One day

Hello everyone. I know, it's been quite some time since I've written anything. That's because my school work is still keeping me really busy. But, in less than two months I'll be done. It's a strange idea actually, being completely done in just two months.

I felt like I had to take a short break from everything. I just wanted to get away from it all for a moment. So, I decided to write this one-shot. This idea has plagued my thoughts for quite a while. I believe there are similar stories out there, but this is just my version.

It's a slightly AU story, but designed to fit into the movies.

Hope you enjoy.

;-

The Galactic Empire of Emperor Palpatine has been in control of the Galaxy for ten years. The Galaxy has been in his iron grip, his whim deciding what is law.

Under his harsh rule, many people have suffered needlessly. As a result, in several small corners of the Galaxy, people are talking in soft voices of rebellion. At first they were just whispers, but more time brings more resentment.

Eager to prevent an uprising, Emperor Palpatine has been secretly sending his best operatives to silence these talks of uprising.

After hearing about a possible figurehead amongst these few rebels, Emperor Palpatine has dispatched Darth Vader to make sure this threat is silenced before it can grow to be a danger.

;-

Darth Vader walked of the ramp of his transport. He had just arrived on one of the remote plains on Christophsis were the rebel had been reported to be hiding. His orders were simple: find the rebel and terminate him. It shouldn't even be necessary for him to act. The troopers that had already been dispatched should have dealt with this man already.

He made his way towards the commander of the Storm Trooper battalion, his black cape swirling behind him. From the panic he sensed from the man, he knew that he wouldn't like the news he was about to get.

"L-Lord Vader, I hadn't expected you here this early." He stuttered out.

Darth Vader kept walking, the sounds of his respirator the only reply he gives. The commander quickly stepped in pace next to the Sith Lord. "Give me your report." Darth Vader demanded.

"Y-yes, my Lord." The commander replied nervously. "We tracked the rebel to the nearby cliffs and rocky area. The target has been hiding between all of the rocks and cracks." He paused and gulped nervously. "I sent my troops to terminate the target, but we're being torn apart and…"

His words were caught in his throat as he suddenly gasped for her. He was suffocating and rose up in the air.

Darth Vader clenched and raised his fist, using the Force to choke the commander. "Your failure is unacceptable commander." He replied neutrally. "For your troops not being able to handle one rebel is a deep shame to the Empire."

The commander clutched at his throat as he dangled in the air. "Lord Vader…please…" He gasped. "The rebel…" He coughed violently and tried to speak. "Is a….Jedi!" Without a word he dropped to the ground, gasping for air.

"A Jedi?" Darth Vader asked.

"Y-yes my Lord." The commander replied as he got his breath back. "My troops engaged the target, then she suddenly drew two lightsabers and started taking down my troops." He quickly explained the situation, hoping to safe his own neck. Lord Vader's way of dealing with failure was well known.

"She?" Darth Vader asked. "The Jedi is a female?"

"That's correct Lord Vader." The commander replied again. "The target is a female Togruta, but we weren't able to identify her. She was moving around too fast."

Darth Vader paused a moment and observed the rocky area. From amongst the cracks and corners, he felt a familiar presence. It seemed to be waiting for him.

"Call back your men." Darth Vader ordered him. "Your troops will not be able to overcome a Jedi. I will deal with her myself." He then started making his way towards the presence.

The commander looked a bit shocked at first, but knew better than to question him. "At once, Lord Vader."

;-

Darth Vader quickly located the presence. After maneuvering through the rocky areas, he found his target.

She stood calmly in the center of a clearing between the large rocks. She had already known that he was coming for her.

He observed her for a moment. She had changed greatly since he had last seen her. She had grown taller, her montrals were higher now and her lekku reached almost fully down to her waist. Last time, she had been just a teenager. Now, she was a full-grown woman.

As he looked at her, he could sense her doing the same to him. Through the Force, he could sense her emotions. He felt anger, sadness, a hint of guilt, sorrow, but most of all, he felt disappointment. The look on her face showed great disappointment as well.

They spoke no words to each other. None needed to be said. The only sounds echoing between the rocks were Vader's respirator and the soft wind blowing.

Another moment passed with the two of them just looking at each other. After that, knowing what had to be done, Vader drew his lightsaber. The red blade casting a vicious looking reflection in his dark armor.

