Hey lovelies! Chapter 4 here! This is the last one in zygerria. After this, we get to tone it back some and start to see some of the recovery which I know a lot of you are here for. Thanks for being patient, especially if graphic and confronting scenes aren't your thing. If you struggled with the other chapters, I'd skip this one too. I'll leave a summary at the bottom for you. For the rest of you, enjoy!

CHAPTER TRIGGERS: Torture, Physical Abuse, Threatened Sexual Abuse, Panic Attack. Read at your own risk.

PREVIOUSLY:

He's here now. And though they can't talk, can't touch, can barely look at each other without having to glance over their shoulders, he's here, and she hurts just a little less.

It's not enough to stop her though, because her mind is already made up. Tonight, she doesn't etch a new line into the frame of her bed. Instead, she spends her time counting them. She wants to know how many days she was forced to endure. How many nights she managed to fall asleep with the will to survive another day. Nine hundred and ninety-seven nights. Not nine hundred and ninety-eight, because tonight doesn't count.

This is the last night that she's going to spend in this cursed bed.

FOUR - Escape From Kadavo

Something is wrong today. Something is wrong with Ahsoka, more so than the past two days that he's assigned himself to watch her.

He first notices it in her eyes when they're all rounded up and assigned work for the day. They're empty and unresponsive, like she can't hear a word that's said to them. He sees it again when the guards jam their electro-staffs straight into her gut, causing her whole body to convulse when she falters in her work. She doesn't fight back. She looks like she hardly notices it's there. She just waits for it to be over, and then gets back to work.

He sees it in her face when he manages to catch a glimpse of her amongst the crowd of togruta colonists. The slight frown that he's observed on her for the past two days is gone. She looks at peace. No, that's not right. It's not peace. It's acceptance.

There's a name for it. Shuk'la verd. That's the Mando'a term for it at least. A broken soldier. A dead man walking. Rex has seen it amongst the men after rough campaigns, or after brothers lost. Men who would rather eat their blaster than live and face another day. It's a true testimony to the cruelty of a war-torn galaxy that even their programming against suicide is sometimes not enough. And he knows now that no amount of battles faced or brothers lost could even come close to the amount of cruelty that resides within these walls.

She's been here for three years.

He can't blame her, but he also can't let her get herself killed. Not back then, and not now when he just got her back.

So he lets himself become daring and he edges himself closer to her, closer, until he's working shoulder to shoulder with her. She doesn't even notice he's there. She just keeps her blank eyes forward and stays at work. Shovelling load after load of mined rock into her cart.

Ahsoka, he wants to whisper under his breath. Ahsoka, look at me. Talk to me. But he doesn't, because the last time Obi-wan was caught speaking, Ahsoka paid for it.

So he lets her be, focuses on his own tasks while he watches her and tries not to feel dismayed that she likely can't draw comfort from him if she doesn't even know he's there.

When Ahsoka's cart is full, she drops her shovel and heaves the handles up to drag it away. He follows her with his own cart, even though his is still half empty. He knows it's risky and most likely looks suspicious, but he doesn't know that she won't try anything when he's not with her, and he just can't take the chance. Even if it's just the trip to the stone refinery station.

He might be punished for it, but so be it. He'll take it. And if she's punished, he has already made up his mind that he won't let her take it.

They pass Obi-wan on their journey towards the refinery. Between the two of them, they had agreed that with the heavy zygerrian scrutiny over the Jedi, they would be better off apart where Rex would have the freedom to watch Ahsoka while Obi-wan kept the eyes off them. From the fresh wounds Ahsoka sports, he knows it didn't work, and he can see the moment that Obi-wan realises that too. He sees the moment he realises just how dangerously Ahsoka is balancing on the edge of awareness, of sanity.

His eyes are pained, and Rex wishes he could say something to the General, to let him know that he won't let anything happen, but Ahsoka has continued forward and he needs to follow.

