I have a very strange Master (Star Wars/SI) EPI-EPII

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eighteen

Ahsoka Tano had thought training with her lightsabers to be fun when she was a young initiate. She enjoyed the 'woosh' sound of the blade, and the slicing with ease of the holographic targets, and she really, really liked deflecting the stinging bolts from the training droids. Yet it all changed when her master upped the number of lightsabers to two, and ensured that she could not use her hands to wield them.
"Concentrate," her Master said after the hundredth time she had let both blades fall down before even going through the most basic of forms. "You need to empty your mind and concentrate on what you are doing."
"Pardon me, master, if I do not possess your natural predisposition in the Force," Ahsoka drawled out. "Maybe if I had my hands-"
"The hand gesture is a weakness, padawan," her Master replied. "To use the Force, no gestures are required. Count Dooku needs but his three fingers of his main hand to throw you away from him," he added, showing his hand's index, middle and ring finger. "Three fingers and bam, you're thrown off-balance. Recover it or you die with the next strike."
Ahsoka took a deep breath, and sat down, legs crossed. The lightsaber slowly began to float up in the air, and its partner soon joined the first. She lit them both, and then carefully began to imagine the basic movements of the Shii-Cho form. It wasn't hard imagining them. It was hard turning imagination into practice. One of the lightsaber twitched and jerked, spinning loosely out of control as Ahsoka tried to correct a mistake in the second one.
"Why can't I start with one?" Ahsoka asked, frustration clearly biting her from within. Her Master merely looked at her with a dreadful sigh, and shook his head.
"You learned how to fight with one lightsaber. I will not allow you to think they are the same things. You will learn from scratch, and in so doing, avoid the fallacies that would befall you through the easy way."
"The fallacies?" Ahsoka growled. "I can't even go through one proper motion of the most basic of training!"
"Ah, I see," her Master acquiesced. "And how is that a problem, precisely?"
"How is that-how is it not?" Ahsoka retorted.

Her Master took a few steps away from her, then spun swiftly as a blade of plasma ignited and stopped an inch away from Ahsoka's eye. The Togruta gasped in fear, her mind haywire, and one of the training lightsabers swiftly made a broad swing in front of her to parry the attack. Her Master's blade didn't move from its short distance from Ahsoka's eye, even as the padawan took a step back.
"The most basic of forms," her Master acquiesced as he waved a hand and recovered the training lightsaber he had thrown at her, "Is that of the stab."
Ahsoka's right eyebrow twitched. "Master-"
"See, the second most basic form," her Master continued, "Is that of the swing," he was amused by this. She knew he was amused by this, and she had no choice but to suffer through it. "And the third, and most final move, is that of the crush."
Ahsoka groaned as she looked up at the ceiling of the training room. "I am pretty sure there are more moves than those, Master."
"Maybe," her master acknowledged, "But in my style, there are only those three."
He opened his arms as three training lightsaber lit up, and began to float around him. "First comes the circling," he said calmly, "Then the spinning," the lightsabers began to spin around him, both horizontally, and vertically with the blade, "Then comes the attacking. Stab," quick as lightning, a lightsaber pierced forward, "Swing," another spun in mid-air as it departed from her master's side, "And finally, Crush." With that said, all three lightsaber swung at the same time.
"Basic moves, nothing more to it. Terrifyingly effective too, because somehow, people expect their enemy to actually wield the lightsaber. Don't try this with Dooku though. You're not fast enough."
"Then maybe I should train with a style that can make me fast enough," Ahsoka replied. "He was Master Yoda's padawan too, wasn't he? Haven't you at least been taught the same basics?"
"No," her Master replied. "I preferred not to," he shook his head. "A lightsaber is a tool that must be treated with respect. Lit only when you must take a life, never before. The Force allows you to protect yourself from many threats, and that is why I swore I would never lit a lightsaber for anything less than the taking of a life."
He awkwardly looked at her. "Lifting with the force a block of concrete and using it as an impromptu hammer notwithstanding, of course."

Ahsoka gasped as she tiredly tried, and failed, to lift the lightsabers once more. "I'm too tired, Master. I can't keep this up."
Her Master looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. "Very well," he turned to look at the door, "You can come in at any time," he added, "The training rooms are free for everyone to use."
Knight Thel-Tanis awkwardly stumbled through the door, but swiftly resettled her balance. "What a coincidence!" she exclaimed with a bubbly grin. "I thought I heard the sound of a Padawan whimpering, and I find my favorite Padawan being trained by her master!"
Master Shade's eyebrows both rose. "Since when is she your favorite padawan?"
"Since the day she warned me of the intruder in the library," Knight Darra said. "I was thinking," she added, "Since she's clearly not suited for your combat style, what if I trained her?"
Master Shade opened his mouth to refuse, Ahsoka could feel he was going to refuse the offer, but then he stopped and gave her a single side-way glance. She wouldn't mind learning under Knight Darra how to use a lightsaber effectively -and maybe she'd even be able to face off Dooku if she trained hard enough. Her Master smiled warmly, and nodded once. "Fine," he said. "She's all yours for training."
In the blink of an eye, Ahsoka had broken out of her fake-sling, and stood up with a bubbling grin. "Yes!" she burst out.
Knight Darra looked at her other sling, and remarked, "Aren't you going to remove the other one too?"
"She has a broken arm," her Master said before she could, "Something about not clearing the area fast enough when a droid factory came down on her."
Knight Darra winced at the thought, but still smiled. "Well, that's perfect then! I'll teach you how to use your other hand!"

Somehow, Knight Darra's enthusiasm was not contagious enough to affect her Master, but Ahsoka didn't pay attention to it, grinning as she was from the thought of getting some real training in. Her Master sighed and shrugged slightly, "I'll be meditating in my chambers then," he said. "Keep her in one piece, Knight Thel-Tanis."
With that warning out of the way, Master Shade walked out in quiet contemplation. Knight Darra looked at his retreating back once more, and sighed too, shaking her head with a slightly sad expression. The expression melted away quickly however, and if Ahsoka hadn't been looking up at the knight, she would have probably missed it completely.
Knight Darra smiled broadly, "Very well then, let's get you a short training lightsaber for your left hand. We'll start with some light training, and go from there."
Ahsoka nodded, and dutifully obeyed. As the training began, she couldn't help but think back about her Master's words. Many of the lightsaber forms were, in the end, nothing more than fancy swings and stabs, but there was art and grace to them. Surely, those counted for something too. She wondered if the Dark Side of him she had faced on Felucia through the Force Trance was actually how her master fought with lightsabers. If he outright held more than one at the same time, and-
"You're distracted, Padawan," Knight Darra said suddenly. "What's on your mind?"
"I apologize, knight Thel-Tanis," Ahsoka replied ashamed, "I was just...thinking about Master Shade," she added.
"Oh?" Knight Darra said, before making a small smile. Ahsoka's eyes widened as she realized even before the knight could speak it out loud that there was going to be a misunderstanding about this. She realized, and her face turned white as a sheet as the knight said with the most duty-filled tone possible, "You are at that age, padawan, but you must understand that a simple crush on your master is-"
"Not in that way!" Ahsoka blurted out, her face utterly turned from white to red in a second. "I meant his fighting style!" she continued at Knight Darra's surprised expression. "What is it like? Have you ever seen it?"
Knight Darra blinked, and her mouth formed a simple circle as the words sunk in. She nodded the next moment, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Yes, once," the Knight admitted in a hushed tone. "It was on Korriban."

Knight Darra shuddered. "Korriban's the burial place of many Sith Lords," she said. "The Dark Energies there...they permeate the very rocks. Your Master, he was the one least affected, probably the reason we kept our cool more often than not. We still bickered, and he still hit all of us, but at the very least, his presence gave us piece of mind."
Ahsoka nodded. "What about his fighting style?"
"I'm getting to it, padawan," Knight Darra said with a slight reproachful tone, making Ahsoka wince at the rebuke. "When we faced Granta Omega, he wasn't alone. He was with a deranged scientist known as Jenna Zan Arbor. Your Master, he can predict the future, or at least, a good probability of it," Knight Darra hesitated, "We...the Jedi Code says that the many are more worthy than the few. So, to kill one in order to save many is perfectly viable. Your Master-he sometimes makes the hard call for everyone else."
"Sometimes?" Ahsoka asked.
"He goes for the kill, nothing less will suffice," Knight Darra whispered. "Depending on-well, depending on the vision he has, his kill is particularly brutal. He does it with a calm heart, like...like a child dissecting an insect," she added with a light shudder. "That's the most terrifying thing. Listen well, Padawan. If-If you hear him say 'Now is the time you die', look away. Look away and don't open your eyes until it's over with."
Knight Darra took a deep breath to center herself. "It's been years, but I can still hear them scream. And want to know the worst thing?" her eyes half-closed, "He was perfectly justified." She shook her head, "The things some people do, or will do. The scientist, she was unarmed, but she would have escaped from prison, and killed an entire colony of living, breathing people with a deadly toxin. Her death spared them. I can't fault the code with that logic."
"A Jedi should not put himself above...others," Ahsoka replied, and Knight Darra smiled bitterly. "We shouldn't be the ones to judge others."
"Maybe not," Knight Darra replies, "But when I said the same thing, when Master Obi-Wan told him that, when Ferus told him that, he replied with the same sentence. 'Tell that to glass-eyed corpse of the child suffocated in his crib. Tell it to the pregnant mother clutching her stomach in her last throes of life. Tell that to the thousand corpses gasping for air that I have seen. Tell it to them, and then tell me their reply.' We couldn't fault him afterwards."
Ahsoka looked down at the ground, "I thought seeing the future could help make things better."
"It does," Darra grinned, "Just...not for the one doing the viewing."

She proceeded then to pat her head, making Ahsoka wince. "Montrals!" Ahsoka blurted out, dodging the patting, "I use them for echolocation! What is it with patting them?!"
"Oh," Darra's eyes widened. "Night used to pat our heads whenever we looked downcast. It became sort of a habit for him to pat on Anakin's head before he went full Tsundere."
Ahsoka's eyes widened. "He-Wait. He did what?"
Darra nodded. "He was our age, but when he gave you a head pat, you quieted down and you took it. I swear Anakin couldn't stop glowering whenever someone got ahead of him in the head pat count."
Ahsoka spluttered. That...that was insane!
And so many things suddenly made sense to her. Like, so many things that she felt as if she was just a split-second away from discovering the truth of existence. Her Master spread insanity wherever he went and with whoever he talked. He was like, an insanity nexus hidden behind a facade of perfect responsibility. She was on to him.

"If I remember correctly, you would do pretty much the same," a male voice -not that of her master- said offhandedly, as a male Jedi with brown hair, but golden streaks, entered the training room. "You always were too passionate in your youth."
Ahsoka looked at the new arrival with a puzzled expression, and the man nodded to the Padawan, especially at her unspoken question. "I am Knight Ferus Olin, young one."
"You're not that old to use 'young one', Ferus." Darra pointed out with a cheeky grin.
"She is younger than me, Knight Thel-Tanis," Olin stressed out, holding his smile tight. "So she is a young one."
Knight Darra coughed with a hand in front of her face, looking sideways with a twinkle in her eye. Ahsoka just looked, waiting for the other pin to drop. It was only after a few minutes of awkward silence went by that she realized she hadn't yet presented herself.
"Ops," Ahsoka blurted out, "I'm Ahsoka Tano," she said. "Padawan learner of Master Shade."
Ferus nodded. "I heard he had taken on an apprentice." He looked at her with a critical gaze, as if finding faults in her. "How did you convince him?"

Ahsoka shook her head, "There wasn't any convincing. Master Yoda told me he had showed interest, and I accepted after talking with him." Before knowing he was as mad as the Mad Hatter, of course. Then again, if she had known how mad he was, she probably would have accepted all the same because he had been the first to recognize her worth, if he had specifically wanted her as his padawan.
"Interesting," Ferus acquiesced. "After the events of Geonosis, I would have thought he'd steer clear of everyone. He must have seen something," the Jedi Knight said, "concerning your future."
Ahsoka blinked. She had...she had never thought about that. Maybe that explained why her Master had wanted her. He had seen the future -or at least, a probable one- and had decided that training her would prevent some form of catastrophe. What if-What if in the future, she turned out to be a Sith Master who killed countless millions, and thus him training her was the only way to prevent it? Or what if he failed in that, and then they were forced to battle each other on a plain of magma and fire while that damn orchestra music sang out and then he'd say something like 'Ahsoka, I trusted you!' and she then tried to jump, but he had the high ground, and so it ended up with her being cut in half and then burned by the magma of the planet?
That...that was quite the terrific imagery that shot through Ahsoka's head, making her tremble ever-so slightly because, whenever such a thing happened, it was due to her Bond with her master. So, if it was actually due to the bond with her Master...then maybe Knight Olin wasn't wrong. She gasped at the sudden insight, and rushed away.
She needed to get confirmation from her master -he wouldn't lie to her, would he?

Ahsoka rushed through the Jedi Temple, coming to a halt not in front of the meditation chambers -where her master had told her he'd be- but in front of a classroom of young initiates -where she felt her master to be. She recomposed herself long enough to appear 'not in a hurry' and 'not like someone who has to ask if she becomes a genocidal Sith in the future' and then stepped inside.
Her Master was humming contently, a book in his hand, as the rest of the young hopeful Jedi sat in front of him. "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door," he used to say. "You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to. Do you realize that this is the very path that goes through Mirkwood, and that if you let it, it might take you to the Lonely Mountain or even further and to worse places?"
Her master would have kept on reading, but her intrusion made him stop and turn off the Datapad in his hand. The young learners looked up at her, and she fidgeted for just a bit.
"Yes, padawan?" her Master asked, an eyebrow raised. "Is something the matter?"
"Well," Ahsoka said, "I had a question."
"Is it urgent in the sense of 'I need an answer or someone will die soon', or is it urgent in the sense 'I might feel uneasy unless it's answered quickly'?"
"T-The latter one, master," Ahsoka acquiesced.
"Sit, let me finish the chapter, and then I'll answer you," Master Shade said, gesturing for her to take a sit on one of the empty pillows. She did it with a hint of nostalgia -she used to fall inside the pillows when she was smaller- and now she realized she barely fit in one of those. Her Master continued the story, of this Frodo, and Sam, and Pippin going on an adventure. It was kind of boring, truth be told, but every now and then her ears twitched as she realized the young students were keenly listening on to it. She wondered what lesson her Master was doing -he hadn't told her he was a teacher at the temple, all things considered. Heck, she would have expected him to be a teacher in the art of the Force, not a...was it literature? Was he teaching them how to read in Basic? But they didn't have datapads with a copy of the story in hand, and her Master was simply narrating the story.
It felt like story-time.

It made her sleepy. When Mister Fluffles purred in her lap, and she bent down to scratch the back of his head, she blinked only once, and then shrugged it off. She felt at peace. Maybe, she felt at peace because her Master felt at peace, or maybe it was because the story-telling reminded her of her mother's stories before bed. The soft voice, the small warm smiles...her mother smiled so warmly...
She refused to believe she had fallen asleep hearing her master tell a story. She refused to believe it, yet when she woke up, she was on her Master's back and they were walking -well, he was walking and carrying her- through a thankfully deserted hallway of the Jedi Temple.
"Tell me I didn't fall asleep," Ahsoka groaned as she began to fidget trying to get off her Master's back, and her Master dutifully complied helping her descend.
"You did not fall asleep," her Master replied. "You fell into a deeply meditative state known as 'The Snore', from which you woke up only now."
Ahsoka shot him a glare. Her Master returned a grin.
She shot him a harder glare. Her Master simply grinned even fiercer.
"You're strange," Ahsoka said in the end, and her Master simply shrugged it off. "You're a very strange Master, you know that?"
"So I've been told," her Master replied. "So, what was the question?"
'Do I become an homicidal Sith Master in the future?' was at the forefront of her mind, but before she could even speak it out, her Master neared his right hand to her forehead and 'flicked' it.
"That is the most stupid question ever. You wouldn't cut it as a Sith Janitor, let alone a Sith Master," he chuckled and just like that, her worries disappeared. "That's why I picked you," her Master added softly. "Even in the worst of things I saw, you were still doing the right thing, no matter the cost."
"So...you saw me in the future?" Ahsoka asked.
"Unfortunately, it's just a probability, padawan. Your future's yours to write. Hopefully, you'll write a great one." He winked. "I'll just coauthor you for a bit."

