Chapter 51 – Duel of Fates

Author's Note: Should I apologize for what happens in this chapter? Probably. Will I? Nope. Absolutely not. We tortured ourselves with this as much as we're torturing you. :')

To Guest (1): Don't get too far ahead of yourself. ;) There is no guarantee that Anakin will Fall, and there is no guarantee that, even if he does, he'll still lose to Obi-Wan and end up in the suit.

To Guest (2): Ahsoka was unable to help Vader because she never even tried. The same was true for Obi-Wan – he had multiple chances, but he never took them. Ahsoka tried to kill Vader before she tried to help him, and by that point, Vader had already accepted that she was willing to abandon him a second time instead of join him. Theseus has an entirely different relationship with Anakin than Ahsoka did – they're equals, whereas Anakin was Ahsoka's superior, putting an automatic level of distance between them. Don't forget that this universe is different already, and what was true about Anakin and Vader in Canon… may not be entirely true here. :)

To Jayden: I can't speak about the next two chapters specifically, but chapter 53 has some fairly major canon divergences which will be really important later on. ^-^ We thought about trying to wind things down in ROTS, but realistically, Theseus is only a Padawan, y'know? He doesn't have any major foreknowledge, and the Sith's plans have been in the works for centuries. It's not realistic to think he could end it all overnight. Also, it would seem unfair to him as a character, because if things did wrap up in ROTS, his Mandalorian roots, not to mention his connection to Revan, would be... pretty much pointless. The way things stand now, they will play a very important role in how everything winds to a close. :D

Thank you all so, so much for reading and reviewing! ^-^

~ Amina Gila

Maul spins his lightsaber in an unnecessarily dramatic flourish as he lunges at them. Theseus instantly brings his blade up to counter the blow. It's satisfying to finally be crossing blades with him again. Finally, he can let out all his suppressed anger and pain over his father's death. He lets himself feel it, using it to fuel him.

Ahsoka jumps forwards, blades clashing with the Sith's. Maul swings for them again, his lightsaber moving in a furious whirlwind of red. Theseus takes a few steps back from the intensity of the strikes, and then swings for him, a move which Maul easily counters before throwing another blow at Ahsoka.

She slashes at him again with both blades, and he blocks her next strike, giving Theseus the opportunity to attack him viciously, slipping more onto the offensive.

He's fought Sith before. This isn't the first time. They can do this. He knows this fight is going to be a test of all their abilities, and at least he has the advantage of armor. It might not be enough to protect him from a lightsaber, but it's definitely enough to protect him from other injuries which could slow him down.

Their blades continue clashing in a blur red, purple, and blue. None of them gaining any ground on the other; they attack him on either side, but he easily keeps up with both of them. Well, at least they aren't losing. Seeing as this Sith was powerful enough to take down Theseus' grandmaster, he thinks that's a plus.

Finally, Maul Force-kicks Ahsoka back, turning his attention solely to Theseus, blade spinning in a near blur as he attacks him with both sides of it. The red blade glances off the side of his armor, but it doesn't cut through. It would take more than that to get through the beskar, thankfully. He finally shoves Maul back a few steps, and they circle around each other slowly as Ahsoka finally comes back over to join them.

"You're lucky Anakin didn't show up," she snips, "The way you're fighting, you wouldn't have lasted long."

The Sith glowers at her. "You have Kenobi's arrogance."

"Don't like facing another of your kind? You're more arrogant than both of them combined," Theseus retorts, and lunges at him again. The battle is still raging outside, and they need to win the one in here. Ahsoka instantly jumps back into the fight.

It hits him suddenly, the biggest advantage that they do have. Maul is arrogant, and they can take advantage of that if they find the opportunity. Maybe he is a better fighter, but that's still a weakness they can exploit. That and Theseus can use his armor against the Sith. If they can make him think he's winning, he might get sloppy. Clumsy. It should – hopefully, because Theseus is not, in fact, arrogant enough to assume they can defeat the Sith. They won't run, though, because they can't. The Republic is counting on this. Anakin is counting on this.

Theseus let's himself slip into a more defensive form of fighting. He can conserve his energy, wait for Maul to wear himself out. And maybe let him think that he's winning before he is. He's not sure Ahsoka has quite the same idea though as she continues attacking the Sith in a blur of blue. Maul easily parries her blows, coming close to nearly scoring a blow past her defenses a couple times.

Their blades briefly clash into a saberlock and Theseus gathers the Force around him, throwing Maul across the room the second their blade spin free of each other. But instead of attacking them again, he promptly turns and jumps through a window, falling out of sight.

