Chapter 13: Charlotte's Conscious

"So, the usual, then?" Alex replied in a witty remark, Ahsoka couldn't help but smile, given the situation that the two were in a little humour was needed now. "I take it, you have a plan?" How did he know? Being away for this long Ahsoka forgot that Alex could be like this sometimes. "You have that look is all." Trying to sound surprised Ahsoka kept her attention on Thrawn and Charlotte who were talking inaudiblely. She listened carefully and caught a few brief words.

The Dark Lord. Whoever that was. Was mentioned before. She was sure she'd heard the name, from a previous adventure. It was something at the back of her mind. Coming to her own conclusions, Ahsoka guessed that Thrawn was referring to the Dark Lord of the Sith. Who else could it be? That was the only valuable option. She looked towards Alex and smiled again. "There is a plan." Alex smiled back, glad to know that he wasn't completely blind. Below them the colour of the energy changed to a golden yellow as the images turned into that unknown planet again.

"There's a look?"

Alex beamed at his girlfriend and grateful for this sense of humour that she was displaying in this situation. So, he listened as Ahsoka explained her plan, which was hard because she spoke as quietly as possible. This was to not alert the Chiss and Charlotte. "You can't miss it." Alex whispered, Ahsoka shot him a look and he quickly, shut up. She continued explaining her plan.

"Risky." Alex said once she'd finished, "one problem." He looked down at his restraints. "Thrawn took my Lightsaber." A glint on one of the nearby desks indicated two familiar shapes. "And I'm guessing Charlotte took yours." Ahsoka said nothing but simply kept smiling.

"Just wait for my signal." She ordered, Alex watched as she struggled to get her hand free, he noticed that one of her binders, the one entrapping her left hand was loose. Ahsoka was restrained in a hurry. Clumsy. It took no less than five minutes and Ahsoka freed her left hand. Alex then watched in awe as Ahsoka stretched out into the Force and pulled a nearby switch. Alarms started to wail in the nearby corridor.

The building then went into complete chaos. Alarms wailed, employees ran about confused about what was going on. That didn't bother Ahsoka though, the plan wasn't over yet. And right on cue, she watched as Thrawn turned round, blaster in hand. "I'll get to the bottom of this." He assured Charlotte as he exited the room. The human female looked perplexed but stared straight at Ahsoka.

"What did you do?" She snarled, Ahsoka shrugged with her free hand and looked towards Alex. A fraction of a second later a Lightsaber came whizzing past and entered the grip of Ahsoka's free hand. Without thinking of what was going to happen next, she threw the ignited weapon towards Alex's restraints, they fell apart instantly. Using the Force now that he was free. Alex leapt onto the rafter and raised his Lightsaber straight at his former friend.

Charlotte went straight for the door but Alex, in a temper that Ahsoka had never quite seen him in before used the Force to make the Blonde haired girl slip up and fall to the ground. She watched as Alex dashed to Charlotte's location. "I don't think so," he said standing in front of the doors. At that moment, Ahsoka seized her opportunity, escaped and repeated Alex's actions so as to stop Charlotte from escaping the other end. Distracted by Ahsoka's quick thinking Alex smiled and said "that's my girl." Ahsoka smiled back and Charlotte groaned.

"Please!" She said arms raised. "Just kill me already." She turned to face Alex, who could see now that the stress was getting to her. He gestured for Ahsoka to switch off the Hyper Portal. She did so. Alex then turned off his Lightsaber and knealt beside his former friend. "Why?" Charlotte said repeating Ahsoka's words. She panted . "I'll tell you." She looked towards Ahsoka and repeated the same words that Ashildr had said. "People who end up with you." She took a deep breath, "they always get burnt. In the end." She stare into Ahsoka's eyes. "Believe me, the day is coming, when that will happen to you." She chuckled and looked back at Alex. Who stared at her in shock. "I want to be there to witness it."

"So," Alex said putting two and two together. "You did this," He gestured towards the Hyper Portal. "Out of revenge?" He bent over the rails and looked down to the now depowered device, "A device, I helped you create?" He then took something out of his pocket. It wasn't anything really just an old piece of paper with lines and scribbles. Clearly this meant a lot to Alex and Charlotte, the same way the Star Shaped Necklace did for Ahsoka and him.

"You-" Charlotte gasped taking the paper from him. "You- you- kept it?" She held the paper tight in her hand and never let go. In her mind this was never just a piece of paper. It was the start of something new. The start of her whole foundation. Suddenly tears started to drop. "After all this time?"

"Think on it." Alex said smiling. "Our time together was something I will cherish and hold dear." He then looked towards Ahsoka who was keeping an eye out for Thrawn. "In some ways, you changed me. Charlotte Black. You made me into the person I am now." He looked away sadness in his eyes. "The person you are now. I don't know what you've become."

"You should never have left!" Charlotte snapped.

"I had to!" Alex yelled, tears in his eyes. "I was training to be a Jedi, you were about to become the CEO of a huge corporation." He looked away. "You allowed yourself to be manipulated by people like Thrawn and this Dark Lord." He tried to held himself back, but he couldn't. "You became bitter. Ever since your father died. Ever since I left. Yes your life was hell." He broke down. "In the days since I became the Avatar, you think my life was so great?" He paused and continued. Crying now. "Sure it seemed fun. But then I met Darlene Turner who became my best friend! I learned of this prophecy that everyone else knew about. I lost my brother! I nearly lost Darlene! My best friend!"

He gestured towards Ahsoka, "I nearly lost her." He took a deep breath, "the woman I love. so," he panted. "you think your life was hell after I left?" He stared into her blue eyes long enough to see the tears fall. "Ever since I became the Avatar, my life has been a wreck!" Finishing his sentiments Alex wiped away his tears and calmed himself down. This was to stop himself from going into the Avatar State. "You think you had it tough? Girl, you have know idea what Hell is like."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, despite your actions today." Alex bent down and looked Charlotte straight in the eyes. "Even though you don't want to admit it. I believe, deep down. You still have a conscious." At that moment Charlotte chose to look away from him. "Do the right thing, listen." And that right there, was the moment that Charlotte was brought down. In that moment, she flashed back to the alleyway. Holding that piece of paper, like she was now. Making a decision that she was hoping would be the right one. As Alex had said..