Wake up, Ahsoka! He wants to shake her hard and beg her to snap out of it, because it hurts to see her like this. It's starting to really scare him.

They make it all the way to the refinery and dump their load. But when they turn to head back to their own station, two guards stop in front of Ahsoka, arms crossed and sneering at her. She looks so small standing in front of them, and it's jarring to see that she doesn't even look frightened.

They glance at Rex, and their sneers turn to snarls.

"The Keeper warned you to keep your distance from the Republicans, skug," one growls at Ahsoka, while the other reaches slowly for his whip. He flings it to the side, and it blares to life, glowing a threatening yellow as it crackles with energy.

Ahsoka doesn't respond, not even when the zygerrian raises the hand holding the handle. She won't resist, he knows because he knows from what he's seen that the seasoned slaves have learnt not to flinch at their punishments. She won't resist. But they haven't quite taught him that, and he's more than happy to resist on her behalf.

Before the whip can make contact with Ahsoka's front, he steps in front of her with his arm out. The whip curls painfully around his bicep and he yells when the electricity runs up his arm and seizes his muscles, but it doesn't stop him. They might be zygerrians, but he's a clone. He's stronger than they are.

He yanks his arm back, and the handle flies out of his grip and into Rex's other hand. The guard beside him shouts in alarm and slams his hand into a button on his vambrace. The shock collar on Rex's neck sets off and brings him to his knees. Pain, pain, pain, but not enough to stop him. He needs to protect Ahsoka. He steadies a knee in front of him and uses it to force himself back to his feet. The whip around his arm unwinds, still lit up with energy, and he swings it towards the second zygerrian. The power of it fries the remote to Rex's collar and he gasps with relief when it turns off.

The two guards back away from him, and he reaches an arm out to guide Ahsoka behind him. Out of their sight, because they're backing away, but they're still looking for an opening to attack. He won't let them.

"Clone!" A voice bellows out, along with another cry and a constant buzz of another shock collar going off. Rex turns around and it's Agruss. He's standing some way away with Obi-wan on his knees in front of him, straining and gritting his teeth as his collar lights up yellow. Agruss is holding an electro-staff, and the end is pointing threateningly at Obi-wan's neck.

One wrong move from him, and he knows Agruss will more than have it in him to drive the staff home. He freezes.

"Drop the weapon or the Jedi dies," he jeers, and Rex has no choice but to release the handle of the whip and let it fall to the ground. Agruss smiles cruelly, baring his pointed teeth. He flinches at Obi-wan's shouts of pain, but Anakin's instructions from earlier find their way into his memory. Don't break eye contact. So he holds his ground and stares right back into Agruss' eyes. He doesn't look happy at that.

"I will have you killed for pulling a stunt like that," he says, "but lucky for you, there's someone who wishes to speak with you first." He removes the staff from Obi-wan's neck and uses it to point at him. "Mind yourself, clone. Or I'll make it painful for all of you."

Rex doesn't know what to do, so he stays still for a moment, but Agruss has released Obi-wan's collar and has forced him to his feet, leading him towards the guard quarters on the far end of the mine. From behind him, Ahsoka is seized by another guard and dragged along, and there's really no choice for him but to follow.

They make their way past the work stations, collecting stares from the other colonists as they pass, and through the door to the rest of the building. Rex tries his best to observe his surroundings. They've never been taken to this part of the facility, so he tries his best to remember his way through it, knowing that when the time comes for them to escape, they'd have to be ready. Ahead of him, Obi-wan still looks like he is recovering and Ahsoka still looks no more coherent than before.

Whoever wants to see them, Rex will need to be on guard. He's now got two Jedi to protect.

A blast door slides open, and an electro-staff is jammed into his back. Startled and in pain, Rex stumbles forward and down a flight of steps, willing himself to stay upright. He manages it for a while, but the staff just comes again and again, and eventually he falls to his knees at the bottom of the steps. Obi-wan, who had to be dragged the majority of the way, is tossed to the floor beside him, but strangely, Ahsoka is taken to a corner and hidden from sight as more guards block her from view.