Ahsoka nodded.
"By the way," her Master remarked. "There will be a bit of a lull for a few weeks. Feel free to train with Knight Thel-Tanis, or just head off on missions with other Jedi Masters, I told the High Council you'd be on your own for a while, since I'll be busy-"
"Heading somewhere dangerous again?" Ahsoka hazarded with a raised eyebrow.
"All places are dangerous, do you know the amount of people that die in kitchens?" her Master quipped back with an amused expression. "Still, it will do you good to learn how other masters do things. Whatever happens though," he looked her straight in the eye. "If you end up facing Grievous, Count Dooku, Asaji or any Sith Master...run, call for backup, but do not face them alone."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Yes master, I'll tell them not to try to kill me because my master said so."
"You'd be surprised," her Master replied. "They wouldn't kill you." He sighed. "They'd capture you to get back at me, and then, of course, I'd come right up to save you and there would be this epic fight as I topple mountains and tear apart buildings, and you'd go, 'Stupid master, it was clearly a trap' and I'd say something like 'Silly Padawan, a true Master is trap-immune'."
Ahsoka groaned, and brought her left hand to massage her forehead, before it slowly slid to pinch the bridge of her nose.
Mister Fluffles meowed in the back of her head. At least her cat-like madness-induced hallucination wasn't making troubles.
For the moment.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Nineteen

Ahsoka Tano was having the time of her life. She was training in swordsmanship with a Jedi Knight, she was hanging around the Jedi Temple's Masters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Plo Koon, and yet, even as she did all those missions, she began to wonder just what instead her master was doing. The High Council hadn't assigned him on any important missions, since she had checked that out personally. Turns out giving a hand to an old lady librarian can really help when you're simply acting out of concern for your Master's well-being. And even then, there was no knowledge on where he had gone off to.
The Bond was still working, but her Master had cut off his own thoughts from it. It was there, but-
"Meow," Mister Fluffles meowed from the mirror, and Ahsoka sighed as she looked at her reflection in it.
"What are you anyway?" Ahsoka asked, not even expecting an answer to come. The answer, in fact, didn't come. The mangy orange striped kitten didn't reply, as much as playfully start to rub itself against the mirror's surface. "If you work anything like the Cheshire Cat," she murmured, but then shook her head. No, the Cheshire Cat was clearly a part of her master, just as she felt Mister Fluffles a part of her. Whenever she reached out with the Force, the cat purred back contently, like a sort of oasis of peace and quiet. It was her thoughts drifted off during meditation in her room, that the cat finally seeped through the mirror glass and reached her.
Ahsoka blinked as she gingerly scratched the back of her cat. She stood up, and the mirror's surface wobbled as if made of water. "Uhm," Ahsoka mumbled. "Let's see if I understand how this works correctly. Hey, Mister Fluffles," Ahsoka said, "Think you can show me where my master is?"
Her adorable orange striped kitten meowed, and then jumped off her arms and towards the mirror. He passed through with ease, as if the surface was made of water, and turned to look at her with a 'you coming?' gaze.

Ahsoka carefully brought a hand forward, and when she touched the glass, it rippled as if made of water. "Here goes nothing," she whispered to herself, before plunging through in one swift motion. Beyond the mirror, her room was the same, if symmetrically opposite. Mister Fluffles meowed at her, and moved towards the door. He scratched against it, and Ahsoka opened the door with a wary look. Mister Fluffles wasn't the Cheshire Cat, hopefully, and again, she had been the one to ask.
"Duchess, I frankly do not see the point. They seek war, we are at war, give them war," her Master's voice reached Ahsoka's ears through the cobblestone path made of sparkling gold that laid neatly in front of her, surrounded by darkness. "You do not need to mobilize the entire planet. Those who want to fight should be allowed to fight."
"Master Shade, should a peacekeeper say such things?" a female voice replied, a brief spark of light shining in the darkness of the cobblestone path. Ahsoka began to slowly walk through it, staying behind Mister Fluffles who resolutely marched on.
"There is strife on your planet, Duchess. Before delving in the bigger strife of the galaxy, let us fix the one in front of our eyes. I did manage to convince the Death Watch to talk, didn't I?"
A brief pulse of light, an image flickering by of a Mandalorian soldier clad in armor. The Mandalore. Mand'Alor. Sole Ruler. The pulses of knowledge flew through Ahsoka's mind as her Master spoke. The Preserver. Canderous Ordo.
"And that is a great accomplishment, but I will not go against my people's new ways." Irritation. Stupidity is truly a sin. Why can't she understand? Ship them off planet, strike them in the back if the need arises. No, too Dark. Cannot tell.
"And you do not need to," her Master replied. "When a brother and a sister fight for the best room, the parents are torn. The solution is, however, simple. You ensure they both get the room most suited to their needs. The Death Watch wants to fight to preserve its culture of war, and who are you to claim they cannot do that? Just as you would fight to preserve your culture of peace, they would fight for their of war. Allow them. Just because some people of a planet seek war, doesn't mean all of them will."
"Neutrality is key to keeping my people safe, Master Shade," the Duchess replied.
"Then I'm afraid you are utterly disillusioned on what the Separatist mean for war, Duchess," her Master replied. "The Death Watch were already talking with the Separatist when I managed to talk with them. This is your last chance. It is either this, or war between your people. Surely, a concession can be made at this point?"
There was silence for a while. Ahsoka held her breath and stood very still -especially because Mister Fluffles had put a paw on her foot and made a gesture with its tiny cute paw to 'hush it'.

There was another flash of light, and a room took form in front of her. She was standing inside a large hall, with columns of white and a throne on which a woman stood clad in what looked like formal wear. Her Master was in front of the Duchess, his arms crossed inside his sleeves. Ahsoka held her breath. Hidden behind a few of the columns were people wearing Mandalorian armor -assassins if negotiations fail. The thought struck Ahsoka. Her Master knew they were there -that was why she could see them. There were bright spots of light further away, and with a flash of insight, or maybe just the knowledge flowing through the Bond, Ahsoka knew that those were the lifeforms of the planet. Her Master could sense them from that far away.
"You seem keen on making us allies of the Republic, Master Shade," the Duchess replied. "Should you not instead protect our desire for peace?"
"Duchess, let me be plain," her Master replied. Annoyed. He was outright annoyed. "The Death Watch demands are utterly simple. Recognition, understanding of their culture, and pardon for the crimes committed until now. In exchange, they will swear loyalty to you as their Mand'Alor until the war is over, after which they will be free to challenge your title. The Republic will guarantee your independence should you wish to still keep your neutrality, but is this how the Mandalorian have become? That they need someone else's arm because theirs has become too weak to hold their own shield?" Master Shade raised an eyebrow, Ahsoka could feel the motions on his face. "Because, Duchess, if that is the case, then know that every man that dies to defend your home because you refused to fight is a soul on your conscience. And don't think you can hold the moral high ground for long, if that happens. Si vis pacem, para bellum. If you want peace, prepare for war." Here her Master shook her head. "But I can feel you're too headstrong to change your mind."
The Duchess pursed her lips for a moment, and closed her eyes in thought. She clutched the sides of her throne, and finally rose.
"Your jabs will not work with me, Master Shade. Why should Mandalorians fight and die in a war the Republic started? Why should I risk the peaceful future of my people based on your words alone? No, I will not allow my people to die."
Disappointment. It would be so easy to kill her and have her replaced with a puppet. Shut it you, the assassins could do the job. It wouldn't make the deal stand. She needs to concede. Mind Trick? No, she's too headstrong for it.
Ahsoka swallowed her nervousness as she heard her Master's thoughts. She gasped and recoiled, and with that, her Master's ears twitched. Suddenly, the room began to crumble as the Cheshire Cat broke through her Master's shadow, standing with its bright grin and glowing eyes.

"Look what we have here," the Cat actually talked to her, flicking its tail. "If it isn't the wayward Alice. Come to spy with your little eyes, young Alice? You shouldn't be here. Tut-tut, curiosity killed the cat and the little lost girl."
Ahsoka clenched her hands into fists. "You're not going to kill me or Mister Fluffles."
The Cheshire Cat shook his head, and grinned even brighter than before. "Maybe I won't," the room disappeared, and only the cobblestone remained. "But you are done peeking for today, young lady."
"He won't do it, will he?" Ahsoka asked, eyes half-narrow.
"He won't do what, pray tell?" the Cheshire Cat asked, amusement in his tone.
"Let the assassins kill the Duchess."
"And if he did?" the Cheshire Cat said. "War for the Mandalorians is inevitable. The side they are fighting for however, that is up to debate." The Cat's eyes narrowed fiercely. "Why, you think you know better than your Master?"
"The life of one for the lives of many," Ahsoka whispered, "Is that what this is about?"
The Cheshire Cat hummed, and nodded next. "The Duchess will die, make no mistake. Whether we intervene now or not is meaningless. The Death Watch will side with the Separatist, and they will fight the Republic. Yet, by intervening now, the outcome can still be changed." The Cheshire Cat's head turned by one hundred and eighty degrees, and blinked. "Does this change your view on your Master's actions? Does this," the Cat's face swapped sides, as if mirrored, "make you see things in a new light?"
Ahsoka ground her teeth and took a step forward. "Let me talk with him. There's got to be another way!" the tabby orange striped cat meowed in agreement, putting a paw forward and lifting the other paw in a 'I'll punch you' gesture.
"So precious," the Cheshire Cat smiled with his wicked grin. "You think you can change your Master's mind. Well then, how about we play a game of Cat and Mouse?" the Cheshire Cat's claws suddenly struck out from its paws. "If you win, I might just let you talk to your master. If you lose, well," here the Cat giggled, "Poor little Mister Fluffles might just die."

Ahsoka snorted and rolled her eyes, grabbing both of her lightsaber and lighting them up. The short one was green, and the longest one was blue. "Bring it on, cat. What can you do, scratch me to death?"
The Cheshire Cat grinned, showing its pointy, jagged teeth. Its back rose as it hissed just like a cat would, and with a feral snarl roared as it grew in size tenfold, and then ten more times. It wasn't a tiger. It was the size of an Akul, all things considered, and when two more arms erupted with wicked claws from the Cheshire Cat's sides, Ahsoka paled.
It really was an Akul, if purple-striped. "Now Alice," the Cheshire Cat spoke plainly, with a very normal, tranquil voice. Now young Skywalker... "You will die," the Cheshire Cat said after a small pause. An image of an old man with loose skin and black robes with a dark armored man near him entered her mind, and she balked. There was just...darkness coming from every pore of the old man's skin, and the darkly armored man next to him looked positively ferocious. The words 'Young Skywalker'...did it mean Anakin? Was Anakin Skywalker fated to die by the hand of these two figures? Four lightsabers sprung to life in the Cheshire Cat's paws, and he begun to twist them as if his wrists didn't matter.
Ahsoka's right hand came up to deflect a blow, and she winced under the strength. The second and third lightsaber swiped at her feet, and she executed a back flip jump just in time to avoid losing her legs. The Cheshire Cat's presence vanished the next moment, as the lightsabers deactivated to allow his natural invisibility to take over.
"Trakata, the style of tricks," the Cheshire Cat hissed out, while Mister Fluffles meowed loudly, his ears twitching. "Deactivate, reactivate, strike."
Ahsoka's montrals tensed, and she swiftly ducked under the mighty swing of four lightsabers coming diagonally down on her. "So is this what you've been taught? How to duck and dodge?" the Cheshire Cat asked with a cheeky grin. "Have you wasted your time, Alice?"
She spun in mid-air and sliced at one of the Cat's arms, which fell down like a lump of rotten flesh sizzling from the heat of the blade. The Cheshire Cat didn't even scream, but disappeared once more in the darkness.

"Well! Not so cheeky now, are we?" Ahsoka retorted. "Well, what's going on? Cat got your tongue?" she said in a teasing tone. "Aw, is the poor little kitty too hurt to speak? Are you licking your wounds?"
There was a loud rumbling, and Ahsoka lost her footing for just a split second. In that second, a flash of lightsaber ignited and struck at her left side, sending her to fly off in the darkness and hit her back against an invisible wall.
"Taunt me more," the Cheshire Cat said with a fierce grin. "Each taunt is one more proof of your fear."
Ahsoka bit her tongue from replying. She could see the Cat's grin, although the rest of his body remained hidden. Mister Fluffles meowed, and the Cheshire Cat's grin turned towards him.
"Hush you, I am busy teaching little Alice a lesson."
A lesson.
Ahsoka snapped her eyes from the Cheshire Cat to Mister Fluffles. Mister Fluffles had, unwittingly, or maybe actually willingly, told her the truth. The Cat's eyes were closed because they shone in the darkness, just like his mouth. He was invisible as long as he didn't talk and see, so he had to be using his ears to catch sight of her. The more she spoke, the more easy it was for the cat to find her. The buzzing of her lightsabers also caught his ears, if slower than her words. She turned them off, and in so doing, slowed her breathing down too.
"So the little Alice can learn," the Cheshire Cat spoke, flashing a grin that Ahsoka could see. "That is good. That is very good. Maybe little Alice won't be stuck in Wonderland forever."
Ahsoka didn't reply, but slowly began to creep forward. "You must think me a terrible host," the Cheshire Cat spoke again, "the big bad wolf to you, little red riding hood. Or maybe I'm the wicked witch of the East? Uh, I might be the terrible Lion Scar, are you Simba? Hey Simba," Ahsoka drew near enough that with her next strike, she could have beheaded the Cheshire Cat. It was in the split second that she lit her lightsaber that a furred paw grabbed her by the face and claws sunk in her montrals, making her senses go haywire as she was lifted up in the air, dropping her lightsabers. "Long live the king."
With a ferocious roar, the Cheshire Cat brought her close to his face and smiled at her, showing his fierce teeth, now as large as Ahsoka's face.
"To be a Jedi," the Cheshire Cat hissed, "Is to conquer arrogance, overconfidence, defeatism, stubbornness, recklessness, aggression, external loyalties, materialism...and curiosity. Use the Force to satisfy the Will of the Force - not your own curiosity." The Cheshire Cat smiled broadly and dropped her off gently in front of him. The lights turned back on, and Ahsoka found herself back in her room with Mister Fluffles clutched to her chest and the Cheshire Cat standing lazily on her drawer, moving his tail back and forth.

"Do not see a lightsaber duel as a choice between winning and losing. Every duel can have many, many outcomes. When you concentrate solely on winning—in lightsaber duels as in everything else—you sully your victory. Winning becomes worse than losing. It is better to lose well than to win badly. And it is always better to end a duel peacefully than to win or lose."

The Cheshire Cat nodded to himself as he quoted Repka De, an old Jedi Master -and as someone who had learned that lesson as an initiate, Ahsoka winced back. Of course her master wouldn't make her fight a duel to the death. She had thought defeating the Cheshire Cat had been part of it, but in fact, she could have just as simply renounced her purpose and go back. But she hadn't. She had wanted to talk with her master, and she had been curious enough that she had challenged the enemy expecting victory where there hadn't been a guarantee.
"I'm sorry," Ahsoka whispered. "Please don't kill Mister Fluffles."
The Cheshire Cat rolled his eyes, and tapped with his tail the glass of her room.
Her Master appeared through it, looking none worse for the wear and apparently already in his starship, judging by his surroundings. "What is it, padawan?" her Master asked, looking at her straight through the mirror as if he could see her -and probably he could. "Don't think I didn't realize you've been watching. Conquering curiosity is part of the Jedi Code."
Ahsoka bit her lower lip. "Did...did you do it in the end?"
"Do...what, precisely?" her Master asked back, an eyebrow raised.
"Let the assassins kill the Duchess," Ahsoka said, eyeing her Master angrily, as if it was his fault she had to say it out loud. Well, it actually was his fault.
"I was tempted to," her Master sighed. "Then I realized there was this little rascal watching, and I thought 'remember why you took her under your wing' and so I didn't. On the plus side, once the assassins were taken care of, the Duchess suddenly changed her mind about my suggestion. Peace has been brokered, and I ensured the Death Watch's loyalty to the Republic's side. I was just about to contact Master Yoda about this, so...anything else?"
Ahsoka hesitated. "Me trying to talk to you was meaningless, then?"
"It wasn't," her Master replied. "But sometimes, one doesn't need words to get a message across, Ahsoka. Think of it as training your recklessness. Taunting the enemy is something the Sith do to bolster their courage when facing a Jedi. Master Yoda...he doesn't speak when he fights. And he beat the taunting out of me," here her Master chuckled nervously. "Seriously, try asking him for a training battle. He'll put the fear of small green things in you," her master shuddered, "Never looked at a goblin the same way after that."
"Your cat's horrible by the way," Ahsoka pointed out. "He hurt me."
"And you chopped his arm off," her Master pointed out plainly. "Ahsoka, you were in the back of my head. Don't think I don't know what went on back there. We'll also have to talk later about what you actually saw. Some of that stuff...you aren't supposed to tell anyone."
"Uhm," Ahsoka hesitated. "What if-let's say hypothetically-I saw something that is supposed to happen and you don't come back in time?"
"You are not to meddle with it," her Master said firmly. "I'm serious, Ahsoka. Do not meddle with probability. Do not meddle with the Force-vision. There are...ways to deal with visions, but I haven't taught you anything about it, so you cannot, no, absolutely must no, consider them. No matter what you saw, no matter how dire the situation was, do not intervene in it."
"Yes, master," Ahsoka said grumpily, scratching the back of Mister Fluffles head. The Cheshire Cat winked at her with a cheeky expression on his face, and then jumped through the mirror, disappearing from sight. Her Master soon disappeared too, and Ahsoka's eyes opened up to her room -with Mister Fluffles beyond the glass.

Exhaling, Ahsoka stood up and crankily stretched her legs. She's take a shower, she'd eat some food, and then she'd start following Knight Skywalker around a bit. Just to be sure everything was going to be fine. Last she had heard, after an accident with Mace Windu's starship, he was back for a quick report before heading off to Florrum.
She'd 'gently' ask him if he needed a second pair of eyes. How difficult would it be to hitch a ride? Maybe if he blackmailed him with the knowledge of the head pat count, he'd even do it without a fuss.

And as she thought of that, Mister Fluffles began to slowly smile.

