Chapter One: Betrayal upon Betrayal

How could the Jedi betray Ahsoka?

The thought rattled around in Anakin's mind, stirring a kaleidoscope of emotions within the Jedi. Anger, fear, and pain raged inside Anakin as the Coruscant sun cast an ominous light on the door and steps to the Jedi Temple.

Mom, visions of Mortis which I can't remember clearly, and now, I'm losing Ahsoka. The torrent of emotions inside the Chosen One threatened to tear the young man apart as he watched yet another piece of light leaving his heart. The man willed his legs to move, but they seemed frozen in an icy grip of grief and pain. Anakin felt a few tears skate down his cheeks and felt his heart rend in twain, half retreating with Ahsoka and half remaining locked in his chest. With sadness and pain mounting, Anakin felt…something buried begin to stir in him, something alien yet still him.

As Anakin's lips began to quiver ever so slightly while he continued to watch Ahsoka retreat, Anakin grit his teeth and released a reptilian roar. The sound echoed for miles across the planet-city. Palpatine, who had been grinning like a madman only a moment before as he reveled in Skywalker's anguish, now grew white with fear and wide-eyed with confusion as the strange sound beat against his ears and broke his concentration, freeing Anakin to move. Ahsoka stopped and turned back. She shivered at the pain and torture in the sound. The Jedi around the temple all froze, from Youngling to Council Member.

Grand Master Yoda set his jaw in a hard frown as roar faded from the imp's ears. "The Old Ones, back, they are."

Free to move again, Anakin ran for Ahsoka and embraced her as tears flowed freely from Anakin's eyes.

"Anakin," Ahsoka addressed him softly. "I have to do this." She sighed. "The Jedi aren't what I once thought they were; I cannot trust them or stay."

"I know, Snips." He smiled slightly as the light began to fill his eyes again. "The Jedi are fools and hypocrites."

Ahsoka blinked. She had never heard her teacher be so critical of the Jedi. "W-what do you mean, Master?"

Anakin flinched at the final word. "Come on, Snips." He said as he put an arm around Ahsoka's shoulders in a nonverbal warning to any Jedi that might try to apprehend him. "There are some things we need to talk about that I'm a bit ashamed to say I should have told you sooner."

After taking his XJ-6 from a local holding lot not far from the temple, Anakin sighed, "Hungry?"

Ahsoka looked at him and nodded. "I haven't eaten since…The Trial."

Anakin let her grief roll over him. "We'll get through this together." He promised her. "We've fought through everything the Separatists could throw at us and made it. This won't be any different."

Ahsoka allowed herself a small smirk. "You sure are confident, Skyguy."

Anakin opened his mouth to respond but stopped as he pulled up to Dex's Diner. Obi-wan raved about Dex's cooking, but until now, Anakin hadn't had the time or opportunity to test the cooking himself.

Together, they walked in. Time in war had molded the pair into a sate of near-constant vigilance. The establishment itself was a bit run down, and the lighting could stand to be upgraded, but other than that, the place looked no different from the way Ibi-Wan described. The smell that came from the kitchen roused Anakin's stomach as he sat down in a booth not far from the door with Ahsoka across the table from him. A droid came up to the table.

"What can I get ya?" The droid asked as she laid two menus on the table.

"Two orders of Jawa Juice, a cut of Naboo Falumpaset steak, medium well." Anakin looked at Ahsoka.

"I'll have Shili fish stew."

The droid nodded. "The city making you homesick, Sweetheart?"

Ahsoka looked up from the menu at the droid. "I've had a rough time the past few weeks." Ahsoka smiled sadly. "I figured a meal from my childhood would help me feel better."

Once the droid departed with their menus, Anakin chuckled mirthlessly. "It's a bit ironic."

The marking above Ahsoka's right eye raised slightly. "What do you mean?"

"You miss your home while I would rather never see mine again."

Ahsoka shivered as she felt a small bit of pain leak from Anakin with those words. For a moment, the memory of Anakin's look of absolute fury when a Zygerrian intended to strike her while she was a slave under them briefly flashed clearly through the Togruta's mind. "Why were you so brutal when we faced those slavers?"

