Episode 1 - In the Path of Keepers part 6


Ahsoka had known that the next time she laid eyes on Varus, that her resolve, and the very foundation of her relationship with him, would be tested. Would he learn not to hurt her again? Would he change? Would he not change? She couldn't go forward with him while watching her back every few days, by spying on him, by being wary he would betray her.

Not that he would cheat on her with another woman. Fathom the thought. He had trouble with woman beyond Ahsoka and Visas, and he was a bit uncomfortable with Visas and her one-sided crush. If a woman tried hitting on Varus, he would most likely flee for his life and hug Ahsoka to death and ask her to hide him.

But when you put aside the childish, and cute, aspects of his ignorant character and delved into the darker core where he truly believed himself to have to suffer alone

If he wouldn't let her in and accept her help and would rather leave her alone, even if it meant to protect her; she should move on and leave him as alone as he would make her.

That was partially what this time of absence was meant to convey. Just as much as it was meant for her to think about them, and to think of where she wanted to be in the future. As she thought, she couldn't imagine a life without him. He stirred something within her at every level.

With him, she tested her faith in what the Jedi were meant to be and found herself a better Jedi than she had ever been. She came to learn that, while the Jedi not wrong about the Force, that they had become so lost in tradition that they had lost sight of so many things. And he was a Sith! A sith of all things believed in her and what she could do, and wouldn't hold her back from doing the best she could. She felt that if she wanted to go to any planet and do anything to help people, he would only ask, 'Can it wait till after breakfast?' If anything, he encouraged her to explore her strengths and what she could do.

With him, she found the natural resolve to push herself. She exercised and practiced her self-defense and was leaving behind the basics to truly master her skills by making it her own. She made sure she was fit, not just for that, but for the same reason she dressed well and added a little make up: She wanted to look good, feel beautiful, perhaps even sexy. You could do that without being a sleaze.

With him, she looked forward to what the next day would bring and the tests it came with. It was always exciting. She laughed like never before, cried until she no more tears, and was at peace with herself and the world around her, this current moment not included.

Some of the worst moments in her life were either caused by him and apologized for, or was with him trying to protect her in some way. While the greatest moments in her life, after childhood, often included him being in the background standing by her.

She would either have to accept going into her adult-hood with him, or without him.

What she had not expected was to stumble into the main lobby because of Koj yelling his head off (a rare occurrence guaranteed to gain your attention) and to see Varus on a floating stretcher. The Varus she remembered was healthy, laughing loudly and always with a pranker's unbroken gleam in his eye. This corpse was not Varus. It couldn't be. He looked like a broken man who had endured years of emotional torture and stress, who had not had a bright moment in his life. He looked like a sick man who hadn't slept in years and was on the verge of malnutrition.

Whatever her issues with him were, it could wait. "What happened?!" She demanded. She was by his side immediately. He looked like he was in pain. She touched his cheek, and he responded by calming a bit, but she felt his energies jumping erratically, and the heat of fever on him.

"I do not know." Koj said. He sounded calm, but the way his eyes would not leave his brother showed his anxiety. "Visas brought him, but would not say what happened. I feel she will soon, but only after she searches for the cure to his condition."

Ahsoka would have to wait for Visas to learn of what happened. For now, he needed to be comfortable. There were many rooms here. She took hold of the cart. "Help me take him upstairs. He needs to be comfortable."

Koj helped her take him to a guest room. The bed was large enough to allow Varus to flail around and be comfortable. The rest of the room was large enough to allow whatever equipment was necessary or people wanted to be there. The sheets were thicker than what he would want with his fever, and she threw them off entirely. Koj would have moved Varus onto the bed simultaneously, but alas he had one arm. Ahsoka gently moved Varus onto the bed. Koj left.

Unsure what more to do but wait, Ahsoka briefly left to find the book she had been reading, and returned. She climbed onto the bed by him and sat on the expansive bed to read. He looked in pain when she returned, but calmed visibly into a gentle sleep as she was by him holding his hand.

She knew Varus as a man as rebellious and playful as a wild horse, not as an old man on the verge of dying from years of a frail body.