 

[shadenight123]

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.

 

[shadenight123]

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!

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Two

The heat and the vapors of the engines' machinery stuck to her skin, and Ahsoka tensed each time she heard her clothes creak under the strain of the humidity in the air. Count Dooku remained still in the middle of the vapors, not even worried about the distinctive advantage she now had. Maybe he simply didn't know of the Togruta's physiology, or maybe he knew and decided it wouldn't matter. She was going to make him regret his arrogance. Sure, he was Count Dooku, he had learned under Master Yoda and was renowned as one of the best duelists of the Jedi temple, but in the end he was just one man, and if her Master had been captured, then Count Dooku could be defeated.
She neared him a step at the time while holding her breath, her finger itching on her lightsabers. Just one more step, and he'd be in range. She couldn't attack him blindly however, not with his reflexes -he'd strike at her if she didn't go nearer still.
"I can feel your fear," Count Dooku said, and turned slowly, yet with purpose, towards her. He knew where she was. He had always known.
Ahsoka didn't hesitate and lit her lightsabers, roaring in fury as she tried to cut his head by crossing her lightsabers' blades. It went poorly. A quick flick of the wrist and Ahsoka realized one of her lightsabers was no longer holding the cross guard, and with a step forward, Count Dooku was beyond her guard. Pain blossomed on her right hand as the lightsaber cut through it, making her scream as she fell on the ground, clutching her missing limb.
She groaned, her left hand holding her mutilated limb. "Gah!" she screamed, panting hard as Count Dooku drew his lightsaber up, ready to bring it down on her.
The pain burned through her entire body as she tried to clutch the phantom limb, spasm and suffering echoing throughout her entire frame as-as suddenly, she was at peace.
The ground quaked and the metal shifted around them. Count Dooku's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible. The dosage-"

A loud rumbling echoed, like that of a giant fist hitting steel, soon followed by another, and yet one more. Count Dooku gave her one last look, and then turned his back to her, leaving in a hurry. The moment he disappeared from view, Ahsoka heard the rumbling grow larger, stronger, and nearer. Her eyes were half-closed by the time the Cheshire Cat in his Akul-like form appeared in front of her, teeth bared and eyes burning. It snarled and roared, before grabbing hold of her and her cut limb, his other paws holding on to her fallen lightsabers. There were sparks and bursts of electricity in the air, and her eyes opened and closed at random intervals.
It was the Cheshire Cat holding her.
It was her Master.
It was her Master's Dark Side.
It was her Master.
It was the Cheshire Cat.

"M-Master?" Ahsoka croaked out, and the Cheshire Cat Akul's form looked down at her, and winked.
"He's dealing with the Queen of Hearts and chorusing a 'Off with his head' right now. Worry not, you're safe now." He held her closer, and she dug her face in the warm purple-striped fur. She wondered about Mister Fluffles, who meowed weakly from her side. He was safe too. They had saved everyone. This was good, wasn't it?
She felt the light of the sun on her skin, and realized they had probably stepped outside the ship who was now going up in flames, one explosion after the other wrecking its bulk. The Droid army outside was still fighting both Jedi Masters, who were having a slightly hard time since it was apparent an entire invasion force had been used to try to capture her master. It didn't matter. In the end, they didn't matter.
Destroy Droid.
Everything was purple, then everything was quiet. Ahsoka liked it. It was nice and quiet, and there was a warm sun. There were waves lapping at the shore of a sandy beach, and seagulls giving their raucous calls up in the air. There was the bustling traffic on the road with old, diesel cars, and a bridge that hung over a dock. There was a park, next to the seaside, and the trees' branches fluttered in the wind. It was a peaceful place.
"I'm keeping you in a Force stasis," her Master said to her as they both sat on a stone bench inside the park. He looked at her with a sad frown. "You really had to fight Dooku, didn't you?"
She looked down at her hands, both of them still attached to her body. "I-I wasn't going to run away."
"Knight Skywalker was still inside the ship," her Master replied. "If you had run away, and headed for the cockpit, you could have prevented the ship from flying. Since I was needed alive, or they wouldn't have gone to such lengths to capture me, you could have avoided much danger."
Ahsoka winced. "He could have killed you."
"He wouldn't have," her Master replied. "He would have killed you. Padawan, you were reckless." He sighed. "And you even disobeyed my orders, again. Now I understand what Obi-Wan went through with Anakin. How difficult is it to understand a 'Do not' fight Dooku?"
Ahsoka tried to smile, "The 'Not' part, Master?"
"Cheeky brat," he acquiesced. "I'll wake you up once you've been safely sedated. If you're lucky, they'll even reattach your hand."

Ahsoka nodded, and looked around with a hint of curiosity. The stone bench they sat on was lukewarm because of the sun shining on it. The smell of tree sap and grass hung in the air. The seagulls shrieked, and dug their beaks into the breadcrumbs on the ground, every now and then with a couple of pigeons trying to steal a bite. "Is this your hometown, master?" Ahsoka asked.
Her Master nodded. "Yeah," he acquiesced. "It's gone now though. There's nothing left of it, not a speck of dirt, not a chip of concrete, not a single flower, or blade of grass," he shook his head. "And yet she lives on inside my heart and in my head," he smiled. "No matter what happens, no one can take it away from me. It helps me to meditate. What about you?"
Ahsoka brought both of her hands on her lap, and closed her eyes to take a small breath. "I...I imagine Shili's jungle," she whispered as the ground morphed with a soft change of hue, blurring and then refocusing. There were large trees on a green landscape, a dying sun and the sound of strange, alien birds.
Her feet were now dangling off the ledge of a wooden hut, an observatory post high above the rest of the structure. Her Master hummed, and remained dutifully with his legs crossed near the edge, yet slightly behind it.
She lifted an eyebrow.
"Master?"
"Yes?" he replied with a slight strain in his voice, his eyes closed.
"Are you...scared of heights?"
"Who? Me? Preposterous." Her Master still didn't open his eyes, and looked mightily uncomfortable. Whether he was doing it on purpose to make her feel at ease, or because he honestly didn't like heights, Ahsoka didn't know, but she didn't even care to find out.
Ahsoka grinned. "So, the great Master Shade is afraid of heights. Who would have thought?"
"Padawan," her Master acquiesced, "Everyone has an irrational fear of something."
"Sure, sure," Ahsoka nodded. "Of course." She nodded again. "Fear leads to the Dark Side, master. You should let go of it. Come on, leaving your feet to dangle over the edge is nice!"
"It's a safety hazard. Why are there no guardrails?" her Master replied. "What if a child gets up here and falls over the edge?"
"Togruta have a great sense of balance," Ahsoka replied. "And no one would leave a single child unattended up here."
Her Master shot her a puzzled glance, which wasn't really all that puzzled since he kept his eyes closed. She just smiled, and laid her head back on the wooden surface, both hands behind her head as she looked up at the sky turning red. A gentle breeze picked up, making the entire affair even more pleasant, and when her master patted her head gingerly, she outright purr-urgh. Wait. What.

The 'purring' was actually the grating sound of a machine, now that Ahsoka thought about it. Her body hurt. She groaned, she wanted to go back to the meditation. Her bones creaked, and her hands hurt. Well, one hand hurt. The other one felt stiff and unresponsive. "The droid remarks that it is possible to reattach your arm," her master's voice came gently to her ears, "I woke you up because the droid refuses to operate without your verbal compliance on the matter, citing that cybernetic limbs are quicker to get used to and more efficient. I personally think that you'd want your original arm reattached, no matter the discomfort. On the other hand, you might just as much prefer a prosthetic-"
"Mine," Ahsoka mumbled.
"You heard her," her master said. The droid buzzed, and Ahsoka soon fell back asleep, but not before her remaining hand grabbed on to the soft fabric of her master's robe. "It's going to be all right," her master whispered as a pair of hands grabbed her hand, and that was the last thing she felt before succumbing to a dreamless sleep in pitch-black darkness.
When she woke up again, it was to an empty infirmary. Her right hand hurt, and felt stiff -but at least she could still feel it. She looked at it, and exhaled. She had expected something utterly horrible, but apart from a thin black line of stitches that seemed to connect her flesh at the point of dismemberment, it looked none worse for the wear.
She couldn't move the fingers, but it had to be the anesthetic.
"Hello?" she croaked out.
"Good evening," the voice of the droid buzzed right next to her. "The operation was a complete success. Your hand has been successfully reattached, and is fully functional. The limb has been locally paralyzed to ensure proper blood diffusion. You should rest."
"Where's my Master?" she asked.
"He went for dinner," the droid remarked. Ahsoka sighed and closed her eyes, letting her head rest against the pillows. It was all right. Whatever Dooku had done -whatever 'dosage' that had been- it had worn off. She wondered how, though. Even Dooku had been surprised.
"Second time you've saved my life, I reckon," her Master said as he stepped into the infirmary with two trays. "Are you familiar with the drug known as Zone of Self Containment?" he asked her, and at her puzzled expression, he lowered her food tray in front of her. It was the Slob. She had a spoon.
Her Master had ordered the Slob too -even though he probably could ask for an MRE, he had decided to suffer the same fate as his padawan.

"Well," her Master said. "The Zone of Self Containment was a drug produced by Jenna Zan Arbor, which enforced a state of peace and tranquility into those who breathed it. I thought killing the scientist leading the project -and future murderer of an entire colony- would stop its production. I was right, but some must have remained, and Dooku acquired it to capture me. Last I knew, it couldn't be delivered airborne, but had to be inhaled all the same. Turns out they must have resolved that problem. Being odorless and colorless, I didn't realize what was going on until I was way into the land of dreams together with the pirate gangs."
Ahsoka hesitated. "What about the bounty hunters?"
"Aurra Sing wasn't there," her Master said. "If the Separatists made her change her mind, I don't know. Maybe they even went as far as hiring her to capture me, but I doubt it."
"Master," Ahsoka said, "Do you think..."
"That someone in the Jedi Temple rattled my destination off to the Separatists? Oh, I'm sure someone did," her Master said with a nod. "Now, concerning the who, that's a can of worms. I can narrow it down however," he continued with a soft voice.
"Uh?" Ahsoka asked, her left hand doing a great job in putting the Slob up in the air and into her mouth, much to her inward chagrin.
"Only twenty Jedi left Geonosis, padawan," her Master grimaced. "I think I thought too well of the Jedi's order to think they'd all be unable to hold a grudge."
Ahsoka nearly choked on her next mouthful of Slob, and coughed, wheezed, and shook her head as she tried to digest the news and the disgusting food.
"But that-"
"Is completely possible," her Master replied. "A grudge never settled can leave scars that never heal, and those scars can lead to the Dark Side," he exhaled. "The worst scars are those hidden by a kind smile, or by a kind word, padawan. I asked for forgiveness, and received it from all of the survivors. Yet, one lied, and this is now apparently true."
He chuckled. "It doesn't help that my movements were pretty much known to the High Council alone, yet I know beyond a doubt it wasn't any of them. Man, talk about a mystery."
Ahsoka spluttered. "H-How can you be so calm about this?! There's a traitor in the Jedi order!"
"There are always traitors in history, padawan," her Master replied calmly. "To be betrayed stings, but it goes away with time, and there are more important things to do than start a witch hunt."
He then straightened his back and took out from one of his sleeves an apple, which he sliced with a knife and began to eat calmly. He looked at her, and remained silent. She fidgeted a bit as she returned to her meal, but the gaze of her master didn't subside. When she was done eating, she tried a nervous smile, but received back the same gaze.

Ahsoka swallowed a few gulps of water from a nearby cup, and then tried to restart the conversation. "So, Shaoka Nota was-"
"You know what I'm waiting for you to tell me, padawan," her Master acquiesced. She winced. She looked down. She looked back up. Her left hand clenched, but her right one didn't move. She breathed in the smell of hospital room, of anesthetic, and yet she couldn't speak. The words failed to come out of her mouth. She looked down once more. Her shoulders trembled and finally, finally, she cracked.
"I didn't mean to."
"Now, don't lie to yourself," her Master said calmly, making her look up at his blurred form -no, it wasn't him the one blurred, it was her eyes. "You meant to, or she wouldn't be dead. What you actually want to say is that you regret it, is that right?"
Ahsoka bit her lip, and nodded once, stiffly.
"Say it, Ahsoka, don't let me put words in your mouth," her Master whispered, coaxing her gently.
"I...I just had to win the fight. She was strong. She was fast. I felt it was the right thing to do, like, there was no other alternative. I wasn't angry at her, I wasn't afraid of her, I wasn't scared. I just...I just fought her and killed her." She looked down. "I'm such a stupid. Why didn't I try to disarm her? We are taught how to fight in order to disarm."
"Yes, I suppose so, but you weren't using the academy's style, or one of the seven forms. You were using my style," her Master replied. "Judging by the wound, you used the 'Stab'."
Ahsoka gave him a bleak look, at least, she hoped it came out as bleak. Her face morphed into a grimace all the same. "I-I might have," she said in the end, "But that doesn't change anything."
"No, in fact it doesn't, which means it doesn't matter if you were taught to fight by disarming your opponent or by killing them. It's meaningless. What matters is, however, utterly different," he looked at her calmly. "Do you regret it?"
"She-She was a Sith," Ahsoka balked at the question. "She would have gladly killed me if I hadn't killed her. She would have shown me no mercy."
"And?" her Master asked.
"It hurts," Ahsoka whispered. "I know she would have killed me. I know! Yet...why does it hurt? Why does it hurt to think I could have avoided that?"
"You know the answer," her Master said. "You just need to tell me, Ahsoka."
She clenched with her left hand the sheets. "I didn't want to kill her, master," Ahsoka said in the end. She looked up. "I really didn't."
"Even if your life was at risk?" her Master asked her, and she winced at the next, obvious question, "Even if mine was?"
"It wasn't right. The Jedi Code-"
"Forget the Jedi Code," her Master said swiftly, a hand up to dismiss the issue. "You think it's not right, correct?"
"What's the use of fighting monsters, if we become monsters ourselves?" Ahsoka replied, the sentence coming naturally to her lips.

Master Shade looked at her and sighed, shaking his head as a smile spread on his lips. He chuckled. "Truly, I've been blessed with an exceptional padawan." He grinned and patted her forehead.
Twenty-Three.
"Twenty-three what?" her Master asked.
"Nothing important, master," Ahsoka replied in a hurry. "Just...a number that-"
Her master patted her forehead again.
"And now it's twenty-four," her Master sighed. "Counting pats on the head like Anakin now? Really," he chuckled once more. "Can any of you be any less spoiled?"
"I'm not spoiled!" Ahsoka shot back hotly.
"Still, remember my words," her master said, "as long as you'll regret taking lives, you'll never fail as a Jedi. As long as you don't let that regret push you down, you'll never fail as a human being. You're a good person, Ahsoka. Before being a good Jedi, one needs to be a good person. Forget the Code, think about what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil. Then add the code." Her master stood up and stretched a bit, "Well, I need to speak with Master Plo Koon and Obi-Wan about my suspicions. You stay here and get better."
"Master," Ahsoka said suddenly, "What did you mean with your hometown...no longer being there? Weren't you born on Coruscant?"
"Time, unfortunately, passes for everyone," he said as he walked towards the door, he gave her a wink. "In a galaxy far far away, a long, long time ago, my home was once...then the raiders came and I valiantly made my way off-world," with a final wave, he slid the door closed behind him.
Yet Ahsoka's eyes narrowed.

They narrowed, because her Master had lied.

And Mister Fluffles' grin grew just a tiny bit larger, from its reflection in the window.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ahsoka started to regret the lack of anesthetic in her bloodstream within the next few hours, but as she regained control of her hand, with the pain attached to it, she hissed less in frustration and more in effort. Her index finger twitched, and soon her middle one did the same motion. It took her four hours, but she could finally close her hand into a fist.
"A prosthetic limb would have been better," Knight Skywalker said dryly, watching her like a hawk. He had probably been 'kicked out' of whatever meeting that was only for the Masters -or maybe he actually cared about a fellow Jedi enough to come visit- or maybe he was bored, and yeah, it was probably the third option. "So," he continued, "You killed Ventress."
"Yeah," Ahsoka said. "I did."
"You know Master Shade hacked her into pieces and then burned her corpse while we were waiting to be rescued, right?" Anakin said, and Ahsoka stopped her motion to turn sharply towards the Jedi Knight, eyes wide.
"He did what?!"
Knight Skywalker crossed his arms together. "He's always had that mania. Makes other Jedi sick, but I can understand it. He uses to say that 'unless they're dead and burned, they're not really dead, just waiting to come back to life later on'."
Ahsoka winced at the thought. "He didn't have to hack her to pieces."
"Well, he simply beheaded her," Anakin pointed out. "Made Master Plo Koon queasy all right -even with the mask, I was sure he'd barf."
Ahsoka nervously chuckled. Her Master hadn't spoken a single word to her about that. She wondered why. Well, maybe it hadn't simply popped up in the conversation. How could it even pop up in a conversation anyway? 'Hey, padawan, you remember the woman you just killed? To make sure she stayed dead for good I beheaded her and burned her corpse' 'Oh geez, Master! Thanks for the thought!'
"You still there, Snips?" Anakin asked, snapping his left hand in front of her face.
"Yes, yes," Ahsoka replied, shaking her head. "Just thinking."
"It must be hard to do that with an empty head," Anakin replied offhandedly. Ahsoka shot him a glare, but Anakin simply smiled back with the smug smirk of victory. "You challenged Dooku, and that's truly the work of an empty-head."
"You wouldn't have done the same?" Ahsoka shot right back at the Knight, who shrugged.
"Course I would have, but I would have won," he said with a hint of pride -no, scratch that, only smugness and a bucketful of pride were heard by Ahsoka's ears with that sentence.

