Deceived chapter 7

Obi-wan didn't know what to expect when he met Ahsoka for the first time since she walked away from the temple, since the purge of the Jedi and since he fought Vader on Mustafar. He had often wondered not that he would admit it to anyone else as to what had become of her when she had left the Jedi order all those years ago. He thought that maybe she would have gone back to her home world a settle down but then he remembered how restless she always seemed to be so maybe she had fought crime for a while before the purge. There were many possibilities as to what she could have done and what she could have become but nothing prepared him for what he saw when he opened the small door to his hut and found Ahsoka standing there.

He was thankful she had left the Jedi order before the purge and glad she had survived. She had been saved from death, saved from the guilt of being a surviving Jedi and most importantly saved from Anakin when he had turned. More than anything he had hoped that she had found peace after what had happened when she was in the order. It must have been so hard on her when she walked away from the Jedi but he could not hold her decision against her nor would he. When he looked into her blue eyes he found anything but peace dwelling within her. They were not the eyes of the young hot headed padawan who had met them on Christophsis. They were not the eyes of the padawan who was determined to save Padme from Aurra Sing. Not the eyes of the padawan who fought against General Gervious to protect younglings and they weren't even the eyes of the padawan who had gently closed her hand around her master's hand that held the padawan braid.

No, these were the eyes of a young woman who had seen to much during her younger years. The eyes of a woman who was haunted by her past and the decisions she made. The eyes of a woman who had lost everything, friends, family and her home. The eyes of a woman who had been broken down, beaten and hurting. The eyes of a woman who had lost her will to fight and clinging to memories of the past as some sort of anchor in reality praying that she wouldn't slip into insanity. It was at this moment that Obi-wan knew that she knew the truth, words were not needed because the eyes spoke the truth.

When she looked at him even though he still looked similar to the Obi-wan she had known during the Clone Wars she could see the pain in his eyes. She had to admit she didn't expect him to just be hiding out on this dust bowl in the blistering heat she would have thought he would have gone to a place such as Naboo because it was so much more beautiful than here. She looked into his eyes for the unspoken truth that she desperately needed, the why and when and how to her former master's fall. And for the briefest of moments she could have sworn she had seen the faint reflection of the burning temple in his eyes. Then the lightsabers clashing on lava covered planet and finally her master laying on the ground crying out in pain as his body caught ablaze.

Not a moment later the images faded and with a voice that wasn't so sure she wanted the answers now she asked "What happened?" Obi-wan sighed softly and opened the door for her "Please come in Ahsoka" he said. Obi-wan watched as she walked into the room, even the way she held her self now spoke of the pain and guilt that was dragging her down. He watched her take a seat on a chair then he moved to sit across from her. He took a deep breath before looking into her eyes and began to speak. "It was toward the end of the Clone Wars and Anakin and I were sent out to rescue the Chancellor who I am sure you are aware of is the Emperor" he paused gauging her for a reaction but when given non he continued. "Not long after we rescued him Anakin was appointed to the council crusty of the Chancellor because he didn't trust the Jedi nor we him. Then after that….we received word of General Grievous hiding on Utapau. I was sent out to defeat him after Anakin killed Count Dooku I was successful and we were pushing the droid army off of the planet or trying to when….when the clones turned on the Jedi. There was no warning, nothing they just began killing Jedi. I met up with Senator Organa and Master Yoda and we headed back to Corusant, something about a emergency senate meeting. Master Yoda and I went into the temple…there were dead Jedi and clones everywhere: Masters, Knights, Padawan and even younglings no one was spared" he stopped again to collect his thoughts.

"After you left the order Anakin was never the same so the council saw it fit to give him a new padawan by the name of Vader" Obi-wan started to speak again. Instead of calling him out immediately on his lie Ahsoka decided to let him continue. "Even after that Anakin had a hard time letting go of what had happened to you, he was angrier more reckless and his emotions began to rub off on Vader. The Emperor saw this and manipulated Vader into turning to the darkside and on the Jedi. Vader stuck down Anakin as well as so many other Jedi sealing his fate in the darkness and became the Emperor's new apprentice" Obi-wan finished.