"You need a vacation." She squeezed his hand gently and focused on her reading.

Before long, Cahjinawl entered in, and stared at Varus mutely. She looked like she had just crawled out of bed. With nothing more than a yawn and a 'here we go again ' she climbed into the bed and collapsed between Varus and Ahsoka. Ahsoka just smiled.

She smelled dinner, but did not leave. They were obliging enough to have dinner brought to her. She sensed that Visas and the others were downstairs. While Ani undoubtedly knew Varus was in a bad state, he hadn't left Visas side. Most likely to assist her. A part of Ahsoka may have considered that Ani not coming himself to see Varus was cold, but she figured he was more proactive in the cure than that, and was leaving Varus in her hands. A warming thought. Now if only it wasn't such a common occurrence.

Hours after sitting there, Visas walked into the room. Ahsoka was always unsure with the woman. She couldn't read the Miraluka woman at all, and was wary that Visas would get involved in the relationship between her and Varus. Suffice to say, it was a great surprise when Visas said, "You win."

There was more said, many things said, that frightened Ahsoka. But in it all the realization that Nihilus had left one giant hook in Varus was the greatest of all, and the realization that it fit.

How could Varus truly move on when his master just kept reeling him back?

It was no wonder he kept getting depressed and feeling guilty and having hallucinations when he had a Sith Lord like that sucking away at him through a galaxy-wide straw.

Also, did no one notice Cahjinawl? That much was at least amusing. Oh well, the girl was sleeping. If no one said anything, neither would she.

"The connection needs to be cut." Koj said.

Ahsoka nodded. She was a breathe away from saying that exact thing. "We cannot allow Nihilus to continue to suck away from him. We cannot escape how Varus is the biggest Nihilus expert in the galaxy and belong on the forefront of any efforts against him, but Nihilus is not allowed any longer to tamper with him. Not if I have a thing to say about it."

"Not just for Varus, but all of us." Anakin agreed. He was balling his fists tightly. "Nihilus does it so naturally that my connections is because of being with him so closely for so long, and my son because of the short possession but Varus? That was intentional. Varus was never possessed. He has Varus branded, and the thought infuriates me."

"Yes, but then the question is in the methodology." Koj looked to Visas. "And as the Miraluka are experts on bonds of the Spirit, what would you suggest?"

Visas was silent a moment. "We have four types of connections to Nihilus here. My connection is small enough that my natural vitality keeps up with his feeding. In the case of you, Skywalker, your draining is enough to kill a normal person a thousand times over, but you are not affected by it in the least."

"Yeah I hear that a lot." Anakin scratched his head with a boyish smile.

"As for your son, his connection is larger than mine, but from what I can see, his connection with his sister allows him to share the burden. He pulls away at his sister just enough to be a mild burden, and feeds the rest with his own vitality. Between the two of them it is enough to keep him out of danger."

"That won't last much longer so far as I'm concerned." Anakin declared.

"And it won't. The fourth connection is Varus. Varus lacks your vitality, Skywalker. He has no one to help share his burden as Luke and Leia. He has a connection that, while originally small, has been expanded. His vitality is giving out."

"How long before he is in danger?" Koj asked.

"He is already in danger, the question is how long before it becomes lethal." Anakin replied.

"I cannot say hours." Visas shrugged gloomily. "The woman who did this to him died in a short time. If the same draining rate is applied to him, then it is already a wonder he has lived this long. He is a powerful Sith. So I cannot say if he even has one hour left."

Ahsoka heard enough. "I'll do it."

Visas hesitated, but said, "I would not jump up so quickly, if I were you. The connection required would be a level 4. While we can theorize the connection required to survive is only a level 3, we have no example of that at the moment. The only 'shared connection' to survive is a level 4."

"'Level fore'?" Koj wondered.

"Level 4 connection of Force bonds." Visas explained. "In your terms basically acquaintance, friend or coworker, family marriage."

Ahsoka felt her heart stop and Anakin looked to her sharply with concern. Marriage?!

Oh, Force! Marriage! Her and Varus!? She wasn't ready for something like that! She did not yet have her answer as to whether he could improve past this fight or not! How could she consider something like this before having an answer so crucial to her relationship with him!

