After Ahsoka had walked away from the Order, she had begun to wonder for the first time what it might be like to have a normal life.

That was an abstract, of course, and a normal life could mean any number of different things. If she considered 'normal' to be non-Force sensitive…would she have grown up in the grasslands of Shili in a house with her birth family, a wooden home under a canopy of colorful trees, learning to craft with holistic medicinal herbs? Would she have moved to Kiros with the Togruta artisans, only to have been kidnapped by the Zygerrians and forced to work in a slave labor camp? Perhaps in another life she'd have been born human, and would have gone to school with the students she'd briefly taught at the Mandalorian Academy.

No matter what normal might mean, though, she certainly wasn't it. A Force-sensitive ex-Jedi Togruta teen set adrift in the galaxy, trying to find her place. But even in her darkest moments, where she dreamed of another life, a life of stability and peace, a small part of her felt a little guilty for thinking that she had it bad at all. Because as much as her life wasn't normal, and never had been, she was far from the most abnormal person she knew. That honor (if one could call it an honor, and she didn't think she could) without a doubt went to Anakin Skywalker.

Growing up in the temple, back in the days where she was a little girl daydreaming about what it might be like to be a Padawan, so much older and more mature than she had been back then, she had heard about him only a handful of times. All she knew was that he was a human boy that had come from the Outer Rim Territories — they had seemed so far away, so exotic — that everyone called the Chosen One, and that he was being trained by the Sith-killer, Obi-Wan Kenobi. The very concept of the both of them had been so abstract, just like the concept of 'normal' was now, that she usually hadn't paid talk of them any more than a passing thought.

That was, until the Clone War started, and they were all that the kids her age would ever talk about.

There were clips from the holonet that younglings would pass around on datachips, Skywalker and Kenobi fighting side-by-side in a field full of battle droids, perfectly deflecting every single blaster bolt, perfectly in sync with each other. Ahsoka remembered thinking it was pretty cool, and that she couldn't wait to become a Padawan so she might face a little action and excitement herself, but the two men had still seemed sort of larger than life. Not quite legendary the way they were now, nearly four years into the war — but they hadn't necessarily felt real. Tangible. Like they existed on a different plane of thought.

And they definitely didn't feel normal. And when she met them, finally, stepping off a shuttle on Christophsis, she remembered thinking how tall they both were, especially Anakin. Larger than life, indeed. She remembered seeing them there, clad in a mix of armor plates and traditional Jedi robes, and the way they'd looked at her, like she was so young, what was she doing out here, what had Master Yoda been thinking, sending this snippy little youngling out to war….

Sometimes, she still wondered that part even now.

It turned out they were both a lot funnier than she'd imagined they would be. Obi-Wan was always teasing Anakin, and Anakin was always falling for it. They were also more kind than she had imagined, even Anakin — especially Anakin, after he'd gotten used to the idea of this kid following him around. Seeing them in action for the first time had been way different than seeing them on the holonet, and she'd slowly begun to understand what all the hype was about….

At first, Anakin hadn't wanted her. Looking back, she wondered how he felt now about how he'd acted then. It had been hard not to take it personally when he'd backed up, shaking his head, saying there's been a little mix-up, the youngling isn't with me. It had hurt, honestly, but mostly she'd wondered what his problem was, or was the problem with her, was it her that he didn't want, and that he would be happy with any other Padawan? One less snippy and impulsive — one a little bit less like him?

Looking back now, it made her laugh. Looking back, it was so typical Anakin. Act first, think later. No filter, just blurting out his honest reaction. Unlike Obi-Wan, who had been nothing but kind and patient and welcoming to her from the start.

Master Kenobi, she remembered thinking there in the crystal city. Teacher of the Chosen One. Member of the Jedi Council. The Sith-killer.

She'd asked Obi-Wan about that months later, after she'd become comfortable around him but before Maul had resurfaced. She remembered he'd laughed, because no one had ever called him Sith-killer to his face before, but he recounted the brief tale to her of his duel with the Zabrak Sith on Naboo. The Sith had definitely been an abstract concept to her back then, something that they taught about in classes on Jedi history, but the idea that they weren't actually a legend, or even myth, had taken her a very long time to really wrap her head around.…

Nowadays, however…she comprehended it much better than anyone should be able to.

The fight with Maul, only a few hours ago now, had been the most challenging in her life, and she'd walked away from it with an even greater respect for Obi-Wan than she'd ever had. But this hadn't been simply a duel, like all her ones with Ventress or Grievous or a disguised Barriss Offee. The stakes had been high enough going into the siege in the first place, but she hadn't anticipated that this high stakes duel with an (ex-?)Sith Lord for the fate of Mandalore had actually been about the fate of Anakin all along.

