anakin's hand grabbed her shoulder, and when she turned to stare at him, he firmly shook his head. "Get back on the ship, warn them that Master Shade might have been captured."
"But-" 'he's my Master'.
"Go," Anakin hissed.
Ahsoka hesitated. She hesitated for just a second, and then rushed out. The moment she did, the Force sent her a sharp warning that made her duck and roll to the side just in time to avoid a swing of a crimson lightsaber. "Look what we have here," the baldy known as Asaji Ventress remarked with a purring voice, licking her lips.
Ahsoka spun her lightsabers assuming a guard position. "What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed, her eyes narrow.
"I'd surrender, Jedi," Asaji purred. "I'll give you a quick death," she added, striking with her right blade and swiftly following it up with a left uppercut. Ahsoka crossed her sabers to guard both attacks, and pushed through with her right blade only for Asaji to deflect it, and strike back with the hilt of her other lightsaber. Ahsoka bent her head backwards to avoid the knock-out blow, and as Asaji came with a swing of both lightsabers for her legs, she quickly rolled on the ground to avoid the slashing motion.
"You improved your escaping, coward," Asaji snarled.
Ahsoka was just about to reply, when she caught herself. She remained silent. She remained silent, and lifted both blades in front of her. Mister Fluffles meowed softly, his pressure on her shoulder. She took a small breath.
Asaji raised an eyebrow -well, no, because she didn't have eyebrows- muscle, and huffed, "What, no witty remarks, Jedi? You're going to be boring as hell and die in silence?"
Ahsoka's heart slowed down, and Asaji roared as she charged, swinging her blades in a perfect motion. Her left lightsaber departed from her hand with speed, and struck straight ahead. Asaji widened her eyes as she hastily dodged out of the way, before finding herself on the defensive as Ahsoka charged in with her right lightsaber glowing brightly, as her left hand recalled the left one.
She struck, spinning and letting go of her blue lightsaber that Mister Fluffles gripped to hold in place, using her left one to pierce through Asaji's defenses. The Sith woman deflected the blow, and yet at the same time had no choice but to concede ground, as the blue lightsaber slid through her defenses, not having a pesky human body to leave open for strikes.
Ahsoka rose with an uppercut, gripping back her blue lightsaber and letting go of her green one. She brought up her left hand in the universal hand gesture known as 'Come and get it', and grinned slightly.
Asaji roared. She roared, and in her fury charged ahead.
Ahsoka saw the attack incoming, and avoided it. Right swing. Left swing. Cross swing. Uppercut. Downcut. Spinning swing. Ahsoka avoided them all, Mister Fluffles meowing from her shoulder. Asaji gasped for air, and Ahsoka pounced on the occasion silently.
Asaji stepped back under the flurry of attacks, her eyes strained to keep on for the moment when Ahsoka's blade would leave her hand to strike further. It was Ahsoka who controlled the engagement, however, and she knew it. With a furious last effort, Asaji screamed and brought the Force to bear, sending Ahsoka to tumble backwards as she pounced forward.
Yet, Ahsoka had been warned of that and dug her feet on the dirt, using the Force to hold her ground and twist her body to the side. Her blue blade held the parry against both blades.
Her green lightsaber struck instead through Asaji's guts, piercing her firmly in the stomach and leaving behind a hole.
Asaji gasped and gagged, her lightsabers deactivating as she fell clutching her wound. Her hand covered in blood, the Sith woman gasped for air one last time, and then died.
Ahsoka deactivated her lightsabers and clutched her knees, breathing hard before a sudden wave of nausea assaulted her senses. She retched, and wiped with her hand her lips -the taste on her tongue wasn't going anywhere, however. She hurried off towards the spaceship, but again didn't go very far. No, to be more precise, she slowed down just seconds before reaching it, all of her senses haywire.
The communication device on her person wasn't working, that much was sure. She gazed at the ship's pilot seat, and carefully brought her montrals to contact with the metal surface of the fighter they had come in. She didn't need her montrals in the end, as visibly glowing and beeping, remote charges hung plastered all across the surface of the ship.
