Chapter 6 – Revenge of the Sith
Author's Note: This is where the fic was supposed to start initially, but then we realized we needed to fill in more stuff in the past. Lol. And then, Anakin kinda got stole the spotlight from Ahsoka. ^-^
~ Amina Gila
The quiet thump of her boots hitting the floor is the only sound filling the room. Ahsoka strides forwards, coming to a stop a few feet from the throne her fellow Sith is currently occupying. "I am here to propose a truce," she says bluntly, "Or at least a temporary alliance."
"Lady Tano, is it?" Darth Maul asks, rising.
"Yes," she answers curtly, "I know you want Kenobi dead. Your little game here won't be drawing his attention, so I propose we go after him together."
"After all this time, why come to me?"
"Simple. My master is dead because of him. I want revenge, the same as you," Ahsoka tries to say it nonchalantly, but she doubts anything could conceal her true feelings. Dooku was the one who found and raised her, training her to be a Sith. Had they a bit more time, and they would have made their move and defeated Sidious together. They didn't move fast enough. Sidious, no doubt, had him killed intentionally when Kenobi and Skywalker went to "rescue" him from the Invisible Hand.
Light-years away, Ahsoka felt his death and their bond wrenching apart, the only real bond she's ever had and kept. He may have been her master, but in a way, he was... so much more. He was her father; she'll admit that at least to herself. The only person she ever truly cared about. She was too young to remember her family, and he's the closest she's ever had to one, not that Sith even have families in the first place. The feelings remain regardless, and she knows he cared for her, even if he would never admit it. It would be unreasonable to expect him to, anyway.
She was Dooku's only true apprentice, unlike all his other acolytes such as Ventress, even if Sidious didn't know it. Or maybe he did know it, which is part of the reason he had Dooku killed. They didn't move fast enough, and now it's too late. Alone, she'll never be able to take down Sidious, but the very least she can do is avenge her master's death. Her former experience with both Jedi is a plus. They're too powerful for her alone, but she has no doubt with the assistance of someone like Maul, she could defeat them both with ease.
"Where do you propose we find him?" the Sith Lord asks.
"I located him attacking the Separatist forces on Utapau. He was dispatched to fight General Grievous. If we move quickly, we should be able to arrive in time." Thanks to her access codes to much of the Separatist intel, it didn't take much to pinpoint his location.
"Very well," Maul responds.
Well, that was a simple agreement. Not that Ahsoka expected it wouldn't be. She knew it would work, and she doesn't need to worry about him betraying her. Both the Jedi will die, and perhaps they will stand a chance against Sidious, too. Which would leave the two of them as the only remaining Sith in the galaxy.
The journey to Utapau is relatively fast and quiet. They spend the time trying to familiarize themselves with one another's fighting styles. Maul is older and more experienced, yes, but Ahsoka could never imagine considering him her master. More than likely, it isn't something they will have to concern themselves with, so she banishes the thought from mind.
The battle is well underway when the pair arrive. The ship skims across the surface and Ahsoka watches from the viewport from afar, trying to spot out a blue lightsaber amidst the chaos.
"He isn't with the clones," Maul observes. "I sense his presence... farther."
"Then take us there," Ahsoka replies evenly, forcing herself not to snap at him. She doesn't need to antagonize the Sith if they're working together. Besides, it's not like he was the one who killed her father. No, she can save her anger for Kenobi and Skywalker when she finally confronts them. She wants to focus on her anger, because dealing with the... pain is not something she wants to face right now.
The shuttle flies away from the main part of the battle, staying low in the sky but just out of range of all the shooting down below. As they fly over the surface, Ahsoka can finally make out an all too familiar tiny figure. He's not far from the edge of a cliff, and none of the clones are near him, so he won't have any backup. She brings the ship to the ground and lowers the ramp.
Well, this will be easy, or so she hopes. Kenobi is a Jedi Master, and he's likely learned a lot from the last time they fought which was well over half a year earlier. Dooku had wanted to try turning him to join their cause a long time ago, but Ahsoka has no idea why. He's far too blinded to the Council and their foolish rules, as far as she's concerned. Even so, she knows not to underestimate him.
