Okay, so very uncharacteristic of me, I haven't really been doing much for Star Wars day besides wearing a Star Wars shirt, butut my Star Wars app (which I thought I turned off because of spoilers) just notified me saying, "May the 4th be with you!" So here we are...
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR: APPARITIONS AND APPRENTICES PART FOUR
Anakin walked down the ramp until his heavy footsteps were muted by the softness of moss and grass. His eyes were closed, and he was extended through the Force, his entire being focused on the star-bright presence that couldn't have been more than a few meters away. Something stirred deep inside him – the last strings of an abandoned Force-bond knowing life for the first time in decades.
Ahsoka.
He opened his eyes to a lush forest. Green seemed to be everywhere – even rocks and tree trunks had moss and lichens living on the them, or they were dyed in sunlight, blazing through the full canopies like stained glass windows. The only places where it wasn't green was where light dappled the ground, bathing it in gold. A stream gushed nearby, though at first the dark water was hard to make out between the grass that covered the forest floor and the pristine reflections of undergrowth. Other than its soothing waters and the sound of the birds singing, the forest was silent. He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth touch his skin, tempting him to pull down his hood, and took a deep breath. The fresh smell of life filled his lungs, already carrying him deep into the Force.
"It's nice," he said, opening his eyes as Luke came to a rest at his side.
He was beaming. "That's one work I could think of." Then holding up his lightsaber, he added, "Green is another."
Anakin rolled his eyes. Then, on a serious note, he said, "I can see why Ahsoka came here, though."
"Hey, Anakin!" More footsteps came from behind him, and he turned to see Lila, her face smooth. "I just wanted to say: may the Force be with you."
He felt tenderness touch his eyes. "Thank you," he said. "Is Rex coming?"
Just as he asked, a bright-eyed, yet hardened face solidified out of shadows. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the universe," Rex said, falling into place at Anakin's side.
He rested a hand on his comrade's shoulder. How many times had they stood like this in the Clone Wars? Sure, Rex was older, and he was – well, disfigured, but they were still the same people who carried the same admiration for the other. That was what mattered. "Well then we better get going," he said—
—as the sizzling of a blaster echoed in Ahsoka's direction.
Anakin met Rex's eyes to see the horror dripping into them. They hadn't come so far, waited so long just to see Ahsoka again, only to find her with a blaster wound in her chest. He took a deep with. He'd failed to keep his promise to her on Malachor, and that was a mistake he would not repeat. A quick glance was all it took, and they were running for Ahsoka.
Ahsoka burst to her feet, tensing, her stance wide, body lowered, and arms ready. The darkness was here. After nearly three months, it had finally found her. If only she'd sensed its arrival sooner, then she could've prepared, yet from some reason, the Force hadn't warned her about the danger – as if something was blocking it out.
Suddenly a shadow caught her eye. She whirled on it, every bit of her gusting through her muscles, right as a lean figure emerged from the trees. They were covered in violet and black armor, and their hands were on their hips, as if they were expecting a relaxed conversation instead of a battle.
But the Force moved darkly around them. Whoever they were, they were intending to kill.
"Hello, Ashla," a female voice said. They laughed. "Or, should I call you Ahsoka?"
Everything inside her went stagnant. They had her identity. Maybe it could never matter as much as it used to, but it without the shield of anonymity she'd become so accustom to, she suddenly felt naked. Still, she said nothing. Her attacker had found a weakness, and she was not about to let her exploit it. If they thought beating her would be that easy, they were gravely mistaken.
Circling her now, the woman in the armor continued. "My name is Vilet, if you care. Vilet Cademna." Then, she pulled off her helmet, revealing a young face – no older than her early twenties – with wavy red hair that came down just below her shoulders and (fittingly enough) purple eyes. A sardonic smile stretched across her face. "I'm going to kill you now!" she cried, joy dancing in her eyes.
Well, she was honest, at least.
And, right on cue, nine more attackers jumped out of the trees, all of them dressed in the same black and purple armor.
Then something thudded on the ground behind her. She spun around and was met by a tall man wearing a brown cloak, making anything about his face impossible to distinguish. Ten more attackers? She glanced at Vilet who looked just as confused as she felt. So then, who was he? And why was there something so familiar about him?
Double vision: a blaster bolt hitting the back of her head, followed by another in her stomach.
She dodged the shots and raced for the person who had fired them, channeling the Force into a kick that landed on their chin. They hit the ground hard, she knocked the blaster out of their hand, and stomped on their forehead for good measure.
Double vision: three shots, two hitting her chest and one in her back.
She jumped, her feet coming down on the shoulders of her opponent. Another rushed her, but she was too fast for them. Backflipping off of the first guy, she picked them up and slammed the two attacks' heads together. They fell, just in time for her to see three more ganging up on her strange ally.
She sucked in a breath, surprising herself with how much the thought of this person getting hurt scared her. She ran to his side, pulling one of the attacks into a head lock. They screeched as she threw them in the direction the previous two were now running off in.
Double vision: two shots hitting her head.
She ducked, poised to do another backflip to knock them out, but there was no need. Her ally kicked their blaster out of their hands. He picked up one for himself and tossed her the other. No sooner had she caught it, was she aiming it at a fourth attacker.
Double vision: one shot grazing her shoulder, but hitting her ally.
