Ahsoka felt her breaths rattle in her chest. She'd been expecting this. She was old. A hundred and thirteen to be precise. The Force had already claimed the lives of many. Her husband at ninety-three, Barriss several years before at eighty-two. Even her four children had already answered the Force's call.
She closed her eyes, knowing it would be the last time, and folded her hands over her chest with the last ounces of strength in her frail body. She didn't mind dying alone. Her husband was waiting for her on the other side of the veil. Soon she would be with him and their children. Barriss was there, and Anakin. Everyone she'd lost was waiting for her.
The flow of the Force rippled around her, tugging at her soul. She had never called for it to do so, nor did she fight it now. It was time for her to go.
She exhaled softly and found that she no longer needed to breathe. The Force pulled her and she joined it, flowing into the river of souls long gone before her. Her great-grandchildren, now themselves starting to age, would discover her body in the morning and return it to the earth where it belonged. She no longer needed it.
Ahsoka let herself fall into the Force, let it surround her, flow around her. She lost her awareness, but that was fine.
She was the Force now.
And then she opened her eyes.
It was bright.
Naboo was never this bright midwinter. This sun was harsh and stabbing and-
What?
She could see a hand through her hazy vision, and it was probably hers. But her hands were bony and thin, with skin so delicate you could tear it with too firm a handshake. These hands were slim and firm and when she flexed her fingers, there was no arthritic grinding. Her joints flowed the way they had when she was young. The fine lines that had peppered her skin were gone. Her hand looked...young.
She made a fist, and her joints didn't protest. Her fingers folded into each other with ease. She opened her hand again and now she noticed the wrist and forearm attached to it. Smooth and strong, with an elbow joint that didn't creak.
"Snips, are you going to stare at your hand all day or are you getting out of bed?"
Ahsoka jumped. Snips? No one in her house called her Snips. She was 'Gramma Soka' to everyone now, and before that 'Mom'. Not…
She looked up, right into the eyes of a man who should not be that young.
"A-Anakin?"
He looked confused. "Yeah?"
Where was she? When was she? What had the Force done? Now that she looked around, she kind of recognized her room in the Temple. But after living with dementia since she was…seventy? At least forty years. Her memory was a little hazy.
She sat up, looking down at herself.
She looked good.
Not that Ahsoka would ever diss her body, but things had gotten saggy over the years. She had kids. Got a little chubby. It happened. She'd forgotten what it was like to live in an absolute powerhouse. Everything was firm and wrinkle-free, and she had abs again!
"I haven't had abs like this since before I had kids!"
"Ahsoka, are you feeling okay?"
She looked up. "You have to promise you'll believe me."
"As long as you tell me the truth."
"I…I just died. I remember being in the Force. I let it pull me away. I was…in the Force and then suddenly, I'm not. I'm here. Wait, how old am I?"
"Uh, fourteen."
She burst out laughing. Fourteen! Aw, one more year and it could've been an even hundred! The Force couldn't have given her one more birthday before throwing her back? That was kind of disappointing.
"What's so funny?"
Ah it was nice to have lungs that could laugh like this again. "I…I was a hundred and thirteen when I died. Aw, one more year! One more year and I could've made it an even hundred! Although, counting my blessings and all that." She snickered.
"Wait you're not kidding."
"No." She sighed. "I really did live my life. And I died. And...now I'm back here. Fourteen. Wait have I met Carter Draik?"
"Uh, yeah? He almost got exiled for having feelings for you a few months ago."
"Oh okay, don't have to worry about that." Ahsoka looked herself over again. "Dang, I look good!" She looked down her nightdress. "Oh the girls are feeling perky today! I haven't looked this good in decades! Wow." It was starting to sink in. "I'm really back. At the beginning. Where it all started. I lived my life and…and I have a chance to live it again."
He sat down slowly on her bed. "Your...whole life."
"Yeah. I died at a hundred and thirteen. Outlived my own kids, my husband, Barriss. Maybe even one of my grandkids. My mind was pretty gone, at the end."
"Wait what? Husband? Kids? Grandkids? What kind of life did you have?"
"A hard one." She didn't remember her Rebel days well, but they were there. "The war's just started and I didn't stop fighting until I was almost forty. Twenty-two years. I know, because my oldest were eighteen almost nineteen, when we got the call, that it was all over. That we'd won. The Empire was no more."
"But what about the Jedi?"
"Oh there weren't any Jedi. You were all dead. Uhh, except for Yoda. And Kanan. And me. Wait, did the Force send me back to...change things?"