"What's going to happen now?" Ahsoka asked. "We failed-"
"That's...up for debate," Anakin replied. "Yes, Aurra Sing and her crew escaped, but we did solve a pirate problem, and you did remove a thorn on the side of the Republic by killing Ventress. We survived Grievous and Dooku's ambush, and we managed to recover Night before he was shipped off-world. All things considered, this is pretty much a victory."
"But the important ones are still free," Ahsoka whispered.
"That still wouldn't be our fault," Anakin said. "If anything, it would be Night's fault for getting captured." However, he thoughtfully added a moment later, "We'll still have our chance. They can't run forever."
Ahsoka didn't nod at that notion. She just noncommittally shrugged. Few words later, and she was alone in the infirmary once more. She was starting to get bored, and even exercising her right hand was starting to annoy her. Maybe she really should have put a prosthetic in place of her real one. She half-expected her Master to pop his head in before the end of the day, but he didn't. She frowned at that, but then again, maybe he was writing a report about the events that had transpired during his captivity? Although if he had been captured quickly, he'd have nothing more to write than a 'I was knocked out, woke up pissed'.
Again, she wondered how he had woken up pissed. It had happened shortly after Dooku had cut her hand off, which meant it was probably related to that. Could high amounts of pain be transferred from one side to the other? It did make sense for her Master to wake up pissed after that, but did it also mean that he was hurting with his right hand, because hers hurt too?
The door slid open, and as Ahsoka's eyes looked up from her hand to the visitor, the last person she would have expected to come in did so at that precise moment.

"Master Plo," Ahsoka said. "It's a pleasure to see you."
"Likewise, Ahsoka," Master Plo replied. "I assume you are on the way of recovery?"
Ahsoka grinned, and lifted her right hand for Master Plo to see. She closed it into a fist, and kept the smile up even as a small burst of pain rushed through her arm. "Y-Yes," she ground out. "Hurts a bit, but not that much anymore."
Master Plo nodded. "Your Master was thoughtful to recover your hand as well as your lightsabers while escaping the droid carrier, young one," Plo said. "Had he not, you would have required a prosthetic."
"Yeah," Ahsoka smiled. "He's great."
"Which is why I must also warn you, Ahsoka," Master Plo Koon said crisply, "Not to get too attached to him."
Ahsoka frowned. "Master Plo?"
"The concept of Force Bonds is something stigmatized by the Jedi Council, because it is the very definition of attachment. It was once thought that should one who had bonded with another die, then the other would soon follow." Master Plo looked at her with his Kel Doran's imperturbable gaze. "Many in the council feared it to the point where we were inclined to strip him of his connection to the Force after the battle of Geonosis," he added.
Ahsoka's eyes widened. To strip someone of their connection to the Force, it was something only the Jedi High Council could do -and even then, only on the rarest of occasions. It was terrifying. Her blood ran cold at the simple thought.
"B-But nothing happened, did it?" Ahsoka hazarded.
"The war began," Master Plo said. "And the High Council postponed the choice," he continued. "However, your Master already made his decision back then," he acquiesced.
"He...He did?"
"Indeed," Master Plo nodded. "Sometimes, I ponder if he saw all of this and let it play for his purposes, but then I am reminded that he would never willingly subject the galaxy to such horrors, if he could have stopped them from ever beginning."

Master Plo stood up from the chair and crossed his arms within his sleeves. "Rest and recover well, young one. May the Force be with you."
"And with you as well, Master Plo."
As Master Plo turned to leave, Ahsoka frowned. She might have not heard correctly, or let it fly over her head, but- "Master? What did my master choose in the end?"
"When this war shall end," Master Plo said, "So too will Master Shade's connection to the Force be severed."
The door slid to a close behind Master Plo Koon, and Ahsoka was once more left alone with her thoughts, and the medical droid. Her head dropped like a dead weight on the pillow of her bed, and as she stared wide eyed at the ceiling, a thousand different thoughts rushed through her head. Her Master would willfully subject himself to the loss of the Force to atone for his crimes, and someone within the Jedi Temple had deliberately set him up to fall prey to the Separatists' ambush?
There was someone in the Jedi Temple who knew her Master was willing to pay with the connection to the Force, and yet they had all the same decided it wasn't enough? They had decided capture, torture and execution were better?
That made her angry.
Both of her hands clenched hard, and this time, pain did nothing to dissuade Ahsoka from holding her right hand clenched tight. "Let it go~ Let it go~ Can't hold me back anymore~" the sudden singing voice made her freeze. She turned her head sharply to look straight into her Master's amused eyes, arms crossed in front of his chest as he looked at her from the doorway. "Anger leads to the Dark Side, padawan. Acknowledge it and let it go. It can't hurt you anymore~"
Ahsoka shuddered. Her master was utterly tone deaf. He was so tone deaf that it hurt to even hear him sing.

"Master," Ahsoka groaned. "Please stop singing."
"Only if you stop hating," her Master replied with a quip and a chuckle, taking the seat right next to her. "Hate's wrong, padawan. It leads to the Dark Side. I always thought of how I'd go about keeping my own padawans away from the Hate road, and I decided singing to them was the best way."
"You decided audio torture was the best way to keep your students away from the Dark Side?" Ahsoka retorted in surprise. He shrugged.
"If it works it works. So, still hating?"
"How can you just not be angry?" Ahsoka asked, "There's no reason for someone to come after you! You're willing to subject yourself to the harshest of punishments for a Jedi, and yet-"
"Yet if it's not enough, then it's not enough. One can hardly expect an 'I am sorry' to be enough, depending on the severity of the crime. People are not all as forgiving as saints," her Master said. "They'll be satisfied when they will be satisfied, and if it involves death, then it is their choice to rally for it."
"But it's wrong," Ahsoka stressed out.
"I was responsible for many deaths, Ahsoka," her Master acquiesced. "And I did break many a Jedi Code. I am responsible, and my responsibility isn't in question. What is in question is the price I must pay to atone, and I agree -mostly out of selfish interest," here he chuckled. Her Master chuckled at a joke made concerning a threat on his own life, "But in the end, 'whatever will be, will be'. I have to understand as one of the few Jedi unlucky enough to be born with the capacity for visions in the Force that sometimes, you just need to let go and trust yourself to do the right thing."
Ahsoka shook her head slowly. "The right thing does not involve your death, master."
"That's because you know very little of me, Ahsoka. You'd need years of knowledge in who I am to make an appropriate decision on the matter, but unfortunately that will not be the case. I've been discussing with Senator Amidala a chance for a peace treaty, and she does have connections to senators on the Separatists side who are willing to sue for peace. Things are still up in the air," her Master acquiesced, "but hopefully, the war will be over within the end of the year. When that times come, I'll quietly take my leave from the Jedi order, just another footnote in the history of it, and all will be well for the galaxy."
Her Master nodded, and smiled kindly. "I've already made peace with my decision. You thus have no reason to be angry for my sake." He flicked her forehead, "Leave the anger out of this."
Ahsoka mumbled as she used her left hand to massage her forehead. "Fine," she said in the end. "But only if you promise never to sing in my presence again."
"Deal," her master said with a chuckle.

All in all, the voyage back to Coruscant went by easily. Ahsoka was furthermore glad to say that her character had finally reached level thirteen, and was now putting up her very own bard college. By the time they landed in the Jedi Temple, she had regained a decent enough usage of her right hand to restart some basic lightsaber training. Her Master dropped out of sight to talk with Master Yoda, and Ahsoka decided to head towards the training grounds to catch up with Knight Darra -if she was around, of course.
She wasn't. She looked around for a bit, and was just about to leave, when the door slid open behind her and a Padawan stepped inside, a blond haired woman with brown eyes. "Pardon me," the padawan said, "I'm looking for Master Shade's apprentice?" she asked Ahsoka, who nodded back.
"It's me," Ahsoka said. "What can I do for you?"
"Knight Thel-Tanis is currently on a long term assignment," the padawan replied. "She told me to tell you that should you wish to continue your training, Master Shen-Jon will be happy to take over until her return."
"Oh," Ahsoka blinked. "That's...very kind of her, and Master Shen-Jon. Where can I find him?" Ahsoka asked.
"Follow me," the padawan said. "I'll bring you to him. I'm his padawan by the way," the woman said. "I'm Naat, Reath Naat."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Ahsoka replied with a smile. "Is Master Shen-Jon strict?" she asked in a hushed whisper to get a conversation going, only to receive a chuckle in reply.
"All the good masters are," Naat pointed out. "It just means they expect more out of their students."
Ahsoka nodded to the wise words. Her Master wasn't that lax, or that strict, for what it mattered. He kind of was in-between. He cared terribly about some things -to the point of audio torture- and was way too lax on others.
Her fellow padawan brought her into the Masters' private quarters, which weren't really any bigger than those of the Padawan -maybe a feet or two wider? Maybe. Probably just her imagination.

Master Echuu Shen-Jon was a black-haired man with brown eyes, who appeared to be deeply troubled if the air around him was of any indication. It was sudden, but Ahsoka suddenly had a very bad impression about him. The bad feeling rippled through the air, and Ahsoka's eyes narrowed in slight suspicion.
"You may go now, Naat," the man said. His padawan hesitated for just a second, and in that second, Ahsoka found herself feeling even worse, as if she wasn't supposed to be in there. The padawan left, and as the door slid closer, the man invited Ahsoka to sit down with a gesture. "Come sit, padawan. We should talk."
"I-Pardon me for being blunt, master," Ahsoka said, "But I prefer to stand."
"Ah, acceptable," the man said. "I heard from Mace that your Master was ambushed on Florrum. You are right to be jumpy, but you have nothing to fear from me," the Jedi Master said. Ahsoka's lips twitched in nervousness all the same. "I will be honest," the man said, "I openly dislike your master, and what he has done to the Jedi Council as a whole." He looked at her firmly, "But I want him to pay for what he has done, and he cannot pay his full sentence if he dies, or if he is turned to the Dark Side."
"I see," Ahsoka said. "Why are we talking then? I don't think Knight Darra would have really asked you to teach me."
"She didn't," the man said. "I lied to my padawan to exclude her from the list of possible suspects. She too has reasons, and doesn't have the necessary training to hold off most of her emotions yet. She does think I might be implied, of course, but if she reports to the High Council about this-"
"Then she's not a spy," Ahsoka said. "But what if she doesn't out of concern for her master?"
"Then she's not ready to become a Knight, and maybe, she's not worthy of being a Jedi either," the Jedi Master replied calmly. "As for why we are having this conversation, it is because your Master asked me."
"But you said you dislike my master," Ahsoka said, a perplexed expression on her face as she gave him a puzzled frown. "Why would he ask you to speak with me?"
"To dissuade you from suffering from his fate, I suspect," Master Shen-Jon said. "It has not yet been rendered public what the decision of the High Council was concerning his fate, and while many Jedi are content to let it be and are accepting of his penitence, many others are not. They will probably view the sentence as a confirmation of his wrongness, and if you were still his padawan by then-"
Ahsoka shook her head. "No, that's-Jedi don't work that way."
"People do," Master Shen-Jon pointed out. "They would come around, but the fact would remain that you'd have to suffer from a stigma not of your making, and your Master doesn't want you to suffer through that."
"Why you?" Ahsoka asked in the end, "Why would he want you to speak with me about this?"
"He used two arguments to convince me," Master Shen-Jon said. "And a third which makes sense, but he had the grace not to speak of loud. The first argument was that Naat is nearly ready to take her Knight trials, and I would soon find myself without a Padawan learner. The second is that you are, believing him, in many ways similar to Naat. You 'always do the right thing'." Ahsoka ground her teeth, and clenched both fists hard by her sides. "And finally, the reason he did not mention was that if I, one who is known as to publicly dislike him, were to take on his padawan, it would aid immensely reduce the social stigma on you."

Ahsoka needed fresh air. "You have time to think about this, padawan," the man said. "I admit I am as troubled as you are about your master's decision, but he is looking out for your best interests, and there is truth in his words."
"I-I can't, I mean...He's my master. He-He'd never-This has got to be a mistake," Ahsoka faltered, "I mean-I was told-I need to speak with him."
"Of course," Master Shen-Jon said. "I am sure this comes to you as much of a shock. He did not tell you, did he?"
"No," Ahsoka replied bitterly. "He didn't."
Master Shen-Jon nodded. "Again, that is in his character. Be careful, padawan. You might not know him as well as I, or others in the temple do, but he possesses a manipulative streak that sometimes surface when you least expect it. I would not be surprised if we were all puppets, dancing to his strings."
Ahsoka bit back a reply. "What...what do you mean, master?"
"You are feeling hurt over his betrayal, are you not? Maybe anger too, and I suspect he will either spin you a tale of how he expected you to feel that way in order to defeat it, or how he expected you to use that in order to stop being his padawan. In either case, he will make it seem as if it were his intention, and his victory, never mind the outcome."
"A-And?" Ahsoka asked.
"And in the end, the question would be...does this mean he actually care about the outcome, or that he doesn't? If he wins no matter the choice, then he truly never cared about the outcome to begin with," Master Shen-Jon said.
"Better to lose, than to win sorely," Ahsoka said in a hushed whisper, and Master Shen-Jon nodded.
"Precisely, padawan. If you leaving his side was actually in your best interest, he would stop at nothing to do so. Yet he does not seem to care, does he? Whether you are by his side or not, it doesn't matter to him."
"He chose me," Ahsoka said, a hand to her chest as she took a step forward. "Master Yoda said he chose me."
"Yes, but he did choose you for your benefit, or for his?" Master Shen-Jon remarked. "In teaching a padawan, both Master and apprentice should benefit from it."
"I have benefited from it!" Ahsoka shot back hotly.
"Have you? Or have you just been led astray?" Master Shen-Jon said. "I can feel the turmoil inside you, padawan. I shall keep you no longer."

Ahsoka rushed outside, fists clenched as she hurried along the hallways of the Jedi Temple. She felt like a rabbit hurrying along, pocket watch in her chest pocket, yet for what exactly she was going to be late for, she had no idea. Yet her feet didn't take her to the Jedi High Council. No, they didn't. They took her towards the Hangars, where her senses were assaulted by the sounds of iron scraping against iron, and not in the good way. No, if anything, the sound was anything but good. And when she came to a stop in front of the broken down hallway that prevented access to the hangar itself, where a gaggle of Jedi was stuck looking at the wreckage in wait for someone to intervene and remove it, Ahsoka's heart nearly burst from how fast it went.
The Jedi temple was under attack.
And whatever was doing the attack was inside the temple's hangar, where she was sure her Master was.

Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!
I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!

Ahsoka's head snapped to the side, where a white rabbit rushed along the side of the external walls of the Jedi Temple, as if gravity didn't exist for him. Thinking quickly, she struck both lightsabers into the side of the wall much to the surprise of the Jedi nearby, who however let her act.

If there is a wall, just smash it. If there is no path, just make it with this hand!

"I'm coming Master," Ahsoka whispered as she looked outside the hole in the wall, and with a resolute nod, used the Force to start climbing the outside wall past the wreckage. The pain in her right hand all but forgotten.

AN: Fun fact: All events taken are canon. Except Asaji's death. Yep. Didn't even have to invent a new event or an OC yet. Man. So much stuff I can use.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Be careful! Cortosis enhanced armor is lightsaber resistant!" Ahsoka heard her Master's voice before seeing him, and when she finally did manage to jump over a ledge made out of the broken side of the Jedi's hangar, she came upon a scene of hell. "Their weakness is a small point where their armor plates have been forged together!" her Master was in the middle of the hangar, lifting a spaceship. He...kind of made the point of telling their weaknesses null by lifting a starship and throwing it on their heads, "Or massive blunt force! Both work," he added to a nearby Jedi padawan, who looked up at him with wide eyes, "But be careful not to throw anything out of the hangar. There might be people down below!"
Meanwhile, a few steps further General Grievous was fighting against Master Kenobi, and Knight Skywalker was nowhere in sight. A couple of Jedi Padawan were hastily deflecting a few bolts, but they had the disadvantage both in numbers and in skills.
Knight Darra was there too, however. She rushed through the hangar with swift jumps and graceful motions, striking down droid after droid and deflecting or dodging the blows sent in her direction. Knight Ferus followed her, lifting and throwing a couple she missed, or striking a few down himself. As more droids neared the scared padawan group, Ahsoka brought a foot forward as if to descend, but then stopped.
She didn't have a mastery of the lightsaber strong enough to strike from down below, but from where she was-
"Very well," Ahsoka whispered, carefully concentrating as both of her lightsabers began to float in front of her. "Concentrate."
Mister Fluffles meowed on her shoulder as she lifted both hands, feeling the Force ripple and thrum through herself. She closed her eyes, and felt the Force rush through the air. She waved a hand in front of her, and both lightsabers departed like missiles striking true at the weakness between the plates of two different droids.