She fired – and it was the attacker's shoulder that was grazed.
They dropped their weapon but didn't stop. Her ally leapt with shocking speed, his outstretched leg hitting the attacker in the chest. They yelped and fell to the ground, barely catching themself – clearly winded.
Double vision: one shot hitting the side of her head, one her neck.
Ahsoka spun around and kicked her adversary in the gut. She heard the other grunt as her ally took them out.
Whoever this guy was – they made a good team. His moves were almost predicable to her, as if she'd been fighting at his side for years. Their coordination brought back a kind of joy to fighting she hadn't felt since—
Another shot broke the air.
They both turned to see Vilet standing with her left hand on a smoking blaster and her right of her hip. "That was fun," she said. "Now it's my turn."
The darkness burned through Ahsoka. She met eyes with her ally, and he nodded. They tensed into their battle stances.
A familiar humming filled the air, its song suffocated like it was breathing in smoke, as Vilet ignited a lightsaber.
You want to play that game? Fine. She shifted her hands so they were hovering over her own weapon, but she didn't actually grab it. Ahsoka Tano knew very well how to fight without a lightsaber, and she doubted this girl would drive her to that extreme.
Yet, the song of another blade filled her ears all the same.
She turned to see her ally in a form five stance, Anakin's blue lightsaber held in his gloved hand, painting for her the perfect phantom.
Abruptly a sharp pain split her skull, shocking the world to white.
Anakin watched as Ahsoka fell to the ground, the thrill of his lightsaber crumbling away. The last of Vilet's bounty hunters – the one that had knocked her out – engaged their jetpack at the gesture of their leader's hand, its flames burning into Anakin's skin as they escaped. He took a deep breath, focusing on his Padawan's presence, which had dimmed considerably, though she seemed to be fine.
Vilet, on the other hand, was severely underestimating him, judging by the creepy grin on her face.
It was a grin that only grew as she charged him, the stolen lightsaber aimed right for his chest. He parried it without even shifting his feet. After suppressing a look of shock, her shoulder's tensed and stance widen like she was putting her weight against his lightsaber. He let her for a few seconds before he pushed her back without effort. She snarled, closing her eyes, and rushed him again, only to be met by the same result.
Now it was his turn.
Filling his lungs with air, he shifting his foot back. The Force spread through him as he swung his weapon down on Vilet, and the two blades locked, their hissing cracking through the forest. Anakin took a step back and angled his lightsaber so it came parallel to his opponent's. With a simple flourish, her grip on it was broken, and it arched across the clearing. Before it could hit the ground, Anakin extended his hand, and the lightsaber shot into his hold. A long time ago, he would've used the second the second blade to finish her off, much like he'd done with Count Dooku.
He attached the stolen lightsaber to his belt. Sheathing his own, he backed away from the wide-eyed young woman and gestured toward the sky.
Vilet blinked. "You're letting me go?" she said, her voice raw.
Anakin smiled and nodded. 20 years ago, this woman would've been dead for messing with Ahsoka. Now, he didn't have the right – or the desire – and the last thing he needed was more blood on his hands. Besides, Vilet was so young and beautiful. She had her whole life ahead of her, and he wanted her to have the chance to live it to its fullest.
But instead, she just laughed. A cruel, heartless, smoldering laugh. "Then you are a fool," she sneered, before igniting her jetpack and rocketing off, leaving the moss at her feet burned to cinders.
A knot inside him twisted, and he sighed. Maybe it would just take time for his mercy to reach her.
All of a sudden, the grass beside him rustled. He looked down to see Ahsoka pushing herself up, groaning. The smile he had always saved for her finally returned to his face, his joy swirling like the clouds of a gas-giant. He bent down, and pulling off his hood, he offered her his hand.
"Ahsoka?"
Ahsoka's eyes shot open to blinding brightness and a pressing headache. She knew it wasn't possible, but she could've sworn that she'd heard Anakin's voice. She shook her head. It wouldn't be the first time since he'd died that she'd thought she'd heard him saying her name. It was probably just a combination of the weight of her grief and a memory that refused to fade.
She looked up through the light at the person who had really said her name: that oddly impressive fighter who had jumped out of nowhere to help her. Judging by the lack of blaster fire, he must've taken out the rest of the group after…
"Ahsoka?"
She squeezed her eyes closed. It wasn't him. Anakin was dead. Dead by his own, ignorant son. Dead, without ever being able to—
She took her ally's hand, staring down at moss beneath her, ignoring the heartlessness of his hand. And that he was wearing black leather gloves in the humidity. And that his voice sounded just like Anakin's. And that she'd seen him using the lightsaber that had belonged to him.
So much for ignoring it.
Ahsoka grunted, gritting her teeth. She was going to settle this once and for all. Blinking as her eyes adjusted, she looked up at her ally to see exactly what—
Underneath the long brown cloak she'd first seen him in was a face covered with horrifying scars. They were just like the scars she'd seen on Mustafar. The scars that had been all over Anakin's face. Yet the pain she'd grown so accustom to feeling at that memory was outshined by her ally's smile, filling her with warmth brighter than a star.
"Anakin?"
Happy Star Wars day! This was honestly the perfect chapter. I'm so glad that you guys got to read it on May 4th. Speaking of which...
May the Fourth be with you! ;)
-CWN
