Summary

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Rex finds himself in a strange timeline.

Padme gets thrown away.

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51.

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Rex collided with the floor when the light finally disappeared. He groaned and shook his head before getting up. It was dark and cool. He could feel the chill in the air and see the steam of his breath. He looked around and saw ships and transports zooming by in the distance. He was in a square. He walked over towards the edge of the square and saw that he was on a platform on Coruscant. There was no mistaking the city around him.

He then heard someone gasp behind him. He quickly put on his helmet and reached for his blaster and drew it.

He asked, "Who's there?"

The person he heard stepped forward and out of the shadows the stone pillars in the square. He then saw a familiar pair of montrals. He lowered his blaster but didn't put it away. He figured he was probably in another timeline again and didn't want to take any chances.

"Ahsoka?"

The Togruta-teen in front of him hesitated for a moment. Her hands were shaking. She dropped something onto the ground. Something was wrong.

"Rex? Is it really you?"

Her voice was quivering. Rex holstered his blaster. She sounded like Ahsoka, but that didn't mean she was his Ahsoka. She could be another Ahsoka of his past like in the last timeline he found himself in. He needed to be sure. He had to ask her something that only his Ahsoka would know. He was trying to figure out what to ask, when she suddenly closed the distance between them and launched herself into his arms. He stumbled a step back as he caught her.

"It's really you! I can't believe it. It's really you."

Before, Rex could protest, she reached up and took off his helmet. Flustered, Rex tried to slow her down, but she unexpectedly circled his head with her arms and pulled him down for a kiss. Rex was wide-eyed with shock, but he couldn't stop himself from closing his eyes and lean into the kiss. He missed her, but there was a desperation in her kiss that he couldn't ignore. He broke the kiss sooner then he would have liked. He gently placed his hand on her cheek so he could meet her gaze.

"It's alright, cyar'ika. I've got you."

He tenderly brushed the white mark on her cheek with his thumb to try and sooth her. Ahsoka closed her beautiful blue eyes and let a few tears fall before catching his hand with hers against her cheek.

"I've missed you, Rex. I thought you were dead. We all thought you were dead."

He smiled at her and said, "You can't get ride of my that easily."

Ahsoka lowered her gaze with embarrassment and pulled his hand down to hold it between them. Her shy expression was adorable.

"I guess you're right. I should have never believed them when they told me you were dead, but-"

"What's wrong?"

She smiled and said, "It's just-you never called me cyar'ika before. I-I like it."

Rex frowned and said, "That's not true. I've been calling you my cyar'ika or my cyare for some time now."

Suddenly, Rex realized what was happening. He closed his eyes with disappointment. She wasn't his Ahsoka. She was another Ahsoka. Rex looked away from her and pulled his hand away with a sigh. He muttered under his breath.

"I'm not sure how much more I can take of this."

Confused, Ahsoka said, "Rex? What's wrong?"

He turned to her and realized she heard him. He knew nothing could get past her montrals. He wasn't sure how exactly to explain the situation, so he figured he should just spit it out. He didn't feel like wasting time by lying.

"This maybe hard to believe, but I'm not your Rex. I'm another Rex. I'm from a different timeline. I'm trying to get back to my friends."

Ahsoka at first simply stared at him, before she weirdly smiled at him and shook her head. "No. No, that's not true. You're Rex."

"I am Rex, just not your Rex."

"No! You're my Rex!"

The clone captain was alarmed by Ahsoka's response. She was breathing hard. She wasn't focused. It looked like she was having a panic attack. Rex had seen enough brothers go through the same thing to recognize the signs. He calmly placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her steady.

"Soka, look at me. Breathe. Just breathe with me. That's it. Nice and easy. Just in and out."

Ahsoka collapsed onto her knees. Rex bent down in front of her and gently rubbed her back and spoke to her softly.

"That's it. Nice and steady. Just breathe."

Rex looked over and noticed that the item Ahsoka dropped when she first saw him. He picked it up and saw that it was a bouquet of flowers. Puzzled, he looked around at the pillars in the square and noticed a statue was erected in the middle. He was stunned when he saw that the statue was of a clone. He stepped back to get the full view of the statue. It wasn't just any clone. It was a clone statue of him. Rex dropped the bouquet. He walked towards the base of the statue. There was a dedication that read it was a statue in honor of the fallen clones in the war against the Separatists. It said it was their sacrifice that saved the Republic.