She looked up at him meeting his gaze "Anakin Skywalker…Skyguy, my master and my best friend didn't take another padawan Obi-wan. Vader I fought him on Malachor managed to wound him by cutting part of his mask off" she paused as Obi-wan's eyes fell to the floor now "Don't lie to me Obi-wan I know Anakin's presence even though its covered in darkness, the man I fought with for three years who trained me for three years and who put his own life in danger to save me countless times did not die by a so called apprentice by the name of Vader" she said then leaned forward in her chair "What happened?" she asked again.

Obi-wan sighed once more before looking back up into her eyes "I'm not sure why he turned…but he did and he murdered so many Jedi" he said softly. "I don't care about the order Obi-wan! Tell me what happened to Anakin!" Ahsoka yelled just wanting the truth. Hurt flashed across the elder Jedi's eyes but he pushed it away "I…Padme she went to find Anakin and I snuck aboard her ship, we arrived on a planet of ash and lava and Padme ran out to try and talk to Anakin. He saw me standing at the top of the ramp and assumed that Padme had brought me there to kill him and in his anger he lashed out at her. He was convinced that the Jedi turned on the Republic I tried to make him see reason but he was so lost in his anger that he wouldn't listen. He fought and I was able to wound him badly…i…I just couldn't bring myself to kill him when I had the chance" Obi-wan replied softly.

Ahsoka shook her head several times "Did you even try…try to reach to him not as a Jedi who hold principles and the code above everything but as a friend as a brother reaching out to him who is in so much pain?" she asked. "He wouldn't listen to me Ahsoka he was conceived that the Jedi had turned against him" Obi-wan replied. Angry tears began to roll down her cheeks "To hell with the Jedi Obi-wan! Did YOU try to reach out to him before you cut him to pieces and forced him to live in that suit!?" She said loudly as her voice and body trembled, she wanted the truth that's all she wanted. Obi-wan at least did her the decency of looking ashamed this time as he remembered Anakin and his duel on the planet. "No….." he said after several moments and he spoke it so softly that even he could barely hear his own voice but he knew that she had heard him.

She felt like she had been kicked in the gut, she would have thought Obi-wan who was as close if not closer to Anakin than she had been would have tried harder to reach him. She knew how badly she had hurt him when she walked away from the order all those years ago and she regretted it ever since but Obi-wan had been Anakin's master practically his father yet he didn't even try to reach out to him. Again she broke down and cried not caring that Obi-wan was in front of her. Obi-wan drew the former padawan into a tight embrace but it did little to nothing to comfort her and in a cry of anguish she weakly hit his shoulder again and again saying "I want him back I want him back I want him back!"

The last surviving Jedi, Obi-wan no less didn't have the answers she sought and if he didn't then she could think of only one person who did and that person had tried to kill her. "I shouldn't have left…it's my fault I did this to him" she cried out, who else was there to blame for Anakin's fall no one that she could think of so she blamed herself for it. "Ahsoka it's not your fault, Anakin made the decision by himself you had nothing to do with his fall to the darkside" Obi-wan said trying to sooth the girl.

"How can it not be my fault? Did you see his face when I walked away did you see his face when I said I had to figure things out on my own. I failed him, I abandoned him and I was selfish for leaving" Ahsoka said pulling away from the man's arms, she didn't deserve comfort not after what she had convinced herself into believe that she had done this to Anakin. "Ahsoka, Anakin made his choice long after you left and I don't believe it had anything to do with you leaving" Obi-wan said gently.

"It had everything to do with me leaving him…I broke his heart when I left. I didn't want to but I couldn't stay in the order not…not after what happened. I hurt him I know I did and I drove him to the darkside its…it's the only explanation" she replied. "Ahsoka" he said softly and gently placed a comforting hand on the girls shoulder "His fall is not your burned to carry. You have to let go of this pain of this guilt or it will destroy you" he continued.

