Ahsoka's Discovery:
D27/1 ABY, Unknown Space
Today was the two year anniversary of the search for Ezra.
By this point, Ahsoka had gone through several different emotions regarding her mission; from excited, to resigned, to despair, to loathing. Now she was just determined. She was pretty sure Lux was blessed with the patience of a Jedi Master to have dealt with her many different moods in regards to what they were doing. Maybe it had something to do with being a politician. She supposed you needed an incredible amount of patience to deal with all the backstabbing crap that came with being a Senator for half your life under the rule of Palpatine. You'd think that with all her Jedi training that Ahsoka would be the one with the greater capacity for patience but it wasn't so. Ahsoka was more of the let's get results as fast as possible type (possibly something she'd learned from Anakin), and that hadn't really changed much as she got older. Her job as Director of Intelligence for the Rebellion had always kept her occupied with new missions to run or even go on herself if she wanted. This flying around endlessly and not accomplishing much had seriously gotten on her nerves somewhere near the year and a half mark, but Lux had talked her through that one and now she was in a much better place in her mind. (Thank the Force.)
Now that they knew where Ezra was, they had managed to speed up the process slightly by looking for planets that had a high concentration of water only, which they could do with the long-range sensors. At the moment, Ahsoka was on flying duty while Lux slept, and was going to bypass a planet that didn't even come close to having enough water to qualify when she felt a small nudge from the Force.
She stopped the T-6 shuttle where it was, still too far away from the planet for it to be in sight and not wanting to waste fuel flying to it for no good reason, but not wanting to get any further from it yet if the Force wanted her to go there. Ahsoka closed her eyes and fell into an easy meditation, listening to what the Force had to say. She felt a pull towards the planet that she couldn't resist. Hoping it wasn't another planet of Force hungry plants, Ahsoka sent the shuttle towards her new destination and then went to wake up Lux once the auto pilot was engaged.
She walked into their cabin and couldn't help but smile at the sight of Lux sprawled face down across the bed, butt naked and head half buried under a pillow. She thought it was funny and sweet that whenever he slept by himself, he took up as much space as possible, but when they shared the bed, he curled himself around her protectively and used up very little space. Ahsoka stalked silently up to the bed and whispered a finger down the line of his spine between the muscles of his back and his cute rear end.
Lux shivered almost violently at the touch and jumped into a kneeling position, pillow flying. He glared at Ahsoka as she giggled quietly. "You know, there are nicer ways you could wake me up, Soka," he growled. "You know how much that tickles."
Ahsoka grinned at her glowering husband. "Sorry, Luxi. I just can't help myself." She jumped on the bed and knelt in front of him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Let me make it up to you," she said sweetly, eyes sparkling with mirth and desire. His gentle fierceness always made her want him. She loved that he had a bit of a warrior in him that emerged every once in a while from the politician persona.
Lux's glower turned into a knowing smirk. He growled playfully in his throat and tipped them over so Ahsoka lay on her back on the bed. "You can wake me up any way you want to if you keep looking at me like that, baby," he said as he scattered kisses over her face, neck, and lekku.
Ahsoka moaned a little and rolled them over so Lux was on his back, capturing his wandering mouth with hers and starting a deep kiss that lasted for endless bliss filled minutes. One hand was locked in his hair but the other wandered over his trim form that they kept up with daily exercise and mock hand to hand fights that often ended in laughter and rolling around on the floor for an entirely different reason. The sensitive pads of her fingers loved the feel of his hard muscles covered in soft skin and the fine hairs that covered some of his body, so different from her own hairless skin.
Lux was thoroughly enjoying his amended wakeup call when Ahsoka reluctantly pulled away. He tightened his arms around her back a little, not wanting her to move away. "Why'd you stop?" he asked curiously.
Ahsoka smiled apologetically before giving him a quick kiss on the nose. "I actually came in here for a purpose other than getting frisky with you." She pulled away from his arms and rolled off the bed, heading for the closet. "I've found a planet that the Force wants me to explore." She glanced over her shoulder at Lux as he sat up and looked hopeful. "And no, it's not Ezra's planet, before you ask." She dug into the closet and pulled out her boots, armour pieces, belt, and lightsabres, getting fully dressed for the first time in weeks. The crystals hummed happily to be back in her vicinity, making her smile slightly. "I have a feeling about this one. Like something very unusual is about to happen, but I have no idea what."