A holo is activated in front of them, and he finds himself glaring into the eyes of Count Dooku. Of course. He isn't even surprised that the Separatists are caught up in this scheme. He bites back his insults, knowing that it won't help any of them. The Count isn't even looking at him though, his eyes are focused on Obi-wan.

"Obi-wan Kenobi. In chains once again I see," he says in disdain. After four days in the slave facility, the sight of clean clothing and evidently good hygiene looks foreign. Obi-wan seems to have shared his thoughts, because he coughs once and forces himself to look up into the glaring light of the holo.

"Count Dooku. Still afraid to get your hands dirty," He croaks painfully.

"I'd gladly make an exception in your case my friend." Obi-wan looks as if he wants to speak back, but the guards behind him prod his side with the tip of their boot in warning. Obi-wan remains silent, but his jaw is clenched. "I wanted to say a proper farewell before Keeper Agruss puts you to death."

So Agruss wasn't bluffing.

Rex isn't afraid of death. He has always expected to live a short life, but for the first time, Rex can't accept it. Not for his duty or for himself, but for Ahsoka. He's seen what kind of a life she's been living. It's no life for anyone, and if he's the only one with the knowledge and power to take her away from it, he refuses to die before he can get her away from all of this.

He can't see much of her, she's still being hidden behind a wall of guards, but from what he can see, her head is lowered, and she's hunched in on herself.

An alarm goes off to the side of the room where a guard sits by a security monitor, and he suddenly looks up in panic. "Keeper, there's a ship making an unscheduled landing on platform 24!"

"Skywalker," Dooku growls under his breath. Rex feels himself breathe a sigh of relief. His General is coming for them.

From the corner of the room, Rex can see the tips of Ahsoka's montrals jerk as she suddenly looks up. He catches a glimpse of her eyes, and she looks alert for the first time today, as if the name has awoken something within her.

The Count looks displeased with the turn of events, and he turns back to Obi-wan.

"Kenobi, tell your young friend Skywalker if he doesn't surrender, the slaves will be terminated in his name," he says, before the holo cuts off, and it's Agruss that now glares down at them from his karking hoverseat.

He holds out his own comm and shoves it into Obi-wan's face. He recoils, but then Anakin's face appears in front of them, and Obi-wan closes his eyes and lets out a shaky breath.

In the corner, Ahsoka whimpers quietly.

"Anakin," Obi-wan says in defeat, and Rex sees his General's head startle up at the voice.

"Obi-wan!" He tries to say something else, but Obi-wan doesn't let him.

"Anakin, you have to stop. They're threatening to kill the slaves unless you surrender," he says. His eyes drift over to where Ahsoka is being held in the corner of the room, and he looks pained.

"It's good to see you're always willing to negotiate," Anakin scoffs, his attention elsewhere for the moment. Rex can hear blaster fire in the background. "But I've had enough bargaining with these kriffing slavers."

Obi-wan doesn't respond for a moment, and the only sound is the commotion from the comm and Anakin's occasional grunt of effort.

"Anakin," Obi-wan finally whispers, and his eyes shine with defeat. "They have Ahsoka with them."

For a moment, Anakin looks stunned. He stops whatever he's doing and his eyes go impossibly wide as he just stands there and stares. Then, his eyebrows lower into a frown, and then into a snarl.

"You told me she was dead," Anakin breathes. He looks murderous, and he lifts his eyes to Obi-wan, who flinches at the cold, hard rage within them. "You told me she was dead!"

"I… I thought she was," Obi-wan's voice is so soft and cracking with guilt. "But she's here, and they'll kill her if you don't stand down."

Anakin doesn't say anything. Only stares further, until he suddenly lets out an enraged cry and brings his fist down onto his comm. The connection is lost, and Agruss looks uncertain as to whether or not Skywalker will be coming.