She didn't push him away this time but instead slowly raised her eyes to look at him. "For years…I thought he had died defending the temple and…the only reason I fought the Empire was in the memory of him. I fought because he would have wanted me to because its what he taught me to do. I fought for him, because of him…now…after this…after everything I know after knowing what happened to him what do I fight for?" she said in a voice that sounded so defeated so worn down as if drug through the sand dues of Tattooine by a speeder that it even surprised Obi-wan.

"I…I can still feel him. Our bond as fragile and cracked as it is I can feel Anakin…and Vader. I don't want to believe that he's gone I can't. Anakin has to be in there somewhere…deep deep down" Ahsoka said. Obi-wan remained silent and listening to her, he didn't want to encourage the girl's misplaced hope in Anakin ever returning but he couldn't find it in himself to say it aloud. "He's…just wounded and Vader's just a mask a shield to hide his pain…maybe maybe I can get to him" she continued. Obi-wan didn't like where this was going one bit and this time be spoke "Ahsoka Vader is dangerous you were lucky to survive your first encounter with him" he said.

"That's because I almost got through to him…he was conflicted I could feel it I just need to try harder" Ahsoka said as her brain already began to formulated a plan. She could bring him back…she could bring back her friend she just needed get past Vader and get through to Anakin.

"Ahsoka he will kill you" Obi-wan replied standing up to stop the girl as she moved toward the door. "Then at least I would have died trying to bring my friend back unlike you" she snapped back opening the door. She turned back and looked at him and her voice softened "I have to try Obi-wan, he would never leave him. I can't leave him" she said as she walked out of the small house closing the door behind her.

Obi-wan just stared at the door as it close and heard a speeder start up and take off. He sighed and took a deep breath, he prayed that she was right somehow someway that she was right. However slim the chance he prayed that she would succeed "May the force be with you Ahsoka Tano" he said as the sound of the speeder faded into the distance.

It had been a long time since her eyes had burned with this much determination. So long in fact it felt as if it had been another life time though in reality only a few years. But with that determination she drove herself forward back toward the small space port where her ship awaited for her.

In the back of her mind she knew this was practically a suicide mission but come to think of it it would have been like Anakin to do the exact same thing if she were in his position. It was irrational, dangerous and just out right crazy but seeing who her old master was it seemed like a normal thing to do. Her first step would be to find Vader and hopefully just him and not a battalion of stormtroopers at his side; that she was convinced would probably be the easy part.

The hard part would be breaking past Vader to get to Anakin, there had to be something someway she could bring her old master out of that monster. Only question was what was it exactly. She shook her head and pushed those thoughts away for the time being, first she had to find him then she could worry about the rest.

She parked the speeder at the same vendor stand where she had 'borrowed' it from and handed the key back to the vender before making her way to the space port. It wasn't that far maybe a hundred feet or so and wouldn't take her that long to get to. But in that distance something stopped her dead in her tracks. A voice called out, it was a woman not that Ahsoka recognized the voice of the woman but its what the woman said. At first she thought she was just hearing things and was just about to ignore it when the words were called out again. "Luke Skywalker come back here" those five words had pinned her in her spot but one word rang out more clearly than the others Skywalker. Slowly ever so slowly her head turned followed shortly after by her body and her eyes fell upon a woman to catch up with a boy who was clearly fascinated by something.

Human male, a child approximately around the age of five years old maybe six or seven with blond hair and bright blue eyes stood fascinated by a pod racer that rested next to a small house. "But aunt Breu I wanna see the pod racer" the boy called back. Ahsoka watched at the woman continued to pull the boy away from the pod racer "Your uncle won't be happy if we're late Luke now come on" the woman said. Luke sighed and finally stopped struggling before he followed her. "Luke…Skywalker?" Ahsoka spoke softly to herself as her eyes remained fixative on the small boy as he faded from her view.