Lux jumped off the bed in excitement at a possible adventure. "If that's the case, I am definitely coming with you," he said determinedly. He walked to the closet as well and pulled out his own clothes, including his belt that held his blasters, just in case.
Ahsoka buckled on her belt and kissed him on the cheek softly after his head emerged from his shirt. "Thanks, Lux. You have no idea how much I appreciate that you're with me on this journey."
Lux grinned at his wife and pulled her close with one arm around her waist. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." He dipped his head down and gave her a thorough kiss before releasing her, happy with himself at the dreamy look in her big blue eyes, and finished dressing.
Ahsoka smiled fondly at the top of his head as he bent down to pull on a boot. He was just so perfect. She didn't know how she got so lucky, but she thanked the Force everyday for bringing him back into her life.
Ahsoka flew her red and white shuttle around the planet, trying to get a sense of what the Force was trying to tell her. All she saw was plain beige and grey rocks interspersed with an occasional pool of stagnant looking water and some very sad looking black trees and bushes trying to grow near the pools. This planet looked like it was hanging onto life by the barest of margins. The sensors didn't find any signs of animal life either.
"Looks pretty bleak," Lux commented.
"I've seen worse places," Ahsoka said dryly. "But not by much." She nodded to the controls. "Can you take over flying for a minute? I think this is going to be a game of hot and cold and I need to concentrate for that."
"Sure, Soka," Lux said as he took control of the shuttle from the co-pilot's chair. "Just tell me which way."
Ahsoka nodded and closed her eyes, putting all of her concentration into the Force. Her head turned to the left as she felt a pull from that direction. Lux turned the ship that way as soon as he saw her head turn, and Ahsoka smiled, eyes still closed, at his quick ability to read her signals.
Lux flew the ship over more endless rocks, following the ever decreasing miniscule turns of Ahsoka's head. After they had flown for about ten minutes, she suddenly said, "Stop! Go back."
"Kay," Lux said as he circled the ship back to the canyon they'd just passed over. "You want me to land in there?"
Ahsoka studied the dry canyon bed closely before nodding. "Yes. Whatever is strong with the Force is in here somewhere."
Lux landed their shuttle at the bottom of the canyon and they checked the sensors, not liking the readings on the air quality, but it was survivable for a short while. They both disembarked cautiously, eyes searching the shadows for any unknown threats, despite what the sensors said about no living animals or people.
When nothing jumped out to eat them (it had happened in the past), they relaxed slightly, smiling at their own silliness. Ahsoka walked onto the canyon floor, stepping with care on the loose rocks, Lux following. She closed her eyes again, head turning from side to side as she felt the Force around her, throwing her senses out to scan the area. Her face settled on one direction, opening her eyes to see an opening in the canyon wall about half way up. Just as she was about to point it out to Lux, a small green bird flew out of the hole, chirping excitedly.
Lux spun at the sound, drawing his blaster and pointing it at the possible threat. Ahsoka swiftly put a hand on his arm to lower it. Lux raised a brow at the huge smile that had taken over her expression.
"It's Morai," she explained as she raised an arm for the convor to land on. Ahsoka stroked the little bird's head with her free hand, Morai closing her eyes in adoration at the loving touch. "It's been a long time," she said to her feathered friend. "I missed you."
"How did she get here?" Lux asked curiously, admiring the pretty convor, but not sure if he should touch her; the bird was practically a sacred object and wasn't really just a bird from what he'd heard of the stories about Mortis and the Daughter.
Ahsoka looked up at the hole in the wall that Morai had come from. "I think I know what's up there. It must be a portal to the World Between Worlds. Morai uses them at will as far as I can tell." She glanced at Lux apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I think you should stay here. I doubt you'd be able to enter a Force portal anyway."
Lux shrugged, not bothered. "That's quite alright, Ahsoka. I'm sure it's amazing, but the Force is your thing. I'll just stay here," he indicated the shuttle, "and wait for you."
