I'm back! Yeah, I know, it's been forever, but in my defense, I've been sick all year and the last thing you want to do when you're in pain is write stories with complex plotlines. So I've been writing when I'm well enough to do so and I've finally completed this chapter.

The Ties That Bind has reached over 100 reviews! Shoutout to Skyewalker for the 100th reveiw and thank you all for reveiwing! I'm really glad you like my fanfic.

Enjoy!


Sidious watched Skywalker exit his office with great satisfaction. That had worked better then he had thought- a simple story was all it had taken to get the boy shaken up. Skywalker also trusted his judgement, and with everything that had been going on, he would be desperate to protect Tano.

However, the fact that the girl was the Learner the Prophecy spoke of and was also carrying the nexus route coordinates was a problem. Sidious needed to eliminate her, yet he also required the intel she had.

This made her capture of the utmost importance. Ventress had failed her mission and Sidious was not pleased. She would be dead already if it wasn't for the fact that she had managed to reveal the Prophecy to Skywalker.

Nevertheless, she would pay for her failures later.

Sidious leaned back in his chair, thinking. He knew Skywalker well- the boy had a very hard time letting go of those he loved. Most likely he would need another push- to believe that his Padawan was truly in danger before he would take drastic action. That would be no trouble.

Once the young Jedi was removed from Tano's life, she would no longer have Skywalker's protection and would be easier to capture. Sidious was confident that he would have no trouble getting her to talk. She was a Padawan, after all, and weak.

And then he would kill her, driving Skywalker closer to the dark side.

"Chancellor." Mas Amedda stood in the doorway, head bowed slightly. "Senator Orn Fre Taa is here to speak with you."

Sidious let himself fall back into the role of Palpatine once again. "Send him in."


"I saved you from a long and painful death at the hands of an evil assassin and this is how you thank me?"

Ahsoka looked in disbelief from her Master to the Jedi Archives. "Please tell me you're kidding."

Anakin didn't look at her. "I'm not. You've been on far too many missions lately, you need a break."

"So you're assigning me to archive duty? Why couldn't I at least teach a Youngling class or something?" Ahsoka frowned. Something was up with her Master. Ever since the day before, he had been silent and brooding, refusing to look her in the eye. At first she had chalked it up to the face that he was still recovering, but it was apparent that she was wrong.

"The Youngling classes don't need teachers, but Madame Nu needs an assistant," Anakin informed her. "It's only for a few days, and this way you can help her out and catch up with your studies."

Ahsoka held back a groan. "Let me guess, while I'm working in the library, you'll be out 'visiting friends'." That was the excuse he gave her every time he left the Temple without her, but Ahsoka was almost certain he was lying. She was equally certain that the Senator of Naboo had something to do with it.

Anakin gave an offhand shrug. "I'll find something to do. But you'd better get going, Madame Nu is waiting."

Ahsoka arched an eyemark. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get rid of me," she joked.

Anakin's face completely closed down. An icy shiver of fear that was not hers streamed through the bond before it was cut off. Ahsoka saw his fists clench before he turned away. "I'll see you later."

Well, Ahsoka thought as she entered the stillness of the library, that was weird.

Jocasta Nu welcomed her with a small smile and guided her toward the back of the archives, to a side room. "I'd like you to help me with a small project, if you don't mind."

Ahsoka had never been there before, if anything, it was even quieter than the main part of the archives. She felt that speaking would be unnatural. Coughing and swatting at the dust in the room, she took the object that the librarian handed her. Her eyes widened.

"This is a real book!"

"Indeed," Jocasta said. "They are rare these days, but the Jedi Temple has a small collection."

Ahsoka handled it carefully, flipping through the pages. It was very old, the pages yellowed and tearing. The aurebesh letters were faded, but she could still read what it said. "Is this from the old republic?"

Jocasta nodded. "What I need you to do is go through the books and put the ones that are no longer readable into that bin. The ones that are in manageable condition can go on that rack over there."

Ahsoka nodded, already scanning the stacks of books in the dim light. Maybe this job wouldn't be so bad after all.


Anakin sometimes wished his Padawan wasn't so smart. She was starting to catch on to the fact that he and Padme were very close and he wasn't sure she could be trusted with their secret. She was young, after all, and most likely wouldn't understand.

He also felt a little guilty about leaving her on archive duty, but the librarian would keep her out of trouble and she would be able to catch up on her studies at the same time. It was an added bonus that it left him free to visit Padme.

