Catnapped
Author's Note: Just as a warning, the ending is *not* a happily ever after, but it's open, so you can feel free to pretend things get resolved if you want. :')
~ Tirana Sorki
To Superstary56: Welp, we're finally posting this! I really, really hope that you enjoy it! :D
~ Amina Gila
The Force is in turmoil. Anakin hasn't felt a disturbance this strong since Mortis, three months ago. Everything was in chaos there, and the slightest thing had caused a massive disturbance, probably because of how strong the Force was there. But this is different, because it isn't Mortis anymore, but the Force is still in chaos. Something about it feels cold, dark, sinister, and he doesn't like the feeling at all.
So, he isn't at all surprised when Obi-Wan asks him to come to a private meeting with Yoda in the Grandmaster's quarters. "Sensed the disturbance have you, Skywalker?" Yoda inquires, expression unusually grave.
"I have, Master," he confirms.
"We have been looking for the source," Obi-Wan declares, "But we haven't found anything out of the ordinary yet. The Separatists and Dooku are acting as they always have." But something has changed. It was only yesterday that Anakin first noticed it, so if there's a connection with Dooku, it probably wouldn't be apparent yet.
"A connection with the Sith, it may not have," Yoda murmurs.
Anakin has to agree. Whenever he thought about what Dooku or maybe his master could have done to create a disturbance like this, something about that felt wrong, even though he didn't know why. So maybe this isn't connected to the Sith at all.
"What else is could cause a disturbance like this, Master?" Obi-Wan objects.
"Many enemies, the Jedi have," the Grandmaster replies, "And perhaps not an enemy at all, the cause of this disturbance is, but still a threat it may be."
"What should we do, Master?" Anakin inquires. He knows it's a threat. He can feel it in the Force, but he doesn't know to who it's a threat. Still, he can't shake the sinking feeling that something very bad is about to happen. And in some ways, it feels even more personal than it often does on the battlefield. An involuntary shiver runs through him.
"Meditate on this together, we should," Yoda decides, "And see what the Force reveals."
The three immediately move into meditative positions, and Anakin lets himself slip into the currents of the Force, opening himself up to it, willing it to show him... whatever it will. There's so much chaos right now, though, that any hints of anything are proving frustratingly elusive.
For a fleeting moment, in image finally forms in front of his eyes. Of... he thinks it might have been a cat, but it's gone too fast to make anything of it.
Anakin slips back to himself, looking to the others.
"I didn't see anything," Obi-Wan declares.
"Clouded, the Force is," Yoda responds, "See anything did you, Skywalker?"
"I did, Master," Anakin frowns, "I saw... a cat? Nothing more than that."
"A cat?" Obi-Wan repeats, almost incredulously.
"I don't understand it either," he objects.
"Mmm, meditate on this more later, I will," the Grandmaster decides, "Be clear our minds must be, if find the cause of this, we will."
**w**
Padme is used to crises arising out of nowhere, but never on Coruscant. At least not one like this. Well, there was the time the Separatists blew up all the power, but hardly anyone was killed in that.
This is something entirely different. Thousands of people have disappeared on Coruscant, without a trace. There aren't even any traces or signs of where they could have gone. So needless to say, the public and Senate are in uproar. The police haven't been able to find anything, so they've called the Jedi in to investigate.
"The Separatists are behind it," one of the Senators in Palpatine's office rants.
"I'm afraid it is quite likely," Palpatine murmurs gravely.
Padme is almost inclined to agree with them, but there haven't been any signs of suspicious activity until now. And why would the Separatists go after a bunch of civilians? Unless they're planning to use them as hostages for something? That doesn't really make sense.
The other Senators continue arguing about who might be behind it, and Padme resists the urge to pace back and forth in the office. She doesn't know what she thinks, so she doesn't offer her opinion on it at all. It's not as if speculations help anyway. The Jedi are investigating, and they should be able to find something. She's more than a little worried about it, though.