Then the lightsabers spun in the air, and struck at two other, and two more. She opened her eyes with firm resolution, and realized Mister Fluffles had jumped down to grip a lightsaber in his mouth and charge ahead, lighting it along the way.
There was, in her eyes, a cute and tabby orange-striped cat rushing with his mouth filled with a lightsaber at an enemy droid through the hangar. To the others it probably looked as if the lightsaber was floating by herself, and now it was clear how her Master expected her to work. Gathering her concentration, she knew what to do. Her two floating lightsabers began to attack in tandem, creating openings in the droids that Mister Fluffles used with devastating success, slicing them neatly in half, or breaking them apart with a half-choked meow of the Force.
She could feel the thrumming power of the Force stronger than ever, coming from her Master's body. He was like a whirlpool, and the more Force was used, the more it emerged. The more it greedily consumed, the more it generously spat out. A whirlpool that did not eat, but simply spun around.
She felt like a tiger lapping at the water to refresh herself, and as her lightsabers began to spin faster, she realized she wasn't the only one.
The ancient technique of Battle Meditation.

The Cheshire Cat was there, how could she have missed him? He was standing cross legged, four Akul-like arms out and in a meditative pose, and as he concentrated, the Droids' aim came slightly less, the Padawan's deflections became slightly better. Calm and peace poured out as the Force changed direction to bend to the will of the Cheshire Cat and, by consequence, to that of her master.
She grinned as the last droid that could menace the padawan group fell, and then she finally jumped down from her vantage point, using the Force to cushion her fall.
"Are you all right?" she asked, receiving a few nods in reply. "Then, let's go help the others."
With another, firmer nod, the Padawan lifted their lightsabers and charged with screams of bolster, standing right behind Ahsoka who led the charge, twin lightsabers in hand as the third floated slightly in front of her -Mister Fluffles had learned to wield the weapon with his right paw, and was now roughly humanoid-sized.
He was still cute, though.
She jumped past a Spider-Droid that Mister Fluffles cut through the crimson eye-stalk, while around her the Padawan began to disperse to take care of the lone remaining battle-droids.
"We need to help Master Kenobi!" Ahsoka heard Knight Darra yell.
"He's on it already!" Ferus replied, and Ahsoka's gaze snapped to where her Master was, overlooking the situation and nodding to himself. The next moment, he barked an order to the Cheshire Cat in that language of his he sometimes slipped into, and that she couldn't understand. The Cheshire Cat did understand however, and stopped the meditation. The battle for the hangar was already won, but apparently more than a few Assassin Droids had made their way inside the temple.

Her Master lifted both hands, and three lightsabers slipped out of his sleeves as he began to near General Grievous. Ahsoka blinked as the Cheshire Cat's paw grabbed four more, and then two more, one with the mouth and the other with the tail. Mister Fluffles looked at the single lightsaber in his right paw, then back at the Cheshire Cat with an affronted expression, as if comparing.
"He's had years of practice," Ahsoka muttered under her breath to Mister Fluffles. "You don't have to worry about that."
Mister Fluffles meowed in reply, his ears twitching.
Nine lightsabers lit up and began to spin as her Master crossed his arms into his sleeves and took a deep breath to concentrate. The hurricane of lights shone around him, and Master Kenobi felt it, because the next moment he jumped back, much to Grievous' surprise.
The Droid general looked around, and once he found the reason for Obi-Wan's swift escape, he balked for just a second. A second was all her Master needed. Three lightsabers sped up to near-impossible speeds in a piercing motion, which Grievous dodged just barely, bringing his four lightsabers up to deflect a crushing blow of four more that would have sent him reeling backwards if not for the magnetic feet hooking with the platform -which two lightsabers cut immediately around him, making him suddenly lose his balance.
"GAAAH!" Grievous screamed, and jumped just barely out of the way of the four lightsabers, just as the first three thrown returned back. Each lightsaber struck at different intervals, the Cheshire Cat spinning in mid-air above Grievous, and then below, and then to his side, and then running around him like a pack of feral dogs eager for prey. Grievous fell down on one knee under the barrage of light, which only his four arms had -till then- managed to hold back.
Ahsoka watched as if hypnotized the battle, which was less of a battle and more of an overpowering one-sided carnage. She could feel her blood boil and thrum, and her hands itched with the desire to fight herself. Her Master's demeanor changed briefly all of a sudden, and his left hand slipped out of his sleeve and rose in front of him, as the lightsabers stopped attacking Grievous all of a sudden.
The Cyborg-General was panting hard through his metallic mask. His yellow eyes shone with hatred and disgust. He tried to stand, and Ahsoka briefly counted the lightsabers -eight? Was one missing? Where had it gone?-
"Jedi! I am not defeated yet!" Grievous roared, extending his limbs to attack.
Her Master sighed. Her Master sighed, and lifted his right hand.
"Now, Qymaen," he spoke, and as he spoke Grievous eyes widened in disbelief, "it is time for you to die." The ninth lightsaber lit back up from where it had disappeared, right behind Grievous' back. It struck him in the chest, and as Grievous gazed at the blade of plasma burning through his insides, he could not even breathe. "Ronderu is waiting for you on the other side, Qymaen," her Master said crisply as he looked straight into Grievous' eyes, haunted by something her Master knew, but Ahsoka could not comprehend. "Don't make her wait."
And all eight lightsabers struck at Grievous' limbs, chest, heart, brain, and as her Master brought both hands back together under his sleeves, nothing but chopped pieces of Cyborg fell on the ground, fuming and melting from the combined heat of nine lightsabers. The nine lightsabers then spun in the air and unlit themselves, disappearing back into her Master's sleeves, clipping themselves to the belts placed within and hidden from view.

"We must hurry," her Master said suddenly, looking at Master Kenobi. "They never would have sacrificed their great general for no reason."
"He was without his Magnaguards," Master Kenobi replied as she drew near.
Ahsoka had more than a few things to say to her master, ranging from squealing at his moves against Grievous to arguing about just what the hell was wrong with him having her talk with a Jedi Master that disliked him. Seriously! And manipulating her...was he really doing it or not? She had so many questions that-
"Darra, Ferus," her Master said, "free the blockage. The Temple should already be in high alert. Bring the young ones somewhere safe and make sure the padawan don't go around alone. Don't split the party," he locked eyes with her, "Ahsoka, go with them."
"What- Didn't you just see what I did master-"
"Ahsoka, Count Dooku is inside the temple, and if he's willing to go to such lengths, I fear he might have something planned of terrifying. So go with the other padawans before you lose more than just your hand by disobeying me again," her Master replied harshly, and Ahsoka took a step back in surprise. She bit her lower lip and nodded.
"Good," her Master turned. "Obi-Wan? Let's go."
And with that, her Master rushed away from her before she could even say something else.
"Let's go," Knight Darra said, "You were great with those floating lightsabers by the way!" she added the next moment, her bubbly personality coming back. "Did Night teach you the trick to it?"
Ahsoka nodded slowly, looking at Mister Fluffles who had meanwhile reverted back to the cute little kitten she knew of, lightsaber fallen and rolling away from her. It probably belonged to a dead Padawan. Now that the battle was over, she could see with more clarity the battlefield around them. The Separatists had arrived through Clone troop transports belonging to the five hundred and first -they must have acquired a few or fabricated them- and they had attacked with the element of surprise.
How they had obtained the codes to pass off as the five hundred and first however, that was something she couldn't understand. And her Master's words did ring true. Where had General Grievous' magnaguards been? He'd never go anywhere this risky without them. Frankly, a Cortosis-enhanced Magnaguard would have been a nightmare to face.
The High Council too, was missing from the scene. A couple were on missions without a doubt, but what about the others? Master Yoda especially, he was supposedly in the Temple, wasn't he?
Her Master had been in the hangar.
He had been in the hangar because he was probably grabbing a speeder or a ship. So no, Yoda wasn't at the temple, but...somewhere else on Coruscant. The thoughts drifted one after the other forming a chain that made sense.
"Elementary, Watson," Ahsoka whispered as she stopped in front of the wreckage that had to be moved aside with the Force. The High Council was somewhere else, and Dooku had chosen that moment to strike a devastating blow to the Republic. How he had known of the High Council's movement was anyone's guess, but right there and then, there was no High Council in the Temple, and with the Jedi spread thin as they were...there probably were just a handful of knights, a lot of young ones, and...and her Master had spoken of the Sickbay as if to intend that if he were delivering such an attack, he'd aim for the weak ones.

Ahsoka, Darra and Ferus brought their hands forward to shift the wreckage away, and once they did, they came upon a spectacle of hell. Something had battled across the corridors, coming in through holes in the walls from the side of the temple. They had come in, and they had proceeded to enact a slaughter out of a horror film -not that Ahsoka had ever seen a horror film, but it took her mind away from the carnage in front of her. A hand to her mouth, Ahsoka gasped and held her breakfast in her stomach. Some padawans weren't that lucky.
"Be on the lookout and proceed," Ferus said, lightsaber once more drawn. Ahsoka nodded and drew her two. A third one rolled from the ground to her belt, courtesy of Mister Fluffles. The dead...the dead wouldn't need it.
They stepped past the carnage, keeping their eyes and ears alert for the tiniest of noises or sounds.
Sound of lightsaber battling soon reached their ears, and like a single man the entire group sped up to reach the source of the noise. In the dining hall, Cortosis-Enhanced Magnaguards were battling a few Jedi Knights. The Jedi temple's grounds trembled abruptly, making Ahsoka nearly lose her footing.
"Go! Get the initiates out of here!" Ferus barked an order to the other Padawans, gesturing for them to proceed further ahead of the dining hall, before throwing himself into the fray. "Aim for the plate joints!" he yelled to the Jedi in the mess hall before striking one Magna Guard and cutting it half neatly in the back.
Ahsoka took a step forward to help, but then remembered her Master's words and rushed with the rest of the Padawan towards the initiates' rooms. Along the way, she changed course to the sickbay and ran inside, lightsaber drawn.
A Magnaguard turned to look at her, a second before slamming his electrified staff into the heart of the Jedi Healer, wounded and on the floor, her breathing hard.
Mister Fluffles meowed his battle cry, and charged ahead with firm eyes. The Magnaguard spun his electro-staff, and deflected the lightsaber attack with ease. Ahsoka charged next, both lightsabers striking at the thing. The weak point of the Magnaguard was on their backs, since they had smaller chests than the B2 battle-types. Mister Fluffles meowed from behind it and delivered an uppercut that wounded the droid, but did not halt its advance with spinning staff on Ahsoka, who gasped as one side of it struck her in the stomach, driving her down on one knee as electricity ran through every pore of her skin.
The Magnaguard spun the staff and readied itself for another strike, but just as it was coming down a burst of force sent it to tumble against an unoccupied bed, as the Jedi Healer coughed loudly, the twi'lek's body wracked in coughs at the effort. Her left hand then dropped limp by the side of her body. Ahsoka pounced on the occasion, and before the Magnaguard could stand up, sliced its back ferociously, destroying it in the process.
"M-Master Che," Ahsoka said, gasping for air as she neared the Twi'lek, "Master Che?"
"I...I will require medical attention...but not...not until..." Vokara Che whispered as her strength came less, "There are others...need treatment...I...Oh, so much to do...so, so much to do..." her eyes closed as she brought a hand up towards the infirmary's light, and then dropped it down. Ahsoka ground her teeth and lifted Master Che by the shoulder. She wasn't a healer, but she knew how to throw a limp body into an empty bacta tank. She connected the respirator and then let the tank do its job. Even if she wasn't going to get better, at least she wasn't going to get worst.
Some tanks had been broken, and the Jedi within were either dying or already dead. Those she could save, she hurried into other, intact tanks. Those she couldn't...she closed their eyes and held her breath as she moved on.

Another explosion rocked the Temple, and this time it was followed by the sound of blaster fire. Had the cavalry finally arrived, or were these just more reinforcements? Seriously, just how longer was the security of Coruscant going to wait before coming to help? Were they thinking they were having a barbecue with the smoke and the fires?
Ahsoka stepped outside the infirmary and took one last breath to gather and center herself. At the sound of rushing feet, she lifted her lightsabers, ready to fight, but dropped the stance once she saw it was Master Ki-Adi-Mundi with a squad of Clone Troopers. Exhaling in relief, Ahsoka dropped down on her knees and then pushed her back against the wall.
The Jedi Master neared her with concern, but she shook her head with a grimace on her face. "Master, I-Here I did all that I could. The Padawans went for the young ones...they need your help more than I do."
Ki-Adi-Mundi nodded, gazed inside with just one quick glimpse, and then rushed forward. A Clone trooper remained behind to treat her wounds -another nasty burn where the Electro-staff had struck her- and then after a nod proceeded leaving her alone in the hallway of the attacked Jedi Temple.
Ahsoka rested her head and looked outside the window to the city of Coruscant, the traffic going on as always, as if they didn't realize, or didn't care, that the Jedi Temple had been attacked, as if they were in a bubble away from time and space, out of touch and thus out of the need for concern.
She closed her eyes, and gasped as a flow of power rushed through her veins, power and hatred so thick it made her groan and bolt straight back up. She clenched her fists and snapped her gaze back to the corridor. She needed to reach the Jedi Archives. She knew her Master was there. She knew her Master was there, and she knew he was angry.
And his anger was so strong, it made her growl and show her teeth as she began to first walk, holding the side of the wall, and then run ahead, fists clenched and Mister Fluffles rushing by her side. Yet Mister Fluffles looked positively feral, more of a Tiger than a cat.

Let it go~ Let it go~

"Gah!" Ahsoka stumbled on her next step as Mister Fluffles ended up loosing his footing and rolling into a ball of fur before hitting a nearby wall. Her Master's tone-deaf voice had reached her all the way through the bond, and it had broken the loop of anger that she had seemingly fallen into. Mister Fluffles meowed in sympathy as he unrolled himself from his conundrum, while Ahsoka realized she had reached the Archive's entrance...or what little remained of them.

Her Master was inside, but now was no longer angry. If anything, he felt spent and tired. She dreaded to look inside, and was stopped by Master Kenobi stepping out and looking at her in surprise. He looked...kind of singed. He lifted a hand and shook his head at her. "Not now," he whispered. Ahsoka looked at the hand, looked at Master Kenobi, who was a Jedi Master, and should be respected, and then she decided to hell with it and she rushed past him and stepped inside.
The smell of scorched flesh and ozone hung thick in the air as a nearby wall seemed to have been subjected to a lightning storm, which charred, still fuming bodies attached to the walls.
Her Master's lightsabers were cut or broken, and while a few still looked serviceable, a few more had made a poor end. Her Master, however, wasn't moving from a spot he was on. He was cradling a small corpse, that of a child.
It wasn't the only corpse in the room. It did look to be the only corpse of such an age, but she couldn't be sure.

"M-Master?" Ahsoka said.
"There is no emotion," her Master replied in a soft, hushed whisper. "There is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no Death, there is the Force," his left hand touched the boy's young forehead, and the body disappeared in a flash of light, soon followed by all the bodies of the other dead. Her Master exhaled and looked up at the floating lights, which carefully flickered out one after the other. He then stood up very slowly, and turned to look at her. His eyes were red, and kind-of puffy.
"Master, what did you..."
"They are now one with the Force," her Master replied in a hushed tone. "It was the least I could do...but her," his right hand moved to a charred corpse that still clung to the wall, "Oh how I wish I didn't have the training of Master Yoda to hold me back, or I'd take her soul, and grind it through endless agony until she snaps into a neverending madness, and then bring her back from the precipice to start again, sew her mouth shut so that she may not scream, and keep at it, again and again, until she pays for everything she has done and everything she would have done, and everything she did, but...but I won't," her Master pushed a hand against his face, and wiped the tears away. "I won't, because I'm better than her."
Ahsoka looked at the charred corpse. She doubted the owner of said corpse was still alive, but if her master said he could rip her soul out...somehow, she was inclined to believe him.
"This has been a proving day, Ahsoka," her Master said as he began to draw near, "I'm sorry, but I really think I'll need to meditate for the remainder of it."
Ahsoka tried to open her mouth, but he shook his head before she could even speak.
"Alone."
And with that, her Master stepped outside and walked away. Ahsoka looked down at the floor, and carefully bent down to pick what looked like a Padawan braid. She gingerly touched it with her fingers, and a sad expression spread across her face.
Her Master was soft with kids.
A kid had died.
Her Master had given in to the Dark Side.
Obi-Wan had probably seen it all happen, but he'd keep quiet about it. If anything, she suspected Obi-Wan understood.
Then again...if she had been there...wouldn't she had done the same, in the end?

AN: during the last ten or so lines, this music came up in the mix I usually listen to. Strangely fitting, isn't it?