Seeing her panicking, Anakin spoke up. "I'll do it. If survival from being drained is an issue, then if I establish a lower bond with him, as well as a greater one with my son, then I can take their burden without worry."

Visas still faced Ahsoka, who was getting dizzy, but responded to him. "That should work. Although I greatly doubt you can bypass the connection between your twins. Leia still has the highest connection possible. You can't go higher than that."

"And what of Varus?" While they were his kids, Visas hinted Varus might die that night. That greatly concerned Anakin.

Visas sighed. "It depends on a lot of things. This is a complicated art, creating a properly refined force bond between individuals. If Nihilus' connection has widened too much, then nothing short of a level 4 will do any good, and then it requires permission from both sides."

"Both. Sides." Koj repeated.

Visas nodded. "Varus would need to agree. The connection requires that both sides mutually establish the bond, or at the very least open up to it."

"My brother is unconscious."

"Then you would have to go into his head and get him to open up and relax into it. And besides, as semi-permanent as it is, it is not something for you to do just to bide time and remove off later. It would be hacking off your arm."

This was becoming more and more down a very uncomfortable area for Ahsoka. She felt her legs give out and she managed to catch herself on the end of the bed. All of her blood was rushing to her head.

"You sound like you have experience in this area " Anakin hinted.

"It is a typical marriage bond." Visas said simply. "I'm familiar with how it is done."

"Please don't call it a marriage bond." Ahsoka put her head in her hands.

Visas rolled her head. "Call it what you will. That is our culture. We do have ceremony, but the bond works just as well."

"How would it work?" Anakin asked.

"In this case, we would need his consent, which means going into his mind, finding him, and getting him to agree. Once he agrees, the connection can be made, he would be stable, and we can attack the bond itself between him and Nihilus."

"Would Ahsoka be able to remove her bond after?"

"Not without causing erepibible damage to both of them."

"Can I do it without marrying him?" Ahsoka asked. Her head was still in her hands.

Visas sighed, "That's between you and him, but it would have to be soon. The process takes time, depending on how long it takes for you to convince him."

They fell silent. Koj caught sight of his daughter, and ushered her out. Anakin stood by Ahsoka, giving her silent comfort in whatever decision she made. It may hurt him over the short time, but Anakin was prepared to go into this kind of bond with Varus himself, just so they could remove the Nihilus one, let Varus recover, then cut it, if Ahsoka didn't want to go through with it.

"I'll do it." Ahsoka gasped out. "Lets do it before I change my mind."

Visas nodded. "Alright. Skywalker, go get your siblings. If Nihilus' hold is strong enough, they may be the only ones with the power to cut it. I'll explain to them how. Ahsoka, lay back and close your eyes."

Ahsoka rolled over and sighed. "This is not how I imagined spending today."

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual."

Ahsoka closed her eyes. She didn't know how long she laid there, but before long she opened her eyes to find herself in a dark tunnel.

The tunnel was of metal, wet, and gloomy, with sparks flying periodically. It turned to the right, and she glanced down it. At the end was a fork. She recognized this place: It was the Ravager. "What the hell?" She wondered. "Wasn't I just " Oh great. Ahsoka face palmed. "This is what Visas meant about going into his mind." This must have been a place Varus was familiar with, a place conjured up by his memories.

Well this was just fantastic!


"I don't like this " Anakin muttered. He rubbed his face in exasperation.

"Which part are you referring to?" Koj inquired.

"None of it."

Before them was the bed where Varus still was, and next to him lied Ahsoka. Visas sat between them in meditation, helping facilitate the connection. Anakin had sent servants to politely request the presence of his family.

So far as Anakin knew, the problem was simply a connection from Varus to Nihilus still being intact. It was hidden well by him if it lasted this long without anyone noticing.

The cure was as simple as cutting this connection, and this was where Anakin found the situation unusual. Miraluka were experts in Force bonds more than anyone, being their greatest strength and yet a fatal flaw in Nihilus's attack and the loss of the bonding network. With their expertise, Anakin trusted that Visas knew what she was doing, but he felt there were other solutions.