Padme doesn't know how long it's been – but the discussions are starting to move on to some other important matters the private meeting was supposed to cover – before a hologram appears on Palpatine's desk, a transmission from the Jedi Council.
"Any news on the missing civilians, Master Jedi?" Palpatine inquires gravely.
"Found something, we have," Yoda confirms. She tries to hold back the instant surge of relief at the words; just because they found something doesn't mean they have anything good to report.
"Twenty-four of the civilians were found," Windu continues, "They claim to have been abducted by a tall, black, humanoid life-form, resembling a cat."
What?!
The other Senators exchange incredulous glances.
"They all separately confirmed this?" Padme frowns. This makes even less sense than the Separatists doing something. Where would such a creature even come from? Of course, she's seen stranger things on other planets, but the story is... quite far-fetched.
The disbelief from the others in the room shows they're thinking likewise.
"Mm, yes," Yoda replies, "In great distress, they were. Afraid that it would return and take them again."
"We are going to keep Jedi out there looking for any other civilians and for any signs of suspicious activity. If these reports are accurate, we will find this... cat," Windu assures.
Palpatine nods. "Keep us informed on the developments," he requests before the transmission breaks.
Despite the warm temperature of the room, a shiver runs down Padme's spine as she looks to the others. She can't explain why she's suddenly so on edge, but she can't shake the feeling that something very bad is about to happen. She's gotten those feelings before, and... usually they aren't without merit, even if whatever she thought the feeling might be about isn't always accurate.
When she mentioned it to Anakin in the past, he told her that all life-forms have a connection with the Force, and they can feel it if they try, even if not at the same intensity as the Jedi. Does this have any connection to that? Is this simply because of what's happening right here on Coruscant? She doesn't know, but if anything, the foreboding feeling settling inside of her is only growing.
**w**
"A cat, sir?" Rex repeats, dubiously.
"That is what the civilians described," Anakin confirms, "No one else has sighted anything."
"Why would a cat abduct people?" Cody objects.
"Maybe it wants to eat them," Ahsoka says dryly, though there's little amusement there.
"The Council wants us to join the search," Obi-Wan declares, "We'll start near the location where most of the twenty-four people turned up."
They leave their Cruisers, taking a number of other clones with them for backup. The first thing Anakin notices as he makes his way through the streets of the Underworld, right in that area, is how strange the Force feels. Something is off, but he can't quite place where. It feels wrong – totally different than the Dark Side, even – as though it shouldn't exist at all.
Does this somehow have a connection to the strange disturbance in the Force they sensed only a month ago? It's beginning to seem like it, but he keeps his speculations to himself as he silently moves through the street, seeing what he can sense.
Ahsoka walks alongside him, her eyes narrowed as she stalks in much the way a predator always does.
Something is close, though. Something moves in the shadows, and Anakin spins around, as the strangest creature he's ever seen steps out from behind one of the buildings. It's about twice his height, it's inky black fur almost darker than darkness itself. In sharp contrast to that is its white paws, and the smile that fills its face is far too wide – almost unnatural.
The creature feels wrong. So wrong that the Force itself screams at its very existence. He's never felt anything like it before, but a prickle of unease runs through him. If the Force itself feels like this about the creature...
"Ahsoka!" Anakin hisses in warning, and she spins around.
The cat's smile turns almost feral.
And then it pounces. His lightsaber ignites in a flash, and he swings it up at the creature. It easily avoids the blade, its enormous paw slamming into him, throwing him to the ground. He rolls out of the way, shoving the creature back with the Force when it dives at him again.
Several blaster shots ring out, as Rex and Cody run closer, shooting at it.
The Force screams with wrongness, as the cat suddenly shrinks in size, the blaster shots flying harmlessly past its head.
What?! How can it do that?!
Of course, he knows there's some species that can change sizes somewhat, but this feels completely unnatural.
Obi-Wan finally runs into view, right as the now small cat scurries up the side of the building – how can it do that? – and Cody shoots at it again.
The cat flicks out a paw instead of ducking, and when the blaster shot hits it, it turns into nothing but blue mist. What?!