Maul stalks down the ramp first, and Ahsoka catches up a few moments later. "Kenobi," the Zabrak hisses, double bladed lightsaber springing to life. Ahsoka ignites her own two blades, shifting into her fighting stance, never taking her eyes off the Jedi.
"Hello there," Kenobi says flippantly, igniting his own blade and holding it ready in front of him. "In case you'd forgotten, I've defeated both of you before. I can do it again now."
"Your blind belief in the light weakens you," Ahsoka growls, "And your arrogance is unbefitting of a Jedi." She is so tired of listening to all of his stupid prattling.
Kenobi spins to meet her blow, then whirls to block Maul's attack as the Zabrak lunges at him. Ahsoka lets herself sink into the Dark Side, letting herself feel the depths of her pain over her master's death, and her fierce hatred for the Jedi and the corruption they stand for. She throws all of it into her moves as she furiously rains attacks around him. Maul attacks Kenobi relentlessly from the other side.
The Jedi's blue blade is always there to block their red ones, but he's steadily backing away. She's fought him only once before, but she still knows his fighting style. He defends until his opponent is worn down, and then he finds an opening and takes advantage of it. They can't let him have that advantage. They have to defeat him before he can wear them down by stalling.
"I'm surprised Skywalker is not with you," Maul remarks as their blades continue clashing.
"Oh, he had other far more important assignments, than dealing with two incompetent excuses for Sith."
"You won't escape this time!" snarls the Zabrak as he throws Kenobi backwards and lunges. The Jedi swings his lightsaber up, stopping Maul from beheading him in the nick of time.
"I'll aim for your neck this time," Kenobi informs him lightly, and Maul snarls in rage and throws him across the area. She doesn't take the time to rival in her satisfaction at seeing it. They don't have time to waste. Ahsoka moves first this time, her twin blades swinging for the kill. He rolls aside and stands again, easily blocking her blow. She tries to ignore her building frustration as she slashes furiously at him again.
"You're too blind to see you have already lost, Kenobi," Maul growls.
"You're getting a little ahead of yourself, don't you think?" Kenobi asks mildly, raising a hand and throwing Ahsoka back, before spinning to block Maul's blows again.
"The Jedi have already lost the war. You just can't see it," Ahsoka snaps. Why are all Jedi so dense? How can anyone be so blinded by faith in their own powers while knowing the corruption that lies within?
"The war is over," Kenobi agrees, parrying each of their blows as he backs away again, "But it was won by the Republic, in case you didn't look around you."
"The Republic has already fallen. It is too late to stop it, and a new power shall take its place!" the Sith Lord snarls.
"Really? And what power would that be? You?"
The fight continues a few moments longer, the blades clashing furiously, before Maul replies. "No. Darth Sidious. He controls everything in the shadows, always."
Kenobi's expression doesn't really change – it pretty much never does, except when he's mad – but Ahsoka is pretty sure that this time he actually does look a little... unnerved? At least momentarily, before it disappears. Maul is trying to throw him off-balance, make him easier to fight, and it seems to be working, though Ahsoka is fairly certain they need to try a different approach. His faith in his Order is unshakable and frankly disgusting.
But she is worried, though. With Dooku dead, Sidious is going to go continue his plan of turning Skywalker. Everything is winding down now.
"After you are dead, we will find Skywalker. He will share your fate," sneers Maul.
"That's not going to happen," Kenobi retorts.
"So sure?" Ahsoka snips. "All the Jedi are weak. That's why you will fail."
"Only the weak embrace the Dark Side," Kenobi scoffs loftily. Snarling, Ahsoka throws a Force wave at him, which he doesn't quite manage to counter. He skids a distance away before managing to catch himself again.
Ahsoka's about to lunge at Kenobi again when she feels the sudden shifting in the Force. A shockwave, at an intensity she's never felt before, surges through the Force. People are dying everywhere across the galaxy, and it feels as though so much of the galaxy's light that remained despite the war is... disappearing.
Their duel stops at once, Kenobi and Maul both freezing as well, obviously sensing the disturbance as much as she does. She doesn't know what happened – not exactly – but she does know it's directly involved with Sidious' plan to destroy the Jedi. It's already been actively set in motion.
