Obi-Wan's Grandpadawan Returns:

D22/1 BBY, Malachor

When she woke from the second disorienting trip in the space of an hour, her head pounding yet again, Ahsoka pulled her screaming body back onto her feet. The burn on her arm made itself known the loudest. Holding her arm protectively, Ahsoka looked back at where the portal had spit her out, but there was nothing there. "May the Force be with you, Ezra Bridger."

She gathered the Force within her and sent it to the burn on her arm, sighing as she felt immediate relief. A bacta patch would be nice, but this would do for now.

Ahsoka scanned the dark Temple that she had stood in not that long ago. Nothing looked the same. With no better course of action, she started making her way downwards. When she reached the layers that had lifts, she found out that Maul wasn't kidding about the two riders necessary for them to work. She resorted to jumping down each level, using the Force to cushion the landings. When she reached the ground, she looked around and sighed. Everything was covered in rocks and ash. Making her way out of here was going to take awhile. Not that she was in a hurry or anything.

Ahsoka fully expected to have to go into hiding somewhere for the next two years until she caught up to whatever timeline the new Ezra was in. But she wasn't doing it on this black pit of despair of a planet. She needed a way off. She knew there were three Inquisitors here, not that long ago, and that they had all perished in one way or another. That meant that hopefully, at least one of their personal TIEs was still here and still intact.

It took her a whole day to find it, but she did, thanks to Morai. She almost walked right past it, it was covered in so much ash and debris from the collapsed ceiling that used to be above the Temple. The explosion must have dislodged the fragile crust. Morai stopped on top of the pile of what she thought to be just rocks and hooted at her. Ahsoka looked at the pile closer and sighed in relief. She was getting weak from lack of water and food. Nothing grew on this awful planet. At least not in the vicinity of the Sith Temple. Ahsoka closed her eyes and drew the Force to her. With the strength of the Force, she tossed all of the debris off the TIE Advanced, praying that it wasn't too damaged to fly. One of the wings was somewhat bent, but Ahsoka fixed that in a few moments with another burst of the Force.

After checking the rest of the fighter for damage, she heard Morai hoot softly at her. Ahsoka raised her good arm, and the bird landed on her wrist. They looked at each other for a minute, Ahsoka seeing unknown realms in Morai's eyes. "Thank you," she whispered to the bird as she gently stroked its head. Morai chirped once more and Ahsoka felt a sense of peace flow through her as Morai took flight. She watched the bird disappear from sight from one moment to the next, and mourned the loss of her friend and guide. "I hope we see each other again," she said to the space where Morai was seen last.

She climbed into the TIE, and the first thing she did was search it for any rations or water. The Inquisitors might be evil, but they still had to function like other beings. She almost cried when she found a compartment filled with ration bars and pre-packaged water. She gulped down some water and tore into a ration bar, inhaling it in just a few bites. Taking the water and another bar with her, she sat in the pilot chair and pressed the buttons necessary to power up the TIE. Lights reluctantly came on all around her, and Ahsoka looked over all the systems, familiarizing herself with the model that she had never seen quite this close before. Her eyebrows rose in pleased surprise when she saw that the TIE came with a hyperdrive. That would make everything so much simpler.

Her eyes skimmed across the chronometer, then zoomed back in a double take. No. Way. The date was listed as D23/18 AFE. She'd actually lost more than a year and a half of her life. Although... That did solve the problem of having to hermit herself. That was worth something she supposed. And now the Bendu's last words to her finally made sense.

"You are set on this confrontation then?" the giant Bendu asked, before Ahsoka left for Malachor with Kanan and Ezra.

"I have to know the truth," she said in return.

The Bendu had looked down at her with sad, knowing eyes. "So be it, but understand this, much will change as a result of this encounter, including you."

"Isn't that true of all things, as time advances?"

The Bendu shook his head slightly. "My dear, when I say change, I mean death."

Ahsoka sucked in a breath."So I will die?"