This had been a trap from the very beginning. A trap to deal with her Master and with whoever else had come in the way. Ahsoka bit her lips in frustration, and kicked the dirt as she stepped away from the ship. She couldn't risk climbing aboard only for it to explode with her in it, and she didn't have the knowledge to actually disarm the bombs. They were stranded on the planet. Well, stranded until the pirates woke up and they could 'acquire passage' out of the world.
Actually, just how long were the pirates going to keep on sleeping?
"Asaji, come in," a raspy voice bellowed through the silence of the plain. Ahsoka hurried to Asaji's side, and halted her hand a few steps from gripping at the holo disk. She lit both her lightsabers and pushed the button for vocal only, before striking them both at the same time.
"What do you want?" she growled in her best imitation of Asaji's voice, "I'm busy."
"The Jedi giving you problems?" it was General Grievous' voice. She didn't know how she was sure of it, but she knew it was him.
"Shut up," Ahsoka snarled -woah, it wasn't that difficult to get into Asaji's head. For added effect, she hit her lightsabers again. "Have you secured Night?"
"Yes," Grievous replied, "Hurry to the ship before I decide to leave you behind."
The conversation done, Ahsoka turned off her lightsabers and deactivated the holo-communicator. "He's still on the planet," Ahsoka whispered. "Good." She nodded to herself.
Grievous was involved. Of course, Asaji alone wouldn't have been able to capture her master -it would have been preposterous. She swallowed nervously and then looked back at the pirate's bar. Had the Masters found anything? Would they need a hand?
As soon as she thought that, an explosion rocked the air and sent her sprawling on the ground, tripping over Asaji's corpse. Ahsoka's eyes widened as she looked up at the sky, and when she grasped the ground with her hands and pulled herself back up, it was to the sight of the building being wracked by flames. She neared in a hurry, her breathing and heart erratic.
"M-Masters! Knight Skywalker-Anyone!?"
Mister Fluffles meowed loudly from the twisted metal spires, melting under the heat. Ahsoka right hand shot forward where Mister Fluffles' voice came louder, and as she lifted with a bit of an effort the debris, her body washed in relief at the sight of the Masters and the Knight being perfectly fine, if within a bubble of Force to survive the impact. All three were locked deeply in concentration, but otherwise unarmed.
Clearing a way out with the Force, Ahsoka tapped her foot while waiting for them to step out of the debris.
"Master Shade is still on the planet," Ahsoka said quickly, "The ship's loaded with explosives," she continued before they could get a word in. "We need to hurry before they leave."
"Calm down, padawan," Master Plo Koon said. "Do you know where he is?"
Ahsoka took a deep breath, and as the meowing grew stronger, she looked at the reflection of Mister Fluffles. "I know." She was firm in her voice. "But...what did you find at the end of the hallway?"
"Master Night's lightsabers," Master Kenobi said in a soft voice. Ahsoka grimaced.
"He'll want those back," she said resolutely. "We shouldn't make him wait."
Master Plo Koon nodded sagely, "We will need a passage."
"Already on it," Knight Skywalker said from a nearby Landspeeder, his head and hands beneath the wheel. A few moments later, and the Landspeeder rolled right next to them. Ahsoka climbed up next to Knight Skywalker, who began to speed up. In the reflection of the front window panel, Ahsoka saw Mister Fluffles as one of those metallic roosters usually perched atop churches to signal where the wind blew -wait. Where had that image come from? They were drawing near then, if the Bond was acting up again, it meant they were nearer.
"Turn left!" Ahsoka said hurriedly, and Anakin dutifully obeyed. The Landspeeder came to a screeching halt as a gaggle of B1 and B2 battle-droids stared at them with their laser rifles and hands pointed, ready to strike.
The standoff lasted a few seconds. "Hold on tight," Anakin said, and then gave gas. The Landspeeder accelerated as the Droids began to open fire, but even though a few hits cracked the glass, the vehicle crashed straight through them and proceeded towards the ship still docked ahead of them. A B2 droid, heavily damaged, crawled forward from the back of the vehicle, but a quick swipe of the blade from Master Kenobi took care of it.