The creature laughs, jumping off the wall, transforming back to its former size as it hits the ground. Obi-Wan lunges for it, slashing at its leg. The blade cuts right through – for a moment, Anakin almost thought it wouldn't – but the cat doesn't look bothered by it.
Although then his questions as to why are promptly answered, because the limb starts to regrow.
"You can't stop me," the cat mocks, voice ringing out harshly, unnaturally. It sounds dark, sinister, and the sound itself sends a chill through him.
This thing is... he's never seen anything remotely like it before, and he doesn't know how they're supposed to fight it. But they've dealt with creatures as huge as the Zillo beast. They should be able to handle this... cat. Hopefully.
Anakin reaches out with the Force, poking at the creature's mind, trying to see if there's any way to calm it through the Force. Assuming it's an animal at all, because it's acting a lot more sentient. Clearly it is, because it shoves him back easily, laughing again as it swings around and flings Obi-Wan aside with its tail – which he thinks suddenly looks like a tentacle? – when the Jedi Master tries to stab it again.
Ahsoka charges it, leaping through the air, and aiming for its back, but the cat easily sidesteps her, and she falls to the ground, rolling right underneath it.
No. The creature's claws are only inches away from her, and – Panic swells within him, because he can't let anything happen to her, and he lashes out with the Force, throwing it back into the wall of the building.
The cat is quick to recollect itself, and charges right for the clones – all of its limbs are fully grown again. Its tail extends into a long-branched tentacle, swinging for them as it runs by. Anakin tries to duck out of the way, slashing with his lightsaber, but the end of it wraps around his legs, yanking them out from under him.
He catches himself with his metal arm – barely avoiding hitting his head on the duracrete – and scrambles back to his feet again. The cat's tentacle tail is gone, and instead, it has lifted Rex and Cody into the air with its front paws.
He has no idea what the thing is about to do to them, but he isn't going to wait and see either. This won't be the end of them. He won't this creature hurt either of them. Fear and desperation claw at him, as he charges forwards, flipping through the air, using the Force to help his land on its back, even when it tries to dive out of the way. He doesn't waste a second, slashing his blade downwards, right through the creature's neck.
Then he leaps clear, to what will hopefully be safe of the falling body.
Except... it doesn't collapse. It casually drops the clones back to the ground, and then reaches forwards, picking up its head and setting it back on its body as though nothing was wrong at all.
What?!
He's too caught off-guard, too frozen in momentary shock and confusion to react, when the cat transforms into a tiny mouse, scurrying away into a hole in the ground before anyone can move to stop it.
What?!
"What in the blazes was that?" Obi-Wan is the first to find his voice, stepping over to the cat limb still lying on the ground and eyeing it, as though that will somehow give them any answers on what this thing is.
"I have no idea," Ahsoka replies, sounding more than a little shaken up.
"Rex? Cody? Are you alright?" Anakin asks, hurrying over them as they start to sit up.
"We're fine, sir," Rex assures.
"It didn't leave a scratch," Cody adds.
Anakin breaths out a sigh of relief, turning back to Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. "It felt... wrong in the Force."
"I sensed it too. I've never seen anything like it," Oi-Wan agrees, "We should report to the Council."
"Shouldn't we be trying to find it?" Ahsoka objects.
"Right now, we don't have a way to combat it, Snips," Anakin points out, "The Force is all that will work against it." They need to explain the situation to the Council and see what they can come up with.
She doesn't look happy but doesn't argue.
"We must find a way to destroy it," Obi-Wan asserts.
"How, sir?" Cody wonders, "If cutting off its head won't kill it, what will?"
"Perhaps there is a solution other than killing it?" Anakin proposes. Like what, he doesn't know. Talking to it doesn't sound very plausible, and... He throws a wary glance around. Staying out here in the shadows, he can't shake the feeling it's going to jump on one of them again, and he won't be able to react in time to save them. They need to get to somewhere... safer.
"Such as?" Obi-Wan huffs.