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Five

The next day, a different type of smoke lifted in the air of the hangar. There were no ships inbound, but the clothes of the deceased -the corpses had all disappeared, every single one of them- were burned together with their few and sparse possessions. Ahsoka looked on from a walkway above, since there was practically no space left in the hangar's main floor. Chancellor Palpatine was there too, and he was speaking with true sadness in his voice about the despicable attack, and about how whoever had committed such treason was going to be severely punished. Ahsoka clenched both of her hands and closed her eyes, the silent simmering of anger in the back of her throat coming from her master's now cold fury, the Jedi Master himself not even present. He had been locked in meditation since the day before, and with the doors closed there had been no way in.
Well, she could have sliced a path through of course, but she highly suspected that if Yoda himself hadn't entered the door after knocking futilely once, then who was she to go at it the 'heavy handed way'?
Knight Skywalker was praised for killing one of Dooku's 'Dark Apprentices', apparently a certain Darth Trennox, or some similar name. A clone trooper received a commendation for fighting many a robot in the downtown of Coruscant -the reason they hadn't arrived sooner had been assassin droids striking everywhere at once. The security codes to Coruscant were going to be changed, and made more secure -that much the Chancellor promised.
As the procession finished, and the Chancellor left, Ahsoka walked away and through the temple's corridors which were being repaired, or cleaned a bit further, to restore them to their original self. Her Master's meditation chambers were still closed, but the pulsing anger behind it had largely left the place to a sort of quiet lull. She crossed her legs in front of the doors and sighed.
The attack had been terrible, but the Jedi High council wanted to know what had gone on -Obi-Wan had given his report, but the one that was missing was her master's.
What surprised Ahsoka however was that although Master Yoda taught how the fall to the Dark Side was permanent, her Master had fallen and come back like a rubber band, as if it had just been a temporary dip, and nothing more. She didn't know whether to be intrigued or scared, but that hardly mattered at the present. What mattered was to get her Master to stop sulking.

The moment she opened her eyes after entering meditation, she balked. The Cheshire Cat was resting in front of the door, a wicked grin on his face and eyes narrow. "So you want to step inside the court of the Queen of Hearts?" the cat actually spoke to her, "My Alice, how bold are you? Be careful, if you don't know how to dance your head will be chopped off."
To enforce the point, the Cheshire Cat moved a claw across his neck and made his head bounce on the floor, body invisible at the doors slid open to allow him entrance. She stood up and stepped inside, Mister Fluffles following her with a slightly worried meowing sound. Past the doors, there wasn't her Master's meditation chambers anymore.
There was a large hallway covered in blood and grime. The viscous liquid dripped from the walls and the ceiling, and Ahsoka balked as she watched the flesh twitch from the very walls. She took a deep breath, and then stepped on the matted mass of vein-filled crimson tentacles that formed the floor. There was an oppressive feeling of darkness everywhere around her, as the screams of hatred and anger cracked apart at their very seems.
"We are all mad over here, Alice," the Cheshire Cat spoke in front of Ahsoka, his form slowly moving to that of the lumbering Akul-like form. "This is the madness we hold at bay. It is for our sake, and for that of the galaxy itself," the Cat looked back at her, and grinned one of its diabolical grins. "You think you can help? Then let us see what you can do."
Ahsoka swallowed thickly as the Cheshire Cat opened a set of heavy doors made of battered dark steel, which creaked as they moved aside. A shower of blood fell from high above, where the doors struck the ceiling. The Cheshire Cat did not care that his fur had become slick with blood, and simply began to shrink in size back to its tabby-like appearance. A few steps further, and he disappeared into nothingness.
"That wasn't supposed to happen!" her Master's voice came like a crashing thunder through the hall, which looked like a cathedral -what with the colored glass, the tall walls of black marble, and the columns holding the rooftop. Figures of weeping angels adorned the walls and the niches all around, and an altar shattered and broken stood at the far side of the cross-shaped hall.
Her Master's fist was at the center of the crack that spanned the entirety of the altar, and a mellifluous figure stood coyly on the other side of it. She grinned, her hair slick with blood and her fingers with long, crimson nails. "What did you expect?" she whispered in a sultry voice. "That he'd do nothing?"
"I destroyed the foundries of Metalorn!" her Master rebuked her, slapping the hand away. "I tore them apart! I killed the scientists leading the projects! I murdered them, their aides, everyone who was linked to it! I made sure."
"You didn't 'make sure' enough," the woman replied with a wink. "You need to make the galaxy a desert, and then you are free to call it peace."
"Shut it," her Master growled to the figure.

Ahsoka hesitated at the entrance of the hall. "They're always like this," a tiny voice squeaked by her side, making her turn her head to look down at a very familiar figure -it was the same child that she had seen after defeating her master's 'Wrath'. It was...well, her Master looked kind of chubby when he was younger.
"They?" Ahsoka asked.
The young-Master Shade nodded. "The Force...it's kind of alive," he said. "We developed a special rapport with it, to manage its power and to avoid falling into greed, into desire, into passion. When you repress stuff, you hide it under a corner," her Master's younger self said. "We were the best at that. We did it for years," he whispered. "And then we had a nervous breakdown. Then we got better," he continued, "But...you know, even a high stress tolerance eventually breaks. So we used this," he gestured around. "And it helped. It helped for a long while. Only, now it's all slipping away and it's hard holding it all back. It just wants to come out, like a bubbling feeling in your chest, you know? When you're really excited, and you want to scream it out loud, but you can't, not yet, because it's not really the moment yet for it..."
His voice grew quiet all of a sudden. "They stopped screaming at each other."
Ahsoka turned to look once more at the altar, only to come face to face with a vicious, feral smirk from the woman itself. She took a step back in fear, and as tendrils shot out of the walls to block the exit, her fear grew.
"Oh my," the woman whispered, "What do we have here."
"Ahsoka," her Master said, nearing her briskly, "What are you doing here?"
"Master, the High Council wanted your report on the events," Ahsoka said, trying to sidestep the woman to reach her Master, only for said annoyance to keep blocking her path. "Will you let me through?" she hissed in the end, and the woman simply smiled even more deviously, if such a thing was possible.
"Make me," the woman replied with a vicious grin.
"Ahsoka, don't-" but her Master was suddenly flung away, against a side of the cathedral as fleshy tendrils swiftly drowned him in its entirety.
"Hey!" Ahsoka yelled, a hand raised only for a tendril to sprout from the floor to grab at her. The tendril pushed her down on her knees, hurting her as spikes began to grow across its surface.
"Have they never taught you proper etiquette?" the woman smirked. "You must bow to your Queen when you enter her room."

Mister Fluffles sliced with one of his cute paws at the tendril, shattering it just in time for Ahsoka to duck and avoid a swipe of a crimson lightsaber. The walls began to drip with blood as the woman called forth another lightsaber from behind the altar. "So?!" the woman said with a crispy chuckle, "Are you coming? Or are you scared of me, Alice?"
Ahsoka snarled as she charged ahead, "Mister Fluffles!" she called, and Mister Fluffles sprung into action, lightsaber appearing in his right paw as he grew in size. He jumped and attacked from the side, but a tentacle grabbed him by the tail and threw him back against the walls, where spikes erupted and stabbed through his entire body.
"Now, now, this is between you and me!" the Queen said with a bright grin as she parried the twin strike of Ahsoka. Her face drew near to the lightsabers blade, as if unafraid of being pushed back. Ahsoka pushed all of her strength in overpowering the woman, but seemed to fail to even gain an inch.
Mister Fluffles screamed in pain as the tentacles ravaged across his wounds, widening them with vicious savagery. "Stop this!" Ahsoka snarled.
"Or what?" the woman replied with a hearty chuckle. "You are not your master. You have no power here. You come waltzing in expecting to be the linchpin of change? Who the hell do you think you are?! Do you think being a Disney princess is enough to stop a Queen? I am Despair made manifest, I am Hatred given form, I am the Madness that inhabits this body, and you have no power here!" with a bellowing roar, Ahsoka found her feet slipping on the floor of the cathedral as she was pushed back.
The figure spun and delivered a kick to her hands, making her lose her guard as the woman came down with both of her lightsabers to finish the pirouette in mid-air. Ahsoka saw the lightsabers come for her, and widened her eyes. She tried to bring her lightsabers back into a guard, but the enemy was fast, too fast, she wouldn't manage in time, she would never manage in time-
Desperation fueled her body, and she moved faster than she expected. What was impossible became possible, and with surprising agility, she blocked the strike.
"Despair gives us purpose," the woman laughed out, "Hatred makes us strong," she took a step forward, "And the madness makes it all bearable!" with a cackling, mad laughter the woman pushed Ahsoka further back, and the Togruta realized that if it kept up, she'd end with her back against the wall. The wall positively crawling with tentacles made of fleshy veins and sharp, black thorns.

"What's your problem?!" Ahsoka shot back at the woman. "Why are you doing this?!"
"Because it all could have been avoided!" the woman snarled in a howl. "All it took would have been ONE DEATH! ONE DEATH, AND ALL WOULD HAVE ENDED! BUT NO! IT WOULDN'T HAVE HELPED IN THE LONG RUN! SO BECAUSE WE COULDN'T KILL ONE SITH, WE MUST SUFFER THE DEATH OF HUNDREDS OF INNOCENTS! THOUSANDS! TENS OF THOUSANDS!" as the woman screamed, as the Queen of Hearts howled, the lightsabers she used furiously burned brighter than ever as the plasma within could barely be contained. Attack after attack rained on Ahsoka, who refusing to back away had no choice but to start to kneel down as each attack made her arms trembled and her hands hurt from the effort of not losing her grip.
"You have no idea," the Queen whispered in a softer voice, as she chuckled. "He kept you away from it. He kept you all away from it. Master Yoda's a good...a good thing, whatever his race is. He never told. Never knew himself, probably. But he wouldn't approve. That's why we are here. We have to hide it behind a facade, we have to hide it all." the Queen grinned. "That's why, I'm not going to let you win this battle, Alice. This battle, this very, very important battle, you will lose it."
Her lightsabers stopping coming down on Ahsoka, and instead suddenly spun in an uppercut. The Togruta fell on the ground trying to roll away, and in so doing ended up with her back against the wall, which quickly ensnared her right up as the thorns began to prickle at her skin and make her bleed. She tried to push herself off and with her teeth brought a lit lightsaber to cut them.
A rain of blood fell on her montrals and on her back as she twisted away from the tentacles' hold, and summoned into her hands both lightsabers to fight again, to fight more, to win.
"Do or do not," Ahsoka snarled. "There." She pounced on the woman and attacked, aiming for her heart which forced the woman back. "Is." So what if she couldn't move the lightsabers? So what if she couldn't overpower her? A lightsaber left Mister Fluffles' paw and ignited as it sailed straight for the Queen's back. "No." Ahsoka howled as she crossed her lightsabers to freeze the Queen in place. "Try."

The Queen gasped as her heart was pierced from behind, and like her Master had done in front of her eyes with Grievous, Ahsoka saw. "Now...Alice," Ahsoka whispered, her eyes locking with those of Alice herself, the mad Queen of Hearts, "It is time to die." And be at peace. The unspoken words hung in the emptiness, even as lightsabers cracked open from the walls to strike down at the Queen of Hearts. Beneath the flesh, beneath the blood, hidden by the sense of Guilt and Grief for all those sacrificed for the Greater Good, all of the lightsabers symbolizing the fallen Jedi came down like a torrential flood of ignited plasma.
As a thousand and a thousand more struck through every pore of skin available on the woman's surface, Ahsoka looked sadly on.
"It's time I go..." Alice whispered. "Time I wake up."
The Force rippled at its very seams, and broke apart the mad Queen of Hearts, leaving nothing behind but dust. Dust, and what looked like a family picture that swiftly disappeared from Ahsoka's sight to end in her Master's hands. He looked at it with a sad expression, and then sighed, shaking his head as he moved towards the altar to drop it off.
"Do you know why," her Master said as he turned to look at her, "I picked Alice in Wonderland?" he began to near her, as Mister Fluffles dropped from the side of the wall, now sporting a slightly bulkier build, four arms like those of the Cheshire Cat at its side.
"Master," Ahsoka replied with a light chuckle. "I think that's because you're mad, and everyone was mad in the book."
Her Master chuckled back. "Probably," he acquiesced. "I do so hate...well, more like dislike, the Force's shenanigans. Still, I heard something about being needed by the Jedi High Council?"
Ahsoka frowned. Her master was trying to change the conversation into a direction he preferred -but she wasn't going to stand for it, not now that she had a thousand more questions to ask about-
A Force flick hit her forehead, and she winced as she rubbed it. "Later," he said. "Not now, padawan," he whispered. "I promise that soon, I'll answer all of your questions. Until then, let's take our leave from this place," he continued as he put a hand on her shoulder and made her gently turn to leave behind the church, the church that now felt terribly familiar to Ahsoka, as if she had been in there more than once, and not always for happy occasions.

The doors of the church opened on the outside to a neat cobblestone square, a place of rock, and masonry. The ground broke around them as they began to walk on a road surrounded in the darkness, out of the meditation, and into the reality of the situation.
Ahsoka's eyes slowly opened to her Master's meditation chambers door. Only, she was on the other side of them, and she was resting her head on her master's lap. He gently patted her forehead.
"Time to wake up, Ahsoka," he whispered.
She stretched and stood up, looking at the sand and the rocks around them, at peace. Having no desire to alter the sand pattern on the ground, Ahsoka carefully used the force to levitate her body gently as if she were lifting a lightsaber, in order to pass without leaving behind any sign. She actually succeeded on the first try. No, she succeeded because she knew what she had to do, and she knew, because the Bond with her Master had grown further.
His power was now flowing through her too. His strength, his will, his knowledge was but a question away. Yet she would not ask.
She had to conquer Curiosity after all, and so, she would not ask.
Her Master grinned at her as he stepped by her side without touching the sand pattern either.
"Padawans," he said with a chuckle, "They learn and grow up so fast."
"I'm the best," Ahsoka nodded with a thin smudge of pride in her voice. "Ain't I the best?"
"Careful not to get too prideful," her Master pointed out. "Now let's go report to the Council of how Aurra Sing and her merry gang of mercenaries won't harm anyone else ever again," he acquiesced. "And of who made sure they slipped in during the confusion." He sighed and looked at her. "For what it matters, Ahsoka," he said as he began to walk towards the Jedi High Council, with her following his side. "I am sorry."
Ahsoka shrugged and grinned. "Doesn't matter, Master." She blinked the next moment, "Oh, right, I was nearly forgetting something very important," she added. "You remember...when you said you picked me because you were sure I'd always do the right thing?"
"Yes," her Master replied, already dreading her answer.
"Well, I think the right thing is for me to keep being your Padawan until the Council takes the Force away from you," Ahsoka said, "And after that happens, then I'll just have to ask Master Kenobi if he's in need of a new Padawan learner. Knight Skywalker won't be knight for much longer, will he?"
"And how do you know that?" her Master remarked.
"Because that's your hope, isn't it? You care," Ahsoka said with a bright, bubbly grin. "You care a lot, maybe too much, but you care. We all get it. All of us, you know," she chuckled as they passed by Ferus, who had just so casually been on the way to the other side of the Temple, and Knight Darra, who was accompanying him. By happenstance, they crossed Anakin Skywalker and Master Kenobi, and on the way, more than a couple of Younglings and awestruck Padawans had some important business to do near them. It was a silent form of support.

Her Master sighed. He rolled his eyes. "No attachments is kind-of a very important rule, Ahsoka."
"Then I promise I won't go on a rampage if you go away, or die," Ahsoka chuckled. "What is the term? Uhm...'Yandere'?"
Her Master visibly recoiled as if struck. "Maybe it was a bad idea to-"
"No, no," Ahsoka giggled. "I like it. There's so much...woah, is this how you see the world, Master? It's-" and suddenly it was cut off. "Hey!" she pouted.
"Curiosity, Ahsoka," her Master chided her as he neared the doors to the Jedi High Council. "Curiosity killed the Togruta."
And then he stepped inside, leaving her to wait outside with an unspoken gesture.
Ahsoka turned her back to the doors and stretched with her hands behind her back, a bright grin on her face, just like that of the Cheshire Cat.
All was right in the world, and in the galaxy, and the dark clouds of the day before had disappeared once more to leave place to the sun.
She wondered however, she wondered all the same...

Whom did Master Shade not kill, that could have avoided this all war from beginning?
And what reason could there be, worse than this war, to force him to pick this war over peace?
Still, whatever reason there could be, she'd discover it.
She'd discover it, and then, together with her Master, she'd face it as his Padawan.
Unless she became a Knight.
In which case, she'd face it like a Knight by his side.
Maybe he'd play the role of the Princess captured by the evil dragon?
She chuckled at the mental image.
Her Master wearing a princess dress and being locked atop a high tower waiting to be saved...and annoying the dragon to no end.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Six

Her Master stepped out of the Jedi High Council chambers in high spirits, and humming made his way towards the Hangar Bay. "We're heading to Senator Amidala's office at the Coruscant Senate, padawan," her Master said. "She can be...peculiarly headstrong," he added. "You'll find a kindred soul without a doubt."
"Have you foreseen it?" Ahsoka remarked dryly. They stepped through the hallways to the Hangars, which were now no longer even sporting the signs of the funeral pyres. They climbed aboard a two-seat speeder, and her Master took the wheel with practiced ease.
"No, I just know the senator," her Master replied. Then they left the hangar and headed straight for the Senate's palace, disregarding all traffic regulations and codes. It wouldn't have been that bad of a thing -if her Master had given gas to the car, which instead was going at a snail pace in her opinion.
"Master, do you want me to drive?" Ahsoka hazarded after what was supposed to be a five minutes rush turned into half an hour, with only half the road done.
"Nope," her Master replied, driving slowly.
"Wait," Ahsoka blinked. "Is it...is it your fear of heights acting up again, Master?"
"And of car crashes," her Master replied. "Flying cars mean there are dangers coming from all three axis, not just the main two."
"They'll dodge out of the way," Ahsoka replied. She huffed at her master's most poignant look of 'Don't be silly, drive safely and is your seat belt properly latched to the seat?' "Just go."
"Patience," her Master replied. "I'm the driver. Let's listen to some music while on the way."
As a small datachip ended up being put inside the radio, a classical symphony soon began to play. "Ugh," Ahsoka grimaced, "What is this?"
Her Master raised an eyebrow. "Classical music of the highest quality," he acquiesced, "Found while scurrying the Net."
Ahsoka brought both hands to the side of her head and stuck her tongue out. "More like audio torture."
"Be thankful it doesn't have vocals, or I'd be singing along," her Master pointed out with a bright grin.
Ahsoka groaned even louder, if it was at all possible.