Knight Skywalker turned the Landspeeder to the side and jumped off, rushing inside with Ahsoka hot on his tail. The Masters tried to shout a warning, but their lightsabers came up to deflect the blaster bolts of the droids camped in the gulch. There were...many droids.
Anakin Skywalker rushed through the corridors of the ship with his lightsaber ignited, and as Ahsoka hurried behind him, she looked at Mister Fluffles' reflection on the polished steel, which seemed to guide her. How Anakin knew where to go was beyond her, but-
A flash of blue and green, a quick roll, and Ahsoka brought both hands up to block four lightsabers.
General Grievous, in all of his robotic and cyborg self, looked back at her with his yellow eyes and feral-like appearance. His right side twisted inhumanly, and with two lightsabers, he blocked Anakin's strike.
"Go look for Night, Ahsoka!" Anakin exclaimed, using the Force to throw Grievous through a door, which bent and shattered under the strain.
"On it!" Ahsoka replied, running away from Grievous, her senses alert. Her lightsabers ignited, she deflected the blows of the occasional droid and struck them down as she moved on, mowing through the enemy's forces as if they weren't there -they might just as well have not been.
Her breathing however was slowly coming less. She had been fighting Asaji, and whether it was difficult or not, fighting did drain one's own strength. She was starting to grow sluggish, but she still had to move on -how big could a ship be, anyway? Sure, it was a large droid carrier, but even that had its limits, didn't it?
Ahsoka finally came to a halt above a walkway surrounded by fog and heat. They were close to the ship's engines. "Are you sure it's this way, Mister Fluffles?"
Her Cat-Hallucination meowed in reply. Past the fog, past the heat and the hisses, past the crimson light that colored everything in a shade of blood, her Master waited. He was probably unconscious, drugged heavily and incapable of waking up on his own. Well, she was going to save him.
On the opposite side of the walkway, a black robed figure slowly walked forward. Ahsoka's breathing froze for a single moment as the robe's hood came off to reveal Count Dooku's face.
To capture her master, the Separatists had gone all out. General Grievous, Count Dook, Asaji Ventress...what next, a horde of Sith Masters waiting in the shadows?
"Padawan," Count Dooku said plainly. "I see you have killed my apprentice," he added, igniting his lightsaber with his right hand, and slowly bringing his left one behind his back as he straightened his back up. "You have potential."
Ahsoka's eyes narrowed. "Keep your yard sale talk for someone who cares, Sith."
Count Dooku was at the end of the walkway, yet the next instant, he was already in front of her with his lightsaber striking at her. She hurriedly deflected the blow with her green one, but he avoided nimbly the downward slash of her blue one. The walkway was tight, and the slashes hit the metal bars making it bend and creak.
"Is it fear that I sense in you, padawan? Fear for your master's fate?" Count Dooku mused. "Fear for his well being?"
Ahsoka bit her lip to the point of drawing blood, fury bubbling in her throat.
"Ah, anger now, that is good," Count Dooku remarked with an amused expression on his face as he struck forward. His lightsaber inched a millimeter away from her face as she hastily avoided it, trying to counterattack with a swipe of her own, but Count Dooku knelt, and then stabbed at her chest rising back up. Using both lightsabers as a cross guard, Ahsoka stopped the attack before it could pierce through her chest. She still felt the blossoming pain of the lightsaber tip burning at her clothes, but she was none worse for wear.
"Let fury guide you, padawan," Count Dooku said. "Maybe I will take you on as my apprentice, after all you killed Asaji. There is no place left for you in the Jedi order. Your taste for blood will only grow with time."
"Are you done spouting nonsense?!" Ahsoka roared, taking a step back and then furiously spinning her lightsabers at Dooku. The Sith duelist stepped back and deflected without even breaking a sweat each of her blows, appearing overtly bored as he did so. Just as he pushed away another blow, Ahsoka realized she was wide open for a strike, which Count Dooku was more than happy to oblige her with. The strike would have connected with her right shoulder, slicing it neatly away.
However it stopped. It stopped, and inched only so slightly away, as if something was holding it back.