She smiled gratefully and cupped his cheek, kissing him quickly. "I don't know when I'll be back, but I promise I will be."
Lux nodded and trailed a hand down a lek in parting before he watched her jump effortlessly about ten stories to the hole in the wall and disappear with Morai flying in behind her. He shook his head in admiration. Her Force abilities always impressed him, no matter how many times he's seen them. He strolled back into the shuttle and settled into the pilot's chair, putting his feet on the consol and closed his eyes, prepared to wait as long as it took.
Ahsoka walked down the sculpted tunnel that had obviously been carved out by intelligent life at some point in history, following Morai who'd taken on a faint glow in the dark as she got further and further away from the daylight of outside. Ahsoka wasn't sure how to feel about where the Force had led her. The possibility of seeing the World Between Worlds again was thrilling, but the Force wouldn't have led her here if it didn't have a purpose, and she was leery of what that could be. She already knew that she couldn't change the past because what's done was done and should stay that way, but on the other hand, some things must be meant to be, like Ezra saving her from Vader's death blow.
After walking for a few minutes through a tunnel that curved only a few times but also seemed to have a slight upward tilt, they finally came to a small chamber. A weak trickle of sunlight filtered in through a few cracks in the ceiling, telling her that they weren't that far from the surface. Ahsoka looked around curiously, expecting to see something interesting, but there was nothing immediately apparent. At first glance, it was just bare rock walls, floors, and ceiling. "Now what?" she asked Morai who had had landed on her shoulder.
Morai chirped and basically rolled her eyes. Ahsoka sighed to herself. She must be missing something obvious. She closed her eyes and used her Force senses to look around instead. With her eyes closed, the patterns in the Force immediately became visible. She walked forward until her feet were in the center of the circle that glowed on the floor. As her feet came to a stop, the circle fluctuated and Ahsoka felt a brief sense of dizziness and then everything settled again.
Ahsoka opened her eyes. She wasn't in the World Between Worlds like she expected and the air was much better as she took her first easy breath since leaving the shuttle. Instead, she was in a large chamber that felt kind of like a Jedi Temple and yet not. The feeling was different. More like the Father's monastery that was a balance between the Light and the Dark. Ahsoka felt an immediate sense of welcome and belonging, something she hadn't felt in the Jedi Temple on Lothal. That had been more of an acceptance of her presence, but nothing more.
It took her a moment to realize that the Temple was self lit by an unknown source of light. She also had the impression that they were now deep underground, unlike the first chamber. The big chamber had many small tunnels leading off of it, which she was dying to explore, but for now, she sensed there was a purpose she should accomplish first. She walked to the center of the chamber and knelt in the middle of a series of circles that were permanently painted on the smooth rock floor. Ahsoka closed her eyes again and quickly fell into a deep meditation, communing with the Force more easily than she ever had.
She was shown a map of the Temple and a quick history of the beings who had built it. They were humanoid, like her, but that was where the resemblance ended. They looked vaguely like a cross between humans, rodians, and gungans and were generally some shade of brown to beige skinned. Ahsoka saw the planet they were on in its original glory. It used to be a beautiful place, with many green trees and blue oceans. The people lived in underground caves, leaving the landscape untouched and glorious for the animals to roam freely. Ahsoka could sense that the people lived in balance with the Force, following neither the Light nor the Dark, but both equally. And then one day something changed. An asteroid hit the planet, the impact killing everything in the vicinity instantly. The resulting dust cloud that covered the atmosphere and blocked the sun for years eventually killed everything else, for life needed the sun to survive. Millennia later, all that was left was a struggling planet trying to revitalize itself and losing the battle. Tears fell from her eyes as Ahsoka felt its pain, knowing there was nothing she could do for it.
Despite the planet's poor state, the Force was still very strong in the Temple, like it had converged here in self defence, but who knew how long that would last? Ahsoka knew that she needed to find Ezra, but she also felt like this might be her only chance to learn everything she could from this Temple and the people who used to live here. She couldn't pass up the opportunity. Ezra would just have to wait a little bit longer.