They sped up once they finally reached the Senate's building, and parked the car in no less than fifteen minutes -Ahsoka had counted them, just to be sure she wasn't actually still in Wonderland and hallucinating it all as a form of teaching about the importance of patience. She jumped out and began to walk back and forth, tapping her foot on the ground as her master locked the car and stepped outside last.
"See?" he remarked with a dry and amused tone, "We have arrived all in one piece."
"One hour and a half later," Ahsoka replied. "Are we late?"
"A Jedi never arrives late, or early," her Master said. "He arrives precisely when he needs to arrive."
Ahsoka lifted an eyebrow. "Quoting Gandalf in an attempt to look wise will not get you anywhere, Master. I read the book in my free time."
"Damnation," her Master replied with a chuckle. "My apprentice is learning all of my tricks. It's only a matter of time before she takes over."
Ahsoka grinned broadly, and then shrugged. "I don't think I'll learn everything you have to teach in a year, so I wouldn't worry about that yet, Master."
With a smile on his face, Master Shade walked through the building with ease, and reached for the floor Senator Amidala's office was. Ahsoka dutifully followed, taking in the sights of the place. When they stepped inside the office, she realized the Senator wasn't alone. A couple of humans, a few Rhodians and also quite the number of species from other planets were present.
"Oh, Jedi Master Shade," Senator Amidala said, "You're early," she added.
Ahsoka's head snapped to where her master was, looking at his amused expression as he basked in her shock, with all probability. "There wasn't much traffic," her Master acquiesced. "Still, I assume I am not disturbing?"
"Not at all, Jedi Master," a broad-shouldered man said with a charming smile. "We are glad you are willing to chaperon such an initiative yourself, especially with the risks attached to it and the recent events-Our condolences go to the Jedi for their losses," he added with a soft voice, his eyes slightly downcast.
"They have become one with the Force," her Master replied kindly, "There is no need to grieve them, for they are at peace now. Hopefully, the Republic will be at peace too, if things go as we expect them to go. It will take time, but an olive branch should work in avoiding more taxes, and nobody wants to pay taxes."
There were a few chuckles. More than a few senators took their leave after a few words of encouragement, and in the end only four persons remained in the room.
"Senator Organa?" her Master asked. "How do you feel?"
Age suddenly seemed to appear on the man's face as he pinched the bridge of his nose and sat down, his expression truly troubled. "It is a risky gamble," he admitted. "Anything could go wrong."
Senator Amidala shook her head. "If the banks are deregulated, the Republic might truly go bankrupt, and then everything will go wrong."
Ahsoka crossed her arms in front of her chest and tapped her right foot. "Pardon me, master...but what is going on, precisely?"
"Right, right, I should have explained," her Master said. "You will be tasked with protecting Senator Amidala while infiltrating Separatist Space, and you will do so using your status as a Jedi to travel to a Neutral world. From there, you will travel to the Separatist home-world and propose a peace treaty. Meanwhile, I'll be keeping an eye on a few corrupted members of the Senate and ensure they do not play any dirty tricks. The only ones who are allowed to know of this mission are the four in this room. There will be no hushed complacent remarks to other people, no informing others ahead of time, no 'I tell you this in friendship' and absolutely not a single word will go out from this very room after we are done here," her Master whispered harshly. "There is a lot at stake, and people without principles will stop at nothing to prevent this peace."

Senator Amidala smiled sadly. "It is horrible that there would be those who prefer to make profit over pain and death," she looked downcast. "But-"
"Wait, wait just a second," Ahsoka looked at her master. "You're sending me to the Separatist Home World together with a Senator!" she blurted out. "After what Dooku did to the temple! After all those that died because of him!"
Her Master nodded. "If I didn't know you could do it, padawan, I wouldn't have even planned for it. You will do an excellent job," he added, and put a gentle hand as a placating gesture on her shoulder, "And you will remember the teachings of the Jedi."
Ahsoka opened her mouth to retort, and then closed it, preferring to glare at him. Her master was the king of hypocrites, and judging by his grin, he knew it too!
Her Master then bowed to Senator Amidala and left together with Senator Organa, leaving her alone with the woman.
"Senator Amidala," Ahsoka began, only for the Senator to interrupt her.
"Please, call me Padme, Jedi." The senator said, and Ahsoka smiled at that.
"Then call me Ahsoka," Ahsoka replied. "So," she continued her previous discussion, "What is the plan?"
Senator Amidala nodded, and began to explain. All things considered, Ahsoka had expected some form of complicate thing involving multiple decoys, thousands of fakes, and a hundred and more contingencies. It turned out to be surprisingly simple. They'd take a shuttle to a neutral world, her with the excuse of a mission alone given to her by her master, and meanwhile the senator would instead take the same shuttle but technically stop first, in order to be present at an important dinner party where, instead, a double of the senator would be.
From the neutral world they'd take a shuttle to Separatist space and once they landed at the spaceport, it would be up to the senator's contacts to pick them up before they got shot. Hopefully, everything would go exactly as intended.
Ahsoka herself was surprised when it all went exactly as planned.

She had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, because it all went exactly as planned. Maybe that was the perk of having a master with the gift of foresight: he knew how things would go, and so he wasn't surprised of them going exactly that way.
As Ahsoka kept an eye on Mina Bonteri, the Separatist spearheading the peace effort, she couldn't help but feel elated at the thought that the war would end in part thanks to the efforts of her Master, of Senator Amidala and also, in part, because of her.
Yes, as she happily waved goodbye to Mina Bonteri and her son and stepped inside the shuttle to sit right next to Senator Amidala's seat, she really believed everything would end up perfectly, all would be over soon, and there would be peace.
Then the connection to her Master abruptly cut off, and her breathing came less as it felt as if a hand had clenched her heart and shattered it, pain wracking her entire body as she felt the very filaments of the Force retch and scream for the agony and the deceit, the utterly pulsing void around her making her cry tears of pain.
She gasped as Mister Fluffles screamed shrilly, clutching her to hold her frame at bay from making a public scene. Her hands gripped the handles of the passenger seat, and she felt her vision coming less. Had...had the Jedi cut off the connection to the Force of her Master already? At the mere mention of peace? Had they been so hasty they wouldn't even wait for confirmation? No, that couldn't be. But...
What if her Master had died?
That-No, no, her Master wouldn't have died. He was her Master. Heck, he-he could be caught, so that meant he could be killed, but...but only Dooku would be able to do such a thing, or maybe a Jedi Master, or...no, no, she had to keep calm. Her Master was probably somewhere the Force couldn't reach. That was preposterous. Ahsoka felt stupid even thinking about it.
However, thinking about it kept her mind away from the pain that ran in her body, an from the feeling of utter loss that sank deep in her guts. It was sudden, but when Padme touched her shoulder, probably worried by her state, she just turned and hugged the older woman tightly as if it was the right thing to do.
As if it was the only thing she could do.

She couldn't understand where that unending stream of sadness was coming from, but then again, she couldn't understand what had happened. It had been abrupt. One moment, her Master was there. The next, her Master wasn't there any longer. There was only silence. It felt...empty. She couldn't hold it.
"Ahsoka? Ahsoka speak to me," Senator Amidala said with worry in her voice. "What's going on? Is everything all right?"
"No," Ahsoka whispered, catching her breath. "No," Mister Fluffles meowed, now on her lap and gazing at her sadly. "My Master...he-he's dead."
Padme's eyes widened in disbelief, "W-What? A-Are you sure?" she asked, only for Ahsoka to return a nasty glare to her.
"I felt it in the Force," she hissed. "It was...they took him away," she whispered harsher still, "The sun. My...My Master, my very own sun, he's no longer-he's no longer here." She trembled. "I feel so cold."
"We need to stop at the nearest medic-" Padme began, only for Ahsoka to grip her arm and clench her tight -she knew she was hurting the Senator, but she had no intention of making her go through with her idea.
"No," Ahsoka hissed. "No. We must go back. We must bring peace to the galaxy. It was-it is-it has to be my master's wish. He's not dead. He can't be dead," the Togruta whispered and shook her head. "No, my master wouldn't die, no matter what. He wouldn't-He couldn't. It's got to be a lie and I need to get back and check on him. I...Please."
"Ahsoka," Padme whispered. "Ahsoka, let go." She was afraid. She was afraid and she was hurt. She was afraid and she was hurt, because of her.
Suddenly, Ahsoka dropped the grip on the senator's arm. "I apologize for my outburst," she whispered. She grimaced and looked down at her hands. What would her Master say if he saw her like that?

Let it go~ Let it go~

Yeah, he'd sing something like that to her, and in a heartbeat she'd be snorting at him being utterly tone-deaf, then he'd chuckle warmly just like he was capable of, and she'd feel silly for thinking something stupid or against the Jedi Code. He's tell her not to worry, to just carry on, to not be angry, and then it would just make sense without another word, and she'd be calm. She'd be calm again. The hurt didn't leave her, but now that she was calmer, she could finally try to understand.
It would make no sense for the Jedi Masters to remove the connection from the Force from her master like that, especially not without the peace actually being offered. It would make no sense for her Master to willfully cut the connection himself like that, not without a very good reason -and even then, she doubted he could alone, and unless the entirety of the High Council was in accord with him, it would be just plain impossible to sever the connection. So, her Master had either died, or dropped off somewhere where the Force couldn't reach.
That terrified her. Where could her Master had gone, that he was so utterly outside the Force?
He wouldn't have died without a fight anyway, and if such a fight had happened, it would be on every channel of every corner of the galaxy within the next minutes. Yet, even as Padme watched her warily in fear of maybe another outburst, or maybe in grief sharing her pain, she carefully began to change the channels of the small holoscreen in front of her that the shuttle services provided. There was no news of a Jedi Master's death -and those always arrived on the first page, no matter how far away they were -and since they were still in a neutral area, there were both Separatist and Republic live-news to look at.

"In most recent news," the newscaster suddenly spoke, sending dread to spike all across Ahsoka's montrals and through her back. "The motion for peace has been received with tentative acceptance from the Republic's Senate, and will be discussed next week. Might this finally be the start of the end for such a grievous war? In other news, Count Dooku himself has proclaimed that as an ambassador of good will for the proposal, he will personally travel to Coruscant to meet with the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Chancellor Palpatine was 'pleasantly surprised' by such an offer, and cannot wait for the leader of the Separatists to meet on the grounds of Coruscant."
Padme took a very deep breath at the news, and Ahsoka herself couldn't help but widen her eyes. Count Dooku was willing to show himself into the Senate to make the proposal for peace sound more sincere? It...It certainly was a novel idea.
With the amount of travel they'd have to do however, they'd probably arrive on the same day as Count Dooku would -which meant, they probably wouldn't arrive on time all things included.
Ahsoka clenched her fists. True, her connection to her Master had been cut, but they were in neutral grounds, and she could contact the Jedi High Council.
She began to dial a number on the small holocron in front of her, while Padme remained silent by her side, probably contemplating Count Dooku's latest political stunt, and maybe stunned herself by the boldness of the move. There was only one thing that mattered to Ahsoka however. She had to contact Master Yoda. She had to-
And Master Yoda's figure appeared right there and then, the communication patched through quickly, as if he had been expecting the call.
"Padawan Tano," Yoda said, "Alive and well you are. Of that glad I am."
"M-Master," Ahsoka stammered out. "I-I felt-"
"Your Master, no longer a Jedi is he," Master Yoda acknowledged. "Too strong in him called the pull of the Dark Side. Accept it, he did. Willfully the council he asked."
Ahsoka's breathing hitched. "That bastard piece of s-"
"Padawan," Master Yoda chided her.
"He knew!" Ahsoka whispered furiously. "He sent me away because he knew. He-He knew!"
Master Yoda merely looked back at her, and twitched his long ears. A sad expression appeared on his face. "Tell you this, he did not himself. The closer you were, the Bond the stronger it would be. Away from him, you had to be. This choice he took."
"I want to talk with him," Ahsoka said, a pleading tone in her voice, "Just...just one last time."
"No longer on Coruscant," Master Yoda said calmly, "Is he. Gone away he has."
"Where," Ahsoka said with her breathing hitching up, a hand to cover her mouth.
"He asked me this, to quote you," Master Yoda said with a sigh, shaking his head. "Where I am going, you cannot follow me for now."

Ahsoka remained quiet for a long while, even after Master Yoda bid her a safe return and closed the communication on his side. Ahsoka remained silent, the last words of her Master running through her head like stabs of pain, like daggers slicing her skin and making her soul raw and hurt. It was the ultimate betrayal, and yet the ultimate and most final of lessons. He had told her everything of important he wanted to teach her, and had tested her on everything of important there was in his opinion to test her, and then he had delivered his final goodbye, and he had done so in a way that only she could understand.
"I never would have thought," Padme said, "That he'd do something so sneaky, Ahsoka, I know it hurts-"
"Why would he say that?" Ahsoka said suddenly, catching Padme by surprise. The senator looked at her as if she had grown a second head, and so Ahsoka felt the need to specify. "Why would he say 'for now'? Does this mean that later, I will follow him?" She turned to look at the senator, and her eyes were now no longer sad, but filled with a hint of mischief and a playful fire behind them.
"I...I think I'll be fine now," Ahsoka said as she began to carefully rub Mister Fluffles' head, calmly staring ahead with her vision carefully coming less as she slipped into meditation. "I'm sorry for scaring you," she added in a whisper. "It just...was so sudden, I..."
"It's in moments like these that I'm glad I'm not a Jedi," Padme whispered back. "The things you feel...they are as much of a boon as they are a curse, isn't that right?"
Ahsoka didn't answer her. She just gave back a sad smile. The rest of the trip proceeded in a sort of rigorous, self-imposed silence.

AN: Two chapters, give or take.
Then the Story Ends.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Twenty-Seven

When the shuttle landed on the platform of the Coruscant spaceport, Ahsoka remained by Senator Amidala's side until Knight Skywalker came to relieve her, with a sad and embittered expression which told her everything she needed to know about just how many people knew of her Master -no, Ex-Master- Shade's decision to leave the Temple behind. Knight Skywalker didn't tell her anything more than to report to the temple, and Ahsoka would have obeyed, if only Mister Fluffles hadn't chosen that moment to act up and start to walk towards a completely different direction.
"That's not the way to the temple, Snips," Skywalker pointed out as soon as she began to follow the Cat-Like Hallucination.
"I'm doing an important Force Technique, Skyguy," Ahsoka retorted. "It will help me find Master...well, it will help me find Night."
"He's already off world," Anakin replied. "He took the first shuttle and was out of Coruscant by the end of the night. He didn't even stop to say goodbye, so I don't think he's still around now, days after the fact."
Ahsoka crinkled her nose. "Then," she said, "It seems you don't know my master as well as I do. He'd never leave like that, and he'd never do something like this for no reason at all."
"Oh, he had all the reasons in the world," Anakin said. "Obi-Wan told me he chose it because he couldn't trust himself with the Force. He saw him fall, Snips, and even if he came back, it was nothing but temporary at best. He knew it. The High Council knew it. They acted on it," Anakin had faint traces of bitterness in his voice. "And knowing all that, he didn't even tell us."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes as she placed a hand right next to her hip, "Well, I'm sorry if you're the type who plays the paladin straight-faced and can't see beneath the underneath, but I played the Bard. I know how he thinks better than you. This is clearly a case of fake-death."
Anakin recoiled as if struck. He shook his head, letting his right hand pass through his hair. Padme looked at both Jedi, and smiled with a rueful look. "I think I can reach the Senate by myself," she said in the end. "Why don't you go with her, Anakin? I can see it's eating you up inside," the Senator added. Ahsoka looked at the senator in surprised, but was even more surprised when the Jedi Knight nodded, and took her side.
"Let's go," Anakin said. Ahsoka raised an eyebrow, but nodded before bowing primly to the Senator.
"Follow me, Knight Skywalker," Ahsoka said, and rushed off behind Mister Fluffles, who seemed keener and keener on hurrying up as if afraid he'd be late for some very important tea time. As Ahsoka nimbly dashed past the crowd with Anakin hot on her heels, she watched as Mister Fluffles dashed past the security checkpoints and into the deeper corners of the spaceport, heading out of its way to take the most cranky and forgotten passages it could find.

