A/N: Hope you guys are having a good week so far. Thank you all for the follows, favorites and reviews on this story :)
Summary: The explosion of the Sith Temple places Darth Vader and Ahsoka in a situation neither of them imagined possible. Now in an unfamiliar place that is eerily similar to Mortis, Darth Vader and Ahsoka must face the echoes of their past and work together to find their way back home.
Chapter Seven: Like Fireflies Memories Shine 1/2
Vader awoke before the sun rose, having gotten little sleep the previous night due to the odd hallucination he had of the Togruta girl who still slept. It had shaken him to his core. Now that the Force moved around with a strong and steady pulse, more so than it ever had in his years in the suit, he could hardly bare the feeling of her presence. Their master padawan bond was still weak, cracked and fractured, a little less than a thread of it remained tying them to each other. Now that he had the Force with the addition of all of his limbs, he couldn't ignore the feeling of her. A bright pulsing sun.
When he had first met Ahsoka, her Force signature was brightly lit, Obi Wan had remarked that her presence was a pure one. Rare to be sure. It seemed to still be the case only the pulsing it had in the past was more wild, now it seemed tamed. He supposed that came with age. Regardless, no darkness could stick to her. The only reason she had gone to the dark side on Mortis was because the Son, the literal embodiment of the dark side, had infected her. If not for the infection, she would have resisted and been fine. Though she could have died sooner had he not kept her alive for a purpose. The thought of her dying because of that force wielder sparked anger in Vader, well in Anakin it did, but he seemed to be making more appearances now.
Vader shoved him aside, he focused on the anger he felt that she was unable to be persuaded to the dark side. That she could resist it's temptations in a way he could never. He was angered that even if he offered her a chance again to remain at his side, to be stronger than ever, she would still tell him no. She was good at leaving him, no matter what the circumstances were. That anger spiked again, but there was a twinge of pride in that coming from Skywalker. Proud that his student who was like the only sister or daughter figure he had ever known was able to resist the dark side no matter what. Pride.
The sun was beginning to rise, it was time that they move on. Vader would not allow Skywalker to take over or to continue to make so many appearances at one time. It was time for them to get back on track, he needed Ahsoka to get up so they could leave. Vader moved from his spot across from her and stood over her for a few moments. Asleep to be sure, but she didn't look as peaceful as he would have guessed. Likely the ordeal she had been through with getting the Force back in a rush of fire and whatever vision she had was taking its toll on her. He wondered what hallucination she had seen before getting the Force back.
"Ahsoka, wake up," he said, his tone sharp. When she didn't stir, he tried again, "Ahsoka!"
Ahsoka opened her eyes a moment later, still shades darker than they were when she was actually the age of this body. Noting that, it allowed him to accept the visions of her as just visions. With a concerned expression on her face, Ahsoka climbed to her feet, but didn't say anything. Through that crack of a bond between them, Vader could feel that she was uneasy about something, though he wasn't sure what. Perhaps whatever hallucination she had seen was still affecting her, if she had one or maybe dreams.
"Something's… off," Ahsoka said absently as she looked around the forest, her eyes not really focusing.
Vader raised a brow, "What do you mean?"
Ahsoka glanced back at him, her controlled expression cracking, "You don't sense that? That, that call?"
"I don't sense anything," Vader replied gruffly.
Vader reached out with the Force, expanding his senses to the surrounding area and as far as he could push, wondering what she sensed that was out of the ordinary. Technically speaking the entire Force atmosphere of this place was off balance, it felt different, almost strange. Another reminder that this place was much like Mortis had been when they had arrived to the Force world. Even as Vader tried to reach out, he still didn't sense anything that would make Ahsoka uneasy. So whatever she was sensing, it likely had something to do with her own journey on this.
This place, this planet or world between worlds as she called it was more than bizarre in the same way Mortis had been. The Force seemed more than alive here, it seemed to flow stronger, it seemed to shine brighter, it seemed to be deeper. It was possible that was affecting her senses. The both of them needed to adjust to the sheer amount of Force energy in this place, how much Force essence seemed to come from a single leaf or small stone was a little more than remarkable.
"We need to head west," Ahsoka said after a few moments of silence.
Vader studied her a moment, "Is that what you sensed?"
Ahsoka nodded, she looked out in the direction of west, "I'm certain we need to follow that call."
"I don't hear or sense anything coming from that direction," Vader remarked, his tone annoyed.
Ahsoka let out a sigh, "I can't help you with that, but I sense we are supposed to go west. The Daughter told me I was supposed to guide you right? Maybe this is the first part of me figuring out how."
