Ashoka walked down the wide flight of stairs, heart pounding loud in her ears. She blinked tears out of her eyes and willed herself to keep walking. She had already made her decision, and nothing was going to change her mind.
Deciding to leave the order was a lot easier than she imagined. It was almost unsettling how easy Ashoka found it to walk away from something that had defined her very existence for so long. But even though she would never forgive Bariss for what she had done, Ashoka knew that the Jedi were on the wrong path. Even that she could have worked through, but Ashoka wasn't going to trust her life and safety to people who had proven they wouldn't protect her in return.
In the end, it wasn't leaving the order that was difficult, it was leaving Anakin. Ashoka knew he trusted her, and would fight for her until his last breath, but that wasn't enough, even if she wished it was.
Ashoka reached the bottom of the staircase. She took a deep breath and turned back to look at the place she had called home for so long. The sun was setting on Coruscant, and the temple was ablaze in breathtaking orange and pink light. She turned to leave, but a sound stopped her in her tracks.
"Snips, wait up!" she heard a familiar voice cry. Her master, "former master," she mentally corrected herself, "You're not his Padawan anymore as of ten minutes ago", was racing towards her.
"Anakin, please," she said, "I'm so sorry, but I've made my decision and nothing you can say will change my – "
"I quit." He said breathlessly.
Ashoka froze. "What do mean, "you quit?""
Anakin was brimming with energy, as if he had finally unleashed years' worth of tension. Ashoka recognized his familiar, reckless passion as he spoke. "Everything you said back there, you were right Ashoka. The council betrayed you, they left you out to dry because they were afraid of ruining their reputation. You deserve better, and so do I. I've been telling myself that I can't leave the order, but watching you have the courage to do what I've been too afraid to even consider," Anakin laughed. "I'm with you, Snips."
Ashoka was shocked. "Are you insane? Anakin, you can't walk away from the order because of me! Being a Jedi is everything to you! You can't throw away all of your training over this! And what about Obi-wan, there's no way he just let you leave."
Anakin smiled. "To be honest, I didn't see his reaction. I just ran back in the temple, announced I was leaving the Order, and ran back out to catch up with you. In hindsight, I probably should have made a scene, maybe give Master Windu a piece of my mind. "Great trial" my ass." He muttered bitterly.
Ashoka wasn't sure if she should hug Anakin or hit him. She decided to hug him first, and definitely hit him later. "This is insane," she said softly as she embraced Anakin. "If someone had told me a few days ago that I would be framed for murder, nearly sentenced to death, and leave the Jedi Order, I would have called them crazy."
Anakin pulled away, and looked at Ashoka. "Me too, Snips. Me too. Now let's go, before we change our minds and go crawling back."
Ashoka shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You got it, Skyguy." Ashoka couldn't truly believe this was happening, but as she and her former master walked away from their lives and into the future, she couldn't help but feel hopeful.