Ahsoka rose to her feet and headed for one of the side tunnels, confident in where she was going. She hadn't been wrong earlier. There actually was a portal to the World Between Worlds here, and the Force still wanted her to go there, but it hadn't told her why yet. Ahsoka couldn't contain her curiosity about that anymore, so off she went with Morai accompanying her, who was radiating a sense of 'finally'.
She walked down the short tunnel, which stopped abruptly at a bare rock wall. She touched the wall, pouring the Force into it and it turned liquid under her hand. Ahsoka walked through the wall and into a different universe. One of endless space and floating pathways and darkness filled with billions of stars. It was exactly like she remembered it, and different too, like she was in a different section of the massive portal universe. She paused and stared in wonder for a while. "I don't suppose you brought me here so I can grab Ezra from one of these, hmmmmm?" she said to the air. Morai chirped out what sounded suspiciously like a laugh and flew along the pathway in front of her. Shaking her head in resigned amusement, Ahsoka walked down the pathway, glancing behind to memorize the shape and patterns of the portal she'd just come through. (It wouldn't do to get lost. Lux was waiting for her after all.)
As she passed by portals, they lit up with little pieces of her past. The first one showed the day Master Plo Koon had found her on Shili. She had to pause and gawk at that one for a moment. Ahsoka couldn't believe how small she was as a three year old and how stubby her lekku were. She stroked a finger down a lek appreciatively, thankful they'd grown so long and beautiful. Not that she was vain or anything, but a togrutan's lekku were a matter of pride.
The next portal showed her in the temple with the other younglings her age, getting lightsabre lessons from Master Yoda. She smiled at that one, as it was a fond memory. Even back then, she'd wanted to hold her lightsabre backward, and it had driven Master Yoda up the wall as he tried to convince her it goes the other way. (Even though it was known for them to be held backwards in a variant of Form V called Shien.) Ahsoka had always liked being just a little different from the norm. (Probably why she got along so well with Anakin.)
Ahsoka wandered on, intrigued with this journey of her past. She stopped and watched, a fond smile on her face as the next portal showed her and Anakin trudging through the sand of Tatooine with Stinky the Huttlet in a pack strapped to his back.
"Master Yoda has a saying: 'Old sins cast long shadows.' Do you know what he means by that?" a fourteen year old Ahsoka asked, trying to get more background story from her new Master, knowing perfectly well what the saying meant.
"He means your past can ruin your future if you allow it," Anakin replied. "But you forget it was Master Skywalker who said: 'I don't want to talk about my past.'"
Young Ahsoka suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, knowing he'd sense it if she did. "Okay, fine. There's so much more we can talk about out here. Like... the sand."
Ahsoka shook her head and walked on, amused with her younger self. She sure had been a cheeky thing. Good thing for her that Anakin was just as unconventional and sarcastic for a Jedi. (Something he picked up from Obi-Wan for sure.)
The next portal wasn't anywhere near as fun. In fact, Ahsoka watched in disbelief at the images that crossed the portal's surface because she didn't remember this at all. And apparently her Master and Obi-Wan decided she never needed to know. Ahsoka felt very differently as the scene from Mortis played out before her.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Anakin said, looking very worried.
"Always with the criticism, Master," Dark Ahsoka snarled at him. "Never really believing in me. Trusting me. Well. I don't need you anymore," she said as she turned her back on her former Master.
"Ahsoka," Anakin whispered in despair and then said her name again louder. "Ahsoka, listen to me. He has done something to you. Snap out of it. This isn't you, Ahsoka."
"Isn't it?!" she exclaimed, running her hands from her black lined face and down her body. "I feel more like myself than I ever have." Her yellow eyes gleamed with hate and excitement. "He asked me to give you a message. If you don't join him, he'll be forced to kill me." She laughed in disbelief at such a silly idea. No one could kill her now. She felt invincible with all the dark power coursing through her.
"I won't let him!" Anakin exclaimed.
Dark Ahsoka spun around, pointing at the one who had held her back for so long. "Then you will be forced to kill me."
