Anakin couldn't see anything around him, but it wasn't just because it was dark. Even when he tried to use the Force to see, all he saw was himself. He was alone.

Always alone.

He heard chains rattle behind him and almost didn't turn around. He almost ran away, because he knew in his heart what was coming. He knew what he would see. He knew what happen because it always happened. He was scared, not for himself but for the person he knew was behind him, in the chains. The person he only ever saw here.

Ahsoka.

He turned, and tried to run to her, tried to reach her, to hold her, and keep her safe from the inevitable. He ran into the bars instead, which had materialized out of nowhere. Anakin leaned as far forward through the bars as he could, and tried to break them, but he couldn't. He couldn't help her.

Ahsoka was chained by the arms to poles on either side of her. She had sunken to her knees in defeat and was accompanied by two Temple guards, each armed with their yellow lightsabers. Her head was bowed, and her eyes were closed. A figure walked up behind her, masked and armed with a blood-stained ax.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin called out. "Ahsoka, it's me! Please, just..."

Ahsoka looked up, and for a second, Anakin saw her face, innocent and scared, and begging him to help. Then her face hardened and her stare became cold.

"'Please' what, Master?" She mused, her voice filled with hate. "It's not my fault I'm here. What do you want me to do?"

"Ahsoka, no." He begged, desperate. "Listen, I'll get you out of her-"

He flew backward. He didn't try to catch himself, but let his body hit the ice-cold floor in pain.

"You could have helped me! You could have forced the Council to trust me, but you didn't! You let them take me!"

"I couldn't! I couldn't do anything, I couldn't!"

"You could have if you tried!"

"The tears started falling. He looked up at her, hoping there would be mercy in her face, but her eyes were as hurtful as her voice.

"I gave you everything I had! I defended you, I fought with you, I stood by you when no one else would have! I gave my life for you! How could you?"

"No, please, no." He crawled to the bars again and started to break them. He could reach her this time, he knew he could.

"You were my master, I trusted you!"

The bars finally began to break, but the executioner lifted the ax above the Padawan's head.

"NO!" Anakin pushed one last time, but it already too late. The ax came down.

"YOU FAILED ME!"

And that was it. Gone. Forever.

Anakin caught Ashoka in his arms as her broken body fell. Blood spilled from her head, but Anakin could only close his eyes as the tears streamed down his face, falling on his apprentice.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."

"I'm sorry," Anakin whispered, the tears falling just like in his nightmare.

He didn't move for a long time, refusing to open his eyes. Refusing to let go of the girl he had held onto so tightly in his sleep because a world where she hated him was better than a world without her.

It wasn't like he didn't see her often. He saw her almost every week, sometimes every night.

And every night, she would die, and he was too late. He hadn't done enough.

He failed her.

Captain Rex assembled his armor as he did every day. It was routine now. It was the only thing he had ever known. It was first nature. What wasn't first nature was trying to ignore the atmosphere of the 501st Legion ever since it lost its commander.

Everyone took the news hard, but Rex, as the Captain, had to force himself to keep moving. He never said no to a trooper who needed support, but while on duty, he had to stay focused. End of story.

Anakin and Obi-Wan boarded the ship early in Coruscant's rotation, and before the next meal shift, the Republic cruiser was flying through hyperspace. The two generals went to the bridge, and Rex, along with Commander Cody, was waiting for him.

They saluted, and released, as usual. "What's the mission, General?" Cody asked, even though both of the clones already knew. Just following protocol.

"There has been a report of a new Separatist base in the Xlenian system," General Kenobi responded. General Skywalker kept quiet. Rex was used to this by now. "It's supposed to be in its early stages of establishment, though. Our goal is to destroy it before it's completed."

"How many parsecs to go?" Anakin asked, looking to Rex.

"24 parsecs, sir," He answered.

"Let me know when it gets to 5. We'll debrief then."/

Rex and Cody straightened. "Sir, yes, sir," they said in unison, and Anakin turned and walked away.

Once the bridge doors closed behind him, Obi-Wan turned back to the troopers.

"So what is this mission really about?" Cody asked. "From what I heard, this mission was supposed to only go to the 501st."

"It was," Obi-Wan mused, stroking his beard. "That was what the Chancellor suggested from his tip to the Order. The Council decided that it might not be a good idea to send Anakin alone on this mission, though, so the 212th is here as well."

Rex nodded. He had to agree with the Council. "Has it gotten any better?"

"No, if anything, it's gotten worse." Obi-Wan shook his head. "Try not to worry, troopers. I'll see you at the debrief."

They nodded, and Obi-Wan followed Anakin's path to the rest of the ship. Once he left, the two clones walked to the engine room to complete routine checks.

They spoke in low voices as to not be heard, but they hardly needed to. The entire ship knew about the General. Even the 212th Legion had been dismayed to hear about Commander Tano.

"Any sign of her?" Cody asked, having not seen Rex or Anakin for several weeks.

"What do you think?" Rex replied, sighing as he turned a corner. "Nothing from the Commander since the trial. Not a single transmission or tip. She might as well be dead for all we know."