Great. This is exactly what they needed to avoid! He supposes he should've kept in mind that maybe Maul wouldn't care about sticking around to try finishing the fight.

Pausing for only a brief moment to catch his breath, Theseus sprints after, using the Force to carry him as he jumps out, turning on his jetpack to fly down to the ledge below. Ahsoka lands next to him moments later.

The battle is still raging everywhere down below, but he doesn't have time to worry about it right now. Scanning the nearby buildings, a sudden move catches his eye, as Maul disappears over the edge of one of them.

He turns his jetpack on again and takes off after. Maul sees him coming immediately, activating his lightsaber again. Theseus lands in front of him on the structure far above the city. "Going somewhere?" he asks smoothly, igniting his lightsaber.

He slashes at him, and Maul shoves his blade back, swinging for him again. This is a very precarious place for a fight, but in that regard, Theseus is actually at an advantage. He has a jetpack in case he gets knocked off.

"Lord Maul! I need backup!" a voice – Saxon, Theseus is pretty sure – calls through Maul's comm, "Our forces are falling. We need your support."

The Sith Force-shoves Theseus back before answering. "No, I think not. Any moment my ship will be arriving. Die well, Mandalorian."

"No! Wait –" he starts to protest, only for the call to be disconnected.

Ahsoka arrives on the walkway behind Maul then, blue blades in hand. "Obi-Wan was right," she calls, "You are difficult to kill."

Theseus lunges forwards again, and Ahsoka runs up to attack him from the other side. They trade blows constantly, the fight slowly traveling across the walkways. It's far more dangerous now, because they're no longer on solid, stable ground. One wrong move, and they could fall – well, Ahsoka and Maul could.

"We could have destroyed Sidious," the Sith growls, pulling back for a moment.

"Only for you to take his place!" Ahsoka yells, slashing at him again.

"See? You are arrogant," Theseus retorts, slashing towards Maul's hilt in an attempt to cut it in half.

After a few more exchanges, Maul kicks Ahsoka aside, and she frantically scrambles to catch her hold on the beam, nearly dropping her lightsabers. Theseus attacks Maul full-force, then. He doesn't know how much longer they can hold out, and he's... scared. They could easily lose everything, and they can't afford to. They've put too much effort into it to have it all be in vain.

Their blades clash briefly into a saberlock, and Maul shoves him back hard, throwing him off balance. He instantly activates his jetpack as he tumbles backwards off the beam, circling back to land in front of the Sith again before charging. As they exchange blows in a blur, Theseus does his best to pretend he doesn't notice Ahsoka sneaking up behind them.

She jumps right at him, knocking Maul off the beam. Ahsoka instantly reaches out, catches him with the Force.

"Let me go!" the Sith snarls, "Let me die!" And, for maybe the first time, he genuinely sounds... scared. What could scare a Sith like this so much? Theseus wonders. He may never get the answer.

Gunships fly into view, and the clones fire cables, which wrap around the Sith. "You're all going to burn! We're all going to die! You don't know what you're doing!" He probably would've kept screaming if Rex hadn't promptly stunned him.

"We'll take it from here, Commander," one of the clones calls to them.

After a moment, Theseus looks over at Ahsoka. She looks as worn out as he feels. He hasn't had a fight like that in a long time. "I can't believe we won," he states finally, though Maul's words from earlier are haunting him again.

"Me either," Ahsoka agrees.

They look at each other in silence. They both know what the other is thinking: what Maul said about Anakin. It's nothing they can do anything about, not now, not here. They need to finish the battle as quickly as possible, and get back to Coruscant, to where they belong.

**w**

It's daylight out by the time the battle is closed up. "You actually captured him. I'm impressed," Bo comments, approaching as they step off the gunship.

"Did you really think I was going to let you down?" Theseus asks teasingly.

"Well, there was this one time..." Anastasia begins, materializing next to Bo.

"I really don't think now is a good time to talk about that."

"You succeeded where many have failed," Bo replies.

"We learned from the best," Ahsoka offers, "Including you."

She sighs, turning to look out at the city below, just starting to recover from the battle only hours ago. "I wish I was good at something other than war."

"Your people need a new kind of leader," Ahsoka replies.

"My sister tried that. I never understood her idealism."

"Are you still planning to lead?" Theseus wonders. She seems rather unhappy about a lot of things right now, he notices. He wishes they would have more time to talk, but they won't until this is over. And, he realizes abruptly, he doesn't know when they will be together again, because it's almost time for him and Ahsoka to head back to Coruscant. "Or are you planning on asking your sister back?"