"I don't know." He has no ideas right now, but there has to be something they can do. Or maybe it's one of those rare and very unique species that has... it's vital organs in odd places? It certainly doesn't look like it, though.
"If it's living, there has to be a way to kill it," Rex objects.
Cody laughs humorlessly. "It was moving around without a head."
"Maybe we need to aim for its heart next time," Ahsoka offers.
"There must be some way to destroy it," Obi-Wan agrees, "But we should give our report to the Council first."
**w**
Obi-Wan can't deny that he's more than a little unsettled by the creature, even as he sits in the Council chamber, giving the other members an update on the situation.
"You're saying it can shapeshift and alter the laws of matter?" Plo clarifies, worry clear in his voice.
He nods. "It could regrow it's limb as well, and it put its head back on."
The note of incredulousness and disbelief in the Force would almost be funny, if there was anything remotely amusing about the situation at all.
"Put it back on," Shaak Ti repeats.
"Yes," Obi-Wan confirms. It's so ludicrous he wouldn't believe it himself if he hadn't seen it. "We tried what we could, but the only thing that seemed to have some effect was the Force."
"Letting the Sente know about this would cause panic," Mundi speaks up, from over a hologram.
"I agree," Windu asserts, "It may be better if we tell them we have yet to find it, but the rumors about the thing being cat-like appear to be substantiated."
"Disturbing, this is," Yoda murmurs, "Find a way to stop this, we must. Sentient was it, hmm?"
"It spoke in Basic," Obi-Wan replies, "But it feels... unnatural in the Force. As though it shouldn't exist."
"Perhaps it's a creature of the Dark Side?" proposes Mundi.
"I didn't sense the Dark Side around it," he objects, "But it is possible."
Yoda seems lost in thought, not offering an opinion.
"Regardless of what it is, we have to find a way to stop it," Windu reiterates.
They can all certainly agree on that. There has to be something, but if killing it normally won't work, then what will? For that matter he doesn't even know how they'll go about finding it again. They can go back there and stop combing through the streets, but even so, that doesn't mean they'll find it.
"Anakin suggested that perhaps there is a solution other than killing it," Obi-Wan speaks. He still has some serious doubts that that, because what else could they do? The thing already attacked them for no reason and has likely killed thousands of people. It isn't something "negotiation" would work for, and even if they captured it, the chance of escape is too high.
"Remove it from the planet, we could, if capture it, we did," Yoda points out.
"If it can affect matter, how would we contain it?" Fisto objects.
Right. Any hope he was starting to get is squashed at that. "We don't know the limit of its abilities," Obi-Wan agrees grimly, "But there must be some way." Maybe.
"If we could find its location and close off any method of escape, we may be able to contain it," Windu asserts, "It if it's alive, then it will get worn down eventually through constant fighting."
"Mm, meditate on this, I will," Yoda decides, "Continue our search for it we must, before more damage, it causes."
**w**
At least fighting droids makes sense. Rex adjusts the scope on his helmet, scanning the area of between the building, looking for any signs of anything. Nothing.
This creature he's never seen or heard anything like before. Not even General Skywalker understands it, and that's what scares him the most. He understands many things Rex couldn't even begin to comprehend, but this is something completely different.
Blaster fire doesn't even affect it. How are they even supposed to fight it?! Some of the clones out here searching have already disappeared without a trace, and they all know who's responsible.
So yes, he thinks he would much prefer to be dealing with droids. That they were trained for; this is something else entirely. They don't even know if they're searching in the right place out here. Numerous Jedi and many clones are everywhere in the Underworld now, combing through all the streets in the hope of finding something, anything. But in truth, Rex doesn't think they're going to find it unless it wants to be found. And if it wants to be found, that would mean –
A blaster shot splits the silence, and Rex stiffens instantly, a wave of fear rushing through him. He faces death every day and expects it will happen eventually, but that doesn't mean he wants it, and certainly not like this.