She drew her lightsabers as well, the two green blades shining brightly. She made no other movements. She waited for him to make the next move.

Darth Vader took hold of his lightsaber with both hands and took a fighting stance. She followed his example, regret visible on her face. She held her two lightsabers in front of her defensively, waiting for his strike.

He charged at her, determined to strike her down quickly and cleanly with one powerful blow. She anticipated his attack and moved to counter his strike. She stepped back and dodged his lightsaber. She swung her right lightsaber at him, trying to take advantage of his small opening and incapacitate him. He anticipated her attack and dodged as well. He struck again, she blocked with her left lightsaber and leaped back a few feet.

He charged at her again, preparing to unleash a deadly with all of his might. As he planted his feet in the ground, he slipped and staggered a bit. His blow lost power and she easily blocked it. He observed the ground for a moment, it was littered with gravel and small pebbles. It made his feet slide, throwing him of balance. Making him unable to keep a solid stance, preventing him from throwing his full strength into his attacks.

He had always relied on the strength of his muscles in battle. It has always served him well. And, with his body the way it is now, his strength is even greater. His robotic limbs increase his normal physical strength to even higher levels. Most of the Jedi he had fought during the past ten years had been unable to withstand his superior strength. He had broken their defense with ease and ended their lives quickly.

However, this time was different. With this ground and his inability to maintain a solid stance, his strength alone would not be enough to win this battle. She had expertly chosen a location that would disadvantage him. His strength was his best weapon. He knows that. She knows that.

She moved around swiftly, gracefully dodging his attacks and then striking back without delay. Her speed and superior agility had always been what she relied on in battle. Where he preferred strong attacks, she used speed to outmatch her opponent. One could use an old, rusted dagger or the Galaxy's most powerful blaster, it doesn't matter if you can't hit your target. Her speed and agility were her best weapons. She knows that. He knows that.

They both kept up their attacks. They both know how the other fought. They both know how the other thought. Their lightsabers connected fiercely, swung past each other and locked again. The red and green blades kept swinging around, never pausing for a moment.

They entered a blade lock, both of them pushing against the other fiercely. The loose ground caused them both to slowly slide away. They broke the lock and both jumped back a few feet. Vader acted before she could. He sent a powerful Force Push her way. Like a powerful gale of wind, it swept everything in her direction. She was pushed back several feet more and shielded her eyes as a rain of gravel hailed at her. A few of the sharper stones cut at her skin, but she kept her balance.

The hail of stone stopped and she moved her arms down again. She quickly realized what he had done. With use of the Force, he had blown away all of the loose gravel, robbing her of her advantage.

Darth Vader started to advance towards her again. Without the advantage from the ground, she would soon be at a major disadvantage in this enclosed space. Thinking quickly, she hurled a number of medium-sized boulders at him with the Force.

The boulders collided with him, but did little damage to his strong armor. It merely forced him to pause a moment. In that moment, she quickly leapt away with the Force, landing on the rocks behind her. Vader used the Force and jumped after her.

As he flew through the air, another boulder hurled its way towards him. A swift swipe of his lightsaber and two halves fell down to the ground. She was already waiting for him on the ground, lightsabers ready to attack. He landed and she struck immediately. He countered her strike and they locked blades again.

Their lightsabers flew wildly again, red and green colliding again and again, with the occasional boulder being hurled around with the Force.

They moved along the large, deep cliff, their lightsabers dancing through the air. With each blow they exchanged, the fight turned more and more to his favor. He was gaining the upper hand. He knows that. She knows that.

In an attempt to turn the tides, she unleashed a furious series of swift strikes. Trying to find an opening in his defenses that she could take advantage off. She quickly alternated between high and low attacks, using her speed to try and outmatch him.

Vader stepped back in order to block and dodge her attacks. The sudden ferocity of her strikes catching him slightly off guard. He parried one of her strikes and immediately answered with a powerful swipe of his own. She leapt back quickly to avoid what would have been a lethal attack.

As she jumped back, Vader used the Force to hurl another boulder her way. Her face widened in shock just before the boulder slammed into her stomach and sent her flying further away.

With a cry of pain, she landed at the edge of the deep cliff. The force of the impact caused her lightsabers to fly out her hands. The blades deactivated and fell down into the darkness of the ravine.

