Obi-Wan returned to his quarters and laid down to rest. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his mind, but it was hopeless.

The Council had reacted exactly as Obi-Wan feared they would. All of them thought the Inquisitor was Ahsoka. All of them.

The divide was in her motive. Obi-Wan, Plo Koon, Shaak Ti, and Depa Billaba thought that the Council was to blame and that she had fallen to the Darkness because of the actions of the Council against her. All of the other Council members were of the mind that she had chosen willingly to join the Dark side, in order to get revenge on the Order.

Master Yoda had not expressed his support of either side of the debate but said only that until she said so herself, it was not certain that the Sister was Ahsoka Tano. "Capture her, we must, if to learn the truth, we are," he had said. Obi-Wan desperately wanted to learn the truth, but he was afraid of it.

He had known Ahsoka and had helped Anakin teach her for the three years she had been his Padawan. To think that he was the reason that she had gone to the Dark Side tore at his mind, and made him fear the day she would be brought before the Council. He feared the words that would spew from her lips and the accusations that would condemn him. If he truly had done this, then he had failed the Togruta, and there was nothing that could undo the damage he had done.

Mace Windu paced around his room. He had known that Skywalker was less than pleased with the expulsion of his Padawan, but he hadn't dreamed that Tano would possibly try to work against the Order. She had always been so loyal, so steady, even if she was unorthodox, like her ex-master.

She knew how the Order worked, he realized. Tano would know how the Council would react to something like this. She's probably counting on it.

And so will the Sith, Mace thought with a pang of realization. She can betray our patterns to the Separatists. They will expect our every move.

Mace sat down and tried to concentrate. He knew that Master Yoda still wasn't certain that the Inquisitor was Tano, and until they had tangible proof, he wouldn't act on the assumption. Not this time. They couldn't afford mistakes this time. They couldn't lose any more Jedi.

His mind drifted to Skywalker. The Inquisitor definitely had something against the Chosen One himself, whether she was Tano or not. The Council could use that. The Sith had drawn out Skywalker twice now using the Sister. It's about time we reversed that bait, Mace thought.

Shaak Ti hardly knew what to make of Kenobi's news. She had already realized how dangerous of a tool the Inquisitor was for the Sith, but if she was Ahsoka Tano, then she was a weapon sharper than steel and more dangerous than fire.

The Inquisitor was expendable to Darth Sideous, Shaak knew that much, and she would be killed if she failed to perform. That in itself was initiative enough, but the pain that the Council caused her had undoubtedly been the cause of her fall if she had indeed fallen.

She feared for Skywalker, more than anyone in the Order. He was still hurting from the absence of his apprentice, Shaak could feel it. If he hesitated to fight the Inquisitor, Shaak feared that she would not match his caution. She would rip right into his vulnerability and tear his hope to shreds, and not care about the effects on Skywalker. Her potential for pain made her dangerous, and Shaak hoped, for the sake of all, that she would not live up to that potential.

Luminara Unduli did not return to her quarters that night but spent the evening pacing about the Chamber of Judgement, the place where she had condemned not only Ahsoka Tano but her own Padawan just a few days afterward. She was relieved that Barriss had not been the one to take on the new mantle of the Inquisitor, but Ahsoka was just as horrible to imagine.

The responsibility for the fate of the Togruta laid on her conscious. She had failed to see the Darkness in her apprentice and Ahsoka, along with many other Jedi and clones that died during the explosion and the aftermath, paid the price for her ignorance. Now Ahsoka could be one of the most dangerous enemies the Jedi and the Republic had faced thus far, and Luminara was to blame. Every Council member knew it, even if it was not spoken aloud.

Luminara did not sleep but sat in the very spot that the Mirilian and Togruta had stood in when she and the rest of the Council condemned them to expulsion. She kneeled there and did not move, but condemned herself, and let herself wallow in the judgment that she had not received, but deserved all the same.

Plo Koon walked the halls of the Temple, imagining the day he had carried little 'Soka through them for the first time. Her eyes were bright and her joy was true, although she was hesitant to trust the Jedi at first, due to her attempted kidnapping. She eventually became a part of the Jedi, and Plo Koon had watched her grow into the Padawan that he had been so proud of.

He had tried to defend her when the Council debated her fate, but his and Obi-Wan's efforts were to no avail and Ahsoka was expelled all the same. His heart broke when she had walked away from the Temple that day, but he did not think she would fall so far as to become one with the Darkness. Her light had shone so brightly that he did not see a reason for her to even consider it.

At least, he didn't until they expelled her. Plo Koon was protective of the Togruta and had tried to look out for her as often as he could, especially when Skywalker was busy. When Kenobi had even suggested that the Inquisitor might be Ahsoka, he was afraid that he had let her slip too far beyond his reach. She would never have done such a thing while she was a part of the Order, but outside of the walls of the Temple Plo Koon couldn't pull her out of harm's way, couldn't keep her in the Light.