Rex felt a chill run down his spine. If the Republic was saved meant that the war was over. It was a dream that Rex had always dreaded. He knew what ended the war in his timeline. The end of the war marked the birth of the Empire. Rex's hand on the dedication balled into a fist before raising his other hand to cover his face.

Ahsoka approached him. "Rex?"

Rex straightened up at the sound of her voice and said, "Tell me, how did the war end?"

"It started with Fives revealing the truth about Chancellor Palpatine. A simple blood test confirmed he was a powerful Force sensitive. The investigation on Kamino confirmed he created the clones and later he was backing the Federation. He was arrested and peace talks with the Federation began with Padme taking over as the new chancellor. Master Yoda stepped down as Grand Master for not realizing the Sith's identity sooner and Master Windu took his place."

Rex felt his heart tighten when he heard how events unfolded in this reality. He wished nothing more then to go back in time and try to understand Fives' warning about the biochips. For him, that was a lifetime ago. However, he learned that regret didn't do anybody any good.

"Where is your Rex?"

"What do you mean? You're Rex. You're here."

"I mean, this monument. Was I-was I buried?"

Rex winced at his own question. It felt wrong asking about his counterparts' death. It was like asking about his own.

Startled, Ahsoka lowered her gaze and rubbed her arm and said, "There. He's there."

She pointed at the base of the statue. Rex saw that there was a withered bouquet of flowers laid over a stone slab. Rex's heart ached at the sight of the flowers. It meant this Ahsoka had come to mourn her Rex. It meant she had been mourning him for some time.

"But that doesn't matter. You're here. You came back."

Rex frowned and turned to her and said, "I wish that were true, but I'm not him."

She reached for his hand and said, "No, you are. Maybe this is what was meant to be."

He turned away from her. He found it too hard to meet her gaze. He didn't want to see the hurt in her eyes. He knew he couldn't bear to see that in any version of Ashoka.

"I've got to go back. I don't belong here. I'm sorry."

"You don't know that. This might be what the Force wanted for you, for us."

"Ahsoka!"

The two turned around and saw a clone running towards them. As he came closer, Rex recognized him.

"Cody."

Cody stopped dead in his tracks. The look on his face was of someone who had just seen a ghost. He slowly took off his helmet and tucked it under his arm as he approached half dazed at the sight of his long-lost friend. Rex noticed that this version of Cody had dyed his hair blonde like his.

"What have you done to your hair?"

Mesmerized, Cody placed his hand on Rex's shoulder in an act to confirm that he was real. Cody's face was full of disbelief and wonder.

"I can't believe it. You're alive."

Rex said, "Now, don't get too excited. I'm not your Rex. I'm Rex from a different timeline. I'm just passing through."

Cody frowned and said, "I'm not sure I understand."

Rex said, "It's alright. It's hard for me to wrap my head around it too."

Cody looked concern for Ahsoka and glanced at her for a moment. She looked scared and desperate. It wasn't good. He said, "Well, let's get out of here. Follow me."

XXX

Cody took Rex to an apartment not far from the barracks. By the look of things, it seemed to belong to a woman judging by the decor. It was sparce, but it had colorful curtains, pillows and rugs. Rex stood uneasy at the door. He felt awkward standing in what he assumed was the apartment of Cody's girlfriend. Ahsoka at some point had latched onto his arm and it didn't look like she was going to let go anytime soon.

Cody noticed and gently approached her and said, "Ashoka, why don't you take a seat? I'll make us your favorite tea."

"Alright."

Ahsoka practically dragged Rex over to the sofa to sit down next to him. However, Rex wanted to talk to Cody. He watched him leave the sitting room and enter the kitchen. He thought it was weird that Cody knew Ahsoka's favorite tea. Rex knew Ahsoka for years and he didn't even know that she had a favorite tea. They were always too busy fighting the war to think about mundane things like that.

"Rex, come and give me a hand."