He is the key…to everything.

It chilled her to the bone, even now when Maul was secure in an impenetrable prison cell designed by ancient Mandalorians to contain Jedi. Even here, on this battle cruiser, heading back to Coruscant way faster than the speed of light — all she could think about, playing on a loop in her head —

He has long been groomed for his role, as my master's new apprentice.

Staring at the swirl of hyperspace without really seeing it, Ahsoka thought, it wasn't true.

It wasn't because it couldn't be. Because she would know about it.

Just like she had told Maul, she knew Anakin. He wouldn't. He wasn't. He couldn't.

But was she sure? Was she absolutely, completely, beyond a doubt positive? Had she been positive when she retorted to Maul, your vision is flawed? Had she really?

…She needed to see Anakin. A-S-A-P.

Her comm blinked then, drawing her out of her thoughts. A cursory glance at who it was gave her the instinct that somehow, somewhere — someone else was wondering the same thing as she was now.

She took the call in a private room close to the bridge. Obi-Wan's hologram filled the room with a soft blue light, and Ahsoka tried to smile at him. "Master Kenobi. I'm glad to hear from you."

"Ahsoka," he said quietly, attempting a smile himself, but it came off as more of a grimace. "What's your status?"

"I'm en route to Coruscant," she said. "Maul is in custody."

Obi-Wan's eyebrows raised thoughtfully. "Really? That's wonderful. A job well done."

"Thank you."

"Are you alone?"

"Yes, Master," she said out of habit, and nearly flinched at her own words. They felt odd on her tongue, almost unfamiliar, even though she'd spent ninety percent of her life saying them over and over and over.

"Good," he said. "I'm heading back as well, and I need your help with something if you'll be available."

"Jedi business?" she said coolly, but he shook his head, glancing away from her for a moment and then back, as if he were looking around for any eavesdroppers even though she could tell he was calling from the inside of his starfighter.

"Personal, actually. Did you ever talk with Anakin after we spoke?"

"No," she replied, her worry suddenly feeling all the more justified. "I did speak with the Council — Masters Windu, Mundi, and Yoda — but they said he had gone to tell the Chancellor you were fighting with Grievous. I hope you calling me from hyperspace means you won?"

"It does," he said shortly, "Grievous is dead, but that's in the past now. There is something wrong with Anakin." Obi-Wan paused, frowning deeply. "You're definitely alone?"

His hesitance would have been almost comical had the words there's something wrong with Anakin not preceded them. "I am, Master."

Obi-Wan nodded. "At that very meeting with the Chancellor, Palpatine revealed to Anakin that he is in fact the Sith we have been looking for. He is Sidious." He allowed Ahsoka a long moment to absorb this, her lips parting slightly as the words sunk in. He appeared visibly shaken as he continued. "Anakin returned to the temple and called me. He was…sobbing. He said that Palpatine was trying to turn him to the dark side. He…."

His voice broke. Ahsoka had never seen him like this — his composure was not only shaken, but his guard was completely down. And given the context of what he was saying — yeah, hers would be, too. It was definitely getting there, at least. "What is it, Master?"

"I…would have liked for him to have told you all of this…I only just found out myself, but…."

"These are desperate times," Ahsoka agreed. "He can get mad at us after we've saved him from the Sith."

"Right," Obi-Wan said, almost smiling. "Long story short…Padmé is pregnant. It's Anakin's. He's been having visions of her death in childbirth ever since we returned from the Outer Rim Sieges. Palpatine is trying to convince him that the Sith have a way to save her, if Anakin becomes his new apprentice, and it seems he is making a very compelling case."

Oh. That was a lot of bombshells. More than anything, though, more even than the idea of a baby, she couldn't believe that — "So Maul was right," she breathed, staring through rather than at the hologram of Obi-Wan.

"Maul? What do you mean?"

She was about to hit him with a bombshell of her own, it seemed. Hadn't she just been thinking about this three minutes ago, thinking about — "Maul told me that he's been having visions, as well. Of Anakin. He said — he said his master, Darth Sidious, had been grooming Anakin for years, into the perfect Sith apprentice. The only reason Maul came back to Mandalore at all was to try to lure you there with Anakin in tow so he could prevent his visions from playing out. He tried to get me to join him and overthrow Sidious, under the condition that I helped him kill Anakin."

Obi-Wan looked as shocked as she felt, but he gathered himself quicker than she did. "So now there's two Sith we have to keep away from my Padawan. Wonderful." Ahsoka watched him think, drumming his fingers on the armrest of his cockpit — fidgeting was uncharacteristic for him. Her stomach was a knot. He continued, "All right. We should get back to Coruscant close to the same time, I think. I'm going straight to the temple to find Anakin, assuming he's actually listened to me for once and stayed put. As for you…is Maul secure?"

