Chapter 26
Alarms ripped through the Jedi Temple, rattling the peaceful atmosphere of the newly reconstructed building. Obi-Wan jolted out of his mediation as a deep sense of dread settled in his bones. He stood and turned to find Celibrie waiting behind him. "It's not happening again, is it?" she asked quietly, panic in her eyes.
"No," Obi-Wan shook his head. No, this was something else entirely.
The two Jedi rushed to the Council room, finding the half of the Council on Coruscant already gathered there. They turned to Obi-Wan and his Padawan as they entered. "It's them," he said, his gaze locking onto Master Yoda's. "It's Anakin and Ahsoka."
"Would they really attack the Temple alone?" Luminara questioned, her soft voice echoing in the silent room.
The lights flickered once, twice, before the building was plunged into darkness. With a low hum, the emergency lights switched on, leaving the Jedi in an eerie red glow. A familiar giggle slipped through the air and the Jedi all looked around, trying to locate the source of the sound. But the body it belonged to was absent, as was the signature. "What are they after?" Celibrie wondered aloud, asking the question no one else dared to.
"Them, we must find," Yoda declared as he hobbled towards the door.
The other Jedi raced out past the small green Master, but when Obi-Wan turned to leave, Yoda stopped him. "They are dangerous, you don't think?"
Obi-Wan cast a glance out the door where his anxious Padawan waited for him. "No, Master Yoda" he turned back to the Master. "It was like I thought. Even when I presented them no chance of survival, they didn't kill me. They barely even hurt me or Celibrie."
He hummed contemplatively as he left the chamber. "More to this than we understand, there is."
"I agree," Obi-Wan followed him and gestured towards Celibrie. "Let's just hope I'm right."
The Temple was on lockdown. O-Mer raced down the halls to the safe room established for Younglings. He contemplated staying back and fighting, but he didn't know how well he would fair in a fight or even what they were fighting. He rounded the corner and skidded to a stop.
A cloaked figure stood at the end of the hall, the montrals of Togruta creating two distinct tents in the otherwise shapeless silhouette. The figure turned to him and he edged backwards. "Hello, O-Mer," a hauntingly familiar voice said to him.
"Ahsoka?" he breathed out in disbelief. "But you're-"
"Dead. Yes, I know," she stepped closer. "I'm very much alive actually."
He jumped back, activating his newly constructed lightsaber. Ahsoka chuckled, the sound bouncing off of the walls in a cacophony of sound. "I see you haven't become a Padawan yet," she said, hanging back.
The alarms still blared on around them and, as he stared at her, O-Mer realized she was the cause of this chaos. "What do you want?" he questioned, backed into a dead end by the maze of the Temple.
"I sense discourse in you, O-Mer," she said in a soft voice. "A darkness."
Terror gripped him. She was a Sith. She came to turn him to the Dark Side. Well, he wouldn't go willingly.
But, this was Ahsoka, the former Padawan that saved his life, gave him a life. Force, she even renewed his belief in the Jedi teachings. She pulled down her hood, revealing a face that looked a bit older, but still the same as the last time he saw it. "I can help you," she glanced back as a few Jedi appeared in the hall behind her. O-Mer watched her approach with bated breath. "I can help you find balance."
And then he felt her, the overwhelming presence of her signature washing over him. It was a pale grey, thrumming with life and yes, balance. She pulled back, disappearing completely. "What do you say?" she held out her hand.
He took it without hesitation.