"Down there!" Ahsoka hears the distant shout of a clone's voice. She spins around, as a blaster shot rings out, but instead of being fired at her or Maul, it was fired at Kenobi. It would have hit him, if not for his obviously instinctual reaction to deflect it, despite that he was shot by one of his own men. Oh. Oh. She's too late. Everything is winding down, right here, right now. Instincts kick in, a blinding determination to finish her mission, and she throws a hand outwards, flinging Kenobi off the cliff.
He's too taken by surprise to even react. He's dead, finally, or soon will be because if he survives that fall, he'll be badly injured, and the clones will finish him off. One down, one more to go. But now it's time for a fight.
All the clones open fire on her and Maul, and they spin their blades in unison, blocking the shots. Apparently, they've been grouped with the Jedi as enemies of the new Sith Empire. If she and Dooku had made their move earlier, this wouldn't be happening, but he's gone, and the best Ahsoka can do to live on and keep fighting. So, she does the one thing she can. She runs.
The clones are coming from the opposite direction of their shuttle, so it gives them time to run onboard, firing up the engines and blasting off before the clones can come close enough to try and stop them.
"We were too late!" Maul growls.
"I know. But I'm not going to give up," Ahsoka hisses.
"Sidious will have already turned Skywalker to his side."
She shrugs. "Then we'll take them both down, one at a time. That's what my master and I planned to do, and if your skills are anything like what I've heard, we can do the same." She doesn't feel quite as confident as she's pretending to be, but she's not going to give up. Still, the thought of facing Skywalker again – not to mention Sidious – makes her uneasy, to say the least. He could easily have killed her and Dooku; it was only chance that they survived. And she's certain Sidious is even stronger than Skywalker is. They're going to have to take them totally off guard if they have any hope of winning.
Maul doesn't seem terribly happy, though he is contemplating her suggestion. "Where do you intend to go now?"
"We'll have to check things out on Coruscant, but for now, we'll stay under the radar. Wait until things calm down in a day or two. Right now, everyone will be looking for us."
"Very well. We can prepare ourselves as we wait for the right moment."
**w**
They spend the next couple days constantly practicing and preparing for the upcoming duel. There's no room for failure. Ahsoka wishes so much that Dooku could be here for this. She misses him. So badly. And it doesn't help knowing she'll never see him again. And yet, her pain, however acute it is to dwell on, only serves to fuel her in a way nothing else ever could. This is something personal, not for the good of a galaxy that may well not deserve it.
She'd feel far more confident about it if he was here. It was supposed to be their mission together, but now he's gone. Whether she thinks it will work or not, she has to carry it out. And after that... well, she'll figure that out when the time comes. It's not impossible she won't survive the fight, anyway. She doesn't want to die in the upcoming fight, but she has to admit she finds herself caring less whether or not she survives it now that Dooku is gone. All that matters is finishing the mission.
Letting her determination and desire for revenge wash through her, she turns her attention to the front viewport as the ship jolts out of hyperspace above Coruscant. Getting to the surface and locating Sidious undetected will not be an easy task. It will require stealth, thankfully her forte.
To avoid any security checkpoints, they land in a far-off part of the underworld, and with the help of their hoods for a disguise, begin sneaking their way through the city for the Senate building.
"If we can get through that door," she muses aloud. "We might be able to get into the ventilation system and work our way to the Chancellor's office. I know where it is. There are guards, but they won't be a problem."
"Let's go," decides Maul.
They dart forwards through the shadows of the street and traffic lights, sprinting around the corner of the building and soundlessly knocking out the guards by the door before they even have a chance to see anything coming. Killing them would be too messy at this point. Security will be able to pick up on this later, but it won't be a concern for now. Ahsoka is shielding her presence as much as she can – like Dooku taught her – so hopefully Sidious can't sense them coming. She knows he's going to sense something, but hopefully they'll still at least have some element of surprise left by the time they reach his office. She doesn't know where Skywalker is right now – assuming he's even alive – so they'll have to go for Sidious first. He's the most major threat, after all.