"I will talk to her about coming back," Bo answers after a long moment, "But I don't think the people will want to return to her method of ruling after all this."

"Those times are past," Anastasia agrees. "The people see that now. We must return to our old ways."

Rex shows up then, telling them that the Council is waiting. Theseus instantly notices that apparently, Anakin isn't there like Rex had said. Maybe he already had to go? Theseus may have spoken with the Knight only yesterday, but he was hoping to see him again, to make sure he's alright. He doesn't know why this is suddenly bothering him so much.

"A great service to the Republic, you have done," Yoda compliments.

"I did my duty as a citizen," Ahsoka responds politely. Right. And now that this mission is over... Is she going to leave? Theseus never asked her. He didn't want to know the answer. The mission was full of reunions, and he doesn't want to have to say goodbye to her again. It's bad enough that he'll have to leave Bo and Anastasia once more.

"Not as a Jedi?" the grandmaster asks.

"No. Not yet." What? Theseus glances at her, raising an eyebrow. What does she mean 'not yet'? Is she considering coming back? Hope flares within him but he hastily quashes it. There's no point thinking about it, only for his hopes to be for naught.

She doesn't respond, though, keeping her gaze focused on the Council. "Actually, I was hoping to speak with General Skywalker."

"I sent him to inform the Chancellor that General Grievous has indeed been located on Utapau," Windu informs.

"Then the war might soon be over," Theseus realizes. It doesn't seem real. He's been fighting in the war ever since he became Obi-Wan's padawan, and looking back, it's strange to think that he once called another person 'master'.

"That depends on the Chancellor." What? Why?

"What do you mean?" Ahsoka frowns, expression going wary again.

"I'm sorry, citizen," Windu replies, "These matters are for the Council to discuss." Theseus knows that that's the truth, and yes, Ahsoka is just a citizen, but the way Windu calls her that, as if it isn't literally partly his fault... It seriously grates on his nerves, even if that's not entirely fair. Ahsoka isn't a Jedi, and they have no reason to speak with her on Jedi affairs.

The other holograms begin to flicker out at that, until only Yoda is left. "Ahsoka, more to say, have you? A message for Skywalker, perhaps?"

She hesitates for a long moment, and Theseus really wonders what it is she's about to say. "No, Master. Thank you. I'll tell him myself when I see him."

"May the Force be with you, Padawans." The hologram fades out, and Rex steps forwards from where he was off to the side.

"You didn't tell them what Maul said about General Skywalker."

"No," she agrees, "I didn't."

"We don't know whether or not he was lying," Theseus states, "And if he was, I don't want to put Anakin under the Council's scrutiny even more." That's the last thing Anakin needs to deal with right now.

"We could tell Obi-Wan, perhaps. Later," Ahsoka decides.

"Yeah, once we're back on Coruscant," Theseus agrees.

**w**

"I didn't realize you even had those things around still," Theseus comments, watching as the clones transport the contraption Maul is locked inside onto the ship. It's time for him to leave. He's eager to be back to Coruscant, but at the same time, he doesn't know when he'll be back here, either.

"I don't think even Maul would be able to get out of there," Ahsoka agrees.

"A relic of a bygone era when Mandalorians had reason to imprison you Force-wielding maniacs," Bo says, a teasing note slipping into her voice, "It's the last one we have."

"Let's hope it's the last one you'll ever need," Theseus replies.

"Good luck finishing up your first war."

"And since we won, you won't have to worry about starting a second one before you're ready," Anastasia quips, stepping forwards.

"Thanks," he states dryly, "I guess I'll see you later." He hopes so, anyway. It hurts so much to go, knowing this could be the last time they ever meet.

Bo nods. "Goodbye, Marr, Ahsoka."

"Good luck rebuilding Mandalore," says Theseus, before he turns and heads onto the ship. It's over, then. When they get back to Coruscant, hopefully Obi-Wan will have dealt with Grievous, and then the only one left will be Sidious.

A shiver runs through him despite everything.

Something is wrong. Theseus doesn't know what it is, but from the moment they jump into hyperspace, all he can feel is a nagging feeling of impending doom. And it's not like it has been all these past months, where it's something in an unseen future that has yet to come. It's right now. Something is happening now, and he doesn't like this feeling one bit. The Force is clouded, and it isn't giving any indications when he reaches out to try sensing what it might be. If anything, that's making him feel worse. He's scared, if he's being honest. Everything was supposed to be getting better, but instead...

Ahsoka seems to feel it, too. She's looking unusually tense and distracted as they stand on the bridge together, near Rex. One of the clones comes in to report about another briefing, and Ahsoka distractedly sends him out to deal with it alone.