"Perhaps," Vader relented, his expression didn't change. "After you."
Ahsoka observed him for a moment, she had noticed his new appearance earlier, but hadn't commented on it the way he hadn't commented on her change either. The feeling of their bond, small as it was, told Ahsoka all she really needed to know in that moment. He had the Force back and their bond still existed. When she had first sensed him with the Ghost Crew, that bond did flicker to life and their minds almost linked before she was knocked unconscious. For awhile after, she had wanted to nudge that old bond, but was afraid of what she would find from it.
It wasn't until she was at the Temple on Lothal that she took another look, a real look at it and continued to deny a truth she couldn't believe. Well now she couldn't pretend anymore. Not saying anything, she started walking west with him just behind her. For hours, they walked through the trees only stopping to get water or get food. None of that bothered Ahsoka though. No, what got under her skin was the silence. She could remember several journeys with Anakin, how they filled silence like these with banter, with stories. However she did remember their second mission together on Tattooine where he was not a conversationalist in the least.
"But you forget it was Master Skywalker who once said, I don't want to talk about my past."
"Okay fine. There is so much more we can talk about, like the sand."
Ahsoka couldn't help, but to glance at Vader then as she remembered that day. How strange it was to see how much things had changed, how different the both of them were, all that had happened since then. Even though Ahsoka liked to think she was good at grounding herself in the present, she found there were plenty of times where she could only think of yesterday. Ahsoka brought her gaze back forward, the call, the pull had only grown stronger, but it still felt far away and yet closer than ever. Ahsoka noticed something else.
"We're coming up to the edge of the forest," Vader commented, voicing what she saw.
"Hopefully it's something we can work with," Ahsoka commented as they made their way to edge of the treeline.
Once there, the sight before them was an open and endless field turu grass, red and pale green stands for miles on end. The sight and smell was enough to bring Ahsoka into a brief memory of her homework, when she had gone on her akul hunt. Most Togruta who go on the hunt are nearly adults, for many tribes it is seen as a rite of passage and others it is meant to mark the fiercest warriors. Ahsoka had been ten when she defeated an akul.
Technically, she wasn't even supposed to participate in that hunt or even be in that area, but she had anyway. Master Shaak Ti had taken her clan to Shilli for a training retreat and Ahsoka had gotten pulled into the hunt. It was one of those times where her mouth had gotten her into a sticky situation and she was not one to shy away from a challenge. So when the overseer of this particular hunt had offered her a spot, she had been more than ready to do it. Some of the Togruta nearby had been against it since she would too young to participate, but they were overruled by the chief of the tribe. If she wanted to join and prove herself, she could.
And so she had. After two nights, she had managed to track down an akul and take the creature down, without using the Force. Of course she wanted to use the Force as it was the perfect advantage, she knew it wasn't a fair advantage and and she would prove to everyone that she could handle herself just as well without it. When she returned with her haul, the village cheered and celebrated her with the other successful members. Master Shaak Ti had even been there to congratulate her.
It wasn't until Ahsoka was fifteen that she learned Master Ti had planned it, hoping that Ahsoka would join the hunt and earn her headdress since the chances of her being able to go there on her own were uncertain. While the Jedi Temple housed people from all walks of life, it didn't incorporate every single culture which often times left many jedi feeling disconnected from their heritage. Ahsoka had felt similar and getting her headdress, participating in the ceremonies, speaking her native language, had allowed her the chance to reconnect before she was an adult.
"Turu grass," Vader said, slightly in surprise.
Ahsoka nodded once, her expression a little sorrowful, "Yeah. Miles of it."
"It must remind you of your home world," Vader stated, though he almost sounded unsure.
"Only a little," Ahsoka replied quietly.
Vader considered that for a moment, he could just faintly pick up the echo of her voice from many years ago. When she had asked him if journeying to Tattooine was like going home for him. It wasn't, hadn't been then and certainly wasn't now. The only thing he felt when he thought of Tattooine was pure hatred. From Ahsoka, as thoughts of her home world filled her, he could feel small flickers of sadness, longing coming from her in regards to thoughts of her home world. He felt a stab of jealousy over that. Being able to miss your home world have those kinds of feelings for such a place. Some anger burned in him next over that Force saken planet and all the memories that accompanied it.