"Will you? I didn't know that. Goodbye then, Ahsoka Tano, former Jedi Knight."

In a way, she had died. Or at least ceased to exist for more than a year and half. To the rest of the galaxy, she was dead. How strange that felt. If that was true, then she was now on her third life. Ahsoka wondered how many times she was going to defy death, before it found her for real.

Ahsoka shook off the morbid thoughts and flew the TIE off the planet and set a course for Tatooine. She needed to see for herself that Obi-Wan really was alive. With everything that had just happened, she was in desperate need of a friendly familiar face, and she couldn't think of anyone she wanted to see more than Obi-Wan. Rex would have to be a very close second, but she'd just seen him two days ago. She hadn't seen Obi-Wan for more than sixteen years. (Or eighteen, if you're going by the calendar.)

While the TIE travelled to Tatooine, Ahsoka curled up on the floor behind the chair and fell into an exhausted slumber. The ship dropping out of hyperspace woke her hours later. Ahsoka dragged her stiff body off the floor and up into the chair. She let the TIE float in space as she closed her eyes and fell into the soothing rhythms of meditation. With nothing to go on other than the planet, Ahsoka was counting on the Force to guide her to Obi-Wan. Her eyes opened and a smile graced her lips as the familiar Force signature of Obi-Wan was shown to her. She followed the beacon of his Signature around to the other side of the planet and landed the TIE near his home in the rocks, surrounded by the Western Dune Sea.

As Ahsoka climbed out of the TIE, a figure of an older, grey haired and bearded man appeared to greet her. She choked back a sob and ran towards him. "Master Kenobi! You are alive!"

Ben Kenobi gazed in shock from the Imperial TIE that had landed in his front yard to the grown up version of the Togruta female that he used to know many many years ago. At the last instant he opened his arms before she barrelled into them. After a minute, he held her by the shoulders so he could look at her properly, a grin forming on his face. "Little Ahsoka Tano. How you have grown. I thought you were dead."

Ahsoka smiled back at Obi-Wan. "I thought you were dead as well, Master Kenobi. And you got old."

Ben chuckled. "Just call me Ben, not so little Ahsoka. It's been a long time since I was a Master of anything."

Ahsoka raised a brow, but went with it. "Alright. Ben." She paused and shook her head. "That just doesn't sound right."

Ben led the way into his home. "You'll get used to it. I did." He gestured for her to sit in a chair and took a seat across from her. "So what have you been doing with yourself all these years? And there must be an interesting story behind your choice of ship."

Ahsoka leaned back into the comfy chair, exalting in the softness. "You have no idea. Do you have a lot of time? Because this could take awhile."

Ben settled deeper in his chair. "I have all the time in the world and really nothing better to do. I'd love to hear your stories."

Ahsoka shook her head ruefully. "You asked for it." She took a deep breath and began. "I suppose I should start with the Siege of Mandalore...

Five hours, a refresher break, a bacta patch, and a meal later...

"... and that's how I'm now the reluctant owner of an Inquisitor's TIE."

Obi-Wan had given up on gawking long ago. Ahsoka's life over the last eighteen years was pretty much unbelievable, especially the last few days. But the Force did work in mysterious ways, as he'd seen many times before. "I'm just grateful that you weren't stranded on Malachor indefinitely."

"So am I. I'm not sure what Maul survived on, while he was living there. I never saw anything that even remotely resembled an edible," Ahsoka said as she scraped the last of her meal off her plate and into her mouth eagerly.

Obi-Wan chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Would you like another helping?"

Ahsoka shook her head and pushed her plate away. "I shouldn't. I've already had two. I'm full, really. Thank you." She leaned back in her chair and sighed in contentment. Her stomach was full, her arm wasn't hurting anymore, and she was with an old friend. Life was pretty good at the moment. "So what have you been up too? Ezra seemed to think you have a purpose for hiding out on this sandy hell hole, and I agree. There are much nicer places to hide. And the Rebellion could really use your help, which I have a feeling you already know all about. The fact that you are still here and not fighting with the rest of us tells me you do have a secret agenda." She narrowed her eyes at him. "So spill it."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "You're not wasted as an intelligence agent, that's for sure. Honestly though, I don't know if I should tell you. You might find it a little hard to take."