Anakin still didn't know what he was going to do about the prophecy. Part of him reasoned that he might be able to keep Ahsoka safe if she was near him at all times, but the other part of him knew that doing that would probably bring that part of the prophecy to pass.

"The one who has fought him as an enemy will return to the Chosen's side..." well, that had already happened. He was running out of time.

"Anakin."

Anakin resisted the urge to cringe as Obi-Wan fell into step beside him. He was nearly at the door, but it looked like he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

"It would be advisable to get a new comlink," his former Master remarked in a dry tone.

Anakin nodded. Truthfully, he had forgotten about his comlink, which was currently stored somewhere in the Vulpter separatist base.

Obi-Wan went on, not giving him a chance to reply. "The Council wants your report on your mission to Vulpter."

Anakin shifted on his feet. There were some things that he probably wouldn't end up mentioning to the Council, such as the fact that he had taken a stunner meant for his Padawan- he would end up getting scolded yet again for having attachments if he did. Another thing he planned on keeping to himself was the fact that he had found the Prophecy. The Council obviously hadn't wanted him to know it's contents and he figured that if they could withhold the truth, then so could he.

"What time is the meeting?" he asked, keeping his expression disinterested.

"Tomorrow, 13:00 hours."

That was reasonable. Anakin nodded absently. Then he remembered a fuzzy conversation they had had on Vulpter. "You never did tell me why you didn't send Ahsoka back to Coruscant. If Ventress could capture me, then she could certainly have kidnapped Ahsoka, who she was after in the first place."

"Anakin, whether you believe it or not, Ahsoka can handle herself," Obi-Wan said, turning to him. "She was a valuble asset to the mission and I doubt we could have pulled it off without her."

Anakin opened his mouth, then bit down his angry retort. He didn't know why this bothered him so much. The Prophecy had caused him to become increasingly worried for his Padawan's safety. Whether she could handle herself or not, you couldn't change fate.

He resumed his walk to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, voice sharper than he would have liked.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan called after him and he half turned. "Is something wrong? You seem... unsettled."

Obi-Wan never asked him questions like that, questions that made him sound like he actually cared. Anakin blinked. For the first time since he was very young, he had the sudden, unexplainable urge to tell his former Master everything. For a moment, he simply stared at Obi-Wan. Then he came back to his senses and shook his head, a wordless reply.

After all, he reminded himself. He's still on the Council and you can't trust him.

And he exited the Temple, not realizing that he had given the Jedi Master something to think about.


Ahsoka sat cross-legged on the stone floor, flipping carefully through one of the worn books. This one was about a war that had taken place several centuries ago and it was much more fascinating than her studies. It was told almost like a story, yet in an informative way as well.

How come teachings today aren't this interesting? she thought, turning another page.

Behind her, the door opened and Ahsoka leaped up, quickly storing the book on the rack beside her. Jocasta Nu was looking at her with an almost amused expression.

"It's fascinating, the history in those books, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ahsoka mumbled sheepishly. She reached for another book, looking over it's cover and pages to make sure it wasn't damaged beyond repair. "Why do you keep the books back here and not in the main library?"

"They're very delicate, the Younglings would not be able to handle them well," the librarian explained. "Much like the holocron vault, this room is off limits to those who don't have clearance."

Ahsoka picked up another book; this one's cover crumbled under her touch. Hastily, she placed the ruined book in the bin.

Why did Madam Nu pick me for this job? she wondered. Normally she wouldn't have had the patience for a job like this and surely the librarian knew that. Frowning, she entertained the idea that her Master might have been behind it. He had been talking for a while now about taking her off the front lines and this job had ensured that her attention would be captured for a long while.

A book with a dull red cover caught her eye. She picked it up and blew the dust off it. It had no title and it looked much newer than the rest of the books.

Ahsoka opened the book to a random page and scanned a paragraph.

Something has happened to Dooku. The dark side is with him, whether he knows it or not. He is restless and is claiming more and more missions as of late. Each time he comes back, he seems more unsettled. However, the fact remains that he is on the Council and even Yoda trusts him. For now, there is nothing I can do but watch him. He is a friend, but if he falls too far, I will do what I must.

Ahsoka blinked. This wasn't a book- this was a diary! For a minute, she felt guilty, but then rationalized that whoever it belonged to must have given their permission for it to be put with the rest of the books.

Though who would befriend Dooku, even if he was a Jedi? she thought, flipping to the front of the journal.

Immediately, a name jumped out at her.

Sifo-Dyas.

Interesting.


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