Tattooine wasn't technically his home world, he knew it wasn't originally his mother's and therefore he came from another planet. That feeling of jealousy grew, Ahsoka had a home world with culture and heritage she could miss, he didn't have that. HIs mother didn't really remember what world she hailed from, she had been a teenager when sold into slavery, but her family always traveled when she was a child and she lived on many worlds. She couldn't remember which was her own. So he was left with Tattooine as his home world, a merciless desert that takes everything from you. He had no planet that he could call his own.
"I bet it was Alderaan," Ahsoka said, snapping Vader from his thoughts.
"What," Vader asked, confused.
Ahsoka didn't look at him, but he noticed her blue stripes darken in shade as she spoke, "You were projecting. I caught onto your thoughts… about a homeworld and your mother."
Vader glared at her, he didn't want to think of any of that. The heat of his gaze could have been strong enough to burn if not for the fact that Ahsoka was doing her best to ignore it. Instead, she turned to face him with her head held high, chin up. She would not be easily intimated by him. It didn't matter that he was still Darth Vader, she could stand against him. It didn't matter that he looked just like her master, she wasn't his padawan anymore.
Ahsoka spoke clearly with a soft undertone, "That lullaby you sang to me. It's Alderaanian. Perhaps that's where she was from."
There was still anger in Vader over the very mention of his mother, but Ahsoka's words settled that angry storm and though he didn't notice, his amber yellow eyes turned blue as her words settled into him. His mother said she had always known the lullaby, that her parents would sing it to her and likely they learned it from their parents. He'd never looked it up, always believed the lullaby was just something they made up. But Ahsoka was telling the truth.
The lullaby was from Alderaan which meant the possibility that was where his mother was from, therefore a world he hailed from. That shouldn't have meant anything to him. Darth Vader didn't care for such things, but Anakin Skywalker did. Vader called on the pain he had, he called on the loss of his mother as that was the first time he ever truly touched the dark side and he let it flood his veins. The blue irises returned to their yellow glow.
Ahsoka didn't bother to hide her disappointment as she walked forward into the tall grass. However despite that, she felt hope. That wasn't the first time his eyes had changed and she just knew it wouldn't the last. Maybe part of her task here was to bring Anakin back, to bring the light back to him. The thought had occurred to her before, but now she believed there was truly a chance. Before then she felt a little less than hopeless, now she had hope. Wordlessly, she continued to walk through the grass and Vader just behind her. In seconds the sun had set, leaving them in darkness with the light of the moon. The warm air vanished leaving a cool breeze in it's wake.
"This doesn't seem promising," Vader remarked, in a very Anakin like tone.
Ahsoka nodded in agreement, "No, it doesn't."
Ahsoka walked ahead, her hands brushing the grass which caused something neither of them expected. The Togruta let out a soft gasp at the sight of little lights rising up from the spot of grass she had touched. On Shilli they were called something else, but the more common name was fireflies. Understanding settled around her, the Daughter's voice whispered softly into her ears and she knew what this was.
"Fireflies," Ahsoka said with a small smile, "They're fireflies."
Vader came up to stand beside her, the little specks flying up, their lights flickering on and off as they moved around in the air before them. Silently, Vader watched as Ahsoka brought her hand forward to let one rest on her palm. A pulse of light grew from her palm, it only mildly startled the two Force users. There was a flurry of emotions that played across Ahsoka's face, but the one Vader sensed the easiest was nostalgia and joy.
He watched as gentle smile spread across her face, a breathy laugh escaping her as she stared at the little glowing bug. Vader was confused by the reaction, wondering why an insect would bring out such a reaction from her. He'd seen the creatures on a handful of missions, some of those with Ahsoka and she always had a fondness for the insects. They meant something important on her homeworld, but he couldn't remember what.
"What is it," Vader decided to ask.
Ahsoka stretched out her hand forward, letting the firefly go, "On Shilli, fireflies are protectors of memories. Usually memories of childhood, but not always. When it touched my palm, it brought out a memory. This is where we're supposed to be."
Vader frowned, he didn't understand, "Why? What do memories and glowing insects have to do with anything?"
Ahsoka tilted her head to look at him, "The vital memories. The ones that define us. If we're going get our lightsaber crystals, we need to go through our most significant memories."
"That's what we've been doing, looking for our lightsaber crystals," Vader asked, annoyed and incredulous.
"I told you what the Daughter said, rebuilding our lightsabers is going to be part of this," Ahsoka pointed out.
Vader made a face, "You said that would be similar to the ones done before, as padawans. Unless you got yours from somewhere else, I remember going into a crystal cave."
"She said it would be similar," Ahsoka replied with a shrug, "Not an exact replica. Besides, I have a feeling we won't find any caves until we find a mountain which is nowhere in sight."