Several more shots ring out, and he instantly draws both of his blasters, racing forwards and rounding the corner, right in time to see Cody and a few other clones of the 212th shooting at the far too familiar cat.
It laughs – or at least Rex thinks that's what the noise is supposed to be – and the noise sends a chill through him, but he refuses to back down, firing at it. The cat easily bounds out of the way, and even the few blasts that hit its side don't seem to affect it very much. It's leg slams into Rex, knocking him to the ground. He tries to roll out of the way, but the white paw slams down on his chest, holding him in place.
It's already far too wide smile only seems to widen even further, a look of dark glee in the creature's eyes. His heart pounds, but he tries to twist around and reach for his fallen blaster.
"We have its position," Rex hears Cody calling frantically into his comm. But all he can focus on is the enormous predator head staring down at him. Panic is clawing at him, and somehow, he thinks it's partly how the creature feels – whatever exactly that means – that's scaring him so much, more than the actual danger that he's in.
A long tentacle extends from its chest, catching the clones trying to shoot at it, and hurling them into the wall of a building, before the tentacle vanishes again.
The thing's paw on his chest is making it harder and harder to breathe, and he tries to quell his rising panic, trying to pull away to no avail.
He hears the sudden sound of activating lightsaber and General Skywalker lands right next to him, swinging for the creature's leg. It jerks back – giving Rex the much-needed opportunity to roll away, struggling to catch his breath – and the lightsaber collides with its paw. It cuts through, deeply enough that blood starts trickling from the wound despite the cauterization, but the cat doesn't look remotely bothered by it.
An evil smile twists its face, and suddenly, it twists its wrist against the blade, and the blue plasma snaps right off, falling to the ground.
What?!
Rex hastily scrambles to his feet, as the laser starts to burn its way into the ground.
Everyone stops to stare, momentarily frozen.
That doesn't even make sense! Lightsaber blades aren't physical like that! That isn't how it works!
General Skywalker pushes the button to his lightsaber a couple times, and a new blade emerges from the hilt but the cat isn't even paying attention anymore. A dark sinister laugh rings out again. "Let's make this fun, shall we?" it sneers, reaching down to crush the laser into a ball.
All Rex can do is stare, as it tosses the ball into the air. It splits into five sparkling, bright blue balls mid-air. Rex dives aside as the balls fall to the ground – he has absolutely no desire to find out what would happen if he got hit by one of those – and suddenly transform into five... bodies.
And it only takes one moment of analysis to figure out what these bodies are. They're dead and look like they have been for a long time, but they look very much like General Skywalker, Commander Tano, General Kenobi, and... the other two are clones, without their helmets on. Still, Rex can see the numbers faded on their armors. Him and Cody.
It's nothing more than an illusion because they are all perfectly alive – although he could almost start to question his own sanity at this point from the number of strange things the cat has been able to do – but that doesn't make it any less unsettling to see.
The cat laughs horribly again, and the noise promptly throws Rex back into motion. He lunges forwards, snatching up his blasters and firing again. It leaps off the ground, and Anakin drops his lightsaber, raising his hands, probably reaching out with the Force.
The cat stops moving mid-air, and for the briefest moment, Rex thinks he sees it's smile shrink a little. It squirms around, trying to break free from the Force grip, but nothing happens. Rex lets out a relieved breath he didn't realize he was holding. So apparently it can't run off and escape so easily. It can't bend or break the Force to its will, and that's a tiny measure of comfort.
"Are you alright, Rex?" General Skywalker asks, throwing a brief glance at him, right as General Kenobi runs into view again.
"I'm fine, sir. What should we do?"
"What in the blazes is going on here?" General Kenobi demands, looking down at the... "bodies" on the ground.
"The cat... did something," Commander Tano offers, sounding hopelessly mind blown.
Suddenly, it spouts long tentacles, reaching for all of them. Rex hastily backs away, and General Kenobi and the Commander ignite their lightsabers, slashing through the constantly extending appendages.
"Perhaps this is how we contain it," General Kenobi muses.
"But how do we take it with us?" General Skywalker objects.