Ahsoka glanced furtively around the hall as they silently enter. She can hear the far-off sound of footsteps. People are moving around in the halls right nearby, despite the late hour. Maul is already moving over to the nearby vent, detaching it and pulling himself up into the shaft. She's quick to follow, pushing the grate back into place before the two of them head through it.
Finally, the moment has come. The moment for them to take down Sidious. Suddenly, a lot of the confidence she was feeling before they broke into the Senate is evaporating. Dooku always warned about how powerful he was, about he couldn't defeat him alone if he tried, which was why he needed her. What if she fails? Maul is dangerous, yes, but she doesn't know how much. Dooku always told her never to underestimate Sidious, and a part of her still expects her former master to appear and help like he was supposed to, but that's impossible. It's a child's dream, and she's not a child anymore. She doesn't need him to do this. Or so Ahsoka tries to convince herself.
But even if they wanted to turn back, it's too late now. Drawing in a deep breath, Ahsoka pushes the vent aside, dropping into the hallway right outside the office, and throws the guards against the walls. They're rendered unconscious instantly, and Maul catches them with the Force and lowers them to the floor, so they don't thump unnecessarily and attract attention.
Ahsoka draws in a breath to ready herself as the two of them step into the office, the door sliding closed behind them. Something about the clang feels as though their fate is being sealed.
Finally, she's facing down the Sith Master, the one she was trained to kill from childhood.
"I was wondering when you would make your way here." Sidious turns to face them from where he is seated at his desk, and slowly stands up in a way that makes the simple move menacing.
The Force flares in warning right before they're both thrown into the wall hard enough that pain flares through Ahsoka's back lekku, but she and Maul are released a moment later. Ahsoka lands on her feet and straightens, drawing her lightsabers. Maul follows her example.
Two lightsabers appear in Sidious' hands – did he seriously have them stuck up his sleeves?! – and he ignites them. Ahsoka doesn't wait for him to make the move first, lunging forwards. He easily parries her blows with one of his lightsabers, spinning to block Maul's with the other.
She throws herself entirely into the fight as she rains attacks on him, but even with both her and Maul fighting, Sidious doesn't even seem to be on the defensive the way Kenobi was. If anything, he seems to be playing with them. Because there's no other reason why he's hardly throwing a single strike of his own, even when he has plenty of opportunities to do so. Is he hoping to wear them down the same way the Kenobi was? If that's really his plan, they do have one advantage over him. They're both young, while he's not. He'll wear down much faster if he's actually fighting.
Sidious suddenly Force throws Maul across the room into the wall, before sending a blast of lighting at Ahsoka, who crosses her lightsabers in front of her to deflect it. She's been hit by Sith lightning before, a few times, when Dooku taught her how to counter it. That won't work on her, not anymore.
The Sith Master ceases his lightning attack when Maul charges at him again, lightsaber spinning furiously, and turns to meet his blades. Ahsoka charges into the fight again, trying to find an opening in his defense as she attacks him again, but somehow his red blade is always there to block hers in time. He's simply too fast.
"The first and only reality of the Sith is that there can only be two," Sidious cackles, "I always knew Dooku was training an apprentice to betray me. That is why I eliminated him."
Ahsoka's rage flares to a whole new level. How dare he speak of him like that?! Dooku may have been a Sith, but he cared for the galaxy. Sidious only cares for himself and his own power. Ahsoka lunges at him, the only thought filling her mind being the screaming demand for vengeance. He will die for what he did.
A Force shove sends her flying into the wall, but she manages to catch herself as she hits the floor, reigniting her lightsabers and taking a moment to catch her breath as she prepares to charge again. But the same moment, Sidious twists one of his lightsabers upwards, cutting through the center of Maul's double bladed one, and then stabbing it straight through his chest.
No! An icy fear grips her as she watches the Zabrak collapse to the floor. Killing him was far too easy. Sidious won't have a problem taking her down now. Even if she wanted to run, to give herself a better chance to take him down later, that's not an option anymore. He'll never let her get away. Her only option is to stand and fight, even if she fails.