"Fine, so we just run around with some glowing insects until the crystal appears or will one of these things turn into a crystal," Vader asked, his voice dripped with venom.
Ahsoka didn't miss the sarcasm that was there as well, she smirked in response, "Only one way to find to out."
Without warning, Ahsoka spun around letting her hands disrupt the tall grass forcing dozens of fireflies to rise from their space. Vader stepped back with an annoyed expression on his face. The look only made Ahsoka want to laugh. Not denying the inner child she had, she crouched down and ran around him, bringing out as many fireflies as she possibly could. The Force seemed to sing around her as she did so, the little insects flew around her and Vader, lighting up the night around them.
Vader watched as Ahsoka did one final spin, her smile radiant as fireflies continued to rise around her. After a moment, she sent him a wink and nod before she turned to the nearest firefly and caught it in her hands. A brighter pulse of light spread from her palms, her eyes closed and he knew she was looking at another memory. Vader wanted nothing to do with the past, he didn't want to look at memories of his old life. However as he stood there surrounded by the glowing specks, he knew that ignoring them wouldn't get him anywhere. Besides, he wanted to have his lightsaber back so that he would no longer be without a weapon.
Reluctant and pulsing with anger, he stretched out his hands and tried to catch one. Yet every time he tried, they moved out of the way. Aggravation flooded his mind, how was it he was able to take down dozens of people in moments, yet he couldn't catch a single insect? After what must have been his twentieth attempt at trying to catch the insects, he was greeted by Ahsoka who was wearing an amused smile.
"Don't you dare," he said with a scowl.
Ahsoka crossed her arms over her chest, "Did I say anything?"
Vader's scowl remained, "I'll get one."
"I didn't say anything," Ahsoka added, she bit back a smile.
Vader rolled his eyes. He went back to trying to catch one, but was stopped by Ahsoka's hand on his arm.
"What," he snapped at her.
Ahsoka wasn't phased by the outburst, "They can feel your anger, your hate."
"They're insects," Vader replied flatly.
"We are in a world between worlds where so far everything we have encountered is dripping in Force energy and you want to tell me that these are only insects," Ahsoka said, her expression disbelieving, "This whole planet is Force sensitive, so are the creatures here. These fireflies are filled with the light side of the Force, they repel the dark side."
Vader clenched his jaw, "Well then I guess they won't be landing on me anytime soon."
Ahsoka held his gaze, "They will. If you let your hate settle for a moment, one will land on you."
The task was simple, but for someone so immersed in his hate, who had been consumed by his hatred for so many years, it seemed impossible. How was he supposed to just shut off his hate for a moment? He hadn't been able to turn it off for years. Sensing this, Ahsoka reached out her hand to let a new firefly settle on her palm, but before it could land, she continued to move her hand down. Then, once her hand was beside Vader's, she tilted her hand so that the firefly would move over. Vader watched as the insect followed her move, then it landed in the center of his palm and a memory engulfed his mind.
He saw himself on Tattooine, he was following the Jedi Qui-Gonn Jinn, the first steps on his journey to become a Jedi himself. Vader watched as the little boy with blond hair stopped following the tall man, turning around quickly and running back over to his mother. The sorrow this day brought him, having to say goodbye to her had been one of the hardest things he had ever done.
He watched as his mother brought her hand to cup her nine year old son's cheek, telling him that they would see each other again. Though she hadn't been wrong, they did see each other again ten years later, that meeting was far from happy. Vader focused on this one as the mother and son hugged once more before young Anakin Skywalker turned away. Straightening himself, he made his way back to the Jedi, not looking back like his mother told him.
Then the memory was gone. Vader was left standing in the field, fireflies still flying around in every direction, Ahsoka still next to him.
"Are we supposed to catch every single insect and hope to get a crystal from it," Vader asked, his face twisted in a scowl.
Ahsoka answered, "Yes, the more memories we see, the more our crystal will come to us."
Ahsoka lifted her hand to show she had found half of a crystal, but she needed to continue searching in order to find the second one. Vader tried not to let his anger get the better of him as he realized she had gotten her crystal before him, the same way she had gotten the Force before him. The smirk she sent him, along with her nodding his hand had him confused.
However when he looked down at his own palm, he saw the tip of a kyber crystal forming. He supposed after going through so many memories would bring out the crystal more. It seemed that there was no way for him to escape his past on this Force forsaken planet. One way or another, it seemed Anakin Skywalker was going to be at the forefront of his mind. Vader hated it. Ahsoka turned away from him then to get another firefly. He was in for a long night.