Ahsoka snorted a little. "At this point, nothing would surprise me. Just tell me."

Obi-Wan sucked in a breath and spit it out. "I'm guarding Anakin and Padme's son."

That didn't get him the reaction he expected. Instead, Ahsoka smiled like a tooka who'd just found a bowl of blue milk. "I knew it!" she exclaimed. "I knew they were a thing. I saw so many hints that they were more than friends. I'm not surprised at all that Padme was with child."

"Loving Padme was one of the reasons Anakin fell to the Dark." Obi-Wan said sadly.

"I disagree. I have seen a Jedi Knight who loved his woman with everything he had to give, and he was the most Light side Jedi I have ever encountered." Ahsoka said. "Anakin having to hide his love for Padme from the Order was a factor in his fall. My leaving him when he needed my support was another. And I'm sure there were others. The Order was flawed, and I saw it, but I never should have left him behind to deal with those flaws on his own. I should have talked him into leaving with me. Then Anakin and Padme could have had their happy ever after instead of the tragedy that befell them." She choked back a sob as a tear slowly made its way down her cheek. "I don't know if I will ever forgive myself for that. Now Anakin is something truly evil and I couldn't save him." She wiped the tear off her cheek and pulled herself back together. "I wonder though... maybe his son could? Does Anakin know?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I don't think so. I'm sure he would have come for him by now if he did."

"I think you're right. Is the boy trained?" she asked curiously.

"No," he said regretfully. "His aunt and uncle refused to let me. I haven't seen him in person for years. Just from afar, to make sure he's still alright. I sense though that will change soon. The Force is whispering of things to come. Events that will change the course of the Galaxy, and Luke will be pivotal to those events. Perhaps you are right, and Luke will be able to sway Anakin back to the Light side. We shall have to wait and see." Obi-Wan smiled as he thought of Luke. "You'd like Luke. He reminds me so much of Anakin when he was young. He has his father's skill as a pilot too. And his love of mischief. I was always rescuing him from one scrape or another, usually without him knowing I was doing so."

"I can't wait to meet him, but I sense I am needed elsewhere. I know I will encounter Luke one day. I shouldn't even have stopped to see you, but Ezra said you were alive and I just needed to see for myself," Ahsoka said ruefully as she stood from the table. "Thank you for listening to my lengthy stories. It was nice to finally tell someone about everything I've done and had to do. I feel a lot lighter now."

"Thank you for visiting and entertaining an old man for a day," Obi-Wan replied as he also stood and walked her back to her TIE fighter. "I don't know if we'll see each other again, but I wish you luck, Ahsoka, with wherever your journey through life takes you."

Ahsoka turned and hugged him again, which he returned happily. "I wish that didn't sound like a final goodbye, but I understand that we may never see each other again. At least in this form of our lives," she said into his chest. "I've missed you. And I'll remember you. Always." She pulled away and wiped her eyes again, before jumping up into the TIE. As she lifted the Imperial fighter off the sand, she raised a hand in farewell to her Master's Master.

Obi-Wan Kenobi watched the TIE fighter fade into the atmosphere above, a tear falling down his cheek unheeded. "May the Force be with you, Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Knight," he whispered to the stars. So much had gone wrong with his past, and he'd lost so many people. Qui-Gon. Satine. Anakin. The Order. Now here was this brave female, whom the Order had wronged so badly, saving the Galaxy, righting the wrongs that the Order had allowed to happen. Because at heart, she was a Jedi. More Jedi than most of the Order could ever hope to be, no matter what she called herself. Her very resolve bolstered his own, and brought hope back to his heart.