And maybe, maybe there's a chance that she won't. She has to do this. For her master. Ahsoka runs at him again, her ruby blades clashing in a blur with Sidious'. The Sith is actually fighting now, and he's easily pushing her back. In a swift move, he knocks one of her blades from her hand, their remaining three clashing into a saberlock.
She glares hatefully into the Sith Master's yellow eyes, but it feels as though he's only growing more amused. Their blades finally spin away from one another, and she can't shake the sinking feeling that she'll never be able to do this alone. She's going to die here unless Sidious spares her for some unfathomable reason – in which case she'd probably end up wishing that she already was dead. Escaping isn't an option anymore either. Maybe she should have waited longer, until she's a bit older and more experienced, more ready to take on the fully trained Sith. Thinking about it won't do her any good now. Focusing and trusting the Force will.
She ducks under his next swing and jumps backwards, raising her blades again. Her best hope is that no one else will come in here. She can barely keep up with Sidious as he moves towards her in a blur, and she'd never be able to fight off anyone else. She blocks him a little too low, and his lightsaber cuts a slash across her arm, burning through skin. The pain fuels her, pushes her on with blind determination. Still, it's about all she can do to even stay alive at this point, and she's spending her entire time running away from Sidious instead of actually fighting him.
Finally, a blast of lightning catches her, flinging her across the room into the wall before letting her fall to the floor. She struggles to draw in air past the pain pulsing through her entire body, slowly rolling over and looking up to see a red blade hovering right above her. Sidious is looking down at her, a malicious smirk on his face. "Now, you will die, child," he mocks.
A raw, blinding panic consumes her. She knows – knows – she'll never be able to grab her lightsaber on time. Her only hope is a last moment Force-shove that won't do more than push him back maybe a few feet, but more than likely won't be enough to give her time to get up. She knew from the start she might die, and she's ready and prepared for it, but Sidious must die.
There's a sudden rush of air and a sapphire lightsaber appears in her vision, blocking Sidious's. Ahsoka sharply looks over at the other figure. She'd recognize him anywhere. Skywalker. Except... it's not. His presence, though heavily shielded, is a violent storm of pain and an all-consuming rage. And his eyes are golden. He's a Sith. Her master's replacement. All of the now-Emperor's plans have wound to a close. It's wrong. Dooku was supposed to be the Emperor. Not Sidious.
"Lord Vader, I see you have returned," Sidious hisses a hint of maliciousness in his tone.
His response comes only a moment later, voice quiet even as it shakes with rage. "You betrayed me." Ahsoka has seen many times when people are close to snapping, and that's what she sees in him now. Something has vastly changed since the last time she saw him, not that it's a surprise, given that he's currently a Sith. Never has Ahsoka felt something like this, even when Dooku's many other acolytes went all-out Dark Side. It's worse than when she fought him back on Naboo during the Festival of Light, which is saying something.
"Why would you believe that, Lord Vader?" Sidious sounds perfectly calm, maybe even a little smug.
"You never meant to save her, did you? You told me you could!"
"Padme is dead, my friend. Even the power of the Dark Side cannot bring her back. but in her death, she has given you a gift. Pain. Now... you must choose. Will you accept that gift? Will you use it, or will you die?"
Skywalker's – Vader's? – expression seems to darken farther, and Ahsoka knows the look of someone when they've reached a decision they intend to carry through with, no matter how reckless it is. "I will live," he growls, "But not as your slave." In other words, a declaration that he's about to rebel against his master. Very smart. Although, it was kind of already obvious, she supposes. She feels more relieved than she cares to admit. At least she won't be alone, and if anyone is strong enough to defeat Sidious, it's definitely Vader.
Ahsoka uses Sidious' moment of distraction to scoot away from him, calling her lightsabers to her hands as she jumps to her feet, shifting into her fighting stance again.
"Then you will both die," Sidious growls, and lunges forwards.
Sidious clearly has no interest in toying with them any longer, so the best Ahsoka can do now is desperately avoid getting stabbed with his lightsabers as she frantically tries to keep up with the constantly moving red blurs. Vader isn't having nearly as hard a time as she is, but Sidious is still on the offensive. Their blades are moving in a blurring dance of red and a very out of place blue.