The real Ahsoka covered her mouth in shock as tears fell from her eyes, watching as her younger self attacked Anakin. He only did what he had to to protect himself but never attacked in return. Obi-Wan soon joined the fight as well, and the younger, evil Ahsoka enjoyed the challenge, but Ahsoka could see that she was basically just flailing at them with her lightsabres and they were only holding her off.
When Obi-Wan produced a dagger that could kill the Son and end Ahsoka's connection to him, the Son's voice came out of her mouth, shocking her further. The Son and Daughter falling from the stained glass window above ended the fight between Ahsoka and her Masters but it began a new fight between the Son and his Father. When Obi-Wan went to throw the dagger to Anakin so he could end the Son, Dark Ahsoka intercepted the throw and gave the dagger to the Son. He smiled evilly at her and ended Ahsoka with a touch to her forehead. This wasn't how Anakin had said she had died. Ahsoka remembered being bitten by a creature and feeling horrible pain. Anakin had told she had been poisoned and that the Daughter's remaining life force was given to her to bring her back. That was the scene she remembered waking up to. Whatever else remained of the Daughter resided in Morai, the Daughter's pet, who now followed and helped Ahsoka.
Ahsoka turned away from the portal, not wanting to see any more, shoulders slumped in despair. She had gone to the Dark side, even if it wasn't voluntarily, and it tore her apart that no one had ever told her. That was the kind of thing she thought she deserved to know. Ahsoka had long ago been disillusioned with the yuppie, emotionless Jedi teachings, but she never wanted to go Dark. She liked her middle ground, where she lived in the Light, but allowed herself to feel emotions like a normal person. Technically, Kanan and Ezra weren't old school Jedi either, but they were much closer to it than she was. They were what the Jedi Order should have and could have been if it hadn't been decaying from the inside out with Palpatine making sure that nothing went well for the ones who could have changed things like Obi-Wan and Anakin.
She wandered on, lost in thought, barely glancing at the portal that showed the final words between her and Anakin on the Temple steps, the day she left the order.
"I understand, more than you realize. I understand wanting to walk away from the Order." Anakin's last words haunted her as she continued on. Ever since she found out that Anakin had turned to the Dark Side and was Darth Vader, those words had haunted her. She would always have to live with the possibility that if she had stayed, perhaps she could have prevented him from falling. She should have talked him into leaving the Order as well. The galaxy would be a different place right now if she had. Padme would still be alive. Luke would have his father. Obi-Wan wouldn't have had to live like an exile on Tatooine for endless years, aging him before his time. Palpatine might have been discovered as the Sith Lord before he could take over the galaxy, and the Republic would still be thriving.
That thought made her stop in her tracks and run back to the portal. Her figure was gone, but Anakin still stood where she'd left him, a tear slowly trickling down his cheek as he clenched her Silka beads in his fist. Ahsoka reached for the image of Anakin, wanting to comfort him. She wanted to yell at her younger self to go back and stop being a teenager for just a minute. But her younger self was already gone. Her fingers touched the portal, falling through, a great debate raging within her. She could do it. She could change everything. All she had to do was tell Anakin that Palpatine was a Sith Lord and he'd believe her, after he got over his shock at seeing her older.
She just about took the last step when Morai flew in front of her with a screech. Ahsoka reared back and shook herself out of the spell that had befallen her. "Of course you're right, Morai," she reassured the convor that was still flapping around her head agitatedly. "I know I can't change the past." She thought of Ezra and Jacen. Ahsoka doubted Jacen would exist if Order 66 had never happened, for it was a lot less likely that Hera and Kanan would have met. And if they never met, Kanan would never have found Ezra, and Ezra would have never met Sabine. She couldn't do it. She couldn't take the chance that she'd change things for the people who were her friends.
Ahsoka took one last look at Anakin, committing to memory once again how he used to look when he was still good. His shoulders slumped and he sighed, stuffing her beads into a pocket before walking dejectedly back into the Temple. "I'm sorry, Master," she whispered to the image before turning away as well. She didn't see the image of Anakin pause and look around with hope for a moment before he slumped again and continued back into the Temple. Ahsoka continued her journey through memory lane, not so sure she wanted to see any more, but walking on nonetheless because Morai still seemed to think she hadn't accomplished her purpose yet, whatever that was.