"He is. He's not going anywhere until someone lets him out."

"Good. I need you to go to Padmé and bring her to the temple."

Ahsoka raised one of her brows. "If she's as stubborn as ever, that might be hard."

"I know it," he said softly, a trace of a smile on his lips, "But you just defeated Maul in combat. I think you're up to this challenge."

She nodded. "Fair enough. I'll go speak with Rex and make sure Maul will be taken care of. I'll see you soon Master. Hopefully on better terms than our last face-to-face."

"I hope so, too," he said, his smile fully formed now but not yet reaching his eyes. He made a motion with his hand to turn the comm off, but she saw him hesitate. "Ahsoka, I hope you know that what happened to you was not something I supported. I tried to get through to the Council on your behalf, I promise you."

Ahsoka bit her lip and looked down. "I'm not really sure what to say to that."

"You don't have to say anything," Obi-Wan said. "If you still wish not to be a Jedi, I hope we can at least be friends." His gaze softened and fell. "Though I understand if you choose not to forgive me. I just want you to know that I tried."

Do or do not, Master, she thought numbly, not meeting his eye. She didn't really want to have this conversation right now. She wasn't sure she wanted to have it ever. So all she did was look up at him and say, "I'll see you soon, Obi-Wan. As friends."

He hesitated a moment more, then nodded in acceptance.

The call disconnected, and off she went to find her capt— her commander. There wasn't exactly much she could tell Rex, but she did hold him in enough confidence to at least relay the whole, there's something wrong with Anakin, thing. The thinning of his mouth as he held back what he really wanted to say indicated to her that he wished he could come along, protect his general from harm as he always did, but understood where the line between duty and friendship had to be drawn.

For a long while she considered marching down to Maul's prison chamber and demanding from him just why, exactly, he hadn't bothered to mention that Darth Sidious was also, in fact, the Supreme Chancellor of the entire Republic, but something held her back. Perhaps the idea that she had almost joined with him until he'd spoken of his desire to kill Anakin, who he had never even met….

Like Obi-Wan said. There were now two Sith they had to keep away from her master.

Or maybe…maybe they had to keep her master away from the Sith.

Force help them all. This was not good.


Ahsoka arrived to Coruscant and was met with utter chaos.

It wasn't the planet itself — the battle over the atmosphere, the one that her masters had rushed off to last they met, had long since subsided. From her military experience she could still see the damage that had been done. Salvage crews and naval squadrons alike patrolled the outer reaches of the atmosphere, collecting debris and wrecked ships that had fallen into orbit of the planet. It was messy, a little disorganized, but not exactly chaotic.

The chaos, rather, was in the Force. Rather, her sense of it. Rather, her sense of Anakin. Immediately she could tell, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Obi-Wan's summary did not do the situation justice. Something had happened, something she didn't understand, and given his sparse retelling of the current events, Ahsoka didn't think Obi-Wan was too sure, either.

But she did as he bade her. She parted ways with Rex a little too hastily, jumped in a spare starfighter because it was the fastest thing that would get her over to Padmé's senatorial apartments. The sky was dark here, the twilight long faded into artificially illuminated blackness, and she hoped Padmé was still awake, hoped she would agree to come, because more than any single thing in the universe right now, Ahsoka just wanted to see Anakin as quickly as she could.

Their last departure had been…a mixed bag. Suddenly she felt an intense pang of guilt at how mindlessly she had brushed him off. It really hadn't been intentional, not at all, but there had been so much on her mind. She'd been so nervous about seeing him and about the Jedi and about Maul, that she hadn't really expected him to cling to her like that, hadn't anticipated his overwhelming need for attention, and of course she had wanted to hug him and catch up but she'd just been so preoccupied….

And now Anakin needed her. Had he needed her then, too, when she had brushed him off? Had he already been dealing with this chaos she felt in the Force, and she simply hadn't noticed? Had he had any idea what was about to happen? And on that note, what was about to happen? The Chancellor was a Sith, Anakin and Padmé were having a baby, what was happening?

Zooming through the different layers of the atmosphere, broadcasting on an open frequency a clearance code that Obi-Wan had transmitted to her…Ahsoka really hoped she was about to find out.


Note: Thanks so much everyone for your comments! They are extremely appreciated. I do just want to acknowledge that it's possible I broke the rules of the universe a little bit by having them getting back to Coruscant a little faster than is probably realistic. Buuuuut it's generally left pretty vague how long hyperspace travel takes (at least it is in the movies/TCW which is all I really know) so I'm at peace with it lol

I will also tell you know that this fic has 7 chapters and the sequel has 19 ;) I hope you enjoy the ride :3