"Cutting a Force bond isn't that difficult." Anakin explained. "We Jedi can do it. Miraluka are experts at it. My siblings can do it so why does Visas insist on establishing this connection?" He shook his head. "There is more to it than that."

"Of course there is." Koj agreed. "She has lived a life in what you call it? Shadow-and-dagger?"

"Espionage." The Jedi Master supplied.

"That, yes. It takes a simple mind to do things for a purely singular purpose without considering and balancing the contingencies. She has lived in politics and 'espianawg' all her life. She is incapable of such shallow thought. Every action affects multiple parties and has multiple benefits while hurting others."

Anakin nodded. It was true, and something that aggravated him about his wife. She was too analytical at times. Unfortunately, being a Jedi Master, he was a bit the same way. He saw a lot of things with the question of 'how would it affect the jedi', or his prophecy, or family.

Koj rubbed his daughters head. "There are two things here I trust. First, Visas is doing this at the benefit of Varus and her people. Second, she would not intentionally hurt us or remove the Togruta's ability to choose. Because despite her assurances and Ahsoka's best wishes, such a Force bond as the one being created would be paramount to marriage."

"That is why I dislike it "

"The idea of them being married?"

"More the idea of it being pressured." Anakin mused. "They should be allowed the time to get to it on their own time. This is no better than an arranged one."

Koj nodded. "I understand your republic views such bonds as being ones where you must choose your mate. However, that is a very linear way of thinking. While I agree, such a methodology would be better if allowed to prosper, but the choosing of a mate is just as much a political move beyond our own hands. I was mated without a choice, and we made it work. From my studies, this is a common pattern in society, especially ones with a lower population."

"Sounds like an excuse."

"I hardly expect you to agree, but do understand the Miraluka are like the Ghorfa. We both function under very different structures than your Republic did." Koj looked to Visas. "I think Visas has managed to meet a middle ground, though. As Keeper, Varus has to choose someone to bond with. That is a fact. Ahsoka has that choice, and since this 'bond' requires mutual consent, then it is both of their choice."

Anakin grumbled, but couldn't disagree. He still felt uncomfortable with the situation. It shouldn't be pressured like this, and if he were to have his way, they would not be married.

But why? Anakin sighed.

He was just being hypocritical. He made it out to be bad for them to be pressured into it, yet just as much he wanted to take away the option. He felt like they were his kids. He wanted them both to grow and find nice people and have kids but with each other?

His mother didn't want him to go either. Padme said once that the worst part of being a parent is letting the child go when its time.

Anakin felt torn between staying and watching over them, and leaving to get out of the way.

"I still find it curious, though. Why get your family involved?" Koj inquired. "If this a problem you can solve, then why?"

Anakin considered it a moment. "I don't know. My best guess is that trying to tamper with a bond from Nihilus is lethal. That woman who attacked Varus learned that the hard way. It's like trying to patch up a black-hole. You can't let yourself get sucked in while doing it. If we can get him stabilized, then we can go about plugging that damn hole."


Ahsoka felt her way through the dark tunnels. Despite recognizing the place as the Ravager, and recogizing the location in which she was in, the layout was all wrong. The last right should have headed towards a major elevator, but instead ended in open space.

"Thank the Force this isn't real I would be vacuumed out long ago." She figured. No air, no nothing. This was a weird place dimension? Dream? Nightmare? She didn't know.

As she walked, she couldn't stop the feeling she was being stalked. It was nothing at first, but then a giant shadow passed. It was like a dark ghost. She would have thought it to be Nihilus having left something inside Varus, but it was either a dream-version of Nihilus that could not see her or it was just nothing. Whatever it was, it didn't see her. She still felt she was being stalked though.

She looked back, and saw no one. She stopped walking, and heard boots echo only to stop abruptly. "Who is there!" She yelled.

Nothing.

She couldn't use the Force here. She had tried. She would have turned invisible or created a light to walk by. She had no lightsaber either. For that matter, she wasn't even wearing the same clothes she started in. She was wearing the stuff she usually did. Add another layer of weird.