"I wouldn't say that around the General."

"I don't plan on it," Rex looked at the yellow trooper. "But he's been getting worse for a long time now. It's affected the whole troop, and things still don't seem to be going back to normal. He's still all reckless and crazy, but the General doesn't even mean it anymore. It's dull without the commander."

Cody nodded. "Nine months is a long time."

They walked in silence for the rest of the way.

Rex and Cody split once they reached the engine room, each to opposite ends. Rex completed his check without issue and retired to his bunk in the clone's quarters until he was due for debriefing.

When General Kenobi had told the 501st about Ahsoka (General Skywalker had been pulled by the Council for a week after the trial), the entire legion had been shocked to silence. General Kenobi had announced it on the bridge, but within 15 minutes, the whole cruiser knew. Commander Tano would not be returning to the Grand Army of the Republic, due to the retiring of her identity as a Jedi Padawan. Rumors had spread almost instantly about why she left, but it was Rex whom General Kenobi pulled aside and explained to that Ahsoka had been expelled, tried, and found innocent, but then walked away all the same. He told Rex that he was, under no circumstances, to bring up the topic once General Skywalker returned. Rex had kept this to himself, and did his best to console his grieving troopers.

As for Rex himself, he missed the Togruta. Her crackling energy definitely went noticed when it disappeared. The meal hall was much quieter, and no one on the cruiser could be heard laughing as loudly as she used to. As for General Skywalker, he spoke kindly to the clones, but even though he spared his troop from his anger at the Council it was clear that he didn't want to talk about her. Rex suspected that the 501st Legion might be the only people that he didn't cut himself off from.

General Skywalker still seemed less enthusiastic, and more sullen than ever before. He spoke less, laughed less, and was seen less. The best word to describe the Jedi Knight was 'less.' There was no better way to put it.

Rex wished he could have given his commander a proper goodbye. He hadn't realized that the last time he would see her in person would be as he took her to the Jedi Temple for the last time. The closest he ever got afterward was when she 'killed' the clone troopers escaping, and when she jumped off down the shaft on Coruscant. He had seen the results of her trial, everyone had, but he never saw her again.

Ahsoka had grown so much since the very first mission on Christophsis. She was wiser, stronger, and more humble than when she started at fourteen and had truly shown the potential to be a great General one day. She had gotten less snippy, but still had plenty of sarcasm to go around, when it was appropriate. The little'un wasn't so little anymore. Even if she was gone, she was still out there, somewhere. Probably.

Rex entered the command center early with 7 parsecs to go. Not by need, but he hoped that he could get an early look at the schematics of the layout of the Xlenian system before they landed. Ever since Commander Tano had left, the job had fallen to Rex to memorize and analyze the holomaps. He wasn't as good as she was, and always felt out of place doing so, but he made do. He always did.

The Xlenian system was once a heavily populated civilization but now had fallen victim to migration. All of the civilians of Xlenia had moved to Coruscant or Aalderan about forty standard years ago. Now, only the ruins held testimony to the legendary life once lived here.

It was a good place for a Separatist base, Rex thought. It was deserted, out of the way, and had tons of hiding spots. It was a fairly efficient agricultural center, back in the day, and was perfect for storing or growing resources. The land beyond the limits of the capital city of Xlenia was rich with nutrients left by the farmers who had left their homes. Not that the Separatists were likely to care.

The tip had suggested that the base was being set up in the Judicial Building in the Capitol Square, as it was called. Rex began to mark the entrances and exits available to the troopers, and also kept in mind places the Jedi could get into, even if the clones couldn't. There were multiple streets and underground service lines that ran directly to the building, so they would have multiple options for entering and exiting. All in all, it would be up to the generals which tactic they used. Few geographical aspects constrained their routes, even if the tall city buildings did block the street view.

Rex made notes of this and more until Cody walked in, followed by both of the Generals. He stood up and enlarged the holomap, which General Skywalker then rotated so the door was facing the group of men.

"The Separatists have set up in this building, and we aren't sure what they have had the chance to do so far. We can assume that the front entrance is guarded, or rigged," Anakin pointed to the ramps leading up to the double doors, "So our best bet is to use a back entrance."

Rex picked up his cue seamlessly. "We have a side exit here," again, he pointed. "And an enclosed garden in the back. Other options include windows and underground methods."

Cody nodded, then asked, "I'm assuming they have shields, or else we would be attempting an airstrike."

Obi-Wan nodded. "We could try and take those out, and not bother going in, but we need to see if we can gather intel while we're here."

Anakin spun the holomap around to the side entrance. "If you take your men here," he pointed as he spoke to his master, "I'll enter by an underground line from the opposite end. We'll meet in the middle and secure the base. It won't take much longer than half an hour, and we can be back to Coruscant before the next meal shift."

"Perfect," Obi-Wan decided. "How much longer now?"

"4 parsecs," Rex answered, double-checking the screen to his left.

"Tell the troopers to load up in the gunships. Bring bombs and hand-weapons." Anakin spun the holomap around one more time for good measure. "Let's get this over and done with."