"You sense it, too?" Theseus asks finally, for the first time daring to actually give voice to what he feels.

She looks over at him, expression strained. "Yes, I think..."

She doesn't have the chance to say anymore; the feeling hits them both instantly.

Something is happening with Anakin.

Even light years away, Theseus can suddenly feel his raging emotions, a mixture of uncertainty, fear, desperation, and a raw panic so strong it whites out everything else.

"You must choose."

"Don't listen to him, Anakin!"

"It's not the Jedi way. He must live."

"He's too dangerous to be left alive."

"Please don't."

"I need him."

"Unlimited power!"

"What have I done?"

The connection breaks there, but not before a wave of horrordesperationguilt crashes into him, full force, nearly enough to bring him to his knees.

"Anakin," Ahsoka whispers aloud.

"Something happened," he breathes, when he finally finds his voice, "Something bad." Bad actually sounds like an understatement right now. Anakin has always been very emotional, but never, never like this. Depression, pain, anger, fear... those, he has long since become accustomed to sensing through their bond, but this is entirely different.

"I've never felt anything like it. I don't – what could've happened? It sounded like – like they were confronting a Sith."

"Sidious," Theseus realizes suddenly. "If he exists, if he's really in the Senate, they may have found him, and..." He doesn't want to say what he fears most, that it didn't end well.

He doesn't know how long they've been standing there but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes before something is shifting in the Force again. He can feel it, the Force crying out, full of pain and death, as though it's happening all across the galaxy simultaneously.

Ahsoka darts past him, running out onto the bridge, Theseus following. He knows why she can't hold still – an uncomfortable energy is clawing its way under his skin, screaming that he move and do something, even if there are no visible signs of danger. "Rex," she says urgently, entering the room. "It's Anakin. I feel like something terrible has happened."

For a heartbeat, no one answers. Then all the clones start raising their blasters, taking aim at them. What?!

"Rex?" Theseus asks slowly, warily.

"No, I'll do it," he replies, but it sounds more like he's giving an order to the other clones.

"Rex, what's happening?" Ahsoka asks.

The commander spins around, leveling both blasters at them. "Stay back!" he orders desperately, hands shaking as they clench around his blasters, "Find him. Find him. Fives. Find him!"

And then the Force screams.

Purely on instinct, Theseus whips out his lightsaber, deflecting away the first barrage of blaster bolts. Ahsoka is already in motion, leaping across the room and throwing Rex aside, then jumping up onto the table to block the shots. He Force-throws several of the clones back, jumping up to join her.

Why? Why are they doing this?! He doesn't have the time to contemplate it. All they can do is fight for their lives, because the clones are definitely trying to kill them right now. The clones are dying around them from the deflected shots, but there's nothing he can do, not if they're going to save themselves.

The last of them goes down, and Ahsoka raises a hand, slamming the door to the bridge with the Force. "Rex?" she calls again, moving towards the only still living clone.

He's slowly pushing himself up from the floor but doesn't answer.

"We need a way out of here," Theseus hisses, as another door opens, and more clones start entering. They all immediately start shooting, and this time Rex joins in again. The nearly desperate look on his face from before this start is gone, now filled with nothing but a grim determination. A look he often has in battle, except now it's directed at them. There's no time to think about it, though.

Ahsoka glances upwards, and then starts deflecting shot after shot up at the ceiling. Theseus instantly realizes what she's up to and joins in as best he can. They move in a blur together, each covering the other, and he can't help but wonder if they could have survived this – it was so sudden – if not for each other.

The area of the ceiling finally gives way, and they leap through the gaping hole, landing in a hallway up above. They take off running immediately, neither of them stopping until they're a sufficient distance away from everything.

Theseus skids to a stop, glancing up and down the hall. They're clear, thankfully, and he leans against the wall, breathing heavily. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Ahsoka answers shakily, gaze darting back and forth to make sure no one's coming. "Why would they do something like this?"

"They didn't seem themselves," he replies after a moment, thinking back to Rex right before he started shooting. It was almost like... He isn't sure, honestly.

"He mentioned Fives," Ahsoka says finally, "Any idea what he's talking about?"

"Maybe? Not long after you left, something happened. I don't know the details, but one of the clones under his command killed a Jedi they were working with. Fives took him back to Kamino, and the investigation turned up with no real results, except something about a parasite or something. Fives claimed there was more to it, and when he was taken to Coruscant, he tried to assassinate the Chancellor before escaping. He met up with Anakin and Rex, saying something about there being inhibitor chips in the clones. The Coruscant Guard found him there and killed him before we were able to find answers."