He'll be coming. Rex knows him well enough, knows that with his uncontrollable anger and determination, nothing will stop him from getting to them. Not when his padawan is here with them.

Obi-wan lets out another shaky breath, but Rex doesn't look at him. Anakin's anger has spiked some of his own, and whether they're enslaved or not, Rex can't afford to lash out at the General like Anakin can.

It's not hard to see why he blames Obi-wan, why the bitterness from before has turned into raging anger at the new revelation. The Jedi Council had told them that Ahsoka had been killed by a bounty hunter. Records of a full credit transaction were found, and the 501st had been ordered to stand down and discontinue their desperate investigation. All information had been hidden from them to protect those involved from Anakin's wrath.

Rex won't speak for Anakin's temper, but all he knows is that the Council was too caught up in protecting a single bounty hunter that they had abandoned one of their own to a life of slavery. They're the reason why Ahsoka is now backed against the wall and surrounded by slavers.

"Jedi reinforcements!" The guard at the security monitor yells, and Agruss growls. In anger, and maybe in fear. He's right to be fearful.

The collar around his neck suddenly crackles, and Rex startles and flinches, but it flies off of him, crumples into a pile of metal and drops to the floor. Obi-wan's does too. Then the Jedi reaches his hand out towards Ahsoka and Rex sees her sudden, panicked movements, but her collar drops off too.

She's free. They're free. They need to move.

"Rex, now!" Obi-wan shouts, and Rex doesn't need to be told twice.

He fights like he was born to fight. Which he was. He's a protector, bred and trained. A protector of the people, a protector of the Jedi and a protector of his family. The zygerrians have threatened and hurt all three, and Rex has no problem taking them down one by one.

It doesn't take long to dispose of the guards behind him. These men aren't fighters, aren't used to their slaves fighting back, and it aggravates Rex more. These men have gained power not through their own strength, but by crushing the weak under their feet. But they're cowards at heart. They had no right to take lives that didn't belong to them. They had no right to rip apart his family.

He renders three guards unconscious and gains an electro-staff in the process. Behind him, Obi-wan is busy dealing with Agruss, so Rex continues forward to face the guards that have Ahsoka.

For a moment when he first sees her, he thinks she might fight back. There's a strange and sudden fire in her eyes that was missing all day. Well, missing for three years if he thinks about it. But she looks more alive than ever, and it's so familiar that he almost stops and stares at her.

But he doesn't, because she's still in danger, and although she looks like she could kill, she's still not moving. Not fighting back. So he does it for her. He dodges and pivots and kicks and swings the staff down onto the guards until they too drop to the floor one by one.

"No!" He hears from Obi-wan and he spares a second to turn and assess the situation. Obi-wan is desperately hovering his hands over the destroyed controls of the security monitor while Agruss sits in his chair and laughs. Laughs that he just pressed a button and left the remaining colonists in the mine to their deaths.

Rex wants to kill him.

So does Obi-wan, because he lets out a yell and lunges at Agruss with his lightsaber ignited. Rex doesn't know when he recovered it, but it doesn't matter. Obi-wan brings the luminous blade to his throat and Agruss only laughs.

"Come now, Master Kenobi," he sneers, "I know a Jedi won't kill an unarmed man!"

Obi-wan falters then, and Rex knows that he won't bring the blade down, isn't willing to take life, no matter how cruel, no matter how evil. He's not Anakin Skywalker. But Rex doesn't have the same qualms as he does. Rex will kill him and he won't hesitate when he does.

Obi-wan seems to realise this too, because he turns around and meets his eye. Asks silently if Rex will do what he will not. And he will.

Rex shifts slightly and hefts the staff in his hand, ready to throw, to deliver the killing blow, but he pauses when he realises that Agruss' eyes aren't even on him. They're fixed behind him. On Ahsoka.