The Sith throws Ahsoka into the wall again, and she's fairly certain she hears a cracking sound that was hopefully the wall and not some bones, but she can't be sure. She aches everywhere at this point anyway. A blast of lightning shoots from his fingers, but Vader easily blocks it with his lightsaber.
She climbs to her feet for probably the tenth time, running back for the fight. Sidious spins to block her two blades, the same moment he blocks Vader's with his other hand, all five blades momentarily trapped in a saberlock.
Vader kicks Sidious into the wall and jumps at him, lightsaber raised for what Ahsoka hopes is a final killing blow. It would have been, too, if not for the sudden onslaught of lightning that sends Vader flying across the room. Sidious stands up cackling as he continues electrocuting him, and Ahsoka dives at him from the side, hoping he's at least too distracted to notice her coming fast enough.
But, of course, she's not fast enough. He whirls to intercept her blow a split second before it would've ended the fight, and the blast of lightning catches her this time, hurling her across the room. It doesn't let up immediately either, and a strangled scream tears from her throat as it feels like she's being burned inside out over and over again.
The assault lets up abruptly, the world spinning around her. Something is nagging at the edge of her senses, and she tries to blink away the stars swimming in from her eyes, gaze zeroing in on what's happening on the other side of the room.
A certain far too familiar tiny little green being is standing there, a disgusting amount of the Light Side still radiating from him, even after he watched his own Order fall in front of him. What is he doing here?
Sidious has turned to face him, and Vader is climbing to his feet on the other side of the room, leaning partly against the wall, probably recovering from his master's last lightning attack. "Master Yoda, you survived," Sidious comments lightly. He doesn't seem the least bit concerned.
"Surprised?" the former Grandmaster shoots back.
"Your arrogance blinds you, Master Yoda," the Sith Master retorts, "Now you will experience the full power of the Dark Side." He raises his hands, a blast of lightning leaping from his fingers. Yoda blocks it with a Force shield, deflecting it.
Sidious lets up his attack a moment later, clearly realizing it's doing nothing. "I have waited a long time for this moment," he gloats, "At last the Jedi are no more."
"Not if something to say about it, I have, Lord Sidious," Yoda growls, "At an end your rule is, and not short enough it was, I must say." The Jedi Master throws a Force shove at him, which sends him flying across the room – something Ahsoka takes no small amount of satisfaction in.
Vader springs into motion again almost instantly, lunging for Sidious. The Sith rolls out of the way of the blue blade, reigniting his own red lightsaber to block the blow. Yoda leaps at him, swinging for his head, then dropping back to the floor and throwing another attack at him in a furious blur of green.
With Yoda and Vader fighting Sidious side by side like that, Ahsoka's pretty sure she'd only be collateral damage if she tried to get involved. Especially since the Sith Master is fighting to kill, and there's no way she'd be able to stand up against him. She'll assist if she can, but she won't get in the way unnecessarily, either.
The fight travels onto the central podium in the office, which somehow activates and begins rising, the ceiling above opening to allow it to ascend into the main Senate chambers. Yoda is constantly moving all around Sidious as he attacks him furiously, forcing the Sith to keep spinning to parry his attacks, especially when he's struggling to fight off Vader at the same time.
She can't help but notice how ridiculously powerful Vader is, and how the Force is responding to him like no one else. But what she also notices, is that he's fighting almost... recklessly, in a way that's going to get himself killed eventually, even if he does manage to take down Sidious first.
Finally, the Sith Force-shoves Yoda right off the edge of the pod and then promptly kicks Vader after. Ahsoka winces on his behalf. The ensuing thuds do not sound fun.
Ahsoka suddenly hears the sound of metal screeching and looks up to see Sidious detaching a nearby pod from its place with the Force, and promptly hurls it at Yoda as the Jedi Master is pulling out his lightsaber again. Seriously? He's going to start destroying the Senate room and throwing pods now? Okay, then. Now that, she's definitely not going to get involved in.