Anakin became somber. "I thought Obi-Wan told you."

Ahsoka nodded and put a comforting hand on Anakin's waves of pain and grief began to radiate from him. "He did tell me some things, but I want to hear it from you."

"I was born a slave under Gardulla the Hutt." Anakin growled. "When Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan discovered me, I was in the service of a Toydarian with my Mom."

Ahsoka squeezed his hand. "No wonder you hate Hutts."

Anakin nodded. Then, a brief moment of happiness showed on the man's face. "When I was child, I had a dream that I came back to Tattooine as a Jedi and freed everyone." Darkness fell over his face again. "They betrayed me and let my Mom die." He whispered, anguish written plain on his face. "If only I had…"

Ahsoka glared at him. "I don't know your mother, but I doubt she would want you wallowing in self-pity." Ahsoka sighed. "I imagine she would want you to do the best you can with what you've been given. Living in the past only hurts, it doesn't allow you to grow." Ahsoka looked Anakin in the eyes. "Don't let go of the happy memories with her, but release the pain you're carrying."

Anakin gave a half-smile, marred by the lingering pain that gradually faded from his face. "Thank you, Master Tano."

The Togruta smiled at the man who had been with her through so much. "You're stuck with me, Anakin."

Anakin nodded and reached over to grab their meals from the waitress droid. "Thank you."

The droid gave a slight bow and rolled away without a word.

As the pair ate, thoughts raced through their minds of the possible future. Anakin kept thinking of Padme. How would she react to him leaving the Order? Something in him always whispered their relationship was nothing but a childish crush that bloomed interesting a monstrosity it never should have been. With their marriage in secret, there was no official record of their union. In many ways, they were married in name only. It would be easier to leave since the relationship was built on nothing but a boyhood crush and mutual attraction once Padme saw him again.

Ahsoka, on the other hand, knew little beyond the temple and knew she wouldn't have any skills besides those in battle. Getting a job to sustain herself would be difficult at best. However, the thought of her only future possibilities at present being associated with bounty hunting paled at the state of her friend as she looked up at him from her own meal. "Are you alright, Skyguy?"

As he ate, Anakin began to feel an odd sense of distortion and euphoria. His chest began to ache as the world spun around him. The last thing Anakin heard was Padme laughing gleefully, but instead of happiness, the noise filled him with disgust and sadness. Then, flashes of her apartment in the Upper Levels slammed into his mind.

"Palo," her voice colored the images with a happiness that made Anakin feel ill. "I've missed this."

Meanwhile, Ahsoka watched as Anakin fell into unconsciousness. Before he hit the floor, she slowed him with the Force so he would land gently. The young Togruta resisted the urge to call for a medic. This wasn't a war zone, and Ahsoka felt fairly certain the food wasn't poisoned. Anakin would have known had it been, they both would, though the Force.

Ahsoka quickly knelt and checked Anakin's pulse. It was strong and steady as if he were sleeping. Next, the Togruta scanned his Force Signature, shivered at the knotted mess she found, and internally cursed as she tried to lift him. Dex saw her and stopped what he was doing to help the girl.

"What happened to him?" Dex asked as he picked up Anakin in a massive hand.

Ahsoka looked at him. "Something gave him a shock."

Dex nodded, though he was confused. From the stories he heard from Obi-Wan, Dex figured this Anakin was made of durasteel with some of the skud he'd been through. "Hermione, prepare the antidote."

Ahsoka sighed. "Thank you for the offer, Dex; but I don't think it will be helpful or work."

Dex scratched the back of his head as Ahsoka handed him the necessary credits to pay for the meals. "If you really think that's wise."

Ahsoka looked over at the speeder parked outside and and loaded Anakin in the vehicle with the Force. Then, she fastened the safety belts around him and cautiously piloted the speeder away. By what could only be guidance from the Force, Ahsoka wound up pulling up to Padme's apartment complex. When she got out to take Anakin inside the building, he began to rouse.