Ahsoka, who's eyes stare straight back at him, the fire burning brighter than ever.

Ahsoka is awake.

It's jolting and terrifying because she hasn't felt this way in forever. She buzzes with the lack of action, and her blood boils for vengeance. It's as if for the first time since her capture, power has been given back to her.

When the chaos first breaks out, Ahsoka doesn't move, though every bone in her body begs her to. She wants to so badly, but she knows that hope is a dangerous thing for her. If she tries again, and she fails, she thinks she might just break.

So she waits, she assesses and she swallows the urge to let out a suppressed scream and attack the guards around her. They called her a savage. They've never seen how true those words were.

But they drop to the floor one by one by themselves, and soon her vision narrows because the zygerrians are suddenly gone. All except one. One more, and he's sitting right in front of her.

"Ahh, my prized Jedi skug." The Keeper beckons her towards him, a cruel smile widening on his face. It's the one he wears when she knows he will especially enjoy watching her take her punishment. She hates that she moves forward on instinct. She hates how weak he's made her. All of a sudden, more than anything she's ever wanted, she wants to show him that she's not weak. Even if it's a lie.

She has no plan in mind. She feels alive, feels fire run through her veins and she moves as if she's possessed, passing Rex who's holding the electrostaff of a fallen guard. She takes his arm that is gripping the handle, and he doesn't question her, just slips the weapon into her grasp.

Everything she hates about herself, it's because of him. Him and her master. She may hate herself, but she hates them more.

"Your master will not be pleased when he returns, my dear," the Keeper sneers at her. "He will not be kind in bed this time, of that I can assure you."

The words nearly suppress her fire, but she doesn't let it. Her master is not here. But the Keeper is. He won't take this away from her.

She can feel Rex's eyes snap to the back of her head. She can see Obi-wan swallow at the implication of the words of Keeper Agruss. She knows that she should care, remembers that it was something she never wanted them to know about her, but she doesn't. Right now, she doesn't care. She continues forward and adjusts the grip of the staff. The tip is pointed straight at the Keeper's heart, crackling with energy. She continues forward.

She wants so badly to be free of him. She knows what she has to do.

"Strike me, and I promise that he'll make you suffer for it," he taunts her, his clawed fingers reaching up to ghost over her severed lekku. A reminder. She shudders in fear at the memory, but she's more afraid of allowing him to take what little of herself she has left. He doesn't think she'll do it. Oh, how wrong he is.

She plunges the spear deep into his chest. It penetrates the flesh and pierces his heart. He screams as the shocks jostle him and the sparks run over his body.

"And I promise" she whispers, though it's not heard over his howls, "that no one will ever suffer by your hand again, Keeper." She leans close. "I'm done being a slave for you."

She watches intently until she can see for herself that the light in his eyes goes out.

She breathes, closes her eyes and lets her emotions run through her for the first time in a long time. The Keeper is dying, and seeing it happen gives her back a part of herself that he had taken. Her bravery. Her resolve. She can almost imagine herself as the girl she once was, before he had found her and he had remade her.

But then his eyes fall blank, the life in them drains out, and when it does, it's like her wave of intent goes with it, because she no longer feels brave. In fact, she's absolutely terrified.

The memories rush back towards her as if they're someone else's. She just held a staff in her hands, and she had driven it straight into his heart. She knows it's not a dream because he's still staring at her with lifeless eyes. The blood slowly drains out of his body and grows the stain on his clothes.

She reels back in shock, and turns around. Obi-wan and Rex are staring at her, waiting to see what she will do next.

She feels her breath pick up, but she's helpless to stop it.

What has she done? She just killed Keeper Agruss. Her master will kill her for this, she has no doubt. The thought wouldn't be so terrifying if she didn't know him so well. He'll make sure she screams first. What has she done? She's trying so hard to breathe, but she just can't get enough air.

