(warnings at end of chapter.)

Chapter 11: Realisations

Ahsoka kept glancing at Master Obi-Wan as they trekked across the underworld. (The only fast way was to take the trains that ran everywhere, and they'd decided that those would almost certainly be watched, and that the risk was too great. And very few people used speeders down here, except in designated lanes from one sector or level to another, and that would be as bad as the trains.) She hadn't thought he would actually agree, and was now feeling slightly guilty about the haircut.

She hadn't exactly trusted herself to do a complicated style, and the only thing they had had to cut it with was the razor he had used on his beard - and shouldn't that have been enough for her? Anakin teased him about his attachment to his beard every time the subject of attachment came up, and he'd got rid of it, he wasn't going to just take off and leave - so the result had ended up looking like a rather severe (and slightly uneven) Padawan cut, minus the tail and braid. She'd been afraid that her hand would slip and cut his head open the whole time, despite his reassurances. When she was finished, Master Obi-Wan had run a hand over his head with a bemused expression, then shrugged and started teasing her about opening a hair salon, using Anakin's old nickname for her.

He looked so much younger. It was probably just because she associated that sort of cut with youth, but he did. More open. There was a spark in his eyes that she rarely saw, one that usually only appeared when he was being dragged along on one of Anakin's insane mission improvisations and pretending not to enjoy himself.

Her face paint itched slightly, but it was definitely worth it when they strolled past a group of police, traded ponchos concealing their many lightsabers. (Master Obi-Wan had laughed when she'd explained that she'd used one last time because Anakin had said ponchos worked for almost any disguise, and said that that trick had been passed down from his own master. She'd tried to imagine him ever being a Padawan and failed. The look she had, given he probably just looked like now without the worry lines creasing his brow and the laugh lines that crinkled at the corners of his eyes, but him, the person? She couldn't really think of him as anything but a Jedi Master in personality.) The ponchos concealed her distinctive dress and the variant of the armour he was wearing, and with their new looks no one had any reason to look at them other than the fact that they were looking out for a male human and female togruta. And that was easily avoided by not walking right side by side when they had to pass through busy streets.

But yes. And it wasn't like the Council would do anything other than demand he explain himself. Anakin had called him the Council's darling often enough, and she knew his record. He hadn't done anything other than rescue her. They'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

She wasn't bitter. She wasn't. It was just…it hurt, a bit. Just a little. Maybe.

She sped up to walk next to him, as soon as they were back in the alleyways and out of sight of the police, looking for the way to go. They needed to go both across and up, she really, really wasn't looking forward to the lift that would need.

So she probably should have released the association to the Force. But when? There hadn't been time, not since the lift had plummeted and she'd flashed into battle mode thinking get out get out exit through the top so it doesn't crush you oh Force there's a civilian kid here -

Before the kid had pressed the emergency stop button, and she'd crashed to the ground, slowly realizing that she wasn't in the middle of a battle, there was no blaster fire damage (other than the shot that had caused the plummet) or sabotage which would render the normal methods of stopping the lift ineffective.

There hadn't been time between then and now for her to release it. There had always been something else demanding her attention; police, Ventress, nano-droids, Jedi, her trial, the escape - always something.

She'd probably have to wait until they were in the lift to deal with it too, since she couldn't afford to lose awareness of her surroundings and it wasn't so far they would need a stop to rest. Lunch break? No, they'd probably eat while walking. And she wouldn't have long enough even if they did stop to eat.

She was jerked from her thoughts by the boards flashing from various adverts and political speeches to Chancellor Palpatine. She noticed Master Obi-Wan stopping to watch. "Why-"

"This is the reaction to my breaking you out, I think," was the low reply. Right. He was probably more in tune with the Force than her right now, since she'd been brooding and he'd been letting it guild him through the maze that was the back alleyways of the underworld. Plus, Jedi Master. They leaned against a wall to watch as the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic began speaking to all Coruscant.

"Citizens of the Republic, it is my devastating duty to report the information to you on one of the people the Republic has trusted in these dark hours, who we have relied on to defend us on the front lines, has now gone rogue. Former Master of the Jedi Order-"

"Guess you are on probation 'till you explain yourself then," Ahsoka muttered, slightly shocked. Master - no, not Master at the moment - Obi-Wan gave her a small, wry smile before turning his attention back to the billboard.

"Former member of the Jedi High Council, former General in the Grand Army of the Republic Obi-Wan Kenobi has committed treason against the Republic by breaking convicted murderer, saboteur and suspected separatist agent Ahsoka Tano out of the prison where she was being held before her execution, which was scheduled this morning.