The apparently not-so-powerful Jedi Master doesn't manage to block it and the pod hits him, sending him flying. Vader is standing up now, and apparently deciding to join the newest form of insanity, rips several more pods free and flings them at Sidious. The Sith Master jumps aside only a second before he would've been smashed.
Another one comes sailing towards him courtesy of Yoda, and he doesn't manage to dodge this one in time, since he's focused on tossing away another one of Vader's. It slams into him, throwing him right over the edge with a far too satisfying muffled grunt. He lands very unceremoniously several yards down on another pod, flipping back to his feet as Yoda and Vader land on either side of the pod, lightsabers activated.
Cackling about nothing apparent, Sidious pulls out his own blade again. The three lightsabers move in a constant whirl of red, green, and blue. Vader's lightsaber finally slashes across Sidious' arm and the Sith Master snarls, blasting him over the edge of the pod again. He falls downwards, out of Ahsoka's line of sight as Sidious whirls around. Lightning leaps from his fingers again, and Yoda's lightsaber is knocked from his grasp. He raises his hands to block it.
The electricity pouring from the Sith's hands is stronger than anything Ahsoka has seen before – except when it's being used for an immediate kill. It's too blindingly bright to even look at. Somewhere down below, she catches sight of Vader moving around, climbing back up the pods towards the fight up above.
The Sith Master and Jedi Grandmaster are moving closer to each other as the lightning battle only seems to grow brighter and more intense. She doesn't quite manage to catch what happened, but the next thing she knows there's a tremendous explosion in the Force, Yoda's far too strong Force barrier falling and promptly backlashing on him. Both he and Sidious go flying opposite directions, and she can far too distinctly sense the feel of a life disappearing as Yoda hits the floor of a pod a distance away.
He's dead. She stares for a disbelieving moment at the body. Not that she cares, but the thought of the one Jedi who's been alive for what literally feels like forever dying like this... It wasn't how she expected the duel to go.
Her gaze jumps instantly to where Sidious is lying not far from her, the backlash from the Force obviously having affected him to. Moving practically like a blur, Vader jumps to the ground next to Sidious, swinging for his head. The Sith instantly throws a blast of lightning at him – meant to kill, again – which Vader blocks with his lightsaber as he stalks closer and closer to him. And then he lunges forwards, totally disregarding the fact that he could literally kill himself in the process.
Sidious tries to shove him back, but he doesn't react fast enough. Vader's blade impales him through the chest. There's a look of vicious satisfaction on his face. That's when Sidious takes advantage of the opening Vader gave him. He raises his hands, sending blinding bolts of electricity crashing into the other.
Sidious falls, as does Vader. The apprentice is thrown back to the edge of the pod, and Ahsoka winces on his behalf when he lets out a strangled cry. Sidious is dying rapidly, but he's not stopping. It seems he's determined to take his killer down with him. And, she decides in a surge of vicious satisfaction of her own, she won't let him.
Ahsoka jumps onto the pod, raising her lightsabers to block the onslaught. Oh, she could care less what happens to Vader, but she won't let Sidious get a victory out of this.
His lightning assault slowly fizzles out, and Ahsoka feels his life-force rapidly draining out. Never has she felt so satisfied for someone to be dead.
Finally, the mission that she's been training for her entire life is over. And maybe she didn't do it herself, but she still did her part, and it's finally done. It hardly even feels real. The perpetrator of her master's death is dead, even if he wasn't the one to deliver the killing blow. Her master's death has been avenged. Both Sidious and Kenobi are dead, and in a way of sorts, so is Skywalker. She can't very well call the dark presence in front of her with that name.
For a long moment, neither of them speaks. While the realization sinks in, she finally realizes she'll have to act fast. She assisted in killing the Emperor, and that warrants an immediate execution. Not to mention she doesn't even know what to do with herself, now. She's never felt so lost and alone before. She's always had a purpose, and she always had her master. Now that both are gone, she doesn't know what to do.
Ahsoka flicks off her lightsabers. Sidious is dead; there's no one else to attack her for now. "You're still not dead?" she asks lazily, turning back to Vader. Didn't he see it? she wonders. Didn't he know Sidious could've killed him?