A sense of foreboding filled her as she approached the next portal. Her steps slowed even further, but something drove her on. Morai landed on her shoulder and lent her comfort as Ahsoka watched the agonizing images transpire before her. She knew Anakin had transformed into Darth Vader, but she'd never known exactly how before. The story taking place before her was almost more than she could bear to watch as she fell to her knees with a cry as Anakin struck down younglings and padawans without mercy in the Jedi Temple, a contingent of 501st Clones at his back, watching from the sidelines and occasionally gunning down a youngling that tried to run. She'd known the Clones had turned because of chips in their heads, but it hurt almost as much as watching Anakin do evil things, She'd fought beside them, cared for them, and laughed with them for what felt like a lifetime in an endless war. The image eventually moved on to Mustafar and the final battle between Master and Padawan. Obi-Wan's cry of, "You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you," basically broke her heart, because she could say the same. She could barely stand to see Anakin burn, even though she knew he deserved it. Now she understood why he wore his mechanical suit. There was almost nothing left of the original Anakin Skywalker. The Sith in the suit was not her Master and never would be again. She stood and left the portal as she saw Obi-Wan picking up what looked like Padme's lifeless body, not able to watch anymore.
Ahsoka came to the next portal and stopped, surprised. The portals were determined weren't they? She wasn't expecting to see this. And oh Force, was she supposed to keep this a secret too? In the portal, she saw a clearly exhausted looking Padme on a hospital bed. She was shown a baby by Obi-Wan and she called him Luke. Then she was shown another and she called it Leia. They were twins! Ahsoka had no idea what to do with the new knowledge. Senator Organa must have known and kept it a secret for a reason. Her eyes teared up again as Padme lost the fight to live, while declaring that there was still good in Anakin. In some ways, she wished she'd never seen that. Her friend didn't deserve an ending like that. No one did. Padme's love had turned to the Dark, lost faith in her, and practically Force choked her to death. Everything she had fought for in the Senate had been for naught. And she'd only just gotten a glimpse of her children before she died. Ahsoka couldn't imagine having to go through the same thing.
Ahsoka glanced down the line of never-ending portals and decided she'd had enough. There was no way she was watching any more of the past that was probably depressing and bound to make her cry even more. She already knew everything there was to know about her own life after this point; she didn't need the reminder. Ahsoka turned and walked back the way she came at a brisk pace, refusing to look at the portals again as she passed.
She wasn't going to stop at any of them again, but Morai changed her mind by landing on the Mortis portal. Ahsoka didn't want to see herself as a Darksider again, but Morai chirped at her until she turned and looked. She was almost pleasantly surprised to see an earlier scene from Mortis. At least she wasn't all creepy looking this time. Instead, her younger self looked peaceful as she slept in a cave illuminated only by Kyber crystals in the walls and a fire in the center of the big space. Ahsoka's head tilted to the side, remembering this place. She distinctly remembered having a vision while she was sleeping of her future self looking as old as she did now. Ahsoka glanced down at her clothes and blinked. But no. Those weren't right. The future vision had been wearing the exact same outfit as the young version. She shook her head at the silliness of her random idea.
She waited for a while, curious to see her younger self's reaction to the words of warning her vision had given. When nothing seemed to be happening, Ahsoka looked up at Morai questioningly. The convor chirped encouragement to her and Ahsoka blinked in surprise. "But that can't be right. I can't be in two places at once, can I?" Morai chirped again, so Ahsoka sucked in a breath for courage and stepped towards the portal. She hoped her younger self didn't pay too much attention to what she was wearing. Young Ahsoka didn't need to constantly be wondering where the new lightsabres came from, or why she wore armour now, or why she was wearing the headpiece of a mated togruta. As Ahsoka watched her sleeping self, she tried to remember what exactly she'd said the first time she'd heard it. A wave of peace came from Morai and suddenly it all came back, clear and precise, and it made sense with everything she'd just seen.
She put just her mouth up against the portal and spoke. "Are you happy, child?"
Young Ahsoka sat up quickly and looked around the cave frantically, searching for the voice.