Ahsoka would have dropped the chase had it been just any cat, but it was Mister Fluffles, and she knew that if he worked anything like the Cheshire Cat, then it would guide her where she subconsciously knew her Master was. A lot of things made sense, when taken into the proper context. The Cat was just a way for the brain to represent an extra point of focus, like a third limb, or a fourth or sixth one. Her Master had nine lightsabers because he was capable of that much, but she suspected there was more than met the eye to the Alice in Wonderland theory. After all, if she had defeated the Mad Alice, where did that leave her Master? Was he a Mad Alice too? Had he been thrown into Wonderland himself?
There were small flashes of insight running through her brains, as things instinctively felt right or wrong to her as she thought it through. He had said he'd taken the book as a metaphor for the fact that everyone was mad, but what if he had taken it as a mean to signal his actual state of being?
Furthermore, Alice in Wonderland and The Lord of the Rings were very old books, who had come back from the far away corners of time and space because an anonymous person had decided to rewrite them -and the Lord of the Rings had been rewritten in all of its former glory, with all of its thousand of pages, by an author who had read it 'just that once, and then, nevermore'.
Somehow, the fact the first copy was in the Jedi Temple clicked into way more than just a coincidence, and she was sure that if she had checked it thoroughly, she would have pretty much found out the real author, or well, the one who had written it back, as her Master.
"Ahsoka, wait!" Anakin blurted out, and she stopped before falling down a shaft that opened up just round the corner. So lost in thoughts she had been, that she hadn't even seen it. Then again, Mister Fluffles had jumped straight through the shaft that seemed to lead into the bellows of Coruscant.

Ahsoka didn't wait once she realized that. Anakin half-cursed behind her, but soon jumped down and kept following her. "I know what I'm doing!" she exclaimed, "Just trust me!"
"Where are we going anyway!?" Anakin asked once they landed down a few levels beneath the Spaceport's lowest levels. The air was thick and humid, drenched with the smell of fuel and oil. There was oily, black tar hanging from the walls and a few service droids buzzed about in the stinky small corridors.
"I'm following Mister Fluffles," Ahsoka replied, "He always knows where Master Shade is."
"Mister...Fluffles?" Anakin asked, his voice filled with disbelief.
Ahsoka bit the inner side of her cheek and looked sideways. "Look," she said, "He's not really a cat. I just see him as a cat. He's an Akul, it's like this big beast-"
"I know what an Akul is," Anakin retorted. "So we are following a cat sized Akul?"
"More like a cat who can turn into an Akul," Ahsoka replied. "And Master Shade had a similar cat, he called it the Cheshire-"
"I know," Anakin said. "I saw him once or twice when he used the Force heavily. Strangest thing ever, how does a cat even have purple stripes?"
"Well, mine's orange," Ahsoka said.
Anakin didn't reply. Ahsoka shot him a gaze as if to challenge him to say something of her color palette choice for her cat, but when he didn't say anything else, she realized it was because he had stopped and was gazing ahead with a half-empty gaze. Ahsoka blinked, and raised an eyebrow in perplexity.
When the Jedi Knight began to move again, he had already lit his lightsaber and taken on a defensive posture in front of her. "Can't you feel it?" he hissed. Ahsoka frowned. No, she couldn't feel it. She had no idea what there was to feel, because she wasn't feeling anything.
She did lit her lightsaber and turn the corner following Mister Fluffles, this time more alert than before, but what met her eyes wasn't what she had expected to find.
There was no Master Shade. There was, however, a putrid stench covered by the smell of fuel and oil from what looked like the carcass of a giant, slobbering mess of rotten flesh. Knight Skywalker neared it, lightsaber drawn, but the carcass didn't move.
"W-What is it?" Ahsoka asked.
"A Taozin," Anakin said. "I thought this place looked familiar," he whispered. "Master Shade came down here once with a few other Masters to hunt a Taozin. I-I didn't think about it until now, but," he neared the fallen beast, his lightsaber deactivated. "The Taozin is renowned for its invisibility to the Force. Master Shade said that anyone who had a Taozin nodule could hide his presence near perfectly from the Force," Anakin looked at the fallen beast, which hadn't just been killed, but also smashed apart by heavy, blunt trauma -truly a sign that her Master had been there, there was no doubt about it.

Ahsoka looked at Mister Fluffles, who was meowing loudly from where the hacked apart corpse was. "There's not a single nodule left," Anakin mumbled in thought, "It's like someone ransacked the entire corpse."
"Do you think," Ahsoka began, "That...there's something we're missing?"
"Well, Master Shade...Night, if he were to wear that many nodules on his person, he'd probably appear utterly invisible to anyone, even you."
"But Master Yoda said-" Ahsoka began, only to hesitate. "You think Master Yoda lied?"
"Maybe he didn't have to," Anakin pointed out. "Night, he used to say that there was a distinctive difference between being a wound in the Force and having a lack of the Force. I suppose I should have paid more attention when he explained that, but memory was never my strength."
Ahsoka rounded up on Anakin, teeth bared. "You're telling me the Jedi High Council lied to everyone and hid my Master because they couldn't...they couldn't sever his connection to the Force?"
"I'm not saying that. They'd never do something that underhanded," Anakin pointed out. "It's the Jedi we are talking about."
"Sacrifice the few to save the many," Ahsoka shot back, "But...but if you have to sacrifice few to save many, then why not try to save many few?" she looked up at Anakin, who looked back at her with a hard to read expression.
"If you need to start sacrificing people in order to get things to go your way," Anakin said abruptly, stepping away from the corpse, "Then ensure you are the first in line for the sacrifice, lest you become a hypocrite with no worth."
It was then that Anakin's eyes widened. "What if-What if he wants to kill Dooku?!"
Ahsoka gasped, and shook her head as firmly as she could. "Why would he?! He sent us to make peace talks!"
"Well, why else would he need to disappear from the Force then!?"
"Kill one to stop the war," Ahsoka said, much to Anakin's surprise. "Through the Bond, I...I knew he could have avoided the war," she looked downcast, even as she felt the look of disbelief of the Jedi Knight morph into a scowl of anger.
"What?!" Anakin yelled, and his voice echoed through the corridor.
"He beat himself over it!" Ahsoka snapped back, looking straight up at Anakin with her fists clenched, lightsaber forgotten and silently put back on her belt. "He didn't want to do, and he knew he could have stopped the war from ever happening if he killed a single person!"
"So...he's going to kill Dooku," Anakin whispered in disbelief. "Right when he's coming to Coruscant to make peace. He-He didn't let go of his anger at all, did he?!"
"No, no, that's impossible," Ahsoka replied. "He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't."
"I know this must look impossible, but see the facts, Ahsoka!" Anakin shot out. "We need to warn the...wait," Anakin passed a hand over his forehead. "The Council knew, the Council knew and accepted this!" he snarled. "We can't go to the Council with this!" he looked around in disbelief. "Night is going to kill Dooku and the Council agreed it had to be done! Ahsoka, we have to go speak with the Chancellor immediately! The Jedi are planning to boycott the peace talks!"

Ahsoka's eyes could only widen that much before they bugged out of her sockets, and as the thought crossed her mind, Ahsoka quickly denied it. "No," she said. "We can't. We should speak with the Council first. They-"
"They must have been corrupted by the war," Anakin said. "We need to see the Chancellor. He can appoint bodyguards, have the Jedi Council answer for what is going on-"
"No!" Ahsoka snapped back, "What about Master Shade?!"
"If he's just following orders, then he won't be punished, I'll ask the Chancellor-"
"You'll ask the Chancellor?" Ahsoka deadpanned. "Knight Skywalker-Anakin, no. We have to put our trust in the Jedi Council. They know what they're doing. They-We, are Jedi. We use the Force never to harm or attack, only to defend."
Anakin clenched his right hand, and looked at her with both eyes suddenly narrow. Ahsoka felt a pang of worry cross through her mind. "If not the Council," Ahsoka continued, "Then...do you trust Master Shade at least?" she asked in a soft tone, and that broke through whatever thought process the Jedi Knight had been going through.
"I-" Anakin began, and hesitated, "I do."
"Then do you truly think he'd be capable of doing such a thing?" Ahsoka continued. "Do you think he'd go along with what you think the Council wants? Do you think he'd be capable of this, even after all his desire to see peace?"
"He could have lied. He could have lied to let the war keep up, to avoid losing his powers, to-"
"He does not want his powers!" Ahsoka blurted out. "He wants peace! He dislikes being subjected to the Forces' whims! I know! I'm his padawan, I shared his burdens, I know what he truly thinks!" she had brought a hand to her chest, and was looking at the Knight with a look of utter sadness. "Do you truly think the man you know would do something like this? Do you really not trust him at all?"
"What's there to trust in someone who flat out disappeared!?" Anakin yelled back. "What's there to trust in someone who tells you he'll be there for you and then goes away!? What's there to trust in someone who made you lose the person you loved!?" he raised his right fist. "How can I trust someone who didn't even trust me with his thoughts!?"
"But he trusted me with his," Ahsoka whispered. "So at least, please, trust me."
"I don't even know you all that well," Anakin said. "For all I know, you could be in cahoots with him."
"What! You've got to be kidding me!" Ahsoka blurted out. "That's not true!"
"Well, you played the Bard, didn't you? The class that bluffs and cheats its way out of trouble!" Anakin looked at her in a new light, and Ahsoka was starting to feel unease. There was something wrong going on in there, and she didn't know if it was the place, the corpse, or the feeling of the Dark Side that-the feeling of the Dark Side?
"Anakin, we have to leave," Ahsoka whispered harshly. "There's something wrong in here."

Anakin looked at her. He looked at her and then grabbed his lightsaber, turning it on. "So that you can stab me in the back?"
"Anakin!" Ahsoka said, taking a step back as her lightsaber came right up to block a strike aimed at her head, not even at her hand. "What are you doing!?" the Knight didn't seem to be listening to her any longer, so keen he was in attacking her.
Ahsoka ducked under a swipe of the blue blade, and tried to strike back only for the Knight to easily swat the lightsaber away with his own. The man in front of her was a Jedi Knight, one trained in the arts far longer than she had ever been, and while he was no Asaji Ventress, he was probably stronger than her, especially at such short range.
"Traitors, the lot of you!" Anakin snarled, "All of you-All of you Jedi!"
"You're a Jedi too!" Ahsoka snapped back, trying to jump back and instead being forced down on one knee from the furious swipes of Anakin's blue lightsaber. "Stop this now! I don't want to hurt you!"
"Well, that's a pity. Because I want to," Anakin snarled, using the Force with his free hand to send her to crash against the Taozin's carcass, pushing her body through its organs and slamming her into the depths of the beast. Ahsoka gagged as she began to choke in the rotten flesh, trying to gasp for an exit that was precluded to her by a shining lightsaber coming for her heart. She pushed on the rotten flesh with her bare hands, and as she covered her body in it, the blow struck back, sending sparks to fly.
Uh.
The Taozin had really hard skin -lightsaber resistant skin.
Mister Fluffles roared then, charging at Anakin from the side and tackling him off from his position of power, giving enough time for Ahsoka to catch her breath and stand back up on the mountain of rotten flesh that wobbled beneath her feet.
"Can't you see there's something wrong going on here?!" Ahsoka snarled. "Come back to your senses, before I slam a lightsaber where the sun doesn't shine!" she quickly recovered her lightsaber and lit them both in her hands as Mister Fluffles growled, even as his Akul-like hands could barely hold back Anakin, who seemed to be growing more incensed with each passing second.
With a stab of his lightsaber, the Jedi Knight freed himself from Mister Fluffles' force grip, making the giant cat disappear in a plum of smoke to reappear behind Ahsoka, wounded but not beaten. Ahsoka winced at the phantom pain, but clutched her lightsaber tighter. She wasn't her Master, and she didn't have nine lightsabers, but she could still use Mister Fluffles to at least hold Knight Skywalker back.

"I see it will take a personal intervention to end this," a female voice purred in the air, and Ahsoka's eyes snapped to the side of Anakin's face, where a hooded figure stood -nothing more than a phantom, nothing more than a ghost, nothing more than a whisper in the wind...nothing more than a ritual in the Force.
Mother Talzin. The knowledge flowed through Ahsoka as if it had always been there, but merely kept hidden until required. Her Master had given it to her with Mister Fluffles, and in the end she hadn't understood until that precise moment what it meant to actually 'have' a Cheshire Cat. Each question she had, she just needed to ask her cat, not the Cheshire one.
Anakin Skywalker was being controlled through a ritual of the Dark Side of the Force. The how was unimportant. Well, no, it was...but only if-
Ahsoka needed a nodule from the beast.
They couldn't all be gone now, could they?
She needed to find a nodule from the beast while Knight Skywalker tried to kill her.
"Now do we kill her?" a female voice growled as it came from one of two lithe females by his side.
Scratch her last thought. Knight Skywalker, mind-whammed into being a moron who was all Dark Side and two assassins were trying to kill her.
...
Two assassins who both lit green lightsabers.
To say that Ahsoka Tano felt dread was an understatement.

But Ahsoka Tano wasn't a paladin.
She was a Jedi.
She was a Jedi, and she was a Bard.
She was a Jedi, she was a Bard, and she was standing on the corpse of a lightsaber resistant beast.
"I have the high ground!" Ahsoka snarled, putting a foot behind the other and holding herself as if ready for a final stand. "So come and get me."
Knight Skywalker charged with a fearsome roar, fury the only thing left in his Force-affected brain -and Ahsoka smiled as she made a small jump back and used the force to lift the shattered skin of the beast before pulling him 'under the sheets' and dropping the challengers from three to two.
Instead of jumping back again, Ahsoka charged forward, and as her robes covered in Taozin blood dripped around her, she unclasped and threw them to temporarily blind one of the two assassins. The other sprung her lightsaber, and their blades met in a shower of sparks before the previous assassin emerged from behind the cloak with fury in her eyes, using her lightsaber to cut through it.
A dagger came from thin air from that side, but Ahsoka spun, using the Nightsister's back to pirouette out of the way, before kicking her in the back and sending her to tumble and fall against her sister.
"Karis and Naa'leth," Ahsoka said as she spun, lightsabers both drawn. How did she know their names? Did it even matter?
Knowledge is power. Guard it well.
Ahsoka took shallow breaths as she kept her eyes trained on the two Nightsisters, who had halted in surprise at Ahsoka muttering her name, but soon began to circle her like prey. Using the reverse grip on her right hand, she rushed forward with a battle cry, aiming at Karis. The woman nimbly lowered herself to avoid the overhead swipe as behind Ahsoka's back Naa'leth arrived with her lightsaber drawn. Mister Fluffles' tail whipped at her leg and threw her off balance, making the lightsaber clutter on the ground and end up in the Akul's invisible hand the next instant. Lightsaber an inch away from the woman's neck, Ahsoka returned her concentration to the woman in front of her who had meanwhile stood back on her feet, and held the lightsaber in one hand as she would a sword.
But a sword was not a lightsaber.
Ahsoka knew it.
The woman in front of her did not.

When the Nightsister from Dathomir came at her with her lightsaber drawn into a downward swing, expecting to meet resistance, Ahsoka side-stepped the blow, deactivating her blade, and then lit it back once past her guard.
"Now, drop the weapon," Ahsoka said softly, and in her voice the Force carried power, and in that power, the Nightsister snarled as her fingers twitched, obeying the command.
From behind her, she heard Mister Fluffles' issue a meowing warning, but all she could do was turn and look at Knight Skywalker having dug his way out of the Taozin's carcass. In that moment of distraction, the Nightsister she was holding at lightsaber point punched her in the stomach and sent her to crash against a wall, covering her clothes in tar and leaked oils of various -probably cancerous to boot- nature.
Ahsoka groaned as the Nightsisters made themselves scarce in the depths of Coruscant.
"Ouch," Anakin groaned, a fleshy, pulsing nodule of sorts in his hand. "Urgh. What is going on?"
"Don't drop it Skyguy!" Ahsoka snapped at him, earning herself a shocked look from Anakin. "Seriously! What sort of Chosen One are you if you can't even fight off some Dark Side influence!? What are you, a Paladin or a Chaotic Neutral Bard having fun at night in a whorehouse!?"
"I-I don't know what...what took me over," Anakin mumbled, hissing softly. "My head's killing me."
"I should be the one doing the killing," Ahsoka snapped back. "You nearly beheaded me!"
"Nearly doesn't mean I did," Anakin hazarded. "So," he winced. "I think...we can...head back to the temple?"
"Not the Chancellor?" Ahsoka remarked dryly.
"No," Anakin whispered. "I-I think I will put my trust in the Jedi Council," he added. "Night would have wanted that."
"He'd want that," Ahsoka corrected him. Anakin gave her a puzzled gaze. "He's still alive, and he's probably still around."
"How can you say that?" Anakin asked, still massaging his forehead and removing sticky bits of entrails from his hair -but clutching the Nodule firmer with his left hand.
"I no longer feel him," Ahsoka replied as the duo began to carefully make their way out. "But his knowledge is still flowing, and this means..."
"This means that he's still a Jedi," Anakin whispered. "And that the council didn't sever his connection."
Ahsoka nodded. "It also means," she remarked, "That I will punch him when I next meet him for keeping me in the dark about this."
Anakin smiled. "Can I get a turn too?"
"Sure," Ahsoka grinned. "After all, punching someone you care about is a clearly defining trait of the Tsundere."
Anakin's humiliated groan made the fact he had nearly tried to kill her -even if brainwashed by some dark ritual of sorts- suddenly feel lighter. She'd just annoy him a bit more, like, for a few decades, before finally feeling vindicated enough.