Promises Unbroken

Lord Sidious had made a grave error in his calculations.

Order 66 had done its duty to prevent the Jedi from infiltrating his chambers, but hadn't done what he had intended for it. The Padawan and the renegade had entered Coruscant's parameters. They were advancing at a rate even faster than the Lord had predicted. Not even a missile could have kept them away.

The master of the most powerful aspects of the Force, Sidious could witness all that occurred around him from where he stood in the dome-shaped structure. The exchange of fire between both sides he'd played in the Empire's upbringing. It had given his frozen heart great pleasure to watch each of the Jedi fall, one by one. Ones that were so young, yet to have been seduced by the Dark Side, and others as old as time itself. Sidious grinned to himself under the hood of his black cloak.

But the euphoric emotion that had rested in his chest was only at half capacity. One small factor - two small factors - could undo it all. The years of preparation, the tiresome work of maintaining two identities. The petty tasks he had to complete as Chancellor of the doomed Republic. Throughout the years, he maintained his duties after reminding himself that it would be worth it in the end.

And it was going to keep being worth it. He watched the Padawan and his old apprentice from above, like two ants making their way across a hostile environment.

"Yes, child." he said to the unsuspecting figure of Tano. "Go to him."

The proud fool, Maul, believed he could have outmatched his Master. Using only his rage-induced strength, he thought to challenge Lord Sidious, the one who had procured this strength and hatred to begin with. Sidious shook his head knowing it was bound to happen. After all, of all the people that Maul could have hated more than anything in the galaxy, it had to be the one that forced him to undergo all he had.

"My young student..." Sidious mumbled. "I had waited for the day you would rise against me."

Sidious could see Maul staring with intense loathing from miles away. Sidious had always known Maul wanted to kill him. Ever since he'd first learned to walk. And the Lord believed himself to be wise in redirecting that hatred towards the Jedi, the faction that never liberated him from Sidious's grasp. He was trained to become the greatest assassin the galaxy had ever known. Fierce, powerful, ruthless. Everything that made for an ideal warrior.

Lord Sidious knew of the Zabrak's weaknesses. His fears, his faults, everything that would break him. The fact that part of him blamed himself for Talzin's death. The sorrow he expressed when Sidious drove his sabers into Maul's brother.

"I had pictured your horrific demise for as long as I could remember." Maul said to him.

A deep chuckle emitted from the Sith Lord. "Then you have accomplished the very task I had assigned to you long ago."

"You should have killed me." Sidious could hear the younger man speak through his teeth.

"There is still time, my former apprentice."

The Sith Lord had an even lower opinion of the renegade after their encounter on Mandalore, and still believed Maul was halfwit enough to face his old master alone. And Sidious embraced the possibility. Over and over again, he attempted to rid the galaxy of Maul's maddening presence, after discovering the Zabrak had plans of undermining Sidious of his own. And now here the younger man was, handing his old master his life without any further effort.

He and Padawan Tano would fall into the Lord's hands, ready for Sidious to crush them with all of his strength.

But he could see that his grip on young and confused Skywalker was faltering. It was how the Sith Lord predicted. Anakin's confusion was keeping him from solidifying his place within the Force. And the Sith Lord used his divine power to reach into the boy's mind.

Anakin was at a loss for words. He wasn't sure if what he'd just seen was happening right as they'd begun their battle, or if it was about to happen. Either way, it was just like how he'd pictured her in his vision. Wracked with pain, sweating profusely, and screaming for Anakin to help her. She was dying. She was going to die.

"No..." he mumbled, the water falling from his eyes much faster now. "No... I did this to her..."

Clutching his hair, Anakin stumbled backwards away from his defeated master. Padme was in trouble, whether she would die in childbirth or something even worse, her life was in danger and Anakin needed to get to her.

"Her time is running out, Anakin." the Knight heard an elderly voice say. "If you truly wish to keep her from this fate, you will do as you were asked."

"I don't understand..."

Obi-wan had told him one thing, that she was alive, and Palpatine was telling him another. The Chancellor's spindly hands dug into his brain and caused him to fall onto his knees.

"Please..." Anakin begged. "Please, stop..."

When Obi-wan showed him this vision, a part of Anakin believed it was the fault of the old man that Padme was about to meet her demise. But that theory was starting to dissipate into the white smoke around him as soon as Palpatine's voice had seeped into his mind.

"Your master deceives you, Anakin." the voice echoed in the walls of his brain. "He has manipulated you time and time again. Once he rises, he will strike at you again. And he will not stop until you are finished."

Tired of being tugged one direction or another, Anakin pressed his palms to his ears hopelessly, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD! ALL OF YOU!"