Ahsoka almost got a kick out of freaking her younger self out. This would have been such a good prank to play on Obi-Wan or Anakin. She continued her little speech. "Your Master. Does he treat you well?"
While the young one still looked around the cave for where the voice was coming from, Ahsoka stepped forward through the portal and behind the fire, careful to leave the edge of her heel just inside it so she could return and it wouldn't close her in the world of Mortis. Their eyes locked as young Ahsoka spotted her.
The young one rose to her feet, hand on her lightsabre, ready to fight if need be. "What concern is it of yours?" she asked defensively.
Ahsoka was proud of her old self for being wary. "I am your future. Your potential."
The young one wasn't buying it. She drew her green lightsabres and got into an attack stance. (One she still used, to be honest.) "This is a trick," she accused.
"There is a wildness to you, young one. Seeds of the Dark Side planted by your Master," Ahsoka warned. "Do you feel it?"
"No!" the younger replied. "He is like no other Jedi. Passionate. Impulsive. But I trust him with my life."
Ahsoka looked away because the younger one was right. At the time anyway. "There are many contradictions in you. And in him." She needed to warn her, more than was necessary just to get her point across. Ahsoka faced her again, eyes blazing. "Be warned! You may never see your future if you remain his student! Leave this planet!" Ahsoka sent a gust of Force energy at the fire, making it roar so she could step back into the portal and disappear. A quirk of a smile crossed her face as she realized that she'd just pulled that off. Morai chirped proudly at her and landed on her shoulder again.
They both watched the younger version pacing the cave anxiously, trying to understand what she'd just seen. Ahsoka felt bad for her so she stuck her hand back through the portal when her back was turned and sent her a wave of peace and tiredness, allowing the younger girl to lie back down and fall back to sleep.
Finally sensing that she'd accomplished what she was meant to, Ahsoka strode back to the portal that led to the Temple. It let her and Morai through easily and then sealed shut behind her again. She had no idea how long she'd been in the Temple and the World Between Worlds, but Ahsoka realized she was starving when her stomach growled at her. She shushed it and hurried for the exit.
Lux waited patiently for the first five hours and then not quite so patiently for the next five hours as he started to get worried. And then some very ominous clouds rolled in overhead and the ship started to rock as a vicious wind picked up. He peered up at the sky worriedly through the window. A drop of rain fell and struck the ship, immediately sizzling on contact and chewing through the paint. Lux's eyes widened and he dashed for the pilot's chair, frantically hitting buttons as he started the shuttle and raised the shields. With a look of apology at the hole in the canyon wall, he lifted off the ground and zipped through the clouds full of acid rain and up into orbit where he could hover easily, using very little fuel.
Lux settled back into the chair as the tension left his body. He tried to reach Ahsoka over the comm, but all he got was static. The worry came back, but he tried to tell himself he was being silly. Ahsoka had survived a great deal in her life. One little hole in the wall on a lifeless planet was not going to be her end. Right?
Ahsoka used the little teleportation thing to get back to the small chamber near the surface. She emerged into a chamber that had water puddles on the floor where it dipped, and dripping from the ceiling where daylight used to be. Now the cracks in the ceiling were almost as dark as the rest of the space. Just because, she avoided the drips, but her boot stepped into a puddle. The sole immediately started to smoke. She jumped back onto a dry spot with a curse. Acid rain! She should have known this poor cursed planet would have acid rain. Walking much more carefully, Ahsoka used one of her lightsabres as a source of light, since Morai hadn't followed her out. (The bird probably knew the weather was disagreeable right now.) She walked through the dark tunnel which gradually lightened the closer she got to the outside world but not very much.
Ahsoka peered out, careful not to go near the rain, not sure if she was happy or not that she didn't see her shuttle and Lux waiting for her. She tried to call him on the comm, but all she got was static. Ahsoka grumbled at the rain that was blocking the signal and turned around. The clouds looked like they were going to stay for awhile and Lux would be smart enough to keep her shuttle out of the rain. Trusting that he'd come back when he could, Ahsoka went back to the Temple where the air was better and more knowledge was waiting for her to find.