"The Jedi Council's remaining members have denied any involvement in or prior knowledge of Kenobi's actions, and have backed that up by expelling him from the Jedi Order on the grounds of his actions.

"Please report any sightings of Kenobi or Tano to the nearest official, and do not, I repeat do not attempt to engage either. Kenobi and Tano are armed and highly dangerous, and their captures are being declared of the highest priority to ensure the safety of the Republic and all the beings in it."

Ahsoka stopped listening. Obi-Wan was staring at the screen in shock, his skin having drained of colour to moment the words "expelled from the Jedi Order for his actions" had been broadcast. After a long, numb, moment, she blurted, "I take it this means they're not going to be all that reasonable."

He started, then stared right through her for a moment. "…No," he whispered at last, as the boards returned to what they were doing before. His voice was raspy, as though he hadn't drunk enough water for some time or, more likely, his mouth had gone dry. He looked shocked. Lost. Vulnerable, and the thought should have been ridiculous but it wasn't, because he was standing there looking like his entire world had been yanked out from under his feet. "I don't think they are."

"Hey, are you okay?" She had to ask, because he certainly didn't look it.

"No," he repeated quietly without appearing to think about it, then winced. "I'm sorry-"

He looked wretched. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "Look, if you want to go back, explain, I - I won't stop you." Belatedly, she realised how ridiculous that sounded. He'd risen to near the top of the Jedi Order and the Grand Army of the Republic for a reason, and she wasn't, hadn't been, even a Knight yet. Like she could stop him if she wanted to. And she wouldn't make the attempt, because right now, he was hurting, the pain leaking past his shields. He never let that happen.

"What?" He sounded startled, bewilderment tinging his voice. "No, I…no. I'm not. I won't." He let his back slide down the wall, letting out a desolate chuckle. "They wouldn't take me at the moment anyway. I'd be dead before I reached the entrance."

Huh? It was her turn to be confused. "What in the stars do you mean?" she burst out, because this might be the Council, and she did not have a particularly high opinion of them lately, but - "They wouldn't-"

"They would, right now." His voice sounded hollow. He shook his head. "I…but they would…"

He sounded certain. "But-" they knew him. And helping her couldn't be a capital offense, could it? Her stomach tightened. If it was - if she hadn't realised -

"How much," he interrupted her thoughts, speaking slowly, as though unable to find quite the right words, "do you know about how beings are, and can be, expelled from the Jedi Order?"

Okaaaay…not much. It wasn't like it was all that common. (Except, apparently, this week.) "Er, through trial in the Hall of Judgment, like me. But…" she frowned, willing the memory of the information into her conscious mind. "But you'd have to be present, right?"

"I would." There it was again, that haunted, hollow tone.

"So…" She wracked her brain. "This doesn't apply, but wasn't there something about proof of Dark-side-ness as an exception to that?"

He looked up at her, raw pain in his eyes. "Yes, but that's a separate part, not an exception. Or The Exception."

Exception? With a capital letter at the front and a "The" before it, from the way he'd said it? That did not sound good. She swallowed again, this time to counter her mouth's sudden dryness. "I take it this `The Exception` is what they used?"

Obi-Wan's gaze shifted back to the billboard which had delivered the news. "I think so." He shook his head. "I wouldn't have believed it, but - I wasn't there, and I'm not Dark, and I haven't made any sort of false confession they could use…it's the only way they could have done it." He wrapped his arms around his middle, looking miserable.

Oh no…"Just what is it?" she ventured warily when it became clear that he wasn't going on, instead lost in his own thoughts. Good thing no-one's wandered down here.

He closed his eyes. "The Exception," he said, very, very quietly, so she had to crouch down next to him to hear, "is a way of bypassing proof or confessions or a trial in expelling a person from the Jedi Order," yeah, she'd got that much, "for use in the emergency of suspected defection to the Sith."

…Oh.

Well, kriff.

"And they-"

"There's nothing else they could have used." She pretended not to notice the slight waver in his voice. A long moment later he gave her a tremulous smile and levered himself up. "1315, correct?"

There was no way he would have forgotten where they were headed, but she played along. "'15's the warehouse, I met her on '12."

"Well, last known location first." He closed his eyes for a moment. "I think we're almost below it. Lead the way."

Lifts. Great. She forced a smile in return, because he looked like he needed it. "Sure."

A.N. Ahsoka's actions in the lift didn't make much sense to me, so I came up with this explanation. Also, yes. That is what The Exception is.

...Why am I getting the feeling there's about to be an outpouring of Council hate?

Next Chapter: Returning to the scene of the crime.

Warning: PTSD.