Ahsoka turned aside to another passage and found herself in the cafeteria. Ghostly images of people whisked by in rapid motion going about their daily lives. "Creepy." She touched one and her hand went through.

A high pitched scream straight from Hell echoed down the hall heading in her direction, and she fled into the cafeteria. She jumped behind the counter and hid. Predictably, the ghastly blackness flew into the cafeteria. In its presence, the images ceased to exist. The room became empty of movement, of light, of expression. It became a horror-filled dark room. The darkness seemed to go on forever, clawing and scraping at every surface. Then just as abruptly as it entered, it left. The room lit up again and became less dreary, but the images did not return.

The sound of boots appeared again, and Ahsoka turned down another path. Before long, she stopped to examine her place. Beside her was a crate on which stood a little statue of a person. Ahsoka peered at it curiously. She had never seen it before.

The statue changed into Nihilus.

Ahsoka screamed and jumped back into the wall, but just as quickly as it appeared, the small statue returned to normal. She gave herself a moment to collect herself before continuing on. "This place is giving me the creeps " She took a left. This passage only had one direction to go, which was another left. Only upon taking a left she found herself back at the same crate.

"What?" She questioned. Why was she back here? She only took three lefts, not four. The passage was the same, and again she was standing before the same crate with the small statue ontop. "Okay, this is getting old."

She turned back only to find a dead-end. Getting increasingly aggravated, she followed the path, only this time it lead to a door rather than more and more halls. She opened the door and blacked out. The next thing she knew she was sliding down a river. No, not a river a kind of trench waterfall. She was pulled down and suddenly it bottomed out and she fell onto another floor. Only it was a roof set up as the floor.

"If this is a sign of the kind of sense of humor he has, I'm not laughing." She complained.

The passage lead only one way, and this time the way up involved a tight-rope. She rolled her eyes and set to climbing. She grasped the rope and pulled herself up, only to shriek and fall back as something screamed in pain from above.

Nothing.

"Varus, when I get out of here, I'm gonna kick you." She growled. She climbed up the rope again, this time ignoring the scream from above. She made it to the top and pulled herself up, only to shriek again. There was a faceless body with the rope around his/her neck. The body was still breathing, but had been screaming while Ahsoka had pulled herself up the rope.

Ahsoka eyed the person a long time. Was this person real? He didn t seem remotely injured. He actually looked relax laying on a plank of wood with a rope around his neck naked. "Hello? Who are you?" She whispered.

No response.

"Okay, I'll just um." She inched her way by. "How about I let you be." She made it past the faceless man and turned around. She about jumped out of her skin. Two rows of ancient-style sets of knight armor stood facing her. She eyed them closely. None of them moved, not even when she got close. She walked by.

"Ahsoka, calm yourself. Your just being jumpy, but damnit all this place is creepy!"

She opened a door to find herself in a much larger round room. Doors lead off in every direction.

The darkness-thing shrieked behind her.

Ahsoka shut the door and tried another door, but it was locked. Every door she tried proved to be locked. There was nowhere to hide, but there was a ladder in the middle of the room leading up into nothingness. The door she entered from jiggled madly. She was out of options. She climbed up the ladder. It lead into nothing but darkness, but she climbed on. She could no longer see the bottom nor the top, and who knows how far up the ladder she was. Knowing this place, basic laws of physics were thrown out the window.

Dim lights could be seen above, and she reached up to climb up, only to jerk back as something grabbed her hand. Whatever it was that grabbed her did not let go, but held firmly. "Let go!" She yelled. She pulled back, only to suddenly find herself dangling. The ladder had disappeared. The person who held her wrist wore armor under a black cloak. She looked down and saw nothing. She could hear the monster below prowling.

She quickly changed her mind. "Ah, no! Don't let go!"

Whoever it was holding her hand lifted her up with ease. The person was very strong. Found herself lifted up onto the next floor and she collapsed next to said person. "Thank you " She looked up to see the person's face and couldn't help but do a double-take. She knew this person, everyone did. There was no one in the galaxy who didn't know the mask of Revan.

"You are welcome." Darth Revan replied.