"Right."

Rex was thankful for the excuse to talk to Cody alone. However, when he stood up, he felt Ahsoka grab his wrist. He turned to her and kneeled.

"It's alright. I'll only be in the next room."

"Okay."

He patted her hand on his wrist. He saw the emotional strain on her face and knew she was trying to keep herself together. He then got up and entered the other room. He saw Cody standing behind the counter in the kitchen. He was giving Rex a stern look. Cody pressed a button on his wrist comm that sealed the door between them and the living room. Rex heard the lock activate. He didn't like being trapped but understood Cody's suspicions.

Cody said, "So now that we're finally alone. You can tell me who the hell you really are."

Rex sighed and shook his head. "Like I told Ahsoka. I'm Rex. Just not your Rex."

Cody narrowed his brow and crossed his arms over his chest before glancing at Rex up and down. "What does that mean? Are you a clone of Rex? Because I saw Rex's body. He's gone."

Rex anxiously rubbed the back of his head and said, "Look, I can't prove to you that I'm from another timeline. What I know about myself might be different from what you know about your Rex. I don't want to cause any trouble. I just want to find my friends. It's up to you to believe me or not. All I know is the Cody I know is my brother and my friend."

"And you expect me to trust you based on your word?"

Rex lifted his head and met Cody's eye and with all seriousness said, "Yes."

Cody glared at Rex and stood in front of him. He held his gaze for a long time before he finally sighed and shook his head as he looked away. He took a step back and crossed his arms again over his chest.

"I don't know if you're telling the truth, but you sound like him. You remind me of how he used to be like before Umbara."

"Umbara?"

Cody turned to him and said, "Yeah, but before we go on, I want to hear your story first."

Rex took a deep breath and said, "Alright, the short version is that my friends and I were going to have our final match with the Sith, but things went wrong, and we got separated to different timelines. From what I can tell they're more or less the same expect for a few differences. One being that the war isn't over where I'm from."

Cody shook his head and said, "The war ending has its own problems. The Republic at first didn't know what to do with millions of clones. Chancellor Amidala formed the Clones Peace Core and the Clone Agricultural Core. Now, we're either local law enforcers or farmers. Regardless, no one wants to deal with millions of soldiers turning into seniors all at once."

Rex raised his brow and placed his hand under his chin. He hadn't considered what his brothers would do after the war but becoming local law enforcers and farmers didn't seem like such a bad idea. He could try and push for the clones to have their own planet and gain their independent rights as individuals. Though, Cody was right that millions of clone elders was a problem, however with the cure, it wasn't such a big problem anymore. Rex wanted to help alternate-Cody, but even if he gave him a vile of his blood it wouldn't do him any good. He still needed Jinn's help to make it possible.

He figured Jinn was also a possible lead to get him back to his own timeline. If his counterpart was dead, then he couldn't make physical contact with him and jump again. He would have to find another way.

"Tell me, have you ever heard of a man named Jinn Kenobi?"

"No, I haven't. Who is he?"

"He's a Jedi. Maybe Ahsoka might know about him."

Cody straightened up and said, "No, don't get her involved in this mess. Don't tell her what you told me."

"Why not? Ahsoka is a Jedi. She might know something."

Cody narrowed his brow and said, "No. Ahsoka is no longer a Jedi."

Rex raised his brow and said, "Let me guess. It's got something to do with her panic attacks. What happened?"

Enraged, Cody shouted, "You happened!"

"What do you mean?"

"You dead and it broke her. I was left here to pick up the pieces because she wouldn't talk to anyone else but me. You don't deserve her. She wordships your memory, but she doesn't understand how much you changed after Umbara. She followed you around like a Loth-wolf pup after the incident on Zygerria."

Rex was horrified. He could only imagine how much worse things could have unfolded on Umbara and Zygerria. The Zygerrian slavers were experts at breaking spirits. He turned to look at the closed door. He knew this alternate-Ahsoka wasn't herself, but he couldn't imagine her being broken. Ahsoka was the strongest person he knew. She was his light. He couldn't fathom anyone being capable of stealing her light.