He wanted to go out there, and find Ahsoka, to prove that she was still the Light little girl he had found all those years ago, but Kenobi seemed so shaken and uncertain that Plo Koon was no longer certain that the proof existed. If he went out to look for her, he might find her in the very place he hoped that she was not.

Yoda meditated in his quarters and tried to block out the confusion and fear that he felt radiating from his fellow Council members. He tried to look through the Force, tried to see the truth in all of the pain he was surrounded by, but the Darkness still clouded his vision.

The matter could no longer be delayed, he realized. He had felt a sinister figure at work for some time now, but now that the presence had revealed itself, it must be dealt with. This new threat could break apart the Order if she was allowed to pursue its destruction. Yoda did not know who exactly the Inquisitor, or the Sister, was, but now that she was in the open she must be opposed.

Yoda truly didn't know if she was Ahsoka Tano, but he realized the mistake he had made the last time that her loyalty was in question. If they had waited until more evidence had been gathered or believed her when she claimed innocent, the Council could have made the correct decision before the Padawan was tried and almost charged with murder. This time, Yoda would not make the call until it was undeniable that she was indeed guilty of falling to the Darkness. He owed Tano that much.

Skywalker, on the other hand, was a bit more complicated matter. It was clear to Yoda that the Inquisitor was specifically interested in Skywalker, for whatever reason. He was afraid that Skywalker was interested in her, too. His first instinct was to restrain the Chosen One and to keep him away from the Sister, but he was also the only one she seemed to be speaking to. They would get much more out of the Inquisitor if Skywalker was present.

And if the Sister, Tano has become, thought Yoda, then our only hope of saving her, Skywalker is.

Depa Billaba did not walk to her own quarters after the Council was adjourned, but rather, walked to the room her apprentice slept in. She had made no comment on the matter, but she knew that Caleb missed the Togruta and that he still didn't know everything about what had happened to her. Doubtless, word would travel quickly, and soon the whole Temple would know about the Inquisitor. Depa didn't want to worry her Padawan, but if Caleb was going to hear about Ahsoka, then she wanted it to come from her, not someone else.

She knocked on his door, not expecting a response, but she heard a faint "Come in" from inside the room, and she activated the door. Caleb was sitting on the floor, cross-legged and up straight, and Depa realized she had walked in on her Padawan meditating.

"I didn't know you were still up," she mused, joining her apprentice on the floor.

"I was thirsty and I haven't gone back to sleep yet," he explained, keeping his voice low. "How did the meeting go?"

She sighed and made eye contact with the fifteen-year-old boy. Caleb realized that his master was about to tell him something serious, and he tightened his body, bracing for the news.

"Do you remember Ahsoka Tano?"

Caleb nodded, not trusting himself to speak. In his mind, he didn't think he could ever forget Ahsoka, but he never mentioned her, because his master had asked him not to.

"Master Kenobi and Skywalker just returned from a mission on Bespin, and they think..." She swallowed. "They think..." but even a second time, she couldn't finish the sentence.

Caleb understood anyways. "What? No, she couldn't have."

Depa looked down at the floor, not making eye contact with her Padawan.

"Master, there's no way! I knew Ahsoka, she would never fight against the Jedi. She would never become a Sith or even a Separatist!"

"Caleb," she said finally. "They only think she's helping the Sith, but there isn't any proof yet." She glanced up at him, and immediately regretted it once she saw his face. She looked back down. "I wanted you to hear it from me first, instead of another Padawan tomorrow."

"What is the Council going to do?"

"I don't know yet. No one does. We just heard a few minutes ago from Master Kenobi."

Caleb stared at his master, incredulous that she would even suggest such a thing as Ahsoka's fall to the Dark side.

"Caleb, listen." Depa finally mustered the courage to look at her apprentice in the eye. It hurt her to see him so confused, so scared, but she held his gaze anyways. "I know how much she meant to you, and I don't want it to be true either. I don't think anyone does. You have to realize, though, that if it is true we will have to fight her. Not yet, but maybe someday."

He looked away from Depa, but nodded. "I understand, Master."

She stood up, unable to remain in the horror that was radiating from her Padawan, but his voice stopped her on her way out.

"It's not true, Master. You'll see. Someone will prove it wrong."

Depa rested a hand on the doorframe and looked back at the Padawan. She saw the determined look on his face and smiled, knowing that his faith in Ahsoka was not broken.

"Good night, my Padawan."

"Good night, Master."

The door sealed and Depa stood still for a moment.

Caleb's defiance gave her hope. His faith in the lost Padawan gave her enough reason to believe that maybe the rumors were false and that the Togruta hadn't fallen after all. She walked away, and towards her quarters, and she tried to believe her Padawan's words.

'It's not true, Master. You'll see. Someone will prove it wrong.'

As she laid down to sleep, Depa couldn't help but think, I hope that someone hurries up.