His spirit and body were being pulled into the depths of the Force as he tried to control his emotions. He was trying to search for Padme to see if her light was at risk of dying out, but he was being blocked by multiple sources. Obi-wan was calling to him, Palpatine was calling to him, and he could catch moments of other Jedi trying to contact each other.

He felt as though he was in the largest crowd of shouting voices, where his voice was overpowered by the thousands of others. And the one person he cared about hearing from most of all was being pushed further away by the rushing people.

Perplexed, furious, and most of all, disheartened, Anakin tensed his muscles, threw his arms back, and roared into the air.

"STOP!"

He had shoved the voices out of his mind like he could with the physical manifestations of the people they belonged to. Dropping onto his hands, Anakin felt lightheaded, his breathing was heavy, and his arms shook from the amount of energy he'd put into that move.

Out of all of them, one voice refused to leave him be.

"Excellent, my boy." it told him. "Not even I was aware of the maximum level of power you possessed. Now you can see all you can do without the influence of the Jedi."

Anakin felt as though he couldn't have cared less about the Order. "Please, tell me... is she alright? Can I at least see her?"

"She will be," the voice answered. "Once you have completed the assignment I've given you, she will be. But you have yet to acquire the power to save her. Have faith in me, Anakin, and I will guide you down the path. Soon, you will be free from all you have feared."

In the midst of the lost voices, Anakin could recognized one very distinct to him. Standing up with a restored determination, he clutched his lightsaber in his hand.

She is here, he realized and charged forward into the warzone.

Ahsoka used all of her leg strength to launch herself upward and while her legs were in the air, her lightsabers severed a B1 battle droid's head from its body. A few minutes after they'd wandered down the streets from the crashed ship, Ahsoka felt a strange thudding against her boots. And when she turned her attention towards the far end of the road, she could see what was causing her unease.

Hundreds of Separatist battle droids.

"I think your master's just summoned another ally." she said to Maul as she held her lightsabers in a horizontal position.

"I can see that." Maul growled, his own weapon close to him.

Rex had exchanged his blasters for a heavier weapon and plucked parts of fallen soldier's armor to replace his own. When Ahsoka wasn't trying to defend herself, she was trying to make sure Rex didn't take too much damage. The man was more fragile than he appeared to be at the moment. Though, he was pulling through against the many battles they've encountered on this planet more than he would have in any other circumstance.

"There might be too many." Ahsoka said as the armies came closer.

"Then let's just take down however many we can." Maul told her, possibly the most sound advice he'd had all day.

Unlike with the clones, Ahsoka wouldn't second-guess stripping the limbs off of these droid units. She jumped into the center of a smaller gathering of B1's and spun her body around with her sabers outward. Droid heads flailed out into the war-torn scenery, some of them squealing in agony. Ahsoka was glad she had a chance to fight against these pesky villains so many times during the war. Going through them was a breeze.

Maul tossed his saber into the air, causing each of the B1's to turn their head upwards, and made his way through them using his fists. As Ahsoka witnessed him savagely pulling apart droids with his hands, she wondered what it would be like to have a form as sturdy as his. The way he was taking the damage without showing a hint of weariness seemed like he had to be quite a strong figure.

Or a crazy one, Ahsoka thought.

"Hey, give me a boost!" she told him. Confused at first, Maul lifted her higher up than she could on her own. She threw her two lightsabers into two B2 battle droids, yanked them back, and spun her body forward while her sabers cut through the next wave of B2's. When she stood again, several of the B2's were sliced halfway down from their heads.

"You got to learn to teach me that, someday." Rex told her as he caught up.

The third wave of droids were Droidekas. Seeing as how they came in high numbers and even larger enemies were behind them, Ahsoka and the others huddled close together.

"Now might be time to take our leave." she said. Once there was a clear path before her, she signaled for the others to follow.

The tree sprinted past the rest of the army, Rex behind the others, using his weapon to draw at least a few of them away. Ahsoka could see the Senate Building, where the darkness was more heavily concentrated. It made her stomach churn but she held herself together like she'd been doing the entire time. She kept the usage of the Force at a minimum, worried she might cause a deadlier catastrophe than on the Venator.

When they entered the vicinity of the building, both the droids and the clones stopped firing. Ahsoka took the moment to regain some lost momentum.

"Why did they stop?" she said.

Maul turned to the dome-shaped architecture. "He is hiding within his chambers." he bared his teeth. "Like a coward."

He sounded as if he wanted to enter the building for a rematch. Ahsoka was about to stop him when she felt an unholy presence enter her mind. It wasn't just her, however. When she turned to Maul, his expression shifted to that of terror, he gripped his head and started to lose his balance.