"You could carry it to the gunship," Ahsoka offers, hopefully.
As if in response, the cat suddenly transforms into an enormous spiky blob that vaguely resembles a fish of some kind. And it's starts steadily expanding in size.
No this is not working, and if even this can't contain it, what are they supposed to do?
General Skywalker tenses, looking as though he's having an increasingly hard time keeping his grip on the creature.
It lets out a horrible laugh – apparently it still has a mouth somewhere?! – and lashes out with a tentacle, slamming into General Skywalker, throwing him onto his back. His hold on the creature breaks, and before General Kenobi or Commander Tano have a chance to catch ahold of it – they try, but fail – it turns back into a cat, and takes off up the side of the building, disappearing from sight before they can stop it.
Rex instantly takes off running in pursuit, but he doesn't see it anywhere.
Somehow, he isn't even surprised. Cody runs to a stop next to him, looking around. "Nothing, sir," he reports, as the other three approach.
"We lost it," Rex agrees grimly.
"We must spread out and find it," General Kenobi declares, firmly, "We can temporarily contain it with the Force, and contact others to come and assist with its... removal."
**w**
"Be careful, Ahsoka," Anakin warns, worry shining clearly in his eyes. She doesn't know why she's struck with the sudden feeling that...
A feeling of finality? No, that doesn't make sense.
"I'll be fine, Master," Ahsoka assures, "We just have to catch this thing."
"If we can," Anakin reminds, "Don't take needless risks if you do not know if you can handle it."
She nods, eyeing him for another long moment, before she turns, sprinting away with Rex and several other clones, into the endless winding turns of the Underworld. Still, she can't ignore the hopelessness that's nagging at her. They already had the thing cornered, and it was still able to escape.
She doesn't know how the next time will be any different, but they can't give up either. Besides, the Force apparently does work against it, and if several of them helped, maybe there's something they could do to keep it from constantly expanding? They'd need multiple Jedi but there has to be a way to contain it. They've won against armies of tens of thousands of droids before, without any air support. They can do this.
The Force is humming with danger, and as much as she tries, she can't seem to locate where it is. It almost feels as though it's somewhere close, but she doesn't see anything. Can it turn into inanimate objects? If it can shrink so much, it could probably make itself so small they wouldn't even be able to see it.
It's like they won't be able to find it unless it wants to be found, and she doesn't know what to do. But they have to keep searching.
Ahsoka winds her way further into the darkness of the Underworld, somewhere most of the civilians have been cleared out. It feels like something is watching her. Something cold and dark and sinister. And she can feel a disturbing amount of amusement in there air too, unless she's simply imagining it.
Just then, something moves out of the corner of her eye.
She spins around, to see... nothing.
But for all she knows, the cat could be hiding right here, and she wouldn't even know it. She grits her teeth in frustration, trying to reach out with the Force and poke at where it might be. It's so turbulent, feels so wrong down here, that it's hard for her tell much of anything. This isn't exactly her forte either.
"Spread out," Ahsoka instructs, finally, when they approach the subway passage in front of them. There are several tunnels, and all traffic has been shut down so they can search without running into any civilians.
Fear clenches in her gut, but she tries to ignore it, and the much too loud thumping of her heart as she starts down the tunnel. She doesn't see anything, but she can't shake the feeling that something is close.
Maybe.
Something is... close. Very close. Maybe she should go back? Call for help or –
Suddenly, two hands burst out of the floor right in front of her, reaching for her. Ahsoka lets out a most undignified yelp, leaping backwards, whipping out her lightsaber and slashing at them as they start to grow longer, reaching towards her.
Panic flares in her and she starts to back away, never taking her eyes off them. She can't fight this alone and she doesn't know what to do. She needs to get out, tell someone where she is –
The Force suddenly screams in warning, and she tries to duck out of the way, except a hand, closes around the back of her neck – and twisting around desperately she can see that it's also coming out of the wall – and it yanks her back, slamming her hard into the wall.