Count Dooku growled and spun, delivering a kick that sent her to hit her back against the metal guardrail and break it, bringing down the entire walkway and making them both fall a floor of height down, into the mechanical underbelly of the ship. In the thick smoke and fog, Ahsoka's echolocation vibrated. She turned off her lightsaber immediately, gasping for breath and looking at her shoulder. It was still there. Something had stopped the blade, but-
"Meow," Mister Fluffles whispered, appearing fatigued and strained to her ears. Ahsoka's eyes widened and then she bitterly closed them for a moment, letting her feel the tiredness emanating from Mister Fluffles. That cat-like hallucination of the Force had saved her life, and was now hurting. She clenched her lightsabers tighter, even unlit as they were, and concentrated. Count Dooku was standing there, visible clear as the day to her Togruta's senses even with the fog and the noise of the machinery all around them.
This was the perfect playground to even the score.
And it felt oh so very familiar to her senses.
Fighting the Cheshire Cat with four lightsaber was all Grievous, and fighting Dooku in here like this was how she had managed to win.
Her Master had prepared her well.
Her Master had prepared her knowing just who her enemies would be.
And she was going to save her Master to prove to him that she had learned his teachings well.
So, silently and with a cat-like attitude, Ahsoka Tano prowled forward towards Count Dooku.
An: ...Of course some Jedi are sore after Geonosis. Geez. You make it sound like I'd actually make everyone happy. Now however, I want to start the guesswork. Who do you think is the traitorous Jedi that gave off Shade's coordinates to the Seps? If you can guess it, you win a prize. A digital cookie!
Florrum was a positively dull world. There was grey colored sand, dust, more sand of more shades of grey, and it all compounded together to form one of the dullest backdrops Ahsoka had ever seen. What surprised her was a lone star-fighter being kept religiously in peace by the local scum of the place. It was a pirate haven.
They had landed right into a pirate haven -Ahsoka didn't need to see them hoisting a flag to realize these were pirates. However, they all appeared subdued. No, more than subdued. They all appeared to have been knocked unconscious.
"He's in battle mode," Knight Skywalker said to Master Kenobi, who nodded back. They both lit their lightsabers, soon followed by Master Plo Koon and herself.
The inside of the bar was quiet, eerily so, and Ahsoka tensed, clutching her lightsaber. The soft meowing of Mister Fluffles from the reflection of broken bottles seemed to guide her towards the back of the bar. She began to walk towards the backdoor, when Knight Skywalker's voice reached her.
"Never split the party," he said. "Stick close."
"I think he's in the back," Ahsoka replied. "I can feel it."
"Good for us," Master Plo Koon remarked. "This silence is unnatural."
"It feels wrong," Master Kenobi acquiesced, walking over a sleeping pirate. "Did he knock them all out at the same time?"
"A Master in the Force he may be, but all these people at the same time? That is stretching it, Obi-Wan," Plo Koon said. "I would not put it past him to have recovered another ancient Jedi technique however, so for now, let us assume that is the case."
Knight Skywalker moved to the side of the door leading to the back and physically stopped Ahsoka from barging through. "Didn't he teach you anything?" Anakin whispered harshly. "Check for traps before crossing a door, and check harder if there's nothing."
"Unfounded paranoia," Master Plo-Koon said, "Is not a Jedi trait, young Skywalker."
"Pride and blind trust in one's safety neither, Master," Anakin replied.
Ahsoka had meanwhile knelt, and carefully moved her montrals against the metal of the backdoor. There was a low thrumming from the other side, as the reverberation gave her the clear sense of a ticking, buzzing, electronic thing attached to the handle.
She disliked having to give reason to Knight Skywalker, especially when he was arguing with Master Plo Koon, but the knight was right. There was a trap on the back of the door.
The Jedi Knight slammed his lightsaber around the handle of the door, giving it a wide berth as he worked on 'picking the lock' and 'disarming the trap' in the brutish way. With the Force, Ahsoka moved the door gingerly aside, avoiding the detonator that was primed to explode if the door had been opened by pushing down on the handle.
"So we know he didn't pass by here," Anakin said. "Or he'd have disarmed it. It means he must have gone outside."
"Shouldn't we still check what's inside anyway?" Ahsoka queried. Mister Fluffles wasn't present in there, but again, there were no mirrors for her to-she grabbed a broken bottle from the ground and looked into her reflection. Mister Fluffles was right there, meowing at the end of the long corridor.