Ignoring her grumbling stomach, she wandered the entire Temple, studying left behind objects curiously, trying to get a sense of the people who used to own them. In one room, she found an entire wall of shelves full of manuscripts on delicate looking tree parchment. She tried to look at one, but it crumbled in her fingers. Not wanting to destroy any more, she left the rest alone. From the glance she did get, it wasn't a language she knew anyway.
After a few hours of exploring, Ahsoka eventually came to a series of rooms that looked like sleeping quarters. Almost all were identical with nothing in them but old furniture. One was a little bigger than the rest, though, and this one had a treasure that she couldn't resist keeping for herself. She discovered it because it sang to her as she got closer and closer to the room. The song was like that of her lightsabres, but clearer and more beautiful, if that was even possible. In the corner of the room, the white staff with the circle on the top leaned against the wall. Ahsoka picked it up reverently and carefully, before feeling that it was incredibly sturdy and made of a wood that almost felt like durasteel. She tried to figure out where the Kyber crystal was, but eventually came to the conclusion that it was buried within the wood itself, like the original tree had grown around the crystal.
As she concentrated on it and poured a bit of Force energy into the staff, the circle at the top lit up with a silver light. Ahsoka gawked at it for a moment before concentrating again. It was like the energy of a lightsabre but directed in a different way. She swung the staff experimentally and the light shot out of the circle and hit the wall like a blaster shot but went right through the rock wall, making a fist sized hole. Holy kriff, she was going to have to be careful with that! Ahsoka focused the light again but this time swung the staff very carefully and imagined just a small amount of energy escaping the staff. She smiled as a small beam smacked into the wall, making it smoke but not going through. Sweet. Now it was like a blaster and not as deadly.
Ecstatic with her new find, Ahsoka checked outside and found it still raining and the comms still non-functional. She went back to the meditation circle in the center of the Temple and got lost in time in the Force, seeing more images of the people who used to live here and how they used the Force. There was nothing quite as exciting as Ezra's Force Projection trick, but Ahsoka was happy with the knowledge she gained about balancing the Light and the Dark without using the Dark side as an evil thing like the Sith, but like just another tool in her repertoire. She was also shown the true intricacies of Force Healing, which she was very happy about, having nothing the basic first aid type knowledge that all Jedi had when it came to using the Force to boost the healing process.
Now feeling like she'd learned everything she could from the Temple without being able to read their books, Ahsoka felt free to continue on her quest for Ezra.
After what had to be a whole twenty hours in the Temple, Ahsoka emerged again, this time with Morai at her side, which she took as a good sign. The sun shone brightly on the freshly washed world, and felt really nice on her face as she looked up at the sky, searching for signs of Lux and her shuttle. She was just about to try him on her wrist comm when movement in the sky stopped her.
Ahsoka smiled as the landing platform was lowered near the hole in the canyon wall and she jumped lightly over to it. Morai chirped a happy farewell to Ahsoka as she flew around her head before disappearing back into the tunnel. "Until the next time," Ahsoka called to her friend. She wished Morai would stay with her, but being stuck in a ship was no place for a bird and she knew it.
As soon as Lux had the shuttle back in space, he jumped out of his chair and ran the few steps into Ahsoka's waiting arms. They hugged each other tightly, pressing kisses to each other's faces.
"I'm so happy you're okay," Lux breathed into her montral.
Ahsoka laughed lightly and pulled back just a little. "You were worried about me?"
Lux nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Of course. It's been almost a whole day and I couldn't contact you and..."
Ahsoka stopped his rambling with a kiss. "I'm fine, Luxi. Just very hungry." She brought her arm from behind his back and showed him the staff still clutched in her hand. "And look, I found something really amazing."
Lux admired the staff appropriately, all while backing her towards the galley so he could feed her. "It's beautiful, but what does it do, other than the obvious of smack idiots over the head?" He knew she wouldn't have kept it if it was just a simple staff.
Ahsoka grinned widely. "I'll show you the next time we're not in the ship. I don't dare try it in here until I have better control of it."
Lux's eyebrows rose up to his hairline. This had to be good. And possibly scary. Oh well. He pulled her close for one more kiss, just to reassure himself she was still alright, then marched into the galley; his woman was hungry.