The force of it knocks all of her breath out. "Let go of me!" she shouts, when she finally catches her breath again, struggling to pull free. She can hardly use her lightsaber to cut its grip off of her either, when the arm itself is coming out of the wall.
More hands emerge from the wall, pinning her limbs against it. Panic claws at her, but she struggles not to go completely hysterical. She should've commed someone when she had the chance. But now it's too late, and if something happens here, no one will even know.
Suddenly the cat itself emerges from the darkness, walking towards her, an evil smile twisting its face.
"I'm not afraid of you," Ahsoka spits, glaring venomously. She tries to jerk away again, knowing all the while that her struggles are in vain. There's nothing she can do, and yes, she is scared. She doesn't think she's been more scared in her life, except maybe right after when the Trandoshans had kidnapped her. This isn't even like Mortis. At least that could be explained with the Force. This is something else entirely, and she has no idea how to deal with any of it. And she's all alone here.
"We both know that's a lie," the car sneers, in its terrible voice, "But don't worry, I won't eat you like the rest. You are much too fun to play with for that. No, this time we will play another game."
Dread washes through her, and she tries to lash out with the Force, but she doesn't move fast enough, or maybe it wouldn't have affected the cat if she did.
The Force around her suddenly twists horribly, screaming with such a glaring sense of wrongness that like she's never felt in her life. And it's only so terrifying because it's centered right around her, not some other object that the cat is toying with.
And then the next thing she knows, she's being dragged backwards, into the wall.
Or at least she thinks that's what happening, because suddenly all she can feel is an unbearable, overwhelming, all-consuming agony ripping through every inch of her. Through it she can hear someone screaming, or maybe it's her who's screaming. She doesn't know – can't think about anything but the unbearable pain burning through every inch of her, and she needs this to be over.
Then all at once, it stops. Everything stops.
Everything is dark and she feels trapped, unable to move. What just happened?! Where is she?!
Ahsoka tries to twist around, but another agonizing wave of pain races through her, forcing her to go still again. Fear gnaws at her, as she suddenly begins to realize with growing dread that she's in the wall. Whatever that even means. And there's nothing she can do to get out either. She's trapped, stuck.
Unless someone can find her. If she even tries to move, it hurts far too much, and she doesn't know that she could move her arm enough to turn on her comm anyway. She tries to reach out with the Force, poking at her surroundings, but it doesn't help. No, someone has to find her. It's the only way she'll ever get out of here.
"Master!" she yells, surprised when it isn't met with an agonizing pain. "Masterrr!"
No response. Nothing.
She can hear movement on the other side of the wall, the clones moving around, probably trying to figure out what happened to her.
She tries screaming again, but still nothing happens.
"She was right here," she hears Rex saying.
"I am right here!" Ahsoka shouts, trying to move and abruptly stopping again.
A dark, sinister cackle rings out and the cat materializes in the wall next to her.
"What did you do to me?" she snarls, "Let me out of here!"
"Oh no," the creature cackles, "You're much too fun to play with."
She snarls frustrated, trying to pull away again, only for pain to follow once more. She needs to stop jerking around. It won't help, apparently.
But instead of responding, she hears the clones moving away, still looking for her.
No. No, no, no – What if they never find her?! What if she's stuck here forever?! With nothing but this crazy cat here for a companion?!
No, this can't be how it's going to end. It can't be.
The cat cackles again before it disappears, but at this point she could hardly care because she wants to be out of here, and she has no idea if she ever will be.
No, Anakin will find her. He will. He always does.
(What if she's not even physical matter anymore? How could he find her then?)
No, he will. He'll figure something out.
It's the only belief she can cling too – even if there's a dark part of her mind telling her it's nothing more than a delusion – because if she thinks anything else, she's going to go to pieces entirely. There's no way she can spend the rest of her life – will she even age?! – trapped in the wall. A forever eternity of solitude, with nothing but this crazy cat for a companion.