"Now isn't the time to admire your looks," Anakin said.
"Cool it, Skyguy, this is part of...well, something my master taught me to find him. We have to go to the end of the hallway and turn right."
Anakin narrowed his eyes. "You're sure?"
"Yes, of course I'm sure," Ahsoka replied.
"Then you know what this means, right?" Anakin hazarded, this time in a whisper.
Ahsoka blinked. No, well, it meant that her master hadn't disarmed the trap because-no. It meant that her master was the trap. It meant that they had captured her master. It meant that her master might be in danger. It explained why the trap hadn't been disarmed. Mister Fluffles meowed. If her Master had been captured, it meant that whatever was ahead was stronger than her master.
Master Kenobi and Master Plo Koon subtly shifted forward, their faces serious. "Stand back," Obi-Wan said. They began to walk forward, side by side, senses alert. Ahsoka swallowed and took a step forward, but Anakin's hand grabbed her shoulder, and when she turned to stare at him, he firmly shook his head. "Get back on the ship, warn them that Master Shade might have been captured."
"But-" 'he's my Master'.
"Go," Anakin hissed.
Ahsoka hesitated. She hesitated for just a second, and then rushed out. The moment she did, the Force sent her a sharp warning that made her duck and roll to the side just in time to avoid a swing of a crimson lightsaber. "Look what we have here," the baldy known as Asaji Ventress remarked with a purring voice, licking her lips.
Ahsoka spun her lightsabers assuming a guard position. "What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed, her eyes narrow.
"I'd surrender, Jedi," Asaji purred. "I'll give you a quick death," she added, striking with her right blade and swiftly following it up with a left uppercut. Ahsoka crossed her sabers to guard both attacks, and pushed through with her right blade only for Asaji to deflect it, and strike back with the hilt of her other lightsaber. Ahsoka bent her head backwards to avoid the knock-out blow, and as Asaji came with a swing of both lightsabers for her legs, she quickly rolled on the ground to avoid the slashing motion.
"You improved your escaping, coward," Asaji snarled.
Ahsoka was just about to reply, when she caught herself. She remained silent. She remained silent, and lifted both blades in front of her. Mister Fluffles meowed softly, his pressure on her shoulder. She took a small breath.
Asaji raised an eyebrow -well, no, because she didn't have eyebrows- muscle, and huffed, "What, no witty remarks, Jedi? You're going to be boring as hell and die in silence?"
Ahsoka's heart slowed down, and Asaji roared as she charged, swinging her blades in a perfect motion. Her left lightsaber departed from her hand with speed, and struck straight ahead. Asaji widened her eyes as she hastily dodged out of the way, before finding herself on the defensive as Ahsoka charged in with her right lightsaber glowing brightly, as her left hand recalled the left one.
She struck, spinning and letting go of her blue lightsaber that Mister Fluffles gripped to hold in place, using her left one to pierce through Asaji's defenses. The Sith woman deflected the blow, and yet at the same time had no choice but to concede ground, as the blue lightsaber slid through her defenses, not having a pesky human body to leave open for strikes.
Ahsoka rose with an uppercut, gripping back her blue lightsaber and letting go of her green one. She brought up her left hand in the universal hand gesture known as 'Come and get it', and grinned slightly.
Asaji roared. She roared, and in her fury charged ahead.
Ahsoka saw the attack incoming, and avoided it. Right swing. Left swing. Cross swing. Uppercut. Downcut. Spinning swing. Ahsoka avoided them all, Mister Fluffles meowing from her shoulder. Asaji gasped for air, and Ahsoka pounced on the occasion silently.
Asaji stepped back under the flurry of attacks, her eyes strained to keep on for the moment when Ahsoka's blade would leave her hand to strike further. It was Ahsoka who controlled the engagement, however, and she knew it. With a furious last effort, Asaji screamed and brought the Force to bear, sending Ahsoka to tumble backwards as she pounced forward.
Yet, Ahsoka had been warned of that and dug her feet on the dirt, using the Force to hold her ground and twist her body to the side. Her blue blade held the parry against both blades.