He glares at her and sits up with great effort, body still smoking. She drops into a crouch next to him. She meets his gaze, trying to hide how worn out she is, but Ahsoka highly doubts it matters. More than likely, he can see right through her. Finally, the Sith picks up his lightsaber and clips it back to his belt. "You did well," he informs her. Was that... praise she heard from him?
Her mind is still whirling at the implications of what they did. Vader was Sidious' apprentice so he's technically the Sith Lord now. She's young herself, too young to even consider being the master. "Yes, I saved your life. You're welcome," she snips.
Vader shifts to a (assumedly) slightly more comfortable position, hands dropping to his lap. "I didn't need your help."
"Sure." Ahsoka waves him off. "Keep believing that. Maybe I should have let him. There are faster ways to commit suicide than letting your deranged master torture you to death."
Skywalker would've had some equally snarky comeback, but Vader says nothing. He looks as worn as Ahsoka feels. Sidious took a lot out of them.
"You ought to get a med check-up," she grumbles. "Unless you'd rather us kill each other right here."
"Why'd you care?" he asks, eyeing her suspiciously. "Last time I saw you, you tried to kill me."
"You are most welcome," she replies, standing up. Vader rises as well. "What now?" Ahsoka asks wearily. It feels strange, surreal almost to be looking at him as a friend rather than foe.
"I guess this means I'm the emperor now." She senses a hit of amusement, more than likely at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. He was a lowly Jedi Knight only days ago, after all. "And now that my... master is dead, it seems I would be in need of an apprentice."
She swallows, glancing slightly nervously between the dead bodies on the floor and Vader. If she was being honest, she'd much rather be Maul's apprentice. He was raised a Sith much like Ahsoka herself, and she would know more or less what to expect. But Vader? She has no idea. He's been a Jedi most of his life, up until now.
She knows Dooku would want her to help with the Empire, to continue the ways of the Sith. But she also knows he hated Skywalker, so...
"Are you sure about this?" she asks, finally finding her voice. She doesn't trust him, but he did save her life. Maul she could know wouldn't betray her the first chance she gets, but she couldn't say the same for Vader. They've always been enemies, and she has no way to predict when he'll try to stab her in the back. Seeing his two-day apprenticeship to Sidious hasn't given her much confidence in his loyalty, either.
"The Empire... the Sith's rule has fallen to us now," Vader replies, unwavering. She's seen him enough times to know when he has his mind set on something, and now is one of them. Even if he is a Sith, that's one thing that never changed. "I know of no other. I can cover the evidence of what happened here, and then assume control of the Empire."
The more he talks, the more she realizes how different he is. He doesn't vibrate with the same energy and life Skywalker always did. No, it's all gone. It's as though there's nothing left but an empty shell of the person he used to be. And now she has to wonder: is there anything left of Anakin Skywalker? The thought disturbs her more than it should.
"How will we explain Sidious' death?" she wonders.
"Maul and Yoda," Vader answers simply. Oh. That's surprisingly easy, and it will work splendidly because all of their bodies are here. Without the recording, no one will actually know who killed who.
Now the decision of what happens next is up to her. They're the only two Sith left in the galaxy, which is honestly a little concerning considering that they're both so young and have much to learn. But she's certainly not ready to train anyone yet. There's probably at least something Vader could teach her. Maybe. The biggest issue is that she doesn't really trust him not to betray her, but then again, isn't that pretty much always true with Sith masters and apprentices? Her and Dooku had been... unusually close. They would never do that to one another.
If she agrees to be Vader's apprentice, she'll have to constantly watch her back until she gets to know him better, but if she turns him down... well, she'll have to do that anyway since she'll no longer be one of the Two Sith. Might as well have him as a tentative ally than an enemy for no reason.
Besides, Dooku would want her to stay and help the galaxy however she could, not run off on her own. There's nothing for her out there, after all. Her place is here. She knows what she has to do.
Ahsoka steps closer to Vader, hesitating for a moment before kneeling in front of him. It's strange and wrong to be doing this to anyone other than Dooku, but he's gone, and she needs to move on. "As you wish... my Master," she murmurs.
"By the will of the Force, I hereby name you... Darth Immuicus."
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