"Please..." he begged into a non-existing component. "Have mercy..." He fell onto his knees. "Please, master..." His body fell onto his side and he began twitching and squirming like electricity was flowing through him. "PLEASE!"

Ahsoka had heard cries of innocent villagers, screams from unknown horrors in the dark, and the awful sounds of grenades detonating at a close distance. But none of those sounds had made her heart want to jump out of her chest like the sound of this true-born assassin wailing. It was haunting.

When he stopped, he looked to be unconscious against the ground. When Ahsoka treaded carefully over to him, sabers in hand, she saw his eyelids flip open, his pupils turned to slits, and he glared menacingly at the Togruta.

Oh no...

Fortunately, she already had her sabers drawn by the time he leapt up and attacked her.

"Jedi scum!" he shouted at her. Ahsoka had done well to dodge each of his moves, but he was far more aggressive towards her than he had been against the clones and droids. Rex started yelling and fired one bolt after another, careful not to strike Ahsoka. Maul was aware that he was being shot at, but his attention was still kept on her.

"All Jedi will fall!" he spat out. "And Master and I will have our revenge!"

Ahsoka sighed. "Not this again..."

She arched her back to avoid a swipe of his saber, the crimson blade only a centimeter away from the tip of her nose. While they dueled, she could feel Sidious's influence in the air, cold and uninvited. It seemed as though he had stopped the droids and the clones from advancing just so he could watch the Padawan and the renegade fight. Sidious was either trying to distract her, or was genuinely entertained by the prospect of using his old apprentice.

Most likely both, Ahsoka said to herself.

"Snap out of it!" she jumped as she avoided a low-sweep attack. "Your master's using you!"

Maul tossed her back with his leg. "Do not speak of my master! You know nothing!"

Seeing as trying to help Maul out of his daze was more trouble than it was worth, Ahsoka looked at the unoccupied path ahead of her, where she could see the cloud of white smoke. That was where the Temple District was.

However, she, too, wanted to be rid of the Sith Lord's telekinetic calling. It was inhibiting her ability to properly fight. Still, she held her ground against the delusional older man.

"I don't need you to turn on me now!" she threw him back with the Force, but it wasn't as strong as she was capable of. Maul remained anchored to the concrete as his metal heels sent sparks into the air. Ahsoka was trying not to hurt him because she still needed him. "Your master's the one who you want to get revenge on!"

This statement caused a shift in his mindset and she could see it in the pause he took to consider. Or he might have been playing her as he saw she noticed this and lunged forward.

She blocked his attack by crossing her sabers together.

"You will fear me." he forced his blade closer towards her head.

"Not. A. Chance." she said as she threw him back. With a snarl, he picked her up with the Force and sent her flying against the side of the Senate Building. She hit against the concrete hard enough that she could see black dots across her vision.

The crimson blade was hurled towards her and she barely moved her body out of the way in time. Maul stood with his feet planted firmly on the ground, his fists tightened and his eyes burning. Seeing as he'd just given up his weapon, Ahsoka pulled it towards her open hand.

The Zabrak was practically foaming at the mouth. "Give it back."

She waved the saber in a taunting manner. "Come and get it."

He charged forward and threw a punch in her direction. Ahsoka moved her head, grabbed his wrist and threw him against the ground. Maul may have been given an extra bit of strength in his returned vexations, but he was still disoriented. She held his hand behind his back and had his body pinned under her boot.

"Rex-!" she turned to see that the clone had been frozen in some kind of stasis. One of her hands held him tightly against the concrete while he struggled and repeated his previous phrases over and over again. The other hand pulled one of Rex's blasters in her grasp.

"I hate Jedi..." Maul told her. Her leg was overexerting itself trying to hold him down.

"So you've told me..." Ahsoka mumbled.

He had broken free and summoned his saber to him. Her back hit against the floor, she set the blaster to stun, and shot him before he could get close to her. The renegade fell against the ground. Exhaling heavily, she turned him on his back and rested her hands on his horned head.

Though the darkness was strong in the air, and the Sith Lord wasn't too far away this time, Ahsoka let go of her worries and dared to immerse herself into the Force.

More of Maul's bloodcurdling screams could be heard in the distance, along with dozens of other crying voices. The Jedi could be heard from all directions. Each one trying to sense the other. Among them all, she could hear the sound of Sidious's voice reverberating against the illusionary walls.

"There is no mercy." he chuckled darkly.

Ahsoka slammed her boot against the surface. "What have you done with Anakin?"