**w**
Anakin feels it instantly, the flare of danger and panic from his bond with Ahsoka. He jolts to a stop, pushing the button on his comm. "Ahsoka? Ahsoka!" There's no response. "Ahsoka?"
He can still feel her fear, but when he tries to poke at her, it... doesn't work. Almost like something is blocking him, even though he can feel her right here.
No. This can't be happening. This is why he didn't want to split it up. Anything could have happened to her, and if he doesn't find her soon –
He spins around, and bolts the direction she was going, "General!" Rex suddenly calls over their comm.
"Yes, Rex. Where's Ahsoka?"
"We can't find her, sir. We're looking everywhere but she appears to have... disappeared."
No, no, no.
"Keep looking," Anakin orders, forcing himself to think past the panic rising in his chest. Something happened to her, something very bad. He knows it, he can feel, and –
It's reminding him of what happened when she was captured by the Trandoshans all over again, only this time it's almost worse because he has no idea what this cat does with people, but he's fairly certain almost all of them end up dead.
He should have stayed with her. He should have been protecting her. He should have done something, anything,differently to prevent this from happening. He doesn't even know where to start, but he's going to find her, whatever it takes. No matter what.
He reaches the subway tunnel where she was last reported seen, reaching out with the Force as he makes his way through the place. He can feel the echoes of Ahsoka's recent presence here, but he doesn't see her anywhere. "Ahsoka?" Anakin calls.
No response.
Still, it almost feels like she's right here. But then why doesn't he see her?!
He has no idea, and none of this makes any sense, but helplessness threatens to overwhelm him. He has no idea what to do. He failed his padawan and failed to catch the cat. The Force is screaming with a sense of wrongness, though, and he knows something must have happened. With the kinds of things it can do, with bending reality, that could be literally anything.
Anakin doesn't know what to do or where to start, but he won't give up until he finds her.
**w**
Anakin long since lost track of time, but he's pretty sure it's somewhere in the middle of the night as he continues scrolling through information in the Archives. He isn't finding anything about the cat specifically but looking much deeper into it than before, he is finding a few things about creatures that had some similar abilities, some of which were from thousands of years ago and created by the Sith themselves.
The implications are more than a little disturbing, and Anakin doesn't know what to think of it. Obi-Wan had already mentioned to him that the Council was speculating on this, and now he has to wonder. But still, there's hardly any information about creatures like this. Most of it has been lost with time, was never known in the first place, or is probably talked about in the restricted area of the Archives only Council members are allowed to go to.
But none of that is helping him get any closer to finding Ahsoka, and he doesn't know what to do.
The Council called them back a number of hours after the incident – when it was nearly dawn – deciding that they needed to look more into the situation. They still have people out there looking for the cat, but they've seen no traces at all.
As soon as Anakin came back to the Temple, he immediately headed to the Archives to see if he could find anything.
"You're still here?" Obi-Wan asks, walking up behind him.
"I have to find her, Master," he replies, looking up, "I can still sense her." He knows she's still out there. It's the only thing keeping him from despairing completely.
"That is why we must find the cat," he reiterates.
"We still do not have a method to contain it, even if we do," he points out, grimly. Searching for it is almost pointless until they have a way to stop it. Even if they find it, it will likely get away again. And it won't bring him any closer to finding Ahsoka.
"The Council is discussing other methods of how we can remove it if we can't kill it. They have not found anything yet, but we'll continue searching the Archives for anything we can find." He pauses for a moment. "You should rest."
Rest? How can he, when anything could be happening to Ahsoka? How could he do that instead of trying to find her? "I can't."
"I don't believe you will find anything here," he replies, "If there is any information on it, it will be in the restricted areas. And the Council will likely want you to continue searching soon."
He's right, to a point, but still. Anakin doesn't remember the last time he slept, but it's been a long time. Even if he tried, he doesn't know how much sleeping he'd actually be doing, but he should update Padme on what happened. She deserves to know. "Fine," Anakin concedes finally, standing up.
And then, he'll get back out there to keep looking for Ahsoka. He will find her, no matter what it takes.
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