Her green lightsaber struck instead through Asaji's guts, piercing her firmly in the stomach and leaving behind a hole.
Asaji gasped and gagged, her lightsabers deactivating as she fell clutching her wound. Her hand covered in blood, the Sith woman gasped for air one last time, and then died.
Ahsoka deactivated her lightsabers and clutched her knees, breathing hard before a sudden wave of nausea assaulted her senses. She retched, and wiped with her hand her lips -the taste on her tongue wasn't going anywhere, however. She hurried off towards the spaceship, but again didn't go very far. No, to be more precise, she slowed down just seconds before reaching it, all of her senses haywire.
The communication device on her person wasn't working, that much was sure. She gazed at the ship's pilot seat, and carefully brought her montrals to contact with the metal surface of the fighter they had come in. She didn't need her montrals in the end, as visibly glowing and beeping, remote charges hung plastered all across the surface of the ship.
This had been a trap from the very beginning. A trap to deal with her Master and with whoever else had come in the way. Ahsoka bit her lips in frustration, and kicked the dirt as she stepped away from the ship. She couldn't risk climbing aboard only for it to explode with her in it, and she didn't have the knowledge to actually disarm the bombs. They were stranded on the planet. Well, stranded until the pirates woke up and they could 'acquire passage' out of the world.
Actually, just how long were the pirates going to keep on sleeping?
"Asaji, come in," a raspy voice bellowed through the silence of the plain. Ahsoka hurried to Asaji's side, and halted her hand a few steps from gripping at the holo disk. She lit both her lightsabers and pushed the button for vocal only, before striking them both at the same time.
"What do you want?" she growled in her best imitation of Asaji's voice, "I'm busy."
"The Jedi giving you problems?" it was General Grievous' voice. She didn't know how she was sure of it, but she knew it was him.
"Shut up," Ahsoka snarled -woah, it wasn't that difficult to get into Asaji's head. For added effect, she hit her lightsabers again. "Have you secured Night?"
"Yes," Grievous replied, "Hurry to the ship before I decide to leave you behind."
The conversation done, Ahsoka turned off her lightsabers and deactivated the holo-communicator. "He's still on the planet," Ahsoka whispered. "Good." She nodded to herself.
Grievous was involved. Of course, Asaji alone wouldn't have been able to capture her master -it would have been preposterous. She swallowed nervously and then looked back at the pirate's bar. Had the Masters found anything? Would they need a hand?
As soon as she thought that, an explosion rocked the air and sent her sprawling on the ground, tripping over Asaji's corpse. Ahsoka's eyes widened as she looked up at the sky, and when she grasped the ground with her hands and pulled herself back up, it was to the sight of the building being wracked by flames. She neared in a hurry, her breathing and heart erratic.
"M-Masters! Knight Skywalker-Anyone!?"
Mister Fluffles meowed loudly from the twisted metal spires, melting under the heat. Ahsoka right hand shot forward where Mister Fluffles' voice came louder, and as she lifted with a bit of an effort the debris, her body washed in relief at the sight of the Masters and the Knight being perfectly fine, if within a bubble of Force to survive the impact. All three were locked deeply in concentration, but otherwise unarmed.
Clearing a way out with the Force, Ahsoka tapped her foot while waiting for them to step out of the debris.
"Master Shade is still on the planet," Ahsoka said quickly, "The ship's loaded with explosives," she continued before they could get a word in. "We need to hurry before they leave."
"Calm down, padawan," Master Plo Koon said. "Do you know where he is?"
Ahsoka took a deep breath, and as the meowing grew stronger, she looked at the reflection of Mister Fluffles. "I know." She was firm in her voice. "But...what did you find at the end of the hallway?"
"Master Night's lightsabers," Master Kenobi said in a soft voice. Ahsoka grimaced.
"He'll want those back," she said resolutely. "We shouldn't make him wait."
Master Plo Koon nodded sagely, "We will need a passage."