Whatever it was that Sidious had been doing to his old apprentice, he halted his actions and the screaming stopped. The rest of the Jedi's voices were more faint. Though she couldn't see him, or anything else in the distance, she could sense him approaching her.

"Ah yes," Sidious's voice sent shivers down her spine. "The Padawan returns to fix all that she helped start."

Unaltered by his words, Ahsoka leered at him, keeping the Jedi Code repeating itself in her head. She could feel the ground begin to shake and a rumbling noise that sounded as if the place was about to fall apart.

"Go to him, child." Sidious said to her. "See how much you have damaged him."

One voice had been calling out to her. Asking where she was and telling her that she was needed. Before Ahsoka could answer him, the shaking became more violent and she was thrown back at the sound of her master shouting into the void with all his might.

"STOP!"

Her mind was thrown back into her body and she fell back against the ground. She turned her head to Rex, who was shaking himself out of his temporary paralysis. Then back at Maul, who was slowly blinking his eyes and lifting himself up. He groaned and rubbed his head.

Standing up, Ahsoka asked in a firm tone, "Are you alright?"

Maul waved a hand towards her. "Don't concern yourself about me."

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't about to go berserk again."

Though not wanting to let it bother her at the time, Ahsoka did take a minute to ponder Sidious's words, wondering how exactly she had any part to play in Anakin's downfall. The trials that took place against her came to mind, where Ahsoka decided to break the relationship between not just her and her master, but the rest of the Order. This made her wonder if Sidious had set the murder and the trial up himself, to drive a wedge between Anakin and Ahsoka. The thought made her hands curl into fists.

She stomped towards where the clear path was open towards the Temple, where she knew Anakin had been looking for her.

"Come on," she said to the others. "We're almost there."

Ahsoka started in that direction, but stopped in her tracks when she realized Maul wasn't following her. His sights were still on the Senate Building, where his master awaited him to foolishly enter.

"What is it now?" she demanded, her impatience showing in her voice.

Maul turned to her. "We are so close to ending the worthless life of my old master." he insisted. "Any delay now would make his death even more difficult."

Ahsoka blinked, her mouth slightly open. "You don't actually believe we can take him ourselves, do you?"

Maul was taken aback by her statement. "Do you doubt my abilities, Padawan?"

"No," Ahsoka sighed in frustration. "I'm doubting your sense of logic. You said so yourself battling Sidious wasn't going to be easy." She crossed her arms. "If we go in there right now, and get killed, all of this... would have been for nothing."

He didn't look angry at her statement but he shook his head at her. "You've witnessed Sidious's ability to turn a switch in my brain." His comment made Ahsoka consider it. "In one second, I was your ally, and in the next..." he lowered his eyes. "Suddenly, I felt my aged hostility towards you and your faction. Skywalker is not immune to that kind of power. Especially not in this emotional state he is currently in."

Ahsoka assumed he was referring to being able to feel the vibrations that Anakin emitted when he sent a pulse wave to her and possibly every other Force user on this planet. Although Maul did make a valid point about his sudden shift, Ahsoka knew he had reluctantly joined together with her even with his lifelong grudges against the Jedi. The change in his actions might have been instinctive. But she also knew that Sidious was using his power on her, too, even if it was more mild than on his former apprentice. Still, she had come this far, and Anakin wasn't much further away.

"I have to try." she said.

She turned to walk forward and stopped when she felt his gloved hand wrap around her wrist.

"Ahsoka..."

The way he said her name took her back to the days when Anakin was training her and would speak her name whenever he was scolding her, or comforting her.

"Your allowing your attachments cloud you," Maul said to her. "Right now, your logic is wrapping around this idea of hope." he released his grip on her. "If you get to him, you may not find him as the same Knight you believe him to be."

A part of her thought he was telling her this because he felt threatened by her close relationship with her master, but the way he said it, and from the short waves he was sending her through the Force, made her realize that he sounded legitimately concerned. Either that, or he was extremely desperate to end his master, or have his master end him. His warning might not have been too far off the mark, however, and Ahsoka had to think about whether or not she was willing to take that risk.

And when she turned to face him, she was trying her best not to allow that confliction show in her eyes.

"I made a promise to Anakin long ago that we would always be a team." she told him. "I swore to him that I would never split us apart no matter what." she sighed. "I'd already gone back on my word once... and I don't intend to do it again."

Maul didn't argue with her any further. She couldn't tell what it was he was thinking from his expression alone, but she couldn't imagine it was anything supportive.

Ahsoka took a couple of steps back. "Anakin said he wanted me there by his side." she took her sabers in hand. "That's what he's going to get."

With that, she called for Rex to follow her into the direction where the Temple awaited and where her master was calling.