She jumped up, but a sharp pain caused her to fall forward. She caught herself with her hands and grunted in pain. Vader made his way towards her, stopping as he was but a few feet away from her.

She got up again, coughing a few times as she held her stomach. She faced him, still not saying a word to him. She stood up straight and held her arms wide. Even though she did not speak, it was clear to him what she meant.

"If this is really what you want, then do it. End it now. Strike me down. Cut away the last person that ties you to your past."

He stepped up to her, standing closely in front of her. His lightsaber casting an eerie red glow on her body. Her stance and expression didn't falter one bit. Neither of them spoke. The only sounds heard were the breathing from Vader's respirator, the hum of his lightsaber and the air blowing around them.

After a short moment, Vader raised his lightsaber. She still didn't falter, she merely looked him in the eyes through his mask. Staring into her blue eyes made him feel a lot of mixed emotions. With a frustrated grunt, he drove his lightsaber through her stomach.

She gasped in pain as his lightsaber burned through her, but she didn't break the eye-lock she had with him. He withdrew his blade and deactivated it. She let out a painful breath and fell backwards into the ravine. He looked over the edge and saw her falling form fade into the darkness.

Vader took a deep breath and took out his holo-communicator. He activated the transmission and a few seconds later the image of Emperor Palpatine appeared.

"Lord Vader, what do you have to report?" The Emperor asked.

"The rebel has been identified as the renegade Jedi Ahsoka Tano." Vader replied. "She will no longer be a threat to the Empire."

The Emperor smiled darkly. "Well done Lord Vader." He said. "With her reputation from the Clone Wars, she could have become a great inspiration to those that seek to overthrow the Empire. Return to me so that we can discuss the next phase of our plans."

"Yes, my Master." Vader replied. The transmission ended and he put away the communicator. He stared into the darkness of the ravine for a moment. He then turned around and started to walk away. He paused and turned his head back towards the ravine. "You should not have come back." He said, a slight, barely noticeable trace of sadness present in his voice. He turned again and headed back to his ship. They had more plans to fulfill.

;-

At the bottom of the ravine, Ahsoka Tano couldn't help but smile lightly as she called her second lightsaber back to her hand with the Force.

"I knew it, I was right." She said with a light chuckle.

She clipped her lightsaber back to her belt with one hand. With the other hand, she clutched her wound. She looked up at the top of the ravine and smiled.

During the Clone Wars, she had survived worse wounds than this. She could easily make it to safety with this wound. She knows that. And, she knows that he knows.

During her padawanship under him, they occasionally jumped from great distances and landed safely with the Force. Safely landing from the fall of this cliff was child's play to her. She knows that, he knows that as well.

"I was right about you." She said as she turns her gaze down again.

She thought back to a few weeks ago. During her meditation, she experienced an odd vision. The following days, she constantly had the same vision. After experiencing it for the fifth time, even clearer than before, she had to confirm it for herself.

In order to do so, she spread rumors about a dangerous rebel on Christophsis. Just as she had predicted, Darth Vader had come for her. No one that had tried to face him before had lived. And yet, here she was, still alive.

In her vision, she had seen him, but not the dark machine he was now. She hadn't seen Darth Vader. Instead, she saw her dear brother, Anakin Skywalker. She could see him, as she had known him before leaving the Order. He was smiling, that same smile she always seen him with during the times that they were together as Master and Padawan. He had been surrounded with a soft, blue glow, in the company of two other people. Two humans, a man and a woman, both looking a lot like him and his late wife, Padmé Amidala.

She laughed a bit. "I knew it, Skyguy." She said softly, a tear rolling down her cheek. "You're still in there somewhere. And you'll come back to us eventually." She took a deep breath.

"You'll be back one day."

;-

That's the end of this one-shot.

I'm glad that I was finally able to write this down. The idea would not leave my mind. Vader faced Ahsoka, but a small nagging part somewhere deep down in his mind prevented him from killing her. Or perhaps that same part convinced his darker mind that she did die? That is a mystery.

I will be returning to my schoolwork now. By the end of July, I will hopefully have my diploma. Around that time, I will also be returning to my other stories. Barriss will be the first one who's story continues. After that Ahsoka will get an update. Then, during the battle of Kiros, I will be updating both stories at the same time.

Until next time.