"Already on it," Knight Skywalker said from a nearby Landspeeder, his head and hands beneath the wheel. A few moments later, and the Landspeeder rolled right next to them. Ahsoka climbed up next to Knight Skywalker, who began to speed up. In the reflection of the front window panel, Ahsoka saw Mister Fluffles as one of those metallic roosters usually perched atop churches to signal where the wind blew -wait. Where had that image come from? They were drawing near then, if the Bond was acting up again, it meant they were nearer.
"Turn left!" Ahsoka said hurriedly, and Anakin dutifully obeyed. The Landspeeder came to a screeching halt as a gaggle of B1 and B2 battle-droids stared at them with their laser rifles and hands pointed, ready to strike.
The standoff lasted a few seconds. "Hold on tight," Anakin said, and then gave gas. The Landspeeder accelerated as the Droids began to open fire, but even though a few hits cracked the glass, the vehicle crashed straight through them and proceeded towards the ship still docked ahead of them. A B2 droid, heavily damaged, crawled forward from the back of the vehicle, but a quick swipe of the blade from Master Kenobi took care of it.
Knight Skywalker turned the Landspeeder to the side and jumped off, rushing inside with Ahsoka hot on his tail. The Masters tried to shout a warning, but their lightsabers came up to deflect the blaster bolts of the droids camped in the gulch. There were...many droids.
Anakin Skywalker rushed through the corridors of the ship with his lightsaber ignited, and as Ahsoka hurried behind him, she looked at Mister Fluffles' reflection on the polished steel, which seemed to guide her. How Anakin knew where to go was beyond her, but-
A flash of blue and green, a quick roll, and Ahsoka brought both hands up to block four lightsabers.
General Grievous, in all of his robotic and cyborg self, looked back at her with his yellow eyes and feral-like appearance. His right side twisted inhumanly, and with two lightsabers, he blocked Anakin's strike.
"Go look for Night, Ahsoka!" Anakin exclaimed, using the Force to throw Grievous through a door, which bent and shattered under the strain.
"On it!" Ahsoka replied, running away from Grievous, her senses alert. Her lightsabers ignited, she deflected the blows of the occasional droid and struck them down as she moved on, mowing through the enemy's forces as if they weren't there -they might just as well have not been.
Her breathing however was slowly coming less. She had been fighting Asaji, and whether it was difficult or not, fighting did drain one's own strength. She was starting to grow sluggish, but she still had to move on -how big could a ship be, anyway? Sure, it was a large droid carrier, but even that had its limits, didn't it?
Ahsoka finally came to a halt above a walkway surrounded by fog and heat. They were close to the ship's engines. "Are you sure it's this way, Mister Fluffles?"
Her Cat-Hallucination meowed in reply. Past the fog, past the heat and the hisses, past the crimson light that colored everything in a shade of blood, her Master waited. He was probably unconscious, drugged heavily and incapable of waking up on his own. Well, she was going to save him.
On the opposite side of the walkway, a black robed figure slowly walked forward. Ahsoka's breathing froze for a single moment as the robe's hood came off to reveal Count Dooku's face.
To capture her master, the Separatists had gone all out. General Grievous, Count Dook, Asaji Ventress...what next, a horde of Sith Masters waiting in the shadows?
"Padawan," Count Dooku said plainly. "I see you have killed my apprentice," he added, igniting his lightsaber with his right hand, and slowly bringing his left one behind his back as he straightened his back up. "You have potential."
Ahsoka's eyes narrowed. "Keep your yard sale talk for someone who cares, Sith."
Count Dooku was at the end of the walkway, yet the next instant, he was already in front of her with his lightsaber striking at her. She hurriedly deflected the blow with her green one, but he avoided nimbly the downward slash of her blue one. The walkway was tight, and the slashes hit the metal bars making it bend and creak.
"Is it fear that I sense in you, padawan? Fear for your master's fate?" Count Dooku mused. "Fear for his well being?"
Ahsoka bit her lip to the point of drawing blood, fury bubbling in her throat.
"Ah, anger now, that is good," Count Dooku remarked with an amused expression on his face as he struck forward. His lightsaber inched a millimeter away from her face as she hastily avoided it, trying to counterattack with a swipe of her own, but Count Dooku knelt, and then stabbed at her chest rising back up. Using both lightsabers as a cross guard, Ahsoka stopped the attack before it could pierce through her chest. She still felt the blossoming pain of the lightsaber tip burning at her clothes, but she was none worse for wear.