However, Rex knew what it was like to be defeated. He was lucky he had friends to help him through it and move forward. He knew that a lot of that courage came from his faith in Ahsoka. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he lost her.

He didn't know if speaking to alternate-Ahsoka made things better or worse. He didn't want her to feel more lose. He had no intention of staying. His Ahsoka needed him. His friends needed him. He couldn't let them down.

"I understand that you've been through a lot, that you've both have, but I'm not him. I need to go back and if she knows anything that can help me then I'm going to ask."

Cody stood between Rex and the door and said, "No, you should have never come back."

The two stared at each other firmly. Neither man wanted to budge. However, the door behind Cody suddenly opened and Ahsoka stood on the other side.

"Cody? Where's the tea?"

XXX

When Padme woke up, she found herself laying in a bed in a strange room she had never been before. She sat up and remembered that she was on Exegol and trying to save Anakin. The thought of Anakin caused her to get up and rushed to the door of the sparse bedroom. She had to find him. She had to convince him to stop what he was doing and help her defeat Sidious.

Outside of the room, Padme found a corridor. It was also dark, and the walls were made of stone. She saw an open window in an observation area. She walked towards it to look out and see where she was. She saw the landscape outside was a vast city. All around red and black banners flew in the streets and buildings around them. There were no people in the streets and only loading transports flew in the skies. The skies were grey, and lighting rippled inside the dark clouds.

"How do you like my new reality?"

Padme gasped and turned to see Sidious standing at the far end of the window. He was dressed in long black cloak with the hood over his head. His eyes were yellow, and his grin was menacing.

"What is this place?"

Sidious slowly turned towards the window and said, "Don't you recognize it? This is Coruscant. My Coruscant. Here there is no conflict. No corruption."

"There's no freedom. No democracy."

Sidious scuffed and said, "Democracy. You and I both know how ineffective democracy can be."

Padme turned and glared at Sidious and said, "Democracy grants the people a voice. You have silenced them with your dictatorship. You don't represent the people. You only care about yourself."

She then moved away from him. She knew there was no get through to a tyrant. However, Sidious wasn't through. He gestured towards the dark corridor and said, "Perhaps I can't persuade you to join me, but maybe someone else can."

Padme was started when she saw Anakin step into the room. His eyes were yellow, and a darkness loomed around him. He closed the distance between them and reached to caress her face with is hand, but she pulled away from him instead.

"I've missed you, Padme. You've been unconscious for a few days now."

"Ani, please. Don't do this. You must see that this is wrong. I thought you believed in democracy. I thought you believed that people deserve to have a voice. You told me when we first met that you weren't a slave, that you had a name. By helping Sidious rule then you're treating everyone else no better than slaves."

Anakin turned abruptly away from her and said, "No! It's not the same. This is different. You'll see Padme, the Empire will put an end to slavery. No one will ever be a slave again."

Padme shook her head and said, "No, Anakin. Everyone will only have one master under the Empire."

Sidious smiled and said, "Then, you needn't be a part of our Empire, my dear. After all, I can't force you to join."

She gave the Sith a suspicious look and said, "No, I'm not leaving without Anakin."

He gave her a pitied look before stepping aside and revealing someone standing behind him. He extended his hand and a woman stepped forward. Padme was stunned to see a woman who looked exactly like her. The only difference between them were their clothes. Instead, of wearing Padme's white body suit, the double was wearing a revealing low cut black dress. Her hair was pinned up into two tight buns.

Sidious said, "As you can see, Anakin will be in good hands."

Padme stared transfixed at her counterpart and said, "What is this?"

Sidious raised Jinn's sword and plunged it into the ground. A burst of light and wind appeared. The deafening roar filled the room. Padme stumbled back and entered the light. The light became to swallow her up.

The Sith grinned and said, "I have no more need for you, Senator."

In a flash, Padme was gone.

Anakin stepped forward and said, "What happened? What did you do to her?"

Sidious calmly put the sword back under his cloak and said, "I returned her to her friends. Remember Anakin, any opposition will not be tolerated."

XXX

TBC

XXX

Notes:

Mando'a words are from the following website - wiki/Mando/Legends

cyar'ika - darling, beloved, sweetheart

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