There are arms reaching out for her. She doesn't know who's they are, or what they want but she writhes away from them in fear anyway. Please! Don't touch me! If they grab a hold of her, she knows they'll drag her so far down a road that there will be no coming back from. But she knows that begging won't be enough to appease her master. There will be no mercy for her.

There's a lightsaber in Obi-wan's hand. A lightsaber. She still remembers how to wield one. Or at least how to activate one. Maybe if she could just-

A presence suddenly forces its way into her mind, and she shrieks and brings her hands up to press hard against her temples. But she's not strong enough to push it out. It persists, digs deeper and deeper and she can't do anything but scream. Please!

Sleep Ahsoka, the presence speaks to her, and with it comes a heavy wave of exhaustion. No she can't. They are not kind when the slaves fall unconscious. But the wave is too strong, and she's slowly but surely yielding to it.

Please, no…

Please…

Sleep.

CHAPTER SUMMARY:
The chapter starts the next day. Rex knows that there's something wrong with Ahsoka. She seems to be in a trance, and unresponsive to the world around her as she goes about her day. He compares her to what he's seen in soldiers who have become suicidal, so he decides that for today, he will stay close to Ahsoka while he works in order to ensure that nothing happens. She's so out of it that she doesn't notice that he's next to her for most of the day.

After some time, two zygerrians notice that Rex is with Ahsoka, despite their warning to her that she should stay away from Rex and Obi-wan. They threaten to punish her for it, but Rex attacks them before they have a chance to. He's able to overpower them both, but he's forced to surrender when he sees that Keeper Agruss is threatening to kill Obi-wan if he doesn't stand down.

Agruss threatens to have Rex killed for the stunt he just pulled, but someone wants to see him, Ahsoka and Obi-wan first. They're brought out of the mine and into a different part of the facility, where Count Dooku is waiting for them on a holocall. Ahsoka isn't brought to talk to him, but is hidden from Dooku's sight in a corner. While Dooku tells them that they are to be executed, a ship enters the Kadavo atmosphere and makes an unauthorised landing at the facility. Dooku correctly guesses that it's Anakin and tells Obi-wan that if he can't get Anakin to surrender, the slaves will be executed.

Obi-wan reaches out to Anakin to ask him to surrender to save the colonists, but Anakin refuses. Desperate, Obi-wan tells Anakin that Ahsoka is alive. Anakin becomes angry, saying that he was told that Ahsoka was dead. Enraged, he destroys his comm, and the connection cuts off. It soon becomes evident that Anakin is not planning to surrender, and Obi-wan and Rex quickly move to gain control of the room, and to stop Agruss from killing the slaves. They manage to overpower all the guards, but Agruss manages to press the button to send the slaves to their deaths. Rex moves to kill him, but he realises that Agruss' attention is on Ahsoka.

The POV switches to Ahsoka, who has woken from her trance at the sound of Anakin's name. She suddenly feels capable to fight, but she doesn't out of fear that she might fail. However, when Obi-wan and Rex defeat all the zygerrians apart from Agruss, she decides that she will kill him.

When Keeper Agruss sees her, he tells her that if she kills him, her slaver Bruno Denturri will punish her. She doesn't listen to him, and kills him anyway. However once she does, she registers what she has just done, and panics, thinking that Denturri will now come to punish her for her actions. She doesn't notice Obi-wan and Rex trying to help her, too caught up in her panic. She sees Obi-wan's lightsaber in his hands and thinks about taking it to end her life before Denturri can get his hands on her, but she is put to sleep by the force before she can manage it. The chapter ends just as she loses consciousness.

Hope this was okay for you. Dark, I know. Also, I hope the POV switch wasn't too confusing. I had the chapter as a Rex POV, but thought that Ahsoka killing Agruss was best in her POV, so you could see her thought process and everything.

Feedback is welcome! Your comments so far have been so encouraging so thank you! From here on out, we'll start to lighten up with the themes.

See you all for chapter 5!