"Let fury guide you, padawan," Count Dooku said. "Maybe I will take you on as my apprentice, after all you killed Asaji. There is no place left for you in the Jedi order. Your taste for blood will only grow with time."
"Are you done spouting nonsense?!" Ahsoka roared, taking a step back and then furiously spinning her lightsabers at Dooku. The Sith duelist stepped back and deflected without even breaking a sweat each of her blows, appearing overtly bored as he did so. Just as he pushed away another blow, Ahsoka realized she was wide open for a strike, which Count Dooku was more than happy to oblige her with. The strike would have connected with her right shoulder, slicing it neatly away.
However it stopped. It stopped, and inched only so slightly away, as if something was holding it back.
Count Dooku growled and spun, delivering a kick that sent her to hit her back against the metal guardrail and break it, bringing down the entire walkway and making them both fall a floor of height down, into the mechanical underbelly of the ship. In the thick smoke and fog, Ahsoka's echolocation vibrated. She turned off her lightsaber immediately, gasping for breath and looking at her shoulder. It was still there. Something had stopped the blade, but-
"Meow," Mister Fluffles whispered, appearing fatigued and strained to her ears. Ahsoka's eyes widened and then she bitterly closed them for a moment, letting her feel the tiredness emanating from Mister Fluffles. That cat-like hallucination of the Force had saved her life, and was now hurting. She clenched her lightsabers tighter, even unlit as they were, and concentrated. Count Dooku was standing there, visible clear as the day to her Togruta's senses even with the fog and the noise of the machinery all around them.
This was the perfect playground to even the score.
And it felt oh so very familiar to her senses.
Fighting the Cheshire Cat with four lightsaber was all Grievous, and fighting Dooku in here like this was how she had managed to win.
Her Master had prepared her well.
Her Master had prepared her knowing just who her enemies would be.
And she was going to save her Master to prove to him that she had learned his teachings well.
So, silently and with a cat-like attitude, Ahsoka Tano prowled forward towards Count Dooku.
An: ...Of course some Jedi are sore after Geonosis. Geez. You make it sound like I'd actually make everyone happy. Now however, I want to start the guesswork. Who do you think is the traitorous Jedi that gave off Shade's coordinates to the Seps? If you can guess it, you win a prize. A digital cookie!
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Dooku did not aim at a lethal spot.
*Du-Du-Duuum*
Ventress might not be dead since she survived worst in canon.
*Du-Du-Duuum*
I might be lying and in fact everyone's dead.
*DU-DU-DUUUM*
asdx
Superior Sword Fairy
- Location
- Texas.
Well looks like the story is over. Ships parts fall, everyone dies. It was fun while it lasted.
konamikode
Cooking Harder
Knight Darra Thel-Tanis.
...well, that's fairly horrifying.Everything burns~
I think a new game of dxd
A jedi of Yoda's power with a Joker personality that decided everything must burn? Yeah, it would be.
- Location
- Oulu
My guess would be Barriss Offee (Barista Coffee? Really, Lucasarts?)
As mentioned, there's no guarantee Asaji is all the way dead, seeing as how Maul survived being cut in half. OTOH, I don't think she has much in the way of redeemable features, outside her affinity with leather pants. That being said, Dooku is much more of a redeemable Anti-Villain.
Y'know what? I hope she is dead. All-the-way as in never-coming-back dead. Not pining for the fjords, not resting after a good squawk.
Just. Fucking. Dead.
Ventress' annoying plot shields got really hard to take after awhile, so yeah, let the Padawan have this one.
Also, why did Maul get so much love? He was a one-dimensional cardboard cut-out that had two lines and an ignominious death in the worst of the prequels.
Why does anyone like that jackass? Especially enough for him to actually reappear in canon material? Seriously.
Is this like the thing with Boba Fett and the Mandalorians that I never understood or appreciated?
Clandistine1
(Verified Spaceship)
- Location
- Toorak, Melbourne
I'm guessing Shade did it...
Uxion
The Slightly Less Depressed
- Location
- Personal Hell
Because he looks fucking metal.