"Well if it did, we're not wasting any time. Come on."
By the time they were out in the hallway, Ahsoka had made a decision. She was tired of being serious. She'd been sick of it by her seventies and just because she was now physically fourteen again didn't mean she was going back to acting like it. Snips was about to get snippier.
The Council was the same batch of old coots she only partly remembered. And now she was older then all of them except for Yoda.
"Padawan Tano. We were told you experienced a vision of sorts that gave you knowledge of the future." She had a nagging feeling she was forgetting something.
She laughed. "Vision? I died, you di'kuts! I lived ta be a hunderd and thirteen! And then I died and the Force sent me back here! Lemme tell you it is nice to be fourteen again. No more arthritis! Although, brain's still as kooky as ever. Yeah, I have future knowledge, but ya know what else got packed up with alla dat? Dementia! I've had dementia since I was seventy. Forty years. I got future knowledge, but that ain't helpful if I don't remember what da heck it is!"
"Do you know who the Sith Lord is?"
"Yes."
He gestured for her to continue. "Who is it then?"
She shrugged. "I don' know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"I possessed this knowledge at one point in time, but it's gone now. I do know that in three years you all gone die! Well, 'cept for Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Kanan. They still gone die, just not then. I still outlive y'all by like sixty years. Also, Obi-Wan made a real stupid lookin' old dude."
Mundi gave her a look. "Show some respect for this Council."
"No."
"No?"
"No, I won't. You wanna tell an old biddy what to do? I been around a lot longer 'n you! I lost all respect for this Council when…wait I forgot."
Anakin groaned. "I'm gonna bang my head against the wall."
"You do that. Hey, you 'n Padmé doin' okay? You guys weren't doin' so hot, with the whole Sith betrayal thang."
Dead silence except for Depa' incredulous "What."
Anakin stared at her confused. "What? What...Sith betrayal thing? What are you talking about?"
She shrugged. "I forgot."
"You forgot. You forgot what the Sith betrayal was. You didn't think for a moment that might be important."
"Well now, I did not think I'd ever need the information. Everbody know about it! Hey, just noticed I kept my old lady accent. Cool!"
"Do you remember anything about why you don't trust the Council?" The bald guy looked like he would rather be anywhere else at the moment.
"Uh, I'm supposed to hate Barriss over it and everyone was very confused that I didn't."
"Barriss Offee."
"Yeah. Still don't know why. My husband used to laugh at me."
"Your husband?"
"Yeah! We were married for...I forgot how long. But it was at least...wait, forgot that too. Had four kids, nine grandkids, twenty two great-grandkids, and at the time I died, somethin' around forty great-great-grandkids."
Everyone was silent.
"Oh and Skyguy, your grandson was a jerk."
"What...what grandson?"
"Uhhhh…I don't think you had more than one. Luke sat on a rock for like thirty years and let his twin do all the work. I liked Leia though. Wait, what was her husband's name? Oh, looks like I forgot that too."
As she looked around the circle, she had a sinking feeling she was forgetting something.
"Padawan Tano, please focus."
"Wait who are you?"
He looked confused. "Master Windu."
She had no idea who that was. She knew she was probably supposed to know, but she couldn't remember him for the life of her. "I have no idea who you are."
"Ahsoka, this isn't the time for jokes."
"No seriously. I have no idea who he is. That used to happen. I'd be introduced to someone and turn around three times and oops I forgot. Only reason why I didn't forget you is I named my son after you."
He stopped. "You...what?"
"Yeah. My son's name was Anakin Rulek. And, assuming he's born, I don't plan on changing that. What, you don't want me to?"
"No no no, it's fine, just...wasn't expecting that."
"Padawan Tano, did you just admit to breaking the Code?"
"Actually, technically, I was not a part of the Order when they were born. Although, if I'm bring technical, I was part of the Order when I got pregnant, so I don't know where that falls. And also when I got married. But hey, monkey see, monkey do."
"What does that mean?"
"I just said Skyguy here had a grandson. His kids are older than mine. I dunno if his grandkid ever got around to having kids. And anyway he's already married and I just met my future husband. So, monkey see monkey do."
Everyone was staring at her in dead silence.
"How did you find out? Our secrecy was foolproof."
She gave Anakin a look. "If it was foolproof, you would have denied my claims right out the gate. Accusations mean nothing without evidence and you just admitted to it. Also, you told me. And meeting a Luke Skywalker whose age matched up perfectly with the time I knew Padmé was pregnant kinda gave it away."
Master Windu sighed. "Meeting adjourned while we all process this."