"Do you think maybe there's some connection?" she wonders.

"It's possible," Theseus admits, "Rex said his name for a reason."

"Then we need to find whatever files we can on him," she decides.

"If we're going to do that, we'll need a diversion to make sure the clones don't catch us first," he points out. They're going to be searching everywhere, likely locking down the entire ship until they're found.

Ahsoka seems to be considering that for a moment. "I have an idea."

**w**

Stealth is not his forte. It never has been, but he is still capable. He's infiltrated enough Separatist bases to know how to walk as lightly as possible and knows cruisers well enough to know the indentations on the walls and some of the best hiding spots. It takes a while, but Theseus finally successfully makes his way into where the droids are.

BD is the first to run over to him, beeping wildly. R7 – Ahsoka's old droid – is right behind, followed by the others, with a chorus of beeps.

"No, I don't know what's happening," Theseus answers.

"The clones are malfunctioning," BD beeps.

He winces at the words. Normally the way droids talk about organics is amusing but when people already treat the clones like things, it's far less so. "Yes, I think something is wrong with them. That's what I'm here to figure out. Arseven, can you pull up all the files on CT-5555?"

The droid beeps obediently and gets to work. The initial report reiterates everything Theseus remembers, but apparently Rex filed a grievance report.

Theseus watches with growing horror as the message plays. "I already know this report is gonna fall on deaf ears, but I owe it to Fives to record what I saw. I'm not sure I believe it myself, but there's a possibility that the inhibitor chips the Kaminoans put inside of us have a purpose that we don't yet fully understand."

This is it, he knows it. There must be a connection, somehow or other, because nothing else could explain why all the clones are suddenly behaving like this. He keeps his mind focused on the task at hand, refusing to allow himself to get distracted with emotions over what's happening. They can worry about that later. First of all, he and Ahsoka need to escape and figure out what in the galaxy is going on, and why it's happening.

As soon as Ahsoka returns from setting Maul on the loose as a distraction – he's still unhappy about that, but they didn't have another option – they can get on with the next phase of their plan.

It goes smoothly enough. BD lurs Rex right to where they want him, and then R7 zaps him unconscious – much to Ahsoka's horror. With the droids' help, they make sure the corridors are clear, and take him straight to the medbay.

"Let's hope this works," Ahsoka murmurs as BD begins his scan of Rex's head.

"There's nothing there," it reports finally.

"But that's impossible!" Theseus protests, "Try again. It has to be there." The droid beeps in acknowledgement and starts over again.

"The clones are outside the door," Ahsoka warns quietly, "Arseven, if they override the door controls, you have to reseal it fast."

"Nothing abnormal," BD beeps.

No. That's impossible. The clones wouldn't do this of their own free will like that, especially not Rex. "We have to try something else," Theseus says desperately, but he doesn't know what.

"The Force," Ahsoka breathes, and darts over to Rex. She reaches down, resting her hands on either side of his head, and closing her eyes. "I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me," she murmurs quietly, as she reaches out, obviously trying to calm Rex's mind through the Force. It's a little like mind-control, but not exactly at the same time. They're doing it to help him and everyone, so... She says it a few more times before Rex unconsciously repeats the words after her.

"I found something!" BD beeps suddenly, excitedly.

A scan of the area where the chip is – or at least that's sure what it looks like – lights up on the screen.

"Get him under and remove that thing," Ahsoka orders.

"Are you certain this will work?"

"No, but if it doesn't, we're going to end up dead anyway," Theseus replies grimly. It's their only chance, and he would much prefer to go down with a fight.

He can hear and sense the clones right outside the door now, working to get inside. They're nearly out of time. "Get ready," Theseus warns ominously, moving into position in front of the door and igniting his lightsaber. Ahsoka immediately follows suit.

The edges of the door suddenly spark – a result of whatever the clones are doing on the other side – before it abruptly begins to slide open. One of the clones darts forwards to catch it, holding it up before the droids can slam it closed again, or one of them can attempt using the Force.

The rest of them open fire. Ahsoka lashes out with the Force, throwing several of them back, but more instantly take their place.

Theseus deflects shots furiously, but the clones are shooting constantly, and it's way harder than fighting droids. He tries to Force-shove back one of the ones holding open the door, but falters for a moment, a blaster shot striking his shoulder. It doesn't go through thanks to his armor, but he stumbles a step back, nearly getting shot again in the process.

Okay, fine. He whips out one of his blasters, shooting the clone holding the door open. The door slams closed, and R7 instantly moves to seal it.

Safe. For now.

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