"Ahsoka, where-" The young man's words crashed to a halt when he recognized the building. "What- How? Why did you take me here?"

Ahsoka shrugged. "When you aren't on the battlefield or in the Temple, you're here. I thought this would be good place to take you."

Anakin began to feel his head swim again but fought it back. Force, I hope I'm wrong. The Jedi Knight thought to himself.

Ahsoka looked at her teacher and friend in confusion and a bit of worry. "What's going on, Ani?"

Anakin shook his head as his chest burned with searing pain at the tainted nickname. "Please don't call me that."

With a growl, Anakin used the Force to rocket up to Padme's balcony. Once he landed, Anakin silently slipped around to the balcony window and peeked into the window. The thing he saw through the window made Anakin want to scream in agony, but he only jumped back to the speeder and drove away.

"What did you see?"

Anakin sighed. "I saw enough, Snips."

Ahsoka could feel the pain in Anakin as he sat next to her. With nothing but an idea in her mind, Ahsoka gently pushed and pulled against Anakin's signature. Oddly, he seemed to relax as she continued to work on the knots of emotion in Anakin's connection to the Force.

"What…are you…" Anakin groaned in surprise as a surge of sadness assailed his mind. Something inside the young man broke free in that moment. The Jedi Knight turned to Ahsoka and hugged her tightly as years of trapped emotions and trauma surged to the surface.

"I'm so sorry, Master!" Ahsoka said in a panic as she stopped "massaging" his knots in the Force.

"Snips, what'd you do?" Anakin asked, more surprised and confused than truly angry.

The Togruta's tips of her lekku shifted in color to a richer blue as she felt embarrassment creep up. "Master, you seemed so…I don't know a word that fits." She said softly before she continued . "I want to say 'broken', but that's not quite right. 'In pain' doesn't really fit either because this was very deep." Ahsoka shook her head. "I didn't intend to pry, Master." Ahsoka flinched at hint of pain from Anakin that continued to come with the word.

Anakin raised a brow as his face grew concerned at the fear he felt from his former Padawan. "Now, we go to the Twilight and talk about the next move." He brushed against her mind with the Force and was surprised to find fear. "What is it?"

Ahsoka looked around and spotted the modified spice freighter. "I'll explain while we reset the transponder codes."

Anakin let that statement sink in as he guided the speeder into the old ships cargo bay and shut the hatch. I hadn't realized how much things have changed since Christophsis. The Jedi Knight thought as he glanced at Ahsoka and began the modifications with her help.

As they worked, Anakin continued to feel a tension in his companion. However, he was willing to be patient and let her decompress on her own. Between the both of them, the necessary changes to cover their tracks didn't take nearly salon as Anakin had previously estimated. The various circuit boards and wires were surprisingly easy to access and change. Given the vessel's history as a drug cargo ship, it made sense for the ship's identification to be relatively easy to change. When the last reworked circuit board slid into position, a holographic screen and Basic keyboard appeared in front of Anakin.

"Hey, Snips!" Anakin called calmly. "What do you want to rename the ship?"

Ahsoka walked over as she cleaned her hands with a grease rag. "I don't know, Anakin." Ahsoka sighed. "New Dawn?"

Anakin made a face. "No, that name doesn't seem right." That particular name also made Anakin's skin crawl for a reason he couldn't understand. "How about 'Aether'?"

The Toguta nodded in agreement. "Mist, you know it's there, but you can't exactly capture it."

Anakin smiled. "Exactly…" He started up the launch sequence and looked over as Ahsoka took her see while they began to leave the atmosphere of Coruscant behind. "We will be nothing but vapor, only heard and never seen."

Ahsoka looked up at Anakin. "Now that we're in hyperspace, Anakin, I feel safe enough to tell you something."

A million questions fired off at once in Anakin's mind. What could scare you so badly, Ahsoka?

The Togruta closed her eyes and took a calming breath to control the fear inside her. "I've had nightmares since this frame job for the temple bombing started." Ahsoka looked at Anakin and drew strength from his presence enough to continue. "The Son never died. He haunts me still."

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